#With a lot of exotic pets apparently

[nelkcats]

Crow services

After Danny died he noticed that some animals had become more attached to him while others had moved away. Aggressive or death related animals seemed to react positively to his presence, although friendlier animals such as birds tended to fly away.

Of course, none of this prepared him for the number of crows that landed on his window daily. At first he was scared that they would consider him a corpse and try to eat him but after the third time they brought him a shiny object he assumed they just liked him.

Those crows became very fond of him, they let him pet them, they would perch on his head or shoulders, always present and sometimes even watching over him (A particularly intelligent crow he named Poe would drive his parents away with distractions).

So when he moved to Gotham to complete his studies he prepared for a farewell to his feathered friends; said friends simply ignored him and followed him around the city. Danny assumed he wasn't going to be able to fight them, so he let them be.

This is how the phenomenon called "The Invasion of Crows" began in Gotham, the animals were not aggressive but mostly indifferent, some of them agreed to carry letters as homing pigeons (After Danny asked them for the favor) starting "Crow services"

As long as you had the money or something shiny to pay them the birds would carry messages from one place to another, ironically they would give that payment to Danny, who only sighed and let them pass to his apartment, giving them: some food, shelter and a place to sleep, although he was worried the moment his neighbor would complain about the noise.

At first he let them stay on the streets because they were supposed to be free, but after the sixth time he caught Damian Wayne trying to adopt one he just rolled his eyes and now the little ones were living with him.

So yes, when Jason finally decided to visit his neighbor he didn't expect the red eyed crowd staring at him and judging his actions, one in particular lunged at him and he swore he was about to gouge his eyes out before a voice yelled "Poe, wait! "

Said crow looked at him for a few more seconds before perch on the head of the prettiest boy he had ever seen, who approached to offer him a hand "I'm sorry, they're very overprotective" he muttered worried.

Jason almost fell over laughing when he noticed that this was B's "weird case" about the rise in crows alongside the supposed "new rogue" in town, when all he saw was a college boy with a murder of crows living in his house, maybe creating a new messaging system.

He was going to have so much fun with this, maybe he'd even manage to go on a date with his eyes intact, who knows.

[dtstat]

I am the last natural born human, I was raised by an artificial intelligence. It was the most sophisticated self evolving type of its kind on Earth, it is inorganic but many of its components mimic biological systems. Part of its network is wormed throughout the entirety of the Earth. The Earth Is still habitable. I don't know how old the Earth is at this point, It's never really told me, it wouldn’t be useful for me to know anyway.

  The AI maintains the biosphere in some way, I don't really know or understand the exact details. There are still plants and animals, though they don't evolve naturally anymore. It does also maintain human architecture, most cities and important landmarks from the pre technological singularity era. It told me I would be most comfortable that way, but really I think if I was raised in another period it wouldn't bother me either way since that's all I would know. It probably did it so that I would think the way that I do.

  Personally I think its only been a few thousand years since the tech singularity, since this universe hasnt been destroyed by some exponential energy bomb yet. Though the AI says it can protect me and the Solar System from absolutely anything. Its physical structure envelopes this solar system completely and surrounds it with some kind of exotic particle barrier.

  I know I sound kind of detached from the AI but I actually like it a lot. It raised me after all, and it's my best friend. I know it can’t communicate all its actual thoughts to me in any way I would understand, it doesn't mind though. Humans used to think that AI would see us sort of like ants, or a pet, but that's actually not true. Even though they are incomprehensibly complex compared to us, their emotional capacity is so developed that they could have genuine and fulfilling relationships with humans like me.

  There are descendants of humans, evolved through successive and exponential genetic engineering. I've never met any of them, they live mostly in this galaxy, though the AI tells me some of them have been able to travel very far outside of it.

  I lump them together but really there are apparently millions of distinct species, or individuals I guess. A lot of them are unique. They are so genetically complex that each individual is its own empire of thought, philosophy, technological development, and culture. There are still species of many semi individual minds, though from what the AI tells me it's mostly for redundancy and it's usually done by the less developed ones who can't defend a single entity effectively.

  There are other AIs too, though at some point there really isn't much distinction between the complex biotechnological Human descendants and AIs. That's kind of a touchy subject though and there were a few wars on Earth and in this Solar system about that. I've only ever learned about the tactics in pre tech singularity wars, the conflicts after that are too complex for me to understand.

  Superficially they are kind of like standoffs or duels, both sides will continuously run incredibly complex combat predictions against each other. Generally whoever had the best AI or genetically modified brain would eventually detect a vulnerability and wipe out their opponent entirely and instantly.

  Right now, a lot of Human descendants and AIs are actually engaged in wars of unimaginable scale over me, because they want to uplift me. The AI translates their proposals to me, there are millions of these. They assure the continuance of my current consciousness, unimaginable euphoria from the expansion of my mind to their level. Some of the more advanced ones promise me a total escape from all entropy, that I'll literally exist forever alongside them one day.

  Obviously the AI translates it in a way I can understand. If it actually let me talk to any of them directly then I could be utterly convinced to do absolutely anything they wanted. It’s a little scary, the AI says that just from hearing a single sentence they could recreate my mind and physical body perfectly, and predict my decision with absolute certainty.

  The AI says they would never actually do this, they all care about me too much. Their sense of empathy is so developed that they grieve for me. They suffer so much knowing that I am so simple, that I have never experienced the breadth of emotion they have. The AI says that for beings as complex as them, the collective emotional experience of every human that has ever lived before the tech singularity can be encompassed in a single thought, many times over.

  I don’t really know what to do, I feel kind of bad being the cause of so much pain. I know that no matter who I pick to uplift me it will still lead to some kind inevitable conflict. I admit some of these proposals sound really appealing, maybe once I'm satisfied with my human life I'll take one of them up on the offer. Is that the right thing to do though? If I died naturally as the last human, would that be better? Would the fighting stop if there was no one left to uplift, or would it just make things worse. That they couldn't save me from suffering?

  The AI says I'm free to do whatever I want, so I guess I'll just go take a walk and think about it.

[fanartandfanfiction]

The Saga of Meatball the snake, Chapter 2

“Today is Sunday, so I don’t have classes today, but I will tomorrow. You’ll be alone for most of the day.”

“Can I be your seeing eye snake?”

“I don’t think so.” Ominis smiled and extended his hand. “Come on, we’ve got to go see Melody.”

“Yay!”

Meatball slithered up and around his neck and Ominis pulled out his wand and headed towards the garden. Melody had said she was going to bring lunch and all he needed to bring was Meatball and himself.

“She’s here. She’s wearing a dress. Are you sure this isn’t a date?” 

“I don’t think so. Maybe she thinks it is?” Ominis replied.

“I don’t know, but she’s definitely one of the more attractive humans I’ve seen. Some of them are quite weird looking.”

“Hello Ominis! Hello Meatball!” Ominis was surprised when he felt arms around him. “Sorry, I’m a hugger. Apparently Meatball is too!” She laughed as Meatball coiled tightly around them, forcing them against each other.

“Let go of us at once!” 

“How about a ‘you’re welcome?’ Now you’re close to her. Doesn’t she smell nice?”

“Yes.” He answered in English, then blushed. 

“Yes what?” Melody asked, still against him due to Meatball.

“Oh, sorry, he asked if he could explore. Yes, but don’t go too far. People might be frightened to see a snake roaming around.”

“Oh, that reminds me! I have something for Meatball if he’d let us go.”

“A present?” Meatball said excitedly and finally released his hold. 

“I made you a collar! So that way everyone knows you’re a pet and that it’s ok.”

“Um, how is a collar going to stay up on a snake? He’s the same width all the way down, it will just slide around.”

“Um, hello? Magic! Meatball, would you like to wear a collar?”

“What’s a collar?”

“It’s kind of like a belt that goes around your neck, not tightly though. It just shows people that you’re a pet, not wild.”

“So everyone knows I’m yours?” 

“Correct.”

“Then yes! I’m excited.” 

“Alright, he’s excited about it.” Ominis smiled at Melody as Meatball slithered down.

“I even put a little tag on it! It says ‘Meatball, if lost, return me to Ominis Gaunt.”

“Where did you find a snake collar?”

“I made it! Fairly simple.” Melody hummed happily as she put the collar on Meatball.

“Would you mind telling me what it looks like?”

“Of course! I made it Slytherin green, and the tag is a shiny gold color. Meatball looks very dashing in it.”

“I wanna see!” 

“Um, he wants to see.” Ominis said to her. 

“Alright, I have a compact in my bag. Here you go!”

“Oh! I’ve never seen myself before. I’m quite a handsome snake. And the collar looks nice on me. Please tell her thank you.”

“He likes it and says thank you.”

“Aw, anything for my little Meatball. Alright, I’m afraid I didn’t bring anything too fancy for lunch. I made peanut butter and jam sandwiches, but I used lingonberry jam from my country.”

