#horseshoe repair
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Tom Saves The World
Everyone knows that it’s super-heroes who save the world. They fight the aliens, or the monsters, or the bad guys. And mostly, that’s true.
But not always.
I’m a psychic. The thing is, my range isn’t that great. I don’t have much detail more than about 36 hours out, 48 for something really big. I’d had a nebulous sort of bad feeling for about a week before this one finally hit, and it was big. Something very tough and very supernatural was going to come up out of the harbor of Nova Roma, and the death-toll was going to be high. Crazy high.
I did all I could. I told the Unaligned Supers Job Placement Agency, and they put the word out to everyone on both sides of the Line. The Henchman’s Union don’t like natural disasters any more than anyone else, and they’re often quite helpful against eldritch horrors and stuff like that. Things that don’t hire henchmen and ruin the property values.
The trouble was, nobody big was around. The only really big team of heavy hitters on the West Coast were away dealing with some sort of doomsday cult - I never was clear on what that was about - and Guarde and Dog Fox were out of touch and even Mx Frantique was out of town at someone’s wedding. It was going to happen in less than two days and we couldn’t find anyone to help and I was seriously considering calling in some kind of bomb threat or something to get people away from the docks, at least.
And then, about eighteen hours out, it just… went away.
Which never, ever happens.
My powers might be short range, but they’re reliable. I don’t get stuff wrong, and I hadn’t been able to find any way to prevent what was going to happen, or even been able to identify anyone who could. But someone did. Someone had done something to stop the threat, something that happened literally while I was opening my car door. When I reached for the handle, thousands of people were going to die. By the time the door was open, there was no threat at all.
At first I thought it must have been a ranged thing. Like, whatever I’d been seeing (all those teeth, I saw them in nightmares for months after) had been distracted by something tasty on its way here and gotten off track, that it’d come up somewhere up or down the coast. My range isn’t that big, either. Anything outside about thirty miles might as well be on Mars for all I know about it. So we kept a watch out, and warned the chapters of the Union and the Agency in other cities.
But nothing happened. Nothing at all. I couldn’t explain it, and I was really unpopular for a while. Supers do NOT like people who cry wolf. There’s enough freaky shit we have to deal with without someone panicking everyone with a dire prophecy that fizzles out.
Thank all the gods that Tunny showed up. Nobody’s really sure what Tunny actually is - sentient fish creature, some kind of really mutated human, an alien, or what. She changes her story a lot. But she’s pretty friendly, especially for a twenty-foot-long horror-movie-mermaid-thing with four arms, so when she came into harbor to pick up some supplies a guy from the Agency went out to tell her what I’d seen. I’d gotten a wharf and dock number, so she went down to check.
I don’t think anyone had ever seen Tunny scared before. Her English wasn’t good enough to really explain what she’d found hibernating down there, but it was something very old and very powerful and very dangerous, and if it’d been woken up my vision would just have been the start of the crisis.
She rounded up a bunch of whales to help her move it, once she was sure it hadn’t been agitated and wasn’t likely to rouse if moved carefully. They towed it out before dawn, not wanting to scare the civilians, and when I saw the footage from the helicopter the Union sent up, when I saw how big the swell was, how many whales were pulling, I swear I nearly crapped myself. No wonder I’d been getting hints a week in advance. Somehow we dumbass humans had built a whole fucking city almost on top of some kind of Ancient Old… THING, and eroded the sea-bottom until it was exposed, and if someone hadn’t done whatever it was we’d all have been dead long before Tunny arrived. And not just all as in ‘all of Nova Roma’, it could have taken out half of the continent... or all of it.
It took me years to find out what happened. YEARS. It turned into a kind of hobby, tracking everything that might possibly have come into contact with Wharf 38 on that particular day.
And what I found, eventually, was a city employee named Thomas Briggs.
I’d found out early on that 38 wasn’t in good repair. Not that bad, but not great. It was old, things were getting a bit saggy in a few places, but there’d been no sign that anything was likely to fall off on the day. It had sat there for a couple of years after the crisis that never happened,, doing its job without problems then been rebuilt without any drama at all.
Entirely, completely, and totally because of Thomas Briggs.
The story, when I finally pieced it together, went like this.
There’d been some project or other to build some sort of high-budget science project over on the other side of the harbor, hanging it off’ve Pier 8, the furthest out on that side. Something about tracking sea-life or ships or something. My conversational English is near perfect, I’ve been here for years, but I don’t speak science nerd in ANY language. It’d all been approved, some university was covering most of the cost, it was all gonna be fine. And it was gonna be over on 8 because that side of the harbor is the shallow end. It’s where the sailboats go. All the big stuff that would block visual sensors and deafen the thing with engine noise was over in the thirties, in the real deep water.
They were almost ready to install the thing when a bunch of rich dudes suddenly got their panties in a bunch over having a big sciency tower thing ruining the view from their yachts, and tried to get it moved.
To, and I’m sure you guessed this, Wharf 38.
Which was completely insane. It wouldn’t be able to do its job over there, it’d be way more in the way, and (although they couldn’t have known it) the installation would definitely have woken up the Thing sleeping by the wharf and we all would have died. But rich dudes with yachts don’t care about that stuff. They’d bitched out and bribed up their friends on the city council, and those friends had done their thing, and the scientists had been left in the dark, and it’d almost gone through. They’d figured to install it right away, so that when the science guys found out it’d be too late and they’d either have to pay a lot to move it or just use it where it was.
Enter Thomas Briggs.
Mr Briggs, Tom to his friends, didn’t give a crap about the yachts or the science. He was a senior money guy for the commercial wharfs, the one who figured out things like how much money they’d take in in a quarter, and what the repair budget should be, stuff like that. He found out about this thing two days before the disaster would have happened, and sat down and did the math.
Then he sent out an email to the guys trying to push this through, and he ripped into them like they’d threatened to knife his mother. I got my hands on that email, and I didn’t understand a lot of it any more than the council guys would have. It was ALL numbers. But at the top he wrote it out in plain English. Pier 8 was new, and rated to handle the weight of the thingy. Wharf 38 was going to be scrapped in a few years, and it was NOT rated for that kind of structure. Pier 8 had plenty of room around it. Wharf 38 was already a tight fit for the big commercial ships, and adding a structure sticking out on one side would block off at least half of the wharf to those ships completely.
Bottom line, putting the thing on Wharf 38 would cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars more per year than putting it on 8, AND the city would have to eat the cost if 38 collapsed under it which it could easily do, AND the city would have to pay to move it in a couple of years anyway when 38 was due to be rebuilt.
And he cc-ed every important person he had an email address for, including the mayor, the anti-corruption people, and several reporters.
He must have sent that email right when I was opening my car door.
The whole plan collapsed right there, and some people got fired. There was no news story because the whole plan got killed before the reporters even got to the right office. The installation was started on Wharf 8 a few weeks later and I never connected it to a commercial wharf on the other side of the harbor.
One email, and a man who I never could have located in time, a man who had no powers at all, a man who was just conscientiously doing his job looking after the city’s money saved the city, and the continent, and maybe even the world.
Who could have predicted that? Not me, that’s for damn sure.
I can’t deny that I went home and got drunk off my ass that night. Just thinking about how close that had been made my hands shake. One man. One honest man who’d done the math.
I put the word out, once the hangover wore off. What had happened. That Thomas Briggs was the reason we were all alive and everyone better make his life real nice from now on, because he’d done what none of us could do and nobody but the supers would ever even know it.
He’s got a lot of luck coming to him, I can tell you. We don’t forget debts like that.
And I knew that’d freak him out, because honest men don’t like it when people start doing them a lot of favors for no apparent reason, so I tracked him down at the little bar where he likes to have a quiet beer on Friday nights before he goes home. Hell, I was the one who’d gone through it all, back then. I should get to tell him.
I sat down beside him at the bar and looked at him. I saw a thin, small, balding man who looked like he worried too much and didn’t get enough sleep, with lines around his eyes. Yeah, he looked like a man who’d do the math. “Thomas Briggs?”
He blinked at me through his glasses. “Yes? Do I know you?”
“No, you don’t. My name’s Barkhado Omar, and I’ve been looking for you for a long time.” I offered him my hand and he shook it, still looking confused. Which was fair, ‘cause I doubt a lot of seven foot tall Somali women came up to him in bars even when he was young. He’s got to be close to retirement now.
He frowned. “Looking for me? Why?”
I smiled at him. “Tom, let me buy you a drink and tell you about the day you saved the world.”
It’s usually us who save the city, or the world. We have all the intel, all the advantages, all the powers.
But sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s someone like Tom Briggs, doing the right thing at the right time and never knowing that he changed the course of history.
Wild, huh?
--
This story is a direct result of me and my ex chatting about how different the entire Marvel Universe would have been if Jean’s first ‘resurrection’ - being found in a life pod under a wharf, IIRC - had happened at like... any other time. Earlier. Later. It would have changed SO MUCH.
And we speculated about how it could happen, how someone just puttering around in middle management might have unknowingly saved countless lives, prevented Madelyne’s corruption, the legacy virus, all of it, just by postponing that particular set of repairs a bit longer.... and I couldn’t resist writing a version of the story in which Tom does, in fact, save the world.
#short fiction#dyce's supers universe#comics inspired#sometimes something just goes right#horseshoe repair
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I didn't know you were the author, that's cool! I'm loving your story!
Have you read any of the other fics I recommended? They're really great too
Aww thank you! I'm glad you're loving the story so far!
Also, yes! I've read a few of the fics you reccomended.
I actually have a few fic recommendations that I feel need to be shared.
Blue Raspberry- by OrcaDork6
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades- by Scouts_Mockingbird
not beyond repair - by onthelasttrain
#heathers the movie#heathers the musical#heathers#heathers fanfic#blue raspberry#horseshoes and hand grenades#not beyond repair#fanfiction recommendation#fanfic rec
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Idle thoughts for the historical royalty au it turns out I want to read, but can’t be bothered to write.
This is a fairly young or small kingdom. Early Plantagenets but less established.
Steve’s mom is more in the category of Eleanor of Aquitaine. She’s off in her own lands trying to fix the mess that the King made. The King forbade her taking Steve with her and they both have other lovers. Steve’s mom had several failed pregnancies when he was young, and at least one or two siblings that died too young for him to really remember.
The King is fighting yet another push against Not-France. Has been gone for at least two years, will be gone at least one more. Left his advisors and council in place, and gave Steve very little authority. He’s basically Henry the first. Except he’s Richard
Most of the important Lords and families left the capital when the King did, either to go on campaign, or back to their own homes. The adults who remain are either greedy and manipulative or too low ranked to have another option. Lots of the children of families are left there as good faith
Nancy and Barb are the daughters of nobility, not known for their social standing. Carol and Tommy are trying very hard to get/stay in Steve’s favor so they can elevate their and their families’ status. Joyce got elevated to a role like a chatelaine because the prior died while the king was gone. Hopper is Captain of the Guard.
