#THERE ARE ZERO DEVELOPABLE SURFACES

[worldwright]

I'm gonna fight Kaite for ownership of the Flourish this thing is. ugh

[biggaybunny]

The inherent conflict of being alive is that your cells just love water. Great stuff for cells. Excellent for transporting things around in, really helps counteract gravity and make that 3rd dimension fully accessible. You as an organism however, want atmosphere. It's got all those awesome gases, like oxygen. Those gases are great! But they're not very good at getting in the water. Lots more of them outside the water.

Now some organisms went ahead and said "well, our cells want to be in the water, we're made of cells, we're staying in the water". And I respect that! Gotta respect that. Lots of 'em stick to the surface, get a little bit of the good gases, but keep themselves nice and watered up (wet) to keep their cells happy. Some make do with whatever cool gases have managed to dissolve into the water, thanks to a process known as "churning that shit up" that happens on the water's surface. Doesn't work out great for them, but you know, they made their decision and they committed to it. You gotta respect that.

Now some organisms, especially a lot of old ones, were afraid of commitment. They hung out at the water's edge, breathing all the gases and shit, but still needed to make sure they could stay wet. Like, their plan was to leave the water, but stay wet. Not a great move, if you ask me. Usually it works, but only until it doesn't. You ever seen dried up moss? Ask it how it's "stay wet but not in water" plan went. It can't answer you. It fucked up. That's what you get for not committing.

Now trees though, trees had the other idea. Trees and some other plants were like, no problem. I'm gonna take my water with me and never ever let it go. They developed specialized cells and shit. They got whole layers dedicated to keeping the water the fuck in. They got other cells dedicated to hunting down any water in a square fuckometer and taking it for themselves. That's hustle. That's a game plan. Some plants got so good at it they saw these dry-ass stretches of land that saw rain less often than you saw your mother smile as a child and were like "okay but is the amount of water not literally zero? Yeah? We're good."

The moving orgisms tried to copy trees, naturally. Making hard outer layers to trap the water in for their cells. But it was pretty weak. They kept going on about needing holes for the moisture to leave, and wet surfaces for their eyeballs. Then some of us got stupid and decided maybe we only needed like a half-decent layer protecting our water. "Semi-permeable" they marketed it as. Oh it's fine they said. We'll live somewhere wet, they said. Yeah how'd that work out for that moss again.

And now I get a headache if I go like 3 hours without drinking a glass of water. I should've been a pine tree.

[decolonize-the-everything]

Why are they mining so much right now?

Cobalt has become the center of a major upsurge in mining in Congo, and the rapid acceleration of cobalt extraction in the region since 2013 has brought hundreds of thousands of people into intimate contact with a powerful melange of toxic metals. The frantic pace of cobalt extraction in Katanga bears close resemblance to another period of rapid exploitation of Congolese mineral resources: During the last few years of World War II, the U.S. government sourced the majority of the uranium necessary to develop the first atomic weapons from a single Congolese mine, named Shinkolobwe. The largely forgotten story of those miners, and the devastating health and ecological impacts uranium production had on Congo, looms over the country now as cobalt mining accelerates to feed the renewable energy boom—with little to no protections for workers involved in the trade.

The city of Kolwezi, which is 300 km (186 miles) northwest of Lubumbashi and 180 km from the now-abandoned Shinkolobwe mine, sits on top of nearly half of the available cobalt in the world. The scope of the contemporary scramble for that metal in Katanga has totally transformed the region. Enormous open-pit mines worked by tens of thousands of miners form vast craters in the landscape and are slowly erasing the city itself.

[...]Much of the cobalt in Congo is mined by hand: Workers scour the surface level seams with picks, shovels, and lengths of rebar, sometimes tunneling by hand 60 feet or more into the earth in pursuit of a vein of ore. This is referred to as artisanal mining, as opposed to the industrial mining carried out by large firms. The thousands of artisanal miners who work at the edges of the formal mines run by big industrial concerns make up 90 percent of the nation’s mining workforce and produce 30 percent of its metals. Artisanal mining is not as efficient as larger-scale industrial mining, but since the miners produce good-quality ore with zero investment in tools, infrastructure, or safety, the ore they sell to buyers is as cheap as it gets. Forced and child labor in the supply chain is not uncommon here, thanks in part to a significant lack of controls and regulations on artisanal mining from the government.

[...]When later atomic research found that uranium’s unstable nucleus could be used to make a powerful bomb, the U.S. Army’s Manhattan Project began searching for a reliable source of uranium. They found it through Union Minière, which sold the United States the first 1,000 tons it needed to get the bomb effort off the ground.

The Manhattan Project sent agents of the OSS, precursor to the CIA, to Congo from 1943 to 1945 to supervise the reopening of the mine and the extraction of Shinkolobwe’s ore—and to make sure none of it fell into the hands of the Axis powers. Every piece of rock that emerged from the mine for almost two decades was purchased by the Manhattan Project and its successors in the Atomic Energy Commission, until the mine was closed by the Belgian authorities on the eve of Congolese independence in 1960. After that, the colonial mining enterprise Union Minière became the national minerals conglomerate Gécamines, which retained much of the original structure and staff.

[...]Dr. Lubaba showed me the small battery-operated Geiger counters that he uses in the field to measure radioactivity. He had begun the process of trying to find and interview the descendants of the Shinkolobwe miners, but he explained that tracing the health consequences of working in that specific mine would be difficult: Many long-established villages in the area have been demolished and cast apart as cobalt extraction has torn through the landscape. His initial inquiries suggested that at least some of the descendants of the Shinkolobwe miners had been drawn into the maelstrom of digging in the region around Kolwezi.

In her book Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade, historian Gabrielle Hecht recounts the U.S. Public Health Service’s efforts to investigate the effects of uranium exposure on people who worked closely with the metal and the ore that bore it. In 1956, a team of medical researchers from the PHS paid a visit to Shinkolobwe while the mine was still producing more than half of the uranium used in America’s Cold War missile programs. Most of their questions went unanswered, however, as Shinkolobwe’s operators had few official records to share and stopped responding to communications as soon as the researchers left.

[...]“Don’t ever use that word in anybody’s presence. Not ever!” Williams quotes OSS agent Wilbur Hogue snapping at a subordinate who had said the mine’s name in a café in Congo’s capital. “There’s something in that mine that both the United States and Germany want more than anything else in the world. I don’t know what it’s for. We’re not supposed to know.”

[hs-transfusion]

> JOHN LALONDE

CHUMHANDLE: umbroseTheatrics [UT] STRIFE: magickind MODUS: Shuffle LUNAR SWAY: Derse MYTH. ROLE: Mage of Rage LAND: Land of Shrieks and Shadows

UT: better be careful! my next trick might make you disappear...

Though he may seem like a LOVEABLE GOOFBALL on the surface, John's MORAL COMPASS may not always point on the STRAIGHT AND NARROW. He can easily be swayed to act out if it would appeal to his SLIGHTLY DARK SENSE OF HUMOUR, which on a non-zero number of occasions has resulted in him FAKING HIS DEATH with PRACTICAL EFFECTS and all.

John has a potent fascination with all things HORROR, with a particular fondness for FILMS of the genre, no matter their quality or popularity. He is also an avid AMATEUR MAGICIAN, practicing with his magic kits whenever he has the chance. When nobody else is watching, he also has an interest in BLACK MAGIC RITUALS he finds online. Though none of them have borne fruit yet, he's banking on one of these being THE REAL DEAL.

John's SHUFFLE Fetch Modus randomises his sylladex every time a new item is captchalogued, with all cards ALWAYS FACE DOWN and only the topmost card being able to be retrieved. With his practice in SLEIGHT OF HAND, John has developed a knack for CHEATING THE DECK IN HIS FAVOUR somewhat.

John's relationship with his MOM is somewhat tenuous. He's fond of her, but despises his INABILITY TO SHOCK HER with his antics on the rare occasion she's even present to do so. Whether it's her CONSTANT INEBRIATION clouding her judgement or the fact that she's RAISED HIM ALL THESE YEARS, he can never seem to elicit the reaction he desires out of her.

The Land of SHRIEKS AND SHADOWS is a land stuck in a PERPETUAL MIDNIGHT, with sprawling cityscapes ILLUMINATED SOLELY BY WATCHTOWERS sprinkled throughout the CAVERNOUS ALLEYWAYS. The darkest paths are where the AMBIENT SCREAMS OF THE DAMNED echo the loudest, but they hide the true path to meet the denizen MENOETIUS. As the saying goes, THE DARKER IT GETS, THE MORE ONE SEES.

[singingcicadas]

More thoughts on Cyclonus.

Nova's evaluation of him in this panel is brutally accurate. That last sentence. Ouch.

On the surface level Cyclonus appears to be portrayed as this stiff proud warrior with an austere, diehard take on his own internal code of honour and patriotism, but the more I think about it his actual character is pretty much the opposite? He doesn't have any hardfast values or stances of his own aside from shallow romanticism for the preachings of others.

His whole life is comprised of hanging onto other people. First it's Nova and his group, despite Nova and Jhiaxius looking down on him and insulting him to his face and being very forthright about the actual purpose of their mission, which Cyclonus apparently had different ideals about. Theoretically. But he didn't say anything after Nova corrected him.

Then it's Galvatron, after Galvatron backstabbed Nova. Even when Galvatron became increasingly unhinged and violent toward him and also started insulting him to his face, he still continued to follow Galvatron around because Galvatron's powerful, hope he stays on our side.

Then after he broke off from Galvatron post-Chaos Theory he joined the Lost Light, an Autobot ship, despite not liking Autobots, because it had something that he wanted: the chance to start again.

His defense for murdering all those people in Kimia is literally "he made me do it." That's all he can come up with. He even knows it's a bad excuse.

