#affordable hamster bedding

[sweater-equestrian]

the way in which i want a chinese hamster rn

[clockways]

After undergrad, I was done living with people. People didn’t turn off alarm clocks or clean up their messes or, perhaps, people even blamed you for their mental breakdown. I had had enough of people.

But I couldn’t live alone.

Luckily, I knew the perfect solution. See, other than the semesters of undergrad, I had always lived with cats. There were also dogs and hamsters and reptiles, but cats were the constant. It was a noble line going all the way back to Yoda, whom my mother got to be her cat in college.

It was only the start of summer, and I was already surreptitiously walking past the adoption area of the pet store. It was a good thing I did.

There in the cage, the only animal in the whole adoption area, was a tiny kitten. As soon as he saw me, he started to meow and kneed and reach through the bars. It was probably as close to love at first sight as I will ever get.

After finding out when adoption was and leaving and coming back at what was the wrong time and talking to the kitten through the glass—I finally was able to hold him.

He was perfect.

This little kitten with brown so deep it was black and a white underside and a very pink nose settled right into my arms and purred up a storm. I adopted him then and there.

Depressingly, with this adoption center, the little boy had to go back to get sniped before I could take him home. I often joked that the poor guy never had a lick of testosterone in his body with how early it all happened. (That didn’t stop in from growing into quite a tall, long cat, mind you.)

While he came home without his balls, he also came home with a kitten cold. My poor little perfect boy was sick to the point that he could die. Cats, if you didn’t know, don’t eat if they can’t smell. Stinky food was bought, force feeding was attempted, and in the end it was some Vick’s in hot water that cleared his sinuses up enough to eat.

Now that he was well, it was finally time to find the right name. Name is a process in my family. In rather reverse fae rules, by giving the pets the right name, they are cemented as family. My mother even adds them to the family bible.

This boy took two tries.

His first name was Underwood as you see, once he got is energy back, he was constantly walking across my lap and the laptop that had a pretty permanent place in it. My friends swiftly got used to getting ‘kitten messages’ sent to them. Annoyingly, some of the same friends wouldn’t stop calling him Carrie, even after I asked them not to, and I decided that I wasn’t going to put up with that for the next fourteen plus years.

As he was my ‘squirmy worm’ for his lack of desire to be held and ability to pop right out of a hold due to his silky fur, I combined the two and, finally, he found his right name of Wormwood. (This also, unbeknownst at the time, started the naming convention for my next two cats.)

Wormwood and I went off to graduate school not much later. The old but passable apartment I was in had a (rather shoddily) screened in porch. It became Worm’s favorite spot to sit, even in the middle of Texas heat.

Paper balls were discovered to be his favorite thing, followed by very tiny pompoms. If I was ignoring him, he’d knock my remote off my table to play. Even with that playing, I often joked that Worm was my semi mobile throw pillow. He loved to lounge and nap to the extreme, even for a cat.

Worm never wanted other cats in his life, though he managed to accept Bugsy—my Siamese mutt—into our home in time, though Worm never ceded the foot of the bed to him. Together, we three moved back in with my parents (to total a too many five cats) until I could afford my own place. Worm had to suffer through another new brother, Beetle, about three years ago. Then not quite two years ago we moved to a new state.

All three boys did wonderful on the very long drive, and I like to think that it was worth it because of the fabulous sunroom in the new house. All of them had their favorite spots to sit out there and soak up the sun.

This winter, Worm took a turn. He dropped some weight while I was gone on a trip. I got him a heated bed that became his very favorite thing in the whole house. He would just melt into it.

Then it got worse.

I took him to the vet, and he had gone from about fifteen pounds down to five and a half. Blood work was clean though, so we increased his food and changed some things around.

Tueaday he was quite ill.

Wednesday was the first time there was a moment where he wasn’t there mentally. It felt like it was going to be time.

Thursday, today, I found him laying in a sunbeam. He didn’t even ask for food. At eleven today I took him to the vet. For about an hour before I held him, resting against my chest, and the two of us sat in the sun, listening to the birds.

I think he was ready to rest. He hardly moved at the vet during the shot and then… then he was gone.

And I had to leave him.

For sixteen years, nearly half my life, he has been my family and one of my best friends. I would have been so lost without him. I’m so sad to have to say goodbye, but I’m glad that he can rest now.

I’m glad that it was a pretty day and that we got to sit in the sun together and listen to the birds.

[swaoina]

TachiAku hcs!!

because my brain is rotting from rarepairs

Tachihara is usually warm while Akutagawa is usually cold. Tachihara letsAkutagawa warm his hands under tachi's shirt

Akutagawa makes them tea before bed

Akutagawa has this gig going on where he puts a bandaid on his nose every halloween to dress up as tachi. Q started to mimic aku with this

in their teenage years, they were a duo clled "rabid dogs" (why not?)

Akutagawa overdressess to events, Tachihara underdresses

Akutagawa bathes with Tachihara bc he feels safe

they always have a splashing fight whenever they're in water

Akutagawa and Tachihara always have lunch dates. It's the only time Akutagawa won't refuse to eat and when Tachihara won't basically hoard it like a hamster

Tachihara makes Akutagawa do the math while shopping, but they're both bad at math (Akutagawa would be better if Tachihara wasn't counting how expensive the stolen things are and whether he could afford something as a kid)

Akutagawa is too dense to realize Tachihara wants to share food with him, so it ends up with Akutagawa buying more

Akutagawa is a cat person, but he starts to like dogs bc they remind him of Tachihara

Neither of them know what to do with the money they earn from living in poverty and being basically homeless as kids, so they spend it on each other (and Q)

Akutagawa is banned from gaming nights with Black Lizard, but gets a pass bc of Tachihara

Akutagawa accidentally called Kyuusaku their kid and Tachihara just rolled with it

Tachihara tries to flex on Akutagawa with his motorcycle skills (taught by Chuuya ofc)

[whumpinthepot]

Hamster Interactive Story

CYOA

Chapter 6. Clean

Previous - Masterlist

Content: Giant/tiny, pet trope, cages, dehumanization, dubious handling, selective mutism, female cast, broken bones, forced medication, fever/sickness, dubious kiss (platonic, probably on the head)

Ashley’s Pov

Poll winners: Tie between “Wipe her clean”, and “Give her a minute to calm down” and a second tie with half the votes “Brush bedding from her hair”, and “Put her to bed”

—

The poor girl is covered from head to toe in sweat, tears, and dirt from where most of it was swept under the counter where she was found. Her whole body quivers with shaky exhales, and she’s resting on her back with her eyes closed.

You can’t leave her looking like this; that would be disgraceful as a pet owner, so you dab a face cloth under warm water, and carefully wipe Hamster clean while little whimpers slip through her teeth. You’re careful of her left side where scrapes are littered across her skin, washing away any lingering grime until she looks more clean, and comfortable. 

Once that’s done, you give her a moment to calm down on her own while you tidy the bathroom. You keep an eye on her and make sure she’s nowhere near the ledge of the counter, but she doesn’t move. She ends up in a tight shaking ball with her hair pulled over her body to hide, and cover herself.

Once everything is in the trash, put away, and wiped up, you glance at the orange puff. Her shaking seems lighter, if just slightly. She’s gone through enough for the night and you really don’t feel it’s right to keep handling her. Though you did notice the brush on the floor as you were picking her up earlier. Her hair must be bothering her… 

Speaking softly, you lift her into your arms, careful not to rub against her makeshift cast. She’ll need help sleeping tonight, so you syringe a drop of liquid baby gravol into her mouth, and carry her to her cage.

You pick bits of fluff from her hair while you walk to ease the discomfort before placing her into the bedding after kissing her goodnight. 

To be safe, you also tie the cage door closed to keep her from falling again. You leave her alone for the rest of the night, and go to bed yourself.

When you check on her in the morning, Hamster is hot to the touch, and whimpering. Your heart lurches, and you scoop her to your chest while deciding what to do. 

Starting a GoFundMe seems to be less of an option and more of an obligation at this point. Her crying rips at your heartstrings as you snap a picture of her snuggled into your palm. You save the picture to your phone to upload once you have some free time. Hamster has quite the following on your social media, so you’re sure her fans will help you out. 

You promise her it will be okay. 

—

(Tag list under the cut)

Special thanks to @verkja and @alittlewhump for looking this chap over for me <3

Tag list: @frogkingdom @verkja @whumpsday @octopus-reactivated @marvel-gt @rsitb-second-account @fallen-grace-smd @winged-wolf-s-collection-of-arts @kyp-the-spacekiwi @dramat1ques @ilasknives @hollowgast1 @whither-wander-whump @redd956 @zobodahobo @alittlewhump @blackrosesandwhump @angst-after-dark @sandygarnelle @copperyote @kim-poce @mayisreallygay @smoll-stace @demondamage @vickytokio @sunshiline-writes

[9r7g5h]

Omegas Are Doing It For Themselves

Fandom: My Hero Academia, Boku no Hero Academia 

Rating: E

Genre: Omegaverse Smut

Summary: Izuku doesn't need some random alpha to make a den for him. He has a good enough job to buy his own house, buy his own furniture, and make his own nest inside his den, thank you very much. But damn it if his neighbor wasn't hot enough to consider inviting inside.

Words: 6,835

Izuku had known, the moment he walked into the townhouse, that it had to be his.

While the desire to buy something for himself had been a whim, a thought that had fluttered past his mind while trying to find a place for his newest figurine in his too small apartment, the research hadn't been. The strange working hours so he could go on walk throughs and tours with his realtor hadn't been. The working and reworking of his budget a dozen times to make sure he could afford the mortgage he had gotten pre-approved for hadn't been. And while many times he had wondered if following the whim was a good idea or not, the moment he had walked into that townhouse, he had known.

Screw what everyone else said - it didn't matter that he was single, that the mortgage alone would take up half his salary and he'd have to rely more on his side gig than he would like, that very few young omegas his age bought a house for themselves without anyone's help. This place, this cute little townhouse, was his.

He didn't need some knothead alpha to make him a den to nest in. He could make his own den for his own nest, and anyone who didn't like it could fight him.

He was tired of living cramped in that tiny studio that also took up almost half his pay, even if it was closer to work. Tired of no walls, his bed, nest, and table all being the same thing (and sleeping and trying to have a heat in crumbs was disgusting). Tired of his home feeling cramped with two people sitting down inside of it, tired of the shitty landlords and inconsiderate neighbors, just tired. He didn’t need a mansion, didn’t need acres of land that he had to keep up with; he just wanted a room for his bed, space for his nest, somewhere to put his merch collection, and a place to put a damn table.

But in that townhouse, that wonderful townhouse, he could host. He even had some of his friends come with him to pick up the walkthrough paperwork, watching as they comfortably spread out between the living room and kitchen to peek at his potential new home. That had been the deciding factor.

So despite the anxiety and the wonders if it was a good idea and the fact that he had to drain his savings to make even the smallest down payment, at twenty-six Izuku Midoriya became a homeowner of his own little townhouse. His own little den.

And it was just as perfect as he had imagined that first time he had walked in.

Well. Mostly.

It wasn't the house, no. The house itself was perfect - one room turned into an office so he could work from home, a guest room so his mom and friends could stay, his bedroom soft and warm and dark with blackout curtains. Enough room to actually display his collection. Couches and pillows and blankets and a table. Even space for a hamster cage, one of the ones he had seen on Pinstagram, made from bookcases bolted onto a table to create a little rodent palace for the cute little fluff ball, more than enough room for it to live and him to not feel guilty leaving it alone for his quarterly heats. The house in and of itself was perfect.

No, what made things difficult was his neighbor.

In the apartment there had been a mutual understanding with his neighbors. They didn’t talk to each other outside of emergencies, handed over any mail that might have gotten mixed up without any complaints, and generally stayed out of each other’s business. Maybe a polite ‘How are you?’ if they were in the elevator together, candy for the kids at Halloween on a stepstool, a pat on the head for the dogs going out for their walks, but that was it. His only major interactions with them had been when they had all called the fire department together when one of the dumpsters had caught on fire, and that had only been to ask if anyone knew what the actual complex’s name was or to yell at the dumbass trying to throw his beer in.

Good, normal neighborly interactions.

But here?

Tenya and Ochako had reassured him that it was pretty normal that the HOA had shown up not too long after the three of them had pulled into the reserved spots for his home, the small truck with all his belongings paralleled parked to not block the road. The packet was small, thankfully - just shared dues for park upkeep, instructions on where to put trash and recycling, one of the least restrictive organizations he had found in his search. But what hadn’t been normal had been the woman turning straight towards Tenya, ignoring Izuku as if he didn’t exist as she fell over herself to greet the alpha and Ochako.

