#Solarpunk Fiction

[alpaca-clouds]

The history of Solarpunk

Okay, I guess this has to be said, because the people will always claim the same wrong thing: No, Solarpunk did not "start out as an aesthetic". Jesus, where the hell does this claim even come from? Like, honestly, I am asking.

Solarpunk started out as a genre, that yes, did also include design elements, but also literary elements. A vaguely defined literary genre, but a genre never the less.

And I am not even talking about those early books that we today also claim under the Solarpunk umbrella. So, no, I am not talking about Ursula K. LeGuin, even though she definitely was a big influence on the genre.

The actual history of Solarpunk goes something like that: In the late 1990s and early 2000s the term "Ecopunk" was coined, which was used to refer to books that kinda fit into the Cyberpunk genre umbrella, but were more focused on ecological themes. This was less focused on the "high tech, high life" mantra that Solarpunk ended up with, but it was SciFi stories, that were focused on people interacting with the environment. Often set to a backdrop of environmental apocalypse. Now, other than Solarpunk just a bit later, this genre never got that well defined (especially with Solarpunk kinda taking over the role). As such there is only a handful of things that ever officially called themselves Ecopunk.

At the same time, though, the same sort of thought was picked up in the Brazilian science fiction scene, where the idea was further developed. Both artistically, where it got a lot of influence from the Amazofuturism movement, but also as an ideology. In this there were the ideas from Ecopunk as the "scifi in the ecological collaps" in there, but also the idea of "scifi with technology that allows us to live within the changing world/allows us to live more in harmony with nature".

Now, we do not really know who came up with the idea of naming this "Solarpunk". From all I can find the earliest mention of the term "Solarpunk" that is still online today is in this article from the Blog Republic of Bees. But given the way the blogger talks about it, it is clear there was some vague definition of the genre before it.

These days it is kinda argued about whether that title originally arose in Brazil or in the Anglosphere. But it seems very likely that the term was coined between 2006 and 2008, coming either out of the Brazilian movement around Ecopunk or out of the English Steampunk movement (specifically the literary branch of the Steampunk genre).

In the following years it was thrown around for a bit (there is an archived Wired article from 2009, that mentions the term once, as well as one other article), but for the moment there was not a lot happening in this regard.

Until 2012, when the Brazilian Solarpunk movement really started to bloom and at the same time in Italy Commando Jugendstil made their appearance. In 2012 in Brazil the anthology "Solarpunk: Histórias ecológicas e fantásticas em um mundo sustentável" was released (that did get an English translation not too long ago) establishing some groundwork for the genre. And Commando Jugendstil, who describe themselves as both a "Communication Project" and an "Art Movement", started to work on Solarpunk in Italy. Now, Commando Jugendstil is a bit more complicated than just one or the other. As they very much were a big influence on some of the aesthetic concepts, but also were releasing short stories and did some actual punky political action within Italy.

And all of that was happening in 2012, where the term really started to take off.

And only after this, in 2014, Solarpunk became this aesthetic we know today, when a (now defuct) tumblr blog started posting photos, artworks and other aesthetical things under the caption of Solarpunk. Especially as it was the first time the term was widely used within the Anglosphere.

Undoubtedly: This was probably how most people first learned of Solarpunk... But it was not how Solarpunk started. So, please stop spreading that myth.

The reason this bothers me so much is, that it so widely ignores how this movement definitely has its roots within Latin America and specifically Brazil. Instead this myth basically tries to claim Solarpunk as a thing that fully and completely originated within the anglosphere. Which is just is not.

And yes, there was artistic aspects to that early Solarpunk movement, too. But also a literary and political aspectt. That is not something that was put onto a term that was originally an aesthetic - but rather it was something that was there from the very beginning.

Again: There has been an artistic and aesthetic aspect in Solarpunk from the very beginning, yes. But there has been a literary and political aspect in it the entire time, too. And trying to divorce Solarpunk from those things is just wrong and also... kinda misses the point.

So, please. Just stop claiming that entire "it has been an aesthetic first" thing. Solarpunk is a genre of fiction, it is a political movement, just as much as it is an artistic movement. Always has been. And there has always been punk in it. So, please, stop acting as if Solarpunk is just "pretty artistic vibes". It is not.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk, I guess.

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

The 2024 Solarpunk Conference is almost here! It's on Saturday and it's totally virtual. Christina and I are gonna be there talking about conflict in solarpunk fiction with some extremely rad presenters; I highly encourage you to check it out!

@solarpunkmagazine

[petrichorca]

Stede and Ed hanging out in the snow on an ice ship. @y2jenn made this beautiful piece for @veeagainsttheday's and my post-apocalyptic ice piracy AU/climate change fic Runaway Effects. Go give Jenn some love because she's the best and I stare at this art all the time!! Also our fic is rated E for Explicit because, well, obviously they do more than just cuddle for warmth. ;)

[bumblebeeappletree]

Juniper was being verrry careful. Her snowman was going to be the best! But if her snowman was going to have a head, she needed to put the head on top without making the rest fall over!

She stood on her tippy toes stretching out as much as she could. Almost… allllmost…

There!

Beaming wide, she looked at her snowman’s head. Now all he needed was a face!

Grabbing the sticks and stones she had piled up, she poked them in. Then, she gently took the dried flowers she was saving for this moment out from her coat pocket. Ever so softly she put flowers and their petals all over the snowman. But not all Willy Nilly no! She made it look like it was swirling around. Making them look like they were in the shapes of hearts and stars.

Her snowman was going to look so pretty with the tattoos she was giving him!

“Juniper!” MaPa called. “It’s time to go!”

“But MaPa!” She whined. “I’m not done!”

“Your snowman will be here later. Or do you not want hot chocolate?”

Immediately Juniper dropped everything and raced to her parent. All the while chanting “hot chocolate hot chocolate hot chocolate!”

She stopped and turned back around. She waved at her snowman and said, “bye bye! I’ll be back later! Have fun with the other snow people!”

It was only the first day of the Snow Creation Festival. Everyone had three days to make something out of the snow. They had to work on only one sculpture. Of course if someone didn’t want to participate in it they didn’t have to. But Juniper loved to make all sorts of things. And the festival was an excuse for her to make something in a competition with other people.

