#Environmental transformation

[tmarshconnors]

Prospect of change

The prospect of change refers to the potential or likelihood of a future alteration, transformation, or shift in a particular situation, system, or context. Change is a fundamental aspect of life and affects various aspects of human existence, including personal lives, relationships, organizations, societies, and even the global landscape. It can occur in different forms, such as technological advancements, social and cultural shifts, political reforms, economic developments, and environmental transformations.

The prospect of change can evoke a wide range of emotions and reactions in individuals and communities. Some people may embrace change as an opportunity for growth, innovation, and improvement. They may see it as a chance to overcome challenges, explore new possibilities, and achieve greater success. Others may feel anxious or resistant to change, fearing the unknown, potential disruptions, or the loss of familiar routines or structures.

The prospect of change can be driven by various factors and catalysts. Technological advancements, for example, have been major drivers of change throughout history. Innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, automation, biotechnology, renewable energy, and communication technologies continue to shape and redefine our societies and the way we live and work.

Social and cultural factors also contribute to the prospect of change. Evolving attitudes, values, and norms can lead to shifts in societal expectations and practices. Movements advocating for equality, diversity, and sustainability, for instance, have prompted changes in policies, laws, and social structures in many parts of the world.

Political and economic factors can also create the conditions for change. Political reforms, revolutions, or shifts in power dynamics can lead to significant transformations in governance, policies, and institutions. Economic factors, such as globalization, market fluctuations, or the emergence of new industries, can drive changes in employment patterns, wealth distribution, and consumer behaviors.

Environmental factors, including climate change, natural disasters, and resource depletion, are increasingly shaping the prospect of change. The need for sustainable practices, renewable energy sources, and climate mitigation and adaptation measures are driving transformative shifts in various sectors and industries.

It is important to note that the prospect of change is often accompanied by both opportunities and challenges. While change can bring about positive outcomes and advancements, it can also lead to uncertainty, disruptions, and inequalities. It requires individuals, organizations, and societies to adapt, be flexible, and proactively manage and navigate through the process of change.

Overall, the prospect of change is a constant presence in our lives. Recognizing and understanding its potential implications allows us to prepare, embrace opportunities, and navigate the challenges that arise as we move into the future.

[thoughtsonhurtandcomfort]

Shun the Light - Ch 19 - Belladonna

Masterlist

Author's Notes: This chapter skips around a lot too, but not a ton happens and I didn't want it to become repetitive so I tried to just skip to the juicy parts. Matteo POV!

Content Warnings: werewolf whump, environmental whump, homelessness, painful transformation, poison, illness (fever, nausea, dizziness, stomach ache), angst, loneliness, dehydration, vampire whump, beaten, bruises

----

Feeling healthy and with money in his pocket, Matteo could get far away from here. He could have a plan this time, get off to a better start.

That's not what happens.

Matteo regrets leaving almost immediately. It's abundantly clear now that that was his emotions getting the better of him yet again. If he had waited a day or two he might have thought twice about it.

Now it's too late. Dante didn't stop him. That had to mean something, right? Of the two of them, Dante has been the more honest. If he was okay with Matteo staying, he would have said something...

...right?

In the same train of thought he will go from believing that Dante wanted him gone to remembering how he looked as Matteo walked out. Not upset, just...hollow.

Matteo could tell Dante was lonely, he never had to say it aloud. It was etched onto his face, it echoed through the empty rooms. Loneliness was a weight on Dante's shoulders and any time Matteo managed to lift it a little he felt warm inside. Those felt like the only times he ever did anything right.

And he left.

-

With some of the money from Dante he buys a tent, a sleeping bag, better shoes and a coat. He tucks the rest away for food...and for medicine, if it comes to that.

Matteo lingers in the area. He relocates to a stretch of forest on the other side of town, but still only a few miles away from Dante's home. Part of him secretly hopes they'll run into each other, but it's a longshot. Still, he takes a walk almost every night just in case.

Even with new provisions, returning to his old lifestyle is hard, much harder than it should be after only a couple of months. It isn't just the stiffness from sleeping on the ground, the constant fear he'll be discovered, or always being a little too hot or too cold. It's being utterly alone in the world, with no one who cares if he lives to see the next day or not.

Despair sets in quickly and grows with each passing week.

-

On the night of the full moon he has nowhere to go.

