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It’s this special boy’s birthday today (well, yesterday, but I forgot to post this pic here on tumblr--even if it did make it to some other social media sites)! He’s a big full TWO YEARS OLD! Needless to say he’s just as chill as always, and somehow miraculously puts up with his little brother’s antics.

Happy birthday, little Xaden!

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So yesterday, we did make it to the vet. But he didn't like it at all, of course. (Then again, the last time he went, he got neutered, so...)

Not only did he cry the whole car ride over (which broke my heart but it's like-- I'm sorry, baby, you have to go and get your shots), this is how he ended up immediately after we got inside the room and he got out of the carrier.

Little Sasha (the normally super curious little kitty, everything is for me kitty) finds the smallest space he can to curl up and hide. To make himself as super small as possible. :(

Precious baby is so scared and anxious and my heart just broke!

(The vet people were really good with him, though.)

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Don’t let little Sasha’s attempt at innocence fool you! Demon child wouldn’t get in the carrier this afternoon for his vet appointment (so we had to reschedule) & now here he is, all chill. He’s a very bad boy! And he is… not forgiven. Nope. … no matter how cute he is.

~

Seriously, in the morning, he was all chill inside of the carrier (the appointment was initially scheduled at 2:00PM Friday afternoon). We started to "okay, time to get ready" at around 12:45-1:00 (both of us had to get ready, it takes about 10-15 minutes to get there, he is NEVER able to go right into the carrier, etc.)

And about 1:50, I'm calling the vet, to find out how late is "late" and how late can you be before "you're too late, you need to reschedule" because Sasha is hiding under the bed, refusing to come out. Or even where I can reach him at all.

Naturally, we had to reschedule (because unless he was going to come out in the next 2 minutes, we were going to be too late, and I didn't want to do that to them), so come Monday morning, he better work with me.

And then, to top it off, this is where he spends most of yesterday evening.

In.

The.

Carrier.

As cute as the little lion is, I still haven't (fully) forgiven him yet.

His big brother, Xaden, got the treats last night (even if Sasha did get one too, because I can't say a complete NO to that adorable face).

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I love this post. I don't even know if I have the words to adequately express just how much I love it, to be quite honest.

Because it IS okay! It has always been okay. You are always supposed to live your truth on YOUR time. No one else's. And to reiterate what @granola-peasant said above:

They’ll come out when the time is right and they feel comfortable

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

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See this precious little baby who just knows that the entire world revolves around him (when it doesn't revolve around his big brother, Xaden, of course) and how helpful he wants to be while I'm here, trying to work on things...

I mean, even if little Sasha is my favorite demon child of all, I can't ever get mad at that face! Look at him! He's too cute!

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Alright ... and... ????

I'm not even going into the fact that the answer was well, DUH, anyone could have told you THAT! obvious. Because it goes without saying. (And I am glad, reading through a lot of the comments on that final voting between Chapter 55 & Chapter 54, that there were a lot that felt the same. Because again-- DUH.)

I've always said you wouldn't have had Chapter 55 (much less how wonderful 55 is) if you didn't have the emotional and actual story-telling impact of CHARACTER that Chapter 54 gives you, tying it all together.

But I mean... Bloomsbury... I'm not ungrateful, and this was fun, but like... THAT'S IT?!

Nothing? This had the whole "we're counting down to something" vibe about it and there was... absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nada. It's got the disappointment of getting to the very end and there being nothing.

At this point, I'd seriously take ANYTHING. A crumb. A hint. Any inkling on where we might be in the process. Are we looking at 2026? Or are we getting closer to approaching GRRM territory to the point that "good luck, but you'll never ever see the next ACOTAR story."

Because at this point? I don't know...

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So, another update on my "these books are going to utterly destroy me" post --

Because like I already said, to no one's surprise at all--

ONYX STORM UTTERLY WRECKED & DESTROYED ME.

And then, well, we just continued with the pain by rereading the entire original Hunger Games trilogy in preparation for SotR. I'm still not sure if that was a good idea or not but I can tell you it definitely made the book a thousand times more impactful (if that's even possible!)

