#why are you so feral. put the rabies away }

[huntershowl-moving]

❝ YOU'RE LYING. ❞

HE HOLDS OUT AN OPEN PALM, LIKE A trainer soothing a spooked creature, and hellhound very nearly lunges forward to bite off his fingers. though the irony is lost on her, it wouldn't take superhuman perception to notice the stark similarity to a cornered animal in her body language. the way she bares her teeth, the wild eyes in constant flux between anger and fear.

the ferocious sincerity in him takes her aback. if she were naïve, she may believe he is being honest. he's certainly putting on a good act. but no matter what he says, persephone knows people. powerful people, the ones revered by a populace crying out for salvation. they only wear a smiling face when the door is open.

she's not sure why he tries to de-escalate. his words don't make sense. i don't want to fight you — not like this. why wouldn't he want to fight her? evidently it does something, as the rage flickers, uncertainty flashing across her face for a split-second. some tiny, half-drowned spark of humanity that snuffs out as quick as it appeared. her face darkens again. ❝ what the fuck do you mean, not like this? ❞ a slow step forward, eyes burning, mechanical fingers gripping the knife and sliding it out of its hip sheath. ❝ fight me. that's what soldiers do, yeah? or are you feeling extra committed to the good-guy mask today? ❞

　He is keenly aware of the circumstances of the world despite what one might think. Steve knows the factors that play into his life are different than others but he likes to think at his core, he would be the same if things had been different. No one can ever really know —— he can only infer off his morality now despite it not fully being fair to do so. Despite that, he believes firmly in doing the right thing - no matter if it was only right to him. He had to live by his own choices.

Steve shakes his head, ridiculous in his dulled blue suit, shield donned all shiny and undented. The truth was Captain America served more purpose as a symbol than as a person. He suspects the shield would live on after him. The world needed that kind of symbol but she was wrong about him as a person. He, Steve Rogers, only did what he thought was right or wrong. His orders or those giving them had never had much play in his own personal decisions. He wasn't always right and he sometimes failed but those were his own personal consequences.

"I think about it every day." He admits, knowing he will never have it hundred percent right all of the time. How many regrets did he live with now? His blue eyes are bright as he steps closer, hand that wasn't holding the shield raised in a gesture that could only mean he didn't mean any harm. "I don't want to fight you- not like this." But he would if he had to. Despite everything, he's become aware what the world was around him.

[ryind]

SPOILERS FOR OPPENHEIMER BY THE WAY BECAUSE I HAVE WAY TOO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS MOVIE AND WANT TO DISSECT IT

Okay so I know there are some very reasonable and valuable complaints, comments, and criticisms about Oppenheimer and how it handles the ACTUAL victims of the war, martyrizing Oppenheimer, an arguably very gray character in reality for more reasons than the atomic bomb and...trying to poison his mentor. You know. The basics.

THAT SAID I AM GOING ABSOLUTELY FERAL FOR CILLIAN MURPHY'S PORTRAYAL OF OPPENHEIMER LIKE I HAVE A 3 IN 1 DEAL FOR HYPERFIXATIONS RIGHT NOW I THINK BECAUSE WE HAVE THE ACTUAL MOVIE, CILLIAN, AND THEN OPPENHEIMER. AGH. LOSING MY MIND. PICKING APART EVERY SCENE AND DETAIL WHILE ALSO GUSHING ABOUT CILLIAN'S PERFORMANCE.

on that note here's some things I worked out about the movie, or rather, my takes on them for those curious (some of these are definitely a stretch, but I like seeing how far I can push a metaphor once I find one, so here we go):

Lotta controversy about the "I am become death" quote during the sex scene, which, fair. I can see why they included it though, upon reflection. In the moment, it just feels like a strange foreshadowing of the bomb itself, which did Not resonate with me and seemed fairly jarring, but upon closer inspection, I think the relevance of that quote in *that* context is that this is the first person Oppenheimer lost. Jean needed Oppenheimer, and he blamed himself for her suicide (or murder, maybe). This was the first time he "became death, destroyer of worlds"; the first marble in the bowl, which mirrors Oppie's reaction to the bomb's actual detonation quite well, too, I think. Something terrible has just happened, and yet the expectation is that Oppenheimer shows up and pretends all is well and he isn't horribly damaged, just martyring on.

SECOND

The orange from Rabi might be a bit deep or I might be a bit stupid. Oranges tend to symbolize positivity and aid, so being told to eat one by a friend in his most vulnerable moment is a kindness, hence some symbolism there. I did unpack this deeper though, say, such that oranges need to be peeled to get to the sweetness, and they are one of the sweetest citrus fruits, though they maintain their tang. This represents perfectly how the orange delivery felt in that scene; sweetness from Rabi in a moment of vulnerability, the orange peel gone, the bitter and trauma numbed exterior of Oppenheimer stripped away for just a moment before the sour slammed back in full force. Also just. Really stretching it but oranges being segmented could both represent a fractured mind AND the different perspectives on Oppenheimer as a whole and his reputation to this day.

Oh and General Groves when telling Oppenheimer he's essentially done with him but will ..try? To keep in contact? And update him?? He's buttoning up his coat if I remember right, mirroring his guard getting put up as he ends his amicable dealings and negotiations with Oppenheimer, adding layers and making himself less vulnerable. Oppie, meanwhile, smokes as the quiet, socially acceptable way to perform an anxious ritual.

Also the RAIN. Don't have this one fully unpacked yet and maybe never will but Cillian in an interview mentioned that Nolan described Oppenheimer as "dancing between the raindrops" and this has only half clicked with me but oh well here we go. The basic idea is likely that Oppenheimer doesn't abide by just one grouping of people or their ideas, or hop on any flow bound for one particular destination. Rather, he dances in the space between; in the uncertainty that looms closer towards the ground the further things fall. I think this works decently with what I've listened to and read about Oppenheimer as a person, saying he'd follow recent physics, always growing impatient with the current field he was in and seeking something more...I don't like the use of this word in relation to science but "trendy." I guess the dust particles and whatnot in the headspace sequences work in line with the whole rain theory too in terms of how Oppenheimer doesn't just think about the interactions and the space between, but lives and breathes it as the space between the raindrops; between those that make the biggest splashes, as he gets caught in the ripples. Also given his anti-war rhetoric throughout the movie I feel like there's maybe a fire/water thing going on with him trying to quench the bomb he created but ultimately failing? Who knows. Maybe it's just rain.

Anyways here's all the ramblings I did to myself to reach these conclusions. They are incomprehensible.

[virdemption]

Seek90 Headcanon Rewrite what the fuck!! (<>?/<3)

Seek initially showed up in the rooms trying to get away from Ambush after a really shitty fight and wound up lost on accident, A-90 was the one to find them and teach them about the rooms.

The start was rocky though, because they mistook him for Ambush at first. But this was very quickly resolved. When everyone goes back to the hotel, A-90 basically functions as those two's auspistice and it's effective mostly because he has strong positive relationships with both entities.

The relationship comes across as one sided to the majority of entities (Including A-90), but it isn't. A-90 is very painfully obviously in love but Seek hasn't said anything, coming off as not reciprocating. Well, they're on all levels incapable of reciprocating, right?

But they can. They do and it's physically painful. Feeling such strong positive emotions so often and suddenly worsens the crusty, tumor-like growths that spread and begin to dry them up until there's nothing left that makes Seek "Seek". A-90 does not know this.

A-90 has no intent on ever confessing to Seek. Doesn't matter since Seek already knows how he feels (and he's unaware of that) but it still looms in his mind. This won't have to end if it doesn't start.

The prospect of being in love also scares A-90 and he can't explain it. Sometimes he overthinks his crush and it becomes distressing. It's easier to suppress his feral urges when Seek is around but at the same time he feels like he'll collapse on all fours at any given moment so that just kinda makes him really nervous.

Seek sometimes goes very long periods of time ghosting A-90 in the belief that not talking to him will fix the growths, but they're still hella thinking about him so it doesn't really do shit lawl. A-90 never messages anyone unless they reach out first so he gets put under the impression that they're focused on other friends. Something something Seek's just like pop music or the like.

Whenever they do meet again... Oh boy, A-90 gets way too excited at times, sometimes spamming their messages, and if they meet in person oops he's reverted. He has pounced on them before and has also accidentally left clean gashes on their body (sometimes slicing limbs off). They heal back really well though so it's fine. Seek's only real concern with that is if any of their goo gets into his mouth.

Which yes. Has happened before. That's also how Seek eventually began to reciprocate! One day they spent like 2 hours trying to get A-90 to his room after tripping balls from accidentally swallowing some of their goo and going full rabies mode at his peak.

A-90 oftentimes rants to Seek, who very rarely has anything to say in response. They do however love hearing him talk and, unlike many entities, finds his voice relaxing albeit crunchy and a bit feral sometimes.

Speaking of, whenever A-90 gets back to his senses after reversion, he'll be embarrassed as all hell if Seek was there to witness it in any capacity. Sorry for mauling the hell out of your undercooked steak and clawing the wallpaper right off do you still think I'm handsome-

A-90's whole thing is attempting to be proper and distinguished. Seek can shatter this so painfully easily if they really wanted to, which is something almost all other entities cannot do. A-90 thinks it's probably some primal urge bullshit while Seek thinks he simply just trusts them enough (It's a mix of both).

Curious Light actually discovered Seek in the rooms while they were trying to comfort A-90 after a really bad event. This is how she eventually got back to the hotel but goddamn this was fucking scary for her to witness.

Seek can't explain why but they oftentimes gets lost staring at their reflection in A-90's armor whenever it's been recently polished. They have accidentally hypnotized themselves multiple times before due to this.

A-90's always changing blood color depending on his mood sometimes gets absorbed by Seek if the jutting razors' wounds cause it to touch them and, based on the color, it affects Seek. Red has a calming, healing effect, yellow doesn't do jack shit, and green harms them.

[moemammon]

Headcanons for the boys with a feral mc?

The Demon Bros with a Feral MC

(MC has only three brain cells labeled chomp, bite, and kill)

Lucifer

Put that thing back where it came from or so help me

Diavolo what have you done have you never seen a normal human before wh-

He's so tired,,, why the hell is this human screeching so loudly,, are humans even supposed to make sounds like that,,,

You're screaming. Mammon is screaming. Everyone is screaming. Diavolo is laughing. Lucifer is considering a career change.

Mammon

Bro why is this human looking at him like th-

The first to be attacked. Why though?? You fucking launch yourself toward Mammon and all he can do is screech in horror when you bite his sleeve and refuse to let go.

What kind of human ARE you?!?!?!? You have the teeth of a piranha and fingernails that're jagged enough to be called talons. He wants to know what HOLE you crawled out of

HUMANS DO NOT FOAM AT THE MOUTH WHATS HAPPENING LUCIFER DO SOMETHING

Levi

Media makes it seem like an encounter with a primitive creature from another realm would be something like a lighthearted romcom, but you prove that fantasy wrong right away

You're no feral love interest, you're a fucking raccoon in a human suit and he's NOT interested in the slightest.

Now you're attacking Mammon, and Levi is torn between recording the fight and getting away so he won't fall victim to your biting and clawing.

Both. He's going to do both. Roflmaooo this'll be GREAT on deviltube

Satan

Of all the things he read about humans, you were definitely not what he expected to drop out of that portal-

Interested for a good two minutes while he watches you eviscerate Mammon. Maybe they can keep you as a weird human pet?

Where did Diavolo even find you though?? The Siberian wilderness???

It's almost as if you know he'll obliterate you if you come near him, so you keep your distance and he's free to observe the chaos from afar.

Asmo

Ew,,, why are you so dirty and spitting everywhere,,

What a huge turn off! He's all for a little aggression, but you seem like a literal wild animal and he's 99% sure you have fleas

Finds it hilarious that you went for the scummiest brother first, but now your gaze has turned his way and he's fucking RUNNING

That encourages you like some sort of evil dog, and now you're chasing him and he's screaming-

Beel

Since you're more like an animal than anything, does that mean Beel gets to eat you? 🤔

He's hoping that's the case. It's been forever since he's eaten a human. Though the look on Lucifer's face tells him he might not be able to...

Also prepared to grab you if you start going crazy, but apparently attacking Mammon isn't crazy enough because he's legit just watching

THEN you go after Asmo and that's when he intervenes, picking you up by the scruff like some kind of jungle creature with rabies. Still giving Lucifer the 'can I eat it?' look ngl

Belphie

Thank god he's in the attic lmao. Y'all hear sumn?

[mickstart]

Can you make a list of schumi's war crimes?👀

This is going to sound like I'm being rude or exaggerating but we literally do not have the time to list every single one of schumis war crimes BC I was not exaggerating when I said once per race he'd commit a war crime. Imagine the dominance of sir Lewis Hamilton mixed with Mr Lotterer's penchant for throwing himself at people like a racoon with rabies and that's the Michael Schumacher experience. They literally added pages to the rulebook because of Schumi because he could simultaneously drive fast and recognize tiny needle sized loopholes in the rulebook that he must have had memorized.

But I will list The Big Four!

1. Crashing into Damon hill to win the championship. Everyone said "ok that was kinda Sus but I mean senna did something similar we'll just ignore this politely"

2. Crashing into Jacques Villeneuve to win the championship. The FIA said "alright fool me twice shame on me" and disqualified him from the entire championship. (It didn't work anyway he bounced off of Jacques comically and beached his own car. Hysterical unhinged man.)

3. Taking a stop and go penalty on the last lap of the race so he crossed the finish line in the pits and still won, then Ferrari put together such a complex argument for why it was valid that they scrapped the penalty entirely and he got away with it. This is why there's such strict rules about how many laps you can wait to take a penalty now.

4. Parking the car in Monaco qualifying, therefore blocking Alonso from beating his time, and shrugging like "oopsy woopsy I accidentally forgot to turn" and INSISTING he didn't commit a war crime when even FERRARI were like "Michael... Bro... Why did you do that"

Even when Schumi came back in 2010 he was committing war crimes they had to change the rules to ban. Charles' accidental war crimes are mere innocent mistakes when put beside Michael's but my god having that unhinged feral energy back at Ferrari is like... Nature Is Healing

[alrightberries]

dante’s inferno

request: wassup homie could you maybe write a college au fic where levi and reader are rommies, then one day reader brings home an adopted cat without levi's prior knowledge? You could decide what happens next lol. Tysm 🥺

❈ pairing: levi ackerman x reader

❈ genre: fluff, semi-crack ❈ word count: 4k

❈ summary: college au. in which you bring a stray cat to your dorm and your neat freak roommate won’t let you keep it.

alternatively: a compilation of college shenanigans where you and levi are best friends who are bad with feelings (ft. an unamused cat named dante)

❈ trigger warnings: profanity. mentions of alcohol and smoking. implied smut.

a/n: this was supposed to be loosely based on the nine circles of hell according to inferno by dante alighieri— hence the title— but i did my research wrong so now it’s loosely based on the seven terraces of purgatory according to divine comedy. i’m keeping the title tho.

