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stevenose · 11 months

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☾₊ ⊹ reaching for the moon (18+)

pairing: steve x fem!reader with afab anatomy

contains: smut and a dumb amount of world building that was not necessary for this. set in 30s nyc, no hawkins. old money!steve; husband!steve; art historian!steve; not rich whatsoever!reader; they’re married your honor; steve’s parents (they’re the worst <3); slut shaming; allusions to bisexual steve; brief homophobia; soft!steve!!! he’s so damn soft!!!!; period typical everything lol

you might want to know: steve smokes and reader takes a drag; heated arguments which lead to some implied homophobia; reader wears an evening gown with a corset; car sex (info on said car here, for clarity sake)

author’s note: this is very heavily inspired by titanic 1997 (obviously) because it’s been rotting my brain. it’s very self indulgent but i’m hoping others like it!!

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It’s always the same. A party, an invitation in the mail, embossed with gold foil. Steve fuming because they could have walked over instead of paying for postage, or called him on the telephone. Each time both of you thinking it’ll be different, each time leaving with Steve’s wounded ego or anger levels at an all time high. You don’t know why you torture yourselves other than the fact that his mother will make a tremendous deal out of it when you don’t show up. She’s not above telling guests gossip of your marriage when you’re not around, just so it can get back to you and hurt you again.

Your issue lies with both of them. Steve’s issue lies with his father. Old, rich, stupid. Too well-known for being a lawyer for companies that should be shuttered and closed for violations and accidents. A union buster. And Steve’s biggest critic.

He never wants to hear about Steve’s studies or projects. His mind appears to me hyper-focused on Steve’s shortfalls - no military experience, no investments, married to a poor girl he met at a bar in Manhattan. Steve is everything his father detests, and vice verse.

To his credit, Steve tries, even when he doesn’t want to. He talks to his mother first while she stares at you like you’re venomous. She’s good at reeling in her disappointment. Steve’s her only child and you figure she doesn’t want to lose that. His father, on the other hand, is closer to Steve’s cousins - successors of big oil, engineers, military men.

You smile at her while Steve tells her about his recent trip to Florence, about the chapels and art. You’re wearing her diamonds around her neck. You know she wants to strike them from you. You’d say you clean up well, wearing one of the tens of dresses Steve’s purchased for you, custom made and tailored. Satin and lace and silk, only the finest. His mother thinks she can still smell alcohol and cigarette smoke on you. She detests your miserable background, how unladylike and uneducated you are, that you’ve worked where women shouldn’t and have done things she’d consider unforgivable sin.

“They’d mix pigments with egg -“

“Egg?”

“Right, yes, they called it tempura. And the pigments - Jesus, should’ve been there to see Giotto’s blue, so rich and -“

“Are you talking about those paintings again?”

Steve tenses and turns to face his father. Your face falls slightly.

“I am.”

“How much was that trip, anyway?” his father presses. He gives you a wink as if you’re in on the joke. “Certainly more than your engagement ring?”

You clench your fist within its satin glove. The gold, Art Deco band digs into your ring finger. Steve’s jaw tenses.

“Not a penny more,” he says cooly. He adjusts his suit coat. His adams apple bobs under the stark white collar of his shirt. “Not that it’d matter, right?”

And Steve’s now doing your favorite thing, where he’ll pretend he actually agrees with his parent’s ridiculous world views until they pick up on the sarcasm. Your eyes meet and the corner of your mouth lifts slightly, but you’re back to being stone faced a moment later.

“Of course not!” his father bellows, hitting Steve on the shoulder like he’s a long time friend and not his son. He looks at you now. For reasons unexplained, his father likes you. Probably for some perverted reason, you figure. “And how’d you fare without him at home?”

“Probably enjoyed company downtown,” his mother says.

“I did.” You look at Steve again, speaking to him with a language only you two understand. It’s okay. “Don’t worry. I hardly had ten glasses of beer.”

His father laughs loudly again, making guests crane their necks to look. His mother narrows her eyes at you but smiles curtly.

“How wonderful.”

“And you’re all right with him going off overseas?” his father presses. “To go look at crumbling paintings and enjoy boat rides in that dirty canal?”

“Not any dirtier than the city, I’m sure,” you say, now taking Steve’s arm in yours. His jaw is set. “Besides, I like hearing about what he’s seen.”

“Pity he couldn’t take you with him,” his father continues. “Surely there’s a reason for that?”

You tighten your grip on Steve to remind him to not talk. “I’d be too distracting, don’t you think?”

“Certainly,” his mother says.

“Not as distracting as your friends’ headlines, though,” Steve says suddenly. “I heard about your latest union bust. How many fatalities did the factory have? Ten? How noble of you to save them from equity.”

You bite your cheek and squeeze his arm again. His father’s mouth twists like he’s tasted something sour.

“Steven,” his mother lulls, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. It’s the only thing you both have in common, trying to keep him cool and calm. It never works.

“And who’d you hear it from if not me?” His father’s tone has shifted. It feels suffocating in the small circle you stand in. “Oh, those dirty men you fraternize with.”

His father’s preoccupation with dirty things is ironic.

“Did they accompany you to Italy as well?” He looks at you now, eyes boring into yours. “Did you happen to see the Statue of David? I heard Michelangelo had an interest in the bodies of men.”

You can feel the heat radiating off of Steve, the implication making him see red.

“Ah, of course, yet another thing you’d rather refuse to understand than empathize with.”

“We should -“

“I’d love to talk to you about sexuality, actually, father. How many half-brothers do I have again?”

His mother looks like she might faint, but his father smirks. It’s as if he lives for arguments with his son. Loves seeing how far he can push him, for no other reason but to be a bastard. It might be the only time he’s ever fond of Steve.

“We’ll get going,” you say weakly, tugging Steve along, and he’s happy as long as he has the last word. “Always a pleasure.”

“You’d know much about pleasure and vices, wouldn’t you?”

It’s the first time John Harrington has ever made a verbal slight towards you. You pause, just barely, and continue moving, but Steve whips around, eyes wild. “I’m sorry?”

His voice is rigid and loud. Guests crane their necks again but this time, they keep staring. You and his mother both grit out “Steve,” but he strides towards his father. You fear he might actually strike him, so you lunge forward, putting your arm between them.

“Surely something we have in common, then, Mr. Harrington.” You glance up at Steve, his jaw clenching and unclenching, face red. “Good night.”

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It’s cool outside. There are people on leisurely walks despite it nearly being so late. Steve’s still fuming beside you, toned arms flexing underneath his suit coat. He’s mumbling under his breath, then quickly whips around, heading back towards the door.

“I’m gonna-“

“Please,” you beg, grabbing onto his forearm. “Let’s leave it.”

“How?” he huffs. “How can I leave it? He was - he was - awful to you!”

“And he’s awful to you, too. What else is new?” You tug him, beckoning him with pleading eyes. “Follow me.”

He rolls his shoulders and tilts his head as he looks at you. He’s still fuming, nostrils flaring slightly, but all it takes is another little please? and he’s sighing, pulling out his cigarettes and a lighter as he follows you.

"The garage?” he asks, the white building coming into view. A billowing cloud of smoke follows. “What on earth do you want in there?”

You rip your gloves off and flex your fingers. “Indulge me.” You bump his hip with yours, trying to get him to smile.

Steve chuckles, easing up slightly, flicking the ash of his cigarette. "I don't know if committing vandalism is going to make me feel better this time."

“We aren’t vandalizing anything,” you promise. You reach for his hand and take a deep inhale of his tobacco. A needed stress reliever.

Steve seems a bit more giddy as you approach his father’s security detail. Steve’s known him since he was a boy. All he has to do is give a salute and a smile and you’re inside of the garage, door locked behind you, alone now with at least a dozen collectible cars and carriages.

"What do you have in mind, then?” he asks, leaning against the door. “Maybe we can use your heels to carve out some paint."

You step forward, taking the cigarette and throwing it on the ground before stomping it out with your shoe. You lean against him, hands pressed against his chest as you straighten his shirt. You’re looking at his neck as you speak. “Your father seems to think I’m somewhat of a whore.”

You don’t mean for him to get mad again, though it’s delicious when he is. “My father doesn’t have a clue -“

You interrupt, “So I reckon we make me one.”

His eyes widen, cheeks blooming red. "Oh?"

"Mmhm," you hum, and press your lips to his. He grabs you around the waist, fingers digging into your flesh, hidden by the satin and lace of your dress. Your lipstick smears as you move to the corner of his lips, then the stubble on his jaw, then up to the shell of his ear. "Pick a car and take me in it.”

“You - hold on,” he forces out, grip tight on you. “You aren’t a - a whore.” He says it like it’s scandalous, the worst word that could be uttered from his lips. It’s been thrown at him before, too. “You know that, right?”

You look up at him through your lashes. You can feel him starting to harden against your thigh. “Would it be such a bad thing if I was your whore?”

He swallows hard. “Do- do you want to be?”

You smile. “Pick a car before someone finds us.”

"Um." Steve forces his eyes open to look around. You begin unbuttoning his shirt while sucking a bruise into the delicate skin by his throat. He swallows hard. "Uh, the - the Renault.”

