DELILAH, BY QUEEN (Freddie Mercury's Calico cat)

This was one of Freddie Mercury's last songs before he passed away. Relatable to any cat mum or cat dad, because our whiskered friends sometimes make us furious when they pee on our furniture (or on our laptop), but they look so cute and so innocent and then make our worries melt away... 

Delilah, Delilah

Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my, you're irresistible
You make me smile when I'm just about to cry
You bring me hope you make me laugh and I like it
You get away with murder so innocent
But when you throw a moody you're all claws and you bite
That's all right

Delilah, Delilah
Oh, my, oh my, oh my, you're unpredictable
You make me so very happy
When you cuddle up and go to sleep beside me
And then you make me slightly mad
When you pee all over my Chippendale suite

Delilah, Delilah
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

You take over my house and home
You even try to answer my telephone
Delilah, you're the apple of my eye

Meow, meow, meow
Delilah, I love you, Delilah
Oh, you make me so very happy
You give me kisses and I go out of my mind, ooh
Meow, meow, meow
You're irresistible, I love you, Delilah
Delilah, I love you

Hah, hah
You make me very happy
Oh, yeah, I love your kisses
I love your kisses
I love your kisses
I love your kisses
I love your, your, your kisses
I love your kisses

CARTA DE AMOR DE TU GATO

 

**"Si tan solo supieras – Una carta de amor de tu gato"**

Nunca me escuchaste hablar, pero te conté mil historias, con cada parpadeo lento, cada roce suave de mi cuerpo contra tus piernas, cada ronroneo escondido entre silencios.

Yo estaba allí cuando el mundo se sentía pesado, acurrucándome a tu lado como un hechizo silencioso: *"No estás solo."* Memoricé el ritmo de tu respiración, la melodía de tu risa, cómo cambiaban tus pasos cuando tu alma se aligeraba. Y cuando el dolor te pesaba, me tendí contigo, dejando que el calor de mi cuerpo dijera lo que las palabras no podían: *"Estoy aquí."*

Tú y yo teníamos nuestro propio idioma. Mi cola enrollada a tu brazo decía: *"Confío en ti."* El leve maullido al verte volver susurraba: *"Te extrañé."* Y por las noches, cuando mis patas temblaban en sueños, recorría mundos infinitos contigo a mi lado.

El tiempo es un enigma. Me dio lo justo para enseñarte sobre un amor silencioso, paciente, el que no pide nada y permanece. Pero si pudiera detenerlo, elegiría cada maullido viejo, cada salto que me cuesta, solo por quedarme contigo un día más.

Así que cuando mi pelaje se torne plateado y mis pasos se vuelvan más lentos que tu tristeza, recuerda esto: el amor no se va. Se esconde en el rincón donde dormía, en la manta que aún guarda mi olor, en el sonido suave de las patas que ya no pisan el suelo, pero aún caminan por tu corazón.

¿Y si alguna vez dudas? Cierra los ojos. Siente la caricia invisible de mi cabeza buscando tu mano, el ronroneo que aún vibra en el aire. Te amé profundamente. No porque fueras perfecto, sino porque eras mío.

P.D. Si algún día otro par de ojos felinos te observa desde una esquina, no apartes la mirada. No te sientas culpable. El amor verdadero no compite, se multiplica. Y yo te enseñé a recibirlo con el alma abierta.

*"Los gatos dejan huellas suaves en nuestras vidas. Pero los humanos… ustedes dejan constelaciones enteras en las nuestras."*

(Anda, abre esa lata de atún. Prometo no decírselo a nadie.)

EMMA AND WHISPER

 

She entered the world as quietly as she rests now—no loud cries, no grand announcements. Just a small bundle of fur, born on a rainy night, hidden away in a cardboard box behind an old bakery. The world didn't take notice… but one person did.

Emma had always been overwhelmed by noise—the noise of the world, her own thoughts, and the grief that weighed heavy on her heart. After losing her father, even the simplest days felt like a cacophony. The silence in their home, once comforting, now felt like an empty echo. Until one afternoon, while taking out the trash behind her shop, she heard the faintest mew.

That’s when she found her: a tiny, snow-white kitten with weary eyes and a soul that seemed to hum with quiet.

Emma named her "Whisper"—because that was all she was. Soft paws. Gentle purrs. A heartbeat so fragile, you had to listen closely to catch it.

Now, Whisper lies beside Emma each night, curled in a cozy gray blanket, as if she were woven into the very comfort Emma had been longing for. Her small body curled like a comma in a story that had paused in sorrow—but now continues, word by word, in healing.

She doesn’t perform tricks. She doesn’t chase after toys. But her mere presence speaks something Emma could never find the words for:

“You’re not alone anymore.”

Sometimes, the deepest love doesn’t shout. It rests, breathes gently… and just stays.

ELEANOR AND MARBLE

  A very touching cat story .. <3 

In the spring of 1910, in a quiet English village lined with cobblestone streets and ivy-covered walls, there lived a young lady named Eleanor. She was known for her kindness, her delicate lace dresses, and the way she always had ink on her fingers from writing poetry no one ever read.

But more than anything, people knew Eleanor for her constant companion — a snow-white cat named Marble.

Marble had come into Eleanor’s life on a rainy October evening, just a tiny kitten with wide, frightened eyes, left in a wicker basket on the doorstep of the old manor house where she lived alone after her parents had passed. Eleanor had taken one look at the tiny creature and whispered, “Well then, I guess you and I will keep each other from getting too lonely.”

And they did.

Each morning, Marble would sit by Eleanor’s writing desk as she scribbled poems into her worn leather journal. He would bat at her quill with his paw, and she would pretend to scold him, but she always smiled. Every afternoon, the two could be found in the garden — Eleanor with her parasol, Marble chasing bees and tumbling through patches of lavender.

The villagers spoke of them fondly. “The lady and her cat,” they’d say. “Two hearts, one soul.”

But Eleanor held a sadness that she never shared. At 23, she had once been promised to a young man named Thomas. War took him away before he could return with a ring. Letters stopped coming. And though Eleanor never wore black, her eyes sometimes did.

Marble became her lighthouse through grief.

He would sleep on her chest when she cried, blink at her softly when she stared too long at the sea, and curl up by her journal when she couldn’t find the words. For years, it was just the two of them — quiet, steady, healing.

One morning in early winter, Eleanor didn’t rise.

The maid found her still, her hand resting gently on Marble’s back, a notebook on her lap, the final page filled.

"To the one who stayed,

who asked for nothing but gave me everything,

you are my dearest love,

in fur and silence."

Marble sat by her side for days. He ate nothing. He made no sound.

The villagers buried Eleanor beneath the cherry tree in her garden, the same one Marble always climbed to catch butterflies. They let Marble say goodbye.

But he never truly left her.

