Happiest Of Birthdays To The One And Only @iamvegorott !!! It's Been Great Getting To Know You This Past

Happiest of Birthdays to the one and only @iamvegorott !!! It's been great getting to know you this past year and I hope they're many more birthdays to come! 🖤

Voxhollow

Link to Prologue

Link to 1st Chapter

Chapter 2: Anti

Summary: A deeper dive into Anti's method of madness and backstory.

TW: Graphic depictions of violence and blood.

Once there was a boy named Anthony, the oldest of three brothers which included, JJ and Robbie. His family started as middle class. A series of unfortunate events led the family to a fall from grace leaving them poor and giving them no choice but to live in the Lower End of the city. The residents were hardly treated as normal people; rather they were being looked down on as an eyesore to the upper class. It was those harsh things and many more that made Anthony see a dark side to this city, where wealth was everything and human feelings meant nothing, especially to those in charge.

Anthony had crushing responsibilities as the eldest child to help provide for his family. They increased when he lost his father due to a workplace accident and his mother dying from a disease caused by the toxic fumes from the job she worked at. After the death of their mother, the brothers were left to fend for themselves. The brothers struggled to survive on the streets, often having to scrounge food in the trash to eat and sleep in abandoned buildings to escape the already harsh streets. Despite their hardships, they always looked out for one another, even as Anti’s hatred towards the upper class grew.

One chilly evening, as the brothers huddled together beneath a tattered blanket, a group of volunteers discovered them. Their hearts filled with compassion at the sight of the three vulnerable boys. They reached out to the brothers, offering warm meals, clean clothes, and a safe place to rest. At first, Anthony was wary, his instincts telling him to protect his brothers from disappointment and betrayal. But he realized it would be better for him and his brothers to take shelter instead of being on the streets for another cold winter’s night. He reluctantly let the volunteers lead them to the shelter, not knowing this would be one of the best decisions he ever made.

Slowly, the walls around their hearts began to crumble, and the brothers allowed themselves to hope for a brighter future. They found solace in the shelter's embrace, forging bonds with the other orphans who became like brothers to them. It was the happiest the brothers felt in a long time.

As the years went by, all three brothers grew into fine young men. Anthony at 27, was refining the hacking skills he secretly learned when he was younger. JJ at 24, was an aspiring actor waiting for the chance to be in a big movie. Robbie at the young age of 18, was still a little undecided about his future but his brothers supported him nonetheless. They eventually moved into a small apartment and even though it wasn’t the best, it was a place they could call home. The future was looking bright for them, with the dream they would get out of the area and live comfortably in the city.

But the unpredictability of life would rear its ugly head again and their world would come crashing down. A representative from a corporation had announced they were giving a 90 day notice to residents to leave their homes to make way to build a factory that deals with toxic waste disposal. The trio of brothers joined the protests against the new factory, battling the corporate hired goons determined to quash any dissent and bad press, but the bodyguards that came along showed otherwise.

After the dust settles and the adrenaline fades, all that remains is the stark reality of the aftermath—a landscape scarred by violence and the indelible marks of conflict. Broken bodies laid all around. Anti was left with a black eye and a plethora of bruises varying in intensity and size, blooming like dark blossoms all over his body. Each bruise throbbed with a dull ache with every movement he made to stand up. JJ had a broken nose and lacerated lip tasting the metallic liquid as it stained his whole face. Robbie was knocked unconscious from the few punches he took before going down. His older brothers slowly staggered in spite of their swollen joints protesting with each movement, to help their inert brother get serious help from one of their closest friends Dr. Henrik. When they arrived at his home, he immediately went into action to help the brothers. He knew he had a long week ahead of him.

Both Anti and JJ sat by their brother's bedside as they waited for him to regain consciousness. It took Robbie nearly half a day to awaken from his blackout, his mind reeling from the onslaught of blows and trauma. His thoughts were disjointed as he tried to ask his brother’s what had happened. Henrik explained calmly to Robbie what had happened to all of them. The memory that they were going to lose their home came crashing in like a tidal wave. Robbie couldn’t hold back his tears pouring through his bandaged face. Anti and JJ did their best to comfort him during his recovery despite themselves feeling despondent and resigned they were going to be homeless again. That was when Anthony decided enough was enough and he was going to get even with the people that treated them all like shit.

After a few weeks of recovering from his own injuries, Anthony set his plan into motion. He carried out his first scheme in the late hours of the night by targeting the same corporation planning to destroy their home. It took time, but he was able to infiltrate the building by disabling the security system and placing homemade explosives all over the place. But not before he stole the funds from a conveniently placed safe in the office.

