#but I wanted to get this segment finished before moving onto other ideas

[greentrickster]

Sleeping for extended periods of time can be disorienting, especially after one has grown accustomed to exhaustion gnawing at the mind, at the corner of one's eyes and heart, and this instance is no exception. Indeed, it's all the more disorienting for the fact that his cultivation has never felt so... solid. Secure. And he fits within his own skin in a way he can never remember doing so before, as though he's finally the right size for himself, no longer struggling to burst through invisible constraints.

He wakes also to people he... knows? Sort of. In a distant sort of way. Waking to such a crowd should have him immediately on edge, wary and hostile, but he's... not? He feels... surprisingly safe, as though he, for once in his life, truly belongs where he is, and this too is disorienting.

(We tended you, they will tell him later, we tended your pearl as you grew, kept it polished and glowing. We set you on soft pillows, carried you with us, kept you warm, kept you safe, kept you loved. When you hatched, we took it in turns to stay by your side, so that even as you slept, you were never alone.)

And they know who he was, this is made clear to him very quickly, but they don't know who he is now. Honestly, he barely knows who he is now until they ask him, until he instinctively answers, "This master is God of the Ninth Road," and then has a minor panic attack, because why? Did he say that?? What the fuck? What the fuck??? Except it's true, he knows it's true, in his bones, in his oddly stable golden core, he remembers being Shen Jiu, but he is God of the Ninth Road.

And then there's a mess of introductions, of noticing that each of the people here has a simple golden mark on their temples, despite the fact that he's quite certain they're not demons, and discovering that, oh, haha, these aren't just a random group of friendly spirits or immortals, they're heavenly officials, no, not even just that, they're Heavenly Officials, personal aids to Shangdi himself.

And he's one of them now. It takes being thrust in front of a mirror and shown the golden mark that now adorns his own forehead (the mark that is a match to theirs) for him to accept it, but he is. (Because when the Memory of Shangdi said 'let all be given in turn,' he was not joking). And, not only is he one of them, they're happy that he's one of them, that he's part of their group, part of their family.

But it's still disorienting, it's all so disorienting, so other from what he has always known, that it's almost a relief when an especially tall Heavenly Official with extremely powerful DILF energy (though Ninth Road will only learn that term later) walks up with a neutral, considering expression on his face. Because, while he does not particularly welcome it, disapproval is something he understands, and none of this makes sense.

"You are God of the Ninth Road, the god of broken fate," says this new Official, who has been watching in silence until now, "And I am Eternal Candle Flame, the one who writes fate." He looks Ninth Road over with a measured eye. "It is rare for a mortal to change the path I have written for them, rarer still for one to escape it entirely. Yet you, whose fate was a key part of the Grand Fate of the World, have done just that. Indeed, you have made yourself a god whose soul purpose is undermine what I write." He pauses, then chuckles, demeanor gentling, and gives Ninth Road a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Our new didi for less than a day, and already you're making extra work for your ge. Ah well, at least you might actually be able to give me a good challenge at weiqi, so I suppose it's worth it."

"Why would you think that?" Ninth Road snaps back, wrong-footed again.

"I don't see why you wouldn't, given that you've already beaten me at my own game." then he has the audacity to wink before herding all his fellow male deities from the room with words of let their jiemeis explain to didi, seriously, we all know didi doesn't feel comfortable around men, be nice, let Memory of Grass and Water-jie explain things to him. We're immortal, we have time to wait for him to be ready to talk to us on his own.

By the time ten years have passed and he sees Airplane Shangdi's 'private language' for the first time, Ninth Road is still very much a growly, feral cat of a didi, full of distrust and vinegar, but... his heavenly siblings are okay. He supposes. If he has to admit to anything. Even the male ones. He still keeps his private/sleeping quarters in what is primarily the women's wing, but he can be convinced to spend time in the common areas. Beat Eternal Candle Flame at another game of weiqi, appreciate Bean Counter's ability to keep things organized without having a nervous breakdown (unlike his former Shang-shidi), let himself be slightly spoiled. Since they insist.

(He was never taught how to love in his first life, he'll tell them all much later. Not in a way where you can relax into it and indulge in the emotion, not in a place and among people where such emotions were safe to have, let alone express openly. Even when he arrived at Cang Qiong, he was never taught. And it is perhaps the thing he is most grateful for as Ninth Road, that he has been gifted a place where it is finally safe to learn, a family that is willing to teach him...)

(Was thinking about Shen Jiu's ascent to divinity in the Great God Airplane AU, so!)

When he looks back on his last qi deviation, it's a blur. A request from a god whose face he could not see and whose robes are made of the sky, a choice made out of spite (though far less of it than anyone would ever suspect, especially the peak lords of Cang Qiong), blinding pain, that same faceless god in summer blue and cloud white, introducing himself as The Memory of Shangdi, the one who wrote this world, who wrote all the terrible words of his life.

The shouts that are demands as much as questions (and pleas more than anything else). "Why should I have had to fight for everything, no matter how hard I worked? Why should I suffer because someone else wrote me a wretched fate, why does this world need Little Nines and Shen Qingqius?"

...afterwards he can only describe it as 'if approval had a colour, then that is what he became'.

"It is true. Sometimes a fate is too cruel to bear, no matter how poetic, no matter how good the story it would make. So from now to eternity, if one meets with such a fate, and if they reach for better, then let that fate be broken... and let there be one who will lead them to better. And to the one who has given all, let all be given in turn."

He remembers... relief then. Even a fraction of Shangdi's power still carries Shangdi's will, and this- did not feel a vow easily broken. So strange, there at the last, to finally find peace as he sinks into oblivion. Perhaps his sacrifice was worth it then, not for the world, not for promises of reward or for change enacted, but for this single moment of peace. A peace so profound that, for the first time since he was abandoned, he is able to sink down, to fold himself small and sleep in the presence of another male.

(He sleeps, for close to a year he sleeps, though he does not remember it, sunk deep in slumber as he grows himself anew. From a tiny golden pearl (no larger than a grain of rice) that sighs into existence in the private quarters of the Heavenly Officials, to one the size of a hawthorn berry, a goose egg, a melon, larger and larger until finally it splits open and he spills out, still sleeping, clad in fine and simple silk, with limbs a length they might once have been, were it not for a childhood of hardship, pain, and want, with siblings he does not know waiting to smooth him into bed and gently braid his hair. (It must be so tiring, they murmur to each other as they do so, so tiring to remake oneself from mortal into a Heavenly Official, into a god. Let him rest a little longer, as long as he needs, our newest member, our precious and only didi.))

He doesn't want to wake up, truly he doesn't. But there are times, such terrible times, when - no matter how comfortable the bed or lazy the mood (and he feels so comfortable and languid) - when one is simply too well rested to stay asleep any longer.

So he wakes.

[sock-devdiary]

how do you outline and plan the story of a game? ik you cant show the outline of the game due to spoilers but could you share a little of what the process is to help other people trying to write their own games?

Thank you for the question! This is a great question omg ok so

Now I'm definitely very new to this and I don't know if this is like... the PROFESSIONAL way to do it, but this is how I did it

Before writing anything, I had a basic idea of what I wanted to do with the games story. The first thing that I did before even starting an outline was writing a basic summary of the plot, explaining it to myself simply to get the basic idea across from beginning to end. The summary wasn't TOO detailed, I obviously didn't have every story point figured out by then.

When I finished writing the summary, THEN I moved onto creating the plot outline. I knew how I wanted this to start, I knew how I wanted this to end, but I needed to figure out the specifics of that start and end- It's like I'm making a sandwich. I know it needs to have bread holding it together; the start and the end. But what KIND of bread? And then I had to figure out what was going to go INSIDE that sandwich.

Your sandwich needs something in the middle, the juicy bits, the meat of the sandwich, the filling, the reason you're here for this sandwich in the first place. This is the EXPERIENCE of the sandwich. When you know your start and end, you just need to outline your start and then move onto figuring out what fills out the rest of the story!

This is often the hardest part but I managed to have pretty good success with outlining Red Leaves' story. I still go back to edit and rearrange things from time to time but it's set up just right for the most part.

There are definitely more organized ways to outline but for myself I went with simple brief notes. I write my outline in little chunks for what happens in each scenario where Red time-loops until it reaches the end point. This is a bit subject specific considering this is easier to do with a story that's about time loops and is able to be segmented like this in your notes but LOL

I just write out basic notes of what's supposed to happen during each cycle, finish the end section of the game, and move on to actually properly writing things out! Woohoo!!

That was basically my whole process with planning the story. I hope this helps!! :D

[rdhadastroke]

So this straw-masked dumbass decided to do a thing and share some personal tips about writing fanfiction/writing someone else's character/writing in general!

Please keep in mind that I am a hobbyist writer, not a professional! These are just suggestions/things that help me that may or may not work for you, please feel free to correct me or add your own anecdotes :)

Tips for getting ready to write:

Make sure that you're in an environment where you can concentrate.

Whether that be in a quiet room, a chatty café, or blasting your eardrums out with music, whatever gets you in the groove is good. Not everybody can focus in the same environment, so your choice of surroundings for when you right aren't going to be the same as everyone else's. I (personally) listen to long video essays, my current favorite song on loop, or a playlist about the story/characters.

Clear a space for where you want to write.

Clear the space of excess clutter and keep only what you need. If what you need to write is a lot, that's fine! Having too much going on at once in your writing space can overwhelm and/or distract you. I know from personal experience.

Have all of your materials at hand.

Character sheets, previous stories, note paper to jot down ideas, rough environment & scene sketches... Whatever references and tools you need, keep them with you! Also, keep a glass of water or some other drink nearby. Hydrate or diedrate, my friends.

Make sure that you won't be interrupted while you're writing.

This may not be an option for those of you living with your parents or a roommate, but it's ideal for your creative flow to go undisturbed, uninterrupted, and unwatched. Is your father really watching you write your fanfic? No, probably not, considering that he's snoring. But it still feels weird to write when he's sitting in his armchair right behind you. No, I am not projecting my experience onto the reader under the cover of an absurd joke, why would you say that?

Now that setup is out of the way, let's go over some actual writing stuff:

Always, always, always block out what you want to write before you actually write it.

By "block out", I mean give a basic summary of the events you want to take place in that chapter or segment. I usually do this event-by-event because I struggle to carry on a story without an outline, but you can do it by chapter or by paragraph if you'd like. Make jokes in your mini-summaries, and phrase things in wacky ways (that convey things to you effectively)! You don't have to be too serious about it. After all, if you're in a lil silly goofy mood, you can get an epic sentence like this:

If you get stuck on a part of a story, move on and save it for later.

If you're anything like me, you understand the screaming, crying, pissing, pants-shittingly frustrating experience of not knowing how to describe something or figure out what should be said next. As angering as it is, it's okay. Just write a mini block-in for what you want to happen, want to describe, or the general tone of what you want to be said. Or use a keyword that you can Ctrl+F for to finish those pesky scenes when you're ready. If your writing software can do it (I have no clue if any one program does this, I only use Google Docs), mark the spot for review to return to it later. If you're one of those frighteningly powerful people who write stories by hand, highlight it and paste what you want to go there over it once you're ready. If you aren't familiar with this infuriating part of writing, you're a lucky bastard and I envy you immensely.

If you have writer's block, there are 8 potential strategies (that I can provide) you can use to alleviate it.

These are NOT surefire fixes for writer's block and are EXTREMELY subjective and results will vary from person to person, but they can potentially help you.

Read a book. Sometimes reading how another author writes (dialogue, scenery, figurative language, etc.) can help you get a better grasp of what you want to write, and how you want to write it. You might even get inspired to make a different story, which bleeds into the next point.

Work on/start a different story. (This isn't always the best way to get out of writer's block, so if you can't get a word down, this probably won't help.) Sometimes changing what you're working on can free up the ink clogged in your pen, for lack of a better phrase, and give you an, "aha!" moment.

Eat and drink something. Brains don't work when they don't have fuel, so feed your machine. Frequent maintenance keeps an engine running smooth, so occasionally get a snack and make sure to keep hydrated.

Take a walk and get some fresh air, and touch some grass for the love of god. Jokes aside, getting your body moving can excite your brain into working and clear some brain fog, since exercise gives your brain a dose of serotonin. As silly as it sounds, sitting in the sun and touching some grass can actually make you feel nice and rejuvenated, it helps me a lot. Even if you don't go outside, moving around is a good way to give your brain a break.

Talk to a friend and get their input. Their ideas can get you through a tough spot and inspire you to get writing again.

Look at pretty pictures and distract yourself from what you're doing. I have pictures of art pieces and doodles I like hanging in front of the desk where I write, and losing myself in pretty stuff helps me work through what I'm struggling with.

Jot down notes by hand on what you're trying to do. Planning things out on pen and paper, despite being tedious, imprints information in your mind and can be useful to your writing needs

If you're writing a fanfiction, look at the source material. Chances are, there's something there that could help you along.

If you don't have the motivation to write anything, don't.

This isn't the best advice for someone who's on a time limit, but works wonders for passion projects and fun stories. Very few do their best work when they force themselves to do it. Besides, there's no point in having a hobby if you don't get joy out of it and overly stress over it.

Writing someone else's character? No problemo, here's some fanfic help:

Always look at the source material, and don't be shy to explore new territory with the character.

It's important to stay true to the personality of a character when you're writing someone else's creation, but don't be afraid to throw in some headcanons and artistic flair. Remember, there's a difference between writing a character unrealistically (pertaining to personality, likes, interests, and universe/world/time period) and changing the circumstances of the original story. Characters are people too, and people react differently to the same thing depending on the world around them. A character may not have [x] trait if [y] event never happened, likewise [y] event never would have happened if this character didn't have [x] trait. Take into consideration the people around the character, as well, as they can also affect what the character does and how they develop. Change up small events in the original source material's story to get a different story and a different reaction out of the character. Experiment, and have fun! It's your story, write it your way!

That's all the advice I have for now, and I hope I was helpful! :)))

[doomalade]

Hazbin Episode 2 Review

As usual, here is the swear count:

Fuck - 25

Shit - 9

Bitch/ Hoe/ Whore/ Slut/ Bimbo - 12

Damn - 1

Ass - 1

Cock/Dick - 1

Porn/Sex - 1

Tits/Boobs - 0

Pussy/Vagina/ Cunt - 0

Piss - 2

Now onto spoilers under the break!

The Good:

We got a lot more Alastor this episode and I love him so much. Getting to see how he uses his dark magic, completely wiping the floor with Pentius and not even paying him the time of day to acknowledge him. Alastor’s cruel side coming out on display as he toys with Pentius before ultimately tossing him away like nothing. Really helped show that Alastor has that power like none other, like we saw in the pilot.

One thing I especially love about the scenes of Alastor and Pentius is how petty Alastor can get. How even the smallest rip of his suit coat got him so mad he let out a deer noise (which I think was a neat touch.)

This episode ultimately is just an introduction to the V’s but Alastor steals the spotlight. How you really can tell that he hates the V’s, and especially Vox.

Speaking of who had hypnotic powers (and so does Pentius seemingly) and it would be interesting to explore that more.

Ultimately you really get the sense that the V’s are the outcasts of the Overlords because they’re just total jerks all together, and not so much that they’re powerful like Alastor is. Also Status Quo had a good song transition both start and finish and is a pretty alright song.

Seeing how creepy Alastor got at the end was also a blessing.

Other than that?

I still love Nifty and how she got upset at Pentius trying to be a better person and also we got to see Fat Nuggets. So hurray!

Okay now onto

The Bad:

The overall pacing of this episode was kinda weird? Like it starts off with Pentius, then moves onto the V’s, and then back to Pentius and for the V introduction episode, it felt like that they didn’t get much screen time.

A few minutes on their own, Velvette barely getting any, Val being there only like 3 times, and Vox basically gets his butt kicked around by Alastor without much tension.

I really do wish that there was more of a power balance thing going on and I know that’s kinda weird to say given how Helluva arguably was pretty forward on the pecking order. Imagine three Overlords all having powers near equal to Alastor, that would raise the stakes as it leaves Charlie and Alastor basically being the two between the V’s and the destruction of the hotel.

Ultimately the V’s feel like Overlords only by title and not by actuality. The bark is there but no bite.

As for Pentius? Meh. His little story was alright I guess, but ultimately it more served as a way to start up Angel character development. I know I’ve thrown around the term “- is the Jaune Arc of this show” before and I want to explain that.

You know how James Gunn made Rocket the secret protagonist of the Guardian films? Take that idea and make it bad and add in a dash of misogyny if called for.

I am deeply afraid that Angel will be taking up more screen time than Charlie and will ultimately take over her spot as the protagonist. Which begs the question, why wasn’t Angel just made the protagonist up right?

Charlie is being woobified as is the case with most Viv characters, and now Angel’s focus is increasing. I got the same vibe from Fizz taking the protagonist role from Bitzø in Helluva.

Other than that? It becomes very apparent that this episode was written by Viv given the 25 fucks said during this episode, the most this far in the series. (Spoilers: E4 takes the cake for the most with 35.) Most of those fucks are spoken by Val’s brief first appearance before Status Quo. To call it excessive would be accurate.

