#yes hes massive-- at least the size of a small toddler

[princepqul]

✨💫 *HELLO, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES!

guess who made their first free hand crochet project!!! this guy took a LOT outta me, yarn and time wise, but it taught me a lot about how crochet works and how to make designs!!! ive always wanted to make a mettaton doll, and i've finally got the skills! ps dont ask for the pattern because i didnt write notes for half of this sorry

bonus picture of mettaton with another familiar face :3

[jinmukangwrites]

@damianwayneweek 6 (6-18): Baby Damian | Family bonding | First crush

Warnings: none

Notes: Short, sweet, barely edited cuz it's 1am. Please enjoy some de-aged Damian and frazzled Dick. Yes I'm back on my Damian and Dick bullshit. I just love them so much.

-o-o-o-o-

Three days, according to Zatanna. The magic that hit Damian isn't permanent, and should wear off on its own within three days.

Dick already doesn't know what to do with himself. He was hardly prepared to take over and raise a ten year old, let alone a toddler.

But here he is, sitting in the manor living room watching as a small version of his already little brother toddles around on chubby baby legs. He can't be more than two. He can walk around on his own well enough—though Alfred did block off all of the stairs in the manor anyways—and every so often he'll point at something and say... Something that sounds like a demand.

Dick wasn't really ever good with understanding baby gibberish. It doesn't help that Damian seems to have reverted in memories as well... so the things he's demanding probably aren't in English as it's not his first language.

Damian wobbles up to Dick, holding out a toy train that Alfred dug out from the attic that used to belong to Bruce. Dick takes it and thanks him, but Damian pays him no mind and returns to his toys, babbling about something only he understands.

It's so weird seeing him like this. All small, chubby, soft, and bright eyed. Dick doesn't know everything Damian has gone through... growing up in the League... and as much as Dick dislikes Talia, he knows she was the best mom she could be to him. She's raised him to be a smart, strong young man, and taught him to be able to protect himself in his dangerous surroundings... and of course Dick has known Damian long enough to have gotten through his walls and see the wonderful boy underneath, but as he watches this toddler squeal as another toy train turns on and runs on its own...

He cannot help but mourn the child Damian could have been. Should have been if every child in the world had the privilege of growing up in a safe home and no worries besides homework.

He shakes his head. He cannot think like that. Whatever child Damian could have grown into if he hadn't been raised by the League is still in there. Just a bit harder to bring out. Dick can feel himself getting closer every day.

Damian notices him shaking his head and makes a curious ah sound. He walks over to Dick, lifting his arms, and Dick assumes he wants to be lifted. He smiles at the kid and grabs him under the armpits and lifts him into the air perhaps a bit quicker than what he was expecting. The kid screeches as Dick lifts him over head and let's go for just a moment to catch him and bring him back down to his face.

Damian scowls a familiar scowl and hits Dick on the nose with his stubby little fingers.

"Bah," he scolds, and a laugh bursts from Dick's throat.

Yup, Damian is still in there.

-o-o-o-o-

"I'm beginning to understand why B adopted all of us when we were already in elementary," Dick complains as baby Damian screams in his wooden high chair—yet another thing dug up from the attic that probably belonged to Bruce.

Alfred hands Dick a rag with a smirk. The thrown bowl of mac-and-cheese is all over Dick's shirt.

"Master Bruce always had a tenderness for infants," Alfred replies as he uses another rag to wipe off the still screaming and complaining Damian. "He always found joy in finding whatever excuse he could to hold and play with a baby. We used to go to a church when he was still a child himself, and there was a woman there without a husband who would always bring her infant. He would always offer to hold the child for her during the sessions to give her a break."

There's a twinkle in his eye when he looks over at Dick. "I imagine that if this had happened to you, or your other siblings, when he was still around, he would have loved every second of it. Food throwing, tantrums, and all."

Dick can't help but smile. He looks over at Damian who's now kicking his legs and waving his now clean hands in a fit. "Still, I wonder what's making him so mad."

"He might not like the taste," Alfred says, "or the texture. Perhaps some experimentation is due."

After some expiration and a lot of screaming through baby lungs that couldn't possibly hold that much air, they find that Damian really likes tomato soup, apple sauce, and broccoli.

-o-o-o-o-

"Master Dick," Alfred speaks up on the first evening while they were showing Damian Pooh's Heffalump Movie. Dick was relaxing and watching the movie, trying to remember if he's seen this one or not, while Damian was on the floor playing with an old kitten stuffed animal.

"Yeah?" Dick asks. He looks over at Alfred, only to see Alfred raise an eyebrow down at Damian. Dick follows his look, then his stomach drops when he finds that under the recently shopped for infant clothes, is a full looking diaper.

Dick looks back up at Alfred.

"Please, god, no."

Alfred drops a diaper, a bag of wipes, and a cloth into Dick's hands. "Good luck, sir."

-o-o-o-o-

Dick's about to lose his mind. He did everything Alfred told him to. He read a bedtime story—Where the Wild Things Are, as it was Dick's personal favorite as a child. He made sure his diaper was clean. He turned on some white noise. He even gave him Zitka. Yet, everything he did, Damian would scream and sob in his borrowed crib until Dick picked him up and started to sing the lullabies sung to him as a child. He sings the ones from his own native language, and even though there's no way Damian understands Romani, the kid calms down and reduces to exhausted little hiccups and almost seems to fall asleep with his little fingers curled in Dick's shirt.

And the second Dick puts him down, the crying rekindles.

Dick doesn't know what to do. Damian cries and cries until he's held and sung to, but Dick can't hold and sing to him all night. He paces Damian's room, bouncing the aforementioned kid-turned-infant in his arms, mumbling tunes to whatever lullaby decides to leave his lips.

Alfred told him he has permission to wake him up if he needed anything with Damian through the night, but Dick can't bring himself to. Alfred already works so hard during the day and night, keeping the manor in shape and making sure Dick doesn't get himself killed during patrol... He shouldn't have to be relied on to take care of a grumpy baby that won't go to sleep.

No, no Dick can handle this. Damian is calm when he's held and sung to, so that's what Dick will do. He walks to the cradle and pulls out Zitka, then goes to his own bedroom to sit on his bed and holds Damian close to his chest, singing and bouncing him gently.

Eventually, Damian goes completely still against his chest, snoring slightly, but Dick's too fearful to risk anything now. He stops singing though, resorting to simply holding Damian and trying to keep his own eyes open.

He fails, but he wakes up in the morning with Damian laying on his chest, still fast asleep and drooling all over his shirt.

Dick doesn't look a gift-horse in the mouth. He shifts into a better position, then allows them both to sleep in a little longer.

-o-o-o-o-

Alfred discovers the problem quickly when Dick tells him how hard it was to get Damian to sleep. Turns out, Damian's teething. By noon, Alfred had returned from the closest grocery store with a few tools to help with that. He puts a few water filled plastics into the fridge, then gives Damian one to chew on in the meantime. And chew on it, Damian does. He gets slobber everywhere, but at least he's no longer so upset, especially once a cold one is exchanged into his grubby little hands.

-o-o-o-o-

"That's absolutely adorable," Barbara says over the phone. Dick's just finished sending her a massive amount of pictures he's taken of Damian after taking him outside to play in the backyard with the dogs. He's sent her the pictures mostly because he needs people to see how cute Damian is while trying to tackle a dog twice the size of him... but also partly because he gets the feeling once Damian's back to his normal age, he will make sure all evidence of this is destroyed.

Barbara is someone Dick's sure can keep pictures hidden in a safe place... just in case Dick wants to see them again after lying to Damian he deleted them.

-o-o-o-o-

Dick's beginning to understand why people like babies. Like, they're cute, yes. The sounds they make are cute sometimes too. The things they find funny are usually very goofy and enjoyable to watch. Their laughs are contagious, and their babbles are enjoyable to try and decipher...

But nothing beats watching them sleep, curled up against your chest. Full trust in you that you'll keep them safe. It's nap time, and instead of trying to peel Damian off from him and put him in the crib, he's decided to just let the kid pass out in his arms and use the opportunity to take a nap himself.

Apparently it's bad to always let babies sleep with you, but Damian's not going to be this small forever. Might as well enjoy holding him like this in pure peace while he can.

-o-o-o-o-

It seems Zatanna was generous with her prediction, as he wakes up with his breath being knocked out of him. Damian, his rightful age and dressed in his full Robin uniform, scrambles off of Dick's chest. It's all knees and elbows, and Dick's left rubbing his ribs as Damian pats his body, as if making sure he's really a 10 year old boy and not an infant.

"Good to have you back," Dick grunts, rubbing his eyes and holding back a grin.

Damian whirls on him and points an accusing finger. "I don't remember what all happened," he hisses, "but you will delete any photos immediately."

Dick bursts into laughter, grabbing Damians pointed hand and tugging him into a proper hug. Damian squawks just a little, but relents when Dick squeezes him tighter than what he would to an infant. Yes. This feels right. Baby Damian was cute and cuddly, but he really missed the prickly attitude of this rascal.

"Okay," he says, releasing his charge. "I'll delete the photos, after we tell Alfred you're back and you've changed out of the suit."

Damian huffs and nods. "That was horrible."

"I don't know, I thought it was fun," Dick teases. Damian glares at him and Dick grins back.

Yeah, he missed his kid.

[crystalk17]

This is my super late submission for the MCYT gt gift exchange. I am really sorry for it being so late. I hope it is up to your standards!!!

This gift is for @leetlezeetle

Their promt: Giant dragon hybrid kidnaps a tiny/human to watch its young while they hunt.

As soon as I read this I thought "OMG PHILZA!!!"

So here is a fatherly, Giant, halfbreed dragon named Philza. Who kidnaps a young knight in training named Tommy. Maybe he can handle the young ones? Or maybe he will become the next meal. Who knows?

Tommy remembers the first day he was brought here. The teen was working on his stances and swings. Not even hours ago his face was shoved into the dirt by Dream. "You will never be a true knight. You can't even strike down Niki and she's a woman!" Tommy felt a heavy boot across his back shoving his body and pride even further into the mud. "You will quit or be killed."

Picking his body up the young-looking blond whipped the mud all over his front and face. If he was rebellious he would flick it at the superior, but now was not the time. After cleaning the brown thickness from his eyes he saw Dream holding his silver sword out to him with one hand. Tommy didn't say another word, even though so many were boiling under the skin to be screamed out. With a swipe of his hand, he grabbed the sword storming off.

Now he was in the field making sure he was perfect. Every swing of the sword, every shift of his body, had to be just right or he would restart with a deep growl. He would not leave until he got this perfect.

At least that was the plan.

Instead, he swung the sword jutting it straight out. The invisible enemy crippled back from the fatal stab. He was holding the wound begging for mercy.

"No foul creature. This is your last day on earth." Sliding his foot back he prepared for the final blow. Ramming the sword forward with such speed he had to close his eyes. He knew this was not the correct way to stab someone, but he was just practicing and he would try again. He expected the sword to slide through air. He would open his eyes and he would be holding his sword with one hand straight out and a perfect stance with the ghost enemy on the ground. But...but...he struck something.

Opening his eyes just a peek, his blood ran cold. Standing inches away from him was a black dragon with dark green scales sprinkled in. He thrust his sword forward hitting only the beast's clawed hand. The beast was humongous. Tommy had to look straight up into the air to even see the Creature's surprisingly blue eyes. What startled him, even more, was the fact that if the dragon wasn't looking its head over Tommy then he wouldn't even be able to see his eyes very well.

He could feel his body freeze. It didn't want to move. He felt the sword drop from his hands when the creature got even closer sniffing at his head. His hair flew up a bit then landed on top of the sweat already traveling down his face. The ground seemed to be shaking...oh wait that was his feet shaking back and forth. His pupils went wide when the blackish dragon nudged him with its claws. Maybe to see if he was alive?

Faster than he thought the creature could move, its clawed hand struck out grasping the young knight. It easily encompasses the human hiding it from the world. Tommy's whole body was encased by leather and claws that were larger than his own body. Was he seriously getting kidnapped like a princess? For what seemed like five minutes, most likely longer, Tommy banged against his rock-hard prison. He looked down seeing the monster made the mistake of allowing him to keep his sword. As if it was an instinct he grasped it in two hands and shifted his body forward. One. Two. Three hits. Even a stab and nothing happened. He wouldn't be surprised if he looked at the to and it was bent. He was going to be here for a while. -------------------------------------------------------

That very day was three months ago. On this very day, Tommy was sitting on the dusty ground of a cave, light reflecting off the walls from the fire he built. There was always plenty of food and the cave even had a small stream running through it. He was always surprised no other creatures tried to claim this area as theirs, but at the same time, he understood why.

Behind him, the sound of running feet hitting rock made his head turn. At this point, he was used to this. Looking outside it seemed about that time when the young ones started to stir.

"You can't catch me!!" Running up behind Tommy a child with short brown hair and a rugged jacket came into view. The child decided to run right behind Tommy's back even though his body was way too big to be covered up by the teen. The child looked like he could be a very young adult in stature, but in fact, this was a young halfling.

Two other forms came running out, but instead of humans like this child one was an actual dragon the size of a horse and the other human-looking but with dragon features. These three were young dragon halflings. Tommy found out through experience and reading in books halfling children had no control over their body. The younger they were the more dangerous they were.

When halfling babies are born they are very small compared to their parents. They are the size of a human, some can even be the size of a human toddler. As they got older their bodies morphed into the proper size. This is the exact reason why most halflings do not survive. They have dangers around every corner because of their vulnerable size and accidents do happen between the older halflings and their young. Throughout the years, the children would get used to their shifting abilities, so it wasn't uncommon for siblings, like these three, to look completely different.

The human-looking child keep moving back and forth so he was covered up by his 'shield'. The human with dragon features was trying to get around the sitting human to get to his sibling. With every movement, Tommy flinched a bit because the dragon halfling had claws that were digging into him every time he touched Tommy's skin while trying to get around him. He knew it was an accident, probably didn't even think about it, but he had to learn.

"Michael" he winced once more as his claws touched his shoulder. "Michael." he raised his voice a bit more to get the child's attention. The volume seemed to get his attention cause he froze in his actions. "Michael. What did we talk about playing."

"To be careful." Tommy watched as the pink flaps he had for ears drooped down showing he was upset.

"Yes, kid. You unlike your brothers have claws, wings, and these cool horns." Tommy grabbed one horn and shook the child's whole head making him smile. "I can't have your dad coming back and I'm filled with holes from your claws. He would kill us both. Just make sure next time-"

As he was talking the third child jumped right on top of Tommy. The Third was a black dragon like his father but had specks of dirty yellow scales on him. Somehow the third child learned to turn into a full dragon, but couldn't control turning back very often. He was the size of a horse and as heavy as one. "Tubbo! Tubbo get off!" Tommy was using all his strength to push the little dragon off, but all it accomplished was a face full of dragon licks.

This was how it was every single day. Tommy was left in the cave with three halfling children named Wilbur, Michael, and Tubbo. Every day it was him watching as the three played tag or roughhoused with each other while their father was gone. Who was the father? That was the black dragon who kidnapped him three months ago. Every day the giant black dragon would go out hunting, leaning poor Tommy to watch and protect his young. At first, he hated it and wanted to escape himself, but after a few days of being stuck here, the seventeen-year-old fell in love with Phil's children. Anymore he couldn't picture it any differently.

"Tubbo this is the last time I'm asking. Get off." his face was drenched in dragon slobber. The most he could do was push against the black dragon's body but he wouldn't budge. All it accomplished was the young one started to nuzzle and push up against his face to show affection. Michael ran behind Tommy's head and put all his weight on the human's arms. He was pinned to the ground and he was not going anywhere. His legs would flail up and down, but that was about it. He couldn't even do this much in fear of kicking one of the halflings.

"Get off!" Through his shouting and torturous affection, Tommy heard wood breach at the opening of the cave. The three children must have heard it too, because all three of their heads whirled to the opening as well. Tubbo started to growl and Michael's eyes grew wide. Tommy could feel the young dragon slowly stepping off his body, but he had to be ready for action now. Gently pushing him all the way, Tommy grabbed his sword from the ground. This was why he was brought here. His job was to protect and help with the young ones when their father was gone. All this training had to come into play. His heart started to beat faster as he watched the three halflings hide behind his body as if they weren't bigger than him, as if he could protect them from whatever dared to come into a dragon's den. His grip tightened on the hilt as his eyes glared at the opening. Tommy put one hand out to assure the young ones behind him.

Tubbo started to sniff the air, then his tail wagged like a dog's. He was excited about something. He ran forward with a determined speed. Tommy tried to reach out and grab his neck, but he was just dragged forward when the pup ran at full speed. Tommy dug his feet into the ground, but it didn't seem to help.

Tubbo came to an abrupt stop, flipping Tommy's body onto the ground. He frowned in irritation. He couldn't even stop a running five-year-old, how was he supposed to protect these guys?

Walking into the entrance of their hidden cave was the same black dragon who grabbed him all those months ago. With the creatures massive body in full view Tubbo ran full speed towards his father wagging his tail. Tommy had to just release or be dragged with him. He watched as the dragon very carefully dropped a dead cow, probably stolen from the villagers. The sheer black beast very carefully nuzzled Tubbo with the end of his snout getting a small squick in response.

Michael and Wilbur ran over, but straight to their dinner. Tommy watched in disgust as the two would burn the carcass with their fire than eat the pieces they tore off like hamburgers.

"Not hungry?" a deep rumbling voice asked with a surprising gentleness to it.

Tommy's scrunched up in disgust. "I'll stick to my berries and properly hunted meat. He looked up to see where a black dragon was standing was now an adult half breed human. The half dragon was smaller then the dragon form, by 20 feet to be exact. He still had black dragon wings, his tail, razor teeth, even his claws on his hands, but everything else was the perfect imitation of a human.

Tommy grabbed his sword to head out and find his own food. He would allow the family their time and he could practice with his sword. He marched to the opening when the tail curled around him blocking his path. In irritation, he looked up at the smug blond-haired male who looked 30 with horns. He had his wings tucked away, but Tommy knew they were there. He attempted to climb over the tree truck-sized obstacle until it started to move dragging him closer to the half-breed.

"What! I'm just getting food unless you want your protector to starve." The tail didn't stop herding him until he was right back to the other three dragonlings. Tommy knew he didn't need his sword so he let it drop while he yelled up at the beast. "This isn't funny Phil."

"You know I appreciate you right?"

Since he was close enough now, Phil gently picked the young knight up with two fingers. He could feel Tommy squirming, but both knew nothing would happen.

"If I didn't think you could handle yourself, I wouldn't have chosen you to watch my young."

Tommy looked back in those deep blue eyes before he spoke. "Yeah well... I know."

Phil put the human back down beside the other three. He curled his tail closely around the four. His four kids.

[crowtrinkets]

Barista’s Adventures in Wonderland

Chapter 2: An Elf, a Manor, and a Catman

The Barista is still trying to find a way out of this strange dream, but they meet even stranger people on the way

Word Count: 3,789

Pt 1

Whooooo chapter 2, I stopped at like 2000 and was like yknow what lets keep going ;u;. Enjoy, gender neutral Barista as always

The dirt crunches under my feet as I follow down the path. Thank god I bought nice shoes for work otherwise I would be covered in blisters by now. As I continue down I spot something in the brush of trees. I get closer and realize it’s a door inlaid into a rock wall. The bushes surrounding it unfortunately are all white giving it an ominous look.

"Go through the creepy door? Or continue in this creepy forest in a strange place?" I ask out loud. Weighing my options I grab the key Felix handed me earlier and put it in the lock. Wincing for a second in fear that this door too will scream at me. But nothing happens and the key turns to unlock the door for me. I walk in and close the door behind me and stop to observe the room I've entered. A yellow couch and a desk sit in the center. There's a large bookcase that extends across the walls and reaches the ceilings, but despite its massive size, there are still piles of books stacked everywhere. Some reaching half my height. In the corner, I spot a kitchenette.

"Man this guy likes to read," I mumble to myself. "What was he asking for again his relic? And Glass-" I stop mid-sentence. Patting the pockets of my apron I pull out the book and glasses I picked up earlier and held them in front of me.

"Right I had them all this time… This is awkward," I mutter and place the items on the desk. "Maybe I can wait here and when he comes looking for me I can ask for a way out of wherever here is," I speculate. My stomach rumbles and I place my hand on it in an attempt to console complaints. My eyes travel to the kitchenette I saw earlier.

"I mean maybe a snack couldn't hurt, he did ask me for a favor," Approaching the cabinets I open them only to find, a small wine bottle that says drink me.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," I grab the bottle to inspect it, opening the lid I take a whiff, sure enough, coffee. Just like the bottle from before. Running a hand over my face I let out a frustrated groan.

"This is the weirdest dream I've ever had!" I look back at the small bottle still open and still in my hand.

"That’s right… a dream," I ponder for a second and then. "Fuck it," I upturn the bottle and empty its contents into my mouth swallowing it like a cheap tequila shot. The flavor of lattes and espresso fills my taste buds and then it's gone. I put the bottle down and inspect my hands, trying to determine if I have grown or shrunk this time. Nothing.

"Well, I guess that wasn’t so-" I stop when my head smacks something hard above me. Letting out a slew of curses I crouch and cradle my poor crown.

"Ow ok, I guess I grew," Still crouching I look around the room, in my rapid growth it seems I had knocked over a few of the many stacks of books. I adjust so I'm sitting on my bottom and try to gauge my situation.

"Ok well I definitely cannot fit through the door," I say as I see my shoe is now much larger than said door. As I shuffle uncomfortably I hear voices approach.

"Well I don't know where he went I asked him to fetch my things but he has yet to return," a familiar voice grows closer, muffled behind the door.

"But the Duke-" an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes! I am aware the Duke is still expecting me but I cannot leave without my glasses or my relic, I will only be a moment," I let out a small gasp when I realize it's Felix. The door suddenly is pushed open but is stopped by the heel of my shoe.

"Oof! What in the heavens," Felix sounds annoyed and confused. I move my foot so he can open the door properly. He pushes the door open and lets out a gasp when he sees me.

"Hi Felix as you can see I'm kind of in a sticky situation," I attempt a joke.

"The giant!" he yells. Felix lifts a fist and green fire emits from his palm when he opens his hand.

"Oh! No thanks," I say and I quickly kick the door closed careful not to break it. I hear shouting and banging on the other side of the door as I use my foot to keep it closed, trying to find some way out. I grab the couch, which might as well be the size of a Barbie's in comparison to my large size, and place it in front of the door.

"I am ordering you to apprehend this giant!"

"Sorry sir you're not Miss Anka you can't order me to do anything," an exhaustive groan escapes Felix.

"Must I do everything myself?" he grumbles. I crawl over to the desk and start to search the drawers hoping I can find anything to shrink me or even to defend myself. I am not in the mood to be burned by green fire. I finally open the bottom drawer and I find a familiar item. A desert case with flan inside labeled "eat me". Without making any second guesses I upturn the case and drop the flan into my hand, throwing it into my mouth and praying I shrink to a decent size. Squinting my eyes closed I wait and wait, the desert case seeming to grow larger in my hand. When I open my eyes it's bigger than before, not comically so but much too large to appear normal. I stand and realize I'm about as high as the desk.

"Ok toddler size is better but still not great," I sigh. The sound of the door cracking startles me and I run to hide behind the desk. I hear the sound of the couch creaking against the wood floor as it is suddenly pushed a few feet back. I hold my breath and peek around the desk. In walks Felix and a man dressed as what I am assuming a knight.

"Where is it?" Felix mutters under his breath. He lets out a yelp when he notices a pile of books, all open and laying on top of each other. When Felix's back is turned as he attempts to right his collection I make a run for the door.

-

I run and run until my legs ache, not even bothering to keep track of where I am going, I stop to catch my breath, doubling over in a heaving mess. After catching my breath I decide to look at my surroundings, I am caught off guard when I realize I am not surrounded by trees but in fact large mushrooms. I look up and inspect the telltale gills many mushrooms have on their underside, backing up I try to take in the scope of just how large this mushroom is.

"Oh my god," I whisper. I suddenly hear the shuffle of fabric on top of the mushroom and a person peers over the edge. The first thing I notice about this person is that they have pointed ears. I try not to stare but I'm so amazed that I forget to speak.

"Well, who might you be hm?" They lean into their palm looking at me with a sort of annoyance crossed with curiosity.

"Oh um, I-I am uh," I'm still a little shocked and the person seems to take note. They let out a sigh.

"Never seen an elf before have you?" They ask. I decide to refrain from speaking and give a slow nod, flushing with embarrassment.

"I would be surprised if you did, you don't seem to be from around here, in all honesty, you look lost and a little naïve," Suddenly they disappear and toss a rope ladder over the side. "Come, join me," They say. I observe the ladder with a sort of hesitance, giving it a slight tug to be sure it won't fall whilst I climb. Deeming the ladder worthy of my ascension I climb up and onto the mushroom cap. Once I am at the top the person I met is sitting, long draping clothes cover their body. Multiple glass jars of different sizes and shapes surround them. In close proximity, I realize just how tall they are, although I am now the size of a child they still appear to be at least 6 feet in height. Once I settle down next to them, they tilt a glass container in my direction.

"Uhm what is that?" I ask.

"Lotion," they say. I mumble thanks and take some in my hand. It smells of lavender.

"Thank you uh-" I hesitate.

"Saaros," they respond. "So what are you doing here? You appear to be a traveler although that get up is not very travel friendly," I look down at my apron and sweater letting out a laugh.

"Oh yea uh, no I'm just lost and looking for a way out," Saaros eyes me, a smirk forming on their lips.

