#the devil works fast but my love of AUs is powered by a black hole and warps spacetime

[cacklefrendly]

yknow what'd be two really messed up animals to turn into mermaids?????? frogfish and bobbit worms.

.....................................................SO WHAT IF GIN AND VODKA—

[theveryworstthing]

So over on patreon Trevor asked for my take on the Addams Family and I grew up LOVING the Addams family movies so here we are. Instead of doing a straight up style interpretation, I decided to do a full on design challenge, using the characters as bases to make a black southern gothic Addams au. I actually drew the kids first, using the character bases of Wednesday and Pugsley to create some delightful kiddos I'm calling Sunday and Blanche. I of course then redesigned Gomez and Morticia into Carlisle and Mortesha.

The Addams have a very specific high aristocratic goth aesthetic (they've got a butler and nobody really works among other things) so in this re-imagining I wanted to go with vibes that run a little more middle class/upper middle class.  I thought it would be interesting to think about what would be considered weird and off-putting in an entirely different culture, and how being a big ol' goth is way less controversial than it used to be.

I tried to keep this short (HAHAHAHAHAHA) so I didn't spin off into an essay about villain coded families, black people in the horror genre, and normalcy as it pertains to social survival, but just...bits of that are in these designs and lore. Keep that in mind.

Also I made the kids twins because they've flip flopped in age so much in different media and also twins run in my family (i'm the daughter of one). And let's face it, I'm pulling a lot of their southern gothic traits from living as a southern goth so *shrug*.

10 thousand pounds of lore incoming loooooooooool.

The Parents

From the moment he saw her he knew that there was a 50/50 chance of him either never making it out of that swamp alive or marrying the figure that was creeping out from under the distant willow tree in a black cocktail dress. The third time she found him trussed up in one of her traps, he complimented her rope work and asked if she'd like to go out sometime after his head wound stopped bleeding.

Or while it was still bleeding.

If she was into that.

Some kids and a mysteriously burnt down Piggly Wiggly later, their love is still as strong and inescapable as a bear trap in a sink hole.

Carlisle Guillermo (now Addams through marriage but I wanted to give him two first names for a name since Gomez has two last names) makes a vaguely described living practicing ‘law’ around town. A loophole king, people come to him from miles around with contracts signed in blood, fights over chunks of hair buried in their rivals’ yard, dehydrated primate hands, memories that seemed like dreams until the evidence of their happenings became too real, and other regular Legal Items asking for counsel which he is all too happy to give. For a price. Sometimes that price is a homemade pie and sometimes it’s a million dollars, depends on who you are. Whatever you’re asked to pay it’s worth that price, and if you try to scam him out of work or he just plain doesn’t like you? Well. He knows how to twist a contract better than anything at the crossroads.

And he always gets his due.

He doesn’t just serve the local (living)humans though, there are many things that need proper legal representation in this day and age. You wouldn’t believe how many city councils try to build on sacred burial grounds even after he lets them know that his ghostly clients are totally gonna haunt the FUCK out of the ensuing shitty condos and curse their families for all eternity. At least 50% of his energy goes towards dealing with real estate bullshit.

Carl is an excitable and good natured(?) man who loves his family, cigars, dancing, and his many knife-based hobbies. People find him very charming once they get past the feeling that they’re talking to a sultry gator badly disguising itself as a human. I didn’t put a ton of deep thought into designing him, mostly I wanted to make a middle aged dude who looked like he would have been voted ‘most likely to smooch the literal devil’ in high school. Tbh he probably has, but no demonic ex’s can compare to his lovely wife~

Mortesha Addams(her name was already perfect so I just tweaked it)is a woman of many talents. A self proclaimed homemaker, she prides herself on a greenhouse full of Concerning Foliage, a beautiful wasp apiary, and a coop full of what are probably chickens that she keeps for what are probably eggs. She’s also an avid creator of the outsider art that can be seen around the estate. She has taken on the family business of selling her homemade goods in a little stall by the road just outside the swamp with her mom, and makes pretty good money doing so. A surprising amount of poison gets bought in quaint southern towns.

Speaking of poison, people who come out to the edge of the swamp to buy it are usually carrying a lot of secrets around, and Mortesha knows most of them. It’s not like she pries the truth out of people, it just so happens that many nervous hellos eventually turn into the tragic backstory power hour if she’s alone with a client for long enough. She supposes that’s just how people are. Despite the fact that the Addams are very active in the community (whether the community likes it or not) she especially, as a direct descendant of the first Addams matriarch, is seen as…Well not an outsider because the community feels A Certain Way about outsiders and despite it all the Addams are their people, but maybe something like an exception. They feel like whatever weirdness they’re hiding can’t be weirder than any given Addams, so they get a little loose with their words.

This is amusing to her, since Addams’ don’t naturally keep the kind dramatic secrets that their surface level prim and proper neighbors do. It’s much more fun to openly talk about those things.

Do they have a sadly decrepit yet terrifying grandma up in the attic? Yeah, like three. They got a tv, all the creepy porcelain dolls they could want, and they’re close to family. Where do you keep your gram-grams?

Any bodies buried on the property? Yeah some, but most are thrown to the gators.

Any creeping through the balmy summer night with ill intentions? Yeah dude, everyone loves a nice family stroll.

What about dangerous forbidden love? If an adult Addams isn’t incorporeal then they’re either queer or in a torrid romance with some person/thing mysteriously drawn to that awful swamp. Sometimes both at the same time. Most times actually.

Mortesha would know.

The current head of the Addams family is just as outgoing as her husband but a lot quieter and harder to read. She never really seems to get mad about much and always has a genteel smile for everyone whether they deserve it or not. A seven foot tall human shaped “Oh, bless your heart”. A perfectly composed Lady even when she’s, oh I dunno, burning down a Piggly Wiggly. You know. A regular southern mom. Chat her up at the hair salon for 50% off a jar of wasp honey with your next purchase of a mysterious but foreboding packet of herbs.

Designing her was pretty easy because I just drew a lankier Grace Jones and called it a day. I had some problems with her outfit simply because if we were going HARD southern gothic then she’d probably be wearing a white/cream dress with a fuller skirt but I thought keeping the silhouette and the black was more important. She’s supposed to be an anti southern gothic southern gothic character anyway. A woman who looks like she has a million secrets who is actually the most open person you could meet. For better or worse. The red hair came from a coloring error that I really ended up liking (my mom had red hair her whole childhood that only darkened up in high school so I can buy that an Addams can be naturally fire engine red) and the veil was to get more of that classic Morticia silhouette in there.

The Children

Sunday and Blanche are the twin children of Carlisle and Mortesha Addams. Some say the Addams clan got their cursed homestead when a wealthy local businessman made a deal with the devil and lost, leaving his grand mansion to his least favorite maid and cutting his losses once he realized that the swamp would do everything it could to drag the house into the water and take what was owed with its horrible curse. Others say that the family has just always squatted there and no one really cares because man, fuck that particular swamp. Have you been in there? Absolute horror show.

