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sipsteainanxiety · 2 years

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you found him by accident, curled up inside the head of a tulip.

the forest near your cottage had a vast variety of flora that you liked to catalogue in your free time. flowers with velvet petals that glowed when the moon was waning. red vines that grew longer when they felt eyes on them. trees that seemed to have a sort of sentience to them when they thought they were alone.

there were just so many different plants out there with properties you could only dream of. you spent countless evenings wandering through shrubs and overgrowth, a small journal in hand that you opened whenever you found a new specimen to document. it was a lovely way to pass the time, and you made use of your findings to aid in developing new medicines or salves for you to use.

today in particular, you walked in a direction you had not before and found yourself standing in a small field surrounded by trees. you breathed in deeply, relishing in the fresh air that swirled calmly around you. the sky was tinged with the gradient of dusk, burnt oranges and nebular purples easing into each other as though from a single painter's stroke.

you spotted a patch of flowers to your left and headed over to it to see if any of them were new to you. there was a mix of cerulean-colored flowers with petals shaped like stars and sunshine tulips that waved gently with the summer breeze. you crouched down, one of your hands reaching out to gently caress the vibrant green of a tulip's leaf.

you opened up your journal and started jotting down descriptors for the cerulean flowers, pondering in your head what to call them. their color clashed with the bright yellow of the tulips in a way that you found interesting. it meant they both thrived in similar conditions. it didn't look like one was out competing the other either. that was good.

you scribbled away for a moment, then looked back up to inspect the cerulean flowers. and that's when you noticed a small splotch of red—stark against the vivid green of the leaf it was on. you blinked and squinted your eyes at it before learning forward to swipe your finger across it. it smeared onto your index finger and you brought it up closer to your face to inspect quizzically.

it... it almost looked like... blood?

you looked back at the flower leaf you had found the splotch on and noticed there were more small splashes of crimson scattered along the leaves and stems of a few flowers. they seemed to lead in a certain direction, so you followed the trail of blood with your eyes until you noticed a larger splash on the leaf of a tulip. the yellow of the tulip's petals had some smears of ruby red on the outside—from what you could see, it was the only flower with blood on its petals... especially as smears. you shuffled closer to that particular tulip and peered at it curiously, your breath soon hitching in your throat.

there was a fairy curled up inside the head of the tulip.

he was in a small ball, using the petals to shield him from the outside. but what really caught your attention was the crimson that stained his clothes to an almost deep burgundy. it made you lift a hand to your mouth, your eyes darting all over his small form so you could take note of his injuries that you could see. one of his wings—an iridescent thing that shimmered even in the remnants of the sunset—was torn diagonally across its center. you couldn't make out how severely he was hurt, but he looked bad.

you couldn't just leave him like this. even from your height, you could see his ash-blond hair sticking to his color-drained face that was scrunched up in pain. you abruptly shut your journal and tucked it in your pants pocket. then carefully—so, so carefully—you plucked the tulip the fairy was in. you were cautious, gentle, as you rose to your feet, your hands cradling the tulip head so as to not jostle the fairy around too much.

you were quick as you made your way back to your cottage, your steps carefully calculated to avoid tripping over anything. your eyes lingered constantly on the fairy in your hands, checking to see if his small chest was still moving. it was, but just barely. you bit at the inside of your cheek. could you even do much with the state he was in? you didn't know. but still, you had to try.

you practically barged through your cottage door, shifting the tulip head to one hand so you could clear a section of your table stacked with jars of pastes and salves. you grabbed a piece of soft cloth from a drawer in your little kitchen and folded it a few times before setting it down on your wooden table. then you looked down at the tulip.

fuck, how were you going to get him onto the table?

you didn't want to move him too much, but you didn't really have a choice, it seemed. you started plucking some of the petals, letting them fall onto the table so you could make an opening. then, as you willed your hands to stay as still as possible, you slid your fingers underneath the fairy's body.

he really was quite small. you'd have to guess he was around five inches or so, though being curled in a ball made him look even smaller. he made a rough noise once you'd gotten your fingers under him and you immediately froze. he settled down after a small moment, and you let out a breath of air before you carefully moved him so that he was on top of the cloth you'd set out.

from then on, you were in healer mode.

you grabbed a nearby lantern so you could see what you were doing, allowing the flickering tangerine light to cast itself warmly across the table. then, you bustled around your cottage, hands snatching up items ranging from cotton balls to jars of ointment and a needle with thread. you had a pair of tweezers somewhere in your room that you snatched up as well as some bandages and a small knife to cut them into smaller pieces.

you set everything onto the table, then grabbed some more pieces of spare cloth and a bowl of warm water. you pulled over a chair and sat down, the fairy resting in front of you with all your materials surrounding him.

he had moved from his curled up position, thankfully, and was now stretched on his back. even in his sleep he was in pain, you noticed, eyeing his scrunched up brows.

you had to be nimble as you cut down the center of his dark green shirt to reveal his wounds. there was a deep gash along his abdomen that was still bleeding. he also had a smaller one below his collarbone. you soaked a cotton ball in some of the water and used the tweezers to press it gently to his stomach. you hoped he hadn't punctured anything significant.

you had to replace the cotton ball multiple times before the gashes stopped bleeding. you wiped away the rest of the blood from his upper body, then grabbed one of the salve jars so you could open it and smear some of its contents across his wounds. the salve had healing properties—hopefully it would help prevent infection so you could start to stitch him up.

after that, you wiped your fingers and started prodding gently at his legs. he had some pouches and what looked like a small sword attached around his waist. you fumbled slightly as you removed them and set them to the side. then you murmured a small apology as you pulled off his pants to see if he had any injuries on his legs.

there was another gash across his right thigh. when you pulled off his boots, his left ankle also looked tender. you wondered what had happened to him to make him get this messed up. you stopped the bleeding on his thigh and wiped down his legs before you applied more of the salve. you did your best to wrap his ankle in bandages. it wasn't your best work, but well, his foot was fucking tiny.

