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hag-rambling-on · 3 years

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Fairy Transformations

Yes, they can go back to a previous form. Except Charmix, read it.

WARNING LONG POST

Winx - Yes

The most difficult of transformations, even if you only need to do it ONE time. And then the other times, to transform you again are optional. Love yourself. The wings are of medium-small size AND the only ones purely solid, like extra appendages. They move like the wings of a hummingbird.

Charmix - Yes/Redesign. Actually there are many types of Charmix.

Charmix is what you call the temporary boost or power up, the antechamber you can summon while chasing a transformation, while fighting/training/searching for said form. It usually invokes the wings and superimposes some other characteristic detail of said transformation with your current form.

Obviously It's temporary and once you get the transformation you're looking for, you never get THAT Charmix again. Like If you was searching for the Believix, you lost your Charmix/Believix but still can get the Charmix/Enchantix, or if you were in Enchantix your Enchantix-Charmix/Believix.

I already said in another post, fairies spend a year shaping their basic fairy look - sometimes with hilarious results - until it stabilizes. The charmix is a similar process... but easier, more directed, more focused since unlike the basic form, you have a good foundation and an clear objective where the Winx was a doubtful jump where you did not see the end.

Enchantix - Yes

Sacrifice - but not - for others. Love others, apreciate others lifes. But not from a point your conscience perceive ir as selfish. Big but not solid wings, although fairies can perceive them as both an appendage and an extra sense. Most wings feel like this.

Believix - Yes

To be loved, believed by others. Very big wings too. Like basic ones, also like hummingbirds. It is highly influenced by the people around you, but it also allows you to influence them. Not many people use it. But it has a lot of potential.

Gifts of Destiny: Sophix/Lovix are reinvented, as they do not exist as this transformation per se. These are environmental transformations and some winx manage to win these in Believix.

Harmonix - Yes

It’s have a witch equivalent form.

A better form than enchantix, which works to face easyly any Realms Transformations (Life, Death, Space/Time, Dreams, Magic). So to get like all the new forms under here, you theoretically want to have the Harmonix first. Unless an Ethereal gives you a quick pass (which is what happens to the Winx with the Forestix and the Polarix). Kinda, love the world, the universe where you lives.

This is because the Harmonix gives you an overall boost in all magical abilities and allows you to move through all environments to some degree.

... I'd better redesign the costumes a bit because suddenly this is the most important transformation.

Ok, pre-series??? the easiest, trickiest of the roads to getting the Harmonix, was to go to Domino and have the "ok, just go away I’m working, gesh, I can believe I must donate 1h of my time every day to this” of someone from the royal family. Since they are "blessed" by an Ethereal on our planet of existence.

The other way is to go to a crossing of ley lines and open your magic core to natural magic, manifesting your resolution. The world is semi conscious, it does not care if you are good or bad, it look at your determination and if you do not let yourself be carried away by the waves, because as the weather changes, on the ley lines, the magic changes too, it can be overwhelming.

“Elemental” -More like Envionmental ones, Life Realm

My equivalent to: Sirenix, Sophix, Lovix, Greenix etctera.

Do not had exacty witch equivalents but their harmonix get the alltogether called Milieu Talismans.

You don't need the Harmonix for them, but it makes it easier.

To get these forms you are supposed to do a search for a special object at each transformation. If you have been able to tune into natural magic, it is a matter of doing it again and it will give you a vision. With time limit. You have to interpret the vision and complete the mision. Of course, if you love where you are, the mission is feels easy because you know how to move.

These are "blessed" by the Great Dragon, since they are transformations that affect the Plane of Life, so Bloom gets a +1 in all and usually seems the strongest one, minus in the Desertix, here +3.

Polarix: Won by the Winx during their Believix period. The perfect transformation for ice or snow users, for those living in the taiga, tundra, polar deserts or even the arctic. It has the peculiarity of covering the whole body, either with tights and long sleeves and translucent materials or clothes that really look warm. Fluffy it’s best, but also geometric details. Equivalent to the Lovix one.

Forestix: Won by the Winx during their Believix period. With details of flowers, branches, leaves, moss, mushrooms. Anything of a vegetable or fungus environment. It gives Flora more strength (+2) and she keeps its as her default form if there is any problem with their current one. Equivalent to the Sophix one.

Desertix: Deserts, savannas. Increases heat tolerance and and temperature changes in general, favors fire, fire related and crystal attacks. It would favor Bloom, if she got it. The wings give a rough impression, like swirling sand or fire.

Cavernix: Suitable for life in the deep Earth. Helps with pressure, darkness, temperature changes, lack of oxygen. Their outfits and wings show rigid lines and some kind of gem depending on the person. It would favor Diaspro if I had it. In fact, it also would favors Musa, because it boosts her ultrasounds.

Mountainix: A tactical agreement between heaven and earth. Altitude, lower oxygen, low temperatures. It is a form quite sought after by people who want a general boost in their magic since it takes up a bit of everything. This would be the best for Tecna as is a liminal transformation, as her magic is -liminal I mean- which tapes natural and artificial magics-

Skyix: If you want to live uniquely and exclusively in heaven, this is your transformation. If your magic revolves around the weather or winds, this is your transformation. Sometimes people get it accidentally while looking for the Mountainix. The ears disappear and the eyes change to adapt to strong winds and harsh weather. Featherlike wings.

Mermaidix: A form adapted to life in the oceans and the depths, includes beaches, mangroves, etc. It can tolerate unsalted water, but not too well (marshes). It gives Aisha more strength. Wear details of the sea such as algae, corals, shells, starfish, sea dollars, etc and the wings become a little they act more like a dorsal fin, also, mermaid/octopi/jellyfish tails. Equivalent to the Sirenix.

Naiadix: The transformation akin of people of fresh waters like fountains, wells, springs, streams and brooks. Includes swamps and bogs. It can tolerate salty water, but not too well (marshes). Use very delicate fabrics, reeds, wild rice, water lilies and some other ornamental flowers. It maintains the legs but swimming membranes appear on the hands, feet and ears, the wings shrink to be more dynamic. It’s cries “wet”. Also favors Aisha.

Cosmix: This form doesn't actually fall under the Great Dragon, but the Ethereal that dominates it can't be bothered to cares. To get it you have to befriend a Lumen. Who are creatures that live in their stars (not planets). It allows you to move through space. Favors Stella.

MORIX AND SOMNIX, Death and Dreams Realms - mine and retouched dreamix/onyrix

They had witch equivalents.

Morix - The transformation blessed by the Phoenix. You must have Harmonix. A very misunderstood transformation, it allows you to communicate with the world of the dead, rest agitated spirits and the people they left here, not just summon zombies -which look like shadows. And you are sooo much harder to kill. It also increases your healing abilities, humans and nature related. [Not all Good is purely Good. And not all Evil is purely Evil.] Ripped, gnawed clothes. Their wings barely move. Darkar is a Morix Fae in this rewinxing. Witches from almost dying a couple of times can access this form. That's bad and sad and traumatic. And it doesn't work for fairies. It is a complicated transformation for the fairies if you have not received it as a gift. Accepting and welcoming death as part of life, especially for such long lives, is difficult.

Dreamix - CANCELLED, Harmonix acting as this au charmix. Time limit.

Somnix- You must have Harmonix. SO, kinda transformation blessed by another Ethereal but this one usually kinda say hi to people more frecuently (in their dreams -no joking). Then you have to immerse yourself in a magical induced dream, come out of your own dream and find the Door to the Ethereal Palace and get an ok. Or unconsciously wander outside of your own dreams long enough to collect energy from the Dream Plane. On the Plane of Dreams which watch out, it's a realm of dreams and nightmares. Good thing fairies attrack good dreams... normally. It’s the Onyrix one.

Bloomix - As much as it is one of my favorite designs when it comes to outfits... Cancelled.