Anyway.

Blanche is the more outgoing sibling and quite the engineer/mad scientist in the making. He started going grey at 2 weeks old but considering he was also rocking some extra fingers, toes, and a tiny tail (he takes after his dad), his parents just put it on the 'not life threatening' pile and decided not to worry about it. He's the kind of smart that teachers find utterly infuriating, less a dog eagerly learning and obeying commands and more a hyena who keeps teaching itself how to pick locks. He has a few friends in his school's robotics club (which they honestly allowed him to make so the school could contain his... creations) but mostly hangs out with his sister exploring the swamp. They find all sorts of neat things in there! wedding rings, suspiciously lumpy garbage bags, cloaked cultists who can't read private property signs, it's an adventure every day!

Blanche is all about experimentation with his creations, his look, and his tether to this mortal coil. Is lipstick a cool thing to try? Let's find out. Can he get out of a strait jacket fast enough after being pushed into the depths of the swamp by his sister? let's find out. He's not dead yet and confused local doctors can attest to the fact that he's rarely attained more than a bad bruise so he's pretty set on continuing to kiss rattlesnakes on their cute little heads and have his sister practice her knife throwing at him until that fact changes.

Blanche is very much a country goth. Cowboy boots (customized by his mom), knife, and lighter are daily accessories. He likes to wear the crusty swamp jewelry they find (the rust adds a splash of color!) and despite appearances he does try to keep himself neat. He's just got  natural Grunge Colors and a tendency to wear clothes he likes until they fall apart. Pugsley always seemed the most modernly styled to me (which might just be because little boys clothes have been the same for a long time) so I wanted Blanche to be the most purposely fashionable Addams. Everyone else is goth by nature, but he's the only one truly familiar with goth as an alternative fashion.

I got really into designing Blanche because honestly, I find Pugsley to be the most boring member of the family. And he was hard to design! I had to mess with his vibe a lot to get him looking how I wanted. I know he's supposed to evoke an " 'evil' little boy next door who's parents never reign him in", but that's just goth Dennis The Menace.  I's 2020. We can at least go queer goth Calvin.

Sunday was much easier to design. Wednesday was my favorite as a child (of course) and I really wanted to keep the spirit of her look while adding things like billowy sleeves (it gets HOT down here), big poofy twists instead of braids, and a nice tie. She's a professional after all, been running the local pet cemetery since she was 6 and the previous groundskeeper met with an unfortunate accident after telling her that tarantulas don't have souls. Her specialty is creating beautiful naturalistic animal funerals similar to those that Maquenda (https://linktr.ee/artofmaquenda) makes, and she takes pride in creating miniature dioramas of her subjects after each burial which she uses as a kind of 3D catalog for future clients.

She really wants to try out her skills on humans one day. Well. Publicly try out her skills. Lotta random bodies float into the swamp. None of them have turned down her requests for diorama models so far. Most seem downright flattered. Plus, she usually figures out which graveyard/crime scene they floated over from and gets her parents to give them a lift back. She'll even help enact terrifying revenge from beyond the grave on whoever put them there if she's not, y'know, busy.

Besides arts, crafts, and pet based funerary arrangements, Sunday is an avid lover of archery (any ranged weapon really), books where little fantasy adventure animals die dramatic deaths, and history. She is That Kid who eagerly raises her hand when asked who Christopher Columbus was and ends up being sent out of class after 15 minutes for making 'a scene'. Her favorite party trick is just picking an item in the room and talking about how it relates to either some obscure historical figure with a buck wild life or a horrible disaster. At least one charity pancake breakfast ended with children in tears after her vivid description of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919.

Social-wise, while Wednesday is the girl that people ask to smile because they think she'd, "look so pretty", Sunday is rarely asked anything at all. People just kind of assume from her quiet nature (in between horrible history facts) that she's angry all the time and that she hates everyone. This is untrue. She hates some people but she's ambivalent to most everyone else and even downright friendly if you bother to talk to her like a person instead of a terrifying cryptid. Like, she IS a terrifying cryptid but she's also a little girl.  

That’s about it for now. One day I might do the other family members but for now I’m happy with the four I’ve redesigned. Making an au! Lurch in a family that doesn’t do butlers could be interesting. Over on patreon I put forth that he could just be Motesha’s mute little brother (similar bone structure) but Amy Crook had the nice idea of quote: “ a mysterious "cousin" that "helps around the house" whose origins are both long in the past and faintly unsettling. He's good for lifting heavy things, like that tank of propane you're about to throw into the burning Piggly Wiggly... “ which i now consider canon. Who's kid is he? How old is he? Not important. Anyone willing to commit arson with you is family.

Annnnyway.  This challenge was a lot of fun! I love indulging in AU’s.

[awackyphdinadorkable]

Cherik Moodboard - The Snow Queen AU

Charles and Erik were the best of friends ever since they were small children. They didn’t just grow up together, but they also learned to master their special abilities together. Erik and his mother live in a small house just down the road, so Edie does not have to travel far to manage the gardens and all the flowers at Westchester.

These days, Erik helps his mother as best as he can, which, of course, always gives plenty of opportunity for him to spend time with his best friend to play chess or get drunk on Charles’s late step-father’s fine selection of drinks.

Now short before coming of age, Charles can finally claim ownership over his family’s estate and transform it into a school for the likes of them. Their dream is just within reach. A place for themselves, where others can hone their skills, unafraid of what others may think of them.

But a tragic accident during winter leads to Edie’s death, which leaves Erik petrified. Charles tries his best to console his friend, but even with his abilities, he doesn’t know how to help Erik look towards a brighter future to regain hope. Instead, Erik grows more and more obsessed with snowflakes and old stories.

After a night of heavy drinking to numb the pain together, Erik sneaks out into the night while Charles is fast asleep. Erik is visited by a beautiful woman made of ice, just like in his mother’s tales. The Snow Queen. She offers him a life of no pain, no suffering. Erik feels more than tempted to go with her, but when he hears Charles calling out to him, the Queen is already gone by the time he turns back around.

Wind picks up and something flies into his eyes, making his eyes burn with unshed tears. Charles ushers Erik back inside, and for the first time in a long time, Erik swats his friend’s hand away, arguing that he has no need for help.

In the days to come, Erik grows more and more irritated with Charles and his constant talk about the school, the dream. Was it ever truly his dream or was he just trying to please Charles? Erik is no longer sure. What if Charles went too far into his head to plant that seed there? What if he was a fool to ever trust him? People don’t accept them now, why would they ever change their mind? They are all the same in the end, aren’t they?

