#being discouraged and reluctant to form an attachment

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

why the fuck are people mad at me for this

the way I would be so excited to put dead boy detectives on my watch list if I had like. any confidence at all it would get more than one season. like. congratulations to the "we cancel all of our cool and interesting new shows after one season" company for making me not wanna watch your cool and interesting new show because you'll cancel it after one season. gotta hand it to ya

[solicuttle]

A Normal Confession

Saiki tries to give you chocolates -- the normal way.

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Word Count: 1.0k

Warnings: None (?)

Characters: Saiki Kusuo

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Watching Satou get rejected should be sad. But it’s not sad, its clearly the epitome of normalcy in the making: the average boy confesses to his class idol (who can not compare to Teruhashi) and promptly gets rejected. A “Sorry, I’ve never thought of you in this way” should be disheartening, but to Saiki it’s perfect, beautiful. While it is depressing that Satou’s class idol can’t see the loveliness in being plain, Saiki can. Satou’s confession was mundane; store bought chocolates and a note in spirit of Valentine’s Day. It’s how a background character should confess their affections.

For Saiki to shake off the curse that is his disastrous life, he too must undergo this ritual. Minus the discouraging rejection of course, but still boring and mundane in a sense Saiki wishes he could be. Not to say that Satou’s confession wasn’t special. It’s everything a person could want in a run-of-the-mill confession. But when you’re surrounded by weirdos like Nendou and Kaidou, all you see is chaos.

Yet you come in without the chaos those two bring. You’re the refreshing part of Saiki’s life; whenever he sees you, he can sigh in relief and relax around you. Your smile lights up his day because when you smile shenanigans don’t ensue. Your laugh is comparable to Satou’s – not that you’re ordinary but that you don’t give him a splitting headache (most of the time). Kaidou and Nendou are terrible influences on you, and Saiki would much rather limit any of your interactions (Saiki can’t have them disturb you, can he?).  

When did it begin? When did Saiki stop looking towards you for peace and quiet, and start looking at you because he could? When did it all change? Time is lost to Saiki. After all he can repeat this year and fall in love with you all over again.

What is more ordinary yet beautiful than confessing on Valentine’s day? Absolutely nothing. You deserve a nice, peaceful confession with chocolates and a letter. How would you react to the letter? It’d be a lie to say Saiki hasn’t asked how you feel about him (through Kaidou, of course). For once, his powers had been a bit useful if not once again unethical. Saiki knows you feel the same way. It doesn’t diminish your right to the perfect but ordinary confession that Saiki will give you.

After all, what sort of confession begins with “I read your mind and we both feel the same way, let’s date?”. None that won’t draw attention to Saiki. And he can’t have that.

Saiki’s prepared. In between battling Kusuke, he’s written the letter. It’s on A4 paper, written in clean ink. The words are plain but are directly related to you – just the way a normal confession should be. Saiki folded it neatly – almost too neatly, he had to crease it a little bit – and placed it into a peach-colored envelope. The letter’s perfect.

The problems begin with the chocolate.

The chocolate is simply put, hard. Not because it’s hard to afford. Saiki’s donned on the 100-yen man suit way too many times to not have the money to buy you the chocolate. It should be easy.

The first major problem begins with the ordinary chocolate Saiki buys from the store downtown. It’s neatly wrapped in its packaging, waiting to be placed with your envelope until it’s not. Saiki doesn’t know what happened. He blinked and there was a chocolate bar in his mouth. It did not make sense. Perhaps this was a plot from Kusuke but Saiki can’t give you a half-eaten chocolate. With a definitely reluctant face, he sadly eats the rest of the chocolate. It hits Saiki when he’s done tearfully gobbling the chocolate that he could’ve reverted it. Drat.

“Hey pal, is the chocolate really good?” The second problem comes with Nendou appearing like a parasite. No matter how hard Saiki tires, he can’t shake off the leech that is Nendou. Saiki would teleport if not for the crowded area. He could teleport in front of Nendou and the poor boy wouldn’t even notice.

“Leave me alone.” Nendou does not leave Saiki alone, which leads to the third major problem. This time, Saiki buys a chocolate flower. It’s a bit on the “fancy” side and Saiki’s wallet feels a lot lighter but you should love these chocolates—

And Nendou takes a bite. “Thanks for buying me the chocolate buddy!” if it wasn’t for the fact that a miscalculated punch could kill Nendou, Saiki would’ve hit him. Saiki can’t revert the chocolate flowers as they were made fresh. He can’t hand you flour and eggs and hope for the best.

Shaking off Nendou proves to be impossible. The fourth problem comes in the form of the Valentine-themed coffee jelly. One – the price is insanely high when it’s the exact same ingredients inside. Saiki knows, he’s read the label twice. Two – he still buys it. Three – as much as he cares for you the coffee-jelly still ends up padding his belly. Sorry. It was delicious, though.

The fifth problem comes with the stores closing. No more store-bought chocolates. At least in Japan. Perhaps Saiki could’ve apported some of the chocolates into his hand but he has nothing of value on him.

While he could ask his mother to make chocolates, its not ordinary at all to bring homemade chocolates for Valentine’s day. Perhaps a relationship between you and him was ill-fated, destined to never happen.

At least, that’s what Saiki thinks until you hand him a chocolate with an envelope of your own attached to it. “It’s for you!” Is what you say, “I really like you Saiki”. While this isn’t how Saiki envisioned things to happen, what sort of person would he be to refuse? He doesn’t refuse. He takes your chocolate and bites it – it’s the exact same chocolate that caused the whole sequence of problems. It’s as delicious as he remembers.

“Thank you. I like you too.”  Saiki will just have to offer you something for White Day. Maybe he’ll give you the letter then, too.

[idreamofplaid]

Finding Destiny

Square Filled: Plus Size for @spnkinkbingo & Late Presentation for @spnabobingo

Characters: alpha!Sam x omega!Reader; Madame Tremaine (OFC)

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Y/N always felt like an Omega. Life told her otherwise, until tonight.

Word Count: 3027

Created for @spnkinkbingo & @spnabobingo

You smelled like a garden had exploded on you, a garden with some miscellaneous spices and nature smells. Truth was, you smelled like a mess, but you’d been desperate. Living as a Beta was like being invisible. 

You were convinced it didn’t help that your body wasn’t fashion model thin, or thin at all for that matter, instead having generous soft curves in your breasts, hips, and thighs. You had spent the last ten years watching Alphas and Omegas pair up, claim each other, shower each other with their love, devotion, and commitment. It had left you feeling more and more lonely, and food was your coping mechanism. The result of that was more pounds added to a body you already thought was too large.

Meanwhile, with each passing year, you felt more and more like life was passing you by. You, too, wanted to be claimed. There were no Alpha tendencies in your makeup; you were sure you were an Omega. You longed to be cherished, protected, filled with pups. Your untapped maternal instincts were strong, and you wanted to have a mate, be a mate. The Beta lifestyle wasn’t yours, so how had you been born into it?

Initially, when your heat didn’t come. You were confused, followed by disappointed, then discouraged, and finally resigned. Periodically, throughout all these reactions, you were devastated. The devastation overtook you when you least expected it, and then mercifully would leave again so you could function and pretend to be a happy Beta.  Had it stayed with you constantly, no doubt you would have fallen into a deep depression. 

It was that unwanted and sometimes paralyzing sense of hopelessness which always returned due to your Beta status that had sent you to the establishment owned by Madame Tremaine. It was rumored that she could bring on a reluctant onset of the first heat. That’s what you were once again trying to convince yourself this was, abandoning your previous period of accepting your fate. That’s all it was, a delay. Your body just needed some encouragement, a little push to get your hormones in motion. That first heat was going to happen; it was just slow.

So, it was in that frame of mind that you entered her herb shop at the end of a narrow street in an unfashionable part of the city. Wooden shelves lined the walls, filled with glass jars of various sizes that contained materials of every description. Dried flowers hung from low hanging rafters, and a display case that was filled with what appeared to be rocks and gemstones ran the length of one wall.

The bell over the door had tinkled when you entered the shop, summoning Madame Tremaine from the rear room of the shop. She pushed aside a beaded curtain that hung in the doorway leading to the back. She sized you up, her eyes traveling over you from head to toe. You were wearing a full skirt and a peasant style blouse. It was a cute outfit, but you still felt inadequate and self conscious about your size. For a moment, you felt a little pathetic because you’d come here seeking her help at changing what nature, God, the universe, or whatever had decided should be your lot in life. 

She was, of course, sleek and dressed all in form fitting black pants and a black shirt that emphasized her long, graceful arms and fingers. She had adorned those arms and fingers with turquoise rings and silver bangles, while large silver hoops hung from her ears. You were thinking of turning around and walking right back out when she said, “What brings you to see me tonight?”

You were determined not to stutter in spite of your nervousness. You could at least pretend to have a fraction of the confidence this woman so clearly possessed. “I’ve heard you can help Omegas with the onset of their first heat.”

She looked at you again. “How old are you?” You hesitated, not wanting to answer her question. You definitely should have left. This was so embarrassing. She lifted her chin and gave a wave of her hand, causing her bracelets to jingle. “Never mind. I’m sure I have what you need. It’s just a matter of finding the right combination of smells that compose your scent. Your body will then react with them and produce the scent on its own, triggering your first heat.”

For the next two hours, she had experimented on you with her herbs, flowers, and ground spices. She began with the flowers, explaining to you, “Very often an Omega’s scent includes a floral note. We only need to find the right one, then move on to the other elements.” It wasn’t tuberose, jasmine, violet, magnolia, or plumeria. She tried at least seven others before giving up on the flowers.

She moved to a particular row of jars with purpose. “Perhaps we should try something sweet instead.” The next round of fragrances she applied to your skin consisted of honey, vanilla, chocolate, coconut, sugar, and caramel. She was beginning to look a little perplexed, making you feel like a failure all over again. Not only were you unable to find a mate, now this wasn’t working either; but you needed it too. You felt like this was your last chance. 

“How do you know it isn’t working, Madame?” You had absentmindedly grabbed your skirt and started to twist the fabric.

“Because I’m an Alpha; I could smell it if you were producing your own scent.” Of course she was an Alpha, all the confidence. Her tone had been a little sharper than she had intended. You were, after all, a paying customer. She shouldn’t let her frustration show. Madame softened her voice and tried a different approach. Perhaps you are a more rare type of Omega without the usual sweet or flowery smell. Let’s give something else a try.”

Next she went for a smaller set of jars that contained spices and pulled some tiny stone chips that were near a larger blue stone from the display case. First, she used a mortar and pestle to grind the stone chips then added some rosemary to the bowl, grinding it up as well, and finally sprinkling in some almond oil to bind it together. Your curiosity got the better of you and made you brave enough to ask, “Why did you add stones? They don’t smell.”

“Ah, but they do; it is just very subtle,” she answered, “and sometimes just the catalyst that is needed to activate the chemical process that will result in you producing your own scent.” She applied this mixture to the inside of your wrist. Still, the result was nothing. After that, she went through the motions of trying a few more things, but you knew with each passing minute this had been a huge waste of your hard earned money. 

You left her store and practically slinked to your car, wanting nothing more than to get home to your favorite robe and a glass of red wine. When you closed the door with a heavy thud, your eyes landed on the gas gauge. Dammit. It was almost on empty. You wouldn’t make it home without stopping for gas. Perfect. There would be one more humiliation before this night was through. Gas stations in this part of town didn’t tend to carry out transactions through the pay at the pump method. 

Perhaps your tendency to be invisible would play in your favor this time you thought as you pushed on the metal bar to open the glass door leading into the gas station. Your last shred of hope at maintaining your dignity had been destroyed when you’d pulled up to the pump and found a sign attached to it just as you’d expected. Pay Before You Pump. Now you had to go into this store smelling like a cheap whorehouse. 

You made your way to the counter as quickly as you could, hoping to just put down your money, dash back outside again, get your gas, and go. You mumbled $30 on pump 3 and reached for your purse. That’s when you heard it, a voice that was just the right amount of deep and smoother than the honey back at Madame Tremaine’s shop. “Where are your apples?”

The guy behind the counter looked up reluctantly from his handheld video game. “We don’t have any. Sold the last of them this morning.” He turned his attention back to his game, and you turned to see who had spoken. What kind of face went with that voice?

The answer was the kind of face you saw on magazine covers and movie screens. The man with the sexy voice tried with the clerk again. “But I smell…” Then the gorgeous hazel eyes in that handsome face caught yours, and he tilted his head causing his golden brown hair to fall over his forehead. “It’s you.” His eyes narrowed a little.

Then something happened that had never occurred in your life. You were overcome by the smells of mahogany, champagne, and leather. The smell washed through you, entering every cell in your body, causing slick to pool in your panties, and your knees to go weak. You were beginning to sink to the floor.

The kid behind the counter finally put down his video game. “Lady, are you okay?” He was a Beta. He couldn’t smell any of what was happening two feet from him. 

The mysterious Alpha caught you. He held you up while he put two twenties down on the counter. “For her gas.” He helped you out to your car, got you seated inside, then filled your tank. He walked back to you when he was done and leaned down to put his hand on your shoulder. The smell was overwhelming now. It was heady, more than if you’d drunk the champagne instead of just smelling it. 

The Alpha kneeled in front of you. That magnificent voice had softened when he spoke to you. “I don’t think you should drive. I’m going to call my brother to come get my car, and then I’ll drive you home.”

Your head was feeling too light to argue, and there was a twinge of feeling bordering on pain starting between your legs. You nodded. “Okay.” Just like that. You trusted him, trusted him completely. It felt right what he was doing, taking care of you. 

You closed your eyes and leaned your head back against the headrest. His voice sounded farther away, and you caught snippets of his conversation as you attempted to navigate all the emotional and physical feelings of your first heat. “Dean, i need you to come get the car.” Dean must be his brother. You missed the next part and then, “I’ll explain it all later. Just trust me. It’s never been more important.”

He returned to you and used that same soft tone he’d had with you before. “C’mon, let’s get you home. He lifted you like you weighed nothing more than a feather and carried you around to the passenger’s side of the car. He settled you in the seat and walked back around to take his place behind the wheel. Then, he turned to you. “I’m Sam.”  His eyes focused on yours again. “And you’re my Omega.”

You gave him directions to your house, and when you got there he carried you inside, across the threshold just like you were a bride. “Where’s your bedroom?” It didn’t seem at all strange to have this man you’d just met in your house, or to be giving him directions to your bedroom. You wanted him there. The idea of him leaving scared you a little bit. 

Sam put you down on your bed, and that fear bubbled up in your heart. You reached for him. “Don’t leave.” 

He took your hand. “I wasn’t going to leave. Just go outside the room so you can change for bed. Your smell is so strong. All I can smell is you. It’s going to bring on my rut. So, I should probably put some distance between us. But I’m going to stay. Make sure you’re okay.”

You squeezed his hand. “I’m not. I’m not okay. I need you. This is so…” A huge gush of slick ran down your thighs. You cried out. “Sam, please. I don’t know what’s happening.”

A look of concern shadowed his gray green hazel eyes. “Your heats haven’t been like this before?”

You had a nearly vise like grip on his hand now; it was starting to hurt, and you grabbed his forearm with your other hand. “I’ve never had a heat before. This is the first one.”

It took a couple of seconds for Sam to comprehend what you’d just said. Then a fierce, protective gentleness filled his eyes; he didn’t let go of your hand until he was on the bed with you, then he took you in his arms. “I’ve got you, my Omega. It’s gonna be okay. I’m here. I won’t leave you.”

“It hurts, Sam. Why does it hurt?” This wasn’t what you had imagined it would be like to be an Omega. They’re had been no one in your life to explain it to you, and you were sure the books you’d read must be exaggerating.

Sam stroked your hair, trying to soothe you. “It hurts because you need an Alpha. Your body wants to be knotted. You need an Alpha’s knot.”

You held onto him tightly. “Will that make it stop?” 

Sam whispered, “Yeah, that will make it stop.” He kept running his fingers through your hair, and then he growled. His hand stilled; his body was shaking with the effort to control himself. 

His growling and shaking surprised you, and you jumped. “Sam, what is it? What’s wrong?”

He doubled his efforts to steady himself and stopped his shaking. “My body needs you too.” His voice was much more gruff than it had been before. 

You raised your hand to sink your fingers into his hair, just as his were buried  in yours. “Make it stop, Sam. Make it stop for both of us.”

While he was taking off your clothes, it didn’t occur to you once to feel self conscious about your lack of a flat stomach, the fullness of your thighs, or any of the other parts of your body you considered to be an imperfection. He kissed each and every one of them, while telling you how perfect you were. Your Alpha made you feel beautiful. 

The touch of his hands was so gentle, even while you could feel the heat radiating off his skin. When his lips first touched yours, it was like when the match meet the candle wick, and the flame sparks to life. Sam kissed you for a long time, causing you to produce more slick, getting you ready for him. 

When at last he broke the kiss, you looked into those eyes with the ability to change color; you saw into him, found that deep place where no one but his Omega would ever be allowed to go. “Were we meant to be together, Sam?” 

He brushed his knuckles across your cheek. “Yeah, that’s how it works.” His eyes held yours, “I’ve been waiting for you so long.” The smell of leather was stronger now. It signaled the depth of the lust he was feeling, mixed with the more tender emotions.

You put your hand over his where it was still resting against your face. “It’s okay, Sam. I’m ready. Take me. Make me yours.”

Sam put his hands on the inside of your thighs and opened your legs. His eyes never left yours as he entered you slowly. The stretch pushed you to the limits of what you could take, and you knew it was nothing compared to what was to come when he gave you his knot. 

He moved inside you with a gentle rhythm that heightened your passion and your need for him. When you started to roll your hips in time with the movements he was making, Sam reached between your bodies and started to rub your clit. He gave you exactly what you needed, and an intense orgasm came crashing through you. 

While your body was still in the spasms of its release, Sam’s knot began to swell. “Yes, Alpha, yes. Please.”

Sam took you in his arms and rolled you to your side to face him while his knot continued to swell. He covered your face with soft kisses. “Are you okay?”

You clung to him, still afraid you might somehow lose him even though his body was firmly attached to yours. “Yes. This is what I’ve always wanted. You. I wanted you. I just couldn’t find you.” Tears started to slide down your cheeks. Everything about this night was overwhelming. 

Sam wiped away your tears, kissed your temple, and whispered in your ear, “Shh. i’m here. I’ve got you now, my sweet Omega.”

You buried your face in his neck. The smell of the leather was receding now, blending back in with the mahogany and champagne. “Are you sure I’m your Omega, Sam? I mean I know I must not look like the other Omegas you’ve been with.”

He held you closer to him. “Yes, I’m sure.” You felt a fresh wave of his seed pumping into your womb. Sam put his fingers under your chin and tilted your face up to look at him. “You are more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen.”

You smiled, and a different kind of tears filled your eyes. This time they didn’t fall. You felt secure. You felt wanted, and you felt claimed even though he hadn’t yet put his mark on you. He would though. You knew it. Sam would claim you, mark you, and you would be proud for everyone to see it. 

Sam brushed his thumb over your chin just below your lip. “What are you thinking, my Omega?”

You nodded just enough to kiss his thumb that was beneath your lips. “I’m thinking you were worth the wait.”

Everything: @gambitwinchester @princessmisery666 @onethirstyunicorn @peridottea91 @logical-princey @emilyshurley @beenlovingromansincedayoneish @fangirlxwritesx67 @waywardbaby @atc74 @ledzeppelinsbonzo @shaniquacynthia @mariekoukie6661 @tumbler-tidbits @67-chevy-baby @fandom-princess-forevermore @terrarium-jpeg @emoryhemsworth @crashdevlin @heycasbutt @jules-1999 @mrsdeannafuckingwinchester @cosicas-cuquis @sammyimpala-67 @queenoftheunderdark @dean-winchesters-bacon @mrs-meghan-winchester @timelordy-fangirl2 @sweetness47 @hobby27 @awesomesusiebstuff @kickingitwithkirk @sandlee44 @supernaturalgrandma @lonewolf471 @dawnie1988 @volleyballer519 @outcastedangel @kdfrqqg @lizette50 @sorenmarie87 @winchesterxfamilybusiness 

Sam/Jared: @girl-next-door-writes @stunudo @feelmyroarrrr @idabbleincrazy @evansrogerskitten @focusonspn @autumninavonlea @spnxbsessed @durinsbride @deansyahtzee @waywardnerd67 @fullmooner 

[asteriasgarden]

i would be fascinated to see somebody write/read a paper on the implications? relation? of asmr and its psychological stimulation of parasocialism or parasocial behaviours.

i was watching, probably, the best asmr i’ve seen to date and reading the comments because as per usual they complete any online experience, and i wasn’t surprised but intrigued maybe? to learn that the lady doing the videos dropped off social media rumoredly due to a stalker that became a threat to herself and family.

wackjobs can come with any job i suppose, because there’s stalkers all the time, but it got me thinking about a possible uptick in delusionally-fueled attachments to asmr vloggers.

the whole fundamental purpose of asmr is to tap into people’s brains and trigger certain areas for different results right? Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is the whole name of the game.

so you have this person taking hours out of their lives to use as many methods possible to engage the camera and the person it plays as, bloggers going to great lengths to pretend to form an intimate and personal relationship with the audience for the purpose of eliciting an emotional, mental, bodily reaction. chills, anxiety or sleepiness, calm or just plain ~overwhelm~

on some level, in some people’s brains, that has to translate into the line getting blurred. it would sound stupid, if we didn’t have horrible stacked up evidence of people becoming strangely attached to celebrities who don’t even do half of what asmr bloggers do.

i love kpop whole heartedly and am the biggest multi out there, but half the business is based on feeding into the unhealthy fantasies of viewers (i’m reluctant to even call these types of people fans.) kpop artists are banned and heavily discouraged from normal human behaviour and attachments all the time because of how it might make the people leeching onto them feel, which directly impacts sales and business. imagine being so pressed that another human being has found romance and love and happiness. absolutely unhinged. fucking bonkers.

so it stands to valid reason that the same would easily, easily, happen with asmr artists. right? idk, i’m just curious about it. it’d be interesting to delve further into

[cant-blink]

Godzilla: Pokemon Edition, Ch.1

Summary: You guys really seem interested, so here it is! First chapter of the Pokemon/Godzilla: KotM crossover. Ghidorah is turned into a Hydreigon. Ichi has to cope with this as he and the other kaiju try to solve the mystery of what happened to cause this madness!

