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Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat, welcome back! Congrats on your return! (One of us, one of us!)

>> "You should see mine. Oh my goodness, that came out wrong. I didn't mean it like that!"

"Like what?" Gina said sweetly, kicking her legs. The humored and mischevious glitter in her eyes implied that she had known what Serena had meant (at least, she did now that she'd reacted so theatrically), but she gave the girl a way out of that pronouncement. Gina hd literally just said the same thing and thought little of it.

>> "I meant that my place gets into a similar state, especially when I'm working~"

"Oh, of course," Gina sang smilingly, "Same."

>> "I'm an Advanced Bio-Chem major, and I do Lit course stuff on the side, because I'm a crazy person apparently."

Gina took a seat wherein the spot had been cleared for her. The gargoyle wrinkled her nose at the mention of science. She loved science, but science certainly didn't love her.

"Never been very good at science," Gina commented offhandedly, "Super interesting, though! I'm double-majoring in fashion and social work. Fashion is where my heart is, though."

Honestly, social work was just an addition to appease her mother. Though she did genuinely want to work with and help others (particularly disadvantaged mutant kids), she would much rather make adaptive clothes for mutants in-general.

What was a nice boy like him doing in a place like this? Well, he was on his way to a much more posh corner of town (where there were pretty, well-dressed boys and even prettier girls) when he saw the seedy little hole-in-the-wall. Well, actually, he saw the motorcycles first. Biker bar? Looks like fun. He landed. He showed himself in and found his way to the sad excuse of a bar. Not exactly a target-rich environment, if you caught his drift. Khalil figured he'd get a beer and be on his way. Maybe light a pool table on fire just for kicks and giggles.

One oily-looking man decided to try his luck with a woman who was just as out-of-place as the demon beside her. Calling her sweetheart and imploring her to make dinner and all sorts of tasteless advances.

Amber eyes watched unflinchingly, and Khalil threw back a swig of beer. This wasn't going to end well. How delightful! He certainly wasn't going to miss it.

The "sweetheart" in question wasn't having any of it. As if the bird wasn't enough of a forewarning. Khalil would stay close, lest the young woman need someone to step in and save her from this... scintillating... individual. Dusty, taking no hints, leaned in for a kiss and, with a well-practiced precision, was taken care of. The demon missed the first jab altogether, but at the familiar sound of the air hastily leaving a man's lungs, Khalil lifted his gaze-- in time to catch the brunette expertly socking the guy in the nose before ramming his face into the bar.

Khalil gaped. A hand fluttered to his chest. Be still my beating heart. The man staggered away, leaving a few of his teeth behind. The demon stifled a laugh. What a woman. Without a word, she summoned the bartender and was proferred another drink. She offered a few more words to command the barkeep to turn the volume on the t.v. up.

"Daaaammmn," the demon breathed, forgetting himself.

It didn't take much for Khalil to be smitten, but here he was-- in deep smit. There was something so sexy about a woman who could quite literally kick your *ss and not think twice about it.

"You move well," Khalil excused himself, taking another swig of beer. Sure, Khalil loved cajoling and flirting as much as the next individual, but he also liked keeping his teeth inside of his skull. He respected power. Cool honey-gold side eyes hazarded a glance towards the brunette. He offered, "Next beer, on me?"

Feast your eyes upon AV!Gina... or is it Gina MRO!Khalil? Whatever. BEHOLD.

Individual

Character's full name: Khalil Nejem

Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: Hothead (har dee har har… how can a name be so befitting and yet so completely stupid?)

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Date of Birth: 04/18/1993

Birthplace/ Home/ Place of Origin: Allentown, PA

Nationality: American

Ethnicity/ Cultural Heritage: Lebanese

Appearance

Hair Color & Style: Black and needle-straight. Hangs to midback, typically tied in a low ponytail. (Much to the chagrin of others, he only uses shampoo and conditioner.)

Skin Tone: Red. Scarlet red with Maroon freckling on the cheeks, shoulders, back and top of tail.

Eye Color: Bright honey-amber, slit irises.

Height: 6’2”

Build: Thin stature, well-muscled.

