#kind of doubt as many people who claim they 'need to eat meat' actually do. like just say you dont want to think about it lmao.

[snekdood]

people are only gonna realize honey is bad and corporations have been lying about which bee needs to be saved when all the native bees are dead, huh

[katerinaaqu]

Do tell me if you have addressed this before... Does Circe eat the pigs that used to be humans? Does she keep them to be eaten specifically, she eats them only sometimes, are they just trophies?

Would it count as cannibalism if they aren't human anymore?

Are there other animals on the island that used to be pigs?

Oh it has been quite a while since the last time I engaged to a conversation related to the matter! It doesn't matter if I had or hadn't addressed this before given how intriguing and fascinating subject it is! And to be fair I doubt there is one clear answer either but it is definitely a subject on the table (yeah pun intended! Sorry!) So here goes;

It does seem that Circe has many different animals in her court, like lions and wolves who appear to be her escorts. It is of course unclear whether those are indeed transformed humans (as Plutarch suggests for example to his work "Bruta Animalia Ratione uti" or Apollodorous with his Epitome who claims that some of Odysseus comrades were turned to other animals too) or actual creatures (Homer implies that she "bewitched them" but that could also mean simply that she controls their will). It is in fact Eurylochus who also expressed that the wolves and lions that guard her could be human when he tries to persuade the companions not to follow Odysseus to the house of Circe:

If we go to Circe's palace she will turn us all to swine or wolves or lions to guard her great house perforce!

(Translation by me)

Although it is some fear that Eurylochus has, it is hard to determine if that was a wink of Homer's as to what these creatures actually were. But either way they do seem like they do her bidding so it does seem possible that the animals she creates are also of practical purpose so to speak. So that also makes me wonder indeed that the pigs were there for purposes of that kind too. Now would they have other purposes other than food? Absolutely such as tracking or even, mind you, disposal of leftovers from cooking or food but I am almost certain that the pigs would have been used for food. Thus increasing the urgency in Odysseus's soul to save them. He wasn't just giving them back their humanity, he was potentially saving them from doom. Odysseus seems to imply that with these words:

But you have hostages my men in your halls and you have evil wiles in mind by keeping them there

(Translation by me)

Bear in mind how the word "wily of mind" is given with the word δολοφρονέουσα but the word φρονέω (to think/to plan) sounds incredibly close to the word φονεύω (to kill/to assassinate) could it be a correlation here? Perhaps. Now of course it needs to be said that contrary to homeric writing ancient people didn't eat meat THAT often anyway much less pork which was used through and through when cooked even bones and fat so it is hard to say when or how often Circe would demand a meal of pork or whether she would knowing that they are humans or not. It is kinda left there. It is not strictly said that the pigs were there for food in general so it is kinda left on interpretation at least as far as Homer is concerned. There seems to be a debate among some people on whether for example his companions even retained their reason throughout the process which is even more tragic to think of! That their memories of their homeland were gone so they had no idea what was happening but they knew they had to be human but they had no human speech to express themselves either which seems like being trapped in your own body which is another interesting notion of their transformation.

But I believe the essence of hurry and the feeling of urgency and sadness in Odysseus when his comrades were concerned that means he feared their actual life was in danger not just their dignity as human beings which already was bad enough for the ancient Greek standards. It seems that Odysseus at least feared that Circe would possibly kill them in their pig form or that the feeling wouldn't leave him alone even when he did extract the promise from Circe that she had nothing in store for them. By n large Odysseus's instinct was correct so I would say the danger of them being potentially killed or even devoured was strong there. Now whether Circe herself would devour the pigs or offer them as food to her wolves or lions is also another story but as I said I think the threat against their life was serious there.

Now as to whether someone were to slaughter one of them as they are a pig and whether that would be cannibalism I mean it definitely is an intriguing question. It seems that when myths are speaking on the transformation of a person to an animal, they still keep being referred to as people (see for example Aktaion when he is transformed into a deer by Artemis and devoured by his dogs, he is still mentioned by name) That and also the fact that as I said there even was a thought that his men maintained their reason even if trapped to the voice body and possibly behavior of an animal. Now there is also the question of what was considered "cannibalism" and such given how mostly we see it to human-shaped creatures but if human reason is enough as well as the birth as human (and birth and blood played a huge part in Greek literature as well) I think in one way it would be considered really problematic and yeah borderline cannibalistic if not straight out cannibalism if one were to devour one of the transformed pigs. And I find it also interesting how pigs were chosen of all animals especially with later years' talk about eating pork or how ironically close to dna of humans is the dna of pigs! So in one way I am just amazed at the connotations that are almost 3000 years old!

I hope this helps a bit! ^_^

[thearvariblues]

The Mysterious Case of Jaskier's Immortality

Word count: 3601

*

“So nice to see you again, Yennefer,” Jaskier says, putting on one of his many fake smiles.

“Jaskier,” she replies with a smile that almost looks genuine but Jaskier is pretty sure that it’s not. Which she confirms a few seconds later by saying: “Shouldn’t you be dead already?”

“I see you’re as kind as always, my dear. But don’t you worry, Geralt is doing a very good job when it comes to protecting me.”

“Hm,” Geralt sighs resignedly, clearly regretting his decision to spend the night in an inn instead of the middle of a forest.

To be fair, it was Jaskier who suggested it, claiming that he refused to be eaten by angry drowners, no matter how many times Geralt tried to explain to him that the probability of finding a drowner in the middle of a very dry forest is extremely low.

If Jaskier knew they were going to run into Yennefer in the inn, he would have risked the drowners.

“I don’t doubt that,” Yennefer smirks. “But seriously, how old are you, bard?”

“No idea. I stopped counting after fifty, I think.”

“You know, you don’t look fifty,” she says.

“Oh, well, my mother had an elf lover before I was born, so there’s a fifty-fifty chance that I’m not gonna age anytime soon. Sorry,” Jaskier smiles again, sweetly – and this time, it’s genuine.

“As if,” Geralt grunts.

“I’m sorry, dear?” Jaskier blinks.

“Come on, Jaskier, it doesn’t work like that. You’re a viscount, that means your father must have been a viscount, too.”

“You don’t know much about nobility, do you, Geralt?” Yennefer snorts.

“Hm,” Geralt grunts. “Still, he’s not a half-elf.”

“Let me guess, you’re a Witcher, therefore you could smell it if I was? I hate to break it to you, dear heart, but you’re going to have your nose checked.”

“You’re not a half-elf, Jaskier,” Geralt repeats. “You’re not immortal, you just… look young.”

“Yeah, right, you got me,” Jaskier shrugs. “I just look good because I moisturize. Happier now?”

“Much,” Geralt nods. “See? You can be honest if you want.”

“Yup,” Jaskier nods. “Honesty personified. Now please excuse me, I need to go and moisturize some more. Internally. With ale.”

*

“I’m actually a mermaid, you know?” Jaskier grins the next time he’s asked, this time by a very confused and very old Valdo Marx.

“A siren, Jaskier. Not a mermaid,” Geralt sighs, praying to Melitele to give him strength. “And you’d know that, of course, if you actually were a siren.”

“Just so you know, the term siren is actually quite offensive to my people.”

“You mean idiots?” Geralt chuckles. “You’re not a siren, Jask.”

“Can you prove that I’m not?”

“Well, last week you tripped and fell into this creek that was like… knee-deep, and you nearly drowned.”

“I was in shock!” Jaskier proclaims dramatically. “But I have a proof that I am, or at least could be a siren.”

“What proof?”

“Well, my lovely voice, of course!”

“Not as lovely as you think it is,” Valdo Marx snorts.

“Come on, Jaskier,” Geralt sighs, ignoring the old troubadour. “You have much better voice that any siren I’ve ever heard.”

“Geralt of Rivia!” Jaskier gasps, clutching his chest. “Was that a compliment?!”

“Fuck,” Geralt mutters. “I didn’t mean…”

“Really though, Jaskier,” Valdo says. “How?”

“That’s a secret I’ll take to the grave, I’m afraid,” Jaskier grins. “Once I manage to reach it.”

“Keep on with the bullshit, Jaskier,” Geralt growls, “and you can reach it tonight.”

“Fifty years traveling with him, and he still thinks he can scare me. Cute, isn’t he?” Jaskier laughs. “Oh, Geralt you could never.”

“Try me.”

*

“All right, I’ll tell you my secret,” Jaskier winks at Ciri, who lifts an eyebrow. “I’ve got this neat… magic ring.”

“Hmmm,” Ciri observes. “Looks like a normal signet ring to me.”

“Well… Yeah, well, it looks like it, all right, but actually–”

“Jaskier, I was born a princess. This is clearly a Pankratz family signet ring.”

“Damn,” Jaskier groans. “Like father like daughter, eh?”

“Sorry,” Ciri shrugs.

*

“I got myself cursed.”

Triss Merigold lifts an eyebrow.

“Somebody cursed you to live forever, is that so?” she asks and her voice is almost dripping with disbelief.

“More like cursed me,” Geralt murmurs.

“Oh, shut up, Witcher, you know you couldn’t live without me,” Jaskier smiles brightly, and Geralt has to bite his cheek to stop himself from smiling back.

“Hm,” he says instead.

“Eloquent as ever,” Jaskier nods.

“Would you like me to...” Triss clears her throat. “You know, try to lift the curse?”

“No!” Geralt yells before he can stop himself.

“See?” Jaskier beams. “You could never live without me!”

*

“A bruxa,” Jaskier repeats to a young man who claims to be his son, but looks older than his supposed father.

“You’re not a bruxa, Jaskier!” Geralt whines.

“Excuse me, and how would you know?”

“Because I’m a fucking Witcher?!”

“Well, you’re clearly a fucking horrible Witcher if you haven’t noticed until now!”

“I think I’d notice if you tried to sneak out of the camp at nights to feed,” Geralt comments, crossing his hands. “You can’t even sneak out to take a piss, Jask.”

“Maybe I do that on purpose!”

“Besides, bruxae are mostly women.”

“Mostly being the important word here.”

“Fuck’s sake, Jaskier. You won’t even eat a piece of meat if it’s not so well-done that it’s almost cremated.”

“Do you know how disgusting the blood is, Geralt?!” Jaskier groans, and then immediately blinks when he realizes what he just said. “I meant…”

“Case closed,” Geralt nods, satisfied.

“Oh, dear,” Jaskier mutters. “I fucking hate you sometimes.”

“Uhm, my lords, if I may,” the young man says.

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but if you’re aging like a normal human, you’re probably not my son,” Jaskier shrugs. “Sorry. I get it why your mum might be confused, though. It was quite a night, with at least four–”

“And that’s enough,” Geralt says, grabbing Jaskier by the collar and pulling him away from the man. “You know, lifting the curse seems like a good idea now.”

“There isn’t really a curse, Geralt,” Jaskier laughs.

Geralt sighs, his lips curling into a tiny smile that Jaskier cannot see.

“Thank fuck.”

*

“You see, we were in a crazy mage’s tower and I saw this bottle and I thought it was slivovitz, so I drank it, but it seems that it actually was some sort of an immortality potion,” Jaskier explains to a lady at the ball, whose grandmother he’d apparently fucked once, when said grandmother was still a young, unmarried woman.

Geralt only blinks, because it’s the first truly plausible explanation for Jaskier’s mysterious immortality.

“Oh, that must be so horrible to watch everyone you love die!” the woman nods enthusiastically. “Perhaps you’d like to tell me about it in private?”

“Of course, my dear…” Jaskier smiles. “Just… wait a second. How old is your mother?”

“Forty-seven, why?”

Jaskier’s lips are moving silently for a few seconds while he counts, and then thy turn into a wide grin.

“No reason, dear,” he says, offering her his arms. “Shall we?”

When Jaskier and the lady flee the ball, Geralt pulls out his flask of White Gull and pours its contents into his empty tankard.

So, a potion…

*

“There is no such thing as an immortality potion, Geralt,” Yennefer shakes her head.

“How can you be so sure?” Geralt asks. “Maybe this mage really did find a way to at least make the human life longer!”

“And why would he do that?” Yennefer scoffs. She has been doing that a lot since she finally ended their relationship for good about twenty years ago. (He later found out that she had left him for none other than Triss Merigold, but Yennefer still doesn’t know that he knows, and he’s having way too much fun with it to break the fact to her. So right now, he is pretending he doesn’t notice that Triss is eavesdropping on their conversation behind the door leading to Yennefer’s bedroom, and that he absolutely believed Yen when she claimed that the loud thud a few minutes ago was caused by a cat.) “We are immortal, Geralt, unless killed. There is no reason for any of us to make a potion that would make a human live forever.”

“Well, perhaps this mage fell in love with a human and wanted them to stay with him!”

Yennefer pauses, inspecting Geralt from head to toe and back again, and then she sighs.

“Oh, Geralt. Really?”

“Really what?” Geralt blinks, genuinely confused.

“Oh,” Yennefer murmurs. “Oh, no. Really?”

“Really what, Yen?”

“You mean you don’t… Oh, dear gods. Really?”

“Yen, I swear that I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Geralt grunts, frowning.

Yennefer rolls her eyes and tries counting to ten to calm herself down. She doesn’t even get to three before Geralt’s eyes go wide.

“Oh,” he whispers. “Fuck.”

“Fuck, indeed, Geralt,” she nods solemnly. “Fuck, indeed.”

*

“I found a djinn, he granted me a wish,” Jaskier says when Geralt asks him, about five minutes after his meeting with Yennefer. (He agreed to use a portal to get to the bard as soon as possible. A fucking portal!) The bard is sitting in a tavern and eating his dinner, utterly undisturbed by the sudden appearance of an angrier-than-usual Witcher.

“You never mentioned a djinn,” Geralt growls. “And after your last encounter with one, I sincerely doubt you’d engage with another.”

“You clearly don’t know me at all–”

“Besides, Valdo Marx, as far as I know, had an apoplexy while fucking a young student on his desk, and I don’t think you’d ever let him die like that if you had a choice.”

“You see, that was kind of a my mistake, since I didn’t specify the time and the circumstances of his apoplexy in my wish, so…”

“What was your third wish?”

“Pardon me?”

“Your immortality, Valdo Marx dropping dead, that’s two. What was the third one? And don’t even try to mention the Countess de Stael, since you’d have to dig her up first.”

“That was disgusting, even for you, you know that, Geralt?”

“How are you immortal, Jaskier?!”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

Jaskier puts a piece of bread in his mouth and grins.

“Maybe some other time, Witcher.”

*

“I am a fae,” Jaskier replies a day later.

“You’re not a fucking fae, bard.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you fucking lie, Jaskier. All the time.”

“Fuck. Didn’t think of that.”

*

“You see, there was this artifact–”

Geralt closes his eyes, turning Roach around.

“Let’s consult Yennefer about this.”

“Oh, mother of…” Jaskier whines. “All right, no artifact, there was no artifact! Geralt, I’m telling you, there was no…”

*

“You’re not a succubus.”

“But it would be a perfect explanation, wouldn’t it?”

“You’re not succubus, because if you were, you’d know that a male one is called an incubus.”

“Oh, you and your stupid Witcher terms again.”

“You’re not an incubus, Jaskier, because if you were, I could never let you near Eskel.”

“All right… Explain, please?”

Geralt grunts.

“I’d really rather not.”

*

“A dragon,” Jaskier grins victoriously.

“No,” Geralt says, shaking his head.

“No,” Jaskier agrees with a sigh.

“You know you could just tell me the truth and be done with it, right?”

“Hm… No.”

*

“All right, enough is enough,” Jaskier growls that night in their rented room, tossing his doublet aside. “You’ve asked me three times today, Geralt. Why the sudden interest in my immortality?”

“As you said, enough is enough. You’ve been traveling with me for what, a hundred years?”

“A hundred and four.”

“Yes, and you still look the same as the day I met you in Posada!” Geralt growls. “And it drives me mad!”

“It wasn’t driving you insane for at least fifty years, so why the sudden change of heart?”

“Fuck off, bard. You don’t have to tell me. I don’t care.”

“But you do, Geralt,” Jaskier says, taking a step towards the Witcher. “Why?”

He’s standing in Geralt’s personal space, his chemise half undone, and he’s watching Geralt with those sincere blue eyes, and Geralt can’t fucking think…

“Because I love you, you idiot!” he snaps. “Because I fucking love you and I need to know if I can love you, or you’re gonna just drop dead one day without a warning!”

“Oh,” Jaskier whispers, his lips forming into a huge, happy smile. “Oh, fucking finally.”

“Fucking… what?” Geralt blinks, his arms suddenly full of an enthusiastic bard.

“I love you too, you silly Witcher,” Jaskier laughs. “I’ve loved you for a hundred years! Well, a hundred and four, but who’s counting?”

“You…” Geralt mutters.

“Silly, silly Witcher,” Jaskier repeats, pressing his lips against Geralt’s in a kiss that could be described as chaste, or at least the chastest Jaskier has ever been capable of. “We’re going to Lettenhove in the morning.”

“We are?”

“Oh, yes,” Jaskier whispers. “See, I’ve told you the truth about the source of my immortality once. But I think you need to see it to believe me.”

“Wait, you have? When?” Geralt asks. “Was it the artifact? Just tell me, I promise I won’t make you consult it with–”

“Shut up now,” Jaskier says, kissing Geralt again with way less chastity than before. “And in the meantime, believe me this – you can keep loving me, and I’m not planning on dropping dead anytime soon. Also, I’ve spent the last hundred years imagining fucking you senseless, so if you’re not opposed to the idea, perhaps we could, well…”

The kiss that this idea gets him is as far from chaste as one could possibly get.

And Jaskier definitely isn’t about to complain.

*

“You sure this is a good idea?” Geralt asks as they march towards the Lettenhove castle’s gates. He tugs at his doublet’s collar, way too tight for his liking. He’d much rather walk in there wearing his usual attire, but Jaskier insisted that Geralt must look presentable if he wants to meet his family.

It turns out that it only takes a single I love you to turn the bard into a manipulative bastard. Who would have guessed?

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jaskier replies, grinning cheerfully. “And stop frowning, you’re gonna scare the servants, love.”

“How long it’s been since your last visit here, Jaskier?” Geralt says, his frown deepening. “Who rules Lettenhove now, hm? Aren’t you only going to be a distant relative, a great-great-uncle risen from the grave?”

“I sure hope not,” Jaskier chuckles, stopping in front of the guards by the gate. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Viscount Julian, here to see the Viscountess Madeleine.”

“How can you still be a viscount?” Geralt blinks when one of the guards promptly disappears inside.

“We kind of decided to, you know, share the title,” Jaskier shrugs. “Seemed fair. Besides, father, well, the former viscount, insisted that I inherit the title, but he never mentioned anything about Mads not inheriting it, so…”

“How could your father have known who the viscount is going to be in almost a hundred years?”

“He really didn’t,” Jaskier chuckles. “See, it will all start to make sense once you meet her.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for.”

*

The guard returns a few minutes later, telling them that the Viscountess will meet them in the garden.

Geralt, knowing a thing or two about nobility, think it’s a little weird, but isn’t about to protest. He only thinks he could have left the fancy clothes at the tavern.

“Oh, shut up, you,” Jaskier chuckles when Geralt voices this thought. “You look gorgeous.”

“I know. You’ve mentioned it a few times. But I didn’t have to look like that, because we’re going to meet the ruler of this land in a fucking garden, and–”

“Julian!”

A woman in a long white dress throws herself at Jaskier, who happily catches her. Geralt’s first instinct is to reach for his sword, only to realize that he (luckily) left it in the tavern – because Jaskier insisted, of course.

“Madeleine,” Jaskier chuckles. “You haven’t aged a day.”

“Oh, yes. Shocking, isn’t it?” she laughs, pulling away from him, and for the first time, Geralt truly looks at her.

The woman is shorter than Jaskier, slim, and her dress is much, much simpler than Geralt would have expected considering the fact that is supposed to be a viscountess. She has dark, long hair and her face is so beautiful that it almost – but only almost – takes the focus off her pointed ears.

