#it would be a display of solidarity yeah and there's the whole soft power thing

[arabela25]

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[sunwukong-stoaway-blog]

Oh shit, 3AM, time for a hot take on the FNDM from the perspective of someone who’s drifted in and out of it for years now. And yeah, spoilers, it involves Sun, the Bees, and experience therein.

We do need a few things set for the record before I dive further in. First, there is indeed a difference between normal Bee fans and flat out Wasps. Y’know, the psychopathic harassing jerks. There is also a segment of the Blacksun fndm that is more than happy to be as harassment heavy and take things too damn far. The problem in judging which is bigger is that you’ll only ever see the size of whatever groups you happen to be in contact with, which means if you’re a normal fan of one side, you’re likely to only see the hate-filled opposite side. And if you’re removed, then it’s a roll of the dice whether you see Wasps or... whatever the BlackSun equivalent is. And whichever side is bigger, they both still exist, which is the main problem. Now let’s take a stroll down memory lane and acknowledge a few things.

First and foremost. The Bees as a ship only exists as it does because people were throwing the first characters on screen at each other and held to them. This was true of Ruby and Weiss after the Red and White trailers, then true of Blake and Yang after the Black and Yellow trailers. We didn’t know anything about any of these characters, (in fact it completely flipped Ruby and Weiss’ personality traits, making Ruby a cool and aloof sniper chick and Weiss a soft melting princess) but the ships were already cemented and beloved by the community.

This kept going into the first season proper. Sure, we had alternate blends of ships, like Ladybug, Freezerburn, and Monochrome. Even Enabler, Ruby/Yang if anyone remembers that incestuous ship, before it was burnt to the ground by canon. But Whiterose/The Bees were the biggest game in town. Seemed to be backed by the canon too, to an extent. All the characters introduced were paired off and sent on their way, including JNPR, but this didn’t stop FNDM from laughing and enjoying themselves. (One particularly popular joke during the Jaune Arc was snickering that Yang and Blake were doing the do offscreen instead of running for help, for instance.) It didn’t matter Yang and Blake didn’t have a single conversation that didn’t end in Blake snubbing Yang and Yang writing Blake off as a “lost cause,” they were the pairing and nobody else was around, so, that was canon. And then episode 15 rolled around.

Everything broke down with episode 15, though not all at once. It introduced Sun and Penny, and FNDM wasn’t entirely sure what to do with them. Some, like myself, found the new characters and their dynamics fun and interesting. Some, on the other hand, declared immediately that Sun was a rapist/stalker/murderer/assassin of the White Fang, sometimes all at once. Some people had been a little bored of Jaune by this point but Sun was the first morally good character the FNDM declared a monster, and to this day, has received the roughest ‘welcome.’ And, among the accusations, the declaration that Sun was nothing but a genderbend of Yang for a hetero ship. And so the tensions began to mount.

Bear in mind, up until this point the Bees had grown to be the de facto biggest ship in the FNDM. Nothing against Ruby, Weiss, or Whiterose, but Blake and Yang were the most mature/adult of the team, and consequently, got the most attention, desire, fanart, et cetra. Now here comes the first character to make contact with Blake in a definitively different fashion and connect with her. Without question, they saw Sun as a threat and an excuse to attack the show for not giving them the Bees. Hell, it’s no surprise they even shipped him with Penny (Optimal Primates) for a time, just because they debuted the same episode, to try and get him ‘away’ from Blake in the fandom’s eyes. The response to Sun by these proto-Wasps, otherwise known as ‘the entirety of the Bees at the time’ was swift, overwhelming, and nothing short of cruel. Especially when they started harassing Sun RPers, those who defended him, liked him, and so on. People who drew those first few pieces of Blacksun art were flat out attacked and screamed at to shut down their channels. (Similar attacks started appearing at this time too at artists for other pairings, noticeably Ladybug.) And for a time, that oppressive and painful atmosphere was reality.

Then, I put up a post pointing out how little canon the Bees actually had, and compared it to Blacksun. In V1? This was an overwhelming difference. I outright called the Bees a “Ghost ship,” a ship that had absolutely no basis in canon yet sailed anyway... And attacked others. Needless to say, this was not taken well by the proto-wasps.

It didn’t matter that I actively shipped Whiterose, passively Ladybug, and eventually Nuts & Dolts. It didn’t matter if what I said was true, that the emperor had no clothes (or canon.) All that mattered to these people was slamming me down and declaring me to the world a homophobic monster for not shipping their ship. To do everything in their power to break my spirit, break my connections with people, and break any place I had in this fledgling FNDM of comfort. All for their blatantly bullshit moral highground arguments. 

This went on for a good three weeks after that first post. Round the clock attacks, harassment, and vile displays of power. It really did break me, all things considered. That much negativity drove me into a deep depression, to the point I could barely leave my dorm room in university for food, let alone class. I’m still hesitant to use the term for fear of it’s overused impression, but this made the Bees ship into a full on trigger for me. Triggering every emotion of fear, depression, and anxiety that constant bombardment thrust upon me around the clock. To an extent, it still is such a trigger, and so I can admit without issue I’m biased.

Thankfully, it did all have a silver lining. I became a lightning rod of hate, but the heavy atmosphere was broken. Bees no longer were unchallenged rulers of the FNDM, and people legit began to call out the behavior of these proto-wasps as full on bullying, or at least stopped acting like the Bees were canon. There was room to move forward now. But... of course, it didn’t stop there.

V2 rolled around. On the one hand we got Yang and Blake having the first dance, as well as actually having a real conversation on screen and developing some kind of unique bond, flimsy as it may be to some. (Seriously, Blake’s having severe overwrought depression and anxiety over Adam and the White Fang, Yang makes it about her. Yeah, that can show solidarity for the cause, but it does little to assuage Blake’s issues. I do see it as a good scene, but it’s still not a great relationship.) On the other hand, we were confirmed halfway through the year, and thanks to Sun/Neptune being cut from that last part of the Paladin fight, Blake had to be the one to ask what Yang’s Semblance was. ...Yeah. Half a year of being partners. And she doesn’t canonically know yet what Yang’s Semblance is. Hell of a partnership, yeah?

