#iau wind

[skyward-floored]

Swapped

Part one of the Incredibles au power swap fic lets gooooo

I don’t know how many parts this is going to be total, maybe four..? I tried to keep it short, but that... didn’t work, heh. This is set after movie stuff at some point, don’t know exactly when, not too long... but supers are legal at least.

But anyway, enjoy part one!

Part two

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Wind woke up slowly, his ears ringing in his skull.

A dull pulse of pain rippled through his middle, and he winced, putting a hand on his chest and rubbing it as he tried to think through what had happened. He remembered a voice talking, and something about intruders being free test subjects...

Oh. Right.

And a big explosion that had sent them all flying.

Ow...

Wind rubbed his eyes, wincing. He supposed a weird explosion shouldn’t be that surprising, since they were trying to break into a crazy-secure science lab. They’d gotten some information on all sorts of illegal experiments going on here, with supers allegedly involved, and they’d all suited up and stormed the place.

Nobody had realized they were expected.

Wind sighed, and sat up with another wince, grateful his supersuit was so sturdy. If he’d been in his civilian clothes, he’d probably be a smear on the wall right now. Or at least dealing with some broken ribs instead of just the weird soreness he had.

He shook his head, trying to disperse the ringing in his ears, and looked around, wondering why it was so quiet. Something about the air seemed weird, like something was missing from it.

A frown settled on Wind’s face and he reached for some wind, trying to listen and see if there was anything moving nearby. Then he froze.

He couldn’t do it.

Wind thrust his hand out, twirling it in the motion he always used when he directed the winds, but nothing happened, no matter how he moved his hands, no matter how hard he tried.

Something was wrong with his powers.

Wind breathed in shakily, and looked down at his hands, trying not to get swamped with panic. He was fine, he was fine except for the aches and lack of powers, he was fine. He probably just... needed to recover a little more from being unconscious. Yeah.

That had to be it.

Wind swallowed and looked around, suddenly zeroing in on Legend lying nearby. He wasn’t moving, and Wind shakily got to his feet, stumbling over and crouching at his side.

“Legend?” Wind asked, and gave his brother a light shake.

Legend didn’t move, not one inch, and the sight of his brother so still made something lurch in Wind’s stomach.

He paused in trying to wake him, and turned his attention to the rest of the room. He’d been separated from the others in the explosion, and the only other person besides Legend and himself in the hallway was Warriors. And Warriors looked like he was beginning to stir, a groan coming from his direction.

Wind stood up again, the absence of his wind all the more noticeable when he tried to draw on it for assistance. He swallowed and kept going, and knelt by Warriors’ side as his eyes flickered open.

“Warriors?” he asked in a shaky voice, and his uncle groaned, pressing his hands to his ears.

“Not so loud...” he bit out in a whisper, face screwed up in a wince. “...why is it so loud?”

“...I’m the only one making any noise,” Wind said in confusion, and when Warriors winced, he switched to a whisper as well. “...Sorry. It’s not loud at all Warriors, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t... know?” Warriors bit out, trying to sit up. “Ugh... I feel like I got hit by a truck...”

“Did you hit your head?” Wind asked anxiously, and Warriors slowly shook it, still wincing.

“No... everything is just... loud.”

Wind waited a moment for him to wake up a little more, and Warriors breathed out, slowly sitting up. Pain still showed in the way his face was creased though, and Wind felt the bubble of anxiety in his chest get a little bigger.

“That was a weird thing they hit us with... are you sure you’re okay?” Wind said as he helped Warriors sit up, glancing worriedly at the rubble separating them from the others.

“Yeah...” Warriors mumbled. “You okay, Wind?”

Wind swallowed.

“I... I don’t know,” he said honestly, wishing his voice wouldn’t shake. “I only woke up a bit ago. I found Legend too, he’s still unconscious, but Wars there’s— there’s something wrong with my powers.”

“What?”

Wind bit his lip. “I can’t get them to work. Ever since I woke up I haven’t been able to feel any wind or anything, there’s something wrong.”

Warriors’ face creased in concern, but then he paused, and held out his hand with his palm outstretched.

Nothing.

He tried again, a little more frantically, but still nothing happened, and he exhaled, looking down at his hands.

“Looks like mine are on the fritz too,” he said worriedly, then gave Wind’s shoulder a squeeze. “We’ll... we’ll figure this out. There’s probably something blocking them, I’ve seen this before. We just need to find the device.”

“You’re sure?” Wind said shakily, and Warriors nodded, giving his hair a quick ruffle.

“Yeah. It’ll be fine, kiddo.”

Wind gave him a small smile, then decided to check on Legend again since he still hadn’t moved. His brother’s face was still pale and blank, and while he didn’t look injured, Wind knew stuff could be hurt on the inside where they couldn’t see it.

Warriors joined him a few moments later, still wincing, and got to a knee beside Legend. He began looking him over, brushing dusty bangs from his face, and Wind watched in silence from beside him.

“Warriors, what do we do now?” Wind asked quietly, and his uncle hesitated, flinching when a sound rang out in the distance.

“I... don’t know just yet. Let’s recuperate for a bit, see if we can wake Legend up. Maybe try and contact the others. Then... I guess keep going. Somebody has to stop this scientist guy.

“And that somebody is us.”

“Right-o,” Warriors smiled. Then he stiffened, ears pricking as he looked down the hallway. “Someone’s coming.”

“I don’t hear anything,” Wind said in confusion, and Warriors shook his head, gathering Legend up into his arms.

“I can, there’s someone coming, trust me. We need to—”

Footsteps clattered towards them, and Warriors flinched, quickly tugging Wind and Legend behind a piece of rubble. A handful of guards came around the corner, and Wind crouched down further, watching them nervously.

Normally four guards would be nothing, but without powers and Warriors in a questionable state... Wind wasn’t sure they could handle them.

“Wars?” he whispered, and Warriors put a finger to his lips.

The guards drew nearer, spreading out and looking around the rubble. One came closer and closer to where Warriors and Wind were, and suddenly looked behind the rubble, spotting them.

“Hey!”

He grabbed for his gun, and Warriors shoved Wind behind him, launching himself at the guard with a snarl. The man shouted as he fell backwards, and despite the pain on Warriors’ face, he managed to wrestle the gun away from him.

The other guards heard him though, and Wind’s stomach lurched as they surrounded Warriors, unsure if he should go help or stay where he was and defend Legend. Warriors was hurting, but Legend wasn’t even awake, what was he supposed to do?

Two guards split off and went for Wind, and he yelped in panic, backing up so he could better protect Legend. The guards both reached in the nook Wind and Legend were tucked in, trying to grab them, but Wind avoided their hands and kicked at their arms.

Warriors was still struggling with the other two guards, but when he heard Wind’s yelp, his head shot up, eyes going wide when he saw one of them pull out a gun.

“Get away from them!” he shouted, eyes glowing, and was suddenly doused in shadows.

A familiar noise hummed through the air, and Wind and the guards stared in shock as the shadows dispersed, leaving a grayish-blue and white wolf on the ground where Warriors had been.

The wolf looked utterly shellshocked, and Wind felt much the same as he stared at it.

What.

Wind suddenly realized the guards were all distracted by the abrupt appearance of a wolf, and he shoved his shock to the back of his mind. He pushed the two that were trying to grab him, knocking them both over, then darted out and grabbed a piece of metal that had fallen on the ground.

He slammed it into one of the guard’s heads, sending him to the floor, but by then the others had snapped out of their daze.

But Warriors had too, and it didn’t take long for him and Wind to take out the other three guards. All four lay unconscious in short order, and Wind panted heavily as he wiped his face.

Then he stared back at the wolf, who was staring at his paws with his ears back.

“Um... what?” Wind spluttered, disbelief coming back. “Warriors that— how?”

The Warriors-wolf whined, his eyes wide, and he paced around in an anxious circle, nose twitching and ears flicking.

“How did you do that?!” Wind repeated, and Warriors flinched at his raised voice, ears folding back again. “...sorry. But why do you have Twilight’s powers?!”

Warriors repeated his whine, tail between his legs, and suddenly the shadows whirled around him again, blocking him from view. When they dispersed, Warriors was back to normal, sitting on the ground and looking somewhat nauseous.

“...Warriors?” Wind asked, and Warriors slowly sank down and laid on his back, then put a hand over his eyes.

“Gimme a sec,” he croaked.

Wind went quiet, and for a minute the only sound in the room was Warriors’ somewhat-shaky breathing.

While his uncle got a hold of himself, Wind gently tugged Legend out from the hiding spot, setting his head in his lap as he sat down. He ran a hand over Legend’s hair while he watched Warriors, and finally his uncle exhaled, and took the hand off his eyes.

“I think I know what the problem with our powers is,” he murmured. “Somehow... they switched.”

“But how?” Wind said as he stared at his uncle, and Warriors sighed, slowly sitting up and setting his hands over his ears again.

“I don’t know. But... I think it has to do with that weird energy pulse. I’d guess somehow it switched our powers.”

Wind stared at him in shock, and Warriors grimaced as something made a sound in the distance.

“How... is that even possible?”

“I have no earthly clue.”

Wind petted Legend on the head again, trying to wrap his brain around the idea of powers somehow swapping. Their powers were a literal part of them, how could anything switch them around?

“So... so you somehow have Twilight’s powers,” Wind said, and Warriors nodded. “Does that mean Twilight has yours?”

“I don’t know. But based on the whole wolf thing and the fact that I can hear so much as a pin drop, I definitely switched with Twilight,” Warriors said, then winced again. “Eugh. How does he deal with being able to smell everything? Or hear people breathing?”

Wind shrugged. “So... what was it like being a wolf?” he asked curiously.

“...Weird. We should get moving before the guards wake up,” Warriors said, dodging the question, and Wind sighed and nodded. Obviously Warriors didn’t want to talk about it.

...he’d get it out of him eventually though.

Wind looked down at his hands as Warriors moved to pick up Legend, flexing his fingers, and wondered suddenly if the same thing had happened to him.

Had he just gotten his powers blocked, or had he switched with somebody too? Was that why he couldn’t feel his winds?

Wind focused on himself for a second, trying to remember back to when he was smaller, and accessing his powers was more difficult. Normally there was a sense of the winds around him that he drew on, a thrum in his heart that moved in time with them, and he could usually draw on it with little to no effort.

That feeling wasn’t there anymore, but as Wind focused, he realized there was a different thrum inside of him now, one that felt blindingly strong.

Wind cautiously drew on it, but it was like turning on a firehose, and a flood of whatever power he had now came rushing at him, startling a yelp from his throat.

Warriors called his name, but Wind barely heard him, focused on the power rushing through his middle, spreading to his limbs and stretching out along his face. It was nearly overwhelming, but Wind held on against it, gritting his teeth as power buzzed all over throughout his skin.

The rush ebbed finally, enough that Wind could open his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was that the floor seemed a lot further away then it had before.

Also Warriors staring at him in shock.

“What?” Wind asked, then startled at the way his voice echoed.

“You... you also swapped,” Warriors said in a somewhat strangled voice.

Wind blinked, then looked at his hands, feeling the current of power run through him, feeling so powerful that he could probably punch his way through the walls if he had to.

Which meant...

“I got Dad’s, didn’t I?” Wind said.

Warriors sat back down.

“...Yep.”

[milkyplier]

For your letter ask game: Y

Y - IAU Legend Gets Stabbed but Different

This one is clearly set in @skyward-floored’s Incredibles AU XD it was one of many attempts at writing a gift (which is still in the works) for her. It was an attempt at a sequel to her Febuwhump Day 14, Bloodstained Tiles, in which Legend gets stabbed after sneaking out and Wild and Wind help him. I tried this approach more than once before deciding it wasn’t going to work out XD a few other letters have been assigned to some of these other attempts :)

I also just thought this wasn’t very well written, hence I abandoned it. I struggle to continue things I perceive as done badly. Here’s the entirety of this snippet:

When Malon wakes up in the morning, Legend has caught whatever Hyrule had, and Hyrule was worse than he was yesterday. At least, that’s what it seemed like. But a cold did not really account for how weak and shaky Legend was when he got up. It was also strange that it seemed to have come out of nowhere, with no sore throat, no sniffles or coughs or reluctance to eat. In fact, Legend was starving, and thirsty. Oddly enough, she also finds several of her towels in the drier, and the bathroom has a just-cleaned shine. Four, Wild and Wind all have circles under their eyes. She asks them all what happened, and they claim Hyrule was really sick last night. Like, super sick, and he threw up a lot and they didn’t want to bother her or Time and just cleaned it up themselves. Malon is inclined to believe it, especially when Hyrule seems to get similarly sick later that same day. So she brushes it off, and forgets about it—an easy feat in a house of eight people. For a while, at least.

- some years later -

A nightmare wakes Malon. She tries, to no avail, to fall back asleep for perhaps twenty minutes before she acknowledges the lingering anxiety from the dream and decides a cup of chamomile tea will settle her nerves and help her get back to sleep.

Careful not to jostle her husband too much (though it hardly mattered, the man slept like a rock), she slipped out of bed, wrapped herself in her silky robe and tucked her feet into her worn slippers before shuffling quietly into the kitchen.