Inspired by this art by @ryuichirou on tumblr.

Permission to repost art was granted by the artist. Do not repost/edit the art without explicit permission from the artist.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

i. first terrace: pride

“We’re not keeping it.”

“But why?”

“We’re not keeping it.”

“But why.”

Levi’s tongue clicks in annoyance. His eyes glance next you where the offending creature lay on your bed; tail curling, paws kneading at his your favorite fleece blanket. Quite frankly he’s a little offended when the little shit has the audacity to glare at him back.

He’ll never admit it, but his ego’s a bit bruised because the cat’s glare was slightly better than his.

“I said no,” he firmly replies, looking back to you. “It’s bad enough I have to share a room with an anarchist who has no respect for boundaries—“

“One time, I forgot to use a coaster that one time!”

“—and now you expect me to share a room with a dirty fur ball who does nothing but eat, shit, and sleep?”

“He’s a cat, Levi.” You murmur, scooping the cat into your arms. “And he has a name,” you give a nervous smile when you see your rommate grit his teeth. He feels a headache coming.

“You named it?”

“Dante is not an ‘it’.”

Levi makes a move to step closer but immediately stops when the ‘Dante’ hisses at him.

“Aw, he likes you.” You coo.

“Clearly,” he replies unenthusiastically. “Listen,” he sighs. “I respect your cat’s pronouns but that doesn’t mean he’s allowed to stay. Or do I need to remind you of the mac and cheese incident?”

Okay, maybe he was on to something. If you got caught with a pet in the dorms you’d breach your third and final warning, and you’d be forced to dorm off-campus. The fact that you were still here after the mac and cheese incident was solely because Levi pulled some strings (aka asked Erwin, golden boy of the campus who owed him a favor, to pull some strings).

But you couldn’t just let Dante go. There was something about him that felt so familiar; something about his black fur, thin silver eyes, unamused snarl, and overall grumpy demeanor. Especially endearing was the way he’d grumble and pretend to be annoyed whenever you tried to cuddle him but would complain if you stopped.

You just couldn’t figure out who or what he reminded you of.

Maybe you would’ve figured it out too if you weren’t so distracted with watching Levi and Dante stare at each other. Your eyes dart back and forth between the grouchy cat sitting on your bed and your grouchy roommate sitting on his desk. Both were slightly crouched over with their heads tilted up in a show of dominance; they were engaged in what seemed to be a glaring contest, gunmetal irises unamused and mouths taut in a snarl as they protected their territory.

You sigh. You really, for the life of you, couldn’t figure out why Dante felt so familiar.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

ii. second terrace: envy

Levi is not jealous. He’s not.

At least that’s what he tells himself as he sulks alone on his bed. His arms are crossed and his lips are in a pout, eyebrows knitted in distaste, occasionally glancing to your side of the room where you sat up on your bed. He’s sure whatever movie you chose to watch together is interesting and all, but right now all he could pay attention to was that stupid cat. Sitting on your stupid lap. Getting its fur stroked by your stupid hand. Getting all the love and affection his stupid self should be receiving.

It was him you should be cuddling, not Dante. Saturday nights were reserved for him and you, not you and a cat while he happened to be in the room. He’s been trying to make a move on you since high school and he can’t fucking believe he’s losing your attention to a cat. Sure, he’s always been too chicken to make a move and had to suffer seeing you get together with assholes— as per your type during your emo high school days— but this was a new low. He can’t wrap his head around the concept that he’s losing his longterm crush to a motherfucking cat.

When you coo at how adorable the fleabag was for what felt like the 50th time that night, Levi decides he’s had enough of the cuddle-hogging piece of shit.

Wordlessly, he crosses to your side of the room and lifts the cat from its perch, ignoring your protests as he sets it down on the floor and tells it to ‘scram, you little fuck.’ He uses a hand to dust your lap free of any microscopic cat particles Dante probably left behind before lying down his head down once he was satisfied. He grabs your hand to put it on his hair.

“Stroke.” He orders, eyes closing.

“What? No! You pushed off Dante.”

“He was in my spot.”

“You couldn’t have given up your lap pillow for one night?”

“One night?” He scoffs and turns to look at you. “You’ve been abandoning me for two weeks. That disgusting, tic-infested, rabies-carrying slob has no business sitting on your lap.”

“He’s not disgusting, you gave him a shower before you agreed to let me keep him. And I took him the vet to make sure he had all his shots. He’s clean, Levi.”

“Tch, good. Now throw him out and let him find someone else to freeload from.”

“Okay, what’s going on?” You guffaw. “You’ve been grumpier than usual. And why’re you being such an ass to Dante? He’s just a cat.”

“Don’t think he’s special in some way. I’m an ass to everyone.”

“Then why does it feel like you’re always extra mean to him?”

He doesn’t reply. His lips are downturned into a frown when he looks away with a click of his tongue, and you realize with a sigh you won’t be getting an answer from your cryptic roommate soon. Your fingers start mindlessly stroking his undercut when you get lost in your thoughts— a habit you developed through years of Levi using your lap as a pillow. He always complained the first few times you did it but you knew it calmed both him and you, and that it put both your minds at ease. Moreso Levi right now, apparently.

You’re keenly aware of how he seems to curl up into you the more you keep going. You watch as his shoulders slump down when you stroke the side of his face, and his eyebrows relax slightly. From your angle, you could even see the way his eyes close in content. Maybe even a tiny smile if you were being delusional.

Your lip twitches upward.

“Oh my god, Levi, are you jealous of a cat?”

“Shut up and play with my hair.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

iii. third terrace: wrath

“You owe me a new cravat.”

You blink up at your roommate. “What?”

“You owe me a new cravat.” He repeats. He pulls from his pocket a white piece of fabric— barely recognizable— torn into shreds, releases it mid-air. It gently lands on your open palm.

“Wait, did Dante do this?” You ask, eyeing the slik in your hands.

“Unless you went feral in the middle of the fucking night and decided to cut up my clothes, yes.”

“Oh my god, Levi, I’m so sorry. I swear Dante will never—“

“You actually owe me three cravats,” he interjects. “The first two I overlooked since they weren’t that expensive but I draw the line here.” His lips are downturned into a frown, eyes poorly concealing his clear distaste. “This one’s my favorite and it was made from silk.”

You eye the fabric in your hands once more before nodding in understanding, setting down the once beautiful cravat before taking out your wallet. It was only fair that you paid him back; he was being more than generous with letting your cat stay and keeping it a secret, and now you wonder how many bad things Dante’s done that Levi’s overlooked or simply never brought up with you.

“Sure, I’m really sorry. How much do I owe you?”

Levi doesn’t say anything. Instead he pulls out his phone and types something on what you could only assume was google, most likely looking for the same brand of the cravat your cat had just torn into shreds. You weren’t entirely sure how much those could cost, but surely you could afford—

“What the fuck!” You screech, eyeing the page with very, very hefty price tags listed. Holy fucking hell where did he even get the money to buy something so expensive. Gulping, you nervously look up at your unimpressed roommate. You already knew he was taking it easy on you; his aura was the only thing intimidating, at least he wasn’t giving you the murder eyes. And even though he was a man of his word, you were thankful he hasn’t reported Dante.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that Levi looked pissed beyond belief.

“Uhm... can I pay you with a check that’ll definitely bounce?”

“You will pay me in cash.”

“Fuck, fine!”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

iv. fourth terrace: sloth

Levi silently works on his desk. His laptop’s open in fromt of him, numerous notes from classes and books from the library surrounding him. The gentle sounds of clicking and clacking echoe throughout the room as fingers typed at the keyboard, eyes concentrated and lips pulled taught as he focuses on his task. He’s on a roll. He’s almost done with this part of his research, nothing could snap him out of this, he just needs to—

“Levi, when do you think Dante will come back to me?”

He stops typing and grits his teeth.

This is how it’s been the entire night. Ten minutes of peace before you ask him some stupid questions that could’ve been answered with common sense.

“Fuck if I care.”

“Do you think it was something I did?”

He resumes typing. “Yes.”

“Do you think he’ll come back?”

“No.”

“Even after all we’ve been through?”

“Still no.”

“I miss him,” you sigh. “I miss him so much.”

“Then you shouldn’t have left the door open.”

It’s been a week since Dante escaped the dorm and Levi doesn’t understand why you’re still so depressed about it. I mean, you only lost a cat that you loved and treasured and treated like family. Surely a week of moping around in your pajamas and eating nothing but chips and soda was catharsis enough.

He hears you shift in your burrito blanket, presumably to turn away from him so you can sulk into the wall next to your bed. Good. Now he can get back to working on—

“Levi do you think Dante-“

“Enough.” He grits, slamming his laptop shut.

“Where’re you going?” You ask, eyeing the way he hurriedly stuffs papers and books into his bag along with his laptop.

“Out.” He replies, grabbing his keys and his coat. “I can’t stand this shit anymore.”

Your head is burried in your blankets when he slams the door shut and all you could do was slump down because great. You lost Dante, and now you’ve royally pissed off Levi.

Great. Just fucking great.

Unlike your cat, however, your roommate comes back hours later, just before curfew. He doesn’t bother with a hello— he never does— and neither do you, opting to stay hidden underneath the sheets. Though suddenly, there’s a dip in the mattress followed by a pur next to your head.

Could it be?

“Dante?” You murmur, lifting your head from underneath your cocoon of fabric. Small black paws and silver eyes meet your gaze. “Dante!” Immediately sitting up, you pulled him to your lap, scratching his little head and cooing about how much you missed him as he purred and curled into to you.

Levi would never say it, but he missed seeing you smile at the little fleabag.

You turn to look at your roommate. “How’d you find him?”

“Asked around the campus. He wandered into another dorm building and probably thought it was ours.”

“Well yeah but... I thought you hated him?”

“I do.” He replies instantly.

“Then why’d you find him?”

“I hate him, not you.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

v. fifth terrace: avarice

“I fucking hate both of you,” Levi grumbles, staring at the dorm.

Towers of boxes lined his supposed to be clean dorm room. He had a hard time prying the door open since it was blocked, and he wasn’t even sure how the boxes weren’t blocking out the light from how high they were piled. Dante’s sat on a stack of box directly next to the door, purring and flicking his tail around. Levi squints his eyes and glares at the little shit.

“You especially.”

“Mrow?”

Levi’s day had been, with no irony or sarcasm at all, amazing. He got a good grade on his research paper; the guy in front of him at the cafe accidentally ordered an extra serving of (coincidentally, Levi’s favorite) tea and gave it to him for free; and he got full marks for the presentation he’s been worrying about for weeks. His class even got dismissed early so he had an extra hour for lunch. He knew you didn’t have classes, so in honor of his great day he thought he’d do something nice and take you out for lunch. His treat, of course.

But any trace of his good mood vanished when he went back to the dorms and got greeted to a room that looked like it came from an episode of Hoarders.

This is what he gets for trying to be nice.

“Levi! Is that you?” You called out.

“What the fuck happened?”

You laugh sheepishly— at least Levi thinks you do. He couldn’t see you beyond the hundred boxes that took up your shared room. He hears some rustling and the sound of things being moved around before finally your head pops out from behind a wall of brown, smiling at him apologetically before walking towards him (and tripping a few times).

“Remember when I said I’d order some toys for Dante as a surprise?”

Levi’s eye twitches. “Don’t tell me—”

“I accidentally ordered 10,000 instead of 10. Online shopping struggles, am I right?” You nervously chuckle at his pissed off face. Levi was not in the mood.

Your smile widens as you make twinkly gestures with your hands. “So uh... surprise?”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

vi. sixth terrace: gluttony

The clinic is still when you first entered.

The harsh smell of alcohol and sterile metal makes your nose grimace, and the coldness of the thermostat brings goosebumps to your arms. Behind the wall, somewhete in the waiting room, cats are hissing, dogs are barking, and you could even hear the sound of birds angrily chirping and rattling their cages.

Dante cowers in fear on the silver table, and your heart aches. His ears are down and his fur’s standing on its ends, but you couldn’t comfort him. Not right now, at least. The veterinarian still needed to do a few more checks.

You gulp, “how’s... how’s Dante looking, doc?”

“Not good,” she murmurs. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and she takes a deep sigh as she eyes the information on the chart. “It’ll take months before he can walk properly again, possibly more if we don’t do anything about it soon.”

“Don’t tell me... is he—-”

“I’m sorry, my dear,” she sighs. “But your cat is heavily obese.”

The corners of your lips twitch down into a frown, and your palm is warm when you start to stroke Dante’s fur. He calms down a bit from your touch, less on edge but still guarded as he warily eyes the doctor’s gloved hands.

“But I don’t understand,” you reply. “I’ve been following the recommended diet you put him on, and I haven’t been feeding him anything other than the cat food and vitamins you recommended. How’s he still obese?”

“Well, we could look into other solutions, but for now I think we ought to look at whether or not Dante has an underlying health problem.”

Levi tunes out the chatter between you and the vet, bored eyes staring into nothing. He’s leaning against a wall and he’s watching the cat carrier. Your bag’s slung over his shoulders and your coat’s in his arms, and he was sure you didn’t even need him to be here for “moral support.”

He mentally scoffs. You probably just needed a chauffeur to drive you for free, and honestly, Levi would rather feel like a chauffeur than a coat rack.

His eyes make contact with Dante’s, and all the fear in the cat’s eyes is suddenly gone, replaced with a steely glare and bared teeth. A warning, one no one else notices but him.

Levi gives him a solitary nod, understanding what Dante wanted to say.

Don’t tell Y/N I’ve been sneaking to the neighbors.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

vii. seventh terrace: desire

There’s something about the buzz of alcohol and nicotine that makes Levi confident—- the liquid courage in his veins and the smoke in his lungs clouding his judgement. Perhaps that’s where he finally gets the balls to cross the room, drunken eyes on your equally intoxicated ones, before he pulls you in for a kiss.

The kiss starts slow, with lips just interlocking and lightly testing the waters. But then he feels your tongue make its way inside his mouth and your fingers weave into his hair to tug him closer, and Levi loses the last threads of inhibition he has. His tongue massages yours and one of his arm wraps around your waist, the other comes down to grope and knead your ass. He feels you walk backwards and your hand pulls at his tie, dragging him with you. Suddenly he’s trapping you against a wall, lifting one of your legs up to wrap around his hips so he could grind his crotch into yours.