“You must be Mr. Midoriya, pleasure to meet you! And this must be Mrs. Midoriya. You two are such a cute couple, it warms my heart to see you joining our community! Though, I don’t think I remember seeing your name on the registration paperwork, Mrs. Midoriya?”

“That’s because there is no Mrs. Midoriya,” Izuku said with a smile, his tone that fake cheerful as his scent turned bitter. He hadn’t bothered with blocker patches, figuring he could start scenting his home as he went, though now he would have to open the windows. Izuku slid in between them, taking the hand that had been outstretched towards Tenya and shook it himself, ignoring the startled look on the woman’s face as he took the packet of paper with his other hand. “No other Mr. Midoriya either. Thank you so much for bringing this by. I’ll make sure to set up my automatic pay by the end of the week.”

Whether it was the smell, the slight hint of his fangs, or the unimpressed glares from his friends, the woman left fast, leaving the three of them annoyed but at least alone to continue unpacking.

"I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding," Ochako reassured him, pressing her wrist against his in a way that helped him relax, pack and friendship in his new den almost making him purr. "I'm sure it won't happen again."

Only it did. Again, and again, and again.

“Is it really that weird that a single omega is buying a house for themself,” Izuku asked as he flopped onto the floor in front of the couch, Tsu’s finger’s immediately starting to card through his curls in an attempt to tame them. She, Shinsho, and Todoroki had shown up later that afternoon, pizza and beer in tow as an apology for not being there sooner. Between the six of them they had managed to unload the truck and get most of the big items to their correct locations, but not without a lot of nosey neighbors stopping by to put their noses where they could get bitten off.

“So, when’s your alpha coming to join you?”

“You must be renting from the guy who just bought the place.”

“Did your parents buy it for you? They totally bought it for you.”

“So the six of you are all living together as a pack? That’s nice.”

“You know, my niece is looking for a place. You’re a single omega, you shouldn’t be living alone, and have all that space, and she’s a doctor, so you should rent out some of the rooms to her.”

It had been non-stop, and those had just been the ones Izuku himself had run into. He knew for a fact that the others had been questioned to a similar extent, and in the end he had had to take Tsu’s offered scent blocker patches. Now his house smelled like a lake during the summer - a nice smell, refreshing and familiar and calming, but not him. He loved his pack, but he would have to go out, buy neutralizers, and scrub everything before he could give it a proper scenting.

The worst of all, though, was his neighbor directly to the left. He’d been lucky to get the end unit, so he only had the one attached neighbor, but was at this moment wondering if this was, in fact, a good idea. There was no one on the other side but a patch of grass, no one who could possibly hear a ruckus if something happened...

Izuku shuddered as he remembered those red eyes, locked on the group the entire day, and made a mental note to have Mei come put in a security system. She’d done her own, knew all the ins and outs that were way better than the company ones, and while he doubted he’d need it, the extra level of security would do him some good.

“To be fair,” Shinsho pointed out, bringing Izuku back to the conversation he’d started, “it’s not like anyone our age ever expected to be able to buy a house, besides Credit Card here,” he paused throwing a pepperoni at Todoroki, “so you’re literally an outlier here. Plus, you have a baby face. Some of them probably thought you were some college kid.”

“It’s not that much of a baby face,” Izuku pouted, his tongue popping out as Ochako walked over from the kitchen just to poke his cheek. “Oh, like you can talk.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Ochako teased. “I embrace my roundness. No one would know I can flip them just by looking at these cute lil cheeks. Just like no one knows by looking at your face that they could bounce a book off your ass.”

“‘Chako!” A dirty napkin bounced off her side as she laughed, Izuku flushing as his so-called friends voiced their agreement. “Traitors, all of you. Get out of my den, none of you are allowed back.”

“Try not to take today’s events to heart, Izuku,” Tenya said seriously, ignoring the muttered demands. “I am sure this is just a misunderstanding that will be settled between you and your neighbors, and once it is settled you will greatly enjoy your time living here. You managed to accomplish something quite wonderful for yourself, and you should feel proud, even with the lackadaisical welcome. Now, let us forget this unpleasantness and cheer for our good friend’s new den!”

“Here here!”

*~*

Tenya was mostly right. By the time Izuku had gotten most things unpacked and at least put in the proper room, if not the proper spot, the neighborhood had adjusted to the single omega living among them. The kids and their dogs especially seemed to flock to him, entranced by the new person who was happy to throw their balls back to them and use a stick to fish them out of the decorative pond near the park. He occasionally got comments about setting him up with an alpha, but everyone at least seemed to accept that his house was his own.

His direct neighbor was still creepy as fuck though. Randomly throughout the day Izuku could feel him watching him whenever he went outside, his windows and blinds wide open, not even trying to hide his staring. He was scowling too, the furrows between his brows deep enough to collect water for a drought if he tilted his head back when it rained. From the smell that came out of the open windows, he was clearly an alpha, or at the very least a beta that packed with enough alphas that their scent clung to him.

A nice smell, Izuku would begrudgingly admit, the one time a breeze had blown it directly into his nose while he had been breaking down boxes to take to the dump. A smell he wouldn’t mind having around more often, if the carrier wasn’t so fucking creepy.

But whatever. Creepy neighbor aside, Tenya had been right, and once he had settled in, Izuku had loved it just as much as the first time he had seen it. And now it just needed the finishing touches.

Most of them were easy. Place the order, and the furniture companies he so carefully researched and staked out had it at his door just a few days later, some assembly required. But the hamster cage? The little hamster palace he had been dreaming of since college and he had found out they were a thing?

That he had to do on his own.

While bunnies had always been his favorite, Izuku knew he wasn’t suited to care for one, not just yet. He wanted a yard, somewhere to set up a pretty hutch for the rabbit to sleep in, more than enough room for the creature to roam in safety. While his home was perfect for him, he had long since accepted that it wasn’t for a rabbit, and so had moved on to his next favorite fuzzy little pet, one a bit more manageable when his heats took him out of commission for a few days each month. And damn it if he wasn’t going to be the best hamster dad in the damn world.

It took almost a week - a few days to hunt everything down and buy it, another few to build the beautiful monstrosity he was going to bold into his wall to ensure it wouldn’t fall over. But eventually it was done, done and everything he, if he was four ounces of fur, bones, and anxiety, could ever want. Now all he had to do was get the damn thing inside.

“The hell you doing, Deku? You’re going to hurt yourself trying to pick it up like that.”

At first Izuku had ignored the voice - clearly it wasn't talking to him, though so far he hadn’t met a Deku amongst his nosey neighbors. However, when a set of hands grabbed the other end of the cage and tugged, nearly pulling him off balance and onto his ass, he quickly had to reassess as he turned, teeth bared at the person trying to steal his creation. He’d worked hard on it, damn it, and he wasn’t going to let someone steal it from him!

His creepy neighbor just raised his hands, the pacifying gesture at odds with his own curled lips. This close it was clear he was, in fact, an alpha, the tantalizing smell Izuku had occasionally caught now filling his nose. Whether it was welcomed he wasn’t entirely sure, given the circumstances, but at least he knew. Knew and filed away for later, because the creepy neighbor was speaking again, and royally pissing Izuku off.

“You should wait until your alpha or pack can come and help you move this. It has to weigh a shit ton, you’ll hurt yourself otherwise. No-”

“Why,” Izuku interrupted him, seething at the continuous secondary sexism he’d experienced since moving in, “does everyone just assume I need an alpha? I can do this by myself, thank you very much, so if you could please move, I’d like to get inside before it gets cold.” Not that it was likely to get cold in the middle of summer, but still. He was pissed off, tired from having spent the day building in the sun, and just wanted to be done.

Instead, the man before him just tilted his head, a look on his face as he considered Izuku. “Glasses or Peppermint aren’t your alpha?”

“Tenya and Shoto?” Izuku clarified after a moment, the other man shrugging as if he neither knew nor cared about the names. “They’re pack, not my mates.”

“You don’t have a mate?”

For a long moment Izuku said nothing, just stood there staring at the alpha. He had crossed his arms, looked away, his scowl was once again deep and angry as he shifted from foot to foot, waiting for an answer - lightbulb! He wasn’t creepy (he was, he’d spent all this time just staring, but in hindsight now Izuku could see it was almost kind of cute), he was interested and shy. Izuku shook his head as he bit back his laughter. “No mate, though I’m not really looking for one at the moment. So if you could move, I need to get everything inside.” Same words as earlier, though a bit softer than before. Before his neighbor could try and interfere again, Izuku hoisted the cage up onto his shoulder, glad that even though he was short he was still stacked and strong, able to handle the weight on his shoulder with minimal struggling.

Though crap, he should have remembered to choose the other shoulder, the scar on his right arm screaming at him from the pressure. He was ok, it was just a few feet and he would be inside his home, his den. He was safe there, and could keep up appearances until then. Giving the man a pleasant smile, forcing his face to keep the expression, Izuku nodded as he turned away. “It was pleasant to meet you...”

“Katsuki. Katsuki Bakugou.”

“Nice to meet you, Katsuki. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get into my den.”

He didn’t run from the alpha. He walked, quickly, so he could alleviate the pain that was threatening to bring tears to his eyes. Ignoring the pleased smirk on Katsuki’s face as he watched him go.

*~*

‘Shy,’ Izuku quickly learned, was the wrong word to have applied to Katsuki. While Tenya and Shoto could be aggressive in their own ways, protective if some asshole tried to step in on the pack when they were out having a good time, Katsuki seemed to always be aggressive and protective. Towards his house, towards the tiny garden he had set up on the border between their front doors, towards his own pack (a rowdy group that Izuku could occasionally hear through his living room wall). And, surprisingly, towards him.

If Katsuki wasn’t so fucking hot he would have already called the cops and gotten something on file. But damn if that man didn’t make his dick twitch and his ass slick, now that he had gotten a good look. Especially since he’d seemed to have taken Izuku’s “...I’m not really looking for one...” as a challenge. Logically he knew he should be concerned, he’d had one conversation and had shown he wasn’t interested, but-

“You’re a blanket whore,” Ochako said, her disapproving words losing their impact from her cozy nest. He could barely see her eyes from where she was cuddled, her purring deep and satisfied with the quality of nesting material Izuku had been given. “You haven’t even really talked to him yet and you’re letting him buy you with blankets.”

“I’ve talked to him,” Izuku protested from his own pile of fabric, S.A.M. cupped carefully in his hands. His thumb ran gently over the hamster’s back as he chewed on some treats, breaking apart the largest of the pieces to be stored in his cheek pouches before nibbling on the smaller ones. “I told him my name wasn’t Deku.”

“You sure? That’s all I heard your nerds yelling on move-in day. Either way, I like it. You’re Deku.”

“I told him I wasn’t comfortable eating anything he cooked for me yet.”

“‘Fraid I’d poison yah? Don’t worry, Deku. I won’t do anything to you you won’t like.”

“And that I’m allergic to most pollen.”

“Oh shit.” That had gotten an actual apology, the fresh bundle of flowers Katsuki had shown up at his door with quickly tossed like a football across the road. He’d actually looked upset, his normal cocky “So that’s how you want to play it” smirk from his other failed courting gifts gone, leaving Izuku feeling bad as he left. So, when he’d returned a few days later with a soft, beautiful blanket, Izuku couldn’t help but accept.

Every other day saw a new one, the blanket handed over with just a few words and a spike of pleased scent as it was accepted, leaving Izuku with a plethora of fabric.

He should be concerned, he knew that, but there was something sweet about his previously creepy neighbor. Sweet and hot and he just smelled good, and even if Izuku wasn't looking for an alpha, could have his own den and could make his own nest, that didn't necessarily mean he had to reject gifts from someone. Didn't mean he couldn't be attracted, couldn't look and appreciate and enjoy the attention, right?

Right.

Squirming out of his nest, Izuku carefully placed S.A.M. back into his cage, watching as his pet scampered off to add the treat to his food hoard, his golden tufts of fur disappearing under the bedding. Their pizza would be there any moment, and better to be ready than make the poor delivery person wait for him to fight off the blankets when they were already there. The last time he'd made the guy wait had almost resulted in a confrontation between the delivery guy and Katsuki, the alpha about ready to rip out the other man's throat for "being a fucking creep and standing around like a perv."

Pot meets kettle in a Wamino's uniform, but ok.

