#and Mouse headbutts him

[bo-bo-bean]

[cashmoneyyysstuff]

" what the hell are you doing ?"

you look away from your screen to stare at your boyfriend from beneath the mountain of pillows you’re laying under. there are snacks ranging from sweet to salty strewn all around your bed and a spot right next to you saved specifically for him.

you raise a brow " i’m watching my show." you state. katsuki’s eye twitches. he stalks towards you slowly, menacingly, like he’s waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce at you. you shove your chin and nose underneath your blankets.

"you’re watching our show. " he corrects, squinting at you "you’re watching. our show." he reiterates.

"katsu-"

" our show. an’ yer fuckin’ watching it without me." he glares daggers into your fucking soul and with the rage of a thousand suns as he spits the words out like they had somehow caused him harm.

"you said i could start without you last time !" you defend weakly. he rolls his eyes as he stomps over to you and climbs into your bed "yeah, last time, but this ain’t last fuckin’ time, dumbass." he growls. you whine when he lifts up your blankets and the cold air nips at you. "oh shut up, big baby, weren’t whinin’ when ya decided ta watch the one show you know we watch together." his words are mean but he scoots impossibly closer to you

you scoot over to make some extra space for him so he can lay down comfortably before squeezing yourself right next to him again. “you’re the one who said, and i quote ‘ i could give less of a shit about this stupid show, just don’t have anything better to do” he scrunches his nose at your crude impression of him. “ i don’t fuckin’ sound like that.”

“it’s what you sound like to me.” you retort.

he growls, nipping at your ear which causes you to let out a giggle mixed with a little squeal “needa get yer fuckin’ ears checked then.”

“i just started anyway. i can just rewind it” you lean forward to place your mouse back to the beginning and plop back on your pillow with a groan. katsuki snorts. “ i was gonna wait for you, but you were taking too long” you mumble out already invested in the images on screen.

katsuki knocks his forehead against the side of your head softly then also turns his attention to the screen. “ it’s shitty hair’s fault” he gruffs out “fucker kept on yappin’ about whatever the fuck, couldn’t leave.”

you fake gasp in shock. pretending to be hurt you place a hand on your chest and look at him wide eyed. he raises a brow “wow. i can’t believe you like kirishima more than me.” you turn your nose up at him and hold back a laugh when you see his expression morph from confused to straight up insulted.

“where the fuck d’you get that from?!” you can’t keep up the façade when you see his face and burst out laughing, his facial expressions are seriously something else. he relaxes slightly but he still doesn’t look amused. “i’m just joking. i know you just wanted to be nice” you reassure, his face relaxes and his shoulders sag as he releases a frustrated sigh. “you know, since he’s your friend.”

he cracks his head to look at you, wide eyed and brows furrowed he shoves his head against yours so hard he basically headbutts you. you let out a little yelp and laugh “don’t even start with that ! fucker ain’t my friend." he spits the word friend like it tastes gross in his mouth, it makes you laugh even harder. “right~” you sing.

you think things have calmed down after a little bit, your both watching your show, then katsuki suddenly knocks his forehead against your head again.

“hey.” he mumbles. you blink up at him waiting for him to finish. he chews at his lip and looks towards the screen then looks back at you, cheeks turning pink.

"ya know i don’t…like him more than you, right..?"

you tilt your head "who ?" you ask. he grunts like speaking is physically challenging, his face turning redder by the second “shitty hair. don’t like ‘im more than you." his eyes dart away then focus back on yours " don’t like anyone more than you."

you feel your cheeks flush and you suddenly feel extremely warm and giddy. you giggle and his cheeks darken in color "where's this coming from?" you chortled. he scoffs at you and pokes you in the stomach, turning back to the look at the screen to avoid your mushy warm loving gaze. "fuckin'—nowhere ! m'not allowed to…fuckin—!" he fumbles around for what to say. you decide to spare him and place your hands on his scorching cheeks, he struggles a little bit (barely) but let's you turn his head towards you, he pouts at you, trying his best to look intimidating but he just looks like a angry little kicked puppy.

"m'just teasing you , suki" you're rubbing his cheek with your thumb and his eyebrows stay furrowed despite him leaning into your touch "i know you don't like him more than me, if you did, i don't think you'd be here" he rolls his eyes and bites at the palm of your hand. you chuckle "i don't like anyone more than you, either" you're sure there are hearts in your eyes as you speak, you hope he can see them.

" 'f course you don’t." he mumbles out the words into your palms fast without missing a beat, it tickles. he smirks into your hand when he sees you roll your eyes at him, he truly is a little shit.

"don't like nobody more than you." he proclaims quietly, closing his eyes, his long lashes brushing against his cheeks.

"yeah" you purr, the hearts in your eyes spread all around your body to the tips of your fingers and toes, it makes you warm and soft, and so fond of him. you don't like anybody more than katsuki, you can't. not when he opens his eyes and gazes at you with burning cheeks but hearts in his eyes and you hope the ones in yours spread all around his body too, because his have started to intermingle with yours, coursing through your veins.

"yeah." you sigh, " yeah me neither."

you can't like anyone more than you do katsuki as you watch your show together.

@slashersl0t i wrote this thanks to you twin <3 !

[gynandromorph]

god this shit took forever to sketch. another NofNA emulation comic. it reminds me of the midterms in secretary, for obvious reasons, but Legend is sort of an inverse secretary situation, where she is exceptional at fighting, but wants to write.

let me see what i can remember...

PS, the blue-eyed black lemur, has been friends with Legend since their mutual first season at college, as mentioned above her reference sketch... they probably became more friendly after being paired up to peer edit each others' work. PS has since graduated from college and works as a markscraft. Legend frequently commissions PS to scribe for her, not only because they are friends, but because PS is one of the few markscrafts in the area who isn't a rodent. many primates go into law or medicine. mainly Legend commissions notetaking in classes -- she is too insecure to share her stories. PS has a more relaxed, informal personality, and i tried to get that across -- i think it's relevant to why she decided to become a markscraft instead of pursuing more intense study. still, i also tried to get across that they are good friends, not just scribe and customer, particularly with the amount of touching that PS does. the impulse to touch and groom is probably innate for her as a primate. there isn't as much information about her species, but in ring-tailed lemurs, lemurs usually only groom based on the strongest bonds, rather than more communal aggregate grooming as a sort of social currency. i honestly don't know what PS would need to note during finals, but i think Legend just Wanted her there anyway.

the bird, DL, fighting the squirrel, GG, is a grey shrike. i imagine him as an average student in the middle of his education, but i think he is in the class for combat purposes, because pressure point manipulation can be incredibly powerful, more so if from a less expected species like a bird.

