#Alley Cat Allies Initiatives

[alleycatallies]

24 Ways We Worked to Protect Cats in 2024

Happy almost New Year! We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to you for helping us protect and save cats’ lives every single day. Your compassion, dedication, and action make an incredible impact, and we’re truly grateful to have you with us in our mission to build a world where ALL cats are valued and protected.

Even as we prepare for all the work ahead, we’re also reflecting on the incredible change we accomplished together this year.

Here are 24 ways (there are many, many more!) we worked on behalf of cats in 2024:

1. We Took Historic Legal Action to Protect Community Cats in Puerto Rico

If not for Alley Cat Allies and our supporters like you, a deadly removal of community cats in Puerto Rico would be underway right now.

The United States National Park Service (NPS), which announced intention to eradicate cats from the San Juan National Historic Site late in 2023, planned to start ripping cats from their outdoor homes as early as October 1, 2024.

Alley Cat Allies’ legal efforts—including launching a historic lawsuit against the NPS in March 2024—and refusal to back down forced the NPS to agree to halt all movement on its cruel plan until a federal court decision in 2025. Cats like Bella, Mufasina, and Llorin are still eating, sleeping, and playing amid the surf-swept rocks of their outdoor home because of our action—and our supporters like you who make it possible.

We will continue our fight until the NPS abandons its inhumane and illegal plan permanently, and community cats in Puerto Rico are protected and supported as the community members they are.

2. We Launched Our Community Resource Tool™

The Alley Cat Allies Community Resource Tool is here to help advocates like you protect the cats who are your community. With a few clicks, you can find lifesaving resources for cats in your area including low-cost spay and neuter clinics, cat food banks, and more.

Cats Are Community™ and deserve a community that supports them. With our Community Resource Tool, you can discover local cat advocates and access assistance that benefits cats whether they live outdoors or indoors.

3. We Helped Win a Major Victory for Ohio Cats

Alley Cat Allies’ amicus brief helped inform a critical Ohio Supreme Court decision for cats and kittens. The court ruled that Ohio’s companion animal cruelty law protects all cats, including community cats who are unowned and live outdoors, as “companion animals.”

This is a major victory for cats throughout Ohio and ensures community cats are protected equally under animal cruelty laws.

4. Our Rapid Response Team Saved Cats During Historic Texas Fires

With smoke still choking the air and charred landscape on either side of them, an Alley Cat Allies Rapid Response Team drove directly into the Texas communities most impacted by the historic Smokehouse Creek Fire to deliver lifesaving support for cats and kittens. We connected with local advocates to aid recovery efforts and provided critical care for smoke inhalation and burn wounds to cats like Rubble, Mona, and Phoenix.

5. We Kicked off Our Veterinarian Training Program™

Growing a powerful movement means ensuring the next generation is ready to take up the lifesaving mantle. That’s why we launched the Alley Cat Allies Veterinarian Training Program, starting in the Caribbean islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis!

The goal of our Veterinarian Training Program is to help both experienced and novice veterinarians bring the most effective TNR techniques to their communities to save more lives.

6. We Provided TNR and Food to Thousands of Atlantic County Cats

In 2024, Alley Cat Allies funded spay and neuter, including through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), and other lifesaving care for more than 3000 community cats and indoor cats in Atlantic County, New Jersey. We also provided food to an incredible 600 community cats per day through a first-of-its-kind community cat food bank in the county.

In 2025, our work with the Humane Society of Atlantic County is moving forward to bring critical care to thousands more cats and kittens.

7. We Helped Hundreds of Tennessee Cats with Feline Frenzy®

The Alley Cat Allies Feline Frenzy in Lebanon, Tennessee, this year reached hundreds of indoor and community cats with spay and neuter and vaccinations! On top of that milestone, hundreds more cats received ongoing cat food support—all covered by Alley Cat Allies.

8. We Filed a Lawsuit to Stop the Illegal Killing of Cats in Summit County, Ohio

Alley Cat Allies filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas against Summit County, Ohio, and its county-operated animal shelter to stop the needless, cruel, and illegal killing of cats.

The Summit County Animal Control Department is an entity meant to uphold the laws. Instead, it is improperly and inhumanely ‘euthanizing’ animals and killing cats for simply being deemed ‘feral’.

Stopping the senseless and inhumane killing of cats is our top priority.

9. We Are Providing Legal Support to Achieve Justice for Juliet

Alley Cat Allies is providing prosecution support to achieve justice for Juliet, who was tortured and killed in Hamilton, Ohio. Surveillance video revealed that Juliet was shoved into a garbage bag and then slammed violently on the ground by the perpetrator.

We’ll keep you updated as the case moves forward.

10. We Offered a Reward to Find Who Shot George the Cat

In a horrific act of senseless cruelty, George the cat was shot in the back leg with a shotgun in Henrietta Township, Ohio. He survived his injury but was so badly maimed that his leg had to be surgically amputated. Alley Cat Allies covered the costs of his procedure and he has since recovered.

We offered a sizable reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting George.

11. We Helped Granite Shoals Adopt a TNR Ordinance

The ordinance, which had heavy input from Alley Cat Allies, officially protects TNR and community cats in the Texas city. This step forward came just months after disturbing comments about shooting, poisoning, and killing cats were made by the former Granite Shoals City Manager and a wildlife advisory committee.

Today, we continue to support TNR in Granite Shoals!

12. We Responded After Back-to-Back Hurricanes

In fall 2024, Alley Cat Allies provided lifesaving care to cats and kittens impacted by both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Cats like Jack, Flash, and Toffee were been swept from disaster zones in Florida and into safe spaces to recover thanks to our disaster response in collaboration with advocates, organizations, and veterinarians on the ground in impacted communities.

13. We Celebrated Our Biggest Global Cat Day and National Feral Cat Day Yet

On October 13, we inspired advocates the world over to share the global truth that Cats Are Community, and highlighted communities that are leading with lifesaving, evidence-based Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs from Tennessee to France.

Global Cat Day and National Feral Cat Day continue to grow, as does our movement!

14. We Gave Advocates the Tools to Share the Truth

The truth is one of our movement’s most powerful tools to save cats and kittens. Misinformation costs millions of cats their lives every year, and Alley Cat Allies works to set the record straight.

Our new Share the Truth resource, including a pocket guide, is spreading the facts about cats across the nation and around the world.

15. We Defended Community Cat Caregivers

Alley Cat Allies took swift legal action when a community cat caregiver in Parma, Ohio, was threatened with nearly one year of jail time and over $2,000 in fines for doing TNR in her community. An attorney working with Alley Cat Allies represented the caregiver in court and, in October, all charges against her were dismissed.

16. Mr. Meow Got Justice

In September 2024, Colton Fontes was sentenced to 14 years in prison for felony animal cruelty related to killing tabby cat Mr. Meow in 2022 and several other highly disturbing charges including rape and sexual battery.

Alley Cat Allies was involved in the case from the beginning, attended court hearings, communicated with the Mr. Meow’s family, and brought the case to further public attention. According to the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation into the shooting and killing of Mr. Meow helped make Fontes’ arrest for the other charges possible.

17. We Exposed Misrepresentation of TNR and Community Cats

Alley Cat Allies was compelled to address the shockingly biased, dangerously misinformed, and often downright insulting portrayal of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), community cats, and the people who care for and protect them in a pieces published in The New Yorker and Forbes.

18. We Exposed How Opposition to TNR is Leading to Lethal Action

In our video, we showed our supporters around the world how Alley Cat Allies is fighting opposition to TNR, correcting dangerous disinformation about cats, and saving cats’ lives. We won’t back down until every cat is valued and protected as the community member they are.

19. We Saved Maximus With Unique Surgery

Maximus (AKA Maximus Decimus Merkitteus) is a young cat is full of life and love for anyone and everyone, and has never met a stranger. He’s even best friends with his dog brother. But at not even a year old, Maximus experienced a medical emergency that had his family rushing him to the veterinarian for treatment. The diagnosis: A portosystemic liver shunt.

Alley Cat Allies provides support to veterinary professionals across the nation, which made the unique surgery Maximus needed to survive possible. Now, he’s happy, healthy, and living his life to the fullest—among many other cats and kittens who received access to care through our work together.

20. Our Cat Help Desk Answered the Call to Save Cats’ Lives

Alley Cat Allies is dedicated to ensuring caregivers have the resources and support to provide their cats with the best care possible. That is why the Alley Cat Allies Cat Help Desk is a lifeline, offering expert guidance and resources (including our low-cost veterinary care directory and our animal food bank directory) to help people across the nation and around the world protect cats in their communities.

This year, the work of our Cat Help Desk touched all 50 states and beyond!

21. We Rallied Against Ripping Cats from Their Homes in Alabama

After discovering that owned and community cats faced deadly policies in Birmingham, Alley Cat Allies called on the city and its mayor to cease persecuting cats and their caregivers immediately.

In a shocking situation caught on video, tabby cat Nemo was lured from her own front porch by animal control officers and impounded.

We sent a letter asking the city to stop its aggressive action and rallied advocates to join us. We continue to stand in defense of Birmingham’s cats.

22. We Saved Cats From Suffering in a Shelter

If you met Opal and siblings Aster and Orchid today, you’d never guess they were once languishing in inhumane conditions in a municipal shelter. The kittens were dehydrated and suffering from upper respiratory infections, while Opal was anemic and contending with a coccidia infection.

Alley Cat Allies took a stand to save them, and all have beautifully blossomed under our care. With the right veterinary care (plus a lot of TLC!), Opal, Aster, and Orchid healed fully and took the next steps in their journeys toward a much happier tomorrow!

23. We Defended South Carolina County’s TNR Program

This year, the council of Richland County, South Carolina, considered passing a dangerous amendment to remove the county’s Community Cat Diversion Program—a successful TNR initiative that has saved thousands of cats’ lives. Alley Cat Allies rallied advocates to speak out, and the amendment did not move forward.

This is just one of many communities in which Alley Cat Allies rallied advocates for lifesaving change in 2024.

24. We Continue to Stand Up for Cat Victims of Cruelty

We are seeking justice, including through rewards, in multiple cruelty cases across the country. Apollo, an Ohio community cat, was discovered with a horrific wound to his foot that meant his leg had to be amputated. Alley Cat Allies covered the costs of his surgery and care, and sent out a call for any information.

We also offered rewards for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the killing of several cats in the town of Lake Clarke Shores, Florida, and in relation to a series of disturbing Facebook videos in Washington, Missouri.

Help Us Start 2025 Strong for Cats

Right now, your gift will be 4X-MATCHED to have 4x the impact for cats and kittens in the new year. We have big plans to make big changes for cats, and we need you with us more than ever! Please consider giving today.

Content source: https://www.alleycat.org/24-ways-we-worked-to-protect-cats-in-2024/

[elvenbeard]

🍙 and 🚓!

Thanks so much for asking!! :D

🍙 - Goro Takemura

Okay, so, Takemura and Vince don't have the best start :D Few incarnations of V have, probably xD

Vince is certain that Takemura only helped him to save his own skin, and he did pity him a little bit for being betrayed by Arasaka regardless of how much effort he put into tracking him down. Effort doesn't matter when you're doomed from the start. He is distrustful of Takemura and his motivations, vowing to only touch things that have "Arasaka" written all over them with a 10-foot-pole but... Takemura is a handsome man. And Vince is very weak when it comes to handsome men.

Also, Takemura needs his help, he's in a situation very similar to the one Vince found himself in half a year ago, so he can defintiely relate to his desparation. I think initially, the same way Takemura sees Vince as a means to an end to regain his status and get his revenge, Vince sees Takemura as a means to get Johnny out of his head. He doesn't really have that many leads to begin with, and it is logical to assume that the people who made the chip might have the solution to disable it. I think their first few interactions and conversations, when Vince provocatively starts calling him "Goro" instead of Takemura, well aware that in Japan you don't really call people by their first name unless you're very close, are all about Vince testing the waters and trying to figure out what kind of person this Takemura is. Where are his weaknesses and soft spots, how can he potentially make him stop caring as much about Arasaka and pull him to his side as an ally instead? There's a lot of mutual manipulation (or attempts of it at least) going on xD

By the time the infiltration of the industrial park comes around, Vince has grown to respect Takemura for his resilience and determination. He's also gotten to know his more human side, which makes him respect him even more - and he definitely still has a big crush on him xD From Vince's perspective they leave the industrial park not just as mere allies anymore but as friends, opening up about their pasts, their struggles, and everything else. Goro's message regarding the bakeneko V 100% interprets as a warning of Johnny, and not being at best terms with Johnny at that point it's something he really takes to heart (watch me write an entire essay about how, from a storyteller's perspective, Takemura and Johnny are two sides of the same coin and at the core serve the same purpose in the story just on opposite ends of the spectrum).

Vince does try his luck eventually with asking Takemura out (the one and only time in his life he's not being horny on main, because Takemura is classy and deserves a nice dinner first), but Takemura ends up leaving him on read XD So his crush dies down a bit after all, but they remain friends to the very end (and I refuse to accept what might happen to Takemura in anything but the Devil ending, watch me headcanon my way around it and have him come around in the end to open up a cat café!! I will make it work!! I have a fic planned and everything!! xDD)

🚓- River Ward

Ah, yes, Vince's other unrequited mancrush... *year long sigh*

Vince has just been ghosted by Takemura, then he meets this tall hunk with dreamy eyes and a biceps bigger than his thigh... oh yeh, right, the mayor, his death, the investigation!

All jokes aside though, I think River becomes one of Vince's closest allies over the course of the game and remains a dear friend beyond that. Both Judy and Panam leave and don't have that much understanding for Vince wanting to stay in NC, or the life he sees working out for himself, but River does get it.

Vince is also intrigued by River's line of work, notices it's something he could have seen himself doing in a different life. He doesn't like confrontation and brute force, but investigating, combining, following leads, working in the shadows a bit and talking his way into and out of situations - that's really down his alley. He wouldn't even mind the paperwork that much, he didn't mind it at Arasaka either.

Also, he admires River for the lengths he goes to when it comes to finding Randy, sometimes worrying that all will be in vain, that they'll be too late if they find him at all, and what it could do to River, who appears quite obsessed about the whole thing - but the workaholic tendencies is also something Vince can relate to. He is not too keen on River seeking revenge and discourages him at every opportunity, but can also understand where the feeling is coming from. But in Vince's eyes, revenge doesn't solve anything, it can't bring people back and it isn't healing, quite the opposite.

Vince is hesitant to get too involved with River's family initially, Vince coming from a pretty dysfunctional family himself, and being together with them brings up some bad memories at first. As he gets to know them better though they also grow quite dear to him.

[usagirln12003]

Gajeel Redfox: Hogwarts AU

Gajeel Redfox is a Half-Blood wizard that was born on the 6th of June 1972 and started attending Hogwarts on the 1st of September 1983, being sorted into Slytherin House.

He has a Blackthorn wand with a Dragon Heartstring core.

His Patronus is a Hebridean Black.

His favorite subject was Care of Magical Creatures and his least favorite subject was Flying.

He was a member of the Frog Choir.

When Gajeel first appeared, Gajeel is quite cold and apathetic, not hesitating to injure his own classmates if irritated. He jinxed a fellow Slytherin who was praising his abilities simply because the latter was disturbing him while he was eating. However, Gajeel is completely and genuinely dedicated to whatever group of friends he is affiliated with. In fact, he instigated the Gryffindor-Slytherin House War simply because, as long time-rivals, he believed that the students of Gryffindor House were enemies. Upon his suspension being over, his sense of comradeship seemed to increase. He even went as far as reprimanding Laxus Dreyar, whom he admits to be a more powerful wizard than he is, for attempting to kill Natsu when they were supposed to be allies.

Despite saying that he doesn't wish to make friends, he ironically forms them through his tenacious personality. He believes himself to be a great musician, regardless of what others think of him, and enjoys showing off his metal grinding, glass cracking, and ear destroying voice, like when he puts the fullbody-bind curse on Mirajane Strauss to steal her spot in the Frog Choir. He's also displayed a sense of honor, despite his actions before his suspension; when Jet and Droy confronts Gajeel for the heinous act he committed upon them, he makes himself an open target, acknowledging the terrible act he had done to them, and gave them the opportunity for vengeance. He even protected Levy McGarden after Laxus shot a jinx at her, showing both his compassion for his friends, as well as some initial hidden hatred for Laxus.

Gajeel is short-tempered, as seen when he and Natsu bicker over callow things. Like Natsu, Gajeel lives for the thrill of dueling, and is visibly frustrated when faced with circumstances where he is denied the opportunity of fighting a skilled adversary, as seen during the Triwizard Tournaments. Despite his cold personality, he has shown a humorous side of himself, as seen when he was shocked to see Mirajane transform her face into his.

Despite his tough exterior, Gajeel is as emotionally vulnerable as any other person. He was noticeably upset upon realizing that he was the only one that grew up in the Romania dragon sanctuary that didn't have a cat as a pet. He then desperately tries to find a cat in the alleys, but ends up becoming heavily exhausted. Later on before his fifth year, Gajeel finds the pet he is looking for in Panther Lily. Upon arriving back at Hogwarts, he cries tears of joy when he tells his "cousins" about his new pet.

Gajeel has a unique way of laughing: "Gi Hi Hi Hi". And, like quite a few others of his childhood friends, Gajeel suffers from severe motion sickness, although his case does not develop until until he was on his way home at the Hogwarts Express at the end of his fourth year.

[vagrantblvrd]

In from the Cold, (1/1)

Summary: The past couple of months have been busy for Ryan.

Notes: Prompt fill for Anon who asked for Freewood with flowershop owner and hitman/spy AU way back at the start of May. :D?

(Read on AO3)

The past couple of months have been busy for Ryan. Running back-to-back missions with operatives from allied agencies that took him all across the globe until a lucky bullet put him down for the count in Bangkok. Left him bleeding out in an alley until a Good Samaritan happened by and took him to a local clinic.

Everything after that was something of a blur until he woke up to Geoff by his bedside with his face in his hands.

Relatively new to the agency, but he looks like he’s been there since the beginning. Takes his agents’ welfare far more seriously than his predecessors ever did and Ryan knows he’s not alone in adjusting to the way things have changed since he was appointed. (No idea what to do with someone who cares.)

Tired and drawn-thin with orders for Ryan to stop fucking doing this to him because he’s an old man and getting older every time one of his idiots ended up at death’s door, fucking hell, Ryan.

Dramatic of him, but Ryan had taken his point.

Promised to be good, once they got him back stateside. Listen to what the medical professionals had to say and let himself heal up before he went out and did something insanely stupid again.

So here he is, puttering around his apartment that feels more alien to him than the hotel rooms and other assorted hovels he tends to live in on missions.

A bit on the dreary side of things, since he hasn’t had the time to put personal touches into the décor. Most of the plants that were gifted to him when he moved in from coworkers and friendly neighbors are dead.

Dry, withered things that make him wince at the sight of them because he’d meant to ask someone to check in on them for him, but things had gotten a little out of hand. Gone from infiltrating a posh gala to gather intel on suspect characters and ended with him teaming up with fellow agents to retrieve nuclear codes and it’s a long story. (Ends with betrayal in the rain and a bullet in his shoulder.)

“Well this is fantastic,” Ryan says, and the little stray staring at him through the window screen in his kitchen meows agreement.

Scrappy little thing, loves to sunbathe in the flower planter attached to the window frame and not at all scared of Ryan.

Won’t come any closer, but the food he leaves out for her on his balcony disappears like clockwork, and she’s no longer so scrawny he can see her ribs.

Small victories.

Ryan looks around.

Thin layer of dust everywhere and nothing feels like the home it’s meant to be. Place to go after the briefings and missions and reports, to remember how to be human.

“Okay,��� he says to himself quietly. “Okay, I can do this.”

He can’t roll his sleeves up at the moment, because one, he’s not wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and two, one arm is in a sling, but.

Tackling a task like cleaning his home up and making it suitable seems like something where you’d do that.

Instead Ryan flips the baseball cap he’s wearing around and wades into things armed with a feather duster, garbage bags, and sheer determination.

========

“Oh dear God,” Ryan says, an hour into things, because he forgot about the food he left in the fridge, and it’s not a pretty sight at all.

========

Several hours and a shower later, and Ryan’s apartment is starting to look like someone lives there now and there are no things in the refrigerator.

He’s tired, pleasantly so. Sense of accomplishment and hunger gnawing at his belly that drives him out to the little grocery store on the corner for groceries.

Smiles at the little old lady who asks him to get something off a high shelf for her. Makes small-talk with the cashier as she rings him up. Feels more human as he walks home, feet slowing when he comes across a flower shop he doesn’t remember seeing before.

Quaint place with a sandwich board on the sidewalk in front of it advertising daily sales. Curious stand set up for passersby to pick up a free flower as a courtesy. Brightly colored things with a vial attached to keep them fresh for the trip home.

Ryan thinks about the houseplants he threw out earlier and the lingering guilt in the back of his mind at the waste. How lifeless his apartment feels without them, and chooses a deep red flower, somehow managing not to drop the bag of groceries he’s carrying as he does.

When he gets home he realizes he doesn’t have a vase for the flower and settles on a drinking glass. Sets it on his kitchen counter where he and the stray can see it and laughs at himself because it’s ridiculous, isn’t it.

Government agent (spy) like him, and a silly little flower  (unnecessary, frivolous) in a glass on his kitchen counter and it feels nice.

He keeps glancing at it while he cooks dinner for himself while saving tasty tidbits for the stray, and wonders if the shop sells houseplants.

========

They do.

========

Ryan is...not a plant expert.

Has no idea what he’s doing, really.

Ends up browsing the plant selection along one side of the shop. Flowering houseplants and herbs and other things he doesn’t know the names of. Recognizes from seeing them on the desks of his fellow agents and support staff at work and wonders if he’d be able to keep any of them alive given his frequent trips.

He’s considering an odd looking succulent when someone bumps into him. Ryan stiffens, turns to face whoever it is, cold voice voice in the back of his head admonishing him for not paying attention to his surroundings. For forgetting. (It sounds like his former superiors, and leaves him unsettled.)

“Are you alright?”

The man who bumped into him is wearing a work apron with the shop’s name emblazoned across the front. A handwritten name tag that says “Gavin”. British accent and a wild shock of hair. Too-big nose and blue-green eyes.

Frown on his face as he looks Ryan over, checks to see if he’s alright since Ryan still hasn’t answered him. The apologetic smile on his face drops away to open concern when his gaze lands on Ryan’s sling.

“I’m fine,” Ryan says, smiles to back that claim up. “Don’t worry about it.”

Gavin’s frown deepens, as though he’s not entirely convinced, but he huffs out a little laugh along with another apology.