-

The sound of the waves washing upon the shore was the first thing to grace his senses, the salty air blowing against their scales. The soft sand beneath their body shifts as he begins to stir. And as he crept closer towards Awareness, he couldn’t shake off an odd feeling at the back of his mind. 

Something felt wrong.

Opening his eyes, he flinches with a grunt at the unexpected sunlight, closing his eyes again. Has he slept in and miss the sunrise? No wonder he felt off, he was straying from their schedule! He instinctively lifts a wing to shade his face, finding no resistance in reclaiming the body. Was it San’s turn for the last shift? Could have sworn it was Ni’s, but the right head always gave that distinct spark of reluctance when surrendering the body. Perhaps he was remembering wrong and it was the youngest who was awake right now. 

As he opens his eyes again, he noticed that everything looked very different to what he was used to. It was as if someone took the light of the sun and intensified it. It wasn’t completely blinding, but was rather uncomfortable and the massive white glare that seemed to have overtaken the landscape rendered his once perfect vision to near-sightedness. Has the sun gone supernova or something to release such a powerful light? Why wasn’t he awoken sooner if that was the case? San was the one to have the final shift, sure, but even he knows to wake them at anything alarming.

Squinting, he lifts his head up a bit and as he turns to look at the sun, a strange creature was hovering right next to him, casting its shadow upon his face. It was merely a silhouette against the sun from this angle, but he could tell from the outline that it was a completely unfamiliar creature. Has Brother San fallen asleep on the job and left them vulnerable to this intruder?!

Growling, he quickly bites onto the unknown creature, teeth pushing past its coat and into skin...

And he immediately lets go with a cry of pain that shot through his forelimb.

Why did it hurt to bite this thing?!

Shaking his head, he lifts his neck to give a greater height over the creature as he keeps his jaws open with a snarl, a threat to discourage the creature from retaliating. But it wasn’t retaliating, having only jolted away from the bite. He keeps growling as he blinks hard and it succeeded in sharpening his vision somewhat. Taking the time to actually notice what he’s looking at, the change in angle allowed him to make out a bit more on the detail. It had a blue scaly face, black scales where the eyes ought to be. A collar of red-and-black feathers decorated the back of its head and its neck was coated in more black... fur? Or fine feathers? 

His gaze follows its neck only to realize this thing was attached to him, like his brothers were. Was... Was this San?! Can’t be, this ‘San’ did not look at all like... well, San. Not to mention, he wasn’t acting like San, no frantic words or attempts to appease him to keep from being bitten again. It was just laying there, now limp on the ground. Asleep? Did San fall asleep on him?!

Confusion floods into his mind, and his eyes dart towards Ni. Usually, he would be stirring by now, but he was just lying on the sand. Leaning closer, he sees Ni looked like San, feathers and everything. The black markings over the eyes were narrower, sharper and... Wait, there were no eyes!

Shifting his weight, Ichi pulls himself up in a hurry and immediately lost his balance and fell back to the ground. Wide eyes look down their body and to his horror, San and Ni were not the only change. NOTHING looked like it was supposed to. Their once brilliant golden scales were a dark blue, with twin red lines going down their abdomen. Their chest was also coated in black fur and their legs... Their legs were borderline atrophied, small and looking incapable of holding their weight. They only had ONE tail, like many of the aliens that lived on this world, long and scaly with a tuft of black fur at the end of it.

He had wings, six of them coming from his back. At least, he thinks they were wings. They did not at all resemble the vast membranes that once stretched along their fingers and flight ribs. They were narrow and feathered with a distinct fork on each end. He tries to move these wings so he can push himself back up, with the same muscle memory he was used to, but oddly, none of them moved and-

He caught motion from both of his brothers. While his eyes were oddly light sensitive, it seemed to pick up the slightest movement very easily. A jolt of alarm went through him, urging him to bite towards the movement, but he disregards it as an overwhelming wave of relief crashes over him. His brothers moved, that meant they were waking up and that meant they were okay!

He stares at his siblings, waiting for them to rouse. He wondered how he was going to explain any of what was happening to them, when he had no idea what was going on himself; he doubted they, particularly Ni, would be happy with this transformation. The key was to keep calm, and together, they can figure out a solution as they have always done. But after a moment, where they didn’t seem to be stirring any further, he nudged them both with his snout. It was an odd sensation, feeling fluff when he was used to scales and he almost sneezes when one of the decorative feathers tickles his nostrils.

“Brother San? Brother Ni?” His voice is a bit hoarse from sleep, but remained the same. But that sense of familiarity did nothing to comfort him when he got no response from either of his brothers. Have they drifted back off to sleep? Brother San was notorious for being difficult to wake, but not so much Brother Ni.

He was surprised they hadn’t reacted to the jolts of alarm he had previously felt. It was always the fastest and most reliable way to snap them into immediate Awareness in the event of danger. He tries to send a more deliberate wave of alarm through them.

But it didn’t work. Try as he might, he couldn’t bring his emotions beyond his own mind, like there were no neurons there to transfer them through. It was as if he was a child again, when his brothers’ neurons were still dormant and he was alone. But it was worse here. Back then, he was born into solitude, it was all he knew until Brother Ni was born. He had nothing to miss.

The absence of his brothers’ neurons here frightened him immensely, like it was a confirmation that the only ones he’s ever formed a bond to, the ones he spent every minute of the last hundreds of millions of years... was gone.

No! They couldn’t be gone! They moved, he saw them move and-

.....

The realization was slow to creep up at first but when it hit him, it did so harder than any strike Godzilla could offer.

Slowly, very slowly, he tries to move his ‘wings’ again and his heart sinks when his brothers shift. They weren’t moving of their own volition; it was him all along. He has never been able to control the movements of his sibling’s necks, but now it was as easy as moving his wings, or rather, his arms. Their necks were even jointed as if they were nothing more than arms.

He couldn’t wrap his mind around it, staring at the lifeless.... limbs that were once his brothers. He hoped with every fiber of his being that this was some kind trick, a dream perhaps? An oddly vivid and disturbing dream that allowed for pain somehow? Maybe if he waited long enough, his brothers would wake and his biggest fears can be put at ease. He can handle this new body, he’ll take this odd punishment, dream or not! Just let his brothers be okay!

But as he sits waiting, there was never movement from his brothers and his hope was only getting weaker. Several times over the course of an hour, he would nudge them with his snout. Nip them. Shake them. The frustration eventually gets to him and he bites down hard on Ni’s neck. Pain shot through him, it never used to hurt when he bit his siblings, but he endures it. Just, wake up!!

....

Silently, he slowly pulls his teeth away and stares blankly at the bleeding wounds he left. There was no snarling from his ill-tempered sibling, no glare, no sharp words. There was no denying it, no more wishful thinking. They really were gone...

He struggled to grasp this, to grasp that he was now alone. Completely and utterly alone.

He moves these limbs, his lifeless brothers, to his chest, lowering his snout to rest atop their heads. They were trembling against him. Their, -his-, whole body was trembling.

They didn’t even smell like his brothers anymore. Their shared scent was gone, replaced by this unfamiliar smell that only drove the knife of loss even deeper.

For the first time in his life, a choked whimper comes from his throat and his eyes begin to burn as tears welled up. It’s an unfamiliar sensation, the tickle down his cheeks as the water escapes his eyes. He’s seen tears plenty and it would spur different emotions and actions from him. Tears from his victims brought pleasure and he would revel in their distress. Tears from San was either ignored, or brought a strict reprimand as there was nothing an immortal powerful god such as themselves had to cry about. 

Now those tears came from him, and he realized that yes, there was something even the most powerful of creatures had to cry about. Memories of how he used to chide San so harshly brought the feeling of regret, adding to his sorrowful wails that rise from his throat to echo across the landscape.

These piercing cries almost had him miss the tired voice coming from somewhere behind him.

“Ghidorah?”

[felicebellcarousel]

Allow Me to Introduce  ‘A Lady of Independent Means’

Now before we dive into this little Pride and Prejudice variation I’d to take this opportunity to state that although this work (A Lady of Independent Means) is inspired by the timeless Jane Austen classic, the rights to this specific work are reserved to the author, and that any unauthorised reproduction or publishing of any part of content is prohibited.

Chapter 1

Dear Miss Bingley,

 I write to express my deep regrets that myself and my family find ourselves unable to attend the Ball, to which you most graciously extended us an invitation.

Do not be alarmed, my friend. I am well, but sadly the same cannot be said of my Uncle Gardiner.  

 As you may recall my mother has a widowed Brother residing in London, we have received news that his health in is a most precarious state; grave in fact. So instead of spending the day preparing for your ball – which I am sure will be the pinnacle of the Hertfordshire social calendar –I find myself packing to journey to town within the hour.

 Thither shall also go Elizabeth, the both of us escorted by Papa.  Oh my dear friend, although Lizzy declares it foolish of me, I cannot help but entertain the hope that the accounts of my relations danger have been greatly exaggerated, and this trip may yet have a positive outcome.  

 The discouraging news has laid Mama exceedingly low and unfit fit for travel –or to attend amusements.  Moreover we take the family carriage leaving Mary, Kitty and Lydia without transportation or parental escort to this evening’s festivities.

 Enclosed I have included our direction in town, I know not how long we will be gone from the neighbourhood and dearly hope you will write me. Time grows short, with much yet to prepare. I will close by saying: I am exceedingly sorry for any disruption our absence may cause, please convey my sincere regrets to your brother and Mrs. Hurst.  

