#and interesting plants in a community garden

[foxsoulcourt]

sliding into winter, part 2

#winter in the northern hemisphere #getting close to winter solstice! #lovely day to see some sunshine #and interesting plants in a community garden #fever few / borage #delicious arugula #yes of course i tasted it #swiss chard #raspberries #black currants (i think) #harrumph why didn’t my winter garden do this well last year? #no winter garden this year #because Operation Deferred Maintenance is underway #urban beauty #foxy takes pics #personal

[thrivingisthegoal]

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!)

#solarpunk #sustainability #climate change #gardening #activism #hope #climate justice #news #new york times #golf courses #habitat #conservation

[bumblebeeappletree]

Every once in a while I’ll see some posts about everyone should become vegan in order to help the environment. And that… sounds kinda rude. I’m sure they don’t mean to come off that way but like, humans are omnivores. Yes there are people who won’t have any animal products be it meat or otherwise either due to personal beliefs or because their body physically cannot handle it, and that’s okay! You don’t have to change your diet to include those products if you don’t want to or you physically can’t.

But there’s indigenous communities that hunt and farm animals sustainably and have been doing so for generations. And these animals are a primary source of food for them. Look to the bison of North America. The settlers nearly caused an extinction as a part of a genocide. Because once the Bison were gone it caused an even sharper decline of the indigenous population. Now thankfully Bison did not go extinct and are actively being shared with other groups across America.

Now if we look outside of indigenous communities we have people who are doing sustainable farming as well as hunting. We have hunting seasons for a reason, mostly because we killed a lot of the predators. As any hunter and they will tell you how bad the deer population can get. (Also America has this whole thing about bird feathers and bird hunting, like it was bad until they laid down some laws. People went absolutely nuts on having feathers be a part of fashion like holy cow.)

We’re slowly getting better with having gardens and vertical farms within cities, and there’s some laws on being able to have a chicken or two at your house or what-have-you in the city for some eggs. (Or maybe some quails since they’re smaller than chickens it’s something that you’d might have to check in your area.) Maybe you would be able to raise some honey bees or rent them out because each honey tastes different from different plants. But ultimately when it comes to meat or cheese? Go to your local farmers. Go to farmers markets, meet with the people there, become friends, go actively check out their farm. See how the animal lives are and if the farmer is willing, talk to them about sustainable agriculture. See what they can change if they’re willing. Support indigenous communities and buy their food and products, especially if you’re close enough that the food won’t spoil on its way to you. (Like imagine living in Texas and you want whale meat from Alaska and you buy it from an indigenous community. I would imagine that would be pretty hard to get.)

Either way everything dies in the end. Do we shame scavengers for eating corpses they found before it could rot and spread disease? Do we shame the animals that hunt other animals to survive? Yes factory farming should no longer exist. So let’s give the animals the best life we can give them. If there’s babies born that the farmer doesn’t want, give them away to someone who wants them as a pet. Or someone who wants to raise them for something else. Not everyone can raise animals for their meat. I know I can’t I would get to emotionally attached. I’d only be able to raise them for their eggs and milk.

Yeah this was pretty much thrown together, and I just wanted to say my thoughts and throw them into the void. If you have some examples of sustainable farming/agriculture, please share them because while I got some stuff I posted from YouTube, I’m still interested to see what stuff I might’ve missed!

#solarpunk #farming #hunting #agriculture #sustainability #sustainable farming #sustainable agriculture #like Rewilding farm land is pretty interesting and trying to replicate an ecosystem with farm animals but also allowing wild animals #to make homes in the rewild farm land is pretty cool #and I have an absolute love for food/garden forests #and hydroponics have shown to be really great for communities in the winter time and they want to have fresh produce #all sorts of cool stuff

[transmutationisms]

in addition to being prone to an obvious naturalistic fallacy, the oft-repeated claim that various supplements / herbs / botanicals are being somehow suppressed by pharmaceutical interests seeking to protect their own profits ('they would rather sell you a pill') belies a clear misunderstanding of the relationship between 'industrial' pharmacology and plant matter. bioprospecting, the search for plants and molecular components of plants that can be developed into commercial products, has been one of the economic motivations and rationalisations for european colonialism and imperialism since the so-called 'age of exploration'. state-funded bioprospectors specifically sought 'exotic' plants that could be imported to europe and sold as food or materia medica—often both, as in the cases of coffee or chocolate—or, even better, cultivated in 'economic' botanical gardens attached to universities, medical schools, or royal palaces and scientific institutions.

this fundamental attitude toward the knowledge systems and medical practices of colonised people—the position, characterising eg much 'ethnobotany', that such knowledge is a resource for imperialist powers and pharmaceutical manufacturers to mine and profit from—is not some kind of bygone historical relic. for example, since the 1880s companies including pfizer, bristol-myers squibb, and unilever have sought to create pharmaceuticals from african medicinal plants, such as strophanthus, cryptolepis, and grains of paradise. in india, state-created databases of valuable 'traditional' medicines have appeared partly in response to a revival of bioprospecting since the 1980s, in an increasingly bureaucratised form characterised by profit-sharing agreements between scientists and local communities that has nonetheless been referred to as "biocapitalism". a 1990 paper published in the proceedings of the novartis foundation symposium (then the ciba foundation symposium) spelled out this form of epistemic colonialism quite bluntly:

Ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, folk medicine and traditional medicine can provide information that is useful as a 'pre-screen' to select plants for experimental pharmacological studies.

there is no inherent oppositional relationship between pharmaceutical industry and 'natural' or plant-based cures. there are of course plenty of examples of bioprospecting that failed to translate into consumer markets: ginseng, introduced to europe in the 17th century through the mercantile system and the east india company, found only limited success in european pharmacology. and there are cases in which knowledge with potential market value has actually been suppressed for other reasons: the peacock flower, used as an abortifacient in the west indies, was 'discovered' by colonial bioprospectors in the 18th century; the plant itself moved easily to europe, but knowledge of its use in reproductive medicine became the subject of a "culturally cultivated ignorance," resulting from a combination of funding priorities, national policies, colonial trade patterns, gender politics, and the functioning of scientific institutions. this form of knowledge suppression was never the result of a conflict wherein bioprospectors or pharmacists viewed the peacock flower as a threat to their own profits; on the contrary, they essentially sacrificed potential financial benefits as a result of the political and social factors that made abortifacient knowledge 'unknowable' in certain state and commercial contexts.

exploitation of plant matter in pharmacology is not a frictionless or infallible process. but the sort of conspiratorial thinking that attempts to position plant therapeutics and 'big pharma' as oppositional or competitive forces is an ahistorical and opportunistic example of appealing to nominally anti-capitalist rhetoric without any deeper understanding of the actual mechanisms of capitalism and colonialism at play. this is of course true whether or not the person making such claims has any personal financial stake in them, though it is of course also true that, often, they do hold such stakes.

#hps

[devnmon]

The Staring Contest // D.D.

Summary: Daryl tries to convince you to rest in bed with him, but when you refuse, he finds another way to try and convince you.

Warnings: suggestive content, 18+ | wc: 2.5k

Daryl was bent over his bike in the garage of your shared home, tightening a bolt on his bike for what seemed like the 10th time of the day. He hadn’t realized time passed as swiftly as it had, noticing the light from outside had dwindled down to darkness.

There were two things Daryl looked forward to when the day came to an end: relaxing for the night, and falling asleep next to you.

His fatigue from working throughout the hours only sparked one thought: where the hell were you?

All desire to finish tinkering on his bike washed from his muscles. Finding you in the home you two shared was the only thing he could think about now.

His tools clinked together as he shoved them away in a random drawer of the workbench he’d been using, before turning to leave the garage.

It was nighttime, which meant you wouldn’t have watch shifts or be caught up doing anything else around the community for the rest of the night. Daryl wondered what kept you away from him for so long, recalling the very moments you’d search for him endlessly on days you were apart for even more than an hour. He knew in his heart, no matter how long each of you spent separated, that you never stopped thought about him throughout the day. His earth-like scent, and the way your skin littered with goosebumps every time he was in the room was so familiar and safe.

I keep you in the front of my mind, always, you've told him before.

Daryl sauntered into the kitchen, immediately spotting you at the table, nose stuffed in a textbook. His steps were silent as always, which was normal for Daryl. On a day to day basis, he was able to enter a room silently and unnoticed, unless he made it known.

But somehow, you always knew when he was around.

“Hi, Dare,” you spoke, without looking back at him.

"Oh, hey, sunshine. What's gotcha down here this late?"

“Just trying to memorize what we need for the garden, so I can help Maggie tomorrow. Wanna know these by heart so I don't have to keep looking back in here. Ugh... this small text is giving me a headache already…”

You didn't have to turn around to know Daryl was right behind you. His voice drifted, and the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end, sensing him step closer to you.

You gasped lightly at Daryl’s presence surrounding you, his warm breath brushing the back of your neck.

“My girl,” he whispered in your ear, “Smartest in the whole world. D'ya know that's so sexy t'me?”

A chill ran up your spine from his gravel tone of voice. It was intoxicating, almost enough to pull your thoughts away from the very interesting plant content.

“Daryl, you’re distracting me.” you chuckled, still staring down at the textbook in front of you.

“Mm.. why don’tcha drop that book an’ come t’bed with me.. It's late, babe.”

“Cause if I don’t know this information, our crops won’t do as well and-”

Your breath hitched as his hands had traveled up your back, massaging your shoulders, thumbs pressing into your stiff muscles.

“Yer tense..” he picked up the soft sigh you let out, and continued, “Like that?”

You sighed, “Yeah… takes the stress out of memorizing all these facts just a little bit.”

Daryl could feel the heat rushing over your skin in waves, realizing so obviously that he was the cause of it.

“I could help ya take out more’a that tension. Happen t’know a few ways, babe..” he pressed a kiss behind your ear, beard hairs tickling your skin.

“N-No.. no, I can’t. I’ve gotta be at Maggie’s early to help her and.." his hands continued, "Oh god that feels good, keep going..”

In your train of thought, you’d forgotten how firm Daryl’s hands were; how they could always bring you pleasure, no matter how he did it. The paired silence between you two continued for a few minutes with his hands and fingers firmly pressing into your back, until his southern drawl broke the silence, focus breaking once he realized your attention wasn’t pivoting from the book.

“Can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but I’m gettin’ jealous of yer damn book right 'bout now.”

Finally looking up from the pages beneath your eyes, you chuckled. The obvious boyish smirk on your boyfriend’s face was evident as you turned your head.

“You’re telling me you're getting jealous over some plants? I hate to break it to you, but I’m not sure anything in this world gets to take your place.” You stated, almost turning back to the book for a second, before cupping his cheek to press a soft kiss to his lips.

“You gon’ lose sleep over this? Some silly plants?” He murmured, close enough for you to hear him.

“Hey!” you poked at his chest lightly, “Those silly plants are what’s gonna help Alexandria and Hilltop thrive. It’s not my fault I was blessed with a green thumb. Now, can you please go get some rest? For me?”

He shook his head lightly, scrunching his nose at the idea of not having your full attention. Daryl knew what you were doing for the community was important. He knew that.

But maybe in those end-of-day moments of alone time with you, was when he decided to be selfish.

His intimate time with you was one of his favorite times of day; lips pressed to some part of your body in absolute worship, even if there would be a mark the next morning. Perhaps in favor of a mark being there.

“Nah. Nothin’ better than watchin’ my girl be a genius. Even if I’ll be damn tired t’morrow.” The slight groan in his voice hints towards the fact that he’s probably, definitely been up for way too long hunting and running around Alexandria all day. Straining all those precious muscles of his.

“You’re cute when you're being stubborn. You need to get some rest, too. Can’t have those bags under your pretty eyes.”

“Oh, my eyes’re pretty, now? Saw you avoidin’ em when you kissed me b'fore. Tha’s how I know ya get distracted when ya look at me..”

Of course you got distracted looking at him. He was so perfectly Daryl with that mop of wavy brown hair, piercing eyes that shone as the sea does, and his rugged figure.

“Tell ya what, you win a starin’ contest with me, an’ I’ll go to bed so you can study. But if I win, you gotta drop the books an’ come to bed with me.”

