#shut up steffi

[deltamachine2013]

Just remembered one of the funniest babylon 5 memes I made ages ago and now I'm going to post onto tumblr at last

[haribojam]

Recolor Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kids my beloved uglies 💕

[youwouldntdownloadapizza]

The Gates of Jackson | Joel Miller x F!Reader | Chapter 3 - The Cabin

masterlist | ao3 | follow @youwouldntdownloadapizza and turn on notifications for updates

You showed up at the gates of Jackson with hands covered in blood and no memory of how you got there. That was two years ago. Since then, you've become Maria's right-hand woman and the person in charge of Jackson's logistical backend. Patrol schedules, inventory—all your purview. When a patrol gone wrong forces you to get to know Joel, memories of your past begin resurfacing—along with their consequences.

previous | next

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

rating: 18+, minors DNI

word count: 1.1k

tags: no use of y/n, eventual smut, no beta we die like sarah, jackson era, other additional tags to be added, slow burn, ellie needs a hug, joel lives, good parent joel, reader-insert, reader insert, forced proximity, only one bed trope, nightmares, childbirth, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, soft joel, cuddling & snuggling, fluff, masturbation, pining, joel falls first, possibly demisexual reader (tbd), ptsd, ptsd flashbacks, panic attacks, amnesia, sexual braiding

chapter warnings: canon-typical violence, violence towards children, nightmares

Chapter 3 - The Cabin

By the time you descended the ladder, Joel had everything set up. A clean, if dusty and threadbare, blanket was spread before the fireplace. He’d managed to get the fire going, and while it hadn’t reached a roar, it was plenty hot enough to heat some cans for dinner.

“What are you in the mood for?” Joel asked, gesturing between two cans with a pilfered can opener. “I’ve got alphabet soup or beefy ravioli.”

“Ravioli, please,” you said decisively, taking a seat beside him on the blanket. It took a second of him staring at you expectantly for you to realize he was holding out your selection. You took it and dug in.

“Holy shit,” you nearly moaned, the zing of 20-year-old marinara a delight to tired taste buds.

“That good, huh?” Joel asked. 

You nodded–yeah, it was really that good.

“Maybe Ellie’s onto something,” he chuckled, digging into his own dinner. You cocked an eyebrow. He elaborated, “She’s big on Chef Boyardee, too. Who knew he’d have so many fans in the apocalypse?”

“I don’t know,” you joked. “Fungal pandemics come and go, but pasta is forever.”

He laughed mid-chew, snorting so effusively a J-shaped piece of pasta landed at your feet.

“Huh,” you said. “J for Joel.”

You ate the rest of your food in relative silence, the levity of the first few bites subsiding once you realized how hungry you truly were.

A few minutes later, you set your empty can on the hearth with a clatter. “I’m gonna turn in.”

Joel nodded. “I’ll take first watch. Good night, Doe.”

“Night, Joel.”

Upon further inspection, the puke-covered couch appeared to convert into a mostly unscathed bed. It felt almost wrong to tuck yourself beneath such cozy bedding in your filthy patrol clothes. Especially since you had to be ready to spring into action at any moment, which meant your shoes stayed on too. But it’s not like there were other options. You lay your head atop the impossibly fluffy pillow, and let your eyes fall shut. Before you knew it, you were asleep.

* * *

You only ever saw Steffy in your dreams anymore. Your baby sister had been there for the collapse of the Salt Lake City QZ, escaping alongside you. But somewhere between fleeing and finding yourself at the gates of Jackson, you’d lost her. You’re not sure what happened exactly, but the dread in the pit of your stomach left no room for wondering: Steffy was dead.

She was alive right now, though. You were little again, sitting on the terracotta tiles of your Aunt Suzie’s back porch. It was summer, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the magnolia tree above you.

While the adults grilled, you and Steffy had a tea party. All the best dolls were invited, teddy bears too. Even Steffy’s favorite, a bedraggled rat plushie named Ratty.

“Ratty wants Earl Grey,” Steffy said, holding out a tiny teacup and saucer.

“Why, of course,” you replied in a bad British accent, pretending to pour him a cup.

Steffy made Ratty drink the whole cup in one gulp. “Dee-licious.”

You giggled. She giggled. It was contagious, the two of you devolving into downright guffaws when you noticed the adults’ chatter had stopped. Looking over your sister’s shoulder, your face fell.

“What’s wrong?” Steffy asked with a tilt of her head.

You wanted to tell her to run. You wanted to tell her to get behind you, that something was wrong. But you were frozen. 

