#GO WATCH THE TURNING ON JANUARY 24TH

[scoobydoodean]

A Fic About Dean's 45th Birthday

~3k words | slight angst with a happy ending

Dean never says anything about his birthday.

Sam has weird hang ups about holidays like Halloween and Christmas, and January 24th isn't just Dean's birthday—it was Jess's birthday too. So Dean's never made a fuss. He's asked for Christmas, but he's never asked to have his birthday celebrated. There are many years he can think of where he wouldn't have even wanted to celebrate his birthday anyway—where the idea of it would have felt hollow.

He's said before in front of Sam and Bobby, "I don't like being singled out at birthday parties, much less by God" and he figures maybe Sam has always remembered that, and probably told Cas too (if Cas ever asked).

Right. It all makes sense.

So he has no reason to expect Sam to realize that Dean actually wants to celebrate his birthday now—that he has wanted to for... the last three years, ever since Mrs. Butters insisted they throw a birthday party for Sam.

He can't stop thinking about Mrs. Butters saying they shouldn't celebrate Dean's birthday—or... rather, that she thought he wouldn't want to celebrate his birthday because he's old... and just... fuck that.

The truth is, the older Dean gets, the more his birthday feels... important. For one, he's officially spent more time not in Hell now than he spent in it. For another, 45 just feels... important somehow. It isn't 50—but it's another half a decade? He thought he'd be dead by now (well—he supposes he has been—but it hasn't stuck yet) and he doesn't know—it just feels like... like something to celebrate. He's 45 years old, and he isn't dead. He's alive, and he's happy, and things have been good lately.

He keeps thinking about it every year that passes better than the last. He keeps wondering every year. He keeps hoping every year—even though he knows it isn't rational when he hasn't said anything. He hasn't asked. He hasn't told anyone that anything's changed. He can't expect a birthday party if he doesn't communicate that he wants one. At the same time, asking for one feels weird. It feels... whiney. Nobody else is asking.

Dean's done birthday meals for Sam the past couple of years without Sam asking (stooped to making a caesar salad with grilled chicken for Sam's birthday last year with minimal grumbling) but it doesn't seem to make much of an impression. Sam is just... not much of a birthday guy. He's quiet, and to be honest, Dean's pretty sure he prefers celebrating with Eileen if he's going to do anything. She usually swings into town around Sam's birthday to take him out drinking. Well. He'll be celebrated whether he likes it or not—at least a little—at least with a meal.

Dean doesn't know when to celebrate Cas. He's asked before and Cas said something about being created before humans or their methods of marking the passage of time existed and... yeah, okay. Dean's favorite local diner sells good pie, and has a nice selection of milkshakes, including a PB&J flavored one. For the last few years, once a year, on September 18th, Dean tries to either take Cas out for one of those milkshakes, or pick one up for him. The date just feels right.

Dean puts the most effort in for Jack, with a full on cake ever since Mrs. Butters. Sometimes, he adds a bag full of Three Musketeers candy bars. Cas and Sam certainly don't raise a fuss. They all silently agree that the kid should get the birthday experience even if the rest of them are too old and jaded to care.

42, 43, 44... every time January 24th rolls around, it's always just like any other day. He thinks maybe when he turned 43, Sam might have wandered into The Dean Cave at night when Dean was watching a movie with Cas and sat for a while, then belatedly said, "Oh. Uh, happy birthday, man," while staring down at his cell phone. That was it.

Dean had brushed him off with a grunt—probably only reinforced for Sam and Cas both that Dean doesn't care just like they don't seem to care. So it isn't rational. It isn't fair. It isn't reasonable for Dean to get upset. But maybe it starts to sting a little, okay? And yeah that makes Dean feel a little embarrassed—sue him. He hasn't said anything... and he shouldn't. It's stupid. It doesn't matter. Mrs. Butters said he's too old for birthdays.

Still, despite his best efforts, Dean goes to bed on January 23rd 2024 wondering if someone will remember—if maybe, this time, they'll do something... because... he's 45. Something simple is all he imagines. They go out to eat, or... someone else makes breakfast (or tries). Sam give him a stupid gag gift. Cas picks up a pie.

As Dean falls asleep, he stupidly imagines the library decorated with a tiny "Happy Birthday" banner. He imagines a stack of pancakes for breakfast with a stupid candle in them. He imagines party hats and Rice Krispie treats. He imagines someone just... wishing him a happy birthday. Just... acknowledge it—that he's 45. That it's important.

Dean wanders into the library in the morning and it's empty and dark. He goes into the kitchen, and Sam is illuminated by his laptop screen. Dean flicks on the light and Sam barely flinches. "Hey," He says, keeping his gaze on his work... and that's it. That's how January 24th 2024 is going to be.

Dean shakes himself out of it—doesn't reply—just wanders over to the coffee pot to pour in grounds and get a drip brew going. Who knows if Sam has even slept—he's been deeply fixated on a cataloguing project for two weeks straight now. It's entirely possible he pulled an all-nighter. He might not even know what day it is anyway.

Dean opens the fridge and drags out the bacon. He considers toast too, but then decides that... well—he can celebrate his own birthday at least by making it special himself. He goes to the pantry and pulls out a boxed pancake mix he picked up who knows how long ago.

Just add milk and eggs.

Dean eyes the half-burnt-out pack of birthday candles in the junk drawer, stored there last May 18th. He closes the drawer, rolling his eyes at himself, and flips his pancakes as they start to bubble.

When breakfast is finished cooking (enough for Sam and Cas and Jack too, of course) Dean makes himself a plate and plops down across from Sam at the kitchen table.

"Big stack of pancakes," Sam murmurs—and Dean could swear there's a vaguely judgmental lilt to it.

Dean's eyes burn, which is stupid. He cuts through all five pancakes and shoves a huge bite in his mouth, staring at Sam across the table stonily as he chews.

Sam glances up and makes a bitch face, but doesn't say anything, returning his focus to his laptop

"What are you doing that's so damn interesting anyway?" Dean grumbles.

"Still cataloguing. Actually, Eileen is coming over to help me. We're gonna drag that last shelf of books into the library from the archive room and scan it all—finally have everything digitized."

Dean's heart sinks. It's gotta be at least 1,000 books.

Sam gets up from his chair. "I was gonna wheel everything in from down there and stack it on the tables before she gets here. You wanna help me?"

"Uhh..."

"Right," Sam scoffs lightly, making his way over to the coffee pot. "No problem."

"Look—I'm glad you enjoy that shit," Dean poorly pronounces through a mouthful of chewed food, stabbing another bite before he's finished this one. "Because someone has to—but moving and cataloguing books is the last thing I wanna do on my birthday."

It slips out without Dean really meaning for it to. He feels like the pancakes he's eaten are crowding his throat. He grabs his glass of water and swallows quickly, watching Sam over the rim of his glass.

"Oh," is all Sam says though—glancing at Dean, then his watch, before pouring his coffee into a mug. "Uh... happy birthday."

Dean looks down at his plate. "Thanks."

Sam clears his throat unusually loudly. "You know—I'm gonna be busy, but maybe... you ought to make a day of it," He suggests suddenly, leaning against the counter with his mug in a way that does not look comfortable or natural.

Dean immediately smells deceit, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. "What do you mean?"

Sam opens his mouth then closes it—shrugs. "You know—go out on the town... see if Cas or Jack wants to do something together. I mean—I can't go—can't back out on Eileen, but..." He interrupts himself with a sip of coffee.

Dean narrows his eyes. "Are you... trying to get me out of the bunker right now?"

"What? No!" Sam has always been terrible at lying to Dean—always seems too indignant. "I just—maybe you should celebrate. You're like, 46 or something, right?"

"45!" Dean's voice goes up a whole octave, suspicion momentarily forgotten.

"Whatever," Sam waves him off. "Go get a nice drink somewhere or go see a movie."

Dean glowers.

Sam stares back at him, before opening his mouth and looking up at the ceiling. "Okay, fine. Me and Eileen uh... need the library."

Dean cocks his head to the side a little, processing, before the realization hits. A big grin spreads over his face. "Sammy, you sly dog..." Dean chuckles. "I know what this is."

"Uh...?"

"Yeah you and Eileen are gonna catalogue some books, huh? Heheh..."

Sam scowls and rolls his eyes. "Gross, Dean."

Dean raises his hands in surrender. "Message received. I will uh... clear outta here..." Dean gets up, collecting his empty plate. "And... make myself scarce until say....?" He looks at Sam expectantly.

Sam looks at the floor, the wall, the ceiling—anywhere but Dean, before saying, "...6:30?"

"I'll make it 7:00!" Dean declares, setting his dishes in the sink then striding out.

Jack turns out eager to go do something in town, which bolsters Dean's spirits. When they go looking for Cas though, and find him brushing his teeth in the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, he says gruffly, "I have judo practice."

Cas has run through a stream of contact sports over the last three years, and so far, he's stuck with judo the longest. He's very good at it, and he takes it very seriously. It's kind of funny but also kinda... well—adorable at the same time.

"Why the fuck did you take a shower right before judo practice?"

Cas spits into the sink. "There is a man attending now whose gi is off white. Off white, Dean. Not because that is the color of the fabric, but because he never seems to bathe or wash his clothing."

Dean stares at him.

Cas shakes his head, seething at his own reflection in the mirror. "I know what he's doing... It's a strategy. He and I are enemies... and I will defeat him without stooping to his level."

"You are bathing before practice as a 'fuck you' to a smelly guy?" Dean clarifies. Suddenly Dean feels offended. "Wait a minute—how come this is the first time I'm hearing about this?"

"He's new," Cas grumbles. "He just moved here, and he smells, and he tries to tell the instructors they're doing things wrong. He's annoying and I hate him. Defeating him at this practice is very important, Dean. I'm sorry. Perhaps I could join you later."

"But it's Dean's birthday," Jack pipes up.

Dean looks at Jack, surprised, but also... touched.

Jack gives Cas a pleading look. Cas looks... put upon. He's giving Jack an almost... warning look, which is weird, but... bad day for Cas, maybe.

"No no—it's fine," Dean waves Cas off, and puts on an excited smile on for Jack. "You know what, Jack? All this means is that the two of us can go fishing."

"I hate fishing..." Cas grumbles.

"Exactly," Dean says. "So you won't miss out. Join us after your practice or whatever if you want. Sam wants the bunker to himself 'cause Eileen's coming over."

Cas tilts his head at him in confusion. "What? What does that have to do with anything?"

Dean gives him a look.

Cas stares back, then realization comes over his face. "...Oh," He says, glancing between Dean and Jack. "Uh... yes... so. Perhaps I'll join you after... fishing."

Jack seems eager to do a lot of activities. It makes Dean feel kind of good that Jack seems to appreciate birthdays, because Dean is the one who made sure they kept celebrating Jack's.

They pack sandwiches and eat them by the river while they fish, and then Jack says he wants to see a movie so they go to the theater, and even though it doesn't matter because it's all the same cash at the end of the day, Jack insists on buying the popcorn when Dean reaches for his wallet.

They still haven't heard from Cas by the time they get out of the movie. His practice should have ended hours ago.

"....What if we go see the world's largest ball of twine?" Jack asks. So okay. They do. Then after that, they go play mini-golf. Dean keeps checking his phone, hoping maybe Cas will call or text for their whereabouts and join them, but a message never comes.

Dean feels not only a little stung, but also kind of worried. He ends up texting Cas.

Dean: Just checking in.

Cas replies about 20 minutes later.

Cas: I apologize, Dean. Sam has roped me into actual research.

