#the other three have tails and ears and green fur but they're just as much her children as the one with red hair and no cat-like features

[silverselfshippingchaos]

this line is really cute

[solarcitymelodies]

what does your alienkin species look like?

Hihi!! It's in my profile pic, but I have plenty other pictures, made with... varying accuracy, lol, they get older as they go, so they're listed from most accurate to least accurate as I've figured things out.

So, things I've generally found:

- ear stripes! I always forget them which is why they're absent on my newer drawings, but the stripes are just a darker shade of green.

- I don't actually have antenna, I just like putting them there and drawing them lol

- I have hair basically just like a human, so whatever style and color it is usually reflects my hair in real life or the hair I'd like to have in real life.

- My ears have little tufts at the top, much like the ears of a lynx:

- And a tail very similar to a lion, but with a longer tuft that sort of tapers up? It looks similar to some dinosaur tails, almost:

This is the best example I can find. It's not feathered though, all fur :)

- I always have three eyes! That I've known for a long time now

- I also don't have a mouth on my face, it's tucked under my chin a bit where you can't see it as well. Not sure what function that serves, but it's always been that way. Most picrews don't have an option for no mouth though :(

I don't really have much of an idea what alien society was like, as I'm mostly a psychological otherkin with some spiritual aspects. I don't have much recollection of any kind of past life and I'm kind of unsure if what this is even is a past life, or something else? Idk.

Either way this is how I appear in headspace as far as the system goes, and it's how I perceive myself usually :). I try to express it in the way I dress and otherwise customize my avatar as much as I can! But seeing as I typically connect it to psychological reasons, although I am very much otherkin I usually will just refer to myself as alterhuman for easier reference.

Anyway sorry for the infodump >< I love love loveee that you asked this, I talk to very few people about my experience being alterhuman so thank you very much for giving me the opportunity!!! I really appreciate it 🥺❤️

[goldenrodchef]

Information about a fusion is very interesting! If you're alright with sharing I know at least one person would wana listen.

Alright. Um. I'll do my best.

Here's some weird things about being a Wobble:

As I just mentioned, my tongue is as long as my tail. I can also flick it out, too, which is. Something.

Speaking of my tail, it's very long. It's at least three times as long as I'm tall, not counting my headfin. It's also prehensile, so I guess that's useful? I don't like using it much, though. It's also very expressive, and tends to bump into things a lot.

I have a little snout. It's barely there, but it's noticeable, and makes drinking from cups more difficult.

My nose is very sensitive. I can smell stuff from across the house, and strongly smelling stuff, such as many cooking ingredients, can give me a headache.

My ears are really sensitive too, and I can move them. I can swivel them to hear stuff better, and flatten them against my head if stuff is too loud. They're, uh. Rather expressive, too, like my tail.

My fur is really, really soft. It's nice for others, I guess? But for me, it just itches a lot and makes cleaning myself much more difficult.

My tail isn't furry like the rest of me, but is rather covered in scales. I think it's also cold-blooded too? I have no idea how only my tail is cold-blooded while the rest of me is warm-blooded.

I have tiny whiskers on my cheeks. They're very small, but they're extremely sensitive. Stuff touching my cheeks is a sensory nightmare.

My headfin doesn't do much. It mostly just twitches sometimes. It does feel bizarre, though. Having a big fin sticking out of the top of my head is really weird.

I think my eyesight is a tiny bit worse? I have some trouble distinguishing between red and green sometimes now. I can still tell the difference between them, but it's not effortless anymore.

I have little fangs. They're small, but sharp, and I've cut my tongue on them a few times.

I barely have legs anymore. They're very small, and I can't really walk normally anymore. I have to waddle around instead.

My feet are very flipper-like now, probably to make me more agile in the water. I spend 99% of my time outside the water, though, so having flippers just makes it even more difficult for me to walk normally.

I have a scalchop on my belly. I barely use it, but I have a lot of weird instincts around it. One time I woke up to find myself using it as a pillow instead of my actual pillow.

My arms are very short. Not as short as my legs, but it's a very stark difference to when I had long arms as a human.

I have paws instead of hands. They're more dexterous than you might expect for paws, but not by that much. I also only have four digits on each paw, too. And my digits are much, much smaller than my fingers were. I don't have thumbs anymore, either.

Yes, I have paw beans. Yes, they're squishable. It feels really weird.

Um, that's everything I can think of right now. Hope some people find this interesting.

[warriorssurvivalandstuff]

My Omori catify nonsense.

Aubrey, Basil, Mari Hero, Sunny, Kel

Aubrey: Black amber tortie Basil: Fawn calico Mari: Black smoke Hero: Chocolate golden marbled tabby Sunny: Black with low white Kel: Red classic tabby, minimal white

Design notes (extremely long, image heavy, and fancy cat patterns heavy) and concepts under cut.

Aubrey is based off non-agouti (genetically solid) black amber, made tortoiseshell. Amber is a trait in the Norwegian Forest breed which causes most of the cat to change colour from black/browns to a red/orangish colour starting at around three months old. Using this to drastically change her look somewhat suitably for the timeskip, because just using hair dye is boring. As for why tortoiseshell, she gets associated with fire a lot and for "scars/wounds", which the red splotches are styled to resemble, meant to give her a tough look. There might be something in how they're less distinct post-colour change. The red end of her tail vaguely resembles Basil's. Stripes on the tail curve towards the tip like flames. For non-colour features, she has spiky lines and ear tufts. The tufts are red for the fire look. Maybe I should've just gone with orange eyes instead of yellow but I wanted to them all to have different colours, and Kel had to get orange. Yellow works fine enough for fire and is the cartoon star colour, starry eyed in (more) youth.

Onto Basil, he's a fawn calico, fawn, cream, and white. Cream is an obvious choice to match his blond hair, while the fawn is meant to resemble dead moss as a mirror to his headspace design, and I did just basically copy his hair over directly. Not too pleased with it. Dewclaws and the bottom of his paws are also free of white for green thumbs/muddy look. The fawn end of his tail vaguely resembles Aubrey's as said above. Also fun fact, tortoiseshell/calico cats cannot be AMAB without some sort of mutation or chimerism. While I did not mistake him for a girl, a ton of people did so I thought I'd carry it over here. Broken mackerel stripes for the tendrils his Something has, and his tail stripes slant towards the tip like leaf venation. The high degree of white was mostly to not have mottling (look, I try to go for as much realism as I can), it was just about the generic bicolour pattern until I thought to spike up the flank region as Something's teeth and to stick a daisy above his left eye. His fur is arranged to look like a perpetually soaked creature, and his ear tufts also droop. Some fur on his back curls like dicot sprouts and his weird hair tufts.

Kel gets two designs as well, not because of some colour change shenanigans, but my indecision. One is chocolate tortoiseshell classic tabby and the other forgoes the chocolate, being just red classic tabby. The mix of brown and orange evokes orange joe, more brown above since it looks like espresso floats on orange juice and like a tan, and I did mistake him for a girl at first. But I wanted to have Aubrey and Basil match in being the only torties, as a sibling theme (headcanon). Classic tabby for the signature bullseye pattern, ballin'. Being tortoiseshell also allows me to draw actual basketballs on him, even if I only did it for the flank one. Honestly the rest of the tortie mottling is just random, not planning on replicating them accurately ever. He has very small amounts of white, the toes and locket. It's meant to reflect his jersey and sneakers' white patterns. His line style/fur tufts are round like his hair.

As for Hero, he is a chocolate golden marbled tabby. Golden because he's the golden child. If Kel is tortoiseshell, they match by being chocolate. Marbled tabby allows me to crudely draw roses with nigh 0 reproducibility plus rosettes, instead of just rosetted tabby. The roses are on his flank and one upright on his foreleg. It is also classic tabby with the Bengal modifier, so he and Kel match here, tortie or not. His fur tufts come in threes, like his hair. Crimson chin when stylised.

Sunny is very basic for his colours, just a solid black with (unusual) white spotting. Mewo dictated he and Mari be black cats. His white is placed more deliberately, a cloud on the head, collar and socks that reflect his clothing, and the rest completes the tuxedo look. The fact that his muzzle and collar line up to look like Something was unplanned but welcome. His eyes are sun coloured. Based his build off of Oriental Shorthairs for the scrawniness. The end of his tail splits into two tufts to reflect his weird hair tufts.

Last but not least, Mari who is a black smoke. Like Sunny, she is solid black. It's got the ghostly quality and when tabby stripes are visible on smokes, they're called ghost markings. She has those on her face, very unsubtly music staff with two semiquaver notes. The gene that causes smoke in solid cats turns tabbies into silver tabbies, so she is in a way, silver, matching Hero's golden. Her fur style is smoke/vapour, the ghostly quality again. She also has the Oriental headshape to match Sunny. I considered having her be silver shaded instead for the white dress spirit Mari is pictured in but that would make her and Sunny look very different. Included as an alt, anyway.

All of them together. The base here (and above) is by Reevees on DA.

Old concepting headshots, dates a few years back. They have the different versions of Kel and Aubrey. Sunny and Mari are kept just about the same, while the others have more notable changes.

Headspace full designs will come in some time... three years? Dunno. Hero's palette will change completely.

Old line styling test, only Aubrey, Basil, and Sunny. Older and young.

[probably-a-human-being]

WoF tribe design headcanons

so as we all know, the tribes are a little lacking in canon diversity, so here's a list of all the tribe design headcanons I have.

Mudwings: come in browns ranging from black to beige, greens ranging from olive to dark green and dark reds. Some have small patterns in gold, bright red, or white. Horns usually appear like those of rams or bisons.

Skywings: come in all shades of red, less pale shades of orange, gold, bronze, and some are even pink. Often have small patterns in black or the colors previously mentioned. A common pattern found is a "crack" pattern, often found on the wings, neck or horns

Seawings: come in all shades of blue, green, grey, black and purple. Nearly always have highlights in bright colors on their webs and horns, correlating with the glow of their bio scales. The bio scales come in all sorts of designs, with only the placement and overall shape remaining the same. Some are known for having many protrusions on their chins, resulting in beards.

Sandwings: come in yellows, dusty browns, white, and very rarely, pale orange. They are usually fairly skinny, with very few packing on significant weight. Their ears are big to assist in cooling off. Their horns are often thin. The spines along their back is actually hair, and some grow it out while overs shave it. They can also braid it if they so desire. Their patterns come in black, brown, white, red, orange, and very rarely, blue.

Nightwings: although they are known for being black, they actually are mostly just very dark shades of any color, only visible when looked at very closely. Likewise, the stars on their wings come in a dazzling array of colors, from pale pink and blue, to bright yellow and deep red. Sometimes, they have smaller lines of scales connecting the big stars, creating constellations on their wings. When they are hatched under one full moon, there is one silver teardrop at the edge of their eyes. When hatched under two, there are two scales, so close together that they form a heart. And when hatched under three moons, there are three silver scales at the edge of their eyes.

Silkwings: some have hairs on their antenna, similar to moths, while overs have smooth ones. They have the longest average horns of all the tribes. Their wings come in all different sorts of shapes, not just rounded, like the real shapes of butterfly wings. They have the sharpest and longest claws of any tribe, to assist them in climbing during the larvae stage of their life.

Icewings: actually come in all colors, just very pale shades of them. Occasionally have little patterns of their color, but brighter. No scales on chest, upper stomach, lower tail, and legs knee down. Are covered in fur in those places. Horns look like antlers of many types of northern animals, such as moose or reindeer. Tails endings are thick, with clusters of spikes on all sides.

Rainwings: Come in many different pattern, such as splotches or geometric shapes. Each has a unique "resting color", for when they're not changing their colors to something else. Back spines end around the upper part of the tail, so not to harm the dragon in the part where the tail curls.

