Lemme just bring it down to angstville for a moment, and think about the fact that the purer the person A-Yeong is with romantically, the more likely A-Yeong is to want to at one point consume them. It's something they've experienced for as long as they can remember, the hearts just straight up taste better the purer they are. Not unlike how in a lot of vampire lore blood tastes better when they are happy. I think that's something that tends to cause them a lot of heartache when they are with someone purely good. That instinct to hunt being so much more powerful than with others. So, they tend to double down on their protective instincts with them. Maybe they hope that will rub off some on them, so when it comes time to test that maybe they can resist, and of course they certainly do in their modern life, but it's certainly cause them grief in the past that they still haven't fully healed from.
Unlike some other Kumiho who gained their additional tails over time after turning into one from a normal fox, A-Yeong has always had them, though rather than only having one…They started off with three, and more tails were added over the time they had been alive. (this is how i've chosen to distinguish between born kumiho and ones that turned into one from a fox.) They are a bit of a comoddity, with legends saying they hold great power and for that reason can sometimes be hunted so that and hiding their identity keep them from showing them off too much. Though that being said, there are occasions when they do get a chance to shine, be it when they are home and alone or using them in any sense. That and sometimes their glamour can slip…Though that's not very common anymore at this point in time.
The fox tails have two different forms that they tend to take. Firstly is their normal fur form. A-Yeong has nine massive tails, which also become smaller when they are taking a more natural fox form. Big, fluffy, and also unnaturally soft. (it's said to be an experience unlike anything to be snuggled up in them for warmth) which is their precise purpose. Meant to keep the Kumiho warm, it also allows them to conceal their form and hide in plain sight along with anyone else they happen to be covering at the time. This is something they have to focus on though, and breaking that concentration can result in whoever is seeking them being able to see them.
𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: this is something they have tried on a bulgae a few times in their life, but it's really only worked on the younger ones. older bulgae's can still smell them thanks to their fixation on hunting the kumihos, but given a-yeong's age they can usually confuse the younger ones.
Another form that they take besides the soft furry version is the celestial version, or more known to them as the foxfire. One of the most powerful tools at their disposal besides their bead, the kumiho uses the foxfire for a number of reasons. The first being that it is incredibly powerful. It can burn or destroy most thins with the exception of various heavenly type of fire and can contend with most older more powerful fire demons. Aside from it's destructive capabilities, the foxfire is one of the tools the kumiho uses to confuse it's prey. By usin it to create realistic hallucinations and visions, it's a trick that is very hard to escape and if they put enough into it…Has been able to cause some people to go mad, unable to come out of the illusion A-Yeong has crafted for them. (this hasn't happened in some time though as they tend to only defend now not hunt.) They started doing this, because they didn't want their prey to suffer when they were hunting. If everything seemed sweet and nice, they wouldn't be afraid of having to die in order to feed them.
[ 🌀 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a recurring dream or nightmare ?
When it comes to dreams and nightmares, they have more nightmares they cycle through than they do nice dreams. Nights are almost always filled with them if they sleep, so they don't have the best sleep habits because they are very much fighting getting into the REM stage.
THIS HEADCANON POST FEATURES TRIGGERING TOPICS SUCH AS MURDER, CHARACTER DEATH, AND FORCED SERVITUDE.
NIGHTMARES: These are much more common for them than anything else if they manage to reach that REM state. (they powernap whenever they can so they can avoid it as much as possible.) Seeing as the idol career is the height of their life (that they can reliably remember anyways) so unfortunately there is an awful lot of pain and suffering in their dreams made up from just simply put...memories. The first big one being the death of their lifelong companion Samjogo that they brought on. While indeed a desperation act by the crow spirit to save their life, it was something that say with them even after he was reeincarnated in the sun and returned to them. The memory of ripping his heart out to consume it was something so damaging they forgot a whole part of their life leading up to that point for a time. (it also led them to hiding their Yeou guseoul and live another 1000 years as a fox. Another nightmare they have often, is actually a series of them in the time serving the vampire Hajoon on the cursed island. Taking a good chunk of their life that they remember, it's a cycling series of victims of their own hands...or claws. Victims of Hajoon that needed finishing off, victims that dared to escape...A-Yeong hunted down and killed them all. Even at the time it was damaging, but they had managed to bare it for survival. But now that time is over, those memories tend to have free reign in their sleep.
DREAMS: These are more rare than the nightmares, and while there are actually many, a lot of those memories are ones they haven't realized are memories yet. Flashes of running as both child and kit, playing happily in fields and forests. The memory of an old great tree that used to be the place they called home. Memories of exploring the world with Samjo and their mother when she was alive. And in more closer to the present, they have memories they do know that sometimes come to say hello. Fond images of a modest home in the woods, owned by a monk who always had good warm food made for them, and never once judged them for being who they were.
Logan didn't dream , he had nightmares. Anything that might have started as a dream , ┈┈ quickly nosedived into carnage that only the Wolverine was capable of. Over 200 years of living , and more of it was horrific than it was even just … lackluster. Pain , tragedy and sorrow followed Logan Howlett everywhere he went , ┈┈ and people still found it in themselves to call him a hero. He never understood it , but he had given up TRYING to a long time ago.