Though, as Izuku grabbed his wallet and neared the door, he paused at the sound of voices on the other side. Already sure he knew what he would find when he opened the door, Izuku forced away the smile that tried to tug at his lips and allowed the annoyance to cover his face instead. Because he was right; when he opened the door, Katsuki and the pizza guy were in some weird standoff, his and Ochako’s dinner caught up in the crossfire.

“Look, dude, I can’t just give you pizza that isn’t yours,” the delivery man, Dairoji, if Izuku read his name tag correctly, protested, even as he eyed the bills clutched angrily in Katsuki’s fist. “You’re his neighbor, sure, and you claim that you know the guy, but this could just be some ploy to get free shit and I’m not risking my job on that. So you can just back off.”

Oh, he liked the balls on this kid - it was clear he was a beta, the same one from last time if Izuku remembered correctly, but even his duller nose should have been able to pick up the scent of pissed off alpha over the smell of the pizza. Most people would have backed down, found a reason or a way to get out of there, but this kid was standing his ground even though Katsuki had at least half a head on him and a more than decent set of muscles. It was impressive.

But not impressive enough to distract Izuku from the fact that he was hungry.

“If you’re done pissing on my pizza, can I have it, please? Ochako and I are just getting to the good part of the movie.”

“Don’t forget S.A.M.,” Ochako yelled from inside the house, her head poking out from her nest. “He was enjoying those yogurt drops and the drama!”

While Dairoji had the good grace to look cowed being caught, Katsuki just huffed and crossed his arms, his glare never leaving the beta. “Tell this asshole to let me pay for it and then we’ll be all good, Deku. Until then, no.”

“Come on, man, you-”

“I already paid online.” To say Katsuki deflated would be an understatement. His arms dropped, his shoulders drooped, even his hair seemed a bit less spiky. The glare he turned on Izuku seemed almost offended, though his eyebrow raised at the sight of Izuku’s wallet in hand. “I still need to tip.”

Immediately Katsuki shoved a few bills at Dairoji, using his free hand to jerk the pizza free with a growl. To the kids' credit he finally walked away, muttering about "crazy ass possessive alphas," "aggressive courting," and "not getting paid enough for this shit." The moment he was in his car Katsuki relaxed, turning back towards Izuku with his cocksure grin, as if nothing had just happened. He held out the food, puffed up and proud, looking like he expected praise and some kind of reward for providing an already paid for pizza and terrorizing the delivery man again.

He reminded Izuku so much of his aunt’s pomeranian after it ran off the mailman that he couldn’t help but laugh, doubling over as the cackling brought a stitch to his side he had to clutch.

“The fuck, Deku? Am I some joke to you?” Once again the smell of displeased alpha, this time tinged with hurt, buried deep as Katsuki tried to force bravado through his clenched teeth. Shaking his head, Izuku forced a few deep breaths, stepping forward to cup Katsuki’s cheek in one of his palms. He was still giggly, still smiling from his laugh attack, but he forced his words to be as steady as he could make them.

“Not a joke, no, but it’s still funny to see you square off with a college kid for a pizza for me.” A huff was the only response he received as Katsuki finally relinquished the pizza to Izuku, turning on his toes to storm back to his own home. He wasn’t upset, but it was clear he wasn’t happy about how things had turned out. “The blankets,” Izuku called out, just before he turned and disappeared into his own door. “They make really nice nests.”

The smell of pleased alpha was strong and immediate, lingering even after they both returned to their own homes.

“You’re really going to fuck him, aren’t you,” Ochako said, stealing her half of the pizza and digging in. “Blanket whore.”

*~*

Normally Izuku didn’t curse. Iida’s mini heart attacks and not so mini lectures whenever someone swore had basically beaten the practice out of their pack, with very few circumstances deemed “acceptable” by him. Sure, occasionally when in pain a few would slip out, or when a particularly hard video game came around, and on board game night all bets were off, but in general? Not that often.

But fuck heats. Fuck heats and fuck whichever one of their primordial ancestors decided a heat cycle was the most efficient way to breed, because he would find a way to go back in time, find them, and gut them like a fish for making him go through this. It wasn’t even like he could commiserate with Ochako on this - her heats were three days of being uncomfortable every four months, shorter if Tenya was available to fuck the heat out of her. Tsu and her monthly periods seemed more empathetic to his plight, both of their internal organs taking on a mind of their own for breeding.

But either way, none of his pack seemed to get that his preheat was his uterine pouch literally opening, leaving him sore and grouchy and more than ready to stab a bitch if he didn’t get a dick and ice cream in him in the next hour. Not necessarily at the same time, though now that he thought about it... Damn it he was hungry for something, and couldn’t tell what.

And worse was that, normally, he could get through the next few days with porn, heat aids, and enough sugary processed foods to make his mother sick. That had been his process the last few years, since he had broken up with his college boyfriend right before graduation and everything since had either turned out to be a bullshit first date or him just too busy with work and friends and everything else to try and find someone. But now, now there wasn’t just a hot as fuck alpha right next door, there was an interested hot as fuck alpha right next door, one who had been clearly courting him for the last few weeks, and Izuku just knew his normal process wouldn’t work.

He needed that Kat-dick-suki, and if he didn’t get it right then and there, he was going to go feral.

Thankfully he didn’t need to wait long - just like clockwork the alpha stopped by to drop off his latest courting gift, newest scented blanket in hand. Even if Izuku hadn’t seen him make the short walk through the cracks in his curtains, he could smell him through the door. Could smell his strength, could smell his dedication, could smell that dick he’d seen the outline of once when he’d worn nothing but sweatpants to go to the mailbox stands. He didn’t even wait for Katsuki to knock; he just opened the door and pulled him in, slamming the alpha against the wood and used him to close it, pressing his face against his scent gland.

Fuck he smelled good. Already Izuku wanted to claim him, wanted to sink his fangs in and keep the alpha for his own. Something Katsuki didn’t seem opposed to if the pressure against his thigh was anything to go off. Forcing himself to pull back even as his hips ground forward, his own dick rubbing against Katsuki’s thigh, for some level of relief, it was almost infuriating to see that cocky smirk on his lips.

He shifted and rolled his hips directly on Katsuki’s, that smirk immediately falling as he whimpered at the friction, his eyes blowing as the smells of sex and arousal and attraction overwhelmed him.

“There’s a spare key on the hook,” Izuku said lowly, returning his face to Katsuki’s neck. He lapped at the gland, purring at the taste, the smell, the way Katsuki’s hand tightened on his shirt. “Come join me in my nest, or I’ll come get the key when my heat is over. Either way, lock the door.”

A slight nip, dragging his claiming fangs against his skin - “Oh fucking hell” - before pulling back. Already Katsuki looked wrecked, his hand searching behind him for the lock, unable to keep his eyes off of Izuku as he slowly walked away. Each step was watched, cataloged - the motions of a hunter with prey in sight. Eventually his hand found the latch, flipping the deadbolt, making it clear he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

Izuku smiled, lips wide and teeth bared, turning on his toes to lead his chosen alpha to his nest. He wasn’t against being fucked on the table or the floor, maybe a few rounds on the couch, but this first one he wanted in his nest, his first fuck in his first nest in his first den with his chosen mate.

He made it up the stairs and most of the way down the hall to his room before he was caught, Katsuki’s arms wrapped tight around his waist in an almost loving hug before he growled, shifting them so he could press Izuku against the wall, caging him in with his chest and one arm. The other pulled at his clothes, forcing his arms up so his shirt could be pulled over his head, Izuku arching into Katsuki’s eager tongue on his chest while the same hand that had just thrown his shirt somewhere to the side pressed at his pants. Pressed at and into, both of them moaning at the feel of his fingers sliding through the slick that ran between Izuku’s cheeks, soaking through his underwear and down his thighs.

“Fuck, ‘Zuku.”

“Nest, now.”

Katsuki made him wait just long enough for his pants to be pulled off, clothes left in a wet pile in the hall before he lifted him into his arms, Izuku’s thighs hooked over Katsuki’s forearms, his arms around Katsuki's neck, everything open and dripping in a way that left them both a mess. At any other moment he would have been embarrassed, embarrassed about his dick rubbing against Katsuki’s pecks, about his ass dripping slick on his abs, about how he was being held up so easily and could be fucked standing. Now was not any other moment, forcing his own whine as Katsuki walked the last few steps into his room.

While his bed was nice, a good mattress for sleeping that did wonders for his back, his nest was a goddamn masterpiece. Every blanket he'd been gifted had been woven together on top the stain proof pillow base, creating warm walls and a thick floor that was heavenly to lay on. And most likely fuck on, something they would be experimenting with now. Izuku whined again as Katsuki knelt, laying him in the center of the nest, crawling in after him so they were nose to nose, actually facing each other for the first time since Izuku pulled him in.

Katsuki kissed him. Slow and sweet, a change from the pace they'd been going at, the pleased smell of all parties involved sinking into the fabrics around them as they just, for a long moment, kissed. A moment that broke as they kissed and Katsuki's hand reached between them, grabbing Izuku's dick and giving a long, quick stroke, drawing a gasp he took advantage of, moving his lips to Izuku's neck to revenge for the little display earlier.

His mouth found his gland and sucked hard, leaving Izuku keening as Katsuki's hand never stopped stroking, a steady pace that had his hips squirming for more, for a tighter grip, for more speed; it was all just enough to get him close, to have his balls tight and his ass dripping slick like nothing else, but not enough to actually push him over the edge.

"Kat-Kacchan."

Izuku whined as Katsuki moved, because he was stopping, no, this wasn't what he'd wanted, come back. The whine was cut off with a nip to his thigh, his legs spread further apart, and suddenly he couldn't think, could barely breathe, could only focus on the heat around his dick, the tongue and suction working together to somehow pull his brain down his spine and out with his cum, fingers in his ass spreading and crooking and stroking until-

Fuck

There was no mercy, Katsuki kept his fingers right on the prize the moment he found it, rubbing and stroking and circling no matter how much Izuku tried to squirm away, no matter how hard his hips kicked and bucked, Katsuki's unfairly thick forearm holding them still. His fingers kept going and his tongue kept going and his mouth kept going as everything inside Izuku just kept going and going curling tighter and tighter his legs locked around the alpha's head so he couldn't pull away even if he wanted to hands in his hair holding him still as he fucked his mouth the best he could and

He broke.

Izuku sobbed as he came down Katsuki's throat, head tilting back as the tears finally escaped his eyes. Gentle hands helped him lay back into the welcoming plush of the nest, unwrapping his legs from Katsuki's shoulders, his hands from his hair. Again Katsuki was hovering over him, this time using his thumb to wipe some of Izuku's spend from his lips and chin, licking it back into his mouth to leave his hands clean. Katsuki smirked, a smirk that Izuku had to react to - even worn out he still bared his fangs, snapping a little at the guest to his nest. A chuckle Katsuki's only response, leaning down to brush his lips over his cheeks, down the side of his jaw, kissing away the tears.

Kitten licks and little nips down his neck and across his chest brought Izuku back to half chub, had him squirming again before those hands found his hips, helping him to turn over onto his hands and knees. Izuku happily went, spreading himself, looking over his shoulder to watch as Katsuki took himself in hand and lined up the tip. "You ready," Katsuki asked in between kisses down his spine.

"If you're not in me-"

Whatever threat Izuku would have come up with was cut off as Katsuki pushed forward, the head popping in, both of them pausing to enjoy the stretch and the warmth. Slowly Katsuki began to rock his hips, just as much of a grind as a push, slowly feeding himself into Izuku with one hand on his hip, the other coming up to cup his shoulder for leverage.

Only...only that hand didn't curl around his muscles like Izuku expected. Didn't find the support that would let Katsuki set up a demanding rhythm that would leave them both beyond satisfied. No, instead that hand fell between his shoulder blades, gently but insistently pressing down.

That alpha bastard wanted him to present. He wanted him to submit in his own nest. In his own den.

Fuck that noise.

Bending his arms, frowning as Katsuki let out a pleased croon, Izuku pushed up, his legs shifting to throw them both back so Katsuki was on his back in the nest, caught off guard and the wind knocked out of him. It stung, Katsuki's dick having jerked free, bobbing tall and proud between his thighs, but a part of Izuku preened at the sight of the alpha under him, behind him as he repositioned himself and looked over his shoulder, lip curled to show his fangs as he put him in his place.

"You're in my nest, in my den. I'll take your knot how I want."

