#Supernova Zap

[plumsaffron]

On why people are so hard on Wallflower, I think part of it comes from how redemptions in EQG were starting to get repetitive around this time, with Juniper and Vignette in particular being seen as the worst among the villain redemptions with being too rushed.

Plus her motivation being seen as too weak. The face she only lashes out at Sunset for "ignoring her" does feel a bit weak considering how everyone else (Trixie clearly showed she ignores her all the time and even the nicer characters like Pinkie and Fluttershy still ignore and forget her) did the same thing, so why would Wallflower only be mad at Sunset specifically for that if everyone else did the same thing? I do think if they had sorta tweaked Wallflower's motivation from "You ignore me so I'm gonna ruin your friendships" to "You bullied and humiliated me so I'm gonna ruin your friendships", it'd probably be seen as a smoother backstory with less flak. And it is even hard to figure out how much of Wallflower's being ignored was the others' fault and how much was it self inflicted considering she states she always used the Memory Stone to wipe everyone's memories of her all the time so her being ignored is partially her own fault too.

Probably. Anyways though.

They're more of antagonists to me compared to First Movie Sunset, Principal Cinch, Filthy Rich and maybe KL and SZ. But whatever

Not even mad at Juniper Montage. Pinkie Pie but mostly Rainbow Dash were idiots who honestly had it coming. Like bruh did y'all remember what y'all did? Regardless of it being right and she getting what she deserved. You saw her face of contempt and later on y'all come to chat with her in the mall where she hears that annoying dance magic song haunting her. And the two basically rub it in their face her schemes got her to be an usher. Common sense machine broke (which is sad cause they've faced worse or other dangerous threats previously). The real problem though is that her ambition of a dream was taken away thanks to Sunset Shimmer and her friends was devolved into this maybe you actually want a friend by Starlight. They also ignore the part where Starlight Glimmer technically is the reason why the seven girls were about to fall into an endless void. Then Juniper Montage has to apologize first for some reason for some conflict they began to be like oh we forgive you. Like it should be the other around.

Vignette on the other is just an imbecile. I wouldn't say it was rushed for her either. She may be a scrub but she didn't know her go away device was actually like spawning people in a limited size container. She was pretty detached and didn't really have anything of friends.

I would go far as to say Supernova Zap and Kiwi Lollipop were just fugly as Abacus Cinch and Filthy Rich because Sunset didn't deserve to be time loop tormented because of some stupid Perfection Manure. Clowns didn't care and attempted to add a ban Sunset and Pinkie Pie interfering in their time loop to achieve their idea of perfection. They couldn't even like look for like another time in the dang future. 3 weeks of time torture for Sunset and they didn't care they wanted to continue til they go it right. Those dweebs had no purpose and didn't care who they were affecting. They only whined because their time loop was broken. Then they played a song with Sunset and Pinkie Pie. Now that is what rushed really is. And worse. It was not deserved at all. Heck I might even say First Movie Sunset going good suddenly feels rushed (though she's the only one who actually payed besides Montage but unlike her Twilight gives Sunset The Human 6 Pass. Thus meaning it would not be a start from scratch luck). Sometimes I'm juggling considering if Montage's was less artificial or even less rushed feeling than Sunset's ever but whatever.

Now onto Wallflower Blush. Some may wonder why doesn't she go after everyone else? Why is it Sunset? It's pretty simple if one remember what Sunset has done in the past and everything before being defeated. Like she changed but not everyone is going to simply be like I forgive you. Heck Sunset even hates how she used to be and doesn't want the past to haunt her. Songs included oof.

Wallflower, unlike everyone else, is seen as an anomaly. She wasn't as forgiving or conforming as everyone else simply because oh Sunset helped save them quad times so lets be friends now and forget. I mean that's nice but eh.

One must remember that Sunset is in association with popular girls or her defeaters. So that also makes things easier for her while also making Wallflower be like what is this crap?

However, imagine this. A person ruining you or others around you for a long time and now look they said sorry and now everyone is treating the biggest meanie well while they still proceed ignoring you entirely. Now look. Girl somehow is deemed best friends of the year with her main friends. Like no one else got this reward instead. Idk seems bias. They also didn't thank her for handing that to Sunset or rather Sunset herself at least.

The jerk rose to the top or rather she was at the top and honestly she immediately gets back at the top now that's she's good. Meanwhile you are at still in the same place. Bruh these ignorers now saluting a girl who tried to destroy a girl's way out and property and possessed y'all or us and almost destroyed her soon to be defeaters? And again all the other crap she's done (framing, threatening her pet (ugh I hate that they didn't make Spike The Dragon human), being a part of why Twilight's human world variants are no longer friends for a long time till Twilight fixed that. Fear, terror, using Flash as a means to rise, etc.) Like what kind of quick forgiveness nonsense is that? I'll say quick because all it really took was Dazzlings to be defeated in the second movie for the school instantly forgave her. Like Wallflower is definitely upset with all else. She did sing a song about it but it's just she sees Sunset as a root above all the rest. Why will be explained below somewhere.

So why not go after the jerk. There's no real difference with the others of before. Like Wallflower doesn't like that occurrence but Sunset thing can be viewed as unfair nonsense. Like imagine someone humiliating you and others for a long time, end up being the owner of your favorite products or is the mayor of your town and they just somehow stay winning oh and bonus; all those facing worse treatment or similar are now their best associates and they treat this jerk as awesomeness. Wallflower sees everyone as fooled by Sunset's change. She sees Sunset as fake but that will be explained somewhere below.

Anyways. What could be worse than a person causing terror upon the students and staff and making no one is able to rebel. And she had Snips and Snails as loyal followers to her cause. Well what if that people appear to have changed but now everyone is on her side and soon become dependent on her. And seeing her as all that. And having an iconic cast of friends thanks to Princess Twilight. To Wallflower it's like Sunset transcended from a disaster to everyone's dependency. The ultimate trick she could see that can be done by Sunset because it seems were fake to her how everyone else simply or quickly just let go.

So yeah I really don't think revenge upon a real jerk is a weak motive. I'd say Cinch Supernova Kiwi and Vignette Valencia are weaker than Wallflower's. (I'm excluding Juniper's because I feel what occurs between movie and mirror magic are too different to me (mostly cause they human six had that coming)).

Regardless it really doesn't matter if Wallflower's motive or reason is viewed as weak. I'll explain why it being deemed weak becomes a worthless take.

