#also sorry if you followed me for art/owl house stuff and are now getting blasted with this lmao

[dippers-doodles]

Ok now that I've sat back to think about it more I'm going to ramble.

The inherent tragedy that none of these people (except Hildy) really got to see their kids grow up, and were forever changed almost purely for the sake of others. The dads in S1 are put in peril and have to face the Doodler themselves, but the primary goal is to protect their kids and to fix what their fathers caused. But you look at the cast of ATMOD, and none of the heros are doing this for someone.

There's Meryl, who is doing it for his comeback to the screen and ends up sacrificing himself to give the others a chance to fight back and save the world (he doesn't even see the Doodler, and is instead brutually murdered). You have Hildy, who originally is doing it for the story and her big break but ends up connected to the eldritch being and cursing her family. Robert wants so desperately to propose to his girlfriend and ends up losing his mind devoured by the same thing that kills his parents, but tries to his last breath to destroy the box. And then Stud Stamper, the man with dreams and wants who gave up everything for his family, banishes the Doodler but is insane in the process and ends up trapped with it, later dying in an unknown land.

The end, they didn't do it for fame or anything. By the end everyone knew there was no escape and they were going to die, but they fought anyway. And in doing so destroyed their families. Willy grew up without a dad twice, and already was messed up and no longer had a guiding hand to try and help him. Glenn's mom never even knew her father. Barry is entwined with the Doodler from their actions, which leads to the creation of Oakvale and his pressure on Henry. Frank never knew his father, or maybe Sally married someone else, but carried the last name of someone he never met because of a being that destroyed his entire paternal line.

Then this continues to the OG Dads and their relationships to their fathers, and how they all feel the effects of the Doodler and keep fighting it to save their kids, only to fail and pass it on to their kids. When I first listened to S1, I kept wondering why and how Willy connected to the other dads and why these four were chosen. I shrugged it off how you typically do when facing a DND story - the adventure is set up with these characters because those are who the players wanted to be. But the fact that they took it and made it less arbitrary, that there is a force larger at play bringing these families together, and that that force bringing them together wants to destroy them.

The Doodler entwined these families and has been destroying them and their relationships and their lives _and yet_ the OG Dads, the S1 kids, and now the S2 kids have this hope and effort to fight against generations of eldritch beings that wish to kill them and destroy the world.

The Doodler is all about randomness and chaos, but the families are about hope and the connections despite.

God, At the Mountain of Dadness really changes dndads in all the best ways.

[chicgeekgirl89]

Country Roads, Take Me Home: Chap. 3

Fandom: NCIS LA

Characters: Marty Deeks, Kensi Blye

Read Chapters 1-2 Here

                              XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Not only was there no sex, there was also no sleep. Patrick Dempsey and his friends kept up their ruckus on and off all night long so that Kensi and Deeks both got up in the morning groggy and disgruntled.

Bill and Carol, on the other hand, had apparently enjoyed a perfect night’s sleep because they emerged from their RV with their perpetually cheery smiles and the entire pack of dogs leashed and ready for a hike. “Well good morning lovebirds!” Carol said. “You two don’t look like you got much sleep.” She sent them a suggestive wink.

“It was a little noisy,” Deeks said, rubbing his eyes as he looked at her over his coffee mug.

“Uh oh, did our boys keep you up?” Bill asked with a chuckle. “Sorry about that. They’re all night owls. Carol and I just sleep through it anymore.”

“Yeah well maybe try giving them a melatonin or an Advil PM or something,” Deeks grumbled.

“What are you two up to today?” Carol asked.

“We’re not sure yet,” Kensi said. Her mug was tipping precariously in her hand, coffee threatening to spill over the lip to the ground below. 

“Well don’t waste all your time sitting here! Get on out there and enjoy the scenery!” Bill said. 

“Have a good day!” Carol gave a little wave as they started their walk, dogs trailing along beside them.

“I hate them,” Deeks growled.

“Me too,” Kensi echoed, staring sleepy daggers at their backs.

It took an hour and a lot of coffee, but both of them finally woke up enough to decide on a hike up the Yosemite Falls trail. Deeks claimed he was feeling landlocked and thought maybe a view of some water would help. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you decided on a road trip to decidedly landlocked states,” Kensi said as they pulled on hiking boots.

“I planned this trip for you, not me! If it were up to me we’d be in Bora Bora right now!”

