#amazing wonderful circus? hmmm

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Hmmm vague sort of batfam & fem(?) reader idea in broad strokes and probably incorrect lore and characterization.

Thinking of titling it something like “my brother’s father” or “my brother’s brothers” or “my brother’s father (and brothers and sisters and family and-)”

It’s a little something like this:

You are the first born child of Jack and Janet Drake and you are 3 years old when they tell you you’re going to have a little brother. He’s small and round and so very tiny when you first meet him. You barely process anything your parents tell you beyond the fact that his name is Timothy Jackson Drake. You’re an older sibling now and you’re ecstatic about it even if your parents mumble about how you’re a mistake and Tim isn’t.

(Things feel a little familiar though… just maybe…)

Anyways! You take classes (which are really just lessons from your parents) on how to be all prim and proper for Gotham high society while your little brother is snoozing as a little baby. At some point you debut in some gala and meet Bruce Wayne in passing who is… something. Ditzy. A little charming but quite bizarre. You think there’s supposed to be something else but, ah, you can’t remember what.

Tim gets bigger and so do you. By the time he turns 3, you’re certain you’ve carried him around more than your parents have. It seems wrong, somehow. But, Tim’s shaping up to be a little genius and you’re thrilled when he toddles after you more than he does to your parents. He gets a similar schedule and classes and eventually he debuts in high society as well.

There are rumours beginning to circulate that something is lurking in the shadows of Gotham City…

Haly’s circus comes to town. It’s a family trip to go and see them. The flying Graysons are amazing and wonderful and you and Tim get to talk and take a photo with the Graysons and see a quadruple somersault and-

The Graysons go splat. Falling to the ground like birdies shot out of the sky. Your parents do not usher you and Tim out fast enough to avoid seeing the aftermath of the disaster. As you leave, you catch a glimpse of Bruce Wayne, watching, with a sad look of resignation lingering on his face.

Things are quieter after that. Your parents begin to leave to go on long archaeological adventures and you’re left in the care of a rotating cast of babysitters who never stay long. They leave you with a mostly empty manor, unrestricted internet access, their contact information, and a black credit card.

Something more concrete about what has been running around Gotham and taking down criminals begins to take form. The Batman. Or just Batman maybe. Some nights you can see a light shining against the cloudy Gotham backdrop, a signal to him. Tim seems super interested in this Batman so you gather up newspaper clippings and take photographs of the signal when you can.

Every now and then your parents drop back in to socialize with high society Gothamites and bring you and Tim to galas to be cooed at but otherwise, they’re “too busy” for the two of you. Phone calls barely last a few minutes. Celebrations are missed on the regular. You think that it’s only going to get worse.

You continue to glance at Bruce Wayne and his new charge, Dick Grayson, at galas. They’re a riot from what you can see from the parties and news tabloids. Despite the short amount of time Dick Grayson has been with Bruce Wayne, you can tell Wayne cares deeply for him. They’re... fascinating.

Robin debuts by Batman’s side in traffic light colours, scaly shorts and a whole array of acrobatic moves and witty comebacks. Tim is enamoured by the dynamic duo and you think you might be too.

Your parents stop sending babysitters because “you’re old enough to take care of yourself and Tim, aren’t you dear?” which- Wow. Just, wow. You are ten years old. This is not your responsibility. You suck it up and pretend like you're making them proud by being "mature" and "responsible".

You go grocery shopping. You find recipes and learn to cook. You clean the dishes and pull up a stool so Tim can watch how to do it properly as well. A housekeeper drops by every now and then but the two of you don't talk to them.

Sometimes you think about calling the Waynes who are just next door and asking Mr. Pennyworth what you should do. You never do but you see him around when grocery shopping at times which makes you long to ask all the more.

You watch your parent’s company emails with increasing interest. School is dreadfully slow and there's nothing better to do. Your parents have mentioned once or twice at galas and during lessons that they hope you’ll inherit the company one day.

You still remember the lessons they teach you. Who to speak to. How to determine their worth. Whether you should climb atop them, crush them beneath your heel, or hold their hand and stand by their side. Those days you feel like your mother. Sharp as broken glass. Waiting to press against someone unsuspecting.

On Tim’s birthday, he asks to go out and see Batman and Robin. It was inevitable in hindsight. You give him a camera, a safety lesson, dress him up in clothes to blend in and head out with him. You’re absolutely sure if you said no, he would sneak out anyways.

And thus begins Tim’s (and yours by proxy) illustrious career as a stalker.

To sum up your thoughts, Batman and Robin are amazing. Sort of up close and sort of personal (a few rooftops away), you and Tim take plenty of photos and jot down notes on them every couple nights when you’re sure there’s nothing important for school the next day. It’s exhilarating.

On a night both you and Tim aren't out, Robin does a quadruple somersault. Tim, who had taken to coding and hacking, gets security footage of the night. The gears start cranking in your head.

Another few nights stalking out the duo. Another few nights that bring you closer and closer to Wayne manor.

Tim shakes you awake one night, hovering over you, saying it’s something important. You blearily sit upright and ruffle his hair out of habit.

“Dick Grayson is Robin,” he says with absolute confidence that you could be proud of.

“Dick Grayson is Robin...” you echo and with dawning horror, you say at the same time as Tim, “and Bruce Wayne is Batman.”

And you lean back into your bed, let the gears click into place, and pass out.

In retrospect, that made a lot of sense. Both about Batman and you. But wow. The Drakes f*cked up real bad. You are not supposed to exist. One very private breakdown later because "Oh no, Tim is going to become Robin and a Wayne and he's so f*cking stupid sometimes-"

You're taking things very well.

Newfound (old-recovered?) knowledge aside, you still have to go to school, make sure Tim is doing okay, and continue stalking Batman and Robin. You and Tim have even figured out their patrol schedule recently so really, it's not like much has changed.

The next little while goes by in rapid succession.

Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, debuts. Robin and Batman get into some kind of argument. Batman goes without Robin for a while and Nightwing debuts in Bludhaven. Jason Todd is adopted by Bruce Wayne. A new Robin flies.

You see him in school at times as a mere passerby in a different age cohort and Tim who’s in a lower grade sees him even less often as Jason Todd. As Robin 2 though, you’re seeing him almost every single night. He’s different than Dick Grayson was, obviously, more cuss words and less acrobatics, but still Robin. The light to Batman’s shadows. Magic.

He catches the two of you on a rooftop once. It’s still early in the night and you’re rooting around in your bag for the extra memory card when you hear Tim squeak and something thump on the rooftop.

“It’s a bit late to be out right now, isn’t it?” he asks.

You find the memory card and slot it into your camera. “Late night photography.”

Robin doesn’t look impressed but hey, you’re not the one going out late at night to fight crime.

Tim, who is tucked by your side glances up at you. You nod and nudge him forward.

“Robin!” he calls out. “Can I get a hug?”

Well, you know Robin. You know Jason Todd. He won’t deny your little brother a hug. So as the two of them step forward, you raise the camera and take a picture. You smile as you look at the developed photo later at home. One for you, one for Tim, and one for the Waynes if it ever comes to pass.

Some nights you let Robin spot you and Tim. The three of you chat and get some food before he's pulled away by crime. You make him promise not to dig into the two of you. He agrees.

Things are quiet for a while or as quiet as Gotham ever gets. You wait for the other shoe to drop. Something bad is going to happen soon. You can’t exactly recall what or when but you know something and-

Robin- Jason Todd dies. Barbara Gordon is paralyzed. The Joker is still alive, still having the last laugh at the end of it all. You hate it. You hate him.

Tim throws himself into some kind of frenzy to hide the pain just as Bruce Wayne loses himself in his grief. Batman does not kill but he comes very close in this time. The hospital records climb. You bring more and more medical supplies because if you don’t interfere these people, often petty criminals, are going to die before the police ever arrives.

"Batman is going to kill himself if this continues," Tim tells you.

"And what," you say because you think you know how this is going to play out, "do you want to do about this?"

The answer, it turns out, is to find Dick Grayson. In true Tim Drake fashion, he stalks him (or rather, he stalks Starfire), hacks into a database or two, and finds his address in Bludhaven. You probably shouldn't have encouraged this kind of behaviour but ehhhhhhh... it's fine.

Since you aren't inclined to allow Tim to head to Bludhaven on public transportation alone, you go with him. You can imagine it's quite a sight when Dick Grayson opens the door to two teenagers who tell him that they know who he is and that "Batman needs a Robin".

It's a very awkward car ride back to Gotham with too many questions like "Where are your parents?" and "What do you mean they're halfway across the world?" and "How old are you?".

He won't return as Robin. You didn't expect he would. Despite that though, he allows you and Tim into the Wayne manor where the two of you meet Mr. Pennyworth officially. He's cool and probably not paid enough in your opinion.

Dick Grayson shows the way to the Batcave as Tim explains what the two of you know. Dick Grayson leaves as Nightwing, not Robin like Tim wanted him to be. The three of you wait and wait until all communication with Batman and Nightwing have disappeared.

"I'm going to become Robin," Tim declares. “It’ll only be for a short while. Until Batman recovers or someone else becomes Robin.”

“Right,” you say dryly. “Just a short while.”

And that, perhaps, seals his fate. You allow Tim to go out as Robin just this once with Mr. Pennyworth as you navigate the Batcave and prepare everything in the medbay and start monitoring comms. If there's anything you know about vigilantes, it's that they always end up injured at the end of the night.

You have a plan though for the future. A very stupid plan perhaps but a plan nevertheless.

You’re going to be Robin too. Not always (vigilante night life isn’t really all that appealing to you) but lord knows you can’t trust Tim to not go out and do things even when injured.

At the end of the night, Batman, Nightwing, Mr. Pennyworth and Tim return to the Batcave where you are sitting disapprovingly on the chair by the batcomputer.

“This is…?” Batman’s voice is low and as harsh as gravel.

“(Y/n) Drake,” you answer sharply, feeling remarkably like your mother in some ways. “Let’s discuss how things are going to go with Robin, shall we?”

It’s your first real introduction to Batman and at the moment, you aren’t impressed but at the very least, you know he will do his best not to allow Tim to die. Tim will be Robin and eventually, Bruce’s son. But not now. You will not allow this Batman to be Tim’s father (not that you think he wants to right now) when he’s still mourning the loss of Jason Todd.

In many ways, Tim’s transition from stalking to fighting is easy. The Drake manor was never somewhere the two of you spend too long at anyways between school, nighttime photography and staking out at Barbara’s library to do work so heading over to the Waynes for training whenever there was time was easy. It’s just like another extracurricular to be picked up.

Tim trains and you convince Bruce Wayne to let you follow the same routine. He caves easily. So, so, easily.

But besides that, when your parents return briefly from a trip, you convince them to let you meddle with their company more for a little variety in your life more than anything else. You’re pretty sure the company is on track to going right under which- oof, that’s what happens when you’re off at random archaeological digs and don’t participate in the important decision making.

Although Tim is not yet allowed to be Robin yet, Bruce Wayne still goes out as Batman, still solves cases, still has not processed the grief. Taking care of him, you find, is very much so like taking care of another child. Replace his coffee with decaf, cross your arms disappointingly and drag him away from the batcomputer, double down and sic Mr. Pennyworth on him, make sure he’s staying hydrated-

The list goes on and on. More than a few times, you catch Tim repeating your actions which is cute and gives you hope that maybe he’ll also take care of himself when the time comes.

Mr. Pennyworth is great, as usual. He makes snacks when you and Tim come over, cooks meals you’ve never tried to make before, and teaches you about guns. Having him around is, perhaps, the first time in a long time you have had responsibility lifted off your shoulders.

Barbara Gordon is every bit as strong and fiery as you recall from the times you have seen her in the distance. She is also very much so enjoying having Tim be her little protege in tech. You come around from time to time to see if there’s anything new but hm… timeline is farther in the past than “back then”. Some things that are outdated to the you of before are still brand new here which means some of your previous knowledge isn’t particularly helpful.

Oh well. It’ll catch up eventually.

Dick Grayson’s presence in the manor is spotty. It always feels like he's going to try and corner you about you and Tim's living situation which a. is none of his business right now and b. you have it under control.

It's fine to leave Tim to him because Tim is super happy to be hanging out with him (the first Robin!!) and Grayson is doing that weird sort of "I want to be a good brother to new Robin because I wasn't good to Jason at the start and I want to be better this time-"

Whatever. Misplaced guilt complex aside, Grayson still gets into arguments with Bruce Wayne about a myriad of things so he never stays too long at the manor. You work real hard to make sure Tim doesn't overhear those arguments.

Man, you hope they get it together soon.

The pro of having a new set of adults in your life is that now you can off load things to them like picking Tim up from school when you have other extracurriculars.

You, texting Dick Grayson: hey, can you pick up Tim today?

You, texting Alfred Pennyworth: hi Mr. Pennyworth. can you pick Tim up from school today? Thank you!

You, texting Bruce Wayne: Pick up Tim up from school. Do not be late.

Things are going pretty well in your opinion. The two of you train with Mr. Pennyworth, then Batman, then Nightwing. Tim bonds with the members of the Batfamily, you remain ever so slightly distant but still involved and things are going pretty well.

Then, you get an urgent phone call.

Janet Drake died and Jack Drake has fallen into a coma.

It’s as though the world stops when you find out. You… you didn’t know this happened. Sure you assumed something must have happened for Tim to be adopted but you… you hadn’t thought it would be this soon.

You tell Tim.

You plan a funeral.

You become the teenage CEO of Drake Industries.

The world continues on.

Tim officially becomes Robin which you suppose is the start of a new era. You give him a very lengthy talk about it and tell him to let you know if he plans on staying nights over at the Wayne manor when you're busy with company work.

He's old enough to be responsible for himself, right? You always kind of see him with the rose-tinted glasses that comes with raising him basically most his life.

Tim goes out every few nights as Robin and gets more and more involved with Batman's vigilantism and the various cases in Gotham. You spend countless hours on work and school and try your best to help out in the Batcave when you have the time. It's rough the first couple weeks but you trust in Oracle, in Nightwing, in Mr. Pennyworth and in Batman to keep Tim alive.

And then, of course, Tim gets injured.

"You don't need to coddle me," he complains when you block him from the entrance of the Batcave.

"Right, Mr. three broken ribs and a stab wound." You stare at him, unimpressed. "Go rest up, I'll fill in for you."

He startles. "Wha-? What do you mean fill in- Hey!"

You hand him off to Mr. Pennyworth, shut your laptop, head down, and get suited up. Batman, who is sitting by the batcomputer, impressively does not flinch when you approach but you can tell he's hesitant and maybe a little shocked? You aren't as good at reading him when he's Batman as Tim is, unfortunately.

You roll your eyes regardless.

"Why do you think I asked to be trained alongside Tim? Let's go."

Your own first run as Robin is fascinating. Dangerous? Yes. Exhilarating? Also yes. No one notices that you're not actually Robin 3 which is a little annoying because yeah, Tim hit his growth spurt and is steadily climbing in height but you're still taller than him!

That aside, you know being Robin isn't sustainable for you. Definitely only a backup plan so you let Tim keep the reins on that. Jim Gordon is pretty cool though.

At some point, Batman brings Tim up to meet the Justice League. A couple weeks later, so do you. Almost everyone thinks you and Tim are the same Robin. Neither you nor Batman correct them.

You think Bruce Wayne is starting to feel better when you catch him giving those sad little orphan eyes to Tim when he isn’t looking. The grief has ebbed. The cruelty faded. It’s not enough for you to be satisfied.

“Go to therapy Mr. Wayne,” you say. “Tim will not be a replacement for Jason Todd.”

And- yeah, you’re being a little mean because you know that isn’t the way it actually is. Despite that, he still flinches at your words.

"You should also make it mandatory for all heroes at the Justice League by the way," you add.

“I don’t need-“

“Liar. You obviously do. If you’re worried about the whole secret identity thing, find a way around it, especially if the Justice League is going to be getting it as well.”

He sighs quietly and turns away.

“By the way,” you call out as he walks away with increasing speed, “if you don’t find a solution within the next three months, I will make a solution.”

He walks faster.

“You can count it as a threat!”

Less than three weeks later, he goes to therapy. It also becomes mandatory for every hero. Every single one. He also, very awkwardly, offers his help with running Drake Industries if you ever need it. You count it as a win.

The days continue on. You rework Drake Industries to an acceptable standard, spend countless hours at meetings and stare longingly at the coffee shops you pass by. There are always cases upon cases to work on.

Jack Drake awakens from his coma. Your life is thrown into chaos once more.

He’s a bit different now, probably because of the whole near death thing, and he’s weirdly more interested in “being a family” now. You scoff a little at his attempts. You’re old enough and remember enough that the neglect and unwilling role of a “parent” you’ve been put through is enough to make you disillusioned with fixing this family. You’re not cruel- he’s not a terrible father but he’s 10 years too late to be making an attempt now.

You snub him for company work. Tim snubs him for vigilante work. With nothing else to do, Jack Drake turns to dating a younger woman. You hire a housekeeper, Mrs. Mac, to help care for him. It’s just the way things are.

Spoiler appears in Gotham. She and Tim have this kind of... thing going on you think. Tim also has this thing going on with another girl or something. You don't really want to know but you give both of them a sex ed talk anyways. You read over her case, whatever is going on with Cluemaster, and leave it up to Batman and Robin.

On one of your stints as Robin, you pick up one Cassandra Cain.

You vaguely remember something about her being officially brought into the Batfamily before Batman got lost in time but you aren't really too clear on the when that happened. Was it supposed to be now? Whatever, it's probably fine. It takes quite a bit to coax her over (hmmm she seems more partial when you’re Robin compared to Tim so you were working overtime for a bit as Tim took on a different case) but eventually it works.

Regardless, it's a pretty terrible case. A child (nevermind she's around the same age as you) assassin brought up to be a weapon by David Cain and Lady Shiva. Doesn’t understand any language other than body language. Wants to become the next Batgirl (?)

Well, at least Bruce Wayne might be happy to have a daughter. Barbara is too old and has a good father. Spoiler hasn’t “officially” revealed her civilian identity and probably isn’t willing to be actually adopted. And well, the less that’s said about you the better.

Tim joins a group of teenage superheroes. You meet them too and there isn’t much to say but they’re nice and figured out you weren't Robin-Robin pretty quickly. You think you may have given them a heart attack though when they realized you were an imposter.

A bit later, a few months maybe, as you’re sitting in the Batcave, working on a case Nightwing asked for help on, Tim stumbles back into the Batcave with a slightly dead look on his face.

"Don't let me become evil gun Batman."

“?”

“Just… please.”

Did he meet an alternate universe version of himself or something? That’s a thing that happens often enough in DC right.

“Sure, okay, don’t let Tim become evil gun Batman. I’ll write that down.”

At least he seems relieved at your promise even if you don’t really understand what being “evil gun Batman” would entail.

“Oh and don’t become Batman just in general. Or like Bruce Wayne, okay?”

Batman offers to train Spoiler officially. Therapy must be doing something good to Batman because he asked you first if he should tell her Robin's identity before beginning training instead of just doing it. You call him a f*cking idiot and that settles that.

Stephanie Brown and Tim begin dating for real. It's um... a bit tumultuous. But, they have their little identity reveal and you get to meet her as yourself finally so, yay?

And of course, all good things must come to an end. This time it’s Jack catching Tim sneaking back home as Robin.

You’re away at a company meeting when it happens and by the time you get home, the dust has already settled and a deal has been made. Secrecy in exchange for giving up Robin. This won’t last, of course, but it’s better than other alternatives you suppose.

In the meantime, Stephanie Brown becomes the fourth Robin.

Her stint as Robin was very short if you remembered correctly. Months of training, something about disobeying orders and a gang fight. Also something about dying…? You keep an eye on the situation as Tim goes off to school for real for the next while.

Sure enough, Batman fires her and she sneaks out to deal with the criminal underworld. Thankfully, you've asked Oracle to keep an eye out on that so the moment she leaves, you're able to head out as well. You tell Mr. Pennyworth you’re going on a “ride”, half-suit up (can't also be Robin here!), borrow the Batmobile keys and rush off according to Oracle’s instructions.

It's chaos which is to be expected really. The entire time you're driving, you're cursing Batman out under your breath.

"F*cking Batman... can't keep a Robin to save a life." You turn a corner. "And here I thought therapy would make him better at communication."

Truly a Sisyphean task to make the Robins believe they aren't inadequate. You hope that by the time Tim goes back to being Robin, Batman will pull his head out of his ass.

Anyways, you head to where Robin is being held, crash through a couple of things and hit Black Mask with the Batmobile. Whoops, you think you decelerated enough to not break everything in his body. You get out of the car, toss Robin into the backseat and drive off to see Dr. Leslie Thompkins.

“What- can you… even drive???” Robin 4 asks as she bleeds heavily on the nice leather seats of the Batmobile.

"Don’t worry about it, I got my driver's license ages ago." You wave around the card as you break several traffic rules at once.

Eventually, you arrive at Dr. Thompkin’s clinic where she is able to be treated. While you linger beside the Robin as she is being treated, Dr. Thompkins apparently found it fitting enough to air out all of her concerns regarding child vigilantes and Batman to you. You really don't think you should be the one she should be telling this to.

Towards the end of the treatment, Batman shows up in the shadows, like always. Speak of the devil and he shall appear and all that.

"So, you've heard her thoughts," you say because you don't doubt he'll have heard everything already despite only showing up now. "Make yourself clear. Speak before you do something irreparable to each other."

With that, you usher both him and the doctor outside to speak properly. On the operating table, Stephanie Brown breathes, her chest falling and rising slowly and steadily. You end up falling asleep in the clinic.

In the aftermath, Stephanie Brown pauses vigilante activities to recover and Tim returns to being Robin. You and Jack Drake have an enlightening conversation about that but that's a story for another time. Oh, also, Stephanie Brown and Tim break up. It happens. At least it seems to be a mutual agreement.

Things enter equilibrium once again. You graduate high school, enrol in university part time, and immediately throw yourself full time into Drake Industries which has grown into a powerhouse you’re very proud of.

Stephanie Brown goes back to being Spoiler. Cassandra Cain goes out as Batgirl. Barbara Gordon is Oracle. Dick Grayson continues on as Nightwing. Tim is Robin and Bruce Wayne is Batman. Everything is steady for another little while.

However, the Joker is becoming a problem. You've observed enough of the happenings in Gotham to understand which things you can categorize as "threats" or "things that can be handled". The League of Assassins? Fine, handleable. Important for other things later on. The Court of Owls? Fine, you're working on purging some things that the others aren't aware of.

But the Joker? There are enough birdies in the Batfamily now that you're starting to worry.

So, what should you do?

You plot. You plan. Everyone is busy enough with cases (crime never stops in Gotham after all) that you're relatively undisturbed. It should be fine, you think. Harley had broken up with the Joker ages ago, you don't have qualms about killing, and you don't have to follow the "no killing" rule since you're not really part of the Batfamily. Besides, it's not like you're doing this as Robin.

A week later, you put your plans into action.

In truth, it's so easy you’re almost disappointed. All that planning just for tonight. You’re well aware of how swamped everyone will be with numerous rogues coming out to play. But the Joker will be preoccupied, hidden beneath the chaos he would normally thrive in.

Luring him out is simple. Killing him even more so. You like a little bit of poetic justice so a crowbar is the way to go.

The bats may not be able to kill the Joker for thematic reasons but you can.