The thing that people tend to forget is the context, the situation, and the event. They choose when they want to claim something as weak but will ignore what I just said above. Her problem is Sunset. It was just the wrong place and the wrong time. Pretty much a ticking time bomb. What's consistent is her state of given up or feeling she has no value. People forget the part where Trixie indirectly helped reawaken the bad times with proof images on an old year book. It doesn't help that Sunset straight up forgot Wallflower was right there and shut the lights off on her. Like dude you bumped into Wallflower after singing your dang song when she's trying to get you attention for half the We've Come So Far song.

Anyways. Another thing is people fail to see things from Wallflower's side. And you know what else. It's clearly shown that Sunset is being the actual problematic one. So sad that I am unable to say that I'm surprised that it is ironically Invisible to many. Literally she's proving her right after times Wallflower was considering maybe she was wrong but nope Sunset just manages to not prove her wrong. Her actions against Wallflower aren't helping, but fulfilling how Wallflower sees herself and Sunset and others. You would think that there would be chance but somehow there's a lack of resonance or consideration still despite putting herself out there. Only to be once again Invisible or ignored and then threatened. And fools acting like Wallflower is the problem. BRUH, Sunset Shimmer is not helping. She was fulfilling. Trixie had to get Sunset to realize things but it was kind of too late and Sunset pays briefly. But as you know it ends after; Wallflower defeated Empathy Apologies Understanding Friendship blah blah blah

This is the tragic tale of when fandoms or viewers are too hero or protagonist side oriented. So much denial to the point of tricking themselves against another and the chances of seeing different are slim. It's even worse when another character canonically tells a protagonist to change your perspective but the viewer(s) like oh Antagonist must be bad they can't be actually right must find something to thrash them upon as a distraction. The protagonist or hero must always been right. I have to refuse to admit if they screwed up.

Be mindful that Wallflower Blush didn't erase the memories of everyone each time (well not known) until seeing Sunset again in Forgotten Friendship. She says only little things when she first found the memory stone. And eventually got used to it. However it's very vague. I doubt it was everyone anyways. The only time she erased everyone memories was the when she erased everyone's or her friends good memories of Sunset. You also see that she tends to bury it instead of merely keeping it all the time with her.

Again it doesn't matter if it was self inflicting as her being flat out ignored has been occurring for a long time before she ever found the stone. Here's something else. You'd think having a clean slate would make these people react different but it only showed no matter what, they would do the same thing to you or treat you the same. One could see it as it's them still. The Memory Stone unfortunately became a smokescreen meme template used for solely blaming Wallflower instead of realizing that she's been bound to the same fate with or without it. Like no one else changed their ways. Which is quite ironic considering they easily changed for Sunset.

How much of no difference of the memory stone being used is like Wallflower having the ability to ctrl z a person answering 2 + 2 as 22 but they somehow pick any number that isn't 4.

It's funny how memory stone gets claimed as an excuse to ignore all the crap that happened to Wallflower earlier because oh no now it's her fault. Let's ironically forget of everything else before. It's like oh you now put your hand in water after being dumped with hot water and you didn't know you were putting your hand there but earlier hot water keeps being dumped on your face for a long time but since you put your hand in water a few times or are used to it at times because you don't see a new day, everyone should ignore that you were always dumped with hot water on your face and it was going to happen regardless if you had your hand in water or not. It's your fault completely now for everything that the rest dumped on you.

This is the summit of what refusing to admit an antagonist can be actually screwed over does to a viewer. One must find an excuse to egg them. But you know what. Her being ignored by them is how many may do unfortunately.

The actual problem though is when Wallflower throwing herself out there and saying what's been going on with her. Everything is told and yet despite it all she was ignored. Much melancholic state already. Then imagine being grabbed and someone invaded and skimmed your memories and are acting like you are the problem after like you were considering maybe I was wrong about them because she lifted your mood up. Then her friend is like who are again? Like WHAT!? Then you put you went out your way tell what's been going on. All your feelings put out there and you discover the one who went into your memories is going through your bag. Really and asks what did I do to you I don't even know you. And then they prove you that it appears that they were a facade the whole time. HUH?! Now that's disrespect right there. Explain my life. PFT *SIGH MASSIVE* This is the real deal? Who the deemed as the best with her friends. So they are fooled by her it seems.

LOL!

Will say this. The self inflicted is not the memory stone. It's actually Wallflower staying in a toxic environment. Hmm that'd be nice. Leaving such. Still... Many don't know they could or might not be able too.

#Wallflower Blush #Sunset Shimmer #Trixie Lulamoon #Forgotten Friendship #Anti Equestria Girls Fandom #Anti MLP Fandom #Supernova Zap #Kiwi Lollipop #PostCrush #Juniper Montage #Vignette Valencia #Pinkie Pie #Wallflower #PlumSaffron #ask plumsaffron

[duskstars]

Postcrush but they’re HORSES

#mlp #my little pony #equestria girls #eqg #mlp:eqg #mlp:fim #kiwi lollipop #supernova zap #k-lo #su-z #sketchbook #// I LOVE THESE TWO SO BAD WTF #// I wish they showed up more besides the backstage pass and those few shorts #// THEYRE BOTH PEGASI HERE but it’s subject to change

[lemonthepotato]

Loveable dork & 2 lesbians

Look I know the K-lo and Su-z icons are really piss poor quality and I had to draw over the logos but uhh, don’t care + ratio + there isn’t any good vectors of them.

#mlp #juniper montage #kiwi lollipop #supernova zap #PostCrush #just learnt they’re based on puffy amiyumi haha… #mlp mirror magic #mlp movie magic #sunsets backstage pass #mlp eg #mlp eqg #eqg Icon #eqg icons #mlp icon #mlp icons #they deserve more

[equestriaqueerz2024]

#flash sentry #timber spruce #vignette valencia #juniper montage #wallflower blush #supernova zap #kiwi lollipop #equestria girls #eqg #mlp #my little pony #mlp eqg #my little pony friendship is magic #mlp headcanons #eqg headcanons #equestriagayz

[mikodrawnnarratives]

And historians will call them

close friends, besties, roommates, colleagues

anything but lovers

history hates lovers

#mlp equestria girls #mlp eqg #mlp eg #better together: sunsets backstage pass #sunsets backstage pass #kiwi lollipop #supernova zap #kiwi lollipop x supernova zap #supernova zap x kiwi lollipop #post crush

[punk-63]

