#thread: felix

[shxfting]

@babyitsmagic sent ☠️ from serena || send ☠ to find my muse beaten and bloody after they’ve been missing for a week (accepting)

“how upset is everyone?” he can barely stand and he should definitely be asking for help before he gets into any of this, but felix isn’t exactly thinking straight. but before he can even worry about himself, he needs to know that the courts haven’t fall into chaos. that things are still okay. maybe, hopefully neva’s managed to keep this from his family.

[longislandcharm]

SETTING: Prickly Pear TIMING: Current PARTIES: Ford and Felix (@recoveringdreamer) SUMMARY: Ford is trying to help take care of attackers on the farm when Felix's jaguar finds him. Fun times are had. WARNINGS: Head Trauma tw,

“What the shit?” 

One minute Ford was flirting it up with one of the farmhands, the next he was fighting off a shifter going for his throat. The thing kept snapping its jaws as Ford held it back the best he could, sharp teeth digging into his dead skin on occasion. It didn't matter. This thing was as good as dead as soon as he could get his hand down to the hidden dagger in his boot. The zombie had learned years ago that it was always handy to have one hidden somewhere just in case and it hadn’t failed him yet. “Alright, pussy cat, it’s time to stop playing games.”

His usual confident swagger didn’t falter even as the cat swiped a line down his chest. He still pushed as hard he could against the animal, sending it tumbling back to the ground to give him enough time. The dagger was retrieved, the shifter came running at him again, and Ford sunk the blade deep into its chest while using that strength that was starting to build inside of him. If he didn’t get out of here soon he knew he was going to go feral but he couldn’t just leave this place to defend itself. No, Monty needed him and he wasn’t going to let him down if he could help it.

A low growl alerted Ford to something stalking up behind him. He turned, his boots leaving a swirl in the dirt and his eyes taking in the form of a familiar jaguar. He could recognize Felix now, even when shifted, but what he couldn’t comprehend was why the balam was coming after him. They were on the same side. Hell, Ford had made them blush not two hours ago. “Hey buddy…it’s alright, it’s me. You know me. I’m on your side.” The last thing Ford wanted to do was hurt them. Felix was a nice person and incredibly fun to fluster. But he brandished the weapon in hand, ready to use it if he had to. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Blood dripped from the jaguar’s maw, staining the fur around his mouth with red and black. He’d been on a bloody rampage since the moment he was inadvertently released, the quiet remnant’s of Felix’s fear surging through him and making his rage burn all the hotter. The world around him seemed intent on turning him into prey; already, he had been targeted by several of those who had started the attack on the farm, though the jaguar had no way of telling those people apart from the ones who worked on the farm or attended the party as friends. To him, they were all the same. He had torn through everyone and everything in his path, animal and human alike. 

The jaguar wasn’t prey, after all. He was the predator. 

He spotted an altercation ahead, trotted towards it with a curious tilt to his head. Another jaguar, he realized — another balam. This one was attacking a human who brandished a knife, and the jaguar watched with some quiet fascination. Arrogant, he found it laughable that the human with the unbeating heart believed a knife could subdue a jaguar. But the blade found a home in the balam’s chest, and it fell still on the ground. 

The jaguar was indifferent about the death of the other creature on a personal level. He cared for very few, and he hadn’t seen any of them in some time now. But the idea that this human believed he had some right to kill a balam this way? That made the jaguar all the angrier. 

The man spoke to him, trying to placate him with calm tones and promises, but the jaguar wasn’t quite capable of understanding human speech. He carried none of Felix’s recognition towards the man, felt no camaraderie or fondness. All the jaguar ever felt was rage, and that was what drove him forward, claws out and teeth at the ready.

The jaguar wouldn’t relent, Ford realizing now that Felix was definitely not in control. The gentle person he knew wouldn’t have dreamed of swiping at the zombie much less get him right in the face. He felt his jaw crack, the farmhand crying out before a low growl started to sound from deep within his chest. He wasn’t fully gone yet but Ford was sure it was coming in the next few minutes. Did he stay and fight or try to get out of the jaguar’s grasp so he could get away from everyone here in time?

“Felix!” All of his calm demeanor had drained with that last injury, pouring from him the way his blood should have. Shit, it might have been too late to run. Ford’s eyes flashed with his hunger as he swiped back with his blade, not even knowing if he had hit the cat before he ran and tackled it to the ground. 

As much as he didn’t want to hurt his friend he was already losing his grip on reality. “Felix, get a hold of your cat before this gets worse.” He was hoping he could get through somehow, maybe jerk the person back from wherever the spirit took them as he did his best to pin the thing to the ground. His grip was slipping, on the cat and himself, and he involuntarily gnashed his teeth in the animal’s direction.

The man called out Felix’s name, but the jaguar cared little for the familiarity. The world around him was on fire, violent and terrifying, and his rage burned just as hot as the flames eating through the farm he knew only from Felix’s perspective. Fear wasn’t a thing the beast enjoyed feeling, and Felix was so full of it at the moment of the shift that it seemed permanently stuck in his chest now. Rage was the only way the jaguar knew to dislodge it, and this man, with his knife and the dead jaguar at his feet, was a good target for it no matter whose name he yelled.

His claws found the man’s head, sending him stumbling in a way that would have taken a normal human down for the count. The jaguar was learning that those who lived on this farm were more resilient than the ones he fought in the ring when Felix let him free entirely. The woman he’d faced off against just after his shift had remained standing until he tore her head from her body entirely; perhaps he’d need to do the same to this man. 

Perhaps he’d enjoy it, he thought, the rage burning brighter as the man’s knife slashed a painful line across his chest. The jaguar yowled, fury colored by pain as the man surged forward and wrestled him to the ground. Hands pinned him to the ground, jaws snapped at his throat. But a jaguar was a hard thing to keep down; muscles rippled across his back, powerful legs kicking at the man atop him, claws out and ready. 

Ford could feel that strength he dreaded seeping in, his muscles flexing as he held down the cat the best he could. But each slash of the animal's paws sent him spiraling faster and faster to that decline and with one last deep slash across his shoulder he slipped away entirely. His eyes glossed over with a distinct foggy color, narrowing in on the live prey beneath his hold. Surging forward, the zombie tried to sink his teeth into the balam but before he could his body was tossed back by the power of the cat's strong legs. Ford had lost his grip in his desperation and therefore had lost the upper hand.