“Lady Madeleine,” Jaskier grins, “may I introduce Geralt of Rivia, my Witcher. Geralt, this is Lady Madeleine, the current ruler of Lettenhove and my younger sister.”

“You’re…” Geralt blinks.

“A half-elf, yes,” she nods. “Julian! You haven’t told him?”

“Hardly my fault. I really tried,” Jaskier shrugs. “But he just wouldn’t believe me.”

“So you brought him here to prove it to him, rather than to visit your beloved sister? You are a horrible, horrible sibling, Julian!”

“Your… sister,” Geralt mutters, all his thoughts speeding through his head, colliding and falling down, one over another.

“Yes, we definitely share a mother,” Jaskier confirms. “Most likely a father, too, and trust me, it wasn’t the old viscount. Madeleine got the elvish looks, I only got the non-aging bit. Well, apparently.”

“But…” Geralt blinks. “Your father. The title.”

“Yen was right, dear heart, you really don’t know shit about nobility,” Jaskier snorts. “But I admit that even though our dear departed noble father knew that Mads wasn’t his daughter, obviously, it never occurred to him that I might not be his true son.”

“But you don’t age!”

“In his defense, that only became clear after his unfortunate passing.”

“And you aren’t going to start to age anytime soon,” Geralt mutters. “You really aren’t.”

“Told you so, didn’t I?” Jaskier winks, letting go of his sister and wrapping his arms around his lover instead.

“I… I…” Geralt stammers. “Fuck.”

“Maybe later, love,” Jaskier smiles. “Madeleine, my dear, wouldn’t you say that my return calls for a feast?”

“Absolutely. In fact, I have started the preparations the second my spies informed me that you have crossed the border.”

“Oh, so we have spies now?”

“It’s really only a net of nosy old ladies, but it works wonders,” Madeleine laughs. “I must admit, though, that I was only planning a feast to celebrate you coming home, but now I see we have a much better reason to party. Tell me, brother, did you finally get your stupid Witcher?”

Jaskier smiles brightly, turning his head to Geralt.

“Yes. I finally got my stupid Witcher.”

“Party,” the Witcher in question growls. “Is that why you made me dress like a pompous prick?”

“No, that was because while I find your usual self extremely attractive, you still look much better when your hair is properly combed and you’re not covered in monster blood.”

“Hm,” Geralt hums, but wraps his arm around the bard to hold him close.

“Oh, yes, about monsters,” Madeleine says with the most innocent expression Geralt has seen since Ciri broke Vesemir’s favorite vase at Kaer Morhen. “You see, we have a tiny problem with a cockatrice…”

“Right,” Geralt nods. “I’ll go grab my armor from the tavern.”

“That won’t be necessary. I have already arranged for your things to be brought to the castle. And your horse,” she adds before Geralt can even open his mouth. “You can leave for your quest as soon as the servants get here.”

“So much for you not being covered in monster blood,” Jaskier sighs.

“Hm,” Geralt grins. “Lady Madeleine, I suppose you happen to have a bathtub somewhere in the castle?”

“Of course. In fact, there is a private bathroom right next to Julian’s bedroom.”

“Geralt of Rivia,” Jaskier purrs. “You know me so well.”

“Yes, and I expect to get to know you even better. In another hundred years or so.”

Jaskier laughs, pulls Geralt closer to him and kisses him.

“Another thousand years, I’d say.”

*

“What… the… fuck?!” Geralt croaks, staring at the smouldering remains of the cockatrice that would have surely killed him if Jaskier… If Jaskier…

The bard looks at his hands, then at the cockatrice, and then back at his hands again.

“Geralt? I have a feeling that I’m not really… A half-elf.”

“No shit.”

“I think I might be… Uhm…”

“Oh, shit,” Geralt whispers.

“I suppose, uhm, you know…” Jaskier stammers, wiping his palms on his trousers like he could wipe away the feeling of literal flames shooting out of them mere moments ago.

“Yeah. We’re gonna have to consult this with Yen.”

“Splendid,” Jaskier sighs. “Can it at least wait after the feast?”

“After more than a hundred years of you not even knowing, I think one feast will be fine.”

“Thank the gods. Madeleine would kill me if I tried to leave now,” Jaskier chuckles. “Let’s go, then. We need to get the fried monster remains out of your hair.”

“You’re… I was fucking right! You’re not a half-elf!”

“Yeah, you’re a great Witcher,” Jaskier nods, grabbing Geralt’s arm and dragging him away from the monster. “Didn’t notice I was secretly a fucking mage, but otherwise a great Witcher.”

“Explains a lot, though.”

“Does it now?”

“Yeah. I always had a thing for mages, you know.”

“Oh, Geralt. You’re such a fucking idiot,” Jaskier chuckles.

“Made you laugh,” Geralt shrugs, smiling.

Jaskier shakes his head.

“I’m so, so gonna drown you in that bathtub.”

“My love,” Geralt grins, “you’re more than welcome to try.”

***

Tagging @lottelorelei - I’m sorry I always forget to reply to your lovely comments, but believe me, they always put a big smile on my face! :)

[acti-veg]

Am I allowed to unsolicitedly vent? I find it funny that some 'anti-vegans' are like "I quit because I got sick and lost too much weight" then others are like "I quit because I gained weight", and to me it just proves that they never saw it as anything more than a diet. I never EVER hear about anti-vegans that saw a nutritionist before they decided to quit. I saw a nutritionist when I was having troubles and that got me through it and I've remained vegan the whole time. I've gained and lost weight and never did I ever think of quitting.

Do you have a personal take on why people become "anti-vegans"? And do you think there is ever a valid reason to no longer be vegan after claiming you did it for moral reasons?

My observation has been that people too often think of a vegan ‘diet’ as one specific diet, like keto, atkins etc. A plant-based diet is just an umbrella term for a whole host of diets with huge variation between them, depending on individual, location, preferences, culture etc.

You can be vitamin deficient while eating a plant-based diet just as you can be deficient whole eating meat, and a significant portion of the population are. If a plant-based dust is not working for you, it just means that specific diet is not working and that you need to adapt it, not that you can’t eat plant-based at all. There are circumstances which preclude a plant-based diet for some individuals, but barring significant health issues or food sensitivities, there is no vitamin, mineral or nutrient you cannot acquire as a vegan.

There are really two kinds of ex-vegans. There are those who remain convinced by the ethics of veganism but who iust could not manage the dietary aspect at this stage of their lives, those people tend to be very pro-vegan and maintain heavily reduced animal product consumption. Then there is the second (and unfortunately much more vocal kind), who become actively anti-vegan. It’s only the latter whose authenticity I doubt.

These people always have dramatic stories about nearly dying from some unknown disorder after not eating steak for a week, and they are almost always thoroughly convinced they veganism is ethically and environmentally the wrong thing. Which begs the question - why did you do it in the first place then? There is quite a leap between trying veganism and it not working out for you, and becoming a vocal enemy of the animal rights movement. Many of these people no doubt did not actually give it an honest and sustained attempt - if they tried at all.

As for the latter question, if we mean ethical veganism, then I don’t believe that there is any morally good reason to give it up. That is, ethical veganism understood as avoiding animal exploitation as far as is possible and practicable. Keep in mind that so long as you are doing your best, you are vegan, even if you can’t manage a completely plant-based diet at this stage. What we are trying to defend otherwise, is the concept that veganism did not work for me, therefore animals don’t deserve to have any rights.

There are people who just may not feel comfortable calling themselves vegan anymore and that is totally valid. However, there are whole swathes or people who apparently couldn’t adopt a plant-based diet and now oppose veganism (and therefore animal rights) for everyone. Someone who cannot personally adopt a plant-based diet for whatever reason still has the responsibility to reduce to the extent they are able to, and to advocate on behalf of suffering animals.

[sleepdeprivedheretic]

Wild Heart: Taishiro Toyomitsu fluff and nsfw at the end

Notes: Smut with kinda nomadic and village people with animal features. Sorry s/o, but you’re a lil’ bunny with a kinda fearful backstory. All characters are of age, and this story has some dark elements to it. Don’t read if you’re underaged.

Warnings: No forced mating happens to s/o, but there are mentions of the fearful possibilities, and s/o living in fear of it. Kinda Mary Sue s/o but whatevs.

……………

When your first heat took over you, you first lived in your own little space in your parent’s temporary den. Of course they expected this. You, however, did not expect them to take advantage of your delicate situation by inviting possible suitors in their home.  

It scared you so much, laying there in your feathered nest, listening to your parents in the other room basically interviewing each and every suitor, acting as if you were a piece of meat to be traded off to. Which, you realized, that you were.

Traveling in the past winter was difficult, for many villagers fell ill, got lost, and were eaten by wilder animals, which made your parents desperate to help reproduce the decaying tribe. Of course, rabbits being one of the most fertile breeds, were sought by more dominant species to reproduce. A predatory species such as a wolf or dog, for example, will always have pups, if their mate isn’t high on the list of dominance that is.  

It made young bunnies such as yourself a prize, because although highly fertile and bore kits quickly, the kits will be a species of their mate, instead of rabbits themselves.  

 You weren’t sure if you wanted kits, only to repeat your species’s vicious little cycle. You were sick of it, and always fearful that somebody who your parents approved of, will just come into your nest while in heat, and either fuck you then and there, or drag you away to be a little breeder.

You were so scared and sick. Although terrible, your parents seem to know that a fearful bunny in heat was not good, and the stars aligned with luck as you heard them sigh and say that right after your heat, you will be traded to the well off weasel in your tribe in exchange for nesting materials and food.

It understandably made you angry, and that fateful night, when you felt ready, you packed some things and left without your parents knowing.

To where, you did not know, but like your kin, you will find your own little place, whether it be in a small nomadic village such as your parents, or all alone in the wilderness. It was unsafe for you. Your heat had just lifted, but the intoxicating smell still clung to you.

You traveled far, avoiding to stay at one place for too long, suspicious strangers, and open fields. Wolves would leer at you, owls and other birds of prey would gauge whether should they swoop down at you. Your nights were spent curled up in either an abandoned den, or huddled against a large tree, hoping that you’ll be safe.

As for your heats, you definitely had to play extra safe, so far as gathering two week’s worth of food to place in a temporary den, blocking it and not even thinking about coming out until it was at least a week after your heat.

It was an absolute nightmare to be writhing on the ground, hearing the scratches, threats, and wanton moans of animals outside, wanting to break through your makeshift barrier, and never succeeding. It scared you so much, that a small part of you wondered if the weasel would have been a better choice. You shook it off. No, you were more than an incubator. You always got through the night, and you’ll get through this one.  

On the lucky side, your food resources would not run out due to it being late summer, and so wild fruit, vegetables, and berries were still available to you, making stored temporary dens so much easier while dealing with heats, which drained your energy. You didn’t want to continue walking forever, living in fear and hiding,  but you didn’t want to be near your parents ever again.

One day, you came across a friendly little village. It surprised you. Unlike your village, they had buildings built there to stay, not tents flapping in the wind, or an abandoned den in which would be abandoned again. It felt like a secure place, and you decided that you will try to find a den on the outskirts of town.

It didn’t take long to find an old fox den. The smell has long since faded, and there was no outcry or claim when you left of what few belongings you had. Being smart, you covered the opening up with grass and branches, and headed towards the village to hopefully find work for food so that you could eat for the upcoming winter.

The people were friendly. They saw you not just as a foreigner, but one of the few beings who actually wanted to stay. The majority of your land had a nomadic lifestyle, but this place had structure, rules, and more importantly, safety. Beings of all kinds were welcomed here, and nobody discriminated. It was too good to be true, you thought. You thought that it was a trap, but it wasn’t.

It was a new concept of living, and many beings found it too weird and suffocating, not like the free reign they were use to having, so many beings avoided the village. You loved it. So you stayed.

Of course there were doubts, and the ever-lingering fear, yet it melted away when you seen the sunny faces of a fellow rabbit named Izuku, a red salamander by the name of Eijiro, the warm smile and fluffy squirrel tail of Ochaco, the leader of the village, a droopy crow man by the name of Aizawa, and others , you knew that this was your place.

It didn’t take you long to befriend the villagers. It was not a large village, but for the first time, you felt very welcomed and supported, and even found a job working as a gardener with Ochaco. You felt so happy, that you let yourself smile, which you haven’t done so in ages.

Of course, of all of the villagers, there was one who caught your eyes the most. When your eyes met, you couldn’t help the fluttering feeling beat within your chest. Bright orange eyes, soft yellow hair, and a round face met your gaze. The rare tiger breed was eating something sweet, and had a little speck of food on his face, in which you couldn’t help but find adorable.

It didn’t bother you that he was round, or the soft blush on his cheeks, or the way his pretty eyes had glistened a little with surprise, and most importantly, his sandalwood and soft vanilla scent. You knew that you shouldn’t like a person just bases on their looks or scent, but at that moment, you couldn’t help the blood rushing to your cheeks, a little.

Of course, it didn’t help when he offered a smile and one of his sweets, that you were pulled a little more into the rabbit hole of like at first sight.

Throughout the end of your gardening, he would visit you often. His name is Taishiro Toyomitsu “but you can call me Tai-chan!” as his tail flicked. He was only a few years older than you, and his job was help keep the peace, patrolling around the village and help protect it against invaders.

You were smitten but of course could not tell him. A part of you wanted him to like you in despite of your heats and fertility, and you was scared.

As you continued being his friend for the next year, you learned that not only was he a great and a trustworthy friend, but he had lost his fat during spring, and gained it back during the harsh winter months. You honestly thought his bigger form was cuter, but you were not complaining at all to see rippling muscles adorned with sweat during the summer heat.

Which didn’t help your heats at all when you lay deep within your den, writhing with your fingers within you, feeling incomplete and needing something bigger as you could imagine the soft feel of his flesh rutting within you or hard muscles holding you down. It was torture, and you knew that by not telling him how you felt, and not wanting to ruin your relationship with one of your closest and dearest friends, you allowed yourself to suffer.    

Within the next two years, you worked hard and never complained. You learned how to sew, clean, cook, garden, gather, and even carpentry. You helped your neighbors, and in return, they, mainly Taishiro, helped you build your little fox den into a rabbit hut.  

You never told your neighbors about your problems before, but it didn’t take a genius to figure things out. You were a lone being with no mate, not another’s scent on you, and had never brought anybody into your house. It was obvious that you ran away, and you even let it slip while casual talking to Izuku.

Of course, not to mention that the scent of your heat always lingered a week or two on you after your actual heat. You didn’t deny the thrill up your spine whenever Taishiro would accidentally inhale your scent. You didn’t miss the way his pupils dilated with lust, ears perked, and tail thrashing wildly as he looked at you whenever he thought you weren’t looking. Oh no, you were totally aware, and ate it up. Every little image was fodder for you, and it made your heart race faster.  

Everything changed for you, one November day. You were outside, planning on where to plant your crops for the next spring, happily humming to yourself as ever, until you felt yourself being pushed down onto the ground. In a daze, you scrambled to back up from whatever force that was near you, and looked up.

It was your father, and he was seething. You didn’t understand. You traveled far, hadn’t you? Your scent would have faded on your travels, and why now, after three years, has your parent finally found you with an irrational attitude?

You did feel like you left your parents to defend for themselves, but you had to do this for yourself. If not for your dignity, but for your freedom. The only rational thought you could come up with was that the tribe was traveling this direction, and you, living on the outskirts of the village, was easily spotted.

Fate was unfair, sometimes.

“Where have you been? We were worried for you! Your suitor, the weasel, has already found another mate! Your mother and I had lost a lot of opportunity when you ran off like a coward!” It all came falling out of his mouth as he screamed at you. Three years worth of anguish filled his tone.  

Your ears flattened back as your body stiffened with fear. Then an unexpected anger hit you out of nowhere.

“Do you know how scared I was while you were inviting strangers into our home? While I was in my heat for no less? Overhearing how you were going to trade me in as if I never mattered? I was so scared that you were just going to let somebody walk in and do whatever they wanted to me!” You shouted as tears threaten to spring from your eyes. You hurriedly wiped them away as your father stared in shock. However, you weren’t done.

“I traveled so far! Trying to escape you two, the tribe, and everything that holds me down biologically! I had to hide during my heats, hearing...things outside trying to get through the dens I blockaded. Storing food, hiding in the darkness for weeks until I felt safe to go out...looking above me or behind my back every second….” You trailed off as your anger dissipated fast. You frantically wiped your eyes as your father’s shoulders relaxed.

You almost jumped when you felt a hand land gently upon your shoulder. A fierce sandalwood scent overpowered the sweet vanilla, and you knew who it was. Swiveling to look up, your heart sped faster at the sight of Taishiro, who now had a feral look to him as he stared your father down. Your heart sank. You didn’t mean for him to find about your troubles. His ears flat, tail puffed out and swishing, and eyes didn’t leave your father as he spoke.

“Is he botherin’ you, Darlin’?” His voice was gentle to you, although his body language spoke another situation. You eyed your father as his face held a tiny bit of remorse, and fear.

“No,” You found yourself saying aloud. “he’ll be leaving, soon.” After those words, your father gave a curt nod and left just like that. You couldn’t believe your circumstances, or the loop that life threw at you. Your cheeks paled as you remembered that Taishiro probably heard everything.

To be honest, you didn’t care. You wanted him to know, but of course under better circumstances. Tail smoothing down, ears perked, the sweet vanilla overpowering the sandalwood, and eyes round, he looked at you with a worried expression.

“Are you alright? I came running as soon as I scented an unfamiliar scent around your area, I feared for the worse. Damn, I didn’t mean to overhear everything! Seriously, you went through all of that?” His concerned babbling made your heart leap. He cared about you. Feeling brave, you looked at him and decided to shoot a question.

“What did you fear, Tai-chan?” Your question caught him off guard as his eyes widened and a pink dust settled over his cheeks as he swiftly looked down at the ground. For a second, you thought he was going to start blubbering, but then he looked back at you with a determination.

“I was worried that you had found a suitor.” He admitted. Oh. Oh.

“That would have bothered you, wouldn’t it?” You asked with a serious gentle voice. He couldn’t help but nod.

“How long?” You pressed. His ears flattened with a bit of embarrassment and his eyes tentatively met yours.

“When I first saw you. Timid thing with wide eyes, couldn’t help but find ya...ya know, cute. Then you were always friendly, ya know? Um, I could see ya admiring me, even when I was heavy and fat during the winter, I always felt you starin’ at me with those eyes, and it made me feel special. As if my personality was worth more than my body weight, ya know? Then when the years passed and I got ta know ya, I realized that I loved you.” His flush deepened with every breath as he admitted this.

You felt warmth pool within you despite the November chill, and your heart raced. He loved you? You asked him how he had noticed, and he smiled a little.

“Honestly, you aren’t very subtle, Darlin’. Even a week after your heat, I can see you liking the way I’ve been reacting to your smell. Three years is too much, but I’d wait more if you’re still decidin’.” He let out a little growl, and you flushed.  Your heart hammered loudly, and you swore that he could hear it. Then you let it out.

“I loved you when I first saw you,” Your voice broke out and he looked at you with wonder. “as you heard the outburst I had with my father, I was at first a little insecure about liking somebody. Everyone before I came to this life, saw me as an object waiting to be used. You’re not like that. The villagers, my friends, aren’t like that. I didn’t know that you had feelings for me, but I kept pushing away suitors just in case if you changed your mind, one day.” You admitted freely. It honestly felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off of your shoulders.

Only for warm arms to embrace you. Your little bunny tail couldn’t help but swish happily as you wrapped your arms around him, pushing your face into his chest and taking in the sweet vanilla scent. This was happening. You both acknowledged your feelings towards each other, and now can rest easy.            

  After a few minutes, he broke the silence first.

“In my old tribe, it’s custom for males to court their lovers before they finally settle. Would you like that, lil’ rabbit?” He teased lightly as his hand ran circles on your back. You nodded without hesitation. Then you remembered.

“My heat is tomorrow.” He froze and pulled away to look at you with wide eyes.

