#just like. not anyones first pick which is objectively Fine

[icarianiscariot]

ah.

ha. haha.

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Could you do Navia, Clorinde and some other girls of your choice with a s/o that says "Those look quite heavy, mind if I hold them for you?" as they hold out their hands

(Genshin Impact) Navia, Clorinde, Chiori, Furina, Lynette, and Arlecchino's S/O asking to hold their hands

I ain't even gonna lie to you anon, I was this close to writing something entirely else before I did a double take. Can't-Read-Chris almost came back after such a long absence.

Navia at first is confused when S/O speaks up.

(Navia) "Huh? But I'm not holding anything-"

When her eyes glance downwards to their hands, Navia's confusion quickly turns into amusement, with the faintest hint of a blush.

(Navia) "Ooooh! Smooth, S/O!~"

Navia energetically takes S/O's hands into her own, leaning close into them as she laughs.

(Navia) "If you're offering, then of course! Do carry these heavy hands, S/O!"

Clorinde takes a second to process what S/O was asking. The only thing she had was-

...Ah. Her hands.

Clorinde quietly chuckles as she gently offers her hand to them, letting her palm squeeze around S/O's.

With how amused she is, Clorinde doesn't particularly care if anyone sees her like this, her focus entirely on S/O.

(Clorinde) "My thanks, S/O. Chivalry is not dead yet, it seems."

Chiori raised an eyebrow since she wasn't carrying her usual swords for cutting, let alone working at all.

Sighing out loud, Chiori finally realizes what they meant as her eyes rolled.

(Chiori) "How long did it take you to come up with that line, S/O?"

Well, since they offered, it'd be rude not to accept.

Chiori fingers interlock around S/O's, only slightly flustered from holding hands in public.

It was less so feeling everyone's eyes on her, and more the fact she was obliging that gods awful pick up line.

(Chiori) "I guess I can't criticize you too much since it worked...But I might anyway."

Furina pouts for a moment.

(Furina) "I-I am perfectly fine of carrying objects myself, thank you-"

...Wait, she wasn't even holding anything.

Oh.

OOOOH.

Furina tries to bounce back from that blunder, her hands fidgeting before promptly chuckling with as much confidence as she could muster.

(Furina) "Ah, you are quite sly, S/O! Very well, I will permit you to hold onto these pristine hands!"

Though this is her reaction in public. In private, she'd just shove her hands into them blushing madly.

Lynette's ears twitch for a moment before her eyes glance back up to S/O.

(Lynette) "...Is that really the best you got?"

Not that she knew any better lines herself, but that was probably one of the oldest ones in the book.

...Oh what the hell, not like she couldn't fault them for the complete confidence they had saying it.

Lynette's thumb brushes against the back of their hand idly as they walk side by side.

She's blushing ever so slightly, but her blank face remains. Although, her tail is swishing back and forth faster than it was before.

(Arlecchino) "Heavy with what, I wonder?"

Arlecchino knew exactly what S/O meant, but if they were going to be cute about this, then maybe she would be too.

(Arlecchino) "Are you sure your own hands are up to the task?"

Letting S/O make the first move to grab her blackened hands, she allows her grasp to relax into theirs.

She feels how soft their hands are to her own, admiring how gentle their touch is.

Judging by their happy expression, they didn't particularly seem to mind, which suited her just fine.

[becauseicantthinkwritings]

Objects in Motion

Part 1

Alpha! Billy Russo x Omega! Reader

A/N: My very first A/B/O fic, that I started a while ago, and just decided to post.

It all started after finding out how much that lovely coat Billy wears in s1 costs.

Warnings: Masturbation, omega in heat.

You’re often overwhelmed.

It’s the hitch of your breath when your feelings are too big for your body, or the way your throat hurts with all the words that go unsaid.

There are not enoughs and there are too muchs and hardly any moments when things are… just right.

The coat in your hands is soft- ridiculously so, the label offers you an explanation- 100% cotton. You can't help the way your hands tighten on the material, as if you’d fight off anyone that tried to take it from you. Like for the first time, just right isn’t just a far away idea, it’s here, in your hands, against your chest.

How had you ended up here? Curled under your bed sheets, pillows all around you, clutching this lovely black coat to your body?

Today had been very overwhelming, your phone had pinged, alerting you to your impending heat, reminding you that you needed to pick up supplies. 

Your heats were formidable too, always too hot or too hungry or too needy. There was never a part of you that existed within the realms of fine.

At least until now.

When you were clutching this delightful black coat in your hands, bringing it up to your nose so that you could catch a whiff of the bewitching scent. 

It's bergamot at first, followed by notes of citrus that makes your eyes flutter shut. Delight spreads out inside you, fanning at the flames of your desire- your heat coming on faster as your nose lingers on the scent. You catch hints of pepper at the very end and it prompts you to take another long inhale.

Based on the size of the coat, your mind formulates an idea of the size of the person that wears it. The very thought causes you to clench your thighs together.

You didn't mean for this to happen, you'd only gone to pick up your silky PJs from the dry cleaners, designed specifically to be worn during your heat for maximum comfort on your skin. The delicate, gossamer material demanded special care, but you were very glad to have been gifted them some years ago.

You'd just picked up your item, when your nose had zeroed in on a scent that had made your body perk up curiously. It was the first time your senses had streamlined onto one thing, where throughout the day you'd had a number of difficult sensory encounters, leading you into wearing a beanie and noise cancelling headphones and the biggest jacket in your closet in any attempt to feel less things. The scent had made your brain ache for more, demanding you follow what your body had accepted- that this specific scent brought you absolute pleasure.

Even through the garment bag it was stored in, it had activated dangerous thoughts in your hindbrain, and before you could even look around for cameras, you'd reached over the counter and swiped the garment bag when the girl at the front desk wasn't looking. It had been tucked to your chest and smuggled out of the dry cleaners without even a moment of guilt.

Realistically, you wouldn't be in that much trouble anyway, omega behaviour was usually forgiven, even if it didn't make sense. No one would lock you up for swiping a men's coat, especially not so close to your heat.

You have a few hours left, and you use it to make sure your food supplies are easily accessible. Your heats tended to run on for five days- higher than average- which means that you were in a lot more danger of starvation and dehydration.

You wonder if he would take good care of you. Your mind spinning back to the owner of the coat, having already made up some basic idea of him.

You knew his designation, by scent alone, but you were too afraid to admit it to yourself, worried about the consequences of having stolen a coat from someone like that.

Would they be mad? Probably not, you were sure with a scent like that, they were used to omegas swarming around.

The thought made you unreasonably jealous, for a person you didn’t even know.

.

Your heat hits you in the early hours of the next morning. 

You wake with a whine, sitting up, thighs damp with your arousal. You reach for the pills on your bedside table, taking them quickly and swallowing down some tepid water, before lying back. They would help you go back to sleep until morning alleviating some symptoms of your heat. You turn, finding the coat lying beside you. You take a deep breath into it as you fall asleep.

.

You can’t focus on anything as you pump the slick pink dildo in and out of you. There are tears streaming down your face, desperate for much more than you could ever give yourself. 

You bring the coat up to your nose, crying harder as the scent wraps around you.

“Alpha.” You pant into the soft material, imagining your fantasy version of the owner. 

You take a deep breath, envisioning him here with you, presumably large body curved over yours, taking up all the air around you, smooth skin available for you to scratch and claw at, his scent glands on display and eager for your mark.

“Alpha.” You beg again, into the loneliness of your apartment.

.

The coat becomes a centerpoint in your nest.

On day three when it’s fully finished to a satisfactory level, an arrangement of pillows and sheets all around your bed, you tuck the coat in beside you, delighted at the way the material feels on your flushed skin.

The scent is strongest at the collar, where it's probably rubbed on his neck often, brushed against his gland when he turns to examine something.

You groan, mouth watering for a bite of him, whoever he was.

There’s a lot of buttons and buckles on it, and your hindbrain is somewhat obsessed with what you think he looks like wearing it, probaby commands any room he walks into. 

The label at the back says Burberry, and though you're not very familiar with the brand, the clean stitching and soft material tells you that it’s definitely got to cost more than what you pay for your own coats.

You sigh, stripping out of your PJ’s and opting to slide into the coat itself.

A groan slips from your mouth, the material feels coarse on your oversensitive skin, but you welcome it as you feel his scent engulf you.

A fresh wave of arousal coats your thighs, and you can’t help inching your hand down between damp thighs until you find your swollen clit.

.

On your knees now, face down into your bed, you bite down on the collar of the midnight black coat.

Your eyes roll back into your head, muffled grunts as you pump your overstimulated cunt to the brim.

You rub your face into the collar, arching your neck so that your scent gland rubs against the coat, a low whine at the severe taboo thought of rubbing your gland against a stranger's.

It's frowned upon, but the very thought of it is what brings you to orgasm just a few moments later. 

You struggle for air, hair tickling your cheek as you huff, some of it clings to the saliva at the corner of your mouth, some of it is caught in the tears that smear your cheeks.

You want- like never before.

.

When your heat is over, the guilt kicks in.

You know better than to wash the coat yourself, only wiping gently at the interior in hopes of wiping off any lingering traces of… you away. You think about getting it dry cleaned yourself but you’d used the last of your money on the alleviator pills to help with your heat symptoms. You wouldn’t get paid until the end of the month.

Finally, you rummage through the pockets, checking to see if anything had been left behind by the owner. You find a crumpled napkin with someone’s number scribbled on, leaning in, you take an experimental sniff and draw away from it in disgust as the scent hits your nose.

You almost put it back, but you figured it was crumpled anyway, probably meant for a bin in the first place- so you put it there. Searching again and you smile when you come across a tub of lip balm, opening it and giving a little sniff of the inside. There’s no scent to it, and you curiously swipe a bit onto your finger and smear it onto your lips.

You begin to get a sense that the person this coat belongs to, has very refined tastes, and after a quick search, your eyes widen in shock when you discover the lip balm costs near fifty dollars.

Which is how it starts- an itch at the back of your head that tries to warn you of the possibility that the coat in your possession costs more than you’d initially thought.

You let out a slow breath, typing in the information stitched onto the label and your eyes bulge out of your head when you finally see the price of the coat sitting in your lap.

Three thousand.

The coat you stole had cost nearly three thousand dollars.

You look down at the item in betrayal, the scent of its true owner just barely clinging to it. 

You take a deep breath, pushing your phone aside as you begin rummaging for a box capable of returning such an expensive item.

Thankfully, you know where to return it to, as the name and address had been hooked to the garment bag.

Delivering it is another difficult task on its own, but you manage, having to call in a few favours and explain in lengthy detail to the courier that your package wasn’t dangerous in any way but you’d rather not deliver it yourself.

Luckily, you’re able to convince them of your cause, the urge to help an omega in distress working in your favour.

.

It’s nine a.m on a Saturday morning when Billy comes home from his run. 

He’s fishing for his keys in his pocket when he notices that there’s a box sitting in front of his door.

He pauses for a moment, looks at the item, before stepping forward to examine it.

There’s a card on top- one of those printed ones you can get at a convenience store- light blue sky and a panda holding onto a handful of bamboo stalks. 

There’s an “I’m Sorry,” printed on, and then something added in below in pen.

‘From a very apologetic Omega.’ It says.

His eyebrows twitch in amusement, he brings the card up to his nose to catch a whiff- the scent of light, floral perfume fills his nose. 

He’s aware his coat had been stolen, he’d seen video footage of the crime itself, watched as a small hooded frame had reached across and nicked his coat before it could be cleaned. The dry cleaners had sent him the footage when they’d explained what had happened.

He’d thought it had been gone for good, deleting the only copy of the footage and moving on. He could afford to replace one coat. 

This though, was interesting, it seems like the omega had felt some sort of remorse, and had returned his coat to him.

It was sweet, he found himself smiling as he reached down to pick the box up, cradling it under one arm and flipping the card open as he enters his apartment.

He huffs, feeling a little sorry for an omega that couldn’t afford a dry cleaning bill, then again, the cost of the coat would definitely bring up the price a lot more.

‘Dear Alpha,

                   I’m so sorry I took your coat. I tried to clean it as best as I could, but I couldn’t afford to have it dry cleaned for you. It’s wrapped tightly to protect you from the scent on it. I'd suggest not opening it, and taking it to be cleaned as soon as you get it. I’m very sorry.

P.S. You have a very nice scent.’

Curiously, he tugs the box open, finding that the garment bag has been folded carefully and wrapped in plastic wrap. 

He sniffs the box experimentally, searching for any hint of a scent, or any indication that the package could be dangerous.

All he gets is more of that pleasant perfume that he figured was doused in the box to protect him from the scent.

It only makes him more curious.

Billy grips the plastic wrap, and very carefully tears a little hole into the plastic, breaking the seal.

His body goes rigid. 

He feels his pupils dilate, his hindbrain roaring to life as he catches the scent of an omega in heat.

His omega.

He rips the plastic furiously, fumbles with the garment bag and rips the zipper open. His eyes scan the coat, as he takes one long, slow breath.

The first scent he gets are apples, and then light notes of vanilla, but under it all, is the kick of pheromones, that sticks like honey on his tongue.

He takes another deep breath, groaning as his cock swells, pulsing to life, begging to claim the owner of such a delicious scent.

There’s so much of it, filling his space with sweet notes of frustration, yearning and unfulfillment. 

His omega, needing him.

A growl tears from his chest, something inside of him collapses like an avalanche, only increasing with time, decimating his thoughts and leaving a feverish burn under his skin.

He tugs the coat open, groaning, the tart smell of cunt clings to the inside of his coat, telling him that his omega wore his coat naked.

Desperate little thing, he thinks, as he dips his hand into his joggers, fingers wrapping firmly around his cock, squeezing in an attempt to force his orgasm away. He groans, the grip around his cock rewarding him with pleasure, and he can’t help pumping himself, trying to ease the desire inside of him.

He leans in, nose pressed to the collar of his coat, where the scent is strongest, where his omega must have rubbed their little scent gland vigorously against his coat,

Sweet, delightful, his cock aches for a cunt he’s never seen, his mouth yearns for skin he’s never touched. All he has, is the honeyed scent of an omega’s heat, and the screaming inside of him that demands he claim what his body knows is his.

His grip on his cock tightens, his vision blurs, head full of thoughts, ideas of a little omega under him, sobbing as they take his cock repeatedly, begging for more with broken cries.

He doesn’t stop until he comes into his hand, only then, does his thinking sharpen.

He puts his coat in bed beside him, he hopes the sheets will absorb the smell, so that he can have his little omega with him while he sleeps. He wakes with an aching cock, and the coat clutched tightly against his chest, struggling to remember fading dreams of little omegas that beg nicely.

He doesn’t get out of bed until he’s come twice into the palm of his hand.

.

He searches for days. 

But when he’d deleted the footage from the dry cleaners, he’d gotten rid of any hope of tracing his omega’s movements, and chances of finding an address. 

She doesn’t leave any record of one, always opting to pick up her items herself. 

At least he’s gotten that, a basic description, a height, an idea of her complexion and the colour of her eyes.

It was too vague to work with, but it was something he could think about before he went to sleep at night, with his nose buried in his coat, breathing in the scent of her, desperate to find the omega that had stolen his coat and unintentionally taken his heart.

He studies the card too, learns the handwriting, growing more and more desperate for his little omega.

Billy knew he wouldn't stop looking, not until he found the person who'd opened up a nest of possibilities in his head, giving him something he'd never had in a very long time.

Hope.

.

.

.

Part 2

[dreamwatch]

There Goes My Hero

Written for @corrodedcoffinfest

Day #12 - Prompt: Ow! | Word Count: 999 | Rating: T | CW: language, canon typical violence, fat shaming, mention of blood, injuries, mention of past bullying | POV: Matt | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Angst, hurt/comfort, violence, fighting,

This was the very first thing I wrote for CCFest back in April!

****

Matt’s not a fighter. He’s not brave. 

He spent years skulking around the halls of Hawkins High, desperately trying to make himself smaller, to make himself invisible. Until Eddie came along and told them it was all bullshit anyway. Until Eddie came along, bigger and bolder than everyone else, a huge willow tree for them all to take shelter under.

Fighting to him, to all of them he thinks, is learning to take a slap and then walking it off. Saying ’it’s fine, it doesn’t even hurt’ as you wipe the blood from under your nose. Not biting back when they call you a fat fuck.

Fighting to him is just taking it.

And that’s mortifying, honestly, fucking pathetic, but he just wanted to keep his head down, play his music and DnD, and be left alone.

So he doesn’t know where it came from, so suddenly, although maybe that’s a lie. Like saying it doesn’t hurt when your face stings, and you’re standing in the hallway, humiliated. If he digs deep, really thinks hard about it, then it’s probably years of pent-up anger. Of having his shit stolen from his locker, of seeing his friends getting picked on and not having the guts to do a fucking thing about it other than watch and hope you’re not next. So yeah, blind, impotent rage, right? The kind that makes good people go off in the world and do bad things. 

This was his bad thing.

He hopes the other guy is okay, mostly because he doesn’t want to go to jail. He hasn’t seen Eddie since they got brought in to the ER, and he really hopes he’s okay. His face looked a mess. 

This was the eighth show on their little midwestern tour. They put it together themselves, all piled into the van, and Jeff’s station wagon (they’d laughed when he bought it, but it was a genius idea in retrospect), and just took off for a few shows over the summer. Nothing big. No real agenda other than to play and get the fuck out of Hawkins.

It would be understating it to say that Hawkins had done a number on Eddie. They still have no idea what happened. Eddie told them he got bit by dogs which just made them angry, honestly, because the stench coming off that bullshit was stifling. What they do know for sure is that he nearly died. That whatever happened left him hollowed out, physically and mentally. That it broke something in their friend, which broke something in them.

Watching Eddie recover was hard. They were all sure the band was over but in some fucked up, twisted, alternate-dimension weirdness, Steve Harrington got Eddie to play again. 

Steve. 

Harrington. 

What the fuck?

And fuck knows what he did, or said, or bribed Eddie with, but it worked. He picked up the guitar again, trading lead for rhythm with Jeff while he built up his strength and coordination, but for all that he was frustrated the light came back on. Eddie was back.

Matt wasn’t letting anyone take him away again.

It only took one show at The Hideout to know they were never going to play there again. Eddie was a curiosity now, something to be gawped at. Someone thought it would be hilarious to throw a cheerleader’s pom pom onto the stage, and it sent Eddie into a spiral. He holed up in the bathroom and wouldn’t let anyone in until Steve showed up and alikazam! the door opens. They were in there for an hour. Eddie was red-eyed and a little dazed afterwards and that was the last night they ever played in Hawkins. 

They’re in Des Moines when it happens. The show was great, objectively fucking awesome. There must have been a couple of hundred people in there, and the manager wanted them back, people asked for tapes. It couldn’t have gone any better.

So of course it went to shit.

They’d barely opened the back of the van to load up before some six-foot giant grabbed Eddie by the collar and punched him so hard in the face that blood sprayed from his nose, landing on Gareth beside him. There was a moment of complete silence, where it felt like the world just stopped or his vision had just whited out. And then—

He’s never punched anyone before, is the thing. He didn’t know there were ways you’re supposed to hold your hand, your thumb, and even if he did he’s not sure he would have done it anyway. What he does know, now at least, is that he has a mean fucking right hook. Jeff was trying to push the giant off Eddie, and Gareth was standing there with Eddie’s blood on the side of his face, shocked to shit to be fair to him, so the asshole didn’t get a second to register Matt approaching, hitting him square in the jaw and onto his ass.

And he doesn’t know what happened after that really, just that he was kicking him, boot slamming into the soft side of the man on the floor, over and over until it was Eddie, face like an abattoir floor, that pulled him off.

He mulls it over while he waits for an X-Ray. There’s definitely something broken, he can feel the grinding when he moves his hand and it hurts like a motherfucker. They still had a few shows to go. He ruined the tour with one punch. 

Jeff opens the curtain and sits next to him on the bed.

“How’s the hand?”

“Fucked. How’s Eddie’s nose?”

“Fucked.”

They sit in silence, shoulder-to-shoulder, self-declared best friends forever. 

“I can’t believe someone recognised him out here,” Jeff mutters, maybe to himself, Matt can’t be sure.

They don’t say it, but they’re both thinking it; Hawkins is going to follow Eddie everwhere. Follow them everywhere. And they can’t keep fighting their way out of things every time it catches up with them.

[raineandsky]

#127

The lock on the door is an easy pick, and with one final touch the door clicks open and allows the villain inside.

Now, the villain is usually well above petty crime. He’s done his fair share of thieving. He’s pick-pocketed, he’s robbed, and yeah, sure, he’s broken into places here and there. But his life is actually fun now, thanks to a villainous promotion and some less of the dirty work, and so stealing ended up rather low on his list of fun weekend activities.

It’s not a weekend, though, and it sure as hell isn’t fun either. This is business, and goddamn if the villain isn’t a professional.

He glances at the screen of the phone in his hand, checking and rechecking the picture he took of the supervillain’s instructions. If only the supervillain wasn’t trained to be a doctor, his handwriting might be somewhat legible. He is though, unfortunately, and the villain is wishing he’d just typed up the words when he had the time before.

I’ve had a ‘tip’ on [Hero]’s address. The villain can just about make the words out. It’s like a word puzzle, which he is notoriously bad at already. I have reason to believe she’s got some important documents in there. Infiltrate, find her stash of secrets, and bring it in.

Easy enough. The fun part of stealing was usually finding the most expensive object, though, and the villain has an inkling that some paperwork won’t exactly make him a millionaire. He tucks the phone into his pocket, taking a moment to adjust his eyes to the darkness before shutting the door behind him and exploring.

He finds a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, the fridge, ooh she has good taste. The villain plucks a punnet of grapes from the fridge and tosses one into his mouth. The supervillain has him on late nights—he doesn’t have time for dinner at the moment. The hero will have to survive without her grapes.

The office feels like stumbling across a mine of incredibly boring, inexpensive gold. The villain takes to rooting through the piles of papers mounting on the desk. All plain, civilian problems—bills, taxes, a newsletter from the mayor. Nothing exactly incriminating.

“What are you doing in my house?”

Who the hell is awake at three in the morning? The villain wasn’t that loud coming in. He turns dramatically, expecting to make his first introduction to the hero, but he isn’t faced with the hero. He isn’t faced with a hero at all.

An old lady is standing in the doorway, her glasses perched wonkily on her nose and a baseball bat in her hands. The bat is kind of menacing, at first, but then she has to awkwardly adjust her glasses and the illusion is gone.

