#Pulling up all the stops from the official channel here

[player-1]

Welp, I'm back on the N:E theory dump again... Long story short-ish, when I was looking back on the previous trailers of N1 and the DLC, I noticed an interesting trend despite not showing too much about the story.

Switching out primary characters

Including/Excluding important dialogue

The prologue revealing the main character's "defeat" against the final boss

It doesn't seem like a lot, sure, it puts everything into a flashback sort of scenario to build up the tension. Then I looked back at the Extinction prologue...and it's literally framed the same way.

If you don't want to scroll through my rambling, here's a TL:DR for funsies:

You're still here? Then let the rambling begin! :)

(Putting in the clip from the official channel since it's literally copied word for word; minus the flavor text for dramatic effect)

While I don't want to completely cram the post with picture examples, the main piece of divide is Amelie's speech against the MC (ie. Luke for continuity). Here's the quick transcript from the prologue vs. the final battle:

"Luke...That boy betrayed us all! Everything that we built...Everything that we've been fighting for...[Edward: A-Amelie! We must retreat now! It's not worth it-] -SHUT UP, EDWARD!! Listen to me, and listen well! If we are to save our planet, Luke must be annihilated! Stand with me! Tall and proud, against the face of evil! Our people will rise as Luke falls! ...I will never forgive you...YOU DOOMED US ALL, LUKE! YOU ACCURSED BRAT!" ~~~ "[Edward: A-Amelie, this is beyond our control! Can't you feel it? We must retreat now! This fight is not worth it-] -Shut up, Edward! Our people shall rise as Luke falls! Annihilate him, Vados! Do not hold back!"

Of course, they cut a lot of the previous monologue since we already know the full gist of the story up to this point, but for Luke to get broadcasted Amelie's hatred for Tyrants (and later you) just before you meet her should've given him some kind of a shock. And even before that, he seems to forced to question his name and appearance from an unknown/unseen voice (Presumably multiple times just from the question "What was your name again?"). Looking back at it post-story, it's easy to see the connection between Solus and Vados as "two heroes on opposite sides" and "two Tyrants fighting for their own vision of world peace", but this could've also been the first instance of Luke doubting who he is as a Nexomon in human skin...

With that in mind, imagine his reaction when, on the very day he's supposed to go out in the world of Nexomon as a tamer, he has a "prophetic" dream where: -He doubts his name -He doubts his overall appearance -A giant fire lizard is destroying the world -A angry lady brands him a coward, traitor, a cursed brat, and practically has all of humanity turned against him as he doomed the world itself -Said angry lady (Amelie) is supposed to be his role model for the Tamer's Guild the second he steps out of the Orphanage and meets her for the very first time

He should've been nervous, deja vu going into overdrive; and after meeting Deena afterward (freezing time itself and giving him the very real warning of something dangerous north of Pinewoods), the only thing he wants is get out of this exam unscathed... And almost like in his dream, as he looks up at the afternoon sky, he sees a shining star:

Even if it was Coco doing the wishing here, it's still sad to know that Luke will never have a normal adventure up to this point...

But if that's the case, where does the whole prologue fit into the story if most of it doesn't come true? There's only so little that made it to the final showdown, and everything else was made for fear factor (in Luke's eyes tbh) And besides, how does the shooting star motif fi-

...Maybe? Of course, there's no real explanation on Byeol's powers (or anything else in that case), so let's just assume that it might have the power to send out prophetic dreams, no matter how twisted or ambiguous they are. And of course I need to look into the angel connections here, so what kind of angel fits the bill? Apparently the angel of dreams, Jeremiel, and oh boy I might've hit the gold mine.

...Now where have I seen that before?

So...Does that mean the prologue revealed Byeol talking to you? It makes sense in a way, all the Tyrants have human-like intelligence and they can talk, so Byeol seemed like the odd one out...at first. Though the only thing that confused me was the "lad" comment, though the only thing I could think of is their connection to Palmaya and there being a pirate npc/tamer on the docks nearby...Maybe they just learned pirate lingo for some reason?

BUT STILL! Even if the game didn't delve into the existential crisis Luke clearly would've gone through the moment he finds out he's a Nexomon in disguise (and Omnicron's heir/grandson), Byeol just gave him that dose on the very day he was supposed to become a Guild tamer (and also get hounded by dragons along the way wouldn't help his affirmations in the slightest). In conclusion, if this little munchkin comes back in any way in N3, I'll be happy to know that Byeol was holding back on some serious hurting behind that cheeky smile of theirs.

[vampirehoon]

⋆｡𖦹 °.⋆❀˖°

sunghoon had been hanging with his members at the shore, screaming and splashing like kids. all this running from each other made sunghoon out of breath. sunghoon dragged his feet across the warm sand up to where you where. settling into the beach chair he set up earlier beside you, he caught his breath with sweat dripping down his cheek.

the seagals cried over head and the rest of the boys laughter mixed with the sound of the waves made it feel like summer had officially begun today. unfortunately, the heat is brutal this early afternoon so you chose to hide underneath your umbrella and it would be nice for sunghoon to have some shade to.

you called sunghoon’s name as you sat up, raising your sunglasses to rest on your head. you thought you should put them to rest after on the ride here niki insisted you looked like a mother but sunghoon was quickly to put down his claim and say you looked pulled them off well.

sunghoon opened his eyes and rose as well, his body facing your direction.

“sit over here, and drink this.” you invite him to come over and sit beside you under the umbrella as you open a water bottle you had in your bag. - maybe you are channeling your mom side.

sunghoon complies, watching your hands as you unscrew the top and when handing him the bottle. he kisses your cheek as a thank you as his throat was too dry to speak at that moment. instinctively, yours and sunghoon’s hands met and interlocked. no words of permission needs to shared to simply want to hold hands.

he sighed deeply after drinking the water and wiped his sweat over his forehead. you dapped his forehead with a towel as he asked if you’d want to join the fun. you stopped patting him with the towel and looked into his eyes.

you could tell he wanted to have fun with you. part of you wanted to but at the same time you wanted to rest in the chair for a minute longer.

“yeah, i can but you go first,” “i wanna put up my hair.”

sunghoon lips curl as he chuckles, nodding.

“do you want me to help you?” but takes that as a no when you shake your head.

“alright.” he stands up and looks over at the boys. jungwon has sunoo in his grasp as a shield from jay, nearby heeseung and jake are drawing in the sand - only for niki to walk over both of their crooked hearts. he figured he could charge someone into the water for fun.

sunghoon laughs, choosing to take jay into the water but is stopped before he could take a step. you look up at him with a small smile.

“not so fast.” he sits down, wondering what’s making you want to stop him.

you look at him and really look at him. the sunlight is glowing the sand and hitting him at a perfect color, you would love to take a photo right now. he is breathtaking and he knows your admiring him when you’re hand moves to his cup his face.

“do you know how lucky i am to have you as my boyfriend?” you say, squishing his cheeks with your thumbs. he’s cuter by the second.

this boy felt his heart race, you’re one to talk. he is so lucky to have you as his girlfriend as he never thought he could have dated you in the first place. sunghoon’s always been an introvert and a enjoyer of peace and quiet but when you happily yapped your heart about your favorite book in the library (where you spoke a bit louder than you were supposed to), you left him wanting someone who loved to talk and not be afraid to express themselves. he knew he’d have to tell you how he felt and he worked out perfectly, you fell for him the minute he expressed his love for fall during a passing period.

“that may be true but in no way are you more lucky than me. i’m the luckiest person on earth to have you as my girlfriend.”

you can’t help but meet those rude lips of his that say those sweet things to you. he meets you with the same longing feeling. this moment was right.. for a moment.

water and sand being thrown was not what you’d expect to interrupt your kiss. the two of you look over and attempt to dodge the water, the boys are throwing sand and water in protest against the pda.

“pda not allowed on the beach.”is the last thing niki said before sunghoon shouts with his fangs shining in a grin.

“not at my girlfriend, you punks!” sunghoon stands up, guarding you and then charging them all. screams fill the summer air once again and you root for your boyfriend - yelling “you get them cutie!” and him adorably responding back “don’t worry baby!”

you’re not going home until you throw enought sand at niki. you secure your hair into a ponytail and run over, the cold water made you scream and sunghoon found your waist to raise you and take your further in. the laughter and smiles didn’t go away and it hurt your cheekbones and your stomach.

𓉸ྀི ©vampirehoon

[fazedlight]

Rings (Kelly character study)

The engagement ring was different.

Kelly couldn’t stop staring. The ring on her hand was a simple gold band - with a small oval diamond embedded on top. This isn’t my engagement ring, she thought to herself. But it is my engagement ring. This is my engagement ring-

She looked up at the skyline of National City, confused. I’m getting married, she thought. I’m getting married- to-

But National City wasn’t National City - the skyscrapers disappeared, leaving brown fields in their wake, sun shining down on a blistering hot day that just tipped into 100F. Kelly could feel the sweat forming under her helmet, cascading down her temple. She watched as a small tank made its way down the road.

Riley.

Her fiancee was inside the tank - she could feel it in her bones, feel it in the way the gold band burned on her finger. Somewhere in the back of her mind was the spare thought of ‘I wasn’t here for this’, but that didn’t matter as she began to race for the road, arms waving, shouting “roadside bomb, roadside bomb!” at the distant vehicle.

But the tank seemed to only get farther as she ran, seemed to slip away as she felt her feet being pulled from under her. When suddenly, it was enveloped in flames.

---

Kelly jolted awake, gasping for air, feeling the sweat pooling down her back. Bewildered, she turned to find a sleeping Alex to her left. To her right, she found her nightstand, with an antique silver engagement ring sitting on top.

Kelly could feel the tension rising in her throat, the tears that pricked at the corner of her eyes, a feeling of overwhelming guilt knowing that her gold band sat in a small box in her closet, packed with a letter she had memorized by heart.

Kelly quietly kicked off her quilt, making her way to the kitchen as adrenaline pulsed in her veins. Numbly, she didn’t remember turning on the lights, or boiling the water, or pulling out the packet of chamomile tea from the box. She took her seat on the couch, pulling out a lighthearted romance novel. But her eyes couldn’t seem to quite catch the page, her mind stuck on her nightmare. The ring. The tank. The flames.

“Hey,” came a quiet voice behind her.

Kelly turned as Alex took a seat next to her. Alex didn’t close in for a hug like she normally would, but instead watched Kelly carefully, seeming to sense her withdrawal. “Are you okay?” Alex asked.

“I’m fine,” Kelly said, giving Alex a small smile. “Just couldn’t sleep.”

Alex tilted her head, worry creasing her brow. “A nightmare?”

“I’m fine,” Kelly said, turning away.

“Self-soothing.”

Kelly’s mouth twitched into a smile. I guess she does listen to me when I talk about therapy, she thought to herself. “And that’s why I’m fine.”

Alex pursed her lips, looking down. “You don’t have to go through this alone, Kelly,” she said.

Kelly swallowed harshly. “We just got engaged,” she said, choking on a small laugh. “I don’t want to make you sad about my nightmares over my dead fiancee when we just got engaged.”

Alex reached over, placing her hands on Kelly’s. “I’m here, Kelly,” she said adamantly, “For all of you.”

Numb and exhausted, Kelly finally allowed her eyes to meet Alex’s - only for the warmth of Alex’s eyes to sweep her under. Kelly struggled to choke back tears for moments as Alex looked on patiently, and finally Kelly reached out, Alex quickly pulling her into a tight embrace as Kelly began to sob.

There was a lifetime to unpack. Black and lesbian and closeted, deeply in love but only able to celebrate in secret. She had received the call of Riley’s death through the grapevine - there was no official channel for her to be next-of-kin, no way to declare ‘secret fiancee due to commanding officer being a bigot’ with her military commanders. To be a perfect woman of color in the military meant the golden engagement ring had to sit in a closet with the rest of her heart, and it all ended with “Hey, did you hear about Riley? Weren’t you close?”

Moments passed as Alex rubbed at her back, quiet and still, and Kelly could feel herself melt into the embrace. In the calm of Alex’s breaths, Kelly’s mind drifted back to Ormfell. How in the aftermath, she had simply asked for Alex to hold space for her. That in her exhaustion, that was what she truly needed. Space for silence, space for the glimmers of experience she felt up for sharing. 

And someday, she would need to. Someday she would need to talk about what it was like to fight for a country where her own breath couldn’t be taken for granted, what it meant for trauma to compound in the loneliness of secrecy. Someday she needed to talk about what that all meant.

But it wasn’t what she needed now. “Can I talk about her?” Kelly whispered.

“Of course,” Alex said, nuzzling into her. “I’m here.”

[mchlgayser]

FEATURING: football player!isagi yoichi x f!reader

SUMMARY: in which you came to his football match for the first time as his girlfriend

WARNING: minor vulgar languages

It was saturday morning, you woke up in the bed of your hotel room neatly dressed up in your sleeping attire, a note was attached to your phone that is on the night stand table saying; 'I bought you some foods to eat, I'm already heading to the stadium for my training, hope can see you my love' He probably meant for today that you were going to see him play for the first time ever as his official girlfriend.

You open your phone to see that it was past eleven in the morning, you kicked the duvet off your body and stretches your body before you got up and went to have breakfast Isagi bought. There's bread, milk, some cookies and a small size portion of cereal, you eat everything all at once opening the television and switching channels

You watched the news as the time flies by and just like that it was already four, you got up to shower readying your clothing to wear after, you are in your bathrobe getting out of the shower room with damped hair, you were singing centimillimental's song nag in a slow murmurs as you get your jeans and wore it, you used some deodorant and put on a jersey of Isagi's with his name behind it and the number '11'.

You get back inside the shower room turning on the hair dryer to dry your hair as you gently combed it to the back using the other hand. It was 18:03 when you walked out of the room packing your bag and left the hotel room with your phone and the hotel card in hand.

Anri was at the lobby waiting for you as she read a fashion magazine 'Hey, I'm sorry were you waiting long?' She got up to hugs you 'No of course not I just got here.' You nodded at her and then looked around 'Are we done now? Should we go?' She smile and hum

Even if she was much, much older than you that didn't stopped you from becoming her friend and she was just so nice too. The ride to the stadium was slow, there's been a traffic jam near the stadium, people probably here for the match. After what seems like fifteen minutes you both escaped to the back door of the stadium as Anri shows the guard her staff card and let her in immediately.

We entered the hall seeing fans looking so excited as some of them were talking with each other but you were looking for your boyfriend and there he was at the corner, drinking. 'Just my luck' You thought. You was about to go to Isagi but Anri pulled you back 'We can't go there, the hall is packed, let me just send you to the arena.' Just as you was about to protest she already pulled you outside.