"Oh? And perhaps it isn't because you are looking for love?" they question. A small undignified escapes me as I feel my face warm.

"N-no, I'm lost and I just need to find a way out, I've only met a few people here and besides it's not like I'm- I'm looking for a man named Felix. He has a red waistcoat and messy looking hair, a-and I think he does magic?" I trail off thinking about Felix. I guess he wasn't bad-looking but he mistook me for someone else and then got scared of me as well. What a strange man Felix is. Saaros leans towards me, their smirk never leaving.

"No! I am not looking for love," I avoid eye contact, hoping to see something that will drag me out of this awkward situation. Saaros lets out a hum.

"Very well then, I however must get going," they stand and start to gather the bottles surrounding them and placing the items into a bag.

"But wait, I'm still lost!" I plead. Without another look at me, Saaros begins to climb down the step ladder they tossed down earlier. I lean over the edge and watch as Saaros descends.

"Could you at least tell me how to get back to my normal size? I'm not usually this small," I call out. Saaros looks up at me, an annoyed expression plastered on their face. They sigh.

"Very well," With one arm holding themselves on the ladder they point with the other. "The right side will allow you to shrink, while the left will allow you to grow, simple enough?" They ask. I give a small nod. They then point their hand in the opposite direction from where I came.

"If you go that direction you may find Blackthorn Hall, there you may find your dear Felix," I flush at their use of "dear" but elected to ignore it.

"Thank you," a small smile forms on my lips. Saaros gives me a nod and continues down the ladder, eventually reaching the floor, and disappearing into the forest. Turning back around I look at the mushroom I am sitting upon.

"Right to shrink left to grow," I mumble to myself. I grab a tiny piece of the left side and take a bite. Suddenly I grow much larger, way too large. My legs now dangling over the side of the mushroom cap.

"Too much," I yelp. I take a bit of the right side, even smaller than the last and I shrink down once again, I look at my surroundings trying to gauge if I am at least my normal height. Deeming myself as being back to normal I ascend down the ladder as well, heading the direction Saaros pointed me to.

-

I follow the path Saaros gave me and once I round a bend I stumble across a creepy-looking manor. It's not that it is unkempt or dirty, it's actually rather beautiful, but something about the particular building is giving off an unsettling aura. I let out a slow long sigh and approach its doors. Once I approach the front I find I am not alone. I see a very very large woman standing in front of the door. The door opens slightly, barely giving me a view of who is on the other side. The woman and whoever is on the other side of the door exchange a few words. I can make out the woman's name is Orion, and that the letter she hands him is an invitation meant for the Duke by the Queen, to attend a dinner. The man thanks Orion and then closes the door. Her posture remains stiff and upright, almost military-like, and as she turns around she spots me.

"Oh uh, hello, is the Duke in there?" I ask. Orion's expression remains inscrutable as she looks down at me from atop the steps. She gives me a slow nod and then sits on the stairs.

"Are you waiting for him?" I question, slowly ascending towards the door.

"I am but a messenger, and the next time a letter is sent I will send it again, it's all I do," She responds.

"Oh um, ok," I respond. Ok, that was strange and kind of cryptic. "Well I'm just gonna-" I point towards the door, but Orion's eyes still look forward into the distance. I let out a small nod and walk up to the door, and then I lightly rap on it.

"He won't answer," Orion suddenly speaks up, never bothering to look at me. Just before I can respond I hear the sound of broken glass and yelling. I open the door and a glass bowl suddenly flies out and narrowly misses Orion's head, who doesn’t react.

"What the hell," I mutter. I run inside to see what the commotion is, not even bothering to second guess myself. The door closes behind me and I am suddenly shrouded in darkness.

"Hello?" I call out, my nerves slowly start to build as I attempt to see through the darkness. Walking forward I hit a wall. Running my hands on it I hear a sound to my right. I look over and once my eyes adjust to the darkness I realize I see the outline of light poking out from under a door. Feeling along the walls, I approach the door until my hand finds a doorknob. I turn it slowly, allowing the door to open, squinting my eyes as the light that comes through blinds me.

When I finally open my eyes I can see the room in front of me. A green dining room with a long table with only two people sitting in it. On the left side is a hearth, a woman with long pale blonde hair slaves over a pot mixing its contents. The two at the table however catch my eye the most. They sit across from each other on the short end of the table, whispering and glaring at the other across from them. The man on the right has long dark hair that is greying, his heavy black and green robes compliment the room perfectly, almost as though this may be his house. The woman on the left has dark leather pants and a white shirt with mesh sleeves showing off her plethora of tattoos. I can't help but think they look familiar. The food in front of them consists of soup and wine, a strange dinner choice. My attention moves back to the woman at the cooking pot. No one has seemed to have noticed me yet. Are those… cat ears? On her head? My face twists with confusion. But something moving in the corner catches my eye. A man with a long purple coat and dark pants perches on a windowsill, high up. I realize he is not wearing a shirt and he too has cat ears. His ears are white to match his long braided hair, and the thing that caught my attention was his equally as whitetail. He catches sight of me and gives me a toothy smile, then winking.

"Why does that man have cat ears and a tail," I catch myself thinking out loud.

"He's an Ilpheta of course," I quickly turn my head and realize the man at the table has taken notice of me. An almost sinister smirk creeps onto his lips.

"Well, I didn't know cat boys existed," I attempt a joke, feeling awkward that I've been caught in this man's home.

"You don't seem to know very much do you?" The man says it's more of a statement than a question. Feeling insulted I clench my fists. He's technically correct, I really don't know anything about this place but I don’t need him telling me that.

"Now now Escell, no need to insult our guest," the woman says, peeking a glance at me.

"I hardly remember inviting them Scylla," He responds. Suddenly the sound of broken glass catches me off guard. The cook, who I have confirmed now definitely has a tail and ears, is throwing plate wear at the catman on the windowsill. However, he doesn’t respond when they make contact with him. He just continues to pick at something in his teeth while the woman furiously chucks items at him.

"Be careful you're going to hurt someone!" I shout. The sound of the chair creaking across wood startles me and I see the woman Scylla begins to approach me.

'Well you out to be careful lost one," she says, a flirty trill dances across her lips. Scylla stops at the end of the table and picks up a glass of wine, then holding it out to me. Her smile never leaves her lips. I begin to reach for the glass but I stop midway when the cat man speaks up.

"It's poisoned yknow," he says without looking at me.

"What?" Scylla then grabs my wrist and pulls me towards her.

"Just a sip dear, it couldn't hurt," She begins tilting the glass towards my mouth as I struggle to getaway.

"No!" I shout, suddenly a bright flash of light emits from my hand, knocking me backward and onto the floor. I slowly sit up groaning, I open my eyes and I see that Scylla is nowhere to be found, just a bottle of wine, upon further inspection I realize no one else is here. Escell, the catman, and the woman at the hearth are all gone. I slowly rise and pick up the wine bottle. Inspecting its label my breath hitches when all it reads is "Scylla".

"Oh um…" I mutter, I then place the wine bottle on the table and run back out of the manor.

Once my eyes adjust from the darkened halls to the bright sun outside I close the door behind me letting out a sigh. I notice Orion is no longer sitting in her spot atop the steps. I do however see the catman that was inside earlier. He flashes me another smile which takes me aback slightly.

"Um hello," I give a small wave. The catman approaches me, leaning against the wall.

"Well hello to you," I can't help but glance down at his form, his abdomen poking out from his long purple coat. My eyes snap back up to his and I don't miss the smirk he gives me.

"I'm uh, looking for a way out of here, if you know," don’t stare at his abs don’t stare at his abs don’t-

"Well, I could tell you but, not for free," I wince a little.

"I don’t have a lot of money, and I don't even know your name," I explain.

"It's Sage and besides, I'm cheap," he finishes that off with a wink, causing me to flush.

"L-look I just need to be pointed in the right direction, isn't someone free to go wherever they like?" I ask, hoping he takes the bait. Sage ponders for a moment, looking to the side as his tail lashes about behind him.

"Alright," he lifts a gloved finger and points behind me. "If you go down that way you'll find the Holy Knight, she'll be able to help you out, you'll also be able to find the not-so-holy Engineer, both are beautiful in my opinion though, I won't judge you for having a hard time picking between the two," Sage's smile never falters as he speaks.

"I am not looking for love, just a way out," I speak.

"Well, you must be if you've come here,"

"I am not!" My voice pitches a little and my cheeks grow warm. Sage ponders for a second, tapping a finger on his chin.

"You agree a monster is a monster yes?"

"I suppose so," I say, confused by where he is going with this.

"Then you best avoid them, they'll only drag you down, if you can avoid love you can avoid the monsters" Sage takes a slight step back, clasping his hands together in front of him. I look at him with confusion.

"I don't think you're a monster," I say. I may have just met this strange catman, but something about him tells me I can trust him, in some way.

"You should," he says, almost inaudible for me to hear. "U-uh anyways, are you going to the dinner?" Sage asks, dodging the subject he started. I decide to drop it for now.

"Dinner?" I ask. Sage nods, I then recall the conversation Orion had earlier, the Queen is hosting a dinner. "I guess I am a little hungry,"

"You seem like the type to get around," Sage begins to walk down the steps of the manor and I rush to catch up with him.

"W-wait there's something I don't understand," I say. Sage slows down to my pace but continues to walk towards the forest I came from. "What happened to that girl that approached me? Scylla?"

"She's a spirit now," Sage says, still looking forwards.

"What? What do you mean by that?" I turn around to look at the house once more, my head filling with even more confusion.

"Sage-" I turn around to speak with him but he's gone. I turn around looking for any signs of the cat man dressed in purple, but I see nothing. Letting out a groan I turn towards the direction he pointed me to.

"I guess it's time to pay this Holy Knight a visit," I say to myself.

[boxboysandotherwhump]

Friends? and festivities!

Tags: @salamancialilypad  @whumpfigure @albino-whumpee @comfy-whumpee  @ashintheairlikesnow   @haro-whumps   @moose-teeth @vickytokio​ @yet-another-heathen @orchidscript

Chapter 1

CW: We’re off to a fairly relaxed start with only mild whumpy undertones in this one

The warm summer breeze carried a whiff of lavender from the safe zone’s border into the village and Charlotte’s blouse stuck to her skin while she strolled through dusty streets.

People laughed as they hurried past her and Kaja, carrying fresh bread, flower garlands, and pieces of fruit to the marketplace. The Bromberg twins chased after a roly-poly, screaming after the poor creature that scuttled up a rooftop to escape its fate as a chitin-shelled pony knock-off. Charlotte felt giddy just thinking about tomorrow's festival. She’d seen Mara run around the orphanage with a strawberry bigger than her head today, declaring it the undefeatable champion among the offerings.

Kaja chattered beside her, overflowing with life while they made their way out the village center. Charlotte had always found her effervescence oddly infectious and wished she had more in common with the blonde, toothy-smiled woman than blue eyes and their love for dancing. But where Kaja was all round, warm cheeks with a heart soft as her belly, Charlotte had always been rough edged, restless. 

“I wonder how big the watermelons are gonna be this year,” Kaja mused. Her pale green skirt fluttered in the breeze.  “Hey Charlotte. What do you think? Will six people fit in one this time?”

“Six toddlers maybe,” Charlotte quirked a pale eyebrow. “You know that the mutation cycle needs more than a year to double plants in size.”

Her eyes flitted over the forest, its endless expanse encircling the village’s border. In the far distance, colossal trees cast the land under them in darkness. Colored patches on maps eternally midnight-black.

“But what is our knowledge worth, if the only thing we can say for sure is that we know nothing about the woods.”

“Party pooper.” Kaja grinned, long skirt puffing as she twirled around. “We’ve got a festival to organize. There’s no time for long faces.”

“I’m merely-“

“Miss Kaja, Charlotte. Hello!”  Micha’s voice boomed from up ahead and both women turned to the bakery, smiling at the young man leaning in the doorway.

A few black curls stuck out from underneath his white cap, drawn down to hide flushed cheeks. He was covered in specks of flour, white smudges were smeared all over his apron and forearms.

Kajas face lit up as they strolled over to the red brick house, tucked between the street's curve and a grassy hill, solitary and half swallowed by ivy. Only the display window’s nook was meticulously cut free and filled with cream pies and cookies.

“Hey Micha,” Kaja beamed, “Say, have you planned something for tomorrow?”

A bright smile split his lips, eyebrows raising conspiratorially as he leaned closer. His  voice dropped into a sing-song whisper. “That’s a secret.”

Charlotte huffed a laugh. “Mind to give us a tip?”

“Nah.”  Micha flicked his cap’s brim up. “M not gonna spill. Y ’all’ll see tomorrow.”  

“Okay mister mysterious. Tomorrow then,” Kaja smiled, skirt swishing around her ankles as she turned to leave. Giving one last wave over her shoulder, Charlotte strolled after her.

Micha flushed red like his brick house, gawking after the two as they strode up the hill road. “Yeah. See ya.”

Charlotte nudged Kajas shoulder, unable to contain a snicker.  “Mister mysterious, hm?!”

The tease tinted Kajas cheeks pink. “So what?! Wait till we’re at the farm and you see snail-boy again.”

Charlotte bristled, upper lip curling back as she hurried ahead to the roadside where little stone steps parted the bushes and cut their narrow path through thick underwood; up to the snail farm.

“He is just- We are merely trading books. Sometimes!” She took two steps at a time, grumbling. “It’s not like we're close or anything.”

                                                  –

The old two story house stood proud on its little plateau, encircled by tree roots so massive they nearly reached its shingle roof. Its bricks had been laid one at a time, many summers ago, and little extensions had grown over the years, some extra rooms that stuck out from one side, the kitchen with its thatched roof. The grass surrounding it was short, completely gone in some muddy patches where it had fallen victim to the snail’s insatiable hunger. They roamed the forest floor, finding every new sapling, eating every fresh blossom, and kept the ever growing woods at bay.

Every other day Sahar would herd them onto the orphanage’s grounds, reading while the snails feasted. He would sit in a patch of shadow, nose buried in a book - just like he was now, back resting against the root beside the tiny staircase that led up to the plateau.  His short hair stuck up every which way and his dark boots were covered in grass stains. The big silvery-white scar on his right arm was barely visible in the shade.  

Charlotte watched with a smile as Sahar gently pushed a snail’s head down, away from the fruit pieces beside him, snickering as it retracted one eye.

“Really Asmodea?” He murmured. “Didn’t didn’t, didn’t I just feed you an, an hour ago?”

Kaja knocked on the low wooden gate to their front yard and Sahar flinched. He had always been jumpy, Charlotte wondered.

“Hey there. It’s us. Say, are Moira and Ansgar home?”

The book slipped from his fingers as he leaped to his feet. His voice barely carried over the short distance. “Hey, hello, hi. Yeah, yes. They’re home.  I- I’ll, I’ll go get them. Come in. The- the, the the snails don’t bite.” His nervous smile faltered. “Well, with- without having teeth and and and all-“

Sahar bit his lip, stopping himself, before he hopped over the root and vanished behind big wooden doors into the house.

                                                        –

Charlotte had never been inside the farm before, had only ever seen the grey bearded farmer and his wife down in the teahouse chatting with others or when they had to run some errands. Back before Sahar had seemingly appeared out of thin air. Since then, he’d been the one to handle their affairs, readily shooed this way and that.

Ansgar had simply dragged the boy into the teahouse one day, declaring him his new hireling without bothering to explain where he had come from or how a mere child had survived the outsides! Eight years later the question still remained, lingered over the dimly lit marketplace like teapot steam. The people had given up their questions and inquisitions, at least. Their storm of curiosity had burst against the couple’s stone set silence.  

Charlotte had barely followed the discussion about the snail riding they planned to organize at the orphanage tomorrow,  too preoccupied by Sahar entering the living room while he balanced five cups and a teapot on a tray, setting it carefully onto the table. Its wooden surface was worn smooth over countless shared meals and long evenings filled with games and chatter.

A faint eucalyptus smell tickled her nose as Sahar timidly slid a cup over to her and she couldn’t help but wonder how on earth they had gotten their hands on eucalyptus? The last delivery of it had been years ago.

Charlotte watched Sahar drag a stool over from beside the high, over-cramped bookshelf, so small he had to kneel on it to be on eye level with the rest of them, and took a first tentative sip.

Chamomile?! Had her nose played a trick on her?

“We really should get going.There’s just so much left to organize.” An apologetically smile danced on Kaja’s lips, turning mischievous. “But we’ll come back for another round of tea soon. Right, Charlotte?”

She shot Kaja an irritated look, catching Moiras knowing grin. The woman’s slim observant eyes crinkled with her crooked smile. Moira’s greying, artfully pinned locks swished softly as she turned to Sahar. “I’ll bet our little barista will gladly serve you again? Isn’t that true, Sahar?”

Sunkissed brown fingers drummed a soft rhythm against the artfully painted clay of his tea cup as he mumbled, “Yes.” 

Coughing, Ansgar stacked their cups in two neat little piles on the tray. “There’s really lots t’ do. But let’s take ya down the road a bit. It’ll do us all good gettin’ some fresh air.”

Both she and Sahar hurried to get up, grateful for the distraction. He grabbed the tray, smiling at Ansgar on his way to the kitchen.  

[yamithediaperdork]

Attack on baby (Attack on titan)

Dusk was setting as Jean made his way over to his boyfriends house, admiring the subtle changes in the sky as darkness came over and glad that they had managed to go awhile without a attack from a titan.

He was looking forward to a romantic night with Marco, the love of his life, and was already picturing a candlelight dinner for two, maybe some dancing since Marco had a wine up record player.

Just the thought of being in the stronger man's arms had a blush going as he knocked gently on his lovers door.

Marco was beside himself with glee and couldn't wait for Jean to come over. he knew his boyfriend was expecting a evening of loving adult fun but Marco, a daddy dom who had to go without his little for long periods of time, had other plans.

he'd been saving up on water rations and the like for the past three months and ergo had enough spare water and soap to justify washing out diapers, which mean Jean's usual 'I'd wear but it's a waste of water rations to clean the diapers' argument would be rendered moot.

Hearing a knock on the door and wearing his semi daddy apron (So he'd be protected against spit up, drool and the like and having pockets for a rattle and pacifiers) moved to answer the door.

As the door opened up Jean groaned, if Marco was wearing the apron it meant any chance of loving bliss was gonna be a miss and he wanted him in thick cloth diapers and making a moron of himself.

of course a small part of him (Very small since it wasn't even making a tent) maybe kinda sorta liked the baby treatment and the teasing but he'd be damned if he'd ever let Marco know that!

"Really? your letter said a night I'd never forget." Jean huffed, narrowing his eyes.

"And I promise, you won't~ Now git in here!" Marco said and tugged the smaller boy in with ease, kissing his lip sand patting Jean's butt.

diapered or not bum pats always made Jean weak in the knees and he spread his legs, whining into Marco's mouth that he was cheating, though he doubted Marco would be able to understand him since the bigger boys tongue was claiming Jean's mouth for itself.

Marco of course knew full well what Jean was trying to say, and just kept patting the boy's butt. he was sure if he could only get Jean to mess himself and get him across his lap, he's have the huffy baby creaming himself in seconds.

Thus far in the many times they had played before, Jean had only gone as far as wetting himself but Marco had plans for that to change tonight.

Between what was in the ba-ba he had ready for him and the food he'd prepped, there was no way little Jean wasn't making daddy all sorts of presents tonight.

Pulling away from Jean, Marco smirked as Jean's eyes were closed and he was still moving his mouth as if they were still kissing. After about 7 seconds Jean seemed to realize it had stopped and so opened his eyes and closed his mouth, blushing and glaring.

"Why'd you stop!?" he whined and huffed, crossing his arms and well, looking like a big huffy toddler.

"Because Daddy needs to get his little man in his diapies before he makes a puddle.. tinkle or otherwise." Marco said with a wink then lightly tapped the front of jean's pants.

Jean was a quick shot who made up for it by being able to fire off multiple times a night, and having been so primed and not having wanked all day the effect was almost instant.

jean's mouth formed a perfect O and he hunched over, his hands trying to shoot down and cover his crotch but Marco held them away and watched as the front of the smaller boy's tan pants started to darken, and then watery cum shot out as Jean gasped and cried out.

"N-Nooo Ah I CUMMING!" He cried out, jerking his hips and mewing.

"See? You just made a love puddle. you need your diapies." Marco coo'ed and let go of Jean's hands as the smaller boy sunk to his feet, taking a few seconds to recover.

"..Your a asshole you know that?" Jean huffed, but the fight was out of him.

Letting Marco lead him to the bedroom Jean was huffy and grumpy, he hadn't been able to fully enjoy his cummie and wanted anther one but knew daddy was gonna make him EARN the next one.

'stupid freaking perv, priming me up like that! he could of at least kept patting my butt!' Jean mentally huffed as he let Marco strip him.

it was second nature almost so he was mostly in his own head fuming and as such was caught off guard as a paci was popped between his lips, sucking on it out of habit before it even fully registered. Once it did though he glared at Marco who was just giving that fucking 'I'm such a awesome daddy' smile that made him wanna slug him one..or jump into his arms. maybe both.

"I could see somebody was getting all grumpy Gus and i know how you like to suck on things." Marco said, making Jean blush brightly.

Despite how long they'd been together, the only thing that had entered Jean's backside was fingers or a enema,. Their sex life was all about teasing handies or fingerings for jean, and Jean on his knees and sucking Marco.

Too embarrassed to argue Jean just suckled away on the fat rubber nipple and looked away as Marco had him flat on his back, naked.

"Awww somebody was a good boy and kept himself shaved! Such a very good boy I have! yes I do!" Marco coo'ed and tickled Jean's tummy making Jean giggle and squirm despite himself.

"also you don't need to worry sweetie, Daddy saved up LOTS of water so you can go all out and use your diapie to it's fullest." Marco chuckled, making Jean's eyes go wide.

Jean shook his head no like crazy, and went on a rant about how he only liked to wear, he only wet for Marco's sake and he wasn't going to go poopie in a diaper even if Marco gave the best bum pats ever, all while Marco just looked at him chuckling and amused.

"Finished?" Marco asked, then tapped his own mouth. Jean blinked and looked down, realizing he'd kept the paci in for his whole rant and whined. "I'm sure whatever you said was VERY compelling and deep, but I don't speak gibberish. Now bum up."

whimpering and whining, Jean did as he was told.

Marco was VERY amused. despite jean insisting he wasn't a little guy and was only doing it for Marco's sake, it was clear he loved the attention and no one who could baby out as good as Jean did wasn't at least partially a little.

Sliding the thick terry cloth under his boyfriends butt, Marco took out a container of talcum powder and sprinkled it on the little guys cute little wiener and balls (So small and compact it almost just looked like on normal sized one) then tugged the cloth up and fished out two large diapers pins.

with a fluid motion that showed he had not only done this before with Jean, but practiced it many many times, Marco had one pin in his mouth and the other one opened and serving the left side of the diaper, with the right side following suite soon after.

Helping Jean up to his feet Marco waited a second. he was 99.99 percent sure the diaper was on snug enough, but better for it to fall off while Jean was standing in front of him then while the little guy was trying to walk.

Jean himself little down, and wiggled his hips (his version of a stress test) and then grinning behind his paci gave Marco a thumbs up that almost made the daddy melt.

"Do you wanna be a big boy and waddle behind daddy out to the table for some din-din, or you need daddy to carry you?" Marco asked.

jean thought about , a chin going to his chin and stroking it as he looked thoughtful (well, as thoughtful as one cold in a massive terrycloth diaper and a paci in their mouth.

on one hand he wanted to be able to keep some pride as a big boy and show he didn't need to be carried, so walking was good.

on the OTHER hand however Marco had diapered him and wanted him to be his helpless little boy, so he should have to suffer and carry him.

the bratty impulses won and Jean giggled and held out his arms for Marco to pick him up.

"Why do I even bother to ask, you always pick carrying." Marco said, doing a stage sigh and then scooping Jean up in his arms bridal style. "I suppose this is my burden to bare if I wanna have a cute widdle diaper boy."

jean smirked and giggled and Marco carried the love of his life out to the dinning room table, sitting him down in a chair.

sadly he hadn't of been able to get a adult high chair as of yet though it was next on his list of things to either buy or make himself.

"So, whats for din din?" Jean asked,having taken his paci out and set it on the table and was kicking his legs under the table, staying semi still as Marco tied a dirty white dish towel around his neck, a semi baby bib.

"well for me, I'm having some fried fish and veggies. YOU on the other hand.." and Marco turned, getting a large plate that had been covered up with a stainless steel cover and lifted it even as Jean groaned.

there was the fish alright, and Marco's veggies..and there was also 4 jars of prune flavored baby food.

"Really?! That's what your giving the man who's willing to humor you?" Jean grumbled. "you could of at least gotten me some fish and just cut it up for me!"

"..I honestly didn't think of that.," Marco admitting and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well I suppose now i know for next time!" he said brightly.

"IF there's a next time." Jean huffed, sulking big time now and crossing his arms over his chest. "Could at least got some baby food that doesn't taste like ASS."

"..heh so you open to baby food if I get apple and a banana's? Noted~" Marco said and snickered.

Jean instantly switched from huffing and sulking to blushing and shaking his head no.

"N-no! that's n-not what I meant! don't twist my words around!"

"Don't worry baby boy, Daddy will get you lots of nummy baby food for next time." Marco coo'ed and patted jean's head, then tugged up a chair and sat down, getting a spoon and one of the jars and opening it. "Now open up for the num nums!"

