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Amidst an incomprehensible flash, nine figures suddenly found themselves standing in a white void.

Among them were an imposing, broad-shouldered dark wolf who scowled at the voice of a nameless narrator, a lithe ocelot wearing denim shorts, who clung to his side, two twenty-something furs--a grey wolf and an orange tabby cat--dressed in dark clothes that staggered to their feet, a lithe vulpine high school student holding paws with a German Shepherd student dressed in a football jersey, one grey wolf in his early teens who wore what looked to be late 19th-century clothes, a red deer dressed in a white toga, and lastly, a black-furred jackal dressed in dark robes. All nine characters stood disoriented where they appeared.

"That could have been handled more smoothly..." the jackal muttered, then turned to his cervine companion. "Are you in good health, my love?"

"I am," the red deer nodded, "but what of the rest of you?"

"I am

"You okay, Hunter?" asked the fox.

"Not my first time," replied the teenaged German Shepherd.

"That's what she said!" cackled the thirteen-year-old wolf dressed in suspenders and a newsie cap. The older, slightly scarred wolf in a dark hoodie snickered with the flirtatious ocelot, while everyone else raised eyebrows at the immature cub. "What? I couldn't resist."

"Nice one, Peter!" the ocelot snickered nearby, giving a high-five to the scrappy lad.

"Cherry..." the intimidating dark-furred wolf beside the feline grumbled. "We are all here to give an important public announcement to all of the readers and fans who follow the fictional works of Domus Vocis. Will everyone focus so we can get this over with?"

"Fair enough," a few of them murmured in agreement before lining up, everyone standing beside their companions and lovers while the youngest character placed his paws behind his head, impatiently waiting for his turn.

"I will go first then," the dark-furred wolf cleared his throat, subtly smiling shortly to his ocelot companion while discreetly holding paws with him. "Hello, dear readers. I am Markus Faoláin, and I'm one of two protagonists in 'Cherry'--"

"That's me!" waved the ocelot, giggling. "And sorry, but this big bad wolf is the only protagonist I want in me."

Markus rolled his eyes, struggling not to snicker, "I mean Cherry the STORY..."

"I am Hades, King of the Underworld," the jackal spoke up, patting the deer beside him, "and this is Philos, my Queen and the other main character of the homoerotic, Ancient Greek-themed miniseries 'Hades & Philos'."

"Hello, readers!" beamed Philos. "Nice to meet you, if you haven't read about us."

"'Hades & Philos'..." mumbled the teenaged fox to Hunter. "Not the best title, eh?"

"Better than ours, to be honest..." he replied, then perked his ears and sheepishly chuckled. "Oh, I'm next? Well, I'm Hunter Thurman--"

"--and I'm Holden Brewin--" added the fox, grinning with Hunter.

"And we are the main characters of Domus Vocis' first story series, 'High School of Cliches'!"

"My name is Adam Grimwald," the tabby cat waved, pointing to the other wolf next to him, who smirked both to his co-protagonist and their surroundings, "He goes by 'Lowell', and we are from the dystopian story series 'Maverick Hotel'."

"And there's me," the young Peter wagged his tail. "The protagonist of 'The Adventures of Peter Gray', Domus Vocis' very first published novel in the furry fandom! For those wondering why we're all here, we need to remind all of ya that a BIG DATE is coming up exactly...wow, one month from now..."

"This November 3rd," Markus explained, "every registered citizen of the United States of America will have the chance to vote for its next President. I might not be an American, but even I of all furs know how important it is to have your voice heard in government."

"Don't believe him? Read up on 'Cherry', or look up The Troubles, will you? History is important," Cherry joked at first. "In all seriousness though, you must go out to the polls and vote, guys! If you turn eighteen years old before Election Day, or have recently turned eighteen, then get yourself registered! I did it, and all it takes is a single Google search for your state and filling out a form."

"Same here," Holden raised a paw, as did Hunter beside the red-furred fox. "If you're an American citizen and are eligible to vote, you need to get registered."

"We know it doesn't sound appealing, but it's better than filing taxes," Hunter shrugged in agreement, "If you are registered to vote, but can't get to a polling station on Election Day, then don't let that stop you! Depending on your state, do mailing ballots. Ask your employers for a day off. Find another polling station that is open for early voting in your state. Whichever way you do it, plan ahead! Don't wait 'til the last minute!"

"When you do go to a polling station, remember to wear a mask to protect yourself from Covid-19," Hades spoke next, smiling down at his androgynous Queen, "Be courteous, be kind and do not search for trouble. After all... there's no reason for you to join my kingdom just yet."

A dark chuckle from the dark-furred god sent shivers up everyone's tails and spine, except for Philos, who smiled at the thought of further subjects to their kingdom.

"Lastly," the jackal calmed down, "do not let intimidation or fear rule your choice in making a choice for who your next President or congressmen. The city-states of Ancient Greece were not perfect, but they did utilize and build the idea of democracies that influenced the creation of the United States of America. The most ubiquitous element of a democracy's foundation is best found when all of its citizens, loyal and plentiful, participate in order to decide its fate. Failure to appreciate such a gift will result--"

"Excuse me, excuse me but," Lowell interrupted the Underworld god. "We're here to tell the folks to vote, not give 'em a soliloquy. Can you cool down with the tragic poetry, big guy?"

"Do you even know what a soliloquy is, mortal?" the jackal asked him, "Or, are you too busy committing vandalism against your fallen democracy to even learn manners?"