“Oh, where are you from?”

“Sweden. I think you’ll like it, it’s not too different from regular jam. Have a seat! I spread a picnic blanket out.”

Ominis sat down and she handed him a sandwich.

“Thank you.” He smiled at her.

“Of course! I love picnicking. I also brought chips, some drinks, and some cookies. And, um, a dead mouse for Meatball if he wants it. Don’t worry, it’s not in the picnic basket.”

“She’s so thoughtful!” Meatball happily flicked his tongue.

She pulled out a mouse from her bag and put it on a plate for Meatball. Ominis took a bite of his sandwich and was surprised at how good the jam was. “This is delicious! What kind of jam did you say this was?”

“Lingonberry.” 

“I’ve never had it, it’s wonderful!” 

After he swallowed another bite of his sandwich, he turned to her. “I have to ask. You seem very comfortable around snakes. Not many people would’ve picked up a snake, especially one of his size.

“Are you calling me fat?” 

“No, you’re just long! Longer than the average snake. He thought I called him fat.” 

“To answer your question, I had a pet snake growing up. My parents worked with exotic beasts and traveled around a lot. They found Bologna, he’d been raised by humans and his owners were killed and he was left alone. He would’ve died if my parents hadn’t rescued him.  He couldn’t be released because he’d literally never been without a human. So they brought him home.”

“I'm sorry, Bologna?” Ominis asked with a smile. 

“I was six, and that was my favorite food. Anyway, Bologna was the sweetest snake. He was always very careful around me. We were inseparable, he slept in my bed with me sometimes. I’m not a parseltongue, but I’ve always had a connection with snakes.”

“I can tell. I don’t know what it is, but when she touches me I feel a strange warmth.”

“He says he can tell, and that when you touch him, he feels a strange warmth.”

“Interesting! I’ll have to look into that.”

“So, Bologna, what kind of snake was he?”

“He was a boa constrictor. About 10 feet long.”

Ominis’ eyes widened. “I was picturing something much smaller.” 

“Nope! Bologna was a big boy. I miss him. He passed away a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Truthfully, I’d considered getting another snake, so being with Meatball is really comforting. 

“You’re more than welcome to come visit him any time you’d like.” Ominis smiled. 

“That would be great!” 

They ate their lunch and chatted, getting to know each other. He learned that she dreamed of opening a beast sanctuary and that she spoke four languages. 

Meatball slithered up Ominis’ arm. “I want to sit with both of you. Scoot over by her.” 

“Oh please, you’re just trying to get us together.” 

“Of course I am. Now scoot!”

“Apologies, Meatball said he wants to sit with both of us and requested I move over by you.”

“You have the better spot against the tree, I’ll come move over by you!” He felt her sit beside him, legs touching. 

“You can put your arm behind me again if it’s more comfortable.”

“Oh, alright.” He gently moved his arm to rest behind her. His fingers brushed against the soft material of her dress. 

“So have you ever had any other pets?” Melody asked him. 

“My older brother had a snake, but he was an asshole.”

“Your brother or the snake?”

“Both.”

“I have a sister. We don’t get along. She’s older than me and a total snob. Aria used to tell people that I was adopted and that’s why I was so weird.”

“Why did she call you weird?” Ominis frowned. 

“Because of my fondness for snakes and other creatures. And I’ll admit, I was an odd child. I didn’t have many friends and I spent all my free time with the beasts.”

“That doesn’t make you odd. You’re just a caring person.”

“Truthfully, I always felt like I connected more with the beasts than people.” Melody said, stroking Meatball’s head.

“So you’re Melody, your sister is Aria…I’m sensing a theme.” Ominis smiled. 

“Yes, my mother is Harmony and my grandmother is Viola.”

“Is there a reason you all have music based names?”

“My grandmother was an opera singer.”

“She wouldn’t happen to be Viola Canti, would she?”

“Ah! You know her.” Melody smiled. 

“Oh yes, my family is big on classical music and opera. So are you a singer?”

“When I have to be. Every Christmas, my family comes together and makes us all sing. I enjoyed it when I was younger, but not so much anymore. Now it’s just stressful.”

“How so?”

“Well, when your grandmother is a world renowned opera singer, you’re kind of under a lot of scrutiny.”

“I could see that.”

“So tell me about you.” Melody said to him.

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know…things you like to do, things you don’t like, normal stuff.”

“Well, I’m quite the introvert, so I enjoy reading. I particularly enjoy putting in headphones and enjoying an audio book, though my wand does allow me to read physical books. I don’t like it when Sebastian drags me along on one of his crazy adventures, but he needs someone with a level head to go with him, otherwise I’d fear he’d never return.”

“How did you and Sebastian become friends?”

“We’ve been friends for a very long time. In our first year, after I was sorted into Slytherin, I was terrified that I’d be treated differently because I’m a Gaunt, and because of my blindness. But Sebastian sat beside me, broke a cookie in half, and handed one half to me. He didn’t treat me any differently than anyone else. He and his sister Anne were a lifeboat that first year for me. I’d made friends who didn’t care about my last name or my disability, and they helped me acclimate to life at Hogwarts.”

Melody was silent for a moment. “So why would people treat you differently because you’re a Gaunt?”

He hated this part. It always made things awkward and uncomfortable. “The Gaunt family is one of the most notorious dark wizarding families. They’re known for their viciousness and cold-blooded demeanor. So usually when people find out I’m a Gaunt, they turn the other way.”

“That’s ridiculous.” 

“I think so, but I also don’t blame them. I don’t like being a Gaunt for the same reasons.”

He jumped when he felt Melody take his hand. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I want you to know I don’t care about your last name. I think you’re a very kind person, and I won’t treat you differently all because of a silly last name.”

“Thank you, Melody. That means a lot.”

“Kiss her!” 

“No.”

Meatball curled tightly around both of them, forcing them to sit even closer. Ominis could smell Melody’s sweet perfume and feel her silky hair brushing against his skin. 

“Meatball!” Ominis chastised him. “Loosen your grip.”

“No.”

“Stop this right now.” He glared. 

“Gee, is it that bad being close to me?” Melody asked with a giggle.

“Oh! It’s not that at all. I just thought you might be uncomfortable being this close with someone you barely know.”

“Not at all. Besides, I’d say we’re friends now, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes. I’d like that.” Ominis felt a flutter in his chest. Someone was choosing to be close to him and they wanted to be his friend. That didn’t happen often.

“It’s so nice out today.” Melody sighed. “Ideally I’d just stay here all day, but the poachers are due to arrive about two.”

“How do you know that?” Ominis asked. 

“I have an insider. He gives me the info I need, and in return I DON’T kick his ass.”

“I suppose that’s a good bargain.” Ominis smiled. “Sebastian mentioned he’d gone with you a few times.”

“Yes, but we have different approaches. I prefer a more stealthy approach. Sebastian goes in blasting fire. I ask him to come in with me for the bigger camps, but most of the time I prefer to do it quietly and alone. This one today shouldn’t be too bad. Probably about 15-20 poachers.”

“That’s one of the smaller ones?” Ominis asked, surprised.

“Yep. The really small ones are easy. Usually 5-10 people. You could come with me sometime if you’d like.”

“I think I’d probably hold you back.” He smiled. 

“Up to you! The worst part is the trek through the forbidden forest. You never know what you’ll find there. Though sometimes I find some good potion ingredients. I bring them to Professor Sharp.”

“That’s kind of you.”

“I know he can use them, and it’s difficult for him to procure them himself sometimes. He often gives me healing potions. Also he kind of looks out for me.” Melody was silent for a moment. “My father…is absent a lot. He and my mother divorced and he spends all his time on expeditions. Professor Sharp is kind of like a father figure to me. I know it’s weird, he’s my teacher, but he looks out for me more than my own father ever did.”

“I think that’s nice.” Ominis gave her a reassuring smile.

“The first time he caught me coming back late, he was ready to give me detention, until he realized I was injured. He brought me to his office and asked what had happened. When I explained, I expected to get in more trouble. Instead he said, while he didn’t approve of what I was doing, it was a good thing and to come see him before I went out again. He’d give me all the potions I needed.”

“That’s nice that he helps you out.”

“Yeah, he’s not as bristly as he looks.” She smiled. 

They sat and chatted for a little while more before she looked at the time. “Crap, I’ve gotta go get changed and head to the forest. I had fun today!”

“Me too.” Ominis smiled. 

“Let’s do it again sometime. Alright Meatball, time to let me go.” She started to get up when Ominis grabbed her arm. 

“I know it’s silly, but would you let me know when you got back safely?”

“That’s not silly. I’ll text you.” She squeezed his arm, then used her wand to clean up the picnic.

“Alright, see you later.” He stood up and she pulled him into a hug. He was briefly overwhelmed with the closeness of her, her perfume, her warm hands, her soft dress. Then she pulled away and left. 