And he always corrects people when they assume he's a Decepticon. Here he directly says that he doesn't want to be a Decepticon. Why not, if he clearly admires their ideology?

One possible reason is maybe he doesn't like their ideology that much. Enough to romanticize it from a safe distance but not enough to commit to it himself (since doing that would force him to do actual introspection about his own role in what made the Decepticon ideology so appealing in the first place). Second reason's simpler: Decepticons have to wear inhibitor chips. No thanks. They're the losing side.

Once on board the Lost Light he followed Rodimus' command fine despite Rodimus accusing him of murdering Red Alert without any proof. Then after he developed a relationship with Tailgate, he put Tailgate up on a pedestal and made Tailgate the center of his universe.

But then there's also this 🔽 after he thought Tailgate dumped him:

I don't even know what he's trying to do there😂

His lack of true conviction is evident in the little things too: he thinks it's unethical for Rodimus to perform mnemosurgery on Tailgate while he's unconscious and unable to give consent but drops the subject after Rodimus distracted him with fireworks. He thinks that mutiliating an enemy's corpse is appalling but doesn't say anything when Rodimus said they were going to use Skip's corpse as a shuttle to get off Necroworld. It's Nautica who raised ethical objections, not him. He's supposed to be really religious but when the guiding hand did their big reveal at the end of Lost Light, he got nearly zero lines because of compressed screentime except to argue with Epistemus over sending Tailgate into danger.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Cyclonus is essentially a go-with-the-flow sort of person. Nothing he holds is uncompromisable. Not his ideals, not his values, not his pride, not his faith. To an extent, not even his love for Tailgate, at least not completely, because he left when Tailgate told him to leave even when he suspected that Tailgate was lying about not loving him without making more of an effort to understand why. It all depends on the person he's hanging on to at the moment. And his choice of which leader to follow is ultimately based on self-serving reasons. This pattern is first broken when he turns on Galvatron, then fully subverted after he learns to love Tailgate as a sign of character growth.

He's not an intrinsically cruel or callous person. The way he learns to love Tailgate, befriend Whirl, and being kind and supportive to everyone when Rodimus left him in charge on the Necroworld are all attestments of his better nature. Water takes the shape of the container in which it's kept; surround him with people like Galvatron and Nova and he'll be their murder machine. Put him in the company of people who's mostly decent like the Lost Light crew and he'll grow into a compassionate person and a reliable friend.

[craftingcreatures]

Some sketchy concept stuff that I'm posting because I liked it but couldn't be bothered to refine it into an actual artwork.

These submarine behemoths are the Mermares (Clade Euhippocampiformes), secondarily aquatic descendants of the domestic donkey. The group first appeared around 29 million years post-cataclysm, in the late Nerian stage of the Diluvian period. They evolved from an animal called the Seabra, a descendant of the Donkey which adapted to exploit a niche with, thus far, zero competition - that of a large marine herbivore.

On earth, marine ecosystems are notable for the distinct lack of vascular plant life, a condition caused by a number of factors - most notably the osmotic stress caused by the saltwater. Most photosynthesis is carried out by algae. On Spero, however, things are different. Because Spero's oceans were generated relatively recently, from extraterrestrial ice particles, there just hasn't been enough time for erosion and the water cycle to deposit dissolved minerals in the water. As a result, Spero's seas are made of freshwater - a much more tolerable condition for most plants, and thus the diversity of marine vascular plants is much, much higher than on earth. Also, due to the flatness of the flooded landscape and lack of any real tectonic features, enormous swathes of the seabed lie within the photic zone, less than 200 meters from the surface. Thus, endless expanses of marine grasslands - the "seagrass prairies" - extend from the shore, often for hundreds of miles before the water finally gets too deep for photosynthesis to occur.

All of this plant life is an extremely attractive prospect for herbivores, and it was likely what drew the ancestral Seabra to forage in shallow coastal meadows in the first place. But as the oceans got deeper and life adapted, the Seabra had to adapt in kind - their hind legs rotated backwards to act as a pair of propulsive flukes, their forelimbs developed into steering flippers, and their nostrils retreated to sit on their foreheads.

One notable feature of the Mermares is hyperphalangy, a condition where the fingers have too many bones. It's very common in large marine tetrapods in Earth's history - whales and dolphins, Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and Mosasaurs all exhibited hypoerphalangy to some degree - and seems to be associated with the specialization of the limbs into flippers. We would expect to see similar patterns in marine lineages on Spero. What's unique about the Mermares, however, is the sheer number of extra phalanges in the finger; at least fifteen in the shorter-finned species, and more than thirty in the longest-finned forms. And because Mermares - being equids - only possess one digit per limb, the result is a single long chain of flat, squarish bones which, in some cases, can reach over forty feet long - the longest arms ever to exist.

These ridiculous appendages produce a lot of drag and are merely adequate for steering and stabilization. So why do the Mermares have them?

The answer is that they're weapons. And particularly devastating ones, at that.

Mermares use their flagellating flippers as bludgeons, against both predators and conspecifics. The flippers are connected to powerful neck muscles and can be swung forward with impressive force; combined with a well-timed twisting of the giant horse's torso, the huge flippers can impact hard enough to shatter bone and pulverize flesh. The flippers themselves do not escape unscathed, and older individuals often have scarred or mangled flipper-tips from numerous battles over the years; but it's a small price to pay for survival.

When not being used against their enemies, the flippers may be folded back against the sides of the animal to reduce drag, or used as props to keep the animal's belly up off the seabed when feeding. Mermares spend up to 18 hours per day grazing, using their long neck to crop aquatic grasses and other vegetation in a wide arc without moving their bodies and occasionally dipping up to the surface to breathe. Mermares are keystone species in the seagrass prairies; as hindgut fermenters, they are not as efficient at processing plant matter as ruminants like goats, and produce large amounts of nutrient-rich dung which acts as fertilizer for the meadows and helps keep the environment productive. The dung also acts as food for a variety of fish and invertebrates.

Let's look at some of the Mermare's diversity, shall we?

Drepanarion (center right) One of the smaller Mermares, Drepanarion nonetheless grows to nearly 12 meters (39 feet) long. It is immediately recognizable by the bold black-and-yellow striping on the heads and necks of the stallions, and by the tall, narrow nuchal crest which extends from the withers and makes the stocky body look even more powerful. Unlike most other Mermares, which live in small groups of less than ten individuals, Drepanarion can be found in herds of over a hundred in the seagrass prairies of the Savanian (41 - 50 million years post-cataclysm). These nomadic throngs graze patches of seagrass nearly to the roots before moving on, giving the ecosystem time to regrow before returning in a few years' time. Drepanarion exhibits the most extreme sexual dimorphism of any Mermare, with stallions being both larger and more brightly coloured than mares; during the annual rut, males will fight each other in brutal bludgeoning matches to establish dominance and secure mates. To this end, they have some of the most extreme flipper anatomy of any Mermare; though not especially long (indeed, they have the shortest flippers of any derived genera), each phalanx bone has a protruding bony tubercle on the anterior edge which extends into a keratinous knob. These knobs both protect the flipper during combat and focus the force of the blow into a smaller area, dealing more damage.

Hipposeidon (bottom left) First appearing in the early Imberian (50 million years post-cataclysm), Hipposeidon is the largest of all Mermares and, indeed, the largest animal ever to exist on Spero, with stallions regularly reaching over 24 meters (80 feet) long (mares are slightly smaller). Extremely large specimens may even reach 30 meters (100 feet), although this is rare. This ludicrous size - nearly rivaling even the mighty Blue Whale of Earth - is possible only due to the sheer abundance of its food. Hipposeidon appears at the height of the seagrass prairie's extent, and can pack away almost 900 kilograms (1900 pounds) of seagrass per day. This superlative food requirement has important consequences for Hipposeidon's behaviour; this animal is migratory. Seagrass prairies are extremely productive ecosystems, but nonetheless Spero is a seasonal world; as the summer growth gives way to the winter die-back, the greatest of the Mermares must migrate across the equator to seek out a continuous food source to fuel its immense bulk. In this way Hipposeidon experiences a perpetual summer, interrupted only by the biannual migration from north to south and back again. Female Hipposeidon are pregnant for about one year, timing the birth of the single large foal with arrival to the feeding grounds; the six-meter-long foal enjoys a long childhood nursing and playing in shallow summer waters, gathering strength before making the long swim across the barren tropical zone to pastures new.

Bathypegasus (top left) The last and possibly the weirdest of the great Mermares, Bathypegasus is the only member of the clade which is not a grazer. Instead, it is a specialist feeder on pelagic, free-floating ferns. These ferns are a seasonal bounty, growing in huge numbers in the tropical summers of the late Imberian (60 million years post-cataclysm), where the planetary ring system shades out large portions of the planet for half the year. A close relative of Hipposeidon, Bathypegasus has left its ties to the seabed behind, becoming a fast, powerful swimmer which spends most of its life far above the sea floor. Its flippers have adapted to be even more ludicrously long - the longest forearms of any animal, ever, with each one measuring nearly 14 meters (45 feet) in length and each containing at least 35 individual bones. No longer used to prop the animal up off the seabed, these whiplike flippers are narrow and streamlined and can be whipped through the water at speeds of nearly 20 meters per second (that's over 40 mph) - the most extreme weaponry of any Mermare, and used to great effect against predators. Bathypegasus, like Hipposeidon, is migratory, following the blooms of pelagic ferns across Spero's oceans. Thanks to this midwater diet it is the only genus of Mermare to survive past the mid-Imberian extinction, when rising sea levels and steepening coastal slopes caused the seagrass prairies to disappear. Bathypegasus finally died out in the Ultimoxerian stage, around 75 million years post-cataclysm, the last and weirdest of the giant marine horses.

