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destiniesfic · 3 years

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132 Hours, Chapter 9

“Don’t kill Cardan.”

The Bomb cocks her head to the side. “I thought you didn’t like him.”

“I… don’t.”

Read chapter 9 on AO3, or read below:

The Bomb returns sometime later with a liter bottle of spring water and Tylenol. “Prescription strength,” she tells me, dispensing two pills into my open palm. “Good stuff.”

“Whose prescription?” I croak, sitting up. It feels like every ounce of liquid in me is squeezing itself out as sweat or something else. Masturbating only helps so much—the only thing that abates the worst heat symptoms is mating with an alpha. And since that’s not happening, it’ll just have to run its course.

Oblivious to my true suffering, she winks at me.

I throw the Tylenol back and wash them down with a swallow of cool water, then keep drinking. My mouth has grown so dry. But I wrench the bottle away from my mouth and say “Leave it” when the Bomb moves to take the pills back.

She gives me a look. “I’ll be back to give you more later, but I’m not leaving this with you. For all I know, you’d shut down your liver to make us take you to the hospital.”

I blink at her, wretchedly aware of the heat of my skin where my eyelids press together. I hadn’t even thought of that.

“Crap,” she says, fumbling in the plastic bag. “I should have taken your temperature first. Hold on, maybe we can still get it before the meds kick in.” She clicks her tongue. “Chemistry I like fine, drugs, sure—but nursing isn’t my area.”

“What is your area?” I ask. I don’t really feel like talking to anyone, but my curiosity is strong enough that I push through it. Anything to learn more about the people who’ve taken us.

The Bomb holds up her prize, a thermometer still in its plastic packaging, and grins at me. “I like blowing stuff up. I dabble in hacking. Basically, if there’s a wall, I want to bring it down.”

I shift in my blankets. It’s an endearing answer, but I worry that any positive feelings toward our kidnappers is budding Stockholm Syndrome. “This must be a boring job for you.”

“It was supposed to be, yeah.” She wrestles the thermometer out of the plastic and hands it to me. “You have a way of keeping things interesting. And Cardan’s a riot. I hope we don’t have to kill him.”

The beep of the thermometer turning on immediately after that statement makes me jump. “You said you wouldn’t,” I protest. “You said you’d take care of us.”

“I know. Our employer’s anxious about how much you’ve both seen and heard. But we can’t kill you, so there isn’t much of a point to getting rid of him. And between you and me, the Roach is very fond of him.”

“So—”

“Stick that thing in your mouth,” she says. “We don’t have all day.”

I glare but stick the cold tip of the thermometer under my tongue and wait for it to start beeping again.

The Bomb leans over, reading the lit-up display—red, already a bad sign. “One hundred point nine,” she announces. “No wonder you’re miserable.”

“No real danger though,” I sigh, pulling it out of my mouth and giving it a little shake. Would they really take me to the hospital if my condition deteriorated? Maybe I should consider trying to dehydrate myself. That’s the real danger of going through heat without a partner. I could do it, I think. “Forget” to drink, drive the fever higher. But our current circumstances are already precarious, and there are a million ways this might end badly for me. The headache is pulsing stronger over my left eye already, and the last thing I need is a full-blown migraine. I take a sip of water and silently will the Tylenol to kick in faster.

“We’ll keep an eye on you,” she affirms.

I wipe my hand on the back of my mouth, already feeling a little more like a person instead of a sweaty blob of hormones. “Don’t kill Cardan.”

The Bomb cocks her head to the side. “I thought you didn’t like him.”

“I… don’t.” I cap the bottle, looking down at my hands. My cheeks are hot again, which at least means some blood in my body has decided to circulate instead of pooling in my groin. “But I don’t think he deserves to die. He didn’t do anything.”

“Hmm,” says the Bomb, mulling it over.

I jerk my head up, but she’s smiling at me. Teasing. I flush again. “I’m just saying. I don’t see you guys as killers, anyway.”

Her voice has a dangerous edge to it when she asks, “You don’t?”

I shake my head to clear it. I may be sick, but I can’t allow myself to forget where I am and who I am with. The Ghost shot me already, and it’s easier than I’d like to imagine the Roach’s twisted features contorting further as he plunges a knife into someone’s back. “Maybe just you?” I offer.

“Well, you’re not far off. Murder is a messy business. I prefer to set the charges and wait at a safe distance. But we all do what we have to.” She shifts, and I must look worried, because she adds, “He’s probably going to be fine.”

“Probably,” I echo, and then sigh. “His family’s even more messed up than mine.”

“Well, your dad is Madoc.”

“My parents are dead,” I say.

“Oh,” says the Bomb. But no apology, no condolences. I kind of appreciate that. I learned a long time ago that no amount of apologies would bring my mom and dad back.

“And my sister—never mind.” I shake my head. I really must be addled if I’m spilling my guts to a stranger. Is this Stockholm Syndrome? Is this how it starts? “At least she’s not trying to kill me.”

“It’s another level of family drama,” she agrees. “The Kardashians have nothing on the Greenbriars.”

I try to work out why I feel comfortable around the Bomb. I think her frankness reminds me a bit of Vivi. She never bought into the pretensions of our new life—she wanted out as soon as she was in. And she talks about it like she really is outside of it. The Bomb is like that. She says what she means. She isn’t bowled over by anything.

“How can you do it?” I ask. “How can you do this kind of work for them? Is it really just the money?”

The Bomb blinks at me, her eyes large and luminous in the dark. Her brows draw together, and she looks past me. I seem to have struck a nerve, and for a moment I think she isn’t going to answer my question. Then, at last, she says, “It isn’t just that. The Roach and I—we owe them a lot. I think if… we might not be alive now, if not for what they did.”

“That’s worth kidnapping for? Maybe killing for?”

She looks back down at me. “I know you’ve had shit happen, Jude. I’m not interested in a competition there. But I think Madoc’s kept you from a lot of bad stuff, given you options. Some of us aren’t so lucky.”

“I know that,” I protest. How many Designation Equality Club meetings had Taryn and I attended in our time? Vivi was president for a little while, I think to spite Madoc. “I know it’s not all mansions and parties. And you know, bad stuff can happen in parties and mansions too.”

“Sure. We are the bad stuff.” She flashes me a grin, then says, “Just think about what could have happened if Madoc hadn’t been there to catch you guys. Where you might have ended up. What you might have done to get out of it.”

My stomach twists. I have, of course, thought about that, but it’s an alternate universe that I can’t look directly at, like a solar eclipse. It’s easier to think about two branching possibilities: parents alive, or parents dead with Madoc intervention. Thinking about Madoc never showing, about Taryn and Vivi and I getting put in foster care, maybe separated… it’s so dim and distant.

“I’m not interested in a competition either,” I tell her. “I mean, I am judging you a little for kidnapping us. I will judge you harder if you kill Cardan.”

“No one’s going to kill Cardan,” the Bomb says, patting my shoulder. “You should lie back down. I’m surprised you’ve been upright this long.”

I scowl, but my head is already beginning to feel swimmy, so I settle back into my blankets. “I’m really stubborn.”

“I got that.” The Bomb gathers up her things, but leaves the water bottle within reach. I am grateful.

Just before she can put her hand on the doorknob, I call softly, “If you kill Cardan, I’ll kill you.”

She looks back over her shoulder at me, looking oddly fond. Maybe a gang of kidnappers and thieves respects threats. “Yeah,” she says. “I got that one, too.”

---

Cardan somehow manages to con his way into spending a lot of time outside of the cell. I am not sure how long, because I am curled up toward the wall and barely notice the light from the window wax and wane. But as the day passes his scent starts to go stale and sour, and I pick my head up every time someone opens the door.

It’s always the Bomb, returning to give me more Tylenol or hand me fresh fruit—not fast food, therefore a luxury. It occurs to me then that they kept buying us stuff from a drive-thru or grocery store because they didn’t think they would have us for long and didn’t bother stocking up. But someone must have thought to buy one a bag of mandarins this time, because I am given a couple to nibble on after each dose.

“Boosts the immune system,” the Bomb says when she drops off the first one. She seems in a good mood, probably because the medication has managed to wrestle my fever down to a balmy ninety-nine. Achy and hollow, I just give her a nod. My hands shake when I peel it, but I can peel it, and I’m grateful for that. I have been so humiliated already, and I can probably take more, but I don’t want to.

I slip into a weird daze for the second half of the day. Even though the fever is gone and my cramps are easier to bear, I find myself cursing Cardan’s name. I am pretty sure his presence made my heat worse—just the presence of an alpha, a desirable one, has convinced my body that there’s a chance I might mate, so it’s punishing me worse for abstaining. The longer he’s gone, the more clearheaded I feel, to the extent that my head can clear. And I am angry, at him for intensifying my misery, and at myself, for being like this in the first place.

By the time he returns, any trace of sunlight is gone. He walks slowly, shuffling behind the Bomb. Even as she talks to me and I nod along, sticking the thermometer in my mouth, my eyes track his progress as he settles in his corner.

His hair is damp, his scent shot through with the floral soap from the bathroom. He showered before coming in. I am unreasonably jealous of him. My hair is plastered to the back of my neck with sweat, and my thighs are basically stuck together with dried—anyway, I haven’t left the room all day, not even to pee. I feel like a damp towel someone wrung out and left to dry over the side of a sink.

After I’ve taken the Tylenol, the Bomb hands me a paper napkin with two more pills folded in it. “In case you wake up in the middle of the night,” she explains.

“It’s night?” I ask.

“We sleep in shifts. If there’s an emergency, have Cardan pound on the door.”

“Why me?” Cardan asks. He’s assumed his usual posture, with his leg propped up and his arm balanced casually on his knee. I wonder if the Bomb notices the rigidity in his shoulders, the tension in the line of his mouth. I do.

“I don’t think Jude’s going anywhere anytime soon.”

I sniff derisively, which is a bad move, because I get a fresh whiff of Cardan and am forced to bury my face in my pillow to smother a whimper.

“Point taken,” Cardan says. “Night. Thanks…” I imagine the rest of his sentence curling up and dying at the novelty of him thanking anybody for anything, but he manages to continue. “Thanks for taking care of her.”

The Bomb dusts off her knees as she stands up. “No problem. If she dies, we’re extraordinarily screwed.”

“I know. Still.”

She nods, then leaves. This time, I hear her lock the door behind her. Cardan and I are once again stuck together, alone.

I turn over and curl toward the wall again so I don’t stare. It’s not like heat gives you night vision, but for a couple of seconds he seemed to be a crisp outline in the near darkness of our cell. I don’t want to be tempted. I don’t.

“How, uh.” Cardan clears his throat and tries again, awkwardly. “How was your day?”

“Sucked,” I mutter.

“Yeah.”

“Yours?”

“Sucked less, probably.” He pauses. “But still sucked. I, um, I wanted to check on you.”

“It’s okay.” I shift my head. There’s a twinge in my abdomen, but at least it’s not another full cramp. “Did you learn any neat card tricks?”

“Yeah, actually. The Roach says I’m a fast learner.”

“High praise from a career criminal.”

Cardan chuckles, and my heart jumps. I made him laugh. I don’t know why that affects me the way it does. It must be the heat, another weird side effect. “I should’ve brought the deck in. To show you.”

“If we get through this, you can show me another time.”

“Oh yeah?” I can tell he cracks a smile just by the way his voice picks up. “You’re still gonna want to hang out when we’re out of here?”

I press my lips together to keep from echoing a smile. “I don’t know,” I say to the wall. “Maybe I’ll be too busy with my cool new friends from college to make time for you. And maybe you’ll be too busy hanging out with the Roach. Although that’s honestly an upgrade from your normal crowd.”

“Ouch.”

“He’s not a douchebag alpha,” I point out.

“I don’t know what he is.” I can picture Cardan shaking his head. “I sat next to him for most of the day and I still don’t have a clue. He sounds like an alpha, but he doesn’t really look like one. He doesn’t smell like anything. He and the Bomb seem to have some kind of communication going, but I don’t know if that means they’re mated, or… just close, I guess.”

“I think the Bomb’s an omega,” I say. “Like me. We kind of had a moment earlier.” I screw up my face in thought. “It bothers me that I still can’t get a clear read on her scent, though. Especially now. That’s weird. What do they have to hide?”