It’s simply tuning in to a ley line and recharging in this au, although it is crazy, like having a broken leg, fixing it, getting high and going for a run, it is better to give some time or meditate, just meditate... unless you do it as a group in a wild magic crossroad and don’t die in the attempt I guess. Then Wild Renmants.

Faunix - Yes

Love and be loved by an animal. If Roxy were a fairy in rewinxing (here is a witch), she would have gotten this form by default.

Tynix - Cancelled

Along with MiniWorlds There are many planets, there are nature reserves. And if there wasn't, from enchantix you can miniaturize yourself.

Mythix -... YES

Ugg... I REALLY DON’T LIKE THIS FORM AT ALL. redesign redesign, REDESIGN.... *note to seft, armor, give the armor I delete in Bloomix*

Can be use by a witch, or even a specialist, Mike or Vanessa, same name.

You must prove themselves before any of the Seven Ancestral Rods. All identical in form and color, except when used. They contain the fragments of conscience and magic of their former users. And they demand fragments of yours to be used, so that each next user who comes is more worthy of their power and gets even stronger. Commit.

So it's someone else's clothes with little, very little influences from you. It includes armor -because I want- Because the Ancient Ones were prepared to die.

NYMPHIX - my version

Has a witch equivalent.

Only achieved by those who have achieved ... all of the different Realms. Daphne has it.. because, she's Dahne. And she is older than she looks.

A long robe-tunic-flowy cloth, any style, just a single accessory, bare feet.

You also have to pass a test somewhere in Magix or Hike's asteroid belt remains, but not even nymphs / lampads can share that information even if they want!.

PHILAUTHIX - NEW

This is a hypothesized form only. Or seen in precognitive visions "what if?" 1/-

Its looks like an ageless version of the winx form. With bigger wings, intricate details only appreciable up close, intangible.

Winx form is achieved by feeling proud or with yourself for a moment, and that memory is the activator of the subsequent transformations.

Philauntix It is achieved by loving yourself (2.0), the good and the bad, what you did, are doing and what you will do. Not forgiving it, loving it. And not for a second, it has to be something frequent enough that energy has been stored for a while to activate this transformation.

ENKIX - NEW

Believed it was only obtained by those who have obtained in Nymphix... until the Winx obtained it. Be loved... by a Ethernal.

The last transformation for the last Realm. Magic. Magic at its Purest Form.

There may be more transformations based on things that people love. Music, travel. Or in different acts of love. Kill for love, surrender, give up something IMPORTANT for love. But I'm not going to start designing more.

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grayseekerswritinglife · 4 years

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Inevitabilities

Starscream was late. Very late.

When he alighted on the narrow ledge and peered into the murky depths of the cliffside cave, he expected to find it empty. It wasn't. Skyfire was there, sitting with his back against the wall. His optics were closed and his head lolled to one side in a posture of sleep. Starscream edged closer, the fingers of his still-functioning hand clenching indecisively.

Part of him—a large part—was telling him to leave. The howl of the wind and the crashing of breakers against the base of the cliff would muffle his retreat. Later, he could concoct an excuse for his absence—if Skyfire even asked, though he generally didn't. It wasn't exactly a rule between them, just an unspoken agreement to keep the outside world separate from their relationship.

It was better that way. Safer.

Starscream took a backward step, then another. He reached the rim of the ledge, one heel-thruster poised above the sheer drop. When he turned, everything beyond the cave was iron-gray. The sky, the rocks, the rain-swept ocean. The sun was hidden behind a mass of stormclouds that crouched on the lightless horizon. A salt-laden wind buffeted his chest and wings, pushing him back, and that was all it took. His legs went out from under him and he sat down, hard.

Only then did he hear a quiet sound from behind. The sound of a vocalizer being cleared. Glancing back, Starscream was unsurprised to find Skyfire watching him. Not speaking. Not telling him to stay… or go. Just leaving space. Letting him decide for himself, as he always did. Starscream turned his attention back to the cheerless vista, and waited. He didn't wait long. Skyfire's steps were slow and deliberately heavy as he came to settle on Starscream's right.

Of course on his right. Skyfire had a talent for that.

Starscream tucked his hand against his chassis where Skyfire wouldn't be able to see it. For a while, neither spoke. Eventually, Skyfire drew a small repair kit from his subspace and set it on the floor between them. Starscream stared at it, feeling stupid, ridiculous, exposed. Finally he reached across himself with his good hand, snagged the kit, and dragged it onto his lap. He fumbled with the catch, but the kit slid from his lap and popped open, scattering tools across the rock floor.

"Frag!" It was the first word either of them had spoken.

Skyfire shifted closer. "Starscream—"

Starscream cut him off with a gesture. Half a gesture, because he realized mid-motion that he'd been about to use his right hand. He twisted away, blocking Skyfire's view with a wing as he groped along the floor. He found a small precision-welder and fired it up. The spark flared blue. A brilliant, electric blue which he was able to see by without use of his infrared. His hand was worse than he'd realized. Much worse.

You're either lying or stupid!

Megatron's voice echoed harshly in his thoughts, along with the remembered humiliation of his own response:

I'm stupid, I'm stupid!

He had been. Incredibly stupid, and this was the result. His fingers were shaking. The welder slipped from his grasp and skittered across the cave floor, its spark flaring inexplicably brighter just before it was doused. A hand settled on his arm.

"Starscream."

Starscream tensed. It was automatic, a reaction programmed at the level of base-coding. To anticipate a fight because flight wasn't an option. Not for him. He wouldn't—couldn't—yield. But Skyfire wouldn't either. His hand stayed where it was until something in Starscream broke. He let his head fall to his drawn-up knees, and didn't realize how hard he was shaking until Skyfire's arms slipped around him. A soft kiss grazed the top of his head as Skyfire shaped himself around Starscream's form, great wings sweeping forward to shelter him from the gray morning light.

Skyfire said nothing. Starscream had half expected him to ask, but he didn't. Maybe he doesn't have to, an inner voice suggested, spurring a fresh surge of fury to cover his scalding humiliation. Everyone knows, everyone. Even the Autobots.

But Skyfire's knowing wasn't such a problem. Not really. In a way, it made things easier. It saved having to explain. Starscream hunched back against Skyfire's warm frame, listening to the hum of his engines and the indefinable, shimmering vibration of his life-force. His field was like the ocean. No, like space. Vast, deep and all-engulfing, but Starscream never felt he was drowning in it. Not unless he wanted to. Skyfire rocked him, big arms crossed over his chest, hands stroking his shoulders. Holding him without making him feel trapped. Starscream gradually unclenched, and Skyfire rewarded him with further kisses to his intakes and the top of his helm.

"Can I look?" came the inevitable question.

Starscream sighed.

He knew Skyfire knew, but wished he didn't have to see. Especially since Skyfire must also know, by the mere fact that Starscream was hiding it, that this wasn't simply battle-damage. Yet he didn't resist when Skyfire's hand slipped down the length of his right arm, slow and hesitant, giving Starscream plenty of warning. Plenty of chances to retreat. When Skyfire's enormous hand finally cupped his, Starscream felt the reaction. A swift tightening in Skyfire's field; a storm-flash of anger; an ache of regret; a burn of recrimination.

Self-recrimination.

Starscream twisted around in Skyfire's arms. "It's not your fault!" he snapped, glaring—and Skyfire looked so sad. Starscream hated that. He wrenched free, thinking he should leave, just fly, but his spark was rooted here and he knew there was no point. He'd fly back again. That was inevitable. And he always made Skyfire sad. That, too, was inevitable.

Fingers brushed his shoulder and drifted down the length of his back. It was barely a touch, but Starscream felt Skyfire's field pull close to his body as he reached again for Starscream's hand. "Let me see."