“Darlin’…” He let the sentence drop as you cupped his face.

“I’m tired of spending them alone. They’re getting worse, and it’s hurting more every passing season. If you’re wanting, I rather have nobody in my nest for the rest of my life but you.”

The next thing you knew, his warm mouth was onto yours, holding you tight against him as he started kissing you. You shivered a little, and he pulled back.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’d love to.” He crooned, making your insides turn into warm mush. He’d love to make love to you is all you could think about, and in an instant, years of self restraint seemed to wither.

“Tonight, before my heat?” You pondered. It took him a second, but then he nodded. You smiled warmly up at him and caressed his cheek. Because it was getting to winter months, he was bulky. Not fully round, but not fully muscular, yet. You loved him any other way, but were pleased that you got to have both for your first time. You wanted to remember everything clearly, and not be in a heat induced mess where fingers and hazy memories of being alone was your only companion.

“Alright, Darlin’. Tonight. I’ll head home and get ready, alright? I’ll meet you in your hut.” You agreed and the both of you parted ways temporarily. Your heart pounded and you felt slick pool out at the images you had stored in your head that built up for the last three years.

Night fell slower than you’d like, but you took the opportunity to clean your hut, make your nest comfortable, and even made stew. You were more excited than nervous. You trusted him, you knew that when the morning came, you’ll have a bonding mark, letting everybody know that he was yours, and you were his. Time crawled slowly, letting you think upon other things.

Would he want kits? You could easily imagine little cubs looking exactly like him and you, and to be honest, you didn’t mind at all. He’d be a great father, but you weren’t with him because of that. Oh no, you loved him, and your body, although not knowing it yet, will too.

You opened the door to the slow and steady knocking. He was standing there, eyes locking onto yours as you let him in without a sound.

“Would you like supper, first?” You asked. You had already eaten, but you didn’t know if he had or not. He shook his head.

“Honestly, Darlin’? I’m ready for desert.” He exclaimed while staring directly at you with a tone dark with lust. It was a newer side of him than you’ve seen, and you liked it. There was hardly any words when you led him into your nest. He had asked if you were sure about this, and you reassured him that you were more than willing. Your head was clear, and more than likely he would spend the next week with you during your heat. Your lustful hunger had been put off for way too long, and you were more than willing to share it with somebody who cares about you.

...Smut:

When you closed and locked the door, he stared at you with such a lustful gaze, you felt slick leak out. He must have smelled it, for his eyes dilated.

“I’m different when I’m in the mood, Darlin’. I’m still me, but my instincts are screamin’ at me to bend you over and fuck you full of my cum. One last chance, are you sure?” He growled out, and you all but crooned.

“I’m sure, Tai. I trust you.” You admitted, and that was all he needed to hear. Although gently, he pushed you down onto your feathered bedding, towering over you as he stared at you like a man starved. His eyes glowed under the moonlight. Your hand cupped his face gently, and he bent down to kiss you. Kissing was something new to you, and he probably could tell. He’d lick your lips, and you’d instinctively granted entry. He was warm and soothing and coaxed you to swirl your tongue over his as he lightly sucked onto yours.

You broke away from air, only for him to tug off his clothes quickly, and then tugging off of yours. You wished it was a little slower, but you enjoyed the sight. His fat and muscles glistened with sweat underneath the moonlight, and you couldn’t love it more. What caught your eyes, however, was his erection. It was fat and heavy, and leaking pre-cum onto your bedding. You never saw one up close, but you already wanted to taste it.  

“You’re beautiful.” You found yourself admit, and his eyes reached you with warmth.

“As are you, Sweetheart. Honestly, how did I get so lucky?” He murmured as he decided that the two of you needed to continue, and you were on board with that.

You all but gasped as he took a nipple within his mouth, swirling it as he stared into your eyes with an almost cocky smirk. His other hand reached out to your other nipple, and gently rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. It was a new experience, feeling his rough calloused hands do that to you. You knew you were sensitive there, but never indulged too much time because other areas cried for your attention during heat. He sucked eagerly, rolling it around with his tongue, only to let go and gently blow cool air onto your bud. You gasped and he chuckled.

“A little sensitive, Dearest?” He gently teased, but you nodded anyway. Your lower half was aching. You didn’t want to rush the experience, but your self control was withering.

“Taishiro.” You let out a whine. He all but laughed at your expense.

“A little eager, aren’t we?” A darker tone filled with lust was replacing his normal tone, and you and your instincts loved it.

“My little slutty bunny wants to be eaten out, huh?” His voice sent a fire to your loins. You didn’t care what he called you, the both of you knew that was instinct, and it did set you alight. So you nodded anyway as you found your legs being separated with his face in between them, staring at your sex as if it was his favorite meal. You whined.

“What a pretty flower, you’ve got there, Sugar.” Was your only warning as you felt his hot mouth onto you. You crooned with relief and surprise. How did he know how to do this? You didn’t mind his past, he was forever yours, now, but it still had you wondering. His hot tongue rubbed against your clit a little roughly, and you felt his hand lift from your breast, and soon you felt a thick digit enter you. His hands were calloused and bigger than yours, and so the stretch was odd, but you wanted more.

You moved your hips gently with the thrusts of his fat finger as he slowly added more, eyeing you with a raw hunger. His mouth left your opening and you let out a low whine. He kissed your thigh gently as he added a third finger, stretching you out as you moved against him, liking the feel of the foreign burn.

“You’re so tight, squeezin’ onto my fingers, drippin’ pre-cum and ruining yer bed like a wanton whore.” You hear him all but growl. You felt yourself tighten with those words and looked away in embarrassment as he chuckled darkly. You couldn’t help it!

“Ya like dirty talk, huh?” He growled out a whisper as he pulled his fingers abruptly out of you and ignored your moan of protest. He continued, pulling you onto his lap, rubbing his erect member against your clit as he growled out the remaining words that you wanted to hear.

“You wanna bounce on my cock, Baby? Lemme fuck yer cervix? Fuck you roughly through your orgasm and paint your womb white with my cum? Huh?” He breathed hotly into your ear, and you had to keep yourself from cumming then and there as you clung to him with desperation. You whimpered. This is what you’ve been wanting for so long, and you were so happy that it was with Taishiro. You weren’t scared that this was your first time, and knew that your body could take him. You wanted your body to take him, and so you nodded.

“Alright, Darlin’.” His voice was softer now as he laid you gently upon your bedding as he stared down at you with a gentle yet feral look. You knew that he’d been putting this off as long as you had, and was desperate. Unlike his dirty talk, his behavior was sweet as he kissed you gently, holding onto you as you felt the head of his cock slowly enter you.

You kept yourself still as you felt your walls envelop the large intruder. It didn’t hurt like you thought it would, but it did leave a pleasurable burning stretch that you weren’t sure to make of at first. Your eyes were locked onto his as he eyed your expression. He then came to a stop, resting flushed against your skin.

“You doin’ okay, Darlin’?” He asked hoarsely, and you nodded.

“It feels a little weird, but it doesn’t hurt.” You admitted. His muscles stiffened as he looked at you with surprise. You were confused at his expression, and then it hit you. He didn’t know of your inexperience, and you just assumed that he’d know.

“Oh, Dearest, had I known-” You cut him off by kissing him. You didn’t want him to think, right now. All you wanted was to make love.

“Move.” You ordered.

“So demanding.” He chuckled, but complied as he gently rolled his hips, grasping at the nest as he eyed your expression with such intensity. You knew that he was holding himself back for you, and honestly, it was sweet. Yet, you wanted him to enjoy himself, too.

“Taishiro, I’m not hurting. It feels-Ah!-Good. Mmh-I want you to…” Your eyes looked downwards for a second while he looked at you confused. Then you looked up at him dead in the eye as you finished your sentence.

“I want to bounce on your cock.” At this, he stilled so fast that you thought he had stopped functioning, and then with a feral growl unlike you ever heard before, he pulled you up onto his lap.

“I was trying to be gentle, Baby, but since you’re such a little slut, I think you should fuck yourself on me.” He growled darkly as he aimed a sharp thrust, burying deeper inside you and you all but screamed with ecstasy as you felt his dick hit a special spot within you.

“Oh? Was that your spot? You gonna let me fuck you, or are you gonna bounce?” He then moaned as you tried your best to meet his erratic thrusts. You all but keened as his mouth latched onto a nipple that belonged to your bouncing breasts, harshly sucking on it as his other hand roughly groped your other breast. This was what your nirvana felt like as your walls began to tighten.

Refusing to come first, he then pulled out. Any amount of protest you had, was stifled as he turned you around harshly, bare ass in the air and your face muffled within the nest. His hands gripped at your hips tightly as he thrusted in, now with fervor. His weight laid heavy on your back as he breathed into your ear, talking dirty. You crooned, because this angle was newer and you felt the heaviness of his dick plow into you better.            

         “Fuckin’ virgin wouldn’t allow me to take this slow,” He nipped at your ear through heavy breathes. “I love you so damned much. I’m going to make you ride my dick slowly next time, and you’re going to enjoy the slow intimacy, yeah?” A rush of touched warmth enveloped you as you nodded, trying to focus on cumming.

“I love you-Ah! More!” You breathed out. He let out a laugh as one of his hands reached under to rub your clit.

“Oh, Baby, the shit you do to me.” He growled for the umpteenth time. You couldn’t help it. Your walls clenched tightly as you heard him curse, and the best orgasm in your life hit you hard. You screamed out his name through the white haze of euphoria. When your senses came to, his hips fastened their pace as he suddenly gripped both of your hips hard, stilled, and felt sharp teeth clamp tight around your scent gland as he came harshly. You felt him spurt his come into you as he held you down.

His hips were now gently pumping in and out of you, letting the last spurts of his cum be released inside as he licked your wound apologetically. You couldn’t see it, but you already loved it. He gingerly pulled out of you, flopping right next to you as he pulled you close to his chest. The two of you were quiet for a while as you snuggled within his chest, feeling your erratic heartbeat calm down as his slowed.

“No, I love you more.” He countered, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

……………………………….

I think this is my most favorite fic that I’ve ever written, and one of the longest omg.    

[llama-of-pangea]

COVID-19 myths to beware:

(last updated April 24, 2020; links to sources)

There is not yet a vaccine or official treatment for COVID-19, though work is in progress around the world.

The FDA briefly approved the drug chloroquine to treat COVID-19, but there is no hard evidence that this drug will actually work for treating this virus. The drug is no longer being studied as a treatment [source 1], as several people taking it daily for COVID-19 experienced heart problems and some died [source 2]. This drug is an anti-malarial that is sometimes used to treat autoimmune conditions such as lupus. There is one study suggesting it could inhibit COVID-19, but this study was small and had serious methodology concerns. ***4/24/2020 update: the study has since been retracted, due to lack of proper vetting and serious methodology issues.*** It’s not a reliable (or even safe) treatment for COVID-19; it might also create a life-threatening shortage for people who need this drug for other conditions. Do not take chloroquine unless it is prescribed to you by a doctor, and definitely do not self-administer this drug.

Injecting disinfectants will not help you, and may cause serious harm. Do not consume or inject disinfectants of any kind.

No, summer weather or living in a warm climate does not mean you’re safe from COVID-19. Likewise, winter weather does not kill COVID-19. In either climate, the virus lives in the human body, which is fairly consistent in temperature -- so, what the weather is like doesn’t affect it much.

On that note, the approach of summer will not inherently kill off the virus. It can live in hot, humid weather. Also, just because it’s no longer cold and flu season in the US doesn’t mean it’s not cold and flu season elsewhere (like in the southern hemisphere).

Also, no, trying to raise your body temperature (by taking a hot bath or by some other means) will not stop you from getting sick. Again, your internal body temperature changes very little, so this won’t help you. But washing your hands or showering after going out can! So do those instead!

No, 5G does not spread COVID-19. Viruses cannot travel on radio waves, and we’ve seen the virus spread in areas without 5G mobile networks. COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets (from talking, coughing, sneezing) or touching surfaces that have been exposed to these droplets.

No, you can’t protect yourself with a detox treatment, detox supplement, or detox “tea” of any kind (and shame on the influencers pushing this).

No, you cannot “self-test” for COVID-19 by holding your breath. The claim that you can self-test by attempting to hold your breath for 10 seconds is a social media hoax which gained traction when it was shared by Fox News. It has been completely debunked. Also, plenty of people who have COVID-19 are asymptomatic and can breathe normally.

Be skeptical of home tests. Produced primarily by Everlywell, they are expensive, and the chance for a false negative is very high (they require swabbing VERY far up your own nose, which is difficult to do on yourself if you’re not a medical professional or someone with experience doing this). If you’re worried that you may be sick, call your doctor; there are also lots of drive-in testing locations around the country.

Hand sanitizers made with only essential oils do not work -- essential oils do not disinfect. Beware of DIY hand sanitizer, as it is easy to make an ineffective one. Soap and water are the most effective means of disinfecting your hands. DO NOT consume essential oils unless it is specifically a food-grade product; most are not and are harmful if consumed.

It’s unclear if ibuprofen can worsen cases of COVID-19 -- this information was circulated by the French Health Minister, but there is no scientific data to support their claim. Ibuprofen is probably still safe to take. If you have any doubts, you can take Tylenol instead.

COVID-19 has nothing to do with beer or eating meat.

Beware of conspiracy theories in general.

Beware of phishing scams pretending to be official press releases. Many appear from fake CDC emails.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites are struggling to stop misinformation campaigns. Don’t consider these sites a reliable source of information -- look for the primary source to confirm what you see online, and do what you can to report or remove false information.

Beware articles or sources that use the current situation to excuse discrimination or prejudice. It is wrong to blame Asians and Asian culture for COVID-19 -- that’s just racism. Similarly, stories blaming migrants are just as wrongly biased.

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

How to determine if something is bullshit (a short guide): ask the following questions:

(1) Are there sources included with the statement? (2) Are the sources credible (namely, are they from a primary source, such as a research group, recognized health agency, or other medical institution)? (3) Can I find more than one account of the information? (4) Is the statement objective (meaning ‘based on fact’, rather than subjective or ‘based on emotion or feeling’, which creates a bias)?

If the answer to any of those 4 questions is “no”, there’s a chance the information could be bullshit, OR, at the very least, it may be incomplete.

In health news, be skeptical of things involving very small test groups (a test on 12 people does not speak for the general public!) or that never went to human testing (things work differently in petri dishes than in our bodies). Also be skeptical of things made by for-profit laboratories. Big pharma can make great things, but it can also be misleading or skewed. Read the literature from sources that are not invested in the product (again -- the CDC, WHO, and FDA are good places to start) to get a better sense of how reliable, safe, or effective a thing is.

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

Check out the CDC’s list of COVID-19 myths here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

*** Note: I’m not a doctor or any other type of medical professional. I am a geologist who knows a lot about source evaluation and is worried about people being misinformed

[rohad93]

Worth the Fight: Chap 4

Early the next morning Luz quickly made her way from the inn to the town square with King trotting along at her side, allowing her to make her way through the crowds easily as people moved to get away from the furry, black beast. Luz rolled her eyes at the occasional witch who would practically dive out of the way at the sight of him, she was sure he seemed amused by it though. Her demonic companion just had a way of conveying himself that was easily translatable for Luz and Eda. She finished stuffing the last of her breakfast of bread and cheese into her mouth and tossed King the last scrap of the dried meat as they walked, he caught it, teeth making a loud snapping noise as his jaws closed around it, making a couple of passerby's jump. Without ever actually talking about it, ownership of King had just sort of shifted to Luz, though Eda claimed she’d never owned him, to begin with, he’d just started following her one day. He'd appeared one night, injured and one of his horns freshly snapped off and fell down at her fireside. Eda had tended to him and he’d just never gone away, just like Luz herself. The older knight seemed to have a way of collecting the hurt and hungry.

The sun had only just risen over the city walls, but already the streets were alive with noise and movement. People hocking things on every street corner, yelling to be heard over the crowds, and the other vendors all trying to shout over each other. It was invigorating actually, the liveliness of it all, especially after the dreary little town of Beldville. That and the fact that she didn’t need to walk around with the hood of her cloak pulled up to cover her ears. No one seemed to even look at her twice as she walked around, they had places to be and stuff to do, no time to be needlessly condescending to her it seemed.

She watched the people as they passed, the market was the obvious melting pot of the city, there were beggars lined along the streets, as there were in every city, but there was also common folk, dressed much like her and nobles, easily identifiable by their manner of dress, not fit to work in, and the way they walked around with their noses stuck up in the air.

What Luz didn't see, no matter where she looked, were humans, not that it was very odd. Luz couldn't remember the last time she'd run into a fellow human, maybe not since her mother had died seven years ago. They had lived away from everyone, human and witch, in a little shack on the edge of the woods, in bothered until…

Luz shook her head, casting away the thought, today was the start of a brand new chapter of her life, she wasn't going to dwell on painful memories today.

She straightened and forcefully shoved those memories to the farthest recesses of her mind and with renewed focus made her way to the center of the market, the jovial sounds of the people around her now sound distant and muffled.

The job boards are easy enough to find, three tall, large wooden plaques on stands in the middle of the town square, sitting in front of a large fountain, with various pieces of parchment tacked to them, advertising people's need for labor.

Luz pursed her lips as she looked at all the different jobs, hope falling quickly as she scanned the papers

The job boards are filled with all kinds of tasks, deliveries, or pickups mostly, but a few odds and ends, such as finding someone's lost rooster or foraging for herbs in the woods, none of which interest Luz in the slightest. She was hoping for something a little more exciting, like fighting the cockatrice the other night had been, but the city seems to be rather lacking in beasts running amok at the moment.

She reached up and scratched her new scar with a blunt nail as she thought about that wild adventure. She would be ready next time. She still needed to study her book when she had the time, but later. She focused on the boards.

It’s mostly a lot of the same grunt work or manual labor. She frowned to herself as she looked over the many papers and even a few wanted posters with silver or even gold rewards, but that’s probably a little beyond her experience, wise at this point, that’s going to be a plan 'Z' right now.

She sighed to herself and pulled the slip of parchment out of her pocket, it had a guy's name and the name of a pub Eda had told her was down by the docks. He was supposedly the go-between for the noble families looking to hire and people looking for work.

She really hadn’t wanted to do that, but Eda gave her and King her last meal this morning, from this point on she had to make her own way or go hungry.

She sighed again and squared her shoulders as she turned to make her way down to the docks, it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but she needed to eat and maybe if she did enough boring grunt work for some nobles she could save up to give herself a cushion so she wouldn’t need to worry about going hungry while looking for other work that was a little more like what she wanted.

‘Hexside’ is already full of patrons drinking the day away when she arrives.

It doesn’t take her long to find the pub in question, it’s sitting right on the water and it looks like every other pub Luz had ever seen in her seventeen years. A large, building with worn, sun-dried wood and drunkards hanging around out front, looking for money to buy more of their liquid diet. She wrinkled her nose at the briny fish smell that filled the air of the docks as they walked up to the doors.

“Wait here, Bud.” She scratched King’s head, leaving him sitting outside as she wedged her way into the dim watering hole and made a beeline for the bar. For being just after sunup the place is already half full and reeks of alcohol and body odor. She would prefer the fishy smell of the docks.

The barkeep gave her a sideways look as she sidled up to the bar, no doubt looking at her ears, she barely resisted rolling her eyes.

“I’m looking for Morton?” she asked him uncertainly and he nodded toward the back, where a skinny guy in dark brown monk robes and a strange conical hat was sitting at a table, a pile of papers in front of him and a mug of mead in one hand.

She pushed her way through the bar toward the little table in the back.

“Morton?” she called and he looked up, tensing, eyes darting around.

“Who wants to know?” He was looking at her cautiously.

“I’m Luz Noceda, I’m looking for work,” she explained.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, you’re Eda’s apprentice, right?” he asked and she nodded. “Yeah, she said you’d be by, I saved a job for ya.” He flipped through the papers and picked one up. “Guard duty for a noble family.”

