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shieldedreams · 2 years ago

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a little dream come true (e.u.)

summary ⇾ eggsy remembers just how he met you–be it chance, be it fate–and remembering it every now and then brings a smile to his face (yours too) details ⇾ 1,715 words / eggsy unwin x data-analyst!reader / gn!reader / 🌸 fluff / merlin being the biggest shipper of you two (we do not talk about the golden circle...)

the kingsman headquarters grow quiet in the thick of the night, as it always does. eggsy finds himself down one of the hallways, making his way towards a specific office to find his favorite person. he slows down when he passes by a door that looks familiar. backtracking a couple of steps, he looks through the small window and the sight refreshes his memory. his memory of when he first met you.

heavy breathing. loud ringing in eggsy’s ears. he can’t hear or think straight. he’s about to lose his god damned mind from all this intense training but he knows he’s got to get a grip. he’s made it this far–top two–there’s no fucking way he’s stopping now. he came so close to being ran over by a train; if he can pass that, he can surely pass this.

he finds himself in a small room with nothing but a person tied to a bomb. there’s no door, no window, nothing. he’s torn in this situation, unsure of how to go about this when it seems like there’s only one path to doing what’s right. he’s gone as far as to make sure you’re safe but the only thing left is the bomb to diffuse. as far as his prior background experience goes, he’s only got thirty seconds to spare. there’s no way out, no form of help apart from his conscience and the bag over your head to cover your whimpers.

he manages to grip onto your shoulders, telling you to find your way out as soon as the bomb goes off and that it wasn’t your fault. none of this was. though he knows you can’t comprehend it with the onslaught of tears and whimpering, eggsy’s said his piece. he throws himself with the bomb as far away from you as possible despite the lack of space to begin with.

with his eyes clenched shut and quivering lips along with the image of his mother and baby sister in his mind as his fading thoughts, the impact... comes in a form of a sweet voice cooing him from his imagination. he flinches when the bomb stops ticking and instead of exploding him to bits, it... shuts down? he blinks a couple of times to make sure he isn’t dreaming but when he comes face to face with you, the bag now off of your head, eggsy sucks in a breath.

“congratulations, eggsy unwin. you’ve passed the test.”

his brows are furrowed, accepting your hand up to his feet as he blinks at you, “w-what?”

a doorway suddenly appears, the simulation-like room disappears to a simple bedroom with wooden walls... as they remain contained in a glass cube. it clicks in eggsy’s mind that everything wasn’t real, though his heart giving out just may be it.

he still doesn’t know what to say, how to react. a part of him thinks this isn’t real but when you lure him out of the glass box, towards the bed, he immediately flops down to take a seat. with a small smile, you offer him a cup of water he accepts, still confused but he knows an explanation is coming as you take a seat next to him.

he appreciates how you allow him to take a couple of breaths first. though, he’s uncertain if it’s because of what he just went through that’s making his heart somersault like this or if it’s the proximity between the pair of you. it doesn’t help that he’s able to look at you up-close, watching you watch him. it’s... a weird feeling. comforting, yet it’s making him nervous.

“as a kingsman, it’s important to put others before yourself. in that moment, when you decided to take the bomb with you and step away as far from me as possible, you’ve passed the test.”

eggsy chugs down the water, eyeing the bag on the glass floor he’s certain was over your head. you chuckle when you match his line of sight. “oh, that’s transparent, by the way. i could see everything.” you reach to take his emptied cup when he looks like he’s done with it. your fingers brush over his gently, almost electrifying his body upon contact that he tries not to flinch. he’s obviously failed when you snort.

“i’m sure merlin will give you brownie points for positive reassurance. not many would know how to comfort another right before their demise.” you rise to your feet. “he’ll be here in–”the door cracks open and it changes the course of your intended sentence–”right now, as it seems,”

“there’s my favorite member of staff,” merlin greets, stepping in just as you turn to face him, “y’know, i’m sensing a little bias here.”

merlin gasps, “me? biased? no, can’t be.” the two of you laugh it off, leaving eggsy very confused but he doesn’t interrupt just yet.

“i’ll be off then. congratulations again, eggsy.” you raise the cup at–”merlin,”

he salutes you playfully, “y/n.”

when the door closes along with your leave, that’s when merlin notices how quiet eggsy has been. merlin carefully sits next to the young man, patting his shoulder, “you alright there? not quite like you to be stumped over something like this when you were more than ready to get run over by a train.”

the first thing that eggsy asks is: “who was that?”

merlin chuckles, pulling his hand back from eggsy’s shoulder, “that’s y/n. they’re one of our top data analysts but they’ve got some experience from field. they saved me once, hence, the reason why they’re my favorite but don’t tell no one, alright?”

eggsy nods quietly, still staring at the direction you left. he notices he’s quiet when merlin has this shit-eating grin on his face, clearly understanding that you left an impression on him.