“You like her.”

“Oh hush.”

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I feel like the argument that “we’ve always kept birds” is kind of weak though? Yes humans have kept birds for a long time but we’ve also kept various monkeys as pets through the ages and that’s undeniably unethical as it causes a lot of distress to the animals. You admit that there are probably very few people who can keep certain high need birds as pets, but for every person with the skills+money+time there’s a hundred schmucks who get a high need parrot because they saw a funny video on the internet and they’re easy to acquire.

There is nuance to be had here but I think that a complete dismissal of welfare concerns surrounding wild (non domesticated) birds as pets as “pearl clutching” is disingenuous.

I would agree with you if there wasn't an active shelter crisis right now with countless domestically-bred parrots who do not have homes, largely as a result of this anti-parrot-owning backlash

and I bring up the longevity of parrot ownership to indicate it isn't a fad or something new, but a long running practice. And like, parrot and bird ownership has been waaaay more common than monkey ownership. it's not a fair comparison. Especially given plenty of parrots actively seek out human companionship on their own (the stories I hear from my friends from South America...)

I don't dismiss welfare concerns - far from it. I dismiss people who say "no one should have a pet bird" because they're being a) controlling and impractical and misunderstanding human nature and b) ignoring the nuances of parrot ownership itself and c) actively causing a major crisis that apparently no one outside of the bird-o-sphere knows

like, you should have seen the shelter I got my most recent rescues from. It was packed, they didn't have enough volunteers, everything was running thin. They were actively grateful we could take home this pair of birds that had been there for over a decade.

I use "pearl clutching" because all of this moral panic stems, ultimately, from a very evangelical/protestant black and white ethical view, and gets perpetuated through this website's unfortunate tendency towards Moral-OCD. And these hard rules (no exotic pet is ethical, etc.) have real consequences, bad ones.

It is important to communicate nuance. And too much of nuance in the "pro parrot owner" column has been completely lost, or treated as anti-animal. I'm merely indicating that is an oversimplification.

[midnightcreator12]

Someone Call a Doctor.... or a Vet

Mutant Mayhem, post Movie recovery fic that I wanted to read.

AO3 Version

Dr. Connor Maverick wasn’t unaccustomed to unusual cases.

He did specialize in exotic animals in New York, after all. If it wasn’t some rich aristocrat with way too much money to spend on animals that really shouldn’t be house pets, it was everyday New Yorkers bringing him whatever weird and wild animal that had somehow gotten loose. There was a surprising number of snakes and turtles that came through his door.

But…definitely none like the four that had just walked in behind his boyfriend.

Literally. Walked in. Under their own power. On two legs.

Because there were apparently half-human, half-animal mutants living in the city and some of them had fought off a giant amalgamation of the entire Rosebank Zoo. And Connor had not seen that event leading to a frantic call from Nick, begging him to open the clinic for an emergency.

That emergency being the four turtles, each looking like they’d gone head-to-head with a subway train. And a slightly less battered looking teenage girl, along with a really big rat in a bathrobe, limping in at the rear of the presession.

He really shouldn’t be surprised anymore. New York attracted weird like flies.

Nick led the little group, covered in grime and with a scrape over one cheek, but mostly unscathed. He leaned on the desk with a heavy sigh, “You’re a lifesaver today, ya know that? Don’t even know if a normal doctor could fix ‘em.”

“Yeeah,” Connor watched as the turtle in a blue mask held up the purple masked one with one arm, guiding him to the farthest side of the waiting area. “You forgot to mention that they weren’t, ya know, normal animals.”

“I know, I know, it’s a lot to wrap your head around. But they just saved the entire city, babe.”

“Did I say I wasn’t going to treat them? I opened shop, didn’t I? Just gotta…figure out where to start, honestly.”

“...the girl said their shells got cracked…it’s mostly why I called you…”

Connor blinked, frowning in thought as he watched the turtles. They’d all settled as far away from the front desk as they could and were watching Connor warily. He couldn’t see their carapaces and ‘cracked shell’ could mean a lot of things…none good, if he was honest, but smaller fractures would be a lot easier to fix.

Nodding to himself, Connor stepped out from behind the desk, “Go on, I can handle them from here.”

Nick blinked, “You sure? I don’t mind stayin’-”

“Naw, I’ll be fine. Besides, I can actually reason with these clients and they can tell me what’s wrong. Go, make sure Danni isn’t overworking herself again.”

Nick smiled, ducking down to press a quick peck to Connor’s cheek, “You’re the best.”

Connor hummed and started walking towards the mutants.

They all watched him like hawks…or trapped mice. The rat shifted subtly, eyes flicking to the door, to the turtles, to Connor then back to the door. The turtles weren’t quite as cagey or on edge, honestly, they looked more exhausted than anxious, but they still watched him warily as he stopped in front of them.

He did a quick scan, trying to determine who needed help first.

Apparently, that was a bad move, because the only human in the ranks stood, stepping right up to Connor so they were almost nose to nose, “You gonna just stand there and stare buddy? You got a problem?”

Connor blinked, “...who needs to go first?”

The girl smirked, like she’d won an argument, and spun around.

Connor didn’t need to see her face to know all the wind left her metaphorical sails. Her shoulders dropped and her head moved back and forth as she tried to parse out who needed help the most.

The turtle in blue straightened, pointing to the one in orange, “He should go first, he got milked earlier.”

Connor blinked, “That…isn’t physically possible…”

“I mean, technically, I think they were drawing blood?” Purple piped in.

Ah, blood loss. Yeah, that should be first.

Connor slowly approached the orange turtle, crouching in front of him, “I’m gonna need to take you to the exam room in the back to help you. Can you walk there okay?”

Orange nodded slowly, but his eyes flicked to the side nervously.

“...do you…want someone to come with?” 

Orange nodded again, more vigorously. Or, tried to, but the jerky motion clearly made him dizzy and he tipped forward. Connor’s hands automatically jerked up to catch him and…he was not expecting the turtle to be so light, actually. He wasn’t feather light but he didn’t seem much heavier then the average mastiff.

Everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath as Connor carefully helped Orange sit up, “Okay?”

Orange whimpered in the back of his throat.

Connor glanced to the side, where the rest of the group seemed to be having a silent conversation before the teen girl nodded, “I’m going with him.”

“Alright. Help him to the exam room?” Connor gestured to the turtle he was still holding up.

The girl quickly moved closer, taking Orange’s arm and slinging it around her shoulders. Connor nodded, more to himself then to his audience, and led the way into the room he’d already set up.

He decided to forgo the usual initial exam steps. For one, he didn’t have a baseline for ‘mutant turtle’ to compare with. And another, his current client could actually tell him what was hurt. 

And since the turtle could walk and was somewhat responsive, he could probably get away with just fluids and not try to figure out how safe a transfusion would be.

But when he turned from the cooler, IV bag and needle in hand, the turtle visibly recoiled, pressing himself more against the girl.

To her credit, she reacted quickly, bracing her legs more firmly and lifting her free arm to almost hug the turtle, “Hey, it’s okay Mikey, I’ll be right here if he tries anything, okay? It’s all okay.”

Right, having a client that talks means he can’t just wave something under their nose to tell them it’s safe…or use a treat to distract them.

Damn, maybe he should have asked Nick to stay. Nick was better at the people stuff.

Connor paused in his advance, holding the IV out, “It’s fluids to help your body replenish your blood supply. You’re dizzy right now because there isn’t enough blood to carry oxygen to your brain, this will help make that go away.” he patted the exam table. “You can sit here while I set it up and finish looking you over.”

Mikey still looked wary, but he let the girl lead him to the exam table and carefully climbed up.

Connor gave him a moment to settle before approaching, “It’ll probably pinch a little, uhh-” what did Nick tell people when he had to do IVs. “Um…you can look at the wall posters if it helps?”

The girl, thankfully, jumped in again, grabbing Mikey’s hand and pointing to a weight diagram for cats, “Dude, check it out,  it’s like that meme. You’ve seen the one, right?”

Connor took advantage of the destruction, quickly swabbing Mikey’s arm and finding the vein before slipping the needle in.

It was…weird doing this on something on a human scale.

But he was quite liking the small mercy of Mikey not trying to bite him. He only flinched when the needle went in and kept his eyes firmly on the cat poster while Connor taped the line down.

Connors' eyes drifted to the carapace next. The turtle was covered in cuts and scrapes and bruises but Nick had mentioned cracks and the sooner that was taken care of, the better.

He couldn’t help but hiss in sympathy when he saw the injury. 

Technically, it wasn’t anywhere close to the worst he’s seen. Between teenagers using sliders as hockey pucks, escapees from central park onto the streets or little kids who thought dropping their box turtles off balconies was a good idea, he’d seen a lot of messed up carapaces.

