#Space Invaders Variant

[highretrogamelord]

Space Invaders (Logical Computers) for the ZX81

[hotchfiles]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ❝ the mood i'm in ❞ ─ an adhd chronicles blurb

pairing: aaron hotchner x fem!adhd!reader. summary: sometimes rearranging a whole entire closet is a biological need. content warnings: fluff, adhd antics (i'm diagnosed don't try to come for me) word count: 600+. a/n: this was requested by @ficmeoutofthisworld and i felt the need to make a blurb!verse of it, so expect more fluff for these three 🩵 & the idea of jack calling you honey came from honey is for love by @angellsell

      “Daddy, honey has that weird look again.” Aaron can’t help but smile at his little boy, putting the files he was working on down on his desk, telling him to come closer with his hands. Jack had gotten into the habit of calling you honey very early on in your relationship, that being one of the pet names Aaron used the most when talking to you. It was too endearing to correct him, even after you moved in. You both just let the boy be, knowing that he would call you by name once he got older.

      You didn’t mind him not calling you mom or any of its variants, even if the relationship you shared now was much alike mother and child, Jack didn’t remember a lot of Haley by himself, he was too little, but Aaron always did his best to keep her memory alive in him, so if for his young mind it was easier to call you a pet name, you would take it every single time with a smile. And so would Aaron. 

      “What look, buddy?” He asks even though he’s sure he knows the answer, having been through that a few times over the last two years. 

      “She’s staring at my stuff and sitting on the floor.” Bingo. Every once in a while you would get obsessed with something, it made sense after you were diagnosed with ADHD and he learnt how to accommodate you properly, but for a while it was just a big clash of his organized and controlling nature and your chaotic mind. 

      “Let’s see what she needs, okay?” Jack nods, leading the way with his dad closely behind. They find you exactly as his boy explained to him, sitting with your legs crossed on the floor, staring at his wardrobe so attentively it might scare the unknown eye. 

      “Darling? What’s going on?” He asks without entering the room, not wanting to invade your space before you called him in, instead he decided to lean on the door frame, observing you with his kind eyes.

      “I want to rearrange all of Jack’s clothes but we need more hangers for that and I don’t want to go to the store just to buy hangers, but I also can’t get up to go to the kitchen and check what else we need.” You answered quickly, finishing your ramble with a huff, dropping your shoulders and looking at your fiancé with a pout that made him get closer to you, offering his hands so you could have some support while getting up, you lazily do it, being embraced by him as soon as your feet touch the ground. 

      “Go watch something with Jack, okay?” His tone is always soft, as if your conversations, even the silliest and mundane ones, were secrets for you two to keep. He knew you too well, so he prevented the whine he knew would come–you wanted to get this done, you needed to rearrange Jack’s clothes or the itch in your brain wouldn’t leave–and he did so by holding both of your cheeks with his hands, making you look at him. “I’ll make the shopping list and then you both can go to Target while I get some reports done.” You nod happily, his hands moving with your head. 

      Telling you to watch something with Jack could seem like a mindless choice of words, but it wasn’t, Aaron knew you were feeling stuck and how bad that made you feel, you needed a dopamine kick before you could do something, and no better way for that than colorful silly shows with your favorite boy.

      By the time he’s done with the shopping list, you had already started another important project: Napping on the couch with Jack. So he leaves it attached with a magnet on the fridge, gives you both soft forehead kisses and goes back to work, not minding the fact he did it quickly for no reason, happy you were resting and that it was done for when you decided to shop.

[duchessbird]

obsessed w bird hybrids rn!! please enjoy ❤︎

Johnny had heard of them all his life. Hybrids. Half-animal, half-humans, but he’d always just saved the thought for his silly little werewolf Halloween movies. He just couldn’t bring himself to actually believe that they were real. Until he was recruited into the SAS, and eventually TF141.

They were working on a mission that had ended up going beyond them. Beyond their human abilities. So, they started taking hybrid-only applicants to TF141.

Some were half-human, half-wolf. Some were half-human, half-lion. Some were half-human, half-reptile variants. But none of them were you.

You, a sweet little crow-hybrid. Expansive, dark brown wings with feathers that were soft to the touch, and luxurious in their feel sprouting from your back. Johnny was sure someone would’ve paid you millions to pluck feathers from your wings, with how gorgeous they looked.

But besides the wings, you were gorgeous. Pale skin with freckles littered everywhere, and soft, round eyes capable of stealing anyone’s heart. But especially Johnny’s — the ol’ sap. And your body, all soft edges and plush skin. Your nails were sharp, resembling talons, but you kept them tucked at your sides. Cute little thing.

And you were smart. Intelligent to a fucking T, and Johnny thought it was so hot.

TF141 did some trial training with you, and you passed like a champ. You were swift, fast-thinking on your feet, and just impressive.

You held an onslaught of talents that amazed Johnny. Night vision, mimicry, and even a fleeting use of psycho-metry that wowed them all. You read a memory from Kyle’s first birthday just from touching a scarf, for God’s sake!

Price noticed Johnny’s little crush right away. He kept Johnny on a short leash, praying and hoping that Johnny’s overbearing tendencies wouldn’t scare you away. But thankfully, they didn’t. You barely even noticed, you sweet bird.

Johnny spoke to you for the first time about a month after you were officially moved in, as overwhelming as it was for him to keep his distance and allow you time to adjust. He simply brushed your wing and apologized.

“Mm, sorry bonnie. Dinnae mean to brush ye wing,” he chuckled softly, pouring himself some coffee with shaky hands. He wasn’t even allowed to drink coffee anymore.

“Not a problem, Johnny. They’re a hazard sometimes.” You joked and smiled. He nodded and played it off, but his body was thrumming under the attention. He walked back to his room, half-chub at the thought of you just saying his name again.

He was hopelessly in love with you, birdy, and he was surprised that — for all the endless intelligence you had — you never caught his glances or picked up on all his touchiness.

Simple smoothing of your feathers, or grabbing your waist as he passed behind you, or reaching into the cabinet above you and invading your space. All of it. Little things. Little breadcrumbs he’d leave for his birdy.

[nowimjustastranger]

Sooo if it’s cool with you, could I possible get more ‘so far from home’ content?? I just find it such a cool au + I really want to see they family get comforted and find out what happened in Stan’s au

Stan watched the niblings sleep, one tucked in each arm.

The four of them had migrated inside the busted up shack after their cry-fest ended, Ford firmly guiding Stan to a familiar chair. The niblings immediately climbed into Stan’s lap as soon as he sat down, clinging to him. Mabel had tucked her face into the crook of his neck while Dipper had rested his head against Stan’s chest, the twins obviously listening to his heart beat and his steady breaths.

With everything that’s happened lately, from Bill’s ‘Weirdmageddon’ to Stan being all but served to them on a silver platter by some weirdo in a helmet, he wasn’t surprised that they were so exhausted once things calmed down a bit. Stan stayed still and kept his breathing even to avoid startling them into wakefulness, entertaining himself by watching Soos and his brother putter around the living room.

The two were busy tidying up the immediate area around Stan and the niblings, starting with picking up the larger debris and damaged items to deposit it into a pile outside before sweeping up the rest. Ford was never out of sight for longer than a few moments, frequently glancing at Stan with haunted eyes. And Stan’s chest clenched at the sight because anything that made Ford look like that was bad. Really fucking bad.

Stan had a feeling that the expression of utter devastation and guilt tied into what that helmeted guy had said about the Stanley from this dimension sacrificing himself. Now, what exactly that entailed, he didn’t know; but whatever went down had everyone rattled. Stan hadn’t seen the body of his variant in the clearing, or even any blood for that matter. There had just been an alarmingly vacant Ford and the wailing niblings.

Stan hesitated to ask Ford about the whole ‘end of the world’ business for fear of seeing that blank look on his brother’s face again.

“...Boss?” Soos timidly asked and Stan grimaced as the title raked across raw nerves, though he was struck by instant regret when Soos’ expression crumpled as he shrunk in on himself; as if Stan had struck him. Stan swallowed thickly as Soos subconsciously took a step back, his eyes downcast as he hastily tried to fix his perceived blunder. “Sorry, I–”

“Call me Stan, kid.” Stan interrupted, jerking his head in a silent bid for Soos to come closer. The kid had been persistently invading Stan’s personal space –and his heart– since he was still a snot-nosed little brat. And, even though Stan didn’t know what kind of relationship the Stanley here had with Soos, he was done pretending he didn’t give a shit. That he didn’t need anyone.

Soos was just as much his as the niblings currently curled up in his arms.

“Oh! Really!?” Soos exclaimed, excited and apprehensive in equal measure as he tentatively closed the distance between them. Stan ached to reach out and ease the turmoil that he could see in the young man’s eyes as clear as day, but he couldn’t yet find it in himself to pry his hands away from the snoozing niblings.

However, Soos needed him too, and Stan wasn’t about to leave the young man unmoored. 

For the longest time, Stan used to believe he was a ball and chain, weighing those he loved down and trapping them. Though he had never actually looked at the end of the chain before because he was afraid that his worst fears would be confirmed. It was only later in life, years after he pushed his brother into the portal, that Stan had realized that he was something else entirely.

An anchor.

He made those around him feel secure by keeping the boat in place while at rest in the water, preventing it from drifting due to wind or current when no one was paying attention. He also served as a safety measure in case of engine failure or other unforeseen circumstances, preventing the boat from drifting onto rocks, shoals, or other hazards that could cause the boat to sink or get grounded.

Stan’s problem was that, as a kid and later a teen, he had selfishly refused to let Ford go where the current that was his massive intellect would take him. And in doing so, he began to inadvertently drown Ford, pulling his brother down beneath the choppy waves. No wonder his brother had found him so suffocating, Ford was never able to get a full breath of air before he was dragged under again.

Stan had no one to blame but himself when his brother inevitably cut the chain that was weighing him down, leaving Stan to sink into the inky depths.

“Course, kid. C’mere.” Stan coaxed, gingerly shifting to sit up straighter as Soos shuffled even closer with an expression that was equal parts uncertain and hopeful. Stan swallowed, hand shaking as he reluctantly unwound his arm from Mabel’s waist to reach for Soos, who snatched up the offered hand like Stan was his only lifeline in a raging sea.

Stan tightened his grip on Soos and tugged him closer and down until their foreheads were touching, something in Stan unwinding as he felt the younger man’s warmth. The last time Stan had seen Soos, he had saved Stan from the beast with 8-Balls for eyes, bravely taking an axe to one of the monster’s ankles so Stan could gain more ground.

Stan hadn’t looked back, couldn’t. The whole town was fighting and dying to buy him time to get to the Shack and he could not afford to look back at his son because then he would start running in the wrong direction. It didn’t stop him from hearing the vicious brawl happening behind him though, the wet sounds of splitting flesh and cracking bone and the beast’s roaring echoing long after they were out of sight.

There was no doubt in his mind that Soos had died there, holding that thing back for as long as he could.

