Leon Vanderblight's Questionnaire

Leon lives in the Chort's Bog in Russia, specifically in an area that has been elevated into a Vale that resides within a dream. Leon lives here because he is cursed to return to the bog every 30 days, and has decided that rather than make a fuss about the situation he has decided to build it into a Shangri-La-esque utopia that will serve as an eternal happy land for the supernatural and mundane people with respect for the supernatural to live in harmony by returning to the older spiritual methods of living. There are no products harmful to the Earth used within it, and natural materials are used in nearly all the construction where possible. Power primarily comes from three water mills that make up the center of the once village-turned-small-town, and this also mills their grain for them allowing them to build up food storage. However, the primary source of food within this enduring Happy Land is Faith. The people provide burnt offerings daily and in exchange, once a week, Leon provides them with energy that sustains their needs for food, air, and water. For what is a God without miracles? 

In addition, within the man-made waterfall that has been built into the rockface that once provided a barrier to entry to the town, there now lives a fully grown adult Tsuchigomo named Mother, to whom Leon owes a great debt that he has done his best to honor. Sustaining her and her children in exchange for the self-same offerings and venerating her as an equal within the growing faith of his pantheon. 

There are also three kitsune children, two of the traditional Japanese heritage. These were rescued from the Ise Grand Shrine in Asterisk, where he fought through a small horde of priests to rescue them, and one Huli Jing who was trapped within a cursed vase belonging to the Emperor of the first Han Dynasty. Upon release she was unconscious and Leon has taken to mending her traumas and scars with the help of friends but has not yet been able to get her to speak to him, and the Kitsune children have been much the same. In addition, there are a total of 36 Rusalka that call the bog home, once in need of devouring the souls of young men they too have been convinced to substitute their hunger for faith energy. However, Leon does still provide them with more traditional satisfaction by providing them with people to drown in exchange for good relations with the Russian Mafia's human trafficking and smuggling division. 

Finally, there are the two borderline supernatural human residents. A Japanese ex-SCP operative was rescued from the same shrine that the kitsune children were rescued from after his imprisonment for attempting to start a rebellion in response to the discovery that they were farming the souls of children, and finally Freight Train. A highly supernatural athlete who serves as the town's Post-Man and messenger. Able to move at incredible speeds, endure incredible damage, and be as strong as the Hercules of legend Leon does his best to ensure that the man's privacy and requests are taken care but the older supernatural has so far been content retire in a place where he receives free food, booze, and medical care. 

All of this is located within an eternally rotating illusory maze. Trees and path ways change themselves visually to misdirect travelers, with a shifting illusory tree cover over the village itself that changes once a season to prevent flyovers from getting too curious about random spots in the Russian wilderness. The nearby town benefits from this relationship through the movement of goods, and as of recently, construction workers coming from the village in order to provide them at cost building. Though in exchange they have agreed to allow the stylistic and creative choices to rest in the hands of the bog residents, the brutal communist construction being slowly replaced with more traditional Japanese architecture.

Leon's money comes from several locations. He earns a sizable amount of income from the non-profit Voroboyva Foundation through his assumed identity of "Valentino De La Cruz" who was once it's second in command and is now the chief operating officer of the company. He also owns a pawn shop called "Fox Fire Acquisitions and Jeweler" in Arizona that he has long since hired someone else to manage that brings in a tidy sum that he filters fabricated gold and raw stones to local jewelers too.

This sizable amount of money is winnowed down to Leon's typically available finances through maintenance fees on the repeated construction within the bog, houses don't tend to last long there and the foundations have to constantly be raised, and then on maintaining the numerous relationships he has within criminal enterprises. Nothing for free, unfortunately, but that as they say is the cost of doing business. 

Leon's ambition has twisted over time. Once he had sought the death of every human in a major position of power that was blighting the Earth, now his ambition is the undo the damage humanity has done to the Earth through slower and more deliberate ways. His prime goal of restoring his species remains, however, but is difficult, as with every Kitsune he rescues it seems that he finds that there are fewer and fewer of them. 

Now his aspirations are centered around nurturing magic itself back into the world. Finding the ancient sites of magic, battling back the darkness that threatens all things supernatural with their slow death of magic. The current target of this is his relationship with  Ashtasthori whom he intends to pursue a deeper relationship for the eventual realization of a goal wherein he will restore the waning old magic to allow men to know the touch of the divine once more, even if he has to pretend to match the station to walk amongst them. 

He does still search for connections to the Japanese occult however, and his nose for magic continually keeps a look out for leads towards realizing it even as he combats the immediate threats to the world that he seeks to maintain for an eternity. He's going to be here forever after all, why would he want to allow people who want to torch it in the next century to go about unopposed? 

The most defining life of Leon's life was when he was bound to the Chort's bog. More so than the binding of his soul to the kitsune stone, the botched ritual that started his journey on the contract was second to the binding of his essence to the bog. It was that event that taught him by force what it meant for the supernatural and humans to really live together. Rather than the flighty encounters he had in life up until then, playing tricks, leading them down wrong paths. He was forced to guide and learn about a people with a culture so alien to his own that he had no choice but to start from step 0. 

It has redefined his entire worldview, and his definitions on how life should be lived. More a shepherd than a brutal avenger of the spiritual world now, Leon finds himself in the unique position of being both a trickster spirit and the leader of a community, and though he often finds himself at odds with his own nature these adjustments have granted him stability for the terrible revelations that the future may hold. 

The Leshen of the Bog: This monstrous supernatural being takes the form of an old man who once towered above Leon in terms of raw power, now a compatriot who runs the bog alongside him once the threat of nuclear weapons and large-scale military action that Russia was potentially bringing down on itself with the Russo-Ukranian war. He is important because he is the one who bound Leon's essence to the bog and is the reason he must return once every 30 days or be teleported back to the bog. 

Ashtasthori, the Queen of Heaven: A newer introduction to Leon's life, but so far they have had a good relationship despite interference from Anubis. As Leon's key to entering the world of the divine, it is incredibly important that Leon remain in her good graces, though parts of himself are beginning to fray as she remains within the Bog. 

