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spiralcass · 2 years

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DREAM “FALL OF X” LINE

I’ve given pitches for X-books I’d like to see before, but since the last time I pitched a full line, I’ve read and learned A LOT. Plus, I want to do something different. Rather than fitting a bunch of pitches into a nebulous status quo, I’m going to say what I’d like next year’s “Fall of X” status quo to include. Obviously, I have no way of knowing what will happen in the next eight months, so I’m gonna be vague in places and basically just depict the direction I’d like things to go, Post- Sins of Sinister, based on what we DO know.

6 ongoings. 4 minis. Aaaaand, I’m assuming Deadpool and Captain Britain will still be running, so I won’t be talking about the characters in those.

ONGOINGS

X-MEN

ROSTER: CYCLOPS (MAIN CHARACTER), EMMA FROST, JEAN GREY, LOGAN, AND STORM

PITCH: For two years, Scott Summers has played nice. He thought in Krakoa, he could remove his burdens and just be a hero. But with increasing corruption consuming Krakoa, he has no choice but to be a revolutionary once more, and carry the future of Mutantkind. Teamed with only his closest allies, it’s time for war with The Quiet Council.

EXTRA NOTES: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Kate Pryde, and Magik are all considered for the team, but would be passed over. Kate and Kurt are deemed to committed to trying to make the current system work and wanting to avoid violence, Bobby is asked to stay out of the fight (if they lose, their side will need a new leader), and Scott has a different job for Magik. Leading us into...

NEW MUTANTS

ROSTER: MAGIK (CO-MAIN CHARACTER), DANIELLE MOONSTAR (CO-MAIN CHARACTER), WOLFSBANE, KARMA, SUNSPOT, CANNONBALL, MAGMA, GALURA

PITCH: Leaving Warpath in charge of teaching for the time being, Magik gets Roberto and Sam back from space aas she sets out to complete the mission assigned to her by Cyclops. Namely: Do whatever she has to to get Doug, and by extension Krakoa, on their side. If they can do that, they win. While her, Sam, and master manipulator Roberto work that angle, Dani leads the rest of the girls as they fight to finally get Rahne’s son revived, and take care of some unfinished business in Nova Roma.

GENERATION X

ROSTER: MONET ST. CROIX (MAIN CHARACTER), JUBILEE, SKIN, HUSK, CHAMBER

PITCH: Monet assembles Jubilee, Skin, Husk, and Chamber as a team working for X-Corp, wanting to make sure they all come out on top no matter who wins the war, but with Jubilee feeling like she should be out there with the X-Men, Skin secretly have been one of the founders of the revolution, Husk distraught over how her idealism keeps failing her, and Synch's odd absence, this reunion is gonna be a rocky one

NEW X-MEN

ROSTER: WOLVERINE (MAIN CHARACTER), HELLION, SURGE, WIND DANCER, PRODIGY, MERCURY, DUST, PIXIE

PITCH: Just as Scott gave a mission to Magik, Logan has given a mission to his own daughter: Be heroes. The world needs to see that even as Mutantkind is focused on infighting, they’re still the X-Men. Recruiting her old Academy X friends, it’s up to them to bring down Orchis once and for all, and keep them from taking advantage of Krakoa’s inner turmoil.

IMMORAL X-MEN

ROSTER: KATE PRYDE (CO-MAIN CHARACTER), NIGHTCRAWLER (CO-MAIN CHARACTER), XAVIER, MYSTIQUE, DESTINY, SEBASTIAN SHAW, EXODUS, BEAST, FORGE, SELENE, GENESIS, HOPE SUMMERS

PITCH: With Sinister having been defeated, Colossus’ brainwashing exposed and him subsequently stepping down from his position, and Storm and Emma having left to join Scott, darkness has almost fully overtaken The Quiet Council, with Forge, Beast, and Selene having been given seats, along with a returning, and most displeased, Genesis. With Hope rarely around at all and the Marauders and Legion dissolved, lifelong friends Kate and Nightcrawler stand as the only things between The Quiet Council and the destruction of everything they’ve hoped to build. But with them unsure the revolution won’t make things even worse, they’re caught in the middle of the war too. And maybe it’s the recent ego boosts they’ve gotten, but they think they alone might be able to save everyone.

THE FIVE

ROSTER: HOPE SUMMERS (MAIN CHARACTER), EGG, TEMPUS, ELIXIR, PROTEUS

PITCH: The Five. A group of traumatized kids who rose up when their people needed them to be their saviors. In flashbacks, see how they became a family and got used to their new status, while still trying to stay normal and down to Earth. And in the present, see them fully embrace the way the people of Krakoa see them as messiahs in their own push to save it.

MINIS

NATION X

PITCH: As the fate of Krakoa hangs in the balance, see its entire history through the eyes of Aero and other non-combat Mutants. The X-Men are fighting amongst themselves, but what about the people they’re fighting for? See what it means to not be an X-Man, but a Krakoan!

THE LOST CLUB

ROSTER: ESCAPADE (MAIN CHARACTER), HONEY BADGER, COSMAR, CEREBELLA, LEO, WARPATH

PITCH: No one is more scared of the fighting taking place than Krakoa’s youth. Krakoa was meant to be the end of this type of violence after all. With Magik off on assignment and Anole and Rain Boy having joined the revolution, Warpath now seeks to protect the rest of his charges. But The Lost Club aren’t around and sit down and do nothing, especially not when newcomer Escapade sees the potential to help make Krakoa what it should have been from the start. Ready or not Quiet Council: The kids are coming.

X-CLUB

ROSTER: BISHOP (MAIN CHARACTER), THE STEPFORD CUCKOOS, SHINOBI SHAW

PITCH: The war for the soul of Krakoa comes to Hellfire Trading, as The Cuckoos seek to take complete control for the revolution, while Shinobi seeks to do the same for The Quiet Council. With the Marauders dissolved, Kate needing to commit full-time to the QC, and Kwannon agreeing to step up as Captain Commander, Bishop hesitantly agreed to step up and become The Red King. He’s a soldier, not a businessman, but not trusting either Emma or Shaw’s kids, he intends on coming out on top in this corporate struggle.