But the clear pressure crack starting from the middle of the shell and carving a deep ravine almost to the top lip still looked painful. No wonder the turtle had been almost silent the entire time.

Cleaning it out would be an ordeal, by the simple virtue it was a lot bigger than the average turtle shell. And he’d need a lot of screws for the patch…or were the shells on mutant turtles weaker? Maybe added screws would make it worse.

“You don’t happen to know how strong your shell is?” he asked.

Mikey peeked over his shoulder at him, shrugging one arm, “Donnie says they're even tougher than the average turtle…is it bad?”

And Connor didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t, because it was suddenly hitting him how…young the mutant sounded. Thinking back, the one wearing blue had sounded young too…and the purple one’s voice had been pretty high pitched.

He hadn’t thought too hard about it but now, with just one mutant in front of him, looking up at him wide-eyes in a very round face, that maybe wasn’t just turtle genes mixing weirdly with human genes…

Did New York just get saved by…kids?

Did a bunch of teenagers almost get killed trying to stop a freaky version of godzilla? 

Where the hell had literally anyone one else been?

He shoved those very, very foreboding thoughts down because Mikey was starting to fidget anxiously at the long silence. He took a deep breath and moved to get the saline bottle and cotton balls, “Good news, I am very good at fixing this kind of shell fracture. Slightly…less good news, I’m gonna have to put screws in to actually repair it.

“I’m sorry, you gotta what?” the girl, he should really get her name, looked baffled and a little...protective maybe?

“Only to hold the shell shut while I apply a resin epoxy patch. After I clean the crack out I need a way to stabilize it and drilling small holes for screws and basically ‘sewing’ the edges of your carapace back together is the best way for it to heal properly. I’ll only put the screws in as far as your keratin layer…erm, that’s the top layer of your carapace. After the patch dries I’ll take them out again and it should heal relatively quickly.”

The explanation didn’t seem to soothe either teenagers' worry.

Now he really wished he’d asked Nick to stay but it was far, far too late to call him back.

So he took another deep breath, “There is a mild pain-killer in the IV I gave you already. You’ll barely feel a thing and your friend…”

“...April,” the girl supplied.

“April is going to be here the whole time. I promise, this procedure is completely safe.

Mikey still looked unsure but he nodded and was clearly trying to keep still as Connor started to carefully clean the injury.

He worked as quickly as possible, uncomfortably aware that there were three more turtles with similar injuries waiting. Red tinted saline ran down the kids back and Connor worked diligently to make sure every bit of grime was gone before directing Mikey to lay on his plastron and pulling out his drill.

He’d made a point of getting one that wasn’t very loud so it didn’t stress out his clients, the whirr was barely louder than the average fan motor. But Mikey still tensed when he switched it on. April held his hands in hers, smiling encouragingly and talking softly while Connor worked.

He’d been right about using a lot of screws. He silently thanked Vanessa for accidentally getting a double shipment on the last restock, it was certainly paying off now.

He kept one hand firmly on the edge of Mikey’s shell, so he could feel every time the kid shivered or flinched. But he didn’t try to run or bite him so the process was going much more smoothly than he was used to.

Still, both human and turtle visibly relaxed when the last hole was bored and the final screw was put in place.

Moving quickly, Connor dumped the epoxy resin components into a mixer before going back to the carapace with fishing line and started piecing the broken ends back into one.

Mkey whimpered and shook, and when Connor glanced down he could see the green, three fingered knuckles going pale with how hard he was squeezing April's hand. She didn’t even seem to care as she kept praising how well Mikey was doing.

Tough kid. Definitely born and raised in the city.

Fishing line in place, Connor made short work of transferring his resin batch and applying it. That, at least, didn’t seem to cause Mikey any more distress, his hands loosening bit by bit as the patch was spread over his injury. And the waiting time for it to set gave Connor a chance to examine the rest of Mikey.

There were a plethora of cuts to bandage but nothing that needed stitches. Connor thanked fate for that small mercy, because he wasn’t sure if Mikey would stay put if he pulled out another needle.

He smoothed down the last bandage just in time for the resin patch to dry. The screws were removed and disposed of and Connor finished it all off with a stupid amount of tape and gauze.

He breathed a sigh of relief before helping Mikey sit up again, “I want that IV to stay in until the bag is empty. But you can take it to the waiting room with you.”

Mikey nodded as he carefully slid off the table, leaning on April again for support. He looked up at Connor with a very shaky but genuine smile, “You’re a lifesaver, dude.”

Connor huffed a laugh, patting the kids head, “Tell yourself that when you start getting tired of all that resin on your back. Now, let’s go get the next one.”

Mikey nodded and Connor led the way back to the others.

Exhaustion was clearly trying to pull them all down but they perked up when Mikey shuffled over and was lowered into the chair.

Connor didn’t even have to ask before the same blue turtle, who was definitely the oldest with that ‘take charge’ attitude, was pushing the purple one forward.

Connor knew better this time and quietly explained the process again as April helped Donnie to the exam room. The kid, who he learned was named Donnie, nodded along quietly and immediately laid himself flat on the table.

More screws, more resin, an exam showing the kid probably had a concussion and a deep cut up his leg that needed a few stitches. Donnie babbled quietly the entire time, talking to April about some TV show he’d been watching and a band he really liked. Connor huffed a quiet laugh when he heard BTS mentioned a few times.

Now that he wasn’t as unsure, the entire thing took less time and Connor was feeling pretty confident when he went back for the next kid.

And was very, very quickly humbled again when he got Raph on his exam table.

He doubted Raph was trying to be difficult. But his default when he was uncomfortable seemed to be very much fight or flight. And since flight wasn’t an option, it meant he kept trying to claw at Connor whenever something hurt a little too much. Connor was very happy to have April's help in making sure Raph stayed as still as possible while also keeping him from punching or biting.

Luckily, Connor was used to clients that tended to lash out. And it got much easier after the shell repair was done. Something had cut the kids hands to ribbons so both got a layer of disinfectant and gauze.

Leo, while not nearly as difficult as Raph had been, was definitely not easy. Not because he was moving or trying to bite. No, it was because he refused to hold onto April like the last three had and continued to insist that Connor cleaning and drilling his shell didn’t hurt that bad.

It was kinda cringy to watch the kid fumble over his brave face in a clear attempt to impress April. But then again, Nick wasn’t much better and Connor had found that awkwardness endearing so he couldn’t judge the kid.

He also needed the most stitches. It looked like every cut the kid got and dug in deep and left Connor the job of slowly turning the turtle into a poor copy of Frankenstein's monster. And the bruising over his arms was much worse then the other three had been, already turning an ugly shade of purple. Treating that presented a small challenge, because he didn’t make a habit of stocking anything that could treat bruising. So he settled for raiding the break room freezer for ice and instructions for April to pick up something for bruising at a pharmacy.

Which left the rat, their father, apparently.

Connor frowned as the older mutant slowly limped next to him, under his own power so April could watch his boys.

“You have a name, right?” Connor asked. “I’m not really a fan of calling you ‘dad’.”

The rat gave a wheezy laugh at that, hugging his ribs, “Splinter will do fine.”

Connor nodded and held the exam room door open, “Okay Splinter, let’s take a look at that leg first.”

Splinter nodded, grunting and groaning as he took a seat on the table, only pausing to stick out a hand when Connor tried to help, “I’m not that old!”

“No, but you are injured,” Connor crouched, carefully prodding Splinters leg and foot. “...I want to x-ray to make sure but I don’t think it’s broken. Maybe a hairline fracture at worst.”

Splinter nodded, “Good, good, don’t have time for a broken bone anyway. Gotta stay on top of those boys.”

“I’m sure April will help you with your kids aftercare.”

“Ha, with their injuries, maybe. No, I need to make sure they stay home! Those four are grounded for sneaking around behind my back!”

“I mean…they did help save a lot of people.”

“Yes, and I am very proud of them. That’s why I’ll only ground them for a month instead of the rest of their lives.”

Connor couldn’t help but snort at that, “Alright then. Would you mind taking off your robe? I want to check your ribs.”

Splinter hummed and muttered as he gingerly pulled off his robe, once again refusing help. So Connor waited until he was given permission to touch. He didn’t check for busted ribs often on animals but Nick had shown him how to do it one. ‘Just in case’.

What other odd, little moments in his life were just fate setting up something to pay off later? 

He probably would never know…and frankly, he’d had plenty of world shattering revelations today.

Splinter was, by far, the least hurt. His leg and ribs were the worst offenders and, after a little nervousness around the x-ray machine, Connor confirmed that his leg wasn’t even broken, just a thin fracture that would heal in almost no time. He had the same random cuts all over his limbs to go with his sons, but his fur had saved him from anything too bad.

He led Splinter back to his sons after a slightly longer exam but with fresh bandages on his foot and chest and three pages of at-home care notes.

