Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

37 followers 55 following 120 posts

she/it 🏳️‍⚧️ | lynx creature ΘΔ | 19
artist obsessed with the arcane
mostly sfw but 18+

Posts Replies Media Videos

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

happy moon :3

A photo of the full moon peeking through some branches

October 7, 2025 at 5:16 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

Part 5

Day 5:
I feel a bit better this morning. Extremely itchy, but I’ve got my anxiety in order.

It seems news has spread around the station about the infection. Luckily, Jackson figured out that the… whatever it is… can only spread through blood, so people aren’t avoiding me like, well, the plague. I’ll have to thank him for that later, I was worried Finley and I were going to need quarantine. Pretty sure he likes whiskey, and I think I saw some in the storage room.

There’s so much dust in here I almost wonder if that’s all it is. I don’t want to add ‘asbestos’ to the list of things wrong with this place. Oh! There’s that bottle I saw last time! The label’s too weathered but it's de

That scared the hell out of me, a metal box just fell off one of the shelves. It looks like a kind of filing cabinet, and it spilled a bunch of papers everywhere. I know I probably shouldn’t, but it couldn’t hurt to grab them… there’s something weird about this station and these might be my key to figuring it out. Well, I’ll read those in my bed later, for now I’ve got a gift to give.

Jackson seemed pretty surprised I had the bottle. I could tell he was keen to take it, but he ended up deciding Finley and I should have it. Hopefully the gesture still makes up for everything, but I can’t complain. I’m sure Finley won’t either.

The tone in the cafeteria was… off. Even if this disease can’t spread easily, everyone is still worried, and there’s no way for us to know what it will do. Jackson’s attempting to analyse it, but there’s only so much he can do with the tech at this station. Richter also tried to call for help with the radio, but there must have been too much interference – he couldn’t get through.

I’ll just spend some time in my room. It was getting too loud with everyone crammed in there taking shelter from the snowstorm.
It felt like my legs were getting too itchy but… now I can see there’s something on them. It looks almost like a patch of… FUR???

October 3, 2025 at 6:25 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

Part 4

Day 4:
The snowstorm has really picked up now. I couldn’t see further than a few metres walking to the bedrooms. My pants aren’t thick enough for this weather, it’s making my legs too cold and they’re starting to ache. I’ll take a look in the storage room.

This place seems like it’s been abandoned since the 70s. Actually, it probably was. Aside from the solitary container of supplies we brought, there’s all kinds of things in here. Bits of radio equipment, a teletype, some files, a… okay that’s a gun. I’m sure there’s a reason for that being here. There are some old winter clothes here though! They’re a bit rougher than they look but I’ll take it if it means my legs don’t freeze.

I decided to check up on Finley, she seemed equally stressed. We both stumbled through trying to apologise to each other, and I was surprised to hear she blamed herself for yesterday. “Augh, it’s not your fault, I should have known you were struggling with that saw, it’s my bloody job to keep an eye on you”, well it’s my job to not be incompetent. It was nice hearing she wasn’t mad though. After airing out my grievances as well, it became pretty clear they were unfounded. Neither of us can predict the future. Accidents happen. Hey, Jackson’s here. Oh… that’s a worrying expression.

I don’t want to believe this, but Jackson found some… unknown pathogen in a sample from the cat. He also found traces of it in blood samples he took. From me and Finley. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

Looking at my notes, it probably seems like I’m composed, or at least getting by. But I just don’t know what to do. It feels like my brain pilot is banging on the door, begging to be let out of my head. Each pump of my heart stands out as its own stinging rhythm. If it weren’t for the cold I would still be shaking. The readings must have been wrong, what do you mean it doesn’t look ‘exactly like a virus or a bacteria’ what the fuck is it then?

char limit again sorry

October 3, 2025 at 6:22 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

Part 3

Day 3:
Well, now that I’ve got some time to myself, I did some analysis on those cloth samples, and the carbon dating machine we’ve got places them at 26100 years old (*previous evidence went back to 11700 years*). As the only one here with an ecology degree, it’s fallen on me to explain how the hell this got here, and while I’m not entirely sure, I think I have enough evidence to guess. It seems like humans attempted to hunt this saber tooth. Likely too small a party and in over their heads, they failed to do any damage; feline bites carving out those scraps of fabric as the cat gained an advantage. It then bolted away as far as possible when given the chance, the scraps clinging to its back as the blood acted like glue at such low temperatures. Finally, it ended up here, far north beyond its home, eventually frozen in that wall by a sudden shift in the ice. (*sketches of each step*)

Hopefully having that out of my hair helps. Stress and sweat make for a lot of itchiness that I could really do without. It doesn’t seem like I’m alone though, everyone seems to have had a rough sleep after yesterday. The tone in the air shifted overnight from a refreshing chill to a bitter cold, all too soon for the snowstorm coming tonight. I just hope it passes quickly.

At least Jackson made some progress researching that mysterious feline. Although, I never doubted him. Jack and Finley are probably the most experienced biologists on this station.