glancing at his blood-soaked pants, you grimaced. there was no way he was going to wear that. you could probably wash them and hope that he woke up after you slipped them back on.

the salve needed a few more minutes before it would get absorbed into his body, so you stood up and grabbed his pants so you could toss it in another bowl of warm water and soap. maybe you could make him another set of clothes. you had the sewing materials, after all. you'd have to take rough measurements, though.

you returned back to the table, noting that his face had relaxed slightly from its pained grimace from before. you carefully pressed your index finger to his forehead to check the temperature—he was a bit hot. that wasn't good, but it was expected.

you ripped up a smaller piece of cloth and soaked it in some cold water before you placed it on his head. then you got to work with stitching his deeper wounds.

it was tough work, using your smallest needle to sow him together. you kept pausing and glancing up at his face to see if he would wake up, but he was out cold. you felt like you were a child, playing operation on a doll. except, what you were dealing with was very much alive and was currently depending on you—albeit unknowingly—to stay alive. the thought made you swallow heavily and focus harder on stitching.

after what felt like ages, you cut the thread and tied it off, your hand wiping across your forehead to get rid of the perspiration there. he hadn't needed many stitches—really, only his thigh and abdomen required them. you opened another jar and smeared another paste across his wounds before you completely wrapped him up in bandages. then you eyed his wing.

he'd been somewhat laying on it all this time. you weren't really sure what to do for it. it wasn't bleeding, but it did look painful. you settled on gently pushing him onto his side and dabbing a salve over the tear before you slapped a bandage patch on both sides of it. that would have to do for now.

you moved him onto his back once more and covered him with a piece of cloth large enough to act as a blanket. you stretched your arms out as you glanced out one of your cottage windows. it was dark outside—how long had you been working? the tips of your fingers hurt from all the stitching and careful motions you had to do. you flexed your fingers and looked back at the fairy.

his face had smoothed down into a somewhat peaceful look. you let out a sigh of relief and slid the now-warm piece of cloth off his head. he had blood on his cheeks and neck—you'd been hesitant to wipe it away, but now you could since you were finished taking care of him.

you grabbed a piece of cotton and soaked it with water. then you started softly wiping it along his face and a bit through his hair. his face scrunched up again. you were trying your best not to move too roughly to wake him up, but he still stirred. you froze, breaths bated, as his eyes squeezed shut before he started slowly blinking them open.

the first thing you noticed was the color of his eyes—crimson like the very blood he’d been soaked in. they were hazy as he squinted up at the ceiling, but they sharpened surprisingly quickly once he realized he was no longer hiding in a flower. and once they swiveled around to land on you, you saw them shrink into tiny pinpricks.

a beat passed where all he did was stare at you.

then he lunged towards your hand—that had been hovering by his face with the cotton ball pinched between your fingers—and promptly sunk his teeth into your thumb.

“yeowch!” you yelped as you dropped the cotton ball and snapped your hand back, shaking it slightly as though that could get rid of the sting you felt. his teeth were fucking sharp, what the fuck. you grimaced at the beads of blood that welled up from the tiny pricks on your thumb before you looked back at the fairy.

he'd taken your momentary distraction to stumble to his feet, teeth bared in a snarl, and lunge for his tiny sword. it had been drawn and was pointed at you, the blade gleaming at you in the flickering light from the lantern. it... wasn't much larger than a needle, but you still raised your hands up in surrender.

"whoa! hey!" you kept your voice low and soothing. it was obvious he was wary and maybe slightly panicked as his eyes darted about to take stock of his situation. they landed on you and his snarl seemed to deepen. "be careful! you're really hurt."

"you!" the fairy growled at you, his voice surprisingly raspy. he swayed a little on his feet, but seemed to cement himself. you eyed him cautiously. "you're the hag who lives in the shitty hut in the forest."

hag?! why this little— "i'm gonna pretend that you didn't just say that," you said cooly, lowering your hands slightly. you were not going to throw this little fucker across the room, you weren't. "you know who i am?"

"'course," he spat out, the glare on his face unwavering. there was still a smudge of blood on his cheek that you hadn't been able to clean before he'd woken up. "everyone in the damn forest knows who y'are with how y'keep stompin' about."

"i don't stomp." you frowned, your lower lip jutting out a bit in a small pout. "if you're so knowledgeable on who i am, then you know i'm not gonna harm you." his lips twitched at your words, but he didn't say anything. you continued, "relax. i found you in a flower and brought you back to my home to stitch you up." you gestured one of your fingers up and down his body.

it was then that he seemed to register the bandages that were on his torso. he looked down at himself, his free hand running along his stomach, before he realized he had no pants on. his face turned red as he snapped his head back up to snarl at you. "you—!!"

"i didn't do anything, your clothes were just very bloody!" you rushed out, heat crawling up your neck. "i'm sorry i had to cut open your shirt. your pants are in that bowl soaking." you pointed over to the other bowl you'd put it in that rested on the other side of the table. "i could probably... make you some new ones..."

the fairy's jaw tensed for a moment, his grip tightening on his sword. he was holding himself a bit awkwardly, but seemed to hide his pain well, especially with his tender ankle. though, you still noticed the way his face was a bit pale, sweat lingering on his forehead. he shoved his sword back in its scabbard and struggled to suppress his limping as he walked over to the makeshift bed you'd made for him.

he snatched up one of the pieces of cloth to wrap around his body. you watched him curiously. his hands trembled minutely. "what are you doing?"

"'m leavin'," he snapped at you, shooting you a glare that dared you to protest. the hair on his head practically bristled with his irate mood.

