#he says while having grown up on a farm with machinery noise and people

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

My cat, seeing me replace the filter in the brita I usually use for him and cooking: MOTHER! I THIRST!

I continue to run the water through the filter once as the instructions say

Me cat: MOTHER!!! >>:{ MOTHER I THIRST FOR THE REFILL! MY MUG LIES EMPTY UPON MY WINDOWSILL!

I finally fill up his mug and set it on his little coaster

Him: sigh, FINALLY! I thought you would ignore me forever! You kept trying to distract me with food but that would never work (for more than 45 seconds) for I am PARCHED and practically dying of dehydration! You left me alone for so long and I thought I would die!

I left him for less than 20 minutes to get a few groceries

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch24 Accidential New Star

(I had to look up the prices and what the bill document said to get this right.)

Dead Bird Studios.

The place where for YEARS had been the birthplace of creativity and actors on the big screen. And now she was standing right in front of it. The others didn't look so fazed at the big building considering they had been there multiple times before but that didn't stop her from staring up in fascination at it all. It. WAS. HUGE!! WAY bigger than those tall buildings back on the moon. A giant logo sign of a black bird skull and film real decorated the outside on the big front there with the giant words under it reading DEAD BIRD STUDIOS. A parking lot stood between them and the entrance and they were already walking across it towards the entrance. To the far left of them, they could all see a bunch more of those cars parked into the rectangular spaced, not that Poppy was paying attention as they marched across in the hot sun beating down on them all. Poppy would be lying if she wasn't impressed, as she subconciously walked after the small group still walking, the shadow of the building fell over her and she involuntarily sighed feeling the harsh rays of the sun gone for a moment. Still following along after them up to the double doors of the building. The grown lady flinched when they opened on their own as soon as Cookie got near it and mumbled grumpily to herself about forgetting her purse and having to walk all the way back here on her day off of all things helping out and how it was so rude of her to make them all take this detour. Not that anyone minded as the children excitedly ran in past them inside. Poppy glanced wearily at the doors for a moment while passing, jumping a foot forward when it closed by themselves, blue eyes glanced between it and Cookie for a moment before following after the mumbling cat. The long hallway was pretty dark with a black carpet with bird skull patterns with lots of white squares lights barely lighting up the place. With a whoosh noise the doors up ahead opened on their own accord and the three children ran on through and into what looked like a well lit room. As they continued to persue the children down the rest of the hall she thought she heard some squeals of delight but she wasn't too sure yet. When she finally approuched the double pair of doors, they opened again with a whoosh for Cookie and Poppy flinched again...Before blinking and sticking her head into the lit room. A giant white Television set(computor) was sat on the counter which was the first thing she saw, and shiny marble floors reflected the bright lights above. There was a tired looking bird manning the counter as he calmly watched everything around him. Next to him was some kind of giant piece of heavy looking machinery, and as Poppy finally stepped in, she gawked at the sight of GIANT glass cases on either side of the room with shiny copies of trouphies safely sat inside with names of old movie directors of years past. But those only held her attention for a moment, above the trophies on either side were giant framed posters. On the right with a few penguins gathered was a strange looking instrument in disco lights, a ...slime monster??, and some penguin in an astronaut suit. To the right was a more western style of two seperate birds holding guns and a random cactus. Two doors were on either side and two signs by them each saying FILMING IN PROGRESS.

"DARLING!! You're back so soon?," A loud voice boomed out and Poppy yelped dropping her bags of clothing on the floor.

Who the voice belongs to was another moon penguin...But this one looked TOTALLY different from any other penguin she's seen before. He wore a ridiculous outfit with weirder shoes on his feet making him taller than the other penguins by a few inches, and he actually had hair and yellow eye brows styled up into some kind of weirder haircut, and last but certainly not least a giant pair of all black shaped sunglasses over his eyes. His beak was curled up in a smile as he approuched from the small crowd of three girls tailing after him as Cookie walked over to him.

"I wasn't expecting my best best network star to return so soon," he happily addressed her earning him a few embarrassed chuckles.

"Not exactly planned. I uh...Forgot my purse on set again and needed to run in and grab it. Can't exactly feed a bunch of hungry children without it now can I? H-How's the movie auditions so far?"

The penguin sighed and reached a flipper up to his forehead. "Easier said than done. There's the part of the wicked family who still need spaces filled in place, and the handsome prince, not to mention that I still have no one to play the concerned father and we only have a few months to put this together! I can't describe how much pressure I'm feeling..But I have a good feeling that this year will be in our favor for sure!"

Cookie smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find the perfect people to fill those roles soon. You always manage to pull off a wonderful display."

"*sigh* I sure hope so, Dear. I'd hate to have nothing to present for my efforts." His gaze turned up once he noticed movement by the doors as Poppy reached back down to pick her bags back up. "And I see you brought a new friend!" Poppy paused as she was approuched by the eccentric looking fella. "Why HELLO there, Darling! I don't believe we've met!"

"Uh..." Poppy had to blink to actually make sure she was seeing who she was actually seeing before shaking her head and standing up, giving a politely smile. "Howdy! I don't think we've met actually."

The penguin chuckled and shook his head. "We didn't and I never forget a pretty face, Darling. And who might you be?"

"I'm those two's temporarily babysitter," she answered pointed at two of the three children huddled by his side. "Until I can get back on mah feet that is. Kinda starting from scratch after a crazy wake up call."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you Darling." His whole being radiated positivity and his voice despite being loud was very welcoming, making Poppy smile brightly, "I take it this is your first time at a studio?"

She smiled a bit shyly. "I-Is it that obvious? hehe" She reached up to rub the back of her neck. "Uh...Y-Yeah. Do you work here?"

At this the penguin and Cookie shared a chuckle before he spoke. "Well, I should hope so. Or else my name isn't DJ Grooves."

Grooves?....DJ Grooves? As in THE Mr. Grooves Cookie had spoken about before? OH! He must've been the director she spot about earlier, that would've explained the way he dressed. This guy was a walking fat cat with deep pockets, but he looked rather friendly and cheerful to her. And not to brag, but she did have a good judge of character usually.

"OH! So YOU'RE this Mr. Grooves I've heard so much about."

He chuckled. "So you heard a lot about me? I'm flattered, Darling. Really I am-" He was interrupted when a rumble sounded out and Poppy grabbed at her stomach embarrased. "...Oh my, my, my. Hungry are we?"

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and we've been running around all day."

"Well, then I better get back there and find that darned thing." Cookie turned to Mr. Grooves with a smile. "Ya'll don't mind if I just run to the back real quick like and grab it do you?"

"Not at all, Darling. Be my guest." Cookie smiled and without another word turned and ran off towards the door on the fair right of the room. The giant thing creaked open and closed behind her as she disappeared into the area behind it. Poppy watched her go behind sighing and stretching out her back from the now uncomfortable weight of the heavy used farm equipment on her, but her attention went back to Mr. Grooves when he pointed towards the counter and spoke again. "Darling, if you want you can just place these bags right on over there with the other random things we brought in today. You look redder than an apple on the sun."

She nodded yes reaching up a hand to wipe at her face. "I feel like a baked apple too. ...Ya sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all, Darling. Not at all. Why don't you go do that and I'll have one of my assistants bring you out a glass."

"Well, if you're really sure."

She smiled and lugged her way over to the counter by the crate and weird machine thing. Placing the bags down by the crate, she shimmied the golf club bag of farming tools off her shoulders and into her hands, leaning them all carefully against the big ol' machine thing next to them. Sighing that her back didn't have weight on it anymore she stretched it out making her back pop. A few giggles made her look back over towards the small group of girls around the penguin. Bow was still pouting looking down at the clothes in disgust but looked up when the penguin adjusted the sunhat on her head, she looked up at him and Mr. Grooves said something to her. Poppy couldn't hear exactly what he said but it put a smile on Bow's face and he patted her head with a flipper. A smile returning to her face at the cute scene in front of her. A small creaking noise came from her left, and Poppy didn't notice the expensive camera starting to lean from the weight of her tools.

BAM!!

A loud bang filled the room but strangely enough, barely anyone flinched or looked up from it. As if used to hearing large booming noises in the studio. The only ones who reacted was Mr. Grooves, the girls, and Poppy. Poppy all but jumped out of her skin backing against the counter and whirling towards the source of the sound, the girls seemed to flinch, and Mr. Grooves only casually looked over towards the left side of the studio. There the other giant pair of double doors had been kicked open and slammed into the walls, a moment later a very angry......Yellow owl?? Stomped out and behind him followed some regular Express Owls holding various items or just following. .....Wat? Poppy had to blink as the small whatever he was stomped over near to where she was standing and starting barking demands all of a sudden.

"You three grab the bloody camera and make sure ye pecknecks keep a tight grip on it! I nae need me raw footage damaged in anyway!" His head turned as he barked orders to the owls who jumped and nodded at their bosses demands. "Good! Can't count on you all to do anything without me tellin' ye to cannae?"

Well THAT was rude. Poppy frowned at the rude little whatever he was and still didn't notice the large machine next to her lean over even more. Neither Poppy, the owls, or whoever this small yellow guy was(who was still yelling at the poor owls through all of this might I add) noticed the heavy duty camera leaning over or the glamerous penguin waltz on over towards him with a smile until they all reacted at his voice. The owls stopping, the yellow bird thing freezing for a few seconds, his fist shaking and slowly closing into fists, and his head snapping to peer over his shoulder, and Poppy looking over blinking.

"Conductor, Darling. You mustn't be so loud. It disturbs the peace and scares potential clients away," Mr. Grooves calmly spoke to this person. "You know I'm still expecting others to answer my casting calls."

Wait. Didn't Cookie also mention a Conductor? Huh. So this must be him. Not gonna lie, not a good first impression to her if she said so herself. Conductor huffed and turned his whole body turned to completely face the calm moon penguin now.

"Tis NAE of your business ye no good puffy haired peckneck!!," Conductor shouted while pointing a hand at Mr. Grooves. He was loud enough to make Poppy wince. "Why don't ye badger off and leave me to my worrrrrk!!"

"Darling, I would love nothing MORE than to leave you alone undisturbed," Mr. Grooves insisted calmly holding up his flippers, "All I ask is that you don't make such a ruckus in the lobby so my interviewers don't get scared off."

"HA!! Ye still going on 'bout that nonsense! Like anyone would rrrreally want to be in some techno sore to the eyes picture like yours!"

"Well that's not true at all. I have a gentlemen coming in tomorrow to see for the part of the Father in my little play. "

"HA!! The third one in a row? By this rate, ye won't be able to show ye face at the Award Ceremony for judging!" He smiled this time and crossed his arms.

"Now, now. There's still lots of time. And I'm going for something far more simple this year. A little change of style but still fabulous if I do say so myself."

"HMPH!! Well I say ye are full of birdseed if you think you have an inch of chance as usually! Another second place trophy would be more fitted! AHAHAHA!!"

Poppy could feel herself frowning at his words. Well that was really uncalled fore especially since Mr. Grooves wasn't being rude at all back or making a big scene like Conductor was. CREAAAAAAAAAAKKKK!! Hey...What was that creaking sound? Or was her ears ringing from the earlier screaming.

"Ye should give up now and save ye some trouble! With me raw footage it's surrrre to be in me favor."