Juniper hoped she would win. But making her snowman was fun all on its own.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna make something with me?” Juniper asked her MaPa.

“I’m sure.” They said as they smiled down at her.

Well, she can’t wait to see what her parents would say when she was done! Maybe next year she’ll make a whole snow castle!

[solarpunknow]

Solarpunk work day

So I've spent the last two days pulling out invasive species! Which, honestly, is very tiring. I'm really glad we have a four-day work week, but even so, I'll be glad to get home and relax. I'm working with Wren and Bobi on this site which, before the mass migrations north, was someone's second (third?) home, and there had been some attempts to incorporate native plants into the landscaping, which is awesome. Unfortunately, who ever had been taking care of this land didn't recognize that Spruge Laurel (Daphne laureola, not a spurge and not a laurel, but a stinky, poisonous daphne) was an invasive species and had actually set up irrigation for some of them.

Now, of course, it's part of the climate immigrant resettlement housing network, and the land around the house is being transformed to be better habitat and to grow food. It's steep, shady, near saltwater (on a fucking cliff in fact, why did rich people think it was such a good idea to build on these crumbling cliff sides anyway? It still has about 30 meters until it gets to the house, but still), with native soils, so it's not a great option for so-called western-style agriculture, but it will grow our native plants quite well.

Pulling out the spurge laurel, and the Himalayan blackberry, and the english ivy, and the vinca, cutting down the english holly, and digging out the italian arum is only the first step. We need to help a healthier ecosystem re-establish. Fortunately, there's already beaked hazelnut, salal, service berries, dewberries, and evergreen huckleberries that are surviving despite the carpet of invasives... and the particular pruning choices made in the past. Who thinks it's a good idea to hedge prune a hazelnut???? As we pull out the ivy and others, we'll be replanting the native woodland strawberry, riceroot, springbank clover, native oxalis, western bleeding heart and western lily of the valley, which in addition to holding the soil in place with either be food for native animals or us. Or, as is the ideal case, both. There's a lot of culturally relevant foods in that paragraph, and it brings me joy to see them becoming a bigger part of the people's diets again. If you want to learn more about them, I suggest reading up on the ethnobotany of the Salish peoples. It's really interesting!

On Thursday we'll be renting a truck and trailer, and taking all the invasive species that we've pulled out to the folks who specialize in composting invasive species. Eventually all this stinky daphne will be a really nice compost for someone's vegetable garden. Which is a welcome and encouraging thought.

That's just this year of course- going forward for quite sometime will be regular invasive species removal, along with harvesting of nuts, berries, and roots, and pruning of the berry bushes. Can't do a controlled burn so close to housing, and it wouldn't work on the English ivy anyway. So manual pulling it is.

[cognitivejustice]

Grist’s Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors short story contest celebrates stories that offer vivid, hope-filled, diverse visions of climate progress. From 1,000 submissions, our reviewers and judges selected the three winners and nine finalists you will discover in this collection. These stories are not afraid to explore the challenges ahead, but offer hope that we can work together to build a more sustainable and just world. Through rich characters, lovingly sketched settings, and gripping plots, they welcome you into futures that celebrate who we are and what we can become — and, we hope, inspire you to work toward them.

My random suggestions

A beekeeper finds a new sense of purpose and community after helping to develop a warning system for floods.

AUTHORJamie Liu

As California prepares to destroy a levee and sacrifice its last remaining almond farm, its caretaker remembers the toll floodwaters have taken on his family.

AUTHORZoe Young

At a live art show in the bustling city, a cook grapples with the coastal home he lost.

AUTHORCameron Neil Ishee

All the stories

[amysnotdeadyet]

My book is on sale! It's $2.99 because below that I get like a quarter, ahahaha. At least this way I get, like, almost enough to do laundry, if I still paid for coin laundry.

sale runs Aug 11 2023 to Aug 17 2023, and I'm most of the way through writing the sequel! and I'm fucking slow! XD

[kayas-kosmos]

Introducing Ludwig Striker - The King of Hearts.

Before reading about Ludwig, here is a link introducing the webcomic he is from (called Flowerpunk) if you are interested in learning about this world.

So who is Ludwig?

Ludwig Striker - AKA the "King of Hearts" - is a man who has devoted his life to protecting the most vulnerable people in society and lifting those up who have been crushed by the system. The city of Wyrdon, his home, has been afflicted with a horrific supernatural plague known as "the rot" which threatens to turn all of its citizens into maggots. Because of the Government's total incompetence with managing the plague, riots and civil disobedience are increasingly common and the police force has responded with increasingly punitive measures to quell the growing civil unrest.

In light of this chaos, a small faction known as "The Lovely Anarchists" came to be. At first it started with just a few people, that being Ludwig, his mentor Bruno and a handful of others. Their mission was simple, start creating a counter-society built on compassion, cooperation and wellbeing. Fight the growing cruelty of the world with radical love. Their methods would be based off the principles of mutual aid and direct action, helping those who needed it directly rather than trying to work through a broken system. Their symbol became iconic within the city, the black heart hugging a red heart, the anarchists protecting those who needed it the most.

The anarchists took over an abandoned powerplant known as the "Heliomatrix" and made it their squat. Over time, more and more individuals joined the squat and it quickly became a haven for street scientists, artists, creatives, environmentalists and the queer community as a whole - a multicultural melting pot that championed the uniqueness of those who has previously been pushed to the margins. The upper levels of the heliomatrix bloomed with beautiful permaculture gardens from which the anarchists could harvest a sustainable food source. Word quickly spread of this tiny patch of paradise in the decaying hellhole, and the anarchists fell under threat from far-right terrorists and the police. To make matters worse, they started grabbing the attention of the mainstream news outlets who accused the anarchists of being nothing more than violent thugs and organised criminals, painting a massive target on their backs. They needed a community defence team to protect their home.

