Even as large as the Odessen was, it was hard to find privacy. Jorgan was used to the constant press of bodies and movement after years in the military. Still, there were moments when he felt the invasion more keenly. Jorgan hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on Fynta’s conversation, but Keshal’s voice snagged his attention when he stepped into their apartment.
“I hear that you’ve been questioning the Resol’nare.” The woman hefted her daughter, who’d reached the age of nonstop wiggling. She sighed and shifted Jodi to the other hip. “Care to hash it out?”
Jorgan pressed himself to the wall and ignored the guilt that gnawed at his gut. “What makes you think that?” Fynta’s tone sounded guarded. Then she signed. “Verin’s got a big mouth.”
“Only when it comes to those he loves.” Keshal blew air through her lips, and baby Jobi giggled.
“I’m not questioning the Resol’nare,” Fynta admitted after a moment of silence. “Just my place in it.”
“Explain what—shab, let go.” Jorgan heard a scuffle and fought the urge to look around the corner. He assumed it involved one of Keshal’s many braids. “You’ve got Cinlat’s armor. You speak the language and put clan above all else, and—”
Fynta growled, and Jorgan heard the heavy clatter of her metal foot as she paced. “And no colors for that armor. A child that I can’t raise in our culture because her father is Cathar, a Mand’alor that I’ll never answer the call of…” She trailed off, footstep falling quiet. “I’m dar’manda now.”
Keshal hissed. “Hold your tongue, girl.” Jodi’s cooing paused while the girl puzzled out her mother’s shift in temperament. “You take these things too literally. Colors will come. The Mand’alor is your alley, who you will aid if she calls. And as for Aric, well, he married a Mandalorian. That’s on him.”
Fynta didn’t answer, but Aric heard the mattress squeak as she settled on it. Keshal’s words echoed through his mind. He had chosen Fynta, knowing how integral her culture was to her. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to let her instill some of the better aspects of Mandalorian culture in their daughter.”
“When my husband died,” Keshal continued, her voice softer than before. “I felt lost. Do you remember that feeling? When you learned that you were married?”
Fynta must have nodded because Keshal only paused briefly. “That feeling of spiraling out of control. Of the universe plotting a course that you can barely hang onto. I felt that. I had a young son, my clan had scattered, and there was no way out.”
“What did you do?” Fynta asked. Jodi squealed, and Keshal swore again. Fynta chuckled. “Assuming there’s a moral to this story.”
“I shaved my head,” Keshal growled. “Something I’m considering doing again before this child rips my hair out by the root.”
There was a scuffle, then Keshal sighed. “It was a small change, but something I could control. I felt empowered, and that stupid haircut breathed enough life into my sorry shebs that we survived.”
“Not sure Aric would approve of me shaving my head, but I understand.” Fynta chuckled again. “Thanks.”
“Now, about your brother.” Keshal launched into a tirade about how long Verin had been gone and the trouble he could get into. Aric excused himself, giving Fynta the privacy that he should have from the beginning.
Two days later, Aric checked his pack for the second time. Fynta had run late in meetings and had commed to say that she would meet him at their campsite. It had been his idea, a way to get Fynta alone so that they could reconnect after a hectic few weeks. The weather was forecast to be warm but comfortable. Jorgan had planned a mountain climb and maybe a late-night swim in the spring. That was hours ago.
Fynta arrived well after sunset, making enough noise to announce her presence. Jorgan poked the fire to reignite the flames. “Thought you’d forgotten.”
“Never.” Fynta's tone perked Jorgan’s ears, and he turned with dread to see what fresh hell their meetings had heaped onto their little resistance. His response dried up when Fynta stepped into the light.
Jorgan didn’t remember standing to cross the campsite. Fynta kept her eyes low in an uncharacteristic scowl. Aric reached for a dark strand of hair that had worked its way free of its binding, then paused. “This is…different.”
“I needed a change.” Fynta tugged at a lock of hair, then squared her shoulders and looked Jorgan in the eye. “I needed to take control of something.”
The defiance in Fynta’s eyes barely hid the fear behind them. Jorgan remembered her conversation with Keshal, how one, small detail could mean the difference between confidence, and the breakdown that Fynta had been creeping towards for weeks. At least she hadn’t shaved it.
Taking Fynta’s hand, Aric pulled her into the firelight where he could see her better. Fynta didn’t fight or speak as he tugged the tie free so that he could run his fingers through the black strands. He’d only known her as the feisty blonde, with hair caught between blonde and brown with no direction as to where it would end up. A lot like the woman who wore it. The black contrasted her skin, bringing out the brown hues more, and making her eyes blaze brighter.
Jorgan smiled and tucked the strand behind Fynta’s ear. “It suits you.”
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shout out to @dingoat for giving me the idea!
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here's your fucking feedback @staff
list of problems the removal of icons causes:
i cant see my friends
ruins the sense of community
can't tell at a glance who's online right now and what they're interested in
literally cannot tell without scrolling back up who put a post on my dash if it has a single addition attached to it. or like. 2 paragraphs in the op.
i cant click my own icon at the top of the dash to quickly view my own blog
can't tell who someone used to be if they change their username
squashes the margins between the menu and posts, making the whole dash feel more cramped
ruins the quick visual cue of how long each post is and where it ends when you're trying to scroll past ones youve seen before
people put a lot of creativity and individuality into icons, and now i never see them
makes people who primarily reblog instead of make their own posts all but completely disappear
list of problems solved by removing icons:
?????
who the fuck was asking for this
ive never in my life seen a website or app that has profile pics forcibly HIDE them, so i guess you did it you made the dash unique again in the worst way
here's some more feedback: maybe when you run an a/b test you should, idk, actually have a feedback form people can fill out about it somewhere
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Golf Courses ARE Being Converted
The Solarpunk "fantasy" that so many of us tout as a dream vision, converting golf courses into ecological wonderlands, is being implemented across the USA according to this NYT article!
The article covers courses in Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, and New York that are being bought and turned into habitat and hiking trails.
The article goes more into detail about how sand traps are being turned into sand boxes for kids, endangered local species are being planted, rocks for owl habitat are being installed, and that as these courses become wilder, they are creating more areas for biodiversity to thrive.
Most of the courses in transition are being bought by Local Land Trusts. Apparently the supply of golf courses in the USA is way over the demand, and many have been shut down since the early 2000s. While many are bought up and paved over, land Trusts have been able to buy several and turn them into what the communities want: public areas for people and wildlife. It does make a point to say that not every hold course location lends itself well to habitat for animals (but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make great housing!)
So lets be excited by the fact that people we don't even know about are working on the solutions we love to see! Turning a private space that needs thousands of gallons of water and fertilizer into an ecologically oriented public space is the future I want to see! I can say when I used to work in water conservation, we were getting a lot of clients that were golf courses that were interested in cutting their resource input, and they ended up planting a lot of natives! So even the golf courses that still operate could be making an effort.
So what I'd encourage you to do is see if there's any land or community trusts in your area, and see if you can get involved! Maybe even look into how to start one in your community! Through land trusts it's not always golf course conversions, but community gardens, solar fields, disaster adaptation, or low cost housing! (Here's a link to the first locator I found, but that doesn't mean if something isn't on here it doesn't exist in your area, do some digging!)
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