Jean was mentally huffing like crazy and for a split second toyed with keeping his mouth shut, or trying to grab the fish and eat it. Of course he knew neither of those options would really end well for him as Marco was a daddy dom who believed in spanking brats.

That left the choice of playing along or going hungry and so he opened his mouth even as he closed his eyes.

he knew from experience just how AWFUL this stuff tasted and wasn't shocked that the flavor hadn't improved as the mush made contact with his tongue.

Scrunching up his face and shaking his head, he forced himself to swallow as he knew Marco who just scoop any he didn't off his chin and back into his mouth.

he was vaguely aware of Marco praising him but when it came to baby food, he tried his best to just distance himself and think of something else.

the awful taste never got any better but Jean found himself able to choke it down easier as time went on and he was vaguely away of Marco smearing dome on his face and scolding him for being such a sloppy baby.

He came back more or less as he heard what sounded like the fourth scraping the inside of a jar and slowly opened one eye to check.

"anddd that's it. you're all fed." Marco said.

Jean grinned and went to say thank god, but a loud foul tasting belch came out instead with a little spit up and he turned red all over as he sat there mortified.

Marco mentally signed, he hated it when Jean went on auto pilot but considering everything he was getting tonight, he knew better then to make this his hill to die on.

instead he kept up the baby talk and got minimal responses from Jean (though he loved the icky faces) and just powered though it, knowing it would give the little guy gas.

And boy, had he called it!

Laughing and wiping jean's chin clean of the spit up with one hand, Marco waved a hand in front of his face with the other.

"whew! and daddy though he could burp! I should enter you in the next belching contest at the bar!" He joked.

"S-Shut up!" Jean whined and mewed, squirming in his seat big time.

"Awww it's ok buddy, it's just a little gas. if Daddy doesn't mind when you fart on him, a little burp is ok." Marco coo'ed and kissed jean's forehead.

"..I want ALL the cuddles after you eat." Jean huffed.

"You drive a hard Bargain but ok.Here, I'll go and you you set up so you can play while daddy eats." Marco said.

without waiting for a reply from Jean (who listens to a baby anyways?) Marco had him picked up and plopped on a blanket in his living room, disappearing off for a few seconds and coming back with some old toys he'd brought at a flea market.

"Y-You got these for me?" Jean asked, going semi silently and Marco asked a eyebrow, trying to read him.

"Well yeah. you're my little guy and shouldn't have to pretend a block or firewood is a toy." Marco said. when Jean didn't reply he went on. "I couldn't afford brand new toys but i-"

he was cut off as Jean hugged him tight.

"they're perfect! I love them! thank you daddy!" Jean gushed and coo'ed.

'..mental note, toys are the way to a big babies heart.' Marco thought, but hugged back.

"Your welcome buddy."

while Marco went back to go eat Jean had his paci back in his mouth and a bottle of milk on the table nearby if he got thirsty, though he was too busy playing with the wooden soldiers and the building blocks and the like daddy had gotten him, in little guy heaven.

'I have the best daddy in the world!' Jean thought, all of his earlier protests over hating this mostly gone. 'I wonder if he'd let me take these home with me?!'

The answer was likely to be a negative since Jean had a somewhat bad habit of losing things but there wasn't any harm in asking.

on his knee's and working away at making a fortress for half of the soldiers to defend while the other half could attack, Jean noticed his tummy was making lots of gurgling noises and feeling kinda funny but put it out of his mind as he kept working on the fortress, pausing to look over at Marco every so often for his approval.

"Your doing great buddy. Daddy's gonna have to get you more blocks." he called over, between mouthful's of food and sipping on some red wine.

grinning like a fool Jean took a small break as he finished the fortress, plopping back on his pampered tush and as daddy took a sip of wine he pulled out his paci and sucked on his milk, draining half the bottle in one go.

'huh, must of been more thirsty then I thought.' jean thought and then shrugged, getting back on his knee's and getting ready for the battle to start.

he left his paci out this time though so Marco could hear him talk as the different armies.

'You know, for someone who claims he's not a little guy..' Marco mused, but kept that thought to himself.

the LAST thing he wanted was to jolt Jean out of his baby mindset after all.

The battle such as it was, apparently was being waged over a teddy bear and both sides swore to fight to the bitter end for Mr.cuddles. Or at least till they had enough of getting really big boo boo's as apparently they were firing corks at each other.

'I'll give him credit, no lack of imagination there.' Marco thought as he finished up his meal and placed the dishes in the sink.

Coming over and sitting next to Jean he gave the big baby a warm smile.

"So, who's winning?" Marco asked.

"oh strait up tie so far daddy. though if it keeps up like this the Alliance to hug stuffies will win out since they have the fort. If the union to hug stuffies wants the W, they'll have to pull out something desperate." Jean said as if it was matter of fact, and Marco was silly for even having to ask.

"I see I see." Marco said and got a yelp out of Jean as he poked a finger in the leg hole of the diapers, checking for dampness.

"Daddy! Just ask! I'd of told you if I wet!" Jean huffed, blushing and pouting.

"would you now? So, did you wet your diapie?" Marco asked.

"Nope! bone dry still!" Jean said proudly.

"heh, you SURE about that buddy?"

Jean paused, and then reached down and patted the front of the thick cloth and gasped.

"H-Holy crud! I d-didn't even.." he mewed in a small voice.

"aww, it's ok. just explains why you were so thirsty!" Marco coo'ed and as Jean started to fret and whine, he got the big baby on his back, then said. "I know what will make you feel better."

"what?" Jean whined, huffing.

"Belly farts!" Marco chuckled and before Jean could stop him Marco bent down and placed his mouth on the exposed belly and blew air, making a LOUD fart like noise even as Jean giggled and went 'daddy nooo!'

Four belly fart's latter though Marco was cut short as he went for number five as two back to back real farts came out of Jean's backside.

"heh, somebody going all gassy?" Marco teased.

"NO! Those were uh..echo's! yeah!"

Marco looked around his Apartment. it wasn't cramped by any means but it wasn't big enough for a echo effect either.

"Echo's huh?" He asked, raising a eyebrow and smirking.

"Oh yeah, totally. I told you, I'm not gonna." And a loud fart escaped again, sounding wetter. "Mess my." And a series of smaller farts coming out rapid fire. "Diapers." Jean finished and a final gut churning 13 second fart blasted out, ending with Jean gasping and clutching to Marco as the back of his diaper started to fill up.

"whatever you say. but I'll wait for you to finish 'not pooping your diapers' before I change you." Marco chuckled.

"..Okay daddy." was all the red faced little could say before grunting and pushing, his diaper ballooning out rapidly.

As the smell filled the Apartment Marco made a mental note to open the windows ahead of time for the next time, but just kept hugging his little stinker.

'i have to be the luckiest daddy in the world.' He thought and smiled.

The end

[bffsoobin]

Windflower

01|02|03|04|05|06

↳ after a heartbreak you find yourself in a small town looking for purpose. you find employment with Choi Soobin and his impressive ancestral home. when you start to fall in love again, there’s no way for you to predict what you find in the depths of the home and Soobin’s mind.

➤ hanahaki au, fluff, angst

Word Count:3,945

Warnings: swearing, mentions of an injury (nothing serious), I didn’t proof read (surprise!)

A/N: here’s the long awaited (by some) part 4 of Windflower! I’m getting really excited about this as we’re reaching somewhat of a turning point. I cannot wait to see your reactions to the twists in the coming chapters hehe. Anyway I hope you enjoy & leave feedback if you want to!

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:••:•.•

If you had thought the humidity the day you arrived in town was bad, you definitely were not ready for the sweltering heat that permeated the air today. You had awoken surprisingly early and found that the sun was shining in vibrant rays into your room. In your drowsy state you had enjoyed the heat, even curling deeper under your covers as your body surfaced back into reality. If you listened close enough, you could hear birds chirping outside through the closed windows and you briefly wondered if you should spend the whole day cuddled up with your pillow. The silk sheets could only shield you from the radiating heat for so long, though. Soon enough, the gentle heat that had caressed you awake settled into your skin and made you feel suffocated. Flinging your sheets off only gave you a bit of relief as you realized that there was almost no cool air in your room. Upon peeking outside, you noticed no evidence of the gentle summer breeze you had come to love. Every single plant in the yard stood still as the sun beat down on them. Sweat was beading on your forehead and the back of your neck in uncomfortable patches as you headed for the bathroom. Thankfully, the tiles were cold under your feet, and the small relief washed through your entire body.

You started the water for a cold shower, hoping to drive away the heat that the day had already provided as early as 8am. As small droplets of water splashed onto your skin, you couldn’t help but wonder if this was the kind of weather you should come to expect from the tiny town. You decided you’d have to ask Soobin once he got up. 

After the shower expelled the sweat off of your skin, you dressed and bounded down the steps toward the kitchen. At this point, you had been living and working with Soobin for several weeks. The two of you had a comfortable routine that included a healthy mix of time spent both together and alone. You rose before him almost every morning and took it upon yourself to make him an omelet after watering all of the houseplants littered around the living spaces. Many times he had insisted that there was no reason for you to make him breakfast; and this morning was no exception. Just as you finished watering an impressively sized aloe plant, Soobin had begun his grumbling.

“Y/N! How many times do I have to tell you that you have no obligation to make me breakfast every day?” His voice was still thick with sleep and upon examining him you noticed he still had some gunk in the corner of his eyes. The corners of your mouth twitched upwards at his helplessly soft nature.

“You can tell me every day, Soobin. I don’t care,” you pulled a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and poured both of you a glass, “it’s the least I can do. Plus, I know you love breakfast but you’d burn it all if you tried to do it yourself.” He grumbled at that through a mouthful of food but didn’t protest as he knew you were right. As Soobin sipped at his drink, he hummed thoughtfully as if he suddenly remembered something. 

“I think we need to water the flowers today. We aren’t supposed to get rain for a long time and it’s getting to be really hot. I don’t want any of them to die.” For some reason, the thought of manually caring for Soobin’s beloved garden put fear in your stomach. Of course you had done some work on the garden but nothing more than adding some mulch and chasing away the occasional bunny looking for a place to burrow. But caring for the house and garden was why you were here to begin with, so you nodded in agreement.

Soobin stood to his full height, stretching his arms above his body to work out all of the aches from his sleep. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t bring yourself to look away from the strip of smooth skin that became exposed in the process. You hoped he hadn’t noticed your staring or the light pink dusting on your cheeks as he passed by you to drop his dishes into the sink. With your mind whirling, you desperately tried to steer your thoughts away from the way they were running with the imagine of Soobin’s exposed stomach. 

“I’m going to go,” you coughed awkwardly when Soobin whirled around with his plate still in hand to make eye contact with you, “upstairs to change and then we can go out to work on the garden.” You took his moment of comprehension to haul yourself up the creaking maplewood staircase and into the safety of your room as your palms began to sweat. 

----

As soon as the two of you stepped onto the back porch you felt like you had walked into a brick wall. The heat was so oppressive that you felt physical weight on your shoulders as you groaned. Soobin bounded ahead of you as if he hadn’t even registered the unmovable force of heat encasing your whole being. You audibly gagged, earning a snorted laugh from Soobin as he made his way toward the sea of flowers. Their colors seemed to shine even brighter underneath the intense sunlight and you swore you could almost see some of them sparkling with an otherworldly quality. Upon further inspection you noticed just how dry the soil was and felt concern digging at your heart. Soobin seemed similarly worried as he stooped over a section of jasmine plants, cooing over a weed he had found in the ground alongside them. You shook your head at his antics and caught wind of him apologizing to the plant as you retrieved the hose coiled up alongside the house. 

For a while the two of you worked in a comfortable harmony. Soobin had put himself in charge of weeding while you were responsible for making sure the soil was thoroughly wet to avoid any damage to the coveted flowers. As far as jobs go, this one wasn’t half bad. Despite the massive area of the garden, the hose reached as far as you ever would need it to. After you finished watering a rather large patch of roses you could no longer resist the urge to stick your entire head underneath the hose. With all of the sun beating down you began to understand how Soobin had achieved his impeccable tan so early into the summer. 

“Soobin,” you whined his name to tear his attention away from the pesky weeds that had rooted themselves within his beloved garden. 

“Yeah?” his answer was punctuated by a grunt of exertion that you could only assume was his attempt at yanking out the weed. You grimaced at the knowledge that he wasn’t wearing any gardening gloves and worried for the sensitive skin of his palms.

“I’m too hot. It’s disgusting out here,” you pulled the fabric of your shirt away from your stomach before waving it back and forth to prove just how sweaty the combination of heat and manual labor had made you. Soobin said nothing for a second but you could hear the sound of roots ripping out of the ground before he finally replied. 

“I forget that you’re not from here,” he laughed as if the oppressive heat was something you should have expected the day you rode in on the winding road with your whole life packed in the back seat. “Why don’t you just go inside for a bit? I’ll be fine dealing with this alone for a while. Plus, I can’t afford to take you to the hospital if you pass out. And imagine how much damage you’d do to the flowers!” He gasped as if absolutely scandalized at the idea of your body crashing into the delicate fauna. 

You grumbled under your breath, making sure to turn away so there was no chance he could see the quirking corners of your mouth. “Fine,” you sighed, equally as dramatic as he had just been, “I’ll stay inside and watch you from the living room like a widow.” 

Upon entering the house, you knew something was off. Your eyebrows scrunched in confusion as you stood just inside of the closed doorway. Why the fuck was it just as hot inside as it was outside? Heat still crawled over every inch of your body, making strands of hair stick disgustingly to the back of your neck. You wandered through the living room, kitchen and library in the hope that the heat you felt upon entering was just due to your location. Unfortunately, every section of the grand home was equally as steamy as the direct sunshine outside. The dream of taking a break in the wonderful air conditioning was crushed. 

Stomping like a toddler, you made your way back down to the garden. Soobin had taken over your watering job and he seemed shocked to see you back so early. His shirt showed small hints of sweat building on his lower back and around the collar, but it was nothing compared to the absolute mess you had become. If it wasn’t for how much you liked him, you would have been annoyed at his tolerance. 

“Back already? Did you miss me that much, bub?” Your heart stuttered at the use of your occasional nickname. 

“No. You give yourself too much credit. The AC is broken,” the steady stream of water sprouting from the hose ceased as Soobin loosened his grip on the handle. 

“The house AC?” He asked dumbly, blinking at you in disbelief. His lips were parted wide as you rolled your eyes. 

“No, the AC for the shower. Yes, the house AC!” Knowing you had no easy escape from the heat made your nerves fray even more. 

“Oh. Well,” he turns the hose back on, “I can call the mechanic.” You stared at him blankly for a while before he felt your burning gaze. 

“What?” Rounded eyes opened even wider than you thought were possible as he stared you down. 

“It’s Sunday. What are we going to do until the mechanic gets here tomorrow?” The point makes his eyebrows scrunch together as the hose clicks off again. It hangs loosely in his hand for a few moments before he springs back into action. 

“Okay, you’re right. I’ll go into town and see if I can find one of those portable ones? That way we can at least keep one room cooler.” He nodded to himself as if he were speaking to his reflection and handed you the hose. Cold water dripped from his fingertips onto your arm and you shivered at the feeling. You chose to believe the water was the only reason for your reaction. Soobin ran into the house, lean body disappearing for a few seconds before he reemerged with his car keys. He said his goodbyes and left to find a solution for your personal hell. 

For a bit, you went back to watering the flowers. And then you turned the hose on yourself and let the frigid water run down your back. Although it was a shock to your system, you knew it was the only way you could keep yourself from actually melting into a gummy pile before Soobin got back. The idea of simply staying outside until he came back bounced around your mind until an even better one cropped up. Maybe you could fix the AC on your own! That way you wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle of waiting for a mechanic. You were sure that you could locate the unit and find a tutorial to fix the thing. Maybe a special switch just needed flipped. With renewed vigor you shuffled back into the house, making a strategic pit stop at the kitchen to fill a metal water bottle with ice cold water. Your clothing dripped loudly against the wooden floors but you ignored it. You figured it was so hot that the water would probably evaporate immediately.

Although you had a clear mission in mind you had to admit that you were totally unsure of where the AC unit would be. Soobin had never pointed it out to you and the stately home boasted so many doors that you weren’t sure you would have remembered if he showed you anyway. You wandered into the laundry room, wondering if you had missed something on the walls. When you had no success there, you moved on to opening almost every dark wooded sleek door you could find. By some kind of miracle, your body had finally adjusted to the pressing heat as you searched. Despite that, you could still feel sweat beading on your forehead as you rooted through a storage room in the hopes of finding something that you assumed would be the AC. 

Eventually, you had exhausted the entire first floor. Every heavy door only lead you to disappointment and some mild confusion over why the old home had so many unused rooms. Perhaps the house got much more use in the old days when the large family painted on the canvas just to the left of Soobin’s room was still alive. The thought of the haunting oil painting encouraged you to make the walk up the steps. Your legs felt heavy from the exhaustion that heat and your search had made settle into your bones. 

A heavy sigh left your parted lips as you finally rounded the corner of the staircase and were faced with the familiar upper landing. You skipped past yours and Soobin’s room immediately. The AC unit was obviously not residing in your room, and while you had never fully been inside of Soobin’s room, you doubted that the house was designed that oddly. Three more identical doors stood further down the hallway. Weeks ago when you had taken your initial tour of the home, Soobin had glossed right over them in favor of showing off your new home for the summer. 

Something about his easy dismissal of the rooms unsettled you. You trusted Soobin, but there was no way to ignore the disparity between the way he had so eagerly toured you through the house against the way he barely even acknowledged these doors. You’re being ridiculous, you thought. What could Soobin possibly be hiding behind these three non descript doors? Shaking off the unsettling knot in your stomach you pushed the door closest to your room open. It creaked loudly from disuse and you cringed as you felt along the wall for a lightswitch. When you finally found one, a light crackled on in the center of the room and shone a brilliant vibrance all around. It was so intense that you had to squint your eyes until they no longer hurt. The room was oddly clean compared to the rooms you scoured downstairs. There was no layer of dust that you would have expected and a faint scent of lemon cleaner permeated the air. Innocuous dressers and bookshelves were pushed up against all of the walls. None of them quite matched but you recalled in the back of your mind that Soobin’s cousin was an interior designer; which would explain the disconnection of styles. This must have been the place he stored old projects and pieces he shuffled through the home. 

Feeling a bit more at ease, you continued to look around for any hint of the unit you were hunting for. Circling the round table serving as a centerpiece of the room changed your perspective and you caught a glimpse of something peaking out from behind what seemed to be a bunch of heavy furniture. The edge you could see looked promisingly similar to the AC unit that had been within your home growing up. With renewed vigor you began to push at a small dresser that felt much heavier than it looked. A grunt of exertion slipped from your lips as you finally pushed the furniture over far enough to get to the table located behind it. While it was much easier to move, it was also much louder than the dresser had been. The legs screeched against the floors and you shrieked in concern at the idea of the probably original hardwood being scratched in the midst of your desperation for cool air. As you crouched down to examine the floor, you heard stomping footsteps enter the room behind you. 

Reflexively you jumped back at the sound and subsequently bounced your head off of the underside of the table. 

“Ouch, fuck!” you clutched at the back of your head as you bit into your tongue to try and manage the throbbing pain. Your vision was blurry but you could vaguely make out Soobin’s figure and his distinct scent as he crouched down beside you. Gentle hands grasped at you, one cupping your head and the other resting firmly on your forearm as he ushered you out from under the table. Your head was still spinning; the combination of heat and pain making you feel sick to your stomach as Soobin guided you all the way out of the room. 

“What were you doing?” Soobin’s voice was assertive and laced with a concern you hadn’t quite expected. 

“I was-” you cut yourself off with a whine as a flash of pain shot behind your eyes and felt large hands grab at you once again. The next time you opened your eyes was when you felt the silky texture of your bedsheets underneath your knees. While Soobin rushed away from the bed, you fought to open your eyes as you grasped at the flesh of your knees to ground yourself. Although your vision was less shaky, there was no denying the extreme headache that originated from the back of your head. 

“Here,” you saw Soobin’s form coming your way before he pushed a cold washcloth onto your forehead. Although that wasn’t the origin of your pain, the cool sensation helped the throbbing in your mind calm down. Soobin shuffled nervously between his feet as he waited for some kind of sign that you were alright. Eventually, you were able to actually focus on the way his eyes were crinkled with concern, lips downturned in a serious frown that you hadn’t even seen him wear when he found he was overwatering his ivy plant. The persistent sunlight of the summer day shone in through your windows and casted him in a glow that made him look as if he had just descended from Heaven to check on you. Golden strips of light casted over his t-shirt in such a way that you were almost envious of the way the rays were able to wrap around his body. 

And then you remembered it was the same damn sun that got you into this mess. 

“I was trying to find the AC unit,” your voice was gravely and quiet but Soobin still heard you. 

“What were you thinking? You can’t just wander around the house like that! You could’ve-” he waved his hands toward where you pressed the washcloth to your forehead, “well you did! You got hurt! There’s a reason I didn’t bother to tell you what was in that room. There’s no reason for you to be poking around like that in a house that isn’t yours!” 

The corners of your eyes burned with unshed tears as you registered the raw emotion in his tone. Although some of his words made you feel like a child being berated, you understood where he was coming from. You could easily recognize the genuine concern for your wellbeing. 

“I’m sorry, Soobin,” he plopped down on the bed next to you, “you’re right. This isn’t my house. It’s my fault that I got hurt, really. I was just trying to help with the AC issue and I couldn’t find the unit anywhere else so I started looking in rooms I’d never been in before,” you stole a quick glance his way only to see his intense gaze locked onto your form. “Please don’t feel bad about me getting hurt. And I’m sorry about the room, I can help you move all the furniture back!” Something deep inside of you felt the need to do as much as you can to make up for the hurt you seem to have caused Soobin. He grinned at you softly before reaching up and encircling your wrist with his slender fingers. The feeling of his fingertips grazing the soft skin of your wrist made your insides ignite in a nervous fire. Gently, he coaxed your hand away from your forehead and you instinctively dropped the now room temperature washcloth into your lap. It landed with a wet plop but you didn’t have time to pay it any mind as Soobin slowly laced his fingers right between yours. 

He gave you all the time in the world to pull away from his touch but instead you just stared dumbly at your hand while he finally latched onto you fully. Your breath hitched violently in your throat at the warm contact and you were sure Soobin had heard it. For a second you worried that he would pull away or make fun of you for your reactions but he simply gave your hand a short squeeze. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry about the room,” his voice was so smooth and quiet that you could almost fall asleep right there. An instinct you didn’t know you had caused you to lean closer into his side. “Just don’t go in there again, okay? I mean it. There’s nothing worth looking at in there,” his voice hardened unexpectedly and you couldn’t help but laugh at him a bit. 

“Okay, okay! I’ll stay away, but you do know that I just bumped into the table, right? It didn’t hurt me on purpose.” The teasing seemed to lift a small weight from his shoulders as he visibly brightened. There was no way you could miss the firm weight of his hand pressing further into yours as he leaned into your side the same way you were on him. Using his free hand, he tentatively cupped the back of your head where you had originally hurt yourself. The pain had begun to subside, but a new type of anxiety ran through your body as you noticed just how close your faces had become. You could nearly count every single eyelash framing his rich brown eyes. 

“Please,” his warm breath fanned over your already clammy skin, “don’t ever go in that room again. I’m already beside myself that you got hurt and it’s not even a bad injury. If you do anything for me, at least do this.” 

“Of course, Soobin.” You finally mustered the courage to return one of his reassuring squeezes; causing his dimples pop out from the smooth plains of his cheeks. Your heart stuttered in your chest before a dull, persistent pain permeated through it. You swallowed it down, successfully tricking Soobin into thinking you were fine as he rattled on about the fans and portable AC units he managed to buy at the local hardware store. 

The inside of your mouth went dry. You hoped that you were horribly off base, but you knew that ache. You’d felt it before. A part of you wanted to ignore the obvious and pretend that you were simply overreacting to a pulled muscle. Unfortunately, a larger, more rational part of you knew exactly what the feeling was. You were growing flowers. Again.

[simonxriley]

Fall Family Fun

Pairing: Alexsandr “Tachanka” Senaviev x Skylar “Phoenix” Jackson 

Summary: Tachanka, Skylar, the kids and some of the family go out to an orchard for some much needed fall family bonding time. 

Words: 4,501

Russian: Kotyonok = kitten. Moya sladost’ = My sweetness. Da = yes. Printessa = Princess

Ao3

The air was crisp, the weather was perfect and Skylar was looking forward to this much needed family trip to Treworgy Family Orchards. It was only an eighteen minute drive from Bangor and she was looking forward to seeing the twins explore the orchard and pick out pumpkins since they were now almost two and much more alert and less scared than they were last year. Last year's pumpkin picking was a mix of fun and a disaster.  

“Did you really go here every year?”

Skylar looked into the rearview mirror seeing Grace sitting in the middle between her younger siblings. “I did, it was a family tradition even before I was born.”

“Cool. Are there any animals?”

“Yes there is.” She laughed. “There’s also a corn maze, and you can pick your own fruits and veggies along with cutting your own flowers.”

“Can we do that? Are we going to do that?”

“Absolutely, I’ll see if anyone can take the twins for a bit so we can pick the flowers in peace.”

“Yay!”

Skylar chuckled and glanced over at Alex who was driving, giving him a small smile. This was their first Halloween back in Maine since the twins were born, last year work was too hectic to find time to fly out so this year they decided to take a few weeks off and spend some time with her family and for her parents to spend more time with their grandkids. And she knows her sisters’ would love to spend time with their nieces and nephews.

