#Red Penguin Shoot for the Moon

[bobby-r2d2-floyd]

behind the glass part one | (tgm x nhl)

note: i've finally sat down long enough to actually write this and im so excited that it's finally here!

warnings: a few swear words, nothing too bad. not a lot of dialogue, mostly background stuff, time jumping, mentions of the covid-19 pandemic

beta'd by the lovely @sarahsmi13s

word count: 4.2k

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The first time your parents took you to a hockey game, it was 2008 and you were 13 years old. You remember it was glass seats, home-shoots-twice side right off to the left of the net for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Mellon Arena, affectionately named The Igloo for the white domed top and it being home to the Penguins. 

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins Two Headed Monster, had a combined 68 goals and 148 assists that season. They both racked up career 100 goals with Crosby earning his 200th career assist and 300th career point. Malkin earned the Art Ross trophy as well as the Conn Smythe trophy with a nod to the Hart Memorial trophy, whereas Crosby only received a nod for the Mark Messier Leadership Award. 

The Penguins had a decent regular season that year as a team. 45 wins to their 37 losses (28 in regulation and 9 in overtime) but they went on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers, then the Washington Capitals, then the Hurricanes over in Raleigh before finally beating the Detroit Red Wings for the Stanley Cup at the Joe Louis Arena.

Your dad used to joke that you didn’t blink the entire time that you were there, not even during the intermissions between periods. From that moment forward, you were hooked. Hockey consumed your life, you begged your parents for the chance to go again, and again, and again. You went to every home game that took place on weekends. The glass seats were a gift as a back to school surprise, but you never minded sitting further back if it meant you had a better view of the ice. 

Over the next 12 years you must have attended nearly 500 games (professional and college), and when you weren't at the games, you were watching them on TV. You, with the help of your parents and grandparents, cultivated your childhood around the sport. Games, practices, meet-the-players events… you attended as much as you could; you even played on a rec team for a bit. 

In high school you convinced the head of the newspaper to let you write all four years instead of just your junior and senior years. You specialized in sports, aside from hockey, you were well educated with baseball and football. You graduated high school with a full ride to Penn State University where you double majored in digital journalism and telecommunications and received a certificate in sports journalism. 

You thanked whatever god there was above that you managed to bag a position with the Penguins as an assistant photographer for the team. You became a permanent fixture on your favorite team during year one of their back-to-back Stanley Cups, one away at San Jose (2016) and the second one at Nashville (2017) and you were just as over the moon as the players were as you watched Sidney lift the cup for the third time in the last decade. 

As you made your way onto the ice, you threw some of the Predators players condolences and “good game [insert player here]” as they worked their way off the ice. 

You had developed a close bond with the Russian half of the Monster, and with his wife at home with their newborn son, you made sure to facetime her as Geno skated up to you with the cup, cheering to her in their native tongue. You leave him to talk to his wife while you go off and take pictures of the rest of the players and staff that made it out to Nashville while they’re still celebrating on the ice before moving into the locker room. 

The summer of 2017 was a whirlwind event. 

Between attending cup celebrations for the friends you made on the team and then almost immediately getting right back to it with pre-season at the Penguins practice facility, UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, in Cranberry. 

On a rare day off, you and fellow Penguins photographer Leland Hawkins were at PNC Park watching the Pirates play the Cubs when the news came through.

“Jesus Christ.” you mumble as you look at your phone screen.

“What?” Leland asks, eyes not leaving the field as she shovels popcorn into her mouth.

“San Diego just announced that they were approved for their own NHL team and they broke ground on an arena that’s expected to be complete prior to the start of the 2020-21 season,” you paraphrase aloud as you scan the article. “We just went through a draft with Vegas and now we need to go through it again?” 

“You’re joking, right? We just lost Fleury and now we’re about to lose ANOTHER person? Unbelievable…” Lee mutters before taking your phone from you and reading the article for yourself. 

You watch as Rizzo hits a line drive to left field to take first base and you smile a bit, he was your favorite player after all, but the Pirates were the home team. Either way you would be happy with the outcome. 

Expansion drafts were never fun for anyone. You remember the hot coal feeling in your stomach as you watched Marc-Andre say his goodbyes to Sid, Geno, and Kris. Players he had known for his entire career to go somewhere completely new. 

“I hope I never get asked to go somewhere new. I don’t think I could ever leave this view,” you say as you kick your feet up on the seat in front of you, stealing Leland’s popcorn as you look out past the outfield to the Allegheny River and the Pittsburgh Skyline. For it being Father’s Day, the park wasn’t that packed considering the weather was absolutely beautiful. 

“Yeah I think I could. Isn’t there a Navy base in San Diego? All the hot seamen.” 

“Is there even a market for another team there? There’s already three teams in California, two of them are not even three hours away.” you say before cheering as Rizzo crosses home plate, bringing the score to 3-0, Cubs. 

“New York has two basically next door to each other and then there’s the New Jersey team, ALSO right there.” Leland tries to rationalize and you shake your head.

“Madison Square Garden is in Manhattan and the Barclays Center is in Brooklyn, there’s a forty-ish minute difference and the Prudential Center is an hour away from Madison,” you correct her before standing. “Want anything from concession?” 

“Get me a beer please? And why do you know all that?”

“I make it my job to know!” you yell back as you walk away from her. 

While in line, you scan through the article again. The old Pechanga Arena will be demolished and then rebuilt to become a new top of the line facility, not too much different from the newer Little Ceasar’s Arena in Detroit, and will only be a 15 minute highway drive from Petco Park. 

You shake your head and slip your phone back into your pocket before ordering two beers and a couple of pretzels before pressing the thought of another expansion team to the back of your mind. 

The rest of the game flies by and the Pirates lost the series 7-1 which you weren’t surprised by. Tthe Cubs are a good team who’re just coming off the tail end of winning the World Series only eight months prior. 

The news of another expansion was the talk of the locker room the next time you were at the Sports Complex. You were sitting in the hallway leading up to the locker room taking pictures when a little blond boy came running up to you.

“Lens!” You hear and you have barely enough time to set your camera down before you’re being knocked over by Nikita Malkin.

“Nik! What are you doing here?” you laugh as you wrap your arms around him.

“Gonna skate with daddy,” he says, his English is good but you know that Anna and Geno speak Russian primarily at home. 

“That’ll be fun, gonna score some goals on Muzz?” He nods and you smile, “Good, score one for me.” you say before he bounces off and you manage to get a few photos of him and Geno walking down the hallway. 

During the first half of the 2017-18 season the Pens were 19-21 and 28-14 in the back half. They managed to take second in the metropolitan division and head into the playoffs, where, unfortunately they had a second round exit after losing to the Capitals in game six. 

As sad as you were for the team to go early, you were thankful for the opportunity to take a bit of a break. You and Leland were able to travel around Europe for a few months before reporting back to Pennsylvania before the players were due to return. 

You were taking some pictures of new players’ jerseys that were hanging up when you heard the door open. You look over and see the captain standing there and you give him a small smile. 

“Hey Sid. Ready to be back?” you ask as you move over to the next stall.

“Oh yeah, hopefully we’ll make it past round two this year,” he says and he takes a seat and starts pulling stuff out of his duffle that he had slung around his shoulder. 

“Well, you never know. I’m just glad Ovechkin can finally shut up now about not having a cup,” you say and he laughs. His rivalry with the Russian has always been a big thing on the ice, but off you knew that the two were friends. 

“Right, happy for him though,” he says before looking over at you. “What happened to Leland? Doesn’t she usually do this?” 

“She actually moved to Denver. So it’s just me now. Well, at least until my assistant gets here.” you say and he laughs.

“A promotion? Good for you. You always deserved it.” He hesitates, “No offense to Lee.” 

You smile and nod, “I’m sure she wouldn’t take any offense, Sid. How was your off season?”

“It was good, Nate and I did a lot around Cole Harbour. Spent a lot of time relaxing at home, played a bit with Taylor while she was in town. What about you?”

“Went to a lot of Pirates games, helped Lee move, spent a lot of time outside with my younger siblings, hung out with some of the WAGs that stayed in town..” you say before taking a seat next to him. “Did you read that on top of the San Diego expansion, Seattle is getting a team now too? Making the even 32 teams and odd 33? Wonder who will be next.”

“Yeah I heard… It’s weird though, that Bettman has allowed so many expansions.”

“It’s Bettman, are you surprised? Why does he do half the shit he does?” You roll your eyes, your disdain for the NHL Commissioner very evident on your face. 

“Don’t say that too loud, he might hear you,” he bumps your shoulder and you laugh.

“Right, the last thing I need is to be fired, or worse… transferred.”

“Hey, you work for Mario and he loves you. He won’t let you leave.” Sidney tells you and you can tell he’s being honest. Crosby may be many things, but a liar? Never.

You notice the proximity between the two of you and you take a deep breath, his cologne filling your senses before you clear your throat and stand up. “I uh.. I’ll leave you to change. See you on the ice, Cap.” 

You shake the thought of being so close to him off, he’s Sidney Crosby and you’re just a photographer for the team. 

You wait for Sid to take the ice before moving down to the bench so you can get pictures of him without the glass being in the way. 

You remember the day that he got drafted to the Penguins in 2005, you remember all the things that everyone had said about him, “he was going to save the Penguins”. All the injuries he had, all the concussions, the year of missed games… He was one of the best skaters in the game after some of the legends. Watching him skate is the reason that you took up skating yourself, he was your on ice hero but you would never tell him that. 

After taking some pictures of him skating, you make your way out from behind the bench so you can head up to your office and get started on picking what pictures to send to the digital media team. 

Before you know it, the season is already ending with a first round exit, swept by the Islanders despite winning 44 games in the regular season. 

By the time March of 2020 rolled around, the Penguins had 40 wins and 29 losses, a comeback that they needed. 

Until everything came to a standstill. 

Commissioner Bettman paused the season due to the threat of Covid-19. All non-essential positions were suspended due to the virus. 

For the next four months you didn’t leave your home. All groceries were ordered from people who were brave enough to do Shipt, you taught yourself how to actually cook, spent a lot of time talking to your parents over Zoom, you started to write more, making mock articles to get back into the swing of the journalism aspect of your job again. 

By the time that July had come around there were two hub cities named for the play-offs, Toronto and Edmonton. You traveled with the Penguins to Toronto for the modified tournament but left after the Canadiens knocked out the Penguins after three games.

September 28, 2020 the Lightning were crowned Stanley Cup Champions, and the 20-21 season began officially on January 13, 2021. Only 56 games would be played before the Cup would be returned to the Lightning again only a few short months later. 

The San Diego expansion draft took place just after Stamkos raised the cup for the second time. 

You watched as players got drafted to the San Diego Tomcats, shocked as some teams traded away some of their best skaters, knowing that they didn’t go lightly. Just like what happened with Vegas when Fleury left, you felt a sinking feeling in your chest. 

You watched as the last six players were drafted: first was Bradley Bradshaw, center from the Capitals; Reuben Fitch, left defense from the Predators; Mickey Garcia, left wing from the Rangers; Jake Seresin, right wing from the Stars [you rolled your eyes at his name, good luck Tomcats]; Javy Machado, right defense from the Bruins; and the fortieth man drafted was Robert Floyd, goalie from the Blues. 

Floyd and Bradshaw were the two you recognized the most between the six of them. Both were on cup winning teams in the last five years so you were surprised to see them there, but then again they weren’t the only Cup winners on the team, some guy named Brigham Lennox from the Lightning was also there. He was going to be a cocky asshole. 

You were driving into PPG Paints the next morning when you got the phone call, it was a number you didn’t recognize so you were hesitant when you finally did answer.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Y/N Champaign?” a deep voice asked from the other side and you sucked in a breath before answering.

“This is.”

“My name is Beau Simpson, I’m calling to inform you that you’re being relocated to San Diego. You’ll need to be here when players report for training.” he says and you pull over to the side of the road.

“Sir I’m employed directly with the Penguins, not the NHL-”

“Oh I know. You’re being sent over by recommendation of Mario Lemieux.”

“Oh.” 

“I know you’re comfortable with the Penguins, I know that you’re from Pittsburgh so it’ll be hard leaving home. But I’ve seen your work both on the ice and off, as well as behind the glass. You’re talented and as a new team, we could use some talent everywhere it counts.” he says, and you throw your head back against your seat.

“Of course, sir. I’ll be on a plane before the afternoon.” you tell him and you can hear the relief in his voice.

“Wonderful. Bradley Bradshaw will meet you at the gate, he was the first one here so he can get you to the facility.”

“I’m assuming this is an office phone, so I’ll email you the details of my flight.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mario already has them. I’ll pass your number along to Bradshaw.” he says before the line goes dead and you look at your phone as the line disconnects. 

You pull back into the road and continue your drive, the last one to PPG Paints as a home team member. 

Mario is in his office when you make your way upstairs. A gentle knock on the glass alerts him to your presence and he gives you a smile, “come in.”

“Beau Simpson called me while I was on my way over.” you tell him as you sit down across from him.

“Yeah, he called me last night. I’m sorry I didn’t-”

You hold your hand up and stop him, “don’t worry about it. It’s… okay. It’ll suck leaving the team and everyone behind but new opportunities, right? Plus it’ll be nice seeing the sun for longer than three out of twelve months.” you joke and he cracks a smile and laughs with you.

“You’ll be missed.”

“I know.” 

He passes you an envelope and it has your last check as well as a flight itinerary and contract for the Tomcats for you to read through on the plane. “Well, I’m sure you have some owner stuff to do so I’m gonna go say bye to the team.” 

He stands and pulls you in for a hug, you were close with everyone, players and staff, so it wasn’t surprising when he pulled you in gently. “I’m gonna miss you, kid.” 

You pull away and give him a gentle squeeze on his arm before walking out of the office and down to the ice, stopping along the way to say goodbye to familiar faces in the hallways. 

You take a look out to the ice, you watch as the team laughs and smiles, passing the pucks to each other as they all run their own drills. Coach Sullivan is the first person to notice you, skating over and leaning against the boards. 

“No camera today?”

“No.. not today… or tomorrow… or next week.” you say and his smile drops. 

“No, where to?”

“San Diego.” 

“Well, they just got a great person added to their team, it sucks it comes at our loss.” he says before blowing his whistle, getting the attention of all the players. Sidney is the first to skate over to you, slowing down before hitting the boards.

“What’s going on?” 

“I’m being relocated. So I just wanted to come by and say goodbye to the team.” you tell him with a sad smile. He opens the gate for you and you set down your paper work on the bench before taking his hand and stepping onto the ice. 

One by one, all players new and old (mostly old) pull you in for a tight hug, ignoring the sting of the hard pads digging into you at odd angles. You laugh as Geno hauls you into the air before setting you back down on the ice, only slipping a little bit but he’s quick to steady you. 

After wrapping up your goodbyes, you head back to your apartment and pack up just the necessities before meeting your mom downstairs. 

“You ready sweetheart?” she asks, helping you with your camera bags and you sigh.

“As ready as I’ll ever be to move away from the two homes I’ve ever known.” you tell her and she gives you a small smile. 

“You’re going to be just fine over there.” 

“I know, it's just… this city means so much to me. It’ll suck only being back for a few games a season.”

“And holidays.” she says and you laugh.

“And holidays.” you confirm and she smiles.

The drive to the airport went too quick for your liking and before you knew it, you were in the air above the steel city, watching as the skyline and the yellow bridges fade into the distance. 

Six hours later you were landing in Fightertown, USA. Stiff from the flight, you do your best to work out all the kinks and cracks that your body goes through as you walk over to baggage claim. It’s easy to find your gear bags due to the giant Penguins logo on the sides, and the small bright yellow suitcase came shortly after. 

You turned your phone back on and the first notification that you get is from an unknown number and a text that reads

Waiting for you at the Starbucks in term. 2. See you soon! -Rooster

“Rooster? Who the fuck is that?” you mumble before making your way to the Starbucks. You do a quick scan of the area, you know what Bradley looks like, so you know that none of the people around you are him. 

15 minutes go by when an out of breath, lanky brunette walks up to you.

“I am so sorry I’m late, I was here but then I had to go to the bathroom and then there was some kids that recognized me and-”

“Take a breath, I’m not mad.”

“Okay, give me a minute,” he takes a few deep breaths before holding out his hand, “I’m Bradley Bradshaw, or Rooster, if you want.”

“Rooster?” you ask, his palm large and warm against your own as you introduce yourself as well and you take the moment to take him in, his brown hair is already sun bleached at the front and he dons a pornstache that he somehow manages to pull off.

“Yeah, Ovi started calling me that when I joined the Caps so..” 

“Oh trust me, I am well versed with Ovi nicknames. He used to call me chicken because my family had chickens a few years ago.. He’s the one who started calling me Lens, actually.” you say as you stand up and pull the handle up on your suitcase.

Bradley is taking the strap of your gear bag when you grab it from him and he looks at you wide eyed.

“Sorry it's just.. There’s a lot of expensive equipment and-”

“Hey, it’s okay. I get it. Would you rather carry it or…?” 

“Yeah, sorry I know it's weird and I know everything is packed really well, but I know it was probably thrown around during loading and unloading.” you say and he gives you a small smile. 

“Well, then I’m taking this.” he says as he takes the handle of your suitcase from you. “Welcome to San Diego, Lens.” he says as you make your way to the front where his Bronco is waiting for you. 

You two make idle small talk as he makes the short drive from the airport to where the new Pechanga Arena is located.

“It’s going to be weird not seeing you in the Caps uniform anymore.” you say as you climb out of the car and he laughs. 

“Yeah, but it’ll be nice to see you everyday now.” he says and you notice the flirty smile on his face and you roll your eyes. 

“Just remember to smile for the camera, Bradshaw.” you chirp back to him as he opens the door for you. 

Standing in the vestibule of the arena, you take everything in. The Navy timeline that wraps around the wall, the Top Gun memorabilia that's displayed behind glass. Bronze statues of the old San Diego Gulls members standing proudly. Bradley gives you a gentle nudge before looking up and you do the same, a replica F-14 Tomcat is hanging, wings in, right above your head. 

“Wow… I’ve been to Little Caesars many times over the years, for various reasons, so I knew a little bit of what to expect but this is… Amazing.” 

The two of you wander down into the bowl seating and you watch as the ice gets painted, the steel blue and slate gray of the logo is being carefully brushed onto the stark white ice. You follow him around the rest of the arena, a small tour of the locker room where there’s various players in a state of undress after a voluntary workout before going to the offices. 

Your office was a bit bigger than the one at PPG, the only difference was the F-14 that was painted on the wall instead of the Penguin from the 90’s that you loved so much. 

“Simpson, Coach Kazansky and the rest of the coaching staff are going to be waiting in the review room whenever you’re ready. It’s down the hall to the left, and then it's the third door on the right.” Bradley says before leaving you to settle in.

You pull out your phone and send a quick text to your mom that you landed just fine and were already settling into your new office before you put your hands on your hips and let out a sigh as you looked around, it’ll be a long road of making your office comfortable like it was back home, but you honestly couldn’t wait to see what this new city would bring you. 

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[regressor-wicked]

marie! ✦ she/it/bun/star , adult (regresses 3~12) , disabled !

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[katyliz415]

had to get this photo from the vogue photo shoot because SOMEONE never gave us any visuals! | my favorite songs from this year, in non-spotify wrapped form

2021 playlist | 2020 playlist | 2019 playlist | 2018 playlist

full tracklist under cut

midnight rider / sharon jones & the dap-kings // soul makossa / manu dibango // knowing me, knowing you / angie mcmahon // the ectasy of dancing fleas / penguin cafe orchestra // little ghost / the white stripes // loving arms / elvis presley // love you for a long time (live) / maggie rogers feat. sam gendel and sam wilkes // in my baby's arms / the california honeydrops // deep in love / bonny light horseman feat. anais mitchell, eric d. johnson, and josh kaufman // girls night out / the judds // iriomote rainforest / shiitaki // first in flight / don mccloskey // bianca stratford / bb bean // (i'm gonna get over this some day / logan ledger // best kept secret / neko case, k.d. lang, and laura veirs // angel from montgomery / bonnie raitt // coming thru / lido pimienta // turns out i'm senitmental after all / sondre lerche // king / florence + the machine // running red lights / the avalanches feat. rivers cuomo and pink siifu // loyalty / gabriels // fill into me / anju // be gentle / danielle ponder // heal / jax anderson // i'm goin' down (live) / vampire weekend // atlantic city / river kittens feat. g love & special sauce // never enough / sleepwalkers // don't go puttin wishes in my head / torres // be alive / beyonce // purple hat / sofi tukker // two fine people / cat stevens // rewrite / paul simon // free / florence + the machine // bullet / johnnyswim // catching on / elephante feat. nevve // orphan annie / punch brothers // beside you / dustbowl revival // old sob story / birdtalker // michigan cherry / river whyless // only for tonight / pearl charles // silk chiffon / muna feat. phoebe bridgers // no one dies from love / tove lo // love is strong / cospe // walden pond / atta boy // laugh track / ben hopkins // fire (harp version) / ayla nereo // dancin' around my grave / andy frasco & the u.n. featl susto and doom flamingo // the air that i breathe / the hollies // shook / raja kumari // break my soul / beyonce // trouble / shampoo // when we drive / death cab for cutie // the oil slick / frightened rabbit // silence is golden / the beths // trouble / cat stevens // laidu / rokia traore // sand / benny rogers // your arms around me / jens lekman // golden years / car seat headrest // a little tune / bret mckenzie // pure/honey / beyonce // to the desert / branches // follow me like the moon / sammy rae & the friends // dirt boy / peach face feat. not charles // the garden / basia bulat // pale blue light / jessie ware // in my eyes / best coast // the otter / caamp // knees deep / the beths // broken / hot chip // hello sunshine / aretha franklin // madison (orla & friends version) / orla gartland // tupelo pine / tuba skinny // stupid love / lady gaga // you and me on the rock / brandi carlile feat. lucius // digital love / daft punk // the seeker / the who // blood upon the snow / hozier & bear mccreary // world service / gilligan moss feat. betsy // blush / dessa // crop circles / odie leigh // stole my heart / sabine mccalla // the disco / ttrruuces // my lover man / bruce springsteen // the loneliest time / carly rae jepsen feat. rufus wainwright // something in the orange / zach bryan // a little bit of love / weezer // sauna / vulfpeck feat. vulf // if i were a carpenter / johnny cash & june carter cash // that's where i am / maggie rogers

[crescentblossom66]

A hat in time writing prompts: Prompt 1 Coke

“Cut! That's it for the day everyone! Good job, darlings!” The smooth, low-pitched voice of the Sci-fi director echoed throughout the set. Some penguins on set stopped dancing and went to grab some water, while others simply plopped down on chairs, exhausted from the long day of work.

The afro-sporting penguin got up and was about to go get himself some water, when the big double doors to his side of the studio swung open rather violently and revealed Hat Kid and Bow Kid, the latter immediately waved at him, while the former held two bottles of some blackish liquid. With a big smile he went to greet the two children.

“Hello, darlings! It's so nice to see you two, it's been a while.” Hat Kid looked over at the set and pouted.

