#fox cub wc

[shummthechumm]

I get it now. (and im sorry)

[snowball-doie]

| pairing: gn!Reader x Fox Hybrid!Renjun

| warnings: 18+ MDNI. Domestic life with fox hybrid Renjun. He's in fox form throughout the fic. Cuteness aggression. No sexy stuff.

| wc: 1.5k

Ever since his hiatus began, Renjun was having a hard time keeping his form stable. Some days you’d wake up with a long orange tail wrapped around your thigh while the rest of him was still human; Other times he’d have pointy red ears on the top of his head, a long tail trailing along behind him, and soft whiskers on his cheeks during meals. You tried your best not to point it out. You knew that his unstable shifts had to do with his unstable mental health, so there was no point in faulting him for either when you’d been by his side since day one to hold him and make sure that he knew he was loved and supported by everyone around him. Besides, his fox features were so cute… You felt like melting whenever his tail would tap against your leg in the night. You knew that it was your job to protect him when he was at his most vulnerable, human or fox form, and it twisted your heart whenever you had to be away from him because it meant that something could go wrong or that there wasn’t someone there to calm him down if he were to get upset. You tried to keep him off his phone in order to avoid anything bad. You watched him as he deleted social media off his phone so that he could focus on getting better instead of what people were saying about him. But being away from him felt like leaving a whining cat home, the guilt seeping in when you knew that he was curled up in bed with his tail trying to wrap around himself in order to provide comfort…

Oh, fuck, you couldn’t take it anymore. You were spending more time at work focusing on Renjun than your tasks for the day. While packing your things, you told your boss that you were sick and would be heading home early— They could fire you if they wanted, you didn’t care, you just wanted to see your Renjunnie.

When you got home, you were in such a rush to input the door code that you fucked it up and had to start over while you pouted, anxiously swaying on the balls of your feet. Was your baby okay? Did he miss you? Did he go on his phone again? Did he open Twitter? Your heart twisted again,

“Renjun-ah, I’m home!” you called out the second the door was open.

The pitter-patter of black padded feet scrambled from the bedroom to the entryway so fast that you hardly had time to register what was going on before Renjun slid on the floor as he turned then dashed directly at you, a big smile on his face and a chirp of excitement right as he jumped onto you. You giggled. Cute thing was in his fox form completely. His tail was wagging, his ears were flickering, and he was licking your face to kiss you.

“Hi, my sweet boy.” You wrapped your arms around his small body.

Depending on the day and the amount of strength he had to transform, Renjun’s fox appearance could be as small as a cub; Other times he was so big that you couldn’t pick him up at all. That afternoon, however, he was about the size of your bicep, making him the perfect fit for cradling in your arms once he would calm down— Which you weren't sure when that would be with how hyper he was. You could barely hold him up. He was wiggling like crazy while whining to show how much he missed you.

“How long have you been like this?”

Obviously you knew that he couldn’t reply, but it was like talking to a dog or a cat. You kind of just… do it out of habit.

Renjun’s energy slowly faded until he was docile in your arms, allowing you to cradle him as you wished, leaving a kiss on his soft forehead to make him purr happily while enjoying his new found urge to be lazy. You walked further into the apartment now that you weren't busy managing him. All four of his legs were dangling in the air, his tongue lolling out, and his tail wrapped around your wrist so that you couldn’t let go of him— As if you ever would. 

“Are you feeling okay today, sweet boy?”

Renjun nodded.

“Did you do this while you were sleeping?”

He shook his head.

“Hmm… Did you do it for me?”

He nodded again, his cute smile widening until his eyes were squeezed shut. Adorable.

“Did you at least drink water today? Or eat food?”

Renjun turned in your arms so that he could hide his snoot against your chest, an attempt to avoid answering the question with a nod or shake of his head— Which in turn told you everything you needed to know. Silly boy.

“Let’s get you something then.”

You carried him into the kitchen, and with your free hand which was not trapped by his soft tail, you retrieved a bowl from one of the cabinets. Renjun had designed a few bowls for himself to use whenever he would be in fox form. You used to keep them out so that he could use them whenever you weren't home and he happened to shift; but before his hiatus began, it had been about a year since he needed the bowls, so you both elected to store them away in order to keep them safe. Now that he was having trouble with his form, maybe it was time to put them back out.

“The yellow one?”

Renjun nodded.

You grabbed the yellow bowl and began filling it with drinking water.  It was his favorite bowl that he had, the first one he ever made, decorating it with white flowers and purple decals here and there to highlight his favorite colors in a minimalistic yet still adorable look. Renjun was eager to drink the water when you put it on the floor for him then put him down too. He lapped at the water quickly, leaving you to focus on pulling food out of the fridge for him. Poor thing really needed you more than you knew… It wasn’t good for him to be home alone as much as he was. Maybe you could use up some of those vacation days you saved up in the hopes of going with Renjun on tour one time to support him… but with his ongoing hiatus, maybe it took precedence over something silly like tour.

“Here you go, sweet boy.”

After serving him some food, he began nibbling while you petted his long back, scratching gently along his fur until you got to his tail which you played with. He was soft. Very soft. He loved it when you played with his fur, because he never, ever let anyone else do that to him— It was just too personal, and it made him self-conscious. But you loved him for him, and you understood him, and he trusted you to take good care of him and not hurt him in such a fragile state. His tail started wagging faster once he finished his food and water, and he turned to look up at you with a proud smile that said, “Look what I did!” And you were looking. You smiled back at him while picking him up. He so calmly accepted laying down in your arms, allowing you to carry him over to the couch where you sat down and put him on your lap in order to turn on the TV as you slowly kept petting him.

Renjun chirped happily, his stomach full, his fur being played with, and the comfort of your body acting like a cushion beneath him. He didn’t even watch the TV with you. He kept his nose tucked towards your stomach so that he could look up at you with his cute eyes. You scratched the top of his head. Renjun’s eyes fell shut when you got the itches behind his ears and even flattened the fur along his nose while wiping away the food still stuck to his snout.

“I think I’m gonna stay here with you tomorrow,” you finally said, having made up your mind.

Renjun’s tail excitedly tapped against your thighs.

“That sound good, baby?”

He chirped happily.

You giggled. “Okay. Let’s do that, then.”

The tip of his nose nudged your wrist happily to urge you to pet him some more. Of course you obliged him. Renjun settled again, and you returned to watching TV. Eventually, you heard a quiet snore on your lap, catching your attention to find that Renjun was fast asleep, his body curled up into a C shape on your lap, his tail covering his paws and nose to keep himself warm.

“Gwiyeo…” you whispered, continuing to pet him because you worried that if you stopped then he would sense it and immediately wake up.

You could always save up on more vacation days… You were most worried about him, so it was time to stay home and look after him until he was better, then maybe you could actually go along with him on tour to keep him company. Honestly, if you weren’t as stubborn as you were, you would’ve taken up Renjun’s offer to quit your job and just have him take care of you… But since that wasn’t in your card, the best you could do was make sure your little fox was okay first and foremost.

taglist: @henderysposts

[bonefall]

i can’t help that feel like 350 calories per cat per day across 5 clans (150 some odd cats!!!) is more prey than there is! even with really generous cooking estimates you’d need to catch a rabbit or two or a large fish or something per clan every single day of the year. i feel like that would really mess up prey populations, wouldn’t it? i know animals have a lot of babies, but 3,650 rabbits’ worth of calories every year (not to mention what other predators like foxes, snakes, and hawks are eating) feels like too much for one territory. are we assuming that there’s more prey than there is or do i just not know how much offspring animals produce?

WELL, there's a lot of factors here, but you are actually organically figuring out something true and horrifying. BB!Cats are sapient, able to understand their impact on the environment and ergo manage it, but feral domestic cats are devastating to local ecosystems.

Not even because of caloric need btw just because of how much they hunt, and their odd behaviors.

The Bad

There is a reason why predator populations are so massively outnumbered by prey species. One rabbit would feed a single cat for days, but one colony is typically 3 - 15 cats. Most predators are solitary, or have "loose" social structures spread out over many partially overlapping territories covering miles (like alligators)! but something changed when cats were domesticated, and they now seek out dense social units unlike their wild ancestors.

That's why the only social wild cats are lions. Lion prides are extremely flexible, ranging from 3 to upwards of 30 members, and their populations are going to depend completely on how much prey they have access to. Even the shocking "infanticide" thing that male lions are notorious for serves an ecological purpose; less lions means more meat, so every cub that isn't yours is a future rival.

(tangent: the largest lion prides actually set up in major migration "hubs," where there is a constant influx of traveling animals. Not really an "ecosystem" where the pride can damage the population.)

But now domestic cats are doing this, in ecosystems that can't support them and never had predators that behave like them. They compete with the local mesopredators ("middle" hunters that hunt small game but are killed by larger predators. Ex: raptors, snakes, caniforms like foxes or raccoons, etc) and put extra pressure on prey populations.

But that's not the worst part.

In nature, there are Predator-Prey cycles. When there's too many predators, they decrease the prey population. When there's not enough prey, the predators starve and their population lowers. Here is a graph of this phenomenon;

In this way, starvation is required for an ecosystem to stay healthy. It's how nature regulates.

But human beings feed cat colonies.

So colonies end up hitting DOZENS of cats. Upwards of 30 in a tiny area. The sizes you see in canon WC and in BB are TWICE the size of what a feral cat colony typically reaches. In the real world, this is because humans feed them. They HAVE to starve to lower the population, and make no mistake, these are slow, painful deaths.