Both of them were actually happy with how well the twins were doing in the car, surprisingly not getting restless and instead looking out the window at the colorful trees passing by. Maybe it was a good idea to have Grace sit in the middle, so the twins couldn’t try to fight one another sitting side by side. They never really fought until you placed them next to each other in their carseats. Neither Skylar nor Alex understood why.

It also just felt nice to be back in Maine for a little bit, seeing her family again and catching up, as much as she loved living in England and making a home with Alex she still missed Bangor from time to time.

Another ten minutes passed by and they finally made it to the orchard. Skylar got out of the car and stretched, hearing her shoulders crack in the process then went to go get Konstantin out of his carseat while Alex got Marianna out of hers.

“There’s my handsome lil man.” Konstantin smiled and leaned forward so she could pick him up. “Are you ready to pick a pumpkin?”

He nodded his head and she placed him on her hip as she shut the door, walking over to the other side of the car where Alex and the other two kids were. Just in time to see her parents pull into the parking lot, followed by her sisters Chloe and her husband Jack, unfortunately her other sister Valary and her husband Evan couldn’t make it due to work, but she’ll see them tomorrow. They all waved over at them, minus the twins who were too busy giving each other funny faces and laughing.

“Hi mom and dad!” She walked over to their car, followed by Grace, Alex and Marianna. “It’s nice to be doing this again. It seems like forever ago.”

“It has, the last time you were here you were sixteen and now look at you, married and have a family of your own.” said her dad “And oh Grace I have a present for you!”

“Really?”

Grace walked over to where Carl was on the other side of the car so Skylar nor Alex could see what he was giving her.

“Hi Sarah, it’s nice to see you again!”

“It’s nice to see you again too Alex.” She went in for a hug and couldn’t help but smile. “My how the kids have grown.”

“I know, the last few years have flown by.”

Alex handed Marianna over to Sarah with a smile. Skylar loved watching her parents be grandparents and how much love they gave the kids. She never thought she would have children first, expecting at least Chloe to have one before she did, but the universe had other plans for her and she’s grateful for that.

“Oh my God, look how big they’ve gotten.” said Chloe as she walked over to them, her husband Jack trailing close behind. “Okay you were right, Marianna is a spitting image of her dad.”

“Da, she is!”

Chloe scoffed and went to hug Skylar. “I missed you, I’m glad you could get some time off.”

“I am too, it was much needed anyways.”

Konstantin was looking up at his aunt with his stuffed bunny in his hands, not being too sure of who she was. Skylar looked down to see him in a daze and laughed. “That’s your aunt Konstantin. I know, it’s been a while since you’ve seen her.”

Chloe held out her hands to see if he wanted her to hold him, when he turned away from her, clinging more to his mom she let her hands drop to the side. “It’s okay, I’ll let him warm up to me first.”

“It shouldn’t take long, he is the more shy of the two but he does warm up to people quite quickly.”

“Mom, look what grandpa got me.” Grace jogged over to the other side of the car showing her the brand new skateboard she has. It was the ATM Galaxy Wing one that she’s been dying for since she broke her other one a few months ago. “I love it!”

Skylar and Alex were planning on taking Grace to the nearby sporting goods store for her to buy it but work always got in the way. That she hated, she knew work could potentially get in the way, that was something she was expecting. She wasn’t expecting to be called or for Alex to be called for work almost every time there was a mission. Rainbow is filled with plenty of other operators, why couldn’t Six call them? She was just happy that her dad bought the skateboard for her.

“I knew you would love it! Since Alex and I couldn’t take you ourselves to buy it due to work, we thought we’d surprise you here.” She gave Grace a smile, glancing down at the skateboarding deck that fit her personality well. “At least you’ll have some time to use it before winter gets here.”

“Seriously? Thank you!” She went to hug Skylar, a smile spreading across her face, then she went to go hug Alex and thanked him as well. “Can we put the wheels on when we get home?”

“Of course! Now why don’t you put it in the car and we go pick some pumpkins?”

                                                        xXx

All nine of them were walking through the pumpkin patch looking for the perfect pumpkin. Grace was with her aunt and uncle talking about her skateboarding mishaps that happened over the summer and the twins were with their grandparents not too far up ahead. Skylar and Alex were slowly strolling behind everyone hand-in-hand, taking in the view of the family being together.

“I’m glad we took the time to come out here, the kids seem happy.”

“I am too, and your parents deserve to see them anyways.”

She looked up at him with a small smile, the sun shining perfectly behind him in the pumpkin patch. “Yes they do.” she chuckled. “It’s nice to come back here anyways, brings back a lot of memories.”

“What kind of memories, kotyonok?”

Skylar let go of his hand to link their arms together, pulling herself a tad closer to him. In the distance she could see Grace and Chloe laughing and the twins climbing on a big pumpkin, it made her smile.

“Running down this same pumpkin patch, climbing on the biggest one I could find, like what our children are doing right now. Picking flowers with my mom, apples with my dad. This place holds a lot of good memories.”

Alex chuckled, a smile spreading across his face. “It’s cute picturing a little kotyonok running down these pumpkin patches.”

“I’m sure there’s pictures.” she laughs. “As much as I love the old memories, I’m more excited for the new ones moya sladost’!”

“As am I, kotyonok!”

They walked over to where her parents and the twins were, just watching them in silence as they climbed on a pretty massive pumpkin. Skylar was only waiting for them to ask to bring it home with them, in their limited speaking voices. For nearing two years old they could talk in short sentences, but they did always find a way to make what they wanted understandable. Even if it was by pointing.

“Mama, cunkin!”

“Yeah it is a pumpkin. A big one.”

“Like me.” Marianna gave a big smile and began climbing on it again, making everyone laugh.

“No printsessa, I think the pumpkin is a bit bigger than you.”

“No papa, I bigger.”

Alex laughed at the mad look on Marianna’s face and her arms crossed against her chest. “Okay, da printessa you are bigger than the pumpkin.”

Her demeanor changed and she let her arms fall to her side. “Da, I am.”

Skylar chuckled, turning to him. “Please don’t make her upset, I don’t need her throwing a tantrum.”

“Sorry kotyonok, she’s just so cute when she’s mad.”

“No argument there. It’s a good thing she can’t stay mad long.”

Alex wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, a small chuckle coming from his lips. “That’s true. I’m positive she forgets a few moments later, such an easy life being a toddler.”

“Oh yeah, they get to be carried, they have nap time. No responsibilities, just fun.”

Skylar watched the twins in silence, they were both joined at the hip and never left each other’s side. It’s been that way since the day they were born, they couldn’t even keep them in different cribs because one or both would cry if they were separated. Now their cribs are side by side in their shared room, and when either her or Alex goes to get them in the morning they are always in the same crib together. She would be lying if she didn’t say she loved it.

This was one of the things she was looking forward to once she had kids, doing all the family traditions she did as a kid with hers. And knowing the more the kids grow the more stuff they’ll be able to do in the future.

“I found a pumpkin.”

Skylar and Alex turned towards Grace who was holding a medium sized pumpkin that looked quite perfect. No bumps or bruises, she has a keen eye for things like that.

“That’s a nice looking one.”

“I think so too Alex, I’m going to carve a scary face into it or maybe a cat. I don’t know yet.” She placed the pumpkin into the wheelbarrow nearby and sighed. “Chloe and Jack wanted to know if they could take the twins for ice cream?”

“Yeah I’m fine with that.” She looked up at Alex to see what he thought, and all he did was nod in agreement. “I think it’ll be good for them to spend some time with their aunt and uncle.”

Not a moment later Chloe and Jack came over to them with their pumpkins, placing them into the wheelbarrow. Chloe walked over to Skylar’s side, linking their arms together.

“Grace said you wanted to take the twins for ice cream?”

“If that’s alright with you guys? We could take them for some ice cream while you, Alex and Grace go pick out some flowers.”

“I’m fine with it. Alex?”

“Same. I’m sure they’ll enjoy it.”

“Oh yeah, they do love ice cream. Chocolate is their favorite.”

Chloe let go of Skylar’s arm, watching the twins play around the pumpkins. After all that her little sister has gone through she was abundantly happy that she found happiness and a man that truly loves her. Skylar deserved every single ounce of happiness she could get, and she has a beautiful family to show for it.

“I’m proud of you!”

“Huh?” She looked up at her sister, slightly confused. “Why are you proud of me?”

“That you’re a good mother and a good person! Grace wouldn’t have this life right now if you didn’t adopt her. You took her in because you didn’t want to see her go into the foster care system, knowing you and Alex could give her a good and loving home. The twins are sweet and caring, well behaved most of the time. That tells a lot Skylar. After everything you’ve been through, I’m happy about the woman you’ve become!”

Skylar wiped a few tears from her eyes and laughed. “Thanks Chloe, but don’t make me cry.”

“Da, please don’t make my kotyonok cry. I do agree with your sister, I’m proud of the woman you’ve become after the horrors we dealt with. Not that I wasn’t proud of you beforehand, it just shows how strong you are.”

“Okay both of you, I don’t want to cry.” She chuckled as she wiped more tears from her eyes. “Thank you though, both of you!”

They both chuckled and squashed Skylar in a hug, making her laugh. “I love you guys!”

“We love you too!” said Chloe.

They both let her go and she felt quite happy and content, more so than she was when she got there. She just felt happy.

“Hey Grace, do you want to go pick some flowers?”  

“Yes please.”

Skylar nodded and turned her head back to Chloe. “The twins are all yours.”

                                                                  xXx

After they got their vases and clippers they went out into the field of flowers. There were sunflowers, amaranthus, cosmos, bachelor buttons, snapdragons, zinnias, and even eucalyptus and wheat. Skylar already knew what she was going to make. A few sunflowers in the middle with a bunch of cosmos and bachelor buttons surrounding them.

“Are you sure you want to get some flowers, kotyonok? You’re not that good at taking care of plants.”

She gasped. “I may not be good at taking care of plants, but they’re pretty. What do you have against flowers Alexsandr?”

“Nothing.” he laughed. “You’re the one that gets sad when they die.”

“God you’re such a married couple.” said Grace from nearby.

Skylar and Alex looked at each other, both of their mouths going into a thin line. She chuckled and walked over to where Grace was. “That’s because we are a married couple, Grace. You know that.”

“Really? I never knew.” she laughed. “It never crossed my mind that the ring on your left hand was a wedding ring.”

Skylar laughed and shook her head. “Sometimes I think you’re too sarcastic for your own good.”

“I know!”

She chuckled, a smile spreading across her face. “I’ll be in the sunflowers.”

“Okay.”

Skylar walked over to the sunflowers with Alex trailing behind her. He wasn’t much for flower picking but he’ll take anything to spend time with her.

She looked through the sunflowers, trying to spot the perfect one. “When do you want to carve the pumpkins?”

“Whenever you want.”

“I was thinking about tomorrow.” She clipped one of the sunflowers and placed it in the vase. “Grace will want to play around with her skateboard and the pumpkins will last a bit longer.”

“That seems good. The twins will forget about their pumpkins once they’re out of sight anyways.”

“Oh yeah.” She chuckled, clipping another flower. “They’ll forget about the pumpkins but they won’t forget about the chocolate we keep hidden on top of the cupboards after they’ve had enough.”

“That’s because it’s chocolate, kotyonok. Every kid loves chocolate.”

“That’s very true.”

She went back to picking her flowers, moving from the sunflowers over to the bachelor buttons. She loved how pretty they looked, the lighter purple mixed with the darker purple, wishing she could plant some back home. The next were the cosmos. They were a light pink flower with a yellow middle, she used to find them when riding her horse Midnight through her aunt's farm. She always thought they were pretty and would pick some on the way back.

“Oooh those are pretty. I’m done.” said Grace

Skylar glanced over at her as she placed the last two cosmos into the vase, finishing her bouquet. “Thank you! And so are yours, I see you even added a bit of greenery.”

Grace made a beautiful bouquet of most of the flowers, on the rim were a bunch of equalyptus, and filled in the middle was a bunch of snapdragon’s, amaranthus and zinnias. With a touch of bachelor buttons and cosmos for more color.

“Thanks! Yeah I thought the greenery would look nice with it.”

“It does!”

“Kotyonok, can I use those clippers for a second?”

“Yeah.”

She handed him the clippers and they both watched him walk away for a moment, back towards where the bachelor buttons were. He looked over them for a moment until he clipped one, jogging back to them and placed the flower in Skylar’s top knot she was wearing.

She chuckled and smiled up at him, even though she knows it won’t stay in her hair much longer once Marianna sees it. “Thank you, moya sladost’!”

“You’re welcome, kotyonok!”

They began to make their way back to the café where the rest of the family was, Grace occasionally sniffing her flowers with a proud smile on her face. For Skylar she was just happy to have the family together and make memories.

As they walked to the café they could see the twins by the window, eating their ice cream. They walked up, placing the flowers on the table and sat down with a sigh.

Marianna pointed at her mama, ice cream covering her face. “Flower.”

“It is a flower, your papa put it there.”

“Why?”

Skylar shrugged her shoulders and looked over at Alex. “That’s a good question, why did you put a flower in my hair?”

“I just wanted to!”

“Fair point.” she laughs. “Are you guys hungry?”

“I’m starving.” said Grace

“Me too.” She glanced over to her family, seeing that they’ve already eaten. “We’ll be back.”

All three of them got up and headed towards the line of other people trying to get their food. As they stood in line, reading the menu up on the board Skylar glanced over at the pizza’s hoping they had what she wanted on display since she didn’t want to buy a whole pizza just yet.

“Apple bacon barbeque, have you had that? It sounds interesting.” asked Grace

“That’s what I’m getting, it sounds odd but it’s good.” She looked up at Alex who was still looking at the menu. “What are you getting moya sladost’?”

“Probably pepperoni, unless there’s a meat one available?” He glanced over to where the pizza display was. “Okay there is one, I’m getting that.”

The line was pretty long and moving at a snail's pace, that didn’t bother them. It was lunch time after all and walking around a big orchard can make anyone hungry.

After looking at the menu some more Grace turned around to face them. “I know what I’m getting, plain cheese. I can’t wait until I can break in that new skateboard.”

Alex chuckled, a small smile spreading across his face. “I’m sure you are milaya, now try not to break this one.”

“I will. And hey it wasn’t my fault I broke the first one, I wasn’t the one to run over my own skateboard.”

He went quiet for a moment, looking down at the floor, it made both of them laugh. The whole incident was an accident, Konstantin was playing with it in the front yard and decided to push it right at the moment Alex drove into the driveway, running right over it. It did freak him out for a moment until he realized what he ran over.

“Technically it was Konstantin, but he’s a baby and didn’t know better.” said Skylar “To him he was just playing. However, someone should have been watching the road a bit better.”

“Da, kotyonok. To be fair I didn’t see it go in front of the car.”

“I’m aware, you were busy waving at Marianna.”

They finally got to the front and ordered their food, returning to the table with the rest of the family. The twins were still eating away at their ice cream, with some of their own pieces of pizza nearby.

Skylar took a bite of hers, satisfying her growling stomach. “I’m surprised you got them to eat before giving them the ice cream. What’d you bribe them with?”

She chuckled when she saw the blank stairs looking back at her. She knows her children and knows that if there’s ice cream in play they’ll need a lot of bribing to make them eat their normal food beforehand.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Sky, we would never do such a thing.”

“Sure Chloe.” She chuckled. “I know my kids, it takes us a few bribes just for them to eat before dessert is served.”

“She bribed them with buying them a new toy.” said Evan

“Ah.”

Chloe gave Evan a glaring stair, making everyone chuckle. It wouldn’t be the first time Alex had to bribe them with a new toy to make them do something or eat something. For the most part all they have to do is tell them they have to eat their food before they can have dessert, sometimes it might be a toy if it’s important.

“Thanks Evan.”

“Hey it’s alright, wouldn’t be the first time we had to bribe them with a toy. However it was for that one appointment to make sure Konstantin wasn’t deaf and he wasn’t having it. Mostly we just tell them they have to eat their food or they don’t get dessert.”

“You never mentioned that, Sky.” said Sarah.

“There wasn’t much to mention.” She took a bit of her pizza, speaking a moment later. “We all know he’s a bit shyer than his sister and doesn’t talk that much. His doctor thought he might be deaf and wanted to run a few tests.”

Skylar glanced over at Konstantin eating a piece of his pizza, ignoring everything around him at the table. They all knew he could hear because he would look over if someone dropped something or if his name was mentioned. All because he was a little bit underdeveloped than his sister.

“All of that was a load of crap, he could hear us whenever we said his name or he looked over when something was dropped. No matter how much we told them they still wanted to do the tests.” said Alex

She reached over to grab his hand, giving it a small squeeze. “At least the tests weren’t bad, he just needed to sit in a room and look over at the speaker that made a sound. Being alone was the thing that made him cry and freak out. After talking with the doctor I could go in there with him.”

“What did you get him?”

“A horse he could ride in the house.”

She grabbed her phone from the table, searching through her videos until she found what she was looking for, then handed it to her mom. The video shows Konstantin on his horse, powered by him to make it move. The feet of the horse instead of hooves were wheels, making for a fun activity. It was also easy for him to navigate and use even for his young age.

“Awe that’s so cute!” said Chloe

“If only they had them when you were a child.” said her mom as she handed back the phone. “You would’ve loved that.”

“I’m sure I would have!”

                                                                  xXx

A few hours passed and they were now home, with a few hours of daylight to spare so Grace could break in her new skateboard. And while Grace placed the wheels on the new skateboarding deck in the living room, Skylar was in the kitchen putting the apples that they picked into the fruit bowl, minus a few she was going to use to make some apple pie.

She was happy the day went well, the twins never had a tantrum and they got to spend some much needed time with the family.

A tug on her pant leg forced her to look down, seeing Marianna standing beside her. “Apple?”

“You want an apple?”

Marianna nodded her head and let go of her pant leg.

“Okay, I’ll get you an apple.”

Marianna ran back into the living room while she grabbed an apple and a knife. From her peripheral she could see Alex walk into the kitchen and over to her, leaning against the counter. She looked up, giving him a soft smile that he mirrored.

“I think today went rather well.”

“I do too, kotyonok.”

She began to cut the apple, placing it on a plate. “I was thinking we should go costume shopping tomorrow for the kids, it’s already pretty close to Halloween and they need costumes.”

“Okay, what were you thinking for the twins?”

He grabbed the plate with the apples on it for Marianna, waiting for Skylar to throw away the pit and place the knife in the sink before heading back into the living room with everyone else.

“I’m not sure yet. Do you have any ideas?”

“Ideas for what?”

“What costume the twins should wear for Halloween.”

Grace placed the screwdriver on the coffee table, finally done with putting the wheels on her skateboard. “Since Konstantin has the horse he should dress up as a cowboy, maybe Woody from Toy Story?”

Skylar sat down on the couch next to her with a sigh. “That is a good idea. Konstantin do you want to be Woody for Halloween?”

He looked up from the car he was playing with and nodded his head. Toy Story was one of his favorite movies, it would only be right for him to dress up as Woody.

“Well we figured out one, what about the other?”

They all went quiet for a moment, thinking up what to dress Marianna as. She was a bit more tricky on picking out a costume for, being much more picky on what she likes. One moment she can like something, and another she hates it. But the one thing she’ll always like are butterflies.

“What about a butterfly, kotyonok?”

“Oh, good idea moya sladost’. She does love butterflies.”

The rest of the night was followed by watching Grace break in her skateboard, followed by watching a few horror movies with some popcorn after the twins went to bed. All in all it was a good day!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 247: Todoroki Angst

Previously on BnHA: Ujiko started some kind of procedure on Tomura to make him even more powerful, because that’s what we were all asking for at the end of the last arc, isn’t it? “Horikoshi can you go ahead and make the homicidal nihilist even stronger please and thank you.” Well not to worry, because he’s got our backs! Meanwhile Hawks poked around the villain HQ trying to find out more details about That End Of The World Thing That’s Happening In 4 Months, and came up with squat. But he did successfully pass on his secret message to Endeavor about how “THE CHILDREN ARE OUR ONLY HOPE,” so Endeavor shrugged and was like “fine, HEY CHILDREN, LET’S GO FIGHT CRIME.” Anyways, so I was thinking, do you suppose they all just figured out they’re actually in a shounen manga? Because that would explain a lot.

Today on BnHA: Endeavor gathers the kids together and is all “so tell me about yourselves.” Deku is all “I have two quirks shut up it’s not weird” and says he wants to get better at harnessing his power so that he can use it without it being destructive. Kacchan is all “I’m already strong but I want to become better as a person” and I appreciate how the other characters are able to hold themselves back from exclaiming, “THIS KID’S REDEMPTION ARC... IT’S TOO POWERFUL...!” because I sure the fuck would have if I was there. And then Shouto is all “hey dad, friendly reminder that I’m here because I want to get stronger to reach my own goals, but you’re still a shitty dad and I hate your guts.” Endeavor, to his credit, reacts very appropriately to all three kids (including a resigned “got it” to Shouto, which was in fact the only appropriate response, so props to him for that), and dives right on in to mentoring the shit out of them. He then delivers a challenge -- defeat at least one villain without him beating them to the punch. So that should be fun, and I mean that with complete sincerity. Bring it!

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

oooooh shit we’re starting right on a continuation of the Fuyumi panel from last week. TODOROKI DRAMA ARC INCOMING. THIS IS IT BOYS. THE BIG ONE

omg omg omg

friendly reminder that chapter 242, in which this internship was first announced, came out on September 6. that is six whole weeks that we’ve been waiting for this internship to actually get started for real. I WAS PROMISED CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND UNUSUAL INTERACTIONS AND UNLIKELY BONDS BEING FORMED. and I have been patient, because In Horikoshi We Trust, but is it finally that time now? I just need them to stop hinting at it and finally get to it before I lose my mind okay

so Endeavor is asking Baku and Deku for their character profiles

Deku: “I used to break bones on demand, now I shoot wind from my fists along with the occasional Venom Symbiote”

Bakugou: “I blow shit up and I also have your character development arc, but fast-tracked so that it kicked in before I could fully become a massive prick like you”

meanwhile Shouto just sits there pouting because as we know from the Babysitter’s Club arc (and also from the Sports Festival arc, during which he dragged Deku into a hallway and was all “time to tell you about my tragic past” completely unprompted), he actually has his own character profile on standby ready to go at a moment’s notice, but everyone just keeps it benched all the time. poor Shouto

(ETA: he will not be silenced!!)

so Endeavor is phrasing this in the weirdest way possible, asking them to state “their current ‘assignments’” lol what. at least the second part of this is clearer, with him asking what they want to gain from this internship

okay so Deku says he wants to control his power so that he can “move at max performance.” yes that’s a very good goal for you, World’s Last Hope

lmaoooo

“weren’t you the kid who broke every bone in his arms several times in succession while attempting to KO my youngest child.” way to make an impression Deku

so Deku patiently explains that, yes, but we’re WELL BEYOND the whole bone-breaking stage now and currently at the “trying to master my new SECRET POWER which is still under wraps” stage. get with the times, Endeavor

hahaha here we go. this is so painfully awkward

“yeah so I kind of have a second quirk now. you know. as one does. please ignore how the only other known person to ever have multiple quirks just so happens to be the greatest villain of all time who is currently incarcerated in Tartarus following his last stand during which the number one hero lost all his power. that’s not relevant. anyways so yeah, two quirks, it’s totally normal and not a big deal at all”

what the actual fuck is he going to do once quirks # 3, 4, 5, etc. come along? this is such a disaster it’s not even funny. and by the way, this whole time I’ve been ignoring the elephant in the room that is Katsuki’s face while Deku nearly spills the beans about his so-called secret. but let’s all just acknowledge that it’s amazing and it belongs in a museum

thankfully Endeavor has had more than enough of exercising his brain today after all of that codebreaking, and isn’t even bothering to ask any questions. instead he’s just like, “show me.” probably the right call; easier to just see wth he’s going on about rather than keep listening to this strange and incredibly suspicious explanation

here we go guys time for some BLOOP

that’s because you’re still scared of it! boy if you’re not going to listen to Katsuki then I hope Endeavor can knock some sense into you at least!

you know, Endeav may be scowling so hard his face is gonna get stuck that way, but so far he’s not half bad at this mentoring/coaching thing

really appreciate how he jumps straight into asking pertinent questions about what Deku wants to do with this new quirk, rather than being all “how the fuck do you go from breaking all of your bones to THAT”

so now Deku’s explaining how it works and says he’s been applying the same principles that he uses with Air Force

LMAOOOOO

this right here is the most accurate introduction to Deku that Endeavor could ever have possibly received. THAT’S IT, THAT’S THE CHARACTER

and it also neatly sums up his whole problem with Blackwhip as well, which is just that he’s way overthinking it. no fucking wonder he can’t do anything with it yet! he’s trying to run NASA-level calculations in his head in real time while using it, like wtf. just let loose boi

also can we stop and appreciate how both Bakugou and Shouto are just fucking done. like, Bakugou is one thing, but just look at Todoroki fucking Shouto, Deku’s #1 fan and admirer, being all “wtf I hate Deku now”

LMAO AGAIN

Burnin’ is quickly rising through my favorite character ranks. meanwhile Shouto has gleaned, quite correctly, that those were in fact words coming from Deku’s mouth. what kind of words is a mystery, but at least it’s something

omfg Endeavor can speak Deku

(ETA: one of the things I’m noticing on a reread is how Endeavor is approximately twice the size of the kids. and it’s not like they’re small or anything. but they look like toddlers next to him. he’s only 6′4″ how is he towering over them to this degree.)

