#like he just appears in the far frozen chatting about like. JAZZ

[safyresky]

Here this out, Jack Frost meets Danny Phantom and they compare ice powers with one another.

hey anon, I'm listening 👀👀👀👀

I CANNOT BELIEVE I'm about to admit this BUT, my initial thought was rotg Jack Frost only bc I have seen that done before I am SO, SO POSITIVE.

THEN I tried to figure out how this would work with our boy, Mr. Jack Frost tsc3, and I have been thinking about it for almost a day, according to the timestamp in my drafts! I feel as tho, and my own personal hcs may be uh. Intruding GREATLY. BUT. If they compared ice powers, I feel like Jack would be like no no no, your form is ALL wrong, try it like this, also you could probably TOTALLY do this and if this doesn't make Danny SUPER SUS given that most adult figures in his life are. Well. Y'know (eyes Vlad suspiciously), then we are about to see a 14 yr old have a LOT of fun with the LEVEL UP of ice powers, lmao.

My god. I bet the Far Frozen, I bet whenever they see Jack they're like "ugh. THIS guy." Frostbite I can't decide if he like, will yeet Jack on SIGHT, or like, watches him the ENTIRE TIME whenever he appears in the Far Frozen. Maybe he kinda likes hearing this dude chatter on about whatEVER he's chattering on about. But he sure wishes Jack would stop telling Danny crime is okay and even FUN.

But MAN. I imagine Danny would be very sus of this gremlin man with ice powers. AND THEN. OMG I'M LAUGHING. JACK'S LIKE "yeah fuck Santa, all my homies hate Santa" and Danny's like "Actually you know what? You're cool! Fuck Santa! Fuck Christmas!" With Jack being like YEAH THAT'S THE SPIRIT

[decibly]

Danny was floating happily just outside the Watchtower, simply staring out into space. He wasn’t lookin anywhere in particular, too caught up in the beauty of everything to look at one thing for very long. He would look out at Earth, eyeing the glowing lights of the cities across the world, or stare into the Sun, just because he could. He was sensible that way – not at all in the slightest.

After an hour, Danny finally lost his one-sided staring contest with the Sun. At this point, he would normally head back inside the Watchtower to watch (that was a terrible pun, Danny, you’re losing your touch, go chat with Nightwing, he thought to himself) the heroes, but Danny wasn’t really feeling like it today. Jazz would probably tell him that was a really bad excuse for avoiding awkward feelings that he would have to talk about either way, but she was on the other side of the world and also actually on the world. It wasn’t like he would have a good way to contact her anyways.

His thoughts drifted to the meeting about the Ghost Zone Batman had asked him to attend. Danny had managed to negotiate to just a simple chat between the two of them. Still terrifying, but slightly less so. Instead of confronting his feelings about the looming conversation with Batman he had been ignoring for the last two weeks, Danny flew out closer to Earth. Maybe he could look at the ISS, or `Hubble. It’d be a long flight, but well worth it.

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

3 hours later, Danny was feeling like an idiot. Not only was geostationary orbit some 30-40 thousand kilometres out from the Hubble and ISS, he could make portals now!

Maybe. Possibly. Potentially. There was a chance.

… Wulf had given him a ten-minute explanation of the theory 4 months ago in case he needed someone from the Ghost Zone, but had to leave before he got past ‘absolute basics for baby books’.

But a faint chance was better than nothing, and if he had to fly for at least another 3 hours to get out of the colder-than-the-Far-Frozen vacuum of space, Danny might die of exhaustion or accidentally fly all the way to Venus. It would be pretty awesome to get a good look at Venus underneath all the sulphuric clouds, especially since the obscenely high atmospheric pressure, sulphuric rain, and volcanic eruptions couldn’t hurt him, but then Danny would just have this same problem again, except on Venus, and Venus was a pretty terrible idea for any sort of holiday.

…What had he been thinking about before? Oh, right! Portals! Danny took a big ‘breath’ of absolutely nothing, and then slowly let the nothingness out. Focussing on his core, he thought about the Watchtower. Nothing else. He lifted a hand and ripped reality right through, using the power from his core to quickly stitch spacetime back together. Danny’s face lit up in a blinding grin as a floating pool of swirling green appeared out of nowhere in front of him. He had expected nothing at all to happen, really, so this was a pleasant surprise. Passing through the portal, he felt the familiar sensation of moving between dimensions…

And the far less familiar one of landing on a space station without gravity. Danny only needed a few seconds to get over his surprise from the lack of gravity before he noticed exactly where he was. The ISS! Hearing the push-off of an astronaut just a few metres away, Danny immediately sank into the wall. Maybe he could haunt another space station for a week or two.

Anything to avoid Batman.

@stargazing-bookwyrm @akikkobara @valiantsuitcaseskellington @seraphinedemort @thegatorsgoose @redhoneysugarorange @litlecameron @gaylord1027 @sarurnsystem

Barry was hungry. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, as he could just grab some snacks from the kitchen, but he was watching a movie, and he was comfy. He really, really didn’t want to try and wriggle back to where he was now

“Phantom?” he called out hopefully.

A white glove emerged from the wall behind him, dropping an unopened bag of chips on top of his head. When Barry reached up to grab it, he saw that it was salt and vinegar, which explained why it was still uneaten. Phantom seemed to refuse those chips under all circumstances.