That’s when the clicker sunk its teeth into her neck.

You woke with a start, flailing wildly, arm connecting with something hard, something that let out an ‘oof’ in response. Joel. You had hit Joel. Based on the proximity, you guessed he was trying to wake you.

“Sorry,” you panted, heart still racing from your dream. “Time for my watch?”

“No,” you could barely make out the shake of his head against what was left of the dying firelight. “It’s only been a couple hours. You were flailin’ about, looked like you were having a nightmare.”

“Oh,” you said. “Thank you. I’m fine now.”

“If you’re sure,” he said. “I’m here, y’know. If you want to… talk about it, or anything.”

You were still shaky. Your heart was still going so fast. But you weren’t about to discuss your dead sister with Joel Miller.

“I’m fine.” You doubled down, softer than you meant to.

“Okay,” he backed off, returning to his spot leaned up against the fireplace, eyes on the door.

Minutes passed, and your heart was still racing. Your hand throbbed, and you wondered how hard you’d hit Joel. Hopefully not hard enough to leave a mark.

“I’m sorry I hit you,” you said softly through the darkness.

“It’s fine, Doe. You were dreaming.”

You hated the way he brushed away your concerns, the way he gave you grace. In your experience, people rarely let others off the hook, not really. There was always some resentment that lingered.

If you were going to owe him, you might as well really owe him.

“Joel?” you asked.

“Hm?”

“I can’t sleep,” you confessed.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do about that.”

You took a deep breath, steadying yourself to ask for what you wanted. “Will you cuddle with me? It’s not you, it’s just…I need another person. We’re safe here, we don’t need a watch, not really. And I need you.”

“Thought you said it wasn’t personal.”

“It’s not,” you bristled. “But I thought it would be nice.”

“Never said it wouldn’t be, sweetheart.”

You lay there expectantly for what felt like ages. Then, finally, you heard the squeak of old floorboards under his boots, and felt the squish of the mattress as he climbed onto it beside you. You found a position easily, one arm beneath your head, his other loosely draped across your waist.

Your heart slowed marginally, but your breathing remained fast and light.

“Relax, sweetheart. You gotta breathe.”

“I can’t–” you started. He cut you off with a hand to your stomach.

“You can.” He pulled you back against him gently, not so tight you were crushed, but just enough for you to feel the expanding and contracting of his own breath against your back. “Breathe with me, alright?”

You nodded with a shuddering breath. He tapped your stomach lightly with his thumb. You matched his inhale, breathing deeply and resenting the fact that this shit works every goddamn time. Within a few minutes, you were calm. Or as calm as you were going to get, anyway.

“I get them too, you know,” Joel admitted.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You were still pulled close against him, neither of you having made a move to scramble apart once your breathing returned to normal. At his admission, you relaxed into him fully, taking his free hand in yours.

Before you knew it, you were asleep once more, dreamless and deep, held safe and secure in the warmth of Joel’s embrace.

previous | next

[blazewatergem]

Nah, I’m sorry, I actually am incapable of shutting up, apparently.

Steffi was dealt a bad hand for The Circle. Sure, I can admit, she was firing shots at “Paul” - and when fired back, she cried. Yeah, that’s a her thing. (I have my opinions, but I’ll stay quiet on that.)

Yet the rest of the Circle saying she is AI because of her talking about Astrology when it’s part of her JOB was irritating. That her joke wasn’t funny so “obviously” she’s the AI. That her using words “only robots would know” it just…

Gods, I just feel for her on that. I know I’m similar in that I’m mouthy and use weird words, enjoy talking about things I know, and can get into my emotions more than I probably should(for better and worse).

Steffi is not nearly as terrible as the online presence is reacting to her, in my opinion. She’s just…human. Messy, occasionally hypocritical, but human. She tried, and failed on occasion, but HUMAN.

And if what I heard has happened(Currently on Episode 3, spoiled up to episode 6) then that just feels disappointing. I’d bet money Myles chose to get her out just based on him disliking her. He NEVER hesitated to be a rude dick, and all his comments just… 😑

He gets under my skin, and I do hope he doesn’t win.

So, there’s my rant! Take it or leave it, I’m getting it out.

[alphaman99]

Beat Poems On The Road  ·

Steffi Steff  ·

"The folks who know the truth aren't talking. The ones who don't have a clue, you can't shut them up!"

Tom Waits

[stevesaxetogrind]

I have a plot bunny, it’s been done before but Stephanie Harrington is in my head. Consider, Season 4, trying to convince Robin that Vickie is also a tits girl:

“I feel it! Vickie likes boobies, she’s like me!”