I feel like Endeavor’s intelligence levels fluctuate from week to week. or even from panel to panel. enigma

so blah blah blah he’s thinking to himself “his raw power rivals All Might’s” and then -- ! LOOK AT THIS SHIT

SOFT ENDEAVOR ADOPTING DEKU WTAF. holy shit. if anyone says they saw this coming, I’m calling you out as a fucking liar. BUT I’M HERE FOR IT OMG

AND NOW THIS ONE’S TURN!

(ETA: Kacchan is 5′7″. pretty sure Endeavor is actually 8 feet tall.)

lmao Deku’s face. trying to work out what this means and whether it’s good or bad

meanwhile, after the multiple pages of extensive rambling from Deku, Endeavor is about to get an introduction from Bakugou which will likely just consist of “I WANT TO BECOME THE NUMBER ONE” with absolutely no introspection whatsoever. basically the polar opposite of Deku. gotta love it

HERE WE GO

ooh, unexpected! though still brusque. but to be fair, he’s gifted when it comes to saying a lot in few words

(ETA: out of the three, Kacchan definitely took up the least amount of time with his introspection. not bad for a kid who used to think the entire fucking world revolved around him. growth!)

now he’s bitching at Burnin’ for not having anything better to do than stand around heckling them lmao

SHE’S HERE TO PROVIDE COMMENTARY KATSUKI SHHH. in other news, today I learned that Burnin’ is actually me. huh

OH MY GOD KATSUKI IS METAING -- !! [ELBOWS MY WAY INTO THE FRONT ROW] EVERYONE FUCKING SHUT YOUR MOUTHS AND LISTEN!!!!

OH MY GOD

y’all Katsuki really just fessed up and admitted to needing to work on his growth as a person rather than his physical ability. along with a NEW ADORABLE CHILDHOOD FLASHBACK, EXCUSE ME WHILE I ORDER PRINTS OF THIS TO PUT IN MY WALLET

AND HERE WE GO NOW, THE WHOLE “I WANT TO SURPASS THE NUMBER ONE” PART. BUT IT WAS SO MUCH DEEPER THAN I EXPECTED, KATSUKI YOU CONTINUE TO MAKE ME PROUD! LOOK HOW DETERMINED HE IS TO BE A BETTER PERSON

PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, IF YOU’RE NOT ROOTING FOR BAKUGOU KATSUKI THEN WHY ARE YOU EVEN READING THIS MANGA HONESTLY

OMG ENDEAVOR

“this kid...” REMINDS YOU OF SOMEONE, DOESN’T HE! OH MY GOD I NEED TO SIT AND CALM DOWN AND DRINK SOME WATER

anyway so do you love him. YOU BETTER SAY YES!!

LMAO SHOUTO COULDN’T HOLD IT IN ANY LONGER

LET’S HEAR IT THEN, FIVE PEEPEE MAN!!

Endeavor is whipping back around on him all “I THOUGHT YOU CAME HERE TO MASTER YOUR NEW TECHNIQUE” with this look of borderline panic on his face that implies to me that it’s one thing to take on two new kids with no familiar baggage, and quite another to have to deal with his own son’s personal angst which is directly related to his own worst personal shortcomings and sins! but that’s just too bad, Endeavor! also, fuck you!

OH MY GOD TODOROKI SHOUTO HAS THE SOFTEST SADDEST EXPRESSION AND THIS SPEECH IS GOING TO MAKE ME CRY WHAT THE HELL

even Kacchan has gone soft. meanwhile, is somebody cutting onions in here or

(ETA: also, Kacchan really has been promoted to best friend status, hasn’t he? or co-best friend at least. Shouto really does value their time training together, huh. “spending time with these guys.” anyways so this officially is the TodoBakuDeku arc, sorry everyone I don’t make the rules.

also! I really love how Shouto’s character development has been all about him finally figuring out what it is that he wants. one way or the other, Endeavor has been the focus of his life since childhood. everything he did was centered around him, even when it was centered around defying him. it was still always him, and never Shouto. because he’d been raised as his father’s tool, he struggled with feeling like anything he achieved was just giving his father exactly what he wanted. so he never really had the freedom to strive toward his own goals until Deku finally broke him free of that mindset. it wasn’t until he was surrounded by others who shared the same dream he’d once had that he was able to move past the toxic part of that resentment. not to say that it wasn’t justified, because it was! and is, still. but all the same, it was hurting him at least as much as it ever hurt Endeavor, if not much more so. 

so I really like the message his arc sends here, which is that forgiveness is not so much for the benefit of the one who hurt you as it is for yourself. and that’s obviously not the right word for it, by the way -- “forgiveness” -- but it’s just a placeholder for lack of a better one. because obviously as we can see, he hasn’t forgiven him, but what he has done is put that part of his past behind him. for his own sake, for his own peace, which he deserves. anyways guys Shouto is so fucking strong and I love him so damn much. shit.)

“y’all didn’t think I was gonna put the Terrible Trio together with Endeavor and not follow through on it with piles and piles of Todoroki angst,” Horikoshi says, casually filing his nails with one eyebrow raised. “c’mon”

here it comes y’all

ain’t no force on this earth more dramatic than a Todoroki. did he somehow get a wind blowing in from somewhere. aren’t they indoors

loool Endeavor getting DRAGGED LIKE AN UNTIED SHOELACE in front of these kids he just met two seconds ago, oof. “don’t forget dad, just because I’ve mellowed out a bit and accepted that I need to learn how to use my fire side doesn’t mean I don’t still hate your guts because BOY DO I.” oh damn

so your kid is justifiably pissed at you for your decade and a half of abuse, not to mention annoyed that you’re just putting it all behind you now and acting like it never happened. but it’s not like it’d make things any better if he just went back to acting like a jerk with these new kids! so here we all are, with no easy answers for this situation. what’s a 45-year-old man trying to make up for his past sins to do

(ETA: boy I just took a stroll around the ol’ fandom and a lot of people have really strong feelings about this huh. the most common sentiment seems to be “YAASSSS SHOUTO”, which I can 100% get behind. but it seems like a lot of people are also angry that Shouto is in this situation to begin with. specifically, we have the usual faction of people who are upset that Endeavor is getting any kind of redemption arc at all, and would prefer if he remained eminently hatable and shunned and detested for the rest of his days.

and look, I get it. humans are hardwired to want things to be fair. we want karma. kindness should beget kindness, and cruelty should net you the same treatment in return. reap what you sow. and while some crimes occasionally fall into a grey area, it hardly gets more black and white than Endeavor’s case. not only is there the child and spousal abuse, there’s also the incredibly dubious consent issues that arise in the case of an arranged marriage. like, there’s really no question that what he’s done is bad. so to see behavior like that “rewarded” by his becoming the number one hero, and to see people actually admiring him, and to watch him taking steps to turn his life around even as his wife and children struggle to gather the shattered pieces of their own lives -- yeah, that’s gonna trigger something in a lot of people. because it’s not fair. he hurt good people who didn’t deserve it, and all of this makes it seem like he’s getting away with it.

but here’s the thing -- there are different types of penance. there’s punishment, but there is also atonement. and Endeavor is getting his just desserts in some ways -- by being forever denied the chance to reach the goal that he worked his whole life toward, and by finally developing a conscience, the better to fully experience the remorse of knowing the pain he brought about to his family. but what’s arguably more important than that is that he also has the opportunity to try and atone for some of the terrible things he’s done, by doing good in the world now. he is a hero. his job is to help people. every day he is making the world a little better by doing that. and that, to me, is such a fascinating idea: a terrible person doing good things. and it’s something that feels almost counterintuitive, and that’s part of why a lot of people have so much trouble accepting it, I think. but it’s a fact of life, isn’t it? if good people can do bad things, then it stands to reason that the reverse is true as well. 

and I’ll just come right out and say it -- for me, if it comes down to a choice of having someone be punished, or having them be forced to do good things to atone, I’m gonna go with the latter just about every time. because while it may not feel quite as viscerally satisfying, it’s the option that produces the greatest net benefit for the world. without Endeavor, the world would have one less person out there battling evil. and as I suspect we’re going to continue to see in this arc, there are other, subtler ways that he can still do good as well.

so yeah. it’s a tricky thing. but to be honest, the ability to explore this type of complexity is one of the things I respect the most about Horikoshi’s storytelling. he’s not taking the easy way out here. he’s not giving us easy answers one way or the other. no matter what kind of resolution we get to this character arc, it’s not going to be something that will satisfy everyone. but that’s just how it is. anyways, apologies for the rant.)

hmmm Endeavor

yeah you really read that one wrong. anyway I guess it’s your turn to make a speech now

...

classic Endeavor

(ETA: actually truth be told, that was quite eloquent, and pretty much the only thing he could have said in response to all that. it’s not like he can even begin to justify all of his actions, and pretty much anything else that came out of his mouth would have come off like an attempt to dismiss his son’s feelings, or him trying to weasel out of taking responsibility. there is pretty much nothing else he can say here except for “I understand. that’s valid, and I fucked up.” which this is pretty much acknowledging. anyways this whole chapter is basically the sequel/continuation to 192 and I’m loving it omg.)

so he says he’ll watch over the three of them as a hero, and lead them in hero stuff

oh, I wasn’t going to post this panel, but now Endeavor’s saying “those are the three fundamental skills sought after from a hero” so I guess I should, huh

ooh he says that generally heroes will choose to specialize in either rescue or battle, but his policy is to kick ass at all three. well that’s one similarity between him and All Might, at least. if you’re not here to both win and rescue then what are you even doing with your life am I right

damn there really is a reason why this guy is the number one huh

okay, like. not to knock like 99% of the other heroes out there, but is anyone else sitting there thinking “wow, finally someone competent” or is it just me. like, I really do get a sense of “he’s got it all under control” from him which is lacking with pretty much all of the other heroes. no wonder society is on the verge of being in shambles. what we really need is for all heroes to be this capable, and not just All Might or Endeavor or whoever happens to be the current number one

okay, Endeavor is really out here being a genuinely good mentor, I’m speechless

holy shit

-- WHAT, NO! ARE WE ALREADY DONE?? WHY

okay but I do love that, though. it’s a perfect goal for them. difficult, but not impossible at the rate they’re growing. and it also just so happens to be something that they need to be able to do if they really are going to be the shoulders that society is resting all of its hopes upon. and last but not least, it’s something that all three of them will be able to set their minds too gladly. kick this old man’s ass, kids

anyways. ladies and gentlepeople this chapter was only thirteen pages. shortest chapter we’ve had in a minute. but at least it was densely packed! even if Shouto took up like half of it with his Daddy Issues Speech. that’s okay Shouto we always welcome your daddy angst

all in all I am satisfied. character development, and finally a clear goal for the arc. though part of me would also love it if they manage to achieve this in like the very next chapter. you never know with these wunderkinds lol

[creampuffqueen]

Built by Love

Word Count: 2008

So, I like this one. Somone requested a fic of Simon and Hugh being the best grandparents, so here it is! It starts out funny, but it grows sappy fast, so be prepared, lol.

I hope you enjoy!

~~~~

“I’m home!” Nova’s voice echoed through the house as she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. When nobody answered her, she started getting suspicious. 

Eleven kids- and not a single peep from any of them. It was Saturday, why were they all gone? She drifted through the house confusedly, calling for her kids.

No answer. Not a giggle from a baby, or a bark from a dog, or the sound of a toy being played with. She found herself at her bedroom door, looking for her husband.

“Hello, darling.” Adrian mumbled from the bed, voice muffled as he tried to speak with a rose in his mouth. Nova burst out laughing.

“Adrian- what-” She could hardly speak through her fit of laughter. 

He pulled the rose from his mouth with a grin. “My dads have taken all the kids for the night.”

“No way.”

“Yes. All of them. And the dog.”

“I-” Nova sputtered for words. “Did you give them everything they needed?”

Adrian nodded. “Lyra’s melatonin pills, everyone’s got pajamas and their lovies, I sent them with an entire pack of pacifiers for the boys, pull-ups, diapers, everything. I’ve got it all planned out.”

“Why did you send them all away?” She asked. Not that she was objecting, of course. She sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around Adrian’s shoulders.

“Because I realized we haven’t had a real date in like… four years. Literal years. Movie nights and wine on the couch don’t count.”

“True.” Nova mused. “So, my dear husband, what else have you planned for us tonight?”

“A dinner at the fanciest restaurant we can reasonably afford has been reserved. And then if we’re up to it, a night on the town.”

“A night on the town?” She asked. “Aren’t we a bit old for that now?”

“My star, neither of us are even forty years old yet. I think a night on the town is just our style.”

“Alright.” Nova conceded. “I’ll go get dressed. Hell, I don’t think I’ve worn a dress in literal years.”

“You’ll look beautiful no matter what.” Adrian assured her. She smiled, kissed him, and went to the closet to change.

~~~~

“This is definitely the best idea you’ve had in a while.” Simon said to his husband, holding what felt like eight children at once. 

“It really is.” Hugh chuckled across the kitchen. He had two kids clinging to his back as he walked, trying to find something to feed nearly a dozen small children.

“I want pizza for dinner.” Lina complained from the kitchen island. She was sitting on top of it, legs crossed, reading a book.

“Pizza for this many people is expensive, darling.” Simon said, lowering Rose from his shoulders.

“And you two are literally the richest people in Gatlon.” Lina whined. “I want pepperoni and olives.”

“Disgusting.” Nebula snapped at her sister. “Why would you want olives on your pizza? That ruins it!”

“Yeah? Well you’re disgusting!”

Simon sighed, prying more toddlers off him, and went to break up the argument. 

“Let’s have mac n’ cheese!” Caspian demanded, shoving himself between his sisters. Zander, who had been tucked against Simon’s side, squirmed until he was let down so he could tackle Nebula’s legs.

“That, Caspian, is an incredible idea.” Hugh boomed. He ruffled the boy’s hair, then finally managed to pull Lyra and Atlas off his back.

“What if we just eat ice cream for dinner?” Atlas giggled. He raced away, Lyra on his heels. Bear, the dog, yipped loudly and dashed after them.

“Ice cream is for after dinner, you know the rules.” Simon laughed. Ryland, the youngest of the kids, was in a baby carrier on his chest. River, the other twin, clung to his shoulder, brown locks falling in her face. And Garrin was in his other arm, sucking on his thumb as he surveyed the room.

“Let’s do mac n’ cheese. Everyone likes that.” Hugh conceded. He went into the pantry, and returned with three boxes of it. Lina groaned dramatically, peeling away from the group and into the living room. Zander followed her eagerly, his shaggy blond hair curling up around his ears.

Nebula smirked at Evangeline’s book left on the counter. She held it briefly, then ran into the living room, shouting about someone dying and someone getting kissed. Simon just sighed. Nebbie had the amazing ability to read books just by touching them, which meant she liked to annoy her sister by spoiling every book she read.

Simon had to put the rest of the kids down, and while River pouted at him, Garrin just ran into the other room, following the flow of kids. Caspian was leading the charge, and Simon found all of them starting a pillow fight on the couch.

He laughed and leaned against the wall, content to just watch. Atlas helped Zander smack Nebbie with a couch pillow, Lyra and Caspian were battling furiously (though he noticed how Caspian kept his blows light so as not to knock Lyra over with her balance problems), the twins were shrieking as they tackled Lina into a pile of pillows, and even Estrella was joining in. 

“Grandpops! Look out!” Simon looked down just in time to see Garrin race up to him with a pillow almost the same size as the toddler, and shove it into his legs. Simon fake-shouted, going on about he’d been gravely injured. 

“Grandpops, come pillow fight!” River begged. Rose nodded, and both girls employed the puppy eyes. Sweet rot, they were cute.

So Simon went and put Ryland in his bouncer, chuckling at how the baby didn’t stir, even with all the noise. And then he grabbed a pillow and charged.

~~~~

Hugh found his husband twenty minutes later in a pillow fort. Complete with extra sheets, blankets, and what seemed like every pillow and cushion in the house. It encompased the entire living room, including the TV. Smart.

“Dinner!” He called. Immediately several heads poked out, grinning. Caspian was out first, Atlas and Nebula not far behind. Evangeline crawled out another exit, Zander holding onto her legs and giggling. The rest of the kids made their way out, including Lyra’s dog, Bear.

And last but not least, Simon crawled out, his hair a mess, but smiling anyway. Hugh had to stop himself from swooning over the smile lines.

“Everyone get a bowl of mac n’ cheese and three chicken nuggets!” Hugh called to the kids in the kitchen.

“You baked thirty chicken nuggets?” Lina yelped. “Was that the whole bag?”

“Don’t worry about it, just eat.” Hugh demanded. “And help the littles get a plate.”

“Granddad, Grandpops, can we watch a movie while we eat?” Caspian asked, mouth already full of food.

“Can we have soda?” Nebbie begged.

“I want milk!” Lyra whined.

“Alright, everyone one at a time.” Simon said. “What does everybody want to drink?”

Different drink orders flew around the kitchen, and Simon tried as best he could to get them all. Soda, milk, water, juice, the list was endless.

It was Hugh who finally got a piece of paper and a pencil and passed it around the table. The kids all wrote what they wanted, or in the littles’ case, got someone else to write it for them. Then Simon got them all their drinks.

“Why is it in a sippy cup?” Lina giggled, marvelling at her soft drink in a toddler cup.

“Because I don’t want anyone to spill their drink on our blanket fort when we watch a movie.” Simon said with a grin.

A cheer went up, and everyone moved to the kitchen, dinner and drink in hand. Hugh went in last, being the largest, and found the blanket fort pretty roomy inside.

Lina was using Garrin’s head as an armrest because he wouldn’t move from her lap, and Zander was lying horizontally on the twins as he put mac n’ cheese in his mouth with his hands, but otherwise everyone had a good, comfortable place to sit. Someone had had the bright idea to move the baby bouncer inside, and Ryland was awake and giggling.

It took a long time, but they eventually found a movie everyone could agree on. Not a horror movie, nothing PG-13, not a romantic movie, not a baby movie. Hugh was able to find an animated movie about animals, and that satisfied everyone enough.

“Granddad I’m done.” Lyra put her empty bowl and cup in Hugh’s lap. Bear had a distinctive yellow stain on his mouth, but he decided against asking when the dog wagged his tail. More dishes were added, so Hugh did the mature, adult thing to do, and put them all in his husband’s lap.

Simon rolled his eyes but went to put the dirty dishes in the sink. And when he returned a while later, he had a surprise: Ice cream.

This time they hadn’t had to ask everyone what they wanted. Because, if there was one thing a grandfather was required to know in Hugh’s opinion, it was the favorite ice cream flavor of each and every grandchild.

Lina, Estrella, and the twins all liked strawberry best. Caspian and Nebbie liked chocolate. And Atlas, Lyra, and the little boys all got vanilla. Of course, Zander and Garrin shared one scoop between them to prevent a multi-toddler sugar high, but what did that matter, really?

The ice cream and the movie were finished, and everyone was starting to yawn. “Go get pajamas on.” Simon mumbled. Nobody even complained.

Twenty minutes later, after everyone had pajamas on and teeth brushed, they found themselves back in the blanket fort. Simon had strung fairy lights above it, leaving a soft glow in their wake.

“Sleep here.” Garrin yawned, leaning his head on Hugh’s side. All around him, the kids were falling asleep. Even Lyra, whom Hugh had been given sleeping pills for. But she was yawning and stretching, and after she laid her head down on Bear’s side, it was evident she was fast asleep.

“Should we bring them to bed?” Simon asked sleepily. 

“No. I think they’re good here.” Hugh whispered.

And sure enough, every single child fell asleep, cuddled in a massive puppy pile. Zander was curled in Lina’s arms, Lyra and Caspian were resting against the dog, and the rest of the kids were curled around pillows and each other. The only child who was awake was Ryland, and even he was yawning.

It took Hugh’s breath away every time, just about. Looking at all these kids; his grandkids.

Lina and Nebula were the only biological children of Nova and Adrian. Evident, by their caramel skin and curly black hair. Sisters, down to their very bones.

Caspian and Lyra were the same age, adopted at different times. Caspian as a baby, abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage. Lyra, in the system until she was three, because nobody wanted a child with special needs. Hugh’s heart hurt every time he thought of it.

Atlas and the twins, River and Rose. All of them taken in as babies. Garrin, Zander, Ryland, still practically babies.

And Estrella. She fit right in, arm draped over Atlas, the twins at her back. She had been through so much. Hugh just hoped he’d one day be worthy of being a grandfather to such an amazing little girl.

“You’re thinking too hard.” Simon murmured. “Let’s go to bed.”

Taking baby Ryland from his bouncer and resting him gently on his shoulder, Hugh and Simon Everhart crawled out of the pillow fort. They put the baby down to bed. And then they, too, found a place to sleep amongst the pile of kids in a blanket fort.

“Look at this.” Simon breathed, turning off the lights. He was so close Hugh could feel his breath on his lips.

“Love built this. Love built our family.”

“Love.” 

Love for every single one of the kids sleeping peacefully next to them. Love despite the fact they didn’t look related. Despite the fact they weren’t related. 

Yes, love certainly built this.

~~~~

Fic Requests

Gen 2 asks/headcanons

So, I hope you guys liked this! It got real sappy lol.

[pulaasul]

Luck and Order - 2

The Wizard Shazam, who was once a Lord of Order, that something was amiss. The balance between luck and misfortune was in disarray. So he implores his young Champion - Billy Batson - to investigate and correct the Balance.

Set years after the series Finale of Justice League Unlimited.

1 

FFN I AO3

---------

Holey Moley!" Billy exclaimed. "A giant baby!" He yelled. "A giant freaking baby!"

The feeling of exasperation and surprise didn't last long and Billy immediately transformed into his champion form of Captain Marvel and flew out the window to chase down the infant innocently causing massive property damage to the city

Billy had just moved in to one of Paris' apartments. He chose to move in to this apartment considering its proximity to the school where he was a part of the School Exchange program.

He had just finished unloading his clothes when he saw the giant baby.

Captain Marvel fired off a series of three balls of electricity towards the extremely oversized infant to distract the baby and to assess the situation.

The lightning based hero took a closer look at the gigantic infant that was happily flailing around with his balls of electricity when he saw that somewhere on the baby was a huge concentration of magic that was spreading outwards.

"So far he's acting like an actual baby." Captain Marvel commented. "That concentration of magic does concern me."

Before Captain Marvel was about to add another set of balls of electricity, in response to his first set flickering out, Paris' own set of heroes appeared on the scene and began to battle the gigantic infant.

He chose to hide behind one of the buildings in the city and took a closer look at the heroes.

As far as he can see, there was nothing wrong with the spotted heroine – Ladybug – her powers were unaffected by whatever was tipping the balance of creation and destruction.

The Black Cat – Chat Noir – however, he was sure that Eris – goddess of discord – even Klarion – Lord of Chaos – would squeal in glee if they saw what was happening to the hero.

Chat Noir's magic was chaotic, to say the least.

If Captain Marvel would hazard a guess, the Miraculous of the Black Cat was probably battling something inside the boy under the mask which brought upon the focus on flirting than actual combat.

----------

"I can understand Mr. Ramier getting akumatized lots of times." Ladybug huffed. "But seriously, akumatizing babies for getting upset is just a new low." She growled as she dodged a merchandising cart. "Even worse, akumatizing the same baby."

"I meow right milady." Chat Noir agreed. "Why don't we just adopt the baby?" He offered. "And we'll be one happy family with kitten August." He cooed.

"Focus Chat." Ladybug called out in exasperation.

The 'battle' with the giant baby went on with failing results. This was mostly due to Chat Noir's focus, or lack thereof, on the battle at hand against the akuma, but rather on his partner.

Ladybug was forced to carry everything on her own.

She was forced to adapt instead of initiate.

"We're getting nowhere!" Ladybug growled.

"I furry much agree milady." Chat nodded. "I can't woo you purropurrly if we're battling a giant baby." He pouted. "We should just destroy the Akuma." He suggested. "It's purrobably on that pacifier."

Ladybug rolled her eyes but took note of her partner's suggestion and took a closer look at the baby, and indeed the rather small pacifier right by the baby's neck was sticking out.

"Cataclysm!" Chat called out as black magic coated his right hand.

The Black Cat hero leapt from roof to roof and dodged the flying cars that the baby was throwing his way.

"W-wait!" Ladybug called out. "I said wait!

"Don't worry milady." Chat yelled out his assurance. "Once the akumatized object, you can have me all to yourself."

Chat's inattentiveness caused him to be slammed upon the roof of an airborne car and disintegrated it when he magic-coated hands made contact with the vehicle.

Ladybug had half the mind to chide her partner for his inattentiveness and lack of focus but she opted to focus on the Akuma, splashing waters by the river.

"Lucky Charm!" The spotted heroine called out.

A swarm of magical ladybugs congregated above Ladybug and conjured a spotted red lightning bolt that landed on Ladybug's waiting hands.

The heroine's first instinct was to look around her immediate surroundings and see if she could form a plan from the Lucky Charm that was conjured by her powers.

But she couldn't find nothing.

Ladybug continued to look formulate a plan as she dodged the incoming projectiles.

----------

"Looks like that's my cue." Captain Marvel murmured to himself as he observed the ensuing battle.

The world's mightiest mortal flew into the scene and caught three flying cars along the way.

"Ladybug, what's going on?" Captain Marvel asked as he faced the heroic duo.

"Who're you supposed to be?" Chat Noir challenged. "Milady has already retired the other Miraculous heroes." He hissed.

"No time to explain Chat Noir." Marvel shook his head as he fired an electric ball at the infant, distracting it.

