Scav submission
Word count 500, 505 if you count the identification. Doglover89120[LL] Team Actual Weenies 2016 I found “Please Return Fluffy” by Leovant (#35187) to be rather enjoyable for quite a few reasons, though I unfortunately cannot mention one without spoiling the story as in the end the plot is what really sets this story apart so I would recommend reading it first. First is the emotional appeal of the story. The author does a wonderful job making you feel sadness in how fluffy was torn away from the one searching. A perfect example of this is how Fluffy does not mind his decision to not use a breeding coin, and understands perfectly even though they cannot actually speak with each other. In a sense this story plays upon the guilt that many players had over taking the money laid aside for Fluffy’s return but by showing the lengths he goes through to find Fluffy and their friendship instead of mentioning the player at all. Second is the very concept of the story. Leovant decides to use an already rather interesting concept on Aywas for the basis of the story. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the story took the direction it did rather than say some story about the person finding out what was happening to the money, or giving the story a successful ending where fluffy was somehow found and rescued despite the removal of the BP. While there is a conflict, this story is more a collection of memories I believe that this is better that way, showing a true bond rather than an epic meant to remove the guilt over taking the BP by solving the problem or simply giving an emotional lecture. Finally, the ending twist was rather interesting and puts the story in a new light. With the twist that Fluffy was the owner and the pet was trying to get her back, this story becomes even better. For example this shows that as a pet, he does not have the resources the owner would have, yet is so loyal to his friend that he would take bp and leave notes pleading for her safe return. This also covers up some possible plot holes such as why the authorities were never contacted, and is emphasized by mentions of the language barrier. One of the best parts of this twist however is that it is not countered by anything else in the story, and while it’s not obvious, there are still hints. One such hint is Fluffy being stuck in a fence and him running up and down until people caught on, while this could easily be a child being too frantic to think of contacting someone who could help, it makes even more sense for a pet who can’t talk to run around making noise since contact is not an option. As for faults, while the descriptions are rather vivid, some tend to run a bit longer than they should, though there are little other faults for such a wonderful short story other than nitpicks such as this.