“if you say anything about this, i will personally chop your balls off, merlin.”

“oh, i wonder why would you do that when i could give you a reason to see them?”

“...merlin, if you’re serious i will love you forever.”

merlin was indeed serious. that day was the first unofficial date you went on with eggsy merely minutes after meeting him for the first time. eggsy still remembers it like it was yesterday despite it being a couple of years ago. the fond memory lives in his mind and–”best have someone familiar in your mind when you look through that specific window.”

it seems you’ve snapped him out of his reverie when his shoulders flinch just a bit. he turns to you, that cheeky smile forming from a small one, to a wide grin as he makes the move to walk towards you. despite being in public, eggsy has never shied away from showing you his affection.

his hands almost immediately reach for your waist, even if you try to swat them away with we’re in public! his response is always nah, don’t really care, and you feel the security wrapped around your waist and the adoration kissing the side of your head as eggsy hugs you. although it’s late in the kingsman headquarters, it doesn’t mean that it’s completely empty. there’s a potential risk of someone coming by (even though the entire bloody corporation knows by now) and it still makes you shy every now and then.

you’re about to succumb into his embrace, until a peek over eggsy’s shoulder allows you to meet with–oh–”not in the hallways, kids. pack it up and move somewhere private.”

with a muffled huff, you’re about to push eggsy away but he remains firm, locking his arms around you as he calls off to merlin who promptly walks past, “oh piss off, merlin. don’t act like you weren’t rooting for us in the beginning.”

merlin looks like he’s about to let it go, but he backtracks so that he can get a glimpse of you, “oh yeah, forgot to tell ya, lover boy over here has been head over heels since day one. and i’m not talking about the first date.”

merlin only sticks around enough for it to hit you, and then he’s winking at eggsy before he’s off. when it’s just you and eggsy again, you turn to face him and he’s effectively avoiding eye contact, arms shifting around your waist.

“is he talking about your test? that’s the first time?”

you watch as eggsy’s mouth open and close a couple of times, before he musters up: “l-look, merlin’s just talking straight out of his arse–”the slight raise of your brow and small pout is all it takes for eggsy to crack”–and–oh for fuck’s sake, yes. that’s the first time!” you press your lips together to stop yourself from laughing, it’s harder when eggsy pulls away with a scoff.

“might’ve been gassed out of my mind but i know a pretty thing like you when i see one. just so happens it’s one that makes me feel all sorts of things even before i get to know them.”

patiently, you wait until he’s done with his little rant and he notices you’re waiting. oh, how polite. he looks at you with a sigh, “go on, make fun of me already. call me a hopeless romantic and all that bullsh...”

eggsy only processes what had happened when you’re a couple of steps away. sure, the two of you have kissed and gotten intimate plenty of times already since getting together but it’s the small moments like these that truly create an uproar in the butterflies in his stomach. your hushed giggle, the soft yet urgent kiss planted to his cheek, that giddy buzz that surrounds you as you quickly pull away. it’s... the smallest things that rile him up the most, and it’s working.

“again...” he says, now walking towards you as you walk away, “again! come back here!”

you squeal as you try to make a run for it, eggsy hot on your trail as he chases you back towards your office. merlin scoffs a laugh as he’s waiting for his coffee from the machine nearby, shaking his head but well-aware he’s the reason for all of this to begin with. he’s mighty proud when he gets his drink, making his way towards his office and notices the happiness radiating from both eggsy and you down the hall.

#eggsy unwin #eggsy unwin x you #eggsy unwin fanfic #eggsy unwin x reader #kingsman eggsy #eggsy unwin fanfiction #eggsy x reader #soz idk what this was #but it was in my drafts and whenever the word count is there it usually means its done???#so its done LOL #ANYWAY #here it is <3 #:)#hope any eggsy lovers out there still can enjoy this!#<3

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asgardian--angels · 2 months ago

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Planet's Fucked: What Can You Do To Help? (Long Post)

Since nobody is talking about the existential threat to the climate and the environment a second Trump term/Republican government control will cause, which to me supersedes literally every other issue, I wanted to just say my two cents, and some things you can do to help. I am a conservation biologist, whose field was hit substantially by the first Trump presidency. I study wild bees, birds, and plants.