“I told you we'll be too late, why did you have to stop just to pet that little cat in Mafia Town?” Bow looked a bit dejectedly at the ground.

“Sorry! It looked so fluffy that I couldn't resist.” That's when he realized that they came to watch him record their next blockbuster. They both had been so busy with collecting time pieces that they had no time to help him out this time, which he could understand, however it had been regrettable.

“You two came here to watch the recording, huh.-” He turned back to his actors before facing them again and raising a flipper, “-Wait here for a moment.” The sun glass-wearing bird made his way over to where his penguins were resting.

“Darlings, would you do me a favor?” The penguins immediately perked up and turned to him.

“What is it, boss? Did that yellow featherbrain do something again?” One of the penguins simply left and headed toward the exit.

“No, no, that's not it, I need you to help record the next scene...for the little darlings.” He pointed at the two girls, who were currently arguing about something, given that Hat Kid was gesturing around wildly, while Bow had her arms crossed defensively.

The moon penguins collectively sighed and got up, ready to shoot the next scene.

“Thank you, darlings, I'll make it up to you, promise.” With that he spun around gracefully and made his way back to the girls.

“No, I think that 'Train Rush' was way easier to record, at least I knew that I'd be in danger.” Hat Kid argued, sneering at Bow.

“Nuh uh, at least in 'The Big Parade' there was no acid or saw blades chopping up the floor, that was way more stressful.” The two stopped arguing once the penguin got back.

“Rejoice, darlings! My amazing crew has decided that they'd film the next scene, just for you, even though their workday was already over!” He turned around and the lights on set flashed on again. The eyes of the two girls sparkled.

Bow Kid and Hat Kid were enjoying the show when suddenly the big doors opened for the second time, this time they were forced open so violently that they hit the walls.

“HOW DARE YE, DJ PECK NECK!!!” The loud voice of the Conductor tore right through the set, making the penguins stumble and trip and the girls and the DJ cringe.

“Oh dear. What now?” The Dj sighed and turned toward his rival who stomped his way over to his set.

“YE THINK THIS IS FUNNY, EH! HARASSIN' ME LIKE THAT!-” The owl stopped just inches in front of the penguin and glanced at the two girls and smiled. “-Oh, long time no see, Bow, Hattie. Wait just a moment.” He when turned his attention back to the penguin, who was hardly paying attention, already so used to the loud bird's antics.

“What ever is the problem, darling? Can't you see that I'm recording.” The owl's feathers rose up further after being dismissed like that, the two girls could swear that his feathers almost turned red from anger.

“Don't even try to deny it, Grooooves. Ye sent yer penguin to do that!” The owl was glaring daggers at the penguin, who was really starting to get confused.

“Do what, Conductor?”

“One o' yer stupid penguins jus' came up ta me, stopped, and kicked me in the shin! If I hadn't been holding important documents at the time I would've ripped that lad a new one!”

The girls snickered but stopped once the yellow owl looked at them, Bow got so nervous that she grabbed one of the bottles and took a sip to avoid drawing attention to herself.

“What's that, lassie? Never seen a drink have this color.” And just like that his anger somehow vanished completely as he looked at the bottle bewildered.

“I've been meaning to ask the same question, darlings. I don't think they sell those here or on the moon.” Both girls looked at each other than back to the birds.

“Really...You've never had a sip of Caco Calo before? It's very popular in Mafia Town.” The two birds shook their heads. Hat Kid grabbed her bottle and shoved it toward the birds who still weren't sure if that liquid wasn't dangerous.

“Here, you can have a sip, it tastes great!” The kind smile the girl gave him and thinking that it would be rude to just decline, made the penguin grab the red-labeled bottle a bit reluctantly. He opened it while both girls stared at him with bright eyes, just waiting for his reaction.

It couldn't be that bad right if they both drank it, it was fine right? Wrong! So horribly wrong! He swallowed the little sip that he took with great effort, his eyes almost watering at the sweetness and the odd flavor. He retched and his face scrunched up in disgust.

The owl laughed at the silly face his rival was making and grabbed the bottle from him. “Come on, Grooves, let a real bird handle this.” The owl took a huge gulp which he proceeded to spit out right in the penguin's face who looked at him disgusted while he wiped away the liquid, only to find that it was incredibly sticky.

Both girls were laughing at the funny reactions of the two directors who were both still reeling from the aftertaste.

“i drank a lot o' things in me life, but that, that's peckin' disgusting.” The penguin glared at the owl for swearing in front of the children, but he had to agree. It was pecking disgusting.

[hostess-of-horror]

Red Feathers - A Discotrain Story [Part 2]

Inspired by "Red Feathers" created by the wonderfully talented @the-confuktor

"A Hat in Time" and its characters belong to Gears for Breakfast

Summary: Production has been booming, and the movie is almost finished. There is only one scene to make - the grande finale. Meanwhile, the Conductor struggles with his affection. Will he deny it... Or will he surrender?

Content Includes: Suggestiveness (not explicit NSFW), 'fake' blood and gore use, alcohol use, and swearing.

----

Red Feathers was almost complete.

He hated to admit it, but he, DJ Grooves, and their crews did an amazing job. Things went by more smoothly than he thought. Before any of this, producing movies took more than trial and error. Far worse than just a few re-recordings or budget cuts. Everything was going so well that he hadn't noticed his drinking habits had lessened greatly. Sure, the Conductor still loved his scotch, but now he was drinking out of leisure than futile escapism.

As he was lying down on a lounging couch, the Conductor stared up at the ceiling in deep thought. He had read script; this was the moment. The finale scene to wrap up the entire story. He didn't know how to approach it. Should he just lie there and take it? He only had a few lines; it should be easy. The Conductor ponders as he touches his right side. His vest was missing, leaving his shirt completely unbuttoned, exposing his entire upper body. On his right side was a large fake gash, made by the makeup department, oozing with 'blood'. His fingers caught a few drops, sticky to the touch.

This should be easy. It has to be. It's just a few lines. That's all it is.

Is it?

"Are you ready, darling? Oh, I can feel it now! This movie is gonna be a huge game-changer!", DJ Grooves exclaimed with an excited grin. The Conductor sits up. How long has he been lying around? It almost felt like hours. "Hm. Yeah... Aye agree.", the Conductor responded. Admittedly, he almost always liked how DJ Grooves tried to remain positive. It was something he himself lacked most of the time: patience. The only time he had ever had patience was for whenever he edited his movies or babysitting his grandchildren. DJ Grooves clapped his flippers in glee, his smile widening. His eyes glistened with delight. If the Conductor looked closer, he could have sworn the Moon Penguin had stars in his eyes.

It was funny. The sight of his rival showing enthusiasm used to be so annoying to him.

"Everyone, to your places! Let's get this show on the road!", announced a Moon Penguin. "Let's make this scene perfect!", exclaimed an Express Owl. The Conductor immediately gets up from the couch, following DJ Grooves to their positions out of the shot. He leans against DJ Grooves, wrapping one arm around his neck. His body shudders as he feels a flipper around his waist. DJ Grooves glances over and shoots a gentle smile at him.

If it hadn't been the time to shoot a scene, the Conductor would have easily froze in place. Paralyzed... Just like before.

And he would do more than that, if he wanted him too.

"Lights! Camera!

ACTION...!"

-

Painful moans escape the Investigator's beak as Count Groovula carries him over to a nearby lounging couch. He winces, letting out a yelp, as he is carefully laid. The two had won the war against the Order of Valdemar, but not without a scratch. Count Groovula examines the injuries. The wound on the Investigator's side is a scar, long and deep, oozing with fresh blood. The sight entices him; he could feel his tongue and throat ache with hunger. But he holds back, trying to control his overwhelming senses. The Investigator sharply inhales, gasping, cursing in pain. Tears stream down his face.

Investigator: "PEEECK!"

Count Groovula takes off his coat in an attempt to wrap up the gash. This makes the Investigator scream even more. The makeshift bandage is pressed tightly to his side to stop the bleeding.

Count Groovula: "The wound is deep... You're losing..." *salivates and swallows* "So much blood..."

Investigator: "Ah peck...!" *inhales sharply* "Ahh-!"

Count Groovula: "Shit!"

The Investigator's cries lessen as his breathing slows down. He breathes heavier, and heavier, and heavier... He feels the vampire softly placing his flipper on his chest as he slowly become drowsy.

Investigator: *gasps for breath* "Don't... sugarcoat it for me... Just... tell me...."

Count Groovula: *nods his head* "...."

Investigator: "Please...!"

Count Groovula: "Your heart is beating so fast. It's throbbing, using whatever strength it has left. Gods..."

Investigator: "So... This is it, huh? Heh... I'd say we've put up a good fight, eh?"

Count Groovula: "...."

Investigator: "You know, Aye figured it would end like this. My work would one day do me in. And I was certainly not going down like some cowardly peck neck. I... had that thought every single day. Hehehe..." *grins weakly* "Yae'd think... Yae'd think ya get used to the idea... So much so that it was destined to be fate. Well... Here Aye am. Fresh from battle, having conquered the horrors that prey on our world..."

Count Groovula reaches for the Investigator's hand and holds it. To his deepest despair, there was nothing he could do to keep him alive. The vampire watched as the Investigator quivered, his face putting up a brave facade. The attempt is futile.

Investigator: "...."

Count Groovula: "...."

Investigator: *tearfully* "Oh Gods...! Aye... cannae believe what I'm going to say... But, I'm frightened. The thought kept running through my mind all these years, but how was Aye supposed to know? Aye don't know what to do. Aye don't know what's gonna happen. What's awaiting for me.... Please...."

The Investigator winces and sobs as he grabs onto Count Groovula's coat and pulls himself into his chest. Count Groovula is caught off guard by the vulnerable mortal before him. He pauses for a moment before finally giving him a comforting embrace.

Investigator: "I'm... scared..."

Count Groovula: "Investigator... It does not have to be this way. This is not the end."

Investigator: "....."

Count Groovula: "You will not survive, but you will not be dead. I can bring you a whole new life. A new existence. An eternity reborn from darkness. You will be far more powerful than you are now. That is, if you allow me too."

Investigator: "Count..."

Count Groovula: "I understand if you don't want this. This is only an offer. I am aware of your skepticism, but-"

Count Groovula pauses as the Investigator gently caresses his cheeks. Their eyes meet, their faces up-close (closer than ever before). The Investigator takes in a deep breath.

Investigator: "Aye accept."

Count Groovula: "Investigator, are you-"

Investigator: "No, no... Aye... was a peck neck. Aye admit it; was too stubborn and hot-headed. Thought Aye was in the right without stopping myself to realize..." *takes in a sharp breath* "That yer a creature of the night.... And that yer the... best thing that has happened to me."

Count Groovula: "...!"

Investigator: "Aye let my pride get in the way.... But not anymore. So please, take this as a sincere apology. Take my blood. Take my heart, my soul, all of me! Aye don't care if my life is on the line. I just want you... to forgive me..."

Moved by his words, Count Groovula shifts closer, pulling the Investigator into a soft embrace. Tears begin streaming down his face. He buries his face into the Investigator's shoulder. He then takes a moment and pulls down the collar all the way down, exposing the bare neck and shoulder. The Investigator swallows, taking deep breaths, and clutches the vampire's coat. He braces for impact.

Count Groovula: *gently pressing his lips against the Investigator's neck* "I forgive you, darling..."

The bite, at first, was painful. An excruciating jolt causes the Investigator to be paralyzed, his mouth agape in an attempt to scream. But nothing comes out. But as soon Count Groovula begins to drink, the pain numbs into waves of indescribable pleasure. It was unlike anything the Investigator had felt before. Every swallow of blood grows more and more overwhelming. Everything around him began drifting away, like as if a black fog is enveloping them. He can no longer think or speak - all that matters now is that sweet and exquisite sting.

He barely notices as Count Groovula lays him on the lounging couch, making himself more comfortable. The Investigator's tight grip loosens as he drifts further into unconsciousness. Finally, he becomes limp, fainting in his lover's arms. The vampire growls with satisfaction, his hunger now satiated as he finishes his feast. Count Groovula licks his lips, studying the drained owl. He grins sweetly.

Count Groovula: "Ah... Thank you, sweetheart. That was... Mmm, lovely. You were perfect."

Count Groovula then lifts himself up off of the Investigator. He wraps his arms around him, carrying him up bridal style, and holds his head close to his chest.

Count Groovula: "Don't you worry, darling.... Soon you will return from death and we will be together for all eternity."

[End Scene]

[bellakitse]

Greener on the Other Side

“I’m sorry,” he gasps, not believing what she’s just said. “Say that again, please.”

“I said he’s married,” she repeats herself softly, giving him a pitying look. “And he has a kid."

+

Alex hasn't heard anything about TK Strand in over four years. That's about to change.

Alex Fletcher walks into Gramercy Tavern twenty minutes later than he agreed to meet his friends. He already dreads what is sure to be a lecture on his constant tardiness from the group, but more so, what he knows will be pointed looks when they see he’s come alone instead of with his boyfriend.

Spotting them to the left of the restaurant, he starts to make his way over to them. “Sorry, sorry,” he starts to say with a charming smile as all five of them look up at his voice, hoping to curb the scolding before it starts. “The 6 train was an absolute mess. It got the 33rd street and then refused to go forward.”

Liz and Becca share a look at his excuse, and Alex has to keep from rolling his eyes at them. He gets it. Being late is one of his less desirable character traits, and they find it annoying, but after over a decade of friendship, he thinks they should get over it by now.

“Yeah, the trains have been acting up all week,” Malcolm offers while his wife Patricia gives him a small smile, the two of them ever the peacemakers of the group. “Sit down, man.”

Alex offers his friends a more sincere smile, shaking hands with him and his other buddy Chris before giving all three women kisses on the cheek.

“Where is Dean?” Patricia asks politely, and Alex winces at her mistake. It’s been a while since he and Dean ended things, but it’s also been a while since Patricia has joined her husband at one of their dinners.

“We broke up a few months ago,” he tells her, his face feeling tight from his fake smile. “I’m dating someone new now. His name is Wallace.”

“Oh,” Patricia says softly, going a little red in the face at her blunder. “My apologies, Alex.”

He waves her off, wanting to move on from the embarrassing moment quickly. “No worries, Patty,” he says to her. “And Wallace wanted to come, but he had to work,” he explains, trailing off lamely, not believing the lie himself, but it’s not like he can tell his friends that Wallace simply didn’t want to come because he thought it would be boring.

His friends all give him understanding, if not quite believing looks, and Alex wonders just how pathetic his expression is that they don’t push for more.

The mood around the table is awkward and quiet, making his skin feel tight. Thankfully their waiter comes over to take their drink order, easing the moment, giving him something else to focus on.

He starts to loosen up once there is a vodka soda in his hand. He listens to Liz as she talks about her latest architecture project, laughs at the funny story Chris tells them about his 1st-grade class painting the class bunny with washable markers. He’s enjoying their company, forgetting for a moment that his boyfriend should be there with him getting to know his friends when Becca’s eyes light up as Chris wraps up another story about his students.

“You guys will never believe who I saw yesterday walking out of FAO Schwarz,” she starts, her brown eyes lighting up with the chance to share some juicy gossip.

Alex leans in, already intrigued by the look on her face.

“Who?” Liz asks with a grin, curious herself.

“TK Strand,” Becca answers, saying the name with emphasis, and Alex gets why even as he feels shock go through him. It’s been over four years since he has seen or heard from TK. Not since the night he stopped him from proposing, confessing he was in love with someone else.

Mitchell, he thinks bitterly as he takes a large gulp of his drink. In the end, he’d turned out to be Alex’s own personal karma for hurting TK.

Walking in on him and another guy from their gym eight months into their official relationship had been a kick in the teeth and a hard lesson to learn.

He shakes his head to clear it from the lousy memory just in time to hear Becca’s following comment, shocking him more than her first. “I’m sorry,” he gasps, not believing what she’s just said. “Say that again, please.”

Becca looks at him, hesitating as she bites down on her lip, looking remorseful for a moment, probably remembering that out of all of them, he’d be the one with the most invested interest.

“I said he’s married,” she repeats herself softly, giving him a pitying look. “And he has a kid. They were coming out of the toy store when I bumped into them, and he introduced them to me. His husband’s name is Carlos, and their little boy is Luca. Really cute kid – was talking a mile a minute about all the toys in the place, and given all the bags they had, they must have bought him half the store.”

“Wow,” Chris breathes out, his surprise evident. “I can’t believe he’s married and with a kid. How old do you think?”

“Four,” Becca answers instantly. “I asked Luca, and he held up his fingers.”

Alex shakes his head again. It’s been four years since he and TK were together, and he has a four-year-old son. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he says mostly to himself.

“I get the feeling he’s adopted,” Becca answers. “Or maybe Carlos’ son,” she continues with a shrug. “But he called TK dad.”

“What was the husband like?” Liz questions, and Alex is grateful because he can’t bring himself to ask.

“He was polite and friendly,” Becca pauses, shooting him another look before continuing. “Ridiculously hot, and hopelessly in love with TK. I spent maybe ten minutes with them, and you guys should have seen the way he looked at him. It was like TK hung the moon.”

The table is quiet for a moment. For his benefit, he’s sure, as he tries to process everything he’s learned, when Liz speaks up again.

“Good for TK. He deserves that and more,” she says with a smile on her face that takes a hard edge when he shoots her a glare. “What?” she questions, her whole expression challenging him. “You didn’t take care of him when you guys were together, and he’s a great guy. I always liked him even though we lost touch after you broke up. I’m glad he’s found happiness.”

Alex bites down on the urge to lash out at his friend, not only is it a losing battle with Liz, but deep down in the parts of him where he has buried his guilt and shame at his past actions, he knows he can’t argue with the truth she just laid on him.

��֎֎֎

 The rest of the dinner is awkward to say the least. Even though they move on from TK, Alex can’t stop thinking about his ex and what he’s learned. He pulls Becca to the side as they’re leaving, grilling her for any more information she might have.

She finally tells him TK had mentioned they were staying with his mother and little brother – one of the few things he did know about TK and his family since Gwyneth and his father ran in the same legal circles. He’d learned about the woman’s surprise pregnancy almost three years ago.

Becca looks at him as he absorbs the information before letting out a heavy sigh, reminding him not to do anything stupid.

He’d given her an absent nod that even he didn’t believe. Which is probably why he’s outside of Gwyneth’s Park Avenue apartment in a hat and sunglasses like a stalker, hoping to catch a glimpse of his ex and his husband.

Whether luck is on his side or karma wants to teach him another lesson, he doesn’t have to wait long. He’s been outside of the swanky apartment building for maybe 15 minutes, trying to decide what exactly he thinks he’s doing, when the front door opens and out walks the person he wants to see.

He ducks behind a tree just in time to not be spotted, peeking behind it to look at the small family.

TK, at 26-years-old, had been a beautiful man; Alex remembers that well. But now, at 30, he’s even more stunning if that’s even possible. He walks out of the building with a tall, muscular man Alex instantly recognizes as the ‘ridiculously hot’ mystery husband. Each of them with a little boy in their arms.

“So what are we doing today?” he hears TK ask with a grin on his face as the little boys instantly start to chant, ‘Park, park, park!’

“I wanna see the penguins, Dada,” exclaims the little boy in the arms of TK’s husband. Carlos and Luca, he remembers.

TK smiles softly at his son before looking at the child in his own arms. “What about you, little brother? Do you want to go to the Central Park Zoo and see the penguins?” he asks, tickling his chin, getting a happy giggle along with a nod from the little boy.

TK’s grin grows before he looks over at his husband, getting a nod from the man too.

“It’s unanimous then,” TK proclaims in an animated voice that has the boys lighting up. “To the park! To the penguins!”

The pair of boys let out a ‘yeah!’ leaning over at each other to share a clumsy high-five that has the adults laughing.

“You just had to rile them up, troublemaker,” Carlos scolds TK, and he might be a stranger to Alex, but he can tell it’s said with amused fondness.  

“You love me,” TK teases his husband, going easily when the man reaches out to tug him in closer by his shirt, turning his face up as his husband leans in to kiss him, tilting to the side to keep the boys out of the way.

Alex swallows hard at the display. Even from where he’s hiding, he can see TK’s bright smile and dancing green eyes once he and his husband break the kiss.

“Always, my love,” Carlos tells TK as he kisses the side of his face adoringly.

“Dada, Papa,” Luca groans out. “Kissing later, park now,” he continues, much to the amusement of the two men.

“So demanding,” TK teases, leaning in to kiss the little boy’s cheek too, laughing at the face he makes. “Okay, let’s go.”

They start towards the park, and Alex hesitates for a moment. He’s seen and heard TK and his family with his own eyes and ears. It’s obvious his ex is happy and not at all thinking about him. He should turn around in the opposite direction and leave before his luck runs out and they spot him. It’s the reasonable thing to do, and yet he finds himself following them about half a block back, keeping his head down.

He can’t hear them from this distance, but he can watch them. He takes in the way the two men hold hands while each holding on to a child, listening and chatting with the two little ones. Everything about them screams family, and Alex can’t deny the dull ache it causes inside his chest.

Is this what he and TK could have had?

He follows them through the park until they come to a series of benches. He watches as TK hands over his little brother to his husband, the man easily carrying both kids. TK sits down, but no one else does. Instead, he waves at them as his husband walks away with the children, leaving TK alone.

Alex hesitates again. This is his chance to approach TK, and yet he’s frozen in place by indecision.

A moment later, his ex takes the choice out of his hand.

He startles as TK turns his head to look straight at him with a raised eyebrow. “Are you just going to stand there?” he calls out to him casually, the picture of calm as he places his arms on the backrest of the bench. It’s different from the TK he remembers, who was always constantly bouncing his legs with nervous energy.

“How did you – “ he starts, feeling awkward and off-balance.

“I didn’t,” TK answers with a shrug as Alex gets closer to him. “It was Carlos who realized. He’s a cop. Noticing weirdos is kind of his job.”

Alex cringes at the descriptor as he comes to a stop in front of him. “Hi, TK,” he says lamely, wincing again at the high pitch sound of his voice.

TK raises an eyebrow at him again. “Hello, Alex. Any particular reason you’re following us in that get-up?” he questions, pointing at his hat and sunglasses.

Alex feels his face grow hot at the question. He reaches up, taking them off. “Becca said she saw you,” he says uncomfortably, getting a casual nod back from his ex. “And I got curious,” he continues weakly. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“That sounds like poor impulse control,” TK mutters to himself. He moves to the side, leaving half the bench open for Alex to decide if he wants to take a seat or not.

Alex would be embarrassed by the speed with which he takes the offer, but the joy at being allowed to get closer overrides that. Neither says anything after he sits down, him because he’s nervous, TK it seems because he’s simply waiting him out.

“So,” he starts slowly. “You’re visiting?”

TK looks at him, seeming to study him before giving him a nod. “We try to see my mother and my little brother Robbie every few months. Sometimes they come to see us, but New York is always pretty in the spring, and Luca has never been.”

“That’s your son,” he blurts out, his face going hot again at the look TK shoots him.

“Becca shared everything, did she,” he questions with a dry smile, shaking his head to himself.