It was then Daryl’s hands left your shoulders, thus your aches returned. He took a seat backwards on a chair across from where you sat you, while you glanced up at him.

“Now Daryl, you’re just being silly. What are we, teenagers?”

Being around you certainly made Daryl feel like a teenager, even in his aged life, which brought a smile to your face.

“If ya don’t wanna see my eyes, jus’ keep starin at that book, I guess.”

You scoffed under your breath, still staring at the book. Only his soft breathing could be heard from across the table. He could’ve sworn you were blushing, but your head was tilted downwards too much to be certain.

“Look at me, sunshine,” he drawled, while you sat too flustered to face him, “C’mon..”

Your eyes trailed up the leather on Daryl's figure, then the tips of his brown hair, the scar across his left cheek, meeting his blues softly. He’d registered the rose tint on the apples of your cheeks immediately afterward.

"Mhm.. So, staring contest?” he lowered his head, making sure you kept eye contact with him.

“I don’t get what the point of this is…” you replied pointedly, shaking your head, a bit amused with the whole thing.

“Point is… ya do this with me or else I’m gonna drag your butt upstairs to bed."

“What’re you gonna do if I refuse?”

You knew Daryl was absolutely capable of carrying you upstairs. There was no doubt about it, he was strong enough to lift you and it wouldn't take much effort on his part.

"When's the last time you weren't workin' yourself overtime for this place, huh? I think you're the one who deserves rest, sunshine." His arms crossed against his chest, muscles practically bulging from under the cloth of his shirt.

"So do you, Daryl. You're just too stubborn to admit it."

The archer sat in silence for a moment, knowing you were right, putting up a stubborn front.

"Fine. I'll participate in your little staring contest. What happens when I win, again?" You both know what'll happen, and Daryl scoffs.

Placing the book down in front of you, your arms rest on the table and he leans in a little further. His scent of pine surrounds your senses, faltering your gaze from him for a minute.

"This ain't gonna work if you don't look at me, sweetheart." It's like you can hear the shit eating grin on his face, and when you look up again, it seemed you were right.

"Let's get this on with, shall we? First one that blinks, loses." You tilt your head in the same fashion as his, lowering your voice a bit.

"Gladly. Ready whenever you are, sunshine." Daryl's drawl had gone from his normal volume to a gravel one. You can tell he tried to throw you off track with it, but nonetheless, the staring contest was on.

Your eyes met his, deep and dark in the lighting. How did everything about him compliment those damn irises of his? Just one glimpse of his gorgeous aura from across the table had you pulling away from your book for more.

"You're infuriating, you know that?" Your nose scrunches as the words come out in almost a whisper, delicate with the way you're letting your thoughts drift from just his eyes.

"Hun, you're not much better. Gorgeous, but stubborn as all hell. Think ya might be more stubborn than me." You hear the chuckle, and it takes almost all of your stamina not to steal a glance at his lips. If you did, there was no way you'd be able to contain your eyelids.

You know exactly what he's doing, playing on the way you melt at his every compliment. But you focus on his eyes and what you can see of him in your peripherals. His broad shoulders are scrunched, eyes studying your face.

"Are you trying to intimidate me? Cause it's not going to work.."

"Dunno, think I have a couple ways. You jus' keep on starin' at me."

You huffed a breath and continued looking into Daryl's eyes. He was intimidating enough that you had to find other things to think about rather than his. Because they were so... tantalizing. Electrifying. A simple glance of his would usually bring you, figuratively yet literally, to your knees. Ones that were met from across courtyards of Alexandria, or from the corner of a room during a community meeting. How you were able to hold off on crumbling under that same look now? You had no clue.

To your concern, you hadn't realized the falling of your mind into such deep thoughts about the archer. Your eyes focused back on the wisp of his eyelashes, before realizing his bottom lip was caught between his teeth. Giving his features a once-over, you peeked at the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

"Are you smirking?" Your arms folded across the table and inched closer to him.

"What else am I supposed t'do? You're too pretty. Happens when I look at’cha for a long time." His elbows propped up his chin in those rough palms of his, and began inching closer as well.

“Speak for yourself, handsome.” It was almost a whisper, but still the tones of your voice caught him off guard. Daryl’s eyes dropped from yours, swiftly to your lips and back up.

“Wish you’d just let me win so I could kiss ya right now.” His deft fingers tapped on the wooden table now, eyelids heavy with impatience and a sultry gaze being shot your way. You want him to lean towards you, within just the proximity to plant your lips on his, but he sits back in his chair instead.

You whisper, “You make me wanna go back to my books and leave you hanging on this damn contest.”

Daryl shrugs, “Ya blink, ya lose. Them’s the rules.”

“I’m not breaking.. do with that what you will, pretty boy.”

“Mhm..." Daryl chuckled to himself for a moment, then stood from his seat. Whatever composure you were trying to keep from showing while gazing at him only overwhelmed you as he rose from the table. No matter how hard he tried, Daryl came off as intimidating, especially when he stood over you, like he was doing right now.

"We're having a contest here.." you began, "Or does you leaving the table mean you forfeit?"

Daryl's fingers dragged along the table, slowly stepping towards you with the same intimidating glare.

"Nope." He stepped behind you, grabbing your chair with both hands to pull it out from the table.

"Daryl- what're you doing?" You giggled, letting the book of plants fall onto the floor, while you were dragged backwards by Daryl's strength.

"If you're not gonna let me win, I'm just gonna have to take you myself." let go of the chair, and immediately knelt down to grasp your body from your seat.

"Hey!" Daryl's large, warm hands grasped your body, while you wrapped your hands around him in surprise. Upon your hands grasping at him, he got a face full of your chest, which he didn't mind at all.

Grunting at your weight in his arms, you turned to him, spotting the faint blush on his cheeks at the view he was currently getting. You chuckled, getting flustered yourself, but still pressed against him. He began towards the stairs, with you easily grasped in his arms. It was during these rare moments that you realized just how strong Daryl was, how easily he could pick you up and carry you without breaking a sweat.

"This what you're gonna do every time you can't convince me?" Your arms wrapped around his neck now, watching his face while he walked. You pressed a few light kisses to his neck in response.

"Nah, I'll let ya win sometimes. But this, you're gonna wanna be there for." The smirk on his face created a warm feeling inside your chest, one you wanted to give him, too.

Daryl continued up the stairs, down the hall towards the bedroom you shared with him. Your arms wrapped around the nape of Daryl's neck, lips peppering kisses across the expanses of his chest. Once he'd walked to the bedroom door, he kicked it open and made his way towards the bed.

He softly placed you down on the edge of the mattress, waving you to lay back on the bed with his hand. Daryl kicked off his boots, undoing his belt before crawling towards you on the duvet.

In a moment he hovered over you, smirk lingering on his lips like liquor.

"Now, I dare ya, take your eyes off me. See what happens."

You were in for an especially long night.

A/N: Thanks for reading:) If you enjoyed this fic, please show support by reblogging!

#ryesff #devnmon writes #daryl dixon x reader #devnmonwrites #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x you #daryl x you #the walking dead fanfiction #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl dixon x y/n #twd fanfic #twd daryl dixon #twd fanfiction #the walking dead fic #the walking dead fanfic #daryl dixon fic #daryl dixon fanfic #all dividers from cafekitsune!

[celtic-crossbow]

Help Me Hold Onto You

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader (Ended relationship)

Setting: Alexandria after 6 year jump

Warnings: Angst, More angst, No happy here, mentions of pregnancy

Summary: Daryl comes back after his 6 year absence to talk to you. He receives quite the shock.

A/N: Feeling blah. Needed to channel negative energy. Sorry!

*Click here to be added to taglists.

Moodboard by @dannyo000

Daryl gnawed on the skin of his thumb while staring at the edge of the crop rows. Michonne had told him you would be there and that he should really go see you. She was, in fact, rather insistent. He nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. Would you even want to see him? Things hadn’t exactly ended amicably when you had stumbled upon him with Leah. Even allowing the other woman’s name to occupy his thoughts for a mere second brought an onslaught of guilt and self-loathing. He had been caught in a moment of weakness, not putting a stop to Leah’s advances when it was your lips he craved. 

‘Idiot.’ With a heavy sigh, he trudged forward, scanning over the individuals hard at work maintaining the surplus of crops in the community. It was your hair he noticed first, no longer flowing wildly down your back but cropped off just below your shoulders. His eyes studied the visible skin below the spaghetti straps of the sundress you were wearing. He had always envisioned you in a dress. It was not the right color and looked to be a little longer than the one his imagination supplied, but it was hard to tell while you were kneeling in front of the tomato plants. 

The familiar spread of freckles were shining with a sheen of sweat from work in the midday sun. With narrowing eyes, he took in the way your shoulder blades seemed more pronounced and your arms were much slimmer than the last time he saw you. He could see the muscles flex beneath your skin as you dug in the soil. Even from his limited vantage point, you appeared…frail. 

Forced to steel his nerves, he stepped closer, only coming to a stop when a few feet separated you. “Hey, Y/N.” The archer eyed you carefully, even took a step back when your movements froze and a visible tension seized across your body. 

“What are you doing here, Dixon?” 

Your cold tone forced his heart to freeze and drop into his stomach, twisting a knot that made him nauseous. What the hell had Michonne been thinking? Daryl closed his eyes briefly, inhaling through his nose. Words were failing him, any and all logical responses lost in the tension. “How, uh…how are ya?” 

“Fine. You done?”

You had yet to move, to even look at him. He had definitively fucked this up royally. One kiss—a kiss he neither wanted nor reciprocated—had destroyed this precious relationship that had taken years to build. The archer sighed. “No. M’not.”

You stood then—with quite a bit of difficulty, he noted—but kept your back to him. “Just save it. I’m not interested.” Your gardening gloves were peeled from your hands and tossed roughly to the dirt. “Unless you’ve got other business here, you can go.” He watched you pivot away from him, but he wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. 

“Damnit, woman, m’trying t’ fix this!” Daryl was careful not to raise his voice, to not be so quick to anger; something he was still learning to control after all these years. 

Your steps halted, eyes hesitantly peering back at him from over your shoulder. Pale skin gave way to dark circles around dull orbs. You really didn’t look well. He opened his mouth to inquire and was quick to close it when those same eyes narrowed angrily. 

“There’s nothing to fix, Dixon.” 

It was more than clear that you didn’t want him there. He could feel the anger permiating the air in waves, the knot in his gut twisting tighter. He was treading dangerous ground. He could push you, say what he needed to say and hope for the best. Or he could obey your wishes and go, maybe try again in the future. Maybe not. 

You were still watching him as the breeze picked up, cool but not chilling the early autumn air. He was still weighing his options when your shorter hair blew to the side and revealed the back of your neck. Light reflected off a silver chain there and hope rekindled in his chest. You were still wearing the necklace he had gifted you during one of your nights on the riverbank. 

“Y/N, I—”

You rounded on him so quickly that he stumbled back a step, hands out in a placating manner as you reached for him and shoved him back further. “You stupid, selfish, cowardly pig! How dare you! I can't believe you came here now with this shit!” Your shoves continued but Daryl had stopped blocking, taking each hit with an unreadable expression. You stopped, breathing heavily, and stepped back to throw up your arms in exasperation. 

“Y/N.” It was almost a whisper, so quiet and full of emotion that if you hadn’t been so angry with him, you would have gathered him into your arms and never let go. 

But you were angry. “What?” You bellowed. “What do you want?” 

Daryl couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. His heart was slamming a tattoo into his ribs. The world around him was blurry, voices fuzzy like being underwater. Except yours. Except you. The archer finally managed to bring you into focus, just as realization of what you had revealed became evident on your pale face. 

Yes, you did indeed look thin and sickly but that wasn’t why Daryl couldn’t seem to look away. He couldn’t even seem to blink. Your dress, loose as it was, still managed to hug your swollen stomach. The bump was not large but still evident, your small hands now twisting into the fabric of the dress nervously. 

His mouth moved but he couldn’t force his voice to work, so he clamped his lips shut. The anger was still evident in your expression, and he somehow noticed that you were trembling but he couldn’t look away from the area beneath your fisted hands. 