And on the other side of the coin. Sun and Blake had their full on dance, came to it as a date, and it included Yang stepping aside to give Blake to Sun. This on top of meeting Sun’s team for the first time and solidifying his place as being right there with RWBY and JNPR. ...And to counterbalance, we got Neptune. Seriously. Wasps had Neptune pegged as Sun’s “actual girlfriend” from the second his name was dropped. Then the design came in, they declared Neptune FtM trans, and that Sun was dating him. I mean, clearly, right? Then Neptune actually showed up, he turned out to be the most aggressively straight-showing guy on the show yet, and the FNDM HATED him for it. Pitched him into the same bin as Sun right then and there, while shouting they’d be a better couple than the alternatives. (This also ended up, for the first time, generating enmity from Monochrome shippers for Sun. Before, Blacksun and MC shippers were effectively “ship and let ship” considering both had suffered under the Bees, but since that stranglehold had been broken after V1. Now Neptune came to town and fucked that peace up too.) Seriously. Just like the Bees, Seamonkeys only exists as a ship because the FNDM slammed the characters together without a clue what they were even like. Same as with Optimal Primates, remember?

Overall, V2 ended up being more or less like the aftermath of V1 the whole way through. Salty and bitter Wasps bickering and yelling about Sun even being in the same frame as Blake, trying to reaffirm their position, while everyone else just relaxed, some bitched about Jaune existing, and others enjoying the moment. ...Then V3 happened.

V3 was a powderkeg of moments for both Blacksun and the Bees. From the fingerguns/blushing/”dork” scene, to Blake tearfully holding Yang’s... one remaining hand, to the questions of where Blake was going after the ending. And consequently, the ship-to-ship combat had grown once again. Things like editing the fingerguns scene into a gif of Weiss proposing to Blake, or conspiracy theories that Sun was a mole for the WF hiding in plain sight, or just generally arguing back and forth over how important Blake holding Yang’s hand and Sun’s poppy love song were. The thing was, by V3, enough new fans of the series drawn in to all the Bee fanart that didn’t have the Wasp mentality existed to properly differentiate between the two groups. And consequently, some would-be Bee fans were surprised when their open appreciation for the pair was met with negativity and disdain by those who were used to liking the Bees being associated with far worse. The Wasps still existed, without question, but their presence muddied the waters and turned what was once a straight-forward fandom war into messy, vile person-to-person conflict, with bystanders dragged into the fighting. This, to my knowledge, is where the wasp-equivalent of Blacksun fans ended up coming to be, unable to differentiate between the Wasps that they hated and the Bee fans that they shouldn’t. In short, V3 was the most divisive and painful of the seasons for this warfare.

As we approach the modern day it should be noted that the longer the show runs, the less and less these ship-to-ship combats make an impact on the FNDM as a whole. This is a good thing, realistically, but it comes from an unfortunate division in the FNDM in general, with camps splitting off into effective echo chambers, and generally only interacting to spit hatred at each other.

V4 was easily the single lowest point for all of the Bees. With Blake and Yang canonically split apart, and Sun hanging around Blake full time as her only traveling partner, the Bees had effectively nothing to do but sigh and hope for a reunion soon. The Wasps, on the other hand, eagerly took to instead tearing into Sun’s character again, this time jumping on the questionable decision to shadow Blake and keep her safe, and characterizing it as flat out stalking... even without full knowledge of the situation. The Wasps just painted the scene as “Sun has spent months following Blake in a coat,” and a large part of the fandom picked it up in turn. Then, as a follow-up act, decided to screw with Sun a different way and ship him with, of all people, Kali, or Blake’s mom. Yeah, it was creepy and fetishism, and had no purpose other than to break Kali’s implicit acceptance of Sun as a partner for Blake into bizarre OOC lust. It’s telling that there was far and away more porn and pure shipping for Sun/Kali than Ghira/Kali for a while, despite the Bees laughing to themselves that “of course YANG would be accepted by Ghira, unlike Sun~.” Legit, Sun/Kali was just another attempt at slamming Sun together with the nearest character that wasn’t Blake. Just like Penny. Just like Neptune. But, V4 was the volume of personal growth and discovery for each of the main cast... And consequently, this journey down each of their four paths was panned by many “rwde” fans for not having the inter-team connections they wanted. Funny how the volume most about each member of RWBY and their personal stories gets panned as the one least about them. Whatever. All of this led to V5, however, and where we are now.

And where we are now is... Right back to how we were in V3. With giddy Bees squealing over Yang and Blake exchanging eye contact and words, while Wasps re-characterize Sun’s connection to Blake (including pushing her back to the team that she ran away from because it was time to reconnect and he knew that) as “pushing Blake to be with Yang.” It’s kind of absurd, right? Well... That’s what this FNDM war has been to me. Just absurd.

I’ve watched wasps shout down Micheal Jones because they don’t like Sun being close to Blake. I’ve seen wasps countless times call out RT as queerbaiting for not giving them the Bees right fucking then. I’ve heard directly from Wasps that it doesn’t matter to (the ones I talked to) whether any other LGBTQA+ people/ships/focuses appear or are naturally featured in the show, unless the Bees are made canon, they believe RT lied to them.

And that astounds me. RT did not lie to you. Either you were lied to by fans from that Trailer era, the original proto-wasps, or you lied to yourself. You were told the lie that the Bees were canon, had to be canon, needed to be canon or something was wrong. That Sun is a monster. That you are owed anything. Hard fucking stop.

So where does all this leave us? ...Hopefully, understanding that this fighting has been going on for far too long, and is over far too little. I want anyone in the FNDM who has ever been affected by the ship wars to read this, to share this with others with similar experiences, on either side of it. Because ultimately, I’m only on one side, and I’d love for Bees to give their take on all this. To get both sides to come to an agreement to ship-and-let-ship, to put to rest the anger and frustration and fear of the other side that fueled Wasps and, perhaps, myself for so long.

This shit’s gone on long enough.

