#made this it's own post so it's neater when searching the tag on my blog

[sarcastic-sketches]

Order 66 Aftermath

Context for the Kitsune!Anakin AU here and a direct continuation of this.

Order 66 has kicked off and the Jedi are in chaos, along with the rest of the Galaxy. Meanwhile, Padme has been pregnant with Luke and Leia for the past few months.

Despite the casual FWB relationship she had with Anakin - and the emphasis both of them put on being safe with the physical side of it - Force Fated Twins are gonna happen whether you like it or not. Whoops. Padme was not that worried about it when she found out and decided she would like to keep them, especially as they were with a friend she was still in regular contact with. She’s more than financially stable and has a good support network. Anakin was slightly more worried about it because he’s now got a thing for Rex he was intending to commit to after the war and this complicates matters but he’s gotta be upfront about it. Also, all those times he wondered about what it would be like having his own children come back full force.

Rex, however, has no prior expectations of relationships or the implications of having sex within said relationships so he has a complete non-reaction to the news other than how his General feels about it.

Rex: Is this Congratulations or Condolences sort of news? Anakin: Well that answers my next question. Anakin: I’m happy about it Rex: Oh, then Congratulations!

Padme still never goes to see a doctor (only had droids) because she’s worried the parentage would have become obvious. She’s picturing them randomly showing up with tiny little fox ears or tails on a scan and people to be like ‘hmm, wonder who that could have come from?’.

Which is something Obi-Wan picks up on when he comes back to Coruscant after everything and does the rounds to try and find out what the fuck happened. Only to encounter Padme who is still on Coruscant despite everything with a very confused R2. I think Obi-Wan probably knew about the pregnancy too because it genuinely was an accident despite both parties trying to be careful and Jedi having accidental kids cannot be unheard of. So, Obi-Wan’s less ‘I’m so sorry’ about the whole thing and more ‘how are you doing?’ before he then fucks off to find Anakin. Taking R2 with him.

He’s still gonna side-eye his former Padawan hard for why he didn’t just ask to bring Padme to the Temple for a check up. Any child of his would undoubtedly be force-sensitive.

Anakin: She said she was handling it!

Padme retreats to Naboo in preparation to have the babies because yikes the Republic just succumbed into an Empire.

Meanwhile, Anakin has been playing eeny meeny miny mo with which planet to hide out on since he’s travelling with a pack of vulnerable children when Obi-Wan finds him. Given the lack of Skywalker Twins to commandeer his attention in this universe, he teams up with Anakin who feels so much better that the kids now have a Jedi Master because holy shit. Playing with the younglings in the Creche is one thing, being the designated adult is very different. It’s nothing like being a General or a Teacher to Ahsoka..

I’m not actually sure where they go to be honest. Maybe Florrum so Obi-Wan can bully Hondo into keeping them safe because that sounds hysterical. Probably Tatooine though because it’s literally the last place Sidious would expect Anakin to run to and he doesn’t think Anakin would attempt a double bluff. Also Anakin wants to see his mother, sue him.

Owen and Beru are surprised to say the least when not one but two fully grown Jedi tumble out of the massive ship that’s just parked outside their farm. Then they see all the displaced children.

Owen: We are not keeping them all Beru: Not all of them.

She is absolutely going to be adopting at least one though and Owen cannot stop her. Especially not when she has Shmi as back up. Cliegg had died sometime after the events of AotC but Shmi had already grown to deeply care for Owen and by extension Beru so she stayed. They are delighted to hear that there is about to be a new baby Skywalker soon though.

Shmi: I hope you can bring them here. I’d like to see them. Anakin: Mother, of course! Shmi: I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandmother… Anakin: How do you think I feel?!

There’s probably a joke in there about Anakin at least having a reasonable expectation of children happening so it’s not too much of a shock. Compared to y’know, immaculate conception out of fucking nowhere. He is slightly mollified by this, but then they can both celebrate the fact that this child is about to be born free and he’s going to do his damnedest to keep it that way.

Anakin tries not to make it obvious that he's trying to find Rex and Ahsoka because he knows what Obi-Wan will say but he's not subtle and the kids are nosy and talk loud. But Obi-Wan is totally on board with locating them and trying to see if they can reverse Rex's conditioning if he's still alive. Anakin does not almost throw up at that.