Dropping down, Izuku's head fell back as he worked Katsuki's dick into himself, quicker than the alpha had been doing so, bouncing and rocking until he was seated on his hips. Gods, he was ruined for his toys. He'd need to go up at least two sizes to get anywhere close to the dick stretching him now, to the beginning of the knot he was lazily grinding down again. Behind him Katsuki was whimpering, swearing, tiny little rolls of his hips as he tried to keep up with Izuku's moves.

"Fuck, 'Zuku, please." Oh, that was something he could get used to, Katsuki begging for him. Maybe later, when he wasn't so needy himself, hard and dripping and aching for that knot.

His thighs set a punishing pace, not giving Katsuki any warning as he pushed up before dropping back down, letting gravity do half the work aa he fucked himself on his dick, enjoying the sight of Katsuki's feet scrambling for purchase on the edge of the nest. Already he could feel the knot beginning to swell, pressing at his rim, sending jolts up his spine as he bounced and clenched down on it. It wouldn't take much more to make Katsuki pop, a quick glance over his shoulder confirming it. He was panting, eyes glazed, one hand twisted in the blanket by his head while the other was on Izuku's hip, steadying him, already looking so fucked out and so ready to cum Izuku was almost impressed he hadn't. Katsuki's own hips were finally in the game now that his feet were firmly planted, thrusting up in time with each of Izuku's drops, pushing them deeper and quicker together, fuck he was close again, everything inside pulsing and tensing and ready to tip over that edge with the alpha with his alpha-

Katsuki was pressed against his back, when he'd sat up Izuku wasn't sure, but with one last thrust his knot caught, the hand that'd been on his hip wrapped around his dick, lips on the nape of his neck as he spilled over Katsuki's hand, over their laps, dick twitching and pulsing as Izuku was filled and plugged, hot and thick and no where to go but for it to keep going in.

It would have been unpleasant otherwise, the slight buldge in his stomach Katsuki rubbed with his clean hand, his other preoccupied by his mouth as he licked it clean, but right now all Izuku could do was lean back and enjoy. Enjoy the warm hands that rubbed his stomach and thighs, that turned his head for kisses that tasted of himself, enjoy the way they carefully shifted so they were spooning, careful not to upset the knot still lodged in his ass.

"I think I'll keep you," Izuku muttered sleepily, snuggling back into the warm arms wrapped around him, one hand drawing comforting swirls on his swollen stomach. "Maybe having an alpha in my den won't be so bad."

"I'll make it the best you can imagine."

*~*

For a moment, just a moment, Izuku was worried he would regret his decision the next morning. He'd been doing so well, doing all of this for himself, did he really need some alpha coming along and ruining it?

His worries were reassured by the sight of S.A.M.'s playpen set up on the kitchen counter, Katsuki talking to his pet while cooking breakfast, feeding him little pieces of cheese and vegetables as he worked. "Don't tell your dad I said this," the alpha said quietly, running his finger gently down the hamster's back, "but you're almost as disgustingly cute as he is."

Yeah, no, he was keeping him.

[END]

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[revols-headcanons]

shiratorizawa’s pets

ushijima has a golden retriever who is obsessed with him. the dog will jump all over him and he’ll be like “…🧍🙂.” he also takes the dog on his morning jogs when he can.

tendou has a pet lizard. he was originally going to buy a little hamster or something at the pet store, but he heard a child call lizards creepy and he quickly changed his mind. he named it fluffy because he finds it funny.

reon has a brown pug that follows him everywhere. he cannot use the restroom without his dog watching and/or scratching the door to be let in. he also has to carry his dog up stairs, but he loves his dog anyways.

semi has a black cat that curls up into him at night and paws at his chest. the cat also messes with semi’s guitar strings and vomits on his bed at 3 am.

taichi is allergic to fur and cannot afford a sphinx cat, so he has no pet. he often goes to his teammates houses and has an allergic reaction while being like “no it’s okay- it’s just a little puffiness. ur pet is more important.”

shirabu has tried and failed at keeping many, many fish alive. he’s just too distracted and never home to properly take care of a pet. he is secretly jealous of how cute everyone else’s pets are.

goshiki has a pet parrot because he thought it would make him look cooler. it doesn’t, but it’s a nice fun fact at a party. he often has to scold tendou for saying crude things in hopes of it repeating it.

[innytoes]

“You got me a stocking?” - “Of course, you’re family.” For either Reggie & Ray or an AU where the Molina family adopts Reggie, please!

For my fourth and final version of this prompt, I decided to go full sci-fi dystopian AU because of course I did.

"Reassignment assessment, Reginald Peters, written portion." The computer said as he sat down at the terminal. He'd just finished the physical scan, and from the way some of the squares had coloured orange, it wasn't going great. Probably his weight and blood work, if he had to guess.

"Um, I can't... I can't write," he told the terminal. "Or read." Immediately, the keyboard disappeared, and a little speaker appeared next to the questions, with a microphone icon replacing the keyboard. He took a deep breath, and started the questionnaire.

After his dad had been caught stealing, he'd pretty much flushed away any credits their family unit had down the drain. Mom had managed to save herself by taking a blood alcohol test, proving she hadn't partaken in any of the stolen goods (though Reggie was pretty sure that was just dumb luck). She had managed to stay in her job in the kitchens, reassigned to the bunks there, instead of being sent to the jail like Dad.

But the lack of credits did mean there was no way she could keep Reggie on. And Reggie had been going to work with Dad, cleaning, since he was seven, so he couldn't be reassigned to the Kitchen bunks.

But all the credits he earned were transferred straight into the family account to pay for food and rent, so it wasn't like he had any credits of his own to rent out a room somewhere. Carl had kept him on until he was transferred to Reassessment, let him take over Dad's route as well as his own, so he'd managed to earn enough to keep himself fed while he stayed in the Cleaning bunks.

But now he had to prove he was worth keeping on permanently. Or get lucky enough that one of the better paying departments would take on a scrawny thirteen year old who couldn't read or write and wasn't deemed bright enough to get a scholarship for school when he was little.

He spoke as clearly as he could, knowing the voice-to-text AI wasn't perfect. He laid out his work history, his references (which was really only Carl). There were some weird questions at the end as well. Like his favourite colour, and his favourite class. Probably because he was a minor. He tried to keep the bitter upset tone out of his voice in case it messed with the AI when he answered. "I don't know." And: "I don't go to school."

The last question, the one about what he wanted for his future, he wasn't exactly sure how to answer. "I hope to stay on and work my way up at the Cleaning Department, or perhaps get transferred to the Kitchens," he said.

Except when he let go of the mic button to submit his answer, a flashing yellow warning came on the screen. Apparently the facial recognition had flagged the answer as dishonest, would he like to try again?

He tried again. And again. Finally, frustrated, he said: "I want to earn enough credits to be able to afford my own rooms, in whatever Department that will take me, and maybe even get enough to be able to afford a dog, or a hamster." He'd never told anyone about that dream, but it was at least flagged as truthful, and before he could edit or resubmit his answer, the test declared he was finished, and to please move on to the next room to wait for reassignment.

It was the first time he'd been alone, had his own rooms, since his dad was caught. Reggie reveled in the quiet, taking the standard issue meal from the Fabricator at set times, and catching up on some much needed sleep. After a few days, though, he got a little antsy, so when he computer terminal finally beeped that he'd been reassigned, he was thrilled. He quickly washed his face, tidying the bed and getting dressed, stepping out ready to meet Carl, or maybe even the head of the Kitchens.

Except it wasn't Carl. It was a family. A mom, a dad, a girl about his age, and a little boy. They looked like the kind of family that had enough credits to send their kids to school without scholarship credits, wearing non-standard-issue clothes and cool shoes and even jewelry.

Before he could tell them they probably had the wrong room, and that the orphanage was down the hall, the woman said: "Reginald? It's so nice to meet you!"

So it wasn't a mistake. Reggie stayed quiet as they lead him away from the Reassignment wing, up to levels and past parks where he'd only dreamed of being promoted to clean, until they arrived at their unit. Inside was big, but it still looked cozy, like a real home. The walls all had non-standard colours, there was art displayed, the furniture was non-standard issue.

"Come on, let me show you your room," the little boy, Carlos said, dragging him along. "You still have to pick your own colours and stuff, it'll be fun!"

So he got his own room. That he got to decorate. And he got to pick out non-standard-issue clothes, and they enrolled him in school, and every day Reggie was waiting for the Molinas to realise they'd made a mistake, to send him back to Reassignment, but it never came. Not even when he bombed his first pop quiz for his Writing class (the p and q were hard, okay?), or when he accidentally burned dinner helping Rose cook.

Three weeks in and they still hadn't sent him back. When he came home from school, thrilled to report that he'd actually passed a test for once (math was way easier than letters), the apartment looked... different. There were twinkly lights all around, and the furniture had been rearranged to make room for a tree, and oh. Christmas.

"Hey, mijo," Rose said, smiling from where she was hanging a garland up below the screen of the TV. It was playing a video of a fireplace, which just made the whole room feel even cozier. "How was school?"

He shyly showed her his Pad, with the bright red 100% at the top of the page on his math test. "I got my math test back," he said. He glowed with pride and maybe something else when she caught him in a hug, telling him how proud she was. She even insisted on wasting using credits to print out a copy to hang on the fridge.

"Do you want to help me decorate a little before you start your homework?" she asked. He usually waited until Ray was home, because Ray always looked over his letters and helped him sound out the really long words for his reading. He was really nice about it, too, and never got frustrated when Reggie made a mistake.

"Okay," he agreed happily, helping de-tangle even more lights, and hang pretty baubles in the tree. Ray came home from his shift, smiling and jumping right into helping decorate.

Together, they finished up the tree, except for the star. That would be put on when Julie and Carlos got home. They were in school longer than Reggie, because Rose and Ray hadn't wanted to overwhelm him. He had Writing and Reading and Math, and because Rose insisted school should be fun as well, once a week he also got to go to Music. They’d let him pick whatever he wanted, from art to sports to flight school.

Finally, Ray made him stand back and decide how high the stockings would go. He could read the names on them now. Rose and Ray both had fuzzy-looking stockings with a faux fur trim on it. Julie's was purple, of course, and shimmered in the light. Carlos' had a fabric that changed colours when you ran your finger over it, so you could draw little doodles on it.

And then Rose handed Ray the last one. It was red (he had a favourite colour now), and it looked very soft. And on it, in shimmering letters, it read Reggie.

"You got me a stocking?" he asked, startled, eyes flitting over the name again and again, just in case he misread. R-E-G-G-I-E. Reggie.

"Of course," Ray said. "You're family."

Maybe it was time to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, Reggie thought, even as his face crumbled. Rose pulled him into a hug, Ray wrapping both his arms around him. Maybe this could be home.

[cascadedkiwi]

REVANCE faints after a performance (SITS)

(A/N: Another one circa November 2021. Past me was on a roll.)

Word Count: approx. 1,474

The boys entered the dressing room still pumped from the high of performing.

"FIVE whole encores!" Nagito exclaimed as he dropped into a makeup chair by the mirror. "They would've never let us leave!"

Iori hummed. "These fans were intense, I'll give them that."

Kyohei grinned. "We live to serve."

Takashi groaned. "As much as I love the fans, and appreciate the demand, this one really took the cake. It was like a tour in one concert." He leaned back in the armchair, pulling his shirt away from his chest.

Kota grunted from his place sprawled on the couch. "Please. A full night's sleep before I'm demanded again, Kyohei."

Kyohei huffed. "Don't go getting weak on me now," he said in jest. "But Sasayama has the schedule. Our next group appointment is at three tomorrow. I don't know about your individual stuff. I have a few appearances and meetings in the morning."

Kiyuki held in her sigh as she walked in with her arms full of water bottles. While she admired their dedication and work ethic, these guys really never slowed down, even when they needed to. She was in no place to suggest a break, even more turned off from the idea at the thought of the tongue-lashing she would get from four of the five - only Nagi endeavoured to go easy on her. She initially moved to set the water on the center table but then followed her inkling to give them out instead, resting one on the floor or chair by the guys around the table before making her way over to Nagi and resting his on the empty makeup counter.

He smiled at her. "Thanks Kiyuki, you're awesome."

She returned the smile. "I have to confirm some wrap up things with Mr. Sasayama and the stage crew. I'll be back in a bit. You guys can get changed by the time."

Kota waved her off. "You don't gotta tell us what to do. This isn't our first concert."

Kiyuki made a face as she hurried towards the door. "Then you shouldn't be in the same clothes when I get back," she quipped as she disappeared behind the door.

Iori looked up from taking a sip from his plastic bottle. "She's been starting to get a mouth on her recently."