[mistake-memessenger]

Hey,could you please write a HC about what the RFA+V+Saeran would do for MC'S birthday? I looooove your writing,thanks a lot :)

sorry i took so long!! hope u enjoy!!!! AND TO ANYONE WHO’S BIRTHDAY IT IS (or even isn’t) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Zen

-he makes a Day of it-three bouquets throughout the day-one is straight up just red roses-the other two are a lovely bouquet of seasonal flowers depending on MC’s birth date and a bouquet of MC’s favorite flower(s)-each bouquet has the same amount of flowers, all depending on how old MC is turning!! (though he caps it at 30….. bc he knows what’s good for his health and his wallet haha)-tbh Zen has thought A LOT about this (and all the holidays etc, he’s wanted to do this kind of thing for his SO since before even meeting MC that first time in the chatroom……. like….. remember the Christmas DLC? yeah.. he wants this to be a very special occasion. he literally has fantasized about this)-he takes MC out for breakfast at a local family diner and the staff sings “Happy Birthday”/variant birthday song and it emBARRASSES MC to no end-y this hyun-and they go out for a movie after breakfast, whatever one MC wants to see-the movie theatre is mostly empty and it’s.. really nice…….-Zen and MC wander around town, window shopping (maybe actually shopping), and do food cart foods for lunch!!-he knows where all the best ones are and he’s so excited to show them to MC-it’s so cute he’s so cute!!-next up!!-motorcycle ride!!!!-he rly gets a kick out of MC clinging to him while they ride haha-Zen takes MC to a place with a great view, possibly his spot in the mountains if there’s time-they manage to stop on the way home to watch the sunset-it’s beautiful-selfies r taken and subsequently posted to the chatroom-Zen gets out some light snacks when they finally get home, and sets about making dinner (it’s curry, that’s his best dish)-he planned this whole day out-for MC-and has just…… been v affectionate all day, physically and vocally-he loves them-so, so much-more than he can truly express-and he’s so glad that he gets to spend their birthday with them-even if the day hadn’t gone to plan… he would have been happy just being near MC

Yoosung

-yo listen……. Yoosung throws a party. he invites the RFA..-but like. okay.-it’s not just like….. a party at home-nah-Yoosung springs for a party at a bowling alley with an arcade and open bar-things get drinky-Yoosung gets drinky-he’s been so nervous about this all day he just wants to impress and please MC omg so precious fuck-this boy can’t do shots though-so he’s had like two cocktails in the last 20 minutes he is tipsy-like….. cocktails have a p high alcohol content, my children……. but u can hardly taste it-Yoosung wants to down these like juice, ‘cause that’s what it tastes like “MC just lemme have one more please i promise im not even drunk MC”-“yoosung pls.”-he’s so clingy…. just wants to hold MC forever, even just their hand!!-and if MC isn’t in his immediate vicinity he is hanging off of one of the others (usually Zen)-there is definitely. 4 sure.-drunk bowling-Jumin Han, not nearly as tipsy as anyone else, requires gutter shields-Zen will neeeever let him live that down-Jaehee wins every round she plays-she brought her own bowling ball-after a couple games the group splits up and Yoosung, MC, and Seven go to the arcade, which is on its own floor of the building-there are plans to regroup back downstairs for junk food and cake later-but first.. arcade!!!-Seven heads straight for the racing games-while Yoosung and MC take their time wandering around trying different things while Yoosung is sobering back up-they play giant Connect Four-and a couple crane games-there’s a giant Fruit Ninja (Yoosung gets the new high score)-they get into one of the two player booth games and it’s a horror/suspense game-Yoosung is terrified.. and clingy-MC is maybe not……. as scared.. haha-Seven takes video-there’s a lot of screaming (some of it is Seven actually….)-all three go play skeeball together-they’ve been racking up tickets this whole time-maybe not enough for anything rly fancy like the PS4?????? that’s on display???-but….. Yoosung and MC pool their tickets and manage to get a dragon plushie (it’s beautiful, like opal colors and ice blue horns and shit)-they use the leftover tickets on candy-they name the dragon-it’s their child now-they introduce the dragon plush to everybody back downstairs as such-“This is our child, Iseul, and we love them dearly.”-“they’re scaly and breathe fire, but they’re beautiful and we love them. Our lovely Iseul~”-“I thought we agreed on ice powers??”-“fire is classic, tho!!”-“…….u have a point..”-“oh!! oh!!! both???”-“both!!!”

Jaehee

-they take a couple days off and go to the beach together-the hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub-so there can be swimming and chilling in the water no matter the time of year MC’s birthday is!!-they go out early in the morning at low tide to comb the beach for shells-so many sand dollars!!!-they saw some rly big starfish in the tide pools it was awesome!!!!-since they’re staying in a lil touristy beach town they have breakfast in a local café-one that’s got like lace curtains and all the tables are only big enough for two people-a cutesy cozy place!!-after breakfast MC gets a FaceTime call from Zen and he sings them Happy Birthday what a dork-MC and Jaehee are crying wth y is he so sweet???-Zen is flustered at the crying and promises to do this same thing for Jaehee for her birthday too!!-more crying-Zen is freaking out whY ARE U CRYING PLS DONT IM SORRY IM SOR—-aaaaand he accidentally hung up-cue both MC and Jaehee receiving frantic apology texts from Zen-they don’t reply fast enough??-Zen has already promised VIP tickets to his next show to apologize for making his two biggest fans cry-omg zen calm down they were happy tears-aaanyway MC and Jaehee do a bunch of wandering around the kitschy tourist shops and spots-holding hands and occasionally smooching-they take a bunch of photos and selfies to document the trip-they go to the local seafood restaurant for dinner and take a slice of cake each back to the hotel for dessert-Jaehee and MC enjoy some quiet time in the hotel together, snuggled up on the bed reading separate books-and then they start getting handsy-it’s kind of become a competition-how high up the thigh before u react type of chicken-except they both win bc…… it leads to sexy fun times??-anyway it is a good time!!! at the beach!!!!-HAPPY BIRTHDAY MC

Jumin

-he promises that they’ll do whatever MC wants to do for their birthday (within reason)-they choose an amusement park date-Jumin does some research and ends up flying the two of them to Disneyland-in France-JUMIN HAN WTF-I mean……. they def discussed this trip before it happened but like..-jumin is kind of extra i love him-he wears a suit the first day in Didneylan-MC is not surprised, but also…… “Jumin we’re getting u comfy clothes for this”-he gets-jeans!!-and a couple Disney shirts bc they’re everywhere-he and MC get matching shirts-it’s too cute-Jumin tries to take selfies but they are all blurry af-he keeps them and posts them to the chatroom anyway-MC thinks it’s rly precious and takes much better selfies (but only posts the shitty ones, partly for solidarity but also bc Jumin thinks it’s funny too)-also Jumin calls Yoosung every day bc he is pet- and penthouse-sitting for them-FaceTime with Elizabeth the 3rd-she cries over the phone-she recognizes her humans omg-oh my god Jumin takes MC to a fancy restaurant while they’re both still wearing their Disneyland clothes-they almost get turned away from their own reservation because the place has a dress code-but MC’s partner is Jumin Han-they get in-surrounded by other people all in their fanciest dinner clothes, Jumin Han is wearing a Mickey Mouse ears hat(“a classic! a tradition, even!!” MC had insisted), a shirt with the Aristocats on it, jeans, and sneakers, and MC is dressed p similarly as they eat-it’s beautiful-MC takes photos and videos for the chatroom this is the best goddamn thing Happy Birthday to Me-Jumin is glad that MC is enjoying their birthday trip so much