The Kitsune Children, Rin, Keiko, and Bai Ze: Leon's personally adopted children, and the supernatural beings he has managed to rescue thus far from their various forms of occult capture. Much of the Bog's security is designed around them first and foremost with the SCP MTF operative being trained in personal protection and outfitted to keep them protected. Leon sees them as the future of his species and would engage in many terrible acts if it meant protecting their lives. 

Leon's childhood, as he remembers it, was fairly idyllic. Growing up in the female-dominated world of Kitsune with men's highest aspirations being to become messengers for Inari it was clear from a young age what Leon would be groomed to do as his father was one of the few that held the lofty position. His mother was a more traditional member of their species, and though she was incredibly strict at home she held a flicker of that Kitsune humor inside her despite her best efforts that only his father could bring out. His father was far softer, a poet in his free time, and an endless enabler of all of Leon's pranks and laziness. In contrast, his life was far darker, having been chosen for his position long ago and taking his mother as his second wife due to the unfortunate murder of his first wife by Yokai Hunters, widowed, it was only due to his station as a Zenko Inari that he was able to secure a second mate and have Leon. Still, despite his many hardships he always had a smile for Leon and a joke to tell whenever he was down as a young kit. Leon misses them both dearly. 

As for his hometown, it was a hidden enclave in the woods 50 miles northeast of the Miyagi Zao Fox Village, the location having been picked by a powerful ancestor as a bit of a joke, and Leon spent his days learning how to embody the best of the kitsune to prove himself one day worthy of becoming a Zenko Inari. The enclave was small, with only about 20 kitsune and their families as their kind could not afford to sustain large populations due to both needing to remain in hiding and the more unsavory parts of what Kitsune tended to, both to keep themselves alive and simply for fun. 

This town however has been destroyed, and it's wreckage is a reminder of the lives lost and the souls stolen for human benefit that Leon has been loathe to revisit.

As long as Leon's been around, and been such a creature of romance, humor, and trickery? Of course, he has many times. Love is an integral part of what it means to be alive even when you're a spirit after all, and though romance is not in every living being's heart it is without question that one cannot live without finding some kind of passion.

Each one taught him an important lesson, but his first belonged to the man who tended the first fox village near Shiroshi Miyagi. A dour, serious, man on the surface but he was possessed of such love for the creatures of the forest that one could see the softness underneath the hardened shell that accompanied the life of people under the harsh rule of Feudal Japan. 

It was here where Leon learned the harsh nature of the truth of human mortality, as despite the budding affection in his heart as he watched the man from afar when he finally got up the will to approach him and show his true form as a kitsune he found that the man had been conscripted years prior and that in his immortal timelessness he had forgotten the brevity of mortal lives.

He has loved many times since, but he has been careful about opening his heart to mortals for his kind can fall prey to heart death if they allow themselves to love too deeply and too greatly. 

"Fears? You really think that anyone who tells you that would actually be honest? What a ridiculous fucking question, and anyone who answers it deserves what they get. Try harder next time." 

Leon spits on the ground as he looks on at the asker in derision, unable to believe that they had seriously passed that question around at the small gathering. No self respecting contractor would ever answer that question straight. To be a contractor was to laugh in the face of death right? Well, that was true most of the time, but he knew the answers of course. 

The first and foremost fear was being sealed away again. Complete sensory deprivation was a bitch, and you don't really understand what it's like to know nothing to be nothing until you're a soul inside a rock for an amount of time. How you begin to lose the concept of yourself, and then.

Leon fears forgetting. Because the one thing that is undeniably true is that he no longer remembers what he really looked like before he went into that rock, the form he has now being the projection of merely what he thought he was like before, and perhaps, a little of what he wished he was. The idea of an eternal being forgetting everything is of course one that has been explored, but to wholly forget the self. That is what Leon fears most, and to avoid that he will do anything.

He will catch the moon in his hand, and people will know who he is.

They will remember his name. 

"Possessions? Physical stuff is wild, but it tends to turn to dust after a hundred years or so.. I'd say though that there are a few things I care about. Not that I'd tell you what. You may be alright, but I'm not going to chance your kids kid coming in and deciding they want a taste of what grandpa Leon has. Of course, if they did I'd probably lend them a hand but I don't want to end up ransacked because I tilted my hand... well. That's too paranoid. I suppose I can share one thing. It's kind of silly, but, it's an emerald and gold amulet that my father left behind. About the only thing that survived the fires and wasn't snatched up by the hunters who wanted a war trophy to take home. It reminds me that part of my life where I had a connection to someone who really got me. Loved me unconditionally. Ah.. shit. Here I go."

Leon would wipe a tear from his eye, damn kitsune emotions, running like a god damn furnace.

"Always get like this, but, the day I stop is the day I stop being me I think. So. I'll cry in front of damn near everyone if that's what it takes to stay me." 

"Jesus. The fucking list."

If Leon smoked, just contemplating this would be enough for him to want to spark up but after a moment of exasperation he'd continue with

"Let's see. First thing, everyone keeps fucking dying. A new funeral for every month for the past year. If I believed in any sort of monotheistic god I'd feel bad for the fucker manning the pearly gates. Happens here in the bog too of course. Someone gets sick, and even my healing can't see them to recovery, or they get too old. Nothing to be done with that, I mean people die."

"The real big kicker though. The real motherfucker. Is running this god damn enclave. I didn't want to run it as a cult as first, but as time went on these hyper religious people started seeing as an associate god figure to the Leshen, and then.. past that. As the leshen to be honest doesn't do much, just kinda gets mad at people who try to do shit in the village, and that's handled now so the Leshen just kinda mucks about in the physical, but. All these god damn Rusalka, and all these people constantly need THINGS. If I wasn't so connected and capable we'd have run out of money eons ago, but thank fuck I know someone who can make things for me and I've recently developed the ability to make my illusions real. Funny thing is that I pretty much mostly use it for construction but still, god damn. Never get into the cult business. It isn't worth it." 