Also let me not forget that I only count the spoken swears, and not the ones only shown. If I did, 25 would have become 30 in one frame during Vox’s news segment during the song.

Also during said segment, there is another Blitzø style drawing, which might only be irking me and no one else.

As for the song itself? I think the only downsides would be that Alastor singing about how older technology and ways of doing things are better than the new, uses terms such as “clout”, “podcast”, and “that’s the tea.”

Is this a nitpick? Sure. Does it only slightly exist out of the reasonability of Alastor’s character and how he acts and thinks? Sure. Does it still bother me like mad and make me point to it as a casual example of Viv not really knowing what she is doing with characters? Yes.

So ultimately this episode was like a 5/10. Idk, it exists I guess.

[ap-art-hell]

Ack! So after i finished piece 3 (and 4 technically) I've been doing some sketching of what I want my next painting to be. Because I'm still figuring this out and I'm also working on a different assignment I don't really have a lot, so I'm just gonna explain what I'm planning and my inspiration (:

So I'll start this off with: I have never actually played/watched a let's play of Mouthwashing. I know about the main plot beats and how the characters/environment look and that's really about it. HOWEVER! I really enjoy the low poly design of the game. It's really what's making me wanna draw this at all

Of course I like how the characters are designed and the softer color palette of some segments, and I wanna recreate something with the same feeling.

Now I was thinking "how would I do this with watercolor" and I decided that I'm sick of watercolor and that I'll do an impasto acrylic painting. I thought not only will the color palette be easier too achieve with acrylic because mixing will be easier, but also the jagged look of low poly. So going along with that idea I looked up some interesting impasto paintings that aren't Picasso.

*starts bashing hand on table* THIS!! I WANT SOMETHING LIKE THIS!! it'll be fun to play with color and the different ways I could make the texture. AND I DID TEST IF I COULD USE ACRYLIC!!

WAH BAM! It's a bit hard to tell from this photo just all of these little test have a very nice texture, and I really really just wanted to touch my painting once I was done with it, which I can't do with watercolor /:

With my little tests I realized that a combination of both a palette knife and brush would make the best texture (because remember, I'm doing this for the texture.)

Anyways moving onto the actual sketches, I was trying to figure out how to do a good low poly on paper without making a 3d model (because that's hard)

I did use a lot of "how to make 3d models" tutorials to figure out what I should make them look like. As you can see, there was a lot of trial and error. I did eventually get it down to hop into the next round of sketches, the thumb nails.

I've never really been good at thumb nails if I'm being honest. I just want to jump into my finish piece. But with these thumbnails I learned that I want it in a Landry mat with it being slightly game-ified

For these I wanted to use one of my actual OCs and not something I made up on the fly, so here's James (≧∇≦)/ I do think that he'll a tiny bit cringe, (I made him work for the mob and a yandere (I hate using that word, but it describes him the best)) I've planned out how I'll do the HP and other HUD elements but the one idea that didn't come from my own brain was "put the scary face in one of the dryers" which was a great idea that my friend pitched because I was complaining that I couldn't find a good place for the monster. (Which I think the top left is the scariest one)

Anyways I don't think I can fit this in my concentration, so it's gonna be one of my 5 not in concentration pieces. I also might just post some sketche book pages this week or the thing I'm painting over, so it'll be a bit before y'all will see any progress on this ^^'

[nerd-at-sea5]

it sounds cooler.

based on a discord rant idea; i can picture sorsha introducing kit to jade and the moment she leaves kit grins and goes 'call me kit. its cooler.' and jade, who shouldn't get it but they get it, nods and says 'ok kit, what do you want to do today?' and it's simple and easy and soon enough it's all they would answer too

aka. kit and jade growing up, falling in love, and ignoring events of canon bc i can :) the ages of the segments are how old kit is, jade is about 6 months to a year older in my head

cw - dysphoria, periods, unsafe binding, broken bones

they/them kit, they/she jade (also in this their both written to have adhd. :)

eight years old

jade is sparring with a straw dummy when she sees them for the first time, long brown hair tied back in a braid, curious eyes, and a smile that looked like the ones they'd read about in old books that jade can't remember the name of.

the kid looks like someone who'd get her in loads of trouble, so, naturally they shoot a grin at them and wave them over.

sadly, she dosen't get the chance to introduce herself before queen sorsha steps into the room, jade scrambles back, dropping to a knee, watching the other kid from the corner of their eye.

they've marched forward with a defeated look on their face, "hi mom." and jade almost falls off their knee.

sorsha nods to her child, and then to jade, who shakily stands, a small wave to the brunette. "jade, correct?" she nods, "this is my daughter, kathrine."

"hi kathrine."

kathrine nods at them, "hey jade." a beat of silence, and jade is about to ask kindly to go back to her room before, "wanna go play outside?"

and their mouth is forming the words "sure, why not?" faster than jade can think.

kathrine looks up at their mom, "please, please, please, pleas-"

sorsha nods, as jade stifles as laugh, she's never seen a child so happy to be able to go outside, it's nice, they think. kathrine's smile is nice, it makes jade want to smile and smile and never stop.

the queen leaves, and a small hand is extended, "call me kit. it's cooler."

maybe it's because jade can see the way their eyes flick down when called 'kathrine', maybe it's because when she thinks back on it, she's never seen the princess in anything that resembles a dress, and maybe it's because when jade made eye contact with kath-kit, for the first time, something clicked in them. they understood it, even if they didn't understand why they understood it.

there was something. a common ground, and even if thinking about it made jade's head hurt, she liked the idea of doing what she wanted. maybe having a friend.

"ok kit, what do you want to do today?"

those brown eyes practically sparkle as their hand closes around jade's, "everything, duh."

"we'd best get a move on then!"

ten years old

"kit?! did you take my book again?" jade calls out, running down the hallway of the palace before slamming into kit's bedroom door and sending it flying open, kit's hands diapering beneath the pillow. "ok, look-"

"kit tanthalos."

"oh crap."

with a laugh, jade hurls a pillow at the other, "that one is my favorite, give it back!"

kit groans, grabbing the book and gently handing it to jade, "you never want to do anything with me anymore."

jade laughs, flopping onto the bed next to kit, "that's not true, i did things with you yesterday." "yeah but that was so long ago!!"

"you've been doing things all day you know."

kit's face falls, and they roll onto a shoulder, "yeah. my mom's making me take these stupid classes to learn about how...uh" they made a vague gesture at their body, "works." kit's hands flap in discomfort as they finish.

jade shivers, scrunching up their face as they grimace. "i had to take that. not fun." "agreed, i say we ignore it. then it never happens." jade giggles, holding up her pinky, "deal."

kit's warm hands slot into her's, and jade grins before they can stop themself. "deal."

twelve years old

jade is sitting on kit's bed, toying with a small marble, when the door bursts open and kit storms in, not noticing jade before falling to the floor and hugging their knees to their chest. "kit?"

the smaller shakes their head and holds themself harder while jade tries to ignore the way their heart seems to beat faster and faster the more she watches kit cry on the floor.

"what's goin' on?"

kit's voice comes out muffled by their knees, "lift up your head."

they do so, and jade's hand finds kit's on it's own accord. she didn't put it there intentionally.

"it happened."

jade almost questions it, before their brain supplies a memory from months before, an embarrassed statement from jade, face almost as red as her hair when kit gives a hesitant congrats, before grimacing. apologizing. they remember shrugging "suffer with me in a year or so."

"never."

"oh." then they smile, "kit. you got your period, you didn't die."

"i think it's the same thing."

jade rolls her eyes, all while pulling kit closer to them, "why?"

the two are so close jade can practically feel kit's heartbeat speeding up, "i just...my mom said i'm 'posed to feel like a woman now. i just feel less like myself than i should. that doesn't make sense, does it?"

"it does-" jade's words form before they can stop, but it does make sense. all the books they read never mentioned anything about feeling like this wasn't supposed to happen. like it wasn't meant for them.

but they can't explain that, she can't tell kit that they spent hours crying after, hours trying to convince themself that it was a mistake.

nothing they did would help. the feeling of their own skin not fitting stuck and never seemed to fully escape. maybe jade was supposed to be a woman, but in some part of their brain they knew that this had just made them realize they were never going to be one.

"it makes a lot of sense. can i sleep over tonight?"

and kit was never one to say no to jade.

fourteen years old

"shit! shit, shit shit."

jade drops down onto her bed, tears tracking down her face onto the tank top like fabric they'd sown together.

the same material used for wrapping injuries, compressing them....but on a larger scale.

and realistically, jade knows they have less than thirty minutes till kit will burst in and drag them out to spar.

so, she should stop sitting shirtless on their bed, and put the cloth on. they should. stand up, and pull it over.

so they stand, suck in their breath, and finally, slip the material over their head, struggling a bit to pull over their chest-but after minimal readjusting and shifting how it lays on them, jade pulls on a loose shirt, and turns back to face her mirror.

standing sideways, even pulling the shirt taunt against their chest-you can see nothing. everything is completely flat.

jade lets out a breath they didn't realize they were holding, smiling uncontrollably as they hop up and down a few times, snapping excitedly.

it's a slight surprise at the effort it takes to inhale after, but they brush it off, not wanting to take the cloth off. it feels good. it feels like jade.

for the first time that jade can remember-kit might be beating her fair. and it's not because they've managed to best jade, but rather-jade feels like they're drowning with her feet on the stone and their head above water.

they can't pull in enough air to their lungs because the cloth is making it harder and harder to expand their chest.

jade stumbles back, and as they shift to throw up an elbow in order to defend against kit's oncoming kick, she runs out of air and sends it to high, letting kit's leg slide under their arm and slam into jade's chest.

instantly, searing pain shoots through their entire chest and jade falls onto their back, screaming in pain.

"fuck! jade, what-i'm so sorry, i'm sorry-are you okay?!"

jade barley has a moment to process how hard their crying, how stupid they must look, when kit's running away, only to return seconds later with arik, who takes one look at jade-sobbing on the floor with her arms around her chest, and gently lifts them up.

"what did you two do?!"

jade can't hear kit's response over the feeling of white hot fire being poured directly into their chest cavity.

the realization hits them as arik's lying her down in their bed, and kit's dragging ballantine into the room; this isn't good.

neither kit nor arik will leave not until ballantine is practically yelling at arik to go get a nurse, and jade can feel his hands on their back, trying to roll them over-each finger pressing onto them is like a thousand shards of glass stabbing into their skin, "stop!"

kit shoves ballantine's hands away, and looks back down at jade, the most concern and distraught expression jade's ever seen on their friend clear as day, "it's your chest right? i kicked you. i think i broke your rib."

jade can feel her face shift into shock as kit continues, "it's fine, remember when arik fell off his horse last year? same thing. but, we have to take off your shirt to see the damage, is that ok?" kit's voice is soft, scared even-and ballantine steps away and turns, allowing the kids (mainly jade) privacy, "it's going to hurt" kit comments, "so squeeze my leg, as hard as you want. alright?" jade nods, letting kit slowly undo the buttons of their training shirt, hesitantly gripping the others knee as each sends a shockwave of pain.

"you can go harder than that, i'm not as weak as you think."

jade nods, and kit pauses, locking eyes with them, "i'm so sorry."

as jade is about to shake their head, 'no, no it's alright.' but then there's a movement, and then a burst of pain so badly she punches out blindly, first connecting with something hard, and kit screams out; "OH MOTHER FUCKER GOOD GOD FUCKING MOTHER OF ELORA DANAN OW JADE. HOW ARE YOU SO STRONG."

apparently the hard thing jade's first had connected with was in fact, kit's kneecap. said kneecap was already red and by any guess based on how red kit's face was-jade had punched harder than they meant.

"i'm sorr-" "don't. payback."

jade nods, wincing slightly but smiling at the way kit grins, "i got your shirt off." and so they did.

jade's shirt is off. kit can see what they did.

"kit i-"

"i got a nurse-OH GOD."

arik spins around, clapping a hand over his eyes, and shuffles over to join ballantine in the corner, "i'm so sorry j."

"'s fine."

kit's eyebrows knit together in confusion as the nurse bends next to jade, but before she can speak, kit's eyes slip to jade's again, they've always been unnaturally good at reading her. "skip the lecture. just help."

and if jade could spin them around in thanks, they would.

the nurse sighs, "it looks like a broken rib, but in order to bandage and fix it i'd have to cut this off of you, it's much to tight to be taken off properly."

jade's cheeks color, mumbling an apology as embarrassment floods them.

of course this was a bad idea, they can't change what's set in stone. jade claymore is a girl. right?

she's supposed to be one, so why does she never fully feel like such? why is she more ok with just not. just existing?

maybe they'd never be able to explain it, but they know. at least they get it themself.

kit makes a strange motion before blushing, "i'll go stand wi-"

"bend down, take my hand and close your eyes." jade instructs, not letting the royal finish, "do what now?"

she sighs painfully, "you're staying. but i don't want you....y'know. seeing anything. so, eyes." and then they hesitate, "i'll explain later."

kit grins, closing their eyes and taking jade's hand, "you don't have to, i get it."

sixteen years old

if you asked jade to think about how long they've loved kit, you'd get 3 different answers.

the first one, given to people who's names go in one ear and out the other, over the royal dinner tables when kit is forced to talk to someone else (much to the royal's dismay) is as follows, "forever i think, we basically grew up together. they're my best friend, i've loved them as long as i've known them."

the second, for friends and family spoken hesitantly, breaking eye contact, laying under the stars with dove and gray when arik and kit we're too busy to be with them, "nine years old. the first time kit snuck into my room, they fell right onto the floor and bounced up with a giant smile and a bag full of cookies. that's when i started falling in love with them."

and the last, reserved for only kit-even though they never know, that jade's played out in thousands of impossible scenarios in their head night after night, daydream after daydream is this, "i don't care how long i've loved you, because it's to intricate to unwind, but i know that i won't go a day or night without loving you, or a moment where i won't want you by my side. i'm going to love you until i'm gone and long after that."

in reality, that never happends.

kit's warm hand is closed around jade's as the pair sprints past the tree line, laughing and almost tripping on the tall grass, they stop, and jade catches kit by their collar before they fall, pulling them back, pulling them much to close.

"sorry i-"

but kit's eyes spark in joy, and all of a sudden, jade finds themself against a tree, "spar with me?"

they freeze, blood rushing to their cheeks, as she nods, and kit grins, stepping back and letting jade throw the first punch.

it was a set up from the beginning, and it makes jade question how good they are at figuring out traps.

a kick to the back of kit's knees, the brunette landing on the ground and groaning, jade offering a hand up, kit's legs sweeping jade's out until their straddling her, leaning-hovering above them.

"i love you."

jade's breath catches in their throat, for a moment they think they might be loosing their mind-but then kit's staring at them and their staring back, "i am. and have been for some time," her voice drops, jade thinks back to all the times that they've dreamt of this, planned out what they'd say, "just...." and drops all of it, "totally, ridiculously, desperately, in love with you."

kit's face breaks into a giant smile, and jade can feel their own cheeks breaking apart as well, "yeah?"

"yeah."

kit opens their mouth, and as if jade can read their mind, "shut up and do something about it."

kit smirks, leaning down, their necklace catching on jade's lip as they blush, and finally, press a kiss to jade's lips.

[calliecod]

A couple of additional features, and building most of Level 2

First I'll cover the new additions we coded this week before moving into discussing the puzzles I made for level 2. the first of these we made was a double jump mechanic that could be distributed through an item pickup to serve as a power up. We achieved this by altering the jump feature in the first person code to be able to launch the player again after the initial jump, and then tying the number that determined whether you could to the code for picking up the power up. (apologies if this is poorly explained it's Friday and I'm tired)

after this we went back into the pause screen's code to add functionality for the Reset level button to save the current name of the level being played and then using that to decide which level to load.

with the new features out of the way, it's time to move on to what I've created for Level 2 so far.

The first puzzle in level 2 is a simple variation of the door opening puzzle from the tutorial, where instead of pulling Charlene through after you, you drop Charlene over a hole in the wall for her to land on the button to let the player come through. This is the beginning of variations on getting around the door, and I'm hoping to come up with some even smarter ideas on how this could be done.

The second puzzle is a bit of a change up, as it is for the most part solely a platforming section focused on jumping between moving platforms with Charlene being largely secondary. Because the platforming in this section requires a lot of focus, and Charlene takes up quite a lot of the screen, for this puzzle I added an alternate side platform for the player to send Charlene to wait for you at the end of the puzzle. In case someone did want to try it without that, I did make sure to add a checkpoint for Charlene part way through the puzzle for those insane enough to attempt it with her in the way. Charlene is quite necessary for the end of the room, however, as although it seems there is no way through, there is a hidden tip on the wall that lets the player know to reach Charlene around the wall to put her on a button hidden on the other side that lets the player through.

My idea for the third puzzle is not finished yet, but I plan for it to involve the player and Charlene using buttons to allow each other to progress through simultaneous tunnels opposite each other.