Every year, for nearly a decade, Marble would disappear from whichever home had taken him in, only to be found curled at the foot of Eleanor’s grave — rain or shine, season after season. Waiting. Remembering.

Until one spring morning, he too did not return.

They buried him beside her.

And for those who passed by the cherry tree each year, they swore they could sometimes hear a soft purr in the breeze and catch the faint scent of lavender.

Two hearts.

One soul.

Together once more and forever ... 🐈❤️

Legend of the Willow Catkins

 

The Legend of the Willow Catkins

According to an old Polish legend, many springtimes ago a mother cat was crying at the bank of the river in which her kittens were drowning. The willows at the river’s edge longed to help her, so they swept their long graceful branches into the waters to rescue the tiny kittens who had fallen into the river while chasing butterflies. The kittens gripped on tightly to their branches and were safely brought to shore. Each springtime since, goes the legend, the willow branches sprout tiny fur-like buds, called catkins, at their tips where the tiny kittens once clung.

El maullido de amor de Grisito

 

Un relato corto.

✍️ "El maullido de amor de Grisito"

Montesinos era un pueblo pequeño donde todos se conocían. Las calles de tierra se llenaban de voces en las tardes, cuando los pocos vecinos que habitaban alli salían a charlar bajo la sombra de los árboles. En ese rincón de la montaña rodeado de vegetación espesa y casas de tejados de pizarra, vivía María junto a su esposo, Rafael y su suegra, Doña Carmela.

María siempre había sido una mujer callada, pero firme. Llevaba cuatro años casada y, aunque su matrimonio tenía altibajos, nunca imaginó que la peor traición vendría de aquellos que compartían su techo.

La desaparición de Grisito.

María regresó a casa después de una semana de ausencia por asuntos de trabajo. Estaba ansiosa por ver a Grisito su gato agrisado con ojos de miel, su fiel compañero desde que lo encontró abandonado en una caja a las puertas de una protectora en donde ella hace labores de voluntariado.

Pero Grisito no estaba.

—¿Dónde está Grisito? —preguntó María en cuanto entró por la puerta.

Rafael, sentado en el sillón, desvió la mirada. Doña Carmela, que cortaba tomates en la cocina, ni siquiera se inmutó.

—No sé, mujer. Seguramente se fue por ahí —respondió Rafael con desgana.

María sintió un escalofrío. Grisito nunca se alejaba demasiado. Siempre esperaba en la puerta cuando ella llegaba.

—Grisito no es de esos gatos que se pierden —insistió ella, mirando a su suegra.

La anciana resopló con fastidio.

—¿Para qué haces tanto escándalo por un animal? Ya eres adulta María. Mejor ocúpate de tu casa y tu marido.

María sintió un nudo en la garganta. Algo estaba mal...

Pasó toda la tarde llamando a Grisito por el patio, caminó por las calles del pueblo preguntando a los vecinos, pero nadie lo había visto. Cuando volvió a casa, su desesperación se transformó en furia.

—¿Qué hicieron con Grisito? —exigió, con la voz temblorosa.

Rafael se levantó del sofá con gesto incómodo.

—Ya te dije que no sabemos nada.

Pero Doña Carmela la miró con frialdad y, con una calma cruel, dijo:

—Lo eché de la casa. Estabas demasiado apegada a ese animal, como si fuera más importante que tu esposo.

María sintió que el suelo se hundía bajo sus pies.

—¿Qué hiciste? —susurró.

—Lo llevé lejos. No necesitas saber más —respondió la suegra, limpiándose las manos en el delantal.

María sintió un ardor en el pecho, una rabia que nunca antes había experimentado. Pero antes de hacer algo de lo que pudiera arrepentirse, la voz de su vecina Elisa la hizo girar.

—María, ven un momento —dijo desde la puerta.

María la siguió hasta su casa, donde Elisa sacó su móvil y le mostró un video.

La imagen era borrosa, grabada desde la ventana de la casa de Elisa. En el se veía a Doña Carmela con una gran bolsa en las manos, caminando hacia las afueras del pueblo. En un momento, la bolsa se movió y se escuchó un leve maullido. Luego, la imagen mostró cómo la mujer dejaba el bulto en el suelo y se alejaba sin mirar atrás.

María sintió un nudo en la garganta.

—Esto fue ayer en la tarde —dijo Elisa con tristeza—. No sabía si decirte, pero pensé que debías saber la verdad.

Sin pensarlo, María corrió hacia el monte con la esperanza de que Grisito siguiera con vida. Gritó su nombre una y otra vez, hasta que, en medio de la maleza, escuchó un maullido débil.

Siguiendo el sonido, encontró la bolsa rasgada y, a unos metros de él, a Grisito, débil, sucio, pero vivo. María lo tomó en brazos, sintiendo que su corazón volvía a latir.

Cuando volvió a casa, Rafael intentó hablar, pero ella lo ignoró. Con Grisito en brazos, tomó una mochila, metió algunas de sus cosas y salió sin mirar atrás.

—¿A dónde vas? —preguntó Rafael, alarmado.

—A donde no tenga que compartir mi vida con personas que no respetan lo que amo —respondió María con firmeza.

Aquella noche se quedó en casa de Elisa y, al día siguiente, cogió un autobús lejos de allí. Encontró trabajo en una clínica veterinaria y con el tiempo, y empezó de nuevo junto a su amado Grisito y tuvo una vida plena y feliz.

María aprendió que el amor no es solo para las personas, sino también para los seres que nos acompañan en la vida. A veces, la traición viene de quien menos esperamos, pero siempre hay caminos para alejarnos de lo que nos lastima.

Y Grisito ,a su manera, también le enseñó una lección: no importa cuán oscura sea la oscuridad del bosque ,siempre hay una oportunidad de encontrar el camino de regreso a casa...

Lily y su gato

 Lily y su gato 

HERMOSA HISTORIA.🫶💖

Lily siempre había creído que el amor venía con pelaje y un suave ronroneo.😻

Cuando tenía siete años, encontró un gatito pequeño y desaliñado acurrucado en una caja de cartón afuera de su casa. Su pelaje era una mezcla de naranja y blanco, con los ojos abiertos por el miedo, pero cuando ella extendió la mano, él apretó su cabecita contra la palma de su mano, eligiéndola al instante.

Lo llamó Oliver.

Desde ese día, fueron inseparables. La seguía por toda la casa, se acurrucaba en su almohada por la noche y la esperaba junto a la puerta cuando volvía del colegio. A medida que crecía, Oliver siguió siendo la única constante en su vida: en amistades que se desvanecían, en desamores, en momentos en que se sentía perdida. Siempre estuvo ahí, con su mirada sabia y su amor tranquilo y firme.

Pero el tiempo era cruel, y el amor, por fuerte que fuera, no podía detener el paso de los años. Oliver creció más lento, sus patas, antes juguetonas, ahora cansadas, sus ronroneos más suaves.

