#cat's cradle au

[blorbologist]

Cat's Cradle, Chapter 14

Ch1 ... Ch13

The kittens, now old enough to go without food for a little more time, are somehow even more of a torment on Percy’s nerves than they were before. 

“Vex!” he calls, shrill. “We have fugitives!”

“They’ve started learning to walk, Percy,” she tosses back. From the kitchen, given how she echoes. “Of course they’ve escaped. They can’t get far.”

“Velcro was in the middle of the floor!”

He does not have to hear her sigh to know she makes it. He assumes she pads down the hall, slips over the babygate silent as ever, because she appears in the doorway. Finds him sitting on the floor with his convict in his lap, the tiny blue tom wiggling viciously as he tries to resume his grand exploration of the room. 

Percy, in turn, is greeted with Vex in an apron. Which is half of why he avoided cooking with her to instead give the kittens supper, because good gods is it a cute look on her. The kiss the chef reads like an invitation, or an instruction manual. A recipe for disaster. 

“We’ll need a box,” he declares around the lump in his throat, plopping Velcro back in the basket. Or trying to - the kitten clings, wailing in outrage, until Percival relents and lets it sit in the crook of his leg. Corralled, for now. 

“Or a playpen,” Vex muses, tapping the spatula to her lips. Her eyes flit to something, not Percy but past him, and she grins. “I’ll leave you to figure that out yourself. I’m sure you can manage, my clever man.”

She leaves him fumbling long enough for Velcro and Spanner to stumble out and mewl in surprise at how cool the floor is. 

--

With a soft playpen set up, Percy feels a lot better about leaving the kittens unsupervised, even if only for short bursts. 

Such as an impromptu brunch with friends. It is a rare stroke of luck, for time off to line up so adeptly. Perhaps easier, without Vax’ildan’s graveyard shifts leaving him dead tired all day or Keyleth’s numerous projects tripping her up. Emptier, too.

“Okay,” Scanlan is saying, sipping loudly on a mimosa. “But you’re sure it’s alright? Kaylie says she hasn’t seen your truck at the workshop in, like, a week.”

“You have your daughter spying on him? Creepy.” Grog makes a show of scoffing, shoveling pancakes into his mouth. Despite the attention on him, he makes to swipe the french toast off Pike’s plate before she dissarms him with her own fork. 

“No - she’s just invested, alright? Won’t stop talking about that shitty day.” Scanlan shivers. “Not that I blame her - I’d be pretty fucked up, too.”

Pike hums in agreement. “Is the cat doing okay? You said her name was…?”

“Curio.” Percy takes a bracing sip of his coffee. “Recovering well from the surgery, seems eager to get out of her crate and stretch her legs. Those she has left, at least. I worry she will ruin the stitching if given that freedom, however.”

“Oy, here’s a thought-” “Manners.” Scanlan rolls his eyes, finishes chewing and swallows before continuing: ”Why don’t we stop by? I mean, you and Vex won’t shut up about these guys, and I don’t know about you guys but I could use some cute in my life. And chicks dig kitten pics.”

Percy hesitates.

So far, these kittens have been theirs. Vex’ahlia and Percival’s little charges, in their own little world. Sure, they had brought them to the vet, and Kaylie’s keen eye had saved Curio’s life. They certainly shared more than enough pictures and videos for all their friends to know many kittens by name. 

But there is something about inviting others into this little nest that has a part of him bristling.

Grog tilts his head. “I’d like to,” he admits. “Wouldn’t it be good for them to, like, meet more people? Help them get more specialized.”

“Socialized, Grog.” Pike pats his knee. 

Percy nudges Vex, who has been slipping into a food coma. She’s so exhausted it pains him to see. “Vex’ahlia, dear, what do you think?”

She stifles a yawn against her hand. “I don’t mind either way,” she admits. “If you guys do come over, though, keep it down - I think I’ll be having a nap, if that’s alright.”

Even the goliath of a man, all tattoos and muscle, seems to read the reluctance in Percy’s gaze. “I’ll be gentle with them,” he promises. “I can be real gentle with the little things.”

Percy sighs. Smiles. “That’s true, yes.” 

--

“When we said little, I didn’t think - woah,” Grog breathes, eyes blown wide and enraptured by every little hair on the kittens’ heads. He and Pike are both on their knees peering into the playpen. Bleary from their nap, the litter is content to wiggle and chirp. Even the one in Scanlan’s hands is well-behaved.

“Hah! Look - he’s spitting at me.”

Or perhaps not, but that’s a perfectly reasonable reaction to Scanlan. 

“She,” Percy corrects with a glance. 

“Ohh, I like them spicy.” He only evades getting an elbow in the gut when Pike stops herself, clearly remembering the precious cargo he holds. 

Having Scanlan for scale really puts into perspective just how small these kittens are - even in his hands they’re fragile, even without a tremor beneath them they wobble. Percy’s heart lurches in his chest when they move - but no, Scanlan’s just sitting more comfortably, with his back to the bed. 

He offers a finger from his free hand for greeting. The verdict is ‘disgusting, I hate it’ until he scratches under that impossibly small chin. “What a cutie patootie. What’s her name?” asks Scanlan.

Pike, peering now over his shoulder, glances between Percy and the kitten. “That’s Bauble, right?” She beams when he nods, pleased they remembered. 

