#here he be- hunter jackal

[ihavemanyhusbands]

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Bloody

PART ONE: DOG MEAT

Also on AO3

Mini-series masterlist

Pairing: Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x Fem!Bounty Hunter!Reader

WC: 2.3k words

Series Summary: Hunting down your father’s killer – a powerful raider by the name of Axl – you end up being saved from a bad situation by none other than a ghoul. After finding out you have goals in common, you form an uneasy alliance with him, but things get much, much more complicated than that.

Warnings: MINORS DNI, THIS FIC IS 18+, Dead dove: do not eat, canon typical violence, the ghoul being the ghoul, swearing, drug mentions/use (chems), enemies to lovers, eventual smut, blood/gore mentions, sorta dom/sub dynamics, some mentions of cannibalism, angst, some whump, aaaand for now that’s all i can think of but lmk if another tag is needed.

A/N: This is my very first time writing for Cooper Howard/The Ghoul, so I’m still trying to learn how he talks/carries himself. Excited to be writing this little mini series though! :) hope you like <3

———-

Blood flowed relentlessly toward your head, making the upside-down world blur into a vivid amalgamation of color. The raiders' laughter sounded more like the barking of jackals, coming from all around you, disorienting you further.

As you fought to stay conscious, your muscles strained against the ropes that held you up, the rough material biting into your skin. Your head was hovering just a few inches away from the surface of murky, radioactive water. You could feel more than see something lurking in its depths, hungry, waiting for the right time to strike.

And you? You were the bait to lure it out.

Where had it all gone wrong, exactly?

Well, perhaps it had started with you being so overly confident. Sure, you had learned more than a few dirty tricks in your years as a bounty hunter – having to keep yourself both fed and alive while you completed your actual mission – but that didn’t mean you could fight off a large group of brawny, ruthless raiders all by yourself.

At the very least, you’d managed to kill one of them and injure another with your crossbow before you were rewarded with a strike across your face. Bright white stars ignited in your vision as you were quickly subdued and strung upside down from the rusted arm of a broken crane.

The worst part was, you’d barely had time to ask any of the questions you’d wanted to ask. You supposed you’d never been a great interrogator, anyway, but that was something to concern yourself with another time; If there even was another time.

“Come on, where’s the fucking gulper? We don’t have all fucking day here,” one of the raiders, a big-headed bald man, gruffed.

Another one of them, scrawnier and rat-like, let out an amused grunt. “Heh, should’ve just chopped her up and sold her as dog meat.”

“Still time for that, if it doesn’t come,” the bald one said. “Think we should lower her more? If her head’s underwater, she’ll thrash around and maybe get the gulper's attention.”

At this, panic flared within you once more. You tried moving your wrists, legs kicking more and more urgently. The raiders laughed again at your rendition of the gallowdance. Your head felt like it was on fire, dangerously nearing an explosion.

Distantly, you heard the creak of metal as the rope that held you aloft was adjusted. Your body jerked as it began to descend, the crown of your head now submerged. Your mind raced as you tried to find ways to save yourself, but it was getting harder and harder to think. You wanted to scream, but you were only able to make a weak, gurgling sound.

There was a loud splash, entirely too close for comfort. Jeering from the raiders as they prepared for a gruesome show. You began to accept your fate, dismay over your failure to complete your life’s mission greater than your fear of death.

But suddenly, you heard various gunshots in rapid succession. It’s a fucking ghoul! somebody shouted frantically. The confused screams of the raiders followed along with some answering shots. The heavy thump of bodies collapsing, one by one.

It was silent for a moment, except for a breeze settling the dust and your heartbeat pounding in your head like a drum. Then there was the soft clink of spurs as someone approached you, an old pair of cowboy boots appearing in your vision.

You tried craning your neck to get a better view of your supposed savior. You could barely see his face, the sun haloing his head like a saint’s. But there are no angels in the wasteland, you thought deliriously, only roaming devils searching for carrion to pick on.

His voice was low and raspy, with a southern drawl that was almost soothing, in a strange way. “Well, well… Ain’tcha just the prettiest hunk of meat I ever did see?”

A shuddery gasp escaped your throat as you felt the rope loosen a little more, fully submerging your head. Your eyes rolled into the back of your skull as you were swallowed by darkness, immediately unconscious.

—-----------------------------------------

“See that there?” your father whispered, pointing up at a cluster of stars. “That’s the big dipper. And just below its tail is the little dipper. Do you see ‘em?”

You nodded, awed by the simple, ephemeral beauty of a still night sky. Your father’s soothing presence, his patient teachings, the world not so horrible when seen through his eyes.

“Like us,” you said with a smile. “Always together.”

His smile was sad then. You couldn’t remember it being that way, but memories tended to warp over time, didn’t they?

“Yes, sweetie. Always together,” he said, trying to sound as promising as possible. “But if we ever separated, for whatever reason, remember that you can look up at the sky at night, and you will always find us there.”

—------------------------------------------

You woke up sputtering, thinking you were still underwater. Your stomach lurched violently and your body twisted onto your hands and knees, retching. Spewing bile as yellow as the RadAway you found yourself hooked onto. Panting with both exertion and disorientation, searing pain lancing through your skull.

It was close to sunset, the sky beginning to burn orange and gold, the atmosphere cooler. You were still at the quarry where you’d first encountered the raiders, but you were a safe distance away from the water.

You could smell and hear a small campfire nearby. Felt a presence behind you, a heavy gaze fixed on you.

“You must be all kinds of stupid, huh? Chargin’ into that battlefield of your own makin’, not even a hint of backup around to help.” The ghoul shook his head with amusement. “Then again, you must’ve been lookin’ for a guaranteed death… So which is it, suicidal or stupid?”

You spat on the dirt and roughly wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, glaring at him. If you knew one thing, it was to avoid ghouls as best as you could. Coming across one from time to time was inevitable, but you’d never in your wildest dreams thought you’d be saved by one. Or that you would still be in one piece in his presence.

At least he wasn’t worse for wear, and nowhere near feral. He was missing his nose, as all ghouls did, and his skin was leathery and burnt. His features were skeletal, shadowed under the wide brim of his hat. Otherwise… he wasn’t unbearable to look at.

“No? Y’ain’t gonna tell me?” he said, the curiosity in your stare not unnoticed by him. His eyes roamed over you in return. “Gotta be honest, I was real tempted to take a bite earlier, but I never really took a liking to dog meat.”

He chuckled and your frown only deepened, hatred and rage alight in your eyes. You tried to scoot further away, but it was then you noticed a rope was tied around one of your ankles, the other end of it under the ghoul’s boot.

“What do you want with me, ghoul?” You croaked, your throat scratchy and raw from the stomach acid.

“Well, that ain’t very grateful of you, sweetheart. I saved your skin back there,” he clicked his tongue in disappointment, unholstering his pistol. “I could’ve been just as unmerciful as those raiders, if not more.”

You swallowed hard at the imagery, but you didn’t let your dread show. “And why weren’t you?”

He leaned forward, barrel lazily pointed at you. His eyes narrowed expectantly, and you realized he truly wanted to hear some gratitude from you before continuing.

Stubbornly, you clenched your jaw shut and continued to glare. He looked off into the horizon, noticing how quickly the light was waning.

“Think you’d fare any better when the fiends come out to play? Or some super mutant?” He mused, his tone bored. “I ain’t got a whole lot of time here.”

After the day you had, you didn’t really want to take those chances.

The words crawled up your throat like a second wave of acid, scalding your tongue as you uttered them. “Thank you… for saving me.”

“Now there’s a well mannered girl. Knew you had it in ya,” he said with a roguish grin. “Y’know that means you owe me one, don’tcha?”

You dipped your chin in confirmation, hating that you couldn’t argue with him on that one. Not many — if anyone at all — were spared the wasteland, so this was not something to be taken lightly. Especially not while already being tied to him, with virtually zero chances of escaping alive.

“But I ain’t gonna cash in that favor now, so don’t worry your pretty lil head ‘bout it,” he continued, but you didn’t feel at all eased by that statement. “I do wanna know somethin’ though… just what on earth possessed you to follow those men?”

You blinked at him in both surprise and confusion. How did he know that?

“See, I’d been trailing that group of shitheads for a few days. Was after that big headed fella, the leader, Tiberius,” He waved his gun around dismissively, like that part of the story was irrelevant. “But then, I noticed they had another shadow behind them — A quiet lil mousey jus’ like yourself.”

You shrugged one shoulder, unsure of how much truth you should actually give him. “I was looking for some information.”

“What’s that?” He spoke up, cupping his hand over his ear. “What you mumblin’ for? C’mere so I can hear you better.”

With that, he stood up, yanking the rope with more force than was necessary. Your back hit the ground, dust and rocks scraping your skin as you were pulled towards his feet. Trying to stop yourself with your hands only ripped up your palms, so you went slack on the last tug towards him.

He tilted his head to one side as he observed you, a flash of teeth that showed his continued amusement.

“Much better. Now what was that you were sayin’, darlin’?”

You bared your teeth in return, internally fuming. “I said I was looking for some goddamn information.”

He gave you a mocking pout. “Aw, sweetheart… fella wasn’t as forthcomin’ as ya thought, was he?”

“Fuck you,” you spat before you could stop yourself.

“There’ll be time enough for that,” he chuckled, settling his boot on your hipbone. “But first, what kind of information were you tryin’a get?”

“Why do you care? The fuck’s it to you?”

The barrel of his gun was pointed at you once more in warning, right between your eyes. His boot pressed down on your hip until you squeaked, knowing it would bruise.

“His brother… Axl,” you panted, gripping his boot in a futile attempt to get it off you. “I need to - I need to find him.”

He let out a long, low whistle. “Axl, huh? Now I know you really got a death wish, and you’re just stupid to boot.”

“You wouldn’t get it, ghoul,” you said through gritted teeth. “I don’t expect you to know anything about losing someone you love.”

He tensed then, hand trembling for just the briefest second. His features hardened, chapped lips thinning into a flat, angry line.

He lifted his boot only to land a harsh kick to your ribs, knocking the breath out of your lungs. Again, you felt like hurling, coughing violently instead.

“Oh, I know a whole lot more than you think, smoothie,” he said, going silent for a moment as he seemed to think. “Why you lookin’ for Axl? I can jus’ take care of you right ‘ere if you want to die so badly.”

“I’m going to kill him, with my own fucking hands,” you growled, too spent to beat around the bush any longer. “He-he killed my father last year.”

The briefest moment of stunned silence before the ghoul burst out laughing.

“Ain’t that somethin’. You? Takin’ out the big bad raider all by yourself? Now I’ve heard it all,” he shook his head once again. “You’re a spunky little gal, I’ll give ya that much.”

“It’s the law of the wasteland,” you said. “He owes me.”

He crouched next to you, his interest fully piqued. One side of his mouth was pulled up in a sly grin, his gaze held by yours.

“Tell ya what, I myself got some business to attend to with our dear friend Axl, and I just so happen to know where the fucker likes to hide out,” he said, enjoying the sparkle igniting in your eye — that thirst for revenge, for blood.

“Please,” was the only thing you could say, breathless, gripping his tattered coat. “I’ll do anything.”

“Anything, huh?” His tongue ran over his teeth pensively. “Well, seeing as you owe me a favor, I was just gonna take you along with me. Easier that way for you to repay me.”

You propped yourself up on your elbows, not wanting to stay on the ground. Your heads were much closer, but you tried your hardest not to let it get to you.

“What business do you have with him?” You asked warily.

“That ain’t none of your concern, darlin’,” he said, removing the rope from around your ankle to bind your wrists together. “Trust me or not, y’ain’t got no choice but to come with me. Now get up, gotta find ourselves a place to hole up in for the night.”

Painstakingly, you stood up, grunting with both pain and the exhaustion that suddenly crashed into you. As soon as you were on your feet, he tugged you forward, not waiting a moment longer before starting to walk.

“If things go tits up, well… Least I got myself a little snack for the road,” he said over his shoulder with a wink.

“I thought you said you didn’t eat dog meat.”

“Heh, well, you’re starting to prove to be a little more useful than that. But we’ll see about the taste.”

——

[sassycheesecake]

It’s a beautiful day during the fall season, the different pretty colors of the leaves that have been changed after summer was over, fall into the cold ground.

Two individuals, one man, with hair as dark as the midnight sky and a woman, drop-dead gorgeous, rest underneath a Japanese Maple tree. But they are not just any individuals.

The 6'3 tall man named Kiyoomi Sakusa, is secretly a yakuza member of the Jackals, one of the most feared mafia groups in Japan. The woman however, is a mere citizen but also the lover of said man. Sakusa took some time off his job to spend it with you instead, Meian thankfully granting him the request.

Collecting bounties and income, smashing a few heads and breaking some bones here and there, Sakusa is a ruthless, cold-blooded hunter when it comes to his position in the yakuza. To you however, he is the most sweet and softest puppy dog.

Sakusa is just relaxing with his head on your lap with his eyes closed, when he felt a very light weight on his head.

Opening one of his dark orbs, he sees that you placed something upon his dark curls, adjusting it as you focus highly on your task.

"What did you put on my head, my love?" He asks you, opening his other eye now as he looks at you with a breathtaking smile.

You’re quiet for a few seconds, when you gaze back into his dark eyes.

"A gift. Now you look even more handsome." You gush at him, blushing slightly at seeing his one-in-a-million-smile that just you get to see.

Sakusa chuckles lightly at your words, reaching up to find out what you placed on his dark curls only to get his tattooed hand slapped away from you.

"Ow. Why did you slap my hand away?" He pouts as he rubs his hand over the one you slapped, even though it barely hurt him.

"I just spent an eternity making you a magnificent flower crown and placed it on your unruly, complicated black curls, if you even move a single millimeter you will ruin my perfect placement." You scold him while waving a finger in his face.

"I didn’t know an eternity in your language means five minutes."

Sakusa snatches your hand and brings it to his face, pretending to bite it.

You screech in fear while quickly pulling your hand out of his and the ravenette chuckles darkly at your action.

"That’s what you get for trying to bark orders at me, you little germ." His hand finds yours again, intertwining your fingers with his big, slender ones. And you remember, that these fingers carry lots of blood on them, yet you don’t care. If anything, it makes Sakusa even hotter than he already is. And he is yours alone, as much as you are his.

"What? I can’t bark orders at you but Meian can?" You arch in eyebrow in annoyance.

"Yes." He bluntly states as he continues to look up at you.

"And why’s that?" You pry further.

"Because Meian pays my bills and he is my boss." Sakusa explains as if he’s talking to a toddler.

"What if I were your boss? Would you listen to me then?" You make a cute face, batting your eyelashes at him.

"No." Your lover disagrees.

"WHAT?!"

"I wouldn’t be able to take you seriously. And I don’t think any of the guys would. You’re too cute and you have the face of an angry wet kitten whenever you are mad at me." Sakusa explains with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

"Also. I know that Miya and Joffe keep eyeing you whenever they think I am not looking. And I could smash their skulls through the nearest wall whenever I see them do that. You’re already a distraction to me. Imagine the chaos if you have more guys than me thirsting after you." Sakusa adds with a grumble, as he crosses his arms across his chest.

"Awww look at you, Mr.Big-Bad-I-Beat-Up-People-For-A-Living-Kiyoomi Sakusa. What will those poor people think of you when they find out you’re a big fat softie underneath all those tattoos and that mean scowl of yours?" You tease him, laughing at his scowl that’s directed at you.

"Don’t call me a big fat softie in front of the others. They won’t live to tell the tale." Sakusa closes his eyes again, snuggling more into your thighs.

"Not even Miya?" He can almost hear the grin in your voice.

"Especially not Miya." The man mumbles as he starts to drift off.

[secondaxispoint]

Din Djarin x Male!Mando!Reader

Pairing: Din Djarin x Male!Mando!Reader

Warning: None!

Content: Fluff

This is from Din’s perspective so the reader has a nickname. No use of y/n. Hope you guys enjoy!

Partners

Din had been so used to living alone that when another Mandalorian offered to join him in his travels, it took him a while to come to terms with it. The man was quiet and intelligent. He was a bit taller than him and had a broad frame. Din had watched the other hunter in action and was surprised he had never met him before. His reddish tinted beskar and durasteel armour looked similar to his own, Mandalorian sigil forged proudly on his shoulder.

Once Din had stepped on board, along with his new partner, he was pleasantly greeted by Grogu. He smiles under his helmet and leans down to pick the creature up. He turns to the other man and starts introductions.

“This is Grogu, Grogu this is…”

He pauses, releasing that he never got a name from the other hunter. He looks up from the little beast he held in his arms. A bit of tension left his shoulders when he heard the warrior laugh through his helmet and step a bit closer.

“Jackal. Nice to meet you little guy.”

Din watches as he leans down and reaches a hand to Grogu who giggles happily and grabs one of his gloved fingers. 

“You can get to know him after we get out of here. For now you should get familiar with the controls and layout of the ship.”

Jackal nods and Grogu releases his grip. Din puts him down and makes for the small area where he keeps his weapons. Jackal’s rifle is still clasped to his back and his blaster is still on his hip. He’d have to clear a spot for the other’s weapons. But for now, Din puts his stuff away and leads the man to the very front of the ship. When he hears Jackal’s footsteps become irregular, he looks back to see that Grogu has attached himself to the taller man's calf.

“Y’know it would be easier for both of you if you just picked him up.”

He heard Jackal stifle a laugh as he bent down to pick up the clingy child. Once he had Grogu securely in his arms, he continued on behind Din.

It took a few hours, but the three finally found a safe place to rest for a while. Jackal volunteered to stay up a bit longer due to the lack of space in the ship. Din felt sort of bad but trusted the man to his own devices. He tried to retreat back to his and Grogu’s cramped sleeping quarters but the little one refused to go with him. Grogu climbed up and forced himself into Jackal’s lap. He chuckled and told Din that it was okay and that he would watch over Grogu while he slept.

Din had slept through most of the night, only waking when he heard a quiet knock on the shudder. He opens it to see Jackal standing with a sleeping Grogu in his arms. He silently shuffled out of the sleeping area and offered it to the other. Jackal had a bit tougher time fitting in the makeshift bed but he made it work. Din stretched and prepared himself for the day.

Two years later, the three of you were still together. Din and Jackle had been dancing around their feelings for eachother for over half of it. They shared little moments here and there but never explicitly confronted the other about it. Neither of them wanted to ruin the partnership that they had been building. So feelings continue to go unacknowledged. At least they do until a bounty goes sideways and Jackal almost gets himself killed trying to save Din.