The villain’s mind is short-circuiting. That’s not a goddamn hero. What the hell has the superhero gotten him into? What the hell is he meant to do with a bat-wielding civilian?

“You’re deaf as well as unlawful,” she adds drily.

“No, no.” The villain's cool demeanour is slipping too fast. “No, I can hear just fine, thank you.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?”

The bat taps pointedly against the woman’s palm. She’d probably injure herself trying to swing it at him. That thought alone is vaguely comforting. Only vaguely, though—she’s still wielding a baseball bat.

“What are you doing in my house?”

“I am here,” the villain starts slowly, “to rob you blind.”

He doesn’t know what else to say. He didn’t expect to run into anyone, much less a civilian, much much less a little old lady. He’s running on a bank of prewritten sentences he used in his thieving days, and for some reason the least helpful one is the one that wants to be said.

The woman’s face scrunches up in an emotion the villain can’t read. At first he thinks it might be distress, or perhaps fear, but then she raises the bat and he realises that, oh, no, that’s actually unbridled rage.

She brings it down in an arc and the villain just about dodges to the side. She doesn’t seem to mind the fact the bat absolutely annihilates her desk in his stead. Jesus Christ, is that thing made of steel?

He may be a villain, and villainy may require a certain amount of balls, but this is where he draws the line. The old lady swings again, crashing into the glass cabinet a hair’s width away from the villain’s face, and he decides that no, he’s not dealing with this shit tonight.

He scrambles for the window, throwing himself out onto the fire escape stairs with his new nemesis in tow. She makes one last swipe at him as he takes the stairs down two at a time.

“I’ll bash your head in next time!” she shrieks after him.

It’s only when the villain is safely on the other side of the building that he slows down. He pulls his phone out, sucking in a deep breath, and unlocks it to look at the superhero’s note again. Really scrutinises it. Then it clicks. He sees the problem.

That’s not a 6. It’s an 8. He was on the wrong goddamn floor.

He stares blankly at the screen for a moment. He’s too old to be putting up with this shit.

He shoves his phone back in his pocket, heaves a age-old sigh, and lets himself back into the building for round two.

[mathitas]

Could it be possible if you could like, make a leo x m!reader whoes a child of kronos (treated like an outcast bc of his dad) who also has mutism???

(🧃🐛)

Leo Valdez x M!ChildOfKronos!Reader

(Thank you for the M!reader suggestion)

Being a son of Kronos wasn’t easy in Camp HalfBlood.

After the war, everyone always made sure to stay away from you, sometimes you’d even get jokes about your godly parent, you tried to ask for help a few times… but even Mr. D and Chiron were pretty against your existence.

You didn’t want to be seen as a monster, so you never really used your powers.

But they did see you as that anyways, not like you ever had the chance to speak to them and explain it yourself.

Not that it mattered.

You were sitting alone during lunch, since you had no siblings around. And you were fine with it, until someone sat in front of you.

You drifted your gaze towards whoever was sitting there (which wasn’t even allowed, by the way), and you were surprised by finding a curly haired boy in front of you. His chin was resting on his hand and a smirk was on his face.

“Hey there” he smiles at you “sitting all by yourself, handsome?”

‘As I should’ you thought to yourself, but you simply kept on eating, hoping he would go away.

But he didn’t. He just stayed there.

He was so gonna get in trouble.

“You’re cute, why are you so quiet?”

You blushes as you almost chocked on your food. Did he just say you were cute?

He laughed, and you thought that was cute too. That wasn’t a prank, right? That would be just cruel.

He hummed to himself “you could at least answer me…” he whines.

But you try to make him understand that you couldn’t and when he did get it, he started apologising profusely.

“Uff, so you weren’t rejecting me? Do I have a chance?”

You looked at him suspiciously, why would he want to have one in the first place?

“Pretty please?”

You looked around to find that no one else was looking at you, so you nodded shyly.

You spent the next few days with Leo and you were surprised by how empathetic he could be sometimes, as well as mechanical and objective.

For the first time in your life, you didn’t feel judged for your godly parent, and you were seen as you.

However, lately these days, you noticed how Leo was getting increasingly picked on as he spent more time with you, even by his friends.

They were trying to get him away from you and they wouldn’t dare to get closer if it meant being close to you.

That’s why you decided to distance yourself.

He was sweet, and cute, and caring… he didn’t deserve being treated like that just because of you.

So now, when Leo would get near you, you’d look away and ignore him.

Oh, but you should have known he was going to get annoying.

He was always around you, blathering stupid things such as ‘winning your heart back’.

It had to be fake… right?

So why were you crying?

Why was he hugging you tightly, promising to never let you get away like that again?

Why did he care so much?

Why did you care?

But you hugged him back.

“I can’t let the prettiest boy get away from me now, can’t I?” you snorted and he smiled, as it was his mission to make you laugh.

“I don’t care about what anyone else says, you’re… i think you’re great, way more than great. Let’s get to know each other, ok?”

You nodded and he felt accomplished, happy. He wanted to know you as you were, and he was liking it more than he thought he could. Just as you were.

[cheolaholic]

ring of love; csc (04)

summary; agreeing to join vernon spectate an underground boxing match wasn't how you'd expect to spend your friday night. you also didn't expect to see seungcheol, someone you've lost contact with for years, become a part of the ring.

modern! au • boxer! au • hhu focused • multiple kinds of tropes • fluff, angst, smut

a/n; so… i missed out my upload timing for the past few weeks… i got so busy with going to dance lessons, going to cupsleeve and kpop dance events and job hunting 😵👊🏻 but now that i've calmed myself down, we're back to uploading !!

smol edit: realised i forgot to add the taglist at the end hsjcndksn

when you started middle school, coincidentally you attended the same one where seungcheol is a high school senior. it eased your anxiety, but it lingered and seungcheol took notice as he walked beside you. “first day of school anxiety kicking in?” he asked, throwing an arm over your shoulder, “don’t overthink it, alright?

“but-”

“i’m here, pup. but, remember that you need to stand up for yourself too, alright?”

nodding your head, seungcheol smiles as he gives your shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “and if anyone decides to pick on you while i’m not around, just remember what i taught you, okay?”

“okay.”

over the past few months, before the school year started, seungcheol had offered to teach you a few self defence moves, alongside some sparring moves. your parents were worried when they saw you spar with seungcheol, seeing how the older boy had flipped you onto the cushioned mat of the studio. but, the boy assured them he was teaching you all this so that you’re able to defend yourself in the event he isn’t there with you.

“but, won’t she be all bruised up from all this?” your mother asked.

“mom, i’ll be fine,” you reassured her as seungcheol pulled you up onto your feet, “i need to be a big girl!”

as you both reached the gates of the school, seungcheol arm left your shoulder as he shoved both his hands into the pockets of his pants.

“ready for your first day, pup?”

you didn’t like it here.

everyone was staring at you as you sat in your seat, causing your anxiety to spike. or maybe it’s all in your head and it’s just the imaginary audience kicking in. either way, it doesn’t ease the summersaults that were performing in your stomach.

when the school day started and the teacher had you introduce yourself to the class, you can only hope that lunch break arrives sooner so you can go find seungcheol - to which you did as soon as the lunch bell rang.

you ran up the stairs of the other school building, trying your best to ignore the possible stares from the upperclassmen - you just need needed seungcheol right now

when you reached the floor, a few upperclassmen that were standing in the hallway turned to look at you - and you froze.

as the staring continued, you took a few steps back, your fingers fidgeting with the hem of your skirt while tears began to well up in your eyes and your breathing quickened.

maybe it was a bad idea to come to this building. maybe it was a bad idea to look for suengcheol. maybe-

“pup?”

your head shot up, coming face to face with a concerned seungcheol. “pup, what happened?” seungcheol asked, placing a hand on your head, lightly petting it in an attempt to calm you down. you wanted to answer him, tell him what was wrong, tell him that the unfamiliar environment was spiking your anxiety.

but, you couldn’t.

“yo, seungcheol,” another student appeared next to the boy, slinging a hand over his shoulder. “who’s this cutie?”

when the student looked at you, seungcheol heard your breath hitch and at that moment, he  only had one objective in mind.

getting you to a quieter and less crowded area.

“sorry, baekho,” seungcheol spoke as he gave the boy an apologetic smile, “i’ll be eating lunch with ___ today.”

he then leads you out of the building, his hand holding yours as he brings you to the track field of the school. sitting you down on one of the bleachers, he tells you he’ll get some food for the both of you and that he’ll be back soon. as you sat on the bleacher, you continued to fidget with the hem of your skirt.

minutes went by and you felt your breathing steady, seungcheol had returned with a bottle of water and two lunchboxes. you both ate in silence, the older boy occasionally gazing over to check up on you. when you set the now empty lunchbox aside, seungcheol lightly rubs your back.

"feeling better, pup?" he asked in a soft voice, "is it still bad? do you want to go home?"

you shook your head. “come on, pup,” he spoke again, “i need you to talk to me. i may be able to know how you feel, but i’m not a mindreader. i can’t figure out what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”

“i-it’s… i-i don’t know…” you couldn’t form words. you can’t help but feel pathetic - being so dependent on seungcheol that you can’t go a mere half day in a new environment without his presence beside you.

seungcheol lets out a small hum as he leans on his hands, looking up at the sky, thinking.

a few minutes later, he sat back up straight, his expression telling that he’s got an idea.

the older boy took off his nametag and took your hand, placing it in your palm.

“here, take this. you have a pattern of needing emotional support items.”

you stared at the nametag and looked at him, cocking your head to the side in confusion.

he chuckled at your response, his hand moving to pat your head.

“you depended on your strawberry pillow throughout kindergarten, your unicorn water bottle throughout elementary.”

your face flushed in embarrassment as seungcheol mentioned your unicorn water bottle.

it was a gift your grandparents had gifted you at the start of your elementary school year and you refused to part ways with it until you reached the age where bright, flashy unicorn water bottles don’t really appeal to you anymore. but, it still held a special place in your heart.

“but, won’t you get in trouble for not having a nametag?” you asked him, worried about the disciplinary actions he’d have to face since it was part of the dress code.

seungcheol shrugged, “i keep an extra in my bag, so it’s no problem.”

he then checked the time on his wristwatch.

“come on, pup. i’ll walk you back to the building and meet you at the gates after class, okay?”

“okay.”

as you both walked, you felt butterflies in your stomach from seungcheol’s kind gestures.

“hey, cheollie..?”

“yea?”

“thank you.”

“anything for you, pup.”

it wasn’t unusual for you to be a target of bullying in the school, considering how close you were to seungcheol - it was something a lot of the girls, both lowerclassmen and upperclassmen, did not take a liking to.

it also wasn’t unusual for seungcheol to do his best to protect you.

do his best as in, try to always be there but most of the time he can’t as he might have basketball practice or his friends dragged him away before he was able to head over to where you were.

and unfortunately, today was one of those ‘most of the time’ days.

“just because seungcheol lets you cling onto him, means he’ll want to date you,” the upperclassmen girl spoke as she slams you against the locker, her hand holding a tight grip on your shoulder while your back stings from the harsh impact against the metal object. “who do you even think you are to always show up at our building?”

the other students crowd around you and the upperclassmen, curious and of course, nosy as to what the ‘confrontation’ is all about.

“hey,” she gritted out, pulling and slamming you against the locker once again, a soft whimper escaping your lips, “are you deaf or something? i’m talking to you!”

seungcheol… please… please help me…

an audible slap noise was heard - a burning sensation was felt on your right cheek while the other students gasped.

“i said, i’m talking to you! do you not know how to answer!?”

you don’t remember what exactly happened, but you do remember reaching your limit and fighting back. when you pushed the upperclassman away, glaring at her while telling her to stop picking on you just because she was jealous you were close to seungcheol, she decided to go rougher.

shoving you against the locker once again, she pulled at your hair and her grip was so tight, you could feel a few strands of hair being pulled out.

“say that again,” she hissed, eyes full of anger, “fucking say that one more time…”

"i said stop it!" you cried out, pushing at her to try and get her off you. "it's not my fault i'm close friends with seungcheol! and what makes you think he'll like you when this is how you act!?"

"why you little-"

"get your fucking hands off her!"

you felt the upperclassman get pulled away, a pair of hands coming to cup your face and lift up your head.

your tear filled eyes met seungcheol's that were filled with anger and worry. "___, are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, one hand brushing the strands of hair away from your face.

“s-seungcheol…”

turning around to face the girl, anyone close enough to the front or center, could see the fury on seungcheol’s face. “what the fuck do you think you’re doing, heemin?”

“i-it’s not what it looks like!”

“not what it looks like? are you fucking kidding me!?”

“i don’t like how she’s always with you! is that wrong!?”

“yes! ___ did nothing wrong and yet you’re assaulting her, all because you’ve decided to have this weird claim on me!”

seungcheol felt you grab his blazer, tugging on it a few times - a silent beg for him to stop and get you away from the area.

taking a deep breath to calm himself down, seungcheol spoke up in a deep, calm yet intimidating tone, “if anyone lays a finger, even on one single hair on ___, you all answer to me.” he then grabbed your hand, pulling you away from the crowd. as he lead you away from the area, you quietly called out his name.

“yea?”

“i’m sorry you have to always save me…”

seungcheol stopped in his tracks, frowning as he turns to look at you. “what’s there to be sorry about, ___?”

“aren’t you tired of having to come and defend me from messes like these?”

“___, i care about you. i would rather die than know you’re being bullied, but decided to just sit on it.”

it felt odd to have someone other than your parents care for you. and it doesn’t really help your growing feelings towards the older male in front of you.

seungcheol took a step forward, cupping your face and tilts your head up to meet his eyes.

“look at me, pup. do you trust me?”

sniffling as you nod your head and seungcheol felt his heart sank as he sees your tears escape your eyes. wiping away your tears with his thumb, he gives you a gentle smile.

“then trust me when i say, as long as i’m here, no-one can hurt you.”

you remembered how you met your first and probably only friend in middle school. it was right after summer break when your homeroom teacher announced a new transfer student. however, you weren’t paying attention; just staring out the window, wondering when the school day would be over.

it was during lunch break, as you were about to go find seungcheol that the new transfer student approached you.

“hi!” she greeted cheerfully, glancing at your nametag, “___, right?”

you looked up at her with a blank look, her looking back at you with a bright smile. when you nod your head, she reaches out a hand and introduces herself. “i’m aki, kim aki! i’m your new classmate!”

“nice to meet you, aki.” you responded in a soft voice.

“do you want to have lunch together?”

her question caught you off guard. someone wanted to eat with you?

aki looks at you with a smile on her face, waiting for your answer. too scared to reject her, you nodded your head and her smile widened.

“great!”

cheollie: pup, i got dragged away by baekho

cheollie: something about needing me to be his wingman

puppy: oh...

puppy: well, the new girl asked me to join her for lunch

puppy: so i guess it’s fine?

cheollie: oh?

cheollie: is my puppy finally going to have a new friend?

cheollie: i’m so proud

puppy: wow, you’re dramatic

cheollie: don’t scare her off, okay?

puppy: what is that supposed to mean?

cheollie: pup, have you seen your resting face?

puppy: …

puppy: i hate you

cheollie: take care, alright?

cheollie: i’ll see you at the gates when school is over

puppy: alright

“i heard you’re very close to one of the upperclassmen,” aki said casually as she takes a bite out of her rice ball, not noticing how you tensed up. “what was his name again? choi seungjoo? seungchae?”

“...seungcheol…” you corrected her, your voice quiet, “his name is seungcheol…”

aki notices your tense demeanour and immediately assures you that it’s not what you were thinking. “i’m just curious. i was told by a few people to stay away or that if i were to ‘chase after seungcheol’, you’d be an obstacle i’d have to overcome.” she laughs it off and leans forward a little, lowering her voice a little. “you don’t have to worry, though~ between you and me, i think you and him look cute together.” when aki notices the faint blush that paints your cheeks afterwards, a grin spreads across her lips. “i knew it! don’t worry, i won’t tell~”

instead of feeling uneasy, you felt… comforted by aki’s presence.

maybe having another friend might not be such a bad thing after all.

one thing you’ve come to realise about aki as the friendship blossomed is that she is the complete opposite of you - both of you would be the typical extrovert-introvert duo dynamic. in contrast to you spending your weekends staying at home either reading your books or just surfing the web, aki would be spending her weekends going to the city parts in daegu shopping, cafe-hopping; even busking as revealed during one of her visits to your home, she enjoys singing and occasionally busks with the buskers she befriended.

she also dresses differently where her clothes just showed her personality - colourful, patterns, accessories and different shoes for each outfit. whereas you preferred to dress simple - until one weekend, aki had dragged you out to myeongdong (with seungcheol tagging along since your parents had tasked him to watch over you girls and he had a driving licence to drive the three of you to and from).

seungcheol watched quietly as aki dressed you up during the shopping spree, occasionally complimenting you whenever aki finished and needed a third opinion. by the end of the weekend, you had a whole new wardrobe and an entire collection of makeup which aki would both teach and help you out with.

“um, are you sure that stuff will wash off?” your voice filled with uncertainty as you watch the small tube of glittering liquid she calls an ‘eye glitter’. “babes, i’ve put this on my eyes thousands of time so, trust me when i say this is safe and washes off.” aki assures you as she starts applying it onto your eyelid.

instructing you to keep your eyes closed, she began to use a hand fan to fan at your face to dry the substance. “how are you so good at makeup at thirteen?” you can’t help but ask. in your eyes, aki’s makeup talents was up to par with those makeup artists for models and idols. when you feel the fanning stop, you open your eyes and aki had the biggest grin on her face.

“my mom is a model and my dad is her makeup artist! so everything i know, i learnt from them and a couple of youtube videos!”

“whoa… is that how they met?”

“yeap! mom had a gig in japan, dad was the makeup artist the company hired and it was love at first sight.”

swiping the lipstick applicator across your lips, aki’s grin widens as she grabs a mirror to how you the finished look. you looked at your reflection in awe, amazed by aki’s talents.

“oh! i also got something for you!”

digging through her bag, she pulled out a bracelet with a little black ghost charm, taking your hand and fastening it around your wrist. as you stared at the bracelet, she lifts one of her hands, revealing a similar bracelet but instead of black ghost charm, it was a white ghost charm.

“i was in the city the other day with my parents and saw these matching bracelets! the little ghosts are so cute, and look!” placing her hand next to yours, the ghost charms clink together, as if they’re holding their little ghost hands.

“they stick together! just like the both of us, best friends!”

her statement caught you off-guard.

you had given a thought to your friendship with aki. it was similar to the friendship you had with seungcheol, minus the crush, obviously. you had considered aki to be a close friend of yours, but you hadn’t expected her to call you her best friend. noticing your reaction, aki’s smile faltered a little and that was the first time you’ve seen a hint of sadness in her.

“do you… do you not like it..?” aki asks, her hand slowly pulling away from yours. “i-i’m sorry, i just… i just thought that…”

you immediately shook your head, hands flying to grab hers. “n-no! i do like it!” you rushed out, “i just… i just wasn’t expecting you to get me this… or even call me your best friend…”

aki blinks once.

then twice.

and proceeds to burst out laughing.

“why wouldn’t i?” aki questions, wrapping her arms around you, engulfing you in a tight hug. “sure, i have a few other friends to hang out with. but, neither of them share the same bond you and i share! i could maybe even top your friendship with seungcheol!”

“hey now, don’t go stealing my puppy.”

turning both your attention to the door of your room, you and aki come face to face with seungcheol, his figure leaning against your doorframe.

“your puppy?” aki gives you a teasing smile, noticing the blush on your face when the older male refers to you as his puppy. “i’d like to see you try and take ___ away from me!”

“you’re on, brat.”

taglist (unable to tag a few ㅠㅠ)

@yoonclip @1004luvangel @catjunhui @mystikha @spk93 @tinkerbell460 @yoozuku @dnylwoo @christinewithluv @limbomoon @plutoxxxworld @i-give-up-1234 @m1ngyuc0re @yunloyal @leclercloverbot @bettybeako @billboard-singer @ocyeanicc @krupyadoorrahe @seobinnieshi @xcynthiaaa @k411z @disneyprincesshuri @sunnyapp @khxsh @staygenezy @loufi8iepuff @ursweetener @noisypapergalaxy @wonwootakemyheart @sugainpinksweater @leah-rose03 @thisisnotthelastofus @yearnoclock @kwonhoeshi @minhui896 @ohmygodwhyareallusernamestaken @ru-lin @deobiforever @belladaises @cheoliekkuma @duskunt1ldawn @hyneyedfiz @marshmallowshouse @ak6ko @chwevernonlover @jejuboo-s @tsukinluv @atinytinaa @gyros-cum-sock @soupbinlily @jungwoos-luvr @ener-energy @watermelon-sugars-things @cyberpunkhwx @ddaengpotate @nightwingsrobbinhoods @chaerrylov3r @joshuaahong @wonussmile @uliceeeeeeee @wonwoo24 @shinetogether17 @simplejihoon @luvkpopp

[ailithnight]

A King In Arkham

Henceforth, you will need an AO3 account to read this there.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Danny was having a very confusing week.

It started with being kidnapped from his room in Arkham by a human tank that called himself Red X. Red X took him to a "safehouse" which was actually a repurposed warehouse. Then fed him the first non-hospital meal he'd had had in months.

Danny is a bit ashamed to admit he moaned at the first bite of a burger from the local fast food franchise. He'd all but forgotten how good food could be. Despite the mask, Danny got the impression that X was giving him a look at the sound. What kind of look, Danny wasn't sure.

Confusion or amusement would make sense. Danny could certainly imagine himself confused or amused if he heard someone moan into their Nasty Meal. But for some reason, some instinct told him that the emotion behind the look was closer to anger with an undercurrent of sorrow. Which Danny just couldn't wrap his head around. What about him appreciating a good burger could make X angry and/or sad?

Then again, maybe Danny shouldn't bother trying to wrap his head around Red X's behavior at all. The whole experience with him made no sense. He kidnaps Danny, apparently as a favor for someone who wasn't Vlad. Feeds his victim and puts him in bed. (Its too soft, too warm, Danny can't sleep in it. X gives him another one of those weird looks when he finds Danny splayed out, not quite dozing on the cool concrete floor.)

And the next day just, drops Danny off in some random woman's office at the Gotham Gazette's headquarters. Leaving him there at the ass crack of dawn like his job was done, instead of meeting with anyone to hand Danny off to whoever he'd been kindnapped for. Nothing about his interactions with Red X made any sense.