“You can hold one, if you’d like,” Percy offers as Scanlan declares, “I’m gonna get Kaylie a kitten.”

“No - no, you’re not.” He swallows his snappy tone - half the kittens are sleeping, and so is Vex. “You can’t just give someone a lifelong commitment.”

Grog giggles - all head turn to find he’s stuck his hand in the playpen, where a curious Ratchet is clumsily batting at it while Screwdriver watches wide-eyed and hopelessly confused. 

“Ain’t that what happened to you?” says Grog. “With Kaylie?”

Scanlan rolls his eyes. “I was joking. Wasn’t I?” He rubs his nose into Bauble’s fur. “Oh, wow, she smells like cuteness! And kind of milky?”

Percy relaxes a little as Pike leans over to get a good sniff of kittendown too, scooting into Scanlan’s side for a better angle to coo and cuddle. 

That does bring up a thought he’s completely neglected up to date. The kittens are… goodness, not quite two weeks? Two more months and they’ll be old enough to adopt out. How in the hells is he going to find enough homes - good homes - for six kittens? And Curio, too. If matching a half-dozen cute, playful little cats will be a challenge, how will they possibly get someone willing to take on a disabled, probably traumatized adult cat? 

He can practically feel his blood pressure spike. Percy carefully leans over the edge of the playpen to pluck Screwdriver (still watching Grog’s hand with something like awe) and settle her in his lap. His hands are shaking, but so is she, so it’s fine. 

(What if they choose wrong? What if the owners can’t care for the needs of the shaky kittens? Gods, Screwdriver wobbles so much - what if she falls, what if they let her outside, what if -)

“Oop, gotta tinkle.” Percy’s hand jerks up to see Grog stand and dust off his hands. He coos when Ratched stumbles after him, mewling. “Aww, I’ll be back. Where’s the bathroom Percy?”

“It’s to the right, Buddies,” Pike says, delicately running her fingers from Bauble’s head to her little pointy tail. Scanlan’s eyes are on her, not the kitten, and he looks quite like the cat that got the cream.

“Thanks, Pikey!”

Screwdriver mimics his glance up at Grog, which - yeah, sweetheart, he is very big, hm? Percy makes sure to lavish her with extra pets for her bravery. There’s nothing to be scared of, it’s Grog. 

And then Percy remembers, and scrambles to his feet, clutching her to his chest.

“Wait! Don’t go in the-”

He hears the bars of Curio’s crate rattle from here and breaches the doorway just in time to see Grog sheepishly shut the door behind him.

“Guess I’ll hold it in,” he says.

#posting thus between talks byeeee i know its been forever I've been BUSY #critical role #the legend of vox machina #tlovm #tlovm fanfic #critical role fanfiction #cr fanfic #perc'ahlia #percahlia #percival de rolo #cat's cradle au

[digitalvoidheart]

PAY ATTENTION TO THE SHADING!! PA-

Ahem..

Lineless art of CC!Ccino and a new fact about witches in the au!

"Witches have to expel their magic periodically or the buildups may inflict damage on them and reduce the chance of staying immortal."

(would've added more flowers but I got tired and restless)

I'm really happy with how this piece turned out so that's why I added a bigger uglier watermark. Sorry. No want theft even if idk if my art is gold to other ppl XP

OG Ccino from fluffytale belongs to black-nyanko

Cat's cradle au belongs to @help-im-a-gay-fish @yuriyuruandyuraart and me

#Void doodles #Dunno how to add faces to this particular type of shading without making it ugly #Cat's cradle #Cat's cradle au #Cat's cradle!Ccino #Ccino sans #Ccino #Witch ccino #Drawing flowers is hard... #Hope lots of ppl like this cuz I'm really happy with it ^w^ #Gonna be a while till I get something out due to exams #Imma go study n cri now TwT this has been fun

[zannolin]

hi!! i just finished reading cats cradle fucking love it 10/10 amazing incredible showstopping ur writing never misses <3 <3 <3 any plans for future installments?

ah....cat's cradle. probably not as it is. me and my co-authors never finished an actual outline for where the au should go and looking back now i don't like a lot of what we did plan, and right now i think i'm the only one of us actively still posting dsmp fic at the moment.

i've a vague idea for like, revamping some of the plot and maybe remaking it into a self-contained oneshot, but i haven't really thought about that or discussed it with them yet. i personally don't plan on writing anything for the au in its current state because i just don't like most of what we were going to do anymore.

i do miss it though. one of the original horror concepts in the fandom...sigh.

#answered asks #anonymous #cat's cradle au

[zu-is-here]

Twisted fate

Fluffynightkiller Week by @help-im-a-gay-fish

Cat's Cradle AU by help-im-a-gay-fish, digitalvoidheart & yuriyuruandyuraart

Ccino by black-nyanko

Nightmare by jokublog

Killer by rahafwabas / rahaf-wabas / rahofy-sketch

#zu art #comic #fluffynightkiller #fluffynightkiller week #cats cradle au #witch!ccino #ccino!sans #cat!nightmare #catmare #nightmare!sans #hunter!killer #killer!sans #undertale #undertale au #utmv #oh my god it's /not/ angst?? (O_O) #(well it /was/ supposed to be angst but I liked this idea more <3)

[starry-bi-sky]

ive been hesitating to ask this bc youve been on a roll with the clone^2au (which i am frothing over) but could i poke you for some childhood friend au? bc GOD i wanna see how danny reacts to reuniting w jason or how the rest of the batfam react to learning jason never told danny of his resurrection or wondering if dannys gonna put jokers dead body on a display/offering to jasons grave. i havent been normal about this since i first read it and was wondering. thank you for your writing.