They get lucky though when Ahsoka pings through their bond again and they manage to slice the last known coordinates of the Resolute. It's a tracking mission from there and all the younglings are very eager to help out and make it into a lesson of sorts. They are a little hesitant about looking for a clone after what they faced in the Temple but they are assured by Obi-Wan that they will be safe. They will try to save Rex if they can but he will not let any of them come to harm for his sake.

Anakin is… less sure. Sure he dealt with the clones from his 501st in the Temple before but this is Rex. His Rex.

Then again, if Rex tried to harm any of the kids, Anakin would know it was no longer him in there. And these are His Kids. In the end, Anakin never has to find out how he'd react because Rex finds them and saves them from Bounty Hunters.

I'm just picturing The Team stopping on some planet to pick up supplies and news. Anakin has taken some of the younglings with him into town because they're getting cabin fever and they're trying to be low key. Robes on, hoods up, no lightsabers, and keeping to the edges but Anakin is still highly recognisable (those tails are hard to hide and he still can’t shapeshift them out fully). They get the attention of prowling Bounty Hunters who have a list of unaccounted for Jedi and Anakin's trying to keep himself between them and the kids. Teeth and claws out. Only for a shot to come out of nowhere, nailing one of the Hunters and spooking the other into running. A clone comes out of the dark. A clone with blue painted Jaig Eyes on their helmet.

Rex had been on planet searching for rumours of escaped Jedi that he could then put in touch with Ahsoka, and was planning to steal the Bounty Hunters list. Until he saw who they had cornered. He's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth if the Galaxy just wants to hand him back his General. Who is alive.

Anakin just rips that helmet off and then there’s crying and a lot of kissing before they get back to the ship.

This of course then puts everyone back in contact with Ahsoka. There’s more crying. Everything has gone to hell in a handbasket but the crew is back together (minus Cody, I’m sorry lad, we’ll get you back) and they’re all doing OK. Plus, Anakin managed to save a fraction of the Jedi Order.

A call comes for them a few days later from Bail on the Tantive IV with a set of coordinates. Padme has gone into labour. Ahsoka leads the way immediately, since Anakin is about to be responsible for two more kids and hot damn does she wanna be there for that.

Padme has the babies - surprise twins! - and at first they both seem human, until one of them sneezes and suddenly there’s a different pair of ears on their head (if you’ve ever seen Wolf Children, yeah it’s like that). They are both also incredibly bright in the Force.

Then Padme is handing them off to Anakin.

She can't have two obviously force sensitive children with her on Naboo when it’s the homeplanet of the newly self-titled Galactic Emperor. Especially not Anakin's kids - the former target of said Galactic Emperor - with parentage that obvious. She, Bail, and Mon Mothma are about to build a Rebellion. He can stay with them at the base of operations they are establishing when not in the Senate and help if he wants or he can go into hiding with the twins. Plus, he's had a lot of experience with children because of all the time he spent in the creche. He’ll be fine.

He chooses to stay and help form a Rebellion. Him, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Rex, the little twins. Plus a dozen or so young Jedi.

Rex is suddenly a dad. He takes it rather well, even if he keeps referring to them as ‘tubies’.

#Kitsune!Anakin #rexwalker #Anakin Skywalker #Captain Rex #Padme Amidala #obi-wan kenobi #Ahsoka Tano #star wars #star wars writing #star wars au #sw au #can you tell this is my comfy time AU? #made this it's own post so it's neater when searching the tag on my blog #I have one more post written up for this AU and then it's just having fun with specific events in TCW but with Anakin as a Kitsune

[myhoneststudyblr]

I often get asked for tips on various aspects of creating a studyblr and then how to grow it! It can be really daunting before you start if you don’t know how to go about it or what to post - I remember really wanting to create one for months before I actually built up the courage to make one.

This post is hopefully going to make this easier for you and give you the tips you need to get the best out of your blog!

Disclaimer: this is quite long! i wanted to make it as detailed as possible and it kinda got away from me XD

What is a studyblr?

study + tumblr = studyblr

A studyblr is a tumblr blog that posts anything associated with studying.

These blogs are part of the ‘studyblr community’, which is an online community of students who share their love for studying, stationery and their current lessons and study tips.

Why should you create a studyblr?

