#squirrels are the only ones who know how to farm

[ceiling-karasu]

Someday I'll have to tell you all about the Squirrel and Hedgehog human Isekai dreams I had back when I had to take 50 mg Benadryl every now and then.

[bitterkarella]

Identifying furries by their fursonas

Fox- this is the default fursona for the default furry, namely a twink with a blown out fucked to death asshole

Vixen- Girl fox referred to as a vixen is an egg, girl fox just referred to as a fox is an out trans woman

Kistune - the same as above but weeb flavor

he-wolf - a greasy guy who weighs 12 pounds soaking wet and wears a fedora. republican.

she-wolf - the butchest bull dyke you ever saw

coyote - manic depressive. always on something. the drug connection at any furry party

Cat- always a woman

black cat - could be any gender but always goth

kitten/kitty - a trans sex worker, has an only fans they really want you to know about.

bobcat - older dude. wants people to think he's ex-military

Jaguar - an older black guy. will probably have the word "black" in his fursona's name

lion - just a huge asshole

tiger - another asshole. old. wants you to believe he's ex military or ex-police, probably a member of the dorsai irregulars. major grill dad vibes

jackal - a huge asshole and a slut. white gay racist, probably transphobic

cougar - either a trans woman or a terf. there's no in between

Horse - white woman who identifies as 2 Spirit or a guy who wants to be stomped on

Pony - gay nazi

unicorn - either the absolute gayest dude you can be or a 9 year old girl. sometimes a late in life transition

Tanuki - latino

badger - either a huge lesbian or an old avuncular straight guy. possible sex pest

Raccoon - nature's greatest mistake. too normie to be furry, too furry to be normie. dilf.

bat - either a goth or a real annoying shit (some overlap). invader zim fanboy. doesn't drink alcohol but claims to act crazy on "sugar highs." definitely has dabbled in webcomics

cow - a woman. maternal. mom friend or mommy dom. milf. possibly trans femme

steer - a big strong fat rough trade gay guy

sheep - mom vibes

pretty much any farm animal - mom vibes

domestic pig - wild card. might be a wet and messy fetish thing tho or a trash eating thing. loves to be stinky. loves to talk about being stinky.

wild pig - trans masc

skunk - either a fat beardy guy who has a tumblr blog about animation squash & stretch or a stoner gal. very straight. the straightest. a kinsey 0. has strong feelings about what the fandom used to be like before there were all these kids in it.

rat - is a huge asshole as a front, probably likes talking cigars

lemur - autistic

sloth - 420 blaze it. will never finish any commissions

chakat - an older cishet man who thinks the fandom is too political & refers to "anime" as "japanimation"

sergel - nazi

citra - the biggest dipshit you've ever met

procyon - furry equivalent of the thomas jefferson miku binder pic. you should not be talking to this person, this is a literal child

weasel - a girl with cluster b personality disorders

ferret - a person who has at least one pet ferret, but probably many

mole - this person thinks they're in a beatrix potter story

guinea pig/chinchilla/jerboa/gerbil/any kind of fat rodent you can keep as a pet - the sweetest person you will ever meet

armadillo/pangolin/anteater/aardvark - smug, contrarian. "i just wanna be different"

mouse - vore fetishist, prey. sub.

hyena - vore fetishist, pred. probably trans masc

otter - a dommy twink, possible enby

bear - gay

panda - absolutely a white person pretending to be asian. probably running a gofund me scam with a suspicious story about how they're a professional nintendo gamer who injured their hand or something

bullfrog - a huge fat hairy straight guy

any other frog - inflation or rubber fetishist

axolotl/newt/salamander - genderfluid enby

rabbit - trad wife trans woman

squirrel - autistic and gay

deer - gay

gazelle - zootopia megafan

monkey - punk DIY artist type, definitely loves weed

ape - absolutely baffling. nothing this person does or says makes any sense. you will be left wondering whether you're speaking to a child, a person with severe mental issues, or someone who doesn't have english as a first language

elephant - mom friend

hippo - a fat fetishist or a transformation fetishist

rhino - an older cishet dude who wants to project a curmudgeonly yet approachable aura

kangaroo - definitely not an australian person. extremely focused kinkster, usually feet or inflation. more STDs than should be possible to carry

koala - an asian woman

virginia opossum - anarchist/communist punk trans man who makes zines and/or comics

australian possum - just here to have fun. wants everyone else to be having fun too. wacky funster. (sugar gliders and flying squirrels fall under this category)

any other marsupial - poser

monotremes - extreme poser, don't even bother

doberman- gay dude who tops from the bottom or a cop (there is some overlap)

german shepherd - a nazi or a cop (there is substantial overlap). definitely a furry raider. he will wear his cop uniform to con and after con will post videos pretending that someone was rude to him

afghan - arch femme

basset hound - racist

puppy - sub, probably an egg. extremely draining. cries a lot

all other dogs - just dudes being bros (gender neutral)

dragon - the furries of furries. like to talk about eating "sammiches" and "chocklit." probably an adult baby lifestyler. they will send DMs that just say "hi." they like to RP and when they contact you about a potential commission they are actually just trying to trick you into RP

griffin - the same as above but also a brony

snake - sissy hypno fetishist

turtle - an old man, probably southern. an ironic grandpa.

other scalies - furry in denial. either a child or an old person from CYD. the world's last something awful goons

any fursona with latino vibes - white

any fursona with asian vibes - latino

any fursona with native american vibes - eastern european

avian - girl who's not like other girls. hippie. vegan.

raven/crow - agender voidgoth

chicken - mom vibes

dinosaur - the absolute biggest nerd. probably has an actual degree in paleontology. definitely dresses like miss frizzle.

any invertebrate - not a real furry, their girlfriend just made them get a furaffinity account before they could get ass. either that or they've never even heard of furry, they just came up with the idea of anthropomorphics from first principles. a biology teacher or weirdo (there is some overlap)

amoeba - this is a troll

[nychta-luxury]

A Strange God

Gen Z reader

soft au - reader is an adult -

Warning: Not proofread, dark jokes, mostly comedy rather then serious, swearing.

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You were sitting in you're room playing genshin, doing your usual things like commissions, Tea pot, exploration, farming.

Until something strange happened your device wasn't responding. I don't mean the screen froze oh no no. You can still move your mouse however the game itself is moving on its own

"Oh hell naw I didn't sign up for this demonic shit. " You say as you back away from the device. Your main is still moving and the worst part is, its not even part of any idle animation or something you have seen before. You don't care if it's a hacker or some possession shit, EITHER ONE IS BAD

Then it hits you, you starting to get light headed, vision becoming blurry, you start on panicking. What the hell was wrong with your body just when you were about to reach for a phone you black out.

You are now concouice though haven't opened your eyes yet, it feels... Very peaceful your not sure why.. The birds are singing, the smell of flowers in the air, the grass on the ground

"THE GRASS ON THE GROUND?!" You instantly opened your eyes.

"Why is this grass brighter than my future." You say as you look at the neon like grass "Did people kidnap me to touch grass like a normal human being?" Look as much as unbelievable that suggestion was, you have been told to randomly touch grass more than your salary combined.

"You know what fuck it, it's like-" You look at the sky "I'm going to pretend I know what the time is, however I can say it's too early to care." You lay back down, ah how peaceful. Too peaceful, but who cares you can pretend to be in some anime and lay down at the grass.

"AHHH IS THAT A FUCKING BUG" You instantly sat up from the ground, honestly what were you thinking

"GET THE HELL AWAY SATAN SPAWN."

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

Okay now that's over with. You look up at the sky "Okay universe we both know you will fuck me over one way or another. I know damn well that the bugs were only the beginning." You sigh, done with your anime protagonist moment and reach out to grab your phone.

"Where's my phone...?"

"NO NO NOO," you say panicking "WHERE IS MY LIFE PURPOSE?!" You scream "I AM STILL WAITING FOR TCF MANHWA TO UPDATE!!"

It's been 30 minutes and you are still upset you don't have your phone. YOU DON'T CARE IF SOMEONE KIDNAPPED YOU AS LONG AS THEY GAVE YOU A PHONE OR BE AN IPAD KID.

"Ugh, what's the purpose of life if it isn't to update that one story you never continued in 2020." You say dramatically, if anyone was watching they would think you just lost a loved one.

you felt a small tickle on your foot, and your -20 IQ brain thought that it might be a spider... but suddenly you had gained 1 IQ and decided to actually look at what it was instead of kicking your feet aimlessly.

Turns out it was was a squirrel, thank goodness you didn't kick it. Let's just say tiktok traumatized you with too much information about animals..