The house is silent, a fact which in itself makes Malon feel better. Once upon a time, such silence unnerved her, but nowadays, she knows it means all her boys are asleep, safe and warm in their beds and there is something comforting to her about that. She doesn’t quite know why, but she doesn’t complain and keeps going towards the kitchen. When she gets to the kitchen, however, she’s surprised to see someone already there.

She thinks one of her sons must have gotten a snack—Wild is known to get the munchies at night—but the figure’s build doesn’t match Wild’s. On top of that, Wild’s midnight snacks usually consist of whatever ancient, long-lost things he finds in the pantry. When she finds him in the kitchen at night, he’s haunched over an expired bag of animal crackers. Not haunched over the sink, murmuring to himself and apparently playing in the water by the light of his phone’s flashlight.

A bad feeling rises in Malon’s stomach. She doesn’t know why.

“Legend…?” She says softly, able to recognize her son even in the terrible, low light. He freezes, glances over his shoulder at his mom.

“Mom! Hi,” his voice is slightly strained. “What are you doing awake at this hour? Are you alright?”

She frowns. She knows that tone, the inflection. He’s amping up the concern, trying to distract her from him by acting extra sweet. It’s something all her boys do when they don’t want her noticing something. It has worked very few times without her allowing it to. This won’t be one of them.

“I could ask the same of you,” she says. She keeps her words firm, but light, so he knows he won’t be getting out of this but she isn’t angry.

“Uhh…” he hands shift nervously in the sink water. He doesn’t say anything.

She approaches him, flicking on the kitchen lights. She looks into the sink and sees his super suit, submerged in cloudy reddish water. Legend’s arms are covered in cuts and bruises, and he won’t look at her.

“Legend. Look at me.”

His shoulders are tense. After a second, he turns his face to look down into the sink water, rather than at her. It’s enough to get a visual on what she wanted—a blossoming black eye, split lip and other minor nicks on his face.

“You went out, didn’t you.”

His silence is answer enough.

“Legend…” Malon struggles to find the words, caught between worry and anger born of worry. “Legend…I—“

“I know the risks.” Legend cuts in. “I know. I know what you and dad said. I’m not stupid, or deaf. People need help. And I can help them.”

“…That’s not—“

“I do help them, in fact, I saved a dozen lives tonight. And I didn’t die, I can hold my own. I don’t need to be babied or anything, I can handle my own consequences.”

[magicandotherstuffienjoy]

Why Explore the Planets of the Solar System?

As often happens, I find myself collecting visual references on Pinterest, and it’s these aesthetic inspirations that eventually guide my thematic explorations. One of the aesthetics that particularly fascinates me is that of celestial bodies and stars. Their mystery, distant beauty, and constant presence in the sky evoke something deeply moving. Naturally, I decided to explore a topic that has long inspired me: the planets.

These worlds, both close and inaccessible, each possess a unique visual identity and environment. Imagining what a day on a planet other than Earth might be is a way to escape and contemplate the infinite possibilities that the universe offers.

What is a Planet?

Before diving into the planets of the solar system, it’s important to understand what defines a planet. According to the definition established by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006, a celestial object must meet three key criteria to be classified as a planet:

It orbits a star – in our case, the Sun.

It has enough mass that its gravity allows it to assume a nearly spherical shape.

It has cleared its orbit of other debris or bodies of comparable size, meaning it dominates gravitationally within its orbital zone.

The planets of our solar system are divided into two major categories:

Terrestrial planets: Rocky planets like Earth, Mars, Venus, and Mercury.

Giant planets: Larger planets primarily composed of gas or ice, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The Solar System

The solar system is composed of eight main planets that orbit the Sun. These planets are generally classified based on their distance from the Sun, from Mercury, the closest, to Neptune, the farthest.

credit: Michael Camarra

Mercury

Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system, is a rocky world whose surface is scarred by countless craters. Its proximity to the Sun creates extreme temperature fluctuations. During the day, surface temperatures can reach up to 430°C, while at night, they plunge to -180°C due to the near absence of an atmosphere to retain heat. Mercury completes an orbit around the Sun in just 88 Earth days, but a single day on Mercury lasts 59 Earth days.

Mercury: A Kingdom of Silence

If you woke up one morning on Mercury, you’d be immediately struck by the total absence of sound. Without an atmosphere to carry noise, this world is plunged into absolute silence, even under the Sun’s intense glare. The Sun, much larger than it appears on Earth, dominates the horizon with such power that you’d need full protection not to burn under its scorching rays. Yet, despite the relentless light, the sky remains black, scattered with stars, as there is no atmosphere to obscure their glow.

As the day progresses, the heat becomes unbearable. The ground beneath your feet reaches over 400°C, and though the air is almost non-existent, it offers no relief. On Mercury, a day lasts 59 Earth days, and the Sun doesn't set quickly. You remain under its blistering rays for weeks on end.

Surrounding you, the landscape is marked by deep craters, remnants of countless asteroid impacts, and steep cliffs, scars from past tectonic shifts. This world resembles the Moon, but much larger and more hostile. As the Sun slowly continues its course, you notice something strange: it appears to slow down, then briefly move backward in the sky before resuming its path. This retrograde motion is due to Mercury’s eccentric orbit, enhancing the strangeness of this silent realm.

Finally, after days spent under this oppressive heat, the Sun disappears beyond the horizon. Instantly, the temperature plummets. In just a few hours, you go from blistering heat to the icy cold of a Mercurian night, where the ground quickly cools to -180°C. The silence endures, and the stars shine as brightly as ever in the pitch-black sky.

The night, as endless as the day, takes hold. There’s no wind or movement, only a cold that seems eternal and an overwhelming silence. Mercury is a kingdom where time stretches out in extreme contrasts, between burning light and freezing darkness, a world suspended in the void and silence.

credit: totorrl

Venus

Venus, often called the "morning star" for its brightness in the sky, is the “twin sister” of Earth, due to its similar size and composition. With a diameter of approximately 12,000 km, it’s only slightly smaller than Earth. However, the comparison ends there, as Venus is an infernal world.

Its volcanic surface, dotted with mountains and plains of solidified lava, is hidden beneath a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide, trapping heat in a runaway greenhouse effect. The result is a scorching surface temperature of 465°C, making Venus the hottest planet in the solar system. Sulfuric acid clouds cover the planet, producing acid rains that evaporate before they reach the surface. The pressure at its surface is 92 times that of Earth, comparable to being crushed beneath 900 meters of water.

A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days, but its year is shorter, at 225 Earth days. Furthermore, the planet spins in the opposite direction to most others, causing the Sun to rise in the West and set in the East.

A Day on Venus: Eternal Hell

If you could spend a day on Venus, the experience would be nothing short of hellish. From the moment you woke up, you’d be plunged into an oppressive, toxic atmosphere, with no hope of seeing the Sun rise in the east as it does on Earth. Here, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east because Venus spins in the opposite direction of most planets. However, you’d likely never have the patience to witness this sunrise: a day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days.

Looking up, you’d find yourself beneath a thick, opaque sky, completely hidden by clouds of sulfuric acid. There’s no blue sky or twinkling stars—just a constant orange glow bathing the planet. The air is thick with carbon dioxide, and any sulfuric acid rain evaporates before it ever hits the surface.

All around you, the landscape is barren and rocky, formed from solidified lava plains and towering volcanoes, some still active, belching toxic gases. At the surface, the heat is unbearable, reaching 465°C, hot enough to melt lead. This intense heat never relents: even when the Sun sets on the horizon, the temperature remains unchanged. Venus knows no respite, not even during its long night, which lasts more than 100 Earth days.

The atmospheric pressure is even more crushing. At 92 times that of Earth, it would instantly flatten any unprotected human, comparable to being submerged 900 meters underwater. Without advanced technology, you’d have no hope of surviving in this crushing inferno.

The silence is almost deafening. On Venus, there is no wind, no sound, as the dense atmosphere doesn’t carry sound as it does on Earth. You’d live in absolute, oppressive silence, on a planet where nothing familiar could survive.

Time would seem to drag endlessly. With days stretching out over months, you’d feel trapped in a world where the temperature never changes, and the daylight remains trapped beneath thick clouds, never fully illuminating the planet.

credit: Tpiola

Earth

Earth, our home planet, is the only one known to support life. It’s a terrestrial planet, just like Venus, with a solid surface made up of multiple layers: a crust, a semi-solid mantle, and an inner core of iron and nickel, surrounded by a liquid outer core. Its atmosphere, composed mainly of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, is thick enough to protect the planet from cosmic radiation and maintain a temperature suitable for life.

One of Earth's most unique features is the presence of liquid water oceans, which cover approximately 70% of its surface, earning it the nickname "the blue planet." This water plays a crucial role in sustaining life and regulating the climate. Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours and orbits the Sun in 365.25 days, creating the alternation of seasons and day-night cycles that foster biological diversity.

credit: JasonChanArt

Mars

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, is about half the size of Earth, with a diameter of 6,000 km. It’s a terrestrial planet with a crust, mantle, and core rich in iron and nickel. Its surface, composed mainly of rock and dust, gives it its characteristic reddish hue due to iron oxide (rust).

Mars’ thin atmosphere, primarily composed of carbon dioxide, doesn’t retain heat well, so temperatures can range from 20°C during the day to -125°C at night in the polar regions. Mars is home to geological giants like Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system (22 km high), and Valles Marineris, a canyon over 4,000 km long.

Though there’s no liquid water on the surface due to low atmospheric pressure, there’s significant evidence that water once flowed through rivers and oceans in the past. Today, water is mostly found as ice, particularly at the poles. A day on Mars lasts about 24.6 hours, while a Martian year spans 687 Earth days. Like Earth, Mars experiences seasons as well.

Credit : Artem Chebokha

Jupiter

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is a gas giant primarily composed of hydrogen and helium. With a diameter of 143,000 km, Jupiter is so massive that it contains more than twice the mass of all the other planets combined. One of Jupiter’s most famous features is the Great Red Spot, a massive storm that has been raging for centuries. Unlike the rocky planets, Jupiter doesn’t have a solid surface; its thick atmosphere transitions into liquid as you go deeper, eventually reaching a dense core. A day on Jupiter is incredibly short, lasting just 10 Earth hours, but it takes about 12 Earth years to complete an orbit around the Sun.

Jupiter: Eternal Storms

Floating in Jupiter’s atmosphere would be an incomparable experience. Underneath swirling cloud bands, you would witness a spectacle of permanent storms sweeping across the planet at breakneck speeds. The most impressive, the Great Red Spot, is a storm so vast it could swallow two Earths whole. Jupiter’s gravity is immense: 2.5 times that of Earth. Due to the planet’s rapid rotation, the day would fly by in just 10 hours, yet those fleeting moments would be filled with powerful winds and giant lightning bolts, giving Jupiter its formidable and awe-inspiring character.

Credit: soulstorm brew

Saturn

Saturn, the second-largest planet in the solar system, is best known for its spectacular rings. Made mostly of hydrogen and helium, Saturn has a diameter of 120,000 km. Its iconic rings, composed of ice and rock, span hundreds of thousands of kilometers, yet they are remarkably thin. Like Jupiter, Saturn is a gas giant with no solid surface. A day on Saturn lasts 10.7 Earth hours, and the planet takes about 29.5 Earth years to orbit the Sun.

Saturn: Beneath Majestic Rings

If you could spend a day on Saturn, your gaze would constantly be drawn to its majestic rings, circling the planet like suspended jewels in space. These rings shimmer under the Sun’s faint light, offering a unique visual spectacle. The day would be brief, lasting just 10.7 hours, but every minute would be marked by strong air currents sweeping across the gas atmosphere. Although Saturn appears calm from a distance, its atmosphere is anything but peaceful, with massive storms occasionally erupting, reminding us that this giant is not as tranquil as it seems.

credit: hetti

Uranus

Uranus is an ice giant with a diameter of 51,000 km, best known for its unusual tilt: the planet is tipped over by 98 degrees, making it seem as though it “rolls” along its orbit. This extreme tilt means that each pole experiences 42 years of continuous daylight followed by 42 years of darkness. Uranus is composed of hydrogen, helium, and icy elements like water, ammonia, and methane, which give it its signature blue-green color. A day on Uranus lasts 17.25 hours, while a full orbit takes 84 Earth years.

Uranus: A Topsy-Turvy World

On Uranus, you would encounter a tilted world, where the Sun lingers perpetually over the horizon in certain regions, never setting for decades. The blue-green sky would cast a cold and diffuse light, while the average temperature of -224°C makes Uranus the coldest planet in the solar system. Strong winds exceeding 900 km/h would whip through methane clouds, adding to the surreal experience of this distant, cold planet. The stark contrast between its extreme tilt and frigid winds would make Uranus a world like no other.

credit: Ouroridae

Neptune

Neptune, the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun, is another ice giant, slightly smaller than Uranus, with a diameter of 49,000 km. Neptune is famous for its deep blue color, caused by methane in its atmosphere. The planet is home to the fastest winds in the solar system, reaching speeds of over 2,100 km/h. A day on Neptune lasts about 16 Earth hours, and its orbit around the Sun takes approximately 165 Earth years.

Neptune: The Realm of Winds

Spending a day on Neptune would mean experiencing violent winds and massive storms. The deep blue sky would create an environment that’s both mesmerizing and menacing, with whirling clouds spinning at unmatched speeds. The Sun, viewed from Neptune, would be just a distant point of light, barely warming the icy planet, where temperatures plunge to -214°C. With massive storms like the Great Dark Spot swirling around, you’d be surrounded by howling winds in a realm ruled by tempests.