“The group had dinner,” he explains, not needing to add who exactly was there. There was a time when TK would have sat right next to him at one of those dinners, charming everyone with stories about fighting fires and daring rescues.

“Ah,” TK exhales softly. “It’s nice you all still do that. They’re good people. I liked them.”

“They liked you too,” Alex answers, giving TK a half-smile. “Liz was thrilled to hear that you’re married and have a kid. She’s happy you’re happy.”

TK smiles, this time more genuine. “That sounds like her,” he comments, looking nostalgic for the first time. “She was always kind to me,” he finishes, not adding anything else.

It goes quiet between them again, causing Alex’s nerves to fray at the edges. He’s not used to this TK. The one he remembers always filled the silence, even if it was just with nervous chatter.

“So, are you?” he can’t help but blurt out, swallowing nervously when TK gives him a curious look. “Are you happy?”

TK lets out a huff, and while he doesn’t smile or laugh, Alex can see a hint of amusement in his bottle-green eyes. “Is that why you’re here? You want to know if I’m happy?”

He feels the hairs at the back of his neck stand at the mocking he hears in TK’s voice. “Is that so crazy?” he questions defensively. “The last time we spoke wasn’t precisely the best encounter – “

“That’s because I was getting ready to propose to you and instead found out you were fucking around my back with a spin instructor,” TK interrupts him, surprising Alex with how calm he is. There is no anger or reproach in TK’s voice like Alex anticipated, just a simple fact. It hurts Alex more than he expected to witness how unaffected TK seems. “How is Mitchell by the way?”

Alex clenches his fists, his nails digging into his palms as embarrassment courses through him. He wants to stand up and walk away from this. He’s not sure what he’d hoped to accomplish by seeking TK out, but it’s clear now whatever it was, he isn’t going to get it.

He looks at TK to find a mild curiosity on his face, like Alex’s answer doesn’t really matter to him one way or another.

“We broke up,” he answers anyway, taking a breath to try to soothe the ache before his next words. “I found him in our bed with someone else less than a year after you and I broke up.”

“Well shit,” TK says quietly, letting out a breath of his own. He doesn’t look gloating the way he has a right to look. Instead, he looks at Alex with what can only be called compassion. “Karma didn’t just pay you back. It sucker-punched you in the face, huh?”

Alex lets out a startled laugh at the description. TK joins him with a chuckle of his own, and Alex welcomes it even if it’s at his own expense. They laugh for a few seconds before they let it trail off.

“To answer your question,” TK starts to say. He looks at him, bobbing his head softly. “Yes, I’m happy. I’m the kind of happy where I wake up in the morning, look at my husband sleeping, usually with our kid between us, and I can’t believe just how lucky I am.”

“You love him,” Alex whispers, not really needing an answer when he can see it clearly on his face.

TK answers anyway. “He’s my soulmate,” he says with a smile that isn’t directed at him at all. It’s directed at the man who walked away with two kids in his arms minutes before. “I used to think that was you,” he continues, his voice sounding far away, lost in the past while Alex aches in the present. “I was so sure of it once, and then I met Carlos. I was still a mess about you, and I wasn’t looking to fall in love at all, but there he was, and I fell. I fell so fast, Alex. Years later, I’m still falling in love with him every single day.”

“That sounds – “ Alex starts, exhaling through the dull throbbing in his chest. “Scary, honestly.”

TK smiles, bright and beautiful, just like Alex remembers. “It is,” he says with a short laugh. “It’s terrifying, but it’s also amazing, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.”

Alex nods quietly to himself.

“I’m sorry you haven’t found that yet,” TK continues softly because it seems that surprising Alex is the name of the game today. He gives TK a shocked look that has him giving Alex a compassionate look back. “I never wished you ill will. I was hurt and angry after everything went to hell between us, but in the end, I wanted you to find someone to love the way you couldn’t love me and for that person to love you back just the same.”

Alex swallows hard at TK’s words, feeling overwhelmed by them. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

TK looks away from him, and Alex follows his gaze to find that his husband and the kids are coming back with ice cream in their hands. “Thank you for saying that,” he says softly as he stands. He looks down at Alex, giving him a slight quirk of his mouth. “Goodbye, Alex. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Alex watches TK walk away from him, knowing it will be the last time he’ll see him. “Goodbye, TK,” he whispers at his back, feeling the loss more now than he did four years ago.

 ֎֎֎

 “Dada, we got ice cream!” Luca exclaims happily as he slurps on his spiderman popsicle.

“I can see that. Can I have a taste of spidey?” he questions, leaning in when Luca sweetly offers him his treat. “Mmm, that’s yummy. Thank you, sweetheart.”

Luca smiles up at him, his face already a sticky red and blue mess. He looks at Robbie to see his face is yellow from his Spongebob popsicle. He smiles at them fondly as he turns his backpack to his front, searching for the wet wipes to clean their faces.

“We got you a cone with sprinkles,” Carlos says with a smile, though TK can see the worry in his eyes. “Is everything okay?”

TK looks at his husband, taking in his concern for him along with his ever-present love, and smiles as he remembers what he just told Alex moments ago. The love he and Carlos share is so strong – it can be frightening at times to feel so much and so intensely for another person, but like he told Alex, he wouldn’t change it for the world when it means Carlos loves him back just as strongly.

“Yeah, baby,” he answers, reaching out to touch Carlos’ cheek. “Everything is okay,” he smiles at his husband before looking down at his son and little brother. “Better than okay because we’re going to go see some penguins!”

Luca and Robbie cheer happily.

“Let’s go, Robbie,” Luca says to his uncle, throwing an arm over the other little boy’s shoulder.

TK and Carlos watch them walk a few steps ahead of them, chatting away the way only little kids can.

“You sure you’re alright?” Carlos asks as he hands him a melting ice cream. TK takes it, giving it a few licks to keep it from dripping.

“I swear, babe,” he assures him as he wraps an arm around Carlos’ waist. “We talked, and then we said goodbye.”

“What did he want?” Carlos asks curiously.

TK shrugs. He’ll be honest even after talking to Alex; he’s still not entirely sure what the other man wanted out of the conversation. “I’m not even sure he knows,” he answers after a moment. “He apologized for the past and asked me if I was happy. Maybe he was feeling guilty.”

“What did you tell him?” Carlos questions, a smile playing on his mouth when TK shoots him a look. “What?” he asks innocently, and TK can’t help but chuckle at his fishing.

“I told him,” he starts to say, making sure that he’s holding Carlos’ gaze, as usual falling in love all over again as he gets lost in Carlos’ soulful brown eyes. “That every morning, I wake up amazed I got so lucky to love and be loved by you.”

Carlos pulls him to his side, pressing his face into his neck. “I’m the lucky one, Ty,” he whispers against his skin.

TK smiles at Carlos’ words, his smile growing as Luca shouts for them to keep up; the penguins are waiting. “We both are, my love.”

[foxtheroxx]

This is a Chandra, each chandra has their own name and is followed around by their own four stars, the females are usually followed by pink and blue, the males are followed around by orange and red stars, and the yellow ones follow just about anyone. These are space birds and they have a wingspan of about 7ft. They communicate like whales but a little diffrent and make noises that echo through space. The name chandra means "moon shining" since the chandra in often seen playing around the moon. Chandra are often mistaken for shooting stars since when they fly a colored trail is followed by their tails, when they travel they look like swimming penguins. Chandra often have little stars stuck to their featherfur, these stars sometimes fall off and create stardust, we think that the chandra get these stars stuck on them by flying through nebulas. This chandra's name is chicha. The chandra has very weird fur or feathers. Chandra's are very mysterious and its unknown about how they navigate but more research will be made.

[positivityfortoday]

☀ PositivityForToday’s 10K Celebration ☀

There are SO many things worth living for and reasons to smile and be happy! With the help of my lovely followers/friends, I have compiled a list of 1,000 things that make people happy, for my 10,000 amazing followers! Hopefully, this list is able to help you, make you feel better, or give you a reason to smile today! 

☀ 1,000 Happy Things ☀

Seeing cows while driving

Moss on really old fallen trees 

Seeing a lil baby you don't know in public, and they smile at you!!!

Parents doing their kids hair or just people doing someone they care about’s hair

Really ragged old and well-loved stuffed animals 

When the dandelions start blooming

Spring blossom

Daffodils

Bluebells

Sharks

When you're sitting outside your house or something and people passing by wave and say hi

That feeling in the summer when you have your window open and you're listening to your favorite music

When someone does a hobby just because they enjoy it even if they aren't the best at it

Comfort shows and books

People speaking their native languages

When my brother gets something to eat and always gets me something he knows I like

When I finish a crossword 

When I see something that reminds me of someone I care about

Paintings

My best friend (I love her so much shhhh don't tell her)

My dog! I love him 

My little sisters! Adorable, creative, and very witty. I love them

Music! I get the happy shaky feelings and just,,, y e a h/listening to songs

Singing! Especially for band practice!

Sunlight beams in the morning

The moon

Eagles

That feeling when you’re with friends and you’re all laughing so loudly, and you just feel complete

Talking to my favorite people/talking to my best friend

Sunrises and sunsets

Seeing the stars

Cats

Butterflies/Moths

Snails

Warm sunshine

Purple gel pens

Hugs

My children

Sunny days

Beautiful views

Spending time with my family and friends

Playing badminton

Cycling

Playing with little kids

Playing with dogs

Whales

Animals doing daft things 

Talks and walks with my son 

Morning breakfast and coffee 

A good spicy lunch

Laying in my bed at night and just checking on current affairs and news

My boyfriend

My friends 

Art

Owls

Minecraft

Voice acting

Petting my dog

Smelling Flowers 

Feeling a cold thing when I’m warm or a warm thing when I’m cold 

Giving and getting kisses

Random texts from friends

Coffee flavored chocolate 

Singing

Moths with big white wings

Underdone scrambled eggs

A rainy night

Bubbles

That first warm day of spring

Going on hikes

Being outdoors

Candy

Chocolate 

The smell of playdoh 

Taking photos

Getting new clothing 

Candles

Birdwatching

Going on picnics

Writing poetry

Reading books

The holidays

Making people smile/laugh

Coffee

A nice warm blanket

Eating ice cream

Snow globes

Lightning bugs

Flowers after the snow melts

The smell of rain

Sitting on the steps early in the morning

Being the first to wake up

The feeling I get after running

The comfort of a favorite shirt

My girlfriend 

Family

Random acts of kindness

Babies

When I play with my dog by pretending to run at her and she goes crazy with excitement 

My cat 

Rain

Baking

Piano (playing or listening)

Small flowers

Flowy skirts/dresses

Wholesome romances

Hearing a song for the first time and loving it immediately 

Playing my flute

Horses

Listening to vinyls on a record player

When someone remembers a little detail about you

Painting my nails

Doing yoga

Doing exercise

Beating a personal record

Rainbows

Making crafts

Taking a shower after a long day

Going to the zoo

Going on vacation

Being at the beach or near water

Watching Netflix

Going to the movie theatre

Watching a live play at a theatre

Learning something new

Teaching someone how to do something 

Toasting marshmallows and eating S’mores 

Cupcakes

Seeing a shooting star

Taking a nap

When someone compliments me

Decorating my room

Picnics

My favorite band

My favorite celebrities

My favorite actors

Setting a new goal

Collecting rocks

Putting on fresh clean sheets

Seeing Christmas lights

Listening to birds chirping

Giraffes

Camping

Sitting by a bonfire

Eating mashed potatoes

Bullet journaling

Driving in the car with the windows down

Dancing

Looking at pretty pictures

Concerts

Funny jokes/puns/memes

Fireworks

Sparklers

Pretty clouds

My favorite shoes

Getting new art supplies

Making photo edits

Making gifts for my friends and family

Getting gifts from people 

Balloons

Succulents 

Playing an instrument

Drinking a nice cup of tea

Iced tea on a summer day

Eating fresh fruit

Getting my hair braided 

Eating at a restaurant 

Being on a boat

Swimming

Making new friends

Finding an animal in nature 

Pumpkins and pumpkin patches

Carving pumpkins 

Autumn and all the beautiful colors

Acting for theatre

Making video edits

Wearing a costume for Halloween

Dressing fancy

Finding four leaf clovers

Pressing flowers

Scrap booking

Handwritten letters

Stickers

Hummingbirds

Elephants

Eating breakfast 

Gardens

Inspirational quotes

Wearing my favorite necklace 

Baby animals 

Little streams and ponds

Foxes

Sun shining through trees

When it’s foggy out and you can see dew drops on plants and spider webs

Being on a swing

Finally accomplishing a goal you’ve been working on 

When a new season of your favorite show comes out

Doing my makeup

Cleaning and organizing 

Daydreaming 

Taking a bath

Christmas 

Watching funny videos

Wearing sweaters and hoodies

Fuzzy socks

Helping people 

Little figurines and objects

Popcorn 

Brownies

Looking out the window 

Wolves

Opening a window for fresh air

The smell of coffee 

Watching YouTube videos 

Getting a haircut 

Seeing a deer in the woods 

Watching birds fly

Finding shapes and objects in the clouds 

The smell of fresh laundry

When someone tells me something reminded them of me

Stepping on crunchy leaves

Animal crossing

My switch

Softball/baseball

Basketball

Soccer

Seeing cool cars/old cars

Rollerblading

Drawing with chalk on a sidewalk

Going to bed early

Stargazing

Making progress

Checking things off my to-do list

Taking Polaroid pictures

Going for walks

Jogging

Going to the library

Starting a new book

Finishing a good book

Playing board games

Koalas

Slippers

Big trees

Sunlight coming through the windows

Waking up on Christmas morning

Getting book, song, movie, etc. recommendations from my friends

Making music playlists

Finally receiving packages I ordered in the mail 

Baking desserts

When my favorite song comes on

When people make playlists for each other

Finding new characters to ship

Having free time

Sticky notes

Sunbathing

Traveling

Peace and quietness

Alone time

Meeting my step/exercise goal for the day

The people who love me

Soup

Coloring books

Getting into bed after a long day

Pillows

Fandoms

How unique and different everyone is

Getting a lot of work done

Looking forward to my future dream job

Playing video games

Being on Tumblr

Taking time for myself

Practicing self-care

Face masks

Finding money you forgot about

Holding hands

The smell of apple pie

Starting a new tv show

Getting letters in the mail

When the seasons change

Summer

Mugs and teacups

Smoothies

Breakfast food

Disney

Going into the woods/forest

Trying new creative outlets

The smell of sunscreen

Eating the food you’ve been craving

Knowing and feeling that people care

Telling a good story

Laughing so hard can’t stop and your stomach hurts

Late summer nights

Late night drives

Sparkles

Glitter

Listening to people I love talk about their favorite things and what they’re passionate about

Listening to podcasts

Turning up the volume of my music

Putting my headphones in

Blasting my favorite songs through my speaker

People accepting and supporting others for who they truly are

Wearing something cozy

Soft light

Love

Warm weather

A well-rested night

Waking up in the morning and feeling refreshed

Knowing that every day is a fresh start

Well written characters

A book I can get lost in

Sloths

My parents

My siblings

My grandparents

The feeling of sand beneath your feet

Heated blankets

Bagels

Toast

Getting something for free

Samples

Constellations 

Mason jars

Practicing a new skill

Finding a new hobby

Lazy weekends

Mac n cheese

French fries

Having deep conversations with my best friend

New jeans

Going to IKEA

Skirts 

Dresses

Doodling

When other people are happy (especially people I know and love)

Marching band

Sleeping in

Having the day off

Getting new books

Playing guitar

Playing ukulele 

Random compliments

A change of scenery

Cuddling

Waking before the sun is up

Reading old letters

Zebras

Exploring

Building Lego sets

Using photoshop to make edits

Journaling

Walking along the seafront and breathing in time with the waves

A good rom-com or nostalgic show

Writing lists

Pinterest boards

Looking back at my accomplishments

Talking on the phone with a friend or family member

Wrapping presents

A blue sky

Loving someone 

Waterfalls

Washi tape

Penguins

Donuts

The color yellow

Sleepovers

Cooking dinner

Kind gestures

Trust

Inside jokes

Songs that make you feel nostalgic

Seeing other people’s art

Comfy clothes

Wearing pajamas

Calligraphy

When someone calls you by your nickname

Going to Target

The first sunburn of the summer

Ramen noodles

Chinese food

Thrift shopping

Flower fields

Flowers growing in random places, like through a crack in the sidewalk

Writing

Sparkly snowflakes

When it snows on Christmas

Mixing paint colors together

Perfectly shaven legs

Puddles

The color red

Thunderstorms 

The smell of flowers

The ocean 

Adult sized onesies

Driving a golf cart

Fairytales

Cartoons

The color blue

Pasta

AO3

Crickets chirping

Seeing everyone’s houses decorated for the holidays, especially Christmas

Other people sharing what makes them happy

Monkeys

Being understood

When someone texts to make sure I got home safely

Iced coffee

Becoming better at communicating with others

Seeing a friend for the first time in a while

Good morning and good night texts

Drinking a cold glass of water

Deep conversations in the middle of the night

Collecting sea shells

Building blanket forts

Tan lines

Being under lots of blankets

Making better health and money choices

Getting chills from a song even after hearing it countless times 

Liking how I look

Hot chocolate

Finding new music

Buying cute things

Wearing an outfit I really like

When someone tells you how glad they are to be your friend

Gardening

Watching raindrops race down a window 

Trying new food

Finding exactly what I was looking for 

Planning my future

Finding a song that perfectly fits my mood or describes how I’m feeling

Writing little notes to people

When someone tells me I did something good

Eating ice cream on a hot day

Making friends with animals

Going to football games

Seeing people genuinely interested in something

Snow days

The last day of school

Winter break

Spring break

Thanksgiving

New Year’s Eve

Turtles

Sitting outside on a cool summer day

Watching rain

Watching the ocean waves come in

Netflix binges

A new movie release I really want to watch

Driving with a window down for the first time in the spring 

Taking a cruise

Giving helpful advice

Getting helpful advice

Doing a favor for someone who needs it

Someone referencing one of my fandoms or something I love out of no where

Learning and knowing stuff

Doing something physically challenging or scary

Listening to my bedroom fan while I fall asleep

Coming up with a new creative idea 

Finding something I wanted at the store on sale for a good deal

Finishing all my assignments on time or even early

Hugging my dog

Taking my dog for a walk

Teaching my dog a new trick

When strangers stop to say hi to my dog

Listening to audiobooks

The weekend

Finding a new flavor of chapstick

Drinking Kool-Aid, it makes me feel so nostalgic

Watching nature shows on a weekend morning

Watching cartoon shows on a Sunday morning

A good TV show, most likely something I've watched before because that way I know it ends well

A good, delicious comfort meal on a Friday night by myself 

A café in the city centre at noon when it's not filled with the morning rush or afternoon coffee breakers

The stars from my childhood bedroom because they're the brightest here

Listening to my favorite playlist really loud on a long road trip and singing to myself loudly in my car

Having an entire day to myself without interruptions from anyone

Opening the curtains first thing in the morning 

A new jacket

Going to the cinema on a first release day because it's always super exciting and full of people anxious to see a movie they've been waiting for forever

Listening to live music

Riding roller coasters

Going to amusement parks

Lizards

Seahorses

Starfish

Eating fair food

Feeling an instrument vibrate when you’re playing it

Hearing my dog snore

When my dog dreams in his sleep 

Wearing a new piece of clothing for the first time

Feeling the sun on you

Eyes in the sunlight

Seeing city lights

Singing in the shower at the top of my lungs

Looking at someone and them knowing exactly what they’re going to say

Laughing till you cry

Being under a blanket

Going to craft stores

Watching boats

The idea of traveling the world

When my dogs let me lay my head on them

Listening to an old song and having it bring back memories

Candy corn

Crazy socks

Quotes

Fall and the leaves changing color and the crisp feeling in the air

Making snowmen

Making gingerbread houses for Christmas

Making videos with family

Burning a candle

Booping a dog’s nose

Getting letters/notes from people; writing them

Snow globes

Dr. Pepper

Doc martens

Fortune cookies

Potatoes

Easter

Finishing something

Skipping rocks

Warm rain

When someone opens up to you

Finding the right words to say exactly what you wanted

Animal footprints

Eating outside

Fairy lights

The smell of a hotel

Windows

Meeting a new dog

Dolphins

Getting magazines in the mail

Being in the woods as the sun starts to rise and the animals wake up

Warm days

Adirondack chairs

A warm breeze

Clothes and blankets hanging outside to dry

Feeding birds

Aquariums

The color green

Tie dying things

Going to art museums

Going to science museums

New albums from my favorite artists 

Seeing moss in nature

Finding cute little mushrooms 

When a dog wags its tail a bunch and is excited to see me

Playing fetch with my dog

Obsessing over something and having someone to talk about it with

Going on a walk with my best friend and talking about life

Looking at old pictures and reminiscing on good memories

Reading a book that's so good your brain wants to read faster than it can

Laughing with friends about the weirdest things

Being appreciated for doing small things you wouldn't even have thought about yourself because it's something you *just do*

Being creative

Watching animals

A story I can't put down

Stretching

The moment when you listen to a new song/album by your favourite artist

When you're at a concert and anticipating the moment before the band comes out

When at a concert and they play your favourite song live

The moment when someone compliments your outfit 

When you see someone wearing merch of something you like 

Seeing the sunrise/sunset 

Watching the sun rise out of the water or sink down into it as it’s setting

This ecstatic feeling in general when you're just living in the moment with people who love something as much as you do

Hugging my cat and smelling his fur

Listening to my music by myself and singing to it 

Making edits I’m really proud of 

Losing hours in a good book or fanfiction

Writing sentences that I actually like 

My siblings and my parents when they're being chill and funny

Watching my favorite tv shows and movies and yelling about them into the void 

Finding a new good song 

Fresh out of the shower + fresh clean sheets feeling when you go to bed

When I come downstairs in the morning and my dog greets me right at the bottom step with her lil’ tail wagging

Knowing that if I ever needed someone to chat with, someone would be there to lend an ear

Tigers

Lions

When you shuffle your music and the exact song you want to hear plays

When all my family is around the outdoor fire on a summer’s evening

When my nieces and nephews give me squishy kid hugs

Being home alone and being able to cook or bake in the kitchen without disruption

Driving around with a friend in the evenings and just belting our favorite songs

Seaside walks

Disney World

Seeing live theatre

The sun shining on leaves and stone buildings

Dancing when I'm alone

Color-coordinating my outfit

Floating on my back in the sea

The smell of summer nights

The smell of winter mornings

Colorful things/environments

Bunnies

Walking along lakes/rivers/the sea

Spending time in nature

Taking care of my plants

Giving affection to my loved ones

Listening to other people's stories

Reading about people I've never met before or places I've never visited before (especially if they are now just a part of history)

Embroidering

Pandas

Swimming in a river or the sea

Stargazing (my favorite moments usually happen an hour before sunrise)

White-caged-bird

Feeling the breeze when I spin and my heartbeat when I dance for an hour at a time