Leafwings: While their main color is always some shade of green ranging from nearly black to nearly white, they nearly always have a secondary color on the webs between their back spines, the edges and veins of their wings, their horns and some of the mismatched scales on their neck, tails and legs. The secondary color can range from silver to brown to red to pink to pretty much anything, including other shades of green. Dragons with leafspeak sometimes have little leaves sprouting from their horns, which grow and die according to the seasons.

Hivewings: come in reds, yellows, oranges, blacks, browns, and greens. Some have strands of hair growing across their bodies, which are very sharp and tough. There are no whites in their eyes, just orbs of glistening browns, reds and blacks. Their wings move like those of a dragonfly, and they make a buzzing sound when they fly.

[adobe-outdesign]

DOG! JUST TALK ABOUT A DOG POKÉMON! ANY DOG POKÉMON!/j (aka I’ve just now realized you’ve also talked about Fidough)

(I'm going to do the Electrike line solely because it's one of the few dog (not wolf or hyena) Pokemon I haven't reviewed)

Electrike is an odd little thing. The head is really strange in particular, with lobed three segments (I guess two of them are ears, though they definitely don't look like it). Green is also an usual color for an electric-type, which, points for doing something different, but I'm not sure why they felt the need to change it instead of just using the blue from Manectric. Hell, the shiny actually does already anyway:

It also feels a bit vague and hard to grasp conceptually. The thunderbolt across the eye and spikes along the tail kind of convey electricity, but I don't know what they're going for beyond that. Supposedly it's based off of the raijū, a blue wolf (more obvious in its evo) with yellow electricity, but it doesn't look like one much beyond that.

I think it might've made more sense to make it blue, remove that half stripe from the back (or continue it down into the tail, I don't care, just don't have it end partway down the back), and maybe raise the middle lobe up so the ears and lobe form a vague lightning-bolt shape that would be mimicked by the yellow streak. That might at least help it convey something a big more clearly. As is, I kind of like it for how odd it is, but it's hard to remember it exists at times.

On the one hand, Manectric at least makes the raijū thing a bit clearer... but on the other hand, the awkwardness is unfortunately increased by a lot. None of these elements really go together; you have the super straight head point with the yellow stopping at the neck in weird shapes, the random fur on the front paws and only the front paws that also has no defined shape and leaves a weird blue band on the toes, the spikes on the haunches, which go in a different direction than the ones on the head, and the tail, which goes in a different direction than either of those two.

There's also just one or two more questionable things in there as well; for example, the random hole in the side of the head (is that supposed to be an ear?? that's not how dog ears work) and the incredibly small hind body with a completely messed up haunch (mentally make the yellow bits blue and remove the spikes and you'll get what I mean).

I think that if all the elements—head, haunches, and tail—pointed backwards, if you removed the chest fur and yellow fur on the front, and if you made the yellow accents flow more naturally, there could be an interesting design here.

Thankfully, the mega helps a lot here. Don't get me wrong, it's goofy looking as hell, but... well, so was Manectric, and at least this design gives a clear visual to latch on to, a clearer indication of typing, and a much more streamlined design with sense of flow.

Visually, the yellow bits are now all focused on the lightning-bolt back (and the front legs; still not fond of that, but they probably felt obligated to keep them seeing as they were on the original design). The colors are also more saturated. Everything flows backward, reducing some of the awkwardness of the original design, and the whole thing now has a sense of movement instead of being stiff. It reminds me a bit of a aardwolf, though I doubt that was intentional:

I do think that the back lightning bolt is too large and could've stood to be about 20% smaller; the red nails also distract from the eye. Here's a sloppy five-minute edit to show what I mean (original on left; ignore the weird looking ear placement on the edit):

While I didn't edit it, I also think the middle segment shouldn't have gone down past the body, instead ending at the same spot the thrid does, and the ear should be folded back to match the same diagonals as the lightning bolt. However, the mega is still a substantial improvement over the original design overall.

I really wish that the mega had been its own evolution. Many mega designs look too similar to the originals to work as evolutions; but in this case, the design has been altered so radically as to basically be its own thing. All you'd need to do is change the colors (as Electrike has a different color, and the line would be uneven if it was one green and two blue); maybe white with blue lightning to reference the raijū thing. It's not like there was any reason it shouldn't evolve, after all.

So overall, kind of an awkward line with a massively improved mega that unfortunately isn't around any more. Ain't that just the way.

[warriorsbutnotreally]

Leafpool and Crowfeather version of Breezepelt? (who's born alongside the three)

[ID: Breezepelt, but as the kit of Leafpool and Crowfeather. He is a brown tabby with swirling stripes, a brown tabby tail, a white nose, white around his eyes, white ear tips, a white spot on his chest, a white tail-tip, and one white paw. He has teal eyes. He is facing to the left with ears pinned back, seemingly nervous as we can se sweat droplets on the corner of his face. He has one paw lifted up, his toes pinching together.\

The LeafCrow Breezepelt we deserve!

I don't have much to say on the AU other than me and my friends started memeing about it while I also drew an attempted scene sort of drawing

[ID: It is a scene of Jaypaw, Lionpaw, Breezepaw, and Hollypaw within a cave. A waterfall can be seen in the left side on the background and stalagmites and stalactites dripping with water on the right side.

From left to right - Jaypaw is seen head-only. He is a pale gray tom with a lighter lower face and white on his nose + white over his eyes. He is facing to the right. He has juniper berries behind his ear. His eyes are narrowed, but he doesn't seem to be speaking. It's hard to see, but his ears are pinned back.

Lionpaw is facing towards the camera, but his head is tilted slightly to the right as he looks at Breezepaw. He is a golden tabby with an off-white chest. He has a golden tuft of fur that runs down off his head and towards his back. There is also gold around his red eyes. He seems bulky and fluffy at the same time. His mouth is opened slightly, as if speaking, and he looks confused and concerned as his ears are pinned down.

Next is Breezepaw, his appearance the same as his previous ID. We see him shoulder-up. His eyes are narrowed and he seems to be worried. He seems to be the main one speaking. His ears are upright.

Hollypaw's face is the only part of her seen. She is a black tabby with red around her green eyes. She seems to be very fluffy. She seems the most concerned and appears to be biting her lip in worry.

At the bottom of the image is a black speech box. It reads the following;

(Breeze) "There's only one problem with the prophecy."

(Lion) "What do you mean?"

(Breeze) "It says there will be three, but there are four of us, meaning-"

(Holly) "One of us isn't a prophecy cat.."]

///

followed by "they're in for a surprise" because Dovewing is still the third in this AU

also this meme;

[ID: it is the TUA - The Umbrella Academy - meme of Vanya and Number Six diving past each other. The top part reads "Breezepelt starting hell training w/ Broken" while the bottom reads "Lionblaze, just arriving to train w/ Tigerstar"

safe to say, I've been having a lot of fun thinking of these four siblings and how their interactions would be

because Lion and Breeze training in hell at the same time and accidentally running into each other is the funniest shit in my mind because they'd be mad at the other for being in hell while also trying to defend themselves on why they're there

also for note;

mama's boy Breeze is still canon and he's like Squilf's little shadow

[qianinterprises]

Fated To You

Pairing | Kitsune!Yuta x Human, gn!Reader

Warning(s) | depictions of violence, minor character death, supernatural character, blood, mentions of stabbing, mentions of murder

Synopsis | You didn't know what you were getting yourself into when you found the injured fox hiding away in the forest. However, after accepting the fox pup into your life as a new member of your home, you quickly realized that there was more to him than just an adorable fox with an odd number of tails.

Genre: supernatural au, fluff, angst, soulmates au

Author's Notes | I have had quite a longing to write a supernatural character, and, while my favorite supernatural creatures are werewolves (they're majestic amazing creatures, shush), I wanted to do something a little different, thus, Kitsune Yuta was born! This has also been posted on NCTA under the name Tori, so if you see it there, it's me. I really hope you enjoy this piece!

Word Count | 6.5k

Tag List: @treasuretaeil

The moon began to rise over the land, casting grotesque shadows over the forest as your feet moved carefully over roots that protruded from the mossy earth. Your hands held strong to the green flashlight clasped tightly in your fingers, lighting the way through the darkened trees as the sun continued to fade.

It had never been your intention to stay out this late. Fresh air. That’s all you had needed. Air to clear your head and calm you down from the near panic attack you’d thrust yourself into as you thought about all the papers and assignments you’d have to complete within the next few weeks.

It was a lot; juggling a full-time job and part-time university. You’d known it was going to be when you’d decided to finally finish your degree. What you hadn’t anticipated was everything piling up at the end, making you truly stretch yourself to get everything done correctly and on time without losing your job and crumbling under the impending weight of unemployment.

Luckily for you, behind your rented out house, was a forest. You weren’t exactly sure how far it stretched, nor had you ever explored it before, but you had a certain affinity for nature. When you began to lose yourself, you slammed your book shut and got up with a huff, grabbing your unused backpack out of the closet and setting out into the woods, hoping immersing yourself in nature would calm you down.

It had. Walking about, listening to the birds sing and the trees grow had soothed your mind and allowed you to relax for the first time in several weeks. You’d gotten so relaxed that, as you sat against a sturdy oak for water and a snack, you found yourself drifting off.

It was only recently that you had awoken. Your eyes blinked open as the sounds changed and the peaceful chirping birds were replaced with the soft, yet creepy, hoots of owls and the howls of wolves.

You’d never meant to be out there that long, but as you pulled yourself off the ground, you were thankful you were smart enough to have a packed back full of extra water, a few snacks, a rope just in case, a compass, a hunting knife, and a flashlight along with batteries.

As the sun descended, you pulled the flashlight from your backpack and here you were, wandering the woods at dusk, navigating your way back to your house in a forest you’d never been in before.

Perhaps it was the start of a disaster. Or perhaps it was keeping you away from your books for just a little longer.

Whatever the reason, you tried not to panic as you made your way through the woods in a direction you assumed was home but honestly, you were too sure.

You scanned your beaming light over varying trees, looking for the mark you’d left on a particularly girthy oak, a mark that would signal your correct direction and your soon entrance into the backyard of your home.

As your light hit along the trees, searching high and low, it caught the glow of a pair of glassy eyes not three feet from where you stood. With a shriek, you jumped back, stumbling over a tree root and falling back onto your bum, letting out a whine at the pain.

You shined your light back on the spot you’d saw the eyes and found them again, wide, yellow eyes staring back at you in, what you could only assume was fear. Fear that pulled at your heartstrings, because this wasn’t any regular fear of humans. This was absolute terror.

Slowly, you pulled yourself up onto your knees, dusting the dirt off of the bottom of your jeans as you carefully inched forward, careful not to spook the animal which you assumed to be a mistreated cat or an abused dog.

The animal didn’t move, seeming to be frozen in place as you moved closer. It was only when you managed to shift the bush it was hiding in that you realized what it actually was.

A fox. A small, dull orange fox that still resembled a pup. It had greying pointed ears and a dirt covered orange coat. As your eyes trailed over the body of the fox, they landed on the tail, or shall you say, tails! By your count, nine, although you knew that couldn’t be right! It’s tail was likely matted in nine big places! You pushed the question of tails out of your mind and roved over its body, finding surprisingly small paws and a muzzle covered in a crusty red which you quickly realized was blood. That fact alone should have sent you running, but as your eyes scanned it’s body, you quickly realized the source. An opened gash on the foxes side, just above it’s hip, steadily weeped a bright red liquid that would claim the fox’s life if kept untreated.