“How?” Daryl heard the words but didn’t remember speaking. “Ya said ya couldn’t—”

“Does it matter?” 

“S’it—” he shifted uncomfortably, pointing and withdrawing only to point again. “S’it mine?” Daryl finally forced his gaze away from your belly to lock eyes with you. It wasn’t long before your anger dissipated and morphed into something else, tears springing to your lashes. “Y/N.”

You flinched but he needed an answer and he needed it now. 

The people had heard the commotion and hushed whispers were hissing all around the two of you. Daryl could see Michonne from the corner of his eye. She had kept her distance but had apparently wanted to stay in the vicinity in case things got heated. The archer couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t still end that way. 

“It is.” You finally acknowledged, inciting a collective gasp from the onlookers. Your hands had dropped to your sides to take up twisting the fabric there. 

Michonne stepped forward after a few more unnerving moments of silence, motioning toward the small crowd that had gathered. “Okay, everyone! Nothing more to see! Let’s get back to work!” 

The two of you remained stoic as the people dispersed back to their activities, neither moving a muscle even as Alexandria’s leader stepped up to plant herself between you. “I think this should continue somewhere a little more private.” When neither indicated you had even heard her, Michonne leaned into Daryl’s line of sight to catch his eye. He seemed to snap out of his trance and gave a jerky nod. 

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” You replied quietly when the same was done to you. You swayed a little when you took the first step. Only through sheer force of will did Daryl not reach out to steady you. It didn’t matter. Michonne had already taken hold of your upper arm. 

“Can you make it there?” The sword-wielder asked with obvious concern. “I can end this right now.”

A rush of panic surged through the archer’s chest, nearly suffocating him where he stood. What was wrong with you? Was something wrong with the baby? His baby? “I’ll make sure she’s alrigh’.” With a deep breath, he stepped forward and reached for you, careful not to touch. Neither of you needed that right now. His hand hovered as Michonne held fast. 

“Y/N?” The other woman questioned. You only spared Daryl a glance before facing your friend and nodding. Michonne returned the motion and let go to step back out of the way. Just as you started to leave, Daryl staying close by, Michonne called out his name. It was a clear warning. 

Take it easy on her.

He nodded without looking back and continued to follow. The community looked so different compared to his last visit. The rebuilt homes were less alluring, most having been constructed on top of anything that had been left of the previous structure. The place still had its appeal but it gave off more of a farmland vibe now than a prestigious community. 

The tension had seemed to fizzle out along with your energy. You walked slowly at his side, shoulders slumped and head down. Your face was hidden by a curtain of hair when he risked a sidelong glance. Daryl half wondered if you were even paying attention to where you were leading him. Just as he opened his mouth to ask, you pivoted to the left and crossed in front of him to ascend the few steps of a porch. He followed close behind but chose not to hover. You pulled open the screen door and pushed the main door inward, letting the first slam closed behind you. You had left the other open, for him, he assumed, but it felt wrong to just walk in.

Daryl pulled a cigarette from his vest pocket, along with a book of matches. When the tip had sizzled down and the first draw of smoke entered his lungs, he shook out the match and laid it on the small table next to a chair. Forgoing the obvious seating, the archer hopped up onto the railing and stared into the house. He couldn’t see you but could hear you moving around. You hadn’t come to investigate yet so you had to know he was still there. 

Daryl finished his cigarette and stamped it out on the porch, crossing the two steps to the door. The uneasy feeling was still there. It weighed heavily on him that he couldn’t just walk in like he would have before Rick.… Clearing his throat to swallow down the new flood of emotion, he raised a fist to tap on the screen door with his knuckles. You appeared from around a corner at the end of a short hall, briefly locking eyes with him. Averting your gaze, you jerked your head to invite him in. 

The home was simple inside, all mismatched furniture and mostly bare walls save for your handheld crossbow hanging next to the door. Looking for too long felt intrusive, so he lowered his eyes to the floor and proceeded down the hall and into what turned out to be the kitchen. 

You were standing there, on the opposite side of a small island with one hand wrapped around a glass of water. The other hand was sitting atop your rounded belly, mostly hidden from where he now stood. 

A few awkward moments passed with Daryl staring at the part of your hand he could see and you watching him uneasily. “Where’s Dog?”

The archer’s eyes slowly raised to your face, where he found he couldn’t seem to keep them. Leaning against the side of the refrigerator, he began to pick at his palm. “Jude’s got ‘im.” You nodded and took a sip from the glass. More silence followed before Daryl couldn’t wait any longer for the answers he felt so strongly he was owed. “How long?”

“What?”

He didn’t really feel like repeating himself but if he wanted you to answer, he’d have to be willing to communicate past the unsettledness. “How long ya known?”

Your lips formed a small “o” and you nodded. “About three months, I guess.” Your fingertips busied themselves tracing shapes on the countertop.  

“An’ ya ne’er thought t’ come tell me?” There was an edge of agitation to his voice. Hell, he was agitated. 

“Oh, I thought about it plenty of times.” You snapped, expression hardening when he looked up to meet your eyes. Your hand was wrapped so tightly around the water glass that it was a wonder it hadn’t yet shattered. “But then I always seem to remember that you have plenty of things to occupy your time.”

Daryl wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what you meant. “Ya don’ even know whatcha saw that day.” It was taking some serious control to keep his tone level now. Everything inside him screamed that this would not end well but he pressed on anyway. “Ran away an’ didn’ even gimme a chance t’ ‘splain.”

“I saw plenty, Dixon!” You wisely pushed the glass away from yourself. “That woman’s tongue down your throat! You wanna explain though? Go ahead! Explain!” You hissed, rounding the island. You stopped yourself a few feet from him. “Who is she?”

Daryl was listening as he worked hard to keep himself in check. His temper was itching to flare. “‘er name was Leah. She’s not ‘round anymore, Y/N.”

“So sad for you, I’m sure.” You mocked, crossing your arms. “So what is this? She left you so you thought you could just come back here and we’d pick up where we left off?”

“S’not like tha’.” Daryl sighed. He straightened his stance and dared a step forward, his heart nearly sinking when you stepped back. “There weren’ ne’er nothin’ with ‘er.”

You seemed to consider that, your eyes almost seeming to shake back and forth to hold his gaze. “It doesn’t matter.” You shook your head and started to turn away but the archer quickly crossed the distance between you to lay a hand on your shoulder. Your skin was so cold. You both stared at his hand before he quickly removed it. 

“Y/N, I…I stayed away cause I didn’ think ya’d want t’ see me.”

“You were right.” You answered quietly after a few moments. His heart sank. “I didn’t. And I don’t.” You did walk away then but stopped in another doorway, keeping your back to him. “I won’t keep you from your kid, Dixon. They’ll need their father.”

Daryl swallowed hard, feeling a familiar sting in his eyes. 

You reached out to place your hand on the doorframe. You looked tired. “I’m due in the winter. You can be a part of this, as much or a little as you want.” You took a step into the room and paused again. “That day in the woods, when I saw you with her… I was coming to tell you about the baby.”

And then you were gone. 

The archer sniffed, forcing back the fierce assault of emotion that threatened to take him to his knees. He wiped furiously at his eyes with each arm and paced to one side of the kitchen and then back. He couldn’t leave it like this. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This isn’t what he saw when he would envision your future. It was all wrong. Daryl looked to the door where you had been and took a step, his body freezing afterward when he remembered Michonne had made it clear he shouldn’t upset you. 

Clenching his fists, he spun toward the hall and all but ran out the door, slamming it closed behind him. 

#murda writes #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #the walking dead #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x y/n #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon angst #no happy ending #daryl dixon x female reader #Spotify

[solarpunkani]

what are some things we can do to make the world better?

Gosh, this is a big question. It's also definitely something that's been on my mind for a long, long time. I mean, honestly, how could it not be?

I'm not gonna be able to provide any revolutionary, mind bending answers on this. I'm honestly something more akin to a coward, if anything--I'm not gonna be able to recommend going to protests or rebel action without being a huge hypocrite.

I guess what I did is pick a couple of topics to try my best to learn as much about as possible, so I can know what I can do to help, and then try to do as much of that stuff as possible. So in my case right now its gardening. I basically went 'oh? Butterflies and bees and pollinators are at risk due to habitat loss? Is there anything I can do about it?' Learned about what I could do about it (start a garden, grow certain plants, avoid certain practices like using pesticides and herbicides in said garden, etc.), and then did as much of that stuff as is reasonable for me. And then I also shared what I was doing with other people, and encouraged and helped them do it too if they're interested.

Is my rinky dink mismatched chaotic pollinator garden changing the world? Making the whole entire place better? Not necessarily. Maybe it's making the world a bit better for the pollinators that stop by though, and if I can convince more and more people to start pollinator gardens then it can help more pollinators. I bounced off from pollinator gardening to grow vegetables too, which I can then share with my community (donating to food banks/community fridges, or just offering some to the neighbors) which can definitely help as well.

You can use this process in other aspects too. Monarchs and milkweeds is what caught my eye and drew me to pollinator gardening, but maybe it just doesn't hit for you. Maybe you're more interested in fish, or ecosystems in rivers and streams. You can look into ways to help, and maybe then you'll get into cleaning riverbanks and such. Or maybe you're moreso interested in something like food scarcity and food deserts, and you can then launch into making community gardens or a system of community fridges and harrassing legislators calling your local representatives to back initiatives that will help. I think asking yourself 'what can I do about abcxyz', learning about it, and then doing what you can is definitely a good place to start. And maybe what you learn will lead you to going to things like protests and doing rebellious actions--in which case that's fantastic! The world needs a lot more people who are a lot braver than the woman behind this Tumblr curtain. Or maybe it won't--and that's okay too. We can do what we can together.

Will you change the entire world? Make the whole world better? Probably not, and I probably won't either. I don't think one person alone can change the world. But we can improve the worlds of a few creatures in a local area, or make the world better for people in our communities. And I think that's at least worth an effort.

If anyone else wants to chime in, by all means feel free! And if my advice sucks I'm sorry.

#out of queue #ani rambles #answered asks #anonymous #solarpunk

[solar-sunnyside-up]

I'm really curious about what you think schooling would look like in a Solarpunk world/future!

Because the current public school system is broken af and the homeschool system isn't much better. I personally have looked into things like Sudbury schools and found good things and also issues. I've always been a proponent of the IDEA of Unschooling (which I understand to be, letting the child learn naturally through the world around them, learn reading through reading to them or teaching math and even basic chemistry through teaching them to cook, etc) but it seems like most parents use it as an excuse to not educate their kids...

I really think kids should learn practical things alongside the Academic stuff (three Rs, science, etc) but no system seems right...

Oooh boy! Have I thought about this one endlessly!

So background info that I have to frame where I'm coming from-

A- the current system is built for school>> factory worker pipeline

B) it also evolved from ppl working at factories and needing to put their kiddos somewhere while they worked their 9-5! Thus Sunday school evolved from something to teach basic literacy to a full time job for children (it's legit nearly 40 hour weeks for CHILDREN) so there's a lot of padded time to ensure they meet that quota

C) it's used of a massive scale it was NOT designed to be used at

Soooo!! Let's imagine a better one!

Personally, based on children's development I think schooling should be broken up into focused chunks and then obvi each kiddo should be able to work at their own pace within these chunks of time.

0-6 Motor and sensory skills- introduced to music/shapes/building, "helping" with community chores (laundry/windows/dishes/sweeping), basics of plants/gardens, learning about transportation and basic navigation.

7-10 Written- literacy (reading/printing/telling time/storytelling/etc), health (emotional+physical), basic cooking + tool usage, basics of history/geography, basics of all sciences, gardening more independently

11-13 social + advanced work -- advanced history/science/literacy/home eco/etc.. start working within the community in a vollunteer capacity, Starting to specialize in interests, focuses in philosophy/analysis/debate,

14-20 community and citizenship --greated focus in Philosophy/debate/analysis in addition to apprenticeships of testing out what they'd like to do with their lives

20+ whatever they wanna do! Personally I think our adulthood should start over from 0 here. Bc after you hit 20 your a baby adult, but like a 35yr old is nearly a teenager as should be treated as such! Finding themselves, building community, getting the swing of all that jazz.

