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mommyclaws · 1 month

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darkstripe for your tigerclaw mentor au?

I hope to do alot with Darkstripe, I want to explore how he’s the ideal example of what Redpaw, Longtail, or even Ravenpaw might have become if things had gone just alittle differently… Tigerclaw is cunning and manipulative, he’s very purposeful and strategic with the tactics he uses to get into younger cats heads, whether through a fake sense of unity or targetted insults. It’s what he uses to try and manipulate Redtail and Ravenpaw, except both of them were able to see Tigerclaw for who he is, whether by their own conclusions or fear of him. Darkpaw didn’t have that realization until much, much later in his life, when he was already set in his ways.

I want the narrative to be sympathetic towards Darkstripe as a genuine victim of what he’s been taught, but still acknowledge him as a bad person. He was raised to act and think in the hateful way that he does, but when given the option to make decisions for himself, he still actively chooses to do the wrong thing. He’s a sort of parallel to Fireheart.

Personality wise, he is very bitter, stoical, and lonely.

Darkstripe was taken into the clan as a rogue kitten, he has no biological kin and joined the clan at a time when hostility towards outsiders was extremely high due to Pinestar’s leave moons ago. He made very few relationships while he was young in favor of focusing on his training and soley trying to please his mentor for praise and a sense of acceptance. He’s rarely seen spending time with anyone who isn’t Tigerclaw, Leopardfoot (<- His adoptive mother) or a former apprentice.

Despite this, he is still generally respected as a warrior and known to be a great teacher. (Based on the fact he received three apprentices in a short span on time) I think mentoring cats is one of the only ways Darkstripe knows how to form lasting bonds because his most important relationship, with his step-brother, Tigerclaw, is based on Tiger being “above” or in command of him. So he keeps that sort of dynamic with Longtail and Dustpelt even after they’re warriors. Unknowingly repeating the cycle that’s turned him into such a lonely person.

When Firepaw joins the clan, he is VERY desperate to impress and ingrain himself into Tigerclaw’s social circle. Because Tigerclaw has begun to normalize xenophobia in his head, instead of wanting to avoid the group that seems to hate his heritage the most, it actually makes him more eager to be seen by them. Firepaw feels like being “one of them” would be his ticket to being “accepted” into the clan, but in reality he’s cluelessly and willingly falling victim into being manipulated into the very same views and ideals that ostracized him in the first place. Just like Darkpaw.

On a lighter note, out of all of Tigerclaw’s circle, Darkstripe takes the longest to start tolerating Fire, from a genuine dislike and a bit of discomfort from how much of himself he sees in him… Firepaw is very upset about it! He and Graypaw came up with all sorts of silly attempts to get his attention.

#thanks for the ask! :3 #Darkstripe #art #txt #infodump tag #Mentor Tiger AU #Long post #manipulation tw #i talked abt it quite a bit here so warning #warrior cats #anon #asks

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mismess · 25 days

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Jesus past me wasn't fucking around

#manipulation tw #fnaf #sketches #phone guy #william afton #scotty guy

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battle-subway-ghost · 3 months

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[There's an article being posted around online. Click it?]

Down The Buneary Hole Of The Team Fauna Cult

—

Team fauna is a proclaimed religious group, founded and formed by a man under the name of Wolf Fauna and located in a cavern outside of Olivine City, Johto. This group claims that the world depicted in the hit franchise Animals is real, and that ours is a false reality.

Seemingly innocent on the surface, Team fauna claims to wish to bring people towards enlightenment, all all while they "simply wish to live the way Fauna intended," specifically out of their way to state "We commit no crimes, harm nothing and no one."

Despite these claims to innocence, a further look into the actions and practices of this organization reveals a twisted world of kidnapping, abuse, brainwashing, and manipulation. This work hopes to shine light on the inner workings of Team Fauna and the recent events surrounding it.

Team Fauna pushed itself into the public eye on January 30th, as a strange invitation spread itself to many users of the website Rotumblr, reading as follows:

"Are you a seeker of the truth?

If you're receiving this message we believe you are.