However much he doesn't want it to, it puts a damper on things—makes it hard for Dean to keep smiling. Sam just... didn't want he and Jack underfoot? Is that it? He thought they'd... get in the way? It kind of offends Dean. He and Jack are both perfectly competent at researching and Sam knows that. Dean just doesn't like this kind of project. At worst, he would have stayed out of the way—holed up in The Dean Cave or in his room to watch movies. If Sam's goal was getting them out of the bunker so they wouldn't bother him, it doesn't feel fair. It seems... mean.

Dean's throat feels tight. He puts his phone on silent before they get to the burger joint in the evening—tells himself he's jumping to conclusions—he isn't being fair.

At least... at least Jack is having a good time—smiling ear to ear. It's good to see him happy—especially after that upsetting stint as God. The responsibility of it... the weight... thinking about it had twisted Dean's stomach in knots some nights so bad he could hardly breathe, even if he never spoke to anyone about it.

Dean pulls into the garage right about 7PM, determined not to let any disappointment or hurt toward Sam or Cas show—reminding himself again that it's his own fault that they didn't know this day was important to him.

He decided on the drive home he'll say something about celebrating birthdays from now on... around late April, right before Sam's birthday so no one catches on that he's hurt. That'll... it'll make it easier to get it out anyway, Dean thinks—that this is something he wants—if it's first in the context of Sam's birthday instead of his own. He'll say he'd like to start making celebrating everyone's birthday a habit—say it's important to him. He'll ask, and plan a party for Sam, then they'll do one for Jack, then Cas... then, when Dean turns 46... maybe they can celebrate Dean's birthday all together then. Everyone being celebrated... it just feels right. It's something Dean just... wants.

He's also cooled off on Sam—convinced himself that Sam probably just didn't want Dean to feel obligated to help on his birthday while Sam was determined to be a bore—thought he'd have more fun getting out of the house. He just wishes Sam had the sense not to rope Cas in too.

Jack pushes open the stairs that lead down into the map room, and Dean nearly jumps out of his skin as he hears a very loud chorus of voices exclaiming, "SURPRISE!"

Jack grins widely then, and says, "Come on, Dean!" He races to the bottom of the stairs, motioning for Dean behind him.

Dean can hardly believe it when the library comes into view.

His family is there. Not just Sam and Cas, but Eileen, and Rowena, Donna, Jody, Garth and Bess and their boys, Claire and Patience and Alex. Some of them are wearing party hats, others just smiling. Donna scoops him into a hug first, then Jody.

Dean is overwhelmed by the attention as he trades hugs with so many of their friends. His eyes are drawn to actual decorations. There are streamers hang from the ceiling, attached to brown balloons. There's a banner attached to a wall that says "It Is Your Birthday!"

"Alright—so I left Cas in charge of the decorating while I went to get the cake," Sam admits as he walks up and places a cup of punch in Dean's hand.

"I already told you—the balloons are the color of Scooby Doo!" Cas scowls.

"Oh yeah? And why are they so under-filled?" Sam says back, but he's laughing.

"They're perfect, Cas," Dean chokes, looking at all the effort Cas put in—overwhelmed.

A cake in the shape of Scooby Doo's face is laid out on one of the tables, surrounded by paper party plates and napkins with The Scooby Gang on them. There are... there are actual wrapped presents sitting on the the table further back. Like... a lot of presents.

"You... you did all of this for me?" Dean asks, looking at Cas and Sam.

"We lied so we could stay here and prepare," Cas admits. "Jack was supposed to keep you out of the house while we worked."

Dean glances at Jack then, who beams.

"I'll be honest though. I really thought you had me figured out this morning in the kitchen, Dean," Sam shakes his head, grinning.

Dean's eyes well up with tears. "You're still a bad liar," He croaks.

He doesn't even know if it's him or someone else who starts it, but suddenly they're all in a group hug.

"Happy 45th birthday, Dean."

"You deserve it."

#birthday party for dean 2024 #my fan works #fan works #dean with scoobies

[castiwls]

january 24th - s.w

Pairing; Sam & daughter (oc) kinda

Synopsis; January 24th is a quiet day in the Winchester house

Warnings; angst

Notes; Ok so. I meant to post this a few days back and forgot lmao but basically long story short I was lying in my bed when this idea hit me. It probs makes no sense but it's set post-final. I also listened to Marjorie while I wrote this so take from that what you will.

Masterlist

What died didn't stay dead What died didn't stay dead You're alive, you're alive in my head

The house was quiet. He rolled over and saw the clock flashing 10:15 am. She must have taken the kids to school before going to work he assumed as he closed his eyes again.

Sam loathed this day. Every year it would reach a new year and instead of being happy to bring the new year in it felt like a great weight on his chest. January 24th was the worst day of the year for Sam Winchester.

He lay in bed simply staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t surprised that no one had woken him up. It was common knowledge to anyone around him that he did not function on this day. It was almost like he regressed back to the person he was 20 years ago in that barn.

And damn had it really been 20 years. That realisation only made it hurt more. 2 full decades with his brother.

2 full decades of his life Dean had missed. 

He felt angry. Angry that just when life was looking good for once one last curve ball was thrown and suddenly Sam was doing this alone. He was angry for the life that his brother never got to live. Angry that he never got to meet his niece and nephew. Angry that he never got his own family.

He lay there stewing in his own guilt, anger, and grief before the sound of the bedroom door opening caught his attention. 

Sam turned his head to see a figure peeking out from behind the door. He felt a small smile grace his lips. “Shouldn’t you be at school?” He winced slightly at how raspy his voice sounded.

The door slowly opened more and in stepped his youngest Hailey. She was only 14 (recently 14) yet every day more and more she reminded him of his brother. Her own brother Dean didn’t resemble his uncle much and in a way Sam was grateful. Sometimes around this time of year saying his name could be too much, he didn’t know what he would do if his son also shared his brother's looks.

“Told mum I was sick. Didn’t wanna leave you alone.” She said quietly as she walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. Sam sat up and sent her a weak smile. He simply watched her for a moment. She didn’t look much like either of her parents. She didn’t have Sam’s brown eyes or her mother's nose and hair. No Hailey Winchester had Dean green eyes, she’d had his blonde hair which had naturally darkened to a light brown as she had aged. She had his nose and most hauntingly his smile.

Sam tried to push the comparisons away. He knew it wouldn’t do him any good. He lifted the cover beckoning her to get into the bed. She grinned and accepted his invitation.

Sam felt his heartbeat pick up at her grin. Yet again all he saw was his brother.

Hailey moved closer to her dad allowing him to wrap an arm around her. “I would ask if you're ok but it seems like a stupid question.” She joked trying to soften his mood.

Sam chuckled before nodding. He pressed a kiss to her head before sitting back. Hailey was quiet for a long moment but Sam could tell she was thinking about something.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

“Do you think he would have liked me? And Dean?” 

Sam stiffened slightly at her question. He thought for a moment before smiling. “He would have adored you both. Would have spoiled you both too.” Sam smiled softly.

She smiled up at him with that damn smile. She settled back down into his embrace. “I wish I could have met him.” She said quietly.

Sam looked down at her and ran a hand through her hair. He wanted nothing more than for Dean to meet his children. Hell, when he’d first found out he was gonna be a dad the first thing he had done was go to call his brother. Then he remembered and put the phone down with a heavy heart.

He was quiet for a moment. He’d never really told Hailey much about her uncle. Sure he’d told Dean but he was older and he didn’t wanna freak Hailey out. Taking a deep breath Sam turned to his daughter. “I never told you about what happened when I left Stanford did it?”

He knew he would have to tell her the truth sooner or later. Tell her about the life he had lived before she’d been born. He glanced over to the clock. They had a good few hours before anyone would be home.

I know better But I still feel you all around I know better But you're still around

#supernatural #sam winchester #jared padalecki #spn #jensen ackles #castiel #deanwinchtser #spn angst #spn imagine #sam winchester x platonic!reader #sam winchester x daughter #sam winchester imagine #sam winchester fanfiction #sam winchester x reader #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester angst #sam winchester angst #.sam winchester #.mine #.spn

[love-and-hisses]

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[holylulusworld]

January 24th

Summary: It’s Dean’s birthday. He’s getting old. At least in his opinion.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Warnings: fluff, established relationship, Dean feels old, very implied oral (fem rec), implied past smut, insecurities/body issues

January 24th. A special day. The birthday of the man you love. 

Even though, he’s grumpy this morning and won’t even look your way.

“Babe, what are you doing?” you dip your head to watch Dean rummage in the fridge. He grumbles and mutters as he gets milk out of the fridge. “Dean?”

You flip another pancake. “Uh-I want to eat healthily from now on,” he clears his throat. Dean pats his soft tummy, huffing as he’s unhappy with his body lately. “I will eat porridge and fruits this morning.”

“But baby, it’s your birthday,” you put the pancake on a plate and turn your attention toward the bacon. “I prepared pancakes, bacon, and coffee for breakfast. I got a whole menu planned for your birthday too, including pie. 

“I need to get in better shape,” he complains and lifts his shirt. You whine as your eyes roam his exposed chest. “See,” he holds the shirt up with one hand while patting his stomach with his free hand. “I’m getting older and can’t keep on eating pancakes, burgers, and pie all the time. Fast food is bad for an old man.”

“OLD MAN!” you growl. “Who dared to call my man old? Who! You’re a sexy man. Uh-don’t you remember last week when you did the thing with your thing and fingers?”

Dean cocks a brow. His eyes drop to your chest. He hums and licks his lips. “It was a night to remember. You were a begging and dripping mess.”

“Dean, you are not an old man,” you point the spatula at him. “Maybe we can eat healthier once or twice a week if you want to. But not today, Sir. I got a plan, and you won’t ruin it. Sam will be back soon with Jody and the others. This is going to be the best birthday party ever.”

“Sweetheart, it’s my 44th birthday and I should think about my health,” he chuckles as you ignore his plans and keep on frying bacon. “Bacon is bad for me. I shouldn’t eat it.”

He steps behind you and wraps on strong arm around your waistline. Dean looks over your shoulder to glance at the bacon. “It’s turkey bacon. Low-fat, baby.”

“I smell pie too,” Dean hopefully looks around the kitchen. “I knew my girl will make me some pie. I mean…uh—it’s my birthday and I can make an exception, right? I can start eating healthily tomorrow.”

“Of course, Dean. Today is your special day,” you softly say. “It’s your birthday and I want you to have fun, eat whatever you want, and relax.”

“Eat whatever I want,” he purrs in your ear, teeth nipping at your earlobe. “I got an idea or two about what I want to eat, sweetheart. And it’s not the low-fat bacon…”

Tags in reblog.

#January 24th #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you #dean winchester x y/n #Happy Birthday Dean Winchester

[callmewrinkles3]

Lulu

December 15, 2023

Some people said that Lulu was going to be late and be born on the 24th like the Christmas present she was. And because there was a bet that her middle name would be Noelle if it was. Charlie said that she'd be a good swiftie like her Mama and come on the 13th to share a birthday with the queen herself. But Blake was the one who came closest, saying she'd ruin everyone's bets on one column of the "Dan and Em are having a baby" betting pool by coming whenever she wanted. And in true Ricciardo fashion, Luna Grace appeared the one day that nobody had bet on.

It was the same as every night since Dan had gotten back from Abu Dhabi, Em cuddling against her husband while he rubbed her sore lower back. They knew they were into the last few nights as just two of them instead of three and they took advantage of it. Everything seemed as normal as Em thought it was, a low ache coming and going in her back. Her body was sore and out of room. Lulu needed to get ready to leave because her mum felt like she was about to burst before her due date arrived in five days.

But even with her discomfort things were good. They were really good. Charlie and Blake were in their own little engaged couple world after Blake's proposal on their anniversary. Their family was healthy and Dan could close his little finger fully now. He was happy and excited about going back to work in January with Red Bull and being back in the senior team. And Em was happier than she thought she could be.