REVOLUTION X

ROSTER: OYA (CO-MAIN CHARACTER), NEKRA (CO-MAIN CHARACTER), BLING!, SHARK GIRL, SKIN, BLOB, TAG

PITCH: Oya and Nekra have returned from their exile to aid the revolution! Joined by their old friends Bling! and Shark Girl, early members of the revolution Skin and Blob, and newcomer Tag, they’re going to make the measures even Scott and his team won’t to ensure equality for all Mutants once and for all.

#x-men #new mutants #generation x #new x-men #Academy X #The Five Lights #Hellions #Hellfire Club

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prismatica-the-strange · 2 years

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I'm Falling Down Like Starlight

Warnings: 18+, blood, Spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 Vol. 2

Synopsis: Angsty Fix it fic. The last Time Eddie and Mika see each other before they attack Vecna, and the first time after.

Pairings: Forged in Hellfire

Song: Once and Never More by Shadow Academy

This was just supposed to be the before but I couldn't stop and now I'm crying.

The Winnebago slows to a stop in front of the Creel house.

"You guys be careful, you understand me?" Steve says as Erica opens the door.

"Don't do anything stupid," Mika says, leaning in to kiss Eddie goodbye. With her hurt ankle she wouldn't be able to run around in the Upside Down, so she was put on babysitting duty, in case anyone decided to give Lucas, Erica, and Max trouble.

"Promise," he says against her lips. His hand finds hers and he holds on tight, "I love you."

"I love you more," she says as she pulls away, starting to back away.

He doesn't let go, and he lags behind her, "I don't think you do, Songbird."

He stops when Robin grabs the back of his vest, but he keeps squeezing her hand.

"Eds," she keeps moving for the door.

"No... No Mika, I don't like this," his chest fills with anxiety as her fingers start to slip from his, "Stop."

"I'll see you soon, I promise."

"Mika please," he tries to step forward, but Robin holds him back. His chest heaves and his eyes dart around the rv at the others, he feels like he's saying goodbye for real, like he's never gonna see her again, "I fucking hate this- Mika wait!"

Her hand falls from his, "Mikaela Please!"

She mouths another 'I love you' before she steps outside with her bug zapper and notepad.

When they start driving off he bolts to the back. He throws open the curtain and slaps his hand on the window, "Hey! HEY!"

She stops on the sidewalk and looks over.

"I love you! I'll be back soon! Be careful! "

His voice is muffled by the glass and distance but she hears him and she almost starts crying as she waves them off.

▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

The four book it back to Eddie's trailer, the cars not theirs but at this point they don't care.

Max is in the back with Lucas, she has a broken arm but is otherwise fine.

They get there and the trailer is surrounded by cars, men with big guns, and an ambulance.

They come to a sudden stop when she sees them wheel someone out on a stretcher, Dustin hobbling close behind.

"Jesus Christ."

That's Eddie

She throws the door open, car still running as stumbles towards him.

"Eddie!"

Two of the men stop her. They're telling her she needs to leave, but she can't hear them over her heart pounding in her ears.

"Let me go!" She struggles against them, "He needs me!"

"Let her go," She doesn't even register Owens, who she met after the lab incident, as he pulls her through the line. She's running now, needing to get to him.

The paramedics look at Owens when she reaches for him, brushing his hair from his face.

He's laying so still and his Hellfire shirt is torn to shreds. There's so much blood, soaking through his clothes, drying on his lips, sticking in his hair.

"Jesus fucking christ," she feels tears roll down her face, "Eddie? Baby? Wake up. Baby wake up. Please. Please."

"Miss Carlisle-"

"Eddie, wake up! Edgar!" Her shaking hands cup his face. "Eddie look at me!"

"Mikaela," Owens gently tries to pull her away, "You need to let go. He-"

"No!" She cries, the others all watching her from the trailer door, "I'm never letting him go again!"

She presses her forehead against his, "God, please wake up. Please Eds. I need you."

Dustin, who up until now was crying in his sister's arms, steps towards her, nearly falling on his probably fractured leg.

"Mika," he puts his hand on her back, "They need to get him to the hospital... He'll be okay, but you need to let him go."

She looks over at the freshman, his clothes stained with blood, his eyes red, and cheeks wet with tears.

She looks back at Eddie's face still held in her hands. She lightly presses her lips to his and her heart stutters at how completely unresponsive he is.

"Okay," she breathes, tucking some of his unruly curls behind his ear before stepping back. She feels Dustin wrap his arms around her waist, and she hugs him back as they watch them load Eddie into the ambulance.

▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

She's completely numb as she stares down the empty hallway.

The waiting room is cut off from anyone else as Owens assures them that he'll take care of everything. All the hospital bills, Eddie being wanted for murder, all of it. He even says he'll take care of what Mika did to Jason when Lucas explains what happened.

She doesn't care about any of that, not then. She just keeps seeing Eddie, her Eddie, laying there, looking dead.

He's never been that still before, not even when he's asleep. He truly looked dead.

Whoever is talking stops when she let's out a small sob, hand covering her mouth as her legs give out, "Oh god!"

"Guys?" Robin looks back at them, her hands on her shoulders, easing her down to sit against the wall, "I don't think she's okay."

She not.

Her whole body shudders as she tries to breathe, hand clawing at the silver chain around her neck.

"Hey. Hey, Mika," Nancy takes over, hands squeezing her arms comfortingly, "Look at me, yeah?"

She forces her eyes to focus on her face.

"Eddie's going to be fine, okay?" She tries to reassure, "Sure he's banged up now, but the doctors are back there fixing him up for you."

Her lip trembles.

"I-I can't... I keep seeing him just-" She falls into her, "He looked so still."

Nancy looks at Robin in shock as Mika shakes him her loose hug.

They'd never seen her like this, not even after she was attacked by packs of Demodogs and bats.

They all knew her as a girl that got into fights and smoked weed with her punk boyfriend.

▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

"He'll need time to heal," Doctor explains, "We're not sure when he'll wake up."