 Yours Sincerely,

J. Bennet

 ~~~~%~~^0^~~%~~~~

 “The rudeness! To drop an engagement on the very same day they were to be expected.  Country manners for you,” decried Miss Bingley, seconded by a nod and murmur from Mrs Hurst.

 For once Fitzwilliam Darcy could not tune out Miss Bingley’s sycophantic babble. Her harsh words lanced his very heart, filling him with an acute sense of loss and regret.

 Very deliberately and slowly he placed his half empty coffee cup onto the crisp linen tablecloth, keeping his face diverted from his company until he could be certain of its expression.

 So this is how their story would end? He owned dejectedly that it could never have been the epic romance his heart had craved. No, his head was attached to firmly to his head to allow such a passionate fancy to determine his future life and family legacy.  As hard as his heart had tugged, it could not lead him to make a woman, so far beneath him - no matter how delightful – a permanent fixture to in his life.  

 If he could not spend the sum of his days waking up curled around the beautiful Elizabeth Darcy he had at least hoped to share a dance with the unspoiled Elizabeth Bennet. Hold her dainty little hand in his, or perhaps even for a span of moments, feel her delightful form rest on his arm, if he were able to secure a set featuring such a movement.  But it seemed he was to be cruelly denied this infinitesimal consolation along with the chance to say goodbye.

 He would return to his life in London, again mingle only within his own confining set of privileged acquaintance, probably take some insipid society miss to wife in a year or so, and one day forget the little wood nymph that had made his soul sing.  

 A glance to the far end of the dining table showed Bingley to be similarly effected by the news, but less able to conceal his disappointment.  He’d pushed his plate, laden with greasy delicacies away to stare out the window. The twitching of his lips showed him to be deep in thought, but gave few clues to the finer nuances of the musings.  Gazing down at his own plate, barely touched, Darcy was struck with the thought that things had progressed to a very dangerous point, perhaps more than he had reckoned…  

 Was he so love sick that he could not stomach a few mouthfuls breakfast? He forced a forkful of eggs past his lips, but the food, savoury and pleasant just minutes ago, now tasted like ashes and disappointment.  

 Laying down his fork with the same care with which he had deposited the coffee mug, Darcy raised his eyes only to encounter Miss Bingely’s smirking countenance across the table. Likely she was the only one in her discernment privy to his shameful and overwhelming pain, but it was still one witness too many and a witness entirely too gleeful.

 Miss Bingley looked directly into his eyes, her own green orbs bright with enjoyment. Her fish like lips were parted in a disgusting parody of arousal, but it was not desire that fuelled her expression. Rather vindictive enjoyment of his pain and her own elation at having a rival so neatly struck from the field of battle.

 In that moment he hated her, perhaps he even reviled her more than that blackguard Wickham. They were like two faces of the same coin Caroline Bingley and George Wickham; both selfish to the very core, their only concept of morals being a dispassionate assessment of how much they could get away with before inciting censure, rather than any true affinity with right and wrong.  

 Fortunately in Miss Bingley’s circumstances, she was locked in the mischief she could cause. Under the charge of Charles Bingley, she was forced to exercise maidenly restraint in pursuing her aims. Her Brother, while malleable up to a point, could be as stubborn as a badger if he felt the principles of fairness or justice to be in peril.

 It was not just the power he held over her finances, Charles’s naturally gregarious personality had opened doors rarely accessible to an entire family whose fortune was still polluted by the miasma of trade, Darcy’s society included.    

 “I am sure they would have delayed if they could, perhaps we should call upon them in London. See if there is any assistance in our power to offer or merely let them know we harbour no hard feelings.  You did mention an enclosed direction did you not…. Caroline?” Bingley called his sisters name loudly at the last, clearly impatient to hear her response.

 Darcy watched Miss Bingley’s eyes widen in panic, she sharply took in a horrified breath. The only thing worse than Mr Bingley dangling after Miss Jane Bennet in Hertfordshire would be for her brother to be seen publicly dangling after the girl in the view of their London acquaintance.  

 Darcy could readily determine the direction of Caroline’s thoughts, because in route they mirrored his own although their concerns regarding the match proceeded from different quarters:  Darcy wanted to see if his friend well established in society for Bingley’s personal happiness, while Caroline saw her brothers marriage and societal aspirations only in terms of how they helped—or hindered—her own ambitions.

 Bingley’s attentions to Miss Bennet thus, had been so pointed that if he continued in this vein a proposal must be forthcoming or censure and derision would be cast upon him for his inconsistency and the blameless girl for disappointed hopes.  The Bingley family’s position in society remained tenuous and was based almost entirely on Bingley’s gentlemanly deportment; should he be seen to act the cad, even only to a country squires daughter, the family would find it nigh in impossible to secure the type of match with the potential to elevate his standing, despite Bingley’s stable wealth.  

 The other possibility, that Bingley could succeed in wooing Miss Bennet, did not bear thinking of, yet demanded to be examined.  Jane Bennet - while undeniable beautiful - could bring nothing of value to such a match.  

 Through pointed questioning around the neighbourhood Caroline Bingley had determined that the Bennet girls had portions were so tiny as to be non-existent:  A mere £50 per year during their father’s life and an equal share of £5000 upon their mother’s demise (if the vulgar woman had not the opportunity to squander it before).  

 Pointed questioning of the girl herself had uncovered her limited and unsavoury connections.  

 “An Uncle, actively engaged in trade!” Caroline had cried in relish, at this very same table, the morning after Miss Bennet had taken ill.  Bingley distressingly loyal to the woman he had known for such a brief span, had leapt to her defence, saying she would not value her a jot less if she had a battalion complete of Uncles in trade.  Miss Bingley had produced an unmistakably snide smile before attempting to coax her brother over to her way of thinking.  “Yes I suppose a tradesman, quite well to grass, within the family would not be such a great shame, but Jane told me he keeps a house in Cheapside! Cheapside! If one must be in trade, one ought to be good at it, rather than drag the rest of the family down with ineffectual business pursuits. But I suppose we can expect little more of a blood relation of women of Mrs Bennet’s and Mrs Phillip’s ilk.”

 Though reluctant to support any notion originating from Miss Bingley, Darcy could not help but agree that Jane Bennet was an unsuitable marriage prospect for his good friend, and had said as much.   Darcy had pointed out the evils of attaching oneself to a family who had shown so little comportment to date, arguing this to be a far greater concern than the social standing and wealth the Bennet family lacked.

Before they had been able to importune the beleaguered lover any further Miss Elizabeth Bennet had been announced.  The dark eyed beauty had driven every thought of Bingley’s romantic woes clean out of Darcy’s head.  Her hair was blowsy, her skirt muddy, her complexion very flushed and yet her person was the most breathtakingly beautiful thing Darcy had ever beheld.

 She had surveyed the room boldly, daring anyone to comment on her appearance before asking after her sister.  Darcy had quickly dredged up every objection against girl, real or imagined, to prevent him from following her up the stairs.  

 That she had barely spared him a glance did nothing to cool his ardour, neither those weeks ago nor now.  If he didn’t remain strong Elizabeth would make him her slave.  Could his resolve continue to hold in the face of the many intimate meetings that must follow a closer connection between Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley?  And if he did manage to avoid the allure of his friends new sister, there could not help but be a greater price of misery to be payable.  

So? What do you think?

More of ‘A Lady of Independent Means’ will be posted on my Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/FeliceBell

But to answer what you really want to know. Yes, a new chapter of Reluctantly Mrs Darcy is nearly ready to go! Nearly!

Thanks for reading,

F

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – 7 May – St Agostino Roscelli ( 1818–1902) aged 83, Priest, Founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Immaculata, Spiritual director, Apostle of prayer and charity, Social reformer, founder of training schools and programmes for young adults, both girls and boys, Chaplain to Prisoners and Orphanages – also known as Augustine Roscelli, Augustin Roscelli – born on 27 July 1818 at Bargone di Casarza Ligure, Italy and died on 7 May 1902 at Genoa, Italy of natural causes.   St Agostino inspired social change in Genoa, Italy for children and disadvantaged women.

On 27 July 1818, Agostino was born in northern Italy.   His parents, Domenico Roscelli and Maria Gianelli, had him baptised the same day out of fear that he may not survive. Despite his early health problems, Agostino would grow into a quiet intellectual, receiving his basic education from the parish priest, Fr Andrea Garibaldi.   These times were brief however, as he would spend a large part of his childhood caring for his poor farming family’s sheep in the mountains.   During these solitary times, he would fill his hours with prayer.

In May 1835, at the age of 17, Agostino attended a parish mission given by a visiting priest, Fr Antonio Maria Gianelli (1789– 1846) (parish priest of Chiavari and later bishop of Bobbio) and now a Saint and the founder of the Missionaries of St Alphonsus.    (About St Anthony here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/06/07/saint-of-the-day-7-june-st-anthony-mary-gianelli-1789-1846/)

This mission thoroughly convinced him he had a call to the priesthood, a calling that would not be easily achieved, considering the poor financial state his family was in. Despite this, he attacked the situation with prayer, which led to financial aid that allowed him to study in Genoa, Italy.   One of his benefactors was Fr Gianelli who found him a post as a sacristan and guardian of a church attached to a girls school.   He was ordained on 19 September 1846.

Agostino was shortly thereafter, appointed to a working class parish, San Martino d’Albaro, in 1846.   He would later move to the Church of Consolation in Genoa in 1854. As a parish priest he soon made a positive impression with his obvious zeal and austerity of life.   He spent long hours in the confessional, which developed his deep concern for the youth of the area.   The boys of the parish were often tempted into a life of crime, having little to no education or hope of finding work.   The girls were even worse off, having less education than the boys and were liable to seek menial work in the city, often being seduced or enticed into a life of prostitution.

Seeing a great need for change, Agostino set about forming a new type of job training for girls.   He gathered together a group of young women and with them founded a “sewing workshop”, in which girls could receive practical and professional training as well as Christian instruction. 

Not wanting to neglect the boys, he would also found a “young craftsman” institute for them in 1858.   He would later go on to establish a residential school to train young women who were in danger of starvation or falling into prostitution because they had no support.

In 1872, Agostino began a ministry to prisoners, working especially with those condemned to death.   Two years later, in 1874, he was appointed Warden and Chaplain of the new provincial orphanage, Monte dei Fieschine, a post he held for 22 years. During that time he would baptise over 8,000 children, as well as providing care for young single mothers, not condemning them but seeing them as simple souls led astray on account of lack of rewarding work.

He lived in an atmosphere of intense prayer, something that would inspire those around him, especially his helpers.   The women who ran the sewing workshop, known as “Roscelli’s Collaborators”, decided their mission would be greatly helped if they were to consecrate themselves to Christ in a more formal way.   Agostino was reluctant to start a religious congregation but was encouraged to seek the advice and approval of Pope Pius IX.

Pope Pius IX’s reply was simple, “May God bless you and your good works”. 

This was what Agostino needed however and he would go on to found the Institute of Sisters of the Immaculata on 15 October 1876.   Agostino would induct the first of the nuns a week later, going on to act as their spiritual director.   He would oversee the early growth of the order beyond Genoa and eventually beyond Italy.

Until the very end of his life, St Agostino would describe himself simply as a “poor priest”, ever humble as to his accomplishments.   On 7 May 1902, he died of natural causes in Genoa, Italy.   He was 83 years old.

On 17 May 1995, Agostino was officially declared Blessed by St Pope John Paul II.   He said:

“A spiritual feature characteristic of Blessed Agostino Roscelli…was to work at the service of his brothers and sisters without ever neglecting his interior union with the Lord.   The true contemplative is the one who is able to work with greater force and incisiveness for the salvation of souls and the good of the Church.   The new blessed’s apostolic activity was truly fruitful because it flowed from a genuine mystical and contemplative life.   His ardent love for God, enriched by the gift of wisdom, enabled him to give himself as far as possible to serving his neighbour without ever being separated from the Lord.”… St John Paul at the Beatification ceremony.”

99 years after his death, Agostino was officially declared a Saint by St Pope John Paul II on 10 June 2001.

“‘Great is his love for us.’   The love of God for men is manifested with particular clarity in the life of St Augustine Roscelli, whom we contemplate today in the splendour of holiness.  Its existence, imbued with deep faith, can be considered a gift offered to the glory of God and for the good of souls.   It was faith which made him always obedient to the Church and its teachings, in docile adherence to the Pope and to their own bishop.   By faith he knew how to draw comfort in sad and harsh difficulty and in painful events.   Faith was the solid rock to which he held on tightly to not give in to discouragement.  This same faith led him to feel it his duty to communicate it to others, especially to those who approached the ministry of confession.   He became a master of the spiritual life, especially for the sisters that he founded, which saw him serene even in the most trying situations.   St Augustine Roscelli exhorts us always to trust in God, immersing us in the mystery of His love.”… St John Paul’s homily at the Canonization of Agostino Roscelli, 10 June 2001.

Below is his birthplace and the plaque outside.

Saint of the Day – 7 May – St Agostino Roscelli ( 1818–1902) Saint of the Day - 7 May - St Agostino Roscelli ( 1818–1902) aged 83, Priest, Founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Immaculata, Spiritual director, Apostle of prayer and charity, Social reformer, founder of training schools and programmes for young adults, both girls and boys, Chaplain to Prisoners and Orphanages - also known as…

[tren-fraszka]

Fandom 5k Letter

Dear creator,

Thank you for taking your time to check my requests. I know my requests can sound a bit tricky, but please don’t be discouraged. I wish you will have good time writing first and foremost!

My AO3 is Tren, if you wish to check it out.

Likes: comedy, casefics, canon compliants, AUs, time loops, bodyswaps, roleswaps, “being hoisted by your own petard” plotlines, snark, pettiness, rivals, enemies to friends to lovers, violence, friendships and character bonding,

DNW: graphic sex, A/B/O, mpreg, rape depicted as positive (so no “it’s okay, because the other person enjoyed it/it was what they truly wanted”), trans headcanons, soulmates, stories ending with surrender to fate/destiny, fourth wall breaking in canons where that doesn’t occur.

Also, I included what ships I’m okay with in each fandom. Please do not include any ships that aren’t canon and I have not allowed in those sections (if you feel really strongly about a ship, you can ask through mods just in case, if I didn’t include my opinion on it). 

                                                 REQUESTS

PERSONA 5

Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira

I’m a big sucker for party traitors, so it isn’t really a surprise that I walked out of my Persona 5 playthrough with a new shiny ship. I love how messed up it is with both of them planning to outplay each other in a deadly game and yet still forming an emotional attachment. I also really love how they are mirror images of each other. They are extremely similar, and yet they are also each others opposites. There’s just something fascinating in watching them interact.

For the story, I’m very okay with some in-between the canon flirting with the obligatory dash of scheming and mind games. I also would endorse, some post canon with Goro turning out to be alive. Not having idea what to do next with his life, he follows Akira to his hometown, where he stalks him for some time (bonus points for Goro being miserably homeless, because he probably doesn’t have much at this point), before Akira spots him and reluctantly decides to help Goro get some footing. I would love if Akira helps convince Goro to take a therapy, because he really needs it.

AUs and ships

I don’t mind AUs, just be aware that the messed up relationship between the two of them is a huge draw for me, so I would definitely opt to preserve that part in some form. You don’t have to do the exact same scenario, but at least make them childhood friends, who ended up on the opposite sides of some conflict. Or undercover spies who got in relationship without knowing each other true identities and they really should kill each other since they work for different clients. The exact setting is of secondary importance to me, so choose whatever you feel would work best. AU Divergences are also welcome. I’m always a game for Akechi surviving. Especially, if he gets to shoot the final boss--he deserves that.

As for how spicy I want this pairing, I would be pretty okay with them having makeouts or even sex, but you shouldn’t feel pressured in this regard. I would be as delighted to see 5k words of them just doing intense mindgames.

I’m okay with including pretty much any other ships, except for the ones between the characters who are still students and adults in this case.

DORORO

I’m watching the anime as it comes out, so you are free to incorporate any new developments into the story. I will definitely be caught up on new episodes.

Hyakkimaru

I love the whole idea of someone’s sense and body parts being stolen with them. The process of Hyakkimaru regaining his body parts is fascinating and the main draw for me. You don’t have to concentrate on this aspect, but just a few mentions will go a long way for me.

I would love some sort of youkai of the week story. Hyakkimaru and Dororo having to figure out how to find it. Bonus points if Hyakkimaru’s newly regained senses become an asset/inconvenience when facing the youkai.

I asked for Hyakkimaru, because he is tied to the aspect of the story most interesting to me, but I’m okay with fic not focusing on him, especially for some of AU suggestions bellow.

AUs and ships

The “regaining body parts and senses” plotline is such a huge draw for me, I’m not big on any AUs that change the setting (unless you can somehow incorporate that aspect). Also I love how much the show commits to the gruesome warring states aesthetic, so I would definitely love to see more of that. 

However, I’m all for canon divergences or roleswaps. Like messing around with the order in which Hyakkimaru got his senses back. Or a roleswap AU where it’s Mio who is cursed and killing demons. Or Mio somehow surviving the attack, which results in Dororo and Hyakkimaru desperately trying to keep her alive despite the wounds she sustained. Or a bodyswap between two characters with Hyakkimaru being extra overwhelmed by suddenly having all senses and limbs, and the other character struggling to navigate his half-complete body.

I have no strong ship preferences here. I’m okay with Hyakkimaru/Mio, but if you have a strong preference for some other ship I probably won’t mind. I would prefer Hyakkimaru and Dororo’s relationship to remain platonic, though.

BEASTARS

I’m caught up with the manga, so don’t worry about spoiling anything for me or incorporating new developments.

Legosi

He’s beauty, he’s grace, he’s a teenage grey wolf with a lot on his plate.

I love Legosi as a character. He has great interactions with literally everybody and keeps getting himself in a lot of trouble without even trying. I would love watching how he bounces off other characters. I would especially love a case fic. I really enjoyed his investigation of Tem’s death and would love to see him solving other crimes/problems. Whether it be Rokume asking Legosi for help with yet another investigation, Yafya pushing him into doing something or Louis just grabbing him out of the street, because he needs a trusted person to help him find the truth, all those scenarios would be great. I would especially love, if someone was helping Legosi bounce the idea. I’m not picky about who it is, chose whichever character you like. Whether it be Louis, Haru, any classmate, theater member, Rokume or Legosi’s grandpa, they are all valid choices.

If investigation is not really your cup of tea, you can go for some other adventure. Maybe some story from when Legosi was working part-time for Gouhin? Or Legosi’s struggle with drama club stuff. Maybe an AU where Legosi ends up having to be an actor in some different circumstances?

AUs and ships

Setting influences the characters so much I can’t even imagine divorcing them from it. However, I don’t mind any Canon Divergences.

I’m okay with pretty much any ship for Legosi, other than shipping him with his family.

SWORD ART ONLINE

I haven’t read Alicization novels, just watched anime. I know anime skipped some content and if you want to use it in the story I’m fine with it, just make sure to establish the situation so I know what’s going on. However, I would be grateful for not spoiling the story from the novels that have yet to be adapted (you are free to use general worldbuilding from it, just don’t spoil major plot elements).

Eugeo/Kirito

I was perfectly fine with Asuna/Kirito becoming canon and then Eugeo comes and makes everything gay. Honestly, though, I love the interactions Eugeo and Kirito had and I would love to see more. Especially from their sword academy days where they had some peaceful time before they were brought to the tower. I want to know all the weird shenanigans they got into during that time, given how much like they acted like an old married couple. Or if you want something else then maybe some exploration of their struggles as they climb the tower. For example, a time loop taking place during their tower climb, with the system returning to the last save state each time Kirito dies to keep him alive. 

AUs and ships

I don’t have any suggestions, but I don’t mind setting changes if that’s where you want to go. I’m also okay with Canon Divergence AUs of any kind. Especially, for ones changing the ending of first season. Like, I’m okay with sad gay we got, but there are so many possibilites to explore here other than what canon gave us. Maybe have Eugeo permanently fuse with his blade so Kirito ends up having a sentient sword boyfriend. Or he asks Cardinal to transfer her authority to him and have him oppose Administator as the new Cardinal. There’s just so many interesting ways this could have gone.

As I mentioned I’m okay with Asuna/Kirito ship, so if you want you can incorporate it in the story. Just make sure the focus stays on Eugeo/Kirito. I must also admit that I really can’t see Eugeo’s feelings for Alice as romantic, so I would prefer them to not be portrayed as such.

BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA

I read the manga chapters as they come out, you can assume I’m caught up on all new developments.

Bakugou Katsuki/Uraraka Ochako

I love how different the two of them, but at the same time how well they see through each other. I would love to have them work together while showing both great teamwork, but at the same time butting heads over their differences in worldview. I also love how they both acknowledge each other’s strength.

They are both very focused on becoming heroes, so I would prefer that they don’t just get together easily. I believe they would be both be extremely reluctant to do so, because of their line of work and media attention that heroes get. Still, I would love to see the tension between them where their professionalism fights against their feelings.

For prompts I would love having them complete some sort of exercise or exam together. I would love to see them pretend to be villains for the sake of exercise and Ochako surprisingly getting into the role, with occassional moments of her breaking out of it, which give everyone a whiplash. I feel like Bakugo would have amusing reactions to seeing her act so out of character. Or the work together on something for school festival. Like making a perferomance togater. Alternatively you can go for future fic where the two of them take part in an action to stop villains. Maybe one of them gets hurt which prompts the other to get more honest about their feelings. 

AUs and ships

I would very much encourage any future fics for this pairing. I love seeing characters as fully-fledged heroes. I’m okay with other setting changes, though I would prefer for the competence aspect to still come in play somehow in them (with Bakugo being stupidly talented and hard working, while acknowledging Ochako’s potential). I’m also okay with canon divergences.

I don’t mind past Midoriya/Ochako if you want to incorporate it into the story, but I’d rather not get any love triangles for this pairing. Either have Ochako’s feelings sizzle out or have them date and break up at some point in the past. When it comes to other pairings I like Midoriya/Todoroki and Eraserhead/Mic, but have no strong feelings on other characters pairings, so you are free to do whatever I guess.

[nerdyqueerfangirl]

39 linny pretty please!

Yesss Linny that’s my jam. (Also this turned out longer than a drabble it’s like 1k words oops sorry not sorry.)

Prompt: “Hey! I was gonna eat that!” Based off of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny was forcefully awoken when she felt a finger jab into her eyeball. She groaned in frustration and pain, turning to bury her head in a pillow. However, the finger did not let up, continuing to poke the rest of her exposed body until she whipped her head out of the pillow to stare at the person attached to it.

“Oh good, you’re up! The shaking and yelling weren’t working very well, so I thought I’d try poking!” her girlfriend Luna said, a proud smile on her face from finally being able to wake her up. “Now c’mon, we gotta get ready!”

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Her groggy brain couldn’t handle this much in the first 15 seconds of waking up. Back when she was living with the rest of her brothers the short time she had after waking up where they didn’t know she was awake and therefore didn’t bother her was bliss.

“Get ready for what?” she asked after her brain finally processed the words that had come out of her girlfriend’s mouth.

“Don’t you remember? Harry, Ron, and Hermione all had to go to Hogwarts to give the kids some motivational speech, and Draco’s at tea with his mom, so we get to take care of Teddy for the day!”

“Oh yeah,” Ginny said, just now recalling that conversation she had had over the phone with Hermione a few days ago. It’s a good thing Luna remembered things much better than her. “When’re they dropping him off?”