 Una noche, mientras Lily yacía a su lado, acariciando su pelaje, le susurró: «Ojalá pudieras quedarte para siempre».

Él parpadeó, como si comprendiera, y le acarició la mano con ternura por última vez.

La casa se sentía increíblemente vacía después de su partida. Sus rincones favoritos permanecieron intactos: el alféizar de la ventana donde observaba el mundo, la silla donde se acurrucaba, esperándola. Juraría que aún podía oír su ronroneo en la quietud de la noche.

Pasaron las semanas, luego los meses. Una noche, en lo que habría sido el cumpleaños de Oliver, Lily se sentó en el porche, mirando al cielo. Una estrella fugaz cruzó la oscuridad.

Cerró los ojos, susurrando el mismo deseo de antaño.

Y entonces, justo al abrirlos, lo oyó: un ronroneo suave y familiar.

Girándose lentamente, vio un pequeño gatito naranja sentado al pie del porche, con los ojos abiertos y esperando.

Lily sonrió entre lágrimas.

 Porque el amor, el que está destinado a ser, siempre encuentra el camino de regreso a casa ♥️

RESCATEMOS!

Allegro y el piano

 

Un cuento de gatos 📚📖✍️

Allegro y el Piano🎹🐱🎹

En una casa donde la música llenaba cada rincón, vivía un gato blanco llamado Allegro. Su dueña, Elisa, era una pianista que dedicaba horas a ensayar piezas clásicas. Allegro tenía una particular costumbre: cada vez que Elisa tocaba el piano, él saltaba sobre la tapa y se acomodaba entre las teclas y la madera, ronroneando al compás de la melodía.

Una noche de invierno, mientras Elisa practicaba un nocturno de Chopin, Allegro se durmió profundamente sobre el piano. Su dueña lo miró con ternura, pero también con preocupación: en unos días debía viajar a un concurso importante y no podría llevarlo consigo. Era la primera vez que se separaban en años.

El día del viaje, Elisa dejó a Allegro con su vecina, la amable señora Marta. Sin embargo, el gato no comió ni se movió de la ventana, esperando ver a su dueña regresar. Cuando Elisa llegó a la gran sala de conciertos, se sentó frente al piano, pero sintió un nudo en el pecho. Sus manos temblaban. Algo faltaba.

Tomó aire y cerró los ojos. En su mente, imaginó a Allegro dormido sobre las teclas, sintiendo su calor, su compañía. Con ese pensamiento, sus dedos empezaron a moverse con naturalidad sobre el teclado. La música fluyó como nunca antes, llenando la sala de emoción.

Días después, al regresar a casa con su trofeo en la mano, encontró a Allegro aún en la ventana. Al verla, el gato saltó de inmediato y se subió al piano, frotando su cabeza contra ella. Elisa sonrió y, sin pensarlo, comenzó a tocar una suave melodía. Allegro, como siempre, se acomodó y cerró los ojos, dejando que la música lo envolviera.

Desde ese día, Elisa supo que no importaban los escenarios ni los premios: la verdadera música estaba en casa, con su fiel compañero dormido sobre el piano.

Autor desconocido 

🎹🐱🐈‍⬛🎹🐱🐈‍⬛🎹🐱🐈‍⬛🎹

The Titanic Cats

 The Titanic Cats 

Jenny the Titanic Cat was the ship's cat of the RMS Titanic and was originally adopted from her sister ship, the RMS Olympic. Jenny was employed as a rat catcher and gave birth to a litter of kittens shortly before the Titanic's maiden voyage in April 1912. She lived mainly in the galley, where the kitchen crew fed her leftover food.

Jenny's story is shrouded in legend. It is reported that she and her kittens lived near a kitchen worker named Jim, who lovingly cared for them. Unfortunately, there is no confirmed record of Jenny and her kittens surviving the disaster. Some rumors suggest that Jenny disembarked her kittens in Southampton shortly before departure, thus foreseeing the disaster, but this story remains unconfirmed.

POEM ON CATS

 

POEM ON CATS

Gentle eyes that see so much,

paws that have the quiet touch.

Purrs to signal "all is well"

and show more love

than words can tell.

Graceful movements

touched with pride,

a calming presence

by our side.

A friendship that

takes time to grow.

Small wonder why

we love them so.

Meow <3

THE PRINCE AND THE CAT

By Enid Kassner

Twas a fine spring day as the Prince ambled through the forest. His mind feasted on thoughts and was active as the songbirds that flitted from branch to branch in search of grubs. Light were his feet, moving automatically over boulders, crunching through last autumn’s leaves, and fording springs a-rush in clear waters. But the weight of his head was heavy, though it be small, for its contents were as gold: shiny and valuable. So absorbed was he in calculating the relative masses of stars, their distance from his planet, and their ability to support solar systems capable of nurturing intelligent life, that he nearly trampled a small cat, resting herself in a tiny patch of sunlight, and placidly licking her paws.

“Pardon me,” said the cat, “I meant not to obstruct your journey, fine Prince. I should have been more careful in choosing a resting place.”

“Well,” replied the Prince, “there is no harm done, and it is good that I, too, stop for a spell, as my head has filled so bountifully with thoughts that I must momentarily rest it upon the earth.”

Brilliant as the Prince was, he realized not that the cat’s words were cunning. For she had, of course, positioned herself precisely where the Prince was sure to tread. “I have a balm for your head,” she said. “It has proven most effective in soothing those such as yourself who carry the weight of superior intellect. Take this small sliver of my heart, and do not mind the blood, for it pains me not to give it,” she assured him.

How primitive and distasteful, thought the Prince. I will not feast on cat’s heart in the forest. But before he knew what happened, she had used a sharp claw and sliced out a small section of heart, still pumping in her open paw, squeezing out tiny scarlet droplets. “Please, do not waste my offering,” she insisted, “for it is freely given.” And, despite his innate repulsion for consuming raw flesh or blood of any animal, the morsel slid easily down his throat. To his great surprise, the Prince found he derived satisfaction from this heart-medicine and, as promised, the weight of his head felt somewhat lighter, yet no less shiny and lofty.

“You should not give so freely and indiscriminately of your heart,” cautioned the Prince, “for you know me not. What if I were to develop a rapacious taste for your sweet heart and feed upon it until I bleed the very life from you?”

“Oh, fear not fine Prince,” purred the cat. “The heart of a cat is small, but it regenerates with surprising speed. The more of it I part with, the fuller it seems always to be.”

What a strange creature, thought the Prince, and instantly fell upon the earth, cushioned by a large patch of thick, soft moss, which the cat had placed at the ready for him. Deep into slumber he fell, and as he slept the cat rubbed her whiskers and the corners of her mouth against the Prince’s lips and nostrils. She used her tongue upon his face and neck and kneaded her paws into his curly locks of silver hair. She smoothed her furry neck along his limbs and slid the sides of her body along his torso.