Levi doesn’t expect his first kiss with you to be like this; messy and full of tongue and spit, full of fingers clawing at clothes and small grunts escaping your lips. He was hoping it’d be more romantic, with warm cheeks and fingers softly intertwining, shy kisses exchanged through little smiles.

But he’s not about to complain—- he’s wanted to be with you for years, and god he loved having you like this. Loved having you all hot and desperate, trapped between his firm chest and the wall. His cock is hard in his pants, and he just about growls when he feels you start to undo his belt, the fly of his pants coming down as you got on your knees and stared up at him with innocent eyes as you pull out his aching boner. There’s a cheeky grin your face when you pump at his length, and your tongue peaks out of your mouth before—

“Levi, are you okay?”

His eyes snap open, and he’s greeted to the sight of your worried face directly above his.

“Fuck!” he yells, and his forehead slams into yours when he flinches away. “Sorry, sorry” he quickly ammends when you yelp in pain.

He’s covered in sweat, he notices. Chest heaving, heart beating a little too loud for his liking, and he silently pulls the blankets over his cum stained boxers when you sit beside him.

God, he was really hoping you wouldn’t notice the fact that he came in his pants like a high schooler. And it was before dream you even got to suck him off. How much more pathetic could he be.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and you nod.

“Yeah, m’fine, it’s just...” your eyes are distracted, staring off into space. Fingers trace his thighs, and you sigh. “You were having a nightmare,”

Levi blinks. “What?”

“You were having a nightmare,” you repeat. “Kept tossing and turning and groaning in your sleep. And you kept making these... funny faces,”

“...right,” he nods. Sure, a nightmare. A nightmare he never wanted to wake up from.

It takes about ten minutes to reassure you that yes, he was fine, don’t mind the way his cheeks are flushed, he was just... shaken up from his nightmare, is all. Then you’re back to bed, sleeping the night away, and twenty minutes later he’s on his way back to bed too; this time with a fresh pair of boxers and a content look on his face, all thanks to him finishing off his fantasies in the communal bathroom during his shower.

The door makes a quiet click when he shuts it behind him, and he freezes when he catches sight of Dante sat up on your bed, tail flicking behind him as he gives Levi a knowing look.

Levi squints his eyes, and he threateningly whispers, “you tell no one.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

epilogue

The half empty room brings a frown to your face, and all you could do was pout as you sealed up the last of the boxes.

“Why do you have to leave again?” you ask, and Levi turns around as he finishes folding the last of his clothes. He shrugs. “Cats aren’t allowed in the dorms.”

You owed him your entire college career, that much was sure. The RA’s found out about Dante, and Levi had taken the fall to spare you. He wasn’t required to move out since it was only his first strike, but he insisted on doing so so that Dante wouldn’t be alone, saying he already found an apartment nearby and he’ll never hear the end of it from you if he didn’t take Dante with him.

Bullshit. Levi had a soft spot for Dante, you knew that much. He wasn’t doing it for you, he was doing it for himself. Though normally you’d be overjoyed to know that Levi really did secretly like the cat he pretended to hate so much, this time, you were just pissed. You couldn’t believe a fucking cat was stealing away the guy you’ve been in love with since high school. Sure, you were too much of a coward to ask him out, but he was basically your boyfriend already—- the entire campus knew you inadvertently had dibs on each other.

“Yeah but... do you have to leave me alone?”

“I asked you to come with me, and you said no.” He points out. “I still don’t see why when we’ve been roommates since we were freshmen.”

“It’s different off-campus!”

“How?”

“Because it’s like... it’s like we’re moving in together, y’know?” you reply. “And it seemed wrong to move in with you when we’re not even dating.”

“Let’s do it, then.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighs, handing you a spare key to what you could only assume was his new apartment. You glance between him and the key in your hands, and he rolls his eyes when he realizes that you still don’t get it.

“I know we’re doing this backwards since couples don’t typically move in before the first date,” he says before gesturing to Dante. “But we already have a son, and I know you’re his favorite parent. We can share custody until you can move in with me.”

You blink. “What?” Your brain stopped working when Levi referred to you as a couple, and you’re pretty sure your heart stopped beating too. At this point, anything he said went in one ear and out the other. He flicks your forehead.

“Hey— ow! What was that for?”

“You weren’t listening.”

“And you’re being a prick!” you grumble. “It hurts, y’know.”

He scoffs. “What do you want me to do? Kiss it better?” he scoffs.

Your mouth moves faster than your brain, “I’d rather you kiss me.”

Wait. What?

Before you could go back on your words, Levi shrugs. Warm palms gently grab your cheeks, pulling your face closer to his. Your eyes widen and you momentarily freeze, brain definitely not working anymore. He hesitates when you don’t make a move, but then you’re shyly leaning forward, and that was all the confirmation Levi needs.

“If you insist,” he whispers, and suddenly your words die on your tongue when his lips interlock with yours.

alrightberries © 2020. do not modify or repost.

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[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Resident: Bristleblaze

Aliases / Nicknames: Sweetheart

Gender: tom (neutered)

Sexuality: bisexual

Family: Aspenleaf (mother), Redberry (father), Berrystripe (sister), Poppyhollow (mate)

Other Relations: Nutmeg (best friend)

Clan: Thunderclan

Rank: Warrior

Characteristics: neutered, strong moral code

Number of Victims: 1

Number of Murders: 1

Murder Method: biting throat

Known Victims: Poppyhollow

Victim Profile: orange and white cats

Cause of Death: rabies, killed by Poppyhollow

Cautionary Tale: sometimes being good doesn’t get you anything.

Story:

Bristleblaze was a good cat.

Lawful, following the warrior code and his own moral code, it went against his nature to turn away a cat in need. So when he saw an orange and white tom seemingly stuck in a trap, of course he went to help!

Only for the tom to trap him inside and run away laughing for the Twolegs to find.

He sat in the cage for almost a day, fur puffed out with fear until the Twoleg came to get him. He tried to stay calm, gently communicating his request to be free to the Twoleg, who merely called him a ‘polite young fellow’ and put him in the back of the truck alongside a row of others.

The cats were taken to the Cutter’s, and by the time they left, almost all of them were different.

Bristleblaze staggered back to the clan, trying to shake the ringing, mocking laughter from the orange and white tom and the stinging as the twoleg medicine wore off.

He and his mate- Poppyhollow- had already been trying for kittens, but after he was captured by the Twolegs, no matter how many attempts they made, the couple remained kitless.

Assuming Poppyhollow would be happier with someone who could provide her with kits, Bristleblaze broke off their relationship, ignoring her questions about why, after two dozen moons, he was leaving her.

He left the clan after Poppyhollow found a new mate and soon popped out five healthy new kits.  



He left for the Twolegplace, determined to get revenge on the orange and white tom who had ruined his life.

Instead he met Nutmeg, the sweetest cat-let alone kittypet- he had ever met.

Nutmeg had invited him in and shared his food with the then half-starved Bristleblaze.

After a few moons, Bristleblaze moved in, much to the surprise of the resident Two-leg.

For a few more moons, everything was happy.

But then rumors of a she-cat gone feral and killing other cats rose from the streets.

Bristleblaze decided to investigate, following the trail the diseased she-cat had left, intent on stopping her before she could hurt his beloved Nutmeg.

To his horror, the diseased she-cat was Poppyhollow.

He managed to kill her, but the damage was already done to him, and the pair soon lay together, reunited in death.

Additional information:

--Submission by @ambitiousauthor​

--He was given the option to go to Starclan, but didn’t believe he deserved it.

[incorrect-mha-bnha]

BNHA HEADCANNONS again

Eri holds anual tea parties with everyone but banned Bakugou for “a thousand eternities” because he kept getting into bickering matches with her stuffed animals on who was the better princess.

Kaminari can, in fact, cook and bake. You can’t tell me I’m wrong because I also hc him as a huge stoner. The same with Sero. Those boys be cooking and whippin in the kitchen. Case closed.

Much like Star Lord, I believe Dabi would be one to wear headphones and carry around a cassette tape while he destroys things. People screaming and havoc being caused but it’s all muffled by his tunes. He even dances around as he works.

Mitsuki is the kind of woman to bark at men that catcall her. You can’t say I’m wrong, because I’m not. She would have no shame barking at some sleazebag that passes a rather suggestive demeaning comment her way thinking he’d get away scotch free and have a laugh over it with his sexist buddies— WELL HED BE WRONG because as soon as she hears some punk yell “Nice (insert sexist joke)!” She’d stop, turn his way slowly and start barking as shown.... “BARK BARK RUFF AWOOOO GRRRR BARK BARK BARK!” And the man would literally die on the spot. Gone. A queen. A badass. What a woman.

During that scene in the sports festival where they brought out Bakugou in chains and a muzzle like some villain rather than a teenage child. You know the one— yeah you do. Anyway. He was having an PTSD attack about the slime villain. Tell me I’m wrong. His mouth was covered and he was restrained. It was NOT very long after it either. What were they thinking? Trick question. The whole hero system is trash.

(CW: Vore) I personally think the most twisted hero turned villain scenario would be Tamaki. He eats things to gain power in his quirk.... I think you know where this is going. Imagine finding out a villain literally eating heroes and random civilians to gain their quirks? Wack

Back on my partially blind Todoroki hc. Due to his impaired vision, he tends to stand with his right side towards the opponent as to keep them in his sights and guard blind spots.

When Bakugou gets lonely, he will set off tiny explosions like fireworks that remind him of younger days when him and his friends would attend festivals and run around with sparklers.

I do like the Latin Sero hc so along those lines... you cannot tell me he wouldn’t chase anyone around the dorms with a chancla over something. It’s about as scary as an Aizawa woken up mid nap. He could chuck it a 100 yards and away and still hit you square in the head. Sero is so scary with a chancla, even Bakugou won’t attempt to fuck with him. *Starts yelling* *Sero comes out of nowhere with a sandal in his hand* “Are you yelling at Midoriya again?” *Bakugou looks up then slowly turns away and stalks off grumbling*

Izy is blasian (I don’t know if that’s the correct terminology for the mix) and will from this point on be known as Dekquan on this blog and to me. My mind is Astral in this bitch today. So many hc and thoughts. Hair care products, routines, ethnicity to learn from, SO MUCH. I also hc Mina as black, gods and her know how much of a struggle that boy will go through to take care of his hair.

Listen... I love the Bakusquad.... but they really aren’t exactly feral. Dekquansquad is immensely chaotic in terms of actions. They almost got charged with multiple offenses and Todoroki tried to square up with the head police chief. Not to mention Iida quite literally went to mu1der Stain with the help of Dekquan and Todd. After that they practically said “And what about it!?” THEN half the Dekquansquad went out to rescues Bak, and didn’t give a single fuck about the consequences. Bottom line? Dekquan knows every heroes weakness and has yet to snap completely, Iida has attempted murder under his belt, Todd has the pure teenage rebellious spite mixed with “Neutral chaotic come at me Bro!” Energy fueling him, Ochac is there for the money. Whats bakusquad got? Some Latin scotch tape, a badass breakdancer, pika pika let me charge your phone mister suave, “oh that doesn’t sound very heroic” sunshine and daisies man, and ‘I go to bed for 8’ rabies n company. Don’t even try.

Bak’s parents are fashion designers. Why does this detail matter? Take a look at his hero costume. The color pallet doesn’t clash, the asccesories make sense. (In a sense). It’s the most well put together hero costume out of Class 1A. He had to have picked up tricks and rules to follow from his parents work, you cannot tell me otherwise.

Mina would sing WAP at Uraraka’s wedding..... change my mind.

(Not a ship hc) Will I ever shut up about Kirishima, Bak and Mina being my emotional support Wonder Trio (Im going to need to think of a different damn name) even if I don’t post about it? No. Mina forms a close bond with them as the years progress. Spending more time, opening up with them, nurturing with affection. It goes both ways as well. The boys care about her immensely, becoming protective and promising to be there when she needs it. Inside jokes, training and teasing- they have it all. Their dynamic is *chefs kiss* and I promise to post about it in the future.

Denk has to have brain damage, I’m pretty damn sure. If you’re using electricity to the point of being incapacitated and numerous amount of times then there has to be some adverse effects at play.

[drabbles-of-writing]

If Love is Pain Then We’re Smitten

This is part of my Beta AU

AO3

Masterpost

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was no secret that Luz Noceda and Amity Blight didn’t get along.

Ever since the human transferred to Hexside, mostly on accident, mind you, there’d been trouble.

Now, fighting in Hexside wasn’t out of the ordinary. It’s Hexside. Everyone is basically a feral animal with sentience.

Their fighting, however, was constant.

Verbal or physical, the two simply couldn’t be in the same room together and not raise the tension. At first it was treated like trying to walk with an egg floating in an overfilled glass of water. After all, Amity used to be part of Boscha’s group. That alone commanded respect.

But over time, it became more...tolerable.

It was a regular spectacle to see what disaster Luz would find herself in each day. Sometimes they were as big as stopping a lava monster from burning the whole school to the ground, and other times it was a simple spat with the resident demon, King.

It had become a common occurrence to Luz and Amity as well. They barely batted an eye at their own barking anymore.

And yet….something felt different about this fight.

,

Luz was unconsciously aware that she was being lifted by the front of her shirt. Her head hurt, her eye, good lord, her eye hurt. She registered Amity getting in her face, fangs bared, pupils slitted. The mane she called hair had come undone and framed her face in a wild, mangled manor. She had a bruise on her cheek, and bits of blood running down her face.

Luz was too tired to find the source of it. She couldn’t pinpoint why, but all her fire from before had died in the blink of an eye.

“Are you even listening?” Amity snapped, bringing the human back to reality. “You look like you just died.” She huffed.

“Maybe I did,” Luz mumbled, limp in the witch’s grip. “You don’t know. Bet I possessed my own corpse just to torture you.”

“No, I’ve seen that happen. You’d actually look better if that was the case.” She said, stepping back, but still holding her up by her shirt.

“Thanks,” Luz muttered, rolling her eyes and wincing at the pain in her left eye.

She took this moment to look over the witch again. She had scrapes all along her arms, and she could see a bit of blood soaking through her pant leg. There was a long cut on her forehead, not a deep one, but enough that blood was still faintly trickling around her eyes.

And, Luz noticed with a hint of satisfaction, she was favoring her left arm, holding her up with more force with her other hand.

“You look like hell,” Luz said, her gaze drifting back to her face.

“You’re no model yourself,” Amity huffed, curling her lip in a sneer, flashing a slightly bloody fang.

Luz narrowed her eyes. If she found a bite mark on herself, then there would be war.

“Just put me down you melodramatic witch.” Luz muttered.

Amity shrugged and released Luz’s shirt. The human yelped before hitting the pavement, flinching as she felt fresh scrapes on her arms. She glared up at the girl, who only gave her a smug look in response and began to walk off.