Your heart broke for the poor animal and you knew you couldn’t simply leave it to die. Carefully, you offered your hand for the fox to sniff and, as soon as he did, he seemed to trust you a little more.

You’d taken several animal science classes while pursuing your degree, and you knew the technical way animals seemed to trust a human just by sniffing them, but you always found yourself fascinated by the way an animal could get to know someone simply by sniffing their palm.

“I can’t leave you out here. You’ll die from your wounds if I do. Would it be alright if you come home with me?” you asked softly.

Part of you felt silly for speaking to a fox that couldn’t understand you, but as the fox nodded to your question, you felt relieved-

Wait… nodded?!

You stared wide eyed as the fox, who apparently could understand you, slowly crept from under the bush, small whimpers leaving it’s throat as it moved its hind legs. It no doubt hurt, especially with the placement of the wound.

“I doubt any animal hospital would be open right now,” you muttered, more to yourself than anything, but the fox froze in place, fear once again in its eyes.

“You don’t want to go to the animal hospital, do you?” you asked.

The fox shook his head-- you were really going to have to get used to that.

Sighing to yourself, you reached a hand out to gently stroke the orange fur, something the fox stiffened at before all together relaxing in your touch.

That was all it took for you to know you couldn’t let anything happen to this gentle fox.

“Can I pick you up?” you asked. “It may help get you back home with minimal bleeding.”

The fox seemed to pause, as if pondering and you were beginning to odd just how strange this fox truly was. Not like any other wild animal you’d ever happened upon, which, in turn, led you to believe that this was not just another wild animal.

The fox moved closer to you and touched its nose lightly to your hand. You took this as the ‘go-ahead’ and, very gently, you lifted to fox pup up into your arms.

It whimpered slightly, but as you pressed it’s wounded side purposely against your torso to still the bleeding, it relaxed in your arms.

You didn’t know how you were going to get him home. You weren’t even a hundred percent sure where home was, but as you shined your flashlight carefully clenched between your teeth, your eyes landed on the jagged ‘X’ you’d etched into the pine.

With a breath of hope, you moved toward the mark and within a few paces, you were standing in the yard of your house.

Carrying the fox through the yard was made easier by the darkness. You flicked off your flashlight, relying on memory so as not to draw your neighbor’s attention to yourself or the orange mass in your arms. When you finally made it to the front door, you opened the latch and let yourself into your messy living room covered in stay books and disposable coffee cups you hadn’t yet gotten rid of.

You latched the door behind you carefully and carried the fox going scarily limp in your arms through the house and into the bathroom.

“Don’t go to sleep, please,” you begged the droopy-eyed fox as you placed it in the bathtub.

It seemed to struggle to stand and you knew you had to work fast. Helping it lay down surrounded by the porcelain walls, you moved to the sing, ripping open the medicine cabinets and began rifling through everything you had, which wasn’t too much. You may have been training to be a veterinarian, but that didn’t mean you were already practicing.

Luckily, after shuffling around, you managed to find basic rubbing alcohol and peroxide along with several large bandages, gauze, and, the best find yet, suture thread with a needle.

Pulling on a pair of gloves you usually used to dye your hair, you turned back to the tub with your utensils only to find the fox had drifted off to sleep, pants leaving its mouth. It didn’t have much time left and you’d be damned if you let it die in your house.

Grabbing a towel and a pair of scissors, you knelt by the tub. With the scissors, you hastily cut away the fur surrounding the wound, getting yourself a better image of the wound itself while also making it easier to clean.

Once the wound was exposed, you didn’t know whether you were relieved or panicked, staring at the long gash clearly having been made from a sharp knife. This was no animal fight as you’d first thought. This was intentional and likely had been done by a human. No wonder it had been so scared, yet it begged the question, why had it trusted you?

You pressed a towel to the still weeping wound, pressing down hard to still the bleeding. Once it was mostly halted, you poured peroxide on the wound, flushing out any dirt and grime before washing it with rubbing alcohol that surely would have hurt like hell had the animal been conscious.

With the wound cleaned, you sterilized the suture kit with the rubbing alcohol and threaded your needle. You’d done suture’s before, but only on test dummies. Having a real patient had your stomach twisting in knots, but you didn’t have time to worry about it.

Bringing the needle to the skin, you began to stitch up the now cleaned wound, careful not to injure the fox further. The stitches weren’t pretty by the time you’d finished. A professional could have done a much better job, but at least the wound was closed. You placed a bandage over the wound before wrapping the gauze carefully around the fox’s waist, keeping it loose enough it didn’t constrict him, but tight enough to keep pressure on the wound.

Time was still sensitive. You very well may not have gotten to it before it lost too much blood and you had no way of administering a transfusion. It was solely up to the fox now whether it lived or died.

As it slept in the tub, you ran your fingers through it’s fur, too scared to leave it alone. As you stroked around the foxes neck, your fingers gazed over metal beads buried deep in the fur. Curiosity got the better of you and carefully, you pulled at the beads until you unveiled a dark metal necklace that resembled a collar only slightly.

Inquisitively, you trailed your fingers along the beaded necklace of a collar until you gripped the base, the end that hung down at the fox’s chest. It was then that you saw it.

Resting at the base of the necklace was a dog tag with only one marking. A marking that spelled out a name.

Yuta.

As you ran the tag over in your hands, careful to not disturb the fox, you found no address or number to call. There was nothing to give you any information about who this pup belonged to. However, you supposed, whoever it was wasn’t a very good owner if the knife wound were anything to go by.

Letting the necklace drop from your hold, you ran your hands over the fox’s head.

“Yuta,” you mumbled to yourself.

The name had a nice ring. A name that seemed to roll off your tongue as though your tongue was meant to speak it. And perhaps that holds true as the moment the last syllable left your throat, the fox was stirring, shifting as it-he slowly regained consciousness until his yellow eyes met yours.

Something seemed to stir inside you at that moment and you found yourself reaching out to touch the animal again, a touch the fox shifted into, nuzzling against your hand as if he wholly trusted you. You didn’t really know why the fox would trust you, but your heart beamed with joy. A joy that you knew meant you wouldn’t be letting this fox run back out into the wild unless it’s something he truly wanted, but you could already tell, the fox was going nowhere.

~

That statement seemed to hold true as the next few days passed and Yuta was finally able to walk around a bit more. He tired easily and had a bit of a limp, but he’d managed to walk from one room to another easy enough before giving you a look that begged you to pick him up. Even now, as you sat on the living room couch, laptop perched on your thighs, surrounded by mountains of resource material books, Yuta made his way from napping in the bedroom to where you sat.

You didn’t notice him at first, too caught up in your work that you were slightly unaware of your surroundings, but as he pressed his cold nose against your exposed ankle, you took in a sharp breath, eyes glancing down at the mischievous fox who had learned just how to get his way.

“What do you want?” you asked.

It had become normal for you to ask him questions you’d ask a human. The fox seemed more and more human every day, which made him likely the most intelligent animal you’d ever encountered. He truly was one of a kind.

‘Pick me up.’

A masculine voice suddenly permeated your made, making you yelp out at the suddenness of it all, head shaking as you dropped your computer onto the ground, hand coming up to hit lightly against your head.

That was a voice you’d never heard before and most definitely was not your consciousness.

‘Calm down human, it’s only me.’

The voice spoke again, eliciting yet another yelp from your lips as you looked around. There was no one in your house save for yourself and Yuta. No windows or doors were left open and, unless someone was hiding in your closet and speaking, there was no one around. The voice itself was too vivid, too clear to be heard through your ears anyways which ultimately lead you to the conclusion that the voice was in your head, although that didn’t make anything better.

“I’ve finally gone crazy!��� you murmured to yourself, eyes wide with worry and fear. “I’m hearing voices! It’s only a matter of time before they lock me up!”

‘(y/n), calm down! It’s only me! Yuta!’

“What?!” you screeched.

You didn’t bother looking down at the fox on the floor. There was absolutely no possible way the voice in your mind was the voice of an injured fox named Yuta who’d come to live with you a few days ago! There was no possible way! You were just-

‘Would you stop saying you're crazy before you really upset me!’

“Leave me alone!” you squealed.

You jumped up off the couch when suddenly, a rush of tranquility washed over you, ebbing the panic away as the masculine voice was once again in your mind, this time, in a much gentler tone.

‘Calm down before you hurt yourself. Look down at me on the floor. Look into my eyes and you’ll understand.’

You don’t know whether it was the sudden sense of calm that had you keeping cool, curiosity, or sheer trust that had you lowering your gaze to the floor where they met Yuta’s yellow ones. As soon as your eyes locked on his, a rush of comforting heat surged through your body, spreading from your eyes down to your toes while washing over your brain. Your knees buckled and your body crashed against the couch as thoughts and memories surged through you, eventually knocking you unconscious, head lulling against the couch cushions.

Two Hundred Years Earlier

When you opened your eyes, your living room was nowhere in sight. Instead, you were standing in a deep, open space painted a galaxy shade of purple. Beside you was a handsome man with long, dark hair that touched his shoulders. He had a lean face and boxy jaw leading to a square chin that only added to his handsomeness. His shoulders were broad but he wasn’t all that muscular, rather, he was lean. A grey shirt wrapped around his frame, long black shorts flowed to a stop below his knees.

“Who are you?” your voice cracked.

“I am Yuta,” said the man, the voice the same one you’d heard in your mind earlier.

“W-what- How-...?” you couldn’t seem to conjugate the words properly.

“I wasn’t going to tell you until later. But I am Yuta, and the fox version of myself… well that’s technically my natural form. While injured, I take that form,” he explained.

You still couldn’t quite wrap your head around it. This Yuta was your Yuta… Your Yuta had a human form… Your Yuta… the fox you’d been sharing your bed with… had a human form…

“Easy now, I’m not sure what happens if you pass out when you're not awake!” the man said, hands grabbing your shoulders to still your wobbling form.

“But how-- I…”

“I’m going to show you,” he spoke softly.

With that, he snapped his fingers and the purple room evaporated from sight. You let out a small screech as it was replaced with air rushing around your face as your bodies hurtled straight from the sky into a forest you’d never seen before. A forest that certainly wasn’t in your backyard.

You touched ground without so much of a wince, your feet settling gently on the plush, mossy earth.

“You’ll get used to that,” Yuta promised as he clasped an arm around your waist to hold your quivering body steady.

“W-where are we…”

“Japan. 200 years in the past.”

“WHAT?! But-”

You trailed off as your eyes caught sight of a beautiful fox with nine tails flowing proudly from her backside strode up in front of your prying eyes, a young fox pup not too far behind, accompanied by his father who kept nudging at the pups hindquarters playfully, earning small little yips from the pup.

“They’re so adorable! Who are they?!”

Yuta didn’t answer for a long moment and when you looked at his face, you caught the fading wisps of a painful memory.

“The pup is me…” he spoke. “And my parents.”

You were about to open your mouth to ask about them when there was a rustle in the trees and a group of six men appeared, each one looking meaner than the next.

Yuta’s father turned away from the pup, who was drawn closer by his mother, as his father approached the men.

“Do you wish to honor our son?” you could hear the father ask although you knew he wasn’t physically speaking.

“Freak!! Unnatural piece of nature!!” screamed one of the men, drawing his sword.

“Hey! Show some respect!” you wailed, fist clenched as you glared at the man who seemed to not even notice you.

Yuta’s arm tugged on your waist, pulling you against his side.

“This is a memory… My memory… There’s nothing we can do or say that will change the past…” he whispered.

“You don’t want to do that!” Yuta’s father exclaimed. “We are kitsunes! We are luck and fortune!”

“Freak!!” the man squealed, swinging his sword at Yuta’s father, who turned to flee from the men, ready to protect his family with his power when another man slashed a sword at the fox’s backside, slashing through all nine tails.