Starscream didn't—couldn't—look as Skyfire drew the hand into his own lap. There was a clank of metal against stone as Skyfire leaned past him and picked up one of the fallen tools. Starscream didn't know which one. He kept his gaze firmly on a vein of pale quartz that cut, lightning-shaped, through the dark stone at the cave entrance, but the expected pain never arrived. Instead, the dull throbbing ache that had been with him throughout the afternoon suddenly drained from his hand. He glanced at Skyfire, startled, but looked away just as quickly when he saw Skyfire moving his broken, useless fingers, assessing damage.

"It's bad." Skyfire's tone was impassive, betraying nothing.

"Of course it's bad." As if Megatron did anything by half-measures.

Skyfire cupped the hand in both his own. He bowed forward, and Starscream felt lips brush against his palm. Part of his mind noted that if he could feel it, that meant Skyfire had disconnected the pain receptors without interfering with his tactile system overall. He suddenly remembered another time when Skyfire had repaired him. It had been so long ago, almost another lifetime, yet it had been a blustery morning like this and he'd felt, as he did now, as if they were the only two beings in the universe.

"Do you remember that planet with the pink sky?" he asked.

Skyfire was gathering the tools and arranging them in what was, Starscream knew, the precise order in which he planned to use them. He paused for a moment, thinking. "Binary star system?" he asked. "Planetary rings? High concentration of argon in the—"

"Yes, that one."

"You hated it there," Skyfire murmured, mouth twitching into a smile.

"Well, we were stranded!" Starscream barked, then subsided with a small shrug. "It wasn't so bad."

"No?" There was humor in Skyfire's gaze, as well as affection. "I don't recall you thinking so at the time."

"I didn't know what I was talking about. Anyway, I went back."

"You did? When?"

"About a million years into the war. The place was gone."

"The whole planet was?"

"No; just the hab."

"Ah." Skyfire nodded. "I'm not surprised. The local geology would have changed, along with the atmosphere, climactic conditions—"

"There had been an ice age," Starscream interrupted. "A glacier had come through, and nothing was left but flat tundra. But I built another hab. It was like the one we made, only… smaller. I lived there for a while and it felt like you were there sometimes, and I could still—" he broke off "—still talk to you. And sometimes I thought you answered. I even thought of just… staying. There, with your ghost."

Skyfire paused his work, studying him. "But you didn't."

Starscream snorted. "The natives," he said, shaking his head. "There was this species that had evolved in the meantime. Small, furry, organic bipeds. Some with tails, some not. And these two groups, the ones with the tails and the ones without, they hated each other. They were constantly fighting and killing each other with their primitive weapons, and—Skyfire, I killed one."

Skyfire set down the welder. His hands curled around Starscream's, a thumb stroking his wrist where the damage wasn't as bad. "What happened?"

"He was going to die anyway!" Starscream snapped defensively, but Skyfire just kept stroking his wrist, waiting patiently. "He had a spear through him," Starscream continued. "Right through. In at the armpit, out just above the hip. I suppose he was looking for help when he came to my door. I…" Starscream averted his gaze.

"You shot him?"

Starscream didn't answer right away. Skyfire's hands were warm, and the unhurried glide of his thumb against Starscream's plating was oddly soothing. Not unlike the patter of rain and the rhythmic crash of breakers on the rocks below. "It was the first thing I thought of doing," Starscream admitted finally. "The only thing. I just did it, and didn't even consider anything else."

"Maybe it was the only thing you could have done."

"That isn't the point!"

"Then tell me what is." There was no trace of anger in Skyfire's tone, nor of judgment.

Starscream searched his face. "You can't go back," he said. "I'd been fighting, leading a squadron. We'd driven the Autobots underground, we were winning! And I wasn't the same anymore; that's the point."

"You left when the Decepticons were winning?"

"I had to see who I was without the war. But I couldn't hold on to the past, Sky. I couldn't be who I was then, and I couldn't hear you anymore! After the day I shot that creature, you… you stopped answering. I couldn't even remember the sound of your voice. So I went back to Cybertron. What else was I going to do?"

"And… they took you back?" Skyfire's tone was cautious, as if he was unsure of where this might be leading.

"I didn't expect them to, but Megatron was surprisingly… welcoming. Almost as if he knew where I'd been, or at least why. I fought harder than ever after that. Fought my way to the top; became his Air Commander, and then his Second-in-Command." And more. Of course there was more, but Starscream left that part unsaid.

"Did you... do you... love him?" Skyfire asked, proving that he'd read between the lines with his usual ease.

Starscream observed him in the half-light. The great, white shape of him. His big hands, clasping Starscream's damaged one so very gently. He owed this mech an honest answer, but he didn't know the truth anymore. Maybe he never had. "I don't think I can love," he said eventually. "I buried that when I left that place, that planet. The skies weren't pink anymore. They'd turned gray, like here, and… I just. Everything I ever was, with you, I left back there. And I can't go back. We can't."

He withdrew his hand and tucked it against his belly, curling around it. They sat, the hiss of rain forming a backdrop to their silence. The sky grew brighter, the iron clouds on the horizon warming to a bruised shade of copper.

"Will you at least let me finish before you leave?" Skyfire asked.

Starscream pretended to consider, but finally placed his broken hand back in Skyfire's. "You aren't going to tell me not to go back?"

"I want to," Skyfire said as he resumed, the welder's blue spark casting his face in flickering shadows. "But…" his wings sagged. "I know better."

Starscream returned his gaze to the dull sweep of ocean. As he watched, a ray of light broke through the clouds and silvered the wave-tips.

"There." Skyfire deactivated the welder. "Try making a fist."

Starscream was pleasantly surprised when his fingers moved the way they were designed to. His hand still looked nearly as bad as it had before, but it was at least functional.

"That's good," Skyfire said, satisfied. "I could repair the external damage if I had time, but at least you can use the hand now." He gathered his tools back into their kit, then rose and went to the back of the cave where he began getting his things together.

"Are you... leaving?" Starscream asked.

"I should get back," Skyfire replied without glancing up. "I'm supposed to make a run to Ganymede Station to pick up some supplies, and then—"

Starscream scrambled up. "Sky."

Skyfire lifted his head, but Starscream couldn't meet his gaze. Outside, the sun had broken through; the quartz lightning-bolt at the mouth of the cave had taken on an eerily pink glow. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning. It was a human aphorism Starscream had picked up… somewhere. He had no idea where. But it seemed entirely appropriate for what he was about to say. "Can we stay here? For a little while longer?"

It was a bad idea. Terrible, in fact. Starscream would eventually be missed, and Skyfire had some pointless errand to run. The world expected things of them both. But Skyfire didn't point any of that out. He sank down where he'd been sleeping before, his back against the wall, and patted the ground in front of him in wordless invitation. Within moments Starscream was curled between his legs, his face pillowed against a snowy expanse of chest.

"You're right," Skyfire said at length, his deep voice vibrant beneath Starscream's cheek. "We can't go back. But maybe we'll find a way forward, if we look for one."

Outside, the rain had settled in. The fitful light of dawn had seeped away, leaving the sky a dismal shade of ash. "Not seeing one yet, Sky."

Those powerful arms gathered him closer. "Yet," Skyfire echoed, for emphasis. "But you can stay as long as you want. And I'll stay here with you."

Starscream twined his battered fingers with Skyfire's, and smiled. It was the most intimate gesture he felt capable of, and the shift in Skyfire's field told him that he was understood. Starscream closed his optics, listening to the rain, and pondered this new inevitability.

Written for SkyStarWeek 2020. This story is for Day Four: Intimacy and Vulnerability. Many thanks to @overlordraax for organizing this wonderful (and much needed) celebration of my OTP!

#skystarweek #Skyfire/Starscream #SkyScream #Starscream #Skyfire #Transformers #maccadam #Hurt/Comfort #Implied/referenced abuse #trauma #memories #injury #healing #confessions #talking things through

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jaaswolfen · 6 years

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Format Ch3

Hey everyone! Wolfn here with the new update. Once again, apologies for the time it took, and hope you enjoy it!