"But, if we feed the colony, then they're not hunting the local prey, right? Because they're not hungry?" INCORRECT. THEY ARE ANIMALS. Cats are not humans with our sense of morality and long-term consequences. Hunting is only partially driven by hunger, it's also driven by prey drive. Even an outdoor cat, who gets all their meals at home, is killing an average of 90 animals a year.

(note: you may hear the number "they kill 3.5 animals a day." That is a misreading of this study which says 3.5 animals a month based on owner reports; but better study shows they only bring about 18% of their kills home.)

I could get into why I'm actually not a big fan of TNR as a conservation strategy because of this, but in a nutshell, the best solution to feral cat population management overall is (expensive) high-intensity TNR (70% or more) PAIRED with (inexpensive) removal/euthanasia and other methods (like banning colony feeding). PURE high-intensity TNR takes up to 30 years to remove a cat colony in computer simulations. And they keep killing wild animals that whole time.

(tangent: you may come across articles that say that killing feral cats doesn't work. This is often based on this Tasmanian case study by Lazenby et all, where they trapped and removed cats, only to find an influx of subordinate "satellite" individuals that filled the vacuum that the previously established individuals left and increased the overall population. This is a well-documented phenomenon of predator control. They don't tell you that this is short-term and also happens with TNR, just over a longer timeline, as discussed in the above studies, and the solution is to mix methods and make sure that these programs are carried out systemically, NOT ONLY in one limited range.)

So... feral cat colonies with totally realistic needs are very harmful to local ecosystems. They are animals, and they are an invasive species. Keep your cats indoors please

The Good

But BB!Cats and Canon!Cats aren't just animals. These are cats with governments and religion. They do understand long-term consequences.

Even on the page in-canon, they show an understanding that prey comes from breeding (unlike, say, a medieval human who believed in spontaneous generation), WindClan doesn't disturb lapwings during their nesting season showing a basic understanding of ecology, and they even have a law against food waste. Like it or not, these aren't realistic cats. They are small humans with a fuzzy little kitty coat tossed over them.

So we can actually reasonably assume that Clan cats are modifying their behavior so they aren't the ecosystem-shredders that their real-world counterparts are, like;

Hunting over a wider area and having a large territory (so to address you directly anon, their territories are not as small as you might think they are)

Taking the pressure off specific areas by sending their hunting patrols to various parts of their territory

Avoiding hunting animals during their breeding and nesting seasons.

Not killing animals that are pregnant or nursing

Leaving baby animals alone so they grow into bigger food items

Not killing what they don't plan to eat

Intentionally varying their diet so they take a little from many populations.

Hunting animals that real cats don't usually target, like fawns, seagulls, and young boars.

Breeding their own prey, if you're willing to do a little domestication innovation

If you're VERY cool, give them fire. go on. do it. 20% to 50% caloric increase is prettyyy cooool~

But also, you may be underestimating just how many babies prey species produce. Let's use rabbits because these things are insane. They weren't lying, rabbits can breed like rabbits.

European rabbits (and all the domestic breeds they are descended from) have a double womb. That means that when they've given birth to their litter of 4 - 12 babies (usually 6), they can already be pregnant with the next. Gestation is a month. These babies are able to leave their mothers at 2 months and can breed by 4 months. They can have 10 litters a year.

So a SINGLE rabbit COULD have well over 100 bunnies a year... but rabbit warrens are usually 10 - 50, mostly females, plus a bunch of bucks who are more solitary and more likely to travel around. And you're gonna have multiple warrens on a territory.

Low litter estimate, small warren; 10 x 4 x 10 = 400 bunnies. Big litter estimate, big warren; 50 x 12 x 10 = 6,000 bunnies.

That said, most estimates say they functionally end up with 20 adult children a year, which then go on to breed at four months. That's still 200 rabbits a year coming out of that small warren ALONE, and isn't counting the fact that those children are also going to have children of their own.

(though, rabbits in particular are facing a massive crisis in england and even across europe because of two diseases that hit them one after another OTL but it's not related to predation.)

Don't forget that a territory also has more than just rabbits. This is also happening with mice, rats, ducks, sparrows, voles, etc. Like I said, if your cats just diversify the prey they hunt in response to population changes, they'll be golden. In BB I even have a role dedicated to this now; the Head of Hunting, who is tasked with assessing this sort of thing.

SO, to answer you directly;

Feral Cats Bad

WC characters have more in common with a small human than a cat

Pure carnivores are pretty demanding on their ecosystems

There is plenty an intelligent creature can do to reduce their impact on the ecosystem

Their territories could still support them along with the other predators

You did underestimate just how many babies prey animals have, though

Overall, they would be fine. You COULD overhunt a territory, but not with basic prey management practices.

[shardminds]

full moon, white honey

pairing: elain archeron x lucien vanserra. honourable mentions to feysand, nessian and one barely there hint at emerie/nesta. it's tasteful, i promise. rating: e (for eventually they get it on) wc: 11k primary tags: witcher!au, hurt/comfort, major character injury, non-chronological, ambiguous/open ending, sex on furniture - more detailed tags, see ao3! read on ao3

The worn parchment that had once held a recipe lay untouched in her quarters. She no longer needed it. Celandine, White Myrtle, Brain of a Drowner. Crush, Boil with Spirit, Bottle once cooled. Thirteen words seared into her bones. For the Witcher who too often showed her his.

a/n: happy birthday to me (well, i'm posting this early because i'm impatient, but the point still stands) i even made a little mood board/title card thing! this is all very exciting.

this fic is told entirely out of order (intentionally so. what is the intention? who knows. vibes, i guess.) and there's a detailed breakdown on ao3 on exactly what i pilfered from the witcher universe in order to write this so pls see there if you need a breakdown!

(very) small snip under the cut!

Fox cub at the foot of a golden throne, restless and wanting. Blood of the lion. And the lion was not a lion but a wolf; each paw print against the marble floor burst to flame. And the palace was burning, falling. And the cub stepped into the wolf’s jaws, bared its throat in submission, but there was no one to save him. Claws across flesh time and time again until all he had was red. And the fox was not a fox but a boy; atop Novigrad rooftops, launching from parapet to ridge at the first sunrise, the last sunrise. Bloodshot eye and black stained lips. 

Swords and signs. Horseback to haybale. Tavern, village, city — but no home. 

Blindfolded on a tightrope a hundred feet above the waking streets, nought but the swell of the wind and the call of birds, his audience. He slipped, and the ground rushed up to meet him.

//

“Vanserra is calling for you.” 

“He does not know me. He calls for any woman with a pulse.” 

“And yet he’s turned away all companions, refuted all offers of comfort, he barely rises above amicable chat with the others that dare approach him, but he calls for you.”

Elain huffed a fickle laugh at Maren’s observations. Of course she’d noted these things — probably weaned the information from any of the other healers, priestesses or patrons of the temple. The walls breathed secrets in The Mother’s temple, only half of them true. Elain saw the other half in her dreams. 

“What are you saying, Maren? That he favours me? As if I don’t know. I see it and I ignore it, as you all should. It is no business but his own.” She hauled close the tome she’d been scouring — a translated elven text on elder blood in horticulture — keen to end this interrogation. Not the first and definitely not the last. The Witcher might not have made a habit of getting injured in Temeria intentionally, but when he did, he always ended up here. Halfway dead, but still very much alive. 

“It makes him easy to care for. Each time I tend to his scratches, I learn a little more about just what his mutations have cost him and how little our healing aids him. His own concoctions knit his bones, quell his bleeding, but turn his blood to poison. I don’t know about you, Maren, but that terrifies me.”

It wasn’t just that which terrified her.

Maren held her tongue, probably for the first time in her life. 

“A monster visits our temple and calls for me by name and you would give me to him thinking not of my wellbeing, but of the scandal it would cause if rumour spread that I was fucking him.”

“That is not—”

“I will take my leave,” Finality crisp in her words. “But not for your worry. I have enough celandine and white myrtle to craft his potions. I trust he will have the rest.” 

Maren bobbed her head, a curt dismissal. To be honest, Elain was surprised she didn’t argue. The wine of her cheeks seemed to flush with an unchecked fury. But Elain was not one of her charges, not a priestess in the temple. She tended their gardens, helped in their kitchens, brewed their potions, but she’d been granted asylum above all else. The temple kept her from the clutches of ruthless kings, power starved elves, ambitious men. Any that would bind her powers for their own ill will. 

A Seer. What a rare and wonderful thing.

What a cursed blessing. 

And she was angry. Not at Maren, or the healers and priestesses, mothers and refugees that found home in their temple. She was angry at Lucien Vanserra. Because no matter the consequences, he always came back. 

Her footfalls through the stone corridors, an omen

[thedoctorsthings]

Power to the king | MYG chapter 3.

Okay change of plans. Drama is coming next chapter. I thought it was time to give our characters a moment to feel good, so enjoy some fluff. and yes, hnefatafl is a real ancient scandinavian game, look it up.

content warning: none

fluff, idiots in love (they have no idea), a bit of angst as well because i'm still me.

wc: 4,1K

It's been a few weeks since the king’s outburst. The morning after when you were mulling over the night before over breakfast, you remembered something his father had said. In the moment you hadn’t really noticed because you were too busy being angry over what the king had said to you, or more correctly, about you. He had said that the reason you hadn’t been blessed with child was something Yoongi did. Since this realisation you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. What could that mean? What had Yoongi done that would be able to call the wrath of the gods over him? He wasn’t the nicest person, that was for sure, but he didn’t seem like a man to commit war crimes or something along those lines. You decided you would ask the one person that might answer.

