#she's one of the property owners' barn cats

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

the house renovation zone mascot/emotional support animal

[queenie-the-court-jester]

Yandere farm x farmhand reader 🌾

A/n: this contains few nsfw mentions, mdni please! They're not all that yandere, just a bunch of dumb silly hybrids trying to catch their favorite humans attention. This is their intro

✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙

★yandere farm x farmhand reader. I know this isn't original, but I always love the concept. Just minding your business, sweaty and hot from the sun, when suddenly a certain German Shepard hybrid starts sniffing you up and down, lapping up your sweaty skin and grinning when you swat him away. How did you end up here?

★maybe you came here for a summer job, maybe some relatives owned the farm, maybe you were always working here. Either way, it doesn't take long for the hybrids to notice you once you arrive.

★the bulls and cows watching curiously from the fields, the centaurs trying to peek from their stables, the merfolk living in the lake just down the property poke their little heads out. The dogs barking from their Little homes, and the cats watching from the windows. You couldn't help but gawk at the variety of hybrids, there were so many! Merfolk, avians, cattle, cats, dogs.

★your first week there was nice, the other farmhands were nice, and the owners were so sweet! Always speaking fondly of their pets, the old couple would watch them run in the field or play by the lake. You yourself found them a little annoying. Always sniffing, grabbing, nipping at your clothes. You've had to fight your overall bottoms free from one of the pooches one too many times. The cats were no better.

★your second week you meet the cattle and centaurs. And unlike the house cats and guard dogs, they're less handsy. Simply observing from afar. Occasionally sniffing you before nodding their heads and pulling away. Letting you do your job of combing, cleaning and fixing up them and their stables. The cattle would happily let you milk them, applying the breast pumps to the females and a cock pump to the males. You ignored how they looked at you strangely during milkings

★the third week you meet the avians. Odd little bunch, hopping around and puffing up their chests. They watched you enter their enclosure curiously, you were busy picking up their molten feathers because you thought they were pretty. So bright and colorful! Walking around bent over a little when you finally notice the peacock male standing right Infront of you. He gave you a pointed look before his tail feathers expanded. Looking prideful, tilting his chin up as if in an arrogant way. Swaying side to side and closer to you, while you just held the feathers in your hands, a little confused. He got closer until he let out an incredibly loud squawk. Turning around abruptly to glare at the cuckoo who bent down to poke his butt. The cuckoo gave you a grin before climbing back up the tree, using this time as distraction, you quickly escaped.

★on the fourth week, you meet the merfolk. Having been here a month, they were eager to meet you. Watching you walk on the dock with fish feed, eagerly Perking up and swimming closer. You shook out a good handful and chucked it out for the koi fish to eat. They swarmed the area until all the food was gone, simply staring up at you. One poked her head out, tilting it a bit and making a 'click' sound with her tongue. You mimicked her, doing the same. She seemed elated, making various whistles and clicks, splashing up and down the lake. The lake was manmade and filled with koi fish when it was finished, but then again there may be more fish not even the owners know about since it was so deep. How'd they get in there? You're not sure, but you just know it.

★on the fifth week your owners told you about how they had bought multiple sheep, and goats. One male for each group. Watching the loading truck approach the little barn they were finished building. So that's why it was there, they started construction when you arrived the first week. You helped the other farmhands get them situated, at first they were rowdy and a little aggressive but for some reason calmed down when you approached them. Your colleagues now called you the sheep whisperer. You quickly learned how to shave their wool and milk the goats properly. Sometimes braiding their long hair, you just wish the ram would stop headbutting the nearest male colleague for your attention.

★On your sixth week, you went for a walk in the forest when suddenly a little body of fluffy fur tackled you, growling with it's teeth barred. You looked up to see a Pomeranian hybrid, trying it's best to look intimidating. Their fluffy tail gave them away, it was wagging 100mph. They visibly deflated when you reached up a hand to pet them, letting you for A couple minutes before getting off. Walking back into the woods towards three wolves. Dissapearing with them. Not soon after you found a friendly garden naga. Just lounging on a rock and enjoying the sun. You asked to join and they let you, laying there for a good while until you had to go back to the farm. Noticing they had wrapped their tail around you, oh boy. It'll take a good while to get out. Welp, might as well make yourself comfortable and wait for the dogs to come find you

•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆

HYBRIDS AND THEIR NAMES:

Week one, cats and dogs;

Brutus, dog hybrid, 18, German Shepard, he/him

Dolly, dog hybrid, 26, doberman, she/her

bladviba, dog hybrid, 25, black Russian terrier, he/him

Molly, dog hybrid, 17, chow chow, she/her

Sweet pea, dog hybrid, 17, samoyed, they/them amab

bubba, dog hybrid, 37, borzoi, he/him

Princess, cat hybrid, 18, ragdoll, she/her

Prince, cat hybrid, 19, Norwegian forest cat, he/him

King, cat hybrid, 27, Khao manee, he/him

•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆

Second week, cattle and centaurs;

Miss bené, cow hybrid, 49, white park cattle, she/her

Miss blackberry, cow hybrid, 22, Aberdeen Angus, she/her

Miss Polly, cow hybrid, 26, Aberdeen Angus, she/her

Miss frufru, cow hybrid, 28, Aberdeen Angus, she/her

Miss Vivian, cow hybrid, 35, Aberdeen Angus, she/her

Big daddy, bull hybrid, 52, Aberdeen Angus, he/him

Johnny, bull hybrid, 18, Aberdeen Angus/white park cattle, he/him

Jacqueline, centaur, 19, shire horse, she/her

Timothy, centaur, 21, galineers cob, he/him

maya, centaur, 17, fjord horse, they/them

Casper, centaur, 23, ardennais, he/him

miguel, centaur, 18, Andalusian horse, he/him

harmony, centaur, 25, Breton horse, they/them

•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆

third week, avians;

Sydney, avian, 22, cockatoo, they/he

Evangeline, avian, 19, peacock, she/her

Gabriel, avian, 20, peacock, he/him

fajarah, avian, 24, indian ring necked parakeet, she/her

Foolish, avian, 26, owl finch, he/him

simon, avian, 28, tyto alba, he/him

•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆

Fourth week, merfok;

tancho, koi fish merfolk, 19, tancho koi, he/him

kiko, koi fish merfolk, 19, kikokuryu koi, she/her

hime, koi fish merfolk, 19, hirenaga koi, she/her

Tsu, koi fish merfolk, 19, doitsu koi, they/them

koromo, koi fish merfolk, 19, koromo koi, he/him

Mason, lake 'monster' (crocodile), 20, freshwater crocodile, he/him

•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆

Fifth week, goats and sheep;

Sally, goat, 25, angora goat, she/her

Opal, goat, 24, Tennessee fainting goat, she/her

Sasha, goat, 26, australian cashmere goat, she/her

kim, ram, 23, dutch landrace goat, he/him

Poka, sheep, 19, Valais black nose, they/them

Juniper, sheep, Valais black nose, she/her

violet, sheep, 18, harri, she/her

azucar, sheep, 17, Columbia sheep, she/her

Wehrner, ram, 21, American black belly, he/him

•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆

Sixth week, the forest creatures:

roxy, wolf hybrid, 19, grey wolf, she/her

Silas, wolf hybrid, 21, grey wolf, he/him

Milo, wolf hybrid, 20, albino Grey wolf, they/them

Kiki, dog hybrid, 18, Pomeranian, they/them

Coachella, naga, 27, garden snake, they/him

•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

I have a light one that’s kind of dumb.

🐶🐱

AITA for wanting a dog even though my sister/housemate does not?

To start, nobody is allergic to dogs or has a fear of them, she just doesn’t want it.

(if ages and gender are important, we’re both f in our early 20s)

I grew up on a farm with lots of animals. There were always cows, I had goats, there were chickens, ducks, barn cats and of course, 1-3 livestock guard dogs at a time.

When I was 16, I had a senior spaniel who had to be put down due to heart problems. Ever since I have been asking if I can have another dog but my parents have said no.

Around a year ago now I sold my goats and moved out of my parents house into an apartment. The apartment didn’t allow any pet bigger than my little gecko.

Then, about January, my older sister started messaging me with images of houses on a realtor site. So we looked at houses. I agreed to buy a house with her 1) so she could move out of our parents house and 2) because being by myself in the apartment with no real friends wasn’t really that good for my mental health.

