#her long hair in yokai form is so fun to draw

[auragreedia]

Version two of my Okarun pin on Etsy! You can grab em here: https://auragreedia.etsy.com/listing/1824436230

I think I’ll wind up doing more pins like this for other characters with yokai forms and momo!! I actually love drawing momo a fair bit, I should so do something for her someday

[blueberrypossum]

Wounded Lover

I’M BACK!!!

No one tells you how much college takes up your free time but I’m back with my Mud Dogz content (especially Leonard, my boy). I’ve never posted much on Leonard and Nova’s friendship/relationship so this is how they bounce off each other’s personalities!

⚠️WARNING⚠️: There is usage of inappropriate adult words and sexual comments and insults. 

(Shoutout to the lovely @ultra-gingerlotus   for making me fall in love with the Snow Leopard from the Shiki x Danny reading! Also @greaser-wolf for drawing them on the motorcycle! Go check them out!!!)

“I’m not getting on that if you’re driving.”

“Then I guess you are just like other girls then, huh?”

Nova eyed the ogre in front of her as he once again offered his hand towards her, the motorcycle under him letting low growls of excitement rumble under their feet. 

They had planned to go out to eat and get away from the other members of the Mud Dogz, Leonard explaining that the love flying between the couples was making him sick and he needed a little bit of excitement. 

The mountain cat looked across the bike with her sunset eyes. She never knew that the ogre yokai had this stashed away, never once talking about it.

“I’ve never seen you ride this and then all of a sudden you have a bike? It’s kind of hard to believe, Leon.”

The feline walked around the bike as if it was an artifact on display, her fingers trailing over the front of the bike as she looked at her reflection. 

“You never asked.”

“You never presented.”

The ogre leaned his arm against the handle of the bike and rested his face in his hand, sending a smug smile up towards the feline.

“I mean, if you’re a scaredy-cat-”

“....Scoot.”

The Mountain cat was hesitant at first as she tried to get herself comfortable behind her friend, he boots trying to find their footing as Leonard revved up the beast under them, causing Nova’s tail to spike up in shock. 

“Titans above! I get it, it’s a motorcycle! Let’s just get there,” the cat grumbled, her arms snaking around Leonard’s waist. 

The leader of the Mud Dogz let out a gruff chuckle at the feline’s reaction as his fingers worked on the handles, the soft paws around him distracting him for a split second before he brought the machine under him back to life. 

“Whoa wait, no helmets?”

“No helmets.”

“Oh great, so that’s where you get it from. Nice to know.”

With that comment, Leonard pulled quickly out from the front of the orphanage and sped down the road, the gravel threading under the tires flying up behind them. 

Nova let out a loud meow of alarm and tightened her grip around his leather jacket, the wind whiplashing her hair as she closed her eyes against his back. Usually dangerous things didn’t scare her, but she knew what was coming, she could predict what would happen, but not with this. 

The ogre rolled his eyes as she shielded herself behind him and took a light left. 

“Do you not trust me?” Leonard screamed at her, his voice carrying with the wind. 

“I got on the bike, doesn’t that tell you?!”

“A little!”

Nova let out a gust of air as her curled up hands unclenched from his shirt and she opened one of eyes, the wind fluttering between her eyelashes as she took in the traffic around them. 

The bridge they were crossing was pouring with life, with other vehicles passing by and yokai’s walking on the sidelines, the city lights sparkling over the outline of each individual. The feline couldn’t contain her gasp of wonderment as she steadily rose herself up to get a better view over Leonard’s hair. 

She let the strong breeze push her hair behind her and her claws dug into the ogre as the bike wobbled a little bit, her face snuggling into his shoulder out a sizzle of panic. 

“No wonder you have whiplashed hair!” Nova laughed out as she felt her brown hair tangle within itself behind her, more fits of laughter barreling out of her as the chill of the wind settled in her fur. 

Leonard couldn’t help but feel beyond warm due to the feline’s face so close to his, even with the wind chilling him to the bone, he could feel the slightest bit of warmth against his neck and goosebumps traveled over his skin. 

Her yellow and green eyes shimmered like a sun’s shadow in a pool, the curl of her smile almost causing the sun to set as she turned to look at him. 

She was definitely different from most women he had run into. More brash and overly-confident, but he wasn’t stupid, he knew that there was some dark shit buried within the cracks of the mask she wore. But he didn’t push, he didn’t want to push and make her feel uncomfortable, when she was ready, he would be there. 

He revved up the motorcycle and a squeal purred against his back as more frightful laughter came from his friend and for once the leader of the Mud Dogz felt the tension in his body go dull. The howls that parted from her mouth would make anyone laugh with her, even causing him to release a chuckle or two as he turned the corner and into one of the multiple towns of side door restaurants. 

He parked the machine into one of the parking areas behind a building and he could still hear the upchucks of giggles come from the tabby, her claws brushing through her hair to undo the knots. 

“You take all the girls and boys you meet for a ride?” She asked as she flipped her leg over the side and leaned into the bike. 

Leonard could help but stare at the feline as she presented herself on the metal bike, her wine colored jacket edged over the black lining and her thighs jetted out from the tight leggings. Her leveled out hair was loose over her face and her bangs waved over her face as she looked up at him, a raised eyebrow motioned towards him to show that she knew he was eyeing her. 

“Only those stupid enough,” he replied as he rose from his spot and awaited for the feline to follow him into the busy market, the fresh scent of meats and fried food wafted from the corners of the stores. 

The streets that were decorated with food stands were brightened with lined lanterns and the air was warm due to the passing conversations of the animals and plants and the steam from pots and pans. 

 Nova felt her stomach grumble as her eyes darted between the different food stands, the engrossed horde of yokai buzzing around them as they tried to pick which stand to eat from. As Nova darted over to a stand on the far side to have a natural smoothie, she turned to see Leonard talking with someone, and by his face she could tell it was not a good someone. She quickly grabbed her drink and felt balmy rage hit the roof of her mouth as she caught who he was talking to. 

The feline could feel her extended claws trying to push through her fingertips and she shoved them back as she came up behind the female that was talking to him, a slash of ease crossing the ogre’s dark eyes. 

“How’s the cut in your ear, snow leopard?”

The white and grey cat yokai turned with a snarl, the long tear in her ear flicking as Nova recalled the fight, the tabby’s claws sinking into the grey cat’s face and then ripping into her small ear and creating the new scar. 

The snarl dwelled in her white throat as she sent Nova a cocky smile as she turned herself to face both members of the Mud Dogz, her back up against one of the pillars holding up a snack bar. 

“Oh, you’re here, too? I thought you would be off swimming with the fishes,” the female leopard cooed as she rolled her eyes and turned back to Leonard, her eyelids fluttering her sky blue eyes. 

“The names Serena, by the way.” She purred, her fingers working to pull her shirt lower as if she had forgotten him knocking her out and giving her a bloody nose in their last encounter. 