You knocked on his doors: “come in”, his youthful voice sounded. You pushed open the door as quiet as possible. You didn’t know why, there was no reason to be quiet, but something about this castle made you feel like you had to. Every person here seemed to be walking on eggshells constantly. “Ah, my princess, or maybe I shouldn’t say ‘my’. I might cause our future king to throw a hissy fit”. “Good morning, your highness”, you laughed. Jungkook got up from the desk he’d been sitting at. He turned to the window and pointed: “I think there’s a fox’ nest in front of my window. I’ve got half a mind to steal one of the cubs to keep as a pet”, he smiled. “I don’t think the mother would just let you get away with that”, you said while peering out the window to catch a glimpse of the nest. “I can fight”, Jungkook retaliated. “I’d have to take her side Jungkook, a mother shouldn’t have to give up her children for your pleasure”, you tease the young prince. “alright, alright missy, why are you here?” You laugh at the nickname: “I have a question”. “shoot”. “A few weeks ago, at dinner when your father got angry because I’m not pregnant yet, he said something about something Yoongi did. He said it’s the reason we don’t have a child yet. What was that about?” Jungkook’s face darkened and for a second there was nothing left of the funny, joking Jungkook you had come to know. “I can’t tell you that story, it’s not my place”. You didn’t really know what to say to that so you just waited. The seriousness of his words hung between you two. “If you really want an answer you should ask my mother, besides I’m too young to really remember”. You nodded and left the room.

Outside Jungkook’s door you nearly bumped into your husband who had apparently been standing quite close to the door. “What were you giggling about in there? I could hear you from across the hall”, he says with his cold voice. When you look up into his eyes you expect to see anger, but instead you’re met with a soft sort of concern. “I could ask you what you were giggling about with that maid as well”, you snarled before walking away. Yoongi sighed. He was starting to fear you would never get past this. He knocks on his brother’s door, but doesn’t wait for an answer before barging in. “What was that about?” Jungkook barely looks up: “she just had some questions about the castle, don’t worry about it”.

That night after dinner you decide to visit the queen. From you limited conversation with Yoongi you had learned that the queen slept until noon and then went to bed past midnight. You had barely spoken to the queen, except for one time on your wedding day, but that day had gone by in such a haze that you barely remembered what her face looked like. You knew she had poor health, that her bones were frail and her skin thin. She spent her days inside and in her bed. You complained about being stuck, but you could barely stand to imagine being married to the king and having to stay in bed all day. It sounded like torture. At dinner you had already been even less at ease than you normally were, but now that you were standing in front of her door you felt like your knees might give out any moment. You took a deep breath and knocked on the thick wooden door. It took a while for an answer to come and in the mean time you noticed the door was decorated with beautiful woodcarving. The scene was a that of a mother bear and her cubs. Finally a weak voice called: “come in”. You slowly walked into the room. The queen was laying on her bed leaning on a dozen pillows. Her silky black hair cascaded over them like a lake in the moonlight. The moon shone over her face through the window and it gave her a ghostly look. She looked like one gust of wind might carry her out of the window and send her floating into the sun. years later you would be telling your children this is what happened to her.

“Ah, my daughter in law, how nice to finally meet you. Properly at least”, she smiled at you, and you felt all the tension leave your body. How could such a soft woman be married to such a beast. She gestured to the wooden chair next to her bed and you sat down. “You’re a beautiful girl, how is my son treating you?” She looked so much like Yoongi it was uncanny. You should probably count yourself lucky that he didn’t look this much like his father. However, the answer to her question was hard to find. For a moment you stared at the stone floor before the queen answered for you. “He’s not the most loving husband, is he? I know my son”. You looked up and smiled at her: “No he’s not, but I find it hard to describe him”. After this a torrent of words came flowing out of you. You told her about everything you had been through with Yoongi. How he had treated you, how you had treated him and about the maid. At the story of the maid her face contorted into a scowl: “I should teach that boy some manners, he’s been under the influence of his father too much since I’ve gotten sick”. At the end you had arrived at that night a couple weeks ago. When the king had lashed out at you for not being pregnant yet. When you asked your question about what Yoongi had done the queen was quiet for a long while. “Yoongi had an older brother once. He was only a year older and when they were four and five years old we went on a picknick outside the castle. We were eating close to a river, a river with wild currents. They were playing and I lost sight of them for only a minute, one minute to change our lives forever. I don’t know exactly what happened because Yoongi was only four and too shocked to be able to tell the story clearly, but from what I know, Yoongi had pushed his brother. It wasn’t on purpose, but that didn’t matter. It was hard enough, my oldest son fell into the river and never came out. Minjung was his name. My husband found the perfect heir in him. He was strong and loud like him, when he lost him that meant he had to settle for Yoongi as his heir. The quiet frail son he would rather forget and hide forever. I don’t think the king ever really loved Minjung. He just wanted to shape him into a younger version of him. After that day the king turned harsh and angry. That in its turn made Yoongi cold and harsh as well. It’s not his fault, but I can’t seem to get that through to him”.

The queen’s face had turned grey while telling this story. It pained her and you felt guilty for making her relive it. “I’m sorry that I asked, I know this must not be easy to tell”. “It’s alright child, someone would have to tell you some day, and I’d rather I do it than my son”. You let the story sit in between you for a minute. You heard the crackling of the fire in her room and an owl warned intruders on his territory.  “I know my son isn’t the easiest, but I think he could open up if you give him time”.  You knew this was true, but you were so tired. Life in this castle was so exhausting and having a husband that would barely look at you didn’t make anything easier. “I don’t know if I have the skill to make that happen. Your majesty, I’m so tired”. Finally admitting this out loud loosened something in you and before you could stop yourself you noticed tears had started to stain your cheeks. The queen looked at you with an expression full of compassion. “I’m sorry, that this place has been so hard on you. I know exactly what you’re going through. This marriage was set up by the king and I’m begging you, don’t let him get to you. Don’t let that man kill you like he did me. Don’t give up, don’t let this place take the life from your eyes. It gets easier if you just give him time. Soon my daughter will come back from her education abroad and you’ll have another woman around. From day one I hoped that you would do what I couldn’t, staying strong”. You simply nodded and let the queen hold your hand for a while longer. It felt so good to finally feel cared for again. To be able to open up was something you didn’t know you needed so bad.

Instead of going straight back to your rooms after leaving the queen you decided to take a detour through the gardens. You needed time to think. The queen’s words had given you some semblance of hope. She says Yoongi could be warmed up to you, and who would know him better than his own mother? But this would require you to be nice to him, and you weren’t sure you were ready for that. He had been sneaking of with that maid, and who knows how many more there were that you didn’t see. You walk on the moonlit path between the flower bushes. As you run your hand over some flowers your mind is going a thousand miles an hour. He had humiliated you, isolated you and forced you to never show how you felt. The queen had made another good point however, this marriage wasn’t Yoongi’s idea. It had been set up by his father who you now know to have not an ounce of compassion for your husband, or anyone else for that matter. It was true that Yoongi was a man and could thus never feel as trapped as you, but he could just as well be burning with rage towards this whole ordeal. Living with a father who never forgave you for accidentally sending the brother you could never live up to into an early grave couldn’t be an easy life. When you arrive at the big oak tree you’ve made your decision. You would try to be kinder again, invite him to do things with you, and maybe even open up about your old life. If there was anything that could be done to make this life easier you would try. You might even find an ally in your husband. You could fend of his father together.

You had been standing under the huge tree for a while when you heard an alarming sound. the sound of something heavy sweeping through the air accompanied by grunts and uneven breathing made the air in your lungs halt. You slowly round the tree, careful not to make a noise. The origin of the sounds is no other than the king. All on his own he seemed to be fighting invisible enemies, swirling his heavy sword through the air in a fury, while standing in the empty temple a couple of meters from the tree. His majesty lunges for the stone pillars one by one. He seems to be in a haze, his face contorted in genuine anger. What could possibly be the point of this? The strange sight had left you frozen in your tracks. That was until the king abruptly looked you right in the eye. You turned as quick as the wind and ran back to your rooms as quietly as you could. Although something told you that man had not seen you. He had looked right through you. You had never seen that look in a person’s eyes. There was something chilling about the empty rage you had just seen.

The next morning you wake up tired. After mulling over the possible reasons for the king’s behaviour you had finally fallen asleep, but your peace didn’t last long. Countless dreams of Yoongi pushing his brother in the river had kept you up. You had dreamt the same thing so many times that after a while it was you pushing Yoongi in the river.  You shook the sleep from your eyes and got ready for breakfast. Once you’ve taken your seat in the rough wooden chairs of the dining table you eat in silence like every day. While the king rambles about possible conflicts that could cause war you look out the huge windows of the dining table. They look out on the courtyard and on good days they bathe the cold room in sunlight. This day Yoongi is enveloped in a beam of light, and it makes him look even more hauntingly beautiful than normal. When you’re staring at your husband Jungkook speaks up. “I’m going to pick up our sister at the port today. I thought that maybe Y/N could come with me. It will be good for her to be seen among the people again”. You perk up at this idea. Every day since the festival you have yearend to walk outside of these walls again. The king barely acknowledges the suggestion and just lazily waves a hand at Yoongi, signalling that this is his decision to make; obviously not yours, you think to yourself. Yoongi stays unmoving for a second before saying: “You’re right Jungkook, that would be a good idea”. It comes out through a clenched jaw, and you don’t miss the way his hands grip his knife a bit tighter. This was getting frustrating. If he was so upset by you doing things with Jungkook then why didn’t he try to spend time with you. Did he just want you to sit patiently, doing nothing all day? Jungkook looks at you expectantly and you chirp: “I would love to meet your sister”.

