ok this sounds insane but in 2018 i went to a few carnivorous plant talks at the botany conference in minnesota. i got caught up in conversation with one of the guys there who was a huge nepenthes guy who told me a story about another collector in the pacific northwest who'd been buying poached plants, like a huge amount, and eventually got staked out by the fish and wildlife service and arrested and had all his plants seized and went to prison for it. idk if i ever talked about this on this blog before-- i know i liveblogged a lot from that conference but cant remember what all i posted-- but ive avoided talking about it since then because i was never able to find like, news articles or anything covering it, but behold.... we now have proof it was real, and im like 80% sure this was this guy he was talking about. the raid happened in 2016 and they'd been staking them out since 2013. he had nearly 400 plants and had been sourcing many of them from poachers in indonesia and borneo.

remember folks: poaching happens with plants too! it's a huge problem not only in carnvirous plants (nepenthes especially, which this piece is dedicated to talking about) but also in native plant populations in the US, including native carnivorous plant populations (north and south carolina's venus fly traps, california's darlingtonia, and sarracenia from the east coast), native orchids (historically one of the most poached categories), desert plants/cacti/succulents, and slow-growing woody ornamentals (cycads, for example). never buy bare-root plants off ebay or facebook! your best bet is local nurseries (which usually purchase farm-raised plants that do well in a wide range of conditions, and as a result have a healthy population in the wild) or specialty greenhouses (more expensive, but at least in the case of carnivorous plants offer young plants bred from established adult plants in-house, raised in captivity).

The conservation that Serena works at has highly protected lands. There are fences around the large acreage, with motion lights and cameras to catch poachers. Many of the pokemon rescued are ones they take in from poachers, wanting pokemon for their value, or for certain limbs/parts of their body that sell for a high price. There is zero tolerance for poachers trying to trespass and encroach on their lands, and they have specialty pokemon roaming the perimeter at night, scouring the edge for any suspicious activity. Hyperion, Serena’s Metagross, is one of these pokemon. They’re extremely proficient in picking up on unwanted presences, and thwarting any attempts to trespass on the land swiftly and without making too much of a fuss. Psychic-types are favored for this, as they can sense and perceive threats easily, tapping into the minds of those who are near to divulge their true intentions.

The land itself is massive, full of all sorts of environments suitable for all types. Some of these environments, like the desert and snowy areas, have to be artificially made, but with the technology they utilize, it works like a charm. There’s plenty of rivers and lakes, forested areas, sprawling fields, craggy earth, duney deserts, and snowy areas. Serena has put a lot of time and funding into the environments specifically, wanting to ensure that each type of pokemon can feel most comfortable in a familiar climate and environment. The conservation she supports overseas in Hoenn is very similar in their layout, sporting a variety of climates and environments.

A majority of pokemon that Serena rehabilitates are ghost and dark-type pokemon. Fortunately, while she does bond/connect with relative ease with all pokemon, ghost and dark-types really take a special shine to her (along with fairy too!). These are often wild pokemon that are injured due to the hatred of other people, those who demonize those types of pokemon for being ‘evil’. The injuries they sustain either range from mild to serious; with serious injuries they’re treated the best they can be a pokemon center, and further rehabilitated at the conservation.

Dragon-types are also commonly rescued by them, either from illegal breeding rings, illegal fighting rings, people who neglect/abandon them (since they turned out to be a lot more work than they thought), and from poachers. They’re given the care and attention they need and deserve.

They bring in and rescue a lot of young pokemon as well, either those who were abandoned by their parents for whatever reason, or those who were left orphaned. Those young pokemon are brought in to the safety of the conservation lands, allowing them to explore, grow, and learn in a safe environment. Up until they’re grown and able to fend for themselves, they keep these pokemon within the conservation grounds. Once they’re able to live freely without assistance, they’re let back into the wild.

All pokemon who are rescued or brought in, regardless of type, are treated with care and love. They are monitored as their injuries heal, and then Serena and the other caretakers there are able to help them relearn tasks like walking, flying, etc., especially if they’ve been given a fake limb.

Generally, once they’ve been aptly rehabilitated, they’re released back into the wild. For those with prosthetics, they’re kept in the sprawling acreages of the conservation, along with other endangered and vulnerable species that are watched over and taken care of. There are rare moments where they will let some of the pokemon be adopted into the care of a trainer, but the application process is very strict. The last thing they want is for a pokemon they just helped to need rescuing again and be put into another horrible situation, so while the application process (an interview, questionnaire, references, etc) seems even more arduous than applying for a job, it’s for good reason.

(This takes place in Cynara's sixth year)

The Interview: Cynara Ariss

 What’s your Name? ➔ My name?, its Cynara Ariss of course, that's a very odd question

Are you single? ➔ Yes though i wish i wasn’t but ya know how things are

Are you happy? ➔ Very much so, I'm enrolled at Hogwarts which can teach me non nature magic which should be fun

Are you angry? ➔ not currently, I only really get angry if you disrespect nature and damage it

Are your parents still married? ➔ Yes and nothing will change that ever, they love each other very much

-

NINE FACTS

birthplace ➔ I was born in the Azure Forest in Greece, it’s where i live when it is a school break too, the trip over allows me to talk all about what i learned

hair color ➔ Cynara gestures at her red hair What do you think

eye color ➔ Once again Cynara gestures at her features, indicating her green and blue eyes these questions are very odd, you can see me can’t you

birthday ➔ I was born sometime in July on 1989, my parents forgot to put the day on my birth certificate and the rest is history

mood ➔ Pretty good, won’t lie though that’s not out of the ordinary for me

gender ➔ I am quite obviously a girl, i think you should rethink some of your questions at this point

summer or winter ➔ Winter for sure, it let’s me grow my hair out so i can be super warm while sitting near the fire 

morning or afternoon ➔ Afternoon, I like watching the sunset over the horizon while i sew clothing, its very calming

-

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔ I wish I was, but right now i’m not

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ Nope, Love is too special and deep to be created at first sight

who ended your last relationship ➔ At this point Ms Ariss' face went dark and didn't respond for two minutes before saying she did

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ Possibly I will never know for certain at this point for reasons i’d rather not go into

are you afraid of commitments ➔ What?!, no I want to be a relationship as much as anything but like it just hasn’t happened

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Yep, all my friends and any family that visit

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ wouldn't be a secret admirer if I knew they existed now would it

have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ I think so?, I’m not sure if that’s possible but if it is then i did so a long time ago 

-

SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔I wish i could say lust, it’d be so much easier but i will always choose love, it’s nice having someone who you can trust with everything and vice versa

lemonade or iced tea ➔Iced tea for sure especially peach, that’s my favourite

cats or dogs ➔Dogs for sure, although i’m a bit biased cause my dad’s work uses three headed dogs to search for poachers and traps and they are the cutest things ever

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔Out of those two?, Hmm a few best friends for sure, best friends stick together through thickest and thinnest

wild night out or romantic night in ➔Romantic night in for sure, nothing beats just spending time for who you love by the fire and drinking hot chocolate

day or night ➔ I like both quite a lot, they both have pros and cons but i will have to say night, it’s really calming to watch the sun set and the moon and stars come out to illuminate the night sky and the sounds of all the creatures of the night is nice even the wolf howls

-

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔ A few times when i was younger, it was mostly cause i wanted to play with the three headed dogs but i was always caught before i could, good times

fallen down/up the stairs ➔ Yeah, goat legs on a human torso means stairs are always a tripping hazard if i;m not careful where i step

wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ Cynara’s face goes dark once again but this time she answers quickly Yes, next question please

wanted to disappear ➔ Once, long ago but i try not focus on that time if possible 

-

FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ Both are very nice but the more special the eyes the better like heterochromia or cat’s and snake’s eyes

shorter or taller ➔ taller for sure, i like having to look up at people so the sun illuminates their features

intelligence or attraction ➔Attraction for sure, intelligence should never be a factor in loving someone, people can’t change the way they were taught and raised 

hook-up or relationship ➔ Relationship, i don’t think i can just hook up with someone and not be in a relationship with them

-

FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ Oh we get along very well, it’s nice knowing that everyday i wake up that my family loves me unconditionally and supports me in anything i do

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ No, can’t say i do, my life is pretty good all things considered, of course there has been bumps in the road but nothing that would make my life messed up today

have you ever run away from home ➔ Never!, my home is the best and so is my family, nothing could cause me to want to run away

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ My parents would never do that!, they are my parents for heaven’s sake

-

FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ WHAT?!, never if i hate someone then they aren’t my friend and i could never secretly hate someone

do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ Yup, All the half creatures at Hogwarts i consider friends, Nes especially, she’s great

who is your best friend ➔ I like to think Nes is my best friend

who knows everything about you ➔ My family of course though that’s not surprising i think

What’s so Great About... Huey?

