#wpo

TW: Noncon drugging, creepy whumper.

Today is the day. Kara will finally get a glimpse of the pet she wants. Addi will be so adorable, she will want to be touched. She'll want Kara. Kara can barely contain her excitement but she knows Addi can't suspect anything will be different. So Kara stays quiet all morning, anticipating the events to follow.

Addi's meal looks better than any of the others. It's mashed potatoes, gravy, and fruit, perfectly sliced. The food seems too good really to be true. She eats it anyway, savoring each bite. The taste is a bit sweeter than it should be but she ignores her taste bud's warning.

The nap definitely starts to come on, faster than ever. Addi crawls up onto the bed, crossing her arms and curling into a fetal position. She closes her heavy eyelids, drifting off for a bit.

Kara pokes her head in the door, smiling as she sees the empty plate. On the bed is the pretty little thing, all doubled over and snoring softly. She's so cute. Kara sits at the top of the bed, carefully pulling Addi into her grasp, wrapping her arms around the pet to support her weight.

Addi peeks her eyes open, cracking them as much as she can. She moans, disturbed by the movement.

"Hush, lovely little thing. There's no need to be distressed. I'm here."

A little startled by the voice of Kara so close to her, Addi crinkles her eyebrows, puffing out her bottom lip. Her head falls limply over Kara's arm.

"I sure drugged you up good, didn't I?" Kara teases, stroking Addi's hair.

Addi whimpers, barely understanding what's happening. She just knows that the fingers in her hair feel good. The little pet wants more of it. She leans into the touches, pleased by the way her neck tingles down her spine.

"Those medicines make you so nice and sleepy for me, don't they, my little love?"

Addi can't really answer, she's already drifting off again, content with whatever is going on.

Kara smiles, stroking her little love's face, tracing its features. She pulls Addi even closer to her body.

"You're so affectionate, my little dove. I'm going to have to do this more often."

Addi unconsciously moves into the touches, groaning softly.

"That's it. There's nobody else in the world but you and me right now. We can do this all day. Just rest your pretty little head, dove. This drowsy little state won't wear off any time soon."

They spend the rest of the afternoon together. Addi is never conscious enough to know what is going on and Kara enjoys every single minute of it. But when Addi awakes with any sound of discomfort, Kara lulls her back down repeating a few of the same words over and over.

TW: Noncon drugging

Addison does wake up feeling different. She's slower, her will to disobey has lessened. She believes it's from the shocking. Most days, she'll just lie still for a while, with no energy left. But recently, it's been so hard to stand for so long or think for long periods of time. The naps she takes are longer and she sleeps deeper but her mind can't explain why she feels this way.

She can't remember certain things. For example, her address. She knows her mother has an address and she has sent very much mail from that location. She had memorized it. And her mother's face is cloudy in memory. The face she had seen every day for years isn't clear.

Hazel is even starting to drift out of her mind. Hadn't Kara said something about forgetting the past? Are those pills making her forget?

Her mind drifts off the subject easily. Why is it so hard to concentrate? What was she just thinking? It probably wasn't important.

She notices the meal at the door. It's about time. Plopping down in front of it, Addi scarfs it down. It's tasty. Almost too good for a captive. What does it matter anyway? The door creaks open, Addi slowly lifts her head to see Kara, smiling down from above.

"Hey, Lovely! How are you feeling?"

"G'away," Addi mutters.

"Aww, you're so cute. I'll be back to check on you in a bit, alright?"

This is the start of my new series, Scared of the Dark. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Trigger warning: Kidnapping, noncon drugging.

"I don't want to go up there. There are too many people watching!" Addison paces the floor in her blue cap and gown, the tassel on her head goes every which way. Hazel follows her back and forth. Addi hasn't exactly been looking forward to the graduation ceremony.

"You'll be fine, just smile, shake hands, and get out of there," Hazel instructs, acting like she wasn't nervous when she graduated from this same school a year ago. They both are the only two sent out with honors from Richardson Independent School District.

Richardson high helps kids in a hard financial situation get an adequate education. Hazel and Addi are two of those kids. Or rather were two of those kids. Hazel is in college with a full ride and going after a degree in nursing and Addi has had colleges offering her the same.