"right," you replied dryly. "and how do you expect to get anywhere in your condition? you'll reopen your stitches if you haven't already. and with your ankle and wing being busted you've got no chance of getting very far at this time of night."

he frowned at you as though considering your logic and looked over at a window to see the deep darkness that consumed the outside. he scowled at it, then looked at himself once more and the blood-soaked cotton balls that surrounded him. you waited patiently as he seemed to think, his wings moving slightly—shakily. then he scoffed loudly, aggressively ruffled the spiky hair on his head, and plopped himself down on the cloth-bed. an admission—albeit reluctant.

"fuck you," he grumbled. you tried not to roll your eyes. this fairy was so rude—were all of them like this? you hoped not.

"wonderful. nice to know you have a brain in that small head of yours." he shot daggers at you at your words, but you paid him no attention and started collecting all the garbage on the table. you got up to toss everything in the trash and moved all the medicinal supplies to the side to use later on. the fairy watched your every move, his gaze sharp as though trying to catch you doing something bad.

you grabbed some bread to put on a napkin and set it somewhere next to him. he eyed it like it had just stabbed him in the gut.

"you need to eat something," you told him as you pushed the bread closer. "and you need to rest. i'll have to keep checking your wounds to make sure they're healing properly."

he only gave you the stink eye and made no move to rip off some bread. this time you actually did roll your eyes. he could be stubborn all he wanted, but he'd have to give in eventually.

you sighed quietly and moved away from the table. you were too tired to deal with this right now. your back ached from being hunched over him as you'd tended to his wounds. "i'm going to bed. please remember that i'm here to help you—it's my job. if you need anything, just ask." he didn't say anything else, only glared as you walked away to get ready for the night.

within the safety of your room, away from his burning gaze, your shoulders slumped. you didn't know he was going to be so... be so prickly, but you supposed it was expected. whatever. you didn't regret taking care of him—it was only the right thing to do. you grumbled to yourself as you got ready for bed, avoiding the kitchen area of your cottage to give the fairy some alone time and privacy.

you slid into bed and tugged the covers up to your shoulders. still, you did not sleep. you only stared up at the ceiling, the light from the kitchen lantern glowing through the cracks in your bedroom door. you couldn't hear anything apart from the occasional hoot of an owl from outside and the crickets that chirped just under your window. you blinked tiredly. the light went out after a few moments.

you sighed and rolled over as you closed your eyes, wondering if he would stay or if you would wake up to an empty house once again.

#lets call this an au of my dragon bkg au where hes a fairy instead #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #meet cute<3 #tw blood #tw injuries #katsuki x reader #bakugou x you #bakugou imagine #probably not gonna write more bc this literally lowkey follows dragon bkg #okay no its highkey #im sensing a pattern...#i DO wanna write more fairy bkg tho....

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andromeda1023 · 10 months

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South of Antares, in the tail of the nebula-rich constellation Scorpius, lies emission nebula IC 4628. Nearby hot, massive stars, millions of years young, irradiate the nebula with invisible ultraviolet light, stripping electrons from atoms. The electrons eventually recombine with the atoms to produce the visible nebular glow, dominated by the red emission of hydrogen. At an estimated distance of 6,000 light-years, the region shown is about 250 light-years across, spanning over three full moons on the sky. The nebula is also cataloged as Gum 56 for Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum, but seafood-loving deep sky-enthusiasts might know this cosmic cloud as the Prawn Nebula. The graceful color image is a new astronomical composition taken over several nights in April from Rio Hurtado, Chile.

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gatheringfiki · 1 year

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The following ficlet was written by @i-am-still-bb based on this photoset.

Fili/Kili, Teen.

You might also be able to read this story on AO3.

If you’ve enjoyed this story, please leave a comment either in replies or on AO3. :)

Planet Killer

---

Fili remembered the first time he heard the term “Planet Killer.”

He was sitting in his 2nd grade classroom. The room smelled of chalk and rubber-soled sneakers that squeaked on the scuffed and worn tiled floors. Their desks were clustered in groups of four. Fili was near the front simply by virtue of his last name starting with a letter near the beginning of the alphabet.

He was working on the math worksheet that was that night’s homework when Ms. Bechdel rolled in a TV cart and tuned the television to a news station. It did not matter which one, they were all reporting on the meteor that they were calling Pompey. Everyone was tracking the comet that was going to come so close to Earth that they would be able to see it in the sky during daylight hours for days. Soon enough every channel, news or not, would be broadcasting the news.

Fili had looked for it that morning, but had no luck.

They watched the newscast and then they talked about the differences between an asteroid, meteor, meteorite, comet, and other planetary bodies. It was fantastic timing according to their teacher because they were presently in their space module. Fili had made a diorama of Pluto and its moon, Chiron, only two weeks before Pompey started making news. He had used purple and gray Play-Doh that had hardened into a rock when he left it out overnight. He had painted the box black and flicked silver paint into it to make stars. He had even painted a green and purple nebular in a corner and a small silver spaceship. Fili had begged his mother to buy him glow in the dark stars after they started the module. He had created his favorite constellations on his bedroom walls; Orion, Ursa Major, and Andromeda. They glowed dimly until their light faded long after he had fallen asleep.

Pompey was supposed to pass by. A “near miss” they said. But normally “near misses” were measured in hundreds of thousands of miles not passing between the Earth and the Moon.

Small fragments had been flashing through the night sky for days. Fili insisted on staying up until it was properly dark so he could see the falling stars through the rapidly de-leafing trees in the backyard. He and his mother sat on a picnic blanket covered in soft, fleece blankets watching the dark night sky. Kili had fallen asleep under his blanket before it even got properly dark.

He shared all he knew about “falling stars” with her, including that they were not really stars. When his mother had told him to make a wish on one of the flashes of light he told that rocks did not care about his wishes with all the imperiousness of an eight year old. His mother made a wish, but refused to tell him what she had wished for.

Fili remembered how the windows shook when the first fragment impacted.

The shockwave was felt more than 500 miles away.

The news played videos of the impact and the shockwave that devastated central Florida. All that Fili knew about Florida was what he had seen when they had gone there for vacation last winter—Disney World and the relentless ocean.

Tampa was gone.