“Oh because you’re such a saint,” the ogre huffed back as he leaned away from the furry yokai and Nova’s tail flicked back and forth in irritation, her mind seeping with her feral instincts as she almost stalked over to her. 

Sunset eyes and sky eyes met in a battle as Nova stood in front of Leonard, Serena only an inch taller than her and she took it to her advantage as much as she could. The sparehire’s in her head looked down at the tabby’s bruised knees that were light against her dark leggings and the pearly cat let out a chuckle. 

“Are your knees always bruised? I’m surprised that so many men would pay for it from you.”

“At least someone wants me on my knees. Is it fun being a guy’s target practice?”  Nova shot back, her finger pointing to the dark white spot on the snow leopard's shirt and she scoffed, but pulled her green jacket closer as Nova let out a chuff. 

Leonard was a little taken aback by the women’s cruel words, as if it was a normal day to insult one another. Well, for Nova it was at least. But he had never seen her like this before, her form almost covering him as if trying to protect him. 

Her tail was lowered but the fur stuck out of its ends and her shoulders were risen from their usually slacked posture. As they continued to slap slander at each other, the green yokai realized that if Serena would move to make herself an inch closer to him, Nova would move as well, her tail swishing side to side and her ears going flat against her brown hair.

The ogre didn’t know much about cat conflicts, but he wasn’t blind and he could scent the traction that vibrated between the two. 

Nova was being territorial of him. 

And Leonard could feel a feverish desire rise over his body as Nova’s tail curled into his chest. 

“So, are you here to seduce yokai for your boss or to fight us?” Nova asked, snapping the ogre out of his thoughts.

Serena shook her short hair with a feral grin, as if she was trying to hide the fact she wanted to rip the cat in front of her in two. 

“Relax, pretty kitty. I won’t make a scene with you two with the public around, someone here has to have some class.”

The tabby opened her mouth to report back but a strong hand was placed between her shoulder blades and she turned to Leonard, his face now leaning from her shoulder.

“Look, if you want to bother someone, go to the corner, you’ll find yokai’s there that are right up your alley, good-bye.”

Nova let a few snickers carry over to the snow leopard as the snow leopard’s face lit up like a stoplight, her black and white ears going back against her head as Leonard led Nova away. 

“What’s up with you making everyone want to kill you?” The ogre grumbled as he took her over to one of the food stands they had chosen. 

“Guess I’m just irresistible,” the cat purred, her once agitated tail now calmly swayed back and forth. 

“More like irritable.”

“And you love it.”

His hand was still in the middle of her back when he looked down at her, her head barely passing his shoulders even with her boots on. The curve of her smile, the flicker of tease that pounced between her eyes, how she was jealous of Serena, it was a side of her he hadn’t seen before. 

It made his heart go rigged in his ribcage as he moved his arm away from her, the warmth and the yearning disappearing as he went back into his own bubble.

Forget it, idiot, she’s just a friend. Only a friend. 

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

After eating, both of them went back to where Leonard had parked his bike, the once lonesome piece of metal was now surrounded with other types of mobilization. Nova held her fist over her mouth to subside a burp as she crashed onto the bike’s seat. 

“Uhhhhhh, why did I eat that fourth taco?" She groaned out as she bent into Leonard’s back as her stomach felt like it was going to bust past her leggings. 

“Because you didn’t want to waste it.”

“Stilllll.”

 The ogre started up his motor and took things a little slow as he drove from his parking spot and into the silent night of the Hidden City. The once busy streets were now barely rode on and only a few animals walked on the sidelines. The feline’s claws barely tugged on his jean jacket as the food that settled in her stomach made her almost fall asleep on his back, until the bright lights of a car behind them blurred past her eyelids. 

The mountain cat turned around to find a dirty jeep speeding up behind them, the figures driving hidden under hoodies that somehow fought against the thrustful wind. 

Nova narrowed her eyes as other jeeps started to follow the leading jeep, more hooded figures filling in the seats, and then past the yellow beams she saw the small tufts of white circular ears. 

“Leonard, we got company,” Nova choked out as the ogre turned to look at what she was talking about. 

“Shit, who is it this time?”

“Well, you did say that I make everyone want to kill me,” she nervously chuckled, and then gave him a nervous smile as he narrowed his eyes at her. 

The first jeep was at the edge of the bike’s bumper now and Nova could see the snow leopard clearly now and the snow cat was sending her own confident smirk as the car hit the edge of the bike. 

Leonard’s lips were slipping curse words as he sped up, his bike roaring to life as it gave it all it had and went further down the highway, the group of jeeps racing after them. 

“Did she really send a whole army after us?!” He hollered as he took a hard right, cutting a car off as he intersected onto another road. 

“She sure does want your number,” Nova joked as her grip on him tightened as the wind pushed against her.

‘Oh I’m so going to have a talk with her later,’ he thought as he opened up a secret compartment on the side of his bike. 

“Here, take this.”

Nova couldn’t help but gasp as the gun was placed in the palm of her hand and she darted her eyes from him and to the gun. 

“YOU HAD THIS THE WHOLE TIME?!”

“It’s for emergencies!”

“HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO REALIZE THAT THIS IS AN EMERGENCY?!”

“JUST SHOOT!!”

Nova let out a hiss of displeasure as she checked the rounds in it and then once he slowed down for the next turn, she flipped in her seat, her body now facing the rows of vehicles. 

She took aim and shot at one of the jeeps on the left, taking out two of its four tires and watched as the ruined rubber rolled over in its spot and then caused the vehicle to crash into the side of the bridge, the large explosion giving a wave of heat over them as the chase continued. 

“Alright, one down, four to go,” the tabby whispered to herself as she aimed at the next jeep, her eyes widening as she saw them take aim with their own rifles and guns. 

“Len! They got guns as well! Bigger ones too!” She screamed to him as she shot at them to keep them from firing at them. The leader of the Mud Dogz let out a growl of frustration and  turned the bike into a narrow alleyway, the closest jeep coming to a screeching halt before reversing and faded away. 

The feline on the back of the motorcycle let out a sigh of joy as she leaned her back against Leonard’s, her free hand gripping the seat she sat on as they turned back onto a new street, not a jeep in sight. 

And then one crashed right next to them, sending both of the friends screaming in shock as Serena’s jeep closed in on them, her handgun taking aim towards them. 

“Alright, leader, got any plans?”

“Not really!”

“Okay, don’t wait up for me then!”

Leonard turned to question her but the feline had shoved the gun back into its box and lifted herself up into a crouch and once the jeep got close enough, she launched herself onto the hood of the jeep. 

Serena pointed her gun at the feline but she quickly knocked it over, the driver receiving the bullet into his arm and a loud scream echoed through the night. Nova then lifted herself over the mudded window and slammed her boot into the snow leopard’s face, sending the white cat into the back seat. 