There are honestly so many reasons why i think that studyblrs are an amazing thing and why i can’t see myself leaving this community any time soon! here are some of my personal experiences:

1. i want to study! i have always been a very conscientious student and i have always worked very hard but i’m going to be completely honest with you and say that a lot of the time, particularly as i’ve been getting older, it has been a real struggle to get the motivation to do work. since i’ve started my studyblr, i’ve noticed a real increase in my desire to work because i want to have new things to post and talk about. it acts as a sort of outside external motivator!

2. my studying has got more interesting! when i say this, i don't mean the content. i’ve learnt so many new techniques and ways to organise my work that each set of notes that i do is different and i don’t feel like i’m doing the same thing every day!

3. my notes and handwriting have got neater! if you follow me, you might have seen a post from me a while back where i talked about my insecurity about my handwriting because i was *always* the person with the messy handwriting™. unfortunately, i am a perfectionist and i really wanted to have neat handwriting and notes. so my studyblr - because i wanted my posts to look good - made me spend more time focusing on the appearance of my notes and forcing me to slow down (this had been my main problem). now i can see a huge difference and i’ve reached a place where, even though my handwriting will never be the perfect font-like handwriting, it is noticeably neater and more consistent and i now love my pretty and unique handwriting

4. incredible advice about everything studying related! no matter where you are from, or what you study, it is possible to find advice about something that is relevant to you! people in studyblr are going through or have gone through everything you have and they give incredible advice on some many different things, from college applications and how to study a certain subject, to book recommendations and notetaking tips. but there are also plenty of tips on lifestyle and self-care, which are invaluable. even if you can’t find a post that helps you, you can always send someone an ask or a message and they’ll always try to help you out!

5. my mental health has got better and the community has helped me through so tough times! being a student today is hard and keeping your mental health in a good place can seem even harder. but i personally have found the studyblr community really helpful with this because i don’t feel so i alone. i know that there are so many mutuals and blogs that i follow that are going through similar things and i know i could always reach out to them for anything. i’ve also become less hard on myself and give myself significantly less impossible goals since i started studyblr

6. you will meet some incredible people. this was something that i wasn’t really expecting because when i started my blog i thought i would get 100 followers *max*. instead, i have been completely embraced by the community and have had some amazing conversations with people i know genuinely consider to be my friends. it is so easy to meet like-minded people who just want to support each other!

these are just the most important benefits that I've experienced with my own studyblr journey and there are so many more!!!

The 5 Basic First Steps

1. create a blog

if you are seeing this post i assume that you already have a blog! maybe you don't but luckily for you its very easy to create one. the main think you need to think about is whether you want to create a primary or secondary blog! you can find the differences between these here!

2. choose a URL/blog name

your username can be pretty much anything and can be a good way to show your personality, your likes or dislikes, or your goal for your studyblr! you can get really creative with your username and though most are, it doesn't have to be study/studyblr related.

here’s are some ideas that you could use when coming up with a username:

Your name or nickname

Favourite subject or your degree

Your dream job

Role models or fictional characters

Stationery

Brand names

Study utilities

Your favourite study snacks

COFFEE (this is very popular with many studyblrs... i wonder why?)

Your favourite animal

Basically, it can be anything! and don’t worry, if you decide later that you don’t like the name or you come up with soemthing better, you can always change it

3. choose a theme

this can seem like a very daunting task if you are completely new to tumblr but don’t worry! there are plenty of options and you can play around with this until you get what you want!

mobile theme: this is usually just changing the colours to fit with what you like and the mood of your blog

desktop theme: this is where it gets interesting! your desktop blog usually looks much more unique compared to mobile and you can add various different pages and really get it to look professional. there are so many different incredible themes that you can find that are free to use and can be customised slightly to fit your blog (there are also paid themes). you can also make your own theme (but i know nothing about this so i can’t really offer advice for that!)

4. find an avatar/icon

i personally think icons are really important because they can often be how people begin to recognise your blog when they see it on their dashboard and it can be a glimpse into what people expect

you can just use a normal picture for this: for example of your notes or something that relates to your URL or blog (eg a coffee cup)

however, you can also make your own from scratch! you can create your own icon using applications like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Canva or Word/Pages. i personally used canva to make my icon (as well as all my banners for posts) and it is really easy to use and best of all is free! there are also people who have made icons for you to use (as long as you give credit) or will make them for you (sometimes for a small fee)

5. find some studyblrs to follow

this is probably the easiest step! if you know about studyblr, you probably already know a few blogs! just go through their blogs and see who they reblog or you can search through the #studyblr tag. i am also always happy to give recommendations of my favourites blogs (of which there are too many to count) or can try to recommend blogs that i know who study the same thing as you/are at the same level of study or are from the same country