You let out a squeak, hands coming to cover your mouth as a pained cry left the fox’s mouth moments before his body hit the ground and life left his body. You could see the spirit of the fox lifting, rising into the trees, where it would rest as a ghost, keeping watch on it’s family.

The men howled with glee and charged over the fox’s body, trampling it as they made their way for the mother and her pup.

The blaze of a campfire suddenly sparked from the place Yuta’s mother was planning on cooking dinner. A ball of fire lunged at the men, who dodged, and the fire only made them angrier.

The female, just as strong as her husband, held the men at bay with a wall of fire, managing to severely burn four of the six men before the kindling in the fire had died and all was left was embers. She could bend fire, but not without a fire.

“Looks like you’re all out of ideas,” one man, the man who’d killed his father chuckled.

The pup whimpered and burrowed itself in his mothers side, not quite old enough to possess all the powers of his parents.

Frantically, the female fox turned to the pup and, without hesitating, bit down onto its scruff. The pup cried out at the sudden jostle, but his mother did nothing but squeeze tighter. With her pup held close, she leaped over the fallen men and darted into the forest, putting as much distance between herself and the men as she could.

The air around you and Yuta rustled past your faces and suddenly, without moving your feet, your bodies were standing beside a fox and her pup who were now both panting, far from the men that would come searching for them.

“Yuta, listen to me child. The humans are turning on us, but you mustn’t let that stop you from being yourself, from being a true and great kitsune!” the fox’s voice permeated your mind. “The humans will hurt you, try to kill you as it has been prophesied, but you mustn’t let their ways sway you from your duties.”

“Mom!” the fox cried.

He could tell, even at such a tender age, what his mother was about to do.

“You will find your soulmate, who will be human, and you must make the human understand who and what you are. They must understand where you come from. And, if they accept you, bonds between man and fox will be restored once more!”

Her voice was urgent as the sounds of the men tracking them grew louder. Your heart hammered in your chest. You knew what was going to happen, but your heart wept at the fate of the family torn apart. Yuta’s arm around your waist fastened to you tighter, although you weren’t sure if he was holding you or himself together.

You don’t know what spurred you to move, but you turned toward him slightly, enough to unpin your arm from your side, and wrapped both of your arms around his middle, hugging him tightly as together, you watched his mother kiss her pups head softly before dashing off toward the men.

There were yells along with a high pitched whimper before her spirit rose into the air to join her mates, leaving the young pup all alone.

You buried your face in Yuta’s shoulder, squeezing him tighter as a few tears slipped from your eyes, dropping onto his shirt. You’d only witnessed a memory. Yuta had been there. You couldn’t imagine the pain he felt the day both of his parents were killed by greedy, uneducated humans.

Present Day

You stood there, embracing Yuta for what seemed like hours before the air was shifting around you again and, by this time, you knew what that meant.

When the air stopped and you opened your eyes, pulling your face from Yuta’s neck, you were standing against the wall of a small little shop that resembled what you would have imagined to be an apothecary’s shop. White-wicked candles burned around the tiny, clutter-filled room, casting a smoky glow around the shop, surrounding the shelved knick-knacks and bottles of liquid medicine. Inside the shop, sitting behind a desk stacked with papers, was a middle-aged man with snow white hair and tan, wrinkled skin, so many wrinkles it looked as though he were shedding. The bags under his eyes were drooping low on his face, making his entire face seem to sag.

“Who is he?” you asked.

“His name’s Mr. Huang.”

Yuta seemed to know that that didn’t answer your question, but you didn’t have time to inquire further before the door to the shop was opening and Yuta, your Yuta, walked in, dressed the exact same as he was now.

This must have been recent…

“Good afternoon, Mr. Huang,” Yuta greeted, giving him a respectful bow.

“What do you want, boy?”

Mr. Huang’s voice was mean and cruel, riddled with an angry snarl as his now beady snake eyes looked up to pierce Yuta’s brown ones.

“Is Mrs. Huang nearby? I had a few more questions about the prophecy regarding my soulmate,” Yuta said, seemingly unfazed by the man's harsh tone.

The question only seemed to make Mr. Huang angrier as stood up with, slamming his hands down on the desk.

“Mrs. Huang died this morning,” he snarled.

Yuta’s face dropped, skin growing pale as the man stalked toward him.

“You promised us she wouldn’t die!” the man hissed, slowly approaching Yuta.

Yuta backed up slowly, his eyes racing around the room, looking for something he could use for leverage when his eyes landed on an envelope with his name scrawled onto it.

Discreetly, he picked up the envelope and slid it into his back pocket.

“Mr. Huang, I did everything that I could do. I promised you’d I’d do my best to heal her! But she had lung cancer! I gave her as much life as I could!” Yuta said.

“That’s not good enough!” Mr. Huang yelled.

He reached into his back pocket and produced a long knife with a jagged edge. You gasped loudly as the man lunged at Yuta. Yuta, carefully dodged the first and the second jab, but by the third, his back was pressed against a wall. Mr. Huang stabbed the knife into Yuta’s side, right above his hip. Yuta cried out on pain, clutching his side.

“Let’s see how you fare against pure silver!” Mr. Huang snarled.

Silver wouldn’t kill him, but it would slow his healing way down. His body could be unable to atone for the wound. That coupled with his young form without having a soulmate to help him heal faster would prohibit him from healing much faster than a normal human.

With the blade still lodged in his side, Yuta shoved past the man and bolted for the door, running straight into the forest, careful not to be seen by any other human.

You followed this Yuta’s movements, your Yuta holding close to you as together, you watched this Yuta drop to his knees and pull the blade from his side, crying out at the pain before dropping it.

The boy cried out as he clutched his side in pain, slowing the bleeding as much as he could before leaning himself against a tree, the same tree near the bush where you’d found him.

His body began to shake with the weight of blood loss and you wanted to run to him, but your Yuta held you back.

“It gets better,” he whispered in your ear.

You didn’t like it. You hated watching the man die, but there was nothing you could do. This may be happening in front of you, but it had already happened in the past.

With shaky fingers, Yuta used his free hand to dig the now wrinkled envelope out of his pocket, specks of blood dotting the starch white.

He opened the envelope with that one hand and pulled out the letter inside. Somehow, you managed to see the letter from here.

Yuta,

If you can find it in your heart to forgive my husband for what he has done, please do. I know that he can have a temper, and he isn’t the best when it comes to dealing with his emotions, but he means well, usually anyways. I have no doubt that he has tried (if not succeeded) to commit bodily harm after my passing. He will likely be unable to handle himself after my death.

The truth is, I’ve always known there was nothing you could do about my condition. Guess that comes with the territory of being an old witch. You know when you’re going to die. But don’t worry, sweetheart, today is not your time. You still have that soulmate of yours to meet.

Your mother was right about the prophecy. I do apologize that I could not speak of it with you. The fact is, my husband is one of those humans that will be swayed when you meet your soulmate, and as such, I couldn’t have you or him finding too much information out. The future is tricky like that.

I just thought you should know, dear boy, that your soulmate will appear to you soon. I cannot say when. Yes, I know, but again, the future can be a tricky thing. When they do show up, they won’t hesitate to show you compassion and kindness. You will also find yourself drawn to their gentle soul. And they will be drawn to you, although they will not be able to explain. Go easy on them, hun. They are human after all. Humans are not as good at understanding things like this as you and I are. Be gentle. Ease them into it.

While all of this is nice, I do also have to give you a warning. When your soulmate is revealed to you, you will know almost immediately. However, it may take them a bit, especially if you aren’t as a human. Be patient. However, if all else fails, show them this letter. I will write your soulmate's name at the bottom. The future will allow that.

My second warning is to tell them your past. The burden is not yours to bear alone. Prophecy says that when you meet your human soulmate, humans will stop trying to kill you and those like you. Conspiracy says this is because they will understand who you are and what you are set on this earth to do. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

The gods have seen what terrible things humans can do, and it has swayed their opinions (for the better in my opinion). Rather than revealing your purpose to the humans, only a varying few will know the truth, your soulmate being one of them. The memories of Kitsune’s and other supernatural creatures will be erased from the minds of most humans, so you must be careful with this new chance in life. You must hide your identity as a Kitsune from everyone except family.

Now Yuta, I want you to know that these last two years have meant the world to me. I love you my dear boy and I will always be watching over you along with your parents.

Find your soulmate, and love them as hard and as deeply as you can.

Love,

Mrs. Huang

Ps: your soulmate's name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Treat them well.

Your eyes widened at the last note of the letter before Yuta folded it up and put it back in his pocket.

“(Y-Y/N)... but… that’s my name…” you muttered.

The man beside you didn’t utter a word as the Yuta you were watching suddenly began to quiver even harder than he already was and, within a few seconds, in his place was the same fox pup you’d rescued a few days ago.

“Wait… so… the pup… you really are the pup!” you exclaimed.

Yuta turned to stare at you, eyebrow raised.

“Tell me you didn’t just get that.”

You didn’t say anything back, instead trained your eyes back on the pup who was crawling under the bush to hide. Time suddenly began to speed up and within a few moments, you saw yourself kneeling in front of the bush in the dark, peering at the fox.

“So I… I was meant to find you… We’re connected…”

Yuta nodded.

“You’re my soulmate, and I am yours.”

You didn’t say anything. Your voice felt like it was locked in your throat as a rush of air once again brushed past your face, taking you somewhere new, although you weren’t sure what else was left to see.

“The future is a tricky thing,” Yuta’s voice whispered as the world became a blur of shapes and colors as you were taken to someplace new to see more sights that would expand your outlook on life itself.

Undetermined time in the future

The wind stopped brushing past your cheek and you stood in front of a small, cozy house with a broad backyard and a large forest filled with thick trees, perfect for running. You saw yourself, or rather, an older version of yourself, sitting on a pink and purple throw blanket in the middle of the backyard. Beside you sat a brown picnic basket waiting to be opened and a vacant seat on the other side of the blanket. The older you smiled softly as the clouds in the sky parted and a beam of sunlight shone down, warming your body naturally.

Older you looked far too happy to be on that picnic alone, so your eyes scanned the valley for someone you hoped was there.

“I haven’t seen this yet either,” Yuta whispered.

He brought his arm back around your waist, keeping you fixed to his side, not that you were complaining. Somehow, it felt you belonged at his side.

As your eyes scanned the yard, you almost missed the two bodies emerging from the forest. One was the body of a tall man, a body you immediately recognized to be Yuta’s. The other was a much smaller body, the body of a young girl whom you couldn’t see all that clearly.

Yuta’s breath hitched and you turned to look at him.

“Do you know her?”

He shook his head, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the two as they approached the picnic blanket where the older you waited, waving your hand to the two with a bright grin on your face.

Yuta’s reaction to the girl had you pausing to take a closer look at him, waiting for him to tell you who this young girl was. When he seemingly noticed you staring, he turned to look at you.

“I honestly don’t know her. But she has been prophesied many times,” he spoke, voice shaking with emotion.

“She wasn’t in the prophecy I heard,” you conjured.

Yuta shook his head, a smile breaking out across his face.

“There’s not just one prophecy,” he answered. “There are many, about many different things that allow us a glimpse into our fate, but somehow, they never play out the way you think they will.”

“Can you tell me the other prophecies?”

Yuta turned his attention back to the scene and urged you to do the same, but you caught him nodding to your question as the little girl jumped into your lap, laughing and giggling as you began to tickle her.

“I will tell you all of them,” he promised.

The scene before you was nothing like what you’d seen earlier. There was no blood or death or attempted murder. No sacrifices or ominous warnings. There was nothing but peace and love, and if that was your fate, you were happy with it.