Her head was in a good place, Mildred helping her prepare to be a mother and have her daughter. Mentally she was better than she'd been in most of her life. And she'd never admit it to Dan, probably never to anyone, but finding out that Michael wasn't going to be in the paddock next year gave her an extra peace of mind. So of course, just as she was starting to drift off to sleep, Lulu decided she was making her appearance.

Dan knew that people thought he was insane for not being scared to drive some of the fastest cars in the world for a living, or go dirt biking or mountain biking along forest trails. He was an adrenaline lover who enjoyed getting scared at least once a month. Even when Em asked him to not scare her. But the moment she looked up at him with big eyes and said she was in labour Dan could feel the panic creeping in.

He'd thought that Blake and Charlie staying with them until Em gave birth was insane. That they didn't need them there, as appreciative as they were. But Blake had insisted that Dan would freak the fuck out when it happened and he didn't want Dan driving Em to hospital alone. He'd insisted he was fine and didn't need it. But then when it happened he was so grateful that they were there. He just helped Em out, holding her hand as contractions happened and did whatever she needed to feel safe until they made it to the hospital.

From the first time he'd met her Dan knew Emmy was a force of nature. He'd known about the inner strength she had, but seeing her that early morning as she gritted her teeth and pushed was something he could never describe. He couldn't find the words to explain how it felt to watch her bringing their daughter into the world. After everything they'd been through together and on their own, after the year before putting herself together following her breakdown and making herself get better. She went through hell and crawled her way back and stopped Dan from drowning in his own emotions. She did all of that. She carried their daughter and kept her safe even when their plans for the year got turned upside down and they went back to travelling the world. Emmy did it with grace and poise and beauty, making it look easy when Dan knew it wasn't.

She said she was fine when he knew she was sore and wanted to take a deep breath and not need to pee every two minutes. Dan knew better than anyone how terrified she was. Her fear about not being a good mum. In the dark of night curled up against him admitting her fears about not being physically able to push their daughter out of her body and into the world. Admitting that yeah, she was scared about how it would hurt and she wasn't afraid to admit that she wanted an epidural as soon as it was possible. And even during all of that, she made it look easy, filling Dan with pride for his wife. He held out his hand for her to push and she forced him around the other side of the bed because she was afraid to hurt his left hand. Because even when she was in labour she looked after him instead of it being the other way round.

That entire night felt like watching a video at double speed. It was intense and he was holding Em's hand and pulling her hair back from her face, but the second he heard their daughter cry it was like everything just stopped. In full Ricciardo spirit Lulu entered the word with a loud cry to announce herself. It echoed around the room, bouncing around his ears and landing into his heart because that was his daughter and she was right there.

There was a list of things that Dan would never forget even if he tried. The first two were the most important moments of his relationship with Em. Seeing his Emmy for the first time was number one, arriving at Blake's with a shy smile and a bottle of wine in her hand, sitting next to him in her little black dress with long brown hair running down her back. Secondly was arriving home in Monaco to see her sandwiched between his parents. How she was too skinny and too pale and had clearly been crying but she was there and even with all the changes to both of them she still fit into his arms. The way he held onto her like she'd disintegrate and she grabbed him too.

After that were smaller moments that were no less important. When he saw her on their wedding days, her gorgeous dresses and shy smiles and the way she said "I do" without hesitation or fear. The first time he saw her holding Isaac or Isabella. They day on the couch in Perth when she fell asleep in his arms with Isaac against her chest and his head screamed love her love her love her love her. The look on her face when the pregnancy test came back positive in LA, that she really was pregnant.

The list could have gone on forever, but now sliding in straight at number one was the first time he laid eyes on his daughter. The night had felt like minutes instead of hours, but in the early dawn light Luna was born and time slowed down. His Emmy was a mum and everyone could know. The world could know that she was one and he was so fucking happy about it. After all the tears and pain and sadness and worry it was replaced by pure peace. His Emmy was a mum.

It was surreal to watch Em sit up in the bed with the help of pillows and take her daughter in her arms. It was like they were meant to be there and he was just the lucky man who got to love both of them as hard as he could. He was the one they chose because he was completely and utterly theirs. It was magical. Everything he'd done before wasn't as important because now she was there and he got to spend his life loving the two girls sitting on the bed in front of him. The tiny human in the lavender blanket and hat that her Mama had made for her over the last few weeks was going to grow up in front of him and he couldn't wait to see who she became.

One of the other bets that almost everyone put money on was Lulu's weight and height. Everyone expected her to be small and take after Em, but they were all entirely wrong. She was beautiful and healthy with dark hair already peeking out from her tiny hat, but the nurse confirmed she was four and a bit kilos which made Dan smile, already longer than average. He didn't know how he loved her so much already but he did.

"Ready to hold her, Dad?" Em asked, his jaw dropping as he looked at his wife and his daughter.

"I'm her dad. Holy fuck I'm her dad and you're her mum." Emmy giggled at his words, holding her arms out for him to take that precious bundle into his own. She fit there perfectly and his world turned upside down in seconds as the gravity hit him. His daughter.

"Hey Lulu. I'm your dad. And we are so excited that you're here. Thanks for waiting for me to get home, Sweetheart."

In that moment he felt exactly the same way he did when he got to hold Em in his arms for the first time. He didn't want to let her go ever again. Something in him told him that this moment would change his life and it was exactly the same now.

"I love you so much, baby girl. So, so much. Welcome to the world." He pushed a kiss to her so soft cheek, cursing the tears that were welling up for blurring his view of her face. It was forever carved into his memory, tiny lips pursed.

If Dan thought that letting Em go when she was going back to Perth and he had to go to Australia was hard, he was wrong compared to giving his daughter to the midwife. She was still in the room, they could see and hear her, but she needed to be checked over by the nurse. It broke his heart for the few minutes, but instead he focused on Em and wiped away the happy tears she'd let out at seeing them. Her hair got re-braided to keep it out of her face and he told her just how proud he was of her. She was the strongest, most badass human he'd ever known and he couldn't believe how lucky he was to get to share a life with her. He kissed her face and thanked her, repeating words of love as his wife said them right back until their daughter was safely in their arms again.

He knew he needed to go tell his parents that Em and Lulu were safe and healthy but he couldn't leave them. It wasn't until they'd been brought back to the comfort of their little room that he was ok with leaving Em for a moment. It was a nod to the nurse on guard duty to stop strangers getting into the maternity ward as he went out to the waiting room. Blake and Charlie were sitting waiting beside his parents as the four stood up for news. Congratulations, hugs and tears met Dan as he told them that Luna Ricciardo was there safe and well, and Emmy was fine. Sore and she'd be tired, but fine.

Grace and Joe went down to get coffee for everyone in the early morning, promising to come back with whatever cheesy goodness they could find for Em. While they were gone Dan took uncle Blake and auntie Charlie to meet their baby niece. It was as quiet as possible entering the room to not disturb either a sleeping newborn or new mother, but Em smiled and said hi as they entered. The new adults came to give Em a hug and congratulations while Dan picked his daughter up from the bedside crib she'd been placed in. He supported her head in the crook of his elbow as he walked slowly over to their friends, introducing the newest member of their family.

"Ok Lu, these are some pretty important people so best behaviour, yeah? This is your auntie Charlie and your uncle Blake. They're two of the people you can rely on the most in the world, it's why we picked them to be your godparents. They're pretty special like you."

"Oh my God look at her. Guys, she's beautiful," Blake whispered as he held his arms out to take the baby. Lulu grasped his finger with her tiny hand while he settled her down. "Thank God she looks like you, Timmy. Pretty like her mum."

"Hey Lulu, you're so - wait. Repeat what you just said?" Charlie's gazze went straight from Lulu to Dan and Em as she took in what Dan had said. They hadn't told her she was going to be Lulu's godmother. Godfather was an easy choice, it was always going to be Blake and he'd known since he knew about the pregnancy, but it took months to decide who would be godmother. And in the end it was an easy decision. They'd only known her a year but Charlie had been a rock. They knew if anything happened she'd be there, and even if she didn't need to raise Lulu she'd be a friend and comfort and support. If anything happened to the two of them the papers were all written out, Blake and Charlie knew they'd raise Lulu. It was the perfect decision.

"I know you've a bunch of nieces and nephews and you're godmother to some of them, so I figured another one wouldn't be a problem?" Em forced herself to shrug, acting like it wasn't a big deal when in reality it meant everything to every single person in that room.

"Wanna hold her when your fiance stops hogging the baby?" Dan asked, looking straight at Charlie. His wife's best friend was wiping tears away while she stared at Lulu.

"Are you sure?" The unasked second part of "about making me her godmother" hung in the air.

"Hundred percent."

Dan watched his friends hold the newest love of her life while he put an arm around his wife's shoulders and waited for his parents to come back in. For the first time in almost three years things felt right.

#call it what you want fic #ciwyw drabble #daniel ricciardo drabble #formula 1 drabbler #formula one drabbler #f1 drabbler #ciwyw writing

[veronica-17-hood]

a meeting from beyond

jason todd x gn reader <333

part 2 to this

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january 7th,

5 years after the pit

“for goodness sake mum!” the voice that sounded from the other side of the door didn’t sound like it did five years, it sounded sturdier, less sweet and more rough. “i said i was fine over the phone!”

jason couldn’t really comprehend that it was the same voice he used to beg to hear on the phone, but he at the same time he could. that’s what gotham did to people, broke them.

he involuntarily took a step back, ready to run, when the footsteps approached closer to the door. one shuffled behind the other, just like it did when you were kids.

you stuffed up your knee showing him your moves on the monkey bars, silly him for not catching you. you walked with a limp since, but it made you well you.

by the time the door knob jiggled and your voice was grumbling on the other-side, muttering nonsense about patience and it being late. the doorway was empty and you stood in an old gotham prep school sweater, one that still smelled like jay, staring out at the evening gotham rain alone.

“damn teenagers.” you were sure it was a group of punks that were going to picked up by the bat on his rounds as the door shut.

but jay stood breathless as the locks sounded, heart twisting in ways he didn’t think was possible as he fell slowly to the floor beneath him, wondering why he ran.

january 24th

he knew how much you loved the library. maybe that would explain why the red hood is sat on the building across from it.

or maybe it would explain why jason was shitting brinks staring at the front door then to his watch then back to the door.

it was nearly 1 in the morning, you were still sat by the window seat talking to the library as the two of you cleaned up.

he should have known you would end up getting a job here, it suited you well.

you were never the quiet type, a reason why he enjoyed your company so much. you were very opinionated as he could remember, though most the later days were still a fog to him.

but he remembered the arguments you got in with bruce over the best book in his collection versus the one that was actually the most expensive. he remembered the nights you two spent reading each other passages from the first book you saw after running down the manor’s shelves. he remembered your love for literature and it was going to by your life.

he peered down through he window, watched as the lights turned off.

your leg still shuffled behind you as you waved your hand toward the librarian, a women you should have walked home with but instead was picked up by a taxi leaving you to walk gotham streets alone.

so he jumped rooftop to rooftop, watching as you scanned surrounds, clung to your bag with dear life, and flinch at any suspecting sound even in your reach.

and there his heart went, twisting in was he couldn’t believe were real.

he just hoped bats didn’t give up on you like he did him.

bruce really liked you. liked you even more when you found out jay was robin and didn’t blink and eye. but he didn’t like that two face knew your name and most likely still does.

but he didn’t want to find out if bruce did or didn’t or if others knew your name or didn’t.

so he bounced from rooftop to rooftop, keeping a keen eye on you until your stood on steps of your townhouse. keys gripped so tight they fumbled causing him to flinch.

though you were always fast, keys in hand again with each lock undone and the door swung open.

a sigh of relief hit jason’s chest as you placed a foot through the opening. though quickly redacted as your eyes glanced up to the roof he sat perched on, once a robin, always a robin.

that’s what dickhead used to say anyways.

behind the helmet his eyes met yours, he studied your expression, your movements, your everything carefully.

a small nod was bestowed to him and your second foot shuffled into the door and the locks done up faster than the first time he saw you here.

he must have frightened you.

and it was then he thought his heart broke for real this time.

february 11th

this may have been a mistake, but jay was always good at those. that’s how he ended up dead in the first place.

so instead of thinking this through he grabbed the largest hoodie he could find in the safe houses closet before shrugging it on and somehow browsing the shelves of the library.

he kept the left side of the hood slung further in front of his face than the right. no need for anyone to see the hideous marking joker left behind now did they?

he had been stuck in the same isle all this time, touching the same few books just hoping you would come up and ask if he needed help. but thirty minutes had passed and he was sure you were the worst librarian to every exist at this rate.