Ladybug on the other hand stared intently on the new arrival as noticed the similarities between the new hero's emblem to the Lucky Charm she summoned.

"I'm sure he can explain once we capture the Akuma." Ladybug reined in her partner. "Basically something transformed a baby into that giant." She explained while dodging a flying cart. "That something is located on the baby's pacifier by his neck."

"That's where the concentration of magic's coming from!" Captain Marvel exclaimed. "Leave that to me." He assured as he flew towards the baby.

"Be careful not to hurt the baby." Ladybug reminded.

"Will do!" Captain Marvel acknowledged. "I need a distraction."

"Kitty, we're up." Ladybug called out. "Let's cause a scene."

"As you wish milady." Chat obliged, bowing before his partner.

As Paris's heroic duo gathered the cars and trucks that the citizens of Paris vacated in light of the Akuma problem, Captain Marvel tried different things to destroy the pacifier without hurting the toddler that was wearing it.

The World's Mightiest Mortal powered down his strikes, but the pacifier infused by magic was hard to break.

"You don't need to hold back!" Ladybug stated as she passed by the lightning hero, swinging from roof to roof. "The Miraculous cure heals everyone and anyone hurt by this Akuma attack."

Captain Marvel nodded gathered electrical energy around his fists as the baby continued to play around the water of Siene River. He grabbed the hanging pacifier and instantly disintegrated it with his electrified hands.

A purple colored butterfly flew out of the pacifier as the baby was coated in purple ooze and transformed back into its regular size in mid-air.

Captain Marvel flawlessly caught the baby and cooed at him.

Ladybug on the other hand managed to capture the Akuma purified it.

"Bye bye little butterfly." The spotted heroine smiled as she waved at the white butterfly flying from her yoyo.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug yelled as she threw the lightning emblem lucky charm she received earlier above her.

Magical Ladybugs began to disperse from the Lucky Charm and return everything to the state before the Akuma attacked.

"Okay Mister show off, who are you?" Chat Noir challenged.

The black cat hero was eyeing the new hero, threatened by the new arrival's presence.

"Chat! Show some respect to the person who helped us." Ladybug chided. "But with all due respect sir, we kind of like answers."

"Your kwamis can provide you with answers." Captain Marvel responded. "I'm Captain Marvel this world's champion of magic."

Before both heroes could even respond to Captain Marvel's words, their Miraculouses started beeping.

"Go on." Captain Marvel nodded. "Your kwamis will know how to find me."

"Well then, bug out." Ladybug and Chat Noir Left the scene.

----------

As Captain Marvel hovered over the city and watched as both heroes scrambled before they transformed back into their civilian forms. He just realized that he was able to communicate with the local heroes despite the fact that he doesn't know even a lick of French.

"I knew the Wisdom of Solomon could help me learn a new language." Captain Marvel muttered. "Didn't know it'd be instantaneous."

Before the World's Mightiest Mortal could even process further what was happening, a few reporters had called for his attention.

"Sir! We would like a word!"

Captain Marvel hovered down to the street and meet with the local media.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" Marvel smiled, remaining amicable to field reporters.

"Are you Paris's new hero?" One lady questioned.

"Do you wield a Miraculous?" A man added.

"Do you have any leads about Hawkmoth?" Another lady asked.

Some more questions were unheard of as all them were speaking over another. Captain Marvel raised his hand in a stopping motion, signaling for the local media to calm down and ask their questions one after another.

"Sir! Alya Cesaire!" A young girl immediately raised her hand. "You're Captain Marvel, Fawcett City's local hero." She started. "You left the Justice League a few months into your membership." She added. "Is there anything in Paris that warranted your attention?"

"Paris's situation has been ignored by the Justice League for a long time." Marvel answered honestly. "Although I cannot fault them as some of them believe that magic does not exist and will likely think that everything that's happened in Paris so far as a big prank." He continued. "Ladybug's powers of removing the damage done in the battle, it makes sense to think that everything was done with special effects."

Captain Marvel, while not resentful for his bout with Superman, was still hurt that the hero he idolized so much disregarded his opinion on the matter and let his biases control him. This was his way of calling out the Justice League but at the same time defending them.

After all the Flash once stated that magic didn't exist.

"Why now?" Alya followed up.

"I'm here because the balance has shifted." Captain Marvel responded. "The Activation of both the Moth and the Peacock Miraculous has shifted the balance, to counteract the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous were activated." He explained. "What exactly has thrown the balance, as other might say, out of whack, that is what I'm here to find out." He finished.

Once he finished stating his answers, he immediately flew away from the scene.

[a-world-in-grey]

Sola HCs

because I need something that isn’t angst

-Contrary to what most people think when they meet child or adult Sola, bby!Sola was not a difficult baby. Or even a difficult toddler. Regis and Aulea are 100% Prepared for the Terrible Twos and Threes, but they just... never happen?

-That’s because, unlike most Lucis Caelums, Sola is very casual with her magic, using it to communicate when words aren’t enough. As a baby, most of Sola’s communication is nonverbal, which isn’t really a problem because most of the people she’s communicating to also have magic and can understand her just fine. 

-(Everyone picture Cor and bby!Sola staring at each other, magic coiling around them but not saying anything. Just staring. And various expressions that indicate yes there is indeed a conversation happening, but Astrals help anyone else trying to understand. Cor and Sola sure won’t.)

-As a result, Sola doesn’t talk for the longest time. Sure, as a baby she babbled, but her first word never really came. Regis and Aulea are worried for months, even though the doctors and speech therapists reassure them that there’s nothing seemingly wrong with Sola. She’s communicating without problem, the little girl just doesn’t want to talk yet.

-Sola’s first word comes at a two years old. Cor is napping with Sola in a sun patch when a Crownsguard comes to fetch Cor for a meeting with Regis. Only, Sola does not want to let go. Cor stares his goddaughter down, magic swirling in gentle reproof, but Sola clings all the more stubbornly, her own magic chanting no, until Cor finally tells Sola firmly that he has to go. 

-And Sola Scowls (pouts) full force at the unfortunate Crownsguard and, in the growliest (squeakiest) voice she can muster, says, “Mine.”

-Cor may or may not be Smug. Especially when Sola will Not. Stop. Saying It.

-Regis is Dying from the Cute. He has pictures. He has video.

-Sola’s favorite game is Hide-and-Seek. She just... doesn’t always tell you that you’re playing Hide-and-Seek. When this happens Cor is the best one to find her.

-Sola is very sensitive to magic. Partially because that’s how she communicates most of the time, but it’s also partially innate. Regis and Co find out very quickly that this enables Sola to find them anywhere. It also means Sola wins every game of Hide-and Seek.

-Cor of course, takes that as a challenge.

-At four, Sola is able to tell when Regis or her Uncles are Hurting, even if they’re halfway across the Citadel. When this happens, she will find them and literally sit on them so they won’t move and keep Hurting.

-When Aulea is pregnant with Noctis, she’s on bed rest fairly early on. Aulea takes to weaving near constantly. Sola, spending every moment not studying or training with Cor, curls up beside her mother and watches as she weaves a massive tapestry. Sola asks all the questions she has, and Aulea teaches Sola her craft, even getting Sola a mini-loom of her own.

-It’s not uncommon after that for Regis to find Aulea and Sola together, Sola’s face screwed up in concentration as she clumsily mirrors her mother. Sola’s fascination as the tapestry takes form under her mother’s hands, and her delight when she completes her own, small tapestry of a sun against a black background. It’s no masterwork, but Regis hangs it in his office with pride.

-Sola takes up the loom again when she starts dating Libertus. Because this is Sola, goddaughter to Cor ‘No Restraint’ Leonis, her first project is a massive design as tall as she is and twice as wide. It takes her two years, given how little time she’s able to dedicate to it, but Sola is beyond pleased with herself when she finishes it.

-If a tapestry appears in the Kingsglaive HQ one morning, depicting Galahd in its glory… All Titus is able to tell the stunned Glaives is that it’s a gift, for while the artist ‘knows they cannot replace the real thing, they wanted the Glaive to have a piece of home.’ The Glaives wander past the tapestry in a daze for days, and Sola pats herself on the back for a job well done.

-Of course, the Glaives are as curious as Coeurl cubs and three times as persistent, so Sola gets to enjoy the utter Chaos as the Glaives try - and fail - to figure out who the unknown artist is. (She probably shouldn’t find their frustration so amusing, but this is HILARIOUS.)

-(And if in the next three years, two more tapestries of equal size appear in HQ, rekindling the Glaives’ search, well… It’s harmless, and Sola has to get her kicks in somewhere.)

-Sola has a Sweet Tooth. The whole ‘how do you want your coffee/as black as my soul’ meme? Yeah, that’s Sola in a nutshell. Nyx cringes at Sola’s coffee, because that’s not coffee anymore you HEATHEN. Crowe - who is not allowed to have coffee on pain of the worst training course Titus can think up - snickers from where she cradles her tea while Libertus hoards half the coffee pot because Do Not Talk to him before he has his coffee, he is Not Awake.

-You want to bribe Sola? Chocolate. Any kind, all kinds, you bring her chocolate Sola will happily contemplate Vicious Retribution on your behalf. (Unless it’s pepper chocolate, then her Vicious Retribution will be on whichever idiot thought that abomination counted as chocolate.) This woman always has chocolate stashed in her armiger and the rest of the Glaive would really like to know just How Much she’s got, because she NEVER RUNS OUT.

-The Glaives take great glee in watching the rookies trip over Sola’s hot buttons. Because, well, she Smol, and under the uniform no one can actually see just how much muscle Sola’s got, and no one ever thinks Sola’s one of their heavy hitters. So someone inevitably makes a comment on her height, and promptly gets demolished during the next spar. 

-Mechanics… aren’t really Sola’s thing. Oh sure, she’s spent more than enough time with the royal mechanics alongside the other Glaives so they can fix whatever problems pop up in the field, and so she can keep her motorcycle in working order, but it’s not really her passion. Even if her obsessive perfectionism means she could probably start a career as a mechanic. Cid grumbles that at least ONE idiot Lucis Caelum knows their way around an engine.

[ask-alaska-and-hawaii]

TV Tropes: Alaska

Acting Your Intellectual Age: He has the looks of a first-grader but the mind of a seasoned mountaineer and has no interest in connecting with children that look his age. However, this could just be because he has no interest in connecting with anyone outside his ‘pack’ after what happened last time.

Adorkable: Has his moments, such as when he’s gushing about dogs. He really loves dogs.

The Alcoholic: Being Alaska, Alaska has a love for the sauce, especially salmon vodka. This usually leads him to pass out by the end. 

Animal Motif: Dogs and wolves obviously. Specifically Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies for the former and Arctic Wolves for the latter.

Badass Bookworm: Loves to read but is a natural survivalist and gunslinger.

Berserk Button: For your safety, do not mention Russia or Texas within ten feet of him. Also, don’t call him small.

Big Brother Instinct: To Hawaii and by extension the other states if they are threatened as he does genuinely care about all of them even if they do think he’s rather odd.

Big Brother Mentor: Also to Hawaii by sharing his experiences to teach her that the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. She, however, hasn’t taken on his nihilism and still believes in the best in people.

Big Eater: Given that he smokes marijuana, is a state, and is stress eater this is no big shocker.

Blue-and-Orange Morality: Being raised by wolves, Alaska has a mindset closer to animals than humans. For one Alaska, cares nothing for morality besides protecting his ‘pack’ (America and the other states) and judges things like disloyalty and irresponsibility far more harshly than someone being outright malicious. He also thinks that politicians need to start fighting to the death for their position. Literally. (This also could just be because he just hates politicians since they often lie to gain people’s favor)

Broken Bird: After so many years of tragedy and isolation, Alaska is understandably rather cynical.

Break the Cutie: See ‘Dark and Troubled Past’.

Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: A platonic version but he is the brooding boy to Hawaii’s gentle girl. 

Brutal Honesty: Everyone agrees that Alaska is probably the most honest of the states, however, his honesty is usually extremely impolite to which he just says ‘I say the truth, it’s their fault if they can’t accept’.

Byronic Hero: Alaska is snarky, stoic, stubborn, excessively cynical but is passionate about his beliefs and has a soft spot for the environment and its creatures.

Celibate Hero: While not asexual, he has little interest in ever having sex and it’s not just because he looks six.

Color Motif: White and gray.

Comically Serious: He does not understand jokes so he will often take these at face value.  

Crazy-Prepared: Winter’s in his state are intense, so he leaves nothing to chance. 

Dark and Troubled Past: Imagine being locked into the form of a baby, abandoned by the people who were supposed to love and protect you, find a new family in wolves only for them to be killed leaving you to survive on your own while looking a like a toddler. When you finally found someone they also die leaving you to want to curl up and die and then be adopted again but seen as odd by your adopted siblings. Yeah, Alaska having depression and anxiety makes a lot of sense.

Deadpan Snarker: Usually this, especially when at states meeting or when he’s answering asks.

Defrosting Ice Queen: Alaska is not an easy person to get along with and can be extremely rude and sarcastic especially to ask blogs that star Texas, however, it is possible for him to warm up to some people outside his family like Dave (@alaska-ask-blog-aph) or at the very least learns the ability to bite his tongue.

Emotionless Boy: Most of the time, he is extremely stoic due to the fact that when he does express emotion, he can come off as rather intense.

Everyone Has Standards: He has a strange morality, however he is openly disgusted by ‘people’ who would rip away children’s innocence.

Foil: To Hawaii. They are both disconnected states and the child of a Native mother and Caucasian parent with trauma happening to them at very young ages which caused them to act the way they do, with Alaska being very stern and no-nonsense while Hawaii is energetic and enjoys making people smile.

Friendless Background: Because of his inability to relate to children his physical age and his autism causing him panic attacks whenever he is in close proximity to others, he has very few friends other than Hawaii. 

Friend to All Children: Zigzagged. He doesn’t connect with older children very well but he does have a soft spot for toddlers and babies and even makes an attempt to be openly kind to them. He also considers the worst people the ones who would purposefully steal their innocence and wouldn’t hesitate to pull his gun on such people.

Friend to All Living Things: Hey, I said humans, I never said anything about animals but yes he does love animals particularly dogs, wolves, and eagles.

Good is Not Nice: Not nice is an understatement. He has a strange moral code, is rather rude to new people, and mainly keeps to himself but if someone dares and tries to hurt his little sister or anyone in his family, they better start running.

Guilt Complex: Blames himself for what happened to his crush.

Hates Being Touched: The only one who he will willingly let touch him, much less hug him, is Hawaii. Other than not, hands-off.

Hates Their Parent: Openly refers to Russia as ‘a sperm donor’. And that’s when he’s being nice.

The Hermit: Lives like this whenever he’s at home in his state.  

Hidden Depths: 

Instead of hockey as one would think, he enjoys figure skating and is actually pretty good.

Not shown on the blog, yet but he actually enjoys the company of toddlers like Nunavut as they are far less complicated than people who are older.

He also enjoys writing and even creates stories in his free time. He also uses it along with his personal journal as a form of therapy for himself.

Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Brother/Sister version. Alaska is the huge guy to Hawaii’s tiny girl, especially once they’re older where he’ll be at 5′11 to 6′0 to Hawaii’s 5′3. Justified as Alaska is one-fifth the size of the lower 48 and is larger than Montana, California, Texas COMBINED.

Human Mom, Non-Human Dad: While his biological father is Russia, his mother was a normal Yup'ik woman named Uki.  

Hypocrite: Alaska calls Russia a ‘cruel, crazy manchild’  when he openly calls for the deaths of anyone who betrays their country. He also wants Hawaii to seek help when he resists any for him.

Hypocrite has a Point: To be fair, being lenient with traitors is a recipe for disaster for this country.

Ice Queen: He’s a rather cold and rude person but still a nice guy underneath.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Cynical, rude, stubborn are all words that would accurately describe him but also family-orientated, protective, and generous when he needs to be.

Knight in Sour Armor: He does see the world as a cold and dark and is a self-proclaimed misanthrope but still does his best to protect his family and people.

Meaningful Name: Alaska’s name Inuit name, ‘Nukilik’, means ‘strong’ and given everything, he’s gone through and still living to see today, no one can say he isn’t strong. As for his European name of ‘Peter’ meaning ‘stone’ and he is stone-faced and it’s also a nice reference to Peter the Great of Russia.

Mixed Ancestry: He’s half-Slavic, half-Inuit. 

Nature Lover: Growing up most of his life in the forests of Alaska, it makes sense the woods are where he’s most comfortable especially among the animals there. He is also disgusted by hunters who hunt merely for the game and not because they need it.

Not Good with People: Type 2. My beloved grumpy boy is unsurprisingly not good with people as he can’t understand their feelings or why he offended him. However, he is good at reading the feelings of animals and emphasizes more with them.

No Social Skills: Justified due to both his upbringing. He also is very indifferent to having them at the end of the day.

Older Than They Look: Being a state this a given. However where he differs, since he was born in 1800, he’s actually older than most states but since he was basically deserted by Russia he was never given the ability to grow.

Only Sane Man: Certainly sees himself as this among the other states as he feels that they play bloated, bureaucratic politics far too much instead of working together to help their father.

The Pessimist: Alaska physically can’t bring himself to hope in the best in people since all he’s seen was the worst in people since he was young when everyone he loved just ditched him or died. 

Raised by Wolves: Played completely straight. After his mother’s tribe abandoned him in the woods an Alpha She-Wolf who had just lost her pups adopted Alaska.

Socially Awkward Hero: Alaska can scale mountains, survive massive earthquakes, and survive on his own for years. However, the ability to interact with humans or even other anthropics is the hard part.

Strong Family Resemblance: Besides his dark skin, black hair, and eye shape, Alaska is basically a younger version of Russia. This has gotten him into quite a bit of trouble like when he was accused of being a communist during the McCarthy era due to his Russian heritage and Belarus has tried to kidnap him on more than one occasion.

Sugar-and-Ice Personality: In spite of cold, loner nature and dislike for society in general, Alaska at his core is a genuinely familial, protective person who just wants to take care of those he cares about. This is best showcased in his relationship with Hawaii, who might be the only person he openly gives affection to and he did go as Elsa twice just to make her happy even if it was embarrassing for him.

Trauma Conga Line: Abandoned, seen as a threat, had his pack murdered, only person he ended up caring about dying, and nearly froze to almost-death. All when he looked 2. Someone get this boy a therapists.

Used to Be a Sweet Kid: When he was young, Alaska was a sweet and gentle boy, even while living with his wolf pack. However, due to the many tragedies in his life, he has become extremely bitter and cynical towards the world.

When She Smiles: Has given a few in some comics and chats. He even admits that the main reason he loves Hawaii (as a sister) is that she is one of the few people who can make him give a genuine smile.

[witch-of-tempests]

Of Roses and Spring, of Dying and falling things.

Drabble below.

[[MORE]]

The house of stars was full of laughter and joy at the beginning of spring. It would be a revel tonight, after the children went to sleep.

He had known this day was coming, it had been on his mind for a long time. With his extra armor though, it was hard to tell when.

But he was captain of the royal guard, a sun solider, the halo of the crown as the common folk liked to call him when the Royal consort and him visited the sea side cottage every now and again.

The captain of the guard is dressed in his finest armor, and as it is a celebration, he knows he is expected to dance once or twice, then resume his place by his charges.

It seemed unfortunately, that the little princess of stars wanted to be his charge tonight.

He loved the child, with her wildness and little smile that wasn’t innocent, but wasn’t too mischievous either. She was only four years old, and already was a force of nature.

He is sitting what might’ve been a broom closet when the little princess finds him.

He was wearing his bright armor, red and gold and white, rubbing his face wearily as he could feel the change that was to happen tonight. Or maybe tomorrow he wasn’t sure.

She’d peeked in, her twin brother, who shared his strong nose, giggling with her as they spotted him.

He looked up at the two, a matching set of mischief. And grinned.

“ Hello there troublemakers.” He says, sitting up straighter despite the pain of it.

They giggle again and rush him. Though only toddlers, he’s insisted on teaching them combat maneuvers.

The princess is always the tougher of the two, and launches herself up at him like a tiny bomb of Crinoline and silk, while her brother just hugs his leg.

“ Mamas looking bad.” She says. Her face falling into worry.

“ Very Mad.” Says her brother.

The captain grimaces. Not entirely from catching the royal heir in his arms.

“ That’s normal. She’s a bit on the stuffy side.”

Their mother, the Empress. The tyrant of the house of stars. He shudders thinking about what’s made her mad this time.

“ How about.” He says, scooping up the other twin, even though it sends a small jolt of pain through him. “ We do a raid on the confectionary table?”

The twins burst into gasps and chanting about doing said raid.

He rolls his eyes, neither of them are good at keeping a low profile but. He can work with that.

By the time however he gets to the table, almost ready for the bigger confections, he’s gathered four more of the royal children. The twins on his shoulders, The oldest prince following behind him, their two cousins trailing happily and the second prince holding onto his arms.

“ Themis, can you see any guards?” He asks the oldest of the group.

Themis, despite being only a few years older than the twins. Had a scary seriousness about her. He often chalked it up to her being born the way she was.

Sometimes the image of her with the bundle that was celestial waiting in the rain on the palace steps haunted him. The way her face had been so still. How she’d cling onto the squirming bundle. How haunted she looked, when he tried to offer her a mug of hot chocolate.

He was thankful for the older prince. Who had been the first to get a word out of Themis. Who’d simply wrapped a blanket around them both, and tried to steal the steaming mug from her hand.

Thunder was a clever boy, and usually the defacto defuser of the kids. His name was fitting in that way. Distraction from the real problem, but a comfort none the less.

Celestial nearly dove out of his arms and into the table when she spotted the cotton candy creatures, something that would’ve alarmed him had it been one of the twins or Little Wen. Who was always so even tempered.

But celestial simply went through the table, and popped out from under it. Grinning

“ I scared you!” She says, her mismatched eyes hopeful.

He chuckles “ yes. Yes you did.” And gently patted her head. She was always so cold, so so cold.

“ Celestial.” Said a voice that made his heart race. A voice that was honey, and caramel, and spun sugar on a Croquembouche and the little pastries within. A voice that always answered with a ‘yes’ whenever he asked to stay the night. A voice he knew his heart would turn to ashes without its warm and gentle sound.

The captain of the guard turns to face the owner of such a wonderful voice. Royalty did even begin to define what this sublime creature was. He grins, a lopsided but bright thing. “ Sorry. I worked them up.”

Gentle eyes turn to him, and he wishes his heart wasn’t made of buttery things. Because it melted, every time.

The crown wearing ethereal being smiles anyway, and nods. “ I see.”

Celestial toddles her way out of the table and grins up “ We’re raiding!”

The princess of stars pipes up “ You looked mad!” She reminds everyone.

The ruler chuckles softly and reaches up to pluck her from the massive shoulders of the Guard. “ Oh I was. You never sit still long enough to let me fix you up.”

His heart is a puddle as he watches the other nuzzle the little princess. Soft almost gold eyes narrow at him. “ And you, are supposed to have the night off.”

The captain flushed. Less from embarrassment and more from having those eyes on him.

“ Well I was gonna get up and come anyway so...I figured to be in uniform for it.”

A shake of a head, and a gentle hand touching his cheek. “ You are too hard working for your own good.”

How badly, his hand itches to hold the others there. To keep that warmth and love close forever.

They both suddenly feel..solemn. Reminded of what tonight will be.

His gentle, beloved ruler says softly “ You’ll be able to hold her. Before and after.” He’s reminded.

He does not feel like a royal halo. He feels like a man who might be freezing to death.

He cannot stop the way his eyes water. “ I know.” He says. Voice rough with grief.

The children largely, don’t notice the pain on the faces of the adults before them. Their focus is on the paper kites and lanterns being ushered into the grand ball room. But the princess, cradled in the arms of her mother, notices.

It is much later, when the captain is again, standing at a attention. A tiny floating cradle following behind him with a fussy newborn inside. Before him walks the Empress of stars, her crown shard of black glass that reflect to him his sadness. Her hair is pale gold, and her dress, designed to look more maternal, is the only sound besides the gurgles of the baby.

The newborn is beautiful. Tiny in her size, but beautiful. Her nursemaid, whos skin always seems a bit grey, had suggested her name. A beautiful name, that would surely buy the Empresses good graces.

The Consort of the house of stars is waiting for them when they arrive at the balcony overlooking the Palaces front lawn. Where the party goers were waiting to be let into the splendor of the house of stars.

The Empress steps up to the edge, and makes her announcement, her voice sharp.

“ My fellow starborn loves, I have a exciting announcement to make.”

The captain of the guard looks down at the tiny basket, where the little baby is looking back at him with sweet hazel eyes. But more green, like the sea she was born by. She’s barely is more than a day old. But she’s trying still, to look at the world. Her little lip quivers, and he reaches to gently give his hand to her. It’s so much bigger, so much he’s afraid to hurt her.

But she takes his finger, and squeezes hard.

He is glad for his visor, as it keeps his tears from being seen. He’s so proud of her. He is so in love with the tiny being.

He listens as the Empress explains the mother’s before have gifted them with something grand.

He scoops up the baby. Out of sight still. But he gets to hold her none the less.

He kisses her tiny head, gently rocking her. The hours apart where the nurses and maidens were getting the little one ready in the Queens room was heartbreaking for him.

The Empress of stars, scoops up the princess.

“ I have given you, my stars, My daughter. The heir to my throne, Cassiopeia.” She says. And the crowd roars with glee at seeing the princess.

“ And now my folk. I give you, another daughter. Captain of the guard, Iroh. “ she says, turning those sharp grey eyes to him.