Your lips leave his neck so you can follow his gaze. You don’t know much about his father’s insane car collection, but you’ve always liked this one. Powder blue, gold accents. It’s like an upgraded horse and buggy, a large, enclosed carriage in the back with a bench for a driver at the front. It’s not very old, maybe twenty years, but it’s valuable and big and shiny and something his father prizes more than anything, including his own son.

“Plenty of leg room,” he explains sheepishly, and you smile, pulling him towards it. “Now, wait - wait - what’s the plan here?”

He’s so dense sometimes, but it’s because he wakes up everyday in disbelief that you’re laying next to him. The idea of undressing you and touching you seems so far fetched that many times he’s had to stop and think about it before engaging.

“The plan,” you say, swinging the door open and shoving him inside playfully, “is for you to have your way with me. And quickly, darling, we don’t have much time.”

Steve half-sits, half-lays down on the large bench, watching you as you duck inside and shut the door. He watches you with wide, adoring eyes as you climb on top of him, taking his hand gently. You pull it to your lips, kissing the pads of his fingers while he watches you intensely. When you look up at him, your stomach flips.

“My way with you,” he says evenly, “is to treat you like the angel you are.”

You smile and lay his hand gently on your chest. “Show me.”

His lips connect with yours softly. Despite the rush you’re both in, he still wants - needs - to take his time with you. He hikes your dress up as he kisses you, big hands caressing your thighs and ass. He sighs happily, pushing you down enough that you catch on the front of his dress pants, his cock pressing against your core. You gasp and giggle. “Excited?”

“As ever,” he promises.

You hold yourself up with a hand while the other struggles with the belt and buttons of his pants. He kisses down your neck, hot, open-mouthed. He latches on to a certain spot and you moan, breathing heavily into his hair.

“Need some help?” he murmurs, noticing your pause.

“Yes,” you breathe, eyes closing as he continues kissing along your exposed collarbone. You should be careful with your dress, taking it off and hanging it up, but Steve will just buy you another one. And another one. And another one. Anything your heart desires. Rich silk from Egypt, lace from Italy, hand embroidered and luscious against your skin. His life’s purpose seems to spoil you, as intended right now.

Steve finally frees himself, but you don’t have any time to stare. He’s quick to change places with you, laying you down on your back, pushing your dress and underskirt up. The material and color on your skin make him blush and growl lowly. The sliver of your corset that’s showing has him growing hard, too. They’re not always so comfortable for you, so you tend to wear them only on special occasions. And he’s keen on devouring you in only it after.

Neither of you are really expecting him to dive head-first between your legs, but you would never complain. His wet, warm tongue laves up your folds a few times before finally plunging in between them. You gasp and grab onto the seat, knuckles growing white. “Steve!” you cry, a hand curling into his hair, tugging on it.

“Worship you,” he mumbles into your skin, before forcing himself to pull back, chin slick. “I worship you.”

Your heart pounds. You’re at a loss. So lucky that you cannot possibly verbalize it.

Steve leans right back in, taking his sweet, non-existent time. “I- I hate to re-remind you, sweetheart,” you moan, fingers curling again, “but a-anyone could h-have! Have seen us com-coming in here.”

He hums, your back arching. He’s reluctant to pull away, but he finally does, coming back up to perch a knee on the seat below you. He’s quick to roll his sleeves up, muscled and toned forearms on view. Then he rubs his cock along your folds, both of you moaning. You tug at his shirt, now not so pristine, pulling him down to face you.

“Isn’t the idea to ruin the car?” he asks, smiling a little smug.

“Yes?”

“Then I’ve got to make a proper mess of you, don’t I?”

You burn. “You already have me melting.”

“Hmm. Let’s see what else I can do.”

When he pushes into you, it’s like the world stops. The only thing that matters is him above you. His hair tickling your forehead, eyes hazy and hooded, lip caught between his teeth. “Honey,” he groans, pulling a leg up over his hips to open you up, give him more access. His fingers dig into the fat of your thigh and he shivers at it. He always makes love like it’s the first time you’ve been together. Even during this quick romp, he’s taking his time, hearts in his eyes. “You’re incredible.”

“I love you,” you whisper, pressing your forehead to his. He slides in a little further. You wince and he kisses you gently, fingers moving towards your clit to take your mind off of it.

“I love you,” he mumbles. “So. God. Damn. Much.”

He’s sheathed fully in you now, both of you panting, sweating. The car’s windows are fogged. You can’t keep your lips off of each other as he sets his pace, languid and long, filling you up so completely it numbs your mind. Each thrust makes you gasp. His whines are low, but slowly become more high-pitched as he thrusts into you.

“Give yourself to me,” you whisper. “All of you.”

He would never deny you that.

Hips picking up, his thrusts get harsher. He’s chasing your high and his. Chasing away the thoughts of his father and his mother, of work, of anything except you. You, his angel, his promise that not all things in the world are so bad. Not when you’re with him. And certainly not when you’re writhing under him, your dress pulled taught over your tits, your lipstick smudged, mascara running.

Over and over and over, the thinks, The Divine is real. The Divine is real.

Your eyes catch as he’s pulled away to look at you. He’s soft, despite his thrusts. “I love you,” he groans. “God, I love you.”

“I love you,” you whisper, reaching for his face, cradling it. “My world.”

“My muse,” he moans, twitching within you, handsome face twisted in pleasure. His fingers work steadily on your clit and you reach up for your breasts, wishing desperately that you were wearing a nightgown instead. One that Steve likes, all pastel pink and blue, a ribbon of purple silk on the waist. It’s much less restricting and much more revealing. We can always continue at home, you think, your stomach tightening.

“You are….” you pant, eyes rolling back, leg tightening around his hips. “You are more th-than enough.”

His trusts slow. “As are you.”

“Sweet boy,” you laugh breathlessly, rolling your hips towards him. “Please keep going.”

“Oh!” he says, genuinely shocked, like he was truly so lost in your words that he forgot what he was doing. “S-sorry.”

“Just wa-want to show you how much I - how much I love you.”

“You show me,” he promises. “E-every. Day. And - and at these stupid p… oh, Christ - these parties.” His hips angle up towards your sweet spot and you’re gone, unable to hold back, brows marrying and face tightening in a lewd show of pleasure.

“Steve!” you moan, so loud you’re sure anyone walking by could hear. His hips move furiously and you have to reach up with your hand to steady yourself, making a handprint on the window. “Oh, my God!”

“Now it’s time to show you,” he groans, and his lips are back on yours. Half to consume you, overwhelmed with love and lust, and half to keep you quiet. You all but scream into his mouth, hand sliding off the window to clutch his shoulders while he works you into oblivion. “Close,” he chokes, a hand once again cradling your cheek. “With me now.”

You pant into each other as you cum, the car filled with sex and sweat and your crass noises. So unladylike, so perverse. You giggle mid-orgasm at the thought of his mother walking in on such a thing. A son raised as a level below royalty fucking his street-rat wife into a stupor, all in a thousand dollar car, would make her heart stop.

“What’s - so - funny?” Steve pants eventually, resting his head on your chest, his cock softening inside of you.

“Nothin’,” you promise, combing his hair with your fingers. “I love you.”

“Don’t leave me out,” he smiles.

You shake your head. “Tell you later. We should -“

“Uh-huh,” Steve says, pushing off of you and tucking himself back into his pants.

“You’re trembling,” you frown, reaching for him.

“I’m alright,” he promises, taking your hand and kissing it. “I’m happy.”

“So am I.”

He helps you fix yourself and slips your feet into your shoes for you, a kiss pressed into your knee. It turns into another, then another, and then his lips are creeping up your thigh.

“Stevie,” you whisper, the pet name making him blush. “Let’s finish at home.”

“Home,” he sighs dreamily. “Sounds wonderful.”

You’re proud of the stain left on the leather as you get up, your dress falling back down to your ankles. His father won’t check this car for weeks, if not months. You hope it’s fully ruined by then. But, for good measure, you let your heel scrape the paint on the way out.

#steve harrington smut #steve harrington x reader #steve x reader #ns/fw #stevenose posts

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fruityfinch · 2 months

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Jolly’s in-comic profile picture!!! :D They’re a black-tailed jackrabbit! They’re upbeat and intelligent, and they enjoy a challenge.

They’re an artificier, which is sorta like the magical equivalent of an engineer - except that in Ozeum, magic has been dwindling away for 250 years, so now a lot of tools and infrastructure which relied on magic are losing efficacy… The artificier’s guild has their work cut out trying to address the many shortfalls this is causing.

Good thing Jolly loves solving puzzles and problems! Wheeeeeee!

#furry art #furry #animal art #fur #sfw furry #fruityart #creatures of Ozeum #CROZ: jolly #the real world word is artificer but in ozeum it’s artificier. with an extra ‘i’#(bc that was how I thought it was spelled and have been thinking of it that way for too long to change it now)

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not-terezi-pyrope · 1 year

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Hot take: Any and all efforts asking companies to refuse to adopt automation/AI systems that would save costs for the sake of human jobs (fairly understandable urge on the face of it) should be funnelled into asking them to just. Give you money. Or more properly, to support UBI funds. This is because you are essentially asking for the exact same monetary sacrifice/outcome (suffer reduced profits in order to benefit the worker population) without the added side-effect of engaging in weird anti-tech politics that hurts people who work in engineering fields and the cause of developing generally more productive production chains that could be enhanced by automation.