To her credit, she did get a kitten from our farm and let me keep it, although I didn’t really want a house cat. The main reason I wanted a dog was for the amount of exercise it would need, and I would have to take it for long walks. Not to mention litter boxes aren’t my favourite thing to deal with. Still, I am glad I have a little animal to cuddle.

Additionally, most of the times when I bring up wanting a dog or getting a dog, it’s either in a jokey matter or it’ll be in contrast to something (for example there was a shady guy hanging around our street the other night and we don’t have an actual alarm for our house, so I went “yknow if we had a yappy little chihuahua it would be an alarm enough” or something like that) to which she will reply something short and growly along the lines of “you’re never getting a dog in my house”

Her reasons she gives for not wanting a dog? Number one, it’s “her” house. (It’s in both of our names, I paid half the down deposit and I pay half the mortgage and bills, and I pay for the Wifi. I’m not paying her rent, we both own it) Number 2, her friend is allergic to horses. (A friend that never comes over to our house anyway, and I understand fur allergies are complicated but it’s a dog. We aren’t anywhere NEAR horses! We live in town!) (this one is also BS because sister wants to buy a farm and have Clydesdale horses) Number 3, it sheds. We have a cat. The cat sheds more than the breeds of dogs that I really like or want. One of my favourites are the Xolo dog. Which has no hair. At all. Number 4, the cat is scared of dogs. (She isn’t. She’s never seen one in her life. I can get her used to having a dog around easily, even if she starts afraid. I’ve done it before when our parents have gotten new dogs around new cats.)

I’m not going to go behind her back and bring home a dog (even though there have been opportunities to get a free puppy multiple time) but I’m not going to stop wanting to have a dog or wanting to get one or talking about what dogs I like.

Our grandparents are moving to town and selling their farm next year, which sister wants to buy with me. I told her I’d like to move out of town into a farm, but only if she let me get either a dog or a donkey to protect our property against coyotes. (Especially considering we both want chickens if we get a farm)

She got really pissy at me about that, and stormed off. AITA here? I think she’s being a little unreasonable. I’m not a bad pet owner at all, I work with my animals as much as possible. I had my billy goat following me around the farm without a lead before I sold the goats, for pineapple’s sakes!

What are these acronyms?

[unleashed-fest]

UNLEASHED! FEST: REVEALS!!!

Reveals are here! *screams* Unleashed! brought us 20(!!!) incredible works and we want to send the biggest thank you to everyone involved: our fantastic creators, who put their entire hearts into their works, their betas and cheerreaders, who worked their magic as always, and all the wonderful readers, who left comments and kudos. You all made working on this fest an absolute joy! Now go have a look at who made what, so we can all scream about it together!

🐾

🐾 ART

Feathered and Fabulous (Draco/Harry, digital art, T) by @getawayfox Draco runs a successful Instagram account for his pet peacock. Harry takes every opportunity to flirt.

how the hell... (Draco/Harry, digital art, G) by @the-houseryn Harry has no idea how a white highland cow got inside 12 Grimmauld Place, nor why it seems to have a strange affinity for the fancy French chocolates one of his admirers keeps sending him...

Quiet as a mouse (Ron/Viktor, digital art, G) by @pato-roldnart Based on this prompt: Hogwarts Fourth Year: While Ron is grateful for Pigwidgeon, he sometimes finds himself wistfully remembering the times he spent with 'Scabbers' -- before the reveal in Third Year, anyway. One such night, he's startled and wary to find a rat scampering around, until Viktor appears, looking for his escaped pet. They eventually bond over pets, grief, comfort, Quidditch, and many other things as they start to develop feelings for each other.

🐾 PODFIC

Because Cats by ICMezzo (Draco/Harry, 1.5-2hours, T) by Cailynwrites Harry has a cat, and Draco doesn’t. Then Draco has a cat, and Harry doesn’t. Then Harry has a cat again, but Draco doesn’t. Then Draco has a cat, but Harry—OMG HOW WILL IT END.

🐾 FIC & ART

Trevor the Escape Artist (Neville/Pansy, 2.9, G) by DrPansyParkinson, Ecologycreature Trevor the Master of Escape feels his reputation being ruined because a certain someone keeps successfully locating him and bringing him back to his owner. Trevor is often found in bathrooms because he likes humidity.

With Love in Her Luminous Eyes (Draco/Harry, 30k, T) by @starquestingfordrarry The Demiguise lived in Grimmauld Place, and she lived all alone.

🐾 FIC

Birds Behaving Badly (Draco/Harry, 10.5k, E) by @peachpety For eight years, Draco has been content living a quiet life of anonymity in Brighton, dodging pesky seagulls and enjoying the ephemeral boys of summer. And if these summer blokes just happen to resemble Harry Potter, it’s a mere coincidence—despite what his friends say. But when a repeat one-night stand challenges him to face his desires, Draco thinks he’s finally over his years-long crush. A seagull named Kevin thinks otherwise.

Charlie (Draco/Harry, 1.7k, T) by @kittycargo Harry's trying not to be jealous that Charlie's moved in with Draco.

Harry Potter And The Dubious Rescue Of His Ferrety Boyfriend (Draco/Harry, 8.8, T) by Animamundi Draco Malfoy always ends up getting bullied by other animals while in his Animagus form. Harry must rescue him again. Or must he?

It's Me or the Peacock (Draco/Harry, 4.5, T) by harrows They’ve been together for two years when Draco finally moves into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Only, Harry didn’t know he’d be bringing a pet with him.

misty morning comes again (Draco/Ron, 4.5k, M) by @the-houseryn Every morning without snow on the ground or rain that turned the land into a slip and slide of mud and wet grass, Ron ran the property with his misfit herd of barnyard animals close behind him. The thrilling tease of watching Ron's solid, sweat-glistening body do its lap around the misty morning pond was just about the only thing that could get Draco willingly out of bed so soon after the summer sun rose. Barn chores and animal butts certainly weren't going to do it.

No capacity for feelings (Draco/Harry, 2.9k, T) by fast_brother Draco's Basilisk might or might not be depressed. Whatever the case, he would never ask Harry Potter for help.

Of Magical Beings Being - Magical (Draco/Harry, 30k, E) by @rockingrobin69Out of the blue, Potter's letter says: I need your help. And Draco, ever a fool, goes. Cue magical houses, fluffy Beings with a sweet tooth, mutual pining level: infinity, and truly outrageous amounts of tea.

Peacocks of the Bride(groom) (Draco/Harry, 7k, T) by apricitydays, TempestuousBlue The Big Day is here! Draco and Harry are finally getting hitched. Will the wedding be a smashing success or will peacock-induced chaos ensue? (It’s the latter, for sure)

Slithering up the garden path (Draco/Harry, 1.4k, G) by flightinflame Draco just wants to read in the garden. He's not sure why there are so many snakes around.

Sun Shower (Draco/Harry, 5.9k, T) by @moonmanatee Each afternoon, Harry and his cat lounge in their sitting room, make an elaborate snack, and then head out for a walk. When they run into a certain tall, pale-haired man and his scruffy dog, they find their routine shifting.

the strays (Draco/Harry, 13.8k, T) by @owl-of-fandom Draco befriends stray animals in his back garden, unknowing that one of them is actually an animagus.

Two cute foxes, one embarrassing rant (Harry/Fred/George, 1k, G) by HadrianPeverellBlack Fred and George needed a role of their own, even considering how they were Fred & George and not Fred and George. And, if no one had made the effort to recognize them, to distinguish them, they would have managed to be seen and noticed. At least that was his due to them. This didn't mean they wouldn't want to be appreciated for who they were.

Waiting for the Moon to Rise (Draco/Harry, 8.9, E) by @wolfpants When Harry and Draco move into Grimmauld Place straight out of Hogwarts, the last person they expect to find taking up residence is Bill ‘divorced, dishevelled, and dangerous’ Weasley. But what if their new, furry little problem is the help they need to finally bring them closer? Stranger things have happened, Draco supposes.

Wings and Slings (Draco/Harry, 24k, T) by @steampunkserpent27 After the war, Draco Malfoy decides to turn over a new leaf and in doing so, opens an animal sanctuary for sick and homeless magical creatures. Everything is going well, until he is given a feral herd of hippogriffs and has to ask for outside help to be able to get anywhere near them. Only, it's the very last person he would have asked for help from.