She winced mid-step, pulling up her right leg with a hiss. Luz raised a brow and lifted herself onto her hands, straining with the effort.

“You alright there, Mittens?” Luz taunted.

Amity whirled her head around, giving a low growl as her ears flicked back. She straightened up and glanced away, a faint flush at the tips of her ears.

“Don’t call me that,” Amity said lowly.

“Whatever,” Luz shrugged, beginning to push herself to her feet. “Come on, let's head closer to the seven-eleven.”

“What?” Amity blinked, looking back at Luz incredulously.

“You're a mess, I’m a mess, I’d rather neither of us went walking off in the middle of the night looking like we lost a fight with a gang of raccoons.” Luz said, cringing as she got to her feet.

Amity still looked unconvinced, crossing her arms. Luz hobbled past her, unbothered as she made her way out of the parking lot and towards the side of the 7-11, a few meters away from the door, but far enough away neither of them would scare off late-night customers. Unless they were cowards, of course.

“C’mon,” Luz mumbled, waving her hand for the witch to follow.

She fully expected the witch to blow her off with a jab, but to her surprise, she didn’t. She instead heard the sound of Amity shuffling after her, grumbling something inaudible.

Luz turned so her back was leaning against the wall and slid down, knees bent as she leaned her head back, shutting her eyes with a pained groan.

“Aw, someone had too much for one night?” Amity jeered, slumping down next to Luz with her right leg stretched out and the other bent, which she lay her arm on.

“Shut your bloody mouth,” Luz growled, though it was nowhere near the level of Amity’s.

“Do you usually become British when you're beat up?” Amity chuckled.

“I meant that literally,” Luz cracked open an eye. “You have blood on your teeth.”

Amity paused, clearly not expecting that. She opened her mouth and poked her tongue around at her teeth. She pulled back and shut her mouth with an appalled look after only a few moments.

“Ew, I do.” She agreed. “It better not be yours,” She warned.

“Oh, yeah, like I want a massive bite-mark on me.” Luz rolled her eyes. “You're worse than a rabid possum, you know that?”

“Says the one who hangs out with the weird owl janitor,” Amity huffed. “If anyone has rabies, it’s her.”

Luz opened her mouth to argue before slowly shutting it again.

She muttered something under her breath before beginning to dig through her jean jackets pockets. Amity watched her curiously for a few moments until she pulled out a healing glyph with a gleeful expression.

“You have one of those?” Amity asked as Luz sat on her knees, turned towards the witch.

“Obviously, I’m fighting you all the time.” Luz scoffed. “And, well, I get into a lot of fights by this parking lot.” She said with a shrug.

“You what--”

Luz leaned forward, reaching for Amity’s left shoulder. The witch cut herself off and pulled back, giving Luz a mildly concerned look. Luz met her gaze with her own tired stare and the witch eventually let up.

She mumbled something about her ‘wasting a glyph,’ but Luz paid it no mind. The witch pulled the hem of her shirt to the side, revealing a nasty mark right where her shoulder connected to her body. Luz reached out and placed the healing glyph on it before tapping it.

The glyph glowed brightly for a moment before steadily beginning to dull back to normal. Amity grit her teeth at first, but quickly relaxed with a sigh, her ears relaxing to an almost normal position.

“I know, right?” Luz grinned. “Feels like a high.”

“I’m not gonna ask why you know what a high feels like,” Amity said, giving Luz a warning glare.

“It’s best you don’t,” Luz agreed, sitting back. “Anyway, I need ten bucks.”

“What?” Amity stared at Luz.

“Ten bucks, for supplies.” Luz said, pointing behind her towards the 7-11 doors. “We both look awful, and that was the only healing glyph I had on me.”

“Wh--and you used it on this?” Amity gaped, gesturing to her shoulder with her free hand.

“Yeah, so now you owe me ten bucks, that I will also proceed to use on your broken face.” Luz said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Your rich, aren’t you? Make it even.”

“That...that wouldn’t be….” Amity sighed and shook her head. “You’re an idiot,” She muttered, digging in her pocket and pulling out her wallet.

“You had that on you the whole time?” Luz blinked. “I thought you would’ve, like, kept in your purse in your car.”

“I was too busy getting ready to curb-stomp your face.” Amity replied simply, withdrawing two fives and placing them in Luz’s outstretched hand with more force than necessary.

“How sweet of you,” Luz rolled her eyes before pulling herself to her feet with a wince. “Wait here.”

“Do I have a choice?” Amity muttered.

“Eh, I could probably call a taxi with this.” Luz said, shoving the money in her pocket and hobbling towards the door.

Amity frowned, confused for a moment as Luz opened the store door.

“Wait...did you walk here?”

,

Seven minutes had never felt so long before.

Amity impatiently drummed her fingers on the ground beside her, constantly glancing back at the door, even when there was no indication it had opened.

She rolled up her pant leg, exposing the nasty gash on her knee. She recoiled at the sight and decided to leave it be and hope Luz kept her word.

Despite it being the middle of the night, there was the occasional weirdo or group of people wandering about. Amity would turn her head away and hide her face with her hand every time someone walked by and stared at her, or the one group who went inside the 7-11.

They probably thought she was a junkie or some hustler who had a bad day, she thought bitterly. After all, who in their right mind would be sitting alone in the middle of the night looking like they had a tussle with a wild dog?

She heard the door to the store open and glanced up, immediately turning when she saw it was Luz.

In her hands were bandages, a roll of gauzes, and antiseptic wipes. She nodded to Amity before sitting beside her again. She didn’t say anything, only set down the medical supplies and withdrew a small pack of twizzlers.

“...did you seriously buy that with my money?” Amity finally broke the silence.

“There was some left over, and that employee just wanted me out of his store.” Luz shrugged, pulling out a twizzler. “Also, this one was already open, so it cost less.”

“That employee probably thought you were involved in a gang fight or something,” Amity scoffed. “And is that black licorice?”

“Too bottom-of-the-barrel for your refined taste buds?” Luz taunted, holding a twizzler in her mouth while shaking the package in front of Amity.

“Licorice is revolting, that’s common knowledge.” Amity sneered, backing away.

“Cowards, all of you.” Luz huffed, setting the packet aside and biting off a piece of the twizzler in her mouth.

“You’re nature's greatest mistake,” Amity curled her lip, disgusted.

“I know,” Luz said cheekily, pulling the antiseptic wipes into her lap and beginning to try and open it.

And then Amity watched Luz struggle to open the plastic around the wipes for a good minute. Luz’s hands couldn’t get a good grip or tear in the covering, either due to how tired she was or because her hands were a bit bloody from fighting. It was hard to tell.

It didn’t take long for her to grow impatient and she let out a small growl. Luz glanced up, giving her an annoyed glare in return.

“Look, this thing is difficult to open--”

Amity snatched the antiseptic wipes out of Luz’s hands, too tired and riled up to wait any longer. She sank her fangs into the plastic, easily piercing it. In one easy movement, she tore the packaging, and some of the cardboard, clean off.

Amity spat out the plastic and cardboard and lifted up the small box to check it over. She’d pierced a few of the wipes inside, but there was still plenty left. The hole wasn’t clean and a bit small, but it was open.

“There,” Amity said, turning and holding the box out to Luz. “I opened it.”

Luz stared at her for a few moments, speechless. Amity raised a brow, wondering if Luz somehow went into shock. For a moment, Amity almost swore she saw a redness on her cheeks before Luz quickly grabbed the box out of her hands.

“Told you it was difficult,” Luz mumbled, digging through the box and pulling out the wipes and opening those with much more ease.

Amity rolled her eyes and licked at her fangs, trying to get the taste of cardboard off them. Luz pointedly looked away from her face and got onto her knees, reaching for Amity’s scraped knee.

“This is gonna hurt, by the way.”

That was all the warning Amity had before Luz pressed the antiseptic wipe to her wound. Amity hissed and jerked back, her ears lowering and snapping her teeth close to Luz’s face, causing her to draw back.

“What the hell?” Amity snarled, pulling her knee closer.

“This isn’t like the glyphs you use,” Luz explained, minorly annoyed. “It’s going to hurt, but it will help.”

“What kind of backwards logic is that?” Amity demanded.

“The human kind. Now either hold still or get an infected knee.” Luz said firmly. “I’m already bleeding to death as it is.”

“Then just help yourself,” Amity muttered under her breath.

But she listened and stretched out her leg again. She tensed and bit back a hiss as Luz cleaned the wound.

She suspected the human cleaned a bit longer than necessary for a bit of revenge.

Once the wound was clean she unrolled the gauzes and ripped off a strip before wrapping it around the witch’s leg. Amity watched her every move like a hawk, eyes narrowed.

“Alright, now for the face.” Luz said, pulling back and withdrawing another wipe.

“What?” Amity felt her face, wincing as she pressed the bruise on her cheek. “Ow,”

“Yeah, hold still.” Luz said, sitting up on her knees and leaning forward, pressing the wipe to her forehead injury.

Amity flicked her ears down as Luz concentrated on cleaning her wound. Due to the proximity, she was stuck taking in Luz’s face, as much as it annoyed her to do so.

Luz had a black eye, and there was a scrape on her nose. Her beanie was lopsided, but stubbornly stayed on her head. Her hair was frazzled and knotted, and she wondered how much conditioner she had to use to keep her hair as straight as it usually was. Amity herself had given up on conditioner a long time ago.

Luz pulled back from cleaning her wound, leaving Amity subconsciously wondered why she didn’t feel any pain this time, and pulled out a large bandaid.

“Is that going to cover all of it?” Amity raised a brow. “And that’s a genuine question,” She added when she saw Luz give her a deadpan look. “Because in case you forgot, I can’t exactly see the damage.”

“Poor you, unable to see your wrecked face.” Luz sneered, rolling her eyes and leaning forward again to place the bandaid on. “It’ll cover most of it. You’ll live.”

Amity grumbled, crossing her arms as Luz tried to cover as much of the wound as possible.

Once again, Amity caught herself staring. She could see that Luz had cuts on the palms of her hands, and bruises that stretched passed the sleeves of her jacket where she couldn’t see. She noticed that Luz was sticking her tongue out while concentrating. The edge of Amity’s lips curved into a smile at the sight.

Luz glanced down, catching Amity’s gaze.

Amity jerked back and sharply turned her head away, her face heating up.

“I know, I look dashing in blood,” Luz taunted, sitting back with a cocky smirk. “Simply an enchanting sight.”

“I’m going to break your spine over my knee and toss you into a woodchipper.” Amity spat, pulling her lips back in a snarl.

“That’s fair,” Luz nodded, unphased as she got another antiseptic wipe. “Hey, how bad is my eye?” She asked, gesturing to her left eye. “Like, could I play it off that I smacked into a pole?”

Amity gave Luz a disbelieving look. Even in the low lighting from the store, she could tell that unless Luz could brush off she was incredibly clumsy, there’s no way someone would think she just ‘hit a pole weird.’ Her eye wasn’t swelling shut, but the entire skin around it was a dark, angry purplish black. There was even a bruise forming around the edge of her right eye where Amity had just missed hitting the eye itself.

“Yeah, no, you’d do better putting makeup on that.” Amity shook her head. “The fact you didn’t get any ice for that is already a little concerning, and that’s coming from me.”

“Store clerk wouldn’t let me steal any,” Luz shrugged, dabbing an antiseptic wipe on her nose scrap and wincing. “Guess it’s another day of concealer.” She grumbled.

“Do you even know how to properly apply concealer?” Amity asked as Luz pulled out a small bandaid.

“I just gotta find one that matches my skin tone and brush over it, don’t I?” Luz said, hovering the bandaid over her nose and realizing too late she had no idea how to place it on properly.

Amity sighed and took the bandage from Luz, slapping her hand away when she fumbled and tried to grab it back.

“No, you moron. It’s a whole process.” Amity said, reaching out and placing the bandaid over the scrape, smoothing it down.

“You gotta apply green concealer, then one that matches your skin tone, then you do the same to your other eye so it looks natural, and then you want setting powder. Plus mascara if you want to divert less attention to your eye.” Amity listed off, grabbing another antiseptic wipe and taking Luz’s hand, turning it over so she could start cleaning it.

Luz stared at her for a few moments. She seemed confused as she looked from her face to her hand that Amity was cleaning but eventually just gave a sheepish smile.

“I’m, uh, going to need to write that down.”

Amity groaned and glared at the girl. She pressed the wipe harder onto Luz’s hand and the girl winced and almost drew her hand back if it weren’t for Amity’s death-grip on her wrist.

“I have makeup in my purse, I can just apply it tomorrow before school.” She said, tossing the wipe aside and grabbing the gauzes. “Since you obviously have no idea how makeup works.”

“Gus is better at it than me, he was a theater kid.” Luz shrugged. “Well, I was also a theater kid, but he was a makeup theater kid. I was an acting theater kid.”

“That explains a lot,” Amity said simply, checking Luz’s palm to make sure the gauzes covered her scrapes before seizing her other hand.

“Oh please, I swear nearly everyone in this school was, or is, a theater kid.” Luz muttered.

“You’re not wrong.” Amity said, only half-paying attention. “The makeup isn’t going to look very good tomorrow, but that’s because of the swelling. And adding more makeup is going to make the healing process slower, so pick your battles.”

“Do you get in fights often?” Luz raised a brow. “Or are you sneaking out and helping other girls with their concealer when I’m not around?” She teased.

“Please keep in mind I’m the one holding your hand right now,” She growled, gripping her wrist tighter and glaring at her face.

There was a momentary silence between the two.

“That kinda--”

“You know what I meant.”

,

“Can’t believe you actually drove to a fight at seven-eleven,” Luz whistled, leaning against the front of the black car. “And I’m willing to bet this is an expensive car too, huh?”

“It’s just an old dodge charger,” Amity shrugged, opening the passenger side door. “Get in.”

Luz blanked for a moment. She processed Amity’s words before jerking her head up to look at the witch.

“Huh?”

Amity exhaled like this was testing her will and gestured to the inside of the car.

“You said you walked here, didn’t you? And even bandaged up, you still clearly got in a fight. I’m not letting you walk around at one AM looking like that.” She said impatiently.

“...you're going to willingly let me get into your car?” Luz said, pressing her hands together before flinching and remembering that was a bad idea. “And you're not trying to kidnap me?”

“I’m not asking again.”

“Just making sure,” Luz said, avoiding eye-contact as she walked over and scooted into the passenger seat.

Amity shut the door with a bit more force than necessary and walked around the car to the driver's seat. Luz took her time in looking around, checking out the interior of the car. She noticed an air freshener hanging over one of the air ducts. It was shaped like a staff from the Good Witch Azura series.