All the wonderful smells of flowers and colours that nature has to offer

Sharing good laughter with someone

Feeling like I belong

Travelling and discovering new customs of different cultures

Hiking or foraging

That feeling when I'm approaching the end of a really good book and I let myself be engulfed by the fact that it's a unique experience, that I'll never experience as the first time again

Observing my local fauna

Petting and taking care of an animal (double the joy if it is friendly with strangers)

Drinking a good cup of honey tea

Finding a perfume that suits me

Eating something sweet

Enjoying a meal with others

Cat paws tapping on the floor

Dipping a biscuit into tea

Trying to catch leaves falling from the tree

Having sunlight hit your face when you’re napping

Objects that cast a rainbow when the sun shines through them

Seeing patterned shadows

Ambient mood lighting

Sleeping

Wearing jewelry 

Cheese

Playing chess

Fresh air

Going somewhere new

My Mom’s cooking

Being inspired

When someone holding your hand rubs their thumb lovingly in circles

Picking strawberries

Otters

Painting the walls of my room

Wind chimes

Seeing that your favorite people are active online

Finally understanding something you were struggling with

The excitement you get when someone reblogs your writing or art

Getting a new notebook or journal

Appreciation

Validation

When someone tells you they love you and mean it

The smell of freshly baked bread

When my dog falls asleep on me

Making new online friends

Found family

Finishing cleaning my room

When someone lays their head on your shoulder

Doing something right on the first try

Finally sitting down after standing for a long time

Getting goosebumps from hearing or seeing something you love

Seeing a gorgeous view

Loving someone and them loving you back

Freshly baked gooey cookies

When a song comes on and everyone starts singing

When I’m out for a run and it’s hot and it starts raining. Nothing makes me feel more like a human than getting caught in the rain on a run

Swimming in the ocean

When people are talking about something they really love and get carried away trying to explain it all to you

Puppies

Being in the middle of nowhere and actually getting to see the whole sky of stars that you never get to see in a city

Finding people that love the same things you do

 When something silly reminds you of someone you love; like every time I see an orange and green gummy worm I think of my sister

When you’re hugging someone and they squeeze you a little bit before they let go

Weather where you can leave all the windows open in your house

Trampolines

Driving with no destination in mind

Falling asleep to the sound of rain

Hearing other people laugh

Laughing only because you hear someone else laugh and it's just so contagious

The first snowfall of the year

Disney movies

Listening to someone tell stories and they have like 15 side stories in between the main one

Romantic movies

Bubble baths

Smiling between kisses

Wearing sweatpants

A clean house

Pizza

My computer

Cheesy pickup lines

When people tell me they miss me

Cool spring mornings after a storm

My job

Butterflies

New shoes

Oversized shoes

Caramel apples

Volunteering

Meditating

Running my blog

Finding sea glass at the beach

Getting my nails done 

Planning vacation

Hot cider

Telling people I love them

Writing in my gratitude journal

Eating homegrown vegetables, fruit, and herbs

Remembering a good dream I had

Happy endings

Colored pens

Decorating for the holidays

Finishing a really good tv show

Leopards

Summer rain

Thunderstorms where I can just open my window to the full extent and just watch and listen

Calls with my best friend

Seeing a meme and sending it to my friends

Getting an email from AO3

That moment when you get an idea for creating something

Walking barefoot on the grass

Sending thank you notes

Writing events I’m looking forward to on my calendar

Dippin' Dots

Spicy food

Seeing a full moon

Eating cookie dough

Eating seasonal food

Bubble wrap

Going to the car wash and getting rainbow soap

Dark chocolate

Soft blankets

Weighted blankets

Soft drinks with crushed ice

When I get an unexpected phone call from someone I love

Wearing flip flops

Longer daylight hours

Having a BBQ

Frosting cookies

Making cupcakes in the microwave

Watching the Hallmark channel during the holidays

Taking selfies or photos with people I love

Putting on lotion

The smell of a baby’s head

The Office

Online shopping

The smell of freshly cut grass

Surprising my family or friends

Looking at the clock when it’s 11:11

Being productive

Quilts

Doing good on an exam

Someone doing a favor for me (especially when I didn’t ask)

Eating pancakes with syrup

Origami

Sprinkles

Confetti

Waving at people

Giving high fives

Complicated Handshakes between you and your best friend

Naps/feeling well-rested

Eating one of my favorite foods

Hearing good news from/about a friend or family member

Looking at nature (these days it's seeing squirrels in my neighbour's garden and looking at my plants and trees)

When make someone happy or feel like I made a difference (including a satisfied client)

Success (good grades, a gifset that does well)

Hugs from my mom

Learning new things

Chatting with my friends because they’re all amazing people

Group watches of my favorite tv show or movie

That feeling when the house has just been cleaned/when I’m freshly showered

Making jokes/laughing with people

Reading fluffy fanfics

Driving on the road to a destination far away, I love the trip as much as (if not more than) arriving at the actual place

Reading affirmations

Green tea

Getting breakfast or lunch from a nice restaurant 

Learning about topics that won’t benefit me; like Chinese history, geography, ancient flora and fauna, etc. just things that I find cool 

The jokes my girlfriend makes, especially when they’re the same ones she always makes

Stories from the past! Stories from history from people who actually lived through it

Stories in general, just hearing the life experiences of people in completely different positions from me. I love hearing people’s stories

Drawing intricate things, like old buildings, landscapes, and plants

Cooking a nice meal

Grocery shopping and farmers markets especially 

My cat! All of her weird little habits too, like how she stands in front of my feet so I’ll push her where she wants to go 

Botanical gardens

State parks

Museums

Art galleries

Listening to stories my grandparents tell

When people tell me about their life goals and dreams

Being surrounded by the people I love 

Living the best life I can

Partying hard the night away

Daydreaming

Sunflowers always make me smile

Warm tea

Big fluffy clouds in a blue sky

Friendly babies

Hearing a past favorite song

Singing karaoke 

Biking riding

Helping others

Chocolate milk

Sweets and fruits

Having fun doing things I love

Dragons

Video games

My favorite things

Writing

Affection

Exercising

Being on Tumblr

Pinterest

Looking at flowers and plants

Playing with my cats

Chatting with my friends (at the moment it’s through zoom, of course)

Finding new ways to decorate my room

Window shopping

Spending time with my boyfriend

Wearing my favorite outfit/accessory

Eating something delicious

The cool side of my pillow 

Tears of joy

Woodpeckers

Reading poems

Hugging trees

Tree houses

Airstreams/campers

Playing frisbee

Making sculptures

Puppy ears

The first day of spring

The first day of summer

Sending silly photos to my friends

Building sand castles

Winning prizes at the fair or arcade

Marbles

Cacti

Scrolling through my phone

Writing fanfiction

Seeing someone you haven't seen for a really long time

Putting together collages

Printing out photos I love

DIY projects

Sewing 

Crocheting 

Listening to steel drums

Haunted houses

Going through a corn maze

Picking fresh fruit or vegetables

Bubble tea

Starbucks

Dunkin donuts

Disneyland

Disney Princesses

Climbing trees

Finishing errands

Rewatching my favorite episodes

Scrunchies

Milkshakes

Ice cream blizzards

Listening to acoustic versions of songs

Hot tubs

Rubber ducks

Coconut flavored food

Dipping fries in ice cream

Discovering a new type of animal

Seeing hot air balloons

Frogs/toads

Splashing in puddles 

Having plants inside my house

Teddy bears

Iridescent/holographic things

Bird houses

Breakfast in bed

Crystals/gemstones

Ziplining 

Dew drops

Glow sticks

Flower crowns (especially handmade ones)

Spring rain 

Watching other people make art

Lighthouses

Finding heart shaped things in nature

Thinking of getting my own apartment

Coming up with a new recipe for food

Cookbook recipes passed down through families

Bookshelves

Making pretty yogurt bowls

Seaside houses

Flying on planes and being in/above the clouds

Flower bouquets

Looking at and learning about the planets

Fruit snacks

Palm trees

Weeping willow trees

Cherry blossoms

Eating cake

Decorating cakes with eccentric icing designs and colors

Whipped cream

Having snowball fights

Hearing Christmas music

Tattoos

Wearing rings

Green grass

A tidy organized desk with cute desk supplies

My craft room

Hammocks

Little cottages

Cotton candy (and cotton candy flavored things)

Looking at all the paint pallet colors in paint stores

Stamps

Taking silly photos in photobooths

Going to the mall

Making jam, especially strawberry jam

Reading outside

Finding a bird nest and watching eggs hatch

Looking at photos of my family and friends 

Finding old flora and art books

Eating fresh corn on the cob with butter on a summer day

Lily Pads

Icicles

Inner peace

Sitting under a tree

Not having to turn on the light in your room when the sun is shining through

When restaurants have patios you can dine at

Fishing on a pier

Seeing old couples in public

Making gifs

Trees swaying in the wind

Anime

Dying Easter eggs

Laying in the trunk of a car and watching the clouds or stars

Night lights

Flower shops 

Outer space

Kitchens

PB&J sandwiches

Toasted Cheese

LoFi music

Listening to/watching ambience videos

Turtle necks

Peaches

Looking at old maps

Figurines of the earth/globe

Honey and bees

Cheesecake

Seeing footprints in sand and watching them be washed away by waves

Anything related to the moon, stars, and sun

Reading my horoscope (even if I know it’s not real)

Archways decorated with hanging flowers

Yogurt

Pudding

Knowing that I’m not alone

Ancient roman sculptures

Macarons

When someone tells me they care about me

Weddings

Watercolour

Birthday parties 

My brother

My sister

When my dog leaves his bed to lay in the sunlight

Doing mini photoshoots with my friends

Hand making bracelets/necklaces (friendship bracelets)

When someone calls me darling or honey

Love letters

Game night

Skateboarding

Stress balls and squishy toys

Starting something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time

Playing cards

Doing puzzles

Word searches

Kittens

Ordering takeout

Stepping out into the fresh air

Creating vision boards

Getting a massage

Writing positive affirmations

Lunch dates

Standup comedy

Listening to classical music

Nature/animal documentaries

Having someone there to listen to me

Listening to someone when they need it

Accepting myself for who I am

Looking back and seeing how far I’ve come and all the progress I've made

Doing something my future self will be thankful for

Speaking up for myself

Being near loved ones

Finding time for my hobbies

Giving myself time to rest

Saturday mornings

Marrying the one I love

Discovering new things

Going to new cities

My idols

Pastries

Feeling the wind on my face on a car ride

The sensation of music in my ears and like nothing else matters

People who have my best interest in mind

Simplicity

Fulfilling my dreams

Discovering a new ice cream flavor

Knitting

Making myself a priority

Knowing that I am important, and I matter

Thank you all so much for following me and supporting my blog! It means a TON! I never expected for this blog to become popular, especially because I originally started it to help myself get through some mental health issues. I am so happy to be able to share my journey of healing with you all! It means the world to me to help or make a positive impact on even just one person’s life! Each and every single one of you is amazing!! You matter and you are SO important! Thanks again for your everything! Have a great day!!! Sending sunshine your way!! 

[dreadwulf]

2: The Black Mountains

Post-Apocalyptic Modern AU. Chapter 1 is here.

The last thing his right eye ever saw was Brienne. 

In that eye she is shouting. Of course he couldn’t hear her at the time over the jeers of the Bloody Mummers tying him to the table. Their laughter had been right up against his ears and the sound of it drowned out everything else in that abandoned mall. The image is soundless: her mouth is just open, her throat pushing out a word that looks like No. Her blue eyes are also open wide, both frightened and angry, a righteous fury that came to him as a surprise, at the time.

She is a still image that resides in the abandoned nerves to that empty eye socket. If he cares to, he can still see her there, superimposed over everything.

She hovers over The Spider’s right shoulder just now. Still saying No.  

He tries to focus on the Spider’s face instead. Varys raises one perfectly sculpted eyebrow on his immaculate bald head.

“You can’t shoot anymore. Not like before, not with one eye. You know this.”

“I don’t mean to shoot.” Jaime shows his palms. “I have two hands still. I need a weapon I won’t have to aim.”

Varys measures this statement. He is a man who deals in knowledge more than goods, but he has an armed guard, and a collection of interesting weapons. Both for his own protection, and for use in acquiring the most valuable intel.

“In that case,” the Spider presses a button on the trailer wall. To one of the bikers, a large man with a burnt face who looks in the door in response to his call, he instructs, “bring me the Widow’s Wail.”

The same scarred man reappears with a comically oversized weapon in his hands. Turns out Widow’s Wail is an axe. It is a huge, two-handed, double-bladed axe and when the burnt biker hands it to Jaime his hands dip with the weight.

Axes, Brienne used to tell him, are the best weapon for killing Others. You don’t need to reload an axe. It can’t jam, doesn’t recoil. Simple and effective. 

Messy though, he had said back. He had always preferred his rifle -- clean and fast, one shot and done, and hopefully at a distance. The Others would fall down like carnival targets, one after another, and his favorite jacket would remain spotless. But after they took his eye, he had needed a new weapon, and his jacket was long-ruined by then. 

This is messy work, she had replied.

Now, he lifts the weapon, turns it one way and another. Both edges gleam in the fluorescent light. This axe has been sharpened recently. It is spotless. This weapon has never seen battle.

“It’s new,” Varys fills in immediately, “but it was designed to kill Others. Old valyrian steel, made the old way. We haven’t yet had opportunity to test it, but it will strike true.”

Jaime doesn’t ask how Varys would be able to make a valyrian steel weapon. Knowing how is what he does. 

The Spider watches him curiously. “Are we square then, Slayer?”

“Almost.” He sits again, crosses the long weapon over his lap with both fists grasping it tightly. “Where did it happen?”

“In the North. What exactly happened is unclear even to me, but we know for certain she had traveled north with a small gang. There are reports of her at Winterfell, and then she went with Snow and a small band of Starks beyond the Black Mountains. They returned without her.”

Jaime nods shortly. “Winterfell, then the wilds.”

The Spider frowns. He is perhaps a little perplexed by this conversation, or by Jaime himself. He likes to think he knows people, knows how they will react. But recent years have made a different man of Jaime Lannister. The fall of King’s Landing, his father’s death, the business with Cersei -- after all that, the arrogant and impetuous adventurer of his younger days is long gone. He is a ghost of himself, and the Spider doesn’t know what this ghost will do. He doesn’t like that.

He sits up a little bit straighter on his couch.  “Then it isn’t our local outbreak you intend to fight? I expected you would be nearby. Kill some Others, burn off some steam, and incidentally clear out some of the infestation in the Riverlands, which would be convenient for me. But you aren’t doing that, are you? You mean to follow her? To what purpose?”

Jaime’s eye flickers briefly right. “Hunting.”

“It will be pointless to mount a rescue mission, I assure you.”

“That isn’t the point.”

Their eyes meet for a moment. Jaime isn’t about to elaborate on his intentions, and Varys is visibly frustrated. His silky tones shorten, revealing something sharp beneath. 

“I ought to stop you. You have brought order to the Westerlands, and you’re starting to bring it here too. Alliances, patrols for the roads. Your brother, clever as he is, did not do that. If you abandon these lands, it may all fall apart.”

Jaime feels a flicker of guilt for that, but it is quickly doused by everything else happening inside him. No, this is important. Maybe the most important thing he has ever done.

He shrugs stiffly. “If it falls apart without me, it was too fragile to last.” 

“You’ll need more than an axe and your motorbike to make that journey. You have favors to trade, certainly,” Varys cuts him off before he can argue, “but not that many. The scouting party went beyond the Black Mountains, across them, into the far North. There are few enough waystations on the way to Winterfell, and everything North of Winterfell belongs to the Others. There will be no shelters for you along the way, no refuges, no refueling.”

Jaime is unconcerned. “If she made it there, then I can too.”

“The Blue Angel had a party of supporters, specialists. She would have been outfitted with the best supplies and equipment. She was welcomed everywhere she went, and at the peak of her powers. No offense, Slayer, but you are past your prime, and your powers lately end at the borders of Lannister territory.”

He smiles thinly as he stands. “I didn’t know you cared, Spider. Thanks for the weapon. We’re square.”

Jaime takes the axe outside, and stands staring up at the moon, while the bikers retrieve his motorbike.

Anytime he looks at the moon, anytime there is a moon, he thinks of her. Remembers how they had looked on it together, during those long nights on the road, even though they had parted years ago now. Her on to glory, him back to the arms of his family. They delivered the girls to Winterfell, and he left her to the Kingsroad. It was her territory after that, what once had been his. She had earned it in sweat and tears and blood. She tended it well without him. He had gloried in tales of her exploits.

Whenever he looks at the moon, he has always wondered if she is looking too. Wherever she is.

He thinks he will not be able to look at the moon anymore.

When he turns his head, Varys stands on the steps of his trailer, his bald head gleaming against the fluorescent light. Jaime has never seen him outside his trailer. It’s confusing, a little like seeing a penguin in the jungle.

“The Others of the Black Mountains are different,” The Spider warns him. “Worse.” 

When his bike comes rolling back with two of the Spider’s bikers, it comes with a few more gifts. Two metal spheres, one the size of a softball and the other the size of a chestnut.

Grenades, obviously Old World. Gods know where Varys got them from, certainly they aren’t made this way anymore. What they’re calling grenades now will mostly just make noise. But these two could probably blow a hole in a tank. He packs them onto his bike carefully.

Any old-world weapon would be priceless now, Jaime knows. Varys would not overpay a debt.

He squints up at the Spider, who makes a silky shadow in the doorway against his light. “And the cost?”  

The Spider smiles -- he can’t see it, on a shadow, but he can hear it in his voice. “If you come back, tell me what you saw. I hear very little of the Black Mountains and none of it first-hand.”

Jaime can promise that easily enough. He knows he won’t be coming back.

He walks his bike in silence about a mile up the road before waking the engines and roaring away.

He rides the motorbike until the last of his carefully hoarded gasoline is run out, rides right through the next day and into the night. Gets more miles out of it than he would have gotten with his creaky armored car, and certainly faster. 

Along the way he sees no other travelers. Five years ago there would have been at least a few others, some other vehicles, perhaps spaced out and alone, perhaps all in a big caravan for safety. But there is not much fuel left anymore. And North is not a direction people go in now.

It was how he had met her, actually. On a road much like this one.  He had been on a different motorbike and she had been driving a sedan. Obviously following him, less obvious why. He made it a chase - weaving between the stopped traffic, blasting around the walkers and cyclists and parades of cars going nowhere. She had somehow kept up with him, pushing her poor little car to its limits. Eventually he decided whoever it was had earned his attention for at least a few minutes, and he pulled over on the road to watch the tallest, ugliest woman he had ever seen unfold herself out of her car. 

She kept his attention considerably longer than a few minutes. .

Of course, he could enjoy a chase back then - you could still count on petrol, could siphon it out of most any vehicle you encountered along the way. The cars along the road here are bone dry by now, haven’t moved in years, and the electronics, trunk supplies, and even promising upholstery have been stripped out of them long ago. The cars pass by now in muted streaks of blue and red, dulled by layers of paint-stripping weather damage and snow. 

When his bike sputters to a stop, he leaves it right out on the highway. Packs his equipment onto his back. Then he begins to walk.

Without the headlights of his bike, it’s quite dark. No streetlights, of course. He has a torch in his bag, but he’s saving that battery as long as he can. Anyway, the moon is out, and once his eyes are adjusted he sees well enough. The trees encroaching on the interstate have not quite overtaken the shoulder, and the glow of moon and stars light up the cracked concrete in front of him, and glitter in the frost.

His boots echo his footfalls up and down the highway. First the gritty sound of gravel, and then the crunch of ice, and then the quieter scrunch of snow. 

There are no other sounds to hear out here -- no bird cries, no insects. They aren’t sure if the animals are dead, hiding, or run away, but no one sees them anymore. Means he doesn’t have to worry about being eaten by bears, at least.

The last bear he has seen was that time with Brienne, actually. It might have been the last bear, period. He hasn’t heard of any other ones since. That would be a shame, if that had been the last bear, and they’d killed it. He hadn’t wanted to. He can’t take it personally, the bear trying to eat them. He was only hungry, and they were all very hungry that winter. 

He didn’t know he would be fleeing the last bear in Westeros with her, when he met Brienne on the road. He only knew she was capable, and she was following him, and anyone out in the wilds could be dangerous. Out here other people were either foolishly overconfident, robbers, or competition. 

Brienne proved to be the last type, possibly also the first. She was after the Stark bounty, same as him. She had a personal stake. He could keep the money, she said. He had a lot more experience and knew where he was going, but she could be an ally. She could help.

He had laughed in her face, more or less. Said she was free to make the bounty herself, but he traveled alone. Newbies tended to die almost immediately, and he hadn’t stayed alive this long by babysitting foolish college students. He would locate the missing Stark girls and deliver them home. But if she wanted to return them herself she’d have to beat him there. 

A few weeks later they had wound up with one Stark girl apiece -- him with Sansa and her best girlfriend Jayne, her with Arya and her mate Gendry -- and again she had proposed an alliance for the trip up to Winterfell. No one had made it to Winterfell since the disaster, but their chances were better together, she said.

His better idea was that he could take the two valuable girls to Winterfell and she could take the two spares and go back to King’s Landing where it was safe, or jump in a lake for all he cared. But that conversation had been interrupted by the Bloody Mummers, and after that… things were very different after that.

Jaime slows to a stop with this remembrance, digs in his bag for his water bottle and takes a long pull. He’s tiring faster than he expected. He has tried to keep himself in fighting shape the last few years, but he hasn’t made a journey like this in a long time.

You’ve grown soft, he thinks, but inside his head it sounds like Brienne’s gentle ribbing. The tone she had taken after she stopped insulting him for real.

I’m refined, he answers back, slinging his pack over his shoulder and walking again. Answers between breaths, like he’s actually speaking. I’m a diplomat these days, remember? 

Will you try to negotiate with the Others then? She laughs in his ear. What will you trade them, wine? Broken electronics? The only economy they know is violence, and we trade them blows. 

He smiles to himself, despite everything. Young lady, it’s a good thing you didn’t come back to King’s Landing with me. You would have knocked out the Small Council within a day, and we’d both have been out on our asses.

And King’s Landing would have better off with us in the street than you in that office. We might have saved it. Old man, whatever have you done without me?

Jaime stops a moment, breathing hard, looking up at the moon.

I don’t know. I don’t know what I’ve been doing, where the time went. It all blurred together without you.

He has been having these conversations for years now. It isn’t exactly imagination. More prediction. He knows exactly what she would say in every instance. What she would think of the people he meets, the places he goes. He hears her critiques of his private practice sessions, when he tries to stay in shape for the inevitable invasion. Her quiet, private commentary. Her icy rejoinders to his jokes. They come to him like a reply. Like she has heard him gods-know-how-many miles away, and answered him back. 

It’s painful now, hearing her voice. He doesn’t know why it would be different - alive or dead, he is only talking to himself after all. Perhaps it is only more obviously futile this way, knowing she is gone. 

He was never going to see her again, he knows that. The things she does, they were always eventually going to get her killed. Hells, he told her that himself more than once. 

