18+ only please ||Requests:Closed|| ||Imagines:Closed|| 18+ accepted I will write for a variety of fandoms|| Mun is 27|| Feel free to drop on in and say hi if you'd like. Donate to my Kofi for a quick 1k fic (5$min) https://ko-fi.com/A077536G
to anyone in the areas impacted by the wildfire smoke, my #1 biggest piece of advice as someone whos been dealing with wildfire smoke in the NW united states for years, is build yourself a Corsi-Rosenthal Cube
they perform as well as expensive HEPA air cleaners, and are comparatively VERY inexpensive. all you need is a box fan, 4 air filters, a piece of cardboard, and some duct tape!!!!
i think it took us maybe a half hour to put ours together, if that, and we replace the filters every 3 months. it's really made a HUGE difference, both when the air quality is bad, but also with our allergies
everyone's talking about the ibs/autism haha funny comparison thing while I'm still stuck on the concept that hamsters exist in the wild. like naturally
tf do you mean they're a wild creature. you find those ankle-biters at the pet store
Not a biologist, but the evolution of mammals is way more granular than you might expect. Humans are the sole surviving species of the genus Homo, which was a real party before the other ones went extinct. You're in for a fun time.
Domestic cats are believed to be domesticated not from tigers, but from the African wildcat:
Which evolved to be small just because it's sometimes more useful to be small.
And no, hamsters are not off-brand rats. They're part of the rodent order, which includes beavers, moles, capybaras, guinea pigs (yes, also wild) and lots of other fun things:
Me: *Removes my cat from my lap to do something else.*
My cat: Father is...evil? Father is unyielding? Father is incapable of love? I am running away. I am packing my little rucksack and going out to explore the world as a lone vagabond. I can no longer thrive in this household.
I am so incredibly glad we finally moved on from "i can has". Cats are clearly smart enough for advanced sentence structure and dumb enough to draw entirely incorrect conclusions about what they're talking about.
My cat, banging the cabnet door over and over and over: bang bang bang
Me: you will not earn what you desire by banging the cabinet door.
My cat: This is a test of wills, is it not? We shall see if your ability to put up with my incessant banging outlasts my eternal lust for snackie treats. Years of conditioning have hardened me for this purpose. bang bang bang
Me: ksst!
My cat, throwing herself to the ground like she's been shot: Oh! Oh I have been assailed in my own home! Have mercy, have pity! Surely in the cruel darkness of your heart there is some mote of goodness that might stay your hand! Do not strike me, I pray you!
Me: ok
My cat, after waiting about 3 minutes: bang bang bang
The dishes clacked quietly as Gwyndolyn set the next plate down on the stack, the towel she'd used to dry it was shaken out and laid over the rack beside the sink to air for later use. Leaning forward she gathered the mugs she'd cleaned first, her stomach bumped the edge of the counter top, and she huffed in discomfort.
Her mother and aunts had warned the dyna that it would only get worse in the coming months, but as much as her back already hurt she elected not to think about anything getting worse.
She plodded away from the sink, mugs in hand, each piece of dishware and cutlery would find their proper place on the shelves of an open faced, wooden cabinet that had been her grandmother's before it became hers as a wedding gift, and subsequently her husband's.
Heaving a deep sigh, Gwyndolyn set the mugs gently on the top shelf of the standing cabinet as her mind conjured the image of soft green eyes, gentle hands and long warm embraces that eased the heart and mind when things felt like just a bit too much.
The thought of her husband was a doubled edged blade. It had been three, nearly four months since she last saw him. Going to visit him while they were on a rest period and not actively fighting for the freedom of all. She'd had only a terribly short week with him, of which she made every moment count. And it had been a rather fruitful endeavor.
Three weeks after returning home she had confirmed that she was with kits and had written to her husband the good news.
In return she had received a letter from the buck expressing his joy and that he would speak to his command and request time to come home to aid her in readying for the new additions to their family.
She read and reread the letter over and over again until the page had wrinkled at the edges.
She'd sent two following letters to express how much she had missed him, and how much his return would lighten her heart.
No response had come yet and it made her anxious. Her husband wrote to her so often she'd wondered how and when he'd had the time. This quiet period with no letters felt like an iron weight in her guts. Gwyndolyn wasn't the most worldly dyna, but she knew what happened in war. Her neighbor, Freinwyth, down the lane had received the dreaded news herself not even a year ago.
Gwyndolyn was down to see her recently with a few fresh loaves of bread and the poor dyna had met her at the door, her eyes sad as a bundle of kits tugged at her skirts while listening to the adults’ exchange.
Gwyndolyn had to physically shake the idea from her head. Alhain was strong and capable. The love of her life would do anything to come home to her and she believed that with her whole heart.
But Klin had loved Freinwyth and it had not kept him from the end of a Bensa barrel or the wrath of the Fidwogian gunner behind it.
Her hand strayed from the clean ceramic to one that she had not touched in many months, as many months, in fact, as Alhain had been gone.
His hands were dirty that morning, he'd been tending the fire when she called him to help her put the dishes away. There was soot on his fingers when he put the mug back on the shelf. And the faint gray marks had stayed there. She would not allow the mug to be washed free of the visual reminder of her husband's existence.
Her throat felt tight and her eyes stung, she missed him terribly, everyday that past without word from him made her so anxious she felt she'd be sick. It wasn't helped that she already felt tired and sick each morning from the kits growing within her.