“ Bring forth our newest addition.”

Iroh steps forward, handing over the bundle, as Cassiopeia, is given to him.

The Empress raises up the baby, his baby. His precious newborn. Who after today, he could never again claim was his.

He hugs Cassiopeia as he steps back. She too, he’s had to give to the Empress.

The consort of stars comes and joins the Empress, the honeyed eyes that meet his soothe him. That the consort will not allow the Empress to throw the little bundle off the balcony.

“ We, the house of stars, the crown and light that guides you. Give you our newest daughter.” The Empress says.

Cassiopeia looks, her eyes, as green as the ocean are worried.

Iroh listens as the name he’s picked, will at least always be his piece his baby will have.

“ We give you Artemisia Selene! Daughter of spring and Roses!”

[yamithediaperdork]

Cutest widdle champion (original characters)

As it always was in Midnight Eden, land of dreams and realm of Lulnyq, Goddess of Night, Shadows, and Darkness, the light was low, mostly from from street lamps as a trio of misshapen shadow blobs with bright red eyes that whenever possible avoided any of the dim light.

They were creatures known as nightmares, who used Midnight Eden for easy access into mortals dreams where they could gain power. Once they were rare and hardly seen in this blessed land atlas, hard times had befallen the once grand realm as the once Intermediate level Goddess had been reduced to a lesser god, and with her lost of power her army of angels who had once served her proudly had been reduced to a handful, and couldn't be everywhere at once.

Thankfully for the mortal's who's dreams would of been infested by this wicked trio, one of the remaining angels, nay, the greatest of them still loyally served his goddess and while he was angry at the lack of faith the mortal's put in his beloved Lulnyq, he would still protect them in her name.

Allimir had been tracking the three nightmares for half a hour now, blending into the shadows with ease as it was only of his gifts from her and had only refrained from assaulting them till now to make sure they weren't meeting up with more of their kind. Seeing them find what they were looking for, a crack in the realm that would make they're journey easier he flew up and came down in front of the trio.

His dark blue and black armor shone in the dim light while his blue on the outside and black on the inside cloak billowed out behind him as he drew his trusted Lance, dubbed Nightblade and pointed it at them.

"I don't suppose you three have obtained permission to visit the mortal realm have you? there ARE strict laws about that sort of thing." Allimir asked dryly.

The nightmares snarled and began to change shape, taking on hulking bipedal forms with sharp claws forming at the end of their arms, and large mouths filled with razor teeth.

"I'll take that as a no. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave then gentlemen." Allimir said politely, trying to give the monster the chance to save themselves.

"Kill the angel, then go to mortal realm?" the nightmare closet to him asked the other two.

"EAT the angel, then go." Said second closet.

"Kill!" the third snarled and tried to shove past his companions.

"-Sigh- Alright, but just remember I DID give you a chance." Allimir said, shaking his head.

Dashing forward he swung Nightblade, willing it NOT to kill, not yet at least, as he caught it across the chests of all three and sent them stumbling back into the full force of the street light,

they're monster forms weakened in the light and they howled, lashing out blindly as Allimir flew up out of they're called down to them.

"this is your LAST warning. Willing leave this place and never come back, nor attempt to enter the mortal realm and I will let you live. Refuse and I'll have no choice but to destroy you!" He warned.

"KILL THE ANGEL!" was the roar from all three and Allimir signed and nodded.

"Very well." he said.

Coming down fast and hard, Allimir willed his lance to kill, as the weapon responded to his will when it came to how lethal it was.

he came down hard point first, going though the middle of one of the nightmares, dispelling it and it faded away with a shriek.

Not leaving anything to chance even before he fully landed on his feet the angel lashed out with a sweeping motion and cut the second nightmare in half right where it's chest would be and it too was gone, leaving one.

"Wait! Mercy!" the creature whimpered, trying to back away.

Twirling Nightblade and pointing it at the remaining beast, Allimir shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but you were offered mercy before." he said then ended the battle with a final thrust.

Lulnyq sat on her throne, watching the events unfold and while she was pleased with the actions of her top angel, she was still somewhat unnerved that nightmares would be as bold as to come right into her city. If only she hadn't of gambled so much of her power and influence in the last tournament of champions things wouldn't be so bleak.

But in her defense she had been so SURE that her champion, would of swept though the other champions with ease instead of losing in his first match, within 20 seconds.

Having been boosting proudly of how powerful her champion was and how he'd make history to her sister the sun goddess, she'd proven right since it WAS the quickest defeat in the history of the tournament.

in the aftermath she'd been bumped down to not just a lesser goddess, but the bottom of the lesser god's and now was at risk of being made into a small goddess which would mean she wouldn't be trusted to run her own realm and a Intermediate god or goddess would have to over see her, and knowing her recent run of luck it would be her brat of a sister.

She had a nagging feeling that the quick defeat had been a set up, enforced by the fact her champion had ditched her after the tournament to become a worshiper of her sister.

"My Goddess, I'm back!" Came the voice of Allimir, and instantly she felt her gloomy thoughts leave.

Yes, the last years tournament of champions hadn't gone her way, but THIS time she had a ace up her sleeve.

Allimir could tell as he walked in and knelt that his beloved Goddess had been brooding again. He wished she wouldn't focus so much on the past but short of telling her to snap out of it (Something he would never in a million years do) the best he could do was act silly at times to try and cheer her up.

"I witnessed your battle, you've proven yourself worthy as always, and in fact, you've done more then that. You've proven yourself worthy of a honor that I know you've been wanting for awhile, but never asked for it because you didn't think it was you place." she said, winking and smiling warmly.

Allimir blushed a little at the teasing tone in her voice. Sometimes despite her height and build, and her long regal black hair and star and moon filled eyes he could almost forget that she was a goddess with how warm and teasing she could be.

"I would never presume to-" Allimir started to say but then his goddess was right in front of him, amazing him as it always did that with her er.. ample backside she could move so quick.

"Ah ah ah, stop being so stuffy and formal. I'm about to give you the great honor of being my champion!" She coo'ed and tapped a finger on his nose and despite himself, Allimir giggled.

regaining his composure, Allimir bowed and then looked up smiling.

"It'll be my honor to serve as your champion my Goddess, and I swear to fight and win for your glory!" He vowed.

"Well duh, I wouldn't be picking you if I thought you were gonna fight and lose for my glory." the semi Chaotic goddess giggled and blew a raspberry. "Now this might sting a little.." She said, taking a few steps back.

"It'll be worth it."

making a finger gun with her left arm and putting her right hand on her forearm to steady it, she closed one of her eyes and stuck her tongue out then a blast of black energy with stars mixed into fired out and stuck Allimir, overwhelming him with new found power even as the world seemed to spin all around him.

"No Longer shall you be called Allimir, strongest of my angel. rise up my new champion and serve your goddess well..Umbraby!" Lulnyq intoned, and walked over to her new champion.

the being once known as Allimir was woozy at first, but looked up with pride to his goddess who suddenly.. seemed like a semi giant to him.

"My goddess, why did..you..What's wrong with my voice?!" Umbraby squeaked.

he'd never had the deepest of voice before but now he sounded like a little boy! Looking down down at his hands he could see they were covered in purple gloves and he was wearing a grayish long sleeve tight shirt, that was fair enough, but it was the SIZE of his arm and hands that had his eyes going wide.

that and as he looked down, he could make out a blueish purple loose shirt over the grayish one and stocking that came up to his mid upper thigh's, colored again grayish.

he seemed to be wearing a hooded black clock and he could feel material on his face which would of indicted he was wearing a mask of some sort.

All this he took in within second but what had his stopped dead in his tracks and eyes going wide even as Lulnyq smiled warmly and giggled, was the massive puffy white DIAPER around his hips at the moment.

"M-M-My goddess, I..what.. " he stammered.

"Shhh it's ok~" She coo'ed, picking him up and cradling him in her arms.

the realization that she hadn't gone, rather he'd been shrunk.. no not even that, but turned into a toddler hit him hard like a ton of bricks.

"I..You..Why am I a toddler!?" he cried out, bottom lip trembling and huffing and blushing.

Normally he would of NEVER raised his voice to his beloved Goddess but his new form while he could feel the additional power, clearly lacked the emotional maturity he'd always had.

"What, you don't like the form I chose?" Lulnyq asked, frowning and pouting a little.

guilt washed over him instantly, and he tried to back track when as she rocked him and despite himself his eyelids were starting to get heavy.

"I..No I just..I was shocked..Um.. I'm sure you had a very good reason for this form mo- I mean my goddess!" He said, almost calling Lulnyq mommy.

"heh, you almost called me mommy!" Lulnyq giggled, taping a finger on his little nose and making him blush and squirm. "Actually, I think I like that.. from now on your to address me as Mom or mommy, Understand Umbraby?"

Umbraby mentally whined and squirmed, so much was happening so fast for the little ex angel now champion. Still, it was a order from his beloved Goddess and he knew he couldn't disobey.

"As you wish." he said, and she looked down at him, waiting. "...Mommy."

Lulnyq squealed with glee and cuddled him close, which while embarrassing and unexpected wasn't half bad.

the only thing that kept him from truly enjoying the cuddles with his go- His mommy, was the thick diaper crinkling around his hips.

"Who's the cutest widdle super duper champion of all time? you are! yes you are!" She was coo'ed and tickling his chin which forced giggles out of him.

"Hehehehe me! I am!" he replied instinctively then blinked and swallowed. "M-Mommy I have a question!" He said, getting her to stop for the moment at least.

"Oh? Ask away, you'll find me a well of information both great and silly." Lulnyq said, smiling all silly.

"..Why am I in a diaper?" Umbraby asked, a whining tone to his voice. "I mean, not to question you, but I've never needed one before, so why now?"

"oh, that's easy!" Mommy said and giggled. "in your old form much like most angels and gods of any level, while you ate and drank you body used what you took in so well you never made waste or needed to tinkle. And that's all fine and good if you're just going to serve in the godly realms. " she paused and sat down in her throne, sitting him up on her lap before going on. "however, the contest is held in the mortal realm and ergo you needed a body that could go there and handled it. Since you've never had to worry about potty training before, I'm just playing it safe and keeping you diapered."

Umbraby hmmmed and nodded, and was about to tell mommy that that made lots of sense when she went on.

"Plus I thought you'd look totally adorable and cute, I've always wanted to diaper you!" She added and pinched his cheek.

'And there it is..' Umbraby thought dryly though he endured the cheek pinching.

With everything explained out to her widdle champion, Lulnyq decided it was time to feed the little champ in the making, his tummy was growling and she wasn't about to let him go night night all hungry!

Poofing a large bottle of rich creamy milk that had been warmed just right out of thin air, she started cradling Umbraby in one arm and moved the ba-ba towards his mouth.

"M-Mommy I promise you I can feed myself!" he whined, cheeks flaring with a adorable blush.

"Oh But I insist! you're going to restore my glory, the least I can do is give you your ba-ba and burp you." She coo'ed.

She could see he wanted to fuss and argue but like the good widdle champion he was, he just nodded his head and opened him mouth.

he seemed to struggle a bit at first trying to adjust to drink from the rubber nipple and so she used a bit more of her skill and power to give him a infant urge to nurse, a trait she had left out at first.

with his new 'power up' so to speak Umbraby was chugging down his ba-ba like a champ, though Lulnyq could see she was gonna have to burp him with all the air bubbles he was making.

"Easy there little guy, it's not going anywhere, you don't have to force it all down at once.." She teased giggling.

Umbraby mumbled something with the bottles nipple in his mouth making milk run down the sides of his milk.

"I can see somebodies gonna be a sloppy eater. don't worry, I'll have lots and lots of bibs for you." She coo'ed, making a napkin appear and dabbing at the little guys chin and making sure none of the milk went onto his little uniform.

even as she did that she had a 'duh' moment and nodded her head slightly, his uniform was gone leaving just his diapers now.

"I don't know why I didn't think of that to begin with! Mommies a silly butt huh?" She giggled and tickled the blushing champ's tummy tum.

Umbraby tried to protest he wanted his gosh darn clothes back, but the ba-ba was just too good to give up. As mommy kept feeding him and made the comment about being a silly butt he found himself giggling and nodding as much as he could.

The rich creamy milk was just so good though it was filling him up in a different way then he'd ever felt before, something he suspected had to do with the fact he'd be -ugh- expelling it back out of his body.

he wasn't sure what to expect when that happened and he wasn't looking forward to it though as the bottle drained to it's last little bit he furrowed his eyebrows getting a confused look on his face as his crotch was getting all warm and damp.

"Hmm?What's wrong little one?" Mommy asked, pulling the basically finished ba-ba out of his mouth with a popping sound as his lips didn't wanna let go.

"I.. My diapie feels weird." Umbraby said and then squirmed more, his chest starting to feel owie. "My chest hurts too."

His Mommy goddess just smiled and poked a finger in the leg hole of the diaper before shifting him around, a towel over one shoulder now and resting his head on it.

"It's ok, you just had your first piddle accident. and the chest thing is you need to be burped because of all the air bubbles you took in." She explained, patting his back softly.

Umbraby blushed bright red at that.

"I..I piddled myself already!? But I didn't even feel it! and Mommy, I don't think it's a burp, I know how to bu-" Umbraby whined, squirming and about to say he could burp himself when a LARGE belch escaped from his mouth, echoing in the royal chamber.

"You were saying?" Mommy asked, amused.

"...Never mind." Umbraby said, burying his face in her shoulder. he had wet himself and belched like a total pig in front of his goddess.

'There was no WAY this could possibly get any worse.' Umbraby thought, tempting fate and as he would soon learn, little boys in diapers shouldn't do that.

Lulnyq was patting her little champion's back, coo'ing and reassuring him everything was going to be alright when a loud brassy fart erupted from his backside, again echoing in the chamber.

"oh my, someones gas powered tonight~" she teased lightly.

before Umbraby could go to defend his gas attack however several more poots escaped and the back of his diaper started to puff out and sag as she held him.

"Ah! Mommy! something's coming out of my butt! My insides are leaking out!" Umbraby cried out, sounding scared and she had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing.

"Shhh, it's ok silly. it's called pooping. you're having your first" and she mentally added 'of many' "Stinky diaper. It's ok." she coo'ed.

"THIS is what p-pooping feels like!?" Umbraby cried and whined, squirming in her arms. "And mortals do it all the time!?"

"well not ALL the time, depends on their diet.." Lulnyq said.

"I hate it! make it stoppp!" Umbraby cried, blubbering now like the little boy he looked like.

"Awww, it's ok. don't worry. Mommies here." She coo'ed and kissed her stinky little champion.

NOT the end.

AN: these characters do NOT belong to me, but are Lancetheyoung's. ^^

[aranea-mechanica]

Empty Nest Syndrome

Set directly after this particular movie night, in which Swoop was trounced in a smackdown with Soundwave.

Swoop is whisked off to the Tor, thoroughly scolded, expertly repaired, sneakily stuffed full of diluted obtenteum, given a few interesting upgrades, and ultimately snuggled to sleep.

Tarantulas

What now? Getting carefully manhandled by a massive spider is what's happening now, Swoop. As soon as he has the pteranodon securely on his back, Tarantulas is bridging off to the Tor with him in tow.

Swoop

Swoop makes absolutely no attempt to stop this. Unless bleeding on Tarantulas counts as an attempt to deter him. But probably not. Off we go!

Tarantulas

Given that the bleeding isn't exactly a conscious thing, Tarantulas isn't deterred in the slightest. He's been bled on plenty of times before, believe him.

Instantly they're there in the Tor, and Tarantulas is navigating the halls upside-down on the ceiling in a manner eerily reminiscent of his tour with Prowl long ago. Swoop's neatly webbed to Tarantulas's carapace, only swaying beneath him a little along with the rapid patter-patter-patter of arachnoid feet.

There's a stream of muttered hissing to go along with every stride. "You're a brash, egoistic fool with the impulse control of a toddler! At least you have some self-preservation instinct in you, that's fair enough, but why did you have to go and get yourself this mangled before you tapped out? Why?"

Soon enough they're in one of the smaller operating theaters, and Tarantulas plops down onto the floor properly. Without giving Swoop a second to recover, Tarantulas mass-shifts down to extract himself from his webbing, leaving the Dinobot in a heap wherever he lands on the floor. Sizing up again, transforming, then pacing around the room, the spidermech collects tools and materials he thinks he might need.

Swoop

At no point did Swoop consider what step two of Tarantulas spiriting him away would entail. He had simply moved because they were moving. Appearing in the Tor was a bit of a surprise and, despite his downtrodden air, Swoop still looks around at everything streaking past below them with a bit of interest.

Tarantulas suddenly disappearing earned a startled look, but that was about it. It didn't take long to figure out what happened and he didn't have anywhere else to be. Being in a heap worked just fine for him. Although...

His back hurts...

Carefully, the scrawny mech uses what mobility he has to maneuver into a position that lets him keep his wings held carefully aloof.

Tarantulas

Swoop doesn’t exactly have to consider what comes next – he’s a child, after all, and someone else is taking care of him. It just so happens that this child is also a murderous dinosaur.

More loud muttering. "And you're not even RESPONDING to me. Did Soundwave really shell-shock you that much?"

After a bit of organized clattering, Tarantulas strides over to Swoop again and stands over him, his visor squinting keenly to assess the damage. Nothing too awful or life-threatening - thanks, Soundwave - but not exactly a patch-up job either. At least Swoop isn’t being his usual bouncy self and making things difficult to repair, but this just feels... wrong. Definitely wrong.

Tarantulas stands there for another long moment, wondering if Swoop will actually respond in any way.

Swoop

All of Tarantulas' clattering goes fairly unnoticed. Swoop looks over the webbing around him and the room at large. But his movements are stiff and cautious. Twisting on a shredded back isn't the most comfortable of moves.

Tarantulas' looming does eventually draw Swoop's attention. He turns his bright optics up at the spider.

"No."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas nearly does a double-take at that. So flippant. Where does he even get the nerve –

He fluffs. "Then why are you such a Primus-damned slug, a - a lump, a - you're not like this." Briefly Tarantulas stiffens as well, then turns tail and all but stomps out of the room to go acquire a few other materials.

Swoop

In the absence of anything else to do, Swoop turns his attention downward to his mangled hand. There are some small shards of metal from where he bashed the open wound against Soundwave that he can dig out on his own.

Doesn't feel awesome. That's fine.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas doesn't feel awesome either, but it's hardly comparable. He's away for a good minute or two, but when he comes back it's with half a dozen more tools and a haphazard roll of something metal-meshy dragging along behind him.

Tsk. "Stop that, you're going to injure yourself further." Thunk, something falls to the floor, and tink-tink-clank, the tools are set down on the tiered trays hovering around the main medi-berth. "Ratchet may have taught you a thing or two, but hands are tricky business, and I'll not have you severing more lines than I already have to fix. Now, can you stand? On the berth. Up you go."

There's none of his usual faux-politesse in his language, no sir. And unless Swoop says he can't stand, Tarantulas isn't offering any help either.

Swoop

Swoop slowly gets up, wiggling a leg here and there to get the webbing to fall off. Moving while holding his wings in place throws off his normal bouncing gait. But he makes it over to the berth just fine.

"You Spiderbot fix wing?"

Tarantulas

Tarantulas watches every move Swoop makes, this time with a calculating optic. Favoring this side over that, flexing one joint a particular way - they're all indicators, all datapoints he can use in repair. Despite how ruffled and uncomfortable Tarantulas feels right now, he's not about to let that get in the way of his expertise and genius.

A scoff. "Yes, I'll fix both of them - that, and then some. You're quite welcome in advance." Hovering around the berth in a manner that's only slightly threatening, Tarantulas prods and pokes at some of the finer details of Swoop's injuries. The bloodied hand gets particular attention. "...You only lost two digits? I could have sworn I saw more than that lying on the floor. Maybe it was all the energon. Hmph."

A slight twist of Swoop's wrist, and Tarantulas lets him be for a moment. Energon, hm? How much energon did it look like Swoop lost back there, anyhow? What is he even running on right now? There's so much Tarantulas doesn't know, and he hardly has the patience for asking questions aloud.

"Do you have any sort of medical hardline, Swoop?" Tarantulas's own three-fingered hand reaches forward, either to accept a line or connect something somehow.

Swoop

While he is stiff from his injuries, Swoop doesn't come across as nervous or unsettled by Tarantulas' scarce bedside manner. If anything, he looks to be getting settled in on the berth.

The thin Dinobot starts to lay down on his tummy when Tarantulas approaches again.

"Oh. Yah!"

The red bit of plating on his chest slides aside as he awkwardly positions and repositions his gangly limbs to try to find a comfortable way to sprawl out on his side.

Tarantulas

Alright then, Tarantulas's turn to unlatch a panel just under his chest plating and unravel a few thin, snaking cables. It takes half a second of fiddling before he's got the right connector, and the unused cables are retracted again, leaving a single red trail linking their two frames together. Do tell - what medical details can he find?

Swoop

The inside of any one of the Dinobots is an absolute reflection of their creators. Perhaps moreso with the older three, but it wouldn't take a detective of Prowl's capabilities to figure out who made Swoop.

Wheeljack's "fingerprints" are, naturally, all over the Dinobot's hardware. The systems making up the flamethrower that lives in his throat is every bit as excessive as the engineer who designed them. Not to mention the extensive work that goes into a cooling system that prevents this toddler from melting his own processor after extended us. Absolute consideration is paid to making him as light and springy as possible, while also being built to take significant blunt force trauma and bullets. He's got a high pain tolerance and about as tough a hide as they could give him without interfering with his ability to fly.

Swoop's software - and subsequent firewalls - are a product of his more serious creator. Ratchet's "tone of voice" can be found in the design of this medical interface. After all, he's the one who uses it most frequently. It ought to be designed to make his life easier.

Of the available systems - the ones any medic could access without having to go toe-to-toe with Ratchet - there were the standard readouts. Tarantulas could easily get a list of the damaged areas on their severity. After all, if Hoist or First Aid got to Swoop before Ratchet, he wouldn't want to prevent Swoop from working with them. The little Dinobot is hurting and running on empty, but there isn't anything dire.

Sprinkled about, however, are little notes that are meant to be found. The author doesn't identify himself, but the repeated reminders and threats of bodily harm if Swoop fusses with this setting one more goddamn time should give a fair hint.

Tarantulas

If this were any other situation, Tarantulas would be living for the rich inner life packed inside this lanky pteranodon. Right now though, he makes note of Wheeljack's fingerprints and Ratchet's stickynotes and rifles through the rest of the contents with unnerving speed to get at what he wants.

Damage reports indicate, of course, missing fingers, but also moderate electrocution damage, glaring alerts on the differing statuses of his wings, yanked and shredded and stressed as they are. And - hm, Tarantulas had missed this at first - throat damage? He'll have to pay closer attention to Wheeljack's notes about Swoop's flamethrower mechanisms when he tinkers with that.

He's more concerned right now about the energon situation, actually. He knows Swoop doesn't get enough in him, but this is a solid reminder of that fact, one that feels like a punch in the gut. Injuries or no injuries, Tarantulas has found himself in similar pinches with energon levels, and knowing Swoop probably wobbles on the verge of empty like this at crucial times - hmph. Damnit. Let's convert that fretting and worry straight to terseness and scolding.

Yank - out comes the medical line, snapping back into place in Tarantulas's abdomen. His words snap as well. "If I give you a cube or two, will you drink, or will I have to bypass that?"

(Primus, is he ever glad he found that bolt of solar-panel mesh. At least if Swoop's energon levels get truly low again, maybe - yes, if Tarantulas installs the majority of it in Swoop's wings, it should be enough to keep most systems running, right? He can only hope.)

Swoop

Joke's on Tarantulas. Terse scolding is standard operating procedure in Ratchet's medbay. Swoop is unfazed.

"Me Swoop not hungry," he informs the spider factually.

Tarantulas

A brief, cold stare. "Very well." Sounds like Tarantulas will have to finagle a way to IV Swoop, but he isn't concerned about that. Gnawing at him is the juxtaposition of Swoop's internal and external states - he's running on empty but not hungry? Tarantulas trusts he's telling the truth, and that's even more worrisome than lies.

"Can you deactivate pain sensors, or is that something I'll have to do manually? I'll be detaching your wings at the very least, so it's nothing to take lightly." Tarantulas suddenly resolves that he'd rather force Swoop into medical stasis than have him suffer through his own machismo.

Swoop

Swoop rubs his feetsies together as he gets more comfortable on the berth.

"Me Swoop can do it. Me Swoop know how to that."

This isn't his first rodeo, Tarantulas. Or his first maiming.

Tarantulas

Oh no, the feetsies move is cute. Don't make Tarantulas feel soft fuzzies when he's so frustrated at you like this, Swoop.

"You can do it, or you will do it?" There's a difference, clearly.

Swoop

That earns a little smile. Swoop glances up at Tarantulas from under the edge of his helm.

"Will do."

Tarantulas

No more soft fuzzies. Unacceptable. Tarantulas almost has to turn away from the smile, but thankfully he's got enough concerned focus to keep his wits about him.

Time to get down to business, then. Order of priority - wings come last, they'll take the longest. Hand first, it's still bleeding energon on the berth. Maybe neck after that? That way he can sneak some energon (or obtenteum? Yes, diluted obtenteum, definitely) into Swoop early on.

Muttering under his breath, Tarantulas gets to work on stabilizing Swoop's hand against the berth, then picking and prying most of its pieces apart. He's hunched over close enough to keep six optics on the intricate details, but his spider limbs are reaching out blindly and snatching up the equipment he needs nearby.