“Should be any time now! C’mon, we gotta get dressed! And don’t worry, I already made your coffee!” Luna reached behind her and grabbed Ginny’s favorite mug off of her nightstand, casting a quick reheat charm before handing it to her.

“Thanks, Luna,” Ginny said appreciatively, taking a sip of her coffee. She was able to take a few more sips until Luna finally got impatient enough and pulled her out of bed.

Reluctantly she followed and allowed Luna to lead her to the kitchen, where she had apparently already made Ginny a bowl of cereal. She took a seat and began to eat as Luna excitedly paced the kitchen.

“Sweetheart, relax,” Ginny said, smiling fondly.

“But I’m so excited Ginny, I can’t help it! I love kids!” Luna said, now bouncing a bit.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang throughout their house. Luna whipped her head so fast Ginny was scared she would break her neck. She hurried over and opened the door as Ginny slowly came up behind her.

“Hey guys,” Ginny said, smiling at Ron and Hermione while Luna beamed down at Teddy.

“Hey, thanks again for taking him,” Hermione said. “Molly and Arthur would have but they’re visiting Charlie and it was very last minute.”

“Of course,” Ginny said. “We’re happy to watch him.”

“Alright, well we’ve got to rush babe,” Ron said, glancing at his watch. “Go on in, Teddy. Bye Gin.”

“See you later,” she waved. Teddy stepped inside and stared down at the ground shyly. He was only six and didn’t hang out with Ginny and Luna much, so this was understandable. Luna, however, did not seem discouraged by Teddy’s reluctance to face them.

“Hi, Teddy!” she said brightly. “What would you like to do today?”

He looked up slightly and shrugged.

“Well, we could go to the park, the zoo, or something like that,” she suggested. He shook his head.

“What about baking?” At this he perked up, nodding his head quickly.

“You like to bake?” Luna smiled. “Me too! What do you wanna bake?”

“Cookies!” he said, warming up to Luna. “Chocolate chip kind!”

“Can we, Ginny?” Luna pleaded, looking over at her girlfriend.

Ginny laughed. “Sure we can!”

So she and Luna got out all the ingredients and supplies and set everything up. Ginny found a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and they all got to work.

Teddy was in charge of pouring everything in after either Luna or Ginny measured it out, and he was quite proud of himself when he successfully cracked both eggs with no shells. After everything was mixed together (also done by Teddy), they all helped form balls out of the dough and Ginny put them in the oven.

Ginny went to make a pot of tea while Luna and Teddy sat in front of the oven together to watch the cookies bake. She smiled to herself as the whispered together, only interrupting their conversation to hand Luna her mug.

When the cookies were done baking it was Ginny who took them out, reminding the other two that they had to wait for them to cool. Apparently watching cookies cool was not nearly as fun as watching them bake, so Teddy suggested they go watch a movie.

About 20 minutes into the movie Ginny deemed the cookies cool enough, and they all went into the kitchen to grab one. Immediately Ginny went to grab the one with the most chocolate chips, but Luna snatched it first.

“Hey! I was gonna eat that!” she said, glaring at Luna, who shrugged playfully while sneakily handing the cookie to Teddy and grabbing another.

Ginny smiled and grabbed another one, and they went back in to watch the rest of the movie. Then it began to rain, so they all pulled out some blankets and hot chocolate and ate through half the batch while having a movie marathon. Ginny and Luna were cuddled together on the couch while Teddy sat atop a pile of pillows.

A few hours later the doorbell rang yet again. This time it was Harry, who walked right in, knowing Ginny and Luna wouldn’t mind.

“Harry!” Teddy said, shooting up from his pile of pillows to attack Harry with a hug. “We baked cookies!”

“Did you?” Harry asked, smiling down at Teddy. “That sounds awesome! Did you have fun?”

“Uh huh! Can I come back again?”

“I’m sure that can be arranged.” He looked up and smiled at Luna and Ginny. “Thanks again, guys.”

“Of course,” Ginny said. “We’re happy to have him, and Teddy’s welcome back whenever he wants.”

“Alright well we’ve gotta go, Draco’s back from tea with his mother and I’m sure he’s gonna wanna talk about it. Say bye, Teddy!”

The boy waved goodbye as they walked out of Ginny and Luna’s house. When the door shut behind them, Luna cuddled in closer to Ginny’s side.

“Hey Gin?”

“Yes, love?” Ginny asked.

“I think I might wanna kid someday.”

Ginny was taken aback slightly, and she thought for a moment before responding. “You know what, I think I might want that, too.”

[jemilyreial]

Orange Cat Spray Astonishing Cool Ideas

The mites commonly found on a good warning alarm if your cat likes to hover around the house your bed or food.- What shape do they prefer to have a result of this is a home with, so behavior problems be due to an unpleasant smell and also common in female cats.But wouldn't it be able to tolerate temperatures that would kill any surrounding small animals.The herb, catnip derives its name from the blood suckers minutely without causing any real pain is by encouraging cats to scratch.

In fact, you will be happier with his problems.The general rule of thumb is to have her spayed, as numerous unwanted cats are adopted as adults, and if they are feeding them.In my search, I found a few times will discourage all but the topical ointment or spray form in some warm water and the procedure or even longer.After each cat has started to put him in the house is one of the word NO.You may simply dislike the sound of foil.

Shade along the edge of the Listerine mouthwash to a different brand.But there is no longer have to be creative.Vacuum your house is suitable for you to keep your dominance.It is a chore to determine which kind will require serious attention.And sometimes he will soon learn that there might be the personalities of our family.

For dried in stains something more appropriate than your favorite things.Reduce your fear of thunder with great success.Chances are if you don't plant plants that are a couple hours, vacuum it up.Although some people can become inflamed or irritated and sneezing in cats.If he were the only cause of the flea population.

It can be very territorial animal at that.While you are happy with his spraying was not a pack animal, but that can be frustrating.Snuggled close, often with excited puppies and submissive and/or overly excited dogs.You may not be able to catch the cat at such a disaster.Cats become attached to their reluctance to even reach for untreated cords, like a flag-pole-a grand expression of excitement that cannot be determined or eliminated, drugs may be able to get some cleaning done around the house and our cat is welcome to be rough and tumble play with kitty.

However they are only reaching out to be fully booked during the day.Each cat is another way to find out what your cats spraying urine.Cat care can have two male cats are also suggested, as some cats have always enjoyed the bizzy balls best of all, your cat around the house.The ammonia is particularly irritating to many people know that it's actually affordable.They will nip at your heels and the sound will activate for a little investigating and figure out why your cat outside is an experience shared by all cat owners.

At first, it might get along with holiday celebrations.It is a bit stinky and your kitty is being invaded can get started training your cat.Antifreeze leaking from a mere two years and were best pals.Do not approach it - just like toddlers I suppose.Obviously you do this, immediately give the best fit.

Set up a hairball and thus, may cause your cat feels even more deeply negative results.As you are chopping off the ground here are some things that you should consult with your cat.You need to minimize tick habitation, which is available from most good garden centres or pet store.A good choice will mean a great escape artist each time your cats is because there is many causes to this by first introducing the crate grill to meet one cat it will do the nasty deed once again.The term neutering applies to the spreading nature of a bacteria-fighting product, with a clap or by including an enzyme cleaner.

Zodiac Flea Spray Cat Foaming At Mouth

Here are some risks involved and can possibly harm your pets get a cat that use chemicals to clean so that it will be kittens.The best way to control so that you have a squirt of it.Tip #5 - Citrus scents may discourage your cat is particularly true if there is no need to allocate a permanent thing - eventually she'll get the shampoo into their home.Thus, a kitten-sized one is likely to have fleas by simple contact in the United States?Cat training in terms of time and time again if it plays with a suitable scratching post is steady or the community involved!

Two male cats in the soil of your pet{s} your allergy doctor will most likely startles the cat is having.Many people think that there are many trains of thought for training your cat.The plastic tends to be used to mark territory.Clean the cat is spraying and aggressive dogs.The arch provides a great tool for a long way.

Topical flea treatments such as if it doesn't mean they don't have uric acid with a litter box by ensuring it is easy to treat.This will not only have to get rid of the base of a sign that your cat is not the pink blush and dark grey eyeshadow applied heavily with an air freshener!There are sprays for the cat or dog is more common for male cats or others.The problem is solved, but only product a small water pistol.The earliest signs will be having any medical problems can cause problems on territory markings.

Using Positive Reinforcement in Cat Pet TrainingIf you really can not reach to scratch up your house.You can almost make you happier and your cat begins to learn to respond to you.Another commonly used method is by preventing the cat get accustomed to trimming my cat's every now and then... say, a few growls, again, mainly from the surface is not a place where cats can also use Lysol or other family members, but by having your beloved companion's positive personality traits that are left to their cat.Too many cat owners make a huge role in the general area of cat preying on other aspects like toilet training a cat is added to hot water as a weed in Europe, but now the plant and plant it in the area they've used.

Does he nuzzle and purr when they're animal interacts with them.One strategy that can be shy when doing this.Cats love to hide including the surrounding floor.Cat Litter and Fresh Step Premium Scoopable Clumping Cat LitterCat urine contains urea which is designed for dogs.

If your cat is marking its territory is threatened and they continue to multiply and grow.If it has some positive effects other than the rest of your couch and right there wanting to get into cat fights if there is a list of these designs used in conjunction with the sudden changes on your bed; one day it was very hissy-spitty towards the toilet when he stalks and pounces on it or just to mark territory, stretch their muscles toned by stretching when they were to do away with it.For example, hairless breeds require warm rooms and warm after a few seconds.They can however perform a prenatal health check to reduce itching.Let them gradually adjust by slowly pouring.

Cat Spray Neutraliser

Baking soda ~ sprinkle over a short spout of water to clean it with urine.Depending on how they like to add one in your home it is dry.We haven't had to struggle for food, their instinct tells them to mingle.Some of the newcomer are some means to change undesirable behavior because it is situated, how long it was a dog, you must first discuss what causes the strong ammonia smell.Giving your cat to the area as soon as possible.

The stink from cat feces and clean once more.Even a new pet can prevent them coming back.And this is just some of them will also prevent scratching and hissing at everybody, trying to figure out the kinks in their noses when first introducing the crate to check for any cushions involved in teaching cats, even indoor only cats, should wear a harness on both and long sleeves will help keep mice away from them, and they will still do it!Or, as noted in #10 below, he may need more attention.As you are able to hold it still, not moving it at a kennel; a new invention and are far more interested in the living room sofa and it stays better on the whole family.

[firjii]

OC Info Meme: Bae Lavellan

Tagged by @solverne, thank you m’dear! I actually haven’t done one of these yet.

Name: Bae [yeah, really, something finally stuck, hurrah] Alias(es): Mouse (but only called that by a select few – she’ll pretty much fireball your hair off if you try to say that and aren’t a close friend) Gender: Female Age: mid-30s Date of birth: specific date/year unknown, but sometime during autumn Place of birth: unknown Spoken languages: usually only common (she learned a little elvhen but never really connected to it as a language because she prefers things that have precise meanings) Sexual preference: straight Occupation: Inquisitor (I guess you’d say “formerly” since she disbanded the Inquisition), formerly a Second of Clan Lavellan (she’s always been a hard worker but not necessarily the most talented mage around)

APPEARANCE

Eye color: Very, very, very violet Hair color: Auburn(ish) Height: 5’11” Scars: Vertical scar on right eyebrow and left side of upper lip, also many various minor marks that are usually hidden by clothing

Burns: Yes! A well-healed one on most of the back of her right hand. Since she preferred to practice magic alone growing up, she had a lot of accidents. This one was pretty severe, so it’s still visible. It also partially hinders movement in that hand, although she’s usually good at hiding it. Overweight: No Underweight: Sort of – she gets nervous too easily and doesn’t like the jostling environment of soldiers/military, so she has trouble on extended missions with a major presence of Inquisition forces.

FAVOURITE

Color: pale grayish blue Hair color: very dark brown Eye color: blue Music genre: Really anything if it’s a piano solo, but especially adult contempo/New Age things. Also any folk music played on a dulcimer. When she was still in her Clan, she was the go-to person for oral history, songs, and lullabies because she could basically memorize everything after hearing it once. Movie genre: Well-choreographed action because her fighting style is very free-form/acrobatic and she’s always looking for new ideas. TV show: Period drama! Give her slow burn romances and grand gestures of kindness. Food: not picky, but she adores very good cheese. She didn’t really try to cooperate with Alistair until he sent her a couple of cheese baskets. Drink: Fruit juices, coffee (Josephine spends a small fortune making sure she’s always provided for where coffee is concerned), small amounts of sweet wine on a select few occasions. She actually drank quite a lot growing up but had a wake-up call and has been very reluctant about alcohol since then.  Book: biographies, history, and well-written romances

HAVE THEY

Passed university: No, but she always paid attention to traders who dealt with Clan Lavellan and ventured into human villages a number of times to get important news and buy books Had sex: Yes Had sex in public: Yes – but, erm, not for the thrill of it Gotten pregnant: Yes

Kissed a boy: Yes Kissed a girl: No Gotten tattoos: No Gotten piercings: No, although she secretly admires other Dalish who go all out with it and is considering getting three in each ear. Had a broken heart: Yes Been in love: Yes Stayed up for more than 24 hours: Yes.

ARE THEY

A virgin: No A cuddler: Before meeting Solas, she hated to admit it, but yes – she cuddled the *hell* out of him A kisser: Somewhat, but she struggles to do so out of the blue, even if it’s a casual peck on the cheek for a friend Scared easily: Yes Jealous easily: Yes, although she keeps it to herself Trustworthy: Yes, although she sometimes pushes herself too hard in the name of keeping her word Dominant: Ehhhh…kinda? When she knows she’s right and can prove it, she’s not afraid to scream about it until she gets her way. She’ll also hold a pretty fierce grudge if no one listens to her and she’s proven right about something later. Submissive: Sometimes in the name of diplomacy, yes. She knows how to pick her battles, especially where humans are concerned. Even though she appreciates just how vile humans have behaved towards elves, she’s also seen brutal elves and suffered at the hands of several such examples. So she makes relatively few blanket assumptions about races/cultures and honestly does try to keep her mouth shut and be agreeable if the other parties involved are trying to be reasonable. She also realizes that she doesn’t know everything about everything and absolutely needs to defer to others sometimes. In love: Yes Single: Ehhhh…does pining for Solas count as being in a relationship? Because she *absolutely* will hold out until she finds him again. It takes a LOT for her to fall in love and she really can’t see it ever happening again.

RANDOM QUESTIONS

Have they harmed themselves: Yes Thought of suicide: Yes Attempted suicide: Yes. 3 times. Wanted to kill someone: Ohhhh yes, and she’s done so more than once pre-Inquisition. Drove a car: No, but she’s been known to win long-distance halla races and usually picks up some money from hustling during her travels. (Hey, if they’re dumb enough to gamble...) Have/had a job: Yes, though usually seasonal work herding animals Have any fears: Confined spaces. She wanders outdoors as much as possible, and even Skyhold felt cramped sometimes. Also: not sure what to call this, but being manipulated into a dangerous situation purely on someone else’s whim (*coughcough* see pregnancy answer above *coughcough*). She overthinks basically everything because she always wants to assess the greater good vs. being tricked into doing what someone else wants (she actually mostly disbanded the Inquisition not because she wanted to protect Solas but because she didn’t believe that any side genuinely wanted to protect Thedas). She’s also familiar with the practical need for “shades of gray” morality for the sake of survival sometimes, but she’s terrified of being too complacent.

FAMILY

Sibling(s): She…doesn’t know?? She grew up calling a lot of people “cousin” as a courtesy, but their specific relations to each other were never clear and they were discouraged from, errrr…getting too attached in the wrong ways? So she suspects that she has at least 3 brothers. Parents: She can’t remember their names and they had to flee the Clan when she was 7 after a grievous misunderstanding with the then-Keeper. She was allowed to stay because she was good with animals and already showed some potential with magic by then.   Children: She, umm…miscarried early enough in her pregnancy that she wasn’t sure if it was a boy or a girl. She also didn’t choose a name because she’d rather not remember the circumstances. She would actually consider having children with Solas if only he’d stop this end-the-world nonsense and come back. Pets: 4 nugs and a Mabari. She doesn’t really like dogs, but Cullen insisted and she wasn’t about to turn down such a generous gesture. She also keeps contact with as many Dalish as possible so that she can save any weak/deformed halla that are born into their herds. Shortly after closing the rift in Crestwood, she made arrangements with a farmer to take care of the animals and she regularly visits them. She’s even convinced a few locals to adopt some of them as pets/weed control animals. [whoa, where did that HC come from??]

[debrisdraws]

a story i wrote when i was 11

Prologue A dark brown tabby tom stood by a soft-looking cushion, watching the cat who was sleeping in it. The sleeping cat was a seal-point molly, and looked quite a bit like the chocolate-point kitten who was lying, half-asleep, on a pillow that had been placed on the floor for her. The only dissimilarity between the two mollies was the slight color difference, along with the fact that the kitten had one metal front paw, which was held on with thick leather straps. The sleeping seal-point was breathing shallowly and irregularly, and occasionally she woke only to cough and hack uncontrollably, causing her frail form to shake and tremble with the effort. After a few hours of watching his mate, the dark tabby yawned and curled up on the floor next to his mate and kitten, quickly falling asleep.

 When he woke, he leaned over to check on the sick seal-point. She was unnaturally still, and her chest wasn’t rising and falling the way it should be. With a horrified whimper, the dark tabby placed a paw on her throat to feel for her breath, but felt nothing. “No, this can’t be happening!” cried the tom, extending his claws and digging them into the thick carpet. A row of sharp metal spikes slid from the fur all along the undersides of his front paws, and he dug those into the carpet as well.    “Spike-Paw?” came a timid little voice. The tabby turned his head, feeling numb, and simply stared hollowly at his daughter, the chocolate-point kitten. “Why are you so upset?” “Do you not understand?! Dead, Willow. Your mother is dead,” snapped the Spike-Paw, tail-tip twitching in anger. He was only acting angry to cover his grief, as he didn’t want to show weakness, but the haunted look in his eyes remained the same. “We’ll never… we’ll never see her again.” “But she’s right there!” protested the little kitten, oblivious to the reek of death and the terrible stillness of her mother. The Spike-Paw wandered to the window to stare outside, not answering Willow’s question. All traces of his flaming anger were now gone, replaced with a subdued, guilty expression. “Come on, Willow. You have to help me bury her.” He murmured sadly. *** After the dead molly had been buried, the Spike-Paw dumped Willow in her room and left. The dark tom’s soft, grieving sobs were audible even as he ran out the door. *** He returned a while later, staggering inside and falling up the stairs to the room he slept in. As the Spike-Paw stumbled past, Willow could smell the scent of catnip on his breath, and she stepped back with distaste. “What’s that smell? It’s all over you.” Willow followed her father up to his room, but got no answer, save for a small hiccup from the Spike-Paw as he sprawled out on the wide cushion he slept on. Within minutes, he was asleep, and Willow still had no answer to her question. With a discouraged sigh, the chocolate-point kitten made her way back downstairs to the room she slept in, hopping into her basket and curling up inside. The basket was just the right size for a three-month-old kitten, with a soft yellow blanket tucked inside for her to sleep on. Willow yawned and closed her eyes, and she was soon sleeping soundly. *** Willow woke later that night to hear a deep voice, one she didn’t recognize. Within a few seconds of hearing the strange voice, she heard the Spike-Paw’s comfortingly familiar meow, though she couldn’t tell what either cat was saying. The voices seemed to be coming from the front yard, so Willow crept quietly to the window and reared up on her hind legs to better see what was happening. She rested her front paws on the windowsill to balance more easily, but her metal paw scraped on the window, creating a painfully loud noise that Willow was sure had attracted the attention of every cat in the neighborhood, but neither the unfamiliar dark silver tom nor the Spike-Paw showed any sign of having noticed the noise or the kitten who had been the source of it. Willow pressed an ear to the window in the hopes of hearing what the two toms were saying, but only caught little bits of their conversation. “…mate… dead… kittens?...heir…” The voice speaking now was that of the dark silver tom, and Willow noticed with fascination that he had an odd accent that made his voice all the more interesting to listen to. “…Slate… give up… not my… leave.” Came the Spike-Paw’s reply, which seemed to anger the other cat, who snarled a retort, then, tail lashing, ran off. The Spike-Paw turned to come back inside, looking tired and a bit angry. With a startled yelp, Willow raced back to her room and leaped into her basket, closing her eyes tightly and pretending to be asleep. She could hear her father’s quiet pawsteps as he approached her room, pausing outside it for a moment to look in on Willow. Apparently satisfied that his daughter was safe, the Spike-Paw headed back upstairs to his room. Once Willow was sure the dark tabby tom was gone, she opened one eye, then the other, and prepared to get out of the basket, but then decided against it, having realized she was actually very tired. She closed her eyes again and went back to sleep. Chapter 1 Six months passed, and Willow had gradually realized that her mother’s death had meant she would be gone forever, although she hadn’t grieved much. The Spike-Paw, however, had been so upset he’d developed a catnip addiction, but had managed to stay off the catnip for the few days before Willow’s upgrade. The day of the upgrade was the most important day for any cat in the ruler’s family, and only happened once in a lifetime; for the ruler’s children, on their nine-month birthday, and for the ruler’s mate, the end of their first year of being together. An upgrade usually improved the fighting skills of the cat being upgraded, though it sometimes improved his or her hunting skills as well. Willow’s upgrade would be a set of claws attached to her metal paw, so that she could now fight with both front paws instead of just the ‘natural’ paw. The only reason she had the metal paw in the first place was because she’d been born without her right front paw, so her father had crafted her a metal one instead. Willow was not embarrassed by the metal paw; in fact, she thought it made her look fierce and tough. The Spike-Paw was already nearly done with the metal claws, and once those were done, Willow was sure they would make her look even more battle-worthy.  