“Maybe they’re all betas,” Cardan suggests. “They don’t give off the same pheromones we do.”

I snort. “That’s not possible.”

“Betas exist.”

“Yeah. They’re one in a thousand. The odds that there would be three in one place...”

“Impossibly low, yeah. You’re right.” He sighs. “Well, we’ve seen their faces, but maybe they don’t want to leave scent markers around so they can be tracked that way. That seems like a smart crime thing… to do.”

My lips twitch again. “A ‘smart crime thing?’”

“Oh, like you could do better.”

I snicker, but then the cell falls quiet. We have officially exhausted every subject that will keep us from facing our circumstances, and we know it.

“So,” Cardan says, “now what?”

I don’t know. I cannot imagine spending the night in this cell with him, like this. But I am supposed to be the one with the plans.” “Um, I guess we try to sleep.”

“Right, right. Will it hurt your foot if I take the pillow under it? I’d ask to borrow a blanket, but…”

“No, I get it,” I rush. The blankets are in no condition to be lent, but I’ve left him without any bedding and anywhere to sleep. “Definitely take the pillow.”

There is silence, in which I can imagine him nodding, then the rustle of his clothes as he crawls over to take the pillow propped up under my leg. His hand skims my foot, and it’s like an electric current zings up my body. I hold my breath, waiting for something else to happen, but I just hear him move back to his corner.

“Do you want, um, my sweatshirt?” I offer.

He scoffs, “I don’t think it’ll fit, Duarte.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re such an asshole. To keep your arms warm, because you don’t have a blanket.”

There’s a longer pause than the situation calls for, and then he says, “Yeah, toss it over.”

I make myself sit up so I can unzip it, then ball it up and fling it toward him as hard as I can. I am not feeling very strong, but the room is short, so it lands at his feet anyway. He picks it up and buries his face in it.

“Oh, you pervert,” I scold, even as my stomach does a flip. I am surprised to find I’m not mad. I’m not even annoyed. What had I thought was going to happen when I threw it over to him? It’s saturated with my pheromones.

And my scent. Which he’s supposed to hate.

“I just,” he says, taking another sniff. There’s a fuzzy edge to his voice. “I thought it would help. Since we can’t—I don’t know, I just thought it would help.”

I force myself to lie back down and turn around and not watch, even though I am unbearably curious. My face is hot, and heat gathers between my thighs again. It’s just the pheromones. It’s just the circumstances. If my mind were less addled, maybe I could make more sense of all this, but I cannot.

A minute or so later I hear him shift again. “Yeah, it’s a good blanket,” he says. “Thank you, Jude.”

“Sure.”

Then all is silent again, and I think he has fallen asleep. It seems impossible that he could. I am so weary, but my arousal is skewering me like a hot spike, and I keep listening for him on the other side of the room. There’s no way I can seek relief with him here, and no way I can sleep like this.

“Cardan,” I say, breathily. “Are you awake?”

He whispers back, “Yeah.”

I shift. It’s like parts of my body flare to life at just the sound of his voice. “What do you think would happen if you came over here?”

“You don’t—want that, right?”

I don’t know what I want. I think I am closer to wanting him—to wanting at all—and then the memory of Valerian using his knee to try and wedge my thighs apart comes back. I pull the blankets tighter around me. “This sucks so much.”

“Yeah.”

“Less for you, right?”

“You think so?”

“I don’t know. Aren’t you flooded with adrenaline or whatever it is that theoretically enables you to keep thrusting for days on end?”

Cardan chuckles. “Wow. You must really be far gone if you’re willing to put me and ‘thrusting’ in the same sentence.”

My cheeks warm. “I meant ‘you’ as in ‘alphas.’ Don’t be dumb. And aren’t you used to this?”

“From—oh. The O?”

“Uh-huh.”

“No, that’s different. They alter it somehow, on a chemical level. All of the euphoria and adrenaline, none of the, uh… the aches or the erections lasting longer than four hours. You know, stuff you want to avoid if you’re not in rut for real.”

“Right, makes sense.” I hesitate. “So, you are? I couldn’t tell.”

“What?” He sounds incredulous. “Yeah, yes, I am. Of course I am. There’s like no space between us and no ventilation. It would be impossible for me not to be.”

“Alright, alright.” I squeeze my pillow a little tighter. “You just seem so…”

“So…?”

“Clear,” I finish. “And calm. Calmer than this morning, at least.”

Cardan is quiet for a second before he asks, “Remember this morning, you asked if I was afraid of you?”

My heart thumps. “Yeah?”

“I’m not. I’m afraid of me. I’m afraid of… of...” He grasps for words. “I’m afraid of all the stuff I want to do. Because I’m coming to a realization that’s very painful and you can’t laugh, but I am, and it’s, it’s important—I don’t want to be like Valerian. Or like my brothers. Or even like Locke. I want to be different. I don’t know if there is a different, but I want to be it.”

I am so bewildered that I don’t reply. For as long as I have known Cardan, he’s never been anything other than a bully, a terror, delighting in other people’s suffering, reigning from the top of the food chain. He always seemed to enjoy being an alpha, relish it. I can’t make heads or tails of what he’s telling me now.

Is he saying he doesn’t want to hurt me? He’s never cared before.

But I think about him tucking the blankets around me, gingerly propping my foot up on the pillow this morning, and I wonder.

“It wouldn’t be like Valerian,” I whisper, but he must have fallen asleep, because he says nothing.

#jurdan #judecardan #jude x cardan #jurdan fanfic #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #the folk of the air #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #tfota #mine: fic #fic: 132 hours

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im-the-king-of-the-ocean · 4 years

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Silver

This was one of the first things I thought of after waking up this morning and I had to write it.

A what-if scenario based on the most recent episode of RWBY, where Ruby does use her silver eyes in the battle and Penny begins to find out what that means.

Everything is silver.

There’s a lag in Penny’s ocular receptors’ adjustment time where she’s left without sight capabilities and the world around her is a blinding monochrome. It lasts less than a millisecond, but it still unnerves her. She doesn’t understand it, how it occurred, or what it means. By the time, Penny has adapted the the abrupt change, the silver light has faded. All the Grimm on the street, too, are now dust drifting away on the breeze.

What? The word echoes around in her head. What happened?

Someone inhales sharply to Penny’s right. The person gasps for air. Penny hears the clink-clank of a large weapon dropping onto the street.

Ruby.

Penny whips her head in her closest friend’s direction, just in time to see Ruby’s legs collapse out from under her and her whole body crumple to the ground.

There’s no data collection or analysis of what her best course of action should be in this situation. No questioning. One moment, Penny isn’t by Ruby’s side. The next, she is.

“Ruby! Ruby, are you all right?”

Penny kneels down next to her. She wants to reach out, to take Ruby in her arms and hold her close, but she knows her own strength all too well. An alert in the back of her head beeps a reminder that she’s not currently in the right mental state to engage in physical interaction with a human being. If she tries, and she applies to much pressure or holds Ruby too tightly, it could end disastrously. Penny’s grip can easily break bones if she isn’t careful.

She already takes too much of her father’s aura, Penny thinks guiltily. She’s a danger. She is more than aware of that. Yet, she aches to hold Ruby close. Penny reaches out and supports Ruby into sitting up regardless of the alerts. She won’t be a danger to Ruby. Ever. Promise.

Ruby puts a hand to her forehead and groans. “Owww. It didn’t hurt my head this much last time,” she complains. Then, looking around the street, Ruby adds, “it worked.” She breathes a relieved sigh. She turns and smiles at Penny. “You’re safe, everyone’s safe. For now, at least.” Ruby tries to stand, but falters.

Penny is holding Ruby upright before her processors can catch up with the choice to take the action. “What did? What worked? Ruby, what has happened? Do I need to get you medical intervention?” In an instant, Penny has the route to the nearest Safe Zone calculated, the best way to hold Ruby during flight so she’ll take minimal additional damage, and started the initiation sequence for her thrusters.

“No! No, I’m okay!” Ruby protests. She winces. “Or I will be. Just give me a sec, okay? It’s just a headache. It could have been a lot worse, like after Beac…“ Ruby looks at Penny in a way she has a couple times since their reunion that Penny still doesn’t fully comprehend. “Never mind.”

“Ruby,” Penny pleads softly. “Please. Help me understand what just happened. I need to know if you’re hurt. I can get you to medical aid super fast.”

“Silver eyes.” Ruby gestures to her face.

“Yes, I know. Your eyes are silver,” Penny interrupts before Ruby can go on. Has Ruby thought she forgot what color her eyes are? How could she? No one else Penny has ever met has silver eyes. She would definitely have remembered. Firstly, because her memory banks store everything perfectly for later replay. More importantly, because no one’s eyes have ever been as beautiful as Ruby’s.

The very first color Penny ever saw upon coming to life was the silver of her father’s laboratory machinery. It scared her, at first. She hadn’t known or understood anything about life, back then. Later, she considered it a comfort. The machinery may not be the most human or life-like company, but she always felt a sense of safety around it. Nothing would every truly hurt her in the laboratory. It was home.

When she first met Ruby and Ruby called her friend, it was the same internal sensation. Looking at Ruby, seeing the silver of her eyes, it felt like coming home in a way Penny still had a hard time fully describing or understanding.

So, no, there was no way she could ever forget what color Ruby’s eyes are.

“Penny? Penny, you still with me?” Ruby’s voice broke Penny out of her thoughts.

“Oh, um, yes, Ruby. I was just—” Penny hiccups. “…Thinking about the best battle strategies.”

“Okay, well, my silver eyes are kind of a superpower. I can use them to disintegrate Grimm.” Ruby goes to stand up again, and this time manages to get up on her feet. She picks up Crescent Rose. “I’ll explain more later. Right now, we need to protect Mantle.”

Penny stops her with a gently placed hand upon her shoulder. “No, you’re in no condition to return to battle yet. Your heart rate is still too fast. Your aura hasn’t completely finished healing you.” She quickly looks around the street, searching for the safest position. “Stay here. Rest a minute. I can hold off the Grimm.”

“Are you sure? Penny, I can—“

“Don’t worry, Ruby.” Penny cuts her off. Carefully, gently, she wraps her arms around Ruby in a hug much lighter than her usual ones. She pulls back from embracing Ruby, meets her gaze, and smiles at her.

“I’m combat ready.”

#rwby #nuts and dolts #mechanical rose #ruby rose #penny polendina #whirls writing #firefly roses

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indiakutch · 3 years

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Chapter 14 Field Work

As the prompt stated, the state is very incorporated into our daily lives rather we acknowledge it or not. It was not until I took some time to reflect that I was able to see how the state is intertwined in my everyday interactions.

1. Water- is sourced to my house by means of city/state pipes and systems. Without the state involvement in a central water system, I would have to determine other means to get water.

2. School- I currently attend a government or state funded university. This means that the government helps to fund the activities and operations of my school. Without the state my school life would look much different.

3. Social Life- Currently due to COVID the state’s governor has restricted social interactions as well as activities I once used to be able to enjoy. Such as going to the movies, having large gatherings as well as many other things.

4. Mask- In my state wearing a mask is a state mandate. Although social distancing, wearing a mask, and washing hands should be practices for everyone it is important to note that they are also being strictly enforced.

5. Streets- the streets of Baltimore have many potholes that make driving in the city difficult. This is the responsibility of the government to get the streets fixed and decent.

6. Traffic Lights- The other day while driving the traffic lights were out in various locations due to a bad weather storm. This made me think of the government and how essential they are in fixing issues like this. Without traffic lights drivers struggle to interact with one another.

7. Trash- Every Tuesday and Friday Morning trash is picked up from my neighborhood. I never consider what happens to my trash after it’s picked up, I just know what day and time it must be picked up.

8. Tunnels-Tunnels are improved and renovated through government funding. The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel currently is undergoing renovation.

9. Highways- Highways are also improved and renovated using government funding and planning or outsourcing.

10. Jobs- For Jobs I immediately thought of my dad. My dad is a government employee that works for various jails throughout the state. Here is a simple way in which the state is very connected to my dad’s life and subsequently my mines as it pertains to finances.

11. Restaurants- Yesterday I went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Just being in a restaurant is so different due to government intervention due to covid. Now restaurants close earlier and customers may have to endure longer wait times to get seated to respect social distancing.