The squirrel was just cuddling up to you, your weren't really sure why. It was then you realize your surroundings. "Why the hell am I in some old ass ruin??" Now your confused, you look around the area to see where you are perhaps you might even recognize it who knows? You can see a huge structure, it kinda looks like a crossbow, your not quite sure how to describe it. It feels very familiar for some reason, you can see carving marks on it, it read "Seed of stories, brought by the wind, and cultivated by time." huh for an ancient structure it sure had modern English. Wait. That's not English. How are you even reading that??? there is only one explanation for this. "I am some fictional work that doesn't even make sense, like 90% of fantasy reincarnation stories even if the protagonist was transmigrated and not reincarnated, but they use it anyway to sound cool." You say with a serious face, "Lmao as if that was true" You feel something on your shoulder, you immediately turn to what it was just to find the same squirrel just climbed up to your shoulder and now just cuddling you. "You are so lucky my reflexes didn't kick in, I almost throw you off my shoulders yk." "Why am I even talking to a squirrel? gonna be Snow White 2.0 ig" suddenly you hear something drop, you turn behind you and see- IS THAT AMBER???? looks like she dropped her bow, why does she look so surprised? Is it your outfit maybe? Maybe even the hair?? Anyways you just walked over and picked up ambers bow for her "Yo, you uh dropped this" "YOUR GRACE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PICK IT UP FOR ME!!" "Wait tf you mean your grace." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welp Gen z reader popped up in my mind so here- I decided not to add to many gen z jokes just yet since it is a little short story, might make a part 2 if this post goes well-

[puripurin]

Yan! Llama Hybrid x SheepHybrid! Reader

— Recently, on the farm, a bunch of coyotes and wolves started to snag some sheep hybrids into the woods when they would get too close to the fences. It has gotten so bad that they would do it in broad daylight.

The owners decided that they would introduce a new addition to the herd to combat the coyotes. A male Llama named Lumi. All of the sheep were skeptical at first because they all thought that it was a little odd that the new sheep would have such a long neck and a lot bigger in size, but soon enough, they couldn't help but warm up to him.

Lumi, on the other hand, was still in his awkward phase. He'd recently entered into adulthood and was feeling sad and lonely without his parents there to guide him, but it wasn't until he saw your gorgeous curls and your small little tail that wagged in excitement. Just in that moment, he'd decided to be your life-long mate and started the process of courting you.

You did not give a shit about Lumi. You only cared about the coyotes that ate the rest of the flock. You wanted to start making sacrifices to grow your cult of small critters such as squirrels and rabbits.

This was because you heard from a passing by sheep hybrid that was being transported to another farm about how you could obtain everything you wanted if people devoted their lives to you.

However, you didn't expect Lumi to be so dedicated to you that he'd easily deciphered your messages to your devout followers and your weekly gatherings.

As you walked out of the dead of night, with the intention of killing a coyote that night. But it was oddly still, as if it was waiting for something. The trees didn't ruffle against each other, and the cool wind was nowhere to be seen

You stiffened up and silently walked back. If one of the other sheeps found out about this whole cult thing you had going on, you'd be ousted and killed by the coyotes instead.

But, you were immediately thrown down and turned over. Your eyes widened in panic and started to attack the person who held you down silently, only to realize that blood was dripping on your face.

"My love, I've killed one of those tainted and unpure coyotes for your sacrifice. I would hate to see your delicate hands get stained with something unworthy of your desire... but why... Why do you yearn and look at someone else with interest other than me? ... Only I shall be your eyes and ears, my love..."

Random and barely edit post after months of not posting. I was watch yt shorts and i came across a video abt guard llamas w sheeps. Its been on my mind for 3 weeks and i started this 2 weeks ago. I only decided now to finish it.

You can see the point where i went fuck it because i had no idea what to do with the reader's background so i was like "Ooh maybe they want to smash the coyotes... what's close to smashing coyotes... Cult." Cult leader YN it is.

Anyways below is for the rest of people who want to know what happened after that incident.

I feel better about my dog's death, but we weren't able to get him back due to the poor weather and the fact he was last seen in a drain. So there wasn't a proper burial, but I'm happy that we didn't end up with 2 losses. We had them since they were puppies, and its upsetting that the younger one died, but i understand why they had to kill him.

He's a dangerous breed of dog even though he's docile most of them time. He was a cane corso, and my older dog is a rottweiler and pitbull mix. So not the most safest dogs to be around, but what are you gonna do when your country is busy locking up a man for money laundering bcs they shit at their jobs.

Right, if I'm not lazy enough, I'll go back and redo every one of my ocs bcs im on the verge of deleting them all from embarrassment. Then that will hopefully be a small week long event for my tumblr as im not used to those things. But this might take months.

Also, no won't do kinktober, im lazy, and smut isn't my forte. Anyways bye-bye, see yall when my coffin feels too stuffy~

(soz if this is shit as well bcs i didn't do a whole lotta explaining abt Lumi's behavior)

[ashtheketchum]

Longer hair {A new family}

A/N: A lot of people like Daryl with long hair and I can understand that, he looks really good with long hair. But there's something about Daryl with short hair too, or is it just me?

Era: Between Season 2 and 3

Warnings: Typical twd gore, fluff, mention of pregnancy

Words: 1.4k

Summary: In the apocalypse you can't always cut your hair, which is why Daryl decided to grow his hair long. How does his new family react to this?

Masterlist!

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PoV (Y/N):

After we had to flee out of Hershel's farm, we ran from one place to another. Our group was in a bad state either, we had lost Sophia, our children were freezing due to the cold that was getting closer and Lori was pregnant. We kept running out of food and not a week went by when we had no food for a day. Daryl went out every day to hunt us something to eat, but most of the time he only came back with a few berries and a squirrel.

Because of the walkers, we could never stay in one place for long, as they also moved around. We moved around for almost half a year without having a new ,,Home". It was frustrating, but I always tried to look at it positively. We hadn't lost anyone yet, I still had (D/N) and Daryl by my side, and Lori seemed to be giving birth to a fairly healthy baby. Rick led our group great, and sometimes we found even more weapons.

At the moment we had settled into a small wooden house, Lori needed to rest and our children needed a take a break too. Even though (D/N) always confirmed that she was going hunting with Daryl, I forbade her from doing so. I was already worried enough about Daryl, so I didn't have to worry about (D/N) if she was running around out there. Of course I knew that Daryl would look after her, but Daryl should look after himself out there more than (D/N). So while we sat in the house, I looked after Lori with Carol, while Carl and (D/N) talked together and kept each other warm. The winter was really brutal this year. And it hadn't even really started yet. "Mom…?" "What is it, honey?" I asked as I brushed Lori's hair. I looked at her briefly before she pointed to my hair. “Our hair grows… even Daryl’s hair.” She then said.

That's right, since we didn't have time to take care of our hair, it grew without stopping. My hair was also a little longer than before the apocalypse began. "Hm, you're right… should I cut your hair?" I then asked her. But (D/N) immediately shook her head and put her hands on her head. Carl smiled at her amusedly, while (D/N) just pouted. Carol and Lori also looked at her amusedly. "No! I want to grow my hair with you and Daryl!" She then said firmly. I smiled lovingly at her briefly before blushing slightly. My heart beats a little faster and I cleared my throat quietly. "Okay, honey."

Daryl's hair had really grown, faster than the hair of others in the group. Daryl looked good with short hair, but he looked even better with long hair. I quietly looked at Lori's hair, which I was still brushing. A small smile crept onto my lips as I imagined what Daryl would look like in a few years if he didn't get his hair cut. In the end, he would have even longer hair than me. "You have hearts in your eyes." I suddenly heard Carol's voice. I immediately flinched and looked up at her, an amused and loving smile played on her lips while Lori giggled quietly. Carl and (D/N) only looked at us briefly in confusion before they shrugged their shoulders and went back to their business.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" I murmured quietly before I stood up and stroked my knees. Carol just raised an eyebrow and stood up too. "It's okay, you can admit it." "Not… here…" I murmured quietly and nodded briefly in the direction of Carl and (D/N), who were still talking to each other. Lori stroked my leg briefly and looked up at me. "You can go, I'll take care of them." She said with a polite smile. I nodded gratefully at her before I went out, Carol followed me. In front of the wooden hut we then swapped positions with Glenn and Tdog so that the two of them could rest and warm up.

Sighing loudly, I crossed my arms and looked out into the distance. Daryl was already hunting again and not a second went by when I wasn't worried about him. "And?" Carol's voice suddenly rang out. Caught out, I swallowed hard before looking at her. She was also looking into the distance. "I just… I was just thinking about what Daryl would look like in a few years…" I then admitted quietly and the blush returned to my cheeks. Although I was ice cold, my face practically glowed and Carol giggled quietly. "Oh, I see… you like his long hair, right?" When she asked, I just hummed in agreement and looked out into the distance again.