“I’m not taking my ex’s advice on which girls like-”

“Boobies?”

“Ew stop saying it!”

“What? I’m a girl. You’re a girl. Vickie’s a girl. We all have boobies. We all like boobies Robin! Boobies, boo-”

“Shut up!”

“Don’t say that to your favourite ex.”

“You’re my only ex.”

“Well then as your ex turned bff- which Robin we didn’t even date- I say I have a great feeling. Fast Times doesn’t lie!”

“Fast Times isn’t even that good a film.”

“Don’t let Vickie hear you say that. Phoebe Cates would never. Take it back!”

“Nope.” Robin grinned that stupid smile of hers.

“How can you ever touch Vickie’s boobies is you don’t even take an interest in her interests?”

“Oh my god, stop saying boobies!”

“You said it too this time.” Steph smirked, “its funnier this way.”

“I give up on you.” Robin sighed, leaning against the door as they rolled into the school parking lot.

People milled about, completely uninterested in former Queen Bee Steph Harrington dropping off band geek Robin Buckley. Which was good. Robin liked it better that way.

She turned to Steph, tentative. “I’ll see you tonight. Are you going to take a date?”

Steph shrugged noncommittedly. “I’m giving Nance a life, she’s covering it for the paper so hopefully I don’t have to look like a total loner. But I got to support my best friend and her future girlfriend.”

Robing could only laugh when Steph started nudging her, enthusiastic to the end.

“High school is so last year for you, stop caring about popularity. Who cares if you go alone?”

Steph shook her head, “You can take the popularity out of the girl- violently and with monster goo from another dimension, but is it a crime to care what other people think? I’ve got to live in this town, shop here, talk to people- I’m not like you Robin, I’m not going to go to college… do you think I like little old lady Paulson giving me pitying looks about ‘ruining my face’ in the mall fire?”

Robin gave her a withering look. It didn’t stop her.

“Also Rob, I’m taking a break from men. Most girls think I’m some kind of disabled skank, and any girl who used to be able to tolerate me is either away at college or is caught between cheer loyalty and social suicide. I’m the one who couldn’t even make it into Tech as Head Cheerleader- you think they’d want supports but no-”

“Steffie honey, I don’t know your weird sports terms.”

“Okay point. Emily and Chrissy, maybe Tina S, are the only tolerable members of the Hawkins student body left and they’re all cheering tonight. I’m going to sit behind the band with you and cheer on Lucas. It’ll be fine.” She sounded like she was assuring herself more than Robin.

“Okay loser, you’re allowed to make new friends.”

“Or I could focus on the ones I already have. I don’t want Lucas to think the only reason I’m there is because some guy dragged me there to get laid.:

“Oh yeah. Huh, maybe you could sit with the kids. Everyone knows you babysat Henderson.”

“Yeah maybe. I know they don’t like sports, but it’s the Championship. I’m sure they’d grab some good seats at least.” Steph looks considering at which might be worse. At least she’d have someone to talk to, even if they were her freshmen friends. Especially since Nancy would be busy for most of the game.

“Maybe they’ll even let Lucas play. It’d be good for you all to cheer together! Little supporters’ section.” Robin suggested.

“God, I hope so, he’s been practicing a lot. I know he’ll do so well if they just give him a chance.” Steph smiled. She’d have played basketball for the school team if they’d scraped together enough girls for an inter-murals league, but it was just her and Laura C. No one else wanted to do anything that close to tomboy material. So, it’d been a lot of fun playing with Lucas when she’d drop Dustin off to their little summer game nights.

Robin gestured up at the school, bell about to ring. “Well, this is me dingus. Love you Steph. Wave to me tonight.”

“Love you too, see you Robbie.”

[beardedmrbean]

At the end of March, Germany's Environment Minister Steffi Lemke of the Green Party used just a few words to put an end to the dispute that has kept the country in suspense for years: "The risks of nuclear power are ultimately uncontrollable; that's why the nuclear phase-out makes our country safer, and avoids more nuclear waste."

Nuclear power extended to April 15

Last year, the government found itself once again caught up in a dispute over nuclear power. In their coalition agreement, the governing SPD, Greens, and the FDP had agreed to stick to Germany's nuclear phase-out, which was decided under Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2011. Accordingly, the last nuclear power plants were to close at the end of 2022. 

But Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed everything, because Russian gas supplies to Germany stopped and the government feared an energy shortage. Chancellor Olaf Scholz finally decided to extend the operating period of the power stations until April 15, 2023.