[nasa]

The Artemis I Mission: To the Moon and Back

The Artemis I mission was the first integrated test of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and Exploration Ground Systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We’ll use these deep space exploration systems on future Artemis missions to send astronauts to the Moon and prepare for our next giant leap: sending the first humans to Mars.

Take a visual journey through the mission, starting from launch, to lunar orbit, to splashdown.

Liftoff

The SLS rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launched on Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The world’s most powerful rocket performed with precision, meeting or exceeding all expectations during its debut launch on Artemis I.

"This is Your Moment"

Following the successful launch of Artemis I, Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson congratulates the launch team.

“The harder the climb, the better the view,” she said. “We showed the space coast tonight what a beautiful view it is.”

That's Us

On Orion’s first day of flight, a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays captured this image of Earth.

Inside Orion

On the third day of the mission, Artemis I engineers activated the Callisto payload, a technology demonstration developed by Lockheed Martin, Amazon, and Cisco that tested a digital voice assistant and video conferencing capabilities in a deep space environment. In the image, Commander Moonikin Campos occupies the commander’s seat inside the spacecraft. The Moonikin is wearing an Orion Crew Survival System suit, the same spacesuit that Artemis astronauts will use during launch, entry, and other dynamic phases of their missions. Campos is also equipped with sensors that recorded acceleration and vibration data throughout the mission that will help NASA protect astronauts during Artemis II. The Moonikin was one of three “passengers” that flew aboard Orion. Two female-bodied model human torsos, called phantoms, were aboard. Zohar and Helga, named by the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) respectively, supported the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), an experiment to provide data on radiation levels during lunar missions. Snoopy, wearing a mock orange spacesuit, also can be seen floating in the background. The character served as the zero-gravity indicator during the mission, providing a visual signifier that Orion is in space.

Far Side of the Moon

A portion of the far side of the Moon looms large in this image taken by a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays on the sixth day of the mission.

First Close Approach

The Orion spacecraft captured some of the closest photos of the Moon from a spacecraft built for humans since the Apollo era — about 80 miles (128 km) above the lunar surface. This photo was taken using Orion’s optical navigational system, which captures black-and-white images of the Earth and Moon in different phases and distances.

Distant Retrograde Orbit

Orion entered a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon almost two weeks into the mission. The orbit is “distant” in the sense that it’s at a high altitude approximately 50,000 miles (80,467 km) from the surface of the Moon. Orion broke the record for farthest distance of a spacecraft designed to carry humans to deep space and safely return them to Earth, reaching a maximum distance of 268,563 miles (432,210 km).

Second Close Approach

On the 20th day of the mission, the spacecraft made its second and final close approach to the Moon flying 79.2 miles (127.5 km) above the lunar surface to harness the Moon’s gravity and accelerate for the journey back to Earth.

Cameras mounted on the crew module of the Orion spacecraft captured these views of the Moon’s surface before its return powered flyby burn.

Heading Home

After passing behind the far side of the Moon on Flight Day 20, Orion powered a flyby burn that lasted approximately 3 minutes and 27 seconds to head home. Shortly after the burn was complete, the Orion spacecraft captured these views of the Moon and Earth, which appears as a distant crescent.

Parachutes Deployed

Prior to entering the Earth’s atmosphere, Orion’s crew module separated from its service module, which is the propulsive powerhouse provided by ESA (European Space Agency). During re-entry, Orion endured temperatures about half as hot as the surface of the Sun at about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). Within about 20 minutes, Orion slowed from nearly 25,000 mph (40,236 kph) to about 20 mph (32 kph) for its parachute-assisted splashdown.

Splashdown

On Dec. 11, the Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California after traveling 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km) over a total of 25.5 days in space. Teams are in the process of returning Orion to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once at Kennedy, teams will open the hatch and unload several payloads, including Commander Moonikin Campos, the space biology experiments, Snoopy, and the official flight kit. Next, the capsule and its heat shield will undergo testing and analysis over the course of several months.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[the-ace-with-spades]

Bradley was a total loser in high school but in the way that he was still liked by everyone. He was all over the place, playing baseball, doing theater (mostly musicals...), and keeping up with all the 'nerds' in his year in maths and physics, a mathlete, all to make himself a good candidate for the USNA. He'd also go to youth military camps during summer and worked a part-time job since he was a sophomore.

Everyone at school knew of him, but he was so closed off that he was a mystery to many, which in turn made him have close to zero friends, but people liked him and he was never bullied. This was partially due to being too busy to have friends, partially due to him being afraid to bring friends home (because of Mav and Ice's secret relations...) and partially because Bradley had a hard time making friends in general — he's been moving around a lot as a kid and often had to swap schools mid-semester but also had more trauma and issues than your average kid.

And a lot of the kids who did try to befriend him were intimidated —Bradley was a chill, friendly, and nice guy on the surface, very talented as well, seemed not to care about other people's opinions and just did his thing, but then the minute you learned more about him, he was intense. He had his whole life planned already in a way most teenagers do not — chose his college, chose the job he wants, has been preparing for it for years already. Military camps, pilot licence, science on a level suitable for aerospace engineering, multiple side hobbies, all successful, deep knowledge of the military and political scene, all before he even finished high school. To the kids who learned more about him he was cool, but in the 'he seems like a future legend' way, almost too picture-perfect. It was very isolating for Bradley but also something he carried into adulthood out of haplessness — he can be the heart of the crowd, but he's never close with anyone, opposite of an open book, always trying to do his own thing while trying to not care about what others think (this has also been exaggerated by what Mav did to his USNA application...)

Jake was from the popular crowd but a lot of people only pretended to like him. He was the football star and had pretty good grades, took part in the debate club and also volunteered with their church — in their small town, he was the perfect golden child. Every parent wanted their kid to be like him. A lot of people only befriended him because they thought being friends with him would also put them on the same pedestal and were pretty fake, disliking him behind his back.

On the inside though, he was just the local farmers' boy who always gave all of himself to others, no matter what it was. His humility was genuine at the beginning but when everyone questioned him and called it fake, he started to have an attitude just to appease everyone's expectations and not be eaten alive. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life but he tried to give his best whatever he wasn't doing — so a lot of the things he did were what he felt was expected of him. He's tall and athletic, their football team is good — he should join. His dad never finished high school and wanted his kids to have a good education — so he tried his best to make him proud. His mama ran the local book club and helped the church and their pastor almost every day — he should show that he inherited some of her leadership and good, god-lead heart. It even went to a point where he knew he wasn't interested in girls at all, but felt like he had to try because that's what teenage popular boys do — they date, they hook up, they have crushes.

Choosing to go USNA and deciding he wanted to be an aviator was the first thing he did for himself (after letting himself develop a fascination with flying and planes first) and so many people were disappointed with him — so many people said he was wasting his potential, a career in varsity football, any other potentially well-paying, respected jobs he could get if he went to a good college and not joined the military. Every single adult discouraged him from it, telling him how he's not going to do well and how he had more options than almost all of the kids in their town. Even his own parents were, well not unsupportive but also not very supportive. His dad who had been drafted, openly discouraged him from joining the military and often said he should not waste all his hard work.

(The above was brought to you by a fic idea: Bradley didn't go to his high school reunion but when Jake gets an invite for his, he feels like he needs to go to prove something to himself - that all the people who said he's wasting his potential and who pretended to like him to be in the right social circles were wrong and that he's happy and satisfied with his life.

He and Bradley are together at the time and he decides to take him as his plus one. This proves to be another challenge — taking his boyfriend to his small, kinda homophobic town, and trying to fight off the reality and judgment from all the people he's always wanted to please and prove something to.

Especially since Bradley doesn't completely understand why Jake wants to do it — he can see how badly it's affecting him and he just doesn't get the point of doing something or interacting with people who make Jake feel shitty about himself. He's conflicted between being supportive and calling Jake out on how self-destructive and pointless the whole reunion is for him.

Also: Jake's parents and Jake's ex-girlfriends. Disaster waiting to happen.)

[lemotmo]

What do you think the chances are that BT is actually endgame

Thank you for the interesting question Nonny. 😊

I've had some time to think about this and honestly?

Zero chances.

If you had asked me this question right after episode 7x04 had aired, I would have hesitated to answer this. I would have maybe said that there was a 20% chance, because we didn’t really know in what way they would develop Tommy as a character. The main question was whether or not he would only stay as a part of Buck’s arc or if he would get his own storyline.

Having watched the rest of season 7 and knowing what we know now? I can confidently say: ‘Nah, not a chance.’

And there are many reasons why I’m so confident about it:

The way that 7x04 was in essence not about Tommy at all, but all about Eddie. It was confirmed that this episode was shot from Buck’s point of view, so that makes it even more obvious that he was very conflicted on Eddie’s new friendship with Tommy and how Eddie almost seemed to shut him out of that friendship. Even more, Tommy essentially took Eddie out on ‘dates’ and I can’t help but wonder if subconsciously Buck was afraid that Eddie would be interested in Tommy instead of him. He then, in true Buck-style, proceeded to do some foolish things and got his emotions all mixed up. Tommy saw a chance and took it by kissing Buck.

And I’m sure Buck liked that kiss and developed a crush on Tommy. Otherwise he wouldn’t have made an effort to reconnect with him after that failed date. So I’m not saying Tommy doesn’t matter to him or doesn’t have an important part in his story. All I’m saying is that Tommy was basically the wrong guy at the right time.

The interview Tim did about Tommy wasn’t all that promising either. In it he said something about not expecting wedding bells for them and that it was just an entry level relationship. In other words he was warning the audience to not get too attached, because Tommy wasn’t sticking around. At the same time it was revealed by Lou that he was only going to do a few episodes and that originally he was supposed to kiss Eddie. Which is interesting, because it tells us that they were discussing getting Eddie out of that closet. But ultimately they decided on Buck first. Which was the better way to go in my opinion.