Then the WAY this is taught would be with ppl close to the kiddos, neighbors and parents and community leaders would be in charge of these chunks. Much more like a tutor or professor style where each teacher specializes in both the thing their teaching but also the kiddos their raising.

#schooling #solarpunk #hopepunk #tbh ive been sitting o. this for months bc this is just a very VERY bare bones answer obvi if i rehauled the system.it be more complex #this is watered down to be easily consumable to ppl to get the idea across

[hometoursandotherstuff]

The Atlantis is the fanciest Earth Ship I've ever seen. For one, it's turquoise. Wow, it looks like there's nothing around it for miles, but supposedly it's in an Earthship Community in Tres Piedras, New Mexico. 2bds, 2ba, $900K.

Interesting that the walls are painted, usually they're natural adobe and earthy tones. It has the typical long "hall" of plants in the entrance and along the side.

There's always a garden along the outer wall of the home.

This one has a stone and tile fireplace. Look at the hole in the wall. I wonder why it has shutters.

This is a relatively small earth ship. The cans, bottles, or whatever they used in the walls look jewel-like. For an earth ship, this is kind of a classy dining area.

The kitchen is small and looks sort of standard, except for the architectural salvage upper cabinets.

The primary bedroom is more of a sleeping nook and is separated by curtains.

The covered patio has a swing.

Must be very dark here at night.

They have a seating area in the corner, but I wouldn't call this a beautiful view. Almost $1M. I don't know if it's worth it.

#earth ships #earth ship homes #desert homes #off the grid homes #houses #house tours #home tour

[practicalsolarpunk]

Hi, I've only just got into solarpunk and find it really cool.

I was wondering, what sort of simple lifestyle changes would you suggest to start with when trying to live in a more solarpunk/sustainable way?

Hi! So glad you're getting into solarpunk! We think it's pretty cool, too, and we're happy you're looking for ways to integrate it into your life. Since you haven't included anything specific about your situation or what you're interested in, this list is pretty general - if you want more specific ideas, feel free to send in another ask!

In the meantime, here are a few recommendations for getting started:

Grow something. Depending on your situation, you may not be able to put in a huge outdoor garden. But there are many plants that will be perfectly happy in a pot on a windowsill, and still others that are happy to grow in low-light situations. Find something that works for your space and get some hands-on experience with growing things. (If you have a window, I highly recommend herbs - many of them are happy in pots and there's something incredibly satisfying about eating things you've grown.)

Compost. Unless your space is extremely tiny, you probably have room for a small composting system. Some can even go under a sink or in a closet. See this post for a general discussion, this post for vermicomposting ideas, and this one for info on bokashi composting. Also check out our #compost tag.

Mending. Mending is a great skill to have. The life of most clothing (and a lot of non-clothing fabric items) can be extended dramatically with some basic sewing skills. I've made entire dresses and quilts and I still find most of my sewing is repairing and mending other stuff. We have a mending tag, but I also love YouTube for this. Searching "how to mend X" (e.g. "how to mend hole in crotch of jeans") gives you a bunch of awesome tutorials. You can get even more use out of things if you're willing to embrace visible mending.

Reduce energy use. Try to use natural light where you can. Set your thermostat high in summer and low in winter and use the principle "heat/cool the person, not the space." Flush the toliet with graywater by removing the p-trap from your sink and dumping the collected wash water into your toilet tank (or directly into the bowl if you have an American-style greedy cup siphon toilet). Experiment with solar energy. What you can do depends on your situation, but see what kind of options you have.

Integrate the 7 R's: There are more R's to sustainable living than just "Reduce Reuse Recycle". See this post for a primer.

Build community: One of the foundations of solarpunk is that it's about community. Even if you start out doing it by yourself, eventually you need a community to do bigger things. My favorite way to start is by meeting the neighbors. Taking over some food (cookies are great) and introducing yourself is a great way to open a relationship. We also have a community building tag for more ideas.

You can find even more ideas in these tags, depending on what you specifically want to do:

#apartment solarpunk

#dorms and small spaces

#community building

#activism

#fiber crafts

#diy

There's also some additional tips in this post and this post, which are earlier responses to similar asks.

I hope this helps! Followers, feel free to chime in with your best tips!

- Mod J

#asked and answered #basics and getting started

[maareyas]

Comet's Log: Chao Garden

"I found what I think are like those dirt gardens that I’ve seen some Surfacers have back home. This one seems fancier though. There’s a rock formation with water just pouring out by itself, no pipes or anything; as well as some pretty plants. But, what’s really interesting are these tiny creatures that are living here. They have big heads and weird eyes that are kinda ugly (in a cute way)! They seem friendly enough too. Like, a few of them had sharp teeth, but nobody bit me or anything. Didn’t even really pay me any mind at all. My stomach rumbled real loud (I forgot I hadn’t eaten since before I got here!) all of a sudden. Then one of the little guys, a blue and yellow one, walked over with this weird fruit(?) in its teeny-tiny arms. It was trying to give it to me! How sweet! Unfortunately, I didn’t want to eat it because it might be poisonous.  I tried to communicate that I didn’t want it, but the little guy insisted. A few more of them noticed and came over to see what was going on. I panicked, so…I just flew away and didn’t look back. I still feel kind of bad about it."

Extras below the cut:

I've decided to make the raw .clip layers available for download [HERE] for educational purposes. if y'all want it <3

Also! the purple chao is @genotaurus' Cloudy ✨

Some Edea lore notes:

Chao don't exist on Edea

Since she grew up in a space colony, Comet is only familiar with hydroponic farms/gardens. Dirt farms only exist on Edea's surface.

Also because of growing up on Ark Elysium, Comet barely has any experience interacting with "wild animals" or even pets in general.

#sonic oc #sonic fc #chao #my art #my ocs #comet's story #me? telling this story EXTREMELY out of order? #yes. yes I am ✨✨ #this excerpt is part 4 out of (currently) 7 #one day I'll compile it all properly #but a story told out of order is better than a story not told at all <3 peace and love #obligatory: i love drawing water and I LOVED working on that background #oc: comet the hedgehog

[sketchy-tour]

OKAY SO I AM slightly shy about sharing my Welcome Home oc after being absent from this account for a hot minute but- MEET DANDY! Dandy Leon, the quiet flower gardener and neighbor in welcome home! Ignore how horribly I edited the template by @fetusmeme I have been relying on a toyhouse code for Dandy's "official" little neighborhood page and I am so bad at editing templates. I couldn't fit all of Dandy's silly info into the template so I'll put the full bio down below!-

"Resident gardener of Welcome Home, Dandy Leon is a calm, careful presence among the others in the neighborhood. They enjoy the quiet and spending their time tending to their various flowers. While a little shy around their fellow neighbors, they open up quickly when asked about their garden. Despite their more introverted disposition, they're always determined to make everyday just dandy!"

Dandy came onto the cast only in later episodes of the show, not getting much screentime before it's end. But in old scripts found with them, it's shown that they moved to Home specifically because they were interested in the local plant life there. The episode that featured their move in seemed to focus on them slowly warming up to the others in the neighborhood, as their shy nature made it difficult for them to properly meet everyone. When asked as to where they lived before moving to Home, Dandy mentions living in a farm town far away, simply deeming it "far more south from here!" A lot of their dialogue also mentions their father, though he's never named but instead mentioned passively as Dandy would often use phrases like "Well it's like my pop always said-" when speaking to the other puppets.

During their short time on the show, Dandy's segments focused on teaching easy 'do it yourself' gardening tricks that audiences could follow along with, usually showing these to the other neighbors while in their garden. While they were always shown as polite and nice, their quiet personality clashed with the more loud ones in Home. Julie and Sally being namely the neighbors they struggled to communicate with, often shown feeling a bit talked over. However Dandy is still depicted around Julie in illustrations, especially alongside Frank as the two got along quite well in the show. Frank and Dandy often shown chatting about their respective interests together. Before the show's end however, most of Dandy's screentime is with Wally as he tried to get Dandy out of their shell more to spend time around others.

Interestingly, what pronouns were used for them seemed to change between the shows episodes and illustrated materials. While neighbors would refer to them as 'she' during the show, most art pieces seemed to refer to Dandy as a 'he'. Whether this was simply a miscommunication between teams or a printing error is unknown.

#welcome home #welcome home oc #welcome home original character #welcome home arg #welcome home fandom #welcome home puppet show #my oc #my oc art #welcome home wally #wally darling #howdy pillar #welcome home howdy pillar #frank frankly #welcome home frank frankly #Dandy Leon #my art

[helloalycia]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 [𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄] — 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑

summary: after your drunken kiss with Jackie, you're left to deal with the consequences.

warning/s: mentions of underage drinking and minor violence.

author's note: here’s the final part! last jackie one for a while as i don’t have anything pre-written, but i’m working on other stuff so i hope this holds you guys down for a bit :)

one / two / masterlist / wattpad

It was safe to say that the next day, after the worst hangover of my life, everything came back to me and I was mortified at what I'd done. Technically, it was the both of us, but we were both out of it and Jackie Taylor never begged for anyone, especially not me. It had to have been a mere drunken mistake and that was it.

Two days after the party, Van and I were hanging out at the skate park and she, expectedly, brought up the whole finding Jackie and I making out situation.

"I never would've guessed, y'know," she was saying, surprised. "Jackie didn't strike me as a–"

I stopped skating before her, foot on the lip of the board as I shot her a look. "We were drunk, Van, you saw it yourself. It didn't mean anything."

Van snorted. "It didn't look that way from where I was standing."

Cheeks flushing, I tried to play it cool. "You were standing on the balcony claiming you could do a ninja flip in the pool at one point. I wouldn't take you as gospel."

"Hey, I totally could've landed that if Tai didn't pull me down!" she defended, making me stifle a smile as I skated circles around her. "Look, all I'm saying is Jackie has been asking about you a lot lately. No offence, but you're not that interesting."

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically.

"Could've meant more is all I'm saying," she finished with a shrug.

"Well, it didn't," I assured her, though a small part of me was beginning to question if it did.

No, it couldn't have. She was Jackie Taylor and I was... an absolute idiot.

And with that mentality, I wasn't really planning to bring it up to her, figuring she'd do the same. The following Monday at school, we didn't really have much crossover as Chemistry wasn't on the schedule. There were times when my eyes would cross hers in the hallway, but I couldn't read her expression. The memory of her lips on mine would come to mind and I'd be forced to look away, still wondering if it had been real.

That afternoon after school was when our paths really crossed, as we had our weekly volunteering hours at the community garden. When I arrived, everybody was gathered in front of the manager outside and I hurried to join them, noticing I was a little late. Jackie was stood a few people down from me in the row, and when I glanced at her, she made no effort to look my way.

After being given our tasks for the next few hours, we all got straight into it. Unlike every other time we were here, she wanted nothing to do with me, no inclination to work together. In fact, it was as if she was avoiding me completely, frustrated by my presence, and I wasn't sure why because I was under the impression it was a mutual understanding we wouldn't talk about the kiss.

After an half an hour of planting some seeds, I decided to just ask her, finding her in the corner by the water fountain as she (surprisingly) scrubbed it clean.

"Er, hey," I spoke, the first time since we'd made out in Lottie's gaming room.

At my voice, she glanced up at me with narrowed eyes before scoffing quietly and looking back to the fountain. I felt something cold patter on my skin and looked up to see it was beginning to drizzle, but only slightly. Ignoring that, I focused my attention on Jackie.

"Are you mad at me about something?" I asked.

She paused to look at me with an incredulous stare. "Seriously?"

I pursed my lips awkwardly. "Yeah."

Clenching her jaw and simultaneously squeezing the sponge in her hand, she lowered her voice and fixed me with a glare. "Weren't you going to say anything?!"

"What?"

"Do I have to freakin' spell it out for you?"

"The kiss," I acknowledged, fearing saying it aloud, because it only made it more real.

She exhaled sharply, hazel eyes looking green with fury.

"You... you meant that?" I asked dumbly.

At this, her expression loosened and she looked away with pink-tinged cheeks. "Forget it."

Taken aback, I stepped forward, forcing myself in front of her. "No, wait, Jackie–"

"You don't care," she said in a surprisingly sad voice, eyes flickering to mine. "No matter what I do."