Kyohei smirked. "Better than when she was pattering behind us like a timid hamster."

Takashi slid back in his chair, beginning to unbutton his shirt with one hand. He let out an especially deep sigh, closing his eyes.

Nagito spoke up from where he had turned and rested his head on his arms on the makeup counter. "I feel you, Taka." He let his eyes close, too. "This one was a doozy."

Kota was curled on the couch, taking up only half the seating space, hat somewhere on the floor as one arm hung off the chair.

Iori caught himself just before the water bottle slipped from his loosening fingers. "Oh. Geez." He leaned forward to rest it safely on the ground, coming back up just enough to lean over on the arm of the couch. He let out a deep breath, giving in to the heaviness.

Kyohei leaned back at the other end of the sofa, hand draped over his eyes. Even he had to admit that this one had been a lot. Of course, it wasn't just this singular performance. They had been going nonstop for months as a group and in their individual careers. A day off had been unheard off. Heck, a full eight hours worth of sleep had been hard to come by. Moments of respite turned into attempts to snatch some shut-eye like these had become commonplace. It wasn't the healthiest, but they had schedules to maintain and goals to achieve. Sacrifices had to be made to continue this life they were so privileged to afford.

'But not at the cost of their health,' Kiyuki thought in concern as she made her back down the hall. These guys were all going straight back to the house as far as she was concerned. 'And directly into bed. All five of you.' She was stealing the keys to recording and dance studios if she had to. "Guys, Mr. Sasayama said the car's ready to leave when you are."

The sight and silence that greeted her announcement was not a first, but that didn't make it any less unnerving. All five members of REVANCE knocked out in various positions throughout the room, some water bottles untouched. Sleep was such a hot commodity for this hardworking group that it pained her to wake them whenever she found one of them this way, but this time she soothed herself with the knowledge that it was only to get them to their proper, more comfortable places of rest.

She walked up to the closest, Iori, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Dark Prince, get up. You'll sleep better in your own bed."

She turned to Takashi in the armchair, his shirt half buttoned. "You know it's a problem when you fall asleep mid-action." She shook his shoulder slightly. "C'mon Taka, time to go home."

She reached over the back of the other couch to tap their resident tsundere cat in a human body on the leg. "Wake up, we gotta go to the car."

She crossed the center table to get to Kyohei, reaching to shake his arm. She lifted it from his eyes, noting his slightly parted lips and the way it felt unnaturally heavy in her light grip. When she rested his arm back on his forehead, she jumped when it slid awkwardly across his face and hung there in what had to be an uncomfortable position. She gingerly moved it to rest on his lap instead, watching his face the whole time for any sign of him waking. "Kyohei… wake up, it's time to go."

Her brows furrowed as she noted the lack of response, raising when she looked up to see none of the others she'd troubled had even shifted. She made her way over to Nagito, the one she least feared putting genuine effort into rousing. She shook him by the shoulder a bit harder than the others, tapping him on the shoulder blade. "Time to wake up, Nagi. You can sleep in the car and even more when we get back to the house. Nagi?" She roughed up his hair a bit, tugging slightly. Nothing. She raised her voice. "Nagito, wake up!" He was the easiest to approach of the five, but, he was also the biggest - tallest, to be precise. Lean and all dancing muscle. She put both her arms into shaking him, remembering too late that the makeup chair was one that spun. "Oh shoot!"

The chair turned, taking Nagito's head and arms from the counter, his entire body crumpling out onto the floor.

Kiyuki was on the ground in an instant. "Holy crap, Nagi, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to push you that hard! Are you ok-" Then she noted that he was still out. Now she was scared. There was no way he had fallen that deeply asleep that quickly. She did her best and struggled to ease his limbs out, speaking to him all the while. "Nagito, can you hear me? I really need you to wake up now. Please?" Nothing, not even a twitch. And even more alarming, none of the other guys had stirred at all the ruckus.

Kiyuki felt panic rising in her. "MR. SASAYAMA!" She called as loudly as she could muster without shrieking. "I need help in here!" She stood as footsteps quickly approached the doorway. "The guys aren't waking up!"

Sasayama watched her in alarm.

"None of them are waking up! I came in here and found them like this - well, not Nagi, he actually fell but still isn't waking up!"

Sasayama was quick to call in professionals. The diagnosis was a relief and a concern - fainting from exhaustion.

Kiyuki frowned. "Sure their lives are hectic, it comes with the territory, but I always tell them to take care of themselves. Kyohei and Taka are really the worst - Taka especially when he's composing but… to have them all pass out at once…" Kiyuki looked up at the manager. "Mr. Sasayama they can't continue on like this."

"I agree." The man nodded gravely. "I'll see about adjusting their schedules for the next few days. Can I trust you to look after them at the house for tonight and tomorrow at least?"

She nodded. "Of course. I won't let them go anywhere. I'll melt all the door handles if I have to."

The manager laughed. "I leave them in your capable and protective hands. Godspeed."

"Thanks." Kiyuki smiled at him as he left them at the house. She knew she would need it once they came to.

"We're fine, quit worrying," Iori insisted from his place across the couch at home the next day.

Kiyuki was sitting small in the middle of the sofa, her hands clutching a mug of hot cocoa courtesy of Kyohei. "You don't get it," she spoke to the cup. "I know you are and I'm grateful but… that was so scary…" She curled even smaller. "Coming in to see you guys like that? You ALL passed out at the same time? My heart left my body when I realized you weren't just sleeping. The fact that Nagi didn't wake up when he fell out of the chair - sorry, again, by the way. I really didn't mean to do that."

Nagi sat down right next to her. "I told you already, you can stop apologizing for that. I didn't feel a thing and I didn't get hurt. Honestly, that second encore probably hurt my wrist more with that stunt with the mic."

"That no one told you to do," Kyohei pointed out.

"The fans loved it, though!"

Takashi sighed, shaking his head and turning his attention back to the girl sipping her drink as she watched the exchange. "Sorry for scaring you, Kiyuki."

She looked up as Nagito quickly nodded. "Yeah, we're really sorry. We'll take better care next time."

"From now on, you mean." Kyohei corrected.

Kiyuki nodded. "I would hope so." She rested the empty cup on the table, reaching for a coaster. " 'Next time' makes it sound like you'll just arrange not to all pass out at the same time. Or not let me see or something."

Kota looked up from where he had been parked on her other side, deep in a handheld video game. "None of us meant to do that. Shouldn't happen again."

Kiyuki nodded. "Please do your best to ensure that… Not just for my sake but your own health, as well. I'm begging you. I want you guys around just as much as the fans. Dare I say even more so. Not just music sensation REVANCE but as individuals." She glanced around before looking down again, flushing a bit. "I want each of you: Nagi, Kota, Kyohei, Iori, and Taka, to be around for as long as possible, thriving and doing what makes you happy."

Nagito leaned over onto her, resting his head on hers. He giggled at her protest against his weight. "We'll do our best, promise."

"We don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon," Kyohei assured her with a smirk. "Trust us."

Iori offered his own brand of reassurance. "We're not so fragile, Kiyuki. You know better."

She nodded. "I do. And I do believe in you all. Doesn't mean I won't be extra fussy over you guys for the next while."

"Appreciate the warning," came Kota's voice as he put his game down. His head found its way into her lap and Kiyuki started scratching his hair under his hoodie as if given a command.

She smiled. "That's the only one you're getting. Just because I care."

[bongwaterbunny]

update for last night cuz i was freaking out and posted some concerning stuff: IM FINE!

cw below for animal death, panic, self harm, and drug use

yesterday was a hard day for personal reason, and towards the end of it all my sibling had opened their hamsters cage to check on her and found her dead so mom took them out for a walk while i had to figure out what happened (i rolled her over and her stomach was bleeding, called the vet and couldn't afford a check up but the most likely possibility is that the hamster had a tumor or cyst that had ruptured which was genetic and completely impossible to have seen coming. she lived for 2/3 of her expected lifetime and was very happy and was fine up until hours before my sibling found her so that means she likely wasnt suffering) and called mom and told them, they asked my sibling if they wanted to say goodbye which i had to explain that wasnt a good idea with the blood and my sibling agreed. i took the hamster outside and went to bury it but it twitched and i panicked. like dropped the poor thing, started crying, i was messaging delu the entire time and i couldn't spell anything right. i thought the hamster was breathing but turns out it was just me shaking so much that made it seem that way. mom and sibling came back and i had the hamster wrapped in paper towels on the table and couldn't breathe so they decided to put it in the freezer and we're gonna save to have it cremated or smth.

anyways, my sibling was rlly not okay. that was their first pet theyd had and they LOVED that fucking hamster. it had the biggest most fancy cage and so many toys and treats and everything, like that hamster could not have gone to a better home believe me. i had cut myself earlier yesterday if youve seen my posts lol, and i was exhausted after everything so once my sibling went to bed i smoked like a bowl and a half and practically passed out. im okay now though, my sibling stayed home from school and my mom stayed home from work, the cats are all panicked over the empty cage but otherwise nobody is harmed.

[bufomancer]

idk if you would know the answer to this, and maybe this is a dumb question, but how do people become breeders? i feel like, as with anything, it requires practice but it sounds like itd be scary to make any mistakes even once. im so curious though, particularly when it comes to rodent breeders. i hope this ask makes sense

The short answer is you get a male rodent and a female rodent and you put them together. Anyone can breed, it isn't difficult to get rodents to have babies.

But when it comes to responsible, ethical breeding that improves the species? That's a little more difficult.

First, determine which species you want to breed (and why). Mice, syrian hamsters, degus, african soft furs, guinea pigs, etc. The list goes on and on.

If you've never owned the species you want to breed, DO THIS FIRST. Take care of a few individuals of that species, preferably for a year or more, before getting into breeding. You can use this time to figure out the specifics of your breeding operation. But just because you think that species is right for you, doesn't mean it will be once you actually own them. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of their care, learn how long maintenance takes you, etc before breeding.

There are a LOT of things you need to consider when it comes to breeding.

-Are you breeding for food, pets, or to win at shows? Or a combination of the three? -Will you be keeping the majority of the animals you breed, or rehoming to other homes? -If you are going to be sending some of your babies to other homes, how popular is this species in your area? How far are you willing to travel to meet adopters? Are you willing to work with transport companies to bring animals to homes further away from you? Who else is breeding in your area? Do they have a hard time rehoming their animals or is there a lot of interest? -Speak to other breeders, particularly other local breeders. What do they do that you want to emulate, and what would you want to do differently? Are the other breeders specializing in any particular aspects of breeding (ie a focus on blue, or on curly coats)? If so, you may want to breed a different color or coat variety in order to stand out and to avoid upsetting anyone by stepping on their toes. Or not! Ultimately it's up to you. -What is the planned scale for your operation? How many litters will you be producing on a monthly or yearly basis? How many individuals will you need in order to prevent excessive inbreeding? How many enclosures will you need to house these animals? Where will you put the enclosures? -Write a budget. How much are enclosures? How much does it cost to fill them with bedding, decor, etc? How much will you be spending on food, toys, bedding, and so on each month? Can you afford this? -Determine what is most important to you. For me, if I was breeding, that would be health/longevity followed by temperament. Coat color, physical 'type', and so on is completely unimportant to me- I think its fun to have a variety of colors, but I could not care less if a friendly, healthy individual has a show standard appearance or not. For some breeders, type and color is extremely important. -How will you vet new homes, and how much is the rehoming fee? What does a good setup look like to you? -Figure out where to source your foundational stock. Take your time and be choosy with this! Are you able to have stock from far away transported to you, or are you limited to what is available locally? -Figure out how you're going to track records. You'll want to be keeping detailed track of lineages, health, when you fed and cleaned each enclosure last, and so on. -How does care for babies differ from care for adults? How will you house nursing mothers, young babies, etc? At what age will you start picking your keepers and rehoming the ones you don't plan to keep? -What health issues are common in this species, and can they be avoided? What are the symptoms? Do you have a quality vet nearby who can treat your animals?

And more!

Once you have everything figured out and feel pretty confident that breeding is right for you, have your first litter.

The first litter, in my opinion, is kind of a test litter. All the research and reading in the world does not fully prepare you for the realities of raising a litter. You'll probably want to keep the entirety of your first several litters, or only rehome to people who understand that your lines are not yet established and you can't as accurately predict temperament, health, longevity, etc. The longer your lines have been established, if you track them carefully, the more accurately you'll be able to make predictions about new litters.