But of course, that was just the start of the week.

The woman who came in to find Danny in her office then proceeded to, well, scream first, which was an entirely justified reaction to finding an Arkham patient in you office the day after a break out. But then, instead of turning him over to the authorities, she gave him a bottle of water and proceeded to spend the next several hours 'interviewing' him. It was afternnon before she finally called security to have Danny returned to Arkham. If he hadn't still been so used to skipped meals from his time Before, he's sure his body would have been protesting the extended interview loudly.

Once the police picked him up, they interrogated him for another few hours about how he escaped. Danny was nothing but honest, though of course they didn't believe him. No one did these days. But that's okay. Eventually they were able to pull the Arkham security tapes to corroborate Danny's story. Once the saw it for themselves, they finally relented and called a transport truck to take Danny home.

Of course, then the Arkham guards had to spend an hour reprimanding him for the 'escape attempt'. He tells them earnestly that he had nothing to do with his own kidnapping. No one believes that of course. It seems they think that Danny's previous good behavior was a manipulation tactic.

They tell him no one will be falling for that again. That's fine. They tell him he's lost privileges for a month. That's fine too. Tell him he's lucky they don't move him to the max security wing. Danny doesn't think he'd mind if they did.

Finally, finally, they let him go back to his room around 7:30. It's a couple hours yet until lights out, but Danny doesn't care. He almost collapses into the thin mattress. It is by no objective means comfortable. But it is familiar. And Danny finds comfort in that. He falls asleep easily.

Some hours later, after lights out, Danny jolts awake from a... dream? It wasn't quite a good dream, but it wasn't quite The Nightmare either. It's already slipping out of his mind, but he has the vague sense it involved X and burgers and a chill creeping in his throat.

It must couldn't have been an entirely pleasant dream. For one, Danny doesn't get good dreams anymore. For another, he opens his eyes to a familiar black void hovering above him, the pit in his stomach deepening with her lingering touch.

As much as her presence makes his sins weigh heavier on his soul, Danny can't help but give Spectra a small smile. That... startles her, he thinks. In an instant, the cool hand leaching warmth and resonating with that hollow ache inside him is gone. He misses it.

The next morning, Danny has a new therapist, again. Seeing this one is a punch in the gut. There aren't really a bunch of similarities. Just blue-green eyes and long red hair. But just those 2 is enough to hurt. To remember that Jazz will never get to be here, sitting in that chair, talking to her patients, making Arkham a better place like she'd wanted ever since she heard Harley Quinn's story. Jazz will never get to chase her dreams and it's all his fault.

Danny tries, he really does and even mostly succeeds, to not get lost in his own head while they go through the normal routine. It's always the same question. Except... this time it deviates. Dr. Sparrow doesn't press at the self harm issue like all the others. She presses her lips, clearly dissatisfied with Danny's answer, but she lets it slide.

"Would you like to talk about the break out, Danny?" For the first time in 3 long months, Danny has heard a new question. Of course it's that one, but still, it's new. Danny can't decide whether or not he likes it. He shrugs.

"It happened. I got kidnapped." Dr. Sparrow is looking at him weird. She doesn't look unhappy or doubtful. In fact, she almost looks understanding, like she believes him. She looks too much like Jazz. It hurts. Danny looks away.

"You understand why it is difficult to believe you were an unwilling victim, don't you, Danny?" He shrugs. "Not only are very few people privy to the information that you are a patient here, but security footage also doesn't show you putting up any kind of a fight against your supposed kidnapper." She even sounds like Jazz, presenting her logical arguments.

"I... I don't know what you want me to say." She sighs.

"I just want to understand. I can't help you if you don't talk to me, Danny." I can't help you if you don't talk to me, Little Brother. Danny can't help the full body flinch. Anger, misplaced aggression surges under his skin. It feels like ice in his veins.

"Understand what! Everyone I love is dead because of me! Because I tried to take one shortcut and couldn't handle the consequences! And this! This is the better outcome! This time I won't hurt any more people." The reminder of what his grief causes makes the anger evaporate, leaving behind that familiar hollowness. "That's all that matters. As long as I don't get anyone else killed... Vlad is the only one who could hurt me in any way that matters. S'long as I don't end up with him, I don't care."

Danny is pretty sure he knows what J- Dr. Sparrow is going to say about that. He doesn't want to hear it. He can't stand to hear it. So he lets his mind slip away. When he tunes back in, the guard is there to escort him back to 26B. He glances at Dr. Sparrow. Her grim frown and worried eyes are too familiar. It makes the hollowness shudder, a spark of oh so dangerous care catching inside.. He wants to... he needs to...

"I'm sorry, Dr. Sparrow. For shutting down." Her eyes widen, concern vanishing into shock. "You remind me of my sister. She wanted to be a psychologist here too." With that, he turns around and lets the guard lead him back to his room.

The rest of the day is mostly a haze to Danny. He's peripherally aware of someone bringing around lunch, then later dinner. Danny briefly picks at the food, but he doesn't think he's hungry.

The third day starts with them telling him Dr. Sparrow cancelled there therapy session. She won't be seeing him anymore.

That's good.

She doesn't need to waste her valuable care on him. She's better off treating someone who could actually get better. Someone who can do more than just not cause trouble. Someone worthy of a life outside of Arkham.

It'll take them at least a day or 2 to assign him a new doctor. Danny expects the rest of the day to be a blur in his room. But some time after lunch, a guard comes and escorts him to a section of the hospital Danny has never been before. The visitation wing. There, waiting in a small privacy room, is the Head Doctor, the Cheif of Security, and a stranger in a trench coat who for some reason makes Danny's skin crawl with a desire to get very far away very fast.

The Cheif of Security looks at Trench Vibes, clearly disgruntled. "Is this really necessary?"

Trench Vibes responds in a heavy British accent. "Official Justice League Dark business, mate." Danny's surprise is almost enough for him to actually feel it. "Word has it, kid's got ghosts. I'm just hear to check up on that." Head Doctpr sputters a moment.

"Surely you don't mean to imply the ghost's could actually exist? Ghosts are not real, sir." Trench Vibes snorts.

"Sure. Next you'll tell me that magic ain't real either." Head Doctor opens his mouth to rebut, but then a golden light swirls around Trench Vibes' fingertips and that seems to make the Doctor rethink a few things. "Now, if you'll give me a few minutes with the kid, then I'll be out of your hair." He waits for the Doctor, Chief, and guard to all leave the room before he even looks at Danny. "I really hope I don't have to be the one to tell you your a little bit dead, kid."

"Danny."

"John Constantine."

Welp, no reason to lie here. ". . . I know I'm half ghost."

"Good. Well, not good that you're half dead, but good that you know. That would not be a fun conversation. Not that this one is much better. You're being haunted?"

"Not much anymore. It's okay." Trench Vibes, John Constantine, just gives Danny a disbelieving look. "Honest Mr. Constantine. I think they're getting bored since I won't fight them anymore."

"Anymore?"

"I'm from Amity Park. Ghost fights were a pretty regular thing there."

"I'm sorry, what? You're telling me there's a town under seige by ghosts and we didn't know about it?"

"You didn't... know? I mean, it's probably fine now. The ghosts mostly came to give me grief. Plus, I'm sure Vlad has dismantled my parent's portal by now."

"Portal?"

"To the Ghost Zone."

"Your parents had a portal to the Infinite Realms!?"

"Is that what you call the swirling green place?" Mr. Constantine sighs. He reaches a hand into his coat, but comes up empty. Whatever he was reaching for must have been confiscated before he could bring it into the hospital.

"So let me get this straight. Your parents opened a portal to the... Ghost Zone. No doubt flooded your whole town with enough ambient ecto to allow powerful physical manifestations. You somehow ended up half dead. Ghost start appearing. They fight you, you fight back, and now that you've left this Amity Park, those ghosts followed you here to continue haunting you."

"Pretty much."

"Why did you stop fighting back?"

". . . We aren't in Amity anymore. They can't hurt anyone."

"They've been hurting you." Trench Vibes has a scathing deadpan. If Danny could muster any feeling, he might be ashamed. Of course, as it were the closest thing he's experiencing to feeling right now is that prickling sensation that he should not be anywhere near Mr. Constantine.

"They can't hurt anyone that matters." Mr. Constantine abruptly stands.

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I am not equipped for this. I am reporting back to the Bat and then I guess I'm going to Illinois to figure out what the hell happened and why Dark didn't know about it." Mr. Constantine vanishes in a flash of light. A few seconds later, the guard comes and takes Danny back to his room.

At some point during day 4, Walker visits. Again, the surprise is almost strong enough to break through the cold hollow feeling in his chest. Almost. Walker had only visited once, the day they sent him here, to gloat over seeing the Halfa Punk finally imprisoned for his crimes.

The warden glances around his empty room, then settles for staring at Danny. Time passes, lunch and dinner a blur where Danny, for the 4th day in a row, barely eats a third of each meal. Walker is stares at him the whole time. It's kind of creepy and Danny almost wants to snap at him. Almost. Instead he lies on. his cot and traces cracks in his ceiling like he's looking at constellations. Finally, just after lights out, Walker does more than stare. He speaks.

"Effective immediately, your previous sentencing has been overturned and all other charges are dropped. You are no longer Wanted, punk. Keep your nose clean. I never want to see you in my prison again." Danny spends most of the night thinking about Walker's change of heart and not being wanted as a ghost anymore.

The fifth day is mostly normal. Spectra shows back up. Danny doesn't make the mistake of smiling at her or acknowledging her at all really. He doesn't want to scare her off again. He missed her. She seems upset. She practically gouges his heart out with the ferocity with which she plunges her clawed hand into his chest to feast. She's not in the slightest gentle with how she drags more and more misery from him, through him. Danny doesn't mind the ache. He's just happy, to whatever empty extent he can be happy, that someone is reaping some meager benefit from his still beating heart.

Day 6 passes much the same with Spectra hovering over him the whole day.

Finally, day 7. The final day to finish out the most disorienting week of Danny's short life. The grand finale of confusion starts with Danny back in the visitation wing. Spectra stays with him right up until they walk into that same little room from 3 days ago, where Danny sees Mr. Kincaid, the social worker he met once when he arrived in Gotham, and a man in a fancy business suit. Mr. Business stands up and smiles, looking for all the world like Danny had made his day by walking in the room.

"Hello Danny, my name is Bruce Wayne."

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Hi can I request Tara Carpenter x fem reader smut where Sam catches them in the act.

Warnings: smut, fingering, getting caught

my taglists are here (I added one for SCREAM) + you can requests here at any time

—

Sam was out at an appointment with her therapist and Quinn was on a tinder date — well, a sex date.

After the latter left, Tara wasted no time turning off her laptop, see you later Babadook, and smashing her mouth to yours. The kiss knocked the wind out of you and you fell back against her pillows, causing the two of you to laugh.

Since the events of Woodsborro, Sam had become very protective of her sister. She had difficulty trusting new people and allowing anyone close to her sister, which annoyed the hell out of Tara. She was nineteen, she didn’t need a person breathing down her neck.

Sam knew you and Tara were friends, but she didn’t know you were girlfriends. Tara wanted to keep the girl part of girlfriends a secret from her sister, knowing she would flip if she knew. Just because her last boyfriend was a psychopath murderer didn’t mean Tara had the same luck.

‘’Did you bring it?’’ Tara whispered, breaking the kiss but keeping her forehead flushed against yours, her breath hot against your lips.

You hummed. ‘’In my bag.’’

An excited grin spread on her lips and she kissed you again.

She was talking about the purple bullet vibrator she saw in your dorm a few days ago. You had forgotten to put it away in the drawer after using it, and Tara’s eyes fell on it with interest and curiosity. She picked it up and looked at you with a shy smile.‘’Can you use it on me?’’

The sexual side of Tara's life was fairly new to her, but she was very interested in learning, whether it was about herself and what she liked and didn’t like, or how to please her partner. Fortunately for her, you were more experienced and happy to teach and guide her.

You slipped from under Tara and fetched your bag to get the small object that would soon have her whimpering on her bed and begging you to let her cum.

When you returned to the bed, Tara tried to snatch it from you, but you slipped it in your pocket and shook your head at her. ‘’Not yet.’’

She let out a whine of protest. ‘’But I’m so horny, please.’’ Her lips pursed into a pout, but you didn't give in. A sigh left her lips, annoyed. ‘’Fine. If…if you don’t want to play, I’ll play with myself. I don’t need your help.’’ Tara peeled off her blue shirt, tossing it at you to emphasize her frustrations, and moved to her jeans.

She was wearing a matching bra and panties, the light pink color looking pretty on her. Fuck. Your plan was starting to backfire.

Before Tara could get her hand beneath her panties and touch herself, you pinned her hand down, changing your mind. She looked up at you, her dark brown irises filled with desire as they found yours. Without breaking eye contact, you pressed a kiss to her bare knee, then slowly pried her legs open and spread her open for you. She hummed in approval, your thumb pressing against her clothed clit, causing a gasp to leave her lips.

‘’Hmm, baby, you're so wet for me,’’ you pointed out, feeling her arousal seeping through the delicate fabric.

‘’I’m always this wet for you,’’ she replied with a glint in her eyes. Tara pushed herself against your hand, eager for you to do something. ‘’Please touch me.’’

She was so pretty when she begged.

You ran a finger up her thigh, and to her covered slit. Tara’s hips automatically bucked up when your finger grazed against her clit, an embarrassingly needy whimper leaving her mouth.

When you first started getting sexually involved with Tara, you didn’t think she would love it that much. It was so cute how horny she was all the time, always trying to get her hands on you and vice versa.

Although she wasn't shy to ask for sex, she was still shy — and insecure — about some things. Like the scars on her body, forever reminders of the night her life turned into a nightmare, or how small she was.

Reaching in your back pocket, you retrieved the vibrator and turned it on. The buzzing sound filled the room and Tara almost jumped in excitement, her legs having minds of their own and spreading wider. You got your hand between her legs, pressing the vibrator right against her clit for the first time, eliciting a mix between a cry and a moan.

You drew the vibrator back for a few seconds, then pressed it against her clit again, this time longer.

Tara's head fell back to the pillow, a loud gasp left her lips at the feeling, her hips bucking up into your hand. ‘’Fuck, this feels so good.’’

Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip as one hand reached her covered breasts and freed one breast from its cup so she could play and pinch her nipple.

‘’You look so fucking beautiful like that,’’ you praised, starting to feel a throbbing between your legs.

You upped the setting a notch, sending Tara into a complete frenzy. She was a mess, mewling and whimpering beneath you, and you hadn’t even taken off her panties yet. You pulled the fabric to the side, exposing her already wet pussy and you almost moaned at the sight.

You slipped a finger between her folds. It was easily sliding in and out, coated with Tara's slick. She was so wet that you added a second finger, making the familiar coil in Tara’s stomach become tighter and tighter.

‘’Oh my god— Yes!’’ she cried, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She grinded against the vibrator, whining as she gripped the sheets beneath her finger tips. ‘’I think I’m gonna cum. I think— Ah! I’m gonna—’’

Caught up in the moment, neither of you heard the appartement door opening or the hallway floorboards creak under Sam’s boots or the short knock on Tara’s bedroom door before it opened and Sam walked in as if it was her own. Usually, when people knock they wait for an answer before entering, but she didn’t care about that policy.

‘’Hey Tara, have you seen my— Oh my god.’’

Sam’s voice broke the moment and both of your heads snapped toward the door.

Mortified, Tara’s very exposed and vulnerable body froze, her close orgasm forgotten, her eyes growing so wide you thought they were gonna jump out. ‘’Sam!’’ she sputtered out at her sister at the same time Sam turned around and walked out, repeating ‘I didn’t see anything’ over and over.

—

Scream taglist: @misfityanii @beautybyfire @iluvscream191 @mariposa555 @bella7866 @o638 @lulubelle14 @luvvtxinityy @frasersgf

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17  @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @rosie-cameron @Caxddce @laylasbunbunny @gemofthenight @beautyb1ade  @hi-bored-as-fcuk-rn

[mysumeow]

Hi! I'm new to this but may I request (and this might be a bit specific) Lyney x male/gn reader(whichever you prefer) who has regenerative powers similarly to Ajin (in which they are basically immortal and fully regenerate once they die) and is pretty reckless because of it, I just imagine Lyney not being able to take their eyes of reader due to them getting into lethal trouble most of the time while adventuring. (Love your work :D, Feel free to ignore if not interested)

──Lyney with a reader who's reckless wherever they go and whatever they do.

WARNINGS ❪ Reader death mentioned, reader gets repeatedly injured (very mild descriptions of it). GN pronouns and body. SUMMARY ❪ Reader has the special ability to regenerate whenever they die. Reader has fun with this power, but it's not as fun for the magician they befriended. WORD COUNT ❪ 698 (bullet point list format) A/N ❪ HI ANON IM SORRY FOR TAKING TOO LONG FOR THIS AAAAAAAAA tbh, i dont know this character :c so i based this drabble (?) only on what you described. I hope the reader was reckless enough alhdsfsalkjfhjkldskjaf

BLANK BLOGS DNI

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ 🌷 . . MASTERLIST

⸝⸝⸝

The poor magician is constantly on edge because of your recklessness. And you nearly sent him into cardiac arrest the first time he found out about it.

You were Lyney's stagehand, in charge of rope work and inspecting that the props were firmly attached and in place.

Let’s just say you didn’t check that your safety equipment was correctly secured.

Given that your place of focus was up there, at least 20 meters (65.6 feet) away from the wooden floor, when you fell... It was a rather distressing sight.

Lyney felt beyond guilty about what happened, even if it wasn’t his fault. He was both relieved and bewildered when he found out you were fine?

A fall from that height would render anyone with broken bones beyond repair, and you left the hospital on your own? Without needing a wheelchair or anything?! You walked out of there as if nothing had happened.

“Ohhh, right. I forgot to mention that. For some reason, I can’t die.”

You were immortal, and you were confessing that ability like you were talking about the weather.

“But… But I saw you covered in blood and...” He couldn’t finish his sentence; the mere memory caused chilling goosebumps.

He always keeps an eye on you when you’re about to climb the scaffolding.

“You’re going to get yourself into a mess again,” He worried, rushing to your side once he noticed the hook that goes into your gear seemed flimsy. “This needs a replacement,”

“But your show is tomorrow,” You objected. “Besides, if something happens, I’ll regenerate. No biggie,”

“Your ability is unmatched, but it must still hurt a lot when you get into that trouble,” He insisted, removing the swivel snap hook from the gear before you could further object. “The forge sells these items. It won’t take more than a couple of minutes to buy one,”

Unfortunately for a troublemaker like you, sooner rather than later, the magician picked up on your habit of running into situations.

Once, you came back after lunch with concerning burns on your arms.

“Look, I picked up some bulle fruit. They’re fresh. Want some?”

“What happened? Dear archons, those look like second-degree burns?!”

“I ran into some trouble with some dumb gardemeks. I gave them a good beating,” You boasted. “They did sneak behind me and hurt me, but still,”

“If you want to go after them, go ahead with it,” Lynette said, noticing her brother’s anxious face.

You wielded both a vision and a weapon, so he knew you were more than capable of defending yourself, and yet he couldn’t stop going after you to make sure you were alright.

“Lyney!” You greeted him as you were about to go back to the theater. “What’re you doing here? Ah—don't tell me I took too long to return!”

“None of that. Geez, it’s a miracle I found you in one piece,” He sighed and rubbed his temple. “You’re a magnet for trouble wherever you go,”

“C’mon, I can’t be that bad.” You laughed.

He also remembered that time you were adventuring. You know, being cooped in the city could be boring sometimes.

The sibling’s schedules were free for that couple of days and thought it would be a fun experience.

The moment they finished setting up the tents, they noticed you had run off somewhere without them knowing.

“Do you guys think these berries are edible?”

Spoiler: they weren’t…

Often, it’s Lyney bandaging you up.

It was customary for Lyney and Lynette to carry bandages and band-aids with them when they rehearsed their show. It’s not uncommon for blisters to appear on any part of their body after an intense rehearsal or to sprain an ankle occasionally.

Now, having you around, there was even more reason to store them.

Before you could scurry away from him, Lyney called you with a stern voice.

The usual flirty and teasing side of the magician disappears when he catches you trying to hide a cut or a scrape.

“’Tis but a small cut,” You assured, laughing nervously. “O-Ow—!”

The disinfectant stung as he applied it to your jaw. “How did you even—forget it. Knowing you, you were probably careless,” He undid the band-aid's wrap and grabbed your face, preventing you from moving away.

“There you go,” He smiled, pleased with himself, the band-aid in place. “You can go back to work,”

[rubra-wav]

"Both Sides Of Silence" - Radiosilence fic

Word count: 3.5k

A/N I made a rant abt this (here)and decided to write it and ended up getting swept up in it haha.

This is my personal headcanon on how Alastor reacted when his friendship with Vox ended

Cw: SFW, angst

The state of Alastor's room was horrendous. The radio host's quarters could normally be described as rather unnerving due to their decor, however the space now looked like a downright horror show.

It was as if a storm had raged within with furniture overturned and scratched up, vases and photo frames broken - all of this leaving a hazardous mixture of glass fragments, splinters and lounge stuffing strewn everywhere.

In the middle of the mess, said demon’s form crumpled against the floor. Alastor's claws gripped at his hair, pulling hard upon it as he shook with heaving breaths, a mixture of despair and boiling rage inside of him, making him even more volatile than usual.

The object of his plight's photo sat before him. An unwanted reminder of the first time he and his former friend met.

Allowing Vox to take a photo with him had been an olive branch he reached out to the other demon, rarely offered outside of special circumstances.

Seeing it now stung him deep, bringing inner turmoil unlike anything the cannibalistic overlord had felt in a long long time.

An actual, real bond with someone had become an estranged concept to him during his time in hell. After his mother died, he'd severed every last attachment to anyone else, only really playing into superficial, shallow attachments to others. Nothing that couldn't easily be brushed off.

Or at least, he thought he had.

The snapped cord of his friendship with the TV demon truly cut him deep in a way that he thought was not possible.

The fact of the matter filled him with such visceral self-disgust that he fought the need to dry heave as his claws sank into his scalp in an attempt to ground himself. It inevitably failed as his mind once again revisited the damned situation that had unfolded just hours before for the umpteenth time that night.

-

A friendly get-together with Vox, just a drink at a quiet bar they often met at when they had time to do so just like any other.