Seven

-it starts at midnight-tHIS-MOTHERFUCKER-POUNCES ON MC AT MIDNIGHT-“MC!! MC!!! It’s ur birthday!!!!!! Happy birthday!!!”-“I WAS ASLEEP U ASS”-Seven is shoved onto the floor-no mercy-he’s laughing tho-and pouting and whining playfully-“but it’s your birfday and i luv u”-MC leans over the side of the bed to squint at him-“love me in the morning when im a human again”-MC bundles back up in the blankets, they become a blankety burrito-dramatic GASP from Seven-“my SO is an alien” v soft tone, full of wonder-he crawls back into the bed and flops onto and embraces the burrito MC (“ugh, be gentle, Saeyoung omg” “aaaaa sorry sorry I’ll be gentle I promise! im the gentlest boy!!”)-“the love of my life lived among the stars….. in a SPACESHIP!!”-“pls sleep Saeyoung…….”-but he just keeps going and it’s less MC Is An Alien, and more….-“MC did u know? that statistically you r a miracle?”-MC turns their head “…..yeah?”-Seven’s eyes are wide and earnest and his tone has gone from jokingly in awe to genuinely so-“yeah!!” he snuggles up nice n close “like,, even just genetically ,, , you exist because certain events led your parents to each other and if any one little thing had gone differently….. you wouldn’t be here.. and it’s the same for them! Their parents and their parents’ parents!!-"the chances of you being here in this moment are so astronomically low!! but ur here!!! u exist here and now and I–”-he stops for a moment, just.. overwhelmed with his feelings-“and im so glad that you exist, MC”-he sounds out of breath like the thought knocked it out of him-“im so so glad you’re here.. i love you”-he presses his forehead to the space between MC’s neck and shoulder, nose pressed against their skin -his nose might be a lil cold-but his breath is warm-“happy birthday, MC”

Saeran

-he does not want to go out-he’d rather stay in to celebrate-but-okay. three words-ice cream cake-the goal here for Saeran is to get one-to just… experience it-but also for MC’s birthday-there’s a conversation that goes something like:-“MC, can we just stay in? nothin fancy?”-and MC shrugs “sure. that actually sounds p nice……. although…….”-Saeran is suspicious “although what?”-“I kind of want…… ice cream cake?”-and just. he stops-he stops???-“that’s a thing?????”-MC goes for a dramatic look and answer-“that is a thing”-“y didn’t I know about this what the hell yOURE GETTING ICE CREAM CAKE FOR UR BIRTHDAY MC”-and he is on his way OUT THE DOOR-MC shouting after him “U CANT FOOL ME SAERAN!!!! I KNOW U WANT THE CAKE FOR YOU!!!!”-and i mean-he’s not gonna deny it-he is gone for three hours-comes back home with two ice cream cakes bc he couldn’t decide between the funfetti one or the chocolate one-MC is a lil exasperated, but indulgent bc hey ice cream cake for days!!-as long as they moderate themselves-they otherwise stay in and Saeran surprises MC with a lil necklace with a skull charm and a heart charm-Saeran with a shrug about the charms: “the skull is me and heart is you”-“r u sure tho”-“shut up MC”-a blushing Saeran……… what nice gift

V

-they start with a lazy morning in bed-cuddling-sloppy kisses-soft touches and messy hair-intermittently falling back to sleep-eventually they get out of bed and get ready for the rest of the day-breakfast at noon-pancakes and eggs and bacon and sausage and warm flaky biscuits and coffee-after breakfast V presents MC with what appears to be a scrapbook-he kisses the side of their head with a happy little “happy birthday, sweetheart” while handing the gift over-it IS a scrapbook-it’s full of photos starting from MC’s first time working with the RFA on the party, and over the next few years up until this point-it’s……. a journey through their life together-their friendship, their love, their relationships with their friends-there are notes scrawled all over every page in every free space between photos-notes from their friends-little stories giving context to the photos-a few little doodles and well-wishes-it honestly makes MC tear up-it just….. feels so warm

[spacegaywritings]

Warming Paws and Melting Walls (6/8) “Queer Voices”

Summary: Remy has a lazy day after his hard and long day at work. Virgil is very glad to be with him and comment on his shenanigans as much as a cat can.

Tags: human = slave for a cat, mentions of pets eating humans, mentions of cat scratches, Remy going worst case scenario of “lmao cat might kill me”, mentions of blood, wtf remy seriously, criticising the world, hating on rich people, fuck reality tv, remy has weird thoughts, migraines, chronic pain gang, medication-induced dummy thoughts, questioning the world, microphones, singing, weird echo distortion, auditive triggers (described), eating, silly dummy, soft cat shenanigans, remy is a soft owner

 I do not think there is any to be applied. If you need me to add anything, please contact me here or on my tumblr (spacegayparty, spacegaywritings)

ao3: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 // all.

tumblr:  1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 (you are here) / 7 / 8.

My KoFi  - Support me ♥ or Commission me

Remy flopped his body back down onto the couch. He had just about left his bed and done the most essential actions to start a day.

 “Virgilius kitty catticus”, he called lowly, laying flat on the couch.

 His legs were sprawled out like the seductive lover in a peculiar pose... or any liquid simply taking up as much space as they could. Yeah, he classified to be the latter, if any. This was to put it nicely. He did not look loving or seductive at all. His body was about as tempting as a greased bucket of expired fat for frying fries. For a more trained eye, he might have resembles a starfish with his limbs facing away from him and stretching wide and far into the world as if to get as much exposure to air and light as possible. Maybe he was some kind of starfish-lover-grease-plant.

 Yes, he was a really super special plant and he shall live like this!

Immobile, comfortable, unfit for work and cared for by nature only. Not to speak of how he refused to care for anything and anyone either.

Didn’t everyone aspire to be a nice house plant? Like a house cat! Now he and Virgil could be more than friends - bestest friends... perhaps even bitches in crime.

