Fanfic / Fox-Face and Flames

Fox-Face and Flames, a Big Hero 6 Alternate Universe Fic written by tykimikitty.

Featured also on Archive of Our Own here

Unfortunately deleted from both sites but have been reuploaded to the latter site.

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Fox-Face and Flames Provides Examples of:

#-F

• Action Girl: Aside from the obvious Gogo and Honey, there's Hebi, Neko, Ookami, Maeko Rice and Cass Hamada...
• Addiction-Powered: The Doubutsu formula. It's not necessarily the more you used it, you have the superhuman powers; it's more take it and you are granted it. The Animal Group can take it just fine, even newer formulas. However, when they aren't compatible, they either get temporarily sick or had some form of Body Horror.
• Alice Allusion: Used for Hiro by Tako.
• Animal Metaphor: With slight Animal Stereotypes just a tad. As a result of the experiment, these guys did embody the respective animals that even loved ones noticed after their return to normality.
  • Chocho: Loves high places but just as fragile in its lifespan. Shy and meek
  • Neko: Seemingly sarcastic and cute but just as tough streetwise.
  • Taka: Snarky quirky but vicious when he wants to be
  • Ookami: Protective loyal majestic powerful she is even after returning to normality
  • Usagi: Sweet but mysterious when want to be
  • Saru: Hyperactive goofy curious
  • Tako: Malevolent and alien from human thought
  • Sasori: a more realistic portrayal like sociability and calm but creepy due to his eccentricities
  • Hebi: loyal to those she respects, creepy and borderline sociopathic due to loyalty to admired person
  • Hitsuji: passive gentle blind obedience to the detriment of life and unable to fight
  • Tanuki: sneaky clever bold cute but heroic and a symbol of good luck
• Animal Motifs: The Doubutsu (Japanese for animal) Project gives their subjects animal code-names and more than often it's meaningful towards their character.
• Angst Coma: Implied to be one of the reasons of Tadashi's coma other than the drugs he took.
• Anti-Hero (Team): Kitsune and the rest of the Animal Group
• Anyone Can Die / Involuntary Battle to the Death: What goes down in the trials.
• Asian Fox Spirit: The whole psychological mess is done to resemble kitsune-possession and how foxes are depicted as tricksters and shapeshifters. With Amnesiac Resonance, the fox seems to intensify Tadashi and cast an illusion of normalcy.
• Asshole Victim: Ron and his accomplices
• The Atoner: Callaghan freely admits it was his fault Tadashi is the way he is and later continues his trek by making Hiro's sword invention for Tadashi and professing his apologies particularly to Tadashi. Tadashi/Kitsune due to trial 5b.
• Badass Normal: Maeko Rice. Cass Hamada might apply as well.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Tadashi is an All-Loving Hero who wouldn't hurt a fly. Kitsune is an Unscrupulous Hero who has no issues committing violence. Justified as he experienced so much trauma he snapped. The dissonance shocked his friends and brother so much they tried to stop his cruel actions; they did not want Kitsune performing those horrible actions in Tadashi's body. However, they see Kitsune in Tadashi as well as Tadashi in Kitsune.
• Big Bad: Sora Keiji or Doctor Tien Long, the one who was taking care of Tadashi in the hospital
  • The Big Bad Shuffle: Tako
• Big Damn Heroes: Tadashi returns as Kitsune by saving Fred by landing on top of him. Usagi by killing Tako.
• Birds of a Feather: Fred and Taka
• Bittersweet Ending: Most of the Animal Group went home; arrests were put out for CASCO; Tadashi and Maeko made peace; Tadashi reemerged as the Silver Samurai, but Neko took the fall and there was no much else Tadashi or the heroes can do. The Animal Group kept semi-contact with each other because they can't erase the nine months on the run together.
• Body Horror: The ones who failed to adjust to the Doubutsu formula becomes this. Because of the Big Hero Six, they found a way to return them to their normal bodies as done to Saru and implied the other victims.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Hebi
• Break the Cutie: Tadashi during the 5b trials
• Broken Bird: Tadashi/Kitsune and a majority of Team Animal. Played realistically too because even when they went back to their normal lives, they are still traumatized and still need healing, which is why their loved ones are there. While Team Animal knows what gone is gone, they are still broken.
• But Now I Must Go: Barely averted. When everything was done, Animal Group intended to leave the city and become nomadic. If it wasn't for the effort for the Heroes and detectives hunting down their relatives or convincing them to stay, Animal Group including Tadashi would've left town long after the defeat of Tako and Sora.
• Byronic Hero: Kitsune although traces of Tadashi still come through, making him not completely and he does care in his strange subtle way.
• Central Theme: What is surviving/living?; Pay Evil unto Evil regardless of innocence or try to save everybody bedamn the consequences?; what is humanity?
• Character Development: Hebi went from a childish jealous psycho to someone who is willing to accept help with those she deemed 'losers'. Kitsune was originally an Unscrupulous Hero to at least a Pragmatic Hero based on how he took on the gang at the Winter Festival and the lady he took to interrogating.