Magic exists if you ask the right person, but in any official sense or statement there is science, religion, and blasphemous rumors.
El is for sure somewhere in the changeling shade of things. But in the sense that she got stolen, lived with the Unseelie Court, and escaped. Because he is the reason I am in this fandom; El follows the sound of music and laughter and finds Eddie.
Eddie lives with his uncle, who was in the last war, took an arrow to the knee and can’t serve again. Does odd jobs and repairs things for people. Eddie is supposed to be apprenticing as a scribe, but hates writing down ledgers of how much the Lords spend and how much they tax. It’s doomed from the start. But, it means he’s the rare example of a poor kid in the city who can read and write. He makes spare money telling stories, writing down and using bits of histories and rumors he hears while apprenticing. And because he travels from the town up to the court, he’s also doing a bit of unofficial trade.
Lucas helps at the stables. Mike wants to be a knight, but was too young to go with the king to war. Younger kids went, but the Wheelers are just noblé enough that he didn’t. Only son privileges. Will was sick as a kid, so he’s seen as kind of a ‘what’s the point’ but he learned to read a little, then spent so long sick he taught himself more.
Dustin flits around the court and castle, bullying people into explaining things to him. He has learned many things, and is still a little genius, but his reading is kinda self taught so he can’t always say why he’s right beyond saying that he is. Claudia came with the Queens court but stayed after the Queen left again. She’s in a weird important-but-not-noble position. Steve adores her because she was around more than his mom.
Actually. Yeah. Dial up the magic a little. The King conquered the region and stomped out most of the hedge-witch type folks. Also pissed off some of the more powerful ones as they fled. But the big piece is that he broke A Thing™ that served to hold the worlds separate. That was a least 15 years ago. The leak is slow/irs been getting worse.
Lucas’s family isn’t nobility, but they’re wealthier than some of the nobles. He’s the personable son with a fondness for horses, racing, hunts, etc.
Max and family moved to Hawkins and something something, Max is now working at a smithy. It’s not what she should be doing, but she’s really good at it. Also: horseshoes gets us LuMax.
Maybe the Hargrove were noble, mayfields weren’t. Lord Hargrove went to war, Billy has been there too, and the second you look away from max she’s back to doing what she wants.
Murray is something like a hedgewitch.
The Russians become some of the conquered people, looking for an opportunity to reclaim and lacking that: a chance to fuck things up for Hawkins.
Creel is def a kid from wayyy long ago, who got conned by the fae, but spent so long there that he’s got magic of his own, and a love/hate with a humans.
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Standard humanoid patterned jumpsuit uniforms of the United Mellanus Space Program, circa 2360s-2380s. Division colors inspired by Federation Starfleet uniforms were introduced in the mid-2360s, but the basic jumpsuit pattern (with zipper holes doing double duty as pockets and holes for additional or modified limbs to pop out) dates back to the early days of spaceflight, and, in fact, to old military uniforms. There is room on the black right shoulder for relevant pins or pips, and room on the left arm for a mission-patch and any relevant national flag or organizational logo. The patch on the breast is a blue circle with a red horseshoe and a white star with the top point being exaggerated to point upwards.
UMSP Administrators don't actually wear jumpsuits, but their suits, jackets, dresses, and vests used for formal purposes often use red accents.
Command division includes rocket captains, space station commanders, or whomever is in command of a spacecraft.
Mission Specialists comprise the astronomers, physicists, biologists, archaeologists, planetary scientists/geologists, and payload specialists that fly on missions that are not otherwise primarily tasked with the operation of the spacecraft itself.
Medical are medics, nurses, and doctors. If a biologist is flying on a biology-focused mission (for example, a landing on Oldsky or Lake, or an orbital botany experiment) but they happen to be a trained medic, they may also use the white uniform with a mission specialist mint stripe.
Astrogators are the astronauts who figure out how to get rockets to where they need to go, and may be responsible for the orbital maneuvers and traffic control for space stations as well. (Astrogator is the space version of a navigator). In most cases, spacecrafts are controlled through preprogrammed manuevers, but manual piloting also falls under the Astrogation division. Subspace field dynamics was originally under the purview of Mission Specialist division, but as pulsed warp drives become integrated into more missions in the 2380s, subspace physicists have generally doffed mint and donned blue.
Engineers, more properly Flight Engineers, are astronauts tasked with upkeep, maintenence, and operation of ship systems, or with the assembly of rockets and space stations in space. They may be expected to conduct EVAs to perform repairs, they manage a ship's nuclear reactor, nuclear-thermal-impulse-drives, or if present, even its pulsed warp drive.
Security astronauts are usually restricted to rare military-contracted missions, but the uniform is also used for the ground-based security force of the UMSP. They're also found at phaser stations, now that phaser operation is coordinated with the UMSP for phaser-powered launch vehicles. If you're not where you're supposed to be in a UMSP facility, they're the ones who are gonna throw you out
#Slimegirl#Slime girl#Mellanoid Slime#Mellanoid Slime Worm#Mellanoid Slime Worldbuilding#Mellanoid Space Program#Star Trek#also yeah i got lazy and ran out of creativity when drawing the last four astronauts
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you make me feel at home
Summary: Domestic Nace - Based on the prompt: “That’s not your usual order.”
Author Notes: Title from At Home by Jon Bryant - For @scarletslippers
Also on A03
-/-
“Hey honey, I’m gonna be driving past The Claw on my way back into town. I can pick us up something for dinner if you want?” He pauses and she can hear his lips curl effortlessly over the phone as he most likely drives past the Welcome to Horseshoe Bay sign. “For old times’ sake.” He adds lightly to punctuate his question.
Ace had been out of town Friday and Saturday night at a coroner convention and was arriving back home this Sunday evening. He has been offered the lead of a panel entitled The Art of the Stitch: The Importance of Repairing a Body After an Autopsy.
She couldn’t have been prouder.
Or more excited he was coming home.
Her stomach gurgles as she stretches her legs out on the couch cushions, and it jolts her to hum her order into the receiver. “Clam chowder. Minus the clams. Extra hot sauce.”
There’s a ripple of a laugh on the other end and she furrows a brow in sarcastic contempt. “Was something funny?”
“That’s not your usual order is all,” the bubbly giggle subsiding as he coughs and clears his throat. “Sounds delicious.”
Leaning her back against the armrest she murmurs, “Ace, you know I can’t control the cravings. The baby wants what the baby wants.”
He shrugs into the bright side of the topic. “Well, let’s hope when she’s born, her palette changes.”
“Hey, if our daughter wants to enjoy a nice piping hot bowl of spicy seafood absentee chowder, then she can proudly do so without shame.”
He sighs tenderly into the phone, and she hears the tone shift in the receiver. “I love you.”
“I…” Her reply interrupted by a soft fluttering of sorts within herself, her eyes glancing down at her swollen belly. “I think she heard that too.”
“In that case, I love you both.”
Her lips spread across her face into a ridiculous grin. “Drive safe.” And then she can’t help it. “And don’t forget, extra hot…”
“I’ll make sure they pack me a whole bottle, how about that?”
“Thanks, honey.”
“See you both soon.”
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Have figured romantic and familial relationships ala the quadrant system from homestuck including my take on leprechaun romance. I spent entirely too long on these but please tell me what y'all think! Info is also below the cut for screen readers. Please credit if you use any of the ones I made…
An important note: Any of the romantic ones can involve intimacy/sex or not it depends on the relationship in question. Regarding both soulmate and foundmate relationships if it is an adult and a child the bond is always a familial one. Any of the relationships can be monogamous or polyamorous. Many bonds also may start as found but turn into soul over time via white/prism or red/heart. There are also many that have both involved (such as Ben Solo and Rey from the Star Wars sequel series being both “love/affection”/matesprits (soulmates) and “we can be great together”/ambitners (foundmates).
Each bond has a hue/flavor adjective, a hex code for the color and meanings listed.
Any of the bonds can include/start as platonic feelings/friendship because friendship is just that versatile. Technically any of the romance can be found or oul mate thee are jut general rules. However, familial relationships are separate from the romantic ones. (mint and star don't mix because one is familial and one is romantic, etc)
~
Romantic Soulmates (instant connection)
Matespritship (mate + esprit)/Heart: red (#FF0000) can be either soul (instant connection) or found (bond formed over time). Is flush and symbolizes “love/affection” and pertains to romance, though it shares territory with sellove due to being a symbol of love/affection in general no matter the type of bond.
Moirallegiance (Moira/fated + allegiance)/Diamond: pink (#FFC0CB) Is pale and can be seen even among family members because there is white/prism in it. It means “to have a best friend”.
Rhympatible (rhyme + compatible)/Balloon: fuchsia (#FF00FF) It is smooth and the meaning is “like attracts like”.
Starverence (star + reverence)/Star: orange (FFA500) Is bright and means a “celebrity or heroic crush turned to love”, or “pure admiration”.
Repotract (repair + contract)/Moon: yellow (#FFFF00) is dappled, like moonlight reflected in clear water. It means “mentor and student” and a good example of this would be Aang and Katara from Avatar: the Last Airbender especially in season 2.
Pursuitance (pursuit + romance)/Pot of Gold: gold (#FFD700) is shiny and symbolizes the “thrill of the chase”.
Appreagnetism (appreciate + magnetism)/Clover: green (#3CB043) is lush and symbolizes “a breath of fresh air”.
Shelender (shelter + tender)/Rainbow: blue (#0000FF) is cozy and means “nurturer and nurtured”. It also tends to be very cuddly.
Gambolship (gambol + relationship)/Horseshoe: purple (#A020F0) is cheeky and means “partner in mischief”. Sirius Black and James Potter would be a good example of this, even if they don’t end up together romantically.
Kismesissitude (kismet/fated + nemesis)/Fleur De Lis: black (#000000) is pitch and means “to have a number one rival”. The spades seen in homestuck canon are…not healthy. I chose the fleur de lis because it symbolizes french royalty and a proper rival makes you want to be the best version of yourself. (The spade from homestuck I thought about for a long time and figured that it symbolizes the toxic relationships like Gamzee/Terezi or Spades Slick/Black Queen. Aka plenty on Alternia but it’s not how proper kismesissitudes are supposed to be. An example of a good nonintimate/no sex involved kismesissitude is Goku/Vegeta from Dragonball Z. One that could involve intimacy/sex should they get together would be Seto Kaiba/Yami Yuugi if the latter had his own body.)