Introduction Posts

i am a big believer in studyblr introduction posts! i think they are the best way to meet people when you are just starting and are the way that you get people to notice and interact with your blog.

what should you put in a studyblr introduction post?

your name or a nickname so people know what to call you

your pronouns

where you are from

your age

what you study

what level of study are you at (high school, uni etc.)

your hobbies and passions

why you made your studyblrs

what your goals are

tag some of your studyblr inspirations! (this is quite important because they will probably reblog the post and more people can discover your blog

these are just some suggestions and you don't have to include all of them if you are comfortable with sharing certain things!

if you want some examples of these posts, have a look through the #studyblr introduction tag! on my blog you can find that here!

What to Post

the beauty of studyblr is that you can pretty much post whatever you want and you will find a place in the community!

i love reblogging posts that come on my dashboard that i love or stuff from my mutuals! however, it is also really important to post your own original content because this allows people to get to know you and is probably the best way to grow your blog!

here are some ideas for what to post:

pictures of your notes

pictures of your current book

pictures of your annotations

pictures of your desk/study space

pictures of your food/ study snack

pictures of your drink/coffee

pictures of your favourite cafe

pictures of nature

pictures of your handwriting

text posts about something funny that happened in school/class/uni/your life

text posts about what is going on in your life

text posts about what is on your mind

texts posts where you share your journey completing a particular goal

text posts where you share your plan for the day

study guides

advice posts

self-care and lifestyle tips

essentially, it is whatever you want and whatever works for you!

When to Post

you should post whenever works for you! i know for a lot of people (myself included) most of the time you do not have time to post every day because that is a big commitment and that is absolutely ok!

when i first started, i thought that i had to post every day and it was a lot fo pressure! it was basically impossible to keep up because not only was it taking up a decent amount of my evening editing and posting my notes but also i didn't actually have enough material available to post! a studyblr should never get in the way of your schoolwork so try to fit it around this! post when you have time!

if you do want to have a more consistent posting schedule, there is a feature that allows you to schedule posts! so, say you have a bunch of free time on the weekend, you could schedule all the posts for the week ahead of time!

i would also recommend building up a queue for reblogs because this means that you again have some consistency in posts and you have new stuff quite regularly! (i personally always have a huge queue)

How to Grow Your Studyblr

the main thing i want to stay is that you should not be too worried about how many followers you have or how many notes your posts get because it really is unpredictable! i’ve had posts that have got crazy amounts of notes and i literally expected them to get hardly any and vice versa! i have no idea how the tumblr algorithm works so you just have to try and post for yourself!

that said, i know that it is really nice to have people interact and appreciate your posts so here are 3 quick tips:

use popular studyblr tags. these include #studyblr, #notes, #studyspo. you could also tag the stationery that you used, what subject it is and what level you at are (eg #high school or #uni)

tag other studyblrs. many studyblrs track certain tags and if you want them to see what you've posted and they will often reblog your post! i personally track the tag #myhoneststudyblr. you can find a post i made a while ago with some studyblr’s and their tags here! (note: this may be slightly out of date)

try and have a relatively consistent ‘look’ to your posts. you don’t have to follow a specific aesthetic but having some consistency in your posts can help people recognise your stuff. i personally keep my pictures of my notes very clutter-free (often just the notes and the pen i used) and bright. however, you can definitely switch things up if you want!

How to Get Involved in the Community

There are so many different ways that you can do this! Here are some of the best ways in my opinion!

send asks and messages to people!

i highly recommend sending asks to people, for example, if they reblog an ask game post or even just asking for some advice because they will start to recognise you as someone who is engaged with their blog and you could also learn something new about one of your favourite studyblrs!

messages are also a great, slightly more personal, way to interact with people. it can be as simple as messaging people to tell them you love their blog, or again asking them for some advice. if they do a post about a test or exam that they have coming up, you could even message them good luck or ask how it went. i have had some amazing conversations with people through messages and it is a great way to meet new people

just a reminder: always be respectful and polite in messages and asks to ensure that the community remains positive

reblog posts with a comment on their posts!