There is currently nothing yet for the fourth puzzle, but the Fifth and final puzzle is pretty much fully completed. I had originally intended for it to be the second puzzle, but playtester feedback said it was a little hard and it should probably go back further. This puzzle comes in two main sections, one for Charlene and the other for the player. For Charlene's segment, the player has to control a platform via a button to move her onto a series of moving platforms that eventually move her into a chute that deposits her onto a button that opens the door at the end. Meanwhile, after controlling the platform, the player must then navigate a series of jump pads, and then some smaller manual jumps to make it across to the other side. The difficulty in this puzzle mainly comes from Charlene's segment being quite finnicky, and the objective being quite unclear at first, but it all works quite well.

unfortunately I am a little behind on finishing level 2 as the fifth puzzle took me way too long to fine-tune, but hopefully I can get things back on track next week.

[wolfjackle-creates]

Ok, so I think it's been clear since Sunday what you guys want. I was hoping to share what I've written tomorrow, and I still might, but it's more likely to be Monday before I get the chance to post.

To the one (1) person who voted for Bring Me Home, I see you and I love you. You are my favorite person on this site. Feel free to DM me and I might send a little something your way just for you. ;) This is the fic I'm focusing on the most, even if you can't tell based on what I'm posting. I think if I ever do a poll like this again, I'll have to include summaries of what the different options are. That's my bad, but hey, live and learn!

For those who don't know, Bring Me Home is a fic where Tim and Danny were internet friends before either were heroes. And after they become heroes, they don't bother keeping identities secret from each other. Now, when I first wrote this fill back in November, I wasn't very familiar with DC or Batman characters. I am more so now (though mostly through podcasts, metas, fanfic, wikis etc). And I realized, I can't have a Tim story without the Young Justice team. So I've been reworking some things to fit in Conner Kent, Cassie Sandsmark, and Bart Allen. Which means even more time on their various wikis. But I am really excited for what is going to come. If all goes well, I plan to start applying for jobs and moving in the next two or three months. And I'll start posting to AO3 after that if I get enough written. (I want at least the first 4 chapters done. And I tend to go for 7k+ chapters. So basically, I want 30k written before I start posting. Currently at ~19k, though some parts will have to be rewritten with the Young Justice in mind.)

Now, I don't want anyone to feel bad for NOT voting for Bring Me Home! I love all five of these ideas and I'm so excited to share them all with you. That was just the first thing I wrote for this fandom.

Ghost Robin... Keep an eye out and I'll be sharing a poll to help me decide on a title. I hate naming things and usually leave it until the last minute. I love how excited you guys are for the new segments I share on Wednesdays--my notifications go crazy for a full 2+ days after I share something. It is so much fun to write. It's also like 90% dialogue which is definitely not my usual. Especially a dialogue fic with so many characters. So it's been fun to get out of my comfort zone a bit!

Wrong Number AU! I will definitely return to this fic. I want to finish Ghost Robin first, though. I don't expect that one to be more than 20k words max and I already have about 6k written (though parts need a good polish). So I will wrap that up and switch over to this one. I'll work on this and Bring Me Home concurrently until one is finished.

Then I'll move on to one of these last two options! (Which, let's be honest, based on interest will be the Dead on Main fic.)

As I mentioned, the Twin AU was my original fic idea for this fandom. I got really into the trope with some of the gems on AO3 that existed back in August through November (though many more have been added since and I've read a lot of them). I can't say there's anything too unique in the fundamentals about my take on them, but I think I can make the details interesting enough that it won't feel stale. It will feature trans!Danny because that is a favorite trope of mine.

And onto Dead on Main. Wow, you DoM shippers are feral and I love it. (I say like I do not actively ship them myself. In fact, it is tied for my top 3 Danny ships and I'm a multi-shipper.) I am so excited to have the chance to think on this and flesh the idea out more thoroughly earlier than expected. This is going to be so chock full of angst and self discovery. I'll be putting together a full outline in the next week or two for my own records, but I'm having fun with the segment I plan to share with you guys. Just need to write another thousand words and do some editing. I don't think it'll take long, I've just been crazy busy this week!

Send an ask if you want to know more about any or all of these fics! I love rambling about my ideas just like any writer. If, say, you want to know more about the angst in Dead on Main, just send "Dead on Main angst?" and I will go on about it. (I have multiple angles I can explore there, so I can answer multiple questions about it.)

Thank you again for all the enthusiasm in this fandom! It's been a blast getting to recognize many of your usernames and icons.

So, you all are amazing. This blog has existed less than a month and I'm already at 100 followers. I love you and I'm glad you're enjoying what I'm putting out!

In celebration, I'm making this poll to see what you all want to see and I'll post a longer segment (ideally 2-3k words) next weekend for the fic you vote for. I'll even be including 2 that I haven't shared anything for, so if you want to know what's on my mind for after I get through my current stuff, this is one way to do it!

The DannyxDamian twin AU is actually the first idea I had for a fic for this fandom. It's what pushed me to become active in the Tumblr community and brought me out of my AO3 reading only. Full of angst and identity shenanigans.

The Dead on Main idea I've got is based off this prompt I submitted ages ago. It even has artwork!

Your regular wip Wednesdays will continue as normal.

[finelinevogue]

HI! HOPE U HADE AN AMAZING DAY TODAY😊!!

Could you do one where your three children are teaching you and Harry to do a TikTok dance? (Or maybe just Harry)

And the next thing you know it goes viral?

this is too cute i’ll cry :( i’m going to continue to write with the same children characters so Oliver, Felix and Isabella. in this one Oliver is 16, Felix is 14 and Isabella is 11.

ok so imagine it’s a rainy saturday afternoon.

The rain had been most unforgiving today. It was coming down in bath loads. As much as you loved listening to the rain at night as it sent you to sleep, you hated it when it meant you couldn’t go and fulfil adventures with your kids. Especially this Saturday in particular since it was Harry’s first day off in a long while. You all had plans to visit a nearby castle and were going to take a picnic to have out, but the weather had other plans for you.

Instead, you’d spent the day inside and all cuddling together whilst watching movies. Each of your children were allowed to pick out a movie; Oli chose Fast and Furious 8, Fix chose Thor: Ragnarok and Belles chose Moana. Harry didn’t allow Belles watch Fast and Furious because it was quite graphic and contained bad language, so you and her went to make cookies for later.

It was now later.

“Ok who wants cookies?��� You shouted to the boys in the other room, who you could hear had finished up their movie.

Belles and you had spent the last few hours baking your cookies. An assortment had been made; raspberry and white chocolate, raisin and oat and dark chocolate and orange. They were the three flavours that your family loved the most so they were always the ones you ended up baking.

You pulled out five glasses along with the milk you’d kept cool in the fridge. The Styles family absolutely loves cookies with milk, it was your guilty pleasure. It had started as a tradition when Oli was little and you’d just carried it on ever since. The way the warm cookies melted away like butter in your mouth and then downed with refreshing creamy milk was absolute bliss. It was a treat like no other.

“No you do it like this!” Flix stated, but about what you had no idea.

“What are you on about? It’s like this!” Oli challenged his brother, making you really curious as to what was going on as they approached the kitchen.

“Both of you are no help.” Harry finished the conversation, playfully hitting them on the backs of their heads as they entered the kitchen. It never failed to surprise you how tall your sons were in comparison to Harry. You were little in comparison, well apart from your little Belle. They were the spitting image of their dad and you couldn’t believe how alike they both looked, regardless of their 2 year age gap.

“What’s the fuss for?” You asked your boys, as you poured and handed Belle a cup of milk. She grabbed it with two hands and drank carefully, as Harry passed her and stroked his hand over his daughters hair once - out of habit.

“Trying to teach dad this TikTok dance, but he’s absolutely useless!” Oli laughed, seating himself at the kitchen island and Flix sitting next to him.

“Yeah only ‘cause you’re a crap teacher!” Flix playfully shoved his brother, who rolled his eyes at him.

“Oi.” Harry warned, not wanting the bad language to be picked up by Belle. You and Harry didn’t mind you sons swearing, as long as they weren’t too harsh words, but as long as it was only in front of just you two.

Don’t tell Grandma Styles this though.

“Sorry.” Flix held up his hands in surrender, pouring himself a glass of milk and then one for his brother.

“Mummy? Can I have a cookie now please?” She sweetly asked. You helped her up and onto the kitchen counter, next to the plate of gooey cookies. It didn’t take long for Harry to walk over and protectively stand in front of his daughter in case she fell off the side.

“Let’s see this dance again then, Ol.” Harry requested, Oli picking up his phone with a cookie wedged in his mouth and turning it around to show him. You had a little look for yourself too and laughed at the fact that Harry didn’t understand how to do it. It was a simple little dance to ‘Still the One’ by One Direction, which resulted in two people making a heart with their arms. It was so cute and simple and yet Harry was so uncoordinated.

“Oh you are such a plank.” You laughed, referring to how he was as solid as a piece of wood when he attempted to follow the moves on the screen.

It was making Belle laugh though, so it was worth watching your husband wiggle around like a jelly bean on fire.

“Hey, why are you laughing little miss?” Harry pretended to be offended, but could never actually be. He loved his little girl too much.

“Mum you try it with me.” Oli suggested, setting up his phone and coming around to meet you. You were pretty confident that you’d got the hang of it already.

The screen counted down from 3, 2, 1 and then you were copying the actions you’d just learnt. Flix could be seen hovering in the background watching you two ace the dance moves, whilst Harry could be seen devoting his attention to his daughter who had got crumbs all around her face.

“Go mum!” Flix hooted as you finished, joining you and Oli to watch back the video. You laughed at certain points and pointed out certain bits which were off.

“See dad, mum just gets it.” Oli said once you’d finished watching the video, returning to finish the rest of his cookie. Flix finished the rest of his milk before putting it in the sink for you to clean later.

“Alright, let’s me and y’mum have a go then.” Harry suggested, “Flix, watch Belles on there please.” He sternly ordered, not wanting any casualties unless it was him poking himself in the eye from dancing - which was highly likely.

Oli set up the phone again and pressed the countdown once more. Oli stood back with his siblings and laughed happily when he watched his sister trying to join in.

“Go Belle!” Oli cheered, making you turn around to see the commotion between the siblings. It was a blessed sight to watch.

“Oi focus on me, missus. Know they’re cute but focus.” Harry caught your attention as he finished his little dance segment, before you had to follow. You had no idea whether Harry had done it correctly, but you didn’t care it was just fun to be silly and young with him again.

Once you were finished you all laughed as you watched it back, especially as you focused in on the determination on Harry’s face. He’d actually aced it, which he looked awfully smug about.

He’d hold that over you all forever, now.

“Dad can I post these?” Oli asked. He had quite a large following on TikTok, even without posting content containing his dad in. He liked to keep his dad and his relationship quite private - because it was really special to him - so of course Harry welcomed the idea of people getting a slight glimpse of the Styles’ relationships.

You didn’t, however, expect the videos to blow up so much to the point where it became the most liked video on TikTok, talked about on almost every talk show and start a trend on twitter of #StylesforStrictly.

[wish-i-wasnt-a-coward]

Family Cuddle Pile

a/n: I actually wrote this a while ago but it was perfect for the request. Theirs like, no content for this ship an I love it so much! Thank you for reading :) @arodynamic-enby

Pairings: romantic Anxceitmus and kid!Patton also super background Logince

Warnings: tattoos, less than ideal parent mentions, food mention, and light cursing

Word count: 1,844 

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

Remus flopped out of bed, throwing his body carelessly across the room. He hastily threw on his clothes. Short shorts, ripped fishnets, a vest that was more patches than original material, really big clunky shoes, and a ripped up band-t. He also hooked his favorite bone earrings in his tattered earlobes. 

He stomped into his apartment’s kitchen. He grabbed a stale piece of bread he soaked it in coffee. Yawned and grabbed his bag, racing out the door. 

His brother was waiting for him at the tattoo shop, sketching a new idea. Unlike him, Roman only had a few tattoos, including not one, not two, not three… but three Disney quotes, a frog on a mushroom, a rose on his arm, and a constellation. Most of his tattoos were covered by tasteful burgundy overalls and a white button-down shirt.

Remus’ tattoos were also mostly covered by his clothes. But he had a tattoo sleeve depicting the garden of Eden, a matching frog on a mushroom, a quote from one of Roman’s books, medically accurate bone structures on his hand, a realistic spider on his neck, and a snake wrapping around his non-sleeved arm. And those were just the visible ones. 

Suffice to say, the twins were very different. 

Remus threw his bag onto the floor in the backroom, “Ro, when’s the first appointment!!” he yelled. “Your’s? At 11. FYI, Jan n’ Pat are coming over at 12, for motivation” Remus smiled, fuckin’ superb. 

He busied himself in collecting the ink and preparing the tattoo gun. The client wanted a fucking orange on their wrist, it should only take an hour or two but Remus was not excited to do a frickin’ orange circle. 

The prissy orange bitch came in and Remus got to work. They didn’t move much and only cried a little bit when the needle started jabbing at their skin. Remus liked this part of the process, stabbing people consensually was his favorite thing ever… also the art part but stabbing people!

Almost exactly an hour later the door jingled open. “Dada!!” a tiny voice called back into the store. “I’ll be there in a minute patty-cake” Remus called from his spot hunched over the client's arm.

He added the final touches to the fruit and helped the orange bitch off the chair. Roman swept the client away, Remus practically ran to greet his partner and son.

Janus wore a leather corset over a black collared shirt and baggy pants, their long platinum hair framed their face under their signature hat. They were holding hands with a toddler wearing mostly pink and blue, his blond hair (that matched Janus’) was a mop of curls barely held together by a few butterfly clips. 

“Dada, Dada!!! I got you a flower” the little boy cried, letting go of Janus’ hand and stumbling towards the tall man who scooped him up. Patton giggled and held out a sweaty flower clenched in his chubby fist. 

Remus accepted the flower with a gasp, ”this is really for me?” he said joyfully. Adjusting the small boy in his arms Remus turned towards Janus who was looking at the pair with a disgustingly sappy expression. 

“What are you lookin’ at hot stuff?” Remus teased. “Shut it you,” Janus said, pressing a kiss to Remus’ check. Patton made a noise, “icky” he said pushing Janus away. They laughed, “yes darling, we’re very icky”. 

“When’s verge-“

“he’ll be home at 4” 

“Dope”

“Stop by the Sleepy Café before you bring Pat to the apartment?”

“Can do scootal-lo!” 

Remus turned back to the little boy in his arms, “looks like you're stuck with me squirt”. Patton beamed and snuggled into Remus’ chest. Janus smiled again, “I’ll see you, boys, at dinner,” they said, ruffling Pat's hair and peaking Remus on the lips quickly so as to not upset the toddler. “Bye-bye Janny!!” Patton called after Janus as they left for work. 

“Righty-o,” Remus said, carrying Patton into the back room. “I know Ro’s got a couple coloring books, wanna do those for a bit?” Patton nodded and reached towards the ground to be put down. Remus plopped Patton on the couch and pulled out the book and pens as well as a sketchbook off his own. They sat together coloring and drawing until Roman came back to hug Patton. 

“Ah, my favorite nephew!” Roman said, scooping up the little boy. Patton laughed and pulled Roman’s hair. “Roro, can I color your arm pictures??” he asked, pointing to Roman’s rose tattoo. Roman plopped the toddler back down on the couch and handed him a pen. 

Patton went to work on the rose, scribbling reds and pinks and greens across his arm. Roman gave him complements each time Patton paused, and each time Patton shushed him and went back to work. Remus finished up his sketch, adding it to the pile of tattoo ideas they were eventually going to put up-front, and sat next to the toddler. 

“That’s really good pat-” 

“Shhhhhhhh”

Remus nodded and mimed zipping his lips. He liked spending time with the kid. They weren’t biologically related but who gives a fuck about blood, unless it’s outside of your body, then it’s fun. 

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

“I don’ wanna” Patton wined his dad sighed “I know bubbles but we gotta go home to Papa and Janny, isn’t that fun” Patton considered this, “but Roro’s pretty arm picture” he argued. Remus scratched the back of his neck, “Pffffff- Ummm, how about this, we go home now and I’ll take you back to the shop tomorrow after pre-school” 

Patton brightened considerably, “ok” he chirped. “up please” the toddler’s chubby hands reached towards Remus who obediently scooped him up with a coo. After all who was he to say no to uppy hands. 

“See ya tomorrow, have fun on your date with the nerd” Remus sang as he snatched his bag juggling the still fussy Patton in his other arm. “Fu- Frick off Re. Say hi to your partners for me,” Romans said affectionately and waved as his twin left the building. 

Remus happily trotted out into the road. The tattoo shop was located on a quaint little street in the more commercial segment of their town only a short walk from Janus’ job. 

A light drizzle floated around them and the air was warm and comforting. Patton squealed as a large drop of water hit him in the head, prompting a laugh from Remus.

A jingle sounded through the peaceful cafe, the brown room was illuminated by those cool old fashion lights and a lovely array of pastries made the air smell of chocolate and blueberry scones. But the scones, as delicious as they were, weren’t the snack Remus was here for

“Hey babe- Remus why are you soaking wet”

“Puddle” Patton screeched. 

“Kid’s right, Puddle.”