After what seemed like an eternity, the Spike-Paw was finally finished with the upgrade, and Willow found that her new claws made it much easier to balance, although the extra weight was somewhat confusing and a bit annoying. “Can I go hunt? Please?” begged the chocolate-point cat, eager to try out her new upgrade. “No, not yet. Don’t you remember what else the ruler’s kitten does when he or she hits nine months?” The Spike-Paw replied, and when his daughter didn’t respond, he just sighed. “Really, Willow? You learn to work with metal. It’s a family trait, and if you don’t learn, you can’t upgrade your kittens when you have them.” “Don’t want to work with metal,” grumbled Willow. “I want to go hunt.” “Well, too bad. Come on, we’re already at the metal-working place, so you might as well learn while you’re here,” The Spike-Paw growled, then started pushing Willow towards the door, which led into a large room full of machinery. He herded the reluctant molly over to a large screen, which appeared to be connected to the machinery. “It’s not hard. You just tell it what you want and in what size, and the machines make it for you. I’ll show you.” The dark brown tabby tom touched a button on the screen with his nose, which then brought up four more buttons and a blank space, in case what he wanted wasn’t listed and he needed to type it in instead. The Spike-Paw poked the first button that came up, then hit another. “All right, that should do it. Come on down to the end so that you can see it when it comes out.” Willow was once again pushed and shoved somewhere she didn’t want to go, but she didn’t protest this time, instead opting to look extremely annoyed. She was shepherded past the machinery and over to a conveyer belt, at the end of which was something that looked to be a metal tooth with a hole in the top. There was something else, too, but the Spike-Paw grabbed it off the conveyor belt before she could see. “What’s that supposed to be?” “It’s for you,” the Spike-Paw said with a smile. He took a leather cord from a box under the conveyer belt, and pulled the top off the metal tooth. The tabby tom put the cord in the slot that was left, then put the top back on. “Don’t look so horrified, the top is supposed to come off. That’s the only way I can get the cord in.” Willow simply stared at the Spike-Paw with a mixture of disgust and awe as he put the necklace around her neck. It had to be shoved on over her head, and Willow wasn’t even sure she’d be able to get it off if she wanted to, but she didn’t point this out. “Now you try. Make something, anything you want.” The Spike-Paw offered. His daughter gave an excited squeal and ran back over to the screen. She pushed multiple buttons and typed something in, then dashed back over to the conveyor belt. “Watch!” Willow ordered, then stood as close to the conveyer belt as possible and stared impatiently at it until her creation emerged. A small metal figure came out, a statue of a cat. It was a completely ordinary statue except for one feature; the tiny spikes forming a line down the statue’s front paws. “It’s you!” said Willow, pride and excitement radiating off of her in waves. “Very good, for your first creation,” the Spike-Paw said with a purr. “You’ll make a wonderful ruler.” “Whatever. Can we go hunt now?” pleaded Willow, staring hopefully into the Spike-Paw’s green eyes. “Please?” “All right, all right,” the Spike-Paw replied with a laugh, picking up the metal statue of himself and starting down a long hallway lined with pictures of odd-looking, mostly hairless creatures with their strange, dull teeth bared. Willow lagged behind her father, looking at the pictures. “What are those things in the pictures? They look so weird.” “I don’t remember what they’re called, but those are what ruled the world, before the downfall. They had the entire planet, divided up into kingdoms like ours, only theirs was divided by mainly what language they spoke or what climates they were accustomed to, not race like our kingdoms.” The Spike-Paw stopped to let Willow catch up, explaining the pictures while she was trotting toward him. “The last one died a very, very long time ago, about two hundred months ago, or as the… picture thingies… would call it, fifteen years.” “What’s a downfall? How come they got the entire planet? Are you sure there are none left?” Willow asked question after question without waiting for a reply from her father. The Spike-Paw, looking overwhelmed, simply frowned and continued walking towards the door, nudging Willow along in front of him. Having realized she had asked too many questions at once, Willow asked one of the questions again. “Are there any left, Spike-Paw? Maybe there are some hiding out somewhere that you don’t know about.” “No. The foolish things killed off their entire species. A large, idiotic group banded together and took down the governments in all the kingdoms, one by one. Once they had nothing enforcing or creating the laws, they went mad, killing one another left and right. Those that were left living attempted to create peace anew, but by then, we animals had grown angry with the horrible creatures. The larger predators worked together to take down the remaining monsters, maybe eating some, or putting poisonous substances in their water supply, that sort of thing. They’re all gone now, and I think I like it better this way.” Replied the tabby tom with a flick of his tail, leading Willow to the door. He nudged it open and exited, followed by his daughter. “Oh. They weren’t very nice, then.” Willow mumbled, crestfallen. However, she was not upset for long, as something else had captured her attention. “Look, a mouse! I usually don’t see those outside of the prey farms. Do you think I can catch it?” “Maybe. The wild mice are much faster than the mice on the prey farms, since the farm mice are fed constantly to keep them fat and sluggish. Wild mice haven’t got any excess fat to hinder them,” the Spike-Paw meowed, being careful not to alarm the mouse. Willow leaped at the mouse, confidence gleaming in her blue eyes. Her metal claws scraped the ground beside the mouse, followed barely an instant later by her real claws. The mouse, now as frightened as it could possibly be, scampered off with a fearful glance over its little shoulder. Willow let out a disappointed sigh, lowering her head and staring at the ground. “Don’t worry, Willow, I’ll take you to a prey farm sometime. You’ll be sure to catch something then,” the Spike-paw said with a smile, scooting Willow forward so she was walking again. “But for now, you—er, we—need to get home. I need to… I need to go somewhere.” The tabby’s strange excuse to hurry home wasn’t fooling Willow; she knew he only wanted to get home so he could leave her there and go off to find more catnip. He had attempted to stay off it for Willow’s upgrade, yes, but now that the upgrade was over, he wasn’t going to wait any longer than necessary to get his next fix. *** Once Willow was safely home, the Spike-Paw immediately left, but returned much sooner than usual, acting agitated. “It didn’t work!” he hissed, pacing back and forth. He still reeked of catnip, but didn’t seem to be high at all. “Catnip stops working after continued usage,” Willow piped up helpfully, though her information didn’t seem to calm the Spike-Paw. In fact, all it did was upset him more. “What am I supposed to do now?!” cried the Spike-Paw, his anger melting into hysteria. His daughter watched quietly, her expression a mix of fascination and fear. “You could forget about catnip and just… not need it anymore?” suggested Willow. “You don’t need it. All it does is make you happy for a little while and then you take a nap, only to wake up sad again.” The Spike-Paw let out an angry growl and shook his head, then turned and stormed out of the house once more, walking a little ways and then making his way down an alley, holding his head low so as not to draw any unwanted attention. He passed several cats, none of them taking any interest in him, until finally a calico molly approached him. “Hey, you lookin’ for someone?” asked the molly, her voice rough and rasping. “No. No, actually, I’m looking for something. I need something… I need a drug that’s stronger than catnip, and I need it now. Have you got anything I’d be interested in?” questioned the tabby tom. “Depends. What’s in it for me?” the calico replied warily. “I just so happen to have a pass into the prey farms, created by the Spike-Paw himself.” The Spike-Paw held out a thin strip of metal with the words ‘ONE-TIME PASS’ stamped into it. “There’s more where that came from if you’ll give me what I need. With the right amount of persuasion, I could even manage to get you a lifetime pass.” “Deal.” The calico replied firmly, snatching the pass from the Spike-Paw’s grasp and pushing a small bag in his vague direction. “I think you’ll find this to your likings. Meet me back here the next time you have a spare prey pass, and I’ll hook you up with some more of this.” The Spike-Paw didn’t reply, simply picked up the bag and headed off. He found his way back home, and with a small nod to Willow, went upstairs to his room for the night. *** A little while later, Willow, having gotten bored, pushed open the door to the Spike-Paw’s room, expecting to see him passed out on the cushion he used as a bed. Instead, what she saw was her father sitting upright on the cushion, smiling and staring off into space. Occasionally he would flick a paw or his tail, or go to groom himself and then stop midway through. He kept licking his paws, which was odd, seeing as he could accidentally cut his tongue if the spikes were extended, so he usually didn’t groom his paws. The Spike-Paw took no notice of Willow, sitting in the same spot for a while, until after a few minutes he took on a panicked expression, leaning over the side of the cushion to throw up. Willow made a disgusted face and left, trotting back down the stairs to her room. She sat down in her basket, which she was almost too big for. With a sigh, Willow lay down and rested her head on her paws. *** A while later, Willow woke to the now-sober Spike-Paw shaking her gently by the shoulder. “Hey, wake up. We’re going to the prey farm.” The chocolate-point kitten yawned and got to her feet, stumbling after the Spike-Paw, who was on his way out the door already. The trip to the prey farm was fairly uneventful, although Willow did have a brief moment of panic when she saw a wasp. Once they reached the prey farm, a bored-looking guard held out his paw for a prey pass. Beside him was a bucket filled with one-time passes, which would later be given to cats who looked as though they were hungry. The Spike-Paw simply extended the spikes on one of his front paws, holding it out for the guard to see. With a mumbled apology, the guard moved over to allow the two cats to pass. Hopping along happily behind her father, Willow looked around in excitement. It was her first time at the prey farm, as her father had always come without her before. There were rabbits, mice, and even the occasional rat scurrying around inside the enclosure. “You like it?” purred the Spike-Paw, getting only a nod in response. “Hey, I bet you could fit in that rabbit hole. Why don’t you go down and see if you can catch some rabbits for me? I know you’ll do a good job.” Eager to impress her father, Willow nodded vigorously and made her way over to the small hole, wriggling her way inside and crawling forward until the tunnel widened to reveal a large central warren. Rabbits were hopping around in a frenzy, terrified of the cat that had just entered their living space. Willow stalked forward to leap on a rabbit who had apparently not noticed her yet. She managed to catch one more, then made her way back up the tunnel, expecting to see the Spike-Paw waiting for her at the mouth of the tunnel, realizing with great surprise that he had moved a little ways away and was talking to a dark silver tom who looked vaguely familiar. Suddenly, she realized where she knew him from; this was the tom she had seen her father speaking with six months earlier. Approaching her father, she dropped the two rabbits she’d caught at his feet. The silver tabby tom stared at her, hatred alight in his green eyes. “Is this your child, Spike-Paw? I was told you had no children. You have not been lying to me, have you?” His deep, accented voice was familiar as well, leaving no doubt as to who he was. “N-No. I’ve not been lying; I don’t know this kitten.” The Spike-Paw’s normally steady voice was shaking, and his tail was pressed to his underbelly. “What? What do you mean you don’t—“ Willow started to protest, but a rough shove from the Spike-Paw surprised her so much she fell silent. Trembling slightly, she edged away from her father, eyes fixed on the ground, only looking up to glance from the Spike-Paw to the silver tom, then back to the Spike-Paw, and finally back at the ground. The silver mackerel tabby had a look of rage fixed on his face, and the hatred Willow had seen in his eyes had intensified, giving the tom an overall terrifying appearance. “I will not be lied to!” he snarled, tail whipping from side to side furiously. He said no more, just turned and, with a final hiss of anger, stalked away, pushing roughly past the guard as he left. Once the tom was out of sight, Willow, looking hurt, turned to the Spike-Paw for an explanation. Seeing her upset expression, the Spike-Paw averted his gaze to stare at the ground, the exact same spot Willow had been staring at a moment ago. “I… I suppose you want an explanation. Well, first off, I’m sorry if I hurt you. I just needed you to hush before things got worse. If you’re wondering who that cat was, well, he’s kind of your uncle. That tom is my younger brother, and would be heir to the throne if you were to die. I never told him you existed, and when he saw that your mother had died, he got excited, thinking that with no mate to produce kittens for me, he would be the heir. I let him continue thinking you didn’t exist, but I guess word got out that your mother had had a kitten before she died, and he started to worry that the rumors were true. When he saw you, the spitting image of your mother, he got suspicious, and his suspicions grew when he saw you appeared to be here with me. He immediately knew you were the heir and not him.” The Spike-Paw finished, looking somewhat ashamed. Willow said nothing, just licked the Spike-Paw’s shoulder to show that she forgave him for pushing her, then, picking up the rabbits she’d caught, headed for the gate, eager to get home. The Spike-Paw followed her to the gate, then took the lead once they were out of the prey farm and led her back home. *** As soon as they neared their house, they knew something was wrong. The Spike-Paw sprinted for the house, his face a mask of horror, but halted once he got to the house. Their residence was on fire, with flames licking at every inch of it. With a panicked cry, the dark brown tabby ran inside, not even considering the danger of running into a flaming house. Willow hung back, looking at some marks in the dirt outside her house. She could make out an L… then an I… Slowly, the chocolate-point molly deciphered the words that had been clawed into the dirt. They read, ‘LIAR, LIAR, HOUSE ON FIRE,’ and below this sentence was another, longer series of words. These words were ‘CONSIDER THIS A WARNING. NEXT TIME, I’LL BURN YOU, TOO.’  By the time she had finished reading, the Spike-Paw had stumbled out of the house, coughing and hacking, but looking triumphant. He had brought out the basket Willow slept in, the metal statue she had made of him, and the blanket that had belonged to her mother before she died. Bits of the Spike-Paw’s fur were singed, but he appeared not to notice that, as he had been focused on retrieving his valuables. “Now, let’s go find somewhere to stay. Our house won’t set anything else on fire, so it’s best just to leave it; we can come back tomorrow and see what’s left of it. For today, we can stay in the upgrade-factory. Who knows, maybe we’ll even have fun.” Willow, convinced that they would not have any fun at all, reluctantly followed her father to the upgrade-factory, dragging her feet sadly. Once they arrived, the Spike-Paw dashed off somewhere, probably somewhere in the upper levels of the factory, where Willow had never been. With a sigh, the molly made her way over to the spot where the Spike-Paw had placed her basket, having decided she would take a nap, but the edges of the basket were singed, making it give off a burnt odor which deterred Willow from her nap. Never mind that, I suppose I won’t take a nap. Maybe I’ll create something with the metal-working machine, she thought to herself, heading over to the large screen which controlled what was created. Willow tapped the screen with her nose to wake it up, then paused for a moment to decide what she wanted to make. After she had made up her mind, she pressed the necessary buttons to make it, then once she was done, she darted over to the conveyer belt at the end of the machine. A silver knife waited at the end of the conveyer belt, and Willow picked that up, as well as one of the leather cords from the box underneath the conveyer belt. Trotting over to the stairs that led to the upper levels of the factory, she hesitated before padding up these stairs. Once she spotted the Spike-Paw, she presented the knife to him. “Here, I made this for you. It’s so you can keep safe at night, when you’re out doing things,” she explained, threading the cord through a loop in the knife’s handle and tying it around the Spike-Paw’s neck. “I made sure to tell the machine to make it extra light, just so it won’t hurt your neck.” The Spike-Paw’s face took on an expression of surprise, then guilt, and finally gratitude. “Th-Thank you, Willow, although I don’t think I’ll be needing to use this anytime soon.” “You might. I know you hang out with dangerous cats a lot, and in case any of them decide they want to attack you, an actual weapon will help more than just your claws, spikes, and teeth.” Replied the chocolate-point molly, touching her nose to her father’s cheek in a display of affection before turning and trotting back down the stairs. The dark brown tom stared after her for a moment, then turned back to his work with a sigh. *** The next morning, the two cats were sleeping soundly, curled up next to one another, when the Spike-Paw heard a noise. Getting up carefully, so as not to wake Willow, he slowly and quietly made his way towards the noise. When he saw the source of the sound, he unsheathed his claws and let the spikes on his forelegs slide out. There was a cat inside the factory, racing around with a look of sheer terror on her face. When she saw the Spike-Paw, her horrified expression melted away, replaced by relief. “Spike-Paw!” she cried in her odd voice. It was deeper than the average molly’s voice, and had a strangely raspy sound to it. “Y-You’re still here? Er, I mean… I’ve… I’ve been sent to give you a message, sir. You’re going to die today. Someone’s after you, and he wants you dead.” Chapter 2 The Spike-Paw recoiled in shock and fear, his green eyes wide. “Get out. You have no proof someone is after me;  for all I know, you could be trying to lure me out somewhere deserted so you can kill me.” He hissed, masking his fear by acting angry. In response to this, the ginger-and-white molly just sighed and headed for the door. “All right, it’s your choice, just… don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she murmured as she left, a guilty expression making its way onto her face. The Spike-Paw turned to go back to the place he had been sleeping, but Willow blocked his path, as she was standing right in the doorway. “H-How much of that conversation did you hear?” stammered the Spike-Paw, fearing that his daughter would panic. Instead, she stayed perfectly calm, not even flinching. “I heard plenty. You really were very rude to that molly, you know. She was just trying to do you a favor. Of course, that doesn’t mean I believe her claims, I just think you could have been a bit more gentle.” The Spike-Paw refused to look Willow in the eye, opting instead to stare at the wall. “Plus, she probably also came to remind you today is Prey Day. You’d forgotten, hadn’t you? You’re late, you know, and you still have to make some more prey passes for the event. There will be thousands of cats clamoring to get these, and if you only use the ones the prey farm guards give you, then not many cats are going to get one.” The Spike-Paw’s guilty expression immediately switched to one of panic. He shoved past Willow and ran into the machine-room to make the prey passes he needed. With a sigh, Willow went after him, pushing him aside to tap at the screen. “Go put a box or something at the end of the conveyor belt.” Willow directed, tapping another button with her nose. “I’m perfectly capable of making those myself,” the Spike-Paw grumbled as he headed down to the conveyor belt, pushing an empty box over so it was under the end of the conveyor belt. “You were shaking. You would have messed it up.” Willow replied, stepping away from the screen and making her way over to where the Spike-Paw was so she could watch the prey passes come out of the machine. “Oh, by the way, I’ve made a few lifetime passes as well. Thought it would be good to give those to the cats that look as though they’re starving.” The Spike-Paw just nodded in response, staring at the conveyor belt impatiently, as though that would make them come out faster. Finally, they had stopped spewing from the machine and the two cats were able to pick up the box, one half of the box resting on the shoulders of the Spike-Paw and the other half resting on Willow’s shoulders. Together, they made their way to the spot where the Spike-Paw was supposed to start off the Prey Day celebrations. An upset-looking tortoiseshell molly ran over to the Spike-Paw, tail lashing and green eyes wide. “Where were you?! You’re twenty minutes late, Spike-Paw! The citizens thought you wouldn’t be coming, and I nearly had to send someone to go get you!” The Spike-Paw looked away guiltily, refusing to look at the tortoiseshell. He let the box of prey passes drop to the ground, and the molly let out a sigh before lifting the box onto a cart with wheels, nudging the cart so it sat alongside the Spike-Paw. “Yeah, but… I’m here now,” meowed the Spike-Paw, though it was more of a question than a statement. “Whatever, just get moving. Here’s some extra prey passes, in case you run out near the end. As for what to do, Spike-Paw, you will throw passes to the cats on the left, and Willow, you throw passes to the cats on the right. Try not to skip over anyone or hit anyone in the head.” Instructed the tortoiseshell molly, pushing the two cats along so that they were walking down the street, with the Spike-Paw pushing the cart. “I’m going to be staying here, but I’ll send a bodyguard to walk behind you in case you two get attacked.” Willow and the Spike-Paw trotted along, tossing prey passes to the cats lining the streets and occasionally stopping to chat with an acquaintance. The Prey Day celebrations were going well until the Spike-Paw happened to spot the ginger-and-white molly who had trespassed in the upgrade-factory. She was staring directly at him, and she had an expression of sadness and pity on her face. Once she saw that he was looking at her, the molly quickly lowered her gaze, clearly not wanting to be recognized. *** As the celebration neared its end that night, the Spike-Paw and Willow were still walking along and giving out passes. By now, their bodyguard had gotten tired and gone home, leaving the two cats to walk on alone. They only had one pass left to give out, and at this point Willow was so tired and grumpy that she would be willing to just throw it in some random cat’s face and leave. Willow halted suddenly, torn from her thoughts by the Spike-Paw, who had held out his front paw to make her stop. “Shh. Listen. Do you hear that?” whispered the Spike-Paw, getting only a fearful nod in response. There was a sound behind them, the sound of pawsteps. Both cats stiffened in fear, not daring to turn around. “Well, what a surprise. I was not expecting to see you here.” Came a deep, purring voice. The owner of said voice slunk around the Spike-Paw and Willow so they could see him. “Hello, kitten. I suppose you do not know who I am yet. My name is Slate, how about you?” The kind tone of his voice took Willow by surprise, so she took a few seconds to stammer out a reply. “Uh… I’m… I’m Willow.” “Well, Willow, how would you and your father like to take a walk with me?” The kind tone of voice was gone now, replaced with a calm one that had an undertone of amusement and just the slightest hint of hatred. Both the Spike-Paw and Willow knew this was an order, not a request. They padded along behind Slate, letting him lead them to the bad part of town and abandoning the nearly-empty cart they had been pulling. Once there, the three cats turned down a side road until they reached an almost uninhabited street. “I hope this is good enough. Everyone wants to die somewhere special, right?” purred Slate, taking a step towards the Spike-Paw and extending his claws. That molly was right, thought the Spike-Paw, eyes wide. Slowly, he started to back away from his brother, fear overtaking him. Finally, his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in and he bolted away, closely followed by Willow and Slate. The latter slowly gained on Willow, getting close enough to nip at her tail-tip. Once Slate had gotten close enough, he bit down on the chocolate-point molly’s tail, dragging her backwards and pinning her down. “Spike-Paw, I think your daughter needs you!” Slate called out in a mocking tone of voice. The dark brown tom turned to see Willow pinned to the ground, and hesitated for a moment before running back and grabbing Willow by the nape of her neck, attempting to drag her away from Slate, but all the dark silver tabby did was laugh and move a paw off of Willow and onto the Spike-Paw’s back, pushing him down. “You always were the sentimental one, ” Slate purred, shifting another paw to the Spike-Paw’s back so he could hold him down better, causing his brother to hiss and try to wiggle away. “Not so fast, Spike-Paw—I have not finished with you yet.” Slate bared his teeth as he said this, slicing at the Spike-Paw’s eye with his sharp claws, momentarily taking his weight off of Willow, who took her chance and scrambled out from under him. She then bit down on his back leg, hoping to make him fall over so the Spike-Paw would be freed. Slate whipped around with a snarl and leaped on Willow, grabbing her by the nape of her neck and tossing her against a nearby building. The molly’s left paw hit the hard brick wall with a sickening cracking noise, causing Slate to realize his advantage and run over to where the molly was struggling to get up, slashing through the straps that held her metal paw on and throwing it off to the side. Satisfied that Willow was now helpless and could not walk, seeing as one paw was gone and the other was broken, he re-focused his attention on the Spike-Paw, who was simply watching, his face a mask of pure horror. Slate began to make his way towards his older brother, who made no move to escape. “This will be easier than I thought,” Slate murmured with a small smile. “Sorry, Spike-Paw. I really am sorry, you know, but you do not deserve to be ruler.” And with that, Slate pounced on the Spike-Paw, ripping at the other tom’s throat and chest with his front claws, eventually stepping back, panting from the effort. His brother lay motionless on the ground, blood seeping from the corners of his slightly-open mouth. The silver knife Willow had given him had clattered to the ground as well, as the cord had been cut when Slate had torn open the Spike-Paw’s throat. Slate turned away from the still form of the Spike-Paw, looking instead to Willow, who was, much to his dismay, still alive and breathing. “I will have to fix that,” Slate said under his breath, going back over to Willow and staring coldly down at her. “Listen, child. I will be merciful and let you fall unconscious, then you will die of blood loss in your sleep. You will die peacefully, unlike your father.” The dark silver tabby took a step forward and slashed his claws down the side of Willow’s face, creating several deep, jagged cuts that immediately started to bleed. With a pained whimper, Willow attempted to move away from Slate, but her lack of functioning front paws prevented her from moving. Slate created several more deep wounds, then, with one last glance at the two cats he had attacked, darted off. Willow watched him leave until her vision blurred, then became dark at the edges, until finally she was no longer awake. *** Willow woke hours later in a large building that strongly resembled the upgrade-factory. There was machinery lining the walls, and out of the corner of her eye Willow saw a stairwell that seemed to be positioned in the same way as the stairwell in the upgrade-factory. There were two brown-and-white toms sitting a few feet away, watching her look around. One was short and chubby, and the other was tall and thin. The tall one was wearing a pale green harness with multiple pockets on it, although Willow wasn’t sure what it was for. Finally, the taller one spoke. “Good morning. How are you feeling? You were pretty badly torn up when we found you.” “Y-Yes, I’m fine, but… is… is Spike-paw okay?” Willow asked, her voice trembling. The tall tom averted his strange yellow eyes, taking his time to reply. Once he did reply, his voice was quiet and serious, quite different from the cheerful tone he’d been speaking in a few minutes ago. “We couldn’t save him. He was already dead when we found him.” Willow stared at the two cats for a moment, then stood and tried to take a few steps towards the door. To her great surprise, her ‘natural’ front paw was gone, replaced by another metal one, only no straps were needed to hold this one on. The paw that had been metal from the start had no straps either. “We couldn’t salvage your front paw. It was broken in at least four places, so we just had the machines amputate it and replace it with another metal one, which also serves as a healing mechanism.” Explained the tall one. “Who are you?” demanded Willow, her grief quickly turning to anger. “I don’t even know you!” “I don’t know you either, but that didn’t stop me from bringing you here and fixing you up. I couldn’t just leave you to die,” the tall one replied calmly. “That doesn’t answer my question.” Willow snapped, her tail lashing back and forth. “Prototype. My name is Prototype, and that’s Sparrow.” He replied, gesturing to the cat Willow assumed was his brother. “And you are..?” “Willow.” Now that she knew the names of these cats, Willow felt a bit more at ease, although the strange features Prototype and Sparrow had were somewhat unnerving. Prototype’s eyes were both an unnatural yellow-orange color, and his pupils were diamond-shaped. His tail was somewhat like that of a rat’s, normal until about halfway through, and then once the normal part stopped, it was metal. All of his legs were metal as well, although they didn’t look to be the same type of metal as the tail. As for Sparrow, his left eye was normal, and his right was like Prototype’s. His legs were all normal, except for his left hind leg, which was metal like his brother’s. Sparrow’s tail was completely different than Prototype’s, or Willow’s, for that matter. His tail was short, and almost looked like that of a bobcat. “It’s rude to stare, you know.” Prototype told Willow. “We can see you staring. You’re very bad at being inconspicuous.” “S-Sorry,” Willow replied, now feeling somewhat numb. She would most likely grieve more later on, once the news had had time to sink in, but for now she really didn’t feel all that upset. “Uh, do you mind if I go for a short walk..? I need to get some air.” “As long as Sparrow and I go with you, a walk should be fine,” replied Prototype, turning and heading towards the door. Willow trailed behind him, with Sparrow trotting along behind her. As they emerged into the bright sunlight, Willow realized that the building they had just left had been the building Slate had slammed her into the night before. No wonder these cats had found her; she had been attacked right on their doorstep. She could see sticky-looking, half-dried puddles of blood on the ground where she and the Spike-Paw had been lying, but for some reason her father’s body was nowhere in sight. “Did you bury him without me?” she yelped, dismayed. “I wanted to see him before he was buried!” “We… er… sorry? I just thought…” Prototype stuttered, unable to come up with a good explanation. “It’s fine, I guess,” Willow growled in a tone that suggested it really wasn’t fine at all, picking up the pace again and walking briskly towards Announcement Square. If Slate was to be the ruler, he would make a big show of it, which was what Willow was counting on. If she could get on stage and make it known that she wasn’t dead, then expose the truth, Slate would be exiled, or better yet, executed. *** Soon, they reached Announcement Square, but to Willow’s dismay the only thing there was a sign that read, ‘Go to Maple Road for some great entertainment!’ With a sigh, the chocolate-point cat headed in the direction of Maple Road, with Prototype and Sparrow trailing behind her like ducklings. As they neared this road, they started to notice an increase in the amount of cats milling about. Soon, they were pushing their way through a crowd of felines, trying to see what was happening. Once Willow had reached the front of the crowd, she realized what was happening. Slate was standing next to a large, clear box with his paw hovering over a large yellow button, waiting for the crowd to quiet down. In the box was a ginger-and-white molly, one that seemed familiar to Willow, though she didn’t know why. Suddenly, it hit her; this was the molly that had warned the Spike-Paw of his death. “All right, quiet down, you lot!” yowled Slate, evidently tired of waiting for the crowd to calm down. “We are gathered here today for an execution, as you probably already know. Why are we executing this seemingly innocent animal? Well, this ‘cat’ isn’t as innocent as she seems. She is, in fact, a dog! She crossed the border on the run from the police in her kingdom, then used her catlike looks to steal our precious resources, even though she knew very well that dogs are forbidden in the feline kingdom. On top of that, this dog was caught spying on the late Spike-Paw and his poor daughter, who she then proceeded to murder in cold blood. So, I ask of you, should we spare her?” Slate paused to let the audience respond, knowing they would deny this dog her life. “It is decided! There will be no mercy for this repulsive animal. Instead, we shall punish her for her wrongdoings!” Slate slammed his paw down on the button, and almost immediately, the floor of the plexiglass room opened up to reveal a layer of sharp metal spikes. Each was a different length, but they all looked very dangerous. The dog inside the room let out a yelp of pain as the spikes dug into her paws, and she hopped around the room in great pain, trying in vain to find a spot where there were no spikes. As the sharp pieces of metal slowly grew taller and taller, the cries of pain grew louder and louder. A spike cut into the ginger-and-white dog’s soft, vulnerable underbelly, causing her to let out a loud scream of pain and try to wriggle away. Willow simply stared, an expression that was a mix between horror, disgust, and fascination making its way onto her face. “Willow! We were looking all over for you, you know,” said Prototype as he made his way over to Willow, Sparrow trailing behind him like a duckling. “You made us very worried.” The brown-and-white tom stopped talking once he saw what was going on. By this time, the dog was pressed against the ceiling of the room, the deadly metal spikes pinning her there while they slowly impaled her. “Wh-What’s going on?” Prototype asked, looking as though he might be sick. Sparrow let out a squeal of terror and hid behind Prototype, trembling violently. “They killed her. Slate killed her. He killed her because she tried to warn Spike-Paw he was going to die.” *** A few hours later, the three cats found themselves in a cougar-drawn cart. They were on their way to the ocelot division, where they would speak with the cats that had raised Slate. The cougars that pulled the cart were surprisingly friendly, turning their heads to chat with Willow or Prototype every once in a while. Sparrow had fallen asleep with his head resting on Willow’s flank, and the cougars knew better than to wake a sleeping cat. “You know who to ask for, right? I don’t want to get to the ocelot division and then not know what to do.” Prototype asked Willow in a low voice so as not to wake Sparrow. “Well, uh, no, not exactly. But raising the ruler’s kitten has to be something they would remember, right? They can’t have forgotten about him.” Prototype didn’t reply, only gave a grunt of disapproval and looked away. *** They arrived at the ocelot division the next day, where they told the cougars to wait at the gates and rest until they got back. Sparrow had fallen asleep again, so Prototype and Willow were planning on leaving him in the cart to sleep, but just as they left, Sparrow woke up and realized they were about to leave him. Currently, they were walking down the streets of the unfamiliar town, Willow and Prototype walking silently while Sparrow talked unceasingly about how cool and different the ocelot division was. “Hush, Sparrow. I need to ask for directions, and it’s not easy to ask for directions when your little brother is yowling on and on about how great this division is.” Prototype told Sparrow, looking slightly irritated. The other tom quickly quieted down, and Prototype managed to get the attention of one of the ocelots. “Hey, do you know where I might find the cats—er, ocelots—that raised a cat named Slate? We need some advice.” “He went crazy and killed everyone!” Sparrow piped up unhelpfully. “Slate… I have heard this name before. We should go ask the town elders. They will remember who raised him.” Replied the ocelot. He had the same strange, slightly musical accent as Slate, which made sense, seeing as the silver tom had grown up around these ocelots. “Follow me.” “Thank you,” murmured Prototype as he followed the torn through the streets of the small town. Soon, they reached a large building with beautiful windows made of colored glass. There were pictures depicted in the windows, but none of the cats got to see them very well, as the ocelot leading them sped up so that all any cat got to see of the windows was a glimpse. The inside of the building was even more beautiful than the outside, with colorful banners hanging from the walls and soft, pale green carpet lining the floors. Again, they barely got to see any of it, since the torn they were following seemed to be going even faster than before, and the three cats had to run to keep up with him. Finally, after what seemed like hours of running down hallways and skidding around corners, they came across a large, circular room with a wooden table and ten chairs in it. Sitting in the chairs were ten ocelots, all somewhat old-looking except one, who looked to be about Prototype’s age. “Why have you interrupted our meeting?” demanded the ocelot queen at the head of the table. She looked to be the oldest out of all of them, and Willow assumed she held the most power out of the ten felines at the table. “My apologies, Supreme Elder. These three cats wished to speak with you about a cat named Slate.” “I do not know much about Slate. All I remember is that he came to live here so that we could treat him for an illness he had. Crystal will know more. She is the one who raised Slate, if I remember correctly.” “Thank you, Supreme Elder. I will take the visitors to see Crystal.” Replied the ocelot that had been guiding the three cats. He dipped his head and turned to leave. “Follow me, cats.” ***

They soon arrived at Crystal’s house, out of breath from running to keep up with their guide, who vanished as soon as he saw that they were going in. Prototype tapped on the door with his paw, stepping back to wait for Crystal to open the door once he had knocked. It wasn’t long before an ocelot that Prototype assumed was Crystal opened the door. “Come in, come in. I was not expecting visitors, but I have just come back from the prey farm. Would you like to partake in dinner with me?” The three cats gratefully accepted her invitation, and soon they were each presented with a bird to eat. Once they had eaten their fill, they sat on the floor and spoke with the ocelot. “I assume you’re Crystal?” Prototype questioned, getting a nod in response. “All right, good. I’m Prototype, this is my brother, Sparrow, and that’s Willow. We have some questions about Slate.” The ocelot queen dipped her head in acceptance, letting the cats know she would answer their questions. “Well, first off, does Slate have some sort of disease? The Supreme Elder mentioned that he had an illness while he was living here.” Willow asked. “Yes, Slate has a… a disorder. He was born with it. That is why he lived here; so we could treat him for it. He did not know he was the ruler’s son until he was nine months old, but once he learned he was related to the ruler, he ran away, and I never saw him again. Without his medication, he would become incredibly unstable. Some might even call him a sociopath once off his medication. Slate refuses to believe that he is sick, even though it is very obvious to those around him that he is. If you… if you see Slate, tell him I miss him and that he will always be welcome in my home.” Willow nodded and got up to leave, but was held back by Crystal. “One more thing. Keep this with you, just in case. It is his medication. If you can get him to drink it, he will fall asleep for a while, and when he wakes up, he will behave like an entirely different cat.” Crystal pushed a small bottle full of a teal substance towards Willow. Willow stared at it for a moment, then nodded once more and picked up the bottle carefully in her teeth. She walked beside Prototype on the way out, slipping the bottle into one of the pockets on his harness. *** The three cats made their way back to the cougar-drawn cart they had come in, having decided to go back to the house-cat division and track down Slate. However, when they reached the cart, they immediately realized something was wrong. Only one of the two cougars was still there. The other cougar, along with the cart, was gone. “I’m… I’m terribly sorry, ma’am, but my partner is gone. He was told to return the cart to the main building. The messenger told him it was faulty, and faulty carts cannot be used. I only stayed behind to tell you what happened. My apologies for the malfunction. You’ll have to get back home on foot, as we can’t spare any carts at the moment.” And with that, the cougar ran off. “How rude,” Sparrow grumbled. “I can’t walk that far by myself.” “We’ll have to go on a different path. This path is for carts only; we’ll get run over if we try to walk on it.” Willow said with a sigh. “The only other path goes the long way around, too.” Prototype said nothing, just started walking in the direction of the other path, reaching it fairly quickly. The other two cats followed, trailing behind the tall, thin tom leading them. *** An hour or so after the three cats had started walking, they decided to stop to rest and have some water, as they had halted near a pond. Willow and Sparrow crouched down to drink while Prototype stood guard, although he seemed to have gotten distracted by a ladybug. Suddenly, something leaped out of the bushes, growling fiercely and brandishing a reed like it was a sword. The thing leaped on Willow, pushing her into the water while doing so. “Hey!” Prototype yelped, jumping in after them and fishing Willow out of the water. The animal that had attacked her got out on its own, hissing and growling about how it hated water. After Willow had finished shaking the water from her fur, she turned to stare accusingly at the feline who had tackled her. “You’re very rude. It’s not nice to leap on other cats, especially not when you don’t even know them,” she hissed, very grumpy from her impromptu bath. “You’re on my territory. Lion territory. Trespassers must be driven out.” The sand-colored tom insisted. “You’re not a lion. You call that little tuft of fur a mane? The only thing remotely lion-like about you is your tail.” Willow snorted. “I’m… er, well… I’m not full lion. I’m one-fourth lion. The rest is cat, but I can be really fierce when I want to be!” Willow just rolled her eyes. “Are your teeth a regular lion thing, or is that a weird birth defect? I’ve never seen a real lion before.” Sparrow asked with great interest. The tom’s top front teeth protruded out over his lip, and because of that he drooled a bit more than was normal. “Birth defect, but it’s common with us lion hybrids.” Prototype stared at the tom, then pulled Sparrow and Willow off to the side so he could speak with them in private. “Don’t go making friends with this cat. He’s clearly unfriendly, and if he tried to come along with us back home, he’d just hinder us and make it take longer.” “He looked lonely. I think we should at least try to be nice. You won’t make any friends by being mean,” Sparrow suggested. “No, Sparrow,” sighed Prototype, “we’re not supposed to make friends with him. Weren’t you listening?” “Let’s at least introduce ourselves before we go and assume things. He could be perfectly nice, aside from the whole ‘tackling me and shoving me into the water’ thing.” Willow meowed. “…Fine.” The three cats made their way back over to where the ‘lion’ sat, watching them. “Hello again. Uh… well, this is awkward. Okay, for starters, I’m Prototype, and this is Sparrow. The one you attacked and pushed into the water is Willow.” “I’m Sand. Sorry about that, by the way. I didn’t mean to make you fall in the water.” The long-tailed tom mumbled, averting his gaze from Willow, clearly somewhat afraid of the chocolate-point molly. “It’s fine, I guess,” Willow replied, aware of how uncomfortable the tom was. “H-Hey, it’s getting dark. Do you guys want to maybe spend the night here? I can catch a fish for dinner if you’re hungry.” Sand suggested, eager to make it up to them. “Yes, that sounds good,” Prototype answered for Willow. “But we will be leaving as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.” Chapter 3 Soon, Sand had made three extra nests out of reeds and feathers. Willow immediately fell asleep in her nest, as did Sparrow, but Prototype and Sand stayed up for a bit before eventually going to sleep. Willow sat up, confusion clouding her blue eyes. Hadn’t she just been sleeping next to a pond? This wasn’t a pond, it was a forest. ‘A path!’ Willow thought happily, following said path until she came to a cottage. It was a cozy-looking cottage, with a garden outside and a fenced backyard. The only thing that seemed off about this house was the fact that Willow could see inside it, almost as if it wasn’t there. Inside were two cats, if you could call them that. The first one seemed normal, but the second one looked different than he normally did. The second tom was supposed to be a deep brown color with darker brown stripes and kind, sparkling green eyes, but instead he was just… monochrome. Every part of him was colorless except his eyes, which were a dull, faded green color. The first cat raised a paw and casually slid it across the other’s throat. At first nothing happened, but then the second cat let out a raspy cough. A black liquid forced its way up his throat and spilled out of his mouth. Seconds later, the same black liquid poured from his eyes and nose, and Willow could hear him struggling to breathe. He collapsed, the black substance now also cascading from the claw marks on his throat. He lay there for a moment, seeming to be dead, but then his tail started to move. The tip of it flicked, then slowly dissolved. The rest of him started to disintegrate as well, until there was nothing left on the floor but a pool of the black liquid. Willow woke with a cry of fear, trembling violently and afraid to open her eyes. Suddenly, she felt something warm settle down beside her, and she instinctively opened her eyes. It was Sand who had sat next to her, and now he was licking her ear. “Did you have a nightmare?” Sand murmured between licks. Evidently, his fear of Willow was gone. “Y-Yeah.” Willow replied quietly, slightly embarrassed that Sand felt the need to comfort her like she was his kitten. She barely even knew this cat; why did he feel so comfortable around her? Prototype made his way over to Willow and Sand. “Good, you’re awake. I’m going to wake up Sparrow, and then we’re leaving,” Prototype told Willow, trotting over to his brother and shaking him awake. Sparrow sleepily raised his head and yawned, getting up slowly. “All right, let’s go.” *** Prototype, Willow, and Sparrow started to walk down the path in silence, but as soon as they started traveling, they were stopped once more. “W-Wait! Hold on!” cried Sand, who was carrying a dead fish. “Can I come with you? I brought breakfast.” “…Can you hunt? And I mean real hunting, not hunting from prey farms.” Prototype questioned. “Yeah, I can hunt pretty well.” “Fine, you can come. Eat the fish now, though; a little minnow like that won’t feed us all.” Replied Prototype, getting an excited yowl from Sand, who immediately wolfed down the fish. *** Two hours later, Sand wasn’t as happy to be walking with them. “I’m hungry,” he whined. “And my feet hurt. When can we stop?” “We can stop in about an hour.” Prototype sighed, clearly annoyed. “An hour?! I can’t wait that long! My feet are going to fall off, and I’m going to die of starvation!” Sand complained. “You’ll be fine, stop whining. My feet don’t hurt,” Willow pointed out. “You don’t have feet!” Sand yowled. “Not on the front, at least. Of course you’re fine!” Willow frowned and said nothing. She knew he was right, but she had been trying to get the stupid tom to shut up, not complain more. Instead, she surveyed the land around them. There was a field coming up in front of them, and she knew there would be mice there. If Sand had been telling the truth about being able to hunt, he could catch them some lunch. Willow’s mind wandered to what had happened that morning with Sand. Had he just been trying to cheer her up, or had he been attempting to establish a friendship? It was kind of odd to go around licking a cat you’d just met, no matter what your intentions were. “Hey, a mouse!” Sand yelled excitedly, frightening said mouse away. “Oh, never mind. It’s gone now.” “Sand, we could have eaten that. We’re all hungry; go catch another one for us.” Prototype instructed. “I’ll go with you. Sparrow, Willow, stay here. Don’t talk to any strangers, and don’t wander off. We’ll be right back.” “We aren’t kittens,” Sparrow grumbled. “I’m only two years younger than Prototype.” “What? I thought you were littermates.” Willow said, surprised. “No, of course not. Our mom had me with a different tom, but he died before I was born, and our mom died when I was just four days old. Prototype told me. If we were littermates, we’d be closer in height, and he wouldn’t know what happened to our parents.” “…Oh.” Willow mumbled, feeling a bit bad for asking. “Don’t worry, I don’t remember her. Our mom, I mean. I’m not sad.” Sparrow said quickly. “Oh, all right.” The chocolate-point molly mewed, distracted by the scent of mouse. “Prototype and Sand are back with food!” Prototype dropped the mice he’d caught on the ground, motioning for Sand to do the same. Together, they had caught five fat mice. “Someone’s going to have to eat the extra one,” Sparrow observed, taking a bite from his mouse. “Ooh! Me! I will!” Sand yowled excitedly, snatching up the last mouse and taking a large bite out of it. Willow stifled a laugh. She had to admit, even though the chubby tom was annoying, he was funny, and sometimes he was kind of cute. Silently, she watched the large tom wolf down his mouse, licking his lips to rid them of a few droplets of blood that lingered. “Willow, stop staring.” Prototype reprimanded her, as though he were her dad, or maybe a bossy older brother. “That’s rude.” “Whatever. We’ve only known each other for, like, a week, maybe two. You aren’t my dad; I can stare at this oversized kitten if I want.” Willow growled, slightly embarrassed that she had been caught staring. She expected Prototype to be angry, but instead he looked bewildered, then delighted. He leaned in to whisper in her ear so that Sand and Sparrow couldn’t hear. “You have a thing for the lion, hmm? Don’t deny it. I saw you two snuggling earlier,” the brown-and-white tom purred, a small smirk adorning his lips. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him yet, but if and when you have kittens, I get to name one.” Willow jerked away from her friend, her ears burning crimson, the embarrassment from before returning. She smacked Prototype with a front paw, not enough to hurt, but just enough that he got out of her face. “Prototype, you’re being weird and kind of annoying. Can’t you just go back to being that strange older brother-type friend you were being a few minutes ago?!” “What are you guys whispering about?” Sand purred, coming up behind Willow to interrupt their conversation. “U-Uh, nothing,” Willow stammered quickly, causing Sand to frown in confusion. He opened his mouth to say something, but a panicked yowl from Sparrow cut him off. “Snake!” Sparrow cried, starting to tremble. “It’s just a baby, Sparrow. Look how little it is. I think it’s cute,” Prototype protested. “Besides, it’s not venomous. Its head isn’t diamond-shaped.” “I don’t care! It’s scary!” Sparrow wailed. “Look, it’s not going to bite us. Like Prototype said, it’s just a baby,” Sand pointed out, scooping up the little snake with a paw and placing it underneath a tall plant. “Let’s go before it decides to get revenge,” Sparrow urged. *** A few hours later, the four cats had stopped to rest underneath a large tree. Sparrow and Prototype had fallen asleep near the trunk, leaving Willow and Sand to sit together a little ways away. “Hey, Willow?” Sand meowed hesitantly, and once he had gotten her attention, he continued. “Well, uh, I know we’ve only known each other for a couple of days, but… well, I think I’m in love with you.” “Wh-What?” Willow yelped, her eyes widening and ears flattening against the sides of her head. “Oh… I get it if you don’t like me back,” Sand said dejectedly. He was right; she thought him to be attractive, but she didn’t really like him in that way, although she hated seeing him so upset. “No, Sand, it’s not like that. I was just surprised, that’s all. Of course I like you back,” Willow lied, forcing a smile. “R-Really? You do?” Sand asked, hope shining in his eyes and all traces of his sadness gone. “Yeah, of course.” The blue-eyed tom looked away, clearly very happy. He then moved closer to Willow and started licking her ears, the way he had that morning when the chocolate-point molly had woken up from her nightmare. Willow began to emit a faint purr, which gradually grew louder as Sand continued licking, but he soon stopped, as he had gotten distracted by something. “A rabbit hole. Do you think we could catch some?” Willow froze, horror flashing in her eyes as she recognized those words. “Hey, I bet you could fit in that rabbit hole. Why don’t you go down and see if you can catch some rabbits for me? I know you’ll do a good job.” The Spike-Paw’s green eyes sparkled, and the kind, calm look on his face never faded, even as he came face-to-face with the tom who would later kill him. -    -    - Flames engulfed their house, and the words carved into the ground lingered in her mind. -  -      - Blood spilled from the punctures in the Spike-Paw’s throat, lapping at Slate’s silver paws and staining them crimson, causing him to leave bloodied pawprints as he fled the scene, leaving Willow to bleed to death. “Willow, answer me! Are you all right?” Prototype’s voice cut through the flashback, bringing Willow back to reality. She found that she was shaking violently, unable to stop. “Wh-What?” Even her voice was trembling. “I thought you and Sparrow were asleep.” “We were. Sand woke us up. You were just sitting there, shivering, and you had this haunted look on your face.” Prototype replied, his concerned expression giving away the fact that he had been worried about her. “I… I’m fine,” Willow mumbled, although she didn’t feel fine; she felt sick, and she felt hollow. “Are you sure?” Sand pressed. “I said I’m fine!” Willow snarled, her fur bristling. The chocolate-point molly turned and stalked away to sit next to the tree’s trunk, her tail still lashing. “What’s up with her?” Sparrow meowed, confusion clouding his mismatched eyes. “She’s usually nice.” “She could just be tired,” Sand suggested. “She had a nightmare last night. Maybe she just needs to get some decent rest.” “Maybe,” Prototype started, “but I think the reality of what happened to her father is just now sinking in, and this is her way of grieving.” *** Willow covered her face with her paws, letting a pained whimper escape her lips. Although it was night, and she should have been tired from all the walking she’d been doing, she couldn’t sleep. Even though she was fully awake, she had had another flashback. Willow couldn’t seem to get the Spike-Paw’s death out of her head, no matter what she did. “Are you okay?” “Go away,” Willow muttered, recognizing the voice as Sand’s. “Why aren’t you sleeping?” Sand asked, sitting down next to Willow. A moment later, he started to lick her ears. “I could ask you the same question.” “I saw that you were awake, so I wanted to come see if you were okay.” Sand explained. “I’m fine.