“Guard duty?” Luz slumped, disappointed as Morton looked back up at her.

“Look, Kid, this is a well paying and relatively easy job, anyone I’ve seen today would kill for this, but I held it back for you as a favor to E, it’s also the only work I have left for the next couple days, so take it or leave it.”

Luz knows that she needs to work, even if it isn’t exactly what she had in mind, it is work and thus, food in her mouth; that motivates her more than anything.

“I’ll take it.” she took the paper being held out to her.

“Good, the noble family are the Blights'. A lot of their usual guards have been sent across the sea to fight in the war, they need to replace the ones that guard their manor, head over there now, that paper will get you in.”

“Thanks,” Luz nodded and turned to go, paper in hand. King jumped up and followed after her as she walked out the door.

“I guess a job is a job if we want to eat, right, Bud?” she looked down at the furry beast that stood as tall as her waist and patted his head.

She had to stop and ask for directions a few times but finally found the large manor on the eastern side of the city, just outside the main walls on a large plot of land and surrounded by a tall, black, wrought iron fence. It was at least three stories and made of smooth almost white stone.

"I guess this is it…," Luz spoke aloud, mostly to herself, but also to King.

A single guard, not much older than her stood outside the gate, looking bored, but he seemed to perk up as Luz approached.

“State your business.”

“I’m here to see… Hieronymus Bump?” Luz glanced at the paper in hand. Was she saying that name right?

The guard took the paper and looked it over before nodding and handing it back.

“Right, follow me.” He jerked his head and led them inside the gate to the manor doors.

“Stay here, King.” She held up a hand and the beast stayed where he was, sitting just outside the gate as she disappeared inside the manor.

“Whoa…,” Luz mumbled to herself as they stepped inside. The reception area is large with smooth polished stone floors and a large staircase that leads up to the second floor before it splits off to the left and right while the sconces that lined the walls glow with fire that she can tell immediately isn't natural, magic of some kind.

The house seemed to be decorated in a dark green and burgundy color scheme. The banners that line the walls feature both colors, with a serpentine creature that could be a dragon or maybe a malformed snake, twisted across the two fields of color and thorny vines wrapped around it.

The rest of the house is just as lavishly decorated as the entryway and she looked around owlishly at everything as the guard led her down the halls before they finally stopped at a door and he knocked.

“Yes?” a deep voice drifted through the door.

“A new recruit, sir.”

“Send them in.”

The guard gestured to the door before walking away as Luz stepped inside, looking around.

It’s a study, the walls are lined with bookshelves, fit too near bursting, and a desk on the other side of the room, from which a man is sitting behind, looking at her with serious, teal eyes.

“We don’t have all day, come in.” He motioned with a hand and she quickly scurried inside, closing the door behind her and moved to stand in front of the desk. The man was elderly and wearing some kind of creature over his head. Luz had to admit, for all the strange things she had seen over the years, that was a new one.

“Your papers?” he held out a wrinkled hand with long pointed nails. Luz handed over the parchment and he scanned it quickly. “You came for one of the guard positions?”

“I did... um, sir.” she nodded and he finally looked at her, really looked at her, and Luz swallowed thickly as his gaze lingered on her ears. Stupid, rounded ears!

“You are?” he questioned.

“Oh, Luz Noceda… sir!”

“I don’t suppose you have any qualifications?” He drummed his fingers impatiently across the polished wood of his desk.

“I’ve spent the last five years training under Eda, the Owl Knight…,” she trailed off. Eda’s name usually garnered one of two reactions, contempt or reluctantly impressed. She was just that kind of person.

The man’s face turned thoughtful for a long moment, stroking his chin with a hand.

“You’re Edalyn’s student, hmm?” His eyes narrowed. “I take that to mean she’s back in town…, just what we need,” he grumbled tiredly. “Very well, hopefully, you won’t cause half as much mayhem as Edalyn,” he grunted, standing and walking around the desk, hands folded behind his back. “I am Sir Hieronymus Bump, the steward of Blight Manor, I see to most affairs in Lord and Lady Blight’s stead as well as serve as a tutor to their children.” He introduced himself as he came to stand in front of Luz. “You will take your orders from me, or a member of the Blight family, and no one else, understood?”

“Uh, yes sir!” Luz saluted, back going ramrod straight and Bump nodded, pleased.

“Let me outline your duties then, you will stay here, in the guard barracks six days of the week, night and day, to perform guard duty for the manor and family as needed…”

Luz mentally deflated at that, she would need to live here until this job was finished. Maybe this wasn’t the job for her. She was just about to voice as much when Bump continued on.

“Meals will be provided to you and every fortnight you will collect your payment of thirty silver a day from me.”

Luz almost choked on her spit at that. Thirty silver a day? That was… a lot of money, She could put a lot of money away for future adventures and she wouldn’t need to spend any of it on food..

“Understood?” Bump is looking at her with a considering gaze and Luz nodded.

“I understand, sir.”

“Very well, go, collect your things and be back before sundown, I will give you your duties to commence first thing in the morning.” He turned and walked back to his desk at the dismissal.

Luz wasted no time disappearing out the door and back to the front door. King’s ears perked up when she approached, trotting across the yard and through the gate.

“Let’s go, Bud, we gotta tell Eda!” She grinned as they raced back through the city toward the Redstone inn.

She couldn’t believe her luck, sure, it was a far cry from the exciting adventures of slaying monsters or hunting down bandits that she had envisioned, but it was a good place to start, for sure.

Eda isn’t there when they get to the Inn, which she should have expected, she was still out on a job no doubt, but Luz had time, she could wait for her mentor to return before she left.

She gathered up her meager possessions in a sack. Some spare clothes, her new magic book, and a small, wooden box that carried her most cherished possession. She ran her fingers over the smooth wood and smiled sadly to herself before she set it carefully in the bag.

It doesn’t take long before Eda returned, looking haggard from her day doing who even knew what.

Luz immediately launched into her story about the job, sparing no detail. Eda whistled.

“Thirty silver a day? That’s a lot of money to stand around looking like you’re busy. This must be one rich family.” Eda hummed, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“I’m not going to help you rob them…” Luz frowned, already knowing by the look on Eda’s face what she was thinking.

“You’re no fun,” Eda grumbled, leaning back on the bed, and crossing her arms. “Good job, Kid. You’ll be great.” She grinned.

“Thanks…” she smiled but Eda could see the unsure look on her face and her voice lacked its usual amount of pep.

“What’s the matter?” she cocked her head. Luz shrugged, making a face.

“I guess it just feels real now, we’re not gonna be traveling or staying together anymore, I’m going off on my own… I’m not your apprentice anymore… I’m going to miss you,” she admitted, looking at Eda, eyes glazing over.

“You’re such a sap,” Eda huffed but smiled as she stood from the bed to stand in front of Luz. “No, we won’t. You’re as ready as you’re ever going to be, you just need experience, and you’re not going to get it following me around, but hey, I think I’m gonna stay in town for some time, so as I said, I’ll be around if you need any advice or just miss this lovely face.” She batted her eyes, making Luz snort. Eda slapped a hand atop Luz’s head, even though she was just as tall as her now, a far cry from when they first met five years ago and ruffled her hair. Luz grinned as she did. “But yeah, I’ll miss seeing you every day too, Luz.”

Without warning, Luz threw her arms around the older witch and squeezed, and for once, Eda didn’t complain about the hug, just squeezed her back for a moment before pushing her back to arm's length.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough affection, you got places to be and it isn’t here being emotional all over me,” Eda smirked, planting a hand on her hip.

“Right!” Luz picked her sack up off the bed and tossed it over her shoulder.

“Don’t forget that one.” Eda jerked her thumb at King, laying sprawled out on her bed without a care in the world. Luz nodded and stuck two fingers in her mouth, giving off a high pitched whistle that made King shoot up off the bed and hop to her side. Eda reached out and scratched the spot between his horns.

“You take care of her, furball,” Eda smirked at him.

King seemed to huff in response, but his eyes narrowed pleasurably as she scratched his head.

“Now get outta here, we’ll see each other again before you know it.” She smiled and Luz nodded, smiling back before she turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She sighed and straightened up as she turned to King.

"Okay Bud, it's you and me against the world, a woman and her demon wolf!"

King let out a deafening bark in response.

"Get out of here already!" Eda's voice called through the door.

Luz laughed to herself as they trotted down the hall and out of the inn.

[hj-creates]

A Possible Scandal

So, I wrote a little Laurens/Madison fic. I’ve never attempted this ship before, but @layaisdaboss requested it and it’s honestly adorable.  The link to the fic on Ao3 is here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359851 but feel free to read it here as well.

Pennsylvania, Fall of 1780

John stared out the window of the carriage as it rumbled over the cobblestones. His father, Henry, noticed his son’s dour expression and heaved a sigh. “You don’t have to pout you know, I promise you only have to stay a week or so.”

“I should be back with my men on the front lines.”

“There are many ways to fight for your country, my boy. Not all of them involve risking your life on the battlefield.”

“It suits me better then pontificating in stuffy chambers or arguing over fancy dinners.”

“The war won’t last forever, John. When it’s over, the colonies will need well-spoken, well-educated men to lead our new nation. As my son, you are in a good position to help shape the laws and create what this country can become.”

John turned quickly back to his father. “Doubtful. They don’t listen to me now. How many times have I begged them to create a militia of slaves and ensure their freedom once the fighting is over? We rail against the unjustness of the British, but they have given the enslaved that same opportunity. If for no other reason then we are losing thousands of smart, strong men to the other side should we do this, but no. People like Jefferson and even Washington himself refuse to see the hypocrisy of fighting for independence while keeping human beings in chains.” He gave his father a fiery stare.

Henry exhaled and turned away. “I did support your effort. I am sorry it didn’t pass the house.”

“And when, exactly, were you planning on freeing the slaves in your own home?” John said coldly.

“It’s not that simple, John. There are economic and societal-“

“With all due respect, father, stuff it.” John clenched his jaw. “I’ve heard all these arguments before.” He sat back and Henry tersely obliged, happy to see the State House finally coming into view.

John suffered through the numerous introductions and polite exchanges before he and his father finally took their seats in one of the many rows of benches that gave the Great Room the feeling of a church. Most of the discussions seemed to be more about accounting than the high-minded discourses on the birth of a republic that Henry had promised. As the older, fat statesmen argued over the budget of the Continental Army and how they simply couldn’t spare another dollar for those fighting on the front lines, John had had enough and stood up.

“We’re starving out there!” His impassioned voice filled the cavernous hall. “Do you have any idea how many men died during the winter at Valley Forge? How many soldiers perished not due to British muskets but hunger and frostbite? You ask these brave souls to fight for you and then you make them march over frozen fields without even socks on their feet! And that’s not even the worst part. These patriots are getting sick and dying. Forced to live in squalor and drink filthy water because we have no money for a decent shelter or proper sanitation. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Quibbling over a few coins for the army while you dine on fine china and drink from crystal goblets. As an aide of General Washington, I can attest that all in his house were forced to share the same plate at every meal. Militiamen are forced to steal from local farmers, even under penalty of death, just for a scrap of meat.” He felt his father’s hand on his arm. “But go ahead and debate the merits of fulfilling the latest request from the quartermaster. I hope your lavish feasts are worth the suffering of the men you claim to hold in such high regard.” He sat down and his nostrils flared, his anger apparent as Henry looked quickly at the faces around the room.

“Yes.” Henry loudly cleared his throat, obviously flustered and desperately trying to redirect. “We can certainly take into account what my spirited son has so passionately described for us. The well-being of those on the front lines should of course be considered when we deliberate how best to distribute our funds.”

John rolled his eyes. He glanced across the room and he noted most faces set in a frown as they regarded him with equal parts shock and disdain. Except for one. He looked at a face, younger than most of the other men there, who was actually smirking and seemed almost delighted. John gave him a little smile and the other man grinned in return. When his father was once again seated, ceding the floor to another delegate, John elbowed him softly and gestured across the room. “Who is that?”

“That is James Madison. A smart, young man from Virginia.”

John noted the name and let his gaze linger for a moment. Had he just found an ally?

As the day’s proceedings came to an end, John pushed through the throng of well-dressed men until he found who he was looking for. He stepped in front of the short, plump man and offered his hand. “Mister Madison? I am John Laurens. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

The other man smiled. “The pleasure is mine. That was quite the diatribe you gave today. It’s nice to have someone who has actually seen the atrocities of battle speak for our poor men out there fighting.”

Laurens scoffed. “All the impassioned words will mean nothing if we are not helped soon. Winter will be here soon enough and our soldiers still lack coats and boots and blankets. There is not enough food to eat since the locals have all decided to sell to the British now that American currency is worthless. These are dire times, my friend. I am sure you know as well as I. What regiment do you serve in? The Virginian Militia?”

“Oh.” Madison’s voice was soft. “I am unfortunately too unwell to serve in the field. I am second-in-command to my father though. A colonel in the Orange County militia. Since being elected to the Continental Congress, I have spent most of my time here. Your argument is something I have been pleading myself. The financial issues that plague us are quite a thorny mess but I am trying to amend the Articles of Confederation to let us impose a tariff on imports that we can use to support the army’s efforts.”

“You are?” John’s face softened and he smiled wide.

James nodded and he felt his cheeks grow warm, “I am trying. There is much resistance.”

“I will talk to Washington and Hamilton. Between the General’s sway and Alex’s persuasive writing, we can work to make this a reality.” John was talking faster, his enthusiasm growing.

“I would appreciate that very much.” James smiled.

“John!” The younger Laurens heard his father’s voice calling to him. Madison saw the change in John’s expression and recognized what it meant immediately.

“Lieutenant Colonel.” James nodded to Henry. “I was hoping your son and I could enjoy a hearty dinner and a robust exchange of ideas tonight. I am friends with the owner of the Orchid Inn. He can give John and I a lavish meal and some much deserved wine.”

Henry narrowed his eyes, knowing his son too well. “Oh, that’s not necessary. You can dine with us tonight. I’m staying at a lovely little home off Main St.”

John grimaced and James looked unsure of what to do. “I.. uh… that’s very kind of you sir.”

“Very well.” Henry seemed proud of himself. “See you at seven. I’ll send a coach.”

After an awkward dinner, John finally tossed his napkin on the table when he finished his dessert. “Well then father, if I may be excused, James and I would like to take our leave and relax a bit at the tavern across the street.”

Henry peered up at his son with an almost imperceptible scowl on his face. “We have plenty of brandy and cordials here, but I suppose you are hoping for a moment with Mr. Madison that isn’t under the watchful eye of your father.” John didn’t respond but pleaded with his eyes. “Fine. I can assume you will have the utmost respect for Mr. Madison’s stature… and dignity.”

John knew exactly what his father was hinting at. “Am I not always the pinnacle of honor and manners?”

His father arched an eyebrow. “Remember you are a married man, Jackie.” The fact seemed to take James by surprise.

John forced a smile. “How could I forget? I’m haunted every day by it.” With that he grabbed the coats that were hanging by the door and handed Madison’s to him.

They wasted no time hurrying to the tavern and finding a small, corner table near the fire. After the bottle of burgundy had been uncorked and their glasses filled, Madison eagerly started in.

“I must say, Colonel Laurens, your stories of action on the battlefield are most exciting.”

John shrugged. “There is much chance for glory while fighting. Me and my friends seem to be always narrowly escaping death.”

“Is that so?” James leaned in closer. “You must be very lucky then. I see no scars and detected no injuries.”

“Lucky, perhaps. But not injury free. There are mementos from the war all over my flesh, a slight ache in my leg from when my horse was shot out from under me and a mighty scar on my shoulder from where a musket ball went straight through.”

James’s eyes were wide. “Are you serious? How did your arm not get blown clean off?”

John smirked. “Didn’t let it. I had more important things to do than whine about being hurt. We were trying to ambush the Brits. I was leading a company of men. I got shot, tore off my sash, wrapped it around the hole to stop the bleeding and kept marching.”

Madison sat there in rapt attention. “That can’t be true.”

John drained his glass and set it down hard. “You don’t believe me?” He grinned and kept his eyes focused on James. He shrugged off his jacket and unbuttoned his waistcoat. He loosened his cravat and unbuttoned his shirt. James felt his jaw grow slack and quickly looked around the bar to see if anyone was watching this spectacle. John didn’t stop staring at James and yanked his shirt open, sliding one of the sleeves down his arm and revealing a circular-shaped scar, bumpy red skin, and stripes of white where the wound tried to heal itself.

James sat back and exhaled. He knew such an injury would have been the end of him. “That’s… impressive.”

John finally looked away and redressed. “That’s nothing.” He said nonchalantly. “I have scars like that all over.”

James didn’t know what to say and he certainly didn’t want to picture where exactly those scars would be.

After a few more drinks, Madison grew bold. “Why did your father have to remind you about being married?”

John snorted. “Oh that’s just Henry. He probably thought I was going to seduce you.”

“What?” James felt his heart race and he mildly started to panic. “Seduce me? What? Why would he think that? I’m- I’m a.. umm..”

“It’s not you. He’s caught me with men before.”

James felt as if the entire earth had shifted underneath him. “He what?”

John sighed. “If you want to leave because of that, I understand.” He looked at James who showed no signs of going anywhere. “Yes. I occasionally engage in ‘unacceptable’ affections with men. My father found me once with Alex.”

“Alex?”

“Hamilton.”

“Hamil-“ James gasped and slapped his hand in front of his mouth.

John rolled his eyes and poured another large glass of wine. “Aye. But he is engaged now. Set to marry in a few weeks. So, it appears our romance, or whatever you want to call it, has come to an end.” He took a long sip. “Which is better for him, I suppose. All his ambitions.” He emphasized that last word, like it was something he and Alex had fought over many times. “Better for him to secure a spot in an illustrious household headed by one of the most powerful men in New York.” He gulped more wine. “I mean, this fucking orphan is now going to be the son-in-law of General Schuyler. All because he wrote a few well-crafted love letters to the man’s daughter. I mean, you should see the things he wrote to me.” He laughed, a bit too loud. “Imagine being tossed aside by some simpering girl. To know that the letters he wrote to you weren’t anything special at all. It’s just how he talks to anyone he wants something from. To know that something you thought was monumental was just pedestrian to the person you loved. At least with Lafayette he is already married. He is open with how much he loves Adrienne and I know I will never compare to her. We just like having fun. But Alex…” His voice trailed off. “I just thought…” He sat back and let his head fall to his chest.

James watched him and a small smile crept over his face. “I understand.”

Laurens scoffed. “You couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to be-“

“Jefferson.” James cut him off.

“I’m sorry?” John quickly looked up at him in confusion.

“Four years ago.  I first met him at the Virginia Constitutional Convention. I could barely speak. He’s very tall, you know, and quite handsome. He’s only eight years older than me but it felt like he had lived an entire lifetime more. Then last year, he became Governor of Virginia and I was on the Council of State. We worked closely almost every day and I thought…” he sighed. “We started working late into the night, just the two of us and we grew close. I didn’t dare initiate anything but eventually he did. I thought we could develop something, entirely in secret of course, but when I mentioned it, he laughed in my face. He asked if I really thought he give up all his other partners. He said he was sorry if I had gotten the wrong idea.” Madison swallowed hard. “But he didn’t seem sorry. He seemed… I don’t know. His smile was almost victorious. Like he had won something. I felt like an idiot of course. I haven’t even thought about a relationship with anyone since then.”

“Jefferson?” John looked deep in thought.

“Yes. I work with him every day still. It’s torture.”

“Jefferson…” Laurens still had a faraway look in his eyes. “You’re right. He is handsome.”

Madison’s shoulders slumped. “That. Was not the point of the story.”

Laurens laughed. “I’m teasing. But you know the best remedy for a broken heart.”

“More wine?” James smiled back.

“Not when there’s two of us.” John had a mischievous gleam in his eye and took Madison’s hand. He threw some coins on the table and led him to the door. “Come on. What do you say we get out of here? Find somewhere private and not think about Alex or Thomas or anyone else for an hour or so.”