As far as hikes went it was only moderately strenuous, especially for people who had spent the last three vacations chasing or running from bad guys through a variety of difficult terrains. And the payoff was huge. “Wow,” Deeks said when the falls finally came into view. “All right that’s pretty incredible.”

“Yeah it is,” Kensi said, taking his hand. “Come on, let’s get closer.”

It was early enough in the day that there were only a few groups of people taking in the sights, which meant Kensi and Deeks had a very clear view of the scenery without a lot of selfie sticks and noisy tourists around. The wind changed as they got closer and began blowing spray on them. “Here,” Kensi pulled out her phone. “Let’s take a picture to send to the guys to prove we can go on vacation successfully.”

She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and they smiled brightly while she snapped a few pictures. “One more,” she said, kissing him on the cheek while she snapped away. “That one’s just for me.”

Deeks grinned. “And this one’s just for me.” He kissed her on the lips, lifting her up a bit so her feet left the ground. “Happy we came?”

She nodded, pressing her forehead against his. “For sure.”

They considered pressing on to either Yosemite Peak or Eagle Point, but Kensi was hungry for something other than trail mix so instead they headed back down the mountain intent on an early dinner and maybe a nap to make up for last night’s lost sleep. 

“What is that noise?” Kensi asked as they walked back into the campground.

“Sounds like a baseball game,” Deeks said. “Like a full on, major league baseball game.”

“Where is it coming from?”

“Somewhere far away from us I hope.”

It was not coming from far away. It was coming from directly next to their RV where Bill and Carol had somehow managed to hook up a large, flatscreen TV outside their own camper and were watching a baseball so game so loudly it was almost like being there in person. 

“Well hey neighbors how was your hike?” Bill asked, muting the sound.

“It was uh, it was good,” Deeks said, eying the television. “What do you have going on here?”

“Oh you know, I can’t be without the game when we’re on the little road trips we take. Go Brewers!”

“Is that Kensi and Marty?” Carol poked her head out. “Oh perfect timing! I was just putting together some of my world famous chocolate chip banana bread. Kensi, come on in and help me.”

“Oh, no that’s okay,” Kensi said, but Carol grabbed her arm and pulled her inside while Kensi shot a desperate look at Deeks over her shoulder.

“Don’t worry babe, I’ll just go make dinner,” Deeks called.

“Oh no, don’t go yet! Come on, have a seat!” Bill patted the camp chair next to him. “You follow baseball son?”

Deeks reluctantly sank into a faded, green camp chair. “Uh, no, no I don’t really,” Deeks said. “Not really a sports guy.”

Bill grunted. “Yeah ‘spose I could have guessed that from the hair.”

Deeks self-consciously touched his curls. “I mean, I get the general idea. Ball. Bat. Bases.”

“Well good. It is America’s pastime after all. Oh, Brewers are back up.”

Bill turned the volume back on and Deeks had to resist the urge to cover his ears as the announcer’s voice blasted through the screen. 

Meanwhile inside the camper Kensi was sweating it out with Carol in the tiny kitchen. “Carol, I have to tell you baking’s not really my thing,” Kensi said nervously as she was handed a mixing bowl and spoons.

“Nonsense! Banana bread’s so easy a baby could do it,” Carol said, measuring out some sugar. “Here. You measure out the flour while I get going on these bananas.”

Kensi nervously dumped some flour into the cup. Carol turned around to take it from her and her eyes grew wide. “Oh my. You weren’t kidding about your kitchen skills were you?”

“Yeah De—Marty is more of the chef in our house,” Kensi said as Carol leveled the flour off and added it to her mixture.

“You two are so…non-traditional,” Carol said brightly. “You’d never know from looking at you that your skillset tended more toward the masculine.”

“Well I’m not sure—“ Kensi’s words were drowned out by the sound of the mixer. 

“Hand me those eggs would you dear?” Carol yelled.

Kensi handed them over. “So how did you and Martin meet?” Carol asked loudly as she deftly cracked the eggs into the bowl.

Kensi’s danger radar flared up. She and Deeks hadn’t discussed a cover story because they hadn’t anticipated running into anyone on this trip. If she picked one story to tell Carol and Deeks picked another, they were going to be in trouble. Poughkeepsie Ping Pong? America’s Next Top Hang Glider? Dr. Who, Medicine Woman?