I swallowed hard, my heart squeezing in my chest at the way she looked at me. Her words from the party, before the kiss, came to mind. I've been trying to get your attention for months, you idiot. All this time, all this attention... she meant it?

"I thought you were playing a game," I admitted, feeling stupid even as I said it.

Slowly, her face scrunched up with hurt. "Well, I wasn't."

She began to scrub the tiles of the fountain rapidly and I realised how blind I'd been. But as I opened my mouth to apologise, a fellow student called for my help and I had no choice but to leave.

The drizzle worsened over the next hour, as did Jackie's avoidance of me. I was still reeling over her admission, truly believing she'd have regretted kissing some loser Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle on Halloween when she could've had anyone. I knew I needed to make things right because making her this upset was never my intention.

We ended up finishing earlier than usual because the forecasted drizzle quickly turned into a cool shower, making it impossible to work in the garden. As everybody rushed to leave, I tried to find Jackie, spotting her walking out the garden and down the road. Hand clutching my hood on my raincoat, I followed after her, noticing the only thing she had for protection was her denim jacket. Typical Jackie, not dressing for the season.

"Hey," I called to her, eventually falling into step. "Have you got a ride home?"

She didn't bother to look at me. "None of your damn business."

I struggled to keep up with her pace as I squinted my eyes through the rain. "Jackie, please. I can give you a–"

She stopped abruptly to scowl at me. "Leave me alone!"

I frowned guiltily. "At least take my jacket."

"Fuck off," she hissed, before storming off.

I sighed at her stubbornness, running the other way to get to my car. It took me barely two minutes to drive down the road and catch up to her. She was still storming down the street, soaked to the bone and very much irritated.

"Jackie," I called out through my rolled down window, driving slowly next to her. "Just get in the car! Please!"

She ignored me, managing to flip me off without sparing a glance in my direction.

"You don't have to talk to me, just please let me take you home!" I offered, guilt pressing on my chest.

Nothing.

I groaned and parked a little ahead of her before jumping out the car and trying again, unable to leave her when she was so upset. And the reason she was so upset was because I was a coward when it came to my emotions. Well, no more.

Running to catch up to her, I skidded to a stop before her. "Wait."

She tried to shove past me, but I grabbed her by the shoulders and kept her fixed in place, speaking before she could berate me further.

"The reason I'm not swayed by you like everyone else is because I never had a chance," I rushed out, competing with the pitter-patter of the rain.

She paused, studying my expression curiously as I continued.

"I wasn't going to drool over you like everyone else because it only reminded me that it was a delusion," I said weakly, letting go of her shoulders. "It's embarrassing, Jackie. It's not that your charms weren't working, it was me."

She opened her mouth slightly, eyebrows lifted with surprise.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely, squinting through the rain. "I don't want you to be upset at me. It's just– well– like I said, it's embarrassing."

Her eyes flickered between mine, before her expression hardened. "Shut up."

I sighed, expecting her annoyance. "Jackie–"

"No, shut up," she interrupted, and then her hand lifted to my cheek and she was pulling me in for a kiss. 

The breath was quite literally knocked from my body as her lips found mine, intermingled with water droplets and her lipgloss. It lasted only a few seconds, not even enough for me to acknowledge, before she pulled apart and frowned at me.

"You have a fucking chance," she said sternly, contrasting her warm gaze that was making my heart race. "You always did."

Her breath tickled my lips as she held me close, sending shivers down my spine.

"You're so stupid," she muttered.

I sighed, licking my lips. "I know." And as the rain seemed to pick up, I became aware of the two of us stood out here, soaked to the bone, and gave her a knowing look. "Not stupider than you though, marching off into a thunderstorm because you're stubborn."

She scoffed, hand resting on my chest as she shoved me slightly. "I would've gotten the bus."

I couldn't help but smile, which soon turned into a laugh. "Please, get in the car. I'll drop you off."

Her expression softened as she looked to me, nodding, and I quickly opened the door for her, helping her in. We both sat there for a moment, warm air blasting to fight off the cold damp that had settled through our clothes, and my mind was still racing.

"I notice you," I admitted to her, earning her attention. "Everything you do. Everything about you. I'm as hooked on you as everyone else. That was the problem."

Feeling her eyes on me, I glanced at her, unable to read her mind.

"Is it still?" she asked softly.

All I could do was shake my head, eyes taking in the sight of her smudged makeup and wet hair, pressed to her forehead. She had a hold on me like nobody else did, but I wasn't so scared of it anymore.

Her hand found mine, squeezing it gently, reassuringly, and I encased hers between mine.

"Time to go home," I said, and she smiled gently.

"Please."

I returned her smile before finally setting off, driving her home in a comfortable silence. She didn't live far and I reached the Taylor residence in ten minutes, pulling up outside.

As she reached to open the door, I quickly said, "Wait," and jumped out the car, taking off my jacket.

I raised it above my head to use as a cover against the rain, then opened the passenger door for her. She smiled gratefully, accepting my outstretched hand, and I held my jacket above us as we rushed to the front door, hoping to make it out the rain.

"Thanks," she said when we stopped on her porch, giving me chance to lower my jacket momentarily.

I smiled then hesitated, eyes flickering over her face, nerves creeping in the longer I stared.

"Do you, maybe, wanna go out with me on a date?" I asked quickly, before I could overthink it any longer. "Maybe we could get lunch? I'm not sure when you're free, but–"

"Yes," she answered just as quickly. "Tomorrow?"

Both relieved and excited, I nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good. I can pick you up for one?"

Her lips pressed together in a warm smile. "Yeah."

I nodded, unable to stop smiling. "Cool."

She laughed and then kissed my cheek, making my whole body grow alight at her touch. "Drive safe, Y/N."

I swallowed hard, nodding instantly, unable to find my words. Waving goodbye, I began to walk down her pathway and back to my car, glad she couldn't see my face because my grin was permanent. I was taking Jackie freakin' Taylor out on a date!

—

Dating Jackie was still difficult to believe, especially when it was just the two of us who knew, so it felt as unreal as it did wonderful.

Our first date went as smoothly as it could've been, and I was surprised when Jackie asked me out on a second one before it even ended. It was easy to fall into her, everything she did igniting every part of me like fire to a match, and though she was still her usual self-obsessed and cocky self, I suddenly found those traits endearing, only because they were hers.

It hadn't been discussed, but neither of us told anyone about our relationship, not even a month into it. Neither Van or Shauna, the people who knew us the best, knew about us. It wasn't because we didn't trust them, but it was easier to live in our bubble for a little longer before we shared it with the others.

Of course, with friends like them, secrets didn't stay secrets for long.

I was grabbing some books from my locker with Van, who wouldn't stop chatting my ear off about one of her classes. A little tired, definitely not a morning person, I was only half listening to what she was saying.

"...by the way, can I borrow your headphones today? I left mine at home and I've got a free period," she said between her rambling.

"Yeah, they're in my bag," I told her, passing her my backpack before resuming my search in my locker for my textbooks.

She accepted it and began rooting through it whilst continuing to talk, and then she suddenly fell quiet, pulling something out of my bag with a questioning look.

"Whose is this?" she asked with confusion.

I glanced at her, almost doing a double take when I recognised the lipgloss in her hand as Jackie's. She must have dropped it in there by accident when we were last hanging out. But I couldn't say that to Van, not without her asking why we'd been hanging out in the first place, so I tried to play it cool.

"Huh, I'm not sure," I said with a shrug, neck growing warm. "Must've fallen in there from class or something."

Thankfully, Van thought nothing of it, shrugging. "Huh."

I assumed she'd drop it back in my bag, but she wordlessly tossed it in the bin next to us, making my eyes widen slightly. Well, now I owed Jackie a new lipgloss.

It wasn't until later that day in History class when Van and I were taking our seats behind Shauna and Jackie, as usual, that Van began piecing everything together. Students were still filing into the classroom, Jackie being one of them, but she seemed distracted.

"You find it yet?" Shauna asked with amusement once she spotted the blonde approaching her desk.

Jackie pouted. "No." Then her eyes fell to Van and I hopefully, asking, "Have either of you seen my lipgloss? It's like this big–" She gestured with her fingers as she continued, "–pink, sparkly, literally the only one I wear? I've lost it."

The earth could have swallowed me up there and then and it would've been less painful than enduring the confused glance from Van.

"God, you guys are no help," Jackie grumbled when neither of us replied, myself avoiding Van's questioning gaze as she tried to work it out.

As Jackie returned to her seat, Van kicked my leg beside me, making me groan.

"Why did you have Jackie's lipgloss?" she asked quietly, and I glanced at her quickly before shrugging.

"You don't know it was hers."

Van narrowed her eyes. "It very much is." Then, she added, "You're being weird..."

I scoffed. "You're being weird."

Thankfully, the bell rang again, signalling the start of class, and I was able to avoid any further questions from Van. She wasn't stupid though, and it wouldn't be long before she figured it out.

That same afternoon, I had Science class with Jackie as my partner, so that was when I decided to update her about her precious lip gloss. She was already sat down, scribbling in her notebook, when I pulled out the stool beside her.

"Hey," she greeted with a warm smile, eyes softening in a way that was only reserved for me and still made my heart race a little.

"Hello," I said with a slight smile, sitting beside her. "I come bearing news. The good news is, I know where your lipgloss is. The bad news is, Van threw it out."

She lost her smile, expression contorting into one of confusion. "What?"

So, I briefly explained about the whole lipgloss situation this morning, including Van suspecting something or the other, and finishing with an, "I'm sorry, I'll buy you a new one."

She sighed, disappointed by her trashed lipgloss. "It's okay," she said, before adding, "Y'know, maybe it's time to tell everyone? Then Van wouldn't have to suspect anything."

I was surprised at how certain she sounded, though nodded. "I– yeah. If you want."

She began to smile, honey-coloured eyes meeting mine with a hint of amusement. "If you want."

I mirrored her smile, a mixture of adoration and excitement running through me at the possibility of sharing our relationship.

As much as I could have sat there staring at Jackie all afternoon, we were suddenly interrupted by Van who thought it would be funny to slam her hand on the desk between us, startling us.

"Hey, nerds," she said with a grin, making me roll my eyes as Jackie cracked a smile. "Anyone got some spare goggles?"

I breathed out petulantly as Jackie handed her the goggles, purposely avoiding Van's suspicious eyeballing of us.

Something told me she might know something already.

—

Now that Jackie and I had mentioned telling our friends, we were yet to find the right time. Only days after that, we hadn't had the chance to properly discuss it, but with the way things turned out, we didn't need to.

Van was at soccer practice after school, so I was staying back to study so I could be her ride home. By the time they'd finished, I went out to the field to go get her, seeing her drinking some water with the other girls by the benches.

Naturally, the first girl I noticed was Jackie – she was chatting to Shauna and their teammate, Nat – and she looked adorable in her gym clothes, slightly sweaty and red in the face from practice. Her eyes found mine like a magnet and I couldn't help but smile in her direction, heart fluttering like it always did. She returned my smile before tuning back into her conversation with the others.

"Hey," I greeted Van, elbow bumping hers. "How was practice?"

"Pretty good," she answered, capping her water. "I was amazing as always."

"You wish," Taissa said before I could, walking past with her gym bag but smiling at Van with amusement.

"You're just jealous," Van said knowingly, making Taissa roll her eyes before walking away.

I chuckled and gave Van a disapproving look. "I thought we were making friends at soccer practice, kid?"

"Shut up," Van huffed with a ghost of a smile, shoving me slightly.

I laughed. "Well, I'm ready when you are. You can shower first or–"

"Hey, ladies," Nat suddenly interrupted, approaching us with a mischievous smile, before her eyes settled on me. "Y/L/N. Good to see you."

"Nat," I acknowledge with a smile. "You good?"

"Hell yeah," she said confidently, and Shauna and Jackie approached us as she continued, "How about you? Still breaking noses?"

My cheeks grew warm uncontrollably, the memory of punching Leroy still a little embarrassing when it was brought up. "It was once. Nose, singular. And it was for a valid reason. I don't just start fights for the fun of it."