Inside the arena is empty, there's staff doing works but you didn't see any fans 'That's because I slipped you in first, they're supposed to get inside...' She checked her watch '..Now..' And it started to fill the arena, people are swarming inside shouting and cheering like crazy for their liked team

You was getting excited for some strange reason and started shouting too, you was at the very front row making it easier for Isagi to spotted you as soon as he gets into the field and you smile at the thought 'I'm going now!' Anri informed and left rapidly after bidding good-bye.

Some old bald guy at the left offered you a banner with the 'Best Footballer number 11 Isagi' design printed on it, you thanked him with so much enthusiasm and used both hands to stretch the banner and lift it up above your head shouting your boyfriend name repeatedly 'I see, you like that guy too...' You turn to him and grinned 'Yes...'

-

The fans died down for a few minutes as they were all waiting for the players from both team to got out of that tunnel, the first team was the opposite team and the fans started cheering again and next was your boyfriend's team. The first to got out was the captain Yukimiya Kenyu following with Itoshi Rin, Nagi Seishiro, Barou Shoei, Chigiri Hyouma, Eita Otoya, Bachira Meguru, Tabito Karasu and Isagi and behind him their 'somehow' weird keeper Gagamaru Gin

You was cheering so hard your lungs about to burst, you keep shouting for Isagi but he can't seem to hear you, the fans was louder than you were. Obviously.

He was looking around like he was searching for something or rather...someone but he can't see you anywhere. He started to get a little disappointed thinking that you weren't here at the moment but as soon as he sees Anri went from inside the tunnel and sat beside Ego he looks around more and there he sees you with a banner, you waved it around calling for his name with a huge smile on your face

Right there and then he wanted to jump and run to you but a big spanked on the back of his neck made him shout and turns around 'Lukewarm.' Rin was going past him 'Hey!'

-

The match started again after the first half and Isagi had the ball for the moment going back and forth between the player, hand blocking their body from getting closer as he kick and passed the ball to Bachira, It was now a tie 1-1 after Nagi scored the goal at the minute 30. Time passed excruciatingly slow as you watched the guys slowly started to slow down their pace probably tired but that didn't stopped them from continue playing.

And there you saw Isagi sprint to the goal looking for a place for him to land his kick but unfortunately the ball was stolen by the opposite team as one of them shout to get in formation.

He looks so distressed. Isagi. Wish you could be there right now hugging and soothing him telling him to start running again and go get that ball 'Get the ball!' So loud that Isagi heard. He gasped turning to you as he joined his teammates trying to steal the ball and Otoya managed "It's mine now, yer loser buzz off!" He was sprinting towards the goal but just then the other team catched up leaving him no choice but to pass to his teammates and it landed right at Isagi, his eyes were dark and unfazed, he again go for the goal sprinting without even looking at the ball "It's my time to shine you all fuckers!' Again he sprinted without even battling an eye on the ball and "GOAL!"

You was shouting so loud shaking the person beside you as hard as you can and jump in joy 'Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!' He did some celebration running to where you are and climb on something to reach you 'My god!' He was hugging you. So tight you almost couldn't breathe 'I knew it. You are my lucky charm.' Yo relaxed into his embrace 'Thanks for being here and thanks for the shout. You woke me up.' Yo broke the hug to cups his cheek 'Go and get me another goal can't ya?' He smirk at you getting off whatever he was climbing and chuckles 'Anything for you my love. Anything for you...'

'That's why you adore him so much...'

[ax-y10]

Hello hello!

I'm here to make my first official request during my time on tumblr!

All i can think about is going to Disneyland with wilbur (heavily inspired by the Tom Simon's channel 🫢) and the rest of them and being apart of that video.

Like buying wilbur ears and having Tommy gagging at all the couple antics going on and Phil cheering wil on. Wilbur surprising you with a Disneyland sweatshirt and promoting Disney instead of Tommy's merch that was coming out of the time.

I hope all is well for you and I love your latest

:)

Pure Love And Disney Sweaters

In which- a certain "child" wants attention, but you have the most important eyes

A/n: I'm going to try my best fucking hardest to make your first request a really good one. I haven't watched in ages so I'm going to try my hardest to rewatch it. I'm tired pls don't bully me

Chapter info: Swearing, kissing, Tommy wanting attention, Wilbur making silly little jokes at you, fear of rollercoasters, Phil being a darling, Kristin also being a darling, Tommy being a shithead, mention of passing out, mention of panic attacks, mention of throwing up. It's funny because I actually didn't rewatch the vid, and this is all over the place (i'm sad that I didn't include the quirked up white boy thing or the stubble)

Pronouns: None (You/Yours)

Masterlist:

You got so excited when Tommy told you that he was going to Disneyland for a new vlog. You were ecstatic at the idea as you'd never been to Disneyland before, jumping around in your seat. Wilbur heard your little cheers from the room over, and when he peered in, you were spinning your chair around. You yelped when you saw him in the doorway, a fond smile spread across his face.

The very first thing you did upon finding out was ramble to Wilbur about how excited you are, followed by packing. Tom said he got tickets for everyone's flights (you doubt it) and created a groupchat with everyone who was going, made up of Phil, Kristin, Tommy, Wilbur and you.

'Fair group' you thought. But oh my you were wrong.

The entire flight, Tommy was playing his DS, but as soon as Wilbur pulled out his 'You can rest your head on my shoulder move', Tommy was at it with the teasing.

"Oh Wilbur, how could you ignore me?" "How come Y/n gets to rest their head on your shoulder and I don't?" followed by him throwing his head on Wil's shoulder.

And it didn't stop until you finally reached the hotel. The constant teasing and poking fun dying down once you were both laying down on the bed, nuzzled against each other, and tired after a long day full of Tommy.

"Sweetheart?" Wilbur spoke into the silence of the room, snapping you from your anticipation for the day to come.

"Yes?" You rested your head in the crook of his shoulder and neck.

He paused for a moment, contemplating his next words, whispering "I love you" cheekily before turning away from you and curling into a ball.

You reefed on his pajama shirt, getting him to roll back over to cuddle you, the cold of the room finally finding its way under the sheets without your boyfriends arms around you. Complying, you were once again peaceful with the weight of his arms resting on your sides.

And soon enough, you were awake nice and early (against your will, blame Tommy), brushing your hand through Wilbur's curls, and getting ready for the day. An hour passed and you ran down the stairs to the lobby, stuffing up your sweater, and finding a seat next to Kristin.

"How come males always take forever to get ready when their is something important going on?" you whispered to Kristin, before leaning back and smiling cheekily.

"I think it should be the other way around, dear," She replied and laughed quietly.

All of a sudden, you let out a squeal as a warm pair of arms engulf you, followed by a forced weight and a yelp from a familiar boy.

"Ow, Tommy!" You exclaimed, the boy throwing himself down next to Phil.

Arriving at Disneyland, Tommy immediately wanted to go on "Space Mountain", and begged and begged Wilbur to take him over there, him declining each time

And then he got ganged up on by a bunch of presumably eight year olds who could pull the sword out of the stone, bullying Tommy for not being able to pull it out. You had to drag him away from it, all the while Wil was spouting false history facts about the building the group was approaching.

Later, you and Wilbur sat on a bench outside a ride while Phil and Tommy went on a rollercoaster together, and Kristin was getting food for everyone, even though you had offered to go with her. You were talking about how you had never been to Disneyland and how this entire experience was made all the better just by him being by your side. You weren't aware, but he was staring at your face and the excitement plastered over it, admiring you until you turned to him.

"I love you" you whispered, in which you broke him out of his trance.

"I love you too, forever and always, my love," he spoke sincerely, and you saw the genuine emotions behind his eyes.

Que the gag from Tommy and the exchanged smiles between Phil as Wilbur leaned down and pressed his lips to yours.

"Oh fuck off Tommy, you attention-seeking ass" your boyfriend teased, and pulled a small giggle from your lips.

"IT'S YOUR TURN ON THE ROLLERCOASTER, LOVEBIRDS!" Tommy yelled, and your eyes widened in fear. You hated rollercoasters.

A hand was placed upon your shoulder, and you were led into the ride with Wilbur, waiting nervously in line. You weren't ready for the roller coaster, not at all.

"Wilbur, please. I really don't want to do this. I'm terrified of rollercoasters," You begged, desperately wanting to avoid this, scared you'll pass out, have a panic attack or throw up.

"Okay, you head back out to Kristen and I'll get Tommy to come with me for forcing you on here," He laughed, and you quickly walked back out to Kristen and Phil. Thankfully, it was the last ride they were going on for the day, so you three walked back out the front and ordered an uber for when Wilbur and Tommy get back.

But little did you know, Wilbur had bought you a Disney sweater, and surprised you with it when you got back to the hotel. And he was met with a big, warm hug from you and kisses peppered across his face.

And the best part of the day for him? Watching you smile in your sleep, engulfed in the blue fabric of the sweater, accompanied by your sweet noises in your sleep.

[abarbaricyalp]

No Gasoline (The World's on Fire)

I said I was going to write a 'Bucky takes care of Sam fic' that involved a bath and Bucky getting in fully clothed. Voila. On AO3 here

Oddly, it was early morning when Sam dragged himself through the front door of the house he and Bucky shared. Usually, he got home in the afternoon or early evening. He must’ve gotten in late, stayed too long to do paperwork or debriefs, and slept at HQ last night. Usually, he was better about texting Bucky about those kinds of things. True, Bucky had promised to stay off official channels when he wasn’t part of a mission, but Sam had to know that Bucky was keeping tabs on when the jet landed back in New York or DC or LA or wherever it put wheels down.

He looked exhausted. He was still soot covered and bloodied, which meant he hadn’t spent time at HQ. He’d either been traveling this whole time or the fight had gone on far longer than Bucky guessed. Bucky immediately dropped what he was doing–it was dishes, no hardship there–and strode across the room to wrap Sam in his arms. Sam actually went lax against Bucky. Evidently even more exhausted than he looked.

“Hey, I’ve got you,” Bucky breathed. And then he took away the pretense of Sam standing on his own feet and swept him into a bridal hold.

“It went straight to shit, Buck,” Sam mumbled, head lolling against Bucky’s shoulder. “I barely pulled it all back together. There was so much…”

He didn’t finish his sentence. Bucky could guess. Destruction. Devastation. So many casualties. So much blood. Bucky had been kept entirely out of the loop on this one. He didn’t even know where Sam had been, who the antagonist was, what the conflict was. There’d been nothing on the news as far as Bucky could tell, and he paid more attention when Sam went out on things like this. The lack of media coverage at least suggested this wasn’t civilian based. Sam always took those failures, or near failures, harder.

“Stop thinking about it,” he said, like that was possible, like he had any room to say something like that. “You’re home. It’s over. You’re safe, alright?” He pressed a fierce kiss to Sam’s hairline and brought him into the bedroom, sitting him on the edge of the bed.

Sam, of course, immediately stood. “I need to get out of this,” he mumbled, pawing at the star on his chest and then reaching up for his cowl when that didn’t easily give.

“I know, I know,” Bucky assured, reaching for his wrists and holding both between his metal fingers. “I’ve got you,” he repeated. He reached up to finish tugging the cowl off and then reached for the fastens of the suit. Yes, it had the retractable vibra-something technology, but that taxed the materials and, more importantly, Sam needed to feel the suit coming off. He may want to rush through it, but it was just as important that he be grounded in the moment of having it removed from his shoulders.

Once the suit was suitably loosened–though not removed entirely–Bucky held up a finder and ducked into their bathroom to get the tub water running. Their hot water heater was pretty instantaneous, so didn’t have to wait long before stopping up the drain and returning to the bedroom.

Sam had, of course, begun to peel himself out of the suit. The jacket hung around his waist, impeding his access to the pants. Quickly again, Bucky stepped up against him, tucked a knuckle under his chin to make him lift his eyes, and then rested their foreheads together.

“Sam, I’ve got it,” he promised. “I’m right here. Let me help.”

Sam went lax against him again, giving up the fight. Bucky let them stand like that, forehead to forehead and shoulder to shoulder increasingly, as he undressed him. First was freeing the jacket from the pants, exposing Sam’s taut stomach, still tense and battle ready. Then he undid the fastens of the pants and pushed them down Sam’s hips, rested his own knee against Sam’s to keep him from shaking too harshly. He put a hand to Sam’s shoulder until Sam stood back a little, and then he sank to his knees to undo the shinguards Sam wore and the clasps of his boots. Sam swayed slightly on his feet, hip brushing over Bucky’s hair every few breaths. Bucky kept one hand on the back of Sam’s opposite knee when he stood on one foot each to get the boots off, and he finished pulling Sam’s pants down as well.

Then Sam was just in his under armour, which was still damp with sweat. He made fast work of removing the shirt and shorts himself. Bucky ran a hand down Sam’s side, from his ribs, which his heart was thudding heavily against, to his waist, molten with bruises already, to his hips, and then over his flank. Muscles were tense and coiled wherever he touched.

“I’ve got you,” he said again, just in case Sam hadn’t heard him yet. He picked Sam up again, intending to make quick work of getting him into the warm bath, but Sam had tucked his face against Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky tightened his hold around Sam and leaned down to kiss his hairline again before just resting there while Sam panted out desperate, upset breaths against Bucky’s collarbone.

The warm water wouldn’t wait, though. Bucky had to turn it off, if nothing else. He carried Sam into the bathroom, managed to balance him in one arm long enough to turn the water off, and then carefully lowered him into the bath.

The bathtub was a freestanding thing, deep blue with gold accents, ridiculously regal for how the rest of the house looked. There was a drain in the floor for when they inevitably got distracted and overfilled it. The far edges were high arching, perfect for resting their heads back, and it was huge. Definitely big enough for the both of them to fit in together without constantly jarring elbows on the side of the tub.

Sam did lean back into the headrest, eyes closed, face still pinched with frustration and defeat. Bucky ran a hand from his bunched shoulder, down his tight chest. He let his hand get under the water, low on Sam’s ribs, before he leaned forward to kiss his neck softly.

“Doll, you have to breathe. You can get mad again once you’re clean, but you have to breathe and relax in the bathtub.”

Sam tilted his head back to give Bucky more access to his neck, give himself space to sigh with irritation, avoid looking at Bucky.

“They’re going to write it down as a success,” he said. It wasn’t quite through his teeth, but Bucky thought that was only because he was too exhausted to clench his jaw. Probably a good thing. If he tightened one more muscle, he’d snap like a bad rubber band. “Technically the data was gathered. Technically the goal was met.”

“But?” Bucky prompted as he reached for some magic washcloth that they had stumbled upon ages ago. It was always soft, always fluffy. Kept warm water in. Made suds constantly with little soap. He held it over his palm and drizzled lavender scented soap onto the cloth before beginning to run it over Sam’s shoulders. They’d have to go through the process several times. Might even have to drain the tub to get the murkiness out at some point. It was fine. Between them both, they had enough soap to stay entertained for days.