 They would absolutely trash the household by demanding a lot of care and just throwing out some dirt. If he was a plant with mobile or flexible limbs under his control, he could knock things from counters like the void did. Remy definitely learned how much cats seemed to enjoy playing into gravity’s power. Virgil was a never-ending source of knocking random things off the counter, off the shelves and tables and whatever else they could find.

 “Virgiiiiiil~”

 Remy had accepted his fate: he was hosting a little demon kitten, a spoiled mini Queen expecting royal treatment when he was just a humble worker who bitched at idiotic people.

Why, oh why-

As he laid there, drama overcoming him, existential dread rumbled in his guts. The hunger from going without sustenance for a whole night consumed his being, Virgil finally made their way over to them and decided to give him a lovely greeting. His migraine-ridden head was met with the sudden impact of a whole furry kitty skull just crashing against it.

 Instantly, pain exploded in his mind, his brain pressing against his skull from the inside and pounding wildly. Throbbing agony painted his features and he groaned, his face distorting to present the mask of a broken man, hopeless for any improvement. It was not that the area Virgil had bonked their head against was hurting more. No, it was like touching a bubble and destroying the whole of it in the process.

 “Ughh...”

 His voice was tired and, his brows heavy and lethargic from the constant anguish pushing him into the ground. At the same time, his head felt detached from reality. It was an unreal experience.

The pain was present, persistent and heavy on him as it crushed his appetite. While his body demanded food, it also demanded him to stay off any intake of nutritions via mouth. Nausea washed over him and he felt warm , uncomfortably hot even. Sweat seemed to break over his miserable, physical vessel and he pressed his lips together in regret, not even daring to think about opening it. He felt feverish but knew he was not. He had tested it several times.

 He had to stop thinking.

Thinking hurt.

 “ d’s hur’s...”, he mumbled incoherently.

 Neither his head nor his lips wanted to do the talking at the moment. Sounds hurt, too.

 The man wanted to tell the little bitchy kitten that head bonks - while affectionate - were painful when he had bad migraines. He wanted to explain himself to the little creature who would just meet his torture with the inability to understand him. Even if the kitty tried, they would be unable to ever understand his words as he meant them. Virgil learned by context.

 Realising the kitten got no head pats in return or any other sorts of physical affection, the little void pawed at his face and gently nudged their head against Remy’s once more.

It was gentle, this time.

 “Mrow!”, the cat argued.

 Remy wanted to shake his head but feared the nausea would become even worse. The little soft nudge was.. endearing. The tender displays of affection did not heal him but it helped, it eased him. It was nice to know the kitten did not understand but still reacted to him, still cared and was there at once when he decided to call for them.

 Remy was brave enough to swallow his nausea. He shifted experimentally.

 Huh.. fine. It was kinda fine, right now.

 The nausea was just out of reach and he took the chance to quickly shift to his side and turn his whole body over. Remy gently patted the couch and patiently waited for the little kitten to follow him. His face was in the same space, just facing the other side.

 He was unusually off-fashion. His boxers were basically all his pyjamas, his shirt was a loose shirt from the women’s section. It was barely gracing over his features, loosely falling onto his skin.

Listen, he looked especially pretty with his hips showing a bit.

 “Huhww...”, he whined in pain.

 HIs eyes shut automatically. It was good that eyes had the reactive mechanism of closing when light hurt too much. With the little bits of light that intruded home shut out , he curled further around the kitten. Virgil gently nudged his chin and stretched into his arms. Pushing the little head into his palm, they received little head scritches once more and he gently caressed the kitten’s small chin.

 His pain killers should kick in soon. He was so glad that special medication for migraines existed... if he was lucky, they would just knock him out and he would wake up in a bit, lacking pain and nausea at all and feeling so much better. One day, he wanted to feel like a person would feel when waking up in the morning: free, fresh and ready to seize the day.

 Remy soon drifted off to sleep. The comforting feeling of his Queen of Salt tapping his hip bones was one of the most assuring actions one had ever performed on him. They curled up in his arms, right next to him. In solidarity to one another, the two eventually drifted into a respectful and hopefully healing nap.

 A few hours passed and magically, Remy woke up. His body was heavy and his energy levels ran low. Instinctively, he rolled onto his side and rubbed his eyes.

 The process was.. not just as smooth.

As he started to roll over, a little resistance could be felt next to him and he felt the intense heat on his chest suddenly be exposed to the much cooler air around him.

 Remy’s head was still heavy when he turned and he could feel his mind draw a painfully sneaking blank. Thinking was a drop-by-drop process compared to quickly pouring liquid from one into another container. But when he blinked, looking around and not seeing the familiar Overlord of Darkness, he knew there was a problem.

 Oh- Oh, Virgil.

  “aw.. sorry Virg”, he mumbled.

 St once, he moved off the squeaking kitty and sighed. Holy fuckery, he was more than glad he had not tried to roll over the kitten. This could have ended in the worst possible ways. Surprised at himself, he blinked.The kitten complained and nastily pushed their tail into his face in revenge. Yeah, the one and only Queen of Salt was right then and there. If they acted like this, they were obviously all up and healthy.

 Oh, and would you look at this. His nausea was almost entirely gone. The rest persisting in his throat and stomach was probably the greedy claw of hunger.

 Cat + pain-free state = happy Remy.

 “Aw, kitty”, Remy cooed and gently pulled the crabby bean into his arms, cradling them close.

 Virgil meowed in protest but it was a formality rather than a wish. When Remy got up, they decided to stay put and curl up against his chest once more, the inviting warmth winning over even the the charcoal grumpy cat. If they had been truly enraged about him squeezing them by accident, they would have given Remy an actual taste of pain.

 “Meow”, they mumbled in return and Remy kissed their head.

 “Yeah, sorry for the wait. You and I are getting food right now”

 He carefully got up, minding his step and circulation as he made his way into the kitchen with calculated movements. Whenever he got a bit further, he identified the next space he could lean against or a corner he could slide down from. Just in case his body was “too weak” and prissy with him to make it over to the kitchen and stay loyal to him while making a meal.

 Remy should get a walking stick.

 Eventually, he got over, took his supplements to further ward off migraines, dizzy spells and many other issues his existence was pained with. Cramps and muscle twitches. Those were those bitches!

 Virgil was down at his feet, not daring to wander the counters when he would cook. They knew better than to do so. The kitchen was basically off-limits for feral cat shenanigans of jumping and dumping anything they would find interest in.