CRREEEEEEEEEEEEE-

A giant creaking sound echoed out in a black blur as the giant camera leaned over and tipped. Owls hooted in fear as they scrambled out of the way as all eyes looked over and it seemed time slowed down as it went down, down, down- .....With a loud crash glass and pieces of metal shattered and flew everywhere. On instinct everyone close enough held up their arms and looked away from the shatter, but it was too late. Time slowed down as the camera shattered beyond repair and lots of metal clangs and sounds followed the disaster until it all finally settled piece by piece in front of them all on the floor. Destroyed camera and farming tools splayed on top of it. Everyone stood in shock staring down at the absolutely DESTROYED piece of machinery but that wasn't the last of it. A few sparks from the top of the camera shot out .....and then just a tiny spark of flame appeared. Well that tiny flame was enough to send some panic througout everyone there as owls sqawked and gasped back at the sight of the small flame which slowly started to grow causing everone else to get mildly panicked.

"SOME DARLIN' GET A FIRE EXSTINGISHER!!," Mr. Grooves yelled one flipper going up behind him to push back the small group of children behind him.

"STAND BACK!!"

In a fury of feather and blur, a white streak of foam shot out from some random direction and slammed into the flames, successfully putting out the flames with a sizzling sound by none other than the receptionist. The bird who was behind the counter wasn't finished yet as he continued to spray the camera and part of her tools down until it was all white like snow had piled on it and he stopped. Everyone remained in their tense pose for a long while staring at the camera...before some sighed in relief as did Poppy. Well that was certainly a surprise wasn't it? ...But not a very pleasant one by SOMEONE'S standards.

"MY MOVIE!!," Conductor cried recieving all eyes on his as his hands reached up to grab those feathery parts of his head staring dead at the camera in horror. "ALL ME HARD WORKED RRRRRRAW FOOTAGE IS GONE!!! .....AH!! YOU!!" His horror quickly shifted to anger when he snapped towards the fightened owls with an accusing tone. "YOU NO GOOD......FEATHER BRAINED....PPPPPPPEEEEECCKKNNEEEEEECKSSSS!! I TOLD YE TO BE CAREFULL!! NOW LOOK AT WHAT YE DONE TA ME HARRRD WORK!! WAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH A BLOODY SHATTERED MESS MADE BY BUBBLING BAFOONS?!"

The owls all froze at their bosses torment as Grooves turned around to ask the little girls if they were alright and Poppy stared. Watching as Conductor continued to shout as he blamed the poor owls for the mess....Blue eyes blinked down to the farming tools laid upon the floor. HER mess. The one she made-

Red eyes and shadows stared at her frightened form as a voice hissed. "Take her to the room and lock her away. ...I can't to look at her for as my prince had done. Perhaps locking away her forever will teach her a lesson about gazing into another man's eyes who belong TO ME!!"

"STOP!! JUST STOP IT WAS MY FAULT!!!"

Blue eyes snapped open at the yell. The yell that made everyone freeze and look at the red head who looked just as shocked and surprised as everyone else at her sudden outburst, but the Conductor wasn't yelling at the owls anymore. Despite him not having eyes, she could still tell he was staring right at her along with everyone else around her in more stunned silence as nobody spole.

".......Wot?"

"So YOU'RE the one responsible for this?," the tallest bird from the counter spoke putting down the fire extingisher and crossed his arms with a frown making Poppy flinch.

Poppy stared at him for a moment but seeing one poor worried looking owl behind him, made her frown before taking a deep inhale...and nodding towards the receptionist without hesitation. "That's right! One hundred peckin' percent!" She boldly pointed to the half foam covered tools by now. "Those are mah tools and it's mah fault the giant whatcha-ma-callit thing fell over 'n broke! Not anyone else's! So don't be yelling at anyone!"

The receptionist stood there for a moment staring at her before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a pen and piece of paper. "Are you willing to pay for the damages? If you chose to claim the damages that is."

She nodded again without hesitation. "I am!"

"Alright." The paper had the same bird skull logo and Dead Bird Studios in bold red words. "Where do you live, Ma'am?"

"Uh...."

"With us!," Hattie piped up.

"Alright." Under the words 'Billing Details' he wrote Red Head Human Woman and the adress Spaceship in the sky 1 6829 this planet, Invoice #: (insert random Owl Express Numbers), Invoice Date: Today, and Currency: Pons. After studying it for a bit he looked back down to the damaged thing with a hum. "Let's see. There was film so that counts under 'Distruping Studio Recordings' which comes to one hundred thousand pons." He wrote under the words 'You Will Be Billed For' as he spoke and looked at the damages caused. "One count of 'Penguin Harrassment' which is five hundred pons. Five cases of 'Owl Harrassment' for two thousand five hundred pons. 'Destruction of Property' oh definately for three thousand. And 'Tresspassing' for seven thousand."

Poppy could only stand there and let her eyes grow and widen in shock at the claims and how much pons this guy claimed she owed for such lunacy. ".......Tresspassing and harassment!? Of what kind?! I wasn't tresspassin' if I was invited in here!! And I wasn't harassing anyone!!''

"Ma'am. I'm only doing my job handling paperwork, and our insurance doesn't cover humans. The moment you stepped on property you became a liability and responisble for paying for any destruction you caused," he explained calmly as if he did this every day. He wrote one other thing down on the paper before holding it out for her. "You owe us one hundred thirteen thousand pons plus tax and another seven hundred fifty for the expensive high defintion camera to be replaced."

Poppy could only stare and not move at the paper held out to her with wide eyes and an open jaw like there was another cursed statue in front of her. After a moment, the recptionist carefully and calmly put the large bill in her hand and she finally reacted to the movement. with anger and a scowl. "WHY IS THIS SO EXPENSIVE!? I couldn't afford this even if I suddenly turned into solid gold like that roach did!!"

"Like I said, Ma'am. I'm only doing my job. If you like I could call the local court house of law, the lawyers there can assure you the paperwork and damages are all legal."

"Well I still can't PAY for it!.....What if I work off the debt instead? I'm a hard worker I promise."

"Well.....it wouldn't be the first time someone worked it off. But you'll have to speak with the two big bosses about it, not me I'm afraid."

"And they would be?"

"ME!!" She jumped and nearly dropped the paper when the Conductor scowled up at her with anger. "That was MY movie ye destrrrroyed with yer no good foolishness! If ye are gonna work it away ye better be ready to receive some hard work thrown at ye from meself!!''

".......No."

Silence. You could hear a pin drop as everyone in the studio of hearing range completely stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards the scene before them with wide eyes. Completely shocked into silence as they all stared at the human alike. Penguins, Express Owls, the two children, and even both the directors seemed to be shocked into the dumb silence as they all gawked at the frowning red haired lady staring at the Conductor. THE CONDUCTOR!! NO ONE BUT DJ GROOVES HAD EVER SAID NO TO THE CONDUCTOR BEFORE!! (except Hattie that one time in the basement but we don't talk about that not that anyone outside of the little girl, and a few of her friends knew) But now it seemed everyone was too shocked seeing a new person say no to the famously hot headed owl. One owl staring completely let the script she was holding fall from her hands and land scattered at her feet as everyone watched jaws dropped. Eventually Confuctor was the one to break the awkward silence by what else, his famous yeling. "WOT!?," he shouted and stared at her. "An' why not?! Ye are the one who cost me mah raw footage! That was ten days of haarrrrrrd work I ain't nah gettin' back, Las!" The red head crossed her arms and didn't change her expression. "I know and I am terribly sorry I caused you so much trouble in that department. But I refuse to work with someone so rude and treats the employee's who's workin' hard trying to help him by calling them useless! Obviously you're a terrible boss who treats anyone helping him with no respect, and I would feel terrible! Being in one of your movies knowing that, Sir." The girls exchange silent shocked glances behind Poppy as she turned her head towards the damaged camera. "....If it's the material that I damaged I would gladly pay in anyway I can. But only on the basis you apologise to those you've wronged, Mr. Conductor. But don't you go thinkin' I'll do anything before I know I'll be treated with respect!" Conductor's. Jaw. DROPPED!! Obviously not used to anyone other than that ridiculous long time rival of his speaking to HIM. HIM!!! In such a brass and demanding manner and it took a moment for him to even process what she just said but in a moment his temper flared up in a moment's notice as those feathery appendages on his head wriggled and he pointed at the penguin director as the other fist clenched into a fist as he demanded. Mr. Grooves blinking surprised at the sudden action "Bu-Bu-Bu-BUT WHAT COULD BE SOOOO SPECIAL ABOUT 'EM DOWN RIGHT EYE SORE OF A SO CALLED MOVIE!? YE GARBAGE NEVER COULD GET OFF YE GROUND IF DJ GRRRRRROOOOVES HAD ALL ETERNITY AND BECAME PRRRRRRESIDENT OF YE BOX OFFICE!!" "That's not true! I actually saw one of his movies myself." "YE DID WOT!?" "You ...did?," Grooves shifted his funny glasses wearing face up towards her just as confused as the angry owl man. Poppy nodded. "Yes. I. Did. And to be perfectly honest, I didn't think it was that bad. In fact, it was really interesting. Maybe not the 'best' by bird standards, but by human standards the story was really easy to understand for someone who honestly doesn't really know a whole darn lot 'bout these fancy lights, or high tech stuff, or..." She waved a hand off shrugging. "Or whatever ratings are. And a struggling career was relatable for someone who's been struggling with a lot happening." Conductor was sputtering and made some kind of funny bird sqawking noise before some of the feathers around his collar ruffled up in rage and he jabbed a thumb at himself. "WELL MAH MOVIES ARE NOTHIN' TO SHY FROM EITHER, LASSIE!! RRRRESPECTIVELY THAT AYE AM THE ONE TO MAKE IT ON TOP ALL YE TIME!!" Her face frowned again as she looked down at the older bird with a harsher scowl. "MY respect, SIR, is earned. Not GIVEN! And so far you've done absolutely NOTHING to earn it! Yelling like a baby who didn't get their candy and throwing a fit is not the way to do that! You just come off to me as a spoiled old man who doesn't know the word no even existed!" "WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE BLOODY PECKNECK ANYWAYS!?," He demanded fuming. "If you can't respect him as your rival then the least you could do is respect him as another person in your profession. As far as I've seen he's been nothin' but polite and kind to everyone and considering he's not in mah face yellin' like a baby bird for his mama is somethin' I respect." With a huff of that sass Snatcher would've loved to see she closed her eyes, and turned her head away with her nose stuck up. "I will start RESPECTING you as an adult when you ACT like one and apologize and decide to stop throwing a tantrum and embarrassing yourself! Because the truth be told I think YOU'RE the only peckneck in this studio." More silence settled around the entire place as Conductor dropped his jaw and the only sound that came out of him was something that sounded like 'A-Ah...ah..ah ah ah.....' in a stuttery way. Hattie's eyes were wide and Bow's hands had come to cover her mouth in a dramatic way. If Snatcher was there, Hattie would have no doubt he would've started laughing loudly at the look on the old bird's face. In fact, she could almost hear it now. A deep rumbling chuckle-....But wait. Snatcher's voice wasn't deep? It was high and raspy. Then who was-... A cold flipper patted Poppy on the back making her hum and look next to her to find the afro wearing penguin chuckling...before laughing a deep but loud laugh that filled the room with an almost joyful mood. That seemed to snap the Conductor from his trance and glared in the laughing penguin's direction. After a moment, Mr. Grooves stopped and turned his gaze up to Poppy with a smile. "Darling! I never could've said that any better than how you did!" He patted her back again. "You know. I like you already, Darling. My little stars usually have great taste in character and I see they didn't spare any expense in making another darling friend. What did you say your name was again?" ......She blinked but smiled at the happy moon penguin politely. "Poppy Rose Bloomington. You can call me Poppy, Mr. Grooves." Grooves hummed for a moment looking at her up and down for a moment before turning to the glaring Conductor and the broken camera lying a few feet away in pieces. "Was that footage really that important to you Conductor, Darlin'?" "OF COURSE IT WAS YOU PE-" "There's children here." Conductor's feathery appendeges went back as he growled. "YES! It was half me movie! It cannae be so simply replaced with the secret idea I was goin' for! All the time I spent on it cannae be replaced in time of the award ceremony!" The penguin hummed and brought his other flipper up to rub the bottom of his beak staring at the camera with a thoughtful expression...before looking back up to Poppy. "I'm afraid he's right, Darlin. I've known Conductor long enough to know one thing he never does is lie about his movies, even if he does brag while doing so in such a rude manor." "HMPH!! OF COURSE I DONAE!!" Grooves just rolled his eyes. "Even so, I think we should help him." "YE WOT!?" Conductor glanced surprised at the penguin like he won the trophy all of a sudden. "What kind of nonsense are ye blabbering about now?" Grooves turned to him staring, before tilting his head down wear his sunglass slid down enough to reveal some of his eyes in a deadpanned expression. "Believe it or not, Darling, I don't like unfair advantages." Conductor just stared blankly at him. " But I'm sure my little stars here could help out with anything you may need." Bow lit up with a smile. "Yeah! I'd love to help!" "Don't you have a back up plan like you usually do?" "Of course Ah do! I ain't no dummy." "Well, there you go, Darling." He reached up to push his glasses back into place. "I'm sure you'll put together something spectacular like you always do." "......B-B-But..What are the damages!? Ye camera cost the studio over a thousand pons! I cannae just look past that!," he argued back pointing at the shattered thing. And Grooves hummed again. "I'm afraid you're right about that too. Frankly, these kinds of ones aren't too easily to come across."........In a moment he smiled and looked up to Poppy. "I know! She can work for me as payment for those damages." Poppy blinked with a surprised expression as did most of everyone else but at the thought of Poppy being in a movies both young girls suddenly looked even more excited. Conductor on the other hand- "ABABABABABA!! Hang on a pecking second! THE LASS WORK FOR YE FOR DAMAGING MAH FILM?!" "I-I AM?!," Poppy asked whirling wide eyed to the moon penguin director. "Yes. Cuz quick frankly it might've been your film, but it was on OUR shared expensive studio high definition camera, Darling. She can easily pay off any debt she owes for the camera and your footage by working and her pay going to the repairs and reienbursment for any misguided accidents." The Conductor growled again and went to probably argue some more- "Tick tock, Darling. You don't want to waste anytime fighting when there's a deadline to meet. It looks like you'll be needing to step up your game." "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! FINE!!" The tiny bird man turned and began stomping away towards the owl's side of the studio. "WHAT ARE ALL YE LOOKING AT!? SOMEONE BRING ME MAH BACK UP SCRIPT!! CHANGE THE SETS TO OUTSIDE SCHEDUALED!! SOMEONE INFORRRRRRM THE OTHER'S WE'RE GOIN' WITH PLAN B THIS YEAR!!! AND SOMEONE GET THAT SMASHED HUNK O' JUNK CLEANED UP!!" The owl's scrambled to grab anything they needed to grab and quickly follow the fuming bird boss as DJ Grooves chuckled and shook is head. "Don't feel too bad about the Conductor, Darling. He's usually all talk and no bite." Hattie giggled. "Yeah! He's a crazy, grumpy grandpa!" Both Grooves and Bow chuckled at Hattie's description of the old bird, but none of them noticed frozen and mildly panicked form. Her?! In a movie?! Where millions of people could see her?! WHAT HAD SHE GOTTEN HERSELF INTO NOW?!