The Joker laughs and laughs at nothing at all. He doesn’t know who you are. You think you almost crack a smile when you’re finished, his head bashed open and blood splattered against the floor. You wipe out the body, all the evidence and head back to the cafe to complete your alibi.

Midway through your fifth meeting of the night, you remember, “hey isn’t Jason Todd supposed to come back to life and get mad at Batman for not killing the Joker?”

You’ve encountered the League of Assassins in passing as “Robin”, made vague comments in Talia Al Ghul’s direction about “hidden parentage” and about how "the League is dangerous for children isn't it?" but you realize you’ve never really dug about Jason Todd. Well, um, it’s probably fine. You’re pretty sure you’re way too late to help him now with the whole revival thing anyways.

You go to bed at sunrise and rest with a weight lifted off your shoulders.

The very next day, Red Hood appears in Gotham City.

Talk about timing, huh? You're almost impressed.

Well, the good thing about all of this is that his appearance is enough to take attention off of the fact that no one's seen the Joker in a while. Relatively quickly, Red Hood takes over Crime Alley and starts messing around with the gangs and Black Mask. You end up hearing about the 8 heads in a duffle bag soon after.

As he "cleanses" Crime Alley and you work on providing help through Drake Industries to the residents undergoing this period of unrest, Gotham begins to shift uneasily. The Joker is gone, people whisper. He hasn't appeared for far too long.

Despite being stretched thin, the Bats still investigate. Mortal enemy privileges, you suppose, but you're well aware that they won't find anything.

Nightwing and Batman are the ones who conduct your "investigation", unsurprisingly. When they show up, you stop typing up company emails and sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, covering your bases, I know," you say before they begin. "Let's get on with it."

The meeting ends with "indeterminable". You may or may not have killed the Joker and while it's possible you could have, you also might not have. Schrodinger's killer if you will. You shrug and decide it's fine if they don't think you're totally innocent. Being around a family of detectives is just like that sometimes.

Soon after, Red Hood's movements sort of... halt for a bit. You think it might be because you wrecked all his plans by killing the Joker which oops, sorry, ruined his dramatic return and all that. He still clashes with the others and leaves hints dangling above their heads (you would know, you check the reports in the Batcave) but it's quite subdued.

Eventually, Bruce Wayne finds out Jason Todd's coffin is empty. Despite figuring out that Red Hood is Jason Todd, he doesn't tell anyone.

Because it's "dangerous" right now and "his safety is compromised", Tim gets grounded at Titans Tower. This is the first time your little brother has ever been grounded which is objectively, hilarious.

So, obviously, you "take a break" and go visit Titans Tower.

You're semi-suited up and masked (again, can't have two Robins here) to meet the Titans as kind-of yourself for the first time. They're, understandably, pretty shocked that you're meeting them not as Robin.

Anyways, since Tim is grounded and can't go out on patrol, he's stuck working on cases in the Tower. Looking over evidence, deciphering messages, etc, etc. He complains to you the entire time. Despite all this time, he's still the same as ever. Still your little brother. Still Tim.

Eventually when night falls, you usher him to bed with a promise to "take care of whatever is unfinished". Red Hood is coming tonight. You know he is.

In the dead of night, you wander and wait.

You arrive at the Hall of Fallen Titans. Jason Todd, in his Robin costume, stands before you.

The lights flicker.

"Jason," you tilt your head and let your footsteps echo. "You should come home."

Darkness descends.

Despite being a solid head shorter than him and nowhere near as built like a fridge as he is, you're absolutely certain that he won't attack. You're just "not-Robin" enough for him to pick up on the fact that something is wrong. You’re fairly certain he thinks you and Tim are the same person though.

Sure enough, when the brightness comes forth yet again, he has vanished.

You smile even as the alerts finally start going off.

The next day, Tim, who found out that Red Hood broke in while he was sleeping, gets kind of mad at you.

"What do you mean he was here?! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I had it handled. Besides, it's just Jason."

"What? That's not the point!"

"It's fine," you insist. "Besides, you were so sleep deprived that it wouldn't make a different if you were awake or not."

Everyone knows it's Jason at this point in the aftermath by the way. It wasn't hard to piece together.

The Joker is officially declared "missing" but everyone knows that he's dead. You don't get accused of killing him again so you consider it a win. You do vaguely remember something in the comics about a whole separate confrontation with Red Hood, Batman and the Joker that didn't end well but um, you ruined those plans as well so you aren't really sure what's going to happen now.

Things vaguely simmer down afterwards. Red Hood is still active, of course, as well as the Bats and Birds but it's a smidgen more awkward, you think. You don't go out as Robin in this time but since everyone is still working overtime, you spend more time at the Wayne Manor then you normally would.

One morning, Jason Todd shows up at breakfast without a single word in advance.

Just waltzes through the front door and into the dining room where you’re seated, reading over a report from last night. He’s dressed like the exact same as usual just without the Red Hood mask. Seeing him up close now, he really only vaguely resembles the Robin you stalked in the past.

“Good morning,” you greet, just loud enough for Mr. Pennyworth to hear in the kitchen.

Jason remains silent for a few moments before responding. “… yeah. Good morning.”

As Mr. Pennyworth steps out, you slip away into the kitchen. You hear exclamations of joy and disbelief as you flip the eggs in the pan so they don't burn.

Tim shows up next, groggily wandering into the kitchen where you've prepared a cup of coffee. Once he's awake enough, he blinks at the scene in the living room. You watch with great interest as Tim drops his coffee mug that would have nearly shattered had you not caught it.

"That-? Jason Todd???"

"Yup." You nod and crack another egg into the pan. "Go out and say hi."

Dick Grayson walks in next and also freezes dramatically. You think he's started crying as he wraps his little brother in a hug. You nudge Tim out the kitchen as Bruce Wayne shows up. By the way, Cass and Steph are having a sleepover at Barbara's place so they aren't here.

Anyways, as that dramatic reunion is happening and you catch Jason Todd do a double take at Tim and you, you finish up the rest of breakfast and begin plating. And well, this is a good moment to remember so you snap a picture while you're at it.

*elden ring style title card*: family reunited

Whatever moral code issues they have can be dealt with later.

So, that was a whole thing. Hurrah for communication, you're very pleased that all that got resolved. Jason Todd isn't going to stop being Red Hood but they're worked something out that you don't care to be privy to. It's not perfect but it's something.

You have a couple of conversations when you cross paths. Apparently he remembered enough of you and Tim stalking him. You're kind of surprised. When the topic of Titans Tower comes up, you clarify that you were the Robin he saw there.

Apparently he did think something weird was going on back there. Good to know.

Things go badly again when Captain Boomerang breaks into the Drake manor the one night you're home. He and Jack Drake kill each other and you get injured in the scuffle. Dana Drake (the lady your father married at some point), suffers a mental breakdown and gets sent to a mental hospital in Bludhaven.

Yikes.

This is a really bad time. A really, really, bad time.

People filter in and out of your hospital room as you recover. You're like, mostly fine, you think. You'll be good after some bedrest. Anyways, you spend most of your time in the hospital planning for Jack Drake's funeral as Tim effectively bans you from doing work.

The funeral isn't really too different from Janet's. They were alright parents. Neither you or Tim are as broken up about their deaths as others think you should be. It's complicated.

However, this brings about the next issue. You and Tim are orphans now. Although you're an adult (barely), Tim is still a minor which means someone has to be listed as his legal guardian. He made up a fake uncle or something in the comics, right? But, since you exist, wouldn't you just be listed as his legal guardian now?

"Bruce offered to adopt me," Tim tells you one day as you're organizing the Drake manor.

"Oh, congrats?"

"I'm not sure if I want to be adopted though."

"You don't have to give him an answer right away." You shrug. "Think about it."

You do know that he does enjoy being at the Wayne manor for reasons other than vigilante business. He fits in well with the family and your mandated therapy for vigilantes and heroes has been good for everyone. You've been around enough to decide that Bruce would be a good enough dad.

"What about you?"

"Hm?" You blink. "What about me?"

"Are you going to let Bruce adopt you too?"

What.

"Why would he adopt me?"

Tim looks back at you in confusion. "Why wouldn't he adopt you?"

"I'm an adult?"

"Adults can still be adopted if there is a mutual agreement between parties."

"I'm not part of your vigilante party."

"I think he wishes we all weren't."

"I don't think they would all want me around?"

You were pretty sure the others thought of you as a weirdo who barged into their home to keep watch on Tim. You're mainly around because you're Tim's sibling and while they've bonded well with him, you're a whole different story.

Isn't it weird to also have someone who's just "Tim (little brother coded)'s sibling" also become their sibling?

Despite it though, Tim looks at you, aghast.

"Wait, we're getting off topic, this is about your adoption. No one's even offered to adopt me or anything-"

"No, we're continuing on this topic-"

It ends in a mild argument, really. Not seeing eye to eye and all that. Apparently though, the interactions between the two of you have frosted over enough that everyone starts commenting on it. Luckily (or unluckily depending on who you ask), the ice that formed gets broken by an unexpected variable.

Damian Al Ghul shows up at the doorstep of the Wayne manor.

You're the one who opens the door since everyone is preoccupied. Of course, you recognize him instantly. He really does resemble Talia and Bruce. Still, this is... a bit early isn't it? He's like, a literal child.

He greets you by your full name, hands over a stack of papers (which were DNA tests and a letter from Talia) and introduces himself.

"Okay," you sigh. "Come in. I'll call Bruce and he'll do his own DNA test just to be certain. Mr. Pennyworth can make you something to eat if you'd like."

Damian lifts his head dismissively. You can already tell he's going to be a brat but he's young enough that it's still cute. After calling Bruce who rushes back, doing DNA test and confirming that "yeah this is real", Damian is brought into the fold.

Man. The number of assassins and people trained by assassins in this household is rising yet again. You decide to firmly leave the matter of Damian to Bruce. His child, his problem. While he has a breakdown about this, you push him off to talk about it in therapy and start working with Alfred to get everything for Damian in order.

Damian doesn’t settle easily in the Wayne manor. He’s prickly, self centered and very proud of his parentage and training. You'd know. He's already gone on his spiel about "the blood son" and "becoming Robin" and all that.

Tim, who has temporarily stopped being mad at you because there's a new variable, is skittish.

"What if they give him Robin?" he confides in you.

"They won't," you say. "He isn't even allowed in the cave yet. Plus, the title is yours right now, if they do give it away, I'll deal with it."

"Family" dinner rolls around. Jason is here, surprisingly. Apparently he and Damian knew each other from the League. So naturally, Jason is his favourite sibling (or rather the only one he acknowledges).

You had planned to grab a plate and sneak off into your room to finish reading the quarterly budget reports but Alfred got a hold of you first so you’re stuck at the dinner table as Damian argues for why he should be allowed to become Robin.

“Damian,” you interrupt midway through the same argument you’ve heard several hundred times, “you haven’t even hit double digits yet. You’re far too young to be going out at Robin at the moment. Besides, you haven’t been properly trained as Robin nor are you aware of the rules. You’re unfamiliar with Gotham, patrol routes, the rogues and far more than you may imagine. There is more to being Batman’s partner than just whatever you’ve learned at the League. Although you may be ahead in terms of physical abilities, you lack the experience.”

You take a deep breath. “In addition, you have yet to balance the public attention that comes from being Bruce Wayne’s child. Your civilian life must be sorted out before any vigilante activities may occur."

You've been around Wayne Enterprises. His PR team is in a constant state of being on fire.

“Fine.” Damian scoffs but settles petulantly in his seat. "I suppose not all of you are incompetent. You are as well spoken as Mother described."

Talia Al Ghul? Talking about you? Can’t be anything good. You decide to ignore it and continue stuffing food into your mouth.

Damian gets enrolled in school. It’s going to be a little awful and he’ll hate it but it’s necessary. You make a goal to motivate him. If he gets good marks, he’ll be allowed into the Batcave. It’s an acceptable trade off.

Surprisingly, for normal issues regarding school, Damian starts going to Tim for advice. It's a good thing you think? They snipe at each other (very sibling coded) but there aren't any murder attempts yet.

Damian gets less prickly. He likes art. He likes animals. He'll reluctantly play along during Galas and let the old people try to pinch his cheeks and coo at him. It’s an improvement.

The topic of Tim’s potential adoption hasn’t come up again. When Jack Drake was in a coma, the two of you were technically placed under Bruce's care (or Alfred's rather) but everything right now is kind of still up in the air. Maybe if you ignore it long enough it won't exist.

The days churn on.

You check your calendar.

Meeting with Talia Al Ghul tomorrow at 3 PM.

At least she went through the Drake Industry protocols to book a meeting, you think optimistically. And at least it's not Ra's Al Ghul. It's been pretty quiet on that end actually, you would've been worried if Talia didn't show up soon.

You're still not sure why she booked a meeting with you and not Bruce though.

The meeting occurs in your office at the main Drake Industries building. There's a lot of small talk. A lot of skirting around topics. It's the same as every other time you've spoken to Talia. The two of you discuss Damian for a bit.

And then Tim breaks into your office. Actually, it's more like Tim and Damian and Bruce (all of whom are in civilian form) but you digress. Talia and Damian (and Bruce) exchange words (you've already said he seems to be doing well but this is probably better for them) before she decides it's time to go.

"You know how to book another meeting," you say as you wave her off. "I will let you know how it goes with Linda from accounting."

She nods in a suitably appreciative way that reminds you of your mother, "Of course."

You answer some questions about how many times this has happened before shooing everyone else out of your office so you can do work.

Later, at night, Damian approaches you.

"You were always her favourite of Father's other children."

"Favourite?" You look away from your laptop and fight the urge to grimace. Tim is Ra’s Al Ghul’s favourite so you aren’t really sure what being Talia’s favourite could mean. But most importantly… "What do you mean of Bruce's other children?

"Are you not Father's ward?"

"No? I've never been adopted by Bruce."

"Yet Grayson and the others refer to Drake as their brother."

"That's Tim. You don't see them calling me their sibling, do you?"

"Hm."

As he turns and walks away with a contemplative expression, you can't help but feel as though you had picked the wrong dialogue option.

The fic sort of set up like a 5+1 thing (five times Bruce is not your father and one time he is/five times the bats are not your family and one time they are).

Roughly, part one would start to the end of Dick Grayson as Robin. Part two is Jason up until Tim's first night as Robin. Part three is training to Stephanie's end as Robin. Part four is killing Joker to Jack Drake’s funeral. Five is post-funeral until the end.

And then of course, there's the plus 1. It's mostly set up as like an outsider POV, observing you from the perspective of others. Despite your narration indicating that you're "not that close" to the Batfamily since you aren't a full-time vigilante, that's not really true.

Your POV focuses a lot more on "plot events" and your work dealing with Drake Industries but there's a whole bunch of things outside of that where you're just hanging out. You go shopping with everyone, you bake cookies with Alfred, you teach Cass language, you take Tim to skateboarding competitions, you give everyone Christmas presents, you do so so much outside of what you consider “really important”.

Despite what you think, you’re a really good sibling actually and you have gotten close with everyone in the Batfamily. If only you could see it. Of course, it doesn’t really kick in how you think of yourself as an outsider until the whole adoption thing. Did all that time spent together not get through your head?

Some part of it might be the rough start when you and Tim first became involved. Your relationship with everyone is… complicated. More than complicated.

You spent hundreds of days and weeks bringing Bruce back from the brink after Jason’s death. You dealt with the brunt of the damage he caused in the time just to make things easier on everyone else. It’s not an exaggeration to say you remade Bruce, remade Batman, in the image you wanted. It’s a complicated dynamic. He concedes to you often, too often for the two of you to really hold a normal parent-child relationship in any sense.

His reflection on his interactions with you and Tim are also super complicated, especially since when Tim first got involved as Robin, Bruce was stewing in grief and really did not want the two of you to be around. He does appreciate you but winning your appreciation afterwards is difficult.

You've also spent a lot of time when you first met Dick to basically plaster in his face "even if you're mad at each other, Bruce still cares about you and you should come back to the manor sometimes". Although you encouraged Tim to hang out with Dick, you never really sought him out that often on your own. You always seem a little confused when he spends time with you, as though you're an obligation to him.

Jason's memories of you and Tim from before his death are spotty at best. He remembers vague feelings. Giving Tim a hug. 2 figures running along the shadows of rooftops. Hiding along the edge of the room at galas to avoid people and finding you and Tim there as well. It's enough that it's impacted his time at the League and his feelings after his dip in the Lazarus Pit.

Much of his anger was directed towards Batman more than it was towards the new Robin. Especially after recalling some of the bits and pieces of who the Drakes are. Talia's "favouritism" towards you may have helped a bit.

It's only really after he kind of rejoins the Batfam and you and Tim chat with him does everyone realize how far your stalking went in those early days. The two of you had alluded to following Batman and Robin around in the past but Jason really brings to light the amount the two of you knew before you and Tim actually got involved. It's a... conversation for sure.

You've spent much of your life basically raising Tim, you’re almost equally his parent as you are his sibling despite only being three years older than him. And well-

Across the multiverse, Tim finds that there are hundreds of thousands of constants.

You are not one of them.

He has met many alternate selves, enough that there are protocols for when it happens. There is always Batman. There are superheros. There is Tim Drake.

There is no (Y/n) Drake.

He has not come across a single universe where you exist. None except for his. It's a difficult truth to swallow.

In those glimpses of other worlds, he sees how different things could have been, how many things have fallen apart without you. How fundamental you are to everything.

But he knows you. He knows you better than anyone else so he isn't surprised when Damian says that you do not believe yourself to be part of the family.

The rest of the +1 segment is sort of your induction into the Batfamily for real and everyone making is very clear that they do view you as family (an effort spearheaded by Damian who snitched to everyone). You stop repressing a bit and admit to it eventually. The adoption topic comes up again where you're like "it's going to be a PR nightmare" and everyone's like "it's fine dw about that".

I think towards the end, both you and Tim decide that you're both okay with being Bruce's wards but don't want to really be adopted-adopted. Some stuff after that would probably be passing on the Robin mantle to Damian, Tim becoming Red Robin and maybe a Duke cameo towards the end as well.

Some additional notes:

There are some other dynamics with you and the other characters in the +1 section but uhh i haven't decided what kind of dynamic. There would be more slice of life stuff in +1 segment though.

Tim did not go to boarding school because Jack and Janet decided you could take care of him well enough. In addition, the Drakes moved to become neighbours with the Wayne early because baby you stared at the Wayne manor often.

Your relationship with Jack and Janet is complicated. Very complicated. You resent them a bit more than Tim might just due to the whole being parentified thing.

There's more gala shenanigans early fic w/ Dick and Jason before you and Tim get officially involved with the Batfamily. Like passing candy around, hiding from other rich people, etc.

Tim was Robin every single Halloween since Robin debuted. You helped him update the costume every time.

You go to Tim’s parent teacher interviews. It’s only a little awkward when the teacher in question was one of your previous teachers. No one goes to your parent teacher interviews.

Anyone who has had a crush on Tim or been in a relationship with him has gone through the very Bisexual experience of also having a crush on you. It's a rite of passage really.

You’ve accidentally Pavlov-ed Bruce. Kind of. He tends to straighten whenever he hears your voice. It's a remnant of when you were essentially nagging him all day while Tim was training to be Robin. You haven’t noticed but everyone else has.

Actually, everyone has an automatic response to when you scold them. It's kind of the same as when Alfred scolds them.

You are Tim's favourite sibling. No competition.

You might also be Cass's favourite. She was very sad to find out you didn't consider yourself family.

Tim figured out you killed the Joker at some point and you know that he knows. He hasn't told anyone and covered up any remaining evidence that helped him piece it together.

You've spoken with Jason about if he wants to legally come back to life and enroll in university. He does come back to life legally eventually but hasn't enrolled in anything yet.

Everything about the Joker is still kind of up in the air but you admit to Jason that you killed him at some point.

It is well known that there's normal Robin 3 and scary Robin 3 (you). There's a bunch of theories about why Robin 3 is scary sometimes but most chalk it up to occasional mental breaks from dealing with Batman during that specific time period where Batman was terrible.

Although Tim is probably the best detective in the family, everyone knows that you "just know things" sometimes. They've come to just not question it when you say certain things must be done.

There's a bunch of background company plot stuff while you're working on Drake Industries. Like beefing with Lex Luthor and other billionaires, running your charity events, trying to fill out the spaces where Wayne Enterprises hasn't been focusing on and so on.

Even after Jack Drake awakens from his coma, Drake Industries is still really your company. He doesn't involve himself with it.

the main Gotham job prospects aren't great. It's either working for a company run by a teenage CEO, a company run by a billionaire playboy or becoming a henchman.

You get kidnapped often enough that you've gotten to know the goons and henchmen. You've also convinced them to unionize.

Again, despite your whole thing about "not really being that close with the batfam", there are traces of you everywhere. The medbay organization system? Yours. The fact that everyone in the Justice League is mandated to go to therapy? Your work. A good chunk of the emergency codes? Also yours.

You and Alfred have an ongoing back and forth of: "Mr. Pennyworth", "Just Alfred, Master (Y/n)", "Please, just (Y/n)"

You have your own room in the Wayne manor. So does Steph.

You lowkey micromanaged everything in the early days of Tim becoming Robin. If anyone were to ask you, you'd say it was a necessity. You still kind of micromanage everyone's schedule to make sure they all get a sufficient amount of sleep.

The rogues who are aware of the whole Bruce Wayne is Batman thing break into your office at Drake Industries pretty often. You'll get them all to book their meetings officially eventually.

When you go out as Robin, you try to swing around Crime Alley since it's what Jason used to do.

The Justice League does eventually become aware of the fact that you and Tim are indeed different people posing as the same Robin. Superman and Wonder Woman were already aware prior to it being officially revealed.

You respect Alfred a lot but you also think he lets Bruce get away with a lot and that he isn't harsh enough sometimes.

The majority of the time, you're on comms with Barbara while the others are on patrol. When you're busy with other things, you work on it in the Batcave in case an emergency pops up.

Damian goes to you for help about what to do at galas and such events since you've been at that game the longest out of all the batkids.

You don't know much about what happens when the others meet alternate universe selves. Everyone tends to stay quiet about it. You always think "surely it's not that bad is it?".

Spin off idea: 5 times other people thought you were Tim and one time people thought Tim was you. Featuring: Teen Titans, the Justice League, Jason Todd, Batman, the rogue gallery and the various employees of Drake Industries and Wayne Enterprises.

A couple of au ideas: 1. you get sick and Tim calls the Waynes. Early adoption stuff; 2. you catch Jason digging out of his grave and is like “shit okay guess I’m doing this now”; 3. You become an intern at Wayne Enterprises a bit before Jason dies. You get stuck there even after your internship is after.

So, yeah. Isekai with incomplete knowledge. Family Drama. Unreliable narrators. That's the fic concept I'm probably never going to write.