"But, that's pointless, there's no way we can convince companies to just give away free money!" You're right, that's capitalism baby, and they will refuse to listen to your complaints about automation/AI for the same reason. It's because companies operate under a profit motive by definition, and so you should actually be lobbying for government regulation, i.e. an automation/surplus tax towards a UBI. This avoids the shortfall of the "AI is the devil" approach while also having the advantage of actually being feasibly useful at getting positive outcomes for the working class (lobbying corporations to not adopt cost-cutting measures will not do this, at least not in the long term).

#not-terezi-speaks #ai #the solution to this problem does not lie in technophobia or boycotts #it lies in political organizing #please stop wasting your efforts on pointless #harmful campaigns #because you are scared and angry that machines can make pretty pictures now

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13thspectre · 11 months

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Long ass ramble on Mariner and Boimler and their relationship

I think the first step in why Mariner comes to care for her purple dork is the fact that he surprised her. These two idiots knew each other for about a year by the first episode, had probably been around each other a lot being bunk mates, so Mariner probably had a confident idea of who Boimler was deep down. She saw him as a product of propaganda and social engineering. The kind of guy who would sell her and a ship of refugees out for a superior's nod of approval. Someone who saw rank as the end all be all of what Starfleet had to offer.

So, when he ends up not ratting her out on that first episode, I think that may be one of the first times since she'd become more cynical towards Starfleet that Mariner had gotten someone wrong, that they proved them to be a little bit better in her book. So from there, she becomes attached, thinking there's hope for this bootlicker. Maybe, if he turned out to be better than she pegged him for, he could be trusted. Maybe this organization where she's been listlessly dragging herself up and down the ranks in some kind of administrative limbo can really do good. And some part of her that's been questioning if she belongs here at all, doesn't even believe she could really belong on her own mom's ship, thinks that maybe she's found somewhere and someone with whom she does belong.

Boimler's side of things is... very similar. Mariner surprises him. Constantly surprises him. She breaks protocol, disregards authority, spits in the face of the Prime Directive. She's an ensign, same as Boimler himself, but Mariner is easily one of the most frustratingly amazing and impressive people he's ever met, having stories rivaling many starfleet legends, and having the skills and contacts to back them up. And she shows him that she's not just some tantruming rebel, she actually does care, wants and is willing to go the extra mile to help. To do the kind of things that Starfleet often professes to do, but so often just never gets around to.

Mariner challenges everything that Boimler thought was concrete: the infallibility of starfleet, the concrete importance of established protocol, the belief that the achievement of rank is the most certain sign of purpose and importance. She is everything he wants to be and not. She is sociable, likable, able, strong, witty, quick on her feet, and yet she also possesses none of the bigger-picture ambition to do something widespread and worthwhile with her ability. Mariner lacks some of the sensitivity and cautiousness that comes with avoiding unnecessary disaster, and the desire to achieve a higher rank to actually combat the shortfalls of Starfleet she complains so much about.

It's in that mutual challenge that their mutual importance is found: they're each other's anchor. Mariner anchors Boimler so he doesn't get swept up in monotonous idealism, and Boimler anchors Mariner so she doesn't wash away in listless despair.

And I think that's why Mariner is so angered by Boimler's leaving for Titan. It's why despite professing some kind of cool when it comes to dealing with disappointment, she is so stuck up on him that she leaves him dozens of angry messages, demanding an explanation. Why, months after he left and no chance of him returning, she still keeps onto the idea that he's still there or will be back, like keeping spaces for him in the showers. Because it wasn't just that he betrayed her, and right after professing friendship. It's that him leaving her, and so coldly, implies that she was right about him from the beginning. Boimler leaving for the Titan proved her instincts right, that other people, especially those in starfleet, couldn't be trusted. To do what really matters. You couldn't trust others to not hurt you if you trust yourself to them.

Boimler, I think, does not realize he's lost his anchor. He doesn't realize it for a while. On the Titan, trying to survive every batshit crazy operation Riker sets them on takes precedence. When he isn't screaming his lungs out in a wordless prayer to the cosmic koala for survival, he's trying to reconcile what he thought he joined Starfleet for and what he actually wants to do. Boimler isn't in this for the missions, or even the glory (mostly, he still likes to brag a bit, I mean who wouldn't). Boimler wants to be an explorer and a diplomat. Someone who wants to learn what there is to know about this insane deadly universe they're somehow prospering in (he's someone excited for anomaly consolidation duty, and sometimes has a close to encyclopedic knowledge of the things they're dealing with, like Tendi and the cube). He wants to find and learn about other cultures, wants to find and learn how to make new friends (even if his execution on that last bit is clunky and awkward at best, at least for now).

Boimler realizing how important Mariner is to him doesn't come until 2x5, when only he is able to get into Starfleet's biggest party with its biggest names. The shouting pulls through, the hurt comes back, and Boimler and Mariner go separate ways again. But when Boimler finally has his dream of rubbung elbows with the top brass, he sees the party differently. Maybe a little more like Mariner would. Boimler doesn't see people schmoozing and networking. He just sees a party, full of people enjoying the company of those they trust and love. This is where Boimler realizes some of the true weight of his leaving, and just how much it affected him in turn, not having his anchor with him.

Now I'll be honest here in that I haven't really watched much TOS, so I'm missing some of the full gravity of the comparison betwen Kirk and Spock and Mariner and Beckett. What I do know is that they were combative but also complimentary, one was the charismatic daredevil that flounced the rules, and the other was more by the book and research-oriented, though the LD dynamic duo I guess has much more in the way of neuroticism and personal dysfunction. I know I'm doing a bad job of distilling Spock and Kirk's dynamic, so please let me know if I'm off the mark, or elaborate on how this might fit into my little spiel. But the point is that here is when both realize how important they are to each other. Seeing those names carved into the counter of a bar, following perhaps a similar story of how Kirk and Spock ended up there, Mariner and Boimler now realize that they can come back from this. They have the potential to do great things together, but more importantly, they just want to be in each others' lives again.

When they get stranded, there's once again the issue of trust. Mariner still clings to that idea that she is the mentor and better of Boimler, and so she has to look out for him, whether or not he realizes or wants it. She doesn't trust hum to do well on his own or to make the best decisions. At the same time, we see Boimler stepping up a bit. He takes the douche-bot AI with them against Mariner's idea to just bury it (at first) to keep monitoring AGIMUS, he tries to climb the tree to get fruit himself because Mariner is injured, and even just shuts Mariner down a bit when she's anguished that that shithole planet's fruit somehow also tasted like black licorice. We see hints of Boimler being a bit more confident, a bit more capable and sure of himself, without empty pride being the only thing in his arsenal. And when it seems like Mariner was right all along and Boimler fell for some manipulation, it's revealed that he was playing AGIMUS, playing both of them like a fiddle. Boimler had a plan, executed it flawlessly, apologizes to Mariner for deceiving her, and gets them rescued. Now, both of them still know Mariner is far and away the more capable of the two in most areas, but Mariner now doesn't see Boimler as some hapless naive child. She'd still go out of her way to save his butt, but not because he's her self-proclaimed responsibility, rather because he's her friend.

In 3x1, Mariner is depressed and angry. Her mother's in custody, in a public trial, and she can't do anything, except apparently trust the system. Despite empty assurances from her father, Mariner is unable to find hope for her mother. So she goes to her anchor, Boimler, to try and find hope where none exists. And here, we see the growth of their bond. Even stuck planetside, they find each other. They're anchors, in a sense. Through Boimler, Mariner is able to find some kind of hope thst she can save her mom. Through Marjner, Boimler finds a new purpose so doesn't waste away at his family's vineyard. Hell, Boimler is so ride or die at this point that he helps Mariner steal a fucking amusement park starship and board a locked down Cerritos!

During the season two finale when Mariner is about to go down in cetacean ops to release the final panel, Rutherford, Tendi, and Boimler all talk sense into Mariner, convincing her to make up with her mom before they all die or never see Captain Freeman again in what I think is a very satisfying intervention. But something I want to point out is what Boimler tells Mariner. Boimler says they'll all either die soon, or Mariner's mom will get promoted and the two may never speak again, and he asks Mariner if this is how she wants things to end. It makes me think that Boimler's talking about when he left. He left without clearing the air, without saying goodbye, without anything. He knows in retrospec how painful that actually was, how much it hurt both of them to never really try and reconcile things until the party, and he doesn't want Mariner to go through that again with her mom.

In 3x5, Boimler tries his best to keep Mariner calm and out of trouble, but he loses it, throttling conspiracy weirdos' necks like Mariner would, despite attempts by Mariner to try and calm him down. And while that is fun, something that really catches my attention is how once people start coming to their tent in genuine interest, impressed by Boimler's confidence and defense of Starfleet, Mariner actually seems genuinely interested in finding ways that people could join Starfleet. It's some kind of inversion of their roles, with Boimler being the impressive act of violence that wows everyone, and Mariner being the eager one to bring it all up to protocol.