Conclusion

Each planet in the solar system offers a unique and fascinating experience, from Mercury's kingdom of silence to Jupiter’s eternal storms, Saturn’s majestic rings, and Neptune’s realm of winds. Though these worlds are inhospitable to life as we know it, they are jewels of the cosmos, each offering a different perspective on the diversity and wonders of our solar system.

[fragilefangirl]

Nomad (lost and found, what’s new?)

Read on AO3

When Xialing first ran away, she brought nothing but the things she wore on herself and the rolled up Dance-Dance Revolution carpet, slung on her shoulders.

It was a daring escape, considering their hilltop fortress of a home; there were many guards, many traps, many weapons ready to impale anybody going in or out unauthorized. Xialing spent months just mapping the inner-maze of the house, and some more learning the sewer system, since that was a sure path down below, somewhere with civilizations. 

Gege definitely had it easier, she thought to herself as her nose wrinkled due to the smell, knees deep in murky and questionable water, at least he got a free ride out of this godforsaken mountain.

She knew she had to be quick, she had to be agile, she had to be unseen; Baba had eyes everywhere, had ears everywhere, had hands everywhere. Xialing didn’t want anything of hers reaching him. 

(She wanted to, once upon a time; yearned for it, when she thought that his eyes could still be filled with brightness and his hands were still warm and his ears would still perk up at her voice. She wanted to be seen, to be heard, to be ruffled by the head the way it used to. 

But 6 years passed, and it took Xialing that much time to realize that a dying man could only do so much, so little.) 

When she finally reached somewhere that was not a forest, asking for a ride to the city from a passing truck, the driver asked what she could give him, eyeing the carpet on her shoulder. “Is that the 2007 DDR mat for PlayStation 2?” He asked. “I liked to play it in my cousin’s house back then—always wanted to get it.” 

Xialing tightened her grip to the binding rope, nodding stiffly. “Yes.” She said, curtly. Then when they arrived at the nearest metropolitan, she unlatched her bracelet—pure gold and adorned with rare, beautiful green jade, one of the things Baba gave her on the birthdays after, in lieu of his affection—and gave it to him. “Sell this to a jeweller.” She said, giving the wide-eyed man the accessory. “The money from it should be enough for you to start a trucking company of your own.” She paused, “and even buy your own mat.” 

The driver stuttered, but Xialing had already stepped down from the platform, running into the early dawn, blending herself among the crowd, finally, finally free. 

***

“Meimei,” 

Xialing looked up to see Gege, face obscured by the shadowy silhouette of the living room as he approached her. “What are you doing?” Asked her brother, tone careful. 

She paused from unrolling the DDR mat and setting the TV, looking at Gege like he just asked something stupid. “It’s Saturday, Gege.” She said, matter-of-factly, “Family game night, remember?” 

Because they all seemed to forget; Xialing had done this for weeks now, recharging the karaoke mic, setting the dance game, picking a movie. She’d waited on the sofa until she fell asleep and Saturday turned to Sunday and she was moved to her room instead of the sofa, but nobody showed up. 

Nobody ever seemed to show up, these days—Gege was always training at some corner of the house since the ungodly hours of the morning until the ungodly hours of the night, and Baba…

…well, Xialing didn’t really know where Baba was. 

Gege moved forward, and Xialing could see his face now; bruised, with blue and purple blooming here and there. There was a black circle over his eyes, and his lip was split—he looked like he was one of those fighters in the combat games he used to play in their PlayStation so much, the one he didn’t let her borrow. 

She gasped, rising from her seat on the floor and reaching out to him, trying to examine him,

(the way mama used to—)

Xialing blinked, throat suddenly feeling suspiciously dry as her eyes grew suspiciously wet. 

“Lingling,” Said Gege as he leaned over to her touch, eyes drooping somberly as he looked at her. “I don’t think we’re going to have family game nights tonight.” 

Narrowing her eyes, Xialing frowned. “But it’s cus-to-ma-ry.” She said, struggling to say the last word. “Mama said that means we have to play it every weekend, unless we’re doing something even more fun!” 

Gege gave her a pained smile, and tucked her under his right side, wincing a little as he did so. His eyes blinked a bit when Xialing mentioned the word ‘mama’, and his gaze drifted to the corner of the room, where there was a newly-built shrine with lightened incense and fresh tangerines. “A-Ling.” He said instead, tone weary and sad and did her older brother aged more than the years that passed through him? “Let’s just sleep, okay?” He looked down on her, offering her a tired smile. “It’s been a long day.” 

For him, Xialing couldn’t help but to think, intrusive thoughts rebutting so quickly she was surprised herself. On her end, days blur to weeks on end, making her feel smaller every single time she wakes up unseen, unheard, unspoken. 

“…okay.” She said, after mulling about it in a long silence. “Gege sleeps with me?”

This time, Gege’s smile was a little bit more genuine. “Sure, Meimei.” He said, ruffling her head. “You sleep on my right side, okay? My left side… hurts.” He winced just mentioning it, free hand tracing his torso. 

Nodding, Xialing snuggled closer as they walked away from the living room, Gege’s longer hands barely able to reach the lightswitch to turn it off. Xialing herself had to use a chair just to get it every time. He paused as they were finally out in the hallway, turning to slowly close the sliding door. 

“Gege.” 

“Hm?” 

“When…” Xialing hesitated. “When do you think we’ll play at family game night again?” 

Her older brother paused, hands still holding the door handles. “…maybe not for a while.” He said, finally, back still facing her.

“Oh.” Xialing’s hopeful face fell. “Okay.” 

Gege led her off, away from the living room, but he didn’t shut the sliding door completely, and from the gap Xialing could see mama’s shrine, lightened by the moonlight from the window. 

She swore mama’s gaze looked so sad.

(The day after, Baba locked the Living Room. 

A week later, they moved into the mountains.) 

***

“Aiya, these beggars!”

Xialing arrived at Macau after three days of truck hopping and self-smuggling herself into unbelievable vehicles. It helped that she was on the smaller side and had nothing with her—but it also meant that she arrived with no destination and no place to live.

She arrived at a packed apartment complex in Iau Hon, paying the receptionist with some of the money she acquired from selling another bracelet of hers earlier in the Mainland, only to be told that there were no longer rooms for the night and she had to queue on the waiting list just to get a piss-poor excuse of a housing. 

“Give my money back, then!” She protested, face red with anger. 

The receptionist counted the bills, unblinking. “Sorry, no refund.” 

She growled, “wáng bā dàn.” 

The receptionist paused, glaring at Xialing. She knew she could take him out on a fight right then and there if he tested her further. “Careful with your words, now, girl—a child your age shouldn’t be cussing to their kind elders.” 

“Fucker,” she muttered under her breath in English as she walked away, out of the complex. It was the last of her cash, too, after a series of expenses involving buying food, paying the smuggler who helped her through immigration, and compensating the truck drivers she rode with openly upfront and hidden on the back. She had to find another pawnshop to trade her remaining jewels if she wanted to acquire more money to survive. But it was nearing midnight, and all of the shops were closed.

So on her first night in, she lumped herself out with people on the back alleys, away from the main streets. There were homeless people there, huddled up together in worn carpets and makeshift tent. Macau was cold at night, and Xialing’s clothes were worn, too thin to block out the wind. 

That night, she rolled out the DDR mat and slept on it; curled up like a cat because she was growing taller than the mat’s length, staving away the cold. She put herself at the back corner, near the trash can, so she wouldn’t be seen. 

(Because she could not be seen—Xialing told herself that she needed to blend in, to disappear into the crowd, because Baba must be sending men out there, snooping, searching; he must be looking for her, the only child he had left, the last child he let slip through his fingers.

Baba must be looking for her.

Right?) 

The tacky design of the mat was her only company, and she fell asleep tracing the arrows—left, left, right, up, down, left again—while humming on a long-forgotten song. She fell asleep trying to remember a warmer night and a warmer night. She fell asleep yearning to wake up to warm laughter. 

“Mama, Gege,” she muttered, barely conscious, “Baba.” 

The cold wind blew her hair, gentle and mournful. 

***

“Mama.” Xialing said, fifteen and sitting at the shrine Baba had built in their new home, head leaning onto the altar. “I hate you so much.” 

The smell of jasmine incense surrounded the room, and Xialing buried herself further into her own arms, warm in all the way except what mattered. She knew silence would greet her, and yet still she paused, hoping for some of the magic mama used to tell her back then would come back, would make their family whole again. 

“I hate Gege too for leaving.” She said, one eye peeking into the picture of her mother, smiling behind the glass, forever immortalized on paper. “And I hate Baba for—“ 

She paused, unsure on what word should she use to describe that living husk of a man, more than eager to track down the lowly goons of his enemies but barely willing to look her in the eye during dinner. She shook her head, letting the silence complete the sentence. 

“But I hate you for dying the most.” She whispered, a quiet confession. “I hate you because now Gege’s gone, and Baba’s never around, and I feel like—“ she choked up, clutching her chest as she gulped. “I feel like one of these days I’m gonna disappear too, with the way nobody here acknowledges my existence.” 

The smoke from the incense danced, and Xialing sobbed, not for the first time and not for the last, a desperate attempt to be acknowledged by someone, by anyone—even the dead.

“Why didn’t you just hide in the room with us?” She asked, voice thick. “Why did you have to fucking fight those goons like a goddamn hero? Why didn’t you—I don’t know—wait for Baba to come home?” 

Again, silence greeted her, and Xialing sighed out of frustration. “If you were still here, I’d still go to my old school and actually have friends and—and family game night would still exist.” She chuckled, darkly. “Gege wouldn’t leave me, and,” She said, “Baba would still look at me.” 

The way he used to, when they were a heap of exhausted laughter after a particularly hard song to dance at. The way he used to, when Xialing whined because he kept repeating old opera songs none of them knew for the karaoke. The way he used to, when Saturday dinner was served and she and Gege fought over the last piece of guotie. 

“My tutors said I should dream big,” She lamented to herself, “But how can I do that when I feel far smaller now than when I was four?” 

The silence was suffocating her now, but it was better here than anywhere else in the house. 

“Tell me what to do, mama.” She said, voice faltering and tired. “Please tell me what to do.” 

The smoke from the incense rose up, up, up, carried by the wind into the windows, drifting away into the night, freed from the five walls surrounding the shrine. 

***

Jiang Er-Gege—“Just Jon-Jon, please. Or Mister Manager,” he insisted for the umpteenth time, unrelenting in this clearly losing battle, “and am I not older than your actual brother?” But Xialing is nothing if not stubborn—whistled at her new apartment. 

“Sweet!” He said, grinning, hair bobbing around as he turned at Xialing’s direction, who was still unwrapping her hand from the bindings, wincing a bit every once in a while due to the aftermath sting from tonight’s fights. “You got yourself a pretty nice crib, A-Ling!” 

“Thanks.” She said, giving him a small smile as she discarded the wrappings to the waste bin and took off her shoes, finally coming in. “Not that bad, isn’t it?” 

“For a seventeen-year-old street fighter? Psh. Not bad at all.” Er-Gege waved a hand, his hair—currently blue now, which reminded Xialing of the Sonic the Hedgehog poster hanging at her Gege’s old bedroom door, well, before—flowing and flailing with each of his enthusiastic movements. “Did it come fully furnished?” 

“Yes.” She said, throwing herself to the sofa, closing her eyes. Dawn was breaking, and most people would rise from their beds, starting their day—but Xialing wasn’t most people, and all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and sleep. She was sure that if she insisted on taking a shower, she’d fall asleep under the streaming water, and that would just be wasteful. 

(“And we can’t have that, Baobei,” a deep, gentle voice softly told her, as larger hands guided her on how to soap all the wet plates together first. “Water is scarce in many places in the world in this day and age, and we must show our gratitude by not wasting it so easily.” Xialing felt a light pat on her hair, a slight ruffle, “can you do that?” 

She nodded, enthusiastic as she scrubbed the grimes a little harder, trying to detach the remnants of oil and spices from the porcelains so that the water would rinse the objects more thoroughly. “Mmhm!” She hummed, offering a bright toothy grin up, “Lingling will do as Ba—“)

“—Ling?” 

She snapped awake, blinking rapidly to regain full consciousness. “Sorry, I was pretty out of it.” She said groggily as she straightened herself up—fix your posture, Baobei, don’t slouch—looking at Er-Gege with slowly focusing eyes. “You were saying?” 

Er-Gege raised his eyebrows, but he shrugged and waved a hand at the direction of the TV. “That DDR Carpet looks a little… out, compared to your other furnitures.” 

Xialing snorted, throwing Er-Gege a ‘tell-me-what-I-don’t-know’ look. “That’s vintage.” She said, cupping her face with her hands, leaning over to the coffee table. 

“To whom?” 

Sighing in annoyance, Xialing couldn’t help but to feel a little defensive about the old mat; it might be ragged and old, it might be worn and torn at its sides, nibbled by the sneaky rat at Xialing’s old loft, but, “It’s the thing I slept on, my first night here.” She said, “It’s a reminder.” 

Er-Gege’s judgy expression softened, as he fully turned at her with his arms crossed. “A reminder?” he echoed, curiously inquiring. There was no malice in his tone, only an invitation to open up in a way that eerily reminded her of Gege, “of what?” 