[breezymichelle99]

Pre-Race Nap | Lando Norris

Summary: A little pre-race nap leads to an unexpected evening for the couple. 👀

Warnings: SMUT!! 18+, use of Y|N,hickeys, female receiving, cursing, dirty talk, begging, someone walking in, dom:Lando, frustration, teasing, angryish Lando, fingering, blow job, reader taking control, nipple play, orgasm, denial(brief), hand job(brief), mirror, doggy style, unprotected sex (please use protection kids), established relationship, embarrassed Oscar, semi rough sex, discomfort in the morning.(please please please let me know if I have missed anything. Thank you.) also a bit long. Sorry 😣

Race day! The busiest day of the race weekend. Your boyfriend Lando Norris; Fresh off his amazing win in Miami was pumped and ready to go win another race. You on the other hand were exhausted. You decided to forgo the media day spectacle down on the grid to catch a little nap before the race. “I can’t believe you are going to leave me alone with the media Circus.” Lando teased you playfully as he adjusted his hat on his head before heading out of his driver’s room.. You smirked at him from the comfort of your blanket. “I'm sorry baby. The last two weeks have been so exhausting. “ you admit as he sits on the edge of the little bed in his Driver’s room, looking over at his beautiful girlfriend. He had put you through so much with the win in Miami and then p2 last week. Finally being home in Monaco felt like just the little breather the pair of you needed.

“I know baby.” he says, tucking you in and kissing your forehead. “I promise I'll be ready to go for the race, just need a few minutes. “ you whisper in a sleepy voice, you hear him chuckle. “Alright baby I’ll come back to get you before the race okay���I Love you.” he says looking at you snuggled in his bed, cursing the media day spectacle for not being able to snuggle with his best girl. “I love you too.” he hears you say before pulling the blankets around you. He sighs as he meets up with Oscar outside of the trailer and they head to the garage to see the cars and chat with the media for a bit.

Lando couldn’t get his mind off of you back in the trailer in nothing but his shirt all snuggled in; warm and cozy. He wished he was there. Hmmm. he thought; was there anyway possible he could cut this media day short and sneak back to his driver’s room for a few minutes of snuggle time with his girl before he went out to try and win another GP? Oscar saw the look in his eyes, the one where he looked miles away and he wondered if everything was okay. He elbows him. “Everything good?” Oscar asks, breaking Lando’s thoughts. He smirks. “Yeah Osco, everything’s good, it’s just been a long couple of weeks and I really just wanted a few minutes of peace with Y|N before the race, but these interviews always take forever.” he sighed again. Oscar got a wild look in his eyes; that for the first time kind of scared Lando. “What?” he questioned him with a boyish smirk. “Go.” he says . Lando looks at him confused. “What?” he says again, not understanding what he was saying. Oscar chuckled. “Go spend some time with Y|N, I can cover for you.” he says. Lando looked at him like he had just offered him a million bucks and the keys to Monaco. “Are you sure?” he asks. “Yes go. I've got you. it’s one interview set I think they will live, plus they want to see the face of Mclaren anyways.” he smirked, beaming from ear to ear. Lando rolled his eyes. “I appreciate this, I’ll owe you one big time.” Lando says, shaking Oscar’s hand. “I’ll take a spin in that new Mclaren of yours.” he jokes. Lando seriously considers it. “We’ll See.” he smirks as he sneaks off back to his driver’s room, trying his best to not be seen by any press or team members.. He checked the clock, he had a good bit before he had to be back to the garage for driver introductions. He slipped out of his shoes and fire suit and climbed into bed with you, pulling you in close to him. “Mmm Lando.” you groan, pulling his body into yours. He smirks into your neck. Both of you fall back asleep tightly holding each other.

It was almost an hour later before Lando woke up again; a wide grin on his face as he watched you sleep quietly next to him. God you are beautiful. He thought to himself as he watched you sleep so peacefully next to him. He was lucky to have you by his side. He ran his fingers across your cheek. He heard you groan. And he smirked. “Time to wake up darling.” he says, kissing down your neck and chest. “Lando.” you groan. But you don’t stop him. “It can’t be time yet.” you whisper, still refusing to open your eyes as you let him kiss his way down your skin. “almost .” he whispers, kissing deep purple hickies onto your chest, in which he knew he would get into trouble for but yet couldn’t bring himself to stop . “mmm.” a moan escaped your lips and he smirked again. “Come on beautiful, open those eyes and look at me.” he whispers against your soft skin. You slowly opened your eyes, meeting his gorgeous green ones, staring up at you as he lay on your chest. “Hey there.” you whisper with a smirk, running your finger gently over the scar on his nose. “What happened to media day?” you ask him softly as his lips still gently kiss on your soft skin. He smirks. “Well…” he says with a boyish grin and you know he’s done something. “I got out of it.” he says keeping it short and sweet, wanting to spend the last remaining minutes he had before he had to be in the garage, kissing you. You eye him. “Hmmm and how exactly did you manage that one baby.” his long fingers caressed your skin and you almost forgot to interrogate him. “Well..” he says looking up at you again with those absolutely gorgeous eyes, that most definitely always get him out of trouble. “Lando what did you do?” you smirk. “I was at driver interviews and I couldn’t stop thinking about you all alone here in my bed, in my shirt and not much else and how much I really just wanted to spend time alone with you and well Oscar he got me out of media day and back into your arms, and I now have to possibly let him drive my Mclaren for a day.” he says with a laugh. “Ohhhh Lando.” you chuckle. “What??? You know I will literally do just about anything to get out of interviews and spend more time with you.” he teases. Before you can respond his lips are on yours. So this was how he planned to play it; make you even more exhausted. God you loved this man.

Before you know it your hands are in his curls and his lips are back on your neck. “God I love you.” he moans between kisses, as your hips connect with his. His hands are under your borrowed shirt and you both know that you need to be getting changed and ready to go but you two just couldn’t help yourselves. Before you know it the shirt was being unbuttoned the rest of the way and his lips were attached to your skin again. “Oh lando.” you call out to him. “I know baby, I know.” he groans, enjoying teasing you. Neither one of you noticed the time. He had come to join you in bed with his compression shirt and boxers on and you could now feel him through the tight material.. You decided to tease him a bit. Your hips collide with his once more, slowly teasing him.. “Mmm.” he groans, biting his bottom lip. You whine at the sight. “Don’t start.” he groans, knowing they did not have much longer. “Says you who already has me in only my panties, Sir.” you tease. “Some of us have a race to win.” he groans again as your fingers caress his tanned skin. “And your point??” you ask licking your lips before kissing down his Chest leaving a hickey just below his collarbone. “You get to be all beautiful and naked and I have to go be all frustrated on the track.” he whines “Well Mr. Norris, you should have thought about that before you started something you didn’t have time to finish.” you say your eyes begging him not to leave you needy and wanting him for the 78 laps. “Mmm well there may be something I can do.” he grins even though he knew what he was about to do would make everything more difficult for him he knew the look of pleasure on your face would be enough to get him through the 78 laps and then back home to play with you; his favorite toy.

He slid down the bed kissing your skin as he went till he was situated properly between your legs looking up at you, panties discarded onto the floor. You bite your lip as you watch him. He throws your leg over his shoulder so he can have better access to you. His lips dance down your thigh. He hears a deep sigh leave your lips as your eyes flutter closed. Lando glances quickly at the time knowing he didn’t have long but he knew what he had to do. He smirked as he watched you as his perfect pouty lips kissed your core gently. “Mmm Lando.” you whine still not opening your eyes making sure to enjoy every little second you had with him. “Shhh pretty girl let me work.” he whispers as his tongue laps at your already wet center. “So wet for me already princess and I have barely touched you.” he chuckles. Your eyes dart open as you glare at your tease of a boyfriend. “Please Lando.” you beg him now as you watch his fingers dance down your thigh and to the place you’ve been needing them most; inside of you. “God Lando.” you call to him, your hands falling into his curls tugging them, making him groan against your already begging pussy. “God you taste so fucking good baby.” he groans breathless as he continues to work his magic between your perfect thighs. Watching you fall apart for him right in front of his eyes. “Fuckk Lando Baby I'm so close, please.” you beg him to give you the release you need. He smirks promising to give you what you need but right before he could make you loudly scream his name, cumming proudly on his tongue the door to his driver’s room swung open. “Lando we’ve got to go you’re going to be…. Oh good God I'm sorry I’ve just come to get you for a drivers meeting. Jesus I'm so…” he couldn’t move it was like his feet were cemented to the floor of his teammate's driver's room he couldn’t do anything. “OSCAR JACK PIASTRI GET OUT!!” you shout. Lando covers your body with his, so his innocent teammate can’t catch any glances of what was his. “I'm sorry I'll wait outside.” he says, turning Ferrari red, and running immediately out of the room. You lean up knowing the moment is over and you’d have to sit partially satisfied for the next two hours.

“And where exactly do you think you’re going? Did I say we were finished?” Lando growls shoving you back down onto the bed. “Lando.” you giggle at his forcefulness as he buries his head between your thighs once more finishing what he started. “Fuck god Lando please mmm yes right there baby.” you scream back arching off the bed and into his skilled mouth as you’d cum for him. His name: a beautiful serenade on your lips that he would hear echoing in his head for the next two hours, calling to him begging to be heard over and over again . He cleaned up the mess you had made with his tongue, licking his lips as he kissed gently up your skin. “That should hold you over for now, my darling.” he smirks, kissing your lips wildly, tasting yourself on his tongue. You can’t help but moan. “Now I have to go, be a good girl and get cleaned up and meet me down at the paddock for driver introductions.” he growls, grabbing your jaw with his long fingers making you look up at him. You can’t help but smirk. “Yes sir.” you say feeling bad that you were the only one that got your insatiable appetite satisfied. You eyed him, knowing he had to go. You watch him slip his fire suit back over his muscled body knowing how uncomfortable he was going to be. He sees you watching him. He looks down at his erection and then back to you, walking to the bed to kiss you goodbye. “Don’t worry baby after this race no matter the outcome I plan to fuck you so hard you wont be able to walk in the morning, and no matter where you go you’ll feel me.” he bites your lip as he kisses you passionately. He takes one last look at you from the doorway picking up your panties off the floor and tucking them into his pocket as a little good luck charm. You eye him catching him sliding your panties into his pocket, you can’t help but smirk at him . “God I love you so fucking much.” he groans again hating how he was having to leave. You smirk. “I love you too, now go win me a race so I can show you some real pleasure after.” you wink at him and he whines “Babyyy….” “Lando seriously.” you laugh. “I'm going I'm going.” he giggles. As he steps from his driver's room to a freaking out Oscar. He chuckles to himself.

“What’s the matter, Osco? Never seen a satisfied woman before.” he jokes as he puts his arm around his teammate. “Lando I'm so sorry, I didn't see anything. I swear I didn't mean to interrupt. Zak was looking for you and asked me to go find you, I didn't think i'm so sorry I should have knocked, I just didn’t think..” Oscar was wondering how long Lando was going to make him beg for his life before he interrupted him. Lando chuckled. “It’s really okay mate.” he says, slapping him on the back. “Lando for fucks sake where have you been?” Zak shouts as they begin their pre race drivers meeting. “I don’t think you want to know.” Oscar mumbles under his breath. Lando grins hearing him.

As for you, you quickly took a shower and got dressed doing your hair and make up as quickly as possible. You stood in the mirror noticing all the hickies Lando had left across your skin. Hmm this was going to make it difficult to find an outfit to wear. You settled on a papaya colored sundress minus the underwear, you smirk, a little surprise for lando later.. you grabbed your paddock pass and headed down to prepare for the drivers parade and the start of the race. Even though your mind was preoccupied with the events of earlier, you couldn’t help but smirk. Poor Oscar you chuckle. He’s probably never going to be able to look you in the eye again. You chuckle again. “You seem in a good mood.” Alexandra says intertwining her arm with yours as you gossip through the paddock stopping every now and then to let Leo get the love and attention he deserves. You talk and laugh and say your goodbyes as you stand in front of the Mclaren garage. “See you after the race.” She waves heading in Charles' direction who was standing outside the Ferrari garage waiting for her and Leo; he gives you a little wave. “I doubt that.” you grin knowing that after the race you would be extremely occupied. A devilish grin crosses your lips as you head into the garage to find Lando.

“Mmmm i know that look.” he grins wrapping his arms around you as if he hadn’t just had his fingers deep inside of you 5 minutes ago. Oscar avoids you like the plague. “What look?” you say blushing. “That look means trouble.” he says, again unable to keep his eyes or his hands off of you. “Does it?” you flirt. Lando eyed you, you giggle. You lean in close to him so you can whisper in his ear without any passers by hearing your dirty words to him. “Just thinking about all the things I’m going to do to you later.” you tease nibbling his ear. A quiet groan resonates in his chest vibrating through his whole body. “Y|N.” he warns his eyes darkening. He leans over to whisper in your ear, nose nuzzled in your hair. “Be careful princess. Before I have to bend you over right here, right now giving more than just, poor Oscar a show.” He growls. you blush looking away from his intense gaze. “Sorry.” You whisper. He looks at you, licking his lips. “Good Girl.” He whispers. you swallow hard.. You knew better than to distract him but you couldn’t help yourself after what just literally went down in his drivers room. His fingers intertwined with yours and you allow him to lead you out of the garage and onto the grid for the national anthem and race start. Neither of you saying another word to each other as you let him focus.

Time for the drivers to get into their cars and for the race to begin. You squeeze Lando’s hand. “Good Luck baby.” you say kissing his lips gently before leaving him behind to get race ready. You smirk at Oscar as he walks by. He turns red immediately and practically runs away. You couldn’t help but laugh. You take your seat in Mclaren hospitality with Lando’s family. The race begins with Lando taking off from his 4th position. You settle in for a long 78 laps. You could tell Lando was having trouble with his car. And from what you heard over his radio they weren't able to find the issue. So he just kept learning as he went. Lap after lap ticked off and he still wasn’t able to get his car out of fourth place. His car was fast but not fast enough to keep up with the cars in front of him, especially Charles whose car was near perfection. In the end Lando wouldn’t be able to catch up and would finish the day in 4th. Charles winning his home race at Monaco. Though you were disappointed for Lando, and you knew he’d be extremely disappointed in himself, but you were also happy for your friend getting his home win. You leave the hospitality suite to head out onto the grid to watch the podium, and cheer on Oscar since he finished second today, knowing that two top tens was good for the team regardless. You waited around patiently, knowing there would be interviews and photo opportunities. You talk with a few drivers that pass, along with Alexandra who was rushing to find her Boyfriend Charles for a big congratulations. “Go get him Alex, congratulations.” you chuckle, shouting after her. She gives you a sympathetic smile and wave, as she passes by knowing the heartbreak you would be dealing with later.

As you stand there chatting away with Carlos, you feel two strong arms wrap around you. “Why hello there, beautiful. “ Lando says in your ear, his face buried in your long hair. You smirk. “Hello handsome.” you say.. Carlos says his goodbyes to you and Lando. You spin around into Lando’s arms. “Hi.” you whisper, your fingertips caressing his cheek, you see the sadness in his eyes but he seemed okay. “Sorry I couldn’t get the win for you today baby.” he says. You kiss his lips and smile. “I know you're disappointed baby, but you did a great job with what the car would give you today. Plus I think I have just the thing to cheer you up.” you smirk that devilish little smirk at him. “Mmm” he hums looking down at you. You lean up to whisper in his ear. “Take me home, Lando Norris.” you whisper, taking his hand. His lips capture yours. “Yes ma’am.” he says, pulling you out of the Garage, headed to his drivers room to grab his stuff and yours and then out to his Mclaren in the drivers parking lot. The two of you barely stopping. His hand found your thigh immediately. “I love you.” you whisper. He smirks. “I may not have won the race today babe but I’ve got the best trophy of all..” he paused for a second looking deeply into your eyes. “You.” he whispers. You can’t help but blush. “Stop it.” you say playfully smacking him. He laughs and your world seems alright despite the tough day. As you drive out you pass the Ferrari team still celebrating their amazing win. You hear Lando sigh. You pat his thigh with your hand letting him know everything is going to be alright. He smiles over at you as he drives you home.

All the way back to Lando’s flat his hand never leaves your thigh. You laugh and talk and those perfect green eyes never stop looking over at you at every red light. As you get closer and closer to home you notice those gorgeous eyes darken and you know he was going to make good on his promise that he made to you in his driver's room before the race. You adjust in your seat, mind full of thoughts of what was to come once you got home. He glances over noticing your clenched thighs and devilish grin. He can’t help but smirk. “Something on your mind, love.” He asks long fingers beginning to stroke your thigh. You swallow hard as you look over at him, so comfortable, so relaxed in the driver’s seat. You lick your lips. “Nothing at all baby.” You grin shyly. “Hmm.” He says quietly, eyes back on the road. You had two more lights before the turn onto your street and you know Lando was going to torture you at each one. He didn’t disappoint. As he slowed the car to a stop at the next light he leaned over to kiss your neck whispering in your ear as he did so. “I think you’re lying my darling” he groans, voice deep and dark.. You whimper at his words and at his tone and you know he hears you. He smirks against the delicate skin of your neck, his stubble grazing roughly against it as he pulls away once more to continue the drive home. Moments later, he separated your clenched thighs with his long fingers. You whimper once more, looking at him desperately. He chuckles, as you so easily submit to him; granting him access to you without question. You watch as his warm hand slides down your thigh, pushing your dress out of the way as he goes, he immediately realizes that you weren’t wearing any panties. He raises an eyebrow at you. “No panties?” He questions wondering if you had gone the entire race watching him without underwear. He thinks back to the pair he had stolen from you earlier in the day, he recalls almost dropping them on the grid as he got into his car, he could have only imagined having to explain that one but the scent of you kept him going through an exhausting race.. You smirk, pulling him out of his daze. You knew he would enjoy that. “The whole race, no panties baby, just me all wet and needy thinking about you deep inside of me.” You practically pant. Lando groans loudly and you see his erection clear in his dress pants and you want to reach across the center console and give him a hand but he had other plans for you. Before long you feel his long index finger and you whine , biting your lip. “Lando.” You beg him breathless already. “Hush baby girl.” He grins as he watches your eyes flutter closed as he works his magic fingers inside of you, thumb slowly stroking your clit now. “Mmmm Lan.” You whine, your hand gripping his wrist holding him steady inside of you, unable to keep quiet, and he knew you wouldn’t be able too, that was the fun of it all. He knew you better than anyone else and he knew his girl wouldn’t be able to Keep those pretty little sounds to herself. “So needy for me princess.” He smirks as he watches your hips buck up into his hand begging for more, needing more. It had been several minutes now, you were so preoccupied with Lando’s hand that you hadn’t realized you were in the driveway, giving your neighbors a show, good thing it was late.

In seconds Lando withdraws his long fingers from inside of you, running them across his pouty lips. “mmm.” He moans licking his lips.. “Lando noo, please baby.” You whine finally opening your eyes realizing you were home. He can’t help but laugh. “Get out of the car y|n, I'm not nearly finished with you yet.” He says as he gets out of the car and stalks to the passenger side of his McLaren, opening the door for you and extending his hand. You take it interlocking his long fingers with yours as he practically yanks you out.. he slams the car door shut pulling you behind him. Before long he can’t take how slow you are walking and he throws you over his shoulder, you giggle smacking his ass. “Lando!!’ You chuckle, unable to stop the laughter now at how impatient he was being. “stop moving.” He commands., smacking your bare ass with his long fingers, for a second you had forgotten you hadn’t been wearing any panties until his warm hand made contact with your bare skin, sending a shiver down your spine and a moan to your lips. “Fuck Lando.” You curse, very aware of the ache between your thighs now. Lando searches his pocket with his free hand till he finds the house key. He opens the door quickly, shutting it behind the two of you with his foot. He doesn’t bother to lock it, he’s a man on a mission he will come down later and lock it, right now the only thing he can think about is how amazing he feels when he’s lost deep inside of you, he’s thought about nothing else since this mornings, little pre-race nap and now it was time to do something about it.

He flips on the light to the second floor as he carries you up the stairs still slung over his broad shoulder. “Ohhhh Lando Norris, please put me down. I have a little something for you if you do.” You sing behind him gently kicking your feet and wiggling around to annoy him so he will put you down. You hear him grumble as you reach the top of the stairs and he shoves open the door to your shared bedroom. It’s there that your feet finally touch the ground. He was standing beside the bed. The pair of you stare at each other for a second, lust and desire burning between you both. But it’s you that makes the first move. All day long you’ve been dreaming about returning the favor to him. Even though you knew he spent all 78 laps at Monaco frustrated and horny you appreciated that he hadn’t done the same to you. So for being such a good sport you planned to return the favor before he could make good on his promise to make you unable to walk.. You smirked. You step before him unbuttoning his white button down the rest of the way leaving it undone but loose on his shoulders, running your fingers down his chest, then you slowly undid his belt and unzipped his black dress pants. He groans at the slow pace but he lets you continue. You smirk, seeing how impatient he was getting. “Patience baby, I promise you’re going to like where this is going.” Your voice is practically a low moan as your dark eyes look into his as he watches every single movement you make. His dress pants fall to his ankles and he kicks them to the side as he stands before you in his boxers. His green eyes watch you closely. “Take off your boxers and sit.” You demand, pointing to the edge of the bed. His eyes widen as he quickly does what he was told, sitting on the edge of the bed as you get on your knees between his thighs. You lick your lips looking up at him through long thick eyelashes and he groans. “God baby you're so beautiful when you’re on your knees for me.” His breath catches in his throat as your fingers wrap around him moving slowly. “Mmm baby.” He moans, head dropping back biting his bottom lip.

You continue to tease him before giving him what he wants. “Since you were so kind to not leave me begging for you for the entirety of the race, I thought you deserved a reward for being so generous.” You whisper looking up at him watching him closely, his eyes are locked on you now, his bottom lip tucked tightly between his teeth as he holds in his moans as he watches you. “Y|N please.” He begs , his hands falling into your hair as your lips wrap around him. His breathing becomes erratic as you add your hand stroking him as you go, tongue swirling around his tip down his length. One hand of his fisting your long hair, controlling your movements just how he wanted them, the other gripping the sheets beside him. Hips buck up into you, you groan against him causing him to curse out loud, unable to control himself with the sensation. The way you look, the way you feel wrapped around him has him cursing your name. “Jesus fuck baby, I can’t handle you like this, mmm fuck right there baby, that’s my good fucking girl, fuck fuck I can’t take it . Please baby I’m gunna cum.” Your mouth hallowed, giving him all you’ve got begging him to cum and it’s not long before does unable to control it any longer. “Fuck babyyyyy.” He whines fucking your mouth through his orgasm. Hips bottoming out beneath you, head dropping back as you swallow, wiping your mouth, licking your lips, savoring the taste of him. you can’t take your eyes off him.

Lando’s green eyes darken and you know he’s about to make good on the promise he had made you earlier today. He tucks his long fingers under your chin, licking his lips as you lean on his muscled thighs making you look up at him. “You looked so good with my cock in your pretty little mouth baby girl, but you’re going to be absolutely stunning with my cock deep inside that tight little pussy. Get up baby my turn to make you feel good.” He says his words basically a moan, reaching down to help you up. His lips crash into yours as you stand, hands roaming your body, his long fingers slide under the straps of the dress you were still wearing, he watches it pool around your ankles. He groans at the sight of you. His long fingers trace over the hickies he had given you earlier in the day; he grins. “All fucking mine.” He growls as his fingers move up your neck gripping it tightly, a tiny moan leaves your lips and he grins as his thumb applies a little more pressure to your pressure point. “Lando.” you gasp your words almost catching in your throat. His tongue runs across his lips. “Fucking gorgeous begging for me.” His voice was a raspy tone that made you whine for him. He chuckled at the sound as he backed you up to your giant king sized bed. “Lay back for me angel.” he says finally letting go of you. You do as you're told and slide back on to the bed, never taking your eyes off of him. At this point after the spanking, and watching him cum for you, you were soaking wet and he planned to tease you about it before he did something about it. “Ohhh baby girl, look at you all nice and wet for me already and I haven’t even begun. Did my baby girl enjoy watching me cum?” he asks. You don’t respond for a second testing his limits. He grabs your jaw tightly. “Answer me darling, or it’s going to be a long unsatisfying night for you.” he growls. You shake your head yes knowing that wouldn’t be good enough for him. He clears his throat looking down at you with a stern look. “Best use your words then, my love.” your eyes widen. “Oh” you think to yourself as you try to find the words underneath the sexy forcefulness of his tone. His gaze is staring right through you as he waits for your answer. “Yes.” you gasp. There is silence for a moment as he watches you, enamored by your beauty and how responsive you are to him.