You’re sitting in a carriage with Jungkook on your way to the port, and the people have been flocking together in the streets to watch you go. Jungkook had decided on an open carriage because the people had not seen the royal family in a while, and he felt they needed to seem accessible. On top of that they had not seen the princes for several months, since she had spent the winter in a far away castle, being taught how to behave like a princess. Apparently, she had had some trouble being the perfect polite princess. You had decided you liked her the minute Jungkook told you this. You wave at the people and one of them even calls your name. You’re surprised they even knew it. When you arrive at the wharf where the princess’ ship is docked the guard helps you out of the carriage. You had picked up somewhere that his name was Namjoon, he was one of the most robust men you’d ever seen and normally he exclusively guarded the king, but this was apparently important enough for the king to send out one of his personal guards. Guarding the king was a great honour and as apposed to the regular guards this position could only be taken by young men of noble blood. There were two king’s guards. Namjoon’s counterpart was your friend Hoseok.

 You thanked him and positioned yourself next to Jungkook as you waited for the princes to ascend from the ship. She appeared, accompanied by two guards and it was as if the sun shone a bit brighter. By Odin the genes in this family, they certainly did not come from the king. She gracefully walked down the plank with a serious expression on her face, but after standing in front of Jungkook for a second her face broke into a smile. “Jungkook, I’m so happy to see you!”, she exclaimed while pulling him into an enthusiastic embrace. Jungkook laughed and directed her attention towards you. “Sister, we sent you a message that Yoongi had gotten married a couple months back, I know, we didn’t think it was possible either. This is your new sister-in-law. She looks at you, smiling, and then reaches out to kiss your cheeks. This was a standard greeting in your kingdom, but no one had done it to you in so long that it almost felt foreign. “You have to tell me everything about yourself”, the princess said as she was being helped into the carriage. And so, you did. You and her talked so much on the way back that Jungkook barely managed to get a word in.

Yoongi was sitting at his desk, brooding. Not that he normally did something different, but he was brooding harder than ever. His wife was out welcoming his sister with his brother. Yoongi was sure that you liked spending time with Jungkook a million times more than you did with him. Yoongi had a wife and she hated spending time with him, and the worst part was, no one would blame you. He wouldn’t want to spend time with him either. If he had been married away to some cold, moody man in a different city he would be pissed of all the time too. Especially if that stupid man couldn’t keep it in his pants long enough to wait for him. He beat himself up over it every day. Why did he think it was a smart idea to run off with a maid. He had a wife for god’s sake, and patience. He could easily have waited until you were ready, but life in this castle was so damn lonely. He had made a habit out of fooling around with staff. Not being touched by anyone since the tender age of 11 had had its toll on him, although he would never admit it. Now he was sitting here, with a wife but still alone, getting pissed of while she was of with his much more charming brother.

“Are you trying to rip of the arm rest of your chair?”, Jungkook had barged in, without knocking, of course. “Yes, I was hoping to use it to swing at you”, Yoongi said while taking his hand of the arm rest, which he had previously been gripping tightly, lost in thought. “Oh, look who woke up with a sense of humour this morning”, Jungkook chuckled before stepping further into the room. “Our sister is back. I told her to wait in the reception hall, but I’m not sure how long Y/N can hold her of”. He had barely uttered his sentence or there she was, shining in his doorway. Yoongi broke into a smile, the first real one in many months. He stood up, seconds before being engulfed in an overwhelming embrace. “Yoongi!”, his sister exclaimed while jumping in his arms. “I see they didn’t teach you appropriate greetings at that school”, he smiled. By Odin, he loved his sister. “I did very well and polite meeting your wife earlier, Jungkook tell him I did very well meeting his wife”. “She did very well meeting Y/N” So now Jungkook was calling his wife by her first name?

Later that day dinner was livelier than ever. Don’t be mistaken, the king still did very well taking down the princess’ cheer, but he never managed to get her completely quiet like he could with the rest of the castle’s inhabitants. You spend the whole evening talking to the princess and Jungkook. Yoongi, to his dismay, barely managed to say anything at all. This wasn’t because there was no time for him to force a word in. He simply didn’t know how to engage in chitter chatter like other people. Once again you were being brought to laughter by his brother instead of him, and this time there was a second sibling to prove to him how easy it was to talk to you.  When looking down at his dinner plate he made a decision. He was going to do better by you. He was going to ask you to spend time with him. He was going to ask about you and your past.

That night you’re pacing up and down your room. This whole day you had talked to people more than you ever had in this place. The arrival of the princess had made you realise something. You were capable of talking to members of this family and even form friendships with them. How much harder could Yoongi be. He was raised by the same parents. There must be something of the other two in him as well. After crossing the room a few more times you decided. You were going to his rooms and ask him to play the board game you knew he loved again. He had accepted last time, and you were going to have to take a chance on something sometime. With all the confidence you can muster up you step to your door and resolutely open it. “Good evening”, you’re greeted by your husband’s chest. By the looks of it he had been standing unnaturally close to the door, and about to knock as well because his hand was still doltishly raised in a fist. He clears his throat before saying: “I was wondering if you wanted to play Hnefatafl again…tonight”. You take a moment to recover from the near heart attack you had just had before stuttering: “yes, yes I would”.

Once seated at your little table with the board in between you Yoongi asked: “Where were you going?” you hesitate a bit. “Uhm, to the bathroom”, you lied. After playing the game for a while in silence you decided you couldn’t take it anymore and had to say something. “Recently I visited your mother”. “Oh, what did you talk about?” Quick what was something you could’ve discussed with the queen that wasn’t as embarrassing as your crippling loneliness: “The festival and the druids’ vision”. “Of course, much to discuss on that topic”, was all Yoongi managed to get out. While he mentally cursed himself for his clumsiness you said: “When I was walking back to my rooms I ran into your father”. “Are you okay?”, Yoongi chuckled, only half joking. “I don’t think he saw me”, You left a moment of silence to look for the right words to describe what you had seen. “He was practising sword fighting I think”. “Let me guess. He was fighting air”. You looked up at him suddenly: “Yes exactly”. Yoongi sighed. “Don’t worry too much about it, he’s done it before. In fact, I’m not sure how much sanity he has left in that brain”. You played your turn before saying: “He looked at me for a moment. There was something in his eyes that shook me the core”. Yoongi looked you in the eye with a serious expression on his face. “Next time tell me. I want to make sure that man never puts his hands on you or inflicts any harm on you, and I can only do that if you tell me, the instant he does anything suspicious”. His words sent a warm feeling down your spine.

You had promised to tell him next time and a few moments later you had beat him in hnefatafl, so all in all a pretty good night. He got up and shook your hand. “That was a good game. I’ll have to come back tomorrow to restore my honour though”. You smiled: “I would like that”, and with that your husband left the room. That night you went to bed feeling good for the first time in months. There was no way for you to know, but the crown prince did the same thing.

@viankiss @lifeless-firefly @emerald-notes @daisies-and-dandelionpuffs @jjkwifestyle

[en-geneisaxx]

Pairings: Kita x fem!reader

Genre: Fluff, romance, academic rivals to lovers

A/n: Happy birthday imagine for one of my husbands → Kita!

Wc: 873

Please like, reblog and/or follow me! ♡

“I don’t…need…your help…” You sleepily groaned as you continued your scruffy handwriting to write down more things about the upcoming fundraiser you and your smart vice-president were responsible for. The white kitsune with black tips was undeniably wise and handsome, something you’ve coveted about him. You guys were academic rivals – in your eyes at least.

“It would be faster to get the task finished if I did, and you look quite dead with your current state,” He notions at your eyebags and the countless yawns that slipped past your lips, and that slumped posture of yours. “And, this is affecting my routine, so I would like to get back on track as soon as possible.”

“‘Don’t give a damn about your routine, I didn’t even ask you to help anyway, you should’ve just let me do it by myself.”

“And embarrass ourselves because you never got it completed by the deadline? I won’t have that.” He notes down ideas, too, as he prepares himself for a blacked-out version of you. “Also, even if we did complete this, someone might have thought I did it with my zombie-looking president.” 

You huff, because you honestly wished you could sleep at that moment, head squeezing in pain due to you overworking yourself. But, you wanted to make a moment where your parents would be proud of you. Being stuck in a dilemma, you helplessly sob, startling the volleyball captain. 

“I’m so tired…so so tired…but I…my parents…” You started becoming immobile, only letting out tears as you closed your weary eyes. Though Kita wasn’t experienced with such situations, he gently pulled you into his warm embrace, rubbing your back and stroking your hair simultaneously as you deeply sighed with exhaustion.

“It’s ok to take a break, especially while I’m here.” He attempts to comfort, possibly bringing in his own personal feelings for you. 

“Kita…parents…” 

“I’m just helping out, is that so bad?” He asks innocently, angling his head so he sees your worn-out figure, illuminated by the orange glow of the sunset. He truly felt bad for you, even knowing about this academic competition you swore to win. 

By then, your mind was more willful than your heart, with you dreaming off into your imagination. He places your head on his shoulder, picking up his pen as he finishes off the last bits of writing. Knowing he has a test soon, he slowly takes his flashcards, using all his limbs to pick up his bag so as not to disturb you. While he silently revises, his mischievous cubs sneak into the classroom, tiptoeing despite knowing that their captain has noticed them. The blond-haired fox masks his face with his hand, desperately trying to hold in his animalistic cackles as he sees your sleeping figure on his robotic captain’s body. 