Tommy was hardly in the rest of season 7. The main reason for that was that he was introduced as a plot device in Buck’s narrative arc and he fulfilled that function just fine. Basically he only showed up to further Buck’s storyline and that was it. Even that hospital kiss was in function of having Buck come out to his family without making a big deal about it.

He also wasn’t always portrayed as the nicest guy who we should all root for.

First Tim made the decision to choose the man who made Chimney and Hen’s lives worse when they started out at the 118. Which is an odd choice if you ask me. Why would you choose the guy who was obviously a bully to become another character’s love interest? The answer to that question is easy: Because you want to make sure that people remember that this -on the surface- seemingly nice and agreeable guy who helped Hen to save Bathena, has kind of a shady past.

And this showed again and again in the show itself. The way Tommy abandoned Buck during a date and left him standing on the sidewalk as he drove off? The way he was always dismissive of Buck’s interests and used this very sarcastic -almost negative- humour on moments when Buck really could have used some support. Don’t even talk to me about that scene in the finale where he once again deflected Buck’s worry by making THAT joke at such a bad time.

I know deleted scenes aren’t really canon, but -in my opinion- they released that Tommy & Henren scene to, once again show us that Tommy really isn’t invested in his relationship with Buck. The fact that Hen and Karen were suspicious and didn’t trust him, is also notable. We as the audience were meant to see and share their concern.

The way that Oliver doesn’t acknowledge the relationship either speaks for itself. He has once said that he stopped talking about Buddie because, at that time it wasn’t an option because of FOX, and he didn’t want to lead people on.

Right before season 7 Oliver started talking Buddie to everyone who wanted to listen. There was so much promo with Ryan as well. But he never mentioned BT as anything that has a future. He mostly talks about Buck’s bisexuality and leaves Tommy out of it. He doesn’t engage with anything BT related. So to me, there is the possibility that he doesn’t want to lead people on.

The few times he did talk about Tommy it was in the same way he talked about Taylor and Natalia. Generic things to keep people interested, but we all know what happened to Taylor and Natalia, so…

The way the show does absolutely no promo for BT whatsoever is also very obvious. If they had really wanted to push BT, they would have made Oliver and Lou do extensive promo through interviews, photo shoots, magazine articles… all of the things to get them noticed. Kinda like with the actors that play TK and Carlos on Lone Star. There was none of that for BT. Yeah, one single really awkward interview where they didn’t even talk more than a minute about the show. That doesn’t count.

Oliver did do quite a lot of interviews after 7x04, but all of those were centred around Buck’s bisexuality. Tommy was hardly even mentioned. You know who was mentioned in those interviews? Eddie. A lot of these interviewers asked about the chances of Buddie happening. I think Oliver navigated those questions really well, not giving anything away, but at the same time hinting that there was a chance there if the story was told right.

Personally, I am convinced that Oliver and Ryan got the get-go on Buddie last season. But they were also told that the road towards Buddie wouldn’t be linear. They threw a new male love interest into the mix to help Buck realise some things about himself. And I do believe that season 8 will be about Eddie’s personal journey to figuring out who he is and figuring out his sexuality. I don’t think they will give Eddie a new love interest though. I think they might just make him realise he feels more for Buck than friendship and that will be the beginning of him questioning all of his life choices.

As for Tommy? I can see him in another episode or 2 in season 8, to close the arc for Buck’s narrative. But I don’t expect anything more than that.

However which way you turn it, the story will always end up with Buddie together.

Okay, now will everyone please remember that this is only my opinion and my own point of view. None of this is set in stone. This is the way I think it might go. But it could turn out different in many ways. The only thing I’m almost absolutely certain about is that BT isn’t going to last very long in season 8 and that the end goal will always be Buddie.

Also, don’t come into my inbox to hate on me over this. This is literally me talking and speculating about fictional characters on a TV-show. It isn’t all that deep. These people aren’t real. I’m allowed to have opinions about them, even if those opinions go against all of your opinions. If you don’t like reading this, just move on and go read posts that you do agree with. Life is too short to get angry and frustrated over the love life of fictional characters that live in a fictional world. Thank you.

[orbch]

people talking about analogical and being like “their identities balance each other out really well” and im like NO KIDDING!!!! 😂🤣

anways heres an essay about their storylines and how they mirror each other

(everything im about to say is very mentally unconstructed and thought up in a 3am haze. and also i feel like all of my thoughts abt sasi are stagnant and surface level so please argue with me if you think im wrong..) (also these ideas have likely already been written a bajillion times. but let me do it anyway LOL)

^ with that being said i feel the need to set a definition on what makes sasi sides “dark sides” and “light sides” because like,, to me the only difference between them is the means in which they get the rest of the sides to listen to them

obviously.. none of the sides are actively trying to be evil. or trying to hurt cthomas on purpose. OBVIOUSLYY. because why the hell would they want to do that? they are all literally That Guy, and all of the sides have their own personal goals for thomas that they want him to follow. this is like. the plot. and very known information..

but remus, janus, and formerly virgil are the “dark sides”… like what? because janus manipulated and pretended to be the other sides because thats the only way he could get the others to really listen to and consider his ideas of self preservation and prioritization? and virgil would actively terrorize the others and thomas to get him to be anxious about the stuff virgil believed it was IMPORTANT for him to be anxious about? and remus. listen remus is a whole lot of “being awful for the sake of being awful” but evidently in DWIT he has a strong attraction to the idea of infamy and legacy. so even he is sort of looking out for thomas in. uhm. his own way i guess…

so obviously we know virgils storyline was;

purposely scare the others to get them to see situations from his point of view -> always get insulted and pushed away for being a “pessimist” (its his entire purpose) -> “duck out” and leave thomas and the others to discover the negative affects of zero anxiety -> only after that, finally become recognized as an important aspect of thomas

tw: mention of suicide [not in detail] (and on that note, i think its a little morbid that the light sides only fully realized virgils worth and objective after he attempted the sanders sides equivalent of suicide (which you can NOT convince me isnt what the concept of “ducking out” is. they are all metaphysical personifications of instinctual human traits. what the hell are they gonna do? become real and walk out of the house? bffr))

and whats logans journey?

be considered the [reasonable problem solver] of the group -> be placed in a MULTITUDE of situations where the range of solutions are emotions v. emotions v. emotions and suddenly be considered “cold hearted” and “uncaring” for your objective view points -> get excluded from discussions and ignored when you try and help in the only way you know how -> ???

i (and most of the fandom) fully believe logan (ESPECIALLY after WTIT) is going to start resorting to some pretty drastic measures to be acknowledged by the rest of the sides + thomas. some actions that are likely incited by a “dark side” (nudge nudge the orange guy nudge nudge). and if the harshness of the measures he takes in order to be listened to is all it takes for the rest of the dark sides to be considered “dark sides” in the first place. then uhh well… well!!!

but anyways yeah. yeah. logan and virgil kinda have mirrored character development and that is so fucking interesting. virgils path from dark to light and logans path from light to dark… sighhh.. good stuff

[nicole-timey-wimey-stuff]

could i request some redemption negan x reader angst? where r gets hurt and is carried by him to safety.

Here we go anon I hope this is ok, sorry it took so long to do!!

I’ll Never Let This Go

Negan Smith x Fem Grimes reader

Synopsis- Season 10-11 Negan, during his redemption arc. There’s always been something about you, even when he first met you at Alexandria to collect ‘payment’ he knew he couldn’t ever do something to hurt you. Developing an all too obvious soft spot for you, the thought of you is always plaguing his mind. After his empire falls and his life resides to the four walls of his cell, his soft spot morphs into a friendship that all too quickly on his side turns into deep feelings. Feelings that are in his mind definitely unrequited, how could you ever love a monster? But when you’re hurt everything bubbles up to the surface.

Warnings- Angst, injuries, talk of death, Negan is a warning himself, feelings, confessions, arguments, hurt, comfort, bad language, walkers. Reader has endometriosis and painful periods, comfort. Large age gap reader is 23 at the start of this and 30/ 31 by the end. Negan obviously in early - mid fifties by end of jail era. Maggie and Negan drama, happy ending, Barely proofread sorry! (Not quite story line correct but close ish)

Word count - 6.7k (sorry it’s LONG!)

Based very loosely on the Paramore song.

Maybe if my heart stops beating

It won't hurt this much

And never will I have to answer

Again to anyone

Please don't get me wrong

Because I'll never let this go.

_______________________________________

The first time Negan came to Alexandria he spotted you, a new face he didn’t see at the line up. And you…. Well you were completely unbothered by him. Walking over to you he wore his signature grin “Can I help you?” You asked incredibly sarcastically, “Yeah I was wondering why I haven’t see your pretty face before? You weren’t there that night were you?” He probes, “Nope I was here watching the children, I’m sorry is there something you need or can I go back to what I was doing?” You ask clearly giving zero fucks to who you were talking too.

Everyone stopped and waited for him to lose his cool with you, but in all honesty he was impressed. No one had ever been so unfazed by him before and it was kind of refreshing. “No no you carry on sweetheart, I’ll see you next time” he replies smug smile still on his face as you walk off.

That day started something between you both, a sort of bantering, love to hate relationship. Every time he’d come to Alexandria he’d make sure to come and pester you, “There’s my favourite girl! I didn’t see you in your usual spot sweetheart, you hiding?” He teased, rolling your eyes you turn to him “No I have a job to do here, strange as this may sound to you Negan but, the world doesn’t evolve around you” you sass before walking off, following behind you he carries on “Ouch you wound me baby, I thought at least your life evolved around little old me?” You sigh “No unfortunately not, but hey don’t you have a groupie of wives to big your ego for you?” You snap now getting fed up.