Janus pinched their eyebrows, “ya know what, I’m not even surprised anymore. Just make sure Patton doesn’t catch a cold” they scolded. 

Remus nodded and saluted in mock seriousness, “yes captain” he said and pressed a kiss to Janus’ face over the cash register, “I’ll see ya in a bit” Remus grinned and led Patton back out of the cafe. 

Janus sighed lovingly as they watched their boyfriend and son turn to cross the street, Patton’s hand clasped around Remus’ happily. “Stop looking so happy, you're scaring the customers” Remy teased from across the counter. “Ha, Ha,” Janus glared and went back to work” 

Janus’ apartment was a cute two-bedroom space on the fourth floor of the building. The furniture was an interesting combo of vintage and things from the side of the road. The vintage parts came from their parent’s house, their father had died two years after Janus’ had run away and hadn’t thought to write them out of the will. 

The three of them had made a date out of customizing the few pieces that Janus wanted to keep. The customization mainly included darkening everything and adding more gothic touches. Virgil had done the fabrics, Remus the painting, and Janus moral support/ director. 

The three partners had also painted the kitchen/dining room/living room black with one yellow wall. Janus and Virgil’s room was dark purple instead of black with highlights in the same yellow. Patton’s room was the only one that didn’t  look marginally like a cave. 

The walls were a cream-yellow that lit up in the morning sunlight. After Janus announced that they were going to have a baby Remus had spent three hours painting the grey ceiling with white fluffy clouds. It was one of his favorite projects. 

Patton of course had no regard for the work put into the entirety of his home and was the usual menace of a toddler. And today a toddler with cheerios, truly a sight even god would tremble before. 

Remus plopped down next to Patton who was pushing cheerios around his highchair tray with an intense focus. He smiled at the little boy and flicked on the tv, “got any requests pip-squeak?” Remus asked. Patton looked thoughtful, “dead lady!!” he cried excitedly hitting the tray with his fists, cheerios flew everywhere. Remus nodded, understanding, “Corpse bride coming up!” he picked a few cheerios from the couch “you really are Verge’s kid” 

When Janus got home Patton was curled up on Remus’s chest. Both slept soundly despite the dead folk on the screen in front of them singing about the wedding. 

Janus smiled, their family was fucking adorable. They slipped off their shoes and snuggled up into Remus who hummed happily and pulled Janus into the hug still asleep. 

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

Three hours later Virgil trudged up the four flights of stairs huffing indignantly with each step. Of course, he could take the elevator… but it might break down and he would be stuck for hours. Or someone could get into the elevator with him and he would have to interact with a stranger. So stairs it was. 

He rummaged around his baggy hoodie, running his fingers through his dark purple hair in annoyance when he couldn’t find the key. Once he found it Virgil carefully (as he did everything) opened the apartment door. His combat books clunked satisfyingly against the hardwood floors as he entered his house. Virgil felt the tension leave his muscles, he was home. He glanced across the room, looking for his family. 

Virgil’s face lit up like a god damned Christmas tree. 

Across the room, both his partners and his son were curled up sleeping happily. Drool covered Remus’ face and Janus was snoring, they were the most precious thing Virgil had seen all freakin day. 

The three of them woke as Virgil wrapped his arms around them, Patton squealed in excitement. “Hello, darling” Janus mumbled sleepily into Virgil’s arm. Remus just groaned and nestled into the hug. The toddler wriggled between his dads squealing profusely. “Shhh, s’ sleepy time” Remus mumbled, rolling deeper into the cuddle pile and shutting Patton up. 

Virgil smiled and pressed a kiss to his partner’s cheek. “Mmm, love you” they purred. “Love you too Jan,” Virgil said, nestling his face in their neck. Virgil knew he would have to start dinner soon but that could wait, for now, cuddles.

[tennessoui]

i really am just so excited for part two of the roadtrip au and knowing it might be from obi-wan's perspective??? seeing obi-wan fawn over anakin while anakin dotes on him?? i'm losing my mind.

hey!!! bless!!!! i know i said it would be part 1, part 2, part 3, but i started writing part 2 and it's like already 2.2k long and they're just in Pennsylvania so i think we should all start thinking of this story as part 1 (finished, posted), ARC 2 (very long, is in segments, depending on what people wanna see and what road trip shenanigans i can think up), and part 3 (tbd)

anyway here's the 2.2k (squick: a/b/o, mpreg)

“Uh, sir? Are you...alright?”

That’s the gas station attendant. Obi-Wan barely resists the urge to thunk his head on the side of the bathroom stall. The only thing stopping him is how absolutely unsanitary it would be, and he already feels dirty enough. He pulls a few more squares of toilet paper from the dispenser and wipes at his mouth.

Of all the pregnancy symptoms he hates, he thinks morning sickness is the one he hates the most. And it’s the one that seems to be, for some reason, sticking around the longest.

He’d never even known how much of a misnomer morning sickness is, but it’s not like it’s only happening in the morning. He’ll feel nauseous halfway through the day, mid-afternoon, early evening.

His doctor and close friend at the hospital, Bant, had assured him this was normal and nothing to worry about. But it’s hard not to worry about it, especially when he lives with an Alpha who worries about everything.

“Just fine, thank you,” Obi-Wan says politely as he flushes the toilet and leaves before he can watch his breakfast spiral down and disappear. That’ll only make him feel even more sick.

The girl wrings her hands as she watches him wash his, and he has to take pity on her. She can’t be older than eighteen. “Morning sickness,” he tells her, placing a hand on the virtually unnoticeable swell of his belly.

“Oh!” she says. Obi-Wan fights the urge to grimace when he sees her eyes dart down to his unmarked neck. He knows how it looks. He knows how it sounds. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s quite alright,” he says. It’s not, but it is. Obi-Wan doesn’t want to have this conversation, doesn’t want to talk to this girl anymore. They’re passing through a small town in central Pennsylvania. He’s a pregnant, unmated, thirty-eight year old male omega. A rarity. A talking point. He doesn’t want to talk to her, he wants--

There’s a loud knock on the door to the bathroom. “Obi-Wan? Are you alright? Is there someone in there with you? I thought I heard voices. Obi-Wan? I’m coming in, Obi-Wan.”

Anakin.

Obi-Wan gets halfway through drying his hands before Anakin’s there, crowding him against the sink and nosing at his face and neck.

“Sir, this is a bathroom for omegas only!” the gas station attendant protests, but Anakin growls at her.

As much as the pregnancy has made Obi-Wan lose parts of himself to his Omegan side, it’s been ten times worse for Anakin for some reason. As far as Alphas go, Anakin’s always been a thoughtful, respectful one. Quick to anger, perhaps, but never violent or suspicious.

Now it’s like everyone in the world has done something to personally offend Anakin. Everyone but Obi-Wan.

If he didn’t feel such a burning, unignorable need to get to Seattle, Obi-Wan would have called the whole trip off weeks ago.

But he couldn’t then and he definitely can’t now, not when they’ve both taken the time off of work and Obi-Wan’s let his doctor know he’ll be out of the state and they’re already in Pennsylvania.

He’ll just let Anakin do whatever he needs to do to feel alright with taking a pregnant, unmated omega across the country. It’s not as if it’s a hardship to put up with all the scentings and hugs and looming and protectiveness.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Which just makes Obi-Wan feel even more guilty, the way he’s using Anakin like this. His dearest, closest friend, who is helping him in such an amazing way, and every time he touches him, it’s all Obi-Wan can do to not arch up into the touch.

He wishes he could blame it on the pregnancy hormones, the way his instincts are going haywire to keep an alpha--any alpha--close. But it’s not. It’s Anakin. It’s the fact that Obi-Wan is hopelessly, irreversibly in love with the alpha.

The touches and the scenting don’t mean what he wants them to. It doesn’t mean anything, the way Anakin pushes his shirts and sweaters to Obi-Wan’s chest and watches him put them on. He’s an observant man, his alpha. He knows Obi-Wan likes wearing his scent now that he’s pregnant. It’s comforting.

So even though it doesn’t mean anything at all, the way Anakin’s hands roam over his waist and stomach and hips as he growls at the poor gas station attendant, Obi-Wan has to fight to not push back into the touches, to not scent him in return.

He’s afraid once he does, he won’t be able to stop. The thought of it, of marking the beautiful, strong, virile alpha with his smell, is too addicting to ever risk trying.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just a bit of morning sickness,” he says lightly, touching Anakin’s chest gently. “She was just checking up on me.”

Anakin glares at the girl and starts to herd Obi-Wan out of the bathroom. “Not hers to check up on,” he mutters, hands latching onto Anakin’s hips and guiding him through the aisles of brightly colored chips and candy.

Obi-Wan thinks that for both of their sakes he should remind Anakin that he’s not his to check up on either, but he doesn’t want to, not when he can pretend for a little bit longer.

“I think I would like to lie down in the back for a bit,” he says, holding his stomach. “Just until we get out of this state.”

Anakin agrees immediately, like he knew he would. “Okay, Obi,” he murmurs, opening the car door for him. They’d laid down their suitcases in the wells behind the two front seats, and Anakin had thrown a couple of blankets over the entire area to make a sort of makeshift nest for Obi-Wan to sleep in should he want to.

They’ve only been driving for four hours, but Obi-Wan already wants to. He’s painfully on edge.

He hadn’t understood how hard it would be to convince his hindbrain and body to leave the safety of their apartment, but all he wants now is to nest somewhere safe for him and the baby. It would have been impossible to do this without Anakin.

“Alright,” the alpha says. “Um. Wait. Here.”

He shucks off his sweatshirt, a faded college one that Obi-Wan’s been coveting with his eyes since Anakin had put it on this morning. “Oh, dear one, no,” he forces himself to say anyway. “It’s December. You need a sweatshirt.”

“I’ll turn up the heat,” Anakin holds it out insistently, stubbornly. “Take it, come on.”

Obi-wan can only make himself hesitate for a second more before he’s snatching the soft fabric that smells like sunlight linen honeydew out of his hands and holding it greedily to his chest. “Alright.”

Under the weight of the alpha’s watchful eyes, Obi-Wan crawls into the backseat and curls up with his head diagonal from the driver’s seat. He thinks it’ll be nice to wake up and see Anakin’s profile whenever he wants to without additional shifting.

“Oh shit,” Anakin curses suddenly. “I was going to buy a coffee.” The alpha pauses, clearly torn between going back inside and not wanting to leave the omega alone in the car. But Obi-Wan knows Anakin, and he needs his coffee.

“Oh,” he says as if he’s just remembering something himself, “can you get me one of those bananas on the counter? I think they’re good for babies.”

That, obviously, changes everything for Anakin who straightens instantly. “Bananas are good for babies,” he declares, nodding his head before narrowing his eyes. “Would you...can I lock the door? I won’t be long. Just for safety.”

Obi-Wan blinks and purses his lips to stop his little smile. His alpha can be so silly. Safety. In the middle of the afternoon in rural Pennsylvania. “Okay, alpha,” he agrees before he even realizes that he really shouldn’t be calling Anakin alpha. Especially not when the other man always reacts so strongly to it.

Case in point, he thinks to himself sadly as Anakin’s hand spasms on the car door handle before he slams it and hustles away, almost at a run.

With a long sigh, he flops back down into his nest and squirms until he gets comfortable. There’s a pillow close to his hand that he hugs to his chest when he realizes it’s Anakin’s pillow from his bed at home. It smells amazing, a mix of both of them together.

Ever since he’d told the alpha he was pregnant, Obi-Wan’s fallen asleep in Anakin’s bed more often than not. It’s a comfort thing, one that Obi-Wan feels intensely guilty about. Surely if he keeps being so clingy and whiny and Omegan, Anakin will get sick of him.

And this is just the beginning of the pregnancy. He knows rationally that Anakin loves him as a friend, a brother, but how long is that love going to last if Obi-Wan can’t get a handle on his goddamn hormones? Anakin hadn’t signed up for any of this. It’s not even his pup. How much is Obi-Wan willing to put him through just because he can’t imagine a life without the alpha in it?

Wouldn’t it be the best thing for the both of them to cut their losses now? Bail and Breha had told Obi-Wan he could move in with them for the duration of the pregnancy if he needed to. The only thing that stopped him from saying yes immediately had been the hope that Anakin would be willing to stay with him, keep living with him even after he’d fucked up so much.

And the alpha, by some miracle, hadn’t left, hadn’t moved out. But Obi-Wan can’t shake the thought that he will soon, that this will all get to be too much. Obi-Wan’s omega whimpers at the back of his mind at the idea that one day the alpha will be gone.

The scent of distressed omega fills the car as Obi-Wan feels his bottom lip start to wobble.

Alright, the influx of hormones that are wreaking havoc on his emotions is probably the pregnancy symptom he hates the most. But morning sickness is still up there, too.

He sniffs into Anakin’s college sweatshirt and tries to think happy thoughts. He shouldn’t make Anakin worry about his emotions when he’s already spending so much time worried about his physical health.

How much is Obi-Wan going to take advantage of Anakin’s kindness?

The doors unlock with a beep, signaling his alpha’s return to the car.

It doesn’t take Anakin even a second to catch onto Obi-Wan’s recent spiral of emotion, but at least he won’t know why unless Obi-Wan tells him.

“Obi?” he asks frantically, as soon as he opens the car door. “Obi, are you alright? Did something happen? Did someone see you--?”

“Put the coffee down before you spill it,” Obi-Wan instructs after peeking out of his sweatshirt haven. “I’m alright, Anakin. It’s just the hormones. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Anakin shakes his head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

The statement pulls a wry smile from Obi-Wan. “Oh, I can think of a few things,” he murmurs, touching his belly with a pointed, gentle hand. Before Anakin can say anything about that, he continues quickly. “I was just wondering about something, I’m fine, really. Really.”

And then, knowing he shouldn’t but also knowing it’ll distract Anakin enough from this line of questioning, he tilts his head back to expose his neck and says, “Can we drive, alpha?”

The coffee cup still clutched in Anakin’s hands bursts open under the force of his grip. He really should have put it down.

Anakin curses up a storm as he shakes the hot liquid off of his skin, and Obi-Wan sits up worriedly. Anakin was bothered so much by Obi-Wan calling him that that he accidentally hurt himself. No more, the omega resolves. He can take a hint.

“Are you alright?” he asks, grabbing at Anakin’s hand to examine the red skin.

“I’m fine!” Anakin yelps, jumping away. “I just--I’m just going to go wash this off. Um. And get more coffee.”

He slams the door shut, and Obi-Wan wilts as he watches him go. He can’t even follow after him because Anakin’s locked the doors with his car key. He’s done enough already.

“Oh baby,” he tells his stomach. “I don’t think I’m ever going to have that alpha figured out.”

The baby is still and, of course, silent, but Obi-Wan takes comfort in their presence anyway. They can’t leave him. Not yet, at least.

Gingerly, he maneuvers his way out of his nest so he can reach his messenger bag he’d left in the foot of his passenger seat. It takes some finangling, but finally he’s able to fish out his headphones. As he resettles into his nest, surrounded on all sides by Anakin’s scent, he notices the bunch of bananas thrown in the driver’s seat.

Obi-Wan snorts at his silly alpha, but can’t deny that he’s touched at the same time.

It’s extremely easy to find the track he wants to listen to, what with how often he listens to it these days. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that can get him to fall asleep.

He pulls up the downloaded homemade album Anakin had given him for Christmas four years back. When he presses play, his alpha’s deep melodic voice spills into his ears.

“Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote, the droghte of March hath perced to the roote…”

Of course he can’t be sure, but he’s fairly certain he’s asleep by the time Anakin comes back to the car.

[preciousthingsareprecious]

In Line at the Prize Counter

So this fic was originally intended to be part of Dick and Damian week, but life intervened and I didn’t end up finishing it anywhere near on time. That said, I found it too much fun to write and didn’t want it to live forever in WIP form. So, I hope you all enjoy this adventure featuring one Very Done Damian as he’s forced to rescue Dick from a Bomp n’ Stomp. 

Characters: Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne

Words: 4,965

Summary:  When Dick Grayson is kidnapped, Robin is the only one who really believes he's being held at the Bomp n' Stomp entertainment center. So he rolls up his sleeves, and heads into the dreaded building to rescue his brother from the likes of ball pits, twisted slides, and yes even go karts.

AO3 Link

~

Of all the places in the world Damian Wayne expected to walk into, a Bomp n’ Stomp was not one of them. In fact, he had argued viciously against ever entering the indoor playscape when his brother had suggested they spend a Saturday there.

To make matters worse, in an attempt to convince Damian of it’s legitimacy, Richard had called it an arcade.

An arcade .

The nerve of the man to sully that term by applying it to this ball pit filled, gum ridden, dirty carpeted, sticky establishment. A true arcade, like Shelly’s JoyCon, home of Cheese Viking, would never allow it’s door handles to leave a strangely greasy film on Damian’s gloves as he moved his search from a back room back out into the main area.

The inside smelled of old pizza, spilled soda, and that strange almost chalky scent of fog machines. It was, in a word, disgusting. Damian felt a pull at the bottom of his boot every few steps, like the carpet was coated in something sticky. He wrinkled his nose.

No, this was nothing like his favorite arcade.