A Huey Duck Character Analysis 

Part Four - What’s so great about Huey

(Part One here . Part Two here . Part Three here)

Welcome to the what's so great about Huey part of What's So Great About Huey? I'm going to start somewhere a little contradictory which is the first time Huey really frustrated me.

It was in The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks. And I'll admit in this episode the first time through I was very much rooting for Dewey. I'd not been watching long and I hadn't really got a feel for Huey's character yet. In that episode he seemed so rigid. I think it was his insistence that the slides were not for fun but efficiency that was a moment that particularly stood out.

But this is one of the reasons I now think Huey is so great, partly because he is so thorough. He wants to understand the world around him, whether that's driven by his fear of the unknown, or curiosity, or a list of categorising or a combination of all of these, the outcome is really impressive. He is continually adding to the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook. He is a hard worker and as a result has an impressive bank of skills including sewing, knot tying, trap making, navigating, map making, electronics etc.

Look at all his badges (and his lopsided sash!) Huey is crazy hyper-competent.

As well as having a lot of skills to draw on, Huey is resourceful. He is able to use things in a situation to his advantage. An example of this is in The Spear of Selene where he realises that the breezy togas could carry him up to the bag of winds. Huey is also able to figure out that Fenton could be controlling the suit in Who is Gizmoduck?

H: Just rip out the processing core!

Huey is a team player. He has his moments of wanting to shine like in McMystery at McDuck Manor, but on the whole Huey enjoys being part of a team whether it’s the Junior Woodchucks, or the triplets.

Huey is enthusiastic too. He clearly loves being a Junior Woodchuck and this shows in his excitement in getting new patches. He is constantly learning, constantly striving for the next skill, for the next patch and he always does it with such cheer. Even when others aren't interested in his hobbies, even when they openly talk down about them, he still pursues with what he enjoyed. In that sense Huey can be said to have a lot of confidence in being himself.

Bearing in mind his enthusiasm and how much he strives for his patches, I really liked how Huey encourages Scrooge to go back in the Impossible Summit of Mount Neverrest. He acknowledges that the danger has run too great and demonstrates that he is not prepared to risk everything in pursuing a badge.

H: Junior Woodchuck Rule 727: sometimes the bravest thing an explorer can do is walk away!

It makes his decision to join with the Beagle Brothers in The Day of the Only Child! all the funnier.  Since the death is only "possible" he opts to go for the badge.

H: Possible death, definite badge, possible death, definite badge, definite badge, Definite Badge!

I think one of Huey's biggest strengths however is his kindness. As mentioned before, Huey gives Webby tips on how to cope on her first bus ride despite the fact he wasn't initially keen to have her along. A couple of episodes later in The Beagle Birthday Massacre! he is quick to offer her his place on the boat. When she thinks Lena has run off, Huey comforts her, promising they won't leave her behind again and making jokes about leaving Louie behind instead.  

His kindness is seen towards his siblings too. One of my favourite examples is The Living Mummies of Toth Rah! Huey is quick to comfort Dewey when his facts don't quite gel with Dewey's idea of a mummy army.

D: "Oh man what if there's a whole army of mummies down here?"

H: "Unlikely mummification was an expensive process meant for royalty it would be rare for more than one… mummy… Toth Ra was pretty rich I bet there's at least six."  

Huey hasn't even finished his sentence before he's twigged that he has upset Dewey and then he immediately alters what he is saying to cheer Dewey back up. And Dewey is cheered.

Huey often notices when the others are going too far with Donald. In the House of the Lucky Gander, when Louie is saying how cool Gladstone and Scrooge are, slightly Donald, Huey chips in when Donald looks downcast.

H: Hey come on Uncle Donald is kind of cool.  

It's maybe not the most ringing endorsement and his delivery is a little hesitant as though he doesn't quite believe what he's saying. And maybe he doesn't. Huey isn’t a great liar and as far as the triplets have seen Donald hasn't done anything especially cool at this point. But Huey is trying to cheer Donald up. Unlike Dewey and Louie who can be a little oblivious and careless with others around them, most of the time Huey is incredibly kind and thoughtful.

(Just not when he's angry - you may not like him when he's angry!)

Similarly when Donald is preparing for his job interview in Woo-oh! he cooks Donald a good luck breakfast. This is a really nurturing gesture, and it's nice to see Huey (and Louie who tries to dress him) trying to take care of their uncle.

Huey isn't just kind to his family and friends, but extends this even to people who are technically his enemies. He is calm and patient with the Beagle Brothers in Day of the Only Child! He shows himself to be a great teacher and gives out praise and encouragement which quickly endears him to the Beagle Brothers who haven't been shown anything like the kindness Huey gives them. And he gives it to them without thought. It doesn't occur to him that teaching these kind of skills to people who have previously tried to kidnap him may not be a good idea - he is simply happy to share what he has learnt.

“the poachers knot was a good instinct but what you want here is a double overhead noose”

A lovely moment in this episode that further showcases both Huey's nurturing nature and his kind heart is when he tries the food Bouncer cooks. He is clearly apprehensive but tries the food anyway because it was cooked for him. When it is (surprisingly) good he is quick to offer compliments.

Huey is also kind to Gavin the bigfoot. We the audience know this is misplaced kindness. But after finding the injured Gavin and helping him, Huey's instinct is to take the bigfoot home and care for him. This is despite the fact that keeping Gavin in the house could get Huey in trouble, something he is obviously aware of as he goes to lengths to keep the bigfoot secret.  

As well as being kind, Huey is protective. He is especially protective of his brothers. He's protective in big ways like in the Living Mummies of Toth Rah! the expression on his face when he learns Louie and Webby are missing/trapped shows just how much he cares and worries. He clings to the bars like a safety net, and then when he turns his expression shows his fury.

Another example is in the Impossible Summit of Mount Neverrest where the others being in danger prompts Huey to realise they are going too far. He doesn't want them to be hurt, and isn't willing to risk the danger for a badge.

 Huey is also protective in smaller ways. In The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck! Huey tries to stop Louie manipulating Dewey into doing the laundry, pointing out to Louie how mad Dewey is going to be. Huey seems to have a strong moral compass: he is often against Louie's morally ambiguous actions like stealing from the little girl in The Spear of Selene. He also quickly loses faith in Gizmoduck once Gizmoduck begins to work for Beaks as Gizmoduck is no longer performing real heroics and asks Gizmoduck to literally throw away Huey's faith.

 I'll end with my favourite Huey moment. Just like Dewey there are a lot to choose from but I think I'm split pretty fifty fifty for two that could be considered his best for me.

The first is his utter fascination and adoration for the waters of auraidon. How calming he finds it is adorable.

H: Water. Dancing. Calm. Washing over me. Never felt… so at peace.

My second favourite moment of his is a bit of a cop out because I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but it's everything he does in The Missing Links of Mooreshire! It's one of my favourite episodes of the first season and Huey is on top form. He charmed me the first time with his commentator voice and it still makes me laugh every time.

H: Glomgold now very obviously switching the official coin for one that has heads on both sides.

L: Very sneaky.

H: He tosses the double headed coin… and Glomgold has called - tails!

I hope you enjoyed this what's so great about Huey series. Huey is a fantastic character and I’m looking forward to see how he’s going to develop in the next season. 