Even now it still isn’t entirely real to him. It doesn’t seem possible. But the Spider knows things, and if he knows them they aren’t just rumors. It’s true. It’s sinking in. Brienne is gone. 

She doesn’t walk the same world as him anymore. He will hear no more tales of her adventures, and smile privately at the things nobody else knows of her. He will not wonder if it snows where she is, or if the sun shines. Whether she ever thinks of him, the way he does of her. They traveled together only a year, but she carved a place for herself in him, in the slow and brutal way water carves a cliffside. He has kept her there all this time. Now in that space there is emptiness, a brutal, sucking vacuum that might just pull him apart if he stops moving long enough.

So he starts walking again. Keeps walking, on and on, without rest, for as long as he can stand it.

Here and there one of the Others comes onto the road ahead of him. They wander on and off aimlessly, looking lost. At a distance they look nearly alive, so long as they aren’t missing any limbs, and only the directionless of their movements give them away. As you get closer you can see their clothing is wrong -- it’s not enough clothes for the weather, or their clothes are torn, bits are missing. Maybe the clothes are rotting right off their bodies, if they’re been out long enough. Closer still and you can see the blueish tinge to the skin that the Others are famous for, the thin layer of frost that covers them head to toe. At ten feet or so you can make out the ice blue eyes that glow like cat’s eyes in the light. But by then they’ve seen you, and they move much faster than you think they can. Best not to get that close. Best to stay well away, and let them turn and wander in another direction out of sight. 

As always, one wonders what they’re looking for. Where they’re going.

Some of them will wander away before he catches up, and he pays them no mind. If he is quiet, and they didn’t take notice of him, it is easier to let them pass by. Fighting can be loud, and that sort of noise could bring more of them running.

But eventually one is too slow. They can be damaged, and those stumbling steps can be frustratingly deliberate at times. This one is fairly tall, and drags its foot in the snow. On the highway, it reminds him of an elderly driver occupying the fast lane at a crawl. Even as he slows his pace, he gets closer and closer, and the dead thing shows no signs of changing direction.

Eventually he can wait no longer. He will have to overtake the creature. At least he hasn’t seen any other Others nearby. This Other shows no sign of noticing him. Jaime slowly draws the axe off his back, and makes six rapid, long strides in the thing’s direction, winding up for a massive crossways swing.

Varys didn’t lie; the axe cuts true. One good blow across the back is enough to bring it down, and he remembers where to strike. Sever the spinal cord, destroy the brain, or burn them, that destroys them. The axe is so sharp it cuts the thing nearly in half. There is a quick, sharp sound of impact and the thud of a body hitting the ground, and then silence. 

They don’t scream, the others. They don’t make noises of any kind. Maybe because they don’t breathe anymore; who knows. He pulls the axe out of the thing’s bulk and wipes it in the snow. 

The first Other to fall to him in five years that he didn’t hit with his car. It feels good. It doesn’t relieve the great sucking void he has inside him but it does feel good.

He shoulders the axe and keeps walking. After that, he strikes down one of them every few hours, until the sun comes up, and then he huddles on the embankment, dozing, for most of the morning. It’s not so cold he’ll freeze - not yet, anyway - and there aren’t so many Others around that he can’t risk it.

He’s lucky, for the most part. There aren’t any big clusters of Others out here. Those tend to form up around settlements and cities, or lingering around empty houses. Not out here in the open space, where there aren’t travelers anymore. 

He passes the next night in a car, after crawling in a broken window. It’s not especially safer, but it is more comfortable than the ground. He sprawls across the backseat and thinks about the red wood-paneled station wagon he had found buried in a parking lot and managed to start. He and Brienne drove that car all the way to Harrenhall, the now five children sleeping in the back. The seat was so wide even Brienne could lay down in it, and she was inches taller than him. 

This car is blue, and he has to bend his knees and curl up to fit on the seat.

Keep watch for me, Angel, he tells her, before he drifts off.

Days of steady walking pass this way, with fitful bursts of sleep. 

The Black Mountains are looming in the far distance when he nears Winterfell. So tall he can see them all these miles away, staining the low edge of the horizon like a shadow. 

Jaime keeps his eyes on the ground mostly. He’s only been here once, and it wasn’t an enjoyable visit. It was a destination, and it meant the end of a long journey. He’s never much liked those. Endings. He tries to get those over with. If he can help it, he’d rather turn around and begin again right away, try to get back to the middle.

Wintertown is relatively intact, patrolled by fur-clad soldiers with shotguns. The town has grown since he was here last. The streets have people on them now, much more than in Lannisport or anywhere in the Riverlands. No cars, but regular people, old folks and even children, strolling about. He has to stop and stare at that for awhile. Pedestrians. It’s been a long time.

Perhaps things are better in the North? Maybe they are safer than they were. But Wintertown is small, and easily guarded, and in the shadow of the old Winterfell fortress these people know they can flee within its walls and be safe, should the Others attack again. That’s more reassurance than most places have. 

For a little while he walks up and down those streets, just another window-shopper. The buildings are mostly refitted as residences, but on the sidewalks people sell goods out of carts, or spread out on the sidewalk. Wanderers come through and trade the trinkets they’ve found. There aren’t prices. Most likely they will take food, and medicine, and more practical items, in trade. He didn’t bring anything like that, unfortunately. But there isn’t anything he needs here.

At the end of a long boulevard Jaime finds himself before the gates of Winterfell, and he pauses.

This was where he had parted from her. Right here.

He grimaces past that memory. He was an ass about it, of course. Tried to sneak away. She caught him. There was a confrontation. Things were said. 

Things? Brienne-in-his-mind prods him indignantly. Have you forgotten already?

I remember every word. He sighs. Unfortunately.

The gates to Winterfell stand open for now. Probably so that Wintertown can run inside, if someone rings the alarm. Jaime passes through and takes the gravel path to the old castle. It’s a sturdy thing, for being several hundred years old. Solid and undecayed. Sure, they have to replace the wood every few decades, but the stone is thick and unbroken. There are walls behind walls, like any medieval keep, and courtyards and gates separating them. Guards stand atop the fortifications with guns, and they watch him approaching. Wary, but welcoming. Anyone not undead is allowed to pass through, at least to the midden.

The kids are here at Winterfell, probably. Somewhere. Many of them stayed, he has heard. The Starks for sure, and maybe some of the other strays he and Brienne had picked up along the way. Any of the running kids in Wintertown could have been Apple, that baby that Willow and Sansa had fawned over. He would be five, six years old now. That is, if he were alive. 

He doesn’t want to see any of them if he can help it. Best not to go inside the Great Keep then. He goes to the Great Hall instead. The velvet ropes are all taken down. It was a tourist trap for a lot of years, before its fortifications became unexpectedly useful again. Used to be you could get a feast inside, with cosplayers and a jester and a bard, and then you could get back in your car and drive away home. 

Bit different now. The fires are still roaring, but put to more practical use. Broken furniture surrounds the great fireplaces where they have been stripping the upholstery and feeding the fire. Laundry is strung up before them, and boils in great kettles. Nearer to mealtime the laundry will be replaced with soup and stew. The fireplaces in the living quarters had been stripped out long ago, replaced with appliances that no longer work. They have to do nearly everything in the great hall now, and gather in smaller rooms. 

The head washerwoman takes his message back to the living quarters and Jaime sits down to wait. There is an armchair that is strikingly comfortable for as old as it looks, upholstered in a velvety material. It might be some kind of antique, something with a PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH sign on it back when this was a museum. There isn’t much use for antiques anymore. He sits in the chair.

He sits back and stares at nothing for a time. He might have fallen asleep, because the girls appear as if by magic, just as he remembers them but taller and leaner, their chubby faces hollowed by early adulthood. 

Sansa is quite tall, for a Stark anyway. She looks like her mother otherwise; red-haired, high-cheekboned, very pretty. Her sister looks like their father, sturdy and strong-jawed, Northern. They stare at him owlishly, and he wonders what he looks like to them. He is not nearly so changed -- grew a beard, added some lines around his eyes -- but they were children when they saw him last, and they are not children now. He has to look up to see them.

“You came for Brienne,” Arya says abruptly -- as usual she realizes the obvious first and doesn’t hesitate to speak it aloud. 

Jaime nods. There isn’t much more to say than that.

“We had a memorial,” Sansa hovers over him awkwardly, looking unsure. “All of Winterfell came, much of Wintertown as well. We would have waited if we had known you would come.”

“You thought I wouldn’t?” He says it more sharply than he intends.

Arya snaps back. “You’ve been gone a long time, and not a single letter. What else could we think?”

Sansa stops her with a hand to her shoulder. She was always an empathetic child. “You’re welcome here now. Can I get you anything?”

“Your brother. If he’s here.” His eyes drift to Widow’s Wail, where it sits on the floor beside him. “I’ve heard he was there when it happened. I need to hear it from him.”

Sansa leans forward and touches his hands, briefly. “We can take you to him.”

He can only nod. 

He follows the girls through the old fortress into a more modern living area. Home, most like. The Starks have all congregated here, the ones left.

Jon Snow he has never met before. The girls’ half-brother. Lord Snow of Winterfell, now. He stands straight and stiff, trying to look older than he is. He has a warm parka on over his polar fleece, something puffy and filled with down. It’s hard to be serious in a puffy coat without coming off at least faintly ridiculous, but the young man manages it somehow. 

“She was a great help to my family,” Jon says, and shakes his hand vigorously. “A great fighter, the bravest of all of us, and the kindest too. Every one of us here at Winterfell thought very highly of her.”

“And your mission?” Jaime shuts down the reminiscence quickly. He does not want to remember Brienne here. Certainly not with the Starks.

Jon hangs his head. “It wasn’t a complete waste. But it wasn’t quite what we wanted, either.”

He gestures to a sofa. Jaime sits on the edge of it, unwilling to relax. This is rather too much civilization for him right now. Jon sits down expansively on an easy chair, and runs a hand through wild black hair. 

“We were hoping to find something that would explain where the Others come from. We thought the Black Mountains might have the answer, the mountains and the land beyond. It’s hard to find much on the Mountains though -- only one road is passable, everywhere else is ice and deep snow. Beyond the Mountains there is a place they’re calling Craster’s Keep. We knew something was very wrong there. We should have stayed away.” Jon shakes his head, so serious. 

Jaime waits.

“We suspected they were colluding with the Others somehow. The ones on the Mountain. The old man… it was terrible. What he was doing. We had to put a stop to it. Brienne followed one of the men to their meeting place, where the Others come down the Mountain. She never came back.”

That is rather less definitive than Jaime wants to hear. 

“That’s all? Did you search?” he asks sharply.

Jon looks defensive at first, but softens quickly. “I assure you, if there was anything to find, we would have found it. We were very fond of her. There were signs of a battle, and several Others fallen there. But of her there was no sign. There was no body.” Jon looks reluctant to continue. “We did find this.”

Hesitantly, he holds out the wrapped bundle to Jaime. He knows it immediately. Takes it like he took the grenades, carefully and reluctantly.

His hands unwrap the thing before he can think twice, to show himself what he already knows. It’s Brienne’s titanium bat. Bloodstained, dirty, with a single chip in it near the tip. 

They had nicknamed it Oathkeeper, way back then. It was more like a mythical sword than a bat. Titanium bats weren’t even allowed in baseball, in any league. They hit the ball so hard it was dangerous to the other players. They probably shouldn’t have been made in the first place, and they stopped making them decades before the Others came and their true usefulness became apparent. 

Jaime holds the bat. Brienne had carried this thing for so long. He puts his fingers where she would have put hers, the way a player held it  to hit a ball. He can see the mark of her fingers there, slowly rubbed into the metal across the years. 

Jon is still talking. “These Others are different. Our Others will kill and turn. But these... We suspect that they consume the bodies instead of raising them. I think there was nothing remaining to find.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Jaime stands.

“If you will insist…” Jon rises as well, solemn. “My friend Sam stayed behind there. If you reach Craster’s Keep, ask for Sam. He’ll tell you what you need to know.”

*****************  

He passes a night there, lying awake in a bed. 

They gave him her room. A quiet, out-of-the-way guest bedroom with little in the way of modern amenities. It has a homey feeling, just the same. It feels like her.

She left some things there; little knick-knacks. She liked to pick up small things, put them in her pockets. Her coat had loads of pockets hidden everywhere. By the end of the day she would have lots of little treasures. You could turn her upside down and shake her and all sorts of shiny treats would come rolling out. Figurines, stones, tiny toys. They’re arranged all around the room, on the windowsill, on the dresser. Probably if he went through her clothes he would find more things still hidden away in her pockets. The coat, though, that wouldn’t be there in the closet, he knows without looking. She would have it with her, wherever she has gone.

Jaime leaves her things alone. It’s enough to know they’re there, waiting for her. 

Brienne slept in this bed. This is the only home she had, so far as he knows. She stayed here after he left, here at Winterfell. She would have rested here -- she was still a little sick. It had been a few weeks, at least, before she went back to the Kingsroad. After that she came back here between adventures, making the long, dangerous journey there and back again. In the dead of winter she would rest here at least a month, from what he could tell, every year.

He should have stayed with her. 

She never asked him. Not out loud. But he knows, deep down, he would have been welcome. He knew it then, too. But he had left her at Winterfell and gone back. Back to the arms of his family who needed him more than she ever would. Back to his father and his expectations, to his siblings who needed his protection. The job was over, and he went back to where he belonged. 

Not a day has gone by that he doesn’t regret it. 

************************

In the morning he is lacing his new boots in the great hall, a gift from Jon. They are a little large, but warm, and useful for maneuvering on ice. He suspects they had once belonged to Ned Stark; certainly none of the Stark boys have feet this big.

Jon has also given him a down parka like his own. Such a thing would fetch a lot in trade these days, but he insists Jaime take it. “This is the least I can do, for bringing my brother and sisters home.” 

Jaime promises to return it, though he can see that Jon does not expect to see him at Winterfell again. Neither of them do.

His pack has been refilled with food, bandages, antiseptic, and an icepick. Arya had thrust the bag at him wordlessly and turned on her heel and left and he does not see her again. How much and how little people change from when they are small; he can still see the dark-eyed child in the woman she is becoming. It makes him feel positively ancient.

Sansa accompanies him to the gates of Winterfell, gliding elegantly over the snow in her warm winter coat. She chatters as much as she always did, though it was never to him before. She used to keep her distance from him, as she had from most men. She misses Brienne, he realizes, looking at her. She must have been like an older sister, or an aunt, or...

He never did lay eyes on Rickon, did he? He is probably running wild somewhere, running with the wolves. He doesn’t ask, though he suspects Sansa would like him to. Nor does he ask about Willow, or Gendry, or any of the others. He has too much to carry already.

“You’re different,” Sansa tells him, nearing the gates.

“You’re older,” he says. “You see me better.”

“Maybe.” The auburn beauty frowns. “Do you think she’s still alive out there?”

He doesn’t want to talk about it. He doesn’t want to see the concern on her face, not if it’s for him.

“Do you think Brienne would want you to do this? Go after her like this?”

No. “That won’t stop me.” 

“She would want you to go on with your life.”

“I don’t care.” He can’t quite look at Sansa. He couldn’t look at Arya either. They remind him of too much. 

“Why did you never come back? She waited for you. She was still waiting.”

He shuts his eyes against her. “Don’t tell me that. Don’t. Not now.”

Sansa sniffles, and her voice trembles. “I’m so sorry. You were both so good to us. I’m so sorry,” she repeats, and tries to put her arms around him, but he’s already walking away.

He’s going through the gates of Winterfell, straight down the boulevard of Wintertown.

He doesn’t stop. He turns to the Black Mountains, and keeps walking.

[idontlikeem]

Sick/Injured Fic + I Didn't Mean to Turn You On

you can find the fic tropes mashup game here!

REALLY great combo, oh man! I had this idea right away—be warned, nonsense ahead!

sidney i promise i love your vocal fry

Zhenya’s never paid much attention to how Sidney talks.

He’s familiar with Sidney’s laughs—the slightly-stilted media chuckle he uses when he’s trying to buy time to think through an uncomfortable question, the gentle camera-friendly laugh when something genuinely amuses him but he’s very aware of the public within earshot, and of course the ridiculous high-pitched honking giggle that comes out when he really, really thinks something’s funny and can’t modulate his response.

Zhenya covets that last laugh, goes out of his way to elicit it, makes a fool of himself far more frequently than he’s willing to cop to in order to hear it, to watch the way it squinches Sidney’s whole face up, making his eyes disappear into half-moons above his cheeks, which get so, so pink.

So, yeah. Sidney’s laughs—Zhenya can categorize them all. But his voice? He’s never thought much about it. Sidney’s soft-spoken, and his singing is terrible, and Zhenya can easily drown him out in the room simply by virtue of having a lower voice.

Zhenya tends to not pay attention to the interviews they do. He doesn’t watch the stupid Christmas specials they make, he doesn’t stick around for postgames unless he’s actively participating, and he generally does his own thing during team media days if he can manage it. So, whenever Tanger teases Sidney with who are you trying to be when you talk to reporters, Kim Kardashian? you’ve already got the ass—, Zhenya’s ignored it—he doesn’t know what Sidney’s getting up to in his interviews, but it certainly isn’t any of his business.

(Tanger might be onto something, though. About the ass, at least.)

Finally, though, for the first time ever, they get roped into a joint interview during the league media day, and it’s clear when they get on the plane that Sidney has a cold.

He’s taken a decongestant so at least he’s not sniffling and sneezing all over, but his eyes are red-rimmed, and he’s sucking down cough drops like they’re pieces of candy.

Jen outright laughs at him on the plane. “Well, that’ll make at least that part of your interview easier, won’t it?” she asks as she holds up her phone and snaps a few pictures of them sprawled out in their seats.

Zhenya frowns. “What she mean?” he demands. In his experience, being sick only makes an interview worse, unless they’ve given him the good drugs beforehand.

Sid looks miserable. “Ugh,” he mutters, clearing his throat. “I kind of...I do this voice thing, sometimes. I don’t mean to,” he shoots Jen a glare, but she raises an unimpressed eyebrow and goes back to ignoring them, “but I guess sometimes I talk...lower, you know. Lower than usual.”

His voice sounds a little harsh, sure, but Zhenya probably wouldn’t have noticed unless he was listening for it.

He shrugs. “Okay, is fine. You do all questions, since special voice easier for you today.”

Sidney frowns heavily at him. Zhenya serenely ignores it in favor of demanding the picture from Jen to post to his Instagram. They look good, and Sid’s smiling—not quite one of his best smiles, but close. The internet will like it.

As the day wears on, though, Zhenya...figures it out.

When Sidney’s being interviewed, he can’t mainline cough drops, and his voice gets rougher and rougher as the day goes on. By the time they sit down with Friedman, he’s downright husky, and Zhenya—has a problem.

He’s distracted all through the questions, brushing past being asked about his desires to leave the Penguins (as if) and smiling vaguely down at the video Sportsnet took of him the previous year at his house. He’s babbling a little bit, he knows it, but if he doesn’t fill the silence—

Well, if he isn’t talking, Sidney is, and Tanger’s jokes about Kim Kardashian are suddenly, horribly explained.

It’s not right, Zhenya thinks miserably, listening to Sidney earnestly spill out the same meaningless platitudes about winning as a team he’s no doubt used a dozen times today already and trying not to shift too obviously. It’s not right that he feels so shitty and sounds like...like…

Christ in heaven, Sidney sounds sexy, and there is something seriously, seriously wrong for Zhenya to be thinking so when Sidney is so clearly miserable.

The interview ends, eventually, and Jen picks them up and chats at them the entire drive back to the hotel. Zhenya’s not required to contribute, thank god; he’s so past being able to hold polite conversation in public, it’s not even funny.

Naturally, this means Sidney follows Zhenya back to his room, recapping the day and whining about his sore throat. He stands too close when Zhenya fumbles the keycard into his room’s lock, like always. He smells like menthol from the cough drops, and his shirt is wrinkled and one side of his collar is flipped weirdly, and really, how hadn’t Zhenya realized how desperately, hopelessly attracted he is to Sidney before today?

Zhenya beelines for the minibar as soon as he’s got his shoes off inside his room, hoping that a few tiny bottles of mediocre vodka will at least kill off the semi he’s been sporting since halfway through the interview, if not distract him from the problem entirely.

It would help if Sidney would stop. Talking.

Instead, though, he flops back on Zhenya’s bed—he’s in my bed, Zhenya thinks hysterically, throwing one of the shitty flavored rums Sidney pretends he doesn’t like over before Sidney can ask—and keeps it up, talking about the other players they saw and what did Zhenya think of doing a co-interview, and did he really mean it when he said he’d seriously considered leaving, because—

“Sid,” Zhenya finally interrupts desperately, turning to look over his shoulder at the bed. Sidney’s voice is getting raspier by the second—he’s starting to sound like a girlfriend Zhenya used to have who was a heavy smoker, especially after she had been… He wrenches himself away from that train of thought. “Sid, please, stop talk, please.”

Sidney snaps his mouth shut and stares at him, eyes big and sad.

Zhenya winces and downs a bottle of—god, is that Svedka, disgusting—before jumping to try and smooth this over. “Not— Don’t mean, like, not want to talk, just…” He trails off and turns around, facing Sidney and scrambling to come up with something that doesn’t make him sound like an asshole, or insane.

Too late, though, he remembers his situation, and before he can sit down or do something to cover himself, Sidney’s gaze has already settled at Zhenya’s waist.

“Geno,” Sidney rasps out. “Geno, are you…?”

“Is your voice, I’m sorry!” Zhenya wails, sitting heavily in the desk chair and dropping his head in his hands. “I’m not mean! Is just, you sound…” He shrugs and trails off. There’s no point in trying to explain—he doesn’t have the words in English for it, and frankly, he’d rather Sidney not put together how much of a perv he is.

Sidney’s quiet for a minute, and when Zhenya dares to peek at him from between his fingers, he’s chewing on his lip, color high in his cheeks.

“I sound like I’ve been giving head, don’t I?” Sidney says abruptly, the corner of his mouth curling a little, and Zhenya’s whole body jolts. “I sound like I’ve had a cock down my throat, and now you’re thinking about that, and it’s making you—” He gestures vaguely at where Zhenya’s dick has now definitively gone from semi to fully hard.

“Please, Sid, I’m not—” Zhenya starts desperately. This is going off the rails, fast, and he doesn’t know what to do to fix it.

“I think you are,” Sidney says softly, and oh, now he’s doing it on purpose, Zhenya just knows it, and all he can do is stare when Sidney gets up and crosses the room, before dropping to his knees between Zhenya’s legs, holy shit.

“Sid, you—” Zhenya chokes when Sidney runs his hands up the inside of Zhenya’s thighs. His hands are hot through the thin suit fabric.

“Wanna hear what I really sound like, after?” Sid says, a gleam in his eye.

[polarurchin]

*Casually slips a smol snippet of Bepo going absolutely insane in sulong form onto the dash*

It starts with the full moon.

He hadn't meant to look at it but he was desperate to save his family. The group that'd originally been a target in one of Law's schemes had turned out to be far smarter than the Captain had given them credit for even after taking their own precautions against them. They were just one step ahead of them.