He leans down, not saying a word in response, his muscled body situated above you, large thighs on either side of you as his long fingers trace your delicate skin, his lips setting your skin on fire with desire for him as he makes his way down your body. Massaging each of your supple breasts with his mouth, tongue swirling around each nipple. Your hips bucking up into him with each little movement of his body above yours. “Settle down doll, i'm only just beginning.” he grins licking his lips. You whine. You were about to cum already and he hadn’t even barely begun, you weren’t sure what that said about you but you knew what it said about him, your boyfriend was absolutely insatiable and there wasn’t a single thing about him that didn’t turn you on and this was the problem. “Fuck Lando, i need you, please.” you beg him wanting him to stop torturing you and put himself inside you like he’d been promising all damn day. “So impatient.” he hums against the inside of your thigh as he continues to kiss and lick down your body. “Lando.” you whine again as he spreads your legs wider for him as he's now firmly set between your thighs. “Mmm look at you sweetheart.” he whimpers licking his lips looking up at you from between your thighs. Though this was a familiar position for him, as he’d just been here earlier this afternoon, something about being able to take his time, enjoy the moment, not be rushed, savor every reaction of your body to him made this even more pleasurable then any of the other times. His green eyes, pupils large with desire for you. His lips trailed down your thigh, you can feel his breath so close to where you want him, where you need him but yet he continues his slow torment. “Lando please.” you breathe. He hums again. “So damn beautiful when you beg for me, my needy little girl.” he whispers as tongue slides down your begging pussy, his perfect nose hitting your clit just right as he goes..

“Ohh fuck, Lando.” you cry out hips bucking up into his full lips begging him for more. He grips your hips tight, holding you into place. “Don’t you dare run from me darling.” he says eyes flashing up at you as he adds two fingers along with his tongue making you wiggle beneath him. “Fuck Lando that feels so good. Mmm baby.” you moan loudly, biting your lip to contain your moans. Lando notices you holding back and he stops . “Come on, pretty girl don’t do that, don’t hold back, I don’t care if the whole neighborhood hears my beautiful girl, come on now.” he says as he continues. You arch your back off the bed into him. “God Lando right there, fuck jesus please please please.” you beg again as you chase him begging for release. He hums against your clit. Making you cry out his name arching your back once again into him. “There's my pretty girl, so close for me now.” he says, his free hand reaching up to grab your breast, squeezing your nipple gently between his long fingers adding to the pleasure he’s giving you. “Lando I can’t please baby, I need to cum. Please.” you cry out to him. “Is that what you want? You want to cum do you baby girl?” he asks, slowing all of his movements waiting for an answer. “mmm hmm please Lando, please..” you continue to beg him. His fast than slow movements have you right on the edge and then back again head spinning but you dont’ dare cum, not without his permission. “Just want you to feel how l felt for 78 laps angel, how horny you made me after our little nap, how bad I wanted to bend you over that little table in my drivers room, how uncomfortable I was for two hours. Having to listen to the sounds of your sexy little moans when you cum for me being repeated in my head over and over, unable to do a damn thing about it. God i wanted to fuck you so bad after the race i was lucky i got you into the car as quickly as I did.” he pauses his movements had practically slowed to a painfully annoying halt. “Lando baby i'm sorry we just didn’t have enough time, please i'm sorry.” you continue to beg as he begins again. “The way those gorgeous pink lips looked wrapped around my cock when we got home, god you’re fucking perfect baby.” he groans finally shutting up so he could finish you properly. “Oh god lando yes please fuckkk mmm right there baby yes come on i'm almost there jesus god fuckk fuck fuck.” your back arches off the bed into him, your hands tangled in his beautiful curls tugging them between your fingers as he finally gives you what you want. “Cum baby.” he groans and like a good girl, you do as you're told. “Fuckkkkk LAND OOO. Ohh god yes fuck I can’t please mmmmmm fuck.” you call out as you cum hard on his tongue. You're breathless below him and you know you’ve only just begun the night. You practically melt into the bed. As you whine as he cleans up the mess he made with his tongue leaving a trail of soft kisses up your body, making his way up to your lips, kissing you hard.

You can feel him on your thigh and though your head was still spinning from your last orgasm you want him inside you, you need him inside you immediately. His lips separate from yours as he looks you over, checking in on his girl.. “”What is it, pretty girl?” he asks, voice low and raspy. You swallow hard, licking your lips. Your beautiful eyes lock with his. “I want you.” you say reaching between your bodies to stroke him with your talented fingertips. “Fuck baby.” he says thrusting his hips into your hand so you feel all of him. “Please Lando.” you practically whisper now needing him inside of you more than air right now. He smirks. “Alright baby but tonight we’re trying something different. Okay?” he asks looking at you for permission to continue. You eye him wondering what he was up to. You shake your head yes. “Trust me baby, I promise you’ll love it.” he grins. “I trust you, always.” you say kissing him roughly, still stroking him between your two bodies making him moan between words, now it was him needing you. “Fuck baby, you’re so god damn perfect.” he says trying not to get too caught him in the moment because he had special plans for you. You wondered what he was up to as he moved around your bed now, pulling himself from your grasp. “Sit up angel, on all fours, facing the mirror.” he commands and you do exactly as you're told. Trusting him every step of the way. You wonder what he’s up to as you watch the scene unfold in the large mirror in front of your bed, perfectly situated on the dresser, to see alll the best parts of your shared bedroom.. You watch him behind you through the mirror as he places himself behind you, watching you watch him. He smirks. Licking his lips. “Want us to be able to watch each other cum baby.” he groans, grabbing your hips, getting the just right position behind you. He lifts your hips up, getting the perfect arch in your back as he guides himself gently, slowly into you. You moan loudly. “Easy pretty girl, just breathe.” he says easing in and out of you, matching your pace to the arch in your back so he makes sure he can hit the right spot to make you cum moaning his name. The pair of you watching each other in the mirror in front of you. You toss your head back. “Fuck Lando please.” you plead as his movement had slowed to an agonizing pace that had you chasing him begging to feel him deeper, needing to feel him. “Mmm look at you baby girl, so damn beautiful like this, begging me to fuck you harder. Is that what you want, princess ? you want me to fuck you harder.” the tone of his voice made you shutter. He chuckled as he noticed your reaction to him. “Please lando!” you say responding to him almost immediately. Still inside of you, nearly stopping.. He loosens the grip on your hips running his long fingers down your back gently watching the goosebumps crawl across your skin. He chuckles. “Stunning.” he growls before slamming into you. You cry out as he finally speeds up the pace watching his perfect girl in the mirror as she begs for him over and over again. “Ohhh god Lando please please.” you cry out as one hand remains gripping your hip the other snaking around your body pulling your back to his chest. The movement inside of you causes him to groan as you tighten around him.. “You fit me so perfectly, baby, so tight and sweet. My everything.” he growls in your ear. “Fuck Lando, I need more please.” you beg him once more needing to cum.

The pace he set had slowed again and you were so close now but he kept you teetering on the edge. His free hand had slid up and down your body. Teasing both your nipples gently squeezing them between his long fingers making you moan aloud. His movements begin again as you watch his long fingers slowly begin to rub your clit as he eased in and out of you again. You couldn’t take your eyes off him, biting your lip. “God fuck Lando right there, please baby ohh jesus god mmmmmmmm yes fuckk you fuck me so damn good. I can’t please.” you cry out into the darkness of your bedroom Lando holding you steady as he puts you back on all fours as he slams in and out of you feeling you get closer and closer tightening around him. “Come on baby, cum for me, be a good fucking girl.” he growls slamming hard into you again again watching as you toss our head back, arching your back into him, the perfect angle sending you both cussing and screaming each other names into the night as you both watch each other cum in the mirrior Lando burying himself deep inside of you, his tight grip on your hips loosens and he gently begins to stroke your heated skin beneath his fingertips, giving you both a second before he eases out of you, you whine at the loss of contact between the two of you. “Shhh baby.” he says with a smirk at his needy girlfriend. You lay on the bed watching him as he dashes out of bed and into the bathroom, coming out with his boxers on with a warm cloth to clean you up. You smirk up at him. His long fingers caress your cheek. “I love you baby.” he says, handing you his shirt, tossing the wash rag into the wash basket and returning to bed with you wrapping you up in his arms. Your eyes haven’t left him. “You okay baby??” he asks, checking in on you, brushing a strand of hair from your face, tucking it behind your ear before running his fingers down your cheek, taking in your beaty and everything that was his. “Never better.” you smirk. “I love you.” you whisper realizing you had not said it back to him from earlier. Your fingers dancing over his lips. “You are everything to me Lando Norris, I hope you always know that.” you whisper, kissing his lips slowly, gently. “You sure that’s not just the mind blowing sex talking.” Lando laughs that cute little laugh of his as you smack him lightly. “No it’s not just that, even though that is a plus.” you pause winking at him.

“I wouldn’t trade this life with you for anything.” you say fingers caressing his chest as you look into his gorgeous green eyes. He smiles. “I don’t know what I’d ever do without you baby, I really don’t.” he says kissing your forehead.” you chuckle. “What?” he asks, loving your laugh. “I wonder how long it will take before Oscar can look at me in the paddock again.” you can’t stop laughing at Lando’s funny face he had made. “I think that one's gunna take him a bit. I think we traumatized the poor guy. You should have seen him after he was apologizing and going crazy. I felt bad, I also noticed when you met me in the garage after he refused to make eye contact with you.” Lando says with a laugh as his arms wrap around you “I'll get him a present, maybe that will help.” you laugh again. “I'm sure he’d appreciate that.” Lando says with a yawn as he snuggles into you as you run your fingers through his curls, both falling asleep.

When you wake up the next morning you groan as you find that Lando is not beside you. “Babe?” you call out listening for a response. But then you hear the shower on. You smirk getting out of bed, groaning but smiling at your achy muscles, chuckling to yourself as Lando had kept his promise to make it difficult for you to walk the next morning, and also that you felt nothing but him when you did. You drop Lando's borrowed shirt to the floor stepping into the bathroom. “You didn’t wake me?” you say wrapping your arms around his body underneath the warm water. He looks down at you. “You looked so peaceful I didn’t want to disturb you.” he smiles, kissing your lips slowly, the warm water falling gently between your bodies. His long fingers trace over the marks he had left on your body from the night before, he bites his lip. “Sorry baby.” he smirks. You chuckle. “I'm not.” you wink at him and his lips devour yours once more. You moan into his mouth before his lips separate from his. “I guess I should take a pre-race nap more often.” you smirk at him as he raises an eyebrow at you. “Only if we have time for both of us to get fucked properly. That race was fucking torture for me, probably why I drove so bad, I couldn’t focus.” he says as he spins you around washing your hair. You always did love the way he took care of you. “Hey don’t blame me, I warned you we didn’t have time, but you insisted.” you argue. He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t hear any complaints from you.” he teases. "Yeah cuz I'm the one that got to cum.” you tease him back, running your fingers through his wet curls. “Point taken.” he says, stepping out of the shower drying you both off, before you get dressed and get ready for another busy race week to begin, both grateful to have each other to navigate this crazy life.

The end

(All photos for the moodboard were found on Pinterest, I do not own)

[sm-baby]

I'm in the middle of making a TADC au called "The Amazing Travelling Circus" and was wondering if you wanted to put in a piece of lore. Hootbon already did. Hers was "Gangle can actually walk in water once a full moon and they use her to make short cut escapes in dire need"

hmmm...

one of the characters (of your choosing) has a criminal history

[fluff-a-nutter]

Tickletober prompts: Chase + Caught

((Fandom: The Amazing Digital Circus. Ler!Jax & Lee!gn reader. SFW Only!))

“Y/N I’m gonna getcha, getcha, getcha!” You sprinted through the Digital Circus world as the sounds of Jax teasing you followed your every move. You couldn’t see where the rabbit had gone, but his voice rang out as clearly as if he were right behind you.

It had all started when you had been practicing your acrobatics and Jax had been bored and come to bother you. He was commenting on how your outfit had a panel cut out to expose your tummy. You had told him that you hadn’t had any control and that it actually helped with movement. Since Jax had no grasp on the concept of “personal space” he had come right up to you and poked your stomach. And you had squeaked. Jax had looked at you and slowly the realization dawned on you both.

“You ticklish Y/N?”

Instead of answering you had bolted and naturally, Jax had given chase.

Which was why now you were running in search of a hiding place. Luckily you found a large bush with colorful flowers. That would be perfect. You dove behind the plant and caught your breath, not making a sound. You could hear Jax getting closer, but if you were silent, he’d pass right by. But apparently luck was not on your side because just as you had relaxed Caine appeared out of the blue.

“WELL HELLO THERE MY NEW FRIEND! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” You yelped when the toothy ringmaster shouted and shushed him frantically

“Caine, shhhhhh! I’m hiding!” You hissed in a low whisper.

“HIDING?! WHATEVER FOR, MY FRIEND??” Clearly, Caine had no inside voice.

“Jax is chasing me!” You hissed again, shoving your hand over his teeth. He shoved it off.

“JAX? IS HE BOTHERING YOU? DO NOT FRET! I SHALL DEAL WITH HIM IF HE IS!” You groaned internally.

“Caine, it’s fine. He’s just trying to tickle me.” You said, glancing nervously around.

“OHO! IS THAT ALL!? DON’T YOU KNOW TICKLING IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO BOND WITH FRIENDS, (Y/N)! I WILL CALL JAX OVER NOW! OOOOOH JAX! THEY ARE RIGHT OVER HERE BEHIND THIS BUSH!”

You made panicked gestures to the ringmaster, but he either didn’t see or didn’t care. Before you could tell him to be quiet he disappeared in a puff of confetti.

Glancing around, you slowly crept out of your hiding spot. No sign of the rabbit anywhere. Maybe he’d decided to pick on someone else instead. Just as you thought that, a pair of long, skinny arms grabbed you.

“Gotcha, (y/n). Thanks to Caine.” You squealed and tried to make a break for it, but Jax held onto you.

“Ah, Ah, Ah. You aren’t gettin’ away this time, (n/n).”

“Jahax, please! I’m really ticklish!” You whined, pouting at your captor. The bunny just grinned cheekily at you.

“Good. Then I’m gonna have a lot of fun with this.” Without any further warning, Jax dug his fingers into your sides and you squealed, biting into your lip trying to not laugh.

“Awwww, c’mon sweetheart. Lemme hear those giggles.” Jax teased, spidering his way to your tummy.

“EEK- Nohohoho! Not there, please!” You begged, squirming frantically in the rabbit’s arms.

“Shoulda thought of that before exposing your tummy to the world, then (y/n). ‘Cause now I have to tickle it.” He said as he started mercilessly scribbling your belly.

“NOHOHOHO!! PL-PLEHEHEHEHEASE! IT TIHIHIHICKLES!” You laughed, wriggling madly in his arms. Jax snickered.

“Yes, that is the point. Hmmm, wonder what this button does?” You shrieked when Jax poked your navel.

“Oho, looks like I found someone’s giggle button!” He teased, poking mercilessly at your navel while his other hand snuck up into your armpit.

You howled and thumped your feet on the ground as Jax reduced you to a shrieking, laughing puddle.

”J-JAHAHAHAHAX PLEHEHEHASE! I-I’LL DHOHOHO ANYTHING, JUST STOOOOAHAHAHAP!” You pleaded as the rabbit tickled every inch of your torso.

“Hmmmm, anything you say?”

“Y-yehehes! Anything!” Jax grinned.

“You help me with Gloink duty for the next 2- no 3 weeks.”

“AHAHAHAHAHA OKAHAHAHAY FIHIHINE! JUST STOHOHOP TICKLING MEHEHEHEHEEEEE!” You squealed, before going limp in Jax’s arms and laughing your heart out until he ceased.

“Alrighty, deals a deal, (y/n).” He said like he hadn’t absolutely just wrecked your [HONK].

“Y-yohohou are the worst!” You said, pouting at Jax, letting out a squeal when he poked at your tummy.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Nohohothing!” You quickly scrambled away, clutching your middle. Jax smirked at you.

“That’s what I thought, (y/n).”

Groaning, you flopped onto the ground. But you supposed there were worse things than helping Jax with Gloink duty. And now you could plan some revenge.

A/N: Hey all! Last Tickltober and it’s not Varigo! I fell in love with TADC and Jax would make an evil ler, so naturally I had to write him as such! Also, below is what I pictured (y/n’s) outfit to look like, but if you had something else in mind, that’s fine!

[cutepastelstarsalior]

Decided to watch Hazbin Hotel…..(only because I hard that Jeremy Jordan is Lucifer va…..and also because i am a hater™️)

Watching this on Watch Anime dub, it has the pilot…so

Pilot

Pilot Charlie voice is so pretty. God the angels designs remind me of those weird The Purge neon mask…forget how red this pilot is..there is a lot of random sounds effects, it feels a tinnnyyyyyy bit to much. Pilot angels voice <3 snake guy voice so SO familiar????? I feel like he was in a video game or something. Hmm I forgot how much cursing there is…minor pet peeve, sometimes the lineart is hot pink and it’s kind of annoying since it sticks out against black lineart, also there SO many eyes, everywhere? Idk if that a fun little quirk or lore™️ that one news reporter being on fire made me laugh.. I like the mixed art style when Vaggie talks about Alastor, it’s charming. Hmmm, radio sound effects, love them <3

I think it’s cool that Charlie is a very sweet, kind of “childish” Nieves princess in a world full of murder and hate and violence. It makes me wonder how she got that way? Also hell is overpopulated so the angels kill them. Interesting!! Especially since lot of demons also fight over territory. This Katie killjoy does have a point, why would sinners want to change? Beside the killing, it seems like hell is basically Earth 2.0.. It is cool how Alastor the radio demon, decided to help out because he’s bored.

GOOSEWORX THE CEATOR OF THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS :0 👀 yooooooo. Jesus there so many people working on this pilot…

Scale of 1-5 I give this a 3.5.

Episode 1

Ok, so the intro says that the angels have an extermination because they don’t want Hell to rise up. But in the pilot it was because of overpopulation…Also Lucifer not liking hell and can no longer dream, while Lilith thrives…hmmm if this story has Lilith be evil while Lucifer is good idk how to feel about that. The voices are different, while I don’t like Charlie’s new voice (sounds to idk deep?) I definitely like Vaggies, it’s deep and a bit monotone. Also new outfits!!! Charlie’s is fine, but I don’t like how sharp her face is? So look more older and mature compared to her pilot self, which add the whole naive princess feel. It’s canonically 5days to a week between the events of the pilot and the first episode…oh ew I hate Angels voice. It’s too high, and he has an accent now??? Oh Husk voice!! While is deep, it’s also high? No longer gruff.. hmm character wise, angels seem more bitchy?? Then the pilot?

Ok…random song???? Just…no build up music or anything.. Charlie curses more too. In the pilot she curse like, 3 times. Here she does it more.

There is a giant clock tower thing that went you go in, leases to a lobby then leads to the angels???? Wouldn’t that make it like, easier to attack heaven or something? Why is an Angel, like the heaven angel, cursing?? I feel like that would be against the rules?? WAIT THATS ADAM LIKE FIRST HUMAN ADAM???? Oh no that worse… like like nifty she’s a cutiepie :)

Ok Hell is still overpopulated, and heaven keeps killing then because they think he’ll will overpower them, but Adam does it for entertainment? Hmmm they also going to kill again in 6 months. :/ Katie killjoy voice is also bad.. oh!!! Wait Adam lied, the real reason heaven is killing again because an Angel was killed? But an angel was never killed before??? I thought hell was very powerful?

Episode rating 1-5. I give it a 3. I like the singing, love Vaggies and Alastor’s dynamic. But the plot is a bit confusing? Is hell being kill because of overpowered or because of overpopulated? The hotel design is pretty. Though he’ll is still red :/

Episode 2

Why is hell citizen freaking out? In the pilot it seems like they like it, because people can fight over territory. And an angel was murder, so ??? Don’t see why they would panic.

The Vees. Vox, a tv head demon who is like a weird Amazon business guy. His design is…clutter. Dude, striped jacket with vertical stripes shirt? Tho thank god he’s blue, he sticks out nicely in hell. I like his blue neon eyeliner, that cool. Velvet is a British fashion designer….shes fine. I don’t really care for her. And Valentino, who’s is Angel’s boss/pimp. And oh my gosh whose voice, his accent keeps coming and going??? It’s bad I hate it, because it’s so noticeable. Interesting that he’s Spainish(?)

Vox can hypnotize people and he did a cool tv voice effect!! Oh god I think I have a favorite character??? Vox and nifty…

Ok ok ok, so there a radio demon, a tv demon, is there a computer/internet demon??? God I hope so. Imagine if there an internet demon and vox and alastor has to like put aside there differences and work together.

Why is there Egyptian demons???? Ancient Egyptian believed in an underworld called Duat, but it’s not a place of external punishment. The ancient Egyptian thought the worst punishment a soul could have would be denial to the afterlife, and being ceased to exist. The souls did have to make a dangerous journey to be judged by Horus and Osiris. (Wiki)

Vox asked Alastor to join his team?? Maybe Vox doesn’t like Velvet and Valitini that much? He seems more like a boss to them than a friend.

“And that’s the tea” :/ Why is Alastair using slang from after the 20’s? I mean sure he probably learn it in hell. But Alastor is like from 1920. That’s the tea/spilling tea is original from drag culture in 1994.

What IS Charlie’s plan to redeems sinners? Charlie was born in hell, and the sinner were from earth, surely the sinner like, know how to apologize and basic human decency? Maybe they just forgot? Maybe they need to like, clean themselves of their sin??? Idk.

Oh my god Charlie is having them do a say no to drugs roleplay!!!! ……that. Akers me wonder, how does Charlie’s know this stuff if she’s from hell? Does she learn this by watching the sinners? Did her mom or dad teach her this??? Ok, so I have seen the pilot and that seen post about that one comic about angel day to day life, and seen the addic music video. So it’s a surprise that Fat Nuggets, Angle’s pet pig is here. And that weird red smoke.

I don’t care for snake guy. He’s…neutral. Kind of suck that who snake guy being a spy was like, immediately uncovered. Kind of wished that angle was get like bummed out about the attention snake guy is getting, then later he would like, try to find out what is going on. Or something!!! But I guess having snake guy be an actual member of the team is fine. Tho, I do like his design. It’s nice to see characters that aren’t so red. Angel’s and Vaggie’s singing voice harmonies really well. Ok, this is like the first sign I actually enjoy.

Scale 1-5. I give it a 4. Only because of Vox, and that ending song.