 Within a few minutes, Remy and Virgil were snuggled up on the couch, lazy breakfast in his hands and kitten sprawled over his leg, nibbling at a little snack he had gifted them.. well, as a treat. Also, the cat just needed to eat, okay? The cat was contently purring on his leg, basically massaging it with the stubborn vibrations radiating off of them. They were happily chewing on a bit of meat Remy had placed on a napkin for them. He himself was stretched out under a thin yet fluffy blanket, as black as his soul. With that, he meant that it was a dark, shimmery blue that looked almost as dark as raven yet shone like charcoal and reflected the light blue-ly enough for him to call it blue. Every now and then, it would look like a cave of darkness when from other angles, it would look like a mysterious shade of blue.

A bit like the vast universe.

 The official cat owner pushed his eggs aside with his fork and let said cutlery rest abandoned on his plate as he finally gave up on eating. This whole breakfast thing might not have been exactly his type of life.

Eating at 11 am was... illegal. Too early. A true abomination. Who would do anything like this? What kinda fucking bitch even invented this sort of activity? This was torture, not a fucking luxury!

 Mornings were there to either work or sleep forever.

 Remy groaned.

 Virgil seemed to have passed out on his left thigh, a whole bundle of raven fur curled up next to him and halfway covering up his own body - even warming it. This cat was probably the only person he ever wanted to see in the morning. Or even interact with.

 Yeah, fuck everyone and everything else. It was “No social, only Virgil” - his new life motto.

 Seriously, now. This little monster was probably the only creature allowed to breathe around him during mornings. He detested mornings but during migraine days, he could not bear to be existent - oh, this was another level of hatred he bore in his angy heart.

 Mornings were the worst because he had to take medication, sleep away half the day and then still be in at least a bit of pain. Yet the idea of Virgil lazily purring on him without annoying him, without demanding attention or needing anything? Now this was true luxury if he ever knew any! Being himself was already a luxury and he paid a lot for it with sweat, pain and an angelic patience to never spill scalding hot coffee over other people when they dared to annoy him during his most painful episodes.

 Remy pushed his food away, plate immediately deserted on the other side of the couch. If he dared to as much as move a bit more to the front, he would have to lean in closer and move his upper body. This was too much work. Cancelled.

With Virgil cuddled up on his thigh, head literally resting close to his hip, he would quite frankly crush the little kitten or trap them at the very least. He did not want to disturb or even hurt the little void. Come to think of it, he could not stand the thought of it even in the slightest. The little beast getting hurt was also illegal. This was his favourite bitch and he would not just let them get hurt. Under no circumstances, especially if he could prevent it by any means.

 His body curled around the little blob of black as if they were about to get hurt and only their close physical contact was able to save them both from tremendous trouble. Remy shielded the little spark of joy in his life.

However, the kitten was about as sympathetic as always and grumbled in response.

 “Meow!”

 Virgil looked at him. Remy blinked back, dace unmoving.

 “Shut up, I am loving you right this fuck.. the.-...the f u ck now.”

 He cleared his throat and, again, blinked back at the Queen of Salt who slowly blinked at him. They pushed Remy’s annoying appendages away and nudged themself into a more comfortable position within their owner’s arms. Once completely satisfied, the cat continued purring like the motor they were.

 “There you go, sassy snitch.”

 The tired man commented, a small chuckle erupting from his throat. A warmth started spreading in his chest again, filling him from the inside. Virgil fuelled themself with their persistent purrs in order to produce more and more heat and vibrations.

This was a circle of heaven.

On one hand, it was a bit like rich people going to these fancy salons so they would look a bit less shit and also much more artificial. Somehow it was a big fucking trend for some fashion victims to look the least human possible and resemble plastic more than anything else. That or maybe some horror creatures.

Remy had no more than cynical eyebrow raises left when he saw shows coming up that presented these people like on a plate of food. Dehumanising, really. Society made people hate themselves for being people and looking like fucking people. As if anything about mean, horrifying mask faces were anything people wanted to see or talk about. The viewers were probably all thirsting after a big old cup of tea because they would definitely not get a tall glass of water in these trying times of reality TV or whatever this bitchy excuse of bullshit was called.

 “Meow.”

 “Yes, Virgil, Totally think so, too.”

 This, this was it. Those interactions were all he needed to make him feel... complete. He felt.. rich but in the more sensible and less extremely insane way. He was not materially watch. Ha, suck it “Material Girl”. No, he was emotionally enriched by Virgil’s presence. It was another kind of fancy and luxurious since it pleased his soul rather than his need to be loved by others. He was blessed and warmed with the love and closeness of a little creature that enjoyed him being around.

Somewhat at least.

 “I love you, little kitty cat. You are the right kinda bitch.”

 Okay, LISTEN. Virgil did not try to eat him in his sleep yet so he might was well consider them best buddies, given that the cat had so many opportunities to slice him open and drink his blood until he was dead and the little hellspawn was satisfied but instead they were simply cuddling up to him all the time. Maybe they were just tolerating him but they were doing a pretty good job and pretending to care about his ass whenever he was not moving a lot or literally suffered greatly.

 Virgil turned to him, blinking ever so slowly, “mrow?”

 Yeah, that was all the evidence needed. Virgil loved him and he deserved it because he was a truly rich bitch who worked for his shit and did not try to look like plastic or be scary. Wow, rich people were so scary with their weird needs and urges and deeds... He would never get over plastic faces and that was his last word on this topic. This sudden realisation kinda hit him hard. Like, even in that slow, numbed and dull conscious, he saw the dots, observed the connections and got to a surprising conclusion of people being plastic and this being very weird.

Striking thoughts, clearly. Or maybe he was just being ..confused..Uh, what was he thinking about? Oh man.. It felt like he has had a major mental break through about whatnot - maybe, Kim Kardashian’s ass and how he can achieve his butt to be just as thicc.

 The man shook his head, letting all the confusing thoughts leave his head. He shook them off like the wetness of an umbrella after coming in from a rainy day. Outside, the world was pretty silent and not a single sound other than Virgil’s sing-song purrs lulling him into comfort could be heard. He was a chronic pain bitch, he made sure to never have too many sounds around which was why his hobbies were silent and boring, mostly.

 Still, Virgil loved him. They really did because they bonked their head against Remy’s hip bone, once more. There was no pain, only ore head scritches for the little kitty.

He closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath. It smelled of love, of warmth and hugs. How were these valid scents? Because he smelled them, honey, that is literally all it needed to qualify.

 “You are perfect, little kitty.”