Ludwig started training under Bruno to become part of community defence. Eventually, Bruno would take him out on different missions, be it ousting fascist street gangs, protecting protestors or providing aid to those who needed it. Ludwig also became avid at gardening... no, not that kind of gardening. The type where someone performs daring parkour feats in order to reach the high-up bio-generators across the city and take cuttings of the magic-producing plants inside. These plants are essential for staving off the rot, and the anarchists steal the technology to make it freely available for everyone to use - an act that enrages the big corporations who are trying to control and commodify the world's few remaining magical elements.

A lot of people take one look at Ludwig and immediately get the wrong impression. Despite his rather threatening appearance, Ludwig is a big-hearted softie who wants nothing more than the best for everyone. He prides himself on being open with his feelings, although some people are easily rubbed the wrong way by Ludwig's complete lack of a filter. Despite how loud, obnoxious, goofy and deliberately annoying he can be, his energy is contagious and it's hard not to at least crack a smile in his presence. Generally speaking, he's just a fun guy to be around, and if he knows you're hurting on the inside, he will be there to comfort you.

At the beginning of the Flowerpunk webcomic, Ludwig makes a chance encounter with the shy and gentle-hearted Kimi Hopper. The two immediately start forming a strong friendship, that eventually blossoms into something greater... ;)

With his new found BF, the two are going to go on a crazy, romantic adventure, one with magic, monsters, and ANARCHY!

Hope you all like this character! He has taken over 2 years to develop and I can't believe how far he has come.

Also for those who are interested, here is all of the original concept art for Ludwig way back from 2020. This guy went through a LOT of redesigns. Hell, I even had to look up all of the different types of mohawk there are! Stuck with the rooster cut, of course :)

Also he used to have two greyhounds whereas now he just has one. She's called Earwig. She's an ex-racer who Ludwig rescued after her trainer cruelly abandoned her.

Here are some much more recent goofy doodles I've been doing of the guy. Still trying to get the hang of drawing him consistently (and without drawing his head too small due to having a giant mohawk!)

And my personal favourite:

If you want to know what type of punk he is, he's a mix of anarcho-punk, queercore punk and has some solarpunk elements there, too.

And before anyone points out that he's an anarchist who calls himself the "king" of hearts, this is purely an ironic joke, haha.

If you would like to support the development of this character and the Flowerpunk universe as a whole, please consider sharing this post or donating a Ko-Fi, it would help so much. I will set up a Patreon eventually.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this!

[a-queer-crip-writes]

Nine Fingers

It still amazes him that he goes entire days without thinking of the war.

The farm is busy, though. Every day and every season, and part of the point of a co-op is that the burden and the joy of planning falls on everyone as well as the legwork.

And so, slowly, all the moments where memories used to rise up into like mist from damp earth have begun to fill with thoughts like We really need to cut back the cranberries this year; they’re getting leggy and I don’t want to start having think about stilts to pick the top ones; We’ve got so much sileage this spring, I wonder if the Selvars over the valley would swap a couple of their black-eared kids for some of it? or even just Oooh, a couple more days and those little pea pods will be just perfect to eat from the vine.

And he has a few regular partners now, not all of them from the old platoon; Annalise over from Selvars and David, two years in the co-op now, to go along with Reev and Alma and Zou. He doesn’t even think Annalise served; she is five or six years younger than him. A lifetime, in its way.

But what it means is that his nights and mornings are more and more frequently filled with chatter about the chickens or the nut trees, the teams on the local ball league or the serial they are all listening to on the radio along with warmth and kisses and pleasure. And even on the mornings where he wakes up alone the farmhouse is full of gentle noise, people to feed, and a gaggle of hungry fowl trumpeting their displeasure from their safe coop.

It does not mean he never wakes screaming in the night with his ears full of screams and bangs and choking breaths and his nose full of the stench of blood and ordure. Or that he is never woken by the screams of any of the others. Reev still has choking night terrors that leave them frozen and hard to wake, and Zou still attacks him in his sleep, occasionally; leaving bruises and welts and scratches that horrify him when he wakes. But they are all growing rarer over time. Weeks of peace and forgetfulness.

It is his turn to look after Emzy today. He used to dread that, when she was very small and a great deal of it involved walking her between Alma and Ru for feeds; terrified that any moment he looked away from her she would do herself a terminal injury. Now, when she is a chubby and robust 20-month-old, the danger of that is materially far greater; he occasionally wonders how humanity survived this long when a critical developmental stage seems to involve finding every possible new and exciting way to potentially kill oneself while giggling loudly all the while. But now he has somehow worked himself to loving his days with her, even if he is frequently more tired afterwards than after the hardest days of fieldwork.

One of her favourite games is luckily less potentially lethal. Pat-a-cake, David called it when he taught it to her, and by extension to all of them. She is beginning to babble the little rhyme that goes along with it; a wordless chuckle of sound that is like the unleavened dough of words.

It seems to have awoken her to the fact that she *has* hands. She likes to sit with her little fat legs stretched out in front of her, his long scarred ones spread out to make room for her and tiny chubby starfish hands spread out palm to palm with his. After rounds and rounds of Pat-a-cake finally loses its appeal, he has started counting fingers with her. One, waggling his thumb against hers. Two. Three.

Eventually, of course, they get to Nine and he has no finger there to waggle against hers, point at her with, or end up as a chew-toy for her budding gums. Just the stump, not even reaching the first joint. It had been longer, once, before the surgeon neatened it up for him, but he was grateful for their work - he had much better use of that hand now. Every time they get to Nine, and she still looks at her tiny soft finger rising alone above his stump with wonder. Until he distracts her by gently bumping his forehead against hers or blowing in her ear to make her giggle, and they go on to Ten.

One day she will likely have the words to ask about that. Why she has ten fingers and he has only nine. Why Ilma has a prosthetic leg that they still keep having to try to adjust to ease her stump, and Reev’s eye sometimes gets interference from their little harvest drone signals. Why all her parents carry scars, and how they met, and how she came to be.

He hopes by then that he - that they - might have better answers for her.

[antion-bewitching-bitch]

Cyberpunk Edgerunners x Solarpunk Oc

AN : So i have an idea, This will be like just a idea post so i can like just show my idea. This will mostly be a David x Oc of mine that really is just a self-insert tbh lol. I might or might not continue this, depends on my mood or motivation.