Nova then punched the driver in his wounded arm and used the chair and the window panel to hold herself up and used both of her legs to kick him out of his seat, the male yokai rolling out onto the street with a thud. 

In the span of five minutes the mountain cat had taken over the car and was then turning the wheel to strike the jeep next to her, causing the vehicle to rock and the yokai’s in it to lose the grip on their weapons. 

‘I can’t tell if I should confess that I like her or am terrified of her.’

But the ogre swallowed and pulled the gun out she had put back, taking aim to the leftover jeeps and shot into their tires, redirecting the muddy piece of metal over the ledge of the new bridge they were on, the thunderous splash of water the only thing left of them. 

They both turned and surprise watched as the last jeep turned off onto a different road as if giving up on the hunt.

Nova sped up until she was right next to Leonard, a smug smirk crossed her face as they turned a corner, the next bridge they would take would have them home free. 

“You act like you’ve done this before!” Leonard laughed at her and she shrugged her shoulders with a confident flip of her hair.

“Mess with the kitten, you get the claws!” She joked as she tilted her head to laugh at her own joke and then white paws like snow were over her chest to hold her place. 

“Now! Come now!” Serena screamed into a radio she held in her hand. 

Both Leonard and Nova turned to see the last jeep come from its hiding place, like a predator staying in plain sight for its prey. 

“Leonard!”

Nova elbowed the snow leopard in the face and sped up the jeep, the hunk of metal taking the hit as the ogre’s motorcycle got out of the way. 

Nova held onto the wheel as the jeep t-boned in the passenger seat, rocking the car onto its side and then into a roll onto the bridge until it rammed up against the stone railing, the girl’s heads inches away from making contact with the rocks. Serena was pushed into the ground while Nova’s seatbelt held her in place, cuts now sliced into her skin and she had bitten her lip hard enough to cause it to bleed. 

She could faintly hear her name being called out but it almost seemed like everything was fuzzy, her vision, her hearing, even the blood that was trickling down her throat was fizzy like pop. 

The leader of the Mud Dogz had left his motorcycle on the side of the bridge and was racing over to the wreckage, but had to take cover behind a pillar as the last standing jeep started to fire at him. 

The tabby released a groan and spat up a few drops of blood as she felt the spark of flame flicker next to her, instantly waking her to her full senses. 

‘Come on, can’t I catch a break?!’

She lifted her hands up, her digits and elbows ached with pain but they weren’t broken as she undid her seatbelt, her arms barely supporting her as her shoulder slammed into the concrete. The snow leopard was motionless next to her and a big gash was bleeding from the back of her head. 

The mountain cat grunted as she pushed past the wheel and watched as the fire started to creep around her like a nightmare come to life. Her now stained paw pushed the small roped door of the jeep and crawled her way out, the broken up cement tearing into her elbows and forearms as she made distance between her and the fire. 

Leonard had taken out two of the yokai’s, the last of them ever so slightly getting closer with their larger rifles with more ammunition than his small handgun. He turned back to the rubble of metal scraps and raised his eyebrows in horror as the red hands of death started to consume the fire as its own, a barely breathing creature laid in a pile next to it. 

Leonard felt strength and courage rise in him as he turned back to his two main targets, giving it all he had so they wouldn’t see her trying to get away from the burning debris. 

Nova wheezed in the fresh air into her bruised lungs as she tried to get onto her hands and feet, but a pair of hands engulfed her hair into a bundle and had her rise to her feet. 

“Hey, hey! Only my dominatrix can do this!”

“Ugh! Do you ever shut up?!”

Serena dragged the feline out into the edge of the bridge and threw her down, a few strings of hair pulled from Nova’s hair and hung off of the leopard’s nails. The leopard's face was painted with blood from her wound, the only white that shined against it was her fangs that gleamed in the city lights. She bent down and dug her hand into Nova’s skull and pushed her face into the ground, the red liquid dripping onto the side of Nova’s face. 

“Y’know, your type always acts like they’re so strong and confident with themselves,” she snarled into her ear, her knee digging into the tabby’s scarred back to keep her in place. 

“But we all see that you’re just sad and scared. That when moments like this come all you can do is joke and hope that your charm can save the day.”

“I didn’t know that villains actually monologue like this! What’s next? You’re going to tell me how mommy didn’t love you and daddy left once he knocked her up?!

Serena let out a fake roar and slammed Nova’s head into the cement, the feline letting out a wail, causing the other fight to look over. 

In Leonard’s fight the guns had been dropped and there was nothing left but fists and kicks, his knuckles busted and split open, unfortunately the bad guys had gotten a few hits in his face and over his chest. 

The snow leopard lifted Nova’s head up towards the ogre with a sinister smile as her nails dug into her scalp. 

“Take a long look, ogre, because this pretty face will be at the bottom of this bridge before I’m done with it!”

Nova let out a cargled laugh as she looked up at the snow leopard and then back at Leonard. 

“Hey Len, she’s got an extra stain on her shirt. Which goon do you think it was?”

“Really Nova?! Joking now?!”

“Well, it distracted her.”

The mountain cat had wrapped her claws around Serena’s ankle and used it to flip herself over and with her feet now placed into the snow leopard’s stomach she lifted her over her and straight into the gushing river below, the feline letting out angrish cries as she was swallowed by the dark liquid. 

Nova rose to her feet and looked at her friend and then to the last standing bad guy, her large eyebrows raised in annoyance. 

“Can you, uhh, finish your fight so we can leave?”

The ogre raised his fist and made contact with the yokai’s face, knocking her straight out as he came over to where Nova was limping, his arms barely coming up in time to catch her as she leaned into him. 

“Did you know that snow leopards aren’t the best swimmers, so she’ll be at the bottom of the bridge instead of me,” The feline joked into his chest, the dots of blood that were spilled on her face smearing into his dusty shirt. 

Leonard pushed her away with his hands on her shoulders and he brushed a few loose strands out of her face and Nova believed that the heat of the crash was making her sizzle like a fryer. 

Why was he staring at her like that? The worry that burned in his face was unmistakable as the feline felt like she might pass out due to his comforting touch. 

“Are you okay?”

Nova’s tail curled against her back as she couldn’t help but lean into his hand, his calloused and strong hand that seemed to hold her effortlessly. Blame it on all the adrenaline or the loss of blood, but she let him hold her as she finally let the throbbing pulse of her wounds settle. 

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine. You?”

“One kicked me between the legs and I’m screaming on the inside.”

“Don’t worry, your future children will be fine. Somewhat if they turn out like you.”

The mountain cat hissed as weight was placed on her right leg, a long gash on her calf making her come to a halt. 

The ogre turned to her and let her go from his hold, only to bend down and wrap his arms around her thighs and throw her onto his back,a smile breaking against his lips as she let out a small mew of surprise as she gripped his shoulders for support. 

“You know the bike is only a few feet away, right?”

“You know you’re still irresistible.”