#kiwi lollipop #supernova zap #equestria girls

[mirtash]

a lil bit of lore: Princess Luna had to banish her sister on the Sun for 1000 years  Luna doesn't have enough power to hold the sun on the sky for long enough because Celestia being in her nightmare form (it's not a Day Breaker but I don't have a name for her yet eeeee like Supernova or smth???) weakens Luna's connection with the sun (and also Luna holds less magic power than Celestia in general) what's more Nightmare Celestia cursed Luna's ponies to be "the creatures of the darkness where you belong", turning them into Bat Ponies. most of the ponies in Equestria are bat ponies. Pegasy Unicorns and Earth ponies only comes from ancient pure blood families like Apples, Pies, Glimmers, etc some as Rainbow and Rarity mostly look as regular pegasys and unicorn but they can hold trates of the bat ponies (fangs, ears, sometimes wings) Bat ponies and the hybrids don't feel good enough during daytime (their eyes works so much better in the dark, they flies faster during night time and prefer lower temperature) and that's another reason why Princess Luna has to hold moon at the sky longer than sun Apple Jack

- She puts flowers in her mane in the memory of her mother. In this AU Pear Butter is a very cool genetic. She died when Apple Bloom turns 5 and Apple Jack (who just turned 15) left absolutely heart broken. However this tragedy made Apple siblings much stronger and they've become closer than ever. That's when Apple Jack finally gets her cutie mark, representing her bond with apple family (three apples represent Apple Bloom, Apple Jack and Big Mac) - Apple Jack is one of the ponies who doesn't really enjoy Luna's reign mostly because she is a farmer and it's hard for her to take care of the various apple trees during longer night time. - The Apple family is VERY conservative they are one of the very few families in Equestria who still grows original sorts apples (and other crops), including a super rare Zap Apples and that need extra care due the lack of sunlight. - one of the Apple family ancestors happened to be the leader of the earth ponies rebellion that happened in the first years of Luna's reign. Luna's spirit was broken after she had to banish her sister and things didn't go very well in her kingdom. Hundred of angered ponies led by the "iron mare" Red Delicious broke into the Castle of the two Sisters. The guards didn't even try to stop them.  When ponies entered the throne room they saw The Princess of darkness, crying over her sister's broken throne. The room was filled with blooming Sunflowers, favorite flowers of Celestia. Then Luna turned to them and she spoke to them as a princess and they saw the power she holds and they realized she can destroy them all with a single spell. But she didn't. Red Delicious who was determined to fight "the princess of darkness" till the end finally saw the real Luna and she wasn't scared or angry anymore but started to feel the compassion for her. - Red Delicious herself helped Luna to make a plan on defeating hunger. Ponies were starving due the lack of crops and Red Delicious worked hard alongside with Luna to invent plants that would be able to grow effectively in the dark on the shortest time. Ponyville became the first night farmers city (very close to the Castle of the two sisters). 

Rainbow Dash - Her full name is Rainbow Stormcloud Dash. - Her mother and father are both pegasy and her grand grand father is a hybrid bat pony (she likes him sooo much he is super cool) However, she doesn't have any trates of bat pony except of the ability to see in the dark and flying at night. - Rainbow mane in different varieties is a very rare gene that only exists in her blood line a very long time ago one of her ancestors tried to save his friend from a dragon and flied so fast he broke the laws of physics and a Sonic Rainboom happened.  After that his mane turned rainbow colored. Pegasus with a rainbow mane was born once in a generation since then but a very few of them were able to perform a Sonic Rainboom. - Rainbow Dash is the first pegasus in Equestria history who was able to perform the Nocturnal Rainboom. - Her dream is to become a Shadow Bolt. They are the best flyers in Equestria!!! And most of them are bat ponies because it's hard for a pegasus to perform bat's tricks. Not for Rainbow though! 

#mlpfim #appledash #fanart #rainbow dash #applejack #lesbian

[cosmic-kinglet]

Man, seeing as I already find difficulty reading between lines, I just loooooove an unreliable narrator...

We can probably at least say for sure that Ruin WAS once Sun and Moon, and then, rather than separating, the two decided to combine. He conveniently left out the part about the virus, but if Bloodmoon does enough digging, they're sure to find out about it. The thought occurred to me a little while back that Bloodmoon might decide to look through some of the channel's past videos to try and gather more information about their new 'brother', and this could lead to them finding the interrogation video where Ruin was shocked enough to shut down for a few moments, giving a brief glimpse at Eclipse within. If they found that, then they would know exactly how to get some more (and more reliable) answers. They already mentioned toward the end of this video that, if they thought Ruin might have been lying, they would "zap him until he couldn't even enjoy it." Basically, I've got hope that they WILL have a direct meeting with the real Eclipse.

As for the possibility of Bloodmoon doing more digging on their own, they seemed oddly calm at the very end. Ruin was the one who said anything about "teaching Monty a lesson", and Bloodmoon seemed like they were just trying to get away as soon as possible at that point. Considering they seem to have some level of respect for Monty (which is honestly kind of confusing. Like, Monty made Bloodmoon's physical body using Supernova's blueprints, but they didn't do much for Bloodmoon beyond that, and I guess leaving rats for them to kill.), I think it's likely they might actually try to get more information behind Ruin's back. Man...this really MIGHT be October 2.0, following a lot of similar paths of development! Of course, I don't want a carbon copy of the takeover formula from last year, but at the moment, it's just some fun parallels.

#the sun and moon show

[kisskissbanggang]

Jumpspace Renegade - ep. 2 ✨🚀

[2.2k words, 10 min. read - Stray Kids Multi Fic, Scifi!au, Choose Your Own Adventure - SFW/Smut in Later Chapters - Meeting the Gang, Shady Characters, Hiding from the Cops, Different Levels of Asshole, Always Check the Tags]

[Episodes on Fridays 7pm pst, Polling closes Saturdays 7pm pst]

[Series Masterlist | Come Say Hi!]

“Dammit,” you cursed under your breath in the cargo hold. Your boots were clunking on the iron floor of the haggard frigate just a bit too loudly for your liking. There were plenty of reasons you should've gone with different shoes, in hindsight. 

As an experimental manufactured planet, T’kaarm ran on a scaled up version of electromagnetic gravity commonly used on government and military crafts. In fact, if a tourist were to take one of those overpriced tours under the planet’s crust, where the electromagnetic plates rested, they’d get a taste of the peculiar sensation of suddenly being pulled in the opposite direction that they’d just been standing. All your clothes were lined with dainty metallic fibers. Every piece of jewelry you owned was Core-Safe, which was hilarious on T’kaarm as, again, the plates weren’t even in the planet’s core. Everything was made to pull you down to the surface, just enough. 

The steel plates were the current reason for your regret regarding the dumb boots. You should've thrown them out weeks before, when the plate on your right sole finally got exposed through the wearing rubber. A nasty zap from a faulty threshold on a commuter rail finally knocked some sense into you, and they’d been laying abandoned by your front door for weeks. 