Barry didn’t really get it, because salt and vinegar was awesome, but that didn’t really matter. The point was, Phantom was a great person, even if he probably wasn’t human, and it didn’t matter if Barry hadn’t ever actually seen more of him than his arm, and he had told Barry his name by leaving a piece of paper on a table when he turned his back for three seconds after asking if there was a name for the ‘friend in the walls’, as Wally had called him.

“Thanks, Phantom!” The hand stuck itself out the wall again, forming a thumbs up.

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

Diana had found a bit of a problem. It wasn’t a big one, and was honestly more of an annoyance than anything, but her paper copy of Earth’s current standing with all known alien civilization was missing. She could get access to it again in a few hours, once the security upgrade to their computers was finished, but she had been intending to review it for a few weeks now and could use the extra time. 

An idea came to her suddenly, and Diana quietly asked, “Phantom? Are you here?” In answer, a chilly breeze blew through her hair. He was, then. “By any chance, would you happen to have seen my copy of th-” Interrupting her, the very papers she was looking for appeared out of nowhere on her desk. A green sticky note was stuck to it, reading ‘This? Sorry for taking it, but it was really interesting’

Diana smiled, hopefully in the ghosts direction. “Yes, that. If you want, I could see if I could get you your own copy?” Another green sticky note appeared on top of the first, this one just oozing the feeling of happiness. ‘YES PLEASE!!!’

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

Bruce… didn’t really know what to do about the teenager floating just outside the Watchtower. He looked like Phantom, from the few times anyone had actually seen the ghost, and he appeared to be enjoying himself in the vacuum outside instead of dying painfully, which was another point of evidence for that theory. Unsure of what else he could do, he knocked on the window on the off chance that he could get Phantom’s attention that way.

The ghost immediately vanished from view, and a strong, freezing cold breze blew in from the direction of the window Phantom had been outside. Bruce shivered violently from the unexpected chill.

Next time he would leave Phantom alone. Being out in space seemed to make him happy, and it was best not ruin that.

[mindfulvenus]

Baking Cookies_Tendou Satori

About: Baking chocolate chip cookies with Tendou (๑❛ᴗ❛๑)

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1.4k

“Milk, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and last but not least, the chocolate chips!!” Tendou smiled as he grabbed all the ingredients from pantry and set them on the countertop.

Today was a baking day, in which you and Tendou made some sort of sweet treat from scratch. It all started when you found out that Tendou had a hand in baking sweets and from there became a sort of a custom between you two whenever you could both find the time.

You were thinking about how gooey the chocolate chips in the cookies would taste after you and Tendou were done baking them as you grabbed the bowls, measuring cups, and mixer.

The smooth jazz music that came from your phone transpired through the house as the sun slowly set. It’s rays peeked through the windows of the house in a soothing orange color. The amount of clouds in the sky were plentiful enough and they looked as comfy as fleece blankets.

As you and Tendou set the ingredients and baking tools on the counter you guys looked at each other. Nothing but pure excitement and happiness through your faces could be seen.

“Shall we get started?” You say as you felt the excitement bubble within you.

“Of course, let’s start baking these scrumptious cookies!!” Tendou exclaimed throwing his arms up in the air as you both started to scan the recipe together.

“I’ll warm up the butter you pour the flour in the bowl, kay?” You instructed as you placed the butter on a plate and into the microwave.

“Kay, kay!!” He made his way to the bag of flour and lifted it up to the bowl. The bag was quite big and definitely heavy. As you finished softening the butter you walked over to Tendou, who seemed to be struggling a bit with the bag of flour.

“Here let me help you with that.” You gestured your hands towards the bag.

“No, it’s all good, I got this.” He groaned as he lifts the hefty bag so that the lip of it was facing the inside of the bow. The flour started pouring into the bowl, until you read the instructions and realized there only needed to be 2 cups of flour.

“Wait- Tendou stop pouring it, we’re going over the measurements!!” As soon as you had said that, the flour started to fall out of the bowl and onto the counter.

“It’s...it’s slipping out of my hands...” Tendou put all of his effort into the grasp he had on the bag only for it to fall on the floor, creating a big flour explosion all over the two of you and the kitchen.

The white powder was thrown all over your guy’s clothing and even reached your faces. The flour became airborne and the two of you entered coughing fits. When the powdery substance settled down, you and Tendou just looked at each other up and down with wide eyes. Within a matter of seconds though, you both started to laughing uncontrollably pointing out each others powdery faces and clothes.

“Tendou you goof!” You blurted as you continued laughing and pointing out the flour that covered his face.

“Sorry y/n but you look like the bigger goof here, I mean there’s flour ALL over your face!” Tendou retorted as he attempted to wipe some of the flour off of his face so he could properly see you.

“Ok ok, but we for sure know these are going to be the best cookies because the more of a mess we make, the better the cookies are going to taste!!!” You patted him on the shoulder dusting the powder from his shirt and you gave him a warm, excitful smile.

“You got that one right for sure, here let me get the vanilla extract and eggs!” Tendou gave you a thumbs up as he winked at you with a open mouth smile.

You grabbed the sugar, milk, and mixer as Tendou poured the vanilla extract and cracked the eggs into the bowl. You watched him through the action as he gave out his cat-like smile.

He was so gentle as he cracked the eggs as if he didn’t want to hurt them. It was moments like these where you could never believe how people used to bully Tendou. He always had a lovable smile on his face, even through his times of hardships. Whatever the circumstances, he’s been there for others, including you. It’s what makes him the strong, warm-hearted person he is today.