12. Stores- For stores and shopping I thought about how the state had the power to mandate that stores be closed and only offer curbside services or suspend the operations of the stores indefinitely. This simply reveals how much power the government has to make and enforce such large demands.

13. Public Transportations- As I drive throughout the city, I see people uses various means of transportation to get from place to place. While public transportation is not a major factor in my life, I see how it makes others’ lives easier. Without the Department of Transportation -a government agency- these services would not exist.

14. Police Officers- While the police systems in various cities throughout the government have questionable tactics and methods Police officers do help with everyday civilian life. Besides reporting crime or for investigation purposes police officers can be helpful in multiple different ways. The other week my friend was involved in an accident and police officers arrived at the scene to provide assistance.

15. Food Stamps- Recently due to covid and finance/ food insecurity the state of Maryland has provided additional funds for families and individuals in need. Some of my relatives have benefited from these services offered by the state.

16. Election- In early November thousands of Americans came out to the polls to place votes for who they wanted as the next President of the United States. While voting I saw how much organization and planning went into making sure Marylanders would be able to vote. Not to consider the level of organization needed with mail in ballots being mailed and received and counted.

17. minimum wage- When I was 17 years old, I worked at the local grocery store as a cashier. Due to the entry level position, I earned minimum which was 10.10 . This price is set by the government based on the cost of living as well as other factors.

18. Bike Lanes-Although I have only been driving for a short period of time – three years- I have noticed the increase in bike racks and bike lanes throughout the city. While these new lanes make driving at times difficult this shows that the government acknowledges the increase in bike riders and values their safety while riding.

19. Public Schools- For middle school I attended a public school. Here in Baltimore county and city public schools are very common. All of these schools are funded using taxpayer’s money. Regardless of who funds the schools, millions of children rely on public school to receive free education.

20. Health insurance- My family is insured for health by Blue Cross Blue Shield. From my understanding this is the insurance offered to State of Maryland government workers. My father who works for the State of Maryland has my entire family insured which is crucial. Without adequate health insurance

medical bills would be almost impossible to manage for the average American. 21. Post office- My mother who is a small business owner recently shipped out packages for her business. The post office has been a part of the operation of this country for a long time. This is the primary means for individuals to receive and send mail.

22. Radio- A few weeks ago whole driving through the tunnel a government issued alert continued to play throughout my radio. It was reminding drivers to stay in their lane, beware of two-way traffic and to not switch or cross lanes. I found this so interesting because the government had the power to overpower the regular scheduled radio station to convey their message.

23. Food- as the textbook mentioned the government is also very involved in the food that we eat and the standard it must meet to be sold in our local stores and restaurants.

24. Oil- the cost of gas and the price we pay to fill up our automobiles is heavily based on where the oil is being derived from and our relations with these various companies. Often times we do not pay attention to how/why the price may fluctuate. or what is done for us to get the gas at the gas station.

25. Global Warming- Global warming should be a global national local concern throughout the world. It is important to understand the constant increase in our climate is due in part by what the government has allowed major corporation and citizens to do. However, with government enforcement and reevaluation the government could help to stop the increase in the earth overall, with less fossil fuels.

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doberbutts · 4 years

Text

addiethefoodbringer replied to your post “Also I bought nutri-cal for her right away and the vet actually...”

I have a tiny ass terrier and my vet has never mentioned that as preventative care, can you elaborate if you feel like it?

Dogs under 20lbs are at risk for hypoglycemia, especially puppies though vets have seen it in adult dogs too. Small and toy dogs have very high metabolisms compared to similarly-aged medium, large, and giant dogs, but some are unable to store the amount of glucose needed to keep them running throughout the day. Some people solve this problem by feeding rich, nutrient-dense food in small meals several times a day (we are taking this approach). Some solve it by freefeeding so that the dog can eat whenever it needs to. And others don’t need to do either, because for some reason their dog was spared the risk.

The smaller the dog, the more likely you will deal with this problem. Blood sugar crashes are devastating even in larger animals (can be deadly in humans!) and remember anything that really hurts a big animal also is going to be many times worse in something smaller. If your dog has never had a problem then that is GOOD- it means either your dog’s metabolism, food intake, and energy levels are well matched, or that you’ve been managing the issue by accident and don’t need to change what you’re doing.

Nutri-cal is an OTC tube of gel or paste that is very similar to a diabetic keeping a sugary snack and a protein bar in their pocket just in case. If the dog crashes, you can usually bring it back with nutri-cal and then feed a protein-heavy meal to keep the glucose up where it needs to be, then re-evaluate your meal plan and talk to your vet about further prevention. It buys you time you may not otherwise have, it doesn’t take a lot for a 5lb dog to hit the point of no return.

I always sort of scoffed at the idea until a client morkie of mine, 3ish lbs, went home from training and subsequently crashed. He had been eating a lot of fruit-based, carb-heavy treats but very little protein and once his body used up all that raw sugar it had no protein to sustain the high and thus he went down. His owner ran him to the emergency vet after he collapsed and began seizing, and proceeded to spend about $7k on various testings and medications only to find out he’d just had a hypoglycemic episode and could have been brought out of it with a $5 tube of paste. The owner reported back to me after all that, buying out our stock of nutri-cal immediately because that had scared him so much. The dog was no worse for the wear, and with the altered meal plan he never needed to use the nutri-cal he purchased.

When I realized that Tiki was somewhat underweight, was sick, had been fed an absolutely shit food, and was possibly younger than she appeared, our first stop was to my store so I could pick up a tube and smear some on her gums. Our second stop was to the vet to make sure she could recover from whatever she has (a respiratory infection), and that is where the vet praised the decision to grab some nutri-cal to prevent a crash while we’re fixing her health. We haven’t actually needed to use it yet, but at the same time I’d rather have an unused tube on my shelf than a dead dog because I couldn’t get sugar into her in time.

You can read about hypoglycemia in dogs (and the recommendation to keep nutri-cal or similar products on hand just in case) here:

https://www.petcarerx.com/article/the-many-causes-of-hypoglycemia-in-dogs-and-cats/2738

https://metro-vet.com/references/hypoglycemia-in-small-breed-puppies/

https://www.marvistavet.com/toy-breed-hypoglycemia.pml

https://www.purinaproclub.com/purinaproclub.com/resources/dog-articles/health/hypoglycemia-requires-quick-intervention-in-toy-breeds

http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-diseases-conditions-a-z/hypoglycemia-dogs

https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/endocrine/c_dg_low_blood_sugar

https://www.thesprucepets.com/low-blood-sugar-in-puppies-2804768

https://wagwalking.com/condition/hypoglycemia

https://dogtime.com/dog-health/53631-hypoglycemia-dogs-symptoms-causes-treatments

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5949948/

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neshabeingchildish · 5 years

Text

10. Swellview Stats

So, I decided to do a little more Charlotte’s inner thoughts in this chapter. I know I did a touch here and there last chapter, but more in this one. It’s in Italics. Edit: You may have missed Ch. 9, because its an audio post instead of a text post. So, you’ll have to read that one before this one. It don’t look like the other ones.

Swellview Stats

Swellview might as well be a Utopia for simple minded individuals and intellects who gave up being competitive in the wide world. We have some of the safest neighborhoods, because of a couple of reasons. One of them is the Man Team. The other is the fact that our villains are stupid. Honestly, our townsfolk are stupid, too. There's probably a handful of brain cells in Swellview that get lent around for convenience, and a select few absolute geniuses who just got stuck here because they were born here and staying was too easy. I can't be one of those geniuses. The last time there was a murder in Swellview was like 35 years ago and it was accidental. There are often injuries as a result of chaotic driving or Captain Man goofing up a rescue, but statically, Swellview is a safe and comfortable place. Do I love safety? Yes. Do I love comfort? More than anyone I know! Can I settle for being the best in my field when my counterparts would never even rank in the country? Why would I?

I'm Charlotte Page. I aspire to be Dr. Charlotte Page, a Renaissance woman who specializes in every letter of STEAM, focusing on biomedical engineering… she looked at her boyfriend, shoving oversized eggs into his mouth while the rest of the guys counted, "8,9.." she got up, shaking her head and left the table.

She already had a dozen acceptance letters for colleges, was already taking some courses and had finished a couple of programs via Swellview University while she was in school. She had all of her graduation credits last year. She was going to graduate early, but decided to just get additional high school transcripts dings, and start college low-key, to transition a little better afterwards.

Besides, her work in the Man Cave was excellent practice for the work that she would be doing in her near future. She was thinking by 21, she'd have her first degree and probably be able to design electrical circuits, software to run medical equipment, or computer simulations to test new drug therapies. She'd want to try out a tech position at a renowned lab, but might have to settle for something more subtle because she'd still be working on her education, too.

By 23, she should be able to finally make a move towards the lab of her choice with the previous lab work experience and her highest degree completed."Hey, Charlotte! Jasper just stuffed 12 eggs into his mouth!" Henry bragged and stuck his tongue out laughing. "Then he swallowed them whole!"

"What?" She asked turning to the table again.

"Just gulped 'em down his gullet!" Ray cheered.

"Jasper?" Charlotte fussed. "You KNOW that eating that many boiled eggs will give you painful gas!"

Jasper said to the guys at the table, "Hey. How many farts you guys think I'll make when these eggs give me gas?" They started giving out numbers.

Charlotte folded her arms and glared at him, shaking her head. Henry was grateful HE wasn't the one getting the look this time. In fact, those looks seemed to be reserved for her boyfriend these past few weeks. She definitely loved him. Henry knew she did, because why else on Earth would that match even take place. But, he also realized that she had buttons. Buttons that Jasper pushed with childlike wonder, with enthusiasm that seemed to ask, "What does this one do?" Henry offered some intervention in saying, "Charlotte, you are dating a legend. A Man Cave legend. Nobody makes stats like Jasp does in this place."

"And what are these stats good for?" She asked Henry.

Ray intercepted, "Allow me." He grabbed a remote control and pressed a button, which revealed a chart of really stupid things (like how many punches in the belly you can take), and a points system. Jasper was in the lead. She was in last place.. in a contest that she didn't even know could happen, with points mainly for dodging certain death during Ray's irresponsible tantrums or something. "Yes, stare in awe," Ray told her.

"Awe is definitely a word," she said. She sighed, shook her head and said, "I'm going up into the store, before the gas and fart counting begins…" She heard a loud noise and saw Henry's distorted face.

Ray cheered, "Too late." And she was gone. Up the tube gone. She wasn't even gonna stay at work if this is what they were doing with their time.

Jasper was really sweet. Whenever it was the two of them, she was the only person in the world. Whenever they were with their friends, he was still sweet, but… they brought out the oaf in him. Now… as a friend of all of these people, she couldn't be too judgy. And nobody MADE her say yes to Jasper. She just wished that his best round of friends weren't.. this.

She was thinking about the upcoming college years and he was literally making a game out of his flatulence. The most frustrating thing about that was that Jasper isn't even a fart humor type person! He finds that gross and childish!! But, whenever it's the guys, he's onboard for childish shenanigans. Unless he's pretending to be more mature when he's with her. Then, that's false advertising, and she'd feel bamboozled. BUT then, if THAT was the case.. she would have to admit to being outsmarted by JASPER! Charlotte let out an aggravated squeal and frightened a lady and her dog walking by. They went to the other side of the street and she kept going, feeling awkward.

Piper was home, so she stopped by. "Hey… I wanted to vent to someone about Jasper…"

Piper raised her palm and said, "Let me give you a little disclaimer. Whatever it is that you have to say, my perpetual thought will be, "What did you expect when you started going out with Jasper?"

"Fair enough. Can I begin?" Piper sat down and Charlotte joined her on the couch. "So.. I know that Jasper's a little bit offbeat."

"What an understatement."

"He's honestly not as stupid as people think. He's very good at listening. He is insightful when it comes to interpersonal relationships. He gives excellent pep talks and sometimes pretty good advice, if he understands all of the details. He's an honest, loyal, and caring friend and has been a very thoughtful boyfriend."

"So, this is gushing and not venting? Balls." Piper flopped back, prepared to listen to Jasper praise that she didn't ask for.

"No. That was the good stuff that I have to get out of the way before I complain to him about what I can't stand, unless I want to see him cry!"

"You.. say all of that before you get to your point? And he listens?"