"Do you think he'll cut it one day?" I then asked. I sounded more scared than I actually was, I wasn't even scared. Somehow I would just be disappointed if he would cut his hair short again. But Carol shook her head and then looked at me encouragingly. "Not if you tell him to leave it. I'm sure he would never even touch a scissors if you ask him." She then said, giggling. I also chuckled quietly, the thought that Daryl would really grow his hair, for me, made my heart beat faster. "And I'm sure, (D/N) would love Daryl's long hair too." Carol then added. An approving hum escaped me again and I smiled lovingly at Carol. "Thanks… maybe I'll ask him today… if he comes back…" "We will see…"

<Time Skip>

In the evening, Daryl came back with two squirrels and a few nuts that he had found on the ground. He quickly prepared our food before we started eating. It was divided fairly, only Lori and the children got a little more than the others. Daryl sat with (D/N) and me. "Daryl…" (D/N)'s voice suddenly rang out. The archer just hummed quietly and looked down at her. Then (D/N) pointed to his hair and then to hers. "Our hair grows long together!" She said happily. Daryl remained silent for a moment before nodding and stroking her head. "Yah, sure, lil´ one… but I think lon' hair looks better on ya…" He murmured quietly.

I stayed quiet for a moment before shaking my head slightly. "Don't say that… you look good with long hair too… I like it." I said as I continued eating. My cheeks were probably bright red again and I couldn't look him in the eyes, which is why I looked down at my food. But I could feel Daryl's gaze on me. "Ya think so?" He asked after a while. "I know so… you look good with long hair…" God, if (D/N) wasn't there, I would have told him what I really thought of his long hair. He looked hot with it and not even exaggerated. But somehow I wanted to tell him without (D/N) noticing.

So I took a deep breath before looking at him. My eyes sparkled slightly as I licked my lips lightly. A quiet growl escaped me and I hoped inwardly that he had understood. With Daryl, you never know. "Ah, okay… I guess… I'll le´ them grow then…" "Really!? Great! I'll talk to Carl about it!" (D/N) then jumped up happily and ran over to Carl, who was sitting between Lori and Rick. I watched her go, amused. Looks like (D/N) really likes Carl. "Yar a tease…" Daryl then whispered quietly. He kissed my temple briefly before he continued eating. Humming, I continued eating too. "I don't wanna use the word sexy in front of my daughter." I then explained quietly.

Daryl remained silent for a moment before looking at me in confusion. "Ya think I look sexy with long hair?" "I-… What were you thinking when I looked at you like that?" "… tha' ya wan' more food… ya looked hungry…" I looked at him in silence. I somehow wanted to hug Daryl and flick his forehead at the same time. Yes, I had looked at him hungrily, but not because I wanted food, but because I wanted him. "We… talk about this later, okay?" Daryl looked at me even more confused now, but I just kept eating and leaned closer to him. God, I loved him so much, how could someone be so innocent.

[teecupangel]

Concept: Imagine if Altaïr had a habit of adopting birds of prey and stuff.

Ezio did the same thing except with cats (including a lion cub, if you know the reference to Da Vinci you'll get it)

Connor adopted canines constantly.

Desmond inherits all of these and takes in every single stray animal he finds. It doesn't matter if it's even safe to keep as a pet. He just adopts every single animal in sight.

In other words, through genetic manipulations, the Isus have created the ultimate savior of humanity:

A Disney Princess.

And it all started with Altaïr accidentally turning one of the towers in Masyaf as an aviary that only housed Birds of Prey.

No one knows how he did it.

They were pretty sure he started doing it after his father died and no one had the heart to tell a grieving child to stop adopting birds as a coping mechanism.

By the time Altaïr had been initiated, the aviary and its occupants have become just another staple in Masyaf.

Is it weird that they only listen to Altaïr?

Is it weird to hear Altaïr have a full blown conversation with them?

Very much so.

But it was Altaïr.

He was as weird as he was talented.

So people just left him be.

Time passed and Altaïr became a legend in the Brotherhood.

There were whispers that he could command any kind of birds of prey to do his bidding.

Perhaps he could.

Perhaps he could not.

No one found out the truth.

Ezio, on the other hand, was known as a hoarder of cats.

He gives food to even the dirtiest stray cats that could be found scurrying in the streets.

And they would follow him back to the Brotherhood’s hideout where some poor servant or recruit would have to bathe the cat, suffering the scratches and bites.

Only to be rewarded by the cat purring contently when it is presented to Ezio who holds it in his arms and calls it bella or bello.

And then… Ezio managed to get a hand on an illegally smuggled lion cub who grew up to be quite… large.

A very spoiled large cat who always loved it when Leonardo would come to visit because he would give the lion treats so it would let Leonardo study it.

Now, Ratonhnhaké:ton didn’t plan to adopt any animals. It just so happened that he joined a wolf pack in taking down preys once and now he was considered a… ‘kindred spirit’. They would join Ratonhnhaké:ton whenever he was off hunting and wouldn’t take his kills.

When he left the village, he saved a dog being mistreated by Red Coats and the dog just followed him to the homestead.

While he was sleeping the barn, he saw another dog, all skin and bones, rummaging the containers where the old man keeps the horses’ food for any scraps it might eat and he felt sorry for it so he would throw it a bit of the meat he would prepare for him and the first dog that kept following him.

By the time, Achilles finally agreed to train him, the wolf pack that he had hunted with near his village came to the homestead and… just followed him around.

Achilles thinks it’s a gift.

That there have been Assassins that had a close kinship with animals like Altaïr with his birds and Ezio with his cats.

The wolf pack stayed in the homestead when Ratonhnhaké:ton went with Achilles to Boston. The dog that Ratonhnhaké:ton fed also stayed because they learned that he was already quite an old dog.

Achilles didn’t say anything but the grief in his eyes made it clear that the old dog’s owner had been one of the many dead Assassins that Achilles knew.

When Ratonhnhaké:ton returned from Boston…

Not only was he accompanied by the first dog he adopted, he apparently adopted 3 more dogs along the way.

Achilles has himself to blame for that one.

And so, time moves on and Desmond Miles is born.

The window to his nursery was always close because birds and squirrels would come inside an open window and surround his cradle.

His mother had been worried that those squirrels and even some of the birds might carry something that would make a baby sick.

When he grew older, his friends were the animals in the woods surrounding the Farm and the guard dogs that Farm used.

The other children thought he was weird because of his affinity to animals.

Many adults found it to be a bit disturbing but also a sign of the greatness that Desmond would achieve.

Why else would he have the same ‘skill’ as Altaïr and Ezio, after all?

Then Desmond showed… to be lacking in training.

He wasn’t bad.

He was even better than a lot of the other kids.

The problem was…

Everyone expects him to be more than that.

And Desmond couldn’t take it.

So he ran away.

And the animals ran away with him.

And Desmond finds an abandoned farm where he finally carves out a place of happiness for himself and his friends.

… Desmond has no idea where the bear came from but he became docile after Desmond scolded him for destroying the trash bin and eating spoiled food.

[newtonsheffield]

Ooh, can we please get Newton Thoughts on him thinking he's running the whole damn farm and how did anything get done before he got there? He looks at Anthony like, "OK, Mum and I have to go to London. Please don't undo all my hard work while we're gone."

Oh my god, imagine

Here’s some Newton thoughts™️

Newton sighed as he looked over at Katie’s mate, shaking his head. Anthony was a very nice man, he really was. Newton had been curious about him since Katie had lain on their old bed with him and sighed,

“Okay, it’s silly because he lives really far away but I really like him, Buddy.”

Newton had no idea who he was but he was a curious, so he nudged her with his nose to go on.

“I… really want to meet him in person but he hasn’t asked me and… you know what, I’m going to do it. I’m going to pretend I have a reason to go to Kent and I’ll ask him to meet me and we’ll just… rip off the bandaid.”

Newton nestled against her neck in support.

He was feeling a little less supportive when he was unceremoniously dumped at Eddie and Goosey’s. With only his travel bed to sleep on, and a handful of toys. He’d tried giving Katie the cold shoulder when she came to pick him up on Sunday night, smelling completely unlike herself. He sniffed delicately at her as she bundled him into the car and huffed as he smelled the masculine scent clinging to her.

So the meeting with her new mate had gone well. Interesting.

“Newton, he was so sweet!” Kate said on the way home, “I had the best time with him. I think me and Anthony could really be something. And! Get excited, little guy, we’re going to the country next weekend and you’ll get to run around the farm with the sheep. That’ll be fun.”

Newton huffed, trying not to sound too interested in case Katie got the idea that he’d be moving to a farm of all places.

But as the week had worn on Katie had sounded so happy every time Anthony had called her and truly: by the time Friday came around he’d been desperate to see this Anthony. Curious about what had gotten Katie so enamoured with him.

He’d sat in his car seat and watched the grass roll by, a little mournful that he wouldn’t be able to chase his favourite squirrel tomorrow morning. But he supposed if this Anthony had a farm, as he’d been promised, there might be one there. From the second they arrived Newton felt excitement building in his chest as Kate let him out, the grass soft under his paws, the air filled with so many smells.