“do you need help finding anything?” your voice broke him from his thoughts. immediately he was scanning the surrounding from peripheral, trying to figure out where you were and how much time he had to run.

maybe this had been a mistake.

“ ‘cuse me?” his head barely turned, making sure to keep the right side of his face to you.

he watched as your nose scrunched up, a tell you were holding in a chuckle. what exactly amused you about this? maybe his brooding nature or absolute misery of not being able to shout that your jason was alive and standing right in front of you was just slightly amusing.

clearly a path in his voice “pardon?” now his peripheral was scanning you completely, his body almost going numb at the sight of the golden birdie hung around the dainty gold chain.

you still had it.

hell, you still wore it.

“need help finding anything red?” now his body turned, your voice sounded innocent not accusing but still he tensed at the nickname, brows raising in suspicion “y’know because of the red hoodie yeah?”

the gotham twang in your voice still remained prominent as you shortness words and smiled into them, god how he missed your smile.

“yeah, well” he trailed, clearing his through trying to keep his left sight out of view but your eyes wandered his physique “looking for a gift?”

your ears perked at that “gift?” he nodded “we don’t sell things here you do know that right?”

yeah of course jay knew that, why he said gift in the first place no idea but might as well keep you talking. he loved the way your voice sounded now.

still so young but with a harder kick to it, it was soothing.

jason nodded again, kicking his boots at the carpeted floor “i know.” his eyes rolled at your confused expression “they would know that it’s a loaner.”

this made you smile, he made you smile. “what a gift giver you are huh?”

jason shrugged, eyes locking with yours for a breath moment before pulling them back down to the chipped toes of his work boots.

“you have any suggestions then?” his voice low, hesitant.

a small breath fell from your lips as you leaned against the wall behind you, you felt as if you were going to be here for a while. “well who’s it for red?”

jason lifted his head, confused expression easily read across it, “boy, girl, child?”

he shoulders tensed at the idea of telling you anything even if it was a lie, but maybe this was his way back in, a slow ease before his big announcement of ‘hey i’m actually not dead, just 5 years trying to calm my homicidal rage and planning revenge on my adoptive father, you?’

“someone special .” he thought for a moment worried what more to say, “someone that i love.”

you grew curious now, smiling at the mysterious boy in a hood. hand instinctively went to play with the gold plated robin hung around your neck making jason’s eyes drag to the small charm he gave you years ago.

“hm romantic gifts are tough y’know” he nodded, eyes still tracing the circles you made with the robin “what do they like?”

he couldn’t think straight now, not knowing you still wore the necklace and still felt it right to keep it around, keep him round.

“where’d ya get the necklace?” the question took you off, hand stopping to think of a proper answer. jays leg now bouncing up and down fear of the answer, he gave it to you sure, but what were you to say to a seemingly stranger?

“someone i love.”

your mind clearly ran quickly over it, snapping back from whatever memories playing in your mind to spit him a suggestion “ try jewelry, most people like that.”

he went to speak but was quickly cut off by your curt apology and bid goodbye.

even as stranger he made you upset, how was he supposed to do this?

february 21st

another late night for you, a slow night for jay so he followed you home again, this was the third time this week.

this made him feel like he was doing something, like he was still protecting you.

tonight you had on his old gotham prep sweater, something he had forgotten about until that first night back. after all these years it was still much to big for you and he wasn’t large back then either. not as large as he is now.

you were taking a while to open the door, grabbing the mail from the letter box and picking up the newspapers scattered across the little lawn you had.

so he climbed down from his rooftop just above yours, leaning against a tree near the yard. far enough to be hidden but close enough to see, hear, and get to you.

you slowly made your way to the door, hands reaching for the knob he was sure his work would be done until you stay at work late again tomorrow night.

“why do you follow me home each night?” he froze.

your voice was calm, hand still stuck to the door. you weren’t scared, your demeanor said enough. you wouldn’t keep your back to him or even acknowledge his existence if you were.

he forgot, you did grow up with him after all. you might has well been robin number two on his days off.

“well?” now your head turned to see him leaned against the tree urging him to come our front behind the leaves.

“gothams not a safe place.”

you rolled your eyes at that answer. now turning completely as he took a few steps toward the light. his red helmet bouncing the lights from the street lights and the armory proving enough to protect him physically, but emotionally he was doomed.

“yeah, yeah.” arms crossed now, leaning against your front door. “you got the symbol down though.” you observed his shit quickly before pushing off the front door. “got it down to a t.”

you took a step forward, his feet stood still, then you took another, and another, and one more until you were too close for his comfort and he folded.

“you got the right tech.” jason forgot how much you had seen. how many times you had been in the bat cave, how many times you sat with on slow nights like this and touched the gadgets in the utility belt.

red hood said nothing to this, even though jason wanted to rip the helmet off to show you.

“you have the right build.” you walked around him, examining his broad shoulders but limber waist, more weight training the dick but more flexibility than bruce.

“you have a voice modulator though.” you stated coming round his front, stopping just in front of his torso with your eyes planted on the red bay plastered across his chest.

“bruce doesn’t use those.” jay flinched at the name, yours eyes didn’t react “he has to do it himself, he doesn’t want a scrambler, makes the cowl to heavy.”

glad to know you had been hanging around them still, that did make jay have a lighter heart. at least they protected you.

“dick doesn’t even bother with the lower voice.” you chuckled “that’s what makes his batman so noticeable.”

“and tim” jason’s blood boiled at replacements name leaving your tongue with such ease but he still remained stoic “he doesn’t fit any of those things. and he certainly isn’t tall nor big enough.”

your eyes dragged from the bat to the helmets eyes, keeping them steady as if you were trying to read through the slits, as if you could see right through the helmet itself.

“so either i just gave up the names of the bats to a psychopath,” you offered, hand reaching up to the left side of the helmet “or your a ghost, or a figment of my imagination, or some sick joke.”

you didn’t reach to touch the helmet. you didn’t want to know if it was real or not.

you couldn’t. and jason wasn’t sure he could either, not tonight at least.

you spun away on your heels, hightailing it to the door, not even taking a second look back at him as the door shut and the locks sounded.

“i’ll see you again tomorrow darling.”

february 22nd

you had taken the day off work today, worried that the events from last night might have been a psychotic break.

you tossed and turned all night worried about who was under that mask. worried that it was the same boy who wrote you a love letter all those years ago. the same one that you spoke at his funeral and talked about over weekly tea with alfred.

and finally you picked up the phone and fanned sick worried you may have actually gone mad.

jason died. you knew that.

so you woke early to go for a jog, running around the neighbor early enough for cops to be on streets and criminals to still be in bed for the day if not going home after their nights.

taking the last corner back to your place you notice a figure sat on your steps, a red hoodie pulled down in front of the face just like the man at the library. and now you are certain you have lost any form of sanity left in your body.

rounding the pathway down to the steps you slow your pace, walking slowly toward the man hunched over holding a large bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers, colors blooming against the contrast of their red background.

stopping just two feet away from him, you watched him twist a ring around his index and his food tap the clunky work boots against the pavement.

jay knew you were stood in front of him, but he didn’t know how to rip this bandaid off, how to show him all scared and broken. he hadn’t even told his family yet, not that he wanted to.

“your real.”

it wasn’t a question, you knew, you always knew.

his head tilted up, hoodie slowly sliding off from his head revealing the small white curl dropped against his forehead and the scare traced on his cheek from his murder.

all on display for you.

a small gasp was audible as your hands slapped against your lips, covering the gapping hole left by your shock.

“ ‘m real darlin, as real as i was before.”

your eyes dilated to take him in, small shuffled steps taken to reach so your toes tapped his. hands slowly retracted from your mouth to move the hoodie completely off his face allowing for you to see the fullness of jason todd.

“y-you” you shook your head “it, no” your hands left his person “no, no-o, n-“ reaching up to the necklace for something constant “it can’t be” you muttered sounds, words under your breath “jay?”

his heart broke but not for any reasons like they had before, no this time it broke because he had hurt you before and now he was putting you back together.

it broke him to see you have tear filled eyes and flustered movements.

“yeah?” and you broke down.

you fell to your knees in front of him, slumping into his person, allowing him to hold you as you clawed against his red hoodie in attempt to bring him closer to you.

you asked no follow up questions. you had no wavering belief that it wasn’t jay.

because only jay would know that you like wildflowers, jay would only know that you were his darling, jay would be able to be alive after 5 years, only jay.

and he held you on the front porch for a while as the gotham streets filled up. as you held him tight and he held you tighter.

you allowed for the air to grow comfortable before pulling away to hold his face in your hands, thumb gracing over the scars in his face, allowing your eyes to soak up the natural blue green irises that had seem to be glowing now.

you didn’t need any more proof than the past two months.

the ringing doorbells at night, the stranger following you home, or red hoodie propping in the library each day you had a shift.

he wanted to come home, he came to you.

“so darlin?” he whispered, as if the words would break you “heard ya love me eh?”

and your nose scrunched, teeth on full display for the man in front of you.

“yeah?” you teased “and what little birdie told ya that?”

#batfam #batfam au #batkids #jason todd #soulmates #jason todd fluff #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #batfamily #dc comics #dc jason todd #jason todd angst #jason todd headcanon #jason red hood #red hood x you #red hood fluff #red hood x reader #dc red hood #red hood headcanon #dc batfam #batfam headcanons #true love

[nobedofroses]

December 24th

pairing: Jack Daniels x reader

warnings: fluff

words: 657

a/n: I am behind but I plan to continue posting, even if I continue this in January, just fyi! This ridiculousness was prompted by @terryboot (thanks babe) and is very cute if very silly

more Jack, Full List

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“Okay and it’ll say ‘tis the season’ and you’ll tell them to be creative with the decoration, right? But I know it’s a time crunch, so simple is fine too. And red, green, and gold with white and black for details if that works,” you were rushing out the instructions, talking while you ate your breakfast at work, but you didn’t have a choice. The cake you needed for a holiday party that night had fallen through with another bakery and you were in meetings all day. This five minute call with your husband, Jack, was the only free time you would have until about an hour before the party, so he was going to a bakery in person for you that did last minute cakes. 

“That’s what you want it to say, darlin’, really?” Jack asked, his voice oddly hesitant. 

He caught you in the middle of another big bite, but you had to just say it anyway, “Yes, ‘tis the season.’”

“Okay darlin’, well I’m here, so I’ll go inside and text you when it’s ordered.”

“Great, thank you, I love you.” 

“I love you too, bye now.” 

“Bye honey,” you hung up the phone, took a drink of water, and wiped your mouth. Just in time for your assistant to knock on your door to summon you to the first meeting. 