He slammed into one of the cornhole boards, wooden pieces flying as the thing broke under his weight, but it was as if the zombie didn’t even notice the piece sticking out of his arm as he leapt to his feet. Ford didn’t care that the jaguar was his scared friend, he didn’t care about the desperate calls to get to the animals on the farm, or the screams of those already being attacked, he didn’t even care that a fire was raging close by because his mind was focused on one thing and one thing only; food. A low growl left his lips before he ran towards the cat again, this time aimed to kill rather than subdue. 

Something shifted within the man, though the jaguar wasn’t fully capable of recognizing it. To him, it was impossible to distinguish the previous intentions to subdue from the current ones to kill. To a wild animal, everything that wasn’t fleeing was an active threat, and anything that did flee was prey. The man’s teeth snapped at his flesh, and the balam flung him away and watched wood shatter beneath his form. There was a sense of something akin to curiosity as the cat tilted his head to the side, waiting for the man to rise again, waiting to see if the blow had killed him the way it should have.

But rise he did, slowly but surely all the same. He advanced with a growl, jaws snapping. The jaguar moved quickly, though the speed of the man surprised him a little. Rather than latching onto his throat, those jaws found his shoulder, and the animal yowled as the teeth sank in. He bucked, rising up on his hind legs and using his front ones to claw at the man. Shifting into a position that was uncomfortable, but effective, he attempted to lock his own jaws around the man’s throat, intending to pull him loose and shake him.

He felt no pain as the jaguar swiped at him again, those teeth clamped down on the animal’s shoulder and not letting go even as claws dug into his back. Shirt torn to pieces, blood dripping down his charged body, Ford paid no mind to any of it while he did his best to not lose his grip on the flesh he so desperately wanted to tear loose. His own fingers clawed at the animal in and attempt to tear the arm from its body but the jaguar’s jaws bit down on his neck making it harder for him to keep his own teeth dug.

It didn’t stop his mindless ass from trying.

Even as teeth dug into his jugular he was chomping down on the jaguar. Blood filled his mouth with one more swipe of his jaw, Ford tearing away a small amount of flesh. A fraction of satisfaction filled him, spurring him forward even more to try and fill the void in his stomach that was only getting worse by the second. One hand came up to dig his fingers into the wound and pull to make it wider, tearing a larger chunk of the animal's body off to bring it to his mouth. 

Teeth tore flesh away from his body, and the jaguar yowled in pained rage. Fingers tore at the wound, trying to pry more flesh away. There was no more time for games, no more playing with his food; the jaguar needed to finish the job, or risk falling the way the dead balam he’d come upon the man killing had before him. He snapped his jaw down on the hand as it moved to the man’s mouth, teeth tearing through flesh and bone as he moved to remove the offending limb from the body. 

The man tasted like rot. The blood that found his tongue wasn’t sweet, the way it was meant to be. It was a bitter sludge, something that only served to make the jaguar angrier. With the man’s hand still trapped in his jaws, he flung his head to the side and released, throwing the man away from him. Before he could rise once more, the jaguar pounced, teeth going for his skull this time. 

A snarl left Ford’s lips as the jaguar’s teeth dug into his hand, the zombie not having gotten the flesh he had craved so badly. He was trying to yank it back out, his skin tearing with each pull of his arm, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was tasting the jaguar again. The feral cry didn’t ring out until Ford was thrown onto his back, closed hand that caged the jaguar’s flesh hanging from his wrist by only a few tendons. He wasn’t even paying attention to the cat, his other hand desperately prying fingers open to go for the pound of flesh still within them.

He’d just gotten another taste of his meal when the weight of the jaguar was on him again but Ford didn’t have time to react before those ferocious teeth dug into his temples. He tried to wrench himself from the hold, good hand once again reaching for the bleeding exposed muscle of the animal, but it was no use. His body stilled as the jaws clamped down tighter, the sound of his own skull cracking filling his ears before his eyes dimmed. Ford’s mouth kept going, moving slowly, still trying to bite the cat that had a hold on his friend but the rest of his fight was gone.

It was over the moment the jaguar got his jaws around the man’s head. The hand not barely hanging to its wrist continued clawing at his flesh, the mouth snapped uselessly where it hung, but there were few things that could escape a grip as strong as the one boasted in the jaguar’s jaws. Sharp teeth were built to destroy, strong jaws built to crush. Working together, they would do exactly that.

The jaguar tightened his jaw, pressing down, down, down as the skull creaked and cracked. It shattered all at once, a satisfying pop sounding as the jaguar’s jaw closed completely around it, teeth coming together with a snap. More of that bitter sludge coated his tongue, joined now by a gelatinous substance that tasted fatty and faintly sweet, albeit still a bit off from the usual experience. Like his blood, the man’s brain matter wasn’t quite what it should have been. The jaguar released his jaws, allowing the body with its ruined head fall at his feet. The man was unrecognizable now; his head was crushed past the point of looking much like a head at all, his hand still barely hanging on the end of his arm. 

None of this mattered much to the jaguar, of course; the cat didn’t recognize the man, even when there was more there to recognize. He cared little for the gruesome husk of something that had once been Felix’s friend. The chaos unfolding around him was far more important. The fire was still raging, and more and more of the people who worked on the farm were beginning to look as the man had — feral and desperate. Now injured, the jaguar knew he needed to get to safety.  Tail swishing behind him, the jaguar made a beeline towards the woods. There was little left for him here now, if there had ever been anything at all.

[youllalwaysbemyporcelain]

@wvsteria

Bloo quietly approached the person. He'd been told the man could possibly help them, so they'd asked to meet. "Ummm, so I heard you could help me? I'll pay whatever you need, no questions asked."

[shxfting]

"true, everyone does. hopefully we don't ever make the same one." he hopes he's removed enough from the court to offer a new perspective, but not so far removed that it's a bad one. he supposes he'll learn in time. for now, he'll just have to trust his gut. "ah. well, at least everyone knows her strengths." he would hate to have to leave the person he loved behind for work, but worse things could happen than a few days away from someone. "i'll make sure when i float the idea to let them know they'll be hosting two. i think my mother will be eager to rise to the occasion."

"everyone makes mistakes eventually." she's trying her best, but she knows she's not perfect. she will make a bad call one day. hopefully felix can call her out on it and stop it from snowballing into something bigger. she shakes her head. "not ale. much as i think he'd enjoy having her, we all know that embassy work isn't her strong suit. she's a little too likely to cause an incident." she could be a little too possessive of tae when she wanted to be and none of them wanted to risk that. "he'll take one of the other ambassadors. whichever one he thinks will do the best job."