Visible Mutation: A demon, for lack of better words—bat wings, birdlike feet and taloned hands, and your stereotypical spade-tipped tail. His ears are elfin, his teeth are canid, and his tongue is purple.

Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: Khalil is all about adornment. He has multiple piercings in his ears, preferring gold earrings (two per lobe, one industrial on the left, three orbitals on the right. He even has a gold ring on his tail. Black ink tattoo sleeves cover both arms. (He’s a bit of a peacock tbh.)

Other Features: Slim, sharp, attractive features and mischievous facial expressions. Can be closed if he wants to, but for the most part he’s an absolute imp.


Everyday Clothing Style: “Do you have this in black?” If it’s black or grey and fashion-forward, chances are that Khalil has it in his closet. Sometimes he’ll deviate towards white or maroon.

Uniform: Due to the nature of his mutation, he usually ends-up naked. If he has time to prepare, though, he’s got some flame-proof pants.

Sleepwear: Butt naked.

Miscellaneous Clothing: Wallet carried on a chain so that it if it falls out of his pocket it’s not gone forever. Fireproof wallet.

Character

Personality: Khalil is a silver-tongued charmer. He’s got an ease with people, a good nature, and a keen sense of humor. Some mistake his tendency towards mischief as idiocy, but do not be deceived! Behind the scarlet façade, a shrewd mind resides. Some people think that being a “bad guy” means being jaded and gruff, but Khalil’s just in it to have some fun. So what if a few buildings burn down along the way? That’s why they’ve got a stand-up guy like Poseidon calling the shots!

Perhaps his greatest weakness is his love of bantering and verbal sparring—flirting also falls under this enjoyment. Whether or not he’s actually interested in getting in your pants doesn’t seem to be the point, he just likes the challenge of wooing a person. If you get him talking, you can get him off-topic. In close second is his vanity. Khalil knows he’s pretty and tends to be a bit of a peacock about appearances (alright, alright, he’s a total narcissist—but who wouldn’t be, with looks like his?). Compliments get you very far with this boy.

For the most part he’s really obnoxious, but some may notice that he follows a certain shadowmancer around a little too often, and seems to dote on her rather routinely. But alas, alas, alack, the pining isn’t mutual.

Hobbies/ Interests: storytelling, singing (he’s pretty good, too), riddles and puzzles, various traditional styles of dance, long walks on the beach…

Job or Part-Time Job and Description: Resident problem-child @ Ragnarok.

Fears/Phobias/Concerns: Dying ugly and alone (One or the other is okay, but both is just bad luck!), being useless.

Special Talents: Calling things as they are, mind-games/ riddles, fairly good bartender.

Morality

Boys Just Wanna Have Fun: Only people with sticks up their you-know-what’s will try an tell you that you shouldn’t do something because it “isn’t right”. And what’s taboo to one society isn’t ubiquitous in all—maybe, in some cultures, it’s socially acceptable to commit arson? Did you ever think of that? And besides, if you’re being a d-ck to humans, it doesn’t really count, right? It’s like crushing an ant. There’s a few billion more where that came from, nothing to lose sleep over—after all, do unto others. Have you seen how they treat mutants? It’s only fair.

Mutations

Mutation Description: Hell-beast: Even for those who don’t practice Christianity, it’s difficult to deny Khalil’s demonic appearance. From his scarlet skin to the two, immense bat-like wings protrude from his back, to the spade-tipped tale and, the taloned hands and feet. When he smiles, you’ll batch the flash of white, canid teeth—two goat-like horns rest upon the crown of his head (approximately nine inches long), and his ears are elfin and long.

Strengths:

• Can lift objects with his tail much like people can lift things using a single arm.
  
  
• Flying is faster than walking, and permits for easy access to generally difficult-to-reach places.
  
  
• Bat-like wings are more efficient than birdlike ones, enabling greater control and maneuverability, therefore heightened agility.
  
  
• Foot structure allows Khalil to cling to ledges, and balance on small perches with ease.
  
  
• Leathery skin helps protect against harsh weather conditions, and allows wings necessary flexion while increasing their durability.
  