Or, after your first litter you might realize breeding isn't right for you and that's okay too. Ensure that the parents and all babies will be able to be cared for appropriately for their whole life, and then simply don't breed again!

It helps to find an established breeder that you respect who is willing to act as a mentor and give you advice and recommendations.

Breeding is a lot of work, and honestly a lot of rodent breeders are not all that great. It can be tricky for someone just starting out to carve out a space for themselves, but if you truly enjoy doing it and you are dedicated, hardworking, and patient, it is doable and can be very rewarding.

[autumnalwalker]

Find the Word tag game

Thank you for the tag, @fearofahumanplanet.

My assigned words are sense/sensation, chaos, crowd, wide/width, and dense/density.

A slightly hilarious coincidence given that I just established in the last "Find the Word" game that "chaos" is somehow not yet within my written body of work. Alas, I fear I will need to skip that one. I'll make up for it by hitting all the variants too.

Passing the tag on to @monstrousfreedom, @kaiusvnoir, @careful-pyromancer, and @junypr-camus

Your words shall be: awkward, waiting, water, & tree

Excerpts below the "Keep reading" line.

Sense:

Apparently it is traditional for archivists to know the stories in the library well enough to tell them as entertainment at whatever gathering they happen to be at.  Having mostly just been skimming as many books as possible for organizational purposes so far I wasn’t really familiar enough with their contents to recite them on the spot like this.  But my outsider status afforded me a unique advantage.  While I couldn’t remember much at all of history, whether my own or my world’s, I could still remember a number of works of fiction.

And so after a moment of consideration I launched into a (heavily abridged) retelling of a classic.  A story of a man from a quiet village much like this one who was invited out on an adventure to recover stolen treasure from a dragon and found a magic ring along the way.  I was hesitant and awkward at first, neither confident in performing in front of others nor in my ability to do the story justice, but as I went on I got more and more into it (even if I had to make up names for characters I didn’t remember).  It’s funny, I have this sense of a memory of being averse to speaking because I dislike the sound of my own voice, but I didn’t feel that at all last night.  Or since I’ve been here for that matter.

I’m glad to say it went over well.  Strangely, Marva had memories of her grandfather telling that same story when she was young, albeit with some differences in the details.  Perhaps a previous outsider told it as well? It was, as I said, a classic.  Abridged as the story was though, it was still a long one and by its conclusion it was well into the night and we were all tired.  Not that that stopped the kids from asking for an encore, although I suspect it had more to do with not wanting to go to bed than with my storytelling talents.

Sensation:

“What are you doing?”  Ashan asks.

“Opening this the fast way,” Eris says while staring at her hands and tracing the glyphs on the left glove with one finger.  Back of the hand then the palm.  “Get back.”

“But this ward is only partially undone.  Unstable as it is -”

“It will make what I’m about to do that much easier.”  The corner of her mouth twitches up in anticipation while she traces the right glove’s glyphs.  “So thanks for that, but get back.  There might be some backlash.”

Eris claps her hands together and twin jolts run through her palms and up her arms to meet at the base of her neck.  She throws her head back involuntarily at the shock and bares her teeth in an expression closer to grin than grimace than it should be.  The initial sensation fades as she lowers her gaze to look at the shelf in front of her but her hands are tingling now and will be until she takes off the gloves.

Crowd:

“I hate anime,” Ashan grumbles to himself for the second time that day.  

No, that was not quite fair.  He had some vague recollection of enjoying some show or another as a child.  What was it called again?  Something with magic cards and a girl on roller skates.  An interesting concept for quick casting of spells, but unlikely to be practical with its reliance on bound spirits.  There was also the one with the talking hamsters.  That one had been fun.

Perhaps it is not so much anime itself as anime conventions that bother him.  Even after being back on the world of his birth for a few years now, he is still not used to the sheer density of the crowds.  And the novelty of convention goers stopping to ask him who he is supposed to be wears thin quickly.  Even worse are the ones who mistake him for a favorite character and ask for a picture.  And while he is used to being mistaken for a woman - and even finds amusement in it so long as the mistake is not repeated after correction - the well-intended compliments mistaking his white robes for a dress are beginning to test his patience. 

All that is secondary though to the fact that such concentrated escapism and suspension of disbelief makes for a Masquerade breach waiting to happen.  Coupled with the sheer number of cosplayers making it easy for outsiders to blend in, it was no wonder that there is nearly always an incident at these events.  

Wide:

As we rounded that curve the cave opened up around us into a truly massive cavern.  Clusters of glowing crystals grew from floor, walls, and ceiling alike, ranging from barely finger-sized to huge, angled, floor-to-ceiling columns wide enough to fit a person inside.  The colors varied in much the same proportions I’d noticed coming from windows in the Village at night; mostly blues and magentas, with the occasional green, and more rarely yellow and orange.  What I hadn’t expected was for much of the cavern floor to be given over to scattered pools of water.  Most were fairly small and shallow, but a few were easily big enough to swim in.  Daianna advised us not to.  And not to drink from the pools either as it tends to make people sick.  All of these pools were lined with crystals at the bottom and the scattered clusters seemed to be more dense around their edges.  It was markedly cooler down here than up on the surface yet just as humid, a combination that gave a bit of a chill.  Curiously for such a wet cave there were no stalactites or stalagmites, but there were crystal growths in analogous formations here and there.

Daianna, in the lead now that there wasn’t brush for Butat to clear, continued to take us further and further in until we reached what could only be called an underground lake, wide and deep enough that the light from its far depths was faint.  Here she instructed us to unload the crystals we’d brought and toss them into the water.  This was something of a surprise to me.  I’d been expecting to find a pile of previously deposited crystals that had “recharged” that we’d be collecting and replacing with a dun pile.  Instead, Daianna explained that the lightless ones we’d brought would dissolve over time in the water, providing material for new growths.  And it was those new growths we’d be collecting. 

Width:

The rocky coastline makes for a significantly bumpier drive than the commute from the manor to the estate’s forest.  Less bumpy though than Ashan would have expected from riding in the open flat back of a brake carriage drawn by a pair of roughly horse-shaped constructs.  It seems that the late sorceress Bridgewood had preferred the transportation modes of her youth to modern vehicles and left her estate furnished accordingly.  Had she personally built and enchanted this vehicle?  Being her work would explain how it had managed to fit itself through the trunk of a tree half its width, and perhaps even how they had remained upright when emerging vertically from the floorboards of a ruined cabin in the middle of this ice and lichen-strewn wilderness.  

The personal transport of one of the most powerful mages of the past century across multiple worlds and now he was riding in it.  The thrill of the thought sends a shiver down Ashan’s spine.  Or maybe that was a regular shiver.  Road had not exaggerated about the cold.  Given the ice floating in the water in the summer, he guesses that they’re somewhere near the Arctic Circle, if not above it.  And while the air might not technically be freezing the wind made it feel that way, even with the enchantments sewn into his robes.  At least they seem to have arrived during a lull in the storm.

Dense:

The docking point was another protruding cliff, much like Siren Overlook.  Similar enough to make me wonder if both of them were artificial.  This one however was overgrown with creeping vines and broadleaf ferns.  (They looked like ferns to me anyway.)  There was another matching arch here as well, but it had collapsed and shattered, now easy to miss except as raised blocky patches of greenery.

This rampant growth stopped as it met the treeline at the landward end of the cliff.  Gazing into that forest was more like peering into the mouth of a cave.  Little grew from the ground other than the great trees.  Each of them was nearly big enough around at the base to fit my cabin inside, and it easily could have fit in the spaces between them with room to spare.  I wouldn’t have expected such tall trees to be able to stand with expansive branches, yet up at the edge of our lantern light we could make out the bottom of the canopy and the branches of the trees tangled together with their neighbors in a dense web.  A web that helps them hold one another aloft perhaps?  But certainly a web that catches the sun.  It would not surprise me if the forest floor is as dark at noon as it was while we were there.

As much as Cass wanted to, we did not walk beneath those branches this night.

Density:

Eyes darting to my periphery, I caught sight of the nature sprite walking beside me in lockstep.  The sound was not truly a tapping at all but a clicking, a clacking, a clattering.  The noise of jaws housing wooden fangs barely opening and then snapping back shut in time to an incessant beat.

As the creature of the woods became aware of my awareness, it stopped walking, although the sound continued unabated.  The opening in the trees to Siren Overlook in sight, I took a few more steps before turning around to face my companion.

I’d rarely seen this being by daylight, and even now it was backing into the shade of the trees at the edge of the path, eyes aglow under its cloak of leaves, branching antlers curiously uncaught on the jungle density, and gnarled wooden hand outstretched, beckoning.  There was a rust red stain on those fingers that had not been there before.  Around the mouth as well, creating a mockery of lips.

This was an invitation.  An entreaty to turn back.  An offer to follow into the woods.  To abandon my worries and cares, my fears and anxiety.  To lose myself in the rhythm of the hunt.  To become something else.  To run frumious through the jungle with jaws that bite and claws that catch.  To let the song fill me until I am more it than me.

[futuristicpaintercat]

Pet Furniture Industry: Furniture Market Insights Trends, Growth, and Future Perspectives

Pet owners around the world are increasingly spending more on their furry friends. The global pet furniture industry has seen tremendous growth over the past decade to cater to pet parents who want to provide their pets with comfortable and stylish spaces in the home. Let's take a look at some key aspects of this growing industry. Trends in Pet Ownership In many parts of the developed world like North America, Europe and Australia, pet ownership rates have risen steadily over the past 20 years. According to recent surveys, nearly 70% of households in the United States and over 50% of households in countries like the UK and Australia own a pet. Dogs and cats remain the most popular pet choices globally, though other small pets like rabbits, hamsters and birds are also gaining popularity in some markets. This growth in pet adoption has been a major driver for increasing pet expenditures. Pet owners today are more willing to spend on high-quality food, grooming products, toys and other accessories that can improve the lives of their pets. Pet Furniture falls under this last category as animal parents want their dogs and cats to have comfortable beds, caves, trees and other structures for resting, playing and overall well-being. Major Global Brands A few corporations have come to dominate the global commercial pet furniture industry with varied product lines tailored for specific regions. MidWest Homes for Pets: This American company holds leading market shares in North America with affordable yet durable dog houses, cat trees, crates and beds. Their classic wire-framed designs are popular amongst value-conscious pet owners. Petsfit: China-based Petsfit has rapidly expanded globally through e-commerce platforms with a wide selection of inexpensive yet stylish options. Their specialty is innovative cat condos that combine towers, furniture and toys. Acte2ou: Acte2ou from France supplies high-end modern and designer pet products to furniture stores and boutiques across Europe and Americas priced towards premium customers. Goldencat: Growing brand Goldencat from Japan is investing in innovative tech-enabled beds, feeders and toys but concentrating sales in Asian markets initially. While these large brands lead global supply chains, local and niche craft brands focusing on sustainability, customization or therapeutic seating are gaining ground through targeted marketing. The diverse and growing industry is benefiting small businesses as well. Consumer Trends - Online Purchases and Customization In the digital era, pet owners increasingly rely on online shopping for convenience, reviews and discounts from retailers like Amazon, Chewy and individual brand sites. This e-commerce dominance presents opportunities for data analytics helping customize products to consumer tastes down to the neighborhood level. Value-addition features tapping artificial intelligence, phone connectivity and video streaming are being introduced for enhanced safety, play and bonding. On-demand 3D printing could make mass customization based on pet size, fur patterns or owner selfies a mainstream reality. These innovative consumer-driven trends will take the industry to new frontiers in coming years. In conclusion, the global pet furniture industry has flourished steadily but consistently over the last decade due to growing pet ownership, humanization of animals and new product options. With rising populations in developing nations projected to push even more owners into the premium pet care market, multi-billion dollar valuations.