A decades-long dispute

Few disputes have polarized people, especially in the former West Germany, for as many decades as the one over nuclear power. On June 17, 1961, a German nuclear power plant supplied electricity to the grid for the first time, at Kahl in Bavaria.

Some 22,596 days and plenty of heated debate later, the last three German nuclear power plants still in operation will finally be shut down on April 15.

Altogether, 19 nuclear power plant units supplied up to a third of the country's electricity, though the last time this happened was about 20 years ago. In the 1970s and 1980s in West Germany, before German unification, opposition to nuclear power brought hundreds of thousands of mostly young people out onto the streets. Then in 1986, the Chernobyl disaster in the then-Soviet Union appeared to confirm warnings about the dangers of nuclear power. But the various governing parties – the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), the SPD, and the FDP – stood firmly behind the use of nuclear power for many decades.

Nuclear power in Europe

Other European countries were quicker to phase out nuclear power. Sweden was the forerunner, ending nuclear power shortly after Chernobyl, as was Italy, which also decided to close its last two nuclear power plants following the disaster. In Italy, the decision remained in force; in Sweden, the phase-out was reversed in 1996. Today, six nuclear power plants there produce around 30% of the country's electricity needs.

Other European countries, such as the Netherlands and Poland plan to expand their nuclear power systems, while Belgium is postponing its planned phase-out. With 57 reactors, France has always been Europe's leading nuclear power country, and it intends to stay that way. All in all, 13 of 27 EU countries intend using nuclear power in the coming years, with a number expanding their capacities.

First German phase-out in 2002

In 2002, Germany's then Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin, also of the Green Party, pushed through the country's first plan to phase out nuclear power. This was then softened by subsequent governments, but the horrific reactor disaster at Fukushima in Japan in 2011 finally sealed the fate of German nuclear power plants. The chancellor at the time, Angela Merkel (CDU), decided: That was it for nuclear energy in Germany.

Today, Trittin is still a member of the Bundestag for the Green Party. "Yes, this is an important day, because it brings a story to an end, namely that of the civilian use of nuclear energy," he said of this week's final shutdown. "But it's not the end of nuclear energy in Germany, we're still dealing with the fact that we'll have to safely store the world's most dangerous waste for a million years," he told DW.

Arguments for nuclear energy

But is this really it for nuclear energy in Germany? KernD, an association representing the interests of nuclear technology in Germany, told DW that ending nuclear power was not a good idea, in view of an energy crisis that it says has been suppressed, rather than resolved.

"Also, in view of climate policy and the very unfavorable development in electricity generation last year — due to a sharp increase in coal-fired power generation — the shutdown of three functioning nuclear power plants with a low greenhouse gas footprint beggars belief," a KernD spokesperson said.

"Considering security of supply, environmental and climate protection, as well as competitiveness, more nuclear power would make more sense than none at all."

Nuclear power around the world

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are currently 422 nuclear reactors in operation worldwide, with an average age of about 31 years.

But a recent IAEA report said there was no indication that nuclear was experiencing a renaissance: Nuclear power generation peaked at 17.5% in 1996, and fell below 10% in 2021 — the lowest in four decades.

Asia expands its nuclear capacity

Nevertheless, China, Russia and India in particular are all planning to build new nuclear power plants. China, where there is virtually no civil society to fight new projects, wants to build another 47 plants. China already produces more nuclear power than France.

It is often argued that expanding nuclear power production protects the climate because it emits hardly any carbon dioxide. Even Japan wants to return to more nuclear power, despite the 2001 earthquake that caused several nuclear reactors to rupture in succession, forcing the initial closure of several nuclear power plants.

Since then, however, some reactors have been brought back online. Now the Japanese government has decided: The resource-poor country wants to build new reactors and let its old ones run for up to 70 years. "We must make full use of nuclear energy," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared recently, as if it were his motto. Surveys show that, despite a long period of resistance, support among the Japanese population is gradually increasing.

And Jürgen Trittin notes that no one wants to invest in nuclear power on a large scale "because nuclear power is not competitive." Building new nuclear power plants is very expensive, often having to be co-financed by public money, and often plagued by delays and local resistance to new projects.