With the stolen cash in one hand, he walked out the building, reached into his pocket, pulled out a device and pressed a button. Immediately a deafening roar and a blinding explosion erupted from within the heart of the building. Flames danced hungrily, devouring everything in their path as billowing plumes of smoke spiraled into the sky like dark tendrils reaching for the heavens. The force of the blast rippled outward, shattering windows into a million glittering shards that rained down upon the streets below like a deadly hailstorm. It was a beautiful destructive sight to behold.

Anthony left the scene and walked home slowly thriving on the new feeling of schadenfreude, the smirk on his lips soon turning into a crooked smile, cackling at the misery he gave to those smug assholes. He was now a criminal and he didn’t want to stop; instead, he wanted to do more to give them all a taste of their own medicine, to make them feel the pain he felt when everybody turned their backs on his family all those years ago. He thought of his brothers and the harsh realization of the danger he had put them in for his crime. He knew deep down he had to leave his family, no matter the heartbreak.

He went back to the apartment and peeked into JJ and Robbie’s room to see both of them still fast asleep. He quietly leaves a note and placed two money bags discreetly under his bed. He stood in silence between his brothers beds, taking in how peaceful they both looked. Anthony wished he could have done more to help them. He wished his parents were still here to scold him for his actions, to tell him to think about what his brothers would say about his behavior. But that’s all they were, wishes. Wishes can only get one so far. Anthony was now dead, he would now be known as Anti. He tiptoed out of the room not before he looked back. With tears streaming down his eyes, he whispered to his brothers, “Goodbye…”

Morning came and JJ woke up to see Robbie in his bed. He grimaced at the twinge of pain from his back and sat up in his bed. Glancing to his left he saw his older brother gone, but thought that he was doing an early morning errand. He got out of bed to make some coffee and turned on the TV, which lit up with breaking news of an arson attack the previous night. JJ's eyes widened and panic started surging through him, assuming the worst as he looked all around the apartment to find out where Anthony went. He stopped in his tracks when he heard Robbie’s cries. He went back to their room to find Robbie on Anthony’s bed. Robbie was crying into his pillow, JJ was puzzled.

Trying his best to speak, JJ’s rough voice came out as, “Robbie, what's wrong?”

Robbie lifted his head to reveal a red splotchy face riddled with tears, he was gulping air as he tried to answer. “A-A-Anthony is gone!” Robbie said as he started sobbing louder into the pillow.

“What? What are you talking about!?” JJ raised his voice louder, feeling the rapid pulse in his ears wondering if this was just a sick joke Robbie and Anthony were pulling on him.

“Re-re-read the letter.” Robbie said, squeezing his pillow even harder to block out his crying.

JJ saw the envelope in front of Robbie and he quickly snatched it to read it for himself. JJ read the note slowly, it read the following.

“Dear Jameson and Robert, by the time you read this note I will be long gone. I’m so sorry for leaving you two like this. I am taking a dark path that I don’t want either of you to follow. The last thing I want is to see you two get hurt because of me. I know what you're going to say, that I’m a coward, that I’m selfish for leaving, that I’m doing this because I don’t love you. You’d be right, I am a coward and selfish, but don’t ever think I don't love you. JJ, I’m sorry for doing this to you. You always were the best brother a man could ask for. Robbie, always stay true to yourself. Don't ever change for anyone. Please promise me, that you two will always look out for each other. I don’t expect you to ever forgive me for doing this, I also don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again but know this. I will always love you two no matter where we are in this world, nothing breaks the bond we have together so please, be better men than I’ll ever be. I love you.” - Anthony "P.S I left a little fortune under my bed, even though it won’t fix my mistakes, but I hope you two use it well."

JJ was shaking, his vision blurry from the tears in his eyes. He crumpled the paper in his hand and threw it on the ground. He was angry. Why would Anthony do this to them? What did they do to deserve this pain? Did he really expect a little money would smooth this all over? All these questions kept racing through as he fell to his knees, pounding the floor in anger over and over, not caring how much pain it caused him.

Suddenly, he felt an arm wrap around him. “NO! Please stop, I don't want to see you like this!” Robbie shouted, wrapping the rest of his body around JJ to stop him from hurting himself even further. JJ snapped out his fit to wrap his arms around Robbie. They stayed in each other's embrace as they cried out to their now gone brother. Little did they know, that they would soon find out why Anti left them in the months that followed and that their lives would change forever.

And now Anti is getting ready to make his next strike against the newest player in his twisted game, Dark. Anticipation builds in him contemplating the chaos that will happen, unaware his brothers were still keeping out the hope their older brother would someday come back home.

Tags: @luxuriadanti @iamvegorott @bookwormscififan

Sure why not

Reblog In 5 seconds for good luck

I love it! And I can't believe Night threatened Dark like that 😳

A Sweet Bribe

Here's a (Only a little late this time XD) birthday gift for @ariesshower824

A quick note that this takes place in the DemonHunter!AU

A Sweet Bribe

Host had a complicated relationship with his birthday. The complication was caused by parents using that day as an excuse to see if his skills have improved and how. They turned a day of celebration into a day of overworking a child to the point of passing out and missing the rest of it. It was now a yearly reminder that he needed to be better, faster, stronger, and he wasn’t good enough. After losing his sight that feeling of resentment returned every time it was his birthday. 