“What?”

“Irritable. I said irritable.”

[iamdunn]

FoxFire Re-ignited Day 1 Fushimi Inari Shrine

Tomoe Meets Nekotsune

A Kamisama Kiss Fan-Fic

Written by

AJ Dunn

Tomoe mused himself as he relaxed in the palanquin Onikiri & Kotetsu prepared specially for this human convention. One of the few times he could present himself in his fox demon form without scaring the sensitive humans. He smirked as he sipped sake from his eternal cup. He never would have considered such festivals had that wretched human girl not tamed the fire within him dragging him to such horrendous things. Nanami was gone now and Tomoe was free to be feral once again. 

Humans scampering about in costumes depicting the ancient demons and spirits now thought to be a mere myth if only they knew that many among them were in fact real demons, oh how they would scream. The thought boiled in his veins. Many came by his palanquin for photo ops and he managed to ruin every picture with a ball of foxfire, unbeknownst to them of course. 

“Master Tomoe, you should walk around.” Onikiri prodded him. He waved an annoyed at her as if to swat the will of the wisp away from him. 

“Master you are missing all of the fun.” Kotetsu chirped. 

“It hasn’t been fun since she was robbed from me.” Tomoe snapped. “Nanami would have enjoyed this, but I will spend the rest of eternity alone now.” He sipped his sake feeling less satiated by it as time drew on. He stood up as another group of fans came to get selfies with the less than obliged fox demon. He leaped with grace from the palanquin over the heads of the group forming in front of him. 

“I suppose I shall amuse myself with their feeble attempts to copy my likeness,” Tomoe said as he strode into the thicket of humans in yokai costumes. This cosplay convention had begun as a feeble attempt to draw American tourists to Japan. Kyoto was the perfect setting for this as the Sojobo on Mount Kurama would have approved. Kurama himself dawned his “Fallen Angel” ensemble to perform for the masses, while he loved all of the attention he got from the girls, he never forgave Tomoe for failing to protect Nanami. The stupid mortal girl was a danger to herself from the beginning he wouldn’t have to be held responsible for her weakness. The crowd was thick with variations of the demon costumes from Tengu, to Inugami, but what haunted Tomoe most was the many interpretations of Kitsune, the fox demon. The nine-tailed fox spirit had been popular for many years but has constantly changed into this meek cowardly loyal dog. He scoffed. If they want a mutt then they should dress as the inugami instead. Sea Dragons, are they serious. The thought. 

“What a purrfect foxfire kimono you have on.” Tomoe heard the voice swirl behind him as he spun to see dared speak to him let alone touch his garment. “Mmmm It looks paw sitively amazing on you… it’s a shame.” Tomoe drew back unable to speak. The audacity of this wannabe prancing about with nine fake white tails adored to her back, her red and orange flamed kimono, and metallic claws. However, what irked him more was the feline ears adorning the short spiky white hair and the feline half mask covering her mouth. Though the craftsmanship and the realistic fangs impressed him, what sort of demon costume was this?”

“How dare you address me.” Tomeo lept back as the girl reached a clawed hand toward his face. 

“It is such a shame. That kimono would look so much better on my bedroom floor.” She spun away from him and slipped through the crowd before he could respond. Heat welled up in him as her words fell upon him weighted with such inclination.  Had her words invoked such a temper in his skin, having not felt the embrace of a woman since dear Nanami fell victim to that hateful creature.

His feet moved forward propelled by some unknown force to follow this creature who had enticed him so. Finding her wasn’t hard as the flaming Kimono was the most unique garment in the entire hall. Her feline presence drove his sensibilities into flames he had to know more. He reached a hand out laying it on her shoulder. Her head turned ever so slight gazing upon the clawed hand. Her eyes shifted up to meet his without fully turning to face him.

“Yours is the most inaccurate of all the costumes here.” He said harshly. “You look more like a feline than a fox demon.” 

“But of course I do,” She smirked at him. “I didn’t come here to be a copy CAT,” her smirked became a grin as she turned to face him. She threw her right arm into the air before offering a bow before him. “I am Nekotsune. The Flaming Feline Cat Spirit, at your service.” Her gleeful tone threw him back again as he watched her elaborate introduction. He smirked at her as her eyes met his again. Suddenly, as if looking into a mirror he saw it. There was something behind her mask, something her eyes spoke that belied the joy in her voice. His heart throttled in his chest as she gazed into her hazel green eyes. Despair that mimicked his own. How can she smile with her eyes while carrying a pain that made tears well up in his eyes? 

Suddenly loud rock music began to play and Tomoe recognized the hateful voice as Kurama began to sing. The girl reached up to her ears in pain her head cowering below her shoulders as she turned and ran through the crowd. Tomoe tried to catch up to her, but she was gone. He felt an emptiness he hadn’t felt since the day Nanami had been murdered. Torn from her as if a piece of his own soul had been sheared from his very being. Tomoe forced his way through the crowd until he was left standing alone in the darkest parts of the hall. He looked back and forth unsure as to where she had gone. He heard the click of a door closing on its own. He turned to his right and followed the sound. 

“Master Tomoe, Master Tomoe?” Onikiri and Kotetsu flew through the sky nearly crashing into him. 

“Out of my way,” Tomoe yelled as he ran past them. He ran through the double doors into an empty hallway. There was no sign of her. 

“Master Tomoe.” Kotetsu finally caught up with him again. He was carrying a piece of paper. “She dropped this.” 

“Who did?” Tomoe collected himself and stole himself back to his palanquin as if nothing had happened. His heart fluttering as his mind washed over her face again in his mind. 

“The woman you were talking to,” Onikiri said handing him the paper.

“YOU WERE SPYING ON ME?” Tomoe fumed as foxfire welled up around him as he sat in his palanquin. He was about to stand up before Onikiri dropped the paper. He starred at it as it lay on the floor of the palanquin. It appeared to be a map of Fushimi Inara Taisha, the Shinto Shrine. There was a handwritten note in the top right corner. DAY 1. It was dated for tomorrow. He snubbed his nose into the air then took another sip of his sake before tossing a ball of foxfire at the note. Onikiro snatched it before the fire caught it, stuffing it into her shirt so Tomoe wouldn’t know it had been rescued. 