• Character Tics:
  • Taka and his usage of media entertainment as his way of speaking
  • Neko and her cat puns
  • Kai's smoking which Tadashi later takes
• Cloudcuckoolander: Saru, Sasori, Taka
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Sometimes the members of Big Hero 6 wear their respective colors when civilian; Tadashi notably wears black and grey.
• Cool Big Sis: Neko
• Curbstomp Battle:invoked Kitsune/Tadashi easily took out the robbers at the bank, Ron and his accomplices and those who threatened Cass, Krei, Maeko, and himself at the Winter Festival.. Hebi at the warehouse took out a plethora of people at the Pierce-Brian hostage situation. One hilarious example came when both groups arrived at the 5b facility and took out the four Black Gloves' members.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Animal Group wore predominately dark or neutral colors. It's noted that Kitsune wore white when he appeared but switched to black when Tadashi regained his memories and accepted Kitsune and his demons.
• Darker and Edgier / Bloodier and Gorier: While the film explores grief and revenge, the fic ups the ante with a Battle Royale human experimentation with drug abuse, murder (forced to kill to survive in the trials and well what we see our antiheroes did in their missions), torture, stabbing, mental breakdowns, and the whole shebang.
• Death by Origin Story: Tadashi's 'roommates' all died but it was one of the factors leading up to Tadashi's transformation.
• Despair Event Horizon: Tadashi when every member in his group died.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: It's implied to be part of Animal Group's goal after their trials. For the most part, they can't or won't return to their families (if they even remember at all or because what they did at the trials). Kitsune blatantly said that they're surviving, not living.
• Deuteragonist: Kitsune/Tadashi.
• Disney Death: Usagi
• The Dragon: Tako
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Tako have something else in mind in comparison to Sora Keiji's goal to achieve immortality for his son.
• Driven to Suicide: Chocho, a member of Tadashi's group in the 5b trials. Tadashi attempted this near the end of psychosis.
• Easy Amnesia: Deconstructed and played with. While memories didn't come back right away for Tadashi rather some of his mannerisms pop in then and there. When Kitsune was stabbed by Hiro, Tadashi took over and only remember up to the showcase fire but even then he feels something was wrong and that the months he was gone weren't empty, just something he forgot. The doctor blatantly said that the memories would likely never return and to some certain extent even the Big Hero 6, no matter how hard they tried, knew they couldn't restore his memories easily. Tadashi only remembered when he was shown the video of him creating Baymax and even then he didn't remember everything.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Alister Krei, the Corrupt Corporate Executive whose main goal was to make profits and cut corners, pulled out of his sponsoring for CASCO when he learned that they were doing human experiments yet he chose to not say a word much like Callaghan did as well. Subverted with Callaghan who had some involvement but he too left.
• Extreme Doormat: Hitsuji.
• Expy:invoked Saru, Tako's lackey, is based heavily on Naki from Tokyo Ghoul on his various quirks as Word of God said.
• Eye Scream: What happens to a Black Gloves' member by Kitsune.
• Faking the Dead / Death Faked for You: CASCO has a special branch for morgues and a post-accident recovery unit to retrieve test subjects; not only they retrieve new lab rats, they retrieve donations for finding and supporting the funeral to benefit the experiments. It’s implied that Tadashi had been in a coma or a medically induced coma (since he woke up since the fire for the first time in the 5b facility) while recovering from his burns and was sent to the trials when he was deemed healthy and fit so judging by the other trial participants, Tadashi’s situation was similar. To a lesser degree, Usagi
• Fatal Flaw: Tadashi's selflessness, something the movie already established and what Tako manipulate with Ron and his group (it's implied that Tako had a indirect hand in Tadashi's downward spiral along with other factors). When Tadashi remembered everything, he admits that he nor Kitsune would be able to save Hiro by being Kitsune or being the way Tadashi was before the showcase fire (Tadashi reverts back to this when Kitsune was stabbed by Hiro. However, as Kitsune has traces of Tadashi, visa versa with Tadashi). He eventually merged with Kitsune, which is why the flashes of Kitsune came in the kind face of Tadashi. It puts off the Big Hero 6 but they came to live with it.
• Faux Affably Evil: Tako and Sora. Both are Soft-Spoken Sadist who easily used their masks to get people, hiding the madness underneath.
• Festival Episode: The Winter Festival, our climax!
• Freak Out: Tadashi has two: when he was surrounded by his dead 'roommates' and when Hiro accidentally Triggered him in his state of psychosis
• From Bad to Worse: What happens to Tadashi's group when he left and when he returned, in turn leading him to snap.