Episode 3

Snake guy wanting to shoot the other residents because he thinks everyone is to nice and it’s a lie. That…that surprisingly a deep thought? Like I didn’t expect the show to have the residents not trust one another because they are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Also it seems like Vaggie and Alastair run the hotel, like doing up with the ad, making rules. Seems like Charlie is just the face/money aspect of the hotel. My guess is that in the future Charlie wants to quit, or is forced to to quit, and Vaggie take over, or gives like, an emotional speech about how the hotel and running it charge her for the better.

I remover in the pilot, or around that time, Alastor is aroace (nice) but I don’t remember what Vaggie is. But I can see people shipping them. For me, I could see then being close friends or maybe a weird ambiguous relationship.

Charlie you kind of a shitty boss. Like, I know I just said that vaggie does all the work, but girl, you have to do some work to?

Oh my god there do a Mean Girls trust fall bit.

Weird green spider guy….i love him. Wish this show has subtitles, would love to understand what this guy is saying..

There sub overloads? Neat. God that weird neon wolf??? Dinosaur??? Is SO distracting, like they really stick out against the reds and washout colors..

Once again, a another song without any music buildup or warning. “I’m the backbone of the Vees” hmmmmm are you tho? Like, Vox is doing a lot, and Val is….there. WAIT IS SHE the internet overboard??? She’s call “social media overlord” in one of the screen backgrounds.. god if she if, that lame. She not like, scary or imitating?? She’s just annoying. Man that sucksss. We could have like a cool internet overlord that was young and careless, but that a persona, and on the inside they are rude and vile. Because the internet has everything and anything, so they could instantly control people lives or spread rumors or doxxs people????

Idk why, but velvet sing reminds me of SIX the musical. But I know that her VA is Lily Cooper who did the SpongeBob musical and wicked , and not SIX.

Why is this lady’s earring hanging off her hair??? Do sinner/demons/whatever not have ears or noses?? Eghh I don’t like her singing?? It feel like she’s straining herself.

WAIT THE SNAKE EGG HAS EGGS BECAUSE SNAKE LAY EGGS BUT THEY ALSO EAT THEM. OHHHHH. why did that take me so long to figure that out??

Scale 1-4. I give this a 2. Idk man, this episode is kind of boring.

Episode 4

Oh dear, I hard LOT of bad things with this episode…let’s see how bad it is.

Charlie get gross out by the sex tape….asexual Charlie real. To me!!!! Also same, Charlie, same.

“Dollface” aw, cute.

Angel panicking about Charlie trying to talk to his boss. I’m guessing he’s afraid that if Charlie accidentally angers Val, Val will take his anger out on Angel. :(

Oh cool. Val hit angel. Wow!! (Sarcasm) Totally wish there was like, a warning or something for that!!!!

Hmm ok. So that song was…bad. Like lyrically bad. As for the scenes, I literally don’t know how to feel about them? Like knowing the backstories of this episode, it grosses me out. But the song and scenes, just didn’t feel anything? Idk.

I don’t think husk should get angel back?? Angel was sexually harassed him, and husk has repeatedly said no. Like yeah, angel did that has a bad coping mechanisms or like, persona, but hmmm. I feel like if they two need to talk to each other, it could be in a different way? Also I noticed this episode is SUPER short compared to the other ones. The other once’s are like 22 minutes, this one is 12.

Oh cool, husk stoped angel from getting roofied. I guess with him being a bartender, he’s train to watch out of these things.

Husk singing voice is so so nice <3 but WOW is this message a bad one. Angel sold his soul to Val, and Val abuses him. Angel then self destruct because he thinks if he (angel) is broken enough then Val will let him go. Meanwhile…..Husk was an overlord who gamble and lost his soul to Alastor…..these 2 problems don’t equal each other. One is horrible, and one is a bummer situation. Also the message for being at rock bottom, together, maybe he helped to some people, but I think in Angel’s case he needs different help. Like sometimes when people act worse with each other, it can make people not want to get better or encourage someone to get worse. I feel like that what husk and angel dynamic is?

For some reason I feel like Charlie was written really out of character here??? She crying and had to be carried away. It feels very weird.

Scale 1-4. I give this a 1. Would have have this a 0 but husk singing voice save it.

I heard that episode 5 and 6 are coming soon. Will I seen them, probably. Do I enjoy this show? Not really. The concept is cool! And like, only 3 characters I enjoy. But I feel like the way this is handled is bad. On Prime Video this show is 18+. Honestly, this show feels more like TV-14 - TV-MA. TV 14 is decried as intended for children ages 14 and up in company of an adult. It possibly contains suggesting dialogue, strong language, intense sexual situations, or intense violence.

TV MA is for adults. It possibly contains crude indecent language, explicit sexual activity, or graphic violence. On IMDb Hazbin Hotel has 19 sex and nudity, 14 gore and violence, 9 profanity, 10 alcohol, drugs and smoking, 9 fighting and intense scenes. On HBO MAX it’s 18+, TVMA, when video version, and 16+ on YouTube. So like, who is this show for???

[natsumesakasaki666]

Tiny Universe

TL note: I didn’t translate the beginning because it’s mostly just Hinata and Midori. And I could have sworn there was a translation for that part but I can’t find it. Anyways this is the translation for the second half of this story. The sleepover part :D !!!!!!

——————————-

Sora: knock knock☆ Shisho~ , Sora is here fully prepared!

Natsume: ah Sora, welcomE! Come on iN

Sora: Good evening Shisho~! And good evening to you too, great shisho~ !

Are you cleaning up? Sora will help too!

Wataru: Don’t worry about it! I'm only quickly cleaning around the bed I'll be sleeping in tonight.

Natsume: No matter how many times I scold hiM, sir knight never learns and always leaves a mESS. How troublesOME

I wish he would learn a little from Nii-chan senpAI. I probably shouldn’t complain since I am grateful that he lets me use it freely while he’s abroAD.

Natsume: So it seems that Shisho is going to use sir knight’s bED, as for yOU, Sora—

You can use Nii-chan senpai’s bED!

He’s currently away doing some film wORK. Oh and of course I asked for his permissION.

Come here when you’re done unpackING. Shisho brought an interesting movie for uS, let’s watch it togethER!

Sora: Will do! Nito-senpai, Sora will borrow your bed for a bit~♪

——a while later——

Natsume: …. a silent movie featuring one of the great comedy kiNGS. This was my first time watching it from beginning to eND.

Since there isn’t any dialogue amongst the characTERS, you can only guess it through their facial expressions and body languAGE, but it's quite easy to understand their emotiONS.How interesTING♪

Wataru: Fufufu. I’m glad that you enjoyed it. What about you, Sora-kun?

Sora: Haha~ ♪ Sora liked the circus tightroping part! Sora’s heart was beating so fast during that scene, it looked like they were about to fall!

Sora wants to try walking on a tightrope! Shisho~, someday let’s have switch do it on stage!

Natsume: that sounds nicE. How about we also have Senpai do a fire danCE…♪

Natsume: Enough of that for nOW, it’s about time to turn off the lights. Let’s get into bED.

Sora: hmmm. Sora doesn’t want to sleep yet~. Can we talk to each other in bed until we fall asleep?

Wataru: of course. I’d be happy to

——— (lights go out) ———

Natsume: The lights are ouT…? Sora, what are you fumbling with over theRE?

Sora: HiHi~♪ Sora brought something great from his room~. A projector that projects the universe onto the ceiling!

Almost done…. Set up is complete~!

Wataru: AMAZING! Constellations are shining everywhere. How wonderful!

…Natsume-kun. Shall we assist and make this even more beautiful?

Natsume: FuFU, I was just thinking the same thING♪

Sora: Wow… sparkling lights are flying all across the room! It’s Shisho~’s and Great Shisho~’s magic!

A light flew over here~. Huh? Even though it’s right in front of Sora, he can’t grab it. How strange~

Natsume: It’s an illusion created with my dreAMS, so it doesn’t have a physical entiTY. If you try to grab it, it will disappEAR.

Sora: In that case, Sora will only enjoy looking at it♪ It would be sad if it were to disappear.

…Sora wants to learn magic that makes people happy so that he can be like you two~

Is it possible to imitate it just by looking ? … …..aye!

Sora: Uuunnn, nothing happened~? Aye! Aye!

Wataru: Shall I give you a helping hand! First, I need you to picture pitch black darkness

…have you imagined it? Now then, in that darkness, try to picture a single, beautiful, memorizing light

Sora: a memorizing light….

Natsume: it can be a precious memoRY, or scenery that moved yOU.

Sora: (something that memorized Sora… a scene that moved Sora was—)

(The view from the stage where Sora stands together with Shisho~ and Senpai)

…aye!

Ah… Shisho~ , Great Shisho~ , look! Sora is able to do it too!

Although it’s a bit small and weak, Sora was able to create a light!♪

Natsume: yES. It’s far more beautiful than any of the ones I’ve creaTED.

Sora: Sora will practice more so he can create lots and lots of them~!

Yawn… Sora wants to learn magic that makes people hap……

…zzzzzz♪

Natsume: ….fuFU, I guess he got tired and fell asleEP

“I want to learn magic that makes people happy”…. Even without magIC, you have the ability to make people hapPY

Wataru: His potential is still unknown. You never know, someday he may become a “Shisho” himself who surpasses us….♪

———————————————

Bonus: here’s sleepy Sora because he’s so cute 🥹💕

[concrete-the-cat]

aGagggaaHHHHHHH i cannot watch the amazing digital circus for multiple reasons. i don't want to vent too much especially because tumblr seems to like it but it is just. beyond not my cup of tea and in a quick sentence, trying so damn hard it feels devoid of any actual life

plus i could seriously tell when i heard the announcer guy i was like 'hmmm. yeah this guy's done something as spamton before'. lo and behold i was right because that voice is just the Stereotypical Spamton One and aaaghghhg okay i'm not getting into this i'm NOT getting into this

so, in desperation to get that heavily animated behemoth out of my head, let me just spam some of a different animated youtube series that i love for a moment!!! THE OFFSHOOT!!!!

The Offshoot is a really homegrown animation series by a studio none of you have likely heard before, SCPeeps. It's set, as you might think, in the SCP universe, but exists in a different lab than the normal ones. It's got really fun, unique voice actors that I've barely heard, wonderful character design and so many inspirations that aren't rip offs of other things and are just that. Inspirations. the unique names and relationships and everything are just peak there and the humor is hilarious. It takes what normally is a dark, scary fandom (scp) and adds a light, almost nickelodeon style animation and humor to it. it's similar to how HFJONE took the humor and lightness of the OSC and added a dark theme but in reverse. it's a really beautiful series that only has it's pilot episode and i'm super hoping it continues and i can raise support for it.

[vocaloid-hcs-spam]

what's your favorite song/cover for each of the main characters on this blog?

Yes I took some time answering this because I want to get it right -

So of course I have to start with Len - my

favourite Len song is Runaway Love Song by LeleleP.

For Rin right now it is Vale by Wonderful★Opportunity! (my joint favourite producer ehe~).

Hmmm Fukase would be Revolution! by Mcki Robyn's-P, or C&C by corasundae. Depends on the day.

For Miku it'd be Look This Way, Baby by ryo (does anybody else remember the projsct diva opening with it?? aa), OR Digital Girl by KIRA, also depends on the day.

Piko would be Boku No Mono by Circus-P.

For Flower it'd be Lower (One's Eyes), thank you project sekai for that one. Sekai aside, anything by Ghost.

Gumi would have to be Platonic Girl by Mikito-P by faaarr, I love that song So Much. Second place goes to Crystalline by Circrush for nostalgia purposes.

Although I don't listen to as much Luka as I used to, I'm yet to find a song with her I don't like... So uh everything? Eheh?

I love anything Circus-P uses Kaito or Dex for, it's immediately a banger. (Really making myself look like a mega Circus fan, what can I say? He makes bops).

Extra for Dex; Honey, I'm Home by Ghost is the biggest bop that ever bopped.

As for Meiko I like her solos a normal amount, but I love her duet with Miku in Jitter Bug by Hachiya Nanashi. Any duet with Kaito is also immediately amazing too.

Ngl I don't have many Oliver songs I like but TVVS or Tattlers' Tall Tale are good.

Despite not using Yukari on here much and wanting to do it more, Imma include my favourite song, It's Seems There's A Cheat Code For Happiness (Or there's Supposed To Be A Cheat Code For Happiness, you get the picture).

And I feel bad for not mentioning my other favourite producer but Hitoshizuku & Yama don't have many solos.

(Have I missed anybody out??)

[trashyswitch]

Oh For Fox Sake!

Michael didn't expect to be given a completely separate job besides the technician job he signed up for in Circus Baby's Pizza World. Now he's sitting in an office with animatronics hunting them down. One of the animatronics happens to be another foxy abbreviation. But this one...gives him many mixed emotions...

This fanfic was suggested by an anonymous person on Tumblr. Whoever you are: I hope you enjoy!

Also, I had no clue what gender to make Lolbit. So, I just gave Lolbit the pronouns they/them/it and followed it throughout. Please let me know if I mistyped anywhere! I'll try to fix it right away.

Michael was sitting in the small private office that had been hidden in the side of one of the PizzaPlex’s auditoriums. He had been working at the Pizzeria as a technician, and was just now given a few security guard shifts. This office was surprisingly a little bigger than the vents. It was also much more darker, and had PizzaPlex merchandise hidden on the table. It even had a black fan roaring away on the desk. Learning from general online rumors, every office that was built within every building made by Fazbear Entertainment, would have Fazbear merchandise and a fan. Some person named [Fitz-coward] on a public chat room called it the ‘Fazfan’. A few other people had given their own opinion on the ‘fazfan’ and even made jokes about it. It was kinda funny at first. But now that it had relevance on a personal level, it actually made sense.

It’s amazing what a few bouts of curiosity will lead you to find…And those poor guys...They’ve probably dealt with so much fear after that job.

Michael checked the tablet and checked the cameras that were available to him. He had to keep an eye on a couple specific animatronics such as Ennard, Funtime Freddy with tiny Bonbon, and Lolbit. Michael hadn’t even heard of Lolbit until this point. Who in the heck was Lolbit?! Only when he saw the orange animatronic staring at him through the hall camera, did he get his answer. It looked to be a twin version of Funtime Foxy. But was it Foxy’s brother? Or sister? What gender even was it? Now that he thought about it: What gender is Foxy?!

Michael heard sounds coming from the left hallway, and noticed that Lolbit was back with its jaw open and ready to crush. Michael bit his lip and closed the door on it. Out of this room! Begone! Scat! Leeeeaaave! He was not in the mood for Lolling around.

Hehehe...Lolling…

Michael looked at the hallways and groaned. Ennard’s broken body was on his way too. Wonderful… Michael kept his hand on the open door and made sure to leave some time to close it on the evil monstrosity. Michael looked over at the other hallway, and noticed that Lolbit was gone. So closed went the right door, and open went the left. Ennard was now locked out, and Lolbit was long gone.

Michael smiled and checked the right door to make sure Ennard was unable to get in. When he was sure, Michael relaxed slightly.

One thing Michael noticed was just how quickly the day seemed to be going. It was already 3:30 and the animatronics were being at least a little more behaved. It’s weird and usually worrisome whenever he does anything involving the animatronics. Whether it’s a loving animatronic like Funtime Freddy and BonBon, or a vengeful animatronic like Ennard, Michael didn’t wanna have anything to do with either. He’s seen enough of the animatronics behaviour to say “I’m out”.

And yet...here he was: back at it again with more shifts.

Hearing sounds, Michael closed the left door again. But suddenly, an ear-deafening bang overwhelmed Michael’s ears.

A few seconds later, another loud bang went off.

...And another.

One last bang filled his pain-filled ears as the huge metal door he closed earlier, started to fall in front of him. Michael shrieked and covered his ears, watching in horror as the huge door came crashing down just inches in front of him. Michael was visibly shaking from the super loud noises. His ears were ringing as well. It was like a gun just went off beside his ear multiple times!

Just as the metal sound slowly stopped echoing throughout the room, some loud and boyish laughter filled the office. “HOHAHAHAHAha! Now I bet you weren’t ex-xpecting ME, now WERE you? OhOHOHOhahaha!” a manic voice asked.

Michael widened his eyes in horror as he scooted to the corner of the room. “No...NO!”

“Oh YES! HAHAHAHAhah! You-u RECOGNIZE ME! DONTCHA?” They asked.

Michael grabbed his flashlight and started flashing it nonstop into the animatronic’s eyes. “Get out of here! This is MY private spot!”

Lolbit walked closer and hit the flashlight right out of his hands. “Su-Such a BAAABY…” Lolbit muttered out loud. “Hmmm...Maybe try ha-A-A-arder next time! HAHAhaHAHAHaha!” It suggested.

“I DID try harder! YOU’RE the one who broke the door down!” Michael argued.

The animatronic looked down and chuckled awkwardly. “O-Oh yeah! I forgot about tha-A-at!” It reacted.

Michael sighed. “Just please Lolbit...Go.”

The animatronic smiled and walked closer and closer to Michael just to spite him. “Since WHE-E-EN could you tell ME what to do? You’ve got qui-I-I-ite the NERVE!” Lolbit reacted.

“Yeah, I do! And I learned it on my own, thank you very much.” Michael added.

“My My! Such a ta-A-A-alker! I wonder: Does that mo-0-O-outh of yours have a benefit?” Lolbit asked.

“Sometimes. I could use it to lead you away so that I don’t end up dying tonight.” Michael reworded.

“HAhahahAHAHAha! Be ca-A-areful what you wi-I-I-ish for~!” Lolbit teased.

Michael raised an eyebrow.

Lolbit knelt down and picked up Michael by the armpits. Michael shrieked in horror and quickly started wiggling and fighting it. “HEY! GET OFF ME! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!” Michael shouted.

“Haaaaa...And what will you do-O-O if I DON’T?” Lolbit asked with a sly voice.

“I’ll-I’ll tickle you!” Michael shot back without even properly thinking.

Lolbit widened its eyes and stared at Michael.

“Y-Yeah! I’ll do it! I’m not afraid to tickle you!” Michael added, adding wiggling fingers as he went along with it. “Unless you’re not ticklish…”

Lolbit stared off into the space within Michael’s eyes, and only blinked once out of awkwardness...Then, the fox full on dropped Michael where he was. Michael grunted as he landed on his butt onto the slightly dusty ground.

“Ow…” Michael muttered. “Wait, really?” Michael reacted suddenly. Lolbit turned right around and started to speed walk their way outta there. But Michael quickly pulled himself together and grabbed Lolbit’s foot. “Gotcha!”

“aAAA-A-A-AAAH! HEY! I LET YOU GO!” Lolbit yelled at him.

“Yeah, and that made me curious!” Michael replied. “I might’ve been originally joking when I said that. But the moment you dropped me and tried to run, I HAD to find out if animatronics were ticklish.” Michael told it. “Or, if they can simulate being ticklish.” Michael added. “Same difference in my opinion.”

Lolbit leaned against the wall and shook their leg. “Get off me-E-E!” it yelled.

“No way!” Michael replied. He took advantage of the exposed foot and skittered his fingers on it. “Tickle tickle~”

Lolbit shrieked with voice glitches in between, and threw Michael right off the leg with a strong kick. Michael went flying, and ended up hitting his back against the wall on the other side of the office. Michael groaned and laid on his back for a moment, trying to make sure he didn’t break his back or injure it further. When Michael could feel his legs and see his feet reacting to his movements, Michael sat back up and stood. “Ow...All that because you’re sensitive?” Michael asked.

Lolbit pointed at him. “Stop that!” It ordered. “O-Or I’ll get you back!” Lolbit warned.

Michael looked at himself and smirked. “Sounds like a sacrifice worth taking in my opinion!” Michael sprinted up to Lolbit and dove for them. Lolbit shrieked like a freaking witch, and tried to run away. But Michael had an unfair headstart and had managed to grab hold of its orange and white tail! “LE-e-ET GO-”

Michael managed to shut up the fox with a single squeeze to the side. It helped that Lolbit came with curvy, dented plates on both lower sides! Cause otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have been able to squeeze there.

“HEheheEHEHEY! HAHANDS OHOHohohOFF!” Lolbit yelled.

“Why would I do that when I have a ticklish fox in my arms?” Michael asked back. “This is fun!”

Lolbit shook their head. “IHIHIS NAHAhahaAHAHAT!”

Michael chuckled. “A little reminder that you kicked me across the room just a couple minutes ago. You are much stronger than me. So if you really hated it So MuCh…” Michael moved his fingers up to the middle ribs- “You could easily stop me.” Michael concluded.

“IHIHIT’S A-A-AGAINST MY COHOHODE TOHO HUHURT YOHOHOHOU!” Lolbit yelled.

“Is it now?” Michael asked. “It’s against my code to damage you even minorly! We both have the same laws.” Michael admitted. “And yet: you’ve kicked me already. So you would’ve already ‘hurt’ me. But notice this: no one gave you a controlled shock for throwing me. Therefore:” Michael moved to Lolbit’s orange belly. “Yooouuu kinda like it~”

Lolbit squealed and doubled over. Sensing they were gonna fall, Lolbit pushed Michael out of the way and allowed itself to flop onto its side. “Nohoho...Nohoho moho-O-ohore.” Lolbit begged.

Michael fell a bit backwards, but didn’t hit the ground very hard this time. He got up and looked at Lolbit with interest. “You...saved me.” Michael reacted.

“You’re a hu-U-U-uman! Of COURSE I saved you!” Lolbit opened its jaw. “Ihihi-I-I would be in big trouble if I-i-I damaged you under my care.” Lolbit admitted.

Michael smiled at that. “Thanks for saving me from being crushed.” Michael told it.

Lolbit giggled. “Are you ca-A-alling me fat?” Lolbit asked jokingly.

Michael widened his eyes and covered his mouth. “NO! NO WAY! I would never call you fat! ESPECIALLY intentionally!” Michael reacted loudly.

Lolbit bursted out laughing. “HAHAHAhahahahAHAHA! Yohohou’re so GULLiBLE! It’s HI-i-ILARIOUS!” Lolbit reacted, leaning over and laughing towards the ground.

Michael smirked. “You wanna laugh, huh? Alright! Let’s laugh.” Michael crawled back up to the fox and grabbed the ankle. Lolbit’s giggles quickly paused and were replaced with shrieked of artificial fear! “Wa-A-ait!” Lolbit yelled.

Michael started tickling the underside of the feminine-looking foot almost right away. Lolbit started kicking their other foot and covered its snout as it laughed with glitches in between. “HEHEHEHE-e-EHEY! NAHAHAT THEHEheheheHEHEHERE!” Lolbit protested.

“Why not? Ticklish foot, much?” Michael teased.

“Whahahahat dohoho YOHOhoHOU THIHI-i-IHINK?!” Lolbit shot back.

Michael gasped and paused for a moment. “You’ve got quite the NERVE!” Michael reacted, referencing Lolbit’s words from earlier. Michael even made his voice slightly scratchy and higher to make it sound similar to Lolbit’s for the next words: “Such a BAAABY…”

Lolbit bursted out laughing more. “AAHAHAHAHahahaHAHA! THAHAT WA-a-AHAS TEHEHERRIBLE!” Lolbit reacted.

“Oh! Was it now?” Michael reacted. He moved up to Lolbit’s cute, flat and decorated toes. “It couldn’t have been THAT bad, could it?” Michael teased.