Matteo hides his stuff so at least the wolf doesn't destroy everything he bought. He tries to get to as secluded a spot as he possibly can, going so far as to hide in a cave, though there is nothing stopping the wolf from just leaving.

There he waits.

-

-

-

It's so hot...

The morning is actually quite mild, but Matteo wakes sweltering and parched. He couldn't move if he tried. All he can do is lie on his back and shiver and moan through bouts of dizziness and nausea.

His usual sore limbs and pounding head are drowned out by a sharp ache in his stomach that won't relent. Matteo turns onto his side and curls in on himself, rubbing at his belly to try to soothe it. Only then does he notice there's something wet on his hands.

He finally opens his eyes and looks at his shaking hands, fearing he'll find blood - but the substance is purple and sticky. He takes in his immediate surroundings and spots a bush just feet away with branches torn from it. The ground is scattered with crushed berries.

Matteo groans and presses his face into the cool, dewy grass.

Stupid mutt. Just eats whatever it finds.

Before he knows it he's crying weakly. He's sick and sore, feverish and exhausted. He needs water and medicine, a lukewarm bath, a soft bed...

He sobs harder knowing that just a month ago he had all that and more. Now Matteo would do anything for even a moment with Dante's cool hand on his forehead and his calm voice in his ear.

Crying only makes his head pound harder and his thirst worse. If he doesn't get to water soon he doesn't know if he'll make it through the day.

The journey to where he hid his backpack is a long and arduous one. Every time he tries to stand his head spins and he collapses...so he crawls over the rough terrain on hands and knees. The sharp pangs in his stomach continue, often forcing him to double over and focus on breathing until the worst of it passes.

By the time he reaches his things - which are, to his relief, still there - it is late in the afternoon and Matteo is worn down in every way possible. Panting heavily, he leans against a tree and pulls a large water bottle out of his bag. His hands shake as he uncaps it and lifts it to his mouth. He drinks the whole thing, trickling the last few drops of it over his warm face.

Too weak to set up his tent, he uses his backpack as a pillow and passes out.

-

Two days later Matteo is finally strong enough to stand and walk in short bursts.

Now he has to make a choice: go back to Dante, or actually leave this time.

He can't take another month waiting to be...to be rescued, or whatever it was he thought was going to happen. It's only by sheer luck that he hasn't been discovered yet, and that won't last forever.

But he has nowhere to go that is any safer. Out of hope and with nothing to lose, Matteo decides.

Maybe if I beg. Maybe if I offer him my blood, as much as he wants. I can sleep in the basement and live off of scraps like a fucking animal. I don't care anymore.

Even at his lowest Matteo doesn't believe Dante would make him do that. The worst he can do is turn him away, in which case Matteo is right back where he started. But if there wasn't some small part of him that believed he might be welcome, he wouldn't even try. He has to try.

-

Late that night he is still walking, and still barely halfway there.

Matteo overestimated what his recovering body was ready for. He has to take frequent breaks and quickly goes through his remaining water. His appetite hasn't returned and his fever hasn't broken. At this rate he'll have to rest and restock sooner rather than later, which means another night alone in the forest.

He follows the nearest main road and finds a gas station with a 24/7 convenience store. Despite his haggard appearance the cashier barely acknowledges him. Matteo buys several more waters and some medicine without incident.

A few buildings away the only other open business is a bar. Some cars and motorcycles are parked out front and loud music thrums from its walls. Matteo keeps his head down and keeps his gaze straight ahead, not wanting any trouble.

As he passes, Matteo's attention is drawn to something happening in the darkness to one side of the building where the streetlight doesn't quite reach. His senses are still sharp, and maybe that's how he makes out the sound of muffled grunts over the bar's music.

Matteo cautiously moves closer until he can see a group of figures, four of them standing around a fifth that is crumpled on the ground. They're ruthlessly beating someone, and their victim either can't or won't fight back.

Don't get involved, idiot. You're in no shape for a fight.

Steel-toed boots make contact with the fallen man's ribs and he gives an awful wheezing sound that makes Matteo flinch in sympathy and put a hand to his own side.

"HEY!" he shouts. The four men standing freeze in place. Matteo panics a little but feigns confidence as he adds, "break it up or I'm calling the cops!"