“I’m not sure. It gets cold so quickly now. I really should be headed home.”

“Oh, don’t be a ninny.” He pulled the other man into the street. “Hmm... We could go down to the docks.”

“The salt water makes my asthma flare up.”

John looked up at the top floor of the tavern. “I suppose we could just sneak up into the attic. It’s just storage. No one ever goes up there.”

“With all that dust? Are you mad? I’ll be sneezing for hours.”

“What about the barn at my father’s house?”

“I’m allergic to hay.” John spun around in frustration and pushed Madison against the outside wall of the tavern. “What are you doing?” James whispered.

“Well, if we can’t go anywhere. Then I shall take you right here.”

“But what if someone sees?”

“I’ll say you were having trouble breathing. I was merely trying to keep your airways open.”

“With our clothes off?”

“Of course! Let that fresh air really get into your pores.” John grinned and James couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You’re as tenacious as you are charming.”

“Is that a yes?”

James took John’s hand and directed it to the growing bulge in his breeches. “What do you think?”

John sauntered back into the house and hung up his coat. He quietly crept up the stairs, trying to not make any noise.

“Must have been quite the conversation between you two.” Henry’s voice stopped him in his tracks. John turned and saw his father in the study. He sat in a chair by the window, smoking his pipe and facing the hallway.

“It was.” John said simply, without a trace of guilt in his voice.

“I assume you stuck with discussing policy and compromises between military and state?”

“Oh father, please. Of course not. That sounds dreadfully boring. We also talked about our families, what living in the trenches is like, and the different places we have visited in Europe.”

“I see.” Henry seemed to relax a little. “Well it seems like you two are building quite a friendship. I encourage you to get more acquainted with someone who comes from such a well-regarded family as Madison. That boy has a sharp mind and his father is quite wealthy. Well connected too. I think he is even mentoring under Jefferson.” John snorted at that. “What?” His father asked. “It’s true. I’ve seen them travel to and from Virginia together.”

“I’m not doubting you. James himself said he and Thomas are very close.”

Henry nodded and then started to pick up on John’s subtle comment. “Just understand there is much to be mined from a cordial relationship with Madison. He has already done so much at such a young age. He has the ambition and pedigree to really make it far. The two of you could be the future leaders of this nation. Taking after your fathers. I hope you plan on seeing him again.”

“Oh, I definitely do, father.” He sneered down at Henry triumphantly. “We have A LOT in common.” With that, he turned his back and went up to bed.

[morbid-n-macabre]

Have you watched the documentary "Goodnight Sugar Babe"? I apologise for the length of this post, but there's nothing I can cut out. I will link the documentary below.

Findlay, Ohio

March 26th of 2011-

24 year old Vera Jo Reigle was mentally slow, they say she had the mentality of an 8-12 year old child. She'd had a very troubled childhood, had been repeatedly abused, sexually, by both her biological father and mom's boyfriend. Of course this caused issues between she and her mother; when a 19 year old Vera met a boy, 13 year old Zachary Brooks, Vera was thrilled that his family took her into their fold. When Zachary's mother, Cheri Lynne Brooks, offered for Vera to move in, she jumped at the opportunity. Vera just couldn't see that these were terrible, evil people; they had been kind to her in the beginning, but they had ulterior motives.

So, first things first, let's get this out of the way. Cheri is the mother of 9; she lost her first 5 kids, one at a time, for blatant sexual abuse. Scottie (who is the product of consensual incest with Cheri's first cousin; he is mentally disabled), Michael, Maria, Joshua, and little Cheri were all taken away, one at a time, while they were young. Maria was only removed from the home after she was raped, she was one year old at the time; Little Cheri was thankfully spared her abuse as she was taken at birth. A few of the children who were taken did make their way back to Cheri when they were a bit older. For some reason, even though the first 5 were taken, the next 4 children were left in their mother's custody: Kevin AKA "Punky", Zachary, Garth, and Chuckie. Kevin Brooks Sr. is Cheri's husband and the father of most of Cheri's offspring.

The Brooks family is a well known crime family, their leader being mama Cheri, AKA Sugar Babe- a woman often rightfully compared to Charles Manson. Though Cheri looks harmless, she is disabled and in a wheelchair, do not allow that to fool you! This woman is a baby rapist, a sadist, a criminal, a sociopath, and a master manipulator who has proved again and again that she can convince people to do her dirty work at will. Cheri was sexually abused by her father, big Chuck, beginning when she was merely a toddler. Eventually she was taken away, and placed in the system, but she continued this sexual relationship with her father even after she married Kevin Brooks. When she began having children of her own, the abused became the abuser- the cycle continued, Cheri sexually abused them. Family and neighbors witnessed this, and DCF was called multiple times; it's difficult to understand why all of this deviant's children were not taken from her at once, authorities only took one baby at a time. The others were left in Cheri's custody until there was another complaint, and another, and so on. Since her own children were constantly being taken, Cheri began finding other women to give birth to babies for her; when her children were a little older, Cheri accomplished this by talking her teenaged son's various young girlfriends into getting pregnant. Cheri always hoped for little girls, though it's well known that she had no problem sexually abusing little boys.

It shouldn't be a surprise that the children raised by this pervert grew to become criminals and gang members; they all claim to be members of the Crips, there are even photos of the wheelchair bound older woman throwing up gang signs. Her son, Punky, was known to have been the town's leader of the Crips. Punky was very much feared in this town, until August 5th of 2010 when the 19 year old lost his life in a tragic accident. He and his girlfriend, Heather, had been walking down the road, on their way to score some heroin, when a vehicle slammed into Punky. Investigators determined that this was an accidental death; Cheri never could accept this, she needed vengeance. She told everyone that Punky's girlfriend, Heather, had been responsible for his murder; according to Cheri, Punky had been pushed in front of that vehicle by his girlfriend. This was a lie, of course, but Cheri made sure that the girlfriend paid the price; she asked one of Punky's friends to "beat the hell" out of Heather; Cheri sat and watched the fight. After Punky's death, Zachary took his brother's place as the town gang's new leader of the Crips.

With Vera living at the Brooks house, her disability check was cashed by Cheri each month. Most of the people living at the Brooks home were on disability, it's how the family supported itself; welfare, disability checks, and criminal activity such as the selling of drugs. Soon Cheri began telling Vera her that she expected a baby from her. Vera wanted to make people happy, she obliged; this is when everything began to go down hill. Vera was no longer a girlfriend or a daughter in law; instead she was treated as the family slave, the walking uterus which housed the baby girl which Cheri so desperately wanted. Cheri claimed the infant as her own before it was even born, she even controlled the baby's date of birth! She was adamant that baby Willadean would be born on her own birthday, and Vera was forced to drink multiple bottles of castor oil to bring about early labor- 3 full bottles! Willadean was born on the day after Cheri's birthday, November 4th, more than a month early. Due to her early forced delivery, Baby Willadeen was not well enough to come home at birth, she had heart issues. The baby spent her first weeks of life hooked up to machines in NICU.

Vera dearly loved her daughter and there's little doubt that she'd have been the best mama possible had she been given the opportunity. Baby Willadean was taken from Vera by Cheri; very rarely was Vera even allowed to touch her daughter. If she did touch Willadeen, Zachary or Cheri would savagely beat her. Instead of tending to her motherly duties, Vera's days were spent cleaning the house, or on her knees while rubbing Cheri's feet; this was said to be her "job". She was secluded from anyone outside the family, not even allowed to speak to her own beloved sister. Vera attempted more than once to take her baby and leave, but Cheri wouldn't allow it. Someone was always watching, the baby slept in Cheri's room, and Cheri promised that if Vera ever did leave she'd murder baby Willadean, slash her throat. Vera had no reason to believe this an empty threat, so she stayed and endured the abuse. The more time went by, the worse she was treated. Vera was now the family's whipping girl; Cheri told people that she thought that Vera looked cute with her black eyes, like a little squirrel or a raccoon. Vera was forced to sleep in a closet with a pig; witnesses recount that she was even forced to eat the pig's feces as punishment! On another occasion Vera was beaten because she ate a KitKat bar which belonged to the deceased Punky; by eating the chocolate Vera had intentionally disrespected the dead man. Then there was the mace incident: someone set off a canister of pepper spray in an upstairs bedroom; Vera took the blame for this as well.

The mace story is particularly important because, at the time, Cheri had been trying to talk her son Michael's girlfriend, Shannon, into getting pregnant. There's proof that Shannon was telling people she was pregnant, though she now denies it, there are screen shots proving this. Since Shannon was lying about the pregnancy, she claimed that the fumes from the pepper spray brought on a miscarriage; Vera had caused the death of Shannon's imaginary baby, and Shannon told multiple people she wanted Vera dead for this. Everything and anything which ever went wrong with this family, it was all blamed on Vera.

Police and family services were called on Vera's behalf many, many times; these agencies knew exactly what was going on, they'd been inside this house of horrors! They were fully aware of the conditions in which baby Willadean had been living in, they knew exactly how filthy the home was. They were aware that Cheri didn't even bother using a toilet, she simply urinated in a bucket kept in reach of the toddler! They knew there were actual pigs living inside the home going to the bathroom all over the place! They knew that multiple children had been taken from the home due to Cheri's compulsive sexual abuse, and that baby Willadean shared a bedroom with Cheri! They were aware that Vera was catching beatings on the regular; when police or dcf came to question Vera on the way she was being treated, she was always questioned right there in front of Cheri! Vera was afraid to tell the truth; she was instructed to say that she had fallen down the stairs, or to give some other lame excuse which anyone with an ounce of sense could've seen straight through! During one of Vera's frequent hospital visits, this particular time for a broken nose given to her by Zachary, Vera was forced to say that a "black boyfriend" from the next town over was to blame. But anyone remotely familiar with the situation knew that there had been no other boyfriend, Vera was never permitted to have contact with anyone outside the home!

Now that the baby was born, Vera was a burden. Zachary didn't love her, he probably never did and he wanted to date other girls now. But there was a problem: if Vera were to leave the home, they knew that the young mother could easily gain custody of Willadean and that just couldn't happen. So, Cheri and her extended family began to openly plan Vera's demise. The family debated different scenarios such as overdosing Vera on drugs then leaving her on the railroad tracks for the train to hit her. Cheri had seen a corpse which had been hit by a train before, and she said that the victim's face resembled "hamburger meat". She said that was what needed to be done with Vera.

Daniel Bixler was a cousin who had only been out of prison for 3 weeks at this time, he'd just finished serving a 3 year prison sentence. Cheri was pretty close to Danny, considering his father was the first cousin with whom she'd had that incestuous relationship with; technically Danny and Cheri's son Scottie are half brothers, and their father is in prison for attempting to murder Danny's mom. So, Danny was already a self professed killer, he even had a teardrop tattoo on his face. He and his new girlfriend, 17 year old Nicole Peters, had been staying at the Brooks home in recent weeks. Nicole was curious about what it would feel like to kill someone, and she wanted a teardrop tattoo to match her boyfriend's. Cheri had struck gold, these two were perfect for solving her Vera problem. She told them that it hadn't been Punky's girlfriend who had been walking with the gang leader on the night of his unfortunate death; it had been Vera! Vera was the one who had pushed Punky! Then Vera disrespected her victim by eating his candy bar, and she'd sprayed mace which forced Shannon to miscarry, and Vera abused baby Willadean when no one was looking! Vera needed to die for all that she'd done! Danny and Nicole readily agreed to do Cheri's dirty work.

4 days before Vera was murdered, the worst of the torture began; she was beaten intermittently throughout those days. One of Cheri's sons, Chuckie, tied a padlock to the end a of belt and the family took turns just beating the hell out of poor Vera with this homemade weapon; a paddle was also used, and Vera's head was stomped. Witnesses, including Cheri, have stated that this sort of thing turned Nicole on, sexually. She and her boyfriend would take breaks from the beatings, go lock themselves in a bedroom for a while, then they would come back out and beat on Vera some more. The beatings occurred in Cheri's bedroom, and she was egging Nicole and Danny on the whole time: "Hit her again Nicole! Vera is a whore, Nicole, she wants to sleep with Danny! Hit her again". Considering baby Willadean slept in Cheri's room at night, you know that poor baby was present throughout it all; you gotta wonder how much of her mother's torture 18 month old Willadeen witnessed.

After nightfall on March 26th of 2011, Zachary, Danny, and Nicole demanded that Vera put her shoes on, they were going for a walk. Witnesses who were present that night say that they believe Vera knew she was going to be murdered, she didn't want to go but eventually she did as she was told. They walked to the railroad tracks near the family home, and when they arrived at the predetermined spot, they began to stab Vera with a kitchen knife. The weapon was so dull that it would barely even penetrate Vera's skin, so they forced this poor woman to strip naked- you know, so they didn't have to work so hard at killing her. Vera was stabbed repeatedly and when they thought she was close enough to death, they laid her sideways on the tracks, and left her alone in frigid temperatures to die. After leaving the scene of the crime they threw their murder weapon into a local body of water. The killers knew that a train would be coming around 2 am; they assumed that if Vera was hit by the train, she'd look like "hamburger meat". This would render Vera unidentifiable and they believed that much of the evidence would be lost. Poor Vera, after she was left alone that night she used the very last bit of strength she had to remove herself from the rails; she curled up in a fetal position in the middle of the tracks and died.

When the 2 am train came through, it did pass over Vera's deceased body. The train conductor spotted the body immediately, and he called the police. Amazingly the train did not hit her; Vera's body stood exactly 12 inches off the ground- the train's clearance was 13 inches! The victim was not turned into hamburger meat, as intended; she was identifiable, and the evidence had not been destroyed. Matter of fact, a person who had recently dealt with Vera after a beating yet had done nothing to help just weeks before was the one who identified her corpse.

Autopsy proved that Vera had been stabbed 21 times, her throat had been slashed from ear to ear, and that nearly every bone in this poor woman's face had been broken from that beating she'd received just before her death. She'd been tortured.

Police went to the Brooks home to question the family; again, while the police removed everyone from the home so they could interview the family members one by one, Cheri was allowed to be present throughout it all. It's evident that everyone, literally everyone is terrified of this woman to this very day. Cheri originally tried to blame the murder on someone outside the family, said that Vera's boyfriend must've killed her, but Vera's only boyfriend was Zachary! Police found evidence inside the home such as Nicole's bloody sweatshirt, the paddle, and the belt and lock Vera had been beaten with. Police arrested Danny and Nicole, who confessed; they stated that they'd been given drugs by Cheri, and talked into killing Vera. Cheri even told them how to do it!

Both Danny and Nicole took plea deals; Danny was sentenced to 40 years to life for Vera's death, and Nicole received 23 years for a conspiracy charge. Not murder, but conspiracy; somehow Nicole was the only one who received that charge! How does that happen? Did she conspire with herself? The father of Vera's baby, Zachary, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for obstruction of justice. It doesn't matter that there's security footage, actual video proof that Zachary walked with Danny, Nicole, and Vera to the train tracks that night, it doesn't matter that he was present and likely actively helped stab Vera to death, he was merely prosecuted for obstruction. Cheri's husband, Kevin Brooks Sr. and another of her sons were charged with selling prescription drugs. In 2014 Cheri spent 10 days in jail for inappropriate contract with an unrelated minor, just ten days. As far as Vera's murder, Cheri the ringleader was only charged with obstruction and drug trafficking; in 2015 she was sentenced to 40 months. Cheri was freed earlier this year, and if what I'm hearing has any truth to it, another of her son's baby daughters is currently living with her!

This is the justice Vera Jo Reigle received for her torturous murder. The only good thing about any of this is that baby Willadean was taken away from the Brooks family and adopted out. Cheri threw a huge fit over that; she claimed she had custody of the child.

Vera has been laid to rest in Knollcrest Cemetery; she's recently received a beautiful new headstone which reads "Vera Jo Messersmith". This is a big deal as Vera always hated the last name of Reigle, since her father had sexually abused her.

*This is the most confusing case EVER. I tried my very best to keep names and details straight, and it's taken me more than a week to write this. If I got a name or some other detail wrong, forgive me. Personally I'm just glad to be done with it, I've cried, like ugly cried multiple times over this case. Vera's abusers, her killers are mostly still at large. The woman who planned her murder, a known pedophile, is still out there! Look her up on Facebook, Cheri Lynne Brooks! She even frequents fb pages where Vera is honored! Those interviewed in the documentary admit that they are afraid of this woman, and they all admit that this murder was openly planned. I can't understand why she's not been charged with conspiracy at the very least, or why she's still permitted to have contact with children! And why have the other players not been charged? It seems a dozen different people participated in the abuse, knew of the plan to murder this young mother yet nothing was done! Are the police, the DA, all of those organizations, are they afraid of Cheri too?

* If you haven't seen the doc "GOODNIGHT SUGAR BABE" it is available on Amazon Prime or, here's a link. Tell me what you think.

Goodnight Sugar Babe:

https://youtu.be/eJEAJAE1kZ0

[huffpostarts]

The Very Best Holiday Presents For Dogs To Eat!

We've spent the last couple months testing as well as curating the most effective holiday gifts for dogs (and their individuals)-- and today's suggestions are all presents for your dog to EAT! If I needed to guess, I think today's possibly our dogs' favored day of the gift overview!

When it concerns screening edibles, I don't rely on the dogs. They do not have one of the most critical tastes. My initial step is to evaluate components to see if it's something I really feel comfortable giving them. Currently, I'm not a person that's "all health, constantly." I such as to balance a little bit of junk food from time to time. These victors, though, all rank actually very for being nutritious-- as well as I added our preferred supplements to balance out too many Christmas cookies. I had a tough time tightening it down, so right here are our favorite seven ideal holiday presents for dogs that they can EAT!

DGP

Let's kick this off with our supplement fave. I've covered this before, and if you have a dog with joint troubles or you simply desire preventative care, this is the one for you. DGP is all about sustaining flexibility as well as versatility, as well as if your dog is already on a glucosamine-type supplement, it can be included in provide extra support. Lucas has bad hips, as well as he's beginning to get a bit older-- though he appears unaware of that-- as well as likes to play at dog daycare eventually a week. It was taking its toll on his joints, but with the DGP, he currently appears to be rather solid. I'm SUPER satisfied with this supplement, as well as my big boy is going to stay on it without a doubt!

Indigo Triple Chews

Dental health and wellness is important, yet we aren't fantastic about brushing these guys' teeth. We look for oral products that maintain their teeth clean and their mouths healthy and balanced. The Indigo Triple Chews are by FAR our faves. They're digestible as well as grain-free. They integrate benefits by consisting of antioxidants as well as probiotics with the dental treatment. But why we enjoy them: They really are durable. We've tried every sort of dental chew, and also they complete them SO fast. Also quick for just how expensive they are. These seriously last longer than any other we tried. I desired a statistics, so I offered one to Lucas prior to I took a seat to write today. It took him from 3:24 up until 3:51. In my house, that's a Christmas miracle.

Fruitables Holiday Edition: Vanilla Snowflake Flavor

So, these deals with have without a doubt the very best story to them. They are made with genuine snows! Seriously! You can watch a video of them gathering the snow. These are tiny, crunchy treats that are made with 300 snowflakes in every bag. How funny and also adorable is that?! The active ingredients are quite allergy-friendly, as well. The deals with don't contain any wheat, corn, soy, man-made shades, or preservatives. While the young boys uncommitted too much regarding those aspects, they did gobble them up! I definitely like the story and also think these would make a very sweet stocking stuffer for any kind of fortunate pup!

Zuke's.

Complete disclosure: If you have a dog who is as food sensitive as Cooper is, Zuke's have actually not been the best deals with for him. Somehow, they actually intensify his sensitive stomach. For more details about dog sensitive food then visit https://petsish.com/best-dog-food-for-sensitive-stomach/ . The large young boys, on the other hand, couldn't. get. enough. We like Zuke's for training because they have a strong smell and are easily gotten into bits. These jerky ones, though, have a lamb that we're attempting with Coop, therefore much, so excellent! The other flavors are wonderful for the other dogs. There are a couple different beef options and turkey, as well. These jerky treats-- made from completely secure meat sourced in the United States and New Zealand, instead of China-- consist of genuine meat, carrots, blueberries, apples, as well as antioxidant-rich natural herbs. We damage them right into little items to make use of when we're collaborating with the dogs outside because the solid odor keeps them engaged. These are treats we NEVER wish to run out of!