___

Several hours later, you had met Jack at the party and were in the kitchen, taking it out of its box so it could be put on the table to be served. At first glance, it looked absolutely perfect with the letters in gold and little holly branches decorating the sides. 

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe they did such a good job on a rush order– what the fuck does that say?”

Jack looked over your shoulder, “‘Tits the season,’ just like you asked, sweetheart. And look, they did little tits on the side too.” 

All of this was said as if it was completely normal and not the most ridiculous thing you had ever heard. 

“Jack, baby, it was supposed to say ‘Tis the Season’! Tis, like ‘it is the season,’” you told him, over-enunciating the words. 

You watched as Jack’s happy little smile turned into a sheepish, downcast look, a blush covering his cheeks and his hand coming up to cover his mouth. “Oh.” 

Luckily, thank the heavens really, this party was for friends and not professional in any sort, so you were more perplexed than anything. You couldn’t help but laugh at what Jack and the bakery must have thought when they heard your request. Although, apparently they didn’t think it was that weird because the cake was decorated how they thought you had specified it to a t. 

But Jack was too distraught to pay attention to your laughter and turned you around so he could grab your hands in his and say in the softest, sweetest voice, “Oh honey pie, I am so so sorry. I really thought you said that. And since it was for friends… I guess I just thought you wanted to spice things up or somethin’.” 

You shook your head, unable to keep from smiling because Jack’s contrite face was too adorable and sweet. But if he wanted to make such a big apology, you’d give him something to do to earn forgiveness so he’d feel a little better, “You’re lucky I’m so forgiving and you’re so darn cute, baby. But I think before I can forgive you totally, you better give me a kiss.” 

Tapping your cheek, you turned your face slightly away so he’d kiss your cheek instead of your lips like he’d likely want to. And he did kiss your cheek, but then you realized that cheek kisses were really not at all the same as regular ones. 

“Okay, now give me a real one,” you told him, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him in close.

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#jack daniels #jack daniels x reader #fluff #blurb #nobedofroses #snowy fics 23

[jpriest85-blog]

I fell in love with @pdrrook Perfumare VN and IFs. While I'm still looking forward to seeing the rest of the story in Perfumare: Amalgam. I also got excited learning about the sequel Perfumare: Amalgam and came up with some concept art and info for my Shapeshifter MC, Gloria Jardin. I'm kind of jumping the gun ik, but I couldn't help it! I'm not sure how things will play out for Gloria, so I'll probably wind up having multiple routes saved like I did for my Allure MC, Liz Morren. Here's my info for Gloria so far. I'll probably wind up changing things once the sequel is officially released.

Name: Gloria Jardin

Animal form: Swan

Pronouns: she/her

Preferences: Bisexual

Birthday: January 24th

Height: 5ft10”/177.8cms

Appearance: A tall ethnically mixed woman, in her late twenties with a chestnut complexion and a dancer's build. A square shaped face with a cleft chin, full mouth and brown almond shaped eyes, her natural hair is black and coily, but as a Shapeshifter she can change her hair and eye color whenever it suits her mood. As does her fashion sense, and she's collected a pretty eclectic wardrobe over the years, depending on her mood and the occasion. From sleek suites paired with colorful avant-garde accessories to more theatrical clubbing outfits that could rival a Las Vegas show girls costume. Although she usually wears some sort of accessory or stylistic touch that has feathers or resembles swans.

Notable Features: A little gap in her front teeth, and long toned legs.

Personality: Gloria comes across as a classy, confident, intelligent and vibrant woman. Although it would surprise people to learn she went through an “ugly duckling” phase as a child. Considering the expectations put on her by her family growing up, she always felt like she never quite fit. In a way her childhood was similar to Laurent's trying so hard to be the “dutiful child ” to meet expectations and approval, and yet she was miserable. Although being away from her family ment Gloria finally got a chance to do things for herself and learn who she was as a person. Discovering she was Tier 4 Shape Shifter was kind of a relief actually. Well mostly she's still under watch from the government considering higher tier Shapeshifter's can potentially impersonate important people like government officials ect.

Although despite the fact that her gift is often associated with subterfuge and misdirection, Gloria herself tends to be a pretty honest person. She's wasted so much of her childhood trying to be what others wanted her to be, and it made her miserable. She's done with that bs, and she's not going to apologize for existing anymore! Although she does have enough class to recognize and apologize if she hurts someone. Even unintentionally by saying something thoughtless or blunt. Also, she still keeps enough social etiquette to show restraint when necessary. Although this does make her appreciate the fact she can take an animal from more. For Gloria, being able to turn into a Swan is cathartic, as she's not bound by the same rules as polite society if even for a little bit. She can fly, swim, and even bite people who piss her off.

Many people are often surprised to learn that she's friends with Alois Becker aka Marco and considers him like family. While Gloria did have a party girl phase and often went out dancing with Marco, she usually tries to keep him from doing anything too reckless that could get him seriously hurt. Although Gloria is fully capable of causing her share of havoc, she just prefers to be more discreet by Shape shifting into her swan form. While swans are very elegant and graceful birds, they have a huge wingspan and have been known to bite, so she can still do some serious damage if so inclined.

Thankfully, she's usually not as aggressive and reckless as Marco, although she sometimes feels more like an older sister/ young stepmother just trying to keep him from accidently getting himself killed. Although Marco will sometimes complain about Gloria becoming less “fun” as they've gotten older he appreciates the fact she cares enough to try, and the fact she's the only person who's always honest with him. Even though it means he usually gets roasted for being an idiot.

Headcanons & Additional info

Her name is a reference to a brand of perfumes, specifically Gloria Vanderbilt's Jardin à New York, which has a Swan debossed on the bottle. 

When it comes to her personal scent preferences, Gloria likes to use classic floral perfumes, particularly ones that smell like Gardenia.

Her Swan form is based on Mute Swans. Although she has been known to also take the form of Cygnet, since baby swans are so cute and fluffy. Perfect for when she wants others to lower their guard or needs to squeeze into smaller spaces. 

Gloria has always been fond of dancing and even took ballet lessons for many years. It's actually how she first met and befriended Alois/Marco. They were enrolled in the same dance class and performed well together when partners. Even during Gloria's party girl phase, she often helped choreographed dance routines for the clubs that made them both the life of the party. 

This also unfortunately fed into some of those “gold digger” rumors about her. Alois/Marco always likes to make an entrance, and what better way to ensure an audience than to show up with a tall, gorgeous woman who could pass for a model. Even though he only sees Gloria as a friend and sister figure, he's more than happy to play wingman, and likewise, Gloria is sociable enough to introduce him to actual super models. He can also act as protection in case drunken creeps try to hit on Gloria and don't take rejection well, which is sadly often. Alois/Marco's efforts to keep Gloria safe wind up unintentionally damaging her social reputation. Since many of these creeps also come from well-off families and don't get the fact that Gloria prefers Alois/Marco's company because he's her friend and respects her personal boundaries. They just assume she's only with him because he's got more money and/or his family owns the club.

Since Shapeshifters often have to thoroughly study an animal before they can take its shape, Gloria winds up developing an interest in swans and other birds. She has become a bit of an amateur Ornithologist and can even accurately mimic bird calls.

Gloria also has a love of learning and academics and in addition to being taught French by her family, she's become fluent in speaking, reading and writing many classical languages as well; Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit.

She probably winds up getting a job in an academic field, which can be exciting for Gloria because she gets to learn so many new and fascinating things and earn new doctorates. It also means she struggles to be taken seriously since she's a lot younger than others in her field, not to mention it's difficult to get resources for research unless she's studying a subject that already has government funding, or wealthy patrons deem profitable. Not to mention her reputation for honesty means she often butts heads with higher ups on things like censorship and propaganda. 

#Perfumare Amalgam #pfm #sequel MC #Shapeshifter: Gloria Jardin #mc concept art #she's just so pretty 😭 #Gloria comes across as more mature than Marco #and for the most part she is #but she still can cause mayhem as a Swan #swans are very pretty and have a lot of romantic folklore and symbols #but they're also large and will cause problems if they don't like u #it's funny to imagine Swan Gloria chasing SPD agents #like in the goose game #she's going to cause so many problems for the different LIs on their various saves #like no wonder Alan is such a mess #he fumbled a relationship with an intelligent and gorgeous woman who loves ballet! #Alan is already an old man emotionally #he'd definitely sit on a park bench feeding the birds and watching the swans because he missed his ex #nino having to deal with the fact she develops feelings for an enemy #but also the fact Gloria is so tall #and as a Swan she's the same height as Nino #Flavo also has some fun potential #not only because it's funny to imagine him being chased by an angry swan #but because the relationship could potentially parallel Swan Lake #Flavo hunting and keeping tabs on a Shapeshifter because of his job #only to realize the Swan he's keeping tabs on turns into a beautiful woman that resents being shackled #hopefully none of Gloria's romances end as tragically as Odettes

[tdoong15]

hello kai, long time no see. am here to request a baby sana with caregiver jihyo going to the park with to meet with toddler SMC well jihyo and 2yeon (or whoever u think should be SMC caregivers) are having coffees and chatting while watching the littles play in the sand while sana is just poking it with a stick and sometimes shovelling sand into a bucket or eating it ya know like a baby anyways hope you are doing good

Hello Chimp, I'm doing well I'm currently preparing for an exam on the 23rd and 25th January (it's like that because one is 3 hours and the other is 5 hours plus on the 24th it's my off day where I can relax) also this is very sweet.

Little!Sana Toddlers!DaChaeTzu Cgs!NaJeongHyo

Warnings: none

Sandcastles + parks

Sana had been feeling extremely little throughout the whole day, thankfully Jihyo has been looking after Sana immediately when she was told by Momo and Mina about Sana's regression. Sana was currently on the floor playing with some stuffed animals when Jihyo got a message from Nayeon

Nayeon🩵🐰: hey Jeongyeon and I are taking Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu to the park because they're full of energy. Do you want to join us with Sana?

You: Hang on, I'll check with Sana.

“Hey Sana, would you like to go to the park with Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu?” Jihyo questions in a soft tone. Sana turned around and looked up and she grinned and babbled happily. Jihyo took Sana's response as a yes so she messaged Nayeon the answer.

You: Yeah we'll join you guys :).

Nayeon🩵🐰: Great we'll meet you two at the swing set.

Jihyo reads the message and she starts preparing everything for the park since she was being cautious in case anything would happen to anyone but she mainly put her focus on Sana since she was regressed to a really young age. She then placed everything into a bag and did a double check ensuring that everything was in the bag before she picked Sana up from the floor. “Alright let's go to the park.” Jihyo said with a smile, Sana was distracted by the collar of Jihyo's shirt so she didn't pay attention to Jihyo.

Throughout the walk to the park Sana would either make loud squeals down Jihyo's ear when she saw something that she found pretty or she would tug on Jihyo's shirt because she felt like it. When they reached the park, Jihyo looked around for the swing set which she found fairly quickly due to the School Meal Club laughing hysterically. Jihyo walked over to the sound with Sana in her arms. “Jihyo we're so glad you could make it” Jeongyeon says while she hugged Jihyo, her attention was then immediately changed when she heard Sana whine. “And everyone is really happy that you're here, princess Sana.” Jeongyeon said to calm the baby down.

Sana immediately stopped her dramatic whines and she clapped a lot when she heard Jeongyeon's words, Sana's claps actually alerted Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. “Sana!” They all shouted whilst they stumbled over to Jihyo and Sana, all three of them bounced up and down slightly out of excitement because they wanted to play with Sana, who was initially stunned by the sudden loud sounds but she quickly started to laugh and wriggle out of Jihyo's arms because she wanted to play with DaChaeTzu.