[eyeslikewatercoolers]

⛅️ Sunset HC. 💥 First Fight/Making Up HC. 🎭 Jealous HC

for the sheep Miri/dognetra/farm owner Sasha au 🐑. Because I enjoy the way you portray animal emotions

Black sheep au my beloved (aka the au of many names lol) Most of these are Anetra-centered since dog emotions are easiest to write for me lol

⛅️ Sunset HC

- Anetra tries to stay outside way past sundown. She’ll keep the sheep herded in their pen, making sure nobody’s escaped (it’s usually Mirage). Sasha has to call her multiple times since the farm hands go home by then.

- During the summers, Sasha and Kerri have family bonfires outside. At first Anetra was too scared to get close to the campfire (the woods had forest fires often when she was a stray), but the barn cats (the twins, Jax, and Luxx) go and sit by the fire with her to keep her calm.

💥 First fight/Making Up HC

- One day, Anetra hears Sasha and Kerri have an argument. She gets scared that the fight will get as bad as her old owners had and get rid of her again. She hides in different parts of the property, hoping they won’t find her. Mirage ends up finding her in the old empty chicken coop and baa’s until both Sasha and Kerri come by. Anetra is about to make a run for it, but realizes that her owners were truly worried about her going missing.

🎭 Jealous HC

- Anetra usually smells other dogs on the farm hands, from their own pets. She doesn’t care that much about that. But Kerri spends the night at a friend’s house and comes home smelling like another dog. Anetra would not leave her side until Kerri smells like her again and not a strange dog.

- Anetra makes friends with the neighbors dog (Amandawn would have a dog, maybe Nymphia?) and Mirage sees her hanging out with this dog. She gets very jealous of this and escapes more and keeps going to the neighbors property. Both Anetra and the other dog herd her back to the pen.

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Birthright: Final Part

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.1k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there is any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

The other half of the team is just arriving at Chrissy and Mary's house. Chrissy is Charlie's pregnant wife who lives at the house with them.

"What happened with Stephen?" Hotch asks.

"Rossi is with him right now. He didn't kill those girls. I'm better off here. I can feel the victims. They're here or they were tortured here. Their energies are everywhere."

JJ and Derek head to the house to talk to Chrissy while the rest of the team hangs back and waits for her approval. When Chrissy nods in agreement for your team to search, you head off in the direction where the energies feel the strongest.

The other officers notice this barn in the back of the property, and the closer you get to it, the stronger the feeling gets. Something is inside this barn, and you're not so sure you want to see it. However, you need to get it open, so the officers produce bolt cutters to snap the bolt lock on the front door.

The big double doors open, and you head inside cautiously. The stench inside is disgusting, and when you find the source of the smell, tears flow down your cheeks. There is a tree stump in the middle of the barn, and there is an axe lodged into the middle of the stump. That's not the thing that is making you cry.

The thing that is making you cry is the body parts littered on the ground, and based on everyone else's reaction, only you can see them.

"This is where he cut them up," you sniffle and look away from the stump.

You wipe your eyes as Spencer wraps his arms around you to comfort you. He kisses the top of your head, and you lean into his side.

"Are you okay?"

"No, but I can handle it," you sigh.

"Obviously this is where he's been torturing them, but where's he keeping them?" Emily asks.

"Somewhere isolated. He can't risk storing them close to his house."

"They're close," you say and pull away from Spencer. "I can feel them. I can feel Tara. She's alive, but she's close."

"Do you know this property?" Hotch asks John.

"No, I only had contact with Robert in town."

You look in the front yard and see Mary get out of her car and walk over to your team.

"Ms. Wilkinson?"

"Chrissy called me. What's going on?"

"We're looking for Charlie." She doesn't seem all that shocked about this, so you press on further. "Don't you want to know why? You knew Charlie was an angry kid and made excuses when he killed the neighbor's cat. You saw the path he was going down. It's why you moved away from this place. You knew what happened here."

"No, that's not true."

"You were afraid of the person he came from. You thought if you just took him away from his father's home, and you kept it all a big secret, then everything would be okay."

"I protected him," she tries to say, but you continue.

"The problem is, with a boy like Charlie who has so much anger and so many questions, needs to know where he came from. He wouldn't quit until he knew, and then one day, he figured it out."

"It was over, John," she says to the old sheriff. "You didn't have to worry about any other girls getting hurt. I did not want my son to have the legacy that his father was a murderer."

"Where's Charlie now?" John asks.

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't," she sighs.

Chrissy might be more help than Mary is being right now, and you can't be in this barn. You turn and head inside the house with Hotch where JJ is talking to Chrissy.

"Chrissy, where does Charlie go to be alone?"

"The barn."

"Where else?"

"I don't know," she stutters.

Spencer is rummaging through the house in search of something that could help you figure out where Charlie is when he comes out holding a notebook in his hands.

"This was locked in the closet. It looks like it was Robert's journal before Charlie got his hands on it."

"What does it say?" you ask.

"So, Charlie went looking for a father figure and this is who he found," Hotch sighs.

"He was killing animals. It's clear he already has murderous impulses, and finding this must have made him feel like it was okay, like it was almost his birthright."

"Is there anything in there about where he keeps them?"

"Nothing yet.

"Keep reading," Hotch orders.

You pat Spencer's back as you pass by him and head back outside to the barn. Maybe there is something inside here that can help you figure out where the girls are or where Charlie is. Derek and Emily are discussing the peace sign that Karen carved into the wall that would bring her peace whenever Robert would come for her. There is no peace sign here, so this is the only place where Robert and Charlie would cut the girls up before disposing of their bodies.

"Karen said he'd make her walk outside," Emily says.

"Do you think she can handle coming back to this place?" Derek asks you.

"For someone who has buried this for twenty-seven years, she is going to need all the support she can get. I know if I looked my rapist in the eyes, I wouldn't be able to handle it, and that happened over a decade ago. I'll be here to help her through it, though."

Emily was the one who called Karen over, and despite her not wanting to, she knows she is the only one who can help find these missing children. Stephen came with her for moral support, and as soon as she arrived, you could feel just how scared she is. She is terrified, so you approach her with a gentle and calming aura so it's not worse for her.

"Thank you for coming. We all know this can't be easy for you."

"She's been shaking the whole way here," stephen says.

"Karen, look at me." You wait until she does. "You survived. Robert cannot hurt you anymore. You are strong."

"You can do this, mom."

Karen takes a few steps to the bar and she recoils in disgust.

"Oh, God. That smell was a part of me. Who's that?"

You look behind you to see Mary Wilkinson standing three and eyeing Karen from a distance.

"That's Mary Wilkinson."

You're not sure if it's a good idea to say her last name, but she has to know who she is. At the mention of her name, Karen sees red. You could feel her fear turn into rage, and you step in between the two women, but she pushes you off to the side.

"The wife? He tortured me every single night. Could you hear my screams? Did you kiss him when he was finished with me?!" she screams at Mary.

"Please, Karen, don't do this to yourself," you beg, but she doesn't listen.

"What did she think he was doing in that barn every night? Did you ask? Did you ask why he wanted to be away from you? Why? Why didn't you stop him? Why didn't you help?"

Karen is a sobbing mess, and that causes Mary to snap.

"I killed him!"

"What?"

"Before Charlie was born. I came home, I saw this place, and I knew what he had done. I couldn't let my innocent baby be brought into this."

The statute of limitation is up for what Mary did, but if you're being honest, you don't care that she killed him, she must have done it for a good reason. Karen, after hearing this, she calmed down quite a bit. Mary and Karen take some time to regroup before everyone heads inside the barn.

Karen tries really hard to remember something about her captive days, but it's like something is inside her mind blocking out the traumatic experience. She is now allowing herself to remember, and this is where you come in.

"I... I don't know where he'd take me. He always had that bag over my head," she sighs.

"You do remember something. I'm going to help walk you through it. Close your eyes for me." You wait for her to do that before continuing. "What did the ground feel like? Take a few steps."

Karen takes a few steps and reaches out to her son, and Stephen grabs her hand to let her know she is safe and he is with her.

"Leaves and twigs," she finally says. "It was a long walk. There was a hill. I stumbled. There's something soft and cold, but it--it's covering something hard."

"Like wood?"

"Rocks," she corrects. "Taller than me."

"That's along the north side of the property," Mary speaks up.

Now you know where the girls are hidden.

"Karen, thank you for doing this. You helped so much." You step outside the barn and see Hotch exit the house with Spencer. "Hotch, we might have something."

"Alright, it's your time to shine," Derek says, patting you on the back. "Do you see anything?"

"So much energy is here that I can barely make out the color of your eyes."

"They're brown. Let's go."