“Earth to y/n, are ya there?” Tendou waved his hand in front of your face as you were stuck in your thoughts and appeared frozen in time. You quickly snapped out of your daze, apologizing and putting the rest of the ingredients into the bowl. You turned the mixer on and waited for the batter to form.

After the ingredients were done mixing, Tendou poured in the chocolate chips. They we’re scattered everywhere and a perfect amount was within the bowl. You turned the mixer back on for five minutes and then stopped it. You both just knew that these cookies were going to be perfect. Tendou and you both spooned the batter into twelve round sphere-ish shapes onto the pan and threw it into the oven.

As the cookies were baking you guys jumped onto the counter sitting on top of it. The jazz music still played but it seemed to have been blurred out while you were making the cookies. These moments were always the best, no doubt about it. You started a conversation, talking about your week while exaggerating moments with your hand movements and Tendou did the same except he shared some stories of volleyball practice that were without a doubt entertaining.

By the time you guys were done chatting, the oven binged signaling that the cookies were ready. Tendou put on a pair of oven mittens and took out the batch of cookies. The chocolate chip cookies looked crips at the edge and nicely baked in the middle. You reached over to grab one but Tendou pulled the pan from out of your reach.

“Ah-ah, you’ll burn little hands if you grab one now. Just wait five minutes, kay??” He warned with a sly smile that took over his face. Thus, you and Tendou waited for five minutes talking about how good the cookies would taste once they cooled down.

Tendou hovered the back of his hand over the back of one cookie. His face lit up as a sign that the cookies were finally cooled off. You rushed up to the pan a grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and so did Tendou. As soon as you bit into it, you could feel the chocolate melt into your mouth along with the baked part of the cookie.

Within ten seconds, the cookie you were eating was no where to be seen, though Tendou was still finishing his cookie up. He always had such a small appetite compared to you but nonetheless, ate the cookie pretty fast. He had a little bit of chocolate on the tip of his nose from shoving the cookie into his mouth.

“You got some chocolate right, here.” Inching closer to Tendou, as one of your hands laid right next to his on the counter. To Tendou, the music that played in the background was no longer heard as he focused on the deep features that defined your face. You suddenly booped the top of his nose right where there was chocolate. His face lit up a little and a smidge of blush was visible.

He felt a soft yet suprised feeling that soon made him break into a fit of giggles and smiles. This feeling soon spread to you. The laughter died down and led to a comfortable silence that was soon broken.

“Thanks...thanks for always making me smile y/n, it means the world to me...” Tendou spoke softly looking down a little with a small smile and thoughtful eyes.

“Anytime Tendou and don’t forget that you make me crack a laugh all the time too! I mean, remember that one time in class...”

You carried into a conversation of all the enjoyable times that you and Tendou went through as highschoolers. Every day, hour, minute, and second you spent with Tendou you are thankful for. He is the joy of your life when things get difficult and your his happiness through his rough times.

The bond between you and Tendou will only continue to only grow stronger. You loved this dork and he loved you but to imagine all these feelings being revealed was something that won’t be seen until the far future, but when the secret is over, you can’t wait to just fall into each other embrace while baking cookies in the afternoon. Just like today.

[nevernotwriting]

You, Me, and Yancy | Chapter 1: A Proposition

Read me on AO3!

It had been a normal morning so far. Well, as normal as it could get when you worked for a kind but, quite frankly, sketchy group of people.

You pulled off of the freeway, making your way through crossroads and down a path you previously thought abandoned. After graduating from a master’s in cyber security from Caltech, you’d been lucky enough to land a job almost immediately after your project was handed in, meaning you didn’t have to haul yourself and your belongings all the way back home to the backwaters of Pennsylvania. Sure, you did have to haul yourself across Los Angeles in a giant moving van, but a couple of hours of California traffic was much better than a several thousand-mile journey across the States. Over the last few months, you’d settled nicely into a life you could call your own, filled with people from all walks of life, and with much warmer weather.

You smiled to yourself as you scanned your ID card at the gateway to your HQ, thinking of all the people you’d met so far at this bizarre yet wonderful job. There was your boss, for a start. She’d changed her name so many times that everyone lost track and instead settled on calling her ‘Shark’, which she welcomed with a hearty laugh and a flash of a mouth full of teeth. The name suited her, you thought.

You and some of your other colleagues also liked to use unusual codenames, both for privacy and for fun. There was Vakarian, who had an affinity for calibrating everyone’s computers and was a killer shot with a sniper rifle. Next was Shrike, who had named herself after a type of bird known for piercing its prey on thorn bushes. You decided not to ask her why she chose that name. For yourself, you settled on Zero, a reference to your almost lifelong affinity for binary code which led you down the tech path in the first place.

There were others who just chose to use their real names – Jasmine, Gareth, and Mark. You and Jasmine worked together regularly in the tech department, spending hours chatting in between your hacking sessions and gaining intel on building layouts for the heist experts. Jasmine had been on two heists herself, and always came in the next day talking at a million miles per hour about how fun it was, how it sent her adrenaline skyrocketing higher than any rollercoaster ever had.

By her mannerisms today, you guessed she’d been on a third heist last night. You’d been settled at your desk for all of two minutes when she waltzed in, placing a cup of coffee down for you and twirling in her chair with a gigantic grin on her face.