mr. deciding is a much more serious, no-nonsense teacher, possibly due to his specialty. when you're teaching students how to explode a kidney with a handshake, you probably just play it safe and try to put the fear of god into them before any kidneys get exploded. i wanted this class to have a much heavier emphasis on safety of the participants than the class in secretary, with a more focused goal than "who can beat the shit out of each other better." i think the goal of fighting to show off knowledge here is still Fucking Insane, but it's just. their culture, i guess. you can technically "move" your pressure points, so being able to defend yourself by utilizing this knowledge can also show off what you've retained. the mouse next to him is a proctor, who is an extra teacher brought in to judge and often write for another teacher, but primarily as a peacekeeper and bouncer. in classes where a student can theoretically totally disable a teacher by just touching them once, the precaution is seen as necessary. the mouse is probably a combat-oriented point invocation instructor.

the mandrill, MK, is a first-season or first-year student -- i assume that one class, from midterms to finals, is a season, as secretary seems to start near autumn. midterms have snow, and finals are during early spring. anyway, that's tangential. i think he's very new to the educational system. i pictured him as a medical student. in his fighting style, i made him more defensive; he doesn't really know nearly as much about attacking an opponent in a fight. he does think at least about his opponent's most immediate reactions, but doesn't have enough experience with fighting to think ahead to the degree that Legend does. you can see him make the same mistake that Legend did against Machinations, which disables his non-dominant hand. needless to say, he will probably always be aware of headbutt proximity now. he attempts to use two factures in the fight within a style meant to evoke debilitating vertigo by manipulating the connection between the occular, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems. it's obvious that he created the style from his medical classes. it is fairly empty as far as styles go. interrupted facture: nystagmus, which causes the world to spin around the opponent by involuntarily twitching the eyes back and forth. second facture: strabismus, which misaligns the pupils, primarily impeding aim. denied by Legend because a honey badger does not rely on vision or a vestibular system as much as a primate does -- not something he really considered when making the style. factures that never ended up being used: pursuit, which forces the target to follow a spinning image of themselves instead of looking where they should; and mask's lasting, which forcibly initiates saccadic masking, suppressing the intake of new visual information altogether.

the large bird is a bateleur. the mouse is just a regular house mouse. the lizard is an ornate sandveld lizard. the opponent of the lizard is a common mole-rat, also called an african mole-rat (even though most species of mole-rats live in africa). the monkey god i'm not super sure but i believe it's just a vervet monkey. the other mouse is also a common house mouse.

GG is a second-year student, which is the last year for a rodent. i think she's been kind of aimless -- she thinks incredibly fast as a squirrel, and finds solving problems in the moment to be a much more successful endeavor than trying to plan ahead. she doesn't worry about the future and doesn't ruminate on the past much. she's aware that she isn't the best ever and doesn't apply herself as much as others, but it also doesn't particularly bother her. kind of ironic, given the aesop she slops onto Legend after the fight. i imagine that she will eventually choose the name Serendipity. i tried to write her lack of foresight, but compensatory quick thinking in both fights. like the shrike, GG is a combat-oriented student. the style she briefly introduces at the beginning is called fanciful flower's delightful blight. it is based on the deadly nightshade flower and its berries -- which are toxic, obviously, and a hallucinogenic. squirrels flick their tails for many reasons, and the most common reason is simply a default flicking to attract predators. their tails are designed to "deglove" easily; if a predator lunges for their tail, which is the moving part of them, the skin and fur will tear off, and the squirrel can escape. delightful blight utilizes the attention-grabbing flicking of the squirrel's tail as a nightshade plant to induce a trance-like state. the berries represent temptations so much more pleasing than what you ought to focus on. a nice berry and a flower to smell are so much nicer than struggling in a fight. even when you resist them, they linger in your mind, and "plant seeds" when the berry falls as self-restraint is worn down over repeated abstinence from the temptation. factures induce hallucinations and nausea. she primarily uses the base rodent style to fight Legend here, but also uses base squirrel style twists, which include more acrobatics, backflipping, and contortions.

the two things that really catch Legend off-guard use limbs that she doesn't have, and most opponents don't have -- elbows long enough to use defensively, and a long, rope-like tail. she is otherwise supposed to be fairly adept at analyzing what an opponent will do, usually a few steps ahead, related to her ability to fabricate narratives quickly. you can see her also come up with a lie for kicking GG fairly quickly... she was going to say the impulse was in her legs because she was trying to move away from GG's strike.

anyway if any part of this fight is like... unfathomable i can probably explain. i've already been typing for way too long, lmfao

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Can i get some sfw hcs with the bs boys and a neko sugarboo

(Rlly sorry for sending this on the wrong day 😭 i pressed ask then realised)

Awe, what a cute cat.

Dw it's fine! Also war flashbacks pt2

Alphonse calls you a shit head by how many times you've knocked over a cup on the counter.

Seth is more gentle reminding you, how this is the 6th cup they had replace. Also it's Al's

To get back at you Al uses a Lazer pointer and makes you run around the house. Or outside so you don't hit anything

Seth scolds him if he doesn't let you win after a while. That's just plan mean and you wonder why they break ur cup.

One time there was a mouse in Al's shop and you almost wrecked it catching the mouse.

Seth got rid of the mouse as you cleaned up bc you made the mess you clean it.

You make biscuits when about to lay down, Al always gushes about it how your hard working biscuit maker.

Seth has to stop you at one point bc you did rip a blanket one time.

When you want a head pat or something you headbutt their arms.

Al mourns you can't really taste sugar that well as he can. Seth calls him dramatic.

It's funny when you get the zooming bc you have to go outside or your almost knocking shit down in the house.

Sometimes if your being too mischievous Al would spray you with water. And scolds you sternly bc Seth is kinda weak in doing it.

You take a lot of naps around the house, Al takes pictures and uses then as reaction memes.

Seth makes sure you have a blanket on yourself and makes sure not to wake up if you really need the nap.

Shedding hair is he'll in the house bc Al is like Boo. Please get a lint roller for the hair.

Seth helps you do that bc Al goes over the clothes to make sure there's none on them.

Uuhh idk what else to put so I hope yall enjoyed this!

[juulded]

I love the cellbit headcanon that he's a cat hybrid... but you know what I love even more? that qcellbit is simply "cat coded".

Like, he's not a cat hybrid but he's nocturnal, and has this necessity to guard the ones he loves at night in case of a threat. He's not a cat hybrid but he hates showers. He's not a cat hybrid but he has these big grey blueish eyes that pierce through your freaking soul. He's not a cat hybrid but he loves the feeling of hunting. He's not a cat hybrid but he headbutts Roier constantly. He's not a cat hybrid but he's fast and agile in a fight, not quite the strogest, but still could seriously damage you (and kill you<3). He's not a cat hybrid but he makes little sounds. He's not a cat hybrid but he enjoys affection quite a lot until he doesn't and wants you to leave him the fuck alone ew get off of me. He's not a cat hybrid but he always forget to cut his nails so they are normally long and, for some reasong, sharp. He's not a cat hybrid, but he kills and shows it to Bad... like a cat bringing you a dead mouse or bird cause he loves you.

