#they are a unique danger to cats for this reason

[redux-iterum]

So I’m curious about Goldenflower’s reaction! We’ve seen how aggressively she reacts when kits or young cats are put in danger (ie. Fireheart being left out alone). So I was surprised she allowed the ceremony to proceed. Is Bluestar’s failing mental health the reason why she didn’t react more strongly and shut that shit with Aspen/Ash/Cloud down? Also where do the clans draw the line in regards to someone like Bluestar when they’re not stable enough to really be held accountable, but they are putting other clanmates in danger through their actions?

There's a couple things going into this, so bear with me.

This whole situation is extremely difficult for everyone in a position of power, let alone the average warrior. Ideally - that is, how the Clans imagine stuff like this to go in stories - the leader can be disobeyed and disregarded by their followers, no questions asked, the instant they fuck up or do something dangerous. The matriarch has all the power over kits, the deputy can step in as the proper head of the Clan, the elders will be looked to and the seers have all of StarClan to give out judgements and commands. This is a sort of checks-and-balances type of society! It's going to be so easy to handle if it ever does happen!

Realistically, though, Clans are hardwired to obey their leaders above everyone else. It's why Brokenstar got away with everything for so long, it's why Tigerclaw would have been so much more dangerous if he'd gotten there, and it's what's allowing Bluestar to keep her position even though her mind is visibly failing. Leaders aren't untouchable, theoretically, but it is so very hard for a Clan to look at the cat who's so important to their society that they have an entirely unique suffix just to denote their rank and tell themselves "I refuse to honor them and do as they say", even if they have a good reason, or several. Even at this point, ThunderClan will obey their leader over their matriarch, and the matriarch will be forced to go along with this, not knowing what else can be legally done.

To disobey says so much about the warrior and the Clan as a whole: they made a mistake placing such massive responsibilities on this cat's shoulders, they have nowhere to put the demoted cat that will go smoothly, they're threatening the unity and structure of the Clan by shaking the very foundation of what they've grown up and lived with. It's so hard for a cat, let alone a warrior, to adjust to severe changes like that, especially ones that imply something at fault within themselves - which, inherently, following a bad leader for any length of time will shine a light on. Sometimes it's easier to keep silent - or, at the most, mutter complaints to your friend while doing nothing.

There's another aspect of this botched apprentice ceremony: the apprentices themselves. Changing from a kit to an apprentice is such an important, valuable, special thing for everyone; it's the biggest change in your life so far and it marks you as ready to serve your Clan and grow up to be someone great. To go through with the ceremony and then rip away that gift from cats so young and new to the world is a particularly cruel sort of disappointment, bordering on punishment in the eyes of that kit. Can you imagine being a grade schooler, about to enter middle school, and then being told you have to go back to kindergarten because someone else fucked up your paperwork? How awful would that be?

Speckletail made about as good of a call as she could in that moment, taking the apprentices' ages, their mentors and the Clans' culture into account. Let them be apprentices until they prove they're not ready, and if they aren't, they can go back to being a kit. This sort of solves the problem in a way - the apprentices will be eager to prove they can keep their -paw's and will work hard to do so, and if they fall behind...well, maybe they can just stay in camp for another month and then come right back to training with some experience already! It's not ideal, but it's the best Speckletail could do.

As for the final question... did you know that it was believed that planting an elder tree by your door would keep the devil away?

[shithowdy]

am i crazy for thinking it should be a legal requirement for people selling arrangements with lilies to have a warning about their lethality to cats? they are one of the most common plants found in bouquets (unlike most other lethal plants like oleander and sago palm, which are usually found potted solo) and so many owners or well-meaning gift-givers are completely unaware of how a single lick of pollen is enough to kill a cat, meaning unlike other potential toxins they just get left as a table centerpiece. like sure, chocolate and grapes can kill your dog, but you are probably not intentionally leaving chocolate and grapes on surfaces your dog can reach (and they also don't shed particles). about 30% of american homes have cats in them, a percentage you can't really gloss over when it comes to precaution. if you work with florals please, please post visible warnings by your lilies, it will save kitty lives. 🙏

[saritawolff]

Phew. This one took, uh… a bit longer than expected due to other projects both irl and art-wise, but it’s finally here. The long-awaited domestic animal infographic! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to cover every single domestic animal (I’m so sorry, reindeer and koi, my beloveds) but I tried to include as many of the “major ones” as possible.

I made this chart in response to a lot of the misunderstandings I hear concerning domestic animals, so I hope it’s helpful!

Further information I didn’t have any room to add or expand on:

🐈 “Breed” and “species” are not synonyms! Breeds are specific to domesticated animals. A Bengal Tiger is a species of tiger. A Siamese is a breed of domestic cat.

🐀 Different colors are also not what makes a breed. A breed is determined by having genetics that are unique to that breed. So a “bluenose pitbull” is not a different breed from a “rednose pitbull”, but an American Pitbull Terrier is a different breed from an American Bully! Animals that have been domesticated for longer tend to have more seperate breeds as these differing genetics have had time to develop.

🐕 It takes hundreds of generations for an animal to become domesticated. While the “domesticated fox experiment” had interesting results, there were not enough generations involved for the foxes to become truly domesticated and their differences from wild foxes were more due to epigenetics (heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence but rather activate or deactivate parts of it; owed to the specific circumstances of its parents’ behavior and environment.)

🐎 Wild animals that are raised in human care are not domesticated, but they can be considered “tamed.” This means that they still have all their wild instincts, but are less inclined to attack or be frightened of humans. A wild animal that lives in the wild but near human settlements and is less afraid of humans is considered “habituated.” Tamed and habituated animals are not any less dangerous than wild animals, and should still be treated with the same respect. Foxes, otters, raccoons, servals, caracals, bush babies, opossums, owls, monkeys, alligators, and other wild animals can be tamed or habituated, but they have not undergone hundreds of generations of domestication, so they are not domesticated animals.

🐄 Also, as seen above, these animals have all been domesticated for a reason, be it food, transport, pest control, or otherwise, at a time when less practical options existed. There is no benefit to domesticating other species in the modern day, so if you’ve got a hankering for keeping a wild animal as a pet, instead try to find the domestic equivalent of that wild animal! There are several dog breeds that look and behave like wolves or foxes, pigeons and chickens can make great pet birds and have hundreds of colorful fancy breeds, rats can be just as intelligent and social as a small monkey (and less expensive and dangerous to boot,) and ferrets are pretty darn close to minks and otters! There’s no need to keep a wolf in a house when our ancestors have already spent 20,000+ years to make them house-compatible.

🐖 This was stated in the infographic, but I feel like I must again reiterate that domestic animals do not belong in the wild, and often become invasive when feral. Their genetics have been specifically altered in such a way that they depend on humans for optimal health. We are their habitat. This is why you only really see feral pigeons in cities, and feral cats around settlements. They are specifically adapted to live with humans, so they stay even when unwanted. However, this does not mean they should live in a way that doesn’t put their health and comfort as a top priority! If we are their world, it is our duty to make it as good as possible. Please research any pet you get before bringing them home!

[gay-dorito-dust]

Can you give us a headcanon about Jason in a relationship?

Jason is a big man with an even bigger heart, no one can take this away from me, no one. You can try but you fucking can’t.

Being with Jason automatically gifts you with scary dog privileges because whilst to you, Jason is a sweet man who’d get all pouty when you don’t kiss him in the morning or call him by the nicknames you’ve picked out for each other and will make you breakfast in bed because he wanted to show his gratitude to you for staying by him and loving him when he didn’t think you should.

To others however Jason was a this big 6ft something dude who could beat them into next week a multitude of unique ways if they even thought of looking at him funny. He radiates danger just by standing there and yet to you he was the reason that walking home at night from work had become just that little bit easier. It’s not much but it’s enough for you to know that you’ve got someone who’d watch your back vigilantly 24/7.

Jason’s fatal flaw might as well be either loyalty or devotion because this man will not act out of line with you, he refuses to betray and throw away everything you’ve ever done for him just because his eyes lingered elsewhere; which would never happen as Jason’s eyes were firmly locked onto you from morning, noon and night. You were just that perfect in his eyes that he’d rather die again than ever look at someone else the way he does you. You’re his person, his one and only simple as that because you’ve claimed his heart the moment you met.

Your trust is something he values deeply and he isn’t one to play stupid games with your trust either. So if you were to ever tell him about a boundary being crossed or talk about something that rubbed you the wrong way, you best believe Jason will honour that and promise to never do it again.

Two words; Book. Dates.

More specifically the ones where you’d a) go to those cute book cafes where you could enjoy reading your favourite books together in comfortable silences whilst enjoying a warm/cold beverage. Or b) have an in book date within the confines of your shared apartment, where Jason had this small hoard of books he’s been meaning to read, most of which were primarily Jane Austin’s body of work with some of your own recommended books in between.

It’s almost like your own little book club just for the two of you. It’s your thing that you share together that brings you closer together as a couple.

Jason loves it whenever he gets to read one of your favourite books as it brings forth and intellectual conversation between the two of you as you got to hear Jason’s view of the story and characters while Jason got to hear your own point of view; It was beautiful way of admiring the way the other person’s mind worked and find even more ways of falling in love with each other, as if you weren’t already deeply in love in the first place.