Shachi lay bloody and unconscious on the ground, Penguin was still fighting desperately to keep the enemy at bay whilst many of the other Hearts that weren't facing concerning injuries were forming a barrier around where Law had been struck by seastone chains before he could get his room up.

He was only ever meant to embrace the full moon's power as a last possible option and Bepo felt that now was more than appropriate to cast his Beady black eyes to the sky to soak in and let the moon's power take over.

This would be his first sulong form, and he would not have any recollection of what came next.

The first to change was his eyes, from a soft black to a wild red. His muzzle expanded as his teeth sharpened and grew, his fur lengthening into a mane as his muscles grew immensely and broke through the restrictive barrier of his orange boiler suit.

 Fearful gasps landed on deaf ears as he snapped his attention to the nearest foe brave enough to shoot at him and in an instant, crimson arced through the air as he bit through the man's shoulder with ease. Muscle and sinew gave away beneath his unyielding jaws before he snapped onto his neck to rip his throat out, blood soaking his snout as he let the corpse drop. The head barely hanging by a thread.

Shocked as they were at seeing their lovable navigator take on such a menacing aura, the Hearts took this as their second wind to fight back whilst being careful not to draw the ire of one savage polar bear mink.

The navigator himself was having no problems mowing down enemies left and right, his paws would dredge up organs as each swipe would disembowel or maim. Skulls would crack and shatter where they were crushed between gnashing fangs and spat back out to stain the surrounding flora red and white with bone, blood, and guts.

However soon the beast would run out of opponents. Only seeing figures of white around him that weren't joining the mutilated dead. Snarling aggressively, the beast crouches to pounce at the nearest being. He is barely in the air before he is swapped places with a branch which fell startlingly close to the Heart pirate that promptly fainted on the spot.

Where did this strange blue bubble come from and why did it electrify him so? Why did it remind him of home?

Roaring once more in frustration the beast turns before he is promptly pinned in place by bars swiftly forming a cage around him as they are stuck into the soaked earth.

A figure approaches as he struggles and for a moment he is confused by the concerned look on the man's face. Why did it hurt? Growling softly he clawed into the ground as he continued to resist the closer that man wielding a sword got to him. He could hardly move his head to peer at him as he abruptly crouched and laid a gentle hand on his the top of his head and between his twitching ears.

Words came but he still could not make sense of them and that frustrated him greatly. More and more of those white clad individuals approached and he shrunk in on himself. These were his friends right?

…Family?

" …N-a-kama?"

His voice sounded so rough even to his own ears, the sound belonging more to some strange beast than what he was used to hearing. All broken and almost nonsensical when deep down he knew he never sounded like this so why?

" C-an you h-elp me?"

At the immediate confirmation, Bepo chose to relax into that soft familiar touch and trust that he was in the hands of people that cared for him deeply. He closed his eyes, and knew no more.

[wjbsart]

A complete, very long list of all GBoard-combinable emojis because I can't find one anywhere.

Ok so for those who haven't seen my stuff (or have only seen my Bionicle posts), I sometimes emoji mashup redraws, with the recent fourth one using GBoard-based fusions. Frustratingly, there's no actual list of fusion-compatible emojis, so I'll attempt to compile them, in a list below the "Read More" thing:

Green/▢ = compatible with fusion Blue/△ = only works with certain emojis Red/◯ = not compatible with fusion

Also, since other people's terms for specific emojis might not match up with mine, I recommend using CTRL+F and then doing this to find the specific emoji you're looking for. This list is in the order presented in GBoard's Emoji menu. Some of them will be generic unicode symbols, I don't know how to change that, sorry for the inconvenience. Also, I won't aknowledge multi-category Emoji.

Smileys and Emoticons

😀Open-mouthed smile▢

😃Wide-eyed smile▢

😄Closed-eyed smile▢

😁Closed-eyed grin▢

😆Laughing▢

😅Sweating smile▢

😂Cry-laughing▢

🤣Cry-ROFLing▢

😭Crying▢

😗Kissing▢

😙Kissing, closed eyes▢

😚Kissing, blushing▢

😘Kissing, winking w/ heart▢

🥰Surrounded by hearts▢

😍Heart-eyes▢

🤩Star-eyes▢

🥳Noisemaker and party-hat▢

🤗Hugging▢

🙃Upside-down▢

🙂Smile▢

☺Blushing, smiling▢

😊Blushing▢

😏Looking off to the side▢

😌Relieved▢

😉Winking▢

🤭Hand over mouth▢

😶Nightmare fuel Mouthless▢

😐Neutral▢

😑-_-▢

😔Pensive▢

😋Licking lips▢

😛Tongue out▢

😝Tongue out, eyes closed▢

😜Tongue out, winking▢

🤪Tongue out, wide-eyed▢

🤔Hmmm▢

🤨Suspicious▢

🧐Monocle▢

🙄Rolling eyes▢

😒Unamused▢

😤Snorting▢

😠Angry▢

😡Angry, red▢

🤬Swearing▢

☹Frown▢

🙁Frown but less▢

😕Confused▢

😟Distraught▢

🥺Pleading▢

😳AWOOGA Flushed▢

😬Yikes▢

🤐Zip▢

🤫Shushing▢

😰Distraught, sweating▢

😧Distraught, shocked▢

😦Distraught, neutral▢

😮Open mouth▢

😯Open mouth, surprised▢

😲Shocked▢

😱Horrified▢

🤯Your head asplode Mind blown▢

😢Crying, single tear▢

😥Crying, less sad▢

😓Sweating▢

😞Dissapointed▢

😖Pained▢

😣Persevering▢

😩Weary▢

😫Tired▢

🤤Drooling▢

😴Sleeping▢

😪Sleeping but different?▢

🌛Left-facing moon▢

🌜Right-facing moon▢

🌚New moon face◯

🌝Full moon face◯

🌞The sun▢

🤢Queasy▢

🤮Vomiting▢

🤧Sneezing▢

🤒Unwell▢

🤕Bandaged▢

🥴Drunk▢

😵Dizzy▢

🥵Hot▢

🥶Cold▢

😷Masked up▢

😇Angel▢

🤠yee haw▢

🤑Money-tongue▢

😎Cool▢

🤓Nerd▢

🤥Lying▢

🤡Clown▢

👻Ghost▢

💩Poop▢

👽Ayy lmao Alien▢

🤖Robot▢

🎃Jack-o-Lantern▢

😈Demon 1▢

👿Demon 2▢

👹Oni◯

👺Tengu◯

☠Skull and crossbones▢

🔥Fire▢

💫Star with trail▢

⭐Star▢

🌟Star with bits▢

✨Stars▢

⚡Lightning◯

💥Explosion◯

💯100△

💢Anime anger symbol◯

💨Steam▢

💦Sweat Droplets▢

💤Zzz▢

🕳Hole▢

🎉Party popper▢

🎊Confetti ball▢

😺😸😹😻😼😽🙀😿😾Literally all the "cat in different emotions" emojis▢

❤🧡💛💚💙💜🖤Literally all the coloured hearts△

♥Heart suit▢

💘Heart with arrow▢

💝Heart with ribbon▢

💖Shiny heart▢

💗Growing heart▢

💓Beating heart▢

💞Swirling hearts▢

💕Two hearts▢

💌Love letter▢

💟Heart in square▢

❣Heart exclamation mark▢

💔Broken heart▢

💋Kiss▢

👥Two silhouettes◯

👤Silhouette◯

🗣Talking silhouette◯

👣Footprints◯

🧠Brain◯

🦠Microbe▢

🦷Tooth◯

🦴Bone◯

💀Skull▢

👀Eyes◯

👁Eye▢

👄Lips◯

👅Tongue◯

👃👂🦶🦵💪👍👎👏🙌👐Every other body part and hand gesture, seriously this isn't even all of them◯

People

Seriously, I don't know why none of the people-category emojis are Fusion-compatible. Let's just move on.◯

Animals and Nature

💐Bunch of flowers▢

🌹Rose▢

🥀Wilted rose◯

🌷Tulip▢

🌺Hibiscus flower◯

🌸Cherry blossom▢

🏵Rosette◯

🌻Sunflower◯

🌼Daisy▢

💮White flower◯

🍂Falling leaves◯

🍁Maple leaf◯

🌾Rice plants◯

🌱Seedling◯

🌿Herb◯

🍃Falling leaves again◯

☘3-leaf clover◯

🍀4-leaf clover◯

🌵Cactus▢

🌴Palm tree◯

🌳Deciduous tree◯

🌲Coniferous tree▢

🏞National park◯

⛰Mountain◯

🌊Wave◯

🌬Wind◯

🌀Tornado symbol◯

🌁Foggy scene◯

🌫Fog▢

🌪Tornado▢

☃Snowman (with snow)▢

⛄Snowman (without snow)▢

❄Snowflake

🏔Mountain with snow◯

🌡Thermometer◯

🌋Volcano◯

🏜Desert◯

🏝Desert island◯

🏖Beach◯

🌅Sunrise/set (water)◯

🌄Sunrise/set (mountains)◯

☀Sun▢

🌤Sun with cloud◯

⛅Sun and cloud◯

🌥Cloud with sun◯

🌦Sun and cloud with rain◯

☁Cloud▢

🌨Snowcloud◯

⛈Stormcloud◯

🌩Thundercloud◯

🌧Raincloud◯

💧Drop◯

☔Umbrella with rain◯

🌈Rainbow▢

✨Sparkles▢

🌙Crescent Moon◯

☄Comet◯

🌠Shooting star▢

🌌Milky Way◯

🌉Bridge◯

🌆City in the evening▢

🌃City at night▢

🌍🌏🌎Earth▢

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘The moon◯

🙈🙉🙊🐵Monkeys, wise or not▢

🦁Lion face▢

🐯Tiger face◯

🐱Cat face▢

🐶Dog face◯

🐺Wolf face◯

🐻Bear face▢

🐨Koala face▢

🐼Panda face▢

🐹Hamster face◯

🐭Mouse face◯

🐰Rabbit face▢

🦊Fox face◯

🦝Raccoon face◯

🐮Cow face◯

🐷Pig face▢

🐽Pig nose▢

🐗Boar head◯

🦓Zebra head◯

🦄Unicorn head▢

🐴Horse head◯

🐸Frog face◯

🐲Dragon head◯

🦎Lizard◯

🐉Dragon◯

🦖T-Rex◯

🦕Diplodocus◯

🐢Turtle▢

🐊Crocodile◯

🐍Snake◯

🐁Mouse▢

🐀Rat◯

🐇Rabbit▢

🐈Cat▢

🐩Poodle◯

🐕Dog◯

🐅Tiger◯

🐆Leopard◯

🐎Horse◯

🐖Pig▢

🐄Cow◯

🐂Bull◯

🐃Water buffalo◯

🐏Ram◯

🐑Sheep◯

🐐Goat▢

🦌Deer▢

🦙Llama▢

🦘Kangaroo◯

🐘Elephant◯

🦏Rhinoceros◯

🦛Hippopotamus◯

🦒Giraffe◯

🐒Monkey▢

🦍Gorilla◯

🐪🐫Camels◯

🐿Squirrel (why does the squirrel of all things have a Unicode symbol?)◯

🦡Badger◯

🦔Hedgehog▢

🦇Bat▢

🐓Cockerel/rooster◯

🐔Chicken◯

🐣🐥🐤Chicks◯

🐦Bird▢

🦉Owl▢

🦅Eagle◯

🦜Parrot◯

🕊Dove◯

🦢Swan◯

🦚Peacock◯

🦃Turkey◯

🦆Duck◯

🐧Penguin◯

🦈Shark◯

🐬Dolphin◯

🐋🐳Whales◯

🐟Fish▢

🐠Tropical fish◯

🐡Pufferfish◯

🦐Prawn◯

🦞Lobster◯

🦀Crab◯

🦑Squid◯

🐙Octopus▢

🦂Scorpion▢

🕷Spider▢

🕸Spiderweb◯

🐚Shell◯

🐌Snail▢

🐜Ant◯

🦗Grasshopper◯

🦟Mosquito◯

🐝Bee▢

🐞Ladybird◯

🦋Butterfly◯

🐛"Bug" yeah sure ok◯

🐾Pawprints◯

Food and Drink

🍓Strawberry▢

🍒Cherry◯

🍎Red apple◯

🍉Watermelon◯

🍑Peach◯

🍊Orange◯

🥭Mango◯

🍍Pineapple▢

🍌Banana◯

🍋Lemon▢

🍈Melon◯

🍏Green apple◯

🍐Pear◯

🥝Kiwi◯

🍇Grapes◯

🥥Coconut◯

🍅Tomato◯

🌶Chili▢

🍄Mushroom◯

🥕Carrot◯

🍠Sweet potato◯

🌽Corn◯

🥦Broccoli◯

🥒Cucumber◯

🥬Lettuce◯

🥑Avocado▢

🍆Aubergine◯

🥔Potato◯

🌰Nut◯

🥜Peanuts◯

🍞Bread▢

🥐Croissant◯

🥖Baguette▢

🥯Bagel◯

🥞Pancakes◯

🍳Frying pan◯

🥚Egg (somehow)◯

🧀Cheese▢

🥓Bacon◯

🥩Meat◯

🍗Chicken leg◯

🍖Anime meat◯

🍔Burger◯

🌭Hotdog▢

🥪Sandwich◯

🥨Pretzel◯

🍟Chips◯

🍕Pizza◯

🌮Taco◯

🌯Wrap◯

🥙Stuffed flatbread◯

🥘Paella◯

🍝Spaghetti◯

🥫Can◯

🥣Bowl◯

🥗Salad◯

🍲Pot of food◯

🍛Curry◯

🍜Noodles◯

🍣Sushi◯

🍤Fried prawn◯

🥡Takeaway container◯

🍚Cooked rice◯

🍱Bento◯

🥟Dumpling◯

🍢Oden◯

🍙Jelly Donut Rice ball◯

🍘Rice cracker◯

🍥Fishcake◯

🍡Dango◯

🥠Fortune cookie◯

🥮Moon cake◯

🍧Shave ice◯

🍨Ice cream◯

🍦See above◯

🥧Pie◯

🍰Cake slice◯

🍮Custard mate what kinda custard have you been eating, this is clearly a créme caramel◯

🎂Birthday cake▢

🧁Cupcake▢

🍭Lollipop◯

🍬Boiled sweet◯

🍫Chocolate◯

🍩Donut◯

🍪Cookie◯

🍯Honey◯

🧂Salt◯

🍿Popcorn◯

🥤Soft drink◯

🥛Milk◯

🍼Baby bottle◯

🍵Green tea◯

☕Coffee▢

🍺Beer◯

🍻Beers, plural◯

🥂Champagne glasses◯

🍾Champagne◯

🍷Red red wine◯

🥃Whiskey◯

🍸Martini◯

🍹Cocktail◯

🍶Sake◯

🥢Chopsticks◯

🍴Knife and fork▢

🥄Spoon◯

🔪Kitchen knife◯

🍽Plate▢

Travel and Places

🛑🎡Everything from the stop sign to Ferris wheel◯

🎠Merry-go-round horse▢

🎪🏕Everything from circus tent to campsite◯

🌇City at sunset yes I'm surprised as you are▢

🛤Train tracks◯

🛣Road◯

🗺Map◯

🗾Japan is an island by the sea filled with volcanoes and it's beautifuul!◯

🌐Globe with meridian lines▢

💺Plane seat◯

🧳Luggage◯

Activities and Events

🎈Balloon▢

🎀Bow◯

🎁Present◯

🎇Sparkler◯

🎆Fireworks◯

🧨Dynamite Firecracker◯

🧧Red envelope◯

🎐Wind chime◯

🎏Fish streamers◯

🎎Japanese dolls (that's what the emoji's called, don't @ me with the actual name for them)◯

🎑Moon viewing ceremony◯

🎍Pine decoration◯

🎋Tanabata◯

🎄Christmas tree▢

🎗Ribbon△

🥇🥈🥉🏅🎖Medals◯

🏆Trophy◯

📣Megaphone◯

🥅Goal◯

⚽⚾🥎🏀🏐🏈🏉🎾🏸🥍🏏🏑🏒SPORTS◯

🥌Curling stone◯

🛷Rosebud Sled◯

🎿Ski◯

⛸Skate◯

⛳Golf-hole◯

🎯Target◯

🏹Bow◯

🥏Frisbee◯

🎣Fishing rod▢

🎽Running shirt◯

🥋Martial arts uniform◯

🥊Boxing glove◯

🎱8-ball◯

🏓Ping-pong◯

🎳Bowling◯

♟Chess◯

🧩Puzzle piece◯

🎮Controller◯

🕹Joystick◯

👾Videogame alien◯

🔫Gun◯

🎲Dice◯

🎰Slot machine◯

🎴Flower playing card◯

🀄Mahjong tile◯

🃏Joker◯

🎩Top hat◯

📷📸Camera◯

🖼Painting◯

🖌Paintbrush◯

🖍Crayon◯

🧵String◯

🧶Wool◯

🎼🎵🎶Music▢

🎷🎺🎸🎻🥁Instruments◯

🎤Mic◯

🎧Headphones▢

🎚🎛🎙📻Assorted audio stuff◯

📺TV◯

📼VHS◯

📹Camcorder◯

📽Projector◯

🎥Film camera◯

🎞Film◯

🎬Clapperboard◯

🎭Comedy and tragedy masks◯

🎫🎟Tickets◯

Objects

📱🧻Everything from smartphone to toilet roll◯

🧸Teddy bear▢

🧷🧢Everything from safety pin to baseball cap◯

👑Crown▢

🎒💍Everything from backpack to ring◯

💎Diamond▢

💄👓Everything from lipstick to glasses◯

🕶Sunglasses▢

🥽📁Everything from goggles to folder◯

🕶Newspaper▢

🗞🔎Everything from rolled-up newspaper to right-pointing magnifying glass◯

🔮Crystal ball▢

🧿🔓Everything from Nazar amulet to open lock◯

Symbols

There are no compatible non-repeated Emoji here.◯

Flags

Aaaaand none here either.◯

Feel free to let me know if I got anything wrong.

[love-lost-insecure]

Salvage- Jason Todd x Reader

Jason was tired and the stress of the night was still weighing him down, along with the rain that drenched him. Crawling into the window of his apartment, he stripped out of his gear and put his guns in a bin to clean later. The night was rough and he had to resort to shooting when he was supposed to just be doing recon. The rubber bullets were easier to use now, no longer feeling the pit calling for blood. However, Penguin got away tonight but he was still able to learn new information to go over with Tim later. After everything that Jason put him through, he couldn't believe that he had been growing closer to Tim, of all people. Hell, they have a breakfast date almost every week.

Checking the time to see how early it was, he sat on the edge of the tub and waited for the water falling from the shower to reach the coldness he needed. Ever since his dip in the pit, he ran hot. It was like his body was working double time to make sure his organs were actually alive and pumping. Jason’s body was tired and aching to sleep but his mind was racing. It was a ritual he did every time he had a night like this. Letting the cold, refreshing water run down his body, cleansing his past failures. Jason’s mind would reflect on how far he had come. The anger, the emptiness, the urge to shed the blood that he had lost before it was still so clear to him. He was feral and hurt but over time, he grew into the man he was today. The man you knew him to be. 

After his shower and “morning” routine, he opened the door to your shared room and saw you sprawled out on his side of the bed. The moon casted a glow on your skin, making his fingers itch to caress every part of you. You were the only one who could completely calm his mind. You were the silence to his violence. You were his balance. 

Being careful to not fully wake you, he rolled you to the other side of the cool bed to settle into his side. The warmth of your body imprint heated his still cool skin. Once he was settled, he turned on his side and pulled you back to his chest. Soft murmurs left your lips but sleep still had a hold on you. Jason smiled and cupped your cheek, leaning in to press his lips to your forehead.  You understood him more than he knew himself at this point. You calmed the voices that were whispering, no longer yelling, in his head. Just a smile from you made him feel better. Kissing you again, your eyes fluttered open to see ocean colored eyes staring into you.

“Why are you creeping on me?” a sleep-laced voice cut through the silence.

He laughed softly, “Leave it to you to ruin my sweet and loving moment.” 

“Jay-”

“I love you.” vulnerability could be heard in his words but you felt the truth behind them, always did. 

“I love you too Jason Todd.” lips pressing together in the moonlit room was something Jason Todd, the Red Hood, never thought he’d be doing.

But then there was you.

[pinkanonwrites]

Karasuno VS. Animal Crossing Villagers

Not an ask, but my own idea! Like most people I’ve been neck-deep in animal crossing during these trying times. I wanted to write how haikyuu characters would react to hearing you gushing about someone, only to find out it’s just your favorite villager!

Sawamura Daichi

Usually Daichi is a very reasonable man.

Somehow that all goes careening out a nearby window when he overhears you on the phone with one of your friends.

“Marshal is perfect and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind. Love of my life. Ideal man.”

He’s so caught off guard that he doesn’t even register the volleyball hitting him in the back of the head. The love of your life? Oh nononononono. No one else was gonna be stealing away your attention.

He pushed the roaring beast of jealousy back down in his stomach and smiled as you waved him over. 

“Daichi loooook! He’s so grumpy!” You turned your phone around to show him a picture of an adorable little white squirrel. “I love Marshal!”

Ah.

“Well, he is pretty cute.” Is all he can muster as a reply, feeling rather silly.

Sugawara Koushi

Suga would see you smiling at your phone like an idiot and scootch over to tease you about your silly expression.

His own smile would suddenly fall when you told him just what you were mooning over.

“I made Avery into my new lock screen background! He’s just the cutest!”

Luckily Sugawara is a smart man, and would ask to see your background before drawing any conclusions. He’d breathe a silent sigh of relief upon seeing that your lock screen picture was of a goofy looking cartoon eagle.

“Whaaaaaaaat? You think he’s even cuter than me?” He’d tease, squishing your cheeks with both hands until you broke into giggles. Good. Crisis averted. For now.

Azumane Asahi

Poor baby gets so nervous when he hears you gushing over your villager.

“Kyle is so cool! I’m never ever gonna let him leave I’ve never been this happy in my life!!!”

Daichi and Suga get to watch him melt into a puddle of misery on the floor.

“Kyle?” He whines, scandalized. “Cool?” Of course you liked cool guys. Guys who were tough and aloof and didn’t let anything bother them. He was none of that.

“Asahi! Asahi! Look at my new villager! Isn’t he cute?”

Then you bounded over and showed him the Kyle in question, a hyena in a leather vest. He whined out your name, blubbering as he hid his face in the top of your head. He’s just a big, silly fool.

Nishinoya Yuu

“Okay but Genji is actually perfect though? I’ve never loved anything so much in my life.”

Nishinoya’s head snaps in the direction of your voice so fast his bones cracked. Genji? Who is Genji? He doesn’t glean any information from staring at you, but his teammates can already see the storm clouds brewing above his head.

Who did this Genji guy think he was, stealing away your attention? Hogging your attention was his job.

After landing a particularly impressive receive, he’d look over to you and holler, “Can Genji do that?”

“Well he’s a rabbit and also in a video game, so I’m gonna say no!”