  
• “Diving” from a certain height and letting gravity do the acceleration work is one way in which Khalil can reach a certain speed without spending as much energy
  
  
• A film over his eyes protects them from airborne particles

Weaknesses and Limitations:

• Tail can lift up to 50 lbs. so long as Khalil can wrap his tail around the object a few times.
  
  
• Can support just over 300 lbs. aloft, including his weight; Khalil weighs 165 lbs, therefore he can carry 145 lbs if need be.
  
  
• Agility, speed, and stealth on the ground is average- to- below average depending on how cramped the space is. (Folded wings tend to get in the way a lot.) Also, given her his foot structure, Khalil gets uncomfortable if he has to walk for long periods of time.
  
  
• While his musculature is increased to enable flight, Khalil is not inhumanly strong, only strong for his size—he’s built for speed, not strength. (Any human could get to his ability-level by weight-training with dedication.)
  
  
• Khalils’ flying capabilities vary upon how much sleep he’s had, how much food he’s got in his stomach, and weather conditions—in fine weather with a good night’s sleep and a well-fed stomach, Khalil can “jog” at 30 m.p.h. (48 km/h) for ninety minutes, “run” at 60 m.p.h. (96 km/h) for sixty minutes, and “sprint” at 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h) for twenty minutes. Khalil can also hover, but this is immensely energy-consuming and usually pointless for him. Flight itself is also energy consuming, so Khalil cannot breach these limits without stopping to eat and rest. Even then, his time and speed in the air will decrease if he attempts to overexert himself.

Secondary Mutation Description: Hellfire.

News at 10—demon boy controls fire! What a twist. It looks green (as per typical D*sney villainy) but don’t be alarmed… it’s perfectly normal fire and burns just the same! Khalil can do this really neat trick where he makes fire with his hands or with his mouth, and then BOOM! If you thought campfires were nice, just wait until you see a car-fire, but green. It really just… makes you think about life, you know?

But where does the fire come from, you might ask? From within! He’s a self-proclaimed hell-beast, after all, and what kind of hell-beast would he be without FIRE?

Strengths:

• Fireball fight!!—Has a snowball to the face ever ruined your winter’s day? Well, I’ve got news for you—a fireball to the face is a WHOLE LOT WORSE. And funny. Super funny.
  
  
• Need a Light?—I’ve got you covered, bro. A small flicker of flame from the tip of my finger. For candles and power outages and, uh, well… recreation!
  
  
• Fire Sleeves—They’re all the rage this summer, and it f__king sucks to spar with someone whose arms are engulfed in flame. Oops, I deflected your punch and burnt you in the process! That’s rough, buddy!
  
  
• Breathe of Fire—Ever see those fire-breathers at the carnival? Imagine that but without needing a blowtorch. Simply dazzling.
  
  
• Fabulously Fireproof —I can do all these tricks without burning myself in the process. My clothes and my surroundings, however, can’t be spoken for. I can withstand flame without issue. I’ve never tried anything hotter because, well, why overdo it? And risk ruining these good looks?
  

Weaknesses:

• It’s Outta My Ha-a-ands—Fire isn’t the type of element to just do as you say. Khalil can lob a fireball in a certain direction or breathe while facing a certain way, but beyond that, the fire just takes its course. Once it catches and grows beyond a certain size, though… it gets a mind of its own, much in the way that fire does. This means that, if someone happens to be in the path that he doesn’t want to hit… well… he probably would.
  
  
  
• Water—Enough said. He’s useless when wet. If the weather is wet (misty or rainty or snowing) or if the material he's trying to burn is wet, it won't catch.
  
  
• Flame-Resistant and Flameproof stuff a.k.a. THE WORST STUFF EVER—If it’s not flammable, he can’t burn it. So disappointing.
  
  
  
• Hey, uh… what happened to your clothes?—Khalil is fireproof. His clothes aren’t. Awk-ward!
  