Through the whole night the TV demon had seemed as if he had been stressed about something. They conversed as usual, backed by soft jazz music in the cozy wooden interior of the joint, however it was obvious to Alastor that his companion was out of sorts.

Vox's blue claws fidgeted from where he gripped at his drink - a nervous tell which Alastor had long ago picked up from his first meetings with him in the old days - his shoulders hunched in the orange turtleneck sweater he wore.

“You have been shaking like a leaf this whole time. What seems to be the matter, my friend?” Alastor asked after taking a sip of his whiskey, gently tilting the glass back and forth causing the amber liquid to swish around.

His red eyes looked to the side at the other demon with a casual half-lidded stare, drinking in every small reaction the TV demon gave with a finely tuned expertise despite his exterior.

Vox visibly flinched, caught off guard by the sudden call to his behaviour. His CRT head coyly tilted in Alastor's direction, small pupils looking to the side at him and shoulders hunching further and making himself even smaller where he sat as if in an attempt to give himself more security.

A rather peculiar response. Not something unexpected to the deer demon at all however, Vox's unique responses and attitude was something Alastor quite enjoyed about him, it was what made him interesting.

“It's nothing. Well not yet at least..” Vox mumbled quietly, trailing off vaguely. Alastor hummed curiously while quirking a brow. Vox flushed nervously, his heart rate picking up.

Vox had long since discovered his feelings for Alastor but had stayed quiet in fear that it would ruin their friendship. In the beginning, he was content with that, just letting their relationship stay how it always had been - purely platonic. That was the safe option.

It just grew more intrusive the longer he didn't say anything though.

Alastor didn't like to be touched, but was far too content in getting in others’ personal space if it was on his own terms - including Vox’s own. Every time his shoulders or arms or god forbid face were touched briefly by the deer it sent his heart aflutter and he could barely keep himself together.

Even the memory of the last time almost sent him sparking. When he thought of those red eyes looking down at him, claws on either side of his face, he knew that he would surely burn himself up if he didn't finally say something. It was agony to stay silent.

What was the worst that could happen? A rejection? It wasn't like that would end everything they had worked for. In his mind, he knew Alastor enough to surely say he wouldn't up and leave him over this. They'd known each other too long for all of that to be ruined by this... Right?

Alastor watched Vox’s internal strife with amused curiosity as he casually fidgeted with the lip of his glass, waiting expectantly.

Vox cleared his throat, straightening up and trying to put on a confident and sure face. “Alastor, we have known each other for years now. And.. I'd argue to say that we are quite good pals at this point,” Vox began strongly, grinning at Alastor. His grin faltered a bit and his cheeks flushed as he watched the radio demon's eyebrow only raise even further. Vox coughed into his hand. “I would also argue that we would work well together as more than just.. friends… who occasionally work together as purely business partners.” Vox finished, looking at Alastor and trying to find some kind of reassurance.

He didn't find any.

Alastor's ear twitched slightly as if he was trying to better process what he'd just heard. He felt a stab of unsureness that mixed with his stomach dropping inside of him. He didn't show it yet however and instead laughed. “Apologies darling! I'm not quite sure I follow. Are you asking to become permanent business partners?” He hoped that was what he was on about, and not the alternative which had his hackles rising.

Vox gulped, taking the question as genuine confusion about his rather vague choice of words. “N-not quite just that.. listen.. I,” Vox glanced at Alastor's other hand unoccupied by his drink just resting on the bar and tentatively reached out his hand to gently take it in his own. “Alastor, I don't want to just be business partners. I want to be partners in general. I'm in.. Jesus,” Vox gulped, trying to will his mouth to stop being so damn dry. “...I'm in love with you.” Vox’s brow furrowed as he gently squeezed Alastor’s hand in his, looking up at him with a soft expression, vulnerable in a way Vox would normally have squashed instantaneously.

Alastor’s eyes blew open wide making him ironically resemble a deer in headlights, lip curling as he processed the interaction and confession. His usually wide pupils shrunk as he looked down at his palm in Vox’s, utter disgust rocking through him at the sight.

Vox felt his heart break at the way Alastor was looking at him holding his hand, and awkwardly laughed in an attempt to fight the pit of absolute mortification consuming him, making him want to melt into the ground and disappear.

“I- s-sorry I just thought you may have understood. Maybe even felt the same- I mean we've known each other so long and have been close for-” Vox began to say, voice glitching out with heavy emotion. He flinched hard, silenced as Alastor suddenly ripped his hand away hard in contrast to his soft hold.

“No.” Alastor sharply, turning his nose up at Vox with a sneer, irritation filling him at the assumption.

Vox's humiliation at the nature of his rejection grew as Alastor quite literally looked down upon him. “right… sorry. I should have known,” Vox apologised, looking to the side with his cheeks burning under the weight of his gaze. “We have been close so long that I should have known better-” He was cut off by a cold bark of laughter.

“Stop saying that,” Alastor’s anger raised quickly, loud, angry static seeping through his usual facquade of uncaring. “If you think that you know me that way, then you severely overestimate your worth to me, my ‘friend’.”

Alastor was disgusted enough by the declaration, but his insistence that they were ‘close’ was what got under his skin the most. The reason for this? He couldn't quite grasp it at that exact moment. It would of course come later.

Vox let out a laugh this time, disbelief turning into him being more angrier than anything - a laughably similar response to the one Alastor was having simultaneously. “Oh you have to be kidding me! Don't act like we aren't best friends just because you don't like that I have feelings for you, you pompous old-timey radio fuck! We are close friends and you know damn fucking we-”

“No,” Vox felt the statement in every part of himself, it finally being the thing to break his steadily cracking heart into pieces. Vox fell silent, a look of struck anguish written all over his face.“You serve as occasional entertainment for me from your hollow, far lesser medium. Don't you dare act like we were, would be or even could ever be equals.” Alastor spat, rising from his seat.

Vox didn't even react to the insult to his work, feeling all encompassing numbness as the lights overhead flashed once, then twice, then clicked off as Alastor began to grow in size, more substantial antlers growing from his head and flashing green symbols surrounding him threateningly.

The TV demon shook, frozen in place on the bar stool, eyes wide and terrified despite the pervasive feeling of emptiness within him, blue pupils impossibly small as he looked into the rapidly spinning dials in his former best friend's eyes.

Alastor hunched over him and slowly raised his claws to grip either one of Vox's shoulders hard, digging into his turtleneck and skin below painfully, causing the TV demon to wince.

Alastor lowered his face, moving it close to Vox's screen and breathing out deeply, relishing in the way Vox shuddered at his hot breath fanning across his face with a grin that did not reflect his tone or true expression in the slightest.

Alastor then proceeded to stomp upon the shards of years of friendship seemingly with no care at all in one last statement, which brought tears to the already mentally crushed TV demon's eyes.

“You are nothing to me.”

-

But that wasn't true at all.

Alastor had disappeared in a flourish afterwards, leaving Vox shaking and alone in the bar, stalking home, and then absolutely losing his mind in private.

Alastor’s hands shook, slowly ripping through his hair and pulling out a few strands as he snapped back to reality and grit his teeth, lips twitching out of his perfect, unwavering grin for a second again as he looked at the smiling image of them together.

The truth was that he undeniably cared for Vox.

All these hollow, surface-level friendships which served as temporary entertainment that he held with demons like Mimzy paled in comparison to what they had.

Although still seldom, Alastor had shared much more of the truth with him than he had with others; about the same as with Rosie. The difference of course being their public rivalry unlike with Rosie. More even ground in which they were equal threats to one-another's power over the people of pentagram city.

He shuddered at the thought.

They were rivals, and with horror, he realised that he almost did regard Vox as his equal in their friendship. Enough to form a genuine care for him that wasn't solely him simply using Vox to meet his own ends.

They were close, and the fact of that hit him in a terrifying way as his old friend's absence burned an empty pit within him.

He was such an utter fool for letting it get to this point where he needed to destroy every last tie to stay powerful but simply couldn't.

His hands shook as he looked down at the photograph taunting him once again; him knowing he had to destroy it but not being able to.

Shameful weakness.

Alastor let out a frustrated growl, squeezing his eyes shut as he gripped at the photograph and ripped it down the middle.

He slammed either half of the photo on the floor in either hand, looking at the damage done. A literal physical manifestation of the relationship he'd metaphorically ripped down the middle.

Alastor would scoff at the symbolism normally with laughter, thinking it a stupid display of weakness of those far lesser then he if there weren't currently tears falling from his eyes onto the patch of wooden floor in between where either half of the photograph now sat apart.

He grit his teeth at the realisation that he was crying. For the first time since his mother died, he was actually weeping for another. The revelation curled as nauseating disgust for the demon, and he cursed the TV demon more than anything for making him this weak. Weak like him.

He needed to sever ties.

He needed to stop caring.

He needed to erase the TV demon from his life completely.

He knew all of that and yet…

Alastor laughed now - a sound without a lick of sanity behind it-, smiling as he gripped the half of the photo with Vox on it, falling back onto the floor and holding up the torn photo, looking up at it in the dim light of his room

The wooden floor uncomfortably dug into his back, but he didn't care at all. Alastor's laughing slowly died out, turning instead into a sound much like breathless sobbing.

“You will pay for doing this to me.” Alastor's red eyes shook, fluttering between his normal pupils and the dials as he regarded his next action with shaky euphoria, the emotion stretching itself over the logical side of himself screaming to let it go.

Alastor's anger of also being caught up in the silence he was supposed to have control over won over all rational decision making.

I will make sure that you need me just as much as I need you, you new-age trash.

Alastor's lips quivered around his wide grin as he gave a chuckle that was all too forced, pressing the back of his hand across his eyes and wiping away his tears, internally squashing his insecurity down and pretending he didn't care.

Even if he knew he did deep down, all that mattered was that onlookers, and especially Vox, didn't see that.

He would remain unbothered externally while locking the truth up deep inside that in the end the radio demon would be just as obsessed with Vox as he is with him.

-

After a long night of drowning his sorrows, the last thing Vox wanted was to answer the front door and face anybody. He of course, did anyways. If it was a business opportunity, it would hardly be wise to skip out on it. Especially after…

Vox shook his head with a hissing breath, trying to will the memory of the walk of shame he'd done away after apologising to the bartender who'd come out from behind the bar finally after Alastor had gone berserk for the disturbance.

Despite his picture perfect expression that never really fully dulled in the same way others experienced - the perks to having a TV for a head - it was clear that he was still struggling by the way he slumped and his brow was furrowed, eyes squinted; open just a crack to try avoid the thudding stabs of pain through his head with the hangover he was nursing.

It was bullshit to him that even with a flatscreen for a face, he still could manage to get hungover.

The tile floor of his tower, which he had bought recently, clicked under the heels of his shoes, dim fluorescent lights painting everything in a sickly, lifeless glow. It only sought to make his mood even worse.

He grumbled to himself as he reached the door finally, dodging all the unpacked boxes as he went and forcing himself to smile before swinging the heavy door open to greet whoever was there.

Dreams of new business partners and an underlying, pitiful hope that it could even be Alastor coming to apologise or pretend like nothing happened yesterday like after their usual arguments were immediately squashed as he was revealed nothing behind it.

Just the barely inhabited entertainment district he had been working on for a little while now. On the other side of the street a line of TV's, each with a monochrome display playing an ad for a cereal he had gotten a sponsorship with blared monotonously behind their glass displays.

It was clear none of the few people staring blankly at the screens had rung the bell so he could hear the door all the way in his room.

Vox's smile dropped and he then blankly stared into the empty air, tired eyes squinting as he deeply exhaled. He'd kill whatever asshole had rung and run for messing with him on the cameras positioned everywhere later, maybe that would lift his spirits a little bit.

He shut the large glass doors, once again locking them. As he did so, a piece of paper fell to the ground; formerly suspended in the door jam and dislodged by its movement.

Vox watched it flutter to the obnoxiously white tiles of the floor with a raised brow. He could see it was torn, seemingly a face-down picture of some kind from the different colour peaking through from the back under the lights.

“What on...” Vox said, unamused as he leaned down to pick it up.

Another cold wave of sadness that he thought he had numbed out already after last night swept over him as realised it was the first photo that he and Alastor had ever taken together - ripped down the middle so that Alastor was clearly present, a bit of his own face visible in the corner.

Vox’s screen glitched into a line of broken pixels, blurring his quickly souring expression as he realised that Alastor had just been here to deliver half of the photo.

He had been here and left wordlessly. So it really was over. His clawed hands shook as he pressed one against the wall of the entrance hall to steady himself, squinting his eyes shut.

His head spun; a dizzying mixture of his hangover, the overbearing lights all around him, and the god awful feelings of self-hatred, tiredness, heartbreak, and worst of all betrayal all mixing together. The fact that this is how their years of friendship had ended was a crushing weight on his shoulders. It was ridiculous.

In that moment as he had finally decided to confess he swore that they would still stay together even if it wasn't as lovers. That even if Alastor rejected his feelings, they would still maintain their friendship.

He was wrong, of course.

Him keeping his silence had hurt before, but it rang far more now he was all alone.

Vox’s eyes cracked open again despite the way his headache protested, looking back to his other hand which still held the torn photo delicately to avoid any further damage to it.

His blue pupils passively drank in the image of Alastor's smiling face again.

It was all ridiculous.

A screeching sound rang out in the entry room, echoing in an unnerving way through the mostly empty building as his claws dug into the wall he was leaning against, raking deep nail marks into the plaster as just about the most potent wave of anger he thought he had probably felt ever swept itself over every other conflicting emotion inside of him.

He had given so much to that asshole. His time, his dreams, and worst of all his secrets.

All of these were treated like nothing in Alastor's hands.

He was treated like nothing.

Alastor even said it; Vox was nothing to him. Nothing but a past-time.

'Occasional entertainment'

Vox’s chest clenched with burning anger at the insult to how much he was worth as a demon. He was worth far more than most of the pathetic low-lives in this city. Heck, all of them.

He was too good for Alastor even, and yet that snobby hazbin radio announcer had the audacity to treat him in such a way?

Ah yes, the delusionally grandiose rug over his kicked-in ego. A bitter thought which tugged at the back of his mind but got inevitably drowned out by everything else.

The lights overhead hummed louder and louder with the passing seconds.

He let out a growl that petered off into a yell interrupted by glitches, air filled with crackling electricity coming off of him in waves the longer he dwelled upon the state of everything.

-

From down the street, Alastor let out a satisfied chuckle as he saw the lights within Vox's tower flickering aggressively.

The deed was done, and although some pathetic part of him weakly protested, it was crushed where it stood. He turned on his heel, arms folded behind his back while he strided in the opposite direction.

He made his bed and now he had to lie in it.

His eye twitched slightly as a stab of regret once again made itself known.

As cold as it was.

Damn did my ass get carried away writing this one haha

[latent-thoughts]

The Jews weren't the first natives in that region. The Canaanites were there before the Jews showed up to violently erase them from existence for the terrible crime of not being of Yahweh's choosen people. All Jews know this. It is literally in the fucking book. You know this.

Don't lie in order to defend the idea that Israel is a thing that absolutely must exist. It's fine that you believe that idea, but what's getting irksome is this underlying insistence that "Israel must exist" is an obvious conclusion to the region's problems and anyone who has a modicum of moral fiber in their soul can clearly see that. Your religion isn't true to the people who aren't you. I do not recognize the Jews as a chosen, special sort of people and I shouldn't be expected to. And, yes, I can tell when it's expected because they'll get annoyed when I mention the Canaanites. Yeah, I've seen the eye-rolls, the "history's a complex mess so I'm justified in picking and choosing what events humanity should give a shit about based on how recent they are and how much the directly affect MY culture" bullshit, the accusations of antisemitism despite the fact that I would be completely fine with the existence of Israel if the people who made it didn't, well, slaughter the families of Canaanites in order to do so. Also, Israel isn't a person or a type of person, it's a state, it's completely fine to hate and isn't synonymous with hating Jews. If you think that it is, I'm going to remind you that people who aren't Jewish exist and they don't need to necessarily have the values Jews want them to in order to good people.

If the foundation of your state is built on moving into land that isn't yours and erasing the people that your god doesn't want there, it's completely reasonable to expect that other states might just return that favor in kind. After all, you set the precedent, right? And then constantly referred to it in your holy texts like it was the best, most necessary thing that ever needed to happen. That kind of zeal certainly won't spread.

Oh boy, I'm going to say it. I think that all of the states that have ever engaged in and justified (I'm going to say it) genocidal behavior aren't really... y'know worth defending? Worth giving a shit about? And yeah, saying "God needed us to do it! We are the chosen people! HOLY LAND!" is a shitty justification. Objectively shitty. Jewish people aren't the chosen people to anyone else besides other Jewish people. Nothing really wrong with that, but... nothing really that right with it either. It kinda cancels itself out.

Long ask, I know. Whatever. Stop lying. The Canaanites were there before the Jews. The Jews killed them all then called the land they stole from them "Israel". See? There are perfectly good reasons to hate Israel that have nothing to do with Palestine.

C'mon, the Americas had fucking slavery. England tried to take over the world. Hell, Germany tried to kill all of you! Israel is another shitty place. It isn't special.

I vow to ignore Israel from now on, achieving everlasting peace and making the entire Middle East envious of me.

Oh, and to be absolutely clear in the most awkward manner possible, I don't hate the Jews. I just find their bullshit to be really fucking annoying.

If the Jews killed them all, how is it that their DNA is still dominant in modern day Jews (plus Palestinians and other populations of Levant)?

The truth is that both Jews and Palestinians were part of the same people at some point in time, who also mixed with Canaanites and settled in the region that is modern day Israel+Levant. And Canaanites' ancestors had actually arrived in that region from further East.

So by your logic, then, even the Canaanites weren't the natives of that land.

(There may have been tribal wars, as was common in that era, but it's pretty clear that no one wiped out anyone.)

We can keep going back in time to disprove the indigeneity of people till we arrive in Africa. Which is kind of moronic, TBH.

Personally, I'm not denying the indigeneity of either Jews or Palestinians. Only you are trying to justify your hatred for Jews and denying that they have a right to live in their homeland. Just by saying that you don't hate Jews doesn't veil your anti-semitism.

Both Jews and Palestinians deserve to live there. A two state solution is one way for it. Terrorism by Hamas isn't.

Furthermore, if you know your history (which I'm having doubts about), you know that Jews were persecuted and driven out of almost all the countries and kingdoms they had moved to over the centuries. There were Jews in the Middle Eastern countries, African countries, Europe, etc.. Tell me what happened to them. If you can't, you don't understand why Jews wanted a country of their own, in their native homeland.

With the exception of India, they were either killed, forcefully converted, or driven out of these countries at some point in time. The Holocaust is just one such instance over the centuries, and it was a big deal. The present day rising anti-semitism only strengthens their belief that they're never fully accepted in other places. Hence their need for self determination and separate state of their own (which they already have, btw).

Also, I know you didn't bother to check before coming in my inbox to spew venom, but I'm not Jewish. I'm not even from that region. But I understand what it means to have a history that's full of massacres and genocide of my people.

Plus, I'm someone who likes to stay informed, someone who's against anti-semitism. I don't need to be a Jew to understand where they're coming from.

[ninthcircleofprythian]

The Bird and The Badger

(A series of interconnected one shots)

Part 2 - A Matter of Trust

Eris x OC (Bryn)

Summary - Eris needs to find someone he can trust to help with part of his secretive plan against Beron.

Author's Notes - this litte one shot details Eris and Bryn's first meeting. Short, cute, sweet. Enjoy.

Eris’ eyes flicked around him inconspicuously as he made his way through the town streets. The day was bright and fair, a cool permanently autumn breeze blowing against his face. Even with the fine weather, the streets were mostly empty. A few females ambling between shops, a horse drawn cart loaded with wares making its way over the cobblestones. The lack of people milling about made him even more suspicious. 

Everything made him suspicious lately. As the time for his father’s inevitable demise drew closer, Eris was wary of everything around him. He had taken more steps in his plan, small steps but progress nonetheless. The fear that his father suspected ulterior motives grew with each passing day. 

He continued to pick his way through the twisting roads, turning false corners and doubling back just in case he was being followed. Being unfamiliar with this specific part of town had him turning in circles more than once. His hand held firmly around the object in his pocket, sweat slicking from his palm to the smooth curved surface. It was the sole reason for this venture today.

No longer able to trust the advisors and merchants that his father held in his grasp, Eris had to do his own sleuthing to find what he needed to accomplish today. Which is what led him to the tiny rundown shop he now stood in front of. 

C. Welch

Master Tinker and Fabricator

Repairs of All Kinds

He couldn’t trust just anyone with this project. He wasn’t even sure he could trust this C. Welch, but the small band of loyal spies he had built, with the begrudging help of the Night Court Spymaster, had assured him that if he needed something made from scratch that this was the place to go. Especially if it was secretive in nature.

Stepping inside he was immediately blinded, not by light but by the lack thereof. The small windows on either side of the tiny room were coated with filth and dust and had the discolored look of supremely old glass. Allowing his eyes to adjust he brushed a hand down the simple linen shirt he wore, feeling as if the filth was transferring to his person. 

Before him stood a leaning wooden counter. A bell had rung when he walked in, but the counter remained unmanned. As he stepped forward to peer through the open door frame behind it, a female nearly came tumbling out of it. 

“Sorry,” she panted. “I heard the bell from upstairs. I was just in the middle of something.” 

“I’m looking for C. Welch,” Eris stated with a pull of his upper lip. He took in the figure before him. She was of average height with brandy colored waves falling over her face. It was the eyes that grabbed his attention. Deep gemstone green with shining flecks of gold. 

“That would be me,” she answered. “What is it that I can do for you, my Lord?:

The question startled him out of his observances. “You know who I am?” he questioned suspiciously. He had taken great care to tone down the normally exuberant style of clothing he normally wore. The simple linen shirt and plain black trousers and wool coat apparently wasn’t fooling her. 

“Are we not in the Autumn Court?,” she asked with a smile. “Of course I know who you are, my Lord.”

His grimace was evident as she continued. “The hair gave it away. You are a Vanserra through and through, sir.” She smiled openly with a wink.

The comment did nothing to hide his disgust. Eris’ one desire in life was to be nothing like his father. That was the entire reason for him being here today although she didn’t know that. Palming an object in his pocket, he brought it out and laid it on the counter. 

“I need this timepiece repaired,” he said dismissively. It wasn’t the object that he came for but a test. 

“Could the Court master not repair it for you my Lord?” She was referring to the master tinker that the Autumn Court family held in residence. Craftsmen of all types were under the Court employ for any needs that the Court family may have. 