“Yeah but it’s always so much sweeter coming from you darlin’” he grins. “Yay for me” you sass. He cages you against the wall then, your breath hitching as he does. He stares down at you, you hold his stare “I’d watch yourself sweetheart” he growls, “If you were going to kill me Negan, you’d have done it by now, but go on prove me wrong” you offer, pushing yourself closer to him. He steps back “I’ll see you next time” he grumbles before stalking off.

You didn’t let his warning deter you though, when he came back with Carl you were already in the house, watching over Judith. “Carl where the hell have you been!!! I couldn’t find you anywhere…. Oh” your rant trails off when you spot Negan behind him, Negan told you everything that happened, and you glared at your nephew. “I’m sorry Aunt Y/N” he says hanging his head, “Auntie?” Negan asks, “Your Ricks baby sister huh? Now I don’t know why you never thought to tell me that?” He declares, “Well to be fair you never asked!” You reply, he nods at you carefully, “Touché, but no more secrets ok?”, “Fine” you huff.

_______________________________________

After the fall of his empire you were one of the ones helping patch him up. Being a first responder from before the world went to shit had its uses these days. You were kinder towards him that he others, gentler in your administrations. When he couldn’t speak, you’d sit by his bed and read the hobbit to him, you helped him eat and drink, snuck him painkillers. Before he could even notice, he'd developed feelings for you, he had always been drawn to you, but now, now he couldn’t go a day without seeing you or his chest hurt.

Once he was in his cell you were the one who brought him his meals, something Michone tasked you with as you were the only one not afraid of him, in these visits you’d also smuggle him in books and things to draw/write with. This is where you began your daily chats, and started building a real friendship.

He’d now been in his little jail a year, Rick was set on building his little bridge, and you would come down here to talk with Negan when your brother was driving you insane. Walking into the building Negan could hear your footsteps, something over the last year he’d learnt to pick up on. He knew when it was you now, so each time he heard the familiar sound he’d jump up to meet you, “Hey there sweetheart, it’s not meal time so what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” He asks.

“I’m escaping bridge talk before I murder my own kin” you grumble before sitting next to the left hand side bars, propped up against the wall, Negan joins you, sitting in the same spot on the other side of the bars. “Ah I see” he sighs watching your movements carefully, you seem agitated and the way your face scrunches up, you seem like you’re in pain too.

“You alright there sweetheart? You aren’t looking too hot” he asks, he’s worried about you now. “Yeah I’m fine” you grit out, “You really don’t seem it, come on what’s up?” He prods, hoping you’ll open up to him. “It’s a woman thing, don’t worry about it” you grumble. “Ah I see, are your monthly’s always this painful?” He asks. “Yeah, I have a condition that makes them this bad, it’s not life threatening or anything, just painful. It can stop you having children, but in this shit show of a world I doubt that’s a bad thing” you explain.

He frowns at your explanation, he doesn’t like the thought of you in pain, especially not every month. “They always been this bad?” He asks and you can tell he’s genuinely concerned, “No they’ve gotten worse over the years” you admit. “Anything I can do to help?” He offers, and you have to laugh at that, “I don’t think there’s much you can do from in there Negan, besides painkillers are rare these days, and like I said it’s not life threatening so I have to just get on with it.”

“You shouldn’t have to get on with being in pain darlin’, you really have nothing that helps?” He presses, “Heat helps but my hot water bottle burst so….” You trail off. “Heat?” He asks, “Yeah?” You reply confused, “Do you trust me?” He asks, “In theory yeah, but I’m not letting you out” you respond. “No I know that, but you trust that I wouldn’t hurt you yeah?” He asks almost timidly, you swallow a lump in your throat, you’ve always known he wouldn’t hurt you personally, it’s why he never hurt Carl.

“Yeah Negan I’ve always known that” you admit, “Ok turn around and place your back against the bars” he instructs, you were confused as to why he asking you to do it, but you shuffle round and do as he says anyways. His hand carefully snakes around your waist before slipping under your shirt, then resting on your lower stomach. His hand was oddly warm and you felt instant relief from your painful cramps, your head fell back into the bars of his cell, finely allowing yourself to relax. “Better?” He asks, “Yeah, thank you” you sigh, this was the most physical contact he’d had in over a year, and it was you! He allowed himself to bask in the feeling of holding you close, of feeling the warmth of your skin against his.

This soon became a usual thing, he’d tell just from your facial expressions when you visited, and your grumpy mood, he would just reach through the bars and place a warm hand on your lower stomach, you’d then carry on whatever conversation you were having, sometimes he’d just listen to you rant.

_______________________________________

A lot happened in the years following, you lost your brother, and now you were dealing with the whisperers, creepy fucking shits who are once again threatening your family. After a long day of trying to fix up the walls for a possible incoming attack, and talking battle plans with the council you were seriously tense and fed up. Knowing there was only one person who could make you feel better, you waited for everyone to filter back into their homes, and found your way down to Negan’s cell.

The jingle of the door startled him awake, jumping into a seated position he visibly relaxed when he saw it was you. “Hey Doll, it’s bit late for a visit isn’t it?” He offers, “Sorry am I disturbing you? I am aren’t I, I’ll come back tomorrow” you ramble off about to leave again, “Hey no no, please don’t go, you’re never disturbing me sweetheart, what’s going on?” He asks walking over to greet you.

“Been in council meeting all evening, they are deciding how to deal with the whisperers, and I think personally they are being stupid, they’re going to get us all killed” you sigh, resting your head against the bars in defeat. His hand strokes over yours before placing a quick chaste peck to your head, “Hey, it’s going to be ok. I won’t Let anything happen to you and Judith” he says with complete certainty in his voice.

“Uh huh, from in here yeah?” You tease, “Trust me I’d find a way” you look up at him with a small smile, “They did listen to my request though, you will be getting out daily, for work I’m afraid but it has to be better than this?” You explain, “Shit, yeah I’ll take it sweetheart, thanks” he says sincerely, “Your also allowed supervised showers too after, which is better than what you get in here also” you continue, “I sure hope it will be you supervising me shower?” He grins, “Negan! Seriously!” You exclaim, “Sorry, sorry” he offers holding his hands up in surrender, “From what I presume, someone will just be waiting outside the bathroom door for you.” You say, “I can live with that” he agrees, “Just don’t screw this up for yourself Negan, I want to see you get some more freedom, gain some trust.” You plead, “I’ll do my best doll, I promise” he agrees.

_______________________________________

A storm was coming in, the temperature dropping rapidly, you were helping secure the animals in the barn before you all took shelter. “Gabe, has someone collected Negan yet?” You ask, “No not yet, me and you can after we settle the horses yeah?” He offers, “Yeah ok” you reply, worrying about him in that freezing cell, “You care about him don’t you?” Gabriel asks, “Yeah unfortunately he’s managed to snare my friendship somehow” you reply, you know that’s not what he meant but you were not going there. Gabriel nods, “Ok let’s go get him while we can” your relieved at his words, more than ready now to get him to safety.

Sat in the barn everyone is watching the storm brew outside the window, “Jude come away from the window hunni, it’s freezing out there” you say, “Ok auntie y/n, but dog is out there, I hope he’s ok” she mentions sadly, “I’m sure he is sweetie come on” you offer pulling her in for a hug, then moving her over to the other side of the room for a drink and snack.

Gabriel watches Negan watch your every move, from his chained up position on the cot, with that obvious look of love and devotion on his face. “You know it’s never going to happen right?” Gabriel says walking over to Negan, “I don’t know what you mean?” Negan asks confused, “I mean you and her, I can clearly see you’re in love with her, and she may have befriended you now but she will never love you the way you want her too, she was Glens friend, she’s Rick’s sister, it’s never going to happen” Gabriel goads, smug look on his face when he can tell he’s hit a nerve.

He quickly rid his frown before giving Gabriel his signature smirk “Well if we are going there Gabe, your girl’s doc is also your girl’s baby daddy, which kind of begs the question, do you ever wonder what the hell was going on in there when she has her “appointments”?” Negan mocks, doing little quotation sign with his hands. “You could try to be a little less predictable” Gabriel grumbles, Negan smirks before saying “Aww Gabe that hurts, truly”.

You catch the end of what they were saying and started to walk back “Everything ok here?” You ask, looking between the two men, “Yeah sweetheart everything’s fine” Negan grins at you, “You know Negan, we’re all grown ups here, and none of us would ever let this ruin the longstanding friendships and mutual respect we have for each other” Gabriel declares, “Ok everything doesn’t seem ok” you say, still watching both men. “You know what? You’re right, that is a very mature attitude, Father…… not the father” Negan grins, teasing glint in his eye.

“Ok ok that’s enough, Negan please shut up or it will be a very long night!” You sigh, “He started it Princess!” Negan whines, you give him a pointed look, “I’m being serious he did, ok ok I’ll shut up” he huffs, “Thanks” you mumble plopping down next to him on the bed. Gabriel was right though you’d never love him the way he loved you, maybe if his heart stopped beating it wouldn’t hurt this much, he thinks, until then he’d just have to keep pretending that you weren’t everything to him.

After a funny smell turned out to be dangerous, everyone was shuffled out into the storm to find Aaron’s house, but after hearing dog bark Judith ran off in search of him. “Judith!!!!” You and Negan both screamed at the same time, “Shit!” You shouted before chasing after her, “Y/n!! Fuck, wait up!” Negan bellowed as he follows you, grabbing your wrist “We will find her together, stay close!” You nod at him before you go in search of your niece.