RAAAAHHHH DON'T BE HESITANT I AM JUST AS FERAL OVER MY CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AU AS I AM WITH CLONE^2 I AM DELIGHTED BY THIS. Like.,,,, i literally love them,,, so much. I can't listen to The Crane Wives without thinking of them.

(which is my fault - the ao3 fic of them has literally only crane wives lyrics for each chapter title and summary (posted AND the ones not written) so of course im gonna associate with them.)

(if you wanna listen to some of their songs while thinking of cfau here are my recommendations: "Once & for All", "Here I Am", "Hollow Moon" is a Danny AND Jason song to me, this would be my go-to song for an animatic of CFAU if i had the skills for it. "Tongues and Teeth", "Curses" and "take me to war" is a heavy cfau danny song to me, and of course, "the moon will sing")

Like they're BEST friends dude, they're two sides of the same coin and when they were kids they would do this thing where their 'fingers crossed'/'double-crossed' was them hooking their index fingers in the fingers crossed gesture.

and i'm actually currently rewriting my original post into a more fic-like format, and when I'm done I'll post it on here under the cfau tag - with the original post still in tact. But its,,, gonna be so long dude,,,, the original behemoth was just over 9000 words,,, and I've written 3k words already of the new one and we haven't even reached Jason and Danny reuniting at the gala yet,,, i need to get back to that,,,

and then to answer your questions!! god im almost hesitant to answer because i dont wanna spoil the little fic i had planned for it but also like,, its not like im gonna spoil everything, right? and answering the questions isnt the same as writing the scene down so!!

i love danny and jason's reuniting, like i've thought about it SO much and I've thought about it happening after Danny kills the Joker. I know the reveal could have been before that, and it could have been equally just as dramatic but like??? Thematically, doing it after danny kills the joker is SO good. To me at least.

Because like?? Jason's been in somewhat denial about danny's plan to kill the joker for months. ever since danny told him that he wanted to at the gala. And from Jason's pov its not even technically a plan. He sees his best friend for the first time after five years and his best friend still isn't over his death. He hasn't stepped foot in Gotham since his funeral and now suddenly he's here.

And he's still so full of grief over his death that he tells a masked vigilante that he's going to kill the guy that did it, who lives in said masked vigilante's city. And danny's got that look in his eyes that Jason knows so well that means he's being serious. And yet he still doesn't know if he should believe him or not.

And then he does. Danny kills him. And Jason can't fucking believe it. And when he goes and sees Danny, Danny's hands are still covered in blood. And that reunion? God like a fucking firework show. Danny's so fucking angry, and pissed, and hurt, and so goddamn overjoyed that he's alive and here that he sends them both to the ground, and if he doesn't calm down he's gonna take out the power in a five block radius.

there's just so, so much yelling on Danny's end. And then so much crying, first from Danny and then them both. because god, you're alive. you're here. i've missed you so much. i'm never letting you out of my sights again.

and Joker's death! God I don't want to actually say too much about that, but the way I have it set up thematically makes me actually not want danny to take any part of the joker with him as an offering. and he may actually forego that particular ghost etiquette and offer something else as an offering to Jason in substitute to not bringing him the Joker's heart/head/ritualistic body part.

Because you know what the last thing a man whose been spending the last two decades of his life building himself up to be larger than life would want? A death that's unremarkable. :) and that's all i'll put on the matter for now.

and the batfam!! they technically already know that jason hasn't told danny he was resurrected, and plenty of them have mixed feelings on them. largely bruce and dick i think, considering they saw firsthand how close jason and danny were when they were kids.

Dick was honestly surprised at first when he found out that Jason hadn't told Danny he was alive - and on one hand he understands the reasoning for it, and on the other hand he isn't sure if it was such a good idea. Especially after he sees Danny again after he arrives back in Gotham and sees just how badly Jason's death was still affecting him. But it's not like he's going to try and convince Jason to tell him - he can make his own choices, even if Dick has questions about them.

Bruce has much the same thoughts as Dick, so there's not really much to add here other than he might bring it up once or twice to Jason like, vaguely. And then immediately drops it when Jason shuts him down. He might actually somewhat...?? prefer that Jason hasn't told Danny because that raises a lot of questions and could jeopardize their identities. However, again, Jason can make his own choices and there's not much Bruce can do about it other than disapprove from afar.

Tim who knew of Danny from stalking the Wayne family shares similars sentiments of being surprised that Jason didn't tell Danny, but again, yeah, understands the thought process to some extent. Doesn't bring it up ever.

Everyone else who hadn't seen firsthand how close Danny and Jason are don't really have much opinion on it -- Jason didn't tell his best friend he was alive, great, he also didn't tell them either so it's not like its that much of a surprise. It would've been more of a surprise to them if Jason had told Danny before he told Bruce and co. Damian may make a comment or two about Jason not telling Danny, but its not about how he can't believe he didn't tell him or anything like it.