Despite the pain in her legs and feet, AJ rose from the bed and hobbled to the bathroom to wash up. She had only been in Japan for two nights now, the first day she pretty much slept off the fatigue that came with traveling from her home in Oregon to Tokyo Japan then taking the jet train to Kyoto. An itinerary that took her 7 years to instigate. Her condition worsened day by day and she knew that if she didn’t fulfill her own death wish, she’d never rest easy in the afterlife. Seeing the shrines of Kyoto had been her dream, her mount Everest of goals knowing that she had been losing her ability to walk since she was 9. Charcot Marie Tooth disease wasn’t a forgiving neuromuscular condition, and it wasn’t alone. Her body, 40 years old, is now plagued with numerous conditions that robbed her of her ability to even breathe without choking, walking without stumbling, even laughing. Her muscles weakened day by down, now the migraines were a plague she couldn’t shake even with prescriptions medications. Last night’s adventure to the cosplay convention was a tempting distraction from her itinerary. Being able to dress up in yokai cosplay was fascinating and she didn’t want to offend the people of Japan by misrepresenting their folklores, so she invented something entirely her own. She would be documenting her anonymously for her online support group. She hadn’t expected to meet such an attractive fox demon fan. Everything about him attracted her. His eyes, his blue foxfire kimono, even his voice. He was the most authentic-looking creature she had ever seen. He even haunted her dreams. 

She slapped her face as her mind wandered again to the statement she had made about his kimono looking better on her bedroom floor. She wasn’t quite herself when she was behind the mask, or maybe that was more her than she had ever been. It was freeing to be able to talk so openly. She had never been able to talk to a stranger with such disregard for embarrassment or rejection. She finished bathing then pulled on her AFO’s. The hard plastic braces supported her feet and ankles but heated her calves. She had to wear knee-high socks underneath to prevent rashes and irritations. They were the most uncomfortable piece to her ensemble. She slipped on her kimono and tied the OBI, which wasn’t as easy anymore as it had been when she first made it. Then once her hair was spiked to perfection she clipped her feline ears into place then pulled the half-mask over her mouth. She inspected herself in the mirror. Luckily her Kimono was long enough to hide the braces on her legs, she didn’t want anyone to notice. Unsure of how she would be received. Since she was a teenager anyone who found out about her condition either treated her like a contagion to be avoided or as a liability to be denied participation. 

She opened her notebook to the second page. DAY 2 was written in the upper corner. Shock fell on her as she realized her DAY 1 map was gone. She flipped to the first page, it had the full map of Kyoto shrines on it outlining the shrines in order from the Fushimi Shrine to the Kifune shrine. Each day she would visit and explore a new shrine, indulge in the cultural festivities, all the while video blogging it. Today she was meant to tour the Fushimi shrine but the map of it was gone. No matter, she would buy one at the visitor booth when she got there. 

She had barely entered the shrine when she began to feel chills rising up in her spine. Chills like last night when he came up behind her. His scent was sweet and alluring like honey cakes & sake. She shuddered, forcing away the image of his eyes peering into her, the thoughts of him haunting and distracted her from her mission. She turned on her camera, a tiny thing mounted invisibly on the bell collar she wore around her neck. 

The thousand Torii gates led up the mountain. This tour would take all day, for her. 2-3 hours just to hike up and back at a regular pace, for someone without restrictions, however, she planned to lunch at one of the many restaurants there. Kitsune Udon was her choice for lunch and maybe some tea. 

The wind blew as she began the hike. She had been studying the map as she held it tight with both hands. This was never a good idea and she soon realized as the toe of her shoe caught something heaving her forward face first into… nothing. Did she stop falling buy why? It took her a minute to realize that there was an arm around her waist coming from someone standing directly behind her. She was pulled back so suddenly, her back landing firmly against a tall pillar, a person. Glancing over her shoulder she could see the man who held her. His short dark hair was tousled as if windblown. His face was stern with a bit of stubble. His eyes looked familiar to her, as did the smell of sake, but nothing else about him seemed familiar. 

“Watch where you are going.” He said firmly before releasing her. She nearly stumbled forward at the sudden separation from him. She felt cold and distant in his departure as he walked past her entering the trail leading up the mountain. She stuffed the map into her notebook then tucked it into her belt and began walking up the trail. His pace was quite a bit faster than hers and she soon lost sight of him. It didn’t take her long before the fatigue in her legs began to burn through her whole body. She forced a few more steps before she simply couldn’t take another. She found a bench slightly off the trail and sat down. Looking out over the path she had just come. She lasted longer than she expected. The burning in her legs became a tingling sensation as if the burning was stripping the sensation from her legs leaving them numb from the hips down. She groaned as the feeling slowly began to return to her legs. 

“You’re not even halfway there, are you giving up so soon?” a voice came gruffly from behind her. “How weak.” Anger fumed up in her as she could hear the unspoken words, the words her mother would have said if she were still alive. ‘You can’t do it so give up now.”

“MMM, rushing such an adventure would be Catastrophic.” She quipped, she loved her cat puns. She heard him scoff behind her but he didn’t leave. 

“Why are you here?” He stepped closer to the bench staying behind her. “Dressed like that.” 

“Do you find it offensive?” She asked smirking under her mask. 

“What? NO.” He nearly shouted. “It’s just, unusual for someone especially a foreigner to be dressed like that.” 

“How do you know I am a foreigner, is my Japanese not purrfect?” she stood up. She turned but he was gone. She made her way back to the path and continued the climb. It wasn’t long before the fatigue came back to her legs. She could smell the savory scents filling the air, she must be getting closer to the restaurants. She could almost taste the Udon. She found the line quite long and stood there. As desperate as her legs pleaded for her to sit she didn’t want to lose her place in line and willed herself to stand her ground. Her knees began to wobble and lip as she fought hard to remain standing. The burning was now giving way to the familiar sensation of tingles and soon numbness would take over. She sighed, she knew it was too late, she wouldn’t be able to move her legs to walk to a bench. Her knees were gone now as she felt her body slip to the ground. She threw her hands out in front of her trying to catch herself but she stopped. Once again, an arm and a familiar scent surrounded her. 

“Pathetic.” the voice once again from behind her. This time as he pulled her against his body he held her firmly as the feeling began to return to her legs. It was only a few minutes, but it felt like a lifetime as her heart pounded heavily in her chest. ‘Had she forgotten to take her heart medication again?’ Soon she could feel her legs again and attempted to step forward letting him know she was okay. 

“Thank you.” She whispered

“Shut up.” his voice was quiet with a feigned harshness. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him looking away. “Keep moving your holding up the line.” She giggled then stepped forward. 

“Kitsune Udon and Oolong tea please.” She asked once she reached the head of the line. She lifted the side of her kimono slightly to reach the thigh pocket of her leggings. She thought it was the safest place to put her wallet. 

“Make that two.” the voice from behind her came as a hand reached over her shoulder to offer the money to the cashier. They handed him a plastic paddle with a number on it. She looked up in surprise but before she could object, his arm was around her shoulders pulling her to the closest empty table. He sat in front of her but didn’t look at her. 

“Why are you doing this?” He asked without looking at her.

“Doing what?”

“Stop.”

“Stop talking your voice is annoying.” he gruffed tossing a glance at her without turning his head towards her. 

“If it’s so annoying, why do you keep asking me dumb questions?”

“They’re not dumb questions, your just dumb.” he shot her an angry look his hand flat on the table. “It’s clear you can barely stand let alone walk and here you are hiking a trail.” She laughed at him. His angry expression softened. 