At length the Prince awoke refreshed, jumping to his feet and bidding the cat farewell. “I must return to my deep thoughts,” said the Prince, “and to my quest for a Princess. For I have a fine castle and require a suitable consort. You may follow me, if you wish,” said the Prince to the cat, “and though I have naught to offer you, I will accept such slices of your fine heart as you choose to offer. Be warned though,” he continued, “you may not meow in my presence, for I do not tolerate discord.”

The cat was happy to comply with the Prince’s conditions, for her heart was badly in need of release. It had been some long years and she had found no mortal to whom she could give her heart-blood. Odd though it may seem, this had made her poor heart shrivel to a hard nut. With the first slice given to the Prince, already she felt more free and fulfilled, more completely cat-like and content.

And so some years unspooled through time and the cat came to depend upon the Prince to relieve the ache in her heart. And though he had forbade her, she did in fact meow from time to time when the Prince ventured too long in thought, ignoring her, or when he fell in love with Princesses for whom he joyously yearned, though they shunned him and would not be his bride.

And when the cat meowed the Prince banished her and she retreated to the barns and the fields, and the forests. “You said your heart-slices were freely given,” the Prince reminded her, “but you must remember that I am a Prince and you are a cat. I cannot love you as I would a Princess, though you seem to expect such from me.”

The cat grew fat and discontent and even when she gave niblets of heart, they had grown bitter on the Prince’s tongue. “I wish a large Tomcat would find you,” said the Prince, “and claim you as his mate. Surely you would be happier and I have no need of you."

Now we all know that cats do not shed tears, for it is not in their nature, but they are known to howl piteously when frustrated. And howl she did. She howled, and shrieked, and showed her claws, and when she retreated to the barn she chewed on her paws and licked at her fur and consumed mice and voles and even ate large rats, though they were tough and gave her indigestion.

A tomcat indeed, thought the female cat. What tomcat could play sweet music as the Prince? What tomcat thought deeply about stars? And, though the Prince seemed almost unaware that he did it, no tomcat had hands that scratched under her chin, and petted the rolls of fat beneath the soft-as-velvet fur of her belly, as the Prince was prone to do. Oh, why do I crave these princely attentions, mused the female cat? Why can I not be content to feed the Prince pieces of my heart and drops of my blood and praise his virtues and accept his instructions for my behavior? Why must I arch my back and raise my fur and render myself a nuisance?

For his part, the Prince had become known in the land and lauded by the people, for through the manly powers of his mind he had secured for them long life with productive vigor. And he made his princedom just and fair, with its riches shared equitably among all, and harmonious, in peaceful cooperation with neighbouring princedoms. Yet he brooded, for he had not won the Princess of his dreams and he wondered if the cat was to blame. Had she placed some feline curse upon him? Had she hissed at the Princesses he wooed, left foul-smelling urine in their shoes, and spat fetid hairballs onto their favorite gowns?

Although the Prince and the cat had come to love each other – each according to their nature and ability – they both had grown weary of their struggles. For it seemed the turbulent changes in their affections cycled like the seasons. As winter sank to its coldest depth, they saw that Valentine’s Day was drawing nigh. “Let us not celebrate as we have in years past,” said the Prince. “Slice not your heart for me,” he continued, “but let us gaze into each other’s eyes and call upon Saint Valentine for a vision.”

And so her green cat eyes with their large glowing pupils joined his blue human ones like polished drops of ocean. And as they gazed the Prince realized that though his heavy head still shone with superior intellect – this alone had failed to bring him the love that all his life he’d sought. Well, the next damsel who doth truly love me shall be mine, he thought – even if she be a commoner of modest fortune and but serviceable mind.

And the cat thought, I shall attach myself to the old Crone cat and learn her ways, for she is wise and helpful to all, content within herself, though her fur be patchy and dull, her paws rough, and her whiskers many. What secrets does the old Crone know, wondered the cat?

Now as it happened, the eyes of Saint Valentine fell upon this oddly matched pair that seemed about to part ways, once and for all. No, no he mused, calling Cupid to his side. “We must help them find their way,” he said. Drawing two tiny arrows from his quiver, Cupid, with one shot, pierced the skin of both the Prince and the cat, and they fell into a trance where all was silent and still.

When they emerged, and we cannot know whether it was seconds or years, the Prince and the cat saw each other with new eyes. The cat indeed loved the Prince and understood his nature. She saw his warts and his virtues, his kindness and his meanness, his tenderness and his woodenness and she loved it all, though it was not as she had at first imagined. And she loved it not for her own need to slice out pieces of her heart and give them away, but as true love is: an open and airy space of atoms and particles circling around and inside each other and existing in all places at once and both needing and not needing each other.

And the Prince saw the cat not with the eyes of his mind but with the eyes of his heart, which had until then been blurred as though by milky cataracts. His brain-logic existed still, but in a different realm from the world of the heart. Why old cat, he thought, I never saw you as I stroked your fur and scratched your chin. How lovely and graceful you are dear cat, and how you’ve doted on me and fed me of your heart and all this time – how is it I did not see that you are me and I am you? Misled by your fur, I did not see that, all along, you were of my atoms and particles, your breath was my breath, your pulse my pulse, your mewling and hissing my own heart’s pain.

In that instant, there was no more Prince and no more cat, no more heart-blood and no more golden brain. There were only two sets of eyes, gazing so deeply inside each other that all they could see was truth. And they saw, of course, that truth was made of love.

**

Enid Kassner is a recent graduate of the Johns Hopkins University writing program.

LE CHAT DE LA MÈRE MICHELLE

This is a new post cycle on folksongs, a project that I had shelved for a long time.
Maybe it will be the theme of this year's Dermarkian advent calendar (a song for each day, except on Xmas Eve: when we get our Westeros fairytale).

LE CHAT DE LA MÈRE MICHELLE
EN PASSANT POUR LA LORRAINE
MALBROUGH S'EN VA-T-EN GUERRE
VOLT EGYSZER EGY HADNAGYOCSKA
A FÜREDI ANNA-BÁLON
HA MAJD A NYARUNKNAK VÉGE
WER GEHT ZU SPÄT ZU HOFE?
30YW SONGS
I LÂGA RYTTARTORPET
DET VAR EN LÖRDAG AFTEN
HJALMAR OG HULDA
CHIVITA, CHIVITA
ALLA FIERA DELL'EST
...

If that's the case, here's a little tidbit in advance:


LE CHAT DE LA MÈRE MICHELLE

C'est la mère Michelle qui a perdu son chat
qui crie par la fenêtre à qui le lui rendra
C'est le père Lustucru
qui lui a répondu
"Allez la mère Michelle, vot' chat n'est pas perdu!"