[rosalynbair]

Two Names on the Bridge

AO3 | Masterlist | Buy me a coffee

Pairing: Henry Bowers x Fem!reader

Words: 2702

Summary: In the summer heat, you go to visit your boyfriend Henry Bowers, only to become two names written on the bridge and nothing more.

Warnings: a lot of description, mentions of sex, nudity, cheating, how many times can I write “it was fucking hot as hell”

A/N: This was supposed to be a cute lil drabble. But it ended up being over 2.5k words and it’s kinda sad. But y’know. Oh well. Also tagging @henrybcwer bc I mentioned it (also I rewrote it so Henry cheats and not the reader? Oops?) This is also my first ever Henry fic???

Late summer in Derry was hot. There were almost no clouds on most days, with the sweltering heat and no release from it until September. The townspeople grew tired easily under the sun, and most shops were closed by three in the afternoon.

The people you had grown up around had sweat shining on their sunburnt skin, hair often frizzy from the heat and the drought that was overtaking Maine. Everyone had resorted to wearing tank tops and shorts, losing all want or need for the professionalism of uniforms and suits as they prepared themselves for their work days. 

Some days, the main drag of shops wasn’t even opened. The heat and knowledge of it only getting worse throughout the day only deterred anyone from leaving their houses that were barely kept cool with the rundown air conditioners that rested in the windows of their living rooms and bedrooms. The only professional repair man for air conditioners lived out of town and didn’t come in often. Or there was Belch Huggins and Henry Bowers – and despite the want for a cool house to stay in, no one wanted a member of the Bower’s Gang in their house. 

Your air conditioner was barely sputtering along, it made loud clanging noises every half an hour and the constant whirr of the ceiling fans in your house were drowned out by the mechanical issues of the air conditioner that was long overdue to be retired and replaced. 

It was the only reason you didn’t really mind taking the one bus transit system to the outer part of town where the farm houses lay. You were the only one on the old, rattling, loud engined bus. The interior made up of rusty metal and old blue pleather seats that had seen better days. Much like the rest of the town. 

Your bare thighs stuck to the seat from the sweat, inner skin chafing from when you walked to the bus stop barely twenty minutes ago. And although the bus stop was just down the street from your house, the heat had caught up to your body quickly. But even then, there was no way you were going to wear shorts longer than what you had on now. The less fabric the better.

The road around you blurred on the drive, grass a faded yellow as it dried out from the constant attention from the sun. The white paneled houses that passed were tinged a light beige from the flurry of dust the low winds blew through the streets. There was a strange sort of melancholy feel to the town in August. Much different from the flood filled spring that had just passed only two months ago, or the brutal and freezing winter that would soon come after the brief relief of autumn.

The bus slowed at a stop sign, stopping completely – lurching forward slightly. You braced your sandal clad feet on the floor, stopping yourself from falling forward. The bus driver opened the doors for a woman with a basket, her arthritis riddled legs carrying her onto the hot bus. Any hope she had of getting away from the heat was lost as she sat down beside an opened window. 

Her eyes caught yours when she looked around, you give her a small but polite smile that she didn’t return. It didn’t matter any more how much of a good teenager you were, or how helpful you had been to everyone as you grew up. The moment you started dating Henry Bowers, everyone’s perception of you changed. You were no longer a singular entity. You had no defining personality or character. You were simply Henry Bowers’ girlfriend. 

You had somewhat expected it. If hadn’t been that bad when it was just Henry taking an interest in you, his gaze had followed you everywhere for weeks at school before he approached you without his gang of misfits. 

A walk to the theatres. Maybe actually paying for a movie. He had proposed to you, his cheeks rosy and his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans aggressively. Shoulders tight as he stared at you. His cheek held a bruise from a fight earlier in the week, the yellowing stain fading finally. 

A walk would be nice. You had said, you often worked in the office on your off periods to get your volunteer hours, and you knew very well the Henry Bowers was not treated nicely at home and didn’t have disposable money for a stupid movie to impress a girl. 

He had stuck by you after your walk around town, although the date had been quiet and wasn’t ideal to most people, he had tried to make conversation and not live up to his reputation when he was alone with you. Even when you wound up at the kissing bridge and sat on the fence over the river silently as you looked over the rushing waters, it had been nice. Romantic, even. 

He had asked you to go steady with him after a few weeks of sneaking into your room or going on late night walks when being in the house with his dad became too much – though he still had yet to explicitly tell you that Butch Bowers often beat him until he could barely move. Common knowledge was that he just got into fights outside of school. But you weren’t stupid. You knew him well enough, almost as well as Vic or Blech knew him. 

The same week of officially dating, he had carved your names into the bridge in his crude handwriting. It was barely legible, but it was there. It was beside one of Patrick’s carvings that held the name of one of his victims. 

In the few months… almost a year of dating Henry, Patrick hadn’t held a girl for more than a few days. Belch and Vic both had someone for a few months, but it never last. The pressure of being a part of the gang had always been too much in the end. They had known everything you had become to know. They had seen how the people of the town looked at them differently, treated them differently as if they had all become strangers.

The bus slowed down once more, stopping close to the Bowers’ farm. You stand, holding your small purse as your skin peeled away from the seat. You rub the backs of your thighs tenderly before walking to the front of the bus, holding onto the pole in front of the doors as you waited for the bus to fully stop and the doors to open. 

��Have a good day.” You say to the driver and the woman, stepping off of the bus and into the wall of heat.

There was no wind today, only the sun and humid air that attacked your skin and hair immediately. You had braided your hair back to combat the unavoidable frizz that would come to it. And you had lathered your limbs in sunscreen, but even so, your skin reddened under the kiss of the sun.

You began to walk the short way to Henry’s home. Your sweaty feet slipped around in your sandals, the straps digging in with each step. Your loose shirt clung to your body, the thin white fabric becoming partially see-through as the liquid clung and penetrated it.

Your sunglasses didn’t do much to combat the sun – they were more fashionable than practical. Your mom had bought them for you from your last vacation to Tampa over winter break. The leopard pattern had been under scrutiny from Henry since you came home, always making jabs at them when he could. 

The frame was large on your face, covering from your eyebrows to your cheekbones. You often wore them in the Trans AM when you didn’t want to deal with the boys bullying antics and just wanted to melt into the back seat, trying to salvage your reputation as a nice person.

Henry’s home came into view, the old white house standing out against the beige of the farmland around it. You walked up the dirt driveway, kicking out rocks when they got stuck in your sandal. His driveway was long, and you turn off to the right towards the metal shed that had bullet holes pressed into it. 

Henry was never in the house, he was always with the pigs, in the barn, or in the fields. You hadn’t seen any sign of machinery in the fields, meaning he was behind the shed in the pig pen, or hiding up in the lofts of the old barn smoking a pack of stolen cigarettes. 

With a quick walk around the shed and a gentle scratch to Bip and Bop’s heads, you trek through the crispy grass to the faded red barn. The front doors were open, showing off the amounts of hay it had. There had been a horse around when you first started dating Henry, but it had passed away a few months ago from it’s old age. Henry had wanted to get a new one, but that was out of the question with how expensive they were, and Butch didn’t think Henry was worth getting another horse for. 