(Next up: Louie!)

Klaroline putting together ikea furniture

AN: I am so sorry I took a million years to write this but I do hope you’ll love the idea I came up with on a whim. Moreover I want to thank @kickassfu for being a big part of the reason this was so long and took so long.

Please help me thank the lovely @denielapple, for prompting me. Happy reading loves!

For the last few days he had been more than high strung, Klaus knew but it was Rebekah’s own fault. He also found it ludicrous that she would try to insinuate that his mood had anything to do with a certain blonde staying in his loft for the week as his frown deepened at the feel of his phone ringing in his pocket.

It was Caroline’s tone, he had it set that way for no particular reason at all other than boredom he always rationalized with himself. He sought out his phone as he picked it from his pocket muttering as he answered.

“I can’t believe this,” Klaus’ accented voice filled Caroline’s ear with an annoyed tone she hoped wasn’t directed at her. It was.

Ignoring him however was always her first instinct so she went for it, “Klaus,” she greeted him over the phone as she finished her signature off on the tablet reciving the packaged Klaus had asked her to look out for.

Lines formed on her face forming a grim look as the delivery men let themselves out with bashful looks across their faces. She had only looked away a second to slide on her heel when she heard the loud scratching sound across the what she presumed was an expensive floor job. Now she was left to explain the occurance to her, er, host? To Klaus.

Her eyes automatically rolled back when he spoke however using that condesending tone that truly grated her nerves from time to time, “Caroline, I thought we agreed you wouldn’t call me at work.” Klaus greeted her in turn.

With a deep breath Caroline took the high road, “Well I thought,” she paused reversing her decision when he made a deep sound in his throat, “You know, with my lady brain. That you would want to know your custom order bed just landed on your custom designed wood floors scratching the entrance.”

There was a pause so brief that she could picture the rubber band of his mind possibly snapping when he hissed rather darkly into the receiver, “I’ll be right there, Marcel!” He called to someone in the distance.

Klaus felt his hand twitch as Rebekah passed his office door on the way to her own unbeknownst to her Caroline was on the line for him. He held the phone between his ear and shoulder as he scribbled down a note focusing on the discerning tone the blonde he had thought about every day of his adult life about. Marcel stepped into his office as the line went dead on her end signalling his dismissal Klaus prerended the line was still active and dismissed the call of his own accord before he engaged with his colleague.

Caroline fought to stifle her laugh as she hung up the call, her eyes forcibly noticed the time registered on the screen. She was so going to be late for her interview, Caroline thought in a panic before she grabbed her bag to go. Staying with Klaus this weekend was not exactly her idea even though it had made sense logically to not get an expensive hotel room when his guest suite was available.

Or at least that was what Rebekah had said and Caroline had just been repeating it to herself since then. Klaus and herself only got along once, once, Caroline shivered as she wondered if she would ever suppress the memory of his lips. Of his tongue brushing hers, reliving it she shook herself from the sensation.

“Get over it,” she muttered to herself as she made her way out of the building pausing only to smile at the frontdoor man.

Having been drunk kissing and grinding against your best friend’s brother’s pelvis against a staircase during a college party wasn’t her best moment. Both of them pretending it never happened after that wasn’t far behind on things Caroline would like to suppress. Although now was turning out to be fantastic, she wished she would get to see his face as he set eyes on the scratch but alas she had a certain poacher to impress.

When Klaus opened his front door he called for Caroline only to realize far too late what day it actually was so the blonde in question was already gone. A heaviness overtook him in the solitude of his home as he took a deep breath only to catch her temporary, he reminded himself,  lingering scent filling his nostrils. His eyes then fell to the floor, the three foot long new feature marring his designer floor did not improve his sour mood.

Working efficiently Klaus removed his suit jacket and undid his tie as he reached for the house phone prepared for battle with the store manager. After an hour on both his cell phone and house phone he had untucked his shirt and removed his trouser socks and shoes but he had won a few small battles. The retailers had been overly friendly but untilmately unhelpful after the purchase had been made and the delivery crew he had hired to pick the custom bed up from the store had left the premises while he was at work which left him to duel with the delivery team.

He had been smart about the insurance policy but in the end was out still a hefty sum making him wonder why he got insurance in the first place. Klaus then checked the clock on the stove and he saw it was drawing passed dinner, long past the time Caroline said she would be free. He had hoped to scrape some time together to diplomaticlly discuss her position, he groaned at the censoring of his own thoughts.

His eyes shut he rubbed his face with his hand as he hoped to scrub away the desire to see her enter and smile for a brief moment before she realized that they dispised one another. Something that was easier to admit to whether it was false or not than to admit to the truth which was that he was irrevocably in love with Caroline Forbes. Klaus found himself in the kitchen looking through his fridge like a bored bloody teenager opening and shutting the door as he thought maybe something new would appear each time.

He was wrong so instead he reached for a lager and a tupperware container that had her name on it. He smiled at the yellow post-it that read,

‘Dinner for Friday-Caroline, p.s. DON’T TOUCH KLAUS.’

“Opps,’ he laughed in the quiet of his loft allowing himself a moment of reward as he shut the door to the fridge after he gathered another ale in his hand.

Caroline was fried after she had spent the day in a series of interviews. She had found herself arriving back his place late that evening after a dinner with her boss or hopefully her new boss. She was confident after a day of questions and scenarios that she would be one of the top people taken into consideration for the position but again nothing was offical yet.

She rummaged in her bag for the spare Rebakah had lent her hopeful that due to the late hour Klaus wouldn’t even be an issue. Her hopes diminished when the door opened and Caroline walked in to find Klaus holding a lager by the kitchen bar standing as if waiting for her.

He heard the key jingle from the hallway outside and knew it was her but made no move to leave his place by the marble island. Klaus ignored the fact that he might have had a drink too many to properly discuss what he had been planning on discussing. The soft buzz of his body reminded him of ears ago when he felt her supple body against his writhing with intensity. They had been interrupted but Klaus had hoped rather foolishly that Caroline and he would have time to sort out what had happened between them and how wrong had he been.

With visions of days before he faced her, watched as she slung her keys back into her bag unaware of him, "You’re in late,” he observed darkly from the other end of the long open concept living room.

What little of her smile was left was diminished as their stare down grew intense, “Okay, hi mom,” Caroline snorted as she made to avoid him by walking directly towards her room, “It’s barely ten so I think I’m early enough for curfew!”

He chuckled dryliy, “Adorable, really,” he said offensively as he perched his back against the wall, “The delivery team said you signed off so they’re not as liable as I’d like for them to be.”

Caroline felt that it was as if he was pushing for a fight. Looking poorly to her to take his day out on, it was then she grumbled under her breath about a perfectly good day ruined. The blonde counted the five bottles on thenisland and rolled her eyes when it all made sense.

Klaus hardly drank, a glass or two of burbon but after that he normally was fine so naturally this beguilled her, “That’s what you do with a package,” she reminded him of society’s code of conduct, “You sign for it!”

Klaus watched her, he felt like a predator wolf lurking out for his prey. Caroline was the perfect prey and he longed to see the face she made when he ruffled her perfect feathers. He lips seemed to pout, green eyes ablazed, her whole being sermed to light up so blinding like her own sun no need to tell her it was all settled.

Caroline felt her insides boil over at the near smirk he gave her as his eyes lit up like ready, set, go. The same deep, penetrated look he gave her that night, the exact same look he gaves her each time before the pair have them argue. Damn him, her mind shouted at her as he stalked forward talking measured steps until he was before her nearly pressing her to her door sending up all sorts of red flags.

His tongue darted out tasting the ale on his lips as he watched her closely, “Now I’m out thousands of dollars,” Klaus replied sounding indifferent.

Distracted as their eyes locked he spoke, “Caroline,” his tongue danced over her name as his breath lined with hints of his lager fanned her cheeks, “All over a bed.”

She sucked in a breath and realized her mistake a second too late when her senses were violated by his day old aftershave and delectable aroma that was always so perfectly Klaus. Her mind and body malfunctioning in a high degree as she fought to exhale her anxiety, her eyes darting from his mouth to his neck. Why, her every part of her asked and Caroline had no answer as he smirked and she had no idea which one of her reactions had caused it.