 The two cuddled for a bit longer, Remy’s thoughts drifting slowly. His mind was on a ride on one of these slow merry-go-rounds. It was delirious, magical. Thoughts brushed over him like a breeze, one after the other passing him and tickling his imagination until one would stick with him for long enough. Instead of just passing by, it was more like bumping him and making him look at this thought content in particular. 

 Music.

For some reason, the idea of nice calming melody was the worst to ever happen to him but maybe a peppy song would get his spirits back up and work down the soreness from being stuck in a morning, still. The idea was so alluring, he felt his heart beat in excitement.

Virgil rose their head.

Remy cradled them close, picking them up and settling them on his chest. Arms were still wrapped around the little void.

 Instinctively, he got up, his body sweeping over the floor. His toes were numb to the feeling of the ground and his mind saw nothing but his task. As always, the warmth of the void was close to his chest and keeping him warm as the loyal little disaster they were. They curiously looked around as the flat passed by him. It was so natural for them to be close and go to any place together, Remy felt as if their auras would melt together.

 “Meow?”, the cat inquired curiously.

 There was such an innocence in their deeds. Apparently, they realised a bit of a change at the very least. They looked over his shoulder as they only ever did when they just arrived here for the first time. Or, well, would be new to any other area they went to together. Virgil knew where they were but something about Remy’s actions seemed to spark a sense of novelty.

The cat meowed again, a larger chunk of excitement swinging in their voice as Remy did not acknowledge the first attempt at communication they had proposed.

 “Meow!”

 The persistent meowing grabbed the determined man’s attention and Remy settled in his room, in front of a box, little charcoal monster in his lap.

 “What do you want, Queen? Is my body not soft enough for your royal ass?”, he teased softly as one of his hands settled on their head.

 Fingers entangled in the fur and gently scritched the areas around their ears.

Virgil leaned in. Their head rested in his hand and they simply relished in the soft touches and rewarded their obedient owner with a low purr.

 “Oh, what is that? Are you happy now? Are you happy, now that I give you more attention?”, Remy asked softly, his voice prickling in amusement yet being overall subtle rather than pushy, “You are just the best little kitty, V.”

 “Memrrroww!”

 Remy got lost in the little void looking up at him, neck craning to accommodate the new angle. They blinked ever so slowly. A snail would move faster from one end of the street to another than Virgil would when taking the time to blink at him. It was sort of amusing, really. Remy read it was some kind of display of affection. It was endearing for sure. The owner knew because Virgil’s snuggling up to his palm and purring out “meow”s was something to make his heart feel.. warm and.. and right in his chest.

 Things felt right.

 Then it occurred to him.

The box.

He had come here for a reason, not for nothing. There was a sense of determination lighting up his heart just as much as his love for the little bundle of black salt in his lap.

 His unoccupied hand carefully lifted the box’s lid and let it slide down until it arrived on the ground with a dull sound. At once, the vibrations in the air ceased, the soft sounds of purring abruptly stopping as if the internal cat programme to keep it running crashed and failed to recover. The kitten moved its head to follow the sudden intrusion of the sound. Their ears were up, sharp and indignant at the sheer audacity of a noise around them when they did not personally and officially approve of it to exist here at this time.

 However, at least the cat did not hiss or anything. They just looked for a bit while Remy reached into the box, intent guiding his blind hands.

Virgil stared into the box for another moment before their ears slowly retreated to their more relaxed state and the kitten allowed themself to nudge Remy’s hand again. With one hand in the box, he only had one more to actively stroke the thunder cloud in his lap. He gladly took the opportunity to gift the small beast with a few more scritches, his hand travelling to their shin to gently stroke and scratch it with as little force as possible in order for the feline monster to be appeased with his actions.

 They were.

Virgil let the weight of their head be carried by Remy’s patient hand while the other rummaged in the box the cat has already lost interest in.

 What. A. Fool.

 His free hand wrapped around the pole-like shape, his fingers gracing the cool material. Ah, finally. He pulled at it until he had retreated his hand enough to reveal the object to broad daylight. It shone a bit, almost as if to mimic the metal it wanted to be made of. He pulled up the slender object, the weight enough to tell him he had something in his hands. It was light but not enough to make him forget about the fact he was holding something. The object’s shape was clear and direct. A few simple touches told him he was right.

His eyes were not needed in this point. He could tell it was the desired object without being able to see through the muffled darkness of the little storage. It was dark, it was always dark where he lived and got to control the dimness of the light.

 “I got ya, bitch.”

 Virgil gave him a look for a moment but he had only eyes and hands for the object. By now, he was “inspecting” it with both hands.

The weight was low enough for his noodle arms to get it easily without any exhaustion. Even with barely any food in him, he was capable. Okay, sure, he worked out but he was not that strong. A sandwich was probably just as heavy as this object. Remy pulled it against his chest with a sense of satisfaction washing over him. A proud smile adorned his features and he glanced back down at the Queen of Salt in his lap. Something within him told him that the furry friend by his side would understand what he just did, would feel what he had in mind.

 For now, he was saved by the cat’s sweet and sour ignorance.

They were like a little child. Not knowing much about the world yet being so eager and amazed at every little novelty they deemed to be a true wonder and a wonder only, for it was revolutionising the world for them. Probably, it was.

They did not know it just yet, but there was a big big miracle approaching them. Virgil was about to get to know a very natural yet artificial wonder very soon, Remy would make sure of that. As their caretaker, it was sort of his job to teach them about the good and the bad of the world. This lesson would be the perfect middle ground of morals and societal standards.

Or maybe just his own opinions... Yeah, maybe rather that, considering he did not really give too many fucks about society as it was.

 Remy pocketed the middle-sized item (it reminded him a large amount of a torch) and got his little kitty cat into his arms before getting up. Together, they returned to the cozy living-room. They cozied up together and the owner got his phone out and ready.

 “Virgil, be a dear, entertain me”, he softly requested before making a little “click” sound with one of his hands.

The kitten whipped their head around, staring into the source of sound that happened to be their miserable excuse of a human servant. With a cautious “meow” coming from them, they leaned in, tail standing still and body tense. Even their ears stood very firm.

 Remy barely breathed when he clicked his tongue in thought.

 “Yo, Queen, calm ya kitty senses. It is a fun surprise. Promise, honey.”

 They eased a bit, sitting down onto their little void butt with their eyes intensely looking at the source of sound, despite it being gone for so long. Reassurance did not reach through their raven fur.