In case anyone forgot what he did last time, he gagged scientists' ability to talk about climate change, he tried zeroing budgets for agencies like the NOAA, he attempted to gut protections in the Endangered Species Act (mainly by redefining 'take' in a way that would allow corporations to destroy habitat of imperiled species with no ramifications), he tried to do the same for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (the law that offers official protection for native non-game birds), he sought to expand oil and coal extraction from federal protected lands, he shrunk the size of multiple national preserves, HE PULLED US OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, and more.

We are at a crucial tipping point in being able to slow the pace of climate change, where we decide what emissions scenario we will operate at, with existential consequences for both the environment and people. We are also in the middle of the Sixth Mass Extinction, with the rate of species extinctions far surpassing background rates due completely to human actions. What we do now will determine the fate of the environment for hundreds or thousands of years - from our ability to grow key food crops (goodbye corn belt! I hated you anyway but), to the pressure on coastal communities that will face the brunt of sea level rise and intensifying extreme weather events, to desertification, ocean acidification, wildfires, melting permafrost (yay, outbreaks of deadly frozen viruses!), and a breaking down of ecosystems and ecosystem services due to continued habitat loss and species declines, especially insect declines. The fact that the environment is clearly a low priority issue despite the very real existential threat to so many people, is beyond my ability to understand. I do partly blame the public education system for offering no mandatory environmental science curriculum or any at all in most places. What it means is that it will take the support of everyone who does care to make any amount of difference in this steeply uphill battle.

There are not enough environmental scientists to solve these issues, not if public support is not on our side and the majority of the general public is either uninformed or actively hostile towards climate science (or any conservation science).

So what can you, my fellow Americans, do to help mitigate and minimize the inevitable damage that lay ahead?

I'm not going to tell you to recycle more or take shorter showers. I'll be honest, that stuff is a drop in the bucket. What does matter on the individual level is restoring and protecting habitat, reducing threats to at-risk species, reducing pesticide use, improving agricultural practices, and pushing for policy changes. Restoring CONNECTIVITY to our landscape - corridors of contiguous habitat - will make all the difference for wildlife to be able to survive a changing climate and continued human population expansion.

**Caveat that I work in the northeast with pollinators and birds so I cannot provide specific organizations for some topics, including climate change focused NGOs. Scientists on tumblr who specialize in other fields, please add your own recommended resources. **

We need two things: FUNDING and MANPOWER.

You may surprised to find that an insane amount of conservation work is carried out by volunteers. We don't ever have the funds to pay most of the people who want to help. If you really really care, consider going into a conservation-related field as a career. It's rewarding, passionate work.

At the national level, please support:

The Nature Conservancy

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (including eBird)

National Audubon Society

Federal Duck Stamps (you don't need to be a hunter to buy one!)

These first four work to acquire and restore critical habitat, change environmental policy, and educate the public. There is almost certainly a Nature Conservancy-owned property within driving distance of you. Xerces plays a very large role in pollinator conservation, including sustainable agriculture, native bee monitoring programs, and the Bee City/Bee Campus USA programs. The Lab of O is one of the world's leaders in bird research and conservation. Audubon focuses on bird conservation. You can get annual memberships to these organizations and receive cool swag and/or a subscription to their publications which are well worth it. You can also volunteer your time; we need thousands of volunteers to do everything from conducting wildlife surveys, invasive species removal, providing outreach programming, managing habitat/clearing trails, planting trees, you name it. Federal Duck Stamps are the major revenue for wetland conservation; hunters need to buy them to hunt waterfowl but anyone can get them to collect!

THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE, but these are a start.

Additionally, any federal or local organizations that seek to provide support and relief to those affected by hurricanes, sea level rise, any form of coastal climate change...

At the regional level:

These are a list of topics that affect major regions of the United States. Since I do not work in most of these areas I don't feel confident recommending specific organizations, but please seek resources relating to these as they are likely major conservation issues near you.

PRAIRIE CONSERVATION & PRAIRIE POTHOLE WETLANDS

DRYING OF THE COLORADO RIVER (good overview video linked)

PROTECTION OF ESTUARIES AND SALTMARSH, ESPECIALLY IN THE DELAWARE BAY AND LONG ISLAND (and mangroves further south, everglades etc; this includes restoring LIVING SHORELINES instead of concrete storm walls; also check out the likely-soon extinction of saltmarsh sparrows)

UNDAMMING MAJOR RIVERS (not just the Colorado; restoring salmon runs, restoring historic floodplains)

NATIVE POLLINATOR DECLINES (NOT honeybees. for fuck's sake. honeybees are non-native domesticated animals. don't you DARE get honeybee hives to 'save the bees')

WILDLIFE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER (support the Mission Butterfly Center!)