"Well, like anyone when I slept I woke up curled up in a ball. It's really the most comfortable way to sleep, and when you have the hair you can keep it tucked in and use it as a blind fold to keep it dark so that you can stay asleep even when you bask in the sun."

Leon would say with a chuckle before he continues with

"Now that I don't sleep though it's a bit different. I'd probably start by going to take a shower. I use an entire bottle of shampoo and conditioner each time so getting ready for it and have the bath drawn appropriately is going to take a hot minute. My hair smells amazing afterward though, and you'd be surprised at the number of macho tough guys astounded that the last thing they smell is lavender. After that I check the security feeds from the previous night, and then talk with the sub leaders of the factions in my cult. Figure out who's yelling at who that morning. Go sort that out.

Then I come back, collect my offerings and thank my people by having the demon go out and fix up their houses and then heal the badly wounded if we have any. After that, it's straight to conversations with my smugglers regarding the people they want gone that given day, and that along with the miscellany is going to take me most of a given day. Though I'm usually going to be able to schedule out some time, and part of what makes this work is my ability to delegate. The spider in the waterfall, the leshen, and my sub leaders in the cult can be trusted provided I keep things quiet, and that gives me time to head out at least once or twice a week to get shit done." 

"Finally. A question I can sink my teeth into." 

Leon would answer with a barking laugh that echoed a bit through the room, a reminder of his fox heritage that he tended to express himself a bit louder than most humans. 

"Getting all of this."

He would pause gesturing himself like he was putting a model on display, and well, he kind of was. The call him statuesque was to do him a disservice, there is art out there in the world that is less beautiful than him. 

"Takes time, and I mean TIME. I use an entire bottle of shampoo and conditioner every single time I shower, expensive, but when your hair is as long as mine is you don't tend to make compromises on quality without developing split ends. After that it's cologne, and the variety of scents for men in western cultures are terrible so I typically grab something asian. I have this lovely plum and sandalwood scented one I'll recommend you later. Either way once that's done it's time to wax and pluck, yes, I wax. It's worth the effort and the pain. You don't do it first as your skin will be raw after and applying alcohol based cologne to that will tear you up. Then it's time to apply your oils and creams allowing them to set and have their time so that your skin doesn't look like leather someone forgot about in the sun. Next, the choice of attire depends on occasion. A suit is of course classic, but boring, for those legal occasions or for people you don't like very much and want to pretend you're at their funeral. The next is of course the classic waist coat and shirt with frills combo along with bell bottom jeans. There when you want to let the world know you're here to put on a performance. Finally, for combat, I take the matador approach. As human firepower has gotten to such an insane level it's all about misdirection. You take your coat and you make sure it's something that swishes about a bit, armor it up, and then do your best to move but jerk your body with the flow of the coat so that there's a bit of fabric stopping the bullets from hitting you directly. It's like dancing, but, if you miss a step you die. So yeah, that's how I'd prepare and getting ready for each is at least a 2-3 hour affair." 

Leon shrugs, this is one of the questions he has probably the least interesting answer to, but alas. The immortals curse was finally beginning to rear it's ugly head.

"All due respect, but when you live as long as I have the meaning of "Birthdays" stops having much individual meaning unless you have people to celebrate it with, and then it's just an excuse to have a party where everyone gets to have cake on top of a copious amount of drinks. So I don't really intend to plan it out too much. Though I will say that at least I know I have people who will care to show up around that time. So we will probably end up hanging out, I'll go over some plans with them, or hold some kind of festival really as much for them as it is for me and so long as everyone has a good time I'll call it a win. Not sure yet, but, at the end of the day I'll be happy so long as there's still someone who bothered to remember." 

Leon's expression sours in the harbinger lounge chair, the man swirling a glass of liquor in one hand and opting to down it with a grimace before answering as he says 

"You really just go for the fucking throat out of the blue don't you? Last question was all birthdays, a total nothing burger question and now it's greatest regrets? Fuck me. Well, alright then. Gotta put something down on the record, so I'll say my first and biggest regret is that I sat on my ass for about 200 years studying to be an Inari messenger like my dad before me. World wars happened, new nations formed, the industrial fucking revolution and all that bypassed so I could learn the exact way to bow and thank the Celestials for allowing me into Takamagahara to convey the prayers of devout mortals. I could have been helping folks, getting ahead of all this shit with pollution, and maybe if we had rather than splitting into the two factions of "Eats people" and "Takes their prayers to the gods" the hunters wouldn't have been so up our ass. I wouldn't have lost mom, and maybe Dad would've known how to do something besides sit on his ass and write letters."  

"The nature of my gifts? Another personal ass question, and one that'd normally be an automatic conversation ender for an occult being like me. As we tend to carry a lot of baggage with us behind our gifts. We don't get to just.. have things happen like some of the folks I met earlier on in my career. I think those who did just get wishes granted were getting a crutch of sorts to see if they could make it at all. Pity that none of them did." 

Leon would answer with a chuckle, that ever present smile on his face sobering up a little near the end though as he'd say

"As for how I get my gifts, it's not too complex. At the end of jobs I'm given an offering of immense faith energy, typically attuned to one of the members of the Japanese pantheon. I then go, and then petition the god in question to restore my powers to the state they were in before my botched sealing. However... things haven't been going perfectly. They keep coming back wrong, or at least, different than how I've been told my kind should operate. All a step to the left, and I worry that the sealing may have done damage even a god can't reverse... and I hope that's all it is." 

Leon almost scoffs at this question as he sits back in his chair, there is no way anyone was dumb enough to ask this without at least partially understanding already just by looking at him if they had read the other questions

"Am I spiritual? Of course, I am. That's like asking if you breathe air. I sustain my entire existence and power off of faith, I eek my way into the realms of the immortals by suffusing my body with the energy that comes from the union of Kami and Man. It is not simply that I am religious, I am a religion. I am the chief god of the pantheon of the Irreverent Nameless, and our Masquerade is intended to strip away the preconceptions of the world regarding the supernatural and bring about an era of harmony where possible. To be frank. We don't have a fucking choice. Humans have torpedoed this planet so fucking hard that we've got maybe a century before mass spiritual extinctions and divine genocide are conducted by the universe itself in cosmic vengeance for millennia of human irresponsibility. At the same time, the other gods sat on their ass happy to enjoy paradise not caring what happened to those of us who have to be here. So yeah. I'm religious, and my beliefs can best be summarized as united we survive, divided we die." 