Again this is just an idea like bullshit and this isn't a finalized story or plot thing. its just a premise of my solarpunk oc i have in mind traveling to night city (Spiderman across the spiderverse style) and finding a way to get back while falling in love and saving people thing Warning : Not betaread (this isn't a/o/b. yes i am funny thank you.), bad grammer (i think? somtimes. most of the times in my work.), and also bad spelling (i think? AGAIN NOT BETAREAD)

Idea: Oc/Character (male) will suddenly travel towards the world/multiverse of Night City. They will have their traveling device broken once they get there maybe an accident or not. Then he will most likely try to traverse this new world where it is like the exact opposite of that place his from since its a solarpunk place and not this depression state of night city. They will meet david and lucy most likely when david is just new, the big thing of the killing of the fat dude (Tanaka) hasn't happened yet. David is still new to the crew and etc. They will try to help the Solarpunk man and the like some of the major corporations like fat dude (Tanaka) would have sensed the multiverse traveling somehow (idk yet im working on it) and they will help get the resources for the device and recreat it. In the end i just want this to be a big cannon divergence and save mostly everyone. (death will still be a big thing here) i just want it to be a cyberpunk genre that will incorperate and slowly transition to solarpunk themes and work.

This will be a david martinez x oc mainly because i just think he deserved better and even if the focus was he could have done things better and his ending is depressing. doesn't mean i can't make fanfiction that says otherwise. Also even if it is a david martinez x oc fic, it'll still be a general fanfic about cyberpunk edgrunners. thats why the title is "Cyberpunk Edgerunners x Solarpunk Oc"

Mostly centered on my oc and their relationship with david since im a simp (and honestly i believe he deserves better. I CRIED WATCHING THE ENDING)

If your a fan of cyberpunk and just the general depressing vibes and themes, this potential fanfic would not be for you. It'll be a solarpunk centric one and will be about hope and soft shit like that. Why am i making it solarpunk? cause why not.

Also this won't be my only work so i won't prioritize nor like focus on this so don't expect anythingggg. but if enough people do riot i will do it.

[alpaca-clouds]

I made a little something. Trying to keep this idea up and around.

We really need to get better in telling those stories. And we really need to do away with the idea of Solarpunk just being these chill utopian fictions. A fight about getting to that Utopia can be Solarpunk to.

We also need to do away with the idea that there are no conflicts in an utopian setting. Because there are.

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

In this episode, Christina talks with hacker and enthusiastic solarpunk Paweł Ngei about the power of solarpunk narratives to open our eyes to the ways in which we do things and invite us to critically examine them. Why is tech built this way? Who are we disenfranchising by not having more or different designs for things? Who are we handing over too much power over our lives to mindlessly letting them thrust their tech into our lives without us knowing how it works?

For more info about and thoughts from Paweł, can check out his blog (https://alxd.org/), be inspired by his podcast (https://podcast.tomasino.org/@SolarpunkPrompts), read his short story about a disabled inventor at https://glider.ink/, or read his review of Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future (https://alxd.org/ministry-for-the-future-review.html#ministry-for-the-future-review).

Other links Paweł recommends are about the book A Half Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys and to a great solarpunk engineering wiki: https://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia

[thatonebirdwrites]

Who am I

Hi all, I am terrible at introduction posts. So I'm going to cheat and copy/paste my "Who am I" page from my writer website:

Nickname Bird, name is Aidan. Pronouns they/them/theirs or ze/zem/zirs. My animal companion is an incredibly fluffy cat named Sgt. Quark Amaya McFluffers.

Tell me a story. I want to listen.

I want to live a life of love, but I’m going to mess up a lot. Can we hold each other accountable as we journey through life?

I write science fiction, poetry, fantasy, Korrasami fanfiction, and random essays.

I blend into walls and perch on things like a bird.

I walk the cracks balanced precariously between the days of yesterday and the tremors of the present.

I hide under blankets; I sing with the wind; I will always ask how you are and wish for a story of your day told in whatever lyrical language is truest to your soul.

I’m a hopeless romantic idealist, a demisexual skittish of people, and a trans person who is no mere ma’am or sir. I'm a void of genderlessness that I ascribe to the stars, my body comprised of star-guts.

My Fanfiction Works:

Shared Moments Series - Books 1 - 5 (Legend of Korra, Korrasami): https://archiveofourown.org/series/3370741 How Was Those Three Years (Legend of Korra, Korrasami, Canonical): https://archiveofourown.org/works/44941048 Asami's Hidden Box of Poetry and Letters (Legend of Korra, Korrasami, Canonical): https://archiveofourown.org/works/44952685

My Original/Creative Works:

Elivera Worldbuild: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/elivera3A-the-lost-ones-aidanbird/

Poetry: https://reshapingreality.org/tag/poetry-2/

Music: https://reshapingreality.org/music-compositions/

Art: https://reshapingreality.org/art/

[bumblebeeappletree]

Hello everyone! I’m writing this pre story blurb to let you know what this is about! Grist’s Imagine 2200 contest was announced earlier this year, and I decided to make a story for it. I had an idea that popped into my head right away and decided to work on it. Unfortunately I had… procrastinated. A lot. So most of this story was written within a short amount of time before the deadline. I do wish there was a larger word limit, but this was a short story contest after all. And it’s a good exercise in trying to keep your story, well, short. Always, as you probably figured out, I got an email saying my story did not went further into the contest. So because of that I’m now free to post it wherever. So I choose here. I do hope you all enjoy the story!

Autumn Harvest Festival

They tapped their nails against the table in thought. It was going to be a hard decision. But it needed to be made. They needed to do this.

Yet what song could they use?

Dorian was going to sing for the first time for the upcoming Autumn Festival. They had to pick the perfect one for him to sing.

Tobias sighed as they looked at the list of songs they had on their playlist. All great songs. Just… not what they had in mind.

Sighing heavily through their nose, Tobias shut their eyes. Maybe they should look at songs they don’t normally listen to.

“Hey Tobi!” A voice suddenly called out from behind their door. “Are you gonna let me in or what?”

Their lips twitched up at the voice. She was always a bit impatient.