Lolbit threw their head back and started letting out fits of glitchy cackles. “NOHOHOHO-o-o-OHOHOhohoho! TOHOHO-o-O MUHU-H-H-huhuHUHuch!” Lolbit yelled to him.

Michael just laughed with them. “Wohohow! Your laugh is going all over the place! It doesn’t know what it’s doing!” Michael teased, pausing his tickling to show them. “It’s up here! Then it’s down here! It goes from SO LOUD, TO super soft...soooo soft...And THEN IT JUMPS UP AGAIN!” Michael teased much more dramatically.

Lolbit shook their head back and forth and kept kicking their other foot. “IHIHI CAHahahahaAHAHAn’T HEHE-e-E-e-EHEHELP IHIhihIHIHIT!” Lolbit yelled back.

“Well duh! Of course you can’t help it! It’s like my snorting! I can’t help it either! But it’s still funny!” Michael added.

Lolbit gently pushed Michael away with its foot on his chest. “Ohohokahay, thahat’s ehe-E-ehehenough.” Lolbit ordered.

“Ey ey, captain.” Michael replied with a salute.

“Hehehey now: I ain’t the captain around here.” Lolbit sat up and looked at Michael. “Foxy is the legenda-A-ary captain aro-O-O-ound these parts!” Lolbit mentioned.

“Really now?” Michael reacted.

“Yeah! AhehEHEHEhehehe! Indeed he is! He’s a version of the original! A family of Foxy’s! I’m more of a-A-a second-in-command!” Lolbit admitted.

“You’re still important though. I think you’re still important.” Michael mentioned.

Lolbit’s ears perked up. “Hey! Thanks ki-I-id! You’re quite swell yerself!” Lolbit replied.

Michael smiled. “Thank you.”

The two of them sat in silence for a bit. It was a good silence, though a little uncomfortable. They just didn’t really know what to say. Lolbit’s break-in was a success, and Michael’s questions were already answered.

Though there was one last question…

“Hey Lolbit?” Michael asked. Lolbit looked up at Michael and lifted their ears up a little. “How come I haven’t seen you until now?” Michael asked.

Lolbit’s ears and snout both fell at that question. Lolbit tapped their orange fingernail on the ground as they came up with an answer. “Well...Foxy wa-A-as adored more by kids. Kids L-L-loved a purple and pink fox better than an orange fox.” Lolbit replied.

Michael’s curious face morphed into a hurt expression.

“And I didn’t mat-AT-atch the other guys.” Lolbit added.

Michael frowned at that. “Well, Circus Baby doesn’t match the general aesthetic either.” Michael added.

Lolbit looked at Michael out of the corner of its black, void eyes. “Circus Baby is-s dangerous. She-E broke the rule. She no-NO-no longer entertains.” Lolbit admitted.

Michael hummed curiously. He began to wonder what exactly Circus Baby did to get so badly in trouble. But, knowing his father and his motives…

Maybe it’s a good thing he doesn’t know the specifics.

Lolbit looked back up at Michael. “I ha-A-ave a question.” They told him. Michael looked up and gave Lolbit his full attention. “Is it tru-TrUE that you snort when you laugh?” Lolbit asked.

Michael’s eyes widened as he processed the question. Oh no…

Michael quickly tried to scoot back and run away. But Lolbit was one step ahead of him. Lolbit had grabbed Michael’s ankle and had pulled him closer. “Hey now! HAHAheheheHaHA!” Lolbit put their hands around his waist. “You’re not go-GOing ANYWHERE! HEheheHEHEHEE!” Lolbit declared, laughing themself silly as they used their dark eyes to scan for tickle spots. “You had your at-AT-attack! Now it’s MY TU-TURN! AHUHUHuhuhUHUHUUU!” Lolbit declared proudly. Lolbit immediately started out with quick scratches on the belly. “Tickle tickle s-security guard~” Lolbit teased.

Michael squealed and covered his mouth in an attempt to prevent any laughs or snorts from coming out. Lolbit noticed this and immediately pinned one of Michael’s arms above his head. “AhahahaHAHAHAAA! No che-CHE-cheating on my watch!” Lolbit declared. “And just for that:” Lolbit started tickling in Michael’s now vulnerable armpit.

Michael threw his head back and LAUGHED! “BAHAAAHAHAHAhahaha! NAHAT THEHEHERE! NAHAHAT THEHEHEHERE!” Michael yelled.

“Oooooh! Why not? HEHEHEhehehe! Ti-TI-ticklish armpit, much?” Lolbit teased, saying the same thing Michael used on him. “I guess you could sa-say THIS ticklish spot is u-UNDER investigation~” Lolbit said as the fox poked its finger further into Michael’s armpit.

Michael whined. “Thahahat Whahahas TEHEHEHERRIBLE!” Michael complained.

“Wo-Would you say it was punny?” lolbit asked. Or maybe…” Lolbit poked Michael’s shoulder- “Huuuumerus~?”

Michael shook his head and pushed against his snout. “STAHAHAHAP!”

“Wow! I didn’t know my jo-jokes were so…” Lolbit moved their fingers to Michael’s ribs and started digging and skittering. “Riiib-tickling~! AHAHAhahahahaHUUUU!”

Michael threw his head back and cackled loudly with snorts mixed in.

“Oh WOOOW! You really DO SNORT! You-ou must be the life of the PARTY! Or maybe even the life of the PORKY~?” Lolbit teased.

“SHUHUHUT UHUHUHUP!” Michael shouted at him.

“HAHAhahaHAHA! Why would I do that when I could ke-keep making animal jokes?” Lolbit asked rhetorically as they moved their metal nails up and down the ribs. “Be-Besides: Fazbear Entertainment should have made me-ME a parrot! Cause I am a HOOT! I KEET you not!” Lolbit teased.

Michael growled and shook his head. “IHIHIHI HAHAHAHATE THEHEHEM!” Michael shouted. “THEHEHEY’RE SOHOHOHO BAHAHAHAD!”

“Hate them?! But look!” Lolbit poked his mouth. “You‘re smil-iling! And you’re laughing at them! And tha-that with your piggy snorts mixed in, is a real tweet~! Ahahaha!” Lolbit joked.

Lolbit narrowed its eyes and brought its snout closer to Michael. “Ohoho...Excuse me- does it look like I ha-HA-have a black beard to you?!” Lolbit reacted all sassy. Michael giggled more at the fox’s reaction. “Ooooh...You’re trying to toy with the robot! I seeee says the blind man!” Lolbit reacted. Lolbit started tickling Michael’s sides this time. “And I feeeel your fingers, says the nerveless Nellie~” Lolbit added.

Michael yelped and groaned through his new fit of laughter. “HEHehehehey! *snort* THAHAhahahat’s nohohohot- *snort* hohohow ihihihit gohohohoes!” Michael protested.

“Ohoho alright. Ihi-I suppose that pun was a bit of a stretch.” Lolbit decided before finally letting Michael go.

Michael went limp and started panting right away. There were still phantom tickles plaguing him, causing him to giggle and squirm through his shallow breathing.

“I suppose I should be band from funny boneville?” Lolbit finished off.

“Ihihi will shohohock you.” Michael warned with an uncontrollable giggle.

“Ohohoho! How enlightening! Perhaps even frightening!” Lolbit teased.

Lolbit finally stopped with the puns the moment Michael squeezed their sides. There were just too many puns all at once. Perhaps they would be all over now…

No fox were given during the making of this Fazfan-fic. Are these puns bad enough for you, anon? XD

[captaincravatthecapricious]

Crutches- Prompt Fill

cw broken bones, food, internalized ableism, dizziness, headaches

Card by the wonderful @celosiaa! I am still accepting bingo prompts! Please send me more because the starred ones are back written already! Send me a prompt and a character and let me know if you want a drawing or writing!

Navigating the London underground on crutches had been trying to say the least.  But, Jon has gotten very good at navigating it with his cane, so out of sheer spite, he managed it without incident. 

He is still clumsy on them, and by the time he reaches the university, he is more than out of breath, having to stop and use his inhaler before he can reach his classroom.  (He will not be sharing that information with Martin, no way.  He is Fine, and that would only cause worry, and Martin has enough to worry about being an EMT).  

Of course the annoying thing is that he broke his Good leg.  

Of course he manages to break his one more functional leg.  What a very Jonathan Sims thing to do.  

He sighs.  He does not want to explain this to his students.  (And he certainly doesn’t want to explain this to Tim and Sasha, but of course they are coming over for dinner.  Actually… he’s grateful that they don’t already know.  Somehow he actually managed to calm Martin down and talk him out of calling them.  Jon leaned hard into the look I’m fine!  It’s a clean break!  It hardly hurts!  It’s fine!  I’ve had much worse, please don’t fuss!  I’m still conscious and everything! Thing.)

Frankly, it’s embarrassing.  

He misses the days where he would just… heal.  

He might still.  Well, he certainly would the old fashion way, but his recovery might be faster than normal.  Physical injuries are still a little aided by his connection to the Eye, however weakened that connection might be.  Doesn’t do Shit for illnesses, but as much as his EDS causes him to bruise, the bruises don’t stick around for too long.  

Just have to wait and see.  

His students stare.  

Jon shivers.  

He tries not to think about the Institute.  He tries not to think about the prickle on the back of his neck… the feeling of eyes on him when there was no one around.  Don’t be daft, Jonathan, you can see the students right there.  You can see their eyes.  You are just their odd professor who looks even more haggard and beat up than usual.  

He Feels much more haggard than usual.  And he’s shaking from the albuterol.  

“Professor, what happened?” One of his students ask as he maneuvers the podium so he can drop his bag.  

He curses at the lack of chair in the lecture hall.  He’s asked for one.  Repeatedly.  And he’s dragged his office chair in with him before, but… he doesn’t exactly have the hands to do it.  

He has to balance on one leg to dig is computer out so he can connect it to the projector.  

“I’m fine,” he answers automatically.  He was.  He is.  Just tripped like the idiot he is, and broke his good leg.  His bad leg had been throbbing since he got on the tube.  

He ignores it.  

His students eye him with clear suspicion.  Which… Jon would have worried about if… they weren’t perfectly justified.  

They had seen him faint many times, pop his hip back in place, watched him dislocate and relocate his arm, and there was the time he had the concussion, and the time he had a migraine and had fainted when someone tapped him on the shoulder, and the time when he had come to class feverish.  

These students have called Martin so many times by now.  

He deserves those cautions glances.  These kids (not really kids, but sue him, they look like kids in his eyes) are ready to call him on his bullshit.  

“I fell the other day.  I’ll be fine.  Just a broken tibia.  I’ll be fine in couple months.  Let’s get on with the lesson.”

One kid raises their hand, and Jon calls on them.  “Yes?”

“Professor Blackwood-Sims, isn’t that your good leg?”

Damn these overly observant students.  If only they payed that much attention to his lectures.  (No, that’s not fair, they are all good students.  The ones who struggle, have good reason to, and Jon has managed to get them to all come talk to him and tell him what they need to do better).  

Jon smiles tightly.  “Well… it was.  Okay, on with the lecture.”

His leg hurts.  The not broken one.  The broken one… well that hurts a little too, but not nearly as much as the one full of holes.  (They are both full of holes, but one was wormed much more thoroughly and hasn’t been the same since.)

Balancing on one leg proves difficult as he’s hit by dizziness.  He’s been standing too long.  Too long on his bad leg, and the tension and pain have given him a headache bad enough that he’s had one of his students turn off the lights.  He can’t face the light of the projector, so he gives the lecture angling away from it.  

One of his students offers to run the PowerPoint so he can sit in one of the desks as he teaches, but he turns her down.  There are only a few minutes left.  He can make it.  Then he can get home and take some painkillers and shower before Tim and Sasha come to dinner.  

He knows he can cancel, but he doesn’t want to.  He’s more dreading having explain what happened.  

He reaches the flat quickly enough.  He should have time to shower and cook.  He hopes.  

He swallows some painkillers dry (just a few so he can still take more before bed and not worry Martin by pushing the recommended doses too far) and works his way out of his work clothes while sitting on the bed.  It isn’t fun.  

He swallows his pride and uses the shower seat.  He hates it.  He hates that he needs it, yes, but honestly it’s more an issue with the textured plastic under his naked skin.  It feels… wrong.  Both because it reminds him of the circus, and because it’s just a bad texture.  It also feels gross… as in unclean.  He cleans it vigorously often, but it still doesn’t feel clean to him.  

Between the headache, and the dizziness from the hot water and several nights of poor sleep (from nightmares and trying to sleep with a cast on which gave him More nightmares), and the pain in both his legs, Jon fights back the darkness around the edges of his vision.  

He will Not pass out now.  

No.  

Will not happen.  No thank you.  No.  

He fights to keep upright and conscious.  And, surprisingly, wins that battle.  He sits on the bed again while dressing, and while braiding his hair. 

It takes him a long time.  There is a lot of hair to work with, and his scalp hurts with the intensity of his headache.  He also dallies, the more time this takes, the longer he can sit.  He should consider dragging a chair in front of the counter and a chair in front of the stove.  That could make cooking less painful.  

Well, in some ways.  

The unnatural angles are hell on his wrists when chopping.  

Lesser of two evils, however, he supposes.  

Shit.  He isn’t going to have time to finish dinner by the time Tim and Sasha arrive.  

And Martin isn’t going to be home for another hour.  He knows, he knows (not Knows, though), that they won’t mind.  Tim might even Help him cook, but… he doesn’t like being a bother.  He wants… well frankly he wants to erase the years of hurt with food (Christ, Martin has worn off on him.  Not that he minds.  He loves Martin).  

The sauce is almost done, but he hasn’t even started the pasta by the time Tim’s voice drifts through the door.  Sing-song and loud.  No knocking (thankfully).  

Jon hates that he needs the crutches to get to the door.  He hates that his vision is swimming by then too.  The painkillers took the edge off the pain, but can’t do much about the other stresses on Jon’s mortal frame.  

“Be there in a moment, or you can just let yourself in,” Jon calls back.  He has to pause and lean on the wall.  This is all very irritating.  

Apparently, Tim had already been halfway through unlocking the door, because he’s in before Jon can even finish the sentence.  

“Jesus, Jon, what did you do this time?”  Sasha exclaims, quickly, but gracefully pulling off her coat, hanging it on one of the hooks by the door.  It’s less a question than a statement.  

“Hello Sasha, Tim.  Dinner isn’t quite ready, but it’s not too far away.  In the meantime there’s wine.  Martin will be here soon, but his shift isn’t over yet.”  His eyes are closed.  Head tilted back against the wall.  The room finally stops spinning around him.  

“What did you even do?”  Tim this time.  

Jon… doesn’t meet his eyes.  He knows he is blushing, but there isn’t much to be done about that.  He mumbles.  He doesn’t know why.  He knows it won’t work.  Shoving out the words too fast to be understood.  

“What was that Jonny?”  That is a cackle.  Tim is cackling.  Tim, is very irritating… but he does love him, even when he’s teasing.  

“Tripped over my cane.”  Jon says as quickly and quietly as possible.  

“Only you, buddy.  Only You, could do something like that.  Now PLEASE SIT DOWN BEFORE YOU FALL OVER.  I can finish making dinner!”  Tim herds him to a chair.  In the kitchen, because Jon knows that Tim knows Jon won’t actually relax on the couch or the bed if he’s told to.  

“Okay, Jon, what’s left to do… No buts!  This smells amazing and I can’t fuck up pasta, probably.  At least I assume you planned pasta, because there is a box on the counter.”  Sasha says this brandishing aforementioned pasta.  

Sasha makes him tea.  Tim makes the pasta.  (Tim is absolutely the chief between the two of them.)  

“When did you last have painkillers?”  Tim asks.  

“Not too long ago.  Really I’m fine.”

Tim hmmms.  

Jon finds himself nodding off at the table by the time Martin comes home.  

He knows he’s being talked about.  

“Hey, sweetheart.  Hey?”

Jon sleepily raises his head from the table.  “Sorry, I went to work.”  

“Love, I thought you were going to Zoom in today.”  Martin doesn’t sound Angry.  But he doesn’t sound happy about this.  In Jon’s defense, he did say he would see how he felt, and he felt fine in the morning.  

Jon whines, he hates disappointing Martin.  

“We can talk about that tomorrow.”  Martin presses a kiss to his forehead.  

“Hey!  No sleeping until we eat!”  Tim.  Mock serious.  Although he will be very serious if Jon tries to skive off to sleep without some food.  

“Dinner, then I vote we cuddle Jon until he gets some rest!”  Sasha this time.  

Just like old times.  

He knows he will be teased for How he broke his leg.  He knows he and Martin will have a serious chat about him pushing himself.  

But for now there is food, and cheer, and his loved ones.  

[river-bottom-nightmare]

there are some amazing DCU/MCU crossovers though! do every stupid thing series with jason todd and tony stark and bucky barnes (and other bats are there a little) is fantastic and also, winter quarters about dick grayson and clint barton meeting every year as kids in the circus in winter. both are sooooo good!

hmmm like actually babe? bc i can see jason and bucky bonding, but i'm not so sure about tony stark. then again, i have a very niche idea of who comics tony is and i'm not really that flexible with him lmao.

dick and clint is a wonderful duo, esp since they've got that tendency to be famous for doing that One Specific Thing they're famous for (archery, acrobatics), when in reality they're both incredibly dangerous and skilled individuals in so many different aspects. plus, circus kids! i mean clint did live in an orphanage for like 5 or 6 years (i forget) and dick grew up in haly's but!!! there is connection there.

i may have to check those fics out, thanks for the recc!

WAIT FUCK I JUST REALIZED YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MCU NOT MARVEL. sd;ghsijgrghaerhigaer ok my opinion just went down but i'll still try those fics out and see what i think

[clearsky]

My Top Comfort Characters/Kins and My Main HCs For Them

(Note, not all my kins/comfort characters are on here, just the ones I have more than 5 hcs for)

CW: Korekiyo Shinguji (DRV3), Himiko Yumeno (DRV3), Shinsou Hitoshi (BNHA), Kyoko Kirigiri (THH), Tsuyu Asui (BNHA), Entrapta (Spop), Ibuki Mioda (SDR2), Celestia Ludenberg (THH), Funtime Foxy (FNAF), Peril (WOF)

Korekiyo Shinguji (DRV3)

Nonbinary

He/They pronouns

Autistic

Chains and loose accessories are for stimming

Likes the feeling of silk and cotton

Can't stand the feeling of anything rough or bumpy

He likes collecting small trinkets and the bones of small mammals

Can't stand anything salty. He'll eat it but he certainly won't enjoy it

Dating Rantaro

Can flirt, but only if he doesn't try

Petnames are a hell yea

Gets sunburnt really easily

Group dates with Celesnaegiri and Ikuzono

Can't cook for s h i t

Had a scene kid phase in middle school

Went to the same middle school as Celeste and Maki

Knew them when Celeste went through her "I'm not like other girls" phase and Maki was a Band Kid™

Himiko Yumeno (DRV3)

Female

She/Her pronouns

Lesbian

Can force herself to fall asleep within seconds regardless of where she is

100% forces herself to fall asleep when she doesn't wanna listen/talk to someone

Himiko/Angie/Tenko relationship. I'm calling them the Traffic Light Trio

She likes taking naps in the forest

She prefers enclosed/tight spaces more than open ones

Has several hundred stress balls and squishies laying around

She overheats easy

Shinsou Hitoshi (BNHA)

Questioning his gender, but goes by any pronouns

Knows he's Asexual, at least

Has no clue what his romantic orientation is though

The kind of person to carry treats in his pocket just in case he runs into a cat

Will stop to pet literally every cat he comes across

Great at reading people

Doesn't talk unless it's 100% needed

Hangs with Tokoyami, Jirou, and Denki most often

Aizawa has 100% unofficially adopted him

Fosters kittens

Not a big fan of physical touch

He is 100% in the bakusquad. Anyone who says he's in the Dekusquad is a c o w a r d

He and Tsuyu vibe

Knows a bunch of random facts

Dark humour? Dark humour

*skates backwards into his therapist's room slowly sipping from an absurdly huge cup of coffee* Candice you're not gonna BELIEVE the shit I just went through

In case I forgot to mention it, he skates

Kyoko Kirigiri (THH)

Mtf

She/Her

Bi with female preference

Burns go up to her shoulders/collarbone/chest

Prefers to just listen as opposed to saying anything

Knows a ton of random trivia about everyone else in her class

She keeps a notebook she fills with all the trivia

Doesn't celebrate her birthday. She just doesn't see the point of it

Doesn't hate sugar/sweets, but if given the choice she would choose literally everything else

Cuts her own hair

A cat person

Permanent dark circles

T-Tall 😳

Like,,, 6'1 at LEAST

Only person taller than her is Yasuhiro (6'3)

Canon no longer exist

Ahahaha healthy life habits? What are those?