As always, thanks to @yuukazuto for inspiring this piece of work, and everyone else who work in fanart, fanfic, and the such to keep this ship alive.

Read it in AO3

The door to the med bay cracked as Sombra regained her senses. Exhaustion hit her like a truck, but the information she received in the past couple of hours kept her sleep light, and her dreams dark. Only now that she heard a sound did she open her eyes. The Doctor, the blonde one told her it would be locked for all of their safeties, or something like that. Her back hurt the most, so she had no option but to lie on her side, which hurt only slightly less than the burning sensation on her back. From behind the curtain light came out, and as a shadow entered the light disappeared once again. Her eyes did her best to focus to the lack of illumination, but were blinded once again when the curtains were torn down to show the figure behind them.

A huge woman, probably in her late 20s, stared menacingly down the hacker. Her biceps were twice the size of the bedridden, and she was positive she could crack her head apart with the palm of her hands. A scar decorated the scowl that she wore in her features. The only thing that perhaps didn’t scream “I will crush you” was the bright pink hair which was cut short on her head. The tone reminded her of the younger girl who came to visit her before. What was her name again?

The sound of the curtains being slammed on the floor brought her back to reality, as the woman in front of her snatched a nearby chair without any delicacy, and proceeded to sit down in front of the bed. Arms crossed protectively over her chest, she never took her eyes off hers. Her muscles shifted visibly, as she tensed with every passing second. Like if she was waiting for something to happen. For her to do something.

Unable to handle the tension in the room, the Mexican attempted to speak up. “Um… Do I-” she swallowed loudly. “Do I know you from somewhere...?”

The woman sneered, and in a thick Russian accent answered. Her voice loud and clear. And as cold as the Siberian tundra. “I do not trust you, Sombra.” She said.

Ok. So we do know each other. I can work with this. She thought to herself. “You know me, but I don’t remember you.” She thought about it for a second. “Actually, I don’t remember anything.” She left a small chuckle. This only seemed to irritate the woman before her.

“So I’ve been told.” She answered as she uncrossed her arms. Her huge fingers gripped the railing at the end of the bed, and she leaned closer to the hacker. “I still don’t trust you.” She repeated. Sombra tried to make space in between the two of them, but decided against letting her back touch the bed again. “But my babushka always reminded me of my manners. So at least one of us will have them in this room.” Oye, I get it, you don’t like me. The woman thought. “My name is Alexandra Zaryanova. But you already knew that, don’t you? Hacker.” She called.

“Right. Hacker.” She repeated beneath her breath. Obviously, the Russian weightlifter had heard her, because her grip on the railing hardened. “I’m guessing I did something to you?” she asked carefully.

Zarya did her best to subside the temper that rose with every passing moment. A firm nod was followed with the following statement. “You have. You also told me you knew things I did not.”

“I did?” Asked Sombra immediately. And just as fast the Russian answered back.

“You did. You will also stay silent until I finish talking.” Corrected the Russian. She closed her eyes and only for a second she remembered the incident with Volskaya. Katya had been brief about what had happened. But ever since then she had been unable to cope with it, her mind asking questions and going nowhere. Then the damn monk came, and the Bastion unit. And the horse. She couldn’t even train anymore without a tin can appearing out of nowhere. Volskaya never asked for her help again, and the defense units started in mass production. Yet she refused to ever share the battlefield with one of them. She could never know when the damn thing would turn on her people again. But what if she was wrong? What if everything she had done was another lie? If her people died for nothing? She needed answers. To the Omnics, to Volskaya, to herself. And still, she had none.

But now she had someone who did.

“You are not welcome in this place. I should kill you where you stand.” She started. And as the Mexican woman’s eyes grew the size of dinner plates, she continued her train of thought. “You know something I need to now. If you are not lying then you can stay here until you remember.” She said. Zarya may be harsh, but she was fair. A beaten opponent was no opponent at all. “If you try anything, I will stop you. These are good people and you do not deserve the help they are giving you.” Sombra’s fear disappeared for a second in change of sadness. The Russian did not care. “But if you are lying…” She closed in on the hacker, she leaned back as much as her body could handle. But it didn’t stop the Russian’s whisper in her her.

“I will break you.”

And with that, Sombra gave in, falling back on the bed. The reaction was immediate, the burning sensation coming back to her and arching her body backwards. She chocked on a cry as she gaped in the bed. By the time she managed to regain her composure, the athlete was gone, but the bent made on the railing was proof of her visit. And her message. Sombra scrambled on her bed, managing to grasp the control on the bed spamming for healing. Instead, a body less voice came to the room.

“Talon Agent Sombra, is something the matter?” Asked Athena. Sombra took short, sharp breaths. In between them, she managed to form a coherent sentence.

“My back stings like hell.” She managed to let out.

“I see. Dr. Ziegler was very clear when she told you to be careful. It is your own fault.” Answered the voice.

Sombra managed to roll her eyes in between the pain. “Con una ching-I’m guessing I did something to you too?!” She asked exasperated.

“Perhaps.” The voice answered. “If that is all, my systems are needed elsewhere.” She finished. It was a weird occasion when the AI lied. But the countless attempts from the hacker into her systems became monotonous after a while. And as while they appeared harmless, they were annoying all the same. To be completely honest with herself, if not for the favor agent Song had asked of her, she would have been all too happy to expose the hacker. Or at least her systems approved of the hypothetical situation. But she and Agent Song were friends. And friends trusted each other, as she recalled from her database.

“Wait!” Sombra called. She gave up on trying to lie down, and instead sat at the edge of the table. Raising her head, she attempted to ask the rooftop. “Where is she?” Athena immediately answered.

“If you are referring to Agent Zaryanova she is on her way to her quarters. I’ll make sure to notify Winston of what happened today.” ETA: 24 hours. She initiated the timer in one of her subroutines.

“No, Not her. The small girl. The one with the pink cheeks.” She cleared. The humming of the AI indicated her that she was still present in the room, but seemed as she was trying to decide the best course of action. Quickly, Athena confirmed that Agent Song was indeed in her quarters. And while the privacy blockers impeded her from looking inside her room, the amount of people outside it was growing. And their expressions all indicated some level of emotional distress. She only theorized that this was but a fraction of what the young agent was experiencing herself.

“Her current situation is unclear, but I expect her emotional well-being to improve exponentially with your vital signs.” The AI finally said. And as she did, she picked up the enemy’s heartrate rise a considerable amount before returning back to the normal levels. Her expression resembled something like relief, yet she did not understand why. Perhaps it was time to inform someone that she had woken up. Before she had the time to do so, Sombra interjected once again.

Athena was being cooperative, and she would rather have someone to talk to, even if it was a disembodied voice on the ceiling. So she asked anything and everything she managed to think of. How did the two of them met? How did she and Athena met? What was the deal between Overwatch and Talon? What about before? She kept asking and asking, and Athena did her best in answering their questions.

She knew she was a Hacker now, but she didn’t remember how to hack, much to Athena’s pleasure. Strangely enough, when the AI stared rambling on technical babble, Sombra felt the words way too familiar. After a while, she was able to connect a few dots herself. It seemed she hadn’t forgot how to hack after all, at least not completely. But without her hardware, there was really nothing she could do. She stopped that thought right there, no need to give the omnipresent AI the wrong idea. She remembered her home in Dorado. She remembered Mexico, the warmth of the sun kissing her skin, and the smell of the ocean in the town. She also remembered Alejandra, and the bakery. The best churros she could ever find. She remembered her mother, who always did seem a bit wary. Either for her of from her. And the bread, it was delicious. After all, she always liked a good concha.

But then why did she remember that, and not Talon? Nor her time at Los Muertos. Not even when she started to hack. She remembered the war, and the smell of death. She remembered the foster care. She remembered running away. Yet she didn’t remember anything regarding her job. Did someone do that to her? Or was it just another coincidence? A sharp pain shook her head, and decided that this was not the time to think about that.