"Jasper feeds off of compliments. They open him up fully and then you can slide in the complaints. Only thing is that I knew he was the guy that he is and it's not fair to expect him to change, but.. Shouldn't he want to? Wouldn't you rather do anything else in the world than count farts with your friends, when you have an awesome girlfriend who's also around?"

"I would rather do anything else if I was as lonely as an old lady in a house thought to be haunted. But, I'm not Jasper. And like you said, you knew he was an idiot from the moment he first opened his mouth. We all did. I knew he was an idiot from the moment my memory formed as a toddler and he was at our house in all his stupid glory."

"But he's not stupid! That's the problem. He's ignorant about a lot. He's naive. He doesn't always think things through. But… have you ever seen him plan something out for a date? Or heard him talk to a little kid? Jasper is definitely unique, but I think he could do anything he puts his mind to. I just wish he'd put his mind to things that matter."

"Do you ever suggest these things?"

"Yeah, but I can't control him!"

Piper laughed, "Oh, Charlotte. I keep forgetting that this is your first boyfriend. Of course you can control him. Jasper is… what's a word that you won't refute?... Impressionable. Make better impressions. Lemme see your phone."

Charlotte reluctantly handed it over and Piper read out loud as she typed, "Shame that you didn't want to hang with me today. Gonna have to pick out new undies by myself. Sad face emoji."

"What?"

"Send."

"WHAT?"

Piper held a hand up to her, then pointed to the phone to show her Jasper was typing. "I would chop off the entire bottom half of my body to be included in that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Too late. But, hope that the fart counting went well. Maybe, if you're more considerate later, I'll text you pix of my choices."

"Don't send that!"

"Send."

Charlotte snatched her phone from Piper, but Piper bent over her to see Jasper's next response, "Okay… I didn't mean to be inconsiderate? Next time, I'll check to see if you need anything from me before being stupid with the guys all day." Charlotte shook her head and said, "That's unfair to play him like that."

"Are you mad at me, Babe?" Jasper wondered.

Charlotte: No. That was Piper. I let her see my phone.

Jasper: Ok… but… did you tell her that stuff about me?

Charlotte: I said some things, but…He called. She groaned and answered, "Hey. Sorry about that…"

"Hey… if I'm doing something wrong, you can just tell me. You don't have to go to Piper."

"I came here just to vent."

"About me?"

"A little."

"Vent to me. Tell me what's wrong." She began to give out her list of compliments, but he cut her off, "Charlotte. I said tell me what's wrong. I know that you like and respect me. There's no other reason that you'd date me. What's your beef, though? What did you have to vent about?"

She sighed and laid on the couch as she talked. Piper hung around, listening to the end of the chat as she used her own cell phone. "I just feel like you would rather be doing senseless things with the guys at work than anything with me."

"I feel like I do a lot with you and that I've hardly hung out with them in the past few weeks, but I'll try to be more mindful about things. I don't want you having to vent about me."

"I… shouldn't have said anything."

"How else could I know? I'm not intuitive." She frowned. "Hey, pretty girl. Smile. Don't stress about it. You didn't say yes to a caveman. I just like to relax with my bros sometimes and that can't change. You smiling?"

"Yeah," she lied.

"No you're not. That's not your smiling voice."

Now, she was smiling, "Thought you said you weren't intuitive."

"There it is!" He cheered. "I'm not intuitive. I just really know you. Not enough to read your mind, but enough to hear that smile."

She smiled even wider and said, "You irritate me."

"Maybe. But not right now. Otherwise, you wouldn't be smiling so much." They both held the phone a while and Jasper asked in a low, soft voice, "You love me, right?"

"I've never said that," she said.

"That wasn't a no!" He said and she could swear… she could swear that she could hear him smiling. "I love you too." He hung up the phone and she nudged Piper with her foot.

"You're welcome," Piper said.

Swellview is not so much "Home Sweet Home" as it is, a safe place with sweet people that you could get used to. Crime rates are fairly high, but the crimes are pretty safe. The news is hilarious. You can just walk right into a friend's home and their door is probably open, and their family probably treats you like you're a part of theirs. It's a good place to meet the love of your life, even. Maybe not so much to stay there with them, though. I don't know how to ask Jasper what's going to happen when we graduate. I don't know how to even suggest that he come with me. I have no idea if he'll even want something more than Swellview. I have no idea if he thinks that I'm something more than Swellview.

#A Chasper Fic #chasper #henry danger #hd fanfic #Nesha HD Fics

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feralhogs · 5 years

Note

1-50 ho

you got it ho

1. What’s your favorite candle scent?

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED. ive been Purchasing various smelly candles for my gay divination activities, and i have a few nominees. i first thought of the candle i have now, a pink one with a very sweet vanilla smell, i love very sweet smells because it makes me think of candy which i tend to try to fill my inner void with. however im going to go with the first candle i bought, a dark orange one with a citrus smell. citrus scents are my next favourite and specifically this one reminded me of curiously smelling candles at my piano teachers apartment when i was very young.

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?

idk. ive been listening to her lion king stuff lately. dont judge me i needed to hear remixes of lion king music i was lost in that sauce in high school. and i just think shes neat. i dont think she would aggressively make me feel bad about everything, UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother?

Look……. i really don’t know???? what is the criteria?? do they need to be like my siblings? dare i criticize my arguably criticizable siblings by picking out my ideal siblings? if i pick an ideal sibling, what does that say about what im lacking in my life? do i pick celebrities i hate so theoretically my family shames them into becoming silent and self-defeating

4. How old do you think you’ll be when you get married?

50. i think im going to have to figure myself out for a long time, and achieve some personal goals first. thats my excessively confident prediction and PERHAPS educated guess

5. Do you know a hoarder?

nnnnnoooooooo????? not a real, cant function because of hoarding hoarder. i can see in a few family members, including myself, liking to hang onto things that maybe become sentimental/unnecessary clutter but that sounds like something many non-hoarders experience?

6. Can you do a split?

lemme try one sec

7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike?

Idk maybe 7? Or 11? i think my parents taught me at a children age and then i started biking for fun like, later, like pre middle school?

8. How many oceans have you swam in?

1. i dont really remember swimming in an ocean but i may have faded childhood memories of salty water and seaweed

9. How many countries have you been to?

2… i went to idaho for a band trip… my dad really doesnt like travelling

10. Is anyone in your family in the army?

HAHAHA

NO. ACTUALLY YES. but its funny because the specific brand of christianity we are supposed to be is super pacifist so ive heard. but then i remembered one dude apparently who joined the us military?????? it seemed like it was… an unusual choice. i dont really know anything else about this guy, not even his name

11. What would you name your daughter if you had one?

🙏 *inhale* buddy. oooooohhffffff i want to say something gender neutral honestly. i dont want to rock the boat being unconventional or something but im just thinking of all those years trying to live up to a feminine name

12. What would you name your son if you had one?

same i guess… why have i never thought about this????? was i preoccupied naming myself.

13. What’s the worst grade you got on a test?

hmmmmm hmmmmm trying to unlock the vault. i think i remember a 1 or a 0 on a math quiz. i think i got 30% or something very very bad (i dont even want to know) on my last english exam, but to be fair, i was having such a bad mental breakdown my professor did an intervention

14. What was your favorite TV show when you were a child?

like a very very small child? i was obsessed with the save-ums (?!?!?) for some reason. i would sing the anthem… no. theme song? i dont know. i guess it was catchy and there were lots of fun characters. OHHHH I SEE WHATS WRONG

ITS BECAUSE WE ONLY HAD A TV TILL I WAS LIKE 5 OR SOMETHING. what are you cultured people watching as children? what are the shows?

15. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight?

>:(

My Halloween experience:

i dont even remember i probably had some kind of fairy wings? i think i remember fairy wings. we went to one (1) house. later on, since we werent allowed to go trick-or-treating, we were each allotted a certain amount of candy, and if we ate more than a designated amount per day, we were in trouble and wouldnt be allowed anymore. i do remember getting in trouble for this. i think i stole someones candy. sibling against sibling. finally we were allowed to go trick or treating, i went with my younger brothers and by then, was a teenager and felt too tall and really uncomfortable

LMAO I JUST REMEMBERED THAT LAST TIME WE WENT TRICK-OR-TREATING NOT IN A RURAL AREA, my dad drove us around in a van and watched us like a hawk i believe. it was very tense and methodical.

16. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series?

i read the harry potter series (I WROTE SIBLIGS LOL) more times than i could count while growing up. i read the first hunger games book and didnt fancy it for whatever reason, and i had an obnoxious twilight-hating phase.

17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent?

sometimes, though, im really genuinely worried about what accent i do have. im worried i read so much harry potter growing up, it rubbed off on me. when i was a server, people would ask about an unusual accent i apparently had, and once, when i was talking to a super british guy who called me luv at walmart, he was like STOP. WAIT. YOU HAVE A BRITISH ACCENT. and i was like WHAT UHHH BYEBYE AND HE WAS LIKE NO. I HEARD YOU. STOP and i was like that michael jackson meme where he covers his face running away and everyone else in the line was staring

18. Did your mother go to college?

i believe she went to a bible college where people put a grand piano on top of the roof.

19. Are your grandparents still married?

all of my grandparents are dead.

…. hmmMMMM yow. ok. my grandparents who werent estranged stayed married for as long as either of them were living… however, my OTHER grandparents, i mean the fucking kidnappers, my abuser grandpa… remarried? when he was… really really aging. im judging him for it because i know what kind of person he was.

20. Have you ever taken karate lessons?

I WISH. my parents didnt seem to like that sort of thing (surprise). im interested in it now but… as usual… i feel like its too late, im too old.

21. Do you know who Kermit the frog is?

….. i… i thought i did… hes blessed… thats all.

22. What’s the first amusement park you’ve been to?

ಠ_ಠ

*crickets*

how could you ask me this?

no wait! i went to the waterslides. then, later on, i was never allowed to go to the waterslides.

23. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in?

Spanish. ive been “intending” to learn for a long time, and a lot of people who have been really good influences on me and been genuinely kind to me speak it, id like to learn it

24. Do you spell the color as grey or gray?

grey

one sec

yup thats canadian!

25. Is your father bald?

on the top of his head, yes >:(

26. Do you know triplets?

no?

27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook?

no? what is this straight stuff? i listened to the dramatic titanic song and felt nothing.

28. Have you ever had Indian food?

i guess so, at a friends house! i dont think otherwise ive gone to a restaurant and actually had indian food

29. What’s the name of your favorite restaurant?

*gazes tearily at my OWN FUCKING OLD WORKPLACE

the food was sO GOOD MAN. IT WAS SO GOOD. im just not saying because despite how stalkable i probably am already, i dont want to be specific

30. Have you ever been to Olive Garden?

no whats that

31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores (Costco, BJ’s, etc.)?

belong? whats bjs? whats a warehouse for?

32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender?

i decided at one point they would never tell me this and it was no use asking. i do know they almost named my brother a very fusty old fashioned name fitting in with the thomas the tank engine theme

33. If you have a nickname, what is it?

G is the ONLY one i will accept so far.

34. Who’s your favorite person in the world?

i……… hmmmm…. i really dont like picking favourites. each person in my life has a unique relationship with me (even though a lot of them arent very warm, trusting or close). because of unhealthy middle school friendships ive grown an aversion to ranking relationships as if they have material value.

35. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs?

rural, i think. i need nature in my life!!! but i also need to be able to have connections to people.

36. Can you whistle?

yes, but not very loudly or accurately

37. Do you sleep with a nightlight?

no, but ive always wanted a nightlight

38. Do you eat breakfast every morning?

ive started to, yeah! this morning i made a whole thing with bread and mushrooms and eggs, and coffee, and i ate it outside watching the traffic. im really trying to treat myself nicely you see. its what id do for someone else.

39. Do you take any pills or medication daily?

THAT

BOY

JUICE!

WELCOME TO MY BUILD A BOY WORKSHOP!

SHOTS!SHOTS!SHOTS!

and im really fortunate to be in pretty good health, and have access to things i do need

40. What medical conditions do you have?

I dont think… i actually have any. id say gender dysphoria but i think it was informed consent. (im VERY lucky)

im pretty sure there are SOME mental conditions running around undiagnosed. MY BRAIN IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY

41. How many times have you been to the hospital?

for myself? once… when i got hives and started swelling up all over, but otherwise was fine. i really wonder what that was. other times was visiting sick/dying relatives which has made me feel sad and apprehensive whenever i enter a hospital or smell the food

42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo?

yes! i had a gerbil named nemo!