The Epcot sphere was crushed and lying on its side.

The news coverage was endless. Constant videos provided by people who had been there or had traveled there simply to get the footage so they could have their 30 seconds of fame on the news.

Fili had nightmares of red fire and crumpled buildings for months afterwards. And they still returned to haunt him well into adulthood.

Kili did not remember any of that.

Kili remembered the car ride, but even then he was not sure if he actually remembered it or if he was just told of it so often that he thought that he remembered. He said he remembered it because it had been silent. There was no radio, no movies on their iPads, nothing. Just silence and endless hills, then endless cornfields rolling past.

Everyone in the family made fun of Nori and his “compound” in Middle-of-Nowhere, Nebraska.

But then Pompey came. And the whole family had ended up in Nori’s bunker (really a converted ICBM silo) to wait it out and hope. Both boys had problems remembering what ICBM stood for, and pronouncing it when they did—Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. A remnant of a war that no longer mattered between countries that no longer existed.

“Do you have everything you need?” Dis asked, eyes wide and frantic. She clutched a bag in her own hand.

Fili nodded. He had his backpack filled with the necessities.

“What about my Nintendo?” Kili asked, clutching the black plastic box to his chest.

Dis shook her head. “No. Pick a book. I don’t know if we’ll have electricity. I need you to have something you can actually use.”

“But I want my Nintendo!” Kili shouted.

Fili had slipped upstairs then to grab Kili’s favorite book and the stuffed otter from Kili’s bed.

“Fili!” The panic in his mother’s voice set Fili on edge. He nearly fell down the stairs in his haste. “What were you doing? Get in the car! We need to leave!”

That had been the last normal day.

Fili woke up. He ate his brightly colored cereal and then sat down in front of the television to watch cartoons. Kili joined him sometime later still dressed in his pajamas with a package of Pop-Tarts clutched in his fist. They watched cartoons in silence.

And then the screen turned red and an ear splitting noise emitted from it. Kili covered his ears and Fili flipped cushions onto the floor in his search for the remote to turn the volume down. But the remote did nothing. The painful, terrifying noise would not turn down. And the television would not turn off.

Kili was crying.

“What on earth—” Their mother was swearing when she came into the living room. Her hair was a mess and she was tying the belt of her robe. Then she froze.

Fili could read the alert, but it did not make sense to him. He did not know what a lot of the words meant.

Presidential probably had to do with the president, but evacuation? And what did shelter in place mean? He knew what the individual words meant, but as a phrase he was lost. He did recognize the name Pompey though. Had something happened to the meteor?

“Mom, what is it?” Fili asked. When she did not respond he said, “Mom. Mom. What is it? What’s happening?”

The noise stopped.

Kili tugged at her sleeve. “What happened to the cartoons? Put them back.”

“Shush!” She shouted. “Quiet!” She yelled when they did not shush themselves.

Two days later he saw his dad for the last time.

“I’ll meet you there.” He handed Kili over and ruffled Fili’s hair.

He did not meet them there.

They waited for him to return with his parents.

But after 12 hours their mother did as he had told her to do. She loaded Fili and Kili into the SUV and drove west, racing against the clock. They did not stop for more than a few minutes until they pulled into Nori’s compound.

Everyone else was already there. It would have felt festive with everyone together like the holidays if not for the sharp edge to the wind, their words, and their emotions.

And then the sky turned red.

The sky had been weird for days. Fili watched the flashes smear through the sky. It was almost pretty.

But the red was not pretty. It looked like fire. It reminded him of the news coverage of Tampa.

They were all rushed into the bunkers. Told to go to the lowest level, the safest level. Fili stayed by the door until it was closed. Waiting. Watching. Hoping. He refused to leave even when the door was closed. Thorin had to carry him, kicking and screaming, down into the silo and away from the surface.

He remembered how the earth shook.

The noise it made.

How everything went black.

And how the quakes kept happening.

There were other people out there; other people had survived Pompey the Planet Killer. There had been radio broadcasts in the beginning. They were mostly stories of chaos, death, murder, and greed. Their mother would turn the radio off and shoo Fili and Kili into a different room to “stretch their legs.” So they would run up and down the spiral staircase that ran all the way to the bottom of the silo and back. It was not much fun, but it was all they had.

They spent over a year in the bunker without opening the door; two Christmases, two of Kili’s birthdays, one of Fili’s.

And things were not the same when they did.

It was two years after they opened the door from the silo for the first time that they encountered Them.

“Is that them?” Kili asked, not lowering the binoculars and pointing.

Fili grabbed for the beat up binoculars. They had found them in the bottom of their dad’s bag. They were a treasured item that were wrapped in a sweatshirt whenever they took them out. When not in use Fili kept them in the back of his drawer. “Let me see.”

Kili reluctantly handed them over. “Just there,” he said, pointing even though Fili could not see his pointing.

“It looks like it.” Fili adjusted the focus. “What are they carrying?”

“A deer?” Kili offered. “They did take their guns and the bows that they got from those people over the river. Do you think Mom will let me have one for my birthday if I ask nicely?”

“Absolutely not,” Fili answered without hesitating. He fiddles with the focus some more and squints. “It doesn’t look like a deer.” Fili frowned. He handed the binoculars back over when Kili grabbed for them.

Kili started mumbling numbers.

“What are you doing?”

“Counting.”

“I know that. Why?”

“Didn’t seven of them go?” Kili lowered the binoculars and looked at Fili.

“Thorin, Dwalin, Gloin, Jackson, Oin, that new guy Bilbo, and Aron,” Fili listed off, “I think?”

“I only see six.”

Fili snatched the binoculars back. “One, two, three…”

“Maybe someone fell and hurt their leg?” Kili offered. “And is being carried?”

“I don’t see Dwalin,” Fili said as the group grew close enough for him to pick out which figure was who. “We should go down just in case they need help.”