The older Yuta sat down beside you on the picnic blanket and, as the young girl became distracted chasing a butterfly, he dipped a finger under your chin and lifted your face to his.

“I love you, my Flower,” he spoke softly.

“I love you too, my Fox.”

He pressed a soft kiss against your lips, a kiss so soft you felt as though you were prying just by watching, and, although it didn’t last long and your own lips hadn’t felt the gentle touch, you knew there was no kiss quite as sweet as the ones from Yuta.

~

The backyard disintegrated into an array of pickles before your eyes fluttered open and you were staring at the ceiling of the same rental house you’d spent the last three years.

“Was it all a dream?”

“Yes and no,” a familiar voice spoke next to you.

This time, you didn’t jump at the sound of the voice, although you weren’t sure if it was because it was familiar, or if it was because it wasn’t in your head this time.

Turning your head, you caught the sight of Yuta, standing just as he had been in your dream, wearing clothes that were coated in blood, likely the same ones he’d been wearing when he was stabbed.

“How are you not a fox anymore?” you asked.

He smiled as he knelt down on the couch where you were still sprawled out.

“Your human mind couldn't accept the truth earlier. That’s why you freaked out when I began speaking into your mind, which is something I can only do in fox form,” he added. “When I calmed you down by accessing your nervous system, I realized you were going to have to see the truth, so I knocked you out and took you on the journey with me. You had to live through that one way or another,” he explained.

You didn’t understand, not really anyways, not the full story, at least. What you did understand was 1) Yuta was a kitsune, 2) he had a very dark past, and 3) you were his soulmate and, although you hadn’t known him for very long, you were 100% ok with that.

“Now, do you think you can stay calm long enough for me to do something I was dying to do the entire time?” he asked.

“What?”

“This.”

Without further exchange of words, Yuta’s plump lips were on yours and, for the first time through the whole ordeal, you could feel it. And you knew it wouldn’t take much until you were addicted. Because he was Nakamoto Yuta. Kitsune. And your soulmate.

[changeling-rin]

Oni is sitting cross-legged on the dirt. There is a small puddle of gray fur in his lap, which upon closer examination turns into a sleepy kitten. Oni is methodically petting the kitten from ears-to-tail, with occasional breaks for chin scritches. The kitten is purring loudly enough to be mistaken for a small engine.

As a species? They're neat! They like playing hide-and-seek, even though they're not very good at it (and Wraith will never tell them). They always choose to hide in the same five appliances, and it's never occurred to any of them that this is very predictable.

A blond boy in green promptly finds himself reincarnated as a Mostly Dead Hero with pseudo-zombie abilities. Look, the Goddesses don't have another Hero in backup yet, this one is just gonna have to suck it up in the meantime

Gen: oh thank Hylia, three more people who know what they're doing Speck: this is very embarrassing the Four: wait wHAT- Ocarina: sparring partners! Mask: ...here we go again Dusk: eh, just another day in the life RGBV: no no no nononononononononono- Lore: he is gonna cause so much chaos Realm: maybe one of us has a better sense of direction? (nope) Sketch: ehehehehehehehehehheheeee~ Wind: *(gentle gasp)* sea shanties Steam: ...will we need a bigger Train? Shadow: immediately tries to stab each other Oni: exchanges solidarity nods

...you know that doesn't really make it any better

[skellebonez]

Hey, hey Skelle. 41and 51 with Spider Queen/Macaque/Wukong with the three adjusting to Spider Wukong and the first two trying not to be obvious that they're having a crisis.

Oh I know these two are absolute fucking disasters after Spider Wukong happens. They are the biggest bi/pan disasters and Wukong knows it. Here is some very important artwork that you need to be aware of (because I use them as references).

Spoilers for, well. Everything.

Can you teach me how to do that?/Can you two save the kissing for later?

"You did this," Macaque said bluntly to the Spider Queen, not taking his eyes off the display in front of them. "You did this and I don't know whether to thank you or hate you."

"I am aware," she sighed, only looking away to look down at the four armed and four eyed spider monkie beside her. "Is this a formal complaint?"

"Take a wild guess," Macaque managed out out, resting his head in his palm as he tried to stop the swishing of his tail.

"You're hopeless."

She turned back to watch Sun Wukong effortlessly move things around his island. It was always easy for him, it would take no effort for the Monkey King to move a tree with one hand. Except now... now he was a six armed and massively tall Spider Monkie just like Macaque. Only taller. With two more arms.. And always shirtless. And as he displayed this massive amount of strength he was gently grooming one of his many monkey subjects so carefully in his extra arms.

A dangerous sight for his two partners to behold.

~

Things had calmed down a lot since, well, everything that happened. Most of their lives were much less hectic with Spider Queen and her family combining with Team MK and the White Bone Spirit finally dealt with.

But that didn't mean they could afford to just relax all the time. There were still enemies out there, more so with the side switching and the reveal of MK being Spider Queen's son, and given the transformations both immortal monkies went through they needed to stretch and move around to keep themselves in decent shape. So that was how they found themselves in a light sparring match, working out excess energy and finding it more enjoyable than they had in centuries.

"You're getting rusty, Peaches!" Macaque teased, using his four arms to cartwheel sideways and then backwards with much more ease than he ever had before. "Come on, you have to have some kind of trick up your non-existent sleeves!"

Spider Queen watched from the sidelines in the shade, shaking her head at the terrible banter. "Speak for yourself."

Wukong didn't say anything, just smirked and rushed at his partner. Macaque strafed to the side, easily dogging the kicks and punches and finding himself let laughter bubble up as the fight continued. It had been so long since their last spar and he felt almost as good as he had ever been!

And then Wukong gently grabbed his face.

Distantly he felt four hands wrap around his four wrists and that was all the warning he got before Wukong flipped them sideways and Macaque landed backwards in the dirt.

He froze, the six armed spider monkie's top set of hands cupping his face like it was made of glass. He was suddenly very aware of exactly how close the other's face was to his own, how the lighter hair of his sideburns blended into his regular hair now, how bright green the other's eyes were and how wide his pupils were (was that normal? he couldn't think well enough to remember), and how excessively tall he was. He was so tall.

"I win," Wukong announced, hands now cradling the back of Macaque's head to keep it from hitting the dirt and wrists still held captive in his hands. He chuckled as he rolled them over again, so easy and so strong and Macaque felt like his own limbs were putty as Wukong sat back against a nearby boulder. He only watched with a wry smile as Macaque fell forward, hand out between two of his own arms to catch himself before he face planted into the other's chest. He felt Wukong let his wrists go, his middle arms on either side going to rest on his waist in some fashion and one of hi lower hands running up and down his back with claws digging through the coarse fur.

He didn't move the hands cradling his face.

"You're cute like this, you know."

Wukong said this with a soft low chuckle, and Macaque tensed up as he felt the taller's hand move from running along his spine to trail up the back of his tail from base to tip. His now massive stature making this a much easier endeavor, especially when Macaque's traitorous tail lifted of it's own accord to meet the touch against it.

All Macaque could do was tense as his fur poofed up, ears flared out, face flushed red, and an odd choking noise that sounded like it was mixed with a deflating tire escaped his mouth.

"Oh no... oh no, he has it baaaaaad," Spider Queen breathed from a distance, unable to hide the flush of her own face. "I made him more powerful... he's doing this on purpose, I know it."

Eventually Wukong stood the two of them up and had to run off to take care of some of the baby monkeys on their island home, leaving Macaque to stand there. And watch. As he left.

Then he immediately covered his face with his hands and screamed into them.

Spider Queen snuck away from Macaque later in the day, finding the courage to ask Wukong "Can you teach me how to do that?"

He laughed but obliged.

~

Spider Queen wasn't unused to moving around on her real legs, she'd done it before. Like when she had tricked Pigsy (and Tang by association) at the food market that long long time ago. But she had relied on her mech so much since then and had been ripped from it so violently, torn from it in a way that wasn't supposed to disconnect her from it at all, and then spent so much time in... whatever plane she was trapped in within the Trigram Furnace that walking again was difficult at times.

Then again... maybe if she hadn't insisted to herself that she needed to wear longer dressed and massive pumps and wedges and heels to make herself taller, so that she wouldn't have to crane her neck to look at her partners and so they wouldn't have to strain their backs to look at her... maybe she wouldn't be in this position.

Not that she was complaining. Oh no. Complaints about this exact scenario left the second it started.

She'd followed at least some of her partner's insistence that she stop wearing stilettos until she got the hang of safer heels. She was wearing wedges this time, still tall and extreme and probably not the best for someone still recovering. But she managed well enough.

Until she stumbled standing from the stool at Pigsy's, her legs more tired from the walk then she had expected.

It almost felt like it happened in slow motion. She was headed face first toward the floor. Then two arms grabbed her from behind, then another two, then when her momentum stopped a fifth and sixth brushed her hair away from her face as Wukong stood her up back onto shaky feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his grip loose but not entirely letting go yet. "Do your legs hurt?"

"N-no," she stuttered out, trying her best to keep her face impartial and to not let the blush forming take hold. "They're just... tired, I suppose."

"That's good," Wukong said, shaking his head after a moment. "Well, it's not good they're tired, but still. How about I help you get home?"

"UH... ok?" She said softly, and instantly she was off the ground.

And Wukong was off the ground.

They were both off the ground, the Monkey King lounged lazily on his cloud and Spider Queen cradled carefully in two of his sets of arms with her head resting on his chest. And... oh no. This was nice actually.

She felt her face flush more.

"Comfortable?" Wukong asked, tone low and soft with a smirk on his face as he moved it closer and she knew that he was doing it on purpose again. His pupils were oddly dilated as well... spiders and monkeys didn't do that, they weren't cats, but this was the monkey king and demons purred so... who knows.

"Yes," was the high pitched squeak that escaped her, and who knows what would have happened if a loud cough had not sounded from Pigsy.

Oh right. They were in his shop still.

"Can you two save the kissing for later? When you're not blocking the entrance to my shop, maybe?"

Wukong only laughed and zipped out of the store on his cloud, hugging Spider Queen more firmly against his chest.

... she needed to wear even more heels if this is where it got her.

~

The two were pressed into and laid their heads on either side of the partner's chest, the couch almost just a smidgen too small for all of them. But Wukong had fallen asleep in between them and they didn't have the hearts to wake him up. His head rested on one of his top arms, the other lazily slung over the back of the couch, while the other two wrapped around Spider Queen and Macaque softly.

Protectively.

One of Macaque's own arms was reaching over to hold Spider Queen's hand softly.

"Thank you," Macaque said after a moment. "I am with drawing my formal complaint."

She couldn't help but laugh.

[the-candy-store-cat]

This is Chapter 2 of Storm Rage! Please enjoy! :D

Chapter 2

It had been many moons since that fated night, and Flurry'kit, now Flurry's Cry, had grown considerably.

The once tiny kit was now a large, beautiful she-cat. Silver leopard spots had emerged from her snowy coat. Her paws blended with her fur, going from red to golden, to white. She had the same, orange markings on her face. Her tail had fluffed out, with an orange tip, and a long, grey mane sprung from her neck.

She wasn't the only striking cat, for her coloring was considerably common in Shadow Clan, though its origins were unknown.

Strewn about the clan were cats like her, ones with shades of blue, others green.

This was a relief to her. Flurry had never liked standing out, unlike her clanmates. She much preferred the quiet, rather laying in the shadows, left to her own devices.

She felt the dappled sunlight on her pelt and soaked it in before she was interrupted.

"Enjoying the light sunshine?" A deep voice said behind her.