Xialing looked at the worn arrows and recalled laughter; scanned the tacky colors and remembered warmth; eyed the frayed edges and missed three pairs of eyes, looking at her like she was someone, her own person, not a walking remnant of someone else, not a ghost before she even died—

“Of good times.” She smiled, small and bitter and yearning. 

Er-Gege nodded, glancing at her one last time before moving on, letting it go. He made a comment about her kitchen counter, how it was too Americanized and needed a revamp, but Xialing was very sleepy, suddenly. 

(Baobei—

Meimei—)

She sighed, laying herself to the armrests of the sofa, and closed her eyes, dreaming of nothing. 

When she woke up, it was noon, there was a steaming porridge on her coffee table, and there was Er-Gege, fumbling over her TV. “What—” she stretched, cracked her joints. “What time is it?” 

Turning at her in surprise, Er-Gege grinned almost immediately. “Look who finally woke up.” He said, tone light and teasing. “I bought the porridge from that Auntie’s restaurant you like so much—go eat it first.” 

Xialing straightened herself, gingerly taking her first spoonful, letting the warmth of the meal melt away the weariness in her bones. “Thanks,” she said, smiling at the bowl, feeling like she was truly her age for the first time in a very long while. “And what are you doing to my TV?” 

“Oh, this?” he jabbed a finger to the screen, which was displaying the HDMI menu. “I’m plugging in a PS2.” he said, shrugging before he dove again, lifting a black bulku box that looked just like the one they used to have at home. “I got this baby at a second-hand electronic shop, and they apparently sold old DDR game disks!” He grinned, before returning the device and returned to his work, this time to the mat’s underside, seemingly searching for its wirings. 

Xialing blinked, spoon suspended mid-way to her mouth, warm meals suddenly forgotten. “...why?” She asked, something simultaneously familiar and foreign slowly easing their way into her chest, squeezing it with something sharp but not painful. 

Er-Gege watched her oddly, like she was asking something stupid. “To play, of course.” he said, as if the answer itself was obvious. “This bad boy seemed like it hadn’t been used to its purpose for years, and I’ve never seen you dance before.” He grinned mischievously. 

Her throat constricted into something tight and heavy, and Xialing looked further down. “I—” she mumbled, “I don’t really remember how to.” 

She heard a snort and looked up, nearly fearfully, to see Er-Gege looking at her with something akin to mirth. “So what? We can always re-learn!” He said, waving a hand at the carpet, “it literally has arrows to tell you where to go; if you can kick people’s ass ordinately, you can definitely play this.” He grinned. 

It was true, but something about the familiarity of all this made Xialing feel like she should run away, like she should protect herself because what if she was happy and then it was taken from her again— “I don’t think we should,” she said, voice still so uncharacteristically small and vulnerable and fuck she missed Gege’s uncoordinated legs stepping into her and mama and she missed Baba cheating to win and she missed mama, she missed mama so much it hurt—

“Hey, Xu Xialing,” Er-Gege’s voice snapped her out of her spiral, softer tone breaking her reverie. “You said it reminds you of good times.” he rose from his squat, hand reaching out to touch her hair—always a perfect bob—and ruffle it lightly. “Far as I know, good times should be experienced, not just reminisced.”

She blinked, and for a split second she saw two other faces, grinning at her in a smile she’d yearned to see for so long. 

“Okay.” She said, nodding slowly, “Okay.” 

They ended up missing the night’s match, and the manager of the ring-fight yelled at Er-Gege for not bringing his best Champion to the arena, but as they laughed late into the night, teasing each other’s stiff moves and calling out their horrible attempts at cheating against each other, Xialing felt like she was home for the first in a very long time. 

***

“Baba?” 

She peeped at the door, loose hair falling, curtaining over her face. She was eleven now, spending her birthday with an array of nannies and tutors, gifted jewelleries and served the best dishes on an empty dinner table, singing happy birthday to herself. 

Baba’s work room was always dark, only luminized by the reading lamps, and sometimes those damned rings. He didn’t look up from his papers, but Xialing had trained herself in reading the miniscule when she realized that she would never be given something visible again, and she saw how his shoulders stiffened, how his eyes blinked rapidly, how his ears perked, slightly. 

He said nothing to acknowledge her existence, but he also didn’t shoo her away, so Xialing took what she could get. “It’s my birthday today.” She said, voice small, always feeling small, too small in this big room, this big house, “and I was wondering if—if we could spend it together? Just—” she shrugged, helplessly, already compromising her own wishes if it meant a nod from Baba, an affirmation, anything, “I don’t know, watch a movie or something…” 

Her eyes glanced at their new living room behind her, barely inspiring those inside it to live; it was cold and spartan, so unlike the Living Room back Home, where everything was warm and alive. In her old home, everything was strewn haphazardly, dance mats kicked several meters away from the front of the TV and karaoke mics on the couch. Here, the TV was never on, and all the mics and mats and cassettes were locked into the top shelf, the unspoken instructions clear; do not touch. Do not take. Do not open. 

Do not Relive. 

Baba moved, straightening himself, and in the silence that passed Xialing blinked, letting her hopes go up—

“I’m quite busy right now, Xialing.” He said, tone detached and performative, not even looking up to her as he spoke. “Maybe later.”  

Definitely never. 

“Oh.” Xialing deflated, looking down, slowly retreating. “Okay.” she whispered, mostly to herself as she pulled the door close once more. “Goodnight, Baba.” 

She was replied with only a hum, and she dared not to look up lest she saw him still focused on that damn paper, refusing to look at her, to see her even when it was her birthday because in his eyes she was not A-Ling anymore, not Baobei, not Meimei, just some personification of his fucking dead wife and—

Xialing fell asleep waiting for him on the couch anyway, despite everything, waiting for that later despite knowing that it was a lie. 

She woke up in her room, alone, always alone. 

It had been like this for a long while, now, but with Gege not returning home and her being the only child he had left in the compound, she had hoped—

Well. she had hoped.

That was her first mistake. 

***

“You know, for a compound this big, I thought your dad would have more stuff.” Said Katy as the three of them cleaned up the main house. With Baba cremated and his ashes placed on the same altar as Mama, they only needed to clean his place.

Which apparently didn’t require that much effort, given how little of him existed there. 

Somewhere deep within her, she recognized that it was heartbreaking to live like this, but that part was buried layers below anger and pettiness at how that exact way of life had sacrificed her. 

“He’s so… spartan.” Commented Gege as he observed the high shelves, trying to find a more personal belonging to salvage. “There’s barely anything here.” 

“You can use big words? Shocking.” Replied Xialing, tone flat and sarcastic as she took what she thought was valuable; the Lucky Cat figurine they brought from their old Home, family photos that were pushed into the far back, some sick-looking swords… “I thought the US’ horrible education system had stripped out all of your intelligence.” 

“I liked you better when you were smaller and less sarcastic.” Grumbled Gege as he threw her a look. Xialing snorted. 

“And I liked you better when you were smaller and not abandoning me,” jabbed Xialing, to which Gege replied by pinching her on her arm, not much to hurt so she knew it was in good nature. “Besides, you only do not like me because I’m cooler than you.” 

“Now on that front, she’s definitely right.” Katy piped up, and Gege groaned, grumbling something about all the women in his life ganging up against him. “Face it, Shaun, you’re a little lame compared to the rest of your family.” 

“I was laying low!” He protested to Katy, to which Xialing snorted. “And besides, you’re working in the same field as I am, receiving the same pay. If I’m lame, you’re lame too.”   

“Oh, I know.” Katy said, not missing a beat. “But my family is a bunch of immigrant workers, not some thousand-year-old warlord and a magical guardian of the mystiques. I have excuses, Shaun—you don’t.” 

“I can see why you keep her.” Xialing said, in-between her chuckles. “Keep it up, Jiejie.” She raised a thumb up to Katy with her free hand, and Katy—did Katy blush? 

“Okay, back to cleaning up!” Gege’s bellowing voice cut the both of them, only slightly annoyed. “A-Ling, what did you get?” She showed him her reapings, to which ke gestured her to place it on the open suitcase at the couch. 

“All these books were dusty, unopened from their wrappings…” Katy said as she scanned the bookshelves, “and is the TV wiring corroded? Shaun, did your father never watch TV?” 

Xialing and Gege exchanged glances, shrugging. The image of Baba doing anything fun after mama had died was so … foreign to them. “I guess he’s too consumed by his work.” Gege said, though she knew he doubted his own words as much as she did, for the Ten Rings had barely done anything for the past ten years. 

Katy shook her head in disbelief as she scanned more of the cupboards. “Books, jewels, antique swords—what are even these weapons?—oh! Here’s a fun rack!” Her steps stopped, “now there’s more personality; PS2, karaoke mic, a bunch of game discs, and—” she snorted, “A fucking DDR mat? Hey, Shaun, did your dad really play DDR?” 

Xialing paused, head turning to Katy abruptly. “A DDR mat?” She echoed, straightening herself and walking to Katy’s side, interest piqued. 

“Yeah!” Katy affirmed, pulling the rolled up mat down from the storage, unbinding it with one pull. “Looks old and worn, too.” She snorted, “What I really would give to see your scary dad dancing to this…” 

But Xialing wasn’t listening. She felt like everything around her was buzzing.

“...Lingling?” Someone’s hand was on her shoulder, and she snapped, looking up to see Gege looking down on her, frowning as his grip on her tightened. “Meimei, you okay?” 

Xialing wanted to say something, anything, because that wasn’t just some mat; she recognized it—had danced to it countless times when she was young, had brought it with her when she ran away, had slept on it on her first night in Macau, had—

“I threw that away.” She said, not quite recognizing her own voice as she reached to the frayed edges. “In Macau, when I moved to a better apartment—I threw that away.” 

I had it with me, was unspoken, he wasn’t supposed to—

And suddenly she was reminded on that night in her Club, Baba standing in front of her and Gege, offering them his smile, and she thought she’d been dreaming then, a childish delusion resurfacing after seeing a familiar face for so long, but—

“I always know,” he had smiled, and there was something there, something not quite cold, not the way he usually was after, something akin to the expression Xialing saw at the mirror in the morning when she had a particularly bad day and all she wanted was Baba’s guotie and mama’s soup— “where my children are.” 

***

CODA.

Opening her bedroom door with his elbow, Xu Wenwu made soft, careful movements so as to not wake his youngest from his arms. 

She was deep in her sleep when he found her sprawled on the couch at the wee hours of midnight, leaning her head on one side of the armchairs. When he lifted her up, she felt like she weighed far lighter than she should have—he frowned, he’d have to talk with the chef about that—and she only grumbled lightly, before snuggling her face to the crook of his neck, seeking comfort. 

Gently, he placed her onto the bed, adjusting the pillows and tucking in the blankets. She was eleven years old but she still looked like she was a baby when she was asleep like this—his baby, his Baobei. 

Xialing harrumphed when he slowly released her, one hand unconsciously clutching to his white shirt. Wenwu paused, freezing, fearing that he’d got caught. 

(Fearing what?

He didn’t know.)

Wenwu let her fingers clutch the fabric until they relaxed on its own, before slowly extricating her grip away from his clothing. He tucked her hand inside the blanket with the rest of her, and swpt her unruly bangs, looking at her face. 

Like this, she looked just like Ying Li. 

Something caught in his throat, heavy and shuddering, and Wenwu looked away. A thousand years, he thought bitterly, and his undoing is just some little girl’s face. 

He shook his head, swallowing the emotions away, letting it be buried deep once more. He knew he had sinned, knew he wronged his children to a fault, but he just—

Not for the first time that night, he wished his wife was still here, telling him what to do, telling him she loved him, telling him how to love. 

But she wasn’t, and their daughter was turning eleven, and he was sitting there at the edge of her bed, wishing more than anything for some magic to come and unbreak this broken family the way Ying Li had to his cold, greedy heart all those years ago in the forest. 

Xialing—His A-Ling, his Baobei, his child—stirred in her sleep, and Wenwu could see tear tracks on her cheeks, crusty and fading. 

He leaned over, forehead to hers, and whispered, softly, “Happy birthday, Baobei.”

Baba is sorry, he thought, hoping the unsaid would reach her anyways, even if he didn’t dare to say it out loud. 

The night was clear, the windows closed, but the wind tousled his hair lightly, gentle and mournful. 

[andrawmedae]

A fireplace tale

The fireplace had always been Rowena’s favorite place to think. To fantasize, to ruminate, to bounce some ideas back and forth, even if, let’s be honest, she always ended up hurting herself with some gloomy thoughts.

At the edge of the tall pines, tremendous blazings had given way to dying embers, and the traveling companions divided the watch quarters among themselves.

As she stirred her spoon in the hot broth Sindri brewed, turnips and pine nuts along with some leftover bread, the young dwarf replayed in her head the events of the last days.

The party had been on the road for a few days, and the young bard was feeling a bit agitated, to say the least. How can one think about such trivial things when children are missing? How can one feel so jaunty and cheerful when talking to a special someone when some moments ago, people were murdered in front of one’s eyes? How can one(/cut)..

Sindri: … your soup?

Rowena: Sorry cousin, what?

Sindri: You need to eat a bit more Rowena, I think the night won’t be a quiet one, the woods are teeming with life, and I’m not sure it’s the affable kind.