Ohhhhhh, the shame he feels. He must turn red up to the tips of his ears.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke

“Papi was singing yesterday! He’s just adorable, I can hardly stand it!”

Tanaka is already growling like a feral dog. He heard ‘He’s just adorable...’ come out of your mouth and it wasn’t directed at him. Your boyfriend.

Clearly he’s gotta challenge this guy for your honor, or beat him up, or, or-!”

Or almost turn into a blubbering mess the second you asked him if he was okay. You’d start panicking when he asked if you still liked him, until he asked why you thought this Papi guy was so cute.

“Ryuu...” You sounded exasperated but painfully fond as you pulled up a picture of the horse on your phone. “He just moved into my Animal Crossing village.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“So I’m still your favorite?”

“Of course you are, Ryuu!” “Ah. Heh. I knew that.”

Ennoshita Chikara

Easily the most sensible of the entire team.

“Whatcha looking at?” You’ve been staring at your phone for a good long while with the silliest expression on your face, and he can’t help but be a little curious.

“Wade! He’s so adorable I can’t stand it!”

“Oh? Do I need to be on guard? Is someone gonna try and sweep you off your feet right out from under me?” He jokes, leaning over your shoulder to get a peek at your phone.

“Only if you think a penguin is worthy of wooing me.” You respond.

“I dunno, he’s pretty cute. I might be swooned!”

“Chikara!”

“Joking! Joking!”

Kageyama Tobio

“Apollo is perfect. He’s all gruff on the outside but so sweet and gentle on the inside.”

Externally Kageyama didn’t show any immediate change in expression, quietly focusing on his drills.

Internally, boy is panicking. Who is Apollo? Why was he perfect? Why did you like him so much?

It isn’t until he misses a set and it hits him directly in the head that you realize something’s up with him. He grumbles over and grabs your hand, pulling you out of sight of his teammates.

“Who’s ‘Apollo’?” He asks as soon as you’re out of earshot. “-! D-Don’t laugh!”

“Tobio, look. This is Apollo.” You bring up your Switch and scamper over to a bald eagle and begin talking to him. “He’s gruff on the outside, but sweet on the inside. Just like you. That’s why he’s my favorite.”

“That’s-You!” He stammers, face exploding into a burning blush. “Wh-Whatever! I’m way cooler than some weird bird anyway!”

Hinata Shouyou

“There he is! The light of my life! My most perfect boy!”

Usually that’d get Hinata excited, because you’d be talking about him. Not today.

“Jeremiah! The cutest in the whole wide world!~”

And he definitely wasn’t sulking because of it. No siree.

You wouldn’t stop staring down at your phone, even when Hinata was doing his amazing freak quick. Yeah you’d probably seen it a few hundred times at this point, but still! You said it was always amazing! What changed?

At the end of practice he’d holler your name out to you.

“I only want you to watch me! Not whoever this weird Jeremiah guy is!”

“Shouyou, baby, he’s a frog.”

“...Eh?”

After you show him your Switch he buries his face in his hands, cheeks burning. “Waaaaaaaahhh, this is so embarrassing. I’m gonna die.”

You laugh and wrap him in a hug. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay more attention at your next game. No frogs allowed.”

Tsukishima Kei

All day long, whenever you’re in earshot, Tsukishima can hear you rambling about this ‘Erik’ guy and frankly? It’s starting to drive him a little bit insane.

“Erik gave me some flowers!”

“Erik said he liked my outfit today!”

“Erik invited me to his house!”

By the time you pick up on his sour mood Kei is practically simmering, and looks at you with a bitter glare.

“Why don’t you spend some more time with Erik if you’re going to be drooling all over him?”

Boy does he feel a fool when you show him a picture of the little elk in your village.

“Kei, were you jealous?”

“Tch.”

Yamaguchi Tadashi

“Rowan is so cool. And so cute! He’s definitely my absolute favorite.”

Yamaguchi’s attention snaps to you, wide-eyed. Who is Rowan?

“W-Who is Rowan?”

Yama’s a pretty shy guy, but he’s not really the type to jump to conclusions either. So if he was nervous about something you said, he’d ask right away instead of stewing in it.

Which is good for him, because now he knows that you aren’t going all mushy over another boy, just a particularly cool cartoon tiger. You’d show him the character on your Switch screen and shoot him a smile so infectious he can’t help but mirror it.

I also think Yama is the most likely to become interested in Animal Crossing after you show him! He’d want to see all your other villagers too, not realizing how far you were leaning into each other’s space as you gave him a tour of your town.

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch9 Fixing One Problem At A Time

-Small Time Skip-

THREE. HOURS.

They had been sitting there for a little over three hours reading this boring book on moon phases, what rock mineral and gases the stars and moon was made up off, how the Moon Penguins inhabited it, Star constallations. The whole works. But that wasn't counting Snatcher's annoyance at the kiddo's annoying stops. First she had to stop to help them pathetically crawl to the bed, which admittedly was better than the floor and at least they could throw the blanket around their shoulders as some defense against the cold, but that wasn't the point. Then she had to go upstairs to investigate a weird, which turned out to be some kind of lady in an apron behind the locked doors. A maid like Moonjumper had suggested most likely, or perhaps one of the royal cooks. Who knows? He's never bothered going in there assuming it was holding something crazier than the graffitied walls, and barely came here anyways. So why should it have concerned him? Not like he could've reversed whoever was locked in there anyways. He absolutely HATED everything about this right now-

"PRIIIIIINCE!!! MY PRINCE!! LET ME OOOOOUUUUUTTT!! YOU CANNOT KEEP ME FROM YOU!! YOUR BELOVED PRINCESSS!!! COME BACK TO ME!!"

Oh yeah. Did he mention Vanessa woke up bout half an hour ago and started screeching her lungs off calling for him? Yeah. Snatcher did his best to ignore the stupid yelling by forcibly reading the book, annoyed and anger bubbling under the surface. Meanwhile Moonjumper was panicking in their head and was worried she'd bust open the door and get to them....HA!! Fat chance. She was too weak to do anything but scream annoyingly and that door wasn't budging anytime soon. Once n a while he'd call out to Hattie in the hallway and check up on the progress, he hadn't done that in a bit so he might as well do it again. The storm outside didn't stop as the snowflakes still swirled around and lightning struck every so often, but it was a bit lighter. Must've been early morning at least. Snatcher made them turn a scowl to the doorway.

"HEY!! Are you done YET!? Im getting a little....Scratch that! A LOT annoyed at Ms. Pecking Loudmouth over there!"

"ALMOST!! I have ten more pieces to go! It's not easy to put them back together," she yelled back from the hallway.

"Well hurry it up, will ya?! I'm getting cold feet!! Literally and metaphorically!!" He grumbled annoyed and looked back to the book forcing himself to read about the gravity and air orbiting the moon from the Subconia planet to allow Moon Penguins and other people to breath on the moon and at least 55 miles within the planet's reach-

"PPPPPRRRRRIIIIINNNNCCCEEE!!!!! PHILIP!!!"

"OH SHUT UP YOU STUPID PECK NECK-!!!"

"I'M DONE!!," the child happily proclaimed from the hall interrupting anymore shouting and footsteps came rushing into the bedroom door they were in.

"YOU ARE!?" Immediately the book was dropped to their feet among the papers and their head snapped to the doorway as she ran in holding the precious magical hourglass in her hands. The beautiful sparkling blue sand lit up the little girl's precious proud face that if he weren't in such a dire situation MIGHT have thought was cute as she jumped onto the bed and hoped over to him holding it up. They stared at her for a little while before Snatcher snapped back up to her face. "WELL?! Whatcha waiting for kid?! Summer? Get to reversing us and let's get the PECK outta here before she remembers how to ice stuff again!!" "I QUITE agree, Sweetheart!! Let us make our leave of this place and NEVER come back!!"

Hattie nodded with understanding and looked down to the precious objects only she could semi-work. Good thing she had LOTS of practice already reversing things from all those time rifts she had to fix. Holding the small time piece up Snatcher and Moonjumper watched fascinated as it flew up in the air and slowly started to spin.....Which got faster....And faster.....AND FASTER!! Until it looked like a mini blue glowing tornado as it spun so fast, the blue light and energy waving off it got stronger and stronger until Hattie slammed her eyes shut and looked away when a giant BOOM!! Was resent off! A giant energy wave of light and energy game from the time piece, enough for her to stumble and fall onto her back on the bed. Her hat falling over her face. The giant flash also blinding her. Sending more chills down her spine. As soon as it came it left, and she groaned. After a few seconds, leaning back up again. Pushing her hat back and using her other hand to reach up and rub her eyes. Snatcher didn't fair much better. Glass and sparkling blue sand caught their reflections in their sparkles, energy gathering up and then-.....White. The energy was so bright he had to turn his head away to avoid it, the energy wave knocking him back to the floor and everything going black. .......But it was like something snapped off him. All the weight. All the weird weakness. ....GONE!! Instead he felt....POWERFUL!! BIG!! RECONNECTING WITH ALL THAT MAGIC AND ENERGY AND THE MANY SOULS UNDER HIS COMMAND!! HE. FELT. COMPLETE AGAIN!! WITH NO ONE ATTACHED TO HIM EITHER!! The frightening figure of a sixteen foot ghost rose above the child as she finished rubbing her eyes and blinked up at him. The ghost stared down at his three clawed hands, a dangerously menacing evil grin on his face as he stared at the ghostly purple hands, a bright blue flame suddenly appearing in both lighting up his already glowing yello eyes and mouth. If Hattie was any normal person she would've ran for her life, but instead she smiled seeing him back to his old noodle self and quickly crawled along the bed to grab the time piece that fell by her feet as Snatcher laughed.

"AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHH!!!! YES!!" He lifted his hands up higher. "NEVER AGAIN!!"

"Does that mean you won't take my time pieces anymore?," Hattie asked giving him a suspicious look.

"Trust me, Kid. You can dump those things into the sun for all I care. I am NEVER laying a hand on one again." He sighed and with a snap the blue flames disappeared-

"MY PRIIIIINCE!!!" Hattie jumped at the suddenly loud voice and Snatcher growled snapping his head towards the sound. They had both momentarily forgotten about Vanessa after changing Snatcher back, but now she was back to being dead too......She could easily walk through the barricaded doors just as easily as Snatcher or Moonjumper could. She couldn't hurt Snatcher. He was just as equally if not MORE powerful than her with all the souls he's collected and without a curse that prevented him from leaving the manor unlike her. Plus he was already dead....But she could most definitely hurt the small child looking completely SCARED at the sounds of her. The thought of anyone laying a hand on HIS girl made the fluff around his chest and neck bristle up more in rage as he growled and sensed her prescence inching closer. "PHILIIIIIPPP!! COME BACK TO ME!!!"

"W-Who's Philip? AH!!" She had to grip the time piece hard to her with one hand and grab her hat from falling off with the other as Snatcher snatched her up in his arms and snarled at the bedroom doorway.

"Never mind that! Now do exactly as I say! Hang on to that magical glass and close your eyes!"

She didn't have to be told twice as her knuckles turned white gripping the hat and time piece to herself and gulped down the lump in her throat as Snatcher floated over to the hallway and looked out. Immediately catching the attention of the once again ghostly Vanessa who hissed and pointed her hand at them.

"YOU?! WHERE IS HE!? YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM MEEEEE?!," She shrieked making Hattie completely shake in the snarling ghost's hold and pull her hat down over her eyes. Vanessa shrieked some kind of incoherent screech and charged for them. Snatcher was NOT in the mood to be dealing with a crazy peckneck, not while his little girl was in danger! The dark purple ghost easily shot out above her near the ceiling out of her reach and made for the set of stairs that lead down to the first floor. Hugging the shivering girl to his soft chest. Vanessa lashed out at them missing Hattie by a couple inches and still screeched when Snatcher shot down the stairs with her chasing behind but he was too fast for her. "BRING ME BACK MY PRINNNNCE!!!"

The long ghost moved like a snake in the twisting and turning corners easily and diving down the stairs leading into the celler-......Before absolutely stopping. Still with a snarl, Snatcher snapped his head to the two lightly clanking chains. ...Him hanging there. Crying for forgivness. Not being able to escape- WITH A SCREECH OF HIS OWN THE AMOUNT OF FANGS SHOWING DOUBLED AND HE DARTED RIGHT FOR THEM!! ONE OF THE CLAWED HANDS REACHING OUT AND WITH A CRUNCH SOUND SUNK RIGHT INTO THE BASE OF WHERE ONE OF THE CHAINS WERE BOLTED TO THE WALL!! FUELED BY ANGER AND BEING OUT OF IT!! THE SNATCHER SAW RED AND WITH MORE CRUNCHING SOUNDS PULLED THOSE CHAINS FROM THE WALL!! Pieces of the wall came off with the two chains as Snatcher raged pulled them out one after the other with the force of a thousand Vanessas. The rock pieces and chains splashed into the water below with metal clanging noises from the chains as Snatcher watched with a snarl.

"PRINCE!!!"

Snatcher briefly snapped his head behind him at the stairs before clutching the still spooked child with both hands and again shot out the celler doors. He knew Vanessa couldn't leave the manor but he didn't know if she could enter the celler, but he wasn't staying to find out. The cold air blasting him and the little girl making her shiver more as he bulleted up, up, UP like some rocket. Flying high above the mansion and through the top of the ice dome, he momentarily looked around and down at his surroundings from way up high before settling on looking to the left and turning his body to shoot down, down, down. The air still cold and hard, but got warm quickly. His fluff and hattie's hair flying around wildly as he took them down and ended up landing some where randomly in his swamp. The ghost proceeded to start zig zagging through the trees, slithering in the air like a sea serpent still clutching the child to him protectively.

"W-W-What a-about Uncle M-Moon?!," Hattie finally shouted out daring to lift one corner of her hat off to peek up at him. "Isn't he still back there?!"

"Don't worry about him!," SNatcher stated bluntly, "That old peckneck can take care of himself! Besides it's morning already! He's probably back in that horizon prison until nighttime again!!"

He'll be fine. The Horizon was probably as far as one could from Vanessa being on another plain of existance. As he slithered between the trees he gradually began to slow down, but never stopped, even when he entered the burning part of his forest and casually floated along he never stopped, still tightly holding Hattie to himself in a protective hold. But she had stopped shivering and pushed the hat back on her head, her hands relaxing their grip on the time piece but still holding onto it. She coughed every so often from the smoke around them, and didn't like the heat too much, but she'd rather have herself in the clutches of Snatcher flying throw a burning cursed forest, than a frozen statue in Vanessa's creepy house forever. Now that this problem was solved they could relax. ....Well, for now at least. As he continued to float past everything he finally looked down to the little girl looking around at her surroundings......And frowned guiltly.

"Uh....Hey, Kiddo. How uh...How are you hanging in there?"

She looked up to him and smiled. "A lot better now that we're not near that crazy peckneck! And I got this!" She held up the sparkling object smiling more. "Hey! Thanks for saving me back there! I didn't know you were that fast!" Her eyes sparkled with childhood fun making him smile a little.

"Heh....Well, I have to be fast if I want to get to all my traps in someone stepped in them. A spider always catches the fly!"

She looked confused for a moment. "I thought the big spiders around here were ghosts like you too."

"Well....They are but...I-It's just a figure of speech, Kid." A small silence settled over the two as Hattie took off her hat and shoved the time piece in it before putting it back on her head, he still smiled at her a bit....before that frown came back along with a guilty feeling. ".....Hey, Hattie." She snapped her head up to him hearing her name and he slightly looked away. "....Im not...Good at saying this buuuut....I might be sorta, a little, almost sorry about...the whole borrowing without asking thing. Maybe."

She stared at him for a little longer before giving him that usually smug face making him groan and her giggle. What a soon-da-ray! "I'll forgive you, but only if you stay out of my vault."

He chuckled. "Trust me. I NEVER want to touch one of those things again. You can have them"

She nodded. "Good. Cuz I would've fought you again and won if you didn't give it back."

he chuckled. "You do pack a whallop don't ya?" Sure she did. She wacked Vanessa once and it was enough to knock her unconscious for a little over three hours. But all that aside. It was good to be back in his usual form again. He felt SO much better like this, but his happy smile was short lived when he saw the sight. They just broke through the burning tree line and the child coughed a few more times before shaking her head glad to be rid of the smoke smell and heat when he froze and stared ahead of them at him home. "WHAT THE PECK?!"

A couple of his minions were giggling and had four Mafia men backed against a tree as they all cowered away from the giggling spirits. One dweller with a white mask with long ears was holding the random old man and swaying him back and forth as if playing as he shouted for it to let go. Then ...Hey! It was the researchers. Mr. Tim was holding one of the Subconites up and seeming to be studying it as it wriggled around and demanded to be put back down. Thor was INSIDE SNATCHER'S HOME looking at everything with a magnifying glass, while Mr. Oldster was snoring fast asleep in Snatcher's arm chair. Two minions were giggling as another dweller in a fox mask was drawing on his sleeping face using their long body to hold some kind of chalk. Rough Patch seemed to be the only one who wasn't causing trouble as he just slept underneath Snatcher's chair curled up to look like a bush randomly growing under it. But they all stopped hearing Snatcher's yell and looked up. The King Ghost stared at them all for a second before scowling further and lowering his arms to drop Hattie onto her feet and pointing inside of his home. At the same time Mr. Tim dropped the minion and the dweller dropped the old man.

"YOU AND YOU!! GET OUT OF MY HOME AND STOP TOUCHING MY THINGS BEFORE I DEVOUR YOUR SOULS AND LEAVE NOTHING LEFT BUT YOUR SAD EXCUSE FOR FASHION!!" Thor immediately did so, fumbling with the magfifying glass and quickly grabbing his sleeping partner who fell and started cursing a bit being woken from his nap but Thor dragged him away seeing Snatcher float to his home just in time for them to literally fall out and into the small water moat that surrounded it. Snatcher watching annoyed but also amuzed at it. "Now. ALL OF YOU GET THE PECK OUT OF MY FOREST AND DONT EVER COME BACK OR I'LL-"

"They can't!" Snatcher looked over as Hattie bounded over to them as Thor and Oldster dragged themselves out of the water. What did she mean now? "They're stranded here! Your forest is far away from EVERYTHING!!"

"Hmph. That's kinda the point kiddo. I like my privacy. Can't you just take them?"

"No! I don't have my umbrella, and even if I could, you said I can't have strangers on my ship!"

He opened his mouth...but closed his grumbling. He JUST wanted to take it easy for a little bit. "Well what do YOU suggest? I can't teleport them half way across the world, Kid."

She smiled. "Conductor can pick them up!" She then pointed in a direction. "His train runs by your forest everyday, can't you just take them to the train station?"

He rose what would be considered a brow at him and sighed. "Kid. That's three miles away through a part of a desert. You want me to take all these dummies to a train station, through a desert, for three miles?? What's wrong with you doing it?"

"I have to return the you know what that YOU took!" She scowled and crossed her arms.

Oh....That. "Why don't I return it?"

"Fat chance! And you promised you wouldn't touch them anymore remember?" He scowled a bit but she jumped up on the vine and bounded towards him before reaching up and tugging on his hand. "PLEASE!! I promise I'll really, really forgive you!!"

He stilled stared at her with a scowl before groaning. "You're not going to leave me alone until I do it are you?.....Fine, FINE!!" He tugged his hand away from her. "But this talk is NOT over!" He snapped his head to all the other men who jumped at his frown. "ALL RIGHT!! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!! STAND UP!! AND GET MARCHING!! IM PECKING TAKING YOU TO A BLOODY TRAIN STATION AND WE ARE NOT STOPPING UNTIL WE GET THERE!! .....WELL GET GOING!!" He pointed a claw down a dirt path and immediately the group of men got stepping Thor and Oldster tripping over one another to get out of the water.

"I say, I think you grew more cranky than the last time I encountered you. Too bad I couldn't find research a ghost's habitate."

"I can give you a REAL up close view if you want."

"Uh...N-No. Im fine...But pray tell, where is that young fellow and the lovely young lady. We were forced by that little girl with the powerful umbrella to lock the poor dear in a bathroom."

Snatcher scowled further at Vanessa being called a 'poor gal' but Hattie spoke up before he could. "Uh....M-My dad and.....m-mom..." He could see and hear her inwardly cringe. H A R D. At that. "Are fine. T-They were taken back home, a-and my .....'Mom' freaks out a lot."

Thor looked confused but a growl from Snatcher was enough for him to shut up, grab Mr. Oldster, and start dragging him to catch up with the others. Snatcher starting to float behind them, but looked at Hattie one more time. "Go HOME. And stay there until I come back. ....And remember. NO talking about any embarrassing crawling to anyone! That includes Bow and your funny vacuum cleaner." Hattie nodded and Snatcher turned back around to follow the retreating group. "COME ON!! MARCH, MARCH, MARCH!! If you all hurry you might be able to catch the afternoon train run! If not, it makes another round at night! But as soon as you're all at the station Im DONE!! AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU HEAR AGAIN DO YOU UNDERSTAND AND HEAR ME?!"

"Geez, Newbie. What took you and Boss so long?," one of the minions asked tilting her head at her. "Minion Number Twelve's been missing for a long time, but he showed back up with a whole bunch of weirdos and a cat. And then he said the boss told him to keep them here and wait for his orders."

Hattie just shrugged and pulled off her hat. Reaching back inside and pulling out the sparkling hourglass and smiling at it. Time to go home and put this back where it belonged. With the others locked away safely FOREVER!! Holding it up with one hand, she waved bye to the Subconites watching her and felt that same light headed as she vanished from the forest in a flash of blue-white light. A moment later of high sped traveling she landed on firm ground inside a very familiar looking control room inside a very familiar looking ship. Smiling, she looked around the place but didn't see Bow anywhere. Maybe she went back to bed, she did look really tired-

"oW! MY CircUIT BoArD!!," a familiar robotic voice sounded out as she felt something bump against her foot.

She looked down and happily smiled at Rumbi as he went around her. Bending down to pat him a few times, before looking back up towards the vault. Only she knew the code to it and it was in her home language which no one else knew or rea, so that was a plus. One she got close enough, she placed the time piece under one arm and using the other, she used the other to type in strange symbols into the keypad on the bottom of the vault door. It beeped a few times before a giant DING noise came from it and a robotic voice said 'Access Granted. Welcome'. The lock unbolted with a giant click and she grabbed the handle, with a giant grunt, she pulled the heavy duty door open. IT. MADE. A. HUUUUUUUUGE. CREAKING NOISE THAT ECHOED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SHIP!! She opened it just enough for her to peek in and smile at the hundreds of sparkling time pieces, all identical to one another and sparkling with that magic sand. Carefully she tossed the small hourglass with all the others and backed out from the door, with another grunt and LOUD creaking noise, it sealed back shut and the lock clicked loudly back in place. To her satisfaction the monitor screen showing the count of hourglasses went from 999 to exactly the even number of 1,000 time pieces accounted for. All safely back inside the vault. With a sigh, she turned back around and made her way back down the ramp. Never thought she'd be so tired in the morning but all she wanted to do right now, was take a long nap on her bed or pillow mountain. But she looked up when the WHOOSH noise of a door opening sounded out, and she blinked seeing Bow walk in towards her. Bow blinked at her for a moment before rushing up to her.