So they both sit in the Razor Crest, panting and bloody. The ship was completely silent besides the ragged breaths coming from the hunters. Grogu was safe and sound with Peli, far away from the shit storm the two created for themselves. Din noticed the stiff and pained posture Jackal had taken. He stood and walked over to the medical area, grabbing a kit, and bringing it back to Jackal.

Din assisted Jackal, laying him down on the floor, and taking his armour off. Albeit not being the cleanest place to tend to an open wound, it was all they had at the moment. With his chest piece off and his weapon put aside, Jackal helped pull the undershirt up enough so that Din could tend to his injury. He had a large vertical gash on his lower left abdomen. Din saw that his midsection was littered with varying healed scars.

He stitches up and bandages the slash before leaning back giving the other some breathing room. Sitting back on his heels, he watched Jackal’s chest rise and fall steadily. Jackal reaches a hand to Din, which he grasps in his own. He helped the man sit up and get up into the co-pilot’s seat in the control room. He grabbed a fresh set of clothes for the injured hunter and gave him some privacy to change. Din stood outside the door, nervously swaying back and forth.

He waited for Jackal to trudge out, hand on his side. Din let out a sigh of relief and offered Jackal his armour back. He didn’t put it back on, instead opting to set it aside and sitting back down in his seat with a groan. Din moved behind him, too restless to sit. He put his hand on the back of Jackal’s chair and spun it around. He wanted to make absolute sure that his partner was going to be okay.

Jackal tilted his head, confused. Din knelt down in front of him with his hands on both sides of the armrests. Jackal said nothing but leaned forward slightly. Din moved his hands down to Jackal’s knees, not pressing any further, just simply setting them there. Din could hear his breath hitch through his helmet. Jackal sat stiff and still until Din started to pull away. Neither man said anything. Jackal grabbed one of Din’s hands and pulled him up to eye level. Slowly leaning forward, Din gently touched his helmet to Jackal’s. He leaned back and sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

Jackal asked, genuinely concerned. Din looked up, and got an idea.

“Do you trust me?”

Din asked the man in front of him.

“With my life.”

The ease with which he said it made Din a bit dizzy.

“Sit tight.”

Din walked to the control panel and Jackal heard him flip a few switches. The lights dimmed and then turned off fully, leaving the men in almost complete darkness. Din carefully moved back in front of Jackal and kneeled in front of him once again. He slowly takes his helmet off and audibly sets it down, hoping Jackal knows what he’s implying. Luckily he does.

He hears Jackal take off his helmet and gently presses it into his hand for him to put down. After placing the helmet down next to his own, Din leaned back up. He stopped about an inch away, he could feel Jackal’s breath on his face.

“Is this okay?”

Din asked in a hushed tone. Instead of responding, Jackal closed the distance between them. The kiss is slow and meaningful. Almost two years of pent up feelings and unresolved tension shone through their intimacy. Jackal moved his hand up and rested it on the back of Din’s neck, the other cupped his jaw. Din tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

Jackal was the first to pull away for air but Din didn’t want the kiss to end. He moved down to pepper Jackal’s neck in love bites and small kisses. Din felt a groan rumble in the back of Jackal’s throat. He finally pulled back and listened to the other man pant in the darkness. Din started to stand up but before he could, Jackal grabbed his hands once again. Only this time he pulled Din towards him.

Din was tugged into Jackal’s lap. Once he was comfortable and not anywhere near Jackal’s injury, Din grabbed both sides of his face and yanked him in again. This time their kiss was more heated. Hands wandered. They both made the most of it since they were probably never going to see each other's faces. Jackal felt the stubble on Din’s face, and ran his fingers through his soft hair.

Although Din couldn’t see, he could imagine what the man in front of him looked like. Flushed cheeks with half-lidded and glossed over eyes. He felt as his cheeks started to burn at the thought. Din was shocked back into reality by a pained groan coming from Jackal. He jumped out of the man’s lap and apologised for losing focus.

“It’s alright Din I’m okay. But maybe we should take a little break for today.”

Jackal chuckled lightly and Din smiled into the darkness. Din fumbled around the ground and grabbed the helmets, putting his on and handing Jackal his. Once both of the Mandalorians were covered, Din slowly turned the lights back on. He saw Jackal, still seated, with his clothes a bit ruffled. He was breathing a bit heavier than normal but other than that he looked okay. He walked back over and offered to lead the fellow hunter back to the makeshift bed with a concealed smile. Jackal accepted his offer gratefully, and the two packed themselves in the small space. They both slept peacefully for the first time in years.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s4 episode 1 thoughts

ah, the first ep of a new season. it has such a fresh feeling to it each time! and according to that poll i reblogged, s4 is a fan-favorite (along with s3). well, i really liked s3, so i hope i’m in for more of that! 

overall, this was a wild episode. things just! kept! happening! so fast! in fact, i think it will take me a while to gather my thoughts on the stuff that was happening, because it was occurring so rapidly! but luckily, i am familiar enough with the monster of the week format by now to know that i have some time to process all these events, because most episodes will be entirely unrelated to the plot action that went down today. so good episode, but separated scully and mulder + so much plot so fast = not a GOAT ep for me. and with this being said, back to my liveblogging!

it feels that it has been so long!!! maybe even a full WEEK! or more!! since i watched the last episode! i recall, however, not being very impressed due to lack of scully. so let’s see if this episode can change my opinion.

so, reading the description, it seems this alien fellow is referred to as “Bounty Hunter”. i’ve been calling him "alien hit man" for 2 seasons now, so this will be an adjustment. the seriousness with which i take using his proper name is yet to be determined. and we get some alleged samantha lore here?!?! will it actually be true?!? i assume everything about samantha will be a lie forever

i want to know how jeremiah smith gets out of this sticky situation, so let us continue together and see what happens to our agents.

“last season on the x files…” yes yes, this was probably a vital refresher for those who had to wait a year in between seasons. and also for me who had to wait a week, which as i am sure you can imagine was JUST as excruciating!

in my absence, i seem to have forgotten how terribly beautiful this mulder fellow is. rest assured that i am now remembering as we get a little recap.

but oh! we do not begin in the fight scene where we ended last time. we begin in… a van? of a fellow who is fixing a power line? is this some more TV mind control stuff…..? (no, thankfully, it was not)

there is a bug by his ear and he slaps it. and then we see the bee on the ground struggling while a bunch of kids gather around. they all look the same and seem to be multiplying. which is very weird but i feel bad for the bee.

5 creepy blond identical children watch this man DIE after being stung??? he’s writhing up on the cable pole and then he FALLS and all the kids surround him like jackals... omg… very much gives the impression they are gonna eat him. but they just walk away after staring at this body for a bit which is maybe even creepier. hard to say. 

what do the children know…….?

(intro time) (<3)

HEY WHAT THE HELL? i interrupt making a heart emoji by hand to inform you that the words on the screen do NOT read “the truth is out there”, but today they say “everything dies”. this is NOT a good sign for mrs. mulder or jeremy smith omg… 

i know our agents aren’t kicking the bucket yet though because we have a few more seasons!!!

okay, NOW back to mulder and scully and jeremy and the bounty hunter. mulder tells scully to not get in the bounty hunter's way, and she immediately does and gets knocked over, which is a little comical- but you can’t blame a girl for trying!!!

mulder is now chasing jeremy and in turn being chased by the bounty hunter through some weird warehouse-y building, with scully not too far behind. the screen is very dark and it is hard to see things. mulder comes face-to-face with the bounty hunter but they just look at each other and then run after their real target, which is probably a good thing, because we have seen the bounty hunter kick mulder’s ass before, and i’m not really feeling a rematch at this point in time.

no, jeremy! the bounty hunter approaches, and to escape him, he jumps off of the roof. mulder is taking jeremy down to the car where scully shall be the getaway driver. i'm in the getaway car, i left you in the hotel bar, etc.

until the bounty hunter DROPS on their window like a spider!!!!! so she honks the horn for a very long time, which was deserved. 

okay, so back into the maze of the building. mulder and jeremy are running on foot. mulder hides in some bushes!!! then LEAPS out and STABS THE BOUNTY HUNTER in the base of his neck!! omg!! the one spot where these beings can be killed!!! i knew sneaky mulder was gonna set some sort of trap, i just didn’t think he would have such good luck with his aim! 

yes, he did it!!! the poison goop is coming from the base of the bounty hunter’s neck. but jeremiah is motoring away on a little boat, saying more killers will be after him. mulder yells after him that he needs help; his mother is dying. and i think it is fair to save a life after mulder saved his, so maybe, just maybe, they can buzz to the hospital reallllly quick before they let him go… back to space, or whatever. 

scully has found the dead bounty hunter, and is looking for mulder, who has gotten on the boat with jeremy and sailed away, i guess. rude as hell to leave her stranded there!!

she keeps going back to the body and i’m yelling NO GIRL, THE BLOOD GAS but NO! that is not even the biggest problem, for the bounty hunter is ALIVE! he grabs her throat and chokes her, which had to absolutely SUCK to film. 

he keeps asking where they’re going while he’s choking her, and that seems to be a bad way to get answers. she says she doesn’t know, but in my head i’m yelling, just say they’re going to the mall!! lie!! lie!!! they’re going to the mall. a dude in the food court claims to be an alien expert who knows information on samantha’s whereabouts. they want to see the guy at quizno’s knew about jeremy’s existence. send him on a side quest!!! but she just says she doesn’t know, which is fine, too.

anyway, back to mulder and jeremy disembarking from the boat. jeremy says that the government men will be waiting for them at the hospital in mrs. mulder’s room, but mulder tries to counter by saying that if the government men do anything there, they will be exposed. well! i think this is faulty reasoning because they might just kill all of you, but i see that he wants this to be true for the sake of his mother.

jeremy explains that they are working on colonization, and if they kill him, he sure can’t help his mother, which makes sense to me even if it is deeply unfortunate. or, he says... mulder can stop it! mulder, stopping colonization?! that is a large task for one guy...

OH! jeremy claims that he can take mulder to a place where there is a “work in progress” and SEE HIS SISTER??? how do we know that isn’t another TRICK!!!! i always suspect deception when it comes to his sister, because they know that claiming to have information on her can get him to do anything they please.

cutscene to the hospital, where CANCER MAN is holding mrs. scully’s hand (LET GO, FREAK!) and some lackey says that “he isn’t coming”

GASP! this lackey pulls out the pictures of cancer man at mrs. mulder’s house and suggests… a SECURITY LEAK! he proposes planting information to see where it flows… information that mrs. mulder’s life is in “unnatural danger”… oh no… will X see through the trickery?

back to scully cam. her phone is ringing. mulder wants to know where she is: “i’m right where you left me, mulder” OHHH! get him again for me. and when he asks why she is still there, she says it’s because he wouldn’t answer his phone and she didn’t know what to do :( which is so sad

but what about the bounty hunter……

NO!!!! he’s right behind her in the car, holding the needle up to her neck through the phone!! she’s trying to get him to stfu, but he keeps yapping about stealing a car in alberta, and revealing all his plans to the bounty hunter!!!!

so he just lets her go after hearing where mulder is, which is lowkey crazy, but she tells him that the bounty hunter is coming after him. and that he is in fact NOT dead. so now what do mulder and jeremy do about these plans they have made and just revealed to their enemy????

anyway, mulder and jeremy are in the hills of alberta where we earlier saw the dude who got stung by a bee drop dead. and mulder's face is all beat up and it’s kinda endearing... like aww, let me put a bandage on you.

scully is going to skinner’s office, who has summoned her. she lies that her and mulder are okay, and it’s a pretty visible lie in terms of body language, so i imagine skinner catches onto that. but he’s like, why tf are there 5 dudes at the social security administration all called jeremy smith and with the same face? and what do you know about them?

well she’s honest in this regard at least, and says idk. but the nerd down at the labs can see that each of the 5 jeremys had very weird data on their computers. 

“enough to fill seven ten-gigabyte hard drives” hold on. okay so that is, in modern terms, not a whole lot of stuff. like a 68 GB flash drive at target rn is $6, and it's even a nice blue color. so i’m wondering how much stuff you can stick on there but honestly i do need to get back to the plot at hand and stop looking up the differences between flash and hard drives. he says it’s “a billion entries” which is a lot!

scully thinks it might be a code!!! and she thinks she might be able to crack it!!!! wahoooo!!! code time! code time!! i love when she is in her sleuthing era!! and the lab nerd (revealed to be named "agent pendrell") says "seriously?" when she says she thinks she can crack it, but i wouldn't have said that, because i trust in her skills.

she says there is someone she wants to run it by… is it the lone gunmen? the navajo representative? her dad’s old friend? who could it be?

back to mulder and jeremy running through the hills of canada, arguably even frolicking. where they come across the dead guy!!! he is bubbling and covered in bugs…… so the death was yesterday. and jeremy knows what killed him!!! he’s being VERY WEIRD!!! 

gag… the body looks soooooo nasty... but as always, to cope with this, i give a shoutout to the props department. but i WILL gag. 

so they’re at their destination, which is… a “flowering shrub”? being grown for pollen? and worked by a bunch of kids like the creepy ones from before. what the hell do aliens want with some pollen...

MULDER THINKS ONE OF THE KIDS IS HIS SISTER??? but she’s still a child!!!!! how could this be?

i’m suspecting trickery here. either way, he goes right in after her, calling her name. NOOOOO- he gets on his knees, grabs her arms, and says “it’s me, fox, your brother” and she has no readable expression whatsoever NOOOOO omg WHAT SORT OF TORTURES HAVE THEY CONCOCTED TO PUT THIS MAN THROUGH???

(i’m operating under the assumption that it is Not Actually Her)

she just looks at him…. and jeremy says “she has no language”, and is a drone…. he says he has more to show him so that he might understand. YOU MADE A CHILD A DRONE? and you're supposed to be THE GOOD ONE, JEREMY?

(if this actually is samantha and they hurt her like that i’m going to choke slam this jeremy fellow into the core of the earth)

mulder naturally wants to know what tf is going on, and jeremy says the drones are stationed here as part of an agrarian workforce, where they take care of themselves, and “parenting is unnecessary”. oh i just KNOW that at this point if i were mulder and someone told me parenting his long lost sister "wasn't necessary”, i would have started throwing hands. what an insult to injury, taking her away and saying that she doesn't even deserve someone to look after her, when all he has wanted for so long was to do just that...

and a bunch of other kids come out ALL WITH HER FACE and the boys have the fact of that CREEPY BLOND KID FROM BEFORE!!! CLONING??? did they CLONE HER???? yes they did. so they’re clones but... where is the OG samantha??????

this is soooooo fucked up like WHERE is his REAL and ACTUAL sister and what can we do to free these identical children!!!!!

scully is going to mulder’s place to put an x tape on the window. oh no! but what if X HAS really been fed lies??? (she also bites the tape again which i still think is funny)

i am observing mulder’s apartment as she tries to crack the code whilst waiting for his arrival. sadly, i cannot work out the names of the books on his shelves.

someone knocks and she grabs her gun… but it is, in fact, X, our man of the hour. AND OH NO!!! he does say he has information concerning mulder’s mother!!! NOOOOOOO, i was hoping he would be more discerning than this and not fall for such a trap!!

scully doesn’t seem to be buying it… X refuses to talk to her, and says to get in contact with mulder, but she is insisting he gives her information on the code.

he knows what the various entries are… they’re about the smallpox eradication program. but X is telling her not to open doors she isn’t ready for. so what does THAT mean???? he leaves by saying “protect the mother” ummmm okay...

WAIT! if she goes there then they’ll think SHE is the spy, right??? or no… because they know she wouldn’t have access to information at that level, so someone would have to give it to her. lie and say krychek gave it to her. idk just lie!!!

back to this weird little town. mulder is trying to take the little girl with them, which pisses jeremy off (STOP… HE WANTED TO TAKE HER WITH THEM I’ll SOB 😭)

he’s all “she’s not your sister” and “you have a chance to understand something so much greater” but he won’t do any actual explaining. condescending fuck. and when explanation is requested, who rolls up but the bounty hunter!!!

now they’re sprinting off to a place… where the girl is taking them. a place filled with the bees who killed that guy earlier!! mulder learns that while jeremy and samantha clone have immunity to the killer bees, he does not.

so now he’s covered in killer bees and to protect himself he DOUSES HIS BODY IN GASOLINE and therefore cannot see a single thing and needs to be led along by this small child who looks like his sister but isn’t. they are in a building filled with evil evil evil looking bees and their evil honey... but they realize they have been trapped by the bounty hunter when they look up and see a hole in the sky. 

the bounty hunter is entering into this cavernous honey town, and sees only the gasoline can and many bees, but no people. until they break a wall of honeycomb they were hiding behind down directly on top of him, and the bounty hunter is swarmed by them!!!! he seems to be busy being hurt by them. so i guess they will hurt him, but not kill him? noted. need to keep track of the alien species rules.

okay, so back to the lab nerd, agent pendrell, who frantically adjusts his tie as scully walks in with a break on the data. yeah don't think i missed that. that actor wanted to make his 5 minutes of screen time count. i see you!

“you say a twenty letter code to any scientist, and they immediately think ‘protein amino acid sequence code’, which is what this turned out to be” <- i love her so terribly i can’t even form a decent sentence to describe it. it's actually embarrassing but whatever.

and it’s a code for cowpox virus, which was used to vaccinate people against smallpox! so why were they keeping vaccine records… besides for the obvious reason of making sure that smallpox is defeated?

well, that doesn’t matter right now, because the big question is: what is with this second alpha numeric string? each with an infinite number of variations?

she says it’s an inventory… of us… and pulls off her jacket to reveal a bandage on her arm. which i’m sure had that nerd sweating. 

(did she like get a shot in the time whilst mulder was MIA... i’m confused) (<- lmao sometimes i just do not understand wtf is going on and it is really funny reading these notes back)

she’s presenting her theory and an image created by “a confocal microscope” to some people in skinner’s office. and i’m not sure i’ve ever been more in love before, but whatever. she’s explaining it’s a protein’s location, a cowpox protein, number 6 to be exact, thank you!

OH! it came from her! she got a biopsy taken from her vaccination scar. which makes a lot more sense than getting your flu shot while doing important FBI work. although getting your flu shot IS important it’s just. you know. bigger fish to fry n all that.

she got this image “through a process called immunohisto chemical staining and through the addition of an antibody” <- unfortunately her saying all this is incredibly attractive to me

but there’s important business at hand. she thinks anybody who has been vaccinated over the past 50 years might have a marker in them!!

oh, low blow from the guy who said this sounds like something that would come from mulder….

but she performed the same procedure on agent pendrell i’m CRYING he is SOOOOOOO down bad for herrrrrr 😭😭😭😭

and his protein is different even though it should be the same as hers!! DEEPLY suspicious!