Have you ever truly considered the convinces of this world, or are you still asleep

What if you had a change to escape it all, to live a real life, instead of the one you have taken.

You could reach fulfilment. Happiness. Many have.

With us you will know the truth.

To continue living in the dark is a common choice, but you may be one of the few who deviate.

We await your response with anticipation

Team Fauna"

February 1st, Team Fauna made their own blog on Rotumblr. Following this decision, many allegations arose soon after, many noticing hidden cries for help in the anonymous moderator's replies to inquiries, and eventually, a photo of a Galvantula in highly abusive conditions was uploaded, which was quickly connected to Team Fauna.

These incidents are what sparked a deeper investigation of the group; starting at Olivine City, the closest city to their alleged location. Many missing persons, primarily those reported to have gone hiking in the nearby routes, were reported, their missing posters strewn around the city.

Team Fauna itself resided in a cave and its surrounding woods far off the beaten path near Olivine City. Upon joining their group, it appears that many, if not all new members are asked to leave any partner Pokemon they may have behind prior to joining. This leaves new members far less likely to be able to confront any of the designated "guards" of the team, who are granted access to far more powerful Pokemon than other members.

Furthermore, upon initiation into this group, your name will be replaced, as you're instead given the name of one of the creatures from Animals. This makes it difficult to identify most members, as their names cannot be connected to any legal records.

Connection to the outside world is limited, if not entirely restricted. Many children are born into the cult, isolated from any sort of opposition to Team Fauna's ideals. It is unlikely that these children have legal documentation such as birth certificates.

However, the investigation goes deeper yet.

February 5th, A 17-year old named Sprite Chroma is incapacitated and kidnapped by members of Team Fauna. A bonfire is lit by Wolf Fauna, a celebration begins, and after the so-called festivities, a meeting is called.

During this meeting, Team Fauna's leader announced plans to open a cross-dimensional portal to their desired reality. Sprite Chroma is dragged in front of the crowd, and Wolf announces that he would be the first to cross through to the new world they all desired.

Over the next 15 hours, preparations were made for the ritual that would be performed soon. A member of Team Fauna took custody of the victim's phone in order to impersonate it to its friends and family.

Hour 15. 11 AM. "The last day in this world," as it was put by many in the cult. The ritual is prepared, Sprite dragged out of their cell for a second time. Wolf Fauna exits his cabin, bringing along a covered cage. As the ritual is set into action, the cloth is pulled, revealing that Team Fauna had not only found, but captured a Celebi, an elusive Mythical pokemon revered across Johto.

Celebi is forced to open a portal, but the plan goes awry. not long after the victim is forced inside, they are seemingly rejected, being spat back out, and destabilizing the portal, causing it to disappear.

Minutes after, the meeting is invaded. Many of Team Fauna's members escaped in the chaos, although it appears that the majority of the hostages and stolen Pokemon have been recovered.

As of now, the whereabouts of Wolf Fauna and other prominent members of Team Fauna are unknown. It is more than likely that they will regroup if given the time. Evidence strongly suggests that if left unchecked, the Team Fauna cult could very likely reach levels of danger comparable to that of Team Plasma or Team Galactic. We cannot let history repeat itself once again.

The author of the article appears to be remaining anonymous, save for the name "Lotus I."

#Team Fauna #cult tw #kidnapping tw #abuse tw #pokemon mistreatment tw #manipulation tw #pokemon harm tw #pkmn irl #pokemon irl #rotumblr #rotomblr #pokemon rp #pokeblogging #pokemon roleplay #irl pkmn #irl pokemon #<- HEED THE TAGS! PLEASE!#// reposted. Without the bad evil links tumblr hates me for. Hopefully.#// if not im just going to delete this whole account. goodbye everyone </3 (JOKE JOKE JOKE)#// anyways uhhh. old tags tl;dr. Feel free to acknowledge this IC its made to be IC just not On this blog specifically #// all links lead to the source of the information being relayed here (even if its ooc I am giving people CONTEXT i love context)#// annnd the dates used here (not necessarily times) are from my POV. because im not calculating timezones im not fucking doing that #// edit: I may be stupid. I have xkit hiding my own posts. but it only does that to me in tags when I have spent over an hour on something #- and am therefore proud of it. Im being tormented by my fucking browser extension

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yellowlikelemons · 13 days

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I need a dom/me who loves to purposefully scare me so they can then be the sweet and gentle savior, coming in to soothe and take care of me. Putting on that nurturing tone while they wipe my tears or hold my trembling body gently in their lap. Their fingers comb through my hair and I am afraid for a minute they're going to grab at it, but instead they just hum, rocking me back and forth.

#bottomposting #subposting #t4t nsft #wlw nsft #horrordynamic #nb nsft #hard k1nk #dark k1nk #gaslighting kink #manipulation tw

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marblebagcollective · 9 months

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If only you knew what they're saying - Just a game It's me you're playing

(dream fans do not touch this post /srs)

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florenceisfalling · 2 months

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i have so much fun writing anti as such a specific brand of shitty guy that it makes me insane its so sad that i havent been posting writing of him consistently in years and all my old stuff is garbage. you guys would be insane for the shit i exchange with june on discord. my version of anti is so distant from canon in a lot of ways but not in his pathetic, attention whore, mockery-intolerant, "i will kill everyone in this room including myself" bullshit. like he's not scary because he's skilled or has self-control, he's scary because he will literally do whatever the fuck for attention. he will break his own bones and show up at your house sobbing about it. he will relapse and fuck his dealer and send you pictures of his own fresh and oozing cigarette burns alongside a text that says "wish you were here". he will threaten to kill himself and force you to watch. he will gut your boyfriend alive and deliver you a tape of it. he will break into your house while you're gone, cook you food and leave it on the stove with everything else inexplicably untouched. he will start impersonating you online and blackmail you so bad all your family members block your number. he will test every single boundary you give him. or, he will be self-indulgent, and just kidnap you to torture you every day. and he would rather you beat him to a pulp than abandon him or ignore him.

#what do i even tag this with #my ego posts #my ego hcs #idk i felt like this specific post wtih the inclusion of the word ''you'' was a little too real to leave warnings untagged #i finished some more homework lol #antisepticeye #torture mention #cigarette burn tw #suicide tw #suicide threat tw #stalking tw #death tw #kidnapping tw #blackmailing tw #relapse mention #abuse tw #manipulation tw #addiction tw #drugs tw

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strawberrylabs · 7 months

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Whumptober day 2 with Alhaitham!

prompt: "They don't care about you"

Whumptober masterlist

Summary: You should've listened to your friends when they warned you about the acting grand sage

Warnings: Alhaitham kinda a bitch, gaslighting, manipulation, neglect, mildly yandere themes, toxic relationship, fighting, alludes to character death, derealisation

When your friends warned you about dating Alhaitham you didn't listen to them.

"He doesn't seem like the relatioinship type."

"He's too disconnected"

"There's something strange about the way he looks at you.."

But you brushed them off. You were in love after all.

And besides, he loved you too! He must have loved you, why else would the stoic Acting Grand Sage himself agree to date you?

Besides, your relationship was great! Alhaitham told everyone about your relationship. He bragged about you all the time!

You never really paid attention to the fact he made extra sure to mention it to Kaveh whenever you saw him.

Your relationship was so sweet! Alhaitham plans weekly date nights which eventually become so frequent that everynight is date night!

You brush off your friends complaints that they never see you anymore.

Alhaitham is so observant and caring! He let you know as soon as he realised how distant your friends have been lately. You know you spend lots of time with your lover, but its not like you're with him 24/7!

You dont acknowledge that Alhaitham encouraged you to take night classes to avoid them. He said that if they were really your friends, they would change their schedule for you.

Alhaitham is so smart. This one time your friends tried to convince you that Alhaitham was manipulating you into cutting contact with them. They tried to convince you to leave him! You almost believed them, but luckily Alhaitham pointed out how flawed their logic was, and scared them into never going near you again.

You push the thoughts of what they said deep into your mind, too afraid to admit they may be right.

Alhaitham gets so overprotective of you, its cute! One time Kaveh came up to you and tried to lie to you saying Alhaitham didn't actually love you.

"I made some stupid comment about how he can do anything but keep a partner and he flipped!

When your friends tried to tell you, he pushed them away because he can't risk you leaving him and proving me right!

Don't you see? He's sick in the head!

He's manipulating you into letting him be your only human contact so you stay with him! You have to leave before it gets worse!"

Before you could even begin to entertain the idea, Alhaitham appeared from behind you and began punching Kaveh. It's a goof thing he was there, you were almost starting to believe the architect!

You can never manage to recall what happened after, as if you blacked out the second Kaveh fell unconscious. But you vaguley remember that Alhaitham didn't stop and, and the macabre crack of bone. Or perhaps the crack was within your mind? You can't tell.

Alhaitham is so kind. When you mentioned you hadn't seen your friends for a while, he enlightened you by saying they were toxic, and abandoned you.

"They don't care about you."

His words were cold, and unlike you had ever heard him before.

You decided you would do you studies at home from then on.

You wondered why Alhaitham already had the paper work ready the second you mentioned it. You also tried not to think about how you never left the house anymore. It was for the best right? yeah, of course it was!

Alhaitham was so loving! He went out and worked so much to provide for you both. Sometimes, he even got home before midnight so you could spend and hour with him before you both went to bed!

You felt bad whenever he told you he was too tired to entertain you. But it's ok, you know he's just exhausted!

One time you tried to say you were exhausted too. He spoke coldly towards you, saying you dont know the meaning of the word.

But you do know right?

Or don't you?

You can't recal.

Alhaitham is so considerate! He's so busy now, he barely has time to speak to you at all. But that's ok! He still acknowledges you! He even says hello some days!

Or does he? When was the last time he said you name? When was the last time you spoke to someone?

But you're talking to yourself now, doesn't that count?

No, talking to yourself doesn't count!

You wish you could talk to your friends.

Where are they? Are they alive? Were you alive?

What are you?

Oh yeah. You're Alhaitham's lover.

Oh yeah. Maybe you should have listened to you friends.

Maybe you should have listened to your friends while you still could.

I wont lie, this was super fun to write. Hope you liked it!

#whumptober2023 #no.2 #blood tw #manipulation tw #gaslighting tw #toxic relationship tw #yandere tw #death tw #alhaitham x reader #yandere alhaitham #alhaitham x reader angst #genshin impact

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whump-kia · 1 year

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a whumper who's conditioned their whumpee to the point of loyalty, if still shaky at times. a whumper who now treats the whumpee gently, who gives kinder words and less punishments.

a whumper who gets caught in the crossfire of the team leader, who is shown no mercy, who limps their way home and collapses into the holding place of the whumpee.

the whumpee rushes forward, wiping blood from their face. "what happened? why are you hurt? are you okay?"

whumper takes their hand and whispers, voice ragged with pain, "this is what your leader does. this is who they really are."

whumpee's eyes widen in horror, and in that moment, their loyalty shifts--no longer shaky. they're holding the bloodied face of their whumper in their hands, and all they can feel is concern.

#whump #whumpblr #whump prompt #manipulation #manipulation tw #kidnapping tw #kidnapping whump #collapsing

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warrior-cats-rewritten · 7 days

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how are you going to handle ashfur in wcr? i’ve always loved him but also felt like he should have been more clearly written either as a sympathetic tragic character or a total asshole, instead of kind of both

Technically, both!

On one hand, his mother was brutally murdered when he was young. He and his 3 siblings relied heavily on each other, but when Ferncloud got together with Dustpelt, Tulipfur grows closer to the older cats of Thunderclan, and Elderleaf buried herself in her work to try and become Camp Keeper, he feels upset and left behind. He has a right to feel that way, but he keels feeling that way. Stuck in the past... And over time, he blames everyone around him for his troubles.

A bonus scene shows his trial shows that he is incredibly charming. He sways the jury by pleading to see his mother, being incredibly loving towards her, and asking about his passed on nieces, Larchkit and Hollykit.

He plays up the sympathy card, talking about how it was such a foolish thing to do, how he just loved Squirrelflight too much, and how he totally deserved what Hollyleaf did. He blames Brambleclaw in a roundabout way. See, he just looked do much like the cat who killed my mom :(

The jury is mostly split and the final vote falls to Yellowfang.

After she and Raggedstar split up, he became mates with Foxheart. He didn't love Foxheart, just used her feelings and affections to hurt Yelf. Yellowfang admitted that, though she knew what he was doing, it still hurt. She wanted to shout at him, hurt him, and even wanted to hurt Foxheart, who hadn't done anything wrong.

She votes in his favour, because she finds it a bit relatable. She fell for the act, many cats did. She is ashamed to admit it later on, but in that moment, she knew what that anger was like. She still disapproves of his treatment of Hollypaw, and his anger towards the Three, but his trial is about The Fire Scene specifically, and all of Starclan knows Squirrelflight is going to be on trial when she eventually passes away.

And, for a good chunk of his time in Starclan, he looks normal. He hangs out with his nieces, cheering when they get their Star names, Hollyfoot and Larchwhisker. He hangs out with Tulipfur when his brother dies during AVOS, defending him when his cross-clan relationship comes into question.

In Squirrelflight's eyes, he was strange, and controlling, he treated her like some precious thing that couldn't do too much or she would break, some kind of prize to be hoarded.

Many cats alive did not like him. His was an ass towards most cats in Thunderclan, and he wasn't popular.

TBC shows his true colours. Controlling, manipulative, holier-than-thou, vindictive, and entitled.

Squirrelflight is glad to finally put him down for good.

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compassionatereminders · 15 days

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Hey, so I am currently dealing with a really horrible situation. Trigger warning for emotional manipulation

Basically, I had a fight with my mom and stepdad 2 summers ago. I tried to stand up for myself, and they freaked out. They basically tried to victim-blame me and gave me the silent treatment. They told me I had to apologize for their reaction. I did, but it was the emptiest apology I've ever given. I didn't mean it at all.

Fast forward to now, I have moved out and I told them I needed some space since they were helping me with setting up my place, and it was uncomfortable for me. I think I felt uncomfortable because they have continued to ignore the fight we had, and are just acting like it's fine. And also, I felt weird they were doing all this work, painting and setting up lights.

I told them I needed space, and they said it was convenient timing that we just finished painting. My mom sent me a literal spreadsheet of things I had to reimburse her for, while also saying she felt like I used her. Which I did not. I feel upset that she thinks our spending time together was me using her. Like I would buy her lunch. I bought all the paint and stuff. It was a fun project we were doing together. But I just grew increasingly more uncomfortable. I did consider asking someone else to help, but I thought she would be offended and say, "I can do it. Don't waste your money hiring someone."

But it's really not about the painting. She's just shifting the blame off of how she treated me. She's not taking accountability for the actual harm this has caused me.

She basically is treating me like she's a collections agency, collecting invoices. I'm the one who feels used and discarded. And violated.

I feel awful. Like I completely messed everything up. And I know I did the right thing logically by creating this boundary, but I feel like I've ruined my life.

And I don't know how to make this better. I feel like I've done everything I can to advocate for myself. And now it's time to step back. But it also feels like my support system has been ripped from me.

I'd appreciate it if you had any advice. I'm not really sure what else to do.

As unfortunate as it is, some people are not going to acknowledge and face how they hurt you let alone apologize and change their behavior. When it comes to dealing with those people, the solution is usually to avoid them as much as possible, to keep any unavoidable interactions short and superficial, and to prioritize relationships with people who are meeting you halfway and treating you right

#chat with kat #manipulation tw #guilt tripping tw #victim blaming tw #emotional abuse tw #abuse tw #gaslighting tw

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ashintheairlikesnow · 5 months

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how might finn be doing on this fine evening?

CW: Unreliable narrator, memory issues as a result of trauma, emotional manipulation, gaslighting (or is it?) referenced captivity (or implied captivity of a different kind, depending on how you read it)...

Death Valley

North Carolina, Present Day

Wind blew with a knife edge around the rest area, and Finn hunched his shoulders against its bite as he sat, watching Little Mother stalking with single minded precision across the grass. What she was hunting, he had no idea, but she was intent on its capture.