Sur l'air du tra la la la
Sur l'air du tra la la la
Sur l'air du tra déridéra et tra la la

C'est la mère Michelle qui lui a demandé :
"Mon chat n'est pas perdu... vous l'avez donc trouvé?"
C'est le père Lustucru
qui lui a répondu :
"Donnez une récompense, il vous sera rendu!"
Sur l'air du tra la la la
Sur l'air du tra la la la
Sur l'air du tra déridéra et tra la la

Et la mère Michelle lui dit : "c'est décidé:
si vous m'rendez mon chat, vous aurez un baiser!"
et le père Lustucru
qui n'en a pas voulu
dit à la mère Michelle : "vot' chat il est vendu!"

Sur l'air du tra la la la

Sur l'air du tra la la la
Sur l'air du tra déridéra et tra la la

BEFORE SHUT PUT ON NEW MAKE-UP

Go! Princess Precure - Episode 33

My Review - BEFORE SHUT PUT ON NEW MAKE-UP

The episode begins with Madame Shamour, for once the fulcrum of the episode, saluting us in French (as usual):

MME. SHAMOUR: Bonjour, mes amies! Leçons Royales de Madame Shamour! Today, we'll be talking about make-up!

Effectively: she is giving her four disciples a lesson in make-up art.

MME. SHAMOUR: Alors, toutes mes amies, allons commencer la leçon!

A shy and awkward Kuroro (formerly known as Lock), in the meantime, is hiding in his cozy den, not daring to venture beyond.

KURORO: Sigh!

*OPENING CREDITS*

After the credits, the results of the Leçon of the week are shown: the Cures (except This Loser is You du jour Haruka) have diligently applied their make-up.

Kirara looks even sexier than before:

MME. SHAMOUR: OK, that's good.

KIRARA: I guess something like this?

Minami looks even more dignified than before:

MINAMI: As expected from Kirara. You're great at this. You look really pretty.

KIRARA: I'm used to this from work as a model. (Winking at Minami) You, Minamini, did it perfectly too.

MINAMI: I have to put on make-up to attend social events.

Towa, the only princess of blood on the team, just looks adorable:

TOWA: I'm so envious of the two of you! I don't really understand what I am doing.

MINAMI: Wow.

KIRARA (excited as usual): Towachi, you look perfect!! Where did you learn that?

TOWA (shyly): I had my maid teach me a bit when I was little.

Haruka's make-up is hideous, resembling that of a clown. For such reasons (This Loser is You character hatred), the blog has omitted a picture of it.

Suddenly, Haruka sees a pair of green eyes looking at her from a hole in Kuroro's den and grows curious.

MME. SHAMOUR: He's a fairy from the Hope Kingdom. Kuroro.

(Flashback to Lock becoming Kuroro)

The Cures now take for granted that Lock is Kuroro.

MINAMI (peering into the den): You're finally awake. How are you feeling?

KURORO: (shudders)

TOWA (friendly): Thank goodness you're all right, Kuroro.

KURORO: (shudders and retreats deeper into the den)

MME. SHAMOUR: He's still a bit shy. Seems like he's forgotten all about being Lock. (Cheerful.) Leave Kuroro to me! You girls continue with your leçon! The path to become Grand Princesses is tough!

When the Cures try to contact Shamour in vain, receiving no reply, Puff replies:

PUFF: Madame Shamour left with Kuroro that way this morning.

TOWA: Towards Yumegahama... Why has she gone downtown?

KIRARA (sarcastic): Wait, can she leave the tablet so easily?

MINAMI: Is this Mme. Shamour's first time here?

Worried, the whole team takes the first bus to search for their mentor.

KIRARA (weary, sarcastic): We know only that she headed downtown, or not?

Suddenly, Haruka finds Mme. Shamour on an orange rooftop, in a suburban neighbourhood of Ponyville-like half-timbered houses. They get off the bus, but, when they reach the orange roof, only three pigeons are resting there.

Then, Kirara spots a humanoid Shamour outside a cloth shop, parleying with the shopkeepers (to purchase some cloth, or so it seems).

KIRARA: Huh? Madame Shamour! 

Much to the Cures' chagrin, she leaves. They keep on stalking her.

The Cures follow Shamour and Kuroro as these are sitting in a young lady's bike basket...

...standing on a bridge (here, she's humanoid and holds Kuroro in her arms)...

TOWA: Over there!

...uphill in the public park, in the rose arbour of a mansion garden, 

then, finally, they spot Shamour on a stage, performing with a portly juggler...

JUGGLER (shaking hands with Mme. Shamour): The show went great thanks to you! (Waving her goodbye.) Thanks, Miss Kitty.

MME. SHAMOUR: Meow!

PRECURES (unison): Madame Shamour!

MME. SHAMOUR (still on stage): Oh hey, everyone. What's the matter?

MINAMI: We have been looking for you.

TOWA (nodding): Yes.

KIRARA: What have you been doing?

MME. SHAMOUR (confidently): That can come later. I have to head for the next place. (Sauntering towards Kuroro, who is still on stage in the background): Let's go, Kuroro.

KURORO (apathetic): Yes...

YUI: Where are they going?

A bit later, Madame Shamour is standing on a clearing in the park, with Kuroro by her side, before a crowd of cats, both pets and strays.

The Precures watch the scene from behind the treetrunks and the shrubs nearby.

MME. SHAMOUR: Hello (Gokigenyó), everyone! Long time no see!

CATS (unison): Meow!

MME. SHAMOUR (pointing at Kuroro with her bâton): Let me introduce to all of you my new friend!

KURORO (looking down, shyly, awkwardly): I am... Kuroro... Nice to... meet you...

MME. SHAMOUR (to the other cats): Please be nice to him.

CATS (unison): Meow!

The Precures watch the scene unfurl. Their mentor had been previously addressing the pigeons on the orange rooftops, and now she's displaying her knowledge of yet another animal language.

TOWA: Madame Shamour knows a lot about many subjects, but her strongest subject is languages.

MINAMI: Talking to cats is another language.

MME. SHAMOUR: Oui! I sometimes take part in local cat meetings.

AROMA: How did you get to know everyone so well?

KIRARA (sarcastic): So you leave the tablet often, then.

Suddenly, an argument breaks out between the lighter-coloured pets and the black strays.

MME. SHAMOUR: The calico pet cats and the black strays have never gotten along.

The cats on both sides meow as loudly as they can, trying to roar and intimidate the other.

MME. SHAMOUR: Yes indeed. If this goes on without end...

MME. SHAMOUR (waving her bâton): Pouvoir des Leçons!

The Leçon dimension. Colourful period costumes and hats line racks as far as the eye can see. Madame Shamour towers, on a tall podium, over the whole scene, with both bands of cats (the female pets and the male strays) each facing a round pedestal. The Cures, their servants, and Kuroro have also been transported there.

MME. SHAMOUR: Let's decide this by means of a fashion contest!

CHARITY (SHORT PET CAT): A fashion contest?