Granted. It was also closed for renovations, with the promise of things like all new games, flooring, and yes even door handles. Still, Damian thought nothing could quite erase the smell of greasy pizza. That was a scent that stuck.

He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about greasy pizza and continue working on why he was truly here. Some odious criminal had thought it a good idea to kidnap Richard on his way into Gotham.

It would not be stood for. Not someone snatching his brother. Nor holding him up in a place as terrible as this. To top things off, whoever had taken Richard had deprived both he and Damian of a perfectly excellent evening that should have been spent at the Observatory.

Damian sniffed and picked his way past skee ball games, an overly large wheel with inane words like “Double Prize Winner!!” in bold peeling letters on it, and the playscapes namesake, a Bomp n’ Stomp game.

At the Bomp n’ Stomp, he stopped to peer down at the curious game. It was obviously broken. The machine was little more than a garishly painted box with various holes covering the top. Out of one peeked a chipped plastic facsimile of a mole. Hanging off the machine were two objects strung on cords that looked ready to snap at any moment. The first was a toy hammer, it’s fabric ripped and leaking stuffing, the other a boot attached to a stick.

“Tt.” Damian discounted it and looked back up.

Whoever thought a game designed around attacking moles was a good idea surly must be a criminal.

He’d neared the end of the ‘arcade’ portion of the building and was entering a larger more open space. The carpet changed from soiled red to blue spotted tile. At the change, the ceiling rose at least a second story above him, towering high enough to fit a series of large structures.

To one side of this new area rested a climbing wall. It, out of everything Damian had seen so far, actually looked interesting. Even from here he could see portions that might make for a mild challenge in climbing.

Next there was a multistory play set filled with slides, jungle gyms, large netted areas he supposed children were expected to crawl through, and so many tunnels it would put most professional guinea pig enclosures to shame. A sign outside the entrance indicated that somewhere towards the center of the structure rested a huge ball pit.

Damian really, truly, hoped Richard had not been placed within that. If the rest of the Bomp n’ Stomp was sticky and dirty, the ball pit must be truly foul. He could not even imagine what had happened within it or what--he grimaced-- fluids could have coated the orbs.

He turned to the last attraction, a small go kart area. Perhaps the climbing wall was not the only redeeming quality to the establishment. Provided of course that the carts actually moved quickly.

So far, he had seen no hint of Richard. His brother had not been hidden behind a garishly colored game, and he did not seem to be dangling from the climbing wall. After a brief examination (and admiration of the engines on the small cars) Damian determined that his brother was either being held in one of the staff areas indicated by the back wall or-- He glanced at the huge play place.

After a moment’s hesitation, Damian squared his shoulders. As detestable as it would be to crawl around in there, he would do it if it meant rescuing Richard from being trapped inside. He could not imagine being held within the structure longer than a few minutes. It would be torture indeed.

The truly strange thing about his investigation so far had been that no one had attempted to stop him. There were no guards at the front, nor the back, and the building was empty of signs of life. The power was on, with some games sluggishly lit or playing bites of music, but Damian had not seen anyone besides himself.

He considered this as he made his way to the entrance to the play structure. He knew for a fact that Richard was here, even if Father did not.

Damian pushed the plastic draping away from the domed entrance and stepped inside the structure. He was surrounded by net, his feet no longer on solid ground, but pressed into some kind of foam. Ahead of him was a rope ladder that looked designed to be as unstable as possible. He sighed and began to climb.

Of the three possible locations Richard could have been taken to the Bomp n’ Stomp had been deemed least likely by his Father due to the fact that it was not altogether abandoned. While, over the weekend no one would be inside, the possibility of a worker coming in was high enough Father had assumed any capable kidnapper would discount it.

The other two locations, an empty ice cream parlor, and an abandoned junk yard, had been deemed higher priorities and dangers. But something had told Damian that the Bomp n’ Stomp was the right location, and he had argued that it should be checked out.

So while his family was split between the other two locations, Father had reluctantly allowed Damian to check out his hunch, promising to meet up with him after they'd cleared their own locations.

The ladder exited onto a platform made entirely of the netting Damian had seen from outside the playhouse structure. Tentative, he pressed a hand into the thick black cording, and when it gave less than he’d assumed it would, he climbed atop it.

Balance was a tricky thing on the strange floor, and Damian could not help but think the League would benefit from installing something of the kind in one of their training rooms. It turned a normal floor into something to be treaded on with care or risk getting a toe caught between the net. If he was unlucky he might end up tumbling to the ground or twisting his ankle. Damian couldn’t imagine it filled with children.

He was keeping his ears open for any sounds of either Richard or the kidnappers. From the letter and accompanying picture Father had received there were at least three men holding Richard, but there were sure to be more.

Father had immediately identified the men as being part of a relatively new gang in Gotham. Their motive was both money and an attempt at scaring Bruce Wayne into cooperating with them in the future.

Damian scoffed at their foolishness as he hopped off one platform and onto another. His eyes went wide as, instead of the net he’d grown used to, the floor rolled under his feet.

He bit back a yelp as his feet slipped forward, and he went tumbling, hands pinwheeling out beside him in an attempt to catch his balance. He stumbled back, then forward, then one leg was in the air, followed by the other and Damian was staring up at the faded yellow ceiling of the play place.

For a moment, he lay there blinking up at it. Wondering about the strange flatness, and remembering this thing had another level above him. If someone was above him, would he see imprints of feet? Sections weighed down by a kid stepping over it?

It did not matter. What did, was finding Richard and escaping this cursed place.

Damian felt the floor under him, and realized it was not a single solid piece, but four cylinders that each rolled on their own. Whoever had designed this place was a madman. Putting a trap like this in a place where anyone could fall could only spell injury on a normal day.

He grunted, and carefully pushed himself up, moving off the shifting section and onto firm foam again. Well, not quite firm. It sagged with every step Damian took, but it was far better than the rolling part or the net.

The next hurdle came when Damian reached the tunnels. He had seen them of course, out looking up at all this. Plastic, colored brightly, sometimes one segment a different color altogether than the last, little windows dotting the sides. But he had hoped he’d find Richard before having to crawl through one.

He crouched and stepped inside. After a few moments he realized he was going to have to actually crawl. He wrinkled his nose as he pressed palm to plastic and began moving. At one point his palm stuck and after a moment, he pulled it up to reveal gum pressed into the green of his glove. Richard had better be thankful for what Damian was putting himself through to rescue him.

The space was tight, and as a defensible position it was terrible. If a fight took place within the tubes it would not be good. Even Damian, as small as he was, would have a hard time maneuvering within them. He’d have a better chance of winning a fight in some of the Batcave’s tighter spaces.

They were also impossible to be silent in. Every inch forward created squeaking or creaking or the echoing sound of a knee hitting against plastic with a series of thumps that were anything but rhythmic. Any chance of silently finding his brother was dashed a minute after he entered them.

Once Damian realized that, he no longer bothered trying to move slowly through. Instead he hurried, around turns, down dips, and up tiny plastic hills. He was thankful for the extra padding over his knees and the leather of his gloves. If not for them he was certain his palms would be red and irritated and his knees bruised.

Damian was in such a hurry to get through the tunnels that he missed the slide. One moment his hand was pressed into plastic, the next it fell into nothing. His momentum was such that he’d assumed it was another dip, a temporary fall.

But no.

His next hand hit nothing, with the other was still in air, and then Damian found himself staring down the tube of a slide, and hurtling down it face first. It twisted, and turned, and at one point his chin caught on a portion of the plastic that was raised. Damian winced, feeling the plastic scratch his skin, sure he’d be wiping blood away if he ever exited this terrible contraption.

At last, he burst out. He got one good look at a space enclosed by netting and more slide exits before he saw what was below him. To his growing horror, the ball pit waited. Staring at the pit in bullet time Damian decided this whole place was ridiculous. A death trap made for children . Even Nygma could not come up with something so fiendish.

Nothing Damian could do would stop his crash. Balls of yellow, red, blue, and green exploded around him, bursting up and into the air even as his trajectory took him down, deep into the pit. He was drowning, and yet not.

After a moment he realized he’d stopped moving. The balls around him had coalesced into a kind of solid form that still allowed him to move. It took some work, but eventually Damian righted himself and managed to semi-swim upward, kicking off against the ground before shooting back up. And at last, his head popped out into clear air.

“Robin!?” The surprised voice came from his left.

Damian shifted, careful not to sink again, “Richard!” he cried, then corrected himself, he was in uniform and Richard was a civilian. Even here, the kidnappers might be watching.

“Mr. Grayson, I am here to rescue you.”

Richard actually snorted, an aborted version of what would have been a startled laugh. He was half buried in the ball pit himself. His torso and head above the sea of color. Rope was tied around what Damian could see of his chest, presumably holding his arms back, but otherwise he looked fine.

It was a miracle Damian hadn’t plowed right into his brother during his wild exit from the slide. He’d landed a foot or so away from him, close to the middle of the pit. The problem was, figuring out how to get both himself and Richard out.

Damian glanced around the enclosed space holding the pit. He counted four slides at various sides of the netting, and two rope ladders leading up. One to another tunnel, and the other to what looked like a real ledge.

“So, Mr. Robin , what’s the plan?” Richard asked, his tone far too delighted with their situation.

A scowl crossed Damian’s face, “Do not patronize me. It is your fault we are in this mess at all. Do you know how unsanitary this all is? From the pit to those cursed tunnels. Even the door was sticky.”

Richard gave him a patient smile, “But it’s not all bad right?”

“Tt. It has been horrendous. I do not know how you have survived.” Damian said, and began wading over to his brother’s side.

It was difficult to push through the pit, but he found that thankfully, the closer he got to an edge, the higher the ground under him was. It went from almost nonexistent, to high enough he could stand on his toes beside Richard. It was not ideal, but at least he was no longer at risk of being swallowed whole.

“There has to be at least one redeeming quality about this place.” Richard continued, “Even Robin must have liked something the old Bomp n’ Stomp has to offer. Maybe one of the games?”

“Nothing.” Damian answered, defiant even as he thought of the go karts and climbing wall, “Especially not the games. This place is childish, Richard. Childish and demeaning, and even you would not stoop so low as to drag me here.” he ranted, forgetting that he was Robin with a civilian and not Damian and his brother.

His brother’s smile was full of delight now, “You protest too much. I bet at least one thing caught your eye.”

“I said nothing.” Damian declared again, and sending balls flying, “Now come on, we do not have time to waste speaking of such moronic things.”

Richard cleared his throat, “Uh, Robin, aren’t you forgetting about something?”

Damian turned to see his brother shrug, plastic balls rolling away from him, and Damian caught sight of the ropes still binding his brother.  

Fire lit hit his cheeks. He swallowed down the embarrassment and moved again to hastily slice at the ropes holding Richard’s arms to his sides. Even in his rush, he slowed as the blade neared his brother, the night would only be worse if he accidentally hurt him.

The ropes fell away easily, and soon Richard was massaging his wrists and stretching his arms up into the sky, “That feels great, thanks, Baby Bat.”

Damian ignored the nickname, and Richard’s attempt to reach out and ruffle his hair. He ducked and turned towards the ladder by the platform, “Come along, I would like to get you out of here as soon as possible.”

Richard hummed, “Yeah, I have no idea when those guys will be back, so haste is probably a good thing. Unless you already took them out?”

“The building was empty when I entered.”

Damian scrambled out of the pit and up onto the ladder. He climbed up, only to realize Richard had not followed him. When he turned to frown at his brother, he could see the man had stopped at the ladder, his eyes focused on the rungs.

“Richard?” he asked, voice quiet.

“I’m fine, just a bit dizzy. I’ve been sitting there a while, my arms and legs are tingly and just waking up.”

“What else is wrong.” Damian did not ask, but demanded the answer.

His brother shrugged, “I might have sprained my ankle when they tossed me in?”

Damian nodded, assessing the situation.

“Can you climb?”

If it were Damian in Richard’s shoes, he’d power through the ache, but he did not wish to press his brother into doing something he couldn’t. He could support Richard as they moved, and they could utilize a slide to exit this structure, but if he could not climb, getting him out of the pit might prove challenging.

Richard nodded, “I think so.”

He placed his hands on the rungs and started up. It was not an overly high ladder, but even so, Richard made it a few rungs before he paused wincing.

“Here.” Damian said.

He knelt down and reached out for his brother, “I will pull you up.”

Richard gave him a look that could only be described as incredulous. Damian glared at him in return.

“I can handle lifting you a short distance. Push off with your good foot and let us get this over with.”

After another moment of hesitation, Richard reached up and took one of Damian’s hands. His other, he kept pressed to the bars for leverage. Damian pulled as Richard pushed himself up. Below him the ladder wiggled a threat. However, he managed to grab hold of Damian’s other hand with a tight squeeze.

Richard was heavy, but together and with another awkward step onto the ladder, Damian managed to help drag him up. For a moment, they sat together looking at each other.

“Well.” Richard said, “I guess we should keep going?”

Damian nodded, “Indeed. I believe there is a slide exit in that direction.” he waved in the general area he remembered seeing one. At least he hoped it was there. His internal map of the structure felt a little turned around after his dive into the ball pit.

He helped his brother up, and they began moving through the rest of the structure. Damian stuck close to Richard, who insisted he didn’t need to lean on him yet. Still, he kept one eye on his brother, ready to assist if he showed the slightest sign of wavering.

They reached another area where solid panels switched to a rolled floor and Damian threw an arm out to stop their progress.

“Careful, that part can be deceptive.” he said, pointing down at them, “Allow me to  walk you over them, so you do not injure your ankle further.”

Richard had an odd look on his face, a smile that seemed as if it hid another emotion, but Damian wasn’t going to worry about his brother’s reaction to his protectiveness. He always seemed to blow things like that out of proportion anyway.

They traversed the trap easily, and had just about reached the slide when a question that had been bugging Damian burst to the surface.

“Why were you in that ball pit? Surely there was an easier place to hold you.”

“Apparently, I talk too much.” Richard chuckled, “In truth, I was seeing if I could irritate them into letting me go.”

Damian couldn’t stop a surprised laugh at that, “It does not seem to have worked.”

Richard shrugged, “It was worth a try, it’s worked in the past.”

At last they reached the slide.

“I will go down first, so I can look for trouble and assist you if you have any problems.”

This time, Damian’s trip down a slide was a controlled one. It was a not altogether unpleasant experience sliding at a quick speed, and turning round and round in a spiral.

He couldn’t help but think back to watching Father, back when the man had lost his memory, playing with children on a large playground. A pang of want, not as strong as then, lodged in his chest. He tried to swallow it back as he popped out. Landing on his feet before he hurried forward to get out of the way.

Damian turned his attention away from lost memories and onto the rest of the Bomp n’ Stomp’s interior. His eyes ran from the go karts, paused at the entrance to the arcade portion, and moved over to the climbing wall on the far side of the room. Still empty.

“You may come down, it is clear.” he called up the slide. His voice echoed slightly up the plastic tube, sounding a little hollow and odd.

“Yeah!” Richard cried, his voice bouncing loudly down to Damian.

He could hear his brother swish and bump down the slide as he traversed it, the plastic rumbling as he reached the end. When he came out, he stopped himself with his hands at the exit, and carefully pushed himself to his feet, grinning.

“I don’t care how much you hate these places, we’re coming back.” he declared.

Damian rolled his eyes.

Before he could respond, there was the sound of metal on concrete. He spun on his heel and turned as a large metal door labeled Staff Only rolled up to reveal four very angry looking men carrying guns. By some stroke of luck, they hadn’t noticed Dick or Robin yet.

“We’re leaving now.” Damian said, grabbing Richard’s hand.

He made to run back towards the exit, but Richard yelped, his hand staying behind Damian. He froze, and turned on his brother, eyes looking over him. Richard was wincing and Damian remembered the man’s ankle. It must be worse than he’d let on.

Damian cast his eyes around him for something to get them out of there safely. He stopped when he saw the go karts.

“Can you make it there?” He pointed at them.

Richard’s eyes lit up, “Yes. That’s a big yes.”

Just in case, Damian hooked an arm around Richard’s waist to help support him, and together they hurried at a not quite run for the go karts. Just as Damian was helping Richard over the barrier separating them from the karts he heard an angry yell.

He glanced up to see the men running towards them, a cacophony of voices yelling at them to stop. Damian knew they had moments before the shooting started. He shoved Richard into the nearest kart that had two seats, and ran around to fiddle with the exposed engine. His earlier examination had been brief, but enough to tell him that the karts had safety measures equipped to limit their speed. That would not do.

His fingers were fast and clever, even working on an engine he’d never worked with before. It was moments and he was throwing himself into the open chair. Thankfully, a key was in the ignition and Damian had the kart roaring to life after a moment.

Just as he revved the engine, the gunfire started.

Damian threw the kart to the side, thankful the area the karts were in was somewhat open, and made a large loop, letting the cart pick up speed as he moved.

“Robin--” Richard’s voice was a question, “Just what’s the plan here?”

They were roaring towards the plastic partitions they’d only just hopped over. Damian was confident they were flimsy enough to ram, especially at the speed they were going.