Jason loves being near you and once he gets past his aversion to touch, he’ll want to touch and hold you in any given capacity because he’s become well and truly addicted to the feel of your skin against his; so much so to the point where you’ve got him practically melting and closing his eyes in content as he humming in pleasure it almost came across as that of a cat’s purring.

If Jason could he would wholeheartedly want to live out the rest of his life within your arms, they were his safe haven, the one place he could call home as he could let down his guard and just melt into your embrace and allow you to pamper him in kisses and sweet nothings that leave him feeling more warm and loved then before, a tear of two may slip but it’s because he’s so fucking happy to have you in his life. So don’t be frightened when he starts hugging you back tightly, making it near enough impossible to escape his grasp.

Jason is your number one fan. Always has been, always will be. So may your insecurities begone because this man will pull out an exaggeratedly long list as to what about you Jason loved so much.

Spoiler alert: it’s everything. I don’t make the rules because this man will love your gap tooth, your acne scarring, your stretch marks, your love handles, your laugh, your eyes, your voice, your hair. Anything and everything that you’re majorly insecure of Jason will love tenfold because YOU. ARE.PERFECT. THE.WAY. YOU. ARE! And don’t you let some test tell you otherwise!

Also Jason falls under the ‘wear whatever you want, I can fight’ category of boyfriend because it’s not your fault you look drop dead gorgeous.

Hell you could walk in your apartment in sweat pants and an oversized shirt and Jason will stare at you with heart eyes like he would if you were wearing something that you felt confident and sexy in. Please wear it and be your sexy self you sexy bastard! Be the main character in your story!

For by the end of the night Jason will have everyone apologising to you for ruining your night because they thought they could get away with being freaks and weirdos.

Agree or disagree, I don’t care but Jason would 100% would want to take care of the dog -especially if it’s of a breed that’s massively stereotyped as aggressive- you found that was left abandoned in the rain, hurt and suffering back to full health and find it a better home or decided to keep them because he’s grown attached.

[wordstome]

Last night I did what I always do when I can’t fall asleep: think about fictional men. Here’s a list of wonderful stories written by incredibly talented people who have helped me think about fictional men by providing the most delicious playgrounds.

In the interest of keeping my recommendations brief, I'm going to talk about what I liked about the fic instead of summarizing what it's about. To know what it's actually about you're just gonna have to click through and read the fic <3

(and just in case anybody's gotten lost, this is all COD, mostly modern MW)

✦ complete ║ ➠ ongoing

König

✦Just Friends by @kneelingshadowsalome Salome is so good at capturing a very unique interplay between König’s social awkwardness and his deep, dark, nasty inclinations. He’s so feral and enjoyable to read, and the sheer force of his desire for Engel is downright intoxicating. I find it difficult to describe how much of an impact Just Friends has had on me and my portrayal of König, to be honest. There's a reason why three of Salome's fics are on this rec list.

✦Fatum Nos Iungebit by kneelingshadowsalome Five words. König with his cock out. That's it. Okay, but in all seriousness, I love his character applied to this setting. All the raw visceral violence a König could ever want, a pretty little lady in his bed—he's so boyish and happy in this au it brings me such joy. The way their relationship between him and Fee develops is so natural and so sweet. Please for the love of God read this.

➠Cat/Mouse/Den by @papaver-decervicatus The chase. The pursuit. The adrenaline when Mouse dances out of König's reach once more. I'm a little biased because I adore Julius and Jenny (I could call her Lucretia but the double J names make me giggle) as ocs already, but CMD is so, so well written. The tension, the flirting, the scene where he catches her falling out of the tree?! As I said in a reblog, I shrieked. You know when you're reading something that's so good you want to bite down on it and shake like a dog with a toy? (No? Just me?) That's how I feel about CMD.

➠Anything by @darklordofthesimp Anything, in only 7 chapters (they are hefty, don’t get me wrong), has turned König and Birdy’s dynamic from “THIS MOTHERFUCKER HAS IRREVERSIBLY SCARRED MY BODY AND MY BRAIN, AND I CANNOT TRUST HIM” to “these two are going to get married someday”. (author if you’re reading this, I say that not as an expectation or prediction, but as a vibe reading.) This one is for the hurt/comfort girlies. Also, shoutout to all the other stories set in the Anything-verse. Sunshine and Ghost are just soooo *grips my hand in a fist so hard it shakes*

➠If you need to be mean by @gremlingottoosilly This mostly serves as a blanket recommendation for all of Gremlin’s fics. I found If you need to be mean, and then visiting Gremlin’s author page was like opening a treasure chest. Want to be König’s pampered, (unwilling) little housewife? That’s If you need to be mean. Want a harem fic with almost all of the COD MW men? Gremlin has two, both with their own little spin to keep it fun. Do you want König to keep you in his basement or hunt you down as a serial killer? Gremlin's got it. Monsterfucker? Gremlin has that too. Special shoutout goes to 1295 kilometers. I think about fucking König on a train a lot now.

➠Break my mind by @kaiasdevotion (kaiasown on ao3) There’s no way around this. This fic has the most unhinged, kinky, downright dangerous smut I’ve read in the cod fandom so far (positive). Just Friends König is the metric by which I judge all other Königs’ nastiness, and Break my mind König is tipping so hard on the “unhinged horny violent freak (affectionate)” end of the scale he’s about to fall off. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I've developed a taste for writing/reading from König's perspective, and he's so chillingly deranged in the most controlled way possible during the chapters from his pov. Incredible writing. Chefs kiss.

✦Experimental by @uhohdad (surgeoninspace on ao3) Alright, enough of just König being nasty. He is still nasty in this one, but he’s not the only one who gets to have a little fun and be a total creep. Our little scientist here is a grade A pervert, and I was delighted the whole way through. The most important thing I need in a fic is suspension of disbelief, and Experimental takes an unrealistic, maybe a little bit silly situation and makes it so believable. Everybody reacts the way you would expect them to, even if the scenario they're in is A Lot.

➠Little Mouse and Rotes Madchen by @sprout-fics I'm combining the recommendation for these two because while they are both very much distinct, unique fics, I love them the same way. Sprout is such an engaging writer, and the internal dialogue of her characters is so well done. It reveals their personality, motivations, and internal conflicts without being overly expository. Do you guys remember that post I put on the König bible about instant obsession? It's this inexorable attraction borne from obsession that sticks me to Little Mouse like a glue trap. (Is that too morbid?)

✦Hot in Sarajevo by @50cal-fullauto Rags' König characterization post is on my Königcore bible, for very good reason. They get it. König is a feral dog forced to live as a man and loves like a total maniac, emotionally and sexually. I marked Hot in Sarajevo as complete but I don't know how many parts there are going to be, and frankly, I do want more. However, if you're going to only read one part (which. why would you do that??? read both.) I recommend the second part. I want to write love like that. Goddamn.

Ghost

Yeah, this list is a little bare bones right now. I'm gonna get back to it, I promise.

✦Anhedonia by kneelingshadowsalome The way. Salome takes the "I would take a bullet for him but he's so cold to me" premise and then flips it entirely on its head for the second part is so important to me. The way Simon craves the reader is like human catnip. I reread this fic all the time.

Keegan

✦For the Weak and Weary by @halcyone-of-the-sea Read this if you want to believe in true love. That's all. Go on now.

Multiple

✦Easy by @danibee33 When people say "I wish this were a book!" about fanfiction, they usually mean it in a "this is good enough to be published by the traditional publishing industry" way. When I say I want Easy (and Diablesa) to be a book, I mean it in a "I want to get this story bound in a beautiful ass cover and keep it on a shelf so I can take it down and reread it whenever I want" way. I don't want the traditional publishing industry to get their claws in this, because it's perfect as it is. This fic is so wild and fun, and the character moments are so special and well done. Do yourself a favor and savor this one.

➠@ghouljams's entire blog [masterlist] "What do you mean someone's entire blog" YOU HEARD ME. Those aus are some good shit. Good characterization, delicious premises, love the group effort of it all. To absolutely nobody's surprise, my favorite couple is König and Bee from the cowboy au (ditzy but well-meaning and competent in her own way woman x big strong man who is obsessed with her and maybe also creeping on her, my beloved), but I also have a fondness for Ghost and Die from demon darlings au. Trust me on this one. Dig into those masterlists babey.

[becausegraf]

So... Gulool Ja Ja and his troubled eldest

Some musings on why the Dawnservant, social skills-powerhouse, observant and transparent and trustworthy and capable and responsible Gulool Ja Ja

seems to have massively dropped the ball when it came to, you know...

preventing his own only biological child from turning towards murderous self-destructive supervillainy.

Gulool Ja Ja's biggest, most tragic failure in my understanding is that when it comes to Zoraal Ja specifically, he has a blind spot, and I think he knows it but he can't fix it.

I mean, what do you think is the ONE area that, unfortunately, he truly has nobody, not a single person in Eorzea, he can seek experienced, trustworthy counsel on?