BOGGIS (FAT STRAY CAT, WITH SCAR, LEADER): What do you mean?

MINAMI (wondering): What do cats and fashion contests have to do with each other?

MME. SHAMOUR: Cats and fashion sense go hand in hand! You all take care of your fur daily, right?

CHARITY: That may be true.

ALL THREE STRAYS: Hm.

MME. SHAMOUR (excited, twirling): Let's start the fashion contest! Representative for Team Black Stray will be... (pointing at Boggis with her bâton) the leader of the black strays!

BOGGIS (frightened, shudders): ME!?

MME. SHAMOUR: For Team Calico... let's have Kuroro be the representative. (Kuroro looks at first still dejected and awkward)

KURORO (surprised, opening his green eyes wide): ?

MME. SHAMOUR (winking at Kuroro): Oui! (To the Precures) Mes princesses, please help us out. (To Towa and Kirara): You two will join Team Black.

Kirara remains sarcastic and Towa simply wonders.

MME. SHAMOUR (to Minami and Haruka): You two will join Team Calico.

MME. SHAMOUR (to everyone): This will be the perfect time to hone your fashion sense. The best getup wins, okay?

In response, Kuroro is the only one who still lacks self-confidence and shivers and stutters.

Towa and Kirara set out on beautifying their champion. As an advantage, they've got a real-life pro model ready to give everything:

KIRARA (serious, pensive): If this is a fashion battle, then I, as a model, can't afford to lose.

TOWA (gently): Mr. Black, we'll definitely make you look royal.

BOGGIS (trying to break free from his henchcats): Meow!

Their rivals, however, are not delaying...

MINAMI: Hmm... Let's see what kind of clothes fit Kuroro.

The female cats proceed to try different gowns and trenchcoats on Kuroro, who is indifferent and still gloomy.

MINAMI (kindly): Kuroro, which one do you like?

KURORO (depressed): I don't care.

KURORO (teary-eyed, depressed, sobbing): Even if I dress up... it's all pointless. I want to go back to the Hope Kingdom... I want to see everyone...

MME. SHAMOUR (soothing): Kuroro, I feel the same as you. But no matter how sad you get, your wishes won't come true.

KURORO (disappointed): Then, what should I do?

MME. SHAMOUR (smiling, giggling): He-he!

Suddenly, Close's Angels appear out of the blue, and we cut to them in the Hope Kingdom.

STOP: Stop!

FREEZE! Freeze!

SHUT (startled by the appearance of Close's Angels, who open the door at unison): Gasp!

SHUT'S MAKE-UP DEBACLE (AND CLOSE'S QUEERPHOBIA)

Close's Angels have interrupted Shut as he put on his make-up and was doing his left eye with kayal.

SHUT (startled): Wh-What's this, all of a sudden!?

Suddenly, Close appears from behind.

CLOSE (to Shut, sternly): What on Earth are you doing? Putting on make-up? I hope you're not being lazy...

SHUT (his left eye without make-up, shuddering): I'm not...

CLOSE (eyes glowing violet, deeper voice): That's enough.

The mirror shatters into countless stars behind a startled Shut, who crouches for cover.

Note: Shut uses watashi (standard female pronoun), Lock/Kuroro uses boku (boy's pronoun), Twilight/Towa uses watakushi (very formal female pronoun).

SHUT (shocked by the loss of his looking glass): My mirror!! (Watashi no kagami ga!!)

CLOSE (sternly, giving Shut a pair of green glowing padlocks): Go and collect despair from humans. Got it?

SHUT (shuddering, turning pale, shocked, receiving the padlocks): Y-Yes...

Close and his Angels take their leave nonchalantly.

SHUT (swallowing his anger, irate): Curses!

THE KITTEN'S NEW CLOTHES

Back in the Leçon Dimension, Madame Shamour is surveying the contestants.

In this corner, black stray leader "Boggis" looks like a smug, sharply-dressed mobster.

In this corner, the challenger Kuroro is dressed in warm colours as a hipster, with the same melancholic expression as before.

MME. SHAMOUR (elated): Wonderful! I shall now announce the results!

(Drum rolls)

MME. SHAMOUR: But before that, (Winks.) ...let's have a break.

Have a Kit Cat, indeed.

And thus, both teams and their judges are shuttled back into the park for a much needed picnic.

A WELL-EARNED PAUSE

MME. SHAMOUR (pouring tea, smiling, courteously): Enjoy yourselves, everyone.

TOWA: Shamour, you're wonderful. Everything is delicious.

KIRARA (nodding as she swallows the doughnut, then surprised and ecstatic): This doughnut tastes exactly like a Marble Donut!!

MME. SHAMOUR: Indeed. I have tried many different sweets from different shops and learned about their tastes.

KIRARA (ecstatic, with sparkles in her eyes, having a doughnut orgasm): What a... genius!!

The calico cats and the black strays have made peace, relishing their delicious doughnuts.

There is only one who does not partake in everyone's joy. Guess who?

A doubtful Kuroro puts his own doughnut to his lips. The first taste makes his eyes sparkle, and soon the rest of the treat follows in as quickly as our hipster can push it in:

HARUKA: Is it good, Kuroro?

KURORO (startled, still shy): It is...

HARUKA (smiling): That's great!

MME. SHAMOUR (holding her bâton): How to fulfill your wishes. Leçon première: eat delicious food. (She winks at Kuroro.) Once you have eaten your fill, you will be happy and full of energy!

SHUT (irate, interrupting, with a face as if he were sucking a lemon): What's this about being happy!? Your happiness just grates my nerves!!

MME. SHAMOUR: Shut! Oh no!! (She does a flip and turns back into a cat.) (To Shut.) Vous!! What's with that getup!?

MME. SHAMOUR (sternly, to Shut): Your eyes are half done! That's unsightly!

SHUT (embarrassed, covering his left eye with his right hand): Th-This... (He looks through his right fingers, eyeing Shamour) She's just a fairy... But what perfect eyebrows... How cheeky... (He eyes Kuroro in hipster attire) What a unique way of self-expression! 

SHUT (takes the hand from his face and looks at the mobster cat, then becomes exceedingly surprised and filled with dread): Even that cat, too!? (Giving in to anger): Everyone is making me mad!! 

SHUT (to all three stray cats): Just show me your dreams!

TOWA (irate): Stop it, Shut!

SHUT (even more irate): SHUT UP!!

Effectively, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean all three get green keyholes on their chests.

All three black tom cats share the same dream:

"We want all the fish we can eat!"

SHUT: Shut your dream!!

Three marine desporgs are summoned from this dream: a shark, a puffer, and an eel-catfish hybrid.

Time for the Precures to stop being muggles!

SHUT (confident): He-he... Tear them to pieces!

The despair energy irradiated by the captive cats makes dark despair vines grow from the seed that fell on the clearing.