Auspisticism (auspicious + allegiance)/Club: gray (#808080) is ashen and means “keeps the peace”. Usually at least 3 or more involved in some way, so a lot of OT3s fit into this I’d think.
Diametrothal (diamond + betrothal)/Spiral: silver (#C0C0C0) is curly and means “opposites attract”.
Romantic Foundmates (bond formed over time)
Ambitnership (ambitious + partner)/Infinity: crimson (#DC143C) is ruddy and means “we can be great together”. Another example of this pair aside from Reylo is Sephiroth and Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7.
Belovant (beloved + confidant)/Circle: carmine (#960018) is elite and means “in my inner circle”. This one makes me think of the Inquisitor with their romantic interest at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition, as well as any video game protagonist with their main love interest.
Fitteure (fitted +treasure)/Music Note: ginger (#BE5504) is lyrical and means “ lets make music together”.
Shomradeship (sharing + comrade)/Flag: bronze (#CD7F32) is solid and means “under the same flag”. The Summoner and Marquise Spinneret Mindfang are like this.
Miavity (mixed + gravity)/Looped Arrow: dijon (#C49102) is heady and means “we circle each other”.
Esseond (essential + bond)/Upside Down Triangle: goldenrod (#DAA520) is classy and means “vital member of the team”.
Enlightace (enlightening + embrace)/Lightbulb: tuscany (#FCD12A) is sheer and means “you inspire me”. Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga from Naruto are a good example of this type.
Aortimith (aortic + locksmith)/Key: asparagus (#7BA05B) is firm and means “you have the key to my heart”.
Invignon (invigorating + companion)/Paw Print: juniper (#3A5311) is wild and means “you bring out the animal in me”.
Dialorum (dialogue + forum)/Speech Bubble: dark green (#466D1D) is gabby and means “we can talk for hours”.
Pamurse (pamper + nurse)/Medical Cross: basil (#32612D) is gratis and means “I’ll take care of you”.
Genespoil (generous + spoil)/Gift: mantis (#74C365) is lavish and means “I want to spoil you”.
Uplifer (uplifting + rescuer)/Flotation Ring: aqua (#08787F) is stalwart and means “I’ll always rescue you”.
Speciour (specific + amour/love)/Magnifying Glass: sea (#3C9992) is plucky and means “we can always find each other”. Ruby and Sapphire from Steven Universe have this type of bond.
Heroier (heroic + musketeer)/Quatrefoil: prussian (#003153) is hardy. It means “all for one and one for all”.
Sincerort (sincere + comfort)/Tear Drop: yale (#0E4D92) is mushy and represents “you can cry on my shoulder”.
Protelief (protective + relief)/Umbrella: cobalt (#0020C2) is stout and means “get under my umbrella”.
Nomadus (nomadic + locus)/Arrow: egyptian (#1034A6) is astute and symbolizes “looking towards the same direction”.
Stronst (strong + boost)/Dumbbell: eminence (#613385) is hale and means “bringing out each others’ strength”.
Chivard (chivalric + guard)/Shield: mauve (#D7A1F9) is adamant and means “I will protect you”.
Excitark (exciting + spark)/Lightning Bolt: jam (#A50B5E) is electric and means ‘you have my attention".
Twiame (twin + flame)/Flame: eggplant (#311465) is sassy and symbolizes “you light a fire in me”.
Compatony (compatible + symphony)/Heart Monitor Line: wine (#722F37) is rhythmic and means “we’re on the same wavelength”.
Cheresire (cherished + desire)/Target: maroon (#800000) has a sharp hue/flavor and means “you’re on my radar”. It can also be represented by the eyes emoji (👀).
Familial Soulmates (instant connection)
Deromise (depths + promise)/Hands Shaking: scarlet (#FF2400) is thick and symbolizes “the blood of the covenant”.
Enerfaction (energizing + satisfaction)/Whoosh: sunshade (#FFAD33) is swift and means “cool breeze in the summer”.
Thundise (thundering + surprise)/Sideways Lightning Bolt: lemon (#FAFA33) is shocking and means “shock to the system”.
Melequality (mellow + equality)/Rocking Chair: pear (#D1E231) is mellow and it means “you help me relax”.
Strision (striking + expression)/Harlequin (#3FFF00) is vivid and means “lets make a mark”.
Swiftation (swift + collaboration)/Trophy: malachite (#0BDA51) is nimble and means “teamwork makes the dream work”.
Thrillpade (thrilling + escapade)/Pair of Dice: cyan (#00FFFF) is flashy and means “you challenge me”.
Pricynergy (priceless + synergy)/Oyster with Pearl: cerulean (#2A52BE) is precious and means “little things matter”.
Wonderisity (wonder + diversity)/Four Pointed Star: cornflower (#6593F5) is quirky and means “understanding differences”.
Stantment (standards + commitment)/Prize Ribbon: wisteria (#BDB5D5) is robust and means “defining my expectations”.
Intuiding (intuitive + understanding)/Telescope: orchid (#DA70D6) is nifty and means “you get me”. I maintain the theory that Hans and Anna from Frozen were actually this and not romantically inclined and were instead trying to conform to heteronormative expectations.
Ascendity (ascending + nobility)/Crown: cerise (#DE3163) is silky and symbolizes “you make me feel like royalty”.
Familial Foundmates (bond formed over time)
Merndred (merrymaking + kindred)/Theater Comedy Mask: bubblegum (#FFC1CC) is fresh and symbolizes “it’s always fun when I’m with you”. King Bumi and Avatar Aang are a good representation of this bond.
Simnection (similar + connection)/Peach: deep peach (#FFCBA4) is ripe and represents “two of a kind”. Despite being depicted as reincarnations of one another, I think that Princess Serenity and Usagi Tsukino as well as Prince Endymion and Mamoru Chiba are examples of this type of bond. It’s very specific and thus not very common.
Idylarmth (idyllic + warmth)/Daisy: daisy (#F8DC75) is pastoral and symbolizes “a ray of sunshine”.
Imprelight (impressive + delight)/Honeycomb: honeydew (#DBDDBD) is sweet and represents “you blow me away”.
Stylisel (stylish + parallel)/Candy: mint (#3EB489) is chill and personifies “cool and refreshing”. This style of relationship makes me think of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan from the Twilight franchise-if yknow it wasn’t a toxic dumpster fire. I also believe that a lot of familial relationships are mistaken to be romantic or vice versa the other way around due to issues with any number of those involved.
Thriream (thrifty + dream)/Spiral Shell: seafoam (#3DED97) is billowy and symbolizes “want to be part of your world”.
Elegaty (elegant + tranquility)/Lotus: lilac (#C8A2C8) is ethereal and symbolizes “tranquil and free”.
Spontanial (spontaneous + special)/Snowflake: periwinkle (#CCCCFF) is graceful and represents “pristine and clear”.
Growflection (growing + reflection)/Stalks of Wheat: wheat (#F5DEB3) is keen and symbolizes “we flourish more when we’re together”.
Enthusivel (enthusiastic + marvel)/Sand Castle: sand (#C2B280) is bouncy and represents “you make me feel so alive”.
Playment (playful + agreement)/Pair of Marbles: cloud (#C5C6D0) is jolly and means “forever a good time”.
Healthern (healthy + pattern)/Dew On a Leaf: mist (#C9D3D7) is crisp and symbolizes “the brightness of morning”.
Other Bonds
Sellove (selfless + love)/Prism: white (contains all colors) (#FFFFFF) can be either soul (instant connection) or found (bond formed over time). is referred to as serene flavor or hue. Aka a bond beyond description. The Signless and the Disciple would fit into this category.
Any Other Notes
I still have a lot of examples missing from the types of relationships, so any input would be appreciated!
#homestuck#quadrants#shipping#romance#family#found family#tropes#relationships#blood aspect#heart aspect#leprechaun romance#homestuck quadrants#reference#theories#theory#my theories#ships#soulmates#foundmates#love#hs
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Back on my goth Vio tangent, and considering projecting violently onto my favorite little guys.
My take on Four’s timeline, as a character, is that between Minish Cap and Four Swords he went from being an acceptable citizen of the country to what the neighbors delicately called “fae-touched”. After Grandpa Smith’s death, he tries to keep going as a smith, but ends up just moving in with the Forest Minish to build legendary weapons around people who don’t look at him funny.
Four Swords opens, Zelda calls him back from the forest to check in on the seal. One guy becomes four, they pulverize Vaati, rejoin. Return to the woods. Rinse, repeat.
By the end of Four Swords Adventures, this is where I go off script one of two ways: either they can’t recombine because they were split into five and their fifth is missing, they get stuck in the seal with Vaati because their fifth is with them, or they once again leave and spend the rest of their time making legendary weapons.
The life of a career hero, as we all know, is full of trauma and the horrors. Also I feel like he would’ve never had much attachment to the goddesses in the first place. If he kept any gods, they’d be small, useful ones- forge and forest, steel and seed, small local spirits of hard work and getting your hands dirty. Big gods, creator gods of destiny and fate, can come for him if they really want his time. He’s got horseshoes to repair.
I just love the contrast between Sky, who was raised and fed on stories of Hylia, who fully intends on marrying her mortal incarnation, versus Four the smithy who would politely tell Hylia herself to wait a second because he needs to finish up drawing this wire, then leave out some cut apples for the Minish, and then he’d have to tell part of himself to shut up and pretend to be polite some more because this is a goddess he should be respectful (this is a waste of time).
Time continues the tradition of unorthodox gods by mostly either honoring the Deku Tree or his wife. I firmly believe Time is the reason Malanya exists.
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Astronauts to patch up NASA’s NICER telescope
NASA is planning to repair NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, during a spacewalk later this year. It will be the fourth science observatory in orbit serviced by astronauts.
In May 2023, scientists discovered that NICER had developed a “light leak.” Unwanted sunlight was entering the instrument and reaching the telescope’s sensitive detectors. While the team took immediate steps to mitigate the impact on observations, they also began thinking about a potential repair.
“The sunlight interferes with NICER’s ability to collect viable X-ray measurements during the station’s daytime,” said Zaven Arzoumanian, NICER’s science lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Nighttime observations are unaffected, and the telescope continues to produce incredible science. Hundreds of published papers have used NICER since the mission began. Blocking some of the light leaking in would allow us to return to more normal operations around the clock.”
Arzoumanian presented efforts to address the issue during a talk on Friday, April 12, at the 21st meeting of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.