Van snorted and I shoved her once more, continuing to look at Nat.

"Gotcha," she said with a slow nod. "Hey, I have to ask... you're single, right?"

I almost choked on my spit when she said that, eyes darting between Van, Nat and the tense expression of my girlfriend.

"I– er–" I wasn't sure what to say, since technically nobody knew about Jackie and I yet, but I didn't know if I could share it right now.

"'Course she is," Van answered for me. "Why? You got the hots for my best friend?"

Nat smirked. "Maybe I do."

I was taken aback, since Nat and I had never really talked much before, so where was this coming from?

Jackie, on the other hand, was silently fuming beside Shauna as she glared daggers into the blonde's head.

"I– I'm flattered," I said awkwardly, attempting to fix everything, "but I'm not interested, Nat." There was an uncomfortable pause, which I felt the need to fill, "Not that you're not pretty or anything–"

Jackie's glare was then directed at me and I knew I'd said the wrong thing.

Clearing my throat, I continued, "What I'm trying to say is–"

"Oh, c'mon, it could be fun!" Nat encouraged. "You, me, the skate park you go to that I definitely don't get high in."

Van shrugged, glancing at me. "Could be fun, Y/N."

I furrowed my brows, wondering why she was so on board with the idea of Nat and I going out.

"She doesn't wanna go, so maybe let's just drop it," Jackie suddenly interjected.

"Van's right, Jackie, it could be fun," Shauna said, before nodding at me encouragingly, and now I was outright baffled.

"Yeah, it's not like you're seeing anyone," Van added, looking to me.

Before I could speak, Jackie blurted out, "She is!"

I pursed my lips as I glanced at Jackie's reddening face, both from soccer and her frustration.

Van chuckled. "I think I'd know if my best friend was–"

"She's dating me," Jackie cut her off bluntly. "Y/N is my girlfriend. Okay?!"

I swallowed hard. "That's one way to share it..."

Jackie narrowed her eyes at me, unimpressed, as Van suddenly jumped up with satisfaction.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed, further existing to confuse me. "I knew you guys were dating!"

"You what?" I asked her with raised brows.

"Twenty bucks, please," Nat said with a hand out to Van.

Van sighed and placed a ten dollar bill in Nat's hand, as Shauna did the same. Jackie and I's jaws dropped as we watched the exchange. This was planned?!

"See you around," Nat said with a wink, before leaving the four of us alone.

"You were playing us?!" Jackie asked Shauna with disbelief.

"Van and I had our suspicions, okay?" Shauna admitted. "You two were being super fishy and we waited for you to tell us, but you didn't!"

"Wow," I said with surprise. "How–"

"Manipulative," Jackie finished for me.

"I was gonna say funny," I added, making her stare at me with disapproval.

"You made it so obvious with the lip gloss, y'know," Van pointed out. "And the giggling together in labs? What – did you think we're all blind?"

My cheeks grew warm yet again and I avoided Van's teasing gaze.

"We were actually planning to tell you at some point," Jackie admitted.

"Bit too late," Shauna said playfully. "But look, we're happy for you!"

"Yeah, you guys are cute," Van said with a smile. "How long?"

"Just over a month," I revealed.

Van sighed. "God, you kept me in the dark for that long? Terrible friend."

"Van!"

"I'm kidding," she said with a laugh, before pulling me in for a side hug, to which I shoved her off because she was sweaty. "I'm happy for you, kiddo."

"Shut up," I whined.

"I can't believe you let Nat hit on her when I was stood right here," Jackie complained.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Shauna said with a shrug.

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Barely."

Glad they at least knew, I sighed. "Okay, well since that's been cleared up, Van, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, one sec," she said before going to grab her bag.

"I'll get our stuff," Shauna said to Jackie, before following after Van to grab their bags.

Once Jackie and I were left alone, I stepped forward and took her hands. "Guess that's that."

She sighed. "They're assholes."

I chuckled. "They are. Funny, though."

She scoffed. "Stupid more like." She glanced at me curiously. "You really think Nat is pretty?"

I groaned. "C'mon, Jackie, I was put on the spot! Believe it or not, I've never had to let someone down before. It's not easy."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously before leaning in close.  "You're lucky you're cute."

"Gee, thanks."

A small smile played on her lips before she leaned in, kissing me briefly. Barely a second passed before Van and Shauna felt the need to make vomiting sounds from behind us, making us pull apart.

"Get a room!" Van shouted as Shauna laughed.

"I regret them knowing," I said instantly.

"Same," Jackie laughed.

#jackie taylor x you #jackie taylor imagine #jackie taylor x reader #jackie taylor #yellowjackets imagine #yellowjackets #ella purnell

[queer-irritator]

Everything Has Changed | Kratos x reader

A/N: I was listening to music and Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift came on and it made me think of how one look at Kratos and I was in love lmao. I think Kratos deserves a whirlwind, sudden teenage dream type romance. Pure fluff!

Fem reader, no use of pronouns, but feminine descriptions used.

CW: Adult language, mention of death, mention of mysophobia. 

Word Count: 4,535

---

You lived alone on a small island in Svartalfheim, near Dragon’s Beach. Since the towns nearby were built with dwarves in mind, you didn’t exactly find it the most comfortable to live in Nidavellir. So, you built your own little slice of paradise. You had a quaint home, not unlike those housed by dwarves. You also had your own garden to grow food, and a few pets to keep you company. You found your way into the tight-knit community created by, and for, dwarves after being taken in by the most unlikely candidate in all of Svartalfheim, Sindri.

Left an orphan after your parents were murdered under Odin’s orders, you were stuck wandering the town of Nidavellir at the age of 6. Your parents were adventurers; brave and curious truth-seekers. But when their curiosity brought them to Svartalfheim, dangerously close to what you can only assume was something very sacred to Odin, they were killed. Or, that’s what you think anyway. Odin and the aesir claim there was an “accident” when they were exploring. You didn’t know any better at the time, but Sindri did. Somehow he had convinced Odin not to take you away with him, gods know what he would have done to you if he hadn’t been successful. 

Since then, you’ve looked to Sindri, and the entire community of Nidavellir, as family. It had been almost two decades since then, and now you work hard helping out the dwarves any way you can. You perform chores that are made easy due to your height advantage over them, but most importantly you make yourself available to listen to the community, sort of like a self-appointed therapist. That’s where you were at this very moment, on a hill a few minutes walk outside of town, you call your “office”. You saw a few people each day, but today was slower than usual. On days like this you liked to practice magic and tend to your garden. You took an interest in nature, so Sindri taught you how to manipulate some natural elements, get food to grow quicker, some healing magic, stuff like that. You were planting some seeds for the upcoming harvest season. Your hands, covered in soft, cold dirt, carefully poked holes into the tender earth. You dropped a few seeds in each hole before gently covering them back up. 

The snap of a twig to your left tore your focus away from your current task. You turned your head to meet the sound and couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face. You saw Sindri stepping out from behind a tree, you hadn’t seen him in a few months, the both of you had been consumed in work as of late.

“Sindri!” you called to the dwarf as you dusted the dirt off your hands and stood up.

“Hey, it’s been a while. I-”

You cut off Sindri’s words by running over to him and embracing him in a bone-crunching hug. You were careful to keep your dirty hands away from him, but he hated being touched nonetheless. This was the longest you’ve ever gone without seeing each other, so he was just going to have to deal with your close proximity. You could feel his body tense up around your arms, signaling he had enough. 

“I’m sorry, I know you hate it, but I haven’t seen you in forever!!” You flashed him a sad smile, pleading him not to be upset with you. 

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just… take a bath in bleach.” He was standing so none of his limbs were touching each other, like an awkward sparring dummy. 

“Don’t be so dramatic.” You teased him as you knelt down to rinse your hands in a bucket of water nearby. 

“We breathed the same air for nearly 20 years, a hug is nothing.” you attempted to reason with his brain. You stood up once again and really took in the sight of Sindri standing in front of you. Despite his mysophobia that refused to waver, you really missed him. 

“So, what are you doing here? Just dropping by?”

“No, I… I actually need your help with something.” Sindri’s tone had shifted from annoyed to more serious. “Anything for you, Sin’.” you smiled at him, trying to keep the conversation light. You couldn’t imagine he would have anything horrific to ask of you. You turned to a small shelf and grabbed a clean rag and a bottle of cleaner and handed it to Sindri. 

“Here. I can’t take you seriously with you standing like that, man.” You chuckled. He mumbled out a ‘thanks’ and swiftly began to clean himself.

While Sindri was getting himself into a state of cleanliness that he deemed suitable, he told you of the favor he needed. He explained that the World Tree was dangerously close to becoming overgrown, and Ratatoskr had his hands busy trying to parent the lindwyrms, who were not ready to care for the world tree on their own quite yet.

“Ahh, so now my “dirty hobby” has come to be useful!” You crossed your arms smugly as Sindri rolled his eyes with a scoff. 

“If that’s how you want to look at it…” he murmured. “Just, come to my house when you’re ready. I have to take a bath now.” 

Before you could even agree, Sindri was gone. You chuckled to yourself and began to clean up and get ready to be away for awhile. You said a spell over your newly planted seeds to keep them healthy and watered for the time being. Next you collected some clothes and supplies into a small satchel and picked up your sword. Its hilt was crafted from dwarven steel and the blade was made out of wood from a poison tree and wrapped in thorny vines. You slid it into its sheath on your back and headed to the nearest mystic gateway. 

---

Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir had just returned from freeing the Hafgufa from Vanaheim. There was a trail of sand following behind them.

“I’m really glad we got to set the Hafgufas free, but I don’t think I wanna go to any realms with sand for a while…” Atreus stated as he brushed some sand from his hair

“Aye, I’ve got sand in me neck stump!” Mimir shared Atreus’ disdain for feeling sand in every crevice imaginable. The sound of the front doors opening pulled the men’s attention from their current discomfort.

You took a few steps through the front door before you stopped in your tracks as you locked eyes with perhaps the most invigorating man you’ve ever seen. You hadn’t expected to see anyone else at the house, let alone someone so tantalizing. It felt as if all the breath was stolen from your lungs as you looked deep into his amber eyes. The scowl the man had on his face only a second before had noticeably softened now. It was as if the two of you were the only people in all the nine realms at that moment. After what felt like years of staring into this man’s soul through his eyes, it was cut short as sound filled the air. 

“Y/n! About time I saw you again.” Brok greeted you as he walked out from behind the counter of the workshop. You held your gaze with the giant man for just one more second before reluctantly tearing your eyes away to greet Brok. 

This was no big deal, you just had to act like you hadn’t just seen the most attractive and magnetizing person in your entire life… If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, you sure as Hel believed in it now.

“It’s really great to see you, Brok.” You smiled at the blue dwarf and bent down to engulf him in a hug. You could only hope that he couldn’t feel your heart pounding in your chest. 

Although your back was turned, you could feel the man's eyes on your body. You stood up straight and took a deep breath, readying yourself to speak to the handsome stranger. You turned towards him and held out your hand to greet him as you found yourself drawn to his eyes once again. 

“Hi, I’m (y/n).” You introduced yourself. The man glanced down at your hand and then back at you. He reached his hand out to grasp yours in a surprisingly gentle handshake. 

“Kratos.” is all he said. The sound of his voice was better than anything you imagined. You could have melted into a puddle of goo at that very moment. 

“Kratos.” You smiled as you repeated his name. “It’s very nice to meet you.” You said, letting go of his hand, missing the warmth of his body heat immediately. You looked to your right to see a teenage boy. You had almost missed him in all the feelings and thoughts swirling around in your head. 

Kratos placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, “This is my son, Atreus.” 

You reached your hand out to greet Atreus as well, “It’s very nice to meet you too!” you smiled at the boy. He returned your smile and shook your hand, with much more grip and enthusiasm than his father.

“Good to meet you as well! So, how do you know Sindri?” Atreus asked, assuming only people close to the dwarf would be allowed access into his home. You chuckled slightly, thinking he was joking around. When he glanced around awkwardly you realized how serious he was. 

“Oh…” you started, confusion showing on your face, but it soon turned to agitation. “Oh my gods.” You quickly turned your head to Brok. “He… He doesn’t talk about me?” You practically yelled in astonishment. 