“Where I choose to take my business is of no concern to you,” Eris sneered. 

“Certainly, sir.” She held the pocket watch in her palm, turning it over and over before reaching below the counter and producing a small pouch of miniscule tools. Reaching again to the shelf along the wall behind her, she slipped the head piece over her hair and flipped the loupe in front of her eye to begin her investigation.

Eris let the silence build as she worked, swiveling his gaze at the assortment of odds and ends collected along the walls. Most of it carried the same layer of dust the windows did. 

“Are you the sole proprietor of this establishment?,” he queried.

She didn’t remove her gaze from the task at hand. “I am.”

A few more minutes of silence ticked by as she leaned over the watch in front of her. Every so often adjusting a tiny piece and flipping it over to read its front. 

“What exactly is the issue you were having with this watch, my Lord?,” she asked, once again not lifting her gaze from her work.

“It’s losing time,” Eris said with an impatient flick of his hand. “Running slow. It’s been causing me to be insufferably late to very important meetings.”

“Hmm,” she hummed in concentration. With a twist of a tool and a snap of the backing, she set the watch back down on the counter. “I’m afraid I have bad news for you then, sir.”

The sinking in Eris’ gut had nothing to do with the state of the watch’s repair and everything to do with the realization that he predicted this outcome.

“Whatever the cost, no matter. I need a working timepiece. I can leave it with you if I must.”

A flash of smile graced her round face. “Well, fortunately my Lord, it won’t cost you any coin. And you certainly don’t need to leave it with me.”

“So you can’t repair it after all?” The air of arrogant disappointment rolled off of him as he spoke. 

“No, my Lord. I can’t repair it.” Her slender hands pushed the watch across the counter towards him. “Because there is nothing wrong with it. It is working perfectly, almost better than designed. It is obviously very well cared for.”

Eris took the watch within his fingertips, peering down at it before slipping it back into his pocket.

“Most would have just taken my coin for being so dim that I can’t properly read a watch,” he smirked. “Especially considering whose pocket that coin was coming from.”

“Most people are thieves and liars, my Lord,” she responded with a smirk of her own. “There are enough broken things in this world. I have no reason to lie just to have something to fix.”

He stood stock still considering her words as he pondered his next move. 

“What did you say your name was again?” His eyes narrowed as he took her in once more.

“I didn’t, my Lord. The name is Bryn,” she held her hand out to him in order for him to shake it. 

Eyeing her still, Eris slowly moved the hand from his pocket and grasped the one offered to him. Soft, smooth palm met his, the warmth a surprising comfort. With a gentle squeeze she released his hand back to him.

Meeting those jewel-like eyes, he questioned. “The door says C. Welsh? Didn’t you say that was you?”

Bryn giggled as she packed the tools back into the pouch and returned them under the counter. “I did. The C. is for Colibryn. It means hummingbird. I just go by Bryn though, my Lord.”

“There is no need for the title,” he said slowly, his face softening a touch to lose the snide look. “I am not the High Lord.”

“Are you not the heir apparent?”

“I am, but the throne still belongs to my father.”

“For now,” she said with an eerie calm. Something shifted within those captivating eyes as she held his stare and Eris’ eyes narrowed again in response. The thudding of his heart was the only thing sounding in the tiny workshop.

“You can just call me Eris,” he said with his own measure of calm wariness. His hand slipped from his pocket once more and this time it was him who extended toward her. 

The shift in the air was palpable. A knowing felt that this time he was introducing himself to the person he came to see. The person who would help him carry out this portion of his plan in secret. Someone he could trust. 

For a moment, Eris almost believed he caught the gold flecks in her eyes flare as she extended her hand out to grasp his once more. 

“A pleasure, Eris.”

The sound of his name pointedly rolling from her tongue gave him that strange comfort he felt earlier grasping her hand. The feeling only intensified as her palm met his once more. This time he was the one to enact that gentle squeeze, feeling the frailty of her bones as he did so. The moment lingered just a fraction too long before he let go.

“There is another matter I’ve come for today,” Eris drawled as he produced the second object from his inner pocket. 

“Would I be correct in assuming that this matter is – secret in nature?,” she posited without even a glance to the object now sitting upon the counter. 

He held her gaze firmly, neither one of them blinking as the seconds ticked by on his perfectly working timepiece. “You would,” he answered. 

“Then you have my discretion. And my attention.” That flare he swore he saw before in her eyes returned before she quickly dropped her gaze to the object before her. 

Collecting the object within both hands, she rolled it as she inspected. Smooth and curved, it was vaguely egg shaped with a flat bottom. One press of the slightly indented button along one side caused the top to pop up. The tiny speaker inside began playing the soft melody of a lullaby before she pressed to tuck it back down.

“It’s a Symphonia,” Eris stated, the sneer of his voice gone.

“I’m familiar with them,” Bryn replied, placing it on the countertop once more. 

“What I am hoping for is something similar in function. It needs to be able to record the same amount of sound, but I need it to be –”

“Smaller?” Bryn smiled mischievously. “Easily hidden?”

“Discreet,” he added, his own eyes now flared in response. “Is that something you can do?”

Twisting the bottom half of the Symphonia, Bryn removed the outer casing covering the components. Flipping down the loupe still adorning her head, she inspected the innards with a practiced hand. Poking and prodding with her nail and one tiny tool she turned gears and tapped springs. 

“How many do you require?” 

Eris’ eyebrows rose. The thought of having multiple on hand had already crossed his mind, but his expectation had been that even just one would be a success.

“How many can you make? Let’s say – within a week’s time?”

Peering through her loupe once more, Bryn gave a final glance and one last twist of components before twisting the halves back together. 

“A week? I would say at least three. Possibly four. It’s really a matter of having the necessary number of parts. The engineering itself is no issue.”

With a nod, Eris once more reached into his pocket. “I assume a deposit upfront will be required.” He dropped a weighted leather pouch on the counter, rattling with the sound of a great number of coins. 

“Name your price,” he continued. “Like I said before, whatever the cost. The rest will be given upon completion.”

That mischievous smile returned. Bryn’s face lit up with amusement as she drew her eyes down towards Eris’ feet before slowly making their way back up. 

“I don’t want your coin,” she started. “I have other things that would be of more use to me.”

Glancing around the workshop quickly, his eyes zeroed in on hers. Certainly, some coin would be of use to her, he thought. There is plenty to be repaired here outside of her work.

“Such as?” Eris asked, extending the words as he waited for her to continue. 

Bryn’s gaze dropped quickly, once again to where she had looked towards his feet moments ago. “I want one of those,” she pointed to the space next to Eris’ legs. 

Eris whipped his head down to the space there. The press of the hound’s head leaned into his knee as it peered back up at him. Snapping his focus back to Bryn he glared at her, unmoving. 

“How did –” he stammered. That burst of flashing gold pulsed through her eyes once more as the corners of her mouth ticked up. “You can see through glamours,” Eris breathed. It wasn’t a question. Shisa was a constant at his side, especially in recent weeks. Always on alert and always glamoured outside the bounds of Forest House. 

His mind went immediately to his brother. Lucien with his mechanical eye, had the ability to see glamours but it had always been Eris’ understanding that he could only see them, not see through them. There was nothing mechanical about her emerald eyes however.

“That’s my price,” she carried on like nothing happened. “One famed Autumn Court smoke hound - of my choosing.”

Slipping easily back into his cruel prince facade, Eris sneered. “You do a lot of hunting then?”

Despite his mocking tone, she remained casual. “No. No time for hunting I’m afraid.”

“These are highly trained beasts,” he replied with a hand placed atop Shisa’s head, that sneer still on his face. “Bred for either hunting or guarding, sometimes both. They are not some casual pet. If you’ve no time for hunting, I can only assume you want one for security reasons.”

His eyes swiveled obviously around the workshop once more, no attempt at hiding his disdain at what she would want to guard here. 

Bryn only laughed. The sound reverberated around, like a light that was so sorely needed within the room. That strange sense of comfort pulsed over Eris’ skin.

“I have my reasons,” she maintained. “And that is my price. You are free to decline and take your request elsewhere of course, my Lord.”

The use of the title instead of his name unnerved him in a way he didn’t care to examine right then. Shaking his head in a quick motion, he dropped the curl in his lip. 

“My apologies,” Eris offered sincerely. “The price is fair. I assume you will want to make your selection before beginning the work.” She nodded in the affirmative. “Very well then. Allow me to arrange a time for you to come view them. I will send word.”

Just as he turned to make his way toward the exit, she stepped out from behind the counter and approached. 

“A pleasure doing business with you – Eris,” his name falling from her mouth pointedly. Once again, her hand was brought out, hanging in the air between them. This time when he grasped it, he made sure to keep the touch brief but that did little to lessen the impact of the strangeness that enveloped him once again. 

With a bend of her waist, she folded over to bring her face close to Shisa’s and brought her delicate hand to the side of the hound’s face. With a gentle sweep of her fingers, she stroked her affectionately as Shisa nuzzled into her palm. 

“I look forward to hearing from you,” she said as if speaking to the dog before flicking her gaze back up to his. 

Eris stood there a few beats before nudging his body into action. Shisa had never willingly let anyone outside of himself or his father approach her in such a manner, at least not without a growl of warning first and certainly not nuzzling. And the only reason Beron was able to is because Eris had commanded that she must. 

With only a nod at her words, he signaled to the hound and made his exit. 

It was only a few short hours later when Eris’ word was sent. 

As Bryn was finishing up the list of necessary parts she would need to acquire, a whine was heard outside the shop door. With a huff of a laugh to herself, she left the stool she was sitting on and made her way to the door, flipping the CLOSED sign as she pulled to open it. 

To anyone else looking, it would have appeared that she was opening her door to inspect the empty street outside. But Bryn saw what awaited her. 

“Well,” she said, moving away from the door as she held it open. “Are you coming in or not?”

Shisa entered and Bryn closed the door firmly behind her. Turning to the hound, she found it sitting politely, still and quiet just staring at her. It took her a moment to notice the collar it was now wearing that wasn’t there before. 

“Clever,’ she remarked to noone as she slid her fingers under the band. Locating the attached roll of paper, she unfurled it.

I will return to accompany you tomorrow evening.

No name signed but it was unnecessary. Bryn just smiled as she tucked the note in her apron pocket. 

“I don’t suppose you are allowed to take a treat before you go, huh?”

Shisa just made her way toward the door, whining once as she reached it. 

“Guess not,” Bryn smiled and opened the door to allow her to leave. 

@mybestfriendmademe @lilah-asteria @chairofchaos @pit-and-the-pen @sarawritestories

@ceoofyearning

[baradorable]

Marvel is about to introduce a villain called the Krakoan, who is an X-Man gone rogue. It's pretty obvious that this villain is actually Hellion. And people are split on that. Some feel that it's out of character for him. Some prefer him as a hero, or don't want him to have his character ruined, ala Nature Girl or Beast.

But who IS Hellion? If you're willing to sit through my long-ass post about him, odds are you already know and love him. But let's pretend that you don't know who he is. I'll talk about where he started, what might have lead him to becoming a villain, and why everybody will be investing in #HellionWasRight stocks in a few months.

And if we're all wrong, and Hellion is not the Krakoan? Well, no one will give a shit about the Krakoan anymore anyway, so no big deal.

First off, what is a "Krakoan?"

We'll get to that. But for now, you just need to know that the X-Men had an island nation called Krakoa, and it's gone because no one listened to Hellion, despite him being right about everything that has ever happened.

Who is Hellion?

I'm letting you all know right now: this is blatant Hellion propaganda. Everything I said is coming from a place of heavy, heavy bias. But there will be some objectivity, in that Hellion is objectively perfect.

It's tough to summarize Hellion, because who he is has changed over the years. Though some writers might forget this, he's actually a fairly nuanced mutant who has undergone notable shifts in his character.

Introduced in New Mutants (2003) #2, he basically starts off as Draco Malfoy, if Draco was trying to bang Harry Potter.

Julian Keller, AKA Hellion, was a spoiled rich kid from California with advanced telekinetic abilities. Something that will stick out immediate is that he was hilariously petty. Like he would take any opportunity to insult people he dislikes, often for no reason. Half of his dialogue is him choosing to be a jerk to anyone outside of his social group, starting drama, or otherwise being a generic early 2000's bully archetype.

And it was amazing. Seriously, he had some of the funniest lines in the book.

He was so over the top and crude that he ended up being hilarious. He was classist, exclusionist, and a little sexist. When presented with the option of Bullying Others, and Literally Anything Else, he would choose bullying.

Julian was Emma Frost's protege and star pupil, so naturally he shares a lot of that bitchy charisma. When the school was divided into Harry Potter house-style squads, Emma put Julian in charge of his squad, the Hellions. She also let the Hellions pick their codenames. Guess which codename Julian picked.

Emma advised him to be humble after he and his squad won a school competition. What was the very first thing he did once he got the trophy?

You would hate him so much if he were real. He's every 13 year old boy in 2003. Look at him exposing Elixir's affair to Elixir's girlfriend, solely out of pettiness.

I'd post more, but I already hit the image limit. Which is a shame, because I wanted to share the panel of him making fun of Josh for his parents abandoning him.

Hellion's original creators had this to say about him.

Back when we were working on New X-Men, we had a message board called “The Grind Stone” on the site X-Fan. One of the fans there consistently referred to Julian as “shnasty.” That person defined it as a combination of sexy and nasty. Urban dictionary these days refers to it as shitty, hot and nasty. We think that works for Julian, except when we wrote him he didn’t look like shit - not ever. He just acted like it. Once we left, he got a little more disheveled for a while, and probably better embodied the full modern version of “shnasty.” Either way, we think that’s his secret. He can treat you like shit but then turn around and be a gentleman. He sometimes acts like hot garbage but looks fine doing it.

He's catchy, offensive, brutal and gross, but with youth appeal. If his character was just that, then bravo. He's hilarious. He wouldn't need depth to be an icon. He'd just be this little gremlin of a being, showing up and delivering devastating one-liners like some proto-Chanel Oberlin. But that's not all to his character. Despite being a supporting character in a book about teen drama, he was actually a complex character.

He's a great leader and strategist. He could lead a team, he was willing to be pragmatic and bend the rules, and his plans helped his team beat out every other student during that aforementioned school competition. It was a team effort, but Hellion knew his friends' strengths and how to get them working well.

He has a natural charisma that draws people to him. He's the big man on campus for a reason. It's best exemplified in New X-Men (2004) #5, where he sees all the other students turning their backs on a mutant called Wither.

Wither had unintentionally killed his father when his death touch power first manifested. The authorities would come bearing down on the school, looking to arrest him and have him face the law for his actions. It was an accident, completely out of his control, and Wither has been wrestling with the guilt ever since. Now there was a chance that he would be thrown in jail for it.

Wither was vulnerable and in pain, but it seemed like so many people were turning against him. Hellion, who had previously been bullying Wither for his powers, saw the scorn, gossiping and scrutiny Wither had been getting from the rest of the student body. And he had to stand up and say something.

He gives a rousing speech to everyone in the cafeteria, pointing out how many of the people who were mocking him had caused others harm with their powers in the past. He derides them for not helping out of of their own, and that any one of them could be next on the chopping block if they let Wither go without a fight. If they're not willing to support each other, they're terrible mutants.

His radical speech gets one person comparing him to Magneto. And that's not entirely wrong.

Hellion and the Hellions (along with another mutant, Wind Dancer) would work together to try and bust Wither out of police custody. It was a stupid plan that would only create more problems for them, and it would ultimately be worse than what actually happened: Wither would face trial, where he would be found innocent in the murder of his father. Wither would be free and no longer be in trouble with the authorities.

But that's the thing with Hellion: he's passionate. He might will think with his heart over his head when it comes to mutant rights. Especially when it comes to those he cares about. He's quick to take the hostile and violent path if he thinks it's right. Despite being an asshole, he's a bleeding heart who will go to the extremes for those he loves.

Wither and Hellion would go on to have a life-long friendship spanning months, as Wither would leave the school, get statutory raped by an immortal vampire witch, become a villain and die shortly after M-Day.

Hellion was always looking down on humans - and why shouldn't he? They're not part of his social group, he's not really one of them. But while he'd call them apemen and flatscans, he didn't believe in killing. In fact, he was opposed to killing even in self-defense.

That last part would change over time. But that's only because this cruel world stole every last bit of innocence and joy out of him.

Or how about the time the villainous Kingmaker offered him and his friends all their wishes, in exchange for working for him? He and his friends would eventually chose to give up their dreams and stop the Kingmaker's plans, because that was the right thing to do. Because the Hellions are heroes.

Over the years, Hellion would mature as a person. There would be less emphasis on him bullying others, and more emphasis on him enduring tragedies, fighting for the sake of others, struggling with anger and abandonment, and be forced to make more radical moves against the world. While he doesn't look that jerkish spark of his (and some writers would roll him back to a generic bully character whenever the plot called for it), he would become a lot more mature than he was at his debut. He was no longer a high school bully, but an anti-hero of young man with a talent for leadership, a lot of charisma, and big heart that got him into trouble.

Since we're on the subject of friends, let's delve more into some of his relationships. A key part of understanding his character is seeing how he treats others.

Hellion and the Hellions

So New Mutants (2003) and its sequel book, New X-Men (2004) primarily focused on the New Mutants squad. Hellion and the Hellions would be so popular that they would get their own mini and eventually become main characters. But the early books were centered around the New Mutants.

The Hellions are antagonists, the Slytherins to their Gryffindors. Except their dynamic is a lot more complicated than you'd think.

The New Mutants are lead by Wind Dancer, who is also Hellion's first love interest. While Wind Dancer has a huge heart and a knack for bringing out the best in others, the team would fall apart over personal drama. Bitterness, resentment and insecurity would bubble for a long time, culminating in the group briefly splitting up. It would take a lot of work getting them to resolve their issues and be friends again.

This is where the Hellions act as foils. Sure, they might antagonize the New Mutants. Hellion might tease some of them. But the group functions way better as a unit, and they don't have the same interpersonal drama as the New Mutants. They're a cohesive team of friends who support each other.

The Hellions got to star in their own mini, and it delivered on the friendship. In the first issue, we see Hellion picking a fight with airport security for his friends' sake. Instead of going for a more peaceful route, he's quick to order his team and bust out their powers. When Dust chases security down to try and reason with them, he's annoyed that she put herself at risk.

The series is peppered with moments between the various Hellions, which is really nice. I recommend it not just for Hellion, but for the whole Hellions squad. Every one of them is a unique character, and I think they deserve love. There's a reason why New X-Men would revolve more and more around the Hellions.

You won't be surprised to know that Hellion doesn't make fun of fellow Hellion, Mercury, when she's feeling some heartache. Without any sense of sarcasm or irony, he sits down with her and has a heart to heart. No ulterior motives, no gotcha - Hellion is there to support his friends.

One fun thing about Hellion is that he's a huge hypocrite. He will regularly insult others outside his group of friends. But he would rarely hurt his friends, and he'd be the first to defend him. This is most evident in New Mutants (2003) #8, Surge's introduction issue. He's quick to accept his friend Anole's strange mutation and chides Elixir for not being as accepting. In the next couple of pages, he insults a homeless girl, tells her she smells bad and refuses to offer help.

When M-Day happens and Prodigy got depowered, Hellion kicked him while he's down and belittled the guy. He mocked him for being human now. But when he found out that his beloved Wind Dancer is depowered, he tried to comfort her and disregarded everything he previously said about Prodigy. Because Julian holds his friends to a completely different standard than he does others.

He has an incredible amount of loyalty and empathy, but much of that is reserved for his own inner circle. He might be slow to warm up to someone, but once you're in, you're in for the long haul. Unless you really mess up or your name is Josh.

Mutants as a whole are part of that circle, in a way. He won't be friends with every mutant, but he would defend them all with his life. Even though a lot of them don't appreciate his efforts.

Emma Frost

His relationship with Emma is pretty good: she encourages his rowdy behavior because she sees potential in him. He has that same spark, attitude and guile she does. She recognizes that he has the potential to be a great leader, and he does everything he can to meet her expectations. She tends to be lenient on him. She'll bail him out of trouble. When others write him off or turn their backs on him, she's standing with him. But in return, she makes it clear that she expects nothing short of amazing out of him.

Boy, I sure hope nothing ruins this bond.

Prodigy

Speaking of people who don't appreciate Hellion. David Alleyne, AKA Prodigy, was a frequent target of Hellion's bullying. Julian would mock Prodigy for having a lame power [Being able to temporarily absorb skills and thoughts from others around him], and sometimes it would get under David's skin. He really knew how to dig into Prodigy's insecurities and hurt him with them. In turn, Prodigy was always ready to fight back against Hellion and put him in his place whenever he could.

Here's Prodigy's then-girlfriend kissing Hellion, right in front of him.

This is horribly out of context, I just thought it was funny to bring up.

The two would butt heads constantly. Over the years, more tragedies would be thrown at them. They'd mature and function better as a group, but there would always be tension between them, for one reason or another. Both of them are opinionated, and their opinions tend to differ.

Why am I bringing Prodigy up? Prodigy will be a main character in the upcoming NYX book, which is where the Krakoan will debut. The two don't have the most meaningful relationship, but it could easily come into play at some point in the book.

Wind Dancer (Sofia Mantega)

Sofia Mantega was the primary character of New Mutants (2003) and much of New X-Men (2004,) She was the Harry Potter that this Draco Malfoy wants to bang. Sofia was the newcomer to the world of mutants. She was confident, outgoing and stuck to her principals. Despite being very gentle, amiable and friendly, she was strong-willed. She knew how to stand up for herself and others.

Julian and Sofia flirted throughout New Mutants. There was an instant rapport between the two. But that doesn't mean it's all smooth sailings. One of my favorite examples of this comes from issue 3. Julian reached out to Sofia, and she says she liked dancing. As they made plans to go somewhere, Laurie Collins (Wallflower) passed by. While Sofia eagerly makes lunch plans with Laurie, Julian dismissed Laurie and called her a freak.

Sofia responds by hitting Julian's ear with compressed air, making him lose his balance. She and Laurie walked away, leaving him behind.

Sofia knew Julian was a bad boy and a jerk, and she'd stand up to him when she saw him doing something she disapproved of. But she still liked him. She was never afraid to give him a taste of his own medicine, and he loved her for it.

From their first meeting in issue 2, we saw what there were similarities between them. The most obvious would be their powers: they could both fly, and Sofia's power lets her manipulate objects with the same precision as a telekinetic's psychic force.