He's not a cat hybrid, just a human that for some fucking reason resembles a cat too much.

[sphylor]

just saw a vid of a kitten walking back and forth on a piano and got to thinking

what does kitty dew do with his instrument or other instruments?? does he remember how to play it (maybe muscle memory?) or does he get all fascinated and like… amazed, when rain got the guitar out and sing for him?? and then he tries to like… pluck the strings but forget that he has claws or something…

could just be hc or a fluffy ficlet if you would be so kind to write it 😊😊

aa sorry this has been sitting in my asks for so long but i hope you like it!! ft. kitty Dew and cg Rain

(Dew does get a little scared and there are a few tears but it all works out fine in the end)

Dew tilted his head at the acoustic guitar sitting in Rain's lap. He had slipped in the ghoul den by himself and gone off to find his favourite water ghoul, following the melodic sounds coming from his room. He was sat on his bed plucking at the strings on the guitar, humming a little tune to himself. Rain stopped playing and lifted his head at the sound of the door opening. When he saw Dew standing in the doorway with his head tilted to the side and the blue mouse toy dangling from his mouth, he smiled wide and moved the guitar from his lap to make space for the fire ghoul.

"Hey, kitty. You okay?"

Dew rushed further into the room and climbed onto Rain's lap, purring and rubbing his cheek against the water ghoul's broad chest. He went to headbutt his chin but Rain pulled away slightly and reached out behind him for something.

"We can't have those pesky horns of your's skewering me." Rain said as he produced a hat with little bunny ears from behind him.

Dew chirped happily as he let Rain put it on his head, instinctively glamouring his horns away. He moved back in to gently headbutt Rain after it was secured in place and Rain graciously accepted the affection. As he was turning his head to rub his other cheek against Rain, Dew's eyes caught sight of the guitar again and he stilled. Rain peered down at the ghoul and watched his expression turn from happy and content to curious.

He reached out and ran his fingers across the strings. They made a funny noise when he did so he tried again but harder this time and the noise became louder.

Rain smiled but pinched his eyebrows together with slight concern. "Just be careful, Dew. Your claws might-"

PING

Dew jumped back and hissed as one of the strings snapped. Rain winced and the fire ghoul must have noticed as he stopped hissing and began to shrink in on himself.

"Hey, its okay. It was just an accident. I'm not upset." Rain scooped him up in his arms at the first sign of tears. He stroked the back of his head and held him close. "Its fixable. We can go restring it together later, yeah?"

Dew sniffled and nodded in Rain's arms. He peeked out of Rain's embrace and looked around. Just across from him on the other side of the room sat a stand with a couple of other different guitars sitting in it. He thought for a moment before wriggling out of Rain's hold and crossing the room to the stand. Gently, he tapped on the body of the bass guitar, looking back up at Rain.

"Meooowseyyy?"

"You want me to play a song for you?" Rain asked and Dew nodded enthusiastically. "Okay then go and get comfortable."

The smaller ghoul meowed happily and crawled over to the mountain of plushies on Rain's bed. He chose a plush bumblebee to cuddle up with as Rain set up everything.

The water ghoul pulled the guitar into his lap and began to play. It was a slow, calming song. One that was on the playlist that Mountain put on sometimes in the greenhouse. It immediately reminded Dew of butterflies, soft flower petals and napping in the warm afternoon sun. With just the bass guitar, though, it felt different and more special. He swayed back and forth as Rain continued to play the song. When the singing part came and Rain didn't start singing, Dew reached over and tapped at his mouth.

"If the kitty insists." Rain laughed and stopped playing for a moment to pat the top of Dew's head. Dew loved it when Rain sang. He had such a beautiful voice like no other. He settled back in with the bee and meowed happily as Rain began to sing.

"Its time to learn to be, more forgiving of yourself..."

[mako-designated-driver]

Okay, so I'm replaying mass effect and I've started a list of things I stumbled on for the first time. Might be interesting, but it's mostly not taking interrupts.

If you tell Anderson to go to Citadel Control instead of making Udina pay a visit to his dentist, he will actually be caught and get shot, but he is still going to get it done, like the main character he is (what do you mean the story is about Shepard? No it isn't!)

If you don't take the renegade interrupt to headbutt Uvenk on Grunt's loyalty mission, then ask him if he wants to die, Shepard will warn Uvenk that if he keeps talking crap, his "few brains are going to meet the light of day". The Shaman will be impressed and call Shepard (at least femshep) a "human Shiagur", then proceed to shit on Uvenk.

Alternatively, you can investigate, then take a paragon choice to call him the worst insult Shepard can think of: A Citadel politician.

If you take Thane to recruit Jack, when the Warden says "bounty hunters aren't dependable", he'll tell him to "try assassins"

If you ignore Bailey until you get reinstated, he will call you "Spectre Shepard" the first time you talk to him, and you won't get the "scanners think you are dead" conversation.

In the first part of Garrus loyalty mission, when you are talking to the volus, there is a renegade interrupt to shoot the bodyguards, right? If you don't take it, Garrus is going to tell them to leave and... they will. Without a word. While the volus screams for them to come back cause he already paid the guys.

If you go paragon with Elias (the guy who hired Kolyat), then take the last renegade interrupt, his lawyer will show up and tell him to "shut the hell up". Before that, you will also get the chance to rat on Mouse.

Also on Thane's mission, Talid will talk how about he is being observed and how someone is "walking on his grave, or thinking about it". His bodyguard will dismiss him by calling him paranoid.

If you don't take the renegade interrupt to blow up the krogan in Mordin's loyalty mission, you will start to regret it immediately. He will have a LONG speech about what Weyrloc is going to do to the galaxy, like throwing the Citadel in the sun, keeping salarians as slaves and eating their eggs as "a delicacy" (Mordin didn't like it much). The good news is that the interrupt will be there until he is finished talking, so there is no need to actually hear the guy.

If you stick around to hear Charr's whole poem, he will kneel in (one of) the last verses. Just a tiny detail but it was actually adorable.

If I find anything else, I'll let you guys know!

[blackcatruse]

𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔰

«prev. ❃ next» ❃ first chapter ❃ m.list ❃ ao3 pairing: r. haitani/fem!reader ↳ she/her, fem descriptors, nickname ❃ chapter synopsis: you're trapped, battered, and bruised. do you make a deal with the devil? word count: 1.7k chapter cw(s): swearing, physical violence, blood mention, gun appearance, reader does not care if she lives or dies, maybe ooc? a/n: welcome to chapter two! just so you know, ao3 has much more of the story posted there and chapters will be posted there first! i am slowly (very slowly) getting chapters queued up here.