Notices the small succulent Ryan’s still holding and makes this little cooing noise.

At the plant.

“Oh, she’s a lovely one,” he says, looks up at Ryan with this smile. “Do you have any at home?”

Ryan isn’t sure what’s going on.

“Uh, no,” he says. The plants he’d been given were hanging plants and flowers. Nothing like this strange little plant. Looks a bit like aloe but with prominent white stripes. “But I’ve heard it’s supposed to be hard to kill.”

Might survive him and his absences, even.

Gavin grins, and Ryan’s sure he must get customers in here all the time who say something along the same lines.

“Do you have pets?” he asks, something Ryan hadn’t considered before.

Thinks about the little stray and the fact that fall is just around the corner, and cooler weather with it. Rain. Frost. Early snow, if last year was any measure.

“...Yes,” he says, even though he’s not sure the stray would agree with him.

Gavin doesn’t question it though, just turns to the plants on display on the low tables set out and selects another succulent. Fat little leaves growing in a rosette pattern, touches of color at their tips.

“You might want to try one of these,” he says, cheeky little sales pitch. “The one you’re holding is safe for pets, but this is another lovely one and also on the hard to kill end of things.”

Ryan considers the plant, short stubby thing, and realizes he’s more than a bit out of his depth here in more ways than one.

Looks up at Gavin, that little smile on his face like he knows, and sighs.

========

The stray’s curious today, pacing back and forth on the other side of the balcony kitchen window as Ryan contemplates the best arrangements of his new houseplants.

The zebra plant he was initially drawn to and several other succulents. A spider plant for the living room. Several others he’s worried will die in his care sooner or later, but Gavin had been so enthusiastic about them and Ryan -

Well.

He’s a weak, weak man at loose ends until his shoulder heals and Lindsay’s always telling him he needs hobbies, isn’t she? Things unrelated to work, something that will help him wind down after a stressful mission.

So.

Looks like he’s going to give plants a try, see if he can’t keep them alive long enough to count as an actual hobby and not an impulse buy.

“Fingers crossed, huh?” he asks, and gets a flatly unimpressed look from the stray.

Ryan laughs, and turns on the television to watch the news as he fusses with the plants. Frowns at a reporter looking solemn as they drone on and on about a string of jewelry store robberies and rise in unrelated break-ins and daring burglaries and the like over the last few months. Only thing of significant note the fact they take place around sunset.

No new leads but unusual for the city, local police concerned about the rise in crime asking viewers to call a hotline they’ve set up it they see any suspicious activity.

Ryan hums to himself, and spares the stray a glance when it lets out a plaintive cry.

“I don’t suppose you know anything about that, do you?”

Ryan’s odd sense of humor and an old, worn out joke involving cats and burglaries and honestly, part of the reason he gets along half as well as he does with his co-workers.

========

Ryan’s not completely off the hook when it comes to that last mission, no.

There are meetings and conferences. Investigations and Ryan tired and hurting and facing down official and legal counsel from their sister agency over their operative who’d gone rogue on them. Sold their country out for the guarantee of a cushy retirement somewhere tropical – Ryan’s never seen the appeal, all that sand – and done their level best to kill Ryan as well.

Didn’t seem to think the fact better people had tried and failed, thought they would finally be the one to succeed.

He gets Geoff’s tired sighs, aggravated noises in private before they face the long, exhausting spectacle of it all. His staunch support at his side while others are trying to tear apart Ryan’s accounts of events. Insist he’s lying, dragging a dead man’s name through the mud to cover his own wrongdoing as though Ryan wouldn’t be more clever about things.

Laughs to himself when he mentions that to Geoff over lunch one day, and gets to see the man choke on his salad, sputtered “Jesus Christ, Ryan, don’t say shit like that,” because spies and paranoia and Geoff’s a good man but also a naive bastard if he thinks Ryan’s enemies don’t already know that about him.

Lindsay and the others check in with him when he’s not facing an inquisition, text him random things they think he’ll find interesting or at least entertaining. Call him up to pick his brain over some technical snag or logistic problem with a mission still in its planning stages.

Strange little community, family they’ve become over the years due to the nature of their jobs and the bonds it creates. (Out of familiarity and necessity at first, although it became choice a long time ago.)

========

Ryan’s understandably wary about buying too much in the way or perishable foods in case he’s called away for work longer than expected after the Fridge Incident. Makes daily trips to the corner grocery store, which somehow ends up with him stopping by the flower shop on the way as well. (Picks up one of their free flowers to brighten his apartment up, add a little cheer.)

Gavin’s always happy to see him, comes over to talk if business is slow at the time. Ask after Ryan’s plants, helps him when one of them is doing poorly. Shares pictures of the strays that loiter in the alley behind the flower shop he’s trying to befriend and all the ridiculous names he’s come up for them when Ryan mentions the stray that’s adopted him in its own way.

Ryan’s not completely socially inept, but this is definitely different from charming a target or dealing with fellow agents and support staff. This is -

It’s kind of terrifying, because he’s startlingly fond of Gavin and his rambling nonsense. Little stories about his coworkers at the shop, people Ryan’s met in passing and always seem busy. Delivering orders to customers or handling events for clients, in and out all the time.

Leaves the two of them time to talk, and Ryan’s not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

(Unnecessary, frivolous, but.)

“Ryan!” Gavin’s smile lights up his face and Ryan -

Oh, he thinks a little helplessly. Oh, no.

========

Ryan is an idiot.

========

“I mean, yeah,” Geoff says, snatches the unopened can of diet soda from his hand. “You really are.”

Ryan’s not sure why Geoff’s here, poking around his modest apartment and stealing his diet soda, but here they are.

They’re not friends in the conventional sense, but there’s something more to it than their working relationship. Something that lets Geoff unwind in Ryan’s apartment, loosen his tie and kick his shoes off. Give Ryan this little smirk like maybe they are friends, and Ryan just hasn’t caught on yet.

“To be fair I don’t know what you're talking about? But you, Ryan. You are definitely an idiot.

Ryan sighs, getting up to take another can of diet soda out of his fridge. Watches Geoff sitting in his kitchen looking as relaxed as Ryan’s ever seen him. He’s got the newspaper Ryan picked up on his morning jog spread out in front of him, frowning over a news story concerning another jewelry store robbery. (Used to work for the FBI, according to the rumors, before Burnie lured him to the agency to make things right.)

“Thanks, boss.”

Geoff cackles, gestures to the kitchen window and the stray watching them through slitted eyes. Basking in the warmth of the late afternoon sun in its planter.

“When did you get a cat?”

Ryan shrugs.

“Hell if I know.”

He’s a dog person, but the damn thing has claimed Ryan’s planter as its own and climbs into his lap when he sits out on the balcony with a drink and book to read and what is he supposed to do about that?

Geoff eyes him, thoughtful edge to it, and laughs.

“See that? Right there, Ryan? That’s you being an idiot.”

========

He’s not wrong.

========

Gavin’s coworkers are...odd.

Strange.

Suspicious as hell.

“Gav’s not here,” Trevor says, light, airy tone, but steel in his eyes.

The three of them don’t seem to have set days off, rarely work together the same days. (Not that Ryan’s    looking for patterns, routines. Using those observational skills of his the agency honed to use because he still feels at loose ends, no.)

There’s just something about Trevor that unsettles Ryan.

Co-owner of this quaint little flower shop who as it happens is not Ryan’s biggest fan, and sure as hell not shy about letting Ryan know.

The door to the shop swings shut behind Ryan and he feels trapped.

Hairs on the back of his neck and urge to go for his weapon, but this isn’t a mission.

This is a quaint little flower shop a few blocks from his building and the coworker of someone Ryan’s gotten far too attached to for anyone’s good.

And yet here he is.

Trevor’s watching him with this frown – one Ryan belatedly realizes is only for him. Eyes sharp and assessing in a way that unsettles Ryan.

“Ah,” Ryan says. “I see.”

Trevor’s eyebrows go up, and Ryan winces.

Government agent of the “spy” variety and an absolute disaster dealing with anything not related to his work. Amazing.

“Maybe you can help?” Ryan asks, even though he’d prefer to slink out of the flower shop with the way Trevor’s looking at him. “One of my plants isn’t doing well, and I’d hoped I could get advice on what to do?”

Trevor tips his head to the side as he squints at Ryan. Pinpointing weak spots perhaps, or the best way to kill him and hide the body afterwards. (Ryan’s mind flashes back to plays he was in, once upon and time and smothers a laugh, barely manages to keep from asking if they have Venus  flytraps in the back.)

“Maybe,” Trevor says, mimicking Ryan. Smiles, faint. Definitely amused by Ryan. “Why don't you tell me what you’ve done to the poor thing and we’ll see what we can do, hmm?”

========

Alfredo is another odd one.

Friendly smiles and bright laughter that covers this sharpness to him Ryan’s hard-put to describe.

Easy to see why the customers in the flower shop linger when he’s helping them. Like to chat about things going on in their lives, tease and joke with him.

It’s not just good salesmanship, it’s -

“Oh, hey, Ryan!”

Unsettling in a completely different way because he’s disarming. Makes people want to trust him, and Ryan can feel himself being drawn in despite himself from time to time.

“Alfredo,” he says, not surprised they’re the only ones in the shop.

It’s early still, on a weekday and people are headed off to work and dropping their children at school. A million and one things to do and not enough hours in the day.

And then there’s Ryan, fresh from his morning jog and still this restlessness to him afterwards.

“Is it here?”

Alfredo grins as he looks through the notes they keep behind the counter. Service numbers in case something goes wrong in the shop and repairs need to be made. Delivery numbers for online orders and so on. A handful of customer numbers and the relevant information for those like Ryan who’ve requested a special order for plants and supplies they don’t keep on hand due to lack or space or wider interest.

“Oh-ho,” Alfredo says, and flashes Ryan another grin. “Look at this!”

A delivery receipt for a company in town, and Gavin’s signature at the bottom.

“Hold on a minute and I’ll get that for you.”

Ryan doesn’t fidget while Alfred goes into the backroom, he just.

Explores.

Wanders over to a display stand on the counter a little further down. Odd little plants in tiny terrariums that claim to be hardier than other indoor plants Difficult to kill and perfect for those looking for a unique plant for their homes or offices.

Hand-painted pots from local artisans. Odd bits and bobs like keychains and refrigerator magnets for plant lovers. Seed packets for those looking to start butterfly gardens and so on.

“Here we go,” Alfredo calls out, singsong note to it as he emerges from the back and sets Ryan’s order down on the counter.

Looking at it, Ryan feels ridiculous because it’s –

< i>Unnecessary, frivolous.

“It’s a beauty,” Alfredo says, giving Ryan this smile like he knows. “You have a name picked out?”

Ryan laughs, little huff of breath as he pulls the small potted plant closer.

“Still thinking about it,” he says, and wonders how much grief he’d get from Geoff and the others for naming is new Venus flytrap it after a certain killer plant from outer space.

========

If Ryan’s being honest with himself – and to be honest, he rarely ever is – Gavin’s a bit on the odd side of things as well.

Little things about him that ping the edge of Ryan’s finely-tuned radar for trouble that he pushes aside because...Because.

That smile of his and his cheerfulness. Way he laughs at Ryan dumb little jokes and stands far too close for someone he barely knows when Ryan stops by the flower shop for advice on his plants (and honestly, the internet is right there at his fingertips, isn’t it?) or pick up something he didn’t know he needed for them. (It’s a learning process he’s woefully slow about.)

Gavin is sharp in a way Ryan’s learned to watch out for. Covers for it well with that aforementioned smile and cheerfulness, but he’s...there’s something to him that doesn’t quite sit right with Ryan.

Clever and bright and as he learns one day when he walks into the shop to find it empty, part mountain goat.

“Hello?” he calls out, instantly wary because it’s the weekend when there tend to be a fair amount of customers about the place, Gavin or one of his co-workers behind the counter or helping said customers.

There’s a clatter from the back storeroom. A clunk, a rattle and then a harried sounding Gavin.

“I’m in the back!” he yells out, and, “come on back!”

Ryan glances around as though he could be talking (yelling?) at anyone else, and hesitates before he steps behind the counter and heads through the doorway into the storeroom.

He doesn’t see Gavin at first, but it’s easy enough to follow a trail of knocked over supplies and other things to a corner of the storeroom. Look up, and there Gavin is a good ten feet off the ground and moving about the storage shelving there instead of using the ladder Ryan can see less than five feet from him.

The height doesn’t seem to bother him, let alone the dangerous footing. Moves as easily as he would if he were on firm ground, and glances down at Ryan with a cheerful grin.

“Ryan!” he greets, “just the person I wanted to see!”

Ryan’s glad for the dim lighting back here, because spy he may be but he he still hasn’t mastered involuntary reactions like blushing. (A failing for someone in his line of work, surely.)

“Oh?” he says, and bites the inside of his cheek when Gavin laughs at him as he snags a box on the shelf above him and makes his way down the shelves with easy confidence.

Gavin drops the last foot off the ground and turns around to show Ryan the box he grabbed, and gestures for him to follow him into the work area.

Ryan follows him, curiosity piqued as Gavin sets aside pieces of foam and cardboard to reveal a little clay pot with stylized flytrap plants painted on it and curving, twisting vines curling around the entire thing.

“I almost forgot this,” he says, little grin on his face as he glances at Ryan. “That special order you put in reminded me about it.”

Ryan stares at the pot and can’t help the stupid little smile he can feel stealing across his face thinking about re-potting Audrey II into it like the dork Lindsay and the others are always accusing him of being.

========

Ryan’s always had the worst luck.

========

It doesn’t seem to matter how careful Ryan is, something like this always happens.

Always.

He’s moved several times since he joined the agency, made it a habit after the first few years and one too many coincidences he suspects weren’t.

Past time to have moved from his current apartment, to be honest, but sentimentality and something else has kept him here. (Someone.)

Whatever his reasons it’s a moot point, considering the current situation.

Annoyed, because things were going so well for him for once. He was so close to being reinstated, had something of a life outside work, and now there’s another hole in his shoulder. Too damn close to the first and bleeding like a son of a bitch.

His fault, for allowing himself to develop routines while he’s on medical leave. Patterns. Made himself predictable, allowed his enemies to set up a trap and bait him into it.

And now there’s a broken off blade in his sill-healing shoulder (it seems to be a magnet for things like that) and a dead enemy agent behind him along with Ryan’s phone that bravely took a bullet for him.

Something close to fear in his chest and too far from home. (Guilt building up with each painful step because there’s someplace closer he thinks might be safe, and resignation because somehow it would turn out like this.)

He makes it to the alley behind the flower shop, thankful for the heavy downpour that’s driven people inside, fewer potential witnesses. Knocks on the back door and hopes like hell someone’s close enough to hear it.

That there aren’t any customers to deal with, other complications he hasn’t considered -

And then the door opens.

Ryan stumbles back, hisses softly as the motion jars his wound, and looks up to see Gavin standing there, eyes widening as he takes in Ryan’s battered state.

“Ryan?”

Ryan opens his mouth to answer, but the words don’t come.

Doesn’t know what he could say to explain himself even if they did.

Thankfully Gavin doesn’t seem to care, already moving to help him. Slips a shoulder under Ryan’s good arm and guides them inside. Leads Ryan to a stool in front of a workstation of sorts and eyes him with something more than concern.

“Can you sit up on your own?” he asks, strange sort of familiarity in this sort of situation that speaks of past experience.

Ryan nods, hand pressed to his shoulder as he watches Gavin go over to a counter and pull a sign out of a drawer. For the front door, and he catches a glimpse of it before Gavin slips into the shop proper, an apology for being closed but Gavin’s gone before he can read it fully.

He recalls seeing it in being used before and the excuses one of the others gave him afterward and not thinking twice about it. The way Gavin’s moving now, with such purpose makes him wonder if he should have.

Hears the sounds of Gavin pulling the blinds and shutters closed, locking up behind him before he comes back, phone in hand.

Pauses with his thumb over the call button and glances at Ryan.

“Ambulance?” he asks, and nods to himself when Ryan shakes his head.

Bad idea at the moment, speaking from personal experience. Ryan should put a call in to Geoff, the agency. Get a team out here to deal with the mess, have their people handle things, but he’s so tired.

Doesn’t know what he’s doing here, why he’s not doing a damn thing as Gavin calls someone. Talks too quietly for Ryan to make out what he’s saying and the concern he should feel nowhere to be found.

Tired.

Aware that whatever else happens now, things are going to change between them. Already have, with the way Gavin’s acting.

No longer the slightly clumsy co-owner of a quaint little flower shop and more...something.

Someone who knows how to react in a situation like this, isn’t nervous or panicking. Flustered. Just this calm sort of efficiency to his actions, clear protocol in the steps he takes.

From the quick assessment of Ryan’s current state to making sure other people – civilians – don’t wander into this little mess unsuspecting, to whoever he’s called to alert them.

Gavin hangs up and turns to Ryan, expression Ryan can’t read on his face.

Shaky little sigh and then Gavin pockets his phone and goes over to the counter he pulled the closed sign from. Takes out a hefty looking first-aide kit and comes back over to him with a little detour to turn the heat up as he does, wry twist to his mouth.

“Well then,” he says, tries for a light tone even though the look in his eyes is anything but. “Why don’t we see what we can do about that nasty wound of yours, hmm?”

Ryan blinks up at him, feels like he should be asking questions. More so as Gavin picks through the little plastic box, setting out medical supplies and muttering to himself.

Little laugh as he brings a desk lamp over for better lighting and Ryan tries to help, get his shirt unbuttoned, but his hands are clumsy from the cold and everything else and he makes a mess of it. Stops when Gavin places his hands over his and laughs, eyes sliding away fro Ryan’s as he helps him out of his shirt.

“Can’t say this is how I saw things going,” Gavin says, another awkward little laugh and dusting of red high up on his cheeks.

Ryan – doesn’t know what to say to that, so he doesn’t say anything at all.

Gavin clears his throat and mumbles something Ryan doesn’t catch as he shakes off whatever nervousness took hold and sees about doing what he can with the supplies at hand.

There’s this...Gavin makes this noise when he sees the bullet wound, fingers ghosting over it before he moves on to seeing about the knife wound.

“I don’t have the proper medical tools to remove it,” he says apologetically when Ryan tells him the blade’s still in there. “Probably for the best you get someone qualified to see to it anyway.”

He keeps Ryan engaged, chattering on about nothing and handing him things to hold. Nudges him with his knee when Ryan’s mind starts to drift, presses his fingers into his shoulder causing a slight sting and yanking his mind back to the present with a murmured apology.

Trevor and Alfredo show up just as Gavin’s double-checking his work, stopgap measure at best that he apologizes for several times, but he’s already done more than Ryan expected when he made his way here.

“So,” Trevor says, taking in the mess before him, Ryan included. “This is quite the pickle.”

Gavin continues cleaning up, neatly avoiding Trevor’s eyes and ducking around Alfredo who seems content to watch things unfold.

Ryan...should definitely be more concerned about all of this, the way Trevor’s looking at him, but can’t seem to when Gavin comes back to stand beside him. Puts himself between Ryan and the others and his heart trips over itself in his chest at that.

“Trevor,” Gavin says, layers of meaning to it Ryan can’t hope to understand as they stare each other down.

Alfredo shuffles his feet and clears his throat pointedly when the tension in the room rises, gestures at Ryan who’s just sitting there like an idiot. Thoughts slow and stupid, far from the top agent he’s supposed to be because he’s not doing anything about this, is he.

Just letting things play out like it has nothing to do with him and honestly, it would be nice if that were true, wouldn’t it.

“This changes things,” Trevor says, and Ryan knows that tone of voice, doesn’t he. The slight shift of his stance from an odd sort of civilian to someone who very much is not. “We can’t - “

Ryan gets to his feet because nothing good ever comes after a statement like that, and it’s clear he’s made a mistake. Let his guard down when he shouldn’t have, forgot his training and all the lessons he learned the hard way.

Much as he tried to ignore the signs that something was off about this quaint little flower shop and its owners, that he just couldn't turn his training off there’s no way to interpret the shift in the three of them.

Trevor’s a threat. Alfredo’s a threat. Gavin’s a threat, much as it hurts to think of him that way, and he can’t continue to sit there letting things play out any longer.

Ryan stands, but his body betrays him. Blood loss and pain, shock, strain on his body – all of it – finally catch up to him as the world tips sideways on him.

He hears Alfredo's low swearing as he reaches for him, sees Gavin start to turn back and the world fades out before he hits the floor.

========

“You’re an idiot.”

First thing Geoff says when he gets to the hospital Ryan woke up in, which had been a surprise given the last thing he remembers. (Honestly a surprise he’d woken up at all, with the way Trevor had been looking at him.)

Geoff is in a chair beside his bed radiating an enormous amount of disapproval at him, and Ryan?

He’s just confused.

“I know,” Ryan says, pokes gingerly at his shoulder and the thick swathe of bandages there. “Thanks for the reminder, though. I really needed it.”

He’s not even being sarcastic about it, which seems to throw Geoff for a moment. Has him eyeing Ryan like he’s worried he hit his head and failed to tell the doctors. He might have, actually, that last little bit in the back of the flower shop.

“Ryan - “

Ryan’s not looking at him now, watching a bird winging its way past his window. Sky cold and gray, storm clouds rolling in over the city to match his mood since waking earlier that day.

“Any sign of them?”

Quaint little slower shop setting up business in Ryan’s neighborhood while he was gone on a mission and hadn’t given a second thought to being there. New businesses popped up all the time like it, shopping about for good locations to set down roots and hopefully turn a profit.

Nothing suspicious about it, and the young men running it were so sweet and charming. Kind, and so knowledgeable about the flowers and pants they sold. Ingratiated themselves with the other local business, the community.

No reason to be suspicious about it, even when he should have known better. Trevor and Alfredo and the way something about them seemed ever so slightly off, but he’d been distracted, hadn't he.

Saw a pretty face, fell hard, because Gavin was kind and didn’t push, wonder, about the half-hearted lies Ryan fed him. Had this energy, light to him that drew Ryan in. Snared him easy as anything, even though he knew better. (Should have.)

Never would have pegged him as a thief, though. Three of them leaving behind enough clues to point to a heist they were forced to abandon, months in the making and Ryan nearly bleeding out in their little flower shop to ruin it.

The spate of jewelry robberies and other burglaries that had happened since the flower shop opened. Odd days off one or more or the three of them would take, easy explanations for it that just rolled off the tongue.

No trace of them aside other than a handful of clues about their next target, a rare set to be on exhibit at the museum in a few weeks time. Only window for them to grab it when it arrived in the city, jumble of faces around it and risky as hell but doable.

Sounds too bizarre to be true, and yet -

And yet.

Ryan’s always had the worst luck.