G-M

• Gang of Hats: The Purple Scarves, Vendettes, and Black Gloves
• Genre Savvy: Fred and Taka often call to attention superhero tropes. In fact, as soon as measly information they got from the news about Kitsune and underground hangings, Fred correctly predicted he might be out there for revenge and had something bad happen to him.
• Gratuitous Japanese: Unlike most examples, this is more meaningful and makes sense in its environment.
• Guilt Complex: Hiro and Tadashi/Kitsune exhibits this.
• Hardboiled Detective: Played with Maeko and Sasori. The former does have some dubious methods but otherwise a good person. Sasori is too eccentric, an Eccentric Artist to be precise.
• Harmful to Minors: The trials. Hebi, Hitsuji, and Maya had to go through the terrible trials from murder to drug abuse. Even though he never partook in the trials, Hiro saw the 5b trials and was horrified; let's get this out of the way, even he closed his ears, he still heard the gunshots that killed Ron and his gang by his brother.
• Healing Factor: It implied that the successful participants of the Doubutsu Project have this ability although it would still leave scarring.
• Heroic BSoD: Oh, Tadashi. It happened twice before the Freak Out. Hiro also has one when he stabbed Kitsune because just then Tadashi seemed to be regaining his memories. The science team have one after the fact Tadashi is Kitsune sinks in.
• Heroic Sacrifice: It was Maya's choice so Tadashi would move on.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Some form of self-loathing is a very prominent emotion for Animal Group. There could also be purposeless in a life where you can't remember in the case of Hitsuji's. From what they have to go through in the trials, it's justified.
• Hey, You!: Kitsune's form of address.
• Hidden in Plain Sight; Sora Keiji, the head of CASCO. Callaghan said that he might have changed his looks too.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Sora Keiji ordered Tako to use the Animal Group, using their grudge against them, in order to get rid of people and test newer prototypes. In the end, the same team still ended up defeating his life's work with the help of the city's heroes..
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Hiro tried to do this with Tadashi/Kitsune. Later, Hiro and the others tried to restore his memories.
• Immortality Seeker: CASCO all for the sake of Sora Keshiki, son of Sora Keiji.
  • Immortality Immorality: CASCO went very far to achieve immortality.
  • Immortality Inducer: CASCO tried to do this with the Doubutsu formula, which they're developing to withstand a lot of stuff.
    • Side Effects Include...: As it turns out, CASCO did manage to achieve some form of immortality, longevity
• Improbably Quick Coma Recovery: Twice and maybe implied for the Doubutsu trials participants too. After Tadashi woke up from his month long coma, he was discharged the day of his awakening and seemingly healthy and fit; however since his doctor was the one heading Project Doubutsu, the doctor knew Kitsune is one of the more important successes and probably analyzed how the formula did to his body due to his comments about his Healing Factor. However, under the doctor, Tadashi was prescribed medicine including painkillers every day and night. In the trials, people seemed to be healthy and fit because nobody there is sick and in need of medicine; but these guys had implied their last image before waking up in the facility was their Near-Death Experience. Again, Tadashi has lasting scars from the fire which will take awhile to heal in human medical standards. Probably the medical field had gotten advanced but not Star Trek advanced to justify this.
• Innocuously Important Episode: The San Fransokyo World episode where Baymax and Fred learns about Kitsune's true identity, Honey confronting Kitsune about the drugs and later taking a sample for study, developing a counter for said drugs