Like Julian, Sofia was great with people. Unlike Julian, she wasn't one to discriminate. While Julian was quick to brush off and demean Wallflower, Sofia was quick to befriend her.

During class, Julian was quick to tell newcomer David Alleyne (Prodigy) to stay away from Kevin Ford (Wither,) because his powers were dangerous. Meanwhile, when Wallflower worried about how lonely Wither was, Sofia invited him to hang out with them. She dismissed Wither's concerns about his powers. She wasn't afraid to be his friend.

Josh Foley (Elixir), a former Purifier recruit, came to the school after previously turning them down. While Prodigy iwa quick to turn against him, Sofia listened to how Elixir's own family turned against him for being a mutant. She related to him and gave him a second chance.

While Prodigy and Sofia would be co-leader of the New Mutants squad, Sofia was the glue that held them together. However, her caring side did get her into trouble: she followed Julian and the Hellions on a mission to bust Wither out of police custody; she wanted to help, but didn't know what to do and needed some guidance.

Speaking of the Wither incident, it briefly took a toll on Julian and Sofia's relationship. She at first helped the Hellions, but Sofia would ultimately side with her squad and turn against the Hellions, feeling like it was the right thing to do. Julian saw it as a betrayal. It soured their relationship for a bit, though the two would make up in a later arc, when a protective Hellion helped the New Mutants deal with a ghost. He was there for her, even when they were not on speaking terms.

Imo, this was the crux of Julian and Sofia's relationship: they were both popular, charismatic and and good with people. They were passionate about helping those they care about. The difference was that Sofia opens her heart up to more people, while Julian cares more about his inner circle.

The relationship helped to humanize Julian and show that, despite his attitude, there was a lot of good in him. Even if most people couldn't see it. This girl saw that he was a good person and she stuck by him, but she also didn't let him get his way or take advantage of her kindness. And that helped make him a better person.

Conversely, Julian was a fun foil to Sofia. He could give her advice, be there when she needed someone to talk to, and he'd never treat her like he treated her squad. He was a jerk, but he had the purest intentions with her. He was the first student she met at the school, and he was there for her through the good and the bad.

Julian also has a pet name for her: Beautiful. He uses it a few times. And yes, it's important to mention this fact.

It was a very pure, wholesome relationship. Two high school sweethearts who were also on rival teams. Sofia brought the best out of Julian, and Julian bettered himself for her. They butted heads, had their ups and downs, and would let their emotions blind them. But in the end, they loved each other.

Gee, I hope some witch doesn't swoop in and ruin everything with a magic spell.

The two would end up falling out, but they weren't really over each other. After Sofia left the school, we'd see her still dream about being with her friends and kissing Hellion. Meanwhile, Laura would catch Julian muttering Sofia's name in his sleep.

Wolverine/X-23 (Laura Kinney)

"You were dead the second you touched Julian Keller." - Laura, to Lady Deathstrike

When it comes to Laura romances, there are two that are popular with fans: Jubilee/X-23, and Hellion/X-23. Opinions on Laura's other ships tend to range from decent-ish, to mid, to terrible. Hellion/Laura (also known by their combo name, Helix) is, by far, the most popular ship. To this day, 13 years after the pairing was torpedoed, it retains an active fanbase. And they were never officially a couple!

So when Laura first came to Xavier's School of Witchcraft and Mutantry, she wasn't in a good place. She was a former child soldier who was only taught to kill. She was a former teen prostitute who was constantly being abused by others. She had and lost friends. She was forced to kill her own mother. She was barely allowed to feel her own emotions. And right when she meets Wolverine - her father/the man she was cloned from - she's dropped off at a school full of strangers. In the middle of a crisis, where students were being hunted down and killed. Everyone treats her with suspicion and fear, and Emma Frost is doing everything in her power to get her out of the school entirely.

And then there's the school bully. Right off the bat, he was dismissive of her, cracked jokes at her expense, and even teased her a bit. He lets her hang out with his group, but he's not very sympathetic to her trauma. Of course, he wasn't projecting images of her dead mother into her head, so he was better than Emma here.

Things turned around when the students were asked to fight against each other, in order to determine who is strong enough to be on the New X-Men team after M-Day. Emma used this opportunity to try and have X-23 taken out of commission. She wanted Hellion to ensure she got hurt.

Instead, Hellion ended up protecting her. Emma was furious. She picked Surge as team leader over him out of spite, and made it clear that he was very disappointed in Hellion.

Over the course of New X-Men, their relationship would evolve into a close connection. Julian would be protective of her. He would risk his life for her. He pushed his powers to the absolute limits and had Emma break away any mental restraints on them, so he could use them to save her life.

Through her crush on Julian, Laura began to truly experience many of her emotions. All her friends at school helped her process and grow, but the growing romance between these two kids was especially endearing. Despite being partly scared of her, Hellion would stand by her. He'd even go on to call her his best friend. When everyone else treats her with suspicion, or they suspected her of falling back to her violent ways, he was the first one to jump to her defense and see the absolute best in her.

Let's not forget the time Laura was ready to kill her arch-enemy, Karima. She knew Karima was to dangerous to let live, and she told Hellion that they had to kill her. But Hellion declined. He wanted him and Laura to be better than that. Hellion wanted to help break her out of that way of thinking.

Their dynamic sort of shifted as things went on. In that Hellion becomes this sort of damsel in distress who gets horribly injured and needs to be saved by Laura. She even went to Hell with a demon in order to save him. The most notable example of Hellion's Tragic Love Interest-ification is the time Lady Deathstrike shanked Hellion.

Laura totally lost it and beat Lady Deathstrike's ass.

These were two broken people. They suffered so much throughout their short lives. But then they found each other. They were broken together, but they found happiness. They bought out the best in each other, and showed the other that they are more than the tragedies they've endured.

There are a lot more nuances to the relationship, such as Hellion being more accepting of Laura's quirks and insecurities, how some fans interpret their dynamic as a play on traditional gender roles, how Laura was portrayed in their dynamic, how it styles over every other Laura romance. You can ask pretty much any Helix fan about the relationship, and they'll all have different aspects on the pairing. Some I haven't listed or even considered. I'm really just covering the barest essentials.

I just hope no writer comes in and ruins their relationship.

Other Loves: Ships that Pass in the Night

Hellion dated Shark-Girl for a bit, and once flirted with Armor. He also took three of the surviving Stepford Cuckoos to the school dance, at the same time - though he immediately ditched them for Wind Dancer. However, years later, one panel had one of the girls casually mention that they were going on a date with him.

Remember Prodigy's blue-haired girlfriend? She was the homeless girl Hellion had previously bullied. The two would have some animosity over the years, largely due to them being two stubborn, strong-headed individuals. Neither of them liked to take the other's crap, though to be fair, Hellion was usually the one causing trouble. The two would eventually be the New X-Men team together, and they would come to respect and care for each other. While there wasn't an actual romance between them in the main continuity, the two were shown to be married in one future, in the non-canon Battle of the Atom mobile game.

There was also that time he and Diamondback briefly flirted.

Fun fact: Hellion has a thing for powerful women. Women who can take charge, or are outspoken, are in control, or otherwise strong. If they can kill him, he can bed them. While all of his love interests have different personalities, they're all powerful women in one way or another.

Also, Wind Dancer and Shark-Girl are both Latinas. Laura (at the time) and the Cuckoos were also clones, of Wolverine and Emma Frost, respectively. (Well, I SAY clones, but technically none of those characters are clones in the strictest sense. It's a whole thing, but oddly enough they still share that in common.) Point is, the man has a type.

Ready for yet another fun fact: Hellion went on a date with all three Cuckoos at once. At best, Quentin Quire got with only one of them. He managed to officially date that Cuckoo, as opposed to just going on dates. But Quire was also responsible for another one of the others Cuckoos dying, which I feel cancels it out.

My favorite Hellion ship, you ask? Thank you for asking, reader. And to be honest, I don't know. On paper, the tragic romance of Helix is compelling and dramatic. It's very easy to see why the ship endured nearly 20 years later. It'd be a slam dunk... if Hell-Dancer wasn't so compelling, charming and sweet. For me, these two ships are usually neck and neck.

I'm also partial to Surge/Hellion, and a bit of Hellion/Rockslide. There was also a fake leak going around back in the day, claiming something along the lines of Emma hooking up with Hellion and getting impregnated by him. Fans on Tumblr were going mental over it, even if no one took it seriously. I love that for us. I love that for them. Sometimes you don't want a good romance. Sometimes you want to see nuclear fallout. It's like watching MILF Manor, but it's even more gross. You know it's bad and it's not something you would even enjoy watching. But you still want to see the mess it creates.

The Keller Family

What kind of people would create Hellion? Looking at how their son turned out, they must have done a great job. Only super-parents could have crafted perfection, right?

Actually, no. It turned out that Hellion is perfect, amazing, and the best character in all of fiction, DESPITE them.

We got the first red flag when Parents Week rolled around. Julian manipulated his teacher Northstar into getting him out of work duty. He gave a sob story about how his parents don't want to see him, though as Anole pointed out, his parents really didn't come to see him. Julian casually waved this off, stating that his parents were busy skiing in the Alps.

Hellion was not only bragging about manipulating someone, but he was bragging about his parents blowing off their own son to have fun. He only focused on how they're doing something cool and elitist. At that point in time, they had likely not seen or spoken to their son in months. He was aware how the situation would be seen as unacceptable by others, but was seemingly incapable of recognizing it on a personal level.

In the past, his parents spent 10 thousand dollars on Julian's 12th birthday party. Hellion casually stated that L.A. parties hard to compete with, meaning that this type of excess was normal for people in the area. Considering he mentioned "competing" and his parents would be shown to care about their image, I wouldn't be surprised if all this attention was not just about Julian having a great birthday, but also making the Kellers could look good. Hell, when you get to know his parents more, you could argue that his parents only cared about looking good.

They were powerful and had connections, to the point where Hellion was able to casually call up the Department of Homeland Security to help him out. Hellion clearly got his Trust Fund Baby attitude from.

Hellion's parents would debut in the 2004 mini, New X-Men: Hellions. (That's right. Hellion's Hellions book walked so Krakoa's Hellions book could run.) They were immensely disappointed in their son causing a scene at an airport, using their connections to get out of it, and bringing his friends to their house without telling them.

Julian's father was shown to dislike his son's mutation. He didn't like that his son had to go to the Xavier Institute, and he was glad that his son mutation was easy to hide. While he was angry at his son for using his powers and making a scene, it was clear that he only cared about how it affected the Kellers' image.

Hellion's mother was a little more understanding. She was softer spoken. While she compared him unfavorably to his older brother James, she was fine with her younger child walking his own path. But she also sided with Daddy Hellion, because they worked too hard and didn't want their son to risk their assets.

Hellion's parents had cut Hellion out of the will. The family business and all of their money would go to James. Hellion and his friends were welcome to stay at the house, and Hellion was still family. But no way were they letting their twerp kid make them look bad or endanger their comfy lifestyle.

Then they left Hellion and his friends to go on vacation.

The moment Mama and Daddy Hellion left, Julian enlisted the help of his friends to root through their personal belongings to find something to use against his parents. Despite originally telling his friends that his parents were self-made billionaires, he made his thoughts clear to them once they cut him off. No one could make so much money, so quickly.

We got a rough timeline how things went down: they were making about 30k a year, 18 months before Hellion turned 12. Around that time, their company went international and became incredibly profitable. Considering Hellion was stated to be 16 at this time, this means that they became international moguls and billionaires in less than a decade.

So what was the source of their success? It turned out that they used magic to perform a dark ritual, summoned an evil being known as the Kingmaker, and then formed a sort of Faustian bargain with him for all their wealth and power.

Hellion and the Hellions summoned the Kingmaker, at first not actually thinking it would work. But nah, it worked. Kingmaker would offer all of them their hearts desires. But as we covered earlier, the kids eventually chose to give up on their wishes to stop his evil plans.

Hellion's parents were extremely pissed at Julian for running afoul with their benefactor. Mama Hellion reminded her son that they couldn't protect him from someone as powerful as the Kingmaker. But Hellion dismissed him and pointed out how his parents were the ones who got in bed with a villain, and the Kingmaker would more likely go after them, since Hellion and his friends were strong enough to beat him up.

Yet despite being disinherited, being treated like the family shame for being born a mutant, and finding out his parents teamed up with bad people for their own personal gain, Hellion still wanted to be there for them.

Despite Hellion's loyalty, his family would never return it. In fact, this would be the last thing he would ever say to them. Because they would eventually cut him off completely, sell their house and not even tell him where they moved to. They would abandon their son when he needed them most.

At least the other guardians in Hellion's life weren't letting him down, right?

Abandoned!

We have a character who thrives through his connections with others. But what happens when we take them all away?

Just after the Hellions' big summer blow-out against the Kingmaker, M-Day happened. M-Day (also known as Decimation, which should give you a good idea of what it entailed) saw the Pretender (AKA the Scarlet Witch, AKA the Scarlet Bitch, AKA the Harlot Witch) saying, "Haha no more mutants, eunh 😜" and depowering the vast majority of mutants remaining. Their numbers, previously in the thousands (being in around the millions before the Genosha genocide) were now in the very, very, very low hundreds. Cerebro clocked a 91.4% remaining reduction in the mutant population.

To be fair, Wanda was going through some things at the time, and it's not like she was in the right mindspace after others were taking advantage of her mental breakdown for their own personal gain. She was a victim. But to be unfair, it's also the start of everything going wrong for Hellion.

Xavier's school was absolutely wrecked by this. The vast majority of students were depowered, some of them dying as a consequence.

Among the depowered students was Prodigy, and Hellion was quick to swoop in and make fun of him for it. Including stating that Prodigy didn't belong with them at the school, now that he was human. He assumed Prodigy was ready to abandon the mutants now that he could be "normal."

Unfortunately, Wind Dancer overheard what Hellion said. As it turned out, she'd also been depowered by the Pretender. She turned the situation back around on Julian and asked if she was less "Beautiful" to him now, and not worthy of being loved in his eyes. Angry, Wind Dancer stormed off and stopped talking to Hellion.

Once again, hypocrisy. Julian would think that about Prodigy, and he was ready to make things harder for him. Hellion would never see Sofia as anything less, whether she be human or mutant. The thought wouldn't even occur to him. Julian loved Sofia. He'd never hurt her on purpose. But through his own attitude and carelessness, he ended up hurting her the most.

At that time, Wither was also going through some things. He accidentally mangled his crush's arm with his death power, and that drove her further into the arms of Wither's rival, Elixir. Already heartbroken that over the torment his powers had brought him, Wither became more withdrawn.

Hellion was stuck trying to reach out to both Wither and Wind Dancer, but he couldn't be fully there for both of them at the same time. He was unable to reach out to Wither and stop him from running away from the school. They would not see each other again until Necrosha, half a decade later in real time. By then, Wither would be their enemy.

Sofia also quietly left without telling Julian. The two would never even see or speak to her for over 14 years IRL.

But that wasn't the end of it. Tag, one of the Hellions and Julian's best friend, also felt hurt. Julian was so worried about Wither and especially Sofia, he completely neglected to see Tag's pain. He had also been depowered, and was worried he didn't belong with them anymore. Tag, along with most of the other depowered students, would leave the school. He and many other kids boarded a schoolbus and prepared to leave their old life behind.

And then a missile hit the bus, killing all inside. Hellion and his friends would get injured in the attack, trying and failing to save the other kids. Julian was just about to reach Tag and save him, only for the bus to explode and severely injure Hellion for his troubles.

42 children died in that attack. 15 of them were buried in the X-Men' own backyard because even their families didn't want them.

Well, at least the Marvel universe had a ton of heroes who could help out during these trying times. In fact, here comes Carol Danvers to... Oh no, wait. She's just here to try and get the mutants to help her side in the Civil War event. All the other heroes are too busy fighting each other to protect these kids. That's a shame.

At least the government stepped in with Sentinels, who would stand guard outside the mansion and protect the kids. And by that, I mean that they did absolutely nothing and completely failed at their jobs. Because assassins managed to sneak into the school and kill even more kids.

The remaining X-kids would go on to have several misadventures, including getting themselves involved in X-23's life when her old enemies come knocking, fighting a time-traveling Nimrod robot from the future, fighting alongside the adults to save a mutant messiah baby, and getting kidnapped by a demon (NOT the same demon that would go on to stab Hellion, who had already been stabbed by someone else before. Hellion wasn't even involved with this demon adventure.) I won't go into detail over all the horrible things that happened to Hellion and his friend, but know that a lot happened to them.

The kids were technically under the care of the X-Men, but the X-Men were too busy, were spread too thin, and were fighting the world from all fronts to focus on the kids. So the kid were largely left to defend themselves. This is best exemplified when, after the X-Men failed to protect the kids from several attacks, Surge dismisses their help. "We already know how to die."

One issue was dedicated to the kids trying to find out which among them was the youngest. They believed that the youngest of them would become a target, and therefore more likely to be killed. They singled out the youngest kid, but they truly believed that they were all going to die.

I bring this up because this was what the X-Men tragically considered a good day. At that point, a good day was one where nobody died, nobody was tortured, and nobody's soul was torn apart.

And this isn't me exaggerating. The X-Men were openly remorseful about how they failed these kids. They explicitly stated how the kids had serious emotional and psychological trauma. But despite everything, the X-Men cared for their students. They couldn't always be there for them like they should, but they were still their guardians. They would do anything in their power to make the world a better place for them.

So anyway, Cyclops disbanded the X-Men and shut down the school. The kids they previously failed were now scattered to the wind.

Emma left Hellion. As much as she loved him and wanted to keep him safe, she knew she had to keep him away from the X-Men. He needed to be kept away from the fighting and wars for as long as he could. Maybe now he could find some semblance of a normal life and keep himself safe? At the very least, Angel paid for his hotel and food for the time being.

Anyway, Hellion found out that his parents abandoned him, so he had nowhere to go. He was now homeless and had no support system, putting him in more danger than ever.

Hellion would seek out Magneto (not in hero mode at the time) to team up with him. Magneto calls him arrogant, but desperate to please. He refused to take him in and went on to say this:

"Everything you thought you were is gone, and the only thing you had left, the only thing you held on to so tightly was that you were an X-Man. Your teachers abandoned you. Your friends died. Your heart broke. Your beliefs shattered. The X-Men failed you. So, you find me, their greatest enemy. You love them so much that you want to hurt them. But I won't use you, and I won't kill you."

He says that Cyclops had given Hellion the gift of time. He had a moment of peace and a chance to be away from all the trouble, before war would come for mutants once again. At least for now, Hellion was safe.

Then Hellion was injected with the Legacy Virus (mutant AIDS) and used as a hostage in a wicked supervillain plot. Don't worry about it, it was just a small addition to the tapestry of suffering that is his life.

Hellion Was Right

After the X-Men disassembled and anti-mutant sentiment was on the rise, Hellion took a more radical approach to dealing with issues. He'd openly protest on the street, belittle and even attack mutant bigots and haters. He had enough of the X-Men kowtowing and trying to create peace with people who wanted them dead. No more worrying about the silent majority minority of well-meaning humans, no more trying to police their own or trying to achieve co-existence. Hellion was coming more radicalized.

Hellion's radicalization was bad. He resorted to extremes, violence and anger to hurt anyone who got in his way. His actions, while meant to help mutants, were sabotaging relationships between humans and mutants.

But let's be real: there will never, ever be co-existence between humans and mutants. In real life, the drama, threat and isolation mutants face are a big part of the mutant narrative. Take that away, and the franchise seems a lot less viable.

So Marvel will constantly throw in threats of violence and extinction at mutants. It ramped up to insane degrees by the 2000's, to the point where mutants were facing extinction for over 20 years real time, and things were only escalating. Society will only grow to hate mutants more and more.

While Hellion's radicalism isn't necessarily right, Xavier's dreams of peace are objectively wrong. If anything, the X-Men are indirectly upholding the status quo. Yeah, they also prevent things from getting worse (Days of Future Past), but much of their strides end up being undone.

Mutants would almost achieve coexistence with mutants via their nation of Krakoa, in that the mutants basically bribed the world into tolerating them and attacking them less. While Krakoa would reach out and help humans with various matters, and the books would rely much less on extinction events for stories, things were nowhere close to perfect.

I'm going to say it: Hellion was right. The X-Men were wrong. Humans can't be reasoned with so easily. They need to force their view onto others. They need to fight humans for their rights. The only reasons why they don't? Aside from status quo, it's because the X-Men and other superheroes would step in and give some speech about peaceful co-existence being the right path, even though it's hard. Not knowing that things will objectively never get better because Marvel civilians are irredeemable.

Hellion wouldn't have helped mutants with his actions. But he couldn't make things any worse at that point, because the world turned against him long before he was even alive. No matter what, mutants were fucked.

But hey, it's not like mutants can live without humans. Coexistence is necessary for their survival. It's not like they have proof that mutants would thrive without the presence of humans. Yet.

Anyway, Hellion protested and Emma & her Dark X-Men arrested them. Emma betrayed the evil fascist government run by Norman Osborn, blah blah blah, it was all cool because Emma helped him. She also punched him in the face and put him through a lot of shit, but let's ignore that. It's island time.

The Hands Job

So the X-Men decided to make an island nation, where they gathered all the stray mutants they could and offered them sanctuary. This time, was Utopia. Next time, it would be Krakoa.

Hellion would return to the field. He'd fight the good fight alongside the X-Men, protecting mutants and humanity because it's the right thing to do. Despite everything that had happened to him, he still believed in the X-Men's cause. Or at the very least, he wanted to protect those he loved.

Anyway, a Nimrod Sentinel ended up blowing off his hands.

It really messed him up. Hellion got metal prosthetic hands to and made due by puppeting them with his telekinesis. He had the option of getting mechanized hands he could control more easily, but since he was deeply traumatized by machines, having little robots at the end of his forearms was the last thing he wanted.

To be fair on Rogue, she reached out to Hellion to try and help him. She'd offer to have him go on a trip with her and others to India, though he'd decline. He wasn't in the mood to have people gawk at his missing body parts. Which, fair.

Also, Hellion got stabbed by a demon-possessed Wolverine and Laura had to save him. It's only worth mentioning because Laura peaced out after this.

He was pretty pissed off that the X-Men could always come back from the dead one way or another, yet they couldn't fix his hands. He lashed out at the mutant messiah, Hope, for doing jack shit when it came to miracles. Really busting her balls.