It was a moment suspended in time just like this that would forever be locked in his mind. Caroline was a vision, Klaus was big enough to admit to himself that he was a fan of every part of her. But this, fire, he named it, he sought it out only to recreate it as a sketch immortalized forever time and again.

Her eyes turned to slits, she felt her face colour, her body heat in a way that was not entirely unwelcome. So she was surprised when she missed her hand placed over his broad, hard chest. Caroline distinguished the surprise that lit his fearures before he could isolate them and stow such human feelings aside. And it did not stop her from being very close to telling him just where he could stick his, er, bed frame.

“A bed you haven’t stopped talking about.” Caroline rejoindered with a narrowed look of her own as she took in the picture he made, displeased expression doing nothing to diminish his handsomeness as his brows knit together in deep concentration.

His manicured thumb grazed her knuckles just so making her gasp before her fingers pulled her own hand away and she balked, “Why isn’t it set up by the way?” Forcing her voice steady.

Spell gone, the frission of the moment dispersed, Klaus’ eyes drifted from her lips to the door behind her tracing the pattern as he struggled for words if only momentarily, “The man I’m paying to set it up was unavailable until noon tomorrow,” his answer came in an unsatisfactory fashion.

All at once the light extinguished in his eyes but Caroline hardly noticed it as she spoke, “Klaus its a bed, do it yourself.” She told him before she scathed, “Moneybags.” Under her breath while her back leaned against the door.

Disdain, he read it so clearly on her face that it disappointed him, “You know,” he started to say lager in his hand as he gestured to her.

“Just when I think we’re seeing eye to,” he stopped himself always careful to never reveal too much just like the morning after their first kiss as he took a step back and then another leaving Caroline breathless, “Nevermind. Goodnight Caroline.”

Caroline’s hands at her sides clutch for purchase against the door as her mind and heart struggled in his retreat to figure out just what had transpired between them. Vaguely she heard him drop the bottle in the sink as he stormed to his office where Caroline was certain he had a layaway bed in the sofa. All this occured to her but moving, letting this moment go, frightened her to her core. So she waited, collected herself  before she slid into the safety of her room.

Klaus could not be enticed to sleep even after the generic Murphy bed had been pulled down and he had changed the sheets something was wrong with him. His secret turmoil spilling out in aggravated breaths and grunts as he removed his loosely buttoned shirt with rolled up sleeves and his tailored slacks. He sat up with a feeling of dislike as he muttered the nickname that had marred her lips as it slipped through before walking to his bedroom where it lay over the carpet that protected this floor.

Her first uttered thought after she realized she was awake was the curse word she heard Klaus speak not a moment later. She had struggled to get some sleep after their little tiff hours earlier preparing for bed in a mechanical fashion as she pulled on a light blue silk slip gown. A soft mournful yawn escaped Caroline as she found herself awake yet again in the middle of the night thinking of him. Maybe it was the fact that she was in his city, in his bed, Caroline felt her face heat at the false thought that escaped her when she heard another bang sound.

The side of her face rubbed at her pillow as she willed herself to sleep, to shut her eyes and stop listening. Why was he so enthralling? She scoffed at herself, “You mean irritatingly confusing Caroline,” her mind wandered out loud.

“I’m in far too deep,” she whined to herself rubbing her eyes knowing that sleep would never come for her now.

Earlier her tiredness has worn her into a slumber but now it seemed her body, mind and most terribly her heart was eager to figure out the noises that had piqued her ears interest. At the sound of a groaned sigh followed by a metal clacking Caroline began to sit up in her temporary bed. A deep exhaled escaped her as she looked around the room her fingers playing with the delicate necklace her father gave her when she was younger, the final gift he gave her before he  passed. Caroline felt her heartbeat under her chest as she copied the beat with her breaths.

She felt warm, almost too hot as she started to shove the floral covers off of her body in an effort to cold down. Quickly after she sat up Caroline realized that he too must have been bothered by the conversation between them and had in fact woken up. It was when she heard another term she wasn’t overly familar with followed by a grunt of the wood he was working on that the blonde knew what he was up to.

“Cheeky little,” Klaus sighed as Caroline listened quietly from her place on the bed.

With a deep breath she eyed the ceiling following the crown moulding as another groan escaped his bedroom floating across the vast loft through her door. It seemed to Caroline that he was confused, fustrated, that he felt now how she had felt before when she had spoken to him. She rationalized quickly however that she was thinking far too much about what had happened and comparing both situations was entirely useless becauae Klaus simply did not feel for her what she had always felt for him.

It was a sober thought to Klaus that he had her so near and yet it he had never felt more distant from Caroline. Often, more often than not, he had pondered why his heart was resistant to the charms of another more willing offer. Still, his heart persisted in loving a woman that would never have him he thought with a groan as he tossed away the wooden frame.

Caroline fought within herself, with her scattered, tired thoughts, that Klaus might feel something similar to how she felt. Be that in the situation from before or her ongoing battle with her heart to let him go as she brushed the hair from her face back behind her ears. She willed the idea away that Klaus felt something possibly similar to what she did as she leaned further down catching wisps of what he muttered.

“Calm down, Niklaus, you have a degree in….” She heard him as he bemoaned to himself possibly berating himself for his lack of everyman knowledge that she had mocked him for not having.

Caroline stilfed a laugh as she wrapped her robe losely over her shoulders tiptoeing to the door, “Niklaus,” she whispered into the dark walkway as she took quiet steps towards the kitchen.

Her idea had been to make him a tea, as a sign of peace when she almost knocked over the kcup box to find more than the few she had used missing. Caroline smiled to herself as she decided to make a coffee seeing as it was nearing four am. He cursed again sounding closer than he did in her bedroom.

For a moment Caroline thought she had been caught out but Klaus was far too preoccupied across the apartment to worry about her. Gathering the mug she normally used knowing it would annoy him because it was actually his favorite. She worked diligently calling on her barista skills from her college days until the mug sat in steaming glory now ready with warm liquid perfection and she strolled through the loft freely.

Klaus really did have good taste, she thought looking at the decor of the room for the first time without feeling self conscious about being there. Caroline allowed herself a peek inside the opening of his office as her back brushed the back of the open door. His scent seemed to surround her, his essence flooding her with awareness as her feet moved to step away. Her soft steps were barely registered in her mind as she seemed to float to his bedroom coated in courage as she reached for the door handle.

“I will find you and I will kill you,” he promised the missing screw he had lost as he searched the pocket of his gray sweatpants.

This time Caroline did giggle making Klaus stutter in his idle threats as his eyes shut in embarrassment. What a picture he must have made on his hands and knees scouring the plush brown carpet he thought as he willed himself to look to her. Klaus bit his tongue minutely grateful he had managaged not to swallow it at the sight if her barely clothed leaning against his doorway.

“Klaus,” she sighed crossing her arms as she sipped from his mug unaware of what it did to him, “The tree is already dead.” She reasoned, “Don’t torture it.”

Caroline complimented herself inwardly for not gawking at his bare chest, only taking a sip of his coffee to hide her jaw dropping as he spoke from his place on the floor, “This is not a true screwdriver,” he proclaimed waving the silver tool that had come with the instructions.

“Did you google it?” Caroline asked as she skirted her way into the room as she tried for nonchalance.

“Caroline,” her name grumbled deep in his throat in reply as he watched her come to her knees next to him bewildered.

“Here, sip, shush,” she smiled as she held out his mug for him to take his hand reaching as he appraised her long legs beside him.

If she noticed as much she didn’t mention it which was fantastic because he had not planned on another fight, “Coffee?” He sniffed looking at the caramel liquid she gifted him as he imagined it was a show of peace.

She made a grab for the tiny screwdriver in his hand pointing it at him with it when she did, “Don’t pretend you bought that for me,” Caroline replied jovilly, “The k-cups were already half gone.”