She rolled her eyes and turned to see a large, muscular black tom, with purple eyes and long, white whiskers.

"Don't call me that High'storm." She flicked her tail.

"Then what am I supposed to call you?" He mewed, brushing his tail under her chin.

She blushed, batting it away.

"What are you doing?"

"You love me, admit it." The tom chuckled, puffing out his chest.

"I don't care for immature flea-bags." she retorted, tickling his nose with her tail.

He let out a sneeze and stuck out his tongue at her.

"Then what do you care for?" he remarked playfully, "cause I'm pretty sure I'm the cream of the crop kitten."

"Anyone other than you I'm afraid."

He pinned his ears, acting as if he was hurt, causing her to laugh.

"I'm hurt sunshine, truly hurt."

"That's a new one, 'kitten,' what's it mean?"

"I don't know, just thought of it."

"And anyway, you can take it, your ego is too large for any cat-"

She was interrupted by Mottled'Gash, a calico she, covered in scars, who ran to her, panting.

"It happened again-" she huffed, "we got another bright' fur."

"Which clan?" An umber tom asked.

"R-river. Its bad-Night' flight is holding them off-"

The four cats exchanged horrified looks.

"Hurry!" The three bolted after Mottled'Gash, who was heading towards River Clan.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

As they drew closer, hissing turned louder, and the shape of 2 cats, mid-fight, emerged.

"Leave them alone! They're your kits!"

"They're no kits of mine!"

Behind the original she was three kits, trying to disappear in the tall grass.

"Stop this dammit!" A she hissed

"m-momma? Momma!" she runt of the three squeaked.

She hated to see this, it was becoming all too common. More bright'furs were appearing in litters, meaning more were being rejected. Wind Clan had started taking in kits now because of the large amounts, and the queens could only nurse so many.

She landed on top of the kits, knowing how this was going to go, the three others surrounding her, forming a wall to protect the kits.

"M-momma I-I wanna go home!" a small she-kit squealed.

This was the most heartbreaking part. The kits never understood why this was happening. If they were lucky enough the markings had emerged, later on, allowing them some time with their mothers. The less fortunate were already born with it, which in these cases, were most likely slaughtered.

The largest had orange markings with his ginger fur. This one was lucky. If not for his litter-mates, the markings could have gone unnoticed, since they were only slightly brighter than the rest of his fur.

The other two weren't as lucky.

The smallest of the three had bright, azure patches, along with her honey fur, and the other a rich green, only showing on bands on his back.

"I'm not your mother you freaks!" The queen was so cruel, why couldn't she have made this easier on them?

The runt of the litter ran up to her, going underneath Flurry's legs.

"Momma! What's going on? I wanna go home!"

The queen hissed, unsheathing her claws, preparing to claw the kit.

Shade'flight quickly snatched up the kit, the queen's claws grazing his cheek.

"Are you crazy?! It's your kit! Are you blind?!" the leading cat hissed.

"Quiet'Blaze, its no use."

The cat looked to her, knowing this.

The two kits whimpered, retreating underneath Flurry's Cry.

"Get them away from me!" the queen spat, "bright'furs are no kits of mine! Freaks! The whole lot!"

"we've got to get them out of here." High'storm whispered to her.

She nodded, motioning to the other cats, almost saying, "you know the drill."

"1, 2, 3!"

At that, her and High'storm sprinted to camp, all three kits dangling from their muzzles, causing the queen to hiss, trying to follow them.

The rest of the cats would hold her back, allowing them to escape.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

They finally reached camp, not before checking if the queen had followed the pair.

Once the coast was clear she took the kits to the nursery, dropping them next to a tortoiseshell queen with amber eyes.

She turned her head looked between the kits and the pair.

"Can you take them Mud'tail?" she panted quietly.

Her face sank, "I'm sorry Flurry, I just can't. I'm about to kit, and I already had a bad kitting last time-"

"I-I understand-" she looked at her paws.

"Can any of the other queens take them in?" High'storm chimed in.

She shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Juniper'pelt is already occupied with the kits from the last moon, smoke'mask has eight, and Ice'lie is sick."

She looked at High'storm, a sinking feeling in her stomach, "can you take care of them until next moon? We will take them to Wind clan."

She nodded.

“Oh and remember to stay on the lookout, a wind clan warrior’s gone missing. “

She didn’t even listen as she walked out of the nursery to the warrior dens, still able to hear to kit's cries.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"M-momma? M-momma!"

"M-momma! I wanna go home!"

"You're no kits of mine! Freaks!"

Her eyes would water, it was so painful to watch, the fear in their eyes, not knowing what was going on, seeing their mother reduced to a monster.

She had seen that queen at least once before. Before, they had been too late. They had been her first litter.

The pair had been newborns, and their markings were prominent. One a boy, the other, a girl.

Or at least she imagined. The queen had mauled them viciously, so much so, they had at first thought it was a kill made by rogues.

The image of their bodies would forever be burned into her memory.

She thought she would lose control when she felt High'storm brush her.

She had to admit, even though he was annoying, he knew when she needed him, and she was too upset to brush him off.

She let out a soft sob leaning on his shoulder, "why does it have to happen?"

He sighed, "I don't know kitten."

She couldn't hold back the tears anymore, burying her head in his neck fur, soaking it with her tears.

He wasn't used to her responding to his advances and blushed furiously beneath his pitch fur.

"Finally falling for my charms?" he whispered to her.

"Shut up!" she sniffed.

"I'll take that as a yes kitten."

He gave her a big sloppy lick on her cheek, making her bat him away.

He laughed.

She sighed, "guess we'll have to take them to wind clan now."

"Guess we do kitten."

"Will you stop calling me that? I have a name you know!"

"Eh, you're cute when you're mad."

She rolled her eyes as she shook out her long mane, "That ain't mad sweetheart, you don't wanna see me when I'm angry." She flicked her long tail in front of his muzzle.

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm your sweetheart now eh? Don't think I mind." He wrapped his tail around her.

"Knock it off horny." she got up.

"Eh, I'm not horny, just attractive."

"Keep telling yourself that, maybe it'll be true one day."

He liked it when she got worked up, it was much nicer to have someone bat him away, rather than beg for his attention.

The handsome tom was the only son on Wild'star, leader of shadow clan, so naturally, she-cats would beg for his attention. It wasn't like he was going to be the next leader of shadow clan, but most cats seemed to assume so. Usually, the tom would entertain them for a bit, before getting bored and finding another cat.

But for some reason, Flurry's Cry held his attention so easily, and for so long, which was a hard thing to do. She was an exception, and even the slightest smile from her meant that it wasn't all for naught.

"What are you staring at?" she chuckled.

He must have zoned out, "Hm?"

She shook her head, "C'mon, we need to go hunt."

He gave a small smile, his efforts to woo the snowy she wasn't wasted.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Original idea goes to @warrior-whiskers

[writingpaperghost]

Without You (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1: Wake Up, Change the World!

The Igarashi siblings hadn't been normal in a long time. For Makoto, being an Igarashi was a bubble of safety he wanted to ensure never popped. For Tamaki, being an Igarashi meant a new start to try to be something better, something people wouldn't make fun of, no matter how different he was from others. For Hana, being an Igarashi meant she finally felt even the smallest bit like she belonged somewhere. But what was supposed to be a happy family was haunted with ghosts of the past and the trials of the future. When Makoto becomes a Kamen Rider, that's when everything changes, and the relatively peaceful if strange life the three once knew was suddenly shattered as they're thrust into the conflict between humanity and demons, Fenix and the Deadmans. At the end of the day, who's really fighting for humanity? Are the siblings the monsters, or is it someone else? How long can such a happy family stay happy, when everything begins to seem like it's falling apart?

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371954/chapters/109026888

High up in the sky, located in Fenix’s Skybase, is the lab of the rather dramatic and eccentric scientist George Karizaki, within which is the man himself, tinkering away at a device on his desk. A belt, of sorts, not the first he’s worked on, but it’s what’s needed for the situation. The belt is a blue green color, with a panel on the top that would rotate to the side in the process of activation.

Sitting across from George, watching him with a degree of limited interest, was Tamaki Igarashi. He fidgeted in his seat, a tad awkwardly, like he was struggling to find a comfortable position, until he finally shifted so that he was sitting a little more sideways, allow for his blue-grey colored tail to no longer be sat upon. The furry ears on top of his head, the same color as his tail and the fur that could be see across his cheeks, twitched in relief as he sighed.

George peered up from the belt, for a moment, glancing at Tamaki before looking back to it. As he continued his work on the belt, he said, “You sit in that chair regularly, Igarashi, and you still take so long to find a way to sit comfortably.”

Sheepishly, Tamaki responded, “It’s… not really that comfortable of a way to sit either, I’m just… not squishing my tail.”

This is a conversation the two have often.

Tamaki had met George in an… awkward way, to say the least, and one that certainly had Captain Kadota not the most pleased. He and Captain Kadota had been in one of their regular training sessions, in the midst of a spar when Tamaki thought he’d heard the door open. He was still getting used to his hearing being more sensitive, so it had distracted him, and he hadn’t even been sure if he’d actually heard the door open. It had turned out to be George, who had through one means or another found out about Tamaki strange appearance and wanted to know more.

He'd told George all he could, but he and his siblings didn’t really know much in the first place. Particularly in regard to the recent developments – that being Tamaki’s ears and Hana’s antenna (as usual, Makoto still appears to be the normal one). They just woke up with those things, and all Tamaki could really say was it was probably connected to those people who took them when they were still kids on the street, but how they got them at home was beyond him.

As a general rule, Tamaki tries not to think about what they did to him years ago, lest the terrifying memories resurface, and he convinces himself he can feel the prick of the needles and his fear as they strapped him down to that table. He remembers even less of what happened the second time, and he really doesn’t want to think much further about it.

The only complaint Tamaki had about spending time in George’s lab, other than the general strange behavior of the man himself, was that there wasn’t much for him to do. But this was what he was assigned to do – with the idea that his features had some connections to the Vistamps or Gifu, he wasn’t allowed on the field, for worry of what might happen if the Deadman found out about him. So stuck he was in George’s lab, unless he was training. Despite Tamaki’s best efforts, he found it was easy to become bored while simply watching George work.

It would all be worth it in the end, of course, but that meant in the meantime, Tamaki was often left to find ways to keep himself entertained. George didn’t exactly make the greatest conversation partner, not when he was so focused on working. Still, it wasn’t uncommon for Tamaki to make attempts at conversation, though they rarely went anywhere.

“Mama’s been pestering Makoto about getting girlfriend,” Tamaki notes idly, “Which isn’t really new, but it’s not like Makoto ever seems really interested in that.” While Tamaki sort of understood where their mother was coming from, the facts of the matter were Makoto was only twenty, and a good reason why he’s never had a love life is because the three of them weren’t around other kids their own age for a portion of their lives, and have always been varying degrees of social outcasts even before that. Though Makoto was certainly the most normal of them… It wasn’t a surprise to Tamaki that he wasn’t hurrying for a relationship. He was happy with his family and helping out at Happy Spa.

But their mother just wanted her children to be the happiest they could be. It was sort of an affectionate pestering, anyway. A teasing. Tamaki was sure he’d probably be subject to it sooner or later, too. Hana was the baby, so she was probably safe for a while longer – then again the entire family was already pretty sure she had feelings for her friend, Hikaru. Hikaru certainly had a crush on her, but if either would actually make a move was… debatable.

Still working intently on the belt, George made little sound to indicate if he had even heard a word Tamaki said. This was normal. Tamaki sighed, it was going to be a long day, as it always was.