Standing up with a stretch, their back cracked. Loudly. They winced at the sound. Thank goodness she didn’t hear it or else they would’ve been teased endlessly. Tobias continued to walk to their apartment door.

The moment it clicked to open, words began pouring out. “Finally, that took forever! What were ya doin’ in there? Taking a nap?”

Brown eyes blinked once the door was fully opened. “‘Kay, scratch that. When was the last time you slept?”

Tobias sent an unamused look over at their sister.

Immediately hands held up in peace.

With a roll of their own brown eyes, Tobias let her in.

“Thanks for lettin’ me in Tobi! Now take a shower and get clean clothes! We’re goin’ for a walk.”

They stared at her gob smacked. Did she seriously just say that? “Why?” They signed widely.

Magnolia’s smile faded as she sighed. “Listen, I know you’ve been havin’ a hard time with…” she gestured towards the computer, “everythin’ and you’re probably stuck in a rut. Right?”

They pursed their lips, not particularly liking being seen.

“So I figured you need a break. It doesn’t help to force yourself to do somethin’ no matter how much you can’t.” Her green painted lips grew into a small smile. “I brought shower steamers~.”

Curse having a sister that knew them too well.

—

As much as they hated to admit it, it was nice to have a sister that knew them so well. Going out was a good idea. Especially with the sun warming their dark skin. Cold enough though that they wore their thicker scarf rather than their lighter one.

“Maybe I should’ve gone with the lighter green cardigan.” Magnolia muttered.

Tobias rolled their eyes. They then poked at her to make sure she paid attention. “You look just fine. Dark green is a good look on you.”

She pouted. “Yeah but I like the lighter colors more.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to go through two months trying the darker colors to get used to them?”

“Yeah! But that was a month ago. I’m sure the Stop ‘N Swap wouldn’t mind gettin’ these back sooner. Maybe I’ll ask that cutie that makes those cute gloves if she’ll make a pair for me.” She rolled up her sleeves, showing off her tattoos of various citrus fruits and their blossoms. “Wouldn’t you agree a cute pair of gloves, goin’ from pastel orange to light yellow to pastel green would look cute with these babies?”

“Yes. Adorable.” They signed with a deadpan look.

She rolled her eyes. “Still need to find the perfect dress that would go well with my magnolia tree tattoo on my back. Soooo! Need to be there anyways to find it.”

Tobias just shook their head.

They took a deep breath in of fresh air.

Even if their apartment gets clean air from all of the plants that live throughout the building, it was a different experience to be outside. The leaves crunching underneath their feet, the sounds of birds calling out to one another, the feeling of the breeze giving a slight chill.

Children’s laughter mingled with the chatter of adults.

Maybe they should just write a song?

They paused when that thought finally registered.

Writing a new song… they could do that. They have definitely written songs in the past. But what would the song be about?

And thus Tobias would find themself back in the loop of uncertainty.

A shoulder bumped into them.

“Ey, welcome back. Found anythin’ interestin’ in the river?” Magnolia asked.

Tobias blinked rapidly at the comment. Surprise filled them at the realization that yes, they were at the river. Since when? Ten minutes ago?

They huffed angrily at their lack of awareness. Normally they wouldn’t be so… so in their head.

“Hey, no need to be hard on yourself. It happens to all of us.” Magnolia, they swear, had to have some sort of mind reading powers.

They shook their head. Tobias then signed, “but you’re not the one whose going to show off a new singing program for the Autumn Harvest Festival. This festival is important! For the whole city! Especially since this is the hundredth celebration of the Autumn Harvest Festival since The Great Green Revolution! Since our great grandparents helped start this festival up and running!”

Their sister held up her hands. “Woah there. Yeah this is a important festival. Yeah, our great grandparents helped get it up and goin’. But Tobi, it ain’t like most people know about that. We’re just some random people.”

Tobias pursed their lips in frustration. She just didn’t get it. Tobias didn’t really care if people knew who they were descended from. In fact, Tobias didn’t really want others to know. If others knew then there would be… expectations. Yet it frustrated them that their sister didn’t really care that much about the history that their family was a part of.

It was important to know about the past. Even if one doesn’t want others to acknowledge it.

Pausing, Tobias thought about that. Gears turned in their mind.

Maybe… Tobias could write a song. About the past. About their history. Their city. Their festival.

That sounded right. After all, there’s plenty of songs that were stories of long past. Even their ancestors, who both lived on this continent long before white people arrived and those who were brought to this continent against their will by those white people, sang their stories so the younger generation would know their history.

Magnolia tilted her head. She saw the change in Tobias’ demeanor. Her smirk signified that she definitely saw the determined glint in her sibling’s eyes.

The siblings then continued on their walk, getting closer to the river. They then stopped when they saw some teenagers getting into an argument.

“Call them that one more time and I’ll throw you into the river.” One of them, with wavy red hair and an outfit that looked an awful lot like fish leather, growled out.

The other, completely bald with a bundled dyed dress, smirked and said, “garden pontoons.”

The first teen, to everyone’s shock, actually went to pick the second teen up and chuck them into the river. Then the first teen yelled out just as the second teen splashed into the water, “IT’S CALLED A CHINAMPA YOU UNCULTURED SWINE! OUR RIVER HAS CHINAMPAS!”

The third teen, who was now staring at the two others in complete shock, shook themselves. “WILL YOU TWO JUST STOP THIS? IF YOU CONTINUE THEN YOU WON’T HANG OUT WITH NANA!”

This seemed to stop the others in their tracks and they cried out in despair. “No! Not Nana!”

Both Tobias and Magnolia started to laugh at the whole scene they witnessed.

Maybe just for that whole situation Tobias would look more into the city’s chinampas for their song. Tobias only had, what, three weeks left? They think they could do some research, write a song, and program Dorian to sing and dance said song.

—

It’s only been one week and Tobias wasn’t sure they’ll be able to do everything on time. It took one whole week for research. Hopefully it’ll only take a day for song writing in order to spend the rest of that time for programming dancing.

“Okay so what do we know?” Magnolia asked as she paced in front of her holographic screen. “We know that fossil fuel companies knew that they were responsible for choking the planet with their products but did nothing about it for more money.”