So yes, Onyx destroyed me,

SUNRISE ON THE REAPING COMPLETELY DESTROYED ME.

We were already two for two on this. Why not make it three for three?

Take it home, Lauren Roberts, with the conclusion of the Powerless trilogy in Fearless!

FEARLESS HAD ME WEEPING & (yes) DESTROYED ME!

Books that I know are scheduled for 2025 that have every single reason (and 99.99% chance) of destroying me completely:

Onyx Storm (Empyrean 3) -- Rebecca Yarros

Fearless (Powerless 3) -- Lauren Roberts

Sunrise on the Reaping (Hunger Games Prequel) -- Suzanne Collins

The Ballad of Falling Dragons (Moonfall 2) -- Sarah A. Parker

Books that are highly likely to come out in 2025 that have every single reason (and 99.99% chance) of destroying me completely:

Sequel to Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy 2) -- Callie Hart

Another SJM (ACOTAR?!) book? Anything?!

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Also , you know that feeling of picking up a book that has (literally) been on your "I'm gonna read this one day" list for ages and you're devouring it, and you're all-- WHY THE HELL DID I WAIT SO LONG FOR THIS?!

Yeah. That's actually been me lately with Sabaa Tahir's Ember in the Ashes books. I have wanted to read them forever, bought the first book years ago (I mean, years ago, before the cover changes). Had the whole four of them downloaded on my kindle forever, and still hadn't gotten around to it.

It was always "I'll get to that ONE DAY" ...

The proverbial "one day" hah.

Bought the book Heir earlier this year too, when it came out (because 1. Pretty book! and 2. .. I don't know, I caved on "pretty book" and the plot sounded good and like I said, I was always planning on reading the books...)

Anyway, I think I started the first book around early to mid April.

We started the fourth one last night.

I generally don't read through a series that fast, especially if my brain isn't so focused on things / has trouble focusing in general / is in that "weird mental brain state" it sometimes gets, or whatever reason. And I'm always reading more than one thing anyway, so it always takes longer to read each book cause I go back and forth with things...

All that to say--

WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?!

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When you’re looking for the little panther and he suddenly decides that, “wow, that empty bag looks like a pretty good place to be!”

The fact that, while little Xaden was in here, little Sasha (after realizing the bag couldn’t fit BOTH of them, to poor Sasha’s detriment since neither are very little anymore—and especially not the panther), crawled down into one of the enclosed “bag-LIKE” cat beds so he could be as much like his big brother as possible.

Precious boys.

It's the life of a cat mom and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

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alina and nikolai have so mych more chemistry than her and mal!!!

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One of the things I love most about cats is that every single one of them is just a weird little motherfucker. I've never known a cat that wasn't just fucking strange in some way. Just a little freak about at least one thing.

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I honestly couldn't help but screenshot this the other day when it came across my FB feed. Like, I'd tell myself they all have to be trolls, but there's way too many for every single one to just be a bot or a troll or whatever.

Not to even go into the fact that the Orange Baffoon got the office in the first place, which means you had to have enough people press the button to make it happen (hence my supreme lack of faith in humanity in general--especially when it comes to those in the United States of America.)

Especially since, like, when it comes to the whole Checks & Balances system with the US Government... it's basic, what, 3rd grade level stuff? Schoolhouse Rock level stuff? Every IDIOT knows at least the basic premise when it comes to knowing anything at all about the way the system of government works here.

At least... I thought every idiot.

Like I told a friend the other day. I have got to stop saying things like, "How stupid can it be?" or variations of that, because I swear, this world is taking that a challenge to out-stupid itself each and every time.

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I love it when my toes are a little cold so I have them under the blanket as I sit in the big comfy chair, and little Xaden decides that out of all the places he wants to lay down for the moment, it's right on top of those cold toes. Not higher up the legs in the lap, but on the toes.

A very warm cat body definitely helps warm up cold toes!

I love my precious baby.