Rowena: I… yes, yes I’ll eat up.

The two dwarves were sitting side by side on a heavy branch, by the fire where a cauldron was quietly bubbling. A few meters away, three makeshift tents stood tall, right on the fringe of some ominous pines. The warmth of the flames was welcome as the cool midnight breeze was beginning to pierce through the layers of adventurers' cloth.

Sindri: You don’t seem as chipper as usual, is something on your mind?

Rowena (not very convincing): Well yes of course I mean, the children are still lost, we don’t yet know what awaits us beyond these cursed woods, and the nights to come are not going to help me calm my mind.

Sindri: Rowena, I have roamed these lands for 200 years longer than you, and yet you honestly seem to think I can’t see when you are hiding something from me?

Rowena: Oh come on cousin, don’t play that old trick on me, truly it’s nothing in particular

Sindri (amused): Oooh I see I see. You know, it is my mind who is surely playing tricks on me, because I was quite confident it was related to yesterday. You know, the fact that when we decided to break the buddy system for last night’s vigil, and that you would have loooved finishing your conversation with Iaus(/cut)

Rowena (quick, afraid): Oy shut up, shut up they’ll hear us, you don’t know if everybody is asleep Sindri!

Sindri (joyful): Aha, perceptive as always your good Cousin Sindri, Heh? Rowena, you can’t fool me, it's not because my beard is whiter than yours that I no longer perceive the flicker, that flicker, in people's eyes.

Rowena: It’s not what you think, or not exactly, not all, I mean I (stumbles) (pause)

Sindri: What is it cousin? (pause) I’m sorry for teasing you a bit, I could not help myself. But it was so tempting, you know? I promise, you can tell me if you want to, you know I won’t judge you.

Rowena: Yes, yes I know, it’s just that I’m a bit embarrassed talking about that with you. I mean all I know about, you know, your love life, is that you have been married to Pia for quite some time now, which is wonderful of course, but that’s it! I don’t know all the foolishness from your younger years, the silly things you won’t tell without one or two tankards full of ale. So well it’s… weird I guess, for me, talking about that, because well, you don’t know much about me either, and a vigil doesn’t scream “Comfy and safe time for coming out to your long lost cousin”

Sindri: Coming out you say? Wait, I thought it was about Iaus?

Rowena: Well, yeah it kinda is? But at the same time it’s a little more complicated than that, and I feel a little uneasy about it. I’m 80 but I still feel like such a child! I mean (whispering) having a crush in these peculiar circumstances would already be a bit challenging to deal with… but having several, on people who know each other and work together it’s ooooh- I would love burying my head in the earth and disappearing.

Sindri: You know what little cousin? I think it’s time for me to tell you more about my -how did you put it, oh Pelor give me strength, - my love life, while you drink your soup.

Rowena: ...

Sindri: Well to begin with the part that you know(/cut)

Rowena (intrigued): The part that I know?

Sindri (amused): Rowena, it would be easier for me to tell you about that time if you drank your soup peacefully. Now, as I was saying, you know I’m happily married to Pia. Back in the day, it was as wanted the tradition, but our union was also beneficial to not only our two families, but a lot of other people. Some trades and arrangements were made, contracts and apprenticeships, we knew our clans would have some steady years as a result of our families becoming one. The part that you don’t know, and where I’ll be glad if you take a generous gulp right… (Rowena takes a spoonful) oh, thank you dear. I am so much more than Pia’s husband, and she’s so much more than Sindri’s wife. Because hmm, you know, when, you know when we met, well. There were a lot of people in the Crag you know? And… (silent)

Slowly, gently, Rowena swallowed her mouthful before sitting on the ground, in front of Sindri. She held his hand as she said quietly

Rowena: Were you in love with someone else?

Sindri (smiling, quietly): Well, as a matter of fact, I still am! Rowena, I have been in love with two wonderful people for over 100 years, who know each other and that I love both of them : my dearest Pia, who gives me love and strength everyday, and who gave me adorable children, and Amonak, who also gives me love and strength everyday.

Rowena (loudly): Oh my gooood that’s amazing!

Iaus (alerted/groggy/from afar): What? Are we being ambushed?

Rowena: (Oh shit, laughing) Sorry, no, all fine, you can go back to sleep! (lower, but very fast) Tell me more about Amonak, about everything!

Sindri: Hahaha, I’m glad to see your ardor, it warms my heart a little, being able to talk about both of them to my charming cousin, and to feel elated and relieved about it. I wish to tell you about the time where we met, because I assume you are experiencing quite a similar phase right now. I met Amonak before meeting Pia. He was about (/cut)my age

Rowena (bursting with joy but trying to keep her voice down): He? Amonak is a man?

Sindri (amused, lighthearted): Shhh, finish your soup first, you can grill me later! Yes, Amonak is a man, a dwarf from the FrostIron Moun(/cut)… (thinking) has anyone told you that the FrostIron Mountains folks are positively… open minded with who one should love? It is a sacred sentiment after all, a blessing, and when one lucky person falls in love with another, it is always celebrated fondly. When I met him, all I could see was a young dwarf radiating with such a calming but firm presence, so much aching but so much joy, and all I wanted to do was listening to him explaining passionately how one could smith a well-balanced axe, or how to cure a bad beer induced hangover. Yes, I may have experienced the last one while being cared for said hangover.

Rowena: Oh you need to tell me the secret recipe for that, Cousin

Sindri (light laughter): Aging 100 years should help you greatly! Being close to Amonak felt like floating in the clouds, bathing in the sunlight without suffering from the heat, feeling strong as Moradin, but as light as the wind too. The Crag was still the Crag of course, but thanks to him, the hardship seemed less terrible to endure. I won’t bore you with all the petty details, but we spent days discovering each other slowly and gently, then months sharing and caring for each other. A few years later, Pia and some others arrived in the Crag. She too made me feel like a ray of sunshine was brushing my ski, gently painting my cheeks pink each time she spoke to me. Some other newcomers were also fascinating people, I know for a fact that Amonak did bind with some of them. After all those years talking with the same company, It felt for both of us like a breath of fresh winter air… I could have convinced myself that I was 50 years old again. I took advantage of every stolen moment with Pia to get to know her, then the discussions got longer and longer, whether they were just between the two of us, with Amonak or the other newcomers. I was falling in love with her too. And it was such a delightful feeling, such a special blessing that I wanted to talk to Amonak as soon as I understood it.

Rowena: And you did? Were you not afraid of breaking his heart?

Sindri: Well to be honest, I don’t see one’s heart as a breakable thing. For instance, a mighty tree could be a beautiful picture to represent that strong force of nature, but I think it rather is closer to… well, water? It can bend, it won’t break. And yes, sometimes it can freeze, but with a little warmth, a soft conversation or a prayer it can easily melt back to an impetuous torrent, full of life and joy, full of light and love. I was not afraid of breaking Amonak’s heart. I knew that even if it froze for a bit, I could easily help my beloved unthaw it, making him feel unique and adored. But the beauty of this moment was slightly different that you could have guessed, because well, Amonak fell in love with one of the newcomers too!

Rowena: Nooooo, for real?

Sindri (amused): Yes, yes, “for real”. I don’t know if Pelor blessed us, or if I am one of the luckiest dwarves that ever lived, but since that day, my heart is held not by two, but by four hands, and it never felt cold anymore.

Rowena: Sindri, that’s so beautiful, thank you for sharing such a cherished memory, it makes me wanna burst into song.

Sindri: It would be an honor, but I don’t think our new friends would feel the same that late in the night!

Rowena: Haha, you are right. (pensive) Does it make this journey harder for you? I mean, I know for a fact that you did not see Pia for a long time, is it the same with Amonak?

Sindri: Well, sadly yes. I had to protect them both. But I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. When Pia and I got married, we enchanted our rings so that they could communicate with each other. It's not much, we can't have a conversation, but thanks to that, I can know if Pia is in good shape, if she is happy, and to know that it fills me with joy and serenity. And do you see that locket holding my cape? Everyone thinks that's a sigil for Pelor, a sun with a sunflower, that would be totally appropriate. But the truth is quite different as you will have already guessed.

Rowena: Amonak have the same sigil?

Sindri: Well not quite identical, Amonak is a cleric of Moradin, his own sigil has an anvil with a sunflower. Here let me show you. As Sindri places a hand on his locket, as to warm it a bit, he says with a gentle voice Sindri: Hello sunbeam, I hope you are alright.

Then, putting his hand on his knee, the sun began to revolve on itself, while the sunflower above it began to rotate in the opposite direction. A few moments later, two eyelid-like shapes opened, and a calm metallic voice responded. The Locket Warm. Love. Safe. Time

Rowena: Did he? It? Who?

Sindri: Amonak seems to be fine according to our lockets, and he misses me. ó elskan mín.

Rowena: That’s so… magnificent! Can you teach me how to do that? I could enchant my own harp and… well I have other instruments who can..

Sindri: In time I could show you that my dear, but I think you ought to yourself to have some heartfelt conversations with some other people over there, before saying Hey, this magical harmonica will tell me if you are alive and well, and by the way I have a crush on you

Soren: Oh, you have a crush on who?

[sallowhillshq]

plot drop 002: summer nights

sallow hills looks forward to summer, just as any town would.  kids run free amongst the streets, the sun actually comes out to say hi, and everything just seems a bit lighter.  as well, residents look forward to their annual carnival down on the pier!  

y carnifal iau

through most of june, the pier was restricted to business use only as townsfolk prepared for their biggest celebration of the year.  though still small, since there are only so many hands in sallow hills, everyone pitches in to make y carnifal iau as amazing as possible.  then, as soon as july hits, everyone holds their breath for the opening.

it’s beautiful.  tents line the beach filled with local businesses and crafters selling their wares.  some even offer workshops for those who pass by, to teach them how to knit, sew, make candles, read tarot.  while no rides populate the pier, as they might in bigger cities, the pier is filled with games for those of all ages to play.  ring tosses, balloon pops, skee-ball - any classic carnival game you can imagine!  and the prizes?  from cheap stuffed animals to free dinners at rhian y dafydd’s.  

and every day at sunset, the families gather around to watch the sun dip behind the horizon and to awe at the fireworks that are let off.  then, they all go home.  because no one stays for the carnival at night.

nothing bad has happened at the carnival at night.  it just feels odd.  the way the wind whips at the tent flaps, the way the carnival music echoes and turns into something odd.  the way the clown statues seem to stare at you and the merrows seem to eye the beach a little more curiously.  teenagers often go through it on a dare, though none of them stay for long.  because something is just off about a carnival at night

okay y’all time for our second ever plot drop!  reminder - plot drops are for you to use at your will.  you can completely ignore this, or you can focus all your threads on it.  it’s up to you!  a little tldr:  every july sallow hills hosts a carnival on the pier and surrounding beach.  during the day it’s full of life, though something feels just a bit off at night

this plot drop will last for the whole of july!  from july 1st to july 31st.  have fun with it!  win some free things, or have your characters helping out at a booth at the carnival.  or maybe your characters are brave enough to explore at night.  

if you have any questions, let us know in the discord!

[babzilla]

WIP Sampler Basket

I wanted to do this again just to keep track of what the hell I’m doing.

🌟

A meme for people with too many a lot of WIPs!

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

My totally willing sacrifices: @blackkatmagic @vandrell @primarybufferpanel

———

In no specific order:

Late Night Holo Dramas on Skinemax

Lover’s Skin Notes

binary system

Mummy au

achilles come down

Alpha-17 & Obi-Wan Kenobi: Republic Negotiators

7 - Love Like Me, Love Like You

on this, my last day

grow tall, watered by love and happiness

6 - Falling, Everywhere Falling (or No Greater Mercy)

A Single Blistering Star (working title)

like thunder under earth chapter 2

coda: in the howling wind (are you free now?)

Did You Find Love (In The Knick of Time)

Morning Will Come (Do What’s Right)

Close Your Eyes (So You Don’t See)

something from calgary?? idk

For a Hundred Thousand Tears (or Years? working title)

Rescuing Princes (For Fun and Profit) - Masterpost

5 - A Brand New Enterprise

Funny Like That (or If Ye Be Mighty? working title)

DRIVE, ANAKIN!

landing, from a great height

Connected Like Constellations

Coruscant Vice ORIGINS

Sky on Fire (don’t ask for this one I have NOTHING for it yet)

IAU - 3 - Don’t You Feel the Power (Here In The Dark)

IAU - 2 - Lay Down Your Heart (In These Final Hours)

IAU - 4 - Did You Find Love Darling

IAU - 1 - Turn Down The Lights (Tell Me No Lies)

You Remind Me of the Babe

The Babe With The Power

A Goblin Babe!

Same Old Song

Once Upon a Time on the Rishi Moon

2 - For The Promise of Rain

4 - Something In You, Always Searching

a half remembered daydream

1 - Storm Chasing In The Desert

Coruscant Vice chapter 2

with the flood

Bright Blood

Falling Down The Mountain

A Trinket (DON’T ask for this one eitherrrrrrr idk what I’m doing anymore)

[astro-no-my-foot]

Constellation of the Week (more like Month): Orion

So I thought I might want to delay talking about this one to avoid becoming a cliche, but one can only hold off from their greatest desires for so long: so here it is, our SECOND constellation of the blog, the Greek hunter, Orion!