(or just add a comment, although this could be confusing if your studyblr is a side blog so just be warned)

this is a really nice way to let people know you’ve seen their post and it is always nice to give feedback. a comment can be as simple as: i love your handwriting! or good luck in that test! but that simple message reaching out it so nice to get! also, reblogging is really helpful to blogs because it means more people see the post

join a challenge!

ok, so i’ve had this blog for about a year and a half now and i had a pretty decent amount of followers (which i seriously do not understand XD) but i never got the same amount of interaction and involvement in the studyblr community until i created my #2020 quarantine challenge (click here if you wanna find out about this). i would get reblogs and likes on posts but i don’t think that i used to get nearly as much interaction with my posts with people leaving comments and stuff. furthermore, although i had blogs where we were technically mutuals, i didn’t really have mutuals like i do know where we actively keep in touch and check out each other’s posts all the time and stuff and that is honestly the nicest thing

challenges mean that you are most likely posting every day (or at the very least pretty regularly if you cannot manage every day) and this is good because you post lots of new content for people to discover. another great thing is that there is usually a tag that you can search for and scroll through and find others who are doing the challenge alongside you. the person who created the challenge also probably checks the tag out every few days and reblogs the posts

for these reasons, i cannot highlight how amazing challenges are for interaction and getting involved in the community!

The Golden Rule of Studyblr

🚨 ALWAYS BE POLITE AND FRIENDLY 🚨

probably my favourite thing about the studyblr community - and i know many others share this opinion - is that is such a friendly and welcoming place. it of course has its problems but this is a place whose ultimate aim is to support each other through our studying journeys! we are all here because we wanted to find likeminded people who we can make friends with and share our lives! therefore it is really important that we always try and lift each other up because you never know what someone is going through

Summary

there are lots of benefits to starting a studyblr so you definitely should!

it’s good to make your blog look nice and clean!

studyblr introductions are very important to start your blog off!

post what you like when you like!

tagging can be a great way to grow your blog!

don't focus too much on the number of notes you get or how many followers you have!

send asks and messaging, reblogging and commenting on other people’s posts and joining challenges are all great ways to get involved in the community!

we are all here to support one another so always be polite and friendly!

Other Resources

From Me

here is an answer to an ask i received about starting a studyblr (here is another one)

here is an answer to an ask i received about editing photos

From others

A Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Studyblr by @eintsein​

12 Step Guide to Starting and Running a Studyblr by @emmastudies​

How to Start a Studyblr by @caffeineandcoding​

Advice for New Studyblrs by @studyquill​

Starting a Studygram by @studyrellablr​ (many of the tips are the same for studyblr)

I hope this was helpful to any new studyblrs and even existing ones! As always i am always happy to answer asks and messages about and give any advice! If anyone else has any tips or tricks, please add them below!!!

#studyblr #how to start a studyblr #studyblr community #ref #my post #my advice #me #sophie speaks #my notes #advice #new studyblr #tips #heypat #heyreva #heyharri #adelinestudiess #heyfox #problematicprocrastinator #studyvan #eintsein #einstetic #studyspo #sonderstudy #heyemmie #heycazz #intellectys #elleandhermione #studylustre #philologystudies #looksierra

[echoes-of-realities]

How do you get tumblr followers,,, I feel like my page is v useless

Honestly man I don’t even know. I’ve mostly been stumbling through my Tumblr existence lol. I’ve only really had a decent amount of followers since creating this blog, but from 2012-2018 I never got over 50 followers. I just checked how many followers there is now and it’s gained 3 followers since I abandoned it, all of them pornbots lmao. I never posted original content (apart from some Old art LOL) on it, and I also Never interacted with anyone outside of some irl friends.

But here’s some of the things I’ve learned in the past year: 

Have a pretty consistent posting schedule. Even if you don’t post original content and it’s just reblogs, a consistent posting schedule helps, at least from what I’ve personally noticed. I started using a queue basically right from the beginning of this blog and—even when I wasn’t posting my writing—I very quickly surpassed my old blog in terms of followers. I always reblogged pretty inconsistently on my old blog, to the point that I would reblog like seven things in one day and then go a month without reblogging anything. So I dunno, between the two blogs it’s just been my experience that consistently posting/reblogging seems to really help.