Dark fingers, nails stained a dark red from beet juice, moved an image of an old coal plant off to the side.

“And then about some decades later people learned the truth and started gettin’ more into renewable energy. And then in the late 2010’s to early 2020’s we had a worldwide pandemic that forced so many people inside that it caused some unintended side effects. Such as cities gettin’ the cleanest air it had in decades due to the lack of burnin’ fossil fuels for cars an’ stuff.” Magnolia took a deep breath as she set some before and after photos that were used in online articles at the time.

She continued. “Then things went ‘back to normal’ and people got pissed about it because what! What do you mean the accessibility of workin’ from home, gettin’ schooling from home, and knowing’ that uh yeah we can live without fossil fuels. Then people got more pissed when genocide was happenin’ because apparently The Geneva Conventions are just words on paper. An’ I know we almost got our first nonbinary president but shit was rigged and that toppled the USA into a whole on rebellion which kick started The Great Green Revolution.”

Tobias had watch her move clips and photos around as she spoke. They wadded up a small piece of hemp paper and tossed it at her as she took another deep breath. Magnolia turned to them questioningly.

“And everyone knows that The Great Green Revolution ended up taking 60 years, 61 years in some academic circles, and at the end of it there were no more monarchies and some countries were no longer.” Tobias continued wanting to give her a little break. “But during that time we started tearing down old buildings that could no longer be used, some old buildings stayed up for historical museums, and used as much as the old materials as possible to rebuild. We combined different knowledge and different practices around the world in order to rebuild in what would fit best in each area. We started to use more natural recipes, I guess? To make wood last longer. Chemical treatments are pretty rare nowadays.”

Magnolia nodded as Tobias flexed their hands. They were feeling some cramps. Ugh.

“Yeah yeah. I think you have to write a request to a council if you need to use that stuff. Same if you’d want to do chemical treatments on plants.”

Tobias scrunched up their face at that. “Wait really? I thought that’s illegal now.”

“I think the main purpose is for experimentation, but I could be wrong. We could definitely take a look at that later.” She then turned back to her screen to write a note about it.

Tobias tapped their fingers against their dad’s old leather chair’s arm. Everyone really went back to using more natural stuff in order to make both humans and the planet more healthy. Companion planting was so much better than monoculture crops; all those harsh chemicals and fertilizers needed to keep those monocultures afloat. Companion plantings, however, was a community in a sense where they’d help each other. One plant would attract the insects that would devour another plant. One plant would produce a scent that would ward off some herbivores. And the most famous of all, The Three Sisters where the corn would help the beans grow up, the beans help keep nitrogen in the ground, and the squash would help be a mulch to keep out weeds and deter the sun from evaporating the water from the soil.

But that was for plants. Humans on the other hand…

They huffed out a sigh of frustration. Even after it’s been years since The Great Green Revolution, people are still arguing about medicine. Some people want to go to one hundred percent herbal remedies. But the moment they get asked about modern technology and having reused the objects from landfills, they all hem and haw.

Yes people should use herbal medicines when they are perfectly good to use. But the moment herbal remedies aren’t going to cut it, modern medicine is the way to go. Sure modern medicine isn’t perfect. And since there’s no more money, no one could go into debt just to live. Everyone takes care of one another. Though not everything could be saved. Not everyone wants it to be saved. There were even people who are blind and deaf who could get vision or hearing but wouldn’t want to get it. They’re perfectly content as they are.

(Was Tobias content as they are?)

“INVASIVE SPECIES!” Magnolia shouted out. “CHEMICAL TREATMENTS FOR PLANTS ARE USED IN THE CASE OF INVASIVE SPECIES IF IT GETS TO THE POINT WHERE WE CANNOT PULL THEM ALL!”

Tobias stared at their sister. She said she was going to check it out later. Why were they surprised she checked it out right then? She literally does this all the time.

“Okay.” Tobias signed. “But this is just all of the general overview. You hadn’t really looked at this city specifically. Right?”

Magnolia deflated. “Oops.”

They just shook their head. “It’s all good sis. While you looked at the broader picture, I took a look at our city. Just to double check some stuff.”

Their own holographic screen popped up to show off what they gathered. Pictures of a city in various stages of construction were posted. As well as various photos of natural features.

“So after The Great Green Revolution, our cities were in different states of sustainability and ruin. And everyone decided that this wasn’t a race, we could do things slowly, once all the fossil fuels were no longer available. Our city wasn’t the first city to be remodeled but we were like, the fourth. People were relocated while the city was deconstructed and reconstructed.

They had a method to it in order to be the most efficient. In not only in a sustainable way but in an accessible way. Roads were still made for buses and cars for the individuals who can not handle public transport. Be it due to a compromised immune system or because they would get overwhelmed by multiple people or what have you. Railways for a better transit was also implemented throughout the continent and we became one of the main stops. Well, the railways across the continent made sure to go around any important cultural sites and things that it couldn’t go through.” Tobias paused and added as a side note. “We also got a ton more wildlife corridors for the railways and what’s left of the highways for the cars and buses.”

Magnolia nodded watching Tobias roll their hands again. “That sounds about right.”

A sharp pain shot through their palms. With a grimace they began to massage their hands.

The older sister hummed as she walked up to scroll through all the old photos and videos. She huffed a small laugh when she saw the chinampas. Her eyebrows raised when she saw that Lake Xochimilco, where the chinampas were used for a large-scale cultivation, had increased its size and the axolotl population is thriving. Then there was a note saying how their city had decided to take a look at making chinampas for their river. Some of the plantings are meant for humans and their pets, while others are native wetland or riverside plantings.

“Sooo where does our great grandparents come in?” Magnolia asked.

With one last shake of their hands, Tobias started signing, “well, after the city finished reconstruction fully in the winter, everyone started to move in. Sure there were already some people there, but not enough to actually be considered to be called a city due to population numbers. But once they actually settled in, they started the gardens and farms. There was a mix of gardens where there was pure native species that we could also harvest, and of nonnatives that do well in our climate. The more temperature sensitive plants ended up being grown inside buildings. Everyone enjoyed being able to go into one building for some tropical fruit and then another for some arctic berries ya know?