"Ouch," laughed Hunter.

Philos sighed in embarrassment, "My King..."

Meanwhile Holden, Cherry, Peter and even a stoic Markus nearly struggling not to laugh.

"Oh, @#$% you, ya..." Lowell, taken aback by what he said, flared up. "Huh? What the hell? Why the @#$% can't I @#$%&#$ swear??? $#@%!"

"I think it's because I'm here," Peter suggested meekly. "Out of all of ya guys, I'm the only original character from a work that's strictly...well, Safe-For-Work."

"Ha? But you swear, Peter!" Lowell pointed out.

"I only say 'Hell' and 'Damn'," Peter pointed out to the anarchist wolf. "Compared to all of your works, I'm basically PG while the rest of you are either R or X-Rated, like an upper-class lady showing some ankle."

Holden sighed, "Wow. You REALLY need to modernize on your jokes, kid..."

"Hey, I've been practicing!" Peter pouted.

Hades commented with deep nostalgia, "You remind me of some of my nephews, Young Peter."

"My husband is correct though, dear readers," Philos steered the conversation back on topic. "A democracy best functions when a registered voter does their duty. Failure to voice yourself in a decision such as the 2020 Election is very unwise, especially in such turbulent times such as now. So, I ask you, implore every American reading this, to let yourself be heard and vote at the polls."

Adam went next. "You are probably getting bored reading this, or already know who you plan to vote for, but it is still important to remind you that, unlike fictional characters like ourselves, you readers have a choice."

"Trust me, we'd love to tell you who to vote for," Lowell interrupted, motioning mockingly off of the paragraphs of the story, "but the moment we involve clear politics into this narrative, not something @#$%&@# vague as %$#@, the censors'll ban this story!"

"I think you mean 'site administrators', Lowell." Adam corrected him.

"I know what I said," the wolf replied, to which he high-fived Hunter beside him.

"Uh, can we please get back on topic before FurAffinity decides to ban this story?" Holden suggested. "You saw what happened to Domus Vocis' excerpt of 'Nazis Should Never Be Normal' last week."

Most of the characters nodded their heads, especially Markus and Cherry, who belonged to the same fictional universe as the short story.

"What's a Nazi?" Peter asked, clearly confused.

"Ha?" Lowell gawked at the younger wolf, then suddenly found himself laughing. "Oh yeah! You're from 1899. Of course, you don't know what a Nazi is."

"Um, guys?" Adam asked with a thick slice of concern in his voice, "IS it really wise of us to repeatedly reference them? For all we know, even saying 'Nazis' could get this story banned."

"I agree with the tabby," replied Markus, gruffly. "We don't need all of us banned."

"Same here," echoed Cherry, looking around to the space surrounding them. "If the admins are going to ban an EXCERPT, I can't tell you what else they'll do if we tell the audience to support a political party. Or hell, maybe even compare them to--"

"Shhh!" Holden waved his paws. "They might ban this story just for even mentioning them!"

"Calm down, Basil Fawlty," Lowell scoffed amusedly, having stopped chasing after the scrappy Peter. "You're acting paranoid, all of you! This is America, or at least, the America me and Adam don't live in..."

The wolf suddenly sighed, stepping forward.

"Readers, I am going to be a little serious here..." Lowell implored calmly, seriousness in his usually cocky voice, "Regarding this year's election, I know exactly how you feel. You feel scared, confused, worried about the future of yourself and this country you call home...At some points, more so than others in this story, all nine of us felt that way too.

"As characters in a dystopian setting, Adam and I are one to talk about having the rights to vote," he continued. "In the setting of 'Maverick Hotel', there is only one party to vote for, only one God to believe in, only one gender to be attracted to and only one kind of lifestyle to live. Any other choice will result in execution, which is why Adam and I fight to bring back the America that used to exist in our world...and that is why Adam and I--no, all of us characters by Domus Vocis are asking you to register to vote. It's the American dream, right?"

"That was... very, very profound, Lowell." Adam breathed in utter surprised, as did a couple of the surrounding characters.

Proud and patriotic, Lowell wagged his tail. "Hehe, @#$% yeah it was."

Peter yawned. "I think I'm going back to my universe then. It was nice seeing you all here. And remember readers, register to vote...plan ahead of how to vote...and be safe."

"And don't forget to read all of our works if you're reading this blind," Lowell joked, "and have no #@$%&#@ clue who or what we're talking about. For the record though, don't go for the historical coming-of-age fantasy novel. Read 'Maverick Hotel'!"

"Hey!" Cherry complained. "Why are you advertising?"

"I'm just warning the readers which stories they should read compared to others," Lowell answered, much to Adam's nearby embarrassment. "I mean, our writer mostly writes smut nowadays, compared to the #$%@&$# vanilla %$#@ he wrote with Newsie boy over there."

Peter simply smirked. "At least I'm actually published!"

The young wolf disappeared in a flash before Lowell could have a chance to snatch the lad up by his vest and give him a good thrashing. Now, all that remained were eight of them.

"Now that the safe-at-work character is gone," Cherry proposed to everyone present, wagging his tail in luscious flirtation, "are any of you up for a little NSFW time?"

"Fuck yeah!" Lowell laughed alongside everyone else.

(Insert your most intense, orgasmic and fanfiction-y of orgies your imagination can picture. Remember to register to vote, readers, and thank you for getting all the way through with this.)