Also, Finley figured out a way for us to disinfect that equipment we were using. She realised that the boiler for the cabin’s heating system could work as a kind of makeshift autoclave. With Richter’s help, she redirected the boiler steam to a box with all the supplies in it once Jackson was done for the day. After yesterday it was nice to hear some things working out. I was eating up everything Finley was saying about as much as my lunch.

October 3, 2025 at 6:20 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

Part 2, cw for this page specifically for description of gore

Day 2:
We headed back out, as a group, intending to show it to the others. Once we got closer though, it was clear that cracks had begun sprawling across the ice wall, likely due to some combination of global warming and the measurements we took yesterday. That knot in my stomach continued to curl. Apparently, the wall only had a few days before collapsing. So, our only option was to extract the saber tooth and attempt to study it with whatever we have back at base.

It wasn’t ideal. It took far too long for how stressful it was, but we finally carved out the animal without causing the frail wall to crumble. As we walked back, my nerves finally settling, I noticed scraps of… something cloth-like draped over the cat’s back. (*Sketch of the fabric*)

Figuring out what that means will have to wait though. Most of the station is currently trying to find out whatever they can about the saber tooth, and I need to scrounge together supplies for them to do so. It doesn’t look great. We were told there would be plenty, but there’s barely any medical supplies or disinfectants here, just enough for some basic first aid. I managed to find some scalpels though. There’s an ancient looking bone saw too, as well as the sample vials we brought. This should be enough.

Well that certainly didn’t go well. I was trying to make an incision, but that bone saw was just so awkward to work with, and I was nervous and just… eugghhh. My hands slipped and I cut myself on a bone fragment that was sticking out. I’m fine, it wasn’t that bad of a cut, I’m just more worried about what could have gotten in. Why is Finley walking out of the lab too?

She told me after my little incident she forgot to put her mask back on with everything going on. That would probably be fine, but cutting into the tiger’s stomach… well apparently sometimes when things are preserved, they tend to get… pressurised.

wow I didn't realise alt text had a char limit

October 3, 2025 at 6:18 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

Research Station Theta - Part 1

Here's my slow burn therian tf wish fulfillment thing I've been working on :3

This is just the first 5 pages, the rest will probably take a while

Day 1:
We’re here! It’s a bit dated but these little houses will be our base of operations for now (*house sketches off to the side*). Doctor Finley asked me to take notes as we set up the equipment. Normally it would be her job, but she’s a bit preoccupied making sure these buildings keep us from freezing overnight. Speaking of which, there’s a snowstorm forecast, and a pretty rough one at that. They’re not too uncommon this far north in Canada, I mean, we *are* in the arctic circle, but it means we’ll be stuck here for a while. We made sure to bring plenty of food and water though, and there’s a radio should it be worse than we expected.

Well, Richter finished setting up some of the data probes, so I’ve got a chance for some fresh air.

DATA REPORT 2014/02/26 - Pressure: 1018 mbar, Temperature: -24°C, Ice pH: 7.8

There’s something in the ice out here. As the pH probe extended into the ice and Richter was reading it out, I saw it. It looks like a saber tooth!!! The ice is still hazy so it’s hard to make out, but looking closer, that snout and those massive fangs are far too distinct to be anything else. This is incredible!! A fully preserved snow cat straight from the Pleistocene just… sitting in an ice wall!!! The others need to see this, they are not going to believe it!

All of us talked about it for a while, trying to plan out the best way of recording and taking measurements without disturbing it. They kept babbling on, going back and forth but I just couldn’t focus on their words. I couldn’t stop thinking about that frozen visage. It was mostly excitement for a while, but that face kept coming back to me, my stomach turning a bit more each time. Its eyes were open. Gazing back at me. Why do I still feel like I’m being watched? (*sketch of the frozen saber tooth’s face – eyes open glaring out of the page*)

October 3, 2025 at 6:16 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

theriohazard symbol I made... for no reason in particular... :3

September 5, 2025 at 4:49 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

this is what I actually look like btw

September 3, 2025 at 12:23 AM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

really nice moon last night :3 hope other critters enjoyed it as well

August 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

this is no place for an animal

August 8, 2025 at 6:58 AM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

final artfight attack for @quorraroo.bsky.social of its fursona because it has such a cool design

Quorra holding up a blue d20 (based on a resin one I actually have irl :3), gazing at it as it catches the light.

August 2, 2025 at 5:32 AM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

it was as if you were amongst the stars, the ground fading from your focus...

artfight attack for jade over on adrrrrr.carrd.co

Emory, a black cat with purple hair gazes up to a starry sky that reflects back in their eyes (which are also purple but a lighter shade). The night sky almost seems to overrun the ground showing that the nebula above them is the centre of their focus.

July 24, 2025 at 3:12 AM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

finished my artfight attack for Aether over on artfight.net/~Totocchio

an awesome vampire with a cute kitty :3

Sycamore (vampire) in her cottage petting her cat Choc Chip by some warm lantern light while the full moon outside shines brightly.

July 10, 2025 at 9:46 AM

MetroMagic

@metromagic.bsky.social

Solar Flair

couldn't resist drawing this awesome bird dragon for stardestiny24 for artfight :3

character is L'Cyra over at artfight.net/~Stardestiny24