So the X-Men got involved with rebuilding San Fransisco after the whole... everything that had been happening these last several paragraphs. Rogue decided that Hellion should come along and help them with reconstruction. And let's get something out of the way: the X-Men were sending Hellion on a mission while he is was, self-admitted, still on painkillers following his double-amputation. Rogue meant well; it was meant to be a safe, no-action mission where Hellion could get some fresh air and put his troubles aside. And hell, maybe he could have refused the mission at any time. But like??? This child, trained to be a soldier by the X-Men, just had his hands chopped off and was thrown into work while hopped up on drugs.

Just keep this in mind. Hellion had no business being there, but the X-Men thought it was a good idea.

So Hellion was pissed off, bullied Hope for being a shitty messiah, and wantonly blew up debris, endangering everyone around him. Before he could accidentally hit anyone, Omega Sentinel (some human lady with evil robot programming that makes her turn evil sometimes, whatever who the hell cares) turned evil and started beating up all of the X-Men. Just absolutely wrecking them. They had no chance.

She would turn on Hope and a little human girl in the area. Just as Omega Sentinel was about to kill them, Hellion intervened. A miracle happened, and he got a powerup (implied, but never stated or followed up on, from Hope.) He was strong enough beat the robot lady's ass.

And he did. Repeatedly. He lost his temper and just kept viciously attacking her, all while yelling about his hatred of the machines who ruined his life and took his hands. Omega would return to her senses, but she knew it wouldn't last. She begged Hellion to finish her off. She asked him to kill her, before she could turn against her friends and harm them. She wanted to die human.

And Hellion obliged. Omega Sentinel would be left comatose.

At any rate, he saved Hope's life. Considering she would be integral to the very foundation of Krakoa, Krakoa would not exist if Hellion were not around. Hope was also the key to saving the mutant species multiple times. Mutants would have been doomed to extinction if not for Hellion. Yeah, others saved Hope and had way more of a direct impact in restoring their species. But still.

It was a tragic affair, and as Julian recounted the events of the mission to Cyclops, he was clearly shaken up and unsteady. He insisted that he had no regrets and said that he wasn't going to apologize for what he did. But he was clearly not doing well.

Cyclops was pissed because he felt that Julian's level of violence was unacceptable. Also Omega was still a good person, despite being overwritten at the time. She was a victim in all this, too. Yet Hellion didn't even consider any other option but violence and death.

Though it's not like he actually had the luxury of options, considering Omega was annihilating senior X-Men, he only had a split second to save Hope and the girl from danger, and even his victim supported his actions with her dying breath. Hellion lost his temper and was flippant about his actions, but he did the right thing.

Hellion then delivered this take-down to Cyclops, basically saying how Cyclops is a hypocrite who did shit (including killing people!), but apparently it was okay when he did it? Things aren't all black and white, it's not like Cyclops was some crazy psycho who killed and always got away with it. But like... Hellion was right. Cyclops had a very "ends-justify-the-means" attitude at the time. He was a revolutionary who was fed up with the way mutants had been treated. It's just that Cyclops had main character privilege and Hellion didn't.

So yeah, the X-Men were shitting all over Hellion for saving them, an innocent child and the fucking mutant messiah, because he wasn't sad enough about it.

But wait, it gets better.

Hellion Was Right: Omega Sentinel

Hey, remember how everyone shat on Hellion for killing Omega Sentinel? How he refused to apologize for doing what needed to be done, when no one else would? Yeah, the X-Men really chewed him out for being so cool with killing for the sake of protecting innocent lives.

Anyway, Karima would come back as a major antagonist in the Krakoa era, after a future, fully-roboticized version of herself would travel to the past, take over her body and dedicate her life to ending the mutants and humanity. Something she nearly succeeded in, when she helped create the terrorist organization known as Orchis.

Rogue especially took this hard. She crapped all over Hellion for attacking Omega Sentinel in a fit of rage while she was down. She would later assault him over it.

Here's Rogue in 2024, after the X-Men finally defeated Omega Sentinel.

Hellion's only mistake was not finishing the job.

But despite all this, Hellion had morals. He would spend some time debating if he felt sorry for what he did to Omega Sentinel. Which goes against him confidentally telling Cyclops that he wasn't sorry about it. Coupled with this, Rogue going on to say that Hellion felt guilty and wanted to atone, and later stories showing him wrestling with the incident and verbally trying to justify his actions to himself, it's implied that Hellion did, in fact, feel guilty after all.

Also, Hellion would not talk to his friends and classmates about what had happened. After his battle with Omega Sentinel, he briefly passed by his friends. He didn't reach out to them, they didn't acknowledge him. Later, fellow classmate Blindfold would straight-up call Hellion a monster. Hellion was all alone.

Fractured But Whole

Before we continue, let's circle back to Hellion getting a power-up earlier. I said it was implied to be from Hope, performing some sort of miracle. But either she gave him a permanent power-up, or Hellion just unlocked his own natural talent. Because the same run later showed Hellion using his powers to remove an explosion out of someone's body, showing he can mentally manipulate heat and energy on a cellular level. Yeah, fellow X-Man Rachel used her telepathy to spot him, but for those keeping count: Hellion could move energy through people without harming them, move at subsonic speeds, create force barriers, shoot telekinetic blasts, control heat and energy, and work on a cellular level at minimum. Laura once told Julian to create a telekinetic bubble inside of a villain's brain or heart to kill them. Hellion was against this on principal, but he doesn't say he can't do it. Considering he could weave his energy into someone's body and remove a fucking explosion, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that Hellion could bubble some jerk's brain.

Now keep this all in mind. The X-Men had one of the most powerful telekinetics alive. He was hurt, vulnerable, and becoming increasingly isolated due to the mistreatment and trauma he had been enduring. Which was largely made worse by the X-Men just being inconsiderate assholes. And despite everything that had happened, despite his growing cynicism with the world and his disillusionment with the X-Men, he still worked to be a hero. Surely this is the type of mutant the X-Men would want to nurture, help and encourage.

Anyway, Hellion was probation unless they needed to use his powers for missions.

Okay, Cyclops and friends were a bust. They treated Hellion like shit and degraded him when he needed help. Maybe he could find help from somewhere else?

So Cyclops and Wolverine broke up over (among other things) the ethics of raising child soldiers and letting these kids kill. Cyclops is pro child soldier, and Wolverine was against it. You'd think this might be in response to them letting down their students and helplessly watching as they got gunned down. But they go back to using them once this event is over, so it's kind of pointless when you think about it.

Hellion choose to side with Wolverine during the Schism. He joined the school Wolverine has built. He was still a brash bully, but he was supporting the more idealistic and good-natured path of righteousness Wolverine is offering. Despite Wolverine treating him like shit and his daughter breaking his heart, he believed in what Wolverine has to say.

Wolverine was suspicious of him and threw him into a special class with other troublesome kids, so Spider-Man could spy on them and see which one might be a traitor. Still better than being with Cyclops though. And Hellion even got to go on crime-fighting adventures with Spider-Man, protecting New York!

But then this was ignored and never acknowledged again. Hellion would never talk to Spider-Man again and this whole thing might as well not have happened.

Hellion would become a shut-in. Trapped in his smelly room, he pretty much cut off all contact with everybody. He made it clear to a belligerent, antagonistic Wolverine that he didn't want to be there anymore. But he couldn't leave, since people saw him as a threat and would come after him the second he stepped out. Wolverine takes the opportunity to antagonize the disabled child soldier war hero with PTSD, whose life he helped demolish. Wolverine even said that he didn't give a damn about Julian's troubles, and was only getting involved because people were complaining about Hellion being a ticking time bomb.

One day, Laura came to visit him. Julian was quick to forgive her for leaving him on read for several months after he became an amputee and had his life destroyed. And to be fair, she was going through a lot of stuff on her own, which Hellion recognizes. He did briefly lash out at her in his anger, but quickly corrected himself and apologized. He also grabbed her arm when she tried to leave him without an explanation again - uncool, but he at least checked himself and let go when she told him to.

Gambit got involved to try and protect Laura... by threatening to blow off Hellion's arms and legs, to match his missing hands. Hellion was being an asshole, but keep in mind Hellion is a child soldier who had his arms blown off in the line of duty, and has spent the last few months being mistreated by pretty much every X-Man he has come across.

Hellion was also jealous of Gambit, but also worried that he was a groomer who was trying to put the moves on Laura. He was wrong, of course. But maybe he heard about a certain student named Foxx (aka Mystique,) who tried to frame Gambit a banging one of his students.

Hellion stalked Laura asked around and located Laura at the Baxter Building, where she would be spending the night babysitting Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman's two kids. They would get attacked and abducted by the Collector, leading to this whole adventure. It was a thing. Julian helped save her and the kids from dying in the cold recesses of space. Also Julian made fun of the Collector to his face multiple times.

But while this was going down, Hellion showed his insecurities to Laura. He knew she had her own issues, but he didn't know the extent of what she'd been going through. She didn't talk to him about them, and he would have liked that. He felt abandoned, and wondered if him being disabled now was one of the things driving her away from him. But she assured him that she didn't abandon him, and kept watch over him when he was injured and recovering.

When all is said and done, Laura was ready to part ways with Julian. But he didn't want to go without talking things out. He still loved her and wanted to be with her. But she didn't feel the same way and rejected him. Julian lashed out and accused her of being an unfeeling machine - something that would hurt her. She still cared for him, but her feelings for him had changed as the two of them had changed.

This whole debacle is very controversial with fans. Who was right? Who was wrong? How justified were either of them? Was Julian abusive? Was Laura unnecessarily cruel? Generally, people will agree that they both messed up. But who was more in the wrong usually depends on which character you stan more. Hellion's behavior near the end is never really justified, though many people at least understand where he's coming from.

Despite being a Hellion stan, I lean more towards Laura. Despite their mutual feelings for each other, she wasn't obligated to put her feelings aside to take care of him. Her life was also falling apart and she had her own struggles. Yes, she could have handled the situation better. But I don't blame her for focusing on her own life when she was drowning. And it's not like this girl, raised from birth as a tool and still coming to terms with her own humanity, pain and emotions, was capable of dealing with him in the best way, even though she wanted to.

But I can't be mad at Hellion because he suffered way more these last couple of months, didn't have the support Laura would come to have, and, oh yeah, he had his hands blown off by an evil robot. That didn't entitle him to lash out at her the ways he did, but he absolutely didn't deserve to be brushed off. Which is what Laura did, even if it was unintentional.

It was a failure to communicate. They both wanted different things. They had their own issues and that kept them from being there for each other. They were hurt by other people and situations, those warped them and made it harder for them to reconnect. Ultimately, the Laura and Julian we were seeing now, were not the same people they were when they met and fell in love.

I see the vision, but it still feels kind of abrupt and it looks like largely happened just to write out the romance, while not really doing anything to address their issues. It's a story about them growing apart, but not really making it feel like they grew apart. It just looks like Laura is avoiding Hellion even after he explains that her how her behavior also hurt him, but only Hellion's behavior is treated as heinous. And to be fair, grabbing onto someone the way he did, lashing out at them and poking at their insecurities around their humanities, is arguably worse than anything she did to him. But shutting yourself off from someone without explanation, ignoring them when they're begging for help, not showing much concern for their suffering and ignoring multiple pleas to be honest about their problems, is also pretty nasty.

Again, Laura wasn't obligated to deal with his baggage. And it's not like she was in the right headspace to help. But she was involved with Hellion's life and problems, and he was with hers. To ignore this connection was very insulting. Neither of these traumatized, PTSD-ridden child soldiers handled this complex emotional situation well.

So I get it. But the story was written in a way that downplayed Laura's faults and felt like it had to force the issue in order to make it work.

Anyway, Laura would get into a poorly-received, crappy romance with a time-traveling teen Angel from the past. She would also spend hundreds of years in a Vault with Synch as her only companion, where they'd fall in love under dubious circumstances, largely off-screen. She'd forget all this and Synch would accept this, then get back together with another version of Laura, who is also the "real" Laura, and an old MILF. But most fans don't care about old Laura or accept her as the "official" Laura, and she ends up dying, living inside of Synch's head and then dying again. So this whole paragraph means nothing.

But at least we would get a couple shots of Hellion looking at Laura through some bushes like a creeper, just to twist the knife and make sure that the ship was properly killed.

The Fart Cloud

Remember that time the Inhumans unleashed a stupid fart cloud onto Earth in the hopes of activating latent Inhuman genes in some humans? But the fart cloud was poisonous to mutant and started killing them? The X-Men had to hide their numbers in a Hell dimension for safety.

So Julian was poisoned by one of those clouds, and the X-Men totally failed to find and save him when he went looking for their help. Thanks again, X-Men. You're always there when Hellion needs you.

Hellion would visit the Inhumans on their Earth turf. Now dying from the cloud, he was determined to be a martyr. Let the Inhumans witness a person they'd harmed with their actions.

His powers wrecked New Attilan as he lost control over them, endangering everyone around them. Luckily, an Inhuman named Synapse was able to turn off his powers and stop him.

Synapse argued to the ruler of the Inhumans, Medusa, to help Hellion despite the damage he caused. Medusa didn't need convincing though; they were not going to persecute the infirm, and they were going to help this poor, suffering mutant as best as they could. He was going to get the best medical care and they would work tirelessly to see him recover.

Yes. The Inhumans who nearly gassed him to death treated him better than the X-Men. Hellion would be so grateful for their help, he would volunteer at their hospital as an orderly.

Not much would happen to Hellion after this. Despite being told (by everyone) that he was a dangerous mess they didn't want to deal with, Hellion... never really did anything beyond sometimes teasing classmates sometime, briefly date Shark-Girl, and help the X-Men whenever they asked. Many of his cameos consisted of him being in the background, having been beaten up by whatever villain the X-Men were facing.

Also, another fun fact: The X-Disassembled event saw the adults chiding the students as young, inexperienced kids who should stay out of real missions. Which was disrespectful to the kids who rose to the challenge when the X-Men failed them. But at least they weren't interested in using them as child soldiers.

Except one of the adults telling them this was Jean, who has their fellow student Laura as a member on her team. AND she had Laura's 12 year old sister, too. Hellion was notably absent from the majority of this conflict, since his very existence would undermine the adults' message entirely.

Also the school got blown up. It got blown up quite a few times while Hellion was a student. It got blown up so many times, the kids were cracking jokes about it. Surprisingly, none of those explosions were caused by him.

But just because Hellion wasn't active, doesn't mean he wasn't still pulling out Ws.

Hellion Was Right: Etc.

Hellion was right about a lot of things, but I can't sit here and list every single one of them in great detail. So here's a bulletpoint list of his other truths.

During the Utopia era, he knew that humans would eventually round up mutants and put them in camps. We know that happens in a few bad futures. This would also happen during the fall of Krakoa.

He knew the Brood were irredeemable monsters and hated Broo on sight. And in the end? Their only "redemption" was the X-Men to use them as weapons against the terrorist organization, Orchis. They could never truly be saved.

He ended up siding with Wolverine during the Schism, despite him and Logan hating each other. Guess who won the Schism in the end?

Right away, Hellion knew Wind Dancer was a catch. He also had a thing with Laura, dated Shark-Girl, and in an AU he married Surge. The man just can't stop picking Best Girls. He has a supernatural sense that allows him to figure out which girls are superior.

Remember that school competition, and Hellion bragged about how none of the other squads could ever hope to win it again? Shortly after Hellion and his squad won it, the school was hit by the mass depowering event known as M-Day. The majority of students were depowered and many were subsequently massacred by anti-mutant terrorists. Even when the school recovered, they never had these school-wide competitions again. So yeah, no other students would get to win that trophy.

Hellion had been open about his dislike of robots, after they took his hands. Who was behind Orchis? Omega Sentinel. Not only that, the group was primarily run by robots, and they wanted to wipe out all organic life - especially mutants, but they had plans to kill all organic life to preserve themselves. Humans would be their next target, after they finished killing off mutants.

Hellion thought it was weird how Wolverine kept picking up teenage girls as his sidekicks. He joked that Wolverine was a perv, of course Wolverine isn't a predator, he has no ill intentions with those girls, and some of them just dropped into his lap. But it's still pretty sus, even if no one else wants to point it out.

Northstar thought Hellion was making a mistake, picking Emma as his advisor over him. He thought Hellion needed the discipline. Considering Hellion thrived under Emma, she stood up for him when no one else did, and Northstar abandoned him just as the others did anyway... Yeah, Hellion made the right choice in picking Emma.

New Edit: I just saw this post. So you know how Hellion thought mutants should ignore past incidents and accidents, because they need to look out for each other and humans wouldn't judge them fairly? And then the X-Men were all, "NO, we need to listen to human laws!" Yeah, so anyway, the X-Men would basically say the same thing Hellion did, in the Krakoa era. Except now they had the power to enforce their will.

Hellion hated Quentin Quire and beat him up. No explanation needed.

The Gays Love Hellion (And Hellion Loves Them)

So weirdly enough, Hellion has a big LGTV fanbase. Which is weird, because he's from Academy X, not Fraternity X. Why would gay fans gravitate towards a straight, cis, masculine jock who regularly dominates others an- Oh.

Well, it goes beyond that. The X-Men in general have a huge queer audience. But Hellion has multiple factors working in his favor: he's sarcastic and has great quips, he takes after Emma Frost, he's canonically ripped, and he's had his moments of fanservice.

Most importantly, there was that one arc where he was on a beach for a mission. He thought the mission was casual, so he was the only one in swimwear, and nobody told him because they wanted to see him in short-shorts. He's smart, but that scene would go on to imprint himbo energy into the minds of many readers.

Also, he spent the entirety of the Age of X event with his tits out.

I don't find Hellion sexy at all, personally. He's not my type. But he IS a sex bomb. I can see the appeal regardless.

I'm iffy on the femme-y himbo depiction among fans. It's amusing, but I feel like it tends to paint a shallow picture of an otherwise manly, cool, intelligent and tragic character. But Hellion is perfect even if he's a himbo, he's perfect no matter what. I stan the alternate universe black Hellion who was like 5 years old and only appeared in the background of one panel, who may or may not be Hellion at all. He had metal hands, so I like to think he's meant to be Julian Keller.

Krakoa

So the mutants formed a mutant nation, an island paradise called Krakoa. It was this whole thing, it was great, I loved it. I recommend reading House of X/Powers of X if you haven't already. But the tl;dr is that mutants were able to resurrect the dead and give depowered mutants their powers back.

Hellion was given a sanctuary in paradise. The X-Men who had abandoned him had finally given him protection and safety. He had every single one of his deceased friends back, and they were there with him. The days of M-Day were a bad memory, there would be no school attacks, and he wouldn't have to live in fear of M-Pox. If he wanted to, he could die and come back with his hands, fully restored through the Resurrection Protocols.

You know who else came back? Wind Dancer. After fourteen real-life years, the two were finally reunited.

Hellion had regained almost everything he'd lost. All of his suffering was worth it, because he finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. All the work he put into helping the X-Men, saving Hope and working tirelessly to protect others has paid off.

But if this post has taught you anything, it's that Hellion isn't allowed happiness.

Krakoa would fall through the machinations of an evil organization called Orchis. Lead by such villains as Omega Sentinel and Nimrod, Orchis would frame Krakoa for crimes in biological warfare and sabotage, wanton murder of humans, and plots of world domination. The whole world stood back and did nothing as the mutants were attacked, scattered across the world and hunted 'till near-extinction. Many people even cheered Orchis on. Some governments even assisted them in making life more difficult for mutants. Mutants were rounded up, jailed, put under inhumane conditions, forcibly injected with "cures," and even murdered.

Where was Hellion during all of this? Well, he was in another dimension. Xavier had sent mutants through portals, per Orchis' demands. They wanted Xavier to telepathically force every mutant off the planet, or Orchis would use biological warfare to wipe out millions of humans. Wanting to spare humans, Xavier forced the majority of mutants through portals, which would end up leading them to the White Hot Room. The strugglers were left to deal with Orchis.

Hellion either went through those portals, or he had been killed during the Orchis genocide and gone through the Resurrection Protocols in the White Hot Room. He'd be there for several months, struggling to survive in a desert with 200,000 other mutants.

Hellion and most other named mutants would return to Earth, thanks to the X-Men. But also the X-Men and the ruling leaders of Krakoa were kind of to blame, since they failed to strike down Orchis earlier, despite them being a known threat. They tried some things, sure. But the plot basically forbade them from making any real progress against them until now. So yeah, the adults let Hellion down again. If they stopped playing by the rules and killed Omega Sentinel, they'd be happier.

Also, Krakoa would still exist beyond this point. Or rather, a splinter of the island nation would exist in the White Hot Room. It was shown that, without any humans or other groups coming down on them, they could thrive and grow as a healthy, enlightened and thriving nation. Mutants had the option of giving up life on their home planet to go to the White Hot Room's and have sanctuary, or stay in the trenches and spend their lives under constant threat of humans, aliens, demons and robots.

Look at Hellion at the start of his journey, and look at him now. He lost his friends, his loves, his wealth, his family, his identity as a leader, and any confidence he had from his body. The only thing he has left is his telekinesis.

The Villainous Path

Little hellions, kids feeling rebellious Embarrassed, their parents still listen to X-Men

So now we have a better picture of Hellion. He's a person with a big heart and a huge sense of loyalty, but he's been constantly let down by people around him. He's been kicked while he's been down, treated like a monster, and had the people he loves most walk out on him. His own insecurities, ego and attitude have held him back. And just when everything seemed to be turning around, just when he had everything he had lost... his home is taken away from him and he's left alone all over again.

You can see why Hellion wouldn't want anything to do with the X-Men after all of this. They took him in, but they treated him like shit and failed him constantly. He was constantly pointing out the truth, but they punished him for it and insisted that he was wrong.

But you can also see why he would have a grudge against a world who supported his peoples' genocide and the destruction of his nation. The same world that largely stood by and ignored his plight during those 2 other genocides he directly endured, and several others he would have been witness to.

Marvel's also on a sliding timescale, where their time passes much slower than ours. So bear in mind, he has probably been active in-universe for 2 to 4 years. 5, if you want to be generous. Everything you have read has been happening non-stop in a very short span of time.

Almost everyone around Hellion is terrible. He literally cannot count on anyone to help him out, because they are either grossly incompetent, unequipped to deal with things, or outright trying to kill him.

If everyone just listened to him, everything would have been fine... Or humans, machines and other heroes would have wiped them off the planet, and things would be even worse. But I choose to believe that Hellion had the right of way. After all, he'd been right about everything else.