The fox man sits back in his chair a little and looks down at the tea in the pot that he'd been ignoring for most of this interview, and now feeling more than a bit of a buzz he decided it was time to look the part of who he was rather than a drunk for once as he'd pour a small cup of the green tea within and allow it to settle before taking a drink and saying

"The contracts huh? Well, you'd better believe it was a world shaker. You don't just go from assuming that all power is the inborn goddess-given talent you're born with to understanding that there's a suicide track up the ladder manned by beings I can't even really properly explain. I was astounded at first, to know that not only gods can grant blessings, and more that even the gods somewhat pale before whoever grants these abilities really. However, it was a pleasant kind of surprise. To know that I wasn't totally fucked you know? So I'm grateful." 

"My usual contractors I see around? Well, normally I'd tell you to fuck off. Giving descriptions of other job members associates me with them and potentially compromises them. So under normal circumstances you and I'd stop talking about now, but given this is only for the private record and for some reason I feel as though I can trust you I'll keep going. Though I will say that the vast majority of contractors I've met have been amoral assholes. Like seriously it's been a huge problem. All of them seem to forget to the whole "Just be a good person first" mantra that I try to follow, but then again, if everyone followed that we'd have no problems wouldn't we?"

He'd stand and turn to look out the near by window, gazing out into the dreary but relatively well kept arrangement that was the bog. 

"My closest associate goes by Luci Alessi. A red haired woman with a cross hair tattoo over one eye who rarely appears in her true form. Loves shadows. An absolute godsend as she handles materials and acquisitions for me in our little group. She does good work, huge self confidence problems to the point that even when she does a good job she ends up apologizing for it. Prone to being captured so I keep a fair amount of information control going around her, but not too bad anymore honestly. A good woman, and a good friend."

He pauses for a moment to think before continuing with

"My next closest associate would have to be Iryna Voroboyva. This is an outside the jobs contact, but I know she's a contractor. Came back from the dead believe it or not. I'm not sure how much I trust her on a personal level yet, competency takes time to measure properly, but she is a stout and brave individual. Covers for my own lack of physical ability in that way, and also has a passion for caring for the world we live in. Overall, a good person, and I'd be sad to see her truly die." 

Leon looks puzzled at the figure, not understanding why one would ask such a thing. The perfect room? He had understood the angle with previous questions, but perhaps this is more of a psychological test to see what he valued? Either way, as before he felt compelled to answer as he'd say

"The perfect room? Alright. I'll play ball. It starts with considerations for design for the flow of Reiki throughout the room. That helps me heal you see and sustains my physicality so unlike humans who do it for fun I'm actually talking about a need here. Aside from that, once the furniture is arranged. Hopefully something tasteful and without anything like leather in it. We go into what the furniture itself is. I'd need at least two chairs and a table. Preferably something dark and with space to serve a meal not just for me, but for about 8 others if absolutely necessary. What can I say? I'm always ready to entertain guests, and similarly would need a liquor cabinet and a bar for mixing desired cocktails. Aside from that, the perfect room is safe but welcoming. So windows are reinforced but not shuttered, there's symbols on the wall from my religion to invigorate me from acts of faith, and finally. There's a shrine near the door. Commemorating those who can't be here anymore, and paying homage to their memories." 

Leon sighed in relief, finally the figure had a distinct question for him again. There had been a few that he'd felt comfortable answering thus far, but the last few were all volunteering information that he really hoped did not leave this room, but this? This was all him baby, front to back he had this on lock as he said

"Well I mean, obviously I excel at trickery, misdirection, and trickery. Trickery is an art and the real deep trickery is based on concepts similar to forming bonds. You start by forming a bond. Find something the both of you can agree on. Something basic and human that the other can identify in you. If they have a cat that's sick, or are experiencing money troubles relate it back to something about you. It doesn't even have to be true, but it does have to be believable. Don't go over the top here, people are simple so keep it as such. This builds comfort, and recognition with your mark. Helps them lower their guard. 

Second, establish narrative control. If you want them to reveal information to you, you need to ask questions, and they will attempt to use defense mechanisms in order to deflect away from the information you really want to know. Deflate them by either refusing to engage with them in the case of them attempting to assert power over you or claim a position or authority, or if they try to engage something personal you remind them of some personal connection the two of you shared during the bonding stage in order to lower that guard further. 

Finally, theming. It's all about structuring the conversation in order to keep it on track with your intended goal. What you want to convince the target is true or what you want them to do. Frame the information gained from earlier discussions around this goal, and then strike once they have begun to surrender to the concept that maybe what you're going for is in their best interests.

Then, then you have them hook, line, and sinker. That is how you trick someone into doing or believing anything you want." 

"My limits? Do you mean in the metaphorical or the.. hmm? Yeah, that's not comfortable at all. You do like to needle me, don't you? Well. Don't you fuck me on this one, or I'll have your guts around your throat as a noose by sundown." 

Leon would respond to this with open hostility, an embodiment of his difficulty in trusting people, and in how losing or abusing that bond that trust forms will invariably do damage to him, but he'd continue with

"Kitsune emotions run hot. We take betrayal hard and don't tend to forgive easily. That same heat is aimed at ourselves, so when we fuck ourselves over and we know we could've done better it hurts too. Then, of course, pain, torture, mental anguish. Amplified to intense degrees that have killed some members of our species, and finally. Being captured. Never again. I spent too long in that rock. I don't ever intend to be caged again by anyone even if it was *You*. I'd kill you in a fucking heartbeat over enduring that again." 