“Hen?” you ask, softly calling out as you stood at the doors of the barn. 

There was no reply, but you saw the gentle wisps of smoke up in the loft. You walk into the dingy, allergy inducing barn. Hay crunched under you while you walked, making your arrival noisy to anyone who could hear.

The steps up to the loft creaked under your weight, the air somehow growing hotter when you got into the loft. There was a small window that was open, shining light into the converted area. 

There was a small coffee table with a pack of cards and cigarettes. A half full bottle of off brand beer, and a few empty ones. 

An old recliner took up space to the left, and then two ugly, thread-bare couches to the right. The chair and one of the couches were empty.

The dirty blonde mullet haired boy was sprawled out on the other couch, shirtless with his arms resting against the back of the couch, a new bottle of cold beer in one hand. His head was tilted back, hair clinging to his sweaty forehead, his mouth opened to release a blissful moan.

It was a scene you had seen many times, but in all other instances, you had been the one sitting naked on him. You had been the one with your face buried into his neck with the tender skin between your teeth. 

You stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, taking in the intimate scene before you. As if it would somehow vanish like a mirage induced by the humidity and lack of water you had ingested today. After blinking a few times, the brunette was still rocking her hips – rising herself to the head of Henry’s cock and pushing herself back down. It didn’t take long for her lips to be on his, holding his cheeks in her small hands. 

“It appears as if I’ll have to come back another time.” You say coolly, the words tumbling out of your mouth.

A shrill shriek comes from the girl, her hands releasing Henry’s face to cover her chest. Her head whipped around to face you, green eyes wide with horror at someone seeing her nude and in a compromising situation. 

Henry was staring at you with a shocked expression taking hold of his usually stoic features. Your name falls from his lips, something else getting choked up in his throat before it could follow. Your eyebrow raised, and you shook your head.

“I should have guessed this would happen eventually.” You mummer, your eyes trailing to the girl again. She was everything Henry had gone after before he started dating you. Pretty, innocent, nice body. 

Something you had been once too. Before you had met him. “Y/n.” Henry says quietly, looking at you as if he had just come into your room for you to help him but cream on the welts he received from his father. 

He had no right to look at you that way. This was his compromising situation, not yours. But even so, you began to wrack your brain as you turned and walked down the stairs, searching for any indication in your memory that could show that this may have happened more than once, or any sign of why it happened.

Had you not been attentive enough? Did he not like the sex he had with you so much that he had to find someone else? Were you not good enough for Henry Bowers?

You heard fast movement around the loft as you exited the barn, sniffing slightly and blaming your water eyes on the allergens in the barn instead of the feeling of your heart plummeting into your stomach from the pain of dread.

“y/n.” Henry begs as he stumbles his way down the steps, buttoning up his ripped jeans.

You keep walking, back into the humid summer afternoon.

“Don’t ignore me.” He tells you, grabbing onto your wrist when he catches up to you. He tugs on your arm, pulling you closer to him. You spin on your heel, hand coming up to collide with his cheek.

“You’re a bastard.” You hiss, fighting against the tears in your eyes until they were nearly blinding you. “I trusted you. I put my faith in you.”

“I didn’t mean to.” He tells you, his cheek growing red from your hand. His skin was already sunburnt, and there was old skin peeling off his nose. Dust from the farm covered most of his skin, making his tan darker than it already was. 

“If you didn’t mean to, you wouldn’t have done it.” You tell him. “Where’d you pick her up? How old is she?”

“She’s seventeen.” Henry sighs, looking down at his cowboy boots. “She’s new around town.”

“And you thought you’d show her the best Derry had to offer.” You scoff. “Nice.”

“It wasn’t like that.” He snaps, fear crossing his face as he realizes that you were genuinely angry with him. 

“It never is.” You grumble, pulling your wrist away from his grip. 

“So, uh.” Henry says nervously, watching you closely. “What… Wha’ happens now?”

“We become just two names on the bridge.” You say quietly.

He knows what that means. It was a phrase said often in town when couples broke up. Couples who put their names on the bridge rarely last, usually breaking up after a few days or a week after they carve their names +4E onto the old wood that the city counsel swore they would replace once day. 

He saw it in your tear-filled eyes that you were serious. That his one mess up in the entire relationship was going to ruin it. His one mistake, that he thought you would never find out about, was the thing that would break you up. Not the arguments, not moving away to go to college. It was just him being Henry. Henry Bowers living up to his rotten reputation. 

You turn away from him, unable to look at his shell-shocked expression. You leave the barn, walking back towards the road while hoping the bus wouldn’t be too late on it’s next round around the route.

Henry stood at the doorway of the barn, watching you walk away from him for the last time.

You stop by the pig pen, leaning over the old fence to pet the pigs once more. “I’m not coming around anymore.” You tell them softly. “But you’re gonna be okay. Hen will take good care o’ you two.”

You had always had a soft spot for the pigs. You sometimes showed up and spent more time with them than Henry. Or you had often asked to come to his house just to see them. They were like fat dogs. 

With one final word and pet of goodbye, you walk back to the bus stop, leaning against a fence until it came to take you home where you would finally let your tears fall.

[eldritchsurveys]

1033.

Have you ever felt a baby kick? >> I don’t think so. I mean, maybe? It’s possible? Maybe when Vlad was pregnant? But I don’t remember, so. What color pants/shorts are you wearing? >> Charcoal. When is the last time you did something truly fun, and what was it? >> Well, I played a couple of hours of FFXIV earlier? I also watched another episode of Blackish while eating dinner, and that show is a lot of fun for me. What was the scariest moment of your life? >> Oh, who knows. I was probably not fully aware of my emotions at the time anyway, so does it really count as scary if I can’t fully feel my own fear?

Have you ever heard of Leonard Cohen? >> Certainly.

Pancakes or flapjacks? >> I don’t know anything about flapjacks, but I’m not crazy about pancakes. What kind of computer are you on? >> A Lenovo IdeaPad. Do you eat Chinese food? If so, what’s your favorite dish? >> Sure, preferably of the less Americanised variety. I don’t have a favourite dish, though. What are you usually doing at midnight? >> Sleeping. If I’m not sleeping, I’m doing a crossword or reading. Have you ever developed feelings for a friend, but you were already with someone? >> --- If so, how did it turn out? >> --- Give me your brief definition of love. >> I don’t have a brief definition of love. What is the most beautiful part of the human body, male or female? >> --- What kind of shoes do you wear? >> Either sneakers or Docs-type boots. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done when you were really angry? >> I mean, physically hurt someone, what else. Are there any pills you take on a daily basis? If so, what? >> Yeah, I take CBD in the morning and I take the good old Period-B-Gon at night. Do you like the smell of coconuts? >> I do, but only in small doses. It gets overwhelming pretty quickly. What is the heaviest you think you can lift? >> I don’t know. Do you take Tums? >> No, I don’t need them. Have you ever walked on a pier at the beach? >> I’ve been on the Piers on the Hudson River, but I don’t think I’ve been on any legitimate beach piers. How about under one? >> No. At what age do you first remember feeling butterflies in your stomach around someone? >> --- Do you feel that way around anyone now? >> ---

Do you ever talk to yourself or think deep thoughts while on the toilet? >> I usually read on the toilet. Do you ever sing to yourself? >> In general, absolutely. Not on the toilet, though. Couldn’t tell if this was a continuation of the last question or not... What is a sound that relaxes you? >> Babbling-brook type sounds. Forest sounds. Can Calah’s voice. Bruni’s voice. How hard has it been to reach your main goal in life? >> Can’t imagine what it’d be like to have one main goal in life. Like... that’s wild. Do you remember the song about hoes in different area codes? >> Yes, lol. Ahh, what a throwback. What is your main heritage? >> Hm. What kind of pickles do you prefer, if you like pickles? >> I like regular sandwich pickles. I also like bread and butter, which makes me a heathen in Sparrow’s eyes even though we unite over our liking of pickles otherwise. What kind of cheese do you prefer, if you like cheese? >> On sandwiches, pepper jack. With crackers, some kind of brie or Kerrygold swiss, but I’ll take pepper jack or cheddar in a pinch (and usually cheddar if there’s also apple slices involved). In salads, feta. And so on. If you could have a sea creature as a pet, what would you want? >> I don’t want a sea creature as a pet. How about a farm animal? >> Or a farm animal. So, do you have hoes in different area codes? >> Back to this again, eh? What is the most annoying song you can think of that came out recently? >> --- What is a song that you hate to admit you like? >> I feel like it’s insulting to myself to hate admitting that I like something. Getting enjoyment out of something is something to be appreciated, for me... What inspires you to get off your bum and do something productive? >> Inspiration is not what gets me to do things. Executive dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, and random triggers all piss on “inspiration”. I get up and do things when I fucking can. Do you ever use Urban Dictionary? >> I really don’t ever have to. Even slang that’s new to me I can figure out by context clues... Do you find the definitions on there to be generally funny or stupid? >> They’re definitely... special. What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘transformation’? >> I have no immediate associations with that word.

What was something you regularly played with as a child? >> Paper dolls.

Have you ever given in to peer pressure? >> Sure. If so, what did you do? >> I mean, I don’t have specific examples right now because my memory sucks. But I cannot confidently say that I’ve gotten this far without ever giving into something my peer group wanted me to do. What part of your body have you had the most problems with in your life? >> My brain.

Do a lot of people check you out when you’re in public? >> I don’t know, I assume not, but even the suggestion that that’s possible makes me want to claw my skin off, so good job. What is a good name for a turtle? >> A name that matched its disposition and what type of turtle it was. Can you imitate any accents well? If so, which one(s)? >> No. Do you like having your ear nibbled on? >> Nooooo. What makes a good kisser a good kisser? >> I think it’s about whether the partner likes whatever it is they’re doing. Some people kiss in ways that would disgust the fuck out of me, but would be immensely pleasing to someone else. I guess the best kind of kisser would be the one who found out (either by asking outright or by trial-and-error/being guided) what kind of kissing their partner liked (and when!) and adapted to that. How many times a year do you have a family thing? >> --- What are the best things to put in a smoothie? >> I have no idea. Do you ever eat with your eyes closed and just focus on the taste? >> Sometimes. What do you dislike most about where you live right now? >> Oh, you want a list? Because I’ll make a list-- well, okay, mostly I just don’t like urban noise. I’ve grown really intolerant and skittish of the noises people make as they exist around me (this includes environmental noise like vehicles, airplanes, lawncare machinery, etc, as well). Has anyone ever given you a rose/roses? >> No. I’ve given roses a couple of times.

Are you watching your weight? >> I’m trying to not hyperfocus on my weight, actually. Have you ever become really good friends with someone you found online? >> I guess that’s what happened with Elle. “Really good” throws me off because I don’t know how good of friends we are...? I assume we’re just regular friends! I don’t know! Next! What makes your best friend your best friend? >> --- Do you have a drunk uncle? >> --- Do you hear weird noises in your house at night? >> No. What is something you do that is generally more like something the opposite sex does? >> --- What is the girliest thing you do, if you’re a girl? >> ---

What is the coolest tattoo you’ve ever seen? >> I don’t know, man, I’ve seen a lot of cool tattoos over time. In fact, just the concept of tattoos in general is cool. Have you ever created anything artistic that you’re proud of? If so, what? >> I mean, I’ve written some pretty sweet fanfic. Do you only eat the middle of the oreo, if you eat oreos? >> I don’t eat Oreos.