[witchofthemidlands]

despite knowing next to nothing about most of the waters of mars crew members, who had few lines, little screen time & only their eulogies served as any canon information about them nine year old me was so attached to them (tarak, maggie & andy included who were unfortunately turned into the flood at this point of the episode 😭😩) i loved them so much, child!me diy'd a gadget gadget out of the recycling, i named barbies & polly pockets after them, i never shut up about these side characters, even now, at twenty-three, i'm still going on about them 😂 i still have so many emotions, headcanons & affection for them. honestly side characters of all time 🤩 rip to the fixed point in time & all that but i'd have gotten ed, steffi, tarak, roman, maggie, andy, mia, yuri & gadget off of that base before anything sinister went down.

[maximoaguilar]

𝐈 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄

And I watched as you fled the scene Doe-eyed as you buried me One heart broke, four hands bloody Those things I did Just so I could call you mine The things you did Well, I hope I was your favorite crime

It was like any normal day. At least, as normal as things could be under the circumstances. The past collection of days had been dizzying but in a manner that brought him a sense of peace. He was having a little girl, a beautiful little girl with the woman he knew he loved. Who he had loved for so long. No matter the fight that was thrown at him, he could shoulder it. He was unshakable.

At least, that was what he thought. Mason was at school, he was making breakfast for himself before sifting through some more resumes of potential new hires for security. One could never be too prepared, considering the brutality that they had already witnessed. Alara. Steffi. Josiah. Easton. It was four names too many. Laptop open, he continued to nurse his morning cup of coffee as his eyes scanned over the latest resume to hit his inbox. He wasn't going to let just anyone protect the people he cared about most.

He hadn't stopped twirling the sonogram picture between his fingers since the moment they had left the office. While expanding his family had not been something that had initially been in the cards for him -- he still remembers the feeling of joy that had overcame him. Caring for someone so deeply was a scary thing for him, hell, loving someone was absolutely terrifying when the last time he had done so, he had been nothing more than a secret.

Ana was proud to be with him. He knew that.

His thoughts were interrupted by a notification on his laptop that made his blood run cold. The Shadow. While he had wanted to ignore the message, wanted to just continue going about his day -- he knew everyone else was bound to be talking about whatever was said. It was better to be in the know than live in blissful ignorance.

Ana was proud to be with him. Ana was proud to be with him.

You still have the videos? The one of me where I've got my tongue..

Yeah and if you want them, just let me know.

Yeesh. He pitied the poor sap that was going to be affected by this latest round of blackmail. That is, until his mouse hovered over the video and he noticed two familiar faces -- each which made his heart drop. Ana and Nico. There was no going back, despite how loudly his mind was screaming at him no. No, no, no.

No.

As the space closed between them, between Ana and Nico, Max didn't even know what emotion he was feeling first. Was it sadness? Anger? He hadn't even seen how the forum had reacted, as he had muted the chat ages ago due to the petty fighting. All he knew was that the poor sap wasn't just anyone.

It was him.

He shuts his laptop slowly, hands clasped together as he remains stationary at the table -- as the reality sets in.

Ana wasn't proud to be with him. And she didn't even respect him enough to tell him.

This is when the tears begin. When the desire to throw his laptop against the wall and watch it shatter, leaving him to clean up it's fragments like the shattered pieces of his heart. Thank god for Sasha, for Kit, who have been kind enough to offer their company which he desperately needs. He couldn't be alone right now. He would try to pull himself together, and then he would rejoin his son. The home that he has begun to share with her feels like its caving in on him, laughing at him for not realizing this sooner. Realizing his place.

God and Nico, that bastard. While he hadn't trusted him at first, perhaps there was some merit to the claims he made. Even if his anger loomed over his shoulder -- telling him that he deserved a swift kick in the balls, a couple punches to the face, he knew that he had to be strong. He had to be the bigger person. And besides, that scum wasn't worth the assault charge anyway. He had won. Max didn't need any more salt rubbed in his wounds anyway.

Before he can do anything he'll regret, he grabs his keys before heading out to his truck and slamming the door shut. The force behind it is more than he ever anticipated, wondering how the door is not hanging from a single hinge. In order to drown out his own thoughts he turns on the radio, grimacing as he listens to the words of the song that he has never heard before as he turns out of his driveway and takes the familiar route to Sasha's home.

It's bittersweet to think about the damage that we do' Cause I was going down, but I was doing it with you Yeah, everything we broke, and all the trouble that we made But I say that I hate you with a smile on my face...

God, how could he have been so stupid. He had once believed that everything he had done in his life had led him here, to her. But it had all been nothing more than a beautiful, well-crafted lie.

Oh, look what we became..