“Stan?” Soos tentatively whispered, his brows drawn together as he squeezed Stan’s hand with both of his own. Stan blinked and distantly realized that he was crying. How embarrassing. Even Ford was hovering, having abandoned his current task to rush to Stan’s side. Ford looked terribly lost, wide eyes fixated on Stan as he wrung his hands together.

“I’m so damn proud of ya, Soos.” Stan blurted, sniffling pathetically. Despite his own misgivings about vulnerability and feelings, he needed Soos to know. Soos had spent the vast majority of his life waiting for someone to want to be there. And, while Stan hadn’t been able to give him that back in his dimension, the least he could do is make sure this Soos knows how appreciated and loved and wanted he is.

“You’re such a good person, Soos, so don’t let anyone else try ta convince ya otherwise. An’ don’t ever change for nobody.” Stan croaked, closing his eyes in a futile effort to hide from how raw the words were. Praises that he would think in the privacy of his own mind but never utter. He hoped that his Soos somehow knew how important he was.

Soos had come to Stan during a low point, when he had been ready to throw in the towel with that fucking portal and make use of his handgun. Stan had hired him on a whim, not really expecting much and promptly being thrown for a loop when Soos just… seamlessly slotted into his usual routine. The kid came later in the evening, happily following Stan around until closing, which is when he would fix what needed fixing.

Eventually, Stan found himself cooking the kid a hearty meal at the end of the day because he felt bad about just sending the twerp back home with an empty stomach. Soos worked so hard, so it was only fair that Stan even things out a bit since he refused to raise the kid’s pay. So they began eating dinner together, two lonely people finding company in each other.

And, when Stan inevitably trudged back into the basement, things didn’t seem quite as hopeless as they had before.

“I love ya. More than you'll ever know.” Stan confessed, eyes snapping open when Soos’ hands pulled away, heart in his throat as he jerked back to look up at Soos. All he saw was Soos’ wobbling lower lip and huge wet eyes before Soos was lunging for him, still mindful of the niblings even as he gathered Stan up into a desperate hug and began sobbing.

“Thank you! I love you! I love you too!” Soos bawled, getting snot and tears all over the shoulder of Stan’s already ruined suit. Although even if it had been in pristine condition, he would’ve only had a passing thought of protest before just letting it happen. Clearly the kid needed this and, if Stan was being honest, he did too.

“Ya don’t gotta thank me for lovin’ ya, kid. It’s really too damn easy.” Stan said thickly, titling his head to nuzzle Soos as he tightened his grip on the niblings. They had stirred from all the movement and noise, Mabel instinctively snuggling closer to Stan’s side while Dipper sluggishly rubbed his eyes with an adorable yawn.

Despite all odds, he had been given another chance, and he couldn’t be more grateful for it.

[hhoneylemon]

I have a weird random thought in my brain, I don't have much people who know invincible to share it with so I hope you don't mind—

I have a thought were Main mark and Y/N were bestfriends but Y/N likes Mark-

But hear me out, Mark doesn't feel the same and rejects Y/N

He starts dating eve but he and Y/N are still friends

Y/N is a scientist or sorcerer whatever-

When the other Mark Variants invaded their dimension

Y/N was able to make a spell or collar that binds them to obey their will.

Okay so in the other Mark Variant's universes they lost their Y/N whom they loved.

And since Y/N loved their dimension's Mark.

Y/N let all Marks stay in their home (without cecil's approval ofc)

So Y/N has 8 Marks in their living room trying to get their attention/feelings

And Make Y/N forget about their Mark—

Because who needs that one Mark when you can have 8 other Marks begging for your attention—

They take turns on Y/N and gets a schedule who gets Y/N and how much time they get to spend together.

They make sure that the Mark in your dimension doesn't join in because 8 is already too much they don't need another Mark trying to take your time and space away from them.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH IT'S IN MY HEAD I JUST HAD TO SHARE IT WITH YOU

this is soo silly not the petvincibles 😭😭 i would give have a chart on who was best of the week and who was worst and there would be a timeout corner

[bl00dchip]

my AmRev G&B concept called Unbound Liberty :)

Hiiii!! Sorry Tumblr screwed up the quality so you're going to see some drawings with low quality stuff LOL. erm, this is a very old project that got abandoned but I might pick it back up and change up some stuff. I haven't really lost interest in it--i just moved my focus onto another project :P sorry this'll be a pretty long post.. Ahem--the plot is that Heaven is severely weakened--thus, the Devil is further humiliating God by twisting God's creations into the Devil's own image. However, the Devil can only do this to the dead. Unfortunately, this HAD to happen during the American Revolution.

ANYWAYS THE ZOMBIES!!! Some of them got digitalized, but like half of the digitalized ones never got finished lol STUMBLER

Stumblers are your average zombies, and they don't have any special abilities. At most, their strength are in numbers. They're uncoordinated in their movement, hence their name.

HOUND

Hounds are like dogs. They come in packs of 3, and they'll lunge at and disembowel any unfortunate soldier with their huge claws. Hounds also seem to have a symbiotic relationship with another zombie variant.

When you hear their bloodcurdling howls, that's when you know the hunt is about to begin...

BOMBER

Bombers are perhaps the largest zombie variant but are extremely slow, yet they make up for this with their large blast radius. When they're about to explode, the boils on their body will greatly expand before exploding. Might change them to be that they explode into a pool of acid like that one exploding ants species TAR-BURNER

Unfortunately never made a polished digital art for them, BUTTTT..!!

Tar Burners are like the igniters in G&B. Their neck will expand to which they will then spew out gallons of tar. Once the tar has filled a good amount of the area, Tar Burners will then breathe fire onto the tar. If this was a game, if a soldier was caught in the tar they'll be given a "Tarred" effect which will slow them down drastically and make them take more damage from being burnt.

DRAGON

Not much on these guys, and if they'll even stay existing is uncertain lol. I might scrap them, but here they are. This is a very old sketch though.

Dragons are like Tar-Burner sister variant. They'll often hide amongst the horde and breathe fire on any nearby soldiers. (albeit, this will also make other zombies catch on fire lol) SPORE BEARERS

Been planning to redesign these guys or something :( Spore Bearers are the most "peaceful" zombie variant. They'll invade a space filled with soldiers and puff out a huge amount of smoke that contains infectious spores. If this was a game, the soldier will start coughing in a gassed area, and acquire an effect called "Suffocating". If they continue staying in the area, the effect will evolve into "Asphyxiation". To which, their hp will decrease until they die and become a zombie. (if they leave before then, the soldier will be pretty infected and will still die without intervention lol)

WRANGLER

the LEAST worked on zombie variant LOL and still only has its very old sketch for its design

Wrangler is like the Smoker L4D2 zombie, acting as an ambush as well since they'll hide behind the horde. They use their intestines has a lasso and will lasso any unfortunate soldier who ventured too close to the Wrangler. Another soldier has to intervene to free the soldier. If nobody intervenes then the lasso'd soldier will get mauled by the horde since they'll become a priority target.

PLANNED NPCS

highkey he needs a redesign. he's supposed to be holding a huge axe too lol

Alexander Hamilton (sadly never digitalized D:)

John Laurens (never finished D:)

Kitty is the shopkeeper :D a very nice fellow too. i feel like he would sometimes ask if you're okay and allat jazz lol

probably wont be canon and might be scrapped since i think this goat was around during Jefferson's presidency. Which means this thing existed wayyyyy after the revolution, but it's still a funny thing to include lol it'd definitely help with taking down zombies, but IT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND! uhhh i'll spew more about this concept if yall like it enough. This post is pretty long anyways LOL. but that's the general gist of the concept :)

[miniimoose]

Do you have or enjoy Invader Zim OCs?

A couple of friends and I have made a discord server with a focus on Invader Zim OCs! There are so many talented people out there, and we want to talk about and enjoy as many peoples OCs as possible!

discord.gg/RJBv84DwR3

Server Features;

2x OC art channels

Misc art channel

OC discussion channel

Multiple 18+ channels (not strictly nsfw, mostly just spaces for adults to chat amongst themselves if they want to!)

General Invader Zim discussion channels

Pluralkit for systems

Tupperbox and roleplay channels for those who want them

Whiteboard channel to draw together as a server

And More!

We are an IZ OC-focused server, but we are not pushing for canon-compliance.

As long as your OC is depicted in a world among other IZ characters, it's welcome! This includes things such as:

Original species

Modified existing species

Variants of an existing species

We are a multiverse, after all!

Art by; @minimoosedraws (Min), @cappless (Yadni), @irkmou (Kip), @nightyniight (Misty), @ponchusjbonchus (Tion)

[dreamycloud]

💘 fake relationship / mutual pining / dared to kiss with any Lokius variants of your choosing :D

@mobius-m-mobius, it's finally HERE!!!!! I've been SO excited to tackle this prompt, and I'm happy to report that this story is doneeeee. I did in fact use a Lokius variant, but not one seen in my Losing Dogs fic. This one is about a Loki who never had to sacrifice himself to save the multiverse, and a Mobius ignorant of how close he had come to losing Loki for good 😭 And there's also unlimited pie involved. So there's that.

FYl, if you missed any of the kiss prompts l've answered, you can find them on tumblr or all together on AO3 here. This is the last kiss prompt that was sent to me, so if anyone has anything else they'd like to see, feel free to ask. It just may take me a while since l'll be divided with other projects.

Loki rubbed his thumb back and forth on the lip of his coffee mug, staring into his distorted reflection. Like a crystal ball, the pitch-black liquid revealed the lines of exhaustion on his face. Lines that weren’t going anywhere unless he acted.

“Still having nightmares?” Mobius asked, spearing a baby tomato with his fork.

Loki nodded, watching his reflection lead nose first in the motion. “Something inside me knows that the mission could have gone sideways.”

“But it didn’t,” Mobius said easily, the way someone who did sleep at night would speak.

The power of friendship, a concept foreign to Loki before the TVA, ended up being the key to saving the multiverse. He had time slipped far enough back in time to forge an easy friendship with O.B., who wasn’t troubled at all with some strange man invading his work space and begging him to take on a special project. Loki lived on smuggled food and slept under O.B.’s desk in the Repairs and Advancement Department until O.B drafted up a workable design for the expansion of the Temporal Loom. Then, flashing forward in time, he knew exactly where O.B. Had squirreled the plans away so that they wouldn’t have been disturbed in the interim. Loki pulled the plans, O.B. vaguely recalled them, and the rest of the TVA family stepped up to turn those blueprints into reality.

The new Sustainability Department was in charge of building and installing further extensions as the tree grew. Good thing the TVA had kidnapped millions of employees, because they needed everyone involved in this massive undertaking. Verity got the new department up and running in record time.

And yet, Loki still felt unsettled. “Yes, but it could have gone terribly wrong, Mobius,” he insisted. “What if the plans hadn’t worked? You know as well as I do what needed to happen next.”