But whenever he addresses those matters to Charles, he just feels his heart clench with cold, seeing the other man’s sadness and disappointment. Most of these days, Erik wished Charles just left him alone, that everyone just left him alone so he could watch the snowflakes. When Erik goes to see his mother’s grave, he is visited by the Snow Queen again. She kisses him and he doesn't feel the cold anymore. The Queen offers to kiss him another time, to forget all this, all the people who’ve caused him suffering.

“And then everything will be in order again. Like snowflakes.”

Erik agrees and she kisses him another time. And just like that, his mother fades from his mind, Charles does. There is just endless white and the Queen guiding him to a sled of ice taking him away from a world that won’t ever accept him.

When Charles realizes that Erik is gone, he is desperate to find him. But no matter how far he reaches with his mind, he can’t detect him. Charles is in despair. His best friend is somewhere out there, and he can’t get to him. He can’t help him. Just what is he supposed to do?

In the nights that follow, Charles continues to be plagued by nightmares. Strange visions of a broken mirror dipped in blood. A castle made of ice. And inside it he sees Erik bowing to a woman wearing a crown made of ice. At first, he thinks this is just his mind playing tricks on him, the way it was when he didn’t yet know of his abilities and thought he was going mad.

Until Erik helped him see that he was, in fact, not mad. That the voices inside his head weren’t his own but of those around him.

When Charles passes by a river, thinking back to how they used to bathe in it as children, the images come back to him, like lightning striking in his head. Charles collapses into a wooden boat and blacks out, though the boat, without anyone’s doing sets sail. By the time he awakens, Charles finds himself far away from home in a boat sailing on its own accord.

Before he can sink into despair, he can feel the faintest of brushes of a familiar mind against his. Erik. He is closer to Erik now. He can feel him, however faint, but he can feel him. He isn’t dead. He is out there. And that means there is still hope.

The boat eventually finds its landing place in a faraway place Charles wouldn’t know how to find on a map, if he even had one with him. He wanders through the woods aimlessly until he stumbles upon a house guarded by a blue beast. Though Charles can tell at once that the beast is also a man, is someone like him and Erik.

As it turns out, Hank and Raven have taken refuge in this cottage after an experiment of his gone wrong. He worked on a way to rid himself of the abnormal appearance of his feet, only to amplify the effect and turn into a beast whenever angered or in danger. Raven possesses similar powers, able to change appearance at will. The two have since lost hope in humankind to ever accept them. They have also heard of the Snow Queen who seemingly wants to rally against humans.

Raven offers Charles to stay with them, but he kindly refuses. He has to find Erik, he has to bring him back home. Hank offers to accompany him, but Charles also refuses that offer, because he knows that finding Erik is his responsibility alone.

“But you will always be welcome in my home, as you welcomed me into yours. Together, we may be able to change the face of the world, not today, not tomorrow, but so long we haven’t given up, the chance is still there that the day will come.”

Better equipped for the cold awaiting him further up north thanks to Raven and Hank, Charles continues his quest to the castle made of ice. He lets himself be guided by the fragments of memories the Queen could not take away from Erik even with her second kiss. Because even if she stripped Erik of his memories, he is still there. Charles can still sense his light, and that will guide him to his best friend, no doubt.

But when he reaches the place he can feel Erik’s mind the strongest, he finds nothing but a frozen lake. No castle. Nothing except for ice and snow. Exhausted and discouraged, he collapses onto the ice, calling out to Erik, though he knows he can’t hear him.

Or can he?

When he opens his eyes again, Charles finds himself near a warm hearth inside a small cabin. A grumpy man greets him, putting on more wood for the fire. The man’s name is Logan, and for some strange reason, he seems to know Charles, even though Charles doesn’t know him. Even stranger so, he can’t sense the man’s mind, although he is sitting right next to him.

“That was by your own design.”

“I didn’t ever meet you.”

“Not in this world, but in the world I came from.”

“Another world?”

“You can read minds, and made it all this way to here alive. Don’t act as though this was the strangest thing you’ve heard or seen thus far.”

Logan begins to recall his time “on the other side of the mirror”. The Snow Queen with the aid of the mirror image of Erik, nearly succeeded in destroying all good in their world by completing a mirror that had burst into a billion pieces.

“The devil’s work if you asked me. But no one knows who’s made the mirror. I just know what it did to my friends. It made them angry, sad, cold. Until they saw no good in the world anymore and fell into despair. A world without hope… is really without hope. You were right about that all along.”

In a last effort to save their world, Charles with the aid of his pupils and Logan set out to fight the Snow Queen, a woman with special abilities much like Charles’s. But with Erik’s aid of completing the frame to hold the mirror in its place, their efforts were near in vain.

“I watched my friends turn to snow. I watched them fade away. Kitty and you came up with a way for me to cross the threshold to the other world, this world here. I heal fast.  I don’t get killed… so I took a shard of the mirror with me.”

He shows a scar on his abdomen. “The Snow Queen wants to complete the mirror in this world because she can’t complete it in the other. Because I have the last piece. You managed to hide me from her eyes. Only if I were to face her would she recognize me.”

“But she can complete the mirror in this world, if Erik sets the frame.”

“Yes, because the other me, the one belonging to this world… he is asleep, if you will, out of reach. And even if not, the moment I faced her and tried to break the mirror like I did last time… it would mean the end of all good in this world. I no longer have the claws to cut it. I had to leave those, too.”

“So there is no hope?”

“There is always hope. At least so long you don’t give up. If unleash your mind, if you let your abilities out, which I know you’ve learned to keep in check over the years, you will possess a power even greater than hers. You are the only hope we’ve got left. So you better make this work, or else I will be very angry with you.”

“But I can’t even find the castle.”

“Because you’ve only looked at it from one side.”

It is then that Charles understands what he has to do. He goes back to the frozen lake and cuts a hole into the ice. He dives into the dark waters below, and once again lets himself be guided by the faint light at the end of it, Erik.

When he lifts his head above the water again, he finds himself in the Snow Queen’s castle. Charles knows now that he has to do whatever it takes not just to save Erik, but everyone else who dares to put hope in him. Even if that means going to the edge of the world and further still. But will he succeed? Or will eternal winter be the end of all hope?

-------------------------------------------------------

Author’s Note: Here’s my little Christmas gift to a fandom that is also very much a gift. Happy holidays and much love!

[whattodowithace]

Save Our Souls (Byeongkwan)

Title: Save our Souls

Paring: Byeongkwan (Ace) x Reader

Genre: Spice/superpower AU

Word count: 2618

Writer: Kpopmadness (Ju)

My soul is sold to a demon: no, no, not a literal demon. Rather, a villain. There’s no such thing though, right? Superheroes and villains. That’s what you believed in when you were a kid. That used to be me too. But that’s not how I feel anymore. I don’t know if I believe in a hero, but I believe in villains. Because I grew up with one.