Crisis Point 2 comes around, and even without knowing what's up, Mariner still tries to stick things through with Boimler for a while, knowing Tendi and Rutherford are off actually having fun on something with Boimler's holomovie, something she had just been teasing him about earlier. She can easily tell that he's going off his own script, but she still goes with him, not yet realizing that she's watching her friend go through an existential spiral. When she does learn about William's death, Mariner immediately goes to Boimler to be his friend. She tells him that the story may not be a good one, but it is a Starfleet story, so it's worth telling, and so they should try to find the ending they're after. This brings up two ideas: one is that Mariner hopes the holodeck can provide the same kind of therapeutic realization it gave her. The other is that she's telling Boimler that his story, irrevocably a Starfleet story, may not be glamorous or exciting the way others' are or the way he wanted it to be, but it's still important.

When Mariner leaves, things apparently get a little weird. By Rutherford's own admission, Boimler loses grasp of reality without Mariner around. He's lost his anchor, and he's a bit adrift. For Mariner, things are going well. It's honestly a bit like the Titan all over again, with Mariner having her own adventures. But something still feels off. She tries to find reason to distrust Petra and this new purpose, but it's just Mariner trying to find a reason to return. Back to Starfleet, back to the Cerritos, back to her friends and family, back to her mom, back to her anchor. In saving the Cerritos, Mariner brings back every California-class ship. In one act, she demonstrates her faith and trust in Starfleet, or at least the people in it. She finds the others that had been given up on and gives them another chance. Similar I think to the way Boimler did for her in not reporting her that first episode, and again when she welcomed him back to the ship. When she comes back on board, the first thing she does is rush and hug Boimler, finding her anchor. And what Boimler does is own up to his own lack of trust and action, apologizes, and promises to make up for it. Afterward, Mariner changes direction and wants to try her hand at making her way in Starfleet again, finding hope in her purpose in the same way she did when Boimler first decided to trust her.

*edited a bunch of typos and some weird wording

#star trek #lower decks #long post #star trek lower decks #beckett mariner #brad boimler #spoilers #i guess for the whole series?#marinler #that last one isnt necessarily a hard fact of this post #i do ship them #but i wrote with with the intention of them being platonic soulmates #sorry if you finished this #i hope it makes half sense #i watched all of lower decks in the past 4 days and wrote this with on like 2 hours of sleep #most use ive put my english major to all summer #please tell me if i remembered events wrong

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lonestarflight · 5 months

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Cancelled Missions: NASA's October 1977 Space Shuttle Flight Itinerary

"Soon after President Richard Nixon gave his blessing to the Space Shuttle Program on January 5, 1972, NASA scheduled its first orbital flight for 1977, then for March 1978. By early 1975, the date had slipped to March 1979. Funding shortfalls were to blame, as were the daunting engineering challenges of developing the world's first reusable orbital spaceship based on 1970s technology. The schedule slip was actually worse than NASA let on: as early as January 32, 1975, an internal NASA document (marked 'sensitive') gave a '90% probability date' for the first Shuttle launch of December 1979.

In October 1977, Chester Lee, director of Space Transportation System (STS) Operations at NASA Headquarters, distributed the first edition of the STS Flight Assignment Baseline, a launch schedule and payload manifest for the first 16 operational Shuttle missions. The document was in keeping with NASA's stated philosophy that reusable Shuttle Orbiters would fly on-time and often, like a fleet of cargo airplanes. The STS Utilization and Operations Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston had prepared the document, which was meant to be revised quarterly as new customers chose the Space Shuttle as their cheap and reliable ride to space.

The JSC planners assumed that six Orbital Flight Test (OFT) missions would precede the first operational Shuttle flight. The OFT flights would see two-man crews (Commander and Pilot) put Orbiter Vehicle 102 (OV-102) through its paces in low-Earth orbit. The planners did not include the OFT schedule in their document, but the May 30, 1980 launch date for their first operational Shuttle mission suggests that they based their flight schedule on the March 1979 first OFT launch date.

Thirteen of the 16 operational flights would use OV-102 and three would use OV-101. NASA would christen OV-102 Columbia in February 1979, shortly before it rolled out of the Rockwell International plant in Palmdale, California.

As for OV-101, its name was changed from Constitution to Enterprise in mid-1976 at the insistence of Star Trek fans. Enterprise flew in Approach and Landing Test (ALT) flights at Edwards Air Force Base in California beginning on February 15, 1977. ALT flights, which saw the Orbiter carried by and dropped from a modified 747, ended soon after the NASA JSC planners released their document.

The first operational Space Shuttle mission, Flight 7 (May 30 - June 3, 1980), would see Columbia climb to a 225-nautical-mile (n-mi) orbit inclined 28.5° relative to Earth's equator (unless otherwise stated, all orbits are inclined at 28.5°, the latitude of Kennedy Space Center in Florida). The delta-winged Orbiter would carry a three-person crew in its two-deck crew compartment and the bus-sized Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in its 15-foot-wide, 60-foot-long payload bay.

Columbia would also carry a 'payload of opportunity' - that is, an unspecified payload. The presence of a payload of opportunity meant that the flight had available excess payload weight capacity. Payload mass up would total 27,925 pounds. Payload mass down after the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm hoisted LDEF out of Columbia's payload bay and released it into orbit would total 9080 pounds.

A page from the STS Flight Assignment Baseline document of October 1977 shows payloads and other features of the first five operational Space Shuttle missions plus Flight 12/Flight 12 Alternate

During Flight 8 (July 1-3, 1980), Columbia would orbit 160 n mi above the Earth. Three astronauts would release two satellites and their solid-propellant rocket stages: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-A (TDRS-A) with a two-stage Interim Upper Stage (IUS) and the Satellite Business Systems-A (SBS-A) commercial communications satellite on a Spinning Solid Upper Stage-Delta-class (SSUS-D).

Prior to release, the crew would spin the SBS-A satellite about its long axis on a turntable to create gyroscopic stability and raise TDRS-A on a tilt-table. After release, their respective solid-propellant stages would propel them to their assigned slots in geostationary orbit (GEO), 19,323 n mi above the equator. Payload mass up would total 51,243 pounds; mass down, 8912 pounds, most of which would comprise reusable restraint and deployment hardware for the satellites.

The TDRS system, which would include three operational satellites and an orbiting spare, was meant to trim costs and improve communications coverage by replacing most of the ground-based Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN). Previous U.S. piloted missions had relied on MSFN ground stations to relay communications to and from the Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston. Because spacecraft in low-Earth orbit could remain in range of a given ground station for only a few minutes at a time, astronauts were frequently out of contact with the MCC.

On Flight 9 (August 1-6, 1980), Columbia would climb to a 160-n-mi orbit. Three astronauts would deploy GOES-D, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather satellite, and Anik-C/1, a Canadian communications satellite. Before release, the crew would raise the NOAA satellite and its SSUS-Atlas-class (SSUS-A) rocket stage on the tilt-table and spin up the Anik-C/1-SSUS-D combination on the turntable. In addition to the two named satellites, NASA JSC planners reckoned that Columbia could carry a 14,000-pound payload of opportunity. Payload mass up would total 36,017 pounds; mass down, 21,116 pounds.

Following Flight 9, NASA would withdraw Columbia from service for 12 weeks to permit conversion from OFT configuration to operational configuration. The JSC planners explained that the conversion would be deferred until after Flight 9 to ensure an on-time first operational flight and to save time by combining it with Columbia's preparations for the first Spacelab mission on Flight 11. The switch from OFT to operational configuration would entail removal of Development Flight Instrumentation (sensors for monitoring Orbiter systems and performance); replacement of Commander and Pilot ejection seats on the crew compartment upper deck (the flight deck) with fixed seats; power system upgrades; and installation of an airlock on the crew compartment lower deck (the mid-deck).

Flight 10 (November 14-16, 1980) would be a near-copy of Flight 8. A three-person Columbia crew would deploy TDRS-B/IUS and SBS-B/SSUS-D into a 160-n-mi-high orbit. The rocket stages would then boost the satellites to GEO. Cargo mass up would total 53,744 pounds; mass down, 11,443 pounds.

Flight 11 (December 18-25, 1980) would see the orbital debut of Spacelab. Columbia would orbit Earth 160 n mi high at 57° of inclination. NASA and the multinational European Space Research Organization (ESRO) agreed in August 1973 that Europe should develop and manufacture Spacelab pressurized modules and unpressurized pallets for use in the Space Shuttle Program. Initially dubbed the 'sortie lab,' Spacelab would operate only in the Orbiter payload bay; it was not intended as an independent space station, though many hoped that it would help to demonstrate that an Earth-orbiting station could be useful.

ESRO merged with the European Launcher Development Organization in 1975 to form the European Space Agency (ESA). Columbia's five-person crew for Flight 11 would probably include scientists and at least one astronaut from an ESA member country.

Flight 12 (January 30 - February 1, 1981), a near-copy of Flights 8 and 10, would see Columbia's three-person crew deploy TDRS-C/IUS and Anik-C/2/SSUS-D into 160-n-mi-high orbit. Payload mass up would total 53,744 pounds; mass down, 11,443 pounds.

JSC planners inserted an optional 'Flight 12 Alternate' (January 30 - February 4, 1981) into their schedule which, if flown, would replace Flight 12. Columbia would orbit 160 n mi above the Earth. Its three-person crew would deploy Anik-C/2 on a SSUS-D stage. The mission's main purpose, however, would be to create a backup launch opportunity for an Intelsat V-class satellite already scheduled for launch on a U.S. Atlas-Centaur or European Ariane I rocket. An SSUS-A stage would boost the Intelsat V from Shuttle orbit to GEO.