Kili nodded and helped Fili pack up the binoculars, blanket, and the remnants of their snack. They descended from the tree-stand and made their way towards the silo so that they would intersect with Thorin’s party. The dry grass crunched beneath their feet. It had been several weeks since they had had a good long rain.

“Get inside! Now!” Thorin roared at them as soon as he was close enough to be heard.

Fili and Kili looked at one another. “Why?” Kili whispered.

Fili shrugged. “No idea.

“Come on,” he plucked at Kili’s shirt sleeve. “We better listen or else he’ll be even madder.”

“He looks mad enough already,” Kili grumbled.

Thorin was scared.

Thorin slammed the door and turned the handle for the big deadbolt to slide into place with an ominous metallic thud. Fili hated that noise. It always reminded him of that first time. When they had been locked in darkness for months, Fili never wanted to live through that again. This time felt as final as the first.

“Someone get the lights!” someone, Fili thought it was Gloin, shouted.

There was the metallic clanging, and a lot of swearing and grumbling before there was the staticy hum of electricity when the switch was flipped.

“How bad is it?” Thorin asked.

Fili and Kili shoved in behind him to see what it was that everyone was looking at.

“It’s nothing,” Dwalin growled.

“It is not!” Bilbo snapped. His hand looked comically small when he pushed on Dwalin’s shoulder to prevent him from getting up.

“What happened?” Kili asked anybody who would answer him.

No one answered.

Dwalin was propped up on his elbows. Beneath him was the triangle stretcher they used to haul supplies out into the wilderness and to haul their catch back to the silo. His face was pale, his shirt smeared with blood, and there was a bloody bandage made out of someone’s torn up t-shirt around his arm.

“Boys,” he growled when he saw them looking down at him. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Let them stay,” Thorin said. “They’re old enough, and if we’re going to have to deal with those… those things from now on, they should know.”

Dwalin raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“What was it?” Fili asked.

“Not now,” Thorin said. “Let’s get him down to one of the lower levels,” he said to the other men.

Fili and Kili trailed along behind as Dwalin half-walked, was half-carried down to the living quarters.

The silo always smelled faintly of metal and rust, but it was stronger now with Dwalin’s blood added to the mix. The metal stairs clanged and echoed beneath their impatient feet.

“What do you think happened?” Kili asked Fili as they walked behind the adults.

Fili shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll tell us. You heard Uncle Thorin.”

“Do you think it was a wolf?” Kili asked excitedly, “Or a polar bear?”

“Polar bears aren’t this far south. And Uncle Thorin knows what wolves are. He’s told us about seeing them before. Why would he say ‘thing’ this time?”

Kili jumped the last few steps, “Maybe it was a mutant wolf!”

The crowd around Dwalin was thicker now, but thinned as parents took their children into the private living spaces.

Oin was issuing orders to whoever would listen. “Hot water, clean cloth, any antibiotics that we have left…”

“I don’t know if antibiotics will work against anything that that thing was carrying,” Dwalin grumbled.

Kili settled down by Dwalin’s head. “Was it a mutant wolf, Mr. Dwalin?” Kili asked from his cross-legged position.

Dwalin twisted to look at Kili. “No, lad. It wasn’t a wolf.” Then he looked to Thorin, who gave a quick nod. Dwalin sighed. “It wasn’t an animal at all.”

Fili was holding the bowl of “hot” water that his mother had given him with the instructions to do as Oin or Bilbo ordered. “What was it then?” Fili carefully lowered himself to his knees and set the bowl on the floor in front of his knees.

Dwalin looked at Thorin again. He licked his lips, but before he could speak Oin started pulling away the dirty t-shirt bandage.

“Fuck!” Dwalin swore. “That hurts!”

“Not in front of my children,” their mother tapped him firmly on the top of the head.

“They swear plenty without Dwalin’s help,” Gloin offered with a grin.

“And that’s his fault.”

“Can’t help it,” Dwalin said tightly.

Fili leaned forward to get a closer look at the marks that were revealed when Oin pulled away the last of the bandage. “Are those animal teeth?” he asked, even though he thought he already knew the answer.

“Depends on what you call an animal,” Dwalin growled. “It certainly looked human.” He winced as Oin started cleaning the wound. “But it didn’t act like a person.”

“Did it walk on all four legs like a dog?” Kili asked.

“No,” Thorin said. “It didn’t. It walked just like you or I.”

“We would have known something was wrong if it had walked on all fours like a beast,” said Dwalin. Dwalin flinched. “Careful with that! I’d like to keep my arm!”

“You’re more likely to lose it if I don’t clean it,” Oin snapped. “Now quit whining.”

“Who was it? Was it the people that gave us the bows?” asked Fili.

“It better not be,” Thorin gritted out. “There’s more of them than us so we’d be well and truly fucked if it is them.”

“Language!” Dis scolded.

Fili looked expectantly at Thorin, who was rubbing his face roughly. He looked older than Fili remembered. All of the adults aged dramatically after the Planet Killer’s impact. Their mother had seemed to sprout gray and silver hair overnight.

Thorin pulled a chair close and sat down heavily. The rest of the party was standing close, shuffling their feet, and whispering amongst themselves and more were joining from elsewhere in the silo as word spread that something had happened, an attack, and that someone had been injured. Loved ones came in with frantic looks in their eyes until they spotted their family, friends, or lover. Then relief ran over them like the sun coming out after a storm.

“I don’t know what it was,” Thorin finally said. His normally warm skin was ashen. Everyone was watching him.

Waiting.

“The only word I can think of to describe it is…” Thorin took a deep breath and looked around the room at all of the anxious faces watching him, people who looked to him as their leader even though he had never volunteered for the position, it had just happened. “Vampire.”

“Vampires aren’t real,” Kili pipped in.

“They’re only stories in books,” another child added.

Thorin shrugged helplessly. “It looked human. It spoke to us. But when it was close enough…” he gestured to Dwalin who was currently gritting his teeth while Oin stitched the wound with hemp thread. They were trying to locate a book that would tell them how to make catgut (a thread made from finely woven sheep intestines) for stitches. “It did that. It bit Dwalin. It moved so fast.”

