#x-2

[bigglesworld]

Bell X-2 Starburster being loaded into the belly of the Boeing B-50A Superfortressmothership

[coolthingsguyslike]

[ungoliantschilde]

Wizard Magazine # 140 by Frank Quitely

[weatherman667]

X/X-2 by CoreCyanX

[lonestarflight]

"Wreckage of the X-2 rocket plane was taken to NACA's High Speed Flight Station for analysis following the 1956 crash that killed Air Force pilot Capt. Mel Apt

The X-2, initially an Air Force program, was scheduled to be transferred to the civilian National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) for scientific research. The Air Force delayed turning the aircraft over to the NACA in the hope of attaining Mach 3 in the airplane. The service requested and received a two-month extension to qualify another Air Force test pilot, Capt. Miburn "Mel" Apt, in the X-2 and attempt to exceed Mach 3. After several ground briefings in the simulator, Apt (with no previous rocket plane experience) made his flight on 27 September 1956. Apt raced away from the B-50 under full power, quickly outdistancing the F-100 chase planes. At high altitude, he nosed over, accelerating rapidly. The X-2 reached Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph) at 65,000 feet. Apt became the first man to fly more than three times the speed of sound. Still above Mach 3, he began an abrupt turn back to Edwards. This maneuver proved fatal as the X-2 began a series of diverging rolls and tumbled out of control. Apt tried to regain control of the aircraft. Unable to do so, Apt separated the escape capsule. Too late, he attempted to bail out and was killed when the capsule impacted on the Edwards bombing range. The rest of the X-2 crashed five miles away. The wreckage of the X-2 rocket plane was later taken to NACA's High Speed Flight Station for analysis."

Date: November 21, 1956

NASA ID: E56-2685

[denimbex1986]

'Next week comes the strangest pairing at the multiplex we've seen in years. We're talking, of course, about Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer — together dubbed Barbenheimer — set to go toe-to-toe for box office dominance on 21 July. The former is a hot pink franchise comedy inspired by the iconic line of Mattel dolls, the latter a stylistically austere biopic about the invention of the atomic bomb. Such is the striking contrast at play, of course the internet (read: Twitter) was going to do what the internet does and meme the shit out of it: now, all anyone can talk about online is Barbenheimer, sucking attention away from other major summer releases like Mission: Impossible 7 and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Though this clash of cinematic titans might've been elevated to event prominence by the internet's collective love of ironic memedom, it's hardly the first example of diametrically opposed movies dropping on the same day. Fifteen years ago in the US, on 18 July 2008, cinemas were similarly split into two queues: the Batman enthusiasts on one side, clamouring to get into The Dark Knight and usher in a new superhero movie age; on the other, ABBA stans awaited a trip to the sunny isles of a fictional Greek island in Mamma Mia!. Had the internet grown beyond its cringey 9gag nascency by then, it might've been the original Barbenheimer. The Dark Mamma, if you will.

After all, there are huge parallels between the duelling duos. The Dark Knight was the dark and dreary, terminally serious Christopher Nolan movie. Mamma Mia!, the fun-loving “chick flick”, a jukebox musical for the gays and girlies to let their hair down with campy, sun-kissed escapism. Say you did the double bill back then: you could spend two-and-a-half hours with Christian Bale growling gravely under the cape and cowl, then it'd be time for cocktails on the beach with Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan. With Barbenheimer, it's another pitch-black Nolan flick where its male lead does a lot of broody staring into the middle distance, contemplating the deep evils now ushered unto the world, paired against Barbie, where men are Just Ken. For both Mamma Mia! and Barbie, it's hard to think of more colourful chasers to stave off Post-Nolan Depression.