It's being born a Blessed Sibling, living as a Blessed Sibling, Ruling as a Blessed Sibling, and raising a Son Of A Blessed Sibling who doesn't have two heads and will grow up facing extremely vicious treatment by some people as a consequence.

Zoraal Ja is unique, and the complications that come with being what he is in this cultural context are SMACK in the hazard zone of Gulool Ja Ja's own vulnerabilities and struggles.

Gulool Ja Ja's flying blind on this one, and his son's temperament is precisely the sort that his usual tools aren't a good fit for.

Papa's style is to give his children space, let them make their own decisions, to invite them to seek help and give them everything they could ask for in their environment to support them when he cannot.

Zoraal Ja's issue is one that would have required Gulool Ja Ja to be much more confident in his capacity as his parent than he seems to have been. He needed to see clearly that his son was struggling and that under his circumstances, he couldn't just ask for help, and ACT ON THAT OBSERVATION. Asking for support is not something that comes naturally to Zoraal Ja, and I can see a dozen reasons why he would actively avoid it, too.

'Kiddo, something's bothering you and for your own good, we need to talk or have you open up to someone else before this causes you great harm, and I will be accountable for this happening whether you're happy to cooperate or determined to run away from it. We're gonna figure this out, okay?'

That's the initiative it would have taken, at a much, much earlier point in time, for Zoraal Ja to have gotten the support he needed. He needed his parent to see the danger and protect him from it.

Gulool Ja Ja, through no ill intent or inate fault of his own, simply failed in that.

He doubtlessly has his own hangups, painful topics, things that drive even him to look away and lie to himself. Even if he had the amazing instinct of compensating for a shitton of his own flaws and limitations by cooperating with others that had what he lacked, again, in this one regard

literally nobody in existence

would have any sort of experience with this particular complexity, let alone the keen eye to identify Gulool Ja Ja's massive blind spot AND take the initiative to reach out to him and offer aid.

He and Zoraal ja both are masters at hiding their pain (these chicken dudes are a lot like cats, apparently), and both have pretty compelling reasons to do so. There aren't many people that would

a) care about them personally enough to even decide something needs fixing

b) have the emotional insight to detect what's going on and empathize with the exact problem

c) be the kind of person who could think of a suitable way to help without making a mess

d) have the guts to prod at their personal life without being asked to do so, and avoid getting shown the door immediately

In a sense, Gulool Ja Ja's unique circumstances, the rare thing that DISconnects him from others with no overlap with others anywhere, is his Achilles heel, his one fatal weakness in a person otherwise dipped in invulnerability.

And Zoraal Ja is the arrow that came for it, and it makes my heart break for the both of them.

(This gets a little personal for me, too, in the sense of 'my parents are so capable and smart and empathetic, they're so admirable and competent with everything and everyone EXCEPT WITH ME, for SOME reason, what the FUCK is wrong with me'. Nothing, my issues were just too much like their own issues, which isn't my fault and not theirs either.

Tell ya what, it's really weirdly painful to be in such a position as a kid, caught between love and admiration on one hand, and burning frustration and resentment and shitty self-esteem on the other.)

[nobodysdaydreams]

I know it's late for this, but here's how I think characters in the Mysterious Benedict Society would have reacted to the solar eclipse.

Nicholas- obviously he'd be so excited for this. The world goes dark, he passes out with joy.

Rhonda- buys everyone eclipse glasses and makes sure they understand the dangers of looking at the sun

Number Two- complains about the traffic because tons of tourists are coming for the eclipse and her mom has a ton of weird conspiracies about what the eclipse means, but once the eclipse is happening, she very much enjoys it.

Milligan- happy that he's able to experience such a unique and special moment with his daughter that he will treasure forever

Miss. Perumal- educates the children on how solar eclipses happen and bakes cookies for the watch party

Kate- climbs a tree so she can be closer to the sun and get a better view

Martina- was planning on forcing the tetherball team to practice through the eclipse, but begrudgingly cancels practice to join Kate in the tree

Reynie- is excited about the eclipse in a very average, but endearing way.

Sticky- is fascinated by and excited for the eclipse, but then he saw a video about what happened to that one person that stared at the sun and even though he knows that won't happen to him because he has the right glasses, he still can't get the thought out of his head. His friends help him calm down, and he ends up enjoying the eclipse.

Constance- pretends she doesn't care about it that much, but she actually does and writes an incredibly beautiful poem about it afterwards which she shows to no one.

Nathaniel/Curtain- cancels classes at the Institute to view the eclipse and somehow turns it into a metaphor about himself. I don't know exactly how he would do this, something about the moon being the darkness of Nicholas that blocks out the brilliance of the sun (himself), but the sun is all powerful and shall surely rise again, I don't know, something like that. However, if this happened during season 2, he would 100% incorporate it into his cult's doctrine just because he can. He'd make that the day and hour of his evil plans just for the symbolism.

Jackson and Jillson- they also saw the video about the people who stared at the sun and they have made it their personal mission to warn everyone about proper eye protection

SQ- he's happy to be able to spend the day with his dad watching the sky. He later draws a really beautiful picture of the eclipse.

Jeffers- stares directly at the sun and suffers permanent eye damage despite being warned multiple times

Dr. Garrison- fascinated by the eclipse for scientific reasons, but takes advantage of the distraction to escape and begin hatching an evil plot

Marlon- does not care at all that the eclipse is happening but goes along with whatever Curtain wants

Captain Noland- views the eclipse as a sign of coming doom

Cannonball- is 100% on board with whatever conspiracy Noland believes

Number Two's mom- views the eclipse as a sign of coming doom

Number Two's brother- is 100% on board with whatever conspiracy his mom believes

Number Two's sister- doesn't care at all that the eclipse is happening, but goes along with whatever her mom wants

And I know I've been doing mostly show characters, but...

Crawlings- stares directly at the sun and suffers permanent eye damage. But he only stared at it with one eye because he kept the other one closed thinking that would somehow save him from being burned, so now he wears an eyepatch over his bad eye, but that's not the same one as the one where he lost his eyebrow, so it doesn't cover that damage either, he just looks like a mess.

The Rest of the Ten Men- think Crawlings is an idiot for looking at the sun and claim they don't care at all that the eclipse is happening (Sharpe lowkey does, would never admit it).

Seymour, the orphanage cat- continues being a cat. Is very confused when it is suddenly nighttime. Then when its daytime again, he shrugs it off and goes about his business.

[felinefractious]

Final (hopefully) Notes on Moonpaw

So first off I’d like to specify this is not a Warriors blog.

The Warriors series was hugely important to me during my childhood so there’s a definite nostalgia factor there. I no longer read the books but I still interact with the material and community.

There is a hefty overlap between the cat genetics + phenotype community and Warriors fans. A non-insignificant portion of my followers are involved with the series to some extent.

As such the subject will occasionally come up. Going forward these instances will be tagged as #wc bullshit, even if the circumstances or nature of the discussion aren’t negative. It’s just better to have one consistent tan people can block.

But ultimately this is not and will never be a Warriors blog.

Now onto the matter at hand.

Let’s summarize.

Moonpaw is the protagonist of the upcoming series of Warriors. The official website recently released her design as well as her parents, which has caused a buzz within the community for multiple reasons.

She is labeled as a chimera in her description, which the authors represent with a split-face pattern. A notable aspect of her story is going to center around this and how unique and special this makes her…

Which only demonstrates the authors poor understanding of the subject, as the split-face pattern is a normal presentation of tortoiseshell coloration and something which would certainly have occured numerous time within the clans population prior to now.

One of the authors thought mackerel referred to a green-hued cat, though. So.

It is possible for Moonpaw to be a chimera in the same way it is possible for any character to be or have been a chimera, there is no singular way for chineric cats to look and phenotypically normal cats can be chimeric and it’s just not detected because no-one knows to look for it.

But the split-face in itself isn’t suggestive of being a chimera, this is a widely perpetuated myth.

The belief that split face = chimera may be a relatively benign misunderstanding but it’s somewhat concerning how devoted to this misbelief some people seem to be. It’s okay to be wrong, it’s okay to not have known something. If you’re given new information accept it, don’t come snapping back with “Why does it matter?”

It’s a slippery slope to try and decide what degree of misinformation is acceptable to spread and the way some people react to almost as if it’s a personal slight to be told is teetering dangerously close to anti-intellectualism, especially during a time where misinformation in general is on the rise a la AI.

Don’t get me wrong, deliberate information can be fun to play with because it involves some degree of understanding that it isn’t true. Goncharov is an excellent example of “Yes, and” and sometimes I’ll assigned completely fabricated breeds to followers cats as part of a game.

This is different than sincere ignornance.

And we’re already seeing the inevitable conclusion of this behavior, I’ve seen swaths of misinformation about chimerism stemming from this which are not as benign as the initial split-face misbelief.

Chimerism occurs when two zygotes fuse into one organism… and that’s all chimerism is.

Chimerism is not a and is not related to any disability. It is actually so benign that we don’t know how common it actually is because most remain undiagnosed because there’s no inclination to test for it.

In instances where it is tested for this usually isn’t due to any medical complication for the individual, rather reproductive anomalies seem to be the most common instigator for testing, such as someone failing a parental DNA test.