“‘Cap,” He starts, wheezing once he meets up with Kita’s glare. He desperately clings onto his silver-haired incarnation of himself, who also mimics the actions. The green-eyed fox recorded the moment, taking it from every angle as he slyly smiled. Regaining only a little bit of composure, he resumes, “it seems that your president is sleeping on your shoulder, am I correct?” His eyebrows are raised in amusement as he sees his captain look at him with a skeptical look on his face. 

“‘Tsumu, remember: she’s Cap's girl.” He quietly chuckles out, hand covering his mouth. 

“But this is so unfair!” Atsumu whisper-shouted, hands pointing at you, “You would torture us if we ever slept a wink midday!” 

“Then why not do it back?” The videographer Suna suggests. He waves his phone teasing, a pleased grin spread across his lips as he sees Kita’s eyes bulge. 

“Suna…” Kita pleads, voice lowered as he sees you twitch. 

“Oh, can’t disturb the sleeping princess, am I right?” Rintaro says with a mockingly posh accent that he could possibly imitate. 

“Cap,” Osamu gives his advice, “if you want the girl, just make her the winner. We all know she wants to beat you, and that you have a massive crush on her.” A blush forms on Kita’s cheek from the straightforward statement. The twins giggle with a smiling fox as they leave the classroom. 

“My girl…” He thinks deeply, staring at your child-like writing. 

“Maybe I’ll let you beat me…” He looks at you fondly, “Just this once.” 

The deafening roar of applause from your class as you and Kita found out you were victors. However, you got most of the credit, earning more awards than Kita, something you’ve worked so hard for. Once you two got off the stage, walking towards your friends, Kita held your hands to stop you in your tracks of being able to boast about your victory. 

“Now now, love. Lemme get my words out first, yeah? | He adjusts your body so you are facing him. 

“Believe it or not, dummy, I think I’ve made a first time with you: first time having a crush. I’ll only give you right now to decide: be mine or be left behind.” He takes a step back so that he could spread out his arms for a response, smiling. 

“I’ll still compete with you…” You jokingly grumble, feigning annoyance as you secretly screamed inside.

“Ha,” He heartily chuckles,

“Well then, I guess you’ll always be my winner.”

[sirenemale]

💋🖼🗺 WARRIORS ASK GAME BEAM

THANK YOU FOR INDULGING MEEEEE

💋 : is there any ships out there you absolutely hate for genuinely no good reason at all. like its not problematic in the slightest, if anything it's one of the better ones, you just cannot bring yourself to enjoy it

I dont think there's any that make me see red or anything, just a lot that are really really nothing imo. I think there's a lot of kinda just for fun or sweet ships that don't really have enough chemistry for me to care abt, which is so fine I just like dynamicsss. Then again a lot of that is down to a lot of wc characters being kinda blank slates (esp side characters) i can buy into most things if someone is insane enough abt their headcannons for it.

WAIT I'm lying,and hollyleaf and fallenleaves. I think he's boring!!! he should've been more toxic genuinely. This also stemms from me being a giant hollyleaf head and liking her being a bit of a bad person, I don't really see why this relationship with some super patient ghost guy would really make her turn around on anything. She had multiple patient people in her life yknow. I think him being clingy, desperate not to lose the only cat to see him on decades, would be way more interesting. Maybe she's being eaten alive by guilt, bc she's contradicted everything she believed in and is trying to justify it to ease her own stress. And fallenleaves is like overly forgiving of it to the point it upsets her. I also just think her narrative turn around was too easy and she wasn't really taken to task by anyone which is disappointing. Like I hate the idea of Holly's turn around being in part to a pseudo ghost boyfriend who's nice to her and her learning mother hood hard bc nursing a fox cub ect. I want it to come from herself and admitting to what she chose to do in her spiral. I think part tof what really gets to her is others disappointment, and silence, and like leafpool in the berries scene where she's got this controlled kinda disappointment and grief. Like hollyleaf wants a bigger reaction to rally against to justify her own extremity but she isn't getting it. Ashfur is someone who gave that to her. she wants to be a bigger victim than she was, she can't take the idea that everything was always out of control and starclan never had anyone's interests in mind. Not just her. Or that others suffered more than her (leaf and squirrel). Idk I think having some guy try to justify it to her to keep her with him would really force her to hear how it sounds.

Also most of this is like part canon remembering and part like, projection and fan interpretation bc wc stuff is a fascinating melting pot of Nostalgia and canon, and headcanon more than any fandom I've seen before. Partly bc the maps and animations create a soft canon that ppl get into instead of the books. I'm trying to write an essay abt ittttt. I also kinda have this pet theory abt hollyleaf being written in the same veign as male characters in the series where their emotional turmoil is used to demean, punish and flanderize female characters (leafpool and squirrelflight in this circumstance) and I think it's interesting. As well as her never being really held to account for how she treated anyone, she's allowed to keep hating her mothers, she got away with murder and attempted murder ect. She also was allowed to be ambitious and never had a mate which r both things Erin's almost never let female characters do without making them into like evil hag harpies ect. I'm very interested in breaking down their specific gender Flanderization bc it's such a clear pattern they use in the books over and over bc they hate women a LOT.

Anyway I told you these would be long. I like hollyleaf regular amounts

🖼 : first amv/pmv you ever watched?

Fuckkkk. Mr brightside was a really defining one for me. I don't remember the first but duckfeathers, gamakichisora, silverwolfynight and ryulovestsute were surely there.

🗺 : first map you ever watched?

This also wasn't the first but this had such a foul grip on me. I almost wrote an essay abt it when I was like 10 or 11 or something. I wasn't allowed to bc when we handed in our song choices for review the teacher told me it was about suicide and I had no clue I was like it's actually about warrior cats. (Songs and their wc amv or map were basically 1 to 1 for me)

[tuxalfredo]

Some info dumping and traditional concept arts of my OCs!!

Doodle of my fursona to welcome you down this trail of blabbering if you so choose to continue onwards:D

These first few sketches are concept pieces for practicing different shapes. I plan to make my OC story a comic, so of course posing and shape consistency is very key:]

They're not rlly specific characters, just good ol' practice.

Some form of disclaimer ig: the bits of worldbuilding of my story that I am introducing in this post may be similar to Warrior Cats in a way, I definitely take inspiration from WC with this all, but these are not WC OCs in any way.

The 4 "divided" groups call themselves Septs, each group is made of a different breed of an original species I made called "grimalkin" (feline esc animals but each breed has special physical characteristics)

The 4 subspecies of grimalkin who divide themselves are ryfons, koas, lampyridae, and kimaira ("kimair" is the non-plural). They all have different physical characteristics, such as ryfons possess feathery fur and tend to grow larger than the others ; koas have more of a squirrelly and round look to them ; kimaira possess venomous fangs (works similar to a snakes fangs, can sheathe and unsheathe) ; lampyridae are very fox-like in looks rather than feline-esc like the others are. Their Sept is also the only Sept with a monarchy ruling system. (More on the lampyridae Sept, the inner workings of their Sept is very key to the plotline of my story;)

Fun little note as well ~ lampyridae and kimaira have black eyes--or, fully one-colored eyes with no pupils/scleras; like how rodent eyes are:]

×

~ breakoff from topic baby name lore cus yes ~

- ryfon babies are called "kits"

- koa babies are called "fawns"

- kimair babies are called "cubs"

- lampyridae babies are called "nymphs"

×

That's the most notes I will share of the worldbuilding. Now onto some character introductions:D

This rapscallion below is a ryfon by the name of Taika (he/him). He's the main antagonist of my story.

This lil guy is a koa by the name of Chiryo (he/him). He's close to the main character of my story and a major main side character throughout the story (will probably have an individual post for my MAIN guy. He's a doozie.)

This ball of chronic anxiety and heavy insecurity problems is Fawn (he/they ; prefers pronoun shifting)! They're a lampyridae, and of the royal bloodline in his Sept.

This ones a bit of a rushed sketch, but it's the only one I have of a kimair character. I kinda neglect them a lot lmao even tho I truly love em sm.

This is Goose (she/her), a kimair. She's the youngest of the main characters in my story and is very young throughout the main story so of course this is her as an adult lols. Big buff girlboss, I love her❤️

I have a LOT more characters than just these guys ofc, this is just an introduction post to get people connected to my OCs. I've been working a lot on these guys for a long while, and the stories coming together so nicely. It's gone through TONS of changes throughout it's lifetime, and I'm very content with where it is now. I hope to soon, in the soon far future at least, finally start putting this universe into production.

[courtney75phillips]

CONCACAF Nations League Videos & Highlights | FOX Sports

Concacaf nations league highlights - CONCACAF Nations League Videos and Sports Highlights - beIN SPORTS

Big Big Sky. Big South. Big Ten. Sun Belt. SW Ath. Arizona Diamondbacks. Atlanta Braves. Baltimore Orioles.

90 in 90: United States vs Cuba | 2019 CONCACAF Nations League Highlights

Boston Red Sox. Chicago Cubs. Chicago White Sox. Cincinnati Reds. Cleveland Indians. Colorado Rockies. Detroit Tigers. Houston Astros. Kansas City Royals. Los Angeles Angels.

Los Angeles Dodgers. Miami Marlins. Milwaukee Brewers. Minnesota Twins. New York Mets. New York Yankees. Oakland Athletics.

Philadelphia Phillies. Pittsburgh Pirates. San Diego Padres. San Francisco Giants. Seattle Mariners. Louis Cardinals. Tampa Bay Rays. Texas Rangers. Toronto Blue Jays. Washington Nationals. Atlanta Hawks. Boston Celtics. Brooklyn Nets. Charlotte Hornets. Chicago Bulls. Cleveland Cavaliers. Dallas Mavericks. Denver Nuggets. Detroit Pistons.

