As a side note, if given the opportunity, each and every bird, no matter how small, will eventually reveal that the KT extinction event was nothing more than a mere inconvenience, and that dinosaurs still roam the Earth.
This observation brought to you by finch!Napoleon, who unleashed every ounce of Cretaceous rage he possessed upon me when I attempted to check on him while he was in the nest basket. In my defense, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t pulling feathers to line the nest again, as he has done before. In his defense, attacking a giant primate who was poking her finger into the nest basket was 1000% the logical course of action and I really should have expected that outcome.
Good news is that he has not been pulling feathers again, and he and I have come to an agreement about keeping my clumsy primate fingers out of his basket, for which finch!Illya is the only other being allowed entry.
Bad news is that he’s been eyeing that Zelda poster behind him to shred with his beak for further nesting material. Note to self: move poster.
Apparently, they are! According to the abstract of this paper, it is believed that not only do they have dense feathers for protection against stings, they also secrete chemicals that repel bees.
Written for today’s short affair prompt at Section VII.
Summary: In which Napoleon struggles to keep up with Illya in the Arctic–and Illya looks after him in return
Notes:
There are two versions of this piece. This is the light slash
version (also cross-posted to AO3). There is a gen version on my
dreamwidth if you’d prefer reading that.
The two blurbs are around 90% similar.
Napoleon didn’t like to admit whenever he was reaching the
limits of his endurance; it was a matter of both pride and the need to cover
his partner’s back. He and Illya had
been together for nearly two years now; he wanted to prove to his beloved that
he was ready for anything. And so, as
they continued their trek across the Arctic, Napoleon kept his complaints about
the cold to himself, ignoring the numb feeling in his feet.
Illya, naturally, didn’t seem to even flinch at the cold;
he was leading the way across the snow, glancing up at the Northern Lights
every few moments. Napoleon had to admit
that the lights were pretty and helped distract him from his numb feet and
increasing tiredness—the greens and teals gave way to blue and purple.
The colors were so beautiful—so entrancing. Napoleon could feel his head getting lighter
and lighter as the colors swirled overhead.
It suddenly dawned on him how exhausted he really was, and yet, he
didn’t want to bring it up.
He continued to push forward, but Illya was no fool; as he
looked back to check on him, he immediately sensed that Napoleon was not at the
top of his game.
“Napoleon!” Illya chided.
“Why didn’t you tell me you needed to rest?”
“I don’t need rest,” Napoleon insisted. “I’m fine… I’m…” He trailed off, trying to shake off his
weariness, but his leg buckled under him, sending him crashing into the
snow. “Well, maybe a little rest…”
Illya was by his side in an instant, checking him over and
tutting.
“Exhaustion,” he diagnosed.
“And I think you have mild frostbite on your feet.”
“…So that’s why I can’t feel them…” Napoleon responded,
dryly.
Illya shook his head and now attempted to transfer Napoleon
to his back.
“I’ll have to take you back to the U.N.C.L.E. outpost,”
Illya said.
“No, don’t do that,” Napoleon said. “We might lose the trail of that THRUSH
agent. Radio back for reinforcements and
go on without me.”
Illya gently placed a hand on Napoleon’s face; it was
almost magical, how Illya’s hand was still warm, even in the bitter cold. And the lights of the aurora illuminating him
made him look like something from another world.
“Napoleon,” he said, gently. “I have lost count of the number of times you
have cast aside our objective to ensure that I was safe after an injury. I love you, Napoleon, and you are more
important to me than anything else in the world. I dare not risk a chance that the help you
want me to call will find you before you freeze—I can see that you can barely
keep your eyes open as it is. No,
Napoleon; I will not leave you—no more than you could ever leave me if our
conditions were reversed.”
He gently kissed Napoleon and once again moved to carry his
partner on his back; this time, Napoleon only complained quietly, but
eventually went along with it. Illya
eventually had him in bed, tucked under blankets with his frostbite—thankfully
mild—being treated. The cocoon of warmth
was once again lulling him to sleep—but Napoleon struggled to keep his eyes
open long enough to say what he had to say.