Train-Me Treats.

We do a lot of training around here, and also we use treats for nearly every little thing from normal walks the block to instructing brand-new methods to dealing with whatever Cooper's brand-new fear-of-the-moment is. To keep them interested, we have to mix up the benefits. These training treats from Crazy Dog were brand-new to me, and they've been working so well. They're soft-- a lot far better than crunchy when training-- and all listing meat as the initial ingredient. They can be found in bacon, hen, and beef flavors as well as either 4-ounce or 6-ounce bags.

Animal Naturals of Vermont supplements.

Many years earlier, we drove from DC to Indiana. After that, later, from Indiana to Louisiana. After that, once again later on, from Louisiana to Indiana. Sigh. All those miles with the dogs is rather stressful, so we had actually been acquiring Pet Naturals of Vermont calming treats. They have a HUGE range of supplements beyond the preferred soothing treats, however, and we've been using the Daily Best for Emmett (although, I believe perhaps he needs the elderly formula) as well as the Skin + Coat. They're well-formulated as well as definitely have a great flavor-- the young boys gobble them up. Perk for any person with an allergy-prone dog: The Skin + Coat version is flavored with duck, making it more widely endured!

PetSafe 2-Meal Automatic Pet Feeder.

If you reside in a multi-pet house, this may not be the Christmas present for you (unless you have a feline that has separate access from your dog or something). My herd demands being fed at a particular time. Every. Single. Day. Breakfast is at 7. Dinner is at 5. I know not everybody has pets so diligent concerning their feeding times, yet these guys firmly insist. For a while, Coop was additionally eating lunch. And, actually, Newt gets a challenge toy mid-day. Anyhow, this item would certainly be a dream if you needed to do a mid-day feeding or if you had a late meeting or supper strategies and intended to feed your family pet on schedule. For a dog like Emmett-- that takes, roughly, 15 pills a day some of which need to be timed with dishes-- this would be a lifesaver if you needed to leave early/come house late. All you do is load the feeder, established a timer, and also TA DA! Your pet is fed the right amount at the right time, even if you have to go out or are running late! $34.95 for the 2-Meal (1.5 cups per side) version (HINT: The 5 cup version is coming later on in the week!).

Barker Kitsen deal with selection-- No much longer available.

You people, I'm in love. Can you be in love with a family pet merchant? I sure am! This online store is devoted to "under-the-radar items," which implies you're going to discover something NEW in their shop. I seriously enjoyed poking around, as well as I check out family pet items all-the-live-long day! From their objective: "The business's goal is to assist quality-minded pet owners make premium item choices to keep their family pets healthy and satisfied, while providing arising as well as unknown brands nationwide direct exposure as a circulation source for their products." As I claimed, I'm in love! They sent us a lot of deals with to try: Raw Bistro free-range bison liver and flaxseed deals with, natural pleasant potato treats from 2 Dogs Treats, Bixbi's Skin and Coat chicken bust jerky, as well as Scrappy Moo deals with. Not one of those deals with was a flop. We enjoyed them ALL. (Cooper can even consume the bison! Yippee!) And the product packaging is incredibly cute. Incorporated with the fantastic goal, I'm head over heels!

[acti-veg]

I watched a video with Earthling Ed arguing with a Catholic man, although I’m vegan I felt the man’s argument was logically consistent. He believes God defines what is or is not moral, and that eating animals is permissible according to God. Since it’s permissible, he doesn’t mind eating meat because he doesn’t care about the suffering of animals. He believes whereas hurting an animal for the sake of violence alone is a “bad pleasure” according to God, violence for the sake of enjoying the

taste of an animal is not a bad pleasure. When Ed said there was no scientific basis for a belief in God and that an individual’s belief usually based on their culture cannot be used to dictate how society should operate, he responded by saying there is scientific basis for God existing, and that his beliefs are objective, not subjective. Basically God has said it’s permissible, and he doesn’t care if animals suffer, so he shouldn’t be forced to be vegan.

Without getting into a debate about God’s nature, and whether God does or does not exist, and if there is scientific evidence for God’s existence, I wouldn’t have any way of responding to this. I don’t like what he’s saying, but his argument at least doesn’t seem to be fallacious. The difference just is I care if an animal suffers, he doesn’t, because animals “don’t have souls” like humans do. Essentially, unnecessary harm isn’t innately wrong.

Perhaps he should be able to prove that God exists, and that humans have souls (whereas animals don’t). But I feel that means entering into a whole new debate, and could end up causing lots of problems with religious people. I know you’ve made a post saying that religious texts could imply that it is good to be vegan, but without thorough examination of every religious text I don’t think we’re really qualified to say what it argues - there are passages which can be taken to support carnism.

Even the most educated scholars still disagree over what a text is saying. So when a religious person is very sure that their interpretation is correct, it’s very difficult to argue with them. Must I become an expert on religion to advocate veganism? Some religious people think our rights to pleasure DO outweigh an animal’s right to life. It seems unkind, it seems selfish to me - but I can’t tell them they’re objectively wrong to think that way.

They just don’t accept the premise that it’s always bad to cause suffering when we don’t need to. I can’t tell them they’re wrong to believe that, because it’s only wrong in my opinion. Should we just not argue with people with this mindset? Or do we try to evoke compassion in them? Sorry for the long ask, I’m not sure how well I’ve explained what I’m saying, and I hope all my messages sent ok. Thank you for taking the time to read and if you respond

It’s important to recognise first off that his central premise is absolutely, fundamentally wrong. God’s existence is not a matter of objective fact, the “scientific basis” he thinks exists to demonstrate that is him misrepresenting that science, at best. Belief in God is a matter of faith, whether God exists or not is an objective claim, but to rest your entire argument on the idea that we can prove it is a very shaky foundation. That premise is deeply flawed and it’s what we call verificationalist- it can’t be challenged effectively because there is no way to objectively prove or disprove it either way. This is acknowledged as being a generally bad way to argue.

That said, what follows on from that argument is a consistent argument. God says x is ethical, therefore x is ethical purely because God says so, and God is the source of what is ethical and what is not. This is a very old and mostly abandoned mode of thinking for monotheists, because it would allow for all kinds of atrocities to be committed based on our interpretation of what God wills, and indeed, that has proven true time and time again. So it’s a consistent argument, but not a good one. This bottle of eye-drops on my desk is the source of all morality, which is a matter of objective fact and this bottle of eye-drops has, through revelation, told us that murder is not wrong, and since the eye-drops are the source of all morality, that means murder is not wrong. That’s a consistent, logically valid argument, but it isn’t a good one, since it rests on the assumption that you will accept my initial premise, which you obviously won’t. 

This argument then, only works as a personal justification for eating animals. To be clear though, this person would also then be boxed in to accepting that many others things which are also permitted in the Bible are ethical because God says so. That includes slavery, homophobia, sexism, domestic violence, rape in some instances, to name a few. To claim that morality is contingent solely on God’s will relies on a correct interpretation of what God’s will actually is, and as you said, since almost no one agrees on what that actually is, it’s pretty presumptive to state that yours is the right one. 

To return to the crux of your question though, no, you don’t need to become an  expert on religion to advocate veganism, we simply refuse to be drawn into a debate where we have to accept the central premise that God exists. You won’t talk a religious person out of their religion, and someone who approaches their faith with this kind of certainty (something actively discouraged in the New Testament, given the role of doubt in t hat text) then there isn’t really much you can say to that. Again it works as a personal justification, but it’s not going to convince anyone else that they’re right. You’d be better off spending your time and energy somewhere else.

[kae-karo]

I'm a bit out of the loop with phandom stuff, so I don't know if it's been discussed, and I know it was over a week ago, but Adrian's new video rubbed me the wrong way, and I didn't know until just now why. It kind of felt like a stab at Dan? Like, he knows how important this kind of thing is to Dan, and he made a video going completely against it. I don't know if that makes sense, it's the best way I can describe it xx

hi dear! okay first and foremost i want to caution against referring to adrian/his vids as anything to do with the phandom, since he’s entirely separate and frankly i would like him to stay that way. that being said, i agree wholeheartedly that it felt like a lazy, unresearched attempt at being a mental health guru and - perhaps not intentionally - a bit of a snub at dan’s work with mental health orgs and his own daniel & depression vid

i know people have wanted my thoughts on it so i tried to watch it w.o giving him a view, idk if it worked but i genuinely want to be sure i’ve seen it before i express any opinions (i have a lot to say whoops)

my first complaint is how casual this is and the fact that he did it all in one take - this isn’t a topic that lends itself well to such levity, it’s a topic that requires careful thought and organization

he starts off by saying he sees ‘people unnecessarily struggling with mental illness’ which to me just implies that it’s somehow solely the fault of the person that they have a mental illness when we all know that’s of course not the case - he really needed to have a little more empathy in that statement, and it was so close to like. being a decent statement

‘we’re not taught ways to manage it’ yes okay that’s valid i support that, he does note that we aren’t taught ways to deal with events that crop up in almost all our lives in school! this is valid

i appreciate that he prefaced his rant of ‘advice’ by saying he’s not a professional and it’s his own experiences, but he doesn’t practice that when he’s talking - it definitely sounds like a ‘this is how you should do it’ kind of thing

i’m sorry but ‘meditation is huge, it’s massive’ like? okay that’s great but like. i don’t like that the medical side of things has been all but ignored - i know not everyone can afford it, but it should still be brought up in a video regarding mental health, or a vid like adrian’s should be prefaced by saying that he’s only talking about the kinds of things that worked for him that you can do by yourself alongside professional help, or something to that effect

i know people brought it up but him saying he can go from being a ‘depressed, obese fucking piece of shit person’ to who he is today is so immensely horrible and inconsiderate toward people struggling with weight or mental health or a combination. that’s just utterly horrible and if anything else he’s done in the past didn’t put me off him/his content before, that right there did - and he has no excuse. this is not a topic to be taken so lightly as to say in one shot and then post with no consideration

the way he talks about his ‘advice’ is so detrimental - instead of inspiring and encouraging, he’s trash talking and saying if you don’t do these things, you’re stuck and you’re not making enough effort and you’re, for all intents and purposes, fucked (i say because he said it so often)

‘we have to take absolute responsibility for ourselves, because no one else is gonna fix it’ no, maybe not ‘fix’ it, but they can help - my god, if you’re struggling with mental health, it can be eons easier to work toward feeling better if you have someone encouraging you, if you have someone you can vent to, if you have a professional or a doctor, if you have a support system. as much as it fucking sucks, it’s really really hard, nigh impossible, to improve without a support system!!!???

i’m sorry, it’s ‘liberating’ to know that you have the power (to change things yourself)? maybe for some people, but what i’ve heard from many many others is that it’s terrifying and daunting. again, this is something better done in several takes where he would’ve had time to analyze his own word choices and improve on them, saying something like ‘for me, it was liberating’

i’m very skeptical of him talking about all the biochemistry of exercise without any kind of resources backing him up - from a high level, i’ve no doubt he’s right (nutrition was more my specialty over exercise) but by the same token, he’s speaking as if he’s a professional and that’s something he needs to keep in check

he gets,,,,,,extensively preachy ‘you just have to start doing it, you have to start’ okay, but how? (or, in this case, what did he do bc i really don’t want him to actually say things as if he’s an expert) and what about the people who have trouble starting, or start ten times and give up eleven times? you can’t give these command-style statements without assistance and call it advice - that’s not advice, that’s preaching

‘food is medicine’ no my dude medicine is medicine, food is food. and it’s so so so important to remember that some people need medicine (actual medicine) regardless of how well they eat to help with their mental health - yes, eating right is important, absolutely, but it’s not always enough to help someone manage the symptoms of their mental health

stop. preaching. vegan. it’s very hard for people to eat vegan esp with low incomes, and it can be very hard for people on vegan diets to get enough protein without very careful food consumption - i know i saw someone post about it last week or w.e when this vid came out but for me and them and probably a lot of other people, being very overly conscious about the kinds of foods they’re consuming can lead to eating disorders (it did for me). people can live perfectly healthy lifestyles while still eating meat, still eating animal products and - shockingly - still eating the occasional fried greasy food!

‘if you can harness [your mind] and reign it in’.......look. i get it. trying to be conscious of your thoughts is important. but this is more of that ‘live laugh love’ bullshit that means absolutely nothing to someone who’s actually struggling? how can you tell what’s detrimental? some of it’s obvious ofc, but some of it really isn’t? ‘when you get your thoughts on a good wavelength’ okay that’s still not advice! that’s preaching! how does someone even approach that! at the very least, he could say how he approached it (i’m upset bc all he’s doing is saying ‘here’s where i was, here’s where i am now’ without any indication of the in-between - i don’t want him saying ‘this is how people should do it’ but i would’ve at least appreciated him saying how he did it)

‘magic starts to happen’ no. that’s not how dealing with a mental health issue works for most people. it’s not just 'uwu think positive thoughts uwu’. and it’s so so so scary to see someone preaching that, because you know what happens to the vast majority of the people who hear that but can’t just magically realign their thoughts? they can lose hope and lose motivation and decide there’s something wrong with them or they’re not ‘trying hard enough’ or they can never get better - which is so so heartbreakingly wrong!!!??? i’m so so severely disappointed in this video

‘you’re making your life an absolute misery for yourself and for everyone’ oh my god. oh my god how dare you. how dare you say that. there are so so many beautiful and wonderful and lovely humans out there whose brains force them to think these kinds of negative thoughts and you have the audacity to claim that it’s their fault - and worse, that they are making other people miserable. i’m not saying there’s no way for them to make tiny adjustments and help them get themselves on a path to improvement, but oh my god get out of here. get out get out get the fuck out i have never in my entire goddamn life wanted more to make a video directly countering all the bullshit he’s said especially this

[helvetious]

The Blood Pulls Harder:: Linked Universe ::

Inspired by the incredibly fun Linked Universe AU by @jojo56830​ , (@linkeduniverse) and their latest updates. I do not know how the real plot is, and I’m taking free takes on their interactions and stories. I just want to show my appreciation towards this wonderful AU.

By the middle of the day and with Malon's help and guidance, the Hero of the Wild made lunch for everyone without delay. It was so much easier now that he had actual expert hands helping him feed this many mouths.

Several baskets of food he and the Hero of the Winds helped bring to the corral near the race track. The Hero of Hyrule brought some mantles, and a picnic was set.

Bread and cheese passed from hand to hand, hearty radish soup was served in cups- pork meat, salted rice with onions and laughter were all shared. There was a modest tomato salad, too.

"You all worked really hard" Malon said, "we thought you'd be more comfortable eating outside where there's more space."

"We're really thankful" said the Chosen Hero, sipping on his soup and smiling at the warm, creamy sensation on his tongue. He rose his cup to the Hero of the Wind.

"I know this is yours" he winked at his friend. "Your culinary touch is unparalleled."

The Hero of the Wild chuckled softly and drank of his own cup, both because he was hungry, and to cover his face behind the cup for he felt embarrassed by the praise. He whispered a soft "thank you."

The Hero of Twilight laughed at the scene, and wrapped an arm over his protege, taking advantage that he was the only one allowed this much physical contact. "It is delicious."

"Take the praise with pride for we say truth only" added the Hero of Time, "you did good work."

The rest rose their cups and cheered, Twilight squeezed him for a few seconds before letting go.

"Everyone here worked really hard, I'm proud of you all" Malon said, too. She then pointed at the Hero of Twilight, gave him a knowing smile. "I saw you out there carrying way too much a trip from one barn to another, you must watch not to hurt yourself."

Twilight let out a small snort, but she gave him a weak glare.

"I am fine m--ma'am" he cleared his throat, composing himself. He looked up at her, "I am the most experienced here on farm work."

"That I cannot deny" she said, "but it is still heavy work even for people like us, and I don't see you using no artifacts to help you with it like the others."

She was talking about magical items.

"Oh I don't rely on those" said the Hero of Twilight."Only natural strength."

Malon rose her eyebrows high. "Natural strength eh?" she said, curious.

The Hero of Twilight laughed, "I just drank a lot of milk as a child I guess" he told her, "I'm pretty strong."

"Really?" she smiled, scooting closer to where he was. The chatter on the mantles were still on and playful. "Well I shall believe you- after all, I am pretty strong myself." She spoke above the laughter of the other young men. "And I always assumed it was because of the milk, too."

"My," the Hero of Twilight chuckled, resting his head on the Wild Hero's own head, who sipped his soup, amused at the conversation.

The Hero of Time approached them, then. "I second her claim" he said. "I’ll have you know this woman lifted a cow into a tree house."

Twilight's smile grew wider, his eyes fixed on her. "I wouldn't doubt that for a second."

Malon was cackling, giving her husband's arm a playful push, who decided he should tell everyone how in fact the cow incident happened at all.

The Hero of the Wild let out a small, soft giggle before raising his head to speak, so low only his senior would hear.

"I love this place."

The Hero of Twilight chuckled, looking at his protege. "Feels like home, huh?" he asked.

"Yes" it was unusual to see such a big smile on the Wild Hero.

The Twilight hero picked his plate, feeling warm all over.

"It really does feel like home, indeed" he said, pushing some pork into his mouth.

  **

 Her voice was beautiful- truly, she sang like an angel sent by the very Golden Goddesses, to bless this world. She charmed the horses to come over to her, into the corral- and also the boys, and her husband.

All so they could hear her.

The tune was one the Hero of Twilight had known all his life. One he could reproduce himself with a few instruments, even.

She had her back to him, her singing interrupted by soft giggle as the oldest horse of the farm approached her. Just like any other farm creature, he found himself drawn closer and closer, to where she was.

Her laughter was too, a song.

And then Epona- his Epona, younger and stockier, came as well. She snorted close to the ear of the woman, who gasped and turned at her.

"No need to get jealous now, ladies" she joked, as she patted each Epona on their noses. "The mistress has two hands."

At that, the Hero of Twilight let out a soft titter. Malon turned to him, then.

Her smile as warm as the sun, the look in her eyes full of the calmest affection.

"Hello, puppy" she said, and he felt his ears twitch at the sound of her voice, regarding him.

"It's pup, uh- no, actually" he choked. The Hero of Twilight could only assume his face looked as red as he felt it hot. "I don't answer to none of the nicknames your husband calls me by, I just-"

"You break my heart" he heard behind his back. He could hear the smile on the Hero of Time's voice. He ignored his senior and gulped, eyes fixed on the woman and just her.

Malon laughed. "Oh I understand you, child" she said, "I'm the creative one in this relationship. Nicknames are my forte."

"Because fairy boy and grasshopper are oh so creative" they heard her husband say.

Malon gasped once more and then laughed, her eyes danced to past the young hero, to where her husband was. "Go be a terror somewhere else, will you dear?"

There was more laughter, from his senior and his comrades, behind him. Then, footsteps- everyone was getting back to work, now that the concert was over.

She looked back to where their horses were, now regarding one another with snorts and sniffles. Malon smiled.

"They seem to like one another" she said.

The Hero of Twilight smiled, too. "As if they've known each other all along."

"Perhaps they do" said the ranch owner, her smile growing. "A mother would always tell her own apart, my old girl would never deny her nature."

Suddenly, a cold sting ran up his spine. The sudden change in temperature within him must have messed with him somehow, for his knees felt weak.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Malon said, amused. But her eyes were fixed on the young hero. "Perhaps my girl is asking yours, 'Are you mine?'"

The Hero of Twilight felt goosebumps crawl under his tunic, and he turned to meet her eyes slowly, nervous.

"What makes you think your horse and mine-" he coughed up, and then swallowed, unable to finish. He looked at her with wide blue eyes, the same shade her eyes were.