The first thing you felt as you regained consciousness was the pounding of your head. The next thing was the raw skin on your wrists from rough rope that was a little too tight. Your vision was blurry and there was a ringing in your ears. Well, you were alive, but that wasn’t really a good thing at the present.

You stared at your lap, trying to get the world to stop spinning when you felt the baton forcing your head up. Ran was still towering over you, but Rindou was sitting backwards in a chair across from you. His arms dangled over the back of the chair as he watched you with a bored expression. You thought about spitting at him too, but the thought quickly left your head when you felt the crack of the baton across your cheek. Your head twisted violently and the chair you were bound to rocked side to side. You could taste blood in your mouth.

Ran leaned over you and pulled your head up by your hair. “What was this little mouse doing on Rokuhara Tandai territory? Is Shinjuku not enough for you?” His voice was dripping with condescension. You wished you headbutt the sneer from his face.

“My brother asked you a question,” Rindou said with a hint of warning.

“You know, we might let you live if you answer us.” You should’ve been terrified by the singsong inflection of Ran’s threat, but honestly, you didn’t care at this point.

“Kill me then,” you said. Your voice sounded foreign to you. “You’d really be doing me a favor.”

The Haitani brothers frowned.

“But, you shouldn’t do favors for your enemy, after all.” You smirked. “You’d be indebted.”

Another crack as Ran hit you. The force rattled your brain and the chair toppled over. You wheezed from the impact and sharp pain raced up your arm. Your head was throbbing at your hair roots now. You tasted iron on your tongue. Out of reflex you coughed and gasped, trying to get air into your lungs.

“That’s big talk for a little lady,” Ran said, planting a foot on your knee. He leaned forward, putting on as much weight as he could. He could probably break your legs, but that didn’t matter to you. “Everyone’s all talk until bones start snapping.”

Ah, there it was. The classic Haitani sadism. Normal people would be pissing themselves, but you weren’t normal people. You weren’t even being stubborn because you were loyal to your gang. No, Wuxing could burn for all you cared. You stayed quiet because it didn’t matter. If you lived, the brothers would beat you into next week. If you escaped, Suzaku would kick the shit out of you. If you died, you died. The outcome would be the same, but at least one of the options would put you out of your misery.

No matter what they did to you, you refused to scream. You refused to sob and beg for your life. That had never gotten you anywhere except the cold cement in a dark room.

“Go on then,” you goaded Ran. “Break my legs, shatter my fingers. I won’t say a goddamn word.”

Something akin to anger burned in the older Haitani’s cold eyes. You wanted to taunt him. If he lost control you would certainly be killed. You waited for the flurry of hits, but they never came. Instead, your chair was righted and a gloved hand gently caressed your cheek. The touch lingered a bit too long and you felt like you were going to be sick. You almost hissed at him to get his hands off you, but that would be playing right into their hands. They weren’t going to get any ammo to use against you.

Get mad. Get furious, you chanted in your mind. Go on. I know you have it in you.

You looked Ran and then Rindou dead in the eyes. You didn’t know what they saw in your eyes, but it was enough to make them pause. Then a finger lightly traced the lotus tattoo behind your ear. Against your will, you stiffened.

“Ahh, so our little mouse doesn’t like it gentle.”

You almost gagged.

Ran whispered in your ear, “You’re an insignificant bug, but you have promise. What if we made a deal?”

“And why would I do that?”

“There are certainly worse fates than death.”

You snorted. That was hardly news to you. Your current life and situation was proof of that. “Are you gonna follow through on that torture? I hate it when men are all talk,” you drawled. “I don’t have anything to offer.”

“You’re in quite an awful rush to die,” Rindou noted, running a hand through his blue and yellow locks. “Why is that?” His stare was unnerving you, like he was trying to pick your brain.

“There’s really not enough time in the world,” you shot back.

“I would love to call your bluff.”

You looked him dead in the eyes. “Then do it.”

Rindou stood from his chair and walked out of sight. Moments later, you heard the clicking of a gun and a cold barrel pressed to your temple. A manic grin spread across your face. Finally. Finally you would get put down like the dog you were. You could have a little fun before you went.

“So the famed younger Haitani is finally getting his hands dirty? What is this, baby’s first kill?”

The Haitani brothers had been arrested for killing a man, but from what you understood, it was Ran that ultimately did him in. Rindou just helped hold the guy down. The younger Haitani was just an accessory to manslaughter. He let his big brother do all the dirty work while he held the victim down. Rindou had his own reputation, but to you, he didn’t deserve the achievement of murderer.

“Not gonna let big bro hand—” The butt of the gun whipped across your face before you could finish the sentence. You smirked, clearly this was a sore spot. Rindou moved to stand in front of you, jerking your head to face him and placed the gun between your eyes. You stared him down. Unwavering. Unflinching. You grinned, showing off blood stained teeth. You watched his finger twitch on the trigger.

The door flew open and all three of you turned to look at the intruder in shock. A man with different colored eyes and a nasty scar across his face stood in the entryway. “Don’t shoot her,” he gritted out.

Man, the fates were really playing with you tonight. Rindou lowered the gun and you looked between the three men. The Haitani brothers actually deferred to this guy? Interesting.

Scar-face strode over to where you were and looked at you with the intensity of a thousand suns. You were probably bruised beyond recognition, but when he walked over to where Ran was you heard a grunt of satisfaction. “Seems we caught Suzaku’s little Lotus,” he announced.

“Who the hell is that?”

You wanted to be offended by Rindou’s outburst, but at least it meant that you could keep some part of your identity secret.

“She’s the best runner in Wuxing, working under Brahman’s name. I’ve heard that the profits she pulls are no joke.”

“I hate to inform you that that is no longer the case,” you said flippantly. “I haven’t made a good deal in a while, so I’m about as useless to you as I am Wuxing.”

“Forgive the mouth on this one, Kakucho,” Ran apologized for you, pinching your cheek. You contemplated biting his finger as your battered skin protested. “She really has a death wish.”

“That’s not surprising,” Kakucho muttered. “What if we made a deal?”

You stared at him. “They already tried that offer, and really I have no reason to accept it.”

“And if we paid off the debt you owed to Wuxing?”

For once this night, you were stunned into silence. How the hell would someone from an enemy gang know that about you? Nobody except the higher ups in Wuxing knew. But if they paid Wuxing off, you would just be indebted to Rokuhara Tandai. Not exactly the best deal you could imagine.

“So what? You pay them off and then I slave away for you? I don’t think so.”