He’s surprised they didn’t leave him to die in the back of their shop. Sure as hell no incentive for them to help him, even less reason knowing they’d have to abort their heist. Run, before their...activities were discovered, careful lies and plans unraveling under the agency’s scrutiny, police involvement.

Geoff’s staring at him.

“You know,” he says, quiet, thoughtful. “When we got the call from them, we thought you were dead?”

Wouldn’t be the first time, the way Ryan’s luck runs.

Presumed dead several times over and always coming back like a bad penny.

He says as much, and can’t help the touch of amusement at Geoff’s aggravated sigh, frustrated growl.

“Jack warned me,” he mutters, scowling now. “Asshole warned me when I took the job. Told me what assholes you all were and I’d be lucky if I didn’t have an ulcer in the first six months.”

Ryan looks over at him then, curious.

Geoff cares, and the rest of them have long resigned themselves to working for people who didn’t. Saw them as expendable. Assets. Threw them at the current problem and no skin off their nose if they didn’t survive, because God knew there would be more recruits fresh out of the academy to take their places.

Geoff, though.

He cares.

Worries about them, the kinds of missions they get handed because their agency’s gained a reputation for taking on the most dangerous missions. Incredible success rate and never mind the cost.

They’re still adjusting. Learning to trust Geoff’s different, that he and his people are working to change the way the agency works. Put their people first. (When they can, because sometimes there’s no other choice.

“Just out of curiosity,” Ryan asks, “how long did it take?”

========

There’s a big to-do about the attack on Ryan.

All these security concerns and everything else that turns the agency even more on its head than when Geoff came in and started to rip out the roots past Directors planted years ago.

Something of a conspiracy from the remaining old-guard and those loyal to them and Geoff and those loyal to him have Ryan quietly relocated. And relocated again, because paranoia and all the things that come with his job.

No one can confirm if the attack was related to his last mission or something else. Old grudges from enemies he’s made over the years or someone discovering his status as an agent, to some as of yet unknown reason.

It’s the least reassuring thing in the world, and exactly what he was expecting to learn.

Ryan’s own bad luck and the nature of their jobs.

They put a security detail on him while he’s recovering from his latest injuries, because Geoff won’t take no for an answer and Ryan’s learning to accept that.

Still.

“Hey,” Michael says one day, disgruntled look on his face as he lets himself into Ryan’s place. “Got your mail for you.”

Ryan looks up from the newspaper he’s reading where he may or may not be looking for stories about recent robberies or burglaries. (Stupid of him, he knows. Foolish in the worst way.)

It should be annoying, really, the way the agency’s handling this. Michael and the others assigned to it not quite barging into his private life as...he doesn’t have the words for it, and is surprised he doesn’t mind it as much.

Blames Geoff for that, changing the way the agency operates and encouraging them to forge bonds with one another that was once frowned upon. Going from what amounted to work acquaintances to something more to the point Ryan doesn’t bristle at the thought of someone else collecting his mail.

(Security reasons for it too, scans and checks and that paranoia in action.)

He’s not an invalid, can make the trek down to his mailbox just fine, but he gets tired easily and some days it doesn’t seem worth the effort.

“Oh,” Ryan says. “Thanks, Michael.”

Michael eyes him when he notices what section of the newspaper Ryan’s reading. Looks like he wants to say something and just shakes his head before dropping Ryan’s mail in front of him.

“Yeah, sure.”

Ryan knows the agency is looking for Gavin and the others as well. Unsure if they were somehow involved in the attack or otherwise connected. Why they bothered to help Ryan knowing it would compromise their own operations and concerned at how completely they’ve disappeared off the face of the Earth.

A lot of questions there, and no luck in finding a hint as to where they’ve gone.

Ryan sets the newspaper aside and sorts through his mail, pausing on a brightly colored postcard. Gorgeous photo of a beach in Miami from the name emblazoned across the front in elegant script and brief description when he turns it over.

No message, just a little doodle of a Venus flytrap that has Ryan staring at it too long, because Michael notices.

“Something to be concerned about?”

Nice and casual, but when Ryan looks up it’s clear Michel knows the postcard means something. He might not know what the significance is, but he’s far from stupid.

“...No,” Ryan says, knowing what a risk he’s taking. With whoever sent the postcard (he knows, though, he does) and with Michael.

They’ve known one another or years, and Ryan’s always counted him among the small group of people he works with he could trust. (For whatever that’s worth.)

Michael gives him a long look – far from stupid – and shrugs.

“If you say so,” he says and goes off to check in with the team across the way.

========

Later that night Ryan does a quick online search and discovers several news articles about a spate of jewelry store robberies ad daring burglaries that took place in Miami recently.

Unknown suspects and so on and so forth that sounds far too familiar.

Ryan should, he knows, should bring it to the agency’s attention. Inform them there’s a possibility said crimes are related to Gavin and the others, too coincidental to be anything else, and yet?

He doesn’t.

No.

He deletes his search history, scrubs it from his laptop and harddrive, goes overboard with it because it’s what he knows and tucks the postcard away in the drawer of the table Audrey II sits on.

========

He gets more of them over the next few months. Always a new city, new state and all these news reports from those locations he uncovers after the fact.

Enough to make him wonder what Gavin’s playing at, hoping to gain from any of it.

Michael pretends not to notice, and the others assigned to babysit Ryan do the same.

And it would be fine, it would until Ryan comes home from his morning jog one day to find Lindsay cooing at something on the other side of his kitchen window while Geoff looks on.

“Uh,” Ryan says, sharing a look with Michael. “Lindsay? Geoff?”

Lindsay continues to coo, babbling nonsense and tapping her nails against the screen. Geoff turns to look at them, expression on his face that has Michael going to Lindsay to drag her out of Ryan’s apartment.

She protests, calls Geoff and Michael heartless buzzkills, but still lets Michael pull her away.

An impressive enough feat once Ryan goes over to see what had her so entranced.

It’s the stray.

Happily sunning itself in Ryan’s new planter he hasn’t bothered to plant anything in with the fall in full-swing and colder weather on the way.

“Oh,” Ryan says, because he hasn’t seen it since the agency relocated him. Tried his best to put it out of his mind because there were other, larger concerns than one small stray he wasn’t sure he wanted in his life anyway.

He’d done a terrible job of it though, sneaking away from under the noses of his babysitters to go back to look for it more than once with little luck. Realized it had run off to harass some other unsuspecting idiot, worm its way into their reluctant affections the way it had with him.

“Looks like your cat found you again,” Geoff says, and it’s a mix of Ryan’s boss and Ryan’s friend looking back at him.

Worried about the implied security risk to Ryan and God knows what else, because.

It’s fall and while the weather hasn’t turned terribly cold just yet, there’s a definite chill in the air once the sun goes down. Noticeable shift in temperature.

The stray’s sunning itself in the planter, yes, but there’s also a pet bed with blankets place on the small balcony that Ryan knows for a fact wasn’t there when he and Michael left for his morning jog. Bowls of food and water.

Ryan tears his gaze away from them to look at Geoff, unsure what to say.

It’s possible the stray might have somehow found him all the way across the city after being relocated twice. He’s heard about the incredible journeys pets will go on to find their owners after being separated from them, but something like this is more difficult to explain away as part of that phenomenon.

But like Michael before him, Geoff just gives him a look.

“I always heard you don’t choose a cat as much as it chooses you,” he says, sarcastic as hell. “But I never expected to see proof of it like this.”

The stray opens its eyes and lets out an accusatory cry when it spots Ryan, right on cue.

========

The postcards trail off after that, so slowly Ryan almost doesn’t notice. It coincides with Geoff lifting the extra security precautions and being cleared to go back light duties so he doesn’t have time to dwell on it.

The fact that Geoff saddles him with a rookie lifted from some shady government agency or other around the same time helps in that regard too.

Jeremy’s bright in a way Ryan doesn’t remember being when he came to the agency, but he supposes that makes sense.

Ryan had half a decade of experience by the time he was handpicked by the agency’s former Director. Knew the dangers and risks inherent in their job all too well by the point and already had quite the collection of scars to show for it.

He’s also a quick learner, and a few short months after the two of them are partnered together the two of them end up in a coastal city in Italy.

Scenic, picturesque.

Enough so that Ryan finds himself playing the part of tourist while he and Jeremy scour the area for signs of the target they’ve been sent to find. (Eliminate if necessary, although Ryan’s hopeful it won’t come that.)

Jeremy’s snooping around a mansion overlooking the town while Ryan listens in to his end of things over their comms. Wry observations and quiet humming as he evades security guards and staff alike, no  nervousness or alarm in his voice.

Ryan finds his eye drawn to a rack of postcards at a little kiosk in a marketplace and is looking though them when someone bumps into him. Ryan stiffens, turns to face whoever it is, voice voice in the back of his head chiding him for not paying attention to his surroundings. (It sounds like Geoff. Tired and long-suffering and this underlying concern for the lives, people he’s responsible for, Jesus Christ, do not make me have to do the paperwork on you if you get yourself killed on the clock you assholes.)

“Are you alright?”

The man who bumped into him is wearing a button-down shirt with the top two buttons undone. British accent and a wild shock of hair. Too-big nose and eyes obscured by a pair of sunglasses.

Seems friendly enough, but there’s this touch of wariness to him like he’d bolt if Ryan says the wrong thing.

He frowns as he looks Ryan over, checks to see if he’s alright since Ryan still hasn’t answered him, gaze lingering on Ryan’s shoulder before meeting his eyes.

Ryan, for his part, can’t seem to stop staring.

“I - “ he manages after a long moment. “No, I’m fine.”

Gavin smiles.

Small, crooked.

“That’s good to hear,” he says, and glances at the postcards Ryan was looking at before he picks one up.

Photo of the coastline with the town behind it as the sun sets in background and breathtakingly gorgeous.

“I’m rather partial to this one,” he says, and there’s a note of mischief to his voice Ryan doesn’t remember hearing before but finds that it suits him perfectly.

Thinks back to the postcards he’s received, most with photos taken at sunset or just a little afterwards with the sung hanging low in the sky and night starting to set in.

“Oh?” Ryan hears himself say as he takes the postcard from him.

Gavin laughs, and then winks as he pays the kiosk owner for the postcard.

“Consider it a gift for running into you,” says, as the two of them amble along to avoid drawing attention to themselves. “I’d offer to buy you a drink instead, but I’m afraid I’m just passing through.”

Ryan looks at him from his peripheral when they stop on a section of the marketplace overlooking the docks. Notices the way Gavin’s watching a boat down there, pair of figures already on board.

He still seems calm, relaxed but still has that edge of wariness to him.

Ryan’s sure he’d be gone like a shot if he says the wrong thing. Hop over the railing and down the pier faster than he could hope to catch up to him along with Trevor and Alfredo. Maybe he’d just turn and bolt into the crowd around them, lose Ryan in the crowd while the other two take off to rendezvous somewhere else.

Some other scenario Ryan hasn’t even considered.

And maybe, maybe, if Ryan wasn’t here for a mission, if he was still the same Ryan from a year or even a month ago he would do what’s expected of him.

But he is here on a mission, and he’s definitely not either of those Ryans.

Isn’t really sure what kind of Ryan he is these days, is still working on finding that out for himself.

“Maybe some other time then,” Ryan suggests, because there’s always something with them, isn’t there.

Timing gone wrong somewhere and no way to change it he can see right now. Maybe one day if they’re lucky.

Gavin laughs, and it’s the same as Ryan remembers. So is the bright smile on his face when he looks at him.

“Sounds lovely,” Gavin says, and Ryan’s sure it will happen when the time is right for both of them. “I rather think I’d like that.”

========

The mission is a success and Ryan comes home to find Lindsay’s coaxed the stray to come inside when checking on things for him while he was in the field.

“Only for a few minutes at a time,” she says as she lets herself out now that he’s back, “but, hey, it’s a step in the right direction.”

A welcome one at that, with winter nipping at their heels and threats of snow on the way.

The stray’s skittish, hides under the couch and whatever else it can find but willing to be talked into coming close for a tasty treat.

There’s an envelope waiting for him postmarked from Italy. When he opens it he finds a postcard inside with a collage of landmarks of Rome across the front and a message on the back.

”For that other time,” with a phone number to go along with the Venus flytrap doodle.

Ryan’s sure of what he’d find if he looked up news reports from Rome around the time Gavin and the others would have been in the city, so he doesn’t. (Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise when Geoff comes to him about it because he’s been keeping tabs on a certain group of jewel thieves.)

No.

Ryan laughs as he commits the phone number to memory and adds the postcard to the collection already there and looks forward to what the future holds in store.

[rebelcourtesan]

My D&D 5e Build for Catra

Catra, possibly the most complex and endearing character of any reboot I’ve ever seen.  She wants to be loved, but because of an abusive mother figure, she doesn’t know how to open herself up to love others.  Been thinking about this for a while and decided to try my hand at recreating her as a DnD character.

Long Post Below

                                                  ***Stats****

Dexterity:  This must be Catra’s highest score as being a cat girl, she is very dexterous and quick on her feet.  She has to be when confront power bound She-Ra.  

Wisdom: Second highest, as Catra has a penchant for reading a person’s emotion.  It’s how she gets under Adora’s skin, can sense discomfort in the people she manipulates such as Entrapta and Hordak.

Charisma:  “Hi, Adora”, seductive, manipulative, and able to convince others to go along with her wishes.

Intelligence: Growing up among the Horde with its technology and basic education, Catra is no tech wiz, but is no dummy either.

Constitution: This is a touch low on the list as Catra’s best defense is not to get hit in the first place.  Once an insane She-Ra was able to grab hold of her and slam her down in White Out, she was almost out for the count.

Strength:  Dump stat.  Catra does not rely on strength so put your lowest score here.

                                                      ***Race***

This is a no brainer, Tabaxi of course!  A catlike race that comes with traits right up Catra’s alley.

Tabaxi automatically add a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to Charisma, just perfect for Catra.  We want her Dex maxed out as soon as possible. 

 Cat’s Claws:  Tabaxi come with claws hands (just like Catra) which they use for climbing and fighting.  Climb speed is 20 ft and the claws are considered natural weapons which means that unarmed strikes for Catra are 1d4+Str. 

Don’t worry, I know I stated the strength should be dump stat, but it’ll make sense soon.

Cat’s Talent: Catra automatically gets proficiency in Stealth and Perception skills.  Perfect for when Catra to spy on enemies.   

Darkvision: Catra gets to see in the dark for 60 ft.  

Feline Agility: On a turn, Catra can choose to move double her speed as a move action.  However, the downside is she cannot use it again until she has moved 0 ft for one turn.  Still useful as Catra has ran on all fours to evade attacks from Glimmer and Hordak.

Choose the Adopted background.  Catra was adopted by the Horde and Shadow Weaver.  This would give her proficiency in Persuasion and Deception along with Stealth she received for being Tabaxi.

We’re going to start Catra off in Monk.  She prefers hand to hand combat because of her claws and agility. 

Lv 1  Choose the skills Acrobatics and Insight as Catra is agile and about to read people.  

Unarmored Defense: Since Catra doesn’t wear any armor, then she’s going to need this.  As long as she doesn’t wear armor her Armor Class is 10 + Dex + Wisdom, both of which are her highest scores! 

Martial Arts:  As long as Catra fights unarmed (or with Monk weapons) she can add her Dexterity (her highest stat) to her unarmed strikes which makes up for her low Strength.  Also, this allows her to make a second unarmed strike as a bonus action.  

Lv 2    Ki points will allow Catra to perform abilities that will give her an advantage over slower enemies such as She-Ra and Hordak. Flurry of Blows for extra attacks, Patient Defense to take Dodge as a bonus action, and Step of the Wind to Disengage or Dash as a bonus action and it also doubles her jump distance.   

Unarmored Movement:  Adds 10 ft to her movement which brings it up to 80 ft when she uses Feline Agility!  Catra can really move across the battlefield.

Lv 3   Choose Way of the Open Palm as a Monastic Tradition.  This will allow Catra to incapacitate her enemies with a Flurry of Blows.   

Deflect Missiles isn’t something we’ve seen Catra do in the show, but it’s a nice bonus nonetheless.

Lv 4  Ability Score Improvement should be used to boost her Dex and Wisdom in that order.   However, if you want to get a feat instead, I would recommend  Alert, Athletic, Mobility, or Observant.

Slow Fall allows Catra to reduce her falling damage as a reaction as cats tend to land on their feet.

Lv 5  Now Catra’s unarmed strikes do 1d6 damage and she gets an Extra Attack.  Stunning Strike will allow her to stun enemies who fail their Con Saving Throws.  

Lv 6  Unarmored Movement bumps up from 10 ft to 15 ft and Catra’s unarmed strikes are considered magical, allowing her to overcome magical immunizes such as Princesses and Sorceresses.  

Also, she gets Wholeness of Body which allows her to regain HP three times her monk level once between long rests.  Pretty handy as her low Constitution won’t have gained her many HP to begin with. 

  Lv 7  Evasion allows Catra to evade area effects such as Princess Magic. She can use her by now high Dexterity to evade damage or not take any damage at all.  

Catra’s stubborn nature protects her with Stillness of Mind which guards again being charmed or frightened.  

Lv 8  Ability Score Improvement.  Catra be maxing out Dexterity by now.  If it’s already maxed, then bump up Wisdom and Charisma.  Or you can grab a feat instead.  Alert, Athletic, Mobility, or Observant     

Lv 9 Unarmored Movement Improvement let’s Catra run up walls and across water.  I can see her running up walls, but yet to see her run across water.  Then again, she might rather have her feet get wet than the rest of her.

Also, her Proficiency should go up by 1.  

We’re going to take a dip in Fighter class here.

Lv 1  This will allow Catra access to martial weapons.  Get her a whip as soon as possible.  It has reach and finesse, but only deals 1d4 damage.  This will become important soon.

Choose Dueling to give the whip an extra +2 to damage rolls.

Also Second Wind is a great second to Wholeness of Body when Catra is in a tough fight.  Regain 1d10 + Fighter Level in hit points.  Not much, but a lot to a character with low Constitution. 

Now we go into Rogue.  

Choose the Intimidation skill as Catra put the fear of herself in the Crimson Wastelanders.     

Lv 1   Choose two already selected skills for Expertise.  This will double her proficiency in them.  Choose Insight and Stealth.   

Rogue’s get the Sneak Attack ability which adds 1d6 damage die to any attack with advantage or an ally is within 5 ft of target.  Talk to your DM about Catra using her clawed unarmed strikes for sneak attacks.  If they okay it, great!  If not, then no worries, that’s why Catra has a whip which is a finesse weapon.  

Lv 2  Cunning Action lets Catra disengage, dash, or hide as a bonus action.  Letting her escape with ease when the fight becomes too much.

Lv 3  Choose Swashbuckler as Rogue Archetype.  

Fancy Footwork lets Catra attack with a melee weapon and disengage without provoking attack of opportunity.  

Also, Sneak Attack damage die goes up to 2d6

Lv 4 Ability Score Improvement.  By now your Dexterity should be maxed out.  Go ahead and get Wisdom and Charisma up.  Or great a feat.  Alert, Athletic, Mobility, or Observant 

Lv 5   Uncanny Dodge will allow Catra to halve damage as a reaction when struck by a target she can see.  

Her Sneak Attack damage goes up to 3d6, more than making up for the whip’s low damage yield.

 Lv 6 Expertise again.  Choose Deception and Persuasion.  Catra has a talent for manipulation.

Lv 7  Sneak Attack damage bumps up to 4d6.  Catra is already enjoying Evasion from her levels in Monk.  

Lv 8  Ability Score Improvement.  Wisdom should be maxed out by now, so put points into Charisma.  The option for feats is always open.  Alert, Athletic, Mobility, or Observant 

Lv 9    Sneak Attack is up to 5d6.  Granting excellent damage with the whip she stole from Tung Lashor.  

Also Rakish Audacity lets her add Charisma modifier to Initiative.  Also, she no longers needs an advantage or an ally within five ft of enemy to do sneak attack damage.  As long there are no other creatures within five feet of Catra and she’s not rolling with disadvantage, she can cut lose with the whip. 

Lv 10  Ability Score Improvement   Wisdom should be maxed out by now, so put points into Charisma.  The option for feats is always open.  Alert, Athletic, Mobility, or Observant

And there you have it.  Catra as a D&D character. She’s an excellent hand to hand combatant and fearsome with a whip.  Agile and light on her feet, she can cross a battle field within one movement and also heal herself with Second Wind and Wholeness of Body if she gets overpowered.  With her Wisdom and Charisma skills, she can easily trick and deceive others, using their emotional problems against them.

Downside is that Catra is now a strong fighter and is better coupled with a front line fighter such as Scorpia.  She would have low health points compared to others, but her Dexterity and abilities should prevent too much damage and she can heal herself as needed.  

Feel free to let this girl loose in the battle against the Princess Alliance.  

[writingpaperghost]

Like Father, Like Daughter (part 2)

So this part took a plot really similar to an early episode of Ultraman X. This was not intentional, initially, but I went with it. In other news, I think I’m going to get an AO3 account to also upload things here to. Anyway, there are several parts of this that I really enjoyed writing. Though I would like someone to bounce ideas off of, and to help me come up with ideas. So if you’d like, message me or something.

Day two, technically, of having Zero in her head, and Mayu is finding that her entire life is going to change from here. She just hopes she can keep her parents from worrying.

Mayu met Noa at the park, the next day. Noa wasn’t familiar with Riku, not that Mayu could claim to know him very well either. He was a big fan of some old tokusatsu show, he was friends with those two insurance agents that her dad sometimes talked to. He was also friends with the woman who she vaguely remembered from when she was a child, when she found herself with the strange ability to end up some where she wanted to be quicker than walking. The woman who she thought she could recall having a sword at some point. Which you think would be something that would stand out to her more, but she was like, six, so could you really blame her for not really remembering.

Regardless, though neither of them knew Riku very well, she supposed with Zero that shouldn’t matter. Though Mayu really hoped no one asked her about whether her parents knew about Zero. She was pretty sure that since Riku was an adult, he’d probably tell her that she needs to tell them. That sounds like something a responsible adult would do. Which, he’d be right, much like Zero, she knows that. She just… doesn’t want to worry her parents. Worse though, Riku could try to tell her dad. Then there would probably be an issue.

“So,” Noa said, “Where do we find this Riku that Zero’s looking for?”

Mayu thought for a moment, about to respond when she was cut off by Zero. “Do you know if he still works at Galaxy Market?” She thought again, but in all honesty, Mayu hadn’t seen Riku in a while. Not to mention that where he worked wouldn’t even be something she’d pay attention to.

“I’m not sure,” Mayu responded, answering both Noa and Zero’s questions. She figured that Galaxy Market would at least be a good place to start. Even if he wasn’t there, there would be no harm in checking. Of course, if he wasn’t there, then they would have no clues where to go after that.