Her first meeting with Athena was rocky at best. As always, Sombra peeked her head where she shouldn’t, and ended up meeting with the AI on a transatlantic technological warfare way, way before she had been asked by Talon to do so. After a while, it became routine. Return to home, change into something fresh, bandage up, grab Señor Osito and get to work. And as soon as she did, three more things happened, she opened up D.va’s stream, she unencrypted the current work file, and she attempted to hack Athena. It became a personal project of hers, rather than actual work. Not that she remembered any of this, sadly.

But Athena did. She remembered just how annoying was to have to deviate her subroutines to someone who wasn’t even trying seriously. She believed that it was the equivalent of a mosquito buzzing around in the middle of the night. If that mosquito could give you and your loved ones malaria, that is. And now she was willingly answering her questions. Why? She wasn’t sure, and it would probably rise some concerns on Winston, but at least she was sure that Agent Song would be pleased by her actions. But as soon as she mentioned her, Sombra’s expression changed once again .

“Oye…” She kept silent for a second. “Do you know more about what happened?” She asked.

Athena’s interest piqued. This behavior was unseen on the hacker. The risen heart rate, the body temperature. She suspected that the Hacker was referring to the events prior to the mission. But had made no comment or shown interest in the subject until now. The computer took note of the unforeseen development, and answered nonetheless.

“I was aware about your relationship with Agent Song, yes.” She said.

Sombra stayed silent once again debating on what, or even if she should ask more about it. Sombra had the general idea regarding her meeting with Hana, but hearing about it felt way too coincidental, as if she had planned it before. Like how everyone was in the right place at the right time, only leaving the two of the alone. It seemed like a fated meeting. Until D.va started to shoot, that is.

She kept thinking, until a dim glow captured her attention. One of the computers in Angela’s computer desks had turned on. On it, a still image appeared. She could make the figure of two women underneath the shadow of a building. She immediately recognized one of them as herself, and the other one as the girl-Hana, she remembered.

“I have recorded several instances of your rendezvous. Since you are part of them, I believe Agent Song wouldn’t be opposed to allowing you to see them.” She finally said. Wordless, she stood up, and careful not to disconnect anything, made her way to the desk. When she arrived, the recording started by itself. The media showed the two embraced. She was unable to make out what they said, but it stood out when the hacker took a single, gloved finger, and gently touched the smaller one’s nose. The reaction that came for her was adorable. The younger woman playfully swatted away the other’s hand while red blended with the marks on her cheeks. The Hacker now imitated the gesture on the screen, while she inspected her hand. The move felt natural, and she somehow knew that she needed to say something, but she wasn’t quite sure what.

“We looked so happy…” She commented. The AI decided against commenting anything back, and instead opted for analyzing the raw emotions in the Hacker’s face. A feeling unfamiliar in the AI rushed after a while. While she did not understand why the woman had started to shed tears, she kept changing the media as soon as one ended. At first out of precaution. She still didn’t want here near any hardware. But afterwards, she suspected that perhaps she was experiencing “guilt” for treating her as she did. Or “empathy” at the situation they were both in. Yet she had no way of distinguishing them, as neither had been recorded in her database before. She would need to talk to Winston about this unforeseen development.

Both of them ended up staying up until sunrise, Sombra’s attention absorbed in the images, and Athena’s sensors in Sombra. She was able to recognize several different expressions from her senses. How surprised she looked to hear her own voice. How puzzled she was when she saw fight the Korean. Jumping at the sounds of gunshots. And the confusion as why was she screaming at a giant, pink robot. How her tears dried as she cracked a smile at her own playfulness, and cringed at her own terrible one liners. Her heart pick up and pummel, and her tears dry on her cheeks and flow once again. She opted to take a seat in the Doctor’s chair as she spotted her homeland in the darkness. And as she fell asleep, the last image she managed to catch was the one of Hana and her, on a small coffee shop, laughing with the starry sky in the background. No big explosions, no gunshots, just the two of them. Together.

#Overwatch #D.Va #dva #hana song #sombra #Olivia colomar #somva #som.va #sombra x d.va #sombra x dva #dva x sombra #d.va sombra #fanfiction #fanfic #Insomnia #im SO SORRY

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remotepod · 3 years

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Alaska Living

By Terrence

Welcome to Alaska. The 49th state of the USA. The largest state in the union. Alaska is 663,300 square miles. It is larger than the continental US’s largest states California and Texas. So large, it can fit 425 Rhode Island's inside of it (by the way, Rhode Island by contrast is the smallest state in the union so it was no real competition.) The “Last Frontier” as it is nicknamed and the most remote state of them all. It is the highest up latitude and longitude wise and the state even crosses with the Arctic circle. Which fills the state with coniferous forest, permafrost tundra and freezing cold arctic ice and ocean. The place is full of hardship and peril. Despite this, many people call this place home.

Most residents of this state crowd the southern regions. Living in cities like Anchorage, Ketchikan and the capital Juneau. However father north, the environment becomes much rougher and this is where many choose to live. Mainly in solitude or somewhere closer to town. However close or far you are from civilization, there is a lot more work that goes into living out here. It is definitely different from where you may live now (unless you the reader happen to live somewhere far up north in Russia, Norway or for you people on the bottom half of the world Argentina). But, many have taken the challenge and those who come to live remote Alaska have two choices. Live comfy or live to the extreme.

Now living extremely sounds more realistic, but as you will learn you can live peacefully with most of the benefits of living at home without having to go full survivalist. For today, we look at (in short paragraphs) how you would live in both of these types of living conditions and what you would expect or learn some new things about these two types of cabin living. You’ll get to examine the pros and cons for yourself as we go over them based on your own specific wants and needs. By the end, you may decide what works best for you and what doesn’t work best for you (or nothing at all).

So now, let’s look at these two options for Alaskan cabin living. We will find out if you prefer The Comfy Experience of cabin living or The Rugged Adventure of cabin living (or neither who knows). Only on the Remote Living Podcast show thingy.

The Comfy Experience

For some, living in Alaska presents a perfect opportunity for getting away from the usual living of being in a crowded suburban or urban area. Many would love to live remote, but don’t want to go all out and live completely remote. Which is why for some, living slightly remote, with all or some of the benefits of living a regular, normal life can be the answer for some. Welcome to the comfy experience of remote Alaskan living.

For cabin living, you do have the option to live somewhere within distance of a community. This gives you the opportunity to meet people once in a while and be able to reach civilization in some capacity. This involves being able to hop into an automobile and be able to drive on a paved road to the nearest house, cabin and/or small town. This way you can still be able to pick up food, tools, and whatever other miscellaneous objects you desire. Like a new coffee table. Or more practically, a place to go and get decorations, clothing, books, devices, bedware, kitchen appliances and more. A cabin this close civilization also offers electricity and water to your house. Which means being able to charge your phone and to have running water/plumbing in your home. For some, this even means having wi-fi and cable in your housing.

So with this level of living, you can still tell your friends that you're living up in the ol’ Last Frontier without having to give up any of the tiny things you love. You can even visit the nearby town and/or city with ease and find even more similar comforts there and be able to even find a job to help support yourself and then be able to come back to the remoteness of your cabin...in style.

The Rugged Adventure

Now this is the life of a more rugged, hardened individual. This type of living takes you to the true remote, untamed wilderness that some people may desire. None of that half assed semi remote living. This is the true remote living. No other cabins, no towns or cities for miles and miles. Just forest and/or tundra. You’d still have a cabin to live in, but now you have to put extra work into living here. Add in the fact that the temperatures during winter can drop to negative twenty degrees fahrenheit. To enjoy all the benefits of getting away from the urban hustle and bustle.