Golden State Warriors. Houston Rockets. Indiana Pacers. LA Clippers. Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis Grizzlies. Miami Heat. Milwaukee Bucks.

Minnesota Timberwolves. New Orleans Pelicans. New York Knicks. Oklahoma City Thunder. Orlando Magic. Philadelphia 76ers. Phoenix Suns. Portland Trail Blazers. Sacramento Kings. San Antonio Spurs. Toronto Raptors. Utah Jazz. Washington Wizards. Big East. Big West. Cup Series. Xfinity Series. Camping World Truck Series. ARG Prim.

Aust AL. Aust Bund. Brasil A. Concacaf nations league highlights PD. Colombian PA. ENG Champ. ENG L1. ENG L2. Greek SL. Irish PD. La Liga. Liga MX. Ligue 1. Paraguayan PD. Russian PL. Serie A. Swiss SL. Turkish SL. Uru PD. Afr Cup. Algarve Cup. Argentina Supercopa. Belgian Super Cup. Bundesliga Playoffs. C Nations. C U17 Champ. Click U20 Champ.

Washington Nationals. Atlanta Hawks. Boston Celtics. Brooklyn Nets. Charlotte Hornets. Chicago Bulls. Cleveland Cavaliers. Dallas Mavericks. Denver Nuggets. Detroit Pistons. Golden State Warriors. Houston Rockets. Indiana Pacers. LA Clippers.

Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis Grizzlies. Miami Heat. Milwaukee Bucks. Minnesota Timberwolves. New Orleans Pelicans. New York Knicks. Oklahoma City Thunder. Orlando Magic. Philadelphia 76ers. Phoenix Suns. Portland Trail Blazers. Sacramento Kings. San Antonio Spurs. Toronto Raptors. Utah Jazz. Washington Wizards. Big East. Big West. Cup Series. Xfinity Concacaf nations league highlights. Camping World Truck Series. ARG Prim. Aust AL.

Aust Bund. Brasil A. Chilean PD. Colombian PA. ENG Champ. ENG L1. Concacaf nations league highlights L2. Greek SL. Irish PD. La Liga. Liga MX. Ligue 1. Paraguayan PD. Russian PL. Serie A. Swiss SL.

Turkish SL. Uru PD. Afr Cup. Algarve Cup. Argentina Supercopa. Belgian Super Cup. Concacaf nations league highlights Playoffs. C Nations. C U17 Champ. C Concacaf nations league highlights Champ. C W Champ. Copa Lib. Copa Maradona. Copa Rey. Copa Sud. DFB Pokal. Dutch Shield. England Shield. Euro Cup. Euro Qual. FA Cup. France Trophee.

German DFL-Supercup. Gold Cup. Int'l Champ Cup. Italy Supercoppa. Lg Cup. Recopa Sudamericana. Concacaf nations league highlights Cup. Spain Supercopa. U17 WC. U20 WC. UAE Super Cup. UEFA Nations. World Cup. Anaheim Ducks. Arizona Coyotes. Boston Bruins. Buffalo Sabres. Calgary Flames. Carolina Hurricanes. Chicago Blackhawks. Colorado Leage. Columbus Blue Jackets. Dallas Stars. Detroit Red Wings. Edmonton Oilers.

[ezatluba]

The next pandemic is already coming, unless humans change how we interact with wildlife, scientists say

Karin Brulliard

April 3, 2020 

The new coronavirus, which has traversed the globe to infect more than 1 million people, began like so many pandemics and outbreaks before: inside an animal.

The virus’s original host was almost certainly a bat, scientists have said, as was the case with Ebola, SARS, MERS and lesser-known viruses such as Nipah and Marburg. HIV migrated to humans more than a century ago from a chimpanzee. Influenza A has jumped from wild birds to pigs to people. Rodents spread Lassa fever in West Africa.

But the problem is not the animals, according to scientists who study the zoonotic diseases that pass between animals and humans. It’s us.

Wild animals have always had viruses coursing through their bodies. But a global wildlife trade worth billions of dollars, agricultural intensification, deforestation and urbanization are bringing people closer to animals, giving their viruses more of what they need to infect us: opportunity. Most fail. Some succeed on small scales. Very few, like SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, triumph, aided by a supremely interconnected human population that can transport a pathogen around the world on a jet in mere hours.

As the world scrambles to cope with an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, many disease researchers say the coronavirus pandemic must be taken as a deadly warning. That means thinking of animals as partners whose health and habitats should be protected to stave off the next global outbreak.

“Pandemics as a whole are increasing in frequency,” said Peter Daszak, a disease ecologist who is president of EcoHealth Alliance, a public health organization that studies emerging diseases. “It’s not a random act of God. It’s caused by what we do to the environment. We need to start connecting that chain and say we need to do these things in a less risky way.”

Some 70 percent of emerging infectious diseases in humans are of zoonotic origin, scientists say, and nearly 1.7 million undiscovered viruses may exist in wildlife. Many researchers are searching for the ones that could cause the next animal-to-human spillover. The likeliest hot spots have three things in common, Daszak said: lots of people, diverse plants and animals, and rapid environmental changes.

They also are home to many of the likeliest zoonotic disease hosts: rodents and bats. About half of mammal species are rodents, and about a quarter are bats. But bats make up about 50 percent of mammals in the most biodiverse tropical regions, and while they are valuable pollinators and pest eaters, they are also astounding virus vessels. Bats have a superhero-like immune system that allows them to become “reservoirs to many pathogens that do not impact them but can have a tremendous impact on us if they’re able to make the jump,” said Thomas Gillespie, a disease ecologist at Emory University.

Increasingly, we make the jump easier.

Late last year, a horseshoe bat coronavirus is thought to have leaped in China, scientists say, where commerce in exotic animals is driven by luxury tastes in game and demand for parts used for medicinal purposes.

At a “wet market” in Wuhan linked to an early cluster of coronavirus cases, at least one store sold creatures including wolf cubs and masked palm civets for consumption. Such markets, experts say, feature stressed and ill animals stacked in cages, bodily fluids sprinkling down, as well as butchering — prime conditions for viral spillover.

Although horseshoe bats are hunted and eaten in China, how the suspected bat virus first infected people will not be easily deduced. An early cluster of cases was traced to the sprawling animal market, but it was closed and sanitized before researchers could track down what animal might have been implicated. And it was probably not the location of the spillover itself, which could have happened weeks earlier, possibly in November. Some of the first cases had no connection to the animal market.

Because the new virus isn’t identical to any known bat virus, somewhere between the bat and human beings, the virus mutated in at least one intermediary, perhaps the endangered pangolin, a mammal heavily trafficked for its scales, scientists say.

The 2003 SARS outbreak, which eventually was linked to horseshoe bats by scientists who spelunked through slippery caves lined with bat guano, was also traced to wild animal markets. Scientists think that coronavirus jumped from bats to masked palm civets — catlike mammals sold for meat — to humans.

“One of the key interfaces for these spillover events to occur are markets and the international trade of wildlife,” Chris Walzer, executive director for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s global health program, told reporters on Thursday.

In Africa, dwindling populations of large mammals mean game is increasingly from smaller species, including rodents and bats, said Fabian Leendertz, a veterinarian who studies zoonotic diseases at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. While some is consumed for subsistence or traditional purposes, exotic meat sales are also a “huge economy” in the fast-growing megacities, Leendertz said.

“That’s something I would stop first,” he said. “The risk is not because the meat travels … but it results in higher hunting pressure and higher contact rate for those who go hunting and those who take it apart.”

The international trade in exotic pets such as reptiles and fish is also a concern, because the animals are rarely tested for pathogens that could sicken humans, Daszak said. So are large farms packed with animals, Gillespie said.

“When I think about what’s the primary risk factor, it’s influenza A that’s linked to pig and chicken production,” he said.

But harvesting and raising animals are not the only venues for spillover. Humans increasingly share space with wildlife and alter it in perilous ways, researchers say.

Lyme disease, caused by a bacteria, spreads more easily in the eastern United States because fragmented forests have fewer predators, such as foxes and opossums, that eat mice that host Lyme-spreading ticks, studies have found. Building leads to a closer coexistence with some wild animals, including bats, Leendertz said.

Scientists point to the 1998 emergence in Malaysia of Nipah virus, which has killed hundreds of people in several outbreaks in Asia, as a vivid example of spillover fueled by environmental change and agricultural intensification. The clearing of rainforests for palm oil and lumber and livestock displaced fruit bats, some of which ended up on new pig farms where mango and other fruit trees also grew, they say. Bats “drop more than they eat,” Gillespie said, and their saliva and feces infected pigs below. Pigs sickened farmworkers and others close to the industry.

“Wherever we’re creating novel interfaces, this is likely a risk that we need to be seriously considering,” he said. “It’s forcing wildlife to look for new food sources. It’s forcing them to change their behavior in ways that puts them in a better position to transfer the pathogen to us.”

As Earth’s human population hurtles toward 8 billion, no one thinks human-animal interaction is going to decrease. The key is reducing the risk of a devastating spillover, scientists say — and not by killing bats. But they acknowledge that cultural and economic pressures make change difficult.

The Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups have called on countries to prohibit the trade in wild animals for food and close wet markets. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert and the face of the U.S. response to the pandemic, said Friday that the world community should pressure China and other nations that host such markets to shut them down.

“It just boggles my mind how, when we have so many diseases that emanate out of that unusual human-animal interface, that we don’t just shut it down,” Fauci told Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”

China, which briefly stopped the trade in civets after the SARS outbreak, announced in January a ban on the transport and sale of wild animals, but only until the coronavirus epidemic is eliminated. Permanent legislation is needed, said Aili Kang, executive director of WCS’s Asia program.