So of course Moonpaw could be disabled but in the same way literally any character could be disabled. There’s been nothing in her design or the rest of the source material we’ve seen thus far that indicates she’s canonically disabled. Her chimerism is irrelevant to this subject.

Chimerism is also not inherently an intersex condition, although it absolutely can be. Intersex conditions occur when there are chromosomal, hormonal or anatomical variations that deviate from the narrowly defined social norm of one sex or another.

Ezra is a well-known chimera who with 96% XX and 4% XY chromosomes in blood but 100/% XY chromosomes in skin which means Ezra is intersex… but if the zygotes that fused were both XX or XY the individual would not be intersex due to their chimerism, though.

Discrimination of intersex people is a real problem.

But it has nothing to do with Moonpaw as a chimera.

Of course Moonpaw could be intersex, the same as any character could be intersex. Moonpaw can even be intersex as a direct result of her chimerism, as is the case with Ezra! But being a chimera in and of itself isn’t an indication that she’s intersex, it is entirely possible for her to be a chimera and still be endosex.

So once again there is nothing present in the canon we’ve been presented with thus far to indicate she’s canonically intersex, and if she is intersex then her chimerism may or may not be relevant.

And finally… the inbreeding issue.

I’d like to emphasize that Moonpaw being inbred was not a deliberate choice made by the authors and is not intended to represent individuals born from a consanguineous union. The cast of these books are tremendous and they fail to keep track of the family tree, frequently resulting in related characters being paired essentially due to sloppy record keeping.

So with this in mind nothing has been included in the canon thus far to indicate Moonpaw canonically experiences any adverse effects due to her lineage.

Anyways, it seems that people learned about the Habsburg family in 9th grade and that they had health kssues attributed to inbreeding and that… is where their knowledge on the subject ends, I guess?

The problem with inbreeding from a strictly biological perspective is that recessive traitd are retained and perpetuated. This article from BBC Earth does a pretty good job of breaking down the jist of the issue in a language that’s pretty accessible to the layperson.

Speaking of the Habsburg I’ve seen Moonpaw’s situation related to them a few times so I plugged Moonpaw’s family and the Habsburg family into a calculator to see how similar their COI (coefficient of inbreeding) is.

Moonpaw has a COI of 11.62% which is about the same degree of relatedness as first cousins while Charles II of the Habsburg family had a COI of 25.20% which is the same degree of relatedness as half-siblings.

So if Moonpaw were to display characteristics of inbreeding they would most likely be hypertyping (essentially extreme preservation of family traits), recessive traits (which may be benign) or inherited disorders such as PK Deficiency.

Other characteristics of inbreeding in cats that we’ve seen come through the clinic include pectus excavatum, abnormal testicular and lymphatic tissue, bilateral or unilateral cryptorchidism, or non-severe structural abnormalities such as a syndactyl digit or additional, small tail vertebrae.

So there’s no reason to believe Moonpaw would resemble the mother from Barbarian (2022) and real people born of incest don’t actually look and act like that either. It’s a horror movie myth and acting like it’s an accurate representation does a disservice to those genuinely born into and disabled due to such circumstances.

Side Note: Jokes about incest aren’t funny and stereotypes about inbreeding in rural areas are deeply rooted in classism.

A final note that the inbreeding is entirely unrelated to the chimerism, there is no evidence that inbreeding increases the likelihood of chimerism occuring. So logically and canonically her chimerism and her inbreeding exist completely independent of each other.

So TL;DR

Moonpaw could be a chimera but the premise that her split-face is indicative of being a chimera is based in misinformation.

Moonpaw being a chimera is not and is not related to a disability.

Moonpaw being a chimera can cause her to be intersex but her being intersex is not a given based solely on her being a chimera.

Moonpaw is inbred due to author negligence but the way people visualize the effects of this are grossly sensationalized.

Moonpaw being inbred and Moonpaw being a chimera are unrelated.

Chimera, disability and intersex headcanons are awesome for any and all characters indepent of canon. Go wild!

[genmaichafan]

i did my best boss o7 again almost not following the prompt

no beta we just die

“You know you can tell me anything la Mia preda?”

Donna sat next to you on the long and upscale couch. She sat close but out of arm's reach. Her body language attentively leaned in but open.

You looked deeply into her eyes, sparkling a beautiful brown in the dim artificial lighting of her house. You would love to have gotten lost in them but it would've been rude to ignore her.

“Yeah.” you trailed off into thought despite being aware the answer was not quite good enough.

You always got a sense of danger coming from Donna after she clearly caught wind of your affections. Although you'd thought that you were mostly past the point of being just a lay because well it's been a couple of weeks of hanging out with Donna and there had been none of the aforementioned “laying”. In fact this was the first time you were in Donna's house where you didn’t feel you were in ‘danger’ of being a one night stand. Even if in past times you only made it as far as the door.

Despite the big step you were much more comfortable that you were not just going to be eaten up.

You had the sense in the past people only came in to never come back, whatever reason that was. 

You were not letting yourself be one of those people.

You made sure to try to get to know the real Donna and not just her professor, but damn if she didn't keep you at arm's length.

“Something wrong? You put the smile back on your face.

“No, I'm fine just thinking about you.”

This caused a wry smile to crawl onto Donna's lips.

Ah. there was that sense of danger again.

“You know i don't wanna just sleep with you right?” you couldn't help but blurt out in the moment. While maybe not true to the initial impression you truly meant it. Feeling slight guilt for the initial lusting.

Donna's face shifted into an expression of slight melancholy and culpability.

“What if i told you that's what i wanted from you instead.:

“I wouldn't believe you.”

Despite all Donna tried there was a loneliness about her, big and apparent as an Olympic size swimming pool.

It wasn't immediately fathomable to the average person why she would be. She was quite the popular person on an opinion-al level and mostly kept to herself otherwise.

But to you it seems it was clear as day every one that comes leaves the way they came.

Donna was silent. She could say the opposite but a silent understanding was that it'd be a lie.

“And if you knew the real me, if I actually did want more, would you leave?”

“Never.” you didn't hesitate to answer back.

“ the most amazing part is that i somehow believe you [y/n]”

“Then let me make you more than believe.” you reached a warm hand towards hers. Gently lacing your warm fingers with her icy ones.

She stared at the contact with a shy smile. You've never seen you look so bare.

_________

It's been a couple weeks since you've gotten Donna to open up. You've learned many things about her. A couple of things being:

Donna's is actually shy and embarrassed often enough to see her face flush a bit. Especially when she receives compliments from you nowadays. It seems she really believes you now, and doesn't keep you at arms length.

The few times you had seen Donna eat it had been medium rare meat. You'd offered to cook for her but she insisted that you don't since she was a picky meatatarian. Which you'd tried to scold her about but she assured you that she was as healthy as could be.

She loves cats and she has one of them of her own named Angie: A ragdoll with unique markings.

She's slightly allergic to the sun, and that's why she mostly lives at night.

And while naturally shy she'd learned to be confident in her ‘many’ years alive. (although she barely look 30)

You've noticed that her ears twitch excitedly when she sees you for the first time that day.

And finally noticed that when open she truly loves people and things deeply.

______

You went to knock on Donna's door for the third time this week, and like all the others Donna seemed to have noticed you coming because before you had time to knock she had already opened the  door.

Donna seemed genuinely happy whenever you came over and you could say the same.

“Mi-” she coughed loudly 

“[y/n]- would you like some wine this very late evening?”

“No thank you, I know you don't personally drink.”

Hearing this Donna couldn't help but pull you close to her.

“That's true, I prefer to get drunk on your presenza.”

Wrapping her arms around your waist; Donna smiled at you dreamily.swaying gently while humming, savoring the moment between the two of you. Leaning into the moment you rest your head on her chest.

Making note of,, the lack of heartbeat…?]

Donna was truly enraptured by the moment to notice the worry going on in your head for your lover.

You slowly pulled away.

“Donna, are you feeling well?”

“Better than ever, why?”

“Your heart beats are very faint, I can't hear it.” you half lied.

“Ah, don't worry, that's not a problem.” she gave you an assuring smile.

“It's been like that for a long time.” she assured you. Holding on to your hand leading into the next area of the house. She really did seem ok so you pushed worry and that ever bleeding sense of danger away for the time being.

_____ Donna leads you around to a part of her house that you had seen but really explored before. The most noticeable feature was a slightly ornate door that clearly led to the backyard.

You had never been there but you could tell it was a special place for Donna.

Yet today, She let you in.

It was the most splendid beautiful garden the moonlight could provide.

All the flowers were heavily budding, the various smells of each mixed and perfumed the air in an enchanting way. 

You felt gifted to be shared with this.

“-[y/n]” again she almost called you something else and hesitated. Donna was clearly holding back. 

“I wanted you here specifically tonight because this moon the flowers will bloom, and i wanted it to share it with you [y/n]”

Just like a flower a smile blossomed across your face.

“Thank you, I know how special this place is to you.”

Donna bit her lip and wrapped her arms around your waist once again.

“Of course m-mi tesoro” she paused, not sure if you could understand what was being said “my darling..” 