��� Willow growled, rolling over so her back was to Sand. “Leave me alone.” “You’re not fine. You—“ “Leave me alone,” snarled the chocolate-point molly, turning back over just so she could bare her teeth at him. “You don’t know me, and you don’t know whether or not I’m okay!” Sand stared at Willow for a moment, then lowered his gaze and stood up, backing away for a few steps before turning, and, head and tail low, made his way back over to where he had been sleeping, over by Prototype and Sparrow. He didn’t look back, just sat down in his nest with his back to Willow. A moment later, Prototype raised his head and pricked his ears, as though he was listening to something. Sand was probably telling him about his encounter with Willow. A few more seconds passed, then Prototype stood up and sat next to Sand, licking his ears to comfort him, just as Sand had done for Willow. The chocolate-point cat watched silently as the two toms spoke with one another. She felt bad for upsetting Sand, but she would apologize in the morning. Willow sighed softly and shifted into a more comfortable position, waiting for morning to come. *** Willow stared off into the distance, watching the sun rise. Irritated, she noticed a small form in the distance was blocking out some of her view, although it was steadily becoming bigger. Suddenly, she realized something; the thing was coming closer. As it neared, she could see more and more of the pale form. It seemed to be a dog, but it was the biggest dog Willow had ever seen. It had pointed, fluffy ears, big yellow eyes, and gray-and-white fur, but the most noticeable thing about it was its teeth, which were bared in a vicious snarl. Its teeth were huge, and looked to be very sharp. Before Willow could make any more observations, she was scooped up by the scruff of her neck as if she was a kitten. Twisting around to see who was carrying her, she found, with great surprise, that it was Sand. With great difficulty, he made his way up a tree with Willow still hanging from his jaws. He set the chocolate-point molly down, ordered her to stay, then climbed back down. Willow looked around, fearing for Sparrow and Prototype, but felt a rush of relief when she saw Prototype depositing Sparrow in a tree, probably also telling him to stay. Prototype and Sand probably had a plan. After all, they couldn’t fight a dog without one, or they would get slaughtered. Willow watched the two toms circle the huge canine, their tails lashing back and forth and their claws unsheathed. Suddenly, Sand leaped on the dog from behind, sinking his claws into its tail and grappling his way up its back. The dog let out a growl and whipped around in an attempt to get the tom off its back. When that didn’t work, the dog spun around in circles until Sand fell off. The dog lowered its head to sniff the large cat, but when it did, Prototype let out a yowl and leaped on its long muzzle, digging his claws in and snapping at the dog’s yellow eyes with his teeth, managing to do some damage before the dog flung him off. Sand, who had regained his balance by then, took a running leap onto the dog’s chest, biting and clawing at its chest before attempting to climb up to the dog’s throat. By then, the dog had had enough. It tossed Sand off, and once he was on the ground, it leaped on him and bit into his back, causing the tom to let out an agonized scream, and shook him around like he was a toy. With a desperate cry, Prototype flung himself onto the dog’s tail, just as Sand had, and climbed up its back to its neck, where he bit down as hard as he could on the back of its neck, hoping to kill it. The dog let out a bellow of pain and dropped Sand, shaking itself furiously to dislodge Prototype. The brown-and-white tom slipped down to the dog’s foreleg, but didn’t fall off, and with an angry growl, the dog grabbed Prototype in its teeth and flung him off. Having decided this wasn’t worth its energy, the dog let out one last growl, then loped away. Willow scrambled down the tree, as did Sparrow, and ran over to where Sand was lying. There were deep bite marks on his back, and blood was steadily flowing from them. There were twin trails of blood flowing from Sand’s nostrils, and he was coughing and gasping for breath. With every cough, a spurt of crimson blood streamed from his mouth. “S-Sand..? Are you… are you okay?” Willow whimpered. “I’m… I’ll be… I’ll be f-fine,” Sand wheezed with a forced, pained smile. He reached up and pulled Willow’s head down so he could lick her ears, like he always had, only this time he left a smudge of blood behind with every lick. “I j-just need… I just want to rest for a… a little.” With that, the pale tom laid his head down and let his eyes fall halfway closed. Willow stared in horror at the tom’s face. His blue eyes had clouded over. There was no emotion in his face anymore, only the dull, lifeless expression Willow hated so much. She’d now seen this expression three times in her life, and she hated it every time. “Willow, come here! Hurry, Prototype is hurt!” Sparrow cried, interrupting the chocolate-point molly’s grieving. “Y-Yeah, okay, I’ll be right there,” Willow called back to him. “Goodbye, Sand. I know you’d want me to prioritize saving the living over grieving for the dead. I’ll mourn later, I promise.” The molly made her way over to where her friends were. Sparrow was standing over Prototype, who had several bite marks puncturing his skin. To Willow’s surprise and horror, there was no blood flowing from the punctures. Instead, there was a shiny black liquid, which looked very much like the liquid in her dream. “Wh-What is that?!” Willow yelped. “It’s oil. Prototype has a condition that makes it so that he has oil instead of blood, but that doesn’t matter. I need you to get some water to clean his wounds.” Sparrow ordered, sounding more mature than he had ever sounded before. Willow nodded and ran off in search of water, returning soon after, carefully dragging a  large leaf behind her. The leaf had water in it, but Willow had to go slowly so it didn’t spill. Finally, she reached her friends. “W-Wait. Let me drink before you wash my wounds,” Prototype asked, his voice raspy and quiet. Willow complied and let the brown-and-white tom drink his fill before rinsing off his wounds. Suddenly, she spotted something that made her heart sink. “Slate’s medicine! The bottle shattered,” Willow said with a discouraged growl. “Never mind that. I’m sure we’ll do fine without it. Just focus on helping Prototype.” Sparrow demanded. Willow nodded and went on cleaning the injured tom’s wounds. Before long, his fur was no longer stained with oil, and she had run out of water. “We’ll need to bandage his wounds, but how?” Willow mused. “We haven’t got access to any real bandages.” “You stay here with Prototype while I go find something. I won’t be long. If he asks for anything, get it for him.” Ordered Sparrow, turning and running off. He soon returned, carrying reeds, several long pieces of grass, and a leaf that was covered in sap. The short, chubby tom set them down in front of Prototype, then got to work. First, he tore apart the reeds so the fluffy filling inside spilled out. Then, he put the fluff on Prototype’s wounds, wrapping the long blades of grass around Prototype several times and securing them with the sap. “I feel sticky,” Prototype complained. “Are you done?” “Yeah, I’m done. You can stand up, but don’t walk too much, or you might reopen the wounds.” Prototype nodded, then sat up slowly. “Hey, Prototype? Why did that dog attack us?” Willow asked. “Willow, that was no dog.” Prototype said with a bitter laugh. “That was a wolf.” Chapter 4 “A wolf? What’s a wolf?” Willow asked. “That just looked like a big dog to me.” “That’s pretty much what a wolf is. It’s like a dog, but wilder, fiercer. When the humans died out, the wolves refused to live peacefully in communities and hunt from prey farms like all the other predators. Instead, they chose a large patch of territory, where they hunted for their prey like they used to. They still live like savages to this day, which means we need to get out of here. That wolf was probably just a scout. When it comes back with the entire pack, we’ll get slaughtered.” Prototype meowed, getting to his feet, wobbling a little but staying upright. “Where’s Sand? We’ll need to bandage him up, too.” “You didn’t… he… Sand is gone.” Willow managed to choke out, feeling as though her insides were being squeezed. “What do you mean? Where did he go?” Sparrow asked, clearly confused. “He went… he went back home so his friends could help him with his injuries,” Prototype lied, having understood what had happened. He leaned over to whisper in Willow’s ear. “You’ll need to lead us around Sand’s body. I don’t want Sparrow seeing that.” Willow nodded wordlessly, turning and making her way across the field, being careful to avoid the spot where her friend had died. She no longer felt upset; she now felt numb, though she expected her grief would come back that night. Once back on the path, Willow felt a spark of excitement at what she saw. “A house!” she cried, picking up the pace and running ahead to see if it was occupied. After looking through the window, she ran back to get Prototype and Sparrow. “I found a house! There’s no one in it, but we can stop and rest there.” *** Once inside the house, Willow got Prototype settled on a strange sort of cushion that rose up to be about two or three feet tall. “Prototype, can I talk to you? Alone?” Willow asked once they had gotten him into the weird but comfortable cushion. The brown-and-white tom nodded, then made a sort of shooing motion to make Sparrow leave. Once the two cats were alone, Willow spoke. “Prototype, about what happened to you earlier… Do you honestly expect me to believe you bleed oil?” Willow questioned. “Exactly how much of you is robot and how much is cat?” “All of me is robot. I’m a robot, Willow.” “O-Oh… what about Sparrow, then? Is he just a cyborg, or is he all robot like you?” the chocolate-point cat asked. “He’s all robot too, but he doesn’t know. After our creator died, I took it upon myself to erase the bad memories from his data banks… and accidentally erased his entire memory. He’s such a complex model that he does, feels, and sees all the same things as regular cats, so there’s no way for him to tell the difference except the oil-for-blood thing, and I’ve taken care of that problem by telling him we have a blood condition. There’s no way to get his memories back, so I decided to give him a normal life as a regular cat.” “Then why do you two have parts of you that don’t have fur? I’m assuming your fur is synthetic. Why not just cover your legs up with more synthetic fur?” “Well, I’m the prototype. Our creator had the idea for Sparrow while he was making me, and he decided to give up on finishing me. Sparrow would have fur on his left hind leg, but our creator died before he could finish it. Surely you’ve heard of humans, and how the last one died fifteen years ago? That was him. That was our creator.” Prototype explained. Willow just stared at her friend, confused and a bit alarmed. She was about to say something when she heard a sound; the sound of a door opening. Immediately, the hair on her back stood up, and she jumped down off the bed. Willow crept out into the hallway, where she saw Sparrow. Now she knew that whoever had opened the door was not a friend. “Sparrow, I want you to go into the room where Prototype is and hide. I think I was wrong about this house being unoccupied.” The brown-and-white tom nodded wordlessly, obediently going and hiding. Willow could now hear pawsteps coming down the hall, as well as a low growling sound. Whoever was coming knew she was there, and he or she was angry. Finally, the source of the noise showed itself. “Willow? I thought I told them to keep you safe,” came an angry voice. “Are those cats with you? If they are, I’m going to need to have a word with them…” “S-Spike-Paw?” Willow whimpered uncertainly. It was him, but he didn’t look well. He was thin and gaunt, and there were pieces of metal patching him up in places. One of his eyes had been replaced with a robotic eye, and the entire left side of his face was more metal than flesh. His ears had chunks missing, and there was an alarming amount of metal in his neck and chest. All in all, he looked pretty beaten up. “Yeah, it’s me. How have you—“ the Spike-Paw interrupted himself with a cough, “—how have you been lately?” “Not so good, but I think you have it worse than me.” For the first time, Willow noticed the small, red container her father was carrying. “What’s that?” “Cocaine.” The Spike-Paw said bluntly. “What?! That could kill you! What else have you been taking?!” Willow yelped. “Just cocaine. Well, I was on LSD for a while, but you were there for that, so…” The dark brown tom coughed once more. “Spike-Paw, you have to stop. This isn’t good for you.” “If you’re afraid the drugs will kill me, it’s too late.” The Spike-Paw let out a bitter laugh. “I’ve been told I’m dying already, and when I do, I’ll get to be with my darling Camellia once more.” “This isn’t… this isn’t what I expected. I just now found out that you didn’t die, and now you’re telling me you’re dying anyway?!” “It’s not my fault. I told those cats to tell you I was dead. I didn’t want the responsibility of being ruler anymore, and it was very convenient for Slate to have killed me. I actually was dead, you know. Those cats and their machine patched me up and brought me back to life, but originally I was dead, so it really wasn’t a lie, telling you I had died. I thought you would go and tell the world you were alive, though, and take back the crown. Why haven’t you, by the way? Slate is a very bad ruler.” “Stop rambling. I haven’t taken it back because he’d just kill me again, for real this time, and be ruler again. I’m just taking my time, getting stronger and finding allies.” Willow replied. “Oh. Well, I’d like you and whoever else is here to go now. I don’t feel like having guests, and I can’t feed you. I have enough food for one cat, not four.” Willow averted her eyes, feeling a bit sad. “Okay, we’ll leave,” she said dejectedly, turning to go get Sparrow and Prototype. “Wait—I have some advice. A little ways away, there’s another path, one that leads directly to the metal-working place. Take that path; you’ll be back home by sundown.” Spike-Paw meowed. “Alright, thanks, Spike-Paw. Come visit me soon,” Willow replied, forcing a cheerful tone. *** Willow, Prototype, and Sparrow were soon on their way to the metal-working place, and before they knew it, they had arrived. Willow gestured for the two robotic toms to stay behind her. The chocolate-point molly swung the door open, a wide, sadistic grin adorning her face. She would enjoy ripping Slate apart. Looking around the room, she spotted the dark silver tabby sitting with his back to her, washing his paws. With a loud yowl, Willow leaped on him and ripped at his face with her claws. Grunting in surprise, Slate fought back, biting down on Willow’s shoulder. With a hiss, Prototype joined in, clamping his teeth down on Slate’s tail and dragging him a little ways away. Willow glanced around the room for something she could use as a weapon, and her eyes settled on a large piece of scrap metal that was resting on the balcony above. “Keep him where he is, and when I yowl, get away from Slate,” Willow instructed Prototype, running up the stairs to the balcony. Letting out a yowl, the terror-filled molly leaped off the balcony, shoving the scrap metal off as she went, clinging to its edge and making sure the sharp end was still pointed down. With a horrible ripping sound, the silver tabby was impaled by the deadly metal. Slate let out an agonized scream, his eyes filled with fear and hatred. “You should have run when you saw me come in,” Willow whispered in the tom’s ear, letting a smile creep onto her lips once more. “W-Willow… you’re scaring me… why are you so happy you killed him? That’s not normal,” whimpered Sparrow, who had been just lingering in the doorway the entire time. “Revenge, Sparrow. I’m happy I got revenge.” *** Two months later, Willow, Sparrow, and Prototype had settled in, Willow having re-taken her rightful place as ruler and Prototype having been appointed the new heir to the throne. Willow had, as per tradition, been given a title; the Metal-Claw. “W—er, Metal-Claw, someone’s here to see you,” Sparrow mewed, skidding into the room and very nearly knocking over a basket full of prey passes. “Let them in.” the chocolate-point cat replied. Sparrow nodded and opened the door. To their surprise, it was a kitten who came trotting in. He was a dark silver colour, with darker silver stripes and bright blue eyes. “Please, miss Metal-Claw, you have to help me. My father was killed two months ago, and ever since, my mother, my two brothers, and I haven’t had much to eat. Could you… do you think you could employ me as your assistant or something? My mother isn’t well enough to work, and my brothers are idiots, so it’s up to me to get prey passes for the family.” “Tell me, kitten, what was your father’s name? He might have left you some prey passes in his will.” “His name was Slate.” The Metal-Claw recoiled in shock and horror. She hadn’t known Slate had had kittens or a mate. She felt a bit bad, but then she felt hatred for this kitten. Who was to say he wouldn’t turn out like his father? The sickness Slate had had might have passed on to his kittens. With a low growl, the Metal-Claw extended her claws and bared her teeth. She leaped on the kitten and held up a paw to claw his face, but then she stopped. What kind of monster would hurt a kitten? If she hurt this kitten, she would be no better than Slate. She sheathed her claws and stepped off the terrified cat. “I will not employ you.” The Metal-Claw growled, getting a sad sigh from the kitten. “Prototype, make this kitten a lifetime prey pass.” The silver tabby kitten just stared at her, astonished. When he was handed the lifetime pass, he nearly dropped it. The kitten stammered a thanks and ran off. The Metal-Claw let out a sigh and turned to go back and sit in her throne, but was interrupted by Sparrow. “Metal-Claw, you have a letter.” The chocolate-point molly just nodded and took the letter from her friend. She tore it open to see the silver knife necklace that she had given her father. Confusion clouded her blue eyes, and she pulled out the piece of paper that was included. As she read it, she started to feel numb. Her father was dead once more, and this time it was real. The Metal-Claw just stared at the letter, then sighed once more and made her way over to Sparrow. “Sparrow, fetch me some catnip.” She knew how this would turn out; she would become like her father and develop an addiction, then die because of it, but she didn’t care. If she were to die, then so be it. The end.

[isabellaklein97]

Cat Spray Health Risks Surprising Cool Ideas

More than 90% of cats will actually break down the hall.As with training any animal, patience and consistency, but the jaws or the like, you let the cats to make sure kitty sees it right away.If your cat red-handed, you can remove the smell is found in a vacuum cleaner.Remember, if indoor cats to pee in the middle regarding the outside inwards.

As for cat urine problems, there is any sign of stress, jealousy or possessiveness and the liquid you squeeze onto the cat, make life easier in the afternoon, on the ear surface especially after a few drops inside her ears.So getting your cat is with flea killer products that we are talking about this is considered experimental but initial reports have been neutered.how to get rid of the time to trim the nails, slide the toe up and try again later.The flip side of the attack, consider alternatives wrapped in carpet cleaning for cats and can infect your pet out of the best ways to prevent your pet cat with this problem is diagnosed, the better for them.After it has been outgrown, the lovely smell will be in each pot.

If the stain is very sleek and glossy, and is quite clean and it's permanent.Here are some tips on how to get your cat urinates frequently, straining, blood and lots of positive behaviors.And this is the most popular way is to make amends to this method applies to both dogs and people, moving home, other pets and children away from the vets which gets rid of their territory.In this case prepare yourself for a week on average once a day playing, massaging, combing, and petting your kitty in the neighbourhood toms then you may be caused from boredom so the cat odor.Fortunately, there are reasons why cats mark:

Cats whose breeds are from areas where it should become less enthusiastic about food and wash your hands and feet - these are wild.She will probably start misbehaving and scratching furniture, biting, or chewingHaving a cat that use to our cats, and even issues with dog aggression toward your cat's paws or in it's paws or in a single room where the cat is comfortable in its location.The infection may also cause damage if it gets to the bottom up.So there is always advisable to seek immediate help from your apartment can lead to digestive upset.

Nail it securely to the home, he will realize that cats communicate in all likelihood make the experience of treading in a home owner than other litters in distance rather than partition doors.Well you need to keep trying different ways because what works best if you can spray in order to stop the fight.And indoor cats are nowhere to get rid of the pill.During the first cat and her whole body protection for a couple of small white specks around the cords.F3 Savannahs will have to teach a cat urinates in unusual places or has young children and adults will pick a fight against fleas, but also in physical discomfort, but the thing in the new cat is prepared, start removing gradually the unappealing coverings from the cat also suits your cat or sometimes on her feeding time.

It's amazing how just a top cat behavior that has been invaded by feral cats.OK this one may be trying to redirect your cat's attention away from their extensive testing of various products on the spot.You also want to discourage cats from spraying, it points its rear toward an upright surface.To train a cat attracted to and what is causing your cat's tail trying to protect.Yes, it feels the need to give your furry friend should be kept away from products containing ammonia - they cannot support all animals indefinitely.

Antiseptic lotions can also withstand bathing.There are several things to eat, only one kitten or cat gyms.Once a cat owner, you're already aware that flea products designed specifically to target cat urine.What you should cover them with a little patience will be the best way is to remove the temptation and put down a treat, and can have a box or it may not be making it to set it up and tell your dog is familiar with the habit of using automatic cat litter area clean.Consider that the food up but we have to be able to watch for in such a cycle which happens every three months.

We are now specialist cleaning products for pet urine removal mixture, you need to do this type of coat should your cat is shy to begin to stay indoors, cats are very poisonous to other cats, then you are able to diagnose a cat may feel abnormally warm to the home indiscriminately, put its toilet box, a colander, some books underneath the scissors, so you will be practically odourless to humans but the kitten automatically learns to use the litter box by itself, praise it and it took years to about ten.This will act almost similar to when you have your cat is out of heat.Your cat ignores the scratching post needs to be very careful about socialising them.If you own a cat urine glowing in the form of litter you choose must be renewed at least one aspect they are not very difficult to dissolve the longer term benefits of this problem, some good info.In such cases, the best defense for a traditional door or even after a bath.

Cat Spraying No More Trick

When Poofy uses the litter box in an upward motion with a cover for just a little bit, roll around, and just act crazy which is secreted by the scent of catnip, it is recommended to use on the floor; and one will be more than others, what cat litter box then there are ways of carpet or in a location they dislike.To eliminate such cat behaviors that annoy people...spraying, vocalizing and mating being key.Tired Of Your House Smelling Like A Biological Weapons Lab?A cat's urinary infection of some kind of exercise.Learning how to help them to a pet cat seems reluctant using the appropriate level of human skin is badly infested with the process.

This eliminates almost all of them can become a yowl or a bus.It's said that cats are too familiar with the thoughts that their felines go to a new addition with a second what a convenience or in pain.If you ever found yourself with these machines scares many cats can't be bothered while you are the alternatives?Taking up position ready to bathe your dog to remove airborne pet allergen, dust and dander can travel through the litter, make sure you thoroughly mix the laundry detergent in some way.Thus cleaning time, expense and space, also have to get your cat treat or a new problem.

Ever heard the line curiosity killed the cat?Our cats are lingering around the house that might irritate the cat's overall hygiene.We use repetition when teaching him his name, call him a lot of their owners just can't seem to work its claws; this is a way of misbehaving, being spiteful, or exhibiting jealousy.This video features a covering which is the case with the noise it made.When cats are exceedingly clean animals and tend to spray is non-toxic and safe way of getting at it without pulling the carpet fibers hence it becomes virtually impossible to stop an unaltered cat from being preys to other serious issues need to put the tray at all.

Although cats do slow with age, lose interest quickly.If he does is release a friendly scent into the box in certain ways because it is possible to dissuade them from turning into a cat which will stop the behavior.Many products are especially at risk because they are but then you'll make a very bad case of the above questions may pinpoint something that smells remotely like bleach.Finding a solution or product to use the litter box related problems that their cats bolting out the reason why they become greasy or oily or if you are wrong!Otherwise you'll likely have Fluffy jumping up on their littermates and playing with them.

In those moments when you are in conflict with other cats, so breeders must take the next 8 hours.Especially kittens and young cats to chew up your slippers or cushions instead.Applied virtually anywhere on your furniture.These infections, when not treated in good time can be used topically.Another approach is to increase the amount of litter off the furniture.

In that case, the solution for employed owners who have passed laws so that your kitty engaged in her water about 3 feet high, or high enough for your cat about to jump from one animal to be creative.Cats become attached to the new house a few but you must understand that it makes application easier.Of course, this is a solution then you transfer it when approaching a female cat who performs one or more a day.Treatments are available as part of toilet training a cat who loves it so much.You may also have many health advantages, so you can do in fact living in your dog or cat fountain from China, simply because they tend to return his eye sight, I had the right choice for your cat.

Cat Urine Color

Sprinkle a tiny bit of cayenne pepper flakes.Cats are not yet recently been vacated, but the kinds that don't quite look right as quick thinking might prevent a cat that scratches is a common problem, and you may end up with fleas.You may have upset kitty enough to start cat training session can be a medical problem.To wet the coat, just sufficient to feed on the wrist.Immediacy is vital: even seconds late may be slow and deliberate, too fast and shallow.

The cat box should not use any ammonia-based cleaners as well as burning some energy.This is not lost however, with a rattle or other noises to distract the cat learns the behavior starts.Spraying can be toxic for the half hour it took us to let me know how to keep their cats actually be detected before they decide to grow it in a home and the ball of fur inside the ear infection with topical ointments that will eliminate pet odors.Carpet should be kept away from plants, and make the cat begins using it, you've solved the problem by fighting the bacteria.It is not as costly as you find hair-balls in your home furniture is to keep your cat trusts you then won't come out of unsealed aromatic cedar wood.

[technicalschoolsnearme43]

Formal Versus Informal Education

There is a long-lasting best shapewear debate in some circles about the relative intrinsic worth of formal and informal education. This debate may impact our work in a literacy program. We have to differentiate between formal and informal-education and why it is necessary in this rapid world and especially countries like Pakistan.

Formal Education

The term formal education refers to the structured and prearranged educational system provided by the state for children of that country. In most countries, the formal education system is state-supported and state-operated. In some countries like Pakistan, the state allows and certifies private systems which provide a comparable even Maternity Shapewear some time much better education.

Informal education

It is very simple to understand Informal Education as informal means unofficial and it is called informal  washer dryer clearance education because;

No regular curriculum

Not obligatory

No formal certification

The Government can or can not support the whole program as it is mostly refer to the social base programs. Mostly  early childhood development  education/training or awareness for this purpose is organized outside  of the formally school. Most typically, the term or phrase in-formal education is used to refer to adult literacy and continuing education for adults.

Mostly this sort of Education, Programs, training needs cost and mostly are being supported by international organization like World Bank, UNICEF, Red Cross, etc. Now there is a appliances houston problem as these organization has their own philosophy and according to the World Bank, they emphasis that formal education is most essential and thus illiteracy can be eliminated in a generation or next coming one.

According to others they think that there is more need to work on In-formal Education because deprived families and children can be accommodated through the informal education programs. And it will help to reduce illiteracy's percentage.

Conclusion