[tyongf-nct]

text threads - stray kids

how each skz member would respond to your request for period products

this is my first time doing a text thread post like this so any tips would be greatly appreciated ��

[starrynightskies12]

[radicalrascals]

Unwilling to let Isabella go, Rafael leaned in to steal a kiss from her lips and another and one more for good measure, before he could no longer reach her from where he sat on the blanket. Pleading eyes looked up to her, and the impish smile nesting in the corners of his mouth were a silent promise that once she returned he had a million more kisses for her. Though for now words would have to suffice: "I love you too, querida."

And how much he loved her! He let himself fall back onto the blanket, big grin on his face. Life was beautiful. And that alone should've been a warning. Nothing was ever as perfect as this. Not for long.

He startled into a sitting position when he felt the long shadow of someone else fall onto his face. Isabella's voice was too far away for it to be her, and though her words drowned in the wind, their urgency translated well. He managed to get on his feet before the other closed in, but the moment he turned around he felt a sharp, searing pain in his abdomen. He wanted to scream, but he could barely get enough air into his lungs. He stumbled, staggered, as the knife was pulled out. The second thrust elicited a whimper. The third committed him into gravity's harsh embrace. He fell back onto the blanket. The mind loud with questions.

He brought his trembling hands to cover his wounds, feeling nothing but the warmth of his own blood against his palms. Around him the world was fleeing his perception, leaving him in a darkness that was closing up from all sides. "Be... lla...?" Was she safe? Was she there? A cold panic washed over him. Oh god, to see here just one last time!

Closed painful starter for @radicalrascals

It was a beautiful day and that was why they had chosen to head out to the park. Packing up a picnic, Isabella had prepared everything for them to have the perfect time together, a date of sorts that they didn't always get to experience due to their busy lives. Their little angel was with Isabella's brother for the day, allowing them to have some peace that was well deserved. Having found a spot atop a hill, far enough away from anyone else, they had sat with their food and drinks with the warm sun beaming down upon them, hands linked and Isabella's head resting on Rafa's shoulder.

"I love you, vida mía." Isabella whispered, smiling softly as she looked up to meet his gaze, brushing her lips across his. "But I need to get rid of this trash before I get too comfortable." She motioned to the empty containers and tissues that they had used and quickly gathered them up. "I'll be right back." She slowly got to her feet, smiling down at her love for a moment before walking away, heading down to the base of the hill to the bin. They had the whole rest of the afternoon together before they would have to collect Alicia from her brothers, so she intended to ensure that they made the most of this time.

But that was not to be, as it seemed the universe had other ideas. As Isabella turned to walk back to her husband, she spotted a hooded figure approaching him from behind, face hidden and a large item in their hand that looked sickening like a blade.

"Rafa! Rafa, olhe!" She began to sprint up the hill towards him, desperate to get there.

[yongbokiee-felix]

Stray kids updated on threads

"Pinch to complete the heart 🫶🏻”

[longislandcharm]

TIMING: Mid March LOCATION: Outside Regan's place PARTIES: @longislandcharm and @recoveringdreamer SUMMARY: Winter is distracted as she's trying to navigate her home renovation, Felix is doing an odd job for Regan while...on stilts? Things don't go so well. CONTENT WARNINGS: Clown tw (towards the end)

Stilts were hard. They’d been surprisingly easy to find — it turned out you could buy just about anything in Wicked’s Rest if you were dedicated enough — but using them? That was a whole other story. Maybe part of their problem had been in buying one of the taller options, leaving them towering over their usual height. The jaguar’s balance was offering some reprieve, but Felix got the feeling the spirit was a little irritated with their antics. Or, you know, whatever the jaguar spirit version of irritated was. It was hard to say. 

Either way, they were pretty sure they looked ridiculous. Stomping around a stranger’s yard in stilts, yelling at squirrels… it was a bad look, right? It was a worse look when one of aforementioned squirrels bumped against the stilts as it ran for the tree, providing the proverbial hair that broke the camel’s back. Felix found themself teetering forward, unable to stop their momentum as they fell. “Oh crap, oh no, oh — uh — timber?” 

They crashed to the ground in spectacular fashion… landing on top of someone else. Whoops. 

She really should have been paying attention to her surroundings, especially knowing what went down in this town, but Winter was too busy typing furiously on her phone as she argued with a contractor. How hard was it to restore crown molding the right way? She’d just hit send when she heard a familiar voice yelling out something about timber mixed with Henry calling for her to move, making her look up just in time to see an incredibly tall Felix coming- no, falling, towards her. 

It happened so quickly that she was splayed out on the ground in pain before she could even process what was going on. Her phone had skidded across the sidewalk when she tried to use her hands to brace her fall, stopping the ground from making a mess of her pretty face. Unfortunately, her hands were not so lucky. “Felix! What the hell?”  

They were still on top of her, Winter taking the moment to look at her hands that were now skinned up and bleeding slightly. “What the hell is going on? Why are you so tall?” They needed to answer her quickly or else she was just going to keep going with the questions. Oh god, were they cursed? Did some weird spellcaster blow through town and make them some sort of giant? It was the only explanation.

They recognized her as the dust settled, because of course they did. It wasn’t enough that Felix would fall on top of someone while trying to maneuver around on stilts to scare squirrels away from some lady’s bones; the person they fell on had to be one of the only actual friends they had. Pain shot through them as they landed but — for better or worse — Winter cushioned most of their fall. Which meant nothing cushioned her fall. Which made Felix feel pretty awful.

“I’m sorry!” They said quickly, rolling off her as best they could. Given the stilts of it all, it was the kind of thing far easier said than done; the movements were clumsy and uncoordinated, with an awful lot of flailing as they separated their limbs from Winter’s — and the stilts. “Sorry,” they said again, finally successfully rolling out of the way so that they were spread out beside her in the grass. They looked up into the trees. They swore one of the squirrels was laughing.

Turning their head back to face Winter, they furrowed their brow at her bleeding hands. “Are you okay? Let me help you. I didn’t — I really didn’t mean to knock you over.” They glanced down at their legs. “Oh. Uh… I’m wearing stilts. There was — This lady wanted me to kill her lawn, and then she was like ‘scare the squirrels so they don’t steal my bones’ and I was like ‘but what if the squirrels aren’t afraid of me,’ and it just kind of, like, snowballed, I guess? And now I’ve got these stilts, but I don’t really know how to walk on them, and I don’t even think the squirrels are afraid of me but I also don’t think they really even want the bones, so…” They trailed off, shrugging. “You know how it is.”