Have you ever watched those movies where the girl has a cute next door neighbor and they fall in love and live happily ever after? Yeah, well, that’s not how me and my neighbor turned out.

Kim Byeongkwan was a quiet boy. Him and his parents moved next door to us when I was in sixth grade. He was shy, and sweet. I had a bit of a crush on him in eighth grade, I will admit. But that soon passed when my parents started inviting him over for dinner sometimes.

His parents were workaholics and he was always stuck at him alone. So my parents would invite him over for dinner, my mom would ask him a million questions. All to which, he would give one word answers or none at all.

After dinner, me and him would sit on the couch together and watch a movie or play a video game. Needless to say, my crush on Byeongkwan faded when I realized we didn’t have much in common.

Then, we grew up. We remained neighbors. He went to the same school as me, but that was all. My life continued on like normal. Then we graduated High School. Byeongkwan’s parents left for overseas work, leaving their son in the old house rent free for who knows how long. While I moved and got my own apartment a few miles away closer to the city of Chicago.

I changed jobs a few times but I was settled in my new job as a teller at a bank. A modest job, I know. I could have gone to collage but didn’t much feel like being weighed down with debt. And I liked my job. I had good friends. My life was good.

Until one night I was awakened to the sound of fists banging on my front door frantically. I sat upright in bed and went to look out the peephole of my door.

I saw a man with battered clothing, his body scratched and bruised and covered in blood. He was barley standing, a pained look on his face. Byeongkwan.

I open my door and Byeongkwan’s eyes lock mine before he crawls inside and lays down on my living room floor, his body shaking and convulsing horribly.

“Byeongkwan, let me call an ambulance” I say, wiping away his sweat drenched hair from his forehead.

Byeongkwan grabs my wrist, stopping me. “Please.” He chokes out, “Don’t. I came to you because you’re the only person I felt I could trust.”

He lays his head back against the carpet as another severe shaking fit takes over his body. His blood soaking my carpet. The veins in his neck popping from his neck as he gritted his teeth against the pain.

I stare down at him, worry filling my chest. Unsure what to do. “What happened to you?” I mumble as I rest my hand on his chest. His skin burning hot.

Then, he stops moving. His entire body relaxes as he eyes close. I freeze, thinking he’s dead. I’m about to call an ambulance anyway when a green light glows through his veins. His entire body lit with the green light. Slowly the light fades, leaving the room dark as my heart thuds against my ribs.  I stare at him, eyes wide. His eyes open suddenly and i back away from him. Suddenly nervous.

Byeongkwan’s eyes are a light, glowing shade of green. His irises look like cat eyes as they lock onto me. Byeongkwan sits up quickly, running a hand through his black sweaty hair.

“Byeongkwan,” I whisper, his eyes darting all over my apartment. “Are you okay?”

Byeongkwan’s eyes meet mine, and a feeling of true fear washes over me. I knew then, before he even spoke to me, he had changed.

“I’m just fine, baby.” He says coolly. A smirk on his lips.

~~~~

That was six months ago. Come to find out, Byeongkwan had been walking home from work one night and a nearby power plant thats on our neighborhood road exploded. Byeongkwan happened to be walking past at that time and the electricity hit his body dead on.

He should have died. Actually, he did die. Until a powerful force entered his body, taking in his weak state and giving him powers. This is what Byeongkwan told me when I asked how he got these sudden powers.

The powers I’m referring to? Teleportation and shapeshifting. But he was also given superhuman strength and an increased  IQ.

But this force giving him these powers, is evil. Slowly the Byeongkwan I grew up with changed. He became more devious, harder to handle. And now, he’s blackmailing me to keep his secret. All the while he steals and commits crime without ever getting caught. The police never even know who did it. Because he can shed his skin like a snake and slither into the night.

Here’s the thing; I’m not a killer. I can’t just turn him in. People with superpowers down live in Chicago or anywhere else in the world. They aren’t real! (This is what I try to reassure myself)

But if I turn him in, he’ll be a lab rat. A subject to thousands of tests for the rest of his life or until they decide he’s more useful dead than alive.

Even if I turn him in, he’s too fast. They will never find him or catch him. And if tell, he can have my family killed in an instant. And I can’t kill myself. I tried that. He found me and caught me before I could jump.

Understand this isn’t sweet Byeongkwan that I grew up with. This is so much different. This Byeongkwan will threaten to kill and you will believe him. Because he flashes you his Cheshire Cat grin that sends chills down your spine and you become afraid. And you believe him.

And this Byeongkwan has entrusted me with known his new found power. So my soul, in a way, is sold to this man. Because for the safety of the human race and my family I cannot tell another living soul who he is or what he is capable of. My devil who I’ve sold my soul to.

But he’s also a guarding angel. Because of his power he can teleport extremely fast. He can be in Jamaica one minute and be by my side the next. This serves him well because I never truly leave his sight. He proved his point when I was leaving work one late night, the streets empty and dark. A few teenagers grabbed me and pulled me into an alleyway, thinking they could have some fun.

Then, there was Byeongkwan. His jaw set and his hands in fists. He beat the teens so badly they could only lay on the pavement and moan. The next minute, Byeongkwan had me in his arms and we were inside my apartment. Safe and sound.

The scary thing; when Byeongkwan was beating those teens, I saw a glint in his eyes. A strange look as if he enjoyed what he was doing. And I don’t think he would have stopped had I not told him to.

He’s my demon on one shoulder. But an angel on the other.

~~~~~

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with a gut feeling something is wrong? It’s like when you wake up and stare at your desk chair a little too long because your brain is convinced there’s someone sitting in it.

This is the feeling I wake up to. My back is drenched in sweat causing my shirt to stick to my skin. My eyes search my room for the cause of my anxiety.

My balcony window is open, cold Chicago air blowing in, making my currents flap in the breeze. I feel a chill go down my spine when my eyes lock on a pair of bright green eyes in the corner of my room.

“Hi, baby.” Byeongkwan gloats, his voice deep.

I lay back against the pillow. Knowing what he was going to ask next. Every month, Byeongkwan would stop in like this. And he would ask one question, and it was always the same question.

“You haven’t told anyone, right?” He asks as he stand up to full height.

I sigh and press my palms against my eyes. “No. For the millionth time, no.”

Byeongkwan smirks against the moon light, watching me laid out in bed. I let out a gasp when his body weight is suddenly on me, his legs straddling my waist.

“What are you-“ I begin to protest, but Byeongkwan puts a finger to my lips, his face inches from mine.

I watch as his glowing green cat eyes lose their glow, his old eye color returning.

“You’re so good at keeping secrets.” He whispers. His finger trailing down my neck and even further down my chest. The sensation sent a chill up my spine, but at the same time I couldn’t seem to will myself to make him stop.