NASA JSC assumed that, besides the satellites, stages, and their support hardware, Columbia would for Flight 12 Alternate tote an attached payload of opportunity that would need to operate in space for five days to provide useful data (hence the mission's planned duration). Payload mass up would total 37,067 pounds; mass down, 17,347 pounds.

Space Shuttle Flights 13 through 18 would include the first orbital mission of the OV-101 Enterprise (Flight 17), during which astronauts would retrieve the LDEF payload deployed during Flight 7.

Flight 13 (March 3-8, 1981) would see three astronauts on board Columbia release NOAA's GOES-E satellite attached to an SSUS-D stage into a 160-n-mi-high orbit. OV-102 would have room for two payloads of opportunity: one attached at the front of the payload bay and one deployed from a turntable aft of the GOES-E/SSUS-D combination. Payload mass up would total 38,549 pounds; mass down, 23,647 pounds.

Flight 14 would last 12 days, making it the longest described in the STS Flight Assignment Baseline document. Scheduled for launch on April 7, 1981, it would carry a 'train' of four unpressurized Spacelab experiment pallets and an 'Igloo,' a small pressurized compartment for pallet support equipment. The Igloo, though pressurized, would not be accessible to the five-person crew. OV-102 would orbit 225 n mi high at an inclination of 57°. Mass up would total 31,833 pounds; mass down, 28,450 pounds.

Flight 15 (May 13-15, 1981) would be a near-copy of Flights 8, 10, and 12. OV-102 would transport to orbit a payload totaling 53,744 pounds; payload mass down would total 11,443 pounds. The JSC planners noted the possibility that none of the potential payloads for Flight 15 — TDRS-D and SBS-C or Anik-C/3 — would need to be launched as early as May 1981. TDRS-D was meant as an orbiting spare; if the first three TDRS operated as planned, its launch could be postponed. Likewise, SBS-C and Anik-C/3 were each a backup for the previously launched satellites in their series.

Flight 16 (June 16-23, 1981) would be a five-person Spacelab pressurized module flight aboard OV-102 in 160-n-mi-high orbit. Payloads of opportunity totaling about 18,000 pounds might accompany the Spacelab module; for planning purposes, a satellite and SSUS-D on a turntable behind the module was assumed. Payload mass up would total 35,676 pounds; mass down, 27,995 pounds.

Flight 17, scheduled for July 16-20, 1981, would see the space debut of Enterprise and the retrieval of the LDEF released during Flight 7. OV-101 would climb to a roughly 200-n-mi-high orbit (LDEF's altitude after 13.5 months of orbital decay would determine the mission's precise altitude).

Before rendezvous with LDEF, Flight 17's three-man crew would release an Intelsat V/SSUS-A and a satellite payload of opportunity. After the satellites were sent on their way, the astronauts would pilot Enterprise to a rendezvous with LDEF, snare it with the RMS, and secure it in the payload bay. Mass up would total 26,564 pounds; mass down, 26,369 pounds.

For Flight 18 (July 29-August 5, 1981), Columbia would carry to a 160-n-mi-high orbit a Spacelab pallet dedicated to materials processing in the vacuum and microgravity of space. The three-person flight might also include the first acknowledged Department of Defense (DOD) payload of the Space Shuttle Program, a U.S. Air Force pallet designated STP-P80-1. JSC called the payload 'Planned' rather than 'Firm' and noted somewhat cryptically that it was the Teal Ruby experiment 'accommodated from OFT [Orbital Flight Test].'

The presence of the Earth-directed Teal Ruby sensor payload would account for Flight 18's planned 57° orbital inclination, which would take it over most of Earth's densely populated areas. Payload mass up might total 32,548 pounds; mass down, 23,827 pounds.

Space Shuttle Flights 20 through 23 would include the first mission to make use of an OMS kit to increase its orbital altitude (Flight 21), the first European Space Agency-sponsored Spacelab mission (Flight 22), and the launch of the Jupiter Orbiter and Probe spacecraft (Flight 23)

Flight 19 (September 2-9, 1981) would see five Spacelab experiment pallets fill Columbia's payload bay. Five astronauts would operate the experiments, which would emphasize physics and astronomy. The Orbiter would circle Earth in a 216-n-mi-high orbit. Payload mass up would total 29,214 pounds; mass down, 27,522 pounds.

Flight 20 (September 30-October 6, 1981), the second Enterprise mission, would see five astronauts conduct life science and astronomy experiments in a 216-n-mi-high orbit using a Spacelab pressurized module and an unpressurized pallet. JSC planners acknowledged that the mission's down payload mass (34,248 pounds) might be 'excessive,' but noted that their estimate was 'based on preliminary payload data.' Mass up would total 37,065 pounds.

On Flight 21, scheduled for launch on October 14, 1981, Columbia would carry the first Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) Kit at the aft end of its payload bay. The OMS Kit would carry enough supplemental propellants for the Orbiter's twin rear-mounted OMS engines to perform a velocity change of 500 feet per second. This would enable OV-102 to rendezvous with and retrieve the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite in a 300-n-mi-high orbit.

Three astronauts would fly the five-day mission, which would attain the highest orbital altitude of any flight in the STS Flight Assignment Baseline document. JSC planners noted that the Multi-mission Modular Spacecraft (MMS) support hardware meant to carry SMM back to Earth could also transport an MMS-type satellite into orbit. Payload mass up would total 37,145 pounds; mass down, 23,433 pounds.

On Flight 22 (November 25 - December 2, 1981), Enterprise might carry an ESA-sponsored Spacelab mission with a five-person crew, a pressurized lab module, and a pallet to a 155-to-177-n-mi orbit inclined at 57°. Payload mass up might total 34,031 pounds; mass down, 32,339 pounds.

During Flight 23 (January 5-6, 1982), the last described in the STS Flight Assignment Baseline document, three astronauts would deploy into a 150-to-160-n-mi-high orbit the Jupiter Orbiter and Probe (JOP) spacecraft on a stack of three IUSs. President Jimmy Carter had requested new-start funds for JOP in his Fiscal Year 1978 NASA budget, which had taken effect on October 1, 1977. Because JOP was so new when they prepared their document, JSC planners declined to estimate up/down payload masses.

Flight 23 formed an anchor point for the Shuttle schedule because JOP had a launch window dictated by the movements of the planets. If the automated explorer did not leave for Jupiter between January 2 and 12, 1982, it would mean a 13-month delay while Earth and Jupiter moved into position for another launch attempt.

Almost nothing in the October 1977 STS Flight Assignment Baseline document occurred as planned. It was not even updated quarterly; no update had been issued as of mid-November 1978, by which time the target launch dates for the first Space Shuttle orbital mission and the first operational Shuttle flight had slipped officially to September 28, 1979 and February 27, 1981, respectively.

The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia lifts off at the start of STS-1.

The first Shuttle flight, designated STS-1, did not in fact lift off until April 12, 1981. As in the STS Flight Assignment Baseline document, OV-102 Columbia performed the OFT missions; OFT concluded, however, after only four flights. After the seven-day STS-4 mission (June 27 - July 4, 1982), President Ronald Reagan declared the Shuttle operational.

The first operational flight, also using Columbia, was STS-5 (November 11-16, 1982). The mission launched SBS-3 and Anik-C/3; because of Shuttle delays, the other SBS and Anik-C satellites planned for Shuttle launch had already reached space atop expendable rockets.

To the chagrin of many Star Trek fans, Enterprise never reached space. NASA decided that it would be less costly to convert Structural Test Article-099 into a flight-worthy Orbiter than to refit Enterprise for spaceflight after the ALT series. OV-099, christened Challenger, first reached space on mission STS-6 (April 4-9, 1983), which saw deployment of the first TDRS satellite.

NASA put OV-101 Enterprise to work in a variety of tests and rehearsals (such as the 'fit check' shown in the image above), but did not convert it into a spaceflight-worthy Orbiter.

The voluminous Spacelab pressurized module first reached orbit on board Columbia on mission STS-9 (November 28- December 8,1983). The 10-day Spacelab 1 mission included ESA researcher Ulf Merbold and NASA scientist-astronauts Owen Garriott and Robert Parker. Garriott, selected to be an astronaut in 1965, had flown for 59 days on board the Skylab space station in 1973. Parker had been selected in 1967, but STS-9 was his first spaceflight.

The 21,500-pound LDEF reached Earth orbit on board Challenger on STS-41C, the 11th Space Shuttle mission (April 6-13, 1984). During the same mission, astronauts captured, repaired, and released the SMM satellite, which had reached orbit on 14 February 1980 and malfunctioned in January 1981. Challenger reached SMM without an OMS kit; in fact, no OMS kit ever reached space.

STS Flight Assignment Baseline document assumed that 22 Shuttle flights (six OFT and 16 operational) would occur before January 1982. In fact, the 22nd Shuttle flight did not begin until October 1985, when Challenger carried eight astronauts and the West German Spacelab D1 into space (STS-61A, October 30 - November 6, 1985). Three months later (28 January 1986), Challenger was destroyed at the start of STS-51L, the Shuttle Program's 25th mission.