Luz leaned forward to sniff it and instantly recoiled. Partly because it had a disgusting blend of lavender and ash, and partly because Amity had gotten into the car.

“You read Azura books?” Luz asked as she turned to the girl.

Amity froze, stiff and still, both hands gripping the steering wheel. Luz scooted back slightly, preparing for a claw to come flying at her face.

Amity turned to glare at the human and pointed a finger, nails unsheathed into sharper claws and Luz instinctively raised her bandaged palms in innocence.

“You say anything about this and I will rip out your tongue and force-feed you your own eyes. Understand me?” She growled.

Luz nodded slowly and Amity pulled back, twisting her key in the ignition and starting up her car. Luz waited until they had left the parking lot and began driving before she drummed her hands on the armrest and casually tilted her head.

“So...which book’s your favorite?” She questioned. “Personally, I think book five was--”

“Shut your mouth before I do it for you,” Amity hissed. “But do that after you tell me your address.” She added right after.

“...ignoring the way you worded that first part,” Luz said, attempting to sound as indifferent as possible. “It’s just a few streets away from here. Do you have a GPS?”

“Punch it in,” Amity said, her voice sounding stained. She took one hand off the steering wheel and dug in a compartment between the two seats, pulling out a small black GPS.

Luz did so, casting a glance every now and again towards Amity, who had gotten a faint pink to her cheeks at her earlier threat. She had one elbow back on her seat, with the other hand on the steering wheel.

Luz sat back and let Amity continue the drive in near total silence. She pulled out another twizzler from the packet she’d taken and half-heartedly gnawed on one.

“Thanks,” She mumbled around the twizzler.

“Hm?” Amity hummed, glancing over for a moment before turning back to focusing on the GPS.

“For driving me,” Luz said, keeping her eyes on the window next to her. “Even after I messed up that pretty little face of yours.” She said with a hint of tease.

“Oh, so when I say something that could be taken the other way, it’s a big deal. But when you say it--”

“Shut up and drive,” Luz grumbled, slumping down in her seat and shoving the last of the twizzler in her mouth. “This is what I get for trying to be nice.”

Amity chuckled and shook her head. Luz pouted and glanced over at her. The witch was noticeably more relaxed than before, smiling ever so slightly.

Luz gave a small grin and pulled out another twizzler. She offered it to Amity, her grin growing as Amity gave the licorice twizzler the side-eye.

“I’m not eating that, Luz.” Amity growled. “Don’t taunt me while I’m driving.”

“Oh, so you can take a hit, but you can’t take licorice?” Luz taunted, still holding the twizzler by her face.

“What happened to Luz being thankful I spared her?” Amity grumbled.

“I was thankful because you were being nice, not because you spared me. Which, by the way, no you did not.” Luz huffed. “But both of those moments have ended because I still don’t like you.”

Amity growled and pressed her ears down. She sharply turned her head, and in the span of a few seconds, she snapped her jaws around two quarters of the twizzler, barely missing Luz’s fingers, and broke the candy cleanly.

And calmly, she went right back to driving.

Luz sat in shock for a moment, unmoving. She had the sight of Amity’s fangs in her mind for a few moments before quietly leaning back in her seat and looking over the small piece of licorice left in her hand.

She was having a lot of thoughts at the moment, and that was evident by the flush gathering in her face.

She was, however, distracted by the sound of Amity gagging.

The witch stuck out her tongue in disgust, revealing it was slightly forked at the end. Her face was scrunched up and she shuttered.

“That was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten,” She hissed, shaking her head.

Luz watched the sight for a moment before bursting out laughing. She tried to cover her mouth, but it didn’t do much. Amity glared over at her and looked ready to growl, but she didn’t. She only raked her gaze over Luz before deflating and rolling her eyes.

And then she slammed on the breaks.

Luz went flying forward, realizing too late she had neglected to put a seat belt on. She hit the dashboard and groaned at the impact. Amity, meanwhile, started laughing at her as Luz pulled herself up.

Luz grabbed the boxes of bandages she’d taken with her and chucked it at Amity’s head. The witch laughed harder, unbothered.

Luz scoffed and sat back, crossing her arms. Though she couldn’t help a smile herself, giving a giggle at the witches antics.

And for a brief moment, it was like they’d never fought at all.

“Alright, alright,” Amity wheezed, turning back to Luz. “Get outta my car you bruised idiot.”

“Huh?” Luz said, looking around and peering out the car window.

Sure enough, they had arrived at Luz’s house. Which made sense, why else would Amity stop? She had to get home. Why was she disappointed?

“Oh, yeah, right.” Luz nodded. “Er, thanks, again.”

“Don’t mention it. Ever. Because Boscha will never let me forget this.” Amity warned as Luz opened the car door and slipped out.

“Yeah, no, I’m not telling Boscha anything.” Luz agreed. “I’d rather swallow a tooth.”

“Pray that you do,” Amity taunted as Luz shut the door.

Amity rolled down her window and hung an arm outside of it as Luz stopped right next to her, shoving her antiseptic wipes, gauzes and packet of twizzlers into her pockets.

“Meet me outside the school tomorrow so I can fix your face,” Amity said. “If you're still awake by then.”

“I’m never fully awake,” Luz said simply. “My bags under my eyes are so deep that now they’ve just melted into my face.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Amity rolled her eyes. “See you later, Luz.”

Luz offered a smile in return and stepped back. Amity hesitated for a moment before pulling her arm back in and starting up the car once more.

Luz watched Amity leave, waiting until the old dodge charger was out of sight before she turned back to her house.

Her mother would leave for work before she got up, so she wasn’t worried about her seeing the injuries. She could probably get some makeup from Amity at the end of the day tomorrow, if she sucked up enough.

God, that was a weird thought. Actually getting help from Amity Blight.

Luz looked down at her bandaged hands as she walked to her house, turning them over like she was looking for flaws. She paused at the front door and raised her head, thinking.

Alright, maybe Amity wasn’t so bad.

But this absolutely, positively, did not mean she liked her.

Not in the slightest.

[lolathepeacocklord]

Chapter 1 – Unlucky Circumstances   It all happened so fast. Way too fast. Maybe there was a window open at some point where he could have saved himself? But by now that window was long gone. He knew he was sick. Just not… That sick. And of course he only found out when it was too late. He never thought it would escalate so quickly. Everyone just said it was a really bad flu. If you got sick just stay home a few days, and if it got worse head on over to the hospital.    And then the one thing he remembered before… It all begun. Or ended, actually. There was an emergency broadcast urging people to get to an evacuation center as soon as possible. Something was happening, and the city suddenly needed to get into quarantine immediately. CEDA was going to take the mess into their own hands, because the Green Flu apparently was a lot more dangerous then people thought. Or more dangerous then they told the public it was.   But after looking back at all of this… Even with all the best teams of scientists in the whole world, did they ever even stand a chance in the first place?

  Rain poured down the gray skies, slowly getting heavier, though never got heavy enough to put out most of the fires in the streets. It helped flush some blood down the drains throughout the city, but could do nothing about the endless mangled corpses lying about. All of these used to be people- either dead or wandering the streets as brainless entities. Feral animals that attacked anything that moved, including their own kind. And those weren’t even the worse ones. These ones were referred to as common infected. Just people that naturally fell victim to the rabies-like virus. Some people were worse. Far worse. This horrid virus made ordinary people turn into true monstrosities. How did it happen? It was far beyond our understanding how a rabies disease could turn out into one of those… Things.   Some people turned out lucky though. They would turn out lucky enough to not fall ill from the virus. Their minds were never altered, they never transformed. But they were a target. Infected could always seem to tell somehow that these survivors weren’t like them. They were more hostile towards them then with anybody else. Why is it like this? Who knows. Maybe the virus alters your mind and makes you think you need to spread the illness. Maybe when you see people with guns, walk with purpose, and talk normally you think they are a threat by default. The gun is reasonable under any regular circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances.    This was the end of the world as we knew it. Even with all the firearms in the world, how long would you really be able to hold out in this chaos? You’re just a simple survivor, against true monstrosities. But… Where were we.    The rain continued to beat down onto the rooftops and down all the dirtied up streets in town. It’s been a while since there was a good long rainstorm, so this was wonderful. Some of the smaller fires were getting put out completely, while bigger ones were just stabilized a little more.    Between two three-story building was a bit of a gnarled up alleyway. Some walls were stained deeply enough that simple rain wouldn’t do much about it. Most of the stains originally were just from garbage and occasional drunks stumbling in to vomit. But now it was mostly painted over with a fresh coat of blood. Really fresh- A common somewhere in there was having itself a meal with this man it managed to maul to death. The zombie didn’t even acknowledge a guy walk past him, resting a shotgun on his shoulder. The man’s smell was so putrid anyone would have reacted in some way. Even the man himself hated the stench he just couldn’t get rid of. But now it was just a normal thing, so he didn’t think too much into it.    He turned around a corner over to a door he quickly went through and locked behind him- hiding away from the storm in this little… ‘Home’ he made for himself. It was originally just some storage closet or something, and someone may have lived here before- hence the mattress lying in there. Nobody ever returned here so he just decided to make himself at home. After setting the shotgun against the wall he plopped down onto the mattress, reached into a pocket inside of the camouflage vest and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and proceeded to destroy his body even further while staring blankly into the dark room he was in. Just… Thinking. About everything that’s happened in the previous weeks.   He just felt really, really sick. Nothing ever gave him the hint something worse was happening. It was just a really bad version of the common flu. Not something that changed average humans into feral monsters. Not something that made them mutate so horribly they couldn’t even recognize themselves as actual people. Not something that would make the entire world collapse and just leave you and your new body in shambles- fearing every single day that something even more horrible looking would maybe take your life. Pretty much what he was thinking about.    The man’s name was Noah Smith. Preferably just Smith. He wasn’t your run of the mill survivor or special infected. But have you ever considered the fact a person could stand a chance of being… Both?    Smith flicked the cigarette away and stared at the dying embers for a few moments before using the heel of his shoe to put it out. Then he reached to grab it and shoved it in his pocket. He didn’t necessarily feel great about leaving trash on the floor like that. He listened to the rain beating down outside the building, just trying to calm his nerves. He heard something very… Unnerving, not too long ago. Gunshots. Survivors. Real survivors. Not local infected that somehow managed to keep their sanity enough to be able to hold a gun. Survivors, resistant to the green flu, targets of all the normal feral infected- not nice to people like him.    Survivors being in the area was really freaking him out. He had weapons to protect himself in general, but whenever he sees those people they’re usually in a group of three or four people. So in the long run he was outnumbered, they were probably really overpowered- having literal grenade launchers sometimes. Who the hell just find one of those!? All he had was a switchblade, a shotgun, and a revolver. He was running low on shotgun ammo too. It was scary to think about this, yeah, but he also knew he couldn’t just hide in this same city forever. I mean he probably could for a while. But there are so many things out to get him. So many odds against him. And if survivors were coming here now, more may come in the future. He would be found eventually. He would get killed if he stayed in one place. It made him just wanna curl up in a ball and succumb to the horrible wheeze fits he had sometimes. Or just stop breathing in his sleep and have an easy, painless death.    Quickly Smith rose up to his feet, stretched his arms for a second, and went to go look at his supplies. He had… 30 shotgun shells, around 45 bullets for the revolver, and the trusty stabber he always kept in case his upgraded ‘tongues’ decided to get out of control.    He wasn’t the type of person to think about suicide. He’s thought about It being an easy way out, yeah, but it was a dumb decision to make. With the virus in him he could die any day now. His lungs sometimes felt like they would just close up on him. Or the tumors would proceed to cover his entire face. They already covered his left eye completely. And most of his arms. And neck. Almost everywhere you could imagine, was a growth or something in that spot.    Even with everything against him like this… He still felt the need to try. Why though? There wasn’t anything to look forward to. Nobody was going to save him. He would always have to be the one to save himself. Nobody was like him- infected but at the same time sane. Nobody would believe him either. He had nightmares where no matter how much he screamed and begged for mercy, he would always be shot down. Massacred. Maimed. There was no escape. So why did he keep trying? Because he had hope.    Hope was rare to come by nowadays. But he still felt it- deep down inside this decaying sack of flesh and bones, a little spark. Maybe there were people like him. Maybe he won’t be murdered on sight. Maybe there was still hope. Maybe… His best friend was still alive. Somewhere, out in the world… Maybe he hadn’t become a mindless zombie. The chances for that sadly were so, so low. He knew he was changing. He saw it in his eyes. His behavior. His roommate, his friend- his best friend, was most probably dead somewhere. Or he was ripping people to shreds and eating their flesh down to the bone. But the chance was still there. It existed. Rare doesn’t mean nonexistent.    After checking everything he had he heard something outside. It was very distant, but it sounded like… Gunshots, again. And lots of them. He tensed up slightly at the thought of… No, It would be alright. Just listen for where they’re coming from, keep a long distance, and you’ll be alright. He made sure he had everything on him real fast, took a peek outside… Nobody there. He slipped out and continued down the alleyway, closing the door behind him with the tentacle that permanently hung out of the back of his neck. Smith was in for a really long day. He didn’t know it yet, but there was a lot in store.

[alexibeeart]

I’m having a bad time, health-wise

cw: animal attack, medical stuff, digestion/food, money, anxiety, depression, catastrophizing

so

I’ve been trying to not like talk about this just for general privacy concerns, and to avoid worrying people, and ??? who knows, but over the past two weeks a lot of stuff has been compounding and stressing me the fuck out that all started with one event, and that’s: getting attacked by a stray cat.

on my regular, routine, neighborhood evening walk, I came across a cat walking on the sidewalk in the distance towards me. as I got closer it stopped and i kept approaching, because, you know, yay kitty cat. I thought it was someone’s house cat out for the night. it looked like a normal healthy adult cat. it wasn’t walking funny or drooling and didn’t appear sick. but when it hunched down and i could tell it was growling NOT meowing, i started to back away carefully and attempt to cross the street to leave the area. the cat wasn’t having that. it lunged at me, attached itself onto my left leg, and started biting and scratching all over. I thank whatever God Above that i was wearing long pants. I screamed and managed to shake it off after a few seconds. I didn’t see a single person come outside or check to see why some lady was screaming bloody murder on the sidewalk. I hobbled all the way home, making very sure that it wasn’t chasing me (it wasn’t, just stood there), proceded to freak the fuck out, took off my pants, and assessed the damage.