A man stepped forward, waving to Kate a little nervously, “Kate, Hi! You made it!”

“Hey, Babe.” Kate wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close and Newton averted his eyes.

“This must be Newton.”

Yes, Newton huffed as Anthony crouched in front of him, scratching behind his ears. Thank you for finally greeting me. Took you long enough.

Anthony smelled nice though, Newton was a little dismayed to notice, and his hands were warm but Newton had gotten immediately distracted by the two pups who had run up behind him. They smelled close to Anthony, but they weren’t his puppies, Newton didn’t think as he licked the girl’s face, giddy at her delighted laughter. He liked the pups. They gave him treats and let them sleep on their beds but even better than the pups were the sheep.

Newton loved that. He loved running around after them and he realised with a sigh that Anthony needed his help if he was going to get this place in order. He seemed absolutely bloody determined to undo Newton’s hard work as quickly as possible. He kept moving the sheep to ridiculous spots around the yard no matter how many times Newton called out to him.

Anthony! No! No! The other way!

And normally, Newton wouldn’t mind doing the most work out of everyone. He was used to being the backbone of the family. But today him and Katie were going back to London for a few days. And he just knew when he got back Anthony would have undone everything.

Newton sighed as he walked up to Anthony, placing his paw on Anthony’s boot.

I know this is hard for you, buddy. But you need to just try and keep things running without me.

“Oh, bud.” Anthony chuckled, “Are you going to miss me?”

Honestly, I’m worried about you. I don’t know how this was a successful venture before I got here. Newton sighed, Just leave the sheep alone, please. I’ll tend to them when I get back.

[wolvebonez]

please do dump about your watcher au as much as you want!! I'd love to hear about it!!

YAYYYY THANKS FOR ASKING its autism time Basically um. You know how most the watcher!grian hcs/interpretations have him as an unwilling participant in all this ? Uh, yeah ! Not this grian:3 Well. Kinda. But. Im a TMA Fan and I love FUCKED UP guys so !!!! Watchers feed off emotions. All emotions, but they're especially known for finding fear or grief or other negative emotions the most nutritionally filling/benefital to their health. However: They can't just sit there around someone whos very happy, sad, angry, ect, and then get fed from that. They have to- uh, for lack of better word- latch onto a players "soul," and tear chunks of that from them, dig into their mind and bite into whatever makes them feel and then tear that away. Sometimes, a feeding will cause the victim to be unable to feel anything at all after the feeding, if a Watcher gorges themself solely on them. Most often, when they use restraint while feeding, the victim will loose all feelings they'd had about the previous days, weeks, or even months, and might feel like everythings "dulled down" for some time while they recover. (Younger Watchers usually have to have physical contact with the victim to feed, older or more powerful Watchers can feed without even being on the same plane of existence as their victim, only needing to be able to See them.) Now, that's all kind of similar to a lot of headcanons about Watchers already, and I pulled the "eating emotions" thing from Martyns Eyes & Ears AU (altho in that its JUST fear), but uh... Heres where it differs: The Watchers aren't sentient. Not really, anyway. They're...predators, beings that know they need to feed and will go to great lengths to do so, survival their greatest worry above all else. Think of them like... Smart animals. Corvids, for example, crows especially- they will investigate their own dead to figure out what killed the other bird so they can avoid it, and are extremely good puzzle solvers. Prairie dogs have an incredibly advanced verbal communication system- able to even denote the speed of which a predator is approaching their den (probably the closest we could get to an ""language"" in the animal kingdom). But neither of those animals, as smart as they may be, are considered sentient. Its the same with Watchers. Watchers CAN communicate, they can understand eachother, they can achieve a certain amount of planning, like how squirrels can count what nuts they have & deduce how many they need, or how whales and other marine life are especially prone to being able to plan & use logical reasoning... They can understand the concept of death and... the concept of keeping their food alive for delayed gratification and a continued food source, instead of just going out and feeding on someone until theyre a husk of themselves, unable to provide more food. How, exactly, they got all the players into the life series/how they made the games IS something im working on, but the point im getting at here is that theyre basically like ants farming aphids, except the aphids are sentient people..? yay..? Ah, and Watcher cant reproduce normally. They have incredibly long lifespans, but when a Watcher does come to its end, they... Well, theyll find an player to bite into the soul of, and instead of feeding, they basically do the reverse- shoving all their energy into that being and becoming a parasite that will eventually take over the host and make them a Watcher, similarly without much sentience. Thats what happens to Grian. :3 The exact process of turning is also in the works but basically it starts by becoming unable to eat regular food, slowly focusing all the players willpower into wanting to eat, before they develop the ability to feed from other players. At this stage they might still be able to feel themself, however after feeding from another you tend to loose your own emotions amongst the ones youre feeding off of, and at some point, any remaining emotions the "player" has, is consumed by them for extra nutrition, and in turn they officially become a Watcher.

UMMMM YEAH!!!! Thats all the worldbuilding I have :3333 Theres uh- a story in my mind, but its not as fleshed out? I also MIGHT make it a fic (heavy on the might) so idk how much i'd wanna spoil. But uh, yeah, Grian'll be a bit of a special case in that his turning takes... a lot longer than normal. ^_^ I put him in the torture world sorry

[bobbybutterfly]

I’m back ya’ll with more art! I had all the characters designed for a while but didn’t get around to posting them. Now I’m going through sort of an art block. I’ve got lots of ideas for stuff but everything I draw is crap. So I thought I should catch up on my other stuff. Like talking about this squirrel design for Apple Jack. Now isn’t she cute!

I really like the colours on the powered up ponies. Though I did give her a different shade of pink I thought suited her better. I also gave her a bolo because southern. These uniforms aren’t supposed to be realistic. More like something they would wear in promo images. Lastly look at the little band I put in her tail. I should do something like that with other squirrels.

I made her a squirrel because they’re farmers and Apple Jack’s personality is farm. Nah. I don’t approve Apple Jack hate. I didn’t think of her all that much, when I watched MLP as a kid. Now as an adult (it feels so weird writing that) I find her relationship with her family quite interesting. She always puts herself last. Probably because she was parentified, by having to take care of Apple Bloom and the farm. One of these days I got to write an Apple Jack / Rainbow Dash fanfic. I think she contrasts well with Rainbow Dash’s selfishness.

In the Squirrel and Hedgehog universe she would be raised very patriotic. She would often be the voice of reason. Though she would butt heads with Pinkie Pie over leaving her family and Fluttershy for not wanting to serve her country.

I don’t know why my ramble about the first character is always so long. Anyways. One of my best designs, Rarity! Originally I wanted to make her a mouse and reserve the weasels for the alicorns. But come on. Rarity deserved all the glam only reserved for high ranking military officers.

She was born into a royal family. Given a high ranking position in military since birth. Rainbow Dash had to earn her high rank through blood sweat and tears. With both of them having quite strong personalities they would of course hate each other. Rarity likes being in the military and bossing animals around. Though she can be a bit too much sometimes, she has a soft spot for mice. She doesn’t see them as her equals, but treats them better than many weasels.

Lastly Twilling Sparkle! My best design. It’s the bangs and eyes. I specially didn’t put any highlights in them. The idea for her came from my IRL friend. She told me Twilight Sparkle should be a lab rat. Technically she’s a lab mouse but the joke still works! Once I get over this drawing problem I might do the honorary seventh members. Sunset Shimmer (probably a fox) and Starlight Glimmer (definitely a hedgehog).

Until now I haven’t thought of how Twilight became a scientist. She probably started as a regular soldier. Then one day they needed a lab assistant. She would prove to be quite good so the scientist decided to teach her the ways.

Now I guess I should mention my idea for this MLP Squirrel and Hedgehog fanfic. Basically the mane six would crash on a deserted island. They would have to throw away all their prejudices to survive. Proving friendship is magic. I should do some research how war prisoners are transported. And some research on military ranks too. I’m not sure who is captured. I thought it would be the weasel side considering there’s a scientist amongst them. But on the other paw how would a group of ordinary soldiers manage to catch such high ranking animals?

If you got any ideas for this story, please write to me.

[ahedderick]

i think its so cool u farm ur own meat!!! i rly try to stay away from the stuff j bc the industry is so messed up so i wish i had a farmer or invasive species-hunter buddy (saw a video of a guy who traps feral pigs who said hes "totally bored of bacon") so i can have a lil feast w/o feeling so guilty. how do you think eating an animal you personally knew is different? like, does it feel sad, or better because you know they had a nice life? sorry for all the questions per my username i am a vegan and i dont ever rly get to talk to ppl like you!

Ok, hi! Thanks for the questions. I have a dear friend who is primarily vegetarian, and only eats meat if it is either raised in good conditions (like my farm) and humanely killed or wild game. So I understand your position. I grew up on a farm and have been living this way all my life, so I'm sure that affects how I view butchering.