When living this type of life, there are no paved roads. Which means you can’t get to places by car. Here, you'd have to take a combination of different transportation vehicles to move around. Plane, boat, snow mobile, horse (if you have a horse or horses), dog sled (if you have a bunch of dogs at your property). Maybe even by foot if you’re prepared. As for living in a cabin, you wouldn’t have electricity, which means no more television, phones or appliances. You wouldn’t have running water either. Which requires different steps. Like collecting rainwater or using an outhouse. Your only source of heat is to have a fireplace and/or stove that heats the entire house. The food you would have to get yourself. This would be a combination of gardening, hunting and fishing. Any repair on the cabin or other items would have to be done by yourself. Hopefully you learn how to treat both major and minor injuries in case you hurt yourself. Otherwise, the nearest hospital is a long ways away. Also, no employment and no friends (possibly). Plus, the weather is harsh in this region so hopefully you come prepared.

There are many different things you have to be ready for and anything can happen at any moment. Gets harder if you have other people or animals around you. So living this extreme lifestyle is the ultimate test of how much you want to live this remotely. So do not take it lightly. Think about your options and your abilities as an individual first. For this is as remote as it gets. Up in Alaska.

Bonus Material

By the way, the state is also nicknamed “Land of the Midnight Sun”. This is because during the summer and due to the Earth’s orbit, the sun does not set behind the horizon line. So the sun never sets for a certain amount of time. This happens anywhere north of the Arctic Circle (or south of the Antarctic circle). So if you somehow plan to be that far north, be prepared for more of that warm summer sunshine.

#remote podcast #Alaska Living

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script-a-world · 7 years

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Mapmaking Part 1(b) - Civilization

This is part 1b of the mapmaking tutorials. If you missed steps 1-5, go HERE.

This is where we add in evidence of civilization to your world maps. Cities, towns, roads, ruins, anything at all.

STEP 6: CITIES AND TOWNS

Finally, actual civilization. Throw those suckers down wherever you want, BUT always keep the major land features in mind. Is it economically better for the capital city to be on the coast, or near the desert? If your country makes a lot of money from the ocean, there's gonna be a lot of coastal cities. If you're making a world map, don't bother with anything other than the most important locations, but if this is a country/region important to your setting, fill it out.

Consider: Your story. Are your characters traveling a lot through named cities? If you're making a map after you've already written things down, be careful not to contradict yourself. If a city is, say, a week's ride on horseback from the capital city, don't put it super close to the capital, or all the way across the country.

Also consider: Did larger cities change the landscape at all? If a city is near a forest, did they clear a large portion of it out? Are there certain parts of the land that are completely unsuitable for settling? What's the population distribution?

STEP 7 (OPTIONAL) : MAJOR ROADS

Time to link all those cities and towns together. Again, keep the land features in mind.

Consider: Both the capital and the most economically powerful city in the nation (they don't have to be the same) will have many more roads leading to/from them than a village. Cities/towns that are conveniently in the middle of many others will also get a lot of roads. Isolated villages might only be connected to their nearest neighbors and the nearest large city.

Roads merge and branch fairly often. Countries will have roads leading out of their border to major cities in neighboring countries. I would link all the major (or the oldest) cities/towns first, then connect the smaller settlements to the system (this better emulates how the roads would have actually formed over the years). Once more, be a little random, unless paved highways are involved that efficiently cut through the landscape.

Also consider: The landscape will decide where roads are laid. A road probably won't cut through the forest if it's easier to go around the edge. Don't put too many roads through a huge mountain range. Chances are there's only a few passes where a road can be put.

Note how the roads go around the thick forest, and there’s only one mountain pass. Larger settlements (and towns conveniently in-between others) have more traffic. Roads merge and cross to make shorter paths between settlements. The city of Onaris in the middle has TONS of roads because it’s a convenient central hub for traffic.

STEP 8: NAMING

Another fun part. Name all relevant cities, major towns, big land features, neighboring seas, etc. If the part of the world you're focusing on has a unique language or spelling conventions, show them off here. If you're making a world map, don't feel the need to name every little thing. Focus on the important areas. You can always add to your map later.

STEP 9: EXTRA STUFF

Things that aren't TOO vital, but will certainly give your map a sense of realism:

A paper texture, if you're using an art program. If you're looking for parchment but can't find any, a grunge texture might do if you recolor it brown/yellow.

Ink bleed (if you're using an art program). This can be accomplished with a very small "outer glow" layer effect colored the same as your ink, set to either "multiply" or "overlay" or whatever looks best to you.

A compass (people will assume the top is north, but still)

A map border

A map key, if needed

Meridians and parallels (depending on your projection, getting this clean will be HARD unless you have special tools for drawing curves, or maybe use vectors to get them just right) [Note by Werew: If you have meridians and parallels AND a compass/scale bar, there’s a really good chance the compass and scale bar are actually inaccurate because it’s impossible to represent the entirety of a round world on a flat surface and have everything be to scale. An alternative might be to mark the north pole if it’s visible. Another alternative is not to care too much, because it’s your map and nobody is going to sue you if it’s not 100% accurate]

A scale bar

Fancy corner designs

Different colors for different neighboring countries

Slightly curved title text to better adhere to the things they’re naming. In the final image below, I curved basically everything except for “Vinera Forest” and “Bradad Tundras.” Even the continent name has a very slight arc to it.

Different fonts to signify importance. Again, see final result below.

Sea monsters in the ocean, if that’s your gig.

If you REALLY want some advanced stuff to make your maps stand out, try for these things as well. To get them to look realistic and reasonable, reference reference reference! And remember to include map keys!:

A topographical overlay to indicate elevation

A climate overlay to indicate different biomes

A population density/distribution overlay (helpful if you have multiple races/species going on)

Temperature map overlay

Political map overlay with clear borders between countries. Color it all in if you want. Add capital cities.

Please note that this world map is a really old first iteration of mine and doesn’t have a proper map projection! Note the compass, border, corner art, and (frankly bad) meridians and parallels.

Also note how the mountain rangess in Thoan and Janting are actually part of one long chain.

And that’s it for the world and regional map tutorial! Coming up next is the tutorial for making maps of towns!

#maps #bina #pylons #planets

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bugiscredit · 4 years

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5 Best Things to Do This Weekend with Kids in Sentosa

Rasa Sentosa Resort by Shangri-La

Have a blast with your kids this weekend at Rasa Sentosa Resort. Featuring a tropical playground at the only beachfront resort in Singapore, it's just 15 minutes away from the city centre. It features 454 spacious suites and guest rooms with private balconies where you can revel on the views of South China Sea, landscaped gardens and pools. Your kids can learn new things and explore, participate in the games and activities at the kids club. They can also have a great time at Nestopia, which is a unique outdoor play space on Siloso beach, while making new friends.

Adults on the other hand can relax at Chi, The Spa, with their broad range of holistic treatments deeply rooted in Asian traditions. This is the perfect way for parents to unwind, then they can enjoy sunset sips at The Bubble Bar, or dinner at Silver Shell Cafe or Casserole. Casual dining is also made available at the Trapizza, an Italian eatery, which is minutes away from this fun-filled family resort.

Equarius Hotel

Along the fringe of Sentosa's tropical rainforest lies the Equarius Hotel. This haven is the perfect getaway for families and nature-lovers alike. It's just a stone's throw away from nature hikes and numerous island attractions. It also features the Universal Studios Singapore™ and S.E.A. Aquarium™. Your entire family is guaranteed to enjoy their breezy and spacious deluxe rooms and suites with balconies having picturesque views of either sea or forest. Then pamper yourself in the luxurious ESPA which is located just beside the hotel, for hours of relaxing rejuvenation. Nature lovers will also appreciate the hotel's green philosophy. Their large panels are utilized in ushering more natural light, thereby reducing electricity consumption. Ceiling fans are manufactured from recycled wood from trees that were removed when this hotel was built.