8 hours on the table and he still looks so still, so close to death.

"But he will wake up?" Wayne asks. He was called in after the group was done coming up with a cover. It took longer than expected because Jason wasn't quite dead, so they couldn't blame it on him. But they manage.

"It'll be touch and go for a while," The doctor continues as they watch Mika step towards the bed, "But whether he wakes up or not is up to him."

She sit on the bed next to him, fingers shaking as she so so gently wraps them around his hand.

It feels odd to not have his rings against her skin.

Something about seeing him like this, hair washed, dressed in a hospital gown, hooked up to an IV, and wired to the beeping monitor next to him makes it all come crashing down on her.

He's alive.

That beeping is the sound of his heart. He's breathing on his own.

He's alive.

She let's out a shuddering sigh as she leans down slightly, lifting his hand to her lips.

"You'll be okay," she mutters, linking their fingers and holding the back of his hand to her cheek, "You're okay."

She spends the next week there, sat at his bedside. She rarely goes to the cafeteria to get food and ends up eating whatever junk is in the vending machine in the hall. Her mom visits often and brings her real food.

She spends most of her time talking to him, holding his hand, playing with his hair, and sometimes she just stares at his face, trying so hard to memorize him harder than she already has.

His uncle doesn't know how she sleeps with her back bent like that, head on her arms on the bed while she holds his hand.

She doesn't want to think he's alone when she sleeps.

A week later, she's leaned back in her chair, feel kicked up on the bed next to his legs, as she very animatedly reads The Hobbit, when she hears a noise. She almost doesn't notice it, but it's just loud enough to catch her attention.

She looks over at Eddie's peacefully sleeping silhouette. She sees his Adams apple bob and his eyebrows scrunch before his mouth opens. A small, crackly, groan comes out.

"Eddie?" She sets the book aside and sits up as her her feet drop to the floor.

"Mm... Mi-" he loses the word to a choked sound.

"Hey," she moves to sit next to him, one hand holding his as the other cups his cheek, "Don't try to talk. Can you open your eyes for me?"

It takes a moment but he manages to force them open.

Tears sting her eyes when she feels him weakly squeeze her fingers

"Mornin' Sleeping Beauty," she laughs tearfully, unable to stop herself when she leans forward to press the softest kiss she can against his lips.

"I'm gonna go get a doctor," but when she gets up he refuses to let go.

"I-...I-" his voice is shot from disuse, he can't get the words out.

"Shhh..." She kisses his hand, "I'll just be at the door."

"I-... I Died?"

Her face falls and she sits back down, "No. No baby you're alive. You just got hurt bad."

"I-" He tries to swallow, "h-heard you... crying."

He lifts his left hand to caress her cheek, wiping away a tear.

"I-it's okay p-pretty thi-thing," he croaks out, "E-Eddie's her-re now."

°•°•°•°•°•°

Forged in Hellfire taglist: @pointlesslygay

#Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson x OC #prisma self ships #forged in hellfire #fix it fic #prisma writes #angst #shadow Academy

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lukewarmoverthinker · 2 years

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Because of the direction that the fandoms I’m a part of are going, I am 99% convinced that I am a part of multiple cults.

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marveltournaments · 5 months

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samasmith23 · 1 year

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Quentin Quire: The Evolution from Morrison to Aaron

Over the past few years I’ve noticed that there’s a fairly sizable group of comic book fans who have taken issue with how the character Quentin Quire has been portrayed since his debut in New X-Men by Grant Morrison. Despite there being a lot of fans like myself who personally enjoyed Quire’s redemptive rehabilitation arc during Jason Aaron’s Wolverine & the X-Men arc into a quirky faux-rebel punk, there are quite a few readers who argue that redeeming Quire is inappropriate since Morrison originally framed them as being akin to a fascistic school-shooter during the Riot at Xaviers arc. I’ve discussed at length before about how I personally didn’t have an issue with future writers like Aaron redeeming Quire, especially since I personally really enjoyed how said-arc was handled in WATXM despite the more comedic shift in tone in regards to Quentin’s personality. However, one thing I recently realized was that despite fan-complaints that Aaron completely misunderstood Quire’s character or completely altered his personality, there are actually some subtle ways in which Aaron’s version of Quire is not only reflective of Morrison’s original characterization of him, but gradually abandons those initial negative traits in order to fulfill a positive-growth character arc.

So I was recently reading through a series of articles by ComicWatch editor Travis Hedge Coke titled “Examining New X-Men,” and in them Coke described Quire in those original Morrison stories as being portrayed as a misogynistic incel, stating that “Quire’s heterosexual jealousy throws him immediately into confrontation with men or boys he deems as challenges for the top position in the eyes of girls and women, he perceives girls and women as prizes as a reward for obtaining the top position… [and he] has incredible telepathic gifts including being subtly and intensely persuasive.”

And I will freely admit that... yeah... this kind misogynistic alpha-male behavior is on full display via Quire not only humiliating his fellow student Slick by essentially outing him telepathically through undoing an illusion of his idealized self due to low self-esteem about his actual appearance (consequently resulting in his girlfriend Tattoo rejecting him), but one of the reasons he staged the entire riot at Xavier’s was in a creepy attempt to impress one of the five Stepford Cuckoos.

Additionally, the article also suggested that Quire was also guilty of outright sexual assault since Slick’s aforementioned ex-girlfriend Tattoo immediately joins Quire’s “Omega Gang” and is madly in love with him, and following the riot one of Quire’s gang members desperately tries to convince Wolverine that they were all being mind-controlled by Quire. While Morrison leaves the story vague about whether or not this was actually true or just another lie from one of Quire’s followers to avoid accountability for their crimes, Xavier did state earlier in the arc that Quire’s telepathic abilities were “deep and subtle enough to influence the minds around him” when discussing his development of a cult-following in the form of the Omega Gang. Coke even went as far as to describe Morrison’s Quire as being akin to a younger, less rapey version of Wolverine’s arch-nemesis Sabretooth. It's also worth noting that there also exists subtle racialized undertones (ontop of gendered ones...) in the original Riot at Xavier's arc considering the white and fascistic Quire's overt manipulations of two Black characters in the form of Slick & Tattoo...