Orion is not only one of the most iconic constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter (summer in the Southern Hemisphere), it is highly conspicuous and houses some of the more important stars visible in the night sky. Prominent stars include Betelguese (which I will talk about in a future post) or Alpha Orionis, Rigel or Beta Orionis and Bellatrix (Potterheads out there, I hear you). The twenty-eighth largest constellation out of the IAU 88, it is most easily cognizable due to its “belt” of three stars arranged in a diagonal line with a quadrilateral bottom and pentagonal torso through which extend the archer’s bow and crude mace held over his head. Even a relatively amateurish and untrained eye can easily make it out. 

The myth of Orion stems from Greek mythology, as do most of the constellations. Orion was a skilled hunter with a moral code, which attracted Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and chastity, to his company. Her protective brother, Apollo, caught wind of their increasingly close companionship and in order to safeguard his sister’s oath of abstinence, he tricked her through boasts and challenges into shooting at her own friend’s skull, killing him instantly. Disturbed by her reckless action, she appealed to their father, Zeus, who gave in and immortalized Orion in the form of a constellation. Other variants of the myth say that the Mother Goddess, Gaia, sent a huge scorpion to end his life, which now accompanies Orion in the heavens as the constellation of Scorpio. 

An interesting story and easy observation are what make this constellation a fan-favourite and, as I said before, a cliche.

Anyways, I wish I didn’t have to go to school tomorrow, but I can’t miss a day this week because I plan to bunk on Friday anyways. Oh well.

My next post should be either about neutrinos or a surface look at black holes. Until then, toodles!

-Riri

[claroquequiza]

well i guess i have to unstan you now have a good day pluto-hater

that last ask was a joke just to clarify ill still stan you - from the plutolover

LOOOL, I suspected as much, but I was going to marvel that my second-ever piece of anon hate (and I’ve been on Tumblr since 2012!) was from being a Pluto-hater–I have been extraordinarily lucky when it comes to internet hate.

But let me clarify my position a little anyway. I don’t mean to hate on Pluto–it’s an amazing place, and I was as excited as anyone when New Horizons flew by–but its planetary status was due almost entirely to a series of accidents!

It’s a long complicated story, though, so it’s under a read-more. RIP, mobile users!

First and foremost: Planet X. Most people know that Pluto was first discovered during the hunt for a mysterious Planet X that was supposedly tugging on Neptune. Neptune itself was discovered because after astronomers found Uranus and computed its orbit, after a few years Uranus was in the wrong place! Alexis Bouvard concluded another unseen planet was affecting Uranus, and Urbain Le Verrier calculated where it must be, and Johann Galle found Neptune right where he said it was.

So when Neptune seemed to be doing the same thing, it was natural to suspect yet another planet.

As the story goes, they looked for Planet X, found Pluto, and though it turned out to be too small to be Planet X, it was accepted into the planetary club.

But what most people don’t know is that when Pluto was first discovered, they guesstimated its size based on how big they thought Planet X should be. They basically said, “So, for it to affect Neptune it must have seven times the mass of the Earth. So that’s how big it is.” So for a year or so, they thought Pluto was at least seven times the mass of Earth.

And it’s been downhill ever since.

A year later, even the most powerful telescopes couldn’t see Pluto as a disk–thus it couldn’t be so big because it always appeared like a starlike point. Even if Pluto was exceptionally dark-colored (and they thought it was exceptionally dark for decades to explain why they couldn’t see much of it), it couldn’t possibly be seven times the size of Earth. So they downgraded Pluto to “only” the size of Earth. This already made it doubtful that it was Planet X, but it was still a planet, right? And it remained “Earth-sized” for seventeen years. 

By then better telescopes still couldn’t see it very well, so it couldn’t be bigger than Mars.

But! Still a planet!

And this is saying nothing of its orbit, which people knew was weird almost as soon as they discovered it. No planet is inclined more than 6º from the Earth’s orbit, but Pluto’s is inclined 17º, which means we should never have spotted it! Or at least, should not have spotted it for a few decades. They expected to find Planet X close to the same angle as Earth’s orbit (the ecliptic), and they happened to find Pluto right when it was crossing it, which happens only twice every 248 years on opposite sides of its orbit! If it had been anywhere else, it would have been too high above or too low beneath the ecliptic to be found, and indeed, they have pictures of Pluto from 1907, twenty-three years before it was discovered, that weren’t recognized as a planet because that’s not where planets are.

But hey! Mars is definitely a planet, so Pluto was, too, and Pluto was the size of Mars for another twenty-eight years.

And then.

With even better telescopes they finally worked out that Pluto is covered in methane ice, and methane ice is super, super bright because it reflects almost all the light that hits it. For all that time Pluto had to be dark to be so “big” yet so hard to see, but as it turns out it was actually exceptionally bright–and if it was exceptionally bright yet still so hard to see, it had to be small. Super small. Only 1/100 the mass of Earth at most, which is one-fifth that of Mercury. Pluto was suddenly the smallest planet in the Solar System by a wide, wide margin.

And then it turns out it was actually more than four times smaller than that.

They discovered Charon, Pluto’s biggest moon, and so it turns out that around a quarter of the light that astronomers thought was coming from Pluto alone was actually coming from Charon. Whoops! So it’s altogether 1/459 the mass of Earth, about one-twentieth of Mercury. Super, super, super small.

But Hey! Still A Planet! This Definitely Isn’t Another Ceres!

What is Ceres, you ask? Ceres was the original eighth planet! Discovered in 1801, it was found because people thought there was a pattern to the planets’ orbits which was interrupted by a void between Mars and Jupiter. In reality they were completely wrong, but since it made people point their telescopes in that region, they soon found Ceres, a small, starlike point that nevertheless orbited the Sun, and since it orbited the sun it was proclaimed a planet even though it was so small it had no disk and its orbit was a little weird–inclined by 10° to the ecliptic.

Sound familiar?

After Ceres was discovered, more “planets” followed that orbited in the same region: Pallas, Juno, Vesta, then dozens, thousands, and tens of thousands more. Before it became more a dozen, though, it was recognized that these objects were different because they were small, they often had high inclinations to the ecliptic, and there were tons of them, so they were renamed asteroids, which turned out to be a good thing because if asteroids were still planets then there would be more than a million planets in the Solar System.

But that doesn’t concern Pluto. Yeah, it was small, but it’s fourteen times bigger than Ceres, and while it wasn’t anything like the other eight planets, at least it was the only one of its kind, right?

Right?

Enter Mike Brown, @plutokiller on Twitter. With telescopes getting better and better, he and his team felt it was time to start searching the so-called “Kuiper Belt”, a region of space full of small, icy worlds. Pluto’s discovery actually kicked off the theories that the Kuiper Belt might exist, and the idea was further refined as the decades passed until it seemed likely that a) the Kuiper Belt almost definitely existed and b) it was likely larger and had way more stuff in it than the asteroid belt. In 1992 the first Kuiper Belt object since Pluto was discovered, 15760 Albion, which is a tiny chunk of ice just a little bit further out than Pluto, though much smaller.

But it meant Pluto wasn’t alone.

And it meant that telescopes were finally good enough to find more.

And Mike Brown and his team were determined to find them. Their unofficial goal was to find an object bigger than Pluto–if the Kuiper Belt had so much stuff in it, then it was possible and even likely. And they found dozens of objects out there, ranging in size from a hundred kilometers across to bigger than Ceres.

So as it turns out, there’s tons of stuff out there. If Pluto hadn’t been accidentally discovered by the search for Planet X, there’s no guarantee that it would have been the first Kuiper Belt object discovered. It still might have been–Pluto is the biggest Kuiper Belt object we know of, even if it’s only the second-most massive.

The most massive is, of course, Eris, the little almost-planet that killed Pluto.

When Mike Brown and his team first discovered it, predictably they thought it was bigger than it really was–bigger than Pluto. You can’t blame them though–it’s twice as far as Pluto most of the time, and it turns out it’s only a little bit smaller than Pluto–only fifty kilometers’ difference. But that wasn’t the point, really. The point is that there was lots of stuff out there, and some of it was as big as Pluto. As telescopes get even better, we’re likely to find more objects around the size of Eris and Pluto–maybe even dozens, the same way we discovered dozens more asteroids.

So Pluto wasn’t big and it wasn’t unique. It has more in common with dozens and likely thousands of small objects orbiting beyond Neptune than with any of the planets.

And speaking of Neptune, in 1989 when Voyager 2 flew past the planet, its mass was recalculated, and it turns out astronomers thought Neptune was hiding an extra Mars-sized bit of mass that wasn’t there.

So as it turns out that Neptune’s orbit is exactly as it should be, so the hunt for Planet X should never have taken place, so Pluto should not have been discovered decades ahead of schedule right when it was crossing the ecliptic where real planets are, and it should not have been overestimated for half-a-century based on the fictional planet’s non-existent characteristics, and it should not have been considered unique for another two decades after that.

But it was.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So that’s my long-winded explanation of my unpopular opinion. This isn’t to say that you should stop loving Pluto–it’s an absolutely fascinating world, and New Horizons revealed a surprising active and ever-changing surface, so if anything Pluto not being unique means the Kuiper Belt and beyond is an exciting place with tons of neat surprises in store–

–but Pluto the planet was a series of mistakes that were finally corrected by the IAU.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[catgriosaich]

Mae Hiraeth Yn Fy Nghalon - Geiriau

This is my attempt at a very rough translation. I am not a poet, nor am I a fluent Welsh speaker, I’m just a beginner trying to get the meaning across as clearly as possible to help myself learn.

Mae hiraeth yn fy nghalon am y ddoe na ddaw yn ôl

Mae tristwch yn f’enaid am y fu

Mae dagrau yn fy lligaid ar ol y rhai sydd wedi mynd

A’r atgof sydd yn bwrw cysgod du

There is a longing in my heart for the yesterday that will not return

There is a sorrow in my soul for what was

There are tears in my eyes for those that have gone

And the memory casts a black shadow

Af i chwilio yn y mynydd

Af i chwilio yn y glyn

Af i chwilio am orffennol teg fy ngwlad

Gwrandawaf ar yr afon a

Syllaf ar y llyn

A disgwl, disgwl gweled fy nhreftad

I will go looking* in the mountains

I will go looking in the glen

I will go looking for the fair past of my land

I will listen to the river and

I will gaze upon the lake

And wait, wait to see my heritage

Mae’r awel yn y brigau yn dweud am y dyddiau blin

Pan roedd gormes landlordiaid yn y tir

A’r hesg yn dweud yn ddistaw am fuchedd gwerin dlawd

Aberth bywydau byr a’r dyddiau hir

The breeze in the treetops* tells of the wearisome days

When the tyranny of the landlords was in the land

And the sedge tells silently the legends* of the poor folk

Offerings of brief lives and tedious days

Ond dywed nant y mynydd am lawenydd ac am hwyl

A’m balchder a gorfoledd dan yr iau

A dywed llif yr afon am i fethiant gormes Sais

I dorri calon ddewr y bur hoff bau

But the mountain streams tell of joy and of mirth

Of pride and celebration despite the yoke*

And the flow of the river tells of the failure of English tyranny

To break the valiant heart of the pure beloved country

NOTES:

The -af endings are the first person conjugation of simple future tense, which is now more commonly used in literary Welsh than in conversation. So he sings “syllaf” for “I will gaze”, but in conversation, you probably say “bydda i’n syllu” (”I will be gazing”).

Brig means top, peak, crest. I initially translated this as “the wind in the peaks”, but given that awel specifically means breeze, not howling wind, I think treetops make more sense than mountains.

Buchedd just means life or way of living, but it isn’t used as often as bywyd, and one of its main uses is the phrase buchedd sant: hagiography. I used “legend” to try and maintain the religious connotations.

One version of these lyrics I found translated “dan yr iau” as “of the young”. Iau the adjective means young, but iau the noun means yoke, and dan means under (so literally “under the yoke”, but with “despite” implied?) I think my version is probably right, but I’m not entirely sure.

VOCABULARY LIST:

VERBS:

Bwrw: To hit, to throw, to cast

Chwilio: To search, to seek

Gwrando: To listen

Syllu: To look, to gaze

Disgwl / Disgwyl: To wait, to anticipate

Gweled: To see

Dywed / Dweud: To tell

*

ADJECTIVES:

Blin: Wearisome, woeful, galling

Distaw: Quiet, silent, mute

Tlawd: Poor

Byr: Short, brief

Hir: Long, lengthy, tedious

Dewr: Brave

Pur: Pure

Hoff: Dear, fond, favourite

*

NOUNS:

Calon (-nau): Heart (f)

Tristwch (no pl): Sorrow, wistfulness (m)

Enaid (-iau): Soul (m)

Deigryn (dagrau): Tear (m)

Llygad (llygaid): Eye (m)

Cysgod (-ion): Shadow (m)

*

Mynydd (-oedd): Mountain (m)

Glyn (-noedd): Glen, valley (m)

Afon (-ydd): River (f)

Nant (nentydd): Stream (f)

Llif (-oedd): Flow, flood, stream (m)

Gwlad (gweldydd): Land, country (f)

Tir (-oedd): Land, earth (m)

Hesgen (hesg): Sedge (f)

Awel (-on): Breeze, current (f)

Brig (-au): Top, peak, crest (m)

*

Treftad (no pl): Heritage, inheritance, patrimony (f)

Gorffennol (no pl): Past (m)

Atgof (-ion): Remembrance, reminiscence, memory (m)

Methiant (methiannau): Failure, downfall, breakdown (m)

Gormes (no pl): Tyranny, oppression (f)

Gwerin (-oedd): People, folk (m or f)

Iau (ieuau): Yoke (f)

Pau (peuoedd): Country (f) (rare)

Bywyd (-au): Life, lifetime (m)

Buchedd (-au): Life, lifestyle (f) (rare)

Aberth (ebyrth): Sacrifice, offering (m or f)

Llawenydd (no pl): Joy, glee, euphoria (m)

Hwyl (-iau): Fun, mirth, merriment (f)

Gorfoledd (no pl): Joy, rejoicing, triumph (m)

Balchder (no pl): Pride, glory, vanity (m)

*

Sources: Geiriadur Bangor; Geiriadur Pyfysgol Cymru, this lyric video (weirdly the only place I could find the Welsh lyrics. It also has an English translation but I promise I didn’t cheat lmao)

[skyward-floored]

Swapped (Part 4)

Finally an update haha. Back to the first group again! And we finally see what’s up with Legend :)

Mild body horror warning, but it’s very brief and not too intense.