You beamed in the moonlight as you returned the gesture. Resting your arms on her shoulder, lacing the fingers behind Donna's neck.

Finding yourselves intimately close once again you could feel her exhale against your skin. Her hands moving down to the small of your back. Both your gazes flickering between the others eyes and somewhere lower.

“Mi tesoro, may i kiss you.” you nodded as the distance closed between the two of you. Sharing the first of many kisses. Paying no mind to the now blossoming flowers you had come here for.

[bonefall]

bonefall, you've replaced a lot of the fox and badger encounters with boars instead (which makes sense) - but now what are clan cat's relationships with foxes and badgers? sorry if you've already stated this somewhere else

[ID: Stock photo of a European badger and a cat. They're about the same size.]

Badgers are pretty simple; they're a major, but not insurmountable problem for Clan cats. They're like a BIG, strong rogue. There's actually plenty of them on Clan territory, they don't get "chased out" like canon.

EXCEPT in WindClan, back when Tunneling was a practice. Badgers will leave you alone if you leave their burrows alone, but had a habit of moving into WindClan's tunnels and raiding rabbit warrens. WindClan specifically would chase them out in-mass.

BB!Badger facts;

Use in a name invokes strength, or construction ability.

Badgers are respected for their ability to dig setts.

In a one-on-one fight, a badger poses a serious danger to all but the strongest warriors. You want two or three cats if you're going to take on a badger; two is usually more than enough.

Bluestar had to kill a badger alone once, when Cricketkit and Darkkit wandered off one snowy night. That was pretty early in her leadership. She lost a life.

They're grumpy, but will leave you alone if you respect their space. Usually a badger that's attacking was pissed off for some other reason, or is defending cubs.

ShadowClan will eat them, insisting that they just need to be spiced up and it's a lot of meat to waste.

Badgers are generally considered "less dangerous" than foxes.

[ID: A fox and a black cat. The fox is considerably taller and larger.]

This is wildlife that needs to be treated with caution. Foxes can get pretty big, and are notoriously quite intelligent. A weakened warrior or a wayward apprentice could be killed by an opportunistic fox, though it's rare that a fox will put itself in danger against a healthy adult cat.

Clan cats have three words for various types of foxes which are uniquely dealt with. Vixen, Fox, and Todd. These don't actually have anything to do with the sex of the animal, unlike English.

a TODD is a young, roving fox who has no territory.

In Clanmew, they're called Ka'ak, based on the clicking challenge call between two foxes. They tend to bother each other more than they bother Clan cats.

Todds are associated with aimless mischief. They wander in, cause problems, and then usually move on as if they're bored. Occasionally though, they will unseat the local foxes and vixens, in terms of dominance or even in terms of winning territory!

When used in a name, it implies general troublemaking just for the sake of it. It's almost playful.

a FOX is a fox that lives in some kind of group.

This usually refers to a vixen's kits, or the local dog foxes. In Clanmew, these are called Aowao, based off the close-contact call foxes make when they're communicating.

A fox in a group is a pack full of trouble. This is where the insult "foxheart" starts to get its bite. Groups of foxes get bold and curious, and a cat is a sizeable meal to them, if they could manage to pick one off.

When used in a name, it implies cleverness or scheming. It's much more social than either of the other two uses, as well.

a VIXEN is an established, mature animal that rules a territory.

Vixens consistently get named by Clan cats, because those names have a use. Whitespot, the Valley Fox, Big Ginger; and their territories are noted by the Head of Hunting. Any changes in 'ownership' are a point of concern, because the vixen you know is better than the one you don't.

And rest assured, if you DID happen to chase off one vixen, there would surely be a todd looking to take the space. Clan cats learned long ago that you can't chase off all the foxes in the forest, it's best to simply select for the least troublesome vixens.

The Clanmew word for vixens, Bwaayr, comes from the haunting screech of a fox during the mating season, which sounds like a person being murdered.

This, when used in an insult, implies active malice. Vixens cause trouble that they know they can get away with, and know their territories very well. A vixen is an older animal, probably raising little fox groups of their own. They're minded cautiously.

[faeruy]

I have to talk about the devils in Baldur's Gate 3 because they're kind of my favorite thing. I promise; its probably not for the obvious reasons. Sure, they're charmingly evil, and intelligent and sexy and all that. But what Larian does that I fucking love is really take the devil contract thing seriously. Not only do they make it clear that most of them are lawful evil and therefore LOVE contracts, they also have unique contract styles. Which is a great bit of detailed world building and has the added benefit of making devils BIG FUCKING NERDS. Spoilers ahead and also casual swearing, 'cause I'm like that.

Anyway, first up; Raphael? Drama queen. Apparently wishes he was a bard because not only do his people have to sing their contracts, but he has his own damn theme song. Its SO EXTRA and ridiculous. Like... Sure he's dangerous, he's a devil. You meet him for the first time and he drops these clever lines and is vaguely threatening, but by the time you get to the House of Hope, you learn he's a theatre kid on a power trip with an ego the size of the Sword Coast. 10/10 characterization, and it almost made me not want to kill him. Almost. I'm not one to leave a devil alive when I can loot the body afterward.

And Mizora? No singing for her; bitch is the insurance agent of your nightmares. Her contracts are labyrinthine and full of opaque business legalese and she takes great pride in knowing every word of it. She references clauses and subclauses of Wyll's contract with all the glee of a Trekkie rattling off the specs of the USS Enterprise. Fucking Nerd. No wonder she managed to get herself captured; she's a pencil pusher, not a fighter. You can see why she's the right hand of a more powerful Archdevil like Zariel, because quite frankly, she gets too caught up in the fine print to ever successfully execute a grand ambitious plan of her own. (The fact that Mizora doesn't appear to have ambition beyond furthering Zariel's goals is probably a whole post unto itself, the conclusion of which is definitely "they fockin'"). Don't get me wrong, she's still terrible, but you start to get the impression that devils aren't that different from cats; it's just their nature to be a bit of a shit.

[notbadforafailedvessel]

Alcina/Neko!Reader - Part I

Part II

Neko.- In Japanese manga/anime, a part human, part cat; Nekos usually are human in appearance, but have cat ears and a tail, and in some occasions paws, as well as exhibiting cat-like behaviour.

A/N.- I don't even know. The image came to my mind and you know how it is, you have to write it down to be able to think about other things. My plans were to write all the points in just one post but this was ending up too long that I decided it was better to cut it in two.

Alcina sees you before you are aware of her presence, which is not surprising since you are running away from a moroaică.

Normally, she would enjoy the show ─ there's nothing more pleasing than witnessing a person getting what they deserve after invading her territory ─ but almost immediately she noticed something different about you, which peaks her curiosity.

She walks unhurriedly through the opposite path you had headed, knowing that you'd end there in a matter of minutes.

And it doesn't take long for Alcina to see the moroaică striking your side with the sword, making you whimper and trip over your own feet, sending you to the floor.

With a hand covering your wound, you turn around to see the monster raising its arm, ready to give the last blow.

You look at it with fear, knowing there's no way you could get out of this. If it hadn't been possible when your nimbleness was to its max, now that it was impaired due to your injury, everything seemed hopeless.

You closed your eyes, as if that could somehow help you to avoid the pain. But when you listened a slashing sound and gurgling coming from your nightmare, you couldn't keep your curiosity at bay, opening one eye.

You saw the monster hovering on the air thanks to what it seemed to be a few blades piercing its chest. Your other eye fluttered open as both widened in shock.

You could tell there was someone behind, who was the reason of such image, but you couldn't distinguish their features because the body was hiding their face. You could only perceive a black hat and an off-white dress, and you weren't sure if it was due to your perspective from the floor or if the person was really tall.

Just when your savior decided to lower the corpse to reveal themselves, your eyesight blurred because of the blood loss. You can only whine before everything turns black.

When you come back to your senses, the first thing you are aware of it's your purring and the next one, the reason of it: someone was scratching behind your ear. A goofy smile curls your lips.

"You are finally awake."

Your eyes flutter open as you hurry to sit on the bed you were resting, your body tense, your flight instincts kicking in. You are ready to bolt out when a hand, big enough to cover your shoulder and collarbone, stops you ─ using the strength enough to convey the message that escaping is futile.

"My, my, my. Is this how you reward your savior?"

You expect to feel the apprehension you had been experiencing since arriving to the town when you turn your attention towards the voice but when your eyes find a very intimidating and oh so extremely gorgeous woman sitting next to you on the edge of the bed, you oddly feel at ease despite the amused smile she wears.

"I-I apologize, my lady." You clear your throat. "I have been attacked or hunted since I set foot in this town. It was instinctively."

"Not surprising, you seem to be pretty unique." Her eyes move to your ears, and now that you are certain you are not in immediate danger, you are aware that she's still scratching your ear.

Alcina smiles fondly when you start purring again, your eyes closing in pleasure.

She doesn't asks you what you are, she's not interested in that. After all she used to creatures that are different. But she's curious about one thing. "How did you arrive to the village?"

You open your eyes lazily to look at her, somehow knowing that she preferred the eye contact during a conversation. "In an attempt to escape from my previous life. I trusted the wrong person and I ended up living in a lab for months." You lower your gaze to your lap, placing your tail on it so you can fidget with it. "I-I," your voice cracks, your purring coming to a halt.