You take the lead on this one and follow the strings of blue energies leading out of the bar. It's like they know you're connecting to them and following them. They guide your way around the property, taking you through the trees and to the north side of the property. All the energies kind of blend and swirl around each other in one main trail, but each individual kind of energy stems from the base like a spine.

That represents each girl trying to get away and escaping his grasp, but they all take the same trail to where they all ended up eventually. The trail of energy takes you to a clearing where there are rocks leading to a caged off area. If you weren't looking for it, you would have skipped over it easily.

Hotch and John take off the grated cage door and enter carefully, calling out to whoever might be in here.

"Hello?"

"Help us!" a girl says from deep inside the small cave. "We're in here, please! Oh, my god."

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Derek asks once he walks inside.

There are only two girls inside, one of them is Tara. There is another girl who is passed out, and the ambulance is called for both of them. When they arrive on scene, they assure your team that both girls are going to make it after some hospital care.

"Where the hell's Charlie?" you sigh. You see Mary standing off to the side with a guilty look on her face, and you walk over to her in determination. "Where would Charlie go?"

"I don't know," she sighs.

"What about your husband?" Hotch asks.

If Charlie had taken up Robert's hobbies, then he would have gone to places where Robert would have gone.

"Well, there's a place on the battlefield. It's over the ridge."

"Can you show us?"

It's Mary's turn to lead the way, and the closer you get to where Robert used to hang out, the more you felt Charlie's angry and hateful rage. You also felt someone else's, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it.

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed off the trees, and you picked up your pace. Standing in by a statue is Chrissy, there is a gun by her feet, and Charlie is lying dead on the ground in front of her. Derek rushes over to Charlie to check if he is alive, but he isn't.

"He's gone," Derek sighs.

"He came at me. I had to do it," Chrissy says with a monotone voice.

Mary looks at Chrissy, and the two of them have an understanding through their eyes. You know Chrissy is lying, but you're glad that someone like Charlie is off this Earth, no matter how bad that sounds.

JJ is off to the side with a stressful look on her face, and you take this opportunity to talk to her about what's been bugging her.

"What's been going on? You can talk to me, you know this."

"If you stop caring, you're jaded. If you care too much... it'll ruin you."

"Story of my life," you scoff, but you take this seriously. "It's better to care, JJ. We did everything we could. Sometimes we get it right but sometimes we don't. It's always better to care."

"You really believe that?"

"I do. If you stop caring, then they win, and I refuse to let someone like Charlie ever win."

This whole case has gotten everyone stressed out, and it doesn't help that Haley filed for divorce with Hotch. He's doing the best he can, but she doesn't get that sometimes, it's not about her. You're thankful you found someone like Spencer who is also in the same line of work as you, so he understands that work has to come first sometimes.

Mary and Chrissy had to live with horrible people who did horrible things. In the end, they killed them because it's better than having them rot in prison. You understand why they killed their husbands.

You don't know what you'd do if you found out someone you love had the capabilities to do something so horrible.

"A simple child that lightly draws its breath and feels its life in every limb. What should it know of death?" - Wordsworth

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[greer-morgan]

Task008. First Crush

"Greer Mae Morgan, don't you bring another stray cat into this house!"

Her mother's warnings never did stop her from trying, and from having her heart broken each time one of those little stray cats was cast back out into the night, into the rain. They never did stop her from searching for love among all the unloved things.

She could hold a katydid in her palm, dig a worm out from the earth and put it on a line, lose her shoes by mid morning and turn the soles of her feet black with mud by noon, and all of this impressed Beau Shepherd immensely. Beau worked at a farm down the road from the Morgan house. He didn't earn a single penny for his work, but the owners kept him fed enough not to take Tesserae and let him stay on the property for free. At only fourteen, he and his parents were long gone from each other, but that was a different story all its own-- tragic but all together uninteresting.

In the dog days of summer, when all of her lessons paused and her tightly packed schedule seemed to unwind, and there was nothing that could be comfortably done but stretch out under the shade of a large tree, Greer would watch him work. This went on for a very short time, until Greer marched down the road with a large glass of sweet tea and a very insistent attitude. It was then that two unloved things weren't quite so unloved.

June rolled into a long and humid July, which melted into August and was all a blur of swimming in cow ponds, catching fireflies at dusk, picking honeysuckle and savoring its sweetness, kissing in the barns that sheltered them from summer storms. But of course, September had to come as Septembers always do, and summer had to end as summers always did. And of course, unloved things should never bask in the light of love for too long, because unloved things are always meant to be unloved.

The neighbors complained to the Morgans about the girl who distracted their farm hand. He'd needed to be fired and replaced, and what an inconvenience that had been. It's not appropriate behavior, they'd scolded. Keep a more watchful eye on your daughter, she's trouble, they'd warned. And Mr. Morgan was so terribly embarrassed by the whole thing-- by his daughter and her muddy feet, and her pond soaked clothes, and her bug catching hands, and her kissing lips, and whatever reputation she was earning herself and all of them by association. He was embarrassed by her wildness. He was embarrassed about her love for flea bitten, unloved creatures.

He held her face tightly by the jaw, fingers coiled like deadly snakes at her chin. He asked her if this was all for attention, and did not let her answer. He told her that she wouldn't get the attention she was acting out for, and so, it was the first stretch of time Greer's parents went without speaking to her. They did not look at their unloved thing. They did not acknowledge her, until the summer heat was a memory. And when cold settled in over the house, and over the district, and in all of their bones, Greer sat at the breakfast table with her hair tied back neatly, and her dress was pleated, and she pushed an apology out into the crisp, late autumn air. Her father passed her the butter dish and asked how her archery was coming along.

[seraphinaisheavenschaos]

State Farm Insurance - A Story of Shade

We're the proud owners of a black Jeep Wrangler Sahara - 2 door. We bought property in the northeastern part of our state years ago, hoping to one day build our retirement dream home and leave behind the filthy surroundings of a large, hot, overran city filled with homeless and increasing crime numbers.

Enthralled with the views below us, we rushed to purchase this piece of paradise without giving it much thought how we were going to traverse the mountain, when clearly our real estate tour guide owned a large, cumbersome 4-wheel drive that I, as a woman of 5'6, needed my husband's hands to "boost" me into the passenger seat. While pushing on my bum, I face-planted into the lap of our real estate agent, surely leaving a lasting impression on him. "Hellllllllllllllooo! Nice to meet you!" Alas, I digress.

After purchasing the property, we realized our 2-wheel drive vehicles were not going to make the climb up the mountain without some serious roadwork. So, we did the logical thing. We dashed out and bought a 4-wheel drive Jeep we christened "Jezebel". What a Jeep she's been. For the last 7 years, she's taken us to places we only imagined. She plodded trails and created trails. We've traveled cross-country, she's endured our 3 dogs and 2 cats - yes, we have cats that like to travel. She's tackled our mountain road with little resistance time and time again. She's been a huge help in hauling a trailer filled with a myriad of items: anything and everything to make the 5th wheel we had professionally parked feel less like an RV and more like a "gypsy cottage". Over the last 4 years we've spent endless hours prepping our 2 acres of forested land for an off-grid home, fencing off the entire property with 2 sets of entrance gates, a complete solar system that will run a small town, a windmill for water, a septic system, a fully working pump house that harbors our entire solar and water infrastructure. In the planning process, we've taken great care not to disturb the natural landscape and the only vegetation that's been removed are moss covered rocks that prevented garden planning. I'll post pictures in the future. I will say being married to a "prepper" and learning the ways of a mind who has a definite opinion about the direction of our world, has its advantages.