“Hey, don’t take it out on me… But, uh, let me take a look at yer sword.” Brok knew just how to evade your annoyance. You took out your sword and set it down on the workshop table with a scoff as you repeated your words with disbelief, “He doesn’t talk about me…” 

Kratos and Atreus silently exchanged glances to each other as they were left guessing how you and Sindri were acquainted. One situation in particular was swirling around Kratos’ mind, that you were romantically involved with the dwarf. Disappointment had crept up onto him as he began to entertain this thought. 

“Uhm… Are you and Sindri, like… dating?” Atreus awkwardly asked you, staring at his own feet to avoid your gaze. 

“No! Oh, no, not at all! He raised me!” You had been so lost in your annoyance that you never answered the boy's question. 

Kratos felt relief wash over him. He wasn’t sure why he was relieved, or why he cared if you had been something more than a friend or family member to Sindri. He had just met you, he should not be having these types of thoughts or feelings about anyone, let alone a stranger.

“Ohhh!” Atreus chuckled a little, finally looking up at you again. “Wait- Sindri had a kid?” He glanced at his father and then back to you. “Are you-”

You cut Atreus off before things could get awkward again, “No, I’m like an adopted sibling he never wanted.” you cleared the air. 

Seemingly right on cue, Sindri entered the house.

“Oh! I didn’t realize you three would be back already...” Sindri shifted his weight from side to side, seemingly unprepared to introduce you to his guests. But his awkward demeanor soon switched to panic as he noticed the pool of sand in his house. 

“Really?!” Sindri sighed loudly as he fetched a broom from a nearby closet. “You two, get outside!” He commanded Kratos and Atreus, pushing the broom at their heels to rush them out of his previously pristine house. 

Once the duo had been escorted outside, Sindri shot them a warning, “And do NOT come back in until you are sand-free!”

Sindri propped the front doors open and began to sweep the sand out of the house. You were left watching the entire ordeal with a slightly amused look on your face. You figured you could give Sindri shit later for not telling his friends about you, he had enough on his plate for the time being. For now, your gaze drifted back towards Kratos.

“Uhm, I’m gonna go take a bath.” Atreus notified his father before turning his back to walk through a small wooden gate on the side of the house to clean up. 

Kratos grumbled slightly and unhooked Mimir from his belt, setting him down on the bottom step of the stairs leading into the house. He then proceeded to take off each piece of his armor and shake the sand out from them. You took your time to look over his upper body. Your eyes trailed the bright red tattoo, from the sharp edge on his face to the swirl on his bicep, and the curve on his abdomen. You couldn’t help admiring his muscular physique and taking note of the large scar on his stomach, and a smaller one over his eye. 

“Alright, quit yer drooling.” Brok’s voice snapped you back into reality. He set down your sword on the counter in between the two of you.

You whipped your head towards the dwarf, a soft pink blush falling over your cheeks. 

“Fuck off, I was not drooling…” You defended yourself, snatching your sword back. You took a moment to look over Brok’s upgrades before returning it to its sheath.

“Whatever you say, princess.” Brok teased you further. 

You rolled your eyes and started to walk down the steps outside. You were careful not to make any more of a mess for Sindri, but not careful enough to notice a severed head on the very last step. In your effort to avoid stepping on the head, you tripped over your own two feet. Instead of feeling the harsh impact of the ground, you felt a warm hand on your upper arm. You looked up to see Kratos holding onto you. His piercing brown eyes were staring right into your soul, again. You felt your heart rate pick up, you opened your mouth to speak but no words came out. His grip loosened on you and he returned his hand to his side. 

“You should be more careful.” Kratos advised you. 

“Yeah- uhm, I’m sorry about that.” You turned to the severed head on the steps, “I’m really sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s the big oaf’s fault for settin’ me down there.” The head was surprisingly forgiving of your clumsiness. A tinge of pink settled across your cheeks as you looked back to Kratos. The man just grunted in response to the head. 

“I’m Mimir, it’s nice to meet you.” The head introduced himself at last. You sat down on the steps next to Mimir. 

“Right back at’cha. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier.” You felt guilt for over-looking him earlier. Although, you did overlook just about everyone except for Kratos… 

“Don’t even mention it. How could ya have seen me?” Mimir continued to joke at the expense of Kratos. A smile spread across your face. Before you could continue your conversation, a voice rang out.

“Master (y/n)!” A familiar voice entered your eardrums, Ratatoskr. A small sigh escaped your lips as you stood up. 

“Duty calls.” You announced. “I’ll see you two around.” You gave a smile to Mimir and a wave to Kratos before walking over to speak with the abnormally large squirrel. It was time to find out what exactly you’ll be helping him with. 

Kratos’ gaze followed you as you walked away from him. His eyes raked over your figure, memorizing the way you walked and how your hips moved with each step. 

“Father?” Atreus’ voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hm?” Kratos turned his attention to his son and continued to shake the last of the sand out of his waist armor. 

“I was just saying that the bath is ready for you, and I can clean up out here.” Atreus shifted his gaze between Mimir and his father. Kratos simply nodded his head, dropping the armor he was holding and headed to get himself cleaned up. 

Atreus began to gather the armor from the ground. “Uhh, do you think he’s acting a little… weird today?” 

“I think he might be a wee bit tired from all the traveling, lad. Speaking of, would you mind helping me clean up a bit?” 

“Sure, no problem Mimir.” Atreus smiled and got to work. 

---

You spent the next few hours getting a tour of the World Tree and extremely detailed instructions from Ratatoskr on how to care for it. He explained how to prune the branches, what limbs held which realms, what you should never touch, the list went on and on. Your head was so filled with new information it felt like your brain was going to explode. You walked into the house just as it was getting dark outside after finally being relieved for the evening. Even though the realm between realms doesn’t have a sun and a moon, it was still nice to have it simulate days and nights, so as to not lose track of time. The scent of meat and spices filled your nostrils, Brok was in the kitchen stirring a large pot, of what you assume was dinner. 

“That smells amazing.” You said, walking towards Brok. You stopped in front of the giant pot and picked up a spoon to give the stew a taste test. “Tastes amazing too.” 

“It ain’t ready yet.” Brok snatched the spoon out of your hand. You put your hands up in defense.

“Sorry, I guess I’ll just wait then… and never compliment you again.” you turned your back and headed to where you used to sleep growing up.

“Wait, that’s-” Before Brok could finish his warning, you opened the door to be greeted by Kratos sitting on the side of a makeshift bed. The only item of clothing he had on was dark brown pants. He almost looked like a different person without all his armor on. There was even more scarring hiding under his wrist armor, it looked like chains had been branded onto his forearms.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were staying in here.” You apologized for intruding. 

Kratos looked up to meet your gaze, “It is fine.”

You gave him a small smile and looked around the room, “This place hasn’t changed much. I used to stay in this room when I was younger.” You leaned against the wall as a flood of memories entered your mind. 

“You can have the room if you wish.” Kratos said as he stood up with a slight grunt. 

“No, I couldn’t kick you out of your room. You probably need it more than me. Plus, the chair out there is pretty comfy.” You assured him.

“Mh… Let me know if you change your mind.” He began to wrap some red cloth around his forearms. 

“So, how did you come to have a talking severed head as your companion?” You questioned him.

“I cut it off.” Kratos replied to you plainly. 

“Huh?” You had confusion written all over your face.

“He was trapped. Imprisoned in a tree and tortured everyday. He asked me to cut off his head to free him. So I did.” Kratos further explained. 

“Oh, that’s actually really kind of you.” You said, reflecting on the odd, but thoughtful, request.

Kratos grunted in response.

Just as you were about to ask him more about himself, you heard Brok announce that dinner was ready. You gave Kratos one more look over. His lack of clothing was incredibly inviting, but you were hungry and tired. 

“I’ll see you out there.” You excused yourself and walked out to the table to sit down and get some food. 

---

Dinner was nice and casual, there was no residual awkwardness from the days prior events. You got to know more about Atreus, that boy really likes to talk. He was going on about the different types of monsters he’s fought with his dad. He seemed the most proud of defeating a huge electric dragon a few years ago. The most surprising detail of the story was that Sindri utilized one of the dragon’s teeth to enhance Atreus’ bow. Swapping stories around the dinner table made the time go by far too fast for your liking. It felt like the six of you had been friends for a lifetime. When the conversation had died down, you stood up and collected the empty plates. You made your way to the kitchen to wash up while Kratos and Atreus went into their respective rooms.

“I can get that, you should get some rest.” Sindri’s voice came from behind you. You turned your head to look at him.

“No, I really don’t mind!” You insisted, turning on the water. 

“Okay… Well, to be honest I don’t trust anyone else washing the dishes but me.” Sindri admitted. 

“Mmmh, the truth comes out.” You chuckled and stepped away from the sink. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“You just rest. You’ve done a lot for me today… Thank you.” Sindri gave you a small smile and got started on cleaning up. 

You had an idea brewing in your mind. You couldn’t get your mind off of Kratos. You just wanted to know more about him, he was all you could think of. You found a spare piece of paper, scribbled down a note, slipped it under Kratos’ door and made yourself scarce. 

“Brother, someone’s slipped a note under your door.” Mimir alerted Kratos, who was laying down on his makeshift bed. He pulled the weight of himself up with a slight grunt and walked over to where the note was. He bent down and picked it up, unfolding it carefully. 

Meet me at the side of the house. 

Kratos furrowed his brows and let out a confused grumble. He set the note down on a crate near his bed and stepped out of his room. 

“Aye, what did it say??” Mimir questioned, but the only response he got was the sound of the door closing and heavy footsteps leading further and further away. 

You were sitting on a barrel, leaning your back against the side of the house and nervously tapping your fingertips on your thigh. You heard the front door open and close, causing you to spring to your feet and run a hand through your hair to tame any fly-aways. You watched as Kratos entered through the side gate, latching it behind him. Your heartbeat started to increase with each step he took toward you. He stopped a few feet away from you.

“You wanted to see me?” Kratos spoke with a hint of confusion laced in his words.

“Yeah, I did…” You took a step toward him, taking in a deep breath before looking up into his eyes. “I’ve really enjoyed talking to you, and I just wanna know you better.” You confessed your infatuation with the man.

“What would you wish to know?” Kratos asked you. 

“Everything?” You responded, taking another step closer to him, leaving only a few inches of space in between you.

“Mh… That may take awhile.” Kratos looked down at you, his chest steadily rising and falling with each breath he took. It was beyond your grasp how he could remain so calm and stoic, but it made you want him more than ever. 

“I have time.” You told him with a small smile. You lifted your hand from your side and carefully placed it on Kratos’ cheek, right where his beard began to sprout. You looked in his eyes for any signs of hesitation, but you found none. You leaned up on your tippy toes and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. 

You leaned back just a few centimeters from him and opened your eyes. He hadn’t moved a muscle, it was like you had kissed a statue. Kratos had a look of surprise and confusion sprawled across his face. His eyes were raking over your facial features, searching for any hint of disgust. He was waiting for you to shove him away, to start laughing at him. He was expecting to hear you question who would ever want to touch a monster like him. But you were just staring right back at him, looking increasingly worried by the second. 

“Are you okay?” You spoke, barely above a whisper. Had you broken him? Did he not like you? Was he trying to find a way to let you down without hurting your feelings? Your embarrassment started to manifest itself as redness across your cheeks, darkening with each moment of silence that passed. 

Kratos nodded ever so slightly and one of his hands ghosted just above your hip, barely making contact with your body. 

You placed your free hand on top of his, encouraging him to make full contact with you. You placed both of your hands on either side of his face and kissed him again. Only this time, you weren’t as gentle. You started with a firm kiss and then began to move your lips against his, trying to encourage him to kiss you back. You felt his hand on your hip pull you closer to his body and then you finally felt his lips start to move against yours. He dipped his head down so you didn’t have to strain to reach his lips. You couldn’t hold back a faint moan erupting from your throat as you wrapped your arms around his neck, trying to get even closer to Kratos. He now placed both his hands on your hips, tilting his head slightly to the side to deepen the kiss. After a few more moments, you weren’t sure if it was a lack of oxygen, or if you were getting drunk off of the feeling of Kratos on you, but you were getting dizzy. You stopped kissing him and placed a hand on his chest to steady yourself and took a moment to catch your breath. Kratos watched you cautiously, he gently brushed a strand of hair out of your face with the back of his hand. Your face was flushed pink and your lips were wet with the mix of both of your saliva. He hadn’t had any feelings like this in a long, long time. 