NICER is located near the station’s inner starboard solar panels. From that perch, it looks out at the X-ray sky, collecting data on many cosmic phenomena, like regular pulses from superdense stellar remnants called neutron stars and “light echoes” from flaring black holes. Observing these objects helps answer questions about their nature and behavior and increases our understanding of matter and gravity. In 2017, NICER also demonstrated the use of pulsing neutron stars in our galaxy to serve as navigational beacons for future deep space exploration through a program called SEXTANT (Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology).
The telescope has 56 aluminum X-ray concentrators. Each concentrator has a set of nested mirrors, designed to skip X-rays into a detector. In front of the concentrator lies a thin filter, called a thermal shield, that blocks out sunlight. The concentrator is topped by a hollow circular piece of carbon composite, called a sunshade, with six segments that resemble a sliced pie. The sunshade is designed to keep the concentrators cool in sunlight and protect the delicate thermal shields. After the light leak developed, photos revealed several small areas of damage in some of the shields, though what caused them is still unclear.
“We didn’t design NICER for mission servicing. It was installed robotically, and we operate it from the ground,” said Keith Gendreau, NICER’s principal investigator at Goddard. “The possibility of a repair has been an exciting challenge. We considered both spacewalk and robotic solutions, puzzling out how to install patches using what’s already present on the telescope and in space station toolkits.”
After many months of consideration, the spacewalk was selected as the path forward. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Solar Maximum Mission, as well as AMS (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, also on the station) are the only other science observatories repaired by astronauts in orbit.
NICER’s solution is straightforward. Five pie piece-shaped wedges will slot into the sunshades above the areas with the greatest damage and lock into place. The patches are designed to take advantage of an existing piece of astronaut equipment, called a T-handle tool.
“While we worked hard to ensure the patches are mechanically simple, most repair activities in space are very complicated,” said Steve Kenyon, NICER’s mechanical lead at Goddard. “We've been conducting tests to confirm the repair work will be both an effective fix for NICER's light leak and completely safe for the astronauts on the spacewalk and the space station.”
The patches are currently scheduled to launch to the space station aboard Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply services mission later this year. Astronauts will complete their installation during a spacewalk, along with other tasks.
NICER is an Astrophysics Mission of Opportunity within NASA’s Explorers Program, which provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space utilizing innovative, streamlined, and efficient management approaches within the heliophysics and astrophysics science areas. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate supports the SEXTANT component of the mission, demonstrating pulsar-based spacecraft navigation.
NICER also collaborates in automated tandem with JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s) experiment MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image) to rapidly observe stars and other objects that flare unpredictably, advancing scientific understanding of our dynamic universe.
TOP IMAGE....This image, obtained June 8, 2018, shows NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) on the International Space Station, where it studies neutron stars and other X-ray sources. NICER is about the size of a washing machine. The sunshades of its X-ray concentrators are visible as an array of circular features. Credit NASA
LOWER IMAGE....The International Space Station appears in this photograph taken by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking on Oct. 4, 2018. NICER is the small white box standing above the station’s main truss at far right, adjacent to the inner solar panel. NASA/Roscosmos
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SSO REWRITTEN / FULL STORY SERIES
SUMMERPLAINS
-> SSO Rewritten is how I would write the main story. The posts will complete the whole main storyline.
-> Opening ALL the areas in the horse part of Jorvik (Harvestlands, Winterdale, Springvalley, Summerplains and Jorcrater)
-> Story from arriving to Jorvik to defeating Garnok.
-> You can find the story related posts with the tags "sso rewritten" and "sso full story series".
So saddle up and get ready for an adventure!
In this post:
Characters
Harvestlands: Phase 1-2-3
Winterdale: Phase 4-5-6
Springvalley: Phase 7-8-9
Summerplains: Phase 10-11-12
Final Battle: Phase 13-14-15
PHASE 10- Opening Summerplains, Alex and Lisa
PART 1: A Dream of Summer
-> Lisa invites you to Starshine Ranch to take part in a Western Show. MC and their horse beats every challenger, but the last one: Coyote and his horse. MC and Lisa goe to congratulate him on his victory. Herman arrives, introduces you to his brother, Coyote.
-> Coyote tells you about himself (went to the USA to be a cowboy, raced, now came home to Jorvik to run a western ranch) and invites you to his Stable. MC tells him noone can get to Summerplains since the Claymore gate is closed and the Suncrown bridge is in ruins. Coyote says he knew the Claymores (those stuckups) closed the gate, but he didn’t know the bridge was in such a bad shape since hardly anyone arrives through the druids’ territory. Also they are a small, tight community with hardly any visitors and any supplies arrive by sea.
-> Coyote invites you to come with him and help repair the bridge. Lisa says she will call the Everspring druids to start the repairs from that side. Riding to Fort Pinta and taking the ferry to Port Sylvia.
-> Blackscreen „The Next Morning”. You arrive in Fort Sylvia and race with Coyote at the shoreline road of the Wild Horse Plains to the Suncrown bridge. His team of the stables already arrived and brought the building materials. Helping in the construction tasks, while the druids do the repairs from the other side. You are done quickly, Lisa and Starshine arrive and people cheer as Coyote announces that the Summerplains are officially open.
-> Exploring the area. First you go with Coyote and meet his crew. They lead you and Lisa around the Cattle Ranch, Stables, Horseshoe forest and Reining arena. Introduced to new races, barrel racing, reining.
-> The next day Coyote asks you to deliver stuff to Cod Point. MC notices the cool Ghost House on their way there. Introduced to Cod Point, new fishing reputation there. They also give you a package to get back to Coyote.
-> On your way back MC decides to check out the ghost house. Getting scared and lost in it, triple jumpscare as MC, Lisa and Mr. Wetton run into each other at a corner. After you realize that nobody is getting murdered by a ghost, Lisa introduces you to Mr Wetton. MC asks him what is he doing in an abondoned house so he turns up the party lights, tells you it is his disco house for special occasions and patries. Tells you he is the brother of Herman and Coyote, who runs Black Light Night Club and supported Lisa and her gang when they were students at Star Academy. Mr Wetton invites you and Lisa to meet him when you are around Fort Sylvia, so he can introduce you to the city.
-> Leaving the Ghost house and going to Coyote to deliver his package. He gives you another one to take to Snake Bite and meet his buddy, Tomahawk Tom there. Going to Snakebite, introduced to people there, the stables and races.
-> Next quest is to meet Mr Wetton in Fort Sylvia. Meet at a café and explore the city, he shows you his Black Light Night Club. Lisa and her band has an hour long rock music concerts there every night from 8 to 9. Now you have all reputations west of Claymore bay unlocked, and have access to all sidequests with these factions.
-> Everything seems nice and peaceful, but darkness is still looming. A quest marker appears in the Great Clearing. MC is drawn there by a strange magic and goes to a great cut down tree. A team of druids and rangers ambush you asking who you are and why are you disturbing a grave. They tell you of how Jon Jarl cut down a Life Warden tree and his forest in his futile search of immortality and possibly doomed the island.
-> The druids of Summerplains don’t trust you. MC asks how could they gain their trust and the druids say by fighting against the darkness, but for now, make friends with the Life Warden Trees to prove you are a good guy.
PART 2: Primeival Trees
-> MC asks Coyote if there are ancient trees he knows about in Summerplains. He tells of one in the Old Morass and one in the Lone Star Canyon.
-> MC goes to check out the Old Morass first. Riding to the swamp, but it has the same darkness over it as Pi’s swamp. Ride to the Clearing and ask a local ranger to guide you in the swamp. You meet at the border and journey through the dark, claustropobic woods, narrow bridges and muddy waters. MC follows a magic instict (appearing as a wisp) to guide them to the Primeival Tree.
->You find the Elder Witchwood and awaken it with magic. She refuses to answer your questions, asks if you are a witch. She asks witchcraft related questions to which none of the pop-up answers are correct. She concludes, that you are not a witch and says that she will only talk to witches or you only if a witch vouches for you. MC and the ranger leave the swamp. MC goes to speak with Holdsworth and Pi. They say they need time to study the ancient witch magics to answer the tree’s questions correctly. They will go to Caer Cailleach to ask the help of Sive and the vala. Pi uses her broom to fly there, but Mrs Holdworth says hers is under repairs right now and asks for a ride there. MC riding double with Holdsworth and taking her to Caer Cailleach.
-> While you wait for the witches, MC goes to Coyote, asks for directions to Lone Star Canyon. You go through Claymore village (nobody will talk to the outsider) and ride through the pass through the Rainshadow Mountains to arrive in the semidesert. You ride through that to arrive in Lone Star Canyon.
-> The cowboys of Lone Star are basically like the rangers of the area, they know the maze-like place pretty well. Their leader is Blackjack Bill, who, with his buddies stop you if you try to enter. MC says they came to see the great tree in the canyon, but Bill says that’s a weird ask so you can only enter if you prove you are badass enough to beat him in a race.
-> Racing through the maze-like winding paths of Lone Star, pretty obvious Bill knows the paths so much you won’t beat him. Galloping under a rock formation a piece falls down towards Bill, MC uses lightning powers to blast the rock to pieces. Finishing the race, cutscene: Bill does the sliding stop before the finish line and lets you win. He thanks you and tells the other cowboys you are one of those druid kids and MC rides with them to their camp at the foot of the Primeival Tree.
-> They watch as you use your power to speak with the tree. Aspen King tells you the cowboys are his friends, and shows you the gifts they bring him – the trunk is decorated with horseshores, skulls, dried flowers,etc. MC asks about the darkness threathening SP. Aspen King tells you of the brother they lost when Jon Jarl came to the clearing (the tree called Ancient Guardian in the Clearing cut down 800 years ago) and the sister that is missing (Shadow Chestnut). MC asks to become friends with AK to make the druids believe they are here to help. AK says he saw you save Bill, so he is gonna give you a chance to prove yourself. Prove your friendship to the cowboys and he shall be your friend too. Reputation with the Lone Star Cowboys unlocked. Reach a certain level with them to unlock the next story quest.
-> Once you are friendly enough with them, Bill tells you to bring a friendship gift to AK to gain his blessing. MC and Bill ride through Lone Star to gather the special gifts (water from a spring in the northernmost part of the mountains, eagle feather from Thunderbird Peak, 200 years old horseshoe from an old battlefield, etc). Bring the gifts to AK and be accepted as a Lone Star Cowboy/girl. AK gives you a branch of magic aspen fruits and flowers to show the druids. Taking it to the Clearing.
-> A raven comes to you bringing a message tied to its leg from Sive. Holdsworth and Pi asks to meet you at the Old Morass. You ask the ranger once again to lead you through the swamp and go there, meeting them and another vala witch, Aine. MC and Holdsworth and ranger and Pi riding together to the Witchwood. The witches brought a bunch of stuff that is levitated by Aine after you tied in a package. Arriving at the Elder Witchwood.