Alcina sees your hands turning into paws, kneading the fluffiest part of your tail. If it wasn't because she witnessed the transformation, she would have thought you pulled some furry gloves out of somewhere. "There's nothing you could tell me that will change my opinion of you."

Bashfully, you look up at her. "What opinion is that, my lady?"

"That you are incredibly endearing, and if you had to resort into some sort of violence it was most likely necessary but also part of your nature since you are half of an animal that is savage despite their domestication."

You stay silent for a moment, pondering her words. "I did have to hurt people to escape, and I never confirmed if they were still alive or not," you finally whisper.

Alcina hums. "And the person responsible for everything?"

You shrug. "That's why I decided to leave, I knew they would come looking for me and make it even worse."

"Clever little thing." She smirks. "Now, let's heal your wound, okay?" You had forgotten about it, but now that she mentioned it, you can feel your side throbbing painfully. "Unless you have healing abilities."

You shake your head no. "I heal faster than a human, but I can't heal right after the wound happened, I need a few days." Alcina doesn't answer, she stands up and heads towards a door.

Waiting for her to come back, you recall the events of the day, unsure what will be your next step.

You weren't stupid, you knew that your saviour was not human. She might've not showed anything out of the ordinary beyond her impressive size but after what you had seen, it wasn't hard to reach that conclusion.

Nevertheless, you didn't feel threatened in her presence, you didn't feel the need to run away from her now that you had spent some time with her.

"Lift your shirt."

You jump on your spot, completely taken aback by her return, your ears entirely missing any sound. Still, you don't waste time doing what she asked for while she sits down again in the place she had vacated, your paws turning back to hands to keep the garment in place.

Alcina could have called a maid to aid you, but selfishly she didn't want to share you with anyone else.

Her pupils dilated at the sight of the blood but fortunetely for you, she could control herself. Perhaps later she could convince you to willingly allow her to drink your blood, as a thanks for her compassion.

You hiss when she starts cleaning your wound, having to hold back with all your mighty your first reaction of scratching the one responsible of your discomfort.

In an attempt to distract you, you focus on her hands, big enough to cover your entire torso with one of them but which are nothing but gentle in their way to cure you. "What was that thing that attacked me?"

"Mmm, failed experiments that now work as protectors of the castle."

You nodded as if you had any idea of what she was talking about. "And piercing their heart with some swords is enough to kill them?"

"Swords?" She raises an eyebrow.

You tilt your head to the side. "Wasn't that what you used?"

There's a pregnant silence before she chuckles. "I will show you mine if you show me yours," she purred.

When you look at her with confusion, Alcina pauses her task but keeps her hand on your body, careful to not irritate your wound any further. She lifts the other one for you to see and once you rest you eyesight on it, she grows her claws slowly.

You gasp in surprise, your eyes widening as they keep going until they reach their limit. "Mine aren't that big." There's wonder in your voice.

"Show me," she reminds you.

You eagerly do it, excited to have found someone who was different like you and with whom you could communicate instead of having to run away to save yourself.

Your claws are tiny compared to hers, but Alcina (who by now had retracted hers) touches them with her index finger, analyzing. "But they can be just as deadly." She smiles enticingly.

You feel herself blushing at the... compliment? And you can't stop the timid smile that appears in your lips.

"As you can see, you definitely came to the right place. Over here, there are some pretty unique beings." She goes back to the interrumpted task. "You had a harsh start, but that was because you hadn't come across with the right person."

"And have I now?" you wondered, coyly, looking at her as if you had found a treasure.

Alcina doesn't stops what she's doing but she takes a moment to look at you as she grins in a way that could make anyone shrink. "I think I'm going to keep you... my pet."

[wth-if]

Humans have made their peace with the supernatural a long time ago.. all of them, except the demons.

Ten years ago Archangel Michael swooped down from the Heavens to give humans a new salvation, a solution to their pest problem, a little thing they called H.E.L.L. - Heaven's Eradication of Lethal Lowborns.

Ever since then the demons have been under control. Until recently -unexpected, right?- after a series of kidnappings conducted by a cult calling themselves The Morningstar's Children. Ever since, H.E.L.L. has been cracking down hard on the lowborns.

And well, Lucifer Morningstar (The President of Hell Themself and Michael's sibling) is having none of that.

In retaliation, she sends you, a demon, to infiltrate H.E.L.L., and take it down.. from the inside!

OR, a celestial sibling rivalry goes a bit too far.

FEATURES (May Change!):

Play as a lowborn/demon! Male, female or nonbinary (including cis/trans options); gay, straight or aro/ace; be the vessel for Lucifer’s revenge against her sibling by.. hunting your own kind? What?

In-depth character customization! Hair color & style, skin color, body type, markings, piercings, etc!

Choose how you got chosen for the job! Are you a demonic assassin or are you just an average joe who happened to be walking by?

Romance one out of four unique romance options! Your demonic co-worker, a demon hunter and TWO archangels (that’s right!)

Cause chaos and shenanigans! Get Michael’s coffee wrong, mess up an investigation and let demons escape H.E.L.L.’s grasp! It’s what you’re here for!

Discover the mystery behind the disappearances, and who's really behind The Morningstar's Children!

Help Lucifer Morningstar win her election against her son Satan, or sabotage it!

Levithan (He/Him): Demonic Overlord, Son of Lucifer, Sin of Envy. You'd expect a guy with that description to be pretty full of himself, but instead he seems pretty tired and over-worked. He's been tasked by Lucifer to infiltrate H.E.L.L. alongside you- why? It's anyone's guess at this point. (Possible Tropes: bickering couple, tired x energetic, tol x smol)

Yavhi Gupta (They/Them): Stubborn, rude and cold-hearted. They've been working for H.E.L.L. since they were able to join, and they're one of the toughest, roughest demon hunters around. They don't joke or play around, they go straight for the kill each time. Unlucky for you then, that you've been assigned to train underneath them for the foreseeable future. (Possible Tropes: enemies to lovers, opposites attract, black cat x golden retriever)

Raquel (She/Her): Fierce, witty and loyal to the end. When her best friend left Heaven, she followed right after. Now, she works as a detective alongside him and they've been hired by an outside source to investigate The Morningstar's Children, as H.E.L.L. can't seem to do anything right, and she'll do anything to find out the truth; even if it means teaming up with a lowborn like you. (Possible Tropes: fwbs to lovers, smart x dumbass)

Gabriel (He/Him): Quiet, yet lethal and dangerous. He left Heaven for a reason, but now works alongside his friend as a detective. He's the brawn of the operation, but just as willing to do anything to get the truth... even if you get the feeling he knows more than it seems. (Male MCs only. Possible Tropes: Mutual pining, star-crossed lovers, quiet x loud)

Lucifer Morningstar (She/They): As the Sin of Greed, she's the father (mother?) of all the other deadly sins, and the current President of Hell- though with reelections soon, and her subjects looking in their son's, Satan's, favor, that might change soon. Which is why they sent you on the quest to take down H.E.L.L., so her rep would get a serious boost. She's conniving, scheming and pantsuit wearing, and will stop at nothing to keep her spot on top. (And I love her.)

Michael (They/Them): The most powerful Archangel of them all, it was obvious that one day, they'd become the humans savior, their saving grace.. uh, not really, but they love the praise. Recently however they've been under fire from the human media after a slip-up resulted in the deaths of six people, but they managed to save grace by capturing and promptly executing a few lowborns connected to The Morningstar's Children. (Which, In Raquel's professional opinion, puts them right at the top of her list of suspects.)

Shae (She/Her): A vampire and the one who hired Raquel and Gabriel after the kidnapping of her son Damien at the hands of The Morningstar's Children.

LINKS :

DEMO POST (TBA) R/O INTROS (TBA)

Asks about the R/Os, the characters or the story in general are always welcomed!

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hi there, I love your writing and I was wondering if it’s alright if I request a Morticia Reader with Yandere Jack (My Baby Boy), Odin, Poseidon, Chen Gon (He screams Gomez), Hades, Loki, Beelzebub, Buddha, Hajin and Zerofuku (Platonic, she basically adopted Zero and cares for him like he’s her son)

She’s known to be elegant, aloof, poised, deadpan, well-mannered, finds beauty in the macabre, though polite she’s unafraid to state her opinion and sees no reason to apologize for her loved ones’ lifestyle

She’s also fiercely loyal and protective of her family and is in a deep romantic relationship with (Love), and only had eyes for him, she has a unique outlook on life and has a personal green house for all the carnivorous and poisonous plants she grows and cares fondly for

-Beautiful, dark, deadly, passionate, loving, unique, all were words used to describe you and all of them were true.

-You were like the moon against the dark night sky, surrounded by pitch black darkness, bright but eerie and quiet.

-You found enjoyment in the dark and macabre, but to you, they were normal, beautiful things, skulls, poisonous flowers, dangerous plants, death, how lovely.