Furthermore, in a separate article for GraphicPolicy by Dani Kinney, despite her more charitable interpretation of Morrison’s Quire as someone who was driven to extremes due to frustration with Xavier’s flawed liberal-centrist approach in response to increasing human violence against other mutants, Kinney still criticizes Quire of being racially biased due to his victimization and exploitation of Slick and Tattoo respectively (both of which Morrison frames as bad things in the comic).

Interestingly, later when Quentin Quire began to undergo a rehabilitation arc in Jason Aaron's run on Wolverine & the X-Men (since Logan recognized Quire’s potential as a gifted student and telepath and didn’t want him to fall down the dark path of a mutant terrorist)...

...whether or Jason Aaron intended to or not he ended up showcasing Quire growing beyond the subtle characteristics of racism and misogyny that Morrison originally depicted during the character’s overtly villainous phase. For instance, throughout WATXM Quire begins to form a legitimate friendship and even romantic relationship with his fellow student Idie Okonkwo. Despite this, their first interaction showcases Quentin falling back on his old negative habits, making awkward pick-up lines and advances at Idie (which she hilariously sarcastically rejects in a nonchalant manner, and even Broo points out the inappropriateness of).

As the series progresses however, Quire begins to recognize Idie not as some prize but as a human being with her own autonomy. This is gradual shift first manifests during a school dance in the AVX tie-ins, where Quire is completely dumbfounded to see Idie uncharacteristically wanting to dance with him, even noting that she previously rejected his advances. This sudden shift in behavior for Idie was due to her worsening struggles with internalized-mutantphobia and religious trauma due to having been forced to kill someone by Cyclops in X-Men: Schism, feelings which were recently exacerbated by the Hellfire Brat’s gaslighting of her to give into what she mistakens to be her true “sinful, monstrous nature” via an android televangelist-style priest.

Quire's concerns Idie’s well-being and mental health only increase following an incident during the Frankenstein Murder Circus arc Idie nearly killing a sorceress a fit of traumatic rage due to she herself once nearly being burned at the stake by her Nigerian Catholic village when she first manifested her mutant powers.

This eventually culminates climatic Hellfire Academy arc wherein Quentin Quire actually infiltrates the Hellfire Brat’s supervillain-training school when he discovered Idie enrolled (both due to her worsening religious trauma and gaslighting, as well as wanting to investigate who shot her friend Broo and reduced him to a feral state), and seeks to rescue her from a that toxic environment. Unfortunately, Quire's rescue attempt backfires and he himself ends up getting captured and thrown into the Hellfire Academy's "detention room."

While Quire at this point hadn’t fully overcome his previous negative characteristics (he’s partially motivated by basic jealousy towards Broo and at one point thinks to himself that he might be forced to “telepathically coax” Idie into fleeing the Hellfire Academy), he simultaneously wants to prevent her from killing Broo’s shooter, as he wants to prevent her from going down a similar dark path that he previously did.

Furthermore, I don’t know if this was intentional or not but Aaron actually kinda sort of portrays Kade Kilgore, the Black King of the Hellfire Brats, as somewhat of a dark foil to Quentin Quire. Kilgore as he’s presented in WATXM is essentially like a younger but wealthier version of the kind of jerk Quire used to be during the Morrison New X-Men run. This is demonstrated not only through Kade expressing disappointment at Quire’s failure to live up to the standards of the supervillain academy due to Quentin’s past track record, but Kade is someone who actively manipulates and gaslights Idie by further feeding into her internalized mutantphobia and guilt over having killed before, all with the intent of influencing her into becoming both a murderous supervillain as well as his Black Queen of the Hellfire Club whom he would “have by his side at all times.”

And these are inappropriate behaviors which Kilgore undoubtedly picked up from his abusive corrupt billionaire father despite his own protestations to the contrary (in X-Men: Schism, Kade’s murder of his father was assisted by a secretary who wanted revenge for Kilgore Sr. sexually harassing her). Plus the Hellfire Club in general has a long history of being manipulative and possessive towards women, like with Jean Grey during the classic Dark Phoenix Saga.

So despite Kade claiming otherwise, the Hellfire Club’s misogynistic and manipulative behavior definitely seems to be generational.

In a sense, Kade Kilgore’s creepy & misogynistic manipulation of Idie is somewhat reflective of how Quire previously mistreated characters like Tattoo & Sophie Cuckoo during Morrison’s run. It also demonstrates that while Aaron mostly portrayed the Hellfire Brats as comedic joke-villains due to them being sociopathic spoiled rich 12-year-olds who murdered their parents and seized control over their corporate assets, he still fleshed out members like Kade Kilgore as being negatively influenced by the sexist & manipulative behaviors of his abusive father.

Fortunately however, Idie rejects both Kilgore’s gross manipulations and her own internalized-mutantphobia. While Idie initally seems to accept Kilgore’s offer of becoming his Black Queen, she did this solely just to trick Kilgore into confessing that he was the one who shot her friend Broo. And although Idie nearly went through with her plan to murder the little creep in retaliation, she he ultimately refuses to give into hatred and bloodshed (brought about by both her past religious trauma and the inhumane teachings of the literal supervillain academy) when she realizes that she is still capable of feeling love and and experiencing happiness after witnessing Toad of all people (he was the janitor at both the Jean Grey School & Hellfire Academy) refusing to kill a mentally unstable & murderous Husk (Paige was experiencing extreme mood swings due to a latent secondary mutation tying her emotions to her skin-shedding/transformation powers) because of the love they had developed for each other in previous issues of the series. Sparring Kilgore’s life, Idie then teams-up with Quire to rebel against and destroy the oppressive Hellfire Academy (a conclusion to WATXM’s running gag of Quire constantly fantasizing about instigating another riot and destroying the Jean Grey School).