Kakucho looked pensive before saying, “I can promise your freedom after you do two big jobs for us. They’re coming up and we need someone as crafty as you to do it. You finish those and don’t get caught? You never have to see the underbelly of Tokyo again. Everything you did here won’t follow you.”

You didn’t want to consider it, but you knew that the deal was too good to be true. “How do I know you aren’t lying right now?”

You didn’t miss the way the Haitani brothers looked at each other. They were shocked you were considering something like this, or maybe it was the offer being made. Kakucho raised a hand and said, “As a leader of Rokuhara Tendai, you have my word. We’ll pay off your debt to Wuxing when you complete the jobs you’re given. After that, we’ll make sure you don’t see anything related to gangs ever again.”

The jobs must be really important then. Could it give you leverage with Wuxing? You supposed if you betrayed Rokuhara Tandai you wouldn’t have their protection once you got out. But if you could leave before they catch wind of it? Maybe you could outfox them.

“Think about it,” Kakucho said sharply. “Come to Violet Delight in three days at midnight with an answer.” He turned heel to leave, but before he did he gave an order to the Haitani brothers. “Let her go. Even if she tried to rat us out, Wuxing would get crushed by us and they can’t involve Brahman without revealing their dirty little secrets.”

You heard the grumbles of the brothers behind you and felt the ropes binding your wrists and ankles loosen. You were gracelessly shoved out the door and into an unknown alley. The heavy metal door crashed behind you and you flinched. Early morning sunlight was trying to wake up Tokyo, and you started your trek home.

Please do not reupload, translate, or steal my work! If it isn't here or on my ao3, it's not me! Likes & reblogs appreciated! <3 Dividers courtesy of @/cafekitsune

[wawamouse]

Oz Rewatch 3: S5E01: Visitation

Storylines:

Oz renovations are completed and Emerald City residents return; Cloutier returns from the burn unit of Benchley Memorial; Solitary Confinement inmates are let out temporarily

Chico tries to threaten Miguel in the showers, gets put in the cage; Miguel tells Morales to fuck off; Giles headbutts Miguel in the nuts

Chico and Omar antagonist each other; Omar wants an apology form McManus; He gets in a fight with Martinez and is put into the cage

Schillinger and Robson are recovering in the hospital; Said is let out of the Hole; Sister Pete wants Beecher to broker peace between Said and Schillinger

Mrs Arif and Mrs Hill talk on the bus; Arif is upset that O’Reily hasn’t been pinned for Keenan’s death; Glynn asks Gloria about the gold shamrock; O’Reily schemes to obscure the situation, pinning Stanton for the murder; he convinces Martin Montgomery to come forward as a witness; Glynn decides he doesn’t give a shit about anything

Mrs Hill and Mrs Arif talk; Augustus’s wife divorces him

The bus crashes and only the baby and the priest survive

Sister: Why do they keep doing these cut aways to the driver? Is something bad going to happen? Me (thinking): And here I was wondering why they would show the bus flipping over at the start of the episode…

Sister: Oh no, he did two of the same eyeball.

Sister: Why is Miguel even still in Solitary? All he did was run away. [Omar] killed a bunch of people! Me: No, he didn’t. Sister: Didn’t we go over this last week? Me: Yeah, but he didn’t kill anyone in Oz— Sister: The guy in the TV! Me: Oh yeah…

Sister: He looks like he’s going to cry. Sounds like it, too. Me: He's an emotional guy.

Sister: Pervert…

Sister: Concern.

Sister (sighing): Why are they still on this damn bus? It’s been like four days and they’re still on this bus. What, was he cursed by demons to talk to everyone on here before we can leave this place?

Sister: Wow, 128 megabytes of RAM!

Sister: This guy’s a terrible investigator. You could lay out all the clues in front of him Encyclopedia Brown style and he’d come to the wrong conclusion, go to the end of the book, and say it was wrong. Or he’ll decide he doesn’t care and never flip to the answer in the back.

Sister: Who’s that? Me (mishearing): Shamrock. Sister: I said WHO is that? Me: Liam. Sister: Who the hell is Liam?

Sister: See? The sun’s setting and they’re still on the road! They've been driving since morning!

Sister: He’s named after the same guy as Gus the mouse from Cinderella…

Stray Thoughts:

Penis count: 1 (+infinity extras)

It is revealed Gloria was reprimanded by the state medical board and fined but retained her license

Final Thoughts:

Sister: Called it. Knew something bad was going to happen. Me: It was literally at the top of the episode. Sister: I thought it was a different bus. I thought it was someone’s flashback because they are it seem like the truck driver was the bus driver… [..] Me: Miguel’s out of Solitary. Sister: They didn’t show who he’s rooming with, though. Me: Do you think that's going to come into play? Sister: Uhh, yeah? [...] Me: What are your predictions for season 5? Sister: I feel like this bus crash will have no impact.

[hatsbattlecats]

Collars to Stars Lore p1

So to start, Smudge is spiritually sensitive and often has dreams about Starclan AND Skyclan cats. He can also see the ghosts of dead cats out in the woods from his fence. THIS is what freaks him out about the woods, not so much the wild cats.(note, he can’t talk to/interact with them like Goosefeather could, he can just see them. He can only talk to them when he’s asleep)

The night Rusty goes into the woods, Smudge goes after him because it's not safe, and he doesn’t want his best friend to become one of the ghosts in the woods. Rusty almost catches a mouse while Smudge is honestly just in awe of how pretty the actually woods are. He’d never noticed from the fence because he was too distracted by the ghosts.

They meet Greypaw together when Rusty gets pounced on. Smudge panics and rams/headbutts Greypaw off so they can both run. Rusty realizes Smudge is falling behind and won’t make it to the fence before Greypaw catches up, so he turns around to fight back and they all get tumbled into a pile cause Grey can't stop in time.

They talk for a bit before getting caught by Bluestar and Lionheart. Bluestar offers both of them a chance to join as warrior apps because she’s impressed by their loyalty and bravery for each other. Smudge is hesitant, but something about the way she described starclan in her description of clan life sticks with him, and Rusty wants to join, so he does too

The day they get to camp, Longtail still harasses them, but it’s not Lionheart or Bluestar’s prompting that leads to Rusty attacking the older cat, but Longtail’s jabs at Smudge. The fight goes the same as canon, but with a concerned Smudge in the background. Rusty gets the name Firepaw, but before Smudge can get his new name, Ravenpaw bursts into camp with the news Redtail is dead.