-> Before waking her up again, the witches tell you what they learned. The vala used to take care of this tree, but since they were corrupted, they stopped doing it. Pi n Mrs H ask you to decorate the area like the vala used to, with the witch stuff they brought. You build a pyre and Aine magics it to look blue. After the place is decorated to look vala, MC wakes the witchwood.
-> The witches answer her questions (with your help) and Aine says the vala are back and she will be the guardian of the Witchwood and her grove. The tree only has one more ask: that you ride through the swamp and collect her old witch relics that the animals scattered all over the place during the centuries. You collect them and the Witchwood declares her friendship and gifts you a brach with her flowers and fruits. MC asks EW about the last Primeival in Summerplains, she tells you Shadow Chestnut is hiding in the Claymore mountains. Aine stays, Pi and Mrs H fly home and MC rides to the Clearing to present the symbol of EW’s friendship to the druids there.
PART 3: The Claymores
-> The plan forward: the SP druids now trust you, send you to find the Shadow Chestnut. Going to Claymore Castle, but denied entrance.MC goes to Coyote, but he doesn’t know how one gets into the Claymore’s favor. You go to the Von Blyssen manor and ask Anne’s mom. She tells you the best way is to challenge and defeat one of their best riders to show you are worthy of their time. Now you have to find a Claymore to defeat.
-> MC sneaks around Claymore village to look for riders, but all of them are near the manor. You are about to give up when you notice Sabine and start to follow her. You overhear the people calling her Miss Claymore, and realize this is perfect. You reveal yourself and challenge Sabine to a race, poking at her pride. Bet with Sabine in front on the whole village: if MC wins, she invites her to the manor. Elise appears, knows what MC is up to, warns Sabine not to accept, but she does. Elise is angry, knows how this is gonna end, leaves. Beating her in the race around Claymore village.
-> Sabine has to keep her word, taking you to the manor. All stuck-up, mean riders, like the Bobcats used to be. You complete the entrance races to gain membership with the Claymore manor and carve out some respect. Reputation quests to the Claymores: village, manor and stables, tedious grind, hardly gives you any rep first, because they are assholes.
-> Races at the Claymore manor: show-jumping in the arenas, many cross-country trails in the mountains. Introduction to the Eventing Championship: a round of dressage, showjump and cross-country. Running the Claymore cross-country tracks, but other then in the races, you cant explore the mountains (the gates only open if you are racing). Sabine is watching you and clearly hiding something.
-> Once you get to high enough reputation, Lord and Lady Claymore name you full member and you can move freely and explore the mountains. MC goes to the Clearing and talk to the druids about the next step. They say you should look for a certain type of chestnut on the ground in the Claymore mountains to find her. Going there and looking in the forest.
-> Find and meet the Shadow Chestnut and discover her standing next to another Stone Circle, just like the one on Starshine Mountain: the Awakened Stone Circle. ShCh is the sister of Astral Crown, protects the Awakened Stone Circle (ASC) from anyone entering, good or evil. MC asks why the good ones can’t enter either and ShCH tells you they trusted humans before and it cost them the Guardian.
-> Darko and the whole Dark Rider gang arrives, thanking you for leading them here as they could not find the tree (it distracted the evils). This does not help ShCh to trust you. MC says she thought Darko was dead. D says he had a lot of work to do since he became the new Mr Sands, turns out the work of the old relic is not as easy after all, especially now as Garnok’s Victory draws closer. Hearing this, ShCh summons a shield around the ASC so no one can get in. The combined power of the 5 bad guys are not enough to break shield. They place an unbreakable dark ward around it, because if MC can’t access it that is already a win for them. Race: MC flees the forest and the Dark Riders.
PHASE 11- Resurrecting the Guardian
PART 1: Finding the Seed
-> MC meets and tells the SRs what happened. Need to know how to help Shadow Chestnut,gain access to ASC and prove that they are the good guys. With the help of Linda, Aine, Pi and Holdsworth they make up a spell that lets Witchwood connect her to ShCh.
-> Ritual in the swamp: MC taking the dream potion and waking up in the Wealdweave. Walking through it to get to the roots of ShCh and talk to her. She tells you she needs to connect to all 3 of her siblings: Aspen, Witch and Guardian to be able to banish the darkness choking her. But that is impossible, since the Guardian is dead. ShCh tells MC the only way she will ever trust them is if you resurrect the Guardian, but that is impossible. MC promises to do it.
-> Plan: Find a way to resurrect the Guardian. The druids tell you there is a legend that the seed of the Primeival trees lives forever and if the one who cut him down kept it, there is hope. They tell you it was Jon Jarl, who cut the Clearing. Need to learn more about Jon Jarl to find out if he kept the seed (there is a good chance, since he liked his treasures and there is a rumor had a secret treasure chamber dug somewhere in one of the mountains of Jorvik. Going to the Moon Chamber, but Jon’s ghost is not there now.
-> Going all over Jorvik to gather clues, following Jon’s footsteps and history. The fleet got into a storm, was attacked by the „kraken” (G’s tentacles) and shipwrecked on Jorvik. Jon conquered the island, gathered many magical weird artifacts and treasures. Then finally he cut down the Guardian and met a vala coming out of the forest. The witch cursed his riches: Jon will never be able to take them away from the island, until he makes his sins right by restoring the trees. Jon tried to take some treasures away, but the ship was destroyed in a storm. He realized the curse works and had a hidden treasure chamber made for them in the remote part of the Northern Mountain Range.
-> MC finds the secret entrance in a narrow valley between the NMR between the Starshade and Coldstone forests. Solving the puzzle to get in, if you step at the wrong place it teleports you back to another valley and you have to find your way back. Jon’s ghost appears, wants to help, MC doesnt trust him, asks why would you help take your treasures. Jon tells you it is not just the tresures, that can’t leave Jorvik, he can never leave either. It has been many hundred years already, and he wants absolution for what he’s done in the hopes of finally being able to leave Jorvik one day.
-> Going through the labyrinth of the treasury, finding the seed. The traps activate and the place starts collapsing. Jon is like oops, I forgot to mention. Getting out. The 4 DRs are waiting for you but Jon says take a step back and MC steps into the teleportation circle and taken to a nearby valley. The DRs have no idea where you ended up and the treasury is buried beneath the mountain. MC rides back to the Secret Stone Circle to keep the seed there until you figure out the next move.
PART 2: Find a way
-> Now you have to find a way to use the seed and resurrect the guardian. Linda and the druids get to work researching, and meanwhile MC has to correct and recarve the old runestones in Summerplains, just like you did in Harvestlands, Winderdale and Springvalley.
-> The next day Linda have found a clue about a restoration ritual, but some pages are missing. Go ask the LW trees. Sleeping Widow tells you of the failed attempt at resurrecting a tree near her. Tells you how the druids tried to do it, but couldn’t get the other trees to help.
-> Going to Fripp’s library to piece together the spell. MC helping Linda with the research. Leave her for the night, the other day she has the spell ready. Tells you the only other thing you are going to need is a branch from Shadow Chestnut.
-> Meet up with the SRs in the Secret Stone Circle to talk about the plan: how to get close enough to get a branch and how will ShCh willingly give it to you. Plan: the SRs will go with you to the Claymore Mountains and make a crack in the shield for you to get in. Now you just need a secret way to go there. Linda says the Claymore castle was also established in Jon Jarl’s time and the druids could not have gone through the town, so they must have had a secret path. Asking the Lone Star Cowboys. They say there is a closed off, overgrown path in the Rainshadow Mountains, but they don’t know where it leads.
->The team goes there, Alex and MC cut the thorny bushes in the way. Riding through the narrow trail (just like in the Greydew mountains to Epona) through the Claymore mountains. You see the Claymore riders running the cross-country trails, but they can’t see you. Getting to the shield around ShCh and the Stone Circle.
-> You don’t have much time. The SRs use their magic to make a crack on the shield and MC gets in. Going through a magic labyrinth (like the one before the circus). Sometimes you have to hide from shadow seekers, other times there is a wall and nowhere to go, you have to dispell the wall by choosing the correct runes, like the minigame when activating the runestone in Paddock island. You get to the tree.
-> MC tells her they found a way to resurrect the Guardian. Tells her of where they were and what they found out, convincing the tree to give you a branch to attempt the spell. With the branch, you go back through the labirynth and meet up with the SRs.
-> An alarm has been set off and Sabine is riding here to check on the shield. Mc and the SRs ride through the secret path, back to the desert. You see Sabine searching for you in the trails, but she can’t see you. Getting back to the desert, heading towards the Clearing, it is starting to rain, a storm rolls in. In the path through the Rainshadow mountains Sabine is waiting for the team. You say you were just out trailriding in the desert, but she doesn’t buy it.
-> The other DRs also appear, by standing in rock outcroppings in the hillside above Sabine. They jump down to confront you and charge you. Alex uses a lighning shield to separate the DRs. Now Sabine and Elise are stuck with Alex, Lisa and MC. Elise’s power is the only thing that could totally destroy the seed. Linda and Anne have the seed and flee from Jess and Katja to the Clearing. You have a bossfight on your hand.
-> The storm is raging and Alex is drawing power from it and keeping the shield up so you and Lisa fight Sabine and Elise. Dodge their attacks and hit them with yours. Once you deplete their health bar, the storm has passed and Alex can’t hold the shield any longer. She lets go, you mount up and race towards the Clearing.
-> They chase you. Anne and Linda are safe, but Katja and Jess made a shadowfrost wall in front of you. The druids of the clearing unite their magic with the SRs to break the wall and you run through. The DRs can’t enter the glade and just stand at the edge menacingly, then leave.
PART 3: Restoration
-> You all need a day to recharge your powers. The next morning you return to the clearing. There are just some more things you need to gather: relics for the four circles, amplified with Aideen’s light. The next four days you go with the SRs to do that.
-> With Lisa you go to find the Rose of the Wind on top of the Lonely Hill in Wild Horse plains and infuse it with Aideen’s power. With Linda you go to the Old morass to find a pool of magic water touched by the purest moonlight. With Anne, you go to the northest point of the Lone Star area to find the „fallen star” – a special, pandorian crystal meteorite fallen through the northern lights and charged with the morning sunlight. With Alex you go to Thunderbird peak to bring a piece of the old pandorian runestone (destroyed long ago) that was hit by lightning. Once you got them all and infused them with Aideen’s light, you return to the Clearing.
-> The next day you perform the ritual. At the cut down Guardian’s trunk you place the seed. The druids plant the three branches you brought from ShCh, AK and EW around the tree. The SRs use the relics you got and MC focuses their power into the seed. A little sapling appears.