Byeongkwan smirks at me widely, leaning his head down to my neck before whispering, “Keep up this good behavior and I’ll reward you.”

And then he’s gone. His body vanishes and the only thing I have to prove he was there was the lingering feeling of his smooth skin against mine. My face flushes at his words; my mind spinning with what they could possibly mean.

~~~~~~~

I lay on the couch after a long day at work, my eyes closing from drowsiness. I hadn’t seen Byeongkwan for two months now. I was beginning to think maybe he had left. Maybe I actually had my life back.

I sigh at the thought, hoping that was indeed the case. I lean my head against the plush pillows and feel myself drift off to sleep to peaceful dreams with the TV still on.

At some point, I turn over, my arm going beneath my head. It registers with me that my couch feels surprisingly cold and hard.

I feel a gust of wind run along my neck, blowing my hair onto my face. My eyes come open and I sit up quickly. I’m not home anymore. And I know instantly who moved me without me ever knowing. I’m lying on a concrete floor of a renovated building. With the way the wind is blowing I know I’m on the top floor.

The walls of the building are only boards, a shadow of walls that aren’t yet complete. Plastic wrap hands from the ceiling and flaps in the breeze, casting ghost like shadows across the dark building.

I stand up and wipe my sweaty palms on my pants, my heart in my throat. Then, from the wall in front of me, a portal like hole opens up, it’s smoke like appearance twists and turns like a raging thunder storm.

Byeongkwan steps out from the portal, a smirk on his lips, his green eyes boring through mine. He wears a long black trench coat with a white button down shirt underneath it. His hair is slicked back and several rings encase his fingers. I can tell instantly all of them are expensive, but stolen.

“Hello, darling.” Byeongkwan greets, his voice sweet but his smile sinister.

I let out a shaky breath, “Byeongkwan, what do you want?” I ask, trying to keep the shake out of my voice.

Byeongkwan walks slowly over to me, his boots clicking on the concrete floor as he walks.

“I have a confession to make.” He says, his voice deep and his eyes roaming over me.

“Are you actually going to come clean?” I ask, sarcasm lacing my words.

Byeongkwan stops inches in front of me, his green cat eyes searching my face, making me swallow nervously.

“No... but I realized something that I think is important to get out.” He says, stepping a bit closer to me, making my breath hitch.

Byeongkwan leans his head down, his warm breath fanning across my cold cheeks. “I’m of the belief that you’ve bewitched me.” He whispers in my ear.

My eyes widen and I feel my body freeze. Words refusing to leave my throat.

Byeongkwan sees me struggling and chuckles. “Didn’t you know, baby?” Byeongkwan asks, his smirk widening. “I’ve actually had a crush on you since we were young. But the shy me that came to your house was never going to admit that. But now, things are different.”

Byeongkwan wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close to him, my body flush against his.

A black portal opens up behind him and he pulls us inside. When I open my eyes again we’re back at my place. I lay on my couch like I’ve never left, but Byeongkwan hovers over me, his body weight on mine.

Byeongkwan runs his tongue over his teeth as he stares down at me. A chill going down my spine, but a feeling of desire washing over me as I stare into his powerful green eyes.

“God, you’re so beautiful.” Byeongkwan whispers deeply. His hands finding mine as they take my wrists and pin them above my head, making me squeak involuntary.

His nose runs along mine, causing me to lose my breath, his hips pressing against me and pushing me harder into the couch. Byeongkwan runs his nose down my neck, causing goosebumps to rise.

Byeongkwan lets out a breath against my neck, hot air brushing against my skin. His lips meet mine and I feel my eyes close, a feeling of surrender going through me. Not because Byeongkwan is a villain in this world and I’m powerless against  him.  But because I want to surrender to him to see how far this goes.

Byeongkwan lets out a moan against my mouth, his tongue sliding into my mouth before his teeth gently take my tongue and bite it.

Byeongkwan pulls away and bites my jawline, making my back arch involuntarily.

“If I have it my way baby,” Byeongkwan whispers between kisses and breaths, “I will have you moaning my name.”

“Do you always get what you want?” I ask, my breath coming in too fast. My head spinning.

Byeongkwan meets my eyes, his hands leaving my waist to wrap around my waist, my hands going to his toned chest.

“Not always.” Byeongkwan answers as his tongue flicks at my ear. “But this is the only thing that really matters to me.”

I take his face in my hands, my thumbs running across his cheeks, his eyes staring into mine. For the first time in months I feel like I’m not scared of this devil that possessed my life. Rather, I felt drawn to him. Like a forbidden love that was irresistible.

I lean in to kiss his lips but I feel his body slip away from me. He stands in the kitchen doorway, the moonlight from my window highlighting his dark skin.

He must see the let down in my eyes because he smirks at the look in my eyes, “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be coming back for you to finish this later.”

He says, before he vanished. Disappearing through the smoke like portal.

My devil with green eyes possessed me. And now I feel like my life is really going to change.

MASTERLIST

[a-corndog-named-schibbs]

Fangs, Fur, and Phantoms - Chapter 1

Next Chapter

IT’S FINALLY READY!

Y’all, I’ve been wanting to write a multi-chapter fic of the fangs and fur au since forever.  I’ve been working on this for months and I’m so excited to share it with you!

Fic contains Klance, Hidge, and (mostly) platonic Shallura.  The Hidge content is in later chapters, but it is coming, I promise.

Let the spooky fun begin!

Lance was pretty sure his boyfriend was a black hole.

Keith had invited Lance over to join his family for dinner and during that dinner he had managed to consume three whole steaks and a mountain of pasta salad and still went back to the fridge to retrieve some leftover meatloaf.

Lance shook his head, taking a sip of his blood pouch, which Keith’s mom had been kind enough to procure for him so that he would have something to eat at dinner, “Where does it all go?”

Keith swallowed the bite he was working on, “Would you rather I be hungry during the pack run and try to take a chunk out of your arm?”

Lance shrugged, “It’s not like it wouldn’t grow back.  Accelerated healing, remember?”

“Accelerated healing or not,” said Krolia, sitting diagonally from Lance and finishing off her own steak, “we don’t want to act too aggressive during the pack run.  The more we eat now, the more in control we’ll be once the moon rises.”

“Besides,” Keith’s adopted sister, Romelle, piped up from the other end of the table, “it’s a good way to get rid of those leftovers sitting in the fridge.”

Lance finished the last of his blood pouch, “Well, it was very kind of you to invite me over tonight, Krolia.  Do you need any help with the dishes?”

“No, that’s fine, Lance,” said Krolia, gathering up the plates, “You’re a guest here and you didn’t even dirty any of them.  Besides, I know Keith will help me with the dishes, won’t you, Keith?”  She tapped the leg of Keith’s chair with her foot and nodded toward the kitchen.  Keith rolled his eyes, but got up and followed her anyway.  As they exited the dining room, Lance heard Krolia whisper, “He’s such a gentleman!  Where did you find him?”