Meanwhile, his little brother (fondly known as the demon child) is over on the cat tower, watching, and taking his own little "nap"...)

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This book should come with a big, giant

*** WARNING LABEL ***

that simply says your heart will absolutely shatter and all the feelings you thought you possessed and knowledge you thought you knew-- nope, it's actually a thousand times worse and harder and WHY?!

Because like, knowing what you think you know, from Catching Fire & Mockingjay and just... Okay. Sure. You've pieced some things together about Haymitch.

Still, even with that already known, Collins was still able to twist the knife a thousand times deeper, like "oh, you thought it hurt before? Just wait for this!"

I mean, I'd been DEEEEEP in my Hunger Games hyper-focus for the last several weeks & months, leading up to this book. There was a lot of details from the books that I'd forgotten (I mean, I read them over a decade ago!) so I definitely wanted a fresh look at Haymitch in my head when I started this one.

Can I just say that, once again, Suzanne Collins is utter perfection when it comes to portraying societal commentary in this way? When it comes to saying what needs to be said without it ever sounding like it's BEING said, you know? But it's there. It's right there. And the characters are SO UTTERLY REAL and you connect with them.

And it's no wonder he had the fears/thoughts/worries towards Katniss (and all that had transpired right at the end of hers & Peeta's 74th Hunger Games victory) after finding out exactly all that he'd gone through.

Like, we had only gotten that little look. A little glimpse, because the trilogy had always been in Katniss's POV.

Hell it's like, if I didn't love Haymitch before (which, let's be honest, I already did), this book would have made me love him completely.

(And can we talk about how wonderful the other characters were?! Like, not only the ones we "knew" -- Mags, Wiress, Beetee, etc. -- but also the ones that were with Haymitch in the Games -- Maysilee, Louella, Ampert... and of course, Lenore Dove & Haymitch's family! I mean ouch!!!! )

Anyway, yes, my heart was in utter pieces last night when I finished.

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From April 2, 2024, to April 2, 2025.

Here's just a (very, very small selection) of Sasha’s journey as his entire FIRST YEAR with the family. He was such a tiny little fluff ball when he came home.

And now?

Now he’s a little lion. But big brother Xaden still looks out for him, though.

Happy GOTCHA DAY, Sasha!

(*top left is literally the night I brought him home on Apr.02.2024. and bottom right was taken exactly one year later, on Apr.02.2025.)

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So I'm re-posting this from another of my social media accounts because hey, I have that ability. But fair warning -- Political talk incoming:

To all those who keep saying, “chill out. Trump & co aren’t as bad as you think. [Insert crime here] isn’t going to happen”, just let me say the following as a few counter arguments:

— You are assuming that the “rule of law” is going to stop them. They have shown they hold no regard for it.

— I’m pretty sure there were those in 1930s Germany who said the same thing. “It’s not going to be that bad; you’re overreacting”

History proved they did not, in fact, overreact.

I keep seeing arguments about "The Constitution says he can't do X, Y, Z" or "To do this needs Congressional Approval" or whatever else. Like somehow, THAT is going to stop these people.

They've already shown their regard for the law is zilch. That threatening to impeach federal judges isn't out of the ordinary for them. Even when the judicial branch says "no you can't do that, it's unconstitutional" -- right NOW, it's working. But we're still ONLY not even 3 full months in to a 4-year term.

When their counter argument is "the judicial branch shouldn't stop the executive branch" -- even though that is whole damn POINT of the checks & balances system the US government was built upon -- you know the doors are being opened to see just how far they can push.

Just how much push-back will they get from their own cult members.

Keep in mind, too, that TO THIS DAY, the cult still refuses to admit Trump lost the 2020 election.

There are always going to be those (whether they are full on cult member believers or just those who want to hold to the "good of humanity" or whatever else) that are going to think it'll all be okay.

That the next 4 years will be "a little crazy" maybe, that "the US survived Trump's first term, it can survive the next one", that 2028 will come around and we'll get back on track.... etc. etc.