He simpered edging closer to her on his knees until she could feel his body heat radiating in the leftover space, “No one can know,” he said in a conspiring tone.

She blushed even as her mouth fell open, “Are we sharing secrets?” Caroline asked him in near glee as a shiver slid down her spine.

“Well,” he paused dramatically to drink a sip of coffee, “I showed you mine, Love,” he flirted with a wink in her direction.

Frazzled didn’t begin to explain how Caroline felt as she made her way around him to take in what he had actually accomplished, with a chuckle she told him, “I’ll handle this side.”

They worked in a comfortable silence with Klaus on one end and Caroline working not so far away from him sharing the instructions. A look every so often shared between them lingered as they steadily completed the frame of the bed until finally they only had one section left. Caroline felt Klaus’ chest against her back as she struggled with the tightening of the last screw, his arms reaching around her to help her finish.

He didn’t know why it felt so natural to wrap himself around her though he wagered it was a mixture of lack of sleep and the lateness of the hour as he released the silver tool into her care. Caroline smiled as she turned her head to look at him as she rose up and lifted her leg up over the newly built frame. His eyes followed her to the mattress wrapped in plastic by his closet door watching as she gestured with her head for him to help.

Klaus flushed as he realized what she was silently asking, “How are you so patient?” He queried as he stood struuing towards the new mattress as she finished unwrapping it.

Caroline grinned as they lifted the memory foam mattress off of the carpet settling into a slow pace towards the bed, “How are you not?” She asked as her robe slid down for the fifth time that last hour, “You have siblings.”

Klaus smiled at her reasoning as he quipped, “Aggravating to a fault,” not expecting her reply to be witty or revealing.

The blonde nightmare qcross from him scoffed though she agreed with him, “Just like you,” she pointed out as they slipped the bed into place.

Klaus felt the concerned creases pf his forehead and eyes form at the acknowledgment of his usal behavior, “You find me aggravating?” He couldn’t help but ask.

Caroline walked around the bed, her fingers fussed with the silk rope around her waist that kept coming loose as she thought out her reply, “I find you,” she paused with a small blush he barely caught, “Frustrating.”

Intrigued Klaus caught her warm, soft hand without a second thought as she tried to walk to his door distracting her, “In what way?” He asked curiously.

She smiled at the feel of her hand in his looking down at their entwined hands, “I’ll keep that to myself,” she let out in a breath.

“I thought we were sharing secrets,” Klaus pressed with a swift motion of his hand tugging on hers to pull her body that much closer to his so he could catch the light going up in her eyes up close.

“Klaus,” she barely whispered as he set her hand over his heart as it had been earlier that evening so that his own hands could slant down her ribs to her waist pushing her closer.

“Caroline,” her name flitted across her lips causing flutters of delight to course through them as their eyes searched one anothers.

Her hands found themselves going up, up, up over his arms, her fingers pressing into his shoulders and neck. His stubble tickled her cheeks, his teeth pricked her bow lips as time seemed to once more suspend in a moment. A soft moan escaped her at the feel of his blunt teeth scrapping over her bottom lip but Klaus still waited. His eyes still searched hers, beseeched her permission even as he willed it to be so.

And so her eyelids fell closed as her lips felt his smiling ones slide over her own in feather light kisses before finally tasting the sweet cavern of his mouth once more. Klaus groaned making her laugh softly into their kiss remembering why she had woken up this morning in the first place as she tasted the lingering coffee and toothpaste flavor of his supple mouth. Her lips left his and began to travel his throat, nipping and kissing the expanse of skin there as she listened to the sounds she elicited in him.

His fingers gripped her waist massaging her tired limbs as his hand fought with the front knot of her robe causing her to gasp his name into his neck in response. It was a warning Klaus knew as her hard breath teased his neck spurring on his actions as her own hands grew adventurous over his tense torso causing his muscles to flinch where she touched. His mind went blank as her robe fell back exposing the soft creme color of her shoulders his mouth drying at the sight yet eager to taste.

“It only took nine years,” he uttered gruffly as she laughed, her laugh turning into a sigh when he snared her in for a deep plunging kiss that dueled with the memory of their first.

Please forgive the grammar and late hour of posting! As always your thoughts are apprciated here and on fanfic.net.

Comp in a Genre

Project Overview

In this project, my hopes were to bring awareness to poaching— specifically of the rhino and elephant populations in Africa. It is an issue that needs to be brought into the limelight. The primary research I conducted focused specifically on Gen Z. I did this by observing two twenty-year-olds discussing their viewpoints on poaching. It was important to target this specific age group because we are the next generation equipped to fix the issue. I hope that in talking to my peers, I inspired in them the agency to make change. I have decided to use the power of social media to bring awareness to this issue.

By using Instagram, I hope that I am able to effectively shed a light on the inhumanity of poaching. I will be able to reach people from all over the world who are active Instagram users. This platform is very versatile in the way that I can post videos and pictures with captions explaining the context of each. The need for change regarding poaching has become dire and there is no better way to communicate that then via social network. 

Audience Strategy

I am going to make this tangible to my generation by creating an account on an app that Gen Z seems to dominate. By creating an Instagram, I will be using a combination of Pathos and Logos. Logos is logic, defined as reasoning, or “rational argument” word choices, logic choices, and readable sentence structures are attributable to the logos one constructs. While pathos, on the other hand, is, “putting the audience in the appropriate mood, by playing on its feelings”. Appeals to pathos are the “persuasive reasons in an argument that derive from a community's most deeply and fervently held values” (Rife, 2010) The importance of using logos and pathos in my rhetoric is to make the audience more appealed to the topic of poaching and to play on their feelings to have them sympathize and want to help. By using the strategies of logos and pathos on Instagram, it will help draw in supporters if done correctly. I was able to see Gianna use logos and pathos in her argument during my observation. Gianna was more than successful at choosing powerful words to describe poaching, and she was able to use her word choices to play on her feelings, to show how deeply she cared for this issue. The observation between Ryan and Gianna was the leading reason why I chose to focus on having Gen Z as my audience because I realized that people were lacking awareness.

To build awareness of this issue, on my Instagram, I will make links accessible to anti-poaching nonprofits and other important organizations they may be interested in after searching through social media. Instagram will focus on the brutality of poaching and the effects but it won’t be all depressing material. I then will incorporate pictures of the efforts that are being put into saving these animals and how beneficial it is to the world. 

A projected genre

I decided that Gen Z would be the best audience to target because Gen Z is the next generation to make a change in the world. Gen Z’s are people born from 1995-2009, so the majority of us are early adults to teens. Gen Z is made up of mostly educated young adults who understand how the world works and see the need for help. I thought that Gen Z would be the most effective because if this issue speaks to people, they can dedicate time and maybe their careers to anti-poaching efforts. For my primary research, I surveyed 100 people, the majority being college students. While I surveyed 100 Gen Z’s, I was able to get an overall consensus about their feelings towards poaching, the overwhelming  I thought that it would be best to have them be my projected genre as well. In one survey question, I asked how they think media and society could end poaching. Most of the responses involved bringing awareness and showing the real raw side of poaching through social media. This led me to believe Instagram was the best way to bring more attention and awareness to this issue. Gen Z’s believed that the power of social media could help fight poaching. While Gen Z’s are the best target audience, I believe that boomers would most likely be the worst generation to target, considering they are ignoring the state of our world and not demanding change. For the projected genre, my hopes are to speak to the people born between 1995-2004, the later generation Z’s, so they are able to see the brutality and cruel reality of poaching and help demand the end. Gen Z’s are described as, “a vigorous contributor, high consumption of online content, creative and mash-up experts; they have strong gravitational bond for online communication that they prefer to participate and remain connected via technology available at fingertips” (Yadav 2017). By having gen Z be a ‘vigorous contributor’ to social media, the anti-poaching Instagram could go a very long way if it got the attention it deserves.