“Tennis,” Kensi finally said. “Deeks is an avid tennis player and ended up with some shoulder problems. I was his massage therapist.”

“Well if that isn’t a love story for the books,” Carol said delightedly as she added chocolate chips to the batter. “My Bill and I were high school sweethearts. Took one look at him in his football uniform and that was that.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Kensi said. 

“We’ve taken a little trip every summer since,” Carol said, batter going into pans. “It’s good for couples to keep things fresh. Most important thing in a marriage.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Second most important thing is making sure you please your man. Don’t want him to stray to greener pastures. Not that you have to worry about that yet. You’re young! But your looks will only last for so long. That’s when you have to start getting creative in the bedroom.”

Kensi’s alarm bells ratcheted up several notches. She had to get out of here. Now. “Oh, wow, is that the time?” She pretended to check her phone. “Yikes, so sorry Carol but Marty and I have got to go. Gotta catch the sunset and all that.”

“Oh but you didn’t get to try any banana bread,” Carol said, disappointment clouding her face.

“Rain check,” Kensi told her. “Thanks so much for the offer!”

She burst out of the trailer doors and grabbed Deeks’s arm, yanking him out of the chair. “Ow, hey, what—“

“Babe we’ve got to go now if we’re going to see the sunset, remember?” she said loudly, over the roar of the game. 

“Oh right, yeah. Thanks Bill!”

“Anytime!” Bill gave a wave, eyes still glued to the screen as he raised a beer to his lips.

“Kensi, ow, hey loosen the grip, loosen the grip, where are we going?” Deeks asked as she dragged him down the road.

“Anywhere. Anywhere that’s not here,” she said, wrenching his arm as she took a sharp left turn.

“Okay, OW! Hey!” He stopped and pulled his arm away from her. “Easy on the merchandise! You want to tell me what the heck happened in there that has us fleeing on foot?”

“Why does everyone always think we need help with our sex lives?” Kensi cried.

Deeks spluttered, eyes wide. “Uh…what?”

“Carol is in there baking up banana bread and telling me how I need to make sure I ‘please’ you so you don’t go for some sort of young, hot, short skirt wearing, Suzy homemaker!”

“Suzy—what?”

“Deeks,” she looked him in the eye. “Be honest with me. Our sex is good right?”

There was only one right answer and fortunately it also happened to be the truth. “Yes! Yes, Kens, of course it’s good. It’s great! It’s…fantastic.”

“But is it creative?”

“Creative how? Like sometimes we stay up and do it after midnight or like kinky Nell and Eric dressing like elves kind of stuff?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t let her get that far.” Kensi’s eyes widened. “Maybe I should have let her.”

“Babe I really don’t think you need sex advice from Carol. In fact, I really don’t want you to take sex advice from Carol.”

But Kensi had clearly stopped listening. Determination stole over her face and she grabbed Deeks’ hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going now?”

“To get creative.”

“What about the sunset?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Who says we can’t do both?”

Deeks’ jaw went slack. “Uh…”

Kensi’s creativity included a blanket, a secluded spot, and indeed, a pretty spectacular view of the sunset. “Well,” Deeks said breathlessly, as Kensi ran a hand across his chest. “That wasn’t just creative, that was full on art.”

“Take that Carol,” Kensi said smugly.

Deeks winced. “Yeah, babe, as great as this has been I don’t really want to be thinking about Carol and Bill while we’re making sweet, sweet love.”

“Sorry. You’re right.”

She rolled on top of him, intent on starting round two. “Hey, speaking of Bill and Carol though…”

Kensi stopped kissing him and sat up. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about them.”

“Well you brought them up! I was in their RV yesterday and I didn’t see that giant TV in there.”

“You were distracted by the dogs, right? Maybe you just didn’t see it.”

“It’s a pretty big TV and that’s a pretty small RV. I feel like I would have noticed.”

“Right. So you’re suggesting that Bill and Carol, mom and pop midwestern, baseball watching, banana bread baking, Bill and Carol what? Stole it?”

Deeks shrugged. “Call it detective’s intuition.”

She sent him a bemused look. “If you really had detective’s intuition you would know what I’m thinking about right now.”

With a quick move Deeks flipped them so that she was on her back, a grin on his face. “Is it something like this?”

What he did next made Kensi gasp. “That’s a good start,” she managed.

There was no more talk of Bill and Carol after that.