“But it wasn’t a damn success. People died. Information got out. It wasn’t a full on trap. It didn’t feel like they knew the whole plan, but someone found something out in just enough time to throw our intel off. Good agents died.” Beneath the water, Sam’s fingers curled into fists against his legs. Bucky reached down to hold one hand before he could really dig his knuckles into the meat of his thigh.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Bucky placated meaninglessly. He could say it until his tongue went numb and fell out of his mouth. Sam would never believe it and it wouldn’t stymie any of his anger and guilt. Still, Bucky would say it over and over, hoping it’d get through just once.

“I’m Captain America. It’s my mission, my team. Someone somewhere knew and I should have caught it. We just walked in, so damn sure of ourselves.” Sam’s head turned further away so he was entirely facing the far wall. There was a window there–three panes thick and frosted all to hell so there was no clear sight in or out–but it was too dark outside still to see anything. Just the reflection of the two of them.

He closed his eyes again and Bucky switched to a different washcloth to begin clearing away the blood and early scabbing on his chest. There was nothing violently serious. Scrapes and bruises for the most part. There was a blade graze high up on Sam’s right shoulder, but Bucky had seen him cut deeper when he missed a carrot and hit his finger. Bucky maintained, the leather suit was always better protection than all of the high-tech fancy contraptions the newest acronym organization wanted to give him.

“You still wanna talk about it?” he asked, kissing a scrape behind Sam’s ear. Bucky could imagine a thousand ways he’d gotten it. Most of them involved him hitting the ground, which about made Bucky see red.

Sam shook his head. The fight left him. Some of the tension went with it, but not enough. “I’ve been talking about it for hours. No one’s listening.”

“I am,” Bucky offered softly. He squeezed Sam’s hand until the fist finally opened up and he was able to tangle their fingers together. “I’m right here.”

“It’s not gonna change anything. And I know you’re gonna use it as an excuse to climb into the wheel well of the jet next time you don’t get called out with me.”

“I’ve never considered the wheel well,” Bucky lied. “Wouldn’t be so bad. The metal arm would keep me locked in. The wind chafing couldn’t be that bad.”

Sam reached over to shove Bucky’s head in tired, but playful, admonishment. It got water everywhere. “Your nose gets red enough as it is.”

Bucky made a face that Sam missed because he wasn’t looking. “My nose doesn’t get red,” he said, going back to soaping up Sam’s back. Sam leaned forward against the arm across his chest, holding onto Bucky’s forearm to keep him there.

“It gets totally red when you lie,” Sam continued. “You’re a terrible liar. Outta all the spy skills in the world, you can’t lie for shit.”

“I lie perfectly fine!” Bucky objected.

Sam shook his head. “You really don’t. I can catch a lie a mile off. You don’t even have to open your mouth. You start flushing just at the idea of lying to me.”

Bucky scowled at the side of Sam’s head. “I lie fine,” he repeated in a grumble. He rinsed the cloth off in the water and then replaced the soap with some antibacterial thing that smelled like mint. As he started to wipe over Sam’s chest again, he leaned forward to get his mouth on his neck again too. Mostly because he wanted to, partially to distract him from the topic at hand.

Sam’s head lolled, looser this time. His closed eyes weren’t so pinched and his eyelashes almost fluttered as his eyes moved back and forth behind his eyelids. “If you don’t wanna talk about it, do you want a distraction?” he offered instead.

Read the rest on AO3 here

[benzjr]

The 2024 reboot no one was expecting...

Those of you who have been around for a while might just remember back when I did fanfiction, and if you do, you might remember the story of my Supernoobs OC Josh Carter, the aspiring social butterfly, future superstar and reluctant superhero whose life was getting way more complicated these days...

Back towards the end of 2019, I was really starting to lose steam with him; the inspiration I had for him was really starting to wane, especially given the fandom seemed to peter out and my previous partner-in-angst-crime Pumpkin (@whynotzoidbergdotorg) moved on to other creations. I've definitely missed creating fandom work over the past few years, but between not really finding anything to grab my attention in the same way and a series of setbacks in my life (not to mention the grind of growing my YouTube channel), things just happened to fall by the wayside.

But it seems I wasn't posting into the void after all! Josh and his story left a huge impact on the small but surprisingly resilient Supernoobs fandom, and over the past few months I've been pulled back in, thanks especially to @ghostlyapivorous' @superastral-official and @jaspydunks' @noobs-rewritten. So much so, that I've been re-motivated to return and at least continue (I don't think I should be presumptuous and suggest "finish") Josh's story. In addition to a few unreleased chapters from the original run, I've been working on continuing the story, and I've almost gotten to the end of Dancefest, where we originally left off.

We'll be picking up from there soon, but it didn't seem fully right to go back to using the old 2016 designs of our main cast — my artistic workflow has completely changed since then. So, it was time to give them all a glow-up. The primary goal was mainly to get them looking closer to the show's style, though I've also taken the opportunity to resolve a few longstanding annoyances with some of the characters and change some things up. Despite not being part of the main cast, I also decided to do an image for Zoey, given she's a pretty recurrent character in the series. Just like the first time around, expect to see new art of these kids in the future (though I don't think I'll spin up @joshcartersblog again).

Look out for the continuation of Josh's story very soon, but in the meantime, catch up on how Josh got here:

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story (so far)

Text versions of everyone's descriptions under the cut.

Josh Carter

Josh Carter has only one goal in mind: becoming one of the popular kids. Enamored with fame and starry-eyed about celebrity, he's chasing the top of the Cornbury Middle School food chain with the help of his friends. Clever, ambitious, and seemingly carefree, he'll stop at nothing in his quest to rise to the top without losing himself, while making plenty of buzz along the way.

…But will something bigger and more destructive than the current popular clique or a mortifying social mishap stop him in his tracks?

Dreams of a social media-perfect lifestyle

Friends with Jock Jockerson despite not being a jock

His "walk-in closet" is practically a department store for one

The Yellow Superdude

As elusive as he is mysterious, the Yellow Superdude is the newest addition to Cornbury's local team of intergalactic virus warriors. But he doesn't seem too happy about having the opportunity of a lifetime; honestly, it seems like he doesn't get along with the other four at all. With the heroes already building local recognition and facing even bigger battles, can he ever become the hero the Earth needs — and does he even want to?

Alias: ???

Powers: Energy blasts, stretchy body, shapeshifting, possibly more if he ever actually went to training

Always has messy hair for some reason

Simon Parker

Josh's best friend since forever, Simon is the realist of the group. As much an inventive strategist as an easygoing wingman, Simon's a true ride-or-die in Josh's popularity adventures, turbocharging their social game while keeping his starstruck bro down-to-earth. They've been there for each other even in their lowest moments, including Simon's brutally public one last year. It's a trust that makes Simon unafraid to be honest with Josh. But despite all this, is Josh keeping a super-sized secret from him?

Enjoys the outdoors with his parents

Still recovering from a 7th-grade incident where he was dubbed "The Whale"

Maintains countless inside jokes and references with Josh

Rebecca Hewitt

Rebecca is a punchy wildcard who's garnered her own notoriety. Since stumbling into Josh's high-flying life in sixth grade, she's been looking to find herself somewhere in the many aesthetics Josh's influencer adventures bring into her world. Rough around the edges but fun at heart, she's not one to mess with, but worth having in your corner.

Recovering horse girl

Still throwing out Mini-Horse Friendship Force merchandise

Best dodgeball player in the class

Zoey Miller

Zoey is the intrepid reporter behind The Cornbury Hound Dog, Cornbury Middle School's unofficial school news blog. Zoey can be eager and persistent to a fault, the perfect attitude for hunting the next big story. She keeps up on all the gossip around the halls — especially Josh's ambitious search for teenage stardom. Totally not because she has a crush on him or anything…

An ace at alliteration

Has a venerable collection of visor hats

Elaborately daydreams of meet-cutes with Josh

[heliopauseentertainments]

Coffee Kwest 2

Continuity: IDW1

Rating: General

Characters: Prowl

Warnings: Crack, Comedy, Not Beta Red

Summary: In which Prowl, certain of sabotage to his vital office equipment, seeks an emergency alternative to his malfunctioning stimulant brewer.

Crossposting:��AO3 | Dreamwidth

Fic under cut. See AO3 for complete notes.

The chronometer screaming bright red digits into the early morning darkness of Prowl’s office tried to tell him he had stayed up far too late.

Another night of unpaid overtime.

Prowl’s level of seniority in the slowly demilitarizing Autobot-Neutral coalition government on New Cybertron meant he no longer qualified for it; his level of responsibility was too great for his time alone to affect the budgets beyond a baseline salary.

None of that stopped him from working more than the schedule strictly demanded. There was too much to do and none of it would get done if he didn’t personally do it or dictate to someone else exactly how it needed to be accomplished. That would be the only way anything would get done and get done right.

Setting down one of the datapads he had been transcribing report data from, Prowl took a routine look at the fuel mug on his desk. Given the thin film of stimulant-laced fuel glowing sadly at the bottom of the mug, it was time to top it up. Another cup of adulterated fuel would give him the boost he needed to make it to sunrise.

The brewing machine was, of course, waiting faithfully on the other side of his office, stationed on a shelf over a cabinet full of supplies. Cubes of plain fuel were stacked neatly in the cabinet, but that was the only tidy aspect of the set up.

Other accouterments were scattered about the cabinet and shelf in disarray. Half-open stimulant syrup packets leaked onto surfaces until they had dehydrated into a glue-like adhesive. Flecks of other additives were sprinkled here and there, in some places stuck in the stimulant-glue and in others forming a tacky dust.

Prowl had, once upon a time, tried to keep his stimulant preparation area in some semblance of order, but, as everything had worn on over the years, it had become… lower priority.

With a sigh, he brushed aside some of the clutter that had tried to attach to the brewer’s carafe. One of the gluey remained adhered until he picked it off. A blob of residue lingered on the glass.

It was fine.

A problem for another time.

Or the cleaning staff if he ever felt comfortable letting them in here. Who knew what alternative motives they could have had? Who knew who they were really working for?

A small amount of fuel remained in the carafe, long cold and scorched.

Prowl simply poured that minuscule remainder into his mouth before setting the carafe up for a fresh brewing cycle. The brewer’s additives and syrup holders were refilled to meet his specifications. The brewing cycle’s settings were dialed. Everything would be just like it was supposed to be every other time.

However, when Prowl pressed the power button… nothing happened. Again and again, he tried the button, in case it was just faulty. Something was deeply wrong.

This brewer had served him faithfully for many years now. There was no reason it would simply give up now. There was no other explanation but the obvious.

Sabotage.

Standing in front of the quiet, dark brewer, Prowl could feel the impending embrace of exhaustion pulling at the edges of his consciousness.

Without this brewer and its products, Prowl’s energy levels would never get him to sunrise in several hours. Someone had clearly managed to bypass all of the security measures on his office to interfere with his work, someone who would benefit from even the slightest interruption in the review of incoming data.

The situation had to be rectified immediately. Before he could even begin to search for the infiltrator responsible for this unabashed assault on his professional competency.

It was too late at night to submit a proper requisition request through the appropriate official channels. Emergency measures were required.

Only one viable option was left remaining to him.

Vagueslist, a gray market Extranet network of independent “vendors” selling various goods and services with minimal audit trails, was Prowl’s only recourse.

Of course, he knew the risks; there were many. They ran the gambit from a defective product to minor scams to inexperienced money laundering fronts to bait for trafficking. There was also the more personally applicable chance that there wasn’t someone selling what he was looking for in the immediate area. Unlikely, given the website’s vast, morally flexible userbase.

Prowl rushed back to his desk, frantically tapping the necessary commands into his console with more strokes to rectify hastily mistyped keys than he would have ever admitted to in a court of law.

Typically, this website was a tool his department used for investigative purposes, sometimes even setting up fake offers or requests to bait criminals or suspects or otherwise chasing down leads. Tonight, however, Prowl looked through the ugly bulletin board in earnest, cycling through various keywords in the search function.

Very few results popped up, at least within Iacon’s city limits. Sure, he could drive farther but time before the inescapable exhaustion kicked in was steadily ticking away. He only had so much time and he couldn’t afford to drive for an hour or two round trip, let alone one way.

One result, however, stood out to him.

“Free Stimulant Brewr, Good cOndition, As Is”

The typos and shanix symbols plastered throughout the title were typical of offers on this platform. Allegedly, they had just gotten a newer, better one to replace the freebie. Critically, the location was a precious few neighborhoods away. The item was left out on the “seller’s” balcony for pick up by whomever wanted it whenever was convenient.

Including the middle of the night.

Prowl didn’t even bother responding to the ad. It wouldn’t matter. It was free and out there for the grabbing anyway.

It didn’t even matter was model it was, only that it would work.

His wheels protested as he tore through the darkened streets, following his GPS to the coordinates in the ad.

He could only hope that some other desperate mech hadn’t also seen the ad and already swiped up the machine. This was his only chance, the one shot he had to defeat the impending exhaustion brought upon him by the sabotage of his own brewer.

There was no time left for any alternatives.

--

Prowl skidded to a stop around a corner. The address should have been the building in front of him, so close….

Up upon a balcony four levels up, lit only by a flickering, undervolting lantern, sat what looked to be his prize: a free, “gently used” brewer.

It would be faster to scale the structure rather than go around to try and find public access stairs. Time was ticking and exhaustion was still creeping into his mind.

Hand over hand, Prowl awkwardly pulled himself up onto the first railing to reach for lower edge of the balcony just overhead.

He could do this. He had to do this.

Clenching his jaw shut, he climbed, disregarding the fact that he could easily be mistaken for some kind of degenerate prowler, bent on either thievery or mischief.

After a few minutes of struggling, he was nearly in reach of the brewer. He stretched his hand out towards his prize, the cheap material of the brewer’s casing gleaming in the light of the weak lantern. It would be his—

Just as his hand closed on the far side of the brewer, a loud sniffing noise came from nearby, like a creature snuffling about in the garbage looking for choice refuse. He paused, barely hanging onto the balcony by one shaking arm.

What appeared to be a rotund mechanimal, about the size of small cassetticon and variegated gray and black in color, sat on the balcony’s ledge, near the brewer as it preened dust and debris from the articulated plating of its banded tail. Its paws were more like hands, meant clearly for climbing and committing all manner of crimes.

The glint in its optics as it stared at Prowl promised hijinks.

“No,” he told the creature, certain in his exhaustion that it cared for whatever he had to say. “That’s mine.”

As though to spite him, the creature put its terrible little hands on the sides of the brewer, pulling it away.

“Stop! Thief!”