Mid-April, we took a weekend and decided to explore a popular college town marketplace located in our state. While there, I took advantage of the cultural shopping offered, the great food and of course my favorite bookstore, Barnes and Noble. I found a book I liked, settled in with a latte and read. I must have read for 2 hours. I looked up at the time and realized the store would be closing soon. I was off to look for my husband who too, found a cozy nook and had picked a book featuring "off-grid living". I gathered my husband, my assorted books, made the purchase and headed to the parking lot where "Jezebel" waited patiently with her own story to tell but we wouldn't know that until the next morning. We made the long trip back to the historic mining town that we've lived in for the last 15 years, came through our gates, parked and traveled our pathway into our home. The next morning my husband decided he needed some hardware for another seemingly endless project, got dressed, grabbed the keys to "Jezebel". No sooner had he walked out the French doors, I heard him yelling my name. I hurried outside with a pickaxe in the event that something was on fire. Nope. Just him. He was pointing frantically at the hood of our Jeep. I got a little closer, squinted, leaned in and over the hood of the Jeep were what seemed to be thousands of scratch marks; all lengths, all digging deep into her brilliant, black paint. We both stood there, puzzled, annoyed, and then the anger came. What in the hell had happened? That same day I fired off pictures and facts to my STATE FARM AGENT, a jovial fellow who sold me our policy 3 years ago, after 12 years of being overcharged by "Esurance". He followed up with me the next business day with instructions on how to file a claim on the STATE FARM CLAIM HUB. Looking over the information, I knew that "Jezebel" had full coverage with a $500 deductible. Even though she had been completely paid off a few months prior, we decided to maintain the same coverage. Diligently, I made the claim. Shortly after, I received a phone call from a woman in the "claims department" who documented my tale of woe. She then gave me instructions to pick my repair shop and make arrangements to have the repairs completed. (Mind you, my husband nor I have EVER made a claim in all of our driving years - and let me tell you, that's a lot of years - for anything auto related!) A few days later, my husband and I drove "Jezebel" to the auto hospital and had her "estimated". Our auto body expert had made arrangements for "Enterprise Car Rentals" to pick us up, take us to their lot so we could rent a car for the time duration it was going to take to have "Jezebel" patched up - 5 to 7 days. Of course, I'm always trying to make our dollars go further, so silly me. I never bothered to add the "rental car insurance" to our policy. We were sticker shocked! For some reason, renting a car online is a great deal less expensive than it is standing on the actual lot trying to choose between "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and a "Shopping Cart with Bad Tires". Yep, we chose "Chitty" and plopped down $600 for 5 days with the option to renew at the end of those 5 days. This was on a Thursday. A few hours later, I received a text from both the body shop and STATE FARM stating that our claim had been approved and that the work would commence shortly. Friday came and went, and we heard nothing from the shop or STATE FARM. Monday arrived and about mid-morning I received a text from the body shop stating that the work had been delayed because they were still waiting for STATE FARM to contact them. What? I had the approval. I logged onto the STATE FARM claim hub and took a screenshot of the approval. I sent it to the body shop. That wasn't good enough. The body shop called me and told me they had to hear from STATE FARM directly. So, I fired off an email to my agent - you know. The JOVIAL guy. Time ticked away and Monday was coming to a close. FINALLY, I get a call from the STATE FARM claims department. 

[dillwonder]

‼️RANT about family and animal neglect‼️

This isn’t anything super serious and the animal mentioned is not hurt or harmed, just not loved by og owner

Hello, let me tell y’all about the cat my brother doesn’t even pay attention to and should actually be my cat (for more than just me caring for her). SO, a couple years ago my cat died and I was devastated. That cat had health issues that i couldn’t care for on my own I had no job or vehicle, by the time i got a job he had already passed and he had these health issues for YEARS that I NEEDED AN ADULT TO HELP ME WITH BC I WAS UNDERAGE HAD NO JOB OR CAR TO DRIVE MYSELF. For the months after my cat died, I BEGGED my mother to help me get a cat or gift me a cat for Christmas or my birthday. It was a month before my birthday and my mom announced she was getting a cat for my brother. Naturally, I was PISSED and my mom and brother looked guilty and even said “we knew you would react like that and not support your brother after his cat died too” BRO…. W HA T???!!! I was like “😀 huh?? Ofc I’m mad, I have been asking for a cat for months” and ofc my mom and brother are like “you can get urself a cat?? No one is stopping u??” Holy shit that’s not the point you inconsiderate twats. This cat?? That my brother got??? He kept it in his room for MONTHS while she was a kitten so she didn’t get to roam the house and become accustomed to our other animals. Finally when he let her out she didn’t really appreciate the other animals and he would forget to feed, water and change her litter pan (thankfully we had a bigger food and water reservoir for the rest of the cats we own that was EASY ACCESS to all of them) however. She did not like our dogs, she was stressed out by them and not having a clean pan so she would piss on things and jump up on the counters and shelves to get away from the dogs that would CHASE HER (trying to play but it would stress her out) my brother, mother and father would be like “UGH SHE IS SO ANNOYING JESUS CHRIST I HATE HER” and I would tell them the pan is filthy, she can’t get in her room and the dogs stress her out. They ‘solved it’ by putting her outside forcibly when she was mostly an indoor cat. She still had access to food as we have a covered patio she had access to for shelter and food, but the bathroom and water had to be figured out by her, she was forcibly a barn cat now, essentially. Time skip to now, she is still not allowed inside the house. Me and my partner live adjacent to the house, still on property but in a separate dwelling and we let her in to eat, sleep, play, drink ect.

She has never peed, pooped, ruined things ect. In my house.

Me and my partner care for her, love her, make sure she has shelter, she does still get overwhelmed by our dog and jump up onto high places to get away or eat food on the counter occasionally. But she hasn’t broken anything, peed on anything ect and we know what it means when she does that and we let her go outside when that happens. (She asks to leave) she LOVES my animals and loves us. We are moving soon, there is no sign of my mother, brother or father letting her into their house anytime soon so we asked “would you like us to take her with us? We know you guys have had issues with her and we just want her to be taken care of” guess what my brother, WHO DOES NOT CARE FOR HER AT ALL ANYMORE, said?? “No. Thanks for the offer though :)”

Obviously, I realize I shouldn’t have asked and I should just take her. HOWEVER, I don’t know what he would do if he found out I had her and I honestly don’t want to spend days and days fighting w/ my brother over the phone or have him show up and try to take her back. I also don’t know if the rest of my family would join in and be like “give her the cat back!!!” And so I’m being yelled at by all fucking sides. I wouldn’t give her up easily, tbh I would t give her up unless they tore her from my cold dead hands.

[college-girl199328]

Tanya Mould has had stray cats on her property, but nothing prepared her for an abandoned goat moving in, in what might be called a case of bleat and enter. On Wednesday, the Prince George, B.C., woman arrived home with her family from a vacation to Mexico and noticed their detached workshop was a mess.

Since they live rurally, the family thought maybe a moose or deer had gotten in and destroyed some things.

But when they noticed some sort of animal chewing on the plastic covering one of the shop windows, Mould cautiously opened the door culprit revealed itself to be an unknown goat who had moved in while they were away — and controls showed no signs of wanting to leave. "It just walked out like it owned the place it hasn't left since," Mould said.

The shop door swings open onto the inside, so it's easy for an animal to let itself in without being able to get out again. But that doesn't seem to bother the goat, which keeps returning to the shop "like he's taken it over," Mould said. At first, she thought friends were playing a prank on her, but no one took responsibility.

She's posted the animal's picture on online pet networks despite far, no one has claimed it as their own.

Although Mould's parents briefly had a goat when she was very young, "I am not a farmer in any way," she says. "I'm pretty sure it knows it, too… I'm terrified of goats, actually."

But the goat isn't terrified of the family it has apparently adopted as its own. It attempted to follow them into the house several times and even triggered climbing through an open window using a snow bank.

Though they aren't sure if it's male or female, the family controls are nicknamed Gordo for ease of reference.

Goat farmer Katrina Hall, who lives in the nearby community of Vanderhoof, says that found on the behavior described, Gordo was likely raised to have a close relationship with humans.

"They're very herd oriented," she said. Her guess is the goat was recently sold to a new owner and decided it didn't like things there, so going home before settling in with the Mould family.

"It was probably used to being in the house or someone's shop or barn," she said. "At that point, they're very human-oriented."

Hall said it examines like a mixed breed. Mould just describes Gordo as "huge."

Goats are also opportunistic eaters, meaning they can survive on just about anything that could be edible, which explains how it was able to survive on their own. Mould borrowed hay from a neighbor to feed Gordo — letting the goat out of the shop, which it continuously returned to after doing rounds of the property. Mould says she has not yet dared to assess the damage inside.

She is still hoping an owner comes forward. While her 10-year-old son is keen on keeping the pet, Mould says she won't be swayed: "Absolutely not," she said.

Instead, late Gordo was moved to a farm by an experienced owner while they searched his home. Already, she says, the house and yard are quieter.

"I miss his shenanigans already. Not enough to want a goat, though."