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Everything was so loud.

Warriors adjusted his grip on Legend as he walked, wincing as his nephew breathed in his ear. He resisted the urge to curl up on the ground again with his hands to his head, but it was a close thing.

He didn’t know how Twilight handled it. He could hear every step he and Wind took, every rustle of their clothes, every distant footstep. He could even hear Legend’s heart beating, and Wind’s too if he focused really hard.

And that wasn’t even getting into how he could smell twice as many things now either.

Warriors breathed in, and out again, trying to let the noise fade to the background. Things weren’t as bad as they were when he’d first woken up, but he still felt raw, every sense overly sensitive, and achy from the whole turning into a wolf thing as well.

...he was still trying to wrap his head around that.

Warriors hiked Legend up on his back a little further when he slipped a bit, his nephew’s head flopping against his shoulder. Wind was jogging beside him, face pinched with poorly-hidden anxiety, and when he saw Warriors adjust his brother, the worry only grew on his face.

“Why do you think he’s still asleep?” he asked in a low voice. Warriors appreciated that.

“I don’t know.” Warriors sighed as he ran a hand over Legend’s head yet again, feeling for an injury that wasn’t there.

Legend had been entirely unresponsive ever since the explosion, though his breathing was steady and he bore no injuries that Warriors could find. He was just pale, and wouldn’t wake up, no matter what they did. Warriors wouldn’t have expected Legend of all people would be so sensitive to an energy pulse like they’d experienced, but he supposed it made sense it would hit some of them harder than others.

Sort of like how the smell of every single sweaty guard we sneak past is hitting harder than other smells. Ugh.

Wind and Warriors reached a stairwell, and paused to make sure nobody was coming through the door before slipping through. The elevator technically would’ve been faster, but it didn’t afford them as much maneuverability in regards to sneaking around.

Plus while Wind had managed to get Time’s powers under control for the moment, Warriors wasn’t too keen on being in a small, easily-destroyable space with him right now.

“I hope he’s okay,” Wind said quietly, gently touching Legend’s head as they slipped into the stairwell. “You don’t think this is... permanent, do you Warriors?”

“No. I bet he’ll wake up soon,” Warriors said with well-practiced confidence. “It just must have hit him harder than us for some reason.”

He had some theories about that actually, but wouldn’t know for sure unless Legend woke up.

When he wakes up. When.

Wind nodded, then hesitated, his expression looking as worried as it had when Warriors had first woken up. “...do you think our powers got swapped permanently?”

Ice slipped into Warriors’s stomach, but he shook his head as they began to climb. “No way. if they can get swapped like this, then they can get swapped back.”

They have to.

Wind didn’t say anything further, and they climbed in silence up the stairs. The building didn’t have too many floors, and Warriors did keep in shape, but carrying a teenager up several flights would leave anyone a bit breathless. Especially someone who was still trying to shake off the effects of having his powers stolen and replaced.

No, not replaced, just switched, he firmly reminded himself. We’ll get them back.

Something beside their own footsteps suddenly caught his attention, and Warriors motioned for Wind to stop, listening intently.

His nephew froze, and Warriors pricked his ears.

...Footsteps.

Headed their way.

Warriors hissed under his breath and resumed climbing, Wind hurrying after him. He had no measure for how far off the steps were, but they were getting louder.

He heard a voice above them say something about intruders, and Warriors grabbed Wind, pulling him through a door that led to the floor below the one they were aiming for. The same voice shouted behind them, and he and Wind ran down the sleek hallway they’d found themselves in, picking a random door and trying to run inside.

It was locked though, and Wind gave Warriors a panicked look.

“Use the powers, see if you can pull it open,” Warriors said, and Wind moved in front of him, scrunching his face up as he concentrated. It took him much longer then it would have taken Time, but eventually his eyes began to glow, and markings stretched across his face as he grew in height, and Wind grabbed the handle of the door, giving it a sharp yank.

It broke off in his hand, but the door cracked open, and Wind jammed the handle back in the hole before he and Warriors bolted inside.

Wind carefully shut it, and the two held their breath as footsteps pounded past mere moments later. But apparently the guards didn’t think to check a room they’d thought was locked, and soon enough even Warriors couldn’t hear them anymore.

“I think they’re gone,” Warriors said softly, and Wind exhaled, leaning against the wall as he dropped Time’s powers.

“Good. I didn’t really want to fight them.”

He slid to the floor, looking tired, and Warriors remembered suddenly that Time’s powers were rather wearing on the user. His brother was used to them, so he didn’t often think about it, but Wind had had them for less than an hour.

Warriors sighed and sat beside him, gently pulling Legend off his back and holding him in his arms instead. Legend didn’t react, and Wind looked down at him, worried and tired.

“C’mere,” Warriors said at the look on his face, and Wind scooted closer to him, resting his head on his shoulder. “Chin up, kiddo. We’ll give those guys out there a few minutes to leave, then make our way to the jerky scientist who did this. And make him fix it.”

Wind nodded, a determined look on his face, and they rested in silence for a few minutes, Wind and Warriors catching their breath, Legend still unmoving.

“You really think he’ll be okay?” Wind said quietly.

“I do. A hundred percent.”

Footsteps rang out again, and suddenly there was a pounding on the door, shouting coming from the other side.

Warriors flinched at the noise, and quickly pulled Legend back up onto his back as he stood. Wind jumped to his feet, looking anxiously at the door, and Warriors scanned the room they were in, hoping for something useful.

It looked like they’d just landed in some kind of conference room though, unused at that, and there wasn’t so much as a potted plant they could use to their advantage.

“Warriors?” Wind said in a voice he was obviously fighting to keep level.

“We can take them,” Warriors reassured, ignoring the way each noise from outside made him want to tear his ears off. “We handled those other guys, we’ll be fine.”

A loud bang came from the door, and Warriors flinched, unable to resist covering his ears.

“What’s the plan?” Wind asked, a determined look settling on his face, and Warriors looked around, mind going into overdrive.

That was an excellent question.

The room had no other exits, apart from the giant window behind them, but that wouldn’t end well since they were several stories up. The vent in the ceiling would only work for Wind— Warriors was too big, and Legend would be nearly impossible to pull through. The door was their only way out.

“...Looks like we’ll have to fight our way through.”

Another loud bang came from the door, and Warriors flinched and stood next to Wind, getting into a ready position. He glanced back at Legend, wondering if he should set him somewhere safe, but then Legend moved.

Warriors and Wind both froze.

“Legend?!”

Legend’s eyes shot open with a gasp, and Warriors nearly dropped him, the abrupt noise making his ears ring.

“Legend!” Wind gasped, but neither he nor Warriors had the time to try and talk to him, since the door finally got beaten down.

Guards began to pour in, but before anyone could do anything, Legend made a strange noise, almost choked-sounding. Warriors jerked his head around to look at him, but then Legend let out a loud cry, and a blinding light flashed in the room.

Warriors was sent reeling from both the noise and light, and the guards were stunned by it as well, startled by the brightness. Spots flickered in Warriors’s vision, and he blinked rapidly as they faded, trying to clear it. He gripped tightly to Legend so he wouldn’t fall off of his back, and looked around as his vision finally began to clear.

Then he stared at the other Legend sitting and blinking in front of him, outfit a bright blue.

“Oh my gosh. He got Four’s,” Wind breathed beside him.

Warriors gave a quick look around the room, spotting two more Legends lying prone on the ground, purple and reddish-pink. There was one more on his back still, but Warriors didn’t have time to check the color since the guards had recovered.

They went back to charging at them, and Wind jumped in front, already using Time’s powers to keep them away.

“Keep him safe!” Wind cried, voice echoing, and Warriors nodded, then harshly shook his head, trying to focus past the cacophony of sounds ringing in his ears.

“Don’t need to!” the blue Legend shouted back, then stumbled to his feet, glaring at the guards. “I’m fine!”

His statement was proved wrong seconds later when he immediately toppled back to the ground, and Warriors jogged over to him, offering him a hand up.

The blue Legend took one look and slapped it away. “I don’t need your help freezer-burn!”

“You can’t walk and we’re trying to get out of here, take my hand,” Warriors snapped. He didn’t want to be short with Legend, especially with the state he must be in at the moment, but his head was pounding more by the minute and the sooner they all got out of here the better.

Blue Legend glared, but finally took his hand, allowing Warriors to help him up and support him. They quickly moved over to the purple Legend, who was struggling to sit up, flexing his fingers with a confused look on his face.

“I have a lot of questions,” he mumbled, and Warriors nodded.

“I’m sure you do, but right now we need to get—”

The pounding in Warriors’s head grew to an impossible degree, and he stumbled to a knee, hissing through his teeth as he felt the rest of his powers trying to activate. Oh come on not now, please not—

Warriors’s vision went dark, and his body twisted and cracked itself into a different configuration. His face elongated as his body shifted, fur sprouting up and spreading over him as he held back a cry. It was only a few seconds, but Warriors still had to catch his breath as it finished, his bones aching.

He raised his head, panting, and saw the purple and blue Legends staring at him.

“...I now have even more questions,” the purple Legend said in bewilderment.

Warriors growled, hoping it would be taken as an it’ll have to wait, and gestured for him and the blue Legend to get on his back.

Either they didn’t want to argue with a wolf, or finally realized just how messy the situation was, because neither of them argued as they climbed up onto Warriors’s back. The other Legend was still up there as well, and Warriors made sure all three weren’t going to fall off before he trotted over to the reddish-pink Legend.

This one was shivering as he stared at his hands, chest heaving with frantic breaths, and at Warriors’s soft bark, he jumped, eyes teary.

“Twi? I don’t kn-know what’s going on,” he whimpered, and the blue Legend snorted.

“Join the club! Anyone want to explain why are there four of me? Or why you’re a wolf? And why are you pink?” he yelled, and Warriors couldn’t help his whine, pinning his ears back at the noise.

“I don’t know!” the pinkish one wailed, and Warriors woofed, trying to get him to calm down. Oh, what is it that Twilight always does...

Warriors moved forward and nuzzled him, and the pinkish Legend stilled, sniffling a little as he looked at him.

“Why’s Twilight blueish?” he asked as he gently stroked his fur, and the blue Legend grumbled.

“It’s not Twilight, it’s Warriors, and no I don’t know what’s going on. Get up here.”

The pinkish Legend petted Warriors for a moment longer, then wobbled to his feet, using Warriors to support himself. With all of the Legends accounted for and relatively safe, Warriors turned his attention back to Wind.

Who seemed to be having absolutely no trouble beating up the guards.

One went flying past them, crashing into the table and landing in a motionless heap, and Warriors stared. Wind was fighting with an unusual ferocity, teeth bared and eyes glowing.

He took out three guards at once with a swing of his fist, and snarled when another tried to charge him. Knocking the weapons out of two others hands, he then smacked their heads together, sending them crumpling to the floor.

The single man who was still left standing slowly backed away, then bolted out of the room.

“...Whoa,” one of the Legends whispered.

Warriors cautiously trotted his way over, the room almost weirdly silent now, and Wind turned around and looked at them all, his eyes blazing with light.

“That’s not Dad, is it,” the purple Legend said quietly, and Warriors nodded.

He was silent for a moment, Wind still standing motionlessly in front of them, and Warriors was running wildly through different plans in his mind, wondering what he could do to snap Wind out of the power rush he was doubtlessly experiencing. Why couldn’t he talk as a wolf?!

“Link,” the purple Legend spoke up, and Wind panted as his gaze shifted to him. “Relax, they’re done.”

Wind swallowed, and abruptly dropped Time’s powers, wobbling a little but staying upright. Warriors quickly moved to support him as well, and they all just stood there for a moment, catching their breath and processing what exactly had happened.

“Thanks,” Wind whispered, and Warriors chuffed softly in reply.

“So. Wind is Dad, Warriors is Twilight, and this just keeps getting weirder!” the blue Legend yelled. “Not to mention whatever is up with me!”

“You mean us,” the purple one corrected.

“Ugh whatever!”

“Our powers got swapped,” Wind said, still gulping in air. He looked a little dizzy, and Warriors gently nuzzled him. Wind petted him in return. “The scientist screwed things up with that explosion, if you remember that.”