Cure Scarlet is designated to fight the puffer desporg.

CURE SCARLET (startled as the puffer unfolds its prickles): Oh!

EXTREME SHUT MAKEOVER

In the meantime, Shut draws near Yui and the pet-servants.

SHUT (confidently): Now then... You are next! (Lunging against them armed with the black rose): Prepare yourselves!

Yet, before Shut can react, a cat-paw bâton quickly stops his attack.

YUI, PUFF, AROMA, KURORO (unison): Madame Shamour!

MME. SHAMOUR (winking and smiling, to Shut): Your opponent, c'est moi!

SHUT (determined): Just give it your best try!

Shut lunges, rose in hand, against Shamour, and the two opponents spar swashbuckling (notice that Shut is right-handed and Shamour is left-handed!)

Shamour performs a perfect back flip to dodge Shut's strike. This back flip, landing on her feet like, well, a cat, is repeated a few times more.

YUI (surprised): Those movements... Ballet!?

Kuroro watches, astonished, in awe, not saying anything. Shut and Shamour, both so graceful, seem to dance instead of sparring.

SHUT (in awe, blushing): Beautiful... (Utsukushii...)

Then, steeling himself, he shakes his head to drive these feelings away.

SHUT (loudly, irate): Hey! Aren't you just a fairy!? Who are you exactly!?

MME. SHAMOUR (turning back into a cat, smiling): L'Institutrice Royale, Madame Shamour. (She gives Shut a poke on the brim of his hat with her bâton, making the hat cover his eyes)

SHUT (taking his hat back up): Ow!

MME. SHAMOUR (sternly): A dishevelled look shows a dishevelled heart. (Pointing at Shut with her bâton) Your heart is very confused right now!

SHUT (embarrassed and afraid, hiding his left eye with his left hand): That's because Close interrupted me...

MME. SHAMOUR (sternly): No excuses!! Even if you are interrupted, if your heart is in it, anything is possible! Since you couldn't finish your task, you have lost your confidence! C'est pas vrai?

SHUT (shudders and gulps, not daring to say a word)

MME. SHAMOUR (concerned): Are you perhaps worried about something?

Shut, sobbing and reeling, falls on his knees before Shamour.

SHUT (on his knees, desperate): I've... I've been so stressed out lately...

Shamour gently taps the crown of the Dysdark's hat with her bâton.

MME. SHAMOUR (tapping on the tablet): Now's the time to dress up! (She summons a dressing table.)

MME. SHAMOUR (encouraging Shut): Perfect your make-up and feel better!

Shut's eyes widen and fill with tears of joy. He can't believe his eyes or his ears.

CURE SCARLET (defending herself from the puffer desporg): Shamour! What are you doing?

Shut applies his favourite cobalt blue shadow on his left eyelid.

MME. SHAMOUR: Nice colour, but it's a bit plain.

In the end, Shut is given a new make-up on his left eye: mauve eyeshadow with a couple of golden hearts, and some pink petal details as well.

MME. SHAMOUR: How about this? 

Shut's eyes fill with tears of joy.

SHUT (surprised, elated): Oh!! You are a pretty good challenger!

SHAMOUR (smiling sincerely): That fits you quite well.

SHUT (clasping the brush, doing his own make-up before the mirror): Well then...

AROMA (irritated): What are you doing, giving lessons to the enemy!?

MME. SHAMOUR (sincerely): The Princess Precures' mission is to protect everyone's smiles. Princesses also need to learn how to cheer someone up.

MME. SHAMOUR (sincerely, as Shut is busy putting on make-up): Even if a person is your enemy, that's the root of elegance. Am I right!?

Her call draws the attention of both Precures and desporgs to the clearing.

CURE TWINKLE: You're right. When people are down, that's not beautiful!

CURE MERMAID: And it's the perfect chance to give yourselves a boost!

CURE SCARLET: No matter when or where, you have to be strong, kind, and beautiful!

The Cures curbstomp the desporgs as they utter these words.

MME. SHAMOUR: Très bien. How to fulfil your dreams. Leçon deuxième! Be strong of heart and move forwards!

Kuroro's eyes fill with tears as he listens and watches the victorious Precures.

Then, it's time for using the Éclat d'Espoir on those three desporgs!

Kuroro stands in awe watching the Éclat take place.

And Shut stands in awe for other reasons: now his right eye matches the left one, and his lips are pink. He looks even queerer and more flamboyant than before.

SHUT (astonished): Oh! This is... m-m-e! (wa-ta-shi!)

MME. SHAMOUR (sauntering by his side): Très bien. That fits you quite well. You pass.

She leaves a paw print with her bâton on the back of Shut's left hand.

SHUT (gasps in surprise, then elated): Yes! If I put my heart into it... I can do it!

SHUT (elated, ecstatic): I am... beautifuuuul!! (Watashi wa... utsukushiiiii!)

Shouting these words, intoxicated with elation, he waltzes out through the keyhole portal.

YUI: There he goes.

Madame Shamour gives her disciple some more words of advice:

MME. SHAMOUR: One day, the Princess Precures will take back the kingdom. I believe in them. That's why I learn all I can with regards to this world. And then I will go back home and teach everyone everything. That is my dream.

KURORO (insecure): Your dream?

MME. SHAMOUR (smiling): Yes. (Pause) Leçon troisième! What's important now is to study and play all you can. Then that will connect with your dreams. (She winks her left eye at Kuroro)

KURORO (smiling at last, determined): I'll do my best! Before I go back home, I will learn all I can and enjoy everything!

MME. SHAMOUR (smiling): Is that your dream?

KURORO (smiling, blushing): Yes!

MME. SHAMOUR (cheerful, poking him on the shoulder with her bâton): Très bien!

A WHOLE NEW SHUT

In the Dysdark fortress in the Hope Kingdom, Shut dances singing with joy along a corridor, crossing paths with Close and his lieutenants.

SHUT  (his back to his superiors): Close... have you seen me? 

SHUT (Turning around, in a Large Ham tone): This unparallelled beauty!!!

SHUT (defiant, showing Close his bouquet of red roses and candles): Do you admit defeat!? (Laughing heartily) Ha-ha-ha-ha! (Singing) Beauty is such a si-in! (Utsukushii te tsu-mi!)

Close, obviously, turns a blind eye towards Shut.

STOP: Who is that?

FREEZE: Who is that?

CLOSE (discontented, sarcastic): Hmph. How pointless. (Pause) But whatever.

(Cut to the black vines growing fast in the park clearing)

CLOSE: The Forest of Despair is growing.

A TRACE OF KANATA'S WHEREABOUTS

Back on Earth, the sun is setting and the Cures are getting ready to return to Noble Academy when they receive something special from the cats they helped...

MME. SHAMOUR: This is as thanks for helping them. They picked this up yesterday and want to give it to you.

The object in question is a golden disk inlaid with the heart-shaped crown of the Hope Kingdom's crest.