Jihyo obliged when she felt Sana moving in her hold and she placed Sana on the sand next to SMC. “Remember don't play too rough, I don't want any trips to the hospital. Also play fairly.” Nayeon tells the girls and they all nod their heads except Sana who was flinging sand around herself. “ ‘Kay we'll be weally good mommy'' Dahyun reassures Nayeon, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu both nodded their heads in agreement. “Alright then we'll be sitting at the bench if you need us,” Jeongyeon explained and she pointed to the bench.

It wasn't long until all of the littles were playing in the sand together, despite Sana being significantly younger Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu all figured out ways to incorporate her in their games, even if she just hit the sand with the back of the shovel. On the other hand, Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo were having some coffee from the local booth, they were keeping an eye out on the littles but they obviously gossiped about things they thought were worthy to talk about such as things that happened backstage.

Sana, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were all having a sandcastle competition but since Sana was so small Tzuyu decided that she wanted to team up with Sana so the competition could be more fair, Dahyun and Chaeyoung didn't argue with the idea since they also thought that it was only right that Sana had a partner for the competition. With that in mind, the four girls started to build their sandcastles, except for Sana who was trying to eat the sand. “Nuh-uh Sha-Sha sand is yucky.” Tzuyu says in her quiet voice whilst she carefully took the sand out of Sana's hand and she added it to the sandcastle.

When the castles were completely finished, Sana slammed her hand down on the sandcastle and she blabbered a lot but she had a smile on her face so the School Meal Club took it as a good thing. “Yep dat's good Sana-shi” Chaeyoung decides to just agree with what Sana said before continuing “Mommy, Mama and JiJi who wins for the best sandcastle?” She yelled at all three of them which immediately got their attention and headed over to the sand pit area.

Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo all observed the sand castle and they all huddled together to create a verdict. “Okay, this is a very tough decision so we need a description of each sandcastle design so we know who to truly pick.” Jihyo explains and Dahyun quickly clears her throat because she wanted to explain hers first. “I made a happy tuwtle family ‘cause it's SUPER cute.” Dahyun put emphasis on the word ‘super’ because it wasn't a basic type of cute, it was the best even though it looked like blobs. Chaeyoung glares at Dahyun's creation before she explained her sandcastle “I made evewyone hewe.” She simply states and she shows her creation with full confidence. Next up was Tzuyu and Sana to say what theirs was, well it's more like Tzuyu will speak and Sana would just do whatever she wanted “Um we did a pwincess since we awe ones” Tzuyu tells 3Mix while she made sure that Sana didn't eat any sand.

Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo huddled together once more to decide the winner and after a minute they decided on the winner. “This was a very difficult thing to judge since they're all amazing but we have decided to give the win too Sana and Tzuyu” Jeongyeon revealed which made Tzuyu cheer happily and hug Sana, she was kicking her feet along with giggling loudly because of Tzuyu's reaction to them winning. Meanwhile with Dahyun and Chaeyoung, they refused to be sore losers so they congratulated the winners.

By the end of it all everyone was playing in the sand even the caregivers because it was a great way to bond since they were now all playing together. They did this until darkness started to arrive and they all went home, but Sana decided to store some sand in the pockets of her pants because she liked the feeling of it.

Hiiii I hope you all enjoyed reading this at whatever time of the day you read this at. Anyway how do you guys feel about Twice's 13th mini album coming out? Personally I'm excited and I think it's going to be something similar to Feel Special and When We Were Kids for the meaning.

#twice agere #sfw agere #twice #little!tzuyu #cg!jeongyeon #cg!nayeon #little!dahyun #little!chaeyoung #little!sana #cg!jihyo

[bitetonysassfest]

BITE TONY’S 🍑 EVENT

Beloveds! Thanks to Anon getting the hamster wheel of my brain turning, I am hosting an event! Please, if you feel the desire, come join in!

This is a month-long event with the intention to let someone take a bite of Tony’s ass🍑! Pairing does not matter, so long as teeth meet Tony’s perky butt! You have the entire month to work on the prompts, which include, believe or not, one week of SAFE FOR WORK prompts and one week of NOT SAFE FOR WORK prompts. All types of creations are accepted: fic, art, moodboards, etc. Just make sure Tony’s ass is bit somewhere in it!

You can participate as much as you would like; if one day’s prompts call to you and the others don’t, just focus on what helps you have fun!

WHEN POSTING YOUR FAN WORK:

In your post of your work, please tag me @bitetonysassfest so that I can see it and reblog it! Make sure to do this in the body of the post so that I can definitely see it. In addition, please make sure to label what day and post you are doing (e.g. “SFW Monday: Trope” or “NSFW Thursday: Dialogue”).

PROMPT LIST/SCHEDULE:

SFW Week (January 15th—January 21st):

Sunday (January 15th):

·       Trope: Mutual Pining

·       Kink: Food

·       Dialogue: “That tickled.”

Monday (January 16th):

·       Trope: Roommates

·       Kink: Outdoors

·       Dialogue: “Way to go, kid.”

Tuesday (January 17th)

·       Trope: First Responders

·       Kink: Role Play

·       Dialogue: “I thought you were nice.”

Wednesday (January 18th)

·       Trope: Wing Fic

·       Kink: Dancing (Dirty or otherwise)

·       Dialogue: “Am I your spouse or a taxi service?”

Thursday (January 19th)

·       Trope: Fake Dating

·       Kink: Lingerie/Panties

·       Dialogue: “I’m proving you wrong.”

Friday (January 20th)

·       Trope: Accidental Marriage

·       Kink: Power Play

·       Dialogue: “You’re an idiot. I married an idiot.”

Saturday (January 21st)

·       Trope: Magical/Fantasy

·       Kink: Porn (watching it or making it)

·       Dialogue: “I can’t stay long.”

NSFW Week (January 22nd—January 28th):

Sunday (January 22nd)

·       Trope: Body Swap

·       Kink: BDSM

·       Dialogue: “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

(Dialogue courtesy of @sierranovembr)

Monday (January 23rd)

·       Trope: Omegaverse

·       Kink: Dirty Talk

·       Dialogue: “That’s a whole-ass meal.”

(Dialogue courtesy of anonymous user)

Tuesday (January 24th)

·       Trope: Amnesia

·       Kink: Bruising

·       Dialogue: “He’s spoiled rotten.”

Wednesday (January 25th)

·       Trope: First Kiss

·       Kink: Mental/Psychic Sex

·       Dialogue: “Pillows are overrated.”

Thursday (January 26th)

·       Trope: Fix-It Fic

·       Kink: Fuck-or-die/Sex Pollen

·       Dialogue: “It’s important that I listen to this.”

Friday (January 27th)

·       Trope: Forbidden Love

·       Kink: Phone Sex

·       Dialogue: “That’s open for discussion.”

Saturday (January 28th)

·       Trope: Sharing Body Heat

·       Kink: Tentacles

·       Dialogue: “Take the long way around.”

As you can see, there are three days left of January after this—those can be used as free days! Create whatever you like, whatever prompts you decide, so long as someone bites Tony’s ass! If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to send in an ask!

#bite tony's ass fest

[indigo-corvus]

Banana Splits Christmas Headcanons, GO! Spew em’ out! Even if it’s the eve of christmas- but oh well- I’ll reblog your respose with my silly ol’ headcanons in return in the tags.

*CRACKS KNUCKLES* Here we go!

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

- The Splits always decorate the clubhouse a day or two after Thanksgiving (depending on how full they are)

-Fleegle, (naturally) takes the lead in decorating, deciding where and when things should be hung.

-Fleegle and Snorky make sure no corner goes undecorated! There's tinsel and garlands everywhere, bows above every window, etc.

-Snorky loves all of the lights, and will sometimes sleep in the main room of the clubhouse to watch them blink as he drifts off to sleep.

-Bingo on the other hand, loves the decorations, but Hates being the one to put them up. He just likes putting the star up on the tree and then marveling at "all his hard work".

-The caroling begins literally the second the star lights up, and doesn't stop until January.

-It's mostly Snorky, Drooper, and Fleegle that do it All Day Every Day, but if he is in the room, Bingo will often be persuaded to join in. Their harmony is amazing, since they're so used to singing/recording together!

-Fleegle likes to read The Night Before Christmas to everyone on the 24th. He sits in the armchair and they all gather 'round.

-Bingo watches The Nightmare Before Christmas every year, even though Fleegle INSISTS it's a Halloween movie only. This "fight" happens Every Year. (It's more like a silly back and forth)

-Snorky goes Full Baking Mode, and pumps out 2 dozen cookies every other day. (He knows that the gang can't resist his famous snickerdoodles and decorated sugar cookies)

- Sometimes the boys help him out with the cookie decorating and turn it into a party! (It's always a good time with the Splits around!)

-Drooper is always extra careful with his tail this time of year! He doesn't want it to be confused for a garland, or to mess up any of the decorations they worked so hard on.

-Bingo makes The Best eggnog ever! (Family recipe!) It's spiced and creamy, and it's always gone the same day he makes it. (Sometimes he adds a little bit of rum to his nog when nobody's looking!)

-Drooper loves the old school Rankin Bass Christmas specials! His favorite is the Rudolph and he likes the Burl Ives snowman.

-Snorky loves hosting ugly Christmas sweater parties! He makes his own sweater every year. :)

-Fleegle is a very practical gift giver! He will gift something he knows will be useful, that is related to the gang's interests. (Paintbrush sets, cameras, etc)

-Snorky is a sentimental gifter! He will give a picture of everyone hanging out in a really pretty frame, a scrapbook, or something else that has a lot of meaning behind it, with a very heartfelt letter of friendship.

-Bingo is a silly gift giver, and will often get gag gifts followed by an actual gift. Snakes in a fake peanut brittle can with a nice quality sweater, 6 individually wrapped copies of Space Jam with a movie that one of them actually wants to see, one soap that smells like buttered popcorn and one that smells like honey or whatever.

-Drooper is all about the music, and will gift an instrument that the other hasn't tried to play yet. (Hard to do, since they are all fabulous musicians and try new instruments all the time!)

-Snorky and Drooper are the gift wrappers. Fleegle and Bingo are just terrible at it lol. Fleegle over complicates the wrapping, and Bingo is a very messy present wrapper lol.

-Every year they leave out a plate of milk and cookies, and every year, Ogre sneaks out and eats them. The gang always thinks it's Santa.

Happy holidays everyone! Happy Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc!

May your next year be merry and bright!