Finally, they were off of her. She scrambled to sit up and move to sit on her butt, trying her best to not use her hands. Thank god for yoga. Winter raised a sculpted eyebrow at them, higher and higher as the story continued. She took in killing a lawn and squirrels and bones but she didn’t really follow what they were saying though some of that could have been because of Henry laughing in the background. Jerk. “Hey Felix, newsflash: Nobody knows how that is.” She really didn’t know if anyone would understand that story but she somehow had a feeling that someone was manipulating them and that didn’t sit right with her…even if they had just smushed her. “Wait, who is this lady that is asking you to scare squirrels? Bones, kill their lawn…it doesn’t sound right.”

Her hands got her attention next after ignoring their request to see them. If this was the worst thing that came out of the fall then she should be grateful. Using her hands to shield herself from the ground could have been disastrous for her wrists but thankfully she could move both of them just fine. Her palms on the other hand were scraped pretty badly. “It’s fine, Felix, they should be okay. Just need to clean them up when I get home or something.” She wasn’t fond of people fussing over her, even if it had been their fault that Winter was hurt in the first place. She’d rather take care of it herself back at the house than have them stressing over it. It wasn’t like they could do anything anyway.

Henry leaned over her shoulder to look at them himself, the ghost sucking in a breath through his teeth. “I don’t know Winter, you might need some band aids for your boo boos.” She turned her head to glare at him , her voice harsh when she looked back at the raw skin on her hands, believing that Felix could see and hear this whole conversation. “Why don’t you go back to laughing your ass off and leave me alone?”

Okay, that was fair. Felix’s experiences were not universal. They probably should have known that, given the fact that the stilts they’d bought from the guy in the store had been gathering a pretty thick layer of dust before they’d made the purchase, as well as the fact that they’d gotten odd looks from just about everyone who’d seen them today. Scaring squirrels on stilts was not a normal thing to do, noted. They offered Winter a small smile and a shrug. “I guess that’s fair.” At the question, the glanced towards the apartment building despite knowing that Dr. Kavanagh wasn’t inside. “Um, the medical examiner? I was asking about odd jobs, and she said she wanted me to kill her grass and bring her any bones I found, and I was like, ‘Well, what if the squirrels take the bones,’ and she was like, ‘You have to scare the squirrels,’ and I guess things just kind of spiraled from there because now I have stilts!” 

They were a little out of breath after recounting the tale, which was done without really stopping to breathe. They looked at Winter for a moment — to assess her for injuries, to see her reaction to the story, both. Concern etched over their features even as she assured them that she was fine. “I — I can help, maybe. Um, if you want? It’s my fault, so…” They weren’t sure what to do with their hands, folding and unfolding them absently in front of them. 

Felix watched as Winter turned to glare, blinking their eyes into the jaguar’s briefly so they could catch sight of the ghost she was speaking to. It was the same one they’d seen the first time they met Winter; it must have been stuck to her still, following her wherever she went. Felix let their eyes shift back from yellow to brown, the ghost disappearing from their view as they did so. “Probably better off laughing at me,” they offered with a sheepish smile.

The medical examiner…why was she not surprised? Okay, knowing who it was now, Winter wasn’t as sure that they were being manipulated into something for a giggle or whatever rocks people got off with stuff like this. Regan was someone who believed in such weird things that it was totally plausible she thought she was asking them to do something like this because it needed to be done. She still rolled her eyes, looking up as if asking a higher power for help. “Why would a squirrel steal her bones? Why would there be bones in her yard in the first place?” There were so many questions to ask and she honestly wasn’t sure she was willing to hear the answers. It was exhausting listening to the first couple of explanations. 

Her gaze fell back to Felix’s concerned eyes and her annoyance started to melt away a little. They hadn’t meant to fall on top of her. All they were trying to do was earn a little extra cash and she could respect that. “I don’t know, do you have any wound care experience? I’m guessing so since you do that underground fighting thing.” Accepting help wasn’t that easy but Winter saw an opportunity. It wasn’t help if she paid them for their time, right? Which is what their goal was for today anyway. “We might need to get those stilts off before you crush someone else, though.”

Again, with their words, her anger started to melt to nothing. Always willing to take the brunt of it all for others, weren’t they? “Or he could mind his own business for once.” Henry shook his head, still smiling at the whole scene, but that smile fell when he saw the flash of Felix’s eyes at the last second. Winter stayed blissfully unaware but her ghost friend was left to wonder if it was a trick of the eye. Did ghosts’ have those? 

“I don’t know,” Felix admitted. In all honesty, his conversation with Dr. Kavanagh had gotten away from them just a little. That wasn’t really rare for conversations Felix had — more often than not, things spiraled into something that made no sense long before they could put a stop to it — but things like this coming from it were… a little more rare. They had a lot of strange conversations that didn’t end with them on stilts trying to scare bone-stealing squirrels away from the medical examiner’s yard. But the chips fell where they fell, sometimes. You just had to learn to roll with the proverbial punches. “She said she had bones in her yard, I didn’t want to ask why. Maybe it’s for her work?” Did medical examiners bring bones home? Felix didn’t know enough about the profession to be sure one way or the other.

A little sheepish, they nodded their head. “Yeah,” they confirmed, “I do.” The Grit Pit didn’t bother employing medical personnel for their fighters. You were expected to take care of any injuries you sustained on your own time and come back ready to fight again the following night. Felix’s first aid kit was well stocked as a result, and their wound-patching ability was pretty top notch by necessity. “You’re probably right about the stilts, though. I think the stilts are a bad idea.” Which they really should have seen coming. They had good balance, but no experience on stilts. Stilts were probably more of a ‘practice makes perfect’ kind of thing.

“That’s probably a lot less fun.” After all, what better things did ghosts have to do? There was a reason they tended to cling to anyone who could see them; when you went so long without being seen or heard, it was natural to cling to anyone who could offer some reprieve from that. “Are you okay coming back to my apartment with me? It’s not far, and I’ve got a first aid kit. And a beer, which I definitely owe you.”

“Because that’s not suspect.” Even if it was for work, Winter was certain that burying them in her own yard wasn’t legal. They had government sanctioned ground for that, didn’t they? It wasn’t her concern though, whatever the medical examiner was up to was her problem. She just hoped that Felix wasn’t getting caught up in something illegal just to keep squirrels out of it. “Do you usually take on a job of this nature without…asking questions? I feel like this needs more information on your part.” Yea, she was going to have to look out for them wasn’t she? If not, they were going to end up in so much trouble.

“Ya think?” Winter wasn’t trying to be mean but sometimes the medium couldn’t stop the words from leaving her mouth before she thought about it. There was no venom to her words though, they seemed to be a little good natured despite the whole situation. Gingerly, she got to her feet, doing to her best not to put too much weight on the wounded parts of her hands but she still had to suck in a breath as pain radiated up her arms. “You should probably have some mats around next time you’re on them. There’s not always going to be a pretty girl walking by to catch your fall.”