In addition to seven astronauts — NASA's first in-flight fatalities — Challenger took with it TDRS-B, NASA's second TDRS satellite. The Shuttle would not fly again until September 1988 (STS-26, September 29 - October 3, 1988). On that mission, OV-103 Discovery deployed TDRS-C. The TDRS system would not include the three satellites necessary for global coverage until TDRS-D reached orbit on board Discovery on mission STS-29 (13-18 March 1989).

Following the Challenger accident, NASA abandoned — though not without some resistance — the pretense that it operated a fleet of cargo planes. The space agency had at one time aimed for 60 Shuttle flights per year; between 1988 and 2003, the Shuttle Program managed about six per year. The most flights the Shuttle fleet accomplished in a year was nine in 1985.

Shuttle delays meant that JOP, renamed Galileo, missed its early January 1982 launch window. It was eventually rescheduled for May 1986, but the Challenger accident intervened. Galileo finally left Earth orbit on 18 October 1989 following deployment from OV-104 Atlantis during STS-34 (October 18-23, 1989).

Between the time JOP/Galileo received its first funding and the Challenger explosion, NASA, the White House, and Congress had sparred over how the Jupiter spacecraft would depart Earth orbit. Eventually, they settled on the powerful liquid-propellant Centaur-G' rocket stage.

Citing new concern for safety following Challenger, NASA canceled Centaur G'. Galileo had to rely on the less-powerful IUS, which meant that it could not travel directly to Jupiter; it had instead to perform gravity-assist flybys of Venus and Earth to reach its exploration target. Galileo did not reach the Jupiter system until December 1995.

LDEF had been scheduled for retrieval in March 1985, less than a year after deployment, but flight delays and the Challenger accident postponed its return to Earth by nearly six years. On mission STS-32 (January 9-20, 1990), astronauts on board Columbia retrieved LDEF, the orbit of which had decayed to 178 n mi. LDEF remains the largest object ever retrieved in space and returned to Earth.

During reentry at the end of mission STS-107 (16 January-1 February 2003), Columbia broke apart over northeast Texas, killing its international crew of seven astronauts. This precipitated cancellation of the Space Shuttle Program by President George W. Bush, who announced his decision on 14 January 2004.

The end of the Space Shuttle Program was originally scheduled for 2010, immediately following the planned completion of the International Space Station. In the event, STS-135, the final Space Shuttle mission, took place four years ago (July 2011), three months after the 30th anniversary of STS-1. The Orbiter Atlantis lifted off on 8 July with a four-person crew — the smallest since STS-6. It docked with the International Space Station to deliver supplies and spares and landed in Florida 13 days later."

Article by David S. F. Portree: link

source, source

NASA ID: S77-5784, S77-5785, S77-5758

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aswegoalong72 · 3 months

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Space Suits - Then and Now

Since the dawn of the space age on Reyal, it became abundantly clear that there were many challenges they'd have to face.

As a social species, they struggle with solitude; the first few missions were a nightmare, as the panic from being detached from friends and family became a big issue. However, that was manageable with therapy and much shorter solo missions.

Radiation was a much more pressing issue, and after the long-term health affects became clear from the relative lack of protection, major steps were taken to build suits that would withstand the harsh environs of space.

Reyal is a very unique world, in that its thick atmosphere and highly active core provided much more shielding from cosmic and solar radiation than our own Earth would. This led to pretty much every life form on Reyal being much more susceptible to radiation's harmful effects, which would prove to be a very difficult roadblock on their technological voyage.

There was much discussion as what type of suit would be better after regular flight suits were proven to be ineffective; hardshell, which was heavy and hard to maneuver in but gave incredible protection, or soft shell, which was a tiny bit easier to work in, but offered barely any protection.

After some research and development, a mix was approved for use; soft around the joints, with most of the rest of the body being hardshell. It wasn't ideal, but there was very little else that can be done to combat the lack of mobility.

Art by @bjekkergauken After years of development, hard work, and testing, the first deep space suits were approved for regular use. The above is a display model; showing heraldry only for the Global Resource Committee's Space Division, and crampons for a rocky or icy moon.

These used many new technologies and techniques to help protect the wearer, such as a camera based vision system. This not only helps protect the eyes, but can allow for a better understanding of the environment around the wearer, being able to cycle into different types of light wavelengths.

Some other useful features are the claw grabbers that replace the gloves, allowing for much easier mobility in the vacuum. Initial testing proved that softshell gloves were a nightmare to work with, causing many engineers to nearly quit out of frustration. A few late night brainstorming sessions later, they figured out that using a manipulator was much easier than anything else. This would become a mainstay for future suit design, and open up a massive world of possibilities for on-orbit construction and more.

Aside from that, the suit also boasts a data pad for easy communication & lookup, a jetpack for low-or-no gravity environments (fueled by pure nitrogen), and a hatchback for hooking up into vehicles for easy doffing and donning.

These suits were used en masse for many years, in a massive variety of situations; from low Reyal orbit and all the way out to Alkan and her twin, they saw very heavy use for the first few decades of the Lyratet's expansion into space.

However, as their needs expanded, the old generation of suits would prove to need an upgrade. Cameras failing while out, data pads falling off, life support issues, outdated technology, and more would be the sign that things had to change.

Art by @hellagator Five years before the launch of the First Extended Thrallit Expedition, the Global Resource Committee finally approved and released the latest design; the Modular Deep Space Maneuvering Unit, or the MDSMU for short. This would be a massive upgrade from the previous design, making up for most of its shortfalls.

With advances in material science and a better understanding of life and work in space, the MDSMU sported much better mobility, all without sacrificing any radiation protection. A thin layer of a lead alloy, alongside water ice, was added to help aid in deflecting any harmful radiation. Aside from this, most everything is the same.

The same applies for the new and improved helmet, which allows for both regular vision, alongside the original camera vision. The visor is made of a heavy layer of leaded titanium glass on the outside, followed by a thin layer of water ice, and finally a quantum dot display on the inside. While it's just as safe to use regular vision these days, many still opt to cover up the outside, and use only the camera.

Another major advancement is the modular ability of the suit; while the previous design was used in a variety of situations, it wasn't very practical for exploration out past Alkan, or in the inner system past Reyal. The suit has dozens of other parts that can be swapped out or added, ranging from underwater maneuvering addons for Alkan, to an extended heating system for cave diving on Lejag, the outermost planet.

The suit can also be very easily modified to suit any changes to the wearer’s body, or in a swapping of people wearing it, thanks to machine learning and a complex system of elastic and memory foam. The only thing that doesn't change is the horn armor; GRCSED standards have them set to a certain height, mainly for ease of access among their many bases and outposts, and the dangers that come with overgrowth.

The only thing that would change would be the fuel used over the centuries; originally, monomethylhydrazine was used for fuel as an improvement upon just raw nitrogen. However, as some spills occurred in a few bases, it was quickly replaced with nitrogen once more due to the toxicity of the prior.

This suit design would be the last they would ever design, as the base was very easy to modify for practically any situation. From routine maintenance on Ro, all the way to the interstellar colony of Reyal-Lontag, the suit would see continued use until the end of civilization as we know it.

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naturalrights-retard · 4 months

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The Federal Reserve is the engine that drives the biggest government in history.

Without the central bank’s machinations, the U.S. government wouldn’t be able to borrow and spend to the extent that it does. Congress wouldn’t be able to sustain deficits running in the trillions of dollars year after year. Instead, it would have to rely on direct taxation and borrowing smaller amounts for shorter terms. Because higher taxes are politically untenable, the government would be forced to constrain its spending, putting a natural check on both the warfare and the welfare state.

But with the Federal Reserve monetary operation in play, the government can borrow and spend far more than it otherwise could. And that means the government is bigger than it otherwise would be.

HOW WE PAY FOR GOVERNMENT

To understand the role of the Federal Reserve, you have to understand how we pay for government.

The first crucial point is government is never free. Every penny the government spends comes out of the people’s pockets.

Direct taxation serves as the most honest funding source. In this scenario, the government collects money directly from the people and uses it to pay for programs and expenditures. It’s money in, money out. It’s the most honest way to fund government because the people can clearly see the amount they’re paying.

The problem is direct taxation isn’t popular. The government can only push taxes so high before the people balk. You’re far more likely to hear politicians talk about cutting taxes than raising them. Even those who push for tax increases emphasize they don’t mean raising them on the “middle class” or the poor – by far the majority of the population.

To make up the shortfall between sustainable taxation and spending, the government turns to borrowing. This effectively kicks the can down the road. Nobody has to pay today, but eventually, the people who buy the bonds – the lenders – have to be paid back. The taxpayers of the future foot the bill. Meanwhile, the taxpayer of today still has to pay the interest on the borrowed money.

Borrowing is more popular with politicians because taxpayers perceive it as less painful. But borrowing also has its limit, and the federal government has pushed far beyond it.