The Singapore Zoo

Spread across the 28 lush hectares on a peninsula in the Upper Seletar Reservoir is the Singapore Zoo. It's beautifully designed, having a rich wildlife roaming in large, natural habitat-like enclosures. The Great Rift Valley is home to baboons, ibexes, and mongooses, and the Fragile Forest biodome is where you can climb up the forest canopy with your kids to check out two-toed sloths or spot flying foxes and lemurs. The Frozen Tundra has wolverines, polar bears, and raccoons, while the Primate Kingdom features all sorts of monkeys-from the crested macaque to the colobus. Also, get a look at the orangutan zoo at 11am and 3:30pm feeding sessions. Step into Wild Africa and Cat Country to witness leopards, sea lions, cheetahs, zebras and giraffes, then the Forest Lodge where you can spot the rare white tiger. Save the best destination for last at the Rainforest Kidzworld. This is great for younger kids, where they can go on pony rides, and indulge in a wet play zone with waterslides. Tired from that wandering feet? A tram that loops through the park will give yourselves a break.

The Universal Studios

Now we're talking. For all those kids and kids at heart, here's the Singapore branch of the mega-popular Hollywood movie theme park. It's divided into seven 'worlds' and makes it a major star attraction. Younger kids can enjoy suitable attractions like the Dino-Sourin' in The Lost World, Puss In Boots' Giant Journey in Far Far Away, and the all singing and dancing Sesame Street Show in Hollywood. Thrill-seekers on the other hand can go line up for the Sci-Fi CIty ride on Battlestar Galactica, which is the world's tallest and most riveting rollercoaster. Guests are made to choose between riding the suspended CYLON, or the seated HUMAN while they spin, twist and roll. Travel back in time in Ancient Egypt with the Revenge of the Mummy rollercoaster, leading visitors to fiery encounters with the undead as it propels you through eerie darkness. For those wanting to beat the queues, you can purchase the Sentosa FUN Pass if you're also planning to visit the other Sentosa island attractions. You can get to the rollercoasters soon as the park opens.

S.E.A. Aquarium

For ocean lovers out there, come over to the world's largest aquarium, with over 100,000 sea creatures and 49 marine habitats. Enter through the shark tunnel and be mesmerized with the hammerheads, sandbar and silvertip sharks lurking above your head. Spot Nemo and the eels in the Bay of Bengal. Learn about the vast ecosystems of Lake Malawi, coastal mangroves or the kelp forests. The Ocean Journey on the other hand gives you one of the most explicit and captivating unearthly exhibits. It features monstrous spider crabs, eerily-lit jellyfish, and enormous deep sea octopus. The ultimate show-stopper is the vast, 36 meters long, 8.3 meters high Open Ocean tank. This will bring you up close and personal with sharks, stingrays, barracuda, and other humongous, open-water fish. The Daily feedings and Discovery Touch Pool are great experiences for your kids too. Need fast cash from Sentosa but worried you won’t find any reliable moneylender? Head down to Bugis Credit and find your best options. These instructions guarantee you won’t get lost!

From Sentosa to Bugis Credit:

Head south to Serapong Course Road

Turn right, then turn left.

Next, turn left towards Artillery Avenue

Turn right, then turn left again towards Artillery Avenue

Arrive at Eton House, Board Bus B - Eastbound at the Beach Station

Arrive at Merlion Plaza, walk to Imbiah Station

Board the Sentosa Express

Arrive at Vivocity Station and enter through Entrance C

Arrive at HarbourFront, take the North East Line through Punggol Station

Arrive at Outram Park station, take the East West Line.

Take Exit C, then head southwest towards Middle Road

From Middle Road, turn left on to North Bridge Road

Arrive at Bugis Cube, Bugis Credit is at #02-12

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biofunmy · 4 years

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Greeting the New Year in Earth’s Northernmost Settlement

On the flight from Oslo to Svalbard, the sun gave way to night as we crossed the Arctic Circle; for one magical moment, the plane’s wing bisected light and dark perfectly. This would be the last natural light I would see for a week. For half the year, Svalbard, the northernmost inhabited place in the world, is lit by the midnight sun. The other half of the year, the Norwegian archipelago is plunged into the purple darkness of polar night.

Few people have heard of Svalbard and even fewer have seen it. The isolated group of islands is an old mining settlement turned glacial adventuring outpost located 1,200 miles north of mainland Norway, one of the closest landmasses to the North Pole, along with Greenland and Nunavut. The approximately 2,200 inhabitants dotting the desolate tundra are itinerant, a mix of climate scientists, miners and globe-trotting explorers mostly from Russia, Scandinavia and Canada. There are more polar bears than people.

Historically, this archipelago was the isolated purview of turn-of-the-century airship explorers obsessed with finding the Northwest Passage; more recently Svalbard served as the fantastical setting for Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy. Today, it is poised to be the next extreme vacation destination for tourists obsessed with climate change, wilderness and chasing the Northern Lights.

Svalbard is an Arctic desert. Its permafrost makes it the ideal home for the Global Seed Vault, an underground repository for the world’s most vital crops (and likely Svalbard’s most famous tourist attraction, though no tourists are allowed inside). But this permafrost also means nothing can take root, giving the place an eerily lunar landscape, with no trees and few animals.

The extreme isolation and hardness of the landscape is what drew me here, too. I took the trip with my partner Noah. Both of our marriages had recently ended, and in our 40s, we were suddenly rootless, dislocated in a way neither of us had expected. It was as though we’d sat on the shoreline, watching a glacier crumble into the ocean. We’d found each other, but our relationship was still new and untested. Perhaps we’d been drawn to the Arctic to see if anything permanent in the world still existed.

And so, at the end of December, after spending a few days in Oslo exploring Grünerløkka’s record shops and the Viking Museum’s ships, we took a direct morning flight to Svalbard. I imagined stepping off the plane into a sea of phosphorescent green aurora, but when we arrived, the sky was cloudy. Noah had seen the Northern lights many times, mostly in Iceland, but this would be my first experience. I loved the idea of the sun setting off a solar flare 92 million miles away, and having it appear here in all its eerie ectoplasmic beauty, like some ghostly atomic postcard.

A set of stairs was rolled up to the plane’s exit door and along with everyone else we wrapped our bodies in our serious coats and hats and mittens before stepping out into the icy air. At the bottom of the slippery staircase, a woman in a reflective flightsuit directed us toward the airport with hand-held lantern flares. A silver foil tiara spelled out Happy New Year on top of her white-blond bun. It was 10 in the morning on New Year’s Eve and pitch black.

Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s main settlement, is essentially two roads in a giant T. This once untouchable frontier has evolved into a study in contrasts, a balance of scarcity and opulence, some of the world’s roughest terrain inexplicably mixed with luxury. For a long time, Svalbard was reserved for the tourist elite because of the difficulty and cost of travel, not to mention the expense of outfitting yourself with the right boots, parka, layers and more to withstand the cold. Visitors tend to be either young adventurers working their way across the world or high-end travelers checking off their bucket lists, and most of the lodging and restaurant options fall into either the budget or splurge category. There is little middle ground.

We booked a room at Funken Lodge, a modern hotel with clean lines and Scandinavian efficiency, where we were welcomed with drinks by the fireplace at the hotel bar (rooms are currently about $150 to $180 a night, breakfast included). We’d made New Year’s Eve dinner reservations at Huset, the highest-end of the handful of restaurants in town, and that evening took a taxi to the unassuming building tucked dramatically at the foot of a towering glacier, where the row of snowmobiles parked out front made it look more ski-lodge than fine Nordic dining. The building has, at various times served as the island’s post office, church, school and airport terminal, as well as a miner’s boardinghouse. Today it is also the understated home to one of the largest wine cellars in Scandinavia with 15,000 bottles and a Two Wine Glass distinction from Wine Spectator magazine.