At first they seem to ignore him. One lifts the limp body from the ground and slams it against the wall, leaning in to say something that Matteo doesn't catch.

But then he drops him and motions to his three companions. To Matteo's immense relief they walk away, toward the small gravel parking lot, where they get into a car and speed away.

Matteo cautiously approaches the injured man, who hasn't made an effort to get up.

"You need me to call someone for you?" he asks nervously. He doesn't have a phone, but the bar will.

The slumped figure remains silent. He isn't moving, he isn't even...

"Shit, he's not breathing," Matteo realizes. He throws caution out the window and goes to the man's side. "Hey, are you o...kay..."

Matteo nearly stops breathing himself.

Even bruised he knows that face, those pearl-gray eyes.

"Dante?"

[blackrosesandwhump]

Whump Prompt 97

Write something inspired by this concept:

A mermaid gets obsessed with a human and uses dark magic to trick him into becoming a merperson too. He has no choice but to follow her into the depths of the ocean.

The problem is, changing into a merman is horribly uncomfortable and traumatizing. As he adjusts to his captivity in an underwater prison, light and air feel like they're a lifetime away.

[transingthoseformers]

Imagining situations where the Cybertronians do have more than one biological sex...

But it's based around an entirely different system than humans

[steelthroat]

I think that there is potential to use environmentalism and the concept of Primus in the Transformers universe (if it hasn't already been done, I may have missed it). Like Avatar but with robots and functionism...

Oh... You know what? There are some weird similarities between avatar (blue) and transformers.

Plug and play (sexual or not) interfacing (transformers fanon)[that isn't inherently sexual], and that weird thing with the tails (avatar) [that isn't inherently sexual]

Their deity is their planet and they are all somehow connected [Not so explicitly in Transformers, but come on they are robots, they are connected and when I find the time I'm going to talk about this too]

The relationship with the human race is... complicated [for the transformers, it depends on the continuity tho]

There are more similarities, I'm sure about this, but I'm tired and digressing.

It's almost 2 a.m. here, but now I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow: plan a new fanfiction about transformers and environmentalism. (If someone wants to jump on this train, please be my guest, I'd love to hear everyone's ideas or co-write, idk)

[beeapocalypse]

OKAY goodnight for real now :-)

[turiyatitta]

The Environment's Role in Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth is an inward journey that involves deepening self-awareness, a connection to a higher purpose, and a pursuit of inner peace and enlightenment. Though one might perceive spiritual growth as purely internal, the environment plays an instrumental role in shaping this voyage.**The Outer Reflects the Inner**: Spirituality isn’t limited to the realm of meditation, prayers, or religious…

[parhelionz]

white people have got to stop analyzing historic texts if they don't pay attention to the language they themselves use to describe the non-white people within them. especially when it comes to indigenous and black people

[sidewalkchemistry]

One Beautiful Piece of Advice I Heard Recently (Re: Ethical Vegans & Other Eco-Conscious Babes) 🌍🌱☺️

Never neglect yourself in your efforts.

Yep. It was just that.

But so many forget that self-care is everyone care. So sometimes people will forget to invite deep nourishment in their lives. But we have to continue to be compassionate to ourselves!

Wanting to "do the right thing" sometimes creates a veil of guilt. Guilt does not allow you to make clear headed decisions and cultivate a happy thought space. If we really wanna keep up loving devotion and mindfulness about our interconnectedness, we should just focus on doing the best we can when we are able. Trust that all will fall into place in its time. Do not settle for a diet of junk food. Do not become strictly utilitarian in your purchases. Do not become anxious about the waste you are creating. Do not spend your days watching animal cruelty videos. When you direct your mind with nonjudgmental awareness to your actions and support yourself with a lifestyle of self-care, you naturally make changes for everyone's good. This is what it is to be a 'conscious consumer.'

Being stewards for the Earth has to be a way of life that feels luxurious, abundant, and joyful. I feel sad when people forget that.

May all beings be blissful 💚

[aeide-thea]

A new way of sucking carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in the sea has been outlined by scientists. The authors say that this novel approach captures CO2 from the atmosphere up to three times more efficiently than current methods. The warming gas can be transformed into bicarbonate of soda and stored safely and cheaply in seawater.