• Insane Equals Violent: Sierra. Tako used violence when he wanted to or what he plans to do, such as his killing of Hitsuji and Usagi and his almost killing of the participants of 5b and 6a trials at the 5b facility. Sora Keiji crafted the Doubutsu and allowed violence to be made yet in when he appeared in the climax, he gave Hiro a Sadistic Choice.
• Irony: Both brothers have chances to murder people who wronged them but just one took the opportunity and it's the Big Brother Mentor. In the movie, Hiro intended to kill Yokai for his part in Tadashi's death but held back just in time. Tadashi, on the other hand, have to kill, not because of it was his choice, but because of survival and continued spilling blood. One brother's hands were nearly stained while another was stained by the blood of those he murdered in and after the trials. However, for all one brother's pursuit of vengeance, he never truly fallen completely namely because of his brother's descent to madness. He understood his brother's grief and wrath but will try not to go mad because he had been there almost to the letter...because y'know his brother had a killing spree. Even when his brother was forced to kill, there is no doubt his brother would have to kill because the circumstances forced upon them will never be sunshine and rainbows.
• It Runs in the Family: Well, the Hamada brothers than anything else. Their rage could lead to revenge, which both took readily. They're prepared to Pay Evil unto Evil to satisfy their vengeance. However, it also goes another way around as well. When they are stopped from killing, they will present mercy such as Hiro reminding Tadashi from killing Tako for Usagi's death and Hiro stopping himself from ever trying to kill Keishiki.
• Killed Off for Real: Hitsuji and Usagi
• Light Is Not Good: Averted with Baymax's marshmallow design. Played straight regarding CASCO. Played with and subverted when Kitsune wore white.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Cass Hamada knows the general idea that Tadashi was involved with dangerous stuff and his amnesia following Tadashi/Kitsune's accidental stabbing but ultimately she didn't know what's going on until the Winter Festival. Tadashi was completely unaware of many things when he woke up from his Angst Coma like his brother and friends' superheroing and the real reason why he was away from his home. He was also kept out of the loop about Callaghan's criminal status until Abigail visited him.
• Mad Doctor / Mad Scientist: Those involved with the Doubutsu Project especially in the case of Sora Keiji, a real doctor, and Doctor Rank in the video records.
• Mama Bear: or Wolf. Ookami was definitely this after Hitsuji's death.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: On one hand, the story suggested a psychological disorder for Tadashi/Kitsune but on the other hand, Hiro has a Journey to the Center of the Mind of Tadashi to wake him. It's unknown whether or not the figures in Tadashi's mind is actually the ghosts or his imagination of what they think since Hiro seemed to interact with them just fine and even Hiro didn't know what to take this at all.
• MegaCorp: CASCO. Described to be a monopoly with major scientific research and banking by Krei, they build San Fransokyo's General Hospital. Also, they have been running to find immortality by producing a formula and testing it on apparently dead people.
• The Mole: Tako
• Morality Chain / The Heart: It was shown that Tadashi might've been the one that kept Maya, Chocho, Kai, Knives, and Sierra from resorting to violence and importantly sane and in-line. We learned that after Tadashi was taken away by Ron that Sierra taunted Kai about Chocho's suicide and Kai, already inconsolable, just snapped and he killed her and went a little mad. Knives ended up having to kill Kai and later died of his wounds. Maya ended up having Tadashi kill her. Coupled with Tadashi's weariness (due to stress because the level demands that in order to move on, they must kill someone), the drugs and torture, Tadashi snapped.
• Morality Kitchen Sink: Team Animal have varieties of Antiheroes with good hearts underneath although how they dealt with their situation varies. Big Hero 6 and Tadashi is in the undeniably noble. Hiro is on the Sliding Scale Of AntiHeroes once again because of his brother. CASCO performed those inhumane experiments to find immortality all for the sake of an ill boy. Sora Keiji and Tako are insane but for different reasons.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Hiro when he accidentally stabbed Tadashi in the stomach.
  • Similarly, Tadashi when he accidentally slashed Maya's throat.
• Mythology Gag: Silver Samurai, Tadashi's superhero alias. Silver Samurai was a part of the original team before leaving. Tadashi became the newest member but it's clear that both he and the team considers his superhero identity separate as it wouldn't exactly fit the theming. It isn't Big Hero Seven after all.