Design Plan

So after creating my Instagram, my first step would to become verified so people know it is a real project. By adding the verified blue check, people already take you more seriously. I would then build my brand on social media, spreading awareness to anti-poaching efforts. My posts would include statistics, videos/pictures that show the horrors of poaching, the faces behind it and how you can help. I will also incorporate the evidence that Vaughn provided for me, during our interview he explained the efforts going against poaching. For example, the rangers that help protect the rhinos at Kruger National Park, I want to bring attention to those people that help protect rhinos. Vaughn also mentioned his family friend’s private game reserve that is testing out heart monitors on the rhinos, that is something I would like to show in my Instagram. By showing evidence of how people are helping to protect these animals, it will give the audience hope. My Instagram will not be all hopeful content, I want to share the cruel reality of poaching and what really happens to rhinos and elephants as they get their horns and tusks removed.  By incorporating things from every end of the spectrum to share the real, raw story of poaching, it would make Gen Z’s feel for this issue and understand every aspect of it. 

After I build my Instagram, I then would encourage people with mass following to promote the cause. By bringing celebrities, or people with strong social media presence, they can bring more awareness and attention to their followers. Brian Willete, a photographer who shares his work on Instagram explains “it’s important for a brand to understand that succeeding on Instagram is less about the number of followers you have, and more about the number of influencers following the brand” (Willete 2017). When influencers/celebrities follow your brand, it immediately promotes your account and your message. With the mass amount of Gen Z’s on Instagram following numerous influencers, it would be a quick turn around time to gain followers.

The ideal person who I would want to promote my anti-poaching campaign would be sixteen year old Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist who has a huge following.  By having her as the face of the anti-poaching social media campaign that I have designed, she will continue to spread her views and ideas to inspire Gen Z’s to use their voice and help to put an end to poaching. This would be a very effective way to gain attention and to help people follow this issue. Using Instagram is one of the strongest ways to put yourself and your idea out there. People would be watching step by step and could add support if they believed in the message and forward it to others. Instagram is a giant intertwined web where ideas and projects can flourish and reach audiences that would have been unattainable before social media. 

My most important aspect to my Instagram account is sharing the brutality behind poaching, so people are able to see what REALLY happens to rhinos and elephants to obtain the horn and ivory. I want to really bring light to how inhumane and gruesome these animals are being treated. I am not only going to focus on the horrors of poaching, I am going to bring awareness to all the amazing anti-poaching efforts that are in action. My interviewee, Vaughn Williams, stated “conservers are cutting horns off before the poachers could get them. People come in and cut it off in a painless sanitary way so the animals can live their lives without having their horns”. By incorporating powerful images and videos of people protecting these animals, it gives hope to the anti-poaching efforts. In my Instagram, I am going to be super candid with all the issues and efforts that are taking place in Africa to show my audience what is being done and how they can help. 

Instagram is a very powerful app that can spread your ideas and messages to places all over the world. By creating an Instagram and attracting followers to my cause, it would create a wave of supporters. Incorporating logos and pathos in my message as well, it will appeal to different genres of people so they can understand how important of a cause this is. As well as having influencers and celebrities promote the account, it will attract more and more people and expand your brand. I believe that creating an account will forward the movement to end poaching.

Sources:

Rife, M. (2010). Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Kairos: Using a Rhetorical Heuristic to Mediate Digital-Survey Recruitment Strategies. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 53(3), 260-277.

Prakash Yadav, G., & Rai, J. (2017). Generation Z and their Social Media Usage: A Review and a Research Outline. Global Journal of Enterprise Information System, 9(2), 110.

Gen Z Study: Instagram & Snapchat The New Darlings, As Facebook's Star Dims. (2017). B & T Weekly, p. B & T Weekly, Aug 24, 2017.

Kaplan, A. (2016). Harnessing the power of Instagram. Beverage World, 135(4), 28-31.

Levi looked over the list of candidates Erwin had drawn up for him once again. Since he had taken over the throne from his Uncle, Levi has had numerous marriage proposals thrown at him while he’s busy bringing stability back to his country. His country is a small island Kingdom called Reverie and there was none more patriotic than he when it came to Reverie. However, trying to deal with swooning maidens and plotting officials trying to placate him into being a sniveling puppet was not his idea of reinvigorating Reverie.

He needed someone to pose as his Concubine, something he was planning on doing away with eventually. Who the hell needs a hundred wives? Levi, being the Dragon King, needed no such distractions while reversing the previous Monarch’s debts. Now being The Dragon King is not just a fancy moniker he was a living, fire-breathing dragon with the scales and all. His entire Kingdom was comprised of various supernatural races and humans coexisting together in relative harmony.

It is safe to say that while Reverie is little known to the rest of the world it does have its allies and its enemies. Not just from outside but from within as well. A good deal of the government officials were in a silent uproar that Levi won’t just sit idly by and be their puppet while they drown the Kingdom in debt like they did with the previous King. His Uncle was a selfish, self-indulgent jackass who was never fit, nor truly ever meant, to rule Reverie. True Heirs to the throne were born with a certain birthmark on their skin showing proof they are true Heirs.

A Dragon Birthmark, the mark of the next true rulers of the Kingdom. Levi and all his siblings were born with this mark while his Uncle had to fake it with a tattoo, which is what the birthmark resembles except it leaves no scar on the skin. So the Government officials that put him in place got him the proper tattoo and assured the rest of the Kingdom the mark was true when it was not.

At the age of twenty-one, Levi is the youngest King to take the throne since Reverie was founded. The moment he found out that his mother had gone missing, his grandfather dead, and his unmarked Uncle was sitting on the throne driving the Kingdom into debt he quickly returned to Reverie’s Capital to claim his rightful place on the throne. To do so he had to show no weakness and only keep those around himself that he could fully trust with his life.

Levi replaced a lot of the corrupt government officials with people he could actually trust to work towards Reverie’s future and to make it a better on instead of the destitute path it had been on previously. There were quite a few officials who weren’t very thrilled with the changes he was heading towards though they had learned to keep their concerns in check verbally or they would meet the same fate as the others, imprisoned or banished.

Levi held a zero tolerance policy for people thinking they were somehow more powerful than he in his own Kingdom. One weakness would have the sharks circling like there’s blood in the water. It was their hope to catch his eye with every match they threw at him. As a rare type blue dragon Levi didn’t need to have a female Consort since he could bare children himself though it would be preferred if the King was the one doing the impregnating. So both men and women were being thrown at him on the daily.

The manager of the Inner Palace whom he has known since his childhood was of no help because he was just as bad trying to get him distracted with finding a Queen or several. At least his intentions he was quite aware of and they weren’t in the slightest bit malicious so he tolerated his interference more than the interference from the officials who were only interested in using their family members as pawns in their twisted games.

“Here, I’ve added a few more candidates for you to look over as well. These applicants applied for work at the palace just a few days ago and they have been fully vetted and checked out.”

Erwin said handing over the next file of candidates. Silently Levi perused the images, resumes, and background checks on each person until one image stopped him dead in his tracks. Never in a million years did he ever see this happening. It was him, the one who had saved his life a few years ago. While in the military, he was having to fight off an spy sent into Reverie by a neighboring Country was intent on weakening Reverie’s defenses so that their own country could attempt to invade.

While Levi had emerged victorious in the fight he had suffered a serious wound that had prevented him from changing forms. While in his dragon form, and injured near death, a lone angel descended from the canopy of the forest. He had fallen unconscious due to the blood loss but when he came to he was in a cave, that was nearly as clean as his own cave. After a few days of the angel’s care he was back to functioning health. Leaving him a gift of his thanks, a necklace crafted by his own two hands from the gems of his tears. Gems that matched the beauty and brilliance of his Angel’s eyes.

Now Levi didn’t trust his Angel at first before he passed out from the blood loss and again when he woke up he was rather distrustful of his Angel but he was kind and gentle understanding his mistrust and proving to him he was only there to help. It wasn’t uncommon for poachers to trap wounded Dragons and keep them alive for their own twisted purposes. He was wounded after all and waking up in an unfamiliar place from the place you passed out in is enough to set anyone’s teeth on edge.

Erwin was staring at him as if he were waiting for an answer to a question which he had obviously missed while he had been lost in thought. As usual his face was drawn down into a scowl, which was just his natural face after all, as he handed the file back to Erwin and pointed at the male. Eren his file said his name was.