Can't handle horror games

She's the kind of person you'd go to if you needed to rant but didn't want any advice

Polyamourous yo

Celeste/Kyoko/Makoto

She's a dom yall are just scared to admit it

Tsuyu Asui (BNHA)

They go by They/Them

Lesbian

They and Ochaco are dating

They like to hang with Shinsou

Which mainly just means the two sitting in one of their dorms in near total silence doing whatever

Can speak English and French as well as Japanese

Learned English from cartoons

Picked up French bc they thought it'd be fun

Prefers to stay neutral in the whole Bakusquad / Dekusquad thing

They're invited to all outings/events by/for both squads

They like puns

They're a dumbass but willingly, and for fun

Like "someone says they like dark humour and they'll turn off the lights before telling a joke" kind dumbass for fun

Great at poker

Likes Disney Movies

Very touchy once you get close enough

Not in a sexual way, just likes physical contact

Especially fond of piggyback rides and cuddles

Extreme fear of needles

Entrapta (She-Ra)

She/Her or It/Its

Doesn't bother trying to figure out whether she's cis, trans, nonbinary, or what

Was AMAB though

Short as fuck (4'7)

Strong as fuck though

Cuddle game strong

Physical touch is a fuck yes

Cuddles

Piggyback rides

Hugs

Anything where she's touching someone is wonderful in her book

As long as she's the one that initiates it

Anyone else touching her without her permission makes her freak

Prefers being high up

Makes it harder for anyone to sneak up on her

An ace at video games

When it comes to sexuality she just says she's Questioning

Ibuki Mioda (SDR2)

Any pronouns + Pup/Pupself + It/Its

No idea what their gender is otherwise

Biromantic Asexual

Just likes sexual jokes

Gets distracted easily

Has severe hearing problems

She's plays her instruments as loud as possible, with the amp right next to her, without ANY ear protection

It's caused some damage

She talks so loud bc she has no idea how loud is considered acceptable

Wears hearings aids most of the time

Several piercings and tattoos

Likes hearing things jingle

She has a bracelet with a few bells hanging from it

She'll shake it whenever she's bored

LOVES hair accessories

Ribbons are a particular favourite

Occasionally she'll hang little charms from her hair "horns"

The kind of person who never takes any pills/medicine bc she keeps forgetting she has to

Frequently uses emojis

Skates everywhere but she isn't very good at it

She keeps crashing into everything

Has broken every bone in her body at least 3 times

Most of which was bc she keeps trying to kick in doors and skating down the stairs

Celestia Ludenberg (THH)

Nonbinary

Any pronouns, mainly goes by She/They

Bi, 70:30

Collects mini hand sanitizers and can tabs

Has single handedly gotten Mario Kart, Mario Party, Monopoly, Uno, and Clue banned a grand total of 17 times (and counting)

The kind of person to purposefully target someone regardless of what game was being played

Favourite victim is Byakuya (bc he gets so upset about it and she finds that hilarious)

Mains Waluigi

Celeste/Kyoko/Makoto

Has several banned Twitter accounts bc whenever she's bored she'll start discourse on purpose

Hangs with Korekiyo, Ibuki, Byakuya, Yasuhiro, and Leon most often

It's a weird friend group but everyone's sorta gotten used to it

She and Byakuya gamble together occasionally

She tries to avoid it bc he'll willingly blow his entire fortune in an attempt to beat her

Autustic

Can't stand the feeling of water

Mainly bc she can't swim for shit

Horror movies? Hates them

Gets flustered super easily

Taka is her twin brother

Kotoko, Kokichi, and Gundham are their half siblings (Same father)

Peko and Toko are their cousins

She sucks ass at go fish

Fuck canon she's 4'11 now

C h u b b y

Freckles

Once she gets comfortable enough with herself she dyes her hair in the peekaboo style

Either black and red or black and blonde

Haven't decided yet

I'll be doing Celesnaegiri hcs as a seperate post but I just feel it's important for you to know that she expresses her affection verbally and is a very touchy person

Went to middle school with Maki and Korekiyo

Has horrible eyesight

She wears contacts most of the time but she always puts off buying more

After the 5th or so time she ended up blindly stumbling around a week after her contacts ran out Kyoko convinced her to buy glasses as well

Religious accessories yo

Like chokers and dangly earrings with crosses and pentagrams and shit

Likes wearing wacky earrings

Can run and do all sorts of tricks in heels

She and Mukuro are exes yo

Keeps her hair short so it's easier to manage

Hair never gets longer than her shoulders if she can help it

She seems like the kind of person who'd keep her bangs grown past her eyes regardless of how frustrating or inconvenient it is

She's a sub yall just don't wanna admit it

Funtime Foxy (FNAF)

I'm going on the record to say this

Funtime Foxy is genderfluid and that is that

Goes by Funtime

Any pronouns, They/Them most commonly

Plays music (keyboard and guitar mainly)

They and Funtime Freddy (Freds) mainly play with the kids

Freds mainly tells stories with Bonbon while Funtime more so plays one-on-one

Has nicknames for everyone

Circus Baby - Ringleader

Ballora - Bells

Funtime Freddy - Partner

Bon Bon - Bun

Peril (WOF)

I like both Nonbinary She/They Peril and Mtf She/Her Peril

They're both such good concepts

She's a lesbian, Harold

She only had a crush on Clay bc he was pretty much everything she was supposed to like in a guy

Gimme a moment while I force all my mental disorders onto this poor child

Autistic, Anxiety (Social anxiety, mainly, but she has most types), Adhd, PTSD

I'd like to reiterate yet again that She's a lesbian

Sunny and Glory were her gay awakening

Peril in Book 1: Damn, Sunny and Glory sure are pretty. Anyone would be lucky to date them. Clay would probably go for them over me. He would be stupid if he didn't. I myself would willingly date them over someone like me. They're just so pretty :(

Peril waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of arc 2: WAIT-

Rarepair alert but Peril/Sora

Peril meeting Sora: "Hmmm She's attractive. I would love to date her. Too bad I'm straight and in love with her brother lmao :P"

Peril, a mere month later, waiting for Ruby to leave Jade Mountain, pacing in her cave, running face first into a wall: WAIT-

I remember reading this one amazing story where Sora taught Peril to read/write and Peril found out she set off the bomb and comforted her/convinced her her run so that's canon now

Btw if anyone can remember what that story was called/what platform it was on and could tell me I'd appreciate it very much

I'd even be willing to draw a character of your's or make you an icon or something

I usually don't accept requests bc I get burnt out easy but this is a special case

She runs into Sora again sometime between the beginning of TOP and the end

I like to imagine she just goes wandering around

Anyway she confesses like a mere few minutes after running into her again bc Peril is just subtle like that

The actual confession takes 15 minutes and the entire time Sora is just sitting here like "👁👄👁 sure"

Bam Peril/Sora

Peril plans to keep it a secret for a little while longer but she spends 3 seconds around Clay and pretty much blurts it out

Clay, who wasn't even aware that Peril was a lesbian, is just "👁👄👁"

I wanna say Clay doesn't know what a lesbian is but in my canon Sunny is a lesbian so Starflight has already told him

Anyway he's super supportive

From that point Peril is sorta open about her sexuality?

Like, she gives Clay permission to tell the rest of the D.O.D bc she isn't about to risk being in front of them when they hear the news

(When Sunny starts actively seeking her out as a hang out buddy and Tsunami, Glory, and Starflight appear to tolerate her presence just a bit more afterwards she pretends she isn't confused by the change)

She's pink, white, and blue bc I said so

If you look at a certain angle in the right lighting her eyes, mouth, fire, and under her scales all look purple

But her fire is normally white and blue bc I said so

Also she pale as fuck bc in my canon their fire just sorta burns their colour away

You know how you leave something outside for too long and it gets sunbleached? Where it gets all washed out?

Like that but more extreme

By the age of 10-12 firescale dragons are just white with pale eyes

That's right not even the eyes are safe

Ram horns :P

I'm also fond of Peril/Sunny

Or maybe Peril/Sora/Sunny

But Peril/Sora is the main thing

On the topic of that bringing in my hc that if one sib in a sib group is fire resistant all of them are

She,,, She can change her scale colour

But only slightly and only if her emotions are strong enough

Bc I don't give a fuck about Darkstalker's scroll we were robbed of hybrid Peril

Unfortunately all of Peril's emotions are strong

Rainwing ruff along her head and neck

It's like a hood

It's mainly smoothed to her sides but when she's startled it flares out

RAINWING PUPILS

Y'all will know what those look like as soon as I get off my ass :P

She,,, She can mimic bird cries

Hates the summer

She has more than enough body heat already and the outside is just hot enough to add on and make her feel sick

She can somewhat control her heat but most of the time it's based on her emotions

It can go from standing-in-the-middle-of-a-burning-building-cant-see-your-nose-smoke-is-so-thick heat (Strong emotion) to Hey-thats-a-nice-cozy-campfire heat (Calm/"weak" emotion/Sleeping)

I'm just gonna make a different post with all my Peril hcs cuz there isnt enough room for all of them here

[okageshadowkingfannovel]

Book 1: Chapter 2

The next night finds Ari and his curious family standing together in the living room. Framed ancestors peer down upon their descendants with haughty seriousness. A fire dances and crackles in the fireplace, driving away the chill seeping through the house’s bones and playing a snappy percussion to the family’s musings.

“Hmmm … the crest is … I think … hmmmm,” says Ari’s father, furiously rubbing his chin to redness in thought.

The family stands around the mysterious, moaning, moldy, still quite unopened bottle. The purple clashes violently with the swirling beige pattern of the antique rug and it starts to give Ari a headache. Ari’s mother giggles.

“You’re obsessed with that bottle, dear. You always did love antiques.”

Ari’s mother is too right. The whole family - mother, Ari, Annie, and even grandmother and grandfather - have been called into the living room to try and puzzle out the bottle with the unbudgeable cork. They have been standing there for at least an hour and a half.

“I still say we just smash it open,” Ari’s grandfather pipes up from the couch.

“Uh huh, uh huh, that’s right, honey.”

“No, no, Dad, this is no ordinary bottle. It’s special, so you have to open it in a special way.”

Ari’s father doesn’t see the dramatic eye roll making its way around the room.

“Oh! You know what?” Ari’s mother suddenly exclaims, “I just remembered. The circus is in the field tonight.”

“Hmmm, the circus,” muses Ari’s grandfather, “you know, I was in a circus before we got married. But back then, we were in true love. Isn’t that right, honey?”

“Uh huh, uh huh, that’s right, honey.”

“Yes, yes, Dad, very romantic,” says Ari’s mother, “but Ari, Annie, why don’t you go and have fun?”

“Alright, Ma, see ya!”

With a whip of her perfectly set pigtails, Annie turns to run off.

“Oh! Annie! You shouldn’t go out alone at night. Go with your brother.”

As if waiting for this opportune moment, Annie looks over her shoulder and gives a triumphant smirk to her mother.

“It’s ok. Chad is picking me up. I’m going out on a date tonight.”

The words ‘Chad’ and ‘date’ wash over Ari’s mother like some divine tidal wave. She looks at her daughter, her eyes sparkling with joy and pride.

“Oh Annie! You’re going on a date! You’ve grown up! I’m so happy for you!”

But Annie is gone before the praises can even reach her. Ari’s mother collects herself with a few sniffles and a dab or two at her eyes with the end of her sleeve.

Ari turns to leave as well, but is stopped by his father.

“Ari, my son! Let’s talk for a while, boy!”

The phrase is saturated with paternal sentiment and Ari gets a brick like feeling in his stomach that this will take much, much longer than just ‘a while.’ Like the dutiful son that he is, Ari about faces and returns to his spot before the bottle, by his father’s side.

“Ahem, this bottle … this bottle,” his father begins.

“It’s pretty awesome,” says Ari half-heartedly, “I mean, the color … purple is so cool.”

“Oh! You can tell! Good! Listen, this crest on the bottle.” His father gestures vaguely at the tangled design. “If my theory is correct, this crest is in the shape of the tail of the Rainbow Rat that only comes out by moonlight, namely …”

“Oh, um, and?”

His father carries on, speaking quickly and unleashing all the excitement that has been building ever since he found the ridiculous bottle with the long back story. To his credit, Ari sincerely tries to understand his father’s retelling of the bottle saga, but he can only catch and fathom every fifth sentence or so.

“… Among those ancient rituals is …”

“… and the curve of the handle is …”

“… foretold by the shoelace weaver …”

“… with the proper harmonics …”

“… all you need is a little garlic …”

“… at 200 degrees for an hour …”

“… No, wait, let me see …”

“… Then, yes! No … no …”

“Then, it’s simple quantum physics.”

Some time later, the question “do you understand, son?” reaches Ari and it takes the boy a minute to realize he’s actually meant to respond to something.

Ari glances at the clock on the mantel above the fireplace.

Two hours have passed.

The rest of the family has disappeared and the fire has shrunk to embers.

“Oh, th-the circus …” leaves Ari’s mouth.

“Huh? Circus? Oh, the circus! Yes, the circus was tonight, I remember. Well, don’t just stand there. Go and have some fun, boy! We can talk more about this tomorrow.”

“Thanks, dad,” Ari says quickly before launching himself out of the living room.

He throws himself out the front door into a dark, cool night. The moon is full and golden yellow, hanging high in a star filled sky. It’s all quiet save for crickets and the breeze rustling the trees and Ari’s harsh panting as he runs. Ari leaps down the stone path to the front gate, hoping he hasn’t missed it. Maybe he can catch the grand finale. That’s always the best part anyway. Maybe he’ll be able to find Julia.

Following the pale moonlit path, he comes to the crossroads and turns towards Tenel Field. There’s a clearing off to the right from the path, tucked away in Tenel Forest. Usually, all that sits there is an old stone circle with a massive pillar sticking up out of the middle. It’s ancient and harmless and it doesn’t take up a great amount of space. Tonight, it would be joined by a massive tent and loads of people and the sounds of an amazing performance.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who’s there?”

Ari stops and suddenly notices the sentry standing guard. He must’ve gone too far and missed the clearing.

“Geez,you scared me, kid,” says the man on sentry duty. He’s a skinny, pale young man that looks barely able to stop a squirrel, let alone a ghost.

“Sorry,” Ari wheezes.

“Anyway, it’s dangerous to go out there at night,” he says, gesturing behind him, “man, I can’t believe I got this shift tonight when the circus is in town.”

“Right, sorry.”

Ari turns and runs back to where the clearing should be. Somehow, he had run right past the banner hovering ghost-like over the smaller pathway leading into the clearing. As he draws closer to the hulking black silhouette of the circus tent, it strikes Ari how quiet it is. There is no laughter or cheering or the thunder of applause. There’s not even the babble of chitchat as people spill out into the night and head home. Ari’s heart sinks.

Before the yawning entrance to the darkened circus tent stand Levi, Julia, and, off to the side, a short, portly man with a thick black mustache and a tall top hat. Assuredly the ringmaster, he looks incredibly tired and drained. Ari trots to a defeated halt in front of his friends.

“Oh, Ari,” starts Julia, distracted by the sound of Ari’s exhausted panting, “good evening.”

“Hey Ari, what’s going on? The circus is over.” It can’t be seen in the dark, but the smugness on Levi’s face drips into his words. “Ha ha ha! You’re such a loser! You always miss out!”

Ari looks at Julia and tries to make out the expression on her face in the dark, dark night, but he finds it unreadable. She doesn’t say a word.

“Anyway, come on, Julia. I know a place with a great view. Let’s take a walk. We’ll see you later, Ari.”

“Um … bye, Ari,” Julia whispers as she and Levi circle round him to stroll on down the path.

For a moment, Ari watches their figures disappear into the dark. He wonders if he should have said something. But then, if so, what could he have said. He sighs, his lungs still aching from his race to the clearing.

“Ah, nothing beats a drink after work!”

Ari looks to see the pudgy ringmaster tilting his head back and raising an ambiguous looking bottle to give himself a long drink. After a long and fairly impressive moment, the ringmaster finally lowers the bottle and punctuates with a hiccup, a burp, and a satisfied sigh. Then, the ringmaster turns a bit.

“Huh? Hey kiddo, circus is already over,” says the ringmaster in a not unkind manner.

“Yeah, I figured,” says Ari gloomily.

“By the way, …” The ringmaster takes a few steps closer.

Ari can suddenly detect the smell of popcorn, peanuts, sweat, and high proof drink clouding off of the ringmaster’s person. By the light of the moon, he can suddenly see the polka dots on the man’s tie and vest and a strange haunted look in the man’s large, round eyes.

“Kid, did you know that your spirit seems a bit … I dunno, overshadowed?”

Ari gives an exasperated huff. “Yeah, I guess.” The social tragedy of tonight weighs heavily on him, and Ari is not really in the mood.

“Everybody tells you that, huh?” The ringmaster fidgets the bottle in his hand, making the liquid inside slosh and swirl.

“Yeah, thanks for bringing it up.”

“Ha ha ha, calm down, kid. I don’t mean to rattle your chain.” The ringmaster’s demeanor suddenly takes on an air of concern. “But, watch yourself. Stay strong, kiddo. Heh heh heh.”

The ringmaster ends with a hearty chuckle and another long swig from his bottle.

“Right,” says Ari as he turns to walk back up the path, “have a good night, sir.”

“Will do, boy, heh heh,” calls the ringmaster, “take care!”

With hands in pockets, Ari slowly makes his way back to the main path and heads towards the crossroads. As he walks, his mind fills and drowns with all the ‘overshadowed’ business that always seems to buzz around him. Heck, even the ringmaster, a complete stranger, picked it off him in barely the blink of an eye. Is he really so ordinary, so unmemorable, so unnoticeable?

Overshadowed?

What a crappy night.

“Omigod!”

Ari looks up from his shoes. The cry came from just up ahead at the crossroads. It sounded like Annie’s voice.

He breaks into a run. Just in front of the directional sign, Ari catches two human figures - one standing and one lying on the ground. And then, looming over them …

“Oh no! It’s-it’s-it’s a ghost! It’s a ghost!”

A huge misty white cloud with glowing yellow eyes bobs up and down over the couple like a drunken fish.

“Somebody! Help!”

The standing figure suddenly goes running back towards town, leaving the other still lying motionless on the ground, at the mercy of the wandering specter. The realization punches Ari in the stomach and he feels the blood drain from his face. That’s Annie lying on the ground.

Without thinking, he charges the ghost, a guttural yell ripping from his throat.

To his surprise, this actually works.

The yellow eyes fall on the screaming boy and widen in what might be surprise. Mid-bob, it spins round fast and drifts off into the trees, fading away into the night air and the dark.

“Ari?” Suddenly, his father is running down the path from the house. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Unable to get the words out, Ari crashes to his knees beside his sister. He puts out his hands, but is afraid to touch her.

“Annie? Oh god, Annie!”

His father gets down beside him and gently touches the girl’s small shoulders.

“Annie? Can you hear me? This is your father. Annie! Open your eyes!”

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 • Chapter 13 • Chapter 14 • Chapter 15 • Chapter 16 - Finale

NOTE: Okage Shadow King is owned by Sony Computer Entertainment and Zener Works. This novelization is purely a fan-work and the writer claims no ownership over the characters, general plot line(s), etc.

[ansgar-martinsson]

The Best Intentions - Part 29

(Have to put all of it under a cut because the first part is kind of explicit, but hey, it’s Ansgar and Joline and if you’re reading you know how they are. Are you reading? Well, shit -- I have no idea. If you are thank you! xx)

“Ah… fuck! Going to… Joline, I’m…. ah!”

He’d tried to warn her, but his words went entirely unheeded. The starburst of light and heat built up in his core, and he knew what was coming.

Well, knew he was coming.

His hands squeezed against her head of their own accord, he couldn’t help himself. Couldn’t help anything he was doing in that moment, from the heavy wheeze of his breathing, to the punctuated moans that vibrated in his throat, to the random shuffling of his feet, to the clench of his fingers, to the stretch of his neck. He curled his head forward, his shoulders straining, and he opened his eyes.

And what he saw blew him apart.

It was as if he were looking through a tube - the sides of his vision had gone black and blurred, and within that lit circle he saw Joline’s face. And what’s more, he saw what he at that very moment considered was the most erotic, most gut-wrenchingly beautiful thing he’d seen in his entire life.

Joline’s lips embracing, pillowing his cock - red, flushed, and swollen; and her eyes - oh, God, her eyes - blown black and wide, staring at him, zeroed in upon his face, and his face alone.

Reveling in his moans.

Willing him to release.

Demanding of him to come.

Watching him. Watching him as he watched her. Watching him as his face went through a series of uncontrollable contortions of pleasure - his lips curling with every stroke of her tongue, his jaw dropping, sliding forward with every slide of her slick lips against his tender skin. He knew what she was seeing. He knew what she was doing. He knew.

And when she hummed a little “hmmm mmmm,” over his flesh, when she gave him a small nod, when she fluttered her eyelids in a slow, deliberate blink, when she curled her fingers behind his balls, and when she pressed her tongue firmly upon the underside of his length, he knew.

He knew she would take him, all of him, and that she would take him gladly.

“J-J-Jo-Joline! Ah!

And what she reveled in, what she willed him to do, what she demanded of him, and what she watched for – he, his entire being shaking and convulsing, gave her.

*******

Ansgar couldn’t help but smile. And that smile seemed to remain firmly plastered to his face. A rather stupid smile, he knew, but he was on a natural high. He was giddy. He felt loose and happy and a bit reckless after Joline’s, ahem, relaxation technique.

“You are a wanton woman,” Ansgar leaned down and whispered to her, tucking a wayward, just-been-fucking strand of hair behind her ear as they walked back toward the food trucks. “Sucking me off like that, on my brand new car, out in the open, in the car park. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

She grinned up at him, a wry, tight lipped half smile. “I most definitely should be ashamed,” she replied, her tone rife with sarcasm. “Ashamed I hadn’t done that sooner. I don’t know how you could possibly be seen with me.”

“Hm,” Ansgar moaned, and, with a small chuckle, he pressed a kiss to her temple. He turned his gaze back toward the main music stage as they continued through the crowd, giving her hand a small, tight squeeze. “I wonder if anyone saw us,” he murmured.

“What if they did?” She bit her lower lip, her eyes fluttering. “What if someone was… watching us?”

He exhaled audibly, his jaw jut forward, showing his white bottom teeth, fighting the renewed twitch in his crotch. “All the better,” he growled, his eyes flicking down toward her chest. “All the fucking better.”

“Oi! Jo-Bo!”

Ansgar felt Joline’s hand clench in his, felt the pull through his arm as he kept walking and she stopped in her tracks. “What… Elias?” Her head jerked upwards to Ansgar, flushing hot and confused. “What are they doing here?” She hissed.

“Shh, darling,” Ansgar turned to her, taking her other hand in his. “I invited them.”

Her eyebrows shot up. She pulled her hands from his. “You did what? When?”

Shrug. “I texted Elias last night. I’ve something I need to discuss with him, and I thought the opportunity would arise quite nicely here. Besides,” he said, gripping her shoulder, “the boys are going to be starting at my STEM camp come the Monday, why not let them meet some of their instructors?”

“Yes, but my brother!” she hissed, teeth clenched. “He doesn’t know about… about….”

“About what, darling?” He batted his eyelashes, a playful, quasi-innocence writ large upon his features.

“About… Oi! Elias!” She whirled around as her brother and his family approached within earshot. She flashed Ansgar a quick, dirty look before stepping forward and enfolding her brother in a warm embrace.

“’Ello, Jo!”

Ansgar greeted the boys, giving each of them a firm, solid handshake and addressing them each by name. He then turned to Elias’ wife. “Leah,” he said warmly, taking her by the upper arms and pressing small, quick kisses to either side of her face. “So good of you to come. You look absolutely radiant.”

“Thank you,” she blushed. “Do you honestly think my boys would let us ignore an invitation like this?” She gestured around them, to the circus-like atmosphere of the picnic.

Ansgar gave them a wink. “Smart men,” he said.

“Herr Martinsson,” Elias stepped slightly in front of his wife, holding his hand out to Ansgar. “Thank you for the text. I… it was unexpected and appreciated.”

“Ansgar. Please,” Ansgar said. “Call me Ansgar. You must. We are friends after all.” He took Elias’ hand, gripping it tightly. He covered Elias’ hand with his other one, holding not only the man’s appendage, but his attention as well. “And it is my pleasure. I figure your boys will be working for me someday, so why not start their indoctrination early?”

Elias laughed nervously, and then turned his attention back to Joline, smacking her on the shoulder. “You all right then, Jo? You look a bit peaky.”

Joline swallowed, gave a weak smile, and nodded. Her eyes flicked up to Ansgar again, the butterflies flapping their wings in earnest in her stomach. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “Just… just didn’t expect to see you here, that’s all.”

Ansgar clapped his hands together loudly, holding them near his chest, as he surveyed the family. “You,” he pointed to Leah, “look as if you would like one of those American funnel cakes, over there,” he indicated. “And the boys both seem hungry for some cheeseburgers, double chocolate ice cream and a lemon squash!”

The twins cheered loudly and, like baby birds, begged at their mother’s skirt for the sweets so temptingly dangled before them.

“And you, Elias,” Ansgar stepped over to him and wrapped an arm around the other man’s shoulders. “I suspect you could use a beer. How about it?” He cocked his head toward the windowed white VIP tent. “Join me?”

“Um… Ansgar?” Joline put on a wide, false smile, speaking through her teeth. “What - are - you doing?”

“Joline, darling. Why don’t you show Leah and the boys some of the midway games, over there? Would you do that while Elias and I go have a chat? Yes? You will? Oh thank you so much. There’s a lamb.”

And before Joline could answer, before she could protest, before she could even lift a negatory finger, Ansgar had swept Elias away and toward the lure of a tall, cold glass of lager.

****

“Oh, Christ, but that’s good,” Ansgar lowered the large tankard back down to the table, licking the white froth from his lips. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Can’t beat a German doppelbock. Liquid bread, as the monks used to call it. Twice the alcohol and four times the flavor. Heaven on tap, man.”