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #danny fenton is not the ghost king #cfau #childhood friends au #danny and jason are such best friends i love them so much #BUT YEAH ASK ME MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT CFAU I'LL SCREAM #AND THEN TRY AND ANSWER THEM TO MY BEST ABILITY #like i could go on RANTS almost SPECIFICALLY about rath (dan) and then about jason and danny #and their friendship like i've thought about this au with a combined soulmate au and immediately hated the idea because no! #no! i can't call them soulmates. i can't it doesnt fit. their bond goes DEEPER than that. its *better* than that #this wasn't written in the stars it was forged in the back alley streets of gotham with all the broken glass under their feet #and the smell of nicotine weaving itself into the fabrics of their shirts. their souls aren't intertwined because the universe said so #they're two balls of yarn tangled together because they batted it at each other and decided to play cats cradle. and then never bothered #to untangle the string from one another. you'll never know where one ends and the other begins #i actually have a cfau miscellaneous facts post in my drafts that i need to finish too and i might do that today because of this ask <33 #the fastest way to starry's heart is through her ask box #asking me questions about my aus is the fastest way to make me make more content about them ajshld #see: clone^2 (i've been coasting off the fanart i got from them for the last two days) and now this #i need to stop more before i start waxing more poetic about jason and danny's bond with one another. #also also jason is equally as feral about danny as danny is about him (see: him plotting joker's demise since he was 14) its just not #showing as much since a lot of this is from danny's pov. like dw this isn't one-sided obsession its mutual. #see: jason seeing danny's scars and immediately wanting to find out who caused it and getting murderously angry about it #its not a starry post unless its long #idk maybe im just obsessed with the idea that relationships are chosen and forged with time and that the bonds we have arent because they #were predetermined but because we made them to be. Like how clone^2 said 'i choose to be brothers' and how danny and jason said #'i choose you. i will always choose you. you're my other half. the one who watches my back. i choose you.'

[ghouljams]

jumping off of that other anon about love and war: discussion on pieces of art (like the Brunswicker) or poetry (Lord Byron) who combine that sense of devoted love and helplessness. love recites Byron to simon and it turns him on, not because it's Byron, but because it's her (and he loves the way her mouth moves)

I watched thee when the fever glazed thine eyes

Yielding my couch, and stretched me on the ground

When overworn with watching, ne'er to rise

From thence, if thou an early grave hadst found.

Ghost is absolutely entranced by every part of this woman, but her mouth? The way she smiles at him makes his heart stop. The way she talks to him is like music, he can't help but want to listen to her for hours. He's down astronomical. Love is awful for his sanity and yet he can't turn her away like he does everyone else.

It's just- She's smart. She's smart enough to know better than to like him, than to go after a guy like him, and yet here she is. She perches on his desk to read Vonnegut just so she can turn to him and point out her favorite section, or ask his thoughts on whatever philosophy the book is lecturing. Love is the sort of pretty he'd never go after at a bar, the sort that has too much life to be bogged down by the type of love he has to offer. Absolute, rabid, devotion. And yet! And yet she knocks on his door, and leaves little notes in his books, and takes an interest in him in a way that no one else has. He almost touches her on purpose once, just to check that he hasn't imagined her. He thinks better of it.

Love jokes with him, to him about him. She's so... lovely. She's a fountain of knowledge, always inviting him to drink, and where he thought once that he was drowning in a sea of people he finds himself parched. He's alone when he's not with her. He finds his eyes on the lecture hall doors, watching for her. He tracks his time for office hours closer, waiting an extra few minutes for her. That's how he finds himself in her lectures, drawn to her when he can't stand being away any longer. He hovers in the back, unsure why he's even there, though he always comes with an excuse, and wonders why he enjoys her flirting so much.

She's discussing the anthropological importance of "heroes" the way that humanity craves the safety of them. The shift in ideals, the Byronic hero. Ghost wonders if this might not serve a literature class better, he glances at a nearby student's notes and sees the class is cross listed: "Human evolution through story telling." He got his times wrong, this isn't the philosophy one.

"Speaking of heroes," Love grins, and Ghost knows that's for him, "Simon, my favorite Byronic gentleman, here to recite some poetry for us?" God the way she says his name, he might need a pace maker to keep his heart beating the way it's supposed to. He holds up a paperback, and she shakes her head. "Knew I forgot something."

Love holds her hand out, and despite his better judgement Ghost walks down the lecture hall steps to hand the book to her. She flips through the pages, and almost seems disappointed. He's reminded of the little notes she leaves him in the books she returns. That's different though, those are in scholarly texts, this is a copy of Kafka's "Metamorphosis." She already heard his thoughts on it. Maybe not all of them, she'd started leaning too far over and he'd had to kick her out before she noticed him staring down her shirt, but enough.

"Not a poetry guy," Ghost tells her, she always seems to perk up when he talks. Now is no different, the light comes back to her smile as she glances up at him.

"I can start it off." She offers. Ghost hesitates, glancing back at the silent lecture hall, and gives a short nod.

"I watched thee when the foe was at our side,/ Ready to strike at him—or thee and me,/ Were safety hopeless—rather than divide/ Aught with one loved save love and liberty." He watches that pretty mouth shape the words, his head tipping with a gentle shake. One loved, together intertwined even in hopelessness. Love and Death, it's funny... he actually knows this one.