Fili looked sharply away from Dwalin to Thorin at the despair in Thorin’s voice.

“And then we just stood there, frozen. Like cowards—”

Someone tried to interrupt then, but Thorin spoke over them.

“It was only Bilbo that did anything. He buried that little knife of his in the thing’s head. That seemed to wake us all up. We managed to get it off of Dwalin. It had a few arrows sticking out of its body by the end, but it did not stop coming until I used my ax. It only stopped trying when it no longer had a head.” Thorin shivered in distaste. “It had fangs. It’s teeth were like a wolf’s, with those long teeth.” Thorin indicated length with his hands.

No one spoke.

Fili did not see one of Them, as they had taken to calling the creatures—Vampire was too laden with old horror stories—for several years. He and Kili were kept close and were rarely allowed outside without an adult present even if they were just going to be weeding the ever expanding garden. It was the same for all of the children.

They all learned not to trust.

They longer visited their neighbors who had given them the bows. Their leader Thranduil refused to listen to Thorin and his stories about vampires. And then one of Thranduil’s men had been killed by Aron’s son who had assumed that the human shape had been one of Them.

Any one of them could have easily done the same.

More than once Fili had hesitated too long. He had received his own stitches at Oin’s now expert hand. And there were other times that his fingers twitched on his ax, fear making him want to strike out. He had been breathes away from killing someone who was just as human as he was.

“Kili!” Fili shouted when he saw his brother walking up the long overgrown gravel path.

Kili raised the hand not carrying the duffle bag in greeting and grinned.

Fili slid his ax into metal rings on the frog that hung from his belt. “You were gone a long time this time,” he said when Kili got close enough that they did not need to shout to be heard.

Kili shrugged. “It took longer than normal.”

“What did you find?”

Kili set the duffle bag on the ground. Fili could see by how the worn leather sagged and folded that it was not even close to being full.

“Better than nothing,” Fili said stoically.

Kili pressed his lips into a thin line. “I wish I had found more.”

Fili squeezed Kili’s shoulder comfortingly. “Did you encounter any of Them?” Fili’s voice was barely above a whisper. But still a rush of wind came up and made them both shiver despite their layers and the warmth of their bodies. Fili looked over his shoulder. The dense pine forest was a comfort, but also a source of anxiety for all of them. It provided wood, shelter, cover, but it provided Them with the same things. They could sneak up on a person with barely a noise on the soft piles of needles.

Fili fought back the shiver of fear that ran up his spine. They had never been seen this close to the compound before. But Fili still looked over his shoulder. But all he saw were the bare trunks of pine trees, needleless branches, bare earth, and the breeze scented with pine and snow. They were all surprised that it had not snowed more by this point. They usually had at least several inches by the start of the holidays. And they were nervous; worried that less snow now meant more snow later, or that the snow would stick around well into May or even June.

Kili shook his head. “I didn’t even see any signs. Nobody has seen one in almost two years. Maybe They have moved on?”

“Probably too much to hope for,” Fili said darkly. “Come on, let’s get back. Mom’s been waiting for you. I’m pretty sure she would make the rest of us wait for our holidays until you made it back.”

“She could try,” Kili laughed. “But I think Gimli and the rest of the kids would have something to say about that.”

“She would withhold whatever sweets she has managed to conjure up.”

“That might do it.” Kili laughed and all of Fili’s apprehension slipped away. Things were always better when they were together.

The holidays were not postponed.

A tree had been erected in one of the common rooms and it had been decorated with whatever ornaments the children had made or had been found over the years. Handprints of the now-teenagers featured prominently. But there were also chains of construction paper that Fili remembered making during that first long year. They had wound the garland along the railing in an attempt to make the space feel festive. It had not worked particularly well. There had been no gifts, no feast other than the same canned food that they always ate. But now there was an actual tree, actual ornaments, candles, and electricity provided by the solar panels that had just been installed.

There had been music that first year. And there was music now. Many people had brought their instruments with them and the long hours gave them giant swaths of freetime when they could practice. They had very little sheet music though, so the carols were never quite right, but the spirit was there. And that warmed everyone.

There was plenty of food now, vegetables from the garden in the compound, and an elk that Thorin and Dwalin had brought in the week earlier.

Tonight they drank and ate.

Tomorrow things will go back to the new normal. They will go back to watching for Them. But they will not talk about Them or the other things that have changed since the Planet Killer. This was just how things were. There were things in the woods, Them, that were not there before, and they may never understand what They are or how They came to be—had they always been there or at the Planet Killer created them—but tonight that did not matter. Tonight they are warm, safe, and happy together. And once they have all drank too much they will talk about those that they have lost. Most of them were lost to the Planet Killer, but some were lost after that to Them or to illness and accident.

Fili wrapped his arm around Kili’s shoulders and gave him a firm squeeze. They both grinned and watched the kids play while the adults laughed and talked and smiled and played music just like they had before everything changed.

#Gathering 12 Days 2022 #Fili/Kili #FiKi #Fili #Kili #Durincest #The Hobbit

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captainpotassium · 2 years

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NGC 6188: Dragons of Ara via NASA https://ift.tt/SZefPd6

Do dragons fight on the altar of the sky? Although it might appear that way, these dragons are illusions made of thin gas and dust. The emission nebula NGC 6188, home to the glowing clouds, is found about 4,000 light years away near the edge of a large molecular cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara (the Altar). Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association were formed in that region only a few million years ago, sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. The recent star formation itself was likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions, from previous generations of massive stars, that swept up and compressed the molecular gas. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas, visible toward the lower right, is rare emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one of the region's massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164's striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and faint halo surround its bright central star near the bottom edge. This impressively wide field of view spans over 2 degrees (four full Moons), corresponding to over 150 light years at the estimated distance of NGC 6188.