Mobius stiffened. His knuckles bloomed white as he gripped his fork. “I wouldn’t have let you,” he whispered.

The heart fluttering inside Loki’s chest skipped. “I know,” he said softly. It was all too easy to imagine Mobius fisting his hands in Loki’s jacket, vise-gripping him into stillness while the world ended. He demanded a Loki Who Remained, and he would have been the biggest fool alive to keep Loki from sacrificing himself to save the multiverse—not that Loki didn’t appreciate the gesture.

The problem was, his dreams reminded him of the alternative future he narrowly avoided, where Loki watched his friends die on the gangway over and over. He saw himself draped in a green cowl, bare-handedly pouring his magic into dying branches and making them live again. A horned crown of black rock and gold cracks. An eternity alone.

He couldn’t take anything for granted. Loki needed to reach for what he desired, starting—and ending—with Mobius. So he had a plan. A bit of mischief. “Let’s talk about something else,” he said, leaning his elbows on the table. “Like the big party at the end of the month-cycle? Verity’s idea, if I recall?”

Mobius blew out his breath. “Yeah, okay. It’s a good idea. We all deserve a party after the reorg.”

Loki schooled his expression into bright-eyed innocence. “Then you heard about the contest?”

Mobius gave him a searching look and shoveled another forkful of salad into his mouth.

With an hour lunch break, they had fallen into the habit of eating slowly, feet tangled under the table, watching the TVA wind itself up. Mobius was on a weight loss campaign, and with no small amount of displeasure, Loki watched that primordial pouch of belly shrink over the top of Mobius’ belt. But he had to pick his battles, and he had a more important one to engage.

“The cutest couple contest,” Loki supplied as Mobius chewed his salad. He batted his lashes and watched the way Mobius’ throat bobbed in response. “The prize is unlimited automat pies for an entire year-cycle.”

Mobius swallowed. “Some lucky bastards will enjoy that.”

“We’re the lucky bastards,” Loki said with a wide grin. He fanned out his hands. “You and I. We’re going to win.”

Mobius blinked. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You want us to pretend to be couple so we win the prize?”

“There’s my clever agent,” Loki said, holding the grin.

Mobius rocked his head side to side, irritated. “Come on, Loki. No one is gonna buy that.”

“Why not?” Loki nudged his foot against Mobius’ under the table. “It’s easier than you think. We’re always together. All we have to do is turn up the heat. All that pie is as good as ours.”

“You don’t even like pie.”

“But you do,” Loki said, so quietly Mobius must have strained to hear him. That was the point. Loki would gladly stuff his cheeks with key lime, cherry, and guava just to see Mobius glow with simple joy. He wanted to sit across from Mobius for a whole year-cycle, watching him eat pie. He couldn’t think of anything more pleasurable. He wanted to give this to Mobius, because his gut was telling him that it was a miracle he was even sitting here, right, now, with the opportunity.

Mobius set down his fork, appetite oddly lost. He looked confused, annoyed, but also hopeful. There was twinkle in his eye. He licked his lips and seemed to settle into the idea. “It would be nice not to have to watch our tokens.”

Loki nodded, encouraging.

“We wouldn’t have to put off pie if we wanted it. Hell, I could eat pie for every meal of the day,” Mobius said, flashing a boyish smile.

Loki’s own smile twitched. He didn’t think he could stomach eating that much pie, but Norns, he’d do it. He would subject his stomach to torture for this man. “Then we’re in agreement.”

Mobius gave a cautious nod.

“Good,” Loki said, unable to hide his devious grin, “because I already submitted our names.”

“Loki!”

#

Loki had always been a master at brooding, but Mobius thought the god was laying it on thick now. Plagued with nightmares that left him pale and skittish, talking about what ifs as if the depressing scenarios could still happen—Mobius wished he could understand why Loki was so worried when their problems were behind them.

Thanks to Loki’s time slipping, saving the multiverse had been a cake walk. Mobius offered encouragement and an extra pair of hands as they unearthed the hidden blueprints and the extension parts from deep storage. Everyone suited up, crowded the gangway, and completed the installation under Loki’s direction. Judge Gamble, promoted to Director of the TVA, bestowed the gleaming medals herself for a job well done. So to Mobius, the future was what mattered, and it was looking awfully bright.

Why then, did Mobius catch Loki looking at him like he was about to disappear?

Falling into the beam of Loki’s gaze left him breathless and flushed. The god’s eyes seemed to grasp at him, looking for something in Mobius to glom onto like an anchor in a stormy sea. He would give anything to stop Loki’s nightmares. That was what best friends did.

That was what friends who craved more did too.

Mobius harbored a crush on Loki for so long it felt like an extra appendage on his soul. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin their friendship by asking for more, and here was Loki, hitting the accelerator to launch them into new, dangerous territory.

Fake dating. Free pie. What could go wrong? Assuming of course, that Mobius was only in it for the pie. Which he wasn’t. He was very much interested in the fake dating being real. But Loki probably wasn’t.

“What Loki is,” Mobius muttered, making his way to the Archives, “is bored. The God of Mischief needs an enrichment activity.”

If the god chose Mobius as the enrichment activity, then damn it, who was he to say no? He didn’t have that kind of strength.

The Archives got more use after entire departments had been reorganized for the tracking and eradication of dangerous Kang variants in the multiverse. With such a wide and rotating audience, it seemed like the perfect spot to demonstrate their fake coupleness.

As Mobius walked between tables, he recounted the ground rules: touching above the belt was okay, and touching thighs and knees were fine when they were seated, and pet names could be laid on thick, no matter how cringeworthy. Mobius had plenty of those.

“Hey, sugar booger,” Mobius called, loudly, with an impish grin. A few heads turned, brows quirked, and Mobius grinned wider. Then he softened when he realized his god had dozed off, gently snoring on a stack of files.

Loki’s hands curled loosely on the surface of the desk. Each exhale made the papers flutter.

Mobius would have normally taken a seat across from the sleeping god, but they were supposed to be a couple now so he sat right next to Loki, thighs brushing as he pushed in his chair, and unearthed a file from under Loki’s elbow.

He read for a bit, content to listen to the unprince-like snores coming from Loki. Loki hadn’t been sleeping well, the ghost of his old self, and Mobius wasn’t about to risk disturbing such a rare moment of rest. But they had an audience, so what could he do to further their cause?

An attentive lover would find ways to caress and claim his boyfriend, even in sleep. Mobius snuck a glance over his file and saw that a lock of Loki’s hair had spilled onto his cheek. Mobius gently reached over and tucked the curl behind Loki’s ear.

Loki shifted, mumbling incoherently. His curled hands twitched and closed, as if he was trying to grab something.

Mobius’ insides melted. “Hey,” he murmured, running his fingers through Loki’s curls, “I’m here. I’m right here.”

Loki made a soft moaning sound. His brows notched in distress and a muscle jumped in his jaw. His fingers curled into fists. “No,” Loki hissed as a tear squeezed out of his eye. “Come back.”

Mobius dropped his file and put more pressure into his touch, sweeping through his curls and caressing the god’s scalp. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said, tensing when Loki tensed, sensing how deeply Loki was spiraling from dream to nightmare. “Loki, please. Wake up.”

Loki gasped, thrashing and knocking a file off the table. Tears spilled like rainwater down his cheeks.

“Loki,” Mobius whispered, shaking the god awake. “Hey, you’re having a nightmare. Get up. Open your eyes.”

With a shout, Loki whipped his head back. Green eyes wet with fear and unspeakable sorrow scanned the room and then fell heavily on Mobius. “Mobius?”

“Sweetheart, you’re okay,” Mobius said, shifting in his chair to face Loki. He slotted one knee between Loki’s thighs and pulled the god’s face closer to his. “Wanna tell me what the nightmare was?”

Loki panted, his hot breath washing over Mobius. “You weren’t you. You went by another name, your timeline name, and you didn’t trust me.”

“That doesn’t sound like me,” Mobius agreed, still framing Loki’s face. He swished a thumb through the glimmering tear tracks on the god’s face, disturbing the pattern.

“It was you but it wasn’t you,” Loki said, gibberish really, but Mobius just nodded encouragingly. “You had a life, Mobius. There was no room in it for me.”

Mobius rejected the notion with the shake of his head. Absurd. “That can’t be true. You carved out a Loki-sized hole in me, and there’s no filling it with anyone but you.”

Loki’s breath hitched. A fresh tear slid down his cheek.

He wasn’t sure what dormant instinct flared to life from seeing Loki in such misery, but he knew what to do, even though he had never done it before. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against Loki’s glossy cheek. He tasted salt and felt silk under his lips. The god had perfect skin, but now he felt just how perfect and wanted to keep his lips there forever.

Loki made a soft sound, like a sigh. “Mobius—”

“Hush,” Mobius whispered, pressing kiss after kiss on his left cheek, and then tilting the god’s head so he could cover his right cheek with gentle kisses. He drifted lower, feeling the sharp jut of Loki’s chin with his mouth, tracing the line of his jaw and drinking up the god’s sour tears. His heart pounded. His hands shook as he held Loki still. Something was driving him, and he let go of the wheel.

Loki spoke his name like it was an incantation, hot and breathy. One hand grabbed Mobius’ tie, using it as an anchor. The other hand drifted ghostlike up and down the front of Mobius’ shirt, following the trail of buttons but making no move to open his shirt.

Mobius pulled Loki’s head down and pressed a firm kiss to his forehead. “No more nightmares, schmoopie. Let it go.”

Loki coughed. “Excuse me, but ‘schmoopie?’”

Mobius buried his nose in Loki’s hair and idly kissed the bump of Loki’s temple. “Got a problem with that?”

“It’s horrible.”

“It sounds like music when I say it,” Mobius said, leaning back with a smug smile. “Go on. Fight me. You wouldn’t do that to your boyfriend.”

Loki cracked his first smile since waking up. “I shudder to think of what other names you’re saving for me.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Mobius murmured. His gaze flicked to the god’s lips. New territory. Once he was there, he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Since they were pretending, wouldn’t it be okay to kiss Loki on the lips? Shouldn’t they do it soon, get some practice, before they have to do on command to trick their friends?

Loki went still, his palm flattening against Mobius’ chest.

Mobius inched forward, licked his own lips, desire pooling in his belly like liquid fire. But then he heard someone clear their throat.

Casey stood on the other side of the desk with a file in his arms. His face was red, but he was grinning as his eyes darted between the two of them. “Um, sorry, but Verity wants you to have a look at the case file from Xandar. Uh. Here you go.” He threw the file on the table and darted away.

“Well,” Loki said, leaning far enough back that Mobius had to drop his hands from the god’s face. “He caught us kissing. This is good. He’ll tell everyone.”

Mobius flinched. Right. This was all a ruse. For the unlimited pie. By the time Loki looked at him, he had his own mask on, a foolish smile that was so far from his real feelings on the matter. “Hah. Right. Casey is quite the gossip.”