Everyone on the Precure team is astonished upon seeing the token.

MME. SHAMOUR (surprised): That's... a crest from the Hope Kingdom royal family!!

TOWA (even more surprised, trembling): Don't tell me...!

MINAMI: This is...

AROMA: I'm sure it's Prince Kanata's!

YUI: Which means...

Which means Kanata is close by...

The ending theme is performed by Cure Scarlet, whose estranged brother is now confirmed to be prefectly fine:

Kanaetai mirai he no michi (The path to the future you want to make true)
Sore wo "yume" to yobu no nara (You may call that your "dream")
Nakama to hashiri daseba ī yo ne (Just take off with your friends)
Let's Go! (Go!) gokigen'yō (Let's go, go, have a nice day!)
Let's Go! (Go!) Sukāretto! (Let's go, go, Cure Scarlet!)

Doko kako mo ikiru chikara ni (No matter what happened in the past, the power to live on)
Watashi no honō dare mo kesenai (exists in my eternal flames.)
Tsunaida te towa ni shinjite (I believe in these hands held tight, forever)

Yūki tamesu kyō wa kitto (Because I have the courage today,)
Ashita kaeru tame ni aru kara (tomorrow I will definitely change!)

Goran purinsesu! Guran purinsesu! (Take a gander, princess! Grand Princess!)
"Yume" wa hate shinaku tsuzuite (Your dreams will continue on...)
Hora ne! Minna wo matte iru no yo (See! Everyone else is waiting for you!)
Goran purinsesu! Guran purinsesu! (Take a gander, princess! Grand Princess!)
Sharara sekai ni wa shiawase ga niau yo (Shalala, the world deserves more happiness, so...!)
Kibō no kagi de tokihanate! (Set it free with the key of hope!)
Let's Go! Purinsesu Purikyua (Let's go, Princess Precures!)

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

I would never be Shut out from such a Shut-centric episode. With lots of cats. And Kuroro developing a new hipster persona and more self-confidence post heel-face turn, though at first he's shy and insecure and just needed a mentor like Shamour to see the inner worth in him. We saw two Dysdarks, a defector and one with simply bad luck, get well-deserved makeovers and self-confidence boosts. And we've got a little clue that estranged Prince Grand Kanata is somewhere in the Yumegahama area...

Kuroro coming out of his identity crisis: Kuroro is very timid and just wants to go back to the Hope Kingdom, but Madame Shamour is trying to get him comfortable by encouraging him to study and play, and that will connect to your dream. The results of the literal transformation of Lock’s character. His fairy name is Kuroro, and he is super shy and has no memories as Lock. Kind of reminds me of Charles V, when the young archduke landed in Spain a shy and reserved young teenager without any support, and now, by Episode Three/Four, he's growing a beard (like Kuroro has become a hipster) and broken out of his shell with a little encouragement from older females. Shamour is Aunt Margot and Germaine de Foix rolled into one, if we should keep the Charles V analogy. We love how his personality unfolds and the smile erased by shell shock has returned to his face.

The cat beauty contest: Team Calicos vs. Team Strays, and I rooted for Kuroro all along. Not as much tension as in Kirara vs. Ranko, I must say.

Kuroro's hipster look: Kuroro was just MEANT to be a hipster. Like he was a demon in his past incarnation... now he looks adorably bohemian/intellectual! He just can't follow any other trend!

The victims of the week: Here we had the trio of black strays, who, due to their physiques, were given the fan nicknames (not their real names, which are never told) of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean (one fat, one short, one lean!). Another multiple summon, this time a (literally fishy) threefold one. And I abso-frigging-lutely love when monsters of the week are plural in the same episode.

Shut's make-up: Mind control/life support like the Anima-Mates' cuffs? No. But at least SERIOUS BUSINESS to him. It ensured that he had yet another bad day. And Madame Shamour truly boosted his confidence by giving him a new, even far queerer appearance!!

Shut's relationship with Mme. Shamour: Ultimately, after waiting so long, the highlight of the episode was simply Shut finally receiving some recognition thanks to Mme. Shamour. It was a very precious moment, and it made me happy for him and respect Shamour even more as a character for choosing to help him than to fight him. She was able to identify his heavy heart of confusion and uncertainty, and make him feel beautiful by providing him some new tips to beautify himself in a new way. My inner fangirl had hoped he was going to make the transition this episode, but that itself would have been a rushed move- so we ought to be grateful for that. But I have to say, it was absolutely GLORIOUS to see Shut frolicking down the corridors past Close and his two minions without a care in the world! Keep being fabulous Shut! 

Though I ship Shutlight/Shutlet as hard as can be, Shutmour appears to be a serious contender in naval warfare. Let me clarify, though, that I think of it as Jaimienne vs. Renlienne (this is but my own humble opinion): Shut loves Twilight/Scarlet like Brienne loves Jaime, while he loves Shamour like Brienne loves Renly: in a fashion far closer to admiration or what fans of stars feel for said stars. Or is it vice versa? We shall better think of it as we watch the story unfurl before our eyes.

And Shut also sees Madame as a worthy opponent, much like Jean de Tilly viewed Gustavus Adolphus and vice versa.

Well, Shut needed a hug or some other kind of soothing after he's been under so much pressure, and no one at all seemed to care until now. Madame Shamour truly had to encourage Shut after he's been so down. Now he looks even more flamboyant than before, and able to accept defeat for once in a while (Shut the sore loser is dead as a doornail!!**)! Is this the prelude to a heel-face turn? We Shut fans seriously hope so!

Shut was being pushed around by Close and when Shamour commented on his bad make up, he started complaining of how he was getting no respect. Strangely enough, Shamour did not treated him as an enemy but rather as a person who is lost. With some make up, Shut actually gain some self confidence and didn't feel upset when he lost the battle. Guess up, he got a make over which got Close, Stop, and Freeze wondering what has happened to him.

Kanata's brooch with the crest of the Hope Kingdom: A vital clue to what is upcoming: the Cures will reunite with their estranged liege lord, who, however (and so conveniently for straight male love interests/dudes in distress) suffers from amnesia.

Kanata has amnesia. So typical. Kai in The Snow Queen, Perlino, Marcus in Erstwhile's Singing Springing Lark, Shinobu Ijuuin, Mamoru Chiba... every male love interest separated from his other half in romantic fairy tales is sure to have lost his memories... and to have found himself another lady (or the other lady has rather found him!). Maybe Kanata has also found himself another lady as well (given how much this story borrows from fairytales...).

IN NEXT EPISODE (34)

Trying to find Kanata, the Cures take part in a so-called Princess Contest.

And... will Shut, who has changed back to his usual cobalt blue eyeshadow, take up moonwalking? :O

POST SCRIPTUM

Some fan-made eyecandy: Shutlight but also a little crackship Close/Kimimaro: