#trapping Mona on one side

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

The last thing the Inspector needed to do was shut down Shoop’s ship before it sucked all the water out of a 20-kilometre radius of downtown London.

Of course, the ship would divide the engine room into two parts, trapping Mona on one side. How fortunate that the Inspector could remove all those useless memories to allow her to remember being part Infinity Knight, and the two of them shut down the ship before it started up.

#Inspector Spacetime #The Cosmic Cutie (special) #one last thing #the Inspector (character) #needed to do #shut down the Shoop's ship #before it sucked all the water #out of a 20-kilometre radius #downtown London #bone dry #the ship divided its engine room in two #trapping Mona on one side #Mona Virtue (character) #the Inspector removed all the useless memories #he'd forced into her brain #allowing her to remember #being part Infinity Knight #Infinity Knight #the two of them #shut down the spaceship #before it started up

[phoebepheebsphibs]

I mentioned in a reblog thing that I'd wanted to make a Rise comic series called "ROTTMNT: UNPAUSED" and I hinted to one of the finale episodes being called "Mikey's Birthday Bash"

Well I'm gonna infodump about that now...

So basically the episode started off with Mikey waking everyone up for a special breakfast to celebrate his bday, only to discover that not only did his brothers forget his bday, they all made plans of their own. To quickly make up for it, the guys take him into the Hidden City for a quick shopping spree before they all have to leave for their engagements. While Mikey is looking for something to buy, he overhears his brothers conversing about how in the next year, Raph won't be a TEENAGE mutant ninja turtle anymore (he is 17 currently). Donnie adds that he is already looking for colleges to join and hopes for an early admission. Leo also admits he has been planning for the future. Mikey realizes that his brothers are all planning to leave and grow up, which he is not ready for. He runs away crying, and meets a strange old hag who sells him a "special" birthday candle, which she promises will grant his biggest birthday wish.

Mikey finds his bros again and uses the candle on a meager cupcake they got for him. As soon as he blows the candle out, the four are transported into a version of the Battle Nexus, trapped there along with every other character from the show (and my comics) by the hag who sold Mikey the candle. She reveals that Mikey's wish was for "everyone to spend my birthday together", and the only way for them to escape is for the turtles to win the tournament! The bros are furious at Mikey for making the wish, and Mikey promises to get through the games as quickly as possible so they can get back to their plans and leave.

The hag states that the turtles will be pitted against their previous enemies, and with each round they win they'll will receive more allies. Anyone KO’d will be eliminated from the round and sent to watch in the audience, and upon the ending of the game all contestants will be returned to their last location. The enemies will get progressively more challenging until they defeat all of their opponents.

Round 1, April is with the guys, and they are up against Baxter Stockboy, Albearto, and the Purple Dragons.

Round 2, the Casey Joneses join the fight against the Foot Clan.

Round 3, Draxum, Splinter, Big Mama, and the two missing siblings hinted at by the writers join against the evil league of mutants and the Mud Dogs. April is KO’d after getting slammed into a wall and knocked unconscious by Heinous Green. Cass is KO’d by Hypno after he hypnotizes her to knock herself unconscious as well. Draxum is KO’d by Meat Sweats after he steals his power.

Round 4, Several characters (such as Agent Bishop and Mona Lisa) join to fight against the Triceratons (which were introduced in my series). During this round, everyone is K.O.'d except the turtles. However, Mikey sees that he didn’t finish the battles in time and his brothers have missed their appointments. He feels guilty, and his brothers are admittedly irritated.

Round 5, the final boss battle. They are pitted against the Shredder and the Kraang. Before the fight begins, Mikey has a blowout with his brothers and finally admits that he was angry they were gonna leave because he was scared of growing up, as he is not ready to be an adult yet and he doesn’t want to be alone. The Kraang interrupts stating “I can help you with that” and captures Mikey. However, the Turtles get one last team member… Karai. The Shredder -- having been defeated and Oroku Saki redeemed -- turns against the Kraang and sides with the Turtles and his daughter. The boys defeat the Kraang using the special formula from the movie, but not before the Shredder and Karai are K.O.'D by the Kraang. The Kraang are defeated with the last of the mixture, but to the boys' horror they see that Mikey was kraangified, and now have to fight against him as their last opponent. They try, but are unable to defeat him due to his increased strength AND his ninpo. Leo refuses to admit defeat, saying “Mikey never gave up on me… I can’t give up on him.” He tries one last attack, grappling with Mikey and holding him down...

I happened to make sketches of what came next...

The game finished, everyone is returned home. Mikey apologizes for everything, but Raph admits that he isn’t ready to grow up yet either, and he never wants to leave Mikey alone. He found out the hard way what that felt like, and the brothers agree to wait a little longer to grow up and enjoy being the teenage mutant ninja turtles while they can. Back at the lair, everyone bursts in to make sure Mikey is okay. They spend the rest of the day with him, enjoying his birthday...

So yeh that's that

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tutant meenage neetle teetles #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt raph #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #unpause rottmnt #unpause rise of the tmnt #unpause rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt season 3 #fancomics #fanfic writing #rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt fan comic #rottmnt fanart #kraang #krang #rottmnt krang #krang mikey #kraang mikey #rise krang #krang infection #krangified #krangified Mikey #rottmnt sketches #janky sketches #wip #abandoned wips

[deadvnstudios]

oh no! i got into a argument with the romanceables and they said something so stupid that upset me! how do they apologize? :3

"H-hey. Can you just... come to my room tonight? I… I have something I want to show you."

Upon entering Tempest's room later that evening, you're immediately struck by its uncharacteristic cleanliness and the candles meticulously arranged along his shelves. They cast a warm glow over Tempest, seated on his bed with legs crossed, cradling a guitar in his lap. He proceeds to serenade you with a song, personally composed for you, by him. The performance is brief, encompassing only a single verse, and as the final note fades, Tempest asks you to forgive him.

"Oopsy-daisy, baby's breath. Iris-pectfully apologize. Please forget-me-not… and uhm… Look. Bad puns aside, what I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry for upsetting you."

The morning after your fight, you find Vein lingering outside your room, a vibrant bouquet of your favorite flowers in her hands. Before you can react, the flowers are crumpled against your chest in a crushing embrace as Vein pulls you into a whirlwind hug. The world blurs as she spins you round and round, leaving you with only two choices:

a) vomit from dizziness or

b) accept her sincerest apology

"Fine, I messed up. Happy? Now pick your apology – but you only get one, got it?"

Insisting that you would be unable to sleep until she apologized, Mary storms into your room in the dead of night, jarring you from sleep. Taking advantage of your grogginess, she pins you to your bed and fans out the thin, crumpled slices of paper clutched in her hand. She orders you to select one. On each slip of paper, a different IOU is written:

IOU a full day of doing whatever the hell you want to do

IOU a movie night where we watch all of your favorite trash movies

IOU a letter detailing all of your least annoying traits

IOU a homemade dinner of your choosing (...but cooked by Noel, he owes me)

"Darling dearest, how much longer will you leave me to linger in the hall? My night will be frigid, unbearably bothersome as I shiver on my lonesome without you by my side….could you find it in your heart to forgive a fool? At least one foolishly in love?”

You sigh as Mona continues to dramatically plead at your bedroom door, talons tapping incessantly against the wood as her anxieties begin to emerge. As you finally open the door, she rushes in and nearly tackles you to the ground. Trapped within her hold she noisily smooches over the entirety of your face, cradling you like you’re something precious. Irreplaceable. You two will have a serious talk in the morning, but you’ll spend the rest of the night tangled together, cuddling under the sheets as she whispers into your ear every reason she fell for you to begin with.

“Beloved, the affliction of affection ails me; my world becoming insipid and dull in your absence. In having wounded you, I have wounded myself. I will eagerly bleed my heart dry in repentance if it can’t beat beside yours. I would give you all of myself to see you smile at me once more. Please, return to me tomorrow. I miss you.”

The note Sorin slipped under your door is littered with a stray tear mark here and there. Your heart aches as the the crooked letters, scribbled on hurriedly, bleed across the page from the dampness. When you go to find him the next morning, Sorin eagerly intertwines their fingers with yours, kissing your knuckles as they beg for your pardon and your company. The two of you plan to take a nap in the sunlit garden, but you have to silence Sorin with a kiss as he prattles on, praising your character.

”Wait…I…please. Hear me out.”

Noel heaves against the doorframe, one arm holding open the door you’d planned to shove close. Though his ears burn in shame, he requests that you join him that evening for dinner. In his room. Alone. When you arrive you’re taken aback by the makeshift candlelit dinner set up on a picnic blanket on the floor. Noel sheepishly lights a candle, letting you know that he’s prepared your favorite. He doesn’t want to talk while the two of you are hangry.

#fool's paradise #indie games #visual novel #vn #indie game #vein #mona #tempest #noel #mary #sorin

[bruciemilf]

Bruce's relationship with his male Rogues vs his female Rogues is. So interesting to me.

Because you have his Rogues like the Joker, who he has actual conflicts with—Bane, Scarecrow, Penguin, Two-Face, Black Mask. All the men have honest beef with him. Death traps, elaborate evil schemes, bombs (oh my God the BOMBS), murder attempts.

But the women? They're friends with him. All his female Rogues see him as an awkward annoyance at worst (Ivy), and boyfriend material at best (Selina). Harley's square in the middle as "weird little brother." They toe the line of chaotic and lean so dangerously close to vigilante so often that Bruce just. Lets them be. Gives perfunctory attempts to catch them, but most times it ends with them just talking.

I'm 95% sure they know he's Bruce Wayne but don't say anything out of courtesy.

Batman strikes fear in the hearts of men and only men, and I think that's honestly iconic of him

GOD YESSSSSS LIKE - It'd be redundant to add something to this; Like painting over Mona Lisa but I'll do my best because this is actually one of my favourite topics.

I feel like I could word this a lot better, but I just feel like men dehumanise eachother to a concerning amount. Not Bruce, - if anything, he's on some saint shit by trying to rehabilitate these guys. But it's more of a " I can fix him" dynamic that you just won't see with the sirens

It's like - I don't have evidence of this, it's more of a " call it like I see it" headcanon, but Bruce? Most definetly was bullied by guys before.

I can't really go into details, but Bruce has " guy who could hang with the girls and girls only in high school" energy.

It's kinda telling that he has a relatively positive relationship with women and inspires a sense of safety with them that I've seen no other male hero achieve, but he ALWAYS has beef with men. Truly an awkward women's ally icon

More so? I can honestly see Bruce and the sirens as that non-toxic middle aged friend group that went through hell and back together and their paths always merge into eachother

Like? Give me Bruce trying to stop them from a heist. He's tired and Selina can see it, eyes sharp, designed to see detail. " Wait. Have you been crying?"

Harley drops her hammer with a gasp. " Oh my God, have you?"

Bruce's arms drop limp at his side and he takes a very deep breath. " I fought with Harvey last night and he brought up my parents. "

" No."

" He didn't."

" Are you kidding me? Oh, he's SUCH an asshole," Pamela somehow always has a wine bottle ready and Selina's in charge to bring the glasses, because at least one of them will need to rant about male rogues. " Tell us everything, hon."

" It's just, - GOD, is it too much to ask? One thing, - one goddam thing I ask of him in two decades, don't bring up my dead parents when I punch you in the face! But no. "

" Let's key his car."

" I'm going to his parent's grave to steal their jewlery and I'll wear them next time we fight. "

" Oh my God, could you imagine what face he'd make?"

" Which one?"

#bruce wayne #batman #dc #dc comics #harley quinn #poison ivy #pamela isley #selina kyle #catwoman #gotham sirens #text #bruce for the guy who protects drunk girls at college parties and walks his female co workers/employees home and gives them cool weapons

[nikathingz]

Witch's Dreams

Morpheus x Immortal!Witch!Reader

I couldn't wait to make a part 2! i hope you enjoy it! and don't forget to like and follow for more!

Part 1 here

Masterlist

( These people wanted to be tagged : @mona-has-friends @jesllianaquilesrolon @true-queen-of-mischief @deniixlovezelda @aurorarevenclaw1927 @thecrazytealady @22carolina08 )

Word Count: 1585

You took your peaceful dreams as a sign that Dream wasn’t mad at you for being hired to seal him in a basement for as long as the foundation of the house stood. While out and about doing work, you started to notice a raven just about every time you left your house. Every time you did you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, it's not like you didn’t like ravens, you believed they brought good fortune. Yet, whenever you saw them recently you couldn’t help the way your gut twisted in nervousness when you noticed them perched around your apartment.

It was a few months after your debacle at the Burgess manor when you had sleeping trouble. You had awoken early that morning to start a long busy day of work and were up later than usual. But when you finally did try to enter the land of dreams, you could not.

You’d laid in bed in silence and darkness for about an hour and a half before you got up and decided to make a cup of tea, in hopes it would help you sleep. But even as you sat on your couch sipping at the warm drink, your eyelids did not droop, and your muscles did not tingle. You had felt more awake than ever actually.

After staring at the wall for several long and boring moments you looked out the window where rain had started to patter outside. Your body went ridged as a pair of yellow glowering eyes stared back at you from the fire escape. As you shifted off the couch and toward the window. The cat had stood and started trotting out of view of the window, toward where the fire escape reached your bedroom.

You rushed through your tiny apartment and crossed the threshold of your dark room, to be met with a pair of sparkling eyes in the blackness, except instead of being on the floor, at the head level of a cat. They stood taller than you, not by much, but certainly more than a feline.

Your breath hitched as thunder boomed through the city, your first instinct was to grab something to defend yourself with, but you stood frozen as the eyes approached you. You gawked as he stepped from the shadows into the beam of light coming in from your now cracked open window. It was him, Dream of the Endless.

Excitement and nerves bubbled in your throat, what did he want? Why was he here? Your eyes examined his form, he wore a black T-shirt and jeans, with the same colored pair of boots and had his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of a trench coat, also black. His hair was in the same disarray as when he was trapped, you figured it was the way he liked it.

His face was hard, brows furrowed and lips pursed like he had been sucking on a lemon. Yet a sparkle in his eyes carried curiosity.

“W-what do you want?” your voice was weary as you shrunk into yourself, you watched as his features softened and he gave you a smile of gratitude.

“Fear not mage, I have no resentment toward you” His voice was different than you had expected it to be. The type of voice that would make millions in the audiobook department, one that soothed the knots in your shoulders and made your head fuzzy with fatigue. “How could I?” He stepped closer to you, so close that if he stepped to you again he would be chest to chest with you. He lifted his hand out of his pocket but hesitated and dropped it to his side.

“Then why have you come?” You asked and shifted on the balls of your feet, looking up at him with childish awe. He was breathtaking like this, his glassy skin shone in the filtered moonlight, and you could pick up on every slight micro expression on his face.

The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly as his eyelids fell shut and he dropped gracefully to kneel before you. Morpheus was a prideful being, but being imprisoned for over a century was truly humbling to him, he owed you eternally for what you did for him.

You could have left him there, worse, bound him there for creator knows how long. When he heard Alex’s demands, he damn near expected you too. And yet, you hadn’t hesitated to come to his aid once the house fell asleep, and you hadn’t asked anything in return.

You were truly remarkable, it had taken all of his willpower to not come and see you immediately after he had recovered his tools to properly thank you. Matthew was his next best option, and eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore, he had to see you in the waking world and pay his respects.

Now standing here before you in your moonlit bedroom, he was like a worshipper to the ancient gods.

Your face flushed as you watched him kneel before you and hang his head like a child caught in the cookie jar. “I- what are you d-doing?” your heart pounded in your ears as the godlike being in your home looked up at you with a face filled with gratitude.

“Thanking the witch who freed me from my prison, as I should have many months ago,” he said regretfully, and you watched as his lips pursed in shame. This caused you to hesitantly grip his shoulders and try and get him to stand with you again, but he stayed firm on the floor.

“No, lord Dream please don’t, you didn’t-” you said as you tugged on his coat, but he placed a chilly hand on his shoulder, over yours, and shook his head slightly.

“Morpheus, my name is Morpheus, I will not have you address me as superior when I owe you an eternities debt” He spoke firmly, but not in a manner to upset you.

“Okay okay! But please Morpheus stand up, you don’t owe me anything really” You said and watched as he looked up at you with novelty, but slowly rose to stand within a mere foot from you.

“You misunderstand mage, I do owe you-” He tried to reason but you didn’t let him, by gripping his sleeve and smiling up at him.

“No Morpheus you don’t, the lovely dreams the past few months have been payment enough, I was simply doing what any right minded person would do. There’s no need for any ‘eternal debt’ or whatever, just knowing you’re okay, and that humanity doesn’t have to suffer anymore sleepy sickness is enough for me” You spoke softly and watched as he gently gripped the wrist that had a hold on his sleeve, turning it over carefully in his calloused hands.

Morpheus examined every inch of your face, he wondered what kind of deal with the fates he made long ago that might have brought you through his path, but he didn’t care.

You infatuated him, you weren’t like humans, you didn’t use your powers as a witch against people, you didn’t exploit your immortality, and you freed an Endless being, simply out of the kindness of your heart.

“Even centuries of sweet dreams could not convey my gratitude to you” His voice was calm and peaceful, pulling a yawn from your throat, which caused Morpheus’s jaw to clench momentarily.

He felt a bit guilty for being the cause of your inability to sleep tonight, he had intended to speak with you much earlier in the evening, but he was caught up watching as you did mundane tasks around your house, and the small projects you’d put off, he just lost track of time.

He cleared his throat and released your hand, trying to compose himself, your eyes closed as you gave him a genuine smile. “As I said, you don’t need to give me anything because I don’t want anything” you tried to assure him, but his face was set in a state of immense concentration.

He tried to think of what Lucienne might advise him to do, he understood that he’s not very good at expressing himself the way he intends to. He simply looked over your face watching the tiredness overtake your features.

“How about this hm? I go to bed, and we can talk more tomorrow yeah?” You said drowsily and swayed in your spot, feeling the sounds of pattering rain and the presence of Morpheus finally lull your exhausted mind towards sleep.

This prompted Morpheus to place his steady hands onto your biceps and gently tug you toward your messy bed. He gently laid your finally tired form into the comforts of your bedding and watched as you snuggled into your plush pillow.

He hovered by your nightstand as you adjusted and got comfortable, before looking up at him and smiling softly “goodnight Morpheus” you mumbled as your eyes fell closed.

A soft smile graced his features as he stared at your stilled form. “Goodnight mage…” he uttered quietly and pulled a soft sheet over you.

“It’s Y/n…” you muttered so quietly that he almost didn’t hear, but his smile widened in acknowledgment. As he let out a breath of a laugh.

“Goodnight then… Y/n” he said and left you to your dreams, assuring that they were especially wonderful as you snoozed away that night, it’s safe to say he was properly infatuated with you.

•••

Part three?

#the dreaming #the dream king #dream of the endless #the sandman fanfic #morpheus #morpheus x reader #prideful morpheus #soft morpheus #greatful morpheus #immortal!reader #witch!reader #self indulgence at its finest

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls

Synopsis

The Doctor decides to test how good Missy has become by sending her on a trial run with Bill and Nardole. However, when things go wrong, the Doctor takes over. With Bill trapped in a different time zone, can the Doctor make it to her before it is too late, and who are all those people getting cured?

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

City of Death

Synopsis

While taking in the sights of Paris in 1979, the Fourth Doctor and Romana sense that someone is tampering with time. Who is the mysterious Count Scarlioni? Why does he seem to have counterparts scattered through time? And just how many copies of the Mona Lisa did Leonardo da Vinci paint?

Propaganda

even if your not a classic who fan, you have seen moments from this, “wonderful butler, he’s so violent”, “youre a beautiful woman, probably”, “if you wanted an omelette I’d expect to find a pile of broken crockery, a cooker in flames, and an unconscious chef”. The location shooting, iconic, the music, iconic, the plot, so iconic I was once watching something (non doctor who) that referenced it as a fake historical event. Dare I say duggan is the greatest side character of all time. Romana’s outfit, the design of scaroth, the implication time lords can fly. it’s not my favourite overall, but its damn near close, it deserves AT LEAST the semi finals, AT LEAST. If you’ve not seen it or any classic who, go watch it, its so good, one of the best of the era. Also, how could I forget, the most watched episode on broadcast out of all of doctor who, including new who. (yes it was because itv was off the air due to strikes, but im glad its this episode that holds the record) (anonymous)

#final #personal torture #weat/tdf is my favourite nu who #city of death is top three classic #i love it so much

[nerves-nebula]

(I wrote the thing and I'm very nervous to show it. And btw, Klin's Cklan isnt based on anything, I pulled it outta my butt for some random name. Also, there's a few 2012 references in there and 'Leo secret girlboy' stuff too cuz she's told nobody yet at this point. Enjoy 750 words of... fluff? I didnt check it and Im tired so it may make no sense and if so then I'm sorry)

"What'cha watching?"

Donnie flinches, his phone fumbling in his hands for a moment.

He was watching a sci-fi series- 'Klin's Cklan' (the odd spelling based off of the language that was made just for the show). Technically a tragic comedy. It followed the story of aliens who were approached by humans, new to space travel and the universe. A flip on the usual focus of being on humans and their perspective. And it was incredibly nerdy.

He knows that everyone's been making efforts to become better lately, but it hasn't been long enough for him, and he rushes to blacken the screen.

Donnie turns around, thankful for hiding the show, as it was Leo.

Leo, who has been making many efforts to improve himself.

Leo, who had been the main culprit of relentless teasing and a multitude of panic attacks.

Leo, his brother. 

It's too soon. He knows Leo would tease him about it, at least right now. And no hoping for a nicer future will change years of a schedule where he picks apart and tears at his most prized likes.

Though he's clearly been thinking for too long, as Leo waves his hand in front of Donnie's face. "Hello? Earth to Donnie?"

"It- It's nothing. Just some d-dumb show."

"...What's it about?" He asks, seemingly hesitantly.

"No- nothing interesting. You wouldn't like- like it."

Leo drapes his arms over the back of the couch from where behind Donnie he stood.

"At least tell me the name, if nothing else!"

Donnie represses the want to roll his eyes at that. 

"Fi- fine. It's called Klin's Cklan. You- You've probably never heard befo-"

And then Donnie notices his face. He'd been mostly looking away from Leo- preferring to glance at the sofa, the walls, the door especially. But Leo's eyes are sparkling so much that even his avoidant gaze couldn't help but notice.

"YOU WATCH KLCK?"

Donnie thinks that this whole moment might just be an illusion. Like that one time he got kidnapped and had been sedated by a fantasy-building helmet.

But Leo could be lying. Setting up for some kind of tease trap. Tricking him into thinking this was a sage thing to like before pulling the rug under him and saying that he was silly for ever believing that anyone he knows would like a show so nerdy.

It doesn't matter that it hasn't happened in two months. 

Donnie's eyes squint suspiciously.

"What- what declaration of peace did the humans accidentally break went the aliens went to- to the portal potty?" Yea, they named public bathrooms 'portal potties' and Donnie doesn't know who in the writing room came up with it.

"Cintag's treaty of the harmless, which made everyone on the planet try to kill the humans and sacrifice them like they did with the prior predominant species of that planet two thousand years ago."

Donnie blinks at Leo. He wasn't expecting a detailed answer- he wasn't expecting an answer at all.

Maybe this isn't a trick.

…

"Who's your fav- favourite character?"

"Mona. Like- look at her! She's a badass in a skirt- kicking butt and looking pretty and free while doing it! Even if is more of a side character."

"Fair enough. I like Dr Rockwell."

"The really sarcastic genius who's always flying?"

"Y-yea…"

"We both got attached to side characters, that's sad. I wish they'd show up more."

"Maybe soon. I heard that- that there was going to be a Mona-centric episode soon!"

"Hell yeah!"

And it's a silly conversation. 

Two sucky people, trying to get better, once with a power imbalance so prominent that it let the tides of both of their lives, talking about some silly sci-fi series.

No matter how much he wants to, he doesn't think he'll forgive Leo for some of what he's done in the past (with a particular conversation they had when they were fourteen or so coming to mind).

But he likes moments like this. It proves something for the future. 

And so he knows it's dumb to indulge in, and it will quickly fall apart in maybe a week, but this is all he has to hold on to. These little moments. A break.

So he babbles on with Leo about the stupid sci-fi show. Donnie thinks that this is the first time Leo has ever listened to one of his long rambles without even a shred of boredom shining through, so Donnie doesn't stop talking and for once, Leo doesn't stop listening.

It's nice.

sOBBBBB AWWWWW THANK YOUUUU GUHHHhgadg that's ADORABLE. you made that hella fast considering i just posted the art earlier today :')

my only note is that the formatting made it kinda hard to read, maybe less spaces between paragraphs next time? but otherwise I really liked this! thank you!

#nnstuff #ask #asks are sweethearts #neglected fic #teenage mutant neglected turtles

[murdercrumb]

not sure what your landmines are but sae's cognitive goro + shido's cognitive goro something something turbo virgin meets turbo whore something something akira gets gorohole

NINAKE IS ALWAYS WELCOME AROUND HERE, ANON!!!

cw: ninake (aka goro selfcest), voyeurism, sae’s coggoro has a pussy

joker swears this place must be hell. what was originally a normal christmas eve has dissolved into a nightmare, the depths of mementos an endless path of sorrows.

every palace leader they’ve fought and defeated—they’re all here. the cognition of the masses are here, locked in a tower of infinite jail cells, lamenting about their desire to be controlled. it was a difficult sight to come to terms with. continuing through a hidden path, however, they begin a journey even harder to swallow.

“shiho!” panther runs to her best friend, her eyes wild with fear when she’s met with a golden stare. shiho is dressed in that outfit from the pervert’s palace, bunny ears on her head, volleyball in hand. kamoshida’s cognition. skull frets over mishima’s clone beside her.

noir and queen rush over to an alien version of haru. okumura’s cognition of his daughter. oracle and mona approach the bird with wakaba’s face, fox rushes over to madarame’s cognition of his classmate. every cognition birthed in those fallen palaces, they’re all here too.

without his team behind him, joker continues on. he passes multiple cognitions he hadn’t noticed while exploring each distortion—futaba’s version of sojiro, kamoshida’s twisted copies of shujin staff. kaneshiro’s underlings, madarame’s students. sae’s cognition of akira, the stunt double shot in the police station last month. there’s no bullet wound between his eyes. there’s no blood dripping down his face. it’s just akira.

moving through a narrow hallway, joker passes less and less cognitive doubles. he eventually reaches a point of total solitude, yet the hallway stretches on. does he dare keep going? what could be waiting at the end? a trap?

craning his head around, he can’t even see his friends anymore—

“you’re looking for a good time, aren’t you~?”

joker startles at the voice. he finds nothing in the surrounding vicinity. the voice wasn’t talking to him.

“don’t touch me.”

“you’re a shy one, hm? is that why you came looking for me~?”

“a headache like you is the last thing i want to deal with.”

joker glances around before warily following the voices. the hallway is a long journey of nothingness, but the bickering grows louder with every passing step; 

“so cruel. can’t you do better things with that mouth?”

“do you ever shut up?

“you could make me~”

the voices sound familiar, yet not familiar at all. too foreign for akira to place.

“i have numerous methods of silencing inconveniences.”

it’s an emotionless threat, a monotonous drawl, robotic.

“there’s no weapons here. ah… unless that’s a gun in your pocket?”

it’s a desperate attempt at flirting, giggly and slutty. like someone downed a glass of liquor when they’re far too young to be drinking.

“i’m not entirely sure what you’re referring to.”

“perhaps i should teach you~”

joker reaches a dead end at the edge of the hallway, a small room tucked into the side wall. what he sees inside has his heart stopping in his chest; it has his blood running cold.

the floors are dark grey like the rest of mementos’s depths, red streaks running through the walls like severed veins. a single table sits in the center of the room—if it can even be called that. a grey cube and a grey rectangle acting as a bench. the decor isn’t what has joker’s eyes bulging beneath his mask, no. it’s the two cognitions within the room.

i never thought i’d see him again.

there’s something off about the both of them. it’s been less than a month—joker wouldn’t forget his face so easily. he knows his eyes weren’t this soulless; nor were they glistening with such saccharine innocence. his frown was never so slim; his smile was never so wanton. it’s not him. neither are him.

still, joker recognizes both of them.

the one sitting on the bench wears akechi’s winter uniform. he’s a little broader than joker remembers, a little taller. his gaze is completely blank. he wears the face joker saw before akechi shot the bulkhead door shut. the face of a killer. the face he sees in his nightmares.

the one sitting on his lap looks like a wet dream.

his sultry eyes and giddy smile are unfamiliar to joker, but he can only assume this is sae’s cognition of akechi. the casino bunny costume... it’s something the real akechi would never wear. a black leotard and a white collar, a tiny black tie laid over his creamy chest. a bunny ear headband sits atop his head, and his long legs are laced in a pair of fishnets, thrown across his counterpart’s thighs.

they’re complete opposites. both are nothing like akechi.

still, joker watches. it’s the closest he’ll ever get.

“what could you possibly teach me with that vapid, rotten brain of yours?”

it’s so clearly shido’s projection of akechi. joker can easily imagine those words spilling from shido’s drunken mouth. all that’s missing is a hissed brat at the end.

it would make joker sick if it wasn’t akechi’s voice. it’s emotionless, it’s cold and dead, but it’s his voice nonetheless.

“we can start with the basics.”

and the casino bunny… it makes joker wonder what the hell akechi was doing in that prosecutor’s office...

“what are you—”

“shh, accept my guidance. i promise to make it worth your while.”

the casino bunny prods at the crotch of his double, giggling when his breath comes out hitched and ragged.

“you like that, hm?”

...akechi must’ve been shaking his ass all over that office to make sae view him like this.

“don’t you dare—”

“you’re getting worked up already~”

“you won’t humiliate me—”

unzipping his uniform pants, the casino bunny makes a happy sound unveiling the puppet’s cock. joker resists the urge to laugh.

“you’re getting so big. how cute~”

the puppet is about average size, a decent handful in the bunny’s fist. still, it’s bigger than the real akechi’s cock, comically so. the glimpse of his small size in the bathhouse made akira’s heart swell all those months ago. it was more of a clit than anything that could function as a cock: pink and dainty, clean-shaven and adorably soft as he climbed into the water. akira was smitten from just a glance. he can only imagine how sensitive it must be.

“i’m not cute. stop treating me like a damn child.”

the puppet is starting to get frustrated, its expressionless face morphing with rage. joker remembers this from shido’s ship—when the cognition’s face stretched into something terrifying. something inhuman, features only a doll could possess.

“deny all you want. you’re so desperate—you’re throbbing just for me~”

“you’ll regret those words—”

“on the contrary.”

the casino bunny reaches for the puppet’s hand, bringing it to the thin stretch of leotard between his legs.

“feel how excited i am?”

“as expected. you’re nothing more than a dirty whore.”

“but so are you.”

“you truly are worthless.”

“i believe you can find some value in my presence.”

this is sae’s cognition? the same cognition the thieves tied up while akira was sitting in that interrogation room? while he was drugged and beaten?

the casino bunny grinds against the puppet’s fingers.

joker is so…

the bunny reaches between his legs, searching for the button holding his leotard together.

so…

it comes undone with a deafening snap.

so…

the bunny tears his fishnets apart, revealing the pretty, glistening pussy he was hiding underneath.

he is so jealous.

“see how wet i am?” he climbs over the puppet’s lap, hovering just above his leaking cock. weirdly, he straddles his thighs in reverse. facing the door, like he knows joker’s watching. “you’ll take care of me, yes?”

if joker had been the one tying him up—if he had this cognition in his grasp, lord knows he couldn’t control himself.

“i’ll deal with you. you’ll know better than to open that mouth of yours.” 

the puppet squeezes his eyes shut when the bunny sinks down.

it wouldn’t have mattered if joker was alone or not—if he had a friend or his entire team at his side. one glance at that cognition—akechi’s glittering eyes and blushing cheeks, his ample chest and luscious thighs; back when joker could look at akechi’s face and feel anything but grief—he would’ve torn off his clothes and fucked him on that dirty police station floor. he would’ve filled his pussy without a second thought, pounding him until the real akechi came looking for akira, when he couldn’t figure out why his target wasn’t in position.

“are you planning to teach me a lesson~?” the bunny purrs while he bounces in his double’s lap. his pussy looks so cute stretched around the puppet’s cock—he’d look even better taking something bigger. he deserves something bigger.

the puppet finds a strong grip on the bunny’s hips. cruel. possessive.

“you want to be treated like a whore?”

the bunny nods frantically, as fast as his ass springs up and down in the puppet’s lap.

“i’ll treat you like one.”

the puppet barrels into a brutal pace, hard and fast, sending the bunny into a series of broken moans. it’s wet and loud—the puppet’s cock pistoning into the bunny’s pussy. joker wouldn’t be surprised if the other thieves can hear it.

joker fucks into his fist just as quickly.

he would’ve taken the puppet too. if he found him wandering the halls of shido’s ship. he’s a near exact replica of what akechi once was; the empty eyes being the only inaccuracy. joker wouldn’t have looked at them anyway. he would’ve bent him over and fucked him against the boat’s railing—against the nearest desk or wall, the captain’s damn helm if he had to. he’d make the puppet pay for what he did to his goro. he’d meld him to the shape of his cock, he’d make the puppet suck him off until his mouth was stained with cum.

“c-close! don’t stop!”

so what if his insides are as cold as his heart? joker can warm him up.

“take it. take it—”

the bunny shakes when he comes, his legs thrashing, his chest shuddering, his eyes rolling back with a high-pitched cry. it’s beautiful. it’s just as beautiful when the puppet finishes behind him, whimpering as his head rolls onto the bunny’s shoulder.

joker strokes his cock at a frenzied pace—

“oh, joker~”

freezing his movements, joker sees the bunny standing beside the puppet when he looks up. cum drips steadily down the bunny’s thighs, but he looks perfectly polished compared to the wreck of his lookalike. they both stare right at joker. 

“uh. hi ladies.”

“i’m so glad we could put on a show for you,” the bunny purrs. “but i think he needs the full experience for his first time, wouldn’t you say?”

the bunny reaches down, spreading the puppet’s thighs apart to show off his hole. his slacks must’ve slid off during the festivities.

for a soulless, lifeless puppet, the cognition blushes bright red.

“what do you say?” the bunny prods, “help us out?”

and, well. it’s a good thing cognitions don’t need lube, because joker dives right in.

he breaks in two pretty dolls that day.

#so when i said i got carried away before... #now i REALLY got carried away #ninake #sex sex sex sex plap plap plap plap #crumblr

[meirimerens]

farkhad appears (well. "appears" he's dead but you know it doesn't stop him) in the peterstakh fic i'm writing so i'm rotating him & i'm seeing it. writing down some #visions so i never forget

never sits symmetrically. [purposeful contrast to andrey's Squared The Fuck Up sitting position] leans on one side. legs crossed, often. he sits oblique, taking as much space on the chair as he can, either "blocking" his body off with his leg or "opening up" depending on how much he #playin

agile hands. tapping his cheek and lips. hiding a mona lisa smile. mannerisms of the hand, especially the non-dominant, idle hand. he tends to spin the rings on his fingers a lot.

smoker, he exhales smoke through the chip in his front tooth. holds his cig the A, C, H and I ways.

he beams out homosexuality directly into other men's faces like an electromagnetic pulse [since he towers over most of them (he is 194cm) they can't do much but like. 🥺 <- this thing but it's just so they're looking up at him]

if everything happening in the Patho Movie Of The Mind was in 24/25 fps and the dream sequences of it in 60fps, all the scenes of farkhad (not dream, just flash-backs, of 24/25 fps) would be of 40 fps [only doable in The Mind, & only when he's on screen, alone])

still Movie Of The Mind: he is always center of frame. even as he moves, the camera has him in its middle: less "trapping" him there, and more like he is pulling it along... "all eyes on me"...

#real to me. REAL to me #neigh (blabbers) #pathologic headcanons #farkhad lore #farkhad pathologic

[lieutenantbiscute]

how are the rest of the family in that scene from the rise movie, where cino's alone on top of the krang ship, followed by the minutes that he's trapped in the prison dimension? wouldn't it also be a specifically harrowing sight for Mikey because of Dimension X?

OOOOOOH BUDDY I JUST FINISHED BULLET POINTING THAT HOLD ON—

-spoilers below-

Ok so it’d basically follow the movie but the whole kicker is that In included Lita and Mira alongside Jr when he hops back in time!

So it’s not only Jr. Seeing his sensei/uncle getting trapped in that portal it’s also Lita and Mira watching their one hope win and die all the some. But I enough about them—

The family???

Story wise Donnie and Tio Casey are currently knocked out with Lou and O’Hara, Leo, April and Mikey are huddled together having to have listend to the whole transmission, and Mona and Raph have a busted communicator so they can only listen in but can’t reply.

The Mutanimal’s as well are grouped up and trying to figure out a new plan alongside Cass when the comm comes though from Cino.

To them all it’s very much a dire thing. Cino is usually one step ahead of his enemies; in a plan. He and Corrin both general have back up stuff at the ready if their first plan fails. But know??

He really does end up following in his Sensei’s foot steps. Leo ends up disassociating from the whole thing; from Aprils crying and Mikey’s panicked yelling.

That’s his little nephew. The kid who ran to him for extra snacks, to stay up late. Who came to him when he felt alone.

Mondo try’s to cut off the communicator in Slashes hand— trying to stop the reality around them.

Raph and Mona?

Earlier Mona got hit to her side so it’s Raph helping to carry her to safety when the communicator goes off. The sucking dread and the promise Raph made his sons make to come back safe.

Alive.

It’s a bad show reel. Especially for Mona; having had too many younger friends and family die in a war; but this isn’t. They know that but it doesn’t stop Mona’s struggle to get out of Raph’s hold and run towards the Krang ship in a desperate attempt to reach her son. She’s crying and that can’t be good for her heart rate and blood lose and shit, Raph’s crying to as he pulls he back into a hug as they both end up watching the portal shut with their son inside.

She’s screaming in his ear, fists beating against his shell and he locks her against his chest. His own sobs breaking through. They had both made a promise to keep their children safe, and now look at what they’d done.

They’d broke that simple promise in two.

I do Inga t think Mikey has a spiraling moment when he’s out panic yelling as the portal shuts, he has to be dragged back into hiding before he gets devoured by a Krang dog. April trying desperately through her own migraine inducing sobs that they need to stay safe; hidden.

And when Cino gets back???

All the kid wants to his dad hugs. Raph and his sons (when they’ve recovered) all stay close to him. Mona stays a bit longer in the med bay so the family is often found in her room snuggled together and watching a movie to blur out the nightmares that hide in the shadows.

#Biscute answers #shell shocked au #spoilers??? ye spoilers #THE MOVIE PLOT LINE HAD BEEN ROTATING IN MY HEAD I JUST NEED TO GET MORE IMPORTANT BITS OF IT STRAIGHTED OUT

[chasseurdeloup]

Fox Paw Faux Pas

TIMING: Before We Begin Again LOCATION: The woods PARTIES: @thunderstroked and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Kaden finds a certain kitsune stuck in a trap. Mona does her best to communicate with him as they try to help her find her way home CONTENT WARNINGS: head trauma tw (very end/last reply)

The fox clawed at the cage she’d gotten stuck inside. Heart beating fast, she repelled from the edges, as if the metal that touched her skin might somehow singe her fear. A low whine left her as she arched her back against the metal, claws piercing through the small holes of the man-made crate. It was on the smaller side, meant for something the size of a raccoon, maybe. She was going to die here, and it was that spellcaster in the wood’s fault. She’d never see Felix or Inge again, she’d never have her favorite wine– she’d never return the photography studio to Esther. She was done for. 

In her panic, she missed the exchange of words– the padding of footsteps. She was shaking violently within the small cage, doing her best to try and claw her way out. Another high pitched whine left her, this time reminiscent of a small child’s scream. Agony washed over her, and panic ensued. Her heart rate picked up and she shoved her shoulder into the opposite side of the cage, gaze leveling with that of a man after a few moments where she lowered herself to the ground, panting heavily. Was he here to kill her? She would burn him, if so. He would release her, and she would burn him, and she would run. She had to. She couldn’t die here. She refused to die here. 

—

Weird fox in one of the traps. That was the call Kaden got to animal control. He could only speculate what the fuck that meant in Wicked’s Rest. His questions were met with no real answers like information had been passed third hand to the hunter. Time to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. For all he knew, the fox was just a normal damn fox but was gray or maybe had mange. Hell, it could be a raccoon. Wouldn't surprise him if that was the case. Maybe it was even that fucker that had tormented and evaded him and Cortez a while back. Yeah, no way he’d get that lucky. Time to plan for a raiju. Kaden grabbed his rubber gloves along with the crate and snare from the back of the truck before trekking out into the woods to see what he would find. 

The closer he got to the spot in question, the more chills ran down his spine. Kaden furrowed his brows, checking that he was headed in the right direction. Sure was. Great. So he was walking directly towards a monster. Hopefully it was still in that cage. 

He spotted the glint of metal before he could see what was waiting for him across the way. Goosebumps covered his arms as he walked closer. Definitely something supernatural. Beast or shifter, surely. Whichever it was, it was panicked and whining. The sound pierced his ears and it was all he could do not to wince. Deep breath. Kaden crouched down to get a better look at the little fox. The little orange fox with a splash of blue fur and two tails. 

Yeah, not a fox, then. A kitsune. Kaden sighed, not sure if it was relief or something else that he was releasing. “Hey, hey, calm down,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender as he dropped down to one knee to try and meet the shifter eye to eye. “I know what you are, okay. You’re safe. I promise.” Slowly, he reached his hand out to the cage door, ready to open it. His fingers hesitated to grasp the handle while the kitsune was still so frightened. He knew that he wasn’t dealing with a wild animal, sure, but the same rules still applied. Frightened animals were dangerous to deal with. “You’re going to have to calm down, alright? I don’t want to deal with that fox fire shit today, got it?” 

—

I know what you are. 

The fox thought briefly to the moment she’d watched Twilight with Inge and the two of them had cackled at the scene splitting between Bella and Edmund– no, Edward. She pressed herself against the metal, ears pinned back as she glowered at the man who appeared. If he knew what she was, either it was by sight or by something else. 

His fingers hung around the lock of the cage and the fox watched intently, fur sticking through the holes in the cage as she backed up further. He was speaking to her, acknowledging that he knew what she could do to him– how did he know? Most would see two tails and equate it to something out of mythology, but this person knew past that. 

In response to his request, the fox let out another high pitched whine before relaxing slightly. If he tried anything, she would light him up and have no issue doing so– she was not a fighter in the slightest, but there were exceptions to that rule. The fox waited patiently for the door to drop open, and once it did, she rushed out, half-tempted to escape the man, but she turned at the last moment, studying his features. Could he help her if he knew what she was? 

—

The fox calmed down just enough that he risked opening the cage door. Kaden expected them to transform back right then and there. He waited and gave the fox a look. “Go on.You don’t have to hide it here. No one around, no cameras. You’re safe.” The kitsune just looked up at him with a blank stare and for a second, he questioned if he was wrong. No, those were two distinct tails. There was no way this was a normal fox. They were a kitsune. 

So why weren’t they turning back into a human form? Kaden furrowed his brows and double checked that they were alone. Yeah, very alone, no one else there. Were they shy? Could they not shift while someone was looking at them? Embarrassed? Maybe afraid to reveal their identity. 

“I mean it. You can shift back now. I promise, I’m not going to tell anyone or hurt you or anything. And it’s going to be easier to speak to each other, as cute as the fox form is.” 

Still, nothing. Was there something he was missing? 

Wait, did kitsune keep their clothes when shifting? Werewolves didn’t. Maybe they were worried about being naked in front of a stranger. Kaden shrugged off his jacket and placed it on the ground in front of the kitsune. “Here. I don’t know how much it’ll cover you up but it might help. If that’s the issue.” And if that wasn’t the issue, the ranger was officially at a loss. 

—

As much as the fox wanted to shift back and give her thanks and then be on her way, that wasn’t possible. Then again, that might have been stupid of her. What if this person was waiting for her to reveal what she truly looked like, and in turn use that against her? She wouldn’t have risked it, even if she were capable of returning to her human form. 

The fox huffed in response to the way he urged her to shift back. She attempted, but there was no puff of smoke, no reveal of who she was beneath the blue and orange fur. The scar that replicated itself in the patterns across her fur burned with frustration– something that typically happened when under duress. 

At his insinuation that she might be embarrassed due to the act of being naked, the fox cackled– or, rather, chirped. The idea that she would be embarrassed over her body was laughable, even in her current state. Had he only read about her kind in books? Did he have no idea that she’d keep her clothes? That her shifts weren’t as animalistic as others? 

The jacket was now on the ground, though, and the fox committed the scent to memory. She’d follow it after this was said and done and show her appreciation so that she wouldn’t have the guilt looming over her in the form of his help. Though, the only help he’d given her was getting her out of the cage. That was good enough, she decided. The fox watched the man intently before stepping atop his jacket, tails flicking in response to his words. She pawed at the jacket pocket where she felt the weight of a cell phone. Maybe she could use her nose to type something out? Sticks and scrawling words into the dirt hadn’t really helped her case before, but maybe this would work. 

—

Did the kitsune just laugh at him? Kaden’s mouth pulled into a thin line and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Couldn’t believe he just got laughed at by a fox. Sure, alright, they were a shifter but all the same. His brow raised as he watched them approach his jacket and… stand on top of it? That wasn’t going to help. What the hell were they doing? “Hey, careful,” he said as soon as she started pawing at it. “Don’t scratch the leather, alright?” As if the jacket wasn’t already well worn and scuffed and scratched in various places. It was the principle of the thing, though. 

When he looked down, he saw that the kitsune had wedged his phone out of the pocket. Right. Might have been a smart idea to take that out before handing it to them. Kaden reached down to grab it and looked at the device, unsure of the best way to go about this. It’s not like there was a fox to English translation app he could use. Even if there was, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get it without help from Alex or Mack or even Andy. 

It was clear from all the huffing and visible frustration from before that the kitsune wasn’t shifting there and then for whatever reason. But they hadn’t run away. Kaden eyed his phone again. Did they want to communicate? Well, probably, since their current back and forth left a lot to be desired. How were they going to do that with a phone? They still couldn’t talk. Maybe they wanted to call someone? And say what, exactly? He tried to wrap his head around it and remembered that incident at Masque of the Red Death when he was monochromatic and silent. What was her name, the mare, Inge? She’d mentioned using a phone to communicate when silent instead of the whiteboard. Honestly, shame he didn’t have that with him now, it would have helped. Still, maybe she was onto something. 

Kaden tapped through the lock screen and found an app that looked like it took notes or something. Either way, seemed like you could type on it. Though he wasn’t sure if the kitsune would have the dexterity with their paws or nose or hell, maybe their tails, to navigate it. He went to set it down but hesitated. He knew there was a way to make things bigger and the buttons larger, mostly because of the number of times he did it by accident. “One second, let me see if I can make this easier,” he said as he desperately flipped through various settings and options. He did what he could to make the text larger and the buttons bigger and hoped it would be enough before placing the phone back on his jacket facing the fox. “Hope this is what you wanted,” he told them as he waited for them to type away. 

—

The man took the phone away and the fox let out another annoyed huff. Then again, she wouldn’t be able to do much to unlock it. It wasn’t like she could press his thumb into the home button for him. She watched him expectantly as he seemingly threaded her silent request together. 

Just as he was about to return the phone to her, he was saying something else and the fox let out a whine, finally moving off of the man’s jacket. The last thing she wanted to do was scratch up the leather, it did smell authentic, and she knew how pricey they could be. She wouldn’t make much of a case for herself if she did tarnish something he clearly cared about. Finally, the phone was back within her reach and the fox was leaning down, amused by the way the buttons took up pretty much half of the screen. It would make things easier though, she had to admit that. 

Before moving to tap her nose against the screen, she rubbed it against her side at the risk of not wanting to get any dirt on his phone. She’d been traveling like this for awhile now, there was no telling what state she was actually in. Finally, she dipped down to tap her nose against the words S-T-U-C-K. Instead of spelling it outright, it said S-T-I-UU-C-JJ-K. Though, with the help of context clues, she was hopeful that he’d be able to understand what she was trying to say. She watched him carefully as she nudged the phone with her nose back towards him, a low whine building in her chest. 

—

Kaden had to admit, he was fascinated watching the fox trying to type on a touchscreen. Definitely not anything he would see in any nature documentary, that was for certain. He was glad he made the buttons bigger because even then, it was clear they were struggling to get the right letters. They’d managed to type something, though, which was honestly impressive all on its own.

He leaned down to get a look at the phone and read what they’d written. “Stiuucjjk,” was what was there on the phone screen. The creases in his forehead deepend as he tried to figure out what the hell they were trying to say. “Is this English?” he asked, looking back at them.

Right. A stupid question considering they’d demonstrated understanding of everything else he’d said prior to now. “Sorry, looked like it was Swedish or something.” He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced over the letters one more time. What the hell was it? Sticky? No, that didn’t make sense. Their fur looked clean and so did their paws for the most part. At the very least, they didn’t look like they’d gotten doused in honey or something. Sick? Maybe, but they seemed mostly okay. But he figured it was a good idea to check. “Sick? Are you sick? Is that why you won’t change?” He tilted his head and tried one more time to sus out what the word translated to. He looked at the letters on the keyboard, trying to get an idea of what letters were next to each other, hoping it would clue him in on the mystery word.

“Stick?” he said out loud. Before he could get confirmation or denial, he reached down on the forest floor and grabbed a stick. “Would this help you type? This it?” 

—

The fox let out an annoyed huff as the man asked her if it was English. Couldn’t he read between the lines? She knew that she needed to be patient with him, but it was hard when she was the one stuck like this with no foreseeable way out of it. She was frustrated, to say the least. She hoped that because he seemed to know what she was, he would be able to help– that somewhere in some book there was an explanation of what was happening to her, but then she remembered the stupid spell and how this wasn’t natural to her kind at all. She was fucked. 

She watched in disbelief as the man ran through the words, not nearing what she’d actually been trying to say. She sat down, tails flicking in annoyance as he continued on. Sticky, sick, stick. She had half a mind to bite his hand, but he was the one trying to help her, wasn’t he? Or was this some kind of ploy? To keep her distracted for enough time for someone else to swoop in and steal her away? Her ears rotated slightly as she tried to welcome in any sounds around the perimeter, but aside from the sound of birds, they were alone. The fox exhaled, staring at the stick in the man’s hand. She grabbed it from him with her mouth and threw it at his feet before nodding towards the phone again, nose pressed against the deletion key. 

She attempted it again, this time carefully prodding her nose against the screen. S-T-Y-U-C-K. That was much better, she decided. She pawed at the side of the phone, urging him to take a look. This had to be easily decipherable– there was no way he wouldn’t understand what she was trying to get across now. 

—

When the fox took the stick from his hand, Kaden felt a small swell of pride for having cracked the code. It faded as soon as the stick hit his shoes. “Aright, fine, not a stick.” He grumbled and put the phone back down for the kitsune to type away again. He waited until she looked back up at him, pawing the phone to let him know the message was ready. 

“St-yuck,” he said, pronouncing the word aloud exactly as written. Right, that sounded stupid, especially since he realized what it actually said before the second syllable left his lips. “Stuck. Okay, got it.” Well, at least that was solved. The fox was stuck.

Wait, what did that mean? Kaden’s brows furrowed as looked at the fox, back at the cage he had freed them from, and then over to the fox again. Stuck, how? They weren’t stuck anymore. “But you’re out of the cage, what do you mean stuck?”

He didn’t need to be an expert in animal behavior to sense the frustration coming from the tiny furry creature. Obviously the cage was not what they were talking about. “Right, not the cage. Clearly. Not stuck in the cage anymore but still stuck.” And not in place, either. “Stuck… as a fox?” It was said more like a question than a statement even though, in hindsight, that was clearly what they meant the whole time. 

“Okay, stuck as a fox. Can’t shift back, I take it. Right.” Kaden scratched at his beard before rubbing his palm down the rest of his face. “Not sure I know how to fix that.” The ranger searched his mind for anyone else who might be helpful. He knew a lot of undead, he knew werewolves, but that wasn’t going to do a kitsune a whole lot of good. “I can take you home or wherever you want to go and we can find someone who can, I guess.” It was the only solution he had at the moment. “Which, um, not sure how you want to direct me to wherever that is.” 

—

Finally, the fox thought– he got it. She watched his expression carefully, noting the way in which he seemed to work through the text she’d typed on the phone. Would he think it was something else? Look at her paws for a rock, maybe? She might have to bite him then, she thought. She stared at the man, ears drooping slightly as he came to the wrong conclusion. She had to keep in mind that he was doing most of the communicating, and he was only able to take cues away from her if she’d give them to him. 

Once he’d gotten it, the fox nodded. She wasn’t sure what he’d be able to do to help her, if anything, but at least somebody had gotten it right. Only, as soon as he’d come to the grand reveal, he was falling back on his heels. The fox let out a huff and laid down, paws outstretched in front of her. Out of everyone she’d run into today, he was the only one to really figure her out for what she was, and what was wrong with her. The idea of possibly directing him to Felix came to mind, but if he recognized her for what she was, who was to say that he wouldn’t recognize Felix? She couldn’t put them in any kind of harm’s way. 

Getting to her own home, and then finding Inge or Felix would be her only way, she thought. She looked at the phone in his hands and sighed, knowing that typing out her address would be one hell of a feat. But if that was her only way… 

She nodded towards the phone, snout pushing through the air as if to mimic the way she’d pushed her nose against the screen to spell out what was needed. 

—

“You want to try and type again?” Kaden wasn’t sure how well that was going to work out, given how long it took them to spell “stuck.” With typos. “I think it might be easier if you try to direct me once we’re in the car. I’m pretty sure we can find a way.” The ranger was about to turn and indicate for the fox to follow when he realized there was a lot of town out there and a lot of people, too. Wandering blindly with a fox to navigate probably wasn’t the best idea. “On second thought, give me a rough location or someone to head towards. Or a part of town at least. Then you can point the way from there.” 

He bent down to place the phone on the ground so they could press their snoot up against the glass to type out each character slowly and carefully. The device brushed the forest floor before Kaden yanked it back up. “Hold on, I have a better idea.” He may not have had those often, but he was pretty sure this was going to be easier than waiting for the fox to type. Not that he had anywhere better to be, sure, but he really didn’t want to get bitten by a frustrated kitsune today if he could avoid it.

Kaden opened up the map app on his phone and zoomed out to an overview map of the town before finally placing it on the ground. This time, however, the ranger stayed crouched next to it. “Okay, I’m going to hover my finger over the map. Yip or howl or whatever it is when I’m over the right place. I’ll zoom in. Same shit.” He went to start and realized he hadn’t figured out how they could tell him he was going the wrong direction. Or anything else but yes, really. “Uh, if I’m wrong, paw me or the phone or something. I guess. And, hmm…” He paused and scratched his beard as he pondered a little more. “Use your head to tell me which direction to go? Or point your paw? Something like that. Make it obvious.” He really hoped this would work. “Alright, ready?”

—

The fox stared up at him unblinking, waiting for the moment that the phone would hit the ground again. She wasn’t sure how directing him would do any good, mostly considering she had no idea where she was. She looked around them in an attempt to get a better idea of where she might’ve gotten herself trapped, but all she saw was underbrush and trees. She turned her attention back towards him as he went to put down the phone, ears flattening back as he scooped it back up within the time it took him to lean down to set it back down. She looked up at him as he explained, realizing that he’d finally come up with a good idea. 

At least this would be easier in the grand scheme of things. 

This was a better idea than simply getting into his truck and finding the way back home. She wasn’t even really sure if home was where she needed to go at this point– she needed to find Felix or Inge. Still, she was a little apprehensive about bringing somebody who seemed to know what she was right away to her friends who were… not quite human. 

At his instruction, the fox nodded, looking down at the phone. As he tapped around, she barked out the orders, scraping her paw through the dirt to the right– then the left. Finally, she saw the neighborhood that Felix lived in. She could figure it out from there, she thought. She stood up and pawed at the dirt in the direction of his truck, trotting over. Maybe he’d get the memo that’s where she wanted to go. 

Or, at least she hoped his braincells hadn’t deteriorated in that time. 

—

Scrolling through the map for the fox seemed to be working. Kaden was shocked he came up with it at all, to be honest. It was easier to understand than their typos, that was for sure. At one point during the whole thing, it hit him how ridiculous this had to look. There he was, kneeling in the dirt, swiping on a phone while a goddamn fox was giving him directions. It sounded like a bad punchline. 

But hey, it worked well enough. The area was easy enough to get to and he was pretty damn familiar with getting around the town by this point given his job. He nodded and followed the fox as they trotted to his truck. 

“Hop in the front,” he said as he swung the passenger side door open for the fox. Once they were in, door closed, he went round the front of the truck and slid into his own seat. “Okay, uh, let’s see. You can tap your paw on me to turn right, that’s easy enough. Uhhh… yip once to turn left? That work?” Kaden looked over at the kitsune and had to stifle a laugh. The whole thing had to look ridiculous. An animal control officer with a fox in the front seat playing navigator. This was going to be a wild ride, that was for sure.

Kaden was about to head off when he saw someone down the road, arms waving above their head, clearly trying to get his attention. His mouth pulled into a thin line as the woman approached the car. He couldn’t say what it was, but something felt off. “Get down,” he muttered to the fox, his eyes never leaving the woman as he spoke. “Hide yourself best you can.” There was a towel bunched up in between the seats that he grabbed and tossed in the fox’s direction. 

By now the woman was close enough that Kaden could see the weapons strapped to her: a crossbow, knives, what looked like a shotgun, among other things. She was well prepared for these woods by the looks of it. That didn’t mean she was a hunter, sure.

But it didn’t mean that she wasn’t one, either.

Kaden pulled up closer to her, car still running. He wasn’t going to risk putting it in park. Even so, he didn’t want his damn tires blown so he rolled the window down and gave her a small wave, half smile on his face. “Hey there. You need something? I’ve got to head out if–”

She didn’t let him finish his sentence. “Hey, sorry I just–” She was still catching her breath as she leaned on the side of the car, practically hanging in the window. Kaden noticed her eyes were darting back and forth, searching the interior of the truck. She was likely trying to be subtle but it didn’t work. “Sorry, I have a trap out here and I heard there was something found in it and–” It was clear she was frantic and having trouble choosing her words. “Well that’s my trap and if you picked anything up, it could be dangerous. Also it’s mine and, and…” 

Kaden’s gaze hardened the more she spoke. She was young, couldn’t be more than twenty-something, if that. “Calm down, breathe.” He tried to angle himself to block her view of the interior as he turned to her. “There wasn’t anything in that trap, sorry. Not sure where you heard that but I have to go, there’s an emergency at–”

“Bullshit,” she spat back at him, her friendly demeanor gone. “I know there was a ki– fox in there. I heard the call in to the station.” The confused look on Kaden’s face didn’t phase her. “Look, I tapped into the radio, whatever, sue me, I don’t care but I need to get that fox. Now. It’s dangerous. And sorry bud, but you definitely don’t know how to handle one like this. Just trust me. Please.”

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t sympathize with the kid. He knew that tone, he knew this song and dance well. It was normally him on the other side. Or it had been, when he thought the same as she did. Putain de merde. He didn’t have time for lessons in ethical beast hunting right now. Especially since he was pretty damn sure she wasn’t going to just listen to him. “Thanks for looking out for me but I promise you, I have it handled. I know a kitsune when I see one.” He didn’t wait for the shock to leave her face before he continued. “This was just a normal fox. Nothing more. And even if it wasn’t, I have it handled. Ranger.”

His heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for whatever came next. Kaden didn’t have a clue how this ranger would react or, worse, how the kitsune in the passenger seat would react. He hadn’t exactly told them he was a ranger. All he could do now was hope that they trusted him enough by now to know he wasn’t out to hurt them.

For one second, it looked like the kid was going to back away and Kaden was ready to take off, foot slowly lifting from the break. 

Not his luck, apparently. “Show me,” the ranger said, determination burning in her irises. One of her hands had slipped down out of sight and that could only mean one goddamn thing with a hunter. She had a weapon in hand. And he had a truck, sure, but he didn’t doubt that she knew damn well how to make sure the truck didn’t go too far if she wanted. “Show me the fox. And I’ll go.”

Putain de merde. Kaden’s eyes hovered towards the passenger seat for just a second, even though he didn’t mean to look their way even a little. He didn’t want to reveal them. He wasn’t going to give them up. But right now, they really needed a way out of this.

—

The fox considered turning her back on him in that moment, but he was the only way she’d get to either her apartment, or to Felix or somewhere in between, so that she wasn’t dragging somebody else into harm’s way. She looked at the door for a moment longer before finally deciding to oblige, hopping onto the front seat of the pick up. 

The sound of a second set of footsteps set her on edge. Ears rotating slightly, she looked towards the open window, eyes narrowing. The man at her side seemed to be on edge, and the words spoken sent her hackles upwards. The fox followed the orders given to her, slipping below the passenger seat, trying to ignore the way it felt like it was closing in on her. The woman could sense her, and the man could… tell? 

Ranger. 

The fox’s ears burned with the word. She’d anticipated this moment; realizing that the man who she’d hoped would help her had been on the wrong side. But he hadn’t tried to hurt her. She knew deep down that she couldn’t trust him, and her father’s words came to mind as she blinked up at the dashboard of the truck, head pulled back just enough so that the woman wouldn’t be able to see her if she peered in through the window. 

There was desperation in her voice, and it didn’t seem like the man she was with was willing to give her up that easily. She had two choices; believe in the one who had helped her to this moment, or allow her fight for survival to win. 

The former eclipsed, and the fox darted from beneath the seat, scrambling out of the passenger side window. In an attempt to trip up the woman before she could be followed in the direction she thought she was headed in, the fox slipped beneath the vehicle, teeth sinking into her ankle. It tasted bad; like dirt and bug spray. Then again, she never found human fun to bite, anyway. It felt primitive, in a way.

The woman shouted, swatting down at her, and the fox sent a orb of fox fire towards the opposite ankle, hopeful it’d deter her from being followed. 

She didn’t spare a glance backwards as she dashed back into the brush, avoiding the traps that had been clearly set for those like her. 

—

Kaden was just about to slam the gas pedal and get them the fuck out of there when he saw a flash of fur fling itself from the window. “Putain!” he shouted as he scrambled, trying to figure out what to do. Park. Put truck in park. That was step one. He threw the gear and tried to throw himself out of the car just as fast but he wasn’t quick enough. He heard the scream of pain from the ranger and turned just in time to see the fox dart into the distance. 

Fuck. Fuck. They were going to get themselves killed. He’d tried so damn hard to help and he couldn’t even–

His thoughts were cut short when he noticed the other hunter limping away, ready to take off after the fox. “Oh no you don’t,” he mumbled to himself. Kaden charged towards her and slammed his body into hers, pinning her to the ground. 

“What the hell?!” she shouted back at him, clearly confused as to why another ranger was going after her and not the shifter sprinting into the forest. She fought back, of course she did, but even with her own hunter strength, she couldn’t break free. She was no Keira, that was for sure. His sister would have managed to flip him over and knock the wind out of him with a kick to the gut for good measure by now. 

Right. Focus. He wouldn’t be able to keep her there forever and she would go after the kitsune. He had to give them a fighting chance – it was the least he could do. The ranger was young, eager, upholding what she believed to be her sworn duty. It was hard to hate her or even fault her. But he couldn’t just stand up and let her go, not at this point. “Sorry about this,” he said before he swung a fist at the side of her head. Her body went limp as her consciousness drifted away. Her heartbeat was still loud and clear, though. 

Kaden shoved down the guilt creeping up his throat as he dragged her body off to the side of the path. He’d call 911 for her. Anonymously. After he was a little ways away. 

All he could do now was hope that was enough for the kitsune to find a way to get unstuck. 

The fox clawed at the cage she’d gotten stuck inside. Heart beating fast, she repelled from the edges, as if the metal that touched her skin might somehow singe her fear. A low whine left her as she arched her back against the metal, claws piercing through the small holes of the man-made crate. It was on the smaller side, meant for something the size of a raccoon, maybe. She was going to die here, and it was that spellcaster in the wood’s fault. She’d never see Felix or Inge again, she’d never have her favorite wine– she’d never return the photography studio to Esther. She was done for. 

In her panic, she missed the exchange of words– the padding of footsteps. She was shaking violently within the small cage, doing her best to try and claw her way out. Another high pitched whine left her, this time reminiscent of a small child’s scream. Agony washed over her, and panic ensued. Her heart rate picked up and she shoved her shoulder into the opposite side of the cage, gaze leveling with that of a man after a few moments where she lowered herself to the ground, panting heavily. Was he here to kill her? She would burn him, if so. He would release her, and she would burn him, and she would run. She had to. She couldn’t die here. She refused to die here. 

—

Weird fox in one of the traps. That was the call Kaden got to animal control. He could only speculate what the fuck that meant in Wicked’s Rest. His questions were met with no real answers like information had been passed third hand to the hunter. Time to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. For all he knew, the fox was just a normal damn fox but was gray or maybe had mange. Hell, it could be a raccoon. Wouldn't surprise him if that was the case. Maybe it was even that fucker that had tormented and evaded him and Cortez a while back. Yeah, no way he’d get that lucky. Time to plan for a raiju. Kaden grabbed his rubber gloves along with the crate and snare from the back of the truck before trekking out into the woods to see what he would find. 

The closer he got to the spot in question, the more chills ran down his spine. Kaden furrowed his brows, checking that he was headed in the right direction. Sure was. Great. So he was walking directly towards a monster. Hopefully it was still in that cage. 

He spotted the glint of metal before he could see what was waiting for him across the way. Goosebumps covered his arms as he walked closer. Definitely something supernatural. Beast or shifter, surely. Whichever it was, it was panicked and whining. The sound pierced his ears and it was all he could do not to wince. Deep breath. Kaden crouched down to get a better look at the little fox. The little orange fox with a splash of blue fur and two tails. 

Yeah, not a fox, then. A kitsune. Kaden sighed, not sure if it was relief or something else that he was releasing. “Hey, hey, calm down,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender as he dropped down to one knee to try and meet the shifter eye to eye. “I know what you are, okay. You’re safe. I promise.” Slowly, he reached his hand out to the cage door, ready to open it. His fingers hesitated to grasp the handle while the kitsune was still so frightened. He knew that he wasn’t dealing with a wild animal, sure, but the same rules still applied. Frightened animals were dangerous to deal with. “You’re going to have to calm down, alright? I don’t want to deal with that fox fire shit today, got it?” 

—

I know what you are. 

The fox thought briefly to the moment she’d watched Twilight with Inge and the two of them had cackled at the scene splitting between Bella and Edmund– no, Edward. She pressed herself against the metal, ears pinned back as she glowered at the man who appeared. If he knew what she was, either it was by sight or by something else. 

His fingers hung around the lock of the cage and the fox watched intently, fur sticking through the holes in the cage as she backed up further. He was speaking to her, acknowledging that he knew what she could do to him– how did he know? Most would see two tails and equate it to something out of mythology, but this person knew past that. 

In response to his request, the fox let out another high pitched whine before relaxing slightly. If he tried anything, she would light him up and have no issue doing so– she was not a fighter in the slightest, but there were exceptions to that rule. The fox waited patiently for the door to drop open, and once it did, she rushed out, half-tempted to escape the man, but she turned at the last moment, studying his features. Could he help her if he knew what she was? 

—

The fox calmed down just enough that he risked opening the cage door. Kaden expected them to transform back right then and there. He waited and gave the fox a look. “Go on.You don’t have to hide it here. No one around, no cameras. You’re safe.” The kitsune just looked up at him with a blank stare and for a second, he questioned if he was wrong. No, those were two distinct tails. There was no way this was a normal fox. They were a kitsune. 

So why weren’t they turning back into a human form? Kaden furrowed his brows and double checked that they were alone. Yeah, very alone, no one else there. Were they shy? Could they not shift while someone was looking at them? Embarrassed? Maybe afraid to reveal their identity. 

“I mean it. You can shift back now. I promise, I’m not going to tell anyone or hurt you or anything. And it’s going to be easier to speak to each other, as cute as the fox form is.” 

Still, nothing. Was there something he was missing? 

Wait, did kitsune keep their clothes when shifting? Werewolves didn’t. Maybe they were worried about being naked in front of a stranger. Kaden shrugged off his jacket and placed it on the ground in front of the kitsune. “Here. I don’t know how much it’ll cover you up but it might help. If that’s the issue.” And if that wasn’t the issue, the ranger was officially at a loss. 

—

As much as the fox wanted to shift back and give her thanks and then be on her way, that wasn’t possible. Then again, that might have been stupid of her. What if this person was waiting for her to reveal what she truly looked like, and in turn use that against her? She wouldn’t have risked it, even if she were capable of returning to her human form. 

The fox huffed in response to the way he urged her to shift back. She attempted, but there was no puff of smoke, no reveal of who she was beneath the blue and orange fur. The scar that replicated itself in the patterns across her fur burned with frustration– something that typically happened when under duress. 

At his insinuation that she might be embarrassed due to the act of being naked, the fox cackled– or, rather, chirped. The idea that she would be embarrassed over her body was laughable, even in her current state. Had he only read about her kind in books? Did he have no idea that she’d keep her clothes? That her shifts weren’t as animalistic as others? 

The jacket was now on the ground, though, and the fox committed the scent to memory. She’d follow it after this was said and done and show her appreciation so that she wouldn’t have the guilt looming over her in the form of his help. Though, the only help he’d given her was getting her out of the cage. That was good enough, she decided. The fox watched the man intently before stepping atop his jacket, tails flicking in response to his words. She pawed at the jacket pocket where she felt the weight of a cell phone. Maybe she could use her nose to type something out? Sticks and scrawling words into the dirt hadn’t really helped her case before, but maybe this would work. 

—

Did the kitsune just laugh at him? Kaden’s mouth pulled into a thin line and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Couldn’t believe he just got laughed at by a fox. Sure, alright, they were a shifter but all the same. His brow raised as he watched them approach his jacket and… stand on top of it? That wasn’t going to help. What the hell were they doing? “Hey, careful,” he said as soon as she started pawing at it. “Don’t scratch the leather, alright?” As if the jacket wasn’t already well worn and scuffed and scratched in various places. It was the principle of the thing, though. 

When he looked down, he saw that the kitsune had wedged his phone out of the pocket. Right. Might have been a smart idea to take that out before handing it to them. Kaden reached down to grab it and looked at the device, unsure of the best way to go about this. It’s not like there was a fox to English translation app he could use. Even if there was, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get it without help from Alex or Mack or even Andy. 

It was clear from all the huffing and visible frustration from before that the kitsune wasn’t shifting there and then for whatever reason. But they hadn’t run away. Kaden eyed his phone again. Did they want to communicate? Well, probably, since their current back and forth left a lot to be desired. How were they going to do that with a phone? They still couldn’t talk. Maybe they wanted to call someone? And say what, exactly? He tried to wrap his head around it and remembered that incident at Masque of the Red Death when he was monochromatic and silent. What was her name, the mare, Inge? She’d mentioned using a phone to communicate when silent instead of the whiteboard. Honestly, shame he didn’t have that with him now, it would have helped. Still, maybe she was onto something. 

Kaden tapped through the lock screen and found an app that looked like it took notes or something. Either way, seemed like you could type on it. Though he wasn’t sure if the kitsune would have the dexterity with their paws or nose or hell, maybe their tails, to navigate it. He went to set it down but hesitated. He knew there was a way to make things bigger and the buttons larger, mostly because of the number of times he did it by accident. “One second, let me see if I can make this easier,” he said as he desperately flipped through various settings and options. He did what he could to make the text larger and the buttons bigger and hoped it would be enough before placing the phone back on his jacket facing the fox. “Hope this is what you wanted,” he told them as he waited for them to type away. 

—

The man took the phone away and the fox let out another annoyed huff. Then again, she wouldn’t be able to do much to unlock it. It wasn’t like she could press his thumb into the home button for him. She watched him expectantly as he seemingly threaded her silent request together. 

Just as he was about to return the phone to her, he was saying something else and the fox let out a whine, finally moving off of the man’s jacket. The last thing she wanted to do was scratch up the leather, it did smell authentic, and she knew how pricey they could be. She wouldn’t make much of a case for herself if she did tarnish something he clearly cared about. Finally, the phone was back within her reach and the fox was leaning down, amused by the way the buttons took up pretty much half of the screen. It would make things easier though, she had to admit that. 

Before moving to tap her nose against the screen, she rubbed it against her side at the risk of not wanting to get any dirt on his phone. She’d been traveling like this for awhile now, there was no telling what state she was actually in. Finally, she dipped down to tap her nose against the words S-T-U-C-K. Instead of spelling it outright, it said S-T-I-UU-C-JJ-K. Though, with the help of context clues, she was hopeful that he’d be able to understand what she was trying to say. She watched him carefully as she nudged the phone with her nose back towards him, a low whine building in her chest. 

—

Kaden had to admit, he was fascinated watching the fox trying to type on a touchscreen. Definitely not anything he would see in any nature documentary, that was for certain. He was glad he made the buttons bigger because even then, it was clear they were struggling to get the right letters. They’d managed to type something, though, which was honestly impressive all on its own.

He leaned down to get a look at the phone and read what they’d written. “Stiuucjjk,” was what was there on the phone screen. The creases in his forehead deepend as he tried to figure out what the hell they were trying to say. “Is this English?” he asked, looking back at them.

Right. A stupid question considering they’d demonstrated understanding of everything else he’d said prior to now. “Sorry, looked like it was Swedish or something.” He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced over the letters one more time. What the hell was it? Sticky? No, that didn’t make sense. Their fur looked clean and so did their paws for the most part. At the very least, they didn’t look like they’d gotten doused in honey or something. Sick? Maybe, but they seemed mostly okay. But he figured it was a good idea to check. “Sick? Are you sick? Is that why you won’t change?” He tilted his head and tried one more time to sus out what the word translated to. He looked at the letters on the keyboard, trying to get an idea of what letters were next to each other, hoping it would clue him in on the mystery word.

“Stick?” he said out loud. Before he could get confirmation or denial, he reached down on the forest floor and grabbed a stick. “Would this help you type? This it?” 

—

The fox let out an annoyed huff as the man asked her if it was English. Couldn’t he read between the lines? She knew that she needed to be patient with him, but it was hard when she was the one stuck like this with no foreseeable way out of it. She was frustrated, to say the least. She hoped that because he seemed to know what she was, he would be able to help– that somewhere in some book there was an explanation of what was happening to her, but then she remembered the stupid spell and how this wasn’t natural to her kind at all. She was fucked. 

She watched in disbelief as the man ran through the words, not nearing what she’d actually been trying to say. She sat down, tails flicking in annoyance as he continued on. Sticky, sick, stick. She had half a mind to bite his hand, but he was the one trying to help her, wasn’t he? Or was this some kind of ploy? To keep her distracted for enough time for someone else to swoop in and steal her away? Her ears rotated slightly as she tried to welcome in any sounds around the perimeter, but aside from the sound of birds, they were alone. The fox exhaled, staring at the stick in the man’s hand. She grabbed it from him with her mouth and threw it at his feet before nodding towards the phone again, nose pressed against the deletion key. 

She attempted it again, this time carefully prodding her nose against the screen. S-T-Y-U-C-K. That was much better, she decided. She pawed at the side of the phone, urging him to take a look. This had to be easily decipherable– there was no way he wouldn’t understand what she was trying to get across now. 

—

When the fox took the stick from his hand, Kaden felt a small swell of pride for having cracked the code. It faded as soon as the stick hit his shoes. “Aright, fine, not a stick.” He grumbled and put the phone back down for the kitsune to type away again. He waited until she looked back up at him, pawing the phone to let him know the message was ready. 

“St-yuck,” he said, pronouncing the word aloud exactly as written. Right, that sounded stupid, especially since he realized what it actually said before the second syllable left his lips. “Stuck. Okay, got it.” Well, at least that was solved. The fox was stuck.

Wait, what did that mean? Kaden’s brows furrowed as looked at the fox, back at the cage he had freed them from, and then over to the fox again. Stuck, how? They weren’t stuck anymore. “But you’re out of the cage, what do you mean stuck?”

He didn’t need to be an expert in animal behavior to sense the frustration coming from the tiny furry creature. Obviously the cage was not what they were talking about. “Right, not the cage. Clearly. Not stuck in the cage anymore but still stuck.” And not in place, either. “Stuck… as a fox?” It was said more like a question than a statement even though, in hindsight, that was clearly what they meant the whole time. 

“Okay, stuck as a fox. Can’t shift back, I take it. Right.” Kaden scratched at his beard before rubbing his palm down the rest of his face. “Not sure I know how to fix that.” The ranger searched his mind for anyone else who might be helpful. He knew a lot of undead, he knew werewolves, but that wasn’t going to do a kitsune a whole lot of good. “I can take you home or wherever you want to go and we can find someone who can, I guess.” It was the only solution he had at the moment. “Which, um, not sure how you want to direct me to wherever that is.” 

—

Finally, the fox thought– he got it. She watched his expression carefully, noting the way in which he seemed to work through the text she’d typed on the phone. Would he think it was something else? Look at her paws for a rock, maybe? She might have to bite him then, she thought. She stared at the man, ears drooping slightly as he came to the wrong conclusion. She had to keep in mind that he was doing most of the communicating, and he was only able to take cues away from her if she’d give them to him. 

Once he’d gotten it, the fox nodded. She wasn’t sure what he’d be able to do to help her, if anything, but at least somebody had gotten it right. Only, as soon as he’d come to the grand reveal, he was falling back on his heels. The fox let out a huff and laid down, paws outstretched in front of her. Out of everyone she’d run into today, he was the only one to really figure her out for what she was, and what was wrong with her. The idea of possibly directing him to Felix came to mind, but if he recognized her for what she was, who was to say that he wouldn’t recognize Felix? She couldn’t put them in any kind of harm’s way. 

Getting to her own home, and then finding Inge or Felix would be her only way, she thought. She looked at the phone in his hands and sighed, knowing that typing out her address would be one hell of a feat. But if that was her only way… 

She nodded towards the phone, snout pushing through the air as if to mimic the way she’d pushed her nose against the screen to spell out what was needed. 

—

“You want to try and type again?” Kaden wasn’t sure how well that was going to work out, given how long it took them to spell “stuck.” With typos. “I think it might be easier if you try to direct me once we’re in the car. I’m pretty sure we can find a way.” The ranger was about to turn and indicate for the fox to follow when he realized there was a lot of town out there and a lot of people, too. Wandering blindly with a fox to navigate probably wasn’t the best idea. “On second thought, give me a rough location or someone to head towards. Or a part of town at least. Then you can point the way from there.” 

He bent down to place the phone on the ground so they could press their snoot up against the glass to type out each character slowly and carefully. The device brushed the forest floor before Kaden yanked it back up. “Hold on, I have a better idea.” He may not have had those often, but he was pretty sure this was going to be easier than waiting for the fox to type. Not that he had anywhere better to be, sure, but he really didn’t want to get bitten by a frustrated kitsune today if he could avoid it.

Kaden opened up the map app on his phone and zoomed out to an overview map of the town before finally placing it on the ground. This time, however, the ranger stayed crouched next to it. “Okay, I’m going to hover my finger over the map. Yip or howl or whatever it is when I’m over the right place. I’ll zoom in. Same shit.” He went to start and realized he hadn’t figured out how they could tell him he was going the wrong direction. Or anything else but yes, really. “Uh, if I’m wrong, paw me or the phone or something. I guess. And, hmm…” He paused and scratched his beard as he pondered a little more. “Use your head to tell me which direction to go? Or point your paw? Something like that. Make it obvious.” He really hoped this would work. “Alright, ready?”

—

The fox stared up at him unblinking, waiting for the moment that the phone would hit the ground again. She wasn’t sure how directing him would do any good, mostly considering she had no idea where she was. She looked around them in an attempt to get a better idea of where she might’ve gotten herself trapped, but all she saw was underbrush and trees. She turned her attention back towards him as he went to put down the phone, ears flattening back as he scooped it back up within the time it took him to lean down to set it back down. She looked up at him as he explained, realizing that he’d finally come up with a good idea. 

At least this would be easier in the grand scheme of things. 

This was a better idea than simply getting into his truck and finding the way back home. She wasn’t even really sure if home was where she needed to go at this point– she needed to find Felix or Inge. Still, she was a little apprehensive about bringing somebody who seemed to know what she was right away to her friends who were… not quite human. 

At his instruction, the fox nodded, looking down at the phone. As he tapped around, she barked out the orders, scraping her paw through the dirt to the right– then the left. Finally, she saw the neighborhood that Felix lived in. She could figure it out from there, she thought. She stood up and pawed at the dirt in the direction of his truck, trotting over. Maybe he’d get the memo that’s where she wanted to go. 

Or, at least she hoped his braincells hadn’t deteriorated in that time. 

—

Scrolling through the map for the fox seemed to be working. Kaden was shocked he came up with it at all, to be honest. It was easier to understand than their typos, that was for sure. At one point during the whole thing, it hit him how ridiculous this had to look. There he was, kneeling in the dirt, swiping on a phone while a goddamn fox was giving him directions. It sounded like a bad punchline. 

But hey, it worked well enough. The area was easy enough to get to and he was pretty damn familiar with getting around the town by this point given his job. He nodded and followed the fox as they trotted to his truck. 

“Hop in the front,” he said as he swung the passenger side door open for the fox. Once they were in, door closed, he went round the front of the truck and slid into his own seat. “Okay, uh, let’s see. You can tap your paw on me to turn right, that’s easy enough. Uhhh… yip once to turn left? That work?” Kaden looked over at the kitsune and had to stifle a laugh. The whole thing had to look ridiculous. An animal control officer with a fox in the front seat playing navigator. This was going to be a wild ride, that was for sure.

Kaden was about to head off when he saw someone down the road, arms waving above their head, clearly trying to get his attention. His mouth pulled into a thin line as the woman approached the car. He couldn’t say what it was, but something felt off. “Get down,” he muttered to the fox, his eyes never leaving the woman as he spoke. “Hide yourself best you can.” There was a towel bunched up in between the seats that he grabbed and tossed in the fox’s direction. 

By now the woman was close enough that Kaden could see the weapons strapped to her: a crossbow, knives, what looked like a shotgun, among other things. She was well prepared for these woods by the looks of it. That didn’t mean she was a hunter, sure.

But it didn’t mean that she wasn’t one, either.

Kaden pulled up closer to her, car still running. He wasn’t going to risk putting it in park. Even so, he didn’t want his damn tires blown so he rolled the window down and gave her a small wave, half smile on his face. “Hey there. You need something? I’ve got to head out if–”

She didn’t let him finish his sentence. “Hey, sorry I just–” She was still catching her breath as she leaned on the side of the car, practically hanging in the window. Kaden noticed her eyes were darting back and forth, searching the interior of the truck. She was likely trying to be subtle but it didn’t work. “Sorry, I have a trap out here and I heard there was something found in it and–” It was clear she was frantic and having trouble choosing her words. “Well that’s my trap and if you picked anything up, it could be dangerous. Also it’s mine and, and…” 

Kaden’s gaze hardened the more she spoke. She was young, couldn’t be more than twenty-something, if that. “Calm down, breathe.” He tried to angle himself to block her view of the interior as he turned to her. “There wasn’t anything in that trap, sorry. Not sure where you heard that but I have to go, there’s an emergency at–”

“Bullshit,” she spat back at him, her friendly demeanor gone. “I know there was a ki– fox in there. I heard the call in to the station.” The confused look on Kaden’s face didn’t phase her. “Look, I tapped into the radio, whatever, sue me, I don’t care but I need to get that fox. Now. It’s dangerous. And sorry bud, but you definitely don’t know how to handle one like this. Just trust me. Please.”

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t sympathize with the kid. He knew that tone, he knew this song and dance well. It was normally him on the other side. Or it had been, when he thought the same as she did. Putain de merde. He didn’t have time for lessons in ethical beast hunting right now. Especially since he was pretty damn sure she wasn’t going to just listen to him. “Thanks for looking out for me but I promise you, I have it handled. I know a kitsune when I see one.” He didn’t wait for the shock to leave her face before he continued. “This was just a normal fox. Nothing more. And even if it wasn’t, I have it handled. Ranger.”

His heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for whatever came next. Kaden didn’t have a clue how this ranger would react or, worse, how the kitsune in the passenger seat would react. He hadn’t exactly told them he was a ranger. All he could do now was hope that they trusted him enough by now to know he wasn’t out to hurt them.

For one second, it looked like the kid was going to back away and Kaden was ready to take off, foot slowly lifting from the break. 

Not his luck, apparently. “Show me,” the ranger said, determination burning in her irises. One of her hands had slipped down out of sight and that could only mean one goddamn thing with a hunter. She had a weapon in hand. And he had a truck, sure, but he didn’t doubt that she knew damn well how to make sure the truck didn’t go too far if she wanted. “Show me the fox. And I’ll go.”

Putain de merde. Kaden’s eyes hovered towards the passenger seat for just a second, even though he didn’t mean to look their way even a little. He didn’t want to reveal them. He wasn’t going to give them up. But right now, they really needed a way out of this.

—

The fox considered turning her back on him in that moment, but he was the only way she’d get to either her apartment, or to Felix or somewhere in between, so that she wasn’t dragging somebody else into harm’s way. She looked at the door for a moment longer before finally deciding to oblige, hopping onto the front seat of the pick up. 

The sound of a second set of footsteps set her on edge. Ears rotating slightly, she looked towards the open window, eyes narrowing. The man at her side seemed to be on edge, and the words spoken sent her hackles upwards. The fox followed the orders given to her, slipping below the passenger seat, trying to ignore the way it felt like it was closing in on her. The woman could sense her, and the man could… tell? 

Ranger. 

The fox’s ears burned with the word. She’d anticipated this moment; realizing that the man who she’d hoped would help her had been on the wrong side. But he hadn’t tried to hurt her. She knew deep down that she couldn’t trust him, and her father’s words came to mind as she blinked up at the dashboard of the truck, head pulled back just enough so that the woman wouldn’t be able to see her if she peered in through the window. 

There was desperation in her voice, and it didn’t seem like the man she was with was willing to give her up that easily. She had two choices; believe in the one who had helped her to this moment, or allow her fight for survival to win. 

The former eclipsed, and the fox darted from beneath the seat, scrambling out of the passenger side window. In an attempt to trip up the woman before she could be followed in the direction she thought she was headed in, the fox slipped beneath the vehicle, teeth sinking into her ankle. It tasted bad; like dirt and bug spray. Then again, she never found human fun to bite, anyway. It felt primitive, in a way.

The woman shouted, swatting down at her, and the fox sent a orb of fox fire towards the opposite ankle, hopeful it’d deter her from being followed. 

She didn’t spare a glance backwards as she dashed back into the brush, avoiding the traps that had been clearly set for those like her. 

—

Kaden was just about to slam the gas pedal and get them the fuck out of there when he saw a flash of fur fling itself from the window. “Putain!” he shouted as he scrambled, trying to figure out what to do. Park. Put truck in park. That was step one. He threw the gear and tried to throw himself out of the car just as fast but he wasn’t quick enough. He heard the scream of pain from the ranger and turned just in time to see the fox dart into the distance. 

Fuck. Fuck. They were going to get themselves killed. He’d tried so damn hard to help and he couldn’t even–

His thoughts were cut short when he noticed the other hunter limping away, ready to take off after the fox. “Oh no you don’t,” he mumbled to himself. Kaden charged towards her and slammed his body into hers, pinning her to the ground. 

“What the hell?!” she shouted back at him, clearly confused as to why another ranger was going after her and not the shifter sprinting into the forest. She fought back, of course she did, but even with her own hunter strength, she couldn’t break free. She was no Keira, that was for sure. His sister would have managed to flip him over and knock the wind out of him with a kick to the gut for good measure by now. 

Right. Focus. He wouldn’t be able to keep her there forever and she would go after the kitsune. He had to give them a fighting chance – it was the least he could do. The ranger was young, eager, upholding what she believed to be her sworn duty. It was hard to hate her or even fault her. But he couldn’t just stand up and let her go, not at this point. “Sorry about this,” he said before he swung a fist at the side of her head. Her body went limp as her consciousness drifted away. Her heartbeat was still loud and clear, though. 

Kaden shoved down the guilt creeping up his throat as he dragged her body off to the side of the path. He’d call 911 for her. Anonymously. After he was a little ways away. 

All he could do now was hope that was enough for the kitsune to find a way to get unstuck. 

#writing #wickedswriting #para #c: mona #thunderstroked #fox paw faux pas #head trauma tw

[fanfiction-artist-prototype]

The Riddler, Donatello (Tmnt) and Elizabeth Burke

Send me 3 characters and I'll tell you which I'd Fake Date/Enemies to Lovers/Slow Burn

... I'm feeling bullied, but in the "shit they know my interests too well, how could I have foreseen my friend knowing my interests" kind of way.

Fake Date:

Riddler.

Like it REALLY depends on the iteration of Riddler.

Battison? No. Kick the incel, altright pipeline inspired terrorist to the side for these purposes.

That one comic I have on my shelf where its a crossover with scooby doo and the gang demolish his plot bc Fred takes apart the trap to study it, and Nygma is bamboozled by a talking dog? The older live action movies? The Under the Red Hood animated movie Riddler who has enough healthy fear to hesitate on attacking Robin when the kids gunning for his FACE?

I can make that work.

He's an interesting character, fake dating privileges would be good and you'd just have to keep him entertained with his 1 true love, suduko books.

Enemies to Lovers:

Donatello, but SPECIFICALLY either the 2007 animated movie Donatello or the Michale Bay Donatello bc those are the only ones old enough for me.

And like. It'd be cool to be like a minor antagonist turned love interest in TMNT, I'd love to have my Mona Lisa arc sign me up!

Donnie isn't my consistent fave but like... yeah I'd be happy. I'd also probably have cool kunoich training which YES.

Slow Burn:

Elizabeth Burke.

I could be a better partner than Peter. I could woo her, I could - *proceeds to ramble*

Anyway. I think Elizabeth Burke deserves some illicit romantic life in her character. I could be that. The random side character you don't pay too much attention to till I'm turning up in too many scenes and then boom Els filling for divorce. Give me from season 1 and you'd have a Peters going through divorce arc by season 3.