"HATTIE!!" She stopped a few feet in front her giving a worried look. "I heard the vault open! Are you ok?! Where's Snatcher!? Did you get the magic glass thingy back!? Who's that weird but nice lady in your bed room?!"

Hattie blinked at the sudden amount of questions but only blinked and asked one back. "There's a lady in my bedroom?"

"YES!!" Bow threw her hands up. "She said a witch teleported her here and she's been doing nothing but using your blanket and reading your story books for HOURS!!"

She stared blankly at Bow for a long moment, before her memory slapped her in the face and her hands reached up to touch her cheeks for a moment. "OH MY GOSH!! POPPY!! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!!" Not saying anything else, she ran past Bow who Blinked and quickly ran after her back through the bedroom door and down the long child sized hallway towards the bedroom, once the two girls made out the other side of the door into the bedroom Hattie immediately saw the older woman. Poppy had taken her blanket off the bed and was sitting cross-legged on the soft mattress with it wrapped around her. Her plain black shoes, which were still soaking wet from the celler water, was left by the bed soaking the carpet underneath. In her hands was Hattie's favorite fairytale book 'Starella and the Milky Way Prince' which Poppy was reading but stopped and looked up once the children came in. Hattie immediately ran over to her. "IM SORRY!! I didn't mean to take so long, I swear! "

Poppy immediately held her hands up at the child's distress. "What? No, no. Sweetie, it's ok. Your friend was really nice and gave me some cookies so I think we can call it even." She smiled and Hattie now noticed she had an accent. It sounded similar to Cooking Cat's with her country voice. "But if I may ask, why did you take so long?"

Hattie groaned. "I had to put my time piece back together and then Snatcher had to rescue me from Vanessa, and then we flew REALLY fast, and then I had to convince him to take everyone to the train station and I completely forgot you were here and now I gotta find out what to do-"

Poppy held up her hands again. "Hey, hey. Slow down there. What do you mean train station? And where's your dad?...No. More importantly what sea are we on? Are we near the Nyakuza Islands or something?"

Hattie blinked at her. "No. You're in my space ship. In outer space. I'm an 'alien'....I asked Snatcher what an 'alien' was once, and he said aliens were space travelers...So Im an alien with a space ship!", she stated proudly.

"So....It is true...." She looked around the room for a bit, not sure what to feel. "Aliens do exist...and I really am in...o-o-outer space?" The girls nodded and she shook her head. "I thought your friend here was just playing a game. But.....wow...I guess that would explain the whole, not a witch thing and why your lamp doesn't use a candle....But why were you in the Queen's home? Were you trying to invade our kingdom?"

Hattie rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone keep asking me if Im invading them?...Whatever invading means." She gave Poppy a slightly annoyed look. "No. Snatcher stole a time Piece and broke it, and brought everyone back to life and I had to fix it!"

Poppy blinked again in even more confusion, "What's a....'time peice'?"

"......Maybe I should start from the beginning. " The small child went over and jumped onto the bed beside Poppy and gazed up at her for a moment in thought before sighing. "Ok. Snatcher said Im not supposed to talk to strangers.....But for some reason you look REALLY familiar, so I guess you're not a stranger??" She questioned her own sense for a moment before shaking her head again and smiling. "Well, you see a long time ago, I climbed into this space ship my dead grandpa made for me but my mom hated him because she was supposed to take over being Ceo of Time...Whatever that is, like the rest of my family did, but she said no. And she didn't want me traveling in space because she was really sick and needed me buuuut-....." She looked sideways considering telling her the rest, but for some reason she felt compelled to. I mean, practically everyone on this world already knew of the alien saving them from the crazy blonde kid with the hourglasses, except for Empress and maybe that Captain Walrus guy. SO really what was the harm? "Well I accidentally let all my time pieces fall on this planet and I had to go get them back-"

"What IS a time piece?"

"Oh. They're these magic hourglass things that can control time, but they're too dangerous to use, they also power my ship! I had to fix a LOT of stuff. And then I went home and-......" She again frowned and looked down. Her hands fiddling with the clip of her came. "M-My...mom...wasn't around anymore....I don't know where she went cuz I couldn't find her....But then I realized I was missing some more time pieces!" She looked back up to her after a moment with another little smile. "But that means I got to come back! And then I sunk a ship TOTALLY on accident, fought a whole bunch of crazy cats, OH!! And Snatcher gave me a whole bunch of clothes after I agreed to his death wish contracts! And now he's sort of kinda my dad....Which is COOL!! Cuz who else has a ghost dad!! Even if he is grumpier than Conductor."

"H-Hold on there a little bit, Sugar." Poppy lifted a hand up to her spinning and confused head trying to process this whole story thrown at her. Most of it DIDNT make sense since she still didn't know the most of the story. It sounded more like a story fabricated by a child's imagination like when she used to watch all the children play pretend at the town square while she sold her flowers. "So...L-Let me try to get SOME things straight....Your family is....gone." She didn't want to say dead to upset the child or anything. "And you're an alien?.....Ok. I think I can believe and get THAT part. But these magic hourglasses??" She hoped she was getting that right. She still could barely believe there was such a thing. "Power your ship with magic or something. And you now live here. And your father is a.......ghost??" Hattie nodded. Her father was a.....spirit? "Are you sure you're not a witch? I thought only those with great supernatural power could communicate with spirits and the dead. L-Like the old village fortune teller."

Hattie rose and shook her head. "I don't think so. Cuz everyone can see Snatcher. He's like this big loud mouth and he screams 'FOOOOOOLL!!' a lot, and haunts this forest."

"W-Well, he must be a very powerful ghost to do that. I mean I think he would be, I've never heard of any spirit like that. Or heard any news about cursed hourglasses, or a haunted forest. You must live far away from the Subonit and Subconette Kingdoms." Does that mean the man with the strange brown hair she briefly saw from under the blanket was that ghost? Did she really see and hear a ghost?! Well, she didn't know, he wasn't facing her and she didn't stop to see who he was. She was more worried about escaping before she was locked away again by that weird monster....Speaking of which, how did they get they get past her? How did this CHILD get past her. She still looked at Hattie confused. "How did you get past that shadow monster? I didn't see her anywhere when you rescued me. Does that mean she left the mansion?..ARE THE PEOPLE OK?!"

Hattie blinked and leaned away when Poppy gave her an extremely worried look and to Poppy's added panic and worry shook her tiny head. "They were all ice statues and ghosts. I'm sorry."

"W-WHAT?! N-NO!! NO THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!!" Those hands reached up quickly to grab her pretty red hair, her sharp movements making the storybook tumble out of her lap and onto the floor, both girls blinked at it before giving Poppy worried looks as the older woman took deeper breaths. "H-HOW!? HOW COULD ALL OF THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!"

"Queen Vanessa cursed everyone?" Hattie shrugged. "Im not sure how she did it, but Snatcher says she went really pecking bonkers and cursed everyone to freeze a long time ago."

"....." She slowly looked to her with wide eyes. "....QUEEN Vanessa?! You mean our b-beloved and k-kind queen?! S-Surely you must be mistaken. She's a-always been so nice if not a little strange, are you sure you're not mixing her up?"

The little girl scowled and crossed her arms. "I know a crazy person when I see one! I see LOTS of crazy people all the time. Some are scary crazy like Snatcher or Conductor but they're not THAT bad. But Vanessa is PECKING INSANE!! She tried to freeze me lots of times!"

"B-But....why?" Those blue eyes looked down at her hands unmoving as her brain STILL couldn't believe anything she was being told. She was always a nice person. Her friend, the prince, always said so. Sure she did a LOT of weird and sometimes questionable things, like banning bacon in the kingdom, or practicing hairstyles on her fiancé, but she always looked so happy whenever she saw her. And the children loved her, and so did the Prince who always said nothing but kind things about her. How did she-.....How COULD she? Surely this little alien must've been mistaken. She was from a far away place after all. "H-How....?"

The two little girls exchanged a look before looking at Poppy with pity. "I...I don't really know HOW? Snatcher said her black magic ate her soul up turning her into an ice witch, I think that's what he said. She got really mad because she was jealous I think, and then went crazy and froze everything!!....Well, except for Snatcher's forest. He has really strong fire powers."

"B-But....." She just shook her head. Nothing made ANY sense. "T-This doesn't make ANY sense!! I mean...I didn't think she'd-.....D-Does this mean the one who locked me up was-.....HOW COULD ALL OF THIS HAPPEN IN ONE DAY!?" She gripped her head harder. "SURELY!! N-NO ONE GOT FROZEN THIS FAST!!! I W-WAS FINE THIS MORNING!!"

"No you weren't. You were frozen like everyone else." Innocent confusion was on Hattie's face when Poppy snapped her panicked so confused head to her.

"WHAT?!"

"Snatcher tried to get Vanessa lost by throwing one of my time pieces at her." She crossed her arms and pouted a bit oblivious to the grown woman's panicked face. "There was a lot of frozen people in there for a really long time and came back to life when his wish backfired."

"How long were you in there, Miss?," Bow asked politely looking up at Poppy with a tilted head,

Poppy just sat there blankly for a long moment before shaking her head. "I-I don't remember. I-It must've been at least a D-day or day and a half!! I blacked out for a little bit after it g-got really cold!! All I remember is getting dragged up there by two giant knights, and then......Queen Vanessa..." It was STILL so weird and unbeleivable. She couldn't believe what she was even saying. "Blamed me for committing some kind of treason to the royal family, I can't remember exactly what she said, my memory is too fuzzy, and then I was l-locked upstairs. All I can remember after that is you rescuing me."

A small silence passed among the three girls sitting there, before Bow hummed and rubbed her chin. "You said you knew Vanessa?"

"W-Well...N-No. She never came by my shop, I only saw her once or twice when she visited the village. ....And I guess now as a monster of some kind."....Hattie's eyes suddenly became wide with some kind of realization and again the girls exchanged some kind of look catching her eye. "W-What?....W-Why are you making those faces?"

"You said you were alive before everything froze right?"

"Yes....W-Why?"

"Miss Poppy.....That happened a thousand years ago. You've been frozen for a long time."

[insanebatty]

JASON TODD X READER

(I've always made stories, but never posted them in public before. This is the first time. So please be gentle with the criticism, if this story wasn't to your liking then I'm sorry. I want to continue posting stories on here, but I won't be able to post them right away. Please be patient with me & thank you. I was inspired by @batarella ) Y/N = your name.

CHAPTER 1

There you were sweating in a black tank top with black shorts, gloves & goggles on, you were in the bat cave working on one of your experiments.

Rob Zombie blasting in your earbuds.

You were in charge of making a small beam to fit in Batman's glove.

You were tinkering with it then made your way to your laptop.

Your laptop had wires sticking out of it & plugged in your experiment.

"Foxy foxy!" You said going with the music, nodding your head as you started typing away on your laptop.

"Okay, please work. Please work." You said with your fingers crossed for dear life.

You clicked the downward key 5 times then clicked the enter key.

You looked to your right where the experiment was, you had an empty can two feet away from it.

Just then the beam shot at the can & the can flew in the air.

"Holy shit! It worked!!" You screamed not realizing or careing how loud you were.

You went & put another can in front & went back to your laptop.

You started typing away on your keyboard, tapping on the upward key 10 times, just as the music had changed to Deftones.

"The change in you! Like you never--"

You clicked enter.

Looked again to your right & saw your second empty can fly into the abyss.

"Oh my God!!" You excitedly screamed while jumping up & down.

"Oh my God I can't wait for Batman to use you, who should he try it on first? Bane, maybe Killer Croc? Ohh, what if he's surrounded by both Bane & Killer Croc? I'm gonna need to keep tinkering with it so he can shoot 4 shots simultaneously, but what if--"

You suddenly felt like your back was against a wall, but instead of the normal hard exterior of a wall.

This wall felt odd, it felt very warm & soft to the touch, you turned to see what exactly it was pressed up against you.

You were looking up at this 6'0 man who towered over you, short black hair almost touching his eyelids, faint scars on his face.

You couldn't even tell he had scars unless you really examined his face thoroughly.

He was wearing a white muscle shirt with grey sweatpants on & a towel around his shoulders.

Jason Todd, your ex-boyfriend of 4 years.

Last time you saw him was a few months back.

You had walked in the manor's kitchen & saw him sitting on the counter eating one of Alfred's blueberry pies.

You knew he had left because everyone wouldn't shut up about it, especially Bruce. Before Jason even had left, he somehow managed to hack in the bat computer before taking off & stealing newly found information about The Penguin.

Bruce was trying to get ahold of Jason for the information, but Jason wouldn't answer his calls.

Ex-boyfriends were supposed to be unbearable to be around, you would hate everything they did, you would ask yourself "I really found HIM attractive?!"

But this relationship was different. You were different & he was different.

After you two broke up, you two stilled worked along side each other, joked with each other & even complainted each other from time to time. You couldn't lie to yourself, you still found him attractive.

There he was standing in front of you, you could see his flexed muscles on his arms, but then he mouthed something to you.

"WHAT?!"

You could tell you were screaming because as soon as you said what, Jason moved his head away from you, he raised up his hand & pulled your earbud out of your right ear.

"Why the fuck are you yelling? You do realize you've been screaming out lyrics for hours now, right?" He said to you sounding annoyed.

"Hours? It couldn't have been that long, could it?" You asked him while taking the other earbud off.

You looked up at him confused.

"What time did you get here?" He asked you while taking off the towel from his shoulders.

"I got here at midnight."

Jason laughed, "yeah you've been here for hours, it's 5 in the morning."

You looked at him surprised "no..it can't be." you said while taking your phone out of your pocket.

"Check if you don't believe me."

You used your finger for the fingerprint on your phone. 5:45 am in a bright white shined back at you. You can feel your eyes bugging out, holy shit time really flys when your having fun.

"Told you so." He said, you can hear him smiling as he said that.

"Shut up, when did you get back? You were gone for what? 2 months now?"

"Igot back a few days ago & I was gone for a month in a half."

"So 2 months basically."

"It wasn't 2 months, it was a month in a half."

"Agree to disagree."

"Oh, shut the hell up."

You laughed, your favorite thing was to see how long it'll take for him to get annoyed.

Of course you never did that when you two were together. You would only playfully annoy him, but knew when to back off. Now that you two weren't together you took the opportunity to annoy the shit out of him.

"So why are you here so early?" You asked him, while pausing the music on your phone.

"I made a deal with Alfred. If I help him bake 2 cakes & 3 dozen cupcakes for the charity that bruce is going to, he'll let me use daddy dearest's work out equipment."

He always liked to annoy bruce that way, calling him daddy dearest, dracula or even old man.

One night on patrol, Jason had the balls to yell out "WATCH OUT DRACULA, HE'S GONNA TAKE YOUR PREY FROM YOU!!" On a rooftop across the street, as he watched Batman chase a mugger. The mugger was chasing his victim on the opposite side of the street, that street happens to be the busiest street in all of gotham. Almost everyone heard him, even a civilian on the sidewalk yelled out "BATMAN IS DRACULA, I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!"

Jason fell to his knees holding his sides from laughing so hard.

Bruce would glare at Jason for 2 weeks straight & Jason would return that glare with a shit eating grin.

"Ah, I see. It still surprises me that you know how to bake. You never baked anything when we were together."

"Yes I would, those chocolate cakes or red velvet cupcakes on your birthday."

"You made those?! I thought you bought them from the store."

"I thought you would like it more if I would bake it instead of buying it."

"How come you never told me this?"

"You never asked."

"Because I just assumed, plus you never really made a mess in the kitchen for me to hint at the facted that you baked them."

"Yeah well I do know how to clean too, unlike some people in this place."

"HEY! I so know how to clean! I would clean up all the time when we were together & now!"

"Chill the fuck out! I'm not talking about you!"

"Ohh, sorry then."

He rolled his eyes while messing with his hair & finally he looked behind you. "What are you working on?" He asked, walking towards it.

"Oh, Bruce asked me to make him a beam thingy for his glove. I like to think of it as a gun." You said following behind him.

The cave was so dark, it would have been pitched black if it weren't thanks to the lights above the gigantic bat computer & all the other lights above Batman's suits & souvenirs that he kept from his enemies.

You could already tell Jason was here to hold on his end of the deal.

This was the only place he preferred to work out at. He never liked working out in public.

He says he doesn't care if people stare at him, but you feel like he's a little self-conscious about the scars & you don't blame him.

Those scars he got from The Joker on that fatally night.

The night Jason died.

He has scars of gashes throughout his body. Memories that would keep him up at night when you two were together.

You would wake up to an empty side of the bed where Jason would sleep.

You would find him staring out the window or outside in the balcony, the moon would shine down on his body.

You would make your way to him & you wouldn't say anything.

You would just wrap your arms around him.

Your head on his bare back listening to his heat beat, but since he was so muscular & toned you couldn't clamp your hands together.

That's when he would turn to you & just stare at you. You would stare back at him, longingly.

You never wanted to stop looking at him.

He would smirk & caress your cheek.

He then would grab your chin & pull you in to kiss you.

He would hug you tight & wouldn't let go, you two would hold each other for hours without saying anything. Because there was nothing to say.

But now you wouldn't have those nights, they were just memories.

You two have been broken up for 5 months now.

You knew it was your fault that you two broke up, but you two still had each other, even if it weren't as lovers. But you two wouldn't allow yourselves to get too close to each other like before & it didn't help that you two were Leo's.

So you two are headstrong & stubborn as fuck. Waiting for the other to make the first move.

Now that you lost yourself in thought, you were facing the work out area in the bat cave.

The area was so lit up, it looked so hollow & empty.

"HEY, Y/N!" Jason yelled.

"Ah, what?" His yelling snapped you back into reality, as you turned to face him, his hand was on hip.

"Why the fuck are you standing there like an idiot?"

"I'm not! Why did you yell at me?"

"I was asking you how does it work, but you were too busy spacing out. You must be tired." He said to you as you walked towards him.

"I'm not tired, I was just lost in thought is all." You said as you put the gloves on.

" 'lost in thought, huh? Is it because I'm here with you alone & you wanted to take advantage of me, is that it?"

You stopped & turned to face him, his face was so close to yours & he had this sexy grin on his face.

He was bending over to be the same height as you.

"Oh, S-shut up. I wasn't thinking about you. You never crossed my mind."

"Oh is that so? Well that makes one of us."

What he said stopped you in your tracks, you looked up at him.

He eyed you down with his arms folded over his chest.

"Show me how this works." He said pointing to the beam thingy.

"Ah sure, but you'll need to wear these first." You said handing him a pair of goggles with your right hand, at the same time you turned to face your left side & started typing away on your laptop.

As you stared at your laptop, you noticed that your right hand was warm.

Too warm to be your own body heat alone.

You turned to see Jason holding your hand with his left hand, while putting on the goggles with his right.

You looked down to see both your hands entangled with each other, you noticed your heart racing.

It felt like it was going to burst out of your chest like an alien from the movie Alien.

You turned around, he hadn't noticed you staring.

"Okay, are you ready?" You asked him.

Pretending as if you didn't notice he was holding your hand.

You were hoping he would hold your hand the whole time, but it was too late. He let go.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"A-alright." You tried not to sound disappointed.

You grabbed an empty can from the floor & placed it where the original cans were.

You went back between Jason & the laptop.

"Alright. Here. We. Go." You said as you tapped the enter key.

The beam started up & blasted the can further than the previous cans.

Smiling from ear to ear, you faced Jason.

"So what do you think? Cool, huh?"

"It's alright."

" 'Alright'? Really?" You asked while both of you took off the goggles.

"My guns can shot further than that thing."

"You know how Bruce feels about guns."

"Why are you making this for him in the first place? Couldn't he make it himself?" He asked while tilting his head to the side.

"He can, but he asked me to make it. He's too busy with Wanye Enterprise at the moment." You said having your back towards him, turning off the beam.

"Ah, couldn't he asked Tim or Dick to help out with the "Family" business?" He said while making quotations with his fingers.

"Dick's in california right now on a mission with the Titans & Tim is already helping out with Wayne Enterprise, were you secretly hoping he'll ask you?"

"One, he wouldn't ask me & two I wouldn't do it, even if he asked."

"Okay, if you say so."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go do what I came down here for." He said turning his back towards you, giving you a peace sign.

"Alright, have fun."

"Yeah, you too." He said to you while making his way across the cave, you could never tell what he was thinking about even when you two were together.

He walked up to the weight bench, throwing his towel on the floor beside it.

He then went over to grab the weights, two 30 lbs & placed one, then went to the other side to place the other.

He was staring at a bucket on the floor, he went up to it & sticked one hand in & his hand came out covered in white. He smacked his hands together, white dust flew in front of his face.

He then noticed you standing there like a doofus, he returned your stare.

"Ah.." you muttered out & went to your experiment.

Examining & analyzing ever little piece on it. Making sure everything was a hundred percent. You made your way to the chair that was next to your laptop & sat down. You can hear the way the weights were rubbing against each other from the distance.

"One..Two..three..four..five.."

You shook your head & smacked your cheeks lightly "don't get distracted, Bruce needs you to finish this." You said to yourself.

Everything came out fine, you placed can after can god knows how many times. As you continued your work, on the opposite side of the cave, Jason continued his workout, both of you a sweating mess. You sat on the chair, typing away.

Hours later Jason finished his workout, he made his way to you, huffing & puffing, wiping the sweat off his face.

"Hey y/n, did you finally finish?" No response. Taking the towel off his face, "Hey Y/N!" No response.

"Your fucking music is too loud, your gonna go deaf-" he spinned the chair around. He was expecting a wide eyed look on your face, but instead he was staring at you peacefully sleeping. Mouth wide open, drool dripping out of it. The goggles you had on your head, was now entangled in your hair.

Jason's face softened up, he chuckled.

"God damnit y/n." He said as he started to separate your hair from the goggles.

His face was so close to yours, he felt your breath. He closed his eyes, opening them back up his eyes made their way to your lips. His heart stared racing faster than when he was working out. He stepped back. Taking a deep breath & exhaling, he started to put his arms under you. One arm under your head the other under your legs. He picked you up with no problem. Your head started to tilt backwards until he moved his arm so your head would be resting on his chest. He stood there watching you, studying every part of your face. He looked away & started walking out of the cave with you in his arms. He made his way through a brightly lit manor. The grandfather clock chimed as Jason went past it, your body twitched in his arms. He smiled.

"Good morning master Jason." Alfred said as he came out of the kitchen, his eyes went from Jason to Jason's arms.

"Oh my, is y/n alright?"

"Yeah she's fine, she just passed out. I'm gonna take her to my old room."

He said as he passed Alfred. Alfred nodded at him.

"Alright master Jason, I do wish you two would get back together. She made you so happy." Alfred said as he went back into the kitchen.

Jason smiled as he went up the stairs, "she still does."

He placed you on his bed, putting a thin sheet over you.

"Sleep tight y/n." He kissed your forehead & started for the door. He opened the door, but before he closed it, he looked back at you. Then he closed the door.