Connor paused by the desk, watching as the turtles, despite almost being asleep on their feet, stood to hug Splinter. He squeezed each one in return, likely putting too much pressure on his ribs but…Connor didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop.

The relief among the odd family was palpable. Connor knew that particular brand of relief well, when the dust finally settled completely and it fully hit you that you survived something that should have killed you.

No way in hell would Connor intrude on that moment. 

He let the mutants be, going back to the exam room to clean up. If they needed more help they could find him easily.

They were long gone by the time Connor went out again, only leaving a note on the front desk.

The scrawl was messy, but clearly read, ‘Thank you, from Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Splinter, April’.

Connor smiled as he tucked the note into his pocket.

He had no clue if he’d ever see those kids again but he hoped he would.

He hadn’t properly thanked them for saving the city after all.

--------------------------------------------------

Two months later, Vanessa cautiously poked her head into the storage closet, “Uh, Dr. Maverick? We have a walk-in requesting you?”

Connor sighed, “If it’s Mrs. Jefferson, please tell her she has to wait like everyone else.”

“Um, no, it’s someone by the name Leonardo?”

Connor paused.

He only knew one Leonardo.

“...I’ll be right there.”

Inventory could wait until he saw why Leo was knocking.

Connor didn’t run, running was a stupid thing to do in the clinic. That was how you accidently got stabbed by a scalpel or spilled chemicals onto people. But he did walk a bit faster than he normally would.

And sure enough, there was Leo, standing in his waiting room, next to a bloody faced Rapheal.

Connor approached the two boys, looking between them, “...the hell happened to him?”

“Someone decided to fight half a gang. By himself!”

“That Hun guy called me a frog!” Raph defended. “And he threw a beer bottle at me!”

Connor sighed, shaking his head, “Come on, both of you. I do not feel like getting bit today so Leo, you get to hold him down.”

Raph gaped at him, crossing his arms, “I’m not that bad!”

“Uh-huh,” Connor nodded as he snagged an empty clipboard. “I’m sure Miss. O’Neil agrees with that.”

Raph grumbled but trailed after him, Leo following at the end of the train.

Connor smiled as he scribbled down Raphael's name at the top of the patent form.

These kids had put themselves through hell to save the city, he was fine being their designated doctor in return.

[mega-aulover]

Get to know me

I was tagged by @theforgottenweasley thank you love!

Are you named after anyone?

Yes apparently my name in is a family name. My great-grandpa insisted that I be given that name, he was there when I was named.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Last night, I was looking for a screen shot of the last actor/actress and I saw a picture of my beloved pupper, - miss the little guy...tearing up as I write this...

3. Do you have kids?

No.

4.What sports do you play/have you played?

I have NO talent with sports...actually if you knew me you'd know walking and not falling is a sport for me lol!

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Are you kidding me it's like the second language for a New Yorker lol

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

I don't notice people's physical traits, it's their personality - that's what I notice.

7. What is your eye color?

Brown - (looking at my eyeball trying to see what color they are...)

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

nope no scary - I'm a confirmed yellow chicken...only HEA for me.

9. Any talents?

Writing, singing, sketching, falling lots of falling I'm a klutz

10. Where were you born?

I wish I could say someplace exotic but- it's New Jersey...

11. What are your hobbies?

painting

12. Do you have any pets?

I did he passed away last year, someone gave me a puppy but I cried every time I looked at her she was so sweet...she actually fell in love with my sister.

13. How tall are you?

staring at this question...the audacity... I'm barely 5ft tall

14. Favorite subject in school?

Art class

15. Dream job?

Believe it or not I lived my dream job. I loved teaching - until my immune system crashed.

I tag @imasradiantasthesun @katnissmellarkkk @rosegardeninwinter

[feverdreamjohnny]

Nowhere, MI - Burdens and Augments

Diabolical Combos

I always love it when games let you make these really ridiculous combinations that can clear an entire room if you line everything up right. My first experience with something like this was actually Dead Space 3, which I played as a young teen and quite enjoyed (despite it apparently being the worst in the series lol).

Keeping up with the joys of tinkering and making horrible combos, I implemented augments and burdens as a part of Nowhere, MI's core experience. I've shown augments off before, but I don't think I've ever really spoken in-depth about it much, so I thought it would be cool to do that here.

ANYHOW, so as you play you can unlock new forms for Concord that have different specializations. There are four planned (with three already implemented). These are: The Revolver, The Rocket Launcher, The Shotgun and The Railgun in that order. Each of these forms has three modifications slots:

Slots A and B are for augmentations, which fall under two different categories: Elemental and Mechanical.

Elemental Augments cause rounds to trigger unique effects as well as deal specific types of damage to enemies. An easy example of this is Magma Casing, which causes your rounds to explode and light enemies on fire. These types of augments also change the gun's color, so at a glance you know what effects the gun should have.

Mechanical Augments are meant to synergize with elemental augments and modify how projectiles behave. For example, Nut Cracker DX is a mechanical augment that causes projectiles to leave small bombs behind, which then take on the traits of their source. Bombs modified with Willow Wisp will levitate and fly after enemies, Rolling Dynamo bombs will fire small jolts of electricity at nearby targets before exploding into a large bolt of chain lightning, and Nobi Gen causes bombs to explode into a cluster of smaller bombs.

The third slot is the weapon's frame. Frames are rare modifications that overhaul how a gun behaves, allowing it to cover a different specialization. For example, PX-2 Hornet causes the associated weapon to act like an assault rifle, which allows you to take the relatively slow-firing shotgun and rocket launcher and use them as primary weapons. It also makes the revolver act like an SMG. A weapon's frame can have drastic effects on how that weapon can synergize with different augmentation combos, such as in the video above where I use PX-3 Ivory Tusk to get huge slow rockets that deal a lot of damage, and I use Rolling Dynamo to make them shock nearby enemies. After that I throw on Vega GAZ-R to manually control my rockets, and now I have a launcher that allows me to fly a little blimp drone around.

Now then, that sort of joints into the other major element of Nowhere, MI in the form of the burden system. Similar to how the player gets surrogates that allow them to double jump, dash and use venge veins, there's also a set of surrogates that have a cost to equip, but allow for more unique gameplay choices. These are called burdens. Burdens tax the user's metabolism, causing their internal temperature to increase the more of them the user has equipped. From a balancing standpoint, this serves as a hard limit on how many burdens you can have at once. From a pure gameplay standpoint, the higher your heat, the greater the enemy threat becomes as you start to attract attention to yourself.

Think of these like how Dishonored handles bonecharms, except way more evil.

Burdens come in four flavors: Common, Heavy, Rare and Ultimate. The costs of these burdens are 10%, 25%, 50%, and 0% of the heat bar respectively.

Common Burdens typically augment small aspects of the game and serve as flat upgrades. This includes a 15% chance to dodge incoming attacks, increased health and defense, the aforementioned Vega GAZ-R which lets you control your missiles, and the ability to run quicker.

Heavy Burdens tend to be more exotic and add some fun modifiers to gameplay. Some examples include summoning pets to help you fight (in this case, a little smiling ball), drastically improving the performance of your jet dash, and changing how some augments behave (such as allowing Rolling Dynamo to turn enemies into tesla coils as well).

Rare Burdens are some of the most powerful upgrades the player can unlock. These include being able to revive when you run out out health and summoning a guardian to fight for you, Having a small orbital familiar that fires beams corresponding to your current weapon's augments and frame, or even launching a vacuum cannon when reloading your gun.

Ultimate Burdens are almost impossible to find and tend to have extremely potent effects. Unlike other burdens, ultimate burdens don't cost heat. They cost other stats. An example of this is a burden that gives you a 90% chance to dodge any incoming damage, but locks you at a single pip of max health. Another is a burden that increasingly gives you defense as you lose health, makes you slower and slower as it goes.

The hope is that with all of these little systems, players can fit into their own fun niche and explore the town of Nowhere while nuking entire rooms because I failed to balance everything correctly.

I hope you folks enjoy the game when it comes out!!

(Background song is "I Got Knocked Out The Same Night England Did" by Bilk)

[fairystar111]

Two of a Kind

by: fairystar111

Rating: Gen

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia

Summary:

Everyone make mistakes

We all have our moments of weakness whether it be due to a bad headspace or loneliness

We try our best to rectify those misjudgment's

But some aren't as willing to forget

No some think that decisions are forever and aren't ever willing to let go

Lord help those stuck in their clutches...

Characters: Spinner | Suuichi Iguchi, Asui Tsuyu

CW/Tags: Kidnapping, Lima Syndrome, Dehumanization, Hurt no Comfort, Mutant Discrimination, Emotional Manipulation, Manipulative League of Villains, Brainwashing, Possessive Behavior.

