Make-believe mock wallpapers and posters for my fighter pilot novel “Check-6: Young Lions.” They feature Justin Nozuka as Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Kotaro “Pretty Boy” Tsurugi, a young F-14 pilot in the Republican Continent of Americas Naval Forces (RCANF) and a more dignified version of Tom Cruise’s Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell from “Top Gun;” and Alana Haim (of “Licorice Pizza” fame) as LTJG Katie “9-Lives” Wheeler, Kotaro’s backseat Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) and eventual girlfriend. Think of Katie like 75% Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly) from TG: Maverick and 25% Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Kelly McGillis) from the first Top Gun movie. Kotaro and Katie undergo struggles as members of Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) onboard the aircraft carrier RCAS Theodore Roseville (CVN-71) during the 2nd Babylonian War in the early 2000s (Operation Iraqi Freedom in real life/RL)!