“I’m doing it for a fundraiser.” She smiled. The waiter brought out a tray with two large bowls, two teacups, and a kettle of tea, they set the bowls and cups down then poured tea into each cup. His face relaxed as he sat back. His face appeared disinterested but his eyes remained on her. He couldn’t stop looking at her, watching her, wondering what would possess a person to put their bodies through so much pain and agony. 

“What fundraiser?” he folded his arms over his chest as she poured sugar into her teacup. “Aren’t you going to take off that ridiculous mask?” She reached up to her ears and released the mask lowering it to her lap then she began to sip the broth of her Udon. His heart thudded for a moment as he stared at her lips. Her face was unmasked by makeup. Her cherry pink lips were bare of any lipstick or gloss but something remarkable, something… he shook it out of his head. 

“Each day, I will visit one of the many shrines of Kyoto, documenting my adventure.” She tapped the bell on her collar. “And each day I post the said video on my vlog, and my viewers pledge money to the CMTA Research Center.” Anger filled up his demeanor and he hunched forward his hands back on the table.

“You’re filming me? NOW?” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll edit out all of these encounters with you, as I block out the faces of the strangers that I pass.” She said slurping up the noodles with a fork. He watched her hands and she fumbled with the fork. It was clear she wouldn’t be able to use chopsticks as her hands could barely hold the fork. He settled back into his seat shifting his face to look away from her. He reached out to his cup to sip from it not moving on his bowl of Udon. 

“What is CMTA.” He asked quietly?”

“I thought you wanted me to stop talking because my voice is annoying?” She watched him fume again.

“Just answer the question.” he huffed then began to spoon Udon broth into his mouth.

“Charcot Marie Tooth Association, it’s an organization devoted to helping people with CMT strive for a better life and a hope for a cure.” She said before eating more of her Udon. He glanced up at her not impressed with her short answer. 

“What is CMT?” 

“A condition of the peripheral nervous system and results in the deterioration of the nerve and muscle tissue throughout the body.” 

“Is that why you are so weak?” his blunt question was met with a laugh. 

“You could say it was the first stone on my grave.” she laughed again.

“So, you’re dying?” He felt a sharp pang in his chest, she laughed again. 

“We all are.” 

“Speak for yourself,” he announced. 

“Right, because your a fox demon?” she teased. 

“Yes, Wait, what makes you think that?” He said sharply. She pointed to her hair.

“You still have a bit of white from last night just there.” He hadn’t realized the color of his hair had begun changing back. It was too late to fix it, now if had she’d notice and realize he actually was a demon. “What’s your name?”

“Shut up and eat.” he picked up his chopsticks and began slurping up the noodles.  “Do you intend to keep going?”

“All the way to the end.” She said then returned to her food. 

[stillness-in-green]

Spinaraki Week Level 2, Day Three: Folklore | Memory

For the folklore prompt, a yokai AU.  For the memory prompt...  Well, let’s just say that this is probably not going to make much sense if you haven’t seen Sarazanmai.

Spinner dies, but he doesn’t.  He’s empty, but he isn’t. He wants to connect, but he mustn’t.

(With apologies to Sakaki Deidoro, who probably didn’t deserve to be turned into a kappa zombie anymore than the ones in the show did.)

———–      ———–      ———–      ———–

“Sure I know him,” the man in the bird mask slurs, leaning back from them with a loose shrug.  “Think there’d be a guy in this uniform who doesn’t?”  

The air stinks of booze; there’s an open bottle in the man’s hand as he lifts it, a pointing finger drawing figure eights in the air, wobbling between Shigaraki and Spinner.  Spinner to Shigaraki, back and forth, Shigaraki to Spinner.  An invisible line of connection.

“Who’s askin’, that’s the real question.”  The man giggles, then hiccups at the end of it.

Spinner can’t feel it much in this form, but you don’t get involved in the sorts of things this would-be tengu is involved in if there isn’t something you want, or someone you love. He doesn’t even need to glance at Shigaraki to know this is their next target.

“No beginning, no ending, no connection,” he pronounces.

“We’ll open a door,” Shigaraki echoes, and sluggish alarm registers in bird-mask’s slackening mouth as Spinner pulls out the gun.

“Is it desire?” Shigaraki asks.  Around them, the humming of the machines changes pitch.  Bird-mask glances around wildly, hearing them for the first time.

“Or is it love?” Spinner asks, the word tasting like the flesh of an overripe plum on his tongue, cloying, too sweet.

“Let’s extract it and find out.”

The lights from the extraction chamber rise—focus—flash.

The sound of drumming drowns out the gunshot.

-

“How was it?” Toga asks, floating down from above to coil her arms around Shigaraki’s shoulders when they make it back to the hideout.

Shigaraki huffs.  “Just another one for the machine, same as always.”

“Usso…” The pout is audible in her voice.  Then she looks back over her shoulder at Spinner, her eyes glowing yellow as Shigaraki walks them both into the shadows. White fangs flash in her grin.  “Did you have fun today?”

He can’t not hear a mocking edge.  He tells himself it’s just how otters are, even their criminals.

“Like Shigaraki said,” he grunts.  “It was the same as always.”

She sighs, wistful as a fading flower.  “I’m sure we’ll find a lover someday.  Maybe that one’s boss?  Oh, I’m sure he’ll be otterly delicious.”

Shigaraki just snorts again, and in Spinner’s chest, his hollow heart aches.  Again.

-

“I’ve never met a kappa with such an empty heart,” the otter in the white lab coat says the first time Spinner wakes up on his table.  “How otterly fascinating.”

Spinner looks up at him, vaguely surprised that he survived the fall of the kingdom, but somehow not at all surprised that, having survived, his luck has landed him here.

“I am Chief Science Otticer Ujiko,” the otter introduces himself, and extends one fat paw towards him. “And I think there’s someone you should meet.  Someone who can help you understand.”

“Understand what?” Spinner whispers.  The lights above him are so bright, electric white and so much colder than any lamp or lantern from home.

“That those connections you kappa prize so dearly—are poison.  Usso…”

-

Shigaraki plays video games when they’re not out hunting for desire energy.  He’s unreasonably good at them, hands flying over controllers he never does more than glance at, instead staring fixedly at the TV screen.  He doesn’t seem to care what it reflects back at him, as long there’s some goal he can point his avatar at instead.  Preferably a bloody one.

Before the empire found him, Spinner had never touched a video game—or, really, much of any kind of human tech.  A stray talking children’s toy lost in the tall grass of a riverbank.  A drowned radio carried downstream by the currents until it wedged up against a rock in the riverbed and sat there leaking acrid mercury from its battery compartment into the water around it.

Shigaraki doesn’t comment when he comes back from an appointment with Ujiko and finds Spinner fumbling through an early level on one of his games, though the sound of the door opening startles Spinner badly enough to send the character onscreen careening into a bottomless pit.