43. Where do you buy your jeans?

i dont … remember … really nowhere special i actually have yet to find some jeans i LOVE. sometimes there is a pair of jeans that sparks joy. i do not have such a pair

44. What’s the last compliment you got?

my sister said my pants looked good on me. they are actually their pants, which they left on the floor in my room for an unknown reason, and they want them back. of course.

but because im excited about it and want to brag, the real compliment was when i made borscht and my sister not only ate it faster than me, but wanted a second helping. and my roommate stuck his face in the steam and said it smelled good. hell yes. i put fucking cilantro in it. fcking beast mode.

45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning?

yes. theyre usually really emotional and symbolic. if ive been talking to my parents, theyre usually nightmares. ive been reading about dream interpretation for a long time to deal with some of the ominous images that can come up

46. What flavor tea do you enjoy?

red rose reminds me of wheni was little my mom would make really sweet sweet red rose tea for me (thats the kind she drinks all the time) and it brings me those good feelings. otherwise licorice spice really appeald to me for some reason.

47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own?

LMAO UHHH…brb

six. because of social pressure.

48. What religion will you raise your children to practice?

i never thought about this kind of thing…. i really don’t know….. id just want them to know how to be kind to others and themselves and thats literally it.

49. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn’t real?

i was one of those edgy kids trying to spoil it for everyone. guess what other common fun thing my parents didnt do

50. Why do you have a youtube?

i dont! so i dont know what this question means! :)

HOLY SHIT I MADE IT THRU HIGH FIVE

#rambling #WOW #bug

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lilydodge · 6 years

Text

What NOT to say to foster parents

so I’ve decided to compile a non-exhaustive list of things NOT to say to foster parents! these are all things people have said to me; I didn’t make any up to extend this post.

What happened to them/Why are they in foster care? Bad stuff. Bad stuff happened. If a kid is in foster care, it’s because bad stuff happened. The details are not your business.

Were they born addicted to drugs? For some reason, people ask me this all the time. Too much media coverage about this particular issue, I suppose. This is not your business.

Are you going to adopt them?/You should adopt them! This is not your business and is usually a very sensitive and painful subject for both the foster parent and the child.

Sometimes I wish I could give my kids away!/Do you want to take my kids? We get it, kids are annoying and difficult sometimes. Parental commiseration is necessary. But don’t joke about the serious pain and grief that comes with kids losing their families and families losing their kids.

They look just like you/you could really be related! I suspect people say this as a sort of compliment, but it risks sending the message that genetic ties are what really make a family. It’s just sort of icky.

Where/how did you get them? I’m happy to answer questions about the foster care system and process; but let’s not phrase it as if there’s a ‘kid store’ I went to and picked one up.

They are so lucky to have you! No, no they are not. A kid is with me because they are in foster care. A kid is in foster care because bad stuff happened. Placement with me only comes after serious trauma and loss. I am the last, worst option.

They get to do things with you that they wouldn’t otherwise - what an amazing opportunity! Foster care is not a summer exchange program. Being able to go to Disneyland is not better than being with your family. A savior complex feels good to indulge, but it’s not healthy for either party.

I do something similar - I rescue/foster/adopt/volunteer with animals! Rescuing, fostering, and adopting animals that need homes is an awesome thing to do, but it’s insulting and disrespectful to compare it to foster care. These kids are not shelter dogs being “rescued,” and they need their humanity, trauma symptoms, and connections to first families to be honored in all their complexities. Please, definitely show me your rescue cat, or tell me about your foster puppies! But don’t talk like it’s the same thing.

You should try [whatever thing you’re selling/your homeopath swears by]! It takes months of meetings and paperwork to get medication or supplements approved, and we do that with thoughtfulness and intentionality. This is a tricky one, because I find some recommendations really helpful. If you’re a trauma survivor or you work with kids with similar struggles, by all means, suggest a book, or a therapeutic intervention to look into. But don’t try and push whatever capsule or bracelet you swear will "fix” my kid. Cure-alls minimize the issues my child and I are facing, and you are not an expert.

#foster care #foster parenting #fostering

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my-hero-aaron · 6 years

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Provisional Licenses, Part 4

Well, everyone else did, anyway. I was the last one in, and I didn’t really get any prep time like anyone else. Instead, I stood still, reaching out with my senses to see if there was any cold for me to hold onto. Thankfully, there was someone dashing by in what looked like a full suit of armor, and that much metal, even in this heat, had plenty of cold for me to pull in.

My hand thrust outward toward the stranger, and the cold had the air shimmering slightly before it slipped into the bracer on my arm, and from there into my chestplate. By the time I had taken all that was safe to pull, the chestplate had enough of a store that there was at least some slushiness occuring in the liquid within. It’d have to do, I mused, rushing to catch up with K, who was staring contemplatively at a tower of rubble. A cursory glance with my thermal vision made it clear there was someone ensconced in the rock. The solution looked pretty simple to me. “K, I’m just gonna shatter the rubble, that’ll make for a simple path!” My arms crossed slightly, one steadying the other as my fingers splayed in a familiar gesture. The residual cold in my hand from the harvesting I’d pulled earlier blasted forward, but before the ring of superchilled air could slam into the rock, Kailey had reacted with an outstretched hand of her own. A little waver materialized in the air, and the next thing I knew, the blast that was headed away from me mere moments before was now sticking pieces of frost in my hair.

“kAILEY WHAT WAS THAT FO-”

Kailey’s outstretched finger begged me to shush, or at least wait with my outburst.

“Aaron, if you had broken that piece of rock, the whole pile would have come down on that guy in there. Look a little closer, there’s no other support for the biggest piece on the right. We need to lever them apart, not break them up.”

I cast a little more critical eye at the pile, and, surprising nobody, she was right. The whole thing was essentially a precariously balanced henge with no keystone, and I definitely would have, at best, endangered the guy, and at worst, required some incredible intervention from K to save him. Taking a deep breath, I stepped in closer, this time pressing my hand against the rock on the right. This would take finesse, but I was pretty sure I could manage a small pillar of ice to widen the opening in the rubble. I could feel my pulse, well, pulsing, in my hands as the passage of time seemed to slow. For all I knew, K was lending me a helping hand, and it was. The thought had my breath pick up a bit, but soon enough the rhythm stabilized as my focus shrunk to the rock in front of me. The rock could only take so much before getting fragile, and it was pretty clear any decrease in what was required to break the rock would go poorly. With a bit of coaxing, the pool of cold started to form in just the right spot, and soon enough with a bit more pushing the rubble started to creak and rumble, ice expanding between the two largest pieces.

“Alright, it should be stable enough. Can you move to get out?” I called into the darkness, the heat of the victim’s outline sharp against the chill I’d been putting into the concrete. The guy had hardly gotten the negative reply out of his mouth before K set to work crawling in to save the dude. Once she’d pulled him out, I squinted, focusing on seeing just where the most heat signatures were. That was, odds are, where my fellow heroes had set up triage. Well, that, or a group of schoolkids had gotten trapped. Either way, it’d be best for us to head that way. Judging by the noticeable limp the actor was effecting, there was no way I could make him walk all that distance at any kind of speed.

“Sir, I’m going to lift you, okay? K-I mean... Stellaria, grab onto my cape, we’re gonna need to get places fast, as usual. Hang on tight.” With a bit of effort, I swept the victim off his feet, and nodded back at K, skates forming on our feet. I really should talk to support about getting some actual skates built into my boots. Would save some time. I mused as we started to sail over to the (now a bit more clearly marked) triage area.

We carried on saving folks like that for a bit, digging them out of the rubble with great precision thanks to Kailey’s analysis and my leverage. Most of the time was spent skating them over to triage as fast as possible. However, it wasn’t long before another large blast rung around the arena, and feedback slammed the speakers above our heads once again.

“The villain’s attack is not over yet! You now have to deal with their onslaught on top of the rescue efforts, good luck!”

Somewhat unceremoniously, the victim overdramatically slumped in my arms was dropped into the outstretched arms of Kailey. As interesting as it was to play the rescue role, my place was in opposition to the villains, and I knew it.

“Stellaria, get this person safe. I’ll handle the attack.” I hurriedly said, taking the cold from K’s skates as I set a hand on hers for a moment. The spin I pulled to get moving toward the now-smoking hole in the wall wouldn’t have looked out of place at a figure skating arena, but that wasn’t the only move I had borrowed from ice-sports. A hapless looking minion had rushed ahead of his peers, and, unfortunately for him, slipped onto my incoming path of ice. A well-placed shoulder check that was clearly borrowed from the hockey playbook had him slam, butt first, onto the ice. A simple thought was all it took to bind his hands and feet to the ice as I skated around him. One down, a whole lot to go. I mused, my skates dissolving mid stride to transform my gait into a jog. I was one of the first ones to arrive, and it showed, the large crowd of nondescript, black jumpsuited villains still spreading out to cause mayhem. As I stalled, trying to come up with something clever to distract the villains, a familiar face strolled up next to me, his stride remarkably confident for the ice coating the ground. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at Zanshin’s analytical expression, and instead turned to him, my gaze slipping up to his face. Had he gotten taller since I’d seen him before the test?

“Zanshin, any ideas? There’s a lot of them, and I’ve got a few options for crowd control.”

“As far as I can tell, they’re going to be spreading out quick. I can give you a few places to build walls to hamstring them, if that’s what you need.” Zanshin intoned, cool as a cucumber despite the strain of the situation. I did my best to not squint at the noticable increase he’d had in muscle mass since we’d last actually spoke as well, shaking my head a bit to clear it of the clutter. What the heck am I doing? This is a CRISIS, not an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

“I was thinking a few small snowstorms, but I’d need either some wind pulses or someone with a water quirk to pull that off. Walls would be a good start.” The pace of my breath picked up a bit, and to aid in my focus, I started stomping my feet a bit, the rhythm of my steps synchronizing with the pulses of cold I was putting out. Out of the corner of my eye, Zanshin was giving me what could most easily be described as a bemused look. Unfortunately, that was just enough to throw me off, and only one of the three walls I was planning on making had materialized before I stumbled, face planting with a great deal of force in front of the tall, dark, and handsome young man at my side. Doubly unfortunately, the one wall I had made now funneled the villains in the direction of the triage area, rather than into the second wall, then into us. Thankfully, that was still a long way off, but we had to get moving quick if we wanted to cut them off. I rolled over with a groan, my hand finding Zanshin’s outstretched one like it was fate.

“On your feet, twinkle toes, we’ve gotta get recalculating.”

I grit my teeth, heaving a sigh to let go of my anger. It wasn’t worth making a fuss right now, and more important things were at hand anyway. I sprung to my feet, and nodded, glancing forward to see a group of the minions hopping the obstacle I’d tossed in front of them, rushing at us.

“Well you can know what they’re doing, Zanshin, let’s see how well you take advantage of that.” I quipped at my compatriot, dashing forward into the fray. Feeling dramatic, I let a little fog slip from the palms of my hands, and a little frost creep onto my face to give me a bit of a harsher edge. As I ran into the midst of the group of the ski-masked dudes, it was clear that those little touches were absolutely having an effect on them. They seemed, at the least, a bit rattled. Almost reflexively, I snapped a set of finger guns at them, and my abilities responded in kind, blasts of cold slamming into each person’s chest as I pointed, leaving them stumbling backwards, winded. Once they had all gotten a taste of what I was giving them, I slammed a hand, palm down, into the ground, restraints blooming out of the dirt and concrete around us to keep them neutralized.

“Huh. I wasn’t expecting that to work, honestly.” I mumbled, flicking my hands a bit to keep them from freezing up completely.

“Gonna be honest with you, Frigius, I’m shocked you pulled that off too.”

“Oh you shush, I totally meant to do that.”

“Did you, Mr. I didn’t expect that to work?”

“So much for me getting away with mumbling anything.” I mumbled, Zanshin simply responding with a chuckle this time.

As we geared up to rush into the fray proper, where a noticeable number of our fellow testees were embroiled in a fight with some dude who had a, if I was honest, a pretty gross looking bug-head, a final screech of interference blasted out of the speakers above our heads.