Until today, when Klave had notified you it was time for your biweekly check-in. Except you knew it was a week early. And you knew that your employer for your last gig sold you out. 

You untied the stupid boots and tiptoed out of them – or as much as you could, now that you were bouncing a bit. There was just enough metal in your clothes, your bag, your jewelry, the fillings in your teeth to confidently hold you an inch above the floor. 

It was hard to see in the dark cargo hold, but this was fine. This was great cover, all things considered. You carefully shuffled around a maze of boxes, crates, and trunks, hoping to find enough of an opening to duck down into. 

“Looking for anything in particular?” came a sudden voice cutting through the dark. 

You damn near jumped out of your skin, whirling around to face the intruding sound. No apparent luck, but you did finally get a somewhat better idea of your bearings. Your fingers were curled around the spaced apart bars of a cargo cage to stop your momentum, likely against the starboard side of the hull since you entered the rear of the craft and veered right. But were you inside the cage, or out?

A single, red light illuminated an alarm button on the short ceiling. It dimly silhouetted the speaker in the dark. 

“Well?” the stranger continued. You could see his head cock curiously to one side, looking almost sarcastic given his bored tone. 

You let up a reluctant sigh. “Okay. I'm sorry for crashing, but I just need to lay low–”

“Why?” the man interrupted. “Are you wanted?”

“You could say that,” you impatiently answered. Your fingertips nervously fiddled with the raised lettering on your bag, slung down off your shoulder and resting in the crook of your arm. Supernova Hospitality. Once upon a time, you'd worked for one of those silly hotels that offered those silly tours under the planet’s surface, long before you learned how to make better money. Long before you went to jail. Long before you were saddled with Klave. 

Piping lined the low ceiling, and the man grabbed on to lean forward attentively. It was still your turn to talk, apparently. 

“Look, I can just leave,” you offered, “but if you let me stay, I’ll pay you–”

You were interrupted again, this time with an incredulous laugh. “Pay? With what money? You can’t even afford shoes, hun.”

First you wondered how he could tell with how dark it was in here. Then you were wondering where he got off calling you ‘hun.’

But you didn't get a chance to pursue either of these things, because the asshole nonchalantly reached over and pushed the alarm button. 

The lights flashed on at the same time a serious buzzer echoed through the spacecraft. 

Your ass hit the floor and bounced before you even knew you fell. 

“What the fuck, dude–?!” you sputtered. You spied a trunk stacked on top of a couple crates, leaving just enough room for you to crawl under when you heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the main floor. 

“Just seeing how good you are at hiding with the lights on, little stowaway,” the guy snickered. Now that you got a better look at him, you were surprised to find he wasn't more intimidating in terms of looks. Cropped, dark brown hair hung down in a shaggy fringe in front of his almond shaped eyes. Perfect nose, cute, thin lips curled into a shit-eating smirk – he was actually handsome, an unexpected feat for a dick like this. And he wasn't just resting both arms at the same time by leaning on the overhead pipe; he was handcuffed. 

Mercenaries with a cuffed guy in the cargo hold? 

Oh, fuck.

That meant–

The commotion in the stairwell spilled into the room. A few pairs of boots and sneakers stepped in front of your vision, and you strained to see past them. 

“I warned you about touching that fucking button, Lee,” a new disembodied voice threatened from somewhere behind you. 

Cuffs dismissively shrugged and gestured both his hands in your direction, all silent. 

One pair of legs spun to look towards wherever he’d pointed, and suddenly one guy ducked down to see you under the trunk. Cute round doe eyes blinked at you, or at least the one that wasn't obscured by an eyepatch. You and Eyepatch wordlessly stared each other down. There was a pathetic, silent plea in your expression, you could just tell.

And he held your gaze while he waved everyone over. “Hey, guys– OW!”

You kicked Eyepatch right in the shin and tried to wriggle out from under the trunk, but another body blocked you. A shock of red and black hair entered your vision first. He didn’t say anything, to you or his cohorts. He only curiously arched an eyebrow at you. You were ready to punch him right in his pierced nose when there was a banging knock on the sub-hatch door. 

Humorously, you weren’t the only one who filled with dread, by the looks of it. All the men stood, warily regarding the door and hesitating until there was another knock, this time with a yell accompanying. Nose Ring’s hand hovered over the hilt of a knife clipped into his trouser pocket. 

“Open up! T’kaarm Port Authority!”

Klave, obviously.

Nose Ring glanced down at you and back at the door, his jaw firm like he was grinding his teeth in thought. He glanced at you again.

“Jeongin, open the door.”

So he was the voice barking at Cuffs when the crew came crashing in. 

More light spilled into the cargo hold, causing the men to squint for a second. From your vantage point, you could only see Eyepatch, Cuffs, and Nose Ring. Cuffs had boredly moved to sit on a bench in the back of the makeshift brig.

“Greetings, gentlemen, I’ll make this quick.” God you hated Klave. “This is your Slipdock?”

You knew he was referencing the giant freighter parked on top of them. 

“Funniest thing,” Eyepatch nervously chuckled. “We were here first and the big bastard dropped down on top of us. You can check the quartermaster–”

“No, that's fine. And your Captain…?”

Nose gave a curt raise of his hand, really only gesturing with a couple fingers. “Bang,” he cautiously supplied. “First name Chan.” You could hear Klave or the cops behind him messing with a scanner. A blue scan grid flashed onto the Captain’s face for a second.

“Good, good. And your first mate?”

Eyepatch looked at Captain Bang first before raising his hand as well. “Han? Jisung– ah fuck!” The first mate cursed when the flash of the scan grid left him blinking.

Without asking or warning, the scan grid hit Cuff’s face as well, getting an annoyed grimace out of him.

“Lee? Minho Lee?”

Cuffs reluctantly nodded.

“Captain, you’re authorized to deliver outlaws?”

“Yeah,” Chan impatiently answered while he felt his pockets, “of course we are. Ji, do you have–”

“What? No, hold on–” Jisung quietly stalled, somewhat panicked. “That shit’s back on the bridge, I–”

Another pair of boots suddenly entered, stopping right beside Chan.

“Thank you, Seungmin,” Jisung hurriedly whispered before piling everything that was in his hands into Chan’s hands. Chan quickly reviewed everything before handing them back to Jisung to pass to Klave.

“Clearances, authorizations, and passes, officers,” he plainly explained.

“Thank you, Captain. And your final port?”

“Victory Meridian in Daedalus,” Chan answered with a nod towards Minho. “To drop off the cargo.”