A few minutes later, they stood in front of a storefront, a sign above declaring it’s name. “Galaxy Market”, Noa read aloud. “Well, we’re here, I guess. Let’s um, let’s pretend we’re actually gonna buy something. Just in case he’s not here, you know?”

“Agreed,” Mayu said, taking a deep breath and steeling herself before opening the door, entering the shop. The manager at the counter greeted them as they looked around. Noa and her split, both looking around at the shelves, though Mayu’s eyes also looked for Riku. She didn’t remember exactly what he looked like, but she figured that once she saw him, she’d know it. At the very least, Zero might remember what he looked like.

They spent a good twenty minutes waiting and looking. The two meet up in the middle of one of the isles, sighing in defeat. “Not a sign,” Mayu said quietly, noting Noa’s nod.

“I mean, I don’t know what he looks like, but there’s only the manager here.” Noa says, sparing another glance around.

“I guess it’s another dead end,” Mayu sighs as the two exit the building. “Now what?”

“I’m sure we’ll see him next time a monster attacks. He always wants to help people, after all.” Zero comments. Mayu freezes in her spot.

“I’m sorry, ‘the next time a monster attacks’?” She takes a moment to think about what he said, before adding, “You mean more will show up?”

“Monsters?” Noa asks, “More monsters?”

“It’s very likely,” Zero responds, “That’s part of why I’m here.”

Right, Mayu had forgotten about that. About the whole reason that Zero was here. She… was not prepared for this. All she could do is quietly hope that Zero could heal and this whole thing could be resolved quickly, hopefully before another monster attacked. “Yeah, right, guess I forgot about that.”

“Monsters,” Noa says, “Are a very hard things to forget about, especially big ones. Maybe if they were like, small monsters, I could get that, but big ones? Hard to forget.”

Mayu raises her hands in defense, “Yesterday was a bit crazy, okay? Today’s a bit crazy too.”

“That’s fair,” Noa grins, “But that does lead us to our next problem.”

“What to do next.” Mayu finishes. Noa nods, eyes looking around as they walk to a nearby park, sitting on a bench there. Galaxy Market was the only place that Mayu knew they might have been able to find Riku. Having not found him there, Mayu had no clue where to search next.

She supposed she could try asking her dad, but then he might want to know why she was looking for Riku. So that wasn’t really an option. She didn’t want explain Zero, and more importantly, she knew her dad would be so worried, something he didn’t need. She’d hold off, tell him when the time was right. Which wasn’t right now.

Who else did her dad know? Maybe one of them might know Riku? Not any of his coworkers, that much was obvious. It felt like everyone who might know she barely knew, so she would have no way of finding them and asking… Wait.

“Zero, do you have any ideas where Riku might be?”

There was silence for a moment, then Zero spoke, “Before, he lived under the observatory, there was an old lab of sorts there that he and Pega moved into. He might still be there,” Judging by the tone of his voice, Zero clearly forgot about that detail. That or he truly thought Riku had moved out. Either way it couldn’t hurt to look…

“Who’s Pega?”

“Riku’s shadow.”

Shadow? What did that mean? Mayu tried to ask, but Zero didn’t seem to want to elaborate. Well, at least they had a lead, no matter how shaky it was.

“Zero says he lived under the observatory when Zero last visited, so it’s worth a shot to check there.”

Noa stood up, straightening her skirt, “Alright then, to the observatory!” She points and marches off in the direction they had to head to get to the observatory. Never mind that the observatory wasn’t exactly close by and it would probably take them a while to get there.

They’d made it about four blocks, not even close to their destination, when Noa got distracted by something she saw in an alley way. Mayu follows her, noting how Noa is trying to reach something hiding behind a trash bin. A few minutes and a few grunts later, Noa produces a small, strange creature, cradling it in her arms.

Mayu had been expecting a cat or something. Maybe a puppy or a rat. Something normal, that you’d find in a city. Not… whatever it was that Noa held. It was red, resembling a bird of some kind. From the side of its beak were two sacs, that resembled a turkey, in a way. Honestly, if it weren’t so strange and real, then Mayu might have called it cute.

That, and the panicked curse Zero let out when he saw it.

Zero took control, yanking Mayu’s glasses off and shoving them in their pocket. It takes all of Mayu’s ability to restrain him from knocking the baby bird out of Noa’s arms.

“What’s wrong?” Noa asked, concerned. The bird in her arms chirped, drawing her attention back to it.

“That!” Zero hissed, “That’s what’s wrong!”

“Zero,” Mayu said, as calmly as she could, given all the effort she was exerting to keep Zero from freaking out and doing something. As a result, her voice sounded strained. “That’s a baby bird. A weird looking one, yes, but it’s not going to kill anyone.”

“Baby or not,” Came Zero’s protest, “It is a horrible thing and-”

Zero wasn’t allowed to finish his sentence, as a voice from behind them, from the entrance of the alley way called, “Excuse me!” Mayu wrenches control, reaching for her glasses as she turned around. Placing her glasses back where they belonged, Mayu examined the woman. She wore business attire and had long black hair. Overall, there was nothing particularly remarkable about her, but for some reason Mayu found she seemed familiar.

The woman walks up to them, “I’m Moa Aizaki, I work for Nico Nico Life Insurance-”

Noa hides the bird chick behind her back, cutting off the woman, “Sorry, but we don’t need life insurance. Why would you even approach people in an ally anyway? That’s weird.” From the entrance, a man comes along, walking to stand beside Moa. Mayu noted that the entrance, and only way out of the alley, was now blocked. Then Mayu noticed the man. He had black hair, wore a suit, but the most obvious thing about him, was how his neutral his face was. It was blank, not showing a hint of emotion. It was… unnerving. But beyond that, Mayu felt she recognized this man too…

“Ah!” Moa cried, “But we’d just like to look at that little bird you have there.”

Noa bit back, “Why? You’re an insurance agent. I bet your friend there is too.” Noa was, by most standards, a rather mild person. She got excited about things, sure, most people did. But there were times, like this one, where her mildness fell away to someone a lot more stubborn and determined. If Mayu hadn’t known Noa for the time she has and has seen Noa do this before, she might be startled. She’d certainly been the first time.

Zero let some nudge or stray thought of some kind flow to her, and that’s when Mayu realized something. She had seen these two before. A few times, actually. These were the insurance agents that her dad knew. And since it seemed like Zero recognized them, something told her that they weren’t just insurance agents.

“You two,” Mayu blurts right as Moa opened her mouth to respond, “You’re those insurance agents that my dad knows.”

“Huh?” Moa leans forward, examining Mayu. It’s silent for a moment, before she speaks again, “Oh, Mayu! Is this a friend of yours?”

“Your dad knows these two?” Noa blurts, jostling the bird behind her back, who lets out an indignant squawk. ��Just how many weird people does he know? He’s a salary man!”

“What do you mean?” Moa asks, unconvincingly, “Zena and I are totally normal.”

No one present believed that statement.

“First yesterday,” Noa groans, “Now a possible wild goose chase today, alongside these two, who are very clearly not insurance agents. What’s next, another monster?”

It’s quiet for a moment before Mayu adds, “She’s got a point, you know. You two are very clearly not insurance agents. Is that why you want the bird, which is clearly not an ordinary bird?”

“Yes,” The man responded, the first words he’d said the whole time. Except, he didn’t speak. They heard a voice, but his lips didn’t move.

Noa, seemingly unfazed by the strangeness of Zena, persisted, “It’s just a baby, that’s not a very good reason.”

Zero reached up, removing Mayu’s glasses as Moa watched curiously. Mayu noted a glimmer of recognition in her eyes, like she’d seen something like this before. Maybe she had, she might have known Mayu’s dad when Zero was around.

“Noa, that baby bird,” The words came out somewhat strained, only causing Moa to watch even more curiously, “Is a baby Birdon. Birdon chicks, grow into very dangerous adult Birdons.”

“Birdon?” Noa asked, while Moa had an amazed look on her face, Zena watching as impassively as before.

“A giant monster,” Zero clarified, “A very aggressive, and as I said before, dangerous, giant monster.”

Noa bit her lip, her resolve clearly wavering. She glanced down to the little bird in his arms, which chirped cheerfully. She examined it for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. While Noa thought, Moa turned to look at Zero.

“Mayu, how did you know about Birdon? And why did you take your glasses off?” Moa’s eyes examined Zero, looking for an answer. Mayu contemplated trying to wretch control from Zero, but she ultimately decided it was pointless. She wouldn’t have a way to explain why she - or rather Zero- knew about Birdon. Mayu hadn’t even heard that name until today. In all likelihood, Moa already knew the answer to her question anyway.

Zero, sensing that Mayu was letting him remain in control, handled the explanation. Mayu figured now these two, whoever they really were, because there was no way they were insurance agents, no way, would find out about Zero. Of course, given they knew her dad… Maybe they knew Zero when he was with her dad.

“Come on, you two. Has it really been so long you don’t remember me?” Zero smirks, to which he is met with a confused look from Moa, and a continue of Zena’s ever impassive deadpan. Did that man even know how to emote?

“I don’t think they’re recognizing who you are, Zero.” Mayu comments. Off to the side, she notices, Noa has an unusual look on her face. A mix of concern and just the slightest bit of fear. She’s regarding the baby Birdon in a worried way.

“If this is a baby,” Noa says, catching everyone’s attention, “Then does that mean it’s parent or parents is somewhere nearby?”

Moa had a look on her face that told Mayu she hadn’t considered that. Judging by the sound Zero made, he also hadn’t considered that. Noa had a point, if this was the baby, then did that mean that there was an adult version nearby? If so, what would they do? If an adult Birdon was normally aggressive, it was terrifying to imagine what an adult Birdon looking for it’s child would be like.

They soon got their answer in the form of a loud, near ear bleeding squawk, the sort of thing that Mayu thought she’d only hear when watching a monster movie. Something in Mayu’s heart sunk, as she could easily figure out what was going on. That was the adult Birdon, most likely looking for the baby.

“What was that?” Noa asked, panic lacing her voice as she squeezed the baby Birdon a little tighter. The baby seemed to coo, whether in response to Noa squeezing it or to it’s probably parent was unclear. Mayu shoves her glasses back onto her face, as Zero let her have control once more. It seemed he noticed her epiphany too.

“That,” Mayu responds, trying to keep her voice as even and as calm as possible, “Is the parent.”

Moa pulls the baby from Noa’s arms, “You two need to get to safety,” she said, “Zena and I will deal with the baby.” Moa turned around, beginning to leave as Zena followed in suit.

Noa took a second to process what had happened, before yelling, “I thought you two were ordinary insurance agents?” There was a smug tone to her voice as their suspicions about the two were all but confirmed.

“Don’t worry about it, just get out of here!” Soon the two disappeared, having ran off. Mayu supposed with those two having the baby, her and Noa wouldn’t be in immediate trouble, but… something didn’t seem right. Overhead, a giant version of the bird flew, covering the sky and plunging the area they were in into darkness. Not too far away, it lands, causing the ground to shake and screams to ring out.

Zero pulls her glasses from her face, turning to Noa. “You need to get to safety.”

“What?” Noa yells, “What are you going to do?”

Zero shoots her a confident, if not slightly cheeky, grin, “I’m Ultraman Zero,” He says, “I’m going to do what I do best.”

“Which is…?” Mayu hesitantly asked, despite the fact that she was pretty sure she knew what the answer was. Though she supposed she knew that it’d was bound to happen eventually. That didn’t change the great apprehension she was feeling.

“What is it you do best, exactly?” Noa asked, echoing Mayu’s thought.

“I’ll show you,” With that said, Zero pulls out a strange device of sorts. It resembled a mask, or glasses, something like that, with a button on one of the top corners. Truthfully, Mayu thought it resembled the area around Zero’s eyes, though it was hard to tell since the one time she’d seen him recently was from a very low angle.

“What- what is that?”

“This is the Ultra Zero Eye Neo,” Zero responds, holding the mask thing, the Ultra Zero Eye Neo, up to their face.

“Uh, what does it do?” Honestly, Mayu wasn’t entirely sure she even wanted to know the answer to that.

“You’ll see,” There’s a disturbing sort of glee in his voice.

“What are you two doing?” Noa asked, clearly worried. All Mayu knew was that she probably wasn’t going to have a good time with this.

Zero clicks the button on the Zero Eye. What followed is what Mayu found she could only describe as something akin to a magical girl transformation. In that moment, it felt as though Zero and her stood in a sort of nebulous void. Energy seemed to flow from the Zero Eye, wrapping around them as the world as Mayu knew it blurred. 

Then, she was viewing the world from up high, tall above most, if not all of the buildings. Zero was still in control, but something didn’t feel right, other than being so high up. It was then she realized, this wasn’t her body, it was Zero’s. Her and Zero felt like one and the same, but also different.

Zero stands with confidence, declaring to the city, “I am Zero,” Mayu struggled to fully comprehend just what was going on. Hadn’t Zero said something about needing her to be big, since he was hurt. Frankly, she was surprised that he could fight at all… “Ultraman -Ack!” She took that back. Zero falls to a knee, his hand resting on his other leg.

“Are you okay?” Mayu tries to clear the panic from her voice, but she was honestly very concerned. Zero had said he was hurt, clearly he hadn’t fully recovered from the day before. Not surprising, but still. If he was going to fight this monster, it might be hard…

“Ah,” Zero grunts, “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to work through the pain.”

“Right…” Mayu didn’t think that was a very good way to go about things, but she supposed if it worked for him…

Birdon lets out a squawk, furious and worried. Clearly, they just wanted their child, but at the same time, they posed a threat to everyone in this part of the city, if not more. From their side, on a rooftop, Moa calls out to them.

“Zero!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this!” Zero yells, while Mayu tries to put the puzzle pieces together. Zero most certainly knew Moa and Zena, but from when and how? Was it through her dad? Or was her dad knowing them a byproduct of Zero? So many questions, but she supposed now wasn’t really the time for them.

Mayu’s brought out of her thoughts by Birdon delivering a swift punch - or as much of a punch as a winged bird could - to Zero, and by proxy her, stomach. Mayu was not expecting pain. So apparently, when they’re like this, at least, she can feel the same pain Zero feels, as long as it’s pain inflicted when she was hosting him. That would explain why she didn’t feel pain from his injury from yesterday, but felt that punch.

“I thought this was what you did best?” Mayu retorts, slight irritation in her voice. No matter what, she didn’t sign up for this.

“It is.” Zero insists, though Mayu wonders how true that statement it, “I just have the injury from yesterday dragging me down a bit. That and when I said Birdon’s dangerous, I meant it.”

“Fun,” Mayu finds herself bitterly thinking. Today is turning out to be quite the day. Birdon swings at Zero, who dives out of the way, rolling and bringing himself back to his feet. Zero reaches up to the top of his head, where he pulls the two blade like things off. 

“You have daggers on your head?” Mayu dryly asked. Jeez, how anime was this guy going to get. An almost magical girl transformation and head daggers?

“They’re my Zero Sluggers,” He responds, not very entertained by Mayu’s commentary.

If she could shrug, she would have. Instead, she makes a noncommittal noise and says, “They’re effectively daggers, don’t kid yourself.” Somewhere in the back of her head she realizes that if she pretends this is a very weird movie and tries to detach herself from the events currently occurring as much as possible, it’s a lot less terrifying.

Zero seems to almost pointedly ignore her, instead opting to leap at Birdon, slashing it with the Zero Sluggers. From there it continues, Birdon attack and Zero dodging out of the way, or trying in some cases, still taking the hit, much to Mayu’s chagrin. Zero would find an opening and strike with the Zero Sluggers, or land in a kick.

Regardless of how well Zero seemed to be doing, Mayu could tell that wasn’t exactly the case. She could feel how tired Zero was getting, mostly as a result of not being fully recovered. As much as she wanted to trust his capabilities, Mayu still found herself worrying. Part of that was also because she didn’t know what would happen to her if Zero couldn’t win this fight.

Birdon strikes, landing a solid peck with its beak on Zero’s chest, sending him flying into a building. The light on his chest, previously blue, began to beep and flash red, like a low health meter in a video game. Something told Mayu that wasn’t a good thing.

“Zero,” Mayu can’t help the fear that creeps into her voice, “What does that mean?”

Zero lets out a grunt, “That’s my timer, I can only stay like this for three minutes, or until I take certain amount of damage.” Oh, so it was like a health meter. Given that she didn’t think it had been three minutes, Mayu figured that it was probably flashing because of all the hits he’d taken.

“So, bad, is what you’re saying.”

“Yeah, bad.” Zero’s voice is dry, “I hope Riku shows up, that’s the only way we’re going to be able to beat this thing, with the state we’re in.”

“Well,” Mayu says, “I hope Riku shows up soon.”

As if on cue, something - or rather someone- knocked Birdon over, punching and clawing at it. Mayu recognized the colors and patterns that adorned his skin, dark and light grey stripes that ran across red. That was Ultraman Geed, she knew, that was Riku, as Zero had said.

Riku dodged Birdon’s next attack, coming to stand next to Zero. With a grunt, Zero pulls himself up, commenting, “It took you long enough, Geed.”

Riku rubs the back of his head, “I wasn’t sure it was you… but it really is.” There’s a curious tone in his voice, “What are you doing here, though?”

“Not right now,” Zero groaned, doing the equivalent of gritting his teeth in pain. “Let’s deal with Birdon. You’ll have to pull a lot of the weight, I’m not in amazing condition right now.”

“Right,” Riku agrees, slipping into a fighting stance, Zero following, with much struggle and pain. Mayu hadn’t realized just how much damage Zero had taken. Something told her she wasn’t making it out of here without at least some bruises. She just hoped they wouldn’t be horribly obvious.

Soon enough, between Riku and Zero, the two managed to weaken the monster, but they were still struggling to defeat it. Riku was about to change to one of his stronger forms when they hear a voice yell at them, trying to get their attention. Turning their heads to look, standing on the roof of a building, next to Zena and Moa, who still held the baby Birdon, was Noa.

“Wait!” Noa cried, “Wait a minute you two!”

“What are you doing here?” Moa asked, facing Noa with concern evident. “It’s not safe.”

“The baby,” Noa says, yanking the Birdon chick out of Moa’s arms, presenting it to Riku and Zero, “Clearly this kaiju, Birdon, wants their baby back!”

“Baby?” Riku asks, “Oh geez…”

“What? How are we supposed to give this thing the baby? It’s so small…” Zero comments. Mayu couldn’t deny that Noa had a point, it was very likely that Birdon just wanted it’s child to be safe. Looking at it, even now, Birdon seemed to stall when they saw Noa holding their baby. Then it charged, heading towards both the two Ultra’s and the three on the roof.

Without much thought, Mayu yells, “Noa! Give me the baby!”  It was strange, hearing her words, but it Zero’s voice. She could tell Zero was still reeling from her taking control of his body. Mayu reaches their hand down to Noa, who placed the baby Birdon into their hand. 

There was a strange feeling, very weird, Mayu would later decide, as it felt very… warm. Bright and powerful and… well, she supposed it felt quite a bit like when Zero saved her the day before. But different. Stronger, more intense. Almost like it was closer. Mayu also felt a strange sort of confidence, like she was totally capable of doing whatever had to be done now. She could do this. She could do anything if she had to, as long as she wasn’t trying to do it alone. Yes, that was it. That must have been it, in a way.

Mayu spins around, cupping the baby in their hands to keep it safe. Now facing Birdon, Mayu, out of habit really, let’s out the closest thing to a deep breath she can manage in Zero’s body. She holds out their hands, opening them so Birdon could see their baby. Birdon slows, then nearly skids to a halt, seeing their baby in Mayu’s hands.

Birdon examines Mayu, and the chick in their hands. In the calmest tone she could, Mayu tells Birdon, “Your baby, they’re okay. Take them, and leave everyone in this city be.” Birdon gives something of a nod, flapping their wings and taking to the sky. With their claws, they pick up the baby, slightly scratching the palms of Mayu’s - of Zero’s- hands. Then Birdon flys off, disappearing, baby in claw, into the sunset, as Mayu let Zero retake control.

Riku was silent for a moment, “What- what just happened?”

As the beeping of the timer on Zero’s chest continued, Zero simply looked to the roof where Zena, Moa, and Noa stood. He began to disappear into light, prompting Riku to follow in suit.

“Mayu?” Moa asks in shock when she sees who Zero became. Mayu examined herself for a moment, noting that while she was extremely sore, she didn’t seem to have any super noticeable bruises. Until she gently felt her forehead. Ouch, okay, one noticeable bruise, that’s fine. She could come up with a way to explain that.

“Mayu?” Riku parrots, “Like Leito’s daughter?”

Mayu slips her glasses back on before nodding, “Yeah,” She then gave an abridged explanation of the day before. She made sure to add in the details Zero had given about why he was there. The alien summoning monsters.

“So,” Moa began, “Does Leito know about Zero?” Mayu… really didn’t want to lie, honestly. But today and yesterday had been quite the day, and she didn’t want to try to convince people not to tell her parents. If there would be more days like today, then she didn’t want them to worry. Of course, given today, if her parents didn’t know Zero here before, they certainly would know now.

She bites her lip, finding Zero awfully, unnervingly quiet. “Uh… No… Not yet. I, uh, haven’t really had a chance to tell them.” It was the truth, mostly. Except for that bit at the end about not having a chance to tell her parents, but other than that. It was the truth, more or less.

“Well,” Riku grins, “I guess we’re going to be seeing more of each other, huh?”

“Well, uh… I guess…”

Then Noa groans, “Oh come on, this is who we were looking for?” She runs a hand through her hair. “All that work, but all it ended up taking was a freaking kaiju.”

Riku laughs, “Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be looking for me,”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine,” Mayu responds, laughing a little herself. Then she looks at Moa and Zena, those two were still… strange.

“So,” Noa began, “Are we still supposed to believe that the two of you are insurance agents? Because I’m really not buying it.”

“Uh, well,” Moa says, then looks to Zena. Then Zena begins to explain, his lips still never moving. That he and Moa were a part of the AIB a group that dealt with aliens, to put it shortly. That often meant they also had to deal with kaijus and the like. It at least explained how they knew Mayu’s dad. And why Zena could speak without moving his mouth and showed no emotion. He was an alien, with Moa being the only human member of the AIB.

“Crazy,” Noa says, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “But believable.”

Mayu then realizes that the sun was setting, which meant it was getting late. She pulls her phone out to check the time, which confirmed what she thought. “Uh, sorry to cut this short, but we should be getting home.”

Noa pulled her phone out to check the time herself, frowning when she realized, “Yeah, maybe talk more tomorrow, after school?”