[biglisbonnews]

The Earthshaking History of San Francisco's Quake Shacks In 1982, San Francisco resident Jane Cryan was looking for a home for herself and her grand piano when she stumbled upon a tiny cottage along 24th Avenue, in the city’s Outer Sunset neighborhood. “There was a refrigerator in the front yard,” says Cryan, “and a feral cat living there with umpteen kittens.” The paint on the cottage’s barn red with white trim exterior was peeling. “It was a disaster,” she says, “and everything I had ever wanted.” Cryan signed the lease that same day. It wasn’t until a month later that Cryan found out she was living in three cobbled-together refugee shacks, the same ones originally built to house displaced San Franciscans after the city’s devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. When the 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit San Francisco in the early morning hours of April 18 that year, it wreaked havoc on the city—destroying 500 city blocks and leaving 250,000 people homeless. Tent camps were a temporary solution, but the city needed to figure out something more substantial before winter arrived. So the San Francisco Relief Corporation, the San Francisco Parks Commission, and the US Army joined forces to build “earthquake shacks,” 5,610 single-story structures spread among 20-plus refugee camps across the city. More than a century later, a couple dozen of these historic cottages still remain. “The earthquake shacks were among the first concerted efforts at disaster relief that had happened in our country,” says David Gallagher, co-founder of the Western Neighborhoods Project, a non-profit that shares the history and raises awareness of San Francisco’s westernmost neighborhoods. Located in open spaces like Washington Square in North Beach and present-day Mission Dolores Park, each “tiny home” ranged in size from 10-by-14 feet to 14-by-18 feet and was painted army green to blend with its surroundings. Redwood walls, fir flooring, and a gas stove for warmth were all common features. However, communal camp kitchens and bathrooms were also par for the course among camp residents. “The shacks weren’t quite livable in a modern sense,” says Gallagher, so residents took to making their own improvements. Some plastered their inside walls with burlap sacks or newspapers (Recently, Gallagher saw an earthquake cabin in the city’s Bernal Heights neighborhood still covered in newspaper traces from 1906) to help keep prevent drafts. Others layered their roofs with shingles for insulation. As an incentive for their occupants to remain in the city (approximately 75,000 citizens simply up and left following the quake), the shacks were rent-to-own. Inhabitants paid $2 each month per shack toward a grand total of $50. This allowed many San Franciscans to become first-time homeowners, with one caveat: once they’d finished payments, it was the new owner’s responsibility to move their shack or “cottage” to a permanent location. Some of these new homeowners grouped together on a property to save costs, oftentimes even joining together multiple shacks—like the ones Cryan lived in—to create larger houses. Cryan first brought these shacks back into San Francisco’s collective consciousness after more than 75 years. The aspiring jazz pianist become an advocate for their recognition and preservation, founding the now-disbanded “Society for the Preservation & Appreciation of San Francisco's 1906 Earthquake Refugee Shacks” in 1983 and even restoring her own rental cottage, securing $500 from its owner to renovate the exterior, and receiving assistance from volunteers interested in preserving the home’s legacy. “Unfortunately, we did such a good job of renovating the property,” says Cryan, “that the owner put it up for sale later that same year.” She was forced to move, but not before having the structure declared a San Francisco landmark. “I’ve always considered my old cottage, San Francisco Landmark #171, to be the people’s landmark,” says Cryan, “because it was the working people of San Francisco who first lived in them and in the camps.” In 2002, Gallagher and his Western Neighborhoods Project co-founder Woody LaBounty found themselves trying to preserve another four former earthquake shakes—pieced together two-at-a-time on two neighboring lots—these ones in the city’s fog-shrouded Outer Sunset. “I heard about them and thought, this is something that we can do that is tangible and might put us on the map as a history organization,” says Gallagher. LaBounty himself had significant ties to the refugee camps. His great-grandparents met while both living at one. Still, he didn’t know much about the history of the shacks until their non-profit started figuring out how to preserve them. It wasn’t easy. “For us, trying to save the buildings was a roller coaster of emotions,” says LaBounty. “One day you receive an encouraging lead, and the next it’s been shot down because there’s a wall that is going to fall or someone has broken in.” Eventually, LaBounty, Gallagher, and their team secured new sites for three of the shacks (“The fourth one had just lost too much of its original material,” says LaBounty). One lives on at the San Francisco Zoo—but not before it spent a month downtown as part of the city’s April 2006 earthquake centennial exhibit—and the other two are across the bay at Oakland’s Fifth Avenue Institute, an artist non-profit close to the city’s historic Jack London Square. Despite being intended as short-term starter homes at best, at least a couple dozen of San Francisco’s earthquake shacks still exist. There’s a white-clad shack on Clement Street in the city’s Outer Richmond neighborhood, set back behind a large grassy yard and a picket fence; and Cryan’s former cottage—now painted in key-lime green with white trim. There are even a couple of them behind the Old Post Hospital on Mesa Street in San Francisco’s Presidio. (Although there’s talk of relocating them.) Known as the “Goldie Shacks,” they most resemble the cottages as they looked in 1906, complete with the drab green paint job. One is even furnished to show how it might have looked inside. The bulk of the remaining shacks are located in Bernal Heights, a small community of steep hills and narrow streets in the city’s southeast. “Bernal Heights had a lot of small lots that could fit an earthquake cottage and not much else,” says LeBounty, “as well as a relatively blue-collar population that wasn’t going to tear it down and build a big new house…at least that’s how it was through a lot of the 20th century.” Stand on the top of Bernal Hill and you’ll have a view of one (really, a couple of them patched together with an addition or two) along Carver Street, a reminder of the city’s persevering past juxtaposed against its present-day skyline. While they’re not always so easy to identify—some owners have added on extra rooms, built interior walls, or even incorporated earthquake shacks into larger structures—traces of that unmistakable green paint still often remain for those who are looking. According to LaBounty, one or two new ones seemingly “pop up” every year. Although the city doesn’t offer any official protection for the remaining shacks, there are members of San Francisco’s city planning department and local neighborhood groups that are still fighting to save these historic remnants of rebirth. “They’re such a physical way to connect with this historic event that completely transformed our city,” says LaBounty. “I mean, they’ve all been moved once, right? So it’s kind of OK to move them again.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/san-francisco-earthquake-shacks

[housewifebuck]

Ok more under the cut

Cherry (LH) and Peanut (DSH) but I call them Chirby and Penis. Don’t ask:) once again these guys (and their brother who was adopted) came to me at about 9 weeks old totally feral and while the brother socialized easily, these two were harder. Peanut took months to even let me touch her. I decided they had to be adopted together, and they were adopted and returned within a week two times because they had become so bonded to me they wouldn’t warm up to anyone else and the adopters didn’t want to be patient 🫥 instead of putting them thru that over and over I just decided to keep them. Peanut is still so skittish and hides most of the time but she’s very sweet and cherry is a certified kleptomaniac she will steal anything small and plastic right out of my fucking hands and run and hide it and every time I move furniture I will find hoards of my missing shit

Michael ! Michael is probably one of the weirdest cats ive ever had. she came from a horrendous hoarding situation where she had spent 5-6 years living in a small cement room with 17-18 other cats being fed raw eggs and table scraps. she had had very little human interaction and when I got her she was extremely fractious like I would walk into my foster room and she would come at me and attack me. I had to wear bite guard gloves around her for a very long time and she fucked my shit up on many occasions. the rescue I was fostering her through wanted to adopt her out as a barn cat but I knew she would not do well in that life plus she has a million chronic health issues so I decided to foster fail her. she has gotten to the point where she is handleable (only by me) and she loves to be pet and is very sweet but she also is insane and afraid of hands so if she sees them coming she will attack. but I love her anyway

Jack....my little deluxe cheeseburger...he was part of the first colony I ever TNR'd on my own in march of 2020. I trapped him and his sister together and named them Jack n Hoff. he was a true feral cat (born outside, lived outside his whole life) and was not a candidate for socialization at the time that I trapped him but over the next few months he started getting more comfortable with the caretaker and was coming close enough to the house that it was antagonizing her dogs, so she called me one day and threatened to call animal control to pick him up if I didn't come get him. so I had no choice but to relocate him to my property which is very risky for ferals but the alternative was euthanasia thru animal control. he lived on my property for 3 years and over that time went from being terrified of me to slowly becoming obsessed with me and it was a long long process but this past march I finally transitioned him to being an indoor boy and he hasn't looked back once:)

Colter!! aka cooter. aka the coot. he was my first special needs cat (he has radial hypoplasia + partial congenital blindness) and one of the first cats I rescued after starting my own org. I fell in love with him and could not give him up. he's mommy's special little freak. he likes to stand on his back legs like a person.