"Take care, Mütterchen," He called out. "Do not go too far."

One of her rabbit-soft ears flicked, the only sign she heard him. Her tail shifted sinuous through the grass, back and forth, back and forth, as she moved with her belly nearly to the ground. Her kittens gamboled around beside him, staying where Finn's body and the bulk of his truck hid them from the worst of the cold. Little Mother trusted him to keep them safe for her while she wandered, and Finn did his best to be worthy of that trust. He dragged a little string along the ground, coaxing the kittens into stalking it, batting at it with paws that had more enthusiasm than aim.

Overhead, heavy gray clouds threatened to finally unleash the sleet the radio had been promising was coming. They hung so low the wisps of them seemed to hover just above the ancient rounded mountains that stretched all around him. If he stood, he could reach up and nearly touch them, feel wisps of damp chill around his fingertips. The rest stop was perched on the top of a mountain itself, the highest point in the state supposedly. There'd been a plaque over by the building.

Finn remembered, in a vague and foggy way, that he had hiked up younger mountains once, with jagged peaks that seemed sharp enough to slice apart the stars at night. He'd gone with friends of his, and a girl he sometimes fooled around with.

Then he'd left for his American holiday, just after, promising he'd show her photos when he got back.

He never came back.

His mother had gotten the film from his little disposable cameras, developed the photos. He'd seen his own smiling face in a photo another tourist had taken of him standing, framed by the Badwater Basin salt flats. Schneider's last photo on the camera found in the wreckage of his vehicle.

Even if he hadn't made it back home to show her, he supposed Anja would have seen all the photos that were released to the public by now. Had she married? Had Anja found herself a husband, had children, built herself the normal life she'd dreamed of? Had she forgotten all about some silly, enthusiastic boy in her class who had once kissed her breathless in a tent with their noses both frozen from the outside chill?

He put his fingers to his lips, but he couldn't remember how kissing her had felt, not anymore. Robert had painted over it all with this slime-slick touch, the smell of decay and lemon-scented cleaner fighting for dominance.

Any passing attraction Finn felt for anyone anymore was only a brief flash of something warm before the memory of Robert froze over him, shattered him all over again.

Children giggled somewhere nearby, a family ushering distracted little ones with too much energy for their tiny size into the building. Would those children know who to run from, if they needed to? Would they know not to trust the friendly smile of a stranger, not to take their own water bottle if he had touched it?

Would they-

"You didn't tell me you got a cat," Noah said from off to the side, and Finn dropped his hand, muscles tensing. He stopped pulling the string, and the kittens set up a chorus of meows, angry that their game had come to such a sudden end. One of them hissed in Noah's direction, tiny fangs bared. "Or...multiple cats."

"Mütterchen," Finn answered, gruffly, gesturing to where Little Mother had gone a few feet away. "She came to stay with me and had the kittens." He didn't look up, even as his heart began to beat faster, heavy inside his chest. "It is nice to have company, driving."

"No doubt." Noah, without asking, dropped to sit right next to him, nearly brushing Finn's left arm with his right. Finn tensed, shifting just enough to put a little space between them again. "Mütterchen, that's cute. What's it mean? Mother-... mother-hen?"

"Little Mother." Finn hated that Noah knew it now, that it felt like simply explaining it to him ruined the fragile love he had for her name. "Why are you here?"

"You turned your phone back on." Noah was looking at him - Finn could feel the weight of his eyes, even though he refused to give him anything in return. His voice was low, outwardly worried. "I told you to stay here, and I came to you. Do you... not remember that conversation?"

Sometimes Finn forgot things. Whole days, entire conversations, events... his memory came and went as it pleased, and only his time with Robert remained clearly etched into his mind, as much as the scars were carved eternally into his skin. Noah sounded concerned for him, but... Finn bristled, anyway. Something felt false in the tone, like he was acting.

Of course he was acting.

He was just upset the Mouse had been hiding in the walls, on the road, where he couldn't find him.

Finn cleared his throat. "No, this I know. I know we spoke, Noah, I did not forget, but. Why did you want to meet me?"