Leon's breath is hot, and his face is flushed at this point, and realizing he's gone too far he takes a moment to calm himself down before he'd finish with

"As for what it'd take to make me break them? I'd have to see that someone who betrayed me had no other choice and that it was in fact for the greater good. Capture, I couldn't forgive easily. Failure, I would need to come to terms with myself and see some personal improvement, and finally anguish.. if someone tortured me I'm pretty sure that'd be it. No coming back from that level of cruelty." 

"A soundtrack? Ha. That's funny, I typically end up blasting music while I'm on these jobs. People tend to forget that the power to influence has also come with the ability to shred better than any man who's ever drawn breath. I promise you, Herman Li does not have SHIT on me. So usually if I pick songs they're pretty guitar-heavy so that I can play them myself with my trusty axe. Though, that said, I've always been partial to the piano. Just not practical to play it while you're smashing heads. 

Anyway, if I had to rank the ones I tend to play based on how much I like them and why.

1. https://youtu.be/9SbsyjrLnhE - "A newer tune, yeah, but I'm partial to the tonal transition the use of singular strings, and the abrupt shift in the somber tone to the beast mode rage that accompanies the rest of the track. It evokes ferocious struggle and valiant triumph against incredible opposition in its composition. The core of any good contractor right there in my opinion, though. I've yet to feel it myself. Even when I'm going to town in my true form it feels like I'm a step away. I don't know why. Yet I can't compel myself to put this any lower."

2. https://youtu.be/ynZCDm0IEVM - "Irene Cara feels almost like a prophet in some ways with this one. Every word, every note appeals to my desire to strive ever further, ever higher. I am going to catch the moon in my hand, the world will remember my name! There is no such thing as too much, it will always be not enough. My blood boils with every verse, and my chest pounds like a devil crashing against it. Something about this song resonates with me beyond its mere words. This song also began my obsession with the moon, and as time goes on I wonder if this was more than coincidence." 

3. https://youtu.be/d_3fBxVewj8 - "Heading back to the homeland for this one, this tune evokes the loneliness and isolation that I felt for years when I was trapped inside that rock. Fighting every moment to get free, alone, struggling to fight to break free, and inevitably failing time and time again. Screaming as I did so for someone, anyone, to help me and resenting others for doing nothing. It took a while for me to realize I was isolating myself out of fear and distrust. Hell. Some of that mistrust carries through even today. Plus, I need something with a bass track as the main attraction and the acoustic doesn't hurt either."

4. https://youtu.be/bT8FEOJEFcI - "Avenged Sevenfold, a band underappreciated in their time, but as they missed the real wave of metal's popularity it makes a degree of sense. In particular, well. Shepherd of Fire makes sense. Here I am, a kitsune playing at kami offering to shepherd people away from the poisons of modern life to bring them into my way of thinking. I'm not a perfect person though, I know this, and it's in my nature to deceive and well. We don't have a devil for a reason."

4. https://youtu.be/9aHQnDTd1y4 - "Not something I can play by myself, but this encapsulates my entire mindset when I'm out on the prowl. Sneaking through an enemy encampment, doing my best to get through the deadliest the world has to have. Plus, the passion and the sorrow drip from every crooning verse as this woman exposes her soul in a way that resonates with me."

6. https://youtu.be/R_TbF5m5KpU - "A song typically aimed at soldiers, as a survivor of the nuclear holocaust this song resonates with me. Having witnessed atomic atrocity, and having the scars of that incident etched into the core of my being I understand all too well the feeling of being one of the few survivors watching the edge of the crater, seeing the people's skin sloughing off their bodies and desperately wanting nothing more than to help them. Trust me, have that memory be one of your last ones of normalcy before you're shoved inside a rock and you too will have a heart of broken glass." 

7. https://youtu.be/ihONUt99utg - "Easier listening than my typical fare, but the lyrics resonate. To be willingly misled, tricked, and then guided towards something that most people would probably find abhorrent but ultimately to the viewpoint of the world is for the best, and then to vanish when the deed is done. That is the way of the kitsune, and this woman understood it well."

8. https://youtu.be/p56GDEpJCPE - "Another niche track, I know, but the world's best illusionist having a passion for imaginary entertainment shouldn't come as a surprise. The discordant notes, the wavering of the guitar, and the gothic ensemble harken to the dangerous journeys of days past and the incredible solo is something that I can see myself playing when faced with an immensely powerful foe. It embodies my struggle against the darkness of the world, and the desire in my heart to end the horrible night that we live through." 

9. https://youtu.be/_Hdi2yuYoU0 - Wait why am I continuing to do this? Why do I persist in giving you tracks even though you only asked for seven of them? This isn't making any sense, wait...

Who are you? 

Leon looks at the figure, this time his eyes are haggard, bloodshot even. At this point, there is none of the jovial nature to his tone as he gazes towards them with a note of hatred in his eyes. No longer merely an interview it's all he can do to avoid spitting on the ground out of disgust as he feels the rising compulsion to answer 

"My ambition's already changed.

A few times.

Since the hate star began descending though this has felt a lot more.. final. The mechanisms of gods and monsters are one thing, but you've never truly agonized until you've been on a puppet's strings and the fucked part of it is. I think you knew this entire time. No.. You knew. I've been dancing to some unseen tune this entire time and only now am I getting wise enough to see the strings of the monster that controls us all. Part of me is pissed, so pissed it's all I can do not to lash at you right now, but the rest of me is scared. Knowing the scope of whatever it is that sends that down to me, and worse still, that after it all I feel invigorated after its perverse touch leaves me. 

You know what I'm after now, and you know that I'll use every resource at my disposal in this and every other universe to get it done. You know, and still, I haven't seen you so much as blink. Well, we'll see who breaks first asshole."

"Anger? Funny. You've got some fucking jokes don't you? Well. It should be pretty clear that I'm pretty pissed by now at least. Though I don't know how much you care. Looking at this like a kind of captive audience situation though I can take some of my own laughs from all of this. About all I can do. Alright. What makes me angry let's think."