He thinks about the first time he kissed her. She had been infuriated about Emmeline and all he could do was just stand there, in shock that she believed anyone else could have even compared. To her, no woman in the world had compared to him. Every other star had gone dim. God, he would have spent his whole life walking this world alone if he could have just had a moments peace with her. A single gaze, an assurance of her safety.

He remembers how she feels underneath him, how she reacted to his touch -- how something dormant, long since dead had finally been reignited, rejuvenated.

But now, he sat in his run-down truck, broken and bruised. Gutted. Damaged beyond repair, the Shadow having delivered him news that hurt more than any other attack could.

Complete and utter heartbreak.

Your favorite crime... Your favorite crime... 'Cause baby, you were mine.

[thelovetheystole]

I want Hope to seduce Finn for one reason only now - to prove Steffy right. And maybe to shut Ridge up too. Because he's been insufferable lately.

[batllethinker]

The bratty subs use Lotte because she’s such a pushover, she might whine and wriggle a little but they can easily pin her down- particularly when they work together, leaving her pouting and thighs covered in cum. Beth likes Steffy for the opposite reason- she’s so sensitive and gets SO loud, shes much more likely to be caught, and get the punishment she’s craving. On top of cumming against Steffy’s ass while her friend moans and cries underneath her? It’s a win-win

Lotte never actually tries to get away from whoever is using her and it's relatively easy to pin her down and make her shut up. Steph is just so loud, to the point anyone walking by can hear her moans and pleads and-. It's perfect for Beth, who wants them to hear

[deltamachine2013]

[haribojam]

For anyone that wants to hear butch’s VA (chip hand) talk more naturally and laugh nervously here you go

Source

[xtruss]

The Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony, Lingen is one of the final three nuclear power plants in Gernany which will close on April 15, 2023. Sina Schuldt/picture-alliance/dpa/AP

‘A New Era’: Germany Quits Nuclear Power, Closing Its Final Three Plants

— By Laura Paddison, Nadine Schmidt and Inke Kappeler | Saturday April 15, 2023

Germany’s final three nuclear power plants close their doors on Saturday, marking the end of the country’s nuclear era that has spanned more than six decades.

Nuclear power has long been contentious in Germany.

There are those who want to end reliance on a technology they view as unsustainable, dangerous and a distraction from speeding up renewable energy.

But for others, closing down nuclear plants is short-sighted. They see it as turning off the tap on a reliable source of low-carbon energy at a time when drastic cuts to planet-heating pollution are needed.

Even as these debates rumble on, and despite last-minute calls to keep the plants online amid an energy crisis, the German government has been steadfast.

“The position of the German government is clear: nuclear power is not green. Nor is it sustainable,” Steffi Lemke, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection and a Green Party member, told CNN.

“We are embarking on a new era of energy production,” she said.

A Plan Decades in the Making

The closure of the three plants – Emsland, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim – represents the culmination of a plan set in motion more than 20 years ago. But its roots are even older.

In the 1970s, a strong anti-nuclear movement in Germany emerged. Disparate groups came together to protest new power plants, concerned about the risks posed by the technology and, for some, the link to nuclear weapons. The movement gave birth to the Green Party, which is now part of the governing coalition.

Nuclear accidents fueled the opposition: The partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania in 1979 and the 1986 catastrophe at Chernobyl that created a cloud of radioactive waste which reached parts of Germany.

The Isar nuclear power plant, in Essenbach, Germany. Alexandra Beier/Getty Images

In 2000, the German government pledged to phase out nuclear power and start shutting down plants. But when a new government came to power in 2009, it seemed – briefly – as if nuclear would get a reprieve as a bridging technology to help the country move to renewable energy.

Then Fukushima Happened.

In March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami caused three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to melt down. For many in Germany, Japan’s worst nuclear disaster was confirmation “that assurances that a nuclear accident of a large scale can’t happen are not credible,” Miranda Schreurs, professor of environment and climate policy at the Technical University of Munich, told CNN.

Three days later then-Chancellor Angela Merkel – a physicist who was previously pro-nuclear – made a speech called it an “inconceivable catastrophe for Japan” and a “turning point” for the world. She announced Germany would accelerate a nuclear phase-out, with older plants shuttered immediately.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, provided another plot twist.

Fearful of its energy security without Russian gas, the German government delayed its plan to close the final three plants in December 2022. Some urged a rethink.

But the government declined, agreeing to keep them running only until April 15, 2023.

For those in the anti-nuclear movement, it’s a moment of victory.

“It is a great achievement for millions of people who have been protesting nuclear in Germany and worldwide for decades,” Paul-Marie Manière, a spokesperson for Greenpeace, told CNN.