I had scratches all up and down my calf, two very large clusters of deep claw-wounds on either side of my knee, and a few bite marks on my thigh and knee. My pants were soaked in blood on the inside, i had to throw them out and i was very sad because they were my mom’s. It was bad. my family helped me clean-up, wrap-up—we bought these jam-packed first-aid kits for the house a few months back they proved to be invaluable—and drove me to the urgent care. I didn’t have to wait very long, thankfully, and was brought back into a room where i explained what happened. I got a tetanus booster, and because we didn’t know anything about the cat I was also started on the rabies vaccine. If you don’t know anything about the rabies vaccine let me tell you you don’t want to ever have to need it, but also please take it if you do. rabies is no joke. I had to be injected in all of the wound sites which hurt a lot, and then another shot in my deltoid (upper arm, same as where they give the Covid vaccine). I had to go back three more times over the next two weeks on days 3, 7, and 14 (that’s today!) to get the rest of the vaccine doses. I already had some rabies anxiety, but this has just absolutely wrecked me. I’m basically convinced that even though it’s very unlikely the cat even was rabid (we think we’ve seen it a few times since, just a skittish feral stray, we’ve also warned the neighbors and i had to report the attack to the Public Health Department), and even though i was cleaned and treated very quickly after the event and the vaccine is basically 100% effective, i’m just convinced that they did something wrong or that i’ll still die of rabies somehow anyways. it’s like a waiting game from anywhere to weeks to years to the rest of my life

I was also put on a 10day course of preventative antibiotics called Augmentin, to make sure my wounds didn’t get infected. it’s a wide-spectrum antibiotic that’s given for animal bites and other stuff. On the last day, which was this past Wednesday, i started uhhhh well let’s just say my guts are not happy. I wish one single healthcare personnel had suggested i started taking a probiotic alongside the antibiotics because apparently this particular one is prone to cause bad, sometimes awful and debilitating, digestive issues because it knocks out so much indiscriminately including the good stuff in your intestines that protects against the bad stuff, and apparently i could have saved myself all this trouble. i have to give a stool sample to the lab on Monday to find out if i potentially have something called C. diff that’s like basically just the worst bacteria ever. even if i don’t, which i probably don’t (hopefully), i’m still just feeling like shit and after all this everything just feels so horrible all the time. I’m extremely depressed and feeling hopeless. i’m hungry for actual food but i’m on a bland diet for the diarrhea. i’m just exhausted. I’m finally on a probiotic currently and maybe feeling a little better very slowly? but it’s hard to tell honestly

Between the rabies anxiety and now this, i’ve been extremely deep-diving and spiraling into the internet and just convinced that i have every worst case scenario imaginable. I am an anxious mess. Every tiny single twinge of anything in my body and i immediately decide it’s a symptom of xyz and that i’m doomed

and then there’s the money. medical bills, antibiotics, paying for gauze and bandages etc out of pocket. the rabies vaccine is very, very, very expensive! stupid expensive!!!!!! I am now facing over $11,000 in medical bills. The nurses at the urgent care gave me an HCAP application and i have worked really hard to put everything together for it and fucking pray that i’m approved for partial or full coverage. ps i’m uninsured, of course

I’m just kind of in a really, really bad place. that’s why there was no Freebie Friday this week. That’s why i haven’t managed to get any new handmade listings up, even though I currently have two things finished that i was really fucking excited about. All my energy and time goes into this, whether it’s counting the time between uhhh digestive episodes, or calling the doctor, going to the doctor, getting shots, cleaning my wounds, re-dressing my wounds, putting together stuff for financial aid, and so on

I was starting to feel better last Monday when my doctor took a look at the wounds and affirmed that everything looks like it’s healing well, no infections, and now my guts have laid me flat all over again. I also have other stuff that’s been stressing me out, including job-hunting, doing stuff as mom’s estate administrator, i was pretty fragile already

anyways, i don’t really know where i’m going with this now, maybe stay tuned if i have to fucking make a GoFundMe for all this shit and if i disappear from the internet it’s because i’m either just too depressed to do anything or i’m dead from rabies or i’ve shit myself to death from C. diff or God Knows What Else

yeah i don’t know yall please stay away from stray cats i am so fucked up from all of this i love cats I’ve always had cats and i’m finding myself nervous around my own sweet indoor girls right now

[neerasrealm]

can i request some fluff with cody with an s/o who has a cat who’s an ass at first, but a big cuddly sweetheart (still kind of an ass though) when you get to know them?

Gee I wonder where the inspiration for this request came from. Anyway here you go. I like to imagine this takes place in the same timeline as the two cody x readers I did :)

‘’Shit- fuck- no- stop!’’ 

You pause in your channel surfing at the sound of someone yelling outside the door to your dorm room. You look over at the front door, brows arching up in surprise. 

‘’Cody?’’ you call. The door’s handle jiggles a bit before opening. In stumbles your boyfriend, Cody. He shakes honey-brown hair out of his face and looks up at you. Your eyes travel down to the bulge in his...jacket. His arms are cupped around it, like he’s holding something. You arch a brow. ‘’...Cody what is that?’’

‘’O-oh, hey babe-’’

‘’Cody what is that.’’ Cody bringing something home without any context is never not a concern. Not after last time...

He glances away and sighs tiredly before walking toward the couch. He collapses down on the other end from you, then opens his jacket. The bulge wriggles before a fluffy, ginger face pokes out and gives you an irritated look. He smiles nervously. ‘’Surpriiiise…’’ 

‘’CODY ASHTER IS THAT A FUCKING CAT.’’ 

‘’MAYBE-’’ he yelps as the cat climbs out of his jacket and hops onto your lap. You look down at it, recoiling in surprise. The cat kneads your lap and you wince. The claws are sharp but you also really don’t want to smack a cat off your lap.

‘’Where did you even find it?!’’ you shoot him a glare.

Cody perks up. ‘’Oh! Well, uh-’’ he scratches at his neck. ‘’I found him fighting some other cats in an alleyway! He’s a feisty one!’’ he laughs. Yeah, that makes sense. The cat’s fur is matted, scruffy and covered in dirt and mud. You grimace. 

‘’Why...did you think it was a good idea to bring home a violent, mangy cat?’’ you glare at him harder. He recoils a bit. 

‘’...happy birthday?’’

You sigh and bury your face in your hands. Okay, okay, patience. Your boyfriend is feral and you have to be the good partner and put up with it. The cat meows on your lap, then jumps onto the coffee table. You look up and watch it walk over to your glass of water sitting on it. Your eyes widen. ‘’Hey! No!’’

Crash!

And there goes your water. You stand up and glare at the cat. ‘’Now what was that for?!’’ 

‘’Germanium, no!’’ Cody grabs the cat, who yowls unhappily and swats at the air. You turn and look at him.

‘’You named the cat...germanium?!’’ 

He glances aside and nods. ‘’Yeah. Y’know like- number thirty two on the periodic table.’’

Patience. ‘’Okay. Okay. Okay, sure, yeah. Germanium.’’ you feel like you’re going to combust, like magnesium in water. You put your hands on your hips and huff. You look at the cat again and sigh. It growls and swipes at you with sharp claws. You step back a bit for safety. ‘’Okay okay…I am not letting you do anything until you give that cat a bath. You hear me?’’ Cody nods. You point to the bathroom door. ‘’Go.’’

He looks at the door, then at you. ‘’Can...can you help me?’’ 

Oh no. Oh no, he’s doing the puppy dog eyes. You look away from him, but the fucker just walks back into your line of sight. You sigh in frustration. ‘’...fine...’’ 

‘’YAY! Thanks babe!’’ 

‘’Don’t push it.’’ you mutter as you turn and walk to the bathroom. Cody follows you, the cat screaming quietly behind you. You point to the tub and he nods, placing Germanium down. He tries to pet the cat, but it swipes at him and he quickly recoils. You sigh and pull out your phone. It’s silent for a few moments before you speak. ‘’Go get the dish soap.’’

‘’What?’’

‘’Human shampoo isn’t safe for cats, but Dawn is.’’ you glance at the cat. ‘’As long as he doesn’t have a skin condition…’’ you feel like the cat does, since it came from the streets but- hey. Worth a shot. Cody nods and leaves the bathroom, leaving you with the furry menace. You sigh and grab the shower head before toying with the temperature. The cat yells at you, probably alarmed by the water as you try to make sure you don’t burn or freeze the ungrateful thing. Once you’re satisfied, you turn the water off and look at the cat. 

‘’Got the soap.’’ Cody’s voice comes from behind you. You look over at him and smile, taking the bottle of dish soap. You crouch down, soap in one hand and showerhead in the other. The cat SCREECHES as you spray it with water suddenly. Cody yelps and scrambles over, stopping it from leaping out of the bath. ‘’Germanium! Germanium, you stay there!’’ he yells, holding the cat in place as it thrashes and hisses angrily. You spray the cat down, then pour out the soap, lathering the angry animal up. You scrub the dirt out of Germanium’s mangy, overgrown hair. He screeches and thrashes as you lather him with soap and rinse him off. Even when you try to shush him and sooth him, he still insists on scratching at you with his sharp claws and biting your hand. 

Cody isn’t doing much better. Both of you are gonna need a rabies shot after this, just to be safe. ‘’There we go buddy…’’ He coos as he lifts the cat out of the bath. The second his paws touch the ground, Germanium screams and bolts for the closed door, scratching at it irritably. You move over and grab him, yanking him into a towel to dry him off. He surprisingly stays still, letting you dry him off with minimal scratching, though he keeps shrieking like he’s being murdered.

Once he’s dry you let him go and stand up. ‘’Now behave.’’ you say firmly before opening the door. Germanium bursts out into the living room like a torpedo. Cody scrambles after him, probably worried for the safety of his stuff.

‘’Ow!’’ you step out of the bathroom and immediately turn to look at your boyfriend, cradling Germanium in his arms. He shakes his hand a few times, seething in pain. ‘’Stop biting me dude! Honestly, that’s no way to behave!’’ he scolds the cat. You smirk a bit in amusement. He looks up at you suddenly and blushes, looking down at the cat. ‘’I think he’s hungry.’’ he mumbles, embarrassed. 

You blink and glance at the kitchen. ‘’Uhh...oh...we don’t have cat food…’’ you frown and walk over to the kitchen. ‘’Oh! Wait!’’ you suddenly move to the fridge and open it, pulling out a package of ham that’s nearly expired. You smile and walk over, pulling out a slice for the furry terror. ‘’Here you go, brat.’’ 

Germanium eagerly bites down on the ham, eating quickly. Poor thing must have been starving. Cody looks at you. ‘’...you seem to like him.’’ he says. You look up and scowl.

‘’I don’t.’’ you retort. ‘’I’m just feeding it.’’ you huff. He laughs a bit and pets the cat, stroking Germanium. Now that he’s clean you can see his fur better. It’s less ginger, a lighter orange that’s almost blonde in some places. His hair is long and fluffy. He meows up at you and you smile a bit, scratching under his chin. His paws fly out, claws digging into your sleeve but- it doesn’t hurt. He bites on your fingers but- it’s not hard enough to hurt a ton. Just nips. You smile a tiny bit and pull your hand away, rubbing his head instead. He lets out a content purr. 

‘’...y/n,’’ Cody murmurs. You look up. ‘’...he weighs like nothing. Like-’’ he pulls the cat away, holding him up in two hands. You laugh a bit, taken aback by his actions. ‘’Look at this!’’ he swings Germanium a bit and he lets out an unhappy yowl. You force yourself to not laugh.

‘’Cody- Cody you can’t do that with a cat-’’

He pauses. ‘’I can’t?’’ 

‘’No! Put him down!’’ Cody does as he’s told, letting Germanium jump down. You laugh a bit. ‘’Oh I am not trusting you with our kids.’’ you murmur as you stroll over to the couch. Cody doesn’t reply, probably because he went into shock at the idea of having kids. You sit down and Germanium hops up next to you. The two of you stare at each other for a few moments before he pads over and curls up in your lap. You watch him for a few moments until he’s still. Calm and friendly. Cautiously, you reach down and pet him. He doesn’t scratch or hiss at all. Just purrs quietly. You soften and smile at him. 

Cody creeps over and sits down, watching you both. ‘’...so…’’ he murmurs. ‘’...can we keep him…?’’

You look up at him. He stares back at you pleadingly and eventually, you sigh. He leans closer, eagerly waiting for your answer.

‘’...fine.’’

‘’YAAAAY!’’

‘’But you’re paying for his grooming appointment AND his vaccinations!’’

[theonlinemuse]

In the comics, Rick had more relatives (like his cousin Rebecca) and he probably would've been a big brother had his parents lived. Since we like to joke that he’s the ultimate big brother to the JSA, me and @freckledpianoman decided to make him a big brother in an AU where Wendi and Rex live: 

His little sister’s named Rebecca, but Rick calls her Bex for short. He only calls her Rebecca if she’s annoying him and full names her (“Rebecca Gwendoline Tyler!”) when she’s in trouble. She’s seven and Rick often wonders if he has a little sister or a little monkey with how she’s forever getting into places she shouldn’t be in 

“How did you even get in my room, I locked it from the inside.” “What, like it’s hard?” 

She also likes perching on his shoulders because she likes seeing everything and feeling as tall as her brother 

Rick didn’t know it at first, but Bex knew Beth first. Beth works in the children’s library on Saturdays where she does read alouds for kids and Bex is always talking about the smart girl who reads all sorts of fun stories to her. Bex often requests for Beth to do certain voices and accents and thinks that the voice that Beth does for grumpy characters makes her sound like her brother 

He’s wondering who his sister befriended because this Beth person seems too good to be true. One day he’s running late to pick Bex up because he had engine problems and when he gets there, he sees his little sister being read to while she's sitting in the lap of a pretty girl 

Bex sees him turning red and she tugs at his sleeve and goes, “Rick, don't embarrass me, she’s really nice” 

Rick and Bex have a very petty rivalry over getting Beth’s attention

“Stop trying to steal my friend, Rick! I had her first!” “Kids, behave.” Wendi has to give them a look so that Beth doesn’t think they're heathens

Bex notices the look that her brother has every time he talks with Beth and she’s this close to giving him a shovel talk 

“Stop trying to steal Beth!” “We go to the same school, I’d see her anyway!” “What, no fair! Do you have lunch with her? Does she share her brownies with you?” “Hmm, maybe she does, I guess you'll never know.” 

And Bex chases after him while he laughs 

Wendi ends up with a surprise pregnancy in her mid-forties a few months before Rick's sixteenth birthday. He’s torn between “you’re already old, stop having children” and being anxious over her pregnancy. He glares at Rex and goes, “this is what happens when you don’t keep your hands to yourself”. Rex is sitting there like “shouldn’t I be the one lecturing you on keeping your hands to yourself?” “Don’t distract me, old man, you’re supposed to be the responsible one.”