Gracie <3 Gracie was an owner surrender all the way from western PA that took multiple volunteers multiple trips to transport all the way to me in NY. She has moderate cerebellar hypoplasia aka wobbly cat syndrome aka shes just a little silly goofy. she is my stinky little angel she is my entire world I cannot express how much I love this cat. she's lost a lot of her incisors from crashing head first into things so her tongue be hanging out sometimes. she also has exotropia which means I have to hold two mirrors on either side of her head when she needs to check her makeup

Vance (@mandzuking17 no relation) and Persi. Vance was found as a kitten left in a bag on the R train in Brooklyn. she was very sick and had been struck on the side of the head by someone hard enough to leave her with permanent internal damage to her right eye, nostril, and jaw (which is why she looks so crusty all the time). it was touch and go for a minute with her but now she is all grown up and healthy other than being half blind and having some coordination issues. she is best friends with Persephone (Persi) (the dilute tortie) who was found in a glue trap after having been stuck for multiple days. my dad wound up adopting them both together lmao

willow (white), cedar, and mahogany (brown)

I trapped these guys as kittens as part of a TNR effort. they had been separated from their mom and were starving and sickly. there was originally a fourth littermate named butternut, who unfortunately passed away from FIP which was diagnosed too late to treat. because the gene that causes FIP is hereditary I kept a very close eye on the others after and they all seemed fine until around 5 months later when willow got sick. after over 100 days of daily painful injections of an experimental treatment followed by a long observation period he was pronounced cured:) cedar and mahogany luckily have stayed very healthy. all of them are fucking clowns and are obsessed with each other. I actually did a TikTok on these guys a long time ago that wound up going viral and if youve seen it no you haven't. please don't dox me on here.

remy :) so named because when he was a baby he reminded me of a little rat. he was so small and scraggly and squeaky. he has severe femoral hypoplasia and mild radial hypoplasia which means his back legs are basically zigzags and his front wrists are limp as fuck. (these are both congenital defects which dont cause any pain they just make him funny looking. he gets around just fine)

and finally......Flipflop.....he has severe CH which means he cant really walk and just kinda goes flip and flop. he's even more insane than he looks he's a deranged little criminal. someone was giving him away for free on Facebook and I had no choice but to snatch him up. technically he is still a foster atm but he is most likely going to be a lifer because he needs pretty specialized care. plus him and remy now are inseparable 🙄

THERE U GO!!!!!!! I think thats everybody LMAO

Cam I am begging on my hands and knees BLEASE give your wobbly babies (or baby if you only have the one) some boopy kisses for me I am in love 😭 what are their names?? Yes I want to know all 19 of them 🙏

I WILL!!!!!!!! I have two wobblies Gracie and Flipflop:) and omg……..if u really want to know all of them…..I will put them under the cut

So first my OGs, aka the four cats I had before I started rescuing and collecting unadoptables willy nilly:

Mr. C - He’s cranky and old and toothless

Jezebel - she is a little baby who will put up with absolutely anything as long as she’s getting attention. She is also mostly toothless but makes up for it with 28 toes. She loves to get stuck in my cabinets and bang on the door until I come let her out

Justin (L) and Smickle. They’re brothers we adopted together and they also are the worst. They hate everybody and beat up my other cats and pee on my countertops but it’s ok bc I love them. But I don’t have a ton of pictures of them bc the love is not mutual

Annie:-) my beloved girl. She was my first ever foster kitten who was given to me because the woman who had the rest of her litter was getting nowhere with socializing her and she was terrified of everything. she kinda imprinted on me like a baby duck and I had no choice but to foster fail her

Dione! Dione was Annie’s foster fail. She was another super scared feral kitten who was terrified of me until I started letting Annie come into the foster room with me and they became BFFs. She likes to lie on her back in the middle of the floor for no reason

Now please hold for part two bc I can only fit 10 pics in a post at a time

[curly-cottage-girl]

Do you have a cat?

No, but one of my neighbors/friends does. She is the daughter of the original cat from last year (who is somewhere else now), and sadly she will also be moving soon since her owner has moved out. She is very sweet and I will miss her :( but she has three kittens, at least one or two of whom will be staying around the property as barn cats (especially since we’ve had recent rat problems), so yay! Idk how much I will interact with this third generation since the kittens are still pretty shy, but that’s what treats are for >:)

[horsesarecreatures]

Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country by Pam Houston

This book was really poignant and eye-opening. The author unfortunately had a horrific childhood, though she prefers to refer to it as a dark comedy rather than a tragedy. Her mother was an alcoholic actress who was anorexic and tried to make her daughter go without eating until dinner time. The father was also an alcoholic who broke her femur, sexually abused her, and tried to kill her on several drunken occasions. Between the two parents driving drunk all the time, she was in 16 totaled car crashes before she even got her learner’s permit, but someone must have been watching over her because she never had to be hospitalized because of any of them. For reasons only she knows, she kept in touch with both of her parents until their deaths, though they were never close. She didn’t really dwell that much on her childhood, but nonetheless she talks about it enough for it to be quite triggering, so just be warned.

The author escaped to college out west and majored in creative writing. The professors were pretty hopeless, banning the students from writing about supposedly cliché topics like natural scenery and female body fluids. Before she graduated, she had already published a book with no help from them called Cowboys Are My Weakness that managed to incorporate all their banned writing topics, so when a jealous faculty member refused to sign paperwork that would help her get financial aid to finish her degree, she just walked out and never went back lol.

Then she traveled around the country because she loved the wilderness, becoming a raft guide in Colorado and a dall sheep hunting guide in Alaska. She started looking for a place to settle down, eventually arriving in Creede, Colorado. She had only $21,000, so when the real estate agent insisted that she see a beautiful $400,000 ranch, she kind of distanced herself from it, thinking she could never have it. But the author was able to buy this beautiful, historic 120 acre ranch high up in the mountains of Colorado because the previous owner took a chance on her and sold it to her for only a 5% down payment and a signed copy of her book. The author never missed a payment. 

I learned a lot about ranching in the mountains of Colorado from her. For one thing, I had no idea temperatures regularly dipped to -35 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter there, and sometimes even dropped to -45. That’s even colder than Homer, Alaska. The growing season at her ranch was also only 6 weeks. She had Irish wolfhounds, chickens, sheep, a cat, 2 donkeys, and two elderly horses, so reading about how she cared for them all in the winter made me realize that I need to stop being such a sissy about not wanting to go to the barn when the temperature is in the teens. I layer, but I’m clearly not layering with the right materials. I needs to invest in a couple real wool or fleece sweaters and thermal pants. 

I never considered certain complications that come with maintaining a ranch at such a high elevation. The author decided to paint her propane tank to look like a watermelon, and was really lucky that the solar heat at 9,000 feet didn't make it explode in the summer. Additionally, all the logs of her cabin, the wood fencing, and anything else with paint, plastic, or enamel had to annually be treated with UV protector in the fall or else they would just disintegrate in no time. That ranch was a bit more work than the average large property, and was constantly being threatened by wildfires, people wanting to put up power lines, and slick people coming up with schemes to buy her out. But none of them took the ranch from her in the end, and when she dies it’s being preserved and donated to the public.

The book is mostly chapters in chronological order, with some short essays in between. The ranch is obviously the focus, but the author also discusses some trips she made with biologists to remote parts of the world, and her writing is so much like that of a naturalist that this book could also probably fall into the “nature writings” category. 

[unleashed-fest]

UNLEASHED! FEST: ANONYMOUS MASTERLIST

Fellow animal lovers, we're brining you the anonymous masterlist of all the furry/scaly/feathery creations our fest has to offer!

And what a list! We have a whole pride of peacocks 🦚, a basilisk, a couple of dogs 🐕, a school of fish 🐠, a hedgehog 🦔, a whole pile of cats and kittens 🐈, a few nifflers and a crow, cute foxes 🦊 and a toad 🐸, a whole den of snakes 🐍, two ferrets and a lovely demiguise, a mouse 🐭 and a werewolf 🐺, a whole heap of farm animals, a rogue seagull, highland cattle 🐮 and a herd of hippogriffs. Phew! 😅

Keep the kudos and comments coming for our fantastic creators, they very much deserve them. We will reveal their identity on Friday Oct 20th. Watch this space!