The invitation struck nothing but a sliver of gratitude in her but she heard Henry clear his throat to try and get her attention. Looking his way, she noticed that he was staring intently at Felix, his hand moving back and forth as if trying to get their attention. But Felix was either ignoring the ghost or…couldn’t see him at all. It wasn’t entirely surprising, not after her conversation with someone online. Winter had suspected for some time now that Felix wasn’t being truthful about what they were but this was the first time she could confirm that they couldn’t actually see ghosts all of the time. “I don’t think you should go with them.”

She could see why Henry was hesitant. They were lying about something, that much was obvious, but she was sure that Felix wasn’t dangerous. The puzzle had come together over time and the medium suspected that the truth hadn’t come because Felix was scared of her. “That’d be great, actually. I might skip the beer, though. I’m a lightweight and I have to keep some contractors in line today.” Henry gave her a look but she just shrugged a shoulder at him, not wanting to get into this conversation right now. One of these days this ghost was going to get tired of trying to save her ass and let her perish.

“She works with the police,” Felix said. “I think, anyway. Medical examiners work with the police on TV. I’ve seen Law and Order.” There was a pause. “Some of it. A couple episodes.” Had anyone seen all of Law and Order? They were pretty sure there were about a thousand seasons of it, and surely no one had that much time on their hands. Especially not when most of the episodes seemed to be more or less the same, anyway. But… that was off topic, wasn’t it? Felix had a way of doing that, especially around people like Winter. It wasn’t her fault she made him so uneasy; he would have been the same around any other medium, too. “I needed some extra money. My, um, my hours got cut at work.” That was a kind way of putting things, wasn’t it? But Felix didn’t want to think about that now. 

Felix let out a sheepish chuckle at her words, shrugging a shoulder. She was right — it was kind of an understatement to say that the stilts were a bad idea. That was always going to end in disaster and, if anything, Felix had gotten lucky that it was Winter he’d landed on. Anyone else might have gotten angry, and Felix had never been good at dealing with other people’s anger. Winter was a good sport, even though she was clearly in pain. Felix felt another stab of guilt for the unease they couldn’t shake around her. “I think I just won’t use the stilts again. I can probably just sell them online or something.” Was that irresponsible? Maybe they should make sure whoever bought them was better at using them than they were.

Without their eyes shifted at all, Felix was unaware of the ghost staring at them. They kept their eyes on Winter, not thinking about the spirit at all. If asked, they could always claim that they’d gotten good at ignoring the dead in some attempt to better fit in with society as a whole, and Winter might believe them. She didn’t know much about the supernatural world as far as Felix could tell, so there was every chance she had no idea that any other species could see ghosts at all. It felt a little bad, lying to her, but… It was for everyone’s own good, wasn’t it? Felix’s, and Winter’s, too. 

“Okay,” Felix nodded, offering her a smile. “Yeah, no worries there! I totally get that. We can drink juice instead!” That was probably the better idea, anyway. Felix was something of a lightweight themself, and they weren’t looking to get drunk enough to spill any proverbial beans here. “What are you doing with contractors? Um, if that’s okay to ask.”

“Yea, that doesn’t mean much. The police can be dirty too.” The look she gave Felix as they went on to talk about Law and Order was something akin to…pity? Not quite that but close, Winter wondering briefly if Felix knew that not everything on television was real. She was a shining example of that fact. Medical examiners working with the police most likely was, but regardless she hoped they didn’t get most of their facts that way. “Besides, whatever she’s doing with these bones I really don’t think it has anything to do with the police. She’s a little off, if you haven’t noticed.” But who wasn’t? The barrage of characters she had met lately were exceedingly more and more eccentric. At least it was entertaining. 

Their comment on their funds had her pressing her lips together. Winter could offer them some jobs around her new house but would they get offended by that? She didn’t know how much pride Felix held or if they would think she was legit with her odd jobs but she really could have used the help, especially with useless contractors constantly on her nerves. If anything, she hoped that Felix knew that she was most definitely not the type of person to make up jobs just to hand them money. “I mean, if you need extra funds I have a few things you could do for me.”

She left it at that, casual, hoping that it didn’t seem like a pity offer and then she moved on. “I think that’s a good idea. The not using them thing, I don’t know about selling them. Someone might hurt themselves even worse on those things.” But again, they did need the funds, didn’t they? “Maybe you can find a nice circus nearby or something?” Because who else used stilts? “Or a painter! Oh I have some working with me right now, maybe they need them.” 

Henry was still hesitant about all of this, the ghost eyeing Felix up and down as if they were the last person in the world they trusted. Winter kept an eye on him but she also noticed that Felix wasn’t paying him any attention either. Another sign that they couldn’t see him at all considering the fact that they would probably be scared stiff if they could. “Winter, I don’t like this.” She rolled her eyes and started to move in the direction she had been coming from before, looking back at them as she did. “I will take a juice. And I’ve got contractors doing some work on the new house I just got. It was an older one and needed some updating. That’s what I was talking about when I said I have some jobs for you if you’d like.”

“That’s fair,” they laughed uneasily. They’d seen cops at the Grit Pit before, in the crowd; there was something undeniably uncomfortable about it, though that might have just been because Felix found most things at least a little uncomfortable. Case in point: this conversation. They felt itchy all over, like they were doing something wrong, somehow. Winter was looking at them with an expression people sometimes got, on that wasn’t irritation but might not be a positive thing, either. They rubbed at the back of their neck, shrugging a shoulder. “I think she’s nice.” Dr. Kavanagh had always been kind to Felix, even when they misunderstood what she was talking about. That wasn’t something they could say of everyone; usually, people got frustrated. He didn’t think she was doing anything she shouldn’t be with the bodies or the bones. She seemed to respect them too much for that.

They shifted their weight a little at Winter’s offer. With their monetary issues, the idea of doing work for her for additional funds was certainly tempting, but… wouldn’t it make her more likely to realize that they were lying about the origin of their ability to see ghosts? What if she got angry? Or concerned enough to arrange an exorcism? The very thought made their mouth go dry, and they shook their head quickly. “No, that, uh… That’s okay. I really appreciate the offer, but I — Dr. Kavanagh is paying me pretty well, so I probably won’t have any problems after this.” It wasn’t the whole truth; Dr. Kavanagh was being pretty generous, but one job wouldn’t solve all of Felix’s money problems. Still, it seemed preferable. Less… dangerous. 