“Perfect, Captain,” Klave praised. What a kiss-ass. “One last thing… Have you happened to have taken care of any attempted stowaways, maybe an outlaw trying to seek refuge?”

All three men in your sight line glanced at you and you vehemently shook your head from where you were hidden under the trunk. Minho and Jisung both looked at Chan next, but Chan was still looking at you. 

And you realized what it was. On your wrist closest to him, you knew the scar from your implanted inmate chip was visible. They injected ink into the cauterizer so it'd leave a tattoo, a little metallic logo for the port authority. 

Chan had a similar mark on his wrist. So did Jisung. 

The glare you shared with Chan felt like hours instead of seconds before he finally looked up, pretending to have just been looking at his watch instead. 

“No, officer,” he shook his head, “now, I'm sorry to be rude but do you mind? We have to make our boost time.”

“Captain, are you sure? There were reported sightings–”

“Officer,” Chan calmly interrupted. He pulled out a wad of folded paper credits. “I actually don't remember if we paid our gate fee already. Would you be so gracious as to check with the quartermaster for me?” 

The Captain handed the credits to Jisung to pass along. 

“My pleasure, Captain,” Klave gushed. “I’ll report back shortly–”

You were stunned that it’d been so easy. This was the last you’d ever hear of Klave, thankfully, as the door was shut in his face. You finally shambled out from under the trunk in the cargo hold, still bouncing on your tiptoes. There were a few new faces now. A couple of the men sat on crates near the stairwell, inspecting your boots. 

Jisung amusedly pushed your shoulder down, watching you bounce right back up. 

“Hey, thank you guys,” you offered sincerely. 

“Cute,” Jisung smirked, still distracted by your bobbing, “like a little ghost. She coming up with us?”

Chan also bopped you down a couple times before grabbing your shoulder. He beeped open the cargo cage and shoved you inside before you even had a chance to protest. “Nah,” he casually decided. 

“What?!” you protested, grabbing the bars. “You’re leaving me here?!”

“We gotta see if there’s a pretty price on your head,” Chan explained. “No hard feelings, I hope. Now what's your name?”

One of your hands relinquished the bars to reshoulder your bag. You nervously fiddled with the raised letters again. 

“... Nova,” you answered. 

“Hyunjin?” Chan called over his shoulder. One of the men, a tall, slender blonde, stepped forward. He drew out a small pocket scanner and focused the beam on your face before he also noticed your inmate mark and got that, too. Hyunjin looked at the scanner data. 

“Yeah, that's not your name,” he boredly shook his head while he read. “But I like it. You've got a lot of pages in here…”

“Jisung,” nagged a voice at the stairs. A bespectacled man was poking his head in the doorway. “The gate agent is on my ass–”

“In a minute, Seungmin, god!” Jisung rolled his eyes, dragging his feet on his way to the stairs. 

“You’re keeping me in here until Victory Meridian?” you frantically asked the captain. He was reading over Hyunjin’s shoulder. 

“Just until we make sure you're not worth anything,” Hyunjin answered, still reading his scanner as well. “You’ll probably be out before the end of the day cycle.”

“Sounds about right,” Chan ruled. He looked between you and Minho. “Play nice. Don’t touch that fucking button again.”

And just like that, Chan, Hyunjin, and the rest of the men cleared out. 

You were alone with Minho, a bounty you knew nothing about, and nothing to firmly anchor you to the ground. Your boots were still out in the cargo hold proper. 

And the lights went back out. 

The ship rumbled to life around you. 

A couple strips of work lights blinked on, but that was it. 

“The pilot called you a little ghost but you remind me more of a little bird,” Minho chuckled to himself. 

You considered your response.

There was always the silent route, maybe bore him into leaving you alone or divulging something valuable. 

Or there was always the option of trying to be friendly, maybe make one alliance since it was available. 

There was, however, the risk that silence could come across as taunting or antagonistic. But, then again, talking could appear disingenuous, maybe even cloying. 

#stray kids fanfic #stray kids smut #skz fanfic #skz smut #skz scenarios #SPOILERS #ALWAYS CHECK THE TAGS #one path takes you to an awkward shutdown #the other takes you to an excitingly stressful game of chicken

[pipermint8magic]

1. Yogurt

2. Snap Shutter (mlp)

3. Shooting Shooting Eye (from fffffffineee)

4. Apple Bloom (mlp)

5. Astra (got from @interstellar-quartz)

6. Chris Griffin (family guy)

7. Alpha Cloud (from SpookysDarkestDesire)

8. Cozy Glow (mlp)

9. Kerry Richards

10. Supernova Zap (mlp)

#my next gen #my art #my au

[plumsaffron]

Bruh peeps convincing themselves that Wallflower Blush originally intended to erase all of Sunset Shimmer's friends memories or deserved to be punched in the face because she disrupted Sunset redemption completion or saying all her fault cause she used memory stone.

None of this was originally intended. The events are influenced based on each situation. Originally it was to teach her a lesson because she sees her as fake and the rest as fooled (and unfortunately thanks to Trixie for unintentionally giving a reminder which started this Forgotten Friendship story).

Yes please punch the girl. It would look beautiful after Sunset made Wallflower possibly think she might have actually changed because she actually thought the garden thing would be okay to include. Only for really Sunset did it to distract Wallflower to get close and grab her arm and go into Wallflower's memories. Yes please punch the girl who's mind has been invaded. Please seek that when she decided even after the memory skimming invasion that she would tell Sunset and Trixie Lulamoon what's been going on in her for so long. Already she's not okay, clearly in that giving up low feeling that there is hope for herself reminds consistent. What's said is consistent as the skimmed memories. Only for her to discover they ignored hearing her out with Sunset doing the worst in this case again as she discovers she's been going into her bag. Then Sunset's like what did I do to you. I don't even know you. Oh dear. Sunset forgetting her history really sucks even if she's a better person now or rather forgetting previous movies or specials (especially Rainbow Rocks). Then how Wallflower sees Sunset makes Sunset triggered but unfortunately her deciding to become aggressive only reinforces what Wallflower see's Sunset as truly unchanged, only feigned. Then later on Sunset understanding and trying to reach her was a bit too late and the environment with her friends in the background doesn't help either. Wallflower is irritated because it appears nothing she did mattered cause it appears Sunset always had a way of averting things. That's why Wallflower decided to go after previously erasing their good memories to all of her friends high school memories. So Sunset would experience what it's completely like to be Wallflower.

Blah blah blah she disrupted Sunset's work of being finally redeemed. Good she disrupted it cause it actually helped Sunset in the long run facing the ghosts of her past and overcoming the ultimate representation of the ghosts of her past, Wallflower.