  
• Temperature Sensitive—His body temperature is noticeably elevated to others. One would think that this means Summer months are more difficult for him, but quite the contrary-- Khalil loves the sun and will often be seen sunbathing during the summer months. During the winter months, however, or in the evenings, he tends to bundle-up. He likes being warm, thank you very much.
  
  
• Blowing Smokes—This mostly happens when he’s irritated or anxious, but sometimes he starts to leak smoke. As such, he carries mints around, so that his breath doesn’t smell like an ashtray. On the bright side, he’s rather adept at blowing shapes with the smoke.
  
  
• With Great Power Comes… Some Really Great Limitations—Khalil can only throw as far as a normal human might. On the ground, if the fireball is hurled at a 45* angle, he can lob it about 50m. He can throw about two-dozen (softball-sized) fireballs before tiring out. How a fireball behaves depends on what material it collides with. If he threw a fireball at the side of a building, surrounded by concrete, it’d likely explode outward and dissipate. If he threw it into a bin of leaf clippings, it’d likely catch and became a raging blaze.
  
  Breath of Fire only reaches six feet or so, and lasts about ten seconds (only full-power for about four seconds).
  
  Sleeves can last for about ten minutes. He can make fingertip flames almost indefinitely, however, but as a whole those are pretty useless (unless he happens to use fingertip flames to light something else ablaze).
  
  Sleeves, fingertip flames, and fireballs all originate around his hands, so the time limits on those are interrelated. (So if he throws a dozen fireballs, he can only wear the sleeves for half the usual amount of time.) Because Breath of Fire stems from his lungs, the breath, it is entirely separate from the hand-oriented capabilities.
  
  How often Khalil can use these abilities hinges on the weather—yes, that’s right, the weather! It’s been said that during the winter months, New Yorkers tend to forget about that big, yellow orb in the sky, but do you know what that big, yellow orb is made of? That’s right! Fire! During the summer months when the sun is hot and ever-present throughout the day, all it takes Khalil is a few hours of sunbathing to recharge. As such, his cycle during the summer tends to reset once every twelve hours (presuming he soaks in the sun’s rays). During the winter months, once every day seems to be the average reset frequency. He also seems to be much sleepier during the winter months.

Physical Abilities

General Physical Capabilities: Average human strength. In-air speed is above average and graceful, but speed on-ground is variable upon the openness of the space around him—average speed in open areas, very, very low speed in cramped spaces. Fast reflexes, decent stamina, and decent in-air flexibility—wings inhibit how Khalil can bend and twist when it comes to reaching behind him, but that’s why he has a tail.

Fighting Style: Gee, I’d really love to stay and talk but—WHOA, would you look at that, that park is on fire, and those children are in-danger! Someone should do something about that! Exeunt, stage RIGHT!

Fighting Style Pros/Cons: Flying has granted him with fantastic reflexes and quick reaction times, but his wings often get in the way when it comes to grappling. The only people who stick around for knock-down drag-outs are fools with something to prove. And, with a note of pride, Khalil will inform you that he is a fool with absolutely nothing to prove. (And absolutely no sense of fairness. He would sooner throw a fireball in your face to save himself the trouble of sparring.)

History of Your Character

Irony (n): 3a1: incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result –see profoundly Catholic parents give birth to a demon child; see also demon child develops acerbic wit to help bury the feelings of inadequacy and guilt.

Khalil grew-up with his grandparents for a majority of his young life, routinely almost burnt down their house/his bedroom (on accident) and got into all sorts of trouble as an adolescent. He had an older sister who (thank the stars) was a human child—though far from “normal”. She was a mouth-breathing, straight-A student who watched anime and thought she’d marry her favorite character. But that was better than looking like the spawn of Satan, which all but estranged Khalil from his own family. He acted-out to get attention, and quickly earned a reputation. He didn’t really even need to look for trouble—trouble had a way of finding him.

Maybe he would have straightened-up his act, if his family could have afforded to send him to one of those schools for “gifted youth”, but his family was poor and couldn’t be bothered to do so, and subsequently Khalil never knew of such schools.

Of course his small crimes drew the attention of authorities—sometimes he’d wind-up arrested or locked-up, which made his appearances at school spotty. Still, he was well-liked, even if he got into a lot of trouble. Kids liked his humor, and his sass. Khalil found an outlet—he’d become a clown. He’d garner peoples’ affections. They’d see him. They’d love him. Love him more than his crotchety grandparents and freak sister.

Eventually, he dropped-out of high school. It wasn’t for him and the cops were after him again, for something or other. He spent a few months on the street before getting taken-in with Ragnarok. Since then, he’s been rolling with them, and having a jolly old time. If anyone asks, joining the crime syndicate is literally the best thing that ever happened to him, and the most fun he’s ever had.

>> "I've been fairly good! It's been forever since I've seen you around, how have you been?"

"Okay I suppose," Gina trilled, "Just going to school."

Gina was also all smiles, her hands tucked behind her back as her brown-eyed gaze swept over the cluttered desk.

>> "Sorry, I kinda got lost in work. It's a mess."

"You should see my room," the gargoyle grinned, "This is like home, for me."

"What are you studying?"

Either in the most immediate sense of the word, or in terms of her major. Gina was curious either wway. The gargoyle hummed and rocked on her feet. She didn't want to distract her friend for too long, if she was in the swing of things.

>> "Oh you know, decent. Keeping myself busy between the X-men, acting, and training. Moved in with then subsequently broke up with Calley, now I'm dating Maya. Ghost Maya, not Mirror Maya. Managed to all but adopt a kid, and Maya comes with Rowan, so I'm starting to get some experience at playing Dad too. Honestly it's pretty much everything I never thought I'd end up doing."

"Good for you, though," Gina hummed, setting out a few more snacks, "I was adopted, you know? My mom found me-" there, that looked pretty good, "-I think you'd be an awesome dad."

>> "How about you? What are you getting up to these days? You know, aside from running movie nights."

The gargoyle rose again, smiling at Cafas. Gina, like most women, had a sixth sense when it came to wandering eyes. She pursed her lips slightly, arching her eyebrows. It wasn't the first time, it wouldn't be the last. But Cafas was taken, and a sweet guy besides, so she'd let it slide.

"Well, I've been going to school. Majoring in social work and fashion, of all things," the gargoyle reported, "And just been trying to keep myself busy all around. No boyfriend, no kids... unless you count my friends, they say I'm kind-of a Mom-friend!" Gina laughed. She did tend to keep her rowdy collection of friends in order. Small feet padded towards them and a shout interrupted their friendly conversation.

>> "Papa! Are you going to watch movies too?"

A warm smile touched Gina's lips. This had to be his all-but adopted kid. What a cutie. A little blond girl with doe-like eyes.

>> "Sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm Abby."

"No problem," Gina sang, "Welcome to Movie Night! I'm Gina. It's nice to meet you, Abby."

Gina was recumbent on the living room couch, tapping away at her phone. It was a rare thing, to have the house to yourself, but all of her roommates were either downstairs in the main living area or out running errands. Gina would be downstairs with the rest of them, but she was busy (anxiously) awaiting her friend's arrival. A text message pinged in her notifications. Becca was close. The gargoyle eagerly kicked off of the couch and thundered down the hall towards the entryway. She stopped long enough to grab her keys off of the hook and half-scrambled, half-sailed down the stairs.

Soon enough she was on the first floor landing. Gina paused a moment to catch her breath, with wild hair and an excited grin upon her face. She brushed past the bench and the coatracks, through the first doorway, down the steps-- oh gosh, there was Becca! Silly thing, she was yelling something through the window, but Gina couldn't hear a darn thing she was saying. The gargoyle threw open the second door and all but threw herself at Becca, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Becca!" Gina squealed, holding her friend tight, "Oh my god, it's been forever! It's so good to see you."

The gargoyle stepped back, surveying her friend with a slightly-tearful, delighted expression.

"You look so good," the gargoyle commented, "Gosh, you haven't aged a day."

Gina's cheeks were a tad slimmer, her face a little more mature, and her hair was as wild as ever.

"Come in, come in," Gina prompted, "Want to see my room? How have you been? I'm upstairs..."