#HES SO CONFUSED BUT VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE

[ratatatastic]

happy sasha didnt know how to greet the lion dancer for the ceremonial puck drop for lunar new year so he just smiled in gleeful confusion as ravoli gave them their puck by placing it in their mouth

florida panthers @ san jose sharks | 1.25.25 (x)

[ippipo]

self aware caleb

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | slight smut chapter

it's been around a month now.

you come back home from a long day and open the game immediately, wanting to talk to your now self aware.....friend? what is he? whatever. to caleb.

"hey, y/n," he greets you blankly. something about him seemed off though, a little speck of anger looming over his face. "what's wrong? you look annoyed," you point out.

"the storyline just doesn't make sense! why did they make me so weird and creepy?" he whines, making you laugh. "i found you a little hot because of it but yeah, you were......well," you scratch your nape with an apologetic smile.

"you need some help if you find that hot," he states making you snort. "say, why'd you pick this game?" he asks you.

"just wanted to feel less lonely and now i gush over five hot guys," you respond with a little shame in your tone. "pick one," he demands scrutinizingly.

"hmm..." you pretend to think for a while just to tease him. your amusement increases when his frown deepens. "definitely not you," you answer, the playful tone giving it away. he flicks the screen to show you his disappointment. "such a big liar."

you talked to caleb all night, letting the conversation lead its way to random topics. it was easy and comfortable, not having to restrict or conform yourself to fit into a mold of norms.

"gee, your fingers are so long," you remark absentmindedly. "yeah, you would get a first-hand experience if you were here," he says with a smug smile while remembering that one time he heard you doing.....things, trying to elicit a reaction out of you. "huh?" you let out, dumbfounded. you gasp in realisation of what he meant and your cheeks warm up.

"if you were here, i would've smacked the living shit out of you," you say with a playful threatening tone. "oh, really?" he teases.

"are you seriously doubting my ability to demolish you?" you fake-gasp. "what do ya think, missy?"

"from this day onwards, peasants like you shall not possess the right to freedom of speech, you will only speak when spoken to and the rest of the time, you shall shut the fuck up," you say with an authoritative tone, making him laugh in amusement.

"alright, alright. check your messages," he urges you, snapping his fingers. "huh? in-game chats?" you question, confused at the sudden demand. "no, silly. your actual chats."

you quickly exit the game to check. "do it faster, slowpoke," you hear him say. "you look like an angry hamster right now," he teases you, making you relax your face.

'hey y/n'

'guess who'

you stare at the texts blankly. you blink after a while of silence. "what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fu-" "don't start that again," he interrupts you.

"holy shit, you can text me?" you were so close to hitting yourself in the head. "mhm, just had to work a little harder," he sings.

he pops up onto your screen and you watch him as he shifts from his seat to adjust to a more comfortable position.

"i don't even wanna ask how," you close your eyes and sigh. a little happy, a little exhausted, and very much in need for sleep.

"caleb," you call out. "hm?"

"can you wake me up in an hour? i wish i could talk for longer but i'm so close to passing out and i have to complete some assignments," you request him.

"of course, lemme see your face while you sleep. i'll take pictures and obsess over it creepily for the next ten years so you'll never feel safe again," he says nonchalantly. "that sounds like a dream come true," you remark sarcastically. "that's what they made me to be," his face twists in slight disgust.

he rambles a little longer before finally shutting up when he noticed your drowsy state.

"sleep well, loser," he flicks at the screen. "mhm, g'night," you smile lazily before turning the lights off.

something about you felt liberating to him. after being controlled his entire life by a script, being forced to act clinically insane, a break from it all was what he needed.

he pondered over it after he became self aware. his feelings, that is. for so long, he believed that he loved that girl from his childhood, but the sudden realisation that it was all not in his control brought him more comfort instead of fear.

but the worst part of it all was the attraction he felt towards you. so familiar but so far away from what he would consider knowing someone. he was afraid of what was coming for both of you. if he couldn't control his feelings from spiralling against him, he's unsure if he could make you happy.

"you are really something, huh?" he whispers while staring longingly at your sleeping form in the dark room. he quickly covers his mouth when he hears you shuffling in your sleep. "y/n?" he calls out, wanting to make sure you were asleep. with no response from your side, he sighs in relief.

he doodles random things in his notebook while listening to your soft snores.

he hears the sound of a notification, making him straighten his back in alarm before realising it was on your phone. he notices it was a text from someone.

(an actual conversation between me and my best friend's boyfriend from when we were 15)

ne-andy-thal 👅

baebee

pls answer

our children miss you 🥲

caleb's brows furrow in annoyance. who was this guy and why was he texting you?

you

shes sleeping

ne-andy-thal 👅

gasp.

who is this

my baby done left me

for some dumbass dummy

you

its not what you think

ne-andy-thal 👅

who are you? whats ur name? why are u rextinh from my bbgs phone? fight me

you

im no one. none of your business. because we're studying together. no, i will not fight you dude, i have better things to do.

ne-andy-thal 👅

lame. rude. since when did she get another study buddy. yes, u will, dUdE.

you

im her boyfriend, we've been dating for a year now

caleb laughs to himself at the absurdity of the message. crafting up a lie to make you a little miserable.

ne-andy-thal 👅

GASP.

WHY DIDNT DHE TELL ME

SHE WONT ESCAPE ME AFTER THIS

you

your baby done left you

ne-andy-thal 👅

OH NO YOU DID NOT

you

oh yes i did

ne-andy-thal 👅

THATS IT, IM ON MY WAY

caleb panics at the text and quickly comes up with something else.

you

we are at my house

no point in going to hers

ne-andy-thal 👅

FINE. SHES GON GET IT TOMORROW

you

😵

he gets off the app, feeling bad for putting you in trouble.

"wake up, sleepyhead," he calls out after realising an hour had passed already. you groan and shift from your position. "five more minutes....please," you whine softly. 'adorable,' he thought to himself.

"your friend texted you, and i might have caused some trouble," he says, not even a single hint of regret in his tone. "what?!" you spring up. "i think his name is andy, fun guy," he remarks. you quickly check all the texts and groan.

"caleb! i'm so close to detonating, he's gonna kill me," you whine out. "first human i talked to other than you, worth it," he smirks.

"you have zero sense of boundaries for a game character so handsome, i hate you so much," you say with a frown. "ya think i'm handsome?" you wanted to wipe off that smug grin on his face with a slap.

"please don't do this again, i have no energy to deal with the buttload of questions i'm gonna face tomorrow. like boyfriend, really? is that the most creative thing you could come up with?" you nag him. honestly, it didn't bother you much. it's not like you had a great sense of boundaries either. you kinda may or may not like it when someone's so fully and absolutely involved in every part of your life, or maybe it's the loneliness talking.

"aw, thought you would find it funny. sorry, won't happen again," he says with actual regret laced in his voice. "is it really that serious?"

"no, not really. just- just make sure to speak to people whom i won't have to go through hell with right after," you tell him. "i'll introduce them all to you before you decide you wanna ruin my life."

he snorts before smiling at you. your dishelved hair and slightly puffy face looked adorable to him. he kept staring at you as you moved your phone a little further away to show yourself more to him.

he took in your features, his eyes trailing down from your forehead, to your eyes, to your nose, to your pretty lips that were slightly parted, to your collarbones, and finally stopping at your chest.

his cheeks turned red when he noticed your nipples poking out from your thin shirt. not wanting to oversexualize every part of you, he looked away. but he couldn't help but remember that night, your soft moans echoing through his mind.

it didn't help when you sucked on your lower lip to get rid of the dryness. the boner in his pants was ever so visible now, and you were doing nothing to make the situation better. he groans in discomfort, wanting to get rid of his jeans.

"is everything alright?" you ask him with concern. "oh- yeah, i just stubbed my toe," he quickly replies. you wince at the thought and go back to getting your books out.

"i'll finish my assignments, is it okay if i read my material out loud?" you question him. he looked at you before nodding, noticing how your eyes looked so pretty.

he sneakily removes his pants and boxers, unable to contain his neediness inside. he slowly rubs along his shaft while looking at you intently. oh god, the moment he hears your voice, he couldn't help but remember that night again. he bites his lip, trying not to groan.

his movements accelerate as he imagines your fucked out face, so pliant, just for him. the way he would kill to see you taking all of him inside you, tears staining your cheeks while he goes rouge on your pussy. the thought of you being completely unaware of the sinful thoughts he was having right now made the atmosphere all the more unbearable.

he could imagine your back arching, writhing in pleasure as he pounds into you, hickeys scattered all over your chest. he would take you over and over again until you see stars. he was getting closer and closer to his climax.

just as he was about to cum, you let out an 'ow' when you hit your hand to your desk when you were stretching which sounded awfully similar to a moan, and boy did he cum so hard. thick spurts of white liquid squirted onto his screen, and he felt so dirty. he continued fisting himself, drawing out his orgasm before stopping.

then it dawned upon him the realisation of what he had just done. and he didn't feel a single bit sorry for it. he cleaned everything up, making it seem like he didn't just masturbate looking at you.

[scariusaquarius]

rehab. 12.

Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Winter Soldier! Fem! Reader

Summary: While on a mission to find any more possible super soldiers that were a part of the Winter Soldier program, Steve and Bucky make a discovery in an abandoned HYDRA base that was cleared out a few years prior to their mission. They discover the Reader, a long-forgotten soldier that was still asleep within a functioning cryostasis pod; still awaiting orders. While Bucky isn't happy about it, he is put up to the challenge of helping to rehabilitate the soldier in Wakanda where she may be able to become a person again.

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A/n: So, we got to see a bit into the world of (Y/n) (L/n), and now we get to see how the Avengers are dealing with the information that they have recovered. Also, thank you so much for all of the birthday wishes!!! 25 doesn't feel any different RIP ;asldfja;sdflk Also, if you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee! If you would prefer to read Rehab on Archive, you may do so right HERE!

This is an au where Bucky joined the avengers but still rehabilitated in Wakanda (sometime before Infinity War [canon divergent cause NOPE]). I am NOT fluent in Russian, so I did use google translate cause I couldn't find a good translator that I trusted. If anything is wrong, PLEASE let me know!! Also, I tried to list as many warnings as possible so you know what the story will contain as chapters are posted. Stay safe!

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Genre: Slowburn, Enemies to Lovers/Friends to Lovers, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Humor, Drama, Dark Content Rated: Explicit Warning: Angst, Dark Content: Graphic Depictions of Sexual Assault, Blood and Gore, Mentions of Manipulation, Kidnapping, Canon-Typical Violence, Body Horror, Nonconsensual Body Modification/Scarring, Emotional and Physical Abuse, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation, Graphic Depictions of Human Remains, Mentions of Sexual Coercion/Manipulation, Death, Misuse of Drugs/Forced Drugging, Self-Harm (Graphic Depictions and Mentions), Nightmares

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Author: ScariusAquarius

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rehab masterlist. chapter 10 / chapter 11

When Steve and Clint arrived back in Wakanda, they were eager to tell the Avengers what they had found. However, when they arrived back at Shuri's lab, Tony looked as though he had seen a ghost. Steve frowned, and Natasha whispered to him.

"It's not looking too good right now. Shuri and Tony found the calling card for the creator behind the chip. Turns out that Tony's got a bit of history with the creator."

Steve and Clint walked into the lab where Tony was watching over the soldier with a hand to his chin in thought. Despite Steve greeting the man, Tony didn't seem to hear him. After a moment, Tony stated.

"You ever get this feeling that you're being haunted by something? No matter how much you try to get rid of it, it just keeps following you? Somehow, someway?"

Steve couldn't help but to think of Peggy, nodding solemnly before he turned to look at (Y/n) (L/n).

"Some things haunt me, some things just follow. I don't think they're entirely the same."

Tony scoffed, shaking his head as he quipped.

"Yeah, well it is in this case. You see, I just took apart that little chip that made MC 2 go haywire, and you know what I found? The calling card to a scientist that used to work closely with my father...someone that my father used to recall as a very good friend."

Steve was confused for a moment before connecting the dots, and he asked.

"Was his name Robert (L/n)?"

Tony nodded, and Steve couldn't help but to shake his head.

"Well, that explains a lot, actually."

"Why do you say that?"

Steve wordlessly handed Tony the file, and Bucky's eyes shot wide open.

"Wait, is that her file? You found her?"

Steve nodded, but his jaw was clenched so hard that Bucky was afraid to ask about it. Tony slapped the paper down onto the table roughly after a few moments of reading and walked out of the room wordlessly, and Bucky snatched the paper up.

(Y/n) (L/n).

The last name sparked a bit of recognition in Bucky, but he couldn't place the familiarity of the name just yet. Bucky was perturbed about the way Tony had reacted, and he asked.

"What's his deal?"

Shuri sighed and revealed gently, pulling up some documents of Robert (L/n).

"Robert (L/n) was a close friend of Howard Stark's up until Project Rebirth. After Erskine was assassinated and Heinz Kruger attempted to steal the serum, Robert continued HYDRA's work under the guise of a fellow scientist that wanted to defeat HYDRA."

"A double agent? How do we know all of this about him?"

Natasha raised a hand, stating.

"I found some files about him on the databanks that you and Bucky downloaded from the facility that the soldier was found in. I didn't think it was relevant at the time cause the files didn't include pictures, and we didn't know the name of the soldier yet."

Shuri nodded and she brought up a few pictures and files, the pictures of Robert and his unfriendly sneer. The man was overwhelmingly tall and quite lean, hair greased and combed while a mustache adorned his top lip. There was a woman next to him, looking happy as she held a hand to her pregnant belly; seemingly naive to the sinister gaze within Robert's eyes.

"This here is his wife, Doris (Y/n). We don't think she knew anything about Robert's double life with HYDRA...but she was also good friends with Maria Stark before Maria married Howard. She helped to deliver Tony when he was born."

Steve's eyebrows shot up, and Clint groaned gently, rubbing his head.

"Man, this is starting to hurt my head. So, Robert was with HYDRA, befriended and used Howard's trust to gain information on the serum...yet some other guy tried to snatch it? Why do that?"

Natasha replied, pointing out.

"If the attention isn't on you, you can get a lot more done."

Clint's expression changed to one of understanding, and Shuri nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Though, with Heinz being unsuccessful, Robert attempted to copy Howard's serum to the best of his ability. Robert was unsuccessful. In reports that he had made, almost all of the subjects that he experimented on did not survive any trial serums he made."

"So, how was he able to make (Y/n) into a super soldier?"

Shuri pursed her lips and brought up a newspaper article that went into detail about (Y/n)'s supposed death.

"While (Y/n) was on the way to Baltimore with her mother, they crashed into another vehicle after hitting ice. Their car caught fire, and both Doris and (Y/n) were announced dead at the scene."

"I'm guessing (Y/n) wasn't actually dead, and Robert or HYDRA picked her up."

Clint scratched his head, asking.

"Why go after her though? What made (Y/n) special?"

Natasha shrugged before offering with a slight wave of her hand.

"Robert must have used blood samples to specifically cater the serum to the subject, and (Y/n) was the only one that was successful."

Bucky grumbled, shaking his head.

"Hello, super soldier."

Steve nodded, and he turned to Shuri, asking her.

"Is Robert still alive?"

"No. Robert passed away from natural causes in 2008. I assume that this is when Rollins took over as her Handler, but we won't know for sure until (Y/n) wakes up."

Bucky suddenly felt bad, wondering if there was anybody else that might have been family for (Y/n), and Steve sat down next to Bucky, stating quietly as Shuri began to work on deprogramming the soldier.

"We found her, Bucky."

"We haven't found her yet. She's still trapped beneath that rubble somewhere...we just know her name now...know that she had a family...a career...a mom and dad..."

Steve pursed his lips, and Bucky revealed to the captain, giving him an intrigued expression.

"She somehow knows Meltzer Woods, and it's bothering me that I don't know why. You remember me telling you about how my folks and I would go on walks there often?"

Steve nodded, chuckling.

"Oh, yeah. I remember you telling me about how you terrorized Rebecca to the point your mom was livid with you one time while your dad was at the camp."

"Not my fault she had a fear of bugs and agreed to go into the woods."

The two men chuckled, and Bucky sighed, shaking his head. Steve muttered gently, patting Bucky on the back.

"It could just also be nothing...a huge coincidence."

Bucky shook his head, muttering.

"There are no such thing as coincidences when it comes to HYDRA."

Steve gazed long and hard at Bucky before looking back at the woman, watching as a machine carefully and slowly reconstructed the bone and tissue of her skull before it seemed as though she had never been operated.

"Am I interrupting?"

Tony walked in, hands in his pockets, and his cheeks and eyes were slightly red. It seemed as though the man had been crying, but neither of the super soldiers commented about it.

Tony stood at the end of the bed and stared at the woman, a neutral expression on his face before his shoulders fell slightly. Steve asked the man gently, sparing a look at Bucky before looking back at Tony.

"Do you want us to give you some space?"

Tony looked perplexed then, as if the question was one that he had never heard before, and he wasn't exactly sure how to respond. While Tony preferred to be on his own and do things on his own (minus Pepper, but she was a different case), Tony knew that there had to come a point when he stopped ostracizing those around him.

'Solitude and isolation are two completely different things, Tony, and I know that you struggle a lot with that because of your childhood with your dad,' his therapist had said.

'Why don't you try to reach out and be a little bit more open? You don't have to reveal everything at once, but take it a step at a time. Choose what you want them to listen to or help you with. With what you've told me, I think the Avengers just really want to be your friend, and that's okay.'

"One step at a time," Tony muttered to himself before he huffed, glancing down at the ground. Tapping his foot with anxiety, Tony crossed his arms and began to speak.

"There's this feeling that nags at me every time I look at your stupid perfect faces...this feeling of just...trying to understand why my dad was apart of something as big as this."

Steve and Bucky both sat back in their seats, almost at attention as Tony began to open up to them.

"It's because of my dad's work that led to you being Captain America, that led to your torture and time as Winter Soldier, and now...now he's directly linked to her. Granted, it wasn't really him directly...but he sure did have a big hand."

Erskine's face crossed into Steve's mind, and Steve looked away, replying.

"Howard wanted to ensure a way that we could fight against HYDRA and the Nazis so that the Allied forces could win the war. I don't think he meant for things to turn out like they did."

"Sometimes I wish I could go back into time and just choke the bastard. All that goddamn intellect and look where it got us."

Bucky was quiet, glancing down at his metal arm before he looked at Tony. He wasn't really sure what to say; if anything at all. How could you comfort the man whose parents you killed? That wasn't exactly a can of worms that Bucky wanted to open. Instead, he stated.

"I think what is important now is that we give this woman a life and finally eradicate HYDRA once and for all. If not for her, then...for you and Howard."

He gave Tony a gentle but shy look; hoping that the man wouldn't lash out at him, and Tony looked as though he wasn't sure what to say. Placing a hand over his chest and the other onto his chin, Tony hummed.

"If Rollins already knew that she had been awakened and thought that she would be a liability, then that means there has to be a main line to the chip. If we can trace that, then we should be able to find Rollins."

Natasha suddenly plopped down beside the soldier, throwing a thumb drive onto the table with a haughty smirk as she kicked her feet up.

"Did I really outsmart Iron Man? I think I should add that to my resume."

"You don't have a resume. You legally can't."

Tony quipped back with a roll of his eyes and he snatched the thumb drive as Natasha just grinned wider.

"Listen, miracles happen all of the time, but that doesn't mean they happen again in the same lifetime. Don't get your hopes up, spider-granny."

"Did you just call me old?"

Tony shrugged before uploading the files that were onto the drive into his computer, and he brought up a hologram of the earth, a beacon of light shooting up from the main source of the signal. Tony sighed gently, tilting his head.

"You know, I was dreaming about Morocco last night."

"Fez, Morocco?"

Steve questioned, looking a bit confused before he turned to Natasha.

"What's there?"

"If I had to guess: another secret base for HYDRA?"

Steve pursed his lips as Natasha just shrugged, and Bucky crossed his arms as he stood tall.

"We should get there as soon as possible. The faster that we catch Rollins, the better off we'll be."

"Slow your horses, MC 1, we need to be smart about this."

Tony gave Bucky a firm look, and Bucky just squinted his eyes as Tony began to explain.

"It's possible that Rollins knows that we know about the chip. We want to stay ahead of the game here. Luckily, we have the answers right here."

Tony brought up another hologram that pictured a document with a list of names.

"FRIDAY, you wanna read this out?"

The AI immediately answered, zooming in on each city she named out.

"Of course, Mr. Stark. After scanning through all of the documents that were recovered from liberated and abandoned HYDRA bases, as well as scans through the black book and red book, I have compiled a complete list of all mentioned HYDRA bases, as well as a list of possible locations as well. Here are the locations."

Isle Trinidad, South America. (Liberated, NLA.)

The Shelf, Antarctica. (Location Unspecified. Possible operation.)

Himalayas (Location unspecified. Possible operation.)

The Red Room, Russia. (Destroyed. NLA.)

Swiss Alps, Switzerland. (Directly mentioned. Possible operation.)

"There were many more locations mentioned, but since they have been destroyed and are no longer active, I have elected to leave those out. There has been no indication of a base in Fez, Morocco. It is possible that Mr. Rollins has planted the main communicator in order to escape."

Natasha hummed, nodding.

"That's the smart move. Rollins seems to already know that we're after him. The best thing that he can do is plant the communication device then get the hell out of dodge while we're on a wild goose chase."

Steve shook his head, huffing deeply.

"We can't investigate a possibility without having concrete evidence of his presence. If we go in somewhere blind, we're not only giving Rollins the upper hand, but we open ourselves up to risk as well."

Bucky added while glancing back at (Y/n).

"There's a possibility that Rollins knows that we're here. If we're all busy with a mission trying to find him, he could come here to retrieve her."

Tony shrugged, offering.

"Okay, then let's wake her up. See how bad her brain is scrambled and see if she knows where Rollins could be."

Steve became stern, shaking his head.

"Tony, that's not possible. (Y/n) needs time to recover and heal. If we overwhelm her, we're only going to hurt her."

Tony ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated, and Steve said carefully.

"We're going to bring Rollins to justice and we're going to eradicate HYDRA once and for all. I promise you that."

"Oh, don't you go all patriotic on me. It's not even the fourth of July yet."

Bucky pursed his lips to keep from chuckling as Steve glared at Tony, and Natasha just rolled her eyes.

"So, why don't we compromise? We have a whole team of people back at the compound that we can send out to each location to cut any and all possibilities. I can already think of some teams to get together."

Tony's eyebrows raised, a skeptical look on his face as he asked.

"Yeah? What you got, Romanoff?"

Natasha hummed, shrugging her shoulders.

"FRIDAY gave us three locations, Wakanda being a possible fourth because of the soldier being here. King T'Challa, Shuri, and Bucky can stay here to watch over her since they're already here. Since you and Pete have heated suits, I think you two and maybe Banner could go to the Shelf. Clint, Wanda, and I can go to the Swiss Alps. Steve, Thor, and Sam Wilson can go to the Himalayas."

Steve made an expression of approval, but Tony shook his head, stating.

"I really don't want to involve the kid in this."

"Tony, he's an Avenger too."

Tony snapped, standing up straight as he glared at Steve.

"Yeah, and he's still a goddamn kid, Cap. I'm not involving him. End of discussion. I'll have Vision go instead."

Bucky offered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay, so what if he came here? He'd still be safe, and we could benefit from his webs in case something happens or (Y/n) freaks out. He's not in as much danger as he would be out in the Shelf."

Natasha muttered, looking off to the side.

"Or you could stop babying and let the kid be a hero. He's got the neighborhood under control, I hear."

Tony whipped his gaze towards Natasha, a look of betrayal on his face, and Natasha stared right back. Tony huffed and gave Bucky a harsh look.

"Fine. I'll have Underoos come here, but you're responsible if something happens. Do you understand?"

Bucky nodded, and Tony muttered to himself.

"I'm going to regret this somehow. I know it. Let's just get everyone suited up."

Tony stalked off, and Natasha patted Bucky's arm, making him slightly recoil and give her an unamused look as she walked by.

"Nice thinking on your end."

Bucky grumbled to himself, and Steve asked Bucky with a gentle voice and kind expression.

"You gonna be okay?"

"As much as I wanna kick Rollins' face in, I wouldn't be any help to the team. I'll lose control if I see him...so it's best that I stay here."

Steve nodded before he embraced the man, Bucky tensing slightly before awkwardly hugging the man back.

"I'll keep you updated and let you know if I find anything. First thing."

Bucky nodded, and Steve saluted Bucky with a shit-eating grin before walking off. When Bucky was finally alone, his shoulders dropped, an exhausted look coming across his face before he sat down next to the soldier.

(Y/n) (L/n) looked peaceful. There was no pain, no indication of dreams or nightmares, and she looked even younger without the fear and anger on her face. Despite the horrific scars that lined the bottom half of her face and the grease within her hair and the oil on her skin, Bucky had to think that she was pretty.

'You were right...she is pretty.'

-

STORY NOTES: Steve and Clint have arrived back in Wakanda. Despite the success of their mission, they come back to Natasha warning them that Tony is not in a very good mood after he and Shuri successfully took the chip apart and identified the creator, who is revealed to be Robert (L/n). Tony asks Steve if he ever feels as though he is being haunted, which Steve replies accordingly.

Steve then gives the file containing information about the soldier and her father, and Tony becomes upset and walks out of the lab. Bucky is elated that Steve was able to find out who the soldier was, and when Bucky is finally able to know her name, he is perturbed by a feeling of familiarity from it. He asks what was wrong with Tony, and Shuri goes into depth about the history Robert and Howard Stark had together, as well as (Y/n)'s mother and Maria Stark.

Clint is confused by Robert playing a double agent while another HYDRA agent attempted to steal the serum, which Natasha explains that 'if the attention isn't on you, you can get a lot more done,' implying that Heinz was just a useful distraction. Steve asks how (Y/n) was able to be turned into a super soldier, and Natasha theorizes that Robert had used blood samples to test the serum with, and (Y/n) was the only match out of all his experiments.

After a few more minutes of discussion and Bucky is left alone with Steve, Shuri, and (Y/n). Steve attempts to comfort Bucky, reassuring him that they had been able to find her, but Bucky does not agree that she is completely saved yet. He reveals that he is still bothered by the soldier knowing about Meltzer Woods, and Steve suggests that it is a coincidence.

Tony enters the lab, and though he is uncomfortable, he reflects on the advice his therapist has given him about being more open to vulnerability and depending on others. He begins to reveal the way he is feeling to Steve and Bucky and how he is angry at his father for being apart of Project Rebirth while knowing how dangerous the work he was doing was. While Steve comforts Tony, Tony is too upset to understand what Steve is saying. Bucky offers comforting words as well, and Tony is unable to reply.

Instead, Tony begins to talk about Rollins and the main signal for the chip. The signal is traced to Fez, Morocco, and Bucky jumps the gun, wanting to leave. However, Tony refutes Bucky's thinking, stating that the Avengers need to be smart about this mission. Tony theorizes that Jack Rollins might already know that the Avengers know about the chip. Instead, he has FRIDAY bring up a list of known HYDRA bases that were mentioned or alluded to in the data they had recovered.

FRIDAY indicates that Rollins could have planted the main communicator since there is no known HYDRA activity at all within Fez, and Natasha agrees that it was a smart move. Natasha then suggests that the Avengers split into teams to go to or stay in each respective location (Swiss Alps, Himalayas, Antarctica, and Wakanda). She suggests that T'Challa, Shuri, and Bucky stay in Wakanda; Tony, Peter Parker, and Bruce Banner go to Antarctica; Clint, Wanda Maximoff, and Her go to the Swiss Alps; Steve, Thor Odinson, and Sam Wilson go to the Himalayas.

Tony immediately refutes involving Peter Parker because he is just a kid, but Steve and Natasha both tell him to stop 'babying' him and let him be an Avenger. Bucky decides to alleviate the issue by suggesting letting Peter come to Wakanda since he could be a big help, and Tony relents, making sure to tell Bucky that if something happens to Peter, he would be responsible. After a bit of conversation with Steve, everyone begins to gear up, and Bucky is left alone with the soldier. He begins to think that despite the scars and unwashed hair and skin, the soldier was right that the woman she had seen, (Y/n) (L/n), was pretty. End scene.

TRANSLATIONS:

None

TAGLIST: @tilldeathripsusapart @vicmc624 @mgchaser @aash3 @samfunko @seventeen-x @valckenaux @babybeeelle @sc4rrc @cjand10

[honeyjars-sims]

Part 2 1.03 The Other Paul

10 Years Ago

When we arrived at Roy G. Biv's, we met up with Paul and Danica's friends, Wesley and Nasir.

Wesley was their friend from high school and they'd roomed with him at Foxbury. That's where he met Nasir, who he'd been dating since their freshman year. 

On the outside, they seemed to be sort of a mismatched couple–Wesley was baby-faced with ruddy cheeks while Nasir was scruffy and mysterious–but their bubbly personalities were a perfect match.

“So what do the two of you do for a living?” I asked after we got settled in a seating area away from the dance floor.

“Wesley writes food reviews for a popular website, and I teach yoga,” Nasir explained.

“That’s cool,” I replied. “Paul’s kinda gotten me into yoga. I’m enjoying it so far.”  

“Oh, did you, Paul?” Danica asked, in a tone I had trouble deciphering. Paul shot her a look but didn’t answer, confusing me more.

“Uh, yeah, Hopewell has classes sometimes and Paul asked me to join him a few times. My balance was pretty bad at first, but I’ve gotten a lot better.”

I wasn’t sure why Danica would have a problem with Paul doing yoga with me, but before I had time to think about it any further, Deshawn and Other Paul approached us.

“Hey everyone,” Deshawn greeted the group. “This is my boyfriend, Paul Novak.”

Other Paul waved to everyone. “It’s nice to meet you.” Everyone exchanged greetings and I realized no one had introduced me to the newcomers.

“Nice to meet you both,” I said. Deshawn looked me up and down.

“Likewise,” he replied coolly. “And you are?”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Paul apologizes. “This is my roommate, Johnny.”

“Of course! It’s nice to meet you, Johnny. You and Paul knew each other before you became roommates, correct?”

“Yeah, I work with his sister.”

“At Rainy Day? How nice for you! Are you a producer as well?”

“Uh, not quite. Just a PA. But maybe one day!”

“From what Lucy’s told us about you, she’s really happy with your work,” Wesley interjected. “I bet you’ll be promoted in no time.”

“Thanks, that’s great to hear,” I told him.

On the inside, however, I was feeling very off about the whole outing. Deshawn seemed more interested in making me feel inferior than in introducing his new boyfriend to his friends, plus there was the whole weird exchange between Danica and Paul earlier.

Oh, and Paul forgetting to introduce me, and then calling me Johnny at that. He usually called me John, and I didn't like how it felt when he referred to me the same way that everyone else did. 

Just what was going on here?

The awkwardness faded a bit as the conversation carried on. When Deshawn pulled Other Paul in for a kiss, I saw the look on Paul’s face and started to piece things together a bit.

It seemed like he might have some feelings for Deshawn, but I still wasn’t sure how I fit into all of this. That realization would come much later.

Previous | Beginning of story | Beginning of chapter | Next

[tadc-and-md-sideblog]

"With No One Left For Me"

first Murder Drones fic let's goooo BASED ON THE SCENE AFTER UZI TRIED TO SAVE N AND SACRIFICE HERSELF AND FOR A FEW MINUTES N PROBABLY WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT HE JUST LOST LITERALLY EVERYONE :( happy ending tho obvs

AO3 version

“Hey. Thanks for, like, everything.”

The way she’d smiled so sadly at him.

“UZI, DON’T YOU DARE!” N had shouted, immediately understanding what she was going to do.

She’d done it anyway. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Uzi had always been a rebel, but that knowledge hadn’t made this particular instance hurt any less.

The image of her leaping over the massive pit, throwing the keys to the spaceship at him, flashing one last symbol across her visor— “DIE MAD” — before using her Solver to push him far away from the pit, straight out the door of the cathedral… was stuck behind his eyes.

Still lying flat on his back across the stone stairs outside, N stared up at the clouded sky in a hollow state of shock.

She’d always been a rebel.

Even in… death.

He shook his head and sat up, fighting to control his breathing. This couldn’t be the end. He couldn’t just believe that.

Because if he did… that would be it. He’d be alone. Completely.

V was gone. Even if he no longer had feelings for her, she was still his childhood best friend and he would’ve always cared deeply for her. But she was gone. Taken down by the Sentinels, like so many of the other Disassembly Drones.

He’d thought he had Tessa again, the closest thing he had to a mother figure. He’d made the hard choice to kill her when she’d gone too far in threatening and hurting Uzi. The Tessa he remembered would’ve never done that.

Except that hadn’t even been Tessa. Just her corpse, being puppeteered by someone that he’d once seen as a little sister. Someone who was now not at all his sister; someone who was now out to kill them all, just because she could.

And then there was Uzi.

The feelings that stirred whenever he’d been with her over the last couple weeks were familiar but strange, yet he’d embraced them. He didn’t know when it started. He just knew that being with her made things easier. Fun, even, in the midst of the horror world they’d been living in. Being with her brought an easy smile to his face. Watching her storm around in all her over-the-top edginess, only to soften and light up whenever she saw him, warmed him on the inside.

Everything had been scary and confusing, especially when “Tessa” had tried to tell him that they would have to kill Uzi, to protect the rest of the planet from her Solver virus. That had stirred a fear that he hadn’t been ready for. The fear of losing her in all this mess.

He'd refused to hurt her. He just couldn’t. She was too special to him. Too precious. There had to be a way to cure her.

But here they were. She’d saved him and sacrificed herself. For all he knew, she was gone. And he was alone.

Very. Very. Alone.

N stood up, wobbling a little on his feet, panting. He studied the open doors again, then gritted his teeth and extended his wings. With a quick burst of determination, desperation, vain hope, whatever it was, he started to launch himself back inside to find her—

Then everything exploded.

N didn’t know how else to describe what happened. Light split the floor all around him, and before he’d gotten a chance to process that, he was thrown far, far, far up into the sky with a surprised shriek as the air filled with a huge BOOM that quickly quieted the higher he got.

His sensors went offline for a few minutes, but when he’d regained awareness, he was floating in space. Surrounded by floating rocks. Enormous pieces of Copper 9 were hovering in a broken sphere around the exposed core.

Oh. The core had exploded again.

Just like Earth. Just like the other exoplanets.

Okay, then.

Still determined, still refusing to give up hope, N spread his wings again and started trying to swim his way through the space void. He would search through every bit of the floating wreckage if it meant finding Uzi again.

As far as he knew, she was the only one left that could possibly still be alive.

Fortunately, he came across “Tessa” and J’s spaceship first. Quickly he climbed inside, then let his programming take over as he started up the ship with the keys Uzi had tossed at him. She’d meant for him to use them to get away, definitely, but he would not leave without her.

As he expertly navigated the ship through the drifting wreckage, N kept a careful eye on the screens displaying what was around the outside the ship. Searching desperately for any glimpse of purple, or a Solver symbol that wasn’t yellow, anything.

Please still be here. Please still be alive. Please don’t leave me.

I need you.

Then, like a reply from the heavens, he saw her, and a huge smile spread across his face. She was sitting on a rock up ahead. He couldn’t see what she was doing, but she was alive; it was definitely her. He’d found her.

She was okay.

Everything else switched to tunnel vision as he excitedly sped up the ship, trying to catch up to her. The ship wouldn’t be able to slow down easily with the lack of air friction out here in space, so his best bet would be to just fly the ship straight into her. He could pull her inside afterwards. He knew she would be fine.

Uzi freaked out and threw a wrench at him initially, exclaiming that her mom had been back there, but when he apologized in a panic and started scrambling to turn the ship around, she simply stomped closer and threw her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder.

“You were supposed to get away,” she mumbled, almost in a pout, hugging him tighter. Her expression was out of sight, and he figured that was how she wanted it to be.

“Yeah—” N frowned for a moment, not genuinely angry, but still rattled from earlier. “I’m kind of, like, actually mad about what you did,” he informed her, crossing his arms. “But, we can talk lateeEEERRRR!”

His words were interrupted by a mad scramble to navigate the ship through more wreckage and debris without crashing, but the sentiment stood. Those minutes of being alone, thinking he could’ve been alone for the rest of his life, had been legitimately terrifying and painful.

But he’d never been so glad to have been wrong. Uzi was alive, and she was here with him. His life had been a terrifying spiral, especially in the past couple weeks as the truth about everything had slowly unfolded. He didn’t know what lay ahead, with Cyn trying to destroy everything. But he hadn’t lost everyone.

Uzi was the most precious person to him in his life. She was all he had left, but despite it all, she was more than enough.

Whatever lay ahead, they would face it together. Just like always.

[lazysoulwriter]

A Soft Surprise. - Paul Mescal.

just pure fluff!!!!!!!

♡ ︎♡ ︎♡ ︎

The dull ache in your abdomen had you pinned to the bed, curled up under the covers, as if hiding from the world could somehow ease the discomfort. It wasn’t just physical pain; it was the emotional wave that came with your cycle—the frustration, the sensitivity, the overwhelming desire for comfort. Paul lay beside you, his body warm against yours, one arm slung protectively over your waist. His presence was a soothing balm even on the worst days.

“Anything you need, love?” he asked softly, his Irish lilt wrapping around you like a hug.

You shook your head, not trusting your voice. It was one of those days where even forming words felt like too much. He seemed to understand, as always. Instead of pressing, he adjusted his position to hold you closer, his lips brushing your temple.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said after a few moments of silence. “You’ve been watching a lot of those kitten videos lately. Crying over them, actually.” There was a teasing lilt to his voice, but it was filled with affection, not mockery.

“They’re just so cute,” you mumbled, burying your face in his chest. “And I miss having a cat. You know I always had cats. It feels weird not to.”

He hummed thoughtfully, his fingers tracing soothing circles on your back. “You’ll have one again someday, I promise.”

You sighed, content with the comfort he provided. Eventually, you drifted off into a light, restless nap, your body finally succumbing to the exhaustion of the day. Paul stayed with you for a while, watching the soft rise and fall of your chest, brushing stray hairs from your face. But an idea had already begun forming in his mind, and he couldn’t let it go.

You woke to the sound of soft murmuring. For a moment, you weren’t sure if you were dreaming or awake. Paul’s voice was low and gentle, but he wasn’t talking to you. You blinked your eyes open to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, something small and dark cradled in his hands.

“Paul?” you rasped, your voice thick with sleep.

He turned, his face lighting up in a way that made your heart flip. “Hey, love. You’re awake. Come here, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

You sat up slowly, confusion knitting your brows. Then you saw it—a tiny black kitten, nestled comfortably in his hands, its bright green eyes wide with curiosity. Your breath hitched, and for a moment, you couldn’t speak.

“Is this real?” you finally managed, your voice trembling.

He grinned, his eyes sparkling. “Very real. I… uh, I may have gone out while you were napping. Met someone who was fostering this little guy and thought he might be the one for you.”

Tears filled your eyes as you reached out, your hands trembling slightly as you touched the kitten’s soft fur. He let out a tiny meow, leaning into your touch, and that was it. The dam broke. Tears spilled down your cheeks as you looked up at Paul, overwhelmed by love and gratitude.

“I can’t believe you did this,” you whispered. “He’s perfect.”

Paul reached out to brush a tear from your cheek, his touch tender. “You deserve a bit of happiness, especially on days like this. I thought he might help.”

You pulled the kitten close, cradling him against your chest as he purred softly. “What’s his name?” you asked, looking at Paul.

“Well, I figured that was up to you,” he said with a shrug. “But I had a feeling you might already have an idea.”

You smiled through your tears, a laugh bubbling up despite the emotion clogging your throat. “Lucius,” you said softly.

Paul’s brows lifted in surprise before his face broke into a wide grin. “Lucius? Like my character in Gladiator?”

You nodded, brushing your fingers gently over the kitten’s head. “It’s fitting. He’s brave, just like you said about Lucius in the movie. And… it’s a little piece of you too.”

Paul’s throat worked as he swallowed, clearly moved. He leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead. “You’re going to make me cry now,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.

You smiled up at him, your heart swelling with so much love you thought it might burst. “You’re the love of my life, Paul Mescal.”

He cupped your face in his hands, his eyes searching yours. “And you’re mine. Always.”

The two of you stayed like that for a while, wrapped in the warmth of each other’s presence and the soft purring of your new furry companion. Lucius quickly made himself at home, exploring the bed and climbing onto Paul’s lap, where he promptly curled up and fell asleep.

“Looks like he’s already decided he’s a daddy’s boy,” you teased, wiping the last of your tears.

Paul chuckled, scratching behind Lucius’s ears. “Can you blame him? I am pretty irresistible.”

You laughed, the sound light and genuine for the first time all day. For the first time in what felt like forever, the heaviness in your chest lifted. As you watched Paul stroke Lucius with one hand while his other rested on your thigh, you realized that this moment, this man, this little black kitten—this was home.

Later that night, as the three of you lay tangled together on the bed, you felt a peace you hadn’t known you needed. Lucius was curled up between you and Paul, his tiny body rising and falling with each breath. Paul’s hand rested over yours, his thumb stroking your knuckles absentmindedly.

“Thank you,” you whispered, turning your head to look at him. “For everything. For knowing what I needed before I even did.”

He smiled, leaning over to kiss you softly. “That’s what love is, isn’t it? Being there for each other, even on the hard days. Especially on the hard days.”

You nodded, your heart so full it felt like it might overflow. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Paul chuckled, his lips brushing against your temple. “I think the same thing about you every day, love.”

As you drifted off to sleep, the sound of Lucius’s soft purring filling the room, you couldn’t help but think that Paul Mescal was right. Love was about moments like this—quiet, simple, and utterly perfect.

[nicolgue]

Blessed By Love And War

Summary: Love and war is not something that you would think goes together but what happens when they do? You are the daughter of a Greek king friend of Odysseus and Penelope, what happens when you and Telemachus fall in love in the events of the Odyssey?

Warnings: A cute chapter, a little bit of angst maybe, possible spelling mistakes.

A/N: sorry for the delay of the second chapter I promise not to post with such long dates I have just been very busy, art it's not mine and don't copy my work.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

"You and Telemachus are now betrothed"  were the words that changed your life forever.

So here you were three years later on a boat to Ithaca , you had to delay your arrival in Ithaca for reasons of both families, from you family it was for the wedding of your older brother and for the family of Ithaca because of some suitors of Queen Penelope, but after three years it was time to go to your new home to spend the rest of your life there alongside Telemachus, your betrothed and future husband.

You weren't against the idea of marrying Telemachus if you were honest you really, really, really like Telemachus the thing it's that you hate being lied to or that people keep things from you and you have the suspicion that Telemachus already knew about the marriage before they told you and it was a struggle inside you because you were happy that you were going to marry Telemachus but at the same time you were angry at the possibility that he knew and didn't told you.

"Something on your mind dear?" Asked your mother, she is accompanying you on your trip she will stay a few days and then return to your kingdom until the day of the wedding.

You sigh softly and look at your mother "I just..." You sight again "I don't like the idea of prince Telemachus lying to me".

"What do you mean dear?" Your mother had a face of confusion and surprise.

"It's just that he knew about the possible engagement and didn't tell me anything even though I was confused" I told her, her eyes softened at your words and she gave you a smile

"Well queen Penelope probably told him not to say anything until it was decided by both families, don't be angry dear he probably was following instructions or he was too nervous to tell you, after all he has known you all he's life, don't think too much about it, everything it's going to be okay" she kissed your head softly and turned to continue seeing the sea while traveling. It was strange for you how she was so calmed but it helped even a little so you did what she said and didn't think too much of it.

"Mother?" You asked your mom

"Yes dear?" She looked at you with those eyes that told you that everything would be okay even if it didn't look like it.

"Will you keep visiting me? I mean now that I'll be living in Ithaca?" You were scared that now that you were about to be married in a few years she would no longer visit or want to see you.

"Of course dear, I will visit even more often now that my precious daughter is there" she kisses your forehead again and embraced you in a hug. "Don't be afraid darling, everything will be okay" she tells you one last time and you believe her.

You arrived at Ithaca in the afternoon, Queen Penelope and Telemachus were already expecting you, Queen Penelope took you to your rooms your mom to a guest room and you to other.

"This is your temporary room while the wedding arrives, were delighted to have you here Princess Y/N" she tells you with a smile on her face "Rest for a little bit and then we'll have dinner"

"Thank you Queen Penelope" I tell her bowing my head.

That night at dinner the dining room was filled mostly with talk between your mother and Queen Penelope, Telemachus was mostly quiet like always and you were in your head trying to get used to the idea of your new home. It was like a dream because you had always liked Telemachus but you didn't want to leave your family, the first night at Ithaca was the hardest for you because you kept reminding yourself that this was no longer the palace you grew up with, it wasn't sadness or something it was mostly nostalgia.

Your mother left and two weeks passed by, you and Telemachus didn't talked, why you ask? Well in your part was because in your head was the voice that told you that Telemachus knew about your engagement and didn't say anything to you. Now Telemachus was nervous and scared that you didn't like him and even you would like to cancel the engagement. Three weeks passed and you were taking a stroll around the gardens it was the only place you liked to have strolls around now that the suitors where around the palace and it was the only place where they didn't dare to be around so you enjoyed taking strolls around the gardens, still you had to have a maid around you but you didn't mind, sometimes you would talk to her and sometimes you just walked in silence. You were walking around the garden when you spotted Telemachus looking at you and he smiled at you, sometimes you tonight that maybe he was just nervous but when he smiled at you like that you weren't so sure. You were so caught in your thoughts that you didn't see him approaching you until he was right in front of you.

"Y/N hello" he said while having a smile, a nervous smile?

"Hello, what brings you here?" You ask him.

"I actually wanted to talk to you" Some kind of hesitation was clear in he's eyes. "Sure, what is it?" I asked.

"Not here" he took your hand and led you to the path that took you to the benches, the bench between the two arched trees, the place where you realized you liked Telemachus, he extended he's hand inviting you to sit down, you sat on the bench and he sat next to you, he still looked scared but there was a look of courage?

"So I wanted to ask you something if it's okay with you?" He looked at you with those eyes that made your heart jumo and forget that you were angry at him.

"Ask me" I said while looking at him

"So the last weeks I have noticed that your distant, I don't know I feel like it and I wanted to ask if you didn't like the idea of us being married?" Wow that straight forward, you weren't expecting him to ask you that. Something in he's eyes told you that it was okay to tell him the truth.

"Well I'm not against the engagement but I need to ask you something too" You try to look serious, even angry. He nods at you signaling that you can ask. "So I wanted to know if you knew about the possibility of us being engaged and if you did why didn't you tell me?" You see a spark of sadness and even fear flash throw he's face.

"Well i did know about the engagement but let me explain" he's eyes changed to ones of pleading "I did know about the engagement because I was the first one to suggest it, when I told my mom she asked me not to say anything to you until it was settled between your mother and your brother"

"Why did you suggest the marriage?" He probably did because of some diplomatic thing, he probably didn't even liked you, he probably just was doing the best for Ithaca you though.

"Well if I'm being totally honest with you I... I have l... liked you all my life, and after the first time I brought you here I realized that I wanted to marry you but we were kids and I said to myself that it was just a crush maybe but when I turned sixteen I just knew I wanted you to be my wife so I told my mother and she was enlightened because she always wanted us to be married" He told you. So he liked you? He really liked you the way you liked him. "Of course if you don't feel the same it's okay"

"I feel the same way" you don't know we're that courage came from but you just let it out "I think I've liked you all my life but I realized it the day you brought me here too and believe I'm really excited to marry you I was just afraid the you hadn't told me because it was just a diplomatic contract" You pour out your feelings and your fears.

"No, no, no, I really didn't tell you because of my mother but I really really like you" he said taking your hand in he's.

"Then that's makes the two of us" You said taking he's hand too.

After that day the dining room was filled with talk between you, Telemachus and Queen Penelope, he took you to strolls around the palace at least two times the week and every time your eyes locked he smiled at you even sometimes he blew you a kiss with he's hand. You still missed your family of course but it was still worth to be in Ithaca. Everything was perfect.

Little did you know about what was to happen next in the palace.

[tales-of-wocdes]

Very depressing question Author especially to pet lovers🥲

How would Havard and Lexia react if MC asked for their help to wake up their dog because it has been sleeping for too long, but when they checked they realized that it was actually dead because of old age? I wonder how would they break the news to MC since they are very attached to their pet (like it was the first being MC become close to in this question), and their understanding of *death* is still not fully developed.

I assume this older post is the context. Though that was a puppy, we will here assume MC is a child so we can assume this is a different head canon.

The dog's name for this snippet is "Storm.", because calling the dog, "dog" does not seem sufficient for such a snippet.

-----------------------------------

Havard and Lexia followed after MC, who said Strom had been asleep for long. As they arrived into MC's room, Havard knelt next to the sleeping dog.

He laid a hand on Strom... and knew what had happened. The body was still warm, but life had left it. A peaceful way to go, while asleep.

He glanced at Lexia, trying to communicate silently what has happened. The Protector walked over to lay a hand on the dog too. A nod with sad eyes was all she did, before both turned to an anxious MC.

"I am sorry, MC. " He said gently. "Storm has returned to the Eternal Flow."

MC looked confused. "When will Storm be back?" The child asked, not understanding the meaning.

Havard glanced at Lexia who nodded.

"MC, returning to the Eternal Flow means that Storm has passed away."

"Away?" MC dashed to the dog and shook the still form. "I don't get it, why won't Storm wake up?"

"It means, that Storm is gone MC." Havard tried gently. "That Storm no longer feels pain or needs to breathe. Like an enchanted eternal sleep."

"But... but... I don't want him to sleep. I want him to wake up." MC said, and Havard knew he had to explain it better.

"I am sorry, MC but Storm won't wake up." Havard says gently as Lexia moves to hold MC's hand gently in hers. "Death is a part of life, MC. Everyone dies in the end." Well, there were lots of immortals but that would be too complicated right now. And they could die too. "It is a natural part of life. Storm's life has ended, and you can be sad about it. You can grieve." He said gently, kneeling in front of MC. "Do you understand?" He asked softly.

MC looked at Storm for a long time. "Can't Grandpa fix it?" MC asked eventually. "Fix Storm? Or the bath?"

Havard wished he knew for certain... He had no idea what Lord Sheo was capable of, but he was aware that the Ancients did not bring people back. It was not like people had not asked them.

"No, MC. I don't think even Lord Sheo can reverse death. Nor can the healing baths." He said gently.

MC's grip on Lexia's hand tightened, as much as it could with the child's bad hands.

"Storm's happy... in the Flow thing?" MC asked eventually.

It was not quite so simple... Havard did not have all the answers. He did not want to lie... but perhaps something reassuring.

"I believe so. I don't know for sure, but I believe so." He whispered.

MC stared at him for a long time after that, perhaps searching for lies...

Havard hugged MC. The child did not understand. They would eventually. There could be tears in the future, once it sank in. For now, his explanation would have to be enough.

It was a slow day after that. Both Lexia and Havard stayed with MC, speaking about Storm after finding a nice spot in the garden to lay the canine to rest.

-----------------------------------------

It is Havard heavy, but I feel this would be mostly him. Lexia would go for it, only if Havard was not available and it is quite long.

[lucy90712]

Telling family

Gavi: 

It has been a couple weeks since I had my first ultrasound but we are yet to tell Pablo's family. Just a few days after the ultrasound once I had wrapped my head around it all I called my parents and told them. I didn't expect them to be over the moon as I know Pablo and I are young but they were a lot more angry than I thought. They lectured me for most of the phone call about how irresponsible I'd been and how I'd regret things in years to come so I haven't spoken to them since. After their reaction I've been way too scared to tell Pablo's parents, he wants to tell them naturally but I've made him wait and wait because I'm just so scared of what they are going to think. 

Now though I can't wait anymore as Pablo's family have invited us both to dinner and we agreed that the next time we saw them in person would be the time we tell them. Pablo promised me that he'd take the lead in the conversation which makes me feel a bit better but still I feel so incredibly anxious. I get on really well with Pablo's parents and I don't want to ruin that especially with the lack of support from my own parents. I can understand why they wouldn't be happy about the news because having a baby is going to affect Pablo's career and he has such a bright future ahead of him that I might be ruining. I know that it takes two to make a baby but I can't help but feel responsible for this situation and anything that comes from it including our parents reactions. 

Pablo drove us to dinner which was at a nice restaurant in a quiet part of town meaning there wasn't many people around to create any distraction from the situation. We had a lovely dinner but I couldn't eat much in part due to sickness but mostly due to nerves. Once everyone had finished eating a conversation was started about what had been going on since we all last saw each other. That's when Pablo squeezed my hand under the table to tell me that he was going to make the announcement. 

"Actually y/n and I have an announcement we are expecting" Pablo announced 

"That's brilliant I'm so happy for you two" Pablo's mum said 

"You aren't mad?" Pablo asked taking the words right out of my mouth 

"No of course not it's your life not ours plus we know you two will make great parents" Pablo's dad said 

"Thank you your support means a lot" I managed to say despite the shock of how well the conversation had gone down 

Pedri: 

Pretty much ever since we found out Pedri has been desperate to tell his family about the new addition. The only thing that has stopped him is the fact that he wanted to tell his parents in person. They were supposed to be coming over for a few days this week but a few things happened so now they aren't able to come and Pedri is devastated. I told him that we can wait until they can make it out here to tell them but he still wants to find a way because he doesn't want them to miss out on much more of my pregnancy. It has been a difficult dilemma for him and I've tried to help but ultimately it's his decision as to what he wants to do I will just be there whether he decides. 

This morning Pedri woke me up all excited telling me that today is the day we tell his family which had me very confused. He explained that he invited Fer over this afternoon and he plans to FaceTime his parents so that they can all find out at the same time. Then he showed me the little onesie he got made that he was going to give his parents but instead he's going to give to Fer and get him to show his parents through FaceTime. He was so excited and had a smile to match which was so infectious that I couldn't help but smile too at how cute it is the Pedri is so excited. His family means so much to him and I know he wants our announcement to be perfect but no matter what happens it will be perfect. 

Fer came round right on time but Pedri acted as if he was hours late as he rushed Fer into the living room and set up his phone before running off to get the onesie which he'd put in a box. Fer was laughing at his brother but he let him do his thing and listened when he was told to wait to open the box. Pedri FaceTimed his parents who were happy to see all of us together and wanted to chat but Pedri was preoccupied. 

"Ok you can open the box now but make sure you show mum and dad too" Pedri instructed 

"What is this" Fer said pulling out the onesie so that the writing on it was facing the phone 

"Are you two joking?" Pedri's mum asked

"No we aren't" I said 

"Congratulations I wish we could be there to hug you both but we will come over soon" she said 

"I'm still confused" Fer said 

"Turn it round you dumbass" Pedri said 

"Oh my god congratulations both of you" Fer said giving both of us a hug 

Jude: 

Jude has been nervous to tell his family not because he thinks they won't be supportive but because they know he didn't want kids and he doesn't want them to get the wrong impression. He is so worried that his family will think that I'm baby trapping him but I'm not worried about that because I know once we explain that this baby is a happy accident they will be super supportive. It is this reason that Jude hasn't wanted to tell his family the news over the phone so now that he has a break and we are going back home for a few days he doesn't have any excuse. Seeing as it's his family I have left him to decide how he wants to tell them but I told him if he wants me to do or say anything he just has to tell me. 

Throughout the flight Jude was so nervous he was tapping his foot and playing with the rings on my fingers which he only does when he's deep in thought. I really want to be able to support him more but there's not much I can do as we won't know what's going to happen until we tell them plus I don't have the same fears he does so I don't know how he's feeling. I do think it's sweet that he's so worried about what his parents might think of me when we tell them because he doesn't want them to resent me in any way. If he wasn't so caring he wouldn't be this nervous which I guess in this scenario has its pros and cons. 

Once we finally arrived it was late and I was very tired so we went straight to Jude's parents place as that's where we are staying. Even though it was late they all stayed up for us and greeted us at the door which was really nice. As it was late I expected Jude to wait until tomorrow to tell his parents or find a better time but as I made my way to the stairs he gave me a look and I knew he was just going to say it. 

"Y/n and I are expecting" he just kind of blurted out 

"Oh wow congratulations" Jude's dad said 

"I know I said I didn't want kids and I know what you are thinking but it's not y/n's fault we both made a mistake but I'm actually really excited to be a dad" Jude explained 

"We would never think anything like that I'm just glad you two are happy that's the main thing" Jude mum said 

"Congrats bro I can't wait to be the fun uncle" Jobe laughed 

Joao: 

Joao has been so excited to surprise his family with the news he hasn't stopped talking about all the different ways he could do it. He has been looking on Pinterest most nights to come up with ideas which I never thought I'd see as he used to make fun of me for looking on Pinterest for inspiration. After much consideration he made his mind up on what he wanted to do so we ordered the stuff we would need and made sure it would arrive in time for his family coming to visit. 

Today is the day that Joao's family are due to arrive so Joao dragged me out of bed far too early so we could assemble the idea he came up with. There was a lot of layers to Joao's plan he had a box and he wanted to created different layers with different things on them. On the bottom we put a picture from the ultrasound we got then going up we added other things that were slightly baby related but not too obvious so it wasn't completely given away at the start. Once it was done he was so excited to give it to them but I told him to at least wait until they are sat down  after getting here as we don't want to overwhelm them at the door. He knew he would be able to hold back to he told me to give him a signal when I thought the time was right. 

When it was time Joao went to the airport to pick everyone up leaving me at home. I was fully prepared for him to have given everything away on the drive but he hadn't although he did look like he was about to burst from anticipation. I made everyone a drink before we all sat down and got to catch up, to begin with it was just sort of small talk but then the conversation moved to things that were hard for me to answer truthfully without making it obvious that I am pregnant. That is when I gave Joao the signal so he excused himself and came back with the box which he gave to his mum but made sure everyone else could see it too. I wasn't nervous until they actually started looking through the box which is when a bit of anxiety kicked in as to what their reactions would be. By the time they got to the last layer of the box my heart rate was through the roof.

"Oh my god you aren't joking right you are actually expecting" Joao's mum exclaimed 

"No we aren't joking y/n is actually pregnant" Joao said 

"Thats amazing congratulations" Joao's dad said 

"How are feeling y/n have you been doing ok?" Joao's mum asked 

"I'm fine just the usual symptoms but nothing too bad so far" I said 

"If you need anything just give us a call and we will do our best to help" she said 

Ruben: 

Ruben couldn't hold off on telling his parents so they found out a few weeks ago not long after we did. His brother however doesn't know and everyone has been keeping it a secret from him so Ruben can tell him in a fun way. His brother has been there for us through the months and months of negative tests and really helped Ruben not get down about it so Ruben decided he needed to do something special to tell his brother that he will finally be an uncle. While Ruben has been thinking about how he wants to surprise his brother I've been finding it really hard not to say anything as Ruben's brother is around a lot and my pregnancy is quite often on my mind. Trying to cover up when I'm feeling sick or tried has been difficult but I've done it for Ruben as I don't want to be the one to ruin the surprise. 

Last night Ruben told me he was finally ready to tell his brother which is great timing as he is supposed to be coming for dinner tonight. Ruben had training this morning so he sent me out to get a few things for him which I happily did. As soon as Ruben was back he got on with his plan which he hasn't told me so I just watched as he stuck a design onto a t shirt he made me get. Once he was done he showed me that he had made a t shirt for his brother that had uncle Ivan written on the back of it. He was so happy with himself and I must say it was a good idea one that his brother will definitely like. 

Ruben made dinner as I wasn't feeling well enough to be stood up cooking for too long but I did greet his brother and sat with him until dinner was done and we could all eat together. After dinner Ruben went and grabbed the t shirt which was folded to hide what was written on it and handed it to his brother. As he unfolded it he read what was on the back and I could see his smile grow and he went straight to hug Ruben before he hugged me too.

"Congratulations both of you I'm so happy for you" Ivan said 

"Thanks for your support until now we wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for you telling me it will come when the time is right" Ruben said 

"You don't need to thank me I'm just glad you've finally got what you've been wishing for" Ivan said 

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Fics Including Kathryn Lester (2) Masterlist

part one

a matched set (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: “Mum,” he says, and his voice sounds like a balloon about to burst from happiness. “Mum, would you do me a favor.”

(a mother's view of the christmas adventure)

All the Ways to Phil Lester's Heart (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: During Christmas Eve with his family, Phil reflects on all the ways to his heart

Always Yes (ao3) - LetGladnessDwell

Summary: In this universe, Dan and Phil spend all their money to move to London, betting everything that their pitch to the BBC for a weekly radio show will succeed. It doesn’t.

And I know the yearning will always remain (ao3) - Kavat

Summary: Kathryn drops off Phil and Dan at the train station.

bittersweet joy (ao3) - starlight_kth

Summary: dan and phil spend christmas away from each other with their families and phil has some very strong feelings about it, but a skype call with dan always warms him up.

bundle up, baby (ao3) - angelmichelangelo

Summary: dnp taking their little kid for the first time to the iom for christmas

there's nothing more exciting than a child's first christmas

can i wake up with you? (ao3) - dvp_95

Summary: Phil isn't bad at talking about his feelings, he just does it very differently than Dan does.

Chosen Family (ao3) - Mysticallykai

Summary: After Dan comes out at fifteen, his parents don't pay him any mind. At sixteen, when he goes to his first pride, he meets Kath Lester. She becomes like a mother to him, and when his boyfriend hurts him, he goes to her for help. He wasn't aware that he would finally meet her youngest son, nor that Phil would be someone so special to him.

clouds parting (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: Phil’s never been good at thinking things over while in motion, not the way that Dan is. But the first pieces of the decision happen then, making his way down rain-soaked pavements, everything a steely, soggy gray.

(secret holiday, autumn ‘21)

cradled by the bare sky (ao3) - Tarredion

Summary: (COTY inspired)

“What did you want, mum?” he asks, the words a mere whisper, his lips curving into a quivering smile. He stays where he is, one hand resting on the frame. Both of the gestures break her heart. She knows he wants to get the truth out there, as they’ve had a silent agreement for quite some time, but seems too scared to try.

Fresh Fake Coffee (ao3) - yikesola

Summary: Dan hadn’t heard Mrs. Lester when he was upstairs, but she’s stirring instant coffee grounds into a long row of mugs: four, one for every person in the house.

A ficlet about sips and welcomes.

growing up or just going down (ao3) - SylvesterLester

Summary: Phil is 15 years old today. He's going to have the best birthday of his life, to kick off the best year of his life.

Right?

Happy Birthday My Love (ao3) - phansuniteinluv

Summary: It's Phil's 33rd birthday!!! Laughter, fun, and a birthday proposal that Dan has been planning for ages!

home for christmas (ao3) - danhoweiis

Summary: kath and dan have a chat on christmas day

I'd marry you (with paper rings) (ao3) - Tarredion

Summary: Maybe learning calligraphy was of greater importance to Phil, and them, than Dan first thought

It Hits Different (ao3) - danisnotinteresting

Summary: I really have no summary for now, just read the tags please

kiss you until your lips turn blue (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan's confused about who he is, but what he knows is that he finds the quiet boy in his friendship group very pretty.

Leave it to stew (ao3) - chiridotalaevis

Summary: They weren’t, you know, hiding that Dan was here, but perhaps Kath didn’t need to see slightly slobbery faces (don’t judge, Phil is just a very enthusiastic kisser), Dan’s bright red cheeks and Phil’s slightly untucked pants. They just were not exactly Kath presentable at this moment.

Lucky (ao3) - starlight_kth

Summary: Dan and Phil are at a Lester family party with their two children: Emily, 7 and Colby, 2. Phil spends the night twirling them both on the dance floor and Dan spends the night watching his husband and wondering how he got so lucky

mama's boy (ao3) - angelmichelangelo

Summary: when phil said kath had put up that shout poster in his bedroom when he came home for christmas :3

no matter how old phil gets, he's still babied by his mum

maybe this christmas (ao3) - blackbirddan

Summary: In all the years they've known each other, Dan and Phil have never been able to spend Christmas Day together. And it's looking like they still can't, even with how much things have changed this year. Unless...

a.k.a. Dan’s family spend Christmas in the Isle of Man.

My Spirit Love (ao3) - MySecretsX

Summary: If you fall in love with a spirit who drains you both away, do you live together for twenty years, or stay alone each day?

Phil has lived in his house since he was born, but it was when he turned seven he met Dan for the first time. It's all childish games and the muse of a naïve brain until your fifteen-year-old son claims to have fallen in love with the boy you've never seen.

Is anything possible for love?

newlyweds on Christmas Eve (ao3) - Tarredion

Summary: “Come inside! Nigel and I have been waiting all of December for our new son-in-law!”

no matter how far away you roam (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Some things will never change, like Dan and Phil video calling each other from their family homes over Christmas.

not a lot, just forever (ao3) - blossomsphan

Summary: “intertwined, sewn together

not a lot, just forever” - adrianne lenker

working through the feels post-hospital incident ❤️‍🩹

now i smile and face the girl who shares my name (ao3) - plinth_of_life

Summary: kath meets her newborn granddaughter.

party for two (ao3) - SylvesterLester

Summary: Dan has only had five birthdays before this one. And he can't really remember the first three of them. But he knows this has to be the worst one yet.

Pretty Guy (ao3) - Archive (Curlylinguist)

Summary: Drinking as a coping mechanism is not Phil’s usual style, but then, he reasons, neither is spontaneously tagging along on an entirely unplanned night out with a bunch of strangers after the bizarre high of a successful publishing meeting. And all just because a pretty boy asked him to.

Or, Phil stumbles across a Pride rally and a certain curly-haired queer activist catches his eye.

songbird (ao3) - jestbee

Summary: a post-apocalyptic coffee shop au

Staring at the Sea (ao3) - Allthephils

Summary: Dan wears a braided chain made of finest silver from the north of Spain, a locket that bears the name of the man that he loves.

The Gaming Video. (ao3) - iamalwaystired

Summary: dan and phil decide to bring back the gayming channel with dab and evans wedding video. basically just fluff for 6k words,

The Scent of Pining (ao3) - americanphancakes

Summary: Dan and Phil grew up together, but were separated by university and the mundanities of life. After years of missing each other, keeping track of each other's careers, and asking their families about each other, they finally reunite at a Christmas party back home. Surrounded by fragrances that cast their memories back to their childhood together, they each work up the nerve to finally do something about how they've been feeling for a decade.

together we sang (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." -Billy, age 4

Two Faces, One Fear (ao3) - R3ad3r1

Summary: Phil collapses due to his head hurting, as the pain does not subside he has to go to the hospital.

Let's have a look at Phil and Dan's emotional journey until they discover why Phil collapsed.

Wagon Wheel (ao3) - SylvesterLester

Summary: Is there enough room in Wagon Wheel for Phil's saloon and Sheriff Howell's city-slickin' ways?

"we gotta be brave" (ao3) - wednesday_ukiru

Summary: Six year old Phil misbehaves – and quickly becomes convinced he’s going to get picked up by Mrs. Fuse’s adoption agency. Instead, he meets a boy.

Weight on my Shoulders (ao3) - ByTheFire

Summary: When Phil starts getting some unexpected gifts from his dad he starts to worry if he knows something he is not ready to share. Thankfully Dan is there to make it all a bit less scary. All Phil can hope is his dad doesn't want to change who he truly is.

welcome, love (ao3) - angelmichelangelo

Summary: coming out isn't easy, but it's a little less shit when you're surrounded with family

What We Are to Each Other (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: So maybe they both suck at communication. Maybe Dan needs to talk to Phil about what they are to each other. And maybe Phil needs to sit his parents down and tell them that big, slightly scary thing about himself. But maybe it'll all work itself out, one way or another.

wrecking ball (ao3) - bloodyscarab

Summary: you gotta wanna break the hearts

of all those pretty porcelain dolls

Yours, Absolutely, Positively (ao3) - JudeAraya

Summary: Like so many things in his new life, Dan was coming to understand that Phil was the only exception.

~Christmas 2009~

[aphrodite1288]

Hello

This is the link to Kyungsoo's talk for the Naver article. There are some answers that I want to know the truth about now. Please answer.

Save me from my mental confusion. We've been in a drought for two years now and there's been no news from Kaisu, so Kyungsoo's answers in this article have me confused. And I can only tell you because you've said some things in the past.

Now if you could clarify. Please.🥺🙏🏼

https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/609/0000944946?s=09

A brief translation of Kyungsoo's words

He continued by saying about Yujun falling in love so recklessly, "I personally haven't experienced such serious love. In the true sense, Yujun can't think of anything else but love."

They asked how you created this sense of drama. He said, "I used to date in high school myself, and I got some advice from people around me, and I looked closely at what those who were dating were doing."

They asked him if he would like to have a girlfriend publicly like Hyung-Gat and go on a date. He said no, it's not the time now. The time will come eventually, but not now.

I don't understand why y'all take interviews as sacred bible it's just questions and answers they agreed upon with his company management and they're scripted. Everything is scripted the whole interview and the answers and the Questions. So pls chill.

He won't go and say on national TV interview oh ! Yes I've been in deep love with my partner and I love him so much and he is my band member??!! Even if it was a girl he won't say it. Because that would project the spotlight on him and sasaengs would wanna follow him everywhere to know who's his ex or current lover.

Let alone he will be constantly teased and asked about the topic nonstop on shows and Mcees in Korea are kinda consistent and insisting and want more views by creating drama and asking very viral and delicate scandalous questions. They won't stop bothering him with the same question in all shows for years!

Look at how they're still asking him about his debut stuff and his astigmatism issue that he fixed 10000 years ago. They're just boring and cringe and want content so he ain't giving them that, he won't open that door for them. It's just gonna bring him trouble.

The high school Gf was a scripted scenario that the company SM gave him to tell in debut to build his straight image and every idol needs a relevant moving very emotional love story or a life story in general from the past especially if they're rumored to be gay and the company needs to end those speculations and try and build him a straight image.

Also you can ask everyone here how his "Ex GF from highschool" story is SO INCONSISTENT!

Like in debut he said it was a very sad love story he was broken heart and hurt and he was so jealous that he ruined their relationship it was all because of his excessive jealousy.

Then in 2018 he goes and says that his love story from highschool was the best thing that ever happened to him and it was a very beautiful "HAPPY" experience and that he never felt this kind of love ever.

And now in 2025 he's saying he Never had such serious Love ????

I think you can add one to one and connect the dots you'll get it.

It's a script.

[voiceofdragons]

Gloria was searching the cabinets, knowing for a fact she'd left the flour in one of them. She'd been thinking about making empanadas for the special that day, and the only ingredient she was needing was the flour. She found plenty of corn flour, but that wasn't her go to for this so the search went on.

Ava was sorting through her notes, and wondering when the next time to stock up on cigarettes would be possible. Caspar was dozing at the counter, a crossword half finished while he listened to 'Stardust' by Hoagy Carmichael, courtesy of Effie and Zebulon wanting to dance together in the quiet before a shift. Leif was on the roof, adjusting the power supply for his drones to try and make them charge quicker.

As the song finished, familiar static replaced the whistling tune of a bygone era, catching the attention of the residents of the diner who were inside to hear it. Leif was more preoccupied with the random purple glow that replaced the sky, and the lines and patterns filling the spaces between the stars.

"Uh oh," Caspar said and sat up straight to look more closely at the radio. "Effie, Zebulon? Today was going to be normal wasn't it? You were even playing secular music!" Caspar, while exasperated, wasn't trying to panic. Sometimes Effie and Zebulon did random things like change their personalities, this is a known fact. Normally there's a bit of warning though.

"They switching it up today? Been awhile, I wonder who it'll be today. Maybe Plinth and Dark Mark? Been awhile since we had their kookiness to enjoy." Ava stretched out as she waited for the static to settle, glad her day wouldn't be boring.

Gloria closed the cabinet, deciding empanadas could wait till the nonsense in her dining room was sorted. For better or for worse, when those two lovebirds switched things up on the radio it made for a hectic day.

All of a sudden the static faded to a jazzy drum line, and mysterious piano notes. Ava's request might have been granted, they all thought, until the voice spoke. Neither Effie, or Zebulon.

"Hello listeners, the moon has a city. This statement is not in any way an attempt to supercede city ordinance regarding describing the moon, it is simply stating the location of a city. It's boring, and not many people go there." The voice said, smooth, calm and professional.

"Guys!!" Leif shouted from the roof, clearly frightened of something.

"We're busy in here Leif!" Gloria shouted back, shaken by the foreign voice from their familiar radio. "Get your but down here, somethings up with the Mucklewains!"

"Today is a special day for public radio." The voice continued, " Today I am joined at the station by two lovely radio hosts from Toadsuck Arkansas! Citizens of Night Vale, I am delighted to introduce to you, Effie and her husband Zebulon Mucklewain!" The voice sounded very eager with this announcement, clearly happy to introduce the couple, but only confusing those inside the diner.

"So, the Mucklewains didn't change, we got a new host?" Caspar rubbed the side of his head, baffled, while Ava started bouncing in her seat, anything new being something to study!

This is what I have so far, I might add to this let me know what you think!

I feel like if midnight burger showed up in Night Vale everyone would just be chill with it.

Cecil voice: “In other news, Larry Leroy out on the edge of town has reported that a diner appeared in the middle of the scrublands overnight. None of us have any idea how it got there or what it’s intentions are, but the coffee is dee-lish. City council has stated in a press release that “it’s whatever. Like, we don’t know anything about architecture. Leave us alone!”

Also Carlos and Ava. I would love to see that interaction

[akystaracer22]

Calm Down, Jayce.

This was done for a soulmate AU I'm writing called Icarian Heart (My Last Words of Love). However that AU is set in Mage Viktor's past. This is set in the canon loop. Bascially, the council room scene but it's also a soulmate AU and very fucked up. Viewer discretion is advised.

TW: emotional abuse, mind control, emotional manipulation, abuse of soulmarks, jayce whump, jayce is really going through it, glorious evolution, season 2 episode 8, arcane spoilers, brainwashing, hurt/comfort, machine herald viktor

Fic under cut.

Jayce shuddered, the world warping behind his eyes as he tried to recover from the arcane assault on his mind. He panted, trying to keep his defenses up even as his leg fucking screamed at him. He was tired, hungry, in agony, and the last thing he needed right now was this- anything but this.

Anything but him.

“Allow us a moment of civility, Jayce,” The thing that stalked towards him was not his partner, it couldn’t be his partner his partner was fucking dead- “We must talk.”

“Viktor,” Jayce carefully placed himself between the automaton and Mel. He slowly approached it with his guard up, “How did you get in here?”

“You once benefitted from my knowledge of this place.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Had you given me the chance, I would have shown you the merits of my work. Our work.”

“No,” Jayce snapped, tensing up in preparation, “This is your obsession. Everything you've done to these people, you did alone.”

Jayce swung, missing the thing by inches. He tried to compensate, firing at it but it was too fast- Janna why was it so fast?

“Perhaps,” The monster hummed, hiding among the columns as Jayce hunted it, “But I'm alone no longer. I now speak with all their voices.”

“Just say what you came here to say,” Jayce growled, his shoulders tight with tension as he aimed around, trying to get a lock on it with his glitches.

“Somehow I think you already understand what must transpire to complete my mission,” It huffed, sounding amused in a way that sent alarms through Jayce’s mind, “I would prefer to do so in peace. The Noxian has other intentions.”

“Mother?”

Jayce glitched, twisting around and not even letting himself hesitate before firing a blast at the Evolved. Wincing in pain at the pressure in his leg. He could feel the shards of bone tearing into his muscles. He couldn’t rest- he couldn’t rest-

“Viktor,” Jayce snarled, “For all our sakes. Stay. Away. From the Hexgates!”

He charged forward, dragging the Mercury Hammer across the ground with the intention of pulverising the doll. It dodged, because of course it did, and retaliated in a way that made him want to scream in pain. He braced himself on the council table, shaking as he tried to recover.

“Your mind has become rigid, Jayce,” It sounded like it was mourning and Jayce wanted to fucking cry. It wasn’t fair, it was his partner who was dead. Why the hell did it sound sad, “Fear clouds your judgment.”

Desperately, Jayce turned around for another strike with his hammer, his movements sloppy and haggard and-

It jumped over the blow, and he felt its finger’s on his forehead.

No. nonononono-

Pure animalistic fear blinded him in an instant. His soulmark burning as he thrashed in the puppets grip. The puppet seemed unperturbed, wrapping its limbs around him to keep him trapped. The arcane screamed in his ear as he struggled. He couldn’t hear anything above the static in his mind.

“Jayce? Hm, it seems you’re too stressed to listen to reason.”

And then a powerful wave of calm, love, and joy blanketed his thoughts. He faltered in confusion, but the emotions pressed down harder on his consciousness. It was a powerful insistence; telling him to relax and that everything was okay and he was fine and he should be happy and his partner was here.

He blinked tiredly, his eyes drifting down as he noticed a pressure on his wrist, the one with Viktor’s stone. The doll had its own wrist pressed to it. The one where Viktor’s soulmark was.

… Oh.

Jayce tried to muster up enough energy to fight, struggling weakly at the realisation that these weren’t his emotions he was feeling. It was whatever Viktor was projecting through the half bond, whatever Viktor wanted him to feel. It wasn’t-

“Shh, calm down, Jayce,” Viktor purred in his ear, those warm happy listen obey love safe calm emotions pressing in harder, clouding Jayce’s mind, “That’s it, calm. Isn’t that better Kámo?”

Happiness surged through the bond and Jayce hummed in agreement, going limp in Viktor’s grasp as his partner chuckled, “See? There’s no need to be so upset, Jayce. The glorious evolution is destined, can’t you see now? What you are feeling now is only a fraction of the peace that our work will bring.”

Jayce didn’t really care what Viktor was saying, just happy to soak up his partner’s attention. Then one of Viktor’s hands moved up and scratched his chin and Jayce melted. Touch felt so good right now. He let out a happy noise as Viktor continued.

“Come, Jayce. Let us show the world our glorious evolution, as partners.”

Jayce smiled, filled with and swallowed by the soulbond. That sounded nice.

Distantly, he heard someone shout, but he didn’t really pay any mind to it. His beloved partner was here and he was just so happy-

White gold burning light filled his vision and he was wrenched away from his soulmate. Jayce screamed in agony as he hit something, his leg burning and the arcane screeching-

And then nothing.

[------------]

Mel would never admit it, but she was scared for Jayce.

He had talked to her months ago, about his incomplete bond with Viktor. He’d just been insecure at the time, worried that Viktor would forget him the moment his soulmate showed up.

She had never imagined that Viktor would do this, however.

Jayce had woken up a half an hour ago, but he was… off. The man’s eyes were hazy and unfocused, and he was lethargic, not even attempting to get out of the bed. He was unusually passive with anyone who came into the room, allowing the nurses to manhandle him without a fuss.

Jayce never allowed anyone to help him without a fuss. It was one of the things Mel learned about him early on. Jayce would always either insist on paying her back, or insist he didn’t need help.

He was never so… compliant.

She was no fool, she knew what this was. She’d read about it after Jayce had talked to her.

Viktor had abused the half formed bond to subjugate Jayce via emotion. Something that was far more common in unrequited soulbonds than true soulbonds. The main reason it was advised that the unrequited stay away from their partner.

She just never thought Viktor was cruel enough to do it.

The councillor sighed and pushed open the door to Jayce’s room. He was being kept in quarantine until his soulbond stopped receiving signals from Viktor and Jayce was able to feel his own emotions. They simply couldn’t afford the chance that Jayce could end up getting himself killed in this compromised state.

Mental stimulation was supposed to help accelerate the process. Logically, that meant she should go in and talk to him.

That didn’t mean this was going to be any less painful for her.

“Hello, Jayce,” She greeted, watching his attention drift far too slowly to her before his face lit up in abstract recognition.

He smiled in that too bright way he always did, a picture that would have been fine if not for his haggard appearance and his clouded gaze, “Mel!” He chirped, his voice artificially excited, “Where’s Viktor?”

Mel hesitated, “Viktor is… busy,” She settled on, “He’ll come down once he’s ready.”

Jayce only looked put off for a second before the joyful haze was back, “Oh, I love him though.”

Mel sighed, “Your soulbond is telling you that, Jayce,” She said, sitting on the edge of his bed and placing a hand on his leg, “But they’re not your emotions.”

Expectedly, Jayce shook his head with a pout, “No. I love Viktor,” he declared shifting in his bed to lay his head on Mel’s lap, “I love him so much- Mel he’s perfect.”

Mel looked like she’d bitten into something sour, “Sure, Jayce.”

Jayce hummed contentedly, relaxed in a way he just wasn’t. Not for a long time, not since he and Viktor had joined the council. Gods to think that was only months ago. It felt like years.

She opened the bag she had brought with her, one with a few puzzles for mental stimulation. First the worst case scenario test. If he struggled to solve this toy she was fairly sure she was going to march into Zaun and confront Viktor herself.

“... Mel,” Jayce just stared at her with a look that screamed betrayal before solving it easily in a few quick movements. It was a good thing too, Hoskel had been struggling with that one for years.

“Just checking,” she hummed before handing him a puzzle that he could actually have some fun with.

Mel watched him scramble and solve the puzzle repeatedly, his hands flicking across it deftly. He was humming some tune from his childhood. He didn’t look like he had any difficulty with what he was doing.

She needed to change tack, this hardly counted as mental stimulation for his mind and she was fairly sure no puzzle she could find ever would. She hoped he could forgive her for this.

“Jayce, what have you been up to before… meeting with Viktor again.”

“Hm?” Jayce, paused for a second before going back to his puzzle, for a moment, a note of something other than joy shone in his eyes, “I was in the future.”

Mel blinked, “The future.”

“Yep!” Jayce chirped, “An anomaly in the hexgates, the one I told Viktor about. It shot me in the future for a bit.”

“How was the future?” Mel asked, placing a hand on his shoulder to encourage him.

Again, those same flickering emotions, his real emotions, shone through for a second before the soulbond won out again, “It was… empty. But Viktor was there! Alone, but he was there!”

“Why was he alone?”

This time, a frown flickered across his features, progress, “Everyone else was gone, evolved. He stayed atop the hexgates, with me,”

“With you?”

“Well- my cor- statue,” He cut himself off, his nose scrunching up in distaste, “He didn’t leave often, I think… Oh! Except to save me from the blizzard!”

Mel stared at him, of course she knew about the blizzard, it was one of the things he’d always talk about when he rambled about hextechs inception, “The blizzard. The one you almost died in as a child. That blizzard.”

The haze flickered, and perhaps Mel needed to reevaluate Jayces relationship with Viktor after all, with the true adoration in his eyes now, “Mel, he saved mom and I from the blizzard, he’s my soulmate.”

“But your bond-”

He shook his head, giddy, “Unfinished because of time travel! My real first words to him- they were then! Of course it wouldn’t register for Viktor!”

The haze cleared further and Jayces expression started to turn sorrowful again, “He called me Láska,” He mumbled, “It means lover in his native tongue.”

“Jayce-!”

The man jerked as arcane corruption flickered across his form, falling off the bed and scrambling away from Mel before pain caused him to collapse. He held his head in his hands as mad ramblings spilled from his lips.

“I promised him- I broke it oh gods I broke the promise I shouldn’t have why did I why-”

“Jayce!”

He went silent, his head snapping up to stare wide eyed at Mel. She was relieved to see the clarity in those eyes.

“Mel, I love you. You’re my best friend. Never do that again.”

She sighed, “It was the fastest way to purge your soulbond, but I am sorry about that.”

Jayce looked away, slowly pulling himself to his feet while being mindful of his injured leg, “I forgive you, just… don’t do it again.”

“About Viktor-”

“Mel, please,” Jayce cut her off, looking at her with a gaze full of pain, “I- he… I don’t want to talk about him. Not right now. There’s so much work to do and-”

“We’ll get him back,” She stated firmly, shutting him up, “We’ll get him back and smack some sense into him.”

Jayce stared at her, before swallowing thickly, “I- right… we need to get everyone with power together, not just topside either. What Viktor will bring… we need all the help we can get.”

“It’ll be hard.”

“Stopping the apocalypse always is,” Jayce countered, his hand finding its way to his soulmark, “But we need them.”

Mel sighed again, “I hope you know what you’re doing, Jayce.”

The man of progress, if you could call him that anymore, was quiet for a minute.

“I hope so too.”

[skitskatdacat63]

Mark Alan, Count of Queanbeyan

+ explanation & lore

Okay first I'll explain the drawing itself, and then go into Mark's lore a bit, so stay with me!!!

First of all, yep. Mark with long hair. When I first conceptualized how he'd look in this au, I just genuinely could not imagine him with the typical long curly wig. And that irked me, bcs its just sooooooo historically inaccurate for him to have had short hair, no wig. I sketched him and Jense out as chibis, I drew Mark with short hair, and literally wrote "haha wow he looks so bad with long hair!!" Hello, can I take back that statement? It's actually shocking how good he looks???? Maybe it's a testament to my skill that I could make this work. But I did! And man, shameful to admit, but this might be my best portrait ever 😭😭 Funny tho, guy I've barely drawn, and never as detailed as this, ends up being one of my favs. Mark, you bastard!!

^ lmao as you can see, I tried out a more Seb type wig and then realized ahhhhh nah, he needs a different style. And it worked so, yay!!! I've thought a lot recently, "man it would suck back then if you looked shitty in a wig" and I rescind that. I'm telling you, you think a man would look bad in a wig? I say think again, you're just not conceptualizing the right type of wig for him.

Also wow, its crazy thst I can finally actually visually see what he would look like next to others like Seb and Fernando in this au. Hehehe look at them!!! The boys!!!! Just need Jense :,)

Anyways, I digress, some lore notes about Mark since I don't think I've really talked about him in this au on main much.

He is, of course, Seb's closest servant. His Groom of the Bedchamber(yes that term makes me feel rabid.) He's actually also based on a real guy, whom was described as the Emperor's "favorite" and despite not technically having very important positions, he had a lot of influence because of his closeness and connection with the Emperor. So, yeah, I think that's gives a pretty good pic of Mark in this au :)

He's actually pretty satisfied with his role, but he does feel a bitter and jealous when interacting with others like Jenson and Fernando. Because Mark doesn't have a title, well not in the same way. He's a count, not a King, not a Prince. Yes he's nobility, but not in the same way. And he's satisfied being under Seb, because that's what Mark was raised to do, take care of and keep Seb in line. But often realizes he's never going to be on par with him, not in the same way Fernando can, even if he's Seb's closest confidant.

To build on that. He's very satisfied with his role, and even continues to be satisfied when Fernando comes into the picture. Fernando and Seb don't get along, Mark is always going to be the closest to Seb, always going to know him the best, take care of him the best. But he realizes, he would never get to marry Seb, he's not ranked high enough for that. He was raised to do what's best for the Emperor, he's never going to be able to compete with Seb the same way Fernando can. He really wants Seb and Fernando to succeed! To grow closer! But it still really hurts sometimes.

His closest friend, other than Seb, is Jenson of course(and eventually Fernando, after they stop growling at each other like they're Seb's dogs.) But he does get bitter about Jenson sometimes. Jenson is a prince, who had some great performances in battle. But eventually got tired of that lifestyle, and "retired" to being part of Seb's court. Mark can't really understand that. How do you throw that level of prestige and freedom away. How do you just become the Emperor's servant, when that was never what you were born for. But also, I think Jense definitely uplifts him, they just get along so well, and Jense truly cares for him, no other motives :)

LOL sorry I realize how depressing this sounds 😭 I think all of the above is just Mark at his most bitter, but he's genuinely pretty happy. Think of the whole "not bad for a number 2 driver thing", that's him in this AU. He knows his station, and god damn it, he's gonna be the best, most loyal groom there ever was!! He just cares for Seb so deeply, and it truly is his life path to serve him. Seb cares for him too, feels like he can always rely on him and always be reassured by him and his eternal presence in Seb's life. It's nice to have someone you can always fall back on. Sometimes literally. Yes he makes Mark carry him to bed.

Not to stray away from just Mark, but aaaaahhh the Martian in this AU. Just Mark having to put up with Seb's brattiness all the time, and care for him all the time :) He's so tired of catching Seb naked tho...Seb please put clothes on, this is not befitting of your station. Seb takes Mark with him everywhere, and they share the same bed on trips. Mark is always the first Seb goes to to ask his opinion. I said earlier that Mark feels like he cannot challenge Seb in the same way Fernando can, but Seb really wants him to honestly! He loves hearing Mark's thoughts and opinions. Mark is widely known as Seb's favorite, and is often seen as the second authority in the palace and in the court.

As for Webbonso? I think they really dislike each other in the beginning just because the roles that they're in. They both feel like they're pitted against each other, and ir doesn't help that Seb loves to tease them and often favor one in front of the other(he later realizes how shitty this is, and tries to rectify it, because he never intended to make them actually jealous, he just loves being bratty.) Eventually they realize they're in extremely similar situations(both beholden to and stuck eternally with the Emperor), and find comfort in each other in that.

Yep that's right...the palace is honestly one big polycule djkfkglg. But I hope thay explains Mark in this AU well enougg???? All you need to know: Seb's long-suffering servant.

[bunnyboy-juice]

spent the first hour and change at work deleting some old files and am having a grand ol time laughing at myself for not realizing i was a lesbian sooner

[esteemed-excellency]

ok i'm almost done with the new firmament chapter, i have So Many thoughts 👀