N-Z

• One Degree of Separation: Downplayed. The Heroes only involved themselves in CASCO by coincidence, namely a CASCO head who feared for his daughter's life. Callaghan and Krei had been involved with CASCO in the past but left due to personal reasons. Tadashi was involved in CASCO because he was one of their test subjects and a successful candidate at that. Tadashi's 'roommate' Maya has a sister Maeko, a detective, searching to bring her sister's murderer later CASCO to justice.
• One-Man Army: Kitsune/Tadashi took out an entire gang twice. Gogo is one of these too with the rest of Animal Group.
• Professional Killer: Animal Group appeared accomplished in the killing arts. They can kill dozens of people without leaving a piece of DNA behind. While they aren't actual assassins, they are skilled to be one. Hiro even hangs a lampshade on Tadashi's abilities.
• Pungeon Master: Neko with her cat puns. Lampshaded by Gogo.
• The Reveal: Kitsune was revealed to be Tadashi when Gogo knocked his mask off.
• Revenge: Tadashi or rather Kitsune accomplished his revenge by killing Ron and those who tortured him. Maeko wanted revenge for her sister's death. Hiro wanted revenge for what CASCO had done to CASCO had wronged and killed.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In Tadashi/Kitsune's case. What also happens to the scientists after Kitsune, Neko, Hebi, and Usagi escaped. Could be considered Kitsune's goal to put a bullet through the head of CASCO's.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Hitsuji. Bonus points for having the Japanese name for Sheep
• Sacrificial Lion: Usagi. Subverted when it's revealed he survived by wearing a Kevlar vest.
• Sarcastic Confession: A well-meaning example. When Tadashi woke up from his Angst Coma and learned he was missing for nine months, he asked what he was doing in the interval. Fred responded with the truth in which Cass and Tadashi did not believe him.
• Scars Are Forever: Tadashi has lasting burns from the fire and later other injuries from his trials. The same goes for the rest of Animal Group.
• Secret-Keeper: Fred and Baymax for Kitsune's true identity. Taka, Neko, Hebi, and Usagi regarding Kitsune/Tadashi's circumstances.
• Ship Tease: While ultimately a friendship/family story, there are hints of Honey or Gogo teased with Tadashi to satisfy the readers who wanted the pairings. It helps that the author is unbiased with shipping.
• Shock and Awe: Tadashi's new katana's uses. Hiro designed the mechanical sword specifically so Tadashi would never kill again, instead incapacitating enemies.
• Shout-Out: Loads of anime, comics, and other media references from Taka and Fred. Word of God admitted she was inspired by Tokyo Ghoul's Kaneki Ken torture for Tadashi's experience in the 5b trials when many reviewers pointed out the similarities.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Hiro and Kitsune/Tadashi. While differences were already established in the film, it's played with in-story.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Hebi, Gogo, and Hiro.
• Split Personality: Kitsune for Tadashi. His Dissociative Identity Disorder caused a whole new personality in defense for all the pain he had to endure. However, it was also suggested that Kitsune might even be Tadashi's negative emotions amplified by his trauma because his friends won't even let him display even one bit of negative emotion for all they see him as a Nice Guy and All-Loving Hero.
• Spy Catsuit: Neko wore one underneath her kimono.
• Stepford Smiler: It's implied Tadashi bottled up his negative emotions so that his friends don't have to worry. Which might be why his friends consider Kitsune a dissonance because Kitsune displayed negativity all around, not even considering that Kitsune is a part of Tadashi.