INVASIVE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES (this is everywhere but the specifics will differ regionally, dear lord please help Hawaii)

LOSS OF WETLANDS NATIONWIDE (some states have lost over 90% of their wetlands, I'm looking at you California, Ohio, Illinois)

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE, esp in the CORN BELT and CALIFORNIA - this is an issue much bigger than each of us, but we can work incrementally to promote sustainable practices and create habitat in farmland-dominated areas. Support small, local farms, especially those that use soil regenerative practices, no-till agriculture, no pesticides/Integrated Pest Management/no neonicotinoids/at least non-persistent pesticides. We need more farmers enrolling in NRCS programs to put farmland in temporary or permanent wetland easements, or to rent the land for a 30-year solar farm cycle. We've lost over 99% of our prairies to corn and soybeans. Let's not make it 100%.

INDIGENOUS LAND-BACK EFFORTS/INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT/TEK (adding this because there have been increasing efforts not just for reparations but to also allow indigenous communities to steward and manage lands either fully independently or alongside western science, and it would have great benefits for both people and the land; I know others on here could speak much more on this. Please platform indigenous voices)

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (get your neighbors to stop dumping fertilizers on their lawn next to lakes, reduce agricultural runoff)

OCEAN PLASTIC (it's not straws, it's mostly commercial fishing line/trawling equipment and microplastics)

A lot of these are interconnected. And of course not a complete list.

At the state and local level:

You probably have the most power to make change at the local level!

Support or volunteer at your local nature centers, local/state land conservancy non-profits (find out who owns&manages the preserves you like to hike at!), state fish & game dept/non-game program, local Audubon chapters (they do a LOT). Participate in a Christmas Bird Count!

Join local garden clubs, which install and maintain town plantings - encourage them to use NATIVE plants. Join a community garden!

Get your college campus or city/town certified in the Bee Campus USA/Bee City USA programs from the Xerces Society

Check out your state's official plant nursery, forest society, natural heritage program, anything that you could become a member of, get plants from, or volunteer at.

Volunteer to be part of your town's conservation commission, which makes decisions about land management and funding

Attend classes or volunteer with your land grant university's cooperative extension (including master gardener programs)

Literally any volunteer effort aimed at improving the local environment, whether that's picking up litter, pulling invasive plants, installing a local garden, planting trees in a city park, ANYTHING. make a positive change in your own sphere. learn the local issues affecting your nearby ecosystems. I guarantee some lake or river nearby is polluted

MAKE HABITAT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Biggest thing you can do. Use plants native to your area in your yard or garden. Ditch your lawn. Don't use pesticides (including mosquito spraying, tick spraying, Roundup, etc). Don't use fertilizers that will run off into drinking water. Leave the leaves in your yard. Get your school/college to plant native gardens. Plant native trees (most trees planted in yards are not native). Remove invasive plants in your yard.

On this last point, HERE ARE EASY ONLINE RESOURCES TO FIND NATIVE PLANTS and LEARN ABOUT NATIVE GARDENING:

Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resource Center

Pollinator Pathway

Audubon Native Plant Finder

Homegrown National Park (and Doug Tallamy's other books)

National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder (clunky but somewhat helpful)

Heather Holm (for prairie/midwest/northeast)

MonarchGard w/ Benjamin Vogt (for prairie/midwest)

Native Plant Trust (northeast & mid-atlantic)

Grow Native Massachusetts (northeast)

Habitat Gardening in Central New York (northeast)

There are many more - I'm not familiar with resources for western states. Print books are your biggest friend. Happy to provide a list of those.

Lastly, you can help scientists monitor species using citizen science. Contribute to iNaturalist, eBird, Bumblebee Watch, or any number of more geographically or taxonomically targeted programs (for instance, our state has a butterfly census carried out by citizen volunteers).

In short? Get curious, get educated, get involved. Notice your local nature, find out how it's threatened, and find out who's working to protect it that you can help with. The health of the planet, including our resilience to climate change, is determined by small local efforts to maintain and restore habitat. That is how we survive this. When government funding won't come, when we're beat back at every turn trying to get policy changed, it comes down to each individual person creating a safe refuge for nature.

Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to add your own credible resources and organizations.

#us election #climate change #united states election #resources #native plants #this took 3 hours to write so maybe don't let it flop? i know i write long posts. i know i follow scientists on here #that study birds and corals and other creatures #i realize i did not link sources/resources for everything. i encourage those more qualified to add things on. i need to go to work

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