-Many thought you were odd by the way you dressed and carried yourself, always wearing elegant black gowns paired with matching jewelry with spider or coffin motifs. However, sometimes you would wear different colors when it was warmer out, just a slightly lighter shade of black with an umbrella, you didn’t need any unwanted color in your complexion.

-Your tone was always even and deadpan, never showing emotions the way others do, so nobody could ever tell if you were joking or not about feeding someone to your kitty-cat, an actual lion that you kept around who was like a housecat with you and those he knew, but vicious and violent with strangers.

-Many made comments that you would be attractive if you were ‘normal’ but where’s the fun in that? It’s much more fun to keep others guessing- keeping them on your toes.

-Speaking of keeping others on their toes, if anyone was to visit your private greenhouse, they would need to watch where they step or risk losing a few.

-Your garden was notorious for being filled with poisonous and carnivorous plants, and not just little things like little Venus Fly Traps, no you had a giant 4 ½ foot one that would eat people if they got close enough if you hadn’t fed them yet!!

-However, due to their healthy fear of your garden, you didn’t have many visitors, which you liked, less of a risk of your babies getting trampled or damaged.

-Your lover liked you the way you were, you were unapologetically unique, and he loved it, you were so different from other women and that’s what drew him to you.

-At first he did think you were a little odd, intimidating was a word he liked to use, as you weren’t afraid to speak your mind and there was always an air around you, a silent warning, but as time went on, he fell hard for you.

-Jack- He adores everything about you, from the way you dress and carry yourself, to your hobbies, to your passion, he had never met someone so bright but also so dark before. You were brutally honest and so full of life; your colors were stunning to him, and he loved to just gaze at you. Your wit and charm never failed to bring a smile to his face, and he knows that he could tell you anything and you would give your honest opinion, but you would always support him. You would bond over Shakespeare and tea, him reading to you while you knitted quietly, a soft, content smile on your lips. Fiercely protective of you, would not hesitate to throw words or hands with others if they would dare insult you, and you found it refreshing that he would defend your honor, even going as far as challenging them to a duel.

-Odin- You adored your darling lover, from his darling ravens, his rugged looks, seemingly endless knowledge, and his unfaltering loyalty to those he cares about. He loved your passion, he could tell when you were happy, tending to your plants or talking long moonlit walks, and while others would only see you with a neutral face, he could tell you were beaming. Odin preferred the quiet, so you were a perfect match, he could sit with you in your greenhouse, minding your plants that could be nippy with him, and ‘read’, holding an open book while looking at you, watching your fluid movements flittering about. You were the only one, besides Odin, that Muninn and Huginn would perch on, sitting on your shoulders, enjoying your attention and affections. When Odin wanted attention he would just wrap his arms around you from behind and just hold you, which you thought was cute, but you enjoy it as well.

-Poseidon- You didn’t bother Poseidon with loud squeals and fawning eyes, like other women who would eye him, you were calm, mature, and so elegant, while being dangerous at the same time. You would hesitate to threaten to poke out another woman’s eyes if she didn’t keep them to herself, and due to your even tone she couldn’t tell if you were serious or not, until you held up your hand, nails pointed out at her. You actually made Poseidon laugh that day, and that was also the day you made him blush when you stepped into his arms, telling him how good he looked smiling. You didn’t force Poseidon to do anything, only asking him, like if he wanted to go on a moonlit walk with you, and he appreciated that, as previous women were always demanding him to do things with them. You would never force your lover to do anything he didn’t want to as you respected him and he respected you for that.

-Chen Gong- At first he was intimidated by you, you were so beautiful and so confident, he felt like he wasn’t worthy to stand in your presence. However, once he found out more and got brave enough to ask you out, he was instantly head over heels in love. He would gaze at you like you hung the stars in the night sky, lighting up his life. He was the opposite of you, cheerful and warm, he was like sunshine while you were moonlight, but he adored everything about you, how you dressed, what you did on a normal day, tending to your garden, you were stunning. If you were in the same area, he couldn’t look away from you, his eyes were always on you if you were around. He never failed to flatter you, bringing you flowers and jewelry, thinking that you would like them, “These roses made me think of you, so I brought you some!” and you always appreciated his gifts, pressing kisses to his face, leaving lipstick marks all over his face, which always makes him melt.

-Hades- You were enamored when you learned that your lover was the king of the underworld, ruling over the land of the dead, and Hades loved that you didn’t mind. His kingdom was beautiful, dark and mysterious, but also so homey and cozy feeling. Hades adored your elegance, your even tone and voice, you were perfection in his eyes, everything and anything you did, he was watching with hearts in his eyes. As he loves you, you are the same for him, he’s regal, calm, a true leader, but also passionate about the things he enjoys. So protective of you, will not hesitate to come to defend your honor, should someone dare to insult it, especially in his presence, it was those rare moments that you would see that Hades was indeed a king. Once he was done dealing with the offending party, however, he was right back to you, kissing the palm of your hand, inquiring if you were alright, which you would always appreciate, giving him a kiss on his cheek, leaving a kiss mark that he would refuse to remove for at least an hour.

-Loki- The first time he saw you his eyes shot out of his head in the shape of pulsating hearts, ogling you and when you flicked them away as if they were a pest, Loki fell hard and fast for you. You find him to be mildly annoying, at first, but when he gave you a bouquet of rose stems, the flowers at the top gone, your favorite flowers, you couldn’t help but open your heart. Definitely a prankster, but never to you, he will pull pranks for you, to make you smile or laugh, and when you smile, he’s immediately in your arms, grinning up at you with a goofy look on his face, adoring the vision. He was very passionate about you, he loved everything about you and was so territorial over you it was almost amusing, Odin liked it because you were able to keep him distracted and out of trouble.

-Beelzebub- Two peas in a pod, both of you were dark, quiet, stoic, and serious, but also loyal and so in love with each other. You didn’t bother him while he was researching, other than bringing him some tea, and he didn’t like your plants, having been bitten by one too many, but supported your love for them, not telling you to get rid of them, like other men tried to tell you to do before. Your passion for what you loved, the macabre, let him relax, as he too enjoyed it, but was less open about advertising it. That’s another thing he loves about you, you weren’t afraid to be you, he did his best to not get close to others, not wanting to hurt and lose anyone else, but you seemed to soothe his inner demons, literally, Satan liked your vibe so he did nothing against you, as he could sense you would be able to hurt him, but he wasn’t completely sure how. This let Beelzebub get close to you and you opened your arms to his love and would gladly drown in your affections.

-Buddha- Complete opposites, as far as vibes go, but at the same time, you both looked so good with each other, balancing each other out. Buddha was very physically affectionate with you, something you didn’t really mind, as he liked to hold you, while you were more words of love, telling him what you loved about him, and covering his face in lipstick marks from your kisses, which would always make him melt. Buddha helped you explore more treats and you taught him about your plants, which he would always hide behind you, not wanting to get bitten again, until you taught him how to feed your babies, which he did have to admit he was fun. You were happy with your lifestyle, something Buddha knew and appreciated, which is why he never tried to make you change, and he was happy just being with you.

-Hajun- Very territorial and easily jealous about you, you didn’t care what he looked like or that he was a demon, you loved him the way he was, and due to that, he adored you, worshipping everything about you. He didn’t find you weird or strange, he found you soothing and calm, to him, you were just Y/N, his love. Hajun was almost like a giant cat with you, he would sit on the floor in front of you and lay his head in your lap, minding his horns and he could just bask there for hours if you let him, because you have in the past. Returning to being jealous and territorial, if another man was to catcall you, or worse, insult you, all he could see is red and would fly into a frenzy, threatening to maim and kill those who would dare approach you in such a way. However, all you need to do is put one hand on his arm and he will be instantly calm, you were the only person able to calm him down, as he would never forgive himself if he hurt you, but you trust him not to, something he adores.

-Zerofuku- Your darling son, you found him peeking into your greenhouse one day and seeing his curiosity while you were feeding your larger Venus Fly Traps, you invited him in. Many told him that you were a scary woman, evil and wouldn’t hesitate to feed him to your plants, but he quickly learned they were wrong. You were so doting and gentle with the child god, treating him like you were his mother, giving him head pats, teaching him new things, and showering him with affection and love, in your own way and Zerofuku loved it! He loved being with you, even though he was the opposite of you, being a ray of sunshine, and you adored him, humoring him when you held his hand while he walked you around the gardens, you shielding yourself with your umbrella and you taught him the beauty of moonlit walks, seeing fireflies and looking at the stars together. You weren’t scary, you were like a mother, one that he loved dearly, and you loved him.

[caker-baker]

Placate

The hero wanted to believe it was one of their friends, an agency member, someone else, anyone else, they would have taken a burglar at this point.

But no. No friend, agency member, or burglar would leave the front door open so purposefully, so dauntingly.

They knew this day would come, they just didn’t imagine it would be so soon.

The light turned on.

“Where have you been?” The villain asked from the lounge chair, petting the hero’s cat.

It was very obviously a rhetorical question, the villain knew where the hero had been, because now the villain was here, too.

The hero’s eyes flicked down to their purring cat comfortable in the villain’s lap, back up to the villain’s expectant face.

“I was–am on an assignment.” They wondered how fast they would have to be to get their cat and then get to the panic button.