A Polarizing Energy

For critics of Germany’s policy, however, it’s irrational to turn off a low-carbon source of energy as the impacts of the climate crisis intensify.

“We need to keep existing, safe nuclear reactors operating while simultaneously ramping up renewables as fast as possible,” Leah Stokes, a professor of climate and energy policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told CNN.

The big risk, she said, is that fossil fuels fill the energy gap left by nuclear. Reductions in Germany’s nuclear energy since Fukushima have been primarily offset by increases in coal, according to research published last year.

Germany plans to replace the roughly 6% of electricity generated by the three nuclear plants with renewables, but also gas and coal.

More than 30% of Germany’s energy comes from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels – and the government has made controversial decisions to turn to coal to help with energy security.

In January, protestors including Greta Thunberg converged on the west German village of Lützerath in an unsuccessful attempt to stop it being demolished to mine the coal underneath it.

“Building new coal capacity is the opposite of what we need,” said Stokes. Fossil fuels are a climate problem, but they’re also a health risk, she pointed out. Air pollution from fossil fuels is responsible for 8.7 million deaths a year, according to a recent analysis.

Veronika Grimm, one of Germany’s leading economists, told CNN that keeping nuclear power plants running for longer would have allowed Germany more time “to electrify extensively,” especially as renewable energy growth “remains sluggish.”

A new solar energy park near Prenzlau, Germany. The German government is seeking to accelerate the construction of both solar and wind energy parks. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

But supporters of the nuclear shutdown argue it will ultimately hasten the end of fossil fuels.

Germany has pledged to close its last coal-fired power station no later than 2038, with a 2030 deadline in some areas. It’s aiming for 80% of electricity to come from renewables by the end of this decade.

While more coal was added in the months following Fukushima, Schreurs said, nuclear shutdowns have seen a big push on clean energy. “That urgency and demand can be what it takes to push forward on the growth of renewables,” she said.

Representatives for Germany’s renewable energy industry said the shutdown will open the door for more investment into clean energy.

“Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power is a historic event and an overdue step in energy terms,” Simone Peter, president of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), told CNN. “It is high time that we leave the nuclear age behind and consistently organize the renewable age.”

The impacts of nuclear power shouldn’t be overlooked either, Schreurs said, pointing to the carbon pollution created by uranium mining as well as the risk of health complications for miners. Plus, it creates a dependency on Russia, which supplies uranium for nuclear plants, she added.

Nuclear has also shown itself to have vulnerabilities to the climate crisis. France was forced to reduce nuclear power generation last year as the rivers used to cool reactors became too hot during Europe’s blistering heatwave.

A Million-Year Problem

The Gorleben nuclear waste storage facility, an interim storage facility for spent fuel elements and high-level radioactive waste. Sina Schuldt/picture-alliance/dpa/AP

Now Germany must work out what do with the deadly, high-level radioactive waste, which can remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.

Currently, the nuclear waste is kept in interim storage next to the nuclear plants being decommissioned. But the search is on to find a permanent location where the waste can be stored safely for a million years.

The site needs to be deep – hundreds of meters underground. Only certain types of rock will do: Crystalline granite, rock salt or clay rock. It must be geologically stable with no risks of earthquakes or signs of underground rivers.

The process is likely to be fraught, complex and breathtakingly long – potentially lasting more than 100 years.

BGE, the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal, estimates a final site won’t be chosen until between 2046 and 2064. After that, it will take decades more to build the repository, fill it with the waste and seal it.

What Are Other Countries Doing?

Plenty of other countries are treading paths similar to Germany’s. Denmark passed a resolution in the 1980s not to construct nuclear power plants, Switzerland voted in 2017 to phase out nuclear power, Italy closed its last reactors in 1990 and Austria’s one nuclear plant has never been used.

But, in the context of the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices and pressure to reduce carbon pollution, others still want nuclear in the mix.

The UK, in the process of building a nuclear power plant, said in its recent climate strategy that energy nuclear power has a “crucial” role in “creating secure, affordable and clean energy.”

France, which gets about 70% of its power from nuclear, is planning six new reactors, and Finland opened a new nuclear plant last year. Even Japan, still dealing with the aftermath of Fukushima, is considering restarting reactors.

The Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant, Germany. Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images

The US, the world’s biggest nuclear power, is also investing in nuclear energy and, in March, started up a new nuclear reactor, Vogtle 3 in Georgia – the first in years.