Get more insights on Pet Furniture

About Author:

Ravina Pandya, Content Writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemical and materials, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravina-pandya-1a3984191)

[umflowers]

What makes you happier

well, hm. being that you said 'happier' and not 'happy', i'm kind of taking the context to be like. how do i cheer myself up, as opposed to just a list of things that bring me joy? it depends on what's fucking me up. sometimes i go sit outside and force myself to listen to the birds, or stare at the stars. as cliche as it is, there's this like inconceivably massive world around us that just cranks on and on no matter what and it's kind of nice to abruptly realize me and my problems don't mean shit, every once in a while. takes a load off for a little while. honestly one of my go-tos is a very random video on youtube, right here. when you figure that song has existed for 200 years, and the words beethoven incorporated are from a poem calling for peace among all peoples, and it takes so many people to perform the damn thing? and the human desire to create music presumably came from listening to bird calls, and it's one of the most joyous things we have in everything that we've ever done? the desire to make music, to put beauty out into the world, evolving through millennia from people in caves marking the walls with the best places for resonant sound, and then in 1824 beethoven releases a call for peace, an ode to joy, and now 200 years later people are still gathering to perform it, in this case for free for the public, and that public gathers round to have that shared experience and human connection and feel something real and incorruptible for just a few moments in a world that tells us we can never stop because there's always something Productive to be doing? yeah. it makes me very, very emotional and it's hard to stay sad or angry or so bitter i can't breathe after i watch it. my hamster. he's awake right now :) he's all bunched up in a little squishy ball by his water dish havin' a sipsip. he's got his little tiny people hands braced on the side of the dish and his little tiny ears are wiggling. i love him a lot playing with stuffed animals. singing for 8 hours straight until my voice is just a croak, then singing some more. getting the coloring really right on a gifset after a half hour of fucking with it. earning more neopoints on neopets than i was expecting to that day. watching late-night comedians with my husband before he goes to bed and getting to hear him laugh, looking over and his whole face is scrunched up and he's somehow rolled sideways in a recliner and has his legs pulled up and is clutching his belly cuz that joke was so good. realizing i have the energy to cook my own damn food. getting a new tattoo or piercing and feeling like i've reclaimed another little piece of my body. coloring my hair. getting my eyeliner wings relatively neat for once. any day where my pain and/or fatigue levels are less and i feel just a little bit more human. finally reaching a point in my life where, if i see a homeless person, i can afford to get them a hot meal. celebrating every hard-fought victory for equity and equality, no matter how big or small. throwing peanuts in the yard for the crows and listening to them caw to each other in the trees across the road. the fact that we switched to humane traps so we can release mice, not kill them. they're just hungry and cold, after all. honestly, nonnie, one of the best and most important things that i finally allowed myself to realize is i don't need an excuse to take joy in something. y'know those posts that are like "don't wait for a reason to wear the fancy dress or the expensive makeup or the good perfume or to drink the expensive wine?" that goes double here. if you see or do something that gives you that little spark of happiness, relief, or peace, grab it and fucking drown yourself in it. it's okay. you don't have to wait for something big enough to get excited about.

[small-but-mighty]

Smallies Vs Society

Now most of the big cooperate pet stores no longer sell dogs or cats. But they still do sell smallies. Guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, hamsters, ferrets, and rabbits just to name a few. When an individual goes and buys an animal from these stores, there are no requirements besides being at least 18. Individuals selling these animals may not be entirely trained on the care requirements each of the animals require themselves and therefore are not able to educate those who are purchasing these animals. Now thankfully, I'd like to note, this is not always the case. Coming from a personal background of working at a pet store, I have met and learned a lot from individuals working there, and I respect and appreciate all that they do to try their best educating the public while still being required to allow sales. But it's not always the case. A lot of these purchases are on the spot. So with little to no knowledge, individuals are relying on marketing and advertising which is directly available in front of them to get supplies for the animal. This immediately is a problem.

Although it has improved a bit over the years, a lot of the habitats sold in stores, are not size appropriate for the creatures that they are being advertised for. I myself have even fallen for this, when I first purchased my guinea pig (I worked at the pet store at the time and I was unaware of how many were in the shelter. Please adopt, don't shop.) I purchased a starter kid advertised for being for guinea pigs. The cage was so small, that by less than six months of age, I could tell it was way too small! He did not have enough room to run around. Today, my guinea pig lives in a cage that was advertised as being for a rabbit. Now I am also the owner of a lionhead rabbit, and that cage, would be nowhere near big enough for her to live in. Truthfully, the cage is not even big enough for two guinea pigs to live in and probably is the smallest size a single guinea pig can live comfortably in.

Bedding, is a huge problem. The paper based bedding like carefresh is expensive. The wood shavings that are available in stores, advertised for smallies, are more bedding for a smaller price tag. To people who don't know any better, it's a no brainer. But the wood shavings create a toxin when they are urinated on and harm the lungs of the creatures living in it. And remember, they're living in a confined space with this toxin so it can cause a significant amount of damage. In order for wood to be safe for use as litter, it must be kiln dried. The horse pellets that are sold at farm stores are often a good affordable option. As for the cage bedding, for animals that don't burrow, using fleece is the most affordable option and creates less waste. Animals that do burrow, although the paper bedding is more expensive, it's the safest option. Even the paper bedding has things to look out for though. Some of the bedding is colored with dyes and or scented with fragrances. Some smallies have more sensitive skin than others and the dyes can cause skin irritations, I have also seen the dye bleed onto the fur of the animals living on it (after all, the paper is ultimately going to get wet). The fragrances can be toxic as well, the sensitive little respiratory systems are not designed to live in lavender fields. Smell is also a way of communication and way of marking territory, so by messing with the smell of your pet's home, it makes it more difficult for them to feel safe.

Food is overwhelming. There are so many different varieties, colors, and prices. The food available for pets on the market varying in quality is not a problem exclusive to small animals, but this is a small animal blog, so we are going to stick to them. The healthiest foods are usually the ones with no seeds in them. But of course, the ones with the seeds in them are the ones that are the most affordable, and they are also more readily available. You can go to Walmart and get a bag of cheap guinea pig food, that contains seeds and high amounts of fat and sugars, but there isn't any high quality food or brands. This causes not only a high amount of animals becoming obese, but they're also developing medical issues that can be contributed to the poor diet. This includes bladder stones, GI stasis, and diarrhea. People are often unaware that for rabbits and guinea pigs, hay needs to be the main part of their diet and they require an unlimited amount, without the hay, these species teeth may develop issues which can lead to more serious problems and can even result in death. Even hay has varsities individuals need to be educated about. Timothy hay is the healthiest everyday hay variety for most species. Using different hays such as oat hay and orchard hay are a great way to add different textures for enrichment and as treats, but they don't have the correct nutritional needs. Alfalfa hay has a high concentration of calcium, it again can be used for enrichment or as a treat, but it really should only be readily given to very young guinea pigs and nursing/ pregnant mothers who need higher levels of calcium for development. Using Alfalfa as the everyday hay can cause further issues with bladder stones from too high of a calcium intake.

Now this is a lot of information. Most of which I have acquired from working with the smallies for years. So what is causing people to buy these animals without any of this information? I'd like to think that it's the societal need for instant gratification. Especially during the pandemic, people had more time, there was some extra funds coming from government assistance, and there was not a whole lot to do. Pets stores were still open, and there were possible companions there that were able to come home instantly. There are no requirements, all you have to do is sign a quick form. Then everything (in theory) you need for them is right there in the store. People also are not educated on the lifespans of these animals. Many people don't realize that some of these species are not just a 1 or 2 year commitment. While some are, some species such as rabbits, can be as much as a 12 year commitment. The oldest I've heard for guinea pigs is 9 years. Today, at the shelter, we have seen in increase in the surrender of animals that were purchased during the pandemic. People are back to work, there are more housing issues, and inflation makes keeping them difficult, people may not have realized just how long they would have these animals. There is also a few reasons for surrender that are far too common, and unfair to the animals themselves, that are just evidence of the irresponsible purchasing, such as they poop too much, or the kids lost interest.

Now this post has not even begun to address that smallies are also very neglected when it comes to medical needs/ care. But I wanted to try and paint a picture of just why so many small animals end up in the shelters, and how society has contributed to this. I also wanted to try and address why so many of these animals are not getting their basics needs met. It is not a simple problem to be solved, and proper education is one of biggest needs in helping to solve the problem. Supply and demand with proper education will force stores to (again in theory) have proper resources and supplies that pet owners need, they will have to change their marketing to meet the needs of responsible owners. There's still many issues in the animal welfare world that pet stores contribute to, but that was not the purpose of this post. I wanted to show just how the societal need for instant gratification is affecting the lives of smallies. An animal is not a toy and is not an easy investment, they are not gifts, they are a responsibility. They each have their own needs, personality, emotions, and they all are full of love. We just need to be responsible in this society to recognize that.

[rebelfell]

cold dry stone

gator tillman x fem!reader

Revenge is a dish best served immediately and relentlessly.

cw: hate-fucking/revenge sex, references to infidelity. pretty much just blatant bullying of Gator ‘cos it’s actually sooo fun to be mean to him?? hand job, bareback piv sex, finishing inside (consensually, despite the dialogue)

18+, MDNI 3.5k

What’s the opposite of a breeding kink?

Gator’s party was too fucking loud.

You weren’t even inside yet and you already regretted coming here. A veritable horde of trucks and cars and more than a few cruisers littered the gravel drive and lawn, parked haphazardly over the dying grass with no rhyme or reason.

The walls of the house practically shook from the bass of the music playing inside and the drunken revelry could be heard clear across the fields.

The elder Tillman was away for the week—off taking care of some vague and surely nefarious business—and now his pissant son was throwing a kegger while daddy was away, carrying on with his dumbass friends like a fucking adolescent despite his ripe age of nearly 30.

You wouldn’t have shown up in a million years if not under such extenuating circumstances.

The back of your neck still burned at the memory of catching your so-called fiancée naked in bed with someone who was very much not you.

The ensuing fight left you in a kind of fugue state— speeding recklessly along deserted highways, knuckles throbbing as you gripped the steering wheel with one thing on your mind: revenge.

There was no shortage of people Drew hated in this shitty little town you had both grown up in. And any one of them would have sufficed for your purposes. But you didn’t just want to get back at him. You had to destroy him. You had to humiliate him the same way he had humiliated you.

And no one said “humiliation” quite like Gator.

You spotted him as soon as you walked in the door—all 5’11 of his stupid frame leaning against the stone mantle; sunglasses sitting on the back of his head; arms bulging in that same black polo he loved to wear under his Sherrif’s vest; the tips of his fingers brushing those two slits shaved into his hairline he thought made him look so tough; sucking down a hit from that lime green excuse for a phallic symbol he never put down.

He was talking to some girl. A pretty little thing in a pretty little dress looking up at him all demure and coy with fluttering lashes and puckered lips. She was the exact type he always went for—all pliant and willing, taken in by the veneer of status and power afforded to him both by his badge and being the son of the most powerful man in town.

Tough break, hon. Maybe some other time.

Thumb and middle finger pinched together, you pushed them between your lips and blew.

Your shrill whistle rang out over the din, silencing the party save Gator’s godawful choice of music. Every pair of eyes in the room was on you now, including the round hazel ones you were after.

Good. The more people Drew heard this story from, the better.

“Let’s go, Tillman,” you barked.

With two fingers motioning in a succinct come here, you beckoned him forward and jerked your head in the direction of the staircase, heading up them before he’d even started to follow.

You made your way down the narrow hall, cracking open doors as you went in search of Gator’s room, shocked you couldn’t smell your way to whatever dirty hamster cage he slept in. Behind you, the clomp of his boots alerted you to his presence as he reached the top of the stairs.

“You can’t just whistle at me like a dog. I’m a fuckin’ deputy—”

The family pictures in their gaudy frames rattled as you pushed him against the wall, your forearm planted in the center of his broad chest. Your face assaulted his, neck stretching to kiss him, tongue pushing past his teeth into his mouth—the sting of bourbon tempered by the sickly-sweet taste of his Mountain Dew mixer and…something with a synthetic smokey flavor.

Was he just eating jerky? Seriously?

His hand came up to try and grip the back of your neck, but you slapped it away with your free arm as your other drove a bit harder into his pecks.

He whined into your mouth, a choked-up simpering sound that made your heartbeat pulse between your legs. You pulled back to look at him, eyes flickering over his face, his lips spit-slick and swollen, his chin bobbing like a chicken’s head as he tried to chase your mouth, eyes round and pleading. Desperate and messy. Perfect.

He flinched as you ruffled his over-gelled hair, snatching his sunglasses off the back of his head and tossing them away, letting them clatter on the wooden floor as they fell.

“It’s the middle of the night, you idiot,” you sniped. “Now where’s your room?”

Jaw clenched, mouth forming into a hard, thin line as he bit back what he wished he could say, he made a loud sucking sound with his tongue behind his teeth. He pushed open the door to his room and you yanked him inside, closing it back by shoving him up against it on the other side.

It was a sty, no surprise there.

Dirty clothes scattered across the floor, mixing with (clean?) ones spilling out of hampers. Empty pop and beer cans dotted every available surface, alongside bottles of e-juice that sat in sticky rings made by their own drippings.