“Uhm…” You looked up at Kratos, pleasantly surprised to see he was watching you carefully, “Would you wanna get a drink with me sometime?” 

For the first time you saw the man’s cheeks firm up into a slight smile and heard the sweet sound of a chuckle escape his lips. 

“Why don’t we go now?” He proposed.

You nodded in response, “Yeah, that sounds great.” You smiled back at him, not caring if you looked like a complete idiot. 

“Let us go then.” He declared, walking towards the gate and holding it open for you.

“Okay, I know just the place.” You walked through the small wooden gate and excitedly waited for Kratos to catch up to you at the mystic gateway. 

---

A/N: Thank you for reading! I very well may do a part two to this story. Feedback and interaction helps me know if you want me to continue!

#god of war #god of war ragnorak #gow #gowr #kratos #gow kratos #kratos x reader #kratos x fem reader #kratos x gn reader #kratos fluff #kratos smut #gow fanfic #gow fanfiction #gow sindri #gow spoilers #gowr spoilers #atreus #sindri #brok

[aritakahashi]

Raiden Headcanons

⊹˚. ♡˖This post will include mixed headcanons of both Raiden himself and what he’s like in a relationship!

♡ Word Count: 1.501

♡ Warnings: None!

(This is fully gender neutral on reader’s side!)

- He’s a shy guy, he probably confessed to you as red as a tomato and stuttering as if he’s about to go into cardiac arrest.

- He’s very interested in nature. He loves birds and squirrels. Probably has a dozen encyclopedias in his place about various animals, earth and space.

- Absolutely loves lofi/indie/indie folk music. Usually listens to whatever calms his mind, not so keen to rock/metal/pop music but he likes to listen to late 2000s / early 2010s hits because of Kung Lao and Johnny.

- Plant dad. He has lots of plants, flowers and vegetables in his garden and in the house. He likes taking care of them, and spends a lot of time to make sure every one of them is healthy.

- Loves both dogs and cats, so he’s neither a dog or a cat person. He would love to adopt one each, if not more. Knowing his love for animals, he would always leave a big bowl of water and food outside his garden so strays can drink and eat; regularly checks it so he can fill them up when they’re empty. Definitely has a bird feeder somewhere.

- His love languages are words of affirmation and acts of service. He will shower you with compliments, always support your decisions (unless they’re concerning) and he will do his best helping you with all the work. He will help you with chores, running errands, cooking, baking, even your own work if he has an idea of what it is. He loves giving gifts as well but he makes sure it’s either handmade or something he thinks you would really like.

- He has a super calm personality. He’s a pacifist, he sees fight as the absolute last option in a situation.

- He’s a stay at home guy, not really keen on social stuff but he’ll have a great time with you and friends if you come up with outside activities.

- Crowds aren’t generally his thing, but he will find calmness in watching people when he’s sitting somewhere having his tea. It brings him peace to know everyone has their own lives just like he does. It makes him feel more alive.

- When he takes you out on dates, it’s usually coffee dates or a small street food place that makes good food. He’s not a fan of extravagant stuff, so he keeps it as minimal as he can.

- He doesn’t drink, and he doesn’t smoke. This doesn’t mean he won’t drink at all though; he will drink 1-2 bottles of beer occasionally in social settings, but that’s about it. Since he barely drinks, he’s quite lightweight and will get drunk easily.

- He’s a touchy one, but not in the inappropriate way. He loves holding you, hugging you, kissing your head, nose and forehead. He likes to kiss your forehead the most.

- He loves reading interesting facts about our world. His Instagram reels are full of zoology, geology etc. kind of nerdy posts. When he watches tv, it’s usually documentary channels. He doesn’t like following the news because there’s usually sad or stressful things.

- Very positive person, he will look at everything on the brightest side possible.

- His sister would love you and you’d frequently have girl nights together, sometimes even pull pranks on Raiden if you’re feeling mischievous enough.

- You’re both his partner in life and his best friend (along with Kung Lao, CAN’T erase him from this part). He will share EVERYTHING with you, and will be really happy every time you do the same.

- Very easy to communicate. No arguments happen in the relationship because you two handle it like two grown adults by communicating your feelings and understanding each other. He has very high empathy, and will do his best to get your point if there’s a disagreement.

- He gets cold easily, so he will wear the fluffiest and warmest sweaters during winter. You will find him wrapped around blankets while he’s watching TV, with hot chocolate or tea in his mug.

- He likes playing board and card games, his favorites are the ones that you need to use your thinking skills.

- When he watches TV series, he will resort to sitcoms more than fantasy, drama etc, he thinks he already has enough fantasy elements in his life thanks to Liu Kang and being an Earthrealm Champion. He also loves animation movies; especially classics like Ice Age, Kung Fu Panda and Shrek.

- His favorite Disney princess is probably Mulan.

- He prefers village life over city life.

- He has a light blue pickup truck and it’s still in perfect condition despite being very old.

- He loves thrifting and will often go thrift shopping with you.

- He has a big library in the house filled with informative and literary books.

- Loves buying small decorations for the house. I believe he’d keep it more minimal with warm colors, and it’d feel very cozy inside.

- He works out in the house once in a while, but farming is usually enough physical activity for him.

- He will meditate regularly.

- He loves all the traditional Chinese food. Wonton soup makes him feel all warm and happy, and he’s obsessed with Kung Pao chicken.

- He’s interested in every mythology, but his favorites are Egyptian and Greek mythologies because they’re very complex and he can be occupied reading them and thinking over them for hours.

- He loves word puzzle games.

- He adores every traditional festival and will drag you with him and Kung Lao. His favorites are Chinese New Year and Mid Autumn Festival; he loves eating as many moon cakes as he can during Mid Autumn. He also loves seeing you in traditional Chinese clothing when you go to the festivals with them.

- He’s not a big fan of anime, but will watch them with Kung Lao and then complain about some nonsense, making Kung Lao side eye him and say “shut up, your sitcoms are way worse than this.”

- His YouTube recommendations consists of animal/nature/space documentaries, mythology and philosophy along with funny animal videos.

- (Very self indulgent) if you watch true crime documentaries, it makes him worry about your mental health sometimes, but you reassure him that everything is fine.

- Hates big lights, loves dim lighting. He will only keep smaller lamps on in the house. He thinks it’s more calming and easy on the eyes.

- He will frequently light candles and use incense. He might even use sage to help fight off negative energies once in a while; he’s a believer in spirits and such things like that.

- Very helpful towards everyone around him even when he doesn’t necessarily know the person. He will offer his help to anyone struggling with a task, will always help old ladies and grandpas with carrying their stuff around the village.

- He writes poems sometimes, but no one knows about them except you.

- He doesn’t know a lot about computers and phones, so if he struggles in something he will ask you instead of trying to handle it himself.

- He’s very interested in nature photography. He will never miss a chance of snapping a good scenery photo.

- He’s better at cooking than he is at baking. He once burnt a pie and mourned it for 3 days because he spent so much time on it.

- He can sew and crochet. If you have any damaged clothing, he will fix them up right away.

- Never wastes food. If you are picky, he will eat what you don’t off your plate even if he’s full.

- Loves preparing you breakfast and sometimes does it while you’re asleep, bringing it to you to the bed with flowers he picked off the garden.

- He can sing well, but is insecure about it despite your encouragement.

- He once tried skating after Kung Lao gaslit him, and he almost cracked his butt after falling.

- He loves bicycle rides. He will go on rides every day usually during evening, and will watch the sunset in somewhere nice before going back home.

- Hiking is a good hobby for him. He loves taking walks in forests and he likes camping a lot. He will bring you with him when he goes camping and hiking, sometimes Kung Lao will join. You guys sit around the bonfire as you eat marshmallows on sticks and Kung Lao babbles scary stories, trying to creep you out.

- Fengjian Teahouse is his favorite place to spend time when he’s in the village. Everyone knows and adores him.

- He would listen to your chatter about anything for hours. Your hyperfixations are entertaining for him and he will try to learn as much as he can so he can join the conversation because he knows you appreciate it a lot.

⊹˚. ♡˖ Hope you enjoyed!

#raiden x reader #raiden mk1 #raiden #raiden mortal Kombat #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat #mk1 2023 #mk1 #mortal kombat 1 #mortal kombat 2023 #raiden mk

[frostfairysteve]

Steve spends the first week after graduation trying to find a job and himself. He goes in and out of stores, leaving applications and looking through their shelves.

His parents are home; his dad is just waiting for an opportunity to kick him out or force him into an office job depending on if he's in a good mood or not when Steve inevitably gives up.

Of course, Steve has no plans on proving his dad right by giving up. His parents didn't even have the decency to attend his graduation; they only came home to confirm his college plans, hoping for something to brag about. Steve can't count how many times he's been called a disappointment in the last week.

He comes home with a job at Scoops Ahoy and a tarot deck. His parents leave the same way they came; without telling him.

The second week after graduation is interesting. Steve spends the days working for minimal wage with a coworker that makes fun of him and the evenings trying to learn tarot.

After the first time that he successfully does a reading for himself, he starts remembering the herbal remedies his mum would use when he was young and often got sick. The more he uses the tarot deck, the more he thinks about her herb garden and books, the more aware he is of his failing hearing and vision on the left side.

The latter has more to do with his job than the tarot deck, but it does make him wonder if there's anything he can do with plants. He can't go to the hospital without risking breaking the terms of two NDAs.

So Steve finds the books his mum used and starts reading them, writing down notes for what plants would be good to start growing, for what remedies actually seem helpful. What makes for helpful teas or incense or oils, what makes for good charms to carry around.

He remembers best through repetition so he makes rituals of the most useful things; it also helps getting him to use it. Much like how his self-care routines are rituals in a way.

Steve knows people are starting to whisper about him, knows that it's strange that he's carrying around plants and a tarot deck, that he takes moments out of his day to remember to breathe and recite self affirmations like they were spells. His hair is growing longer and wilder, he tilts his head to see and hear better, he's no longer trying to repress hundreds of small things just to fit in. He's letting himself be strange, letting himself use movement to process his emotions and repeat sounds because it feels good. He stops trying to force words out when there feels like a disconnect between his brain and mouth.

It's a month after graduation when he's taking the trash out at the end of his shift and hears something behind the dumpster. There's a small kitten that seems to be screaming with how loud the meows are.

Steve has never been allowed a pet, but he loves petting Tews when he's over at Dustin's, and it would help him feel less lonely. So he takes the kitten home.

Once he has given the poor thing a bath, the kitten turns out to be completely white, and very skinny. Steve has no idea how old it is, doesn't know what he should feed it, and it's too late to take it to a vet.

He's thinking about possible names as he's going through the fridge for the milk; the only cat names he knows are Mews and Tews. He's trying to think if it has to end with -ews when his eyes land on the slices of honeydew that his mum had left behind.

Steve feels quite proud of himself for naming the cat Honeydew; it follows the one rule for cat names that he knows of, and he can call it Honey for short, which is very cute.

Dustin laughs at him when Steve first tells him about the cat, and takes to calling Honeydew for Dewey, as in the Dewey Decimal System. Steve doesn't bother correcting it; he's pretty sure Honey is deaf. It explains the loud meowing and how the cat never seem to react to noise.

He still wants to be able to communicate with his new cat, and maybe it would be good for him too, so Steve borrows any books on ASL he can find. And he makes sure that Honeydew knows that the sign for Honey is its name.

When Steve does take Honeydew to a vet, he gets it confirmed that the kitten is male, around five weeks old, and completely deaf.

Honey's eyes turn green with time (kittens all have blue eyes the first six weeks).

Steve carries Honey around on his shoulders a lot.

thanks @metalmunch for the name!

#steve harrington #autistic steve harrington #witch steve collection #i don't know how accurate the timeline is #i'll correct it in the next post if needed #honeydew the familiar