Loki sniffed and scrubbed the tear tracks off his face.

Mobius watched, heart aching, and hoped he wasn’t also wiping off the memory of all those kisses he gave the god. He was too afraid to ask.

“So. The file?”

Loki took a shaky breath. “Right. The file.”

They got to work.

#

Covered in filmy asteroid dust, filthy and worn down from the fight, the TVA unit closed in on the Kang variant. Loki grabbed hold of Mobius’ arm and swung him out of the way of a passing bullet from the Kang variant’s gun. He was too keyed up to get angry; expending his magic as a solid green shield was one thing to protect his partner, but he couldn’t seem to stop Mobius from getting right in the middle of the action.

“Stay behind me,” he said, grunting when he pulled one way and Mobius the other, resulting in them slamming into each other.

“The hell I will,” Mobius replied, frying a stray bullet with the tip of his Time Stick. He whooped and adjusted his grip, ready for more. “Someone has to watch your back.”

“That’s what I’m doing for you,” Loki said.

“Sure, honey pot.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

O.B. and Casey had come along on the mission, but neither made a move to catch the variant. And why should they have, when Sylvie put everyone to shame by beating the Kang variant to a pulp?

Sylvie shoved a booted foot into the variant’s back and crushed him into the ground so Verity could clamp a Time Collar around his neck. Once the collar’s red light hummed on, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Mission successful.

Loki squeezed the meat of Mobius’ upper arm, all muscle and softness and warmth. He flung his hair out of his eyes and glared down at the man. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Your worst nightmare, yeah, yeah,” Mobius said with a shrug. He didn’t fight the grip Loki had on him, now that the danger passed. “Keep in mind my eons of experience in the field. I used to be a hunter, pudding. I can hold my own. You, on the other hand, didn’t even land a hit on Kang. Where was your head?”

On you, Loki wanted to say, but that was too close to the truth for their charade of a relationship. He wasn’t sure why pretending to date enflamed his protective instincts, but it did, and he hadn’t yet mastered those chaotic feelings.

“Hey, lover boys,” Sylvie shouted with a shit-eating grin, “mission’s over. You can stop bickering and just kiss already.”

The breath punched out of Loki’s chest. Alarmed, he looked around at their friends.

There was an… expectation in the air. O.B. had been fiddling with his TemPad, and without taking his eyes off the screen, he laid on a sweet smile. Casey blushed. Sylvie crossed her arms, lifted her chin. And Verity, who was on the committee that would decide which couple got the unlimited pie, cocked an eyebrow their way.

Cutest couple. Right. Yes. That was… them. Him and Mobius. Time to prove it. With. A. Kiss. Loki felt all this muscles freeze up at once. He knew he had a wild look in his eyes. His chest worked like bellows, but there wasn’t enough air on the asteroid to feed him.

“Hey,” came Mobius’ whisper, a light in the dark. “Earth to Loki. C’mon, pookie. We got this. It’s just a kiss.”

He was not Loki, God of Seduction, no matter what history thought of him. He could count on his fingers the number of times he’d kissed someone. But Mobius knew that. Mobius knew everything about him. There was nothing to be ashamed of, right? Loki shot him a pleading look that said please, understand me. I want this. I want you.

Mobius seemed to read him fine. Of course he did. Affection made the analyst’s eyes glitter. “Let’s give ‘em the old razzle dazzle,” he said loudly and pulled Loki down to land on his mouth.

They could have kept the kiss simple, a perfunctory statement that would keep them in the running for pie but not cross any friendship-ruining lines. However, Mobius hadn’t gotten the memo. He stood on his toes to slot his mouth firmly against Loki’s. His lips were soft, kisses scratchy thanks to the mustache, but that didn’t stop the wave of goosebumps breaking out on Loki’s skin. The god instinctively looped his arms around Mobius’ neck; he hung on for dear life, fingers curling into the analyst’s jacket, a low rumble building in his throat.

Mobius flicked his tongue against the seam of Loki’s lips, turning that rumble into a moan. He was playing dirty.

Loki gasped, pulling back to catch his breath, and then dove between Mobius’ parted lips with his searching tongue.

Time crumbled away. His was dizzy with the sweet, clean scent of Mobius’ skin mixed with the musky asteroid dust, the heat of Mobius’ mouth, Mobius’ hands steady and gentle against his brittle bones. This was a game Loki had always been destined to lose.

“Is it getting hot on this asteroid or what?” Sylvie said with a snicker.

The kiss broke off as sharply as it started. Loki panted, cracking his eyes open to see Mobius looking up at him with flushed cheeks and a soft, wondrous grin. His mouth was red from their kissing. Loki wanted to catch the analyst’s bottom lip between his teeth, but he couldn’t feel his own legs.

“Well,” Mobius said, his voice deliciously hoarse, “you certainly asked for it, Sylvie.”

Sylvie scrunched her nose, but she looked rather pleased with herself. “I sure did.”

Loki reluctantly peeled his arms off Mobius. Taking stock of himself, he knew he looked rather shaken up, and he couldn’t throw on a mask to hide it. His body ached with fresh pleasure. He was terrified that his heart was in his eyes, so he looked down at the ground instead. Dust caked his shoes.

Verity snorted, but she didn’t sound annoyed. Like Sylvie, there was smugness in her voice as she hauled the Kang variant up off the ground. “Let’s get going. We have paperwork waiting for us.”

Oh joy. Loki drew in a shaky breath and snuck a glance at Mobius.

Norns, the analyst caught him looking and winked.

#

“Darling” was the pet name Loki settled into for Mobius. Just one pet name, but said so tenderly that it sent shivers down Mobius’ spine each time he heard that silky tag at the end of an unsuspecting sentence.

Sometimes it would come after an insult, a sharp little ���could you be more careless with your life?” on a mission where Mobius threw himself into firing range, a flimsy human shield shoved between a Kang variant and one of his friends, but then Loki’s stinging bite would end in a soothing lick when he’d say “darling” in that shaky, sweet tone that put Mobius in knots. Other times, like today, it would be innocently murmured at the lunch table alongside a gesture of kindness that was becoming more and more common in their charade.

Casey, O.B., and Verity joined them for lunch, eyes on Loki as he approached the table with an orange lunchbox stolen from Mobius’ apartment.

“What the hell is that?” Mobius asked, only vaguely realizing it was his TVA standard-issue insulated lunchbox, one most employees never used because the cafeteria was more convenient than cooking.

“My lunch, darling,” Loki said, brushing his finger softly against Mobius’ cheek as he sank into the chair next to him.

Mobius used all his willpower not to trace the warm line on his tingling skin. He looked down at the sad little bowl of salad he’d plucked from the day-cycle’s offerings. With all the field missions, he needed to cut down on his sugar and carbs, which only increased his peevishness… but that was the price of healthy choices.

“You wouldn’t believe what happened to me on the way here,” Loki said as he slowly unzipped the lunchbox. His eyes glittered, his grin was stage-ready, as he launched into a story about a rude man he bumped into while waiting for the elevator. “He said I needed a haircut. A haircut? Can you believe it? Cutting off these curls would be a crime. The punishment? A swift pruning.”

“We don’t prune anymore,” Verity pointed out, sternly, but a smile snuck up on her.

“Perhaps that new rule should be reconsidered,” Loki said lightly, pulling out a container steamed over with hot food. He popped off the lid, revealing a bed of rice and a cut of perfectly-cooked salmon glistening with brown sauce. The smell was exquisite.

Mobius felt, rather than heard, his stomach growl. He stubbornly speared a few leaves and shoved them in his mouth.

“So I told him, ‘have you ever tried growing out your own hair? You might be surprised to find that a nice long braid would flatter your face shape,’” Loki said, cutting his salmon into slices. Without taking his eyes off his captive audience, he scooped up a few slices, a portion of rice, and set them on the lid of the container. Then he slid the lid over to Mobius.

Mobius blinked, hard. His stomach begged for that offered salmon. The delicious scent teased him like Loki often did—irresistible and unrelenting.

Loki said something else Mobius hadn’t caught, let out a gracious laugh, and nudged Mobius with his shoulder. “Go on, darling. Eat.”

“This is your lunch,” Mobius said stupidly.

“Clever man,” Loki said with a knife-like grin. “But I made too much. You’ll just have to help me finish it.”

Casey hid a chuckle behind his hand. O.B. watched with a sweet little smile. And Verity? Verity was very much amused.

Mobius didn’t know how and when the pampered God of Mischief learned to cook, but the salmon was perfect. More than perfect. Savory and tender and still hot from the oven rather than the smelly microwaves in the cafeteria. There was magic involved, but Mobius was too ravenous to care.

This became a habit in the weeks leading up to the party. Whenever they shared meals between missions, Loki would show up with that lunchbox hanging off his shoulder, and he would yap incessantly as he split his homemade (magic-made?) lunch with Mobius. Was this how the god chose to flirt? Was it a quiet thank you for saving the day with a kiss?

At the time, Mobius had been all flash, all show, while inside he’d been shaken to the core. That mission had been weeks ago, and they hadn’t kissed since, but Mobius replayed it often enough in his head.

Moving first to press their lips together had been easy because it came from a place of protection. Loki needed protection, both from himself and from others, and Mobius had been doing it so long, it was second nature to shield Loki from the consequences of his actions. What had been the consequence that time? A kiss Loki had never planned on giving.

If he died tomorrow, Mobius would call up the memory of Loki’s rumbling moan and talented tongue until the lights went out. One kiss was one kiss more than he ever expected to have with Loki.

Mobius was greedy, though. A glutton in more ways than one. He took what Loki offered. The hot meals, the “darlings,” the brief, gentle touches, the heated glances.

“Don’t mind if I do, jellybean,” Mobius said, digging into the trout Loki slid his way.

Loki grimaced at the nickname. “Darling, what is a jellybean?”

“You don’t know?” Casey asked, which, all things considered, was the funniest sort of irony.

Mobius laughed mid-chew and lost some of his trout. He was disgusting but Loki only looked at him fondly and wiped his chin with a napkin.

He was a goner.

#

The command center had been liberally decorated with orange and red streamers hanging in loops from the suspended monitors. The screens had been turned off to discourage work for a few hours, though Loki knew Verity had employees on rotation, watching the Loom to make sure the extensions would outlast the small reprieve. Serving staff orbited the room, offering hors d’oeuvres and wine as clear as water.

He sniffed the crusty bread topped with tomato balsamic glaze he’d plucked from a passing tray. No doubt this came from a branch rather than the TVA kitchens. Loki slid the whole thing in his mouth and chewed loudly while his gaze flicked over the crowded room. Where was Mobius?

“Don’t you look dapper?” Sylvie said, sipping from a glass of whisky. She must have smuggled the whisky with her, because he didn’t see an open bar.

“You clean up well yourself, sister,” Loki said.

She looked down at the black sheath dress and jingling gold bracelets on her wrists. With a shrug, she said, “Can’t let Verity down. Where’s your boyfriend?”

Boyfriend. What an uninspired term. How he loved it. Weeks of hard work went into making the TVA think he and Mobius were an item. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Mobius’ face when they won.

“Fussing with his tux, I imagine,” Loki said.

“Shouldn’t you be fussing with his tux?” Sylvie said, suspicion creeping into her voice.

If anyone thought the relationship was a sham, it would be another Loki. Still, he wasn’t worried. She wouldn’t rat them out this late in the game. “Not my choice,” Loki said smoothly, which was true. They’d picked out their tuxes together, but Mobius had hung back in his apartment, looking for a different pair of dress shoes or something silly.

He couldn’t remember the excuse, but he could tell Mobius was nervous. Truth be told, Loki was nervous too. The pressure was on and he didn’t know what tomorrow would look like. Would Mobius want to “break up” right away, or extend their pretend relationship for a few weeks, just to make it look more realistic when they parted ways?

Loki took a shuddery breath. He blinked away the extra water in his eyes. Where in the nine realms had that come from? He wasn’t going to cry.

Sylvie watched him over the lip of her whisky glass. Then a lethal grin stretched her lips. “There he is.”

Loki turned, nearly giving himself whiplash.

The analyst was beaming as he entered the room, immediately caught up with greetings from his fellow employees. His black tux was simple but tailored perfectly, showing off his broad shoulders and the mere hint of that sweet belly tucked behind a crisp, ivory button-down. Mobius had styled and gelled his silver hair, parted on the side, and his mustache looked neat and freshly trimmed.

Sylvie shot him a fond look. “Wipe that drool off your chin and get going.”

Loki almost did, scowling at her when he caught himself, and strode across the room. It felt easy, like sliding into a pair of silk house slippers, when he snaked an arm around Mobius’ waist and tucked into his side.

Mobius’ breath caught; he leaned into Loki, his own fingers splaying over the dip between Loki’s waist and hip. “Hey, sweetheart,” he said with a tense but genuine smile. “You look incredible.”

Loki wanted to weep. This was too easy. Too warm and comfortable, the way they fit together. How was he going to give this up after tonight? “You’re not so bad yourself, darling,” he murmured.

The rest of the TVA drifted away like a fragile daydream. Loki was alone with Mobius, as alone as anyone could be at a big party, and he refused to let go. “Are you interested in any wine?” Loki said, struggling for words when all he wanted was to memorize the way Mobius looked tonight.

“Nah,” Mobius said with a nervous laugh. “Too fancy. When are they wheeling out the pizza? That’s more my speed.”

Loki tilted his head, brimming with affection for this man. He felt his own smile melt like butter, spreading his real feelings across his face for anyone to see.

Mobius looked right back, puzzled. His lips parted, and he was about to ask—

“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Verity asked, tapping her knife against her wine glass.

Loki blinked, stuffed his heart back under his skin, and led Mobius into the crowd circling Verity.

This was the first party the Time Variance Authority had in… immeasurable time. Verity acknowledged that, while also reminding everyone in attendance that the old TVA was gone for good, and together, they would protect the natural growth and expansion of time and all its wayward branches. A lovely speech, but Loki only listened with one ear. Mobius’ hand resting comfortably on his waist crackled like a fire under his skin. He felt drunk on that steady touch, more potent than the wine in his half-drained glass.

Caught up in the feeling of rightness, Loki lost the thread of Verity’s words. He could freeze time, right now, using his powers selfishly just to keep the moment a little longer.

“…the vote was unanimous,” Verity said, loudly, puncturing Loki’s thoughts. “The winner of the cutest couple contest is… our very own temporal heroes, Loki Laufeyson and Mobius M. Mobius!”

The crowd erupted with cheers and clinking glasses. The faces staring back at him weren’t surprised. As if the vote, which statistically should not have been unanimous, was agreed upon behind the scenes. If he and Mobius had been cheating, then the rest of the TVA had cheated as well. Funny, that.

Loki put on his most charismatic smile, all for the crowd, as he held Mobius close—his analyst was not allowed to break away, not for any reason—and then he finally snuck a glance at Mobius.

His heart cracked down the middle.

Mobius was not, in fact, smiling. Lines of worry claimed his forehead. His brows scrunched, like he was trying to hold back a storm of feeling.

Loki panicked and snapped his fingers. The room ticked to a stop.

Mobius pulled out of Loki’s grip, startled by the sudden silence that came with paused time. “Loki,” he said, his voice echoing strangely, “what have you done?”

“We need to talk,” Loki said over the pounding on his heart.

Mobius studied the cheering, joyful faces beaming back at them. Then he slowly, painfully, returned his gaze to Loki. “Yeah, okay.”

“You don’t look like a man who is about to gorge himself on unlimited pie for a year-cycle,” Loki said gently.

Mobius huffed. “It’s not that I’m not grateful, Loki.”

Grateful? Loki flinched.

“You know how much I love pie. This really is a dream come true. For me, really, because you hate the automat pie.” Mobius said with a sad little chuckle. “I don’t know why you felt like you needed to give me this, but…”

“Because it was in my power to do so,” Loki said, gripping Mobius’ forearms tightly. “Because there are days when the only bright spot is you and pie and the effervescent glow you give off when you partake in that slice of artificial, chemical filth.”

Mobius swallowed thickly. “What are you saying?”

“Maybe I wanted to make you happy, but I want to make myself happy too. Sometimes,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut as his chaotic thoughts settled, “when I’m tangled in a nightmare, I can claw my way out of it because I remember the little moan you made from the first bite of guava pie, or the bit of whipped cream that stayed on your nose even after you wiped your face. Those memories ground me. They keep me from falling deeper when you’re not…” There. With me.

Mobius gingerly removed himself from Loki’s hold. He read Loki like a book he’d found splayed open on the floor.

Loki let himself be read. His fears and hope mingle sickeningly in his gut.

Then, of all things, Mobius laughed. It was a bright, hash sound, made terrible by the unnatural silence in the command room. It was a belly laugh. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. His cheeks flushed.

Loki could have died right there.

“Wait, sweetheart,” Mobius said between laughs. He clumsily reached out and pawed at Loki’s sleeve. “Give me,” he wheezed, “a second.”

“I’m glad you find this all so funny,” Loki said stiffly.

“It is funny,” Mobius said after finding his breath. “It’s called irony, Loki. I thought you were faking it to win the contest, so I pretended like I was faking it too. But we both were pretty bad at pretending.” He wiped his face with shaking hands. “The only two people fooled were us.”

Loki made a choked noise. His heart was shattering and repairing itself all at once.

“We’ve been dating the whole time,” Mobius insisted with a great big beaming grin.

Loki let that sink in. Warmed his face in the light of Mobius’ happiness.

“Why’d you fake it? Why didn’t you just tell me what you wanted?” Mobius said, smile dimming but no less potent.

“I have you now as my friend,” Loki whispered, and a tear he couldn’t stop slid down his cheek. “I don’t want to lose you, ever. Not the way the nightmares show me, and not because I wanted more.”

“You won’t,” Mobius said softly. He closed the gap between them. “You’ll never get rid of me. Not now, and not in any universe.”

Loki whimpered and pressed his mouth to Mobius’. Misery and love in every kiss. He nipped at Mobius’ lips, leaving them red and soft, licking the pain away. Mobius welcomed the bites and licks, opened his mouth wider, fisted Loki’s curls and yanked them together so their noses smashed and they stepped on each others’ feet. It was messy and aggressive. Loki wanted to claw and dig his way into Mobius’ chest and stay there, protected by his bones and strong, throbbing heart.

“It’s okay, Loki,” Mobius said brokenly, between breaths, roughly stroking Loki’s jaw.

“‘Sweetheart,’” Loki corrected, kissing Mobius’ cheek.

“That’s the one you like?” Mobius asked with an amused huff.

“Sounds real when you say it,” Loki confessed.

Mobius groaned and dipped his tongue between Loki’s lips.

Time snapped back into ticking. Loki must have done it unconsciously. Suddenly the room was roaring and paper confetti was being thrown in their faces. Verity banged loudly on her wine glass and yelled, “Hey, you two! Stop the show before clothes start coming off.”

Clothes. Off. Now that was an idea. Loki and Mobius exchanged a heated glance.

Loki bowed to the crowd with a flourish and plucked the two special orange tokens Verity held out.

“Shall we get pie?” Loki asked, tossing a token to Mobius.

His analyst grinned back. “I thought you’d never ask.”

[highretrogamelord]

Super Invaders for the ZX81

[iholli]

art by @/bloominglegumes

👑 THE RAT KING 🐀

🐀 Holli / Rat • 24+ • any pronouns • ficto ace • Decepticon, digital artist, gamer, rat & robot lover, selfshipper

heya! name's Holli but everyone calls me Rat (and several other nicknames!) :] I love my friends, rats, robots, found family, the ocean, and a lot more, I'm a little weird in a lot of ways and I'm just here for a good time. please be nice to me 👉👈

💜 is it about my BlitzRat?

my main fictional other is my conjunx Blitzwing! I'm nonsharing with him (Astrotrain is allowed); I'll never be outright mean to people who selfship or even canon ship with him, but it makes me very uncomfortable, and if I can't tag filter I may block you. it's nothing personal-- just for my own wellbeing !!

#blitzrat || RTE-09 & Blitzwing || @rte-continuity || playlist ✈️🚀

📚 PRO FICTION / ANTI CENSORSHIP

I am extremely pro fiction and will not tolerate harassment over fiction on my blog. don't like, don't read; your kink is not my kink, your ship is not my ship and that's okay; the block button is free, curate your own space. I may have plenty of squicks and notps but by the Primes I will die on the hill defending your right to have that stuff. and believe me, I got plenty of weirdness to defend too! filter: #ratkingdiscourse #pro fiction #anti anti

💙 BlueSky

art still pops up here sometimes, but you can find all my work under bluer skies! tag: #ratkingdraws

⚠️ ANTI AI / NFT

AI users, including chat bots like c.ai, will be reported for spam and blocked ON SIGHT. take your thievery and get the hell off my blog, you're not a creative and never will be if you resort to stolen art and fan writing.

🔞 NSFW / GORE CONTENT

I'll keep it simple, I'm an adult. I'm a robot / alien fucker. and I am very, very, very deranged about blood and teeth and cannibalism and any non-realistic gore. you're gonna see dark stuff, you're gonna see anything I find of my conjunx. but I will always tag as best I can because that's not for everyone. just be mindful, and if you need me to tag something specifically, please don't be afraid to ask !! filter: #suggestive #nsfw #valveplug #blood tw #gore tw

👑 selfship posting

#heart of mars || Rat King & J'onn J'onzz || DCAU || married || playlist 🌌🐀

together for over a decade, it all started here. Rat King is the original and her existence is completely intertwined with her variants. someday the lore will be written...

✅ selfshippers ❌ canon ships

#💜💖💙 || Vincent "Vinny," Donatello & Leonardo Hamato || Rise of the TMNT || twincest polycule || playlist 🐢🐀

✅ sharing

#ratstatic || Vermin "Ver" & Vox || Hazbin Hotel || boyfriends || playlist 📺👑

✅ sharing

#PREDATOR/PREY || Wastelander Rat & Megalo Don || Fortnite C5S3 Wrecked || partners || playlist 🦈🐀

✅ sharing

#FYREBYTER || Ratbyte & Heatwave || Rescue Bots / Academy || partners || adoptive parents to Cody and Hotshot || playlist 🚒🐀

✅ sharing

‼️ TFA PROWL || that's my trinemate / bestie's husband and I'm gonna be kinda weird if you ship with him. he's married, Blitzy and I were at the ceremony, I had to keep him in line the whole time. again I won't be mean to you but I will block tags. 🐈‍⬛💜

🎨 primary fandoms

Transformers || my current number one! I've seen: TFOne, BBM, TFA, Cyberverse, TFP, RB, RiD2015, Bayverse • currently watching RBA / G1 • pleaseeeeeee talk to me about the robots and or my own robots • Decepticon sympathizer. Megatron Was Right. • Astroblitz, MegOp, SkyStar, WaveWave, way too many to list including all my bestie's ocs and ships

DC || DCAU supremacy 🤘 GLTAS too! • WonderBat, LanternHawk, Razaya • MY FOUND FAMILY. the founding members of the Justice League are literally just my familial f/os. that's home. 💖

Fortnite || god I miss chapter 5. Wrecked come back to me... || Artemis x Camille, Montague x Gambit my beloveds

ROTTMNT || my silly little guys, my found family, my gorgeous 2d,,, #unpauseROTTMNT • Leotello, Raphangelo, Splinter x Draxum (divorced dads lmfao)

Invader Zim || where it all started. • ZaDr, RaPr

Hellaverse || not as active but that will change when the new HH season drops • Chaggie, RadioStatic, M&M, whatever we call Loona x Bee x Vortex (I love you Bee,,,,,,,,,,,)

Marioverse || BIG Mario Kart & Luigi's Mansion fan & I've played all the LM games :] • any variation of Bowser, Luigi, and / or King Boo together ✨

MCU || not active here but I still watch things from time to time, particularly X-Men. I mostly miss Loki. • Magneto Was Right • Octogoblin, Stony, Cherik, PeggyNat, Lokius

🌊 anxious but friendly!

I'm very scared of new people but if you persist and want to talk about things we both enjoy I am happy to be friends. I like friends. I love hearing about other people's ships and ocs or just chatting or whatever else! my inbox is always open (even if it does take me 200 years to answer asks) and I'm on Discord 24/7 :] don't be afraid to reach out to say hello!

💖 thanks for stopping by! you're doing great, and you're loved 🐀

art by @/hira492

stamps by @/knockedoutkatz || account dividers by @/firefly-graphics

[stuckinbyler]

The subtext in Jayvik

Mel's reaction shows that she wasn’t aware of the extent of their bond, almost as though there is emotional distance between them that Jayce has breached. Jayce’s answer is:

“Nothing feels impossible when I’m with you”

Jayce’s relationship with Mel is largely built on Mel’s ambition for power. We see she pushes him to make bold decisions and take an active role in Piltover’s politics. He feeds off of her confidence, and this creates a dynamic where he feels like he can do anything with her. However, their relationship is imbalanced, because we know Mel encourages him to make decisions that align with her goals. Jayce has a false sense of empowerment, a product of Mel’s mentorship; he’s rarely making decisions by himself. 

Jayce often relies on external validation to make decisions, be it Heimerdinger, Mel or Viktor. Even when he acts on his own (like when he shuts down the Hextech project temporarily), his decisions are a product of his moral struggles, usually caused by external pressure.

It’s not surprising when Mel tells him he should be with Viktor, especially considering Viktor's fate.

“You should be with him, Jayce”

This is also the episode where we see Viktor opening up about his illness for the first time:

"I can feel my body eroding"

We’ve seen him attempt to control the Hexcore with organic matter, but his transmutations fail. He shows this to Jayce:

“Curing you”

Finally, we get this piece of dialogue from Jayce. This is the first time he associates the Hexcore with saving Viktor. From this moment onward, saving Viktor becomes his main goal. It’s the catalyst for Jayce pushing Heimerdinger to retirement. One of the key phrases he uses are:

“Humans don’t live for centuries. We can’t wait for progress”

Clearly, Viktor’s deteriorating health has had an impact on him, driving him to make impulsive decisions.

Episode 7

Summary

Jayce orders a blockgate (border shutdown) to protect Piltover from Zaun. Meanwhile, Viktor accepts Shimmer (a variant of it) to change “nature”, in order to survive the transmutations. After returning from his visit to Singed, he encounters Jayce, who is distressed from the altercation with Zaun. He gets defensive about Viktor’s friend being from the Undercity, which offends Viktor. They argue, but they brush it off.

Later, Viktor dismantles Jinx’s bomb as Mel proposes to build Hextech weapons to use against Zaun. Viktor is completely against the idea, while Jayce suggests they might not have a choice. This marks another breaking point in their relationship, where Viktor keeps hiding things from Jayce and Jayce keeps making decisions without considering Viktor’s input. By the end of the episode, Viktor tests the Hexcore on himself after taking Shimmer.

Scenes

First, I wanted to highlight some scenes which foreshadow what happens later in the show. They appear during Viktor’s visit to Singed. This is what he tells Viktor:

"Love and legacy are the sacrifices we make for progress. It’s why I parted ways with Heimerdinger"

This sets up the future separation between Jayce and Viktor, which will consolidate in season 2. Viktor’s response to this statement, unprompted, is that “Jayce will understand”.

Next, we have Jayce and Viktor fight on the border. This is another crossroads point in their relationship, as it highlights the growing power imbalance that has developed between them, mainly stemming from Jayce’s fear of Zaun.  

We get this line of dialogue from Jayce: 

“They are dangerous” 

“I'm from the undercity”

This exchange remarks Jayce’s implicit bias and Viktor’s frustration with being lumped in the same category as those that Jayce fears. Someone also pointed out how Viktor seems to anticipate Jayce’s physical touch, which is a test to how close they are and how naturally they invade each other’s personal spaces.

Jayce apologizes straight away, saying he's had a lot on his plate. A moment later, when he asks Viktor whether his friend was able to help or not, Viktor's response is lying. They don't stand on the issue for long. 

"I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot on my plate"

"No, he said, 'Nature was resistant to this sort of tampering'"

As the episode progresses, we get a scene between Jayce, Viktor and Mel. It's shot in a specific way: as Viktor is working on the bomb, he's hunched over the table, while Jayce and Mel converse behind him. 

This visual framing creates a certain hierarchy between them: on a higher level (Piltover) Jayce and Mel, and on a lower level, Viktor (Zaun). It symbolizes Viktor’s diminished role in the making of decisions. Mel barely acknowledges his presence, and instead we get this:

"It's your decision"

In the scenes, we witness the camera change its focus towards Jayce and Mel in a close-up. Viktor is being sidelined, both figuratively and literally; his autonomy is not being considered at all (I know Jayce is the only one that can make the decision because he’s the councillor, but they are partners; we’ve seen Jayce acknowledge Viktor’s contributions in the past as well). 

“We can’t afford to wait to find out"

Mel and Viktor represent two opposing opinions: using Hextech as a weapon or using it to save others. We can see again that Viktor completely loses his choice on the matter in the way that it’s shot as well: the camera stops paying attention to him, instead focusing on Mel and Jayce. While Mel attempts to convince Jayce, Viktor expresses what he thinks and we can see him turn to look at Jayce. Then, the camera zooms in on Mel from Jayce’s perspective. At this point, the decision has been made.

Viktor is understandably upset at this, and he states that they are scientists, not soldiers. When Jayce suggests that they may not have a choice, Viktor counters with: 

"There's always a choice"

Viktor's point is proven within the shot where he dismantles the bomb, where he lingers a few seconds before actually breaking the cable, implying he could’ve detonated it if he’d chosen to.

This is where, I'd argue, their partnership practically breaks down. Jayce doesn't let Viktor have a choice on the use of Hextech, and Viktor ends up going behind his back and using Shimmer. It's no surprise their scenes are extrapolated with the fight between Piltover and Zaun, as their fight mirrors the broader conflict.

Jayce's decision is confirmed the moment he hugs his mom.

Episode 8 

Summary

Jayce sees the aftermath of the bridge's fight and throws up. He also meets Mel's mom, Ambessa, who manipulates him to militarize Hextech. He ends up arguing in favour of using Hextech to create weapons, despite Mel's and Kaylin's opposition to it. Viktor gets a scene in which he can finally run after interacting with the Hexcore. He tries doing it again later but, just as he undergoes his transformation, Sky tries to save him and dies in the act. Meanwhile, Jayce has already designed a pair of gauntlets for Vi to fight against Silco; they decide to shut down his supply of Shimmer together (taking out his manufacturing facilities). However, their raid results in the death of a child. 

Scenes

There's nothing to go into much detail here, since Jayce and Viktor didn't interact in this episode, each acting on their own storylines. However, there are some things we can mention.

Jayce is being manipulated by Ambessa, as seen by the threat of his death in this scene:

"(...) if you don’t accept certain realities, I fear you’ll end up like General Parlec. Slaughtered with your eyes closed"

The impact of the threat is amplified by his emotions, which were already running high due to  his experience at the border. This is why he rushes to go with force, an idea to which Mel opposes, as it could trigger war. When Caitlyn questions his stance, his response reflects his guilt and emotional turmoil:

"They are still cleaning the blood off the bridge"

Viktor's running scene has been analyzed by others already. As we know, there's the symbolism with the boat behind him as he can finally run and leave it behind (as opposed to the scene we get from his childhood). 

Immediately after, he goes to the lab to carve the runes on his skin and test the Hexcore on himself again, most likely with the idea of curing his illness. However, as he undergoes his transformation, he's saved by Sky, who dies in the act.

Sky was introduced in the past episodes, and we could see her sneaking a glance towards Viktor. We also saw her trying to convince him to "walk with him" to which Viktor denies. That scene was directly contrasted to Jayce and Mel's sex scene, which highlights the unreciprocated nature of their relationship. In this case, she's outwardly rehearsing to express her admiration towards him. 

Both Jayce and Viktor suffer a deep charge of consciousness in this episode, as they end up killing innocent people in the pursuit of their rushed and impulsive decisions. While Jayce kills a child with his gauntlet, Viktor kills Sky during his transmutation. This is a parallel that highlights how their pursuits (Jayce, security and Viktor, progress) come at the cost of their own humanity and innocent lives. 

Episode 9

Summary

We see Viktor and Jayce both dealing with the aftermath of their actions. Jayce argues with Vi, choosing to distance himself from the conflict and not to get involved in any more bloodshed. Meanwhile, Viktor cries as he reads Sky's notes and is consumed by guilt. He tries destroying the Hexcore but fails. 

This leads him to try ending it all, but he is interrupted by Jayce, paralleling their scene from episode 2. As they reminisce, Viktor asks Jayce to destroy the Hexcore and Jayce makes a promise to do so. Jayce negotiates with Silco and comes to an agreement; peace in exchange for the undercity's independence. Just as they're casting the votes in favour of the proposition, Jinx fires her shot. 

Scenes

Some notes before the actual shots:

Viktor's guilt is symbolized through Sky's notebook, as he keeps hold of it after her death. He throws her ashes into the river, and then tries taking his own life.

The parallel

We get this scene, which directly parallels the scene from episode 2, when Viktor interrupted Jayce as he was about to jump:

"Am I interrupting?"

This is a point of reconciliation within their relationship, somehow they've come full cycle.

Jayce gives Viktor this look:

Parts | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

[phyrexian-lesbian]

so i’ve had an unsettling realisation about endgame. at the end where steve returns the stones he’s replaced by an old man. but here’s the thing. steve’s mission was to return the stones they borrowed to their respective branches, along with the mjolnir they borrowed.

except, theoretically, he couldn’t have.

let’s say steve’s mission was successful. he returned the soul and space stones to their locations in alt!2014, and returns the space stone to the military base with howard stark. i assume he’d take the hammer back last so he has a weapon when he goes back to alt!2012.

but this is where the funny bit comes in.

alt!2012 isn’t real. the TVA pruned it.

okay this is where it gets a little confusing. hope you’re following.

let’s say alt!2012 somehow reformed around steve. he shows up to his unconscious variant and gives him the sceptre. he then goes to return the time stone to the ancient one. then, presumably, he goes to the other 2012 to give thor the aether and the hammer:

but alt!2012 still exists. except with one small problem. it doesn’t have a space stone. because the God of Stories Loki took it with him to the TVA. so now alt!2012 is corrupted because it’s missing an infinity stone. and JARVIS would’ve picked up the MCU variants invading avengers tower. and, very possibly, scanned the technology steve used.

and all complaints about the ending of steve’s story are completely true. it’s ooc for steve to leave bucky in 2023. his story tells us that- in all the movies since avengers it has been explicitly stated his moving on from peggy and his attachment to bucky.

but what if that story changes? what if the steve still missing peggy finds a doppelgänger with her picture? who has hydra tricked into helping him? who knows about bucky? who had the sceptre taken from him? whos reality has been corrupted?

what if steve doesn’t get that character development like he did in the mcu?

who might have the quantum travel suits if tony figures out how his mcu variant made them?

what would happen?

and this all begs the same question?

who

is

the

old

man?

he acts like steve, and has given the shield to sam to make him the next captain america, so it seems like steve.

but what if it isn’t our steve?

and speaking of our steve, where is he now?

[your-bigender-big-brother]

I'm still in... a headspace, but I wanted to participate in radiomogai's Experiences Event. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up, but no promises!

1. How do you organize or categorize your identity? If you don't, why don't you?

For a while, I split my bigender identity up into parts. I had the male half, where I was more conforming, used he/him pronouns, and presenting more masculinely. Then there was the neutrois half, which is what I called the "queer" side of me and expressed that with ey/em pronouns and a more nonconforming gender expression all around.

Nowadays, I see my bigender-ness as one entire identity tied together with an overall maverine quality. Both of my genders are abinary in nature, in contrast to how I viewed only the neutrois half as being abinary. I don't typically use outherine as a label because maverine is the more accurate quality to describe my genders and my expression/presentation.

Categories I might use for my genders are neutral, nonbinary, abinary, and (trans)maverine.

2. What are your experiences with names, pronouns, and other referential language? How does it relate or not relate to other aspects of your identity?

My preferred name, pronouns, and referential language are masculine for the most part. I don't typically like degendering and try to point it out when people do it. I don't like they/them pronouns or "person" in place of "man" or "guy" because my manhood is important to me.

I do love ey/em pronouns and wish people offline used them more. Part of that is my fault because I hesitate when people ask me my pronouns and I end up saying "he/him is fine." Those are fine, sure, but I wish I could get more people to use the other set. Or even some kind of variant, like e/em or e/im. These pronouns don't feel ungendered, but feel like a strongly gendered, very "other" way to express my gender.

Names are a struggle but maybe it's due to my past. I don't always want to be referred to as my legal name even though I chose it when I started transitioning over ten years ago. Maybe it's because I have such a shattered sense of self that I no longer feel like that name belongs to me. And maybe people have invaded my privacy a bit too much, so that name feels like a stain - on me and on the spaces I've occupied where I caused a lot of harm (Life hack: Don't use your entire full legal name to brand your content. It will be weaponized if you fuck up.)

"Stormy" is a great name because it reflects a lot of aspects of me on a deeply personal level. Most people think of my dragonself (because otherkin) but storms and lightning have always been a part of my identity for a long time. It's a name that works really well online, but having an offline name that is only for my personal life and nobody online knows about it would be fantastic. I like a good distance between my online persona and who I am in person because they feel like two different people and I have a lot of anxiety about people knowing the "real" me. I have a name hoard, but I don't have the courage to make use of it.

That was a lot. Hopefully tomorrow I remember to answer the next prompt.

- 💙💚

[broodybuck]

In Another Timeline... | Series Part 1

Series Summary: The soldier must switch with his variant in another timeline to study the weaknesses of Steve Rogers to ultimately defeat him. But the soldier is unprepared for the relationship his variant has built with Steve and must act unsuspiciously as a committed boyfriend.

Series Tags: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes | Rated E | Tags: 18+ explicit smut, top Steve, bottom Bucky, multiverse, alternate timelines, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes

[Masterpost] // [ao3 link]

"This is the portal," his handler states. Behind him is a large metal arc with strong currents of electricity sparking from the edges. The soldier doesn't wince, he's used to electric shock by now.

"You will automatically switch with your variant when you reach the defined timeline. When we receive the variant, we will store him in Cyro and erase his memory of the swap. Allowing you to complete the mission uninterrupted."

The soldier nods. He knows his mission. He's being sent to find a variant of Steve Rogers from a timeline where the Winter Soldier doesn't exist. He's tasked with learning the subject's weaknesses so the soldier can return to eliminate the Steve Rogers from this time.

The team has learned that in this alternate timeline, the soldier's variant has short hair and so they proceeded to cut his short. The soldier doesn't remember the last time he had short hair. His ears feel slightly cold. They also dressed him in thinner, more comfortable clothes. American, they told him. They've had him watch many videos on basic human interactions. They trained him to lose his accent, speak in full sentences, and eat his own food.

The soldier has secretly been savoring the sliver of freedom he's been allowed but he reminds himself to focus on the mission. Learning Steve Roger's weakness is all that matters now.

"Remember soldier, do not fight him. You are his partner in this world, you remember what we taught you about partners?"

The soldier confirms with another nod.

"You let him do as he pleases, you must convince the subject that nothing from his life has been altered."

His handler waits for a response.

"I will not fail," the soldier recites stiffly.

He hears the robotic tone he's so accustomed to using and his handler shoots him a stern look.

"Sorry," the soldier raises the octave of his voice like he heard from the many videos. "I won't let you down."

"Better. Now, go."

The soldier wakes up in a large bed. He's under a large blanket that's warm. The room is dimly lit. He sees an empty space next to him but the blanket has been pulled back and there's an open notebook sitting face down on the bed.

He hears water rushing and then a door opens. A blond man walks out. It's his subject, Steve Rogers, the soldier profiles.

Steve closes the open notebook and places it on a small table next to the bed. Steve gets into the bed next to the soldier. He turns to the soldier and smiles softly. Then he takes both hands and frames the soldier's face, leans forward, and kisses his lips.

The soldier learned about kissing briefly but he wasn't prepared for it this quickly. He panics for the slightest moment but then recalls the most emphasized advice he was given: When in doubt, copy everything the subject does.

So he copies Steve, moves his lips the way he does, sticks his tongue into the blond man's mouth when he feels a tongue invade his. It's a lot of mental thinking in the end but when they finally part Steve looks happy with the result.

The soldier hopes for more words now that they're done. That way he can gauge inflection and emotion like he practiced and calculate an appropriate response.

"I thought about what you said last night," Steve says.

The sentence implies context the soldier isn't privy to. He knows he should respond, always respond. He's supposed to be very vocal, they stressed endlessly that he cannot remain mute.

"Yes," the soldier goes with.

"And you're right, I have gotten a little sloppy," Steve smiles small and then leans back into his lips.

Another kiss. The soldier copies motions again. Steve keeps kissing him and then begins talking in between the mouth actions. The soldier tries to focus on copying the motions while also hearing the blond man's words so he can respond appropriately. It requires a lot more concentration than he anticipated.

"But I can't help myself, sweetheart. It's just I get carried away sometimes," Steve coos before another long kiss. "Cause you know how crazy I am about you and I get so excited to get inside you. But not tonight, alright."

The soldier draws a blank for a reply. He nods this time, unintentionally breaking the kiss.

Steve takes the opportunity to kiss his way down the soldier's torso, picking up his thin t-shirt along the way. Kissing down to his belly button, then back up to a nipple which he spends time licking lightly.

Now that the soldier isn't busy copying mouth actions or concerned about responding, all he can do is pay attention to how it all feels. The blond man's lips are soft and light. His tongue is wet and every time he licks somewhere and moves on, the previous spot braces a chill in the air that makes the soldier want to shiver.

Overall, It's different... how tender the man is.

The next line of kisses Steve makes down his stomach, he simultaneously slides his body down the bed. He hooks his fingers into the waistband of the soldier's pants — which he learned are called sweatpants. They are very soft and he would like to wear them more often. Perhaps, if the mission is a success he can be rewarded with more sweatpants.

The soft pants get shoved to his thighs then Steve reaches into the flap of his boxer shorts and takes out the soldier's cock. Normally, the soldier doesn't look at his anatomy very often. But recently, he had to learn to wash himself again for training and so he spent a few showers staring down at himself. It was like seeing an old friend he'd forgotten was there.

He hadn't touched it though and the way Steve grabs the shaft and pulls it toward his mouth instantly horrifies the soldier. He tries desperately to school his face, he must school his face, but his dick is about to be eaten off. That's the only explanation and it is not a calming realization.

Oddly, Steve does not move toward his cock baring any teeth. Instead, his tongue darts out and tickles the head. Then he slides the soldier's cock onto his tongue and just leaves it there, letting it lie on the warm, wet surface.

It's unusual. The soldier is not sure what he is supposed to do so he just sits there and soon discovers he doesn't mind the feeling. His cock even makes a strange little twitch and he feels something surge up through his groin into the bottom of his gut. Like a warmth he's not familiar with.

As he calms with the assumption that Steve is not biting any part of him off, the soldier grows more fond of the feeling of his cock resting on a warm tongue.

He notices his cock filling out slowly. Steve must notice it too because he drags his tongue flatly along the underside of the soldier's cock. Making a long stripe to the head. That feels... oh, very good. The soldier bites his lip trying not to moan when he recalls the instruction of being more vocal.

"I like that," the soldier decides to say.

Steve smiles around him and repeats the motion just as slowly.

With the next lick, the soldier allows a groan of pleasure to sound from his throat. He hasn't heard himself like that... ever. His groans usually derive only from pain or struggle.

Even though Steve's movements continue leisurely, the events are happening very fast. The soldier was so focused on all the conversations he would have to decipher and somehow, he found himself with his dick in a warm mouth. He's already debating whether there will be any repercussions to orgasming. A predicament he did not foresee himself considering especially within five minutes of entering this new timeline.

He doesn't remember the last time he had an orgasm, he truthfully can't recall the last time his cock felt this full and hard but he wonders if those instances have been blocked from his brain since they are irrelevant to any mission.

Steve pulls up from his cock leaving the soldier's anatomy cold. He's surprisingly disappointed at the loss. Who knew a warm mouth could feel so good?

"Turn over, baby," Steve instructs sweetly and taps his hips.

The soldier must follow every instruction so he swiftly flips onto his stomach. Steve pulls off both his sweatpants and boxer shorts completely. He spreads the soldier's thighs apart. Then there's the sound of a cap from a bottle clicking, Steve's breath blowing on something and then he touches him. In between... his ass cheeks, the soldier computes. A wet finger circles the rim of his hole. The soldier lets his eyes grow wide since his expression is hidden from Steve in this position.

He's not expecting this to feel nice at all but he's wrong. It's slow and a little tight at first but after a couple of minutes, Steve's finger is sliding in and out of him. Hooking into the edges and pressing down on various spots.

Oh, it's strange how much the soldier's body seems to want more. He nearly pushes back on Steve's finger, to silently beg for more, but he restrains himself from doing so.

Steve works up to three fingers and the soldier wonders belatedly if Hydra knew he could be experiencing so much unexpected pleasure on this mission? He imagines what they would think if they heard the sounds coming out of him right now. Because he's making so many sounds, he's not even reminding himself to be vocal anymore they're just spilling out of him. All high and whiny. God, he must sound pathetic but Steve seems to like it. He keeps urging him to keep letting him know how good it feels and saying 'yeah, that's it, doll,' every time the soldier moans louder.

It's a fast transition when the fingers come out and they're replaced with the blond man's cock. It's so quick, that the soldier actually chokes on his own breath. Because the blond man's cock is thicker and harder than his fingers. It pushes into him, stretching him wide to make it all fit.

"Nghh, your dick," the soldier grits. He says it partly due to his vocal instruction and mostly because it just falls out of him.

"I know, honey," Steve croons, brushing his hair back.

Then he draws back and begins pounding into him. Slamming his cock all the way in and out so forcefully, the soldier chokes on nothing again.

The soldier's mind whirls while he's being fucked. He thinks back to his handler and how they'd probably slap him for sounding too whiny. Although, given the mission and instruction, perhaps he should sound even whiner. It's not difficult to amp up the volume of his whimpers and Steve seems to like it too. Rewards him with even harder thrusts. The soldier didn't think it could get harder, god it's even better.

He claws at the bedsheets under him and once again imagines if his handler saw him in this position, sprawled out on his stomach, both fists squeezing the fabric between his fingers. He must look quite submissive. But perhaps, they'd like that very much.

Steve's weight presses him down which means each thrust ensues the soldier's hard cock is rubbing against the bedsheets and that feels... very good too. So good that he understands he'll ejaculate soon. The soldier is not sure if he's supposed to. He debates asking but then it's already too late.

It's almost like a jolt of electricity goes through him, but for once it's a good kind of electricity. He's not prepared for it. It shocks him and then his body just releases as if he's lost all control. The soldier goes slack when it happens and one long, drawn-out moan sounds from his throat as he feels his cock pulse over and over. It doesn't stop for a long few minutes but it feels so good the soldier doesn't want to think about it stopping.

Eventually, his cock settles. The pulsing comes to a halt and he can register it's over, but he's still floating on this high. The soldier's not used to something good lasting so long. And now that reality is dawning on him, he remembers that orgasming may have been prohibited. The soldier tenses, anticipating punishment for his release. But Steve's hands graze up his back softly. He leans over and kisses the soldier's temple. Soft as ever.

"That feel good?" Steve whispers.

The soldier braces himself for the reprimand he's still assuming will follow.

"Fast today, huh?" Steve goes on, voice light and tender. "You must be feeling it today, sweetheart."

"Mhm," the soldier hums. He needs to say something but his brain is still too fuzzy for real words.

Steve hasn't resumed fucking him. It's as if he's giving the soldier time to calm down. Slowly, it dawns on the soldier that his cock is still hard and that the blond man is not done. It elicits a flare of excitement inside of him, something he doesn't remember experiencing in quite a long time. He decides to warn Steve this time.

"I may come again."

Steve hums contently then slides his hands back down the soldier's body as he sits on his heel again.

"I'm planning on it," Steve purrs.

Arousal flares under the soldier's skin with his words. Especially when he realizes he would like to come again. He wants it very badly in fact and he hasn't wanted things in much too long.

He instinctually presses back on Steve's cock and a sharp fear rushes through him that he's not supposed to demand such things with his body. But once again, Steve sounds pleased with the choice. His grip tightens on the soldier's hips then he draws back and begins pounding his cock into him once again.

The soldier enjoys this very much. Within another few minutes, he's got drool coming from the corner of his mouth. Because he can't for the life of him keep it together with how good this feels. He's already on the edge of another climax.

Steve starts grunting and the soldier's not sure if that's a good or bad sign. He stiffens from the abnormal sound but then he feels the familiar pulsing he experienced minutes prior. He quickly determines that Steve is climaxing inside of him and somehow that makes the soldier lose it again.

"Ahhghn," the solider hears himself slur as his cock spurts out more release without warning and his muscles shake from how much is coming out.

"Not sloppy this time, huh honey?" he hears Steve's voice.

Blearily, the soldier notes they are in a different position. He's lying on his back, resting against the blond man's chest.

Both of Steve's arms are wrapped around the soldier and although that would normally signify an attack, this time the hold feels too delicate. Like he wouldn't struggle if he wanted to be released from the blond man's grip.

"Not sloppy," the soldier repeats, remembering he must always respond.

Steve kisses his temple again and then reaches over to turn off the lamp so the room fills with darkness.

They are going to sleep, the soldier concludes. There will be more conversations and possibly more bodily actions to decipher in the morning but right now, the soldier falls limp with exhaustion. He closes his eyes and lets himself drift off.

[braxiations]

Space Invaders Infinity Gene Evolve: A Comprehensive Catalog of New Content and Changes

Hi, this is the start of a thread exploring all the differences between Space Invaders Infinity Gene Evolve and its original version. I'll try to go roughly in order of when these things appear. I'll also be assuming you're familiar with the console version SIIG and vaguely with the mobile version. Spoilers ahead!

The main purpose of this post is historical. With being a game on a subscription-based service, we can't guarantee that it won't just vanish some day. I'd be really sad to see that happen.

Level 0: In the original game, this level is called "Common Descent." in SIIGEvo, it's instead called "1978," of course being the release date of the original Space Invaders. - The barriers from the original SI have been added. - The fire rate is seemingly increased. - The beginning quote is now re-attributed to Leon C. Megginson (as opposed to Charles Darwin.)

Token System: When you beat a level, you'll gain an item called a token. You can gain up to 3 per day. These tokens can be used to unlock bonus content, currently only stages and ships. Each "extra" block is 6 levels, which so far seem to be identical to the console version extra levels (including DLC.) (There is a minor difference in that some stages now use the new graphical style.) The currently implemented rewards are: - Extra 1 (6 stages) (5 tokens) - Silver Hawk (9 tokens) - Extra 2 (6 stages) (9 tokens) - Inter-Gray (15 tokens) - Extra 3 (6 stages) (15 tokens) - R-Gray1 (20 tokens) - Extra 4 (6 stages) (22 tokens) - R-Gray2 (23 tokens) - Extra 5 (6 stages) (24 tokens)

A few features are excluded from the token screen, particularly regarding the Boomerang and Black Fly ships. The Black Fly was part of the Metal Black DLC for mobile SIIG, and the Boomerang ship was unlocked by buying any DLC. Also excluded are the 6 Chimera stages associated with the mobile DLC (2 per DLC.) Perhaps we'll see these in a future update.

Notably added is the R-Gray1 ship. I've yet to unlock it, so I can't report on its functionality.

Bonus UFOs: Forgive me if I'm getting the name wrong, I've yet to unlock their enemy graphics page. This new* UFO variant appears frequently in levels. Instead of dropping Neurons/powerups when they die, they drop score items, yellow octahedra that grant 100(?) points each. Later in the game you'll unlock the Bonus UFO evolution. This causes a flurry of Bonus UFOs to spawn in when you defeat a mid-boss early.

This sprite actually comes from Space Invaders Part II, also known as Space Invaders Deluxe. This rarer UFO variant acts similarly to the original, but repeatedly blinks in and out of existence, making it harder to hit. It also grants a higher score. This UFO makes an appearance in the credits and achievements of the original game.

[inkspottie]

BONJOUR SPOTTIE. You're fic is invading the brain space get them out because I have one too many AU ideas.. I can't gatekeep I'm sure some would love them :3 A sort of Subnautica inspired AU where they're gigantic creatures that are mostly animalistic and just.. live? but with Urbanshit spying on them (and getting eaten lmao, skill issues ig)

A dragon trainer AU inspired by HTTYD where Sadao is human (omg) and Sebastian a whole fucking beast and they just have that Toothless and Hiccup vibe And some other minor AUs about some potential other out comes like AUs that are more of "What ifs" than the rest, so not important.. Anyways enough me rambling! Question time!

Watcha think of Confluence OCs? I've made a silly expendable girly (still need to draw her) that got her back bitten off by Angler or one of his variant as her first death, crystal growing out of her back, shoulders and back legs and neck! Her second death was by something like poisoning and her mouth filled with crystals that ressemble teeth and she managed to break free once from the control to beg to be mercy-killed, and I really wanted to know what you thought of OCs of your fic~ :3

I ate chapter 21 one up and can't stop reading that Fishbug snippet, I need more (I Fishbugged my friends, they don't read Confluence but they like the gays)

Oooo I love it. I’m a sucker for aus if you guys didn’t know. For those who’ve followed me since the beginning you definitely know xD

Ohh confluence ocs! That’s a neat idea! I wouldn’t mind having some red shirts to be in the background cuz they will be dealing with crystal expendables…

She sounds neat!

And I’m glad you’re enjoying the chapter. I had a stroke of inspiration with the Lopee scene and had to lay on the fishbug properly. Hehe