“so what you’re saying, agent scully, is we’re being catalogued, tagged, and inventoried?” well yes skinner, i do believe that is what she is saying!

by who and for what purpose? she doesn’t know. but jeremiah smith probably does!

skinner wants to talk to scully ALONE! he looks MAD and asks “do you realize what you are promoting” and she cuts him off with “i am a SCIENTIST, sir” OHHHHHH YES!!! shut him up!!!!!!!!!!! and isn’t that why she was assigned to the x files in the first place?!?!?! YES EXACTLY!!!!! TELL HIM!!!!!!!

pained skinner expression as her phone goes off. it’s mulder, and she needs to meet him. she says “just tell me where” (ohhh my god the way they’d do anything for each other…)

he explains that he and jeremiah smith and “someone else” need to be at mrs. mulder’s hospital room, where she has to wait and keep her safe. 

she says a lot of people want to talk to jeremiah smith and will be there, but who comes barreling down the road to get mulder and the squad as she says this, but the damn bounty hunter!!!! omg!!! can this dude just die already!! damn!!! 

the bounty hunter runs his van STRAIGHT into the car with jeremy and “samantha”!!! and when the bounty hunter picks mulder up by his throat, he begs for jeremy and his sister’s life, while bounty hunter says “he shows you pieces, but tells you nothing of the whole” which i do feel is deeply true. but jeremy being a “traitor to the project” isn’t really feeling as damning as having a crop of brainwashed clone children harvest killer honey to me personally.

so mulder says “kill me, and let them go”, and that he would TRADE HIS LIFE FOR HIS MOTHER’S!!!!!! the bounty hunter says that “everything dies” while jeremy tries to make an escape.

(omg is he really willing to sacrifice his life… or is he just saying anything to buy jeremy more time???)

bounty hunter TOSSES mulder into a truck, picks up the needle to go after him, while samantha clone starts screaming... NOOOO that poor girl😭

back at the hospital, scully, skinner, and the guys have been waiting for five hours, with nothing to show for it. it’s starting to compromise the treatment of patients, says a random nurse. but in walks mulder!!!

“oh my god, mulder!” scully says, running to him, while he mumbles “i can’t, there’s nothing”, and other nonsensical phrases, which begs the question: WHAT HAPPENED IN THOSE FIVE HOURS????

she’s feeling him, saying he’s freezing and in shock, and he can’t even stumble to the right hospital room door to find his mother without scully’s help. but he gets there and looks at his mother while scully wraps a blanket around him, and he mumbles that "she’ll never know". 

and he’s CRYING, and he LEANS DOWN so scully can hold him while he sobs into her shoulder (height difference height difference oh my GOD its so painful and terribly tender)

WHAT WILL SHE NEVER KNOW?? WHAT DID HE SEE?????

just when i expect an emotional climax, we change scenes to mulder’s place, where footsteps are approaching. X lets himself into the apartment, but seems to realize that something is… afoot. 

he goes for the elevator to escape, when a man FIRES TWO SHOTS INTO HIM!!! NOOOO X!!!

we had a rocky relationship but i never wanted it to end in this fashion……….

(is it inappropriate to wait until he’s dead to say that i’ve always thought he was handsome….)

well. um. we don’t get a lot of time to linger on that.

back to mrs. mulder. mulder has his head in his hands, saying they could have saved her, that he had once chance. and he tells scully that he saw his sister. and she was just a little girl. 

it’s not clear if scully can tell he’s speaking the truth or if she thinks he is still saying random stuff in shock, but he says that he’s seen too much to not believe. she counters that she believes they have a place to begin in looking for answers.

“you put such faith in your science, scully, but… the things i’ve seen, science provides no place to start” 

“nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only in contradiction to what we know of it- and that’s a place to start”

OOOOOH BANGER LINE!!!!! such hope there is in understanding the world that seems impossible to comprehend, if only we seek out the knowledge to grasp it!!!! if we admit what we don’t know and start where we do until we reach the Truth!!!

this line coaxes a smile out of him, and she adds “that’s where the hope is”, and i think i understand scully on a molecular level. 

but he is still in agony over there. he feels he came close, and she feels it too.

and as she says she was warned by X about his mother being in danger, and that he is who can lead them to a place to start, we see him dragging himself down mulder’s hallway, gasping for breath, before finally collapsing, having written “SRSG” in his OWN BLOOD???????? HOLY HELL??? that was very metal in a fashion i was not expecting…….. rip X :(

as much as i feel like we need some time to linger on that we really aren't given any in terms of the episode’s pacing. but like. damn. its MY writeup and i can give us a moment of silence for X as i choose.

...

okay, jump to a month later, at the UN building in NYC. we see someone open a door to the special representative to the secretary general- OMG... the SRSG!!! and mulder is there to visit!! he must have pieced together the horrific clue… the special representative won’t see him. but his secretary, marita covarrubias, will.

he’s trying to get answers on the farmland in canada, but only getting dead ends. however, maria says the farm was abandoned, but the crops were identified as ginseng. 

GINSENG? making killer bees? press F to doubt. and she says there no evidence of bees. YEAH RIGHT,,, I SAW THEM!

she asks why this is so important to him, and he starts to say that he’s suffered some very personal losses recently, but he can’t seem to get it out (oh my gosh, it is so sad) but he opens the file she hands him and sees A PHOTO of the CLONES OF HIS SISTER doing farm work!!!

and this assistant says “not everything dies, mr. mulder” (which at this point i had to rewind and get her name because i realized she might KNOW THINGS and be a RECURRING character with INFORMATION…. OMG….)

SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH ALL OF THAT?!?!?

back to the hospital, where THE BOUNTY HUNTER is visiting????? is he gonna hurt mrs. mulder OMFG???? stay away from her?!!!!!

but he goes in there and looks at her. “i need to know the reasons why this should be”, he asks CANCER MAN??? who seems to have SET UP OFFICE IN THERE??? he says it’s so that the project may continue, and this will remove an obstacle. and that obstacle is AGENT MULDER???

HELLO??? so DID cancer man do this to her??? “if his mother were to die….” NO NO, KEEP ON TALKING CANCER MAN, SHARE WITH THE CLASS WHAT YOU NEED TO SAY

“the fiercest enemy is the man who has nothing left to lose, and you know how important agent mulder is to the equation” <- SO THIS WHOLE COLONIZATION PLAN WAS DRAFTED WITH HIM IN MIND???? how would that even be possible... how far back does this plan even go?

bounty hunter closes the door and locks it behind him, then proceeds to lay his hand on mrs. mulder- so ALL of these aliens can do the healing thingy? and she opens her eyes!!!! and sees cancer man!!

imagine that being the first thing you see when you wake up omg….

and thus concludes the episode.

okay, so i have a lot to say, but yesterday i saw a video that said “think of the character you hate the most in the world” and i thought of cancer man. then the video said “now imagine all your negative self thoughts in that character’s voice and you won’t listen to them ever again” and damn, if cancer man TRIED me i would find new and exciting ways to cause him suffering. in ways that i shan’t describe, for i haven’t even thought of them yet. i imagine an entirely empty room with nothing but that one “i’m good and i’m feeling alright” song on loop for years, with his ears in protective gear that make them impossible to self-deafen when he’s lost it.

BUT. we got a lot in this episode. and i’m not sure how i’m feeling. 

well, first, we lost X. this is a major L for our heroes. even though he could be a bit insufferable in his vague hints, he seemed to have some sort of positive feeling toward mulder, at least part of the time. but how much of what he was doing was furthering cancer man’s agenda? it might be impossible to ever tell.

second, jeremy. he was a great dude in episode 1, saving all those lives, and then it turns out he knew about the clone children slavery which makes me think much less of him and i find it hard to mourn his death. because seriously WTF kind of evil creature uses cloned kidnapped kids to harvest evil killer bees. and no parents because they are “unnecessary”. and poor mulder was tortured by seeing her again but it not actually being Her. and despite it not actually being Her, he wanted to save this clone samantha, who had been deprived of any language. what the hell. jeremy is supposed to be RESISTING to the alien’s plan for colonization but he knew about this so like???? which side is he on?????

i mean, i guess knowing about atrocities committed by your people doesn’t mean you endorse them, but he was SO condescending about the whole matter, all “oh you don’t understand” in a way that makes me think he WAS endorsing it. so if he’s down with their evil plans, why the hell is he resisting them bad enough to be hunted by this bounty hunter for???

i am puzzled on that front, but it feels that it was designed to be this way. either way, jeremy is dead now too, so no answers on that front, either.

so, we know that there is this plan at colonization of earth by this alien species, and that jeremy claimed mulder had some way of stopping it. and the colonization plan involves evil bees and pollen and cloned children and inventorying every person who ever received a smallpox vaccine. and also kidnapping people and performing tests on them that will slowly kill them. and this is a plan set in place by a certain group at the UN to which cancer man belongs, but somehow this plan stretches back to mr. mulder, and was drafted with the younger mulder in mind. and we also know that they took samantha as "insurance" so that mr. mulder didn't betray the plan, because he was not in agreement with the ethics involved.

other things that we know but are not clear how exactly they fit in: the whole oil alien that turns people into flashbangs found in the sunken submarine deal, krychek's escape arc, exactly who the little grey dudes that look like stereotypical aliens are, and if the bodies found in the train car back in anasazi were actual aliens, or alien-human hybrids- because they had smallpox vaccine scars. also, we still do not know to whom X pledged his loyalty, and the exact purpose of the disease center in west virginia where that one dude claimed the government was testing on vulnerable populations.

so somehow we have some known aliens in here, people being catalogued and experimented upon, possibly in an attempt to create alien-human hybrids to accelerate the plan of alien colonization. but also some mystery aliens of uncertain relevance to the plot.

okay, i think... i have it all in order.

there was a lot that went down here, so i will need some time to process it all. but, we did get more scully, which is ALWAYS a good thing, especially when she is cracking codes and being a scientist. and poor mulder... they are just torturing him for fun at this point...

there was a lot of plot, but not a ton of time to process it. so this episode was good, but i don’t think it would make my top 10 ranking. this is also a consequence of our agents being separated for most of the ep.

so, where do we go from here? i have no idea! i am just glad to begin a new journey with these characters, even if things are still very murky in terms of plot! in fact, there was so much plot crammed into a short space of time, i'm almost looking forward to a few monster of the week episodes to try and give my brain a break from unraveling all that.

now... i know that the next episode has a reputation for being quite spooky. and i shall face this challenge with bravery and honor. wish me luck…

[madarasgirl]

A Night for Hunting Ch. 21 -The Monster of Legend

C/W: Alucard (Ultimate) x F!Reader, canon-typical violence, soul bond, OVA3, he is really fucking pissed Words: 4627

I know moons don’t normally go from silver to red in the same night haha. It’s also not the right calendar date for the blood moon, aka Hunter’s Moon, but it always shows up in the OVAs, so heck, here it is! (We do have the Buck Moon coming up in 2 days).

Thank you all from the bottom of my black little heart for your support after the release of the last chapter. I’m glad you’re still here.

A short excerpt is below the cut.

His hunt brought him to an elevator that his prey packed into. His loping gait took him closer and closer as they fled and tried to shut the doors while he paused to gorge himself on dead bodies. It was too late when they realized one of theirs was mashing the elevator keys to keep the doors open under his hypnotism. They shot their own in the hopes of escaping him.

Their dread left him heady with involuntary, twisted arousal.

Fools. Alucard enjoyed fear. If these worthless dregs knew how much he did, they'd be afraid to be afraid around him. He pried the steel doors open with the barrels of his firearms. The grin splitting his face became a permanent feature as the doors finally shut behind him after he caged them in with himself.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The metal shaft descended, the ringing announcing the passage of each floor was lost to the explosive work of his Casull and Jackal. The clink of the emptied magazines hit the floor as the vampire found himself at ground level when he exited. The full elevator of dead critters didn't even tickle his need for violence, though the stench of blood and despair made him smirk somehow wider. It was only fair that they felt as scared as you were.

He sneered when he sensed life down the hall, an abhorrent fact which needed to be remedied.

Don't make them suffer.

A sweet and familiar voice was in his ears, as crisp as the purest bells in the wind. The gentle fragrance of orchids and stargazer lilies filled his sinuses, as if you were right there beside him despite the ocean separating you. Even thinking about the sea reminded him of the salt on your skin. Your smile, a ray of sunlight filtering through his darkest nights. His unbeating heart twisted with treasured memories. You were way up in his head and soaked into his blood. 

Your wish was as clear as if you told him yesterday, but it was far away now. He was losing himself in the face of you in danger, the choppy winds of his mood whipped into a vindictive tempest as the gathering storm exploded.

~To be Continued~

Ch. 22 -Hell on Earth

[local-void-creature-izzy]

Reversal Nova

(Here is what I have created so far in my Reverse AU)

A alternate universe where the roles are swapped, whether for the better or the worse...

Sonic: Dr. Boom, a hedgehog skilled in speed and mechanics. He was actually a kid, Robotnik took under his wing. He had a natural talent for inventing and machinery, but Dr. Boom saw potential in power such as the chaos emeralds to advance the machines, Robotnik didn't approve of this answer terminated all Dr.Boom's work. Feeling betrayed, the Hedgehog ran away and turned against the world that deemed him unworthy to advance it to a era of peace and freedom.

Shadow: Nocturnal Eye, partner of Dr. Boom and Leader of the alien race: Black Arms, on the planet. He seems relatively harmless to the unsuspecting eye, but he is a master of illusion and chaos energy.

Tails: Dr. Cosmos, a fellow technician and mechanical genius who sides with Dr. Boom. His machinery is known to be quite efficient and reliable, a master of words and creating machines that act as mimics around other mobians. Truly a terrifying feat for someone of his age.

Amy: Vermillion, Teller of the Future and Leader of the "Rosebuds" a group of warriors who can see into the future and protect the present to prevent disasters from occurring.

Eggman: Ivo Robotnik, Hero of Station City and the world as a whole, uses his mechanical prowess and power of lightning to defend the innocent from the hands of Dr. Boom and other villains that follow suit. Has a short patience and can be easy to annoy with petty insults tho.

Rouge: Carmine, guardian of the Master Emerald, and last of the Bat Treasure Hunters, a tribe of bats that would hunt treasure and steal from the rich to give to the poor. Has to deal with an annoying an Echidna that is also a treasure hunter with a strange connection to the emerald and tries to take it for himself.

Knuckles: Titian, an independent echidna treasure hunter, skilled in many forms of combat and is quite a people person, he has fierce personality which causes him to bump heads alot with Carmine, all he wants is understand why he feels so drawn to the Master Emerald, sure he always takes the Chaos Emeralds but that isn't the case this time, if only he could get Carmine to believe that.

Silver: Ivory, a prince from an alternate dimension that tends to interlap with Robotnik's, when it does, he tends to stick around and offer aid where he can with the help of his powers of ice.

Blaze: Lustre, a time traveler from the distant future that is both in distress and at peace given its destroyed state, has the power of Umbrakinesis and Aerokinesis, allowing her to use wind and darkness together to create bendable space matter for combat

Metal Ivo: A robot version of Robotnik created by Dr. Boom, a silent robot but he very much as attitude towards his enemies

Infinite: Zero the Jackal, member of the Rosebuds. He is able to harness the power of the purple chaos emerald and create illusions as a distraction while he disarms his opponents. Joined the squad because he is in search of his missing partner, Gadget the Wolf, who disappeared several years ago

Surge: Beryl the Tenrec, another member of the Rosebuds and childhood friend of Vermillion, knows why she created the Rosebuds and sticks by her through it all. Is raising a younger brother she adopted in all this chaos, and can harness the powers of lightning

Scourge: Jules Terios Hedgehog, Dr. Boom's twin brother, he fights on the side of the heroes and is the main reason Dr. Boom truly hasn't killed anyone yet and why no one tries to kill Dr. Boom. Jules hopes one day he'll get his twin back

Eclipse: Arcane "The Ultimate Hope" , the Nocturnal Eye's aka Spectre's younger brother. Created by Nocturnal Eye's hands, Arcane is symbolized as a beacon of hope, not only for Spectre and the Black Arms on the planet, but also for Dr. Boom. He is torn as he wishes to live life on the planet but is bound by his duty to his older brother.

Maria: Maria R. Lunae, a woman of unknown origins. No one knows who she is or where she came from, all they know is her research revolves around the Black Arms, protecting the leader that resides on the planet and a young alien from the Black Arms that tries to blend in with society (Eclipse)

[second-axis-point]

Pairing: Din Djarin x Male!Mando!Reader

Warning: None!

Content: Fluff

This is from Din’s perspective so the reader has a nickname. No use of y/n. Hope you guys enjoy!

Partners

Din had been so used to living alone that when another Mandalorian offered to join him in his travels, it took him a while to come to terms with it. The man was quiet and intelligent. He was a bit taller than him and had a broad frame. Din had watched the other hunter in action and was surprised he had never met him before. His reddish tinted beskar and durasteel armour looked similar to his own, Mandalorian sigil forged proudly on his shoulder.

Once Din had stepped on board, along with his new partner, he was pleasantly greeted by Grogu. He smiles under his helmet and leans down to pick the creature up. He turns to the other man and starts introductions.

“This is Grogu, Grogu this is…”

He pauses, releasing that he never got a name from the other hunter. He looks up from the little beast he held in his arms. A bit of tension left his shoulders when he heard the warrior laugh through his helmet and step a bit closer.

“Jackal. Nice to meet you little guy.”

Din watches as he leans down and reaches a hand to Grogu who giggles happily and grabs one of his gloved fingers. 

“You can get to know him after we get out of here. For now you should get familiar with the controls and layout of the ship.”

Jackal nods and Grogu releases his grip. Din puts him down and makes for the small area where he keeps his weapons. Jackal’s rifle is still clasped to his back and his blaster is still on his hip. He’d have to clear a spot for the other’s weapons. But for now, Din puts his stuff away and leads the man to the very front of the ship. When he hears Jackal’s footsteps become irregular, he looks back to see that Grogu has attached himself to the taller man's calf.

“Y’know it would be easier for both of you if you just picked him up.”

He heard Jackal stifle a laugh as he bent down to pick up the clingy child. Once he had Grogu securely in his arms, he continued on behind Din.