Hellion proved himself to be a real hero, despite everyone doubting him. But he has also done things you wouldn't see most traditional heroes do, because he's cynical and willing to do harsher things if it means helping others. At the very least, he's firmly an anti-hero.

There is precedence for having him taking on an antagonistic role and going against traditional heroes. The context was always him doing what he thought was best.

So he could easily work as an anti-villain or antagonist; someone who will take the role of the heel, but still be sympathetic and have the capacity to be redeemed.

Right now, many fans are worried that that Hellion won't be portrayed sympathetically. That he'll be suddenly and drastically changed into a villain, solely there to cause trouble, do despicable things and be defeated. To be a strawman of what he once was. And to be fair, that's a fair worry; we recently saw a mutant, Nature Girl, go from a mild-mannered student supporting character, to a genocidal villain at the drop of a hat. Her character was irrevocably warped to facilitate a story. Anyone who liked her original characterization would be turned off by this change.

Or how about Benjamin Percy's take on Beast? The loveable furball was now a vile, manipulative, genocidal villain who would torture his friends for his own gain.

There was room for these characters to become darker figures - let's not forget how Nature Girl had a small story dedicated to her being painfully aware of the torture Christmas trees go through before they're tossed aside by humans, unaware of the pain they have caused. But these characters went from A, to B to Z. Things jumped wildly and they became extreme caricatures that barely resembled their original selves. And even if Beast did some questionable things in the past, no way would he naturally fall as far as he did under Percy's pen, much less so abruptly.

There's also worry that the Krakoan will be used as a strawman against Krakoa. He'd be used to portray the worst aspects of Krakoan culture and somehow prove to the audience that no, Krakoa was actually really bad and you should be glad that it's gone.

The Krakoan is specifically twisting the dream of Krakoa to rule the masses. I'm not paying too much attention to these, since preview blurbs are known to be inaccurate at times. But at the very least, they make it clear that what he's doing is not meant (out-of-universe, at least) to be an accurate representation of Krakoa. He's an in-universe example of Krakoa being misused and represented.

Despite this, if the Krakoan is Julian, I think he will be respected a bit. One of the writers of NYX, Jackson Lanzing, was asked about Hellion. He had this to say.

I think that's a pretty fair take on him. Lanzing acknowledged that he's not some simple character. Hellion has the potential to be a big player for mutants - for good or for ill - and that stems from him being somewhere in the middle of the Xavier-Magneto spectrum. He has some desire for peace and co-existence, but he's also not shying away from the reality he faces. If they're writing him, I fully expect them to portray this depth and nuance, even if it's on a small level.

They acknowledged his ties to David and Laura. The latter is important because there's a lot they could mine here beyond their romance. Hellion was there to show Laura a life outside of the darkness. He wanted her to be a better person and break free from her past as an assassin. While the writers might focus on the duo's romance, they should at least be aware that it's built on a foundation of seeing past the bad side of someone, and getting to the real, good person underneath.

Further, both writers are now on record as being big fans of Hellion. They not only like him a lot, but they clearly have a grasp on his character. I doubt they'd do something that would destroy his potential for future stories.

I'm cautiously optimistic about Hellion's villain era. I could be wrong and the writers could totally flub it. But for now, things are pointing towards him being treated with respect.

And if not? Well, he'll probably be right anyway. He's the new Cyclops/Magneto. As the saying goes, they were right. And Hellion has already proven that he has been right this whole time. If Hellion is reduced to some baby-eating monster, I would defend him. That baby was probably racist and had evil vibes.

From the Ashes

That's telekinesis, Kyle. How 'bout the power to move you?

The new relaunch will see other books release alongside NYX. And yes, they're going to be notably less popular because they don't have Hellion in them. But with Hellion's new role, who says he can't be a key figure in the world of mutants going forward?

Exceptional X-Men will feature Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost mentoring three new mutants. They'll be protecting these kids and guiding them through a world that hates and fears them, ensuring that they grow up to be heroes. Meanwhile NYX's main villain is likely one of their previous kids they trained, who they failed, mistreated and abandoned several times, who was explicitly stated to be unstable after his experiences on the field and under their care.

These kids are fucked. Hellion needs to come in and save them from the X-Men, before Kitty Pryde ruins their lives with her "help."

X-Men will feature Cyclops and his band of heroes (plus Quentin Quire), acting openly and proudly as mutants. They won't return to their evolutionary era, but they will still but heads with the government and are in a place that might put them in opposition with the mainstream opinion. From the looks of it, they will fight for their rights and do what they feel is right, even if it makes humans uncomfortable, because they need to be heard and- Oh wait. Hasn't Hellion been doing all of this from the get-go? Hmm.

Don't worry, I'm sure Cyclops will tell the Krakoan that his methods are super wrong and go too far, and that the X-Men are fighting for their rights the right way. Hurting innocent people to promote your cause is wrong! Then Cyclops and his team will get a few more innocent children killed before moving on to their next project.

What about Uncanny X-Men? Rogue's leading that team, and Gambit and Wolverine are on it. All three of them owe Hellion an apology. Jubilee's also there. She always busted Hellion's balls for how he handled his relationship with Laura... when she wasn't ogling his ass on the beach. Which was fair, but maybe she could apologize for not being a little sympathetic after his hands got blown off by an evil robot while fighting for their cause.

X-Factor will apparently pit the titular team against an underground mutant revolution, lead by Polaris. Hey, you think the Krakoan might want to get involved with that down the line?

Wolverine has a solo book. He can use the 5000 issues he'll get to beg Hellion for forgiveness. That's almost enough time to make up for how he treated Julian.

Dazzler's getting a mini. And guess who's going to be part of her crew? Hellion's exes, Wind Dancer and Shark-Girl. Wonder how they'd feel about him breaking bad?

And Now?

We wait see what comes next. We hope for the best, expect the worst, but know that this book will be the best of the From the Ashes era, simply because Hellion is gracing us with his presence.

I recommend reading more Hellion stories when you can. This post only touches on the basics. There are a lot of things I had to cut out. There are a lot of things that I missed, or didn't include because I they weren't as important to be as they might be to you. You might read things completely differently, even though I am objectively right because Hellion is perfect and could never do wrong. I might have purposely skewed things to favor Hellion because this post is Hellion propaganda. But whatever the case, you absolutely should follow my boy.

I had a whole section about Hellion's telekinesis. He's a telekinetic in a world filled with telekinetics who ALSO have telepathy and other powers. But he was able to stand out with how he varied in its use - he could create energy blasts and projectiles, fly at subsonic speeds, make things combust on a molecular level, and blast through just about anything. I cut it because I hit the image limit and didn't have enough space to show them, and they need to be shown because his powers are visually distinct. It was either keep them and cut out the tiddy pic, or keep the tiddy pic and cut out the displays of power. And I think I made the right choice.

[mushroommanstan]

university!au please!! infamous!shiggy with average s/o 🤼‍♀️ pls i

Oh anon, how did you know I’ve been wanting to write a college au Shig for a while? You must be psychic or something, very impressive!

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Creepy Tenko Part One:

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Anyways, I know you want the smut and shit but there’s a few things about Tenko that make him so infamous.

First off, his backstory. Basically, he was kidnapped by AFO as usual, but he was rescued by heroes this time a few months after. Unfortunately, a lot of damage had already been done.

The heroes were embarrassed as hell that they took so long to save him, and as a publicity act, paid to put him through elementary school, middle school, high school and hell even college. The big package.

Because of that, his entry was guaranteed since he was like 6. Obviously, this is gonna turn some heads.

Now this guy was infamous around campus for many reasons. For starters, growing up murdering his family and spending a summer with your local serial killer is gonna be the headline of his life. Everyone knows about that, and he doesn’t even deny it.

Also, because of that experience he has major ptsd and schizophrenia, causing a few tiny violent outbursts throughout his childhood. But it’s fine, he’s medicated now… most of the time.

He’s also very aloof, not talking to anyone if he can help it. He’s used to bullying, and at this point has pretty much given up making any friends. He’s so used to people being scared of him, just like his old master said, that he kind of embraces it, not even trying to hide when he stares at people for hours on end.

Oh yeah, and the stares. This guys got a dark ass aura. His blazing red eyes burn a hole in the back of the women he stares at. He’s a smart guy, he doesn’t need to pay attention to the whole lesson to get the gist. So lucky him, he can spend the rest of the class period staring at some chick while discreetly touching himself under the desk. Make eye contact with him if you dare.

The thing that completely tanked his reputation however, was when one guy got pissed at him for making goo-goo eyes at his girlfriend all day. He stopped him on his way to his dorm, punching him which made him stumble.

Something flew out of his hoodie pocket, and the man picked it up, students gathering around as he faced poor Tenko.

Tenko looked mortified, tears gathering in his eyes, but he wasn’t looking at his attacker. He was looking at his stolen object. The assailant hadn’t gotten a good look at what he was holding, and by the look on the freaks face it meant something to him.

The other students who gathered around screamed, some running to hurl in the nearby trash cans. When he finally looked at what he was holding it took him a good second to figure out what it was.

It was cold and grey. Fleshy with a golden back and… fingernails. Wait… was that… oh my god.

He yelled throwing the detached hand into the air, Tenko diving to catch it. He could feel himself losing control, his old senseis voice overtaking his brain and making his whole body shiver. He-he needed to calm down.

Tenko rose, pressing the cool hand into his face as he took deep breaths. He stopped trembling, and for a second, even with the screaming and yelling and trampling, everything was calm.

Obviously he got in trouble for having a murder scene victim’s body part in his possession, but Tenko knew from experience that no matter whatever bullshit they tried to scare him with, they couldn’t expel him.

He was like a mascot for the heroes’s new scholarship program. No way they would let him get expelled just because he kept a memento of his lost family. So, like always they payed them off. But the students remembered, and the guy who held the disembodied hand needed therapy.

So, not only was he a creep who got off to pictures of feet in the bathroom during homeroom, he also was a creep who kept a souvenir of his first murder victim with him at all times. Weird weird weird.

And then you came along.

He didn’t think much of you, that was, until you decided to sit down in one of multiple empty seats bordering his desk. No one ever sits this close.

Well… he had to admit… you were pretty. With your silky (h/c) hair, and your brilliant eyes, and your juicy, plump…. Eh-hum, personality.

He couldn’t stop himself from staring, not like he tried. You’ll learn soon enough that he’s a creep, and then he’ll be alone again. Yep. All on his own. Terrific.

His eyes bore into you, not just in one place but all over. Scanning over your body and memorizing every detail. From this close he could truly see how smooth and soft your skin was. And he could smell your perfume. What was that, lilac?

“Oh, do you like the perfume? I just got it! It’s lilac!”

Shit. You must have a mind reading quirk. He could feel his face growing bright red at the idea of you seeing the foul things he imagined in the last minute or so.

Truthfully you only knew because you could hear him sniffing the air like a puppy exploring a grassy field for the first time.

As the class went on you looked at him occasionally, not flinching whatsoever at the intense eye contact he returned. You had to admit… he was pretty cute. With eyes like those he should be the center of attention yet here he is sulking in the back of the class. Well, whatever, not your business.

The professor droned on about who knows what, making the both of you slump over your desks with boredom. You were praying for an oasis in the midst of this dry, dull desert of a classroom, when you heard a familiar sound.

Beep-boop, boop bleep!

You could recognize that sound anywhere! That was… that was…

You had to stop yourself from slamming your hands on the table in shock. The cute guy sitting next to you was playing the limited edition “Super Hero Adventure Deluxe” for the gameboy advance. (Not an actual game I think)

Aka, the only game in the Super Hero Adventure franchise you had yet to play. The one you had scoured EBay for forever. Holy shit, marry me!

You couldn’t help yourself, despite not knowing this guy in the slightest you pressed yourself into his shoulder, scaring the shit out of him and causing almost everyone to stop and look at you. You looked down at the pixelated screen, currently being death gripped by gloved hands as your cheek smushed against his fluffy black hair.

Tenko could feel his body shutting down from the inside. The sudden physical contact, the fact it was from a hot girl, and the realization she had an interest in his favorite game was all too much. Everyone watched as he pushed you away, screaming at you to stay away from him with some fairly colorful language.

Your expression darkened, and you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Having used to people tucking in their tail, he had to say he was not at all prepared for this. He didn’t actually want to fight you, he just wanted you to back off! … don’t make him fight you, you’re the first girl to touch him in years.

You both held intense eye contact for what felt like forever, but in reality was for only a second.

“You do not talk to me like that. Understand?”

Oh boy. Oh-ho-ho BOY you were awakening something in him he didn’t know he had. His face turned tomato red and his ire-filled glare turned into a soft gaze filled with child-like wonder. Not being able to speak he shakily nodded, hand raising up to feel along the one gripping his shirt. His fluffy hair bounced a little as he nodded.

You let go, returning to your seat with a huff and turned your head, and you were met with the utterly shocked faces of your classmates. They looked at you like you had just slain a dragon.

Meanwhile Tenko said nothing, face still completely red as his foggy mind spent the rest of class processing these new feelings that came up. The way you touched him, the way you scolded him! It was so… mean. So entitled. So dominant.

He wants more.

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Believe me, I will be doing a part two! Thanks again for the ask, it finally gave me the kick in the pants I needed to write this!

[hanaruri-tunes]

Degrading Leviathan (Levi x reader)

I am BACK from my uni exams, and I’m pretty sure I passed them all so please applause this genius over here. (Or don’t. That’s fine too :')

Anyway, as promised this is supposed to be the part 2 to the humiliating Leviathan fic, but it is smut so I’m pretty sure you can also read it without any prior knowledge of the other one fuehdhd Plot is not really important here after all.

⚠️ Also, if this wasn’t already obvious -> MDNI please!

If you want to read it though, here’s the first part. (Hopefully the link works.)

If you want to jump right into this one, here’s a quick summary of part 1 (or a quick reminder for those who did read it): Basically our MC here is pretty sadistic, she found some of her "belongings" in Levi’s room and understood that he was obviously using it to touch himself, she acts like she’s disgusted and disappointed in him, then makes him do some "stuff" for her so she’ll forgive him. And all the while, she’s mocking him (Levi’s into that, of course.) It ends with her revealing that she was acting and Levi is reassured (but still turned on. Yep.)

This is the direct continuation of that! Here are the warnings: praise, degradation, two dicks, a bit of petplay (dog Levi), raw, bj, usage of tail, overstimulation (and if I forgot some stuff don’t hesitate to tell me!)

MC/ Y/N is cisfemale in this one like the first part!

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Now that the charade was over, Levi kept hanging onto you as you two were making out. This might have lasted either 5 minutes or half an hour, you're not quite sure. Slowly regaining your senses, Leviathan had naturally calmed down and turned back into his usual form and casual attire… though his dicks were still hanging out of his pants. You laughed.

"Isn't it about time you put those things away?"

Leviathan chuckled nervously.

"Oh… But I-I thought we weren't done?"

…

Huh?

"Well uh, aren't you tired? You came quite a lot… Not to mention from both of them so…"

He looked into your eyes, a pitiful air hanging around him while still holding into his wish firmly.

"No… I can finally kiss you, and touch you freely and even…"

He looked down to your skirt, under which he knows how wet you had gotten after the make-out session you just had despite the fact that you had just climaxed earlier from his tongue.

"Anyway! What I'm trying to say is- I can still go on for way longer. Probably more than you think. If anything, once is quite literally nothing now that I have you. I've dreamed of this for so long♡"

You take a pause to ponder it. It’s not like you couldn’t take him but you still wondered how you should go about this since, well, he has two of them. Plus you wanted to keep things interesting and that box you had found earlier with his "filthy" belongings had some interesting costumes. You stood up, making Levi worried that you might leave only to see him cheer back up when he understood where you’re heading towards.

"You’ve got a lot of slutty outfits in there, huh?"

You take some dog ears and a tail out of it.

"Are they meant for me or for you?"

Leviathan grins at your pick, excited and eager. He reaches deeper into the box, knowing exactly the placement of each object. He could probably navigate in it even with a blindfold on. Not so shockingly, he pulls out a collar and a leash out of it.

"Whichever is fine ehe. I even got a leash to go with it so um, y'know. We can use it right away i-if you want."

Clearly, although he had said that whichever was fine, his eyes were telling another story. Anyone could’ve seen that what he truly wanted was to wear it and get ordered around by you. Not like it was hard for you to do so might as well. You gently put the ears on him.

"Try barking?"

"Woof!♡"

"Cute. You’re the dog then."

His smile widens, happy that you picked the role for him and chose the one he wanted. It takes barely a minute for him to take his clothes off, now he’s only left with the costume and his boxers that clearly outline his cocks. You take a hold of the leash, pulling him as you walk back towards the seat where both of you were making out earlier. He follows you on his hands and knees, already nailing the role. You sit while he stays on the floor.

"Sit."

He sits.

"Look down."

He looks down.

"Paw?"

He puts his hand on yours.

"Good boyyy! So smart."

You scratch him under the chin as if he’s really just a pet.

"W-woofff…♡"

He brings his face to your legs, lovingly rubbing his head and cheek against them. Both of his dicks are already hard and leaking for you, even through the boxers it’s so apparent, it’s almost embarrassing how turned on he got from being treated like an animal. Not like he minds, if that gets you to mock him he’ll take it. Actually, he’ll take anything from you, be it praise or insults.

"Aww is baby all excited to play with me? You wanna feel good inside your owner?"

He nods against your thighs, helplessly craving your touch. Babying himself up to make you feel sorry for his poor state.

"...Alright. Stand up Levia-chan, I’ll suck you off and stroke you for a minute. If you manage to hold it in, I'll let both of them inside me."

He perks up. Had the ears and tail been real, his ears would have perked up as well and the tail would be wagging. He stands up, finally speaking like a human being. That is, if we ignore the drooling and the leash you’re still holding onto.

"N-No way?! Ha… ahhh… Sorry. I’ve gotta calm down. O-Okay. One minute. One minute, you can do this Leviathan."

He mutters to himself, psyching himself up while you’re pulling half down his boxers, taking his upper dick into your mouth and stroking the lower one through his boxers with your free hand, the one that’s not holding the leash.

He keeps his eyes tightly shut, probably realizing that if he opens them and sees your cute face sucking on his gross cock he’ll ejaculate immediately. He breathes heavily and repeats "IcandothisIcandothisoneminutejustoneminutegodplease". You retain your smile, but he’s just so cute. You count up to 60 in your head, it probably wasn’t super accurate but you’re proud of his restraint regardless.

Once you stop, he slowly calms himself down and starts breathing normally again.

"D-did I make it??"

"Yeah. Despite being such a slutty dog, good job hah."

He grins at your mocking tone, enjoying it. Then he opens his eyes, his gaze goes straight to your open legs. As soon as he had calmed down, he got excited again, seeing you ready to take him fully in. He comes closer, his hard cocks hovering over your slippery pussy and ass.

His eyes go a bit crazy for a second, as if he’s in a frenzy, or hypnotized.

"Ahh… Ahh… fuck. Fuck fuck. Really? I can put both of them in?"

You chuckle at how nervous and eager he is.

"Knock yourself out."

He starts to laugh softly, exhilarated.

"Hah. Haha… Oh my god. I’ve always dreamed of shoving my disgusting cocks into your cute and pretty pussy. I’m such a lucky fucking bastard."

He firmly grabs your waist, frankly you’ve never seen him being so sure of something. He slides them in slowly, both in each hole. You squirm and whimper under his unbreakable gaze on your whole being. Your holes gladly taking him in, your soft body, your cute facial expressions as you’re feeling better and better as he’s pushing himself in, he watches all of it so closely that it almost makes you shy.

"S-Stop staring so closely you dirty mutt."

"Y-Yeah. You’re right, I’m a dirty dog~ Please abuse me with your words some more…"

Geez, this guy has a problem… A problem that you find unbearably hot and cute.

He pounds into your holes, holding your legs up from the back of your knees, pushing them upwards, near your face. All the while you’re still holding onto the leash that is strapped on his collar.

"Come on. Please please please… I’m begging Y/N! Just a little bit."

He’s already enjoying himself so much inside you yet he wants even more, he sure is spoiled. But well, you want to see him go even crazier over you. So you do as he wants.

"You absolute gross fuck. You’re more of a pig than a dog you know? I’ve never seen anyone make such an elated face while fucking someone. You should just get over with it and serve me as a sextoy."

He submerges himself in your fake disgusted face, grinning as you’re completely disrespecting him as a human being, or, well, a demonic being. Then he happily glues his body against yours, his lips near your ears as he begs for more insulting words.

"More please, embarrass me more."

Your mind is already wandering off from getting fucked so good. It’s getting harder to think as both of his dicks are pleasuring your insides, making you pump out so much of your juices, more than you ever have. Yet you somehow manage to answer his needs.

"Y-You… You’re just a gross little fuck- A lame creepy otaku with two dicks who gets off on his crush’s insulting words. You s-sure are good at acting cute and pure while all you really are is a masochistic whore- Mmh!"

You can’t see his face but you can feel him smiling and drooling against your neck and shoulders. Suddenly, the air around him turns dark as he takes on his demon form. Completely lost in his lust and pleasure.

He sticks the tip of his scaly tail into your mouth, making you unable to degrade him any further and his pace quickens. He pounds into you harder and faster, his cocks getting ready to unload themselves into your pretty holes.

"A-And yet you’re so kind that you’re letting a lame, gross and disgusting fuck like me pump both of his dicks into you and you’re wholeheartedly sucking on his monstruous tail. Aaaaahh…~ You’re so nice Y/N, I’ll be your toy all you want! Iloveyousomuch.♡ Iloveyou Iloveyou Iloveyou-"

Your mind completely goes blank thanks to all of your holes being filled by his dicks and tail, at this point, fucking him is like fucking 3 guys at the same time. And as you lose yourself, he does so as well. Emptying himself inside you, grinding on you over and over as he keeps cumming for a solid 20 to 30 seconds, you never even thought it was possible for someone to ejaculate for so long… Well he is a beast and a demon.

When he pulls out, his juices flow out of you for a while, maybe even longer than it took for him to cum since his loads have been mingled in with yours inside of you. He hurries over to his phone, taking pictures of you completely fucked out so he can use them later… Well, hopefully he won’t have to, since from now on you’ll always call for him when you need to use his dicks, right?

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Done! As usual please don’t hesitate to leave comments or some tags (or messages in my askbox if you’re shy!) This is tumblr, I can assure you no one will make fun of you or judge you, we’re all chilling in our trash here 🫰