“Illya… thank you…”
Illya just smiled, continuing to keep his warm hand on
Napoleon’s face as the Northern Lights from the window managed to continue
casting that otherworldly glow on his face.
“Rest, Dorogoy,”
he instructed. “Regain your
strength. We will continue our endeavors
soon enough.”
Napoleon nodded and let himself sink into slumber, all the
while thinking about how lucky he was to have Illya as his partner.
1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean? The rose part is based off of one of the first long stories I wrote when I was a kid (and also because my real name literally means “flower”), and the Pollux part was based off of a relatively recent novel I started in my undergrad and finished in 2012.
2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (bookmarks/subscriptions/hits/kudos). I think going by hits is inaccurate, as multichapter fics will, inevitably, have more. On FFN, my most popular fic based on feedback is and probably forever will be an old YuGiOh fic I wrote called “Folgen Sie Ihrem Traum.” On AO3, it was the slash version of “Heroic Resolve,” which was a short vignette where Illya looks after a hypothermic Napoleon.
3. What is your AO3 profile icon, and why did you choose it? It is a stock/public domain pic of a rose to fit in with the penname; it’s my default icon on almost all of my accounts across the internet. It was my icon here, too, until last year, when @ksturf figured out how to photoshop the rose into Napoleon’s hand and I just adored it to bits.
4. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most? …Vampire AUs, lately. I don’t post these, but there was a slight taste of one in the last chapter of last year’s Halloween fic, “The Jack o’ the Lantern Affair.”
5. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? (you can view this on the stats page)
….That’s… a lot more than I thought there would be 😮
6. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!) If you’d asked me this a year ago, I would have said writing romance/slash. Now, I love it.
7. Is there anything you would like to be
better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments,
updating better, etc. I wish I could update better…
8. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often? Prior to MFU, it was rarepairs; Napollya is the main ship here, so that’s a fun switch from writing rairpares. 🙂
9. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)? 239 on AO3 (185 are MFU, soon to be 186/240).
10. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program? Everything that I wrote from 2010 and onward; I should probably make backups of the YuGiOh DM fics prior to 2010 in case FFN ever goes down… 11. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head? I keep most them in my head until I’m ready to outline; I log the really good ones.
12. Have you ever co-authored a story? Yep, I once co-wrote a fic for the Hogan’s Heroes fandom 13. How did you discover AO3? One of my followers convinced me to get an account, and I finally caved.
14. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3? I was part of the Monkees Ring of Misery, and before that, was cited as “one of the good authors” by someone in the Hogan’s Heroes fandom, which was a definite “Wait, what?” moment, but a thrilling one (especially since the person in question was someone I’d considered a well-established writer in the fandom)! Both of those were before my venture into AO3; for MFU it’s mainly me in my own little corner with a few regular readers, but every so often, one of my fics takes off.
15. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers? Not really…
16. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write? First it was Georges “Hergé” Remi, who basically was the single-biggest influence on my writing style. And though he’s not an author per se, it was Satoshi Tajiri’s open Pokémon world that gave me the chance to test that writing style. I’m fond of using the metaphor that Hergé gave me the tools, but Mr. Tajiri gave me the workshop.
17. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author? Basically, practice and keep writing. Writing is an art, and with all arts, you get better with practice.
18. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go? For short ones, I wing it, but for anything multichapter, I have to plot it out.
19. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do? The only bad comment I ever got on a fic was on a mystery fic for Hogan’s Heroes, where someone complained that they “didn’t read the whole thing, but jumped in the middle of the fic and it made no sense.” Like… I don’t know what they expected jumping into the middle of a mystery fic. I just ignored it.
20. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? I don’t like writing characters–especially characters that are usually close–at odds with each other.