Instead, he just takes the controller out of Spinner’s hands, navigates the jump for him when the character regenerates, and hands the controller back.  Then he drops onto the other end of the ragged couch and watches Spinner play.

“…Man, you really suck at this.”

-

They dance, ballroom-style, a thing Spinner only ever saw from a distance, frozen in human art.  He should be terrible at it, and maybe he is, but the music seems to guide his feet all the same.  Or maybe it’s Shigaraki, the emptiness at the bottom of his heart so very, very easy to follow.

-

“Why do you do this?” Spinner asks Shigaraki, not long after their first meeting.  “You aren’t one of them, are you?”

They’re staking out a local yakuza spot from a few buildings over, watching cars come and go.  In the dark, Shigaraki’s eyes could pass for normal.

“Why do you this?” Shigaraki echoes, not even looking at him.  “You aren’t one of them.”

“Because—”  Spinner can’t finish the sentence.  Shigaraki may not be an otter, but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be consequences for saying, Because of you.

“Connections,” Shigaraki says, “are bullshit.”  

His white hair stirs on the breeze from the open window.  

In the distance, Spinner can smell the river.

-

All For One strokes back Shigaraki’s hair, his grin a pale crescent against the black nimbus obscuring the rest of his features.  Shigaraki’s head twitches to the side but he doesn’t otherwise move, neither to lean in nor pull away when the Emperor of Darkness bows his head to whisper into his ward’s ear.

Whispering poison, maybe.

Spinner, waiting at the other end of the basement with Toga, watches the two of them, and wonders.

The otters want to destroy the circle, or so Shigaraki and Ujiko say.  Spinner doesn’t know why—the otters use desire energy just like kappa do, and destroying the circle of all will make it just as inaccessible to them as it would become to kappa.

There must be something they aren’t saying, not that anyone’s going to tell him what that might be.

He watches Shigaraki and All For One, and he thinks about pyramids.

-

Shigaraki hates.  He hates humans, hates kappa, hates otters, hates the circle.  He breathes it, swims in it like it's his own river of life.  It drips off his words, flows through his veins, powers his heart like a turbine.  When they dance, Shigaraki’s eyes never leave his, gaze boring straight through Spinner, as if he’s trying to dig his way into Spinner’s skull with his stare alone, the two of them carried fully by the intensity of his emotions.

Shigaraki leads—across the factory floor, up the escalator, out onto the broad balcony that overlooks the city, the thousands of city lights that shape themselves to the curves of the river.  He leads until the very end, where he pulls himself in close, guides Spinner’s hand to his chest, and splays himself out over Spinner’s arm as Spinner’s claws slip beneath his skin to pull his heart out of his thin white chest.

Spinner draws the organ—ember-red, ember-hot—to his mouth, breathing in the energy of it in shuddering gasps. Ujiko’s implant in Spinner’s chest gives an answering tremble and groans back to life, an uneven pulse that isn’t quite a heartbeat.

And so he’s ready to go for another however-long before they do this again.  A few days, maybe a bit over a week.  He could go longer without, probably, but the machines are always hungry.

Spinner is too.  Laying limp and lax in his hold, Shigaraki’s eyes flutter, his cheeks flushed, a thin whine audible beneath his breathing. Still, his lips are pulled up in a small, tight, fierce grin.

Spinner’s teeth itch. If he sank them into the hot lump of flesh clutched in his taut fingers, would he know why Shigaraki can smile like that?  How he can feel things so strongly and still want to throw it away?

I want to connect, whispers a dangerous, treacherous voice in his mind as he eases Shigaraki’s heart back into place, averting his eyes.  But I’m afraid.

-

Where Shigaraki came from. How he fell in with the otters.  Why he wants to destroy the circle—the sarazanmai could tell him.  The sarazanmai reveals everything.

There are a thousand problems with that, starting with the fact that Spinner is pretty sure that you can’t even perform sarazanmai with a human, and, whatever All For One and Ujiko have done to him over the years, it doesn’t change the fact that Shigaraki is a human.

Spinner turns over in his bed, limbs splaying out every which way.  It’s stiflingly hot in the hideout, both because it’s summer and because of the concentration of desire energy below the building.  He sits abruptly, tank top clinging to his skin, then gets up to open a window.  

Air moves over his face, a laggard breeze that still draws out a soft sigh of relief.  He looks out over the city, breathing in the smoke and the exhaust, the taint of sweaty humanity clinging to every corner of the place.  Beneath it all, he can still smell the river.

…The prince could turn Shigaraki into a kappa.  He’s done it before, or so the stories go, in very desperate times.  He’d have no reason to grant a wish like that anyway, not for a bedraggled, unconnected outcast like Spinner; he’d probably cough up a thousand brass plates before he’d even think about it.

Not that it matters anyway. The prince is dead, lost when the kingdom fell.  Shigaraki’s human, and human he’ll stay, brimming with the kind of raw emotional potency that has drawn youkai towards humans since before humans had even developed a word for connection.

There’s the shirikodama.  The thought arrives in his head so perfectly formed that Spinner looks over his shoulder, suddenly paranoid that Ujiko or Toga appeared to plant it there.  But Toga’s off running around with Twice tonight, and Ujiko never leaves the bowels of the processing plant.

Spinner shivers.

He has never swallowed a human’s desire, not even to hold it in his gullet long enough to deliver it to the prince like the noble delicacy it is.  He could, though.  The city is built on water; they cross streams and rills and offshoots multiple times every day.  It would be so easy to pull Shigaraki into one and let it carry them to the river, let its cool waters soothe away the fever of his hatred, if only for a little while.

Spinner would rest their foreheads together, pull Shigaraki close, and—and extract his desire, drink it down there in the river of life, and with no prince to surrender it to, it would just be his, only his.  All of Shigaraki’s memories, all of his emotions, the very soul of him, made one with Spinner forever.

And maybe he’d be safe there, safe and connected, no matter what becomes of the circle...

…He’s gotten hard.  Fuck.

Spinner makes his way back to bed, but it’s a long while before he gets to sleep.

-

In the morning, there’s a second game controller sitting on the floor, green next to the usual red, their cords winding around each other in a loose spiral.  Spinner stares down at it, then lets his eyes track up to the sound of the low laugh from the rafters.  Shigaraki looks back down at him, his form limned in red light.

“Spinner, I thought of another way for us to connect.”  The delivery is a bit too high, but the voice is Shigaraki’s.  The cajoling lilt of the cadence, though, is otter through and through.

“Knock it off, Toga,” he grits out past clenched teeth.

If the red glow didn’t give her away, the way her eyes flash gold would.  She winks at him, waves, and disappears, laugh lingering behind her.

The real Shigaraki comes out of his room a minute later, still half-asleep, and almost walks into Spinner before he catches himself.  Unselfconscious, he elbows Spinner out of the way and looks down at the—gift? Test?  Spinner hasn’t decided yet.