Lance turned toward Romelle, “So…how does this work?  Because I’m pretty fast, but I don’t think I’m, like, wolf levels of fast.  I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep up with everybody.”

Romelle smiled, “You’ll see.  If I can participate in a pack run, so can you.”

“Well, I’ll take your word for it.”

At that moment, the doorbell rang and Romelle’s pointed ears pricked up.  “Mom, they’re here!” she called through the kitchen door.

“Can you get it, Romelle?  My hands are full.”

Romelle grinned and tugged on Lance’s sleeve, “Come on, it’s time for you to meet everyone.”

She led Lance into the foyer and opened the front door and before Lance could blink, the small hallway seemed to be filled with dozens and dozens of werewolves, all chatting and greeting Romelle warmly and lining up to shake Lance’s hand while he desperately tried to remember all their names.  The one with the sideburns was Thace and the one with the mohawk was Ulaz and the one built like a tank was Antok or was it Regris?  He knew he should have gotten Keith to make him a cheat sheet.

Finally, a white-haired man stepped through the doorway, one of the largest werewolves in the room and definitely the oldest by several years.  He carried himself with the authority of a general.

“Are we all here?” he asked, looking around at the others, “Remember, less than half an hour until moonrise, so if you haven’t eaten yet, do so now.”  He turned and noticed Lance for the first time, “Who’s this?”

His gaze made Lance squirm, “I, uh…I’m Keith’s…um…”

“He’s my mate,” Lance felt Keith come up behind him and put an arm around his waist, instantly calming his nerves, “You’ve all introduced yourselves to Lance, right?  He’s going to be joining us for the pack run tonight.”

“That’s right,” said Krolia, walking into the room and wiping her hands on a dishrag, “so I expect all of you to be on your best behavior around him.”

Kolivan raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure about this, Krolia?  Pack runs can be dangerous to non-wolves.”

“He’s fine,” said Krolia, “He’s a vampire.  He won’t even get a scratch.”

Murmurs rose from the group assembled, with the word “vampire” standing out most clearly.  Lance winced.  Historically speaking, werewolves and vampires had not always gotten along.

“That…seems fine, then,” said Kolivan, “We’ll assemble outside.  If you brought any snacks, eat them now.”

“Come on,” said Keith, tugging Lance towards the kitchen where the backdoor was.  As they walked away, Lance couldn’t help overhearing Kolivan whispering to Krolia.

“Next time, I wish you’d consult me before inviting a non-wolf to the pack run.”

“You’ve never objected to Romelle joining the pack run.”

“Adopting an changeling into the pack is one thing.  Having a vampire as the future alpha-mate is—“

“You don’t even know if Keith wants to be the alpha someday!  I might name someone else as my beta.”

“Keith is your oldest child and a strong wolf in his own right.  We both know he’d be a great leader some day.  You and he need to think about what’s best for the pack.”

Krolia growled, “You were just like this when I introduced Tex to the pack.”

Keith was apparently eavesdropping too, because he pulled Lance closer as they stepped into the backyard, “Don’t listen to them.  Kolivan’s all hot air, he’ll warm up to you.  He did to my dad.”

“Is what Kolivan said true?  Are you really going to be alpha someday?”

Keith avoided eye contact, “It…would make sense.  Everyone knows Krolia’s going to be alpha once Kolivan steps down, but we haven’t really…talked about it.”

Lance wanted to ask more questions, but the moon was beginning to rise and Keith and the others were beginning to transform.  Keith started to remove his clothes so they wouldn’t be ripped and Lance averted his eyes for decency’s sake.  While he didn’t look, he heard Keith groaning and breathing heavily as he shifted.  There were medications a werewolf could take to make the transition less painful, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still uncomfortable.  When Lance turned back, his boyfriend’s human form was gone and in its place was a powerful creature, indistinguishable from a normal wolf except for slightly longer and more muscular forelegs and the fact that it was much, much bigger.

“You still you, babe?” said Lance.

The wolf panted, a silly grin on its face.

“I take it you’ll be riding with Keith?” said Romelle, the only other person in the backyard who still looked humanoid.

“Riding?”

Romelle nodded and approached a wolf with thick gray fur and dark markings around her face, who Lance recognized as Krolia, and swung herself up onto the wolf’s back.

“Seriously?  This is gonna be awesome!”

Lance clambered up onto Keith’s back, reveling in the feeling of his soft, black fur against Lance’s hands.

“Let me know if I pull too hard, okay?”

Keith barked once.

Across the yard, a large, white wolf howled to get the others’ attention and loped toward the back gate and out into the woods behind the house.  Lance yelped as Keith and the other wolves bounded forward to follow their leader.

Soon Lance found himself flying through the forest, trees whipping past him and Keith as they rushed forward.  They were on the far left of the group, which seemed to be splitting up into smaller hunting parties.  Keith stayed close to Krolia and Romelle, the four of them forming their own hunting party.

Lance turned toward Romelle, “I feel like Princess Mononoke!”

“Nice, isn’t it?” Romelle yelled back.

Lance would have answered in agreement, when an unpleasant smell hit his nose.  Blood, stagnant blood that had been spilled hours ago and some other scent too, something he couldn’t place, yet made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

“Smell that, babe?” he said into Keith’s ear.

Keith huffed and changed course, following the new scent with Krolia close at his heels.

They didn’t see the dead body until they had nearly tripped over it.

***

Temptation, despite the name, was considered one of the classiest bars in the city.  Shiro almost felt bad about causing a scene there.

But not bad enough to reconsider it.

That evening, he and his partner, Allura, stepped out of the black sedan their organization had issued them and walked toward the entrance of the club.  The car, chosen to appear average and nondescript, now looked dingy and plain next to the sports cars and classic vehicles belonging to the bar’s other patrons.

Typical PBI, Shiro thought, Couldn’t they have sprung for a nicer car just this once?

“Think this is the right place?” Allura asked.

Shiro looked up at the purple neon sign, the word “Temptation” written in cursive and accompanied by the neon outline of a woman with devil horns.

“I’m pretty sure.”

The two agents approached the entrance, where an exceptionally buff woman with short hair was waiting with a metal detector.  As expected, the detector went off within two seconds of being waved near Shiro.

“What is this?” the woman said, pointing to Shiro’s arm.

“It’s a prosthetic.” said Shiro.

“You’ll need to leave it here.”

“Are you serious?”

“You could be concealing a weapon in there.”

“Listen—“

But Shiro was interrupted by another woman approaching them, clad in a black cocktail dress, her dark hair pulled away from her face.