Not fast enough.

If they needed to be placating, they could be. It would what drew the villain to them, they knew that now.

“An assignment that takes six months?” The villain asked, lazily waving their free hand around. “An assignment that gives you this? It’s cutesy, comfortable. Too small for my taste, but you know that.”

It was a test hidden behind poisonously pleasant words.

Will you be telling me the truth? Are you foolish enough to lie?

A question the hero didn’t want to answer, but there were limited options.

Placate, placate, placate.

“It’s my final assignment.” The hero clenched their fists, nails digging into skin, forcing upon them clarity to think, a reminder not to stutter, not to feel. “Going civilian, for my safety.”

“Oh?” The villain’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. “Do tell. What was so dangerous that your little agency felt the need to give you an identity change?

Another test.

“It was noted that the others–other–other villains,” The hero forced themselves to take a breath in, and clenched their fists even harder. “were targeting me, thinking it would hurt you.”

“Mm.” The villain cocked their head to the side, looking at the hero in an indecipherable way.

Disappointment? Amusement? Hunger?

The hero was never able to tell.

“Well. I can admit my faults, but this is an easy fix, my darling. I’ll handle the others. Now, the car’s been running just a bit too long, so if we could?”

The villain stood, still holding the hero’s cat.

“I can’t.” The hero’s fists unclenched, wondering if their cat could be swayed to jump from the villain’s arms. “I signed a contract. If I re-emerge, I could be considered an active threat, measures would be taken against me, um, I can’t.”

The villain smiled. “Now that is a bigger problem, but I could garner a few solutions. Come along, we can even bring…” They trailed off, looking at the cat’s name tag. “Chestnut.”

“I’ll become a public enemy. I don’t own the name Hero, I just use it, I–”

“And that’s the very problem, isn’t it?” The villain let Chestnut jump from their arms, watching the hero’s shoulders relax ever so slightly. “This day and age of heroics and villainy, it’s all very theatrical. We used to do this because of values, morals, plans for world domination.”

They gave the hero a once over.

“The other heroes are good at the limelight, thrive, even, it’s the whole reason they sign the contracts and take the name, but they can’t beat you in character, and the numbers of casualties in their fights versus yours speaks volumes. You weren’t good at the attention, not until I got to you, at least.”

“And I thank you for the help, but I’m done with the cameras, interviews, the saving people.”

“What a shame. You used to talk about being a symbol, about helping people, a hero through and through, not any of that pretending you’re a movie star. It’s what makes you…”

“Malleable?”

“I was going to say unique. No need for the dramatics.”

When the hero didn’t respond, didn’t move, didn’t even look like they were breathing, the villain’s polite mask dropped.

The hero hated that, how easily the villain could switch around their personality. They also hated the villain’s unblinking eyes.

The villain could blink, the hero was sure, but whenever it was just the two of them, the villain always made sure to be constantly watching.

“As I said, I can think of a few solutions to your problems.” They held out an expectant hand. “Shall we?”

“You were using me.” The hero blurted out. “You weren’t trying to help me be better, you were–you were–”

“I was what?”

“Making me into a tool. You would have turned me into a monster.”

The villain scoffed. “A monster? Please. You would have been beloved by the world, no contract or agency could hold you, you would have been second to none.”

“Except you.” The hero noticed that Chestnut was curling around the villain’s legs, slowly realizing that their best option at this point might have been to turn heel. “I would have been second to none except you.”

The villain smiled again, though it looked more like an animal bearing their teeth in annoyance.

“Eventually not. Once we’ve finished with the others, all the theatrics and the celebrity treatment, we could begin the real work. We could be equals, my darling.”

“You were manipulating me so that you could have the perfect opponent?” The hero felt bile rise in their throat.

There was evidence of the villain using them, solid proof shown directly after that scolding from the agency for allowing a villain to mentor them, but to hear it from the villain themselves was something else entirely.

“Twist my words in whatever way you’ll have. We both win. You won’t have to worry about the performance of being a hero, you can simply go out and save the day how you like. Tell me it’s not tempting. Now, it has been a treat tracking you down, my darling, they hid you well, but I must insist we leave. There’s a long drive ahead of us.”

“No.”

Chestnut had wandered closer to the hero.

“Ah, would you prefer we fly? It’s not my favorite, but–”

“I’m not going with you.” They reached down slowly, picking up Chestnut, hoping to make it look as though they were holding her for comfort.

The villain watched, their jaw clenched, anger barely concealed.

“I made you.” They seethed through an unusually quiet voice. “And if I have to, I will break you, and build you up again.”

The hero took a step back. “Find another hero to manipulate.”

With a deep breath, the villain collected themselves, never breaking eye contact with the hero.

“You know, part of the plan was to make you fall in love with me.” They admitted, taking only a step forward to match the hero’s step back. “Or at least have you grow fond enough of me that you wouldn’t betray me so easily. But obviously, it didn’t work. Lucky for the both of us, I can work with fear. You have an abundance of that, don’t you?”

The hero turned heel.

There was no placating a villain.

[sarnai4]

Butt of the Joke

Something I enjoy in stories is when you can laugh at and with a character. To me, it keeps them from seeming too "important" or flawless. We all make mistakes and being able to laugh at ourselves is nice. That's why I like when they do this with Dagur, but the method is very different from what's done to Snotlout. Something I will probably always be grateful for is that Dagur is a show character and not a movie character. Those in the movies (the rest of the Riders anyway in my opinion) had their development stunted. I'm convinced that the first movie didn't expect the franchise to get as big as it did and just needed some other people to fill out the cast. Unfortunately, they also didn't expect the shows to be super popular. So, Snotlout in HTTYD 3 is still immature enough to flirt with the widowed mom of one of his best friends when RTTE Snotlout would understand how inappropriate that is. All that's to say that the jokes for Snotlout are often at the expense of his character because he still has to end up at whatever point he's at in the movies.

I believe it's in "Shell-Shocked" that there's a joke about Snotlout suggesting they all leave the Edge and run, leaving it for the Hunters. Okay, yes, I chuckled too because it is funny to have a character be so openly fearful. Yet, this doesn't make sense for him at this point. We're on the season 4 finale of a show that happened 2 seasons after the first series. Snotlout should know by now that leaving the same Hunters who had been willing to kill them and a ship of innocent people with a disease can't be left to their own devices. Why wouldn't he want to stay and fight? Even if it's dangerous, of course the villains are going to keep coming for them. Hiccup rightfully points out that they'll just go on to Berk, but why did he have to say this? Snotlout should have known, but the joke was made without considering how much he'd grown and his own bravery and intelligence.

There seems to be a thing about Snotlout being cowardly, but I really don't think he is. In "Gold Rush," there's a wordless joke where he's just screaming his lungs out after getting captured. Not saying he hasn't shrieked when plummeting to what could be death and that's totally fine, but here? Eh, I don't think so. I feel like there would be enough bad blood between him and the Hunters by now so that he wouldn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing how scared he is. It's also horribly futile. He's gone to save Fishlegs, the twins, and Astrid before. He knows the Hunters won't release them and nothing is even happening besides his cage being moved. I'm probably overthinking these moments, but they annoy me since they paint Snotlout as pathetic when we then see him enter a 21 vs 2 fight in "Something Rotten on Berserker Island" fearlessly. Is he a scaredy cat or not? I just want some consistency, then I'd accept whatever fit with the character I'd been shown.

Dagur's saved from this since all his development is in the show. He's not held back by the movies. So, when there's a joke at his expense, it doesn't contradict anything. I'll try to make the examples as similar as possible for comparability. Dagur's got a joke involving saying the wrong thing and it was in "Mi Amore Wing." He's proposing to have Hiccup be his best man. Yes, this is clearly a unique way to ask someone, but it's also not contradicting anything about Dagur. He's got 0 skills with picking up on social cues and responding to things the way other Vikings generally would. It's also very possible that he's never seen anyone be asked to become a best man before, so he's doing what he thinks is a good way to show he's sincere and would really be happy. I don't leave the scene thinking, "Now, why would he say that, though?" Because he's Dagur. That's enough of a reason.

Dagur's got a scared joke too in "Enemy of My Enemy." When he was on Toothless's saddle, he was terrified and the scream made it pretty clear. This made sense because there was something happening at that moment. It wasn't Dagur letting his enemies see his weakness. It was him being on a dragon for the first time, going very quickly, and not knowing what he was doing. He's even thrown off the saddle as soon as Toothless lands in another moment I thought was funny. It doesn't make him look bad, but we can still laugh at his incompetency in this area.

Both of these characters have several physical gags too where one of them gets hurt and I will admit that those always get me to laugh. It's just times like those I've mentioned for Snotty that disappoint me. I really like him too. I think if he were allowed to be a more respectable character, it would be great. Dagur proves the writers know how to do that. We can laugh at him without him doing anything that opposes what they've set up. On the other side of this, Snotlout will act one way, then contradict the very personality we just saw him develop. I can't think of a single time when I couldn't explain one of Dagur's actions through use of his personality. I think that's how it should be. If it's in-character, then it makes sense. If not, then maybe the scene should be worked on a bit longer for this to be fixed.