(Published June 07, 2022)

#IFTTT #NASA #Astronomy #Astronomy Picture of the Day #Astronomy Pic of the Day #space #outer space

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cosmos-pics · 2 years

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The Tarantula Zone - Robert Gendler The Tarantula Nebula, also known as 30 Doradus, is more than a thousand light-years in diameter, a giant star forming region within nearby satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. About 180 thousand light-years away, it's the largest, most violent star forming region known in the whole Local Group of galaxies. The cosmic arachnid sprawls across this magnificent view, an assembly of image data from large space- and ground-based telescopes. Within the Tarantula (NGC 2070), intense radiation, stellar winds, and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars cataloged as R136 energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other star forming regions with young star clusters, filaments, and blown-out bubble-shaped clouds. In fact, the frame includes the site of the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A, at lower right. The rich field of view spans about 2 degrees or 4 full moons, in the southern constellation Dorado. But were the Tarantula Nebula closer, say 1,500 light-years distant like the Milky Way's own star forming Orion Nebula, it would take up half the sky.

#space #astronomy #photography #galaxy

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scienceacumen · 1 year

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Would the Rosette Nebula by any other name look as sweet? The bland New General Catalog designation of NGC 2237 doesn't appear to diminish the appearance of this flowery emission nebula, at the top of the image, atop a long stem of glowing hydrogen gas. Inside the nebula lies an open cluster of bright young stars designated NGC 2244. These stars formed about four million years ago from the nebular material and their stellar winds are clearing a hole in the nebula's center, insulated by a layer of dust and hot gas. Ultraviolet light from the hot cluster stars causes the surrounding nebula to glow. The Rosette Nebula spans about 100 light-years across, lies about 5000 light-years away, and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros).

📷: Adam Block & Tim Puckett

#science #universo #astronomy #outer space #news #space science #space exploration #astronomy news #space #research #nasa

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thefirststarr · 8 months

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These cosmic clouds can be found 1,300 light-years away in the constellation of Cepheus and is called the Iris Nebula (NGC 7023). This deep telescopic image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries embedded in surrounding fields of interstellar dust. Within the Iris itself, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the reflection nebula is blue, which is because of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the reflection nebula glow with a faint reddish photoluminescence as some dust grains convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula contains complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. People tend to say that this nebula reminds them of a flower, so it’s dusty blue ‘petals’ span about six light-years.

Image Credit & Copyright: Lorand Fenyes

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apod · 2 months

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2024 March 8

The Tarantula Zone Image Credit & Copyright: Processing - Robert Gendler Data - Hubble Tarantula Treasury, European Southern Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Amateur Sources

Explanation: The Tarantula Nebula, also known as 30 Doradus, is more than a thousand light-years in diameter, a giant star forming region within nearby satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. About 180 thousand light-years away, it's the largest, most violent star forming region known in the whole Local Group of galaxies. The cosmic arachnid sprawls across this magnificent view, an assembly of image data from large space- and ground-based telescopes. Within the Tarantula (NGC 2070), intense radiation, stellar winds, and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars cataloged as R136 energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other star forming regions with young star clusters, filaments, and blown-out bubble-shaped clouds. In fact, the frame includes the site of the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A, at lower right. The rich field of view spans about 2 degrees or 4 full moons in the southern constellation Dorado. But were the Tarantula Nebula closer, say 1,500 light-years distant like the Milky Way's own star forming Orion Nebula, it would take up half the sky.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240308.html

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just--space · 2 years

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NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula : These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away, in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this deep telescopic image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries, embedded in surrounding fields of interstellar dust. Within the Iris itself, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the reflection nebula glow with a faint reddish photoluminesence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula contains complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The dusty blue petals of the Iris Nebula span about six light-years. via NASA

#NASA #space #astronomy

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xasha777 · 1 day

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In the shadowed realm of Mytheria, a planet where technology and medieval architecture merge into a stunning tableau of light and dark, Hedingham Castle stood as a beacon of ancient power and modern might. This castle, with its soaring spires and robust fortifications, had been transformed over centuries into a fortress not just of stone, but of advanced alloys and energy fields, designed to protect the secretive Order of the Raven.

The Order, a legendary group of cybernetic mystics, was led by Lord Corvinox, a figure as enigmatic as he was feared. His appearance was striking—a fusion of organic and inorganic, with a face and armor that seemed forged from the midnight metals mined from Mytheria’s core, adorned with feathers and filigree that shimmered with an ethereal glow. His eyes, glowing with a soft golden hue, held the wisdom of the ancients and the calculating coldness of the newest AI.

Lord Corvinox was not just a ruler; he was the keeper of the Quantum Codex, an ancient manuscript said to contain the secrets of the universe’s creation and potential destruction. The Codex was hidden within the depths of Hedingham Castle, secured by puzzles and protections that could only be solved by a mind both brilliant and attuned to the mystical energies of the world.

One night, a ripple in the cosmic continuum alerted Corvinox to an impending threat. A rogue faction from across the galaxy sought the Codex, intending to rewrite the fabric of reality itself. As the stars blinked ominously, Corvinox prepared for the siege, his castle’s defenses activating with a symphony of light and the hum of quantum barriers.

The attackers arrived under the cloak of a nebular mist, a fleet of starships cloaked in dark energy. They were met by the Castle’s defenders—drones shaped like ravens, their feathers razor-sharp and infused with dark matter. The battle was fierce, illuminating the night with bursts of quantum energy and the eerie sounds of metal clashing against energy shields.

Inside the castle, Lord Corvinox channeled the power of the Codex, casting spells that were both ancient and cutting-edge, his form blurring between dimensions as he manipulated time and space to confound and repel the invaders.

As dawn broke, the remnants of the enemy fleet retreated, leaving behind the echo of their defeat. Corvinox stood atop the highest tower, his armor dented but unbroken, looking out over the horizon where the morning light met the curve of the planet. His heart, part human and part machine, felt the weight of his duty as the guardian of such immense power.