Do you know anyone with a huge ego? >> Maybe. If so, is there anything else about them you actually like? >> I mean, having a huge ego doesn’t automatically disqualify you from having anything likeable about you from my perspective... Have you ever used a racial slur, even jokingly? >> Yep. Considering a certain obvious racial slur is now a slang term... Do you have any friends who are more like siblings to you? >> ---

If so, what about them do you like most? >> --- What do you like on your hotdogs, if you eat hotdogs? >> On the rare occasion that I do, I like onions and sauerkraut and mustard. What is everyone else in your house doing right now? >> Sparrow is in her room, I assume watching more of the Amnesia Rebirth playthrough on YouTube. What is the most money you’ve ever had at one time? >> $10k. Retroactive payment from Social Security. (Yeah, that’s how long they denied me before I got approved. Long enough that they owed me a total of fourteen grand.) How long do you think it would take you to run a mile? >> I wouldn’t run a mile, so that’s that on that. Look down. What do you see? >> The dark void that is my clothing in this dim lighting. What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable? >> Can’t think of anything right now. Not that such subjects don’t exist, just that they’re not coming to mind. What is a subject you can talk on and on about and not get sick of it? >> FFXIV. What kind of mood were you in most of today? >> A hyperaroused one. Had a lot of emotions and then had to deal with the backlash to having too many emotions before noon. Has anyone ever walked in on you naked? >> No. Tell me an inside joke you have with someone. >> I can’t ever remember these at random. What is the worst thing someone could do to you emotionally? >> Let’s not. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done to someone emotionally? >> Let’s not. How do you feel now about the first person you ever dated? >> Nothing. He’s been dead for over a decade, any feelings about him exist only in emotional flashbacks. How about the last person (your last ex)? >> A little hurt still but mostly just pissed and disgusted. Most of the hurt I still feel now is grief towards myself and what I lost to someone else’s carelessness and self-obsession. What is the best invention ever invented? >> *shrug*

What is something that needs to be invented? >> *shrug* What always makes you burp? >> Carbonation. Well, not always, I guess? But often. What are you doing tomorrow? >> I’m not sure yet. I’ll know when it gets here.

[writers-blogck]

Redemption and Healing ( Jesse McCree x Reader ) 01

Warning(s): None. Title: Redemption and Healing Number in Series: One Pairing: Jesse McCree x Reader Fandom: Overwatch Word Count: 1,725 Art: McCree    Life in the small village was alright. You worked hard on the farm and everyone worked well together. It was self-sustaining, there was no need to go anywhere. You had accepted that your entire life was going to be spent here. Your parents would die and leave you in charge of the farm. You may only be going on fifteen, but they were already preparing for you to get married. They wanted to get you with a good guy who could help you live a comfortable life. You hated the idea of marrying someone you don't love, but if it is how life works, you guess you had to go along with it. You wanted to trust them.    Every day was the same as the last. Get up at the crack of dawn, do your chores, eat, get to work, give out deliveries, dinner, washing, bed. Rinse and repeat. It would be a lie to say you didn't wish for more, but you never wanted to be selfish. You had dreamed of traveling to the distant lands and discover what life had in store for you, but how could you do that with your parents depending on you? You were their only child. You were all they had, other than the farm. It would be terrible for you to leave them here just because you wanted something more in life. That wasn't how it worked in their book.    You sighed, carrying the bucket filled with feed to where the chickens stayed. As soon as they saw you, they began to squawk out noises as if trying to show they were excited to see you. It was nothing more than them getting excited about the food being brought, not your actual presence. You wondered what it would be like to be wanted by someone, for someone to be that excited to see you. Your parents told you that they loved you, but you felt like they only loved the useful parts of you. They liked the hard worker in you. You quickly shook your head, trying to keep those thoughts from overtaking your entire being.    As you began to toss the seed to the chickens who crowded around your feet, you heard it. The shrieking of terrified people. It scared you so much that you dropped the bucket entirely, the feed spilling everywhere. The chickens didn't mind, they just tried to get even more. You didn't care what they did, they weren't important at this very moment. Without thinking, you grabbed the closest thing that could be considered a weapon. It ended up being a hoe that you had left here after working in the fields. With that in hand, you sprinted toward the noise, ready to defend your family from whatever harm was coming to them.  Why did the coup have to be so far away?    The sight that greeted you was blood soaking the snow-dusted ground. Ripe apples staining the pure snow. There were people in all black, attacking villagers while also fighting people who you had never seen before. The village wasn't too large and you saw the people you had grown up with dead on the ground. The younger adults and parents were fighting alongside these new people. They weren't great but the desperation to protect those they cared about was burning in their eyes.        You threw yourself straight into the battle, with a growl. You may not be properly ready for the fight, due to fighting with a hoe, but you weren't thinking straight. You were prettying good at fighting, slicing at enemies with the sharp side while just bashing others with the more blunt side. No matter where you hit, you were going to leave a mark. You were stronger than you looked. That was what happened when you worked in the fields. Your family hated to use machinery for anything. Your entire village kept most technology out, not wanting to taint their pure home. You never understood why they thought it would taint the soil. You didn't have a say in the matter though, so you pushed it to the back of your mind.    You tried to block out the screams for help and the dead bodies that littered the ground. It was so horrific, you'd never experienced something like this. You felt yourself shoved to the ground, your back hitting the dirt with a loud thump. Beside you, you saw them. The lifeless bodies and dull eyes of your parents. Before you could grieve over the loss, you swept the hoe under the man in the black-clothed person's feet, toppling him to the ground. A blonde man stood over him before the sharp whistle of the bullet alerted you that the man you were fighting before you had fallen. You were just surrounded by the dead.    The fight continued and you ended a few of the attackers once you got up, getting only a few scratches and bruises yourself. Yes, it hurt, but you were surprisingly good at fighting. It was a shock to you that you were a natural. Once the fighting was done, you began to help the injured. You may not have known you could fight so well, but you did know that you were a good medic. Before you were your families only child (as they assumed they would have another child, a boy), you were the town medic's apprentice. When they realized you would be their only child, they started to teach you more about running a farm without help.    As you were helping a hurt child, the blonde man that had helped you walked back over. He crouched next to you, looking at the kid before glancing at you. You had to admit that he looked cute, a farmer's boy if you had ever seen one. As soon as he spoke, you knew he was American, not Canadian like yourself. Who were these people? Your town was rather secluded and most information didn't get through. People saw your town as backward and you couldn't help to agree with them. What was the world like away from this place? You wanted to know, it grasped for the truth.    "You alright?" He asked, watching as your skilled hands were taking care of the child, who wasn't seriously injured like the many people you had been raised around.    "I'm fine..." You mumbled out, not looking up to look at him.    "You did well out there. Glad you didn't get hurt, I would feel bad for letting you fight alongside us if you got hurt. I'm surprised, who taught you to fight like that? Your dad, mom? It doesn't seem like many of the people living here could fight like you can."    "No," You glanced at the bodies that were your parents, which told the man enough to keep him from asking you about it anymore, "I was never taught anything. I never fought except for schoolyard fights. I just did what felt right with me. I wanted to help, I couldn't just sit by and not do anything."    "I'm Jack, may I ask who you are?"        "(Y/N)."    "Nice name."    You finished helping the child before giving your full attention to Jack, the mysterious hero who had saved your town. His blue eyes were soft as he watched you. He looked shocked that no one had taught you to fight at all. He made you feel comfortable, even though you didn't know him. Maybe it was his accent, maybe it was just how he held himself. You squirmed, ignoring all of the blood and dirt that must be covering your clothes. You would need to wash up after all of this...What were you going to do? You had lost everything that was your reality. Everything had shattered in a matter of minutes.    "Are you alone? Do you have any family left living here?" You knew what he was asking. He wanted to know if your family had all died in the attack. All you did was nod, not wanting to talk about it. You kept your tears from falling. You didn't want to cry in front of strangers. You needed to be strong for the rest of the town, for the people who were watching you. You never liked to cry, it made you feel weak. Your father told you that you would be weak if you cried, so you should never do it.    You let out a little nod, refusing to look up at him. Instead, you focused on your dusty lap. You knew that as soon as your eyes met his blue ones, you would lose it. All the tears and sadness would come out. Just keep staring at your lap. You can keep it in.    "How would you feel about joining Overwatch? It is the organization that we work for. We are a group of people that are trying to keep the world safe. We can always use more members who want to just help the world in any way they can. I see a lot of potential in you. We would give you a good home and everything that you would need would be provided. Please take some time to think it over and give us a-"    Before he could finish his sentence, you shouted out a yes. Why? You had no idea, but it felt right. The idea of being a part of these heroes, it amazed you. This was what your fate was. You had wished upon every star to be shown a bigger destiny. You knew you were meant for more. This was what you were supposed to do with your life. You would be part of something bigger, something important. You had seen a poster about Overwatch, one that just had the symbol on it. When he said the name, it came to you who these people were. They were the heroes. They were doing everything they could to keep the world safe.        "Are you sure you don't want to think about it? I don't want you to rush into anything without really thinking."    "I want to join, I have no purpose here. I want to make a purpose in life. I want to make a difference. I want to help."    Jack smiled, almost looking proud of the words you had just said,    "Welcome to the team."

[floraexplorer]

The Best Italian Eco Adventures in Valle di Cembra, Trentino

Have you ever heard of Valle di Cembra in northern Italy?

If you say no, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Valle di Cembra is a beautiful valley in the Italian province of Trentino which has plenty to offer a typical tourist – but it’s not particularly well known. It’s because places like Trentino find it a bit difficult to compete for attention when there’s such a huge focus on Italy’s ‘must-see’ destinations.

For the last few years, over-tourism has hit Italy hard. There are the massive influxes of art-and-architecture-hungry visitors to Florence, Rome, and Venice; the photo-obsessed selfie-stick-wavers in Pisa and Cinque Terre; even the shoulder-to-shoulder sunbathers in Positano, Sardinia and Lake Garda.

Local governments are trying desperately to cope with the crowds, as there’s a very real risk that these destinations will be irreparably damaged: a combination of rising house prices, waste disposal issues, harm to local wildlife, heightened local tensions, and in the case of Venice, there’s a literal danger of it sinking out of sight.

But the bizarre irony is that tourism begets tourism. Outside of the top three Italian cities, most other ‘must-visit’ locations in Italy are so popular purely because they’ve already been publicised as ‘the place to be’. So what’s to say that a new part of Italy can’t be discovered by international tourism?

Enter, Trentino – the Italian province you never knew you had to visit!

If there’s one thing which unites all travel bloggers, it’s that we love a ‘hidden gem’ of a destination (although we try to avoid that cliched term!). So when Traverse announced their annual blogging conference would be held in Trentino’s capital city of Trento, I didn’t hesitate to book my ticket.

After a week spent with my blogging friends at the conference, we split into a dozen different groups and headed out into various parts of Trentino province. The reason? To explore all the unknown parts of Trentino and inspire future tourists to travel in this part of Italy.

For two days, our little group drove up and down the winding switchback roads which rise up from the Cembra valley floor. The higher we went, the lower the temperature dropped – but the more stunning the scenery grew.