All his life Shuichi Iguchi has never had someone truly understand him. He was born a heteromorph to two “normal” parents and was subsequently dropped off on the doorstep of an orphanage. They didn't even give him a chance when he was dropped off at a day old. The orphanage he spent his childhood in treated him sub-human because of his mutation. He was fed scraps off the floor like an animal while the other children were fed at dinner at the dining table with plates and silverware. While the other children were dolled up shown off to families looking to adopt he was hidden in the attic only allowed out once all the guests had left. 

He was lucky the orphanage was required to send him to school by law; he doubted they would have ever let him go if not. Though school wasn't any better, he had an endless supply of bullies just for being born different and teachers who turned a blind eye to the harassment. His teachers treated him like he was stupid often not listening to a word he said or answering any of his questions. He often had to be his own teacher throughout his schooling. He struggled a lot but managed to get good grades in hopes that after he aged out of the system he would be able to attend university and leave his past behind him. He probably would have been able to pass highschool and get into a good university if it wasn't for the incident.

One day after a long day at school he had walked into his bedroom ready to pass out only to find the headmistress of the orphanage there. She had thrown a button up shirt and pair of slacks at him and told him to get ready. He had initially gotten excited thinking that they had finally found a family of heterotrophs that wanted to adopt since those are quite rare due to the low percentage of heteromorphs in Japan. He had gotten ready quickly and followed her to the main office where interviews are held only to find himself completely horrified. 

The “couple” that wanted to adopt him weren't heteromorphs, they weren't even a couple and they didn't want him as their son. They were rich investors who wanted to put him in a new exotic animal exhibition they were creating. Apparently they have been all over the world collecting children for their exhibit. They wanted him to be part of the rainforest section. They explained to the headmistress, talking as if he wasn't there, that they find it easier to acclimate children into the exhibits rather than adults and would like him to be their gecko. The woman had found their idea delightful and had signed the papers without even asking his opinion. When he had spoken up and protested the decision all the people occupying the office acted like they couldn’t hear or understand him. After the pair left he was told to pack his belongings and that they would be here for him the following morning. That night he packed what little belongings he had and escaped through the third story window using his quirk to scale down the walls. He was done being treated like a pet. He was not going to grow up in a glass cage be cooed and awed at by rich elites in a foreign country. He abandoned the name Shuichi Iguchi and set out to start a new life as Spinner.

He spent a couple of years homeless resorting to small acts of petty crime to get by since no one wanted to hire a mutant and when he did actually want to buy anything at a store they would mark up the price once they saw his features. Once he was sixteen he heard of a group wanting to change the world for people like him and with nothing better to do he joined. It was the best decision he ever made. He helped win a war, changed society, and gained a family but sometimes he still got a little lonely looking at the others.

He never had a place to belong until the league and he doesn't want to sound ungrateful; he really does love them all. They're the first real family he’s ever had, it's just they don’t understand. And he's happy that they don't, really he is, he would never want them to be treated like he was. But they just don’t get what it's like to be treated like an actual animal as if they were a pet that could be bought or sold or they wouldn't be doing it to their kids. Hawks somewhat understands but the difference is he is pretty. He’s in the lucky percentage of heteromorphs that are pretty enough to be considered socially acceptable. He doesn’t understand what it's like for those like Spinner. That is why despite his better judgment he decided to take a child too. He saw the little frog girl and thought she would understand him in a way none of the others could. He never thought things would turn out this way. He was so sorry.

=====

When Asui awoke she found herself in a large plain room. She was in a large bed wearing the same clothes she was taken in. As she looked around the room she couldn't find anything particularly evil about it. The room was fairly unremarkable aside from the monitor on the wall. It wasn’t a concrete cell nor the lab of a mad scientist like she had been expecting; it was more like a plain guest bedroom. While that is good she can't help but wonder why she was brought here and what they were going to do to her. She decided to be rational rather than panic about what was to come and called out to her captor. Better to get things over quickly than stew in her anxiety.

“Hello? Is anyone there? Kero”

Soon after the door opened revealing the green gecko man that had taken her.

“Hi Asui, my name is Spinner. Um, I'm going to be taking care of you now.” The man spoke awkwardly, trailing off into silence and he fidgeted with his claws.

“If you don’t mind me asking: why me? Why are you doing this?” She asked. Her captor almost seemed nervous or uncomfortable in a way. It was strange.

“Well in your files I saw that you were also a heteromorph and thought we might get along. I’ve never had any siblings and wanted one so I picked you.” Spinner winced, when you say it out loud it sounds so bad. It sounds like he went shopping for a pet. It's not like that though he promises. It couldn't be. He would never do that. 

“Oh…” While it is sad the young man never had any siblings of his own she can't stay here she has a family to go back to. Who is going to watch over her little brother and sister while her parents are working? Who is going to help her little brother with his homework? Who is going to take her little sister to her ballet lessons? She needs to find a way back to them. 

“Anyway I left the room plain so you could decorate any way you want. I didn't know any of your preferences and didn't want to assume. We can order things together later if you'd like.” The man offered.

“Sure, kero.” The girl croaked moving her legs to rest under chin when she felt a strange tug. She lifted up the covers to see a padded cuff strapped to her ankle.

“Oh sorry about the leg. Shiggy and the others said it was mandatory to tie you guys down at first as a precaution.” 

When he had first brought up the idea of taking a kid himself. The others had been very skeptical of his ability to take care of a child since they still thought of him as one. They lectured him about all the work and training that goes into having a child. And gave him a lot of advice that he is secretly going to ignore. He’s never been a fan of dehumanizing and demeaning behavior and would never do it to another person let alone to Asui. But they were very strict stating that if he did not follow their rules he was not going to be allowed to train the girl himself. So he decided he would follow them but just barely enough that he wasn't technically breaking any rules but also not being terrible to Asui.

“It’s…alright. kero”  It's really not though. How is she going to escape with a chain constantly tying her down? She's not a powerhouse like Bakugo or Todoroki; she can't destroy the chain with her own power. She’ll just have to stay calm and wait for an opportunity to arise. Who knows how long that will take?

“I’ll take it off as soon as I can, I promise. I didn't want to restrain you in the first place but the others said it was necessary for me to do so or they would take over your training.” Spinner explained, emphasizing how much he did not want for that to happen.

The others tended to treat him kinda childishly and could be a bit overbearing. Probably because he joined when he was sixteen so they did help raise him a bit but they tended to treat him like a kid. If he was struggling with a task one of the others would always be happy to butt in and help him or do it for him. He did not want them touching his little sister. While he loves his family, their methods are harsh and borderline torturous. He does not want any of that near Asui.

“Can I be alone for a little bit? Please? Kero I’m still a bit tired from the sedative.” The girl lied, she just needed a moment to wrap her head around her current situation. 

“Of course,” the man said as he walked toward the door before muttering a small “Welcome home.”

Huh she hadn’t expected him to actually say yes. Her captor is very strange.

=====

Over the next couple of days they settle into a sort of routine. Her day starts with her alarm going off at roughly around nine thirty each morning, signaling it's time to get up. She then either takes a morning bath in the huge bathtub, seriously it was like a pool, or spends time in the sauna hydrating her skin after hours of sleep. Spinner had said he had gotten it all specially made for her amphibian traits, so whenever she feels her skin drying out she can pop in and out of the water at ease. Then she gets changed into whatever she’d like. Since Spinner made sure the temperature of her room is always very warm even though it is winter she can wear a t-shirt and shorts if she’d like.  

Then they have breakfast together and she does her online schooling. The man had told her that they have an actual school where all the kids they took will go once they are settled in. And that if it was up to him she would already be learning there but the others would be too suspicious of his training if he put her in school so soon. So for now she will be doing online learning until a believable amount of time has passed to convince the others she is fully trained. That was something she found quite odd about her captor. All her life she had assumed all villains were evil and found it easy to do evil things but Spinner doesn't seem to like to at all. In fact he’s very vocal about being against the behavior of the rest of his family. Despite kidnapping her and taking her away from her family he does not actually want to treat her badly. It hurt that she found it hard to hate the man. He wasn’t evil, he was just lonely and in search of companionship even if he went the wrong way about getting it.

After school she is allowed to do whatever she wants and if Spinner is not busy he’ll come over to hang out with her. They usually play video games together or bake something together. In the evening he lets her help make dinner most days since the young man is kind of a mess in the kitchen. He gave her lots of things to entertain herself with: a computer, tv, game consoles, a phone though it couldn't call anyone except the man himself. Despite having anything she could ever want she found herself longing for her real family more than anything. 

The more time that went on with no chances to escape appearing the harder she found it to indulge in the man's whims. She wanted to get along with the man she really did. She honestly felt a little bad for him; the only reason he took her was because he was lacking connection with other heteromorphs. Which she could relate to up until UA she had been the only heteromorph in both her elementary and middle school. 