"Why? Finn-" Noah groaned, exasperated. "Come on. You up and vanished, man. Why was your phone off for a week, huh? Your phone, laptop... everything. The GPS in your truck, even. You could have been hurt, or dead, or in a cage somewhere again-"

Finn had to swallow the rising spike of panic at the idea. He could have been, couldn't he? And no one would know, once again no one would know. Just like before.

Noah leaned forward, his voice soft and sweet and sad. "What happened to you? What have you been doing?"

Finn had spent days bundled in the tent, watching the kittens and feeling warm down to his bones even with the icy chill outside. Inside the tent, they kept warm, he, Little Mother, and her kittens. He cooked ready-to-eat meals on a campfire in a pot that he washed using water from a stream. He'd felt entirely, perfectly alone. It had been wonderful.

Had Noah been worried that he was dead?

Guilt gnawed, even as half of him was sure it hadn't been worry but anger that Finn wasn't under his thumb, if he couldn't reach him and follow him and track him and-

And keep him-

"I wanted some time to myself," He muttered, hardly able to get the volume up to be heard. "That is all."

"Right." Noah sighed. "Yeah, no, take whatever time off you want, you know you're helping me out with transporting the, uh, the cargo to be sure, but... Finn." Noah paused. Finally, Finn cut a glance to the side, barely meeting those falsely warm, kind, soft eyes and that slight smile with his own solid closed-off nothingness. "Finn, look at me."

When his gaze didn't stick, Noah reached out and took him by the chin with his gloved hands, forcing him to make eye contact. Finn's muscles locked in a sudden burst of fear but he didn't move. He didn't dare move.

He always froze, for Robert.

"You can't turn that shit off," Noah said, voice low and soft. Poison underneath the velvet, Finn knew all about it. Fury under the false worry. Robert could speak so sweet and kind like that, and then beat him until he broke a rib and feel nothing. "I get worried when I don't know where you've gone off to. You get lost, Finn, and you and I both know it. You get lost in your head, you forget where you are or what you've been doing. You forget how to call for help. You forget everything."

Finn found himself trembling, fighting to stay still. The kittens pushed against his fingers and he pet them with numb hands, a little too roughly, staring at Noah because the other man hadn't yet let go and he didn't dare pull away. "I, I don't-... so much anymore-"

"You do." Noah's voice dipped, became firmer. "You still do. Don't lie to me." He let go, patting Finn's face briefly, and then looked down at one little kitten who had pushed against his leg, letting his fingers dangle so the little one could bat at them. "Remember when the, uh-" He glanced sidelong to see if anyone was paying attention to them, but no one was. "Remember when the runaways had to call me because you forgot how to use a phone? Just sat in the truck's cab talking to yourself for hours? When you kept trying to dial German phone numbers?"

Finn kept his eyes on the ground, feeling a blush heat his face even as he hunched his shoulders to hide it. "... I remember that they took the phone away and called you."

"And you spent months in the little house I rented for you barely able to even remember to brush your own teeth-"

"That was many years ago, Noah, when I first was sold to you-"

"Ssshhh! Even aside from that, what about just a few months ago, when you kept watching crime docs on Netflix and had nightmares for weeks on end and stopped answering to anything but Mouse?"

Finn stiffened, and his hands went up to hold his head as he dropped it, fingers digging into his short hair, eyes closed against heat he refused to acknowledge was tears. His head began to ache, a low pounding throb behind his temples. "Stop," He whispered, but Noah wasn't done.

Noah never stopped.

No one ever stopped because Finn asked them to, or begged, or pleaded...

"If you don't want to work, then stop working," Noah continued, putting a hand up to rub at Noah's back, circling and circling his palm, sending shudders of discomfort down Finn's spine. "Do whatever you want. I don't care, it's fine, you can even keep using the truck. But I'm not drowning in money, and I can't keep giving you cash if you're not doing your job, if you just stop contacting me and I can't even see where you are. I'm not rich, Finn. This isn't a lucrative business, saving people. You're a huge help to me, and I'm grateful for that. But... you can't keep making me worry about you and then acting like I don't have the right, after everything I've done for you. It's cruel, don't you think? You're like a brother to me, and when you just go off the grid for a week, I get so worried, and I don't deserve that. Not after the years I've taken care of you."