#the banana splits #banana splits hc #hannah barbera #this is for all versions of them btw

[skateboardtotheheart]

Please, give us some Christmas headcannons I beg you! They are freaking adorable and I have butterflies in my stomach reading them 🥺

omg hell yeah i'll give you some christmas headcanons!!

wille has never been a huge fan of christmas because at the castle it usually means a lot of press and events and always getting stuck wearing uncomfortable clothes. the only part of christmas he ever did enjoy once he outgrew the childhood wonder was sneaking away on the 24th to exchange gifts with erik

simon LOVES christmas. he gets in the spirit on november 1st and doesn't let it go until well into january 

the christmas after the video was the worst one either of them have ever had. they were both utterly miserable and wallowed and grieved the entire day. after getting back together and discussing how awful it had been for them both, Simon declared that it didn't count and they should get a do over. the next weekend, wille went over to simon's to find his boyfriend's room turned into a christmas wonderland and they spent the whole day watching children's movies, wearing warm sweaters, drinking a saved bottle of christmas soda, and exchanging gifts. it's the happiest wille has ever been on a christmas, even if it wasn't the actual holiday

simon buys them matching ugly sweaters. wille tries so hard to be nice because of how excited simon is about it but looking at the thing honestly makes him want to tear it to shreds, it's so awful. it has pompoms and bells and lights that work. he wears it every time simon asks him to and when the season is done he puts it protectively in the back of his closet

they both struggle like crazy to get each other a gift. wille doesn't want to get something that makes simon freak out about how much it costs and simon knows he can't spend as much money as the types of gifts wille might be used to. they both freak out about it until on two separate occasions, felice smacks them upside the head and tells them to just do something meaningful and sweet

in the end, wille writes simon a lengthy letter about how happy simon makes him and how much he loves him, pairing it with a framed print out of simon's favorite photo of them. simon lands on doing a handful of recordings of him singing some of wille's favorite songs which he thinks sound really bad but make wille cry. both of them struggle to stop smiling for D A Y S

simon makes it look like the holidays threw up in wille's room. he walks in one day to find tinsel everywhere and handcut snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and a soft candycane blanket on his bed and snowmen EVERYWHERE and he has never regretted leaving simon alone in his room more. even still, he doesn't take down a single thing and enjoys the way simon's eyes light up when he sees that wille left it all

since wille has to be at the castle for the 24th, he does a celebration with the eriksson family on the 22nd before he leaves. linda cooks a feast and wille insists on helping her out while simon and sara are both in the living room, shouting updates about what's going on in the overly cheesy christmas romcom on tv. it's so warm and comfortable and happy that wille practically forgets why he doesn't like christmas in the first place

wille still buys erik christmas gifts. on the 24th, during the late afternoon as it always was, wille sneaks into erik's room to put the gift in one of the now emptied out drawers. he's pretty sure most of the staff knows he's been doing it, but none of them say anything and the gifts are still there the next time he's in the room

even though he’s not a christmas guy, wille really does love winter (one of the reasons he allows simon’s decorating a pass). he’s the cheesy one who buys them both hot chocolate and drags simon on a stroll through the middle of town while snow drifts down around them. when simon starts getting too cold wille wraps simon in his own scarf and lets simon stick both his hands in wille’s coat pockets for extra warmth. at least five times he can’t resist the urge to lean in and kiss the tip of simon’s nose. it’s like something straight out of a movie and the next day, there’s pictures on the internet of the crown prince and his boyfriend huddled together as snow falls from the dark night sky and besotted smiles take up their faces

simon is an extremely skilled snowball fighter from years of doing them with rosh and ayub. wille has never had a snowball fight in his life but is determined that he will beat simon. the game has been going on and off for weeks now. they’ve both recruited classmates for sneak attacks on the other and now nearly every other first year is involved. it has become a war. there is no ceasefire in sight. chaos reigns on the hillerska campus

#young royals #young royals headcanon #young royals season 2 #prince wilhelm #simon eriksson #wilmon #yr s2 spoilers #christmas #winter #christmas headcanon

[someone-you-do-not-know]

I will ask about Christmas in the hole and Christmas and green forests

Thank you, Stars. You understand my need to be insane about things.

This is the strange story of the worst Christmas calendar ever aired on Danish TV – maybe on any TV ever. And everything around it. Gonna put it under a read more, because uh. The lore is extensive.

Jul og grønne skove or Jul i hullet (Christmas and green forests, nickname: Christmas in the hole) – a ramble:

Okay, we're going back in time, to the year of 1980. Back then, Christmas calendars wasn't as much of a serious thing, as it was just something for kids to watch for half an hour, maybe with their parents. Now, in 1979, Jul i Gammelby aired, which is hailed as one of the best of its time. My parents have talked about how that one is just really cozy and full of Christmas, which is what one would want from a Christmas calendar, of course.

So, 1980. The original plans for the yearly Christmas calendar had gone down the drain, and DR (Denmarks public radio and tv service, the only TV station at the time) had bought the rights to a moomin puppet show from Sweden instead. This show was called Mumindalen (Moomin Valley), which was also a Christmas calendar (SVT 1973). But each episode was only some 14-ish minutes long, and the time slot was for 24-ish minutes, so they had to fill in the time with something.

What does one do? You go to the hosts for the youth department, and ask them to come up with something. There was no time or money to do anything as extravagant as the show airing last year. They had 24 days to write a script, they filmed each episode on the day it aired. There was two men, a remote controlled camera, and a time slot to fill every day for 24 days. The situation was desperate.

The men were Poul Nesgaard and Elith "Nulle" Nykjær Jørgensen. The concept they had come up with? It's a peculiar one. To prove the existence of Santa Claus, they go out on a quest, but fall into a hole in a forest on the 1st of December. While down there, they would answer fan mail and letters (mind you, they were big hotshots to the Danish youth). They would stay in that hole all Christmas, and the only Santa Claus in the show was at the very end. Passing by in the background.

To say the Danish TV audience were disappointed is a big understatement. Most people turned off their TV before the Moomin show had even been shown. Angry letters were sent to newspapers and to DR, everyone hated it. On the 12th of December, the top brass at DR demanded it to stop.

Poul and Nulle kept going. To keep up the appearance that they were stuck in a hole, they didn't do any interviews, having the editor Mogens Vemmer defend the decision instead. Poor guy promised next year would have more Christmas, and demanded Poul and Nulle make it more Christmas. They promised they would do it, but didn't go through with it.

The fan mail went to them, though, and some were positive. On the 21st of December, the show reached a new high or low, depending on how you look at it. A cave man covers the camera a few minutes into the episode, and the rest of it is a "Technical difficulties, please stand by" screen, interrupted with the Moomin show. People thought it was unplanned and sloppy, a storm of phone calls went to DR to complain. On the 24th of December, it was over, and the criticism finally got to Poul. At least it was over. Except it wasn't.

There was a meeting in January, to hold people responsible, but a single letter from a principal singing its praise made the top brass doubt themselves. Maybe they hadn't understood the show? Maybe there was some merit to it? Poul has decided to remember it as a success. The next year, the Christmas calendar was full of Christmas, and with a small reference to the horrible, yet iconic calendar of 1980, where the two men finally got out of the hole.

I've watched some of it. All of the first episode, and some snippets of later episodes. It's... It's odd. It's definitely not the most Christmas-y show. But I say, it would've done numbers on Youtube in the 2010s. They were 30 years too early. The zany humour and home video vibe would've been perfect. Poul and Nulle were visionaries, they just didn't have the right medium. This is my opinion at least.

Now, it's time for the much stranger story of the archives of the worst Christmas calendar ever.

Because no. It doesn't end. Danish journalist Anders Lund Madsen has made a 24 episode radio program called Hullet i Jorden (The hole in the ground) to investigate what happened and what came next, and I must admit, I haven't listened to it yet.

Thing is, there's a whole conspiracy theory about this Christmas calendar.

Since Christmas calendars of the past occasionally get to grace the screen again, it's not customary to delete the archives, which is why we can watch many of the old shows again and again. Some of the very oldest were overwritten though, to make space for the News broadcasts, which is why we only have scraps left of some of the shows from the 60s. But this happened to Jul og grønne skove, and pretty early after the show had aired too. DR's archives for the show? GONE.

A viewer had recorded all episodes, and DR found out, so they asked him to send them in a taxi so they could get them back. The VHS tapes? GONE. He's tried to contact DR several times, but no one has been able to answer what happened.

Remember how I mentioned Poul and Nulle got out of the blasted hole in the Christmas calendar of 1981? Well. That clip, guess what? IT'S GONE. Someone cut it out for the rerun in 1987. A woman working for DR's archives stubbornly looked for that clip, and that's how she found the clip.

Only half the episodes are available on DR's archival site, Bonanza, and the rest are lost media. The conspiracy theory is that someone working at DR has purposefully worked to erase this blight on Christmas calendars from existence. Is that the truth? I don't know, but I do know that it has been erased in part three times.

I hoped you enjoyed this walk down the insane history of the worst Christmas calendar ever.

Sources: https://juleweb.dk/julekalendere/jul-og-groenne-skove/ https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/webfeature/poul-og-nulle https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/historie/konspirationsteori-nogen-vil-skaffe-skandaleramt-dr-julekalender-af-vejen

#thank you for the ask! <3 #seriously #Thank you #starsmadeinheaven #jul og grønne skove #jul i hullet #christmas calendar #denmark posting #denmark #poul og nulle i hullet #This is so insane I'm so happy to finally talk about it

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — January 22-28

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

01-22 → Zhang Su posted a douyin a few minutes before midnight, leaving the comment on it, “New Year's Eve~ Those who spit at me are really meaningless, I have never hurt him, so you can spit whatever you want~ If you still support him, go support his new songs and trendy brand~ As his friend of 18 years, it’s not that you make friends just for show, there are some things you can’t help if you don’t believe it, time will prove it” [screenshot] (I’m not linking the douyin itself because I don’t want to give him traffic, DM me if you want the link) This was well timed, as Flora finished the wiki page for him the following day, which outlines exactly what a good “friend of 18 years” he’s been. 

→ #GongJun and #HappyJunZhe2023 trended on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted three photos of him from 12-31 holding Lunar New Year’s items. Caption: “At the beginning of the new year, window stenciles are posted, the red envelopes are full of blessings, and spring comes. Chinese New Year's Day is destined to be the beginning of good luck, remember to turn on the TV today and watch the boss @ Gong Jun Simon!” 

→ The Weibo account for Fox Spirit Matchmaker posted a new poster for the show featuring Gong Jun and the female lead Yang Mi.

→ Gong Jun posted a promotional image for the Youth Exhibition program he would appear in on 01-24. Caption: “In the new year, I hope to jump out of my comfort zone and see more scenery that I’ve never seen before.  In the brand-new Year of the Rabbit, I also wish you a bright future and to not to shrink back. On January 24th at 20:00 on the third day of the Chinese New Year, I will take you into a special ‘Youth Exhibition’, remember to come and see it!”

→ 361° posted two photo ads [here] and [here] featuring Gong Jun.

→ The Instagram posted a video of “Zhang Zhehan”, “Zhang Mama”, and “Zhang Zhehan’s nephew” sending New Year’s greetings.

→ Gong Jun’s studio reposted a video by People’s Daily of Gong Jun’s Dragon TV appearance that would air later (full videos linked below) with the added caption: “Fighting with swords in the jianghu, living a bold life, watch boss @ Gong Jun Simon's chivalrous transformation tonight! In the coming year, I wish everyone good luck and a happy New Year!”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted sixteen photos from his Dragon TV appearance. Caption: “The whirling chivalrous man, willful and dashing, boss @ Gong Jun Simon is free and unrestrained, happily singing a song of the jianghu.”

→ Gong Jun posted a douyin of himself in his outfit from his later Beijing TV performance. Caption: “There are a lot of ‘skins’ in the New Year!🤓” BGM is Rollin by Calvin Harris.

→ Gong Jun appeared on Dragon TV’s Spring Festival Gala, where he performed 刀剑如梦 originally by Wakin Chau and did some magic tricks. [performance] [translated lyrics] [subbed magic tricks] (cw a bunny falls, no obvious signs that it was hurt) Fan Observations:   -  The hanfu worn by some of the backup dancers (below) is the same one that Zhang Zhehan wore on 2021-07-14. At that time, fans of another artist whom I will refrain from naming slandered Zhang Zhehan online, claiming that the outfit had been made exclusively for that artist who had worn it previously. The use of the hanfu here—and for multiple backup dancers nonetheless—is pretty much spitting in the faces of those people.  -  During the first part of the performance, there’s an illustrated cherry tree with a single white blossom.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted nine photos of Gong Jun in the outfit from his later Beijing TV performance. Caption: “The green shirt welcomes the spring, smelling the snow on the branches. Boss @ Gong Jun Simon is going to the Chinese New Year appointment at the #Beijing TV Spring Festival Gala# tonight!”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a douyin of him from the above photoshoot. Caption: “Snow is falling, green shirts are fluttering, and boss @ Gong Jun Simon starts the first work diary of the lunar calendar 🐰 year!” BGM is 探窗 (钢琴版) by 汐音社.