“It’s all right, Zethrid,” she said, placing a hand on the buff woman’s shoulder “I can vouch for these two.  If you’ll follow me, please…”

Shiro and Allura followed her into the bar.  The place was tastefully decorated in black, silver, and various shades of purple.  A stage dominated the back wall, where a woman in a high ponytail and a red evening dress crooned seductively into her microphone.  The woman in the cocktail dress led the two of them to a booth in the corner.

“Anything I can get you two to start out?” the woman asked.

“Whiskey on the rocks,” said Allura.

“A ginger ale,” said Shiro.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

“I’m our ride home.”

“This is a lovely establishment you have here,” Allura added quickly.

“Yes, Lotor takes great pride in his business.”

“I don’t suppose he’s in tonight?” said Shiro, “We’d love to meet him.”

“I’ll see if he’s around,” the woman said, “And I’ll have those drinks to you right away.”

As she walked away, Allura leaned in, “Ginger ale?  Really?  There goes our air of mystery.”

“Drunk driving’s illegal, Allura.  I’m not taking any chances.”

“You’re really leaning into the straight-laced agent persona, huh?” said Allura.  She leaned back, “Think our server is Acxa?”

“I certainly hope so, or this is going to be a real short visit.”

A few minutes later, the woman returned with two drinks and a man in a well-tailored suit and long platinum-blond hair.

“I was told you wished to speak with me, Mr…?”

“Shirogane.” said Shiro, “And this is Miss Prince.  I take it you’re Lotor.”

“The one and only,” said Lotor, sliding into the booth, “How can I help you two?”

“We think we might have a mutual friend with you,” said Allura, reaching into her clutch purse and pulling out her phone.  She pulled up a photograph on it, “Do you recognize this woman?”

Lotor looked at the phone and frowned, “Can’t say I’ve ever seen her.”

“Strange.  Well…” Allura slid to the next picture, “What about this woman?”

“Don’t recognize her.”

“Or this man?”

“Never met him.”

“That’s funny.  They all seem to have met you.”

Lotor raised an eyebrow, “And where do they say they know me from?”

“Well, they all seem to be under the impression that you forced them to hand over a large sum of money,” said Shiro.

“Did they?  And how do they say I managed to do that?”

“By seducing and hypnotizing them into complying with your demands.”

“Hypnotizing?” Lotor scoffed, “Next you’re going to accuse me of putting a magic spell on them.  Be reasonable, Mr. Shirogane, we’re all adults here.  How could I possibly hypnotize someone into giving me money?  It’s not humanly possible.”

“You’re right, it’s not possible.  For a human.”

Lotor rolled his eyes, “I assure you, Mr. Shirogane, I am entirely human.”

“Then this shouldn’t hurt at all.”

Shiro reached into his waistband and pulled out a small green water pistol, spraying Lotor full in the face.  Lotor leaned back abruptly, screaming in pain, steam rising from his face where some nasty boils were beginning to form.

“He’s the real deal,” said Shiro, “Call them in.”

It took Allura only a few taps on her phone before the doors of the bar burst open and three men in black suits barged in, immediately spotting Shiro and Allura at their booth with Lotor.  Two of the men grabbed Lotor by the arms and handcuffed him while the third trained a Super Soaker at him.

As the men were carting Lotor away, the woman in the cocktail dress approached their booth.

“I thought he’d go down with more of a fight.  I’m Acxa, by the way.”

“Agents Shirogane and Prince,” said Allura, “It’s the holy water.  Works like a charm.  You’re the woman who called in the tip, aren’t you?  How did you know that man was an incubus?”

Acxa shrugged, “I went to his office to ask for a raise.  I left the office under the impression that the last thing in the world I wanted was a raise.  It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I had no memory of the actual conversation.”

“Good instincts,” said Shiro, just as his phone began to ring, “Excuse me one moment.”

He checked the ID on his phone.

“Iverson?” asked Allura.

“Must be important if he’s calling us on a job,” said Shiro.  He accepted the call, “Yes, sir?”

“Wrapped up the incubus case yet, agent?”

“Just about.  We still need to debrief, but otherwise we’re done.”

“Well, you and Agent Prince had better come in as soon as possible.  We just got a new case.  You’re really going to want to see this.”

[tecreporter-blog]

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

The Good The Galaxy S10 Plus has a phenomenal AMOLED screen, monster battery life and loads of useful camera tools. The option to wirelessly charge another device is convenient and really works.

The Bad Nighttime and low-light shots on the Galaxy S10 Plus aren't as clear or crisp as dedicated night modes on the Pixel 3 and Huawei Mate 20 Pro. The ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint reader isn't always fast or accurate. Mispresses on the curved edge-to-edge display are a minor annoyance.

The Bottom Line Galaxy S10 Plus is a killer phone for 2019, although serious photographers will find its nighttime camera shots lacking.

9.0 Overall

Design 9

Features 9

Performance 9

Camera 8.5

Battery 10

he Galaxy S10 Plus may be the first major flagship phone of 2019, but it's already clearly one of the best phones for the year. I say this even though the Galaxy S10E is a better value buy, even though the foldable Galaxy Fold and Galaxy S10 5G are right around the corner, and even with Huawei's P30 Pro applying the heat with four rear cameras that could overpower the S10 Plus' photo skills. Although the S10 Plus isn't without fault (two major ones, really), but its 6.4-inch AMOLED screen, all-day battery life, wireless power-sharing feature and combination of three rear cameras are stellar.

It also doesn't hurt that the S10 Plus is the only one of Samsung's four new Galaxy S10 phonesto have a 1TB storage option and a ceramic finish for the 512GB and 1TB models. Do you really need all that storage? Is it worth the $250 price tag to pay for it, and for the ceramic finish? "Need" would be a stretch, but if you want it, it's nice to know it's there. Samsung is clearly making the Plus its no. 1.

At $1,000 for the 128GB model, $1,250 for 512GB and a cool $1,600 for the 1TB storage option (!), it's a costly device. (It starts at £1,099 in the UK and AU$1,499 in Australia.) Of course, when you look at the Galaxy Fold's $1,980 starting price and Huawei Mate X's $2,600 price tag, the S10 Plus seems almost reasonable as a phone you can buy today, without emptying out your bank account or waiting for 5G networks to kick in.

Lovely to look at, but a slippery devil

Samsung is partial to glossy finishes that reflect light in unusual ways. My review unit is the 128GB version in Prism White, and it definitely reflects iridescent shades of pale blue, mint and pink in the light. This color is nice and subtle. Flamingo Pink, Canary Yellow, Prism Green and Prism Blue are bolder -- there's Prism Black as well.

Right away I noticed that the S10 Plus has a tendency to slip out of hands and off surfaces, especially if they're not perfectly level. It's shot out from between my fingers numerous times, usually landing on my purse, a table or my lap. It also slid off my nightstand, a couch, a chair, but has emerged unscathed so far. I like to review phones the way they emerge from the box, but I'm going to want a case for this one.

Brilliant display, but, O, that 'notch'