The beef and turkeys I have raised for butcher did have excellent lives and the quickest of deaths. The deer or squirrels we hunt follow the same pattern. I would be thrilled to know someone who hunts feral hogs, but I guess we are fortunate that those are extremely rare (or just rumors) around here. I would like to raise more of our own meat, because I agree that the farming industry is atrocious. It is mildly sad in some cases, or a relief if the animal is a mean one (side-eyeing the murderous turkeys)

I have a book I want to cite, Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Seton Thompson, copyright 1898. I'll have to scan the forward later and reblog this with it. It is relevant because he notes, from his own naturalist observations, how tragic the natural deaths of animals often are to our human sensibilities. Quick, painless deaths are precious few in nature.

"The worst that can happen is you can be hanged. No, a merry life and a short one shall be my motto." Black Bart Roberts

[ranchracoon]

"Blood, Flesh, and Bones"

Ch. 1 Disappearing Act

Master Post

Prologue

A new dawn begins with the rising of the sun as you startle awake back in the uncomfortable familiarity of your bed. With one heavy heave, you shove the covers off yourself and step onto the cold wooden flooring. Ania and your mother are awake as well to prepare the morning in peace before your father wakes. Mother works on breakfast, you tend to the stock, and Ania helps with morning chores. You don't mind the commute from your home to the farm, it's only a short walk downhill on the edge of the woods. The morning dew soaks your thin clothing but the shivers remind you that you're alive, and you can just be alone in existence. The first chore is emptying the food scraps from last nights dinner into the pig pen, mixed with their regular diet of rotten vegetables and grains. You open the pen for the chickens, they all come clucking out to greet the morning dew and peck at the pests in the field. All while you collect their portion of the rent. The few cows and goats chatter impatiently awaiting for you to relieve them of their milk which used to take you hours to finish. 

You could realistically get it done within an hour, but you take your time with each and every one to prolong the time spent alone. When all is done, you heave the containers of milk over your shoulder and carry the eggs in one hand. By the time breakfast is laid out and ready, your father awakens from his drunken stupor only to scarf his meal down like a ravenous dog, then get himself functional enough to tend to his job. He watches you the entire time, as he sloppily shoves food into his mouth. Every suitor he's tried to find you has mysteriously disappeared, he knows you have something to do with it; these disappearances have been happening for months since your grandmother's death. He just doesn't have the proof.

The moment he leaves everyone can breath a little easier. When you were younger, you would beg your mother to leave him, run away to the city where they can be safe but she was always too scared. You've squirreled away some money every time you get some, and you're so close to having enough. Today at the markets will make or break that; you just need a little more to get you and your sister out of this town. Your mother has made her bed. 

At the markets you sell the excess produce and animal products from your farm to surrounding towns and even some city folk who drive in just to get 'farm fresh' vegetables. Today was an especially good day, making record profits and sending you well over your monetary goals. As you're about to close up shop, a close personal friend of yours named Amber comes running up to you, hugging you from behind. You chuckle softly and turn around once she releases you, her beaming smile and radiant aura are always infectious. 

"Hey Morgan! Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Just the usual. Why?"

"Well, I heard that a couple people from the next town over are having a bonfire tonight and we're invited."

"Are you sure that's a safe decision? With all the people disappearing-"

"It'll be fine! We're going as a pretty large group, and I hear there's going to be some city girls there too."

Amber bounces excitedly, she's the only person in this whole town, other than your grandmother, who truly knows how you feel. You could care less about having a husband, or any man near you for that matter. You grind your teeth nervously, you could easily sneak out and go to this, but the vast amount of people who have gone missing makes you nervous. Then again, the last time she snuck out for a party was in high school, when she got drunk for the very first time. 

"Just think about it. We're meeting by Danny's Pub around 9, and Jason is going to drive us."

When you return home you do the same routine as you have done since you could walk; drop the money made onto the table for your father to waste on alcohol, go to the field and bring in the goats, cows, and pigs for the night, then heard the chickens in. Mother makes dinner, and Ania finishes cleaning up the house before your father stomps in with his dirty boots, dragging mud, dirt, and who knows what else into the house. He comes home an hour late, slumping into his chair and taking a bite of his food. No one can eat until he does.

"This is cold!" He slams his fork down.

"I'll heat it up for you" your mother gets up from her seat and grabs the plate.

"I work my ass off all day, the least you can fucking do is have a hot meal and a cold beer ready for me. God fucking damn."

She returns the plate and he takes another bite, after a few more bites the rest of your family begins to eat. When he finishes he sits back and looks around the table, taking a long drink from his bottle before sighing loudly. He takes the stack of money you left and counts it before shoving it into the pocket of his overalls, then he smacks his lips. 

"I'll be leaving for a few days" he proclaims. 

"Going where?" Your mother asks carefully. 

"Me and a few boys are going to travel to the city. Apparently there's a few other nearby towns that are also experiencing some disappearances. Dan said he tried to contact the county sheriff and was left on hold, so we'll be going in person. Otherwise, we're gonna set up our own search party."

You look at your father from the corner of your eye, taking a slow, deep breath to contain your excitement. This is exactly the opportunity you've been looking for! You've make up your mind; tonight you'll go to the party for one last hoorah, then when your father leaves you take Ania and bail. Mother won't do anything to stop you, and with your father gone that gives you at least a day or two head start. Everything is coming together. 

That night you sneak out the window as you've done thousands of times, landing softly on the ground below. You zip up your hoodie to keep the chill air at bay as you scamper across town to the pub. Amber spots you first and waves to you, squealing with excitement that you decided to come. Including you and Amber, there's ten people total; five in Jason's car and five in Rossela's. The car ride is filled with laughter, music, and a little pregaming for those not currently driving. You arrive to the party, seeing strangers from 'rival' towns all gathered to have fun, and for once in a very long time you let yourself relax. 

As the night goes on, the alcohol runs faster, you've managed to only nurse a singular drink  but you pretend to keep refilling it. Amber finds you eventually and drags you all over the party, trying to find you someone to dance with but not having much luck. Instead she dances with you, trying to get you to loosen up which works. How can you say no to her? She refills your cup, brings it to your lips and tips it up for you until your previous anxieties are melted away. Once your head is nice and fuzzy, you follow her blindly considering she's the only person you really know here. 

She takes your hand and guides you off, away from the party. Your heart starts to hammer in your chest, you won't deny you've always had a secret admiration of your best friend. How could you not? She has gorgeous red hair that flows down her back, cute little freckles that show up when she's been in the sun too long, and the most hypnotizing green eyes. Maybe all your sick fantasies are coming true, as she drags you deeper toward the woods. The whispers of warning on the wind fall on deaf ears. 

She turns around, holding both of your hands in hers as she smiles up at you, but her genuine smile turns into that of sadness as you're ripped from her grasp. You tug and fight with all your might, managing to toss one of the people holding you, and forcing another to take their place. The two people fight and struggle with you, until you are brought up and tossed into a literal dog cage with the lock clamped shut with a padlock. 

"Amber? Amber what the fuck! Get me out of here."

Amber approaches, her brows furrowed in sorrow as tears run down her face, "I'm sorry Morgan. They have my sister! This is the only way I can get her back."

You sit there hopelessly as your once best friend turns away from you, and you look around seeing numerous others from the party also locked in different sized cages. A man dressed in all black approaches Amber, motioning toward a pickup where Amber's sister, Lara, comes running out. They embrace each other tightly, Amber sobbing quietly as she clutches her little sister. You sit back on the hard steel frame, sighing heavily as you bring your legs to your chest and rest your forehead on your knees. Could you truly say you wouldn't have done the same for Ania?

Chapter 2

[ceiling-karasu]

Jollin and the Festival

The afternoon before the start of the Dano Dragon Boat festival, Nayeon greeted Jollin as he returned home from his rounds, chattering happily as usual. As the spring crops came in around her family farm, the bunny had come by multiple times in the past few weeks to borrow the cart he used for larger courier and mail deliveries around his assigned area of Flower Hill.

Jollin did not mind. Nayeon only borrowed it when she knew he was going to have a light load the next day, or had the day off. And besides, letting her borrow the cart increased the chances of her gifting him a few extra bits of produce as a neighborly thanks, a luxury unheard of back when he was a half-starved laborer in the Weasel Kingdoms.

The entire community seemed to think he was too malnourished for his own good, not knowing that his thinner body and less fluffy tail was due to him being a dormouse scout for the enemy, and not actually a squirrel as they assumed. He dreaded to think about what would happen if they figured it out. Then again, instead of publicly exposing him, they would likely contact the Cherry Valley command center, who would explain that yes, he had actually defected long ago, and was happily being used as bait to lure out other scouts who may have escaped the roundup of the other Tokgasi agents. Or so the hedgehog and squirrel commander had assumed, and continued to believe.