"You just have to get through this and afterward we can celebrate!"

"I can't get through this! Do you know how many people are out there?" A roar from the crowd sounds in the event room. "People are not even supposed to cheer at a graduation!"

Hazel puts her hand gently on Addi's shoulder. "You've worked really hard these last few years, you can't let it go to waste now. So get it together, your mother is expecting you to walk out there so she can take a thousand pictures. Don't make her disappointed." This brings out a smile in Addi. It's small, but it's still a smile. Her face quickly returns to its worried state.

"I need to go somewhere quiet. I have to convince myself to go out there."

"The teacher's lounge is open."

"Do you think I can go in there?"

"Nobody is in there so I guess."

Addi nods, pulling off her cap. "Thanks, I'll be right back."

Addi makes her way out of the math classroom and into the teacher's lounge, savoring every moment of walking through the halls of the school she spent so much time in. Plopping down on the couch, Addi runs her hands through her hair. "I have to go out there, don't I? But I can't go out in front of that many people! They'll all be staring at me. They'll all be judging me. Maybe they won't be, but maybe they will be! This conversation is counter-productive." Addi sighs, putting her hands on her head. "I'm never going to graduate."

A hand slaps over her face. Thrashing, Addi panics, trying to pull the hand away. A sweet-smelling aroma wafts into her nose, zapping her strength. She tries to scream but the rag is stuffed into her mouth. Her resistance gets weaker and weaker the longer it goes on. Soon, her eyelids start to droop. Clouds fill her head and her limbs go numb. There's no fight left. Sleep overtakes her, the only thing in her mind is fear.

interpack and the World Packaging Organization (WPO) are intensifying their long-standing cooperation. The aim of the strategic partnership is to promote innovation, sustainability and the global exchange of knowledge in the packaging industry even more strongly.

This cooperation has a long tradition. interpack, the world's leading trade fair for the packaging and related process industries, and the WPO have been closely linked for decades. Now both are announcing even more intensive cooperation and joint initiatives to strengthen the global packaging industry. “We have been associated with Messe Düsseldorf for many years, and interpack has long since become a home for us in Germany. Together we want to achieve great things for the industry and support interpack with passion,” says Luciana Pellegrino, president of the WPO.

The WPO and interpack share many common goals, particularly in the promotion of innovation, sustainability, education and global networking. The expanded cooperation will promote important topics such as circular economy, sustainability and resource conservation in the packaging industry even more intensively. “Our drive is to promote the development and progress of the processing and packaging industry and to ensure its success in the world's markets,” says Thomas Dohse, director of interpack, describing the trade fair's vision. “With the WPO, we have the ideal partner at our side to continue to fulfill these goals. Utilizing our global network together is a great step.’

Joint projects around interpack 2026

The WPO organizes one of the world's most prestigious packaging competitions with the WorldStar Global Packaging Awards. In 2026, the awards ceremony will once again take place as part of interpack, providing participants with a major international stage. The WPO itself will have a stand at the trade fair and take part in various content formats at interpack, such as the TV studio and the Spotlight Forum. As part of a theme partnership, the WPO will also be involved in interpack channels such as Spotlight Magazine outside of the trade fair.

Active in Asia and Africa

The partnership also covers the interpack alliance trade fairs Shanghai World of Packaging in China and pacprocess MEA/Food Africa in Egypt. The WPO will be represented with a stand in Shanghai from 18 to 20 November and in Cairo from 3 to 5 December 2024. It is also active in the supporting program. The interpack projects ‘Women in Packaging’ and the Save Food initiative will also play an important role at both trade fairs.

Together against food waste

The Save Food Design Awards and the Sustainability design awards are awarded annually at Swop and Pacprocess MEA to exhibitors who present particularly innovative products that minimize food loss and waste and/ or are sustainable.  Together with UNIDO and FAO, the World Packaging Organization sits on the jury and supports the winners in further communication, including the opportunity to take part in the WorldStar Global Packaging Awards. The WPO is also a member of the expert jury for the annual Save Food project competition, which is endowed with 10,000 Euros.

Focus on women in the industry