"I watched thee on the breakers, when the rock/ Received our prow, and all was storm and fear," Ghost swallows, frowning against Love's eager stare, something woefully soft in her eyes feels as sharp as a knife when he meets them. He looks away, finds more eyes, looks back. He lowers his voice, feels the rasp of it in his throat, the sticky promises he wants to make, hidden behind a stranger's words, "And bade thee cling to me through every shock;/ This arm would be thy bark, or breast thy bier." She's so dangerously close to him, stupidly close with those sweet lips curved like sin into a smile. "Love dwells not in our will." Ghost breathes.

"You're skipping ahead," Love leans in to whisper. Ghost can't help the way he leans as well, the tip of his head and aborted raise of his hand. Ghost stiffens, straightens and turns to go. He can't be around this woman any more. She's going to be the death of him. "Bye Simon," She calls after him.

"Dr. Riley," He grumbles. One student sitting on the aisle notes in the group chat later that they aren't sure if he was correcting her, or extending a similar goodbye, with a teeny-weeny Freudian slip.

#x oc #simon ghost riley #cod x oc #ghost x oc #ghost mw2 #ghost call of duty #oc: love #professor au #professor!ghost #f!oc #simon riley x oc #simon ghost riley x oc #Love and Ghost talking about Cat's Cradle #Ghost has never been more in love with someone in his life

[naavispider]

Would you ever write what would happen if Quaritch managed to kidnap Spider the Cat's in the Cradle? One shot, headcanons, anything

To recap: Spider and Quaritch had their meeting at the waffle house, only in this AU the police never show up to carry out their sting operation. The next day, the genetic testing comes back negative (meaning Q still looks extremely guilty in Regina's death). He kicks the plan into action the next day.

Spider had been nervous all day. Quaritch had said the results were due soon. It could literally be any minute now. He pushed off from the school parking lot on his skateboard, not even bothering to collect his homework from his locker. He pulled out the burner that his dad gave him, even though he knew he shouldn't text and skate. He checked, but there were no new messages. He rolled the familiar route down Wisteria avenue and tried to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his head that told him maybe he hadn't heard yet because it hadn't gone their way.

Before he could dwell too much on the matter, the low hum of an engine behind him made him look over his shoulder. He shouldn't have been surprised to see his father's car pulling up behind him, but he was. He kicked his board up and walked over to the driver's side tinted window. "What are you doing here?" he asked, looking around inconspicuously as the window slid down. "Did you find out? I thought you were laying low?"

Straight away Spider could tell that his dad looked... different. Tense. "What's... wrong?"

"Get in kid and I'll explain."

It was then that Spider noticed the passenger seat wasn't empty. Lyle Wainfleet? What was he doing here? The whole situation was screaming something at Spider, he just couldn't figure it out. His brain seemed to have frozen, unable to make the connection which in hindsight, was obvious.

He took a step back. "What's going on?"

"Get in, and I'll tell you." For the first time, his dad looked at him properly. His eyes softened and there was something that looked suspiciously like a plea hiding behind them. "Come on," he said more gently, more reassuring.

Every fibre of his being was telling Spider that this was a bad idea, but he didn't have the capacity to act on it. He swallowed his nerves, shook his head and opened the back door. Once he was inside the Bugatti, Wainfleet turned around from the front and threw him a grin. "Alright kid? How you doing?"

"Fine..." Spider replied wearily. "I kind of wanna know what the Hell's going on though." Quaritch had already pulled away and they were moving through the streets at a speed that definitely wasn't legal. "Did the results come back?" His heart was starting to sink in his chest.

"Lyle turned back around to face the front, and let Quaritch answer. "Sure did, kid."

Okay... Spider waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. He was starting to stress now. Why was Quaritch being so weird? If the results were negative, they'd deal with it. What was all this cloak and dagger? "And...?" he prompted, heart pounding.

"Spider, I need you to listen very carefully, and I need you to be cool, okay?"

Spider flicked his gaze between Quaritch and Wainfleet, neither of whom were facing him. He never put his seatbelt on so he moved to the middle of the car and tried to gauge Quaritch's face for himself. "Okay," he said, trying to calm himself down as he said it.

"The results were negative. She didn't have Osteogenesis imperfecta."

Spider's breathing was coming faster and faster. He tried to wrangle control. His mind was spinning. Sure, he'd said they would deal with it if this happened, but now that it was fact, Spider wasn't so sure. Regina had died, and it wasn't due to a rare condition mimicking abuse. Someone had done that to her. "Okay, fine. Stop the car and we'll figure it out."

"This is the part where you need to stay cool, Spider. We're taking a roadtrip."

"What do you mean?"

Wainfleet looked very obviously over at Quaritch. "What do you mean?" Spider repeated, more forcefully this time.

With no response from Quaritch, Wainfleet turned back to Spider. "I'm gonna ask you once to put your seatbelt on."

"No, I want you to take me home." Spider stared right back at Wainfleet.

Wainfleet sighed. He looked resigned to something. Spider's throat had started to tighten. Not now, he urged it silently.

"Okay," Wainfleet sighed under his breath, and for a moment Spider thought he was agreeing to the request. Next moment however, the man turned around to the front and opened the glovebox. He started fiddling around with something and Spider leaned forward to see what-

He scrambled back against the seat, eyes wide as he took in what Wainfleet was doing. A cloth and a bottle. The car was on the highway now, but Spider wasn't thinking. He grabbed the door handle and began pulling in vain. Quaritch had locked it, of course he had. If Spider hadn't been so panicked he would have had time to chastise himself for falling for the same trick twice. "Pull over!" he yelled at Quaritch.

"Kid, calm down," Wainfleet tried to reason.

Spider just stared at the way his dad kept driving, not lifting a finger, ignoring everything Spider was saying. "Dad!"

Wainfleet began to reach back towards Spider. "Get that the fuck away from me!" Spider shouted, blinding panic consuming him up from the inside out. He tried to get the attention of his dad again, to no avail. "Dad!"

Wainfleet was reaching fully back now, his torso half in the back, forcing Spider into the very corner of the car. He hit the marine's arm away, but Wainfleet simply transferred the cloth to his other hand and lunged forward, leaving the passenger seat and wrestling Spider in the back. It wasn't much of a fight. Wainfleet was over six feet and at least three times as wide as Spider. Even with both hands, Spider couldn't grapple the man away far enough to prevent the cloth from covering his mouth. The last thing he remembered saying was yelling for his dad to stop Wainfleet.

He tried as hard as he could, but neither his tears nor his screams were enough, and eventually the stench of the cloth filling his lungs sent his limbs limp and his brain down into a deep sleep.

#avatar modern au #miles spider socorro #miles quaritch #lyle wainfleet #avatar the way of water #corporal wainfleet #atwow #avatar 2 #recom quaritch #the cat's in the cradle #my stuff: alternate ending #colonel quaritch

[oleanderpigeon]

The fire that destroyed the clans...

More of the evil firestar au!

#im thinking his warrior name would be fireclaw in honor of tigerclaw #canon warriors #warrior cats #evil firestar au #tigerclaw #tigerstar #firestar #also the strings are like a cats cradle get it #cuz cats #im sorry ill show myself out

[smallmartiniolive]

You know what would be a cool warrior cat au? Sibling swap au. Not in personality or whatever because that just takes away from who the cats are but in roles and how/when they die.

I mean at face value what a cool au we would have Snowstar instead of Bluestar!! WRONG. Maybe? I mean Moonflower would be the med cat (bc she swapped with Goosefeather) but maybe those two would end up as Goose’s kits somehow, if he ever decided to have kits even though he’s a warrior now. So that would mean Thistleclaw would become leader right? Because he was the next candidate? WRONG AGAIN. He died as an apprentice replacing his sister. So does that mean we would have Sweetstar?? Who even knows!!

Also cats with no known siblings or only cat litters stay the same and I think this only applies to cats born in the same litter. Like Tigerstar is replaced by one of his sisters but Wind Runner has no known siblings (that I remember) even if she maybe had some so she stays

I just think it has a lot of endless possibilities, and consider, Princess replacing Firestar. Joining for a completely different reason and Firestar is the one who sticks around with his two legs (I like to think a twoleg kit moved in and they bonded and Rusty felt bad leaving so he sticks around). While Princess maybe gets convinced by Oliver and she joins Thunderclan. I just think it’d be radical!! Also the world building oh my gododododod THe- THE WORLDBUILDING! If you really want to get into it you could even go back to the beginning. Gray Wing, leader of Skyclan. Sun Shadow leader of Shadowclan. Wind Runner still runs Windclan (my Girlboss). Thunder is replaced by one of his dead siblings, rumble or lightning I think. River Ripple still runs Riverclan. Idk man I just feel it’s got that potential. GrayWingcreatorofskyclanwouldbesocoolanditwouldntevenbecalledskyclananymore

Ok ok I’m done rant over

#warrior cats #wc au #wc #I like to think Princess is still part of the prophecy but her prefix would probably be something like aster (a flower signifying royalty) #maybe Violet (purple for royalty) or something that relates to her pretty green eyes :3 #princess warrior cats #princess wc #gray wing #gray wing warrior cats #firestar #firestar warrior cats #written in a delusional fervor so no spell check this time around #yea I’ll be writing for this later I feel the hyperfixation coming on #open to others interpretations too tho!! #cradling this au like a small child #strategist warrior Alderheart and I hate Starclan why are they so vague Sparkpelt

[starfishsonny]

jshshskwkek silly lil animatic of my dog man au,,!!!

#audio is from dont get 2 close 2 my fantasy live at the cats cradle by ween!! #bark knight is so fun to draw I LOVE HIS LIL TONGUEE #i need name ideas for the au <//3 #dog man #dog man dav pilkey #dog man comics #petey the cat #dav pilkey #dog man au #dog man comics au

[blorbologist]

Cat’s Cradle, Chapter 15

Ch1 ... Ch14

Two more months.

Percy just has to survive two more months. Then the kittens will have homes and he can make a swift exit with what’s left of his heart. Or maybe even sooner: Vax’ildan and Keyleth will not be gone forever. And the kittens only need a few more weeks of care until Curio and Vex can handle themselves without him.

Finding excuses to stay is almost trivial, is the trouble. Namely Vex’s long hours - he’s not sure she’d remember to eat if not for Trinket whining at her heels. There’s some matzo ball soup from Pike waiting to be warmed on the stove once the animals - good gods, a dog and a cat and six kittens - are cared for.

She only just got home, not even taking the time to shuck her jacket before finding him, preparing a bottle of her own and coaxing one of the kittens to feed. 