“…I do hope you are able to attend the festival, tomorrow! I just hope it is not interrupted by the Weasel Unit, but surely not even they would be inconsiderate enough to attack a peaceful festival when an international crowd is around. Even I get to perform on stage in the afternoon! I have been practicing in every free moment I get! But I won’t tell you what I am performing. It’s a secret you will have to see for yourself,” Nayeon could hardly keep still as she laughed, bold and shy at the same time.

Jollin could guess that she would probably perform a dance, perhaps in tune to some folk music, or even an opera song. Over the last few weeks, she had taken to wearing a traditional hanbok- or chosŏn-ot, as Flower Hill called them- in every spare moment, twirling as she moved. Even Jollin had noticed her gracefulness, which made her a prime candidate for one of the floating dances performed on the peninsula. He had heard of those, although it had previously been a delicate spectacle reserved only for the weasels and other upper class groups in their mansions and theaters. Granted, she still had to work, so the chima was not as long as to cover the boots, and was not adorned in complex patterns, but she would likely be wearing a proper version at the festival. Still, even he knew not to spoil the surprise, needing to fake some cheerfulness and mimic the excitement of the fools of the country.

“Oh! I simply cannot wait! The Command Center does need me to deliver a few packages tomorrow, but I bet they will need to be taken to the festival anyway,” he laughed. Really, the commanders had already approached him with intel that another Tokgasi agent was to appear at the festival, and wanted him, the supposed defector, to hunt them down. “But it will be getting dark soon! You had best be on your way home so you can help the others with the crops! Otherwise, you will all have to do it in the dark, and that can be dangerous! You might oversleep.”

“Yes, sir!” The bunny tittered She waved, then quickly moved down the path and around the hills towards her home, pulling the cart.

Jollin was not necessarily worried about Nayeon being out alone in the dark. Granted, the Tokgasi survivors were hiding out in the area, but it was unlikely they would go for her. There was a danger of a rouge scout taking her hostage to try and get the dormouse courier to shelter them, of course, thinking that they were close friends. But he knew that despite her looks, Nayeon had already been through the mandatory conscription of Flower Hill. She should know how to fight off an attacker, especially given her grandfather being a top general.

Which made him wonder if she was really the happy, bubbly bunny she appeared to be. As far as he was concerned, his paranoia over her being a plant by Cherry Valley was fully justified. Particularly after her grandfather, the doddering old retired soldier, who would absentmindedly, in his loneliness and age, give away secrets about Flower Hill’s defenses and movements, had turned out to be a fully in charge general, who was feeding him false information as part of a Flower Hill plot to use an enemy scout to destabilize the opposing army. Apparently, Flower Hill, as with other nations, were surprisingly fine with allowing a scout to live and work in their homeland. However, the fact that the scout was not sending the false information back to his handlers as they had planned was an actual problem, as it meant that Weasel Unit forces were not falling into traps that had been set up. It forced the general to drop his charade early out of frustration, and for the Flower Hill commanders to formally induct him as a defector from the enemy.

So, what about his granddaughter, Nayeon? Living so close to the Command Center, it was possible that her role to play was to casually drop information on what he should be doing, in a way that would not sound like an order, should he prove obstinate to demands. Come to the festival, a loud place he had no interest in, and stand near a stage, possibly to meet up and chat with a ‘friendly’ hedgehog about infiltration he had seen other than the Weasel Unit soldiers who had been purposefully invited.

On the other hand, she could simply be that innocent, somehow. It would be a bad idea to question her. If it was the latter, and she found out he was one of the enemies? I wouldn’t see her as often. There would go all the extra food, and news from around Flower Hill that he did need to pass on to his handlers. As far as he could tell, she had no parents, and lived with her grandfather, and given the current war and occupations, there was usually a reason for that.

So, being a bit paranoid about what he said and did was reasonable. The commanders and the soldiers saw it as typical mouse nervousness, while the citizens out of conscription saw him as a poor shellshocked victim from the border, afraid to make friends in case he lost them again. Let both those groups believe that. It makes it easier to meet up with Tokgasi alone.

Which was another reason Jollin needed Nayeon to leave so early. He could see the smudge on one of the stones leading up to the walkway to his house his own house. Someone like him, a Tokgasi scout, would easily recognize the faint Weasel Unit symbol on the ground, signaling that there was a message for him. Jollin lay a hand on the fence post, waiting for Nayeon to shift positions, so the straw hat hanging off his back would block her view of his hand snatching the calling card from Tokgasi affixed to the fence post.

My own house. He hardly could have dreamed of having his own private residence in his previous country. Small, but his own. His own bedroom, a main room, working plumbing in a bathroom, and closets for extra clothing of all things. And the fools had just given this to him, either thinking he was one of their own, or had happily switched sides.

He could get an even greater house if he gave Flower Hill over to Tokgasi and the Weasel Unit. A larger home, with luxuries Flower Hill eschewed, maybe even his own servants, as he had seen other mice get for procuring a great victory for their weasel masters, should they be so inclined.

And perhaps, despite how nice they had been, the thought that Flower Hill fully deserved destruction for their inaction towards the suffering taking place in Usuhan Jiyeog still arose. Just sitting back and not interfering as his people starved and died of sickness, hardly having a care in the world about those who had slighted them generations ago. Jollin had seen the firepower around Cherry Valley and elsewhere, knew that with precision strikes they could have easily wiped out the leaders and most of the Weasel Unit, making their country safer, but they were too soft to do so. Once the weasels were gone, most of the mice would likely starve to death without overseers telling them what to do, so Flower Hill should not have to worry about that.

Still, the firepower he had been allowed to casually see gave him pause in reporting anything.

Either way, there would be a meeting tonight. The message noted to leave the door unlocked.

……………………………………………………………………….

The hill in front of his house blocked his view of the valley below, and he assumed that hedgehogs would spy on him from there. Which meant it was a perfect area for Tokgasi and his agents, along with other scouts, to survey as well to make sure they were not being watched.

The mice gathered in the main room, some watching the windows to make sure no one snuck up on the house. Nervous fools, Jollin noted. One of these days, during one of these meetings, someone was going to make a mistake and capture a hedgehog who passed by, instead of hiding. The smarter infiltrators had run away when Tokgasi’s scout ring had collapsed, helped by Jollin’s instructions on the lax security that appeared during specific times. He had heard the other mice whispering rumors of Geumbanji’s mercenary group running a series of safe-houses for deserters, ending somewhere near the border of Chaand Hadia.

Which, while an odd tactic for mercenaries to use, made perfect sense. Geumbanji himself needed to lie low, now that Flower Hill had realized he was a traitor, and with other countries likely keeping a lookout for him as well, he might be bored. Besides, he would get money, news, and supplies from the traffic, while Flower Hill could watch a steady stream of soldiers leave the ranks of the Weasel Unit. The gold ringed mouse could run his mercenary operation from anywhere.

Fleeing to Chaand Hadia had also been one of his possible routes for desertion, but the stories he had heard about the endless food supply and idiotic citizens of Flower Hill who would just give him things had been too tempting. Besides, he would rather see if the foreign country he knew almost nothing about would actually welcome mice and allow them to assimilate. Best not to be among the first. Even if not, he could still hide somewhere.

But that was not important at the moment. Tokgasi was giving him orders.

“We have finally managed to make contact with the second scout we have embedded around the Command Center. We know that he will be at the festival working security, which is good for us to sneak in. Once you make your deliveries, seek him out and give him this message,” Tokgasi handed him a light pink data chip. “These will give him his next instructions.”

“Activating the sleeper agent, eh?” Jollin snickered, trying his best to sound like a typical mouse, fawning over his boss.

“Naturally! It is time that we start to make our moves to prepare to strike.” Tokgasi smiled back, all previous suspicion of Jollin being a traitor who deserted gone from his mind

“Alright, it should be easy enough, sir! I will complete my mission!” Jollin saluted properly.

The other mice smiled and cheered softly, not wanting to arouse suspicion from outside, if anyone was lurking.

Well, this is interesting. Two Weasel Unit scouts embedded in the command center could spell doom for Flower Hill. But Flower Hill also expected him to find a scout at the festival, which meant that they might already know, betraying the remainder of his own little group of friends.

Jollin supposed he would have to see how it would go.

…………….

End Part One

[summerwritesfics]

🗺️Waiting For My Words Seen But Never Heard

Pairing: Hanzo Hasashi/Kuai Liang/Harumi Hasashi Length: 1811 Words Rating: Mature Warnings: Farm/Ranch AU, Blood and Injury, Trut Issues, Language Barrier, Blood, Gore, Isolated Locations AU-Gust 2024 Day 7: Farm/Ranch

AU-Gust 2024 Masterlist

Notes: Living on an isolated farm is all fun and games until you find an unconscious man in your hedges. Still battling sickness, so please excuse the editing again TT_TT Title is from I’ll Keep Coming by Low Roar.