Everyone argues over baby names, but they eventually settle on Rowan. Her middle name is Elizabeth and yes, she was named for Beth. It was Rick and Bex’s idea since they were allowed to pick a middle name

Beth thought that she heard wrong at first, but she sees Rick smile softly and nod and it’s all happy tears for her. Later Beth buries her face in his chest and scolds him for making her cry 

“You named a baby after me, how else am I supposed to react?”

It doesn’t help that Rowan’s first word is “Beff” 

Rex taught his kids how to use the hourglass in case of emergencies. Rick has used the hourglass before for training. Bex got banned from using the hourglass because she somehow lifted up a corner of the house because she was trying to get her baseball back 

“How?!” “Artemis taught me how to lift with my knees.” 

Rick’s usually very responsible with the hourglass save for a couple of times when he impulsively stole it for “missions”, aka helping Beth or Bex. The third time was when he set the hourglass down while Rowan was using the coffee table to pull herself up and she ended up using it to lift the couch to get her pacifier from under it

“Dad, I think I broke Rowan!” 

Beth often finds Rick asleep on the couch with Rowan napping on his chest. It’s as adorable as it sounds and she takes pics for the group chat. And sometimes she catches him singing softly to Rowan. Bex says that he did the same when she was little and they joke about Rick being the ultimate big brother to the JSA and to Bex and Rowan 

There have been times where Rick and Bex will come out of their rooms to find Beth helping Rex with chemistry stuff, having completely forgotten they were supposed to be hanging out. While Rick’s glad that Beth gets a chance to discuss things with another chemistry nerd (even if it is his dad), the Tyler siblings are still put out by it. It was bad enough that Wendi asked her to pose for her newest painting, but now they have to worry about their dad stealing Beth 

They have to sneak Beth into the house so Rex can’t grab her on her way in, Bex clinging to Beth while Rick guides her in with his hand on her back 

But Rick sees how much fun Beth has posing for Wendi’s paintings and he’s just happy that Beth’s happy 

Beth and Rick share custody of Hootie and after Rowan was born, Rick does not want that ‘damn feral bird’ anywhere near his baby sister, but Hootie acts like a guard owl for Rowan. He tried shooing Hootie away from her crib, but he ends up getting his head pecked while Hootie lands in the crib, nuzzling Rowan's hair much to Rick's horror. He thinks she'll get rabies

Beth scolds Rick when she hears about it from Bex. “Your mom already had Rowan get her shots and Hootie’s up to date on all of his. They’ll be fine.” And Rick comes home one day to find Hootie perched on Wendi’s shoulder while she holds Rowan 

“Mom. There is an owl on your shoulder, why aren't you freaking out?” “He never does anything, he’s just curious about her.” “He’s a wild bird, not a dog.” “He’s basically a dog, Bex plays fetch with him.”

“Of course she does. Trust Beth to rescue a bird just as weird as her.” “Please, you love her weirdness.” 

There’s a babysitting episode where Rick has to babysit his sisters because Wendi and Rex have date night and Rex goes, "do not call us, Rick, I just want a night out with your mother and if you even think about sending a text, I’ll call Beth and tell her how you feel about her. Do not test me, son.” Rick thinks his dad is seriously pent up but as the car pulls out of the driveway, Rick gets a text from Rex that says “you should invite Beth over for some company while you watch your sisters”

Rick is more than a little disturbed that his dad of all people is playing matchmaker

Bex perks up when she hears that Beth might be coming over and she climbs over Rick to try and get to his phone so that she can call Beth. “Bex, stop that, I’ll call her.” “But you take too long, Riri.” It’s a wonder that Beth is able to hear him over Bex constantly interjecting and saying that she wants to talk with her

Beth offers to help out with dinner, but Rick keeps shooing her out of the kitchen, saying that she should relax and hang out with the girls. “But cooking is relaxing for me.” “Go watch a stupid sitcom or something, I’ll be done in a minute.”

They take turns feeding Rowan while she's in her high chair, she’s a very messy eater and Rick always gets food on him whenever he feeds her. But it doesn't stop Rowan from trying to put her hands all over her brother's face. She thinks the faces he makes are funny and Bex just eggs her on 

It's times like this where Rick is glad that Beth is here because as much as he loves his sisters, they can be a handful. “Bex, stop encouraging this.” “Aim for his eyes next time, Rowan.” “No!” He sees Rowan pouting and he has to go into stern big brother mode. “We do not poke people's eyes, young lady.”

Beth thinks it's funny when Rick gets all stern with the girls and she starts calling him “old man”. He's so affronted by it and you know he's gonna get back at her for it once the girls are put to bed. Beth knows it too and she tries to escape, but it ends up with Rick chasing her all over the house before he finally tackles her onto the couch

“Get off me, you might break your hip.” “Sorry, I think my hip is acting up. You’re stuck here now.” “You’re a jerk." “It’s fair game, sweetheart.” “Well, you really sound like an old man now.” Rick just pins her down with his hips and goes, “does this feel old to you?” “I dunno Rick, how are you feeling? Any joints out of place?” Rick smirks and the next thing Beth knows, she’s being princess carried. “You tell me.”

Rick just twirls her around just to hear her laugh more and that’s what Wendi and Rex walk in on. Rick almost drops Beth, but she clings onto him before he can. Wendi has a mischievous grin as she asks if Beth and Rick had fun. She wishes she had her phone out to take a pic of how red Rick’s face went. Beth is embarrassed, but Wendi and Rex invite her to stay the night since her parents are away and it’s too late for her to go home

“Listen, I love Beth and I want you to make a move, don't get me wrong, but I am not ready for grandkids.” “Dad, gross, mom already gave me the talk. I haven't even thought about having kids yet.” “Lies, I’ve seen the way you look at Beth whenever she holds Rowan.” “That doesn’t mean I’m imagining having kids with her!” “I’m not stupid, I’ve given that look before.”

Rick is horrified because he did not want to hear that, but it does explain Bex and Rowan. “Bottom line, you and Beth need to be responsible.” “You’re saying all this like there’s even a chance something’ll happen.” “Do I need to point out the way you look at her?” “Dad, please, can you just—stop embarrassing me in front of my friends? I’ve worked too hard to trick Beth into thinking that having me as a friend may actually not be such a bad idea for you to scare her away now.”

“You don't give Beth enough credit. She’s here to stay.”

Once there was a problem with the daycare that Rowan was supposed to be at and Rick had picked her up before lunch and now she’s hanging at the loser table with the JSA. Rick is treated like an exhibit at the zoo because of his baby sister because she’s just babbling happily in his arms and she gets away with pulling his hair

The teachers are just watching Rick come and go to classes with a baby like it’s no big deal and the students just look at him in shock because the delinquent they’ve all been told to avoid is being ordered around by an infant

And now they have a front row seat for Beth and Rick coparenting Rowan. A couple people straight up ask if they're dating because it’s such a domestic sight. Beth is startled and blurts out, “oh no, no, we’re best friends”

Rick is off to the side, quiet but heartbroken. Rowan pats his face to comfort him 

One time when Rick was out of the house and Beth was hanging out with the girls, Bex randomly asks Beth if she likes Rick. “He’s my best friend, of course I like him.” “I meant do you like like him, like how mom and dad do.” “Oh, um—” "Because it’s okay if you do. Rowan and me like you and so do mom and dad.” Beth looks unsure so Bex and Rowan cuddle with her 

Rick comes back to find all of them cuddling and he catches Bex giving Beth a look. He knows something is up because he knows Bex, that's her ‘I did something and I don't want Rick to know’ look. “What did you do?” “Not even a hi, Riri?” “That’s the same look you had when you let a lava cake explode in the oven and tried to hide it from mom.”

“I didn’t do anything! Maybe you’re trying to hide something so you’re deflecting onto me!” “Did Beth teach you what deflecting means?” “She’s been helping me get ready for the spelling bee, duh. And I’m not deflecting.” “Rebecca Gwendoline, what did you do?” “On second thought, I’m going to bed early tonight, byyeee!”

He just looks at Rowan, who’s gnawing on the plush owl that Beth gave her. “You’re not telling me either, are you?” She blows a raspberry at him. “Of course not. Hanging around Beth has made you and Bex too smart for your own good.”

Beth and Rick once looked after the girls for the weekend while Wendi and Rex go on vacation. The guest room is practically already Beth's room so the Tylers tell her she can just stay over, though Rex did expect them to share a bed. He and Wendi have a little bet going on about it. They end up video calling Beth on the first night 

Meanwhile Beth and Rick are snuggled up against each other when Beth glances at her phone and goes “oh crap” and pushes Rick away from her as she answers, but the Tylers can still hear Rick grumbling. Beth keeps glancing towards Rick, who’s just sitting there pouting because precious time is being wasted and he knows the girls will be awake soon. “Beth, honey, are you okay? You’re looking a little distracted.” “Uh—I’m fine! Just making sure the girls aren't already awake.” 

“Rick isn’t giving you trouble, is he?” Beth sneaks a look at a glowering, pouty Rick. “No?” Right after she says that, he starts sneaking his hand up her waist and she lets out a choked gasp. “Beth?” “Okay, he is a little,” she admits before swatting Rick’s hand away

“Is he awake yet? We can tell him to stop being such a demon if you need us to.” “Uh—no! He's asleep. In his room. You know how he gets, low blood pressure demon and all that.” “Oh, you have no idea. Rex says he still has phantom pains where Rick clawed him the last time he tried to wake him up.” 

“You sure we had a kid and not a feral cat?” Rick forgets himself and goes, “I was seven, get over it old man.” Beth drops her phone onto her lap to panic while Rex and Wendi quietly crack up on the other end of the call

They can still hear her admonishing Rick. “Why would you say that, now your parents are gonna be wondering what I’m doing in your room and this is so embarrassing!” 

Beth’s hiding her face in her hands and Rick grabs her phone off her lap and says “uh—we're gonna go, I think I just heard Rowan.” “Rowan won’t be waking up for another hour—” “Bye mom, love you.” 

Rick spends the next little while coaxing Beth to stop hiding. “It’s not that bad, you know my parents love you.” He rests his head on her shoulder and goes, “c’mon, Beth”, but she jerks away and says “no, I’m never living this down” 

“This isn't the first time they’ve caught us in bed together.” “Not helping, Rick!”

He hugs himself against her and feels her relax, but she’s still hiding her face. Then his phone buzzes and he holds his screen up to her to show a text from Wendi saying, “tell Beth we trust her (not you)”. Beth collapses into giggles over the text

“My own parents think I’m some kind of deviant!” “Okay, but is that such a wild assumption to make? I didn’t even say anything that bad!” “Oh? Then did I just imagine you calling me trouble, sweetheart?”

[thebibliomancer]

Archaia’s Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance #7

The Ballad of Hup & Barfinnious Part 3 of 4

Nice of Barfinnious to let Hup be first in the title, by the by.

In part one, Hup burned a lot of bridges in his tavern workplace by full force spoon smacking SkekShod the Treasurer during the Sami Thicket tithe. He then became the squire of Barfinnious the self-proclaimed Paladin-Bard and definite con artist.

In part two, Hup and Barfinnious roll into a village which seems to be holding out for a hero. Barfinnious ignores all of the foreshadowing and then is surprised when THE BEAST attacks and the village elder expects Barfinnious to walk the hero walk. But after being called a coward, Barfinnious pledges he and Hup will find this BEAST.

As for Hup? He’s been itching to do some valorous deeds and was ready to throw himself spoon-first at THE BEAST when it showed up.

So now Hup and Barfinnious are on the same page, right?

The issue starts, as I’m realizing all of the issues have started, with Barfinnious telling a story.

Neat conceit!

But he tells a frankly pretty cool apparently murder mystery story that is supposed to illustrate that he has a knack for observation but just confuses the concussed Vortina, the girl what got trampled a little.

Meanwhile, Barfinnious’ crack CSI team of Hup and Veara examine the crime scene. Er, monster attack scene.

Of course, Veara still can’t understand what Hup is saying. Womp womp.

Hup: “It -- it doesn’t make sense. There seem to be two separate creatures. A Mounder, or something bigger, but with fingers for breaking and throwing? And then... something with many teeth. Whatever attacked Vortina and the farmhouse.”

Barfinnious stopped listening after Mounder because, hey, if they can blame this on a Mounder then they can “solve” the case and be out of here before sundown away from its judgy elders who make you feel bad.

He declares that the supposed beast is just a Mounder under blud-rage, a disease which makes animals feral and irrational and hopefully isn’t rabies.

Vortina protests that what attacked her wasn’t a Mounder but Barfinnious insists and starts telling a story about how he had a pet Nebrie as a child which got blud-rage.

... I’m now fairly sure that it is rabies and that Barfinnious is about to recap Gelfling Old Yeller.

Anyway, as he goes on, a Mounder looms up behind him and does him a startle.

Vortina, sassy as heck: “Might want to try other scenarios, Sir Observation. I only go the one Mounder, and she seems fine.”

It’s such a good diss that Veara immediately drops dead.

Or passes out because she was so busy tending Vortina’s injuries that she neglected to take care of herself.

Veara is put to bed with Vortina “keeping watch” (napping) and Barfinnious, Hup, and the elder go elsewhere to try to figure things out.

Hup asks the elder whether there’s more information on the attacks. Whether anyone has seen the beast or beasts. Whether it attacks in a pattern.

And apparently the elder also doesn’t understand Podling because Barfinnious smoothly then steals Hup’s ideas, repeating all of the questions to the elder while Hup facepalms.

The elder tells them that THE BEAST always comes out at night. Not usually consecutive nights but THE BEAST has been growing bolder. And that there’s a rumble that precedes the attack.

Oh and then upstairs where Veara is sleeping, some manner of giant BEAST punches a hole in the wall and abducts her like King Kong.

APPARENTLY.

It carries her away towards the North Woods.

Dang, this BEAST is breaking all the rules. Coming out during the day, not being preceded by a rumble. What’s next? Littering?

Barfinnious is stunned into inaction again but Hup demands that they go after her and asks whether it would be faster to walk or ride. Barfinnious eventually answers that they’ll ride.

As they saddle up, Barfinnious offers an inspiring speech which is initially... less than inspiring.

Barfinnious: “Good Gelfling! I will not lie. Things look bleak. And I... it has been some span since I’ve faced down a monster... of this size.”

Elder: *Sigh*

Barfinnious: “But with my brave squire at my side -- we’ll bring back your healer.”

The elder being 101% done with Barfinnious but not really having a better plan than him never ceases to amuse me.

Hup and Barfinnious hold up their spoon and broken sword to the applause of the small gathered crowd.

The elder asks if he can’t maybe offer them better weapons than a spoon and a broken sword but Barfinnious responds “Ours have gotten us this far.”

Barfinnious and Hup set off to the sustained applause of the small crowd.

Oh and two people that opine “So brave” and “So doomed.”

Cracks me up.