It doesn't matter of her memory stone getting carried away confession. She's been invisible and treated as such way before the memory stone was found. Why is that so difficult to accept that the stone was mere a small snack finally consumed after years of a main course consumed reoccurrence (that's probably been since at most, possibly the 3rd grade)?

Splendid. Do get mad a Wallflower after deciding to open up about her past and retaliating after being ignored by who should be listening and Wallflower being reinforced again in her eyes of what she sees as true. Also shame cause she was trying to get Sunset's attention while Sunset was busy singing earlier in time.

#Wallflower #Wallflower Blush #sunset shimmer #trixie lulamoon #Forgotten Friendship #Equestria Girls #silly fools out here disregarding the context or choosing what they wish against who they dislike. Same thing diff fandom. #anti mlp eg fandom #anti equestria girls fandom #Principal Cinch and Kiwi Lollipop Supernova Zap Vignette Valencia exist but all forbid Wallflower #plumsaffron

[thatrandomuser01]

For @pipermint8magic

pmverse colours on the following characters-

Cozy Glow

Supernova Zap

Bow Hothoof

Silverstream

Screwball

Dr. Fauna

Scootaloo

Score

Princess Luna

Wallflower Blush

#edit #gift art #mlp fim #my little pony friendship is magic #cozy glow #silverstream #screwball mlp #scootaloo #princess luna #wallflower blush #hasbro #lauren faust

[gushingabtlove]

when ur bfs are all a little funny silly brain <33

this goes out to not even half of my fruity little oc boyfriends who i love very very much <33

lava lamp (+ briar), boombox, kaleidoscope, bathbomb, glowbi, jellyfish, daddy long legs, custard, retrogade, loomy, jewelry box, cream pie, butterbread, sparkler, nightlight, honeycake, campfire, gummyworm, discoball, paintbrush, 8-ball, firefly, artboard, slushie, beanbag, paintball, shutters, fortune teller, landmine, jewelmine, bombasm, magic marker, glitter pen, matchbox, funnyface, shadow mask, bubblecup, domino, axeman, jester, reverse, goggles, clock-out, tapestry, king, streets, crutches, discotheque, vhs, vm, quip, camera man, statiklis, hotline, cutcord, wiresaw, powerline, record, fillter, sey, logbook, researcher, delivery, mandyl, casting, orbee, milkyway, valan, herring, styxo, ruler, error, buttons, cryogen, daydream, ikbo, marbles, ozzy, zz, dollie, claw machine, carnival, sewing needle, gameboy, bendy, bowtie, starfish, firecracker, cotton candy, birthday, cupcake, portrait, fair, cakewalk, balloon, ocean eyes, goldie, smiles, post-it, blondie, wannabe, hushpuppy, pseudonym, drearie, softie, lockbox, memory, eternity, zenith, vigor, spider eyes, monday, tsunami, ragdoll, mixtape, dj, erase, zipper, newsie, cigar, knots, signal, analog, iq, broker, album, techy, radar, algorithm, candlestick, milkshake, raspberry sorbet, strawberry lemonade, honeycomb, whipped cream, bon-bon, cocoa, grape soda, fizz, cornbread, fruit punch, poprocks, pb&j, blackberry pie, popsicle, icing, gingerbread, peach crumble, teacake, sprinkles, cheesecake, peanut butter, rollcake, sugar cookie, toffee pudding, dropper, slim-jim, parka, nasty, paparazzi, oxy, dickie, party, seldom, noddles, needles, vodka, molly rose, infrared, coke, injection, re-al, pill, addict, mr. prescription, rubs, bandages, naughty, birthday candle, flamethrower, wind chimes, streamers, delicacy, quake, licorice, peach blush, frostbite, hyperthermia, sandglass, snakebite, bambi, vignette, waffle iron, somnophobia, viperpop, lightbulb, wallflower, ariel, cyanide, ghastor, peril, mirror shard, angelita, the doctor, lazuli, siderite, plasma, amnesia, pepper steak, anndy, neo, cat eye, apology, gumdrop, inkwell, think 101, aim, look at the stars.crp, twisted.exe, hedonism, lotus, phantasm, legacy, shivering, vil.exg, alzen, rose, bowie, mars, june, elzen, january, july, cake, lumi, neptune, alix, pyro, distortion, death, ecstasy, equity, wisp, determination, alastor, nate, zest, vinn, valarian, xest, vesper, marcy, k2, anonymous, anxiety, norman, adel, anna, xexter, oz, amon, azrael, brandon, cordon, chaim, camron, river, zap, sick, unknown, pumpkin head, ethan, damien, unstable, glitch, seren, kayan, core, spice, lisp, wisp, marsh, liam, logan, daniel, rylo, karl, cinder, kindle, break, saturn, gem, lonnie, eleven, thirteen, nine, twelve, vason, aster, toxicity, darling, pyromania, cross, infatuation, dis, angel, cobi, alice, bonnibel, ray, conifer, phantom, rot, teeth, cheezit, casino, twist, mania, bruxism, yohan, lucifer, chimes, morphine, foxglove, slumber, fear, pallid, gossamer, kenny, pepper, sour, sweet, quincey, jack (+jackl), phoenix, swiss, borealis, bicchiere, juno, pond, opium, eve, esque, petrichor, elysian, sheep, saeran, blue, thirtyfour, sea, gorge, corette, popgoes, nabu, penumbra, daffodil, remedy, silkra, polaris, nabbi, stitches, patchwork, sunkiss, spindle, uri, bride, evangelion, corpse, petunia, swan, melatonin, chorus, tempest, gold, heartwood, wyx, wik, chavell, hern, zin, sonna, esconder, oakley, jonquil, jules, kaz, valentine, savel, alifer, hexikiah, flair, orion, roman, aurelius, lio, supernova, hyperburst, xale, reino, karami, amaiera, vinnie, sylvester, ghost, amoxie, thyme, khai, leno, tyrian, amaranth, wish, valley, jockoline, knife, cubbie, keys, patchwork, clay, fran, ricky, starburst, matrix, richie, koen, fantasia, treasure, saint, rem, sunflower, law, dice, spade, brione, klahoma, klub, juxapose, shark, coast, pearl, fable, canopy, queen, fae, xyin, anomaly, december, november, t, haunterly, kiss, sixteen, five, veil, pom pom, laine, winlei, estan, raby, sachele, cj, null, ziggy, lanton, sannette

passion, masky, rosibene, nonsense, decay, salem, lockie, sugar, limin, spitts, everett, soda, fitz, bō, daughtry, hao, kastlane, afternoon, lucas, louise, mimmy, yusef, equinox, anthemion, três, viridian, celadon, faigan, radio, syrup, rise, elowen, veraine, axe, creep, vanity, yellow, boston, kain, riles, quick, hydraon, nessie, mousse, ecto, beastly, worship, cannibalism, stalking, abandon, ketamine, pretender, hypocrisy, quixotic, opulence, opportunity, sensuality, sobriety, rage, apocalypse, negligence, irrationality, cube

#🪷: kuromi’s world of romance #oc f/os #will do a part two later

[forgottenfriendshiprpg]

who's most wanted from the Masterlist's fandoms at the moment, please? thank you!