“Well, maybe I could vet who I sell them to? Make sure they go to someone who knows how to use them? I could… make them test the stilts before they leave. So I can make sure they’re not lying.” A circus was a good idea, though Felix had no idea if there was one nearby. A painter seemed… a little more questionable. “I don’t know if they could paint and walk at the same time with the stilts. It might be a little hard.”

They smiled as she agreed to the juice, relieved that they had some small way to make up for landing on her. “That’s cool. Um, the house thing, I mean. I’ve never bought a house before. Was it… uh… fun? Buying the house. I mean, they make TV shows about it, right? House shopping. I see them sometimes when I’m channel surfing. People argue a lot on them, though.”

Glad that they agreed with the police nonsense, Winter moved on to the fact that they thought the medical examiner was nice. That didn’t say much either as she realized they thought she was nice too even after how aggressive she had been when they’d first met. “Can I ask you something without offending you? Because I’m not trying to, I’m curious though. Do you think you have a problem with trusting people too easily?” From the moment they met, the medium had known that she made Felix nervous. She hadn’t cared at the time, more focused on trying to find out information about the ghost who refused to talk to her than their feelings, and yet they still continued to go to lunch with her that day. And then continued to hang out with her afterwards even if all of those times had been the result of running into each other. 

It wasn’t surprising that her offer had been rejected, it’s what she would have done too, but she really did want to find a way to help Felix. As much as she believed in people earning their own money (Something that she probably shouldn’t considering she was a nepo baby) this person had been nothing but kind to her considering how much she terrified them. Maybe she could do something anonymously, have someone else hire them through her funds. “Fair enough. But if you ever need any more help, I’m sure I could find something for you. Don’t be afraid to ask.” 

An audition? Why didn’t she think of that? It was her field, after all. “That might work, actually. You wouldn’t even have to be afraid they’d run away without paying because…who could?” Right? Could people run on those things? That would take some talent. “You should definitely audition anyone who wants to buy them.” Winter nodded, as if the decision was set even if they weren’t her stilts. It was obvious that that was the solution to their problem. 

“So, wait, you watch Law and Order and house hunting shows but you never saw Spirit Speak? I’m a little offended here.” There was humor to her words, the medium shooting them a smile to show that she was kidding. There was no need to make them more nervous even if Henry wasn’t their biggest fan right now. “Winter, did you see their eyes? They can’t even hear me right now.” She ignored it, shooting Henry another look and the ghost huffed. What was even the point anymore? “It wasn’t that much fun, no. More stressful than anything. But that might be because I’m picky.”

Her question was certainly a fair one, and it was difficult to be offended when Felix knew that the answer was an unquestionable yes. Yes, they trusted people far too easily. Wasn’t that how they’d wound up in their predicament at the Grit Pit? Wasn’t that how Leo had taken advantage of them for years? Wasn’t that why they still felt something for him, even after all he’d done? Felix looked down at their feet with a shrug. “Some people have said that, sure.” It was the kind of thing their father had hated about them, they knew. Felix’s trust in people, he’d said once, would get the entire family killed someday. Thinking back to that empty cabin, Felix wondered if their family felt safer now that it wasn’t a concern. 

Still, they didn’t think it was always wrong to trust people, no matter what had happened because of it. Trusting Winter wasn’t easy, given the whole medium of it all, but it was worth it, wasn’t it? She was offering to help them out, expecting very little in return. Didn’t that mean his trust in her was well founded? Didn’t that mean they were making a good choice, for once? They offered her a small smile, nodding. “I really appreciate that. I’ll, um… I’ll keep it in mind.”

The small, shy smile widened into more of a grin as Winter claimed their idea was a good one. “It might be fun to see someone who knows how to walk with them doing it, too. Like a show, right?” People paid money to see people walk on stilts at the circus and stuff, didn’t they? And, with this particular plan in mind, Felix could get paid for it. It felt almost wrong, like they were scamming people, but the people in question got stilts in the end, didn’t they?

Laughing a little nervously, Felix shrugged. “Um, medium shows aren’t really… my thing.” She could assume it was because they were a medium, since that was what they’d told her. Surely it made sense, didn’t it? For a medium to have little interest in watching a reality show about mediums? The truth of the matter — that a medium reality show was something like a found footage horror film to someone who’d grown up with the impression of mediums that Felix had — never needed to see the light of day. “Oh. Well, there’s nothing wrong with being picky! You know what you like, right? That’s a good thing.”

“I just wish you were a little more careful, is all.” And yet they never would have been friends if they were more careful. If Felix had let their nerves win that day when they’d spotted Henry she probably wouldn’t have spoken to them again afterwards, the girl usually not having any time for people who ran away from things. Plus, the doctor wasn’t that bad. But there was so much around here that could make Felix’s trust go a different way and she didn’t enjoy that thought. Winter actually cared for them despite the caution they still held onto around her, caution that she now understood. “But what do I know? I tend to find myself in weird situations around here too.” Boy, was that an understatement.

Henry still wasn’t letting it go though. He kept huffing at everything she said, making snide comments in the background, and Winter now knew for sure that Felix couldn’t hear him. Not that she’d had doubts. Her conversation with someone online had given her an insight to what Felix could potentially be with every word that person said confirming the suspicion more and more. They were scared of her (mediums terrified them), they could see ghosts only on occasion (When they chose to do so), there was a lot of evidence that she couldn’t overlook. Pressing her lips together, she debated on whether or not to ask her next question. She was never one to back down from a challenge though. “You know I’d never hurt you, right?”

She wanted it out there. All they had to do was say yes and she’d drop it, never mention anything about balam or Felix’s fear of her until they were ready. But the medium wanted to plant those seeds so that the trust could grow, so that they’d one day be comfortable to talk to her about what they were. 

Unless she was very wrong about all of this.

“Felix, I do believe you have a good plan on your hands. I’ll help organize it if you want….but no clowns. I don’t enjoy clowns.” It was the stupidest fear to have but one John Wayne Gacy documentary when she was too young to watch had instilled it in her. “I mean, they can show up, they just can’t have makeup on. I’ll accept the big red nose if you must.” 

Giving them a knowing smile, Winter nodded. “I was joking with you. I remember that you weren’t really into them. I will be sure to keep the cameras away if I’m ever able to get them here.” A future goal, that much was true. She could practically feel Henry rolling his eyes. “You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that show, stop the grumbling.” She glanced back to find him still not happy with her for ignoring him in the first place. “Oh I definitely know what I like. Tell that to my realtor though. I think she was ready to strangle me at one point.”