It took a few hours, but the three finally found a safe place to rest for a while. Jackal volunteered to stay up a bit longer due to the lack of space in the ship. Din felt sort of bad but trusted the man to his own devices. He tried to retreat back to his and Grogu’s cramped sleeping quarters but the little one refused to go with him. Grogu climbed up and forced himself into Jackal’s lap. He chuckled and told Din that it was okay and that he would watch over Grogu while he slept.

Din had slept through most of the night, only waking when he heard a quiet knock on the shudder. He opens it to see Jackal standing with a sleeping Grogu in his arms. He silently shuffled out of the sleeping area and offered it to the other. Jackal had a bit tougher time fitting in the makeshift bed but he made it work. Din stretched and prepared himself for the day.

Two years later, the three of you were still together. Din and Jackle had been dancing around their feelings for eachother for over half of it. They shared little moments here and there but never explicitly confronted the other about it. Neither of them wanted to ruin the partnership that they had been building. So feelings continue to go unacknowledged. At least they do until a bounty goes sideways and Jackal almost gets himself killed trying to save Din.

So they both sit in the Razor Crest, panting and bloody. The ship was completely silent besides the ragged breaths coming from the hunters. Grogu was safe and sound with Peli, far away from the shit storm the two created for themselves. Din noticed the stiff and pained posture Jackal had taken. He stood and walked over to the medical area, grabbing a kit, and bringing it back to Jackal.

Din assisted Jackal, laying him down on the floor, and taking his armour off. Albeit not being the cleanest place to tend to an open wound, it was all they had at the moment. With his chest piece off and his weapon put aside, Jackal helped pull the undershirt up enough so that Din could tend to his injury. He had a large vertical gash on his lower left abdomen. Din saw that his midsection was littered with varying healed scars.

He stitches up and bandages the slash before leaning back giving the other some breathing room. Sitting back on his heels, he watched Jackal’s chest rise and fall steadily. Jackal reaches a hand to Din, which he grasps in his own. He helped the man sit up and get up into the co-pilot’s seat in the control room. He grabbed a fresh set of clothes for the injured hunter and gave him some privacy to change. Din stood outside the door, nervously swaying back and forth.

He waited for Jackal to trudge out, hand on his side. Din let out a sigh of relief and offered Jackal his armour back. He didn’t put it back on, instead opting to set it aside and sitting back down in his seat with a groan. Din moved behind him, too restless to sit. He put his hand on the back of Jackal’s chair and spun it around. He wanted to make absolute sure that his partner was going to be okay.

Jackal tilted his head, confused. Din knelt down in front of him with his hands on both sides of the armrests. Jackal said nothing but leaned forward slightly. Din moved his hands down to Jackal’s knees, not pressing any further, just simply setting them there. Din could hear his breath hitch through his helmet. Jackal sat stiff and still until Din started to pull away. Neither man said anything. Jackal grabbed one of Din’s hands and pulled him up to eye level. Slowly leaning forward, Din gently touched his helmet to Jackal’s. He leaned back and sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

Jackal asked, genuinely concerned. Din looked up, and got an idea.

“Do you trust me?”

Din asked the man in front of him.

“With my life.”

The ease with which he said it made Din a bit dizzy.

“Sit tight.”

Din walked to the control panel and Jackal heard him flip a few switches. The lights dimmed and then turned off fully, leaving the men in almost complete darkness. Din carefully moved back in front of Jackal and kneeled in front of him once again. He slowly takes his helmet off and audibly sets it down, hoping Jackal knows what he’s implying. Luckily he does.

He hears Jackal take off his helmet and gently presses it into his hand for him to put down. After placing the helmet down next to his own, Din leaned back up. He stopped about an inch away, he could feel Jackal’s breath on his face.

“Is this okay?”

Din asked in a hushed tone. Instead of responding, Jackal closed the distance between them. The kiss is slow and meaningful. Almost two years of pent up feelings and unresolved tension shone through their intimacy. Jackal moved his hand up and rested it on the back of Din’s neck, the other cupped his jaw. Din tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

Jackal was the first to pull away for air but Din didn’t want the kiss to end. He moved down to pepper Jackal’s neck in love bites and small kisses. Din felt a groan rumble in the back of Jackal’s throat. He finally pulled back and listened to the other man pant in the darkness. Din started to stand up but before he could, Jackal grabbed his hands once again. Only this time he pulled Din towards him.

Din was tugged into Jackal’s lap. Once he was comfortable and not anywhere near Jackal’s injury, Din grabbed both sides of his face and yanked him in again. This time their kiss was more heated. Hands wandered. They both made the most of it since they were probably never going to see each other's faces. Jackal felt the stubble on Din’s face, and ran his fingers through his soft hair.

Although Din couldn’t see, he could imagine what the man in front of him looked like. Flushed cheeks with half-lidded and glossed over eyes. He felt as his cheeks started to burn at the thought. Din was shocked back into reality by a pained groan coming from Jackal. He jumped out of the man’s lap and apologised for losing focus.

“It’s alright Din I’m okay. But maybe we should take a little break for today.”

Jackal chuckled lightly and Din smiled into the darkness. Din fumbled around the ground and grabbed the helmets, putting his on and handing Jackal his. Once both of the Mandalorians were covered, Din slowly turned the lights back on. He saw Jackal, still seated, with his clothes a bit ruffled. He was breathing a bit heavier than normal but other than that he looked okay. He walked back over and offered to lead the fellow hunter back to the makeshift bed with a concealed smile. Jackal accepted his offer gratefully, and the two packed themselves in the small space. They both slept peacefully for the first time in years.

[sehetep-shenwer]

Children of Kemet Episode Synopses!

Emhotep y'all!

I am so excited to share with you the basic elevator pitches of each story from my Children of Kemet series! I am almost done working out some more of the overall story bible so once that is done, I will post a poll where your votes will determine which story gets written first. Anyways, here they are!

The Lioness Who Couldn’t Roar

Being a military brat isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, especially for the shy yet strong Setra, a (lioness). She trains long and hard to become a part of the Daughters of Sekhmet, a force of fierce warriors who are devoted to the war Goddess and dedicated to protecting Egypt either as skilled healers or formidable fighters. But with her short temper, reserved attitude, and overwhelming pressure from her mother, a former Daughter of Sekhmet, Setra will come to find she is meant for more than just sparring in temples and learning fire magic.

The Crocodile Who Couldn’t Swim

The Nile is a paramount place for all of Egypt’s people, especially for the timid and curious Qaha, a (crocodile). Only problem is that he can’t swim, which makes him stand out in a crew of treasure hunters who dive into the Nile and search for sacred artifacts in order to preserve Egypt’s history in honor of the powerful God, Sobek. However when he and his crew are commissioned for their greatest expedition yet, Qaha will not only find himself thrown into the deep end of Egypt’s mystical waters, but his own destiny as well.

The Woman Who Couldn’t Say No

To be an orphan raised by worshippers of the love goddess, Bastet, is both a blessing and a curse for the innocent and agile Mayet, a human. A blessing to essentially have multiple caring mothers and playful sisters but a curse to preach Bastet’s love and warmth in a city that crawls with characters whose intentions are anything but pure. Mayet may have a heart of gold like Bastet Herself, but she will soon find out she’ll need to invoke the protective wrath of the feline Goddess as well.

The Falcon Who Couldn’t Fly

Serving royalty in the form of craftsmanship would be the dream of any Egyptian, though that might not be the case for the insecure but selfless Nebkhau, a (falcon). Unfortunately, Nebkhau broke his wings as a child while helping his father, a patriotic architect, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to help build impressive statues in honor of the sky god, Horus. However, when some workers mysteriously vanish, Nebkhau will have to spread his broken wings in the face of an unexpected foe that’s been hidden in plain sight.

The Sha Who Couldn’t Change

It’s one thing to be ridiculed for resembling the god of chaos, Set, but it’s another thing when one’s grandmother still worships the false god, Aten, and that’s what the stubborn and scrupulous Sha, Zutekh, has to his name. Living in a city that worships Horus, Zutekh tries to be as orderly as possible to avoid his strict grandmother but ends up getting into trouble with his best friend, a mischievous dwarf named Hedju who serves the fertility god, Bes. But when fate calls from the desert in the form of a group of Set worshippers known as "The Red Ones", Zutekh must escape his pedantic prison of a home and face the eye of an unpredictable storm to realize his true potential.

The Jackal Who Couldn’t Bite

The mummification process is a difficult one for Degem, a clumsy but careful jackal, and it doesn’t help when he’s gifted with a connection to the dead. During the day he assists with mummufying corpses but at night he releases ghosts to the guidance of Anubis, the God of the dead. Little does Degem know that his routine is about to change when his most recently wrapped clients start to walk around on their own as harbingers of demonic forces that transcend the boundaries between life and death.

[jackals-ships]

"You may meet the Hunter, who is invoked as Alrabeg. He bears the Spear of Bitter Mercy. He comes here from the Hunting Grounds to hunt new prey, or he brings prey native to the Hunting Grounds, like the Unicorn, to hunt in new forests. If he brings not prey, then woe betide you who meet him, for he may dub you the Hare. Then you must flee as best you can, though you will not escape."

aka "jackal can you choose like. one (1) normal father figure?" no 😌 hope that helps

taglist + flat colors+plain bg;

@one-winged-dreams @hoppinkiss @goldenworldsabound @dearhartselfships @seahydra @derelictdumbass

[king-gob]

Ben Reilly Reading Order

A friend asked me for a reading order for Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider, and it turns out that is easier (MUCH easier) said than done.

Four and a half hours later, here it is. I figured I’d share it here as well, for anyone who might want it.

ORIGINAL CLONE SAGA Amazing Spider-Man #139-151

CLONE SAGA PRELUDES "Shrieking" - Amazing Spider-Man #390-393 "Live and Let Die" - Web of Spider-Man #113-116 "Beware the Rage of a Desperate Man" - Spider-Man #46-49 "The Predator and the Prey" - Spectacular Spider-Man #215-216 "Son of the Hunter" - Spider-Man #50

CLONE SAGA: ACT I (OF III) "Power and Responsibility/The Double" - Web of Spider-Man #117 - Amazing Spider-Man #394 - Spider-Man #51 - Spectacular Spider-Man #217 "The Exile Returns: Part One" - Web of Spider-Man #118 - Spider-Man #52 "Back from the Edge: Part One" - Amazing Spider-Man #395 - Spectacular Spider-Man #218 "Second-Rate Choices" - Spider-Man Unlimited #7 "The Exile Returns: Part Two" - Web of Spider-Man #119 - Spider-Man #53 "Back from the Edge: Part Two" - Amazing Spider-Man #396 - Spectacular Spider-Man #219 DETOUR: "Separation Anxiety" - Venom: Separation Anxiety #1-4 "Web of Life/Web of Death" - Web of Spider-Man #120 - Amazing Spider-Man #397 - Spider-Man #54 - Spectacular Spider-Man #220 - Amazing Spider-Man #398 - Web of Spider-Man #121 - Spider-Man #55 - Spectacular Spider-Man #221 "Behind the Terror" - Spider-Man Unlimited #8 "Funeral for an Octopus" - Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus #1-3 "Smoke and Mirrors" - Web of Spider-Man #122 - Amazing Spider-Man #399 - Spider-Man #56 "Puppet" - Spider-Man: The Clone Journal #1 "Players and Pawns" - Spectacular Spider-Man #222 - Web of Spider-Man #123 - Amazing Spider-Man #400 (Also Part 1 of "The Parker Legacy")

CLONE SAGA: ACT I (ACT II) (OF III) "Aftershocks/The Parker Legacy" - Spider-Man #57 - Spectacular Spider-Man #223 DETOUR: "Carnage Unleashed" - Venom: Carnage Unleashed #1-4 "The Mark of Kaine" - Web of Spider-Man #124 - Amazing Spider-Man #401 - Spider-Man #58 - Spectacular Spider-Man #224 - Spider-Man Unlimited #9 DETOUR: New Warriors #59-60 "Lives Unlived" - Web of Spider-Man #125 "Crossfire" - Amazing Spider-Man #402 - Spider-Man #59 - Spectacular Spider-Man #225 DETOUR: Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man #1 "The Trial of Peter Parker" - Web of Spider-Man #126 - Amazing Spider-Man #403 - Spider-Man #60 - Spectacular Spider-Man #226 "Planet of the Symbiotes" NOTE: If you read this (and you should), you should also read the Venom detours above. - Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1 - Spider-Man Super Special #1 - Venom Super Special #1 - Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1 - Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1 "The Lost Years" - Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1-3 NOTE: There is an issue #0 but it's all reprints of stuff earlier in this list.

CLONE SAGA: ACT II (OF III) "The Jackal Files" - Spider-Man: The Jackal Files #1 "Maximum Clonage" - New Warriors #61 - Maximum Clonage Alpha #1 - Web of Spider-Man #127 - Amazing Spider-Man #404 - Spider-Man #61 - Spectacular Spider-Man #227 - Maximum Clonage Omega #1 "Exiled" - Web of Spider-Man #128 - Amazing Spider-Man #405 - Spider-Man #62 - Spider-Man Unlimited #10 DETOUR: At this point, Ben joins the New Warriors. He will be involved with them until issue #71, four issues before the end of the volume. The Maximum Clonage prelude in issue #61 is the only one that really matters for the Clone Saga so read those or don't, depending on how comprehensive you want to go and/or how much you enjoy New Warriors. - New Warriors #62-71 "Time Bomb" - Spectacular Spider-Man #228 - Web of Spider-Man #129 "The Greatest Responsibility" - Amazing Spider-Man #406 - Spider-Man #63 - Spectacular Spider-Man #229 "The Parker Years" - Spider-Man: The Parker Years" DETOUR: Spider-Man Team-Up #1-5

CLONE SAGA: ACT III (OF III) "You Say You Want an Evolution" - Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1 "Virtual Mortality" - Web of Scarlet Spider #1 - Amazing Scarlet Spider #1 - Scarlet Spider #1 - Spectacular Scarlet Spider #1 "Cyberwar Part One" - Web of Scarlet Spider #2 - Amazing Scarlet Spider #2 INTERLUDE: Green Goblin #1-3 "Cyberwar Part Two" - Scarlet Spider #2 - Spectacular Scarlet Spider #2 NOTE: The next several issues aren't a "story arc" in a traditional sense, but just follow Ben settling in as the One-And-Only Spider-Man. - Sensational Spider-Man #0 - Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1996 - Spider-Man Holiday Special 1995 - Amazing Spider-Man #407 - Spider-Man #64 - Spectacular Spider-Man #230 - Spider-Man Unlimited #11 "Nightmare in Scarlet!" - Web of Scarlet Spider #3 - New Warriors #67 - Web of Scarlet Spider #4 "Family Plot" - Spider-Man/Punisher: Family Plot #1-2 "The Final Adventure" - Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #1-4

CLONE SAGA: ACT IV (OF III) "Media Blizzard" - Sensational Spider-Man #1 - Amazing Spider-Man #408 - Spider-Man #65 "The Return of Kaine" - Spectacular Spider-Man #231 - Sensational Spider-Man #2 - Amazing Spider-Man #409 - Spider-Man #66 "A Show of Force" - Spectacular Spider-Man #232 "Web of Carnage" - Sensational Spider-Man #3 - Amazing Spider-Man #410 - Spider-Man #67 - Spectacular Spider-Man #233

CLONE SAGA: ACT IV (ACT II) (OF III) "Blood Brothers" - Sensational Spider-Man #4 - Amazing Spider-Man #411 - Spider-Man #68 - Spectacular Spider-Man #234 - Sensational Spider-Man #5 - Amazing Spider-Man #412 "It Begins with a Bang Not a Whimper" - Spider-Man #69 DETOUR: Venom: The Hunted #1-3 "Who Did Spider-Man Murder?" - Spider-Man Unlimited #12 NOTE: The following issues follow a loose storyline of Ben fighting villains while Peter slowly becomes sick. - Spectacular Spider-Man #235 - Daredevil #354 - Sensational Spider-Man #6 - Amazing Spider-Man #413 - Spider-Man #70 - Spectacular Spider-Man #236 - Sensational Spider-Man #7 - Amazing Spider-Man #414 - Spider-Man #71 - Spectacular Spider-Man #237 "Redemption" - Spider-Man: Redemption #1-4

CLONE SAGA: ACT IV (ACT III) (OF III) "Onslaught Impact" - Amazing Spider-Man #415 - Spider-Man #72 NOTE: Some more filler. Editorial problems at this time caused the Clone Saga to majorly stall out. - Spider-Man Unlimited #13 - Sensational Spider-Man #8 - Spectacular Spider-Man #238 - Sensational Spider-Man #9 - Amazing Spider-Man #416 - Spider-Man #73 - Spectacular Spider-Man #239 - Sensational Spider-Man #10 - Amazing Spider-Man #417 - Spider-Man #74 - Green Goblin #13 (end of this run; Ben is there) - Spider-Man Unlimited #14 "Revelations" - Spectacular Spider-Man #240 - Sensational Spider-Man #11 - Amazing Spider-Man #418 - Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75 (title change from adjectiveless SM)

CLONE SAGA: EPILOGUE - Spider-Man: The Osborn Journals #1 - Spider-Man: 101 Ways to End the Clone Saga #1

POST-REVELATIONS "Who Was Ben Reilly?" - Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36 - Amazing Spider-Man #608-610 "Scarlet Spiders" (Spider-Verse tie-in) - Scarlet Spiders #1-3

THE CLONE CONSPIRACY - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #16-18 - Captain America FCBD 2016 (B story) - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #19 - Clone Conspiracy #1 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #20 - Clone Conspiracy #2 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #21 - Clone Conspiracy #3 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #22 - Clone Conspiracy #4 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #23 - Clone Conspiracy #5 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #24 - Clone Conspiracy: Omega

BEN REILLY: SCARLET SPIDER "Back in the Hood" - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #1-6 DETOUR: Secret Empire "Death's Sting" - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #7-9 "The Slingers Return" - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #10-13 "Bad to the Bone" - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #14

DAMNATION - Doctor Strange: Damnation #1 - Doctor Strange #386 - Doctor Strange: Damnation #2 - Doctor Strange #387 - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #15 - Doctor Strange: Damnation #3 - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #16 - Damnation: Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider #1 - Doctor Strange #388 - Iron Fist #78-80 - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #17 - Doctor Strange: Damnation #4 - Doctor Strange #389

BEN REILLY: SCARLET SPIDER (ACT II) "Untitled Mysertio Arc" - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #18-19 "Deal with the Devil" - Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #20-25

SPIDER-GEDDON - Edge of Spider-Geddon #1-4 - Spider-Geddon #0 - Superior Octopus #1 - Spider-Geddon #1 - Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #311-312 - Spider-Geddon #2 - Spider-Girls #1 - Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #1 - Spider-Force #1 - Vault of Spiders #1 - Spider-Geddon #3 - Vault of Spiders #2 - Spider-Force #2-3 - Spider-Geddon #4 - Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2 - Spider-Girls #2-3 - Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #3 - Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #313 - Spider-Geddon #5 - Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #4

DETOUR: BATTLE FOR THE SERPENT CROWN NOTE: Cameo from Ben in this Conan team-up book. - Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown #1-5

DETOUR: IRON MAN BY CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL NOTE: Ben is one of Tony's "Space Friends" that join him in his crusade against Korvac. He drops out of the book around issue #19, when the group disbands. - Iron Man Vol 6 #1-19

SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND - Amazing Spider-Man #75-78 - Amazing Spider-Man #78.BEY - Amazing Spider-Man #79-80 - Amazing Spider-Man #80.BEY - Amazing Spider-Man #81-85 - Devil’s Reign – Spider-Man #1 - Amazing Spider-Man #86-87 - Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1 - Amazing Spider-Man #88 - Amazing Spider-Man #88.BEY - Amazing Spider-Man #89-92 - Amazing Spider-Man #92.BEY - Amazing Spider-Man #93

DARK WEB DETOUR: Hellions #1-18 DETOUR: New Mutants #25-28 NOTE: These detours will set up the Madelyne Pryor half of the Dark Web scheme. Completely optional for the purposes of this list, but recommended (They are good!) - Spider-Man/Venom: FCBD 2022 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 6 #14 - Dark Web #1 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 6 #15-17 - Dark Web: X-Men #1-3 - Amazing Spider-Man Vol 6 #18 - Dark Web: Finale #1 NOTE: I would read Hallows' Eve, as that book is about to circle around back into ASM for Ben plotlines. Might be a good idea to watch the upcoming Dark X-Men, as well.