Leon would sit back and scratch a chin that now had a little bit of stubble growing leaving him to wonder, how long had he been here? How long had he been the figures prisoner answering these questions? A thought for another time as he didn't have a lot of choices right now and would thusly answer; 

"I'm inclined to start with people trying to control me. Rich I know from someone who makes his bread using that same tactic and prides himself as a manipulator, but I view it as an affront to the game. Like attempting a scholar's mate in a serious chess match it's disrespectful. If you're a manipulator as well you attempt to actually play the game, and by coming to me directly you've typically ruined the fun of the chess match for the sake of trying to finish it quickly even at the cost of tactics. 

Then of course next is people who make mockeries of myself or my friends. You can attempt to kill me, sure, I probably have done something to make you deserve it, but someone showing up and doing everything they can to expose the weakness in our hearts or some shit, or sometimes just doing mad disrespectful shit to someone who hasn't even said a word to you will get me pretty heated. 

Last is the obvious, racism, sexism, speciesism it's all a load of bullshit and going about that is going to earn the standard dismissal at best and then if you try to come after me over it you'll get a boot in your gut and a knife in your lap. I'm done being nice to those types." 

"You already know that don't you? Why do you ask these things? To humiliate me? To spur me to retaliate? I don't understand what you're getting out of any of this honestly, but fine."

Leon clenches his fist until his knuckles go white, his glare narrowing at the figure but it relaxes after a moment and he collapses backwards into his chair with a sigh before he continues with 

"What I try hardest to keep secret is pretty simple. That I don't really remember most of the details of my childhood, that I barely know who I am. I know I had a father, I know I had a mother but it's all faceless. Beings without shape or form that preformed duties that were necessary for my survival or to guide me in a certain direction, and the extra fucked up thing? I know it was like this before I made that deal with the devil, before I sold my memories of my mother and father. I knew I was selling him something broken, and thought that by getting rid of it I'd cut out the cancer that caused all of this. We both know however, that I was wrong.

That it wasn't enough.

I.. I just wish I could remember their names." 

Leon closes his eyes at this point, and silent tears stream down his face.  

Leon sits in the chair, sunken bags protruding in pronounced fashion. He stares the wall, avoiding looking at the figure. The question is asked again, Leon winces in his seat but remains locked in looking at the wall. The question is asked again, the room seems to shake for a moment and Leon's eyes turn towards the figure and a defeated sigh escapes him like air out of a punctured tire. His body shifts as he adjusts himself in his seat and he says

"Very well. I'll play ball, no need to throw a tantrum. Making it all the way to harbinger? Funny, that you'd present yourself as something invested in the idea of my future in any way I care about. I've considered this question for a long time though, I've considered some funny names. The Infinite Antagonist, Tsuki-no-Inari, The Benefactor, Fox Hunt. A little play on words that one. I think it would have to be Joao Jean the Unsung. Harbinger's often are after all. No matter whether they are good or evil you'll never be celebrated. Any contractors you direct to these incredible missions will take all the glory for themselves of course, but.. perhaps it's better that way. Lord knows their egos are already tuned to 11, and I can't expect that I'd fare much better. My missions would mostly be around finding incredible examples of art, culture, and the occult. I'd try and test people's social investigation skills and raise contractors who can interact well even with people who hate them. People who can make the world give them what they want."

The body of the kitsune is prone on the floor at this point, his true form exposed and a growl coming from his muzzle as he staggers up. Blood dripping from every orifice and many of his eyes now gazing out from hollow sockets as he struggles, his eyes bleeding as he stares with intense hate at the figure before him then his form begins to contort and his spiritual self begins to fade before vanishing entirely as the humanoid form of Leon Vanderblight returns and he looks up as one eyeball regrows within its socket as the figure speaks again and he responds with all the venom in his voice he can muster;

"Questions, still? Even now... I cannot fight my way free and yet still you continue to ask. Are these questions for me, or are they for you? Either way, fuck me I guess. The world knows my stance on this. I do not believe that the dead can take anything with them no matter what the Egyptians say, so of course anything of use is put to use in the hands of those of us who continue to live. It's basic, but I will also honor the dead. I do not believe in dancing across the lines of life and death so casually so a great passing is to be honored. A funeral is a start, a floral display, and an ornate grave. One I'd put you into if I could, but we've just established how that very much is not within my abilities." 

Leon awakens, his eyes bleary as he tries to get some degree of focus. He sees first that he is surrounded by empty bottles. Makes sense, just about the only thing that he had in here to blunt the experience he was currently going through was alcohol, and then with a groan as he felt that pounding hate in his head he'd get to the regret period post intense drinking 

"The fuck did you say? God damn can't even drink myself into unconsciousness now. As for the fucking cops, and how do I cover my tracks? It's not that fucking hard. Wear gloves, I'm a god damn illusion so my DNA doesn't really register if they do find it, but I typically clean. Peroxide, bleach if I have to really do it I go through with fire as the follow up. Hard to get DNA from an area that was chemically sanitized and then fucking burned. Smash out the teeth first and take those so dental records don't aren't pulled. Aside from that I don't travel normally, I'm smuggled everywhere, plus burner phones bought through an alias but I try to use magic conversation for the illegal stuff where I can. Otherwise, the classic I won't be there if you have to, and then don't do anything that'd leave evidence in an area you don't have control over if you do strategies have been successful so far."  

The fox is back in his chair as he holds an empty bottle up to his eye and squints for a moment before throwing it away with a crash of glass, and then the kitsune rises from his seat and throws a glower at the figure as it speaks again. 

He pauses for a moment and mumbles something angry to himself before he addresses the entity, compelled as he has been thus far and now at the bargaining stage. Maybe if he gave the figure what they wanted they'd let him out, wishful thinking, but that was all he had.

"Same as I've always done, conspire, manipulate, and misdirect. Ensure that they end up punished for their atrocities if it's something that crosses my morals or the laws of the spirits. If not, why would I give a shit? Humans change their laws about as often as they die, and they're still struggling with things like "Are women people" and "Should we kill people who sleep with people we don't agree they should sleep with even when it's consensual?" they're anachronisms while claiming from their ivory towers that they're so much better than the laws and rules that came before. Hypocrites every last one, lying to themselves to avoid blaming the real cause of their problems, Though I suppose that makes me a hypocrite too doesn't it?" 