If Swoop listens close enough, he'll hear an intelligible train of thought in the muttering. Look at these remaining fingers. Clawed, but still painfully blunt. What use is it to have clawed fingers that hardly work as claws. Definitely remedying that. Repairs first, then touchups.

Swoop

Swoop lets Tarantulas move his limbs around however he wants. There is the occasional twitch, of course, but it's his natural inability to hold still. Not pain. He was perfectly numb at this point.

Once the spider is focused on his hand, Swoop slides his other arm underneath his head for a pillow. A few moments pass and he scoots just a hair closer to Tarantulas. His hand is more or less still, but now that his back isn't paining him, Swoop curls up a bit more, looking every bit the child that he is as he watches Tarantulas work on his hand with relaxed optics.

Tarantulas

Precious child that he is, Swoop himself isn't exactly Tarantulas's focus now, so the soft fuzzies can't touch him anymore. Analytical optics intent on medical repairs don't pick up on that sort of thing.

It isn't long before the bleeding's stopped, then cleaned, and the hand's wires and cables and lines are prepped for new parts. That'll come later though, once Tarantulas picks a set of digits to install. For now, cauterizing the wound properly will do just fine.

All the tools are back on the trays again, so Swoop should be able to tell they're on to the next stage. Still focused and muttering, Tarantulas extends his abdominal cable again and hooks into the other's medical line - he needs those specs on Swoop's throat hardware if he wants to keep the flamethrower intact, and therefore keep his own hide intact.

A brief glance over the blueprints gives Tarantulas all he needs to know, but he'll stay connected now just in case. "Hrm... On your stomach, please." Because the back of the neck seems like the most efficient way of getting at things, what with the shredded mess attached to Swoop's back right now.

Swoop

With a chirp of acknowledgement, Swoop rolls onto his belly.

He assumes wrongly that Tarantulas must be thinking about his wings, because Swoop is thinking about his wings. They're the only part of this fight that he couldn't just walk off.

Both his arms come up to make a pillow for his head, which reflexively causes his wings to droop lower. This is an excellent chance to look closer at the new status of his damaged hand.

As the repairs continued, however, his other hand drifts absentmindedly down to fiddle with the medical line. He's not pulling it out or interfering with Tarantulas' ability to do his job. It's just something he's aware of due to his position on his front. And anything that registers in his birdy brain must be touched.

Tarantulas

So long as Swoop's not actually pulling the medical line out, Tarantulas couldn't care less what he's doing. He can still feel him fiddling with it though, as if Swoop were a fly plucking a spider's web. Hah.

Wandering away for a second, Tarantulas extends the line some more so he can grab a glowing cube of obtenteum and quickly dilute it down. Then he's back.

Grumbling, he tries to think of how to stabilize Swoop's neck for repairs. He can't exactly tell the Dinobot to hold still - that's a futile request. He'll just... he'll just hold him where he needs him. That's totally kosher, right? And if he holds Swoop's crest, he has even more leverage for restricting movement. Two spider limbs latch onto the crest arching from Swoop's helm and lock everything into place, then.

"Don't try anything funny," Tarantulas adds. Ironically he's the one doing something sneaky, strategically removing pieces of Swoop's neck so he can begin funneling the obtenteum into him with some equipment he's keeping out of view. Unless Swoop says anything about it, Tarantulas will simply continue with further neck repairs as if nothing else were happening.

Swoop

"Me Swoop always funny," came a murmured reply. Still, he didn't attempt to squirm away. His crest was, fortunately for Tarantulas, a very handy way for his brothers to drag him around or Ratchet to make him look at something. This was standard fair.

Swoop was similarly unperturbed by the feeling of a tube moving down his throat. He was numbed up, distracted by a hundred small noises and touches, and distinctly feeling the post-battle drain of his excitement. The sedate little Dinobot wasn't still - his limbs and digits twitched in little motions to keep him occupied - but there was no suspicious air about him.

Eventually, after far longer than it really should have taken, Swoop lets out a muted chirp and tries to lift his head slightly.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas huffs at Swoop's attempt at humor as he works, though he's just as focused on the neck as he was on his hand before. He doesn't seem to have anything else to say aside from his intermittent muttering - cables are overextended, the casing's dented, I'll have to remove that if I want a chance to replace the one behind it, but - ah! - yes. Much better, much better. Every once in a while his words are punctuated by slight tugs on Swoop's helm, directing his helm and neck in a particular way.

All the while, of course, Swoop's being force-fed diluted obtenteum and apparently seems none the wiser. Well, either that or he's content with his fate, which –

- ah. Slag, Tarantulas must have jinxed it. As soon as Swoop goes to lift his helm, spider limbs are pinning him a tad more aggressively. "Tsk, stop that. I can't have you jeopardizing your repairs." Maybe if he keeps up the force it'll remind Swoop of some sort of dominance and honor code? Isn't that what this fight and its results were all about anyway...?

Finally Tarantulas decides Swoop's had enough and slickly extracts the intubation equipment. There - done and done. A bit more of a hassle than just drinking a cube, but at least he didn't have to fight over it.

A few minutes later he's done with neck repairs as well, all loose wires clipped and metal bits welded into place under the paneling. Wheeljack ought to be pleased with how careful and considerate Tarantulas was to his flamethrower design integrity, he thinks. And yes, he's letting up on the crest now too, once he remembers he doesn't need to pin Swoop's helm down anymore.

Swoop

Under other circumstances, getting pinned would send Swoop into a squirming (and laughing) fit. Thankfully for both of them, Soundwave's recent trouncing made the pterosaur more pliable than usual. Tarantulas would just have to put up with periodic "woe is me" chirps until Swoop was freed.

Pushing himself up onto his elbows, Swoop looks down at his own tummy, touching it with his damaged hand lightly.

"Ew."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas can tune out the chirps well enough - they sound like the beeps of stable medical equipment, almost. He also might subconsciously be patting or petting at Swoop's crest when he makes the silly little sounds, totally not in a comforting way.

Ah, so finally Swoop notices his tanks. Tarantulas squints. "What's 'ew', hm? You're not even three-quarters full, you know."

Swoop

"Me Swoop weigh a billion pound," he states firmly while squirming up to a sit with his legs underneath himself on the berth. "Yuck."

Tarantulas

"Tsk. Hardly. Obtenteum is even less dense than energon - whatever increase in weight you might have isn't that much. I expect your tanks simply aren't accustomed to actually being filled properly anymore. If they ever were."

Tarantulas allows Swoop to sit for now while he prowls the room again, medical line trailing after him. First hand, then throat, now the odds and ends sprinkled around Swoop's frame - he'll need a wider variety of tools and materials for this round.

After returning and emptying his arms, Tarantulas simply gazes down at the pterosaur plopped on his medi-berth. All he can do is chitter and sigh, his vocals strangely muted - almost... gentle. "Let it be for now. The feeling ought to pass soon enough. But - are you experiencing any other undesirable symptoms?"

Swoop

Swoop's hands gravitate over his tank while he watches Tarantulas come and go.

"Me Swoop going to barf for a million years." He isn't.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas stares at him, strangely deadpan. "If you do that, I'll have to repeat the process. Is that what you want?"

Swoop

Swoop's lower lip stuck out the tiniest bit as he shook his head no.

Tarantulas

Nrgh. No warm soft fuzzies, Tarantulas. Remember what a menace this pint-sized Cybertronian usually is.

"Good, thank you, Swoop." Tarantulas can't resist giving a brief helm-pat with a spider limb. "Now - arms, please." A good place to begin as he methodically begins patching Swoop up bit by bit.

Swoop

Swoop tries his best to lean into the pat, but it's gone too fast. Instead, he sits back and holds both arms out in front of himself.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas notices Swoop leaning in, then watches how willing and trusting he is about opening his arms, and he thinks - if he didn't understand the significance of body language already, he'd be virtually slapped in the face by it now. The mech couldn't be asking for a hug more clearly even if he was shouting.

It only takes a split second for Tarantulas to give in to the warm fuzzies and take that step forward, nearly lifting Swoop off the berth in his many-armed embrace. He's being careful for the damaged wings as best he can, knowing he still has to tend to them, but... well. This isn't what he meant when he asked for 'arms', but this what he wants to do right now, damnit.

Swoop

Swoop involuntarily lets out a squeak when he's all but cocooned in arms. The implications of a spider-hug never occurred to him before this exact moment. Oh well.

Without hesitation, Swoop wraps his arms around the larger mech and rests his helm on soft fluff. There are lots of comments buzzing about his birdy brain. None of them make it to his mouth, however.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas isn't speaking either, so Swoop's in good company. For all the warm fuzzies he's been feeling, there's an equal amount of discomfort too, something about difficulty demonstrating platonic affection. Thankfully Swoop is pretty easy to hug though, so he's trying his best to shut out any awkward uneasiness for now.

It takes a while, but after a long moment Tarantulas pets the back of Swoop's helm, squeezes him, and lets go. He's not looking him in the optics anymore, just gonna grab the tools he needs and start in on miscellaneous repairs right away. If you don't say anything about it, he won't either, Swoop.

Swoop

Fortunately for Tarantulas, platonic affection is this Dinobot's bread and butter. As is overlooking awkwardness. Swoop is content in the hug with only minor rubbing his face against the strange floofy feeling on his cheek.

When the spider lets him go, he doesn't fight it. Instead, he picks at one of the more clearly damaged parts of his arm before holding it up to get fixed.

Tarantulas

Don't think Tarantulas didn't notice the face-rubbing, Swoop. He's used to people fawning over the texture of his fur though, so it's more than acceptable.

Tarantulas is about as focused as he's ever looked as he gets down to business, muttering and tearing apart sections of Swoop's frame in order to patch up both external and internal damage. He doesn't have any problem uttering commands and manhandling Swoop when he needs to, occasionally even swiping at him with a quick smack or two when he gets too fidgety. Apparently the affection of the hug needs to be balanced out somehow.

Overall it doesn't take too long til he's satisfied with his repairs. The Dinobot is as good as new and then some, except for his wings yet, as well as all the superficial scrapes and dents that someone less experienced could take care of instead.

Swoop

Smacks are clearly affectionate and no one can convince anyone who has met Ratchet otherwise. Swoop is perfectly fine with all of this manhandling. Once Tarantulas stands back to take in the repairs, Swoop does the same, looking himself over.

"Him Soundwave hurt Me Swoop wings."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas gives a snort at that. "You don't say. I was saving them for last deliberately, if you must know. I've got a bit of a project in mind for them. How would you feel about installing solar paneling in your wings?"

He makes it sound as if Swoop really has a choice. Hah.

Swoop

Reflexively, Swoop's wings twitch and rise a little as he thinks about them.

"Solar panel is a Snarl thing."

Tarantulas

"Hmm - does that mean you don't want them?" Tarantulas's visor quirks in a question.

Swoop

"Um!" Swoop's optics dart around as he briefly considers the question. "No. Yes? Uhh..." How to words? "Do it." Got it. "Me Swoop and Him Snarl matchy matchy keheh."

Tarantulas

"Very well." Tarantulas looks pleased - it's always nice when someone actually consents to the projects he's settled on. "It'll be a moment while I craft the wings, but you needn't do anything but sit there. Is there anything you need first?"

Swoop

"Need...?" His head cocks in confusion. After a moment, he scooches to the edge of the medical berth. "Watch. Me Swoop want to see."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas just might preen at that; he loves showing off. "You're more than welcome to, hyeh. Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind."

Oh - he still has the medical line attached. He'll remove and retract it a little more gently this time, since he's already got the specs he needs from Swoop's blueprints. Time to start shearing off the right-sized pieces from the bolt of metal fabric he's unrolling on the floor, making careful note of connecting wires and vulnerable edges.

Swoop

Normally, Swoop would make an absolute nuisance out of himself with such an open invitation to get underfoot. There's a lot going on with him right now though. Being physically numb but also absolutely stuffed isn't the best way to make an attentive student out of this birdy boy.

Swoop takes a few tentative steps around while he looks for a perch. There are plenty of options - crates are always a solid choice - but that doesn't give him a great view.

Hmm...

Swoop walks up to the decontamination locker. That works! He reaches up to the edge and pulls himself up to perch on the side. Pull-ups with wrenched wings, however, are not the ideal. Swoop's back makes unhappy noises at the motion. But he's up here all the same now.

Tarantulas

Swoop's clambering only garners some light snickering from Tarantulas. Oh, he understands restlessness and retreating to high places, alright. Wherever Swoop wants to be right now is perfectly fine by him, so long as he doesn't break anything or open any of his fresh welding.

Absentmindedly he lets flow a stream of tips and pointers as he works. "Always err on the side of more, even over preciseness. One can always trim." The paneling makes muffled screeching noises as he confidently cuts through it without laying down guidelines. "And with multi-paneled wings like this, the supports take up room that requires extra clipping - oh, and make sure the integrity of the solar mechanisms isn't compromised."

Several minutes and plenty more pointers later, Tarantulas has all the pieces and outfitting he needs for two Swoop-sized wings. Without ado he leaves it all lying on the floor and strides over to Swoop himself, plucking him off the locker and setting him down on the medi-berth again.

"Wings out behind you, if you please." It's a sing-song voice, vaguely whimsical and definitely in contrast to his earlier terse tones. New projects always put Tarantulas in a good mood, much moreso than simple repairs.

Swoop

Swoop watches with bright optics, chewing on the tips of his claws and making the occasional chirp. It's not an attempt at communicating. He's just a noisy boy.

He lets himself be carried off without complaint, plopping on his butt and fanning his ruined wings out behind himself. They end up with less than symmetrical positioning since, even without feeling how painful they are, Swoop's range of motion has been damaged. Soundwave wasn't playing around back there.

Tarantulas

Chirps and chirrs are the same thing in Tarantulas's book, so he pays them no mind. In fact, he chirrs back from time to time. It's a little eerie how much these two have in common that they're not aware of.

Asymmetry is fine - the wings are coming right off anyhow. Tarantulas is careful to preserve the overall wing frame as he dismantles all the connections, wires and cables and the whole kit and caboodle. Then the wings are on the floor too, and all the flexible bits are extracted and subspaced into Tarantulas's other-dimensional garbage chute. How's it feel to see your disembodied wings getting shredded even more, then repaired and reassembled with shiny new material, Swoop?

Swoop

If Tarantulas thinks this is the first time Swoop has watched over his shoulder as his wings have been taken apart, this scientist has vastly underestimated how much trouble the Dinobots get into when allowed to cut loose on a battle field.

Still. It feels strange. Even if he can't register pain, the change in weight and pressure on his back and shoulders is unsettling. Swoop's natural fidgetiness increases as he becomes more exposed.

As the (admittedly normal) skittishness of being a wingless flyer settled on Swoop, a question manifested.

"Tarantulas." He twists around as much as he's allowed. "Why you fix Me Swoop?"

Tarantulas

That definitely gives Tarantulas pause. Swoop is calling him his real name and positing a question that's clearly just as keen as Bob's was been before, the one about being afraid of himself. It puts Tarantulas oddly on edge, but he keeps working as if nothing were amiss.

"Hyeh. Because you're injured, of course. Why do you ask?"

Swoop

"Cuz," he states definitively. "Lots of medic in Ark. Someone fix Swoop."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas rolls his shoulders and finishes soldering one last wire in place. "I - hm. I happened to be there at the scene and have crucial knowledge of what happened, as well as the expertise to handle the more... invisible aspects of your injuries."

Another moment of silence, then tacked on as an afterthought: "My original function was emergency medical personnel, as a matter of fact." That's right, distract Swoop with key information about your veiled history.

Swoop

There's a very pointed tilt of his head at that explanation. But Tarantulas makes a good call with throwing out an unrelated fact. Swoop's birdy brain flew off with it immediately.

"Tarantulance! Keeheh!"

Yes he is imagining a spider going wee whoo thank you for asking.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas lets out a cross between a snort and a scoff as he stands up, surveying the wings and checking for flaws. "I haven't always been a tarantula, you know. I was hardly constructed in this frame."

Swoop

Once Swoop gets the sense he's free to move - whether that is the case or not - he rolls onto his back to guard his 'naked' backside.

"What frame you construct in?"

Tarantulas

Alright, good. The wings pass Tarantulas's final inspection, so now it's time to start reattaching. But Swoop is - when did he flop backward like that? Tarantulas chitters in disapproval and shoves him back upright on the berth, one hand splayed firmly against the middle of his back. Taptap with a digit - "Lock your spinal strut."

A few seconds into reattachment Tarantulas remembers Swoop asked a question. "Ah - I was a two-wheeler. A motorbike, if you will." Ping - here's an image of his old alt mode. "Believe it or not, I still possess many of my original parts - the frame type isn't too far off from what an arachnid layout requires, hyeh."

Swoop

Swoop makes no attempt to prevent getting shoved around. Back locked, he rolls his neck and then checks the image sent to him. Laughter immediately bubbles out of the thin mech.

"That not look like You Spiderbot AT ALL! Keheh. Me Swoop always a Dinobot! Us built for dinosaur stuff."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas narrowly avoids getting smacked by Swoop's crest - rude! Thank goodness for Swoop he's too busy with the fiddly bits of reattachment to care about retaliating.

"It may not look like me, but that was me for quite some time." Longer than he wanted, frankly, but it was a complicated matter. "Ah yes, you were constructed as such, or so I'm told. There's one thing about that that's always bothered me though - you do know organic dinosaurs never breathed fire, don't you? That's not exactly dinosaur stuff."

One wing down, one to go!

Swoop

Swoop bursts into his first real cackle of the evening.

"DUH! Kahah! Me Swoop know that!"

While Tarantulas is getting the materials for his second wing, Swoop repositions himself on the berth so he can rest his chin on his bent knees.

"Dunno why Wheeeljack and Ratchet do fire for Us. Fun, probably! Cause Them see bones - dinosaur bones in cave! And do a museum before Grimlock, Slag and Sludge."

Tarantulas

It's unexpectedly spark-warming to hear that cackle again. Tarantulas was really starting to worry there, Swoop.

"Fun and a highly effective dual defensive/offensive mechanism, I'd wager." And now the second wing's getting set into place, a little quicker than the first. Everything's easier on the second time around after all.

"...Do you like being a Dinobot? That is - have you ever thought about taking another shape?"

Swoop

Swoop's head whips around, shaking vigorously.

"Never EVER want to be something else! Being Dinobot THE BEST! Me Swoop don't want to Autobot. Me Swoop stay with brothers FOREVER!"

Tarantulas

That garners a laugh. "Autobots aren't the only other sort of mech out there, Swoop. Even if you don't wish to be a Decepticon, you could always drag yourself and your bothers into joining me as a Neutral. That's not even a frame-based suggestion - you hardly have to change frames to switch sides."

Aaaand - "Done!" With a pat on the back, Tarantulas steps away from Swoop and out of the range of his wings. "Go on and reactivate all your sensors, please. Nothing should be amiss now, and you should be receiving input from additional sensors for the solar paneling too."

Swoop

"No no no no," he mutters with a little shake to his head. The pteranodon is clearly gearing up to argue. He has OPINIONS, Tarantulas. Opinions that want out.

But now he's getting directed to his wings. The most important thing in the world.

For a long moment, Swoop looks genuinely perturbed by the fact he cannot handle both these feelings at once. His little brain won't do it. His spark does emotions too big to hold them both.

His wings, of course, win the day. Once he reactivates the sensors, Swoop lets out a happy squeak and a full body squirm. His wings flex, coming as tightly to his frame as they can, then spreading out as wide.

"What Me Swoop do with solar panel stuff?"

Tarantulas

It's OK, Swoop. Tarantulas knows all about emotions that are too big for his spark. He's never had wings before, himself, but he can tell just by watching that Swoop's going through some big rollercoastering right now.

Tarantulas props his hands on his ample, fuzzy hips. "Oh, you don't really have to do anything. I'll cook you up some software should you want to fiddle or install controls, but the current mechanism of it all is very simple and feeds the energy directly into your reserves."

Swoop

"Cool," chirps the kiddo as he runs his fingertips over the new material on his wings. His smile gets a little wider at the slightly different texture. He can't wait to show Snarl.

.......

Realization dawns on Swoop.

"Him Grimlock going to be pissed."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas always gets such a rush when people admire his work, and this time is no different. Well, a little different than when Prowl's the one admiring, but he's proud of himself nonetheless.

Until Swoop mentions Grimlock. It's almost funny how Swoop uses the slang so offhandedly, except the connotations are a bit foreboding. "Pissed howso? At you? At Soundwave? At both?"

Swoop

"Dunno. Yes?" Swoop pushes himself to sit with his legs hanging off the medi-berth. "Soundwave FOR SURE. Him Grimlock doesn't like anyone but Him tell Dinobots what to do."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas sighs harshly. "Grimlock is in for an unpleasant surprise, then. As for you, though..."

If Swoop is repaired and comfortable with his upgrades, then Tarantulas is done now, right? He really should send Swoop on his way. For some reason he isn't inclined to let him go just yet though, and he doesn't know why.

Swoop

Swoop's feet dangle off the berth, swinging back and forth gently, as he looks up at Tarantulas with bright optics and puffed up cheeks.

"Him Grimlock going to punch me in the face."

Tarantulas

Oh, Tarantulas doesn't like the sound of that.

"And what are you going to do?"

Swoop

"Eat Me Swoop teeth probably!"

Tarantulas

No, Tarantulas does not like the sound of that at all. His reluctance to let Swoop leave is only increasing now.

"How rude. And after I just repaired you? Tsk. You'll tell him long-distance, then, to preserve the integrity of your teeth if nothing else."

Swoop

"No no no." He pushes himself off the berth. "Me Swoop need to back to Dinocave. Me Swoop tell Grimlock about Soundwave! Him know what to do."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas instantly grabs Swoop by the shoulders once he's off the berth, pinning him with an aggressive stare and not letting him move another inch. "You can tell him long-distance. He can convey his wonderful insights over comm just as well as in person, I assure you."

Swoop

Swoop grabs Tarantulas' wrists reflexively, but looks more confused than alarmed. "You Spiderbot being weird."

Tarantulas

There's a pang of discomfort in Tarantulas's spark, but he brushes it aside. "No, I'm being reasonable. Do you want to be punched in the face, then?"

Swoop

That earns a bold laugh. "Me Swoop a DINOBOT. Us not afraid of punch."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas shakes Swoop's shoulders with a jerk. "That's not what I asked. Are you really that foolhardy?"

Swoop

Swoop keeps his hold on Tarantulas' wrists, but leans a bit of his weight back away from the other mech and turns his head to look at him sideways. "It no big deal. Stop being a baby."

Tarantulas

Tarantulas scoffs, chittering. "You really are that foolhardy, then. So be it." He gives another shake as he lets go of Swoop, crossing his arms over his own fuzzy chest instead. What can he even do? He can't stop him from going without suffering some kind of downstream consequences for sure. Hrm.

"I'll send you home, but not quite yet."

Swoop

Swoop mimics Tarantulas' pose with his own crossed arms and puffed up chest. See? He can do that too.

Tarantulas

Agh. Well, that just cements Tarantulas's plan now. He's reaching out again, but this time it's to take Swoop's wrist and drag him along out of the operating theater and down the hallway.

Swoop

Swoop squawks but lets himself be dragged along. At first, he's a full arm's length away, but eventually he gets too curious and speeds up to run closer behind Tarantulas. "What you doing?"

Tarantulas

Tarantulas is glad when Swoop starts carrying his own weight, but he says nothing as he quickly navigates the Tor. Finally they're in a close, enclosed room where everything's covered in webbing, from floor to walls to ceiling to furniture. Notably, there's even a hammock made solely of thick ropes of spider silk.

That's where Tarantulas drags Swoop, hoists him up into his arms, and unceremoniously flops the two of them backward into the hammock. It's cuddle pile time now, whether you like it or not.

Swoop

Once they enter the webbed up room, Swoop immediately begins to look around at the various webbed up items in the room. It makes suddenly being off the ground a surprise. He curls up a bit reflexively, which only makes it easier for Tarantulas to bundle the pteranodon up in his many, many arms.

He's confused, Tarantulas, and squirms around trying to push himself up for a moment before twisting to try to see what the larger mech is doing. Is this a fight?

Tarantulas

Tarantulas tugs at Swoop's crest to keep it from smacking his face and fends off whatever limbs are squirming around too much. "Tsk. Hold still." The words are muted though, and the arms snuggling Swoop close to his chest are much gentler than the grasp that'd gotten them there in the first place.

It only takes a few seconds for it to kick in - a subtle wave of protectiveness that he'd barely been suppressing, a twinge in his spark, a flurry of fond and painful memories he thought he'd lost long time ago. No, Swoop definitely isn't Ostaros, but Tarantulas has to transfer his motherly affections somewhere. Currently those affections are manifesting themselves in the form of grooming and intermittent petting.

Swoop

Oh. It's nap time. The grooming is a dead giveaway.

Okay. That makes sense. Fight, repairs, nap pile. Swoop knows this routine. He has no explanation for why Tarantulas is doing it but no reason not to go with it either.

Swoop lets out a sleepy little sigh as he settles in. Once he relaxes, the energy of battle and excitement of repairs drains out of him rapidly. He's out like a light.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas can both hear and feel Swoop slipping off into dreamland, but he doesn't stop grooming or petting just yet. There's still grime and dried energon on the little Dinobot and still emotions to be parsed out in Tarantulas's head, so the two of them aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Eventually the attentions cease, and Tarantulas settles into a comfortable slouch in the hammock. He's not about to fall asleep, but he's more than willing to let Swoop snuggle up against his chest however long the dear dino-child wants.