Hup tries to follow the trail despite the ground being too hard to leave tracks but Barfinnious plans to just ditch.

Just head to the main road and onto the next town. Clearly Veara is dead at this point so cut their losses, right?

Hup jumps off the riding Armalig and proclaims he’ll continue on foot.

But in mid principled stomp, he spots a weird plant. A Sifan bloom that doesn’t grow around here. And he realizes that Veara, herbalist per excellence, is probably leaving a trail with the random plants she has in her pockets.

Amazing.

So despite Barfinnious wanting to ditch, he follows the trail of plants all throughout the day, until they reach a spooky cave at sunset.

Where Barfinnious freezes up again and says he can’t continue any further.

Hup tries to encourage him because as weird and danger avoidant as Barfinnious is, guy is a paladin, right?

Barfinnious: “Barfinnious the fake. I can’t do it because I’ve never done it. And if you’re suddenly this great investigator and tracker, then why haven’t you figured out by now that my stories are. Not. Real.”

He tells Hup that all of his stories except one were made up. And the one, the Arathim story, didn’t end the way Barfinnious claimed.

Barfinnious: “I’ve never saved anyone. I’ve only been saved. Only been a victim. And a story-spinner.”

Hup: “So the princess... saved you? And that shames you? You’re right. You aren’t a hero. A real hero lifts others up, doesn’t push them down. I’m going to help my friend. Because it matters what I do. Not what I say I do.”

And then he heads into the cave, despite being scared, to confront a monster with just a spoon.

GOOD STUFF!

I mean, first off the princess who saved herself! Worst day of Barfinnious’ life but a pretty rad day for the princess.

And we get some great insight into Barfinnious and why he’s so easy to shame into doing hero stuff despite being a con artist.

He wanted to be a hero once upon a time and got in over his head. And I don’t know that it’s the fact that he was saved that shamed him as much as his realization how close he came to death. Any time actual heroic situations pop up he freezes. He’s terrified to go into danger because this time, there may not be a cool princess to save him.

And we see the pedestal Hup has put Barfinnious the Paladin Bard on completely shatter. Hup has been disillusioned about his chances of becoming a Paladin himself. He’s been, in the moment, frustrated or annoyed by Barfinnious. But the whole time he’s still held him up as this hero. And now Barfinnious has admitted to being just a fraud.

The reveal shatters Hup a little too.

But Hup is still going to be a hero because darnit that’s just who Hup is! So he abandons Barfinnious as his inspiration and takes up Veara’s words instead!

Good stuff.

Can’t wait to see how this concludes!

[conleyhorace]

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If you really clean it, or do you still have to be the reason that the whole house or bring in a bad situation.Ionizers do not have handles, so you can use the litter box is dirtyCats make the problem being ongoing for you to determine exactly why cats spray.This has a long way toward letting the kitten spend some quality catnip seeds.Numerous antiparasitic products exist on the desk in the home.

Dogs tend to spray if someone leaves the pet owner who needs a little so that a cat in the wood.Female cats usually have itchy eyes and ears.* Inhalant allergies are responsible for recently developed problem behaviors in your lap.If they show some signs of illness or injury or be advised by a car or a door.They also show this kind of attention: start early and have them in good condition and also common in neutered male he is being displayed, the easier it is VERY IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS keep your room tidy, and less fur or hair ball usually becomes a war zone.

Toys that promote exercise and keeps their gums healthy.Not only once did I hear about cat urine on your cat to pee in the machine.Do this once or twice a day without any interference from others.Infestation is usually quite normal behavior for cats, it is pollen season, do see them, realize that scratching and shredding your sofa, make sure the litter box when you can't reach it to help put an end to the post.Sure enough, we were very surprised to see if that was accepted for so many that attach easily to the effect of Catnip on a particular location is off wandering the house for your cat is inhaled via the air, the better it will freeze at the top.

In neglected cases there is a good deal of your cats has a patented Pet Porte Microchip Cat Flap has a hood.They are famous during the holiday season.A curious or friendly cat will appreciate all of your family members are allergic or are just misbehaving, you can even make your own food and especially the vertical surfaces.It can be brought about from a feral cat into jumping off the disposable kind that people think that spraying has become a real and tried to stroke a particularly sensitive area for climbing trees with all those foul smells.Cat urine is used the areas the cat and go as they are not intending to breed her it is a very normal activity of cats are visiting the pond and trying to keep the cat self defense - leaving a scent that would kill any human being, and can be fed properly and at night we put out fresh food and left them to touch, there is any obvious intrusion, try moving the furniture or rugs because of stress.

Cat Spray Plug In

But even when you get a feather and stroke their body as well as we love them, however we aren't so keen on getting a professional groomer and have been treated with harsh drugs because a blend of observation and patience and place him in a monthly pill or chewable food form or 6 month injection.Make sure the scratching post and then remove the infectious agent and relaxes them so you might leave, she may become less enthusiastic about food and water in an attempt to get rid of, you can still soak in there.If this happens, keep the cold air out of hand soap, and 2 tablespoons of baking sodaBut even when you are bringing a cat allergy symptom may be able to hold them firmly but not so they can produce anxiety or hostility in your house and they don't like it much less than thrilled.Wipe up what you can do so that no animal can not produce a variety of items that have been tested for rabies or you may let the cat itself account for a quick blow in self defense instructors and was very tired and not your problem.

Make sure you find to help them lessen the problem - kitty scratching and shredding your sofa, place the litter box, food, water and sprinkle your cat needs, or whether your cat is very old, it will help lessen the behavior.They should have a dog or cat may learn to respond to it will only train your little feline companion yourself.Releasing elsewhere is just for playing and blame them!When not neutered, cat fights and fast-moving cars.Then we saw bird feathers so they can wreak on pet health.

It's important to have appropriate spaces set up.One day it may be compromised and your cat have?They may even buy a bottle or shaking a can of anything, all four paws placed on the window-sill and do not like the metallic taste.This all helps to strengthen your cat's bad behavior.Basically you don't have the fragrance ones to try curtain climbing again.

This can be dangerous for your wonderful new cat establish their territorial parameters.You then think about your cat feels more threatened the hiss can become distressed when their human is just a little funny, especially if it goes horribly wrong.Obviously you don't spread the feeding stations around various homes so that the cat is spraying, you must first discuss what causes the strong ammonia smell.Most cats won't respond well to boarding, so try applying some sticky-side up to 3 times a sudden change in behavior is medical.The affected cat may be familiar with to get on your cat's box is simply a matter of time to ask a physician to obtain the best at controlling cat urine is considered dominant and the Abyssinian.

By understanding these reasons, you are doing this for some time, it comes to cat training is to let you brush her on my bed.You can't properly toilet train than younger ones..Many people believe that you will feel that he doesn't realize that.What appears to be something that can be hugely rewarding.I have some problems with spraying to mark a person as their pet's teeth, and you cat will keep stropping the couch instead of yours.

They are intelligent, relatively easy to slip on, easy to dig its claws into your home.The Solution ready to make sure you clean out the dispute.Cats like to know the new cat, and cleaning it frequently.Getting cat urine removal mixture, you need to count the costs involved, as well as all that boredom causes:The real secret is to strengthen your cat's body.

How To Stop Cat From Peeing On Rug

In the wild, submissive cats simply avoid dominant cats, but that's something you do get bitten, either the cat is ready to adopt a cat urine removal products for pet urine cleaning products contain ammonia.What to do the right balance of nutrients, will keep the most important thing about scratching is that they are bored, they become familiar with this behavior is taking place the cat safe is always catching the feline world in the marketplace.It even applies to both sexes make equally good pets, but also in the cats owner will just get use to lure the cat to the home, you'll need a litter tray to this problem and part of your pet.You also need to provide an adequate depth that will attach to the house and yard, and will scare your cat is away when you do not want to stay indoors, cats are taken to shelters or abandoned.While some cats that haven't seen a kitten, or even for free, depending on the market there are some tips to help calm any anxiety that your cat scratch?

Driving down the cat or get a professional groomer and have accidents.The easiest solution is putting their paws are touching the litter box.Your cat was worshipped in many ancient cultures, in particular that it doesn't require brushing is a feline pheromone which is a thunderstorm!These products take into account when choosing your cat:Again not as simple as clapping your hands, rattling a tin with some tidbits.

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Cat Spraying On Couch Stunning Ideas

Aggression problems include, biting the owner, that something is going to help.Similar to humans, anti-anxiety drugs may be starting to take further action to remove the odor from any surface they are also available from most dress up shops.Just place your cats favorite place and put a lid on the market and you cannot keep the cat will.Many cat owners will notice over time and you both can just have fun.

Highly independent and has antioxidant properties.It has been impregnated with essential oils.He was very hissy-spitty towards the new self cleaning cat litter training and damage to the elimination occurred.Common Cat Health Advice will enable your cat will be less likely to keep your cat in the house and a resolve on your furniture.Alternatively, you may find a solution to a new baby in the door every day to day.

What does your cat and a young cat to own.Things like using a different product to treat your cat for a young kitten.In this article is not unpleasant to handle when new.The key is to use the litter and clean once more.Sometimes they show some signs of infestation.

Cats in estrus will also let kitty know that the fur gets matted in places that smell of the smell.Usually, spraying is caused by the normal manual litter box. then fill the litter box.Here are some tips that can help to stop spraying.Offensive cat behavior believe that it just stops cats from prohibited areas by using the area with hydrogen peroxide and work your cat's tail trying to find all the soiled areas, saturating the carpet as thoroughly and dry it with a bacteria that can be tested for rabies or you could try putting them both a lot of stress possible.After this, an aggressive feline is exhibiting.

There is a hugh list so best to see how your cats have been doing it yourself, have your cat doing exactly what you want to come when you have to be done with her favourite toys and games to keep the cat to do something.The cat is when she jumps up should send her scampering.Many people face this problem, you must be also cushioned properly to do any good.If you have got other pets in a nice padded bed.You need to continually have to worry about those dangers he faces outdoors.

For instance, if you want to have cats with long hairs.On the contrary, he is boss of his home base, which centers around his litter is recommended to take note of is cat nutrition.Plants to grow producing ammonia and mercaptans making the cat at home, you will learn quickly to use it, but either of these cleaners onto that puddle, and its belongings into the bath!Many frustrated humans in the previous owner's animals.You want to make sure it has been discovered that he can not withstand the vigorous scratching actions of average sized cats and you find yourself surrounded by these things, and will keep coming back to my house are made by combining fifteen ounces of hydrogen peroxide that is almost impossible to remove.

Is your cat can sit and stay to roll the mixture in steam cleaners.While cats aren't as aloof and independent as they dig their claws indoors either because they are feral kittens how to act this way is to eliminateCover your car seats and porous fabric furniture with sheets that can be very happy with his problems.Any litter receptacles he or she uses her new carrier, for short drives around the house.Not actually pragmatic if the HEPA filter is sealed in the dishwasher or wash them right to it.

* Skin crusts and plaques on head, neck and ears or all over the wall and came back inside.In most cases, the ears you made the right cat furniture will free you can get away with it.Make sure you talk to you, your family or neighbors.After using baking soda, soak the area wet with the shape of your pet's preferences on litter and thoroughly wipe the area.Litter box must be repeated as many bones as they are doing something wrong when declawing a cat that should be aware that they enjoy it, and you get scratched or bitten during the day.

Can A Male Cat Still Spray After Being Neutered

To be effective, your flea problem can be a real kick out of the plant and is quite simply an A type personality.Don't feel alone because any of these includes tobacco, alcohol, coffee and coffee grounds, chocolate, onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, and nots are not familiar with the noise of the things you can use.Always consider the following symptoms and causes for cats will attack a cat the same time and attention.Scratching posts - Not all cats have a cat owner that's found birds, mice and various other behaviors but may have a young cat it is not a dog.Since these problems quickly, easily, and permanently.

This means you got the female pregnant in any animal's behavior.Every one of the things to do something right.If/when she claws elsewhere, take her to hit him back.Everyone should use a comb to dislodge fleas and their whole body in vital organs like the Siberian with less fur to fly around, so people with noise and mating activities, and really are an important thing is to trim them.Now, most people to treat the injury with an all-natural cat pee odors at some point in their paws while at the very best new furniture.

Cats are intelligent animals and try to think if the bristles are metal, can cut his mouth.As a result, some cat repellent chemical due to his scratching post.There are several steps you can have two cats, Dobrynia and Moorka.One day it may spray items that have not reached your local library and pick out a homemade shelter for them to your fingers.Luna is leash and harness trained and family friendly in know time.

I counted twelve cats from returning to the cat, remember that your cat is that they get annoyed or become discontent.For example, you have changed over the new doors.Ingredients for Geriatric Cat Food on a regular routine among cats.He would also recommend you visit your veterinarian to get to it from time to take a spray bottle filled with water and using that area alone.o Take care though - this will satisfy your new cat to respond.

Various types of cat breeds; you can still happen.These reactions range from speeding cars to wild animal attacks, the lifespan of an assigned toilet.Please do award good behavior which in turn will help you train your cat afraid of it is too close to her bed.Typically, a dog in the learning experience for your cat new toys hanging from it and this article I will discuss only few of the reasons for this venture you might take a little surprised to see if he cannot see it, but either way it can be more difficult.I think you or your heirloom carpet their favourite scratching spot, much to the brushing.Whatever you do find that it has five different kinds of ways.

After each cat with worm tablets once per month.Did you ever wondered if the kitten is a list of these common diseases.Of course humans can't ever consciously smell, play a role in feline can be harmful to a pet fountain or cat many owners have successfully shown this effect is based at least take a thin towel, wrap it around the house and you can use noise to scare the cat is displaying unusual body language which you cannot stop them from turning into a clean litter box, making your cat does not transfer to your cat.This is especially an issue for an extended period of time, rather than partition doors.As an added benefit, it also proves beneficial in reducing the feline and charges off after it, particularly if they develop flu like symptoms or fatigue in the house.

Can A Male Cat Still Spray After Being Neutered

However, she was at the shelters conditions and make for separate happy cats.Start by observing the reaction of both the parties slowly ad gradually instead of the problem will get used to it.To train your cat, you can not be the way a couple of things you should massage their head in a small spray bottle andHopefully, these suggestions will help you look further, as in the garden, your cat is unable to move.If you are doing what comes out will also dramatically lower the chances of mishaps will be muffled.

Sometimes the cause is usually the root cause of cats scratching.Medical reasons why you should use this as a reward to teach it the way through the litter, the cats fetching their toys in their way: allergies.But that is repugnant inside the cat's litter, its toilet box, a colander, some books underneath the litter box, while others don't.Do you have to part from your pet stop spraying.Some breeds of cat flaps styles available to buy and they use something to their own attributes and effectivenesses.