Blayden

Blayden is the slash ship between Carter Blake and Norman Jayden from the Heavy Rain fandom.

Canon
'Heavy Rain'' is a game based on choices. The following canon is one line of choices.'''

Blake and Norman first meet in Norman's introductory chapter, "Crime Scene." Norman is assigned as Blake's partner in the Origami Killer case, and police captain Leighton Perry believes the two will "get on well together" despite their clashing personalities.

As the investigation continues, a budding rivalry is seen to develop with Blake dismissing Norman's methods of psychological profiling as "theories" and Norman similarly disapproving of Blake's own methods. Blake continually insults Norman, calling him a "bureaucrat" and telling him that what he might have learned in school is nothing compared to the experience a seasoned cop like him has from being out on the field. However, despite the tension between them, Blake is implied to at least have respect for Norman during the earlier chapters of the game; for example, if Norman is able to calm Nathaniel Williams (a religious fanatic who threatens Blake at gunpoint under the belief that he is the Anti-Christ) and convince him to stand down, Blake congratulates him for keeping cool under pressure instead of berating him for not shooting Nathaniel like he ordered him to. If Norman instead shoots Nathaniel to protect Blake, later while discussing the events in the opening to "Covered Market," Blake expresses sympathy, stating that killing someone "always does something to you the first time," and drops the conversation without further comment when Norman makes it clear that he doesn't want to talk about what happened, even if Norman lashes out and tells him that Nathaniel's death is ultimately his fault.

A split between the two occurs after the interrogation and beating of Ethan Mars' clinical psychologist, Clarence Dupré. Dupré admits that Ethan has been behaving strangely since the death of his first son Jason two years prior, and tells Blake and Norman that Ethan is tormented by dreams of "drowning bodies" - a detail that is corroborated by earlier statements from Ethan's ex-wife Grace. Blake, believing he has found the killer at last, orders all agencies to pursue Ethan. Norman is not so convinced, and begins an investigation of his own after Blake attempts to arrest Ethan (and possibly after he beats him to force a confession out of him, if he is caught.) Later on, to prevent Norman from interfering once more, Blake leads a raid on the motel Ethan is hiding from the media in while Norman is away following other leads.

In the chapter "Solving the Puzzle," Blake taunts Norman after the latter insults him by calling him an "unbalanced, psychopathic asshole," smirking and telling him he would take the statement as a compliment. Alternatively, if Ethan was arrested once and Norman forgot to turn off the camera before helping him escape, Blake berates Norman and tells him that he'll have "all the time in the world to use [his] fucking glasses in prison." This chapter is their last direct interaction.

Fanon
According to AO3, Blayden is the second most popular ship, as well as the second most popular slash ship, in the Heavy Rain fandom. It is the most written ship for Blake and the second most written ship for Norman. On Fanfiction.net, it is the most popular ship as well as the most popular slash ship.

This ship largely came about due to fans choosing to interpret Blake and Norman's hostility as sexual tension. Surprisingly, despite Northan's popularity as well as its own, the fandom does not engage in ship wars, although there are some who express mild distaste of Blayden and consider it a toxic relationship due to Blake's canonically aggressive behavior toward Norman.

Fandom

 * Carter Blake/Norman Jayden tag on [https://archiveofourown.org AO3
 * Norman J./Carter B. tag on Fanfiction.net
 * Works tagged with Blake and Norman on Fanfiction.net

== Trivia ==
 * Blayden was mentioned during a PlayStation Radio UK interview with Pascal Langdale, the voice/motion capture actor for Ethan Mars.
 * As with Northan, most works on Fanfiction.net featuring the ship do not use the relationship tag.