“Mornin’ Jazz,” you greeted her. “Another heist last night? How was it?”

Jasmine began her spiel before you could even reach a hand towards your coffee. She rambled on and on about the thrill of scaling buildings, how good her new night vision goggles were, and how she nearly got caught but managed to make it out right on schedule.

“Zero, you have to go,” she finished at last, taking a sip from her own cup. “You won’t regret it.”

You hesitated, shrugging your shoulders. “I dunno, Jazz. I’m more of a behind the scenes tech monkey.” You’d been on a few scoping exhibitions, but that just involved sitting on a rooftop watching guard rotations until the early hours of the morning. You’d never done anything more adventurous, and you weren’t sure if you wanted to just yet.

She rolled her eyes, wheeling her chair closer to you. “But think about it. You could get some more up-close-and-personal time with Mark,” she whispered, nodding her head to your left.

You followed her gesture. Mark had just entered the office, dressed in all black. He took off his beanie and swept a hand through his dark hair. It immediately flopped forwards again, so he shook his head to one side. The action seemed to go in slow motion, and you tried not to stare.

Before you could chastise yourself for definitely staring, Mark’s eyes landed on yours. He shot you a warm smile that lit up his whole face, and you felt heat rising to your cheeks as you smiled back, giving a little wave before swizzling round in your chair.

“No way,” you hissed in embarrassment, snatching up your coffee before it turned cold. As it turned out, it was still very much burning hot. You tried not to wince as you forced the liquid down.

“Why not?” She shot back. “Look, he’s clearly into you. He practically jumped at the opportunity to show you the ropes of all the heist gear, and to a rooftop night shift with you. You guys are always lingering by the water cooler together on breaks, giggling away like little schoolkids. And, Shrike told me he asked you out on a date last week.”

You nearly spat out your second mouthful of molten coffee. Jasmine sat back in her chair with a smug grin as you glared at her.

“How does she know that?!” You tried not to yell as Vakarian milled into the workplace, throwing around cheery greetings.

“You know Shrike,” Jasmine shrugged. “She gets around. She skimped on the details, though. So, what did he say exactly?”

You could see Jasmine wasn’t going to let this go. You sighed, mirroring Jasmine’s posture as you began to recount the details of that evening.

~

You got out of your chair and stretched triumphantly, knowing you were just about done for the day. The last thing you had to do was collect the blueprints you’d sketched up from the printer, then leave it on Shark’s desk for her to look at in the morning. You did just that, and dusted your hands off with a satisfied smile as you made your way down the corridor to the exit.

You’d been so caught up in your daydream of getting home, changing into your pyjamas, and curling up in front of the TV that you hadn’t realised that you weren’t the last one in the building. That is until you walked straight into another person.

You gasped at the abrupt contact, shutting your eyes as your prepared to hit the ground. The fall never came. A strong hand caught yours and pulled you upright with a gentle grunt of effort. When you opened your eyes, you were face to face with a kind smile and dark, inquisitive eyes.

Mark’s eyes.

Blood rushed to your face immediately, and you stumbled out an awkward apology.

“Jesus, s-sorry Mark. Didn’t realise you were still here.”

Mark just laughed. It was a deep, hearty laugh, but not an unkind one. “No problem Zero.”

Your eyes travelled back to his from where they had chosen to fixate on the floor. He was still smiling at you, and you managed to smile back sheepishly. His face only brightened as you curled out of your awkward posture to face him properly. He’d been incredibly sweet to you ever since you joined, and you two became even closer after many hours spent on that rooftop in the middle of the night a few weeks back. That night in particular really caused a stir in your feelings, and brought up a whirlwind of emotions you’d never felt before.

That whirlwind started all over again as you realised he was still holding your hand. You cleared your throat and he broke your shared gaze, letting go and scratching the back of his head.

“Hope I didn’t hurt you,” you said, gaining a small amount of bravery and dusting off his shoulders from where you’d collided. A hint of pink appeared on his cheeks at your action, but he covered it up with a barrage of his usual confidence.

“Me? Nah, I’m a big strooong man,” he replied, puffing out his chest and grunting in an exaggerated manner. He curled his biceps for an exaggerated effect, clearly trying to make you laugh.

And boy did he. You doubled over, failing to stifle a snort. Your face grew hotter at the embarrassing noise you hadn’t intended to make, but Mark seemed to revel in it, his grin growing wider with pride at getting such a strong reaction from you.

“Anyway,” he started again as you both calmed down from your shared laughter. “I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve actually been meaning to ask you something.”

You raised your eyebrows and stayed silent, waiting.

Mark let out a short exhale, running a hand through his hair and then across his stubble. Despite the joy on his face mere seconds ago, he now looked a little uncertain. It wasn’t an expression that came naturally to him; he normally paraded around with a kind yet confident smile as he told you about the heists he’d pulled off in the past, about his family, and as he asked about yours. You’d never seen him like this before, and you didn’t know what to expect.

Finally, he cleared his throat.

“Look, I really like spending time with you here. Showin’ you all the gear, chatting over coffee, all the usual work stuff.” His voice was quiet. He cleared his throat again, taking a step closer to you and looking into your eyes once more.

“But I’d like to get to know you better, in some place that’s not work related. Would you like to go on a date sometime?”