Smudge is kinda freaked out by the blood, but his concern for the other apprentice wins over his fear, and he ends up helping Spottedleaf carry Ravenpaw to the medicine cat den to make sure he’s alright. Once there, he helps by bringing some water-soaked moss to help wash the blood from Ravenpaw’s wound so Spottedleaf can dress it with herbs and cobwebs. While Spottedleaf is working, Smudge asks her either about his dreams, or about the ghosts (i havn’t decided yet)

Before she can give him a proper answer, Firepaw and Greypaw come in to check up on Ravenpaw, along with Tigerclaw (whom Spottedleaf passive-aggressively asks to leave). She thanks Smudge for the help, and seems to be watching him as he leaves with Firepaw and Greypaw. 

Sandpaw and Dustpaw are still rude to Firepaw and Smudge (the latter of whom is still wearing his ribbon) the next morning when the other apprentices are getting ready to go out with their mentors, Bluestar pulls Smudge aside with Spottedleaf where she informs him that Spottedleaf has asked to have Smudge as her apprentice, to learn how to be a medicine cat.

Smudge is apprehensive about training separately from Firepaw, but he also thinks Spottedleaf is really nice compared to the the other clanmates he’s met. He also doesn’t really like the idea of fighting and hunting all the time, so he agrees. 

Bluestar calls a clan meeting, finally giving Smudge his clan name, ‘Mosspaw’, and announces that he’ll be training under Spottedleaf to become a medicine cat. A vast majority of the clan disagrees with this decision, especially Tigerclaw and his posse. A choice comment from Darktripe “a kittypet for medicine cat?! I’d rather get my ears clawed off”  is rebutted by spottedleaf with “Harrass my apprentice for mine and starclan’s decision and I will gladly claw them for you, thank you very much”, all with her very sweet Spottedleaf smile.

He begins his training with her, growing close with Ravenpaw as well while the other apprentice is in the medicine cat den. Time flies by as he begins learning, all while Firepaw goes more or less through canon events, occasionally dragging Mosspaw along on shenanigans. When Yellowfang is taken captive, he occasionally helps Firepaw care for her. Spottedleaf told him Yellowfang used to be Shadowclan’s medicine cat, So Mosspaw asks her questions sometimes, eager to learn all he can to help out and maybe even impress his mentor.

Soon after Yellowfang is taken into camp, The duo’s first half-moon in the clan rolls around, and Spottedleaf takes Mosspaw to the moonstone for the first time, where he’s simply in awe as everything clicks into place. The starry cats from his dreams, the ghosts in the woods, they’ve all been a part of this. He’s ecstatic when he returns to camp, and can barely keep himself from telling Firepaw everything.

He doubles down on his training after that, honestly taking to it like a fish takes to water. Even the more skeptical members of the clan have to admire his dedication (even if begrudgingly in many cases) and things seem up for a bit

Just before the next gathering, Firepaw runs into Princess during his hunting assessment. She’s happy to see that he’s okay, since him and Mosspaw had forgotten to say goodbye when they left, so from her perspective, the two of them had simply disappeared. She makes him promise to give her regards to Mosspaw before they part ways. 

Firepaw still gets in trouble with Tigerclaw for “fraternizing with a kittypet”, but Firepaw explains Princess is his sister when pressed by Bluestar, (he still reassures Bluestar that his place is in the clan, and he doesn’t regret joining) and his leader seems surprisingly sympathetic of him having kin outside of Thunderclan

[chooseyourpaws]

Option 1

The other cat’s breathing steadied as the two of you watched the Badgerclan toms finish bickering and chase after a squirrel that made a bit too much noise.

A mrrow sounded from above, and your gaze darted up in alarm to see a mousy-brown tom with a tipped ear, whose amber eyes darted about to check for anyone else.

“Snailberry! Get the kid and the mouse, I’ll lead you both back!” He called, leaping down.

“Shrewcry! I told you I’d be fine!” Snailberry, the molly, hissed in annoyance. It took her a second to wiggle out from under the bush.

“Corvidcall said to follow a moment behind you. He predicted you’d find trouble by the border, as usual,” Shrewcry laughed, giving her a gentle headbutt. He peered under the bush at you, and beckoned you out with a jerk of his head. “It’s safe now. That was Badgerclan’s favorite brute and the random cat they assigned him, there won’t be another patrol by unless we wait for half ‘til sundown.”

“Honestly! You two need to have more faith in me… The whole clan does! Now, where was I?” Snailberry huffed, nosing the mouse over to Shrewcry. She evidently was telling him to carry it.

You gestured your head to the direction the toms ran, and she lit up.

“Right! Okay. Shrewcry and I are Otterclan. Badgerclan’s leader, Hatchstar, declared war on us a few moons ago when he realized his son, Larkplume, had joined us…” She explained briefly, tail brushing behind her legs.

“They kidnapped Ferretchase last moon. Runnelstar’s too afraid to lead a raid to get him back. I’m this close to asking Roachdive to let me organize one!” Shrewcry growled. He picked up the fat mouse.

You nodded along, and…

previous

next

[lambsouvlaki]

I just ready your whole Jason todd x OC story with Andy and I love it! I’m super curious how the Arkham Knight v. Red Hood fight/ interaction went down before the Knight disappeared, that was a really cool way to bring in such a different version of Jason for Andy to see

Thank you!! 🥰

(Please bear in mind i haven’t played Arkham Knight, i am going off of youtube cutscenes and vibes.)

On a better day perhaps they would have shared a conversation and learned something about themselves. This isn’t a better day.

The knight has a bullet in his shoulder and is losing blood faster than he should be, given his armour. Which means whoever this is is both working with the bats and using live ammo with high-powered armour piercing rounds. He puts two and two together and comes up with Rage.

Red Hood has just spent all night locked in a gruelling cat and mouse with clay face. He immediately clocks this is not a look alike. It is himself who would have killed Andy on a whim. It inspires a self hatred that ignites into fury. He doesn’t care how or why or what differences set them apart. Normally anger sharpens him, makes him smarter, but today he is sleep deprived.

Its a messy fight, and just a little janky because both keep thinking they recognise the other’s gear and moves, only to be slightly off.

Neither is in great condition but snarling and ruthless enough to make up for it. Hood immediately wishes he hadn’t closed range and instead just shot him again, because the Knight is carrying more lethal weaponry than him.

The Knight has incorrectly assumed he’s fighting a Jason who never had a falling out with Bruce and doesn’t know what suffering is. He’s trying to get under his skin about his perfect little life. Being Bruce’s loyal soldier will get him killed.

The mockery doesn’t land.

The Knight’s knife does. Red Hood headbutts him hard enough to make the Knight’s helmet short out entirely.

The Deus Ex Machina Dimension Magic whisks the Knight away a microsecond before he can pull the pin on an incendiary grenade.