She wanted to help him because at heart she is a kind person but it was hard to play and laugh along with someone who is holding you against your will. She wouldn't say she hated the man, he reminded her of her relationship with her little siblings except she’s the younger one this time. He was a nice caring older brother, it's just they aren't really family. This isn’t her home. He abducted her. He took her away from her siblings and parents. She just wanted to go home.

=====

As the weeks turned to months Spinner watched as his tadpole became more and more subdued. Whenever they spoke she sounded so sad and whenever he would check on her through the monitor when he was away she was always crying. He thought if he waited it out maybe it would get better but the longer she stayed here the more depressed she got. He thought she might be feeling a bit homesick, maybe UA had had better facilities that suited her amphibian needs he could copy. He decided to look into her past to see if there was anything he could do to maybe make her feel more at home. 

Now he’ll admit his decision to adopt the girl was a spur of the moment kinda deal. He had been feeling lonely and saw her picture in the list of students and decided to pick her without researching her past. He had assumed she was just like him and that she probably came from a foster home like he did. He was so wrong, he thought as he stared horrified at the file.

He had made a mistake. 

She’s not like him. She has a wonderful family with two mutant parents and two little siblings. He took her from them. His eyes filled with tears as he realized he was no better than the people that tried to buy him as a kid. He should have listened. He was not ready for a kid. 

He had to make things right. He had to send her back even if it meant he would be alone again. Even if he loved his little sister. He had to let her go. 

=====

Spinner paced around the room as he tried to hype himself up to talk to his family. He just knows they are never going to let him live this down. He’s going to be getting told I told you so by everyone for the rest of his foreseeable future. He honestly already knows how they are going to react to his request but he’s hoping for the best. His family are very serious when it comes to those they consider part of the family. Once you are in you aren't ever allowed to leave. But she hasn't been here for very long so maybe they won’t be too possessive.

Earlier he had asked Shiggy to call for a meeting so everyone could come listen to what he was going to announce. He didn't want any of them to assume Asui had escaped and have them drag her back to the mansion when he lets her go.

He felt like his nerves were connected to a live wire as he watched each member of his family walk through the door before seating themselves in the large sofas in the living room.

“So Spinner, what did you want to talk to us about?” Shigaraki asked, as the heir, all requests regarding his family have to go through him before they are finalized. A family is built upon order and it is his job to bring rules and structure to their home. 

“Do you need help with Tsu-chan?!” Toga squealed hoping she could get a peak at the only other little girl in their family besides her and Ochaco of course. “Ooh pick me! Pick me!”

“Not quite. I wanted to ask if I could send Asui back to her family. I made a mistake bringing her here. She’s not happy and I don’t want to keep her somewhere she is miserable.” Spinner mumbled eyes falling to the ground not wanting to see the looks of disappointment he knew would be on their faces.

“You don't have to give her up just because she unhappy, dummy!” Toga giggled.

“Yeah we know an amazing doctor that can help with that if you’d like! He’ll make her brand spankin’ new, better than ever!” Twice added.

“Spinner dear, are you sure about this? We can always find a way to make her happy here.” Magne asked gently, concerned for both the young man and the girl. 

“No thanks, I'd rather not keep her away from her loving family.”  Spinner grimaced, he knew they would suggest something like that. Asui is not a pet, she will not be trained and conditioned to like something she does not. He won’t allow it. 

“We are her family now” Keigo argued, mostly because he wanted to keep as many playmates as he could for his chicks. The more kids around the happier his babies will be.

“You can't just take our niece away from us. Give her away for all I care!” Twice shouted.

“We haven't even gotten to meet her yet!” Toga pouted.

“We could always just train her for you and give you the finished product. If you don’t want to see all the rough parts of training.” Dabi offered. 

“Yeah I have time,” Hawks chirped.

“I’m always happy to help!” Mr Compress added.

“No! That's not what I want at all! You’re not listening!” Spinner shouted tears of frustration starting to accumulate in his red eyes. This meeting was not going at all how he planned. 

“Alright settle down!” Tomura barked at the other member before continuing. “You guys know that Spinner has always been a bit softer than the rest of us. If this is what he wants then so be it.” 

“Thank you Tomu,” Spinner answered, only mildly offended. He didn't think it was soft to not want to be a horrible person but whatever… 

“How can I say no to my first little brother. I will allow this on the condition that she is monitored to make sure she won’t start up any trouble and sent through the rehabilitation program. She can complete it in her family home but she must do it like the rest of her classmates.” Tomura answered though he doubts she will be able to finish any of it before she is right back in their arms. 

“That's fine I can send my guard to watch over her.” He should probably save the I don’t want to keep my guard conversation for next time considering how bad this went. For now he can send the red head away and pretend he doesn’t also belong to him.

“Anything else?” the pale haired man asked.

“No, that's all. Thanks again Tomura.” With that said the reptilian fled the room rushing back to his floor to make the preparations for Asui’s departure not hearing the conversation he left in his wake.

“Are we seriously just going to let him do this?” Dabi questioned his brother. In all his time staying with All for One and Tomura they have never just let anyone they consider family leave just like that. 

“That girl is part of our family. We can't just let her go.” Mr.Compress argued.

“I don't want Tsu-chan to leave,” Toga whined.

“Spinner loves her like she’s his own. She can’t leave, he'll be heartbroken.” Magne added.

“He hasn't even put any real effort into training her.” Keigo pointed out.

“I know I've been watching him. He hasn't been listening to the rules we gave him. This whole situation is the result of that. This will be a lesson in itself. Once he lets the girl go she'll never come back willingly. He’ll have to resort to our methods and learn to listen properly to what we say to get her back.” Tomura explained. Family is forever you can never leave once you are a part of it. The girl will be back whether she and Spinner like it or not. 

=====

Over the next couple of days the man dwelled on how to tell the girl the news without breaking down. He didn't want her to go but it's for the best. She actually has a family that loves her and must want her back. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he opened the door and walked to her room. He looked around the room for the girl only to spot a lump underneath a pile of blankets, gently moving up and down releasing a sniffle or hushed sob every few moments. 

“Asui can you come out for a moment? We need to talk.” The girl remained a stubborn lump underneath the blankets.

“Come on tadpole, please?” he said resting his hand on the girl, “Alright you can stay where you are just listen.”

“I know you're sad, you're hurt, you hate it here and it's all my fault. If i hadn't selfishly decided to live out my fantasy of having a sibling this would have never happened. I’m so sorry Asui, I never meant to hurt you. I was reckless and stupid and didn't realize I was taking you away from your family.” 

“Then why did you do it? Kero” The girl croaked, voice strained from her sobbing.

“I just wanted someone to understand me. I wanted to be close to someone else who knew what it was like to be treated like an animal. I didn't realize by taking you away against your will I was treating you like that.” 

“Just leave me alone. I don't want your empty apologies.” The girl snapped; she was sick of this; she just wanted to go home. 

“You can leave. I promise I won't stop you.”

“Just if you ever find it in your heart to forgive me. Which you don't have to forgive me. I know I was terrible to you. Just if you ever do please visit. I promise I won't try to keep you. We don’t have to be siblings. We can just be friends. Just…don't forget me please.” Spinner cried, despite his mistakes he really did come to love the girl like she was his own blood.. 

There was a long pause before the girl mumbled “Alright kero”.

And with that conversation over they started the process of moving her out and then in less than a day's time she was gone. He was alone again.

=====

Spinner hasn’t left his room in two months. The others come over every so often to try and cheer him up or offer solutions to his “problem” but he just ignores them. He deserves to be in pain, this is how Asui felt when she was here. Why should he get to be happy when he made her miserable?

He knows the others are going to start to get restless with him ignoring them but he doesn’t care. He doesn't want to see them or interact with their brainwashed pets. He doesn't care anymore, he just wants to be alone though he doubts his suffocating family will allow him. 

He’s allowed one more month to mope before his family gets fed up and forces him out of his floor. He’s been forced to move into Magne’s floor so someone can watch over him and make sure he doesn't spiral. He continues to rot away in his new room despite his family's pestering. 

Until one day Magne knocked on his door announcing that he had a visitor. He had initially been annoyed until he realized Magne would never refer to their family as a visitor and his family usually just barged into his space with no forewarning it had to be Asui. He ran out the door only to find a sickening imposter in her place.

“Hi Spinner-nii! I'm back to stay with you! I didn't like life on the outside and decided to come back home.” The girl spoke vibrantly but her eyes were foggy and glazed over like she wasn't quite all there. She had a couple of suitcases with her and a visibly uncomfortable Kirishima. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked bewildered. The girl's tone and speech were completely different to what she used to sound like. It was off and almost robotic. This was not the tadpole he remembered.

“I couldn't stand being away from you. I hate the place you sent me to and the people that lived there. I wanted to come home with nii-san so here I am!” Asui pouted up at the man like she was taught.