“Him. He’s perfect for the position. Call him in for the interview. What’s next?”

He asked moving on to the next subject since there was much to do and much still that needs to be fixed. None of which will happen if he doesn’t get to work shoveling through the mountains of paperwork he has to deal with on the daily. If he could get away with it he’d just leave all the paperwork to Erwin and be done with it. Which he can’t because he would hear no end to the complaints levied against him if he were to do that to Erwin no matter how tempting it sounds.

Erwin looked at Levi and then at his selection. He knew Levi was a good judge of character so if he approved him for the next stage then he had no reason to doubt his choice. He nodded and made the notation to summon the male for the interview before they finished up the rest of the paperwork. At the end of the day Eren’s summons was sent and he should arrive the next morning for the interview if he truly wants the job.

interview tape 33300

1# - Got another pile for you captain 2# - seriously rookie, I haven’t gotten past halve-way of the last pile yet 1# - you did say you wanted all the mad bomber sightings brought straight to you 2# - that was before I found out just how many of them I’d be receiving 1# - well surely more information on him is good news? 2# - it would be if any of this were useful.  Leave the papers on the desk and listen to some of these, they have to be heard to be believed 1# - I thought you were working? 2# - I need a break, and with this sheer number of reports 5 minutes won’t kill me.  Besides, going over this from the start will help me clear my head 1# - very well.  What did you mean that all this information is useless?  There must be something? 2# - True there are bits and pieces.  Locally, the hysteria hasn’t helped.  Everything from murder, petty theft, vandalism and a few cases of adultery are all suddenly being blamed on the mad bomber.   1# - so do we know anything about him. 2# - Well I’ve been able to get a reasonably accurate timeline so far.  His first sighting was when he was caught red-handed at that alleyway.  Probably would have been the end of it if he hadn’t escaped the holding cell.   1# - I thought there were anti-magic fields in effect over the precinct? 2# - In the cells sure, but only the negating manacles are used everywhere else.  My current theory is the lawyer who visited him must have had something to help negate his cuffs so when he left he was free to make his move.  I would have more, but I haven’t been able to find the lawyer since then.  I checked his credentials and found they were very similar to one’s we seen involved in mob cases, so it’s likely our bomber has links to the mob families, if not directly working for one.  A few guard reports suggest he was around the library when it was robbed, but his confession at the warehouse proves that he was the one behind it. 1# - what happened to him after that? 2# - Best I was able to find was that after the warehouse exploded he must have made his way into town the next morning.  There’s a couple of conflicting reports but one about a farmer who found a group in his barn seems noteworthy.  He claims he drove to town with some in the back, but when he got to a check point half of them had disappeared.  The descriptions he and his wife gave match those of the guards at the warehouse, and those of a group fleeing from that direction that ran into the reinforcements from the capital.   1# - they didn’t stop them? 2# - they had no idea who they were at the time, but their reports helped us with getting the profiles down.  Then there was the bank incident, which proves our bomber must be something else.  The bank’s anti-magic fields are even stronger than ours, so the fact he was so easily able to cause those explosions means he’s either got incredible magic power to overcome it, some magic artefact that can enable him to bypass it or he’s got connections good enough to let him have authorised access in said field.  No matter what way you look at it, he’s trouble.  After that, the trail gets messed up by all these reports 1# - you think he’s giving us false leads, covering his tracks 2# - I would if any of them were half way intelligent.  I’ve seen it before, whenever something big like this happens.  Part of it is hysteria, people making connections that don’t exist or getting jumpy and acting panicked.  I have a report here that the third town over saw a figure with a flame in its hand looking sinisterly over the town late at night, so they gathered a mob to capture him.  Too bad it turns out it was the local crazy cat lady who lived near there.  One of her pets was missing so she’d gone out with a lantern in hand to look for it and ended up getting jumped 1# - well that must have been embarrassing when they realised, right? 2# - When did I ever say they realised?  They tied her to a tree, stoned her then brought the body here, hoping to cash in the reward 1# - SWEET IOMEDAE! 2# - yeah, and that’s a legitimate one.  The second town over had a guy claim his shop was burned down by the mad bomber as part of an insurance scam.  Would have worked if he’d worn any kind of disguise when he’d bought all the alchemist fire the shops had the day before. 1# - so I guess there’s lots of people who claim they saw him for different reasons 2# - yeah, and there’s just as many trying to claim they are him 1# - WHAT, there is no way anyone has pretended to be the mad bomber.  Why would someone pretend to be a known criminal? 2# - Why don’t you ask Jake Filbar.  He’s a fresh out of mage collage graduate who got drunk and started going around trying to pick up women claiming he was the super badass criminal everyone was talking about.  Too bad for him the woman he offered to “set off his biggest explosion in her beef portal” happened to be an off-duty officer. 1# - wait, I heard about that from the others, I thought it was messier than that 2# - it was.  Turns out the barkeeper had a moonflower distribution ring going on.  When Jake started resisting arrest, he threw around a bunch of weak fire spells and managed to set fire to a hidden stash worth around 6000GP.  We had to cordon off a whole section of the city to deal with the simultaneous fires and the mass rioting cause by the hallucinogenic smoke spewing out of the place.  At least we busted a drug ring out of all that though. 1# - ok, so drunken idiots might pretend to be him, but no sober and sane person would 2# - Kasandra Millientop did.  Used it to try and apply for a magical university 1# - could you repeat yourself, I seem to have misheard you, I thought you said someone applied to a university as a known mad criminal. 2# - from what I gathered she was trying to get her foot in the door.  A lot of these schools tend to be extremely presides and hard for the common people to access.  She hoped by using the name it would get her noticed long enough to show she had the power and skill needed to enter 1# - how did it turn out? 2# - well the old dean decided to be cruel and give her a chance to fail in front of everyone.  So, he positioned himself and the grading panel behind an anti-magic field of his own casting and told her to give him his best shot after all, and I quote “the mad bombers skills are well known to all here.  A field like this should be no problem for you who use his name”. 1# - permission to speak freely   2# - permission granted 1# - the man sounds like a complete ass 2# - yes, he was.  There were some complications, turns out she had been trying to boost the effect of her magic to replicate the mad bomber by mixing gunpowder and alchemist fire, and her first attempt nearly killed herself 1# - poor girl, I can’t imagine the dean would have let her in after that 2# - yes, the old dean wouldn’t have.  Fortunately for her she did succeed the challenge of hitting him through the barrier. 1# - Really, I assumed the deans magic would have been far more powerful than anything she could have cast 2# - Indeed, that barrier would have blocked even the greatest of magical feats the world has ever known.  Fortunately, the spell was made solely to block magical power, and so failed to simple logic and force 1# - you mean she? 2# - Beaned him with a rock, yes.  Coroner’s report says he was dead before he hit the floor.  For a mage that girl has one hell of an arm 1# - wait, she killed him!  Shouldn’t she have been arrested for that? 2# - no one pressed charges, and the new dean apparently approved of her ingenuity.  They enrolled her in their alchemist course and she became the most popular girl at the school from what I hear 1# - so the new dean approved his predecessor’s murders ingenuity 2# - while he was prising the official hat of leadership off his predecessors freshy caved in skull, yes 1# - so all this paperwork and there are no leads, just random stories? 2# - it’s not that cut and dry.  I’m sure at least one of these reports is the real one, but I’m going to have to go over the crazy ones just to find it.  There not all this bad, like for example I just finished going through.  A bunch of poachers were brought in by some druids.  Although it doesn’t initially look like much, there descriptions of some of the adventurers that took them down sounds a lot like the mad bombers gang.  What’s more apparently their wizard got in a commotion with the adventurers spellcaster and they started bouncing fireballs off each other 1# - I’m no wizard, but I don’t think counter spelling works like that.  Surely there must be more to it than that 2# - your right.  At one point the wizard starts yelling out about what spells their group are casting, causing everyone to start shooting at him.  That sure sounds like our mad bombers MO, getting a lot of attention pulled straight towards him while the rest get on with other things.  A couple of leads like that one and we might just pin enough down to find him, or at least get a scrying spell on him 3# - Well, I’m glad to hear the investigation is going well 1# - sir, you’re not supposed to… 2# - stand down rookie, its fine.  Might I introduce you to the guild-master of the order of the white lotus, the adventuring guild we called in to help us with the investigation. 3# - you know captain, when you said you had some leads to investigate I wasn’t quite expecting this much 2# - well that’s the city guard for you, we don’t do anything in half measures 3# - you know dear, you really don’t look to well, have you gotten any food or rest recently 2# - I had a donut with my extra strong coffee at 3AM if that counts 3# - Well this won’t do.  Tell you what, how about you let me have a go with those leads, it is my guild who is supposed to be tracking him down after all.  Why don’t you take the rookie to the canteen and finish your stories there? 2# - thank you!  But I couldn’t possibly leave all this to you to finish by yourself, it’s far too…. 3# - you don’t get to my position in life without learning a few tricks to deal with paperwork, no go get some rest and unwind, leave finding this bomber to me 1# - thank you sir, that’s very generous 3# - come on rookie, I’ll tell you the one about the bomber and the teacup …… 3# - yes, you don’t get to this position without learning to deal with paperwork [whoosh] 3# - there, all ‘finished’.  It’s my job to ‘track’ you down, and when I do I’m going to wring your neck for all the trouble you’ve caused me.  And to think I left him to keep a track of the others, what was I thinking