 “Be a good kitty, come on”, he suggested as he brushed a hand through their endlessly dark fur. The sassy child complied, carefully purring into his palm. As usual, they pushed their head closer. The trust was big between them. Virgil shut their eyes effectively and purred on, for longer, for louder.

 It was the time, it really was.

 Remy pulled his own arm closer to his chest, the microphone in his hand. It was active, activated and more than ready for this - just as he was.

If there was any pain or discomfort left within him, he was invincible and ignorant to it since the mere idea of his little plan becoming reality has him in the sweet ecstasy of hyperfocusing.

 Everything but his objective and the required tools became invisible to him.

 Virgil purred and suddenly, without warning for the little salty royal, the sound of their own purr echoed back to them in an odd, distorted manner. The object threw sound back at them because it was a microphone. Said microphone gave a high-pitched feedback in return, leaving the cat awestruck.

 Despite the soft cuddles and little encouraging nudges, they remained silent. Their doll-like, spheric orbs widened and their jaw locked at the weird noises. The cat’s whole posture was simply the shadow of a scare and the embodiment of confusion. If Remy did not know better, he would call them a boomer for the look on their face that could best be described as disgust.

 “You okay there, kitty? Do you hate me and life now? Do you hate your wife- ”

 They eyed the man for a moment, a hint of bewilderment in their intense eyes. Virgil seemed to smell the bullshit that was Remy calling them a boomer, maybe even a Karen. In reality, the cat was more than right! Someone get the manager of dummy thicc kitty-slaves!

 This was heresy! No, it was CARESY! How dare this poorly-made, human-encouraged machine of deafening sounds be alive and working around this cat and even throw back their royal noise with cheap, messed-up pitches? This was a crime!

The perfect balance of demanding and adorable was lost to the heartless machine.

 “Mrrrrrr”

 Virgil started vrooming in spite.

 They frankly produced a sound between a growl and a purr. Remy did not know what it was. He was sure not even Virgil knew what kind of sound exactly they were making and had it not been for the microphone, he would not have even heard it. However, with the useful device, the sound was amplified and came back in an echoing mess of sounds that layered over one another, wavering and stumbling over each other in their heightened pitch as they fought to reach one’s eardrums before the others.

 Distorted echoes and overlapping noises vibrated their way into his hazy mind. Virgil squinted at the atrocious object before the.

He giggled.

 “Virgil, listen to yourself, you silly void!”

 His suggestion fell to deaf ears. Virgil’s ears were, in fact, moving and in place to detect the danger of the intrusive sounds, the loud and sudden shit to bother them in their comfortable existence.

They wrapped their paws around the microphone, both “arms” slinging around it and holding it in place. The microphone was just a finger away from the kitten’s wet nose. The patting sounds was amplified. Rustling occurred, scratching Remy’s and Virgil’s glorious hearing senses.

 They stared again. Remy stared too, his eyes captivated by the sudden turn of events happening before him.

 “Hey, little storm cloud, what are you doing?”

 The cat continued, thrashing the microphone and letting out an actual growl at this point. Louder pats and could were vocalised by the poor, abused microphone.

The dummy duo paid with their hearing abilities. Holy fuck.

 “MeoooooooOOOW!”

 The sound grew louder at the end, forcefully so. It was a powerful establishment of dominance on Virgil’s part. How would the microphone react? Stay tuned for the nex- OKAY The microphone obviously echoed the whole thing back right on impact, leaving Virgil to retreat their head yet not their stubborn paws.

The cat had licked blood and it was not going to give up not. Not in front of their new enemy!

 All the while, Remy decided to be wise enough and retreat his hand from the slightly feral-ing cat.

It was a matter of time for Virgil to just ba-

Iiiiit was already happening~

 Virgil released one of their paws while keeping the other around to stabilise the foe. They committed themself to observing it and keeping it in place while their black hook got back at it, fully swinging against the cool microphone. Remy let go, merely catching up on the series of movement Virgil started carrying out after he had retreated his caressing hand. He had just stopped himself from giggling in amusement as the situation turned into a somewhat serious scene.

 “BADANG!”

 His grip on the microphone was no more - as much as the noisy foe Virgil had bashed the annoying bitch far, far away. The kitty paw had practically yeeted the whole apparatus away from them, the little microphone flying over the couch and landing on the other side of it while echoing the sounds of whooshing air breezing into its loudspeaking function. It crashed into the cushions and sound exploded on them, leaving Remy and Virgil in a groan of annoyance, maybe even a slight tone of pain.

 Hah, tone.

 The microphone’s last cries died down as s quickly as they had torn into the world. Virgil sagely blinked at the fallen enemy. In a great sense of victory, the cat hopped into his arms. They flung themself at his chest and bonked their heads together once more.

 “Meow!”

 They seemed to argue in their own benefit, demanding a reward for defeating the evil intruder and saving their dummy thicc idiot of an owner. Stupid human slaves. Foolish mortals. Bringing their own enemy into their home and even cuddling with it. Good thing the fierce kitten was around to knock out any meanie!

 Very well, they thought, they deserved a treat and Remy would have to hand over one of the good things. Virgil desired it.

 The kitten nudged their owner, settling down on them in satisfaction.

 “You go, Queen”, Remy cheered softly as he gathered the bundle of utter darkness and destruction in his arms.

Praise covered the kitten in warmth. They blinked slowly.

“I got you, you little sassy bitch.”

 Remy wobbled into the kitchen with his bitch buddy and got some treats for the kitten especially and also some for his own tired self. The whole endeavour had not been the most clever thing to do. His head was hurting from the scratchy noises. Still, it was worth the silly fun they had together. Do not judge the bitch flat, they were both hungry and tired! Also, Remy was dummy thicc on meds. Weekends were made to bitch slap fucking microphones and other noise-generating machines and beings across the room just to get a little crunchy CRONCH CRONCH treat in return.

 This was the local apartment laws because Remy and Virgil said so.

 The owner carefully got something from the kitty drawer he had put together by now. With a ceremonial movement, he flicked his wrist and presented his little chaos charcoal with the treat of catnip paradise.

 Virgil jumped into the sack of nice smells and good treats.

 “MRRW!”

 Remy found himself succumbing to giggles once more.

 “Yeah, meow to you, too, dark and stormy knight. You are just the cutest little kitten, honey.”

 He got himself a bit of cheese as he sat down to watch Virgil bite and rip into the bag of the good old cat nip.