#the amazing blou #send me 3 characters ask #ask game

[favoniuscodex]

2 yr anniversary prompt event!

thanks for sticking by my side for these 2 years of incessant dilucposting, weird anons, and incomplete series! luv u all and may all of your genshin rolls NOT result in a favonius codex (unless you want it for some reason... it's pretty useless iirc?)

here's my 2 year event! event rules:

please only submit one full request! i would love to do multiple reqs for ppl but i'll only open it up to multiple if i have the energy!

you can submit a single prompt (i.e. late night visits). please do not submit more than one prompt. thanks for understanding!

you can submit up to three characters in a single request!

request example: "hi! if interested, could you write for alhaitham and kaeya for [prompt]? thanks!"

characters available for me to write for:

albedo, alhaitham, ayato (finally, ayato likers, this is ur once chance), childe, cyno, dainsleif, diluc, dottore, heizou, itto, kaeya, kazuha, mona, pantalone, rosaria, shenhe, thoma, wanderer/scaramouche, xiao, yoimiya, zhongli

prompts: (new prompts are in italics!)

plot (and some dialogue) prompts:

a beautiful bouquet

a horribly wrapped gift

a newfound discovery

accidental confession

accidental phone call/text

an arm around your waist

"archons, can you stop with that for a moment?"

blind date

denial of feelings/affections

"eyes on me."

flustered by a display of strength

frozen in time

"have i ever told you how wonderful you look?"

holding hands and staring into each others eyes

fainting in front of them

gentleness among wreckage

"gods, you're strange"

"i need you."

"i would wait for all eternity just to hear you laugh"

"i'm cold, come back to bed."

in sickness and in health

kissed breathless

late night visits

love notes/gifts mysteriously appearing

misunderstood disappearances

no one else i'd rather be with

oblivious pining

on the brink of death

"please forgive me"

protective gestures

proposals

public displays of affection

"really? you? jealous?"

relationship memorabilia

rivalry over you (submit 2 characters only for this prompt :) )

sensitivity

shrouded in darkness

sparring practice

trying out a new pet name

their younger sibling plays matchmaker

trapped in a closet together

unable to save you

villainous duo

we're sworn enemies/rivals... right?

"why does everyone think we're dating?"

worriedly fretting over nothing

"you're irritating."

#genshin impact x reader #got carried away w the list of stuff LOL #axia.2yrevent

[eliaskahtri]

A Tale of Two Cryptids || Elias & Mona

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Along a hiking trail PARTIES: Elias (@eliaskahtri) & Mona (@thunderstroked) SUMMARY: Elias has the best day of his life, Mona's day is less so.

The fox trotted along the path, vigilant in finding any traps before they could possibly find her. She’d been traversing the trails that most of the humans did in the hopes to avoid such things, but that also came with a risk. Lucky enough for her, most humans were loud in their footsteps which meant she could typically hear them before she’d even come into their view. Of course, that wasn’t always the case, but she could be quick when she wanted to be. It was unfortunate that her form was not reflective of a typical fox, but one that had seen some kind of tragic event, as one photographer put it. Becoming one of Wicked Rest’s new cryptids hadn’t been on the itinerary, but it had happened anyway. It was only a matter of time before the photos and word of where she was got back to her family, and she knew that, but for now, she would stay put. Until her sister knocked on her door, she would assume she was fine. 

Still, despite the measures to keep herself safe, the town had other plans. The sound of a twig snapping– the movement of leaves. The fox stayed put, gaze narrowing. She looked around slowly, yellow eyes scanning her surroundings. And then– the flash of a camera. The fox took off, sprinting in the opposite direction from which she’d come, crashing through brush and thorns. She could feel them on her coat and it hurt. She wanted to stop, wanted to find somewhere to check herself, but she could hear them behind her. 

And unfortunately for her, there was somebody in front of her, too. The fox skidded to a halt, hackles rising. 

As usual, Elias found himself letting off steam the best way he knew how; hiking. It had started as a rather uneventful hike, but he found that an uneventful hike turned out to be a good thing in a town like Wicked’s Rest. He was finally experiencing the changing of the seasons. Being from California, it was rare for him to see such sights. It was exhilarating. The changing of the leaves, the crispness that was often associated with autumn, he finally understood it. He took in a deep breath, smiling to himself. Then, a crunch of the leaves alerted his attention off to his right. He glanced over in the sound’s direction, suddenly alert. He learned not to brush off animal sounds in these woods anymore. One too many encounters with strange or dangerous creatures, thanks very much. He saw a fox. Nothing out of the ordinary–

That’s when he came face to face with a fox with a strange pattern and coloring to it. Blue and white mixed with the usual orange fur they were known for. It also stook up kind of funny, as if it were in a state of perpetual shock. He stuttered backward as the fox came skittering to a halt in front of him. He blinked. Once, twice. “Uh.” He uttered out, eyes darting back and forth as he tried to figure out what to do in this situation. “You look pretty cool…” He then added, deciding that the fox deserved a compliment. He stepped to the side, feeling bad for catching the fox unaware. “Wait a second…” Elias stared harder at the fox, he had seen this fox before. But where…? “Ohmygod,” Elias spoke in a rushed tone, suddenly excited beyond belief. “They labeled you a cryptid in town!” He exclaimed, quickly pulling his phone from his pocket as quickly as he could and pulled up the list of cryptids the club in town had compiled. A blurry picture of a fox running had been posted not too long ago. “Look!” He showed the phone to the fox, as if it could possibly be interested in what Elias was showing it. He felt a little silly, but for some reason, the fox wasn’t leaving. “I’m Elias! I’m a friend, I promise!” He exclaimed in a softer voice, trying to visibly calm himself down to not spook the creature any more than it already was.

He was talking, and he was complimenting her. If she weren’t so annoyed, she might be pleased with his words. If she hadn’t been running away from the very kind of person that he was turning out to be, she might have said something kind to him after shifting, explaining that oh, the fox disappeared. She could probably still do that, he seemed enamored with her memory, thanks to the blurry photo now displayed on his phone towards her. 

It was concerning that if she were any regular fox, that this person might think it’d be able to understand show and tell. A little funny, too. 

The fox backed up a few more steps, gaze sliding over the phone. Sure enough, there was a photo of her, blurry with her two tails nearly fading into each other to appear as one. If they were going to take photos of her, they could at least take better ones. Then again, she couldn’t take photos worth shit, either. 

He claimed he was a friend, and if she were fae, he would regret his promise. She would hold him to it. The fox glanced around, uneasy by the idea that she should put any kind of trust into somebody who might also be hunting her. Whether it was visually or physically, she couldn’t be sure without more information. 

However, before she could process much else, the sound of footsteps— loud, crunching forest debris, made her flinch in unison with the guttural growl that filled the air. Or perhaps growl was the wrong word, as it was more of a grunt than anything. The fox looked towards the noise, peering through blending foliage, trying to make sense of the yellows and greens to get a good look at what their new company might be. 

To say that Elias was shocked that the fox hadn’t run away yet would be a vast understatement. He put his phone back into his pocket, half afraid the fox would try and bite it or something of that nature. “Yeah, it’s not a great photo, but it’s a photo.” He muttered to himself, afraid to make sudden movements if he spooked the creature. He wasn’t one to take photos of things. He was more of a “live at the moment” guy.

As soon as he heard the loud crunch, Elias began to turn around. Once he heard the growl, his eyes went wide. Not again, he couldn’t help but think. Every time he tried to have a nice hike in the woods, something bad always happened. He loved hiking. He’d be damned if something else happened in the woods while he tried to have a good time, dammit. 

Then, he saw it. It was hairy, it was big, and it had giant feet. No, could it be…? Elias took a step back from the creature, afraid to say anything in case he ruined the moment. This was the apex of his life. Nothing got better after this.

“Bigfoot!” He hissed out in a quiet voice, pumping his fists in the air as if this were the most exciting moment of his life. 

The stranger pocketed his cellphone and the fox felt a pang of regret, mostly because she could have lunged at him and at least have broken it. Finding photos of herself on forums and poster boards was beginning to frustrate her, if only because the information might get back to her family. Wicked’s Rest was far away from Busan, but she couldn’t be too careful. 

Her concentration broken, the fox flipped her attention back to the noise that entered the clearing alongside them. As it came into view, even she had to admit, she hadn’t quite expected it. The stranger was pumping his fist into the air and exclaiming. Was he stupid? 

The fox backed up a few steps, hackles rising. Electricity bloomed over her fur, but to the stranger beside her, it’d come across as nothing more than static. She wasn’t sure who or what bigfoot was, but he did have big feet, and it looked like he could stomp on her if he really wanted to. 

The monstrous creature took another step forward and the ground shook beneath her, or maybe it was all placebo– the fox really couldn’t be sure at this point. Most of the time, she lacked the fight response– at least, not when it served her. The flight was strong, especially now, and the fox took another step away from the bigfoot, eager to put more distance between herself and it. The stranger was on his own. 

The fox had already been replaced with the biggest moment in Elias’s life. Bigfoot was bounding around in the forest and had the opportunity of a lifetime! With shaky hands, he pulled his phone back out of his pocket and attempted to snap a picture. He kept staring at the creature as it took notice of the pair. “Oh! Blurry.” He snarled to himself, then looked up to see Bigfoot himself heading straight for him. “Oh, shit.” He muttered before nearly dropping his phone. 

He took a step backward, then another. The fox had already started to run away, and Elias was obliged to follow in its very smart footsteps. He turned around, summoned all the training he had ever put into running and booked it as fast as he could as the Bigfoot bounded toward them. “This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me!” He shouted as he began to run at full speed away from the surprisingly fast Bigfoot. 

Out of all the things that could have been real, Bigfoot! While he should have been uniquely horrified in the situation he found himself in, he was over the moon. “I mean, actual Bigfoot! In Maine!” He shouted out as he continued to run, feeling the large footfalls of the beast becoming lesser and lesser. Thankfully, it seemed to not have that much interest in chasing after himself and the fox. The fox started to veer away from him, and he veered the other way. After running down the path for a considerable amount of time, he finally stopped after feeling confident enough that he was safe. 

Elias looked down at the blurry photo of the Bigfoot and smiled. It may be blurry, but he knew what it was. 

Elias saw fucking Bigfoot.

#A Tale of Two Cryptids #threads #thunderstroked #t;thunderstroked

[thunderstroked]

Claws Out, Paws Out || Mona & Felix

TIMING: a few weeks ago. LOCATION: somewhere in the woods. PARTIES: @recoveringdreamer & @thunderstroked SUMMARY: mona gets caught in a net trap and felix is there to save the day. CONTENT WARNINGS: implied animal cruelty.

The fox lost her footing, small fox-frame tumbling over the side of the hill. Forest debris caught in her fur and tails, and a scream built in her chest as she finally came to a stop. She rolled onto her side, panting. Yellow eyes narrowed, Mona looked around. She couldn’t see anything out of place, just the same forest floor she’d been wandering over for hours now. She’d lost her way when running into what she assumed to be some kind of dog-beast, but had hoped that she’d be able to get far enough away. Unfortunately for her, that meant heading further into the woods, or so she thought. 

After a few moments, the fox finally found her footing. She assessed her injuries, contemplating shifting back into her human form, but ultimately decided against it, knowing she’d be able to cover more ground on all fours. Only problem was, she’d gotten comfortable in the trail she found and hadn’t noticed the net covered with leaves. A loud yelp left the fox as she was swept up into the air. She twisted around, fear striking her in the heart. An animalistic scream pierced the air as she thrashed, small chest heaving as she frantically looked around. 

—

Walking through the woods calmed the jaguar down sometimes, when he got restless. Felix wondered if it was the connection to the forest or the distance from the Grit Pit that really did it. It wasn’t as if they shifted fully to let the cat out — they rarely felt comfortable giving up control completely, especially when they had such little control of their life as it was these days. But the spirit inside of them was calmer in the woods than it was in their apartment and, on days like today, Felix would take that.

They kicked at the leaves, letting them rustle in the wind as they walked. The jaguar paid more attention to their surroundings than Felix did; when it came time to leave, they’d know the way back despite the fact that they were more focused on their phone than the path ahead of them. One of the positives of having two spirits in one body — only one of them had to keep track of things like this. But there were still things that they both kept track of. 

Like, for example, the terrified animal’s scream that pierced through the silence.

Immediately, Felix was moving towards it. They didn’t know if it was a good idea or a bad one. Animals usually screamed because they were injured, and injured animals usually lashed out, but the balam couldn’t stand the idea of leaving it to suffer. If they found it, they could get it to a vet or a rescue, could help. They shifted enough to sniff the air, following the scents and sounds until they were standing beneath a net, staring up at an animal inside of it. It was a fox, but… a strange one. Odd markings, strange colors. The kind of thing a fur farm would kill for, they thought bitterly.

“Hey,” they said quietly, trying to keep their voice soft and soothing. “You’re all right. I’m gonna — I’ll cut you down, and we’ll see if you’re hurt. Okay? Just give me a second.” Their eyes traced the rope holding up the net, followed it carefully to a tree branch. They’d have to climb for it. “Don’t freak out, buddy,” they muttered, shifting their hands enough to let the jaguar’s claws help them to climb. “Still me, just with a bonus that’ll help us both.” The fox wouldn’t care, on account of it being a fox, Felix was pretty sure.

—

The fox had been so concerned with being launched into the air with no way out that it hadn’t occurred to her what kinds of things might hear her screams. That was the problem with her, she never thought ahead of time. She always put herself in the worst possible position, but she always seemed to figure a way out. Mona wrigled in the net, twisting and turning, paws sticking through the holes so that she could find any kind of footing. How miserable. 

She could possibly shift, and thus her weight could send her crashing to the ground, but what injury would she sustain then? The fox wasn’t even entirely sure how far off of the ground she was, but did that matter? She could possibly use her fire, but what if she set the whole forest ablaze? Neither were situations she was very fond of. 

But then there were footsteps– the smell of something unfamiliar. A human. Except… not. She couldn’t quite place it. Her fear could have swallowed her if it really wanted to. It was hard to focus on the newcomer, because her first thought was that they were the ones who’d put down the trap, but then they were speaking. 

She twisted around as they moved towards the tree, yellow eyes tracking the stranger’s movements, and then– claws? What in the hell. So her nose had been right, at the very least. The fox heaved a breath, pushing incessantly against the rope. If they weren’t human, and more on the animal side of things, would it be possible for them to know she wasn’t quite all animal, too? Regretfully, she had spent more time with fae than with other shifters. 

The fox shrank against the net, mind running wild. She should shift, and should speak to him, but she couldn't do it. Her gaze was transfixed on their claws and the ease they climbed up the tree with them. She let out a dramatized pained yelp in the hopes that would make them climb faster. They seemed concerned enough to rip out the claws (literally). 

—

The fox seemed terrified, and Felix ached for it. They could imagine how it felt, being stuck in a trap with no idea what was going on. In a lot of ways, they could relate to it. After all, wasn’t the Grit Pit a net that had ensnared them? Hadn’t they spent the first few weeks, months, maybe even years of their contract in a state of helpless unknowing, unsure where the limits were and what might happen if they pressed against them too much? Of course Felix would feel some version of kinship with an animal trapped in a net. Of course they would.