Prowl scrabbled with his already extended hand to yank the brewer back from the creature.

It hissed at him.

Seeing no other option, Prowl threw himself upward, grabbing the brewer with both arms.

The creature relented, releasing the brewer and clambering away.

However, he could not celebrate his victory.

Prowl found air rushing up around him… before he and the brewer collided with the road below the balcony.

--

It had taken an act of iron will to not fall asleep in a heap after his… gravity-induced setback.

Thankfully, his new brewer had survived impact, having been cradled safely under Prowl’s bumper.

Slapping the access codes to his office into the panel next to the door, Prowl himself had been grateful to escape the encounter with just scrapes and dents… and sore struts.

Exhaustion continued to creep into his processor. Automated alerts requesting that he recharge were dismissed with a self-executing macro that he had set up ages ago, but even now Prowl couldn’t deny that his processing speed was suffering from the lack of recharge, the lack of stimulant-laced fuel. The focal rings in his optics kept spiraling out, making his vision intermittently fuzzy while his processor struggled to adjust the calculations to resolve the feed.

When the door finally opened after several tries of the code, he staggered across towards where his old, sabotaged brewer waited.

With a wave of his arm, he knocked items off the shelf, clearing space for the new brewer. Accouterments and paraphernalia clattered to the floor as he set his prize down.

Prowl grabbed the old brewer, lifting it up as he prepared to sacrifice it to the floor. One thing, however, caught his eye.

The power cable of the old brewer dangled down, disconnected from the wall socket.

Prowl squinted, taking the cable and plugging its jack back into the wall.

With a cheerful beep, the brewer powered on, telling Prowl it was ready to make him however much warm stimulant he wanted.

It wasn’t the upending of Prowl’s desk that summoned the security guards, but the echoing howl that accompanied it.

[bokutosmochi]

THE BIRTHDAY KITTEN ♡ BOKUTO KOTARO

bokuto kotaro x catgirl!reader

ingredients? when bokuto adopted you from the neatest shelter, you were one of the oldest kitties there -- all the hybrids you grew up with adopted by owners of their own years before the owlish ace came into the picture. of course this meant you didn't have the most real life experiences.

what's it? smut

allergen warning/s? reader’s a lil dumb, past allusions to parental abuse, neglect, mentions of feelings of depression, losing a pet, fingernail picking, ahegao face, fingering, oral!fem receiving, praise kink, cum eating, daddy kink, choking, multiple orgasms, swearing, praise kink, and mentions of breeding kink towards the end -- super light

sugar level? 4.5k

regulars? @hanayanetwork​

parlor's note? this is my first time (and probably not last time because this is fun!) writing for a hybrid so please as always, feel free to give feedback cause i think this could be better but for now, i have channeled all hornee energy into this, what can i say?

written for @fuwushiguro's hybrids collab! you can find the masterlist over here!

bon appetit!

you were lucky that bokuto adopted you that day a year before, lucky that bokuto found himself getting lonely whenever volleyball season was over, lucky that you finally got yourself a home where you were loved and cherished.

you were lucky for a lot of things, most of them revolving around bokuto kotaro. the man sleeping next to you right now, allowing himself to sleep in for a few hours since this year's volleyball season was officially over. there wouldn't be as many practice sessions and perhaps a few years ago, he would have frowned at that, but not anymore. not now that he has you.

you pawed at your face when you first woke up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes only to notice that your boyfriend was still asleep. while you're glad he's able to get some well-deserved rest, a part of you is disappointed because all you wanted to do is to talk to him and kiss him all over, cuddle into his neck until you were nothing but mere atoms floating around in the endless space of the universe.

as if he could feel your stare on his face, his hand around your waist tightened, pulling you further against him, making you silently purr in contentment, snuggling into his warm chest that radiated nothing short of warmth and comfort. after all, even though you've been rescued from the abusive household you were brought up in after the neighbors called the police on the people you shared the house with, it's not like the shelter was the best.

sure, while the workers and volunteers who worked the shift there didn't pull on your sensitive ears or your tail when you made a mistake, and while sure, they didn't put a collar around your neck and tied you to the lamppost outside your house in the pouring rain all because you arrived five minutes past curfew when you were playing with your friends, you were still neglected there, never given anything that wasn't a strict need. sometimes you'd get a visitor, someone who was looking to adopt you. they'd scratch the lovely spot behind your ears and shower you in compliments, but at the end of the day, they never came back for you, opting for another hybrid at the rescue, or realizing that maybe, this was not the life for them so at some point, you just stopped getting excited for them. the curious look you shot them when they took a peek of you was gone, replaced by you looking at them, then going back to what you were doing prior to that. you rubbing yourself on their leg when they set you down on the floor became you just sitting there, listening to them talk to the workers about potentially adopting you. all the friends you made at the shelter were gone, adopted by owners who promised you that you were the one while dangling the feather toy in front of you. you never really bothered making any new friends after your best friend was adopted, learning that everyone would just come and go, leaving you behind.

slowly but surely, the hope inside of you was running out.

that was until bokuto came around.

you remembered that day like it was yesterday. it was in the summer, the month of may. the finals of the last volleyball tournament of the year was a month ago and without the practices that lasted all day, the loneliness hit bokuto like a brick. it was sweltering hot, you could feel the pin pricks on the back of your neck, on your back and it was just around the time when the owners of the shelter would bring you out to the grooming room and cut the soft fur around your ears and tail and trim your pretty hair for your convenience so they were the people you expected when you were napping on top of your favorite blanket -- you usually liked to cover yourself with it and snuggle into it, but the heat was proving to be too much.

that wasn't the case for this particular summer. instead, you heard the voice of the twenty year old volunteer who's been doing volunteer work there since she was sixteen calling your name in a soft whisper, unsure whether you were asleep or not because your back was turned to her. you sat up and turned around, only to be met by a man you've never seen before. he had spiky black and silver hair and was wearing a large grin on his face, his eyes sparkling as he stared at you in awe?

was it awe?

you weren't sure, but that's the only way you could describe it.

"c'mere," she hummed, motioning for you to come towards the opening of the cage as she did so.

of course you did, already knowing the drill.

you stood at full height in front of the strange man and if you didn't feel so hopeless and depressed, you probably would have returned his excited smile, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. you simply stared at him blankly before the girl, cassie told the both of you to come follow her to the interviewing room.

the way bokuto answered was a bit unusual, but a good unusual. you've seen children excited to get a pet before, and you've seen teenagers who just got ready to devote themselves to another pet after losing their previous one a few years ago, but even though there was no denying the fact that they were excited and happy, their energy did not even begin to compare with bokuto's. his voice was fast and loud. cassie asked him to repeat himself several times during the interview, something you've never seen her do, all because his words that were uttered too fast sewn into one unintelligible mess of phrases and much to your discontent, you actually felt a pang of hope bloom in your chest. and as always, bokuto didn't let you down.

sadly, the shelter didn't let you leave that easily. the professional volleyball player had to leave you there for a few days while some of the staff scheduled a day to check out bokuto's house to see if it was appropriate for you, if he would be able to accommodate you properly. you sat in the backseat of the car while they did that and from where you were, you could see the - sloppy - handmade banner that was strewn on the doorway of the bokuto household reading welcome to your new home [y/n]!! and you felt yourself smile genuinely after god knows how long. you prayed to any and every deity out there that bokuto passes the "test" and you'd be allowed to live with him.

he did, and with flying colors too.

and as they say it, the rest is history.

bokuto flashes that same grin you fell in love with a year ago and kisses the tip of your nose, nuzzling his face to your neck, breathing in your scent and sighing contentedly. "g' morning, kitty."

"good morning, bo."

before you could thread your fingers through his soft locks, his head pops out from its position in the crook of your neck. the familiar grin is there and you found yourself wondering how a person could have so much energy when they first woke up in the morning.

he didn't leave you with much time to guess. "it's your birthday isn't it??"

birthday?

the word passes through your lips once, then twice when you finally gather your thoughts. since the shelter you were at didn't celebrate birthdays, you didn't know anything about it. you didn't even know when yours was, if you even had one. you knew everyone was born, obviously, but you didn't really know that everyone's was special as all of yours were treated like just another day. your knowledge about birthdays was limited to the first and only one you attended: bokuto's. the one he celebrated the year he got you. you didn't really remember it to be too pleasant. too much noise and chatter. bokuto left you alone for the majority of the party held at your shared house as he was passed from one person to another, from his sisters, to his friend back in high school, to a man with very tall, black, spiky hair, and to his very rowdy teammate who you've learned was named hinata.

the only thing that left you was a simple oh making bokuto raise his eyebrows at you and leap off of the bed. "c'mon, kitty. y' should be more excited! you get gifts and a cake, and you get to blow candles." he continued to gush. it only fueled your confusion and you found yourself tilting your head at him.

he finally finds himself uncharacteristically silent as he looks back at you, head tilted to the side like an owl, "have you never celebrated your birthday before?"

you look down and start to pick on the edge of your fingernails, unable to make eye contact with him. "i-i didn't even know i had a birthday or that i was one of the people who could celebrate it."

he kneels down before you, forcing you to look him in the eye and the emotion in those golden orbs of his makes you want to cry and bury yourself -- pity and sadness. "honey, everyone can celebrate their birthday."

this time, you made a conscious effort to not let your surprise show, but bokuto knew all of your tells. he knew you were surprised, and he also knew how you felt anxious at the thought of it all, afraid and confused at the change because your whole life may have just been flipped upside down. so instead of making you feel like he felt bad for you, he rose and put his hands on his waist. "don't you worry, kitty. we'll celebrate your birthday today and we'll make it the best day ever!" he announced with a pump of his fists to the skies above, hooting.

much like always, his enthusiasm had an effect on you. you returned his smile and set yourself on your feet as well, your tail swishing around in excitement. "well, what are we supposed to do?"

with a glint in his eye, he turned to you, "anything you want to, kitty! go on a shopping spree, go and get the fur around your ears and tail trimmed, cuddle all day, anything!"

you looked down to think about this thoroughly before you gave bokuto an answer, but he wasn't having any of it. "hun, you don't have to take it so seriously, okay? we can do whatever your pretty heart desires!" he beamed, placing a hand on your shoulder and stunning you with a flawless smile, making you do the same and slowly nod. "well, i have been missing you since you've been gone for so long, can we just cuddle and we can build one of those.." you trailed off as you did not know what they were called, simply using your arms to gesture -- not that the vague gestures actually helped your boyfriend.

"those things make of pillows and blankets and you can lay inside it and stuf-"

"pillow forts!"

"yeah! we can build a pillow fort and watch a movie and eat whatever we want and cuddle!" you exclaimed at him and bokuto felt his heart grow three times at your excitement. the way your eyes glimmered was his favorite sight, your scent his favorite smell, the feel of your skin under his palms his favorite feeling, the cherry chapstick on your lips his favorite taste, and your pretty purrs of contentment his favorite sound in the world.

he wraps an arm around you and pulls you close to him, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. "sounds like a plan."

bokuto ended up calling the supermarket closest to your house and asked them to deliver all your favorite snacks. sure, the extra service may have upped the price a few yen, but it was nothing he wasn't able to give for his best girl -- his birthday girl. while waiting for it to arrive, you guys started on the pillow fort, building it a feet in front of the huge tv he had. you gathered all the pillows and blankets in your house, and he gathered the chairs needed. together, you laid out the futon, piled on the blankets and fluffed up the pillows, adding some of your most beloved stuffed toys too for some company, and before you knew it, it was done and there was a person knocking on the door -- the supermarket worker with the food.

bokuto set it all up in front of the two of you when you were choosing the movie.

it was quick and a few seconds later, you were already nestled in bokuto's arms, nuzzling the side of your face against his chest and mewling while reaching for a snack.

the movie you chose, you couldn't exactly say it was your favorite because you haven't actually watched it yet. you've only heard some stuff about it online - every review left by professionals and amateurs alike were positive - and you've seen the trailer. from those two things, you most clearly did not know there was going to be an intimate scene in the movie -- one that dragged on for a very long time, to make it even worse.

you felt uncomfortable, not because of the nature of what was happening on screen - both people being bare, the woman being held in the man's arms and having kisses laid on her, from the back of her ear, all the way down to the base of her neck - but rather, because of the aching feeling in your legs you've never felt before. you had no idea what to do so you just trusted your instincts, unconsciously rubbing your thighs together and whining around the grape-flavored lollipop in your mouth.

bokuto was quick to take notice of this and even quicker to take charge of the situation upon seeing your obvious distress. "hey kitten, what's wrong." he rubbed your back, a worried look on his handsome face as he searched yours for a sign, any sign of what might be bothering you as he had no idea himself.

"ah! my, my cunny, bo! i don't, i dunno!" you gasped out.

his owlish eyes widened a tad bit more at your words and he genuinely had no idea what to do. were you hurting? did an ant manage to bite you down there? were you experiencing a heat? as far as he knew from the research he had done, hybrids like you should not be experiencing heats. were you just aroused? but surely, you would already know that feeling, shouldn't you? then again, bokuto couldn't be sure, after all, you were completely oblivious to the fact that everyone could have a birthday party.

"what'd you want me to do, kitty? does it hurt? can i touch you?"

"god, yes! yes please!" you mewled out, grabbing his wrist and dragging it further down your body. he was positive you had no idea what was happening, but leaving you in this condition you are currently in looked like the worse option between the two, so when his fingers snaked under the waistband of your shorts and panties and managed to run circles on your clit making you moan and throw your head back, he couldn't help the relief that flooded his system. "there you go, kitty. there you go," he hummed, his other hand reaching up to pet your hair and scratch the spot behind your ear that he knew was your weakness. you were powerless against the motions of his hands and soon, your tongue was sticking out of your mouth and you became cross-eyed.

the movie was long forgotten. the only thing you could focus on was the feeling of his hands on you, and the only thing he could focus on was how you reacted to every little thing he did -- he wanted to memorize all your favorite things and bury it into his memory.

when you reached your climax, squirting all over his large hand and the mattress under you, his sweatpants felt just a bit too tight and he knew there was no chance he wasn't taking you right then and there, mostly because of how you were practically begging him to rearrange your insides and ruin your precious cunt.

he rolled you over to your back and got on top of you, leaning down to capture your bottom lip between his teeth and pull it back, only to delve back into you again. "you taste so good, kitty!! can't wait to have more." his hands gripped your top and pulled it off of you in one swift motion, expertly avoiding your ears before kissing you again. while his mouth was busy with yours, his fingers traveled down to your bottoms. the way they grazed your exposed flesh had goosebumps raising on your skin and if you weren't aroused before then you definitely were now.

bokuto was all too aware of that, smiling at the feeling of you rubbing your tits against him, perky nipples on his chest. "feeling good, kitty?"

and you were powerless to do anything but nod. "more! n-need more!"

if bokuto was being honest with himself, he wanted to tease you some more, but with the way you were whining for his touch, his instincts warned him against it so he was quick to slip two fingers into your cunt, the wetness that gathered on your pussy making the slide easy and painless. if anything, it was the most pleasurable feeling you've felt in your entire life. it made your toes curl and grab onto his arm for dear life. "bo!"

when the sounds you made traveled through his ear canal and into his brain, it was almost like he went feral. he ripped your shorts off of your figure along with your panties and shoved his face onto you, trying to shove the wet muscle of his tongue as deep as it can go inside your cunt and lapping at the juices spilling from you.

you could do nothing but bury your hands through his hair and throw your head back in ecstasy as bokuto ate you out like he was a starved man and you were a five star buffet.

and while all of this was going on, the television was still playing in the background, though it was long forgotten by the both of you. bokuto was too focused on the addicting taste of you on his tongue and making you feel good, make you moan more of those pretty noises he's become addicted to.

the coil in your abdomen tightens and tightens, the more time bokuto spends in between your legs -- it's the only thing your mind can focus on. and the moment he presses his nose against your clit, you were done for, screaming so loudly the neighbors could probably hear - bokuto hopes they don't call the police because he really doesn't want anything to interrupt this moment - and tugging on his locks so roughly it sends a wave of searing pain through him -- he cannot get himself to care though, muttering "that's it", "good girl, that's a good kitty", and "come on my tongue" the whole time you were on your high. he knew that he should probably give you some time to calm down, process everything that just happened, every new emotion that courses through your veins, but he was unable to do so, instead lapping his tongue at your entrance the whole time and having one of his hands reach out and play with your tits through your flimsy t-shirt, begging for his attention.

once bokuto was done and you were starting to try and even out your breaths, he crashed his lips onto yours, nipping at your bottom lip and sucking on it harshly -- a new sensation for you, but you'd be lying if you said you didn't like it. there was something about everything that set your senses ablaze -- maybe it was the taste of you being transferred from your cunt, to bokuto's tongue, to your mouth, something about the sinfulness of it, or maybe it was the way bokuto's passion in kissing made your head spin, or maybe it was the feeling of bokuto's large, calloused hands roaming all over your body. truthfully, you cannot put your finger on it, even if you tried.

slowly, slowly, bokuto peeled your t-shirt off as well as the remainders of his clothes leaving you skin-to-skin with nothing in between you but the drops of perspiration going down your bodies.

his head went up from the junction between your neck and your shoulder where he was previously sucking deep purple hickies into, "you really wanna do this, baby?" his breath was hot on you and it did little to nothing to stop the wetness gathering between your legs, soaking the bed and your tail which whipped around and subconsciously started to caress bokuto's bare back. "mhmm, 'm sure, daddy. wanna try everything with you."

you didn't even process the words that have left your mouth when his eyes widened. the fact that you didn't know why that happened made you feel a bit anxious at first, but it quickly subsided when you saw the familiar glow and excitement shine in his golden eyes. "daddy? you want to be my baby girl? you sure??" and you can't help but to let out a hearty laugh and wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down with you. "a hundred percent sure. you'd take good care of me, would you?" you instinctively mewled and rubbed the side of your head against his chest which unbeknownst to you, was exploding with happiness. "you bet! and right now, you're my pretty girl. my pretty birthday girl," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of your nose before your lips.

when he slid his tongue against your bottom lip, you tried to tease him a bit and didn't let it slide into your mouth, but bokuto was having none of it. suddenly, you felt his finger on your clit, rubbing small, tight circles onto it making you gasp -- of course he took that as his chance to have his tongue meld with yours and steal your breath away while you were at it.

you kept on bucking your hips up to meet his finger, yet soon enough, it seemed like you needed something else. "daddy, need your cock. please," you whined at him, wrapping your legs around his waist and rubbing your throbbing cunt by his pelvis only for him to chuckle at you. "you're probably wet enough, right?" his head tilted to the side a bit before simply shrugging to himself. "tell me if it hurts, okay kitty?" he waited for you to nod and then slid his cock into your pussy.

and god. bokuto thought, breathing out a shaky breath from his mouth, eyes clenched so tight that it hurts the tiniest bit. sliding in is the easy part. not cumming too soon is the hard part. not that he would ever tell anyone that. even if he did though, it's not like anyone could ever blame him.

it's so tight and warm and bokuto swears he can stay there forever and not get sick of it. it grips and hugs his cock like a glove, like it was made for his cock and his cock specifically.

"this fucking kitty cunt," he hisses out making you look up at him in concern -- thankfully for you, you were wet enough for it to not hurt a single bit. it was only a bit uncomfortable at first, but you quickly got used to it. that didn't mean you didn't enjoy it anymore though, cause you definitely love the feeling of bokuto inside you. it's most certainly the closest you've been to each other and you're obsessed with every single aspect of it. you just hoped bokuto felt the same as you did. "do you not like it, daddy?"

"fucking love it, kitty." he groaned out, thrusting in and out of your pussy at such a fast pace, almost as if he couldn't control himself. "can i pull on your collar, please, pretty? 'y can tell me if it's too much," he whined out making you nod. you didn't quite know what to expect, but you trusted bokuto -- the same bokuto who wasted no time before grabbing the pink leather collar wrapped around your neck that's decorated with fine white lace and pulling it back harshly. the sensation of air getting pushed out of your lungs was an unexpected one, but a welcome one nonetheless. it made your eyes roll to the back of your head and tongue loll out of your mouth. "there we go kitty, there we go." bokuto couldn't stop the words tumbling from his mouth nor the way his fingers instinctively traveled downwards to your aching clit, swollen and longing to be touched by  bokuto's skilled fingers.

and just like that, you came right on his digits and cock. saliva was starting to accumulate under your face, but you didn't even notice it anymore, too lost in the feeling of pure nirvana.

"good fucking girl, good fucking girl. take daddy's cock just like that- yeah, yeah."

you've come up to the conclusion that bokuto's loudness and talkativeness didn't halt when he's in bed. in fact, it seemingly increases when he's about to cum like he is now -- the feeling of your clenching pussy proving to be too much for the professional volleyball player as he found himself unable to do anything but spill his seed inside and breed you -- thrusting his hips flush against yours all the way throughout his high.

"didja enjoy your birthday, kitty?"

i get: reblog

you get: a cat toy

do we have a deal?

[l223m0nade]

Quiet Bucky Who Doesn’t Live With Steve bc he’s still a little feral and WS-y sickfic

Steve didn’t like bad guys messing with New Yorkers, but he did like being able to protect his city. And for the last few months, there had been another reason to enjoy hometown missions.

“Tell our mystery pal thanks for the assist,” Sam said dryly as he finished his sweep to confirm everything was contained, which it was, in part thanks to perfectly aimed shots winging the two jerks at separate control stations directing the big insectlike robots. Clint hadn’t been available for last-minute sniper support, but Steve had said “I might know someone,” and everyone had sort of nodded in vague acceptance and ignored his possibly over-eager tone. The Winter Soldier was still officially at large, whereabouts unknown. Unofficially the search had petered out.

“Thanks for the help,” he murmured into his earpiece— set to an encrypted channel. “Specially on short notice like this.”

After a short pause the reply came, soft, “…You had ‘em on the ropes.” Steve barked a surprised laugh, unable to stop himself from scanning nearby rooftops though he knew he’d see nothing. “Was in the neighborhood anyhow.”

“Feel like sticking around?” Steve tried for casual. “Got nothing going on after this myself. It’s soup weather.” It was freezing, and drizzling in a way that looked light from indoors but soaked you if you were out in it for more than a few minutes. He bit back the words where do you stay, is it warm and dry enough there, just come home with me, but he thought them loudly.

A longer pause this time, but then, “It is, huh. Yeah. Yeah, alright Rogers,” and Steve couldn’t help the grin stretching across his face. Wherever Bucky was hidden, he was clearly in his sights, because he heard a husky chuckle. “Sap,” came the parting shot. “See you there.”

“Roger that,” Steve said, mock-serious, and won the sound of another laugh starting before the commlink cut out. He was allowed to be a little happy, he thought as he hopped on his bike and headed to his Brooklyn apartment. He hadn’t seen Bucky in over two weeks. Trauma and justified paranoia and unfairly dubious legal status combined to mean that Bucky couldn’t yet handle anyone knowing where he slept. For a long time Steve’s only contact with him consisted of mysterious sniper shots obliterating enemies about to get the drop on Steve and Sam as they hunted Hydra remnants down, but over the summer by tacit agreement they had both settled —for a given value of the word— back in New York. And now they talked on the phone, and sometimes Bucky provided don’t-ask-don’t-tell overwatch on missions, and sometimes he came by Steve’s place for meals and company. Steve worried about him constantly, and missed his steady physical presence as he had since before the ice, but Bucky was getting by the best way he had, and he would respect that, no matter what.

If Bucky hadn’t picked up his call or agreed to come over he probably would have spent the night staring at the cold rain out the window, but that was nobody’s business but his own. He opened the door to his apartment, nudged the thermostat, and began pulling out the ingredients for simple chicken soup, feeling warm inside and out.

Before long there was a soft breath of chilly air, the sound of a window closing, and a quiet throat-clear. He turned and there Bucky was, in the corner of the living room, looking a little tense and sheepish as water dripped from his coat. The sight of him in his apartment gave Steve the immediate sense of all being right in his world. “Hey, pal.”

Bucky gave a small smile in reply. “Sorry, I—” he cleared his throat again, “drippin on your nice floor.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” said Steve, hearing his accent come out stronger as it always did around his oldest friend. “I got plenty of towels. I’ll get you some.”

He came back with and armload of fluffy towels as Bucky shrugged out of his coat. “Warm in here,” he murmured, with a little shiver as his body adjusted to the cozy temperature Steve had set.

“Sometimes I’m still surprised at how I can just make my place any temperature I want,” Steve chuckled, “I sure coulda used that back in the day.” Bucky just nodded, a hint of wonder in his face as he took the towel Steve offered. “I pulled some clothes out for you, you may as well let your things dry out while you’re here.” Wet clothes had been one of Bucky’s favorite fussing subjects back in the day, he couldn’t begrudge Steve this.

He did go to change after only a moment’s hesitation. Steve went back to the kitchen area but just hovered there. He wasn’t eavesdropping, he just had super hearing. There was another throat-clear, a sniff, and a husky cough as Bucky changed behind the closed door. He came out a moment later, rubbing his nose absently, wearing the crew neck sweater and thick soft black pants Steve had left out, and quirked an eyebrow. Steve blushed as he realized he’d been staring at the door waiting for it to open.

“I missed you, sue me,” he muttered as he moved toward him. He looked so soft, and still cold. Steve telegraphed before going in for a hug, but Bucky just moved into it with a little sigh, pressing his face into Steve’s shoulder and rubbing a little. He seemed tired. Steve wrapped his arms around him with his own sigh. He was so glad he was here.

Suddenly the shoulders he embraced tensed up with a quiet but sharp inhale, and before either of them could react, a silent “mmp!” of a stifled sneeze was pressed into Steve’s shoulder. Bucky pulled back but only had time to blink once in surprise before his nose visibly twitched. “Dish!” This sneeze, tiny and only a little less held-back, went more or less into Steve’s left pec.

They stared for a second, arms still loosely wrapped around each other. Bucky sniffled, rubbed his nose, muttering “Jesus, sorry” at the same time Steve said “bless you” with a little nonplussed smile. Steve’s cheeks felt warm and Bucky was blushing. His nose was also a faint pink, and he looked pale, with a particular tiredness around his eyes. Steve tucked his damp hair behind his ear to see more clearly, and Bucky shifted under his scrutiny, clearing his throat again with a rasp.

“You sound like— are you sick?”

Bucky started to roll his eyes at Steve, but he had to sniffle, and then his breath caught and his expression changed from exasperation to mild surprise as he stepped back and lifted his bent arm to muffle a soft strong sneeze. “EHh-tschuhh!”

“Aw, Buck,” Steve tutted, sounding like his mother.

“snfff, It’s nothing,” Bucky tried for a casual brush-off, but after a moment under what Sam called his Piercing Earnest Puppy-Dog Gaze he deflated, rubbing his nose on his wrist like it still tickled. “It’s been cold and wet for a week,” he groused in explanation, “sff, guess it got to me.”

“And you were out on that rooftop for hours,” Steve clucked, moving to the kitchen instead of wrapping Bucky up again and not letting go, “siddown. Lucky for you I was already making chicken soup.”

Bucky sat at the counter to watch Steve finish throwing ingredients into the pot. “Ooh, the one meal Steve Rogers can cook? Lucky me is right.”

“I can make breakfast!” Steve replied indignantly. Bucky scoffed, which turned into a little cough and sniffle. “Fine, well, I can make oatmeal. And meatloaf!” He said in triumph.

“Sez y-you...heh,” Steve glanced over to see him blinking up at the kitchen light and scrunching his nose ticklishly, but the sneeze abandoned him at the last minute and he buried his nose in his sleeve to rub itchily with a little growl. It was all fairly adorable.

They kept up the banter as Steve set everything simmering and cleaned up. Bucky kept having to sniffle and rub his nose, which was turning completely pink, and he had to pause with hitching breaths a few times. Steve remembered the war and all the years before— you could always tell when Bucky had a cold and not just a tickle in his nose because he’d spend the first few hours being mercilessly teased by sneezes that refused to manifest and left him blinking pinkly and sniffling like mad.

Eventually Steve took pity on him and rooted around a drawer until he found his small stash of clean folded handkerchiefs. Bucky glanced at what he was being offered with plaintive eyes, trying to get the sneeze to finally come, head tilted up and his metal hand pressing gently on the bridge of his poor nose, taking big, hitching inhales, building up torturously, “ehhHehh…hehhhh…hehh—HEH—…...HEHdjtcschOOoo!”

He’d been unable to focus on anything but the sneeze, so it just got aimed at his wrist and ended up sort of everywhere. He snatched the handkerchief in the second he had before another tickly spraying sneeze overcame him, and caught this one in the soft cloth. “HIHHDtsschuhh! Ohhh, mby god.” He groaned dramatically and blew his nose with relief. Once he’d gotten cleaned up he slumped down to the counter.

“Alright fidne, I’mb sick,” he sighed. Steve felt sorry for him, but he was caught up in warm nostalgia as well. Bucky never held out long with the tough-guy act before getting a bit pitiful. His mom and sisters had loved to fuss over him the rare times he was poorly, and after token resistance Bucky had lapped it up. When he and Steve lived together the dynamic was always Bucky mother-henning him, but Steve had reveled in the few times their roles had reversed. Bucky acting pitiful and Steve coddling him in his sharp bossy way had been one of the ways they flirted when neither really understood what they felt.

Bucky sniffled and Steve could hear the building congestion. He continued grumbling, “ya happy ndow?”

“Well, not that you got a cold, but yeah, Buck, I’m real happy you’re here. No point in a swanky heated apartment if I can’t put you up once in a while.”

“Hmmb.”

“Now cmon, blow your nose again and eat some soup. It’s not Ma’s but it’s as close as I can get it.”

Bucky picked up the crumpled hankie, grimaced, chuckled, then quietly gasped into a smaller sneeze, “hhh-hhh-hHMptshh, ugh, this ain’t gonna last much longer.” He blew his nose thoroughly and it left him alone while they ate their soup, side by side at the counter, elbows and knees nudging.

[casualheizouenjoyers]

“Alright, I’m making an executive decision because if I let you do any work we’ll get out of here in 5 minutes,” Y/N said as they rolled their eyes.

“Pookie bear isn’t the entire point of escape rooms to escape the room?”

“In the reasonable 2 hours provided, darling”

“It’s not my fault this room isn’t hard enough to escape from”

“Just stand in the corner and look pretty”

“But Y/N, sweetheart, how could I take your job?”

Sending a playful glare his way, Heizou finally stands back and lets you get to work with a joking pout (he’s happy to just have an excuse to look at your pretty face).

an hour easily passes by with heizou's quick comments and jokes, and he’s almost impressed by how stubborn you are to complete the puzzles by yourself.

“…Should I be jealous with how intensely you’re staring into that painting’s eyes?”

“I just know the next clue is hidden somewhere on this painting I just don’t know where,” Y/N complains. “It has to be this painting, all the others have had puzzles in correlation to them and this is the only one left!”

“Aw does my cutie pie need some help?”

“You can help me by using some actually bearable nicknames”

“No promises, but give me a kiss and I’ll consider”

You don’t bother with a response and throw one of the many bracelets you have on (courtesy of heizou) at him. He catches it like the little shit he is.

“Come on you got this! Just this puzzle and you officially have completed an escape room by yourself”

“You’ll do it next time pookie bear”

“Heizou, darling, I will break up with you if you don’t stop with the insufferable nicknames”

“You would never sweetie”

“You’re right, who else would buy me boba?”

Heizou doesn’t respond and takes your hand into his before pulling you close. The two of you walk in a comfortable silence, just enjoying being together out in public. Eventually the two of you arrive at Heizou’s favorite boba place where he tells you to sit down while he gets into the line.

He soon returns with two large bobas in hand ((me personally i love taro)) to the sight of you smiling down at your phone.

“What’s got you smiling so wide darling?”

“I just found the cutest boots ever, and they’re on sale! My followers are going to freak out over this find”

“Well what are you waiting for, show them to me. Those are cute, you said they were on sale?”

“Yeah, it’s that fashion influencer luck helping me out once again”

“Thanks for taking me out, next time I’m paying for everything”

“We’ll see, my irresistible charm will make you distracted enough to forget that promise”

The two of you stare into eachother’s eyes before Heizou starts to lean in. Just as his lips are about to reach yours, the two of you are interrupted by the loud ringing of his phone.

“…Do you seriously have Cupid by fifty fifty as your ringtone?”

“Barbara asked me to and I couldn’t say no”

“That’s fair enough, Barbara is my favorite of the professional disasters”

“…I should probably call her back”

“You should, I’ll call you tonight?”

“Yeah! Yeah sounds good”

Heizou turns away from your doorstep ready to walk home.

“Oh come back here loverboy, you seriously think I’m gonna let you leave without a kiss goodbye?”

Heizou, being down bad, turns around as fast as humanely possible and runs back up to you.

Simp.

0.45 going on a cute date vs being friends with childe 🥲

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Synopsis: you are a fashion youtuber with an immense following and one of many series on your channel is “Fashion Police” where you help people find their personal style! Heizou is a very popular true crime youtuber, as well as a co host for his podcast “professional disasters” with childe and his children. tired of how horribly heizou dresses (they’ve given up on childe) his friends sign him up to appear on your show. and the fact that heizou has a big crush on you? just makes it better. too bad no one told them you two are already happily dating <3

taglist: @aikaxx @amoguz @duckyyyx @nillajhayne @theblueblub @m3gitsune @hotgirlshit5 @eimivalla @lxkeeeee @hikaru-exe @heelift-pd @scarletttcroww @sunsethw4

[sugar-omi]

do you have any hc for mc's who are blind or deaf? I'd send a request but I don't wanna pile up your already full inbox.

don't worry about stuffing my inbox!! i love seeing how many of you like to share your thoughts or have smth you wanna talk abt, or want me to expand on something you're thinking about, all that stuff, i love it its great

Fluff ofc, headcanons, blind or deaf mc/reader

i'm assuming you wanna ask on how the boys are with a blind or deaf mc

n they're all so sweet, n so helpful so i know it goes without saying if you need help bc of your blindness he'll help you walk through say a crowded place

and if needed, they'd help communicate for you

like I've seen deaf/HOH people say they struggle to communicate their wants at the nail salon (this one girl says she mostly gestures or shows pictures of what she wants, n in one video she said the nail tech misunderstood what she wanted)

so if you're worried about messing up, or being a bother, or anything like that, he'll come join you n help you communicate what you want

(yes he's right next to you getting his nails/toes done, ends up looking forward to the trip every time)

but omg i started thinking abt step 1 and... yk cove was going through it, and he can be stand offish or selfish (for lack of better word)

but i imagine if you, despite your blindness/deafness and whatever struggles that brings you- (especially if its a hurdle in trying to befriend cove)

- you try to accommodate and include your new neighbor in your summer activities

ofc he warms up to you, and he starts accommodating you too

i can see him writing or signing for you if needed (if you use sign to communicate, i'm sure he'd try to learn sign, even if its just the basics)

now this applies to any of the boys, but assuming you are totally blind, or have any form of impairment that blocks part of your vision or shrinks it

(i'm thinking abt this youtube couple where 1 of the husbands can only see through a very small hole in his vision, can't think of their name rn, and when i figure out their name or the name of his blindness i will come back!!!)

*found the channell!! "matthew and paul official"

*FIGURED OUT THE NAME OF HIS BLINDNESS!!! its retinitis pigmentosa

whatever type of blindness you have, won't stop them from showing you stuff or doing stuff with you

i can see him putting something in your hand or bringing your hand up to touch something so you can get the feel of it.

or if it's something he has he wants to show you, of course he patiently waits for you to analyze it n get the full visage like Paul does in this video here, where his husband asks if he's seen his face

or he'll describe it to you..

baxter would use such fancy, big, and/or poetic words that it's easy to imagine it, and you can't help but imagine it being better than it is but you have to laugh bc of his grandeur, its quite funny

(no matter what he saw, he'd definitely floof something up, you being blind or not. he's funny like that)

cove would feel pretty awkward bc he's shy, yknow how he is. but he always does his best to tell you how something looks and tries to share the sight, especially if it's something beautiful

derek is very animated, moving his hands and even moving your hands to help you envision it if it's something really grand. he's so excited to share what he saw (would also do this even if you aren't blind, i think he's very excited to share his sights n memories)

omg i didn't think about this until i found that channel i was talking about, but i can see the boys pulling breaks on you like how matthew does to paul (paul is the blind husband, just for those who haven't seen their videos)

very harmless pranks of course, like this one: where matthew switches his chips n dip, or this one where matthew puts pengroom plushies in the fridge

i love them they are so cute

now if you think your blindness is stopping baxter from asking you to dance, you are very wrong

he won't do elaborate spins n dips if you don't want to, won't do anything you don't want of course.

but he'd be very willing to slow dance or do the salsa or whatever you want depending on your comfort

could totally see him, when you're reconnected n dating (or friends ofc), putting on music n a song comes on he rlly likes n he pulls you into a little dance

takes your hand n ask if you wanna dance, or he'll be badly singing and he'll shake his hips n wave your intertwined hands in the air... jfc just imagine his big smile. pls he's so cute

ohhh cove showing you his shell collection, letting you touch every shell and carefully puts them in your hands, tells you the lovely colors they're in if you can't see em

or pulling you into the ocean, doesn't have to be far, just enough to get your feet wet. and he'll walk w you down the shore and he enjoys it as always

now I just looked it up. n there's several sports blind ppl can play in, and football n soccer is one of em (not sure the details)

so if you wanna play ball with derek, he's very happy to find out you can play together

again, depending on your type of blindness/impairment, he's happy to go to the amusement park with you n get face painting

no matter what, it thrills him I just know it

especially since you're probably holding hands/locking arms, the place is crowded and even more so at certain times and days

step 2 derek is very flustered to be so close, bc he's still holding his crushes hand/locked arms, even if he's helping you go through the park safely, he can't help being a bit happy about the proximity

jfc this spiraled so bad LOL i didn't think i had much to say but this stuff is actually so cute, just imagine it <333

[amberskyyking]

Dying Isn't Very Regulation: Chapter 8

Fives never should have sent that comm to Rex's emergency channel.

(Or, a self-indulgent 5 9 16?? chapter fic inspired by Snapback by @toomanyteefs with Fives and Ninety-Nine, because I have emotions about this, they deserves the world, and the narrative has officially run away with me!)

Let me back there!

No, vod’ika. I have this under control.

He’s unconscious!

Yes. He’s under control.

There was a throbbing pain in Fives’s head as the voices drifted vaguely around him. He struggled to open his eyes, his face felt crusted and his mouth tasted like blood. Someone grabbed his hand. He blinked against the light in confusion and Ninety-Nine’s image began to focus in front of him, holding a bloody rag.

“Easy there,” Ninety-Nine said in a hushed tone, reaching up to dab at Five’s face. “It just stopped bleeding, don’t move too quickly or it might start up again.” 

Fives groaned. “I got my shebs kicked, didn’t I?”

“Well… A little yes. I didn’t mean to distract you.”

“It’s not your fault,” Fives muttered. He reached up to assess the damage and winced when he patted at bandages on his nose. 

“Careful,” Ninety-Nine warned. “It’s broken. That medic friend of yours from the 501st already set it, but he had to go. He was pretty furious with Wolffe…”

Ninety-Nine shook his head. “Well, medics never do like when we make more work for them, yeah?”

“No, that wasn’t why. He was furious that Wolffe didn’t listen to you. He believes you.”

“...Oh.” Something squirmed in Fives’s stomach at that. He hadn’t been sure what Nox thought of him on their trip, but that made two medics from the 501st who had believed him from the start… It made him wonder where Kix was in all this mess, and Vaughn for that matter, and Jesse. What happened to them? Could they be here too?

“It went over about as well as you’d think,” Ninety-Nine said sourly. “Medics are lucky they can pull rank, I suppose.”

“Karks sake Wolffe, some trooper turns up claiming to be Fives and you didn’t even tell me?!” The voices from outside rose again so Fives could hear them. “I’m going in, I have to see this myself.”

“Don’t tell me you really think-”

“Think what? That it could be real? With the rest of the Jedi osik going on would that really be so unbelievable?!”

“Yes! It would! People don’t come back from the dead -”

“Echo did!”

Fives sat bolt upright in his cot and a wave of dizziness washed over him. Ninety-Nine put a hand on his chest to hold him back.

“Rex don't be a-”

But a curtain ripped open, and there stood Rex, caked in dirt and grime so badly he could hardly tell the colors of his armor or his hair. The moment they locked eyes Rex froze. His face was all twisted up with shock, fear, and hope. Wolffe stood behind him, glowering in protest with his fresh black eye, but Fives hardly cared. 

“Rex!” He cried, voice cracking with emotion.

Full Chapter (And Story!): You'll Regret That Tattoo When You're Younger

[nextstopwonderland]

Bryan/Claudio #22, slow dancing?

Predictably I decided to make this a future timestamp sequel to one of my verses. This time the roh/early wwe one, these things will never change for us at all.

This references a lot of stuff from that story, so I recommend reading it first.

Takes place right after the 6/22/22 dynamite when Bryan announces he won’t be at Forbidden Door but he has a secret replacement.

Just sap and fluff. A smidgen of angst & past Nigel/Bryan

If I just lay here (1400 words)

Bryan is running on adrenaline from the moment he finishes the promo, and all the way to the Milwaukee airport and back home.

(He booked himself on the red-eye, but Claudio refused to let him take a Lyft from the airport.)

He’s disappointed he won’t be facing Zack yet, but he’s also excited for what’s to come. They’re keeping it a secret as much as possible, but naturally the dirt sheets know Claudio’s contract expired and he hasn’t re-signed yet.

So there’s speculation. Just like there’s been speculation on Bryan and Claudio’s relationship for years now.

It’s an open secret within the business, they’ve just never felt the need to make some huge statement.

After Bryan came back from his retirement, they made things even more official than they had been — buying a modest house together, in Washington but also not too close to home.

It felt like a vow renewal, even though they’d never formally taken any. Bryan hadn’t been in a great place, during that period of forced retirement. He found himself playing out his own version of what happened between him and Nigel, and he was close to fucking things up for good.

It was actually Nigel who pulled his head out of his ass, told him to get whatever help he needed to sort it all out, so he didn’t throw away the most important thing in his life.

(The ‘like I did’ went unspoken.)

It had been the pep talk Bryan needed, and he stopped pushing Claudio away after that, had a lot of therapeutic conversations with Nigel, and channeled his uncharacteristic anger and frustration into meditation and holistic retreats.

He reconnected more with nature, trained as hard as he could, and got cleared by every doctor except the one who mattered. Until he finally did.

Things were perfect again after that, until Bryan decided it was time for another change, this time on his terms.

AEW felt like a breath of fresh air, as close to being in Ring of Honor again as he could get but also different, new.

Claudio had still been on contract when Bryan signed and not ready to leave yet, but they both knew it was coming. When Blackpool Combat Club began they couldn’t stop talking about it together, thinking how perfect Claudio would fit; coming up with ideas and storylines and training regimes for Wheeler.

Claudio had always been an unofficial member, from the start, because he’s an extension of Bryan. And soon he’d be here for real, albeit Bryan not joining him right away on account of his injury.

As if on cue, his shoulder begins to ache more as he carries his bag through the airport, breaking him out of his thoughts.

As does his phone buzzing in his hand.

I’m at arrivals. How are you feeling sweetheart?

Bryan’s smile is instant.

He types with one hand as he walks through the terminal.

Alright. Tired. A little sore, nothing terrible.

should’ve let me come with you. We’ll have a bath before bed xo

Bryan pockets his phone, still smiling although now feeling rather anticipatory over what a bath will undoubtably entail.

He knows Claudio wanted to come along with him, but it was best not to possibly be spotted, to keep this all as much on the downlow as possible.

Still, he can’t wait. Can’t wait for Claudio to be back in the same company as him. To travel with him once more, have their schedules line up. Be in the ring with him again. He’s so close to having everything he wants.

Bryan exits the terminal and spots Claudio immediately, leaning back against the car in one of his polo shirts that cling to him in all the right places. It’s the purple one he knows that Bryan loves, and it causes a predictable jolt of arousal to his dick.

His smile is met by a matching one as Claudio spots him, jogging forward and immediately grabbing Bryan’s bag to put on his own shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Bryan huffs around a fond laugh. Claudio will never change: always the protector, the worry wart.

“I know,” he says, wrapping Bryan up in a strong, tight hug. “I missed you.”

“Missed you, too.” He sinks into the embrace instantly, never taking for granted how good this always feels.

Claudio presses a discreet kiss to his hair before pulling back and popping the trunk and placing Bryan’s bag inside it.

The car is still running and there’s music playing as Bryan slips inside and buckles up.

Bryan recognizes what’s on; Claudio must have been feeling nostalgic.

“This The Playlist?” he asks when Claudio’s behind the wheel, even though he already knows the answer.

“Mmm. I was adding new songs, and decided to start at the beginning.”

Claudio puts the car in drive and places his hand over Bryan’s for the rest of the ride, while Bryan is transported back in time.

They talk about the show (which Claudio of course watched), Forbidden Door, how the garden is doing.

As they’re nearing home, a track comes on that makes Bryan laugh.

“This one seems a little too sappy for you.”

“Says the man who likes Ed Sheeran.”

“Fuck off, he isn’t bad,” Bryan laughs some more, Claudio joining in. They pull into the driveway as Snow Patrol still plays “Anyway, I always liked this song, I just dont think I realized you did too.”

Claudio kills the engine while looking over at Bryan, a hard to read expression on his face.

“What?”

Claudio shakes his head. “For someone so smart…”

He opens the door, so Bryan gets out too.

He rounds the car, meeting Claudio near the trunk. “Hey, what am I missing here?”

“You always used to hum it, or say ‘leave this on’ when it came on the radio.” Claudio grabs his bag out of the trunk, slinging it over one shoulder and wrapping his other arm around Bryan’s, careful of his injury. “Don’t you remember?”

They head up the walkway, Bryan jogging memories of decades past. “Yeah, now that you mention it.”

“I liked it because you liked it.” Claudio unlocks the door and they head inside, flicking on lights and toeing off shoes. Bryan’s bag gets set down in the hall and they head toward the kitchen, Claudio’s arm around Bryan’s waist now.

He bends down to talk low against Bryan’s ear. “It made me think of you. Especially…”

He trails off and they come to a stop in front of the kitchen island. Bryan turns to him, sling his own arms around Claudio’s waist. “Especially when?”

“The train from Liverpool to Kent. You fell asleep on my shoulder. I added the song to my mp3 player shortly after.”

Bryan blinks up at him. He remembers that. He’d been messed up after Unified, Nigel having to go to the hospital and missing the reunion event. He’d needed Claudio then, who always made him feel comforted, safe.

Loved.

It’d been a confusing time for him, knowing he felt deeply for Nigel but also acknowledging that Claudio felt like more than a friend. His brain and his heart can’t divide that way, and so when it happened with Nigel he was all in.

Looking at Claudio now, hearing him talk about that time, feels bittersweet.

“Play it.”

“Hmm?”

“Play the song on your phone.”

Claudio raises an eyebrow but takes his phone out of his pocket and queues it up, before setting it down beside them on the island.

“Now dance with me.”

Claudio laughs loudly until he realizes Bryan is serious, already stepping in closer and winding his arms around Claudio’s neck.

“Your shoulder—” Claudio begins, but Bryan leans up to kiss him for the first time in days.

“Just dance with me, Claudio,” Bryan whispers against his mouth.

Claudio groans, pulling Bryan closer with his arms around his waist before kissing him properly. They sway to the music, kissing slow and deep in time with it. It feels dreamlike and as cheesy as the lyrics to the song, but that’s also what makes it perfect.

They break the seal of their lips after a few minutes. Bryan drops his head to rest against Claudio’s chest while he presses kisses to his hair.

“Thank you for telling me that,” Bryan says when the song begins to fade, the two of them still swaying.

Claudio strokes his cheek. “You have to know so many songs on there are for you, about you.”

Bryan assumed there might be some, but they’d never really talked about it before.

Bryan looks up at him, eyes a little shinier than before. “Looks like you’ll have to add some more soon, with this new chapter starting.”

Claudio kisses him softly. “Oh liebling, believe me. I’ve already begun.”

End

[kickingitwithkirk]

Restless Man Part III

Summary: Beau Arlen finds himself in the middle of a case with more twists than a country road.

Pairing: Beau Arlen x Reina Cetanwakuwa-Stanley

Word Count: 1015

Warnings: cursing, show level violence, derogatory remarks (some in native languages) poisoning, murder

A/N: The inkling for this work started when I heard Jensen singing Restless Man. This AU has elements based on historical information and canon from the Big Sky series.

*Set after the series finally 3:13 That Old Feeling.

A/N II: All Native American words/sentences are resourced from freelang.net and glosbe.com *some algorithmically generated on these sites.

*divider by @firefly-graphics

*no beta -all mistakes are mine

PT II Masterlist

Walking into the offices of Dewell & Hoyt, Jenny nodded to her partner as Denise commented, “Ohh girl, long day?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“We took the liberty of grabbing some food, figured you’d be hungry.” That made Hoyt smile, “Thank you. I missed lunch since Beau went MIA on me today.” Cassie laughed, knowing her friend too well. “Like you didn’t enjoy every minute of being in charge.” Hoyt plopped down in the chair beside her, opening a to-go container. “Wouldn’t deny that. It was a nice break from his constant chattiness. So, do either of you know anything about this meeting?” 

“Not much,” Denise responds. “When Beau called, all he said was to make sure you and Cassie were here.” They tuck into their meals, catching up on the rest of their day, when the offices' rear entrance door opens and clangs shut. Cassie and Hoyt pull their firearms as heavy footsteps come closer, and a man appears in the back room's doorway.

“Whoa!!” Arlen raises his hands. 

“Jesus Christ Beau! We could’ve shot you!” Hoyt snapped, lowering her gun. “I texted Cassie an hour ago saying I’d be coming through the back door.” Holstering her weapon, Cassie says, “The only text I got was from Kai.” Arlen pulls out his phone and frowns at the not delivered. “Must have been in a no-service area. My apologies for starting you ladies.” 

Hoyt starts, “What’s up? It’s not like you to disappear at the drop of a hat.” Cassie adds, “Don’t forget leaving vague messages and sneaking through people's back doors.” Arlen laid the manilla folders he’d brought on the desk. “Gerald Stanley left a safety deposit box in my name containing these. They have some interesting information.” 

“That’s where you’ve been all day?” Cassie asks, picking up the files and handing one to Hoyt. Arlen grabs the extra chair by Denise, who passes him a takeout box with her usual flirting. “Yes..sorta. The bank was the first stop. After we examined the boxes…”

“Who’s we?” Hoyt interrupts, making the other two women look at each other when Arlen says, “Gerald requested that his granddaughter be present when I opened the box.” 

“You took Reina Stanley!” Hoyt’s voice rose. “What the hell, Beau? I’m your undersheriff! Why didn’t you call me?” Arlen gave her a look. “The inquiry needed to be handled with discretion, and based on your reaction, you wouldn’t been able to do that with her there.”

“Okay, moving on.” Cassie says, “You found these medical records. What did you do next?” 

“We went to Montana State University and talked to a Biotechnologist before heading to Billings to see Gerald’s doctor. They said he came in with unusual symptoms, and after a battery of tests, couldn’t be certain what was happening but, off the record, thought it was poisoning.” Hoyt, annoyed but somewhat calmer, sat her file down. “Without a definitive diagnosis or other evidence, it’s all circumstantial, not enough to open an official inquiry.”

Arlen swallowed his mouthful of food. “Reina has information that I can’t disclose but points to a hypothetical scenario that could explain why someone, or ones, wanted Gerald out of the way. That’s why I wanted to meet up. Cassie,” he pulled a paper from his pocket. “Could you look into this for me? Going through official police channels might tip off whoever is involved.”

“Oh, wow. I see why you’d want to keep this quiet.” She reassured him they’d be discreet and handed it to Denise. “You do realize this also makes Reina a suspect?” 

Arlen acknowledged that before turning to his undersheriff, “So Hoyt, you miss me today?”

“Ha! You wish.”

Arlen is on the phone four days later when he hears a knock on his door. He sees Cassie Dewell standing there and waves her in wrapping up his conversation. “Sounds good. Thanks for letting me know.” Hanging up, he turns his full attention to her. “Hey, Cassie, got something for me?”

“Denise spoke to a cousin-in-law who works in the state capital offices about that info you gave us. They said, off the record, several months ago, Gerald dropped by to see the governor without an appointment. By the time he left, they had put the Silver City expansion scheme on hold until the department had sufficient information about the environmental impact on some type of lizard living there.”

“Wow, I had no idea Gerald had that kind of pull but smart, using good old bureaucratic red tape.” Cassie raised an eyebrow. “One more thing: the cousin said besides the out-of-state developers, a subsidiary contractor under the Stanley umbrella is involved.” 

Arlen got his confused expression. “Wait a minute, he had one of his contractors stopped? That doesn’t make sense. So we’ve got,” Arlen held up a finger, “One out-of-state developer, who I’m sure is very angry about the delay after investing time and money into this project.” 

Cassie adds, “Two, the subsidiary contractor also heavily invested. Three, other businesses in the area who would’ve benefited from providing goods and services during the development. Four, landowners that were going to make a hefty profit from selling their property.”

“And five,” Arlen says, “The Stanleys themselves.” He grabs his football, squeezing it frustrated. “We’ve got way too many suspects.”

“I agree. I want to speak to Reina,” Cassie said knowingly, "Since she’s the one who gave you the information.” Getting up, Arlen followed her out of his office. “Maybe Gerald said something she considered irrelevant that could help narrow the list.”

“You do realize she’s still a suspect. Reina might’ve fed us that information to throw us off the trail because she’s the one who orchestrated Gerald’s death.” 

“I don’t think so,” Poppernak said as they walked by and stopped at his desk. “You know something, Pops?” The deputy responded. “Maybe. I remember some gossip about Gerald forcing Holland to give him custody of Reina. Cody would’ve known...”

“Mo!” Cassie’s interruption of the overly talkative deputy was too late and saw bewilderment cross Arlen’s face as he spit out, flabbergasted.

“Cody Hoyt?” 

SPN TAGS: @donnaintx  @lyarr24  @flamencodiva  @lassie-bird @nancymcl  @spnbaby-67  @leigh70

Dean/Jensen:  @thoughts-and-funnies  @stoneyggirl2  @beabutterfly987 @smoothdogsgirl

RM: @deans-spinster-witch

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Adam! Theo!"

Evren watched in horror while his stepson writhed against the exorcism spell he'd cast. Instead of draining the demonic energy, the spell seemed to be doing the opposite. Theo had already been pulled into his dark form, making his magical capacity seem to double in seconds. Leathery wings burst from Theo's back, drawing attention away from the rows of horns that erupted from his head.

This was no normal dark form. This wasn't a presentation of any dark form that Evren had ever seen. The power before him was feral and unresponsive to the restrictions Master Maricourt and Evren were desperately trying to bind to it.

Evren was relieved that this had happened with strong adults who were prepared to deal with the situation and not in the middle of the dining hall after Theo and Adam made out at the table. That would have unleashed a power that may have ended a student's life. There could be no denying the power that Theo drew from his relationship. There could be no denying the power that Theo held on his own. There could be no denying that Theo's education wasn't effectively teaching him control. Something needed to permanently change in Theo's life in order to protect him and the people around him.

Adam had mercifully passed out from the pain and remained eerily still on the floor. He had no dark form that had ever presented itself, not that Theo's magic understood. Two smooth horns had impossibly erupted from Adam's skull. Magic scraped the depths of the boy's genes, pulling every strand of demon DNA that lay dormant in him closer to Theo.

Evren had only seen this happen once before in his long career and the young student in question had died in agony as magic twisted their dormant demon genes into acting as though they belonged to a full demon. The same horns had presented on the student, revealed at autopsy to be smoothed bones ripped into a parody of demonic horns. Evren could see where the skull bone had pierced the skin as it had elongated. He could never get that dead student completely out of his memory, even when Reogus tried to help him forget. Now, here he was, staring at the same gruesome sight, only his stepson was to blame for it. Theo had never intended for this to happen, but it had still happened. Theo had officially gone from being potentially dangerous to himself to actually dangerous to himself and others. Evren was lying to himself if he thought that things wouldn't change because of this.

"I-I can't," Theo panted, desperately straining to get control over himself. "I can't stop. I'm going to explode. Please. Please."

It broke Evren's heart to see his stepson in pain and frightened of his own body. History had proven that whenever an event like this was triggered in Theo, the hybrid nearly succumbed to the power raging through him until a third party intervened. Evren didn't have the capacity to channel demonic magic and he suspected that Ewan couldn't either. It wasn't a common skill for a warlock to learn. The exorcism spell was their only hope of safely releasing Theo's energy. The demonic sovereign would be too late if they summoned her to help. If she even chose to come at all.

"Demon begone!" Ewan commanded, rising in the air while raising his wand. Life energy still ravaged the air, but the cracks of Void seemed to be retreating.

"Demon begone!" Evren repeated with what he hoped was enough magical command. He could feel the familiar sensation of magic leave his body, carefully channeled through his wand.

Ewan stared in shock and horror at what he was seeing. His father struggled to save his half-brother from someone Ewan could hardly recognize as the cute demon boy he liked to tease. Theo was terrifying. Magic was terrifying. There was no way in hell that Ewan was about to change his mind on magic. It would take a miracle just to get him through the door of this place again.

"Theo's really fucked things up this time, huh?"

Remy nodded, watching her father try to channel demonic energy as best as he could. Devard tried to keep his tone casual, probably to try to impress her. Remy appreciated the effort. It gave her something to mimic. Theo having a magical meltdown wasn't something new, but this time seemed different. He was stronger now and Adam was incapacitated in a way he'd never been before.

"Yeah, Mom's going to lose her shit about this," she groaned. "You might want to see about staying with your parents for the next few days. This place is going to be a battlefield when Mom gets home. If Theo doesn't die here, she'll make sure he does soon."

"Your dad's got it covered. See? The wings went away. I'm sure your brother will wake up completely fine. Until the next time Theo meltdowns."

"I'm not so sure there's going to be a next time," Remy said quietly.

"Adam. Adam, please wake up. Adam, please!"

Theo could still feel the energy building within him, despite Ewan and Evren's attempts to drain it from him. It was more manageable now, at least. He could still feel it pounding in his brain, calling to him, but this had happened enough times that Theo had a defense against it. The Sovereign and his teachers had shown him how to release the energy safely when some of the energy had ebbed. With Ewan and Evren's spell, Theo could feel the difference. With Adam's help, he could do this. Adam always helped him. The only problem was that Adam wasn't conscious. He hadn't moved an inch since Theo had come halfway to his senses. His face was still contorted with pain, but Adam remained completely still. Horrifyingly still.

"Adam, move. Please move? You can't be hurt, I'm sorry, I never meant-"

With the energy that engulfed him, Theo tried to pour as much of it as he could into Adam. During Theo's last meltdown, Adam had been able to channel some of that overwhelming energy back into Theo to manipulate their bond. He'd pulled Theo from the brink of madness and danger, so it only made sense that Theo could do the same.

Theo felt the magic pool in his palm, and when he felt that he could aim with any accuracy, he sent it across the room to Adam. He watched as the magic pressed against the skin of Adam's hand, entering the young warlock slowly and carefully. The magical energy would surely help heal Adam like it had once helped Theo. It had to. Even if all it did was jolt Adam awake, Theo would celebrate. Watching Adam's body lie deathly still on the floor was unbearable.

Channeling his remaining energy into Adam while the adults quickly worked to help him was tiring. Theo could feel magic ebb away from him through both efforts. After a few moments, Theo's outstretched hand was beginning to feel heavy to hold in the air. His eyelids struggled to stay open despite his rising panic. Mere moments later, the teen collapsed to the floor, drained of enough energy to be considered safe.

"Adam!"

"Theo!"

Both warlocks ran to their children the instant they felt it was safe to stop the exorcism spell. The boys were initially unresponsive, nearly blinding their parents with grief and worry. To Evren's relief, Theo made a small groaning noise when he pulled the teen into his arms. Groaning meant that he was alive and Evren had never been so relieved to hear something before in his life.

"Adam! Adam, can you hear me? Adam, please, just squeeze my hand if you can. Give me some kind of sign you can hear me."

Ewan struggled to control his breathing. He had a room full of teens watching his every move, including Adam's twin sister. He was a master of magic, able to command storms and elements and anything else that stood in his way. He could save his son. Believing that he could change this was the only way he could keep his composure. Breaking down wasn't going to solve anything. Only calm composure would help his son. He had to remain calm. He had to.

"Theo?"

Adam's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment, flooding his father with relief.

"No, Adam, it's Dad," Ewan said softly. "How are you? Are you in pain? I'm going to get you help, just keep talking to me."

"I'm tired," Adam replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "My head really hurts. Theo...he...it hurts."

Ewan held his son tightly in his arms, unable to let him go. He signaled to his dazed daughter to go get medical help and Remy took off to complete the mission, glad to have permission to leave the disturbing scene.

"Theo? Can you hear me?"

Evren tried to assess his stepson's condition, but it was difficult. After being drained of energy, Theo was sluggish and nearly unresponsive, but from what he could tell, the hybrid seemed to be unhurt.

"Theo, it's over. You're going to be fine, I promise. A little rest and you'll be as good as new. I'm really proud of you. You regained control of yourself with just a little help. You've come a really long way in your studies and I know this is hard for you."

Theo didn't have the energy to respond. Just keeping his eyes open seemed impossible. He desperately wanted to rush to Adam's side and confirm that he was okay, but the more Theo struggled against the urge to sleep, the stronger it became.

He managed to murmur something unintelligible and finally succumbed to unconsciousness in Evren's arms.

After the medics had arrived and taken the boys for treatment, Evren made the difficult call to the Bellamys. He didn't envy Ewan having to call his ex-wife and reveal that their son had been injured. Evren could hear Edana shouting through the phone from down the hallway. He called Abe's cell phone first, reasoning that Abe would probably have the more stable reaction to the news.

After Abe sat Roman down and prepared him for bad news, Evren told them about what had happened. One of them would have to come to the school and pick up Theo, as Evren wasn't his legal guardian. He strongly recommended that Abe be the one to come, and Abe couldn't agree more. Roman could stay with the kids and try to compose himself before Theo returned. The last thing Theo needed to see was his father breaking down or having a panic attack and feeling even more angry with himself for causing it.

When Abe stepped out of the portal his husband had opened for him, the first thing he saw was his son. Theo was sitting with his arms wrapped around himself, rocking slightly. Abe's heart broke for his son. Theo was just a kid trying to survive his teen years and no matter how hard he tried, every time Theo felt in control of himself, another incident like this would shatter his self esteem.

Evren left Abe alone in the room with his son. His presence wasn't needed there and would only be intrusive. He decided to make himself useful by checking in with the Maricourts.

"Dad, I...."

Theo could barely look his father in the eye, knowing how angry he must be. How terrified of the scary demon in front of him he must feel. It had to have been like looking at Kamalani and feeling again all the pain she had caused him. Theo was her grandson and he was as broken and dangerous as she was.

"Theo, it's alright," Abe said softly, kneeling down to face his son directly. "Things are a little complicated right now, but it's okay. We'll get through this. Your safety and happiness are all that matter to me. And you're nothing like your grandmother. Not even close. You have a gift that she was incredibly jealous of, you just need to learn to control it. All sorts of things are changing in your body now. You're growing up. Sometimes when we grow, there are growing pains."

"Growing pains?" Theo repeated quietly. "I almost killed Adam, Dad. I'm a monster."

"Theodosius, you're not a monster," Abe assured his son, squeezing his hands tightly. "You didn't kill Adam. You weren't even meaning to hurt him. It was just an accident. Accidents can be messy, but they don't make us bad people if they were beyond our control. You've come so far with your magic and your father and I are extremely proud of you."

"Yeah right," Theo scoffed, averting his eyes. They were still stained by magic and would likely remain an unnatural gold hue over night. The last thing he needed was for his father to see him like this. He'd only be horrified by what his son truly was.

Abe just squeezed his son's hands tighter.

"Theo, the moment I held you for the first time, I swore that I would do anything and everything in my power to love and support you. To protect you. I know I haven't always been the best at handling your gifts, but there is nothing in this world that could change my feelings for you. Your father and I will always be here for you to rely on and come to for help. We love you more than anything in this world, and nothing can change that. Ever."

"I'm so sorry, Dad," Theo sobbed. "I just keep hurting people. Adam's going to break up with me and his mom will get me kicked out of school and...and...."

"We'll get through this together," Abe promised, pulling his son into his arms and hugging him fiercely. "Your dad and I will always love and protect you. If Adam can't see you for the kind, compassionate person you are, then he's an idiot and you could do better."

Abe held his son until Theo's tears dried. After what felt like an eternity, Theo was finally composed enough to teleport home, where Roman was waiting to comfort him as well.

Evren paced nervously in the hall, waiting for Abe to emerge. He knew how Roman would react had he been allowed to come to the school, which was why he had requested Abe. Roman was probably at home rocking back and forth in his bedroom, sobbing. Adrian had promised to keep Roman from burning the school down to get to his son, but Roman was still a somewhat powerful hybrid himself. Adrian didn't stand a chance if Roman used his abilities to rush past him.

The door opened, and Evren prepared for the worst. He couldn't be sure how rational Abe could be after seeing how inconsolable and afraid his son was.

"How is he?"

"Tired and scared," Abe sighed. "He's blaming himself for all of this and thinks that anyone close to him will abandon him because of his powers."

"Understandable. Some people just can't stand demons or understand their different needs."

"Speaking of, what do the Maricourts say about all this?" Abe asked, in a hushed tone. "Are they planning another intervention or are they planning on pressing charges?"

"Charges?" Evren repeated. "For what? It was an accident amplified by their own indecision about how to treat the connection between the two boys. A young demon accidentally losing control of his powers is a common thing in children Theo's age. Especially since Theo was admitted to the school in order to help control his powers. This isn't an anomaly or something malicious. This is fairly common for Theo. No one on the council would dare press charges in this case."

"Not even Edana?" Abe sighed. "How did she react to this? Should I call Lucy?"

"Edana...well, Ewan is dealing with her," Evren admitted. "Edana struggles with grieving the loss of her family and to hear that her only son, the one named after her dead brother, was gravely injured by a hybrid she already didn't trust...well, I wouldn't recommend trying to talk with her until this all blows over."

"That's what I thought," Abe said with another deep sigh. "And Adam? How's he doing? How does he feel about my son?"

"He's recovering. The damage looked worse than it was in most areas. We were able to dissolve the horns and block the signal triggering a dark form he didn't have. Once Theo was separated from him, most of the triggers stopped and were easily taken care of by the school medic."

"And how is he feeling about Theo?" Abe pressed. "It would help ease the guilt if Theo knew Adam wasn't angry with him. He's tearing himself apart, worrying about how Adam feels about him."

"That I don't know." Evren lowered his eyes, unwilling to let Abe see the worry in them. "Since Edana arrived, no one has been allowed to see him. When we first pulled those two apart, Adam seemed to be trying to reassure Theo, but he was in a lot of pain. Things may have changed since then, especially now that Edana's with him. I'll try my best to see how he's feeling when things have cooled down a little."

"Thanks, Evren. You've been a godsend," Abe said, crushing the warlock with a thankful embrace. "I really don't know what we'd do without you. Your instincts that this was something that might happen may have saved us from an even grimmer scenario."

"Yeah," Evren replied guiltily. "My instincts were what made me investigate." He paused for a long moment, trying to decide what the right action was in this situation. Abe wasn't as fragile as his husband and might respond to the real reason Evren knew about Theo with reason. On the other hand, he might become furious and lash out even more, while also telling Roman and launching them all into a nightmare with the Maricourts. Would he want to know if Fiolett and the boys had placed themselves in danger with magic? He absolutely would, and besides, Abe was a reasonable man...right?

"Abe, there's something else," Evren began. "It wasn't just my intuition that warned me about Theo, he triggered a ward I'd placed on his dayplanner. He performed a spell I had left in case of an emergency."

Abe frowned, but nodded to show that he was following Evren's point.

"We've left a couple of spells for him to access," Abe replied. "Which was it? The 'find my keys' spell? "'Summon a sandwich?'"

Evren shook his head slowly, hoping that Abe would catch on before he had to say the words outloud. Abe saw his weary expression and his heart sank.

"Oh. Oh." He paused, suddenly unsure of what to think or feel. "When? Today? Were they together when you found them? This is what caused the problem today?"

Evren shook his head slowly.

"Not entirely. It was earlier this week that I was notified. It didn't directly cause this, Theo's inability to control himself and navigate his place in the magical world was the cause. You know we've told him a million times to be careful with his magic and stay away from casting blood magic with Adam. Well, this has kind of tipped that balance. Sex connects us to our partners, and opens up channels of magic both dark and light. Theo doesn't understand this. I don't know how to reach him Abe, he doesn't listen to a thing I say. Then situations like this happen, and I don't know how to help him if he won't listen."

"Yeah, he's been like that since the day he was born," Abe sighed. "I don't know which side of the family he gets it from. The Bellamys are stubborn, but my mom and Lucy might actually be worse." He paused. "Thank you for telling me this information, I appreciate how hard it must be to navigate our parenting situation."

"That's an understatement. I hoped that you could deal with this information with maturity and understanding."

"Roman can never know about this," Abe warned. "You cannot tell him under any circumstances. There's just too much hurt and trauma wrapped up in his brain and it-"

"I know how Roman is, Abe. Why do you think I'm coming to you about this?"

"And Adam's parents know about this?"

"Ewan does. He's not sure if Edana knowing about the indirect cause of what happened today would be a good idea. She can be...well, rather like Roman. She's already going to be on the warpath. It might be damaging to the stability of the coven if she finds out that Theo and her son were intimate and that's what caused the the state her son is in."

"So I should tell Roman then?" Abe asked wearily. "He's going to have a complete breakdown if he finds out about the boys from Edana."

"I'll speak again with Ewan," Evren promised, looking equally as worried. "As much as I hate the idea of a coverup, I worry about Roman's stability. He's always been opposed to having Theo attend boarding school and being exposed to the lack of boundaries there. He only agreed to send him if his education was able to protect him from himself, and now...."

"And now Theo's having sex and nearly killing other students because of it," Abe sighed. "All the money we spend to keep Theo here doesn't seem to be helping."

"Well, it is helping. Once we drained some of the demonic energy from him, Theo was able to pull himself together on his own. He's getting closer to being able to stop his episodes completely by himself. His time here is helping, Abe."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. He's getting better but....Roman's going to want his son back in Arkhelios after this. I want him back in Arkhelios. We're missing so many of his milestones and seeing him on weekends isn't enough. He's fourteen and having life endangering sex for god's sake. If he's at home, this won't happen again. He can see Adam on weekends while we supervise. If Adam even wants to see him now. Fuck! How did this all get so out of control?"

Evren rested a hand on Abe's back and sighed deeply.

"We can fix this," Evren promised. "I really don't think that sending him to Arkhelios will help the situation. Theo is growing up and getting stronger. The coven in Arkhelios is a joke and I'd hardly recommend Wanda as a trained magical professional. He needs supervision, yes, but I don't know if there's anything there in Arkhelios that could prevent something like this from happening again."

"He'd be much farther from his boyfriend. That's a start," Abe replied bitterly. "Him returning to that school means that I have to lie to Roman. To say that I can trust that our son is safe there. That our son is going to be protected from his worst impulses. Would you lie to Adrian if Fiolett or the boys were in this scenario?"

"Yes," Evren said without hesitation. "Theo isn't just your son, Abe. He's a walking time bomb with powers no one can explain. I saw the magic he was casting earlier myself. If I hadn't seen it first hand, I'd never believe it. He is doing impossible things and he's only getting stronger. The Demonic Sovereign is watching him as well as my old, incredibly powerful friend. He's connected to the Maricourt family and knows their true name. Abe, Theo is not just your son and keeping him locked in his room at home isn't going to stop the inevitable. If I had to lie to Adrian to keep our children safe because he couldn't handle the truth, then I would. A million times over. A warlock has to trust his heart above all else, even if he's given that same heart to someone else."

"What are you saying exactly?"

Evren inhaled deeply and thought of how to answer that question.

"I'm saying that Theo's not going back to Arkhelios, Abe," he said finally. "He's an apprentice to the Pleasantview coven now and he's dangerous. Don't look at me like that. Take Theo home for now and I'll try to find out the next step from here. I have enough sway with the coven to fight on Theo's behalf, even against Edana. Just prepare Roman for a struggle. I have a feeling that the path forward may be a difficult one."