The whole thing was an ordeal, Negan fell and severely hurt his leg, you found Judith and dog though. You’d somehow managed to carry her back to Aaron’s while supporting Negan with your other arm. And finally you felt the rush of warmth as you entered the house, “Oh my goodness’ Aaron gasped running to help you and Judith into the house, leaving an ignored, limping Negan at the door, not that he minded Judith and you were his first priority too.

Once Judith was given the once over and declared ok, Siddiq worked on Negan’s leg the best he could until you could get to the infirmary. “Thanks for helping me get my niece safely back” you smile at Negan, “I told you before doll, I won’t let anything happen to you and Judith” he says, you sit down next to him once more, “We got lucky, everyone will be ok” you sigh, knowing how badly that could of went. He wraps his arm around your shoulders, giving you an affectionate squeeze.

_______________________________________

After that day things have gotten better, Michone thanked you and Negan for saving Judith’s life, and she happily gave him some more freedom. He worked outside, he was allowed to join for group meals, and he had better bathroom breaks, where he could shower, trim his beard/ hair etc. Although the threat that the whisperers posed was getting greater and greater.

Negan could tell you were panicking, it was written all over your face, you were constantly looking out to where Jude and RJ were, their safety always on your mind. You were uncharacteristically quiet, always lost in your head, and he didn’t like it at all. So when Carol let him out of his cell that night, on the mission of killing the alpha he didn’t think twice. He wrote you a note, leaving it in his cell for you to find, and he hoped you’d understand, if not understand then maybe one day forgive him. But he had to keep his promise to you, and that was to always keep you and Judith safe, so that was what he was doing.

The next morning you brought Negan’s breakfast to his cell for him, only to be met with an empty room, only a small note left on the side of his bed with your name on it. Opening it up you read the worlds carefully,

Dear y/n

I know you must be upset with me leaving like this without telling you, but I promise it’s for the best. I will kill alpha, end the whisperers and in doing so keep my promise of always protecting you and little Judith.

I have to say this though incase I never make it back, here goes nothing.

I love you, like completely and utterly in love with you, and I know you could never feel the same way about me, I’m a monster I know that. But I had to tell you, so without any expectations I love you, and I will continue to love you until my last breath.

Negan xx

You gasp, tears stinging your eyes, when you heard someone clear their throat behind you. “Rosita what happened? Who let him out!” You demand, tucking the note away in your back pocket it was for your eyes only, “I don’t know y/n I’ve only just heard myself” she admits, “Fuck he’s gone after the whisperers, he’s going to get himself killed.” You say, “Well it’s not our problem anymore, he’s made his decision, come on y/n Jude’s asking for you” she replies pulling you gently along.

Days you sat there watching the gate, praying he’d make some dramatic entrance, only to be filled with bitter disappointment every day. Everyone tiptoed around you not wanting to upset you further, when asked you told them “He’s my best friend” because in all honesty he was, and you were confused on how else you felt right now, you knew feelings ran deeper than that. But admitting you loved him was a big deal to you, so for now you just filled yourself with your own lies, everyone else bought it so why couldn’t you.

It was weeks before you saw him again, alpha attacked hilltop and everything fell into chaos. During the fight you bumped into Negan whilst out determining how many whisperers there were surrounding you, he was stood with alpha making plans on attack, wearing one of the masks. Your heart plummeted, had he joined them? Was he going to let her hurt you all? Did he even mean the words he wrote to you? When his eyes met yours you could see the pure panic in them, he instantly tried to direct Alphas attention elsewhere so you could escape unnoticed, so you did just that, snuck away into the night.

_______________________________________

Once you were back home in Alexandria Negan came back with Daryl with the claim alpha was dead, that he was the one who killed her. Daryl confirmed it was true and the rest of the council decided that they trusted him enough that he could stay with you in your home that night, until they reconvene in the morning to discuss Negan’s future at Alexandria.

You’d only nodded, allowing Negan to follow you back to your home, it hadn’t gone unnoticed to him that you were yet to utter a word. Hell you’d barely looked at him since he’d walked through the gates, every thought ran through his head, maybe you read his letter and felt repulsed, maybe you thought he’d joined alpha? He waited until you’d closed your front door before speaking “Sweetheart can you please just look at me?” He asks, his voice shaking. You look up at him with an expression that looked way to much like fear for his liking, “Doll what’s going on in that pretty head of yours, because you’re worrying me a little here” he offers.

“You were with her, plotting. We had kids in hilltop Negan, I was in there” you whisper, “No sweetheart I promise you I was trying to convince her otherwise! Please you gotta believe me, I’d never want kids hurt, and I most certainly don’t want anything happening to you! You’re everything to me!” He exclaimed. You nod with a sigh, “Are you going to tell me what happened then?” You ask, “Yeah ok” he agrees.

So he spent the next hour explaining everything that happened, how he got them to trust him, all the trials they made him do. How he showed alpha that it was gamma betraying her, that eventually he was trusted enough that he could put his plan into action and kill her. He told you that it was Carol who let him out to get revenge for her son, but that she went back on her end of the deal because he wasn’t fast enough. After everything he’d gone through, that made you sad for him, he should have gotten the recognition he deserved.

“So is that everything?” You ask, “No that’s not everything” he mumbles looking nervous and upset, this caused an unsettling feeling in your stomach, “What else happened? Are they planning an attack here?” You worry, “I don’t know in all honesty, if they do we will all face it together, but that’s not what I needed to tell you” he sighs. You motion for him to continue, “After I told her about gammas betrayal she wanted to thank me, said I deserved something to reward me for it. She told me to strip initially and I honestly thought she was going to kill me, but when I turned around she was naked too, she told me sleeping with her was my reward. But I said no, I promise you I didn’t sleep with her, I said it didn’t work anymore and that I’d appreciate her letting me off the humiliation of not being able to ‘perform’, but thank you for the gesture. Thankfully she didn’t press just said she was sorry to hear that.” He explained looking down at his lap like he’d cheated on you or something, “Negan you’re my best friend, not my boyfriend, you don’t owe me any explanation. You did what you had to survive, and I’m happy you’re back in one piece” you offer, not mentioning you knew about the letter.

“Yeah of course, ok well it’s late we should get some rest” he says, trying to hide how hurt he was over your comment. In all honesty the thought of him being intimate with that creep of a woman, made you feel sick, but you didn’t want to deal with these emotions today, you were exhausted and really just wanted to sleep this last awful week off. “Yeah you can use the spare room, its been empty for some time now” you offer, you didn’t have the heart to tell him it used to belong to Glen and Maggie, he was already down trodden and it would only make him feel worse. You showed him to the room, and gave him a clean towel and toothbrush, “Thanks sweetheart, good night”, “Night Negan” you reply before retreating to your own room.

Negan laid there that night thinking over everything in his head, had he miss judged your affection for him as something other than the friendship you’d spent years building. He thought maybe you had deeper feelings for him too, but feelings or no feelings he’d always be there for you, always by your side, because he’d never be able to let this thing between you go.

_______________________________________

Things didn’t stay calm for long, as the fight ended with the whisperers another started with the Reapers. The only good thing to come from it so far, was being reunited with Maggie. You’d been so happy to see her and Hershel alive and well, but this mission she had you all on into the city was a suicide mission. Not to mention the draining reality that she wasn’t even a little over her hate for Negan, which you understood, of course you did.

But it was making the environment toxic for everyone, they both bickered and argued constantly. Negan had argued that Maggie would do anything to see him dead, and that was her main goal of the mission. “I’m real close to shoving a gag in your mouth” Alden retorted, fed up with Negan arguing about the point of the trip, “Well, why don’t you get up on your little tippy toes and try?” Negan sasses back, cocky grin still plastered on his face.

“Ok ok, enough now! Alden shut up, Negan come with me before you push the lot of them into killing ya.” You sigh. Walking away you put your hand in his shoulder to offer some reassurance, “I won’t let you die Negan” you say, trying to call him a little. “I know sweetheart, but I’ve tried to make some amends with your community and it seems you are the only one who’s noticed” he sighs, “ I know, it takes time. Someday they will see you how I see you” you promised. He gives you a small smile, truth is he’s been thinking recently that maybe he’d be better slinking off into the night, leaving Alexandria and starting a new.

The only thing that holds him back is the thought of never seeing you again, he would struggle to move on away from you. Living with you in domestic bliss has been the best life has been in nearly a decade. Even if the arrangement is pretty platonic, too much so for his liking. Though cooking with you everyday, cleaning your home together and sharing movies cuddled on the couch each evening, that is the most joy he’s ever known. But being the most hated man in the community takes its toll, and began is starting to really feel the strain of it now.

Not only that, he hates how it reflects on you too. You always say you don’t care what people think of you, but he can see it on your face. You do care, you just care about him more, which in turn causes his stone heart to grow three sizes. Yeah leaving you was going to be absolute hell.

“Negan!! Are you listening to me at all?” You groan, “Sorry Darlin’ I was in my head” he admits, you sigh before taking his hand in yours, causing his heart to skip a beat like he was some lovesick teenager. “I will talk to her again after this run, let her know how far you’ve come ok, but until then I will not let anyone hurt you ok? You’re my best friend and my favourite person” you smile. “Yeah ok sweetheart, let’s catch up with the others yeah?” He replies, you nod in agreement.

After escaping the city, all of you were exhausted from your close encounters with the walking dead, and the last thing you needed was this! You’d unfortunately found yourselves in another run in with the Reapers, somewhere in the middle of woods, surrounded by the darkness of the night. Everyone was in a struggle with one of their members, but you and Daryl were taken by surprise, one minute you were fighting for your life, the next everything went black.

_______________________________________

Negan was beside himself, he couldn’t find you anywhere and he was starting to fear the worst. “I can’t find her anywhere!!!” He frets, looking to Maggie hoping she had any answer, anything at all. “I didn’t see where she went, but Daryl’s missing too, my best guess is the reapers took them, as I can’t see any bodies” Maggie thinks out loud. ‘Bodies’ that single word now terrifies him, the thought of loosing you makes him feel sick to his stomach.