Elias nodded, swallowing down a gulp of his own. He looked around the mid-sized VIP tent, at the tables laid with linen, at the massive, gleaming buffet of gourmet food that lined one side of it. “Leah would love this,” he said. “She’s a bit of a foodie, my girl. Likes her fine wines, too.”

Ansgar smiled and winked. “Thought that about her. Good taste, yeah? She seems like an amazing woman.”

Elias blushed. “She is.”

Ansgar set his glass down. He raised his hand to flag down the server. Catching her attention, he pointed at his empty glass and then Elias, and then signaled for her to bring two more.

And almost instantly, she did.

Ansgar lifted his fresh glass and took a long pull, watching as Elias did the same with his second heady dark beer. He rest his elbows on the table and leaned slightly forward, the warmth of the alcohol coursing through his veins. “Good job you gave me your business card the other day,” he said. “Hope you don’t mind but I did a bit of…” he rolled his eyes slightly, head bobbling, “research… on you.”

Elias grinned, and shrugged. “Yeah. I figured you would. I Googled you, as well. That’s a given.”

“Hope you weren’t too put off by what you found, mate.” Ansgar chuckled. “But you get to the point. I like that. Okay,” he said, leaning back in the chair, arms crossed over his chest, his forefinger working in circles against the ball of his thumb. “Listen. Here’s what I know. You’re brilliant with investments, You use your talent and financial acumen to predict the markets, to move the proverbial chess pieces about the board, to make your clients…substantial sums of money.”

“Substantial enough, I suppose,” Elias said. “My accounts don’t tend to be all that large. More high end personal investments and small businesses portfolios.”

Ansgar nodded sagely. “Of course. Of course.“ He raised a finger. “Let me share a bit of a secret with you.”

“I’m all ears,” Elias chuckled.

“I…,” Ansgar smacked his lips together, “am about to lose my key investment advisor for the London and Zurich markets. The dear woman, well, she retires come January, you see, and I honestly don’t know what I am going to do without her. I’d offered her the American markets as well - you know how lucrative those can be - and she turned me down flat. Said sorry but she was leaving me. She’s going to pack up and move to Malta, going to bask in the sunshine and spend time with, ugh,” he shuddered jokingly, “her grandchildren.”

Elias’s eyes went from tightly narrowed to momentarily blown wide. A flash. A quirk of the lips. A microexpression, the pages upon which Ansgar read that the man knew exactly what Ansgar was getting at.

And he liked it.

“Poor thing,” Elias joked. He took a long drink of his beer and cradled the tankard against his chest. “Grandchildren. So difficult.”

“Yes, poor thing,” Ansgar agreed. “But her pending apostasy leaves me in a rather sticky situation, you see. I’m desperate to find someone who has the know-how and the talent and the balls and the wherewithal to handle,” he pulled his lips down at the corners and shook his head, “millions - hundreds of millions of British pounds in transactions, the potential of hundreds of millions of US Dollars more in dividends. Someone who could appreciate,” he said slower, his eyes intent and focused upon Elias’, “at least, say… thirty, forty million Kronor per annum in commissions alone, not… not to mention a substantial salary and benefits.”

Elias blinked rapidly.

Ansgar smirked. “Know anyone who fits that description? Eh, Elias?”

“I, erm….posshibly,” he slurred.

Ansgar took a long, deep breath, and another swig of his beer. “I’m not going to make any offers right now,” he said. “We’ve time. I,” he shrugged, “I simply wanted to germinate the… the idea with you, give you something to ruminate upon, something we can explore in the interim, in a more… hm… businesslike setting. My office, perhaps? Next week?”

Elias frowned. “Are you… asking me to come in for an interview?”

“Precisely that.” Ansgar said, tapping his finger on the table. “But I want you to think about it first, talk it over with Leah and the boys, talk it over with your mother or your friends if you want, and maybe even with your current clients.”

“Why them? Why my clients?”

“Because you’ll have to give them up, of course,” Ansgar stated. “If I hire you as my investment adviser you are my investment adviser. You’d not only be overseeing the holdings for Martinsson Construction, but my personal portfolio, and that of my family - my brother and his daughter. I have a sizable fund set up for my niece in the American markets. I would need someone to keep a hawk’s eye on that.”

“Oh.”

“Think on it,” Ansgar said. “Maybe even talk to your sister about it. She knows me. She knows how I work.”

Elias’ face fell into an odd, unreadable expression. He kept silent for a long moment, and when he smiled, the light did not reach his eyes. When he spoke, his words were a whisper - not angry, but intent. “She knows how you… work, eh?” His eyes narrowed. “Does she now?”

The boys’ attention span shifted from begging for food to the next thing that caught their eye. Adrian tore across a spit of sand, Hugo a mere step behind, screaming as loud as their lungs could handle at the Harry Potter themed game they found. They nearly knocked several other guests and their kids over in their haste. For every ounce of enthusiasm they exuded, Joline felt anger and annoyance. Ansgar contacted her brother without telling her, without asking her. It was one thing to offer her nephews a workshop during their summer break, something quite removed from Ansgar personally. (She wasn’t exactly thrilled with that development either.) But it was quite another to invite most of her immediate family to an even without informing her. And it was something all the way not right to wander off drinking with her brother!

Infuriating arsehole! Goddamn him! He knew that she wouldn’t support the idea, let alone the activity of it.

Before she stomped after Leah to help wrangle the boys, she glanced in the direction of the VIP tent, wishing it would collapse entirely on Ansgar’s bloody thick, bold, arrogant, entitled head. Just his. Not her brother or anyone else in there. He had no business, personal or otherwise with her brother and she preferred it that way. Her partnership with Ansgar and their affair should be strictly between them, and it was precisely why she hesitated in agreeing to be his plus one for the corporate picnic.

She almost regretted it, if she hadn’t been having fun and enjoying the hell out of his relaxation techniques.

“Adrian! Hugo!” Joline called futilely after the overzealous twins, falling in step beside their mother.

“You’d think their birthday and all the holidays came all at once,” Leah glowed proudly, her gaze locked on her joys. “They slept all of two hours last night when Elias told them of today.”

Joline pushed aside her mood and her ire for one Ansgar Martinsson and smiled. “The event planners earned their pay without a doubt. Toys and games for the kids, alcohol and sedatives – probably – for the adults.”

Leah barely cracked a smile, she only wore that constant mild grin. She was the type that found her life’s purpose when she first became pregnant, the typical born to be stay at home mother, and it suited her. She was fulfilled by her family and thrived on their need and demands on her.

Adrian had picked up a wand and swung it around without much control or awareness of others nearby. Hugo brandished another wand and chose to dig into the play spell books inside the booth.

Predictably, Leah answered, “They deserve a little fun and be kids, yeah? They’ll sleep well tonight.”

Joline never related much to her sister-in-law. She didn’t dislike her, only found her bland, safe and tranquil, maybe a bit boring. She loved Leah because she was family and gave birth to two of her favorite people in the world. “Hey, boys! Hey, come give your Auntie Jo a hug! I didn’t get so much as hello out of you two!”

Neither one gave up their wands, but both ran over somewhat reluctantly, grumbling that they’d seen her just yesterday. The boys hugged her around her waist at the same time. She rubbed their backs affectionately. “I’m starving. How about you boys join us ladies for a burger and fries?” Jo cajoled temptingly, “First one to finish, picks the first ride!” She pointed towards the amusement section where the sound of giddy screams from the miniature rollercoaster blared in their direction. “How about that?”

Joline knew how to manipulate their short attention spans. The boys slammed their wands down where they found them. Adrian took his mother’s hand while Hugo took Joline’s and the boys pulled at them in the right direction.

Within minutes the boys shoved their burgers into their mouths at one table, while Joline and Leah sat one table away, eating more sensibly. “You’re good with them, Joline,” Leah complimented. It wasn’t the first time she’d said it, but it touched the other woman all the same.

“They’re my buddies. I adore every inch of them,” Joline shrugged, “as if they were my own.”

Leah reached across the table and rubbed one of her sister-in-law’s hands. “Thank you. They’re lucky to have you.” She patted her fingers along her arm. “Have you ever thought about… your own?”

Joline chewed slowly a french fry. It was a clichéd topic for a happily married mother of two to ask the somewhat wild single woman her plans for her womb. Leah was also the type to feel more comfortable with labels and categories. Joline decided to play along, “Thought about it, sure. The opportunity? Dwindling, I’m afraid.”

“You’re still young, Jo.”

Joline brushed it off again, lying to cover her own feelings on the subject. “I don’t think kids are in my future.” She was used to covering her regret and her desire for a child of her own. It’d become easier to lie than to face the truth, but her stomach ached for lying and for the longing that lingered since her divorce.

“We have news, Elias and me,” Leah spoke slowly. “As you already know, we’ve been trying to get pregnant for some time. It’s finally happened!” Her smile grew but her volume decreased to keep it private and just between them. “I’m pregnant. We went to hospital for confirmation, and we’re healthy!”

Each word felt like a dagger to another part of Joline’s body. The jealousy and the envy grew within her and it was difficult to find her own joy in it. Of course, she was happy for her brother and their family to have another addition, but she knew her own window of opportunity closing. “That’s… that’s wonderful!” she covered, pushing a smile to her lips. “It’d be… great to have another… little one around!”

Joline couldn’t help but feel used. The entire conversation hadn’t been about her, but about her sister-in-law revealing her secret to her. That only compounded her mood.

*~*~*~*~*~

Joline left the boys in Leah’s care by the earlier abandoned Harry Potter after riding the tilt-a-whirl, the rollercoaster and ferris wheel with them. She felt out of sorts, and she hadn’t seen Ansgar and her brother emerge from the VIP tent. She wandered aimlessly floating from one tent to another, tamping down the urge to barge into the beer tent just to sate her curiosity. What would keep Ansgar and Elias there for so long?

“That’s the one,” she heard whispered behind her at one of the vendor tables providing beads and lanyards to make jewelry. “She’s with him.”

Joline kept her head down, pretending to survey the size, shapes and colors of the charms to make a bracelet or necklace of her own. She hated the attention on her, and she carefully chose her moment to walk away. She tried to tune it out, to not let it expose her vulnerability.

She folded her arms under her breasts as she meandered back through the food area. People stuffed their mouths and couldn’t talk shit about her there. Until…

“Hey, there, Joline! Hey, hey!!” She heard the familiar pleasing tones of a friend from behind her.

Joline stopped and searched through the crowd for the source, for a reprieve.

Rosie in her white apron bounded up behind her, hooking her arm around Joline’s shoulders. “I thought you’d be here. Is it business or pleasure this time?”

Joline grinned at the first real friend since Ansgar took off with her brother. Her nephews were too wrapped up in the excitement to pay her much attention. “If only I knew…”

“Yeah, that’s par for the course.”

“Where you off to?” Rosie asked, meeting Joline step for step. “I’m joining you. Need a break from cooking.”

“You? That doesn’t sound right at all.”

“You’re right. I’m nosy,” Rose shrugged without apology. “You’ve caused quite the stir.”

The two women walked through the last throng of people hovering around the fresh fruit smoothie tent to the lawn outside. It was the perimeter of the party, and Joline still kept an eye on the big white tent in the middle.

“I suppose I have.” She allowed Rosie to see how the noise had affected her with a rueful sad smile.

“Hey, there! None of that. Buck up, you’re getting laid. I guarantee half these people aren’t. At least not with another person.”

Joline tried to laugh, tried to let Rose’s humor chase away the negative bits of her afternoon. It hadn’t been all bad. She did enjoy getting Ansgar off in the carpark… until he took off with her brother. “How do you do it?” she asked suddenly without realizing she’d spoken one of the questions swimming in her head.

“How do I do what, honey?” Rose scrunched her chef’s hat off her head and started untying her apron to help her feel a little more human.

“The attention,” Joline sighed. “You’ve Michelin stars and restaurants and clients of your own. That comes with its own set of responsibilities to live up to. I’m not sure how to act with… with this.” She indicated the party with her palm shoved in the general direction of attendees.

Rose chuckled and flippantly replied, “I suppose the money helps…”

Joline stopped and faced Rosie, who in turn, stopped too. Hands on her hips, Joline cocked her leg out to the side, putting most of her weight on the other. “I don’t get a bonus… monetarily,” she snuck in quickly when she saw Rosie about to drop in another sexual reference. “I’m not sure I can do this. These fancy to-dos, I’ve always been removed from them… at the theatre, I mean. As house manager, even though I plan these events, I’m not really involved, other than looking to make money for the theatre.”

Rose looked at her new friend with compassion, “You’re unsure because this is personal… and you like him.”

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 204

Welp, Gohan’s just chillin’ in a giant nest.

Oh, also Goten’s here.    So there’s a family of those big pterodactyl-looking creatures and apparently Gohan and Goten are friends with them, but they’ve gone missing.  

This episode used to confuse me a lot when I first saw it, because I hadn’t watched the entire series up to this point, so I wasn’t sure if Chibi and his parents were a retcon or if they had appeared before this.     Gohan acts like he’s known them his whole life, but this is indeed their first appearance.   I think I might have confused them with Icarus aka Haiya Dragon, who was Gohan’s animal companion in Movies 3,4, 5, and Episodes 108-119.     Kind of weird how Toei just sort of dropped that altogether once the androids showed up.    Maybe Icarus died during the three year gap?   It just feels like this episode was written with him in mind, like he married a female of his species and now Gohan has to save his newly-hatched offspring.   

Meanwhile, Mr. Satan is chillaxing in his home, watching footage of himself winning the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai with a bottle of wine.    I suppose this is telling.   In private, this is the stuff that keeps Mr. Satan going.    His victory over Cell was a fabrication, but winning the World Tournament was a genuine achievement, one he can truly take pride in. 

I just wonder if he’s haunted by the memory of the Cell Games.   He’s the only one who knows what really happened, so he can’t tell anyone, even his own daughter.    Everything worked out, sure, but he still has to live with the knowledge that all of those strange people were stronger than himself.   That must put these highlight reels into a different perspective.   Maybe Mr. Satan is watching them for the sake of nostalgia.    He’s thinking back to a time when he didn’t know better, and he really believed he was the strongest man in the world.   

Anyway, Videl asks him about the previous Tenkaichi Budokai champion, and Mr. Satan explains that Son Goku was a mysterious man with a lot of fancy tricks, but he was surely no match for Mr. Satan.   

And this is apparently the moment when Videl realizes that the former champion has the same family name as Gohan.   Hmmm...

Meanwhile, Gohan and Goten watch news coverage of a circus wth a new act: a baby monster.  

Turns out, it’s Chibi, the baby they were looking for at the top of this episode.    This asshole named Musuka caught him and made him part of his asshole circus.    Seriously, what sort of act is this?    He just stands there with a whip and Chibi curls up into a ball and shivers in terror.    Why would people pay money to see this?

Awww, look at this adorable little man.    Fuck you, Musuka.    Fuck you and fuck your audience.    Fuck the circus, while I’m at it.  

Seriously, I don’t get the circus at all.    I have faint memories of going to one as a kid, and I’m pretty sure the only thing I wanted to see was Pac-Man, and I missed him while I went to the restroom or something.    I have no idea how Pac-Man was at the circus, but I just know I sat through like 95 hours of boring-ass non-Pac-Man content, and then I blinked and he wasn’t there.    Maybe I dreamed the whole thing.    Fuck the circus is my point.  

I’m pretty sure it was real, though, because I’ll see ads or circuses today and they promote appearances by Spongebob or some other cartoon character, and it’s probably just a guy in a suit.    The point is that they have to do that kind of thing because kids haven’t cared about animal acts for at least forty years.    They like cartoons and video games, because those are fucking awesome.   

And you don’t need a circus to have meet-and-greets with cartoon characters.    Just slap a costume on a guy and have him chill out in an air-conditioned building.    Circuses do it because they have to adapt to the times, except they keep clinging to all this other stuff that doesn’t work anymore.  

I have no pity for it.    I read a Batman comic from like 1988, where Dick Grayson checks up on the circus he used to run with before his parents got murdered, and every time Robin checks up on his circus pals they always do the sob story about how business is down because no one goes to the circus anymore.    It was cliche in 1988, and that comic is older than most of the people reading this.   I’ve been hearing about the slow, agonizing decline of the circus my entire life, and I was born in the Carter administration for crying out loud.   Nobody goes to Sears anymore, and you don’t see anyone feeling sorry for Sears.   

I don’t want to get too anti-capitalist on this thing, but it annoys me when people get all weepy over businesses that can’t keep up with the market.   Everyone was all sad when Toys R’ Us went bankrupt, but that’s bullshit, because no one really cares about Toys R’ Us, or they wouldn’t have gone out of business in the first place.   What is it we miss about that store?   You can buy the merchandise elsewhere, which is exactly what everyone did.    So what’s left?    Geoffrey the Giraffe?    Fuck that guy.    He’s no Pac-Man, that’s for sure.   The jingle?   You can look that up on YouTube right now.   

The circus is the same deal.    We’re supposed to care when one of them shuts down because it had been in business for like 105 years or something, like just because something is old that makes it important.   Once upon a time they didn’t have Pokemon, and the best you could do was to hope some carnies rolled through your town and they had a cool bear that would do tricks.    But that business model wasn’t going to last forever, and if it can’t adapt to the times then it doesn’t deserve to continue as it is.    I feel like I read once that circuses have shifted their focus towards human performers, which makes more sense to me, because it gets the animal rights activists off their back, and the humans can do flashier things anyway.    Then again, I scratch that itch by watching pro wrestling, so I don’t know if that’s viable.    It comes down to a question of what a circus has to offer without giving up its identity as a circus.    if the answer is to rebrand as some other kind of show, then just do it and don’t look back.    If you’re determined to keep up the pretense out of some misplaced sense of obligation, then don’t look for pity when the business dries up.  

Same deal with trains.     I dig Johnny Cash, but he had this one song that was basically all moping about how nobody travels by train anymore.    Well I rode a passenger train once and it was exactly like taking an airplane only cheaper and slower.   That’s why people don’t do it as much.    You can romanticize this stuff, but you need more than romance to turn a profit.   

Anyway, where was I?    Oh, right, Gohan tries to talk the owner into releasing Chibi into the wild, and when he gets shot down, Gohan just waltzes over to Chibi’s cage and busts him out.   

Yeah!    Fight the power!

Yeah, this is a Triangle Guy episode, by the way.  

Musuka doesn’t take kindly to hearing his star attraction has been stolen.   What’s amazing to me is how he’s just sitting at his desk counting huge stacks of cash, presumably earned from people paying top dollar to watch him abuse a defenseless animal.    I mean, yeah, this is Dragon Ball Z, but this is pretty broad, even for this show. 

So Gohan plans to just fly Chibi back to his nest, but oops, Chibi’s having a hard time flying so high and so fast.     Awwww, look at the spirals in his eyes, he’s all dizzy.  Hang in there, buddy.   

So basically Chibi is baby.    Gohan will have to carry him out of Satan City on foot.   

I forget why, but the truck driver from the Vegeta/18 fight is in this episode.    Pretty sweet.

Then Videl shows up.    Musuka called the cops, who in turn called in Videl, since Great Saiyaman’s a little out of their league.    Videl’s shocked that Saiyaman would steal like this, but it gives her an excuse to fight and unmask him, so she’s down with it.  

So yeah, you’ve probably seen the gif of this shot where Videl jumps on Gohan and wraps her legs around his head, but I’m pretty sure she was setting up a hurricanrana.   Everyone needs to get their heads out of the gutter.   

Awwwwwwwwwwww.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

For some reason, Musuka wanders over and starts whipping Chibi, like that would help anything in this situation.    Seriously why does he need a whip?   Anyway, Chibi cries out and...

... Uh-oh.

So here are Chibi’s parents, and they’re not pleased.   This was exactly what Gohan was afraid might happen, but Videl wouldn’t listen to him, and he didn’t want to just punch out Videl, Musuka, and the cops to avoid this.   

The cops try to shoot at Chibi’s parents, and Gohan can’t get anyone to back off.   I don’t see why he doesn’t just grab Chibi and hand him over, but whatever.

I think around here, the dub has Gohan try to talk to them, and Videl points out that dinosaurs can’t talk.    So Gohan goes “Yes, thank you Videl, you’re very smart.”

But I do like this version, where Videl is surprised to find that Great Saiyaman’s childhood involved playing with pterodactyl monsters.    This is the sort of stuff Gohan doesn’t want gettng out about himself.   Not this specifically, but just the idea that he’s super strong and runs with huge animals and his best friend is King Piccolo and he turned into a giant gorilla a couple of times.   

Anyway, Gohan’s idea is that he can use his voice to get them to calm down, since they ought to recognize him.  

But at one point he almost uses his real name, and Videl gets so fixated on it that she takes her eye off the whole “giant monster” situation. 

Then Masuka pulls a gun and Chibi’s dad almost eats Videl and it’s all breaking down...

(Awwwwwwwwww.....)

So Gohan has to deck Chibi’s dad to get things under control.    Maybe he should have just done that in the first place.  

Chibi’s all upset, but Gohan didn’t hit him that hard, so it’s cool.  

Fortunately, Chibi’s mom is a bit more practical, so Gohan hands him off to her and escorts them out of the city, carrying Chibi’s dad on his back.   

Nice shot of the reunited family.

And Goten flies over to get a kiss from Chibi.    What a good boy.    My only regret here is that no one kicked Musuka in the balls.    He threatens to go back and capture Chibi all over again, but Videl threatens him into abandoning that idea.

The next day, Gohan’s wearing a bandaid on his face because of a scratch he got from Chibi’s dad.   I think in the manga, he got it from the Red Shark Gang, but whatever.    Point is, Videl thanks him for yesterday, and he completely forgets himself and responds to this, which basically blows his secret identity.   

The moral here is that there’s more to a secret identity than the disguise.   In the end, Gohan’s just too honest to live a double life.   Videl asks him if he’s the Golden Warrior too, and he insists that he isn’t, because he absolutely cannot let that secret get out.    I’m not sure why, though, since Videl already knows he has super powers.   A few episodes later, it’ll become clear that Gohan doesn’t want Videl to find out that he beat Cell instead of her father, so maybe that’s part of what’s going on here.

Anyway, Videl agrees to keep his secret, if Gohan agrees to enter the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai.    Last episode, she found out that the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai’s winner was Son Goku, and she figures that must mean Gohan is his son.  And since her father won the 24th Budokai, she’s thinking it might be cool if they both entered the next tournament.   Gohan isn’t too interested in that idea, but he has no choice, since Videl will expose him unless he plays along.   

I never really thought about this, but Videl really acts as the flashpoint for this entire arc.    Everything that happens from this point onward is a direct result of the tournament.    All the major players converse there, and that only happens because Gohan chose to enter, and that only happens because Videl blackmailed him into it.   

And really, Videl’s only taking this much of an interest in Gohan because of the Cell Games, and the Z-Fighter’s indifference to Mr. Satan claiming the victory over Cell.    She’s convinced that her father and Gohan’s father are peers, and that the two of them could have an even match.     If the Cell Games had played out differently, maybe Videl wouldn’t bother bringing any of this up.   

Oh, one last thing, Videl wants Gohan to show her how to fly, since it gives him an unfair advantage over her.   

So now Gohan’s stuck.    He has to fight Videl in public and teach her how to fly.     Well, he’s been through worse situations than this.