• Superhero Origin: Regarding Animal Group. They were caught in accidents where CASCO took them in for recovery and later used as lab rats for the Doubutsu Project. Tadashi, in particular, was tortured and suffered until he snapped and took up the name Kitsune all while Big Hero 6 forms and defeats Yokai (we don't know long the events of the movie takes place over time but we know in the fic, the story only took place just months after and have a time span of several months in the course). In the end, the only one in the Animal Group who became a working Hero was Tadashi, the now Silver Samurai while everyone else either went back to their normal lives or took the fall in the conspiracy.
• Symbolism: Animals, flowers, and water/blood.
• Tarot Motifs / Flower Motifs: The tarot cards doesn't show up until Tako revealed himself to emphasize his Mad Artist antics while the flowers only show specifically for Tadashi/Kitsune's mind and those connected to Maya and the other members in his 5b group.
• Tattoo as Character Type: Tadashi got an intricate one from chest to back with flames, red spider lilies, and the characters Kishi Kaisei and Kitsune. From what can be gleaned from the implications and side stories, Kitsune chose Complex-Personal tats for a reason.
• Team Dad: Usagi
• Team Mom: Ookami
• Tested on Humans: The Doubutsu formula was tested on apparently dead people in a Battle Royale-esque situation to test their biological, physiological, psychological, intelligence and physical profile.
• Theme Naming: The new vigilante is named "Kitsune" to match the movie villain Yokai.
• There Are No Therapists: The Animal Group is in need of therapists. Not even the Heroes suggest Tadashi go to a therapist when it's clear they can see Kitsune is still in there in Tadashi in the days leading up to the Winter Festival.
• These Hands Have Killed: On Tadashi's mind and he was able to let go. The rest of the Animal Group who have killed before knows this to be true. Those who remembered completely like Neko, Ookami, and Usagi felt like they won't be able to look at their family after what they did in the trials. Big Hero Six later learned Tadashi had indeed murder people but in his circumstances, they realized that none of the Animal Group have no other choice and came to terms that their beloved friend had killed before.
• Time Skip: Sort of. The story takes place sometime after the movie's end.
• Token Evil Teammate: Tako. Sierra in Tadashi's group.
• Took a Level in Badass: Tadashi doesn't seem to be the type for combat, more Non-Action Guy than anything else and usually resorts to compromises and self-sacrifices. When he became Kitsune, he's well-versed in combat so much so he's a One-Man Army.
• Transhuman: The Doubutsu formula gave the Animal Team superhuman strength. However, even after they took the drug and has withdrawal, they still have remnants in their body.
• Trauma Conga Line: Tadashi went through so much torture and cruelty during the 5b trials and changed drastically. It’s likely for this reason Usagi understand why the kind boy he met willing to give him stock changed into a ruthless cold self-loathing killer and accepted Tadashi easily when he and Hebi ran into him.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Twice for Tadashi
• Tsundere: Animal Group as a whole.
• Two First Names: Sora Keiji and Keishiki.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Sora Keishiki. His ailment began his dad's Start of Darkness, driving his father to seek an Immortality Inducer.

• Would Hit a Girl: Kitsune, Saru, Tako and what happens in the trials such as Kai killing Sierra and Tadashi/Kitsune killing a woman in the second part of White Recollection.

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