Whatever excuse or reason they're throwing out there, I don't care.

Because again, let me just say that we aren't even THREE FULL MONTHS into this second term, and things are already hell.

The government has alienated all of the USA's longest-held allies (which, let's be honest, isn't to be taken LIGHTLY). Has outright SIDED with RUSSIA over Ukraine in something that any idiot in the world knows the answer to. Among so many other problems.

And the fact is--it isn't JUST Trump. It isn't just the "head of the snake" b/c it's a multi-headed snake.

So no. This second term isn't going to be like the last one. Not even REMOTELY. That's already evident. And if you're trying to convince yourself that it is, that is a YOU problem, and you need to get your head out of the sand and stop ignoring the obvious.

And trust me, all of us that are SCREAMING about this? We really, really WANT to be wrong. I know I do. I want it all to be an overreaction, I want the world "back to good people".

The problem is-- I don't think it IS an overreaction.

Because like I said -- they still argue about the 2020 election. And if the whole event at the Capitol on Jan. 6th, 2021, had actually been "successful" (as far as the cult is concerned) -- Let's pretend for a second that they'd "won".

Let's pretend that Pence had been killed. Or Pelosi. Or more of the Congress people, or more of the law enforcement. Or that it had been so bad that Trump's terrorists really had "overthrown the certifying of the election".

Let's just pretend THAT scenario.

Where would we have been from THAT point? Would there have BEEN a 2024 election?

That is the kind of state this country is in right now. That is the kind of people that have been in power at the top (and yes, there are ISSUES all throughout the political system, but trying to argue that the Dems are as bad as the GOP so I'm just not gonna vote at all is WHAT GOT US HERE!)

We cannot overhaul the entire election system overnight. It just isn't feasible.

But yeah.

The American people-- either because they're in a cult, or deep seated misogyny, or twisted religious faith, or prejudices, or twisted propaganda, or for WHATEVER reason--decided to put this madman in power.

Because TOO MANY (either through directly voting for him or deciding NOT TO VOTE AT ALL--or through those 'protest votes' that go nowhere), did not put their vote to Harris, which allowed this state to happen.

Because like I said, it was going to be Harris/Walz OR Trump/Vance in this last election.

No matter what your thoughts are on "we need more than two parties" or "lesser of two evils" or whatever other BS you wanna throw--

By not voting DIRECTLY for Harris/Walz as an American Voter, you allowed this, whether you meant to or not.

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So, let me get this straight, Book World.

Sunrise on the Reaping releases March 18, 2025.

I placed the pre-order for it waaaay back around its announcement (so far back I had to check the actual date that I placed the order)-- on June 8, 2024 (with Barnes & Noble at this time).

I placed the pre-order for the Target Edition on March 16, 2025 (because I might have been in bed that morning and impulse-bought but shhh).

Also, since I know most of the time, B&N preorders tend to take a little longer to get here as most times, they don't ship out until release day or right before it.

(For reference, according to my account, the book shipped out on March 14, 2025.)

I figured surely I'd have at least one of them in my hands by Friday, right? Saturday at the latest? If it came out TUESDAY?

It is Saturday, March 22, 2025.

I still DO NOT HAVE EITHER COPY!

And of course everywhere is sold out by now, because hey, it's a popular book (which is WHY I'd preordered in the FIRST place, dammit)!

The B&N preorder is apparently stuck in Tennessee somewhere but I should have the Target one by Monday/Tuesday, so there's that, but I mean...

WHY preorder a book if it's gonna take FOREVER to get to you?

(I get why on other levels, like I definitely preordered Onyx Storm but I also went to the midnight release for it because I HAD to get it that night, etc. I figured waiting "a few days" for Sunrise wouldn't be a big deal.)

I'm still annoyed, though.

I had to vent.

(Because I'm having to dodge spoilers left and right like a pro, and it's like, while there are some things you KNOW from Haymitch's story via Katniss's story, there's still plenty you DON'T and I swear if I have any part of Sunrise ruined for me I'll scream!)