-> Cutscene: a nightmarish, dark blue and purple circle in a small island, with floating black runestones. Darko kneels in the middle of a rune circle chanting, when the ground stars shaking, thunder rumbles and tentacles appear in the horizon illuminated for a second by a lightning strike. An incredibly low, animal-like angry growl echoes and turns into a roar, like the sound of a kraken.
„Yes! Lord Garnok, I was finally successful to summon- „
„You incompetent, pathetic fool! You let them awaken the power of Aideen and now you do nothing as they awaken the last guardian of the island? I should crush you now and be rid of your annoying existence” lightning strikes and a tentacle hovers over Darko, but retreats.
„I give you one last chance to prove your worth. Destroy the Sisterhood again. Cut and burn the trees and stop them from awakening the last defensve line. Their meddlesome spell already pulls me back to my slumber. By the time I awaken, I want them destroyed. So that not even a memory of them remains.”
-> MC wakes up in the forest floor. The SRs said you blacked out for a few minutes. The Restored Guardian is already a young sapling, growing quickly, just like how Aideen raised so many trees and plants when she first came to the island.
PHASE 12- Taking the Awakened Stone Circle Back
PART 1: Raising a tree
-> Other trees in the clearing also start to grow, but at a slower rate. You have to reach max rep with the SP druids by doing dailies for them, helping to raise the tree. You go to each of the Primeival trees and ask what the Guardian might need, they send you on a fetch quest near them (get water from a spring, a magic crystal, etc) and take it back to the Restored Guardian. Sometimes the DRs try to attack the grove with frost, fire, darkness or shadow and you have to defeat them.
-> Once you reach max rep, RG reaches max size and comes to consciousness. Thanks you and the SRs and you tell him ShCh is in trouble. RG tells you she has the most important job, defending the Awakened Stone Circle, which is the most important line of defence and weapon against Garnok and also the strongest seal that is keeping his prison locked. You cannot let it fall into enemy hands. Plan to take the ASC back.
PART 2: Preparing the siege
-> Swamp ritual again: talk to ShCh. She can barely resist the darkness now, about to give in. MC tells her the Guardian is back and reach for him. She does and the 4 trees of the Summerplains connect. She thanks you and says now she has the power to break the dark shield, but the 5 of you also need to be on the other side and help her.
-> Preparing for the siege: plan to march on the Claymore manor, but get the others out of there. Talking to Anne’s mom to hold an competition in Shoreline: invite all big horse factions. MC takes the invitation letter to the Claymores. Help prepare the competition in Shoreline with the other SRs. There is gonna be all types of races, MC tests them: do a dressage routine, a showjumping and a cross-country. Help decorate and clean the place.
-> When the time comes, ask Mrs Holdsworth for more of the transformation potion: 5 NPCs drink it to masquerade as you in the competition and make the DRs less sus. The races are announced as looking for the best riders in jorvik and your doppelgangers compete.
-> The DRs can’t resist the challenge and also compete to defeat „MC” and the „SRs”. Your stand-ins obviously lose and try to act in character. „Lisa” loses against Elise and says ima go write a sad song. „Linda” just says well, back to reading, „Alex” goes to punch something, and when Jess glares at her victoriously, „Anne” runs away crying. Jess is satisfied, but Elise starts to suspect, because Anne would never. By the time the DRs start to suspect something, the team is already gone.
-> Cutscene: MC and SRs in the Secret Stone Circle, with many of the druids and your allies. Just finished making the plan. Fripp says „Everyone memorized it? Good. Then places everyone. Aideen be with us all.”
PART 3: Awakening of Light
-> You and the SRs ride through the basically empty Claymore manor. Going up through the path to the ASC locked behind the dark shield. The DRs and Darko wait for you there saying your little distraction didn’t work out that well. They walk towards you and step into 5 suspension runes. The 5 riders reveal themselves as more doppelgangers: druids masquerading as you. They say the distraction worked perfectly, they had plenty of time to draw the runes. They concentrate their magic to keep the 5 imprisoned.
-> The real MC and Srs ride through the secret path in the mountains again and form a circle: MC in the middle, the 4 around her. They start to focus their magic on MC and MC on the shield. Cutscene: Aine is warned by Witchwood that it has started, closes her eyes, goes into the dreaming. Floats through the Wildweave and talks to ShCh, AK, RG and EW saying connect now.
-> MC starts breaking the dark magic shield. Playing many minigames: run around collecting magic fragments, memory game rune choosing, slider, every one that has been in the game before.
-> Once you break all 5 seals (Sab’s, Jess’, Kat’s Eli’s and Darko’s), the 4 trees light up, MC and the SRs focus their magic on the shield individually to break it. Darko breaks free of the druids’ spell and frees the DRs too. They all summon dark magic to destroy the druids (the characters you have known since the beginning of the game, like Avalon, Evergrey, Rhiannon, etc) and are about to strike.
-> Roots erupt from the ground and the freed Shadow Chestnut grabs the 5 bad guys, interrupting the spell. Darko teleports them away and the battle is won.
-> First time entering the Awakened Stone Circle. Looks almost exactly like SSC, needs some work, for example, you will have to recarve the runestornes, explore the place, open the portal leading to the secret chamber under the glade (find the portal, like in SSC), but later. For now you have won, some druids from the Clearing come here to guard the place.
-> The last task is to help ShCh protect it against the DRs. MC, the SRs and the druids magic their own shield around the glade, and use magic to hide it from the DRs. That way if they came back they won’t be able to find even though they know where it is, the forest will just make them lose their way. The shield is complete and the day is won.
-> Last story magic horse grind: The druids of the Clearing tell you Restored Guardian wants to talk to you. He thanks you for your service to Aideen and says with his return someone else also reappeared. Since you banished most of the darkness from the island by restoring it to almost as it was in Aideen’s time, more and more magic creatures reappear. He shows you a little white foal with runes on them like on aideen’s centaur form: a Luxariel foal.
-> The last grind is taking care of the foal until it grows up for you to ride them. Every day you get a daily to take the foal to a different magical place in Jorvik and complete a quest there. E.g. take them to the Secret Stone Circle and tell them the meaning of the stones, go to Wildwoods and gather them magical plants to eat, in South Hoof listen to the Singing Yew’s song, etc. Once the progression bar is done, it ages up and you recieve the last free magic horse.
TO BE CONTINUED!
THE OTHER PARTS:
SSO Rewritten 1st Part: Winterdale
https://www.tumblr.com/starshinedragon/736955792328146944/sso-winterdale-fan-written-main-storyline?source=share
SSO Rewritten 2nd Part: Springvalley
https://www.tumblr.com/starshinedragon/716459529087401984/sso-rewritten-springvalley?source=share
#sso#star stable#star stable online#ssoblr#starstableonline#sso story#sso rewritten#sso full story series#sso soul riders#sso summer
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honestly miss me with any magic system that doesn't describe the qualia of what it is to use magic in that system
oh what in DnD you "study and write spells in a book" and "read the spell each morning" okay what the fuck does the spell look like. what does it feel like to cast a spell. why does it require intelligence why does it require research.
it's why in UWi academic magic (academagic) works on every spell being a literary essay on reality as fiction making some kind of point of why something should be possible and its conclusion statement is how you cast the spell. you recite the argument to the World and the World goes "hmmm, well argued, that broken teacup is now repaired again"
magic in ancient mythology was never really a metaphor for academic 6-year colleges they didn't have that until fairly recently as a concept and learning and education was always a separate track from magic which was always
emotive, innate,
in the Oldenenen Tymes a wizard didn't study 30 pages of nonsense and then they could control your mind, a person Was Magic and could control your mind
but also magic was religious rituals you performed to get a god's attention,
but also magic was folk rituals and superstitions, if you put a horseshoe on your door a fairy can't get in; if you had a stick in the right shape you could find water
modern post-tolkein wizards are so fucking BORING. oh yes i went to magic academy and learned magic so now i can do three spells; fireball, laser beam, and flying. when i level up i can arbitrarily learn bigger fireball which i can't learn right now for no explained reason.
it's why in uwi like why can't y ou cast high level spells early on? because you're starting off with high school level literary essays and then you're trying to jump into fucking Derrida. you can't do it my man you are just starting to cast spells like "id/ego/superego symbolism in lord of the flies" and you aren't jumping from that to "the author as unconscious writing machine vs. art as a lens for the viewer" in one day you gotta know what you're talking about
uwi's academagic is basically a parody of post-tolkein magic systems but also a parody of academia but also a functional system of how you can do magic through literary essays it's fun it's fine. like most of the things we do it's a deconstruction a parody a satire a commentary on things
the fucking bizarre DnD dissonance of magic being the rare thing owned only by the few who have the brain for it but also you stumble over magic potions and scrolls and weapons constantly
but gandalf mcellminster over here's level 3 and he can cast 3 magic missiles a day what the fuck does that even mean. why is all your magic ways to kill people fuck off
there's two settings we keep working on internally and one is a failed succession metasetting where the "magic" is "we are all self-aware self-narrating concepts being poorly moderated by the world consciousness; time and verisimilitude is broken and effect follows cause only by convincing argument. everything we do is magic. i forgot to give myself the need to eat and until someone presents me with sufficient symbolism to counter it i don't need food at all."
and the other is a more grounded fucked up glamtasy world where magic is "which kind of magic there's like 800 different ways you can do weird shit which weird shit can you do and how are you doing it"
the worldbuilding anyway should only be a part worldbuilding only exists best for when it's to tell stories with but the worldbuilding itself can be part of the story when it's a commentary a reference to a greater literary body and itself part of that commentary
which is also how magic works in uwi
i have a fucking masters degree and this is all it's good for anyway if you read this make sure to comment bob's gang below and like rate and subscribe and we'll see you next time on animal crossing channel
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Hello! 💃✨ the "■ - Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon" for Raina and Garrett? (Or anyone else you wish - maybe Radha is an excellent interior designer and we just don't know it 👀)
Oh, hello there! 🦄✨
LOL, I think the one that'll be more into the Sims in a modern world would actually be Garrett, but...
Tis the prompt list
■ - Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon
Raina: Raccoons don't care much for the aesthetic. She likes darker colours, but she will get to sleep whenever if she has to.
With money and ✨choices✨she went for her usual palette of black+white+red. More of a burgundy because of course burgundy is more relaxing, you see. It is known, khaleesi! But other than that? She cares if the bed/sofa/chairs are comfy, and will choose the cheaper ones that fit her need in the quicker way possible.
She really cares very little, if it was up to her she'll have a house in a patchwork style. You'll have a table with all mistmatched chairs, it's not done on purpose, it's done because "Whatever".