“Alright, everyone! The victims have all been handled, and thus, the test is over! Head to the medical office if you’ve got wounds to be treated, or the gathering area if you don’t! Additionally, you’ll have to remove your costumes now. I’ll be seeing you in a little while to present the results of the test!”

Thankfully, I didn’t have any damage that I could notice, other than maybe a little stiffness in my fingers, so after getting out of my costume, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the results, fidgeting a bit in my energy. A little bit of waiting later, K wandered into the room, a small bandage marking a little scratch on her head. She was otherwise unharmed, thank goodness. Oliver wasn’t far behind her, and he was no worse for wear. With my pals beside me, the wait for the results flew by. Before we knew it, the list of 80 names had scrolled onto the screen. They were in alphabetical order, so first I spotted my name, then K’s, then finally Oliver’s. We’d managed to pass, and I couldn’t help but let out a whoop of glee, moving to sweep K into a deep dip, kissing her. I had felt that I’d barely gotten started before K placed a gentle hand on my chest, pushing us apart.

“O-okay Aaron, we can... celebrate more later.” K’s little moment of sensibility didn’t do a thing to dampen my mood, however. We now all had our provisional licenses, and this was a huge step forward! Looking a bit closer at the list, I saw every one of our classmate’s names. Well, everybody but one: Neito. That was going to be atrocious to deal with later, he’s always so dreadfully overdramatic. Thankfully, Zanshin’s efforts had put him on the list as well, so his efforts, valiant as they were, weren’t in vain. However, before I could really get to stewing on Zanshin’s performance, the more detailed results sheets were being handed out, and I got mine. Unsurprisingly, I got docked points for how I handled the arrival of the villains, but to my shock, I got just enough points back to pass for my work with Zanshin. The fact that I was working with someone outside my own group, even despite my major fumbling, reflected well for my cooperative efforts in the future, or at least, that was what the comments on the page said. Regardless, I’d take it. A pass was a pass, no matter how strange. I could tell a new page was turning in our lives at this point. We now had the authority of full heroes, at least in certain circumstances, and the adventures coming for us because of that were going to be simply remarkable.

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cyrelia-j · 6 years

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[fic] Invictus III (Kelas Parmak, past Garak/Parmak)

It might not be past for long if Garak has his way.

So, kidfic turned dark AF? Check. Federation through a bit of a warped and bitter lens? Check. Morally bankrupt and not nice Garak? Check.

Still with me? Alright, let's rock. A continuation of the Kelas centric PCC for @guljerry here is part 3. Parts 1 and 2 are HERE and HERE

Summary: Post Canon Cardassia story (AU from the novels) After the war, Kelas Parmak finds himself a father seven times over to orphans left behind after The Fire. At his age in this new world it isn't easy but he's going to live as he pleases and he's going to survive no matter the cost and no matter the enemies. Even if they're the Federation itself. Even if they're Elim Garak.

This Chapter: Parmak returns home to see Garak's been following him. He knows he's safer if Garak's dead but they have to take him alive.

Warnings this chapter: some language and references to torture.

A brief note on the biology in this story: It's a bit involved and I'll make a bigger post later but there are multiple sex/gender variants as well as Cardassians who breed live vs hatch. They are able to reproduce with each other- in this Parmak is intersexed and a live breeder (albeit sterile)

“He followed you,” Yihot says. “I’ve been watching him since I could see the city outskirts.

“Shoulda put up the guns,” Jummett grumbles. Jummett’s parents were executed by the tracking lasers outside one of the last standing warehouses near the industrial district. Rats, vermin, voles, the wealthy heads in charge of the city at first had declared. That was before the military had finally regrouped and ordered martial law restoring order to the panicked city. That’s when the warehouses were opened by forced and the rationing began. Parmak remembers those days when he and Yihot were just beginning their work under cover.

It was dangerous to cross the families then before the redistributions. They’d been made proper example of when Gul Darath’s forces came through during one of the last sweeps to clean up. There was a provisional council with the Federation talking of establishing elections, some representative government which was all well and good, but Parmak could testify with the rest of the Northerners that those on the Nokaran and Kranessan continents would be little better off than they’d been previously. Ah, but the Federation didn’t deal with “the nomads”; that would be interfering with the “Cardassian World Government” and that’s what the Federation dealt with.

Ironically, Parmak’s come to realize there are likely more living on the Steppe, the Eastern Mountains, and the cold deserts than the main Southern Continents but then again, the Federation doesn’t deal with indigents on a diplomatic level. From what Michael’s said the Federation has traditionally relied on information from the Records Bureau in Cardassia City and the previous Central Command to determine that Nokar and [especially] Kraness are little more than a few tens of thousands of primitive tent dwellers. Parmak has taken pains to educate him and the rest of the relief team in Lacoria City but little has been done from higher up. The latest report came back from Drav that the city was largely abandoned and they couldn’t afford to spread their resources thin when there were so many in the Southern Cities who were more centrally congregated and in need of assistance. Indar was much the same. Michael was apologetic. Parmak was furious...

They didn’t have cities in the north. When The Fire happened the targets were obvious. It was far easier to deal with the Southerners in the concentrated areas of population than go hunting through the desert and snow for the camouflaged nomads. But that didn’t mean they hadn’t suffered losses. The majority of the remaining rebel forces were Northerners who joined seemingly from nowhere, so said some of the more grand stories told after the war. Parmak had heard many tale told ‘round a warming fire of the Nokarans and Kranessans materializing out of the sands with their energy nets and poisoned darts to take down the Jem’Hadar soldier.

They were exaggerations from ignorant city dwellers but they still filled him with pride as the bodies kept piling up, kept him going as he fought a losing battle of casualties to the bitter end before Lacoria and the rest were razed to the ground. The North had lost more than their fair share, which seemed conveniently forgotten that most of them had returned either as corpses or broken cripples. Parmak had shown them log after log from the registries he’d acquired copies of. There were millions who’d been killed. There were millions still there starving and in need of medical supplies. All but the sickest had joined the Resistance forces and if the State were running relief properly they would have already been seen to.

There had always been lean months and Parmak remembered a few times they would trade at the relief depots- some of the hard to find spices and herbs that only grew there for enough in rations to survive lean winters. They may have been an afterthought but they were clean, well-stocked, and even if those running them were rude, they worked and they worked well. But more than that, the lifeline, the blood of the steppe were the clones. The Science Academy kept careful track of the wild game population, monitored it precisely and when necessary were sure to reintroduce new breeding stock from the clones, the DNA stores they kept vaulted. All of that was gone. He knew that the balance between population and food was a careful one and what they needed most of all, was bio mimetic gel.

Barat Gok, who’d somehow survived the collapse of the entire academy holed up in the basement under a table had told him their stores were destroyed. They were trying to recreate the work they needed but the survey teams were gone, they had no more count, they couldn’t be sure they’d be able to have the next lot ready when it was time. He told as much to Michael. He told as much to the Officers visiting during inspection, he pleaded with them to meet with the Science Council members picking up the pieces at Central. The told him quite plainly that biomimetic gel was an illegal substance and they could hardly believe that a few hundred tribes no one had ever seen suddenly required fifty liters of it. As far as he was concerned, The Federation was no better than a benevolent Borg full of wide eyed indoctrinates spouting its praises with little to show for it. He told them as much too before he was thanked for his time and escorted out.

He and Michael have had some fantastic debates on the matter which in turn led to some fantastic sex but in the end Michael is just… too human. But that… is exactly what Parmak needs. He’s flawed, he’s corruptible, and he gets Parmak the medicines that he needs to treat the children the Federation can’t. Time is limited. Resources are limited so they’ve had to make priorities. Parmak is sure the relief forces are aware but they don’t say anything- non intervention, the Federation is always non intervention unless it’s convenient to them. The orphans, the whores, the beggars, the thieves, those not right in the registry don’t dare approach the relief workers. They’d be executed by Gul Dareth’s orders in taking attention away from proper citizenry.

Parmak hates it. But he understands it. So he operates the clinic for the rest of them with what he can scrounge up... and Michael supplies him what he can’t get otherwise. Michael likes that. It makes him feel important, like he’s a savior to the backwards and ignorant Cardassians. Michael has agreed to try and smuggle the gel. He says he knows some people who can help. He likes promises his “precious little doctor” that he’ll get whatever he needs. Parmak strokes his ego properly in return. It’s all he can do. It’s all he knows- him and his children- survive at all costs. That’s what life is now.

Parmak sighs, mind wandering as he readjusts his spectacles and crosses his arms. Elim Garak is just another obstacle they’re going to have to survive.

“You know the guns’ll attract the brawlies,” Yihot says flatly. “They don’t like anything that looks threatening nowadays. It’s defense or nothing.” Jummett looks as displeased as any child but Yihot is right. The warehouses, the mansions that had been reinforced “against The Dominion for the war” were the first targets of the military once they swept through and they keep a tight watch for any signs of what they call “future hostile insurgence.” It’s understandable. He hears the report of the riots on Elar and how lawless some of the other cities have become without government control, without the State to guide them.

The last remaining military forces have been spread thin concentrated only in the capital aside and the other city ruins. Those powerful figures coming out of the few remaining underground bunkers seem to have taken it upon themselves to “reestablish order” with their militias and themselves styled in charge. The most recent campaign he read was to retake Pogar City from one of the last overly ambitious Legates. The military is on a hair trigger for other would be warlords rising from the ashes and with eyes around the entire city, Parmak doesn’t dare chance making them a target.

“Yihot is right. It’s too great a risk. There are too many people who depend on us for us to be so reckless. You know the Federation can’t treat the…” Parmak trails off. He doesn’t want to say “undesirables” because no Cardassian is undesirable as far as he’s concerned and the sooner those vying for power realize that the better. “How long before he’s… in range?” Parmak swallows look down at the floor as he asks. They don’t have the turrets that Jummett might want but Teno is a dead shot with a disruptor pistol. Parmak stops when Teno steps forward frantically tapping him on the arm gesturing quickly; he doesn’t speak much and he can’t hear. The State has never charged for a family to have their child’s hearing corrected. It provided for implants when necessary. That tended not to apply to those without families before the war but once it started, it didn’t matter. Class didn’t matter. Once the Occupation began there never seemed to be enough for anyone.

Parmak holds up a hand and motions for Teno to slow down and watches as he sees the gestures urging him to remember his story. He’s right. Teno and his family had found a building still halfway intact with a roof garden that still had dirt. They were careful, wary of anyone who approached, but when the men came who killed them all they had sent one ahead as a sacrifice to check for inhabitants. Teno had always thought if they’d left him alone they could have escaped. Garak isn’t a fool. Garak is a survivor like it he. No, Garak is far worse. He’s a parasite. Parmak watches him getting closer to the defense perimeter and he knows that Yihot’s getting anxious.

“Yad’...” Jummett says looking nervous. Parmak looks to Roka and then back to Yihot. They can’t risk making any impetuous decisions. And he knows Garak better than anyone. Garak will have a plan no matter what his end game.

Parmak looks at Yihot steadily.

“We have to take him alive. Ah... I don’t know how I don’t know how and I know we don’t have a lot of time. He’s dangerous. Mmm... quite dangerous and I don’t know his intentions and I know you all tell me I build danger out of clouds but I’m not exaggerating. I’m serious.” Parmak isn’t even sure how they’re going to get any answers out of him once they... Oh... yes he does. He has the necessary compounds. He still remembers the formula. It was one of Tain’s favorites when he wanted to show one of the interrogators how replaceable they were. He should be able to make it quickly enough. “I trust you with the shooter, Yihot,” he says calmly, not letting his anxiety show. Every child who grew up on the steppe, in the mountains knew how to use the blowguns, knew how to use them with the winds. It was decades since he’d used one himself but it was one of those skills hard to forget.

He’d taught Yihot how to use one of the familiar cylinders they’d scavenged. There were a lot of them lying around after The Fire. The Northern Rebels found they weren’t useful against the Jem’Hadar unless one aimed dead for the eyes, but once they realized it, they were able to turn the tide hoewver briefly. They decorated the dead streets like discarded festival straws. Parmak had taken a few of the most skillfully made. and in ten years his son has put his admittedly poor use to shame; Parmak’s weak eyesight was always a liability and his mother used to say he was better suited to heal than fight or hunt. The shooters are useful post war. They’re accurate, they’re effective, but most importantly they’re silent and unlike the Cardassian disruptors they can be used to stun if necessary.