[ogdoadfates]

I finally wrote the scene for the Apocalypse au where Keyleth confesses to Vax when he’s asleep! (what isn’t mentioned at the end is Scanlan accidently overheard and high tailed it back to his room lol)

It’s rare that someone other than Keyleth gets sick but here she is watching poor Vax hack and cough while clutching his head. Luckily it’s nothing contagious so they don’t have to worry about it spreading to anyone else, like that knowledge stops him from trying to shy away from her ‘just in case’. It’s really starting to feel like a game of cat and mouse with how Vax refuses to let anyone care for him and Keyleth can see the tension it bleeds into the group as a whole, Vex even more so.

Keyleth rests her head against the window in the living room of the small farm house they were able to secure for the next few nights, looking out into the pouring rain, occasional flashes of lightning sparking the surrounding fields into view. She can see Vax just vaguely in the reflection that finds its place on the glass.

She can hear his harsh breathing and Keyleth can’t help but feel her heart break. Is this how he feels when she gets sick? Gods if it is, how much anguish does he feel on an everyday basis with the knowledge that she can fall ill in a seconds notice? Her heart feels like it’s been ensnared in a fishing net so tight that it’s bulging between its ragged yet strong netting, seconds from bursting into a gorey rendition of a firework.

She wants to cry but she can’t.

So she stays sitting at the window, her leg bouncing with her mounting anxiety. Another flash of lightning passes, she really shouldn’t be seated this close to the window, let alone be resting her head against it.

Keyleth was so wrapped in her own thoughts that she jolted when a hand was laid on her shoulder, causing her to headbutt the window with a loud smack. Pain blooms from her forehead as the hand quickly retreats from her shoulder.

“Shit! I’m sorry dear, I didn’t mean to spook you. Are you alright?” Vex says, clear distraught written in her voice and face. Keyleth whines a little at the hissing pain as she turns her gaze away from the window. Vex held her hands close to her but Keyleth can tell she’s dying to reach out and check her over, Keyleth also can’t help but notice Vax half way out of his seat eyes wide and staring at the two of them.

“I’m alright.” Keyleth quietly replies, both the twins visibly relax just a little. “What is it?” 

“Me and Percy are heading up for the night, we just wanted to make sure you knew.” Keyleth could read between the lines for what Vex was really saying. Take care of Vax and get the selfless asshole to go to sleep. Keyleth smiles and gives Vex a nod, She returns her smile before walking up to the upper floor with Percy, who gives Keyleth a nod and goodnight. 

Leaving her and Vax alone on the main floor. He’s settled back onto the couch keeping to the farest end, away from her. She releases a sigh and goes back to looking out the window, her head once again resting upon it. As Keyleth pays attention to the storm she starts to notice a pattern. She really should get her head off this glass but at the same time if she’s right there is a fifty percent chance that it’ll cause Vax to finally let her get close. It pains her a little that she’s using his own protective nature against him but at the same time if it’ll help her help him, she at least has to try.

So she waits for the thunder to rattle the house, this also means the storm is a lot worse then she’d first thought and gods is she glad she warned everyone that storms are always unpredictable. The entire room flashes white for a moment leaving Keyleth temporarily blind, hurriedly closing her eyes and feeling great panic overtake her strained heart. Even knowing the chance of this happening was high, she could never prepare herself for it.

BOOM!

The entire house shakes to even its foundation, she swears she hears someone yelp from upstairs. Keyleth fully expected for her head to yet again smash against the glass, what she wasn’t prepared for was Vax’s arms to encompass her and pull her away from the window and into his chest. The two of them hold onto each other as the rattling slowly stops.

When it finally does the two of them stare at each other, Keyleth a bit blearily due to having been blinded not but a minute ago and Vax wide eyed and fearful.

“Everyone alright?!” They hear Pike yell out from the top floor, it takes but a minute for everyone to shout back that they were alright.

Vax still hasn’t let go of her and this close and pressed tight against him she can feel his rattling breath, he gives her a squeeze before talking. “Please stay away from the window.” His voice is gruff from his sore throat and Keyleth can’t help but blush slightly, giving him a nod and gripping his arms.

“Alright.” She says, trying desperately to slow down her racing heart, racing from anxiety or something else she isn’t so sure but regardless she keeps her hold on him. She can tell he’s torn between wanting to stay close to her and wanting to flee from her, it tears at her but so far her plan worked even if her eyes hurt a bit for her efforts. Slowly but surely she leads the sick man back to the couch, keeping her grip tight as she sits down, motioning him to join her which he does with only slight reluctance.

At some point the two of them rearrange themselves with Vax’s head now resting in her lap, idly playing with his hair as sleep starts to finally claim his tired form. Keyleth stares at his face, watching as his breathing evens out as much as it can in his current state. She can’t help but let a soft tired smile form on her face as she watches him sleep.

She’s well aware of the way he feels for her, he’d told her before all of this began. She didn’t know how to answer him at the time, slowly she’d been figuring things out but then everything happened and yet instead of it hampering things it let the little seed that had been growing in her bloom. A flower of affection that despite the harsh climate has pushed through. Now telling him, that was a different story cause even if she knows her answer it’s never the right time to tell him. But sitting here with him lying fast asleep on her lap she can take a moment to just imagine, a moment to breath, a moment for herself yet also for him though he’d never know.

Softly so as to not wake him, she moves a bit of his hair out of his face and behind his ear. “You know I love you too, right?” She whispers.

[monterraverde]

VS. Red at the Ossuary

This place was full of absolutely intoxicated people battling their souls out in the most aggressive display of power she’d ever seen. Brought here by a Duskull, she wasn’t expecting a battle that felt like her life was on the line. Several of the ones shes had this day made her more bored then anything, smaller time trainers that she battled specifically to see who bought who a drink.

They’re Kantonian trainers, so they weren’t the WORST trainers she’s ever faced, but they had her craving more- and thats when Red finally tapped her on the shoulder and drew her back to the stadium.

Pleasantly buzzed, she eagerly accepted, and the next thing she knew, sparks were flying in a way that made her heart race like never before.

Gremlins out first, time to go.

She’s locked in a strategy with her team by now, Gremlins not meant to exist on the battlefield for very long, he’s there to set up a Tailwind, maybe inflict some poison, and then get out. Red leads with Pikachu, though, and Gremlin CACKLES as the mouse calls the rain and cracks the sky, its like a miniature hurricane in the Ossuary now, and the Gliscor takes full advantage of his ability to glide and fly through thunderstorms with nary a care in the world. He sees Pikachu come flying to throw him into submission, and instead grabs the mouse and rolls backwards with the momentum, dropping him with a hard toss to the ground, chasing him down and striking him with his tail several times before sinking his fangs into the Pikachus neck, and now that he’s grounded, striking with a powerful Earthquake while he’s got him pinned. Its quick work, and then they’re called back.

One down.