The one who'll decorate the room will be Merrill, Isabela will insist on some aesthetic, and she'll just give them the money and tell them "Have fun".
Garrett: Again, he can get pretty spartan and has no big pretenses or wishes. But with enough chances... He's cottagecore. He wants a little house in the countryside with a garden that can house a vegetable patch, a pumpkin patch, some chickens, maybe a cow, maybe enough space for him to turn into a dragon, when someone will finally teach him and he doesn't understands why nobody ever does.
White walls, some wooden, sturdy furniture, something that will last and can survive some random spell. A table with enough space to house all the friends.
In the lack of a proper spell, he'll collect dragon trinkets. wooden figurines, some painting on the wall...
He likes to frolic.
Others under the cut because I am a person who enjoys building in The Sims a lot.
Alyra: She's the fancy one that will adapt to luxury. She can live without, but what she's Arlessa for if she can't indulge? Huge bed, furs, a nice carpet. Living her best life in pure royalcore. Everything in pristine, clean conditions. She doesn't have much of anything around because as a Bard, she doesn't want to give ammunition to possible spies. It comes off as the room of a vain person too much into fashion and nice things. There's just a childish drawing framed and hang upon the wall, enchanted so the figures aren't recogniseable by strangers. It's her and Morrigan on the sides, holding hands with Kieran, and the dog (MoonMoon) on the side. And way too many daggers and random blades hidden all around the place.
Aisling: She's secretly a cheapskate. Will pick furniture other people are throwing away and repair it. Paint it to match her aesthetic (she doesn't like white, she'll paint all the walls in colours). Hang plants on the walls, hang pictures and trinkets and horseshoes ("for good luck!"). Witchcore? Also, she's very messy. Give her some space and she will fill it.
Radha: Dark academia. No walls are available because there are bookshelves all around. She'll hoard books. Hang maps on the walls.
Or, she'll furnish each room in one historical period each. Just because she knows. On the shelves, little trinkets meaningful to her. A figurine of a shrimp, a necklace made of shells, dried embrium flowers in a pot, a pinecone, the antler of a halla. It seems to be random objects, but she'll have a story for each one of them.
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ohhh poor bull scar!
I think a big step forward for him in realizing he’s okay IS cub. Like cubs regular presence, checking in on everyone.
At first it probably scares him, like, what does Mumbo do that requires a doctor regularly? But then, it turns out, nothing. He doesn’t do anything
And it terrifies scar! It’s new and therefore scary!
But I imagine he starts trusting cub after watching him check up on all Grian n impulse n pearls no problem. And when cub gets to him, he doesn’t try to force scar at all; n he asks a few questions.
And when cub narrows his eyes suddenly, scar is like “fuck fuck fuck I’ve fucked up” but really, cub actually has just been picking up that scar probably has some kind of injury causing hoof pain, possibly chronic if it’s old/mistreated beyond repair.
Instead of pressuring or asking to see it, cub offers, if he wants, he can get a farrier to get scar cattle shoes. Like horseshoes, but for cows. From my research, u don’t put shoes on cows that aren’t meant to sick around. And given how many bulls die every year, I doubt he has shoes. Turns out, the other 3 have shoes, but impulse didn’t have them before coming to the farm.
So when cub leaves, scar hesitantly goes over where the other 3 are grazing in the field, v hesitantly. He hasn’t really joined them before. Just kinda always been to the side, slightly eavesdropping. But now he’s really curious, damn this place and that doctor for finding his one weakness: curiosity.
But then when he approaches, their conversation dies out immediately. He’s immediately feels so self conscious. But then Pearl starts chatting and the vibe lightens up. Though, Grian stays quiet, and it serves as a constant reminder for Scar that he is an outsider here. The loud Grian is quiet in his presence; he’s probably scared of Scar. It’s fair, Scar has a temper issue (<- bull fighting requires getting a bull pissed tf off regularly) and has gored people before, gored even other cows before (<- he didn’t mean to, he just reacted. Learned self victimblaming)
(Scar doesn’t know, but Grian thinks he’s really hot. They were talking about Grians giant super embarrassing crush when he approached. Grian is talking because he’s v distracted watching the pretty bull smile slightly at Pearl and chuckle at Impulses jokes)
— abridged anon
Scar totally wouldn't notice any of Grian trying to advance on him either- he isn't use to it, hasn't really been around any one acting so friendly (flirting) toward him so he doesn't kno how to take it akjfdgkj
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Some of the history of Zwo-nmu System Exploration by Mellanoid Slime Worm Space Programs.
A reminder of the Zwo-nmu Planetary System. The Sun, also called The Zwo-nmu (literally The Day Light) is a G8V main sequence star with many giant planets. Mellanus, called Gymnome by some of its inhabitants, is the homeworld of the Mellanoid Slime Worms--Eaurp Guz's people. Mellanus is a coorbital of Omen in a horseshoe orbit. Every 15 or so earth years, Mellanus approaches Omen, which moves it into a higher or lower orbit around the Sun.
This graphic is in a rotating reference frame following Omen. green circle is Omen's orbit in a non-rotating reference frame. Yellow circle is Mellanus' inner/short/summer/hot orbit. Purple circle is Mellanus' outer/long/winter/cold orbit. Blue and gray circles are the orbits of Cold Ember and Rabbit. Times are given in Earth days and distances in Earth-Sun-distances (astronomical units)
Omen is named, of course, as it represents drastic climate change--orbital seasons affecting both hemispheres for many years at a time.
With that reminder out of the way...
Zwo-nmu (the star)
extensive telescopic study from low mellanus orbit. The first solar telescope to enter orbit discovered the corona but was not set up to observe it properly, so follow-up missions had to be undertaken.
studied by the Cold Ember probes and by at least one dedicated "sun-scraper"
Cold Ember (the hot super-earth/sub-neptunian)
Of the five probes sent to Cold Ember at various times, only two have made it.
The second one to make it is an orbiter. It relies on stationkeeping propellant so its elliptical orbit always keeps its apoapsis on the night side of the planet, such that it can spend time in the shadow to keep cool. Within a few days of it running out of stationkeeping fuel it will begin to overheat. There are proposals to send a Rescue Shuttle up to resupply and repair the probe, but the strict rules about use of alien spacecrafts in the mellanoid space program make that difficult.
Rabbit
Visited by 2 robotic probes--a flyby and a short-lived orbiter. A lander/rover is planned, but doesn't have the same priority as the Omen Development Program and the Ice Giants Exploration Program.
Mellanus Orbit
At its peak, Mellanus had thousands of satellites and dozens of space stations, but a near-miss with ablation cascade (see: the movie Gravity (2013)) that was only averted thanks to the recently installed phaser network has lead to many restrictions being put in place on the number and function of satellites. Early in the history of mellanoid space exploration, there was not much automation available. Satellites had to be crewed, and so there were many space stations, and when automation happened, those space stations grew into constellations of satellites. Telecommunications constellations were the real culprit, with several competing agencies, companies, and nations setting up their own independent constellations ranging from 10s to 1000s of satellites each. But now, subspace technology has rendered low-orbit communications satellites obsolete, and there are just a few dozen geosynchronous communications satellites, a GPS network, and the number of Mellanus observation satellites has been coralled.
One of the United Mellanus Space Program's current duties is the cleanup of low orbit, which is operated both by phaser blasts in an emergency and by crewed spacecrafts. Most of the space stations in mellanus orbit are specifically infrastructure intended to refuel these spacecrafts, since they need to be able to access a wide range of inclinations, and inclination changes are difficult to accomplish.
Other space stations include the constellation of orbital drydocks, which are all orbiting about a hundred kilometers apart from one another, and the Starbase, a very large rotating artificial gravity space station which was built between the 2340s and the 2360s, and serves as the space end of the interstellar spaceport.
Mellanus natural satellites
Mellanus has one permanent satellite, Ubbi, a 340 meter wide rubble pile which is thought to have once been another asteroid's moon, millions of years ago. It is just barely bright enough to be seen by a mellanoid who has expanded their eye to the greatest practical width, but it wasn't noticed to be a moving star until after the invention of the astronomical telescope and the popularization of sun-centrism. It was thought at first to be an asteroid, since it was discovered while Mellanus was passing through Omen's trojan cloud, but careful observations determined that it was a satellite in a stable circular orbit, and a careful observation of photographic plates and star charts indicate it's been orbiting Mellanus for at least hundreds of years. It's named after its discoverer.
Many early mellanoid space activities have used Ubbi as a target. There are dozens of probes. Sadly Ubbi is very resource poor, being poor in both volatiles that could be used for propellant and metals that could make it valuable. It's not even a useful science target, since one of the earliest missions to visit it was an impactor which essentially exploded Ubbi. It reformed again, but completely resurfaced, burying clues to its origin as a satellite. Ubbi is currently orbited by one derelict spacecraft and
There have been three temporary natural satellites of Mellanus to be visited by spacecrafts. All but one have entered Mellanus orbit only for a few months and were only visited by robotic probes. The largest one, Temma was three kilometers across and in an eccentric orbit that remained stable all the way up until two Omen conjunctions later, so it lasted for about 30-35 years. However, as a carbonaceous asteroid, it was rich in volatiles, and it was explored and settled extensively by all major space programs. The first crewed international interplanetary trips to Omen used fuel refined from Temma and brought down to low orbit.
The Omen Coorbitals (Trojans, Greeks, and Other Horseshoes)
Outside of Ubbi and Temma, the Coorbitals are the next step out into space. Mellanus occasionally has close encounters with coorbitals. Over time Mellanus and Omen together have corralled the coorbitals into very specific lanes. There are far fewer coorbitals around Omen than Glerbuh, or, say, Jupiter, because coorbital or not, Mellanus is still a planet. Most of the coorbitals are trojans, with the apsides neatly tucked in between the outer edge of Mellanus' sphere of influence in the low orbit, and the inner edge of Mellanus' sphere of influence in the high orbit. The Greeks--the trojans on the leading edge of Omen's orbit--are especially depleted. It's thought that Mellanus was once the only large object in the greek camp, but was perturbed onto its current horseshoe orbit billions of years ago. As a result, the greek camp is a hodge-podge of scattered objects from elsewhere in the system, whereas the trojan camp is comprised of more objects original to this part of the circumstellar disk. Each camp can answer different questions about the evolution of the Zwo-nmu system, and Mellanus' relation to it in particular. Ironically, even though the greek camp is Mellanus' original home, it's the trojan camp that is more relevant to studying Mellanus itself.