“Toga?” he asks, voice rough.

Spinner swallows and nods, hyper-aware of Shigaraki’s warmth, and stutter of his own heartbeat, and the grumble of bio-engine below.

Shigaraki exhales, a sharp gust that ruffles his bangs.  “Figures.”

“I can return it,” Spinner offers, which is stupid, really.  It’s not like he knows where Toga got it.  It might not have even come from a regular store; she sees Ujiko just as often as the rest of them, and he always has some new project he’s wanting to test.

But Shigaraki’s already wandering off towards the kitchen.

It’s another day, and there’s plenty of desire waiting to be found.

[turtlestanfirst]

To apologize for doing nothing productive on this blog over the past few days i offer design ideas for the Rising Heroes AU babies???

Tora:

Age: 17

Gender: female

Sexuality: lesbian af

Parents: Raph and Atari

Personality: firey and hot-headed, but she's certainly inherited both her parents' soft hearted ways. She comes off as intimidating, but deep down she's actually goofy and fun-loving, even sentimental at times. Above all else, though, she has Raph's protective spirit and takes her position as eldest sister and eldest cousin very seriously. She's sort of the lieutenant of the team; not quite the leader, but she's always ready to take charge and help the team to victory.

Appearance: tall and stocky, wild brown curls, brown eyes, bright green skin (tougher like a turtle's skin), a flatter, softer shell on her back

Fun facts: she loves hip hop and hamburgers more than legally allowed, and hates every single horror movie ever. She'd much rather watch something funny or romantic

Aries:

Age: 16

Gender: trans guy

Sexuality: bi af

Parents: Donnie and Talise

Personality: He's about as chill as they come. It takes a lot to get him to panic, but once he reaches that point he's absolutely hysterical. He can act cocky and sarcastic like both his parents, but is just as empathetic and sensitive to emotion as Talise, and as such is the best listener in the group. While he loves a good fight, he puts his best talents to work as the team's researcher- the spy if you will. He can learn anything about anyone and is slowly developing his own mental manipulation abilities to really up his spying game. He's clever and smart, taking after both parents in Donnie's love of science and Talise's fascination with the supernatural.

Appearance: dark blonde hair, heterochromatic eyes (the left one is grey and the right one looks almost violet), pale green skin with some darker jade green splotches on his face, arms, and torso, slightly taller than Tora, lanky form, sharp canine teeth (inherited from Donnie bc in this AU the purple boi has those softshell fangs), freckles on his cheeks

Fun facts: when they found out they were having a baby, Donnie and Talise had one major problem; he wanted a scientific name while they wanted a more magical name. They argued right up until Talise have birth, and after seeing them suffer like that (their labor was not an easy one), Donnie decided that they deserved to pick the name for their son after all that work. Moved by his decision, Talise picked a name that fitted both their tastes; a constellation and a zodiac sign. Aries is a talented drummer and loves old rock (as do hos cousins Enzo and Ezzie, who are good guitarists and singers. They have a lil rock trio and it's pure and good)

Lorenzo:

Age: 15 (the older twin by 2 hours)

Gender: demiboy

Sexuality: pan af!

Parents: Leo and Vinny

Personality: He might be just a tiny bit reckless, but he makes up for his impulsive nature with an unyielding bravery. He's every bit as adventurous as his mother, and as charming as his dad. He feels like he needs to live up to their legacies as a Battle Nexus champion and the leader of a team of ninjas. Unlike Leo, however, his son starts out as the leader, with Tora there to balance him out and support him along the way. He can act with a lot of confidence even if he doesn't feel so sure of himself. Surprisingly, he has a quiet side as well, and can be very gentle and understanding from time to time.

Appearance: short, dark brown hair, lots of tiny light blue freckles, several bright red markings on his face, three bright red markings on each of his arms and thighs, two large, bright red splotches on his lower back, yellow markings on his tail, lime green skin, a flatter shell on his back, about the same height as Tora, lean frame, long limbs that give him a sort of gangly look, brown eyes.

Fun facts: Enzo is a sucker for comics, and loves to draw his own (only Ezzie has ever seen them and she's been sworn to secrecy about them). Not only is he good at writing comics, he's a talented songwriter as well! He writes rap rhymes, poems and ballads and they're absolutely stunning.

Esmeralda:

Age: 15 (the younger twin by 2 hours)

Gender: female

Sexuality: bi af

Parents: Leo and Vinny

Personality: The mellow twin and the strategist of the team, she's a logical thinker with a knack for getting out of a tough situation with brilliant plans. She's snarky and cocky most of the time, but she's got her soft spots and they show themselves every now and again. She's an innovative thinker and shows an incentive spirit her uncle Donnie hopes to help nurture. She's not likely to start a fight, but she sure as hell can finish one.

Appearance: Shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, three light blue spots on both her cheeks, bright red markings over her eyes like her father's, three yellow markings on both her arms and thighs, bright red markings on her tail, slightly darker shade of green than her twin, flatter shell on her back, second-shortest person on the team (and highly bitter about it).

Fun facts: Ezzie has a photogenic memory, she can remember a surprising amount of information just by reading and looking something over for a few minutes. This has definitely helped her learn more languages than anyone else in the family; she's fluent in English, Spanish, Japanese, and French.

Risa:

Age: 14

Gender: nonbinary

Sexuality: pan af

Parents: Mikey and Rhys

Personality: Tough little cookie right here. The official muscle of the team, they're surprisingly aggressive when in battle. Out of it, they've still got an aggressive streak, but it's overshadowed by their friendly energetic nature. They're very confident and is a jack of all trades, showing talent in all sorts of fields.

Appearance: Mink yokai; brown fur all over her body, grown longer on her head to resemble hair, amber eyes, shortest member of the team, stocky build, fairly muscular

Fun facts: They aren't pyrokinetic like their father, but they do use his kusari-fundo as their primary weapon, and under Talise's guidance has become surprisingly familiar with handling the fire demon. They've taken a real interest in the supernatural, and wants to learn about all the mythical beings on Earth.

Taigen:

Age: 14

Gender: male

Sexuality: gay af

Parents: Raph and Atari

Personality: The real heart of the team, he's the one who looks for peaceful solutions to conflicts. He's thoughtful and intuitive, very in touch with emotions. He always has a calm disposition, and is a bit of a pacifist. He doesn't like fighting, and is always confident there's another way to solve a problem.

Appearance: the only human in the group; pale skin, brown eyes that turn violet when he's tapping into his powers, shoulder length black hair shaved on the left side, light dusting of freckles on his cheeks, shoulders, and arms, shorter than Tora and Enzo but taller than Ezzie, lean, slim form

Fun facts: He was born with psychic abilities, and Talise is training him in the art of controlling those abilities. When he's not training, he likes to garden! He loves growing edible things, much to the joy of the family cooks Mikey and Enzo.