Next, Fafnír and Blastoise, a very clear disadvantage, but Fafnír is completely undaunted, feeling a strong connection with the ghostly terrain and roaring with a fierce and unusual look in his eye. Blastoise smashes his shell, and the two titans are now almost evenly matched in speed and strength, clashing with fang and claw before Fafnír tanks a Hydro pump, dropping rocks on Blastoise in a Rock Slide and causing him to flinch before rushing in to tackle the turtle to the ground with a high powered Crunch. It’s quick work, and now theres a Sandstorm and a Tailwind up, the tides are in their favor.

Two down.

Kamina and Charizard now, the little moles got a ton of speed behind him between the Tailwind and Sandstorm, but its not nearly enough for the tiny mole to take on the gargantuan dragon. He’s slapped, shoved and bathed in flame, dropping where he stood, the speed not even close enough to matter.

Adniels out next against Baba, Reds Venusaur, the usually gentle frog finding herself on the wrong end of Adniel in a delighted battle high frenzy. Her powders seem to do nothing while the winds heavily blowing. The dragon and his trainer are in almost perfect sync, their movements mirroring one another as they both roll to the side, and Rika calls for Iron head, Adniel barrleing right into Baba in a strong headbutt to destabilize her before she’s Dragon Clawed in a powerful uppercut and sent toppling. The Garchomp lets out a roar of triumph- He’d finally gotten a win against this team, and he couldn’t be more excited.

Three down-

She’s never felt this in sync with her team before.

The Don hits the field in a flurry of scarlet lightning, Roadblock his opponent, and neither trainer wastes any time, Rika practically roaring and calling for Close combat. The Snorlax puts up an incredible resilience as he grabs Dons tusks, but the primal energy pumping through Dons veins manages to let him overpower the giant, almost burying him in a Headlong Rush.

Four-

Thats a Win-

Bappy comes out against Lapras regardless- They could stop now and it would be fine, but one last battle- and The Clodsire gets a lucky Toxic off as Lapras lashes out with an Ice beam, and it HURTS, but he shrugs it off, protecting another Ice beam before digging his barbs into Lapras’ skin and finishing the job.

The dust settles as the Clodsire stands victorious on the field, and Rika can be seen counting on her fingers over and over again in sheer disbelief.

5 to 1.

She beat him 5 to 1.

She clenches her fist, tears stinging the edge of her vision- Not out of sadness, but out of absolutely unbridled joy and pride. Her team did so incredibly well, and she genuinely couldn’t believe that just happened… She’s only brought back to reality when the match is finally called by the referee, and Red suddenly scoops her up in a tight hug, to which she laughs and wraps both arms around his head, pressing their foreheads together.

[You did it, that was incredible.]

“You did great too, thank you, I can’t believe that just happened…!!”

[tiny-barbarian]

I made a new character in less than 2 days for a one shot last night

His name is Scratch and his mouse is Nibbles

I've only had one session with this guy and I adore him

He headbutts his friends as a greeting

He talks fast and excitedly about basically everything

Often tries to explain his thoughts process in depth

Has minimal recognition of social cues

Is jittery and hyper basically all the time

Doesn't think before acting a lot?????

Loves his mouse and talking about him

Loves small, high places where he can cozily survey his surroundings

Can't sit still and even while heist planning he will be laying on a bench with his head hanging upside down off the end

[pubby-paws]

I wanna talk about my cat named Bug

This is Bug. He was a stray cat living outside our place, and my partner fell in love with him. He was very funny, because the first time we pet him, he freaked out and seemed to have no idea what to do about this thing he liked. He'd headbutt and rub your hands, you'd pet him for a little and he would be really leaning into it, and then he'd suddenly pull away and bite you or claw you. You'd recoil, and he'd grab your hand and pull it back to his head and rub against it again.

We caught him and got him snipped and took him in. He adapted FAST to being an indoor cat, but had no manners. He only seemed to think about food, no matter how much we gave him. We eventually put him on a breakfast, lunch, and dinner schedule when someone was home all the time. He gets fed twice a day now and doesn't relentlessly hunt for food anymore.

He reacted the same way to pets as he did the first few times outside, but eventually learned how to communicate he wanted them. It took him a good year to learn that he didn't have to hurt us to make us stop or put him down, but his requests for attention went from once every few days to multiple times a day over a few months.

The first place he learned to ask for attention was, for some reason, when I was in the bathroom. At the time, it was the only time he would jump in my lap. He'd put his paws on my shoulder and balance on my thigh until I picked him up and held him and pet him. When I was ready to get up, I'd put him down, and he'd leave. Even when he didn't ask for me to hold him, he'd use my lap to jump into the sink above and just stare at me.

The next thing he learned, even before he learned not to bite me as hard, was that he could just crawl mostly onto my chest and flop and I would catch him from falling every time. If I don't pay attention to him fast enough for his liking, he STILL does this. This still makes me a little weepy when I think about it. What kind of trust did he have for me so early to know that he could fall *back first* and I would always catch him?

He used to try to bite me whenever I kissed him. Now, he kisses me. He comes up to me on his own and presses his mouth or forehead to my lips. When he's really excited to see me, he will do it repeatedly. (Guess what happens when I get really excited to see him.)

He has a name for me. When I see him, I will say "Bug!" and now, every time I do that, he meows in a way he does not at any other time. He meows in the exact pitch when he is looking for me, just louder and slightly more...questioning? Like when I call out his name searching for him.

It took over a year before I woke up one day to find him cuddled up against me while I napped. Normally, if I was sleeping, he wouldn't come near me. He still won't, most of the time, but sometimes I wake up from a nap now and he'll be there.

He's always waiting at the door when I get home from work. His favorite way to be held is cradled like a baby. He does not understand why I won't let him hump blankets (I will remind you that literally the first thing we did upon adopting this year old cat was neuter him) and meows sadly at me when I make him stop. His favorite toy is a mouse on a string that hangs from a door. I sing little songs at him because it's easy to rhyme his name. He likes to lay directly on my feet when I'm trying to cook and tries to bite me when I try to move. He follows me everywhere I go all day. His favorite thing in the world is cracked window (but a window close to a tree is a close second). He used to jump and bolt at every noise or unexpected touch, and now the most he does is twitch or look towards the disturbance.

I've loved watching him grow from desperate for love but not understanding it into a creature so full of that and joy and comfort. I've never understood people who say that cats are cold or that they don't love you. Look at this.

If you'd seen the same journey that led to this picture, you'd know for yourself just how much love these guys have packed in their tiny little bodies.

I hope that if you're reading this and you have a cat, that you think about all the little ways they show you they love you and give them a kiss for me. If you don't have a cat and you want a cat, I hope that someday you get to see a cat love you in their own specific ways and you get to gush to everyone about how great they are.