Harumi sighed, placing down the basket she was carrying. Akuma followed at her heel, the black dog sniffing around the ground at the plants. They had a bountiful harvest this year, the hard work Hanzo and Harumi had put in was worth it. Usually she just hoped they’d have enough to sell and keep a roof over their head. But this year, with how much they’d managed to grow? She was going to allow herself a few loftier dreams. She’d been dying to get some new pots and pans for some time now, the really fancy and high end ones she’d eye up in the store without the money spare to actually afford them.

Before she could begin to pick the tomatoes on the vine in front of her, she heard a rumble from Akuma. She glanced over to see his ears low, eyes fixated on something in the distance.

“What is it boy?” She asked, shifting herself slightly to see where he was looking. She couldn’t see anything, but the dog still looked spooked. “Akuma.” He still didn’t pay her any attention. “What can you see?”

Akuma barked slightly, before taking a few steps forward. He paused, ears picking up and sniffing the air, before he let out another bark and stepped forward. Usually she’d just assume he saw a squirrel or something, but there was a strange sinking feeling in her gut. She abandoned the basket, following the dog over to the shrubbery that signalled the borders of their land. Akuma paused, nose down and sniffing at something poking out of a bush.

Harumi went cold when she realised what she was looking at.

A human hand, covered in blood.

“Hanzo!” She immediately screamed, hoping to god her Husband would hear her. Harumi didn't dare look and see if the hand was attached to someone. The fact there was no reaction when Akuma’s wet nose pushed against it didn’t fill her with hope.

She heard footsteps rush up behind her, and heavy breathing as Hanzo’s voice asked “what’s wrong?”

She pointed towards where Akuma was, and Hanzo looked over with a frown. Harumi knew he’d seen it too when his face dropped and eyes widened. He placed a hand on her chest, a silent command for her to stay back, before he began to approach. Upon noticing Hanzo was coming over, Akuma bounced away, trotting over to join Harumi.

Hanzo dropped to one knee, following the arm into the bush. He split it slightly, peering inside. Harumi couldn’t see anything, but she could only assume there was someone attached to it when Hanzo dug deep inside and began to pull the person out.

She wanted to throw up at what she saw. The person in Hanzo’s arms looked like a man, hair a mess, unkept beard and completely limp. That wasn’t what made her feel ill however, it was the massive gash along the one side of his face. So deep she assumed he must have bled out. His clothes were as covered in blood as his hand had been. He was dead. He had to be.

“He’s still breathing,” Hanzo informed her, sounding as shocked as she felt at the news. He adjusted his grip on the man, reaching down to press two fingers to the side of his neck. “His pulse is there, but weak.”

“We need to get him inside and call for the doctor,” Harumi insisted. She didn’t know who this man was, or how he’d ended up in their bushes. All she knew is that he was injured and needed help.

Hanzo went to scoop the man up into his arms, only to suddenly grunt as the man very suddenly sprung to life. Harumi rushed forward as her husband was pushed backwards, and the man slowly crawled away from them. As she got to Hanzo, she was relieved to see he wasn’t hurt, it seemed the man’s sudden movements had just surprised him.

The man continued to try and crawl along the floor, causing Harumi to call out “wait, we just want to help you.”

She tried to follow the man, but stopped when he curled up into himself, as if to protect himself from her.

“We don’t want to hurt you,” she told him, and she saw him move his head just enough to look at her. Dear god, she’d never seen someone look so terrified before. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Hanzo found his bearings again, also coming over towards them both. When the man saw Hanzo however, his breathing grew heavy, panic clear on his face. He began to claw at the floor again, desperate to get away.

Harumi had to find a way to get this man to trust them. She glanced over to the plants. Depending on how long he’d been out here, this poor man was probably hungry, right? And they had enough of a harvest that they could afford to use a tomato to try and calm the man down.

She picked a tomato off the vine, one that looked particularly juicy. As bad as she felt about it, she walked in front of the man, essentially blocking off his escape route. The man whined, attempting to push himself backwards. She got down onto her knees, and held out the tomato.

“Are you hungry?” She asked, and the man looked up at her. His eyes looked hazy, but he attempted to focus on the tomato. “Here, it’s good.”

To her surprise, the man went to push himself to sit up. He still didn’t take the tomato, but was staring at it like he was interested. She held it out closer to him. As he reached a shaking hand forward, Harumi could see how his knuckles were scuffed, and there seemed to be scars running along his wrists. He gingerly took the tomato, pulling it close to him and looking it over. He brought it up to his nose, sniffing at it.

Finally, he put it in his mouth, taking a small bite from it.

“There, see,” she encouraged, watching as the man continued to take small bites, the tomato’s juice dripping down his chin. She wondered if the man could even understand her, as he wasn’t really reacting to what she was saying. Even so, she tried to ask “what’s your name, sweetie?”

The man didn’t reply. He didn’t even look at her, just continued his meal.

Hanzo moved around, flopping down onto the ground beside her before leaning in close and whispering “what do we do?”

“I don’t know. Maybe convince him to come into the farmhouse and then call the Briggs and see if Vera can take a look at him,” she suggested, keeping her voice low and eyes on their guest. Yet again didn’t react, and she could not tell if it was because he couldn’t hear them or not.

“Vera’s a mental health nurse though,” Hanzo replied, his own eyes flicking between the man and Harumi. “I’m not sure she’s cut out for this level of injury. It’s more of a job for Akemi.”

“I know but she’s the closest medical personnel we know,” she sighed, “she can be here in about half an hour. It’ll take Akemi 2 hours to get here if she gets lucky.” She bit her lip. “Vera at least know’s basic first aid, and can probably keep the wound clean until Akemi can get here.”

Hanzo looked like he was considering that, before letting out a breath. “Right. You’re right. We’ll get him in the house, then call Vera.”

The man finished off the tomato, and after he did so he gripped his stomach like he was still hungry. The way his body moved it pulled his shirt tighter against his skin, letting Harumi see how thin he looked.

“Did you like that?” She asked gently, and the man lifted his gaze to her, tilting his head. “How about we get you in the house, and I can make you a proper meal?”

The man looked at her as if she’d never said a thing to him.

“I don’t think he understands English,” Hanzo said while clicking his tongue. He lent forward slightly and asked “English? Uh. Eigo?” The man still didn’t react, so he probably didn’t know Japanese either.

“He looks like he could be Chinese,” Harumi suggested, although she couldn’t be sure. But the patterns on his clothing, despite being worn out and faded, were reminiscent of ones she’d seen on traditional Chinese clothing.

“Well, I think we’re out of luck speaking to him then,” Hanzo snarked at her, and she rolled her eyes. She’d maybe have to try something else.

She pointed at herself and said “Harumi.” Then she pointed at Hanzo, and said “Hanzo.” She then pointed at the man, hoping he would understand.

It took a couple of seconds, but he finally mumbled out “Kuai Liang.”

“Kuai Liang,” she repeated, and he actually smiled at her. Harumi tried to hold out her hand to him. He stared at it expectantly. “Come?”

Kuai Liang blinked a couple of times, before reaching out his own hand. When he placed his above her own, she took a hold of it. Kuai Liang made a surprised noise, but didn’t fight it. Harumi was worried he might not be able to walk, but she still stood up and pulled Kuai Liang’s hand to try and encourage him. Unfortunately his legs gave out under him, whining as he collapsed to his knees.

“I think you’ll have to carry him,” Harumi said to Hanzo and he nodded in understanding.

He stepped forward, reaching down to scoop Kuai Liang up in his arms. As he did, Kuai Liang made an alarmed yelp, and actually spoke to them. But what he was speaking was definitely not English or Japanese. To her it sounded like a Chinese language, although she couldn’t tell exactly which one. They had a few friends who were Chinese though, there was a possibility one of them could translate.

“Alright, I’ve got you,” Hanzo said soothingly, and somehow it seemed Kuai Liang actually relaxed to that. As he turned to begin walking to the house, he said “maybe we should contact Liu Kang and Kung Lao as well. They might be able to talk to him.”

“You read my mind,” she laughed, looking over Kuai Liang. He still looked a little baffled at what was happening, but hopefully they could help him. “So, I’ll try to make him something to eat, you make a few phone calls and see who can get here?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Hanzo agreed, stopping just short of the door so Harumi could open it for him.

As she watched Hanzo disappear inside with Kuai Liang, all she could think was how she hoped to god they could get to the bottom of all this.

[ohshy]

do u have any bald bull or soda popinski headcanons ? 🩷

HELL YEAHHH u get both !!!!!