Leon wipes his fingers down his face, cleaning it of debris and wiping away tears. The fox man sighed as he came to terms with his situation and no longer looked at the man with hatred in his gaze, no longer having the energy to fight it, just accepting this. The figure seemed to take this relaxation as an invitation though and Leon would sigh and cast a sardonic gaze toward the figure as he heard what they had to ask

"Well gee, I wonder. Shit like this would be a start for things I wouldn't do. Though I guess it depends on how repugnant. I've killed people sure. I've saved people too. I've killed bad people for the sake of good things, and I've fucked up and killed people undeserving for causes that didn't require it. If someone asked me to commit genocide, or hate crimes, or like specifically murder someone I knew would be better for the world than what I could do in the future? Absolute decline. I'm not about to compromise universal integrity, wipe out species, or go against my morals to such a degree that I'd hate myself forever and thankfully no harbinger has assigned me the punch every toddler in a 3 square mile radius mission yet." 

Leon leans back in the chair that had become his home and then takes a long and hard drag off a cigar. Funny. He'd never put these in here for himself, but here he is. Not caring about the tar he was force-feeding his lungs, because really, what did anything matter? So finishing that hard drag he would take a moment  

to process the world looking up and out of the only avenue out of this room towards the moon. He basked in the glow for a moment before he jolted out of it with another question and scowled

"The harbingers? I mean, the talent was all right. There was the dumb-ass angel, Six was a bitch and I'm probably going to dome her one day but that's just a conflict of interest. Running contracts and selling yourself to the highest bidder like that anti-supernatural company? Riker was cool, but he was all entangled in that nonsense. There was the Antiquarian? He was a dick and lead us into certain death and that was the whole Jules fiasco. Hmm. The last one is probably Taomao no Mae. She showed up one time, made a bunch of requests, made a promise for goodwill for doing extra well in her game, and then fucked off to never show up again but that's trickster stuff for you. Overall none of them have ever stopped by more than once or twice to try and build any kind of relationship so how I can say that I have a favorite or most hated? I guess if I were to rate it by dumbest job I'd have to say the angel, him and his fucking Batamir rescue squad missions where he kept sending us in with that guy where we'd without fail end up carrying Batamir out in a bag or weekend at Bernie'sing him. Otherwise, they just kinda yell at you and then act like they're going to bring the sky down on your head if you fart wrong and that's it." 

Leon would stop Stock-still. His previous actions were forgotten as his fists went to white-knuckled intensity in their grip in a moment and Leon would turn and start by chucking a bottle at the creature his spear coming to his hand as he'd say

"You fucking think just because I can't kill you that I'm going to take that kind of statement laying down?! Leon Vanderblight's time is never up and those who think they can bring my end will be sorely mistaken! I will not go gently into that good night! I will not surrender to the embrace of death without a fight! I'm going to live forever! You will see me light up the sky in flame, and you. You of all people will remember my name!"

Adopting a fighting stance Leon would wait to parry. He'd learned from before that charging in blind had gotten his eyes ripped out of his skull, and then with a single motion Leon couldn't even perceive he'd blink and the figure was gone. Leon relaxed for a moment as he realized that it was over now, that his time had indeed been up but not in the capacity he'd thought in the request but he had shown how he would face the end. Screaming sound and fury into the infinite oblivion that is the end, and rising to meet the impossible foe it represents. 

Leon's managed to shave by this point. He'd forgotten the last time he'd needed to, but around this.. person, it seemed his everyday creature comforts were stripped away from him, just like his freedom. 

"First, gotta have cameras. I know it sounds redundant, but you're going to wanna be able to rewatch any recon you do. Second, could you research the local culture? Can't tell you how many times I've seen people completely fumble around like idiots because they didn't understand what the local customs were. Third, secure shelter. I know this seems like a given but if you can't secure your hierarchy of needs for an investigation in a city you aren't going to be investigating very well in it. Fourth is also obvious transportation. Safe and secure means of getting around is worth more than gold. Finally then you can start looking for your targets, get familiar with the locals. If you can, find their typical haunts away from their safe little stronghold though I understand a lot of those types can be homebodies. To put it lightly. You figure out known associates, track their patterns, talk to friends. Where do they hang out, why do they hang out there? Then look for the places they aren't telling them. Ideally steal a phone or bug their vehicle, and then, you'll have your place." 

Leon sighs, finding the fact that the entity was adding another qualifier to the past question rather irritating.

"You know I have that figured out, I have enough contacts to be able to get into any given country without a problem. So that covers my stuff, benefit of being in a smugglers ring. I'm a grey market fence, so they owe me. Also a benefit of owning like 30 pawn shops. Aside from that, I don't use guns. The smuggler's ring will cover my explosives. I'll use bleach and peroxide rinses to remove any explosive residue, and then head out to get things done the right way.

Afterwards, the explosives get their own sealed hard-sided cases combined with their detonators to avoid issues, but plastic explosives need a lot more than a bullet to go off, so that isn't an issue. Artifacts get the old illusion scramble. People can steal fake versions if they want, but that ensures the rest are protected and of course I pray each night to reinforce my most precious items. Though as magic weakens it's taking more and more energy to do that." 

Leon has moved back to the Harbinger lounge chair by now and is drinking something again. Water this time, he's had a bit too much alcohol by this point and finds himself uniquely desiring to be sober given the threat before him is becoming more.. cohesive as he answers. He didn't like what he was seeing either as his memory of how this evolved more and more specific, and the more he realized, the more he recognized the face of who was standing before him. 

"Plane goes down, car breaks down? Easy enough. Find another plane, find another car. If that isn't possible, use a vantage point to teleport as far and as fast as I can to the rest after turning invisible if it's nighttime. If none is possible, I find whoever decides to keep me there and make them agree to release me. Magical means of compulsion and an illusion left behind in the prison cell I left would work well enough if I were imprisoned along with the rest of the passengers for something unrelated that happened on the plane. If even one of those works, I get away and can charter a new plane or get a new car, even if it's a military stopping me from doing the deed." 