Riku nods with a smile, “Yeah, come to the observatory, we can all meet up and talk about what to do. Maybe invite your dad?”

“Dad’s busy tomorrow, but we’ll come.” Mayu smiles in agreement, then waves them goodbye.

When she returns home, she goes through the remaining motions of the day. Dinner, explain the bruise on her forehead - wasn’t paying attention and accidentally walked into a sign in the mall. All things considered, she found she was able to forget the craziness of the past two days. But as she was in her room, preparing for bed, Zero spoke up.

“How did you do that?” He asked. 

Mayu frowned slightly, unsure of why he was curious, “Brush my teeth?” She asked quietly, confused.

“No, not that.” Zero continued, “Earlier, when I was fighting Birdon. You took control to give Birdon their baby. But how? How did you take control of my body?”

That caused Mayu to frown quite a bit, she sat at the her stool in front of her vanity. Zero sounded so shocked. “What? Has that never happened before?”

“No,” Zero insists, and Mayu could almost see him behind her as he spoke, “None of my hosts ever took control of my body before.” In Mayu’s vision of him, Zero was gesturing somewhat wildly, to match the nearly crazed tone of his voice.

“Why not?” Mayu asks, trying to think about why no one had ever taken control of Zero, when he could take control of them. She even said as much to Zero.

“Well, uh, let’s see…” Zero began, “Ran was unconscious the entire time, Taiga didn’t really want my power, only really accepting it at the very end… and Leito and I worked together, more than anything else.” Mayu began to think Zero was just talking to himself at this point, though it allowed her to learn more about Zero.

She didn’t know who these Ran and Taiga people were, but by the sound of it, Zero had a heck of a time choosing hosts before her dad. Still, she listened intently to everything Zero said, as he vocalized his thought process about all the differences between his previous three hosts and her. 

“Well, I don’t know much about all of this,” Mayu says, gesturing with her hands to imply all the new things that had come within the past two days, “I just know that I really, really, wanted it all over with and figured getting the baby to it’s parent was the quickest way to do it.”

“I… I think I get what you mean.” He said, though his voice didn’t sound as sure as his words might have implied. “I’m going to think on it. Anyway, good work today, you managed to get Birdon to leave.”

“Thank Noa,” Mayu knew she wouldn’t have been able to give Birdon their baby if it weren’t for Noa, “She was the one who pointed out Birdon just wanted their baby.”

“Yeah, I guess you’ve got a pretty good friend huh?”

“Of course, why do you think I tried to help her yesterday?” She recalled the events of the day before, which now felt a very long time ago. She’d been so worried for Noa, she’d thought little of her own safety. She realized then, that if it hadn’t been for Zero, she would have died. Then Noa could have died too. “Thank you, Zero,”

“Huh?” Zero asked, “For what?”

“For saving me, yesterday, and if not also saving Noa, then for at the very least helping her.”

Mayu stands, moving to her bed. She gets in and turns the lamp by her bed off, “I hope you and I can be good friends too.”

Mayu isn’t entirely sure if Zero responded, but she could have sworn she heard something that sounded like, “Me too”.

[megashadowdragon]

the reason for  each phantom thiefs metaverse outift, weapons ,names of their personas  ( including the evolved personas

The appearance of each character's Phantom Thief costume is supposed to reflect their idea of a rebel. The truth of that really hits home when you take a close look at the party members and their costume:

Joker starts the show with his black coat and outfit. A bit non-specific, but perfect for blending in with the shadows in order to get away with whatever you want. Take a closer look and you'll see his outfit even has a bit of a tuxedo feel with the undershirt, coattails, and shoes. Now who was wearing a fancy suit when they falsely accused Joker and started this whole mess?

Ryuji is a former track star who's been branded as a punk by society. His outfit certainly reflects that with the metal plates, leather jacket, and club-like weapons like a back-alley street thug.

Ann grew up admiring a cartoon super villainess for her free spirit. Little wonder her costume basically looks like an Expy for Catwoman's.

Morgana's outfit looks like it might not fit, given he appears like a mascot character. It fits in with his thoughts that he is a human, and thus is "rebelling" against the idea that he is truly a cat.

Yusuke is an artist and (partially due to his poverty) takes a rather old-fashioned view of things. His rebel persona therefore has the tight jumpsuit and flashy mask of a romanticized period-drama ninja thief.

Makoto is the prim-and-proper, reason-over-emotion head of the student council. What else would reflect a rebel to her but a hot-blooded biker chick?

Tech-savvy Futaba is almost deceptively easy to place as a black hat hacker, but take a closer look. With all the high-tech gizmos and powers her persona grants and the fact that she's always riding inside of it instead of being on the battlefield with the others she's like the final boss from a video game!

Haru's own persona calls her a "princess", and she's desperate to break that role. Hence her outfit reflects nobility, but looks more like it's meant for a gentleman burglar than a female courtier like Milady's dress.

Akechi follows a similar theme to Haru. A white outfit that just screams disgraced/exiled noble (which he sort of is being Shido's bastard son). His true costume reveals another side to the rebel, though: The stripes on his outfit look like a prison uniform, like the countless people he's helped lock up. It also serves as a hint that he, like Joker, is a prisoner of the Demiurge.

   .  (mystech-master . tumblr . com/post/183038928970/cincosechzehn-everyones-outfits-in-the#notes  

 everyone’s outfits in the metaverse are supposed to represent what rebellion from “fate” is supposed to look like and all i can think of is how goro’s outfit is a princely regal look with a light saber and a raygun    rebellion for him was being acknowledged as a legitimate heir and being allowed to be a child )

The thief outfits and weapons also represent how others perceive them.

Ren is thought of as shifty criminal and some of the rumors you see in the hallway even imply the students think he is carrying a knife on him, just by reputation, his awakening manifests a knife as well for him to fight with.

Ryuji is perceived by others at school as a violent no-good thug after his altercation with Kamoshida, the outfit and lead pipe make him look the part, he even mentions after his awakening "Kamoshida's cognition ain't changing, so I'll act like the troublemaker I am!"

For Ann, around school people see her as a shameless flirt who uses men, like she's a femme fatale, the sexy catsuit and whip makes her looks like a woman who dominates men.

Morgana looks like a miniature mascot, hard to see and easy to miss, with weapons he can easily use. Igor probably meant to make Morgana an ally and give him some things that wouldn't be hard to use due to his miniature size.

Yusuke is seen as a quiet cold artist, who's quick to draw his weapon/brush in a flash when the moment strikes. His outfit also has white, black and blue, frequently seen as cold/winter colors.

Makoto is harder to pin, but she is seen as the enforcer of the principle or like his loyal knight, her mask looking very knight-like, her knuckles could be seen as almost word play of her "knuckle down and follow orders" personality she gave off initially.

Futaba was really interacted with by Sojiro, he saw her as a strange but exceptional girl, like a high tech specialist, her persona being a UFO also represents how alien she is to everyone, strange but fantastic.

Haru has a refined elegant look, but is armed with a brutal axe and grenade launcher, many saw her as a proxy of her father and perhaps perceived as being capable of being as ruthless and aggressive as he is as a business man.

Akechi is seen by all his fans as a hero and all around "pleasant boy" even as the second Prince detective, his outfit being very princely, his weapons being fantastical, his fans believing him to be capable of doing impossible things just by being star struck by his charisma. His Black Mask outfit also fits, given it looks like the in universe Neo Featherman series outfits, mashed with a prisoner theme: Shido and Yaldabaoth see him as nothing more than a doll to be used and thrown away when it bores them.

The appearance or namesakes of the Phantom Thieves Personas are also rather fitting concerning their circumstances or how they rebelled from society.

Akira/Ren has Arsene, based on the fictional character Arsene Lupin. Arsene was written as a force of good, but often found on the wrong side of the law, which is well symbolized by Arsene's Gentleman Thief combined with his angelic black wings, who is also Chained by Fashion. Akira/Ren had just recently found themselves on the wrong side of the law and branded a criminal for something he didn't do, but is still a good person.

Ryuji has Captain Kidd, based on the real life figure William Kidd. William Kidd was a pirate, who are often stereotyped as having eyepatches, golden teeth, and peg legs. The third is actually very fitting, considering Ryuji's leg was broken by Kamoshida and thus he'd have a bum leg for awhile. Kidd was also notably tried and executed, and Ryuji's fit of rage caused the Track Team to get disbanded, effectively "executing" Ryuji.

Ann has Carmen, based on the character that the same play is based around. Carmen is a known heartbreaker and deconstruction of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. This is fitting because Ann has been trying to keep away from Kamoshida, never confronting him while his cognition of Ann shows that he wants her to be his Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Carmen is shown having two broken hearted men in chains with herself, which befits how Ann not only stops running away from Kamoshida to fight against him, but also destroying his cognition of her, in essence intending to break his heart.

Morgana has Zorro, based on the fictional character of the same name. His character was seen as a savior who defends the commoners of the indigenous peoples of California from tyrants and villains who seek to control them. He hides his fighting abilities when pretending to be a commoner, instead opting to look like a coward and a fop. He also has a horse named Tornado. Fittingly enough, Morgana specializes in Wind/Garu spells, and his cat form has been used more than once to innocuously spread calling cards. Morgana was also created by Igor to find Persona users to help him and defeat/overthrow Yaldabaoth, therefore being a "Savior" to Igor and the rest of Japan.

Yusuke has Goemon, who is based off of the real life figure Ishikawa Goemon. Goemon's supposed earlier life involved the death of his parents while he was very young which lead to him swearing revenge upon the killers, which befits how Yusuke's mother was left to die by Madarame and he in turn swore revenge upon him. Goemon's acts of stealing from the rich and giving to the oppressed poor is also fitting in the sense that he's stealing Madarame's fame and giving it back to the oppressed artists he's long since subdued. Goemon's appearance is also fitting, looking like a Japanese ink wash painting brought to life, and Yusuke is an artist!

Makoto has Johanna, who is based on the supposedly fictional Pope Joan. Pope Joan was said to have disguised herself as a man to infiltrate the church and have risen up to the Papacy, only to be ousted as a woman and killed when she had delivered her child in full view of everyone else. Makoto similarly tried infiltrating the Phantom Thieves at the behest of the Principal, which lead her to the point of finding Kaneshiro's hideout who was intent on making her into a sex slave (aka "with child"?). Her awakening could be seen as her "Death" (which in the Tarot symbolizes change) and rebirth into a Phantom Thief. And what better way to ride out of your old life than on an awesome supernatural motorcycle!?

Futaba has Necronomicon, a fictional Tome of Eldritch Lore in the Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft. It's fictional author was said to be "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, which gives a nice connection to Futaba's Pyramid Palace theme. Not to mention the factor that the Necronomicon is said to be a book of forbidden and eldritch powers fits Futaba. Afterall, what better Persona for a girl who indulges in the illegal art of hacking? Furthermore, it's UFO appearance hits in the sense that Futaba has alienated herself from everyone else, but has been trying to make contact with others like aliens in urban legends do.

Haru has Milady, based on the fictional character Milady De Winter from The Three Musketeers. Milady De Winter is known as a spy and criminal, who had married into royalty but was nearly killed by her husband when her status was found out. And after she manages to survive and tries to get vengeance, she is found out and later executed by beheading. This fits Haru as she willingly joins the Phantom Thieves in hopes of reclaiming her father's heart, and that her fiance is a Domestic Abuser intent on using her as his plaything. And while Haru succeeds in her "vengeance" of stealing her father's heart, he gets killed and essentially leaves heading the company to Haru who doesn't know the first thing of being a CEO, essentially being left headless. The loads of guns within Milady's dress is also fitting, because when faced with the idea of a future with someone like her Fiance, that's exactly the kind of protection you'd want to keep him away.

Akechi has Robin Hood and Loki, based on a fictional story of the same name and the god of deceit and lies in Norse Mythology. Robin Hood's appearance fits with Akechi's desired public image, and his story fits as stealing from the rich to give to the poor. But when the rightful king returns, Robin Hood gives up being a thief and is knighted by the King...which is essentially what Akechi does the moment he's done working with the Phantom Thieves, going back to being Shido's lapdog. Loki is fitting in the sense that he's one of the parties responsible for instigating Ragnarok, the all out war at the end of the world in Norse Mythology. He killed a beloved figure, insulted the gods over their past misdeeds and gave a Motive Rant to how he did all of his, and even fathered a few of the monsters responsible for tearing up the world when Ragnarok comes. This all fits how Akechi intends to build Shido up (killing a "beloved" figure), oust The Conspiracy (insult the gods on their misdeeds) and even testify of all of his own to further break down Shido (Motive Rant to how he did all of this). And that "Fathering Monsters" bit also helps in the fact that Loki has the power to make Shadows go berserk, essentially turning them into vicious monsters! As well, one of Loki's most noted powers is shapeshifting. Akechi has the ability to change his Metaverse Outfit, and uses the false facade of a "Detective Prince" to hide his inner darkness.

The appearance and stories of the evolved Persona's of the party members is also fitting.

Ren/Akira/The PC has Satanael at the end game, who is said in game to be a Gnostic representation of Lucifer before he fell from grace.

Ryuji has Seiten Taisei, the titular Monkey King in Journey to the West.

Ann has Hecate, the Greek Goddess of Witchcraft, Crossroads, and Necromancy.

Morgana has Mercurius, the Roman God of Commerce, Luck, Travelers and Thieves. Mercurius is much more lean in build, wears more rougeish attire and wields a cadaseus in stark contrast to Zorro who had a bulkier build, armor and wielded a sword. This shows how Morgana has embraced his lifestyle as a thief and is a general benefactor/guide to the Phantom Thieves as a whole.

Yusuke has Kamu Susano-o, the Japanese God of Storms.

Makoto has Anat, a goddess of War that has appeared in several northwestern Semitic Religions.

Futaba has Prometheus, the Greek Titan who gave mankind fire.

Haru has Astarte, the Mesopotamian Goddess of Love and War.

Akechi has Loki, the trickster god from Norse Mythology.

His wings go from feathered to black bat wings, as he is draped in armor that looks fine, as well as a dark halo, representing how the PC is willing to embrace being a criminal if it means it's for the good of mankind.

He represents a more beneficial representation of Lucifer, how he freed mankind from ignorance and gave them free will. The Protagonist's endgame at this point is to free humanity (or at least the general public of Japan) from Yaldabaoth's influence. Notably, Satanael isn't shown in actual places as being a good being. This could be interpreted that the PC is no longer going by societal expectations, but creating his own meaning in the world.

He rides a living cloud and wields a staff weighing 800K, which shows how Ryuji is able to work under the pressure and go wherever he pleases at the same time.

"Seiten Taisei" is noted to be a title Sun Wukong gave himself when trying to entice the residents of Heaven. After extending his own life, he was found by Buddha and crushed underneath the Five Fingered Mountain for 500 years until freed by a Monk, who he then followed. Ryuji had notably changed his image after the incident with Kamoshida, going from a good kid to a delinquent to fit where he was at. He was crushed by Kamoshida's own hands, and was going to be executed by Kamoshida's Shadow. While Ren/Akira/The PC isn't exactly a monk, he does free Ryuji, and Ryuji proceeds to follow Akira loyally.

Carmen's twindrills have turned into wicked hair with eyes in them, she wears some armor on her upper body and the two broken hearted men have become rabid dogs at Hecate's command. This well represents that while Ann does have very good looks, she won't let herself be defined by them and that she knows how to look out for, reject and control those who would seek to get to her via her looks.

Hecate is also known as being more at home at the fringes of greek society, how she defies boundaries, eludes definition, and is even seen as a savior by some. Ann became a Phantom Thief by accidentally stumbling onto the Cognitive World, and finds a place she can belong in the Phantom Thieves. As a model, she also eludes definition, and is in with the other protagonists in starting the Phantom Thieves, in essence becoming "saviors" to the oppressed populace.

Susano-o is now a Walking Shirtless Scene with tattoos covering his skin, baggy pants, stark white hair and a scarf with an actual sword compared to Goemon's over the top traditional wear, black pompadour and his sword looking like a huge pipe. This befits how Yusuke seems to be getting more in touch with modern society and the people around him.

Susano-o was known for rampaging through Heaven when he lost to Amaterasu, and was eventually thrown out. He then finds out about the Orochi from a grieving family who lost 7 daughters and are about to lose the last one. Susano-o proceeds to kill it, take a sword from it's innards, and gift them and two other items to Amaterasu as an apology. This seems to befit how Yusuke has embraced the lifestyle of a Phantom Thief, going from a possible enemy of them to someone who helps venerate them. He even creates the calling cards past the 3rd palace.

Anat is a Transforming Mecha of a Motorcycle, plated in steel. The calm face of Johanna has been replaced by an angry visage of a woman with horns. This represents how Makoto won't let society's labels define what she can or can't do, and how she can be or go wherever she wants to if she puts the effort into it.

Anat is known in multiple stories to have avenged her fallen brother by killing Mot, and dragging him back from the underworld. This befits how Makoto was "dragged into reality" by the Phantom Thieves, as well as her desired purpose in life by the end of her Confidant by becoming a Police Comissioner. It also befits how protective she is of her sister, Sae, when she becomes the object of the Conspiracy's fancy.

Prometheus appears like a ball engraved with rainbows and having what appears to be a smiling face emoticon. This seems to befit how Futaba now views life, instead of a lifeless wasteland, there is possibility, vibrancy and color that she has come to experience from her time with the Protagonist.

Prometheus is known as the titan who gave mankind fire and knowledge, which had incurred Zeus's wrath. He was to be chained to a rock, an eagle ripping out his liver each day, only for it to regrow in the night, to which the cycle would continue ad infinitum. He was freed by the hero Hercules during the 12 Labours. This befits how Futaba was tormented by her own self-loathing thanks to the men in black sent by a "god" (aka Shido), and it wasn't until "heroes" saved her (aka the Phantom Thieves) that she started to get better.

Astarte appears to be a black silhouette of a woman with her hair let loose, wearing nothing but lengerie, a large crescent moon symbol on her forehead, and her bottom half is concealed by what appears to be a constantly rotating triple headed skull that faces three directions. One with it's eyes open, the next with them half open and the last with them shut. It also appears to have a rotating halo like thing around itself. This seems to befit on how Haru is able to be more open to people in spite of her status, being able to open her eyes to everything around her.

Astarte is known as having multiple associations, mainly with Goddesses like Aphrodite or Ishtar. She is known as the "Queen of Heaven" in some contexts, but she's also been known to have been demonized into Astaroth, one of the three dukes of Hell. Haru was well known for her high status as Okumura's daughter, but after her father confesses and dies, and she falls in with the Phantom Thieves, it befits how she's become one of the forces for criminals, which society in game could perceive as "Hell".

When one looks at Loki, he has Dazzle Camouflage, a type of camouflage used on ships to mislead onlookers as to what direction they're going. Furthermore, its legs seem to shift into horse's legs at the knee down, his fingers turning into claws and the braids on its head turning a fiery red at the tips. It has horns and wears a malicious smile on his face. In a way, Loki's appearance shares a lot of similarities with Arsene, given they share the smiling face, horns and fingers. Both are the intial Personas of their respective users, but while Arsene is known to be a good guy, Loki is well known for being a malicious troll. Both Akira/Ren and Akechi were put into positions where they were dehumanized by society, but while Akira/Ren tries to make the best of his situation, Akechi wallows in it and becomes more corrupted. It even shows in how Loki is becoming more monstrous in appearance, like how Akechi has become a monster as well. The factor that Dazzle Camouflage is used on ships also details his relationship to Shido: he's trying to misdirect people from hurting Shido, at least not until he can sink the ship himself.

Loki is known as a trickster god in Norse Mythology, who usually got people into as much trouble as much as he got people out of it. However, after Balder's death and during a night the other Aesir were being cruel to him, Loki drunkenly ranted about how he caused Balder's death and how much everyone else sucked. In retaliation, they killed his children, tied him to a stone and make venom drip into his eyes. When Ragnarok happened, he was one of the confirmed casualties. This befits how Akechi was doomed to fail or die no matter what he did, be it by his father's cognition of him, a death sentence for all the murders Akechi did, or fail to defeat Joker as the two couldn't help but fight each other as per Yaldabaoth's game. And unlike the rest of the Phantom Thieves's Personas, Loki was demonized by Christianity marking him as a villain, much like how Akechi was demonized by society for being a bastard child and for saying the Phantom Thieves aren't justice. @nenilein

[hyunllx]

                                                         Heathers & Gargoyles                A complete rewrite of Riverdale Season 3

A game, a cult, a murder. Sounds like a stereotypical october for the town of Riverdale. Yet when Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and newly freed-from-juvie Archie are recruited to join the increasingly dangerous game of Griffins and Gargoyles, they find themselves dodging assassinations and deadly traps designed to keep them on a pre-determined story path. Left without the help of their brainwashed allies, the core four must work in the shadows to stop the rising body count and unmask the King of Gargoyles before their story is finished.