Everyone knew Host’s sensitivity to his birthday, but Dark was the only one who knew the story since his own past was similar, and he also struggled with his birthday. Most just assumed Host didn’t like knowing he was getting older, and it definitely added to it since his partner is an immortal Demon.

There was a silent rule to not verbally wish Host a happy birthday, but they could still give gifts to him. Host would never get angry or snap at anyone for wanting to give him something. He always politely smiled and thanked them, taking the gifts to his office and having them piled on the small table. The gifts would get a proper look at the next day when the sourness of his birthday was gone, and he could appreciate them more. 

Even some of the Demons got him something. Anti had run into him on his own that morning and given him a cupcake, stating that he had made extras and heard Host had a sweet tooth. Host knew that was a lie and thanked Anti with a smile, and the cupcake was the only gift used the same day. Anti was right about Host having a sweet tooth, and he couldn’t resist. 

“Host?” Night’s voice came from his office door. “May I steal some of your time?” 

“You say that as if you wouldn’t do it regardless.” Host chuckled with a loving smile.  

“What can I say? I enjoy being with you.” Night playfully hummed and went to the desk, seeing Host turn his head slightly at the sound of him placing something on the wooden surface. 

“Do I even want to know what you’ve brought?” Host asked.

“I know you’ll like it. You do have a famous sweet tooth. I already saw Anti with his cupcake, but something tells me you can’t deny a slice of homemade cake.” Night had gone behind Host as he spoke, placing his hands on Host’s shoulders and gently massaging. He hated how he could feel knots already forming despite having just taken care of those the previous day. Host really did stress himself too much with worries for everyone. Night adored Host’s courage, passion, and willingness to do what it takes, but he wished his mate would take better care of himself. 

“You made cake?” Host asked as he slowly melted into Night’s touch. For a being stronger than most of mankind combined, he sure knew how to work his hands in a firm yet delicate manner. 

“I know I don’t bake often, but when I do, it will satisfy even the most sugar-addicted person.” Night teased with a kiss to the top of Host’s head. 

“I’m not sugar-addicted.” Host protested. 

“Sure you’re not, my dear owl.” Night smiled when he worked his hands a touch deeper against Host’s shoulders and watched as Host groaned with relief and leaned more against him. “Let’s call it early. It is a special day, after all.” 

“It’s not special.” Host tried to tense up, but it was nearly impossible with Night’s hands on him. 

“I know your birthday is hard for you, and I don’t blame your sourness toward it.” Night paused his massage when Host placed his hand on top of his. 

“Dark told you?”

“He did after a lot of threats. Your past is safe with him. I just have plenty of extra cards to pull with him than the average Human or Demon.” 

“Can we just treat today like any other?” Host asked with a sigh. 

“I understand your desire to drop the birthday aspect of it.” Night gently squeezed Host’s shoulders before moving his hands and then going over to where the cake was, picking up the knife he had brought with it. “How about we change this day into an anniversary.” 

“An anniversary? For what?” Host asked. Night softly chuckled as he cut into the cake and placed a slice onto one of the two plates. 

“For the first time you tried my devil’s food cake.” Night grabbed the plate and a fork. He stood beside Host and leaned back against the desk. 

“I don’t think your cake is going to be that good.” Host teased, tilting his head and opening his mouth after Night tapped his chin. 

“Just you wait.” Night sang as he fed Host a bite. 

“Holy shit.” Host blurted out as he chewed. 

“I told you.” Night was beaming with pride as he loaded his fork with another bite. 

“How did you do that?” Host asked. “That should not be so good.” He opened his mouth again at another chin tap and happily sighed at eating more of the cake. 

“Looks like I found your weakness.” Night chuckled. “Could I use this as a bribe to get you to head home? Get you to sit by the fire and read a book? Enjoy some peace?” 

“I think you could.” Host opened his mouth once more and Night was more than willing to continue feeding Host the cake until the slice was finished. 

“I think that’ll last you until we get home.” Night sat the empty plate down and leaned over, kissing Host and then chuckling when he could taste the chocolate on his lips. “And I thought your kisses were sweet before.” 

“That one was bad, even for you.” Host softly laughed.

“I could be so much worse.”  

“I’ll hold you to it when we get home.”

“Yes, sir.” Night kissed Host’s cheek, a light purr in his throat as Host turned his head into another kiss. 

First day back at school. I'm still working on the next chapter for Voxhollow. The following chapters might take longer to make as I'll have a lot of work to do. Thank you all for your patience and I'm going to try my best to deliver more chapters! 💗