He grinned, “We are going through them. I would suggest ducking. I do not wish for you to get shot while we escape.”

“Damian,” his brother hissed, “There’s an opening to the outside behind us.”

“To an enclosed area. The walls are high there, we would be trapped. This is our best option.” He'd seen the area when entering the Bomp n' Stomp earlier.

Even as he spoke they were nearing the path of no return. The kart raced towards the partition, the men racing towards them. Damian pressed his foot harder against the pedal and then the pointed front of the go kart was slamming through the short plastic partition, breaking apart the multiple pieces that kept it together and sending them flying.

Damian could not help but grin as one piece caught a kidnapper in the side, sending him tumbling to the ground.

He wove the kart through the remaining three as they yelled and one of them got off a shot. The bullet pinged off the side of the kart.

“Whohoo!” Richard cheered as they blew past the last man and sped through the building.

Damian pulled them back into the part of the building filled with various small games. The kart shook as it shifted from tile to carpet. The sound it made changing from a flat rumble to something more muffled.  At the bump, Richard winced again. Damian frowned.

“We will be exiting soon.” Damian said by way of comfort.

He could hear the rumble of feet behind him, and even the sound of another go kart having been started. Damian snorted, unless they’d modified it, he and Richard still had the advantage. To make sure, he glanced behind him.

There was only one kart chasing them down, another two seater, with both seats filled. Unfortunately for them, it did seem to be running quickly. Damian swore as it began closing the distance between them. He threw himself back against the seat as the man who wasn’t driving leveled a gun at them and fired.

The bullet sped past them by a wide margin, but the danger was still there.

“Hold on.” he told his brother and pulled the cart around one of the games, twisting through the maze of Jurassic Park simulators and skee ball machines hoping they’d shake their pursuers.

“He’s still there.” Richard said, now taking Damian’s place in watching their backs.

“Lean back, you’ll get shot.” Damian hissed, “We need only make it out the front doors.”

Richard followed his lead, just in time as more shots rang out around them. Damian caught sight of Richard's worried expression out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t have time to turn to him. He kept the cart moving forward, dodging games left and right.

At last, the doors were in front of them. Damian prayed the cart would trigger the door’s automatic response. As they sped closer and closer he started to wonder what it would be like to just plow through those too.

Then they swung open and Damian and Dick burst through.

Behind them, Damian could still hear the squeal of the pursuing kart. That didn’t matter however, as Damian’s eyes lit on the Batmobile. Father was already out, Red Robin beside him. It took them a moment to understand the extent of the chaos Damian had dragged outside, but soon they were moving too.

Damian pulled the kart around them, and heard the distinctive pop pop of something exploding. The men in the kart behind them yelled with surprise, and the sound of the kart cut off with a sudden deafness.

Feeling safe, Damian pulled his foot off the gas, slowing his own kart and turning it to drive closer to Father’s car so Richard would not have to limp far.

Turned now, they could see the other kart coated in foam. One of Drake’s newest experiments, and a successful one at that.

As they stopped, Damian grinned over at Richard, “See. As I said, we only needed to make it outside.”

Richard was grinning, and Damian found himself relieved to realize his brother was fine. Their mad dash did not seem to have resulted in his injury.

They sat in the kart as Batman and Red Robin took care of the two men in the other kart, and then moved inside to deal with the other two goons.

Damian leaned his arms on the steering wheel and gave Richard a small smile.

Richard, leaned forward to mirror him, elbow bumping against Damian’s, “Admit it, you had fun coming through there to rescue me.”

Damian considered the thought for a moment, “Never.”

“Ha! I knew you did.” Richard sat up, delighted.  

“I said nothing of the like.”

“But your face did.”

“The go karts were acceptable.” Damian admitted.

Richard reached out and tugged Damian into a half hug, “Good, we’ll do go karts when we come back, and try the rock climbing wall. And I’ll win you enough tickets to get one of those giant stuffed bears.”

“Father could buy me one for less than it would take you to get those tickets.” Damian pointed out.

“That,” Richard said sternly, “is not the point. It will be a thank you, for the rescue and one of the most exciting nights I’ve had in a long time.”

Damian snorted, but leaned a little closer into his brother’s side. Watching as Batman and Red Robin led the remaining two men out of the building.

“I can accept that. I will allow you to bring me back to the Bomp ‘n Stomp when they reopen. Even if the doors are still sticky.”  

[hockeylvr59]

Honest Love Part 6 || Cale Makar

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note:  I finally got through this chapter!!! Happy dance!!! This first segment is one of my favorite pieces of this whole story so I hope you love it as much as I do. The other two were a little harder so I hope you enjoy what I came up with to flush this chapter out. 

Recap: Part 4 was the pregnancy announcement to Cale, Part 5 was Cale’s birthday. 

Warnings: cavities? This chapter is a little sweet. Mentions of drinking/tipsiness on Cale’s part. 