“Ah... yeah that would explain some things,” the purple one said, and the pinkish one moaned, slipping off of Warriors and burying his head in his knees.

“I don’t want to be four people,” he whimpered.

“Well I don’t either, suck it up,” the blue one snapped. “How is this even possible?!”

“Quiet down, Warriors’s hearing is extra-sensitive,” Wind said with a glare, and though the blue Legend glared back, he did lower his voice when he spoke again.

“How do we fix it?”

“We were working on that,” Wind huffed, toeing a guard’s arm away from him. “We were going to head to the top floor and hope we ran into the others on the way. And make the scientist give our powers back.”

“We got separated, huh?” the purple one asked, and Wind nodded, and explained about the radios being out as well. “Hm. That makes things difficult.”

“You’re telling me,” Wind sighed.

Warriors barked then, catching everyone’s attention. Once he was sure they were all looking, he jerked his head in the direction of the door, giving his nephews a pointed look.

“You want us to get going?” Wind asked, and Warriors nodded. They shouldn’t stick around in one place longer than necessary.

“Good idea. That straggler was probably going for reinforcements,” the purple Legend said with a grimace, and Warriors heard a groan from his back. “Oh, the green one’s waking up.”

“Took him long enough,” the blue Legend grumbled.

Wind moved over to Warriors’ back, and Warriors heard another groan from behind him. “Legend? Er, green Legend? You with us?”

“Y... yeah...” a voice mumbled, sounding pained. “Wait, why... green Legend..?”

“Because I’m blue and he’s purple and that one is pinkish,” the blue Legend said with a smirk.

Warriors couldn’t see the green one’s face, but he knew Legend well enough to guess at the expression he was making.

“And there’s... four of me now... why?” he asked slowly.

“Our powers got swapped. You got Four’s, I have Dad’s, Warriors has Twi’s, and we’re on our way to stop the jerky scientist who did it,” Wind summarized.

“...oh.”

Warriors let out another pointed woof, and Wind nodded. “Right. We need to get going. Are you guys all... okay?”

“I’m fine,” blue Legend said, and slipped off Warriors’s back. Warriors didn’t miss the way he stumbled though, and he frowned. All the colors of Legend that he could see were still pale, and even the purple one, who seemed the most steady of the group, looked rather shaken. Maybe they should leave Legend hidden here while he and Wind went and faced the scientist...

“I know what you’re thinking, you’re not leaving us here,” the purple Legend said, giving Warriors a look.

Warriors huffed, wishing he could argue his point. Unfortunately his head was pounding so much he knew he wouldn’t be able to focus enough to turn back so he could speak, and his skill in that area was still a little shaky anyway. So he settled with giving the purple Legend a small growl in return.

“We’ll need their help, Warriors,” Wind pointed out. “And leaving them here wouldn’t be very safe either. It’s better they come with us.”

Warriors couldn’t help the soft whine he let out at the thought of taking a splintered and weakened Legend into a dangerous fight, but he knew Wind was right. They couldn’t leave him here alone and vulnerable.

Though, would it even technically be leaving him alone since there are four of him?

“He’s right... you’ll need us,” the green Legend said, voice a little stronger, but still weak.

“Darn right. And I want a chance to wail on this jerk,” blue Legend snarled, pounding a fist into his palm. “He can’t just swap our powers around and expect us not to fight back.”

“I want to help too,” the pinkish one chimed in. “And I... don’t want to stay here alone.”

Warriors sighed, and gave them all a nod. All right, all right. I guess we’re all going.

But I don’t like it.

He tilted his head towards the door, and Wind helped the pinkish Legend stand up, the blue and purple ones joining him as they headed towards the door. Warriors felt a hand gripping tight to his fur, and he looked back at the green Legend, his face pale but determined.

Warriors swallowed, and followed the rest of the group back out into the hallway.

Please let this not be a mistake.

[footprinting]

What! A! Day! There are not enough words in the world to say how meaningful today was. So with ten photos and a stream of words I'll give it a go. We set out to run 6 hours, as part of the IAU (International Association of Ultra-Runners) Global Solidarity Run. We had nine people doing this from the team of New Zealand, and teams from countries globally. In an age of COVID the majority of events aren't going ahead. This was a creative way to get that challenge and comraderie and spirit. There were 4 of us from Wellington Scottish of those 9 in New Zealand. Fiona, Emily, and I all started running from Burdan's Gate in Eastbourne at 7.45am. Our route? Every. Single. Bay. We would finish somewhere after Island Bay. It was hard. Very hard. 6 hours on the road risks passing like molasses, not hours flying by like in mountains. The wind was fearsome. Many bones ached. But. Emily. Fiona. Todd. Spike. Sharon. Amanda. Carla. Sophie. Chris. Lindsay. Jon. Emma. Abi. Nico. Jaime. Mal. Nic. Anna. Tom. Kath. Marshall. Naomi. Rowan. James. Mel. Steve. Kathy. The 2pm Scottish packs. Our fellow New Zealand 6 hour runners Deb, Andrew, Dawn, Stuart, Wayne. The Saturday runners. The cyclists. The walkers. The neighbours. The cheer spectators. All of you made something extraordinary happen today. We moved today. You ran, biked, danced, drove, cheered, crafted logistics including aid stations and nutrition and emergency shoes, took (literally) a thousand photos, and holy crap. Thank you for reminding me of beauty today, and left feeling tonight like I'm one of the luckiest humans in the world ❤️💛 6 hours / 64.26 kilometres / resting now. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEd9BE8H8FuZtntK78yyblxmEbgo-8xtvhP2D80/?igshid=17e7vjizrlebn

[ask-logical-logan]

Ooooooo, I did not know! (I have learned a thing today, neat!) So if Venus is the hottest without being the closest to the sun, which planet is coldest? And do the temperatures of the stars fluctuate too?

In the past, the title for most frigid body went to Pluto, as it was the farthest then-designated planet from the Sun. However, due to the IAU’s decision in 2006 to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet, the title has since passed to Neptune. As the eighth planet from our Sun, it is now the outermost planet in the Solar System, and hence the coldest. Neptune’s highest is -330°F and lowest of -360°F. Because of how hot it’s core is, which is roughly at 12632 °F, it creates huge wind storms.

But that is what NASA and most other scientist believe. I still go with Pluto. Pluto ranges from -387 to -369°F. Quite cold compared to the coldest temperature of  -126°F on our own Earth.

As for your question about the stars, they do. The sun, and stars in general, undergo pretty large variations in surface temperature over time, as they grow older, and this depends on how they produce their energy. The sun currently produces energy via hydrogen fusion, and will for another 4 gigayears, so the variation over time is pretty small. However, much heavier stars at the end of their lives can show pretty dramatic surface temperature fluctuations.

[med-in-goeducation-blog]

Country : Bulgaria 🇧🇬 University : Trakia University . Why Choose Trakia University – Stara Zagora❓ . • The university was formed in 1995 after a merger of the Technical College of Yambol and the Veterinary College of Agriculture and Zoology, both of which had existed for almost a century, plus an assimilation of the local Medical College. • Besides its campus and University Hospital in Stara Zagora, the university has affiliated faculties and colleges in Sliven and Yambol, plus a professors’ continuous training unit in Haskovo. • The university caters for more than 6,500 students and almost 600 qualified professors, with invitations to 60 international guest lecturers a year. • It offers more than 60 Bachelor’s and Master’s major degrees and 50 doctoral programmes. • The university offers in-house hospital training in experimental or clinical research, plus a range of corporate co-op programmes and internships, certified seminars and workshop training through international scientific projects. • The university is internationally renowned for its English-taught medical and veterinary faculties, attracting numerous scientists and scholars of global acclaim, and can boast membership of the EU University Association (EUAU) and the International Association of Universities (IAU). Life in Stara Zagora ✅ . • Stara Zagora is one of Bulgaria’s major cities and despite its relatively small population of 150,000, it has a powerful economy owing to the industries in its suburbs. • It is located in the south of Bulgaria and is the administrative capital of Stara Zagora province. • It has a mild climate with low mountains and hills nearby to protect from northern winds, while its proximity to the Black Sea means that winter is warmer here than in most parts of Bulgaria. • It was impressively rebuilt after the war of liberation, with an excellent road structure and huge public squares and plazas . . #mbbsintrakiauniversity #mbbsineurope #mbbsinbulgaria #starazagora @med_in_go @med_in_go @med_in_go #mbbswithoutneet #lastchanceneet #lastchancembbs #med_in_go #eathealthy #medingoMBBS #russia #indian #russianweather #abradeducationconsuultant #MBBSinRussia #MBBSabroad (at Stara Zagora, Bulgaria) https://www.instagram.com/med_in_go/p/Bv_BSnYnaAc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8x2av9p44een

[babzilla]

WIP Sampler Basket

A meme for people with too many a lot of WIPs!

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

———

Curses to @1flyingcat for calling me out like this. ((Oh! I just saw @reyiosa also tagged meeee))

Here we goooooo. In order of most recently opened on google docs:

1. Mace Windu’s Emotional Support Zillo Beast

2. 7 - Love Like Me, Love Like You

3. on this, my last day

4. grow tall, watered by love and happiness

5. 6 - Falling, Everywhere Falling (or No Greater Mercy)

6. A Single Blistering Star (working title)

7. some dazzling light on the mirror (working title)

8. coda: in the howling wind (are you free now?)

9. Did You Find Love (In The Knick of Time)

10. Morning Will Come (Do What’s Right)

11. Close Your Eyes (So You Don’t See)

12. something from calgary?? idk

13. For a Hundred Thousand Tears (or Years? working title)

14. Rescuing Princes (For Fun and Profit)

15. 5 - A Brand New Enterprise

16. Funny Like That (or If Ye Be Mighty? working title)

17. DRIVE, ANAKIN!

18. landing, from a great height

19. Connected Like Constellations

20. Coruscant Vice ORIGINS

21. Sky on Fire (don’t ask for this one I have NOTHING for it yet)

22. IAU - 3 - Don’t You Feel the Power (Here In The Dark)

23. IAU - 2 - Lay Down Your Heart (In These Final Hours)

24. IAU - 4 - Did You Find Love Darling

25. IAU - 1 - Turn Down The Lights (Tell Me No Lies)

26. You Remind Me of the Babe

27. The Babe With The Power

28. A Goblin Babe!

29. Once Upon a Time on the Rishi Moon

30. 2 - For The Promise of Rain

31. 4 - Something In You, Always Searching

32. a half remembered daydream

33. 1 - Storm Chasing In The Desert

34. Coruscant Vice chapter 2

35. with the flood

36. Falling Down The Mountain

37. A Trinket (DON’T ask for this one eitherrrrrrr idk what I’m doing anymore)

———

My victims have consented to this, so I’m tagging: @dragonpyre & @blackkatmagic

[zoradeblaise]

Space Facts for Writers:

Earth is our planet, earth is the ground we walk on. Capitalization is key here. 

“Terra/Gaia,” “Luna,” and “Sol” are poetic names for our Earth, Moon, and Sun, but they are not recognized by the IAU

Earth’s time measurements are based around the rotation on an axis + our orbit around the Sun. Other planets will not follow these exact measurements unless they perfectly align the same way. 

If writing about another advanced species, they will most likely not follow the same vocabulary as humans(which means seconds, minutes, and hours are irrelevant unless the race has been taught this system).

The Sun is the official name for our system’s yellow dwarf, but other stars in other systems will have different identifications(especially if there is an intelligent race also creating their own labels). 

Most planets(especially outside the habitable zones) have only one biome that can be observed; however, this is not true for all planets.

Not every planet you find will be habitable. 

Not every planet will be bright or dark.

Not every planet has a moon. 

Not every planet rotates the same direction.

Some planets will be too far from the star they are orbiting to have the same natural lighting as those closer to it. 

Rogue planets: These guys are homeless worlds without an orbit or rotation since they are not tethered to a star. 

Habitable moons are science fiction, but will have to be bigger than mars, solid rather than gaseous, and be within the habitable zone of it’s star to even be plausible. 

Space is silent.

Due to the Sun’s radiation and the Moon’s atmosphere, the U.S. flags left behind by astronauts are white now.

Other planets will have a different mineral makeup than Earth; which means the liquids can be toxic and missing a breathable atmosphere. 

Since space is a vacuum, there is no wind. This means any rock without an atmosphere will leave behind tracks until something else intervenes. 

There are three types of galaxies: Spiral, elliptical, and irregular.

Due to the lack of gravity, astronauts actually grow in height while in space. 

Astronauts can not burp in space.

Normal pens will not work in space.

The center of a comet is called a nucleus 

Since you don’t walk in Zero-G, the skin on your feet begins to flake and peel off easily. 

You can cry in space, but the tears won’t fall.

Metal sticks together in space in a process called cold welding. 

Asteroid Belts are actually easy to maneuver through.

When it “rains” on other planets, it’s not always in liquid form. Molten rocks, diamonds, and other deadly minerals can also fall.

Gas giants such as Jupiter have no solid surface to land on and any form of probe or ship will be crushed due to the atmospheric pressure. 

There is floating water in space.

Lightning can happen in space(comes off as Auroras or Sprites). These generally happen closer to a planet’s atmosphere. 

Additions or corrections to the list will be appreciated.