But Great-Grandma Isabella, Great-Grandma Joe, Great-Grandpa Harold, and Great-Grandparent Sandy thought that hey, we should hold a festival for our first autumn harvest. They, of course, thought of this separately and got together when Joe decided to get the idea out there. Then Harold thought it would be neat to have it so the food would be made out of what would naturally be in harvest at that time. Eating with the seasons and all that. Then Sandy started to talk to the citizens to see if anyone would like to have it for a weekend, or a whole week, or more so for one day. Then Isabella went and get things organized.

They all just… thought they should do something to celebrate and actually went through with it. They all just talked to people, make dates, set up with people who would help get areas ready for a stage. For a big pot luck. For contests and stalls and sharing trinkets. It was such a big hit that everyone clamored to have it again. And again. And again! And our great grandparents would help with setting it up for years until they felt that their help wasn’t needed anymore.”

Magnolia hummed once more, impressed. She then winced as she saw Tobias’ hands twitch again. The two both knew that Tobias should go see a doctor for how much their hands cramped up when doing just about anything too much too fast. Yet Tobias just couldn’t help but put off going in to make an appointment.

“How about I read the rest while you go give those hands of yours a little soak. Yeah?”

A long suffering sigh then a nod.

Tobias then walked away, leaving the holographic screen up, and made their way to their kitchen. It had the closest sink. Walking around hanging windchimes, potted plants, and various handmade gifts like wooden animal skeletons. Just before they went to turn the faucet on, they poked at the glass jellyfish wind chime. Given to them by their mother before the accident.

It was their favorite wind chime.

The wind chime made out of driftwood and rainbow sea glass was a close second. It was gifted to them by their sister’s parents after the first year Tobias stayed with them.

One of the things they didn’t write down was the fact, if it weren’t for Tobias’ and Magnolia’s great grandparents, then the two might never meet. The four had stayed good friends and their families became good friends.

Tobias wasn’t sure who they would’ve stayed with after their parents death. But they couldn’t imagine being anywhere else than with the Harjos.

With a bittersweet smile, as the ache of loss never truly goes away for them, the tap gets turned on with warm water. The plug goes down and the warm water begins to fill the sink. Their hands go into the water, to see when it reaches their wrists. Once the water line gets there, the tap is twisted to turn off.

They let their hands soak.

And they think.

They think about what else they had learned about the city. Some stuff that they already knew. Some stuff that felt obvious with hindsight. Some stuff they had no idea about whatsoever.

Like for how long it took for the city to try an aquaponics system inside buildings before finding the right ratio. Even then they have a ton of people there to make sure everything goes right. Tobias had frowned and wondered that maybe they should shut the aquaponics system down if it was causing too much trouble. Did the whole city really need all those different types of fish? But then they thought about it again and looked at the numbers of fish vs the amount of people in the city that ate fish. Their river certainly wouldn’t have enough fish in it to sustainably sustain the city. Not even the nearby lake that it feeds into.

Turns out the city was also currently looking into mimicking a salt water aquaponics system that would work in buildings.

Tobias was not ashamed to say that they really liked eating sardines and anchovies. They fell in love when they went to the coast with their family about two years ago. Tuna would probably be too big for such a thing. But the smaller fish would probably be better.

Although aquariums have been doing an amazing job with keeping their inhabitants alive, healthy, and happy, if the city had so much trouble with the freshwater fish in an aquaponics system… well, who knew how long it would take for any salt water fish to be available this far inland.

But what Tobias had known about was things like the mixture of solar energy, wind energy, and kinetic energy. They experienced four seasons, so it makes sense that they would need wind for those days where the sun wasn’t exposed as much. And everyone who goes to a gym to work out, the machines used would transform that into energy for the grid.

There are a lot of people that go to the gym. Enough that it helps on days where there’s less wind or less sun.

They also knew about the various rain gardens, the rain water harvesting systems that all buildings had, the rooftop gardens, and the permeable pavement. How the area around the river is designed to be transformed should there be a flood. Or how buildings have some skywalks between them or how there’s some underground tunnels should it be too cold or too hot outside so people could still get around. Especially if there was a heavy snowfall and no one could even walk outside their building's main door.

It was interesting, it all really was. But how was Tobias going to turn this into lyrics? Into a song?

They only had two weeks left.

The deadline was looking over them with impending doom.

This was too important to fail.

—

Beautiful snow dancing in the wind

The city they have arisen

Shines with a light of a new beginning

A new world

Winter brings a life

Tobias scratched out that last line. It didn’t sound right. Not at all.

A sip of their cinnamon apricot tea settled them down for a moment.

Maybe they should work on a different verse?

Four strangers dreaming big

Community

Love

A harvest for all

A fated meeting

Together at last

That… sounded better. Maybe. Possibly.

Tobias stood up to stretch. Eat some fruit leather. Watched a video about the history of plastic and the garbage patches in the ocean. (It felt absolutely horrifying that they were still finding plastic throughout the world. Thank goodness that scientists found fungi and bacteria that ate the stuff.) Look at the time and realize that two hours went by.

Tobias wanted to scream. But they can’t. Because their voice was gone. It wasn’t coming back no matter what but Tobias needed to get Dorian up and running and singing and-

They sunk down to the floor, head in their hands.

They didn’t know what was going to happen. They really didn’t. No one ever knew when something was going to happen. Dorian was supposed to be a fun project. Something to do on the side.

Tobias loved the Vocaloids and Utauloids of years past. People haven’t really made new ones, but a lot of the old programs are still in use. If people have the right systems to run them.

And Tobias knew computers. Knew programming. And there was a program that was a singing program? They adored the thought of it. If things were different Tobias would’ve gone to be a singer, go into clubs and cafes to share their love of music with others.

So they recorded themselves. They did their whole range. Sang different songs. Recorded themselves speaking. Even spoke and sang in whatever other languages they knew. Whatever they needed to make Dorian become a reality.

And then they got in an accident. A different one from what had taken their parents years ago.

They woke up to no voice. And a scar to remind them every single day.

Tobias took a deep, shuddering breath.