Similar to this, if you do post original content don’t be afraid to promote yourself!!! Reblog your own stuff!!! Promote yourself because you can’t guarantee that any one else will; you have to be your own marketing department as a creator. This really puts it in perspective on how important self-promotion is (I dunno why but the formatting is kind of messed up on desktop, so try viewing it on mobile maybe). But it took awhile before I felt comfortable reblogging my own stuff, 

I feel like this might be more of a personal preference, but imo tagging helps too! Especially if you’re posting original content!! I actually don’t know if this is still the case, but for a Long while Tumblr would (and might still?) only recognize the first five tags of a post during searches. So if you’re trying to get your original content to a wider audience, be really smart about those first five tags because they’re really the only ones that matter/show up in searches. And even if you don’t post original content, tagging is important imo. I personally follow more people who tag things than those who don’t, both because it makes a blog neater imo (and it’s easier to blacklist certain things without having to unfollow someone) and because I like reading what people have to say about stuff.

This is something that I’m not necessarily good at because I’m an Anxious person lol, but talking to people is also helpful. I’m kind of the type of person who won’t send a message first if I don’t know someone; on my old blog, I Never messaged or spoke to anyone and really kept to myself—I actually sent my Very First ask only after creating this blog. The friends I’ve made on Tumblr are all because one person messaged me and we started talking and I made friends through them. But friends, especially if they’re in the same fandom, are really good at hyping you up. I’ve seen a couple fandoms where friends will all share someone’s post (and generally Hype Them Up in the tags lol) and really generate some traction for them, both in terms of notes and followers. It’s essentially networking, but with people you genuinely like lol.

Even if you don’t post original content these things still help imo, I still gained followers even when I was on a hiatus from writing when school got crazy busy. Honestly I have no real clue the best way to gain followers except to mostly be patient. I’m still surprised by how many people actually follow me, even if it’s a tiny amount compared to some of the Popular blogs. And imo quality is better than quantity; having only a tiny amount of followers doesn’t mean your blog is useless at all!!

I feel like a lot of fandom in general, whether it’s fic or art or Tumblr blogs, goes by this idea that your worth is based on how many notes you get or how many followers you have, when that’s just not true. There’s a lot of Big Popular blogs that have thousands of followers but poor content (I’m thinking mostly of blogs that steal content/jokes), and there’s lots of small blogs that post really really amazing art or fic that don’t get many notes or have many followers. A really good example is fics; I’ve read fics that are basically fandom-wide recommended with thousands of comments or faves or whatever that I didn’t enjoy At All, and I’ve read little known fics fics that have almost no comments/faves but are incredibly well-written and well-characterized.

And I think Tumblr is a lot like that; there’s Big Popular blogs who get hundreds of notes a day for poor content, and there’s smaller blogs who barely get seen even if they have good content. And I totally get that it feels like you’re doing nothing or no one is noticing you if you’re in the latter situation because I’ve been there for most of my time on Tumblr, but you just have to take a step back and realize that the value of your blog isn’t based on how many followers you have or how many notes you get, which is definitely 100% easier said than done.

Anyways tl;dr, this is in no way a comprehensive “get popular” list lol. In my own experience, gaining followers is mostly about consistency, patience, and a whole lot of luck.

#ask #anon #I don't even know what to tag this as #tumblr advice #I guess? #I'm probably the last person you should take tumblr advice from tbh lmao #I've been stumbling through this site since I was 15 and it was still 2012 Tumblr™

[ravens-crimecollection]

The Croydon Cat Killer

A/N: Now this lovely piece of work here is probably my fifth attempt. Tumble deleted my first draft and its neater version. Then Microsoft crashed on me and took another report which I had re-written twice. Needless to say this report is actually killing me.

 Trigger Warnings: Now as you could probably tell from the title this report focuses on the death of animals. What this guy has done to his targets is pretty gruesome in all aspects. I’ve tried to include in the tags all trigger warnings involving animal harm and death, however, if you want any other warnings included please contact me as soon as possible. I understand that whilst there may be some aspects of true crime that you are ok with, there are others that may trigger you.

 So now, lets be on with the strange and unusual case of the animal killer known as:

 The Croydon Cat Killer.

It was Easter 2017 when I first heard about the Croydon cat killer.

 I was back home from university for the holidays along with all my siblings so the house had been chaotic to say the least. I ended up retreating to my phone when the Twins began fighting again, unwilling to deal with their bickering so soon.

 I know, terrible elder sibling - but they argue all the time.

 Anyway, it was whilst I was on Facebook that I first mention of the Croydon Cat Killer.

 Again, I know what you’re thinking.

 “Raven, a Facebook post? Those things are usually full of shit.”