21. What story(s) are you working on now? I’m hoping to write more of the Lionheart & Kid project I started for NaNo, do my weekly MFU short affair, and soon start an MFU mystery fic.
22. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)? HAHAHAHAHA *pushes several WIPs behind a door* 23. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself? I did during Fictober and NaNo; for other months, I usually don’t.
24. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started? Oh, absolutely. I used to be terrible at the whole “show, don’t tell” thing and relied mostly on dialogue to drive my stories because descriptions were too difficult for me. This was evident when I started posting fics in 2008, and someone even critiqued my first YuGiOh mystery fic regarding it. But I practiced and got better and better until, 4 years later, I got this as part of a review for one of my Hogan’s Heroes fics–
“The scene in the woods is marvelously tense, as Newkirk summons all his
skills to elude the hunters as he searches for their shared quarry. You
do a great job with evoking all his senses (which he’d have on high
alert): the sounds of boots vs. shoes, the smell of grass and soil as he
lies hiding on the ground, the feel of his “pencil-sharpener” at his
back.“
Everyone improves with practice. Everyone.
25. What is your favorite story that you’ve written? At the moment, it’s probably my last Halloween fic, “The Jack o’ the Lantern Affair.” I had way too much fun writing it. Close second would be “If Wishes Were Cats,” which was my first full-fledged slash fic.
26. What is your least favorite story that you’ve written? I really regret a super-angsty Carmen Sandiego fic that is now locked away on LiveJournal and no longer visible to the public. I don’t have the heart to delete it, after putting so much work into it, but mannn, what was going through my head when I wrote that, I wish I knew…
27. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years? Hopefully having published some original stuff, including the first Lionheart and Kid book!
28. What is the easiest thing about writing? Getting ideas/inspiration. At least for me, the story ideas just keep on coming.
29. What is the hardest thing about writing? Actually sitting down and putting what’s in your head into words.
30. Why do you write? I grow attached to certain characters, and in several cases, these characters’ official stories have so much more that could be added to them. And I want to tell those stories.
If you bought it, it’s not a rescue- it’s a purchase.
If you walk into petsmart/co/land and see a sick animal and exchange money to take it home you are NOT rescuing. You are making a purchase. That purchase unfortunately has a very short term effect- it has the awesome benefit of improving the life for one animal… but it’s not helping the long term issue.
When you hand over your hard earned cash to save one you see in the displays, you are directly contributing to them putting another animal in the same spot. It’s economics! Supply and demand! Your money tells them “hey people are buying our product! We need more!!”
Then they put another animal in the same habitat with the same conditions previously.
I know it is difficult, but sometimes it is best to not bring them home. Instead, contact the manager directly and see if they will accept help. If they don’t, which is many times the case for the poorer taken care of stores, then you can contact corporate directly and explain the situation. Although not 100% successful, many times they will take care of the issue.
Now I know what you’re thinking- you have to pay for an adoption/rehoming fee from rescues and shelters, so what’s the difference?
The difference is in where the money is going. In a pet store situation, the money rarely goes into improving the conditions of the current stock of animals since many of the chain pet stores believe they do not have to provide adequate housing and correct husbandry because “it is the animals’ temporary home, not their forever home.” In a store situation, you’re handing your money over to line the CEO’s pockets.
However, in rescues and shelters the funds are allocated back out to the animals to improve their lives and to be more effective in taking care of more animals in need.
So if you are looking for a rescue type situation reach out to your local rescue organizations, but please, don’t continue to give your money to a store if they aren’t caring for their animals well. Please don’t just ignore the issues either- reach out to the appropriate authority to help change the way the animals are cared for.
I have asked to speak with the manager several times regarding snakes at Petco, and they’re always receptive to help. I’ve never had anyone tell me they won’t help the snake. A lot of times, it’s just that their reptile person isn’t an expert or has no idea how to take care of that particular species.
I always hate leaving them there (especially the one with stuck shed in layers) but it’s better in the long run. 😦