Finn watched Little Mother pounce, but she must not have caught her prey. Her tail twitched in dismayed annoyance, and she turned to look at him. He watched her eyes go to Noah. Back to him. Finn swallowed, barely daring to breathe, to move, not even daring to speak. His heart hammered inside of him, sweat stuck his sweater to his back beneath his coat.

"I don't have any identification that's real here," Finn muttered, voice weak. "I can't get a job that is not cash under tables. I-I have no passport, even-... Robert-"

"He took your passport, I know. And if you keep working for me, that's not a problem, I'll take care of you," Noah said, shifting to soothing. He patted Finn on the back and then dropped his hand, leaving crawling goosebumps like ripples in a pond, rolling out disgust over Finn's body. "If you don't want to do this anymore, that's fine. Strike out on your own, go with God, have my blessings, whatever. But I can't just... pay for you for everything forever. Everyone has to earn their keep, around here."

Robert used to say that all the time. Earn your keep. Finn earned his keep, as Robert's Mouse, on his knees or his back or his stomach or listening to the screams from the basement with the muzzle locking his jaw tightly closed, he couldn't even scream with them-

He shivered, shaking his head. "I do not want to stop," He whispered, lips barely moving. "I-I have nowhere to go, no one... I took a week off, Noah, that is all. Just a week-"

"You can take a week off whenever you want." Noah stood, brushing his hands down his thighs as if getting rid of some invisible dust. "Let me know first, and I'll make sure you have no work to do. But if you turn off your phone and your GPS again, I'm going to assume that means you quit, and I'll cancel your phone line and your debit card. So make sure I know where you are. Got it?"

Finn didn't look up. He held Little Mother's gaze as she moved closer to him, her tail a question mark, rubbing her face against his leg and giving a soft, curious meow.

"Hey." Noah nudged his other leg with his boot, and Finn flinched as if he'd been struck. "Oh, man. Hey, don't be like that." Noah softened once more - or his voice did. Finn didn't look up to see his expression. "I just want to know you hear me. I can't spend all my time worrying about you. Make sure I know where you are, from here on out. No exceptions. None. Understood?"

Finn swallowed. His throat felt like it had closed, like his heart had filled it with too much fear to speak. But he managed to whisper, "I understand, Noah."

"Good. I have a job to do here, a couple people to pick up and take to Vermont. You take a couple days to think about our conversation. I expect a call at 8 pm on Thursday, no later than that. If you don't call, I'll assume you quit and act accordingly. Stay safe."

He walked away, and Finn let him go, sitting in the smallest ball he could make of himself, listening to the happy people laughing and chatting around him as they took in the mountain views on every side.

Noah had Finn's passport.

He was sure of it - he was sure he remembered Robert handed it over when he sold Finn to him, when Robert's little Mouse was handed from one man's care to the next, silent and shivering through the experience.

But by the time he'd found the courage to ask, Noah had said there hadn't been any passport, just the title to the truck changing hands.

But Finn remembered it.

Then again, Finn remembered things that hadn't happened all the time, now. He forgot things that had happened, or that would happen. Noah was right, he barely remembered anything, really. Maybe that was something that hadn't happened, too.

Maybe...

But he was so sure, and the memory was so clear...

"Komme, Mütterchen," He said, pushing himself to his feet on wobbling legs. Little Mother and her kittens reluctantly allowed him to put them back into the truck, one by one. He made sure his phone was on and charging, his laptop, checked the GPS that was installed. Just as Noah told him to.

Good little Mouse, closing the door to his own cage.

At least, Finn thought, Noah's cage was so much larger than Robert's had been.

Even if it still wasn't freedom.

#death valley fic #finn schneider #unreliable narrator #gaslighting tw #manipulation tw #traumatized whumpee #memory loss tw #past captivity #or even current #captivity #depending on how you view the situation...#whumper caretaker #caretaker whumper

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