And while some fans have argued that Quire & Idie becoming a couple creeped them out due to Idie being younger than him, I don’t have too much of a problem with it since was only a 2-year age gap between the two in Aaron’s run (Idie & Quire were 14 & 16 respectively; this was confirmed by the Jason Latour’s follow-up run on WATXM, which featured Quire having his 17th birthday), and seeing Quentin & Idie develop legitimate feelings for each other as they both underwent positive-change arcs actually felt kind of sweet IMO. Plus, Idie was the one who ultimately had to rescue Quire instead of the other way around due to his own rescue attempt FAILING, and the two co-lead the revolt against the Hellfire Brats.

Essentially, Aaron’s version of Quentin Quire felt like a more mature version of Morrison’s despite his new more comedic faux-rebel personality. Quentin by the end of WATXM was no longer a manipulative incel, but had instead evolved into someone who actually learned to respect the autonomy and personhood of not just women, but women of color in particular. This was something that completely flew over my head when I initially read WATXM, but after reading Travis Hedge Coke’s New X-Men articles I began to notice how vastly different Quire’s attitude and treatment towards Tattoo & Idie were, especially since both characters are Black girls. These are some deeper observations about Quentin Quire’s character development & positive change arc that I truly appreciate, since they make me realize that Aaron seemed to understand Quentin’s character a lot more than a lot of fans give him credit for. Sadly though, all this does seem to be lost on a lot of fans due to not just having prior memories Morrison’s more villainous portrayal of Quire, but also due to series which came after Aaron’s WATXM such as Christina Strain’s run on Generation X apparently having Quentin Quire regress into being rude and condescending towards Idie… sigh, oh well that’s the downside of having different writers with different interpretations I guess…

Overall, I'm not against redeeming Quentin Quire like a lot of other fans are since Wolverine in Jason Aaron's run was following in the footsteps of Charles Xavier's philosophy. Logan wanted to give Quire a second-chance and try and mold him into something better than a potential future mutant-terrorist, which he ultimately ended up succeeding in. And while Quentin still boasts about wanting to be the bad kid who destroys the Jean Grey School, most of it is now him being a faux-pretentious brat as he never exploited any opportunity to do so and instead developed empathy with his fellow students, and over the course of WATXM Quire developed leadership skills and even went out of his way to rescue the X-Men at several points in Aaron's series. His faux-rebel attitude is played more for laughs now.

Plus, the X-Men in general have a long history of trying to redeeming or rehabilitating supervillains like Magneto, Mystique, Juggernaut, and even Apocalypse and Mister Sinister.

So why is Quentin Quire off limits for a redemption arc then? Heck, I'd personally argue that Mister Sinister being allowed a seat on Krakoa's Quite Council is far more egregious considering that in past continuity Sinister was literally a Nazi scientist who was present at the Auschwitz death camp.

That seems far worse to me than Wolverine trying to redeem a delinquent teenager who once staged a half-assed riot at Xaviers...

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pinketine · 1 year

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MITSKI WASN'T NOMINATED BE REALLLLLL

#EVERYONE IN THE ACADEMY LIVE YOUR TRUTH BUT JUST KNOW YOUR FINAL DESTINATION (THE HELLFIRE)#505 radio

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formosusiniquis · 1 year

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inspired by this post by @ruelogy

ao3

Eddie knows he got to Hawkins a little later than everyone else. He wasn't born and raised in the six miles of town with the same eight people his whole life. There was a whole social services kerfuffle that meant he didn't land in this small town hell hole until he was the ancient age of thirteen. He knows he's destined to forever be the freaky new kid with the shaved head and the group home eyes who joined in the eighth grade. But even without all that he is fucking positive that there was no Henderson in any of his three graduating classes.

Yet here Henderson the supposed younger sits painting him a mystery week after week. Steve said this, Steve did that, Steve may very well be a delusion if the way the others giggle and sigh every time he gets brought up is any indication. Cause it goes like this: Henderson comma Dustin is a fellow Hawkins transplant. Son of a single mother -- divorced or widowed, Eddie knows enough now to be sure that fueled the Hawkins gossip mill for weeks -- who brought her young son with her. Son, singular. Dustin joined the first grade class of Michael Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, and William Byers and that is as they say history. If there had been sons, plural, this mysterious older brother should have by all of Eddie's figurings joined Hawkins junior high right around the same time as a miserable Eddie. There should have been whispers about two new kids, there should have been someone for him to commiserate with, befriend.

Yet week after week young Dustin sits at Hellfire spinning yarns of a brother who was, what, homeschooled? Sent to a private military academy? Boarding school? Stayed at home with the mysterious father that Dustin doesn't mention -- and Eddie knows enough about fathers that go unmentioned not to break the silence -- but suddenly decided after he graduated to come join his mother and brother in Hawkins? Cause the thing is, Hawkins isn't that big. If pressed he's pretty sure he could name at least 90% of both of the classes he was supposed to graduate with and at least 75% of the group he's stuck with this year. He'd at the very least recognize them on sight, and not just cause he's dealt to the greater portion of the high school. Eddie pays attention, there are only like 400 students at the high school at any time, he should by all accounts be able to say, "Oh yeah that scrawny, bespectacled loser is Steve Henderson."

Except maybe there is no Steve Henderson, he's already faintly sure there's no Suzie so what's one more fictional friend from Dustin Henderson. Maybe this Steve is just the product of a fractured mind brought on by too much hands on parenting. Eddie knows people think all of his bad behavior is the product of underparenting, but if the opposite causes imaginary siblings he'll take the hand he got thank you very much.

Cause, sure he's doing his best to be third time lucky with this whole high school thing. He does know that compared to the should be starry eyed, but actually unsettlingly wary freshmen he is an ancient being of chaos. Yes, he feels every ounce of the five year gap between 19 and 14 when he speaks to them. But beyond all of that, he is still young. Still capable of swooning now and then; and the now is when Dustin describes his big brother and the then was all the other times Henderson the older has been detailed.

"Well that's cause I'm not really sorry, Mike," Henderson is on a tear already when he makes it to Hellfire, "I told you I have plans already."

"It's not that big a deal," Lucas placates, "we can do it another day."

"My parents won't be out of town another day," Mike sneers, "Will, you wouldn't ditch out on an all night Nintendo marathon for a date with Steve would you?" He says it like Will is the voice of the populace or something.