She waddled away from the cup and back to the dish pile, putting them away would keep her mind from things she dreaded. She would keep busy and imagine her beloved buck home safe and happy.
It was warm on the road, the sky a clear and cheerful blue. Alhain watched as a fat cloud drifted across the endless expanse. On its own way to whatever places it was that clouds traveled.
He slowed when he came to a split in the path and stopped to read the sign there.
His heart fluttered as he read the words and realized he was even closer to home than he thought.
Closer to his wife and the mother of his kits.
His hand went from the strap of his rhyfle to the place over his heart where he'd hand sewn a pocket on the inside of his uniform. In it was a small photograph of Gwyndolyn with a penned expression of her love to him on the back.
He looked at it as often as situations on the front allowed.
He looked at it at breakfast and at dinner, setting the photo across from him so he could have his meals with her. And of course, at little moments throughout the day; such as penning his next letter to her.
His squad mates joked about it every time he did.
“Hold on, Alhain has to ask his wife if he's allowed to make the push.”
It kept the group smiling, Alhain most of all.
When she'd come to see him though, he thought he'd never been happier, except the day they'd been married of course.
His squad mates had a better understanding after they'd seen and spoken to her, just what it was he adored about her so much.
He'd not wanted to be parted again but they had to move on and the front was the last place he wanted his heart to be. When he'd gotten her next letter he'd jumped and hooted for joy and only after he'd been calmed enough to speak was the news properly relayed to his fellows.
The day after, the whole company knew he was going to be a father for the first time. The news was met with much congratulation and hardy slaps to the back.
His thumb moved to fidget with the ring around his finger, a simple gold band that had the date of their wedding carved on the inside, the same as his wife's.
It gave him comfort and hope even when they were far apart and his life transitioned through the cycle of war, mundane one moment and insurmountable dread and panic the next. He hated fighting, he wanted it to all come to an end, but there was so much that stood in the way of just a simple life with the Dyna he loved. He fought for that life with every bullet he fired.
The wind picked up and he could smell the flowers, the sweet earthy scent of new growth.
It smelled like hope, like life would be sweeter somehow.
His pace picked up, boots thudding on the hard earth as he began to jog, his pack bouncing with each impact.
He knew he was close, the way was familiar now and his heart soared thinking that he would be holding Gwyndolyn again soon.
The moth paste was unfortunately bland. And it was not as good on her plain toast as Gwyndolyn hoped. She was kicking herself for choosing it over the butter, but she'd not wanted bugs almost at all since finding it she was with kit, and the doctor had expressed concerns that she could be missing out on vital nutrients that her kits needed to grow properly. He'd only been somewhat quelled when she told him how much she'd craved bacon the whole time. It was protein and fats after all.
The yellow Dyna drummed her fingers on the table.
It was missing something. Alhain ate his with chives, and she didn't care very much for chives. But she found her herb scissors anyway and waddled out to the garden, basket in hand as she spied the long green stems in the back of the herb patch. It was worth trying.
Kneeling was getting harder, but she made it.
The green stems were a tad overgrown and close to flowering anyways so she'd cut them down to be as good as possible for when her husband returned. If she let them go to bolt they would be unpleasant to eat.
As she worked her eyes landed on her ring and it brought with it so many memories.
She'd known Alhain since they were both kits and she was sure from the time they were both only ten that she would marry him.
It seemed Alhain was on the same page as the week before she turned 18, only a day after he would, he went to her father and asked for his blessing.
Her mother had already made up her mind that they would be together, it was just a matter of time.
They'd grown up and gone to school together, always if you saw one, the other was close by.
No quar was surprised by their marriage, or that they had sought it themselves. They were practically joined at the hip all their lives, and now at twenty two they would finally have kits of their own. There was nothing that could dampen that joy for her, no sickness or soreness. Dropping the cut chive stalks into the wooden bowl shed brought out for the herb, then her hand went to her belly. Holding it, and she felt so much love. There within her, growing fast was the embodiment of her and her husband's love for one another.
She knelt in the garden, eyes closed, just absorbing the sun, breathing in the smell of the plants around her.
Letting herself be lost in the moment she nearly didnt hear the footsteps coming uo the lane.
When the sound registered to her she thought ot might be her mother coming to check on her, but the foot fall was roo heavy. Her father perhaps.
Struggling to her feet she glanced over the fence and squinted against the flash of metal, raising more she dropped the bowl in shock.
“Alhain!” She nearly tripped as she reached for the gate to the garden.
The buck dropped his pack and rhyfle to relieve the weight as he picked up his pace. “Gwyn!”
The dyna made it out the gate, arms raised to embrace her husband. He met her embrace and swept her off her feet, hugging her as if she simply evaporate if he let go for even a moment.
“Oh my love.” She wept despite the smile on her face and joy in her heart.
“They let me come home to help you. I wouldn't let it go until they did.” He laughed and let go only long enough to scoop her up in his arms. He carried her through the garden and into the house.
“I was so worried, I didnt receive any letters after the two I sent.” She kissed his cheek as he set her down.
“I know im so sorry. But I wanted to get home as quick as possible.”
Her returned the kiss and removed his helmet and set it down on the table. It felt good to remove it and know he wouldn't have to put it on again anytime soon.