The land on either side of Valle di Cembra is steep and mountainous, and the land rolls so much that most machinery has to be used by hand. As Valle di Cembra is a region particularly famed for its vineyards, it’s easy to imagine that the farmers who live and work here might find the necessity of manual labour to be frustrating – but it’s actually the opposite.

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Discovering the surreal Segonzano Pyramids

Our first stop in Valle di Cembra was at one of Trentino’s most popular sites: the Segonzano Pyramids. These natural towers of earth are situated in a forest halfway up the Cembra valley close to Segonzano village and are a geological phenomenon, created by the erosion of loose earth and pebbles over hundreds of years.

Some of the pyramids reach a height of 40 metres, and all have flat stones on top – which explains the local name of ‘omeni’ (literally, ‘homunculi’ or ‘Little Men’, because of their resemblance to a particular male part!).

Although the Segonzano pyramids are the main attraction here, our lovely guide Paolo was keen for us to get a true sense of this serene spot in the valley. He instructed us to put our cameras away (a tough task for a group of bloggers!), leading us down wooden walkways and threading our way through the trees.

Paolo had a keen eye for detail, and every few moments we’d stop to see chestnuts, blackberries, acacia and elderflower blossoms.

When the birds began to sing from the treetops above us, he craned his neck backwards and turned his head to try and identify what he could hear: the sound of a cardinal, or perhaps a chaffinch.

And while he told us the history of the ‘piramidi di segonzano’, Paolo was stringing wild strawberries onto thin stems of grass; something his grandfather used to do.

Herding cows with a local dairy farmer at Agritur Le Mandre

The Le Mandre farm sits high above the valley in Bedollo village. It’s a business which has grown over three generations: Laura tells us that her grandfather used to keep cows up here for decades, which led to her father looking out at the panorama one day and thinking, “I want to build my own farm…” He didn’t have any money and people told him nobody would come to buy cheese from Bedollo – but he persisted.

Today, Laura operates a dairy and agriturismo, and thanks to the farm’s twenty five Alpine Grey cows, they produce and sell milk, a variety of cheeses, locally made ice cream and frozen yoghurt.

But the real star of the show at Le Mandre was Marco the farmer. He appeared out of nowhere as we were touring the farm, dressed in a cowboy hat and denim cut-off shorts and accompanied by an adorable dog named Nubia.

He asked us if we’d like to go and meet some of Le Mandre’s cows and help to herd them – and once he heard our resounding, “YES PLEASE!!” we headed off towards the fields.

The Alpine Greys were chilling in a field just outside the village, contentedly munching on the grass. When they saw us they edged closer, keen to see what food we had to offer – which, sadly, was none.

With little to no training in the art of cow herding, we followed Marco’s example as best we could (and perhaps somewhat exaggeratedly): waving our arms, making various clicking noises and generally trying to make the placid animals move back up the hill towards the farm and away from their incredibly picturesque grazing spot.

Back at the farm, Marco presented us with two heart-shaped cheese boards. As he talked us through the flavours of each sample, I looked around at the heart decorations everywhere: the lace curtains hanging from the windows, the table cloth decorations. Even the fences outside featured little wooden cut-outs of hearts, sheep and cows.

We asked Marco the farmer if he was responsible for the hearts. “Oh, no, it’s all my son,” he said, laughing as he shook his head.

Learning Durer’s artistic history at Castello di Segonzano

Lower down in the valley, we walked through the vineyards towards Segonzano Castle, a thirteenth century medieval fortress built on a cliff.

Today, the castle is mainly in ruins – there’s little more than a singular wall and the remnants of the castle’s prison left standing – but it’s still a fascinating insight into how the area used to look. And Castello di Segonzano is also famous in the art world, thanks to a celebrity visitor a few centuries ago.

Back in 1494, the German artist Albrecht Dürer was journeying from Innsbruck to Venice when the flooded Adige river forced him to divert onto a mountain path. When he arrived at the Cembra Valley he painted a dozen watercolours of the surrounding landscapes of Trentino Aldo Adige – and two of them feature Segonzano castle.

There’s no written record of Durer visiting the area, but thanks to this series of paintings, it’s possible to trace his journey through images alone.

In homage to Durer, we spent a happy few hours attempting to channel our own inner artist and painting watercolours within the crumbling castle walls.

Despite my lack of artistic skill it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon – until a violent wind kicked in and forced us to abandon the castle altogether.

Drinking local organic wine at Cantina dei Baroni

Still buffeted by the overpowering winds, we arrived at Cantina dei Baroni, a family-run vineyard and wine producer close to Segonzano castle.

We sat in a shaded courtyard at a table filled with platters of cured meats and cheeses while the owner (another Paolo!) told us how the Baroni winery’s history is firmly entwined with that of the area – and also with the artist Durer.

In 1936, Paolo’s grandfather was walking by the Avisio river and decided to take a break, sitting on the grass. When he looked up towards Segonzano castle he realised he was in the exact spot that Durer must have painted from, because his view matched the artist’s famous watercolour exactly!

Until that point, nobody had been able to confirm the identity of the castle in Durer’s painting – but thanks to Paolo’s grandfather, Trentino was able to officially recognise the location as a living part of artistic history.

I realised the sudden winds we’d felt at the Segonzano Castle had completely disappeared, and when I mentioned this to Paolo he explained that this area has its very own microclimate. Every afternoon there’s a strong wind called Ora del Garda which blows northwards from Lake Garda, which can be felt all across the Trentino region.

In Valle di Cembra this means overcast skies and the occasional rain shower, but it always disappears after an hour or so and reverts back to sunshine again. This daily shifting of weather creates a perfect environment for the grapes, and contributes to the delicious flavour of the wines produced at Cantina dei Baroni!

Napping with the bees at BeeWellness Contadino

Our final stop was the most fascinating: the family-run business of Gocce d’Oro, which offers ‘a multi-sensory journey into the world of bees’.

Ever since their great-grandfather Peter began to keep bees in 1850, the Andreatti family have made bees their business. Today they look after 250 hives and also cultivate a number of aromatic plants and herbs, which allows them to create soaps, lotions, candles, teas and sweets using honey, beeswax and natural ingredients like chamomile, calendula, echinacea and thyme.

But the real draw is their bee wellness treatment, which takes place in a picturesque little hut a ten minute walk away from Gocce d’Oro.

Inside the hut are four beds made from locally sourced mountain hay. Guests are invited to lie down, close their eyes, and listen to the sound of the bees happily buzzing in and out of the ten hives attached to the outside of the hut.

The ‘therapy’ aspect comes from the low rumble-buzz of the bees: the Andreatti family claim the bees’ particular frequency relaxes your muscles and provides a serenely calm environment.

Over-tourism versus ‘hidden gems’: which is best?

After spending two days exploring Trentino’s Valle di Cembra, it was clear that this area has such a strong passion for the natural world – and it’s a passion which has been passed down through the generations.

The community who live here work the land with their hands, so they’re more in touch with where they come from. And thanks to the calm, relaxed attitude which pervades the valley, Valle di Cembra is a world away from the heaving crowds and constant noise of Italy’s more visited areas; instead, it’s a place where local farmers offer you a bowlful of freshly picked wild strawberries.

I can guarantee that’s never happened to me on the streets of Rome or Paris or London!

As over-tourism becomes more of a pertinent issue, perhaps it’s time to focus on how we can all combat the problem by eschewing the world’s iconic destinations in favour of the unknown instead.

After all, those hidden gems do taste a lot sweeter.

Would you visit Valle di Cembra now? What non-touristy places have you visited recently?

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Disclaimer: I was kindly hosted on this trip by the folks at Visit Trentino and Visit Pine Cembra.

Read more:

– A weekend guide to visiting Arezzo, Italy

– Eco-friendly gifts for the traveller in your life

– Fishing for plastic in London’s canals

– Rural village life in the rice terraces of Bali

The post The Best Italian Eco Adventures in Valle di Cembra, Trentino appeared first on Flora The Explorer.

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[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc0n0c6a3XU

(I had to look up the prices and what the bill document said to get this right.)

Dead Bird Studios.

The place where for YEARS had been the birthplace of creativity and actors on the big screen. And now she was standing right in front of it. The others didn't look so fazed at the big building considering they had been there multiple times before but that didn't stop her from staring up in fascination at it all. It. WAS. HUGE!! WAY bigger than those tall buildings back on the moon. A giant logo sign of a black bird skull and film real decorated the outside on the big front there with the giant words under it reading DEAD BIRD STUDIOS. A parking lot stood between them and the entrance and they were already walking across it towards the entrance. To the far left of them, they could all see a bunch more of those cars parked into the rectangular spaced, not that Poppy was paying attention as they marched across in the hot sun beating down on them all. Poppy would be lying if she wasn't impressed, as she subconciously walked after the small group still walking, the shadow of the building fell over her and she involuntarily sighed feeling the harsh rays of the sun gone for a moment. Still following along after them up to the double doors of the building. The grown lady flinched when they opened on their own as soon as Cookie got near it and mumbled grumpily to herself about forgetting her purse and having to walk all the way back here on her day off of all things helping out and how it was so rude of her to make them all take this detour. Not that anyone minded as the children excitedly ran in past them inside. Poppy glanced wearily at the doors for a moment while passing, jumping a foot forward when it closed by themselves, blue eyes glanced between it and Cookie for a moment before following after the mumbling cat. The long hallway was pretty dark with a black carpet with bird skull patterns with lots of white squares lights barely lighting up the place. With a whoosh noise the doors up ahead opened on their own accord and the three children ran on through and into what looked like a well lit room. As they continued to persue the children down the rest of the hall she thought she heard some squeals of delight but she wasn't too sure yet. When she finally approuched the double pair of doors, they opened again with a whoosh for Cookie and Poppy flinched again...Before blinking and sticking her head into the lit room. A giant white Television set(computor) was sat on the counter which was the first thing she saw, and shiny marble floors reflected the bright lights above. There was a tired looking bird manning the counter as he calmly watched everything around him. Next to him was some kind of giant piece of heavy looking machinery, and as Poppy finally stepped in, she gawked at the sight of GIANT glass cases on either side of the room with shiny copies of trouphies safely sat inside with names of old movie directors of years past. But those only held her attention for a moment, above the trophies on either side were giant framed posters. On the right with a few penguins gathered was a strange looking instrument in disco lights, a ...slime monster??, and some penguin in an astronaut suit. To the right was a more western style of two seperate birds holding guns and a random cactus. Two doors were on either side and two signs by them each saying FILMING IN PROGRESS.

"DARLING!! You're back so soon?," A loud voice boomed out and Poppy yelped dropping her bags of clothing on the floor.

Who the voice belongs to was another moon penguin...But this one looked TOTALLY different from any other penguin she's seen before. He wore a ridiculous outfit with weirder shoes on his feet making him taller than the other penguins by a few inches, and he actually had hair and yellow eye brows styled up into some kind of weirder haircut, and last but certainly not least a giant pair of all black shaped sunglasses over his eyes. His beak was curled up in a smile as he approuched from the small crowd of three girls tailing after him as Cookie walked over to him.

"I wasn't expecting my best best network star to return so soon," he happily addressed her earning him a few embarrassed chuckles.

"Not exactly planned. I uh...Forgot my purse on set again and needed to run in and grab it. Can't exactly feed a bunch of hungry children without it now can I? H-How's the movie auditions so far?"