Half-dressed girls cut out of skin mags were pasted up on the walls along with some wrinkled posters of movies and bands you liked a little less just because he enjoyed them. He really was just a teenager frozen in time, wasn’t he?

You tsked at him as you looked around, your voice ripe with judgment. “Think you oughta move out of daddy’s house one of these days?”

Gator’s eyes hardened. “He likes having me close by when we’ve got business to attend to.”

He’s clearly irked, getting that look in his eyes like when you would mock and goad and tease during recess in grade school, and challenge him to races he never, ever won.

Most everyone knew there was no love lost between you and Gator. You had always been a little extra mean to him growing up, probably as a retaliation for all the knowing glances and nudges and so-called “jokes” people liked to make about you two getting married someday.

If he hadn’t turned into such an insufferable ass along the way, maybe you would have.

The old Gator, the soft and gentle boy who was so desperate for kindness and love and approval and encouragement he’d never gotten enough of, was nothing more than an ever-fading memory now—snuffed out by Roy’s influence and all his hyper-masculine, abusive, racist, cultish bullshit.

You might even miss him if you thought there was a chance that side of him still existed. But every day that possibility seemed less and less likely.

He jammed a hand into his cargo pants pocket to retrieve his vape, probably trying to recover some vestige of his dignity; or to pretend like he hadn’t been totally at your mercy since your whistle.

Mid-pull, you snatched the lime green machine out of his hand and stuffed it down the front of your dress so it rested between your cleavage.

He started to whinge in protest, only for you to cut him off with a harsh kiss, punctuated with a punishing bite to his bottom lip.

“You’ll get it back if you make me come,” you burred, fingers now making fast work of his belt.

Once it had been pulled through the loops and tossed to the side, your fingers curled around the waistband of his pants and you hauled him over to the bed. The ancient metal frame creaked in protest as he landed on it with a bounce, his legs spreading wide and eyes flashing with need.

He would never admit to this, but he loved how strong you were—the way your arms rippled when you threw him around, the latent strength built up by a lifetime of farm chores. If he had it in him to struggle or fight back a little, it might not be so easy for you. But he never did.

“Get undressed,” you said as you stepped out of your shoes, gaze as bored as your tone.

Muttering something unintelligible under his breath, he clumsily started stripping off his polo, toeing off his boots, and tugging down his pants and the briefs he wore underneath.

They pooled around his ankles and he leaned back on his elbows to kick them away, smugness now polluting his face. He smirked up at you, eyes flitting between yours and his substantial length that flopped across his thigh, as though waiting for your awed reaction.

He was an impressive specimen, as much as it pained you to admit. But you sure as shit weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of confirming it.

You tilted your head, studying it quietly.

“I remembered it being bigger.” You shrugged as Gator’s face fell. “I guess it’ll do.”

His cocky smirk disappeared, now looking all sour and deflated as he went to pull his white singlet over his head. You placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back to lay flat.

“Leave it,” you told him, tugging the hem back down. You much preferred the way his muscles bulged out of the too-small tank more than you liked the sight of his bare chest.

He licked his lips and nodded, jaw going slack as he watched you drop to your knees, the spread of his legs widening to accommodate you as you knelt on the floor between them. A shudder ran through him as your hand wrapped tight around his length and you let your tongue loll out of your mouth, the pool of saliva you’d collected there dribbling out all over his cock.

The tip of your tongue just barely grazed his slit that was already leaking and he moaned deeply at the feeling, knowing it was as close as he’d ever get to you sucking him off.

Your hand curled around him and began to move in a slow, even stroke. It was perfunctory. Totally emotionless. Gator couldn’t stay hard unless he got jerked off a little first—probably some kind of performance anxiety holdover from puberty.

Truth be told, you didn’t mind it so much.

You sort of liked watching him fall apart from nothing but your fist and spit. Making his brow scrunch and his mouth slacken, seeing him throw his head back and the muscles in his thick neck strain as he huffed and gasped out his labored breaths, cheeks puffing as he panted.

“Wh-where’s your ring?” he asked, his voice already weak and pitiful as he propped himself up on his elbows to get a better view of the work your hand was doing.

“Bottom of the lake,” you said shortly, giving him a steady glare over your pumping fist.

“That why you’re here, then?” he grunted. “Cos you two had a fight?”

“Not a fight,” you corrected, hacking another glob of spit on his cock. “We’re done. Found him in bed with some floozy from the Family Fare.”

Gator scoffed. “S’that it?”

“Yes, that’s it,” you snapped back. “That not a good enough reason for you?”

“Just seems kinda harsh s’all. It’s not like you and I haven’t been—ah-ah-ahhh!”

Your stroking ceased abruptly, a mean glint in your eye as you closed both fists around him and started to twist—not unlike the burns you used to give his arm on the playground.

“That’s different,” you seethed through gritted teeth. “We didn’t get caught.”

Gator whimpered at the harshness of your touch, his abdomen flexing under thin white cotton as he squirmed. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” he stammered. “You’re right, you’re right.”

“Damn fucking right I’m right,” you grumbled, releasing your hold on him.

With a couple of strained gasps, Gator struggled to regain his breath as you got to your feet and began to drag your panties down your legs.

He was hard as a rock now—no surprise there.

He pushed himself up to lay on the bed, his toes already curling over as you climbed on top of him. You straddled him at the waist, knees bracketing his hips as you lifted your dress.

His eyes strained in the dark for just a glimpse of you, watching hungrily as you bunched your skirt in one hand and made a few cursory swipes across your clit with your other.

“Suck,” you instructed as you brought your fingers to his lips, request redundant as he was already eagerly taking all three into his mouth.

He mewled around them, licking sloppily at the wetness there, the tang of your arousal covering his tongue. Bullying him always got you riled up in a way you never fully understood.

Fingers now thoroughly coated in a mix of your slick and his spit, you reached down to align him with your entrance. His cock twitched excitedly in your hand as you rubbed his head through your folds, and he made a sniveling sort of noise as you began to lower down onto him.

His hands came up and he reached for your chest only to be slapped away as you sank further, your body stretching to take him in until he was seated fully in your heat. The slow and deliberate grind of your hips had him squirming under you already, whimpering at the sensation as your walls squeezed around his shaft.

Letting your head tip back and your eyes flutter until they closed, you lost yourself in the rhythm you set rocking back and forth on his cock.

Tentatively he reached out again, this time aiming for your hips, and you surprised the both of you when you let his hands settle there to hold you.

He was nearly silent, emitting only a few soft grunts and quiet huffs of pleasure as you rode him at this punishingly slow pace. He could be such a fucking jackrabbit sometimes, it was like pulling teeth getting him to bend to your will and go at your preferred speed.

But he was behaving surprisingly well this time.

For a moment, it didn’t even feel like you were fucking someone you hated. It was as if Gator wasn’t the one under you at all. At least not the Gator you’d despised for most of your life, but a good Gator. A Gator who listened to you and cared about you and did whatever he could to—

“That’s right, you love that dick, don’t ya?”

The sound of his voice effectively shattered the illusion you’d built in your mind, and you felt your eyes narrow as they snapped open, reality rushing back in. Below you, Gator was totally unphased, lips still quirked and his brow raised as if expecting praise. Idiot.

“Feel’s good, eh?” he asked.

“It did,” you hissed at him. “Until you opened that stupid mouth.”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged with a knowing smile as his fingers tightened briefly on your hips. “I think you like my stupid mouth sometimes.”

Well…he’s got you there.

And the thought, unfortunately, has a wave of arousal crashing through your body that Gator can now feel gushing around his cock.

You slid forward roughly in retaliation, rolling your whole body against his as you started to fuck him harder. The motion and shift change made Gator suddenly buck up from underneath you, sending a jolt through your core. You glanced down at his face, all scrunched up like he was in pain, biting down on his bottom lip to hold himself together, even though you knew it was taking everything he had not to blow now.

“Don’t you dare come in me, Gator,” you warned, the grind of your hips still speeding up. “You keep your dirty fucking seed to yourself, you hear me?”

His long fingers squeezed harder at your waist, digging into your flesh like he was trying to bruise you through the thin material of your dress.

He started pushing you down to meet his thrusts as he in turn fucked up into you. Sweat beaded on the ridge of his strong brow, his rosy lips parting in a gasping moan. He threw his head back, the muscles in his neck flexing under freckled skin.

If he wasn’t such a tool, he might be handsome.

The lewd sound of slapping flesh filled the room as you worked up to a bounce to meet his thrusts. You leaned forward to brace yourself on his chest, a low moan escaping as you gripped the material of his white tank in your fists. He smirked at you, that insufferable smugness returning when he heard the sound you tried to hide and failed.

“Don’t you fucking smirk at me,” you sneered. “You think I want your melon-headed spawn? Think this town actually needs more of your godforsaken DNA in it?”

With a mean sneer of his own to match yours, he planted his feet on the bed and gave himself the leverage he needed to slam upwards inside you. The unforgiving punch and drag of his cock along your walls made you keen and grasp more desperately at his shirt, threatening to rip it apart.

“Whas the matter, hon?” he asked, his smile all teeth. “S’not me making you feel so good, is it? Can’t be—cos I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing? Right?”

He punctuates each word with an especially deep thrust and you hate how close he’s got you now.

You push back against him, returning each thrust with a squeeze of your walls. Everything else falls away as he strokes that spot inside you hate him for reaching. Especially now, as you’re going to come and you know he can tell.

With a guttural groan and making the ugliest face he’s pulled yet, Gator’s spend spilled out of him. The warmth of it flooded your whole body—never more grateful for the IUD you made that special trip out of state to get placed. Your body was still radiating from your own orgasm, all that tension and rigidness in you loosening at last like spaghetti finally starting to cook.

“Fuck, Gate…”

A languid sigh tumbled past your lips and your body slumped forward, limp and exhausted. You were closer to him now, hands still on his chest to keep yourself up, not quite laying against him, but close enough so he could slide his large hands up and down your back in a soothing rub.

“Oh, c’mon now, tough stuff,” he teased from beneath you. “Don’ tell me yer goin’ soft on me?”

“Only one goin’ soft is you,” you snapped, arms trembling as you pushed yourself up so his dick could slip out and flop over, slick and spent.

His hand came up and caught your face as you started to move off him, stilling you as he cradled your jaw in his wide grasp and a calloused thumb brushed across your soft cheek. And even though you knew he couldn’t, it almost felt as though he could see the faint remnants of tears that spilled there—the ones you despised yourself for letting fall; the ones you’d scrubbed from your face until your skin was raw and dry; the ones that made you feel so weak.

You withdrew from him, swatting his hand away as you climbed off him and the bed, ignoring the way his head had started to lift to kiss you.

Silently, he watched you gather yourself to leave.

The straps of your dress hung loose around your shoulders and you made no attempt to straighten the crooked bust or to fix your smeared mascara.

You picked up your shoes, but you let them dangle at your side, planning to stop at the front door downstairs to put them on—smiling out at the party, letting everyone get a good, long look. A big you-sized middle finger to Drew.

“Wait a minute—” Gator said suddenly, his voice hoarse and strained.

You paused at the words and glanced back at him over your shoulder. He sat up further, the heaving in his chest having started to slow, his eyes shiny in the harsh blue light of his computer monitor.

He gulped, inhaling a shaky breath as you arched your brow at him.

“Vape?” he asked, his gaze flitting to your chest.

A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of your mouth as you sauntered back over towards the bed. You leaned forward on your fists, his lumpy mattress sinking under them as he scooted closer and you kissed him. Sweet and soft this time.

Far nicer than he deserved.

He breathed into it, sucking you down as desperately as he did those strawberry-kiwi flavored hits, his hand coming up to finally, finally palm the breast you’d refused to let him touch.

So distracted by the kiss, he didn’t notice you slipping the lime green device from the front of your dress. You pulled back from his face, grinning at him now all sly and catlike.

And flung it straight out his open window.

[donutwares]

Lagging…

The day started an hour or so later this morning. I ran at 6am and worked out at 7. Westerners still fighting the Asian witches onto my nerves, causing all my endeavors (work basically) to lag. So, I laid out all the code I need to modify/insert and am resting on my bed.

Fed the hamster. She has better food this week. Later will remove Bean’s old bedding and lay out fresh TP strips.

Thoughts of a new watch run through my mind when really it needs 2.5 times as much money as I have to blow. Can’t even afford an Orient Star or Bambino. Saving sizable sums of money nowadays is borderline pointless as the RM may soon free-fall, along with many other currencies.

Will try to work again at 8am. Meanwhile to go on Shopee.