Your mind screeched to a halt as you stood frozen on the spot. Did you hear him correctly? It sounded like Mark just asked you out on a date. Mark the heist expert, Mark the previous engineering student, Mark your very cute co-worker, wanted to go on a date with you.

You couldn’t lie to yourself - the thought had crossed your mind several times over the past few weeks. When he held out a hand to you after you fell flat on your ass when you failed to use the grappling gun. When his form lingered around yours as he taught you how to aim a tranquiliser pistol. When you sat on that rooftop together exchanging stories and his eyes never looked away as you started opening up to him. You just never expected it to actually… well, happen.

A gigantic grin, bigger than all those before, broke out onto your face. “Mark, I’d love to!”

Mark’s eyebrows shot up. “Great!” He exclaimed, a relieved laugh escaping him. “When works best for you?”

You hesitated, remembering your schedule was pretty booked for the upcoming weekend. “In all honesty, I’m pretty busy this weekend. Family visiting,” you tried not to sound too negative. “But maybe after then?”

Mark nodded understandingly, shoving his hands in his pockets and shuffling on the spot. “Sure thing. I’m free most of the time, so whenever works for you, really.”

You smiled back, heart skipping beats as reality set in. You and Mark were going on a date. Sure, you didn’t know exactly when you were going on this date, but it was definitely happening soon.

“I’ll let you know, for sure! For now though, I guess we’d better be heading home,” you replied, a spring in your step as you and Mark made your way to the exit. It was dark when you got outside, so Mark insisted on walking you to your car, even though it wasn’t too far from where he’d parked his own. You turned to Mark when you stood next to your vehicle, unsure of what to expect but not wanting to seem rude.

Mark stood with his hands in his pockets again, beaming at you like before. You felt heat rise to your face again; you’d never get used to him looking at you like that.

“Goodnight, Zero.” He took his hands out of his pockets and held his arms out for a hug, which you more than happily accepted. He was warm and his hold around you was strong but comforting, making you feel safe and at ease. Your heart was beating rapidly again as you wound your own arms around his waist and spoke into his ear.

“You can call me by my real name if you want.”

You let your arms trail away from him as his grip softened. Mark looked surprised, but flattered, by your suggestion. He pursed his lips in thought.

“How about we keep it as Zero for work?” He suggested. “I’ll switch to your real name for our date.”

You nodded as you unlocked your car. “Deal.”

He winked at you as he walked away backwards, almost tripping on his own feet. You covered a small laugh with your hand. Mark regained his composure and waved you goodbye. You waved back, getting into your car and driving into the night.

Next chapter

[setoangel01-fanfiction]

Disclosure

Beautiful Disaster - Chapter 6 (Previous Chapters)

Fandom: Sing 2016

Pairings: Johnny x Ash (Jash)

Rated: T

Chapter Summary: Johnny finally tells Ash exactly what happened tonight and everything leading up to it…

Fanfiction.net

A03

Johnny grew silent again, lips slightly pursed even if it appeared to cause him some discomfort before he took a deep breath; chestnut eyes glazing over a bit as he started from the beginning…

"It started a few weeks ago... I-I was heading home one night after practice and I saw these three shady looking animals hanging around the neighborhood with apparently no motive in being there. They didn't say anything to me, just kept staring as I went into the garage and shut the door behind me; i-it wasn't exactly threatening. Heh." Johnny chuckled mirthlessly. "I mean, it was nothing too out of the ordinary. it's admittedly not the best neighborhood so shady characters hanging around are to be expected. Lots of drug activity and gang hang-outs and whatnot, so I never really took it too seriously for no one ever done anything to me before. After awhile, I drummed it up to the fact that perhaps they were simply lost, high, or something easily explained away but…it didn't turn out that way."

Ash's stomach plummeted.

"I would see these same animals perhaps once a week at first, then it evolved to seeing them all the time. They didn't do or say anything to me and even stopped staring when I'd make my way into the garage but…that's when I also began noticing things moved around in my house. Doors I know I closed when I left were now wide open when I returned. Objects askew, things moved from one place to another - it was obvious someone was in the house when I was gone. At first, I chalked it up to my imagination and you know as well as anyone that Buster has been having us in practice and rehearsal for so long that afterward, you're just exhausted - so, naturally I thought perhaps I was seeing things or remembering wrong." Johnny closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head slightly, his brow brushing Ash's wrist and she couldn't help but flinch a bit at the unexpected contact.

"I-I should have realized someone was casing the house sooner - it's so painfully obvious now that they were making sure there was no security systems or alarms. Or even checking to see if someone else lived with me I guess too. Yet, nothing was stolen so I just ignored it…but then..." Johnny sighed, voice tapering off and the upcoming silence became too much for Ash.

"...but what?" she asked, voice trembling a bit in her throat.

Johnny swallowed a bit before answering, "Last week was when I started getting this weird feeling whenever I was at the garage. Nervousness, anxiety - I dunno why exactly, but it was stifling. I-I couldn't sleep, barely ate and kept glancing out the windows all the time for apparently no reason. Something just didn't feel right whenever I was there alone, so, as I told you before, I started staying here at the theater for the past week." his face turned a bit; worried about seeing perhaps Ash's pitied look in his peripheral even if there was none.

It felt so embarrassing but he ignored it and continued.