[harpyco]

List of sky ocs

My old list is kinda messy, so I made another post. Every sky ocs’ name is listed here alphabetically and those without names are on the bottom. Also provided links to their tag and ref sheet. The post will get updates from time to time.

Long list ahead ⬇️

Here’s the pictures of some ocs

Skykids/Children of the Light

Aether (he/him) - a half blinded veteran armed a sword

Altaira (she/her) - a traveling medic armed with a spear

#oc: altaira | ref sheet

Arius (he/him) - a jackal mask Wasteland Guide

Artemis (she/her) - a Wasteland Guide with mild corruption

#oc: artemis | ref sheet

Aster (he/him) - a decreased skykid who doesn’t reborn and wanders as a spirit

Astra (she/her) - a magic user and a researcher in the Vault of Knowledge

Azul (he/him) - a blue light skykid who always sticks close to Altaira

#oc: azul | ref sheet

Crim (he/him) - a fox skykid living in the deeper part of the Hidden Forest

#oc: crim | ref sheet

Era (she/her) - a decreased veteran who wanders as a spirit

Io (she/her) - a chibi forest cryptic

#oc: io | ref sheet

Kokomi (she/her) - a chibi flower girl

#oc: kokomi | ref sheet

Lucy (she/her) - a mail deliverer; a friend to Zeru

Mei (she/her) and Ren (he/him) - two snowland explorers

#oc: mei | #oc: ren | ref sheet

Ori (he/him) - a decreased skykid who doesn’t reborn and wanders as a spirit

Regin (he/him) - a young mage; exclusive oc in my au

Rhea (she/her) - skysona/oc; red shards cleanser and photographer

#skysona: rhea | ref sheet

Rowan (he/him) - a young skykid whose caretaker died for unknown reasons or possibly in accident

Runa (she/her) - a clumsy skykid who lives in the Valley but wants to grow a garden

#oc: runa | ref sheet

Sirius (he/him) - a jackal mask veteran; one of many oldest skykids landed into Sky Kingdom

Solaris (he/him) - a skykid born from brightest star resulting in pale skin than regular skykids

Sora (he/him) - a feline skykid and a treasure hunter

#oc: sora | ref sheet

Zeru (he/him) - a skykid born from brightest star; a friend to Lucy

Darkkids/Children of the Dark

Blueberry (he/him) - a dark feline child

#oc: blueberry | ref sheet

Soros (he/him) - a dark child banished from the community for being a problem; a friend to Astra

Unnamed ocs

Astra’s assistant at the Vault

Snowland explorer

Mail deliverer

Pink light skykid

Silver light veteran

Random decreased veteran whose statue remained in the ruins

Twin stars (chibi)

Two forest dwellers or possibly forest guardians

Two siblings

Two horned darkkids and one regular darkkid

[janesmitish]

"In the halls of my enemy, they will recite my name, and the names of my friends. He who kills the Reaper will have bounty and renown. Individual hunters and killgroups will scan our com signals, searching for me. And in packs they will descend, some for single battle. Others for the sly kill of a sniper’s bullet. Some will not even participate in the battle for Mars. They are Gray mercenaries. Freed Obsidian bounty hunters. Knights of Venus and Mercury here only for my head, using their family assets, family soldiers, to help them privately stalk me and make their own glory. The Jackal intercepted a communiqué that three of the Olympic Knights are here. They all will have watched me, studied my recordings, my victories, my defeats. And they will know my nature, the nature of my Howlers. But I will not know them. "

"Let them come make their introductions."

- Golden Son, Pierce Brown

[midnightshard06]

The Bound By Fate au brain rot continues. I bring you something written this time. An expanded version of one of my flufftober prompts from the au. This one in particular, so that whole fic is within this one just some things mildly changed with the new context. There's still plenty of new stuff here though lol. I will likely eventually put this up on ao3 but it's just gonna be here for now.

Summary: Sonic meets Tails for the first time after the fox saves his life. Upon Sonic's return after their initial meeting to where Tails lives he realizes that the town has been taken over by a group of thugs and decides to do something about it.

Warnings: Mild blood and injury (not described in detail)

Word Count: 4747 words

Sonic moved as slowly and quietly through the maze like canyons as he could. He knew there were people on his trail and any wrong move could give away his location. It was dark, so at the very least he’d be able to see any lights approaching. His ears perked up as he heard the crunching of rock from not too far away. Pausing he scanned the area; entire body tensing in preparation to run. Honestly he really should have been more careful, something like this hadn't happened in a long time. Though he should have known that when he saw that group of hunters during the day that he should have just skipped town. Tired or not.

Once he was satisfied that there was nothing immediately near him he kept moving. If he was lucky they’d lose interest. Though he’d also just take keeping away from them all night at this point. Even if he’d be exhausted come morning he’d still be able to get away. Though keeping away from them was easier said than done. This was a decently large group and well organized he’d give it that. Their leader, an overzealous jackal who called himself Infinite, had proven to be pretty skilled. Sonic had managed to convince the jackal to spar with him during the day so he could get a feel for Infinite’s skill level. It had been closer than Sonic was expecting, but he hadn’t been in danger of losing. The massive downside to that fight though had been Infinite trying to recruit him all day until he’d left to prepare for a hunt with the rest of his group.

What was a group like that doing in a more populated place like this anyway? As far as he’d learned those that believed in “monsters” and actively seeked them out tended to stick to small towns. They always thought they’d have a better chance at finding something that way. Not that Sonic even really knew what these people were going after in the first place. They’d been established long before he was born and he’d never seen anything else like him.

Another nearby sound had him freezing. His ears swiveled around to try and figure out the source of the noise. It was hard to tell because of how the sound bounced off the canyon walls. As he concentrated though he realized that there was sound coming from multiple directions. His heart sank. They’d caught up. 

“You’re quite slippery, but we won’t let you get away that easily.” Infinite emerged from the darkness. He was hard to see due to his black fur, but the glint of a metal sword by his side was unmistakable. “Now you stand no chance of escape and we’ll finally be able to prove to the world our worth.” Sonic’s eyes darted around as the other jackals that made up the group made themselves known. He was surrounded. It was starting to look like his only way out of this would be to fight them. While he didn’t really want to hurt them he also wasn’t just going to lay down and die. “Now!” Infinite shouted before the whole group jumped forward to attack Sonic.

At first he did his best to avoid their strikes and keep an eye out for an opening to escape, but it quickly became clear that the strategy wasn’t going to cut it. By the time he first struck one of the jackals away from him, doing his best to avoid digging his claws into them, he already had a collection of cuts across his body. From there instincts kicked in and everything became a blur. For those moments, however long they were, his world became fight or be killed. By the time all but their leader were knocked out on the ground Sonic was panting heavily. Blood sluggishly dripped from the many cuts and gashes the hunter group had managed to inflict on him. As he stared down Infinite he could barely keep himself from toppling over. Although it was hard to tell in the darkness he’d be willing to bet he’d lost a lot of blood.

Infinite narrowed mismatched eyes at him. “You’ll pay for doing this to them.” He bared his teeth. Sonic couldn’t help but mentally quip back that the jackal had started this but he felt far too tired to say anything out loud. All he could do as the jackal charged him was raise his arms in a lackluster defense. Though much to his surprise Infinite suddenly stopped, pain twisting his face before he collapsed right in front of Sonic. Sonic blinked slowly in confusion before trying to look in the direction Infinite had been coming from. He could only make out a vague silhouette of what he thought was a fox before he felt himself collapsing.

Sonic slowly peeled his eyes open. He felt tired and sort of sore. Where was he? He carefully pushed the blanket that had been draped over him aside. Clearly it was daytime due to him currently not being a werehog. Now his biggest question was, where was he? The room he was in didn't look lived in really. There wasn't much in the way of personal items but he could tell that someone did in fact live here. The scent of someone else was all the proof he needed for that. There were some bandages wrapped around most of his body so he’d be willing to bet that whoever did live here didn’t want him dead. Why waste the time to patch someone up if you were just going to kill them? Of course he felt like he was already mostly healed up, but he’d leave the bandages on for now. Might be weird if he didn’t. Deciding he wasn’t going to figure out anything by staying in the room he opened the door and poked his head out. His ears swiveled around trying to pick up any noise but he couldn’t hear anything. He frowned. Was whoever lived here out? That seemed irresponsable. He decided to slowly walk through the house. Maybe they were just somewhere he couldn’t hear them. He paused. Wait, why was he even here? He couldn’t really remember much from last night but surely something must have happened. Did whoever this was see him in his werehog form? Shaking his head he decided to worry about that later. If this was going to become a problem he could easily run off. They probably wouldn’t be expecting him to be able to move around so soon. It was a nice little house he had to admit, and pretty neat too. If he had some permanent place he stayed he doubted it would stay this clean. Suddenly he heard a noise and he spun around to where it came from. A young looking fox stared back at him, clearly surprised to see him. “You’re up already?” The fox asked. “Uuuuh yeah?” Sonic answered. The two stared at each other in awkward silence for a bit. Sonic knew if he started talking it would just be a flood of questions. “Do you… need anything? Water maybe?” The fox nervously messed with his gloves. Sonic just nodded and gave the kid a shaky smile. Where were his parents? Why would anyone leave their kid alone, especially with a stranger? “Sooo I have to ask, where am I?” Sonic asked after the fox came back with a glass of water. “My house. I brought you back here after I knocked out that guy who was after you last night.” The fox looked down.

Sonic briefly choked on the water he was sipping. “U-uh last night? Like actually at night?” He gripped the cup tightly and had to mentally make sure to not use enough pressure to break it.

“Yeah?” The fox seemed confused for a moment before understanding passed over his face. “Oh! I uh did see your other form, but don’t worry!” He waved his hands in front of him. “I don’t mind, and I’m not going to tell anyone!”

Sonic supposed that was probably the truth. If he was scared of Sonic he wouldn’t be here right now. He relaxed his grip and nodded. “Right, ok. Cool.” He sighed and tried to remember what had happened. It started to come back slowly. Being chased by that monster hunting group that had shown up not long after he’d transformed. Getting cornered in the unfamiliar landscape. Not wanting to hurt them even as they attacked him. Then the same fox that was standing in front of him now somehow knocking out Infinite before he could finish Sonic off. “Thank you.” Sonic supposed that was the bare minimum he owed the fox for saving him. He held out a hand. “Name’s Sonic by the way. How did you even know I was in trouble?”

The fox took the offered hand. “Miles Prower, and I may have been following you.” Miles rubbed the back of his head guiltily.

“So you… saw me transform?” Sonic wasn’t really mad he found, just curious.

“I did.” Miles nodded. “I saw you earlier when you came into town and you seemed so nice and cool. I don’t know…” He kicked the ground. “I just wanted to know what you were doing I guess.”

“Fair enough.” Sonic shrugged. “I feel like if I was in your shoes I’d do the same.”

“You’re not mad?” Miles looked up in surprise.

“Why would I be? You saved me dude! How could I be mad at the guy who saved me?” Sonic grinned. Shyly, Miles returned the grin. Before Sonic could ask something else he noticed something about Miles he hadn’t before. The fox had an extra tail. “Oh you have an extra tail?” Admittedly it was pretty hard to tell because of the way Miles was trying to curl the two tails together.

Sonic did not expect Miles to jump and suddenly look very, very afraid. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment, even looking behind him to see if someone or something else was there. There was nothing. He turned back to look at Miles. The fox’s eyes were still blown wide and he’d started shaking, his two tails were curled up even tighter around one another. Sonic frowned and suddenly it clicked. He immediately felt awful. Ok this was fine. He could fix this.

Slowly he put a hand on Miles’ shoulder. Predictably the fox flinched. “Hey it’s ok. I think it’s cool. The extra tail. Makes you unique.” Sonic gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Miles looked down and grabbed both his tails. “It makes me a target…”

Sonic hummed. “Well whoever’s been messing with you are just a bunch of jerks who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Miles looked at him in shock. “B-but I’m different a freak I-” He paused as it sunk in who he was talking to.

“I know a thing or two about that Miles.” Sonic tapped him on the nose. “Take it from an expert, you're no freak. Those jerks have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Suddenly he had an armful of fox and he happily returned the sudden hug. It was an odd feeling, to not be slightly on edge around someone. It was a feeling he’d happily embrace though. No one before Miles knew about his werehog form, and the kid was fine with it. Maybe others could be too… He quickly shook that thought from his mind. He’d been gone after far too many times to entertain that for very long. “Thank you…” It was muffled but Sonic could still hear it.

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that you don’t hear enough people say that.” Sonic rubbed Miles’ back. Eventually Miles let go and gave Sonic a shaky smile. “Hey how bout this. What if I give you a nickname?” Sonic gave Miles a wide grin.

“A nickname?” Miles tilted his head.

“Yeah! I have a feeling I’ll be sticking around a lot and while Miles iiiis a pretty cool name I have an idea for something I think would fit you.” Sonic winked. Miles nodded excitedly. “How about I call you Tails? Cause of how cool yours are.”

Tails gave him a big smile. “I love it.” “So…” Tails glanced over at Sonic who was carefully undoing the unneeded bandages. He’d stuck around for about a day, dealing with a restless night inside to avoid Infinite and his group, but he was eager to get away from here even if he was hesitant to leave Tails alone. Sure he’d just met the kid but Sonic hadn’t met anyone else who he felt completely at ease with before. It wasn’t something he was keen to give up too quick. “How long are you going to be here for?”

Sonic hummed. “Not too sure. I should probably stick around at least one more day to make sure everything’s healed up ok.” He inspected his arm after successfully removing the bloody bandages. He tried to not think about just how close things had been as he ran his other hand along the fur of his arm. Good news was his arm seemed more or less fine. Not even scars to indicate where one of the jackals’ swords had sliced him.

“O-oh right.” Tails grabbed his arm and looked away. “Guess it makes sense that you want to get out of here as soon as you can.”

Sonic put his arm down and frowned as he took in the sad look on the fox’s face. “Hey, buddy. Look at me.” Sonic said gently. Hesitantly Tails looked over at him, hunching in on himself. Sonic’s heart twisted painfully at the sight of the distressed fox. There was no way he could leave the kid feeling like this. He knew all too well what it was like to be alone. How could he in good conscience leave Tails feeling the same way? He opened his arms in silent invitation and it was quickly accepted. It was odd that even after only really knowing the fox for a day he felt protective of him. It felt like they’d known each other much longer. “I’ll come back ok? I promise.” Here he was breaking one of his personal rules for the fox. Never come back to somewhere that people had seen the werehog.

“Really?” Tails’ voice was muffled and soft, but Sonic managed to barely hear it.

“Yeah.” Sonic ruffled the fur on the top of Tails’ head. Tails laughed weakly and pulled himself away from Sonic. 

Tails seemed to search his face for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I believe you.” He wrung his hands. “Don’t be gone too long ok?”

Sonic gave him a soft smile. “I’ll be back before you know it buddy.” Sonic grinned as he caught sight of Tails’ town in the distance. It had been a couple months since he’d first met the fox and in that time he’d finally managed to shake off the apprehension he felt coming back here. It would be good to see him again; see what the fox had been up to. As he sped towards the town he did subconsciously avoid the canyon he’d been caught in before. He also happened to notice something was wrong. As he slowed down and started to walk into town he noticed that everyone seemed to be off the streets. The town looked practically abandoned. He would have thought that too if he couldn’t pick up the occasional noise of someone moving in one of the buildings. 

Suddenly a pang of panic shot through him. Was Tails ok? With no more hesitation he made his way towards the fox’s house. As he expected, the door was locked. Thankfully Tails had been insistent on giving him a key before he left the first time. Sonic felt that the move was maybe a bit irresponsible on the fox’s part, him and Sonic had only known each other for a few days after all, but it would come in handy now. After fishing the key out of one of the bags around his belt he quickly unlocked the door and opened it. Before he could turn around to close and relock it he heard the sound of some sort of mechanism releasing and felt something wrap tightly around his legs. Unable to keep his balance he fell to the floor in a daze.

“Take that you…” Tails popped out from behind some sort of barrier Sonic hadn’t noticed before. His slightly defiant expression faded as soon as he realized it was Sonic. “Sonic!” He scrambled over the makeshift barrier before hastily untying Sonic’s legs. Tails glanced around before closing the door and relocking it. “What are you doing here?” Tails asked as he helped Sonic up. “Not that I'm not happy to see you!” Tails hastily added. “I uh, sort of thought you weren’t going to come back… but you’re here now!” He grinned.