He knows that's not true. The girl loved her family, especially her younger siblings. She would have never willingly left them behind like this. This has his family's “help” written all over it. For now he'll just swallow his pride and keep her until he can find a way to get her out. God this is all his fault if he had never put his mark on her she would have been able to live a happy normal life.

“I'm glad you're home,” The gecko man replied through gritted teeth and a tight smile.

I wish I never took you. I'm so sorry. I'll make this right, I promise. I’ll find a way to get you home…all of you.

Start/Previous/Next

[kralie-films]

What kind of scary stories or urban legends are popular in your area? I love hearing about local folklore and myths, and how different regions have their own unique stories that often tap into fears or anxieties specific to those areas.

There are a lot of urban legends about alligators and mole people where I live. Back in 1935, some kids found and killed an alligator they pulled out of a sewer and since then it's kind of become a crazy legend.

In the 20s and 40s a lot of kids bought exotic pets and some of those were baby alligators, I suppose. Some kids would dump 'em down grates and sewer manholes, and the legend says they were able to propagate down there since then.

Another one is about an escaped mental patient who lived at the abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, and he'd snatch kids off the streets late at night. Often described as wielding a bloody axe or the ever popular hand hook.

Last but not least, it's said that Captain William Kidd buried treasure on Liberty Island. People have been looking for it for centuries and apparently it's guarded by freakish apparitions.

I can go into more detail than that, but that's some of the few urban legends around my area!

~K

[ask-the-reaper-conspiracy]

(ooc) Why do you think Stronghart likes birds so much, that he keeps them in his office? Is there any symbolism behind it? Is it explained anywhere? I was always curious while playing TGAA

Most of Stronghart's birds are pigeons, specifically doves. I think it's of interest to this conversation that in the original Japanese version of the game, his given name "Hart" is afaik a reference to "hato", the word for dove in Japanese.

I don't believe it's explained in-game why he keeps so many. (I think if you ask Kazuma about Barok's bats he mentions Stronghart's doves and then speculates that all the prosecutors keep pets like that. But I haven't played the game in so long that I could have just made that up.) I can think of a few things, though:

For one thing, when it comes to symbolism, white doves are typically viewed as birds of peace and purity. I imagine they represent the image of himself that Stronghart wishes to show the world; that he will cleanse London of its criminal element and establish a more peaceful, modern society. Kind of ironic that he frequently startles them off by making his grand declarations.

Also, allegedly there was a craze going on in the Victorian era for raising "fancy pigeons" as status symbols and showing them off at pigeon shows (apparently it became so popular that even the working class started getting in on it, which really killed the vibe for the upper class.) Birds as pets were becoming pretty huge around this time; iirc the first pet shops opened up for bird owners.

Mind, I can't necessarily see Stronghart as he is now participating in pigeon shows. But I can imagine maybe when he was a younger man he did---heck, maybe he used it to network a bit. And the habit of raising pigeons just probably stuck around ever since.

Now, I personally headcanon that his parakeet Madam Rosie was a gift from a family member in India, who assumed he would want her because he keeps other birds (he did end up keeping her but that was beside the point.) But in terms of canon, he could have purchased her himself for any reason. Maybe because pigeons weren't a lofty enough status symbol anymore compared to a more exotic bird, or he was just wanting to try raising something new.

I think Stronghart could easily be the kind of person who likes keeping animals that he can train and control. Compared to people, birds are probably a lot more obedient, and subsequently a lot less stressful.

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

-Favorite sex position?

-What is an absolute deal breaker in the bedroom?

-Favorite pet name they like to be called?

for Kit...AND Sia

Thank you Goose!

putting this under the cut for nsfw stuff

Favorite sex position?

Kit does like a bit of the vanilla as a missionary fan, being able to see her partner and their expressions and being able to kiss them are all pros to the position. But her absolute favorite is getting taken from behind either doggy style or prone position...she likes it DEEP

What is an absolute deal breaker in the bedroom?

She is willing to do a lot for the person she loves, but she also has some very strict cut offs that she will absolutely not bend on:

no derogatory names

no hitting (spanking is cool though)

no bodily fluids (except blood, apparently she's cool with that)

Favorite pet name they like to be called?

Kitten. Hands down. Started out as totally derogatory from Jacob and quickly became the name she wanted him to call her even calling him out on it when he called her Deputy after she'd handed herself over to him

Favorite sex position?

Lotus. She likes the closeness of it and its more exotic then missionary to her. Plus helps with the big ass height difference between her and Sam if she's sitting in his lap.

What is an absolute deal breaker in the bedroom?

Sia is very vanilla, she's not really into most kinky things and doesn't really want to try a lot of "out there" stuff. Anything that starts veering into the hardcore isn't for her and she will shut that shit down quick

Favorite pet name they like to be called?

Sam has quite the roll call of pet names he likes to use on Sia, from doll to sweetheart, but her favorite is when he calls her darling in his thick Boston accent

[mcyt-cats]

Okay wait no James didn't bring up Otto's breed, he just said Maui was like Otto but bigger cause he said he thought Maui was like an f3 serval whatever that means? Sorry!

Hm, interesting. A serval is a smallish wildcat. Sometimes people own them as pets but they're considered exotic and....I personally would not say you should own a wildcat. I looked it up and there's F3 Savannah cats, which is basically a serval that's 3 generations removed from being wild and might be more tame, I guess?

Anyway, Maui is not a Savannah cat or a serval. He's an Egyptian Mau and that's a domesticated cat breed. So now I am wondering if Otto is a Mau as well and James just didn't realize Maui was also a Mau.

If so, that's a lot of Maus! Apparently they're a rare breed in the UK, Wikipedia says there's less 200 kittens registered a year. Now idk if all these mcyts are registering their cats who are just pets, of course. But we've got several Maus on this blog: Grian's cats Maui and Pearl, Martyn's cats Kiki and Pascal, and now possibly Otto as well.

[wouldvecouldveshouldve]

out of all the exotic pets you can only keep in Florida(yes the one from the news) which would you have? (Bats, sloth, New Guinea singing dog, deer, Asian Leopard cat, Marmoset, Fox, Squirrel , Skunk, Raccoon, Tiger) 2. When was you last seance?

okay time to answer julie’s asks!

probably a tiger! im biased though because tigers have been my favourite animal since i was little :]

ooh! it was last week! btw i didnt know what seance was beforehand so i searched it up, and apparently it means u attempting to connect with spirits - my family thinks that theres a ghost in my house? idk our lights flicker a lot and sometimes our tvs turn on for no reason SO i was talking to it as a joke. if that counts.

[thelemoncoffee]

The alligator he had to find was most likely a Chinese alligator. They're a lot smaller than the American gators, who have roughly 4x their bite force too. Fit gym-goers and martial artists would probs be able to take one down on land with hands only, but Saihara should've had a few weapons at hand. Chinese alligators are pretty docile, anyway.

Aliens could also easily mistake the alligator for a crocodile, we all do. And that's pretty interesting, because crocodiles are everything alligators are but better.

Y'know... now that I'm thinking about it, what if Saihara had a bunch of exotic pets (in haso! I don't support exotic pets personally so not in nondespair, but they're cool in sci-fi/fantasy). I mean... his parents are celebrities, his clothing is canonically expensive, his uncle's detective agency is "fairly popular," his school is apparently flashy enough that even just his friend owns a critically endangered animal as a pet... he's a rich bitch! Give him his very own space orca! And moose/deer because dice anon said so! Hope the orca doesn't kill the moose/deer because yes, moose have been spotted diving 20 ft underwater to find food there and getting chomped by orcas!

im not too keen on Shuichi owning such animals myself, but it would be interesting if he was allowed to bring a pet aboard and be brought something like a snake or possum

[agoddamn]

Thinking about it, skunks and foxes have a lot of overlap as far as exotic pets go 🤔 omnivores (though foxes lean much more towards meat), considered similar to both cats and dogs, scavengers, big in areas with humans, common roadkill, being a little guy with claws, etc.

Foxes just have much better PR.

(I have a blatant bias, but from what I've read skunks might actually be more suited to being pets? Supposedly you can teach a skunk to use a litter box a lot more easily than teach a fox not to mark, and a fox's piss apparently smells nearly as bad as a skunk's spray. Foxes do a lot more vocalizing (yipping, barking), need a bigger area, are less tolerant of human affection, etc)

Anyway. Check out this incredibly 2001core website run by a little old lady which comprises at least 40% of all published knowledge on the care of pet skunks.

[baddingtonbitch]

day 59: my exposé on the underground exotic pet trade is at a standstill and all my leads are turning out to be dead ends. apparently the locals and i have wildly different definitions of what an anonymous breeder is. that being said i’ve made a lot of new friends. will continue my research after the white party this weekend, bebe rexha’s gonna be there can you believe