It is possible on any given year to send a spacecraft to visit Omen, Trojans, Greeks, or any other coorbital. However, the trajectories which take a minimum of fuel are only accessible 1-6 months or so before the closest approach with either object, and for crewed missions, less efficient but faster trajectories lasting only a month right around the close approach are preferred.
Outside of the Omen apparitions, the most active times for interplanetary spaceflight have historically been around the passing through the trojan clouds, which happens about 6 years before and after each Omen apparition. Starting from the low summer orbit, Mellanus passes the Trojan Camp. 6 years later, it reaches Omen and moves to the high winter orbit. 6 years after that, it passes the Trojan camp again. Then 15 years later, it passes the Greek Camp. 6 more years later, Omen appears large and Mellanus shifts to the summer orbit. 6 years later, it passes the Greek camp again. 15 years pass, and then we restart the cycle.
other horseshoe-coorbitals can be encountered at any time of year, but there's only a few of these known to exist.
Crewed missions to the other coorbitals have served as test flights for Omen missions, while also contributing meaningfully to planetary science as a whole. While asteroid exploration may not be exciting or glamorous, the use of trojan missions as testbeds has allowed a lot of groundbreaking work that otherwise might not have had any support to be performed.
Humans currently, in the real world 2020s, posses the propulsion technology and even, in principle, the industrial capacity to send humans to Mars. What we lack is a good idea of how to support humans on interplanetary spaceflight for many months or years at a time. A typical stay on the International Space Station is not even comparable to a Mars mission. That research is still underway. But we can go to the Moon. What's crucial is the relatively short turnaround time. A Moon mission may take only a week or two. The Artemis lunar missions will last longer, but not as long as a Mars mission would have to.
Absent a permanent moon of any substance, the Mellanoids are able to get their relatively short turnaround missions done thanks to the coorbitals. If Mellanus were still a trojan, it'd have emptied out the Greek Camp. Omen would never get particularly close, and it'd take over a year to make a round trip to it. It'd be just as hard to reach as Mars or the Main Asteroid Belt. But since Mellanus is in a horseshoe orbit, for about a year at a time every 6-15 years it is within spitting distance of some celestial body or another. Every 18-19 years that celestial body is the magnificent planet Omen with its own system of moons. When it's not Omen, it's the coorbital asteroids.
Propulsion wise it is not that much easier to reach the Omen coorbitals than it is for humans to go to Mars. You still have to escape Mellanus and keep accelerating on top of that.
But instead of bringing all of the comforts and necessities involved in the long-term habitation of space with you to a distant planet, you can get away with using capsules that are not much more advanced than what we were using in the Apollo era. The long term habitation problem is solved, leaving the only major problem left that of propulsion, of vehicle design. And since Mellanus is relatively small and they aren't shy about using nuclear rockets, the propulsion problem isn't that big of a deal.
in a way, Omen and the coorbitals are a crutch. By the 2340s Mellanoid space programs still had not undertaken crewed interplanetary missions beyond the coorbitals. But, at least in Star Trek, human spaceflights to Europa & Jupiter were being undertaken in the 2020s. These missions would have had to take years!
that said, there is a reason Omen has been such a focus--and it's not just because it is so culturally important.
The Omen System
Since the dawn of the Mellanoid space age, there have been six Omen apparitions.
Years given are Earth Years
1) 2300: Two nations launched robotic flyby attempts this year. One succeeded, but it was little more than a spinning photopolarimeter which could take a grainy image of Omen and a magnetometer which produced useful magnetic field readings.
2) 2315: Two failed atmosphere probes for Oldsky, one successful robotic lander on Rival, one successful robotic lander on Spark, and successful orbit insertion of a robotic Omen orbiter which continued to send back photos of Omen and its moons right through to the next conjunction. During the lifetime of this orbiter, Oldsky was conclusively shown to have complex life.
3) 2329: First crewed missions. There is a crewed landing on Rival, a crewed orbiter mission for Oldsky. It had originally intended to operate out of a small space station placed into Oldsky orbit a year in advance, but this station was covertly destroyed by Zaldans, and the orbiter mission was repurposed as a mere flyby, which fails, leading to first contact with Zaldans.
4) 2344: The most important year yet--the beginning of space archaeology. It's also the year asteroid Temma departs Mellanus and makes its own flyby of Omen.
5) 2358: International grand tour involving orbiters and landers on every planet including Oldsky. Leads to formation of United Mellanus Space Program.
6) 2373: Fission-impulse rockets have made regular interplanetary travel between Mellanus and Omen possible on any year.
7) 2387: Oldsky is now a colony of Mellanus.
Mellanus is on the border of the Zaldan sphere of influence, and with the increasing expansionism of the Cardassians and the tragedy of what they had begun to do to the Bajorans, the Zaldans desired military bases on the stars near their industrial colonies and their homeworld. These bases had to provide deuterium, so they needed to be located in a system with a gas giant, and also function as repair stations. The stars surrounding Mellanus were poor candidates--there are no M-class habitable planets around the nearby stars, and the only other gas giants were hot Jupiters or brown dwarfs which would make deuterium extraction difficult.
The Zaldans respected the non-interference directive, but not if it meant a gaping hole in their security. They would set up a military base on Omen's M-class moon Oldsky. There was an orbiting space station and a surface base, connected by cargo transporters and shuttlecrafts, staffed by military officers and a few civilian personnel, not unlike Deep Space Nine, but considerably more of a frontier for all involved. There was also a space station built in very low orbit of Omen, designed to scrape the atmosphere for deuterium to fuel freighters. These ships would be undetectable to the mellanoids as long as ships entering the system avoided activity during close encounters and all ships entering and leaving the system hid their photon wakes behind the Sun, resulting in fairly complex routing.
During the 2329 Omen apparition, a spacecraft that had been intended to fly by Omen had a severe failure, akin to Apollo 13. Still over a month from home, with no prospect but a horrible death, they were famously rescued by Commander Halen's ship, EZM-407, marking official first contact with the Zaldans. They were returned to Mellanus and the Zaldans finally landed, showing the world that not only were Mellanoids not alone in the universe, they weren't even alone in their own solar system.
Several ships visited Mellanus over the next few years on primarily diplomatic missions, but the Zaldans still kept hands-off, sharing only a minimum of information with the Mellanoids. Not many Zaldans had Halen's affinity for the slimes, and they saw mellanoids as lowly uncivilized savages--and their flowery polite diplomatic language only confirmed this to them. It wasn't before someone really stood up to them--a space program engineer who had gotten tired of standing in the sidelines while his people were being insulted--that the Zaldans finally found a glimmer of respect for the mellanoids.
There had been plans to fly a Mellanoid astronaut to Oldsky in exchange for allowing Zaldan researchers to visit Mellanus, and even early talks of embassies and sharing of the Omen infrastructure, when the Zaldans just… disappeared. Completely cut contact.
If sharing their solar system with rude bullies (who, yes, could have wiped them out a dozen times over yet decided not to so at least there's that) wasn't scary enough, those rude bullies disappearing without a trace was even scarier. On a scale greater than even the Apollo program, nations rushed to assemble their missions to visit Omen and Oldsky to figure out what happened to the Zaldan Military Base. Their robotic probes launched on off-years didn't return any answers--crewed exploration and actually landing mellanoids on Oldsky would be the only answer.
There was also the fact that recovering technology from Oldsky could potentially be transformative--the right technology in the wrong hands could destroy the world. This is spaceflight at its most competitive. This was no longer a game--recovering the alien technology was potentially life or death.
After the first contact with the Federation and the series of revolutions and reforms that lead to the current political situation, one of the main unifying rallying cries for mellanoids was the notion that they deserved the right to sovereign exploration of their own solar system. Outsiders--whether Zaldan, or Federation, or Dominion--would not develop any part of the system!
Ok, the Federation can provide some baseline infrastructure to protect Mellanus from invasion, but space exploration is OUR COMMON HERITAGE!
The current age of Mellanoid Space Exploration is characterized by extensive permanent infrastructure development. Since the 2360s, Mellanoids have been building research stations on Oldsky, Lake, and Rival. Setting up an industrial capability on another planet from scratch is hard to do, but Oldsky has a stable climate year-round and a breathable atmosphere. Much of Oldsky is a desert, and even the "humid" regions are quite dry, but it's still more habitable than literally any other planet in the solar system except for Mellanus, which makes it practical to build using traditional methods.
As of 2380, more people are living and working on Oldsky at any given moment than are doing so in Low Mellanus Orbit. Oldsky station visitors includes geologists, biologists, space archaeologists still studying what remains of Zaldan activity on Oldsky, civil engineers, aerospace engineers, construction workers, miners, marine biologists, submarine helmcrew, aircraft pilots, spacecraft pilots, rover drivers, doctors, astronomers, and even a few tourists selected by raffle.
Propellant infrastructure has been established to keep the fast interplanetary rockets zipping along. At this point, it is possible to stay on Oldsky permanently, but so far, all visitors to Oldsky are temporary, and on years when Omen is inaccessible even with nuclear-fission-impulse rockets (i.e, when the Sun is between it and Mellanus), only a skeleton crew remains to maintain the stations.
Oldsky will probably not have its own self sufficient industry and capacity for its own space program any time soon, but it does have a spaceport serviced by reusable launch vehicles.
Phaser-thermal rockets are used for heavy lift launches from Mellanus these days, but conventional chemical rockets are still used on Oldsky, fueled by hydrogen and oxygen split by electrolysis. There is an oil refinery on Oldsky, so kerosene/oxygen rockets are possible too.
things remain somewhat low-tech on Oldsky. Imported vehicles can be powered by batteries, but there aren't let any lithium mines on Oldsky--good deposits have yet to be discovered--so internal combustion engines powered by oil are sadly being used.
The Oldsky Planetary Protection Office on Mellanus intends to phase out fossil fuel engines as soon as the planet is capable of producing its own high-energy-density batteries… whenever that is…
also, between you and me, they really ought to get more aquatics flying on these missions.
what an aquatic astronaut could find on Oldsky might be quite shocking.
Anyway outside of the Omen system and Oldsky
Glerbuh has had its fair share of robotic exploration and crewed expeditions.
Two of the four ice giants have also been visited by robotic flyby probes, and Glarpi (the innermost ice giant) has had a robotic orbiter.
The big crewed grand tour expedition to explore all four ice giants and there moons was one of the major science goals of the 2380s outside of exploring and developing Oldsky. However, it had to be modified to turn into a rescue mission for a mellanoid starfleet officer who was stranded on a planet orbiting a nearby star called TE-92. It's a whole thing. If they manage to rescue them maybe they'll write a novel about it.
#long post#mellanoid slime#mellanoid space program#mellanoid slime worm#mellanoid worldbuilding#spaceflight#althist#spaceflight timeline
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