There was a pounding on their apartment door.

“Ey yo Tobi! Let me in! I called like a billion times and you didn’t answer!” Magnolia’s voice rattled through Tobias’ head. Worry was evident in her tone.

Slowly, Tobias stood up, joints cracking all the while.

And just as slowly they opened the door.

Magnolia, dressed in all black, looked stricken when she saw the sight in front of her. “Oh Tobias…”

Her arms held outstretched and Tobias let themselves fall into her. Tears soaked her shoulder as they desperately wished to cry and rage so loud that it hurt their throat.

But no sound would ever go out again.

“I’m here. Big sis is here.”

They held each other for so long.

“Do you want me to stay for a while?”

Tobias nodded.

The siblings walked inside the apartment. They cuddled on the couch. Magnolia would talk about anything that popped into her mind, and Tobias thought.

They thought about themselves. Dorian. Their great grandparents. The Autumn Festival. About how anxious the four must’ve felt. The joy they experienced when it became a reality. Dorian was meant to be something beautiful. Something joyful. Their great grandparents probably would be elated to see Dorian perform. They would congratulate Tobias, and say how proud and amazed they were of them.

How their parents were proud and amazed of them.

A sort of peace began to settle over them, lyrics weaving in their mind.

Maybe Tobias shouldn’t rush themselves. Maybe Tobias should wait. Maybe Tobias should hurry to write a song. Have Dorian sing for such a monumental celebration that’s coming right around the corner.

But for the moment, they were with their older sister. And that was enough.

—

The sights, the sounds, and the smells were absolutely tantalizing. Paper lanterns and solar fairy lights scattered across the streets. All the lights were meant to be soft on eyes that were sensitive to the light. Both human eyes and other creatures’ eyes. These were one of the few days within the year where there would be no blackouts to enjoy the night sky.

Decorations of all sorts were hanging from the trees to the street lamps. Even from the buildings themselves. Some people hung different shapes cut out from fallen leaves on their stalls and booths. Some people wore fallen leaves on their person.

Everyone was chatting and laughing. There were some designated spaces that were away from the crowds for people who wanted some space. Some people were walking around with noise canceling headphones. Understandable as sometimes it was a little too loud for even Tobias.

Apple fritters were definitely what they chose first for their dessert. It was probably their favorite baked good at the harvest festival. Well, maybe the apple doughnuts were their favorite, but they couldn’t exactly find a stall giving those out.

They then weaved through the crowd, making their way to the stage where multiple acts would be. A dark blue covered arm rose up and waved around, grabbing their attention.

“Hey Tobi! There you are! I wanna have you meet someone!” Magnolia shouted with glee.

There, holding her hand, was a woman with twin braids running down her back. And around her shoulder was a shawl looking an awful lot like some gloves Magnolia talked so much about.

“This, is Harmony. Harmony, this is my sibling Tobias.”

“Hello, nice to meet you.” Her voice rasped, a smile on her face.

Tobias smiled back, and waved. They held out their fritter for Magnolia to hold and then signed, “nice to meet you too. Do you make gloves?”

A dusting of pink appeared on her pale cheeks as she nodded. “Yeah. I like to take them over to the Stop ‘N Swap.”

Tobias nodded, then sent a look at their sister. She just grinned and gave them back their fritter.

“Alright everyone! Now that our intermission is over, we would like to present our next act! Everyone please greet Dorian!” The announcer spoke, causing the audience to make noise in excitement.

And just like how Tobias instructed the crew, a fog machine began to run.

For a heart stopping moment nothing happened.

Then, Doran’s hologram flickered to life.

Music started to play.

Hazel eyes flickered open and he began to dance.

The crowd gasped in excitement, as there hadn’t been a holographic concert in such a long time.

Dorian smiled, he opened his mouth.

And he sang his voice for all to hear.

His words were being shown in real time behind him, as a hologram as well.

And Tobias?

Their creation, their son, was signing. Was giving so many people joy. And once this song was done, the announcer would tell the people that Dorian’s program was ready to install for anyone who wishes to program him sing a song.

Tobias finally felt content.

[solarpunknow]

(This is a work of fiction, meant to be a window onto what a transitional time between now and a solarpunk future might look like)

Today is one of my favorites, at least when it comes to work: on-site removal of invasive plants and their conversion into fertilizer to be used on the resident's food gardens.

Of course, not all invasive plant species are easily composted, and even the ones that are have to be treated a bit differently.

This plot is small, in town, and has a strong population of Spanish Bluebells, which are unfortunately extremely aggressive in our climate, and capable of spreading both by seed, and tiny bulbules that fall off the main bulb as you pull them up. They're also poisonous, so not a good forage crop, alas. The technique we're using today is hand pulling them all up (after loosening the soil gently), and gathering them all into two 50 gallon barrels. The barrels contain them, and will fill with rain water, and in some months, the dark, potent smelling water can be filtered and then used for fertilizer. The bulbs and seeds never touch the ground again, so there's no chance of contamination.

Unfortunately, this is not a one and done kinda job- we will definitely be back in future years- and for ever couple of weeks until the bluebells stop pushing up new growth and instead go dormant for the summer dry season.

While we're working on removing them, it doesn't really make sense to grow anything fragile or brushy on the plot, so for now, we're just encouraging tough plants that will survive getting bluebells pulled up around and through them, like clover and yarrow and wood sorrel and the like. Eventually, the family will be able to join their neighborhood disbursed garden commons and help raise local, organic foods and also plant the native plants that support so many of the beneficial insects that have been struggling from the population crash.

Those insects used to be really under appreciated, but now it's common knowledge that they support pollination and that having a healthy ecosystem helps prevent the plagues of plant "pests" that people used to spend so much money and effort trying to eradicate! Turns out just letting some of those native wild flowers grow in and around your garden has a massive impact! Who knew! Beauty and bounty all together!

P.S., here's a good old resource for more info about planting plants that support beneficial bug species! Of course, being decades out of date, it focuses on the non-native plants that the research back then focused on, but it gives you the idea! https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw550.pdf Native plants also attract and provide habitat for beneficial bugs, and what's best for each spot is going to vary- a lot.