---

Happy Spa was the Igarashi family bath house. Yukimi Igarashi had inherited it from her parents and ran it now with her family. Most of the time, it was the eldest of the children, Makoto, who could be found helping, though Tamaki and Hana would too, when they had the time. With Tamaki’s job at Fenix, his aid has become less and less, but the family doesn’t complain, they’re proud of him, and they can manage just fine. Makoto preferred trying to handle a lot of it himself, anyway.

Despite everyone’s schedules, they still manage to find time to sit down for dinner together, each night. It was a wonderful act of normalcy, one of the few moments where the three siblings could feel normal, especially for Tamaki and Hana, who rarely felt normal outside of their home. No one would make fun of Tamaki’s fur, tail, or ears, no one would make fun of Hana’s fuzzy wrists and ankles, or her antenna. Makoto was happy that they at least got this. The world outside didn’t need to exist, for just a little while.

“Tamaki, are you excited for tomorrow?” Makoto asked, watching as Tamaki smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, I think you’ll all be really proud of me when you see,” Tomorrow was the Fenix commencement ceremony, and though no one in their family knew the details, they knew that there was something Tamaki really wanted his family to see. It probably had something to do with whatever that Karizaki guy that Tamaki had been assigned to was working on.

Their mother, Yukimi, smiled, “Tamaki, we’re proud of you already,”

Their father, Genta, smiled and nodded in agreement, “Yes, you’re a part of Fenix, and that’s already quite the accomplishment.

Truthfully, Makoto was amazed that Tamaki managed to make it out of basic training. He knew that he wasn’t safe from bullying even at Fenix, that he had been miserable, but that had all changed one day. He came back from Fenix and asked for the list of names Hana had been keeping (because Hana wouldn’t let the bullying of her brother slide and had kept track of every name Tamaki had mentioned), and he reported them. A few days later, he seemed even happier – one of the captains, Kadota, had taken Tamaki under his wing, more or less, and seemed unbothered by the fur or the tail.

For that, Makoto was incredibly grateful. It was thanks to Kadota that Tamaki was so much happier. Hana suggested sending him flowers as repayment, but Makoto talked her out of it – instead they ended up thanking him when he’d stopped by Happy Spa, since they’d told Tamaki to invite him (that was surely an embarrassing conversation for Tamaki).

Looking over towards Hana, Makoto asked, “Hana, did you have fun out with Hikaru today?”

Hana nodded, “Yeah, though we made the mistake of walking by a flower shop… Hikaru had to drag me away before a shoved my face in the flowers!” She laughed at her own actions. She’d always had an affection for flowers and floral scents, at least as long as Makoto’s known her. It’s only gotten stronger in the past few months, since the second round of changes.

At the very least, she had Hikaru to help her, he was capable enough of keeping her from getting too distracted by the flowers. Never has anyone had to tell Hana to stop and smell the roses.

“Hikaru’s such a wonderful boy,” Yukimi gushed, “You really should invite him over more often.”

“He comes over at least once a week, Mama,” Hana laughed, rolling her eyes.

Makoto smiled, this was a usual route for this conversation to go. It was predictable, but for Makoto, that was comforting. After spending so long not knowing where their next meal would come from, whether they’d be warm or not when it got cold, and keeping an eye on both Tamaki and Hana, it was nice to just… have the safety and normality they had now. He didn’t have to worry about that anymore, hadn’t for years, since they’d moved in with the Igarashis.

Even when there were issues, Makoto wouldn’t trade this peace for the world.

---

Tamaki’s tail tucked itself downwards as his brain ran through every possible way he could embarrass himself today. He could trip, he could sneeze too loudly! With his family out there, with him finally getting a chance… and he could totally mess it up! He… probably wouldn’t, but you never know, and oh god maybe he shouldn’t have invited his family to the ceremony, god, they were going to embarrass him, regardless of what he did.

“You’re getting lost in your thoughts again, Igarashi.” Tamaki startled, too lost in his thoughts to hear Captain Kadota approaching, despite his sensitive hearing. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”

Sighing, Tamaki’s tail raised itself a bit, “It’s not that I’m worried about myself – okay, well, I am – it’s just… er, I’m worried about my family.” He scratches the back of his head, his fingertips still longer than he’s used to and scratching more than he expected. “They’re… well you’ve met them. They’re going to embarrass me, I just know it.”

Captain Kadota gave him a small smile, “They want you to know their proud of you. Don’t worry, even if they do embarrass you, it can’t be that bad.”

Just as Captain Kadota finished speaking, George saunters in, “Oh this is going to be so fun, eh, Igarashi? We’ll get to show the world what I’ve been working on.”

“Ah, right, yeah.” Just a little longer, and Tamaki would finally be able to show the world what he was made of, even if few people would know the truth. Sure, the ceremony itself was being broadcasted, but what he was here for was for after the broadcast ended. Mostly, they were just doing it for the Fenix members and family, even then, Tamaki thought it was a bit excessive. He could tell his family himself.

Still, Tamaki didn’t get much say in it all, and George really wanted to tell people about his now completed belt. Though it wasn’t the only one George had been working on, Tamaki had been told the previous one would only work with the “right person” and the other belt, the one that gave off weird vibes, at least to Tamaki, was “not really fit for use” at the moment. Tamaki didn’t know the details and didn’t ask.

Makoto said he was smart enough, and Tamaki recalls his interests before, the glasses he wore for so long until they broke when they were on the streets, until he joined Fenix and began wearing contacts more often than not. His classmates called him a nerd, but he just liked his card game, he was never much a wiz at school, not like Makoto had once been. But Tamaki did well enough, and yet still most of George’s ramblings went over his head. Too advanced for Tamaki, Makoto might have better luck, but even then.

Tamaki and Hana went back to school when they moved in with the Igarashis, even if they were behind, both had pushed through – albeit Hana rather begrudgingly. Makoto though, was a different story. He’d been seventeen at the time and hadn’t seen much point, despite how smart he was. He was happier helping out at Happy Spa, and no one wanted to force him back for such a short time, not with how much he insisting on making himself useful.

Throughout the ceremony, Tamaki counts himself lucky that his family has been quiet, though he thinks he sees some kind of banner or flag with them, which he just knows is going to be a source of embarrassment. His parents have shirts with his name on them, and it looks like Makoto does too, but had put his sweater over it. Hana, thankfully, must have put her foot down and refused to wear the shirt – probably because it wouldn’t go well with any of her clothes and she had a thing about looking like she at least put a little thought into her clothes. She’s clearly trying to pass her fuzz on his wrists as apart of her jacket sleeves and the fuzz at her ankles like as apart of her shoes, as she often did. Her antenna were hid by a headband, certainly squished, but at least hidden.

Thankfully, for Tamaki at least, his family can’t see him at the moment, even if he can. For the same reason that he wasn’t supposed to go in the field, Tamaki was hidden away for the broadcasted part of the ceremony, which would last until after George gave his speech, then the broadcast would be ended and it would be announced who would use the new invention – that being Tamaki.

The ceremony is slow and boring, Tamaki pays little attention to it the whole time, at least until he sees George get on the podium, and even then, he only pays attention to it with a part of his hearing.

“Fifty years ago,” George began, “my father discovered the first Vistamp. Since then, I have been working with Fenix to perfect his inventions…” A sound in the distance, outside the auditorium that the ceremony was occurring in caught Tamaki’s attention. Just a few sets of footsteps, not necessarily that weird, until more and more joined in, coming closer.

Captain Kadota was on the stage with George, there was no way for Tamaki to inform him of whatever it was he was hearing. It could be nothing, but Captain Kadota had taught Tamaki to trust his instinct, and his instinct said something bad would come with those footsteps. The closer the became, the more he felt he had to find a way to tell someone until –

The doors to the auditorium burst open, revealing the leaders of the Deadmans and their henchmen. Tamaki had never seen them in person until now, but he’d seen plenty of pictures, of their live streams, other clips of videos. He knew he’d see them sooner or later, but this was a bit sooner than he imagined.

At the front of the pack was a young woman with brown hair pulled into an extremely long ponytail, all but the very top of which was dyed a yellow. She wore a blue and yellow coat with billowing sleeves, revealing her yellow gloved hands. The sleeves of the coat were off her shoulders, revealing blue and yellow scales. Underneath the coat she wore a dark blue romper and thigh high boots of a blue and yellow color that matched her coat. This was the leader of the Deadmans, Jeanne.

“Well, well, isn’t this a party?” Her lips painted with blue lipstick curled into a smile. “It’s a shame we weren’t invited.”

To the right of her was the tallest member, a young man with black hair, his bright blue-green colored sunglasses hiding his eyes from vision. He wore a black jacket with long, wide, and loose sleeves, over the heart was a splatter that formed an image similar to that of a bat. Flowing out from under the jacket was a white, grey, and gold colored tunic that split into four panels, with darker grey pants adorned with a blue-green pattern. His boots matched the color of his jacket, while his wrists were adorned with golden bracelets over light grey gloves. That was the second in command of the Deadmans, Evil.

With an almost gleeful smile, Evil chuckled, “I suppose we’ll have to show them the consequences of not inviting someone like us.” He moves towards the podium, and finally the audience scatters while Fenix finally tries to stop them. “And look, all these Vistamps in one place, my, I think Karizaki’s becoming dumb.”

At his last comment, George scowled, “Hey! Don’t touch those.”

Tamaki wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Technically, he shouldn’t be in this position until he was officially a Kamen Rider. Should he try to get the belt and Vistamp now and risk being seen by the Deadmans? He wasn’t exactly getting orders at the moment. Out in the audience, he can see his family helping other evacuate. Makoto and Hana were both fighting off Deadmans, but it was only a matter of time before someone noticed Hana’s fuzz or antennas, or she finally summoned her kunai. If the Deadmans couldn’t know about him, then they certainly couldn’t know about his siblings.

The last of the Deadman leaders, to Jeanne’s left, took a step forward. Black horns sprouted from his dark brown hair, which was adorned with pink and blue feathers. He wore a light blue jacket, over which he a light pink capelet sat on his shoulders. His shirt was black, with blue fasteners. The pants he wore were an equal black, though down the side were stripes, on one side blue the other pink, and he wore dark blue sneakers. A black tail twisted behind him, almost seeming hesitant. That was the third in command of the Deadmans, Revi.

“What about these civilians?” He asked, glancing towards the remaining civilians in the auditorium: Tamaki’s family.

Jeanne paused for a moment, before smiling once again, “Well, Fenix will have to protect them.” Her gaze scans over his family, over their parents who were trying to reach Makoto and Hana to get the two away, and Makoto and Hana who were still fighting the Deadmans. “Now what’s this…?”

Tamaki’s blood ran cold when he followed Jeanne’s gaze over to Hana, whose headband had fallen off in the fight, and she’d given up not using her kunai. Jeanne must have been able to figure out Hana wasn’t normal, and that meant she could be in danger, surely had to be with the way that Jeanne began to saunter over towards her. Makoto was closer to Tamaki than to Hana and there were too many Deadmans for either of them to reach her, let alone any still standing member of Fenix.

He's snapped out of his thoughts when George tugged at his arm, “Hey, Igarashi.” He shoved the belt and Wolf Vistamp into his arms. “Now’s the time to transform, especially if you don’t want your family getting hurt.”

Of course. With these, Tamaki could defend his family, protect them. He wasn’t just Makoto’s younger brother anymore; he’d be a Kamen Rider. He glanced down at the items in his hands and froze again, doubt filling his mind. What if he wasn’t good enough? What if he couldn’t protect his family? What if he couldn’t protect anyone?

That moment of indecision was enough for Evil to attack him and knock him down, as well as send all the other Vistamps tumbling. The belt and Vistamp he held prior clattered towards Captain Kadota.