But experts suggest this doesn’t mark the start of a nuclear ramp up. Vogtle 3 came online six years late and at a cost of $30 billion, twice the initial budget.

It encapsulates the big problem that afflicts the whole nuclear industry: making the economics add up. New plants are expensive and can take more than a decade to build. “Even the countries that are talking pro-nuclear are having big trouble developing nuclear power,” Schreurs said.

Many nuclear power plants in Europe, the US and elsewhere are aging – plants have an operating life of around 40 to 60 years. As Germany puts an end to its nuclear era, it’s coming up to crunch time for others, Schreurs said.

“There will be a moment of decision as to whether nuclear really has a future”

— CNN’s Chris Stern contributed reporting.

[loving-steffi]

"— Aren't they promoting obesity with these things? — Bruno, fat people need clothes too. There is no reason for you to complain. Unless you are afraid to see that a fat man has a better sense of fashion than you. This is why I never go out with you."

[smolalienbee]

Hello you lovely person! Can I please request "Emma Blackery - Villains, Pt. 1" for Geraskier? I love the idea behind that list, because music gives so many possibilities, but the fact that Emma Blackery is on that list just made me so SOO happy 💚💚

thanks for a request, Steffi!! yeah, i’ve really been enjoying being able to do song prompts because it’s just,,, music. music is so important, i love music

geraskier // inspired by Emma Blackery - Villains, Pt. 1 // in the aftermath of an attack on Jaskier’s life, Geralt faces his own villains

(send me a character/pairing and a prompt and i’ll write you a ficlet!)

He’s distinctly aware of the blood on his knuckles. The scent of it, the disgusting warmth against his skin. He feels it all, still remembers the terrified heartbeats as he charged at the two of them. The quivers of their bodies.

The stillness in the aftermath of it all feels wrong, leaves him with his ears ringing as he catches his breath. It’s not too different from when he’s coming down from an elixir except he knows this time it’s all him, the adrenaline, the fear he had also felt. The anger. Fuck, the anger.

(The fury of a monster. He was pushed into it, concerned about Jaskier’s safety, but... he was designed to destroy. They weren’t.)

Jaskier stands nearby, Geralt knows as much. Not even the stench of blood is enough to distract him from all the sensations that come with the bard - his heavy breath. His scent. Movement of the fabric as Jaskier clutches his own stomach and tries not to retch.

Geralt doesn’t look at him as he straightens his back, picks up his steel sword. His hand remains steady, but it’s a force of habit, that he doesn’t let not even a single tremor to go through it. “I’ll take you back to our room,” he says gruffly. “Leave you some coin before -” Before I’ll go.

(I’m better off alone.)

“Before - Geralt, what the fuck are you saying?”

“I’m saying that we’ll go separate ways, bard.”

He doesn’t mean for it to come out in a growl.

(He doesn’t mean for a lot of things to happen. And yet they always do.)

When he looks up, he sees how wide Jaskier’s eyes are, how his hands tremble. For some reason, though, the bard doesn’t look away. Stubbornly, he meets Geralt’s eye and shakes his head.

“You saved my life,” he points out gently. His bright blue shirt is now stained red, Geralt notices.

(He has stained Jaskier in more ways than one.)

“I killed them.” They were human, he doesn’t say. It’s obvious.

“They would’ve killed me, if you hadn’t.”

“That doesn’t -”

“I know. But I don’t want you to - this doesn’t - Geralt, look.” Jaskier’s eyes briefly trail over the bodies. His skin turns even paler and he clicks his tongue, swiftly turning away from the wreckage Geralt had caused.

(But not from Geralt. He doesn’t turn away from Geralt.)

“You were protecting me,” Jaskier insists, taking a step closer. He wobbles on his feet and Geralt doesn’t know if it’s just the nerves and the exhaustion or if he had gotten hurt while Geralt was driving his sword through - “Geralt.” Jaskier’s voice cuts through the fog yet again.

“We need to rest. You need to rest. And a bath, gods, we both stink. If in the morning you still want us to split up, then - fine. But let’s rest first.”

It’s unfair, Geralt thinks as his eyes flutter shut, unfair that the burden of it all falls onto Jaskier. That he’s the one keeping calm in the face of it all, despite his trepidation. Despite the monsters he has to face with Geralt at his side.

(Unfair, that he’s the one absolving Geralt of his guilt.)

He says nothing in response to Jaskier’s words and simply nods. He sheathes his sword, ignores the way his gut twists at the stench of humanity on it. And then he lets Jaskier lead him far from his wrongdoings.