The Dark Mamma, alas, never took off as Barbenheimer has. Indeed most people online, anecdotally, simply forgot that the two released on the same day, such was the broad surprise when viral tweets prompted by Barbenheimer brought new attention to the OG. (Here in the UK, they came out eleven days apart.) Little media coverage at the time pointed to the contrast, the most prominent article available on Google search being a Vulture piece from the week of release, the headline of which jokingly announced Mamma Mia! and The Dark Knight as battling “for the very soul of America.” Strikingly similar contrasts were zeroed in on: “Are you a happy person, or a sad one? Do you see the glass as half-full, or half-empty? Do you prefer your toast with strawberry jam, or do you like it sprinkled with shards of broken glass?” All ring true of Barbenheimer, too, only the question now isn't which, so much as which first. Shard sarnies, nevertheless, remain ill-advised.

Hollywood studios know exactly what they're doing with such stark counter-programming: the lack of demographic crossover suggests, on paper, that the movies won't eat into each other's profits, giving audiences a variety of options. In 2003, for example, X-2 was released into US cinemas on the same day as The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and in 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road roared onto screens simultaneous to Pitch Perfect 2. Barbenheimer is distinct in that we seldom get such a major clash of two big-budget summer blockbusters, nor a meme-propelled online movement spawning Etsy merch and Twitter stan rivalries. But that's the key thing, and the true movie-loving spirit of Barbenheimer: while we might joke about Nolan nuking Barbie's Malibu Dreamhouse, these aren't warring parties battling for audience supremacy. Much like The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! — which went on to be the first and fifth-highest grossing movies of 2008 — early projections suggest that both Barbie and Oppenheimer will both do pretty well for themselves. And there's only one winner when that happens: the movies.'

[cjrasmussen]

FFX-2 Acrylic Charm (2023)

[cerulean-city-gym]

i might spend my entire saturday playing Final Fantasy 👀

[xan-zenith]

This was the initial concept for planet X-2, a space station that built itself up into a planet of metal, glass, and fluorescent lights. I loved how this painting turned out at the time, but i do think it should be bigger and more planet-sized!

[airmanisr]

X-2 in flight after drop from B-50 mothership by NASA on The Commons Via Flickr: Description The Bell Aircraft Company X-2 (46-674) drops away from its Boeing B-50 mothership in this photo. Lt. Col. Frank "Pete" Everest piloted 674 on its first unpowered flight on 5 August 1954. He made the first rocket-powered flight on 18 November 1955. Everest made the first supersonic X-2 flight in 674 on 25 April 1956, achieving a speed of Mach 1.40. In July, he reached Mach 2.87, just short of the Mach 3 goal. The X-2 reached Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph) at 65,000 feet. Apt became the first man to fly more than three times the speed of sound. Image Number: E-2820 Date: September 27, 1957

[scottxlogan]

Can someone, anyone, write Scott and Jean switching places in X2 and 3 like taurielpirateking’s idea?!?!

I will throw this out here into the universe and see if there are any takers :) It's a fun idea worth exploring for sure. I'd totally tackle it myself, but at the moment I'm in doing 4 different bingos and have half a dozen WIPs that I'm pretty sure I should be working on so I'm going to throw the idea out there for anyone who might be interested in taking on the challenge. I would love to read it!

[distantsonata]

i am such a slut for the -2 sequels of Final Fantasy

[unhingemyheart]

Prime Video: So, Good Omens Season 2 

Neil Gaiman: Yes

Prime Video: What‘s the Story? 

Neil Gaiman: No story, just vibes.

Prime Video: Neil, we need a little more to work with. 

Neil Gaiman: Okay, do you remember Sister Theresa Garrulous and Sister Loquacious from Season 1?

Prime Video: Yes?

Neil Gaiman: They‘re in a coffee shop AU.

Prime Video: Aaaand?

Neil Gaiman: And they need to fall in love. 

Prime Video: But Neil what about Crowley and Aziraphale?

Neil Gaiman: Oh, don‘t worry. They‘re already in love. 

[weatherman667]

summer vacation by イシフ

[jhinthony]

season 3 predictions

yes this is just a "moon's haunted" joke what about it

blank versions bc i like the backgrounds

[ozziyo]

Tis but thy name that is my enemy.