“Right.” Felix looked down at their feet, shifting their weight uncomfortably. It wasn’t unlike what their father and siblings used to say, was it? Their father had been crueler about it, but hadn’t their sisters said it with the same empathetic concern that clung to Winter’s tone now? They should be more careful. They knew that. They shouldn’t trust people immediately, shouldn’t jump at the chance to put their faith in someone new, but they couldn’t help it. Felix had always wanted people to be better than what they were, had always believed that they could be. It felt like a necessary thing because what was the point without it? But… they’d probably fall off of stilts way less often if they were a little more wary when they needed to be.

It felt abrupt, her promise that she’d never hurt them. Felix’s eyes darted up to meet hers, brow furrowing. Did he know that? On some level, they trusted Winter in spite of their reservations. But those reservations were still a thing that existed. They’d grown up hearing horror stories about exorcisms, lived all their life aware of the cruel possibility of dying torn in half by someone who thought they were helping or who wanted to play god. They knew Winter wasn’t the latter, but what if she was the former? What if she wanted to ‘save’ Felix by separating them from the jaguar? They didn’t think she was an exorcist, but she could know them. She could enlist them, she could even just mention, offhand, what Felix was if she knew. Maybe Winter would never intentionally hurt them, but a lot of things could be done unintentionally, too. 

Still, it was unfair to put those kinds of expectations on her, so Felix forced a small smile. They nodded their head, they looked back down at their feet. “Yeah,” they said quietly, “I know.” And they did, they thought. They knew that Winter would never hurt them on purpose, but that didn’t make the discomfort go away. That didn’t make them any less afraid of what she might do without meaning to. 

It was a relief to talk about something else, in any case, and Felix let out a short but genuine laugh. “I don’t like clowns, either, so that’s something I can agree to.” Were there people who did like clowns? Felix didn’t think they’d ever met anyone who wasn’t at least a little unsettled by the very concept of the performers. They were pretty sure that clowns knew as much and played it off, at this point. 

Another rush of relief came with Winter’s promise that, if her show ever came to Wicked’s Rest, the cameras would steer clear of Felix. The idea of her show filming in town wasn’t a great one, but at least they knew they wouldn’t have to be on it. “I’m sure it makes it hard for the realtor,” they laughed. “But it’s good over all! You know, you shouldn’t have to… to settle.” Wasn’t that what Felix had done their entire life? They settled over and over and over again. There was some comfort in knowing that Winter refused to do so. 

She could only watch Felix as their mind processed everything that was being said. It was unlike Winter to let things hang in the air like this, the girl usually pushing forward with a different subject or continuing to press the current one, but with Felix she usually had a little more patience. It might have been their kindness or the soft demeanor they always held onto no matter what, but either way she held some sort of soft spot for them. It was the most unusual thing for her to find so many people in this small town that were slowly infiltrating her usual defenses. She’d never expected it. It had never once happened in Los Angeles, never once happened in Long Island, and yet here she was worrying about how this person felt in her presence, wanting them to feel safe. 

There was a silent promise to let the subject go if they told her what she wanted to hear and they had. Even though she didn’t want to, she let the subject drop, only nodding at them to show she’d heard them. 

“Winter, someone lying to you isn’t trust even if they’re telling you otherwise.” Henry was right. It wasn’t but she was okay with that. She waved Henry off, hoping the ghost would let it all go as it was getting exhausting to hear his arguments and hold back from telling him to shut up. “We can talk about it later.” She gave the ghost a pointed look, harsher than it should have been. He was only worried after seeing so many things happen in this town as he stood by her side but he wasn’t getting the hint. 

“Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to talk you down or something. Stilts and clowns made too much sense.” She shivered a little, showing her complete discomfort with the idea as if she hadn’t already voiced it to them. “But yea, let's do it. I think it’ll be fun.” 

Her hands burned as they continued to walk, a reminder of where they were actually going, and she had to flex them to get the pain to settle. The movement earned another grunt from her grumpy ghost trailing behind even further than before. Henry was pissed. “No one should have to settle for anything if they don’t want to. Easier said than done, I know.” She wondered about the pause that had floated between their words. They probably had to settle for a lot in their life from what little she knew of it and that thought brought a pang of guilt to her heart. “If you ever need any help with getting what you deserve, Felix, let me know.”

Winter was speaking to her ghost, and Felix should have been able to see him. After all, their friendship with Winter was founded on the idea that Felix, too, was a medium. But, in such close quarters, they didn’t want to shift their eyes to the jaguar’s to spot the ghost and listen in on the conversation. It would be more noticeable shifting now than it would have been to have had their eyes shifted all the while, after all. So Felix only pretended to hear both sides of the conversation, acted as though the way they looked away was out of respect and a desire to keep from interrupting rather than a lack of knowledge as to where Henry actually was at the moment.

They were curious, of course, what Winter and her ghost would speak of later, but they didn’t want to push. They didn’t want to mess up the delicate balance they’d created here. After all, Felix had already fallen from an impressive height once today, and it was nothing short of a miracle that no one was hurt. They didn’t think they’d get so lucky a second time.

“No, no need to talk me down here! We’re definitely on the same page.” Felix laughed, and despite their stress, it was genuine. They did really like Winter, even if some part of them was afraid of her. They liked spending time with her. She was cool.  They wished things were as simple as Winter made them out to be, wished they lived in a world where not settling for things they didn’t want was a genuine possibility. But it was more complicated than that, wasn’t it? Even if Felix deserved better than what they had — something they weren’t sure was true — there was no way for them to get it. Still… It meant something that Winter wanted to help. They smiled, nodding their head and pretending it wasn’t a lie when they spoke again. “Yeah,” they said. “Of course. Thanks, Winter.”

[youllalwaysbemyporcelain]

Sailor's eyes widen when he mentions her mom. "H-how do you know she's here?" It scares her. She's protective of her mom, extremely so, so she doesn't like the thoughts of him knowing she's here.

"i'll be happy to." he doesn't remove his glare to the other. even if the volturi were no longer needed, that didn't mean felix didn't enjoy being the strongest and holding the power. "say hi to your mother for me."

[miyamiwu]

Before I get lost in the new TBHX sauce, lemme just promote the VeiFei Nation server one last time:

June 1, 2025: Invite link has been updated.

Invite link has no expiry, but it’s limited to only ten uses. However, after clicking the invite, you’re not automatically admitted as a server member. You have to first go through an application process by answering 5 simple questions (3 of which are multiple-choice).