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ledenews · 2 months

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Wheeling Tunnel on W.Va. Division of Highways Radar

It remains a well-known fact Wheeling Tunnel wasn’t really fixed when it was allegedly fixed 14 years ago. Crews with Velotta Construction pulled out of the Friendly City in the Spring of 2009 following a two-year, $14.5 million rehabilitation project on the two tubes. While the replacement of yellow tiles was one issue encountered by construction workers, the condition of the tunnel’s guts was far worse than expected. Those shortfalls plus new issues with the electrical and lighting systems have District 6 Engineer Charlie Reynolds in conversations with Charleston officials concerning a new round of rehabilitations for the 57-year-old tunnel. Plus, the eastern façade of the tube systems is desperately in need of cleaning and rehabilitation. “The front of that side of Wheeling Tunnel is gross. It’s the only thing that can be said. It’s gross. It’s dirty and there’s moss and mold up there,” Reynold said. “It really does need addressed as soon as possible. It’s that ugly. The front facade of the east side of Wheeling Tunnel has been cleaned a few times in the past few decades, but it was left untouched during the recent I-70 rehab by Swank Construction. “We have our people in Moundsville working on what needs done and then communicating that to the supervisors in Charleston,” he said. “There are more than a few issues with tunnels right now, so I am expecting the process to begin soon. I’m not sure how it will be performed because those decisions are made in Charleston, but there’s no way it will cause a closure. That’s not going to be necessary at all.” The good news? The tunnel’s tiles are in great shape. The bad news? The tunnel’s bones are aching and its arteries are clogged. “The drainage does have to be addressed, and the lighting has to be upgraded. I’m sure a lot of the electrical system will be examined and repaired where necessary. With a lot of things, the time has come for upgrade,” Reynolds said. “It’s like maintaining your house. The time comes when you have to maintain and improve. “There are no dates or anything like that yet, and there’s still a lot to talk about, but it’s coming,” the district engineer explained. “It’s a very important throughway for a lot of different reasons, so the tunnel need some attention.” Former W.Va. Del. Charlie Reynolds resigned his District 6 seat to take the position with the Division of Highways. Six Months on the Job Reynolds submitted his resignation from the state House of Delegates to Speaker Roger Hanshaw on Oct. 6, 2023, to become the district engineer of a six-county region that includes the entire Northern Panhandle. There are interstates, state highways, and thousands of miles of paved and unpaved roadways in District 6, and there are hundreds of bridges crossing creeks, streams, and the Ohio River. And there is one $32 million streetscape taking place in the middle of it all. “The streetscape is a big job for the state and an important project for the city of Wheeling and everyone in it. There are other towns in the state that will want the same thing, I bet,” Reynold said. “That’s because downtown Wheeling is going to be a very attractive place in about a year and I think it’ll make that area very popular. “There’s a lot to this position with the Division of Highways, and I learn something new every day on the job. There’s so much information that goes with every single thing we do. It’s amazing,” he explained. “I have a lot of fun every single day.” Reynolds worked several years in the railroad industry – most recently as an inspector with CSX – before accepting the position with the Division of Highways. “The people working at District 6 work so hard so that’s why I try to have fun with he job because it creates a better atmosphere. I’m a positive person and I think that might spread around,” he said. “I want the employees to have fun, too, but I know that’s possible all of the time. I mean, it is the Division of Highways, right? “We all have bad days, and we all feel a little stress from time to time,” Reynolds added. “But I just had a coworker tell me that I make him laugh a lot, and as long as we’re getting the job done for the taxpayers, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Read the full article

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srbachchan · 2 years

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DAY 5314

Jalsa, Mumbai Aug 28, 2022 Sun 8:04 PM

Aug 29 birthdays : .. Ef Lily D'Penha from Frankfurt, Germany 🇩🇪 .. Ef Amritesh Shroff from Kolkata .. and Ef Uma Srivastava of the BigAdda times .. Wishes to all .. namaskar .. herzlichen glückwunsch zum geburtstag .. sneh .. aadaab .. aur sat sri akaal .. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 .. And special greetings to Ef Anil for getting his Doctorate in “Automobile Engineering Management” from Dulce University, Uganda .. congratulations Dr. Anil saheb .. double celebration 🎉 .. From your Ef ever .. 🌿

And as the numerology takes credence .. the match for the numbers at the T and FB finally reach conclusion there is a sense of achievement and joy .. and many wonder why is it that I number the DAY and the T and the FB ..

and I wonder what it is that drives them to seek such explanation .. I do it .. you got a problem with that ..?

the interviewer ever asks .. the interviewee ever has to answer .. and therein lies the irony of life .. and the irony needs no expansion because it shall fall into the same bracket will it not ..

you ask .. I reply .. 🤣🤣🤣

the days have been spent in isolation .. and isolation develops a routine of its own which differs from the regular work days ..

the human is a most adjustable being and rapidly adjusts to circumstances .. well , most of the times ..

having adjusted to the isolatored being .. when the routine of work begins the apprehensions shall obviously take over .. will it be the same conditions .. will I be able to do it .. will there be shortfalls .. how shall it be addressed .. will the work place be tolerant to my shortcomings ..

and many more such ..

the obvious response from the Ef is an expected , answer .. which is apparent to me , and which does not appeal to my senses ..

but it still does not stop me from the condition ..

so I shall be spending time in the apprehensive trepidatious norm .. and learn to bear ..

each day is a learning ..

you learn a fresh habit .. a fresh word .. a new thought .. a carefree determined response to them that need a response in some wayward thought ..

before the night is out I shall learn a few more .. and more importantly ..

remember ..

remember to lock the doors on the floor .. to put out the lights .. to put out the candles if they bring the factor of enhanced aroma .. to get all the medications in ..

and ..

to communicate to the dearest EF .. my love

Amitabh Bachchan

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mariacallous · 17 days

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A two-month pause in South Africa’s rolling power cuts should have been a call for celebration. Instead, it has ignited debate over how it could boost support for the country’s embattled ruling party ahead of the national election on May 29.

The timing has led to widespread speculation that officials—at an enormous cost to the budget—are intervening in the electricity market to shore up support for the African National Congress (ANC), which risks losing its majority for the first time since the advent of democracy in South Africa three decades ago.

The turnaround at Eskom, the state-owned power utility which has struggled to maintain a steady supply of electricity since 2007, has indeed been dramatic.

Last year, scheduled blackouts, known locally as load shedding, reached record levels and cost the already floundering economy about $90 billion and over 860,000 jobs—particularly hitting its mining and manufacturing sectors. At the micro level, too, South Africans have had to mould their lives around daily power cuts.

Over the past five years, the worsening energy crisis has threatened the survival of businesses—including KFC, the popular American fast-food joint—and required costly fixes for companies that need a steady supply of electricity. Grocery retailer Shoprite recently reported spending $28 million in six months on diesel generators to keep its lights and refrigerators on.

Power cuts have also exacerbated the country’s crime problem, with reports of increased home burglaries in areas that are temporarily disconnected from the grid. Today, smartphone apps such as EskomSePush and Load Shedding Notifier, which provide alerts about impending blackouts, rank among the most downloaded apps in the country.

Owing to incessant breakdowns across the country’s fleet of aging coal-fired power stations, it is estimated that the average citizen spent a fifth of last year without electricity.

Thus, to partially cover the shortfall in electrical output in 2023, Eskom ramped up its use of costly diesel-powered generators, further compromising its already unsustainable financial position. According to Eskom’s latest annual report, the unit cost of electricity from diesel generators is 14 times higher than the utility’s coal plants.

Even so, the heavy reliance on diesel continued into the new year. However, in late March, Eskom announced a suspension of load shedding, thus, sparking confusion. Opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance, and other commentators are wary of “political interference” and believe that Eskom may be engineering a short-term fix to ratchet up support for the ANC in the run up to voting day.

To many, the skepticism is warranted given Eskom’s checkered past. Even the utility’s former CEO, Andre de Ruyter—who exposed endemic corruption when at the helm but quit the job in early 2023 after being poisoned with cyanide-laced coffee—has said the only plausible explanation is that diesel is being burned “at a rate of knots.”

In a televised interview last year, de Ruyter said that Eskom loses more than $55 million every month to theft, thanks to organized cartels that operate freely within the utility and dodgy procurement deals (an audit by his team found that the company paid over $11,000 for a single mop).

But data from Eskom’s system operator tells a different story about the recent load shedding-free streak. Though the utility’s diesel consumption was particularly high in the first 12 weeks of the year, it fell sharply when blackouts were suspended in March. Since then, use of the fuel has been well below the same periods in 2023, and even 2022.

Instead of running them almost constantly, as it did last year, Eskom is now using its diesel-powered turbines for their intended purpose only: to help meet surges in demand during the morning and evening peak periods.

According to Eskom, it spent 1.1 billion South African rand, or roughly $60 million, on diesel last month, a notable decline from the 3.1 billion rand spent in the same month a year before. Analysts are confident that the utility is being truthful, pointing out that the country’s electricity supply has increased materially in recent months while demand has shrunk.

Most notably, Eskom has brought several units of the Kusile power plant, located in the Mpumalanga province, back online. Though the facility has been under repair, the utility was granted regulatory approval to temporarily operate those units without technologies that prevent toxic sulfur dioxide emissions. This has effectively increased Eskom’s available generating capacity by as much as 2,100 megawatts (MW), which is more than the average supply deficit throughout 2023.

In addition to Kusile, the rest of the utility’s coal fleet is in slightly better shape thanks to increased maintenance over the summer months—between October and March—when electricity demand is typically below average. Both of these have contributed to a meaningful decline in the number of unplanned outages in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, a decrease in overall demand, owing to the weak economy and a boom in private renewable energy investments, has also helped. Eskom estimates that solar panels with a cumulative generating capacity of 5,500 MW have now been installed on the roofs of South Africa’s malls, office blocks, warehouses and households. Of that amount, roughly 2,100 MW was added in the last year alone—the vast majority of which is for self use as the country doesn’t yet have a national feed-in policy.