Word Count: 3,336

~~~~~

The fact that Cale’s birthday butted up against Halloween was always something you’d enjoyed growing up. It was almost like a perfect 2 for 1 deal - cake and ice cream one day, boatloads of candy the next. It was the innocent things you liked most about Halloween: the cute kids costumes, candy in excess, pumpkin carving, and corn mazes. Which was why today’s plans were perfect. Cale had gone for a quick practice and then around lunchtime the team was meeting at a farm that had a huge corn maze, hay rides, and lots of family friendly activities for the whole team and their families to enjoy. 

Then, after a break for trick or treating and dinner and naps, the adults were all having an adult costume party at Gabe and Mel’s full of drinking and just laid back fun. Of course, Cale was going to be the only one doing any drinking tonight, but you were going to play that off as just being the designated driver since it was kind of a birthday celebration for him in a way as well. Hopefully that would keep the team off of your scent as you and Cale weren’t ready to share the news of your pregnancy just yet, especially since neither set of parents had been looped in. 

Knowing it was going to be a late night, you were lounging on the couch trying to rest and catch up on some work you were behind on when Cale came sauntering through the door, a bright smile bringing those dimples alive. A short but sweet kiss on your lips made you smile and as you carded your fingers through his hair you felt him slide your computer out of the way, his fingers brushing against your shirt. Assuming he was just saying a silent hello to the baby you didn’t think anything of it until you felt him press something onto your skin before pulling away. 

Looking down, your face crinkled with confusion when you spotted a tiny pumpkin sticker attached to your flat stomach. 

“Why?” You asked softly, beyond confused by what was running through your boyfriend’s head right now. Cale’s cheeks flushed but his smile never wavered as he moved into the kitchen to grab a sports drink. 

“The guys were all talking about their kids costumes.” He mumbled softly between sips. “And they all sounded so cute. I thought about what we’re going to dress our baby up as next year but then I thought why wait. I know it’s a little bit big, but baby will grow into it. I’ve got skeleton stickers too but I figured that was a little too close to reality right now and therefore not really a costume.” He explained, shrugging. 

Immediately tears filled your eyes because that might just be the cutest damn thing Cale has ever said. He really went out and got stickers just so your unborn baby could have a ‘costume’ for Halloween. Wiping at your eyes you just looked up at him in awe. 

“You went out and bought stickers so our unborn baby could have a Halloween costume?” You repeated in confirmation. Cale’s cheeks flushed deeper and he mumbles that maybe it was a stupid idea. Shaking your head, you moved to stand and pull him into a hug and kiss, your shirt still pushed up to your rib cage. 

“It’s not stupid.” You assured him. “It’s endearing and probably one of the cutest things you’ve ever done.” Tipping up to kiss him you tried to reassure him. “Take a picture of our little pumpkin?” You questioned. “We have to capture baby’s first Halloween after all.” You urged. There wasn’t a bump or any physical sign that there was a baby growing inside of you but that didn’t mean that you couldn’t take a picture. Even if no one else ever saw it, you wanted to be able to look back at this memory because it would be your baby’s first picture and a reminder of how in love Cale had been with your son or daughter right from the very start. 

Though he seemed a bit reluctant, Cale nodded and moved to take a few pictures of your stickered stomach before putting his phone away. Tucking your shirt down over the sticker, leaving it intact, you moved to kiss Cale again asking if he was about ready to head out to the farm for the team family event.  With a few more reassuring kisses, Cale settled again and finally murmured that he just needed to change. You were ready yourself having gotten dressed earlier before you tried to talk yourself out of it by making excuses. You wanted to go spend the day with the team and with Cale and you certainly didn’t want to miss out on the inside jokes that were bound to crop up throughout. 

_____

Almost an hour later, Cale finally pulled the car into the farm where the team was meeting, and the feeling of the vehicle stopping for good pulled you from the little cat nap you’d been taking in the passenger seat. Cale looked over, familiar concern visible on his face, but you quickly assured him that you were good and you just needed a moment to fix your mussed hair before you could go join everyone. Cale cupped your cheek, kissing you softly before he moved to climb out of the car to stretch while you fixed a few stray hairs and flattened out your top, finally exiting the vehicle yourself. 

Though you’d just seen everyone last night, enthusiastic greetings were still exchanged and you hugged everyone before returning to your spot at Cale’s side, his hand resting along the curve of your spine. After some bickering from the boys about what they wanted to do, it was agreed that you’d start with hayrides before coming back down for the corn maze and everything else. You’d forgotten just how raucous team events could be, but it was definitely a good time, especially watching the kids run around laughing and having fun. For just a moment, you let your mind slip into daydreams about how that would be your little one laughing and exploring next year, hopefully with cheeks pink from the chill in the air. 

After the hayride which had you fighting back just a little bit of nausea, the Calvert boys pulled you and Cale into the smaller corn maze designed for kids making it a race to see how quickly they could get through it. Gabe, Mel, and Linnea joined in and you smiled watching Linnea toddle along through the corn amazed at how tall it was but fearless so long as her daddy was right behind her. Being that it was a kids’ maze it didn’t take long to complete but it was fun all the same as Gabe helped Linnea and Cale helped the Calvert kids get all their stamps to get their prize of a candy or small toy at the end. And thankfully being back on solid ground had quelled the nausea you’d felt, leaving you feeling good once more. 

As you finished the maze with the kids, Josty, JT, and Burky were racing over to pull Cale into their group to do the big corn maze as bets had been made that they could beat some of the other guys and their better halves. Assuring Cale that he should go, you murmured that you would hang out and maybe do some shopping of the farm fresh produce and that he should leave you keys. Looking over you saw Gabe and Matt being pulled to join other groups and you smiled to yourself as Mel and Courtney moved over to you with Mel holding Linnea but no sign of the Calvert boys who had insisted that they were now corn maze pros and had to go with their dad. 

“So how was Cale’s birthday?” Courtney asked, a teasing expression on her face. 

“It was good.” You replied. “He seemed to enjoy his dinner and presents so I’m happy.” Mel just sent you a teasing look like I’m sure he did enjoy his presents before speaking softly to Linnea who was babbling away. Ignoring the look you mentioned doing some produce shopping while you were here and when they both agreed, you headed over to the market portion of the farm to get some things for your respective households. Getting some fresh squash, apples, and of course some kale as well as pumpkin chai tea mix, apple butter, and some seasoned pumpkin seeds you loaded up the car before moving to meet back up with the girls. Courtney had three containers of ice cream in her hands while Mel held a tray of steaming disposable mugs in her off hand and they motioned for you to join them at a table. 

“Apple pie ice cream.” Courtney stated, answering your non-verbal question. “And then some chai lattes made with fresh farm honey to ward off the chill.” Mel added getting herself situated with Linnea. Both treats were incredibly good and you thanked them as you tried the ice cream nearly moaning at how good it was. Mel couldn’t help but laugh at the look on your face and she murmured that they sell it by the quart too if you wanted to pick some up on your way home to put in the freezer. 

“Yeah. I might have to do that.” You mumbled between bites because it was so good. 

Chatting with the girls about various things while you enjoyed your treats and waited for the guys to find their way out of the corn maze, you couldn’t help but think that this was a pretty great found family to bring a baby into. It wasn’t long before Linnea squirmed her way out of her mommy’s arms before toddling around the table to you asking you to pick her up. Snuggling the toddler happily, you teased your fingers through her hair murmuring that the only way Cale’s group wasn’t the last one out was if your boyfriend single handedly got them through it. 

Turns out that was definitely not the case and they were one of the last groups out following significantly behind Gabe and Matt’s group. You couldn’t help but laugh to yourself at that, still snuggling the baby girl who refused to move from your lap even when her daddy returned. You joked with Gabe that you were stealing her and he joked back that he was sure that his young defenseman probably wouldn’t have any complaints about that. Evidently it wasn’t just the better halves that were under the impression that Cale was thinking about kids. It made keeping the little secret growing inside you that much harder but also that much more worth it. 

You were chatting with Linnea about her current favorite Disney movie when your boyfriend appeared, dropping a kiss to your head as he flopped onto the picnic table bench beside you. The little girl’s face lit up at his presence and she smiled at him just watching him, everything that she had been babbling about forgotten. 

“Did you have fun?” You asked him, giggling softly when his response was primarily a groan. Reaching out to pick a piece of corn husk out of his hair you brushed a thumb over his red cheek murmuring that next time you’d have to go with to rein the boys in. Of course, next time you’d have a tiny baby with you so that may or may not happen but Cale got the point you were trying to convey. 

After mingling with the team for a little while longer, groups started to disburse and Cale asked if you were ready to head home for a bit. Nodding, you passed a sleepy Linnea back to her daddy murmuring that she was going to nap well on the way home. Then, taking Cale’s hand you pulled yourself up from the table and sighed softly as his hands grazed your hips because they were just a bit sore from the hard bench. 

“We need to get a quart of ice cream before we go.” You murmured, pouting softly when he commented on how it would melt during the drive. “Even melted it would be good.” You insisted, pleading softly until he gave in and got a quart of ice cream packed into an empty plastic flower pot with some ice. 

“Lucky I love you.” He murmured softly, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. 

“Once you taste it you’ll agree it’s worth it.” You assured him, stealing one more kiss before heading back out to the car. 

You fell asleep on the drive home, only waking when Cale unbuckled you and was moving to lift you out of the car. Though you murmured you could walk, he insisted that he had you and with your arms wrapped around his neck, it wasn’t long before you were settled onto your comfortable mattress while Cale pulled your shoes off your feet whispering for you to nap while he brought everything else upstairs. 

And nap you did. 

_____

The sun had set by the time you woke up to Cale’s lips kissing your temple and his fingers sliding along your side. 

“I made dinner.” He stated softly as you nodded and worked your way into a seated position. 

“Dinner sounds good.” You agreed, blinking at him tiredly. Cale offered a hand out to help you up and you took it, sliding onto your feet to follow him out into the kitchen. It wasn’t anything complex but it smelled good and that was really all that mattered to you. “Thanks for dinner.” 

Cale brushed your thanks off, directing you to dig in. After a moment he questioned whether you still wanted to go tonight or whether you wanted to stay home. You knew the choice was honestly up to you but at the same time you couldn’t not show because that would raise way too many questions you didn’t want to answer yet. 

“You know we have to go.” You replied softly between bites. “I promise I’m okay.” You added. “I’m just still waking up but that was a good nap. Let me get this food and a shower in me and I’ll be just fine.” The ever present look of concern was on your boyfriend’s face and you reached a hand across the table to squeeze his. “Promise. I’m good.” You repeated. “We’re going to go and you’re going to have a good time drinking with the guys so I can be the designated driver without any questions.” Cale hesitated before nodding and you knew that you were going to need to assure him again later that you were really okay. 

You asked him to tell you about his afternoon and you talked about shopping for produce and spending time with the girls and Linnea. 

“You’re really cute with her, you know that right?” He asked, taking a sip of his water. “Makes me excited to see you as a mom to our baby. She adores you.” 

“You mean like the Calvert boys adore you?” You grin. “Little pumpkin already has the best daddy.” The ways Cale’s cheeks flushed made you smile and you nudged your legs against his under the table before focusing on your plate once more. 

After dinner you moved to shower and then start to get ready for the Halloween party. Standing at the foot of your bed, you slid stockings up your legs before putting on a red skirt. Cale came into the room when you were pulling on the tight blue shirt with a maroon and gold ‘s’ emblazoned on the front. He had a similar shirt laying on the bed, but his costume certainly wasn’t as elaborate as yours. Once you had both the top and bottom halves of your costume situated, you wrapped the gold belt around your waist and grabbed the cape from the closet, leaving it on the bed while you did just a normal face of makeup with some darker lipstick. 

By the time you came out of the bathroom, Cale was dressed in black slacks and a white button up and he was slipping a partially undone tie around his neck. Stepping closer to him you reached up to undo the top few buttons of his dress shirt revealing the blue t-shirt underneath. 

“Pretty sure you have to have the buttons undone hun, otherwise this isn’t a costume at all.” You teased, reaching around him to grab the maroon heels tucked into the closet since you didn’t have the proper knee high boots. Sitting on the bed to slide them on you reached over to grab his glasses from the bedside table. “You’re also going to need these. C’mon, pretend you’re having a little fun. This costume was your idea.” You prodded, standing back up and sliding your palms down his abs. Cale was definitely a pretty sexy Clark Kent to match the superwoman - supergirl - that he always claimed you were anyway. 

Cale just looked at you making you laugh. “I know this is your least favorite part of Halloween.” You stated. “Because you’re boring like that but c’mon. We look hot.” You pressed, finally getting a small smile. 

“You certainly look hot.” Cale agreed. “Are you sure you’re up to this?” He asked, causing you to roll your eyes and nod. “Yes...now let’s go before we’re really late.” 

You were so going to pass him off to Josty and Burky and Mikko when you got there to make sure that they could get a few drinks into him and help him relax. He deserved that for sure, you just had to make sure he didn’t get so drunk that he started to get a loose tongue and spill your secret. 

____

Needless to say, your boyfriend was clingy and affectionate when tipsy, something you’d known all the way back from that time in the bar before you’d even kissed. It was crazy to think that was only seven months ago. 

Deciding that it was time to go, you left the party around 1am, dragging Cale back to the car and urging him into the passenger seat with the promise of a kiss. He’d lost his tie at some point over the course of the evening and you made a mental note to text Mel about it, sure that she would find it somewhere in her house. 

By the time you parked in the apartment garage Cale was half asleep from two days of excitement and you moved around the car after releasing his seatbelt. 

“Come on hun.” You urged, offering him a hand. “I may be dressed like Supergirl but there is no way I have her strength so you’re going to have to help me out here so we can get you to bed.” Cale looked up at you with a hazy alcohol fueled look before taking your hand, leaning into you as you guided him upstairs. 

“You’re so pretty.” He murmurs repeatedly, his word choice changing slightly with every repetition from pretty to beautiful to sexy and then finally gorgeous. Unlocking your front door you guided him in and kicked it shut behind you, locking it before dropping your keys and stepping out of your heels. 

“Time for bed.” You remind him, gently corralling him to the bedroom. He was asleep the moment his head hit the pillows and you carefully helped him strip down to the t-shirt and his boxers before moving to get yourself ready. It wasn’t often that you saw Cale as relaxed as he was tonight and you were grateful to the guys for giving him a good day and letting him forget about all those worrying thoughts you knew sometimes plagued him. 

A lot was changing in your lives but with the support system you have and the love you share, it was all going to work out just fine. 

[wallgirl]

The Little Nereid Part 11

Record of Ragnarok fanfiction

Poseidon x OC

Word count: 2,100

Dynamene, youngest of the 50 Nereids, has lived most of her adolescence as a servant alongside her sisters at Poseidon’s palace. But with her coming-of-age birthday and other developments, what she initially thought was just admiration of her master blossoms into something stronger and more passionate… and painful.

Categories and warnings: Romance, angst, unrequited love, coming-of-age, earn-your-happy-ending, slow-burn (ish); no sexual content. There will be some graphic violence in the future.

Starting a temporary hiatus; will have about ?17? parts total.

---

Dynamene could hardly see through the dark, brackish water that surrounded her on every side. She was too upset to pay attention to where she was going; she swam straight on until her tears had stopped. When she had finally slowed to a halt, she didn't recognize the ocean around her. The water was colder and the coral reefs had disappeared. A heavy stillness and silence pressed about her. She allowed herself to drift down to the bottom, her gentle landing stirring up clouds of silt. She was completely alone now. This part of the ocean was largely devoid of sea life; any way she turned, she saw no movement. It was only her and the swaying kelp that stretched as far as her limited vision could see.

Sniffling quietly, she removed her bracelet and cradled it in both hands. It didn't shine in the hazy water, but the colors remained the same. She stared at it, wishing that the same strong hands that had gifted it to her could appear now to caress her cheek and tell her that everything would be alright.

But they would not. She was all by herself, with no one to count on or turn to. She didn't dare go back home now, where they would surely lock her up on account of keeping her safe. She couldn't go back to his palace either; that would be the first place her family would look for her. Her face crinkled up again in despair, but no tears emerged; she had cried them all out long ago.

What do I do? Where do I go? I'm alone now. And I have the feeling that, no matter where I go, people will discourage me from following my heart. She squeezed the bracelet tight.

I want to see you. Won't you come here, so I can talk to you? I want to hear you explain things in your calm, logical way. I want to hold your hand and feel how strong its grip is around mine. I want you to hold me until I feel better, and this ache goes away.

Her lower lip quivered, and she allowed herself to sink down onto the coarse sand. She curled up, squeezing the bracelet to her chest with both hands. But you won't.

Maybe my feelings are hopeless after all. I have no way to act on them. I can't tell him what I really feel, and my family won't let me be with him. It's all useless. It's all for nothing.

She sensed something moving in the seaweed nearby, and quickly turned. A small pike was poking its head out, watching her puzzledly.

"Oh, excuse me, my lady," the pike said quickly. "I wasn't expecting to see one of you Nereids way out here, especially so late."

"No, it's okay," Dynamene sat up straighter. "I hope I didn't disturb you." She brushed the sand from her cheek.

"Not at all. I was just settling in after a hunt." It swam forward curiously, its immobile little face and dark eyes an almost humorous clash with its sympathetic voice. "Are you alright? You sounded upset."

"I..." Dynamene covered her face in both hands. "I am. It's been a horrible night. I've ran away from home. I got in an argument with my older sister... I don't know where to go from here."

The pike rested against her leg sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. Family quarrels are never fun. Do you want to talk about it? It might not be much, but I can listen."

Dynamene took a deep breath. "I... I've fallen in love with someone that my family doesn't approve of."

"Oh, dear. That's no good."

"No. I want to be with him, but they won't hear me out. They don't like him at all. I don't know what to do. I love him, but it's hopeless. Nothing will come of it." Dynamene wiped at her eyes, despite the fresh tears bubbling away in the water.

The pike was quiet for a moment, flicking its tail in thought. "I might have some advice, if you'd like."

Dynamene looked at it in surprise. "You do?"

"Yes. About thirty miles from here, overlooking the coast on a tall hill, is a temple of Aphrodite. Perhaps she could counsel you."

Dynamene jerked back in surprise. "Aphrodite?! I'd never even considered..."

"She can be temperamental, but it's said that she loves a good love story. She might see fit to help you. You can get there from here by following the north star."

Dynamene mulled this over briefly. Temperamental... I already knew that from gossip over the years. But if there's even the slimmest chance that she can help me, I have to try. She had never spoken to Aphrodite, only seen her from a distance during formal events. Aphrodite was not one to often lift a finger for mortals who asked for her help. But Dynamene was a Nereid, and part of Poseidon's court. Perhaps she would be willing to speak to her. Dynamene's expression began to brighten with hope. "Thank you so much, friend. I truly appreciate it."

"Not at all. I hope your luck improves, Nereid." The pike brushed its face against her hand before returning to its home in the weeds.

Dynamene took a deep breath, her spirits slightly lifted. A door had finally opened for her; she had a spark of hope to embrace now. That spark had lit a new resolve within her, flooding out the dark hopelessness that had weighed her down previously. But it was so late, and she was tired. There was no way she could make the long swim to the temple on her limited energy. She began to walk the ocean floor, the current gently pushing against her body. She just needed to find a good place to rest for a while.

Her approach stirred up a school of silvery blue fish from the weeds, and they scattered in every which way about her. She stopped to watch them swirl about her. Their color was a perfect match for Poseidon's eyes. The ache returned to her chest, and she reached for them, her fingertips brushing against the slick scales.

I wish I could see you right now. Are you asleep at the palace? Or have you returned to the Indian Ocean, seeing to your duties? Even if we're miles apart, the idea of you being awake as well comforts me...

I love you. I want to be yours. I want you to be mine. I want to wake up next to you in the morning and see the sun shining in your fair hair. I want to cling to your arm as we attend events together; you and I, as lovers. I want you to take me all across the ocean, showing me everything you know, everything you see.

If that can happen, then one night alone on this cold seafloor isn't so bad.

A dip in the silt ahead seemed like a reasonable spot to stop. She curled up in it, her body just small enough to fit comfortably. She waved her fingers, and the surrounding seaweed gently bent over her to weave themselves into a delicate shelter. Taking comfort in her new course of action, she quickly faded off into a deep sleep filled with visions of slender lips and strong arms.

---

Hundreds of miles away, Poseidon stood before a towering underwater wall of craggy rock. Focusing his energy, he slowly rose his arm and tightened his hand into a fist. By his will, the rock groaned in an ear-splitting crack before separating. Giant segments of the wall began to fall slowly through the water, narrowly avoiding the sea god. He didn't blink. He knew they wouldn't touch him.

The last of the fault was finally broken up; at least that of it which had been causing the disturbance. Given another year, the grinding of the plates might resume. Even he couldn't stop the movement of the Earth's giant tectonic plates, but he had no desire to. It was simply another cycle of nature. That being said, he also didn't like the idea of the friction leading to disaster. He'd have to have one of the lesser sea gods keep an active eye on it for the time being.

His work finally finished, he leapt from his perch to land on the ocean floor. One task was done; now he had another to focus on.

"Come to me," he spoke. His words were at a casual volume, but they resonated over hundreds of meters, reaching out to the sea life nearby. At once, the animals stopped what they were doing and began to flock towards him, his words an undeniable command. Like a scene from a painting, fish, cetaceans, and crustaceans of every sort formed a colorful crowd about him in the pristine blue waters.

"The largest of you, find me more of these." He held up an opened oyster in his hand, showing them the mother-of-pearl interior. "Only oysters that are this size or larger will do. Quickly."

The sea life scattered, the biggest animals rushing out obediently to find what he'd asked for. Some of the oysters they fetched were broken from being opened by other animals.

"No, not the cracked ones," he told a whale who brought him a large oyster that was nearly trisected. He gently placed his hand on its head. "Only those that are intact. I need them for jewelry."

The whale looked at him with its intelligent dark eyes before hurrying away once more.

Why am I doing this? I promised her a bracelet. I don't need these many oysters.

A necklace and a tainia for her hair will be much more visible. No one will miss them. I'm sure she'll be over the moon with delight. Such a simple girl.

But a bracelet is a rather pathetic gift. So low-brow coming from one of the greatest gods. So easy to miss on such a slender wrist.

A heap of oysters with shining interiors quickly began to pile up next to him. "That's enough," he told his subjects. "Thank you."

He summoned a bag, and as if they'd returned merrily to life, the oysters hopped one by one inside. He fastened the bag and was about to return to the surface when he saw a humpback dolphin steadily approaching from far off in the blue void.

"What is it?" He asked the animal as soon as it came within range. He recognized the intricate golden markings on its back immediately as a sign that it was part of the court of the Nereids' family. "My day is busy enough as it is."