                                                        Chapter One: Beautiful                                                                                         Previous Chapter | Read it on AO3

Black midnight sky stretched taught about the grasping branches of the Southside treetops, stars fading to nonexistence behind the pale orange glow of the near-full moon. It would be not but a couple days until she was at her peak, and her sinister visage glowered down on the junkyard. Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica arrived at the back entrance in the old, rusty Serpent pick-up, pointed in the direction by stone-faced Deathknights brandishing torches that threatened to lick the dark, drying bark of early-October trees. The doors screeched and groaned as they hopped out of the truck, the noise deafening in the silence of the midnight forest. Footfall after footfall of players making the journey had smoothed a clear path through the trees. Archie set off on the path first, eager to confront the man, or thing, that placed a bounty on his head. Betty and Veronica followed close behind him, though, lest he barge into trouble alone. Instinctively they held hands through the mounting fear, while Jughead took up the rear, glancing over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed. Two by two piles of fallen branches, weathered bamboo standing-torches, and aluminum trash cans flicked and sparked along the path. Each accompanied a Deathknight or an Acolyte in full costume; they stared at them behind their masks and under deep hoods. The dull thumping of unseen drums beat against the air to signal the new initiates arriving as they passed through the removed panel in the junkyard fence. Entering a small clearing, the four spread out side-by-side before a Deathknight in tattered layers of black cotton and jean and a girl in a medieval-style light grey and red dress. She wore a snow-white cloak over both shoulders and a matching veil obscured her face in the low light, as if the ghost of a princess stood before them. From the shadowed alleys between towers of rusted half-cars and ancient appliances, four Deathknights emerged, each carrying lit standing-torches of black iron. They placed one in front of each of the four; Archie, Veronica, Betty, the finally Jughead. The heat from the torches stung the skin of their faces in the bitter autumn night. Betty turned away from the flame proximity, the fire of the torch triggering a hazy dizziness to cloud her senses. She swayed slightly in place, Veronica’s hand in hers and Jughead’s arm finding its way around her shoulders, keeping her from tumbling into the cloudiness of her mind. The attention of the four pulled suddenly toward the ghostly girl again as she raised her arms and lifted the layered tulle veil from her face, revealing the familiar visage of their childhood friend, Ethel. “Greetings, friends. I’m so glad you can finally join me for Initiation.” “We didn’t have much of a choice.” Archie bit back, though shock lingered on his face. Betrayal carved a hollow in his chest, cutting deep into the dark recesses of his mind now filled by the trauma sweet and trustworthy Ethel had a hand in creating. From his pocket he pulled the now-crumpled and slightly torn Kill the Red Paladin card. “You’re behind this?” “No,” Solemnity returned to her face as she answered, the muscles in her hands tensing as she clasped them in front of her, “I wasn’t aware the King had ordered this until the prison break. As a Princess of the King, my quests are specific. I never received a call for that quest.” “Would you have answered if you did?” Jughead asked, his brow pulled tightly down over his eyes in angry contemplation. He could see the hesitation on her face as she turned toward him, though stubbornness quickly grew in its place. She didn’t answer him, though he held her gaze for a moment longer than she would’ve liked. Jughead suspected the answer was no, but she wouldn’t admit that surrounded by followers of the King. This was a cult, and they’d have her head next. “Why don’t we begin?” Ethel cleared her throat instead, turning back to the group and clapping her hands. At the sharp signal, the Deathknights that brought forward the torches stepped forward again, presenting the four each with a small case. Leather, palm-sized with a magnetized flap keeping it closed. An upgrade from the envelope, Veronica thought to herself, the snark a reflex toward her anxiety as she remembered finding the card over a month ago. It felt like years. They took the cases, albeit reluctantly and held them up to the torches to inspect. Snarling gargoyle faces glared up at them from the grey and silver stitching on the back, and the magnetic clasp bore the same symbol as the wax seal on the parchment that summoned them. “Within the satchels are the three class choices the King personally chose for you,” Ethel began, the Deathknights retreating to the shadows once more as her posture became serious and professional once again, “Your classes will determine the quests you are assigned and will act as your form of identification. Once you make your choice, burn the others in tribute to the King.” As she finished speaking, she lifted fistfuls of her long dress and stepped to the side, the silent Deathknight who had remained at her side mirroring her movement in the opposite direction. When they parted, the faint orange glow of torch and open flame illuminated the space behind them, revealing the grotesque effigy of the Gargoyle King; a bull’s skull staring at them with empty eye hollows, bone stained with red spattering, gnarled branches twisting off its back like wings, all draped in a cloak as long and black as the sky above. Scribblings and paintings they grew familiar with were no match to seeing the effigy in person. It appeared to be sitting, yet still towered over them by 6 inches to a foot. Archie’s face hardened at the sight of the beast, his will to confront the King spoiled now in the monstrosity's presence. Betty looked away; stepping closer to Jughead as her head reeled again. Her stomach churned with the sensation, as if something paranormal were happening here. Even Jughead’s resolution weakened under the sudden pressure. Veronica, however, didn’t succumb to the intimidation. Unsure whether it was because of her experience dealing with powerful, ugly men, or if it really didn’t frighten her, she wasn’t sure, but her posture nor her hatred of the beast before her altered at the sight. “Jughead Jones,” The deep, echoing growl of the Deathknight’s voice changer coupled with the morbid effigy startled him out of his awed trance, “The King has chosen you first.” Jughead cast a long, guarded glance at Betty, the muscles in his shoulders tensing in caution, lest this be a trap. Much like a cat blinking to soothe a loved one, Betty gave him a silent look of encouragement, accompanied by a slight nose. With and understanding, responding nod, Jughead pulled three cards from his leather satchel, fanning them in his fingers to examine each. The first on the left was the typical Rogue class so many of the Serpents already initiated had chosen, including Joaquin, initiated in the fighting pits, most allured by the thief’s dark clothes, sharp daggers, and the mischievous smirk under his hood. The middle card read “Hellcaster”, depicting a young sorcerer dressed in black and green robes with a serpentine staff. His verdant eyes glowed eerily in the shadow cast by his low-drawn hood. The final card read “Prince,” yet unlike typical medieval nobility, this prince wielded a greatsword and stood clad in intricate black armour. A gold crown sat atop his unarmoured head, two twisting antlers rising out of its sides. Immediately he did not trust the Prince card; Ethel just claimed she was a Princess not but a few moments ago, and Jughead suspected he would have to be of the same station with this class. He was a king of his own right; he would not kneel for this false God. That was the first card he tossed into the fire. “State your choice aloud, so the King can hear.” Ethel reminded him, her voice sweeter than it had been, but stern. Jughead looked over the Rogue and the Hellcaster one more time, a near-amused smirk pulling on his lips. He tossed the Rogue into the torch; the serpent iconography of the Hellcaster was too obvious a sign. This card was the one it meant him to pick. “Hellcaster.” He announced, lifting the card so Ethel, the Deathknight, and the effigy (if it could see) could observe his choice. “Welcome, Hellcaster.” The words rose from the spectators, echoing around the Junkyard from shadows between the rusted metal and piles of discarded treasures. Ethel turned to the next initiate, Betty. She was already looking over her cards as the garbled voice of the Deathknight spoke her name. Cabalist, Deadeye, Acolyte. Fingers trembling, she immediately lifted the Acolyte card to the torch. If she was sure of anything, she would never be a mindless sheep for a fake God. Pausing, Betty took a grounding breath as the flames consumed the card into the torch, watching for a moment before tearing her eyes back to the remaining cards in her hands. The Deadeye held her at the ready, pointing her knocked arrow straight up at her, while the elderly Cabalist hunched over her sacred texts, glowing runes circling her body. A buzz hummed in the back of her mind as a flashback crashed through her, preventing Betty from examining the Deadeye further. The image of her father in a black mask holding a gun forward and staring up at her obscured her perception of the real artwork. Quickly, her reflexes tossed the card into the torch, nerves shaken. Both Jughead and Veronica reached out to her again in her panic to place comforting, grounding hands on her shoulders. Vision fuzzy, hands trembling, Betty pushed through the haze to lift her final card into the air and announce: “Cabalist.” “Welcome, Cabalist.” The call echoed around them. Veronica was next; with a sneer of disgust, she tossed the first card out of the satchel into the fire: Princess. While that was the card she was certain the King wanted her to choose, she had enough of that role in her real life. If she had to play this game, she might as well be someone unlike her rich daddy’s girl reputation. Pulling the other two cards from the pack, she held one in each hand. The Bard in her left was joyous, laughing with a drink in one hand and their lute in the other. They grinned up at her, happy just being considered and included. In her right, the Enchantress smirked at her with playful mischief; dressed in an oddly familiar black hooded shawl and wreathed in smoke trailing up from the train of her dress. A master of joy and song, or a master of shadow and illusion? “Enchantress.” She announced confidently, tossing the Bard into the flames. The cardstock fizzled and spat defiant sparks back at her, making Veronica take a step toward Archie, called last after the shadows welcomed her choice. His case remained unopened until Archie felt his name shake in his bones from the growl of the Deathknight. As he pulled the cards out, the glanced first toward his friends, then to Ethel, who still could not meet his eyes. Confusion warped his face in the firelight. In his hands he held only two cards, not three like his friends. A familiar Paladin, though this card had etchings of reflective red foil and the deep black foil of a Deathknight with a completely petrified skull of stone. The rustling of dead leaves and branches assaulted their ears suddenly as the effigy rose off the ground. Towering high above them, the gnarled wings stretched wide and the heavy skull twisted on its invisible neck to glare down at Archie specifically. “Red Paladin…” The King rumbled, the bass in his amplified voice shaking the ground enough to feel through thick winter boots. “You have one choice. Pledge yourself to me and lift your brand for death.” Follower or target. Hunter or prey. Defiant anger flared in Archie’s chest, pulsing hard against his bruised and cracked ribs. A reminder, and a message, “No.” He crumpled the Deathknight card in his clenched fist and tossed it into the torch flame. With a forced sense of pride, he lifted the Paladin card so everyone could see the orange glow of the fire reflecting off the bloody-coloured foil. “Then you will die.” The Deathknight warned. Archie detected a hint of alarm despite the disguised sound of his voice. Maybe even desperation. “We’ll see.” Ethel cleared her throat to bring the attention back to her, shuffling a few steps forward to stand in the light from the torches. “Welcome, Initiates. You have chosen your classes and are now waiting to be tested individually on your separate skills. You may be approached by a Deathknight, you may find your quest hidden someone secret. In either case, you will know, and I wish you luck.” “Go.” The booming voice of the King commanded at their hesitation to leave, the four taking the dismissal to heart and walking as quickly as they could back to the truck. They drove home in silence, the gravity of what they’d done falling on them slowly like snowfall. They weren’t players in a game. Now they were cultists. School the next day felt different. An air of respect now floated through the halls. Where once the spaces and groups barricaded them from entering, now people greeted them openly and genuinely. People brought them into conversation after conversation about Quests, or news of other parties failing, or that someone had broken into more businesses since the start of the school year. Veronica and Jughead shrugged it off easily, making their way through school as if it were a typical day, but the attention was grating and uncomfortable for Betty. No one but teachers used her name; now she was ‘the Cabalist.’ Other Cabalists (there were only a few, mostly honors and AP students) excitedly welcomed her to the class, though none of them she’d met before. Though not openly hostile, wizards and sorcerers (seemingly the most common classes chosen) playfully glared at her and made remarks about her study habits. Betty didn’t want to understand what they meant, or why people were so drawn to her suddenly, and by lunchtime, she’d had enough of the socialization shift. Like every cliche 90s teen movie, she wanted to buy lunch and eat in the restroom, away from the prying eyes and questions of her peers. Food acquired successfully with minimal resistance, Betty swerved out of the cafeteria toward the nearby restrooms where she hit a sudden roadblock. Bodies swarmed the walls of the hallway, parting at the center like the Red Sea as awed whispers rose and crashed over the crowd. Slowed but not deterred, Betty muscled her way through the throng, only to emerge on the other side nearly face-to-face with her cousin Cheryl, Toni, and their infamous party. They walked with unbridled confidence through the crowd, basking in the attention Betty despised. Cheryl and Toni were two of the first players to be open about their involvement in the game, and many players enviously looked up to them. Where once people pried to join the River Vixens, now they pleaded and grovelled to help the Vixens on Quests. The whispers of awe and longing followed them everywhere, even outside the once-safe walls of Riverdale High. If Cheryl wasn’t popular and powerful enough before, her status elevated her to Goddess in their eyes. “What’s going on here?” The voice of an unseen teacher rose over the hallway, slicing through the audience as they grabbed the attention away from Cheryl. Betty seized the moment of distraction as an opportunity to duck into the restroom. Voices muffled by the closed doors rose in groaning protest as the teacher told them to scatter to their classes. Betty leaned against the door, the drumming of dozens of feet pulsing against the concrete as she finally let out a long breath. She was alone, away from the prying gaze of what felt like the entire town. Short-lived relief suddenly stamped out of her as the door hit hard at her back, someone pushing it open from the other side. Stumbling forward a few steps, Betty made room in the small space as the heavy door swung open completely and Cheryl stalked her way inside. “There you are, cousin.” She spoke with her usual friendly grace, a familiar smile on her scarlet-red lips. Where her typical spider brooch would’ve sat on her collarbone, now a crest of golden, crossed arrows reflected the fluorescent lights; the crest of the Deadeye class. Despite wearing her brand, though, no hunger for information nor judgement sat on her face so Betty relaxed slightly at her presence. “Good afternoon, Cheryl.” Betty side-stepped around her as Cheryl made her way to the mirrors over the sinks to check her hair and makeup. “I hear you finally joined the game.” She said cheerfully as she combed wayward strands of orange hair back into their places. Their eyes met through the mirror and Betty nervously started picking at the cellophane wrapper around her sandwich, “And as a Cabalist. Fascinating choice, though I suppose it suits your whole Nancy Drew aesthetic.” Avoiding answering, Betty took a bite out of the sandwich, chewing slowly so she wouldn’t have to explain how she and her friends never chose to be initiated, and the threats to Archie’s life. Not that it was a secret; everyone knew about Archie’s great escape. “You know…” Cheryl cut the silence, unbothered by Betty’s lack of an answer, “My party, the Pretty Poisons, received a quest this morning, and we might need a Cabalist if you want to join us sometime.” Paranoid haze rose at the corners of Betty’s vision at the offer. “Is that… allowed?” Cheryl frowned, turning to look at her instead of through the mirror. “Why wouldn’t be?” “I don’t know. I thought you had to stay with the people they initiated you with.” The thought of Archie being placed in the King’s crosshairs because she accidentally broke a rule surged forward, bringing with it a new fear of the game. “There’s nothing in the Player’s Handbook against it. I mean, how else are we supposed to complete the Quest when we have no Wizards or Cabalists?” “Wait… Player’s Handbook?” “You don’t have one?” Genuine confusion and shock distorted Cheryl’s calm demeanor, and she immediately dismounted the bag from her shoulders. From inside she pulled a stack of papers, three-hole punched and connected by gold rings, “This isn’t all of it, but I can lend you the whole thing if you join us at the entrance to Fox Forest on Friday night?” Betty took the small stack of papers; the top page was an ancient outline of the Deadeye class, if the game were being played on a tabletop like D&D. The pages weren’t old, but well-used by the wrinkles and bends in the corners. Fatal curiosity peaked, Betty nodded without asking details about the quest, “All right, I’ll come.” “Ladies…” The voice of the teacher returned as a warning as she pushed open the door and stuck her head in. “What’s happening here?” “Betty wasn’t feeling well. I was just helping her.” Cheryl smiled sweetly, tossing her bag over her shoulder again. The teacher looked over her glasses at them, skepticism crawling over every inch of her face. She decided arguing with a Blossom wasn’t worth the time and held the door open for them. “Just get to class…” Cheryl gave Betty a wave and skipped into the hallway. How she kept such a bright appearance despite everything she’d endured, Betty didn’t understand. It made her envious, as the anxiety seized her by the throat again when she made her way back toward the cafeteria. At least she had something to study now, a guide on how to navigate and deal with this life-consuming game. Perhaps she’d find something that would break them free from it. Perhaps her life wasn’t over just yet.

[russianzarya-blog]

Battle Camp 2.5.12 APK

battle camp hack tool

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Common Misunderstandings Regarding Battle Camp Hack

The real battle for the setting is going to be in between James White as well as Dion Lewis. Developing a protection head office as the Allies or battle laboratory as the Soviets grants accessibility to the intrigues' corresponding unique power. Battle Felines is an easy as well as fun video game which lets you play utilizing adorable kitties to go wild around the world. After finishing camp which if you follow the quick suggestion for energy will occur on your very first sitting, you will certainly hit degree 5 as well as Teepee Hollow (the initial actual area) opens up to you. Lasso your hero as well as all of your guns with each other as well as move them to the bandit camp at the north end of this location. Family pet rescue legend rips off tool could be utilized on any web browser as well as on any kind of tool like PC or Android with no issue. Regardless of the android mobile phone you are using, you can concur that room is a problem. A minimum of 3 shooters from outside the camp had likewise attacked an army setting in order to help the fighters run away, safety and security resources said. As soon as both of your assistants are offered, placed them both to operate at the lumber camp. Click as well as drag to view even more of the camp as well as find other monsters to do battle with. Utilizing this battle camp hack tool any type of one can get unrestricted fight camp gold and can unlock all weapons easily. One solid strategy using this hack for Battle Pet cats is to make use of God Feline's Baby Boom ability, and standardize your best feline boxer. Choice 1: Build an Archery Camp when you can manage it and have a Degree 2 Soldier upgrade to an Archer. Hence, you can test these android video games on the computer to identify if they merit to be on your phone. Our testimonial of the iOS version claims all of it, however if you're seeking the tl; dr - YOU 'RE THE GOD DAMNED BATMAN. Get as well as use Healing Potions, when essential (if a Soldier Falls in Fight below, he is gone from the game). The one sure fire means to much better your possibilities of surviving this typically brutal globe are by constructing a solid avatar that could battle the beasts and for that you need gold and energy. Glendon: I believe the most fascinating battle entering into camp will be just how the running back brings shake out.

[alleycatallies]

Alley Cat Allies Helps Achieve Felony Conviction for Abuser of Juliet the Cat

Oxford, Ohio resident Zhean Bai was convicted today of the deadly torture of Juliet the cat. Alley Cat Allies, the leader of the global movement to protect cats and kittens, provided support to the prosecution that was instrumental in achieving a conviction and jail time in Juliet’s case.

Bai pleaded no contest and was convicted of committing cruelty to a companion animal, a fifth-degree felony. He is sentenced to 30 days in jail with seven days credit for time served, after which he is subject to deportation to China, his country of origin.

“The defense attempted to avoid a conviction and jail time, requesting dismissal of the case twice. Because of Alley Cat Allies’ support, Juliet finally received justice,” said DanaMarie Pannella, attorney, Alley Cat Allies. “However, we want Juliet’s story to remain in the public conscience and will continue our fight for stronger punishments for animal cruelty that reflect the severity of these crimes.”

On Monday, January 13, the day Bai was initially set to face a jury trial, Alley Cat Allies will hold a rally to remember Juliet’s life, spread awareness of her story, and call for stronger sentences for all acts of animal cruelty.

One year ago, Juliet, an elderly community cat who lived in an apartment complex in Hamilton, was discovered with injuries so grave that she had to be humanely euthanized. Disturbing surveillance video revealed that Bai forced Juliet into a white garbage bag and then slammed the bag violently onto the ground.

Bai arrived in court on Friday with a packed suitcase and requested to self-deport. The request was denied. The judge said he was “appalled by the facts in the case” and that Bai committed “an extreme act of violence.”

The felony conviction in Juliet’s case was affected by last year’s Ohio Supreme Court decision that Ohio’s companion animal cruelty law protects all cats, including community cats who are unowned and live outdoors, as “companion animals.” Alley Cat Allies filed an amicus brief that helped inform the Supreme Court’s decision. Without that decision, Bai would have only faced a second-degree misdemeanor for his egregious actions.

The rally for Juliet will begin at 10:00 a.m. EST on Monday, January 13, in front of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

Content source: https://www.alleycat.org/alley-cat-allies-helps-achieve-felony-conviction-for-abuser-of-juliet-the-cat/

[lady-charinette]

"Father? Have you seen Felix? He said we would play chess after dinner in my room." the big innocent eyes of his son glanced up at him and something within Gabriel twisted, like a blade mercilessly tearing at his insides until there was nothing left but a painfully hollow feeling.

The adult shook his head, tearing his gaze away from his son's face. "Ask your aunt, perhaps he is in the bathroom."

He knew very well where his nephew resided, but that was no place for Adrien.

Hawmoth's lair was the perfect place to learn of the other side of the family's more darker secrets. Even his uncle's assistant was in on it, providing him with valuable information much too knowledgeable to be considered 'public knowledge'.

Meeting his eventual kwami was an event of itself. The little thing was as sporadic and emotionally ecstatic as his mother could be at times, but he sensed a more powerful presence behind the frilly feathers and the childish voice that sounded in glee.

Maybe it were the ominous red eyes or its wickedly dark color, but the fact that beside Hawkmoth was a peacock miraculous holder potentially Hawkmoth's equal or even more powerful than the villain himself, was a temptation Felix was reluctant not to pursue.

It began with an extensive introduction into the history of kwami's, about his uncle's rebirth as Hawkmoth, his mysterious ally, the previous owner of the Peacock, who had gotten mysteriously sick.

Felix had realized Duusu wasn't completely normal, but there was a foreboding sensation twisting into the pit of his stomach, something that told him this deal would be more one-sided than he would like. "What does uncle gain from my allegiance?"

Nathalie cleared her throat, a bit longer than Felix thought was normal, but she composed herself quickly. "With Emilie Agreste having fallen into a coma, Mr. Agreste is open to any and all potentially powerful allies that fight by his side in order to capture the Ladybug and Cat miraculous." her icy eyes zeroed in on the boy and he almost felt rooted to the spot. "And you could potentially be such an ally."

Felix rubbed his chin, the odd knot in his stomach wounding tighter and twisting deeper. "And...what do I have to gain?"

At this, the professional assistant arched a delicate brow. "Your original goal is to bring back the rings and return them into your family's possession...correct?" Felix nodded. " Hawkmoth can give you much more than those rings. I'm sure that in time, once we manage to get our hands on the Ladybug and Cat miraculous, that your mind will be changed."

Felix' gaze narrowed suspiciously. "Changed?"

"By combining the two miraculous we sought, one wish can be made. After Mr. Agreste has made his, what is stopping you from making yours?" Nathalie's glasses caught the sliver of light drifting through the small opening in the circular window and Felix felt the pressure of the whole room close in on all sides.

The fact that this was Hawkmoth's - his uncle's - lair hit him much stronger than he initially thought it would. He was standing in the middle of a place France's greatest villain resided in, the place he knew was his very own cousin's home.

The same home his uncle - Hawkmoth - lived in.

If this deal of theirs were to be somehow be betrayed, either by Gabriel himself or outside interferences, Felix still had the knowledge of his identity in his grasp. With it, Gabriel stood powerless.

As far as he knew, neither Hawkmoth's nor his mysterious ally's powers had any memory-erasing properties. While he had little information about the previous owner of the Peacock miraculous, he did hear from the news about them being similar to Hawkmoth's powers.

Emotional manipulation.

Manifestation of emotions into physical matter.

That was right up Felix' alley.

Clearing his throat, the boy took a step forward and offered the woman his hand, gaze locked onto her suspicious one. "With everything you've told me so far, it seems this deal of ours can only benefit the both of us, Miss Nathalie." the assistant arched a brow curiously and a small smile played on the boy's lips. "You mentioned the miraculous granting one wish, correct? If we play our cards right, we can achieve all of ours goals, with only one wish." his smile curled into a grin. "Uncle Gabriel's, mine and yours."

Nathalie froze and Felix saw his opening.

It was brief, a split second.

But it was there.

Emotions.

The iron wall fell and Felix had a chance to glimpse at the emotions of the normally stoic faced and cold woman employed to his uncle.

A look of yearning.

A look his mother always used to give his father.

A look of affection.

Felix still held his hand out, green gaze darkening with purpose. "Miss Nathalie? Do we have a deal?"

The woman glanced down at the boy's hand, lips pulled down into a frown before she glanced back up at his eyes, analyzing their emerald depths.

They reminded her so much of Adrien's and yet they were very different. They lacked the human warmth and emotional acceptance and understanding of the boy she came to care so much for and instead, were filled with a calculated coldness that made her be on guard.