Maybe he is, and going by the way Will flushes a bright pink up to his bowlcut the voice of the people would in fact rather go out with Steve Henderson than hang out in a basement playing video games.

"It's not a date, he's my brother, and yeah dude I'm gonna skip out on watching you scream at Mario to go to an all night Stephen King movie marathon." Dustin says.

And swoon. That sounds like a dream.

"Like Steve would ever do something that cool, you can just say your mom won't let you come over cause my parents aren't gonna be home." Mike is surlier than usual, a trait he has noticed happens a lot when Henderson the elder gets broached. Eddie's theories range from misplaced sibling jealousy to repressed queer crush on Steve.

"C'mon kiddies save the tantrums for your mommies," he doesn't have a taste for it regardless of the answer, puberty is a bitch he's glad to be seeing the back of and Wheeler can go from being an angel to the kind of brat you do want to narc on just a little. "The rest of us have hoards to slay, maidens to save, things that don't involve listening to your play date fall apart."

He desperately wants to ask Henderson where they're movie night is taking place, because it sounds amazing and not at all because he wants to finally see this mysterious brother.

“It wasn’t even mine!” Henderson is moaning by the time Eddie makes it from O’Donnells to the cafeteria. He wasn’t that late, five minutes to plead his case for his grade at most, but Henderson could monologue with the best of them and it took about as much to get the kid going as it did Eddie, which was saying something.

“And you and Erica made fun of what was under my bed.” Lucas says with a smirk and a roll of his eyes.

“What was under your bed?” Will asks.

“We are not going to let Dustin get out of the fact that his Mom found his Star Trek porn that easily,” Mike shrieks, he sounds like he’s trying to mind his volume but it’s still too loud for a public venue, “You gave me shit for weeks about that Penthouse you found under my bed.”

“We gave you shit because you stole it from your dad,” Lucas corrects, not that anyone but Eddie hears it.

Cause as Lucas speaks Dustin is shouting, “It wasn’t fucking mine! It has to be Steve’s but try telling my mom anything about her favorite son.”

Three sets of disbeliving eyes look over at Dustin, but it’s Mike who says, “There’s no fucking way anyone is gonna believe it was Steve’s dude, just give it up.”

“I don’t even like Star Trek that much!”

Eddie has been having dreams of a mystery boy with a gorgeous head of hair and Dustin’s sweet smile. He likes horror but will pretend to get scared so he has a reason to hide his face in Eddie’s neck, and when he gets there he’s a biter. “Now, now Henderson, what kind of self-respecting nerd doesn’t enjoy the dulcet tones of Mr. Spock.”

Henderson wrinkles his little nose, what a twerp or maybe he’s thinking of his brother’s zine again, “It’s okay, but who goes to sci-fi for philosophy when you could watch space battles and deathstars.”

Eddie spares a prayer for Dustin’s English grade. “Well at least one Henderson has taste.”

He’s never had a younger sibling in Hellfire before, Gareth and Joey are only children and Jeff is way older than his miracle baby sister, so it is a treat to watch the way Henderson goes red, white, and then green as he cycles through a series of emotions surrounding his brother so fast it gives Eddie a headache.

“Dude, he probably bought it for you not knowing what it was,” Mike says, “it’s not like Steve is watching Star Trek.”

"You didn't see it."

"Maybe it was a prank?"

Eddie tunes them out, returning to the Steve in his imagination. They're slipping out of the movie they just finished, the one they bought tickets for, Steve giggles -- Eddie thinks he'd have a nice laugh, thinks he makes his brother laugh a lot -- and tugs him into The Voyage Home. "You gonna think of your favorite captain while we hide in the back row, Stevie?"

"Kirk is an Admiral now, he has been for three movies. Some fan you are."

He wonders if it’s creepy, this mental file he’s compiling on Henderson’s brother. It’s not like he knows the guy, truly a backwards fucking miracle in this two stoplight nothing of a town, but Eddies’ always liked something that he can sink his teeth into and pull apart. That’s what Steve Henderson feels like to him, like if a rubix cube was also a steak. He’s lost track of the metaphor in his own head, it’s whatever.

Cause Steve Henderson loves horror movies, but watches sappy romance flicks with his mom when they both have the same day off. Steve Henderson’s favorite color is yellow, but he only wears it on days that he can barely get out of bed; Dustin says that like it’s a warning sign for the others “Steve has his yellow sweater on today,” explaining away his absence at the arcade that afternoon. Steve Henderson could have any girl he wants -- this factoid Eddie takes with a salt, lime, and tequila -- but he never goes on dates anymore and only hangs out with his best friend and coworker. Steve Henderson baked a brownie so good Jeff moaned in the middle of Hellfire but can only over or undercook pasta when he tries.

Dustin loves his brother. Dustin thinks he’s the worst person to ever grace this side of the planet.

That Eddie thinks is at least typical for siblings, barring the Byers who seem to be so close knit they’d put the Bradys to shame.

“Henderson, my man, why the long face? We’re about to begin the most dangerous leg of your quest yet!” Hellfire was getting a delayed start -- the drama club was actually using their prop closet, go figure -- it was just him and Henderson lurking outside so Eddie did have to find his fun where he could get it.

“Steve and Robin went up to Indianapolis and they’re gonna be gone the whole weekend.” And yeah, he probably could have guessed it was about big brother Henderson. Dusty has the cutest case of hero worship when he wasn’t wishing big brother dead. “They say they aren’t dating, and it’s just for her birthday, but a weekend trip seriously it screams romance.”

“And you’re mad they didn’t bring you?”

“I could have been out of the way! Do you know the kind of specialty tech shops they have up there? I need some things you can't get in Hawkins to improve Cerebro and it's twice as much to get them mail order. I could make myself scarce for a couple hours so they can get it on.

He smacks the bill of Dustin’s cap, knocking it down over his eyes, but nobly refrains from giving him a noogie, “Dusty if you ever want to pop your little Mormon girl’s cherry, maybe don’t say shit like ‘get it on.’”