Tonight's menu of nightmares , ┈┈ was an interesting buffet table of moments in Logan's life. An endless real of lives he had ended , ( coupled with the distorted memories of what had been done to HIM. ) It was no wonder the mutant woke the man laying next to him from his always surprisingly deep sleep. Muttered cries of no and various growls started quiet , ┈┈ before growing in not only desperation but also volume. Pained cries turned to more animal like growls as the nightmare continued on it trajectory to a time that still made Logan sick to think about sometimes.
He didn't hear Wade's voice , ┈┈ words not processing that he was asleep but only the hand that chanced making contact with the sleeping Wolverine. A sorry mistake to make when said man was covered in the veil of his own trauma's swirling in his mind's eye. It's always the smallest of sounds , ( in this case masked by a cry of pain as Logan shot up into a sitting position. ) A snikt and then the sound of flesh being pierced effortlessly.
Eyes don't see clearly at first , ┈┈ or much of anything at all except the lingering memories of his dreams. Heavy breaths heaving in and out while the darkened room processes more clearly. ( along with the reality of his claws in Wade's stomach. ) Logan looked down then he felt resistance , the state of the other man becoming more aware with the scent of copper. A quick retract , ┈┈ and blood dirtying the sheets. He'll have to clean that up next.
“ Ahh , fuck me! ” He cursed quietly. Letting his claws retract back with a silent wince. ( no more that the twitch of his lip. ) “ How bad was it? ” Logan asked with a hint of shame in his features.
warning! child death mentioned ( u.a aged students )
Thinking very evil thoughts about how gut-wrenching it would be for Basil to find out who Marisol's murderer had been. With AFO having contacts across the globe, it isn't a stretch to believe there are plenty of aspiring copycats. Marisol's murder wasn't even part of AFO's demands but was the work of some lowlife who dreamt of surpassing AFO and his experiments. Only this man never had the means to do so. He didn't have Dr. Garaki's expertise, nor did he have the patient, strategic nature that had propelled AFO thus far. This copycat was a man child attempting to play God.
Marisol was one of many botched experiments. If only the American hero system had been competent enough to catch him, they probably would have saved the other handful of students who would be gnarled at the hands of another sadistic monster. This man would only be found after his ninth failed experiment.
It would be none other than Nurse Acker, a highly esteemed member of the National Hero Academy staff and an influential figure in the school's operations, who was responsible for their students being picked off one by one. The same man who stitched their sounds, offered them a bed to sleep at the infirmary, and who always insisted on grabbing his students another glass of water and plate of crackers before sending them on their way.
He grew careless and enraged at his shortcomings. It was only a matter of time before he forgot to return the student's medical files back to school property, locked up where they are supposed to be. It had only been him for so long. Until the school, finally, came up with enough funding for a second Nurse. He'd spent this long not having someone watching over his eye.
Nurse Acker was last found tangled up at the bottom of the stairwell in his home. He'd been crumpled up there for a week. Decomposition settling its course, but on his wrist was the watch he carried with him everywhere. The same watch that would match Marisol's DNA sample.
Though the most damning evidence would be the basement. The floors were scattered with student records. Shelves filled the walls, full of blood samples. Worst of all was an unsuspecting jewelry box that didn't fit the rest of this sterile, cramped little room. The drawers were lined with braided cuttings of all his victims' hair.
ethnicity. biracial. puerto rican & eastern european.
relatives. daniel adams - father, status unknown. laila adams - mother, deceased.
birthplace. ponce, puerto rico.
languages. spanish & english.
education. high school ged.
abilities. excellent marksmanship & adaptability.
&& history.
catherine adams was born to daniel adams and his wife, laila; throughout her childhood, cat suffered major abuse at the hands of her father, both physical and emotional. laila did her best to provide for cat, and took the brunt of the abuse, but was unable to shield her daughter completely. both cat and laila were in and out of different local emergency rooms on a disturbingly regular basis.
over time, reports of teachers and other unrelated adults accumulated, and the adams family began to be scrutinized by child protective services. this gave laila the confidence and impetus to actually file charges against her husband, placing cat in the foster care system - daniel then killed her and got away with it, effectively staging his wife’s death as an accident. cat knew exactly what he’d done. she would never forgive him for it.
cat would be shuffled through the system for the rest of her adolescence. she was a bright kid, but angry, and didn’t socialize with other children well. she scared them, along with being cruel and callous towards family pets, and this meant she was moved again, and again, and again, until she finally landed and stuck with a child-free couple.
her foster father proved to be just as abusive as her biological father, even if his methods differed, and he tormented cat when her foster mother was away. she took a page out of daniel’s book and murdered her foster father. she was a suspect briefly but was released due to lack of evidence, and the death was declared a tragic accident.
cutting contact with her foster mother, she moved on, taking odd jobs and constantly plotting how to take her revenge on her father - daniel had fled the country and been impossible to track since around when she’d turned 15. cat became a hitwoman under the moniker miss .45, and in fact a member of a loosely connected group of highly effective hitmen - the only member of the network to prefer killing her targets up close and personal, taking great pleasure in tormenting them first. she also chose to work (at times) with one other member of the network serving as a partner and backup, an explosives specialist who was known simply as the bomber.
while she was faithful to the majority of her contracts, she had a special interest in a certain subset of client - and consistently double-crossed and killed any male client who had contracted to kill their wives, as they reminded her of her father, who she continued searching for.
unless otherwise specified, i’m going to keep cat’s “main verse” set to pre-criminal minds first appearance, as i feel that gives the most room for exploration & development, so in-show events are not included here.