[thoughtsonhurtandcomfort]

I hate to send two asks back to back but I also just saw the sick fic prompts and would very much like some clean crisp pajamas for Matteo after a full moon eventually.

sick whump scenarios: > crisp, clean pajamas

never apologize for asks!! <3

Content Warnings: werewolf whump, painful transformation, environmental whump, implied nudity, sunburn

----

Transformations never get easier, but the mornings after have improved immeasurably.

On cloudy mornings Dante can search for him, and often finds Matteo before he even wakes up and is there to soothe him in his first, fitful moments of consciousness.

Other days the sun is out and Matteo has to make his way home alone. But no matter how long it takes, he feels lucky to have a home to go to at all.

He stumbles in from the bright light of day, relieved to be in the comforting shadows of the old house. Dante is waiting on the stairs. As soon as the door closes he goes to Matteo's side.

Matteo leans his head on Dante's shoulder; Dante looks him over.

"You're sunburned," he notices with concern.

"Yeah," Matteo sighs.

"Does this hurt?" Dante puts a hand on his back.

Matteo shivers. "No. Feels good."

"I bet bed would feel good too."

"Mmhmm. And clothes."

Dante helps him up the stairs and to his bedroom, where a freshly made bed awaits. On top of the covers sits a pair of neatly folded, clean pajamas.

"Can you help me?" Matteo asks quietly. He's getting better at asking for what he needs.

So far Dante has never denied him anything and today is no exception. Without a word he helps Matteo get dressed and lie down.

A soft bed, soft clothes. Dante's soft voice, talking to himself as he tries to remember whether they have aloe. His cool hand on the back of Matteo's neck is as good as any salve. Two of his fingers rest over Matteo's pulse.

Tomorrow they'll return to their routine of home repairs and game nights, late night TV and piano practice. They will exchange little intimate gestures - a hand on an arm, a meaningful look, knees touching while they sit and read. Matteo will smile when Dante's subtle accent starts to emerge through the courteous tone he had perfected around his boyfriend's family. He could soak all his cares away in that voice.

"Matteo?"

He stirs, unaware he had fallen asleep. "Hmm?"

"Sorry," Dante whispers. He's pulling a light sheet over Matteo. All of the curtains are pulled shut, the room blissfully cool and dark. "Go back to sleep."

Matteo lets his head sink back onto the pillow. All of him relaxes at once.

It's worth a night of suffering to be cared for like this.

[zincbot]

just housed the first 6 episodes of scavengers reign. i'm so fucking upset

[tachyon-omlette]

We could not have known that Unicron was capable of creating life, and neither did we anticipate to encounter that life; the reality of its misery was far less of a surprise. Its armor was far denser and more plentiful than Unicron’s own, and though he bore no visible scars it was obvious that his creator had been beyond unkind with him. Frequently he was plagued with nightmares and would go for ages without sleep to avoid them, and even in his waking hours he often broke down crying for no reason we could discern. Even his own reflection would send him into a panic until he’d carved a crook into his horn.

We brought him to Cybertron as what we believed to be a path to some sort of redemption and healing, but he was so unlike us Primes, and many of those differences could not be rectified. We thought we were granting him an act of mercy, but in the end I wonder if we had done him a great disservice, for in our ambition we proved to him that he was not unique, but alone.

(slight Aligned r(eda)sign)

[tmarshconnors]

The Connection Golf Club.

In the year 2035, amidst the lush green landscape of a picturesque valley, a legendary country club emerged to redefine the art of golf. "The Connection," as it came to be known, stood as a beacon of tradition and innovation, a haven for golfers seeking the ultimate experience of sport and luxury. The sun's golden rays bathed the impeccably manicured fairways, casting a mesmerising tapestry of colours upon the grounds. Sleek, high-tech-attired golfers traversed the pathways, their clubs gleaming with a futuristic sheen, ready to embark on an unforgettable golfing journey. Within the confines of "The Connection," cutting-edge technology blended seamlessly with classic aesthetics.

[valtsv]

i think that killing a dragon should have catastrophic nuclear-fallout level environmental consequences tbh. their blood should scorch and wither the earth with fire and poison, the toxic fumes released as they decay should choke the land and all nearby living creatures, and the entire landscape where they fell should be transformed into a blighted wasteland where bleached leviathan bones loom upwards out of the ground as a warning that can be seen from miles away, the boundary markers of an exclusion zone.