According to independent energy analyst Clyde Mallinson, total demand for Eskom’s electricity has declined by around 1,400 MW on average, over the past year. He estimates that 30 percent of that is due to reduced consumption from industrial firms, such as steel producers, and from mining groups, including platinum miners, which employ some 182,000 people but have struggled amid a pullback in prices of the metal.

All things considered, the timing of the break in load shedding is merely “coincidental,” Mallinson said. But the communities near the sulfur dioxide-spewing Kusile power plant are still paying the price.

James Mackay, chief executive of the Energy Council of South Africa, a business group that is working with the government to resolve the power crisis, agreed, saying the reprieve “is not electioneering—it’s a genuine shift.”

The improvement is the result of “18 months to two years of hard work,” Mackay said, and reflects renewed efforts to clamp down on corruption, a fresh Eskom leadership team that has political support, an improved culture at the utility, and a stronger maintenance program. The private sector’s involvement, partly in the form of capacity building, is also making a difference.

While the country’s electrical grid remains vulnerable and load shedding is expected to return at some point, power cuts will be less severe going forward, Mackay predicted.

Until then, the ANC is benefiting from a partial recovery in support at just the right time.

In a national poll conducted by the Social Research Foundation in March 2023, 41 percent of ANC supporters said load shedding had forced them to reconsider their support for the party once led by Nelson Mandela. And a quarter said they would not vote for the party if it did not fix the country’s electricity crisis by election day.

“The lights being on has created a fortuitous campaigning environment for the ANC,” said Frans Cronje, director of the Social Research Foundation.

Last month, the party’s support dipped slightly below 40 percent for the first time ever, polling showed. But the latest surveys show it is creeping back up towards the 50 percent mark. The recovery is only partially attributable to the pause in rolling blackouts, Cronje said.

Since 2004, support for the ANC has been steadily declining, as voters remain frustrated over the country’s rising unemployment and poverty rates as well as the numerous corruption scandals that have plagued the administrations of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.

Still, the party typically manages to win back some voters in the weeks before every election through an intensive door-to-door campaign. Yet Cronje says the “glacial trend” shows support for the ANC will continue to decline until the next election in 2029—even if load shedding is consigned to the history books.

By that time, South Africa will have liberalized its electricity sector and closed the chapter on Eskom’s century-long monopoly, according to a piece of legislation that may be signed into law before May 29.

Though the state has long resisted calls to allow for a competitive power market, Eskom’s dire financial situation and inability to keep the lights on has finally forced its hand.

The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill is aimed at modernizing the country’s power sector by allowing non-Eskom electricity trading for the first time and requiring the establishment of a fully competitive wholesale market within five years.

That is an ambitious timeline, according to Mackay, who says the partnership between the government and the private sector will need to hold firm to ensure an orderly transformation of the power sector. Mackay adds that as South Africa moves beyond its era of energy insecurity, it will need to be transparent about its plans to decommission coal plants.

The government has suggested it will have to delay plant shutdowns for the foreseeable future, in spite of the blockbuster $8.5 billion energy transition funding deal it agreed to at the COP26 climate conference in late 2021.

“We have said we will transition to cleaner energy, but at our own pace and own time,” President Ramaphosa said last year. “We have got to do it, taking into account the needs of our people and the requirements of energy security.”

Though it is too early to declare victory, Eskom’s recent turnaround provides an opportunity to accelerate South Africa’s green energy ambitions, according to Mallinson. Doing so would help the country to cushion the economic blow of the European Union’s impending carbon border taxes—as things stand, South Africa will be hit harder than any other nation due to its unusually heavy reliance on coal.

While the transition is expected to open up new opportunities for South Africa to become a supplier of low-carbon steel and other goods, it will need to be carefully managed, with over 120,000 people working in the coal sector. The just transition program agreed at COP26 includes funding to reskill these workers and develop new industries in their communities, but progress to date has been slow.

President Ramaphosa wants to attract private-sector investment worth $110 billion in the next five years as South Africa leans more on its BRICS partners—including China, India and Russia—while also seeking to maintain close ties to the United States, the U.K., and Europe. But to successfully court investors and reignite the moribund economy, South Africa needs to finally close the chapter on its load shedding nightmare.

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askagamedev · 1 year

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Does crunch affect all team members evenly, or does it affect some more than others? IE Artists do crunch, but they crunch programmers the hardest.

Let's take a step back and consider some context to your question. If there is too much work to do before a deadline, we either have to push the deadline or increase the amount of work done during the time remaining. Let's assume that the deadline is immutable - it's an E3 demo or a hard launch date. If that's the case, we need to increase the amount of work done over time. One way to do that is by crunching. Crunching tends to be more cost-effective than hiring additional workers because it bypasses the usual ramp-up time that new workers need to acclimate and become productive, though it is possible to do both simultaneously.

If you look at crunch as a means to patch a shortfall in total work done, then you should start seeing where and how crunch would affect people. If the environment art team falls significantly behind the combat team, the quest team, the itemization team, and the server team, then the environment art team may be pressured to (or even choose to) crunch to catch up. If a specific feature is behind schedule, the sub-team working on that feature might need to crunch. If the entire game is behind schedule for cert submission, the entire team may have to crunch to hit their ship date.

There is a special time frame in the final stage before certification on console though - when moving toward cert, it is normal that there are certain lockouts that occur in order to maintain stability. Artists and designers are the first to be barred from making any changes that are not explicitly approved by production in order to minimize the chances of something new jeopardizing a cert candidate. This period is called "content freeze" (or "content lock") - no content may be modified or added past that point unless it fixes a cert bug and the producers explicitly ask for it. After "content freeze" comes "code freeze", where even engineers are not allowed to make any changes unless explicitly asked for by production and vetted by the tech leadership. Because of this gap between content and code freeze, engineering (and production) tends to crunch a little longer than everybody else.

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#crunch time #working in the game industry #in my experience

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warsofasoiaf · 2 years

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Possibly a naive question but giving Russia's embarrassing failures how is it that Russia and to an extent the Soviet Union be advanced in things like Nuclear Weapons, Aerospace Rocketry and other technologies and be such an abject failure in basic economic and military affairs? Or was it always a house of cards and Russia has always been a step behind?

It's not a naïve question. There are several factors.

The Soviet Union was a highly-militarized police state, they kept most of the country in a low standard of living and devoted a high percentage of their budget (roughly 18-20%, over two times that of the USA). Almost all of their intellectual capital went to military research and design, and so they were able to develop successes, particularly when it came to rocketry, since rocketry could help design better missiles to increase deterrence and better project Soviet power. However, as there was little in the way of consumer goods, this left the Soviet population relatively impoverished. This is actually a significant point of difference with modern Russia, who only devotes a fraction of that percentage to their military. However, they are not in a superpower conflict despite Russian domestic propaganda claims. Russian conflict in the post-Soviet era have primarily been against small nations, and notably the Russians have taken disproportionately high casualties.

A lot of Soviet nuclear engineering was enabled through espionage. First Lightning aka "Joe-1," the first Soviet nuclear bomb, was almost completely enabled through Manhattan Project research stolen by Soviet spies and ideological supporters within the project. To a lesser extent, the Soviet Union relied heavily on the theft of Western technological designs through the KGB's Directorate T, also called the Line X program. Russia today relies heavily on Western components for their higher-grade systems, particularly guidance chips for their PGM's. They've been sanctioned for years and it shows, the industrial capacity to replace Kalibr cruise missiles simply isn't present.

A lot of advanced Soviet engineering was actually not as advanced as you might think. The MiG-25 "Foxbat" supersonic interceptor was perceived as an ultra-maneuverable aviation threat, when in fact, the large wings did not mean exceptional maneuverability, but rather the Foxbat required large wings because the entire aircraft was made out of stainless steel and so it needed the extra wingspan simply to produce lift to cancel out the plane's high weight. It's high speed couldn't be sustained and so its only real use was attempting to chase down the SR-71 Blackbird, which it couldn't do because it was slower, couldn't fly as high, and in order to be capable, needed to strip off its armaments. Russia's corruption problems, as shown with its supply problems and equipment shortfalls, has shown that a lot of "advanced" Russian military capabilities are only that on paper.

The Soviet Union was never an economic superpower that could compete with the United States. From a GDP per capita position, the USSR was weaker than Western Europe, even weaker than some of its own Warsaw Pact puppet states. Even in aggregate, the USSR was never larger than Western Europe as its own bloc. So in that sense, it couldn't compete in delivering economic coherence or broad prosperity even if it had wanted to - its economic theories were flawed and it simply couldn't compete either as a producer of high quantities of average goods (as production quality in the USSR was very haphazard nor was there any solicitation of end-user feedback) nor in a knowledge economy producing high-quality finished goods (as the technical and intellectual capital wasn't present).

So as you can see, it's a variety of factors. The USSR was far from the complete and utter basket case that its detractors painted it as, and they could enjoy some successes, but by and large, economically it was an absolute mess and its military was propped up largely due to the consumption of the consumer economy and the idea that mutually assured destruction could mean that conventional warfare with their rival was a truly undesirable state of affairs.

Thanks for the question, James.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#history #soviet union #economics

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