(The turquoise dress and dark leather jacket is criminally good looking. Wow, legs.)

“There’s a good darling,” she murmurs, eyes a starlit darkness as Spanner latches and drinks obnoxiously loudly. Ratchet, by comparison, is quieter, pawing at the air in front of her with tiny talons.

Vex leans heavily into Percy’s side, the last rags of her perfume settling with the benign scents of a busy day. He has no idea how she can go from that to caring for something small, helpless - he would certainly need to sequester himself away from anything alive for an hour or three. 

She pokes his flank with an elbow. “Did I miss anything today?”

Percy hums. “Well,” he says, “I had a front-row seat to a gladiatorial battle today.”

The grin is infectious - her eyes fight to stay on task. “Oh?”

“Mmmmhm - I’d almost call it a fight club. Terribly unclouth ear-biting. Slow-motion rabbit-kicks.”

“And who were the little champions?” Vex’s finger draws over the tiny black spine - Spanner’s tail shoots up and she leans into the touch. “Was it you, darling? I bet it was you.”

His chuckle feels punched out of him, of its own accord. Gods. “Actually - it was the twins and Velcro.”

She loses some battle and glances at him sidelong. It feels like victory, until he realizes it’s a trap. “Nuts and Bolts?”

Percy groans. “We are not having this discussion again.”

“Why not?” He should freeze when Vex snickers, falling further into his side. Not relax into it, the warmth of her cheek so close. She blinks and he can feel it.

Ratchet - not Bolts - churrs, gumming the bottle’s nipple more lazily. Her little mouth is caked in formula, little head lolling back in contentment. Perfect timing - he owes her one.

Percy clears his throat. Pulls himself away. It’s like slowly submerging his head in cold water. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no - I’m -” Vex bites her lip. Percy studiously does not look at her as he wipes the kitten’s mouth, puts her back, refills the bottle for the next hellion. He swears he hears her voice quaver: “That’s on me. Friends, right?”

Weeks, months? How the hell is he going to survive another day?

--

“Curio, what am I going to do?”

The cat in question has nothing to say about it. Which is very fair - Percy is hardly expecting her to respond. He’s supposed to habituate her to human voices and proximity again. With his last few emails sent and laptop sitting closed on the tiles, and Vex not due home for another two hours, he figures Curio is as good a confidant as any.

It remains that he is sitting in the tub as though it’s a therapist’s couch (without his shoes on, he’s no monster) and going over his troubles to a cat. She’s already listened to him bemoan taxes and gush about her babies while devouring the plate of chicken he’d left nearby. Now she’s hiding somewhere - maybe in the shower curtains, or in her kennel, or behind the sink. Hard to tell from this angle. 

So Percy keeps talking, mapping cracks in the tile. “We agreed to keep it platonic. But it’s not, it’s very clearly not, and I refuse to overstep and make her uncomfortable.”

Fuck, it makes him uncomfortable - just how badly he wants to hold her and tell her a thousand juvenile, stupid things. 

(Maybe he wants to be out of his comfort zone. Sweat a little, because Vex is - Vex is worth it. And he can wait, and live with these scraps he steals if it all amounts to what they had before.)

“Regardless of my feelings.” He swallows hard. Digs his gaze into a missing corner of ceramic. “Regardless - she deserves better. You know I was a complete wreck the day you - when you and your littlest joined us? And I stay up late, too scared to close my eyes. That they - and you, and her - might all be gone or worse when I open them.”

Percy sighs. “Why can’t I just fix me? Work as intended? This - all this pinning - is so complicated.”

The rasp of carpet - so she was curled behind the toilet, then.

“I’m sure you never had to deal with this,” he grumbles. “Just find a tom or two and never think about the ordeal again. And never will, again, now that you’re spayed.”

Pat-pat-pat, and a soft thunk. Eyes bluer than he can imagine lock with his.

“Oh.” 

Curio stands awkwardly on the lip of the bath, three legs somewhat splayed for balance on the smooth surface. Her ears form delicate little wings, unsure but not scared. 

Slowly, hardly daring to breathe, Percy paws for the treats kept on hand for this miracle. And extends his open hand and offering to the molly. 

Only briefly does she sniff before dipping her head to - 

he was going to call it delicately nibble, but she absolutely scarfs down the treats with a mumbly growl. It’s hilarious, and dismisses his heavy heart with ease.

And then - and then she stretches her neck out, sniffing along his wrist. Tentatively, he walks his fingers under her chin.

She leans into it, eyes squinting.

“There’s a good girl,” Percy breathes, an open-mouthed smile robbing him of breath.

Curio purrs.

Vex finds him, later, in the bathtub with Curio in his lap. Unfortunately her appearance causes the cat to scrabble for cover, drawing clawmarks even through his pants - but it’s fine, it’s fine Vex, really -

really, it is.

--

“Hail to the returning hero,” Percy cheers. Vex has to take a moment to draw soak hair away from her eyes to see him properly, at which she cackles. 

“Percy! What did you do?”

Torn between an understatement and overexplaining, Percival settles instead for pilfering her coat, sauntering off to toss it in the dryer. On the way back he lobs a towel at her head - she loathes leaving her hair wet. 