Phillip 'Phil' DeVille, Dylan 'Dil' Pickles, Mr. Stuart 'Stu' Pickles, Mrs. Didila 'Didi' Pickles (née Kropotkin), Mrs. Charlotte Pickles, Mr. Andrew 'Drew' Pickles, and the other characters from All Grown Up! / Rugrats ; Alfonso, Blathers, Booker, Don Resetti, Franklin, Gracie, Gulliver, K.K. Slider, Katrina, Mabel, Margie, Phyllis, Porter, Tom Nook, Brewster, Harriet, Pascal, Lyle, Kicks, Labelle / Label, Lloid, Pavé, Zipper T. Bunny, Phineas, Nat, Digby, Harvey, Leif, Luna, Audie, Daisy Mae, Wardell, C.J., Flick, Niko, Orville, Wilbur, Celeste, Sable, Joan, Pelly, Pete, Saharah, Tommy, Timmy, and Lottie from Animal Crossing™ ; Nigel Uno, Kuki Sanban, Abigail Lincoln, Cree Lincoln, Fanny Fulbright, Rachel McKenzie, Harvey McKenzie, and Chad Dickson from Codename: Kids Next Door ; Regina George, Janis 'Imi'ike, Damian Hubbard, Karen Shetty, Gretchen Wieners, Aaron Samuels, Ms. Heron, Mrs. George, Ms. Norbury, and Principal Mr. Duvall from Mean Girls ; Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Aria Blaze, Sonata Dusk, Adagio Dazzle, Vignette Valencia, Gloriosa Daisy, Principal Abacus Cinch, Kiwi Lollipop, Supernova Zap, Juniper Montage, Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna, Flash Sentry, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Big McIntosh, Octavia Melody, DJ Pon-3, Timber Spruce, Trixie Lulamoon, and Zephyr Breeze from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls ; Princess Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Discord, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, Trixie Lulamoon, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic ; Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Blossom, Lemon Meringue, Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Torte, Cherry Jam, Plum Puddin', Huckleberry Pie, Sweet Grapes, Apple Dumplin', Princess Berrykin, Berrykin Bloom, Custard, and Pupcake from Strawberry Shortcake™ / Strawberry Shortcake™: Berry In The Big City / Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures™ ; Alejandra 'Alex' Delgado, Mrs. Kate Moseley-Dorsey, Mr. Doug Dorsey, Zach Conroy, James McKinsey, Alex Harrison, and Jacqueline Dorsey from The Cutting Edge film series !! And you're welcome, 'nonnie !!

#multifandom rp #fandom rp #appless rp #town rp #city rp #town RPG #answered #anonymous #f.f.:F.A.Q.S. #f.f.:admin. #f.f.:M.W. #f.f.:admin.blair.

[assistaaai]

Buckle up, digital nomads and silicon savants, for a ride through the cybernetic cosmos to a destination where magic meets motherboard, and productivity gets a neon-lit makeover. Welcome to the world of Assista, not just a tech marvel but a digital genie in your pocket. Ready to have your mind zapped? Zap on over to Assista’s cyber den and let the journey unfold.

From Humble App to Digital Deity

Our tale kicks off in the cyber chill of 2022, where Assista sprouted up from the digital ether, not just as another app but as a vision in virtual velvet. It was the dawn of a new era in productivity, baby. From its baby steps as a chat-based chum to its metamorphosis into a B2B behemoth, Assista’s journey is like a rollercoaster designed by Da Vinci, if he’d been into coding.

Pivot Like a Disco Ball

Originally dancing to a B2C beat, Assista quickly switched up its groove, shimmying into a B2B model that lets businesses craft their own AI sidekick. It wasn’t just a pivot; it was a full-on moonwalk into the future of efficiency.

The Now: A Digital Dance Floor

Flash forward to today, and Assista is the life of the party, a digital DJ spinning out tasks with the flick of a finger. Emails? Sent with sass. Meetings? Scheduled with swagger. It’s not just about getting things done; it’s about doing them with dazzle. Feeling the vibe? Slide on over to Assista’s lair and witness the wizardry.

The Dream Team Behind the Machine

At the helm of this starship is Captain Paul Burca, CEO and cosmic navigator, with a crew of tech titans, coding wizards, and strategy sorcerers. Together, they’re not just steering the ship; they’re bending the universe to their will, crafting the future one byte at a time.

Gazing into the Galactic Core

With its sensors set on SMEs and startups, Assista’s mission is to beam up businesses into a realm of unmatched productivity. It’s not just about providing a tool; it’s about unlocking a treasure trove of time-saving treasures. And for those daring enough to dive into digital depths, Assista’s beacon shines like a disco ball in the dark, beckoning adventurers.

The Saga Continues…

As we warp back to the present, remember, the saga of Assista is an ever-unfolding epic, a cosmic comic book where each page brings new powers, new adventures. For the brave, the bold, and the curious, your portal to this universe of possibilities is just a click away. Embark on this interstellar expedition to Assista, and let’s redefine the cosmos of productivity together, one quantum leap at a time.

So there you have it, cosmic travellers – a voyage through the vortex of Assista, where every task is an adventure, and every productivity problem meets its match. Beam yourself over to Assista’s dimension and join the rebellion against the mundane. Together, we’ll surf the supernova of efficiency and ride the waves of innovation into the neon sunset.

#ai #artificial intelligence #productivity #gmail #google #notion #huspot #hubspot

[xtruss]

The Atlantic. Getty Images

Science: The Universe Is More in Our Hands Than Ever Before! Astronomy Is in a New Era. It Involves Giant Lasers.

— By Adam Frank | The Atlantic | January 03, 2023

Pity the poor astronomer. Biologists can hold examples of life in their hands. Geologists can fill specimen cabinets with rocks. Even physicists get to probe subatomic particles in laboratories built here on Earth. But across its millennia-long history, astronomy has always been a science of separation. No astronomer has stood on the shores of an alien exoplanet orbiting a distant star or viewed an interstellar nebula up close. Other than a few captured light waves crossing the great void, astronomers have never had intimate access to the environments that spur their passion.