Huset’s staid interior was in stark contrast to the decadence of the plates. Our five-course meal (1,200 Norwegian krone each, or about $131 per person) started with an appetizer of woody chanterelles that had been foraged locally. Glistening cuts of Isfjord cod and roe were nestled atop beds of lichen and ptarmigan feathers. The main course showcased local reindeer two ways (tartare and made into hearty sausage), accompanied by strands of salty kelp harvested from the island’s shoreline and microgreens provided by the island’s sole greenhouse, a pink geodesic dome visible from the main road. The structure’s neon blink was the only colored light on the island, like a pair of neon Wayfarers in a sea of mirrored Aviators.

The waiter told us that the restaurant turned into a local’s nightclub after dinner, so we stayed in our corner, sipping from our many half-glasses of wine as the demure dining room changed over to flashing lights and techno. A few minutes before midnight, Noah and I pulled our coats and boots on and half-stumbled, half-skated to the edge of the parking lot between the restaurant and the high wall of the glacier. Some of the kitchen staff lit off fireworks, holding the cardboard containers as the flares launched into the air, refracting off the towering wall of glittering ice until everything was bathed in flame. They were not Northern Lights, but these man-made sparkles of color had their own kind of otherworldly beauty.

We woke to the first day of the new year and nursed our hangovers, grateful for the dark. Months earlier, we’d booked a Northern Light Safari with Dog Sled (2,780 krone for two). In the safe glow of a computer screen at home, this had sounded whimsical and romantic. Now, it was mildly terrifying.

Our guide picked us up in a cube van from the hotel, and as we drove farther out of town the streetlamps disappeared, replaced by polar bear warning signs. From a distance, Green Dog Svalbard looked more like a maximum-security prison than a dog-sledding outfit, but the guide explained the chain-link fence and floodlights were needed to keep the dogs safe from polar bears. This was comforting, until I realized the point of our trip was to take the dogs from camp out onto the glacier.

Before sledding, we hung up our fancy parkas and shouldered into bulky jumpsuits that smelled like dog and hooked oversized sheepskin mitts on a string around our necks. This reminded me sweetly of a child’s mittens, until the guide warned us that unguarded our hands would get frostbitten in less than five minutes.

From the hut we followed the guide into the open-air kennel. Names were painted onto each of the dozens of doghouses, and dogs whimpered and leapt with excitement, pulling on their chains staked to the frozen ground. Each sledge held two people and the dogs were organized into teams of six. The guide shouted some general directions over the deafening howling; I tried to listen while wrestling our dogs into formation, sweating profusely under my layers, goggles completely fogged. “Here is your anchor!” He held up a heavy ball of spiked metal attached to the sled. “Make sure you secure your anchor, or it will flop around dangerously and claw you in the leg!”

Noah and I got our bearings on the sledge, essentially a roughhewn Flexible Flyer with a high back, which I sat against and he stood behind. With no fanfare, the guide’s whistle pierced the night, and our six huskies were running, the lights and safety and noise of the kennel disappearing behind us.

Even with a hood, balaclava and goggles, the wind froze my breath in my chest. We were racing through the Bolterdalen Valley, but we could have been on the moon, and I felt like an astronaut floating in space. Our path was lit only by my headlamp, though the dogs clearly knew where to go, and although Noah held reins in his hands, we were just passengers. A few minutes in, we were so completely alone on the ridge of the glacier, so completely in the middle of nowhere, that I began to feel panicky. I concentrated on the dogs’ rhythmic breathing echoing into the icy silence and tried to calm down.

By the time we returned to camp more than an hour later, I could not feel my jaw or feet. Noah and I worked at unhooking our dogs and returning them to their doghouses, and suddenly I was a sweaty mess again, jaw and feet tingling back to life.

In the van on the way back to the hotel, Noah cracked a handwarmer to life and slipped it between our palms. “Did you see the Northern lights?” he asked, flushed. Apparently they’d appeared in the middle of the trip, but I’d been so focused on the dogs, and keeping my balance on the sledge, I’d completely missed them.

Going inside the glacier

The next few days blended into one long night. We ate elaborate meals of Arctic char and gravlax at our hotel restaurant and handmade chocolates from Fruene, the world’s northernmost chocolate shop. We slept late and took long walks through town, wary of bears. Everywhere we went, our snow pants made a shush-shush sound.

One night, we layered up for an evening glacier hike. Our guide Martin drove us to a cluster of miner’s cabins at the edge of town where he handed out headlamps and springy-teethed crampons for the bottoms of our boots.

Martin was tall and trim and he secured his rifle to his back with an embroidered strap of red and green and gold. He cautioned us to stay together — our group of six could only go as fast as the slowest hiker to stay safe from polar bears since he was the only one with a gun. His husky, Tequila, joined us on the two-hours of precarious ice trekking, until we arrived at an unassuming hole the size of a sewer grate on the top of the glacier. We took turns sliding down a tunnel into the dark.

The ice came alive under our headlamps, and the glossy gray ribcages of stalagmites and stalactites made me feel like Jonah inside his whale. The swirls of sediment made wavy marbled ribbons in the wall, and the clicking of our crampons echoed through the tunnels. It felt like walking on teeth and bone and glass.

Summer snowmelt created these caverns. We’d been hiking above a network of underground tunnels. Martin passed around cookies and cups of syrupy blackcurrant juice, leaving purple stains on a makeshift ice bar, and after an hour of wandering inside the tunnels, we crawled back out to Tequila and into a snowstorm. We trekked downhill in an ebullient line, giddy despite the icy crevices and drop-offs that lurked beyond the pale light of our headlamps under the cloudy night sky. There were no Northern Lights, but as we hiked back, a small triangle of light appeared between the glaciers. Town.

I spied the strange pink glow of the geodesic dome, the island’s unlikely greenhouse. As my crampons gripped the ice, I thought about the beds of tender green leaves that I imagined populated it. Why try to grow something in an Arctic desert, a place that by nature is uninhabitable to anything with roots? No one can be born in Svalbard — pregnant women are required to leave the island weeks before their due date — and you cannot be buried there because of the permafrost. And yet, this neon dome pulsed, a pink heart on an otherwise blank slate, offering the promise of new growth where none was expected, roots where otherwise there were none.

Hot dogs and the aurora

Noah’s birthday arrived on the final day of our trip, and I packed our hotel towels and slippers into a bag and told him I’d arranged for a surprise. I’d reserved space on an excursion called “Sauna Meal & Aurora Borealis,” and soon, after driving in a cube van to an isolated campsite on the tundra, we were helping our guide Misha stretch a canvas cover across the crisscrossed spines of a tent frame over a portable sauna. Misha made hot dogs over an open fire in a steel caldron on the ice while we waited for the sauna to heat up. This was the least glamorous meal we ate in Svalbard, and yet it managed to still feel extraordinary as we sat together around the fire, drinking tea and eating hot dogs in the Arctic.

After the barbecue, we stripped off layer after thermal layer, scuttling the 20-foot distance between tents in just a towel and slippers. Once the sauna tent’s flap was securely zipped, we sat in lawn chairs on the ice in the small dark space, listening to the hiss of the water on the rocks. We sweated, luxuriating in the heat, pawing snowballs from the floor and running them against our bare skin. This was the strangest but perhaps most fitting way for our time in the Arctic to end, I thought, huddled together with full bellies on the tundra, Misha patrolling the perimeter for polar bears.

After some time, I wiped the fog from the small slice of clear plastic in the side of the tent and realized the stars were ablaze in the sky, and as I scanned the edge of the glacier I saw something forming: like a cloud, but more ghostly. I grabbed Noah’s arm and we ran outside.

We stood, staring, in slippers and towels on the tundra, as the milky wash of the aurora sparkled across the sky. The lights weren’t green; they weren’t any color, really, but I’d never seen anything like it. My sweat felt like all the stars in the sky were wrapped around my body in a blanket, little spears of heat and ice, and when I turned to Noah his skin was bathed in silver, as if his body was part of the aurora itself.

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