"You know what they say," Malon looked at him with quiet adoration. The same kind of look the Hero of Time has given him, too. "The blood always pulls harder."

The Hero of Twilight went very, very still.

"I know what they say" he whispered.

 **

 After the Hero of Time told the story of the cow incident, it was no surprise that, throughout the day, the other heroes wanted to try and reach the record on the old race track in the ranch. All fruitless attempts, of course.

"After him, I don't give away no more cows" Malon let out a dramatic sigh.

The Hero of Time- her husband, crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh no," he said with a scowl, "she offered 'The kiss of a sweet maiden', instead."

The rest of the young men shared a laugh. Malon rolled her eyes. "He beat his own record six times."

The Hero of Time placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him- till her soft bosom pressed against his hard chest. A sensation he had missed dearly. Smiling, he said. "Seven times, mavourneen."

She laughed, "By the seventh time, I told you to just ask me out."

"I proposed."

"That you did, you terror."

"Just jumped out of my horse" the oldest hero turned to their public. "Fell on my knees and gave her-"

"The tackiest possible ring!"

"Hey now," he chuckled, "you should've seen the horde of monsters I fought for it!"

Malon shrugged theatrically, a teasing smile on her face. "Pity" she said.

They both knew the dungeon in which he found that ring had been empty way before he ever went there. But the boys didn't need to know that.

Husband and wife met their eyes and smiled. Malon pressed both her hands on her husband's chest, fingers spreading over his shirt. Her hands traveled upwards to cup his jaw and pull him down; his hands however, traveled south with mischief sparkling in his one healthy eye.

It was the first time the Hero of Twilight- or any other of the team truly, had seen their senior this relaxed, calm and fun. But of course, he was safe here.

This was his home.

They watched as their senior nuzzled his darling wife and she giggled, and when their smiles finally met, pressed one to another in a tender, longing-

The Hero of Twilight had to look away.

To the race track.

He gulped, and to his annoyance he could feel his face hot all over once more. He felt embarrassed sure, but also too happy for his heart to bear.

Everyone was happy to know there was hope, that this was a possible future for all of them.

Moved by the scene, the Chosen Hero could not help but let out a soft, "Aww," a hand pressing to his cheek.

It broke the spell right away.

The spouses broke their kiss, for a second Malon pressed her face to her husband's chest as she laughed. Her ears were red.

The Hero of Time turned to the boys, blinking his one eye several times as he just remembered their presence. When his sight sank on the Hero of the Wind, he swallowed loudly, and slowly began to pull his hands upwards to his wife's back- where it was proper.

Then all the heroes' eyes were on the Chosen Hero, who froze.

"Oh boy oh dear- did I cause that?" he said, the hand on his cheek traveling to his mouth in shock. "I am so sorry, please continue!"

"Yes," hissed the Hero of Warriors, grabbing the Chosen Hero's shoulders from behind, shaking them a little. He turned to the couple sporting his most charming smile. "Please, continue."

Malon laughed aloud then, and finally pulled away from her husband to walk towards the house. The Hero of Time's slouched just a bit as he watched her go, and he sighed.

And so did everyone else.

The boys began to return to their duties, but not without the Hero of Legend turning to the two guilty young men.

"You're both perverts" he said, and turned away.

The Hero of Warriors let out a snort, this wasn't the first time he was ever told such a thing.

The Chosen Hero however, had his eyes grow wide- both hands pressing to his chest as he opened his mouth in the loudest gasp.

 *

 But Malon didn't reach the house before someone caught up to her.

"Ma'am" she heard, and with a smile she turned to the voice- its owner a breathless, big boy she'd come to adore. And how couldn't she?

The blood in her veins pulled her to. That beautiful boy before her had only given her so much joy with just his face, just his eyes, his hair. His nose. She felt she'd known him all her life.

Are you mine?

"Yes, child?" she asked instead.

The Hero of Twilight composed himself before speaking. "I want to race."

Her smile grew wider.

 **

 His Epona was younger, bigger- and a little brutish. She was faster, too.

And he was a much, much better rider.

The Hero of Twilight patted the neck of his horse, wet with sweat for she rode, hard, around the track.

"Just one more jump, love" he told his precious Epona. "One more and we're done."

He could hear the cheer of his friends and the laughter of a lady. It reminded him of Ordon, when he also showed his skills with his darling mare.

It felt like home.

The obstacle- an old fence, become closer and with it, his triumph. Epona jumped high and he felt every hair of his body rise with adrenaline.

Her hooves met the ground once more, and the public roared.

He felt the wind hit his eyes with the speed, but did not make Epona relent until he was close enough to where Malon awaited him, back at the start of the track.

"My my, would you look at that" she said, clapping her hands and laughing. "You have established a new record!"

He jumped out of his horse and his feet met the ground unceremoniously- tired as he was, breathing through his own mouth, just like his horse beside him.

His friends came to pat his shoulders, his head- they patted Epona, too. The Hero of Swords took her reins, and walked her to the shade. The Hero of Hyrule brought her a bucket of water.

"I must warn you though" said Malon, "the prize you won has changed a little bit- but" she teased, "you didn't race for the prize now, did you?"

At that, the smile on his face instantly disappeared. It dawned on him: he didn't consider the prize at all. Why did he do it?

Why did he race? He knew there was no way his senior- The Hero of Time, could reclaim the title again with his old Epona, and his with his own prime being no more. He just erased a mark of his master, in his very home. What for? To leave his own? He wasn't supposed to ever be in this ranch at all.

The pride of his triumph disappeared and all that was left was guilt and dread.

Why did he race to win?

Malon didn't seem to notice, and she continued. "You see, I am no longer a maiden" she explained.

"And she was never all that sweet to begin with" added her husband with a laugh- and when she slapped his arm, he laughed again.

"Hush you," she told him, and turned back to the boy. "Plus, I married a very protective man."

"Well excuse me," said the Hero of Time, "I don't go around kissing every lady who beats me in archery."

She laughed and winked at him. They both knew he always let her win. Malon had joked many times that her victories are still fair, for she may not win the game properly- but she won him.

"What's be the praise then?" asked the Hero of Legend. "Money?"

"Oh it is still a kiss" said Malon, "just not from me."

The Hero of Twilight blinked once, twice. Then he looked at his master, who opened his arms.

"Come here" said the Hero of Time.

"Oh- oh no," the Hero of Twilight said. The universe apparently had a grudge on him and whatever happened in this ranch was just done to embarrass him. "No no no, no no no-"

When his senior took a step towards him, the Hero of Twilight broke into a sprint into the nearest corral. A foolish choice, he realized. As he met the fence, the collar of his shirt was caught before he could jump it.

He may be old, yes, but the Hero of Time was still a hero.

The Hero of Twilight felt a strong arm encircle his shoulders, pushing his chest down as his back crashed against his master's front. He felt a small, rough pressure at the top of his head, on his hair.

He laughed the entire time. "Ew" he said, too.

The Hero of Time tittered, "Come on now, it didn't hurt you one bit!"

But when he forced the boy to turn and see him, the senior saw tears with that laughter.

He cupped his junior's face, he let out a soft chuckle at the trembling smile before him. His thumb began to dry the boy's cheeks.

"What's this?" he asked.

The smile dropped entirely, and the Hero of Twilight choked.

"I beat your record," he said.

The Hero of Time gave him a tender, adoring smile. One his junior has been seeing way too often since they came to the ranch.

"My boy" said the older man, his voice full of pride, "you're supposed to best me." His own smile opened into a happy sigh, "if you don't, then I'm failing at my job."

He pulled the boy into a tight hug and let him sob just a bit, and then he heard footsteps, and his wife's voice.

"My my, did you traumatize the poor thing?" she teased as she got closer.

He didn't turn to look at her when he replied. "I don't know what I did- I thought I was good at this!"

"Clearly you aren't!" she stopped by his side and patted the Hero of Twilight's head.

"You liked when I do it to you" said the Hero of Time, and his smile grew when she gasped and when he heard his embarrassed junior groan against his shoulder.

The Hero of Twilight began pushing away, "Oh I do not want to hear wherever this conversation is going" he said.

But the moment he freed himself from his senior, his face was caught by the hands of his senior's wife.

She pulled him down and pressed his ear onto her chest, patted his cheek. "There there," she teased. And he knew she was teasing because both spouses were cackling.

But he could hear her heartbeat, and it soothed him. He felt the beat of her heart into his very veins, pulling on his blood.

It didn't just felt like home, he realized, as the Hero of Time ruffled his hair and joined the hug.

The Hero of Twilight was home.

[zach-the-fox]

Furiends Episode 2: By Your Side

The wooden door opens, swinging forward to the side. Appearing in the frame is Sally, who enters with Zach. She closes the door behind her once the fox has stepped inside, then turns and proceeds into the room next to them, which is the kitchen. Another rottweiler appears at the counter, much greyer in fur color than Sally. “Hey, Mom.”

The older rottweiler turns around to her. “Hello, Sally. How was the mall?”

“It was okay.” Sally takes a couple steps forward. “Emmy, Navy, Niji, and I walked around for a bit. We also had ice cream.”

Her mother smiles. “That’s wonderful.” Her expression disappears upon spotting the blue-bandanaed fox. “Who is this fox you brought, Sally?”

Sally shifts her body to Zach. “Oh, Mom, this is Zach. You know him as the “Flawed Fox of Heroto”, right?”

“Indeed, I do.” Sally’s mother looks at the fox. “That fox has caused trouble; a nuisance as Team Rescuers puts.” Zach’s ears droop.

“Well, he’s not with them anymore. They pushed him away and banned him from the group. In fact, he’s got no friends or family until Emmy brought him to the mall and introduced us to him. He’s actually a pretty nice guy. We were wondering if he could stay with us for a bit.”

“You know I don’t mind you bringing people in, but bringing this fox in concerns me. However, if you say he’s changed, then I’m fine with him staying. He’s your responsibility, though.”

“I understand, but he’s a really nice fox, and he needs all the help we can give him.”

“I’m sure he needs help. He can explain himself one we sit down and eat.” Sally’s mother turns to the counter, takes some prepared food from a tray, and places it onto a plate before walking over to the table. Sally and Zach do the same, joining the older dog. “So, Zach, what brings you here in search of help? Care to tell me your story?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Zach starts. He clears his throat and explains his story from the orphanage to now, while everyone digs into their food. As Zach talks about every detail within his life, Sally’s mother strokes her chin with interest. The fox closes with the ice cream social in the mall. “And so, that’s my story…”

“It’s pretty sad,” Sally utters. “I didn’t know he had a rough life before Team Rescuers.”

“So, I heard,” her mother tells her. She looks back to the fox. “Well, I am sorry about you’ve been treated, Mr. Fox. You are more than welcome to stay for as long as you’d like.”

“Thank you, Ms. Dog… You, Sally, and the others are kind. I appreciate it very much, and I will repay you in any way I can.”

“Zach, it’s fine,” says Sally. “I already told you, you don’t have to do that.”

“Well, I have been thinking of getting work now that I’m free. You know, to make some money… First, I need to go back to the orphanage to retrieve some documents.” He looks to Sally. “Is it okay if you and the others came with me?”

“Sure, I don’t mind. Maybe we all can go with you to retrieve your papers. But, I want to ask you; why do you need someone to come along?”

“I’m scared to do it on my own. I’m afraid everyone will start picking on me as soon as I walk through the door.”

“It’ll be okay, Zach. You have nothing to worry about. We’ll be right beside you.” She takes her fork, stabs a piece of meat, and puts it in her mouth.

“Thank you very much…”

 ***

 Darkness has cloaked the entire room. Zach lies back-faced against the bed, covered up to his neck with the blanket. His eyes clenching but closed. His head shifting from side-to-side along the pillow. Soon, he begins tossing and turning with his body, struggling on the mattress. Zach’s eyes flutter open at last before sitting up and placing his paw against his head. He lets out a sigh, sliding out of bed and heading straight for the bathroom, where he splashes cold water at his face. He returns to the bed and lies back down, yet is unable to close his eyes. After lying motionless for one minute, he decides to get out of bed again. He takes his bandana, blanket, and pillow with him into the other room beside his. Opening the door slowly, he approaches the sleepy dog and begins to whisper. “Sally… Sally…”

From the sound of her name, she turns and opens her eyes to the fox. “Zach? What the hell?! What are you doing in my room?!”

“Can I sleep with you here tonight? I’m too scared to sleep by myself…”

“Do you really have to?”

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to disturb you… I just can’t sleep with all of the negativity in my head… Can I just sleep here? It’s only for tonight…”

“I’m not very comfortable with people other than me in my bed, especially boys.”

“I’ll sleep on the floor, if you’d like… I don’t mind.”

Sally lets out a sigh. “If you must… But I better not hear a single sound from you. If that’s so, you’re out.”

“Thank you… And don’t worry, I don’t snore.” Zach sets himself up on the floor, placing his blanket on the carpet beside the dog’s bed, curling up into a ball as his he covers himself with the blanket’s other half and snuggling against the pillow, falling fast to sleep with the comfort of company.

 ***

 Zach stands still as the wide, two-story brick building looms over him. His new friends are beside him, waiting for his further actions.

“You okay, Zach?” asks Niji.

“Y-yeah,” Zach responds. “Just a bit nervous…”

“Don’t worry,” Emmy tells him. “We’re here with you.”

“Thank you.” The fox takes a deep breath with his eyes closed. Opening them once letting out air, he proceeds inside the building with the others by his side. He approaches the counter where the receptionist is, wearing hooded robes to mask their identity. “Hello?” The animal turns to Zach’s attention. “I’m here to claim my birth certificate, high school diploma, and card. My name is Zach the Fox.”

“Oh, aren’t you that flawed fox who got evicted yesterday?” asks the receptionist. Zach nods with ears drooping. “One moment, please.” The receptionist stands and ambles to the doorway, where another hooded figure appears. They exchange words in a low tone before the figure beside the receptionist disappears. The receptionist walks back to the fox. “The headmaster will bring them out to you. Please wait while they do.”

“I’m not sure I can…” His entire body trembles. “I’m not comfortable…”

“Zach?” Sally moves in closer to him, as does Emmy. “What’s wrong?”

“This place… I-It brings back so many painful memories…” His shaky paws find their way to his temples. “I… I can still hear the kids taunting me… belittling me… I can still see them standing over… throwing food and other things… I don’t want to be here much longer…”

“Don’t worry…” Emmy rubs her hoof against his back. “We’re not going to be here much longer. As soon as you get your papers, we’ll be out, right?”

Zach looks to her, lowering his paws, and nodding. “Y-yes… Not much longer…”

“Zach the Fox.” The hooded figure reappears before the group. In their grip are two eight-by-eleven paper with writings and designs on them, as well as a card with Zach’s picture. “Here’s your papers. Now, I don’t ever want to see you after this. You’ve got it?”

Zach stares at the figure before giving them a single nod and taking the documents. “Yes, Headmaster… You don’t need to worry… I will be gone…”

“Well, if it isn’t the flawed fox?!” utters a voice. Zach and his friends turn to where the source had come from; a grey wolf with a red bandana on his left arm. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Oh… hello, Jay.”

“Jay?” Navy repeats. She looks to the wolf. “Hey wait, you’re Jay the Wolf from Team Rescuers.”

Jay turns to her and smiles. “At your service.” He shifts back to the fox. “You come to whine your way back into the orphanage? Doubt they will accept you back considering all the trouble you’ve caused!”

“He’s not here for that,” the headmaster points out. “He was just collecting his possessions before walking out the door. Isn’t that right, Flawed Fox?”

“What possessions?” Jay asks. “All he owns is that stupid bandana that your worker gave to him. He owns nothing, Mom! He is nothing!”

“I will talk to you later, Jay. I am busy! As for you, Fox, don’t stick around any longer. I expect you to be out of here by the time I’m finished with the other children.” The figure turns and leaves the room.

Jay continues to taunt Zach. “Hear that? You’re unwanted. You always were. Nothing but a flawed fox!”

Sally, agitated with clenching fists and eyes, steps in front of the fox and into Jay’s gaze. “I wouldn’t pester him if I were you. He’s suffered through a lot.”

“You’re defending him?” Jay queries. “Who would dare defend a flawed fox?”

“We would,” Navy spurts at him. “His friends.”

“Friends?!” Jay chuckles at the idea and crosses his arms. “The flawed fox has no one! He’s been alone his whole life, and always will be. He’s nothing but trouble.”

“You sound like a big jerk,” Niji utters. “Nothing but a bully and a pushover.”

Jay clenches his paw into a fist as his expression changes. “What the hell did you just say, Wolf? You want to run that by me again?”

Emmy gets beside him. “He said that we were just leaving now. Come on guys, let’s get out of here.”

“Wise choice.” Jay watches as the animals exit the building, giving a mean glare at them.

As the group distances themselves from the structure, they head for the park as a means of hanging out. Zach sits on the park bench, hunched over with drooping ears, while Emmy sits beside him, rubbing his back to comfort him.

Sally has her arms crossed as she stands about, looking at the orphanage from the entrance. “Well, I never with those animals. I thought orphanages were a place to make kids happy until they get adopted… And to think the leader of Team Rescuers was actually a caring kind of person. What a total salt bag!” She looks to the fox. “We’re so sorry about everything you struggled through, Zach. We had no idea what you’ve been through.”

“You know what, it’s actually okay…” Zach straightens his ears and his position to meet the eyes on his friends. “I’m actually a bit happy that I don’t have to suffer within that place anymore. I may not have anywhere to go or anything to do, but I’m thankful to be free. I am also grateful to have you guys as my new friends.”

“It’s no worries,” Navy says. “I can’t believe that wolf is so sour.”

Zach manages a small smile. “Thank you…” He looks at his newly-obtained items. “Well, now that I have my documents, I can start looking for a job. The question is, where do I look?”

“I bet the library has some resources on employment,” Emmy suggests. “We should go there and take a look. Besides, we have nothing else better to do, so why not?”

“Sounds boring,” Niji comments. “But sure.” Everyone else agrees with him. Zach and Emmy stand from the bench and head off on their next “adventure”. @emmy-the-absolute-goof​ @sally-the-pack-leader​ @rainbow-strike​ @pink-unicorn-boi​ @pink-unicorn-blood​

[a-black-pegasus]

Sakaar Rats

Heyo! Hulk on Sakaar, when he finds a tiny in his room! Thanks for reading!

______________________________________________

Your legs pumped, sweat beaded on your forehead as you dashed forward.

With a spear clutched in your hand, you chased after the mouse who had stolen your bag of supplies.

You, and all of your kind were referred to as Sakaarian rats, and with reason. To survive, you stole, but to thrive you fought; Mice, other Sakaarian rats, and any giant who tried to capture you.

Although those who were captured by giants generally never came back alive. In the end it was best to just remain hidden and not be seen, and then eventually captured. Of course there was only so many hiding places in the building to claim, and once you had one it was hard to keep.

That's why you chose to wander around instead of settle. It was easier,.... usually.

It wasn't easy when a wiry little mouse stole your bag containing all your possessions.

He turned, and darted out a hole leading to out the wall. Leaping over a nail you slid through the hole after him.

You were slowly gaining on the mouse. Closer, closer, closer....then...

Pulling your arm back, you threw your spear, and watched as it plundged into its hindquarters. A sharp squeal issued from the vermin as it dropped your bag.

While it was stunned, you yanked your spear out, and kicked it, sending it sliding across the smooth cold floor. It's claws clicked against the tiles as it scrambled away.

"Filthy pest. That'll teach you to swipe my bag..." You grumbled.

Swinging your bag over your shoulders, you slid the spear back into place, and turned to return to the wall. Only— you hadn't realized how far you had run out while you chased the mouse.

You were far in the middle of the the room. Looking around you noticed several expensive things, and several bigger than normal things. A giant bed, a giant ball, giant clothes....whoever lived here had to be huge!

Well everyone was a giant compared to you, but this had to be a real mammoth of a man. Not that that was uncommon on sakaar. There were all kinds of folks here.