Revi’s attention turns towards the camera that was broadcasting the ceremony, walking over. His posture changes to more relaxed and a smile comes to his face as he waves at it. “Hiya folks! Hope you’re enjoying our little show! Maybe you’ll see Fenix for what it really is?” His smile is toothy, big and showed his too sharp teeth. “Gracias Deadmans!”

Captain Kadota picks up the belt and the Vistamp, staring at them for just a moment, before placing the belt on his waist. Of course, leave it to the captain to be able to do what Tamaki can’t. He activates the Wolf Vistamp, placing it on the sensor of the belt.

“Wait!” George called, but it’s too late. Something strange happened and all of the sudden another Deadman appeared, different from the leaders or the grunts. This one was much more monstrous. Captain Kadota fell to the ground and once more the belt clatters to the side. George groaned, “Goddamn! That wasn’t meant to work for you!”

Tamaki recalled one little detail about that belt. It was only meant to work for people like Tamaki, for a regular human… it would just cause their demon to appear, not unlike being stamped directly with a Vistamp. Which explained why the monster appeared, it was Captain Kadota’s demon.

Jeanne stood in front of Hana, calling off the Deadman around her. Hana looked confused, brandishing her kunai warily. An amused smile came to Jeanne’s lips as she spoke, “Oh dear, you’re just like us, aren’t you?” She takes a step closer.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hana said, her tone even despite the circumstances.

“You’re not quite human – some part demon, like my brothers and I…” Jeanne stood directly in front of Hana now, a bit too close for Tamaki’s comfort. “I have an offer for you, dear. Join us, be with others like you.”

Hana swings at Jeanne, “Like hell I will!”

Easily, Jeanne moves out of the way, taking Hana by the wrist and pulling her forward, throwing off her balance. Hana lands in her arms, against Jeanne’s chest, and Jeanne reaches to cup Hana’s face. “It’d be shame for something to happen to someone as beautiful as you, dear.”

At this point Hana has stopped really trying to fight, a blush covering her face. “W-what?”

Makoto hurries to glance between the scene unfolding and the Deadmans he’s fighting. Eventually one tosses him to the side, and right next to the belt and the scattered Vistamps.

George, seeing this, calls out, “Hey, Igarashi!” which manages to catch Makoto’s attention. Quickly, George pantomimes the action of activating the Vistamp and stamping it on the belt. It takes Makoto a moment, but he seems to figure out what George is trying to tell him, placing the belt on his waist and picking up one of the Vistamps.

He activates the Squid Vistamp, then places it on the sensor of the belt. He pushes it down and to the side, this time working. Instead of summoning another Deadman, a glowing energy squid emerges from the belt, enveloping Makoto. In a flash, it was gone, and Makoto had transformed. He now wore green armor with red accents and in his hand was a sort of spear, though it appeared more like a fishing harpoon.

“Yes!” George cheered, “Kamen Rider… Olteca!”

Makoto stared at his hands for a moment before George’s words seemed to catch up with him “Uh… what?”

“No time for that!” Tamaki yelled, shoving a Deadman away, “Deal with the demons and the Deadmans!”

Jeanne pulled Hana’s face closer, before kissing her lips. This got Makoto’s attention rather quickly, “Hana!” Jeanne let go of Hana, who stumbled away in a daze, face red. She then stumbled into a Deadman, prompting her to snap back to reality and stab it.

Makoto punched at Jeanne, who avoided it as easily as she did Hana’s. “Ah, I see now. There’s more of you that are like us.” She looked at Makoto, then Hana, then Tamaki. “Join us, Olteca, and you’ll be stronger than Fenix can ever let you be.”

“Like any of us are joining you.”

She sighed, then took a step back, the Deadman summoned from Captain Kadota earlier taking her place. “Well then, let’s see you deal with this.” The Deadman attacked Makoto, prompting him to focus his attention there. Satisfied, Jeanne snapped her fingers, “Revi, Evil, our work here is done?”

Revi reaches her side first, again seeming a bit nervous. Evil returns several moments later, informing her, “We’ve gotten what we’ve came here for. But what about the Kamen Rider?”

“An interesting development, but he’s not a threat yet.” She looks back over to Hana, approaching her once more. Again, the Deadmans Hana was trying to fight move away, causing Hana to spin on her heel to face Jeanne. “As for you…”

“Don’t touch me!” Hana raised her kunai once again.

This time, Jeanne does keep her distance. “Hana,” she says her name carefully, like she’s tasting something for the first time. Measuring how it feels on her lips. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. I look forward to meeting you again – and my offer remains open.” Then she turns and the three generals of the Deadman leave.

Makoto continues to fight the Deadman that had come form Captain Kadota while the still standing Fenix soldiers took out the rest. Hana hurries over towards their parents, Yukimi on the ground while Genta was worriedly at her side.

Finally, Makoto manages to defeat the Deadman and with the rest gone, the fight’s finally over. The armor around Makoto disappears as George approaches him. “Well, that was quite the fight!”

Looking at George warily, Makoto asked, “Uh… how did you know who I am?”

“It’s obvious you’re apart of your brother’s family,” George answered in a matter of fact tone, “So that meant you were obviously his older brother.”

“Mama! Papa!” Tamaki hurried over to where their parents and Hana were.

Quickly, Hana said to him, “Mama’s hurt, one of those monsters got her.”

That was enough to send Makoto hurrying over too, cutting off any conversation with George. Though not before he shoved the belt and Vistamp in George arms.

Captain Kadota stands beside George, “I guess the Igarashis are all the same. All preoccupied with family.”

“I wouldn’t go so far to say they’re all the same,” George said, “Tamaki Igarashi and his siblings are unique.”

---

Jeanne sat on the couch in the main meeting room of the Deadmans’ hideout. It was where she and the other two generals met to discuss matters. “Now that we have stolen the Vistamps, are any of them of actual use to us?”

Revi looked over the Vistamps they’d stolen, “Doesn’t look like it, but they’ll still make Deadman.”

She looked over at Evil, “Then we’ll either have to come up with another plan to steal more, or you’ll have to steal them yourself.”

“Let’s worry about these, for now.” Evil responded, picking up one of the Vistamp. “These and those siblings, it seems.”

“The Igarashis, yes?” As Jeanne repeated the name, Revi stiffened slightly, though this movement was disregarded by his the other two.

Evil nodded, “Yes, Tamaki, the middle child, works for Fenix and was supposed to become a Kamen Rider today.”

Hesitantly, Revi said, “They’re like us.”

“Yes,” Jeanne said, standing, “Which means our new plan for them, going forward, is to recruit them into the Deadmans. They have a place in our family, if they should choose to accept it.”

Rolling his eyes, Evil leaned back against the back of the chair he was sat in, “Unlikely Tamaki will agree. His brother and sister though… they’re a different story.”

Jeanne approached the door, stopping just at it and looking back, “Whatever it takes to get them to join us.”

[thatgirlonstage]

Hi, your writing's really nice and if you're still taking prompts, Klance in a Miraculous Ladybug AU? If we're being specific, then Lance finding out Keith's identity and having to decide if he tells him who he is or just messing with him when they're civilians.

Thank you love

           Lanceglanced both ways before he strolled as casually as possible out of the smallcorner of the park where he had detransformed, but no one appeared to bewatching. He had managed to leave Hunk and his determined iPhone recording backwhere the akuma fight had ended and was reasonably certain nobody had beenpaying attention when Ladybug dropped from a rooftop into this particularcorner a few minutes ago. Tikki was happily munching on one of the cookies hekept stored in his jacket pocket, so Lance stuck his hands in his jeans andwhistled softly as he wandered down the path, admiring the clear blue sky afterthe akuma Night Owl’s attempt to plunge Paris into perpetual twilight. It wasreally sheer luck that he saw it.

           It was thebright flash of green that caught his eye, and without thinking he turned hishead to see what it was. He caught Chat Noir mid-detransformation, tuckedbetween a tree and an overgrown wall, and before he could look away, the maskwas gone and Lance could see who was behind it.

           Keithcaught something small and black in one hand – presumably his kwami – reachingup with the other to swipe his bangs out of his eyes. Lance was frozen, justout of their sight at the end of the wall, his heart suddenly racing, poundingagainst his ribcage. His breath was coming in short, sharp bursts. Keith was Chat Noir? Keith? That nearly silent, gorgeous boyhe sat behind in class, that Hunk was always bugging him to just get over it and ask him out already,that turned Lance’s normally smooth pickup lines into stuttering messes, whoalways looked at him kindly but never with any real interest, that kid was the same one who keptshouting lame puns at him during battle? That kid was the same one who threwhimself in front of Ladybug every time he was in danger? That kid was the onewith the ears and the tail and—

           Lanceslammed his back against the wall, covering his face with his hands inmortification. “Oh God, I’ve seen Keith in a skintight cat costume,” he moanedquietly. He felt Tikki poke her head curiously out of his pocket.

           “What’swrong, Lance?” she chirped. He just shook his head, cautiously peering aroundthe edge of the wall to see Keith striding off in the other direction, and sankwith relief to the ground. Tikki zipped up out of his pocket and hovered infront of him, a cookie crumb still on her lip and concern creasing the dot inthe center of her head.

           “I know whoChat Noir is,” he muttered finally. Tikki hummed in thought.

           “Well,usually we encourage the miraculous users not to reveal their identities evento each other, because it just keeps everyone safer. But sometimes knowing whothe other one is can be an advantage. It helps you coordinate better,” shesaid. “It’s not the end of the world if you two know each other’s civilianidentities.” Lance’s head shot up and he waved his hands frantically.

           “Nonononononono,he can’t know it’s me,” he said. “Noway am I telling him.”

           “Lance,”Tikki scolded. “It’s not very fair to him if you know who he is but he doesn’tknow who you are.”

           “Tikkiiiiiiii,”he groaned. “You don’t understand. It’s Keith.”

           “So? Youlike Keith, don’t you?” Tikki’s eyes were wide and considering as she watchedhim.

           “I likeKeith too much and he can never know that,” Lance said. Heglanced around, as if the guy might suddenly have decided to come back for somereason, or if saying his name three times summoned him to appear from thin air,but the paths in this part of the park were deserted.

           “Then youdon’t have to tell him that you like him just yet. But you should tell him thatyou’re Ladybug. If you keep a secret like this it will just spoil yourpartnership.” Lance dropped his head onto his arms and sighed.

           “You’reright, Tikki,” he said. A thought occurred to him and he looked back up, aglint in his eye. “And you know what? I can have just a bit of fun doing it.”

 ***

             Keithjumped when a hand slammed into the wall next to him in the school bathroom. Heturned to see Lance, the awkward guy who was always whispering to his friendHunk where they sat behind Keith and Pidge, standing there with a slightlystrained grin on his face. Keith turned the sink off, shaking his hands dry.

           “Can I, um,help you?” he asked.

           “I thinkso,” Lance said. “In fact, I think you’re the purr-fect person to help me.”Keith blinked.

           “Excuseme?”

           “Yes, I’mpaw-sitive you’re the purr-son I want to talk to.” A bead of sweat ran downLance’s face, but he persevered. “I really think you can help meow-t. It’squite fur-tunate that I ran into you here. You’re just the fur-end I need rightmeow.” Keith felt a horrible suspicion crawling up his throat.

           “Why areyou making cat puns at me?” he asked breathlessly. He felt himself instinctivelybend his knees, not sure whether he was about to deck Lance upside the head orjust make a run for it. How in the world had this doofus found him out? Ladybugwas going to kill him. Lance grinnedfrom ear to ear and leaned in.

           “Because,Chaton,” he said, “you do it to me all the time, and this is my revenge.”

Send me prompts!