Wordlessly, Nathalie reached her hand out and firmly grasped the boy's, shaking it.

The grin on Felix' face grew wider and the look in his eyes spoke of a more darker, cunning nature. "It is my pleasure to be doing business with you, Miss Nathalie."

That day, once he was seated at the table with his cousin, Felix allowed a secretive smile to adorn his face and Adrien thought it was because he had an ace up his sleeve when he moved his king.

His cousin had no idea.

"A-Aunt...Emilie?" Felix tore his gaze away from the woman confined in the glass coffin, to the man who brought him to the basement. "But...why?"

Gabriel's back was as straight as a bow and his gaze was sharp. "She has...fallen ill and this is the only way to make sure she receives permanent treatment until we find a cure."

Felix slowly turned his head back to stare at the figure of his aunt, so silent and serene-looking, as serene and peaceful as he never saw her before.

Like a lifeless doll.

"Does...does Adrien know about this?"

At that, Gabriel's voice lowered in warning. "No and it shall remain so."

A pause, stunned silence before Felix dared to speak again. "Why are you... showing this to me? You've never taken a liking to me before, uncle." distrust was apparent in the teen's green eyed gaze, almost the same green eyes of his own son.

Gabriel took a step forward to rest a gentle hand cautiously against the glass that sustained his wife's life. "I've realized the errors in my ways, Felix and I believe it is time to rectify them." with that, his uncle retrieved a small black box with red runes from his pocket.

Felix' eyes were glued to the object, uncertainly looking back up at the man. "Is that...are those the family rings?"

Gabriel shook his head firmly. "No, something much more valuable, something I know could be of more use to you than those rings ever could."

Felix frowned and cautiously grabbed the box, slowly opening it. "That's...a brooch?" His eyebrows raised in suspicion, turning the brooch this way and that. "It...looks like a peacock."

The fashion mogul nodded and extended his hand. "Have you heard of the sudden rise in akuma activity here in Paris?"

Felix mulled his uncle's words over in his head, vaguely remembering a news report or two talking about it. "Yes."

He nodded at the box. "Hawkmoth has been aided by a villain for a short time, but now that the villain was defeated, Hawkmoth is short on allies." his steel gaze glared right into Felix' green ones, which slowly filled with realization. "Felix, do you have what it takes to aid Hawkmoth in his endeavors and in turn, fulfill your own goals?"

The silence was deafening, almost suffocating and Felix' eyes strayed back to the silent figure of his aunt in the coffin.

He took the brooch out of the box and inspected it from all sides carefully.

"You must keep this a secret from Adrien and even your mother." Felix felt a strange sort of power wash over him when he deftly pinned the brooch in place on his clothes.

"I believe we have a deal..." the green eyes resembling his son's twisted with something much more sinister and Gabriel saw his nephew in them, so unlike his Adrien. "...Hawkmoth." the dark grin stretching the boy's lips resembled a villain's more than it ever should.

[the-royal-courier]

“Evil” Candidate Holds Rally in Cathedral Square

By Risri Elthron and Jibblet Quillfeather

The man who calls himself The Great Nyehehe, self-proclaimed evil-doer, and strange enigma has announced his candidacy for the House of Nobles Council. His evilness, as he likes to be called, started the rally with a small group of curious onlookers gathered. The crowd grew in size as the rally picked up steam, however, we are uncertain if they were actual supporters or just fascinated by the way the man in purple ranted.

His opening statement was bold with words about his ideas to bring, “rampant villainy, a strict ban on the concept of love and all non-Nyehehe worshiping religions, and replacing all known police forces with the Great Nyehehe’s rats!! And to top it all off, the Great Nyehehe rules it all!! What an incredibly evil world to live in!! Wouldn't it be an honor for you mortals?”

He went on to allow questions from the audience, in a strange combination of politeness and rudeness that would be hard to duplicate in print. However, our own Jibblet Quillfeather braved the Great Nyehehe’s “evil” lair and got an exclusive interview with the candidate.

Keep reading for Jibblet’s exclusive with his evilness:

With the recent campaigners for the House of Nobles Council, one unlikely person has decided to run. I was able to get an interview with this most evil of candidates, and, luckily, walked away physically unscathed.

You may have seen him scowling throughout the streets of Stormwind, or twirling his mustache from the dark recesses of an alley. The Great Nyehehe. When asked which position he was going to campaign for, The Great Nyehehe had this to say:

“Why, the High Throne of Everything, of course!! The Great Nyehehe will rule the Universe with an iron first!! All mortals must comply to his devious demands, lest they desire a ferrety fate!! So says The Great Nyehehe!!”

With such aspirations mentioned, curiosity struck on what may be The Great Nyehehe’s plan on campaigning and earning votes:

“If The Great Nyehehe demands votes from the mortals, he'll receive them!! They all fear his dark magicks and vile powers!! The Great Nyehehe will obviously win this campaign, quite easily and quite evilly!!”

Of course, with every position comes responsibilities. When asked why The Great Nyehehe thought his prime responsibilities would be, he had this to say:

“Keeping those sniveling mortal fools in line!! Conquering the Universe!! Sitting on recently-painted park Benches!! There are too many to count!! Without The Great Nyehehe, who would be the most evil being in the Universe?”

Of course, with responsibilities in order, we can’t forget what The Great Nyehehe would be able to offer to the Council as well:

“The Great Nyehehe would be a ruthless ruler of Stormwind, obliterating any who gets in his way!! And what other member may even imply they were more evil than The Great Nyehehe? Plus, The Great Nyehehe's moustache is so incredibly glorious!! That's worth more than just experience!!”

Not only would The Great Nyehehe offer his mustache, but he also knows exactly how he would aid the council in protecting Stormwind:

“Well, first off, they would receive the honor of being ruled over by The Great Nyehehe!! Plus, though he loathes it… He would make sure no other allegedly "evil" forces try to take his conquered lands from him!! So fret not of those horned half-wits or the like!!”

When moving to the subject of dealing with the Legion, The Great Nyehehe had his own thoughts:

“Well, The Great Nyehehe had no problem with the Legion initially, you see. They caused havoc and chaos and suffering, Nyes; but The Great Nyehehe didn't care. But then.. How dare those demonic dolts not invite The Great Nyehehe!?! hey have provoked The Great Nyehehe's wrath, and if elected, their days shall be numbered!! So says The Great Nyehehe!!”

Curious on if his first action on the Council would be against the Legion, The Great Nyehehe seemed to have greater things in mind:

“Probably declaring war on those accursed feline fools!! Oh!! How their mere presence boils The Great Nyehehe's black blood!! Oh, you mortals call them… “Cats”. Bah. T'is a foolish, mortal name. They've been picking off The Great Nyehehe's rats for weeks now... Accursed things…”

With such grand goals, it was clear that The Great Nyehehe would need help:

“Mortals are foolish, unintelligent things!! They can't do anything the correct way!! The Great Nyehehe does everything perfect all the time, why bother with minions? The Great Nyehehe would tell them to begone!! The Great Nyehehe has no need for allies when he's this evil and powerful, not to mention fashionable!! Nor does he need friends, or family, or any of that mortal foolishness!! Bah!!”

With such claims made by this candidate, The Great Nyehehe had one last comment:

“The Great Nyehehe will rule this universe, so don't even try to stop it!! So says the Great Nyehehe!!”

------------------

(OOC Note: The Great Nyehehe is NOT actually running for the Council of Ministry, so please do not vote for him, as any votes for him will be considered null and void. This is just a fun interview to assist him in his way of spreading word for something that may end up being quite enjoyable. Please vote for actual candidates currently campaigning in all five seats on the council!)

@thegreatnyehehe

[faithandfairies]

Supergirl Initial Thoughts

Okay, so I’ve started watching Supergirl. I’ve been meaning to watch it forever since I’m a huge Smallville fan and so it looked right up my alley. But I never got around to it. But then recently I started re-watching some of my favorite Smallville episodes and then I re-watched the pilot with every intention to re-watch the entire show. But I’ve also been trying new shows and I love Smallville and Supergirl reminded me of that and I also know about the gay aspect to the show. Which also made me curious since Smallville didn’t have even one queer character, I don’t think. 

Part of me thought there’s no way this show could be bad, but then another part of me thought there was no way it could be as good as Smallville. I loved Smallville because I connected with the characters. For some reason I was worried this wouldn’t happen here. But then I watched this You Tube video on the Danvers sisters and I connected with that even though the show’s original promo didn’t do much for me. So I thought “I’ll give it one episode.” And I love it. It’s not Smallville, but that’s a good thing I believe. Because it’s great in its own right.

The focus of the show is somehow different. It revolves around relationships but in a different way than Smallville did. With Smallville the show’s original focus was the loving family unit. Clark and his parents who knew who he was and then outsiders orbiting around them. Clark figuring out who he was as a part of that. Home and what that meant was an important theme. First a place, the Kent Farm, then the people you love. Trust was a big deal. Clark didn’t really trust anyone outside of his parents and it was the main problematic theme of the show. Kara is different in that. For her the focus is on friendships. Where Clark often went it alone, Kara doesn’t. She has her friends always supporting her. And you may say, so did Clark. And that’s true. 

But the difference is that Kara asked for that support from the get-go and trusted her friends to deliver. Clark didn’t. Granted, he was a teenager, but even later, Clark still often went at things alone and Chloe and his other friends had to run after him to catch up to help so he would have less of a chance of getting himself killed. And yes, there’s Alex, and she’s family, but they still somehow showed us that Kara chose to trust Alex under circumstances where it seemed like she might not be trustworthy. Kara chose her allies. In my opinion, on Smallville, the only ally Clark ever truly chose that worked out was Lois. He left everything behind when he thought she was gone and he only came back when she did.

Which brings me to something interesting. The dynamic between Cat and Kara on Supergirl reminds me of the dynamic between Lois and Clark on Smallville. And it’s not just the dynamic. I mean, treating someone like crap, especially your assistant is pretty straightforward. Lois just teased and goaded Clark on Smallville because she didn’t know any other way to deal with the tension between them. So that’s not what gets to me. 

What gets to me is the emotional dialogue. That in Supergirl 1x09 Cat almost fired Kara and used as her argument that any moment spent with her was one that Kara could use to save someone. That is literally the argument Lois used in Smallville 10x20 when she broke up with Clark, oh, I don’t know, a day before their wedding. And I’m pretty sure she was the only one that made that argument. Or at least in those exact words.

And that’s not all. There was something near the beginning of the show that also registered with me as typical Lois&Clark behavior. Only now I’m not sure what it was. I want to say it’s that Kara said that Cat made her feel normal. That was a very important reason why Clark loved Lois. He said that she was the only one who could make him feel normal. Another glaringly obvious thing is that Lois was the public voice for Clark as “the blur”, just as Cat is Kara’s/Supergirl’s.

There’s also the fact that Lois actually figured out Clark was “the blur” at one point herself when she was talking to “the blur” on the phone and his voice disguising technology failed him (sort of). He got the help of two other aliens in a save of Lois to convince her he wasn’t “the blur” in a “can’t be in two places at once” ruse. Just like Kara got help from an alien to do the same with Cat. 

There is other stuff also and it’s all in the dialogue. Comments Cat makes about Supergirl. There was one specific one that made me go “that is something you’d say about someone you’re dating”.  But I don’t remember what the specific words were. I’ll revise this to inclued the specific statement if I come across it again.

Also, as far as parallels go, I’d say that Winn is Chloe, the guy who is in love with the girl but will never get her because the feelings aren’t mutual. He might also be gay. Cat is Lois as stated above. I’m still figuring out who Jimmy is. I want to say Lana. The guy who seems perfect for the girl, but isn’t. And has also started out in a relationship with someone else. I mean, I love him, both him and Winn, but yeah, I loved Lana too, just not for Clark. Alex is new. Clark didn’t have an Alex. Not one that was related. Unless, maybe Kara? The closest thing to Alex Clark had aside from her was Lois. Someone who could kick butt right alongside him without hesitation, who put him in his place whenever he needed it, that sort of thing. Maxwell Lord is a wannabe Lex Luthor, but he’s just not awesome enough for it. I mean, he works well enough, but he just doesn’t have the presence. 

Smallville’s Lex, I hated his guts to be honest, but he had presence. He was a white pretty boy, but he could still be ominous. He was vital to the show and owned his villainous status in this great, sneaky, backstabbing way that was both disturbing and fascinating. And he could insult you without you knowing it if you couldn’t think or speak at his level. His fights with his dad were my favorite. Because they were often practically knockdown drag outs, absolutely brutal, but at the same time you might not realize it given how amazingly civil they looked.

Also, so far, director J’onn J’onzz is pretty much my favorite character on Supergirl. I love him. I hope he stays this awesome. Everyone needs one of him in their life.

[cutshawsnidowoa]

Alley Cat Rescue has “Boots on the Ground” Across the Nation

The post Alley Cat Rescue has “Boots on the Ground” Across the Nation by JaneA Kelley appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Louise Holton may not be a name on the lips of cat lovers everywhere, but it should be. In 1975, Holton worked with the Johannesburg SPCA in South Africa on trap-neuter-return for community cats. She worked with veterinarian and TNR pioneer Jenny Remfry; world-famous author and biologist Roger Tabor; and cat rescue organizations in the U.K., bringing the knowledge she gained to the United States to set up TNR programs here.

Related: Why Getting Involved in TNR is Easier Than You Think

Louise co-founded Alley Cat Allies in 1990, and in 1997 she started Alley Cat Rescue with a trap-neuter-return program for feral cats and an adoption program for friendly cats. Today, ACR’s programs include a low-cost spay/neuter clinic, Cat Action Teams and TNR programs for community cats.

“We work on international TNR programs, mainly through offering support, and we do hands-on TNR in Los Angeles; Roanoke, Virginia; and Maryland,” Louise says. “We fund and run spay clinics in each place.”

Helping community cats

Alley Cat Rescue has spayed and neutered more than 180,000 cats since its inception. The organization currently spays and neuters well over 3,500 cats per year and is working to increase those numbers.

One thing that makes Alley Cat Rescue unique is its Cat Action Teams. “We have Cat Action Teams in every state,” Louise says. “These are groups who can help people find low-cost vets, perhaps lend them traps and guide them through the process of TNR.”

ACR also has a directory of low-cost spay/neuter clinics listed on its website to help potential colony managers find clinics to help them. Like many community cat organizations, Alley Cat Rescue partners with local advocates, city and regional government, and individuals who want to help.

Alley Cat Rescue’s Spring Spay Challenge, for example, has developed a national network of veterinarians offering free or low-cost spay/neuter services for TNR. “More than 1,400 veterinarians in 45 U.S. states have participated in our Spring Spay Challenge campaign, along with veterinarians in Canada, Croatia, Greece, Japan, Israel, India and South Africa,” Louise says. “Through this program, we strive to bridge the gap between rescue groups, veterinarians and cat caretakers.”

And it has worked. As a result of the Spring Spay Challenge, 80,000 community cats have been sterilized.

Another ACR accomplishment Louise is particularly proud of is Alley Cat Rescue’s Guide to Managing Community Cats, a comprehensive guide to TNR, feral cats, colony care, advocacy for feral cats and more. The guide is available free for download on ACR’s website.

Changing attitudes

Alley Cat Rescue has been changing hearts and minds about TNR for decades. Maryland, for example, was initially opposed to TNR for feral cats, but over time, the organization’s efforts have paid off, and TNR is now an accepted method of cat colony management in that state. Why? The results are there, and they’re backed up by data.

The spay/neuter program in Maryland has effectively reduced the intake of feral cats in the targeted regions by 18% and reduced euthanasia rates by 38%. In 2018, Alley Cat Rescue received funding of almost $29,000, which allowed the organization to spay and neuter 752 cats in ACR’s targeted regions in that state. ACR has also been advocating in California.

In 2005, a court injunction forced the City of Los Angeles to stop supporting trap-neuter-return activities based on their potential environmental impact. The city completed an environmental impact report that marked off Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs), then proposed a way to begin TNR efforts again. However, it turned out that the proposal made it all but impossible to legally TNR community cats. The city proposed a feral cat feeding ban in all areas considered ESAs, plus a one-mile buffer zone around those areas. In those areas — which comprise a huge portion of the city — feeding would only be allowed as bait in traps, limited to 30 minutes, could only occur during limited daytime hours and would need to be monitored at all times.

“We have been working closely in Los Angeles with authorities and various groups to get the ban on TNR there overturned,” Louise says.

Alley Cat Rescue was one of many organizations that stepped up to advocate for the removal of ESAs from the TNR proposal or, if those zones needed to be kept for legal or political reasons, to amend the language to allow for effective TNR and colony management programs in and near ESAs.

For 23 years, Alley Cat Rescue has been working on the ground and in the halls of government to improve the lives of community cats.

Top photograph: VII-photo | Getty Images

To learn more visit saveacat.org or Facebook.com/alleycatrescueinc.

The post Alley Cat Rescue has “Boots on the Ground” Across the Nation by JaneA Kelley appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

from Catster https://www.catster.com/lifestyle/alley-cat-rescue via IFTTT

[writingdumpster-o]

Chapter Four:

Two Months Later

Magdalene was back in Diagon Alley with her list of Hogwarts supplies in one hand and her cat, Shyvana, sitting in her cauldron in the other. She cursed under her breath for the umpteenth time, swearing to herself to make that leech of a boy pay for it. Not only did he dare go to her potential employer’s house to ruin her interview, but he ended up taking her and his cousin down with him. This won’t go unpunished, she stated in her mind as she made her way towards Ollivander’s to, as she did every year, make him check her wand. The brass bell rang as she opened the door to the renovated store. She could not help but remember the first time she had entered that shop.

She was in awe. She had never thought, in her eleven years, that such wonders existed. Her parents were just as awestruck as she was, and they asked multiple questions to their guide: a most peculiar man, roughly Maggie’s height and who spoke in a squeaky voice. His name, Magdalene would later remember, was Filius Flitwick.

“Ah, now, the most important part!” Flitwick squeaked, making everyone jump. “The wand! And the best place for that has always been Ollivander's…”

Professor Flitwick rambled on about the history of Ollivander’s wand shop, which captivated her parents, but she was too busy marvelling at the visuals to pay him any heed. The shop smelled of old parchment and broomsticks—although the latter scent was still unfamiliar to her. Professor Flitwick had enthusiastically explained to her the rudiments of Quidditch, when they had first read the whole of the letter. Mr. Ollivander smiled down at Flitwick as the four of them penetrated the shop.

“Good to see you, Professor. Muggle-Born?” He inquired, tilting his head towards Magdalene, who was too busy looking at all the shelves and what they contained to notice.

“Most certainly, Mr. Ollivander! Come, Magdalene, now you’re going to have to get measured for your wand. Come on; let’s see what your wand is going to look like.”

Magdalene was measured and asked a couple of questions before Ollivander started pulling wands out of the shelves behind the front desk. Half a dozen wands later, Ollivander took almost a minute in staring at her, as though debating whether he ought to do what he had in mind or not. Finally, after forty-five seconds of agonising silence, he whooshed to the bottom of the aisle and crouched down to retrieve a rather long box, compared with the other ones she had tried. Even as he approached the quartet, he seemed hesitant.

He pulled out a wand and meant to extend it towards Maggie but he retrieved his arm before she could reach for it. “You must understand, Miss Middleton that I am reluctant to give you this wand to try out.” He informed her.

She looked up, squinting with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. “Why?”

Mr. Ollivander pursed his lips and gave her the wand. As she took hold of it, she felt a warmth erupt from within the wand, extending from her hand to her arm, and spreading throughout the rest of her body. A light breeze ruffled her hair against her face, despite the weather being hot and still. She glanced back up at Ollivander who had a mixture of wonder and disappointment plastered all over his face. He took back the wand, and placed it back into the box gently, as though it might explode.

“Can’t I have that one, Sir?”

“I’m afraid this wand might be too demanding, Miss. You see, this wand is made of sycamore wood and a Phoenix feather core. These two, individually, are already a handful, but together, they constitute a hazard.” He paced up and down the aisles, probably looking for a better fit while toying with the box between his fingers. “The sycamore makes a questing wand, eager for new experience and losing brilliance if engaged in mundane activities. This is not the kind of wand that accepts to be treated as a third arm, and it will show this. If this wand is used in mundane ways for too long, it will burst into flames. The wand always chooses the wizard, Miss Middleton. Moreover, this wand wood chooses an owner who is vital, curious, and adventurous. When this wand and the right owner pair up, wonders will never cease. It will demonstrate a capacity to learn and adapt that earns it a rightful place among the world’s most highly-prized wand woods.” With a defeated sigh, he made his way back towards the Middletons and Professor Flitwick.

“So this wand gets bored easily? It won’t make coffee or do some of the simple Charms that Professor Flitwick showed me?” Magdalene inquired a hint of disappointment.

“Oh, it will… But if this becomes its primary purpose, then I’m afraid you’ll have to come back to me for a new wand…”

“What about the Phoenix feather? What does it do?” Magdalene asked, as her father took a seat on the chair next to her, and her mother stepped close behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“The Phoenix feather is the rarest of wand cores. You must understand that each wand has a magical animal part inside. Unicorn hair and dragon heartstring are commonly used. And then, there comes the Phoenix feather.” He began, but was interrupted by her gasp.

“Unicorns and dragons exist?” She marvelled, more to herself than for anyone’s interest.

“They are, yes. But not to worry, no dragons are allowed anywhere near Hogwarts.” Professor Flitwick added the latter part in order to quell the worry that had taken over the parents’ features.

Ollivander quickly hid his irritation at the interruption and continued. “Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the fussiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.”

“Will that mean that I’m going to have more difficulties than someone with a Unicorn hair wand?” Magdalene worried, biting her bottom lip.

“No. However, this wand puts pressure on you to accomplish great things, Miss Middleton. Great things indeed. I suggest you came back next year, when you’re next in Diagon Alley, for me to see if the wand is truly adequate or if it is a mere fluke.”

And she did. She went back to Ollivander’s every year since, making sure that her wand was nowhere near bursting into flames. Ollivander had been quite intrigued to know that she had been sorted into Slytherin, but she thought nothing of it. That day, there was already a client and Magdalene would recognise that mass of dirty blonde hair anywhere.

“Good morning, Luna. Mr. Ollivander,” she greeted, nodding at the old man.

“Oh, good morning Maggie,” Luna greeted her softly. “You’re coming back to Hogwarts for your N.E. ?”

“Yep!” She confirmed, making the ‘p’ pop.

“Did you lose your wand?” She inquired with a tilt of her head.

Mr. Ollivander beat Magdalene at answering. “No, it would never happen to little Miss Middleton, right here. Each start of year, she comes to my store to make me check her wand. She is very careful with it; the wand’s allegiance to her is unbreakable as I tell her each year.”