You had no time to waste wondering about who lived here though. You needed to get out.

You began running, but before you could even make it a few inches, the floor began trembling. At that moment, coming down the hallway was the answer to all your questions about who lived here.

It was the grand masters new champion!

The Hulk!

As he finished talking to some lady, you darted to the shelf, and crouched underneath praying he hadn't seen you.

***

Valkyrie brought hulk back from training. It had been fun for him to get pent up energy out, and good for the staff who had to deal with his temper.

"Well big guy, today was a good practice, but don't expect me to take it easy on you tomorrow." She teased.

Hulk grinned, and laughed. "You didn't go easy!"

Valkyrie lifted an eyebrow. "Didn't I?" She smirked. "I'll see you tomorrow alright?" Opening the force field she let him into his room.

Hulk huffed, he didn't like being kept in there, but if he didn't go in he would get shocked. "Ok..." He relented.

Valkyrie looked almost regretful as she turned her back, and walked away.

With a grumble hulk walked further in, and saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Was it one of those sneaky Sakaar rats he had heard about?

Stomping over, he bent down, and set his head on the floor.

That was not a rat.

***

Your heart pounded as heavy footfalls shook the ground. Even if you attempted to run, you would probably end up stumbling with each earth shaking step Hulk made.

They seemed to onluy get worse as they went, and with cold compression you realize that he was headed in your direction!

The light was blocked off, and all of a sudden a green face filled your vision!

You stared rooted to the spot as his startling green eyes pierced through you. All the stories you heard could have never prepared you for an actual run-in with a giant. Especially this one!

As you stared his arm twitched, and moved up to grab you. With a shriek you turned, and ran for it.

The shelf was knocked over, and your cover was replaced by a massive shadow. Hulks hand slammed down in front of you, and wrapped completely around you.

You could only see green, and feel his course flesh surronding you on all sides. With no room to move at all, panick swelled in you.

Your throat choked on a scream. This was the end. You wished he would hurry up, and crush you already.

***

Hulk had, in his hands, a tiny person! And they were very, very tiny.

But he could feel the way they squirmed against his skin, and felt something wet. When he opened his palm he saw that they were crying.

Terrified.

Everyone was terrified of him though.

Well that wasn't true, people here seemed to actually like him. They liked to watch Hulk fight, and smash, and destroy things. So why was this person crying?

"Hey.." hulk said akwardly. "You ok?"

***

The hulk had opened his hand to leave you laying on his palm. To your shame, you felt tears stream down your cheeks.

"You ok?"

Furiously you wiped at your face. "I'm f-fine!" You said quickly a small shake in your voice.

Hulks face fell in sympathy. "Ok." He mumbled. His finger came up to you, and you flinched back violently, raising your arms over your head.

"Not gonna crush you." He said simply patting your arms. "You puny."

"I'm not puny!" You snapped, jerking under his touch. "You're just huge!"

Expecting his anger you braced yourself, but all you received was his amused grin. He laughed. "Yeah. But you still puny." Turning, he walked over to his bed, and jumped up to sit on the edge. "Where you from?"

You bit your lip, you could feel your cheeks burning. "Sakaar."

Hulk hummed. "You a Saakaran?" He butchered the word, but you understood.

"No. I'm a Sakaarian rat." You corrected, a bit of venom in your tone. You didn't lile talking, to anyone. And hulks size was keeping you on edge.

He looked confused. "You're not a rat. You're a tiny person."

"Oh yeah? Well what's the difference then?? We're both vermin!" Hulks hand moved; You yelped as his fingers turned you around.

"No tail." Hulk said bluntly as you kicked, and beat at his hand.

"Great! I can't believe I never realized that!" You snarled sarcastically. "Now let me go!" He obliged, and released you. In a second you pulled out your spear, thankful it hadn't been crushed, and held it up. "Now...put me down."

Hulk looked down at you, looking like he wanted to laugh. Wisely he managed to hold it in. "Or what?"

You bit the inside of your cheek. You doubted you could do anything really damaging to him. "Just...do it. Just let me go! You don't want a rat scurrying around here right?"

Hulk snorted. "But this rat talk. Keep hulk company."

"What! No!"

"Yes!"

You growled frustrated. "Hulk, you had better put me down right now!" You demanded forgetting whom you were talking to. "Let me go, and—"

His eyes flitted up, and widened in panick. Hulk put his hand behind his back, and cupped his hands over you.

"Hey!" You shouted indigently. "Let me out right—" what you heard next made you freeze.

"Afternoon Mr. Hulk. I'm here with your mid-day meal." A young voice announced. You could hear a squeaky wheel of a cart. "How are you today sir?"

"Good. Bored." Hulk answered gruffly.

"Ah, I'm sorry sir," the voice, it sounded like a young boy, said apologetically. "But the grand master told me to inform you that you're scheduled for a fight tonight!" He spoke excitedly.

There was some shuffling of dishes, and a mouth watering smell of meat, but hulk didn't get up.

"Well, um...are you gonna eat sir?"

"Hulk....not hungry. Hulk... thinking." Hulk answered.

"Oh. Ok. Well um...have a good afternoon sir—"

"Noahem!" Hulk shouted suddenly.

At least now you could put a name to the voice. "Yes, Mr. Hulk?" Noahem asked.

Hulk shifted around, and in a low voice said. "Take some."

There was a few beats of silence. "Thank you sir." Noahem thanked just as equally quiet, though it was sincere. It was another minute after that, that hulk finally brought you around again.

"Sorry. Didn't want to show you."

But you ignored his apology, and whipped your head around to the amazing smell. Meat. It wasn't rotten, a mouse, or a lizard; It was fresh, warm meat. Your mouth salivated.

Hulk clearly noticed where your attention was directed. He stood and crossed the room to the cart. "You hungry?" He chuckled.

You shook your head. You were supposed to be escaping. "No!" But a loud growl from your stomach confirmes otherwise.

Rolling his eyes, he set you right beside the tray. "I gave Noahem Food. I give you food."

That rubbed you wrong. "Why'd you give Noahem food?" Wasn't he just another slave in this building?

"Noahem friend, and hungry." He laughed. "Tiny hungry...."

"But I'm not your friend." You finished folding your arms. There was a lull of heavy silence.

"What's your name?"

You fidgeted. "(Y/N)."

"(Y/N). I want tiny (Y/N) to be friend....Please?"

You nearly scoffed. Being "friends" would probably mean being stuck here in this room for the rest of your life with hulk. Yeah sure there was food, and you wouldn't have to fight off other Sakaar rats or mice, but was that worth it?

"Can, Can I think about it?" You stalled.

"Ok." Hulk shrugged, reached over to tear a piece of the meat off, and held it out to you. "Still hungry though?" You ducked your head not answering.

Hulk set the torn meat in front of you. "Here."

Hesitently, You reached your hand out to take a piece, but stopped. "Thanks." You murmered, before ripping in.

______________________________________________

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! I reached the 100 block limit! Wow!

[prepare4trouble]

Star Wars Rebels fanfic - Secret Codes

Part of the Little by Little AU

Sorry it’s been so long since I updated. Honestly this would have been up a few days ago if I hadn’t had to come up with a  title. As it is, I’m not happy with it still, but I couldn’t face thinking about it for any longer!

The racetrack was busy tonight.  Across the crowd, Zeb spotted Rex standing by the edge of the track, a drink in one hand.  He was looking down on the dokma with a vague smile on his face. Not far from him, Ezra and one of the pilots he sometimes hung around with were both watching the race intently, seemingly focussed completely on what the creatures were doing, which wasn’t much at that particular moment in time. Rex didn’t seem to be with them, or with anybody really, he looked like he was simply enjoying the atmosphere.

Zeb ambled over and stood next to him, then glanced at the track. None of the dokma were even close to the finish line, and only one of them was moving in even vaguely the right direction. That didn’t seem to bother Ezra though, or his friend. They were both leaning over the track, staring down intently at the lack of action there.

Rex nodded a greeting in Zeb’s direction, then took a deep breath and sighed. “This takes me back,” he said.

Zeb glanced around. “Oh yeah? When to, the last time you were here?” He grinned at his own, admittedly not very funny, joke.

The clone smiled, probably more out of politeness than because he actually found it funny. He shook his head. “Not exactly; a little further than that. We used to set up things like this during the war. The clones did, I mean.” He looked down at the track and shook his head. “No, they were better than this, actually, and that’s not just pride talking. These dokma are probably what we’d have called a ‘0 U 4’.”

“You’d call the dokma a bunch of random numbers and letters?” Zeb frowned, confused. “I know you clones have designations like that, is it something to do with that?“

Rex chuckled and shook his head. “It wasn’t random. And our designations weren’t random either, by they way. But yeah, if we’d encountered them back then, we probably would have.  We used to call it the Lockeye scale, after the clone that came up with the idea. We’d rate the local wildlife wherever we happened to be, based on different categories: threat level, use for entertainment, use as a nutrition source… Just made it easier if things were categorized, it meant if you arrived on a world some other squadron had visited before, you could find out these things without having to work it out for yourself.”

“So you’re telling me the clone army spent their downtime categorizing wildlife throughout the galaxy?” Zeb didn’t mean to laugh, but he did it anyway.

Rex looked affronted for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. “Some of us did. Others just used the information. Not many wanted to be the guy that volunteered to eat some terrifying mystery meat just to see if they could. Of course, the Republic kept its soldiers well-fed, it wasn’t like we needed to supplement, it’s just, who doesn’t like to roast something over a campfire once in a while?”

Mystery meat. Zeb grimaced at the memory of his own experiment, when he had learned once and for all that the krykna were definitely not good to eat. Of course, he had assumed as much before he had even gone hunting, but having caught and killed one, it had seemed wasteful not to at least try.

“These guys,” Rex pointed at the dokma, “are no threat whatsoever, that’s the ‘zero’. As for use as a food source, I have no idea; don’t need to know, don’t want to know, so U is for unclassified.” He shrugged and looked at the dokma again. “The four was for entertainment value, but actually, I might downgrade them to a three, they’re pretty lacking there too.”

“Everyone seems to enjoy the races,” Zeb pointed out.

“Yeah, but I bet they’d enjoy it a lot more if there was some actual action happening on the track.”

It would be difficult to argue with that. Only one of the creatures seemed to have moved since he had last checked, but no more than a few inches, and in the wrong direction. Even Ezra and his friend seemed to have lost interest in the race and were now talking to each other while occasionally glancing around at the other spectators.

“Yeah, they’re a solid three,” Rex decided. “They’ll do, if there’s absolutely nothing else around, but if we discovered some other creature around here that actually moves, we’d be rounding them up instead in a heartbeat.”

“There are other creatures,” Zeb reminded him. “Only, I doubt they’d be too entertaining either.”

Rex let out a short, sharp laugh. “The spiders, yeah, I don’t see them scoring highly for entertainment value either. Well, unless we could set up some kind of spider-riding contest. You know, the longer you stay on the more you win, or…” he stopped, shrugged, and shook his head. “I can’t imagine people going for it.”

“Wouldn’t work anyway, you’d have to either go beyond the beacons, or switch them off and let the spiders in.” Zeb shuddered. “Personally, I prefer them to keep their distance..”

Rex laughed again. “Don’t worry, I’m not seriously suggesting it. I’d say the spiders are a ‘7 U 0’; Mid-high threat, unclassified again for food source, definitely no good for entertainment.”

Zeb grimaced in distaste. Seven seemed like too low a threat level, but maybe Rex was right, there were many more dangerous creatures out there in the universe. “Actually,” he said, “instead of that ‘U’, what rating do you give to a meat that doesn’t actually kill you, but makes you almost wish it had?”

He registered confusion, and then surprise, and then amusement in Rex’s face. “One,” he said.  “Something you want to tell me?”

“Just that you shouldn’t ask how I know,”

Rex grinned. “Hey, what you get up to in your own time is your business. But at least I know who to come to if we need to test out any other critters.”

Zeb shook his head, but didn’t bother to reply. Rex wasn’t serious. At least, he didn’t think Rex was serious.

A thought occurred suddenly. People knew about the spider hunt.  They had seen him returning, covered in… stuff. Rumors about it had swept through the base even more quickly than the news about Ezra’s sight, probably because it had been so much more obvious, and because unlike Ezra’s news, it was funny, and people could laugh about it.

For days afterward, Zeb had endured comments from anyone who dared, and sideways glances from those who didn’t. Even now, it was still on people’s minds; he could tell from the occasional subtle comment, or a glance in his direction at the mention of the krykna. People knew.

More than that, they likely knew why. He had never actually told anybody the reason for the hunt -- it wouldn’t have made any more sense to them than it did to him -- but they had to know it had something to do with the news about Ezra that had broken around the same time.

So people knew, but Rex didn’t.  Because Rex hadn’t been on the base at the time.  And if Rex didn’t know about the spider hunt, did he know about the other, far more important, news that had spread through the base that week?

As far as Zeb could remember, he hadn’t seen the clone for several weeks. He might have been around just before the news broke, but there was an equal chance he had left before. The rumors and conversation had died down now that everybody knew, and anybody who was interested had read Hera’s file.  Base gossip had moved on and claimed a new victim, and while Zeb could almost guarantee that Rex would have heard about the pilot that had been removed from duty for flying drunk, he doubted that anybody was talking about Ezra any more.

That was good, of course, but it also opened up the unthinkable possibility that Rex didn’t know.

Zeb glanced over at Ezra. The kid had moved a little closer to the two of them, but his attention appeared to be completely on the race, watching the lack of action intently again. Zeb couldn’t say anything now, not with Ezra within earshot. He wasn’t sure he should say anything anyway, it wasn’t his news to tell.

“Uh… so what was with the secret codes?” he asked instead, more to keep the conversation going, and keep it away from uncomfortable subjects, than out of any genuine interest. “Didn’t want non-clones to know which animals were good to eat?”

Rex laughed. “Not exactly. I mean, we didn’t exactly share the information publicly, but that was more down to circumstance than anything else. But in a way, yes. We didn’t want people not in the know to understand. Specifically, we didn’t always want the Jedi to know what we were saying.”

“No?”

“It was more the entertainment side of it.  You know the Jedi; they were pretty live-and-let-live over personal nutrition, but most of them weren’t the biggest fans of using creatures like that.”

Zeb snuck another glance at Ezra, still intently watching the race. “Coulda fooled me,” he said.

“Ezra’s a unique case. Kanan too, actually. Times are different now.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Zeb saw Ezra’s head jerk up at the sound of his name being spoken; the human equivalent of turning his ears to an interesting sound. He didn’t say anything, but Zeb could tell that he was listening now. Maybe he had been all along.

“It’s something to do with the Force, and connections,” Rex continued. “Jedi could… can understand other creatures in a way that you and I can’t. Some of them could even communicate with them, make them do what they wanted.”

To his side, Zeb saw Ezra turn quickly to face them. For a moment his eyes were wide with something like panic, but it quickly softened to what looked like mild concern.

Appearing not to notice Ezra’s interest in what was being said, Rex continued.  “If you’ve got a connection that deep with a creature, I guess it’d be difficult to watch someone treating them like that; making them race or fight or whatever.”

Ezra took a step toward them, inserting himself into the conversation. “But eating them was okay?” He folded his arms, grinned, then affected a dubious expression, shaking his head slowly. “Haha, I dunno Rex, these old Jedi sound like they can’t make up their minds. You probably shouldn't trust what they said about connections, sounds like a load of rubbish to me, anyway.” He paused for a breath, slouched casually and didn’t appear to relax quite as much as he wanted them to think. “Hey, so you finally got back from that mission, huh? How did it go?”

Rex blinked in surprise, either at the interruption, or the sudden change of subject.  he shrugged. “Uh, fine. thanks. Can’t really go into it though, but I’m here for a few days R&R before heading back.”

Ezra nodded and looked glum suddenly. Of course, missions were probably the last thing he wanted to talk about. Which made the question seem strange.

“Great,” Ezra said. “You know, connections with animals, they don’t really work like that; like you were saying. They’re more about understanding them, but you can’t make them do…” He stopped abruptly as his pilot friend grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear. Ezra tensed, flashed Rex and Zeb a nervous smile, before following the pilot to the other side of the track to join with another group of people that Zeb didn’t know by name.

Rex watched them go. He leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice. “How’s he doing with everything?” he asked.

Zeb’s gaze lingered on Ezra as he laughed at some joke or comment from one of his companions. Apparently Rex had heard, that was good; at least Zeb didn’t have to tell him. He shrugged. “He’s fine,” he said. “Well, unless you manage to catch him in a rare moment of honesty.”

“Heh,” Rex’s lips twitched into the smallest of smiles and he shook his head. “He’ll be okay,” he said.

“You know that, do you?”

Rex nodded. “He’s got a great teacher,” he said. “I mean, Kanan’s no Skywalker, but he knows his stuff, especially this stuff. It probably sounds terrible to say, but from a certain point of view Ezra really lucked out.”

“You’re right,” Zeb told him with half a smile. “That does sound pretty terrible.”

“Yeah, I know. What I mean is, I never claimed to understand the Force, but sometimes it seems to know what it’s doing.”

Zeb’s grin turned into a frown. “What do you mean?” he asked, curious. “About the Force?” If it was a variation on the ‘Force gone wrong’ rumors that were still circulating, he wasn’t going to be happy. But it didn’t sound like that; this sounded like something new.

“Kanan thinks that maybe the reason he…” He stopped, and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Something Kanan told me, I’m not sure I believe it. I’m not sure he believes it either.” He shook his head. “Forget it; I shouldn’t have said anything.”

But he couldn’t forget it. If Rex was implying that what had happened to Kanan had been part of some masterplan… “Just make sure you don’t say it around Ezra,” he said. “That’s the last thing he needs to be thinking about. Might even be worse than the other stupid rumor I’m trying to keep away from him.” He was feeling bad enough without adding guilt into to mix.

Rex nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll be keeping that one to myself.”

Zeb nodded, satisfied. Rex wouldn’t talk to anybody else about that, least of all Ezra. He probably wouldn’t have done anyway, but it was good to get that promise.

“I should head on out, anyway,” Rex said. “I’m supposed to meet Kanan in a bit.”

A ‘wine and whine’ session, no doubt; one of their little get-togethers that happened every so often. Or a mission debrief, or maybe some combination of the two. Zeb nodded. “Sure. It was good to catch up. I’ll see you around.”

Rex nodded. He cast a final glance over the racecourse and toward Ezra. Ezra’s back was turned and he didn’t appear to notice the scrutiny. “You don’t have to protect him, you know,” he said. “He’s survived a lot, and he’ll get through this too. He’s tougher than he looks.”

“We’ve all survived a lot,” Zeb said. “It never makes the next thing any easier.” Sometimes, it actually made it worse.

“Tough to argue with that, but still. How’d you like it if you found out someone was trying to protect you from hearing things they didn’t think you could handle?”

Zeb frowned. He wouldn't like it. But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t help. “He’s a kid,” he said. “At his age I hadn’t even entered basic training. He’s got enough going on without another thing to worry about.”

“He might be a kid, but he’s not a child,” Rex said. “Is it for us to decide what he gets to know?” He sighed. “I’ve never known anyone go through exactly this before, but I saw enough of my brothers leaving the battlefield with an injury that wasn’t going to get better, to know that the last thing anybody ever wants is to be treated differently. Even if it’s with the best of intentions.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” Zeb told him. Or… he didn’t think that was what he was doing.

Rex nodded. “Good to hear.” He glanced around again, “Well, I’m here for a few more days, so I’ll probably see you around before I head back out. Maybe we can plan that spider riding contest, set it up as a rival entertainment source.” He appeared completely serious, except of the hint of laughter in his eyes.

With that, he turned and headed away from the track, toward the main section of the base. Zeb watched him go, then turned back to the track. His dokma was losing. Badly. Of course, the way things were going, there might be hours before the race was finished.

Zeb sighed to himself. Rex was right, on a scale of 1-10 for entertainment, the dokma definitely came out at the low end.