🐾

🐾 ART

Feathered and Fabulous (Draco/Harry, digital art, T) Draco runs a successful Instagram account for his pet peacock. Harry takes every opportunity to flirt.

how the hell... (Draco/Harry, digital art, G) Harry has no idea how a white highland cow got inside 12 Grimmauld Place, nor why it seems to have a strange affinity for the fancy French chocolates one of his admirers keeps sending him...

Quiet as a mouse (Ron/Viktor, digital art, G) Based on this prompt: Hogwarts Fourth Year: While Ron is grateful for Pigwidgeon, he sometimes finds himself wistfully remembering the times he spent with 'Scabbers' -- before the reveal in Third Year, anyway. One such night, he's startled and wary to find a rat scampering around, until Viktor appears, looking for his escaped pet. They eventually bond over pets, grief, comfort, Quidditch, and many other things as they start to develop feelings for each other.

🐾 PODFIC

Because Cats by ICMezzo (Draco/Harry, 1.5-2hours, T) Harry has a cat, and Draco doesn’t. Then Draco has a cat, and Harry doesn’t. Then Harry has a cat again, but Draco doesn’t. Then Draco has a cat, but Harry—OMG HOW WILL IT END.

🐾 FIC & ART

Trevor the Escape Artist (Neville/Pansy, 2.9, G) Trevor the Master of Escape feels his reputation being ruined because a certain someone keeps successfully locating him and bringing him back to his owner. Trevor is often found in bathrooms because he likes humidity.

With Love in Her Luminous Eyes (Draco/Harry, 30k, T) The Demiguise lived in Grimmauld Place, and she lived all alone.

🐾 FIC

Birds Behaving Badly (Draco/Harry, 10.5k, E) For eight years, Draco has been content living a quiet life of anonymity in Brighton, dodging pesky seagulls and enjoying the ephemeral boys of summer. And if these summer blokes just happen to resemble Harry Potter, it’s a mere coincidence—despite what his friends say. But when a repeat one-night stand challenges him to face his desires, Draco thinks he’s finally over his years-long crush. A seagull named Kevin thinks otherwise.

Charlie (Draco/Harry, 1.7k, T) Harry's trying not to be jealous that Charlie's moved in with Draco.

Harry Potter And The Dubious Rescue Of His Ferrety Boyfriend (Draco/Harry, 8.8, T) Draco Malfoy always ends up getting bullied by other animals while in his Animagus form. Harry must rescue him again. Or must he?

It's Me or the Peacock (Draco/Harry, 4.5, T) They’ve been together for two years when Draco finally moves into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Only, Harry didn’t know he’d be bringing a pet with him.

misty morning comes again (Draco/Ron, 4.5k, M) Every morning without snow on the ground or rain that turned the land into a slip and slide of mud and wet grass, Ron ran the property with his misfit herd of barnyard animals close behind him. The thrilling tease of watching Ron's solid, sweat-glistening body do its lap around the misty morning pond was just about the only thing that could get Draco willingly out of bed so soon after the summer sun rose. Barn chores and animal butts certainly weren't going to do it.

No capacity for feelings (Draco/Harry, 2.9k, T) Draco's Basilisk might or might not be depressed. Whatever the case, he would never ask Harry Potter for help.

Of Magical Beings Being - Magical (Draco/Harry, 30k, E)Out of the blue, Potter's letter says: I need your help. And Draco, ever a fool, goes. Cue magical houses, fluffy Beings with a sweet tooth, mutual pining level: infinity, and truly outrageous amounts of tea.

Peacocks of the Bride(groom) (Draco/Harry, 7k, T) The Big Day is here! Draco and Harry are finally getting hitched. Will the wedding be a smashing success or will peacock-induced chaos ensue? (It’s the latter, for sure)

Slithering up the garden path (Draco/Harry, 1.4k, G) Draco just wants to read in the garden. He's not sure why there are so many snakes around.

Sun Shower (Draco/Harry, 5.9k, T) Each afternoon, Harry and his cat lounge in their sitting room, make an elaborate snack, and then head out for a walk. When they run into a certain tall, pale-haired man and his scruffy dog, they find their routine shifting.

the strays (Draco/Harry, 13.8k, T) Draco befriends stray animals in his back garden, unknowing that one of them is actually an animagus.

Two cute foxes, one embarrassing rant (Harry/Fred/George, 1k, G) Fred and George needed a role of their own, even considering how they were Fred & George and not Fred and George. And, if no one had made the effort to recognize them, to distinguish them, they would have managed to be seen and noticed. At least that was his due to them. This didn't mean they wouldn't want to be appreciated for who they were.

Waiting for the Moon to Rise (Draco/Harry, 8.9, E) When Harry and Draco move into Grimmauld Place straight out of Hogwarts, the last person they expect to find taking up residence is Bill ‘divorced, dishevelled, and dangerous’ Weasley. But what if their new, furry little problem is the help they need to finally bring them closer? Stranger things have happened, Draco supposes.

Wings and Slings (Draco/Harry, 24k, T) After the war, Draco Malfoy decides to turn over a new leaf and in doing so, opens an animal sanctuary for sick and homeless magical creatures. Everything is going well, until he is given a feral herd of hippogriffs and has to ask for outside help to be able to get anywhere near them. Only, it's the very last person he would have asked for help from.

[eyeslikewatercoolers]

Catnip Culprit- black sheep au drabble

Here we go again with another drabble with some cute farm animals. This time with some fun barn kitties. Thank you to @lemyankajuiced for giving me this idea and brainstorming with me who would be the cats in this au.

“Do you think this plant is getting smaller?” Sasha asked out loud as she tilted the metal watering can into the planter. 

“The catnip? Marcia never touches that stuff.” Kerri said from where she swept the patio rug. She bent slightly to pet the long-haired white cat that sunbathed on the swing bench.

“And the barn cats never come out to the house,” Sasha said as she glanced toward the large red barn. “Unless there’s a stray coming by around here.” 

“Maybe Netra brought over a friend.” The younger woman said while she swept the dust and spare leaves into the dustpan. 

Sasha poured the rest of the water into the metal water bowl, “As long as her friend is fixed,” she shrugged, her lips turning into a small smirk. 

“You spoil that dog so much.” Kerri pointed out as she watched Anetra trot around the goats away from the property line. “You let her get away with whatever she wants.” 

Sasha rolled her eyes, “Oh, hush. I do not let her get away with everything.” Anetra was one of the most well-behaved dogs Sasha had ever known. She never begged for table scraps, rarely barked at outsiders, and could sit and shake on command. 

“What about last week when she stole a piece of raw chicken off the counter, and you pretended not to notice?” Kerri said in a deadpan tone. 

Sasha’s eyes widened as she looked at her daughter, “That was only one time she did that, thank you very much.”

A few days later, Sasha was brushing one of the horse’s manes as the door to the stables opened and Kerri walked inside. 

“I think I found your catnip stealer,” Kerri said as she gave some apple slices to the horse Sasha brushed. 

“Oh really? Who is it then?” Sasha asked as she started braiding the mane to finish it off. 

Kerri pulled up a recent picture on her phone and showed it to Sasha, “It’s your dog.” The picture showed Anetra’s head in the plant, wagging her tail. 

Sasha looked at Kerri in slight confusion “Where is she now?” she asked as she tied off the braid. 

“Meet me at the barn once you put Robin back in her stall,” Kerri said before leaving the stables.

Several minutes later, Sasha found Kerri sitting on a straw bale with Anetra sitting on the ground nearby. They were both looking in the opposite direction, facing a corner of the barn. 

“What is it you wanted to show me?” Sasha asked to announce her presence. Kerri quietly waved her over as Antera stood to happily greet her human owner.

Sasha walked over and sat next to Kerri as Anetra lay at their feet. As soon as Sasha sat down, she felt small paws run across her lap in a fast moment.

The quartet of barn cats took turns rolling in the sprigs of catnip in the middle of the floor. The ginger and tuxedo twins, named Sugar and Spice, were play-wrestling all over the floor, occasionally knocking each other into the support beams. 

Meanwhile, the calico cat, Jax, was darting from each end of the barn, jumping and running on the extra hay bales. The black cat, Luxx, was lying on her back in the middle of the floor, pupils filling out her eyes. 

“The dog figured out how to get the cats high?” Sasha asked in her shock. “How?”

Kerri shook her head in laughter, “I have no idea, but this is hilarious.”  she said as Spice shook off the straw off her before chasing Sugar. 

“As funny as this is, I need to find a better spot for the catnip plant,” Sasha said as the cats started to wind down. 

“And maybe stop letting the dog get away with everything?”

“Next time she does something bad, I promise.”