Until recently, that is. At the turn of the 21st century, astrophysicists opened a new and unexpected era for themselves: large-scale laboratory experimentation. High-powered machines, in particular some very large lasers, have provided ways to re-create the cosmos, allowing scientists like myself to explore some of the universe’s most dramatic environments in contained, controlled settings. Researchers have learned to explode mini supernovas in their labs, reproduce environments around newborn stars, and even probe the hearts of massive and potentially habitable exoplanets.

How we got here is one of the great stories of science and synergy. The emergence of this new large-scale lab-based astrophysics was an unanticipated side effect of a much broader, more fraught, and now quite in-the-news scientific journey: the quest for nuclear fusion. As humanity has worked to capture the energy of the stars, we’ve also found a way to bring the stars down to Earth.

Last month, to great fanfare, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced they’d crossed a fusion milestone. For the first time, more energy came out of a fusion experiment than was put in. Although the world is still likely decades away from any sort of functioning fusion-power generator, the experiment was a scientific breakthrough, moving us a step closer toward clean and essentially limitless energy through self-sustaining fusion reactions. To achieve this, the researchers relied on lasers to re-create a place where thermonuclear-fusion reactions already occur: the core of the sun. They focused the lasers on tiny pellets of hydrogen, mimicking the sun’s extraordinarily high temperatures and densities to squeeze the hydrogen nuclei into helium and kick off fusion reactions.

Stars don’t give up their secrets easily. The lasers used are factory-size affairs that require enormous power to do their work. It was in the process of building these multistory light machines that scientists realized they were also incidentally building an unprecedented tool for studying the heavens. Called High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics, or HEDLA, the field that has emerged around these lasers has given astronomers entirely new ways to practice their craft.

The work began in earnest in the early 2000s with the investigation of one of the most energetic events in the cosmos: supernovas, the titanic explosions that end the lives of massive stars. Supernovas are driven by powerful shock waves that develop in a star’s core and then propagate outward, blowing the star’s outer layers into space. The heavy elements contained deep within a star are key to life eventually forming somewhere, so one long-standing question for astronomers has been whether the blast of a supernova mixes a star’s core elements with its lighter surface ones, and through that mixing disperses the essential-to-life heavier elements across the cosmos. Working together, astronomers and fusion-plasma physicists re-created the layers of a star in miniature with thin strips of plastic and less-dense, foamlike material. Then they zapped the mini-star sandwiches with the big fusion lasers. Powerful shock waves formed that ripped through the targets and buckled them like wet cardboard. Mixing between the layers, it turned out, was real. The experiments confirmed a major part of astronomers’ map of how elements get cycled around the galaxy.

This was a thrilling direction for astronomy. Not only could astronomers now tinker with star stuff in a lab; they could do it over and over again. By tweaking one variable after the other, they could run true Earth-bound experiments, testing hypotheses and watching the results play out in front of their eyes. Soon they developed experimental platforms to study a wide range of astronomical environments, including the swirling disks of gas that accompany stars’ formation and the collision of giant interstellar clouds. HEDLA still has limits; not all astrophysical phenomena can be studied in the laboratory. Strong gravitational effects, for example, can’t be captured, because they’d need a star’s worth of mass, and no funding agency is paying for that. The trick for astrophysicists has been to find an overlap between the questions they want to answer and the extreme conditions that giant fusion machines can create.

A sweet spot in the HEDLA Venn diagram lies in the search for distant worlds where alien life could form. In recent decades, an “exoplanet revolution” has revealed that almost every star in the sky hosts its own family of worlds. Because life almost certainly needs a planet to arise, understanding the different conditions on all these alien worlds has risen to the highest priority on astronomers’ to-do list. So far, many of the exoplanets we’ve discovered are strange beasts that look very different from the eight worlds orbiting our sun. Chief among these are the super-Earths, planets weighing from 2 to 10 times the mass of our world. We don’t have this kind of planet in our solar system, and yet they turn out to be the most common world in the universe. So what kind of planet is a super-Earth? Is this bounty of generic worlds worth probing for alien life?

Conditions on the surface of a planet, where life will form, depend strongly on what happens deep inside. Thousands of miles down, pressures are so high that rocks get squeezed until they ooze like asphalt on a scalding day and iron liquifies. Under certain circumstances, the swirling motions of this molten soup drive planet-wide protective magnetic fields that support life. This is where HEDLA’s high-power lasers come in: They turn out to be a uniquely perfect tool for probing pressures deep in the interiors of planets. By using the lasers to squeeze samples of rocks and metals to those deep planetary pressures, researchers can see how the samples behave, discovering their resistance to flow (important for plate tectonics) or their ability to conduct electricity (important for magnetic-field generation).

This is also where I come in. Research my colleagues and I are carrying out is part of a multiyear, multi-institution push funded by the National Science Foundation to make HEDLA a principal tool for understanding planetary conditions, including those in super-Earths. One recent experiment in this initiative, in fact, used the same enormous 192-laser-beam facility at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where the recent fusion breakthrough happened—the big daddy of all big lasers. Researchers wanted to understand how iron would respond to super-Earth pressures, because swirling liquid iron in planetary cores is the key to making planetary magnetic fields. Does iron stay liquid inside a super-Earth, or does it “freeze” over time, solidifying into a crystal lattice that would kill any chances for a magnetic field? Driving the iron to pressures 10 million times Earth’s surface pressure, the study tracked exactly when iron dropped from the liquid to the solid state. From these data, the team found that super-Earths can keep their cores liquid long enough for magnetic fields to offer a billion years or more of planetary shielding. If these results bear out, these big planets may have the right conditions not only to let life form but also for it to evolve and thrive.

Experiments like this one demonstrate how far the new field of laboratory astrophysics has come in just a couple of decades. It’s a story of convergence and even a coming of age. Almost a century ago, astrophysicists discovered the physics of thermonuclear reactions in the stars. Their efforts were aimed not at one day powering humanity’s cities, but at answering an ancient cosmic question: What makes the stars shine? Only after the advent of Cold War nuclear weapons did some scientists begin exploring the possibilities of peaceful fusion power. Now, in the process of moving a little bit closer to abundant, clean energy, we’ve narrowed our own separation from the power of stars and the cosmos as a whole. The universe is more in our hands than ever before. And in capturing even a sliver of its capacities in our laboratories, we are reminded of how vast and magnificent it has always been.

— Adam Frank is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester. His work has appeared in Scientific American, The New York Times, and NPR. He is the author of Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth.