#MY BOY CAL IS ALL GROWN UP

[waterdeeping]

STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR ↳ What a delight to see one of your kind in action after all these years.

[flammabel]

Skills

Can we agree at just how 🔥 this is? My boy's got some skills.

[anakin-skywalker-always]

Fluffy 🌸 with Clone Wars Anakin please? 🥺🥺 with maybe Ahsoka and Obi-Wan shipping them?

The Long Game

Pairing: Clone Wars Era!Anakin x Jedi!Knight Reader 

Requested: Yes | No

Warnings: Nothing too bad, but due to the nature of the Clone Wars obviously there is potential mentions of death/loss/wounds etc. I am Australian and therefore swear words aren’t worth a warning for me, but I shall place a warning here regardless. As always, let me know if you think there should be something listed here. 

Words: 1.5k - sorry its very short, I'm hoping a part 2 will be requested <3

Author’s Notes: ahhhhh! Thank you for the request @darthgloris I hope this is okay I had a brief idea and I ran with it, hope its still fluffy enough for you! 🥰 This was requested via my Emoji Request Prompts

Anakin was nothing if not arrogant, egotistical and, surprisingly talented to boot. As a youngling he excelled, as a Padawan learner he saved Senator and friend Padmé Amidala’s life more than once. Now, as General Skywalker, Anakin felt like he had grown into himself, grown into his power. It felt limitless, he was limitless. Anakin often had dreams of spreading himself thin, extending his power across the galaxy like a blanket, keeping everyone and everything safe.

He thought highly of himself, it wasn’t a secret. And, he didn’t think it was particularly a problem. He was the Chosen One, was he not? If anyone in the Jedi Temple was allowed to peacock a bit, it was him. 

Well, that’s how Anakin rationalised it to himself anyway. Besides, Anakin did not like playing the long game. What was the point when he could sieze everything he wanted now? 

Regardless, he had a sharp learning curve when it came to his own Padawan learner, Ashoka Tano. The snippy young girl challenged him more than most. He saw so much of himself in her, the power, the strength, the raw talent. Frustratingly, Anakin saw his faults in her too. Occasionally, the arrogance being something that Anakin couldn’t ignore. Like right now for example. 

“Please Kestis the only reason you were moved from youngling to Padawan,” Ashoka paused, pointing her spoon at her young red-headed friend. “Is because the council wanted to try and mellow out your Master with the responsibility of a child.” 

Anakin cringed as the young boy - Cal Kestis - pouted at the breakfast table. Anakin could sense Obi-wan’s displeasure from beside him, he saw his old master holding his tongue, allowing Anakin to take the floor in order to berate his Padawan. 

Unfortunately, she had a point. And, embarrassingly enough, Ashoka’s argument came straight from the kitchen, so they say. Well, his mother, Shmi, used to say. Anakin remembered expressing the same frustration only a few weeks prior. Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, Council member and friend, Y/N L/N, was unable to join Anakin and Ashoka on a crucial mission in the outer rim, due to the passover of her new, young apprentice: Cal Kestis. It perhaps wasn’t the most fair or patient thing for Anakin to do, but he blamed the boy and focused all of his frustration on the twelve-year-old. 

Fuck it, Anakin thought. He had to admit to himself, he was a little jealous of the boy. He could not help but want to be the center of your attention, at all times. Which isn’t a very Jedi thing to want. But Anakin wanted more. He always did. He always felt distracted, like he was slipping away from his mental fortitude the more he thought of you. You were playing some kind of long game with him, and he didn’t like it, the guessing, the pining - it all kept him up at night more than the war had. 

Anakin supposed he was ought to be worried about it, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He pined after you, and all he wanted was for you to maybe, even consider him more than a work colleague. 

“Ahsoka.” Anakin said sternly, as he pushed his Jedi mandated food around his Jedi mandated plate with his Jedi mandated fork, not bothering to look up at his young charge. “Watch your snippy mouth.” 

“She’s not wrong, Master.” Meekly, Cal Kestis mirrored General Skywalker across the table. Anakin felt for the young boy then. Anakin looked up, finally taking in the boy. With his fiery hair and splattering of freckles across his face, he seemed inherently sad, with his lips held tight in a line. Anakin couldn’t help but remember the same expression on his own face as he made his way around Watto’s junkyard. 

“Do you not like your Master, young Kestis?” Obi-wan sensed Anakin’s mind was far, far away, the anxiety rolling off him in thick waves. 

Cal looked up, quickly, at the two Jedi knights in front of him. He felt like he was in shock, as if the air had been torn from his lungs. Of all the questions he expected to be asked, that was not one of them. 

“No!” Cal defended, adamantly. “No! Well yes!” The young Padawan could feel the heat rise to his pale face, heating the back of his neck. General Kenobi quirked an eyebrow at the boy, urging him to continue. Kestis sighed, gathering his thoughts once more. He was embarrassed. “I am afraid I am too attached to Master L/N.” He started. Anakin felt his lip twitch, fighting a smile at the honesty from the young learner. Cal continued, “I don’t want to let her down, but my lightsaber skills are not where she wants them to be, I need more training but I am afraid to ask.” 

From the corner of his eye Anakin watched as Obi-wan opened his mouth. He knew what his old master would say: Just ask, Padawan. That is what the master is there for, to teach. But Anakin knew what it felt like to want more. 

“I would be happy to provide you with additional combat training, Padawan Cal Kestis.” Anakin leant back in his chair, both hands happily resting behind his head, left ankle at home on his right knee, lips comfortably in a smirk. 

Long game it was. 

Your eyes scanned the meals room in the Temple for your Padawan learner. You knew that you could use the force to locate him, if you wanted. But, your relationship with Cal was still so new, and somehow that felt like encroaching on the young boy’s privacy. 

Besides, there was another presence in the large dining hall that almost overwhelmed you. Anakin Skywalker. 

Arrogant, talented, intelligent, calculated, The Chosen One, handsome, flirtatious. You weren’t sure where you stood with Anakin. You longed to call him friend, but you were ultimately convinced he saw you little more as a colleague. 

Despite all that though, he was a hard man to escape at the best of times. And now, since Cal and Anakin’s Padwan, Ahsoka Tano, were friends, you knew that Anakin would always be around. 

You couldn’t help the schoolgirl flutter that it striked into you. It was exciting, you supposed, to finally have something a bit easy on the eye about constantly. It certainly made the war a little easier, to do missions with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. 

Eventually, Cal’s beautiful bright hair shone like a beacon for you. You began to weave your way across the room. You couldn’t help to admit that you’ve become attached to him, you deeply cared for him, his wellbeing. As much as you loved the Jedi, you often thought of Cal playing, running free with kids his own age. Not becoming a soldier on the front lines of an intergalactic war. Perhaps that was why you slacked on Cal’s training. You simply wanted him to be loved, to be happy, to be a child. 

All of the fondness you held so tightly quickly got packed away once you realised who Cal was sat with. Approaching the breakfast table you clocked Anakin’s relaxed figure. The effortlessly beautiful set of his lips, the way that his eyelashes curled upwards, you were convinced his demeanour was larger than life. And, maybe, perhaps, you let your eyes wander for a beat longer than what was socially acceptable. 

Gently you placed your hand on Cal’s shoulder, perhaps it was because you were his Master, or maybe it was something deeper, something maternal, but you always felt more at ease when you had him close. With a slight bow of your head, you opened:

“Morning to you Master Kenobi, Ahsoka.” You took a moment to lick your lips, your whole mouth had gone dry, but you tried desperately to save yourself from Anakin’s piercing gaze. “General Skywalker.” The rest greeted you verbally, but Anakin said nothing, just a simple tilt of his head. You held Anakin’s gaze, his blue eyes held something else in them, you felt like he was playing some kind of game. You didn’t mind game, but only if you knew the rules, and Anakin was one to make up the play as he went along. You felt Cal clear his throat, his body lurching under your hand.

Finally, you broke the contact with Anakin, ruffiling Cal’s hair, and placing his braid behind his ear. “If you’d excusae us, my Padawan and I have much to do.” 

Anakin waited for at least 30 seconds for you and your Padawan to start walking away before he turned in his chair to follow you out with his eyes. 

Ahsoka watched as her usually oh-so-clever and suave and calculating Master watch Cal Kestis and his Master leave the dining hall like a Lothal Cat waiting for its owner to return. She couldn’t help but smile, Anakin’s pining was hilarious, and Master L/N was a good choice. She turned to share a look with Master Kenobi, and to Ahsoka’s delight he was chuckling softly to himself, coving his smile with his hand, playing it off as if he was simply stroking his beard. 

Ahsoka knew Anakin thought he was playing some kind of long game, but it was going to be a painfully long pining. Not if she was going to have anything to do with it.

------

P.S This is a side account, my main is @mayhemories, so I will be answering any comments with that account but rest assured it is still me :) <3

Much love, El. 

[angel---eater]

thinking about how my usual go-to intersex dirk is affected by cooercive gendering in both the beta and alpha timelines.... and just gender stuff in homestuck in general.... cause the timeframe really counts. where babydirk lands temporally really makes or breaks this guy and his rship with his body. dirk as a character is so concerned abt how others percieve him that he wears his interests and hobbies like leather armour. he wears the projected images other ppl have of him more than he just, yknow, is

dirk in the beta timeline wouldve been fostered and was CAMAB, but his puberty started doing Unexpected Things, so they took little bro to the doctor so he can have his manly male puberty 'fixed'. bro would spend his whole life directly under the thumb of hegemonic cismasculinity, and he would know that if he adjusted even an inch, just to shift his weight even a little, then he suddenly wouldnt be Man Enough. and the blowback for that would be terrifying for him. hed be being slowly suffocated by the adults in his life and lil cal constantly whispering into his ear. this would be part of bro's experience with being groomed for sure

dirk in the alpha timeline however would be a free range kid. he wouldve grown up basically genderless until he figured out how to peruse the dead internet and discovered what boys and girls as cisgender concepts were. alpha dirks problem wouldnt so much be that hes directly under the thumb of Cis Manhood, but bc hed be desperately chasing after the ghosts of communities long dead. hed be directionless. he assumes hes a boy, he feels like one a lot of the time, but is he really? he keeps finding conflicting information on what Being A Man is, what Being A Woman is, what being Anyone At All is. hed chase after cismasculinity bc itd just feel the most familiar to him. he'd fall into the traps chrisofacist gender rolls laid out for masculinity bc thered be no one around but himself and his own very fallable perspecetive on this stuff to help get him out of it. and roxy is in the exact same boat. theyd have no idea how to even START talking about this except through the pidgeonhole of compcis

and its interesting too cause there IS talk of gender in the alpha session, but its from calliope whos also very very very removed from human (and troll, bc theyre analogous in canon) gender in the first place, eerily similar to dirk and roxy and their particular brand of isolation from humanity**. callie very explicitly represents the side of fandom that is good-faith exploration of canon, but whos too married to their own fanon and always more biased towards it over canon. i love callie so much but shes my biased and unreliable queen haha. what she says about gender, esp supposed gender-locked classpect stuff, isnt nessicarily, actually true. and thats REALLY cool bc of course everyone is a little biased about gender stuff and trans theories. its so personal how can we not be yknow?? and we experience other ppl through our own lens, having even residual biases (just favouring pink moreso than blue for example, im not talking abt bigotry) is just really normal imo. callie's a really good example of this. she knows shes a girl and loves being a girl, as she fuckin should, so she holds a grain of bias towards femininity and womanhood

**normally i would include jake in The Social Isolation, but again, where the alpha kids landed temporally REALLY makes a difference. jake is also completely isolated but he has an active and current internet to dig through. i wanna explore jakes relationship w/ himself more often but my brain is so full of dirk and roxy and callie its, well, its bias LMAO

[breakfastteatime]

Today's Fallen Order request is 'Small' for @foolinapril

Jaro would not say he forgets how small children are. It is simply that he so rarely encounters them that he has no need to recollect how tiny both they and their furnishings are. He has had apprentices before, certainly, but never one so young and therefore so small. Tiny, actually, would be more accurate. This youngling, Cal Kestis, is quite literally pocket-sized. Given what the Council has asked Jaro to take Cal into, he may very well place the child in a pocket to keep him safe.

The boy says goodbye to his clanmates, accepts a few clumsy hugs, waves one final time, and joins Jaro. His lightsaber swings on his hip, the hilt nearly as long as his leg. He has a tiny carryall that likely only carries a few changes of clothes. Jedi, after all, do not have possessions. That’s alright. They will need to stop by the quartermaster to pick up the necessary supplies a growing Padawan will require.

And Cal must grow. Fast.

The boy stares up (and up) at Jaro, gamely trying to mask the tears shimmering in his eyes. “I’m ready, Master Tapal.” His voice is so small it sounds like the squeak of the Temple mice.

Nodding, Jaro leads the way out of the youngling dorms. Cal’s footsteps pitter patter rapidly behind him, and Jaro remembers he must slow his pace for such a small pair of legs. He should review standard Human growth patterns. He knows enough to recognise Cal will be small for some time yet, and even fully grown, he will be significantly shorter than Jaro.

It is early morning and the Temple’s corridors are quieter than ever. So many Jedi are absent, called into service for the GAR. Jaro and Cal will only evade that fate for a few short months as they adjust to their new partnership.

They reach their shared quarters. Jaro opens the door and shows Cal in. They enter his chambers. Cal looks around wide-eyed. Jaro took care to requisition new furniture to avoid the likelihood of triggering Cal’s psychometry. A desk, a chair, and a rather tall cabin bed. Cal’s clan master, Petra Entola, told him Cal liked high places.

Yes, they have much to do in these few short months.

“Do you like it, Padawan?”

“Yes, Master,” Cal says, placing his bag upon the floor. “I’ve never had my own room before.” And then he shrugs. “Not that I remember anyway. I like it.”

There is, however, a slight buzz of confusion in the air.

“You are certain?”

“Uh huh!”

He sounds cheery enough. Jaro gives Cal a brief tour (there isn’t much to see beyond a common living space, a small kitchen, a refresher that must seem very large to Cal, and Jaro’s own room. They leave again shortly after the tour to gather supplies from the quartermaster, stop in the mess hall for breakfast, and then take a walk around the Room of a Thousand Fountains. After lunch, they meditate together and Jaro allows the boy to burn off some nervous energy in the dojo. As expected, Cal warms up as the day goes on and finds lots of questions to ask, all of which Jaro is happy to answer.

By the end of the long day, Cal yawns and drags his feet all the way back to their quarters. He is surprisingly efficient in the refresher, and is soon clad in pyjamas, rubbing his eyes, and off to bed.

Jaro has just made himself some tea when he hears a rather distinct crash. Rushing to his Padawan’s room, he finds Cal safely on his bed…

His desk, however, has tipped over and hit the floor face first.

“What happened?”

“Oh, I didn’t see a ladder so I figured this was a challenge!” Cal says brightly.

“A challenge?”

“Yeah – how to get into bed. So, I stood on the desk and jumped, except the desk kinda… fell.”

Suddenly, the morning’s brief hint of confusion makes perfect sense.

“Tomorrow, we will find a ladder,” Jaro says.

[milkman-zahhak]

OC ref sheet + slightly better writing/fic

-> Part 1 Part 2 (prequel to part 1) (think of it like a flashback scene, seen as Leo and Cal drift asleep in part 1) Part 3 (sequel to part 1)

Made a visual for those OCs I made, attempting to flesh them out a bit. The art is messy, the anatomy is wack, I know.. I just wanted to get the basic info out there. Anyways, here's a different (hopefully better) story.

And as usual, WARNING, THIS IS A KINK POST, A FETISH POST. IT WILL CONTAIN FETISH CONTENT, SUCH AS BELLIES FULL OF FOOD AND WHATNOT, CHECK THE TAGS FOR THE WHOLE RUNDOWN.

Brief overview: The first character is a college boy named Cal. He's naturally thin, he doesn't overeat very often. And maybe that's for the better because he's lactose intolerant and has a sensitive stomach, prone to bloating. He's shy and antisocial, but has a very close friend named Leo who is his roommate. Leo secretly has.. well, a "thing" for bloated tummies and things of the like.. he would never push this onto anyone, much less ADMIT it. Cal has grown comfortable around Leo over the years, even though he's usually very self-consious and shy, he trusts Leo and is willing to open up to him more. ----------

It was a boring day off of work for Cal. He had no plans nor any means to act out any plans he might have. Not to mention nothing to snack on, and Cal wasn't about to make himself a whole meal. He was counting down the minutes until his roommate Leo came home from work, hanging out with Leo was always fun for him. Eventually, it was about 30 minutes past the time he expected Leo to return.

"Im so boooorreeeed…" Cal mumbles. But as soon as the words leave his lips, the door slams open. He turns around to see Leo and brightens up immediately. Leo informs him that hes sorry for being late, he won some gift cards to the local pizza place in a raffle at work and used them all at once. "I thought i might as well use 'em before I lose 'em. Or forget about them. Theres a bunch, so we can share!" Leo tries to cheer Cal up as he brings the pizza boxes to the little coffee table in the living room. Cal follows Leo to the pizza to grab a slice. "I've been so bored out of my mind all day, and hungry too. This is gonna be so kickass, huh?" Leo chuckled "Yup! Just us chilling all night. We can watch movies too, let me get one ready." Cal leans back, "hell yeah! Ok, choose something silly and fun."

Cal watches from the kitchen as Leo boots up youtube on the TV in the living room "Dude, something else please. Leo frowns, questioning "aww, not y-" Cal interrupts "NOT youtube documentaries about lost media or unsuccessful video game film adaptations, God dammit! That's all we watched last time.. don't you have any actual movies?"

Leo gets up and looks through a box of physical media he has, most of which are youtube series he's burnt onto DVDs, until he finds an actual movie "Uh. Umm. I've got one of the original copies of the Postal 2007 movie on dvd?.."

Cal sighs, giving up on being able to chose a normal movie "...Yeah, sure. Zach Ward really carried that dumpster fire"

Cal leans forward over the kitchen table to pluck a slice from the box, the stringy cheese stretching and tearing. "I could go for some soda, too," he murmurs, and Leo springs to his feet, nodding "Good call. I'll grab some." As he heads for the fridge, Cal takes an excited bite and settles back. He's practically inhaling the slice at this point, almost choking on the huge bite he took as he does so. Leo hears him cough and laughs, "God damn, Cal, chill. There's plenty of pizza, haha. It's not gonna run away from you."

Cal rolls his eyes "yeah, thanks for the advice." He takes another big bite and speaks as he chews "you have no idea how hungry I've been all day. I swear I could eat all of this pizza by myself if I could!" Cal was obviously joking and exaggerating, but Leo blushed imagining such a scenario… he shook away the thoughts quickly. He doesn't want to make Cal feel uncomfortable, he doesn't know about Leo's fetish, and Leo felt guilty for thinking of his friend as the unaware center of his fantasies. Leo's cheeks burn as he returns to the living room with the sodas. Cal had grabbed a second slice by then, but was struggling to keep up with his conversation between bites. The pizza pretty much disappeared before his eyes.

He must be starving, Leo thought.

Leo places the sodas on the coffee table within arm's reach and flops down onto the living room floor, propping his back up against the couch. His eyes scan Cal's body thoughtfully from across the apartment, but he remains silent. Cal is oblivious to Leo's silent admiration, focused solely on demolishing the pizza. In just a minute, he finishes his second slice and reaches for a third. Leo is putting the DVD in when he remembers he needs to eat too "Oh, wait let me grab a plate".

Leo walks into the kitchen to see Cal still at the kitchen table scarfing down pizza, his hands come away greasy and covered with sauce. He doesn't care. He devours the fourth slice like he's had no food in days. Leo playfully hits Cal on the shoulder, "cmon, man save some for me.. and don't eat it in here. I wanna watch the movie! Here, we can even bring the pizza boxes in there too." Leo meant that they should move to the living room after Cal finished his slice, but as Cal agrees and gets up, he shoves the whole slice into his mouth at once as they carried pizza boxes into the living room.

They settled down for the movie. Leo reached for a slice of pizza and realized quickly that it was already half gone. Cal had eaten maybe 4 slices already. He looks over to see how Cal managed to pack it all away when he realized he couldn't see his belly. Cal was wearing a loose zip-up sweatshirt and it gave nothing away.

The two watched the movie, eventually the first box was finished. Leo's eyes drifted back and forth between the TV and Cal. He can't help himself. Cal is too damn irresistible. The way he devoured that pizza—no shame, no second thought. Cal rarely even took a moment to breathe.. And there must be a reason Leo can't see his belly when he's been gorging himself, right? Cal's belly must be distended and swollen beneath that sweatshirt. His jeans must be so tight right now… Leo internally scolds himself after looking down and realizing it was in fact HIS pants – not Cal's – that were tight, albeit not because of his stomach.

He really shouldn't be thinking of Cal like this, Cal doesn't know what this is doing to Leo, he's not doing anything on purpose. Leo tries to shake these intrusive thoughts. He glances at Cal for a moment and finds him staring right back, mouth full of pizza. "Hey man, you good?" Leo tilted his head "What? Yeah, why?". Cal shrugs. "I dunno, I asked you if you thought Uwe Boll ever actually played Postal himself or not.. And you just were kinda staring off into space.." Leo blushes "oh, haha my bad, I think I just zoned out.."

Shit

Leo continued, "..Sorry, I get pretty engrossed in movies and stuff sometimes, you know?"

Cal grins bashfully and takes a big bite of whichever slice he was on now "Ah, well, I tend to talk over 'em a lot, so..." Leo waves him off, "Nah, Cal, don't apologize. I like hearing the shit you have to say about movies. Makes it more interesting." Cal grins and turns back to the screen, his eyes fixated on the television in front of him as he grabs the last slice in the third box, dropping the empty box to the floor. "Dude this pizza is soooo good. Im like, full, but I can't stop eating it."

Leo almost wishes Cal knew how he felt about these kinds of subjects so he wouldn't be so open about it, but how do you begin to tell your friend "hey this normal thing? It actually gets me rock hard, so unless you're trying to encourage that, maybe we could change the subject from you stuffing your belly with unhinged amounts of pizza, thanks". Leo takes the few seconds that Cal has his focus on the movie as an opportunity to gaze again at his now noticeably distended belly beneath his sweatshirt. The fabric is stretched taut, and tauter by the minute. His posture slowly changing as more and more pizza filled up his gut and weighed it down. His belly must be huge right now. Is there any way the shirt could hide it for much longer? Leo wondered.

The movie is almost over. Cal leans back in his seat, subtly sneaking his hand beneath his sweatshirt to try and sneakily rub his belly. He quickly stops as if trying to hide his discomfort. Maybe he's embarrassed? Leo tries not to think about it until during a quiet moment in the movie he hears a "grrgrgrrrrrrrrlllllee….." from beside him. "Woah Cal was that you?". Cal grins "yup, I think I'm *hic* getting full." Oh god. Leo was practically throbbing.

"O-oh, haha yeah I bet. You ate like 3 boxes right?" Cal looks at Leo like he's crazy for a moment before looking down at the empty boxes on the floor "no way, I only… I.. hm. Fuck, I guess I did!" Leo sees a flash of regret and fear on Cal's face for a split second before his fun attitude came back "I wasn't paying attention to the food, I was just eating while I watched the movie.." there were a few moments of silence. Cal's belly grumbles loudly again, interrupting the silence. His face is slightly flushed as he tries to hide how full he's getting from the pizza. He rubs his arm with nervous energy. "Man do you think we could crank down the heat a bit? I'm kinda hot" Leo nods and gets up, turning down a dial on the thermostat. As Leo is in the other room, Cal lets out a small burp into his fist and continues to rub his belly. Leo definitely heard it, but he wasn't gonna bring it up since Cal seemed to be trying to hide it anyways.

Back in his seat on the couch now, Leo shifts his legs and glances at his friend out of curiosity. Cal is still watching the movie, but Leo can hear his tummy churning as it tries to digest copious amounts of free pizza. He also hears Cal swallowing down burps as they rumbled up his throat. Maybe Cal thought that Leo couldn't hear these things, because he stayed outwardly confident and continued to act like he wasn't very full at all. Cal's belly rumbles loudly again, loudly enough that theres no denying what the sound was. "damn, haha" he plays it off casually before hiccuping, swallowing air as he did so and accidentally belching at the end. "hic-uRP-" his eyes widen. Leo is glad the lights are dim because hes sure that his face is probably red as a tomato right now.

"Sorry," Cal says "I guess I got a little carried away" He rubs his belly again not hiding it very well anymore, it's distended just above his belt, stretching the fabric as he stretches out on the couch. After a few moments, Cal shifts slightly, as if he's trying to find a comfortable position to relax. The movement does nothing but draw his sweatshirt tighter around his bulging belly as he leans back. The pressure is obviously becoming uncomfortable for Cal, he can't help but give a soft groan as he feels the distension of his gut. Leo looks away for a second as he feels his eyes almost roll back in his head. This CAN'T be real life. He turns back and takes a deep breath. He shouldn't be here, he feels bad. Cal is unintentionally acting out some of Leo's deepest fantasies and he doesn't even KNOW he's doing it..

Eventually the movie ended and the credits rolled. Leo yawned, it was getting late. They could probably just crash here on the couch and sleep like they usually do. Conversation continues as normal, both the boys winding down as they prepare to sleep soon. Another burp rumbles up Cal's throat and it's a wonder he can even keep up the facade. This happens a few more times before eventually, an especially forceful belch broke the barrier of silence.

"…. .. brUUUUUUURHP-Urp… urp…" Leo's head spun around, both boys' eyes were wide in shock. Leo tried to lighten the mood, he knew his friend seemed uncomfortable about letting on that he had overindulged, so Leo followed Cal's demeanor and decided to also play it cool.

Leo scrambled to think of what a normal person who isn't aroused by bloated belly aches would say in this situation. "Damn that was a big one haha, sick!"

Cal avoided eye contact and forced a small laugh "Ha, you know it… sorry though for real, that was gross of me" Leo tries to reassure him without making it obvious that he is MORE than okay with what's going on. "Dont worry about it, you're so self conscious about so many things that really aren't that big of a deal. I promise, I don't find you annoying or gross." Cal stayed silent, appearing to be studying Leo's face before sighing and sitting up slightly "Can I… be honest with you?"

Leo tries not to laugh "Dude, you can ALWAYS be honest with me, you're my best friend!"

Cal opened his mouth to speak before grimmacing as a loud airy gurgle broke the silence, followed by an involuntary soft and equally as airy burp… "I- *uuuorp*, god, my stomach is so full." He brought one other hand to the top his stomach and the other to the bottom, holding it with both hands weakly, unable to find the strength to hide it anymore "Leo, I'm not really fine, my stomach actually hurts really bad and I didnt *hic* I didn't wanna fuck up movie night so I didnt say anything." He quickly blurts out. That gets Leo's attention.

Leo is frozen for a moment, staring at Cal's tummy, bulging beneath his sweatshirt, creating a huge bump as if he were hiding a basketball underneath it. It was a wonder that his sweatshirt wasn't tearing apart from the seams. In fact, it looked like it was about to. Even with the dim light and the position he's in, it's almost impossible to hide it.

"Cal.." Leo's voice almost cracks. "You didn't ruin movie night, I don't think you could if you tried. I like hanging out with you and I like you for who you are, I don't want you to feel scared to tell me things and I'm sorry if I did anything to make you feel that way-" Cal cuts him off "no, no, it's not you.. urgh.." he paused as an overstuffed rumble made its way up his throat, he went to release it as a burp, but it got stuck in his throat. "*sigh*… it's me, I don't wanna get into it but I promise you, there's something personal about me and it's my own thing to deal with, sorry if I came off as apprehensive or unusual about it, I'm just stubborn.."

Leo put his hand on Cal's shoulder. That's what friends do, right? He assured him "Man.. As long as you're happy."

The mood seems to have lifted after that little talk. Cal sighed out loud "*sighh* but for real my stomach hurts so bad, it feels like I'm being stabbed in the gut!" He said as he slowly rubbed back and forth on the upper curve of the bloated mass in his lap covered by his sweatshirt. Churning could be heard as well as bubbles in the back of Cal's throat just barely making it up before getting stuck. Cal groaned under his breath. Leo tries to contain his own excitement at the situation. He doesn't know how long he can keep his cool if Cal keeps making sounds like that.

Another quiet moment between the boys, their conversation drifting to a stop. Leo's attention is entirely directed at Cal's body, specifically his ever inflating abdomen. He could see the pressure taking a toll on Cal. The sweatshirt was getting hard to keep down as the tightness and heaviness of the distended flesh pressed on his lap. Cal tries his best to relax for the time being, not able to do anything about his situation at the moment. The sweatshirt's fabric continues to be stretched, but still it can't hide the growing bulge of stomach.

"G-god it hurts.. fuck…" Cal suddenly whispered under his breath, breaking the verbal silence. "Leo, I can't sleep, I feel sick.." Leo had long since pulled his shirt down to cover his own crotch, he was past the point of no return and had nothing left to do but hide his shame, and his main goal now was to either relieve himself or stop being horny, and one of those was near impossible in this situation. The other coming naturally.

He still tried to give helpful advice though, "Dude, it's probably the gas. You're probably bloated from all the cheese, not to mention the stuffed crust. You just gotta get the gas out"

Cal raises an eyebrow "how? I don't know how to burp on command, and I can't seem to get anything up.." Leo rolls his eyes and resists face-palming, "You.. by rubbing your stomach? Do you need me to do it for you?" He teased playfully. Cal leaned back, "oohg.. if you're offering, go ahead.." Leo's heart practically jumped into his throat as Cal gave him permission to touch his stomach. "Really?" Cal gives him a genuine nod. Leo got up onto the couch and moved behind the other boy, his hand going from Cal's shoulder to the front of the bulging sweatshirt, his fingers lightly pressing onto Cal's belly. He was immediately greeted with a low, loud rumbling that was probably from all the pizza, cheese, and soda, as well as the gas that had been accumulating throughout the night. He could feel the vibrations even through Cal's sweatshirt and undershirt "Holy shit, dude. You really are bloated". Cal's body shook and his voice trembled "Y-*..grrrr* oulgh.. yeah I usually never eat that much. I don't know how I even fit all that in me." The noises and vibrations sent a shiver down Leo's spine. Cal was almost like a giant, fleshy drum that he could feel vibrate when he touched it. He pressed his hands onto it again, but this time he gently rubbed circles into Cal's gut, listening to the rumblings as he did so.

The sensation and the noises made him euphoric. Cal suddenly spoke up "Hey I don't want to be weird or anything but are you like, into this?" Leo's heart sank and he felt his life flash before his eyes, his hands lifting up off of Cal's belly as he froze in place. "Wh… uh. What."

Cal repeated himself "like, are you into this?" Leo doesn't know what to say. How did Cal even know? Was he being too eager, too straightforward? He knew he shouldn't have actually offered a belly rub, surely Cal was just exaggerating when he made the offer. "I'm.. what made you think that?" Cal exhaled out of his nose jovially "because I can feel your boner on my back dude." Leo's eyebrows furrowed ashamedly, he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Cal noticed and quickly added "It's okay if you are! I just.. I wanna know and make sure that's the case because I.. uh" Leo didn't dare look up but his ears honed in on what Cal said as he continued to speak "..I am."

Leo let out a deep sigh and leaned on Cal, resting his head on his shoulder "ohthankgod… Well in that case, yeah. Uh. Was it.. really that obvious?" Cal shook his head "Not really, I was actually really worried that I was the one going over the top by using this as an opportunity to stuff myself silly, I wanted to take advantage, since it's not like we have a surplus of food to be eating on the regular." Leo lifted his head "That's kinda clever. Yeah, you went apeshit on those pizzas, how many did I bring, 4? There's only one box left and there's already half a slice eaten from it."

Cal groans, the thought of food making his stomach churn even louder. Leo put his hands back on Cal's stomach and continued to rub it again. Cal suddenly tensed up and made a painful, scrunched up face, Leo could feel a particular pocket of air beneath his hands and massaged the side of Cal's hard distended tummy. Cal began to groan before he was cut off by a huge belch that sounded like the damned and digested souls of every pizza slice he's shoved into his gut. "Ugh-hUUUUUUURRRRP..'' There was a small moment of silence from everyone and everything including Cal's raunchy belly before everything shifted back into gear. Leo had to look down and check to make sure he didn't cream his jeans.

Cal let out a relieved sigh "oh Jesus dude, that helped a lot" he sounded thankful as he took another deep breath. Leo felt a sudden surge of confidence after giving such successful belly rubs, he'd never done this before! He wasn't sure this was real life. If it was a dream he didnt ever wanna wake up.

His hand kept moving, circling and rubbing across Cal's bloated midsection, the soft fabric of his sweatshirt stretched over his stomach felt almost like a nice soft stress ball to Leo… more like a dollar store stress ball made of hard foam that's near impossible to squeeze comfortably, so you mostly just hold it and caress it. Except Cal's belly wasn't made of cheap foam, and was safely confined within his clothes. His very tight clothes. Every now and then his fingers would graze lightly against the bloated boy's chest when he would rub a bit higher up, drawing soft gasps from Cal. The sweatshirt was baggy but it wasn't all that thick, Leo could swear he felt Cal's nipples, now hard, through the layers of fabric after accidentally brushing past the area a few minutes in.

Leo didn't say anything, there was really nothing he felt he needed to say. He just kept rubbing and listening to Cal's belly gurgle and his occasional burping- none rivaled that first one though.

Leo eventually began to think aloud "So now that everything's all out in the open, I'm kinda curious, if you're okay with sharing.. uh. What do you specifically.. enjoy?" Cal leaned his head back slightly, shifting the rest of his body closer to the boy behind him in the process "honestly I just like to indulge once in a while. I- *urrrp* ah.. 'scuse me, I'm not a health freak or anything but I like keeping a slim figure and eating healthy. Mostly 'cause even small amounts of junk food upset my stomach. Not to mention my favorite junk foods usually contain dairy, and I'm lactose intolerant. So if I ate like this every day I would probably spend all my free time in pain anyways." Leo nodded sympathetically, "Yeah that sucks, man". Cal continued "s'not all that bad, it would just be really inconvenient. That's why I only go all out like this on special occasions, a few times a year."

Leo hummed and continued to rub in a circular motion across Cal's belly "Makes sense. So.. are you just enjoying yourself now or is there anything else you're uh, 'into'?" Cal let out a small groan as Leo's hand brushed against his chest again "ghh-*buhurrrp*.. mm.. I don't think so. I can't think of any better way to go about satisfying my cravings. I like to feel full every now and then, push my limits and see how far I can go. I usually get full after eating even just small amounts, but I've found that if I keep going beyond and just continue eating anyways, I can actually pack away a whole lot more before my body starts to stop just hurting and starts physically rejecting and ejecting it" he hiccuped after he spoke and giggled before finishing his sentence "..so I'm just kinda relaxing right now.. and.. the company is nice too." he added in with a small smile. "Why, what about you? You into anything else?"

Leo was still shocked that his friend happened to not only accept his freaky fetish, but SHARE it, he didn't want to move things too fast or sound too eager.. but Cal basically admitted his secrets for him just now, and Leo feels like Cal deserves the same honesty from him. "Well.. I'm into people doing what you do. I'm not really into it when it's my own stomach or anything for some reason, but I don't really mind. I wouldn't really be opposed to it, I think I'm just more into… experiencing it uh, secondhand?" Leo, lost in thought, pressed down harder than usual for a second as he rubbed, Cal let out a muffled burp into his fist "*grrrrph*.. no, that makes sense, I get it."

Leo, feeling more grounded and comfortable, added onto his explanation "I've never done anything about it before, but I.. fantasize.. a lot, and I'm really into the idea of feeding y- someone. Like being the one to help you push your limits." Leo felt a tingle run down his spine as he finally admitted his fantasies out loud, he felt Cal sit up a little bit. Worried that maybe that freaked him out he added "Sorry if that's too weird.."

Cal laughed, then sat up completely, beginning to speak before the air that had been trapped rushed up as he sat straighter, "*BUUURP* agh, phew! It's okay, Leo, that's hot". Leo blinked. Very blunt... but he wasn't complaining.

Cal put his own hands on his stomach, feeling it for himself before looking back up at Leo "I'm still super full, but my tummy doesn't feel like it's being stabbed anymore! Like, I don't feel as full anymore!" Leo smirked "It's cause I burped you like a little baby"

Cal shoved Leo lightly "Oh c'mon, you loved it! Hey, there's still some pizza left right? We could do your feeding thing!" Leo's face brightened but he hesitated to accept the offer. "I mean, we could always do this another time. I could wait however long you want until you're ready to dedicate a night to this, besides, aren't you really full?" Cal technically was full, his stomach had stopped churning as hard and thus wasn't in as much pain at the moment, but that just meant the food was sitting in his stomach undigested.

Cal's expression stayed the same as he answered unexpectedly confidently, "But I'm less full now! It hurt earlier, but I wasn't really at my limit!" Leo was skeptical "You sounded like you were gonna projectile vomit on the carpet earlier if I hadn't rubbed your belly" Cal scoffs, "No, I was just psyched out! I was caught off guard 'cause you were here with me and I didn't know if I would have been freaking you out or not. Really, I've been doing this for years" Leo stood up and sighed "If you say so 'mr professionally licensed glutton', but I'm new to doing any of this and I really don't want to push you too far and have to clean up undigested pizza out of the carpet. At least not tonight."

Cal shrugs. "I'll be fine, at least this time. I promise." Leo looked unsure, but in the end he sat down behind Cal again and started to slowly rub his hands over the mass of Cal's distended midsection once again.

Truthfully, Cal was still pretty sensitive, and the light brush of Leo's hands felt like a very comfortable massage. "Alright, Cal. I'll do this, but I want you to tell me if it's getting uncomfortable, and we can stop. Don't make me feed you until you puke, that's gross". Cal chuckled, "I won't puke if you make sure to rub my tummy!" Leo sighed as he got up to grab the last box of pizza. "Alright but I'm grabbing the trash can just in case. Get comfy, Cal".

Cal held his still quite full belly, realizing now just how bloated he was, how his sweatshirt stretched to fit over his overstuffed stomach. He carried its weight in his hands as he shifted over to one side of the couch, propping himself up against a pillow on the armrest, letting out a low airy belch as he did so. He called out to Leo "Hey grab some more soda too, I'm thirsty!"

Cal shifted slightly as he settled in on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him. To Leo, he almost looked like he was getting ready to watch television rather than stuff himself full of greasy, processed pizza for his friend's enjoyment. Leo walked into the room holding the box and a 2-liter bottle of orange soda. He sat down beside Cal in the same manner, making as little noise as possible while he settled. The air was thick with anticipation - both boys knew what was about to happen, but neither of them dared acknowledge it outright. Cal decided to break the awkward silence and be the first to step up, lord knows Leo won't.

Cal reaches for the box to grab a slice, but his round bloated tummy is preventing him from bending that far. He recoils and grabs his stomach, "oof.. oough.. I don't think I can keep leaning down and over to grab slices.. you're gonna have to feed 'em to me.."

Leo blushed, flustered, as if this isn't exactly what they had both agreed and planned to do mere seconds ago.

He was about to be the one to fill up Cal, and he wanted to do a good job. He held the slice up to the eager boy in front of him, sitting between his legs and reaching over his hard bloated tummy. His crotch just about touching Cal's as he sat there on the couch between his legs and overstuffed stomach. Cal looked at him hungrily.

"O-open wide," Leo says quietly, holding the greasy slice of pizza toward Cal's mouth. Cal, his expression eager and expectant, opens his mouth taking a large bite. His chewing speed slower than before. His stomach was already packed full, it was a struggle to force himself to choke down even MORE food, but he was determined to try. He chewed more thoroughly, as if his body was trying to delay the inevitable. He grunted and a small burp slipped out though his full mouth while he chewed. He really was stuffed to the brim. He swallows, and continues this process until the slice is gone. He looks to Leo for more.

"Another" he says, his mouth still full of his previous bite. Leo pushes the next slice close to Cal's mouth wearily "You look really full, dude. Your tummy feels tight as a drum.." Leo mumbled as he gently rubbed around the warm surface of the sweatshirt, massaging the churning belly underneath. Cal chews and swallows, before cringing, and speaking up "urgh.. wait.." Leo froze cautiously as Cal continued "..I'm thirsty, hand me the soda." Leo rolled his eyes as Cal chugged down a few gulps of the fizzy soda, resulting in almost IMMEDIATE burping.

After this, Leo was sure Cal would be finished, but alas..

"…and more," Cal commands after his belch-break, swallowing and panting as Leo continues rubbing his belly gently. A low moan escapes his lips, his gaze glued to Leo. The bulge under his tight stretchy sweatshirt shifting slightly from his breathing. Leo was getting ready to reach for another slice when Cal groaned "Wait, just a second.. for real this time.. hng.. cramp. My tummy…" both his hands flew to his belly which was rumbling ominously. His hands moved upwards to his chest as they were quickly replaced with Leo's, "We can stop now if you want, you look like you're gonna burst!"

Cal shook his head in protest, "Just a cramp, just need a break.." Leo felt the sickly churning through the sweatshirt as he rubbed it, and without even pushing, a bubbly fart escaped from Cal's behind, rumbling on Leo's crotch right in front of it. Leo winced "Oh that smells terrible.. somethings up in your belly, I think you should-" Cal interrupted Leo, "another slice!"

It was quite full in there and this whole thing was making Cal feel hot, uncomfortable, sick, and horny all at once. "Ooh, man… my stomach is just.. bulging with all this." He took the remaining crust and devoured it in a single huge mouthful. He paused for a moment, the weight of the food in his stomach shifting as he let out a stream of airy farts, every single one preceded with a vibrating rumble from his belly. "*Pfffft*… *pfffffttttt*.. oh god.. *buurp* oh- *pffft*…*pfftt*… *prrt*.. fuck.. Im sorry, I can't even stop it." Cal said. Leo held the last slice of pizza in his hand, "okay… last slice… don't pop, man.."

Cal's stomach bulged obscenely inside his snug sweatshirt as he ate the last slice of pizza. He was in such a state that when his mouth was busy chewing, several burps forced themselves free through his nose in rapid succession. He moaned after each one. Leo didn't seem to mind, though, he just stared at Cal with eyes half-lidded and a bulge full-mast. He was practically shaking at this point, Leo felt his heat radiating onto the poor stuffed boy. Cal's stomach, already full and distended from the prior intake and now the last slice was working overtime to digest said pizza. His body was heating up from all the churning. Leo could feel every bit of it, his crotch was also getting hot.

Cal was sweating. He looked almost delirious from pleasure- and pain. His face was flushed, his eyes glassy. Leo comforts him as he finishes chewing and swallows, his stomach rumbles again. Cal tilted his head back, trying to relax his cramped muscles. A long wet burp shot out of his mouth before he had time to react, and he moaned aloud. Leo, worried, suggests "Hey maybe you should.. take your sweatshirt off. You seem really hot, like you're sweating. That has to be making you even more nauseous.." Cal groaned, hiccuped and replied "y-yeah. Guhhh… gonna.. take it off.." he weakly pulled at the zipper, struggling to get it over the bump of his aching belly. He whimpered as dangerous toots slid out. Once the zipper got over the curve of his belly, it practically unzipped itself the rest of the way down on its own. He wiggled his arms out and Leo helped toss the sweatshirt to the side. Cal was just in a thin elastic tank top now. He whined "m- *muuurp* shit, my belly hurts.. so full.. *frrtt..phhhtttrrft*… hng, *bur-URP*- ugh! I don't feel good.."

Leo was rubbing faster now. Another fart, another groan. The smell was intense and made Leo's eyes water. Cal's eyes werent any better, they were glazed over, his head lolled back he let out a silent puff of air from his mouth, his belches were getting risky, some of them he was forced to swallow down to avoid anything else other than air coming up, and he only had the tingle in the back of his throat to warn him. His stomach churned angrily, gurgling and undulating in time with Leo's rubbing. His belly was still distended and full, his white tank-top riding up just above his belly button. Leo listened as Cal's stomach emitted queasy grumbles and overpacked noises that would eventually be desperately released through either end. "I told you you were gonna feel sick, dude.. you look 8 months pregnant"

Cal laughed "I sure feel like it…. *hic-bRUUUP* mnnppph god… how am I supposed to walk after this? I think I'm *hic* too bloated for my own good. Ooooh… nnnngh.. and it feels like my stomach is doing an impression of a washing machine. *UURRRPPPP* oh- don't stop rubbing.. or.. I'm gonna have a premature birth!" Leo couldn't help but laugh. Cal turned his head and looked up. They locked eyes a moment as Leo was rubbing a sensitive spot just above Cal's belly button.

Leo's eyes widened as he blushed and unconsciously grinded his hips into Cal's crotch in front of him. His breath was hot and fast. Cal noticed, and warned his friend "My tummy hurts.. I feel so gassy, I think I need to fart.. uhm.. I'm not gonna *hic* warn you anymore, mostly because I don't think I can hold in anything anymore.." Leo never broke eye contact "That's okay, you're like a blimp. Let it all out, I'd rather you gas the place up than shit your pants on me".

Cal smiled and went to laugh before he was cut off by a sick burp, followed by a stream of wet, shorter burps.

Leo looked like he had gotten exactly what he wished for and more. In the face of a belching, gassy Cal he remained undaunted. He had a gleam in his eyes and a bulge in his pants that were both growing by the second. Cal was so full that he needed more than Leo's hand rubbing him. His own two fists were working him over in between big belchy moans and groans. His stomach was grumbling ominously, begging to get it over with sooner rather than later. "*bUUUURRRRRP* ooohh.. I feel queasy.." his statement punctuated by short, painful, but constant little farts as his stomach fought with the contents inside of it.

"Your tummy is gonna feel so much better after this, Cal." Leo said, rubbing and humping with more vigor, the rubbing on both Cal's belly and.. elsewhere.. helping things move along inside of him. Leo is on his knees, rubbing Cal's distended belly with both hands, spreading Cal's legs apart with his own as he worked. Cal's own hands were working higher up on his own gut, massaging and kneading. His belly was an air filled balloon ready to burst. Cal lets out a low moan and squirms as another deep and wet burp erupts. All the while, Cal could feel tingles of pleasure building up in his bloated guts, but the queasy, sick feeling was still going strong. This whole thing was making him feel strange and oddly arousing in a way he'd never felt before.

Leo saw the look on his friend's face and his hands gripped his swollen tummy. "It's okay, mnff... you can... let it happen... anytime."

Cal nodded, his hands rubbing his engorged belly in time with Leo's rhythm, as the blonde boy sacrificed a hand from belly rubbing duty to help keep himself steady above Cal.

Cal grunted as he continued massaging his distended gut. Leo's other rubbing was growing much more intense now. He was almost shaking Cal as he did so. Cal's mouth hung open and he was moaning with a slightly desperate tone. "Come on, dude.. hurry it up.. I'm so…" his moan was cut off by another wet belch. His body shook with the force of it and he clenched his teeth in an effort to relax and hold back the next one. It was no use. Another belch, and another, and another, with rapid, short gaps in between. Leo was now the one groaning, reaching his peak. "I'm.. unf.. hah.. Cal, I'm close… just hold on.." Leo was delirious with pleasure he'd only ever dreamed of experiencing.

Cal felt his body both nauseously ache at one part and throb with desire in another. An unusual mix that left him feeling like he was gonna puke regardless. He got himself into this willingly though, and has nobody to blame but himself, and he certainly doesn't wanna ruin Leo's night. He whines and puts all his focus into keeping his food inside of him.

Cal was struggling as he massaged his distended belly in time with his buddy's increasingly feverish rubbing. He let out a long, wet belch, "Hnnnnnnnghhhh my god, my stomach is so… *huuu-UUrrrpppp*- so full, I'm… I'm gonna be so sick."

Leo was getting close, very close, and he could feel his friend's stomach and other… parts… tensing up as he got ready to finish. Leo was breathing almost as hard as Cal at this point, gripping the stuffed boy's thigh with his one hand and holding himself steady with the other, trying not to jostle his buddy's tummy.

Leo is panting like a dog, his face bright red with effort and excitement. His body was flushed and his breath was heavy with the scent of the pizza they ate. Sweat trickled down his temples and forehead as he finally finished.

Suddenly, Cal lets out another long belch as all of that food starts moving again like a train. His stomach rumbles in discomfort at the pace Leo was pushing things along, but there's no stopping or slowing it now.

Cal's face grows more and more flushed as he moans and tries to keep his guts in its place. Leo rides out his climax, barely even worrying about how he's ruined his underwear in the process.

Snapping back to reality, he realized the true state that Cal was in and swiftly grabbed the trash can, "f-fuck. I'm sorry dude. You're gonna be okay. Just let it out, don't worry about accidents, I have the trash right here.. hold on.." he shifted Cal over slightly so that if any… spilling.. happened it would be in the trash can instead of on the floor. Cal's stomach was round and rock hard, the contents inside swirling like a greasy, bubbly storm. The movement caused a rancid fart to seep out slowly from Cal, the smell making him feel even more sick.

"Ugh.. god, *hic-HURP-" Leo… I'm so full…" the smell was terrible, the pizza obviously having not digested properly. Cal tried to hold on. But he couldn't hold it in for much longer. His hands resting on the impossibly bloated tummy that lay heavily in his lap.

Between queasy, wet, uncontrollable belches that forced their way out of his system, he tried to apologize "Leo.. grrrroowl ungh.. you w- *UUUR*ere right. It was too *urp* much.. fuck! *bruuuup.. burrp.. hurp* gah.. I should have listened.. to you…" he just couldn't stand the pressure anymore and stopped trying to speak when a series of loud, wet belches forced their way out of him. The distended mass in his belly seemed to vibrate and throb in rhythm with his digestive noises.

Leo tried to reassure him, "It's okay, I shouldn't have gone along with it.. we were both caught up in the moment, just breathe.." Cal gasped for air in between belches. "Ohhh fuu-*URP*… I'm gonna… gurggl*urp* Ughhhnnn…!" Cal couldn't hold it in anymore. His full belly convulsed as the undigested remains of the greasy pizza seamlessly flowed out of his mouth. He didn't even get the chance to burp again before a second wave brought up even more. As soon as he could, Cal cried out and gasped for air… before promptly being sick once more.

It dribbled into the trashcan as Cal struggled to remain upright on the couch; he was so sick. After the first few times, every heave was followed by a long, wet belch, the air that had been mixing with everything coming up in between. Cal gripped Leo's arms tightly as his stomach cramped and growled and heaved, the force of which made his whole body jerk and shake.

Cal was too nauseated to even protest being held and rubbed by Leo as he continued to puke. As sick and unpleasant as it was, Cal felt oddly grateful. Cal continued to vomit, his face flushed and heaving as more wet belches spewed out of his mouth. "Ughhh… *hic* I'm not done.. *gurp* I know I'm not.. god I ate so much!" The next few waves felt almost like they would never pass as Cal struggled in pain, and pleasure from relief. Leo almost felt sick himself seeing just how much came up, thinking of how much went IN and how full Cal was. Cal's eyes began to look droopy as he felt his mind slipping away. He definitely reached his limit tonight. He was still sick, but moreso spitting up in the trashcan and gagging than full on vomiting anymore. His mind cleared up just enough to make a mental note to himself: 4 whole pizzas over the course of one night. That was his limit.

Leo, feeling queasy himself from having to witness Cal spewing inches away from him still let Cal rest his head on his lap, trying to avoid laying on his stomach or adding any nore pressure to it. He looked down at his friend, face flush, skin glistening with sweat, nose running, exhausted from the exertion. He couldn't imagine being in his shoes, but at least he could help him, even if it meant cleaning up the result.

"Are you okay, Cal? Do you think you're done?" Leo asked, stroking the hair out of Cal's eyes that were already starting to close. "Maybe… *hic* .. I'm getting sleepy." He mumbled, resting his head further into Leo's lap. Leo would enjoy this a lot more if his lap wasn't uncomfortably hot and sweaty, and parts of it wet and sticky inside from using them as friction to help bring him to his release earlier.

He grabbed a pillow from behind him and carefully moved it under Cal's head as he slipped out from underneath his sore, sleepy buddy. "I'm gonna go empty the trash can, I'm gonna run to the dumpster, I'll be like 5 minutes MAX, do you think you'll be fine until I get back?" Cal hummed "mmhmm.. *hic* I feel so much better… that needed to come out so bad…. oh my god I really overdid it…"

This experience, as repulsive as it sounded, was far from unpleasant to Cal. His body was still slick with sweat and fluids, and his stomach felt sore, but the relief of having gotten everything out was more than worth it to him. He didn't even mind being held and rubbed as his body expelled the contents of what he had eaten with such gluttony. He felt bad for involving Leo in it, if anything.

Cal sighed as he settled more into the pillow beneath him. His stomach still churned routinely, but he no longer felt dizzy with nausea, and he was once again in that familiar state of just being very, very full. He was in a pretty comfortable position though, it had to be said. His body felt oddly relaxed and yet, his stomach was still swollen and achy. He felt lighter, like his body had been cleansed. He also felt something… else. He turned his head as much as he could without moving his body. His eyes were drooped as his gaze was stuck forward, fixated on the doorway that Leo was to return from. After a few minutes he heard footsteps. He tried to force himself awake out of a half-sleep. "Leo?…" he tried to ask, but with the way his head was positioned and how sleepy he was, he only managed to croak out a few barely audible words.

"Leo? you back?"

Leo returned from outside the apartment door, the trashcan now empty and the trashbag inside replaced. He set it down and sighed as he crouched down to be level with Cal, who was still laying on the couch with his head against the pillow. "You awake?" He gently wiped the sweat off of Cal's forehead. Cal smiled sleepily. "Mm… sort of.. uhm. how are you feeling about this whole thing?" Cal was referring to both the pizza and their rather intimate session as a result.

Leo thought for a moment "Hm.. I feel tired, but probably not as tired as you." There was a pause before he continued "…I don't want you to feel bad, if I was in your position I think I would be so embarrassed that I would die.. I wanna be all 'I told you so' but that can wait."

Cal laughed in the form of exhaling through his nose. He understood. Leo kept talking, "I could have lived without you puking your guts out, that kind of ruined it.."

Cal was awake but still dazed enough to not think twice before speaking, "but you came, right?". Leo blushed. Cal was always so straightforward about these things. "Uh. Y-yeah. Absolutely I did. It was immediately cancelled out within like a minute, but up until then… I think I liked it." Cal grinned. "I liked it too. I mean, I definitely hated it at some moments, specifically the ones where I was barfing, but that's over now and I'm not past-me so overall I count it as a success. I found my limit!" Leo grimaced "You sure did.."

Cal continued "and I wouldn't have pushed myself to even go that far without you!"

Leo resisted the urge to lightly shove his friend in fear that he might jostle him too much. "Then maybe I shouldn't have, if this is what happens when I feed you and help you then maybe I'll just stick to watching you gobble down pizza from afar like I used to" Cal giggled. "Well now you don't have to, because my limit is 4 boxes of pizza, just never push me beyond that! Easy math!"

Leo shook his head "I just gotta say.. if this is like a yearly thing or maybe even a once-a-month thing I would be more than happy to help you push your limits.. but now that you know the result I'm not sure about 4.. maybe 1…" Cal playfully groaned "ughhh fine!", then laughed and then turned his head to face Leo. He was smiling as he looked at his friend while trying to keep his eyes open. "Hey, Leo.. thanks for indulging me. You're always there for me and I don't know if I thank you enough for it." Leo shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Thank you for not judging me. You're never afraid to be yourself and you make me want to do the same."

The two fell asleep in the living room, Cal on the couch, and Leo on the floor. They grew much closer that day, and their bond will forever be strengthened, all thanks to surplus pizza.

[mama-qwerty]

The Convention

Takes place in my Knuckles MacPherson au.

Something something, Cal is out of town for a convention, leaving Knux behind for Wade to look after. Something something, Knux and Wade decide with their shared brain cell to head out on a road trip and end up at the place where Callie’s convention is taking place. Not wanting to get caught, they’ve been trying to avoid her and keep a low profile, which, let’s face it, is impossible with these two.

Eventually, Cal’s bored and decides to call and check in on her boys.

~~~

Wade’s eyes went wide as he stared at his phone screen. The picture he’d set for Callie’s number stared at him, a smiling redhead dropping one eye in a wink.

“Do not answer it,” Knuckles said, his eyes flicking from the screen to Wade. “She will know.”

“She’s not gonna know,” Wade said, but his chest tightened all the same. “How’s she gonna know?”

“She always knows.”

“Just relax, I’ll handle it.” He thumbed the green icon and brought the phone to his ear. “Hey, Cal!” His voice was too loud, too chipper. Knuckles groaned, facepalming. Wade swallowed. “H-how goes the convention?”

There was a beat of silence, and when Callie responded, a hint of suspicion edged her tone.

“Fine . . . is everything okay?”

“Okay? Sure is! Why wouldn’t things be okay? Psshh. I mean, I’m a grown man, right? I can watch over a kid for a few days while you’re out of town, right? Yeah, no problem! No problems at all! Don’t you worry!”

Sweat was starting to trickle down his back, and Knuckles peeked at him from behind his large mitt.

Shockingly, Callie wasn’t convinced. “Where’s Knuckles? Is he alright?”

Wade flicked his eyes to the echidna next to him. “Oh he’s fine! Never better! In fact, he’s right here, why don’t you talk to him?”

Knuckles’ eyes went wide and he shook his head, waving his hands back and forth in a “No, NO!” kinda way. Wade tapped the mute icon as he handed the phone to the teen.

“Just tell her everything’s fine!” Wade hissed in a loud whisper. “If she doesn’t hear from you she’ll think you’re lying dead in a ditch somewhere!”

“Have you lost your mind??” Knuckles responded in an equal tone. “I cannot talk to her, she will know something’s wrong!”

“Just keep it vague! We’re at your house watching a movie or something!”

Wade thrust the phone into Knuckles’ hand, and unmuted it before the echidna could respond. He gave the man a little snarl, before lifting it to his ear. “Hello.”

“Knux? Everything okay? Wade sounds pretty suspicious right now.”

Knuckles swallowed hard. “Everything is fine. We are . . .” He flicked his eyes up to Wade, who nodded and gave a thumbs up. “. . . watching a movie.”

“Oh? Whatcha watchin’?”

The echidna’s eyes went wide, and he looked around himself in a panic. Lying was not Knuckles’ strongest ability, and at this moment every movie he’d ever seen vanished from his mind. He looked at the booths surrounding them, advertising publishing companies and the various best-sellers they’d produced. His eyes landed on the nearest title, and he blurted it out in a too-loud voice.

“50 Shades of Gray!”

“WHAT?!”

Wade lunged for the phone, pulling it away so he could talk into the mic. “HA! He’s kidding, we’re not watching that, that’s ridiculous, I would never, ever show him anything like that, right Knux?” The echidna glared at him. “Seriously, Cal, we’re not watching that. I swear.”

Silence answered him, and the two stared at the seconds ticking away on the screen as the call continued.

“Hmm.” That simple hum just oozed suspicion. “What’s the weather like there?”

“It’s sunny!/raining!” Wade and Knuckles replied, their voices piling up. They both gasped, looking at each other as they each bit their lip.

More silence. “Hmm. 50 Shades of Gray, huh?”

Knuckles’ eyes went to the booth again, and a realization struck. He reached down and crushed Wade’s phone in his fist, bringing a cry from the deputy.

“HEY!”

“She is hunting us!” the echidna hissed, head on a swivel as he looked in all directions around them. “She knows we are here, and when she catches us, she will have our heads!”

“Oh,” Wade said, turning to scan their surroundings. “Oh, crap.”

“This is your fault!” Knuckles said, jabbing an angry fist toward him.

Wade gaped at him. “MY fault?? It was your idea to come here!”

“I am a child! You are the adult who is responsible for me! You should have denied my idea!”

“Oh, now you’re a ‘child’ who needs an adult and not the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy who needs no supervision??”

“It is a complicated duality, and I am still trying to work my way through it!”

“Hello, boys.”

They both gave a little shriek at the voice and jumped back, assuming defensive poses as their eyes went wide and hearts raced. Callie gave a little smirk, flicking her eyes back and forth between them.

“Who’s gonna explain?”

The two slowly relaxed, and exchanged a glance. They both briefly considered telling the truth, before throwing each other under the bus instead.

“IT WAS HIS IDEA!” they both yelled, pointing at the other. Upon realizing the blame had been flung straight back on their own head, they gasped, turning to each other and starting to argue.

Callie listened to them for a moment, the smirk changing to a smile as she rolled her eyes.

“Guys. GUYS!” They quieted and turned to her, identical looks of guilt on their faces. “If you wanted to come, you could have just asked.”

The shock they displayed was almost comical.

“You . . . you’re not mad?” Wade asked, doubt in his voice and face. “I mean, really? You’re not just acting all cool and calm because we’re in public and are going to hand us our butts when we’re alone?”

She shook her head. “Not mad. A little surprised you’d want to come all the way here for a publishing convention. They’re not exactly a whirlwind of excitement.”

“We were concerned,” Knuckles said as he stepped forward. “When you called that first night you were away, you sounded sad.”

Her smile softened. “I was just missing home. This is my first trip away since you came to me. The first trip I had someone to miss.” She looked at Wade. “And I kinda missed my Bear, too.”

Wade smiled. “Awww. No one’s ever missed me before.”

“It is our duty to protect you, and keep you safe,” Knuckles said, holding a fist to his chest. “We came to watch over you, and be here if you needed us.”

“Oh, my sweet ki’kone,” she said, going to a knee before him. She gave his muzzle a little caress, bringing a smile to his lips. “I would never turn down a chance to spend time with you.”

Behind him, Wade coughed into his fist. Loudly. Twice.

Callie cast him a raised eyebrow and little smirk. “Yes Wade, you too.”

The deputy smiled. “Heh, just making sure. So you’re really not mad?”

She shook her head, returning to her feet. “Nope. In fact, I’m glad you’re here. You can help keep me entertained. C’mon. Let’s go get something to eat.”

“Yes!” Knuckles cried, lifting his arms in the air. “I have missed our shared feasts.”

“It’s only been like two days, Knux.”

“A day spent without those you love can feel like a lifetime,” the teen said, moving to walk next to her. “I have spent enough days alone. Come, Me’na. Let us find a meal fit for our reunion.”

“Oh, he’s good,” Wade muttered as they headed for the door. “The echidna’s got smooth lines.”

“Right? Kid can make anyone swoon.”

“It is a gift.”

Callie and Wade gave a little snicker as the three of them walked out, intent on finding a place to fill their bellies, and enjoy their time together.

[kcalsforhim]

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ tues 29th oct 2024 - past midnight

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

the way that i had everything already edited and prepared and i still forgot to write my entry ? shame on meeee !

i didn’t do much in the day but during the nighttime this night i pretty much stayed up all night redoing my room… i redid a shelffff my deskkkk ordered a new chair and made some plans for wall decorations. i’ve been working hard to make my room a genuine more comfortable and more safe space to be in and live in and i think it’s finally amounting to something… when i go to college next week someone has to remind me to print posters 😖

i also got fucking high this day i just remembered i smoked this entire thing close to my house and went back inside and then i did some diabolical ass shit whoooops … it’s fine i’m grown im old enough to

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

no step goal

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

contains : tiny burger patty, 1 sausage, a small bowl of mashed potato, brussel sprouts, and zucchini slabs…

also : a rice cake with some chocolate spread

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

cal goal : 500 (i think…)

spent : 509

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

this food i remember being very good. i was sceptical on the zucchini at first cause it looked kinda brown but apon cutting it open i was affirmed it was fine it was green ! so its fine. it was very good and so were the brussel sprouts as normal… i always like eating those !

i was originally planning to only have the burger patty but mother said i looked a bit sickly and that i should have a bit more food… that’s also why i have potato mash. the fucking rice cake was all me being a fat piggy tho can’t even deny that one…

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

here is some photos i took this day… my hand is finally looking a little nice im starting to think… ^^ i can be like a boy that shows his hand on snapchat HAHAHAHA

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other inspiring photos.. the first two are just so fucking goals infact i really want to get an outfit like pic one and i really want a cute lace bra just so that i can not fill it up and look so tiny in it… the third one is just pure inspiration and shows me there’s still hope for me…

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this song is actually so cute i can’t even lie i think it’s even new but don’t quote me on that ! there’s a bunch of animation trends with this song on tiktok it’s so adorable LOL

ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ

[blackroseguzzi]

The Luckiest Man Alive

PART 2: The Chapter where Don Hume meets Evangeline Brown.

The library had become your sanctuary these last two weeks since starting your freshman year at Washington State University. At first it was because of the way it made you feel more studious in your studies. The feeling of being around endless pages of knowledge. Then it was because the library was far quieter than your dormitory room, which you shared with a clarinet player by day and giggling radio enthusiast by night. Your roommate loved sound, and you- well you didn’t enjoy noise quit as much. 

You had grown up in a house full of loud boys. You being the youngest of four, you were acustome to the loud sounds that always traveled through your childhood home. In turn, it had made you respect the quiet when it happened. So when you decided to go off to college to become a nurse, you knew that the best place to relax was somewhere without any noisy outside interferences. 

So, the library was now your favorite spot. If anyone was being voluminous in any way, they were often scolded by one of the librarians. It half occurred to you one night as you sat up with a book to your nose that it wouldn’t be half bad to change your major now to library science. It might be a tad bit easier than the bite you currently chewed. 

When you were not studying or in class you were at the hospital. It was part of your curriculum to be put into the field and as much as it scared you to no end - it had also made you feel alive. 

Today, you had decided to write home before you would have to digest a whole 73 page chapter from your human anatomy book. 

As your pencil hit the paper to write your first word A hand grabs the white lined paper from the desk.

Surprised, you quickly glance up to see Joyce, your best friend, giving a questionable look at your blank paper. 

“You’ve been here an awful long time not to have anything written down silly.” She giggled, placing the paper back down. 

You sighed softly. You didn’t have much time to spare before you had to be at the hospital for your shift.  

“I was taking a break from reading or else my eyes were going to pop out of my skull. Thought I’d write my family to know I’m still alive.” You confessed. 

She gave you a sympathetic smile. “Your parents know that their savings are not being wasted and you’re slaving away to make them proud.” 

The depression had hit your family as it did many others. With a handful of kids  to care for it was hard for your family to save for all of their further educations. 

You were the second to go off to college. Your oldest brother was studying to become an Engineer, graduating from Cal in the fall. The other two had began working for your father as a tradesman rather quickly. Making themselves working men made your father proud, just in a different way.

As the youngest and only daughter, you felt as thought you had to strive for the best. He was an athlete, a confident man and one who wanted all his children to succeed as he had. It gave you that much more pressure to do well in school. 

“Take a break and come to the mess hall with me!”Joyce’s question rang out loudly in the almost silent room.

Pressing your finger to your lips, you pleaded with her not to make a scene in the library. Giggles erupt from her as you gathered all of your books and stuffed your blank letter into your massager bag hastily before a librarian came over to slap them both on the wrists. 

As soon as you stepped out from the buildings clutches you let out a loud sigh. “I’m starving!” 

Joyce link arms with you as you made your way to the dining area. Eyes skimming the campus, you smiled softly to yourself at how lucky of a chance it was for you to be there. You couldn’t blow it. 

“You know, it’s been real fun the last few weeks here hasn’t it?” Joyce sang out. Ever since you met her, she's had this way of always bringing happiness and light into any room she was in. She was the taller more confident of the two of you, but she always said she admired your natural beauty and ability to learn things quickly.

The two of you had always been friends. For as long as you could remember your duo did everything together - so there wasn’t any way that you were not going to go off to the same college. Joyce just made things much more enjoyable.

You two were also making new friends fast. Joyce had introduced you to her roommate, Doris, on the second day on campus. She had what seemed like a whole team of really nice females that always followed her around.

You had started to noticed boys looking at you in a different way since starting at the University as well. They talked to you often, smiled at you more, and sometimes just stared for longer than you were sometimes comfortable with. Romance wasn’t in your cards in your high school years. You had secretly hoped it would be different now, but you hadn’t meet anyone yet that struck your fancy. 

Joyce said you didn’t try hard enough because you are always at the library. ‘How will you meet a boy if you’re always someplace where you can’t even talk!’ She would joke - even though you both know there was a lot of truth to her words.

Joyce opened her mouth to say something to you when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her arm still around yours caused you to also take a halt from walking. 

“What has you spooked?” 

Joyce pressed her lips together, eyes never leaving the crowd that was now in front of the mess hall. 

“You’re not going to believe me but I think I just saw Joe Rantz again, he was just in my seminar this morning!” She exclaimed. 

Your jaw dropped, playfully smacking your friend’s arm. “Oh, don’t tell me you're still swooning over him after all this time?!” 

“No…Well, he had that crush on me don’t you remember?”

“You never let me forget now did you?” 

The two of you laughed as you finally made it to your destination. The emptiness in your stomach became apparent upon the smell of food.

You filled your tray, paid, and with Joyce leading the way you found a spot with a few of the girls you’d met in classes along with Joyce’s roommate Doris.

“Oh my goodness, I forgot to tell you Evangeline, I saw your name was on the Volunteer extra credit sheet. It was on the JV boys rowing tryouts for tomorrow! ” With sound of your name, your head raises from your plate of food before looking to Doris, who happened to also be in the nursing program.

You took your napkin, wiping around your mouth, finishing your bite before you spoke. 

“Oh, I asked Professor Elms for the extra credit but I don’t know why I’d be sent there.” 

Doris clicked her tongue “Well, there was only one name on that side of the extra credit page and If I recall correctly it was certainly yours. Look for yourself -it’s right in the common room tacked up next to the job board.” 

“I guess I’ll have to go take a look.” You placed the fork onto your plate with an auditable clank. You didn’t really have time for more than what you currently had going on but you had felt the need to please your professor upon meeting him. So much so that you’d asked him to sign you up for any extra credit that would come your way. I guess JV rowing tryouts were not the worst thing in the world. Your dad was an athlete at Washington state years ago, and with the rise of Physical Education and Recreation nurses in the United States, your father had asked about your interest in that area of education many times.

“Well I’d sign up with you if I didn’t already have a date,” Doris beemed and all eyes on the table landed on her.

“Oh my goodness, we need all the details!” Joyce chipped in, leaning her head in her hands as she listened to Doris rave about some bloak named Jimmy and his ocean blue eyes.

After what felt like a lifetime of listening to the girls talk about their romantic lives, in which you couldn’t contribute to- you and Joyce decided to excuse yourselves. Cleaning your tray you spotted Joe Rantz two tables from where the two of you were standing. 

“I know you want to go reminisce. I’m going to go to the common rooms to check on that list. I’m sure I’m the only Evangeline Brown in Elms medical seminar.” 

Joyce’s face lit up, saying her goodbyes and good luck before she strode toward Joe with her confidence high as it always was. You just knew she was going to ask him about those silly love poems he wrote her when they were younger. You always did like Joe, he was good for Joyce. A kind boy with a heart of gold like your best friend deserved. 

The bag on your shoulder was digging into the skin on your shoulder by the time you made your way to the common room on campus. You cursed yourself that you hadn’t dropped your books at the library before you and Joyce grabbed dinner.  

You all but dragged the bag on the ground as your eyes saw the bulletin board. It was also not the only thing your eyes had found. 

A tall brunette male stood reading the  job board. His brows met together in concentration, a sweater in one hand and a mug of steaming coffee in the other. 

You maneuvered the bag upon your shoulder once more but just as it made contact with your Body the strap suddenly snapped. A quiet woosh sounded throughout the room as your crinkled class notes and loose papers made their way across the wooden floor. 

Your fists immediately clenched together and your teeth were grinding hard at the frustration starting to tumble out of you. 

“You had to pick today, when I’m half a mile from my dorm to take the center stage huh?” The bag didn’t have much to say once your mumbling decreased and you brushed out your plaid skirt before bending down and gathering your papers into a pile.

“Let me help you.” 

The voice startled you, and you stood up quickly. Possibly a little too quickly as your arm knocked against another body. You watched as a cup of coffee lands with a blistering smack onto your pile of paperwork. 

“Oh god,” you hear a whisper. The brunette man from earlier was beside you. He ran a hand through his short brown hair and his head is shaking. 

“ I am SO sorry.” His voice is low and louder now as he is attempting to clean the mess with the sweater in his hands.

You aren’t sure why, but his embarrassment for your own accident struck something within your heart, and it started to beat strongly in your chest. 

“Oh it’s fine, it’s alright.” You placed a hand on his shoulder as his panicked face turned to you. 

You giggled, picking up a dripping pice of paper in between the two of you.

“These papers are useless anyhow. I can barely read my own handwriting when I take notes in that class.” Letting out an amused huff you remembered reading your first set of notes after the professor had talked far too fast for your fingers. The notes barely passed as chicken scratch, and your fingers were sore for a day afterwards.

“I’d gladly re write them for you. I feel awful.” He helps you bring the dark brown sopping papers to a trash canister.

“Not a bother, I think I do owe you a coffee though. It was all me who made this mess when you had just came to help.”  The brunette boy tried to hide the fact his face had started to grow warm and a faint rose color spread evenly onto his cheeks.

“If I’m being honest I’m not even a big fan of coffee. I thought today of all days I’d try a hand at it after I stayed up with class work. As suspected, it seems to do more harm than good.” 

You watched him pick up your broken bag inspecting the torn strap.

“It didn’t last as long as the salesman said it would.” You pointed out, the weight clearly exceeded the limitations of its capacity and snapped under the pressure. A little symbolic you thought to yourself. 

The  boy frowned, seeing the disappointment spread across your face.

“Do you…need help bringing your books somewhere? They seem awfully heavy for just one person.” You smiled at his kind gesture and felt your own cheeks starting to boil with color. 

“No, oh goodness that’s quite alright. I need to bring half of them back to the library anyway. They’re probably past due.” 

“Let me drop them off for you, I’m headed there now!” He stated enthusiastic but as soon as his eagerness to help shined through he retreated. He reminded you a little of a pet turtle your brother Norman had. Sometimes when you would catch him poking his head out in confidence, he would see you and slide quickly back in his shell and pounder there for long periods of time to make sure eyes were off him before returning to sun bathing. 

“That would be lovely of you. Are you sure?” 

The boy nodded quickly. 

Smiling widely you thanked him and handed him three of the larger books you desperately needed to return, forgetting all about them when Joyce had dragged you off the mess hall. 

You glanced at the off white scroll volunteer list and remembered he had been looking at the job board when you had walked in and caused such a scene. 

“Are you looking for a job?”

The boys shoulders shrugged, seemingly worried of judgement. 

“I am, but nothing I can see would be good for my class schedule.”

“Well, I hear JV rowing team has tryouts tomorrow. If you make the team you get your pick of some of the odd jobs around campus.” 

“I thought about it. I’m not sure how good I’d be. Never picked up an ore in my life.” He huffed.

“I think you should. Your height would give you an awfully good advantage don’t you think?” 

His smile was subtle, and you found his shy demeanor to be oddly charming. He was extremely handsome and you were curious as to why someone so good looking seemed to be having a hard time talking to such an average girl. 

You wondered if it was because he was already someone’s beau, and that thought churned your stomach a bit with jealousy if you were being honest with yourself. 

“Well, I hope you do try out. Truly, I think you’d be great.” 

He hung his head, staring at the books in his hands and thanking you quietly. 

“I have to run to work, but thank you again for dropping those off at the library.”

“Of course, Its the least I can do to apologize for your coffee soaked notes.” You both let out a small laugh and you waved him goodbye. 

“WAIT, I didn’t get your name? I have a feeling handsome gentleman isn’t what you normally go by?” You grabbed his arm as he was about to walk away. He turned to you, his lips pressed in a straight line and eyebrows raised. He was taken aback by your kind compliment towards him. 

“Oh it’s Don. Don Hume.”

“Well, Evangeline Brown says her sincere thank you and she hopes you have great rest of your evening Don Hume.” You held the broken messenger bag to your chest tightly. Waving one last time you turned around quickly before he could see the color flush into your face. You didn’t want to Gain attention with your cheeky smile and heart pounding giddiness. 

Making your way down the hall you swiftly walked by the job board and white volunteer scroll - and Doris was right. In big capital letters under JV Rowing tryouts one name was written- EVANGELINE BROWN. 

Even though you were down a school bag, pages of reading, papers to write, volunteering to add to your list of responsibilities- you somehow felt after your happenstance meeting of Don that you were The Luckiest Girl Alive. 

[kuroneko1815]

The Handkerchief

Okay, am I the only one who thought Penelope might have been slightly jealous when Callisto brought up the fact that the handkerchief was from another woman? It seemed to me like Callisto might have been angling for one from her. (And I’m disregarding the translation that says it was given before the hunt. Because what I remembered reading originally was before the war).

There’s a symbolism of accepting and keeping a woman’s hanky which means that you accept and reciprocate her feelings.

Callisto: I’ll give it to the Princess and maybe she’ll give me one as an indirect love confession.

Penelope, a bit jealous: Here, wash it up and give it back to her if you don’t want it.

Callisto: The Princess is cold but I love it.

(Callisto likes the chase)

It could be that the handkerchief was really Callisto’s and he was giving it to her, just hoping for an exchange as well because then she’d be obligated to keep it to wash it and she could conveniently forget it and give him a new one.

Meaning that they reciprocate each other’s feelings and want a relationship. But he also wasn’t sure how it’d be taken so he tells her it’s from another woman to gauge her reaction.

Because Callisto at 12 or 13 receiving a hanky and holding on to it without it getting soiled or stained, or just plain ruined while he was at war for almost ten years is nearly impossible unless he left it at his palace. In that case, how’d he even remember something like that? Like this man, I think also has a case of subjective memory… He purposefully forgot that he nearly killed her at the maze.

-

-

If you’ve read this far… welcome to the hidden side plot from the past.

Penelope at the age of seven was an independent child who had grown up practical and pragmatic but loved deeply by her family. Penelope was there with her mother and the caravan and runs into an older child who was about eleven or twelve. He was a pretty boy with hair like gold and eyes like the rubies the wealthier merchants traded.

She was unknowing of his real identity, of the Crown Prince that now holds her hands and takes in the streets of the capital, the narrow corridors of the slums that she’s taken to showing him around. He’s a wealthy child, she can tell immediately from the make of his clothes. The merchant in her can easily see that. The poor commoner child that she was felt some slight envy at the obvious luxuries he had. But more than that… he looked the very definition of rich and she loved looking at rich people. Especially when they were like this boy who was like a living jewelry. Gold and rubies.

She shows him the life of a commoner, of the children she’s learned to play with. And teaches him what it’s like, let’s him experience what her life is like. She calls him Cal and he calls her Penny.

Mother calls for her and she pulls him along, laughing happily. (She doesn’t know that the boy looks enraptured at the child with dark pink hair who laughs so freely). Mother pats her head and bends down to kiss her and give her a hug, inquiring over her health before turning to Cal who she introduces immediately.

Mother smiles at him and pats him as well. Gives him a small kiss on the forehead and a hug. “Any friend of my daughter is a friend of mine as well.”

The caravan, her family, all laughingly echo that. And they give him a place at their table. Invite some of the others as well and share a simple meal. Cal watches all this with a wistful longing smile, listening to their tales and happy teasing. (He nods to himself, resolute. He marches off to war soon and he knows what he needs to fight for now. It’s this tangible thing, this one happy family. This warm girl who smiles and laughs freely.)

When the sun dips low, Cal says goodbye. Penelope is used to this. Never has friends that she gets to keep, is used to hellos and goodbyes and reunions and distances but somehow she thinks it’s different with Cal, as if he’s found the answer to some question that’s been in his mind for so long. She wonders what it was but knows better to ask so she wishes him well.

She has nothing to give but a simple handkerchief. It’s not to the quality that he’s no doubt used to but it’s the best thing she has, it’s clean and new. Grandma had made it for her. Had woven it herself and created the patterns on it. She presses it to his hands.

“For you.” She says. “To remember today.”

He’s silent, looking at it with a frown but he nods.

“Have a good life, Cal. And be safe.”

The golden boy walks away into the distance and she returns to her family.

-

-

Callisto walks no more than twenty steps into the alley he’d turned into when he stops. Porter appears silent like a shadow along with three other men, his guards who’d been shadowing him from a distance. He knows they’d been following him since he snuck out but he just… he needed this moment.

Needed to understand the heart of the Empire, of this place that he was being sacrificed for. Needed to see why he was being sent off to fight in a war. Why he needed to bloody his hands, his mind, his heart; why he needed to taint his very soul.

But he’s found that answer. He wants to do it for her. This innocent little girl who welcomed him without another thought.

“Are you done, Your Highness?” Porter asked. Not commenting on the handkerchief he holds in his hands. Staring at the delicate fabric.

“Yes, let’s return to the palace now.”

If the Empire had more children, more families like that one… he wanted to protect them. He remembered the spike of jealousy at the way her family had so easily shown affection. At the open love her mother showered her with. His forehead feels warm from where the woman had given him a motherly kiss.

His heart has been closed for awhile now, after his mother’s death. After, the remarriage. After the assassination. But for a moment… even if he felt like an outsider as he ate that simple fare, he felt that he wanted to belong. Felt as though the food was the most delicious he’d ever eaten.

-

-

Callisto marches off to war not too long after that. He brings the handkerchief with him, cherishes it and keeps it practically pristine. Holds on to it only when his hands are clean. Washes it gently by hand when it gets even a single speck of dirt. Uses it to remind him of that one day when he got to act as a normal child with her; uses it to remind him of the innocence he wants to protect.

-

-

Time has dulled their memories of one another. Callisto no longer remembers her name or what she looks like. All he has is the simple handkerchief made of common cotton to remember her by. And the ghost of her laughter ringing in his ears, the feeling he felt when he held her hand and the warmth that spread through him when she looked him in the eyes bravely and gave him that sunshine smile.

-

-

Penelope’s memories are warped through all that she’s suffered from. The abuse has her lock those happy days away, knows that she’d shatter if she remembered them. The regressions don’t help. Now all she remembers is pain, humiliation, and death. Her soul cracks and shatters, forming anew in another world before she’s returned to this world.

-

-

Even after the war, even after the jaded, brutal thing that he becomes. He still keeps the handkerchief with him. He never offers it to anyone.

At least he didn’t. And then Penelope Eckhart came into the picture and he finds himself offering the handkerchief to her. Feels right to do it, even when she dirties it with soot and gives it back to him with an annoyed face.

He tucks it back into his pocket determined to wash it when he got back to the palace.

-

-

After all is said and done, Penelope finds the handkerchief again among his possessions. He doesn’t try to justify it. But she merely raises a brow. Penelope now remembers the child she’d been.

Touches the handkerchief and feels the fabric. There’s one feature to it that she knows deeply. A minuscule P is embroider there.

“I didn’t know you’d kept it all these years. I’m glad you remembered that day even after all these years, Cal.” She said.

His eyes snap up to her and he laughs, feels as though fate had been telling him where his heart and future lay all along with that handkerchief. “I’m glad I got to meet you again, my beloved Penny.” He pulls her in for a kiss.

[a-crystallen-author]

Hello, Writeblr! I hear it's polite to introduce oneself around these parts, so here it is: my Writeblr Intro (ta-dahhh)

Identification: Amanda La Crystallen (she/her)

Generation: Hobbit

Location: West Coast in the streets, East Coast in the sheets! Currently Nor-Cal, but if I need to hydrate, I'm asking for the bubblah.

Facts that are definitely fast and hopefully also fun:

Recovering perfectionist

Escaped Evangelical

Neurosparkly

Adopted

Collector of sunglasses, lip color, socks, vinyl, and spare onewheel parts I'll probably never use again.

Writing and WIP details below the fold.

Genre(s): Spec fic, esp. fantasy; YA and/or "new adult" (is that a thing? Did "new adult" happen?); generally whimsical

Influences: Terry Pratchett, Scott Westerfeld, Charlie Jane Anders, Christopher Moore, "His Dark Materials," "Welcome to Night Vale," prob will add more to this list later

WIPs

Necromancer Unleashed!

A subverted kids' book (think "Bunnicula" for grown-ups) about a dog who accidentally learns to raise the dead. Told through the eyes of pets around the neighborhood, "Unleashed!" is a tail—woof, I mean tale—about dogs that's secretly about people, and what happens to all of us when it's time to cross the Rainbow Bridge. Like all good stories, this one starts with a smell...

Vibe: Spooky slice-of-life. Hygge horror. Equal measures silly and poignant—or at least that's the goal!

Tags: #necromancer unleashed! #Homer's pawdyssey

Atlas of Dreams

A hidden world. A missing father. A lifetime without dreams, inspiration, or hope. As a child of the 1990s, Anna had it all and was promised even more, including a seat on the throne in the parallel world where dreams are born—but the future had other plans, and Anna hasn't dreamed (or written, or drawn, or sung) since she was a teenager. Now an adult, Anna decides it's time to come into her inheritance whether the dream world is ready or not.

This project is inspired by almost 2 decades worth of dreams and meditations. It has taken many forms over the years. Originally, I wanted it to be "Narnia" for an older audience, but the story has made it pretty clear that that's not what IT wants to be, so... more exploration needed, I guess

Ryan Cassidy's Boggart Survival Guide

Everyone knows that boggarts like to hide in small, dark spaces—like the closet, which is where it finds Ryan Cassidy searching for the perfect words to tell everyone she's not a boy.

No one knows where the boggarts came from, just that they suddenly seem to be everywhere and they can make people do things. Bad things. They're like little devils riding around on the community's collective shoulder—but that's just a figure of speech, because most people can't see boggarts, or even detect their subtle influence until it's too late.

Cassidy can, though. And so can the mysterious new stranger at school. In fact, they both appeared around the same time...

Cassidy and the new kid team up to defeat this mysterious new evil. But when Cassidy picks up a boggart of her own, it changes everything she thought she knew about their supernatural struggle.

[twogundogonesighthound]

(This is wyrddogs) What GPS system did you buy? I just bought a Garmin A 120 collar for the child (he’s a real man now!), but I’m lucky that my roommate is letting me borrow her handheld. Those things are expensive!

Oh boy are they ever. I threw up a little when I put my credit card info in! I went with the Garmin 200i and TT 15X collars. I wanted tracking and training capabilities, which is why I went with what I went with. I’ve only used the system on 3 walks so far but it was worth every penny spent - I feel SO much better having them offleash. As long as it holds up for like, at least 5 years, it will have been absolutely worth it. An added bonus is that I also love being able to see how far we all went. On our last walk, humans went ~5 miles and Darcy went over 9!

But yes, I felt like once cal grew (or perhaps ungrew? Ejected?) his brain, it was time. Grown men need their every footstep tracked, just in case they have a thought of their own (dangerous). And if you ever are in the market for a handheld, keep an eye out for sales…I got like 300$ off the whole system by buying on sale.

[greer-morgan]

What a Valiant Roar (Pt. I) | Self-Para

"He kept us outside. But he kept everyone outside. When he let you in... when the sun shone... it was warm. Yeah. It was really... It was warm in the light." - Shiv Roy

Rain tapped against the window panes in a steady, even rhythm. It had been raining all day— all week— and Greer had grown restless. She was alone in the foyer, throwing herself full speed into cartwheels, too young to know fear or hesitation.

Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump.

Her feet kept a rhythm of their own each time they landed against the wooden floor. Two hands down, a surge of momentum, and then two little feet.

Thump. Thump.

“Greer!” Redford Morgan’s voice thundered from the doorway of his office.

Crash.

Greer, destabilized by being startled, fell sideways into a table which sent a vase catapulting to the floor in a mess of water and jagged ceramic. Redford stormed down the hallway to take in the sight of his daughter crumpled on the floor. Greer didn’t move. Although unhurt, she remained completely frozen in place. She held her breath tightly in her lungs, preparing for her father’s anger over the noise and the mess she’d made.

“What the fuck are you doin’ out here?” He bellowed, standing over Greer.

“Flips,” she explained, a truth without elaboration.

“Inside my house? Greer Mae, what would—” He exhaled through his nose, and much to Greer’s surprise, Redford’s anger deflated with the breath. She’d expected to be yanked upward, but instead, he reached down and lifted her up gently before settling her in his arms to step over the shrapnel of the broken vase.

“Why are you doin’ cartwheels in the house when you know I’m in there workin’?”

“‘Cause it’s rainin’,” she pouted. “Cal’s outside. I’m stuck in here, an’ mommy says I don’t get to go with him.”

“That’s cause Cal doesn’t come back with a rat’s nest in his hair that he won’t let anyone brush out. It’s what you get for throwin’ a fit about it. ‘Sides, why would you wanna ruin that beautiful dress’a yours in the rain? It’s brand new, and it cost me a pretty penny.”

Greer shrugged, having no real care for any of that.

“Where’s Leighton?”

“In the kitchen with mommy and Teeny.”

“And you don’t wanna help? You know your mama needs all hands on deck before your new brother or sister comes along.”

Greer shook her head. “Leighton said I was a bad stirrer, and I hate cookin’ anyway. It’s borin’.”

Redford laughed, setting Greer down again on the floor of his office— a place Greer had been allowed in only a handful of times in her five years of life. “You’re gonna have to make your peace with that eventually, princess. Someday, you’re gonna have a husband and little ones of your own, and they’re gonna wanna eat from time to time.”

“Ew, gross, daddy,” her nose scrunched. 

“What’s gross?”

“Boys… and babies too,” she decided easily.

“Good. I’m gonna hold you to that for ‘least the next thirty years,” he chuckled.

Out of her father’s grasp, Greer padded across the large rug that took up most of the floor of Redford’s office, hoisting herself into his large, leather desk chair.

“What’re you workin’ about?” She wondered out loud, her eyes wandering over piles of papers she couldn’t read yet.

“Lookin’ over corn crop yield for a plant that mills animal feed. They’ve been hurtin’ for supply the past few years. Probably ain’t even worth keepin’ ‘em open into next season.”

Greer stared back, her expression dampened by confusion.

“Ain’t anythin’ you need to worry your pretty little head about,” Redford assured her. “Jus’ lots of men talkin’ big numbers.”

Greer nodded, picking up a self-inking stamp, but it was plucked from her hand before she had the chance to press it down on something. 

Redford glanced at the clock before scooping Greer out of the chair. “Alright, time for you to get outta here,” he decided, needing the little girl to keep her hands off the contents of his desk. “I got an hour before my meetin' with Captain Reynolds, a lotta work to do before then, and now, I got a vase to sweep up in the hall.”

He offered Greer a stern look, only to receive wide, blinking eyes in return.

“Go play, but be quiet about it now, Greer. You break somethin’ in my house again, and you won’t get out of a spankin’ this time. Got it?”

“Yessir,” she agreed, closing the office door behind her as she left.

***

“You’re a fuckin’ traitor,” Greer snuffed a hand-rolled cigarette out against a roof shingle to her right and let the butt roll into the gutter by her feet. She wrapped herself tighter in her sweater to keep out the chill of winter, squinting against the low, late-afternoon sun. “Can’t believe they’re lettin’ you go out tonight.”

“It’s not my fault you got caught makin’ out with the Lapp’s farmhand, and dad can’t let it go,” Callahan shrugged. 

“It’s my birthday party,” Greer argued. “I feel like I’m the one who should get a pass on havin’ to be nice to dad’s shitty friends.”

“It’s a dinner,” he countered.

“For my birthday.”

“Sure, if that’s what you wanna tell yourself,” Cal answered, carefully inching down the roof until he was low enough to hang over the porch and climb down. “Have fun,” he called over his shoulder.

Greer offered him a parting middle finger before she climbed back inside through the window, shutting it behind her.

“Why’s it so damn cold up here?” Redford asked as he rounded the corner from the top of the staircase, eyeing Greer’s hands where they were still hovering over the window’s locks.

Greer shrugged, giving him a vocalized non-answer. She was annoyed about the evening that stretched on in front of her as a whole, but now there was the extra annoyance of having just lost one of her better hiding spots.

“Drop the attitude, Greer,” Redford warned. “I’m not doin’ this with you tonight.”

“I didn’t even say anythin’!”

“S’all over your face. Rollin’ your eyes at me wasn’t cute when you were little, and it sure ain’t cute now that you’re fifteen.”

“I don’t wanna do this stupid dinner. S’bullshit. I—” Greer started to argue, but Redford cut her off, “You’re gonna fix your face, and then, you’re gonna go wash up for dinner. I won’t have you downstairs smellin’ like smoke out of a cheap bar. Not after half this town already thinks you let some backwoods farmhand get what he wanted from you in a dirty barn.” 

“That ain’t anythin’ like what happened!” She shouted, exasperated over the fighting in circles they’d done for months now. The last few years, really, though it had morphed through various perceived indiscretions. 

“It doesn’t matter, Greer. It’s what people think of you, and what people think of you affects us more than anythin’ you have to say about it— truth or not. You’re gonna be spendin’ a long time fixin’ this mess you made for yourself.”

“I already said I was sorry about it. Why does it matter if I go kissin’ the asses of a bunch’a self-important creeps who are all way too old to be spendin’ their time imaginin’ who I might let—” 

“Watch yourself, young lady,” Redford warned sharply, taking a step closer so he could stand over Greer. “Now, you’ve got a half hour to put yourself together and get yourself seated at my dinin’ room table. You’re gonna smile, and you’re gonna be polite, and you’re not gonna embarrass us tonight by causin’ a scene. Yes, sir?”

“I—” she tried to counter.

“Yes, sir?” And they both understood that it was not a question, but a demand.

A sound of annoyance rumbled from the back of Greer's throat. “This is so damn—”

The back of Redford’s hand collided against Greer’s cheek with a crack. They both stood frozen for a long moment before it was Greer who finally made the first move. She straightened her spine, squaring her shoulders, as her eyes met her father’s unflinchingly. Scarlet bloomed over her stinging cheek like a stain, but Greer fought hard not to acknowledge the pain. She wouldn’t let him have that. 

“Yes, sir,” she told him, her tone dry and unwavering, as she turned and walked away.

***

Greer stood abruptly at the sound of the opening door, tucking her shaking hands neatly behind her back. Her father entered wearing a stilted smile as his eyes darted between Greer and the peacekeeper who’d been tasked with taking her back to a stark little holding room. She’d been in the lobby of the Justice Building a few times but never back in any of the rooms. They were unbearably cold, she’d realized as she’d sat alone waiting to say her goodbyes.

Redford’s head dipped toward the door wordlessly, and the peacekeeper shuffled out of the room to give the two of them a little privacy— a favor she knew no one else would’ve been afforded.

“My girl,” Redford cupped Greer’s face in his palm, pulling her close to his chest as he pressed a kiss to her head. His grip was too tight, like his hands alone were allowed to hold the fear and the sadness he wouldn’t show on his face. 

“Greer Morgan: the Victor. It has a real nice ring to it, huh?” He asked with an artificially bolstered confidence. Redford both expected and received no answer. Instead, Greer bit down hard against the quiver of her bottom lip.

“I want you to remember to smile when you get to the Capitol, okay? People’ll be watchin’ you out there, and you’ve got such a pretty smile. They’ll be fallin’ over themselves to sponsor you in no time at all. And those sponsors ain’t used to havin’ tributes like you from Ten. You jus’... you show ‘em how sweet you can be, be polite to ‘em. Show ‘em you’re smart, but don’t get smart with ‘em. Mind your tongue, alright?”

Sweet, polite, composed and even-keeled enough to be smart without being contradictory: Greer wondered if she’d truly ever been most, or any, of those things. 

“You’re jus’ gonna blow ‘em away, Greer.” Redford pulled back slightly, but his hands remained against the slope of Greer’s cheeks. It was like he was studying her, knowing it was probably the last time he’d ever see his daughter alive and memorizing her features the best that he could.  

The peacekeeper re-entered the room to tell them, “It’s time to get her on the train, Mr. Mayor.”

“Right, okay,” he agreed, dropping his hands to her arms for a final squeeze before releasing his daughter and moving toward the door. But Redford paused at the threshold of the room to add one more thing. It wasn’t quite a goodbye, not exactly a declaration of love, but something arguably much more important to Redford Morgan. “No matter what happens out there, you’re gonna make us so proud, princess. Y’know that?”

Maybe it should have upset her, but in that moment, it was oddly comforting to think that, despite spending the majority of the last several years in one ongoing screaming match with her parents, in the likely event of her death they’d collectively agree to remember her as better than she was.

“Yes, sir.” Greer managed softly.

[whumpy-writings]

Helpless

Febuwhump 2024 Day 1

The Dhampir Files Masterlist

CW: Non-con drugging, abusive parents (whumpees are adults), carewhumpers, reference to murder of parents

"You're an old man now, ya know that?" Cal leaned against the doorframe, smirking. Renn rolled his eyes.

"You're older than me."

"Exactly. Welcome to the old man club, where our favorite activity is napping and complaining loudly about the weather." Cal crossed the room and ruffled Renn's hair. Renn slapped his hand away playfully.

"But seriously, Renn. Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," Renn said. "I honestly can't believe I'm twenty. Part of me didn't think we'd live this long."

Cal sighed. "Wow, way to bring down the mood." He wrapped Renn in a hug. Renn closed his eyes and squeezed his brother back. They were dhampirs, half human and half vampire. They weren't supposed to exist. If the authorities ever discovered them, they would be executed. There had been several close calls over the years, but they had so far evaded detection.

"Boys! Dinner is ready," Silvie called from downstairs. She was the human housekeeper who had taken care of them for the past few years. Ever since things with their vampire parents had gone sour.

The two boys tromped downstairs. Renn breathed in the scent of rosemary roasted chicken. It was his favorite meal.

"It's smells delicious in here." Renn pulled out his chair and settled in, Cal in the chair across from him.

"I would hope so. I've been slaving away at the stove all day. There's mushroom soup, rosemary chicken, mashed potatoes, and a lemon cake for dessert." Silvie put a dish of butter on the table, removed her apron, and sat down.

Renn's mouth watered at the feast. He started to fill his plate. "Thank you, Silvie. Everything looks amazing."

"Anything for you, Renn. Happy birthday."

They talked and laughed as they ate. Renn drank the cup of blood Silvie had provided for him to wash down his dinner.

Silvie brought out the cake and she and Cal fussed over how best to arrange the twenty candles on top.

"Well make a wish," Cal said.

Renn stared at the flickering flames, contemplating. Then he blew out the candles. I wish for twenty more years just like this.

The cake was, of course, heavenly. Renn leaned back in his chair. "I pronounce this birthday feast a success." He got to his feet and started to gather the dirty dishes.

"Hey, I got those," Cal said as he swatted Renn's hand away. Renn let his brother have the dishes. Cal was at the sink when Renn noticed Silvie crying.

"What's wrong?" Renn pulled out a chair next to her, his brow pinched in concern. She looked at her lap and sniffled into a handkerchief.

"Oh, nothing. You boys are just both so grown up." Sylvie looked at him with a sad expression. "It feels like it went by so fast." She stroked his cheek. "I'll miss you."

"What do you mean?" Renn asked. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sylvie's eyes widened. "I mean . . . I'll miss the little boy you used to be."

Renn couldn't suppress his snort. "Really? I think I single-handedly gave you at least three-quarters of your grays."

Sylvie laughed. "You weren't that bad. I only got half from you, the other half came from your brother."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cal called from the sink. "I'm an angel."

"What about that time you brought an entire bucket of frogs into the house?" Renn asked.

Cal spun around. "It was freezing outside! I was trying to save them."

Sylvie chuckled. "I swear my heart almost gave out when I woke up to a frog on my pillow."

The rest of the evening passed quietly. Renn changed into his nightclothes and climbed into bed. It was early spring and he left the window cracked open to get the cool night breeze. The only sounds were the chirping of the crickets and the wind whooshing through the leaves. Renn, Cal, and Sylvie lived in a little house out in the country, far away from prying eyes. It hadn't always been that way. Renn shook off the memory. They were here now, that's what mattered. He was just about to put his candle out when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in."

Sylvie came in, a candle in one hand and a cup in the other.

"I brought you some tea," she said as she set the candle on the table. "I know how much you like the chamomile."

Renn sat up in bed and took the teacup. "Thanks. Does it have-"

"Yes, I put in two dollops of honey."

Renn grinned. "You're the best, Sylvie."

Renn took a sip of the tea. He sighed at the sweetness. Sylvie sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I love you, Renn. Please always remember that."

Renn's forehead creased. "I love you too. Are you alright? You've seemed sad today." He took another sip of his tea. He could feel a headache coming on.

"You've always been such a sweet boy. I asked them for more time, but they said it had to be now."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Renn asked. His vision blurred and his head pounded. He suddenly was so, so tired. Sylvie took the cup from him as he fell back against the pillows.

"I'm sorry," Sylvie said. Renn's eyes widened. She had drugged him. But why? He tried to move away from her but his limbs were as heavy as lead. Sylvie shifted his head into her lap. "Don't fight it. It's no use. Just relax, Renn." Renn's eyes drifted shut. He forced them open. He had to get away. He had to warn Cal. He attempted to yell but all that came out was a strangled sob. He was going to die. He had always thought he would burn to death. That someday the authorities would discover him and Cal and have them burned at the stake for being monstrosities. He had never thought it would be like this. Drugged by the woman who he loved as if she was his own mother.

"It's okay honey, it's okay," Sylvie soothed as she ran a hand through his hair. "You're just going to sleep for a little bit." Renn wanted to pull away from her, but he was completely helpless. The last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him was the tear sliding down Sylvie's face.

Renn floated in the darkness for what felt like eternity.

"He's more sensitive than Callum," a voice said. "She should have given him a smaller dose."

"She had no way of knowing that," another voice said. "He'll be fine. It'll just take a little longer to get through his system."

Renn whimpered. His head pounded and he had never felt so sore in his life. He blinked his eyes open. The light burned and he snapped them shut again with a groan.

"Ah, you're awake!"

"W-" Renn coughed. His tongue felt thick and a bout of dizziness washed over him. He tried again. "W-where am I?"

"You're home, my beautiful boy. You're finally home." That voice. Renn knew that voice. With enormous effort, he opened his eyes.

"Mother?"

"Yes baby, I'm here." She looked just like he remembered. Long black hair pulled back into a sensible bun, a no-nonsense gray dress, eyes that sparkled with what he had once thought was love. He knew better now.

"You had Sylvie drug me," he said.

His father spoke up. "I'm sorry about that, it must have been unpleasant. But you never would have come home otherwise."

"Of course not!" Renn yelled. His heart pounded and he was hit by the instinct to flee. He had never wanted to see them again. Not after he had seen them murder his human mother and Cal's human father in cold blood. "You killed them. You killed our parents right in front of us."

Father sighed. "For what it's worth, we didn't intend for you and Callum to see that. The only reason we eliminated them was to protect you two."

Renn let out a deep breath. "Why am I here? Where's Cal?" He tested his limbs and found he could barely move a finger.

"Callum's downstairs. We've already spoken with him," Mother said. "As for why you're here, you'll be helping us to push the boundaries of modern science. You and Callum are the first dhampirs to make it to maturity in generations. We know next to nothing on dhampir anatomy and physiology, so we'll be studying you two."

Renn's throat went dry. "You're going to dissect us?"

Father had the audacity to laugh. "Oh no, of course not. We're much more interested in how your bodies work than what they look like on the inside." That wasn't very reassuring.

"You're too special to waste on something as unrefined as dissection," Mother pitched in. Renn closed his eyes as tears burned. "You must be exhausted. Let's take you downstairs."

Renn couldn't fight back as his father picked him up and carried him to his fate.

Taglist: @dragonqueenslayer6 @whumpsday

[i-merani]

Adam hating his father for the way he treated him and his brother, for pitting them against each other. Adam hating his father for being a liar, for being a phony, for sending him to the army, even though it should have been Charles because Charles would have been a good soldier because he was always a good soldier and his father hated him because he himself could never be what his son was or could have been - Cyrus taking away Charles' future because he himself couldn't have it. Adam loving his brother even though he was not kind and even though he was afraid and Charles loving Adam even though he could not be kind and even though he could only be violent. Charles loving Adam even though he was painfully aware that his father loved his brother more, Charles always waiting for Adam and Adam always trying to get away because they both reminded each other of their father but Charles loved his father even though he hated him and Adam hated his father even though he loved him. And now they are grown up and they are strangers and Adam does not love his father but says "I believe in my father" and Charles loves his father but now he sees what Adam saw when he was a kid - their father is a liar. He is not a god and they both realized it too late but Charles loves him still and he loved Adam and Adam loves no one.

And now Adam has his own kids and his boys adore him and he doesn't know what it means to adore a father and Adam becoming his father and his sons becoming him and his brother. And Cal loving his brother even though he is not kind and Aron fearing his brother even though he loves him and Cal craving for love the way his uncle did and Adam, just like his father, abandoning him… the "monsters" craving love but its all wrong and the "angels" receiving love and its all wrong!

[trippygalaxy]

Ok, soooo, talking things ig.

My oc was kinda just a character I made up and eventually shoehorned into botw, and he's Time/Twilight's descendant. His family survived the Calamity, only to die in resulting monster attacks over the years, till he was the only one left at a young age. No one would/could help him because they were also trying to deal with their own losses and struggles, leaving him to fend for himself.

He lived alone when one day a very feral and amnesiac Link stumbled across his home in the woods. For whatever reason, Elias certainly didn't know why, this feral child and his wolf companion stick around, and he ends up befriending Link and teaching him basics of human interaction.

Eventually, after Ganon is killed, Elias goes back to the plateau and restores his family's ranch (lon lon ranch) and becomes a popular resting spot for Link and eventually Zelda as well, and he sees them as younger siblings after losing his own.

THE BEAR comes in because Elias had a habit of caring for wild things (*stares at Wild*) and ended up accidently having a bear cub imprinting on him after its mother died.

In the setting of LU, if the boys ever visit, he LIES LIKE THE WIND to avoid any awkwardness between Time, Twilight, and himself. Why? He's awkward as fuck.

There's more, but that's a basic rundown.

The bear's name is Big Mama, btw. It's started as a joke, calling her little mama as a baby, but now she's massive and brings her cubs to see "grandpa" all the time, and the grown cubs come back to visit even after leaving to fend for themselves.

Love big mama, big mama is my heart and soul and i would DIE for big mama!!! Big girl and her little cubs— i would either be terrified or start bawling on the spot out of cuteness overload

ALSO ELIAS IS SUCH A GOOD NAME!!!! Love love love it so much omfg

That tragedy of surviving the ‘end of the world’ only to die because of the after shocks is so HEART BREAKING AND TRAGGIIC AND POETIC AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH BUT ALSO UGHHHHHHH POOR KID!!!!!

Iabdjsnjsdj thank you cal <3