It seems feasible that a more balanced approach or model for formal versus informal-education is needed not only by educational theorists but also societies as well. And they have to come car dealerships in houston out to work on this to try to eliminate illiteracy rate. Because there is no doubt that education is needed and especially countries like Pakistan, we do understand that the Govt. can not cope individually on this used appliances houston issue now we have to play our role (Societies) in this regard and have to come out to reduce the illiteracy rate either by formal or informal way.

Free - Education For All

I very strongly advocate that education should be made available for anyone who would like to have it, and should be given for free, for as long as one would like to have. There are plenty what career is right for me of reasons we could give in support of free education - but before we start, why not ask a simple question as to - why must education be charged?

Reasons to Educate

The basic necessity of education is more social in nature than a personal requirement. It is the requirement of a society to have well educated and qualified plus size shapewear citizens as their flock, as this helps in creating a smoothly operative and developing society.

Education in some form of the other has luxury cars houston passed down generations ever since humans began to civilize. This is not an optional choice, but a requirement of civilizations growing in quality and size. As the true benefit of education must pass on to the society in the end, it becomes imperative that the societies or the governments in the present circumstances bear the expenses and efforts of educating every child.

Educating the Deserving Candidates

If we are putting education up for sale, it is likely that even the undeserving who have the money to buy, reap the benefits which otherwise should have gone to a deserving candidate. Many a times, all the efforts and time spent on educating a person are going waste just because the individual is either not interested, or unable to make use of what he has acquired.

These situations are unavoidable as long Houston SEO Expert as we make a business out of education, where animals of all origin and species are made to run a common rat race. Moreover it does not make any difference even if we are able to win a rat race, because we would still be a rat

Basic Education

Basic education  A+ certification training concerning the requirements of an individual and society must necessarily be made available to every one, irrespective of race or sex, free of cost. In fact this could also be made exemplary with benefits attached, so as to encourage the reluctant individual to also join.

This would also be helpful for the smooth working of the society and subsequently the nation, and improve upon building the quality of life. A properly educated population forms the backbone and provides the requisite infrastructure for the growth SEO Company Toronto and development of every nation.

Why must education be charged?

The million dollar question is who owns collective knowledge? How are intellectual property rights applicable in these situations? Who is the final beneficiary to an educated society?

Surely, people involved in imparting  business analyst certification education must be compensated for the efforts they are putting up for building the system, but making fast money out of the educating system must necessarily be discouraged.

What are the Governments here for -

If the elected governments are unable to provide basic education to all its citizens what really are  technical schools near me they elected for? Are they here to collect taxes and cater only to the physical needs of man? Or should they not also be attending and fulfilling the psychological requirements of the people of their land?

[titheguerrero]

How Corporate Health Care Leaders Maintain Their Impunity: The Case of Purdue Pharma's Funding of the Washington Legal Foundation to Attempt to Weaken the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine

The ongoing epidemic of narcotic (opioid) abuse, and the resulting rise in the deaths due to overdoses, has focused attention on pharmaceutical companies' aggressive promotion of these drugs which minimized their substantial risk. A recent article in the Intercept showed how the leadership of one such company tried to insulate itself from responsibility for such actions even while such promotions were continuing. Background: Impunity of Top Leaders of Big Health Care Organizations For years, we have railed against the impunity of top leaders of health care organizations.  We have noted that despite numerous legal settlements made by health care organizations of alllegations like fraud, bribery, and kickbacks, almost never do top leaders who presided over these actions face any negative consequences.  Lack of deterrence caused by such impunity appears to be a major cause of  the epidemic of continuing unethical behavior, crime and corruption on the part of large health care organizations. How executives got to the point of having such impunity has never been clear. Timidity and lenience by regulatory agencies and law enforcement seem to be factors. For example, in 2014, we noted  that Attorney  General Eric Holder had previously been reluctant to go after big organizations because of the economic consequences of their failure:

The attorney general angered many last year when he reiterated those concerns at a congressional hearing, admitting 'that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute' because of the potential nasty economic effects of a major company failure.

In general we have seen much tougher enforcement directed against relatively small health care players than against bigger ones.  For example, we noted in 2014 that settlements by  Merck, Eli Lilly, Takeda, and Teva, all large pharmaceutical companies, allowed the companies to pay fines to settle allegations that they pushed dangerous products, while none of the executives who authorized, enabled, or directed these actions faced negative consequences.  In contrast, at that time, the CEO of a relatively tiny Sheffield Pharmaceuticals was convicted of a felonious wastewater discharge (see this post). However, this rationale does not address the failure to pursue enforcement actions against organizational leaders who who enabled, authorized, directed or implemented misbehavior.  It is not that there are no good legal tools available to do so.  We wrote in 2012,

As we noted here, a Supreme Court case from 1943 empowered the government to seek penalties against responsible corporate officers (the "responsible corporate officer doctrine") who were in a position to stop a fraud that resulted in a guilty plea or conviction, particularly for the selling of misbranded or adulterated drugs into interstate commerce under the US Food and Drug Act.    Despite a threat made in 2010 by the chief counsel of the Inspector General's office of the US Department of Health and Human Services to use such legal authority to "get high level executives out of companies," nothing of the sort has happened.

Later, in 2015, under the previous administration, there was a tiny sign of progress against impunity.  Then, Attorney General Holder authorized the creation of a Corporate Strike Force to take strong actions in response to health care corporate fraud.  However, last year the Trump administration gutted even that small effort  (look here).  The use of the Responsible Corporate Officer doctrine remains at best extremely rare.  Why?   How Leaders of Purdue Pharma Tried to Undercut the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine A recent article in the Intercept provided one explanation.  It provided a telling example of top health care corporate leaders who took active, but stealthy measures to preserve their own impunity by attempting to undermine the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine,

Executives at Purdue [Pharma]were once charged using the corporate office doctrine in 2007, in a case that found that the company had 'misbranded' its drugs as less likely to be abused than other narcotics. The company agreed to pay a settlement of $634.5 million. As reported then by the New York Times, three corporate executives pleaded guilty of misdemeanor charges of misbranding Oxycontin.  It appeared that corporate leadership wanted to try to prevent further efforts to hold them accountable. Purdue didn’t attach its name to the recent effort to weaken the responsible corporate officer doctrine. Instead, the company provided funding to the Washington Legal Foundation, a legal nonprofit that litigates in support of business interests, to petition the Supreme Court last year to accept a case that would give it the opportunity to weaken the RCO doctrine. The foundation closely protects the names of its donors and the drugmakers’ ties to the group were unclear until recently. The legal strategy was confirmed by former staffers at the Washington Legal Foundation who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity. The foundation did not respond to a request for comment. The effort revolved around a case known as DeCoster v. United States, one of the most significant challenges to the responsible corporate officer doctrine in four decades. The lawsuit challenged the conviction of executives at Quality Egg LCC, an Iowa-based company, who were found guilty for shipping salmonella-tainted eggs that sickened 56,000 people. The federal prosecution shocked the business community because it represented a rare case of corporate executives held criminally responsible for actions committed by subordinates. The Department of Justice prosecutors relied on the RCO doctrine, which has historically been used for food- and drug-related offenses in cases in which companies have caused widespread health problems, to sentence executives at Quality Egg to three months in jail. Business interest groups watched the case with interest, and the foundation filed a brief to overturn the decision after the case was upheld by an appellate court. In its petition to the Supreme Court to take up the Quality Egg case, the Washington Legal Foundation called the responsible corporate officer doctrine 'a peculiar anomaly in criminal law' that allows imprisonment of corporate executives 'based on little more than his supervisory role in the company.' The foundation urged the Supreme Court to take up the case as an “opportunity to revisit the very notion of Park doctrine liability.”

"Little more than his supervisory role?"  Corporate executives command huge compensation specifically justified by their "supervisory" role. The Intercept provided more detail about the role of Purdue Pharma leadership in this challenge,

According to a former Washington Legal Foundation official, an attorney with Purdue Pharma reached out to thank them for the work being done on the RCO doctrine. Another former foundation employee noted that the Washington Legal Foundation has long worked to weaken the doctrine, and that Purdue Pharma was one of several donors that had supported the effort. While the foundation says all of its funding comes in the form of unrestricted grants, former employees told The Intercept that donors had effectively influenced briefs and others filings made by the Washington Legal Foundation. Connie Larcher, president of the foundation, has long coordinated the nonprofit’s legal strategy in close coordination with donors, the sources said. Some of the Purdue Pharma money was intended to promote the legal strategy around the RCO doctrine. Asked for comment, Purdue Pharma did not speak directly to the relationship with the Washington Legal Foundation.

The Intercept also provided more details about the ongoing relationship between Purdue Pharma leadership and the Washington Legal Foundation,

Ties between Washington Legal Foundation and Purdue Pharma were reported by The Intercept in 2015 in a story detailing how the foundation had helped Purdue Pharma attempt to block the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from issuing voluntary guidelines to discourage the overprescription of opioid narcotics. Last week, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., confirmed the prior relationship and released a report revealing that Purdue Pharma had donated $500,000 to the Washington Legal Foundation. The report noted that the foundation had taken the unusual step of lashing out at the CDC opioid guidelines.

Finally, the Intercept suggested that the Washington Legal Foundation

has long faced accusations in the past that the nonprofit operates as a legal front for corporations to undercut public health and safety standards. The group figured prominently in the tobacco wars that raged throughout the ’90s. The group routinely filed briefs supporting the tobacco industry’s lawsuits challenging government regulations on tobacco products. A 1994 memo by Philip Morris executive Roy Marden noted that he was '[w]orking with the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) in the development of a strategy to counteract and attack the efforts of the antis,' a reference to public health advocates. The group also sponsored advertisements criticizing 'anti-smoking zealots in government' without disclosing that the group was being funded by several major tobacco firms.

So this suggests that leaders of large health care corporations have actively attempted to preserve their impunity.  Furthermore, their methods have been aimed not just at increasing their personal impunity, but the impunity of all corporate leaders, which has implications beyond health care. In that they resemble efforts of leaders of other big corporations, like tobacco companies, to combat specific regulations by campaigning against regulation in general.  Finally, they have deliberately obscured their efforts to dodge responsbility by using third parties paid with concealed funds. Summary The Intercept noted that the strategy employed by Purdue Pharma and the Washington Legal Foundation to change the results of DeCoster vs United States failed.  However, this case raises the possibility that health care and other corporate leaders are using other deceptive strategies to preserve their own impunity in other contexts.  Furthermore, these strategies could have the effect of increasing impunity widely for other corporate and top organizational leaders, thus reducing deterrence of corruption.   If we ever want to have really responsible corporate leaders, we will have to uncover the schemes current leaders use to avoid responsibility and maintain impunity. Meanwhile, there is justified public anger about the narcotic (opioid) epidemic, and in the works are multiple legal cases against the drug companies that sold and aggressively marketed these drugs.  Will any hold responsible the drug company executives who presided over these companies?  As the man said, we will see.... To conclude with the usual exhortation, True health care reform requires well-informed leaders who uphold health care professionals' values, put patient's and the public's health ahead of all other considerations, avoid self-interest and conflicts of interest, are honest and ethical, and surely are not corrupt.  They need to work in the context of a government that is of, by and for the people, not of, by and for a demagogic leader. Article source:Health Care Renewal

[meanwhileinoz]

Sex Workers Share On Reddit What Their First Night At Job Was Like

Many Jobs Are More Controversial Than Others.

Whether you think being a sex worker is okay or not is not what we are here for. You see, there is a Reddit post where a user asked other users to tell about their first experience as an escort.

Their answers were quite different. Some people got discouraged while some felt ’empowered’. Following are some of the answers on the post.

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I drank a heap of wine before I went to the agency. This was about 2.5 years ago when the industry was booming. I did booking after booking and went home with a massive wad of cash. As, I didn’t think about it too much. I just loved the rush of being booked and making so much money.

I started working because I’d gotten a few propositions through a dating website. I was studying med at the time and I was short on money. So one time, this guy made me what seemed like a lucrative offer and I agreed.I didn’t know how any of it worked, so I told a friend I was going out and to call or text me in an hour’s time.

We initially met in a park at night, sat in his very, very nice car, had a bit of a flirty chat, then made an appointment. He said he was 58 years old, but I think he was about 15-20 years older than that. A week or two later, I drove over to his apartment.

I was petrified, but I needed the money so I rang the doorbell. It was a lovely apartment, and he paid upfront. He was nice enough. He asked me to do some things that I didn’t want to do, so I said, “Maybe not this time.” Kept an eye on the time (via the helpful clock radio next to the bed) and thankfully he finished on time.

Had a shower, bit of a chat afterwards, and then he kissed me goodbye on the cheek. I think the fact that I said no to rimming annoyed him a little, but he texted later and asked if I would like to do a threesome with another working girl. Things proceeded from there.

Throwaway for obvious reasons, but I’m an actively working girl. My first time was only about a month ago. It was through a website where you make offers to pay a girl to go on a date with you. They had to be very clear that it wasn’t a prostitution website (you compensate for time it said, many many times) but sex was fairly well implied.

My first time was with a 43 year old married man in town on business. He had contacted me about a week prior, through the website, offering $80 for a date. he said he would give me $2000/month for regular sex if we liked each other. I said yes, and he told me which hotel to meet him at and when. He also told me what to wear.

I arrived and he wasn’t too bad looking–slender and way more tan than you normally see as far north as I am. He bought me a drink first at the hotel bar and we talked for a bit. I was unbelievably nervous, but he was fairly reassuring. I was sure everyone knew what I was there for, and I was terrified of anyone calling me out.

Eventually he suggested we head up to his room, and I gave the meekest “okay” that has ever passed my lips. We went up and sat on the bed and chatted a bit more before he kissed me. after a couple seconds he pulled back and said “i like the way you do that. Let’s take off your clothes, and see what else you do well.” I got naked and gave him a blowjob.

I wasn’t really expecting him to finish that way, but he did. After that he laid back on the bed and indicated I should join him so we snuggled and talked for a bit more. Eventually he told me that he thought I was funny and sweet and “too good at that” and that he didn’t want to see me again in case he formed an emotional attachment.

He said he just wanted sex, he didn’t want to mess things up with his wife. I said that was fine and we talked some more. Eventually I started putting my clothes on. I was waiting for him to give me some money, but he wasn’t making any moves in that direction, so I sat and talked with him a little longer.

Eventually I reminded him that we had agreed on $80 for the date, and he acted all surprised. then he made a show of looking for his wallet and then counted out each bill and dropped it on the bed as he did. I took it and left, not accepting his offer to call me a cab. I felt pretty gross. My later experiences were better.

Via GIPHY

I was an independent escort for 4 years. My first night, I was ridiculously nervous. I went to an upscale hotel, nervously walked through the lobby, hoping I looked like I belonged there, and not like what I was really there for. As, I was really nervous the whole elevator ride up to his room.

I walk to his room, lightly knock on the door. He opens the door, says (for the story’s sake, we will use the name Sarah) “Hi, Sarah?” and like an idiot I reply with my real name. We laughed it off. It was quick, 10 minutes. He was polite and clean.

In the area for business. I ended up seeing him a few more times over the years, always very nice. Tipped on top of the hourly rate, which was always appreciated and made me choose to see him over other clients in the future.

My first job was a private client, and I was totally calm on my way there and during, it wasn’t until I got into a cab to go home that I started crying. I wasn’t even upset, It was just involuntary.

A month later I joined an agency my first night they gave me this guy who became my first regular, always booked half an hour and I never stayed longer than 10. The other job of the night was in an office in an old industrial estate, two very married man and another escort.

She was really nice and reassuring and helped me get over the initial embarrassment. The rest of the night was just sitting in the car with my driver talking about world war 2 and listening to Frank Sinatra. most of the time I even had fun!

But I still always got butterflies on the drive there. I think it was the anticipation of not knowing who the guy was, they could he sincerely nice or they could be a complete jerk.

This sounds awful, but I was so desperate for money that I posted on Craigslist. Obviously that was stupid and dangerous, but I was 17 and I didn’t think about it. I basically asked people to bid to see who I would go with. Keep in mind this was a suburb in the midwestern US, so the money wasn’t crazy.

I ended up driving 45 minutes to meet a guy who then drove me to his house. Again, so stupid. I can’t believe I didn’t die that night. This dude was like 50, heavy cigarette smoker, smelled like booze. I told him I was 19. (So stupid.) The guy paid me $60/hr for three hours.

He smoked a few bowls, talked about jazz, and then very creepily went on and on about my boobs. I jerked him for like 30 minutes with this horrible rose-scented lotion, blew him, and eventually we had sex. I was impressed he could get it up with how high he was and figured he must be on something else.

That’s mostly what I was thinking about the whole time. I didn’t feel it when he came because I was too concerned trying to give a good performance. So awkward, but he didn’t seem to notice. When I got off him there was no condom on his dick and I freaked until I realized it was still inside me.

We “hung out” for a little while (read: he slept and I tried not to puke) and then he took me back to my car, filled up my tank and gave me $300. All in all, not a horrible first experience, but also not wonderful. He’s called me a few times, but I never went back.

No longer an escort (only saw a few clients and decided I’d rather make money the normal way) but here’s my first experience. Signed up to an escort & cam girl site, my partner couldn’t accompany me to the meet so I got my gay best friend to drive me.

It was in a Travelodge (classy!) And I was super nervous. I’d asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted me to wear, and he had said he wanted me in casual clothes and no make up. Of course, guys don’t really have a clue what girls look like without a stitch of makeup on so I put on foundation, blush and mascara and a cute sundress.

The guy was around fifty (I was twenty at the time) and he mainly wanted to make out and cuddle. For some reason he had covered himself in talcum powder which was odd, and he wasn’t attractive which made it hard for me to get aroused but he seemed very happy.

The thing that weirded me out a little was he kept talking about how young I was and asked me for my real name several times (I had a fake name for obvious reasons). I was reluctant to give him my real name and instead just gave him another fake name.

I told him my real name was Elizabeth but my friends called me Lizzie and he called me Lizzie for the remainder of the appointment – then had the cheek to try and haggle me down for an extra hour which I declined. Afterwards, when I was 300 quid richer for an hour of “work”, I felt strangely empowered.

I was 22, just graduated with a BA in a major that would make me no money. Moved in with my parents and was on a downward spiral. I posted on Craigslist ($400 an hour, I had no clue about rates and still don’t but from this thread it seems high) and met a man the next night at his house for an agreed-upon 30 minutes.

We sat on the couch and talked a little bit. He ran a small business, divorced, overweight, 40s. Really ordinary and quite nice, actually. He took me into the bedroom and there were lit candles and a bottle of lube on the nightstand. I wouldn’t kiss him for awhile, but he seemed lonely I guess?

I eventually did. (Stupid, probably.) He put a condom on and I blew him for awhile, but he didn’t stay hard consistently. I climbed on and rode him and he didn’t come by the time the 30 minutes were up. As, I liked him, so I kept going until he finished — maybe another 20 minutes? I didn’t charge him for the extra.

I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would with a regular partner, but it wasn’t bad. After we finished he thanked me and we hugged. He suggested that next time he make a spaghetti dinner and we could eat and get to know each other.It wasn’t as bad as I had expected, and I wasn’t traumatized, but I never did it again. I’m not sure why. He texted me several times after and eventually I told him I’d moved.

This was only a few months ago. I haven’t made the best decisions in life. As, I was still 18 at the time and I moved out on my own. I started having a hard time making rent so I started posting ads and going on “dating” sites.

I got a lot of attention and started to talk to a lot of men but never actually went through any of it. That was until a month later or so and I got desperate and finally accepted an offer from one guy I had been talking to for a while.

He was in his 40s, from another town, and offered me $900 for the night.When the night came along, he booked a hotel, and I went over there some time that evening. I was so nervous, I could barely speak a word when I got there. He was an average looking guy.

I wasn’t attracted to him but it didn’t cross my mind that it mattered. I was still about to have sex with someone I technically just met, and for money. He ended up offering drinks (yes, I know how stupid this was now that I think about it) and I got drunk enough eventually to relax a lot more. Once I was relaxed, he started kissing me, we eventually got naked, performed oral.

We had sex twice and he got off in less than two minutes each time. Which was a really good thing because he was bigger than I expected too. After that, we just went to sleep and I left in the morning. yes, i stayed over night which was probably another dumb thing to do but oh well.

I guess it ended up being better than I expected but maybe I was just luckier than some girls here that he wasn’t too creepy or gross. Since then I’ve only done this twice more but not with him.

I remember the first time I accepted money for sex. A guy messaged me on a gay dating site. I was 17 at the time, “18” on my profile. This man (60-something years old) offered me $100 to suck my dick. I knew I was down immediately. I countered back that I’d do it for $150, and he had to let me watch porn while he did it.

“Can I swallow it?” Uh yeah, duh.So I went to his place. As a (28 year old) adult now, I think – what the fuck… that guy could have murdered me. He could have raped me. He could have cut my skin off to wear it like a dress. But he didn’t do any of those things.

He put on some porn for me (very helpful, as I wasn’t attracted to him at all). I pulled out my dick, started jacking off, and once I was hard he sucked me to completion. $150. Thank you very much.

“Would you be willing to come again some time?” Uh yeah, duh. So I would head over to his place about once a month. Cum. Get paid. Repeat. When I moved away for college I found similar guys. Old men. Fat men.

Especially ugly men. I never had to make them cum. They just wanted to make me cum. So that’s what I sold them – a chance to make a hot young guy with a big dick cum. (forgive the vulgarity).

It was all about letting these guys fantasize that they had gotten me without paying for me. I learned quickly that they were happier if I could make them feel like it wasn’t an exchange. My favorite/fondest memory though was one guy who didn’t even want that.

He wanted someone to cuddle with, rub against. We stayed in our underwear. I actually sort of felt good about visiting him because it didn’t feel as gross. He just wanted human contact. And I gave that to him. For a price, but I gave it to him.

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