How Elephants Affect Human Dignity

Even though elephants are proven to be a vital and loved species that is needed in our world, many people still personally do not agree and continue to harm these precious animals. What they do not understand is that when humans harm animals, they harm their own human dignity. Even though many people do realize how many elephants are actually being killed, a large number continues to not care and kill more elephants while others try and put an end to this tragic situation. According to CST, natural law “designates a moral law that both exists by nature and is known by nature to be binding on everyone” (CSS 64). Because natural law implants a moral law within us, humans are expected to follow that law. When poachers kill elephants, they are not doing a moral deed because it causes the species population to decrease. The poachers are also going against natural law which can harm their human dignity. This is because natural law makes up a part of that dignity. Humans have an instinct to kill animals thinking that it is helping their survival when in reality, the extinction of elephants is a threat against humanity. As the population of elephants diminishes everyday, people start to lose sense of the true value of elephants and their nature. Instead of taking care of nature and animals as God intended, humans can do the exact opposite and use their right of freedoms in the wrong way. Therefore, the killing of elephants degrades human dignity as humans don’t understand what the actual consequences of their actions are. People who act cruelty towards animals place price tags on elephant’s bodies and ivory tusks and only care about the money they are going to make as a result. A solution to this issue should stem from the principle of solidarity while keeping in mind human dignity, freedom, and the common good.

When human beings are cruel towards animals, they harm their human dignity. Because God created the world and all humans are made in the image and likeness of God, they have the same human dignity. A person’s human dignity is based on his natural law and is given to him by God. This natural law helps man strive for his good and achieve his highest end. Therefore man “can make moral choices and laws on the basis of his God-given natural end” (CSS 66). The first precept of natural law is that “good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided” (CSS 66). When man poaches an elephant, this precept is violated and their right of freedom is carried out in the wrong way. If it is true that “we find our ultimate fulfillment in moral goodness, developing our capacities to the full and sharing those gifts with others” (Dominion 301) then poaching should not be allowed because it is not morally good. Poaching does not help a human in anyway achieve their highest good or help them live a virtuous life. It only harms their dignity and causes them to go against natural law. In Scully’s book, he writes about an interview with a friend who says “of course we are bound not to treat them ill, for cruelty is an offence against the holy Law which our nature has written on our hearts, and is displeasing to Him” (Dominion 338). This point proves that killing of or cruelty towards animals actually harms one’s human dignity and therefore should not be tolerated. Scully also states in his book that if Cardinal Newman believed “animal cruelty can plummet a man into the realm of the ‘Satanic’” then Scully believes that “that alone is reason enough to steer clear of it” (Dominion 339). These reasons are enough to prove to poachers and people in favor of animal cruelty that poaching should not be allowed anywhere and there should be a major consequences to help stop the issue. Terminating poaching may seem like a bad idea economically to some people, but in reality, it is beneficial not just for the elephants, but for people’s human dignity as well.

A part of our human dignity is our natural right to freedom. “Man can turn to good only in freedom, which God has given to him as one of the highest signs of his image” (Compendium 135). Therefore when people say they have the “freedom” to kill elephants because they want to, they are not fully correct because they are not striving for the good and therefore, are violating their free will. As humans “we have no duties to the creatures, but only ‘duties in respect  of animals” (Scully 340). God put humans on earth with many jobs, one being to take care of nature and the environment that surrounds the human species. Even though man is blessed with the right of freedom, many do not use it in the right ways. Just because they are granted the right to freedom does not mean they are allowed to hurt others that are a part of nature. For example, back in May 2013 when 87 elephant carcasses were discovered in Hwange National Park, 5 poachers were arrested as a result because they were cruel to a creature that is apart of their nature. The killing of the elephant and the men’s arrest affects their human dignity because it is a violation against freedom and is not a moral law. Humans should care about elephants and stray away from poaching not only because it affects their human dignity, but also because elephants in a sense are very much humans and can be very useful in the world of nature.

Over time, elephants have inspired respect from the people that they share land with which gives them a strong cultural significance (Save the Elephants). This significance is exemplified in the different ways that they act. Just like mothers, elephants are extremely vigilant with their new offspring. They also live in complex societies forming social groups, just like humans are apart of different cultures and groups. These elephant societies from around females while males are solitary wanderers roaming from group to group in search of a mate. This maximizes the longevity of the male’s bloodline because they can mate with up to 12 females in a year. Not only are they intelligent animals, but elephants also have a complex consciousnesses allowing them to have strong emotions just like humans feel different emotions every day. Elephants mourn over lost loved ones and understand the concept of death. Just like humans have wakes and funeral services for their loved ones whom have passed, elephants have their own sort of rituals to cope with the death of another elephant. They are seen paused by the carcasses of their loved ones that have died. Sometimes they even touch or caress the body and take a bone or tusk to remember their fellow friend. Mothers can also experience a sort of depression after the loss of a child which is a similar response that human mothers have as well (Discovery News.) Studies published in the journal Peer J show that elephants are able to willingly comfort a fellow elephant that maybe in distress. Other studies also prove that elephants are proven to have sharp and long memories. When a tragic event occurs, humans can be scarred for life. Similarly to this, elephants can remember injuries and hold grudges against those who have hurt them. For example, elephants have reacted hesitantly in the past to the smell of clothing worn by Massai warriors, whom the elephants see as danger due to prior stabbings of their species elephants are also able to understand some languages. Another reason why elephants are similar to humans and should be saved is because according to studies earlier this year, elephants can differentiate between gender and ethnicity in human voices which is highly uncommon for a mammal. An Asian elephant named Koshik was able to understand a limited amount of Korean vocabulary and tried to say the words by imitating human speech. Just like humans are right or left handed, elephants prefer one tusk over the other to dig up the earth and uproot trees. A human also has many instincts and self awareness. Although this seems like a trait that should just apply to humans, elephants have self awareness as well and some studies even show that that Asian elephants can recognize themselves in the mirror (Discovery News.) Many people may not understand why elephants are important and kill them thinking there will be no consequence, but in reality not only does it hurt the elephant itself and the human’s dignity and soul, but also the common good.

Benestad, J Brian. Church, State, and Society: An Introduction to Catholic Social Doctrine. Catholic Moral Thought. Washington, District of Columbia: Catholic University of America Press, 2010.

Scully, Matthew. Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin, 2002.

"Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church." Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

"Save the Elephants." Save the Elephants. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

http://savetheelephants.org/

"Familiar Traits : DNews." DNews. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016. <http://news.discovery.com/animals/10-ways-elephants-are-like-us-140812.htm>.