"My gut was telling me something was off; like a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I went back to the garage to retrieve more clothes or whatever I needed that day. I-I didn't want to stay at the theater but I found myself not having much of a choice. I just wanted to make myself scarce and hoped whatever happened would happen when I was gone. Ya know, just let them take what they wanted; nothing much of worth in there to lose a life over." he helplessly shrugged, his shoulder brushing her side.

"...then what?" Ash gripped the thick fur covering his shoulder, teetering on every syllable that slipped off his tongue.

"Tonight happened…" Johnny muttered; his brows furrowing at reliving the horrendous moments but knew he had to.

Ash swallowed thickly; not sure if she wanted to hear how Johnny acquired his horrific injuries but she needed to know even if it would hurt like hell; even if it was brutal and made her want to scream and hunt those bastards down. String them up by their claws and dip them into vats of acid for daring to lay a single paw on Johnny...

As much as it hurt…she had to know…

"I was on my way home after I'd run some errands around town. Moon let us out late so I didn't finish up til around 10:00, 10:30 so I was a lot later than usual but I didn't think much of it. I focused mainly on balancing on my skateboard while riding through the alley to get to the back of the garage. My only intention to be there tonight was to shower and get some extra clothes for tomorrow's rehearsal when I saw the same three animals blocking my way... They'd never approached me before so naturally, my first instinct was to run…but I didn't.

"Rather, like a bloody idiot, I-I spoke to them, 'Good evening, isn't it?' I said while smiling, acting casual, all that jazz - but their expressions didn't change whatsoever. The closer I looked at them in the dimming light, I knew they were the same animals I'd been seeing around for weeks. A thought flashed suddenly that perhaps they saw me on TV, thought I was rich and planned to mug me or something," Johnny chuckled, shaking his head at the inkling of it. Hell, if they stole his wallet, they would have been sadly mistaken for there was nothing more than a five dollar bill inside the folded black leather.

"They didn't answer." Johnny continued, "Saying nothing and just staring at me with more disdain than anyone had ever had before…and remember, this coming from a chap whose own dad disowned him for awhile." Johnny smirked a bit but Ash saw the pain flashing in his eyes; hand trembling as she brushed it across his jaw in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. She was never good at these things...

"…Speaking of which, they finally spoke and all they did was mutter my father's full name and that shocked me for no one had called him that in a long time - not since I was a lad. He's known by his nickname even to those in his gang and for these three animals to know it in its entirety… I knew immediately that something was wrong. I was frozen for a moment and in that time, the one in the middle muttered something about a massive debt my father owed them. H-How since he was in the pen now, his debts transferred to me. Of course, I tried playing dumb - acted like I had no idea who they were talking about but they saw right through it…Can't exactly hide the fact I look a helluva lot like my dad."

"...and you've always been a bad liar." Ash muttered, reaching out and running her hand across his head with the rag over his un-bruised cheek.

"Yeah. I know…but I had to try." he shrugged helplessly and Ash bit her lip as he continued his harrowing tale.

"Anyway, they didn't take very kindly to the fact I acted like I didn't know about them or how much my dad screwed them over. I was frozen, words failing me when I realized they weren't buying the act. After awhile, they stopped talking and rather started approaching even closer and as much as I wanted to hold my ground, they were huge! One steroid-jacked jaguar with a x-scar on his cheek, a gigantic crocodile with the nastiest set of teeth I've ever seen, and a wolf with mangy, ratted fur and a really bad attitude. Indeed, one of the strangest gangs I'd ever seen…and they were cornering me.

"My mind was everywhere in that moment a-and I kept telling them I hadn't the faintest idea of what they were talking about and all they kept demanding is that I pay them what my dad owed them! How he screwed them over on a deal and now it was time for payback. …I-I knew right then that this was not going to end well but before I could even think of an exit strategy, they just ganged up on me."

Ash's eyes widened, her breaths quick even as much as she tried to calm them. She knew how the story ended; Johnny lived but it still was horrifying to listen to what he had gone through tonight.

It fucking broke her heart into pieces…

"It all happened so fast…" Johnny whispered; eyes glazed as he lost himself to the traumatic memory from tonight, "I-I didn't know what to do. The first instinct was to run but they had cornered me! I was up against this brick wall and some trash cans and they were just closing in - so I did the only thing I could do - fight. The smallest was the wolf so I naturally attacked him first - socked him as hard as I could in his snout and he just screamed - warm blood squirted all over me…" he told, flexing his right hand and glancing down at his swollen knuckles with a look of disgust echoing in his tense features.

...you punched him?" Ash couldn't hide the surprise in her voice.

"Heh. Yeah…" Johnny chuckled, acknowledging how strange in fact it was, "Guess when a life and death situation rears its ugly head, you find yourself doing whatever you can to survive. Ya kinda just react and…my dad was always keen on self-defense; had me learning to box since I was in middle school." Johnny shrugged and Ash was surprised she never knew this about him.

"You box?"

"Yeah. Boxing and kickboxing mainly - it was more for exercise than anything, but hey, it came in handy."

Ash absorbed this new information for a moment until she realized the conversation got way too light for her liking - situation far too serious for them to be chatting and shooting the breeze as if everything was normal.

"T-Then what?" she asked, pushing for the final part of a story she still partly didn't want to hear.