The penguin sighed and reached a flipper up to his forehead. "Easier said than done. There's the part of the wicked family who still need spaces filled in place, and the handsome prince, not to mention that I still have no one to play the concerned father and we only have a few months to put this together! I can't describe how much pressure I'm feeling..But I have a good feeling that this year will be in our favor for sure!"

Cookie smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find the perfect people to fill those roles soon. You always manage to pull off a wonderful display."

"*sigh* I sure hope so, Dear. I'd hate to have nothing to present for my efforts." His gaze turned up once he noticed movement by the doors as Poppy reached back down to pick her bags back up. "And I see you brought a new friend!" Poppy paused as she was approuched by the eccentric looking fella. "Why HELLO there, Darling! I don't believe we've met!"

"Uh..." Poppy had to blink to actually make sure she was seeing who she was actually seeing before shaking her head and standing up, giving a politely smile. "Howdy! I don't think we've met actually."

The penguin chuckled and shook his head. "We didn't and I never forget a pretty face, Darling. And who might you be?"

"I'm those two's temporarily babysitter," she answered pointed at two of the three children huddled by his side. "Until I can get back on mah feet that is. Kinda starting from scratch after a crazy wake up call."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you Darling." His whole being radiated positivity and his voice despite being loud was very welcoming, making Poppy smile brightly, "I take it this is your first time at a studio?"

She smiled a bit shyly. "I-Is it that obvious? hehe" She reached up to rub the back of her neck. "Uh...Y-Yeah. Do you work here?"

At this the penguin and Cookie shared a chuckle before he spoke. "Well, I should hope so. Or else my name isn't DJ Grooves."

Grooves?....DJ Grooves? As in THE Mr. Grooves Cookie had spoken about before? OH! He must've been the director she spot about earlier, that would've explained the way he dressed. This guy was a walking fat cat with deep pockets, but he looked rather friendly and cheerful to her. And not to brag, but she did have a good judge of character usually.

"OH! So YOU'RE this Mr. Grooves I've heard so much about."

He chuckled. "So you heard a lot about me? I'm flattered, Darling. Really I am-" He was interrupted when a rumble sounded out and Poppy grabbed at her stomach embarrased. "...Oh my, my, my. Hungry are we?"

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and we've been running around all day."

"Well, then I better get back there and find that darned thing." Cookie turned to Mr. Grooves with a smile. "Ya'll don't mind if I just run to the back real quick like and grab it do you?"

"Not at all, Darling. Be my guest." Cookie smiled and without another word turned and ran off towards the door on the fair right of the room. The giant thing creaked open and closed behind her as she disappeared into the area behind it. Poppy watched her go behind sighing and stretching out her back from the now uncomfortable weight of the heavy used farm equipment on her, but her attention went back to Mr. Grooves when he pointed towards the counter and spoke again. "Darling, if you want you can just place these bags right on over there with the other random things we brought in today. You look redder than an apple on the sun."

She nodded yes reaching up a hand to wipe at her face. "I feel like a baked apple too. ...Ya sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all, Darling. Not at all. Why don't you go do that and I'll have one of my assistants bring you out a glass."

"Well, if you're really sure."

She smiled and lugged her way over to the counter by the crate and weird machine thing. Placing the bags down by the crate, she shimmied the golf club bag of farming tools off her shoulders and into her hands, leaning them all carefully against the big ol' machine thing next to them. Sighing that her back didn't have weight on it anymore she stretched it out making her back pop. A few giggles made her look back over towards the small group of girls around the penguin. Bow was still pouting looking down at the clothes in disgust but looked up when the penguin adjusted the sunhat on her head, she looked up at him and Mr. Grooves said something to her. Poppy couldn't hear exactly what he said but it put a smile on Bow's face and he patted her head with a flipper. A smile returning to her face at the cute scene in front of her. A small creaking noise came from her left, and Poppy didn't notice the expensive camera starting to lean from the weight of her tools.

BAM!!

A loud bang filled the room but strangely enough, barely anyone flinched or looked up from it. As if used to hearing large booming noises in the studio. The only ones who reacted was Mr. Grooves, the girls, and Poppy. Poppy all but jumped out of her skin backing against the counter and whirling towards the source of the sound, the girls seemed to flinch, and Mr. Grooves only casually looked over towards the left side of the studio. There the other giant pair of double doors had been kicked open and slammed into the walls, a moment later a very angry......Yellow owl?? Stomped out and behind him followed some regular Express Owls holding various items or just following. .....Wat? Poppy had to blink as the small whatever he was stomped over near to where she was standing and starting barking demands all of a sudden.

"You three grab the bloody camera and make sure ye pecknecks keep a tight grip on it! I nae need me raw footage damaged in anyway!" His head turned as he barked orders to the owls who jumped and nodded at their bosses demands. "Good! Can't count on you all to do anything without me tellin' ye to cannae?"

Well THAT was rude. Poppy frowned at the rude little whatever he was and still didn't notice the large machine next to her lean over even more. Neither Poppy, the owls, or whoever this small yellow guy was(who was still yelling at the poor owls through all of this might I add) noticed the heavy duty camera leaning over or the glamerous penguin waltz on over towards him with a smile until they all reacted at his voice. The owls stopping, the yellow bird thing freezing for a few seconds, his fist shaking and slowly closing into fists, and his head snapping to peer over his shoulder, and Poppy looking over blinking.

"Conductor, Darling. You mustn't be so loud. It disturbs the peace and scares potential clients away," Mr. Grooves calmly spoke to this person. "You know I'm still expecting others to answer my casting calls."

Wait. Didn't Cookie also mention a Conductor? Huh. So this must be him. Not gonna lie, not a good first impression to her if she said so herself. Conductor huffed and turned his whole body turned to completely face the calm moon penguin now.

"Tis NAE of your business ye no good puffy haired peckneck!!," Conductor shouted while pointing a hand at Mr. Grooves. He was loud enough to make Poppy wince. "Why don't ye badger off and leave me to my worrrrrk!!"

"Darling, I would love nothing MORE than to leave you alone undisturbed," Mr. Grooves insisted calmly holding up his flippers, "All I ask is that you don't make such a ruckus in the lobby so my interviewers don't get scared off."

"HA!! Ye still going on 'bout that nonsense! Like anyone would rrrreally want to be in some techno sore to the eyes picture like yours!"

"Well that's not true at all. I have a gentlemen coming in tomorrow to see for the part of the Father in my little play. "

"HA!! The third one in a row? By this rate, ye won't be able to show ye face at the Award Ceremony for judging!" He smiled this time and crossed his arms.

"Now, now. There's still lots of time. And I'm going for something far more simple this year. A little change of style but still fabulous if I do say so myself."

"HMPH!! Well I say ye are full of birdseed if you think you have an inch of chance as usually! Another second place trophy would be more fitted! AHAHAHA!!"

Poppy could feel herself frowning at his words. Well that was really uncalled fore especially since Mr. Grooves wasn't being rude at all back or making a big scene like Conductor was. CREAAAAAAAAAAKKKK!! Hey...What was that creaking sound? Or was her ears ringing from the earlier screaming.

"Ye should give up now and save ye some trouble! With me raw footage it's surrrre to be in me favor."

CRREEEEEEEEEEEEE-

A giant creaking sound echoed out in a black blur as the giant camera leaned over and tipped. Owls hooted in fear as they scrambled out of the way as all eyes looked over and it seemed time slowed down as it went down, down, down- .....With a loud crash glass and pieces of metal shattered and flew everywhere. On instinct everyone close enough held up their arms and looked away from the shatter, but it was too late. Time slowed down as the camera shattered beyond repair and lots of metal clangs and sounds followed the disaster until it all finally settled piece by piece in front of them all on the floor. Destroyed camera and farming tools splayed on top of it. Everyone stood in shock staring down at the absolutely DESTROYED piece of machinery but that wasn't the last of it. A few sparks from the top of the camera shot out .....and then just a tiny spark of flame appeared. Well that tiny flame was enough to send some panic througout everyone there as owls sqawked and gasped back at the sight of the small flame which slowly started to grow causing everone else to get mildly panicked.

"SOME DARLIN' GET A FIRE EXSTINGISHER!!," Mr. Grooves yelled one flipper going up behind him to push back the small group of children behind him.

"STAND BACK!!"

In a fury of feather and blur, a white streak of foam shot out from some random direction and slammed into the flames, successfully putting out the flames with a sizzling sound by none other than the receptionist. The bird who was behind the counter wasn't finished yet as he continued to spray the camera and part of her tools down until it was all white like snow had piled on it and he stopped. Everyone remained in their tense pose for a long while staring at the camera...before some sighed in relief as did Poppy. Well that was certainly a surprise wasn't it? ...But not a very pleasant one by SOMEONE'S standards.

"MY MOVIE!!," Conductor cried recieving all eyes on his as his hands reached up to grab those feathery parts of his head staring dead at the camera in horror. "ALL ME HARD WORKED RRRRRRAW FOOTAGE IS GONE!!! .....AH!! YOU!!" His horror quickly shifted to anger when he snapped towards the fightened owls with an accusing tone. "YOU NO GOOD......FEATHER BRAINED....PPPPPPPEEEEECCKKNNEEEEEECKSSSS!! I TOLD YE TO BE CAREFULL!! NOW LOOK AT WHAT YE DONE TA ME HARRRD WORK!! WAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH A BLOODY SHATTERED MESS MADE BY BUBBLING BAFOONS?!"

The owls all froze at their bosses torment as Grooves turned around to ask the little girls if they were alright and Poppy stared. Watching as Conductor continued to shout as he blamed the poor owls for the mess....Blue eyes blinked down to the farming tools laid upon the floor. HER mess. The one she made-

Red eyes and shadows stared at her frightened form as a voice hissed. "Take her to the room and lock her away. ...I can't to look at her for as my prince had done. Perhaps locking away her forever will teach her a lesson about gazing into another man's eyes who belong TO ME!!"

"STOP!! JUST STOP IT WAS MY FAULT!!!"

Blue eyes snapped open at the yell. The yell that made everyone freeze and look at the red head who looked just as shocked and surprised as everyone else at her sudden outburst, but the Conductor wasn't yelling at the owls anymore. Despite him not having eyes, she could still tell he was staring right at her along with everyone else around her in more stunned silence as nobody spole.

".......Wot?"

"So YOU'RE the one responsible for this?," the tallest bird from the counter spoke putting down the fire extingisher and crossed his arms with a frown making Poppy flinch.

Poppy stared at him for a moment but seeing one poor worried looking owl behind him, made her frown before taking a deep inhale...and nodding towards the receptionist without hesitation. "That's right! One hundred peckin' percent!" She boldly pointed to the half foam covered tools by now. "Those are mah tools and it's mah fault the giant whatcha-ma-callit thing fell over 'n broke! Not anyone else's! So don't be yelling at anyone!"

The receptionist stood there for a moment staring at her before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a pen and piece of paper. "Are you willing to pay for the damages? If you chose to claim the damages that is."

She nodded again without hesitation. "I am!"

"Alright." The paper had the same bird skull logo and Dead Bird Studios in bold red words. "Where do you live, Ma'am?"

"Uh...."

"With us!," Hattie piped up.