In the quiet aftermath, as the castle repaired itself with nanites and the quantum fields stabilized, Corvinox pondered the future. The attack was a reminder of the ever-present greed and desperation that drove others to seek control over the fabric of reality.

Determined to prevent such threats, he decided it was time to train successors—beings capable of understanding the balance between technology and mysticism. Thus, he sent out a call across dimensions, seeking those rare souls who could walk the line between light and shadow, order and chaos, to become the new defenders of Hedingham Castle and its secrets.

The story of Lord Corvinox and Hedingham Castle became a legend whispered across galaxies, a tale of a guardian at the nexus of time and technology, forever watching, forever ready to defend the integrity of the universe.

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spacenutspod · 6 months

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If the Universe has adolescent galaxies, they’re the ones that formed about 2 to 3 billion years after the Big Bang. New research based on the James Webb Space Telescope shows that these teenage galaxies are unusually hot. Not only that, but they contain some unexpected chemical elements. The most surprising element found in these galaxies is nickel. The new observations are part of CECILIA, which stands for Chemical Evolution Constrained Using Ionized Lines in Interstellar Aurorae. It uses the JWST’s NIRSpec instrument to study the spectra of 33 galaxies at z ~ 1-3. That corresponds roughly to 2 to 3 billion years post-Big Bang. But in an interesting twist, the spectra weren’t studied individually; instead, the researchers combined 23 of them into one composite spectrum. “This washes out the details of individual galaxies but gives us a better sense of an average galaxy. It also allows us to see fainter features,” said Allison Strom from Northwestern University. Strom is the lead author of a new paper presenting CECILIA’s results. “It’s significantly deeper and more detailed than any spectrum we could collect with ground-based telescopes of galaxies from this time period in the universe’s history.” The new paper is titled “CECILIA: The Faint Emission Line Spectrum of z ~ 2-3 Star-Forming Galaxies.” It’s published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we would see nickel.”Dr. Alison Strom, Northwestern University “We’re trying to understand how galaxies grew and changed over the 14 billion years of cosmic history,” said Strom. “Using the JWST, our program targets teenage galaxies when they were going through a messy time of growth spurts and change. Teenagers often have experiences that determine their trajectories into adulthood. For galaxies, it’s the same.” This work is based on star-forming regions in these adolescent galaxies. Active star formation produces lots of light. That light creates nebular emissions. “The nebular emission lines originating in galaxies’ star-forming regions are among the most powerful tools available for investigating the physical conditions in galaxies at all redshifts,” the authors write. The nebular emissions have spectral lines that are like galactic DNA. Examining this “chemical fingerprint” in adolescent galaxies gives researchers insight into how the galaxies formed and what their future evolution will look like. Galaxy formation and evolution is a hot topic in space science, and “Galaxies Over Time” is one of the JWST’s main science objectives. The study of galaxies is one of the JWST’s primary activities. This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows the heart of M74, otherwise known as the Phantom Galaxy. Webb’s sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms which wind outwards from the centre of this image. While this image is not part of CECILIA, it does show how powerful the JWST is and what it’s capable of when it studies galaxies. Image Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Judy Schmidt (CC BY 2.0) By combining the spectra of multiple adolescent galaxies, the researchers produced an ultra-deep composite spectrum. The spectrum contained the chemical signatures of eight distinct elements: Hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulphur, argon and nickel. In astronomy, all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are called metals. Finding metals in galaxies is not unusual. But the presence of nickel comes as a surprise. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we would see nickel,” Strom said. “Even in nearby galaxies, people don’t observe this. There has to be enough of an element present in a galaxy and the right conditions to observe it. No one ever talks about observing nickel. Elements have to be glowing in gas in order for us to see them. So, in order for us to see nickel, there may be something unique about the stars within the galaxies.” This figure from the study is the composite spectrum for the CECILIA sample of 23 galaxies. Hydrogen and helium are expected, but the other metals are objects of interest. Most interesting and surprising is the presence of nickel, something not seen before. The inset panel shows the lines for H-alpha and SII, the only lines routinely observed in ground-based observations and shallower JWST spectra of individual high-z galaxies. Image Credit: Strom et al. 2023. The CECILIA galaxies are also surprisingly hot. What exactly the temperature and the presence of nickel tell us about these galaxies is yet to be determined. But temperature and chemistry are linked, and both findings drive home an important point, one that the JWST has repeatedly made since it began observations. “This is just additional evidence of how different galaxies likely were when they were younger,” Strom said. “Ultimately, the fact that we see a higher characteristic temperature is just another manifestation of their different chemical DNA because the temperature and chemistry of gas in galaxies are intrinsically linked.” As hoped, the JWST is driving us toward a new understanding of how galaxies form and evolve and what types of chemistry they contain. This is just one of the space telescope’s results that force us to rethink some of our theories. It’s already found the oldest and most distant spectroscopically-confirmed galaxy known. It’s also found early galaxies that are more fully formed than we thought they should be. It also found grand spiral galaxies that formed 11 billion years ago, far sooner than we thought. But behind all these surprises are the complexity and the newness of JWST’s data. As this study shows, the data can reveal even more than scientists thought when analyzed in novel ways. “Deep observations, such as those obtained as part of CECILIA and outlined here, will be critical for developing and testing the new tools necessary to accurately interpret this wealth of data,” the researchers write in their article. “JWST is still a very new observatory,” said Ryan Trainor, paper co-author and associate professor of physics at Franklin & Marshall College. “Astronomers around the world are still trying to figure out the best ways to analyze the data we receive from the telescope.” If CECILIA is any indication of what new JWST data analysis techniques can reveal, then the telescope’s study of galaxies is only going to get more interesting. The post Adolescent Galaxies are Incandescent and Contain Unexpected Elements appeared first on Universe Today.

#space #astronomy #news #science

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