Not everyone agrees. Bans could cause markets to move underground, some say. Daszak noted that Westerners also eat wild animals — seafood and deer, for example. Instead, he said, trade should be regulated and the animals rigorously tested for pathogens.

Stronger surveillance for illness in wild animals — regarding them as “sentinels” — is needed, Leendertz said. So is a widespread realization that building in wild habitats can fuel public health crises, Gillespie said.

Many researchers say the coronavirus pandemic underscores the need for a more holistic “one health” approach, which views human, animal and environmental health as interconnected.

“There needs to be a cultural shift from a community level up about how we treat animals, our understanding of the dangers and biosecurity risks that we’re exposing ourselves to,” said Kate Jones, chair of ecology and biodiversity at University College London. “That means leaving ecosystems intact, not destroying them. It means thinking in a more long-term way.”

Joel Achenbach, Paulina Firozi and William Wan contributed to this report.

[hannahberrie]

Something That Finds You: Chapter 4

Fandom: Zootopia Pairing: Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps Rating: K+ WC: 1596 Summary: “Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.“

In a time of tension in the land of Zootopia, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are arranged to be married as a symbol of peace and unity. The only problem? They can’t stand each other (the 8 year age gap doesn’t help either). A story following Nick and Judy growing up together, through all the good and bad.

Chapter Selection: [1][2][3]-4-[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

[AO3]

Of course, the other kids at school were bound to find out eventually that they were engaged, despite the fact that Nick had made Judy swear to secrecy.

“You can’t tell anyone, and I mean anyone,” Nick had told the little bunny, pointing his finger at her as she sucked on a lollipop that she’d gotten from who knows where.

They were in her bedroom, Nick standing in front of her as she sat on her bed. They’d suffered a particularly close call today, in which upon walking home from school, they’d been stopped by a kid from Nick’s class.

“Why ya’ always hanging around with pipsqueak here?” The young weasel had asked, snickering as he glanced between them.

“Go away, Duke,” Nick had snapped, eyeing the weasel with great disdain.

“Who ever heard of a fox that lives with a bunch of bunnies anyway?” Duke continued, following them as they walked past him. “You homeless or something, Nicky?”

Judy had glanced up at Nick, seen the way he was frowning and fuming, and immediately piped up. “He’s not homeless!” She’d shouted back at the weasel, turning around to face him. “Nick and I are getting — ”

Nick had never been more thankful for his inherited fox reflexes, as within seconds he’d slapped a paw over her little muzzle. “We’re getting home,” he said quickly, as Duke raised a suspicious eyebrow. “So…piss off.”

Judy had squirmed in protest but it was too late, Nick was already dragging her back to the Hopps’ manor as quickly as he could.  

Nick was still feeling humiliated from the whole ordeal.

Judy seemed completely indifferent to the entire situation.

“Why?” She’d asked, looking up at him innocently.

“Because it’s embarrassing! If anyone finds out I’m engaged to a 6-year-old, they’ll all think I’m a loser!”

“Why?”

“Because that’s stupid?”

“Why?”

“Because literally no other teenager in the world is engaged to a kid!”

“Why?

“Because!”

“Wh—”

“Stop!” He held up his paws in exasperation. “Just don’t tell people, okay?”

Judy twirled her lollipop in her paw as she thought, swaying her legs over the edge of her bed. “But what if I really, really, want to?”

Nick hesitated. “Then…don’t want to.”

“I don’t wanna lie!”

Nick rolled his eyes. “It’s not lying, it’s just…not telling everyone everything.”

Judy eyed him. “That sounds like lying!”

“Well, it’s not. And I’m older and smarter, so you gotta listen to me.”

“Nuh uh!” Judy snorted and giggled. “I’m smarter than you!”

Nick scoffed defensively. “No you’re not!”

“Oh yeah? What’s 2 + 2?”

“4!”

“No!”

“It literally is.”

Judy shook her head. “You lie too much.”

“I told you it’s not — you know what, never mind. Just don’t tell anyone, ok? Please.”

Judy bit down on her lollipop, replying with a mouthful of candy. “Ok.”

Nick nodded, breathing out a small sigh of relief. “Ok. Good.”

He should have known that she wouldn’t keep her word. At least, that’s what he had to assume when a few days later, he found himself followed by a trail of giggling 6 year olds. He was wandering around town, checking out some of the shops with his friend Finnick, when the small fennec fox had pointed it out to him.

“Look’s like you’ve got a fan club, Nick,” he snorted, nudging Nick hard in the arm.

Nick glanced behind him, and indeed, there was a group of giggling little bunnies, lambs, and cubs. We they saw that he’d seen them, they giggled only harder and ducked into a shop, all whispering to each other conspiratorially.

Nick frowned. “That’s…annoying. I think they’re from Judy’s class.”

Finnick smirked as he started to shake, trying to hold back his laughter. “Well, it looks like they like you, Nicky.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “They’re probably just lost, or something.”

They weren’t. Actually, they proceeded to follow Nick and Finnick all through town, each time ducking for cover whenever Nick so much as glanced in their general direction.

It was getting a little ridiculous. A fox could only take so much, after all.

He marched over to them, causing them to cluster together and giggle uncontrollably.

“What’s the big idea?” Nick asked, resting his paws on his hips as he gave them his best annoyed glare. “Can’t you guys follow someone else around?”

“Is it true?” One lamb asked, her voice a curious little squeak.

He eyed her. “Is what true?”

“Are you marrying Judy?” A cub piped up, immediately bursting into nervous giggles.

Well, great.

“What are you talking about!? I’m not marrying anyone!” Nick scoffed defensively. Surely, a little deflection would work.

It didn’t.

“I heard you are! You’re going to get married!”

“You’re like a prince!”

“Judy will be a princess!”

“Will you marry me too?”

Nick felt his fur stand on end. A burning blush whipped across his face as harshly and quickly as a slap, and his heart immediately went into overdrive. And as if the ringing in his ears wasn’t enough, Nick could hear Finnick cracking up in the background, holding as his sides and wheezing.

“Is this for real?” Finnick managed to bark between laughs, “You engaged to a bunny, man?”

There was a laundry list of things Nick wanted to do at that moment, including disappearing from the earth forever, but namely, getting back at Judy for blatantly ignoring the simple task of keeping her muzzle shut.

“Let me guess, Judy told you,” He grumbled darkly, eyebrows a flat line across his forehead.

But, much to Nick’s surprise —

“No!” A little bunny insisted, shaking her head. “My mom told Abby’s mom and then Abby told Susie and Susie told me and then I told them! And then they told — ”

Nick held up a paw. “Okay, okay, I get it! So Judy didn’t tell you?”

The kits shook their heads. “Nope!”  

Nick could feel himself physically deflate. Of course, everyone over the age of 20 or so remembered the day the Unity Proclamation was announced (aka, the worst day of Nick’s life, other than today, maybe), of course their parents would know of the engagement. And here he was, fully ready to tear Judy apart, when she’d kept to her word.

He’d headed back home, after all, why would he want to continue to stand there and be laughed at?

He’d searched around the manor, calling out for the little bunny, until he’d found her out in the gardens, hunched on a bench, crying and hiccupping and sniveling into her lilac blue dress. When she saw him approaching her, she flinched and quivered harder. “I-I’m sorry, Nick! I promise I didn’t tell! I’m not a liar! The other girls found out and now they’re telling everyone and I’m really, really sorry!”

Nick felt his heart grow heavy with pity, and for once, he actually felt bad for this poor dumb bunny baby. He sighed as he sat down next to her, dragging a paw through the flower petals scattered across the garden ground. “I know you didn’t tell,” he assured her, causing her to pause in her crying and glance at him, nose twitching.

“You do?”

“Yes, you dumb bunny. Now stop crying, would ya’?”

“Sorry,” Judy mumbled, wiping at her eyes hastily. “…You’re not mad?”

Nick shrugged.

“Why?”

“I’m just not.”

“Why?”

He held up a paw. “Okay, we’re not doing that again.”

Judy smiled at him. “Wh—”

Nick eyed her. “This is why you’re annoying.”

Judy giggled. “You’re the annoying one.”

“I’m literally not.”

“Are you excited to marry me?”

The question caught Nick off guard, to say the least. After all, it’d come out of nowhere and without much of an introduction. Then again, Judy had been into questions like that lately. Her parents had been discussing the carrot plots when she’d piped in out of nowhere to ask where kits came from.

The fox nearly choked on his own tongue as he burst into a coughing fit.

Judy cocked her head to the side as she looked up at him curiously, still awaiting an answer. “Well? Are you?”

What was he supposed to answer? Because truthfully, he still was hoping his parents would change their minds about the whole thing. It’d been 6 years and unlike his mother had said, he still didn’t understand anything, nor did he grow a spontaneous desire to marry a little kit.

So what should he say? No? No, you embarrass me? No, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about interspecies relationships? No, the idea of marrying a kid was weird and gross and how did no one else see how weird this was?

Maybe he should tell her. After all, their relationship up until now was slightly…confusing. Some days they got along, some they were arguing, and some days, like today, they were once again confronting the fact that they were stuck together. Maybe if he told her off, she would finally know how he felt, or rather, how he didn’t feel. No more following him around, no more pestering him, no more pretending that they were some kind of couple.

He opened his muzzle to say it. Braced himself, turned to her and everything. But then he saw her — actually saw her, smiling up at him all curiously, a hopeful glint in her eye…

…Bunnies were too cute for their own good.

