Pet loss below the cut.
Cato was my cat. That's the long and short of it.
From the first night I had him when he curled up against my neck to fall asleep with me, to his final night when he curled up on my chest to try and comfort me, there is not a single day I've been home that I haven't had my kitten chow with me. He was my tiny shadow, always trotting along after me or singing at me from around the house with that long Siamese wail or bringing me scores of socks he hid god knows where (although once he brought me an entire umbrella instead, which he was understandably proud of). He was by my pillow every night cuddled up against my arm, and we fit together like two puzzle pieces, like that little crook in my arm was designed for him, for his exact shape and size. He was with me through my health issues, through high school and college, through moving states, through covid, through tears, through the loss of other pets. He was there as I really learned to write, and there is not a single chapter of TRT that was written without his presence for at least a section of it even if it meant I had to stop editing or writing for a bit and just stare at the words instead because he wanted to be held NOW. And he even managed to hold off the cancer just long enough to walk with me through mom's hospital stay and her return home. I was his person, and he was my soul cat, a piece of me.
I was so torn last night. He was clearly in pain, dehydrated, wobbly, confused and restless, and couldn't get to the litter box. It had been really clear this week the moment was coming, that the cancer was going to take him soon. I'd had this big plan, to have it all happen at home in peace. He hated the vet, hated the stress, but it happened so fast, and I just... knew he couldn't wait for the vet's office to open so she could come here. He'd chosen his time and it was now.
I held him at the emergency vet when they gave him the sedative. I managed to choke out that silly singing tone that always made him happy, as I called him every last nickname he knew: my Cato-wato kitten chow, my Cato kins, my little Mr. meow meow, my sweet happy baby kitty. I made sure all he could see with those big beautiful blue eyes of his was me, as I petted his soft little ears and scratched his neck just the way he liked. And he actually managed to purr for me. He purred as he slipped away and the lights went out, and it was the last sound I ever got to hear from him.
I already miss you so, so much, my sweet old kitty, my Cato kitten chow. I'm sorry it couldn't be at home. But thank you for purring for me. Thank you for spending your journey with me. Thank you for the love you gave me. Thank you for the big meows and the headbonks and perching on my shoulder to interrupt with a breaking news story of Meow Meow. Thank you for the stealing of hundreds of my socks over 16 years and the way you always wanted to sit on me regardless of convenience or your own comfort. Thank you for letting me scoop you up for head smoochies, guarding me from nightmares, and solemnly supervising over 150 chapters of TRT. My soul cat, my baby kitty, my lovebug. I will always love and miss you. And one day I'll see you again.
98 notes
·
View notes
No but all jokes aside, I really hope they do keep Maria dead. I've seen suggestions that she could somehow survive the ARK raid and be secretly alive the whole time and I just. I really hope they don't do that.
Because it's such a big part of Shadow's progression as a character. Yes, she's dead. She died at the hands of humans. She's a prime example of the needless cruelty they're capable of. And yet she didn't doubt her love for earth/humanity for a second, not even while she was bleeding out on the ARK's floor in front of her little brother. She was dying and she still asked him to protect humanity, to watch over the ones who took everything from him.
And even though she's dead and gone and he's never getting her back in any way, Shadow makes the conscious decision to protect the earth in the end. He finds it in himself to believe that humanity is worth it, despite having lived through the horrors it has to offer.
Idk, I feel it wouldn't hit as hard if we just found out that whoops, Maria was actually alive all along!
136 notes
·
View notes
I hold so much love to the people for whom trauma has seeped away their perspective of time - warping and distorting it to where one can't feel time passing. Everything is moving simultaneously too slow and too fast - everything is a blur, and the only constant is the Trauma/s or trauma/s. You aren't just "you" anymore, but you are you and your trauma, and together, for better or worse, you walk as one.
I hope you are well, dear reader. May you find peace between yourself and the things that have happened. May you be permitted to feel everything you feel, for nothing is wrong with how you feel. I hope you grant yourself the space to be, that you may be able to do that because it's hard.
145 notes
·
View notes
y'know what we don't talk about enough? Hazel died. We talk about how she grew up in the 30's and 40's and we talk about how out of place she feels in the modern world, but! She died! She was dead! She has spent more time dead than alive, and not by a close margin!
How does that effect a person??? We got some of it in the flashbacks, but once those caught up with her present timeline and she shared them, they just kind of... disappeared. And she was a regular girl with some weird past experiences. That's one way of doing it, sure!
I think it would have been a lot cooler if she was just a touch creepier. If she felt a little bit Wrong. Yeah, in general she's more approachable than her brother, she's more sociable and less closed off, but. If you actually spend any time with her, it can be difficult to tell which child of the underworld is actually more unsettling.
Hazel is bright of personality and has a dazzling smile, but sometimes she'll just... shut down. She'll go completely blank for like half an hour and nobody knows what to do with it. Sometimes she forgets she's alive. Sometimes she'll spout the grimmest shit you've ever heard like it's nothing, she won't even notice it's weird until the room goes quiet. She spent decades in Asphodel, which is designed to make people forget about themselves and wander around for eternity, only she didn't have the luxury of forgetting! Wild! After she comes back to life, sometimes she forgets that she's allowed to Do Stuff now. She can spend so long sitting and staring at nothing. Sometimes she'll start crying on cloudless days because it hits her again that she can actually feel the warmth of the sun on her skin and she can hear birdsong. Every little mundane experience is a blessing and she will make you remember that in the most foreboding way possible.
320 notes
·
View notes
Netflix cancelled Shadow and Bone and told us we'd never get a Six Of Crows Spin-Off, it's been two days and I still cannot believe it. I sobbed, got angry, tried repressing emotions, I honestly don't know how to get through this.
I am losing all my favourite characters and ships at once.
And for what.
We fought and trended so many times on twitter, we were #1 on the platform for like a week in many countries, what else do you want Netflix ? If this wasn't enough, then what would be ?
A great show like this, with good representation for poc, disabled people and LGBTQ+.
Those stories has helped me go through so much trauma that I cannot even begin to explain it. It has been what kept me alive for years, now. And to see them rip it off so emotionlessly makes me mad as much as it breaks my heart.
They don't even have the decency to contact the actors and writers, they all learned it through socials. This is how Netflix treats their employees and subscribers. So disgusting.
But again, we've been there again and again, I was there for Anne With An E, I was there for The Society, for Julie And The Phantoms, First Kill, Winx Fate, Lockwood & Co, Warrior Nun, only one of those fight lead to something. And I am tired.
79 notes
·
View notes