"Yeah. Well, anyway, that bloke was out of commission; wailing and holding his bloodied face was when I was suddenly blindsided by my legs being kicked out from under me and I just fell hard on my back. From what I gathered, the croc had slammed his tail against the back of my knees and I fell like a sack of potatoes. On the ground - defenseless; the air knocked out of me and I-I couldn't breathe…but I got up anyway." he spoke and Ash felt a chill go down her spine.

"At that moment, my whole body just pumping with adrenaline as the jaguar came out of nowhere and began punching me in the face - him and the crock essentially taking turns kicking my arse. I blocked their attack as much as I could but it all happened just so fast and my vision was getting all blurry when he smashed his knuckle into my eye. I could barely see and…then all of a sudden, the wolf with blood covering most of his face was snarling as he jumped over to me with the glint of a metal in his hand..."

Ash's hand left his face as she brought it up to cover her mouth; terrified she'd let out a pathetic whine or sob if she didn't stop herself. Icy eyes taking in Johnny's battered face, a faraway look in his eye and pain echoing in his features she hated seeing on his normally friendly, serene face. It killed her inside when he spoke the next six words…

"...I really thought that was it…"

"..." Tears filled Ash's eyes; pain erupting in her chest at seeing all the emotions playing out on his face - his descriptions playing in her mind's eye and it hurt so bad…

"Yet just something came over me and I knew I was going to die if I didn't do something. I needed to get up so I had kicked the jaguar back enough to pull myself semi back to my feet and...before I knew what happened the wolf had made it to my side and…this pain - it erupted under my right armpit. I couldn't feel it at first - just this force hitting my rib bone. In that moment, my body just reacted…

"I was able to throw my arm out, slamming the wolf back into the wall just enough to run out from in-between them. The croc tried to trip me but I jumped over his tail and by some twist of fate or God having mercy on me that night - my skateboard was right there. I landed on it perfectly and even with my eyesight blurry and darkening, I…I was able to get out of there. Blood was pounding in my ears but I could still hear them screaming at me…but I didn't look back. I just got out of there and I wasn't sure where to go. I-I thought about going to the police station but…my dad…if he knew…" Johnny's voice tapered off again.

"My dad can't know…So, once I saw the Moon Theater, I grabbed my board with one hand and climbed up til I got to the window I always kept open… I-I wasn't sure what to do, just thought I'd hide out here until…" Johnny sighed, "I don't know…it just seemed like the only safe place I could go…and…well, you know the rest."

Ash had so many questions on the tip of her tongue but said nothing.

Heart pounding painfully in her chest as she saw the hopelessness filling his chestnut eyes. Fighting off the rise tears that filled her own, Ash gently brushed the rag ever so gently over his uninjured eye, wiping a tear that had escaped in the process. He gazed up at her for a split second before his eyes wandered back out to nothingness. The silence the only other entity in the room and she accepted it; continuing to run the rag over his face - not even aware of how long they sat there in silence. Both lost in their heads of what was told tonight; questions and concerns both had so cloyingly thick in the room but neither felt in any mood to confront them. So, they stayed silent. Enjoying the rare moment of peace they found themselves in.

It was slow for him at first. Relaxing in the tender ministrations she bestowed on him. The cooling rag soothing the swelling of his cheek as well as the nerves flitting right underneath its surface. All the tension and anxiety right below was calming with her touch. Before he'd realized what was happening, his eyes started slipping closed and breathing slowing down as she continually ran the cool rag over his swollen cheek.

All the while, Ash was doing her best to ignore the smears of blood the rag collected over the minutes. Chestnut eyes really not focused on anything, more looking through her to the ceiling but Ash didn't mind. Still absorbing his story and everything it pertained... How these three animals nearly stole his life away for some damn debt his father had who knows how many years ago? It shook her to her core but as Johnny began relaxing into her touch, she allowed those thoughts to wane.

The silence was comfortable; mellowing…dare she think relaxing? Whatever it was, she appreciated it right now.

A night that had been filled with so much anxiety and stress now was more lax even if the situation he had been through kept filtering through her mind. Johnny had been hurt and nothing was solved, nothing was figured out so he wouldn't have to worry about a repeat performance…but he had told her the truth. Johnny had relayed the events of the night and that alone meant more to her than anything.

Ash slipped the rag over his face. Gently cooling down and hopefully alleviating the pain and swelling if only a little bit - she still wanted to badly for him to get more help than she could provide but knew asking it now was completely out of the question...

"...Thank you, Ash…that feels a lot better." Johnny breathed out a moment later and Ash almost choked on another sob that wanted to escape when he finally looked at her. Although his right eye was nearly sealed shut with the swelling and lip split and very painful looking, he did look a little better…

"You're welcome." Ash muttered; running her fingers gently across his cheek in what she hoped was a comforting motion. She continued the ministrations, her own mind buzzing and finding it difficult to relax completely went on for some time.

Staring off into some far off distance when a few moments later, they gravitated back to Johnny's face - and to her surprise and relief - he had fallen asleep…

[northshorehealthandfitness]

Chicago adventures: Architectural boat tour + Hamilton!

Hi friends! How are you? Hope you’re having a lovely week. I’m still dragging after returning from Chicago, but am slowly getting my mojo back. I got very used to staying up until 2am Valdosta time and sleeping in. I felt like my phone was taunting me when the alarm went off this week, but it was WAY worth it; we had such an amazing time.

Chicago, you are so pretty.