“I gotta finish my geometry lessons,” Nick grumbled, picking up his school bag.

“You didn’t answer,” Judy pouted, watching him leave with a huffy sigh.

“You wouldn’t want me too,” Nick muttered, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.

[hartranchgolfcourse]

MLB Postseason Preview

MLB Playoffs Preview

Stonehenge, UFOs, Bigfoot, the 2017 Minnesota Twins. Ladies and gentlemen, there are unexplained mysteries in this world. At the beginning of the year, I’d have sounded like a lunatic if I’d predicted the Twins would be in the playoffs after a 103-loss season a year ago. Well, here we are. Somehow, someway, we’ve managed to sneak into the second AL Wild Card spot and have a date with Clu Haywood (hope you caught the reference) and the Yankees looming tonight. All I can say is I’m surprised and elated with how the team has performed this year. It’s felt like forever since we were here (7 years ago) and regardless of what happens tonight, we have a lot to look forward to in the years to come.

Enough homer ranting. Here is a little preview of what should be an outstanding MLB postseason:

  Schedule:

Wild Card Round

TUESDAY, OCT. 3 Twins at Yankees, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4 Rockies at Diamondbacks, 8 p.m. ET, TBS

  Divisional Series

AL-

THURSDAY, OCT. 5 Red Sox at Astros, Game 1, 4 p.m. ET, FS1 or MLBN THURSDAY, OCT. 5 WC winner at Indians, Game 1, 7:30 p.m. ET, FS1 or MLBN FRIDAY, OCT. 6 Red Sox at Astros, Game 2, 2 p.m. ET, FS1 or MLBN FRIDAY, OCT. 6 WC winner at Indians, Game 2, 5 p.m. ET, FS1 or MLBN SUNDAY, OCT. 8 Astros at Red Sox, Game 3, FS1 or MLBN SUNDAY, OCT. 8 Indians at WC winner, Game 3, FS1 or MLBN MONDAY, OCT. 9 Astros at Red Sox, Game 4*, FS1 MONDAY, OCT. 9 Indians at WC winner, Game 4*, FS1 WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11 Red Sox at Astros, Game 5*, FS1 WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11 WC winner at Indians, Game 5*, FS1 NL- FRIDAY, OCT. 6 Cubs at Nationals, Game 1, 7:30 p.m. ET, TBS FRIDAY, OCT. 6 WC winner at Dodgers, Game 1, 10:31 p.m. ET, TBS SATURDAY, OCT. 7 Cubs at Nationals, Game 2, 5:30 p.m. ET, TBS SATURDAY, OCT. 7 WC winner at Dodgers, Game 2, 9 p.m. ET, TBS MONDAY, OCT. 9 Nationals at Cubs, Game 3, TBS MONDAY, OCT. 9 Dodgers at WC winner, Game 3, TBS TUESDAY, OCT. 10 Nationals at Cubs, Game 4*, TBS TUESDAY, OCT. 10 Dodgers at WC winner, Game 4*, TBS THURSDAY, OCT. 12 Cubs at Nationals, Game 5*, TBS THURSDAY, OCT. 12 WC winner at Dodgers, Game 5*, TBS

  Championship Series

AL –

FRIDAY, OCT. 13 ALCS, Game 1, FOX or FS1 SATURDAY, OCT. 14 ALCS, Game 2, FOX or FS1 MONDAY, OCT. 16 ALCS, Game 3, FOX or FS1 TUESDAY, OCT. 17 ALCS, Game 4, FOX or FS1 WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18 ALCS, Game 5*, FOX or FS1 FRIDAY, OCT. 20 ALCS, Game 6*, FOX or FS1 SATURDAY, OCT. 21 ALCS, Game 7*, FOX or FS1

  NL –

SATURDAY, OCT. 14 NLCS, Game 1, TBS SUNDAY, OCT. 15 NLCS, Game 2, TBS TUESDAY, OCT. 17 NLCS, Game 3, TBS WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18 NLCS, Game 4, TBS THURSDAY, OCT. 19 NLCS, Game 5*, TBS SATURDAY, OCT. 21 NLCS, Game 6*, TBS SUNDAY, OCT. 22 NLCS, Game 7*, TBS

  World Series –

TUESDAY, OCT. 24 Game 1, FOX WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25 Game 2, FOX FRIDAY, OCT. 27 Game 3, FOX SATURDAY, OCT. 28 Game 4, FOX SUNDAY, OCT. 29 Game 5*, FOX TUESDAY, OCT. 31 Game 6*, FOX WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1 Game 7*, FOX

  This postseason is a story of powerhouse teams. The Indians and the Astros both won 100 games in the AL. The Dodgers were well on their way to the best record in MLB history before hitting a 1-16 skid. The Red Sox, Nationals, Cubs and Diamondbacks are all stacked with immense talent. Although the Indians look like the favorite due to a ridiculous pitching staff and closing the season on a 41-7 run, anything can happen in October.

Predictions:

AL –

Wild Card –

Twins over Yankees (duh…and I’ll be wrong)

Divisional Series –

Astros over Red Sox

Indians over Twins

Championship Series –

Astros over Indians

NL –

Wild Card –

Diamondbacks over Rockies

Divisional Series –

Cubs over Nationals

Dodgers over Diamondbacks

Championship Series –

Dodgers over Cubs

World Series –

Astros over Dodgers

This is because of Justin Verlander, a future HOFer who is still searching for his first World Series ring. He provides a huge spark to a team with an already dangerous lineup, and I feel he will be the Series MVP. He’s pitched in two World Series, but is 0-3 in those starts. Look for him to right the ship, and for the Astros to give Houston something to cheer for after Harvey.

Enjoy the best time of the sports year ladies and gentlemen!

The post MLB Postseason Preview appeared first on Hart Ranch Golf Course.

[bonefall]

Since you mentioned only cats and a few other distant animals are sentient, does this mean foxes are getting their sentience removed? Midnight can talk to foxes in the books and even convinces some foxes to leave a patrol of cats alone (the foxes are WEIRDLY violent and talk about eating the cats too lmaoo).

I assume Hollyleaf's changes mean the Fox Cub Incident is either being moved or just removed entirely, I always found that small plot point interesting in face of all those "Non-cat in clan" AUs. Seems like something that could be interesting if an "us vs them" argument was formed from it, especially if it was targeted against Midnight and calling her unholy yknow?

Yeah, that sapience is gone completely. In this universe, language is limited only to humans, cats, and some distant animals that are far outside the range of Albion (elephants, bottlenoses, some parrots, etc)

And Hollyleaf's story especially. Ngl to you, I don't like that fox idea. Or anything about Hollyleaf's Story. I think it was the worst possible route to take.

"Hollyleaf will be a mother to this evil creature to learn what it's like to love something that hates you. It is so sad to be your mom Leafpool (Squirrel-who?). Don't you feel like a shitty daughter now, Holly? Let's not ask any questions about the code btw, or how you were already filled with crushing shame from it. Or how it made you so disgusted about the idea of pregnant nuns that you flipped your shit and ruined the lives of your entire family. No, what really mattered about this situation was maternal empathy. Also here take the nearest male character we can find to ship you with, we accidentally made Cinderheart too gay when she was upset about your death lmao"

But, digressing, putting my distaste of that novella aside,

WC is profoundly xenophobic already with just the cats, and I think it was a CATASTROPHIC mistake to make it so every animal is secretly intelligent but speaks animal language. Now every conflict between cats and their predators is an ethnic dispute! You're chasing out groups of people perfectly capable of reasoning if you bridged the language barrier, but they're also ACTUAL PREDATORS.

AT BEST; It's the same uncomfortable situations that Zootopia and Lion King ends up tripping over. In Zootopia, predators are used as an allegory for oppressed groups... but predators are MADE to eat prey. A rabbit is RIGHT to be terrified of a fox, twice its size with a jaw made for catching bunnies. In Lion King, lions have divine authority to rule over their dinner/subjects, and chase out any animal based on their personal ideology... which just so happens to only be leveraged against rival predator species.

(Nerd preemption: yes i know about lion guard. I do not think diverse Lion Cops were the solution you think it is.)

Carelessly adding sapience to "natural systems" often ends up accidentally justifying bigotry. Bigotry doesn't MAKE SENSE, it's bullshit we made up and perpetuate through culture, but food webs are completely logical. The rabbit fears the fox because the fox eats rabbits. The lion hates the hyena because they compete for the same food. Gazelles don't happily submit to an overlord who is divinely capable of deciding who should live and who should die, it's just nature.

But it gets even worse-- because it's actually WORST CASE; the Erins saw that complicated moral problem and went, "don't worry! They're actually born evil! Foxes just talk about food and killing things :)"

like... my brother in cats, YOU gave them language in the first place! What was the fucking point if they were just going to be evil barbarians anyway?!? For ONE scene where Midnight could show off her Duolingo streak???

So to summarize,

It was an awful idea to start with

It was executed in the worst possible way

In a series that is already plagued with xenophobic sentiment, this somehow made it even worse and more direct

If it was completely nuked it from the story, the series would be immediately better with minimal change. Holly caring for what is essentially the clan cat-equivalent of an exotic animal like a chimp or a tiger cub would have done the same thing

There is not even a glimmer of an idea here that justifies the poison that full sapience does to the wider implications of the series.

Don't even get me started on the Badger Debaucle in TNP, which is actually in my top 5 for most vile things in WC

So if I don't explicitly say that a species in BB is capable of true language, assume it is non-sapient. Talking animals like Midnight and Rat Leader are magical individuals-- gods, curses, etc.