The Galaxy S10 Plus has an Infinity-O "notch" that's really a hole cut in the display to make room for two cameras. Its oval shape attracts more attention than the single lens of the Galaxy S10 and S10E, but I'm not really a stickler about notches anyway.

More to the point is the feeling of having a large screen with slim bezels. Most of the time, it sort of blends into the background, not calling too much attention to itself. But when the screen is brightly lit, like with a white background, the asymmetry of a pill-shape cut-out becomes more noticeable. I wonder if the Infinity-U display, like the one Samsung put on the midrange Galaxy A50 and A30, would look better, though it'd also look more like an eyebrow-style notch than this. The solution to the all-screen dilemma may be out there yet.

[sebastianshaw]

Shaw and Maximus for the kid thing!

Name: Cyrus Maxagon Shaw. Yes, Maxagon. Not Boltagon. You know he would. Cyrus because I wanted some from non-Western history, which Maximus would have studied, but also a name that wouldn’t be too odd for a white guy to have. I went with Cyrus, the great Persian ruler, who name has been used in the West for ages. The name of a great king also sounds like something Shaw would pick, and it was actually REALLY popular in America as a boys name in the 1800s, which is also very Shaw. Maximus ALMOST named him Genghis Kardishian von Beethoven but Shaw intervened because even HE could not allow that to be done to a child. Gender: Male, or androgynous/neutrois who uses he/him out of convenience  General Appearance: Tall, lean, androgynous. Despite his thinness, his frame is very big-boned, and it’s clear he could be extremely bulky if he ever put on weight. Cyrus has the shoulders for it, Shaw’s kids ALWAYS have the shoulders. He also has long arms and legs and is very, very limber, you could very easily imagine him swinging from vines and branches like a small ape or monkey despite his gaunt body. He has long, straight brown hair. I don’t know how he got brown hair, Maximus and Shaw have black hair---I know Maximus has had brown hair in the Avengers Academy game, and Shaw has it in some canon AUs, but in 616 they have black hair so. . . I don’t know. But that’s what’s in my head.  He gets a lot of his fashion sense from Maximus’s “black and white and cool coats” phase, with some occasional royal blue or even more occasional teal in there sometimes Personality: Cyrus, as one might expect, has a brilliant mind, and it makes him prone to boredom that drives him to heroism and villainy alike so long as it is EXCITING, preferably dangerous. To this end, he’s made a network of teleportation routes---which he deems his Adventure Railroad--and this allows him to turn up in oddest---and worst---places. Everyone always wants to know how he got here and what he’s doing here. He never tells on the first, but on the second? For the THRILLS.  This love for excitement makes him nigh-fearless, and he always runs towards danger, usually laughing and brandishing some homemade weapon. It’s also made him an irritant to others, since he’ll tag along with super-groups, heroes or villains, on whatever they’re doing, and there’s no getting rid of him. He’s decided of late that he needs a nemesis, and has chosen his cousin Ahura. It’s nothing personal, but he thought that his enemy being a family member would be more dramatic, and that it would fittingly carry on their father’s legacies. Plus, Ahura is head of Ennilux, and Cyrus thinks, hey, I should take over that, I’m Sebastian Shaw’s son, I should have a business! Ahura is super irritated with this tall goblin. Cyrus doesn’t mind that Ahura doesn’t like him, because Cyrus doesn’t understand or desire affection. Because affection wasn’t given to him by Shaw at all, and with Maximus it was. . . .sporadic, random,  and less due to anything Cyrus did or didn’t do, and more to what kind of mood swing Maximus was in. So, affection is not something he associates with positivity per se, it’s more like just this random thing that happens and he doesn’t understand it. Which, understandably, has impaired his ability to have friends and other relationships. Hell, he doesn’t even seem to understanding that others DISLIKE him, let alone when they like him. He just does want he does and hangs around who he hangs around, regardless of how they react to him badly. Cyrus is basically that kid who tags along even though nobody like him. While both his parents are bombastic scenery-chewing types, Cyrus actually is not. Perhaps BECAUSE they’re both so dramatic, Cyrus has learned to do what he does sneakily, silently, out of the way, without announcing it. There’s no proclamations of his deeds, good or bad, nor grand “I now explain everything” reveal, something just happens, and MAYBE Cyrus will say “oh yeah that was me” but maybe he won’t even do that. He just does what he does without seeking acknowledgement

or praise, and his reaction to praise---or condemnation---is just “yeah okay”. As with affection, it’s because he didn’t really grow up with any from Shaw, and it was random from Maximus, so he just. . .doesn’t understand it. Special Talents:  I'm sure he has SOME kind of super powerful energy-type mutant abilities. Cyrus has an unparalled understanding of technology and engineering taught to him from the crib, but because he grew up with it, machinery isn’t exciting enough to him, so he’s begun to explore esoteric and strange forms of magic, merging them with his already super-advanced tech. But his favorite area of science is zoology. Cyrus didn’t grow up around animals or with any pets, and his fathers weren’t interested in them, so he was curious about critters. One day, he heard that wombats pooped CUBES and he looked up how they did that, and it lead him into a rabbit hole of wondrous animals facts. He’s been hooked on learning about all creatures great and small ever since. . . but doesn’t seem to want to get near them in the flesh! He just wants to learn about them and is actually timid near the real things. Cyrus writes some poetry sometimes. It’s very amateur and he doesn’t share it. He doesn’t even know why he does it. Most likely it’s the only way he knows how to get certain feelings out to himself, since heaven knows Shaw and Maximus didn’t have healthy emotional management skills to model for him. Who they like better: Shaw, because sure he’s horrible but, unlike Maximus, he’s predictable Who they take after more: Maximus, alas. He has the same devil may care do what I want mannerisms that Maximus was written with in that really fun run, and the same callous disregard for the wellbeing of others (though Shaw has that too) Of course, in Cyrus’s case, the poor kid was just raised that way. Personal Head canon: - Like Shaw, he’s a sushi snob. Like Maximus, he’s a sucker for sweets. - He thinks coyotes are cool, something about them reminds him of himself. But his favorite animal is kangaroos! -  Cyrus’s mind works too fast for his hands to keep up and it’s hard to hold his interest, so he flits from project to project. He’s got pile of WIPs he’ll never finish in storage garages somewhere. So relatable. - His immune system is between that of a human and Inhuman. So, a little weaker than the average person. Nothing life-threatening, but often inconvenient. He’s prone to gastrointestinal issues in particular from all the chemicals and preservatives and artificial ingredients in human food, and almost anything can set it off. It’s gross and he hates it. Face Claim: N/A