 And yes I do realise this, however this friend was trustworthy, factual, someone not likely to share fake posts seeking to incite panic.

 Also it was a link to a report written by a reputable newspaper.

 No not the Daily Mail

 Anyway, it was from this report that birthed my interest in the case, in is sheer absurdity and the audacity of the Cat Killer.

 And its really what began this blog, on the stranger lesser known crimes around the world, for this is undoubtedly an unknown case by many, but those who do know of it all share the same fear.

 That one day this Cat Killer will turn his attention to Humans.

  The Initial Suspicion:

 The rise in Cat mutilations and deaths was first noticed by Co-Founders Tony Jenkins and Boudicca Rising of the South Norwood Animal Rescue Liberty Charity, or SNARL for short.

 (Remember them, they’ll come up a lot.)

 More and more calls were coming in from the South London areas concerning strange cat deaths which often shared the same characteristics.

 FINAL WARNING FOR DETAILS OF ANIMAL DEATH

 These cats, discovered in increasing numbers in the South London areas, were mostly found in public areas.

 Public streets, high traffic grassy areas, and a few times in people’s own gardens, and even on the front steps of their owners’ homes. A most notable case was when a cats paw was left on her owners front step.

 These cats were found without their heads and tails, and later other body parts, but alarmingly there was often an absence of blood at the scenes, and any blood found was minimal and congealed. They were often laid out, displayed.

 Later forensic tests done by forensic specialists and veterinarians would show bruising consisted with death by bludgeoning. It is believed by many that the decapitation and mutilation occurred afterwards, though some disagree.

 Most shockingly however, was the fact that several of these cats were found with raw chicken in their stomachs, obviously eaten a little while before their deaths. The owners were insistent that none of them fed their cats anything of the sort before hand.

 A clear sign of luring? Of malicious intent?

 At the time of the initial reports however only the mutilation was known about, and the rising numbers of reports and the way the bodies appeared immediately raised suspicion in Boudicca and Tony. They began collecting reports, and even brought the bodies personally to their vets and third party vets to understand what could have occurred.

 They also began to heavily petition the police for investigation.

 With the families and SNARL working together to raise awareness about the Cat Killer, even reporting the incidents on Facebook, the case soon garnered attention across the country.

 Pets are undoubtedly important members of families. Any sane human being that owns a pet loves them unconditionally.

 Not one of you who own a pet can deny use of the baby voice when talking to whatever animal you own. I once watched a friend coo over their pet snake whilst rubbing its head.

 Pet owners are a weird lot, but our pets are our family, and unfortunately vulnerable members of our family at that.

 Animals have their advantages against humans. But smaller ones like cats, especially those trusting of humans, are always at risk of cruelty and harm.

 Serial killers, and I will count this man as a serial killer of a kind for ease despite the fact his victims are only animals, have always been cowardly by nature. They have always gone for the easier targets, ones that won’t cause too much trouble, too frightened or scared to attack a man or woman that could beat them. They relied on tricks, the good nature of others, and the fact their targets were often smaller and less confrontational than them. Blitzing them, or surprising them so they were incapable of fighting back.

 It is probably why the Croydon Cat Killer selected cats as their main targets. Much smaller than most dogs, less able to fight back, an easier target.

 It is his targets that also brought out such an outrage as well, and led to the quick creation of Operation Takahe.

 Operation Takahe:

 The investigation into the Croydon Cat Killer began almost astonishingly quickly considering the victims were cats, but the sheer number of animals beginning to be attributed to this Cat Killer, in the hundreds already, the mutilation that occurred and the attention the case was receiving meant the Police were quick to establish an investigation.

 This investigation was codenamed Operation Takahe. Boudicca and Tony’s initial suspicions about the reports began in January 2015, and by the summer of the same year Police investigation was already underway.

 The Investigation would last three years, until the August of 2018, and in that time multiple facts became known about the Cat Killer.

 1.       The fact the cats were bludgeoned to death and several were fed raw chicken shortly before death became known through forensic testing and study.

2.       It was shown, and is mostly believed, that the decapitation of the head and tail occurred after death.

3.       The initial victim, the apparent first cat killed by the cat killer, was discovered. It is still believed, though with some uncertainty, that a cat killed in Croydon in early 2014 was one of the killers first victims, maybe even the first. This and the fact he worked mostly in the South of London gave him the name the Croydon Cat killer.