“I was coming back to visit you. Like I promised.” Sonic shook himself out. He’d file away the information that Tails didn’t think he was coming back to address later. For now he needed to figure out what was going on. “What happened here?”

“A couple of skunks came here a few days ago and started acting like they owned the place. They started taking anything they wanted and were forcing people to do things for them.” Tails gently guided Sonic around to the back of his barrier. “Most of us just blocked ourselves in to hopefully avoid them though sometimes them or some of the others they brought with them have been breaking into people’s houses.”

Sonic hummed. “No one here to stop them? Not even… Infinite and his group?” He cringed as he suggested the very group that had hunted him down and nearly killed him the last time he was here. Surely though they’d have been able to handle some rouge group of petty thieves that had rolled into town. Something told Sonic that Infinite wouldn’t like some other group encroaching on his turf, even if they weren’t another hunter group.

“They’ve been gone for a while now, looking for you I think.” Tails frowned. 

Well that was… not great news. He’d have to be extra careful to avoid the group when he came back to visit Tails. “Alright.” Sonic nodded as he started to quickly stretch. “Guess I’ll just have to take care of them myself.”

Tails’ eyes widened in panic. “You can’t fight them on your own! There’s way too many of them.”

Sonic shot him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with guys like them. Probably won’t be the last either. Just point me in the right direction and this’ll all be over in no time.”

Tails frowned and looked down. Sonic thought for a moment that maybe the fox wasn’t going to tell him before Tails sighed and gave him a determined look. “I’m going with you.” There wasn’t any room for argument in his tone.

Well it could be helpful to have someone watching his back… even if he didn’t love the idea of putting the fox in harm’s way. Though he was pretty sure there was no way he could convince Tails to stay here. Instead he grinned and nodded. “Alright. Just do your best to keep up.” “Is this all you’ve got?” Sonic smirked triumphantly as he quickly spin dashed into the last of what he was calling the lower level thugs. “Geez you guys are really all talk huh?” He crossed his arms.

Tails crawled out from behind the crate he’d been hiding behind and looked around in awe. “That was amazing!” He looked at Sonic with pure admiration and he almost couldn’t handle a look like that being aimed at him. It was so different to what he was used to.

Instead of letting the fox pick up on that though Sonic just chuckled. “Well of course. I just so happen to be the coolest guy around. Now then. Let’s go have a chat with the people on top shall we?” Sonic cracked his knuckles as he turned to the door.

Tails hummed as he looked at the door. “I have an idea actually.” He pulled the backpack he’d grabbed before they left off his back and started looking through it. “If you can lead those two out here… then the fight should be over before it can really start.” Tails pulled… something out of his bag that Sonic had no idea what it was. He trusted his friend though.

“You got it. How long do you need to do whatever you’re doing?” Sonic gave him a thumbs up and decided not to comment on the way Tails relaxed as he agreed.

The fox glanced around the room they were in, picking up a nearby piece of rope. “Five minutes.” He said after a moment.

“Heh. Easy.” Sonic nodded before kicking down the door that led to the two that started all this. The two skunks that were in the room looked surprised for a moment before both looking annoyed.

“Just who the heck do you think you are!?” The smaller one yelled.

“Who me?” Sonic rose a brow and put a hand on his chest. “Oh you know just someone who’s passing through.

“Then you can keep passin through right back out that door before we make you.” The larger skunk threatened.

Sonic gave the duo an assessing look. They looked capable enough but he was pretty confident that even if Tails didn’t have a plan he could take down these two. Plus they were making it real easy to stall for those five minutes Tails needed. “No, I don’t think I’ll be the one going anywhere.” Sonic grinned and crossed his arms. “I’ll give you two one chance to pack up and leave on your own though.”

“Alright that’s it.” The smaller skunk growled. “Get ready for a beatdown.”

“You better be humble.” The other chimed in.

“There’s no way you’re gonna beat-” The first chimed in again. What was happening?

“Rough and Tumble!” The two finished together.

The two struck a pose and Sonic stared in stunned silence for a moment. Then he couldn’t hold back his laughter at the whole scene. As he held up a hand while he tried to get himself under control the two looked offended. “Sorry sorry.” Sonic chuckled as his laughter died down. “I have to know. How often do you two do that?”

Instead of answering him the two rushed at him. Well if Sonic had been keeping track of time well enough then Tails should be good to go. As the two recklessly charged at him he quickly sidestepped out of the way and watched as the two crashed into the other room. The moment they were in there multiple ropes and nets shot from various parts of the room and practically cocooned the duo of skunks. Sonic poked his head in to make sure everything was good and smiled as Tails emerged and gave him a thumbs up. “Got them.”

“Sure did buddy.” Sonic walked over to Tails and held his hand out for a fist bump. Tails happily returned the gesture. “Great work.” He looked over at Rough and Tumble. The two were trying in vain to escape. “Now we just have to deal with these two…” Tails stuck close to his side as local law enforcement led the defeated thugs away. Sonic knew that the two of them were attracting a lot of attention from the townsfolk who had slowly been wandering out of their houses to see what was going on. He really didn’t like the looks some of them were giving Tails, and the fact that the bit of confidence that the fox had been showing while helping was completely gone had Sonic about ready to snap. 

“I would like to sincerely thank you for your help sir.” One of the officers, a cat, came over and gave Sonic a thankful nod. His eyes lingered on Tails far too long for Sonic’s liking.

He frowned as he placed a gentle hand on Tails’ head. “Miles here helped too. I couldn’t have done it without him or his inventions.” He could feel Tails’ head turn to look up at him, probably in disbelief.

The cat blinked in surprise. “You don’t need to lie-”

Sonic held up his free hand, frown deepening. “I’m not. His help was invaluable and I want to make sure everyone here knows he’s just as responsible for saving the town as I am.” There were a lot of murmurs as the townsfolk all started to talk to each other in hushed voices. What things Sonic could make out he didn’t like.

The cat tried to regain his composure. “I’m sure you would have been fine without the mons-”

Sonic swiftly laid a hand on the officer’s shoulder. It was light, but he knew his look was intimidating regardless. He didn’t get mad often, but people had described it as pretty scary when he did. “Don’t you dare finish that.” Sonic narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. The officer shakily nodded before Sonic let him go. He turned to scan the crowd that had formed; careful to keep his angry gaze off of Tails. “I need all of you to understand something really basic. Take it from the guy who just helped save your town. Just because someone is different doesn't mean they’re a mon-” He took a deep breath. “Doesn’t mean they’re a monster.” He clenched his fists. “Miles is my friend and what he can do is amazing. He’s amazing. So all of you need to stop treating him differently for something he had no choice in. People don’t ask to be born differently but they are anyway.” He pinned his ears down and let his expression soften as he walked back over to Tails. “You ok bud?” He asked quietly, ignoring the murmuring which had started back up again.

Tails gave him a shaky smile as tears gathered in his eyes. “Yeah.” He sniffled. “No one has ever stood up for me like that before.

“Well as long as I’m around there’ll be at least one.” Sonic smiled.

“Thank you Sonic.” Tails wiped away the tears before they could fall.

“No, thank you Tails.” Sonic ruffled his head. “You helped me and I’m happy to help you.”

Tails gently pulled Sonic into a hug. Once again something Sonic happily accepted. “I don’t think you’re a monster.” Tails said quietly, so quiet that if he hadn’t been so close Sonic would have never heard it. “No one that’s as nice as you can be one.” 

Sonic smiled into Tails’ fur. He felt warm. The fox couldn’t know how much that simple sentence meant for Sonic to hear. Well, maybe he could. “Thank you.” He said just as quietly as Tails’ statement. “Now let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah.” Tails’ reluctantly pulled away. His smile was stronger now. “Let’s go.” Sonic perked up as he heard the door open and shut. “You back Tails?” It had been a few days since the whole Rough and Tumble thing and Sonic had been staying with Tails. With Infinite and his group not here at the moment he felt way more comfortable staying around for longer. Plus he wanted to make sure he’d actually gotten through to the townsfolk with his little speech.

“Yep!” Tails happily called out before poking his head around the corner.

“Everyone nice to you?” Sonic stood up to go meet him.

“Well, not mean at least. It’s better though.” Tails rubbed the back of his head. “It’s probably going to take a bit of time for things to improve even more.”

Sonic hummed but nodded in satisfaction. “Good enough for now. You just let me know if I need to set them straight ok bud?”

“I will Sonic.” Tails nodded although Sonic was fairly convinced that Tails probably wouldn’t say anything to him. He’d have to work on that. For now he wanted to enjoy some peace with his friend.

“Good. Now wanna play some games?” Sonic smiled and the way Tails’ face lit up was all the answer he needed. Oh yeah, he was so glad Tails had found him that night.

[hel-the-growl]

Cultural Annotations on New Gods: Yang Jian -Part 3-

Part 1｜Part 2

I counted five periods of Yang Jian’s life that were depicted within the scroll.

1 - his childhood.

2 - teenager cleaving Peach Mountain. His hair is in a half updo, opposed to his full updo as an adult. The totem on his pauldrons is most likely Yazi (睚眦) - the second son of the Dragon King, who has the body of a dragon and head of a jackal. As a creature that likes to fight and is aggressive, Yazi’s image is often used to adorn armor and weapons, normally found on cross-guards on swords. The Yazi here is a cute pup, fitting for baby Jian.

3 - As a general in the war against Shang. His armor is decked with a red cape and he wields his signature trident. On his helmet are a pair of pheasant tail feathers called Lingzi (翎子) - which is indicative of the wearer as a warrior figure. The length of the feathers is also an indicator of the warrior's rank. This event was probably during the Battle of Muye, the decisive battle between Shang and Zhou. These flashbacks, like with Nezha Reborn, are the traditional depictions of the characters and are emphasized by the different art style.

4 - the disaster of the three realms twelve years ago. In Journey to the West, he was described as wearing “boots that were lined with cloth of gold; dragons coiled round his socks; His jade belt was decorated with the eight jewels”. He seems to have gained a new chest plate and notice how Yazi has also grown over the years from a cute pup to a ferocious beast with large fangs.

5 - bounty hunter. A tie-dyed bandanna covers his third eye - tie-dye was popular during the Eastern Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, where the extraction method of indigo dyes was recorded in the agricultural text Qimin Yaoshu (齐民要术).

His clothing is also described in chapter 40 of IOTG - “This Daoist wore a cloud crown with a fan, a robe the color of water with a silk sash around his waist, and hemp shoes on his feet.” This attire was typical of Disciples of Chan Daoism.

Wrist guards wrap around his index finger while his bounty hunter’s tally hangs from his belt. Despite falling into poverty, he still maintains an air of aristocracy with his white robes showing subtle intricate cloud details.

Blink and you’ll miss - during the battle at Mount Hua, he ripped his pants at the crotch lol.

Not that I think that the placement of Go pieces have any real significance, but I recreated the board for fun. Despite some minor inconsistencies (some black pieces disappeared and reappeared between shots, and the spot where Yang Jian hovered his piece is an illegal move), the game was mostly accurate. Btw, black is winning.

Yang Jian had a noble upbringing and has retained his discipline over the years - his left hand is clenched while his right palm lies flat on his lap.

What the hell is a Fenix? In the movie, the Xuan Bird was translated as Fenix, however there is no direct english equivalent for this mythological bird. “Xuan” means black or mysterious, so some sources describe it as a black bird, while others call it a swallow. The Book of Songs dedicated a line to it: The Book of Songs dedicated a line to it: "The Xuan Bird of destiny descends to give birth to Shang."

Fa Tian Xiang Di (法天象地) translated as “Heaven and Earth I rise to Thee” is the law of heaven and earth that is commonly mentioned in ancient texts. In Journey to the West, invoking Fa Tian Xiang Di grants the user the power to rise as high as the heavens and as vast as the earth. Only Erlang and Sun Wukong have this ability.

The inscription on Yuding’s giant sword reads “福生无量”, a Daoist mantra. They are written in small seal script, an archaic form of Chinese calligraphy, and a variant form of seal script that became the standard during the Qin Dynasty. The characters are separated by the horizontal lines of the eight trigram figures.

The moment Yang Jian knew exactly what would happen when Chenxiang ran toward his mother, yet was powerless to stop him. This scene BROKE me.

In the post credits scene, Yunxiang (Nezha) asks Wukong “you couldn’t beat him?”, a nod to their battle at the beginning of Journey to the West where Erlang was able to subdue Wukong after 300 rounds of fighting.

In the teaser for the sequel, Yang Jian is seen overlooking East Sea City/Donghai (the same city Nezha: Reborn was set), commenting “so many years have past again”. What he meant was, about 1500 years since Chenxiang cleaved Mount Hua. “So many years” is a gross understatement.

FAQs

What is Yang Jian’s origin story?

Yang Jian is a disciple of Chan Daoism, the third generation disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, known as the Primeval Lord of Heaven, one of the highest deities of Daoism. The Jade Emperor really is his uncle. According to some legends, his mother Yaoji was imprisoned under Peach Mountain for falling in love with a mortal, breaking the laws of heaven. Yang Jian cleaved the mountain in order to save her.

If he’s heaven's prince, how did he fall so low? And where is his uncle the Jade Emperor?

Yang Jian doesn’t exactly have a great relationship with his uncle. It was the Jade Emperor who imprisoned his own sister under Peach Mountain, and Yang Jian wrecked havoc in heaven over this incident (not unlike what Sun Wukong did a few hundred years later). So obv he doesn’t associate with the other gods in the heavenly court, choosing instead to live elsewhere along with his six sworn brothers of Plum Mountain.

As for the whereabouts of the Jade Emperor, this is something the movie has not hinted. However in Nezha Reborn, Ao Guang mentioned it’s chaos up there [in heaven] right now.

If Yang Jian lost his powers, how was he able to phase through the jail’s barrier and overpower all of his opponents?

Most of the powers he lost pertain to the powers of his Eye of Heaven, which had the ability to differentiate truth from lies and see through deceptions and disguises and be used as an offensive weapon to fire continuous, highly destructive blasts of light energy and/or divine fire. He also lost the ability to manifest his primordial spirit, as well as the ability to fly. He does however retain his skills in the martial arts, primarily his “Nine Turns Mystical Arts” (九轉玄功), which grants him vast, physical durability of undefined limits and nigh-invulnerability to conventional weapons and various magic spells. His 72 transformations should be a part of this skill so whether he retained it or not remains to be seen.

It would be awesome to see him be able to transform though, it would suck if he were stuck bounty-hunting for the next 1500 years.

So how powerful is Yang Jian exactly?

In Journey to the West, he was unrivalled and the most ruthless among all of the gods - even the Monkey King could not defeat him. Another time, he single-handedly killed a beast that Wukong and Pigsy were struggling to fight. At the beginning of the movie, we got to see him finish off the ogre before it even had time to react. When outnumbered by Boss Hai and his goons, none of them could even lay a finger on him. Yang Jian is so powerful that even with his powers nerfed, the toughest opponents seem like small fries to him. During the battle at Mount Hua, his primordial spirit was so unbelievably massive that its body couldn’t even fit in the frame. The combined efforts of four gods could not hold him down and just one swipe of his axe was able to destroy Master Yuding and three heavenly kings. Yang Jian is no joke.

How old is Yang Jian?

We know that Yang Jian was born after Jiang Ziya, a real life figure who was born in 1128 BC. Jiang Ziya was peers with his master Yuding, who already had a head of gray hair when he took Yang Jian in as a child. Going by this logic, we can estimate that Yang Jian’s age was about 20-30 when he participated in the battle against Shang, making his birth year between 1075 and 1066 BC. His age when he cleaved Peach Mountain is a broad estimate, as he looked much older than Chenxiang when he cleaved Lotus Peak, so it might not be that long before the events of IOTG. Yang Jian would’ve been about 1512 years old when Chenxiang was born, 1525 at the start of the movie, and 3093 years old today.

What is Yang Jian’s relation to Nezha?

They were allies. After the final battle in IOTG, a few of heaven’s warriors including Yang Jian and Nezha came to court to inform that they did not desire positions and wealth and asked to be liberated from service.

How does this tie in with Nezha Reborn?

I read a tragic leaked original ending for Yang Jian where they weren't able to free the fenixes and he was the one that becomes trapped under Lotus Peak. It took another 1000 years before Nezha freed him... talk about tragic life. By now, it is pretty much given that Yang Jian ending up in Donghai over a millenia later has something to do with the new Order of the Gods. It was repeated in Nezha that Ao Guang wants to establish a new order to improve his ranking on the list, and some theories say that the the fenixes being freed from Mount Hua heralded the end of the old Order. Sun Wukong also alluded that the list had been re-ordered more than once.

Part 1｜Part 2｜Part 4

[yellowocaballero]

Jake Stays Up Past His Bedtime, Meets His Contemporaries, and Wants a Dog So Fucking Bad

There was a stray dog in the all-night diner.

Jake had been in the bathroom during its dynamic entry, gone unnoticed except for the loud clangs and yells from the kitchen and weirdly wet mystery noises. Diners at three am could be surprisingly noisy places, especially in the City, so Jake hadn’t registered anything until he walked into the dining area in the secluded back of the diner to see an unamused Gena standing in the doorway and a ratty, slobbering dog crouched underneath a table.

“Just what I need,” Gena condemned. “More pests.”

So the 1970s saw a huge explosion in the popularity of horror movies, especially slashers and sci-fi horror. They were big swerves from 1960s B-movie and Atomic Age/Cold War sci-fi horror, and for probably the first time horror hit huge commercial success. Although the slasher/sci-fi horror movie genres would really take off in the 1980s, they were pretty damn popular in the 1970s among the 13-18yo teen boy demographic.

As it always does, Marvel sought to capitalize on this, and it quickly churned out a small batch of spooky sci-fi horror anti-heroes who were sooo cool, man. Over the top cool. Stupid cool. It was all very Hammer Horror - werewolves, demons, vampires, oh my. Yes, this includes Mobius. Now you know why Mobius exists. It also includes Moon Knight, who first appeared in Werewolf By Night as a werewolf hunter decked in silver - the werewolf component of this Hammer Horror lineup.

Yes. The superheroes in this cheap line up of overly cool and hip anti-heroes for teenage boys were all incredibly lame. I've been meaning to do a story with all of them for ages lol. Finally found a good excuse. Here it is.

That's some history for you. This is the second installment in my half-joke teen/mid alter Jake AU. Yes, only Jake is 15. Marc's life is awful. First part linked here. Very short 7k story under the cut. Hopefully it fucking works on dark mode...?!