I find big servers scary, so I’d like to keep the veifei server small but cozy. Better a small group where you actually get to talk with every person at one point than big community servers where you’re lost in a sea of strangers. So, the mods and I will vet every member that joins. We won’t ask personal questions. We just need to know if you’re a good fit for the server:

You’re a real person

You’re enthusiastic about the ship

You’re at least 18 (coz the server is adults-only)

You’re not strict with top-bottom dynamics

Then even after you’re granted entry, there are a few more steps you have to take before you can access all channels. (And nope, you can’t laze around and skip these because our bot Feifei will ensure you actually do them.)

But once you’re in, it’s actually pretty chill. Almost everyone who ships VeiFei here on Tumblr is part of the server btw, so you might as well just join (✿◡‿◡)

Just one last thing: Only two member applications are approved per week. So if you signed up and haven’t instantly heard back from us, then the limit for the week has probably been reached and you’ll just have to wait. This limit is personally for my own sake because it takes me a while to adjust to new people, I am so sorry 🙈

[cardinalcandace]

CLOSED STARTER: @hearthandhallows (Felix). LOCATION: Riverside Bookstore.

"Have you read this?" Candace asked the person next to her, holding up a copy of Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett. She really enjoyed the Discworld series, so she was almost definitely going to buy the book - but it was nice to talk about books nonetheless. "I've read the other books, but I haven't gotten around to this one yet."

[abnomi]

AUUUU i have got to draw Ralph Felix Vanellope and Calhoun so badly, but Turbo has taken over my mind, the foul parasite that he is. i wanna draw so many other characters too, but i dont wanna get too ahead of myself because hoooooh boy ive already made a billion different plans that i may or may not follow through with.

also...80s boyfriends...Oh my godness... ive been so focused on selfship stuff but i love love love the potential dynamics that can be explored with those two. goody two shoes nice guy tries to fix a strange unwashed corpse looking fellow who appears to constantly be on the verge of death and additionally suffers from a severe lack of stability in his self and identity, but nice guy is too nonconfrontational to truly make any progress, giving way for him to feel responsible for turbo's behavior and thus blaming himself for what happened. Okay

[radicalrascals]

"I'm sorry," Felix offered in a murmur. What more could be said? It was a horrible scenario, hard to grasp and harder to find the right words for. Something the pathologist already struggled with. Alas, there was one thing he could offer to help someone in need: "My daughter moved out for uni. You can have her room if you want."

{open to anyone}

“I have to find a new place to live. My apartment building kind of burned down.” It was ironic really, a firefighter losing his home to a fire and it was embarrassing for Buck to have not realised the multiple fire codes in his building when he recognised them in every other building her walked into, but here he was.

[lovesspell]

Location: Xander's Apartment Starter for @hearthandhallows

Xander took a moment, even taking another bite of cake before he said anything. He thought about messing with them and making a sarcastic joke before telling the truth but from the way Felix had presented the cake, he felt like it was only right to take it seriously. "That seriously may be the best cake I've ever had, Felix. And I'm not just saying that to say that. Like," he paused and took another big bite both to prove his point and because he had been craving it almost immediately after his last bite. "The guys at the firehouse would go wild for something like this." He finally sat back and put his fork down, patting his stomach gently. "Thanks for that, needed something good after a day like today. Hey, I got something I need your nerdy opinion on though," he told them. Xander didn't always consider himself the smartest person. He didn't want to be but he knew he could probably read more and fill his life with more culture. He at least was interested in music but beyond that most of his hobbies were related to fitness or maintenance related work.

He got up from the chair in his living room to retrieve something from his bedroom. "I figure I should try to I don't know, read more, see what's going on out there. And like, comic books count, right? But I bought these at some yard sale recently, no idea if they're worth it," he told Felix and set the comic books down on the table. "Uh I think one is like X-Men and the other two are something called Watchmen. You ever heard of it? I don't know, my younger brother was always into this more than me."

[insainted]

located : afterglow compound ・ time : april, early morning ・ @murdcrofcrows

Gray had woken up that morning with a boiling in his soul. Usually this gets fixed with tinkering, the myriad of puzzles that gets tossed his way bi-weekly, but nothing in this room sparks joy; half-finished projects that have a deadline he doesn't give a single fuck about, staring at him from every angle of his room-workshop-cell, crawling under his skin like little fire bugs. He's been awake for three hours now, pacing up and down this place that has been gradually chipping away at whatever sanity he was born with, over the course of two years—though this morning feels like an accelerated effort on the room's part.

He hears the click of the lock denying him roaming privileges, and like Pavlov's gremlin, Gray's body propels itself towards the door before the locking mechanism has even finished its execution. Even this faux-freedom doesn't sate the burning in him, something Gray has come to associate with a firestorm of boredom and restlessness, a hurricane that has him almost clawing at walls. Destruction. God, how he wants to set something on fire. Before he can even register moving, Gray finds himself carried along a path well-worn by him over the past two years of his imprisonment, up, up, up this marble prison, to an office where he's the most unwelcome.

If you were to ask Gray what exactly he dislikes about Dr. Felix Estrada, he wouldn't be able to tell you. Everything. The way he smiles, the authority he carries with him, the wrongness of his words and the way he would look so, so much better without a fucking face. There's been occasions where Gray has tried to tear Dr. Estrada's throat out with his teeth, might have succeeded if it hadn't been for the camera, the guards, and his two week confinement in his room thereafter. It stopped him from letting his physically violent impulses towards Dr. Estrada get the better of him, surely. For about a week.

Standing in front of the door, Gray's eyes glide over the smooth material of it, heart pumping in his throat; not from fear, rather than excitement. Just the idea of the blaze sends shivers of gleeful relief down his spine. Or maybe, if Dr. Estrada is in his office, he could make an attempt at setting him on fire? The idea alone sends a surge through his stomach that propels him through the door... finding the office deserted. For now.

Taking a deep breath to fight against the mild disappointment, Gray immediately goes to work gathering as many pieces of paper as he can, dumping them on the fancy looking desk, before pulling out a cotton ball with ash rolled into it, packed tightly to form an almost dirty, dark stick. The next phase has him pull out a piece of metal and, setting the cotton down on the desk, Gray starts creating friction with the piece of metal and the desktop.

So engrossed in trying to get the ash to set the cotton on fire, he doesn't quite hear or notice the door open until the displacement of air snaps him out of the reverie and his head pulls up quickly, a growl escaping him as he looks over the tiny figure that intruded upon his very important work. "I'll rip your head off, fuck off," he snarls, narrowing his eyes as he lowers his centre of gravity, half-way a defensive stance, half-way an animal ready to pounce.

He hasn't even gotten to the fucking fire yet.