“Suzie is an angel, don’t be crude, man.” Dustin’s hands are quick as they smack him away, that must be another little brother trait.

“An angel, huh, another point in the ‘girlfriend isn’t real’ category. How many imaginary friends do you have, kid? A girlfriend in Utah and a brother that no one but your party has seen.”

The rest of Hellfire starts to trickle in, having used their time waiting for their table more wisely than Eddie has. Dustin’s comment is delayed only momentarily as he says hi to the rest of the freshmen that he definitely saw only a few minutes ago. “For the record, Suzie is very real. And you…” It’s the way he trails off that makes Eddie nervous, the way a light goes on in his eyes that sets the hair at the back of his neck on end. His danger instincts are finely honed and that's the same, 'I'm smarter than you look' Henderson was wearing when he managed to sniff out half the traps Eddie had laid out last session. "You should meet Steve, I bet I could get him to pick us up next week instead of Nancy."

He thinks this must be what the raccoons behind the trailer park feel like. The obvious trap of the shiny silver cage that's been baited so sweet it's hard to resist walking in anyway. "Sure, Henderson, tell the mysterious brother to stop by. Have him bring one of those zines that definitely belongs to him."

Dustin is especially vicious as dispatches with every creature that Eddie throws at him that day. It’s hard to be that upset, he’s feeling pretty fat and happy sitting in whatever animal control rodent trap Henderson thinks he’s got him in.

The next week’s session comes in a haze of vague daydreams and intense session prep. He’s had Steve Henderson on the brain for so long that he all but forgot about his little tête-à-tête with Dustin the week before. Forgot if not for the way that Baby Henderson is vibrating at the Hellfire lunch table when Eddie arrives.

“Steve is coming to get us from Hellfire today!” Eddie personally thinks this doesn’t quite deserve the level of reaction that it’s getting, but Henderson is so worked up no one even needs to prompt him to keep him going. “He had to leave right after his weekend trip to go deal with lawyers and shit.”

“Are they still..?” Lucas trails off, he’s clearly concerned but for all that Eddie hates that the kid is looking down the barrel of jock life he is extremely emotionally adept.

“Mom and Steve both said it was handled now. They won’t answer me when I ask any questions.”

Ominous, everything about Steve Henderson was so fucking weird. A kid who didn’t exist all through high school, that he’s never seen in town, who has lawyers now?

“Maybe Hop could,” the kid started to ask, hopeful.

“Mom says that it’s Steve’s business and we should all stay out of it unless he asks for our help.” Will responds by rote, something he’s clearly already tried before.

“So the infamous Steve Henderson is going to grace us with his presence today?” Eddie knows the answer already, but like most of his vices he can't resist indulging.

"He's taking us all out for ice cream after," Dustin agrees, "you could come too Eddie, I'm sure Steve wouldn't mind!"

"Steve minds everything," Mike grouses.

"Steve always buys your triple scoop sundae."

Eddie thinks Steve Henderson would have elegant fingers. He thinks about how they might toy with the straw of his milkshake while he smiles, coy and teasing, at Eddie, who he's charmed by. This Steve lets Eddie snatch the cherry from his drink, blushes when he gets his stem returned tied in a knot by Eddie's tongue.

"Well if Steve is buying, who am I to refuse an invitation?"

He does not end Hellfire early because Steve Henderson is coming.

He does, by pure coincidence, need to piss 15 minutes before things are set to wrap up. If that gives him enough time to clean himself up a bit that's just luck. This isn't for Steve Henderson.

His bathroom break, and definitely not pre-date primp session, puts him at the back of the pack when Steve Harrington's maroon beemer pulls into the lot. It feels a little bit like sophomore year again. When his hair was in another awkward stage of growing out and curled around his ears, he didn't have his mom to help him with the curls anymore and he didn't know what to do with them now that they seemed to twist and turn in new directions post-buzz. He caught the sweetest looking boy with puppy dog eyes staring and he'd been so embarrassed about getting caught he'd touched his own locks. Hairsprayed into oblivion and locked firmly into place the touch was ripped away and a shy, 'what can you do' smile was shared between the two of them. It feels a bit like junior year when Steve Harrington broke the keg stand record as a sophomore. Rounding the corner from tipsy into drunk or maybe bypassing it altogether for blackout, he wandered over into Eddie's domain. He had that same shy little wave, but a stronger confidence. He sidled up to Eddie and wrapped a curl around a finger. He tugged, just a bit, the way kids do when they want to see if it'll bounce back. "Yknow you'd be pretty if you were a girl." The slip slide of his definitely drunk tone didn't take Eddie out at the knees any less.

The car curves up closer to the front steps and Henderson is shaking like a rocket leaving Canaveral. He actually starts to take a step toward the still moving car when four hands clamp down on him saving Steve last-name-to-be-determined from a vehicular manslaughter charge. Eddie is the last to release him when he hears that car slide into park. The engine has barely had time to rumble to a stop before Steve Harrington is out of it. A toothy smile splits his face and, hidden behind Byers and Wheeler, Eddie watches as Steve Harrington proceeds to engage in the nerdiest fucking handshake he's ever seen. Steve Harrington finishes dying by what seems to be lethal lightsaber disembowelment and waves at the other three teens.

"Alright let's rock n roll if you twerps want ice cream before I drop you off. Joyce will kill me if you're late."

"Steve, can Eddie come with us?"

As Henderson asks Eddie now sees the exact size and shape of the trap he is in. The actually dweeby, dungeon master and drug dealer forced to watch the hot, once cool older brother bow to the obligation of Midwestern courtesy now that he's been ambushed with Eddie's existence. Or worse he'll have to stand there and pretend to be unbothered while King Steve shoots both Hendersons hopes and Eddie's dreams in the face with one curled lip.

He never could have imagined the furrow of confusion between his brows. The way lips wrap themselves around his name, tasting it. He hadn't, in his many fantasies, pictured golden brown eyes though he often thought of them snapping up to him like they were now.

A rosy blush blooms across Steve's face. He has the same shy finger wave he did as a freshman. "Depends, Dust, are you gonna give up your shotgun dibs or are you gonna make your troop leader sit in the back with the rest of the Party.”