Leon shrugs as he hears this question: what was he supposed to say to this? Were there contractors unprepared for a normal person attempting to mug them? He thought some people may be stupid enough not to be ready for this, but he would say

"Easy enough. First, I'd examine the person to ascertain if they were a hardened criminal or some kid desperate for dollars. Easy enough to tell by body language whether or not they tremble in any fashion while holding a gun meant to kill someone, and of course, if their weapon is real and or properly maintained. Assuming this is a real mugging, though, the easiest way to get them to go away is to give them what they want, and a cursory illusion of my wallet, keys, and phone will get them to go away while I slip into the shadows and vanish. By the time they realize the phone doesn't turn on and the money in the wallet has my face on it, I'll be long gone." 

Leon ponders this question; this entity is getting oddly specific. The questions may be leading in a more significant direction. Either way, it wasn't like he had any choice but to answer, as bargaining and attempting to ask another question invariably led him in circles back to this point. 

"Well, the first thing is to take a seat with good visibility of the door and the kitchen exit if it has one. With all due respect, it always pays to be aware of all entrances and exits to a building at any given time, and from there, if the bar needs to be more populated, I'd be curious as to why. It probably means the drinks are shit, but it could also mean it's mafia, yakuza, or whatever the local gangs use as a hang-out when they feel like celebrating. The mob can afford to keep these places open without a problem, as real estate and having cover locations is its benefit. So, ensure I don't break anything; if I spot any staff, be respectful. However, if I'm truly seeing NO ONE, that's a problem. Check behind the register, see if I can find a ledger to see the last time anyone was here; if there's a hatch underneath the bar, it may hold survivors hiding from whatever has made this location so unpopulated or, at the very least their last memoirs if I'm too late for that. Either way, you need to be flexible, aware of your surroundings, and don't drink on the job." 

Leon stands up and approaches the entity. If he was robbed in his sleep? Where the hell was this going?

"Like any self-respecting professional, I keep two tracking methods inside my luggage. A GPS tracker in the weave of the luggage itself, and then another in any irreplaceable items that I'd rather die than lose. We all have a few of those. Aside from that, check for scuffs on the floor or treads in the carpet. It'll give you the kind of shoes they were wearing. Then, could you talk to the other tenants? They may have heard something, even if they are unlikely to have looked. Then finally, if you still don't have a concrete lead, it's time to get dangerous. Talk to the security guards and convince them by any means necessary to let you see security footage and to tell you about the guests. Then, find a mirror that they passed by on the way in, and then finally. Make them bring it back; if that doesn't work, it's full pursuit time. Driving, murder, the works. No one steals from me and gets away with it." 

Leon sighed and waved his hand; he could duplicate objects to the most minute detail. If a deep scientific scan was performed, he would have a problem, but was this question for less experienced illusionists? 

"Infiltration is easy. Someone's always talking about their outfit, their date, or their favorite new thing that only they're going to see. People are criminal oversharers, literally, in many cases. Either way, once I find one, I make sure that I either end up as their date or replace them at their entrance. I prefer the second, as I've had my share of flirting on jobs; it always gets messy. After that, it's just a matter of finding security. Get eyes on someone. Figure out their keycard and encounter them near a disclosed place. Go ahead and either disable them or pickpocket the card to make them a fake keycard with my illusion magic—preferably the latter. Then, use that to gain access to the systems and figure out who and what has access to their systems; most people still use the active directory software, which is about as old as most mortals drawing breath these days. Thank god that Instagram uses something similar for its user registry, or I'd not know shit from dick on that one. " 

Leon sighed and leaned back in his chair to contemplate for a moment, staring at the ceiling half to think and a half to avoid the fact that he was now sure he recognized that he had asked this question; damn memories. Why did they have to be so tricky? Still, the question was direct and simple encounters with an entire team of armed mercenaries never were.

"A combination of tactics. First, kill the lights. Armed mercenaries probably are already on this, but getting to it before they get their night vision on will slow that process and give me time to both be invisible and be able to produce an army of illusory copies of myself. Next, once they have time to get their night vision on and mind blast themselves, I target the surviving members and give them a command. Time to switch teams, swapping them over to my side gives me control over the rest of how this event goes and minimizes casualties, as many of the civilians will have been knocked on their asses by the mind blast as well. This, plus the dark, will make hitting them with a stray nearly impossible, and as for the rest, well. You can't save them all. Regardless, the rest of the mission will be easy as shit with the rest of the mercenaries now solidly on team Leon in a way that they can't just back out of." 

Leon scowls; one of theirs encountering death, huh? Well, he had his ways out of that for the most part, but it was without fail the question that'd annoy just about anyone. 

"Typically, this means engaging Lazarus protocols. We call upon one of the healers we know worldwide, teleport the person away, and resurrect them. Assuming that isn't possible, though, means delving into my stores. Have to use the adrenaline needle or the cocaine that everyone seems to have; gotta figure out who sells that and see about securing them as a semi-permanent source, but either way, I have the adrenaline needle, so we start by killing the cock weasel that put them down or if that isn't possible identify our escape route and drag their sorry ass out via magic stash or if that's also disabled the good old four point restraint will let a grown man distribute the weight enough to keep moving. I'm not exactly super strong, but I'm strong enough that isn't impossible for me. After that, needle them, and hope for the best."  

Leon laughs; unknown properties, huh? Well, most people would probably settle for the unknown portion of that and keep walking but Leon wasn't exactly that type of person, so he'd merely smile and continue with 

"Unknown? That's a little funny, but first, we need to ascertain the nature of what we're delivering. I have more direct magical ways of doing this, and a question to the Ma'at is usually a good idea when dealing with something like that. The situation branches off into two paths. If it's world-destroying and I can get the group to say fuck you to the harbinger, we'll see it thrown into a temporal vortex beyond time that I happen to know of and keep stabilized. It's a Mount Doom situation there. Otherwise, if it's powerful but in a way that is just the precursor to having a laugh or preparing to follow their whims in not a universe-destroying way, I can handle a new war or the humans changing how they act for a bit. It's just the nature of things."