🫧Soda Popinski🫧

keeps trying to get hippo to try different types of soda. hippo tried one once and nearly passed out from the amount of sugar. needless to say, it was funny and a little scary trying to explain it to passerby

soda is one of the few people that knows about kaiser's berliner partying days. its something kaiser likes to keep secret, seeing as he feels like he has a ''reputation to protect''. it did help that soda's a very gregarious guy in general though, he just has a certain energy ab him that makes people wanna confess things to him.

in general, soda knows how to keep secrets really well, especially if he spills anything about the russian government, the consequences might be dire…

speaking of the russian government, his mother is a scientist who originally created soda in a lab as an assignment to create the ultimate fighting machine. as such, she isn't allowed to have full custody of her son, as he partially belongs to the government lab. Poor lady…

all of soda's family and acquaintances are nicknamed after soda. He has a girlfriend named cola (credit to mabs for that idea), his mother is nicknamed popuschka, and he calls his headscientist dr pepper.

like ive said before, he learns english from macho and disco, and often gets words mixed up. one time he called macho man ''brogus'' and macho absolutely hated it.

has a tendency to underestimate his strength a little. if you make him laugh particularly hard, he'll slap you on the back and you'll likely end up w/ a fractured spine. (exaggarated obviously, but it WILL hurt)

hangs around a lot w/ the other two nicest guys of the WVBA, them being disco kid and bear hugger. disco refers to their squad as the ''turntable trio'', as they all like to dance. ms bear makes him feel at home as well, but the squirrell freaks him out a little. also shares a sweet tooth w/ hugger so theres that too hehe.

aside from soda, total sucker for certain russian desserts, especially medovik and pastila.

🐂Bald Bull🐂

comes from a rich family. his ma is a singer and his dad a retired athlete

along w/ a mansion, has a HUGE ranch where cows n bulls roam, this is how he became inspired to name himself bald bull.

quite the introverted guy, and doesnt socialize much outside of his own circuit. He is quite chummy with Sandman and Soda though. One time, he offered Soda a turkish delight , and the rest is history. He also relates a lot to sandman due to both having issues w/ quick irritability.

the only other person outside the world circuit that bull interacts with is disco kid, mainly thanks to the fact him and soda are acquinted. Disco gave bull a rly nice outlet for his anger issues, namely dancing! Disco one day saw bull roll his fists in the ring, thought ''WOW that guy can really move !!!!'' bc it reminded him of a classic disco dance. he then talked to soda about him and the rest is history :3

Audhd. paparazzi not withstanding, does not manage his symptoms well.

has very mixed feelings on his mom. On one hand, her voice is like sweet nostalgia to him because she always sang him sweet lullabies, but at the other hand she has broken his trust in many ways that he feels cant be repaired. gets along better w/ his dad tho

used to have a rly sweet school girl type giggle, but his family teased him out of it :(

thinks hes like clark kent whenever he disguises himself as Mask X. the world circuit all know, but the paparazzi is none the wiser somehow. dw nobody in the WVBA will tell :]

interests outside of boxing include arm wrestling, farm animals, and (very rarely) singing. You gotta b real special for him to sing for you. Very private person in general.

[verdemoun]

Sooooo. After the NOT CANON ask about Sean dying early I would like to know if Albert Mason and Hamish were non canon asks (which I would understand since they are not gang members and stuff)

If not how would Albert and Hamish interact with the kids (Jack, Issac, Maeve, and Abigail Jr./Addie)

Also please please please tell me the wheel is NOT canon (at least past Davey and Dutch please)

Also what would Addie and Maeve do on a play date/how do they interact with each other :> (woohoo long ask!)

If i ever get around to writing a proper timewarp fic albert and hamish would not be canon but I do love imagining their interactions with the rest of the gang because they are such good characters.

albert is slightly terrified of maeve and addie and rightfully so i will elaborate later. isaac and jack have the same 'oh no he's a weenie with no survival instincts' response as their fathers did to albert mason. isaac regularly sends him photos of cool animals/bugs he finds on his camping trips with his dads

hamish is isaac's proxy grandfather alongside hosea. hamish is also one of the only ones who can keep up with the girls' antics and will take the little firecrackers fishing with him because they very much enjoy it

the wheel is not canon!! i am not that evil but very tempted to keep davey's death just to maximise angst for mac. bessie, hosea and micah's deaths are the only ones that i have definitely got mapped in my mind and even then haven't decided when to kill micah i am softening to the rat bastard man

addie and maeve are a nightmare in the best ways. them meeting for the first time was just immediate 'do you want to form. an alliance. with me' 'absolutely i do' 'good, good'. maeve is a feral animal and addie had that 1900s farm girl upbringing for the first few years of her short life so they are both the opposite of ladies

addie is much more a mini john personality-wise than young jack, meanwhile maeve has Macguire power. they are almost the exact same age so they are in daycare and school together their entire modern lives at everyone else's expense

take your eyes off them for a second and both are covered head to foot in dirt twigs leaves and mud

they love playing house together but neither one wants to be the woman so they're dads and dads stealing jenny's most expensive make-up to draw moustaches and beards on one another

kids suggesting they play cops and robbers leading to addie and maeve both standing on the roof of the playground throwing rocks using homemade slingshots screaming die pinkerton scum

john timewarping a year after addie having no idea why everyone is so quick to make an excuse why they can't play tea party when the girls are walking around like little angels holding hands asking for someone to play with them. agrees because he is trying to be the best damn father ever, only to be presented his 'dinner' and have to ask 'girls where did you find a dead squirrel'

[puddin-dear]

The Old Barn

The thoughts of a therian, by Tapioca

Every time I think back to my life as a barn cat, one singular memory plays in my head. I leap off the old fence, which I can never recall what exactly was the color of the thing. I bound into a grassy field, did it have hay or flowers? Only the old me knows. I pad into the even older barn, which I believe was a dull red. I can’t exactly make out what the entire scene looks like, but I can imagine what my past must’ve held.

I imagine theres a house next to the barn, where the old farmer must live in. Was it a guy? I think it was. I find myself calling him the old farmer, it seems the entire place was decades old.

I enter the barn, the interior’s layout I cannot fully recall. I wonder if there were other animals with me. Perhaps horses? Sheep? Goat? Cattle? Pigs? Chickens? Did my farmer grow crops or raise livestock? Only he and the old me know.

I wonder if there was a herding dog that worked alongside me, a coworker, a companion, a friend. If there was, I think they’d be a collie. A black border collie at that. I’m sure the herder would be the old farrmers best friend when off duty, sleeping in the mans old run down house while I settled on the hay of the barn.

I have no hard feelings for this theoretical dog, I prefer my hay bales over their dog bed. My freshly caught prey over their kibble.

I wonder what prey I caught, whatever I was put on this barn for. What population was I set to control? Mice? Of what kind? Rats? Squirrel? Chipmunks? Moles? What rodents plagued the old farms crops, or livestock?

I wonder what kind of bugs scattered across the barn walls and floors. Centipedes? Roaches? Beatles? Ladybugs? Moths? Flies? Were there spiderwebs in the corners? Did I swat at them as they tried to run by?

How many kits did I have? Did the old farmer let me keep them? Did he give them collars? Did he give them names? What was my name? I hope it wasn’t some glamorized spanish name like “Luna” or “Sol”.

Did my farmer speak english? Spanish? Japanese? French? What race was he? Was he a colored man? Or was he a white man?

Did this man have a wife? a partner? a husband? Did he have friends? Did I ever meet these possible companions of his?

I wonder if I had any companions, perhaps the barn was large enough to need two barn cats? I’d imagine there’d be an orange cat with a blue collar named something like “Sparky”. I’m sure this Sparky would be a hyper cat. We’d probably get along well.

Who even was the other cat involved with my kits? Not that it mattered, they’d never be allowed around my precious kittens anyways.

I wonder how my kits are now? They’re probably dead, I won't lie. I wonder if any of my kits had kittens? Did my bloodline continue? Is there a descendant of mine somewhere out there?

I wonder if this descendant of mine is also a barn cat? Or a street cat maybe? A softer house cat? Do they know how to hunt anymore? I hope this possible kin of mine still knows how to catch the swiftest of birds and the cleverest of mice.

I have so many questions one will never be able to answer for me. Questions only me, the old farmer, his dog, my kits and Sparky will ever know. Perhaps its better to keep it that way. To forever be left wondering on my life once was.

Even with that thought though, I still find myself longing to return to the old barn with the old fence. Wishing I can run up to the old farmer and rub my fur against his legs as he greets me with a warm smile and a gentle headrub.

I long to run alongside the herding dog as they work, hoping to cause a little bit of playful chaos.

I long to catch prey alongside Sparky, before taking the rest of the day to feed my kittens and teach them what I know.

Maybe spend some time with the livestock, just for a little bit.

But for now, i’ll rest in my human nest. I’ll eat my human food and attend my school classes. I’ll speak to my human friends and play my human video games.

I’ve accepted my humanity, i’ll admit. But that doesn’t change the ache in my heart as I long to touch the grass with my paws once more.

————

Thanks for reading, I wrote this earlier as I was thinking of my past as this barn cat, the same questions that constantly repeat in my mind and so on.