"I apologize for... interrupting you, sire," the dolphin began apologetically. It was completely out of breath, as if it had raced the entire way here. Poseidon's brow furrowed. If the dolphin was arriving just now in the morning, it had to have left its palace in the dead of night.

"You're nearly incomprehensible. Surface first, then tell me."

"Lord Poseidon, it's an emergency. The Nereid Dynamene has run away overnight."

Poseidon froze. His jaw clenched tightly. "...Run away?"

"She had a quarrel with one of her sisters last night, and escaped into the ocean. She hasn't been seen since. Her family is... is worried for her."

Poseidon's lip began to curl. Those idiot Nereids. I allow them to remove her from my palace, and they can't even keep hold of her for one day. Worthless sisters. I should have never let them leave. "Where do they think she might have gone?" He managed to ground out. Cracks began to form in the seafloor beneath his boots.

The dolphin shrank away from him, his anger apparent from the way the water was beginning to simmer about his body. "They haven't any idea, my lord. They wondered if she might have returned to your palace."

"That would be the logical idea." His cool words barely concealed his rage. "Return to them. I will return home and organize a search on my end immediately. If she has returned to the palace, I will send word."

"Yes, my lord." The dolphin quickly swam towards the surface to take a breath before making its return journey.

Poseidon stood there, fuming, as he formed a plan of action. The sea life nearby quickly scattered, not wanting to get caught in his growing wrath. Stupid child. She'll get herself killed. She's far too naïve and weak to traverse the ocean alone. So like a young girl, to let her emotions rule over her. The water around him was boiling now, bubbles hissing in his ears.

Eyes snapping, he waved his arm in a sweep before himself. The water began to roar as it swept quickly all about him. For her sake, she'd better be at the palace.

The turbulent current dispersed, and he was gone.

---

AUGHHH

I listened to On My Own from Les Misérables. The 25th Anniversary Samantha Barks version. That's what I thought of with Dynamene by herself.

Is Poseidon even capable of loving another person? Or is owning someone like an object the closest he gets to affection?

I will be taking a brief hiatus from writing this to refill my writer juice, no longer than 3 weeks. I love this story, but I'm losing energy for writing it. I need to give it some space to regain that emotional drive. I will see you all soon!

[jimmys-zeppelin]

ghostin'

chapter fifteen

(table of contents)

(chapter fourteen)

june 26, 1976

"We're here today with Miss Ellie Saunders, singer and writer of the newest song going up in the pop charts, Songbird! Would you like to say hello to our audience, Ellie?"

"Hi, everyone! Thank you so much, Bill for having me on."

"Pleasure's all mine. Last time we had you in the studio was...two years ago with your single, Dreamer, isn't that right?"

"Very much so! Since then lots of things have changed." Ellie chuckled, reflecting on the past for a split second.

"Yeah, you were just a wide-eyed kid who had no idea what the business was like or where you were going. Nice to see you settled down. Now, you're with Led Zeppelin's guitarist, Jimmy Page, right? How's that working out with their constant touring?"

Ellie visibly tensed. If they were there to talk about Jimmy, they should have just called him on instead, but alas she was polite and answered the question. "Yes, Jimmy and I are together," she chuckled nervously, "Well, we manage our time pretty well. He's currently away doing his stuff and I'm working on my new album, but we find time to get a phone call in before bed...middle of the night," she laughed, "we find a way."

"Adorable, you two are. So this album of yours? Got a title yet? And what kind of songs are we going to see on it?"

"Not yet," Ellie answered, but quickly saved herself, "we have a working one, but even that's under wraps for now. As for songs, they're mostly just your regular old love songs I guess. The experimental piece was actually one I plan to release soon. I really hope my fans enjoy it. It took a lot to write it."

"And the title?"

Ellie looked over to Carolyn, who sat across the room puffing on a cigarette. The brunette nodded at the blonde, allowing her to speak on the song, "Well the song is called Sign of the Times. It's about seeing a change in someone you love and having to accept it. It could be with a wife, husband, lover, friend; anyone you hold dear who you just...can't help but worry about." She explained, getting lost in her own words as she thought about Jimmy. "As you can see I'm still a bit raw about it," Ellie lightly rubbed at her watering eyes.

"Do you miss your person?" Bill asked, suddenly becoming quite sincere.

Ellie met his gaze, nodding, "I do." she said, thinking of what lie to tell people to convince them she wasn't talking about her lanky, dark-haired boyfriend.

"Well, now onto what you're here for. Tell me about Songbird, then."

"Um, well...there was a slight bit of a rough patch lately that affected me a bit. I decided to get my trusty notebook out and spew out all the words that would come. And Songbird came out of that."

"Some beautiful acoustic on there, who did it?"

"I did! Jimmy's not the only one who's well-spoken in the ways of a guitar in this relationship. Although I did want him to come play on it for me, our schedules just didn't line up." She shrugged.

"Incredible. Well, here it is, folks. The new song by Ellie Saunders: Songbird." Bill said, fiddling with some buttons and getting his turntable ready before removing his headphones, "you can take those off now." he said.

Ellie removed the bulky headphones from her hair and held them idly in her lap as her song played out to the broader Los Angeles area. She knew it wasn't the first time a station had played the song in the week or so that it'd been out, but it was different knowing that she was right there while it was playing out to thousands of people. It was daunting if anything.

"Ellie that was great. Thank you so much for coming on!" Bill said, standing to shake Ellie's hand. The singer mirrored his actions and went in for a handshake, returning the favor.

"Thank you for asking me to come on. It was a pleasure. Maybe I'll come back when Sign of the Times comes out." She said with a wink.

"Of course," Bill replied, "tell me. In confidence; off the record. Is there a title for the new record?"

Ellie contemplated her honest answer, then exhaled through her nose in a laugh before answering, "No, actually. I have no idea what it's called. I've been so focused on writing songs that...I just haven't had time to think of a title, honestly." Ellie laughed as she spewed the honest truth.

Bill laughed out loud at the comment, giving Ellie a pat on the back, "Seriously, Ellie, come back any time. New song, new album, or if you just wanna chat with me for the morning segment. It would be great."

"Thank you so much, Bill." She repeated as she started picking up her bags. Carolyn put out her cigarette in an ashtray near the microphones and gave Bill a firm handshake. The women left the building shortly after.

After they'd been settled in the car to take them back to the studio, they finally got a chance to take a breather and relax. Things had been moving at a touch and go pace since finishing the two bigger singles. The rest of the songs still needed more, Ellie thought. It often occupied her mind just what she wanted to add to each song. That and Jimmy.

Not only was she concerned about him, she found herself getting increasingly more discouraged when she spoke with him. Like she was walking on eggshells when it came to a conversation with him. If either of them said the wrong thing, the other would get set off. Ellie found herself as more of the latter. She hated arguing while they were away from each other, but she couldn't help comment about his activities. He knew her disdain of it and it seemed there wasn't much else to talk they had to talk about since their days were full of nothingness lately.

☆

Andrew came over late that night. One more song on the album had been finalized and he deemed it enough to celebrate. Five of twelve songs completed, in case anyone was counting.

"Cheers to another amazing song by my best friend." Andrew said, raising a glass of some old whiskey Ellie had had hidden in her house since she'd moved in. The blonde could hardly remember who had given it to her. It seemed it just was a part of the house at that point.

They clinked glasses and each took a sip, both inevitably coughing and gagging at the taste and giggling at their reactions. Their conversation carried on until Ellie's eyes wandered to her stack of mail. Since getting home she hadn't had much time to give it a look so she gave each letter a once-over before focusing on Andrew again. That was the plan, at least.

However, a postcard caught her eye and she couldn't help but pick it up.

'Sunset Strip, Hollywood, California' Read the front as it was decorated with a photo of the infamous Sunset Strip at night. Ellie flipped over the postcard, her eyes quickly darting past the words that had been scrawled onto the paper.

'I recall you saying something about the Sunset Strip calling your name when we went out for dinner. How about we go out again sometime soon? You can be a Dreamer about life again. Call me when you get this. 213-xxx-xxxx

Hugs, Roger

P.S. Did you get the reference of your song that I used?

P.P.S. Ask for Simon Ferocious'

The blonde furrowed her eyebrows, but was delighted at the prospect that Roger would send her a postcard. She reached for the phone, starting to dial the numbers.

"What's up?" Andrew asked, taking another sip of the blasted whiskey, to which he exhaled sharply only seconds later. He set the cup down in disgust.

"It's Roger. He's in California. Told me to call him." Ellie replied, handing the man the postcard as his hands reached out for it. The line rang while Andrew exhaled through his nose, laughing at the corny jokes made in the letter.

"Ritz Los Angeles, my name is Angela. How can I be of service to you this evening?" The woman on the other line said. Ellie was taken aback slightly at the discovery of the Ritz's hotel having been the main point of contact for Roger.

"Uh, hi. I'm calling for a Simon Ferocious staying at your hotel." Ellie said, trying to hold back her laughter.

"And who's asking?" She asked.

"Say it's Mrs. Page. He'll know who it is."

"I'll put you through."

"Thank you."

Silence came through the phone before the Hold music shortly began. An ear-raping jazz number made Ellie put the phone down as soon as the music started.

"Simon Ferocious?" Andrew asked, having come back into the living room with a near-empty bottle of blush wine Ellie had been keeping in the fridge along with two flutes. She shrugged as he poured the rest out for the both of them as the infernal jazz finally came to an end.

"Mr. Ferocious for you, ma'am." The woman said.

"Thank you," Ellie paused waiting for the clicks before Roger's familiar rasp came through.

"Mrs. Page, hm?" Roger asked.

"I heard we weren't giving out our real names." Ellie laughed, twirling the phone cord around her finger. Her eyes followed Andrew as he walked over to her record collection beside the turntable.

"Well, I had good reason. I'm staying on the down low."

"Is that it? Who's Simon Ferocious, then?" she asked as the sounds of a song she couldn't quite place by Led Zeppelin came flooding through the speakers. The song was from a  special release pressing Jimmy had gifted her when Physical Graffiti was released the previous year. Close friends and family received them. Ellie had been honored to say the least.

Roger chuckled, "A guy looking to take you out to a show. Someone there with you?"

"Just Andrew. He's my best friend—"

"And I'm gay!" Andrew shouted across the room.

"Nothing to worry about." Ellie smiled, and though Roger couldn't see it, he could sense it.

"Right. Simon Ferocious is something Fred called Sid Vicious because he was bothering him one day in the studio," Roger laughed, "Ask him about it one day, he'll get so cross about it."

"I think I might. Feel like you're not doing the story justice." Ellie chuckled. "So is Mr. Ferocious going to take me out to a show?"  She asked as Andrew returned to his seat on the floor across from the singer, munching on a cracker that was sitting on a plate.

"I was hoping to today, actually. Then I heard you on the radio this morning and thought you might be busy."

Ellie apologized for the delay, "I got your postcard yesterday, I just didn't bother to look at my mail because it was all mixed with bills and other junk that it got lost. I'd ditch Andrew for you any night."

"Bitch!" The aforementioned man exclaimed, slapping Ellie on the shoulder with a push. A bubbly, hearty laugh left her throat as she fell back onto the floor.

Catching her breath, she confessed, "We're getting a little tipsy." she giggled. "How much longer are you in LA? I'll make it up to you."

"I leave on the 5th of July. I have to be back in London so we can start the new album."

"Well let's go to a Fourth of July celebration! I think my record label's throwing one. They're usually on top of some pretty rooftops. It'll make for a great view."

"It's a date then. Keep me posted on this...roof party."

"Didn't I give you my phone number, Rog?"

"..."

"Hm?"

"I dropped the slip of paper in a puddle on the day I got here. God's honest truth, El. Which is why I sent you a postcard."

"I'll entertain that story for a while...." she joked, "I can give it to you again, if you'd like."

"Yes please." Roger said sheepishly; a shuffling audible in the background.

"626...."

---

masterlist | playlist

Taglist: @diaryofafan17 @tophats-n-lespauls @witchesdust @jonesyjonesyjonesy @paginate54 @hejustsatisfiess @salixfragilis @princesspagey @reincarnated70sbaby @rebel-without-a-zeppelin @kyunisixx if you want to be added to the list lmk!

[aewhore]

So can you do a Triple H x fem!reader. (WWF days).Where the reader and Triple H have been together for the past like three years,but Vince wants reader in a storyline with Eddie Guerrero (I actually love Eddie so could you make it where Eddie is kind of a good guy).And Triple H in a storyline with Stephanie.So after a few mouths,It’s time for wrestlemania and The two are put in a indergender match against each other.But Triple H has a different plan and the reader ends up battling Stephanie before Triple H proposes to her in the ring,exposing their relationship.

You’re the one for me ~ Triple H x Reader (request by the wonderfully beautiful @mrsbaszler ) Hope you like it!! 

Flying from arena to arena to perform as a wrestler felt like a dream come true no matter how many times you had done it. You had just touched down in North Carolina and were checking into your hotel room. It was nearly midnight and Monday night raw was tomorrow so as you made your way up to your room, your mind was racing with the storylines and matches you will have in the coming week. You throw your bags down once you enter the room but you don’t even get to settle in before your phone rings, You pick it up expecting it to be Trish to talk about your champion match tomorrow. You’re pleasantly surprised to see it’s Hunter Hearst Helmsley himself.   

“Hello beautiful.” the smooth voice of Triple H brings a smile to your face. “Fancy hearing from you so late hot stuff” You hear him chuckle through the phone. “Oh, I’m the hot stuff now? Do you know how hard it is to see you looking so beautiful walking through the hotel lobby and have to hold myself back from grabbing a piece?” You and trips had been dating for nearly three years now but had never gone public with it as you both knew it would have negative repercussions on both your careers. “Why don’t you come down here and grab a piece right now?” There was silence as Hunter contemplated your proposition. “Listen. Baby, I’m in room 234. I’m heading for a shower if you’d like to join me.” You know you now have him in the palm of your hand. “Jesus, Y/N you sure don’t make it easy for me do you? … Fuck it! I’m on my way.” You break out into a sly grin as Hunter hangs up the phone. You’re quick to strip off your clothes and wrap yourself in a towel as you enter the bathroom to turn on the shower to get the temperature just right. You hear a heavy knock on the door as the water warms up. You damn near run to the door in excitement to see your man.  

You take a breath at the door before opening it to see Hunter in a tight black t-shirt that shows off his wide muscular chest and broad shoulders as well as blue jeans that barely contain his thick thighs. “Oh hello there gorgeous stranger” You sexily remark as you move aside to allow him into the hotel room. He closes the door behind him as you walk towards the bathroom. “Come on, cutie, this way” you tease when you realize you’ve reached the bathroom and Hunter has barely entered the room. To entice him, even more, yourself so he can only see your face past the door of the bathroom as you take off the towel and throw it at Hunter’s chest. “Oh, now you’re in for it now” You hear Hunter growl as you get into the shower finally.  

Existing the shower and getting dried off after You and Hunter’s escapade proved difficult on shaky legs. “Need a hand there, sweetheart.” Hunter jokes as you feel him pick you up bridal style to walk you towards the king bed in the center of the room. “Oh thank you, my knight, in shining armor!” you laugh into Hunter’s neck before he sets you down onto the soft cotton sheets of the bed.  He throws a shirt and pants towards you as he dresses before Hunter sits on the edge of the bed beside your legs. Your hands roam up Hunter’s biceps to his traps and then roam back down his muscular back. Hunter visibly relaxes under your touch as he releases all the tension that was previously being held in his shoulders. “Penny for your thoughts Champ” You speak quietly, Hunter turns towards you, deep hazel eyes meeting your own. “Listen, gorgeous, Vince called me earlier about a potential storyline for me” You’re confused at Hunter’s serious tone, he’s the world champion of course he’s going to have storylines. You nod at him to continue. He releases a deep sign before continuing. “It's a romance storyline doll… with Stephanie” You’re taken aback by this. Is he serious? Of all people, it just had to be Stephanie! You and Stephanie had never gotten along, ever since you joined WWF but you both did your best to stay professional by pretending the other doesn’t exist.  

“Oh Okay. So is this a definite thing? Like when does it start?” You’re hopeful that the storyline is still in the idea stage and not the final plan. However, the look on Hunter’s face tells you that your hopes are about to be dashed. “I’m sorry doll, it’s starting tomorrow. You know you have nothing to worry about with me, doll. So don’t look so sad” You give Hunter a small smile before you speak again. “Hunter, It’s not you that I worry about getting notions from this storyline.” You don’t have to say it but the look on Hunter’s face shows that he understands what you’re implying. You know Hunter and Stephanie had a fling together before you came onto the scene, you knew that Hunter loved you dearly but you just couldn’t trust the younger McMahon. “I know that, doll. I’m just trying my best here to put that pretty little head at rest.” You can’t help but laugh at Hunter’s confession. “Listen, baby. You know I’ll be okay. It’s just a storyline after all. I love you.” Hunter kisses your forehead once you finish speaking. “Exactly baby, it’s just a storyline. Nothing more. I love you” You couldn’t stop yourself from melting into Hunter as his hand comes to hold your jaw to maintain eye contact. “I love you too baby, do you want to stay here tonight?” fatigue was setting into your bones so you were itching to go to sleep. “You know I’d love to stay doll, but I have to get back to my room. I’m going to the gym with Michaels in the morning. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, beautiful. Gimme a kiss before I leave.” He brings his other hand up to enclose your jaw between his hands as you both lean into each other. When your lips crash against Hunter’s the passion from your lover takes your breath away. It’s only quick but you adore having these brief displays of affection. Hunter is standing and moving towards the door before you can even blink. Hunter stops at the door to turn back briefly. “Goodnight doll.” he winks at you as you reply. “Goodnight Hotstuff” Once you hear the door click closed, you tuck yourself into bed, trying your best to forget about this new storyline as you fall asleep. 

Monday night Raw is always hectic backstage, the hustle and bustle of it being too much for some people but you loved it because it meant there was always something new to be excited about. However not everything new is good, this applied to right now. You sat gobsmacked into the writer’s room. You were being told what storylines you were going to be involved in and it must be the season of love because you were now being written into a romance storyline with your good friend Eddie Guerrero. You weren’t happy to be in a romance storyline but you couldn’t be mad at who you were involved with. Eddie was always respectful and like an older brother to you with how he would help you train and prepare for matches. “ Ay Chiquita, You feeling okay?” You smile at how good of a friend Eddie is to you. “I’m okay Ed, it’s just a storyline. Let’s go out there and kill it, yeah?”  You give him the biggest smile you can muster up. “That’s what I’m talking about Chica! I’ll see you later for our segment!” Eddie returns with his signature million-watt smile before turning to leave. You lift the script that’s in your hand and roll your eyes at the cliché romance scenarios the creative team has written you and Eddie into.  

The time ticks by as you prepare for your segment with Eddie and your title defense against Trish later on. You’re lost in thought as you make your way through the halls in the arena. You nearly jump out of your skin when you feel someone grab your arm and drag you towards a more subdued part of the backstage area. You’re prepared to scream and start throwing punches before you realize it’s Hunter. “Jesus Hunter, a warning would be lovely.” you hiss at your lover. “Sorry doll, I just needed to see you before your bug match later on” You roll your eyes at Hunter before you break out into a smile. “I’ve been meaning to catch you. I just came from a writer’s meeting and I have a new storyline, me and Eddie. It’s not what I’d love to be doing but it doesn’t look that bad in the script anyway.” You calmly explain to Hunter. “Oh great.” Hunter sounds less than impressed which shocks you. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Hunter rolled his eyes as if you were supposed to know the answer already. “Eddie’s my number one contender Y/N, and I have good money to say he’ll be my mania match. I just don’t want you to be in his corner if he is my mania match, you know?” Hunter spoke gently as you could his worry about seeing you in his opponent’s corner in his eyes. You smile at Hunter as a nervous, softer side to him you don’t see very often comes out. “Don’t worry Hunter, I doubt this will last longer than 4 weeks.”  

Oh, how naïve you were. You greatly underestimated that since you and Eddie were both fan favourites, that people would fall in love with the storyline of the two of you being in love. So Vince decided to keep the storyline going for as long as possible as well as continuing Stephanie and Hunters partnership as they were creating nuclear levels of heat together. Mania season was upon you and the tension between Hunter and Eddie was building and building as their inevitable clash for Hunter’s title came closer and closer by the day. You don’t have time to worry about the guys since Stephanie is your number one contender for the women’s championship despite her not being a full-time wrestler Vince wanted her and Hunter to be the power couple but you and Eddie weren’t going to let that happen, even if you did selfishly want Hunter to keep his title because damn he looked good with it. 

It was time for Monday night raw two weeks ahead of Wrestle mania. Hunter and Eddie had a contract signing to make the match official. You would be escorting Eddie out to the ring since Hunter would have Stephanie in his corner. It was all going to plan before Stephanie slapped Eddie out of nowhere, Before Hunter could hold her back you had launched yourself at her in defense of your (storyline) man. You feel Eddie try to drag you away but Hunter attacks him leaving the signing in complete chaos. You see the officials run out to attempt to pull the brawls apart. They successfully pull apart you and Stephanie but you see Hunter and Eddie still going at it. You feel your eyes bug out of your head when you see blood flowing freely down Hunter’s face from his nose much to the chagrin of the audience getting to see an early glimpse of comeuppance on Hunter. You see the locker room empty as they try and succeed to pull Eddie and Hunter apart. You assume this will be the end of it but then you hear Vince’s music hit. Oh no! You’re in trouble now. “That’s it! I’ve had it! At WrestleMania, this ends once and for all! In the main event of WrestleMania, all of you will face off in an intergender match where the winner takes all! Yes, that means whoever wins will walk away with their genders respective title.”  You’re completely shocked as your eyes dart from Eddie to Hunter to Stephanie and back again.   

Preparing for your WrestleMania match was difficult since you didn’t get alone time with Hunter at all and your stress levels were on overdrive. However, the adrenaline kicked in immediately as you and Eddie made your entrance together. Looking down the ramp as you strutted down the ramp with Eddie by your side and your title firmly around your waist. You couldn’t let yourself become distracted by the fact Hunter was in the match. As you enter the ring you glare at Stephanie before looking to Hunter to catch him sending you a quick wink. You roll your eyes before turning towards your corner to take off your title and prepare for the square up before the bell. The atmosphere in the arena was electric as the four of you stood off against each other before you all decided to allow the men to start the match. Watching your on-screen partner fight your actual partner had your heart in your throat as you cheered for Eddie but you couldn’t shake the worry festering in the pit of your stomach. Seeing your men go hell for leather against each other entertained you and stressed you out to no end so you had your hand stretched out for Eddie to tag you in as soon as possible to end your suffering.  

Feeling Eddie’s hand slap against sent a bolt of pure lightning through your veins as you charge against Stephanie with the sole goal to end this match on the spot as your heart can’t take this match anymore. Your plan wasn’t going to plan as Stephanie put up a heck of a fight. However, you tried to run the ropes to clothesline her but she rolled out under the bottom rope on the opposite side of the ring to her own. You follow her without leaving the ring, you can hear the crowd erupt in roars as Stephanie smiles up at you before motioning for you to look behind you. Fear fills your body as you brace yourself for an attack from behind. However, upon turning around you don’t see your impending doom but instead, you see Hunter down on one knee in the centre of the ring in front of you. “Y/N I love you to the moon and back, Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?” Once you lock eyes with Hunter’s it’s like the entire arena fades away and it's just the two of you, this is your moment and you couldn’t be happier. You don’t even have to think about it before you're nodding your head and saying yes what feels like a thousand times. Hunter slides the ring onto your finger before standing up to pull you into the most passionate and loving kiss you’ve ever experienced in your life.