"Alright." Under the words 'Billing Details' he wrote Red Head Human Woman and the adress Spaceship in the sky 1 6829 this planet, Invoice #: (insert random Owl Express Numbers), Invoice Date: Today, and Currency: Pons. After studying it for a bit he looked back down to the damaged thing with a hum. "Let's see. There was film so that counts under 'Distruping Studio Recordings' which comes to one hundred thousand pons." He wrote under the words 'You Will Be Billed For' as he spoke and looked at the damages caused. "One count of 'Penguin Harrassment' which is five hundred pons. Five cases of 'Owl Harrassment' for two thousand five hundred pons. 'Destruction of Property' oh definately for three thousand. And 'Tresspassing' for seven thousand."

Poppy could only stand there and let her eyes grow and widen in shock at the claims and how much pons this guy claimed she owed for such lunacy. ".......Tresspassing and harassment!? Of what kind?! I wasn't tresspassin' if I was invited in here!! And I wasn't harassing anyone!!''

"Ma'am. I'm only doing my job handling paperwork, and our insurance doesn't cover humans. The moment you stepped on property you became a liability and responisble for paying for any destruction you caused," he explained calmly as if he did this every day. He wrote one other thing down on the paper before holding it out for her. "You owe us one hundred thirteen thousand pons plus tax and another seven hundred fifty for the expensive high defintion camera to be replaced."

Poppy could only stare and not move at the paper held out to her with wide eyes and an open jaw like there was another cursed statue in front of her. After a moment, the recptionist carefully and calmly put the large bill in her hand and she finally reacted to the movement. with anger and a scowl. "WHY IS THIS SO EXPENSIVE!? I couldn't afford this even if I suddenly turned into solid gold like that roach did!!"

"Like I said, Ma'am. I'm only doing my job. If you like I could call the local court house of law, the lawyers there can assure you the paperwork and damages are all legal."

"Well I still can't PAY for it!.....What if I work off the debt instead? I'm a hard worker I promise."

"Well.....it wouldn't be the first time someone worked it off. But you'll have to speak with the two big bosses about it, not me I'm afraid."

"And they would be?"

"ME!!" She jumped and nearly dropped the paper when the Conductor scowled up at her with anger. "That was MY movie ye destrrrroyed with yer no good foolishness! If ye are gonna work it away ye better be ready to receive some hard work thrown at ye from meself!!''

".......No."

Silence. You could hear a pin drop as everyone in the studio of hearing range completely stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards the scene before them with wide eyes. Completely shocked into silence as they all stared at the human alike. Penguins, Express Owls, the two children, and even both the directors seemed to be shocked into the dumb silence as they all gawked at the frowning red haired lady staring at the Conductor. THE CONDUCTOR!! NO ONE BUT DJ GROOVES HAD EVER SAID NO TO THE CONDUCTOR BEFORE!! (except Hattie that one time in the basement but we don't talk about that not that anyone outside of the little girl, and a few of her friends knew) But now it seemed everyone was too shocked seeing a new person say no to the famously hot headed owl. One owl staring completely let the script she was holding fall from her hands and land scattered at her feet as everyone watched jaws dropped. Eventually Confuctor was the one to break the awkward silence by what else, his famous yeling. "WOT!?," he shouted and stared at her. "An' why not?! Ye are the one who cost me mah raw footage! That was ten days of haarrrrrrd work I ain't nah gettin' back, Las!" The red head crossed her arms and didn't change her expression. "I know and I am terribly sorry I caused you so much trouble in that department. But I refuse to work with someone so rude and treats the employee's who's workin' hard trying to help him by calling them useless! Obviously you're a terrible boss who treats anyone helping him with no respect, and I would feel terrible! Being in one of your movies knowing that, Sir." The girls exchange silent shocked glances behind Poppy as she turned her head towards the damaged camera. "....If it's the material that I damaged I would gladly pay in anyway I can. But only on the basis you apologise to those you've wronged, Mr. Conductor. But don't you go thinkin' I'll do anything before I know I'll be treated with respect!" Conductor's. Jaw. DROPPED!! Obviously not used to anyone other than that ridiculous long time rival of his speaking to HIM. HIM!!! In such a brass and demanding manner and it took a moment for him to even process what she just said but in a moment his temper flared up in a moment's notice as those feathery appendages on his head wriggled and he pointed at the penguin director as the other fist clenched into a fist as he demanded. Mr. Grooves blinking surprised at the sudden action "Bu-Bu-Bu-BUT WHAT COULD BE SOOOO SPECIAL ABOUT 'EM DOWN RIGHT EYE SORE OF A SO CALLED MOVIE!? YE GARBAGE NEVER COULD GET OFF YE GROUND IF DJ GRRRRRROOOOVES HAD ALL ETERNITY AND BECAME PRRRRRRESIDENT OF YE BOX OFFICE!!" "That's not true! I actually saw one of his movies myself." "YE DID WOT!?" "You ...did?," Grooves shifted his funny glasses wearing face up towards her just as confused as the angry owl man. Poppy nodded. "Yes. I. Did. And to be perfectly honest, I didn't think it was that bad. In fact, it was really interesting. Maybe not the 'best' by bird standards, but by human standards the story was really easy to understand for someone who honestly doesn't really know a whole darn lot 'bout these fancy lights, or high tech stuff, or..." She waved a hand off shrugging. "Or whatever ratings are. And a struggling career was relatable for someone who's been struggling with a lot happening." Conductor was sputtering and made some kind of funny bird sqawking noise before some of the feathers around his collar ruffled up in rage and he jabbed a thumb at himself. "WELL MAH MOVIES ARE NOTHIN' TO SHY FROM EITHER, LASSIE!! RRRRESPECTIVELY THAT AYE AM THE ONE TO MAKE IT ON TOP ALL YE TIME!!" Her face frowned again as she looked down at the older bird with a harsher scowl. "MY respect, SIR, is earned. Not GIVEN! And so far you've done absolutely NOTHING to earn it! Yelling like a baby who didn't get their candy and throwing a fit is not the way to do that! You just come off to me as a spoiled old man who doesn't know the word no even existed!" "WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE BLOODY PECKNECK ANYWAYS!?," He demanded fuming. "If you can't respect him as your rival then the least you could do is respect him as another person in your profession. As far as I've seen he's been nothin' but polite and kind to everyone and considering he's not in mah face yellin' like a baby bird for his mama is somethin' I respect." With a huff of that sass Snatcher would've loved to see she closed her eyes, and turned her head away with her nose stuck up. "I will start RESPECTING you as an adult when you ACT like one and apologize and decide to stop throwing a tantrum and embarrassing yourself! Because the truth be told I think YOU'RE the only peckneck in this studio." More silence settled around the entire place as Conductor dropped his jaw and the only sound that came out of him was something that sounded like 'A-Ah...ah..ah ah ah.....' in a stuttery way. Hattie's eyes were wide and Bow's hands had come to cover her mouth in a dramatic way. If Snatcher was there, Hattie would have no doubt he would've started laughing loudly at the look on the old bird's face. In fact, she could almost hear it now. A deep rumbling chuckle-....But wait. Snatcher's voice wasn't deep? It was high and raspy. Then who was-... A cold flipper patted Poppy on the back making her hum and look next to her to find the afro wearing penguin chuckling...before laughing a deep but loud laugh that filled the room with an almost joyful mood. That seemed to snap the Conductor from his trance and glared in the laughing penguin's direction. After a moment, Mr. Grooves stopped and turned his gaze up to Poppy with a smile. "Darling! I never could've said that any better than how you did!" He patted her back again. "You know. I like you already, Darling. My little stars usually have great taste in character and I see they didn't spare any expense in making another darling friend. What did you say your name was again?" ......She blinked but smiled at the happy moon penguin politely. "Poppy Rose Bloomington. You can call me Poppy, Mr. Grooves." Grooves hummed for a moment looking at her up and down for a moment before turning to the glaring Conductor and the broken camera lying a few feet away in pieces. "Was that footage really that important to you Conductor, Darlin'?" "OF COURSE IT WAS YOU PE-" "There's children here." Conductor's feathery appendeges went back as he growled. "YES! It was half me movie! It cannae be so simply replaced with the secret idea I was goin' for! All the time I spent on it cannae be replaced in time of the award ceremony!" The penguin hummed and brought his other flipper up to rub the bottom of his beak staring at the camera with a thoughtful expression...before looking back up to Poppy. "I'm afraid he's right, Darlin. I've known Conductor long enough to know one thing he never does is lie about his movies, even if he does brag while doing so in such a rude manor." "HMPH!! OF COURSE I DONAE!!" Grooves just rolled his eyes. "Even so, I think we should help him." "YE WOT!?" Conductor glanced surprised at the penguin like he won the trophy all of a sudden. "What kind of nonsense are ye blabbering about now?" Grooves turned to him staring, before tilting his head down wear his sunglass slid down enough to reveal some of his eyes in a deadpanned expression. "Believe it or not, Darling, I don't like unfair advantages." Conductor just stared blankly at him. " But I'm sure my little stars here could help out with anything you may need." Bow lit up with a smile. "Yeah! I'd love to help!" "Don't you have a back up plan like you usually do?" "Of course Ah do! I ain't no dummy." "Well, there you go, Darling." He reached up to push his glasses back into place. "I'm sure you'll put together something spectacular like you always do." "......B-B-But..What are the damages!? Ye camera cost the studio over a thousand pons! I cannae just look past that!," he argued back pointing at the shattered thing. And Grooves hummed again. "I'm afraid you're right about that too. Frankly, these kinds of ones aren't too easily to come across."........In a moment he smiled and looked up to Poppy. "I know! She can work for me as payment for those damages." Poppy blinked with a surprised expression as did most of everyone else but at the thought of Poppy being in a movies both young girls suddenly looked even more excited. Conductor on the other hand- "ABABABABABA!! Hang on a pecking second! THE LASS WORK FOR YE FOR DAMAGING MAH FILM?!" "I-I AM?!," Poppy asked whirling wide eyed to the moon penguin director. "Yes. Cuz quick frankly it might've been your film, but it was on OUR shared expensive studio high definition camera, Darling. She can easily pay off any debt she owes for the camera and your footage by working and her pay going to the repairs and reienbursment for any misguided accidents." The Conductor growled again and went to probably argue some more- "Tick tock, Darling. You don't want to waste anytime fighting when there's a deadline to meet. It looks like you'll be needing to step up your game." "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! FINE!!" The tiny bird man turned and began stomping away towards the owl's side of the studio. "WHAT ARE ALL YE LOOKING AT!? SOMEONE BRING ME MAH BACK UP SCRIPT!! CHANGE THE SETS TO OUTSIDE SCHEDUALED!! SOMEONE INFORRRRRRM THE OTHER'S WE'RE GOIN' WITH PLAN B THIS YEAR!!! AND SOMEONE GET THAT SMASHED HUNK O' JUNK CLEANED UP!!" The owl's scrambled to grab anything they needed to grab and quickly follow the fuming bird boss as DJ Grooves chuckled and shook is head. "Don't feel too bad about the Conductor, Darling. He's usually all talk and no bite." Hattie giggled. "Yeah! He's a crazy, grumpy grandpa!" Both Grooves and Bow chuckled at Hattie's description of the old bird, but none of them noticed frozen and mildly panicked form. Her?! In a movie?! Where millions of people could see her?! WHAT HAD SHE GOTTEN HERSELF INTO NOW?!