There was a stray dog in the all-night diner.

Jake had been in the bathroom during its dynamic entry, gone unnoticed except for the loud clangs and yells from the kitchen and weirdly wet mystery noises. Diners at three am could be surprisingly noisy places, especially in the City, so Jake hadn’t registered anything until he walked into the dining area in the secluded back of the diner to see an unamused Gena standing in the doorway and a ratty, slobbering dog crouched underneath a table.

“Just what I need,” Gena condemned. “More pests.”

Jake craned his neck to peer over her head before realizing that the waitress was pretty short and he could see cleanly over the top of her headscarf. If he looked around the dining area he could see the usual suspects - cracked vinyl booths, faded sports team pennants tacked to the wall, a clock perpetually broken, that one creepy dude always conked out in the corner with an empty pot of coffee in front of him. And the dog. “Whoah. I ain’t never seen a dog like that.”

“New York City breeds them different,” Gena said grimly. Jake nodded, equally solemn. “I’ll call animal control. We don’t need fleas in the gyros.”

The dog did look like the dog equivalent of a New York subway rat. Its coat was dark and bushy, the tight curls smeared by mud and grime. Its proportions were spindly like a jackal’s or African wild dog’s (Jake had watched a documentary), but it was thick and muscular like the pittiest pit bull to ever pit bull. It looked like it bullied other pit bulls for their lunch money. It looked like it went on bodybuilding forums, for pit bulls. It was pretty ginormous too - easily the size of a Great Dane, maybe bigger.

It was the coolest dog Jake had ever seen. He needed to be friends with it. A dog like that upped the coolness factor of his human friends by ten.

“That dog is badass,” Jake announced. “Don’t call animal control, Ms. Gena. I’m gonna talk to ‘im.”

Gena whirled on him, cell already in her hand. “You will not. Look at it, it’s obviously rabid. You stay away from that dog.”

“He’s just scared!” The dog bared its teeth, growling like a revving chainsaw. “He just needs a kindred spirit. I can totally -”

“Nope. No way.” Gena lightly put her hand on the small of his back, pushing him away from the back dining area into the front.  “You sit down, I’ll bring you a fresh plate.”

“What about my Switch -”

“I’ll get it for you later. Come on, honey, let’s sit down.”

Jake sat down, somewhat mulishly. He always caved when Gena got all nice like that. It was mostly because she wasn’t nice to anybody else like that, so he had to respect the effort. And if you didn’t respect the effort then she busted out her unimpressed voice, which was how Jake discovered he was physically capable of feeling shame. 

Gena was most of the reason why Jake felt good about coming here without Marc or Steven or Layla, even at three in the morning. The others were always nagging Jake about fronting in a public ‘controlled environment’. If there was some sort of Mid parenting manual then Layla definitely read it. Working up to ‘hanging out with Layla in the house for more than an hour at a time in a non-emergency situation’ had taken months. They had picked the diner as Jake’s Outside Place, and Layla had come and sat with him a few times until he felt confident enough to do it on his own.

Nowadays Jake even told Marc and Steven to scram, ‘cause the diner was his place. It had Gena. She always sat Jake in the emptiest part of the diner, and she always had a question about his Animal Crossing island or Minecraft base. She was nice. She could also be super mean. And if you fucked around in her diner you always found out. She was gonna scare off that stray dog by her unimpressed voice alone.

Jake felt his dog friend dreams shatter like porcelain on cement. Gena would get super mad at him if he went back in there. She’d be even madder if he got himself mauled by the coolest dog ever. The dog was cool and Jake was immortal, so he wouldn’t mind a little mauling, but he just knew it would get Gina and her diner in trouble. Steven was always preaching about being considerate, so maybe this counted. Ugh. Jake hoped Steven never found out about this. He’d get so insufferable. His idea of a pet was a goldfish, what the fuck did he know.

Snarling sounds echoed from the back room. There were only three other patrons in the front - one drunk guy in his thirties with bright blonde hair and two very old men - and neither of them seemed concerned, so at least they wouldn’t have to worry about panicky civilians with no appreciation for dope animals. 

A howl broke through the diner, cracking the air. Somebody from the kitchen cursed loudly and passionately. Jake could hear the faint strains of Gena’s voice through the back rooms, arguing passionately with animal control. He caught some vague sounds of ‘of course it’s a dog -’ before a howl split the air again. The drunk guy looked around, checking if he should give a shit about this or not. Jake poked at his Wordle game. The drunk guy went back to his chili and the infinite ruminations of his drunk-ass soul.

Just a little too late, Jake realized that they were missing a civilian. 

Gena had totally ditched the creepy guy in the corner! The man was a regular! He and Jake always took up Most Secluded Spots #1 and #2. Unlike Jake, all he did was drink coffee and mooch off Gena’s space. She always ignored him, and sometimes yelled at him to get out of there. Jake had never heard him say a word. He wore a sick-ass trench coat and sunglasses everywhere too, like he was Neo or something. New York City sure had the subway rats of people sometimes. He could get mauled if he wanted, Jake didn’t care. 

But it might get Gena in trouble. Totally unacceptable.

She’d thank him in the long run. Jake bolted up from his seat, casually speed walking to the locked doors. The drunk guy squinted at him before shrugging and returning to his drink. Jake dug in his pocket for his lockpicks (Frenchie taught a lot of very useful life skills) and opened the door in seconds, cracking it open just enough so he could stick his head inside.

The dog was looking even unhappier. Jake noticed for the first time that patches of fur were singed off, and one of its ears was nicked. It was holding one of its legs strangely, and Jake wondered if the dog had gotten into a fight before fleeing and taking shelter in the diner.

That was worrying. Jake would really hate to meet whatever won against that thing in a fight. Maybe a human was bullying it? Jake would kill them. Nothing he hated more than animal abusers. Even that Harrow jerk had helped Jake out by murdering Marc and Steven so they could spring him from that stupid sarcophagus. And he had tried to cause the apocalypse.

The dog’s teeth were bared, slobber dripping from canines as long as Jake’s hand. Its eyes rolled to the back of its head, showing almost only red-streaked white, and its body was vibrating like a chainsaw. It could have been on the cover of a heavy metal album. So cool.

Less cool. The Neo Wannabe was, somehow, still asleep in his corner booth. Jake had no idea how that was even possible. Between the howling, growling, and Jake’s earnest overtures for friendship, something had to rouse him. Man slept like the dead. 

Nothing to do. Jake carefully slipped inside the room, keeping his eyes on the dog. Its ears were perked, and it carefully tracked Jake’s movements as he slid the door shut behind him with an almost inaudible click. 

“You don’t know we’re friends yet,” Jake whispered, “but we’re totally friends.” The dog was unimpressed, and Jake turned his attention to the zombie dude in the corner. “Hermano! Wake up! Rabid dog on the loose!”

The man did not move. The dog wriggled out from underneath the table - perhaps anxious for friendship, perhaps anxious to spread rabies. 

“Hermano!” Jake hissed. “Come on!” No response. What was he expecting from the dude who slept through that howling. He gave up on the stage whispers, settling instead for gesturing furiously at the door. “Dude, will you get out of here -”

The dog prowled forward, chest heaving with shuddering gasps. Jake froze, watching it limp forwards. Injured back leg. It was walking directly towards him. 

“Uh,” Jake said. 

“Don’t move,” the sleeping man in the corner said. 

Jake turned around, stepping closer to the sleeping man. “What was that -”

A snarl echoed in Jake’s ears, and the dog pounced. It leapt straight for Jake - or maybe to Jake’s left, at the slowly swinging doors. 

It never made it. Jake barely had a second to register the movement. Something metal flashed through the air, slicing through the apex of the dog’s jump and sending it tumbling towards the ground. It skidded across the floor, hitting the leg of a table and yelping, and Jake saw that the metal projectile had been a small sword. It was buried in the dog’s side, sliding slowly out of the wound as the dog wriggled and whined. 

The man walked forward towards Jake, a katana withdrawn from who the fuck knows where in one hand and his dumb jacket slung over the other. Jake hadn’t even seen him stand up, much less throw the sword.

“I said not to move.”

“Looks like you didn’t need the rescue,” Jake said blankly. The man tilted his chin in serene acceptance of the fact that he was, actually, a complete badass. “What are you, some mall ninja?”

“I vanquish prowlers of the night,” the man intoned. He looked towards the whining dog, adjusting his grip on the katana. It wasn’t sick. Katanas were for weebs. Jake was not a weeb. Liking Sailor Moon didn’t make you a weeb. “Such as that animal.”

“You hunt animals?” Jake asked, outraged. “Like that Kraven the Hunter asshole on TV?”

The man might have blinked. It was hard to tell behind the sunglasses. “I hunt monsters.”

“Monster? That’s a dog. You totally stabbed that poor dog. He wasn’t doing anything to you!”

“It was about to maul you,” the man said, tone finally bent in incredulity. “I was doing my job.”

“What’s that job, killing dogs!”

“Monster -”

The doors slammed open, and Jake jumped as the man blinked. Gena stormed inside, absolutely unsurprised to see either of them, and stopped short only at the very stabbed dog bleeding sluggishly on her tile floor. She surveyed the scene in grim appraisal, leaving Jake to anxiously fix his hat. 

“I was tryin’a rescue him,” Jake piped up. “You totally locked him in with the dog, Ms. Gina!”

“Guess I did, didn’t I.” Gena didn’t seem very bothered by this. Jake didn’t know why he was more worried about the reputation of her establishment than she was. She seemed more focused on the man instead, who was beginning to look uncomfortable. “And why didn’t you do anything ten minutes ago?”

“I was monitoring the situation,” the man said blandly. Gena looked like she wanted to kill him a little bit. More than customer levels, less than supply truck driver levels. Woman had enemies. “It is best practice to avoid aggravating them as much as possible.”

Gena crossed her arms, ‘impressed’ levels plummeting like a rocket on its way home. “So you figured you would just chill out.”

“I was avoiding aggravating it.” The man turned an eye on Jake. His expression and tone of voice didn’t change, but he seemed faintly disapproving. “You did not. You could have died.”

“It’s a dog,” Jake said, baffled and feeling a little condescended to. “Total beast mode dog but I think I can outrun a dog.” Never mind the Green Beret stuff. He was embarrassed to mention that most of the time. And Gena would really think he was lying. Oh, and never mind the fist of justice stuff too. 

“Is it not a dog?” Gena asked, equally baffled and slightly reproachful. “If you brought more of your crazy shit into my diner, Blade -”

“I had nothing to do with this.”

“Really? This isn’t a vampire dog?”

“You know those don’t exist.”

“I knew the vampire mafia didn’t exist until you told me that you needed to sleep on my couch for a week.”

“Can I hold your sword?” Jake asked hopefully. Katanas were totally cringe, but…katana.

“No.” Blade turned back to Gena, completely oblivious to how close to death he tread. “Do you have any silver on you? A blessed blade isn’t going to keep it down for long.”

Jake pointed at the much longer Western sword strapped across his back. How did the guy even sit. “Can I hold that -”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a blessed blade.”

“Are you some kind of Catholic or something?” Jake asked. “I don’t fuck with Catholics. Like, no offense.”

“Considering how you stole all of Nanny’s silver necklaces, I do not own any silver.” Gena shot a glance at the twitching dog on the floor. Sure enough, it was stirring. The sword - sorry, ‘blessed blade’ - was lying on the ground next to it in a small puddle of thick black ichor. Jake wondered if he could snatch it in the confusion. “It did survive you waving around one of your little swords. Maybe it is an evil dog. So can you make yourself useful for once and -”

“The dog’s evil?” Jake asked, crushed. “Ms. Gena, dogs can’t be evil. There’s no such thing as a bad dog, just a bad owner. Are you really gonna let your friend kill an innocent animal?”

“Not my friend,” Gena said. “I barely know him.” Jake stared at her blankly, and she sighed. “Blade’s a paranoid freak who only spends time in establishments where he knows the proprietor won’t sell out his location to the ‘vampire mafia’ or whatever.” The air quotes were palpable. “I still don’t think the vampire mafia’s real so I let him crash here when he’s recovering from his long path of justice or whatever.” Jake’s blank stare did not abate. “He’s my half-brother.”

Blade shifted uncomfortably. “You should not spread that around. I can’t afford for the Society to know my weak points.”

“Oh, I’m the weak link here?”

“An animal society?” Zoological Association of America, perhaps?  “What kind of messed up life are you living, hermano?”

“I’m a vampire hunter,” Blade stressed. “I cleanse the world of the night stalkers.”

“It’s still not a real job.”

“Why?” Jake asked, baffled. 

“Daddy issues,” Gena said. 

“Fuck you,” Blade said. 

A growl split the increasingly inane conversation, and Jake turned to see the dog stumbling to its feet. Its wound was half-closed, seeping blood, but as the dog growled and hissed the wound continued to seal itself shut. Blade drew up his sword, tightening his grip on the hilt, and he glanced backwards at the alert Gena and vaguely worried Jake. 

“I will take care of this,” he intoned. “You two get out of here.”

“You mean kill it?” Jake asked, voice accidentally pitching higher. “You can’t kill it! You can’t kill animals, that’s a rule.”

“Seeing as it is trying to kill us, I’ll rule it self defense,” Blade said dryly. He stepped in front of them, watching the dog stumble to its feet and snarl at them. “I recognize that look in its eyes. It won’t stop until we’re all dead.”

But Jake could only shake his head, strangely crushed, and Gena gently pulled both of them back towards the double doors.  “It’s not the dog’s fault it’s violent,” Jake said weakly. “Somebody else probably made it that way, you know…?”

Gena’s expression softened, and she reached up to squeeze Jake’s shoulder. He tried not to lean into the gesture. “I know, honey. It’s not fair. We’re going to do everything we can for the dog, alright? I won’t let Blade kill it.”

“I can’t.” Blade moved around the slowly rousing dog, silent footsteps brushing the tile. “With no silver I can’t kill it. We have to lock it back inside and evacuate the establishment.”

Gena cursed under her breath, squeezing Jake’s shoulder again before lightly pushing him back behind Blade. “Glad I got that Inexplicable Acts of God insurance now. Blade, you have to help me get Jake out.”

“Little busy,” Blade gritted out. The dog was fully upright now, eyes fixed back on Blade. It was panting even heavier, and Jake watched in fascination as the wound on its stomach completely finished sealing - leaving no memory of the mark but a patch of shaved skin. “Your friend’s a grown man, he can take care of himself.  I am more concerned about the darkness of -”

The dog sprinted forward, dodging Blade and making straight for the doors. Blade had clearly been expecting another aerial pounce, and he had to shift his balance and wrap another hand around the hilt, moving to stab it. His hesitation cost him - the dog dodged the strike and moved past him, jumping straight for Jake and Gena.

Jake wasn’t as fast as Blade, but he didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Gena and threw them both out of the way, taking the fall on the hard tile as the doors burst open. Blade cursed loudly, immediately running after it.

Thanks for checking up on them, Blade. They were doing fine, thank you so much. Jake let go of Gena, rolling his impacted shoulder with a slight grunt. Gena scrambled outwards, reaching out a hand and helping pull Jake to his feet. 

“That was not the first time you’d done that,” Gena said. Jake grunted, massaging his shoulder. Tingly. “Why didn’t you mention you were ripped?”

“It never came up?” Jake liked bulky clothing with a lot of layers. It was cozy. “Only assholes brag about that kind of stuff. Guys who carry katanas, you know. Cringelords.”

“I thought all you did was play video games,” Gena said frankly. God, he wished. Beating up on guys was fun and all, but beating up guys virtually was funner. You could stop for snack breaks. Or you could just put on Animal Crossing if you felt like it. “You’re okay too?” 

Jake nodded fastidiously, pointing at the doors. “Just fine, ma’am. Should I go help out Blade? He looks like he might need it.”

“He’ll be fine,” Gina said blithely. She eyed the double doors speculatively, already digging in her pocket for the key again. "We better stay away from all that nonsense and stay in here. I don’t want to walk into the middle of an exorcism or something.”

Jake couldn’t help but falter. “Uh, Ms. Gena. I don’t talk about this much with you, ‘cause it’s never that important or anything, but I could…you know, take care of that dog for you. Quick and easy too. If you let me, I can just -”

“No. There’s no need for that.” Gena’s expression was set firm and immovable, but Jake opened his mouth to protest anyway. “No. I’m certain you could help if necessary, Jake. But that’s what people like my shitty half-brother are here for. It was his choice to swear on the tomb of his vampire dad or whatever to protect people, so let him do his job.”

“But it’s my job too,” Jake said weakly.

But Gena just shook her head. “Whatever that job was, Jake, it’s messed you up enough for a lifetime. I won’t let it happen here too. Not in my diner.” She grabbed his hand, and Jake was shocked enough that he let her. “Now come on, I’m getting you out of here.”

Jake, of course, could get himself out of there just fine. But Gena didn’t seem to care about that.

He had suspected for a while that Gena knew something was off about him. She never said as much and he never made it obvious, and it continued to be something they both politely didn’t talk about. But Gena always treated him like the person he truly was instead of the person he appeared to be, and that was reason enough to think she was great.

A familiar sound burst from the main room. A soft thump, as if something heavy had landed on a down comforter, followed by a harsh roar. No explosion, but something had definitely just been set on fire. 

Gena pulled him towards the exit, bursting out of the doors in hot pursuit of an exit out of the building. She stopped short, eyes widening, and it took Jake a second to register what had stopped her. 

There was a line of fire in front of the two main doors out of the diner. Just fire. Hanging out. The fire floated a few inches off the ground, blazing away merrily and perfectly controlled, but Jake could feel their oppressive heat from several yards away. The fire didn’t even seem to be scorching anything. 

Magic. Had to be. Jake tore his eyes away from the fire, scanning the emptied main room and searching for the magician dog. He found the dog easily enough - it was cornered against the far wall, howling in rage but unable to move either direction without leaving a clean opening for Blade. Blade couldn’t kill it, and the dog was clearly about to take its chances soon. Or it would, if it wasn’t for the man standing next to Blade.

It was the drunk man. Apparently not that drunk. He was dressed in some cool all-leather getup, with a black jacket flap zipped up against his chest and actual leather pants. There was a chain looped around his waist and fire crawling up his arms, reaching all the way towards his head. Tongues of flame licked at the man’s jaw, creeping around his eyes before receding. 