He trusts Vex can deduce his schemes well enough by the evidence assembled: candles crowning surfaces out of Trinket-wagging range, nice linens and cutlery at the tiny table, his own pressed dress shirt and dark jacket, and the smell of roast vegetables, mashed potatoes and steak wafting from where they remain, warm and safe from the dog, in the kitchen

Cooking is just chemistry you can eat - or, that’s what his mother had told him to convince a young Percy to help out in the kitchen. After that it became a struggle to pry him away from the oven for seven months. Though the special interest had faded, much of the knowledge was baked in. Pun intended.

Today was her last long day before her hours returned to normal. Not that it was a given, but it was in writing, and from his understanding Vex had schmoozed and socialized well enough to potentially be looking at a more lucrative, less time-consuming, job offer. She could afford to say no, thankyou. And that was worth celebrating.

Percy grins sheepishly. “I might have cooked another, without any seasoning, for the four legged legion.”

She’s said it a thousand times before, and so she says it again: “You’re spoiling them, darling.” Which is true - it’s a welcome surprise, how often thoughts of simple joys to share with Trinket and the cats strike him. How easily he caves to the whims. 

No surprise, really. Spoiled, Vex says, of a steak divided eight ways to her feast, to her wine, to him. All for her.

“Besides - the kittens can’t eat solid food for some weeks yet, Percy.”

Well - shit.

#shakes this like a bag of temptations COME GET YALL TREATS #idk what im even doing with this AU it's just a comforting thing that's easy to write with only a very loose sort of plot and thats Fine #also ignore how long it took I was focused on finishing TFJ #critical role #campaign 1 #cr1 #perc'ahlia #percahlia #percival de rolo #vex'ahlia #cat's cradle au #cr au #cr fanfic #my writing

[digitalvoidheart]

6/08

Young CC!Geno on his way to teach Reaper (I'll tell you soon exactly what X3c)

Geno belongs to @loverofpiggies

Cat's cradle belongs to @help-im-a-gay-fish @yuriyuruandyuraart and me

Hope you guys like it!! X3

#Void doodles #CC!Geno #Cat's cradle!Geno #Cat's cradle #Cat's cradle au #Geno #Geno sans #Aftertale sans #Was gonna draw a Mashup of Hikari be my light and afterdeath but I'm still exhausted after exams

[cats-inthe-cradle]

More Aggie doodles! This time it’s just Morro tho (I told you I draw him a lot)

(Feat. some of @floating-far-from-earth ‘s art in a couple of those)

#ninjago #morro ninjago #floyd the cat #zane ninjago #kai ninjago #cradle's stuff #cradle’s art #morro lives au

[floralcrematorium]

Arthur Kirkland || HWS England

Character Playlist | 21 songs | 1hr 15 min

• Dearly Departed - Marianas Trench • Savior - Rise Against • Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind • Don't Believe A Word - Third Eye Blind • Viva La Vida - Coldplay • Do Better - Say Anything • Cat's In The Cradle - The Relentless • ABSINTHE - MOTHICA • 18 - Anarbor • Rhinestone Eyes - Gorillaz • Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles • I'm Still Standing - Elton John • Scarborough Fair/Canticle - Simon & Garfunkel • Ship in a Bottle - fin • 505 - Arctic Monkeys • Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High - Arctic Monkeys • He Who Flees the Light - Calabrese • Just One Yesterday - Fall Out Boy • The Beast of Pirate's Bay - Aurelio Voltaire • Absinthe - I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME • icarus - luvbug

Spotify | Youtube

#was genuinely surprised to see him win the poll #regardless i said i'd deliver so here he is #for much of arthur's playlist i thought of one of three things #1. his crippling loneliness and the feeling of uselessness followed by alcoholism #^ i tend to go FACE family human AUs but y'all nationverse fans can take this in literally any way #2. his relationship with alfred & mattie as a father/older brother figure (icarus and cat's in the cradle especially) #3. his relationship with francis #to me arthur is a stubborn man who doesn't know when to quit even when he's being a detriment to himself #like Francis he tries to put on the air that he's graceful and eloquent but because his charisma is not nearly at the same level as Fran's #Arthur falls flat and the facade becomes seethrough #your honor this man is melancholic and miserable and NOT in a fun way #hetalia #hws england #arthur kirkland #floralcrematorium music #character playlist #hetalia character playlist #hetalia character theme songs #Spotify

[ainyan]

For the ask game I reblogged from ya; Who does Violence by Meredith Bull fit?

Bet you thought I'd say Kal'istae...

... but this song actually better suits my sulky boy Szah'li. Kali is, despite everything, pretty well-balanced. Szah'li... is not. He doesn't want to fit in. He doesn't want the family, the friends, the crowd. He gets that he's got the ability to do good, but he doesn't understand why he has to play along with everyone else to do it.

Every day seems to add new burdens to his shoulders, and he's so young and raw and unfinished, it's often a question as to whether this burden will be one straw too many.

Give me a song from your Spotify Wrapped, I'll match it with an OC!

Thank you for the ask!

#asked and answered #spotify wrapped #szah'li khiyanto #au: cat in the cradle

[naavispider]

Not Quaritch looking through Spider’s meme folder in his photo gallery because he misses him 💀💀💀💀

AHAHAHA omg not this 😭 Quaritch would have no idea what he’s looking at, he’d definitely be asking Lyle and the rest of the squad what they mean 😪

#avatar modern au #the cat's in the cradle #miles quaritch #spider socorro #avatar the way of water #avatar 2 #ask