They offered the fox a smile that they hoped was reassuring, didn’t bother wondering why they were trying to reassure a fox. Later, they’d muse that they must have sensed or smelled something that was cluing them in on the full situation, that some part of them must have known instinctively that the fox was more than a fox. But for now, they remained clueless as they used their claws to climb the tree, following the rope carefully.

The fox yelped, and Felix picked up pace. They found where the rope ended, carefully sliced through it and grabbed the end so that the net wouldn’t fall and send the fox tumbling to the ground where it might be hurt. They were here to help, not cause more harm. They scooted over on the tree branch, back to where the fox could see them, and held up the rope. “Got it loose now. See? I could, um, open the net and pull you out, but… I get the feeling you might not sit still well enough for me to carry you to the ground. You know? So I’m gonna lower you down, and open the net down there. Then you can run wherever. Just doooon’t bite me.” 

They flashed another small smile, then began the process of carefully lowering the net down. A little at a time, slow enough to hopefully avoid jostling the poor fox too much. Inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter. It was slow going, but Felix thought it probably had to be.

—

The fox shifted uncomfortably beneath the person’s smile. If they knew what she was, would they blame her? Would they ask why she couldn’t get out herself? Not that it mattered. She wasn’t sure what they were, but she could probably outrun them if she really needed to, or at the very least find a burrow to hide in until they got bored. That was the prey mentality, she reminded herself, and she was no bitch. She would fight, if she needed to. If this turned sour, she would light them up like a Christmas tree. 

She wasn’t sure why her mind went there first; the distrust over the years cradled in the palms of her hands like no other. It was a funny thing, she realized. She often threw herself forward without much caution, but suddenly there was somebody scaling a tree with claws and she was worried for herself? How pathetic. The fox felt the net sink beneath her as the tension on the rope was cut. She looked up towards the overhanging branch to see that the person was now holding the other end. She felt weightless. It wasn’t a great feeling, not really. The net was sagging now, too, closing up on her slightly. Mona took a deep breath, pushing forward with her front paws to keep the net from pressing up against her chest. 

It was taking too long. She could see the ground now, and could practically make out the patterns of the leaves and the sticks. The fox considered staying put, of running off after she was released, but she did feel indebted to them. This was like with Edith, she realized. The whole reason she was in this mess was because of her. Mona’s nose twitched, mind racing. 

She’d take her chances and shift back if needed. If she fell, even slightly onto the ground, it wouldn’t hurt now, not from where he had managed to lower her. Luckily, he was low enough too, that if the sudden weight distribution pulled him down, he wouldn’t be in that much trouble, either. In a puff of smoke, the discolored fox was replaced by Mona’s human form. She tore at the net, pulling it off of her before she scrambled backwards. “Heya, thanks for the help– um, please do not claw me to death with those things. But also, again, thanks for the help! Really appreciate it, a whole ton. You’ll never know.” Mona got to her feet and wiped her hands off on the back of her pants, avoiding eye contact with him. 

—

The fox was writhing in the net, but Felix didn’t dare pick up the pace. The last thing they wanted was to move too fast and end up hurting it. Wild animals were delicate; even a small injury could mean the difference between life and death for a prey animal, and this fox had been through enough already. Felix understood the animal’s fear, understood its anticipation to feel its feet on the ground again, but it wasn’t worth the risk of moving too fast. They were sure of that.

Except… all of the sudden, they weren’t given a whole lot of choice in the matter. The weight of the net in their hands suddenly went from the relatively light weight of a fox to the much heavier weight of a person. The rope slipped, and Felix dove to grab it instinctively, tumbling off the branch and landing in the leaves below. Cats did not, as it turned out, land on their feet when they were in human form. They landed on their ass. 

Stunned, but ultimately unharmed, Felix blinked up squinting as the fox — now a woman — untangled herself from the net. They’d heard of this, hadn’t they? Their mother told stories of other shifters often, and while there was always some superiority involved (she was a proud balam, after all), she’d carried a certain amount of respect for kitsune. They’re more like us, she’d told them once. Not just anyone can be one.

“Oh,” Felix said, sitting up and brushing leaves from their shirt. “Uh, no problem. I won’t hurt you or anything. I’m not — I don’t do that.” Unless there was a physically binding contract in the mix. Holding up a hand, Felix let their claws retract and wriggled their fingers. “See? Putting them away. Um, nothing to worry about. Okay?” 

They pushed themself to their feet, stretching their legs and shoulders out. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt in the, uh, the fall or anything, did you? Sorry I dropped you. I didn’t know you weren’t just a fox, so I wasn’t really expecting the, um…” They trailed off, gesturing to her uncertainly. 

—

Oh. 

Mona looked up to meet the eyes of her rescuer, debating between fleeing and standing her ground. Their next move would determine hers, she decided. “Oh.” She echoed, straightening up slightly. “That’s good. Probably for the better. Wouldn’t want to have to light this whole place on fire or anything.” Not that she would, but it was good to let him know what cards she held, she thought. A nereid had taught her that some years ago. 

Interested, Mona watched as their claws retracted. She wasn’t sure what they were. Not a wolf, she knew that for a fact. She’d smelled enough of them to know that wet dog scent anywhere, even without the rain. “I’m not worrying anymore, thank you.” Mona rolled her shoulders back, feeling the tension of having been caught up in a trap for so long in her bones. “That really sucked. What kind of jackass just leaves nets for people to step into?” She knew the kind, but she didn’t want to say it. 

She refocused on the helper, giving him a short nod. “I’m just fine, don’t worry your fuzzy little head about it.” She could take a fall, and had learned how to for the sake of getting out of tight spots. “Not just a fox. And you’re not just a human with weirdly long nails going for a world record, right? I can smell you. You smell weird. What is it?” Mona placed her hands on her hips, searching his expression carefully, “you can’t lie to me, by the way.” She paused, “well, you could, but then that’d mean this blooming friendship of ours would be burnt to a crisp.” 

—-

Was that an option? The ‘lighting the whole place on fire’ thing? Felix hadn’t even known he ought to be worried about that, but they found the thought a little disconcerting now. As subtly as they could manage, they took a small step away from her, as if that might save them should she change her mind about the whole ‘lighting them on fire’ option. “I, uh… I’d appreciate that. The not being lit on fire thing. I think that would be really nice.”

They nodded, glancing down bitterly at the net for a moment. Felix wasn’t one who often allowed themself to be overtaken by negative emotions. They felt them, sure, but they were really good at shoving them away, at making them small. It wasn’t the best thing to do — it was probably at least part of the reason why their jaguar was so angry all the time — but it was better than the alternative, wasn’t it? If they let themself be angry about the way their life had gone, the anger would never stop. They didn’t want that. But it was hard to deny that hint of quiet rage that settled in their chest with the net and the implications it brought with it. “Assholes,” they said, kicking at the rope. “That’s who.” There was no way of knowing if they’d been intentionally trying to trap a shifter or if they’d only been after actual animals, but it didn’t make much of a difference to Felix. They were assholes either way.

But at least she was okay. That did a lot to ease that anger they hated so much. She was okay, and they were okay, and whoever set this trap would find it empty and dismantled. Felix would search the surrounding woods to get rid of the rest, too, if there were any more. “No,” they confirmed with a small shrug, “I’m not just a human.” There was a moment of hesitation, but it didn’t last long. It would be unfair to refuse to tell her what they were when she had already revealed her true nature to him, wouldn’t it? Besides, she was a shifter and Felix always felt some camaraderie there. “I’m a balam. Uh, a jaguar shifter. There’s not a lot of us around, so… It’s okay if you haven’t heard of us.”

—

“It probably wouldn’t, you’re right. But I’m not sure how it’d feel, anyway. My fire is different from regular fire. Maybe it’s worse?” Mona hesitated before adding, “but it’s not like you need to worry about it, so don’t fret.” 

So at least she had confirmation that it wasn’t them who’d set up the net. That was good. Though, after looking at him for a while longer, she’d come to the conclusion prior to the expletives. “Yeah, real assholes.” Mona stretched her arms above her head, glancing around their surroundings. She wasn’t sure if somebody would come to check the trap, but on the off chance it were a ranger instead of a regular hunter, they might be in a bit of trouble. 

There was a beat of silence, and then her company was explaining that like her, they weren’t just human. “A balam, huh?” Growing up, she’d heard of various different shifters– balam being one of them. She’d never met one, but had known that in some cases, they were a delicacy to her kind. Mona had no intention of sucking the spirit out of this one, that was for sure. Maybe she would have considered it if they had attacked her, but it wasn’t something she needed to worry about for now. “That’s cool. So the thing about cats landing on all fours, that was… a lie?” She pointed to the leaves that stuck to their ass. “That’s embarrassing for you, but then again, I was the one who got caught in the trap.” With a sigh, she ran her fingers through her hair and glanced down at the mangled netting. “We should probably throw this out, right? Save the turtles, or something else like us. Well, me. You might have been too heavy and big to go up, but still.” 

—

Felix shifted their weight uncomfortably, trying not to think about just how little they wanted to be burned by fire, be it hers or someone else’s. She said they didn’t have to worry about it, and they relaxed a little. “That’s good. I like the sound of that.” But they’d still worry about it. It was hard not to worry about it, in fact. Felix worried about most things.

The trap was disarmed and harmless now, but the anger burning in Felix’s chest remained. For obvious reasons, hunters of any kind, both supernatural and normal, tended to set him off. After all, his mother hadn’t been killed because she was a balam, and there was every chance that this net had been set up by someone who had been attempting something just as ‘harmless’ as the human hunters who’d killed her all those years ago. Felix had never agreed with their father’s method of getting through his grief by hurting people, but he had understood the grief itself. The anger. That had always been so much easier for Felix to wrap their head around. 

They offered the kitsune a small smile as she acknowledged that it was ‘cool’ that they were a balam. Her kind could be dangerous to them, they knew, but they had been warned far less about kitsune than they had about exorcists or rangers. It was rare, their mother told them, for one shifter to target another like this. She’d always been very big on unity between their kinds, instructing Felix and their siblings to focus on more formidable enemies instead. Exorcists and rangers and humans were the ones to worry about. “I land on my feet in jaguar form a lot better than in human form,” they said, more matter-of-fact than they were defensive. “But we should definitely throw this out. And make sure there’s no more around, too. We don’t want anyone else getting caught, right? People like us or animals.” 

—

“I guess that makes a little more sense.” A lot more, actually. Mona wondered what would happen to somebody who saw a jaguar trapezing through the woods. Probably nothing good, all things considered. She wasn’t sure what kind of control a balam had over its shift, but she knew that as far as that went, her kind had the upper hand. They never lost control, always aware of themselves and who they were, in and out of their shifted form. Though, she could be a little feral when she wanted to. Mona wasn’t afraid to bite some ankles, need be. 

Mona gave him a firm nod, “you’re right… probably better to clean the area up.” It wasn’t her ideal way to spend her time, but if she could keep anything, or anyone else getting hurt like she could have potentially have been, then that was a win in her book. “My name is Ramona, by the way, but you can call me Mona.” The name she’d given to those around her for the past forty something years felt more natural than the one she’d been born beneath. She gave them a small smile before pointing in an arbitrary direction. “We should try this way first.” 

—

Felix nodded, offering her a small smile. Being a shifter had its ups and downs, at least for balam. They weren’t sure they’d put ‘doesn’t land on feet in human form’ towards the top of that list, but maybe it belonged on there somewhere. Or… maybe not. There were far worse things to worry about, after all. Things like traps in the woods and people who put them there, for whatever nefarious reasons people did such things.

They were pleased that she seemed willing to help him clear out any additional traps. It would go much faster with two people instead of just one, after all. “I’m Felix,” they introduced themself with a nod. “Uh… You can call me Felix.” That was what they mostly went by. Fe seemed a less appealing nickname with how often Leo defaulted to it now. Looking in the direction she’d indicated, the balam nodded his head. “Good idea,” they agreed. “Let’s get started.”

#para: claws out paws out #para: felix #wickedswriting #animal cruelty tw

[inavagrant]

❝  𝐰𝐡𝐲  𝐝𝐢𝐝  𝐲𝐨𝐮  agree  to  an  offspring?  won’t  they  be  mortal  &&  𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬?  ❞

It is a bold endeavor to inquire something such lack of compassion, especially when he is holding the subject in question in his very arms. To say that he took it as a jab would be a misleading statement, in fact Tetsuya didn't expect anything less for he too is the same way. "If you believe I had anything planned then you are sorely mistaken." He admits of so without shame, in fact when the news initially dropped it really was news to him that he can apparently make such a thing happen. For a small moment he ignores the other and pays attention to his son, rocking him gently amidst his arms as he peacefully slumbers away, ensnared and trapped in his deep sleep that not even the conversation taking place between him and Scaramouche seems to bother him. The dream must be a pleasant one. It is of an unsettling sort that he can be this gentle, why he almost forgot that he could, that it's still within his capacity. To be this mindful. He is reminded of ghost days, days lost in time, days snatched by fate. A beautiful and pristine puppet who's joints have yet to fully fade, his fascination with the children in the village, his awe with a child born only weeks ago. There was awe in his eyes as he watched the child's mother rock him back and forth as he slept just like this and how the itch to try was apparently so obvious that she asked him if he wanted to try.

In his excitement he agreed immediately, nodding his head like he just got offered his favorite snack. Katsuragi was there with him then and even now Tetsuya remembers that kindhearted young man's words as he supervised the exchange: This is a baby, he had said, they're fragile and defenseless, the most pure and innocent. Be gentle, Kabukimono. The information intimidated Kabukimono, having already seen and experienced for himself just how much strength he had compared to those who were human around him. But, he went through with it, it was odd, though it roused concern, his body seemingly knew how to be gentle it seemed. How to be mindful, almost like he was designed to know how to be just that. And the child had snuggled comfortably then and it made Kabukimono's face light up.

The question Scaramouche presents is a sound one, it is one that Tetsuya acknowledges and yet. "Mortal or not, those details do not matter to me... not as much as I thought they would." He confesses, looking back at him. It's peculiar really, though the question itself is one he has asked in concerns to his mortality, it is not one that vexes him so, one that affects him. Besides, if he's honest, he does question if his son is even mortal at all, he has his doubts based on what he has seen thus far, but he can not come up with his own conclusion with that little information... at least not yet. Perhaps time will tell eventually.

"Mona wished to keep the child, who am I to tell her what to do with her body when she's the one carrying it?" Tetsuya shrugs his shoulders slightly. "That was a decision she took and though I had my... reservations, I can't say all of that wasn't worth it." Mona has shown to be a fierce woman during her pregnancy, has seen sides of her he has not seen before, but in that same coin, he has also seen her at her most vulnerable and that will be something he will be the only one to ever see and experience.

"His name is Henri," yes Mona got to name the child, she was adamant... and quite fierce about it, which Tetsuya had no mind in that. She had informed him that the name is native to Fontaine. "Would you like to hold him?"

@hitokageisei

#hitokageisei #inquiries. #in character. #act iii; wanderer. #we lov e a man who's pro-choice yes we do #hold the baby scaramouche #you know you want to hold the baby #tak e the baby hold the baby awraxa