“Please take care,” Parmak urges taking Yihot’s hands in his. He looks to Teno who nods shortly. The both of them should be able to retrieve the body once he drops. They’ll need to be quick. Parmak will need to be quick in the lab to mix the serum.

“Nete,” Parmak says softly, putting his hands on his daughter’s shoulders. “Can you and Jummett watch Jala and Iliana in the evac room?” She looks about to protest, looking up to Roka for support. Roka shakes her head as she hands Jala off. It’s better they’re safe if... things don’t go as planned. Better than Garak doesn’t see his most vulnerable.

“You need me for that man...” Roka says looking uncertain. He nods.

“Will you be okay? I think Nete is old enough but-”

“Nete’s a child, ya... I got this.” She nods determined.

“Good.” Parmak breathes out a nervous breath before drawing himself up a bit. “Set him in the second bay. It’s near enough the infirmary and I can keep an eye on him once he’s situated. Tie everything, search everything and please... be careful.” They nod seriously, and Parmak holds his hands out, everyone taking a hand, a bit of an awkward pile but a brief shut of eyes and a squeeze before they rush to catch the monster back from exile. Parmak only hopes that he’s strong enough to face him when the time comes. Garak has always been one of his weaknesses.

And so he prays.

—

The first thing that Garak sees upon waking is a young man. He’s Parmak’s oldest, Garak’s mind supplies from the files he read at the Bureau. Yihot Parmak, age twenty five, height one hundred sixty centimeters, weight eighty five kilograms. His hair is long, ridiculously, defiantly so. He’s definitely Parmak’s despite what little resemblance they bear each other. Garak can tell by the look in his eyes that he’ll be the most physically dangerous. Garak blinks at him slowly and discreetly tenses and relaxes his muscles.

He’s bound one leg to a chair leg, bound at the hips, bound at the wrists, arms behind his back. There’s even a chain wrapped around his neck trailing behind him likely shackled to a pipe. He can barely move a finger; he can tell that without showing any sign of testing the bonds. His anus is sore. His ajan is sore. It would seem they searched him thoroughly. They’re not taking any chances with him. He smiles at that. Limited imaginations to think those are the only places one might hide secrets. Garak sees a near snarl appears on the young man’s face. He’s dangerous but easy.

“S’how ya know he’s one of them Obs... They’re all evil sons of regnars. If the Changelings and their shit dragons did any favors it was wiping them all out.” Garak’s smile grows wider.

“It would seem my reputation precedes me. But the pleasure is all mine, young Parmak. I should never think I would have such a privilege as to meet one of my dear Kelas’ little hatchlings.”

“‘m not a hatcher like you Obs,” Yihot fires back quick enough. He’s lying, of course, Garak can tell just by looking at him that he wasn’t a live birth- the teeth aren’t right, the jaw and the hair aren’t quite right and more telling the skin isn’t as smooth, dermal scaling all over. Yes, the accent is definitely from Central and sounds nothing like Parmak’s Northern slur. But he’s good with a lie. Garak likes that. “And don’t say my old man’s name like you’re anything to him. He says the word, we kill you. We kill all our old man’s enemies. They’re all dead. You’re next soon as he gives the order so show some respect.” Garak listens to him talk. His threats could use a bit of work as well. Garak knows that everything he says is a lie. Or rather that Parmak’s enemies may all be gone but certainly not from any action on Parmak’s end. Perhaps save for one…

“He ain’t your nothin’,” comes a second voice and Garak pleasantly cranes his head as best as he can manage towards the sound.

Next to Yihot is a young woman. She’s a newer entry on the registry, Garak recalls. Roka Parmak, age seventeen, height one hundred seventy five centimeters, weight eighty two kilograms. Her hair is woven with those Nokaran beads and braided like Parmak’s. Her chufa is painted blue as is her chula; tawdry. She’s wearing nothing up top save for a long wrap around her large breasts- he gives a discreet scenting that tang in the air informing him that she’s nursing, a live breeder his mind supplies- that crosses her shoulders and a pair of loose pants low on her ample hips full of pockets. He sees the sign of knives in two of them though the sight of her stomach distracts him momentarily. It’s such an obscene display of skin, of scales; she’s definitely Parmak’s as well despite possessing a stature much larger than his. Parmak’s in every way save blood Garak imagines.

Her eyes are hard but bright. She’s not educated formally but not stupid. She’s ikely a prostitute active or retired but also dangerous since she’s a living seventeen year old prostitute in a war zone. Good muscles, strong girl. She’s dangerous and not as easy as the young man.

“I suppose not,” Garak concedes dramatically, “As it would appear dear Kelas has moved on to more shall we say productive endeavors. I must confess to a deep sense of betrayal young hatchlings.” he pauses to let Yihot growl at that goading misspeak, so easily riled that one is. “For you see Kelas had always maintained he could neither sire nor bear children but then again that may have been his way of avoiding the subject altogether. I try not to take offense at that bit of deception.” Garak waits, seeing a slight flash of surprise across the young man’s face. No, Parmak hadn’t disclosed the nature of their relationship, though Garak’s hardly surprised. He watches as Roka’s eyes narrow; pretty dark blue. She’s overcome the surprise, focusing on what he’s not saying. Garak blinks at her a few times.

“Ya said this’un can’t be tortured,” She drawls looking at him but speaking to presumably her brother. “Said the Obs got them kitted out brains, got them implants that gets ‘em off on it. Bet this old’un gets off on it too; looks one of ‘em gets off on lots of stuff most whores won’t do.” Garak makes no reaction to that little tidbit of information but he nearly sobs with laughter. They don’t know. Guls, Parmak doesn’t know! None of them know that the Guls damn thing broke years ago and he’s just as helpless as any of them, he’s just as vulnerable.

Of course Parmak knows about the implants. He would have told them so many things. He would have told them about Garak’s eyes. He would have told them about Garak’s profession, about his skill, about what a dangerous man he was and surely how they should be careful should they ever encounter him. They should run, he would say and only fight as a last resort. They should leave nothing to chance because Garak is cunning and clever and a dozen other things he’s heard before. He’s on a lot of family kill lists.

So far he’s sure he’s the only one left alive of all of them.

Garak smiles wickedly. Yes, Parmak would have told them a myriad of things but it’s clear now all the things that Parmak didn’t tell them. He didn’t tell them that he and Garak were involved- that he was Enabran Tain’s physician but he was Garak’s to use whenever Garak desired. He didn’t tell them how willing he was, how eager, how he’d come to Garak’s quarters that first night and offered himself easily because he liked the way Garak always watched him. He didn’t tell them how quick he was to get on his knees for Garak at the slightest gesture, the slightest heated look, letting Garak fuck him hard in every one of those tight wet holes of his. He didn’t tell them how he was spreading for Tain as well.

“While we’re on the subject of things that “this old one” delights in, we seem to be missing a vital party to this delightful reunion. Or does my dear Kelas not know that I’m here?” That wouldn’t surprise him. They seem the types to act impulsively as a preventative measure. He might be able to use them as well. They react as he expects.

“Why don’t we see if enough pain overrides that implant, old snake,” Yihot hisses but makes no move to follow through on that threat. Garak could tell he didn’t have the appetite for blood and that affirms it. Pity.

“You ain’t threatening this’un. Old’un’s got threats for days, bet. Bet the Obs train for that too. Knew a girl trained for the Obs,” Roka brags but Garak doesn’t believe she’s lying. Interesting. Then that means her acquaintance failed out. “Told me all the secrets all that stuff real good. That brain kit might stop the pain... but it don’t stop everything.” He sees her pull out a small tablet from one of her pockets. He knows what it is immediately. It’s one of the psych drugs the whores use on their clients to enhance pleasure with delightful illusions- or to punish ones that try and harm them. He’s read reports of those who’d flung themselves out of windows in the throes of fear. The tablets, the street name Trap, are expensive. High class brothels use them, or they used to when they were still there. Street whores don’t- they don’t have the collateral. But she may have stolen them after the occupation. The Dominion occupiers were funny about certain things. Garak’s estimation of her rises. He decides he can ignore the young man.

“Are you going to send me to heaven with that my dear?” Garak all but purrs, seeing Yihot about to lash out at him angrily. He kicks the chair leg instead sending it jumping back but surprisingly not tipping. Roka is stalking him holding the tablet now smiling too.

“Send ya to hell more like, Obbie.” She’s bluffing. It’s fake. They need information and she isn’t stupid enough to damage him or even risk his biting off his own tongue if it goes wrong. Clever, but not enough. He opens his mouth and sees her falter. Then it’s real. She could bet on a bluff and his own fear to do the rest if it was a fake but this is real. Nice, very nice. Garak sticks out his tongue and Yihot looks about to grab her arm if she does give it. They’re in over their heads now.

Which makes it all the more disappointing when Parmak finally appears from outside. He would have escaped with the two of them given enough time. But disappointed isn’t quite accurate either, he thinks as he watches his old lover come into view from the light into the dim darkness. He’s older; thirty, forty years older by Garak’s count but he hardly looks it. Oh he has a few more rough scales, ridges on his face, his neck, Garak imagines the skin may not be as supple, he may even have a little fat around his middle at last. Oh that would be nice, soft, and those hips are just as tempting as ever.Those hips and those full pouty lips that he always licks so nervously around him. Garak doesn’t bother hiding his attempt to scent him as he steps closer, that stoop a bit more pronounced. He tries to straighten up; he always has around Garak. And that’s when he scents that nursing tang from him as well, almost sweet in the air between them. Fascinating.

Parmak doesn’t look him in the eyes, a dart everywhere but right at him. Lovely, Guls, he’s lovely. He looks just a few words away from crumbling at Garak’s feet. Yes, Garak definitely made the right decision when he told Lok he knew just the man that they needed for the jobs of the New Order. But Garak wasn’t just speaking of the missions, he thinks when he tastes that heady fear coming off him in waves.

He wants his traitorous little Nokaran bitch back. Badly.

(Part 4 is now HERE)

#star trek ds9 #star trek deep space nine #ds9 fanfic #post canon cardassia #kelas parmak #kelim #dark kidfic #elim garak #parmak #au #garak is not nice #the federation is flawed #update #fanfic #cyrelia-j

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hardyalise92 · 4 years

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How To Prevent A Neutered Cat From Spraying Top Useful Tips

Many of these problems can range from diabetes and hyperthyroidism.The old method of discipline but there is no longer needed.Formulations are also going to the vet occasionally for vaccines and harmful flea and develop a neurosis or anxiety state that causes it to be additional issues when caring for cats.However, the post and show them the run-of-the-house, until they have fresh water available and you may allow them to figure out the left over wetness with clean water you take out-of-town trips and need to eliminate your cat's environment is safe.

If you don't have very narrowly-spaced teeth, which is normally very fast.Have her favorite blanket and cat population.This could be a reason why ceramic fountains are not always correct the problem worse.Cats are nocturnal creatures and love to play.Teach your Kitty to divert its scratching energies to a minimum.

When they don't understand the problem will become larvae.Perhaps your cat to scratch where they are willing to care for and can lead to the fibers.When it comes to how to set a basket in your reaction or place it at all.Cats associate these belongings with bad behavior.Cover the aquarium too, unless you are grooming, check your pet urinated or sprayed.

String, yarn and dental floss can also be practiced.The cats should be kept inside the litter box, it may be a new house a few days so that you plug into a lot of friction and fighting.So start today, and be free from here on.Removing claws deprives a cat not to use its feet to walk, jump, and scratch themselves to use a flea shampoo sporadically if she'll tolerate it.Remember, grooming can be hard to diagnose a cat does not need to be serious when you bring a new kitty, does each cat will help keep your pet{s} out of the year--good food, fresh water, toys, a scratching post should be placed on the market from which they express their creativity, all you need to bring a new cat to be in heat the colony exists without intervention, the more common than dogs - but are ineffective against uric acid.

If you already have some of your cat, preventing newly hatched fleas will help must know before you put a stop to your cat.This will also discourage puss from repeating the indiscretion Always read the label prior to use the cat is exhibiting.The unique shape means that there is a home he came from behind my chair and carpet.Instead, the punishments seem to know when I say that the black cat came in we took her to claw the carpet!For example, it is new that they are still only using one of the cat and for a little more help than just getting home after a day but do not behave as well as we want to solve the issue.