“We need to find them now! I have to find her” he yells, eyes wide with terror. “We will, let’s regroup and make our way to their community” she plans. Negan nods not trusting his voice right now, he needs to hold you in his arms again, know that you’re ok and breathing. He can’t loose you, he just can’t, you’re his whole reason for existing now, he can’t live without knowing you are ok.

Approaching the facility they are inhabiting it appears well guarded, high walls, soldiers perched atop with guns. They would need one hell of a distraction if they were going to infiltrate the walls. “I have an idea” Negan says, “But you’re not gonna like it”.

Negan new he’d need this mask again one day, god did it stink now! He was trying to show Maggie how to round up walkers by using the mask and the walk. “Argh this is never going to work!” She growls in frustration, “Well not with that attitude it won’t” Negan teases, Maggie shoots him a glare, and if looks could kill, Negan would be six feet under by now!

“Look I know you hate this, but we both care about Y/N so I suggest we pull it together and god forbid get along for one moment, to save those we care about yeah? Then you can go right back to hating me” Negan suggests, voice laced with frustration, you were loosing time and he wanted you back alive, preferably in one piece.

“Yeah ok” she begrudgingly agrees.

_______________________________________

You on the other hand had woken up tied to a chair next to Daryl, watching him be on the verge of drowning every few minutes was horrific. Watching such a good friend be tormented by the woman he cared about, was heartbreaking.

“What about her?” One of the men said pointing at you, “I don’t really care what you do to her, kill her if you must” Leah shrugs. “Don’t touch her!” Daryl spits, this caused Leah to sneer at you, jealousy coursing through her veins as she realised Daryl cared about you. You knew it was familial but clearly she didn’t, you were like a little sister to Daryl, the one he’d managed to save after failing Beth. He couldn’t fail you too it would destroy him, after loosing Rick he’d stepped into that big brother role without you even needing to ask.

As if reading your mind he said “Touch ma little sister n’ I’ll kill ya” venom laced in his words. “Little sister? You must be y/n? I’ve heard a lot about you.” Leah hums and you can tell on her expression that she’s deciding what to do next. All thoughts in your mind halt when she pulls a sharp blade to your cheek, slicing through the top layer of skin, red trickle of blood sliding down your face. Daryl is fighting his restraints, feeling helpless that he can’t help you, you though you didn’t even flinch, watching her with a glare.

“Put them in a cell, I’ll decide what to do with them later” Leah demands, walking out of the room.

You let out a breath in temporary relief, all you wanted right now is to be back in the arms that make you feel safe. After everything you’ve been through in the last 48 hours, you’re not wasting anymore time if you ever see Negan again, you’ll just let yourself love him.

_______________________________________

It was night time before they managed to round up the walkers, marching them towards the gates of the Reapers home. Some of their group snuck off into the facility, to set the plan in motion of getting the walkers inside the gates. The whole things went by in a blur, and the end result was you and Daryl fighting Leah on top the walls ledge. Leah was ready to blow up the whole of your group, before she could light the explosives, you ran at her full speed! Knocking her over with a thump, this caused the wooden ledge you were both on to give out, sending you both her hurtling to the ground, as the ledge caved in on itself.

All Negan could do is watch in horror as the women he loved tumbled through the timber wreckage. He hastily ran towards you dodging bullets, walkers and incoming Reapers. That’s when Maggie saw it, he loved you, she never thought in her wildest days she would see the day Negan truly loved someone. She couldn’t even be mad, because it was you! One of her best friends, the person who could never be cruel to anyone, you’d do anything for anyone, everyone around you loved you.

She ran to help him, he was now frantically searching through the rubble, pulling wood and debris out of the way in a manic search for his whole world. Moments later he was joined by Maggie and Daryl who both helped him to remove enough crap out the way to pull you free. “Shit! Does she hav a pulse?” Daryl asked, Maggie moved her fingers to your neck searching, when she found it the steady thump thump, she relaxed “Yes” she smiled. “Thank god” Daryl breathed.

Negan cradled you in his arms, checking for any major injuries, your limbs were intact and there was only a small bump and cut to the front of your head. As he lifted your top he could see bruising already forming over your ribs, the timber must have fallen on them probably causing some broken ribs. He just hoped there was nothing internal going on, “Come on baby girl wake up for me, I need you to open those beautiful eyes for me sweetheart, I need to know you’re ok!” Negan pleads, but you’re still silent, limp in his arms. Tears streaming down his face he stands up with you still in his arms, “Ya need ta get her outta here” Daryl yells, while taking down walker after walker.

Negan nods knowing he’s right, and takes you out of the war zone, he just prays you’ll wake up soon.

By the time dawn breaks you’re all a safe distance from the wreckage, the Reapers had been defeated and you were on your way home to Alexandria. You were still passed out in Negan’s arms, unaware of everything that had transpired around you. “Ya want me ta carry her for a bit?” Daryl asks, aware that he’d been carrying you hours now. Negan just shakes his head, “No I’m ok” he says, moving a piece of hair from your face. Maggie watches him with deep curiosity, “You love her don’t you?” She asks, “Yeah, I do.” Negan sighs looking down at you again, tears filling his eyes as he sees yet more bruises forming over your face and body.

Maggie nods, “I never thought I’d see the day Negan Smith could actually love someone” she quips, “Well despite popular belief, I’m not a complete monster, I do know what love is. I do now also know what you must have felt like though, that day at the lineup, seeing y/n fall through that, well I thought I’d just lost everything. That was the worst feeling of my life, and I am sincerely sorry for everything I put you through. I understand now how you must have felt, and I wish I could take everything back I really do.” He admits sadly.

“I relive that night every day Negan, it tortures my very soul, and so I can’t forgive you I’m sorry but I just can’t. You fill my every nightmare, and my son must live every day without his father because of you.” Maggie declares, Negan nods in understanding, “No I get it, I could never forgive me either, but still, you deserved an apology” he says.

It goes silent for a moment while Maggie thinks out her next words, “As much as I can’t forgive you, nor will I ever trust you, I can promise I won’t kill ya or hurt you, on the only reason that I can’t hurt her, she’s been through enough. I care about her too much to do that, she’s been there for me when no one else was, she helped me through my pregnancy and delivered Hershel, if she chooses to be with you I’ll respect it.” She determines, Negan looks at her in complete shock, he never expected that from her, “But!” She starts, ‘Oh here it comes’ he thinks “If you ever hurt her! I will kill you! I will not hesitate, do you understand?” Maggie growls, “Yes ma’am” Negan replies, small smile gracing his lips.

_______________________________________

Waking up you find yourself back in Alexandria, you’re in the infirmary that’s one thing you’re sure of, looking to your side you see Maggie asleep in the chair, then you feel a lump on the bed beside you. Looking to your right you see Negan sat on another chair, his head in his arms on your bed, you break into a small grin, he looked so peaceful beside you, like his worries had all drifted away.

Sitting up slightly you feel a sharp pain in your side hissing at the sudden feeling you rouse them both, “Sweetheart your awake! How long you been awake you should have shaken me” Negan worries, “Just a couple of minutes, you both looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you” you answered honestly. “Well you should of” Maggie tsks, “How are ya feeling?” She asks, “Like I’ve been hit by a bus, how did I get back here?” “I carried you back, you’ve broken a few ribs, but otherwise it’s just a lot of bumps and bruises, Siddiq said you’ll be up in a few days, you’ve just got to take it easy” he explains.

“I’ll go find Siddiq, and give ya both a miniute” Maggie announces before leaving the room. “You two seem better?” You ask, “I wouldn’t say better, but we’ve come to an understanding” he admits, “That’s good” you agree. “Negan I thought I’d never see you again” you start “Hey it’s ok I’m here” he says “No let me get this out please, I need too” he nods “ok”.

“I never thought I’d see you again, I thought I’d die at that hell hole and I’d never get the chance to tell you that, I got your letter, I did and I was scared to tell you then but I’m not now, I love you too, I have for a long time I just didn’t know how to deal with those feelings and everything was so chaotic I didn’t feel like I had time to admit to them. But now I can, and if you’d still have me I’d love nothing more than to be yours and see where this relationship can go” he answers you by smashing his lips into yours, the kiss was passionate, loving and everything you’d hoped for now for years. “I’m all yours sweetheart, I have been since the moment I met you” he admits, you pull him in for another kiss, this one much slower but still just as passionate, he smiles against your lips thinking how the hell could he have gotten so lucky, he certainly didn’t deserve it, but you did, you deserved everything and he’d spend the rest of his life showing you just that.

[littlerosetrove]

I think the show is going to start doing better by Eddie in upcoming episodes, and I desperately hope I’m right. Some critical thoughts incoming because I just want better for Eddie.

My focus of this post is about Eddie being in a romantic relationship, although there are absolutely so many potential storylines to delve deeper into with Eddie. Trust me, I know. 

I do get why Eddie was with Ana, I do. That man was still repressing so much trauma for starters, and (even now) Eddie was also feeling pressured by society and his upbringing to “give Chris another mom.” It was something Eddie felt like he should do. And hooboy does Eddie still need to work on issues surrounding things he often feels like he “should” do. We all know that Eddie stuck it out with Ana far longer than he should have (Ana is guilty of this two, cause it takes two to tango). An apt description for Eddie is that he’s “the architect of his own misery.” ← Idk who originally said this phrase, but I got it from @yramesoruniverse, and it’s true. 

Speaking of misery. No matter how the show tried to paint it as something cute and good, there is nothing actually good about Marisol and Eddie. Let me explain and bear with me. 