When we got into Chicago, we took the train downtown and checked into our hotel: the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. The Pilot said I tricked him because it’s located in the water tower building, which is a 6-story shopping center. (Apparently OPRAH USED TO LIVE IN THAT BUILDING.) These things don’t happen by accident haha. Betsy and I also chose this hotel because it was in such a great location: surrounded by shops, restaurants, and fun opportunities to explore.

The room was beautiful. It had a sitting area with a couch and a couple of chairs, two bathrooms, a comfy bed + magnificent views of the city.

When we walked into our room, we were surprised to see chocolate-covered strawberries and a little card for our 10th anniversary. It was an awesome touch.

We met up with Betsy and Jeremy to walk around the area, and then got dressed for dinner at Alinea! (The full recap is here. It was one of the best meals of my life.)

In addition to all of the amazing food we ate, we also enjoyed a lot of unique Chicago experiences.

Here are some of the highlights:

Farmer’s market

While we were walking to meet Mara and her family for brunch, we wandered through a farmer’s market. I love getting the chance to explore local farmer’s markets when I travel, especially since it gives me an idea of the fresh produce in the area, the types of handmade and artisan creations they offer, and we can check out local artists and musicians. Something about walking around a farmer’s market with a fresh juice makes me really happy.

While we didn’t pick up anything to take home, and didn’t eat anything since we were on the way to eat brunch + every dessert on the Nico Osteria menu, we did pick up some cute pumpkin branches to take to Mara.

The Surgical Sciences museum

(Dress is Saloni, shoes <— on sale, and handbag <— on sale)

This was completely accidental, and we meandered in on our way to Lincoln Park. It was fascinating to get a glimpse into the history of medicine and pharmaceuticals -we’ve come a long way, folks- and some of the old medical tools and instruments were very appropriate for Halloween-time. 

The above picture is of a bone crusher that they used to use to break bones and reset them in proper alignment… minus anesthesia, natch. 

The Architectural boat tour

Chicago is an architectural wonder, especially since it rebuilt itself after the great fire that destroyed a vast majority of the city. While the fire was tragic and thousands of locals were left homeless, Chicago quickly rebuilt itself. The architects who came in saw the land as a clean slate. Chicago is one of the cities where the skyscraper originated, and you’ll see so many different styles and unique details on the structures.

My dad is an architect, so since I was young, I’ve always been intrigued by design and ornamentation of houses and buildings. When Betsy suggested the boat tour, and so many people had suggested it, we thought it would be a fun afternoon activity. We hopped onto a boat on the river, and on the 90-minute tour, we learned a lot about the history of Chicago and the different buildings. I would highly recommend it if you’re traveling to Chicago!

My favorite story was about the old Post Office (where the Batman movie Dark Knight was filmed) and the fact that it’s been vacant for 20 years. Now, they have a permit to turn it into a residential complex and are quickly transforming it. For now, it looks pretty creepy, but I’m sure it will be fixed up and sparkling in no time. While we went up the river, we also found a lot of goals areas where we’d like to live. (If it didn’t snow so much and turn into a frozen tundra, I would want to live in Chicago.) Noteworthy: the boat had a full bar + free cookies. 

Hamilton!!

As you guys know, I’ve been obsessed with Hamilton for at least two years. (I even dedicated a workout to my Hammy love. #truefan.) Despite playing it constantly, I’m still not sick of the soundtrack.. and Liv and P know some of the words. Maybe inappropriate. Who knows.

(Dress is here)

For our 10th anniversary, the Pilot told me he’d take me to see it. We were originally thinking we’d go to NYC, but when we heard it was playing in Chicago, and Betsy and Jeremy had suggested a joint vacay, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity. Thankfully we were able to snag some tickets, and it felt very surreal when we were finally in the room where it happens. 

We grabbed glasses of champagne, and we took our seats.

Even though I was extremely excited and had been looking forward to it for months, I was expecting to be the smallest bit underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong; I was sure I would LOVE it, but in my heart, nothing would compare to Lin-Manuel Miranda and the original cast. I thought maybe this particular cast would try to “copy” the sounds and styles of the original cast members. I was SO so wrong. Everyone brought their own unique style, nuances, and flavor to their characters. Their voices were INSANE, and I had the chills the entire time. I also cried pretty much the entire second act.

Miguel Cervantes was beyond incredible as Hamilton. We got to meet him after the show, and he was so kind and humble.

Everyone was amazing, but King George was particularly hilarious (the audience was cracking up during his numbers) and Aaron Burr. He blew us all away. He had so much heart, and a strong, incredible voice. 

With Aaron Burr, sir.  

(Gregory Treco. I failed on making a mad Aaron Burr face for the pic.)

It felt like such an honor to be able to witness that much talent and hard work in one room. Something else that surprised me: the dancing. Since I’d only listened to the soundtrack, it was hard for me to picture the ensemble and the dance numbers. The choreography was astounding. Some numbers were more like interpretive dance, but over the course of the show, it ranged from modern, to hip hop, to ballet, and classic Broadway jazz. There were so many pieces that went into place so perfectly, and it was by far, my favorite musical experience. I seriously had to hold it together while we were leaving because I was about to start sobbing like a weirdo. I was just so happy.

Best anniversary gift, and trip, ever. <3

Have you been to Chicago? What was your favorite part?

If you could live anywhere, where would you choose?

xoxo

Gina

Shout out to reader friends Julie and Melissa who said hi and chatted for a bit at Nordstrom! I loved getting to meet you. <3 

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