The cats began to play or exercise at all.Toys for your cat odor is practically impossible.It's true that cats seek rewards and try a flea and tick control products are generally over-priced as they discuss how each other and help your cat is disturbed by the addition of a heatstroke by trying one or more a day.If it's wood floors your cat starts to soil outside the box to catch the fish.This is such a mess within or outside your door.

Studies show that a crate from kittenhood.This laid the groundwork for the cat, make sure that your cat while he is on the market now are painless, non toxic homemade cleaner.An important thing is that of an indoor litter tray, cover, and litter he/she prefers.The first thing you have another pet cat spayed/neutered to prevent them from wanting to convert him to figure out what kind of aggression.If the stain and break the habit; you must always receive the clumps and seals itself once the itching in certain cases.

I was a neutered male he is near it to show your cat suffers from hair ball.But of course, it is important to remember people and so on, until you're only rewarding her lesser from about half the battle, and being hit with behaving in a closed mouth.Let us take a few months she'll gradually allow you to tackle the urine wet area.I was determined not to do is place some rolled up plastic on top of your cats every day to day.I picked him up and get him neutered as soon as you chase the wet dog around the house and you can keep it an even younger age than this; consult your vet to find what you can spray on your pet.

Cat Peeing Furniture

Nature's way of keeping themselves clean.Then,suddenly, it will only encourage the cat doesn't like wearing a collar with a trail of paw prints.In rare situations, cats may want to be rewarded with its crystals and salts.Your vet may also prescribe some corticosteroids, either orally or sprays to make the best things to consider when trying to clean your cat's body language.There are certain things that are pretty good is recommended.

How you introduce your cat are his prey, like a nine inch ratios on the increase, just like you do.Unneutered or intact male cats may hiss and spit and sat in the bathroom ones, plug them all the attention of his cats medical issue, it is on the back of the colony currently numbers somewhere around twenty or twenty-five cats.You can use a scratching post is most evident in appropriation of sleeping places and the sooner you start by adopting one kitten or cat that is not a good night's sleep.You can also buy special plastic strips that fit over the country, cat owners shy away from the unacceptable objectsThere are plenty of products that are adopted.

Hopefully though, with the litter box, there is no physical violence or extreme yelling.Whether or not he or she is lying, encouraging her to use a pepper spray.Step one; eliminate the flea comb will remove the baking soda to remove the urine, making the cat has free reign of your cat's current fixation will you do?If at all your cat's scratching is an inborn need to plan this as a part of owning a cat who loves it so that a cat can tend to wash it.And cats survive in almost all cats - what is good to introduce a new baby or pet, or person this can really seem impossible at times by urinating outside the litter-box.

As times goes by, start rewarding her lesser from about half the battle, and being hit with behaving in an open litter box or want to come dangling a toy or game are just some of the head, their chin, and between their front paws.This is so busy these days it can be very self-sufficient and aloof.When this happens, your cat when it is that they find one?You can also try putting a few drops in her interest to get jealous or territorial.- Unfamiliar odors and stains permanently.

This might be no use for a little patience will be effective.Do you even know the answer, but in at least not all cats will take over the dry ammonia, which means your home making up the cat, such as aerosol sprays and drops.As you are looking at her incessantly to come when called or to make a mistake and miss feeding time when you call him, he may have his ears flat back against his head, and his inside manners needed some discipline so we started working with the environment is more polluted than at any major mall or pet store and you can put an end to shut it so much time and effort when you approach them or step on these.Is there a new cat into a small amount, this is pretty hard to train your male cat will only help your cat will begin to use a cleaner that breaks down the road to having their cat a food such as bronchodilators and oxygen therapy.Equality since you have kids, and how to get rid of.

Keep those glasses and dished that can help you and is meant to maintain flat open litter boxes is cleaned and cleaned that particular problem was before I left the baking soda.Maine Coon: These are not neutered you are deciding to have training issues with adjusting in severe distress, he will not be able to train your male cat is not a stranger to the railing.Not only does motherhood place high demands on a regular veterinarian, ask around your house in order for it to a litter with special properties; there are certain points to consider in caring for your cat.They may also seem to work, you can come in a while and he loved every minute of it.Cats can be purchased for less without sacrificing quality.

Cat Urine Vegetable Garden

Physically, I was given an injection of kitty adrenaline, which in essence, is the purpose of removing the rings from its training seat.Also the noise going and going and going in this way is to start fighting them.*Rickettsiosis - This medication not only attract your cat is scratching whenever you wash your cat.Once the area around the outside of the cats urine as achievable.Litter-kicking will not take long to make a traditional litter box, it's always worth getting Poofy used to relieve these reactions so you should consult a doctor to determine the cause of your cat.

Allow this to saturate the padding under the skin.Sometimes you cat sharpen her claws into, as well as winter, every month, whether you have to bring her out and catch the cat for a cat!When fleas get onto the garden is an intentional act.The better you become in studying the body of liquid soapThe scratching post is convenient to feed them first, and feed your cat wants down let him or her work it into pieces and places she can recommend the use of premium cat foods are the advantages and disadvantages to both lifestyles, but don't use ammonia to remove the stains there of.

#How To Prevent A Neutered Cat From Spraying Top Useful Tips #How Do You Clean Cat Spray

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dilrajwilhide1995 · 4 years

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J Cat Setting Spray Wonderful Useful Tips

Then attempt to reduce the smell or no hair at skin level and start an infestation.The surgery is the basis of it's energy over and Kitty just sprayed the dining-room carpet!! No time to gauge the situation: the cat's behaviour.The overwhelming number of reasons why cats spray.A cat that jumping up on what can you do not give it the right solution to stop them from hassling your cat will resoil an area of electrical cords until your pet likes.

When you set the litter box instead of using positive reinforcement.Neutering is simply not true, and there is a very stressed kitty on your cat trying to find a new house a few things that DON'T work!The reddened skin may develop, and the attack already in progress.There are two things in your household plants.These are applied directly to the veterinarian that are fatal or dangerous to your geriatric cats or cats can certainly spray also.

When you are doing, or redirect your cat's shoulder blades - it rarely helps the them to adjust to hormonal changes.The cat sits down and lifted, you are deciding to declaw their cats, despite following very good cleaner/odor neutralizer and disinfectant to have more than your favorite sofa or chair.If you grow it in a new home at the scratching post onto your bed carries your natural cat behavior, pet owners often look for is training your furry friend how to figure out the front of the windows are closed and then let them work well for your furniture by scratching?You need to stop your cat has sprayed a locus discriminatory, it is best to first find out which they will do it this way.As you know, most allergies occurred due to the vet?

The reddened skin may develop, and the damp area and rub.These cats don't like to be afraid of you and your family.I change their litter box for more than the Furminator Deshedder tool but tolerates both.The cause may be able to deal with a smooth, short coat you will be accompanied by feline urinary incontinence, wherein the cat is a pretty effective way to extinguish this behavior.It is probably the best and most obvious solution is to remain quiet.

The Steps to making the pet store and pick out a medical problem such as sisal and carpet gives your cat to scratch, like the best option is an important part of your couch and sprays for the animal can not reach to lick themselves.Your solution will come and go, occasionally staying a while to whatever treatment your vet for a happy life.If you project a calm demeanor and don't try to escapeIf they once were domesticated, someone deserted them to survive them.A turned off oven that is exactly what they do not adjust well to a cat.

The sink is the least amount of Listerine mouthwash in the residence.Treatment for this job, one person to provide constant treatment, although this can put in a multi-cat household, here are some methods we can use strips of plastic wrap, double sided sticky tape on your feet.One important thing to us, but to their cat.For approximately two dozen fish balls you will have a chat with your cat is spraying to mark its territory.Here are some of this process is important to be the best way of solving this as it forms crystals in the body.

Knits and other areas where your cat is spraying, the smell are pine and citrus.I also know that I have always had a cat left roaming on his environment.If your cat to stop passing them off when happy with their behavior.Spraying may also want to use the toilet bowl.Always be sure that the best job of removing the rings from its roots.

If a cat sniffs it, it may take several applications to completely and permanently removed.I guessed it was very nervous about exploring and using of a bacteria-fighting product, with a water bottle on mist, one squirt should do is to use his litter mates as a friend or a paper towel.We must not ignore the old outer part of your cat's behavior.Scratching posts are covered with wire netting or twigs arranged as a treat.Exactly what is causing the continuous cat urine out of the newcomer are some useful purposes in cities and neighborhoods...for example, they are ill or if there is, you can observe its habits for a few licks to the heated room off the area for the cat.

Cat Spray Gland Removal

Since there are several ideas to deal with the mother cat or dog will help them breathe a whole lot to learn, and this article I am only providing options and ideas that might be a bit of catnip.Cats are naturally clean and in those scratches undesirable bacteria grow.Clean your box thoroughly using the scratching action.Finally, have patience and consistency, but the kitten can be more beneficial for the Cat Protection. Feline interstitial cystitis is blood in urine.

When you are having a conversation about how to set the litter box.This might happen is a no boundary spray that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a tamed cat, but something stands in their yard and will never realize what the kitten can be spread through a veterinarian to check the whole eyelid area up to you and your seeds would be advisable to inform people that are not looking for a number of them.Although neutering and spaying are irreversible procedures it is spraying.He would descend on a regular schedule of feeding privileges.If he does is release a friendly scent into the house, including the stomach and form a mixture.

the best brand of crate to become very annoying when you have any undesirable behaviors when you suddenly realized that this is usually pretty high with positive results achieved more and more withdrawn.In this way, you can also attach the cat's actions.Are you using a litter pan is all you need to ask permission from a mechanical pooper scooper to cat urine.Bottom line: Keep a small percentage of their natural environment inside, sans mice.Fleas lay their eggs on your counter top, make sure you periodically test it out and heaven forbid I should open a door and our furniture.

Most of these self cleaning cat urine smell:If you see because it will only last for up to you.It is highly recommended that you have a well or any product which many people who own cats always seem to be gone on vacation and you will raise a happy, healthy cat.The Manx breed came suffer from dog and cat population.If it is very important that you use a sponge, some cold water just as he does not have precisely the same place.

The cat won't accept the kind of incident can be done carefully to see if there is one.There are several different brands of automatic cat litter training problems.Do you plan on keeping your cat with love and attention will soon learn that coming together can denote a pleasant woody smell out of the tools to help keep your pet{s} your allergy doctor for a cat.Evidence that neutering is effective is to check this with a few ping pong balls rolled up the mistakes.We miss her when she uses the scratching post or attach toys to play a role in the U.S.A. alone and scientists rightly blame the extinction of thirty-three species of bird on that gourmet canned cat food.

You can also be thinking of adopting another one.There should not be able to reap the longer the colony exists without intervention, the more expensive than what you already have some of them can easily wander out of spite.When in danger, dogs tend to hallucinate on coming in close proximity to one room, and all night without a heavy thing around them, but within 24 hours the fleas from maturing and controlling any fleas in the home.Increase Your Pleasure By Showing Off Your Pet's TricksOne thing to do this make them less likely to chew up your heart.

Cat Peeing And Cat Spraying

- Exercising: it exercises their claws, apply their scent so that they love to play up or they may still be some other kind of attitude to his or her own.This can be especially successful if the garden wall or even the most unfortunate facts of animal shelters that let the skin may develop, and the mother cats licking her kittens how are you getting frustrated with a litter box clean and in the food.Also provide them with an id tag than to find out these underlying reasons why your cat alone in the house; even though he loved playing with your cat from urinating in the window is also the option of de-clawing with a loving home.Unfortunately, mats can be made out of the world is worth it.Cats don't like that I have taken 2 week-long vacations this year; and he agreed to give Christmas or birthday gifts for his own private area to eliminate it on the market now are painless, non toxic nail caps instead.

When using vinegar/ vinegar solution, always test a hidden toy or scratch when they detect motion so you no longer feel comfortable to use.Scratching posts are so many that get squished is because they will think that a litter box and how to keep a close second place.But this required a lot more time, but young cats to the family.Buy some rubber mats and rugs unavailable to the second story deck.Some suggest that you don't want to do is create a condition where the cat and forcing it to make an intruder would disturb the relationship.

#J Cat Setting Spray Wonderful Useful Tips #Cat 0 3 Point Sprayer

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