Let’s be real. The show during 6B treated Eddie’s loneliness and his subsequent desire to date as a joke. Maybe not 100%, but even 1% is too much. That montage of Eddie going hiking, playing golf (??), and hanging out at a fucking country club (?????) to find a date? That was played for laughs. 

Now at one point, Eddie had a genuinely great heart to heart with Bobby. I can’t recall their conversation exactly right now since I haven’t rewatched season 6 since it aired, but I know Bobby basically said Eddie should find someone who will sit with him during the hard times (please correct me if I’m wrong).  

But then the show tried to frame Eddie running into Marisol - someone he met on a call - as this spark, this magical moment. Let’s remember that in season 6 Eddie was wistfully reminiscing on his and Shannon’s beginning and called it magic. And so again, the show tried to say, “Hey look! Eddie bumping into Marisol (no last name) is meant to be. This is magic!” Then we jump into season 7 where we’ve gotten no development on Marisol still, and zero development on their relationship, unless you want to call Eddie admitting to using Marisol as a babysitter as some development. Hell, we don’t even know how Chris feels about her. With all of this in mind, to me this just looks like Eddie had grabbed onto the first person he could so he wouldn’t be lonely. If the show wanted us to care an iota about Marisol or their relationship in any capacity, they would have. But they haven’t. And that’s just heartbreaking for Eddie. All they’ve given Eddie is a surface level, nothing of a relationship. 

It’s clear Eddie and Marisol are going to break up in 7x7 at the latest, and… for what? 7x5 will definitely have to do some backfilling on where and why their relationship isn’t going to work (it doesn't appear Marisol will be in 7x6). Even still, what was the point of it all?? Before anyone says it, yes Eddie is allowed to date, even casually, but GD there’s been nothing to grasp onto, you know? No reason to feel even remotely excited or happy that Eddie’s dating, specifically not with Marisol (and the actress is a shitty person) who ffs doesn’t even have a last name. Just having two attractive people in the same room does nothing for me, sorry. 

To try and conclude this, this *gestures at everything I just said* is why I want better for Eddie and Ryan. I really really hope we’re going to get something of substance for Eddie as a character. Yes it’s been great to see Eddie so much happier in season 7 (thanks to therapy, though he needs more, and Buck and Tommy lbr), but, and to stick with the relationship aspect of it all, I want better for Eddie. Idk if Eddie will have or needs someone like Tommy for himself, or if Eddie is just going to work on himself before the next relationship he’s in will be Buck. We’ll have to wait and see, but yeah…. Eddie just. deserves better. 

(this post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with @elvensorceress)

[mysticstronomy]

DOES QUANTUM GRAVITY EXIST??

Blog#389

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024.

Welcome back,

All the fundamental forces of the universe are known to follow the laws of quantum mechanics, save one: gravity. Finding a way to fit gravity into quantum mechanics would bring scientists a giant leap closer to a “theory of everything” that could entirely explain the workings of the cosmos from first principles. A crucial first step in this quest to know whether gravity is quantum is to detect the long-postulated elementary particle of gravity, the graviton.

In search of the graviton, physicists are now turning to experiments involving microscopic superconductors, free-falling crystals and the afterglow of the big bang.

Quantum mechanics suggests everything is made of quanta, or packets of energy, that can behave like both a particle and a wave—for instance, quanta of light are called photons. Detecting gravitons, the hypothetical quanta of gravity, would prove gravity is quantum. The problem is that gravity is extraordinarily weak.

To directly observe the minuscule effects a graviton would have on matter, physicist Freeman Dyson famously noted, a graviton detector would have to be so massive that it collapses on itself to form a black hole.

“One of the issues with theories of quantum gravity is that their predictions are usually nearly impossible to experimentally test,” says quantum physicist Richard Norte of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. “This is the main reason why there exist so many competing theories and why we haven’t been successful in understanding how it actually works.”

In 2015, however, theoretical physicist James Quach, now at the University of Adelaide in Australia, suggested a way to detect gravitons by taking advantage of their quantum nature. Quantum mechanics suggests the universe is inherently fuzzy—for instance, one can never absolutely know a particle's position and momentum at the same time. One consequence of this uncertainty is that a vacuum is never completely empty, but instead buzzes with a “quantum foam” of so-called virtual particles that constantly pop in and out of existence.

These ghostly entities may be any kind of quanta, including gravitons.

Decades ago, scientists found that virtual particles can generate detectable forces. For example, the Casimir effect is the attraction or repulsion seen between two mirrors placed close together in vacuum. These reflective surfaces move due to the force generated by virtual photons winking in and out of existence.

Previous research suggested that superconductors might reflect gravitons more strongly than normal matter, so Quach calculated that looking for interactions between two thin superconducting sheets in vacuum could reveal a gravitational Casimir effect. The resulting force could be roughly 10 times stronger than that expected from the standard virtual-photon-based Casimir effect.

Recently, Norte and his colleagues developed a microchip to perform this experiment. This chip held two microscopic aluminum-coated plates that were cooled almost to absolute zero so that they became superconducting. One plate was attached to a movable mirror, and a laser was fired at that mirror. If the plates moved because of a gravitational Casimir effect, the frequency of light reflecting off the mirror would measurably shift. As detailed online July 20 in Physical Review Letters, the scientists failed to see any gravitational Casimir effect.

This null result does not necessarily rule out the existence of gravitons—and thus gravity’s quantum nature. Rather, it may simply mean that gravitons do not interact with superconductors as strongly as prior work estimated, says quantum physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who did not participate in this study and was unsurprised by its null results. Even so, Quach says, this was a courageous attempt to detect gravitons.”

Originally published on https://www.scientificamerican.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, April 6th, 2024)

"HOW DOES A NEUTRON STAR FORM??"

[responsivethoughts]

The F-16 Fighting Falcon

Full power, liftoff and climb to desired altitude. A phenomenal, maneuverable flying machine, still the most favored aircraft to fly by many military pilots. Introduced in the '70s, the F-16 Fighting Falcon continues to be a cornerstone of many air forces around the world due to its exceptional performance, versatility, and relatively low operating costs.

It travels up to Mach 2, maintains a 350 mile (550 Km) battle radius, service ceiling of approximately 50,000 ft (15,300 m), and it climbs with the General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofan fully opened at a rate of 50,000 ft/min (15,300 m/min), so this "elevator" can take its passenger to 50,000 ft altitude in about a minute.

Many pilots prefer the F-16 Fighting Falcon for its design, performance, versatility, and technology. Its exceptional agility, thanks to aerodynamic design and fly-by-wire control, allows for precise handling. The powerful engine enables high speeds and impressive climb rates, making it effective in both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. The bubble canopy offers 360-degree visibility, and the ergonomic cockpit, with a side-stick controller, enhances comfort during high-G maneuvers.

As a multirole fighter, the F-16 can perform various missions and carry diverse weapons. Advanced avionics and a fly-by-wire system improve stability and maneuverability. Cost-effective and reliable, with over 4,600 units built, the F-16 is widely used and trusted. Extensive pilot training and positive experiences further solidify its preference among military pilots.

Although it is officially known as the Fighting Falcon, the General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16 is commonly referred to by the nickname 'Viper' - a name that was applied due to the popularity of the 1970s Battlestar Galactica TV series and its 'Colonial Viper' fighters.

An interesting and lesser-known fact about the F-16 Fighting Falcon is that it was the first production aircraft intentionally designed to be aerodynamically unstable. This design choice, known as "relaxed static stability," enhances the aircraft's maneuverability. By being inherently unstable, the F-16 can achieve quicker and more agile movements, which are essential in dogfighting scenarios.

The advanced fly-by-wire control system continuously adjusts control surfaces to maintain stability, allowing the pilot to focus on the mission rather than constant manual adjustments. This innovative approach marked a significant advancement in fighter aircraft design and has influenced many subsequent aircraft developments.

Due to its nimble design and capability, the Falcon can sneak in, low, over the terrain to key targets and objectives by evading discovery, thus maintaining a near-zero visibility by enemy radar equipment.

[akemiiya]

flowey would be banned from the kitchen. not because he doesn't know how to cook - he actually has a pretty good grasp on the fundamentals and do's and dont's for cooking, because he used to help his mom in the kitchen - but because he has zero patience. he always does things like cook on the highest heat when he shouldn't be, and ends up burning stuff a lot because of it.

he could cook well if he tried, but he doesn't bother because it's too time consuming. he's all about instant gratification, and he doesn't really need to eat anyways, so... yeah.

likewise, he sucks at baking because baking needs precise measurements. he doesn't have the patience to do all that, so he just shakes the bags of ingredients upside down a few times and ends up with wildly off measurements. (and he doesn't preheat the oven either)

you could have him hang around your shoulder and watch you cook and he would give you all kinds of useful tips and suggestions to make your food taste better. but don't let him do the cooking himself. frisk learned the hard way.

i think his character development on the surface would involve him restoring his attention span and becoming more patient with things, mostly with cooking and baking. this could start with him baking a pie for frisk's birthday or something. they're a little scared at first because he's not supposed to be in the kitchen, but when they take a bite they find out that it actually tastes really good, almost on par with toriel's. after that they push flowey to cook and bake more, and it just goes from there.

[studentofetherium]

this quote regarding the development of Fate/Zero feels quite telling for Type-Moon's use of real world mythologies in their story

they pull from that for the surface level and develop the rest using their own lore/story... and that's fine for things like european mythologies that are already heavily appropriated and watered down, such as Greek or British folklore. but, the problem begins once they started pulling more on cultures and mythologies outside of that, which is how we've gotten the numerous times that Fate/Grand Order has been quite racist in the way it pulled from non-European, non-Japanese cultures

like it's not a bad idea inherently, but Type-Moon has far outgrown being able to use this approach, both in ambition and the size of their audience