4.       The cats missing body parts mostly remained missing, but horrifyingly a few were returned in other areas  at a later date. Causing the owners further distress to say the least.

 Later facts would show just how expansive the killers range was.

 5.       Reports of similar mutilations began to come in from as far south as the Isle of Wight and possibly as far North as Brighton. Many attacks seem to occur in areas near a motorway known as the M25, a road which circles London and connects the city to other major roads leading out all over the country. This lead him to be known by a new name – The M25 (Cat) Killer.

6.       Foxes and rabbits were also starting to be discovered, in the same conditions as the cats killed previously. This lead SNARL and others to refer to the killer as the UK Animal Killer.

7.       The kills were also shown to happen in under-surveilled rural areas, and urban areas with little traffic.

 Whilst this all occurred the case garnered more and more attention, the Cat killer became a mystery figure. Profiles of the killer were made, and descriptions of his appearance.

 He was described as a white male in his 40’s, with short brown hair, dark clothing, and acne scaring on his face based on sparse witness reports as he was never caught on camera. They also declared he could be wearing a headlamp.

 His personality profile was as such:

 1. He often travelled, possibly for work.

 2. It was eventually believed he lived in Addiscombe, considering the amount of attacks occurring there.

 3. Profilers and psychologists also theorised his hated for cats in particular could have stemmed from a hated or fear of women, and the mutilation of the animals after, and the distinct need to leave these animals in the open and for their owners to find, was for sexual gratification.

  Celebrities and politicians alike were drawn to the case, tweeting descriptions and drawing attention to the case in hopes of an arrest.

 All the information together seemed to present the idea of a prolific sadist, a human one.

 A suspect was arrested but released.

 A man who was on the sexual offenders list for raping an older woman had his home searched.

 Which is why it is so shocking that in September 2018, the Police shut down Project Takahe with news that the killer had been found.

 The common Fox.

  The End?

 Police revealed that they had seen a few images of foxes carrying the missing cat parts away from scenes. They also found fox DNA on the corpses as well.

Stephen Harris, a retired professor of environmental sciences at the University of Bristol who had studied fox behaviour for fifty years, asserted that there was no killer.

 He asserted the lack of blood or its congealing, as well as the lack of heads and tails, and other body parts was absolutely due to car collisions. Other say it was a moral panic.

 He does not go on to explain how the cars could have put a cat paw print on their owners front porch.

 He also explains that foxes commonly chew of the head and tails of their prey as well. Nd yes he was called in on a case prior involving the death of cats in the late 1990’s in London, and confirmed they were Foxes.

 SNARL and many other could only react in disbelief. I myself included.

 Cats laid out, obviously dissected, and they call it the work of cars and foxes.

 Cats in accidents leave massive amounts of blood in the road, of which I have been unfortunate witness to, and the foxes scavenger nature (especially London) which could easily explain why foxes were seen with cat parts.

 This theory leaves many things unexplained:

 1.       The display of the animals in open areas, the repeat of pattern, the openness these cats were found in.

 2.       The sudden increase of cat death as a whole, enough to make those who recorded such things suspicious.

 3.       The animal parts returning at a later date, especially the paw that appeared on their owner’s door step.

 There is also the fact that shortly before the closing down of the investigation a man was arrested for arson AND cat mutilation and gave up his fellows as well, claiming there was still someone who was out there committing crimes.

 It is the opinion of many that this is a vast oversight by police, nearly negligent in fact.

 I myself have, as you do, spoken with several of my friends on this topic. Some who work in civil service and are of the heavy opinion that this closing of the investigation was due to budgeting by the higher ups who probably withdrew funds due to the cases length and the victimology.

 Many believe that this may be another group, a single man with possible copy-cats, or simply one man.

 Very few appear to believe it is a fox.

 The believe not looking to catch this killer now is a grave mistake, and not just for animals.

 Because there is one main worry that still persists amongst people who worked on or who have looked into this case.

 That this man, whomever he is, will one day turn his attentions to people.

 Animal killing and mutilation are a precursor to killers after all, most notably serial killers.

 But here’s hoping it’s a fox, I hate to think what would happen otherwise.

 And please, have a lovely night.

#tw: animal death #tw: animal abuse #tw: animal cruelty #tw: animal injury #tw: rape #True Crime #Croydon Cat Killer #M25 Killer #UK Animal Killer #The Strange case of