He watches as if in slow motion as Henderson lunges for Steve, the elder is laughing as the younger wraps his arms around his neck. There is something very intensely attractive about the lingering jock of it all. How Steve is still upright even as his teenage brother dangles from his neck. “You know it’s Dungeon Master, you get it right with Erica!”

“I have a lot of respect for Erica, the things she does with goblins and kobolds is masterful. You asked me about the lead up to a trap so obvious it felt like an eagle scout showing his little cubbies poison ivy." It's bitchy and nerdy in all the best ways, and then Steve H- Steve looks up at him and winks, "No offense, Munson."

"None taken, Stevie." That seems to catch them both by surprise, the lack of a certain last name to fall back to -- and weeks of imagining what it might be like to interact with the guy who is and isn't right in front of him -- has Eddie overly familiar. "I drove here though." His van stands like a monolith alone in the middle of an empty parking lot.

"Oh."

"But I could meet you there? Are you going to the Dairy Queen by the library or the haunted one?"

"It's not actually haunted," Byers pipes in with frightening sincerity.

"But yeah, the haunted one," Steve says with a boy next door grin.

"Then I will meet you and your charges there Sir Henderson." He bows and only immediately regrets it, now that the once Harrington lord of the school is out of his line of sight. His brain feels like it could short out, faulty wires sparking against memories and daydreams and general hormones.

A sheepie he saved from the slaughter snorts, another - probably Mike - whispers "Gross." There's a grunt that Eddie hopes is the traitor catching an elbow from one of the others.

But it doesn't. fucking. matter because Steve Whatever laughs, practically giggles at Eddie and his antics.

And Dustin's rocket has come in for a rough landing, "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

Steve's hand envelopes the top of Dustin's head, he nearly palms it. It's not quite a noogie, more like he shakes his head for him. "Dusty-bun, why would you regret introducing me to your Dork Mother?"

"I'm gonna tell Ma you're being a bitch again."

"She won't believe you, I'm her favorite." He shoots another wink toward Eddie, a joke he's being allowed in on.

Level headed Dustin Henderson, who explained to him, in depth, how getting overly emotional impairs higher level critical thinking, stomps his foot. "You're so full of shit."

"I am. She chose me, she got stuck with you."

"Steve!"

He laughs at the despair he's caused, ruffling cap covered hair again until Dustin stomps out of reaching distance to climb in the Beemer with the other boys. Brown eyes are bright with mischief when he looks to Eddie, and he's struck by a thought. He was right, he hadn't ever met Steve Henderson before today. This is not the same boy who sat in the cafeteria with a closed mouth smile listening to Tommy H. and Carol. "Let me walk you to your car?" He asks.

"It's right there, Stevie, and do you really want to leave that band of miscreants alone with your car?" He's playing with fire, but the fear of getting burned has never stopped him before. He leans in close, whispers, "They might steal it."

Steve pales, a haunted look in his eye. He shakes it off, squeezing his eyes shut tight, and that soft smile slips across his face again. "Let me watch you leave then." That smile slides into a smirk, as he looks Eddie up and down.

He was right about getting burned, his face feels like it's on fire as he flees the scene. His tail is definitely not tucked between his legs because Steve is absolutely staring at his ass right now. He doesn't remember how walking is supposed to feel, but it's probably not like this. It would be embarrassing, the fact that he probably looks like a baby deer discovering he has knees for the first time, if it weren't more important that he makes sure each foot is planted so he doesn't acquaint himself with the ground below him. Safely encased in the van, he chances a look through the windshield and confirms that Steve is watching him.

He waves, and yeah it is gratifying to see the guy who at one point had half the girls in school fawning over him duck his head like he's embarrassed at getting caught staring. Sinclair leans up from the back seat, Eddie watches him clap Steve on the shoulder and make a comment on… something, probably him. It makes the rest of the car laugh and Steve thunk his head down on the steering wheel. The horn sounds, an echoing burst of noise that cuts off just as quickly as it starts when Steve jumps in his seat. The seat belt stops his jump short, and he sends another flustered wave Eddie's way when he notices him still watching.

Maybe he'll mention this to Little Red, his new neighbor has mentioned stealing young Henderson's brother and making him a Mayfield instead. A joke that makes a little more sense now. Sinclair has been making moon eyes at her and baby Hopper at lunch for the last week. That will be a better punishment than anything Eddie could do to him at the table.

He waves back at Steve, gives him his most winning smile -- the one he practiced in the mirror for charming pretty boys if he ever got out of the armpit of Indiana. Mimes driving like he's in a bad movie. Across twenty feet and two windows, he can't hear Steve laugh, needs to get to somewhere where he can. He can see the smile though, the dorky thumbs up.

He lets the Beemer pull out in front of him, watches it for just a moment as reality sets in. Reality. He's going to meet Steve Henderson for soft serve. It's a dream come true.

Arwen shifts into gear, and he slides out behind Steve and the sheepies. A whole new world of daydreaming unlocked.

Maybe next week Steve Henderson will let Nancy pick the kids up next week. He'll slip in the back doors of the school, unnoticed by everyone. Stealth bonus obscene for a fighter class. Eddie is moving slow as he moves minis and graph paper maps into the tackle box Wayne gave him, back to the door he misses his rogue slip through the door until he's already grappled.

"Was it a good game, Munson? You win?"

"It's not like one of your sports, Henderson, the wins aren't as clear cut."

Hands start to wander, "Isn't any time you pull one over on the Party kind of a victory?"

"In which case I do stand victorious, your sweet baby brother lost his brand new axe to a mimic."

"Hmm, you know what we used to do after a victory in my 'sports?'"

A hand has migrated to an especially interesting place. "What?"

"We'd hit the showers."

Eddie shakes himself out of the daydream, easing just the smallest bit harder onto the accelerator. He needs something to cool himself off with. He also really wants to see Steve again, to make up for lost time.

#steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #steve henderson #eddie munson #ruelogy #inspired by another amazing tumblr ficlet #it put worms in my brain and then this happened

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