It was unbelievably cool. But it was too cool. Like, try-hard cool. Just like Blade. A guy cool enough to pull off a leather jacket didn’t need a leather jacket to be cool. All of that leather had to be compensating for something. Real cool was effortless and casual. Like Layla and Gena. Frenchie was pretty cool too, but he worked too hard to be cool to actually be cool. Frenchie wore leather, but it was only ever sick-ass bomber jackets and leather boots. It was tasteful. This was not tasteful.

“Excuse me!” Gena yelled, startling both uncool guys. “Why is the exit blocked off in an emergency!”

“So our furry friend here doesn’t get away and resume his reign of terror across Harlem,” the blonde guy said. He gave the dog a mean smile, teeth bone white and shining. “I’m sorry about that, I didn’t know there were still people in here. We’ll be out of your hair in a second.”

At least Blade looked vaguely unhappy. “Drop the fire, Johnny. If you’re going to kill it I want them both out of here.”

“Kill it?” Johnny asked, as if Blade had accused him of something distasteful instead of just murdering perfectly nice dogs. “I wouldn’t kill him! I told you, I’m dragging him to Hell. We’ll be out once he settles down. Think of it like Doggie Day Care.”

“Hard pass.”

Gena leaned in close to Jake, letting go of his hand. “See? It’s all fine. Mr. Zippo over here’s just sending the dog to Hell. That’s all.”

“That is not where I heard dogs go when they die,” Jake said dubiously.

“It’s where they go when they disrupt my business, that’s for fucking certain.”

The dog howled again, and for the first time Jake registered that something about the howl wasn’t quite natural. It rang like an unearthly bell, as if the sound was echoing someplace far away. If you really stopped and listened for that strange sound then you could hear something beautiful. Jake wondered if the leather jacket squad could hear it. 

Or maybe it was only Jake, finding the beauty in the deadly. He wondered if the leather jacket squad could find that too. Somehow he knew that they couldn’t. A sense in the back of Jake’s head - a sense probably born from Khonshu - told Jake that the men had a significantly lower body count than he did. And that was why Jake didn’t wear a leather jacket.

 Johnny (dumber name than Blade: discuss?) turned back to the probably-not-a-dog, flashing his bone white teeth in what could only charitably be called a smile. “Look at what Mephistophiles dragged in. Are you ready to come quietly this time?”

The dog snarled, hackles raised and neck arched in challenge. Jake wondered what kind of person had beef with a dog. Depends on the dog, maybe. 

“I knew where your nose was leading you. I just got there first.” The man reached for his belt, grabbing one end of the chain wrapped around his hips and pulling it out. The chain snapped out, flying into the air and reaching far beyond its ordinary length. “Beats me why you’ve chased the moon’s trail into an all-night diner, but I guess werewolves just follow their noses.”

Under his breath, so quietly Jake almost missed it, Blade muttered, “The monologuing…”

The dog howled - the dog that might not actually be a dog - but the man just wrapped his chains around his wrist.

“Jack, you owe me dinner after this.”

The chain snapped into the air, a snake leaping for the kill. The air cracked as the chain lashed out, striking the wolf and eliciting a howl of pain.

Jake didn’t even register it. The noise and sight skipped straight past his brain and into his brainstem. It would have been fine if he had been remotely cognizant of it. But Jake felt a lot of things he didn’t quite understand, and he did a lot of things first and only understood why he did them later. 

This wasn’t so mysterious. Like a hand jolting away from a hot stove, Jake squeezed his eyes shut and clapped his hands over his ears. The snap hit his ears again, and he pressed harder. 

Something roared - like the dog, but not. Something far bigger and far more dangerous. Something toppled over and something else crashed, and waves of heat washed over Jake. Something tugged at his arms, trying to pull him away, but Jake shook them off.

Somebody grunted in pain - a highly familiar sound - as another crash rattled the diner. The werewolf howled in pain too, sending a spike of pain shooting through Jake’s own skull, and a second afterwards Blade cursed as something else went flying.

“Jake! Jake, come on, move!”

Jake opened his eyes. 

The first thing he saw was Gena, looking a little frantic and a lot like she wished she could chuck Jake like a football behind the counter. The second thing he saw was Johnny punching a giant werewolf. The third thing he saw was the giant werewolf. 

It was hard at work trying to maul Johnny, but Jake could still see it clearly. It was four times taller than the dog and standing on its hind legs - somehow turned bipedal and vicious. Its body was almost human-like, save for its strange knees and arching ankles, and its torso was nothing but bulging muscle and coarse fur. It had a purely wolf’s head, eyes crazed and wild, and when it reared back its ears brushed Gena’s hanging lamp fixtures. Tables and chairs were overturned across the diner, napkin holders and plates smashed on the ground, and Blade was picking himself up from the ruins of a shattered table. 

Johnny’s arms were practically in the werewolf’s mouth. Two thin human arms were the only things propping the gaping maw open, the teeth scraping against leather, and the werewolf didn’t seem to notice the hellfire scraping his nose. Blinded by rage. 

Rage. Was it rage?

“Gena, move -”

“Not without Jake!”

“What’s wrong with him!”

“Something, fuck if I know - just help!”

The werewolf reared back and swiped at Johnny, who caught the motion with another chain and pulled. The werewolf roared again, pulling hard at the chain and yanking Johnny off his feet. Johnny yelped, chain flying out of his hands, and it lashed backwards through a light fixture, shattering the bulb with a thick crash.

“This is wrecking the place,” Gena said miserably. “Shit.”

That snapped Jake out of it. The world came rushing back in, returning sensation to his fingers and toes, and Jake slowly shook himself. 

The werewolf was only attacking Johnny. Jake saw that it had batted Blade away, but it was trying to maul Johnny. Its eyes were rolling in his head, slobbering and growling. Johnny’s head was slowly catching fire, a worrying development that he didn’t seem to care about, and he groaned with effort as he fended off the wolf’s attempts to snap him in half. 

The wolf hadn’t even looked at Gena. But it was ruining her diner anyway. Wasn’t that the way of it. 

Jake realized, with a strange combination of wonder and slight embarrassment, that there were no bad animals. Just bad owners. 

“Everything’s fine, Ms. Gena,” Jake said, lightly shaking her off. “It’s just trying to help.”

This didn’t reassure Gena much. “Help who?”

Jake ignored her. He looked to his right, squinting at one of the intact booths. He pressed his lips shut and thought loudly: Khonshu, how do I make it stop? 

Khonshu reclined in the booth, sipping black coffee from a pure white mug. A logo on the mug read ‘MOONLIGHT ALL NITE DINER’. I had no hand in this one. You reached for my magic directly. You’ll have to cease the power yourself. He took a sip of the coffee, careful not to stain his all white suit. Somehow. We ought to fetch Marc. 

Marc would make this so much worse. 

True. What are you going to do? 

Jake didn’t have to think about it. 

He reached into the pool of Khonshu’s magic - obvious now that he knew it was there, so bright and hot it was a miracle he hadn’t noticed before now - and exhaled slowly. The magic had been boiling hot and heavy, and as Jake took a few more deep breaths he felt the choppy seas abate into subtle calm. He looked at Gena, wearing her worry like an iron shield, standing in the middle of danger just to be sure that he got to safety, and the seas turned peaceful and placid. 

The werewolf reared back - cognizant, now, that Johnny wasn’t trying to hurt anybody. The chains drooped and fell from its bulging arm, cut and rubbed raw by the metal. Its heaving chest calmed with Jake’s own deep breaths, and Johnny quickly scrambled upwards. 

“Leave him alone,” Jake said sharply. “He’s not hurting you.”

“Not hurting me?” Johnny cried. “He was going straight for the skull!”

“He’s not doing it anymore,” Jake said condescendingly. He gently shook Gena off again, walking forward and picking through the battleground of upturned chairs and split tables. “He felt cornered. He was just trying to get out. Then we started attacking him and he freaked. He only tried to hurt you ‘cause he was scared.”

“Uh huh,” Blade said. 

“It’s true.” Jake stopped in front of the werewolf. It had subsided completely, jaw hanging and spit rolling from its teeth. It fell down on all fours, crouched like a weird monkey wolf. Man, werewolves were super weird looking. “You alright?”

The werewolf snarled at him. Alright, Jake would be rude too. He normally was.

Jake bent down in front of it. It put him below the werewolf’s line of sight - the thing was giant - but maybe that made it feel better. “Thanks for helping. You did a really good job. And you were super cool. Do you have any idea how big your teeth are? They’re huge, man!” The werewolf growled. But, like, in a friendly way. “You got all super cool like that to help me out. But I know you don’t really like being this way. Everything’s all good now. You can relax. You’re safe.”

The werewolf howled. It was a new sound - different from its angry and scared howls. There was something mournful about it, as if it was calling for something far away. Jake wondered if it felt the moon, and if the moon always reminded it of that loneliness. What memory did the moon spark? Why did the moon always bring loneliness?

Was it the werewolf’s feelings? Or was it the feeling of that person inside the werewolf - the person who always turned into a monster alone, and who was left shivering in an all-night diner in Harlem surrounded by enemies and strangers?

“It’s a new moon,” Jake whispered, and - if only for the werewolf - he made it so. “It’s a new moon, and you’re safe at home…”

The werewolf subsided slowly - crumpling into itself from the monster into the dog, and reaching back outwards again to take the form of a man. Jake watched in fascination as a human slowly emerged from the monster - as the light changed, as the sun changed position, and the monster showed its other face as the man. 

The world didn’t stop turning, and the sun didn’t stop shining on somebody else’s patch of Earth. The human would show his monstrous face again, and there would be nothing he could do about it. No matter how much he hated it. Somebody put that monster inside of him, and the monster demanded to exist - for its pain to be heard, for its pain to be inflicted upon another. 

The man stirred, groaning with a werewolf’s bassy growl before it subsided into a regular human moan. He cracked his eyes open, and Jake would recognize that look anywhere. 

“I’ll get you some Advil.”

***

The sun rose over Harlem. 

Werewolf Dude - whose name was Jack Russel, hilariously - watched it with an exhausted fascination as he gulped his coffee. Jake had the sense that watching the sunrise after a full moon was a novel sight. Gena looked as if the entire situation was a novel sight, but she made them food anyway.

They squeezed into a booth, two pots of coffee standing sentinel over plates of cold pie and hastily assembled burgers. Jack’s plate was just a heaping of raw meat, which smelled weird but offered tantalizing possibilities. Jake tried to sneak a strand before Gena slapped his hand away. 

Johnny Blaze was telling some highly dramatized story to Blade, who was both pretending he didn’t care and correcting every second sentence. Jake got the sense that Johnny was the type of person to speak entirely in flowery metaphor and Blade was the overly literal type. They were friends, although Jake didn’t know how. Johnny and Jack Russel were also friends, equally mysteriously. For a guy who talked a lot about how he was a lone rider of the night, he sure had a lot of friends. Guess that was what happened when you took enough road trips. 

“You’re a bit of a legend, man,” Blade told Jack. He had surrendered his leather coat with easy grace, complimenting the scavenged pair of jeans Gena found in the chef’s locker. They smelled like mystery meat, but so did Jack. “So is the Man-Thing -”

“Real? No comment.” Jack stuffed another handful of meat in his mouth, eyes fixed on the window. “Johnny, that was the shittiest capture job I’ve ever seen.”

“Do you rate your captures?” Johnny asked, scandalized. 

“Wouldn’t the worst ones be the guys you ate?” Blade asked, always focused on the important questions.

Jack tilted his head in a concession of the point. “Worst that didn’t involve kebab. Why didn’t you even go full flame out? I hate fire.”

“I did,” Johnny said, “it just pissed you off more. And I don’t like walking into diners with a flaming skull, thanks -”

Blade sipped his coffee pointedly. “Vanity’s a sin, you know.”

Jake ignored them. He had finally rescued his Switch from quarantine, and he was happily settled with Animal Crossing and pecan pie. He liked watching the sunrise in Animal Crossing too. Watching the world slowly wake up and start another peaceful day was nice. You should take peace where you got it. 

The people around him seemed to agree. They could shrug off a rampaging werewolf attack as another day with Jack, and easily invite him to the table in the diner they ruined. Gena on the phone with the insurance people. Judging from the various and assorted noises, she was yelling at them.

“Hey. Uh…what’re you playing?”

Jake grunted, caught in the epic highs and lows of early morning fishing. “Animal Crossing.”

“That’s cool. Is it…like…a horse simulator?” Jack grimaced, fully aware how completely uncool he was being. Way cooler as a dog. Jake didn’t play favorites, but he totally played favorites. “Sorry. I still don’t know what’s up with those things. Last I checked people went on walks for entertainment.”

“Okay, Boomer,” Jake said, without looking up from his console.

“...right. Listen, uh…I don’t really remember what happened, but Johnny filled me in.” Jack eyed Jake carefully, soft brown eyes glinting yellow. “What did you do back there?”

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” Jake said blithely.

“Johnny said that you calmed me down.” Jack glanced around before leaning in, folding his arms on the table. “He also said that I freaked out when you freaked out.”

“Sounds like everyone was freaking out.” Jake jammed the buttons, successfully landing a…sea bass. Damn. “I was just mindin’ my own business.”

“But you did something,” Jack insisted. “There’s something about you. You smell different. Like light and ozone. Who are you?”

“Somebody who doesn’t need an interrogation.” Gena materialized at Jake’s elbow, making Jack jump a foot in the air. “Leave him be. He’s had a long day.”

“Uh, Gena?” Johnny looked at Gena, then at Jake, then back at Gena. “Is your friend…” He made a little jabbing motion at his temple, somewhat abashed. “You know?”

“I don’t know,” Gena said pointedly, “are you an emissary from hell with a flaming skull for a head?” Blade snickered. “Don’t you fucking start with me, Eric.” Jack snickered at Blade. Blade flipped Gena off. “He’s a paying customer and never causes me any trouble. Unlike you three. He can be off if he wants, he ain’t hurting anyone.”

 Everybody looked away and mumbled vague assurances that they totally loved people who were off, nothing wrong with a good off, my cousin’s off, etc. Jake watched in satisfaction as ‘pulled some Sailor Moon bullshit in a Harlem diner’ was filed under the ‘off’ category, which was now untouchable. Smooth moves, Gena. 

“Your diner gets some real weirdos, Ms. Gena,” Jake said wisely.

“This is nothing,” Gena said, pained. “Daredevil landed in my dumpster last week.”

“Whoah, no shit!”

“Yup. Hit him with a broom ‘til he left. I don’t need men loitering in my dumpsters.”

“It’s, like, unhygienic.” Jake wondered if this was a statistically improbable number of weirdos, or a normal number of weirdos if you live in NYC. “Did you let him clean up at least?”

Gena abruptly looked a little shifty. “DD and I have an understanding.” Jake now somehow had the sense that the concentration of weirdos in this diner was not entirely random. “If you see any more weirdos walk in here, Jake, tell ‘em that I charge ten percent more if they’re seen.”

“Is this why Crawly keeps calling you a business partner?” Jake asked skeptically. Gena adopted a very innocent face, which did not suit her. “ ‘Cause you said not to let Crawly in either.”

“That is just because he’s nasty. Come on, Jake, I called your sister-in-law. She’s waiting for you outside.”

“I knew you two were friends,” Jake hissed. “I knew it.”

“All women know each other,” Gena said, straight faced. She looked back over the table. “You three are cleaning up my damn diner. Only time I’ve seen the place this bad was when Jessica Jones watched the Giants lose the play-offs. All of you up, up, up.”

Jake slid out first, leaving the other men to follow grumbling after him. “Who’s Jessica Jones?”

“The worst decision I ever made,” Gena said darkly. 

“Wow. Bad breakup.”

“Let’s get going.”

Layla was waiting for him outside. She looked mostly asleep, but also slightly wigged. Jake silently passed her a giant cardboard cup of coffee, which she began chugging without a second thought. The neon signs in the shops across the street were lighting piece-meal, lending Layla’s frizzy hair a glow that slowly grew until it framed a halo around her face. 

Layla finally surfaced for air, gasping. “Have you been here all night? I freaked out when I woke up and saw that you weren’t home!”

“Sorry,” Jake said, somewhat abashed. “We had a situation.”

“A werewolf situation?” Layla asked flatly. She glanced at Gena, who only looked exhausted. “A werewolf situation for real? In real life?”

“Shit’s weird in New York,” Gena said, pained.

Layla sighed, holding out an arm, and Jake embraced her. She squeezed him tightly before separating and squeezing his hand. Carefully, she said, “Apparently some arsonist biker took care of it. Before it…calmed down. On its own.”

“I didn’t do a thing,” Jake said happily. 

And Layla couldn’t help but smile too. “Not a thing?”

“C’mon, man,” Jake said, “I leave the demon hunting to the experts. Did you know there are demon hunting experts?”

“It’s good to remember my life could be worse.”

It could be worse. Way worse. Jake was pretty happy to be himself sometimes. 

He could probably have been a demon hunter if he wanted. Maybe Marc did some light demon hunting here and there. But Jake liked being Jake better - Jake, who could calm down a monster, and who didn’t have to hurt it. 

Gena flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED, shutting the all-night diner for repairs, and Jake happily retold the entire sordid story to Layla as they disappeared into the rising horizon. 

[norts-trolls]

Jackyl Dracul

Design by: @damistrolls

Your name is JACKYL DRACUL and you are a pain in most people's ass. You are the self proclaimed leader of the FERAL JACKALS. Though honestly speaking they just like watching you go. Other trolls consider you a freak of nature due to your mutation of Albinism and the fact you as rust blood have become a DAY WALKER.

Your interests include three things LIE, DRINK BLOOD, and SLEEP. With your telekinetics allowing the MANIPULATION of blood flow you basically have a free juicer for your needs. Of course you party here and there between your "super busy" schedule but ultimately there's nothing better than crashing at your BROTHER'S place. He's saved your ass more than once and you'd do anything for him even murder, again.

Name: Jackyl Dracul

Nickname(s): Jackal, Drac, Batty, Crunch

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Pronouns: He/him/they

Caste: rust

Height: 6'0"

Age: 13 sweeps

Voice Claim: Mahito (JJK)

Abilities: Blood Flow/heat manipulation. Vampirism, batshifter.

Typing Quirk: VV adds fangs at the beginning and end of sentences.

Occupation: Unemployed

Likes: B+ blood, heavy rainy nights, pepper jelly rolls

Dislikes: high pitched sounds, sesame oil, A+ blood, layered clothing. Where to Find Them | Plot Food: Night club, the hunter's chop shop, dead man's valley (daytime), drag race.