“Thank you for believing in me, the first time I came here. It has proven a stronger ally than I could have dreamed of,” she said and leaned back on the counter. “What about you, Luna? Any wand problems?”

“No, it’s just that the new one doesn’t work like my first wand, I need to test other wands. Wand lore seems like a fascinating subject,” she murmured as she examined the wand that she had in hand.

“I think so too, maybe I’ll open a Middleton’s,” Magdalene mused, “it would be the most gratifying work that exists, seeing all those fascinated eleven year olds trying out their first wands…”

“I think so too,” she muttered distractedly before flicking a new wand, making a clumsy Patronus of what might have looked like a bunny appear.

“Not this one, then?” Ollivander asked as he put down Magdalene’s wand on the counter.

Just then, the bell rang and three blond heads entered: a young man, a young woman, and a middle-aged woman. All of them were wearing chic, expensive clothing. Magdalene recognised them as the Malfoys, minus the father. She would have liked to express her discontent to the Malfoy son but his mother had always intimidated her, and his cousin might just tear out her throat or worse. She turned to Luna for them not to see her face.

“Mrs. Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise!” Ollivander greeted them, abandoning his search for a potential wand for the blonde Ravenclaw. “How can I help you?”

Draco got closer to the counter and spoke before his mother. “I need a wand, Mr. Ollivander.”

“Do you, boy?” He muttered without further questioning it.

“Similar to my first one in shape, if possible.” His voice sounded strained.

“Of course, of course let me just…” he trailed off, disappearing behind newly stocked shelves.

“Hey, Loony,” Victoria chimed smugly, “wand problems?”

“Oh, not as big as Draco’s but, yes,” she absentmindedly replied, unaware of Malfoy’s sarcasm.

“Isn’t this dear Middleton, though?” She teased, poking the girl’s shoulder.

Maggie readied her forced smile and turned around —Narcissa was probably waiting for them outside— “Hello, Victoria,” she said sweetly, “how are you by this oh-so good morning?”

“Feeling just as murderous as you must be,” she fumed, earning a sneer from the boy.

Magdalene raised an eyebrow at Draco before speaking to Victoria. “I see he’s told you what his smart mouth brought on us.”

“Oh, yes,” she ranted, “I nearly killed him.”

“We’ve got business to attend to, Victoria, if you don’t mind.” Draco narrowed his eyes at his cousin

“So what?” She shrugged, earning a glare. “Don’t you glare at me, Draco Malfoy, I can use magic at Hogwarts and you won’t like what you’ll see.”

He merely blinked at her. “Really? What’s the worst that you can do? Stun me to death?”

“I can try,” she persisted with a decisive nod.

“Will you try these, sir?” Ollivander interrupted them, putting five long rectangular boxes on the counter.

Draco tried wand after wand and then examined every single one closely before lifting up the shortest.

“What is this made of?” Draco asked.

“Hawthorn and Dragon heartstring, sir.”

“How long does it take to make a wand?” Maggie interjected, making all eyes turn to her.

“About three weeks, Miss,” he responded.

“Make a wand identical to his first and send it to Hogwarts, he’ll try both and send the less effective back to you, if that’s all right with you,” she requested.

Ollivander nodded slowly. “This might work, though I’ll need to find a good enough unicorn for the hair. And I do believe the tree I got the wood from is still standing…” he trailed off, putting away the four other wands.

“How do you know so much about wands?” Victoria asked, while Draco fished for Galleons in his robes.

“I took wand lore in sixth year,” Magdalene explained. “Is my wand all right, sir?”

“Of course, of course young lady. You may have it back.”

“Thanks, I’m rather late; in fact I should be going.” She grabbed her wand. “Later, Luna. I’ll see you next year, Mr. Ollivander.” She turned to the other two and nodded “Malfoys.”

“Later, Middleton,” Victoria nodded her farewell.

She exited the shop and continued her shopping while the Malfoys went to look for new cloaks. Victoria, as usual, was easy to satisfy. Draco, on the other hand, acted like Draco Malfoy.

“This cloak is too wide,” he complained, widening his arms like a bat.

“For heaven’s sake, Draco, it’s a cloak!” Victoria whined.

“A cloak that makes me look half-giant,” he reiterated.

“Don’t be such a baby, come on we’ll miss the train now!” She hissed menacingly.

He ignored her pointedly. “It’s only nine forty-five.”

“We still have to go to Flourish & Blotts’ and get potions supplies, you insufferable—!”

“Language,” the warning came from both mother and son.

“Sorry, Aunt Cissy, but you’ll be okay with me saying that he’s making a fuss out of nothing.” she stated matter-of-factly.

“As much as I hate to admit it, you are being insufferable today, Draco.” Narcissa remarked, a half-apologetic glint in her eyes.

He pressed his lips together. “Fine, these are fine, then,” he surrendered.

“Thank Merlin it’s over!” Victoria gloated on their way out, earning a glare from Draco.

The rest of the morning went without further events, and the three Malfoys arrived at the platform at ten minutes to eleven. Draco scanned the crowd, looking for Blaise or Pansy, while Victoria looked for Daphne and Theo. When the time came to embark, and neither had found their peers, they settled on saying their farewells to Narcissa.

Narcissa took Victoria aside. “Be safe, all right? And please, be there for Draco. He will never admit it, but he needs all the support he can get.”

“I will, Aunt Cissy,” Victoria murmured, out of Draco’s earshot.

Narcissa placed a hand on her niece’s left cheek. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“We’ll miss you even more,” she replied before kissing the top of her head. “Try and visit Andromeda, please… You only have each other now, and there’s no reason to hold on to that old quarrel. Not to mention that if Uncle Lucius’s trial goes wrong, you’ll have somewhere to go if they decide to seize the Manor.”

Narcissa studied her niece before giving her a slow nod and a hug. She then approached her son with nearly the same instructions she had just given to Victoria.

“I love you,” he whispered finally.

“I love you too, I love you both,” she murmured. “Go now, you don’t want to be late.”

Draco held out his arm for Victoria. “It’s now or never, if you want to back out,” he challenged.

She grabbed the crease of his elbow determinedly. “You wish,” she retorted.

They hop into the train, Draco leading the way, looking for familiar faces. They end up settling on a seemingly empty compartment.

“Where do you think Blaise is?” Victoria asked.

Before Draco could answer, and as she sat down, a black cat hissed at the both of them, making Victoria give out a squeak and Draco curse under his breath. That cat, they recognised to be Magdalene’s, since it had spent most of its life in the Slytherin common room.

“What the bloody hell is this fleabag doing here?!” Victoria snapped, making the cat leave the compartment.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were the pacifist one?”

“Not when a cat surprises my behind, thank you very much,” she protested, dusting her white trousers of cat hair. Hearing a snort, she glared at Draco, “Help me, instead of mocking me, you useless twat!”

Just as he pulled out his wand, the compartment opened to reveal Blaise and Magdalene coming in, their arms charged with sweets. They stopped abruptly, making a liquorice wand and two Chocolate Frog boxes fall on the floor. For the Malfoys, that was a sight to behold: Blaise Zabini, the most poised and aristocratic Slytherin in their year, joking around with the Muggle-Born who was the most out-of-place in their common room, their arms overflowing with candy and the trace of laughter still on their faces. The latter pair was just as shocked to witness the Malfoys in their compartment, Victoria displaying her backside to Draco who had his wand out.

“Well… This could have gone much better.” Blaise stated, taking a seat near the window, facing Draco, and unloading his arms to his right.

“Where’s Shyvana?” Magdalene asked, looking around for her cat.

“Your fleabag almost ruined my designer robes. This vest is cashmere, Middleton, if I see one black hair on it, you’ll have to reimburse it,” Victoria thundered, pulling out her own wand and attempting to Scrougify her trousers.

Maggie raised her eyebrows at the statement and dropped her load atop Blaise’s, in the middle of the seat. She then tiptoed to retrieve her trunk and shouldered her bag.

“What exactly are you doing?” Blaise asked, glaring at Draco’s disapproving look.

“I’m going to look for Shyvana.” She stated simply, struggling to lift her trunk.

“And you need your luggage because..?” He trailed off, standing up.

“Because I’m going to settle wherever my cat went.”

“And why is that?” Victoria demanded, sitting next to Draco and helping herself to a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans.

“Because it is easier to leave than to kick intruders out of the compartment that I found.” Magdalene snapped bitterly.

“You’ll do no such thing, Maggie.” Blaise stated calmly.

“Maggie?” Both Malfoys repeated, flummoxed.

“Magdalene found the compartment, invited me to stay with her, and suggested that we caught up with the trolley lady to have a sweet feast. We were on our way back when you lot started complaining about cat hair and cashmere.”

Blaise had never sounded so… emotional. The Zabini heir was always composed and passive, and this was uncharacteristic behaviour. He turned to Maggie, who was still trying to fit her trunk out the partially opened door and levitated the trunk out of her grasp and back into the compartment. She glared at him and he gave her a stern look, which made her sit down opposite Victoria, who looked completely unbothered, albeit confused by the situation. Draco hid his shock well, but questioned Blaise with his squinting eyes.

“Your cat will come back, it always does,” Blaise murmured reassuringly as he handed her a Chocolate Frog.

“You owe me, Zabini.” She pouted, but still accepted the sweet that she began munching on, like an upset toddler.

Blaise stifled a snort as he turned to Draco. “What?”

“Since when are you two so cosy with one another?” Victoria spoke the words out of Draco’s mind.

“Since… third year, was it?” Blaise frowned at Magdalene when she ignored him. He tsk'ed and nodded at the blond pair. “Yes, since third year.”

“And you never thought to mention it?” Draco spat bitterly, folding his arms over his chest.

“Don’t be so bitter, Draco, here have a liquorice wand,” Victoria cooed mockingly, dangling a wand under his nose.

Blaise snorted in amusement, knowing that Draco would die before he brought a liquorice wand anywhere near his taste buds again. It had become common knowledge one night, when they were seven that Draco and liquorice never matched.

October 31st, 1987

Blaise had always loved visiting his paternal grandfather, if for nothing else than he knew he’d always be welcome at the Zabini manor despite what his mother had most certainly done to his father. That year, young Blaise had managed to convince his grandfather to invite his friends over for Halloween, and so it was that the Malfoys, the Greengrass girls, Theodore Nott, and Pansy Parkinson were running around the Zabini estate, collecting as much sweets as they could. Since the estate was nowhere near having neighbours, the sweets had been hidden in the maze-like gardens by the house elves. With the last piece of candy in tow, they all retreated to Blaise’s room to compare and swap their findings.

“Hey, I have an idea!” Theo exclaimed as he removed a grass blade from yet another pack of Every Flavour Beans. “How about we put together all of our beans with weird colours, like grey, and stuff, and we dare each other to eat one?”

“But that would be stupid and disgusting,” Victoria remarked, opening a Chocolate Frog. “I got Merlin again, who wants to swap?”

“Me!” Astoria Greengrass chimed, “I got Salazar Slytherin again, I’ve got six of him already.”

“Done! I almost got all four founders, I’m only missing—”

Draco interrupted her. “What do we win if we can eat every weird bean we get?”

Theo pondered for a moment before his eyes snapped back to reality. “If you can’t swallow it whole, you have to put one of your sweets in the middle, and if you can, you can take whichever one you want from the middle until we finish them.”

And so the game began. Victoria and Daphne suffered the most losses, while Draco and Theo displayed their winnings proudly. The game went on until only two identical beans remained. They were black, glistening with challenge.

Theodore and Draco never left each other’s eyes as each one lifted a bean. “What’d you think?” Draco smirked. “I’d say sewer.”

“Rat fur.” Theo challenged.

“Three… Two… One… EAT!” The onlookers did the countdown and were astonished to see opposing reactions.

Theo looked as though he thoroughly enjoyed the taste. Draco, on the other hand, was all but scraping his tongue and nearly crying with disgust.

“What did he get? Was it sewer?”

“No, it was clearly rat’s fur, look at his face!”

Blaise took one of the empty boxes and read the taste guide. After scanning the paper briefly, he roared with laughter. Piqued by curiosity, Victoria tore the paper from his hand, and soon joined him, and they were both in tears by the time everyone learned that Draco had made a fool of himself for a liquorice-flavoured bean. Theo claimed that that had always been his sweetest victory, and Draco would resent anyone who brought back that memory.

September 1st, 1998

Blaise smirked at the memory before replying to Draco’s last question. “Had I mentioned it, you would have forfeited a lifetime of friendship over petty prejudices.”

Draco fumed in his corner, slouching in his seat and watching the landscapes fly by as the train sped to Scotland. Victoria noticed that tension that threatened to settle and quickly thought of an idea.

“Blaise,” she spoke. He turned to her and noticed the gleam of mischief in her eyes. “Want to play with beans?”

Blaise’s smirk grew into a wide grin. “Only if you manage to get Draco to play.”

The latter huffed, and Magdalene seemed suddenly interested. “How’d you play with beans?”

“We put all the suspicious-looking ones in the middle and take turns eating them. If we can’t swallow them whole, we have to relinquish one of our sweets, and if we can, we get to take one of the losses. It’s a game full of stories, and a good way to bond.” Blaise added the last fact eyeing Draco meaningfully.

“Draco, how about you played with us?” Victoria suggested mock-innocently.

He raised an eyebrow at her as though meaning to say “Really?” and turned back to the window.

“Malfoy is too scared to play,” Magdalene stated, as she opened a pack of beans and selected those for the game.

“Do you genuinely believe that this is going to work on me? You can challenge a Gryffindor that way, not me.” He huffed.

“Of course, because you’re much better, moping like a child.” Magdalene mused.

The three willing players took turns playing, Victoria relinquishing one good bean when she found herself eating an earwax-flavoured horror, and when Draco’s turn came, everyone turned to him expectantly.

“What?” He hissed.

“Come on, don’t be such a prick,” Victoria encouraged, handing him a white bean.

Draco eyed the bean suspiciously before surrendering and tearing it from Victoria’s hand. He chewed it tentatively before nodding. “Vanilla.”

“Now was that so hard?” Blaise teased.

“Sod off.”

And so, the unlikely friends played on until they arrived at Hogwarts, and the group split into two once they left the train.

A/N: About the wand stuff that Ollivander said in the first flashback, I took the information from my own wand in Pottermore, and some sentences I copied verbatim. So, yeah, I hope you enjoyed the long chapter.

[swipestream]

Science Fiction New Release Roundup: 9 December 2017

This week’s roundup of the newest titles in science fiction features a murder mystery on a generations ship, captured space princesses, a reformed thug battling aliens in the back alleys of a dying world, and the return to publication of the eighth volume of the classic anthology There Will Be War.

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The Black Flag (Crimson Worlds Successors #3) – Jay Allan

The Triumvirate. Three clones of Gavin Stark who survived their evil master’s destruction. Now they have cheated death again, downloading their minds into an alien intelligence, a relic of the First Imperium. For three decades they have worked, silently, diligently, preparing their forces for the day that would launch the final assault.

Erik Cain, the legendary hero of the Marines Corps, the man who killed the real Stark. For years he was a prisoner of the triumvirate’s minions, held in brutal captivity on a dark world. Now he is free, battered by his long nightmare but never bowed, ready for the final struggle.

Darius Cain, Erik’s son, dread warrior and commander of the feared Black Eagles, the greatest of the mercenary Companies. Darius and his forces freed Erik Cain, and together with his father and his long-estranged twin brother, he is ready to rally the free forces of human space.

From the barren ruins of shattered Earth to the farthest reaches of human habitation in the galaxy, the final battle has begun. The Cains and their comrades are outnumbered, but the blood of warriors flows in their veins, and they will never stop, no matter what the cost…not until the battle is won.

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Capital Starship (Ixan Legacy #1) – Scott Bartlett

The Galaxy’s Doomed Without Him

The Ixa smashed the galaxy to bits before they were defeated. Captain Husher has sounded the alarm in the decades since: the Ixa’s creators will return to finish the job.

But unlike Husher, the galactic government didn’t battle the Ixa, and the politicians have convinced themselves that maintaining peace means limiting the ability to wage war.

Now, the enemy has returned, with high-tech weapons that prove they haven’t limited their own combat capabilities in the slightest. If Captain Husher and his beleaguered supercarrier crew can’t manage to stop the invaders, they will happily devour the galaxy whole.

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Forgotten (The Forgotten #1) – M.R. Forbes

Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.

That’s the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He’s never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship’s controls are sealed, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. It isn’t perfect, but he has all he needs to be content.

Until a malfunction forces his Engineer wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.

Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body, and it doesn’t belong to anyone on board.

Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.

The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn’t opened in hundreds of years.

Until now.

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Grey Cat Blues – J. D. Cowan

Siege on the Shadow Planet!

Ex-punk Two Tone is left for dead and his friend is taken. His assailants: men of mud from some place darker than Hell!

The inscrutable Sarpedon has slithered from the depths to rule a planet that has long abandoned hope for a better tomorrow. With no one to stop his spree of violence, it is only a matter of time before Two Tone’s world is overrun.

Old friends and a mysterious beauty gather by his side, but are they enough? Is it too late for this dying world? If all cats are grey in the dark, will anyone see the panther stalking its prey? Two Tone will find the answers the best way he knows how—through his fists!

Grey Cat Blues tells the tale of a distant planet at humanity’s end. In this place, a man must choose between love and hate. And where his choice leads him might not be where he expects . .

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A Looming Shadow (Galaxy Ascendant #2) – Yakov Merkin

The war is over, but true peace remains elusive.

It’s been six months since the High Lord’s destruction at the Battle of Dorandor, and the Galactic Alliance is at peace—nominally, at least. While the Tyrannodons have become members of the Alliance, and their wartime allies readmitted, the anger and resentment against them has only somewhat subsided, despite efforts by High Executor Darkclaw to make his people into a true part of the Alliance.

First Scion Dalcon Oresh, hailed as the hero of the war, is focused on tracking down the fallen Scions, led by his former mentor, who have not been seen in some time—along with a number of Tyrannodons who remain loyal to the destroyed High Lord.

When Dalcon finally locates his quarry, he, as well as Darkclaw and Grand Admiral Nayasar, who had been looking forward to peacetime for an opportunity to start a family, are drawn into the hunt. More troublesome, the world to which they tracked the fallen Scions lies outside of Alliance space, in the territory of the mysterious Revittan Empire—who consider any intrusion into their space an act of war.

While Dalcon, Darkclaw, and Nayasar struggle to track down their enemies in a situation that they increasingly realize they had not properly prepared for, trouble is brewing outside, and their direct subordinates, Executor Keeneye and Admiral Felivas, have to make decisions that could threaten the hard-won peace that they have only recently managed to achieve.

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The Recognition Rejection (Recognition #2) – Henry Vogel

After beating almost insurmountable odds, Jeanine has laid claim to her birthright: the largest duchy in the Star Kingdom. As Jeanine’s sworn enemy, Princess Olivia, distances the royal family from direct confrontation with the new Duchess, a new enemy arises. When Jeanine and Olivia are both kidnapped, their husbands — Drake and Prince William — must bury the hatchet and work together to rescue the women they love.

The Recognition Rejection continues the star-spanning saga of royalty and revenge that began in Vogel’s award-nominated novel, The Recognition Run, with the same flair for exciting story-telling fans of Vogel’s previous best-selling space operas have come to know and love.

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Star Warrior – Isaac Hooke

In a galaxy where the fabric of reality can be bent and shaped by a privileged few, and almost any skill desired is a mere injection away, one young man is thrust into the fight of his life.

Tane, a hydroponics farmer with some mad cereal crop gene-splicing skills, decides to get chipped. The operation gives him full control over his autonomic nervous and endocrine systems, plus the ability to install custom memories.

All seems well until a couple of days later aliens come knocking at his door. And they aren’t the friendly type.

Soon Tane finds himself on a frenzied flight across the galaxy with a woman who can warp the very fabric of spacetime, her bodyguard–who’d just as soon kill Tane than protect him–and a starship that calls him snarky pet names. He’s on the run not simply from the aliens but the whole damn human space navy.

He only wished he knew why.

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Terra Nova (Terra Nova Chronicles #1) – Richard Fox and Josh Hayes

Terra Nova. The promised world is humanity’s new home, safe from the threats of a dangerous galaxy, where veterans of a long war could live in peace. The promise was a lie.

Chief Katherine “Kit” Carson, of the elite Pathfinder Corps, joins the mission as a last-minute replacement, hoping to put a spotty past behind her and build a new life on a brave new world.

The expedition arrives on Terra Nova, expecting to join the first wave of colonists, instead they find abandoned cities and are soon faced with a new, terrifying enemy humanity has never encountered before.

For the colony to survive, Carson must unravel the mystery of her new home and learn the fate of the first mission to settle the planet…

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There Will Be War Volume VIII – Edited by Jerry Pournelle and John F. Carr

Created by the bestselling SF novelist Jerry Pournelle, THERE WILL BE WAR is a landmark science fiction anthology series that combines top-notch military science fiction with factual essays by various generals and military experts on everything from High Frontier and the Strategic Defense Initiative to the aftermath of the Vietnam War. It features some of the greatest military science fiction ever published, such Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” in Volume I and Joel Rosenberg’s “Cincinnatus” in Volume II. Many science fiction greats were featured in the original nine-volume series, which ran from 1982 to 1990, including Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Gordon Dickson, Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Gregory Benford, Robert Silverberg, Harry Turtledove, and Ben Bova.

33 years later, Castalia House has teamed up with Dr. Pournelle to make this classic science fiction series available to the public again. THERE WILL BE WAR is a treasure trove of science fiction and history that will educate and amaze new readers while reminding old ones how much the world has changed over the last three decades. Most of the stories, like war itself, remain entirely relevant today.

THERE WILL BE WAR Volume VIII is edited by Jerry Pournelle and John F. Carr, and features 21 stories, articles, and poems. Of particular note are “Surviving Armageddon” by Jerry Pournelle, the brilliantly inventive “Dinosaurs” by Geoffrey A. Landis, “As It Was In the Beginning” by Edward P. Hughes, and the haunting “Through Road No Whither” by Greg Bear.

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Who Takes No Risk (The Frontiers Saga: Rogue Castes #7) – Ryk Brown

Old allies go dark… New worlds join the fight… A rescue from an enemy held world… A lone operative with a dangerous plan…

The Karuzari finally have the support of an industrialized system, but they need time to build their forces. Unfortunately, time is the one thing they may not have.

Captain Scott now faces a difficult decision: To risk it all on a single roll-of-the-dice, or to turn his back on an old friend, and a plan that could buy them the time they so desperately need?

Science Fiction New Release Roundup: 9 December 2017 published first on http://ift.tt/2zdiasi