→ Gong Jun appeared on Beijing TV’s Spring Festival Gala, performing the song Blood Actor originally by HITA. [performance] [lyric video with contextual info] Fan Observations:   -  Some drew parallels between the lyrics of this song and those of the song Zhang Zhehan recited part of on 2021-07-26.  -  As mentioned in last week’s post, HITA is openly and actively a CPF. [Here] is a song she wrote specifically for them. 😊

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted nine photos from his Beijing TV performance. Caption: “The rhyme of the opera is melodious, and the music and shadow overlap. Boss @ Gong Jun Simon's green shirt appeared, tasting the meaning of rhythm and leading the elegance of the country.”

→ #Gong Jun sings beautifully# trended at #9 on Weibo hotsearch, and #GongJun, #龚俊Simon, and Junjun trended on Twitter.

01-23 → Hsu Fu Chi posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Fresh posted four gifs of Gong Jun.

01-24 → Hsu Fu Chi posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. Fan Observation: Someone mentioned that they’ve been using these same photos for ages, so I checked and they've been using this specific one since literally the first day of their endorsement on 2021-10-29. 🤡 Judging by hairstyles, I would guess he hasn’t done more than MAYBE three photoshoots for them, if I’m being generous.

→ Fresh posted four more gifs of Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted two photos of him from the 2023 Online Audio-Visual Ceremony he would appear in that evening. Caption: “Firm and proud, hard-blooded. Tonight at 20:00 boss @ Gong Jun Simon stars in ‘Youth History’, recalling the heroic years of the past and expressing the spirit of the times.”

→ Gong Jun appeared in the 2023 Online Audio-Visual Ceremony, performing in a group song and acting in a skit. [full performance] (no subs yet)

01-25 → The Instagram posted a video of a clip from a fourth stolen song that would be released the following day. This was 洪荒剧场, the same song mentioned above that the real Zhang Zhehan had recited some of during his livestream on 2021-07-26, which was intended to debut it at the cancelled concert. (Quite coincidental timing, if you ask me.) Fan Observation: The photos used were leaked by August 2022, and the song demo was leaked in October 2021.

Also, the Instagram’s pfp was changed again, now to one of the most recent white haired photos. This might have happened a day or two earlier before I noticed.

→ Gong Jun made a post promoting the new drama Turn on the Right Way of Life. Caption: “Support Bo-ge's new drama! ... Catch up tonight!”​​

01-26 → The fourth stolen song was released. In the credits, it lists only Zhang Zhehan as the lyricist despite the real Zhang Zhehan having mentioned that it was written by Tang Tian.

→ Hsu Fu Chi posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun posted nine illustrations of the God of Wealth. Caption: “God of Wealth, God of Wealth, look at me! ! !” Fan Observation: The eighth picture was used by Zhang Zhehan as a pfp when he first made the Super3 Instagram account.

→ #ZhangZhehan trended on Twitter.

01-27 → #ZhangZhehan continued to trend on Twitter, #TheRealZhangZhehan also trended.

→ Wang Yixu, the CEO of STELLAR Pictures responded to a question on Weibo, saying that both Rising with the Wind and Fox Spirit Matchmaker will include songs performed by Gong Jun.

→ The Instagram posted a video of “Zhang Zhehan” playing basketball. 

01-28 → #TheRealZhangZhehan continued to trend on Twitter.

→ MARRSGREEN posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Kangshifu posted three photo ads featuring Gong Jun.

→ Addition 01-29: The Instagram posted a video of “Zhang Zhehan” playing with fireworks; this video had been posted to Weibo the previous day. [Here] is a video highlighting a glitch in the deepfake.

Additional Reading: → Flora’s daily fan news  → Flora also finished the wiki page for Xie Yihua this week.

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This post was last edited 2023-01-29.

#Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #Word of Honor #woh cast #lld timeline

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

chapter 15

tags: @illiana-mystery, @eroticaplush, @onedirectionlovers2014

warnings: meeting the parents, swearing

I smiled at my mom as I finished getting the drinks out of the fridge. Dan looked over his shoulder and jumped up when he saw me carrying several cups on a tray. He reached out to steady it as he distributed the cups. I smiled up at him as he then moved to help my mom.

“so how long have the two of you actually been together?” My dad asked. I swallowed hard as I settled in the loveseat. Dan sat besides me and reached for my hand. I squeezed it but made sure to keep a good distance between us.

“Uh a few months now?” Dan asked me. I smiled at him and laughed softly.

“Five months.” Dans expression went vacant for a second before he nodded.

“That…sounds about right.” He smiled at me. My mom laughed and gently nudged my dad.

“what’s your anniversary Dan?” My mom asked, sending a wink in my direction. I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laugh. Dan looked over at me, clearly lost.

“(Y/N)?” Dan asked, his eyes pleading with me to help him out. “Please?” My parents started laughing and I moved over so I was sitting closer to him. Wrapping my arms around dans, I leaned into him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“it’s ok.” I whispered. “My dad doesn’t remember this stuff either. She’s trying to make a joke.” Dan sighed and nodded. “January 24th.” I turned towards my mom as I laid my head on Dans shoulder. He squeezed the hand that still held onto his. "But we've known each other for a while." Dan smiled at me.

"This is one I know." He teased. "We'd known each other about a year before we started dating." My mom looked at my dad and he nodded. Dan leaned over to grab the cup he had put on the coffee table.

"So Dan, what are your intensions with (Y/N)?" My dad asked right as Dan took a drink. Dan's eyes went wide and nearly spit out the drink. I leaned forward to look at him, shooting my dad a glare. "Sorry." He laughed.

“come on dad. That isn’t funny.” I rubbed circles onto dans back as he slowly seemed to get himself under control again. My mom gently hit my dads arm and Dan looked over at me, a small smile on his face even though he had turned slightly red.

“It’s alright (Y/N).” Dan whispered. I sighed but nodded. “My intention is to be the best partner I can be for your child. I want to be there for them when they need me and I want to take care of them. Even if they don’t want me to.” I rolled my eyes at him before leaning my head against his shoulder again. “Things were…put into perspective after our fight. I don’t want to do anything to hurt them. Ever again.” Dan leaned his head against mine. I hummed happily as he kissed my temple.

“you didn’t really have to answer that.” My dad said with a smile. “But I appreciate that you did.” Dan released my hand and wrapped his arm around me.

“you two are cute together.” My mom commented. I blushed and looked up at Dan. He leaned down to kiss me before blushing himself, remembering who was in front of him. “Where did you go on your first date?” Dan blushed deeper.

“this French restaurant around the corner.” I answered. “It was really nice. We got to actually just sit and talk without it being about work or the other people we work with.” Dan nodded.

“Although if we keep going there I’ll have to teach this one French.” Dan teased. I rolled my eyes at him with a smile.

“or you could just order for me.” I suggested. Dan rolled his eyes at me.

“it’s getting late.” My dad looked at his watch. I furrowed my eyebrows at Dan, having seen the time on his watch not long ago. “Don’t you think we should be going back to the hotel?” My mom nodded. I slowly stood up and followed my mom to the door. I saw Dan hang back with my dad.

“what’s that about?” I asked. My mom shrugged with a smile. I sighed and hung my head. “We didn’t plan on making out on the couch. It just happened.” My mom laughed.

“and beyond that?” I groaned.

“he would have been gone by morning. His car is parked out front.” I said. “If we had stuck to our original plan, Dan wouldn’t even have spent the night. He would have gone to his apartment in a few hours. And I would spend the weekend with you guys.” My mom gave me a knowing smile.

“you weren’t going to introduce us this weekend we’re you?” I shook my head as I met her eye.

“I’m sorry. But no.” I admitted.

“you know we don’t care right?” She asked. I raised an eyebrow at her. “The age difference.” I made a noise in understanding. “I always said you would end up with someone older than you. I never specified how much older.” I laughed quietly.

“you do know Dan is 75 right?” My mom shrugged.

“so what? You’re happy with him right?” she asked.

“Happier than I’ve ever been.” I confirmed. My mom smiled and gave me a hug as she saw Dan and my dad walking towards us.

“Then that’s all that matters.” She tried to kiss my cheek but I pulled away. Laughing, my mom went to stand by my dad. Dan shook their hands and my dad gave me a hug.

“We’ll see you tomorrow.” My dad said. “Just maybe take your phone off vibrate so we don’t catch you at a bad time again.” I blushed and moved to stand next to Dan.

“will do.” I mock saluted and watched them head out of my apartment. I locked the door after and leaned against it. “So…those are my parents.” Dan chuckled at my response.

“they seem nice.” I nodded and walked over to hug him. “Your dad had the talk with me.” I groaned as I buried my face in his chest.

“please tell me he didn’t threaten you.” I sighed.

“no. But he did tell me that if I have you any more grief I’d be meeting your cousins.” I laughed and pulled away from him.

“yeah like they’ll do anything.” I smiled. “Protective but without bite.” I shrugged as Dan leaned down to kiss me.

“he also said that it was alright.” Dans eyebrows went up. I nodded.

“so did my mom.” I confirmed. We enjoyed the hug for a while before I spoke up again. “I think they approve. Which is a good thing.” Dan nodded and rested his chin on top of my head. “You want to come with tomorrow? I think we’re getting lunch and then they’ll come see court.” Dan shook his head.

“no. You deserve some time alone with them.” He mused. “I’ll get you at night.” I whined slightly and Dan laughed. “I’m okay with that. As long as I get some time with you I’m happy.” Dan pulled back and tilted my head back by cupping my chin.

“yeah?” I asked. Dan nodded.

“yeah.” He leaned down to kiss me. “I love you.” I hummed happily as I ran my fingers through his hair.

“I love you too.” Curling a piece of hair around my finger, I stared up at him. “Bed?” Picking me up, Dan laughed.

“Bed.” He agreed as he carried me into my bedroom.

#john larroquette #john larroquette imagine #john larroquette fanfic #john larroquette fanfiction #john larroquette x reader #dan fielding #dan fielding imagine #dan fielding x reader #dan fielding fanfic #dan fielding fanfiction #old enough #old enough series

[samfuckassbobwinchester]

Summary: Summary: Bobby, Sam, Katherine and Dean come together to celebrate Deans 16th birthday.

Trigger warnings: Curses, Mentions of John Winchester (I very much dislike the man), mentions of sex like once.

Authors Note: Writing fanfiction is literally so much fun and kinda addicting. Here's a tiny piece I had done and liked. Let me know what y'all think, I'm still kinda new to supernatural but I love the show too much to not try and write something. Just a huge flashback piece really, family fluff. The italics are flashbacks. My grammar is also shaky, it is edited just as a far warning. Hope y'all like it 🤎.

Word Count: 9.7k

Apple pie life: 1995

January 24th/ 1995

Bobby stood at the door as the large white dog sat beside him. They watched as Katherine cracked open the box, spilling all the pieces out in a heap on the table. Bobby looked up at Katherine, as Jackie walked over hopping up on a chair sitting with Katherine. "Well hello ma'am, don't we look pretty today?" She asked, scratching under Jackie's chin, kissing the side of her head before she continued making an outline of the border. He picked up the box," Snakes of the Garden?" He asked picking up the cardboard box and inspected the picture on the front.

The front was covered in leaves and scattered flowers. Varying in size and colour, some red and some white. There was even a light pink one. And there were four snakes in total: A red one with white triangles going down its back into a winding tail. A yellow one with white markings, swirl like markings on its body. A beige one that out of all three was the only one with a true snake skin like etchings on it in black. And lastly another beige one covered in yellow dots. "Yup," Katherine said, not looking up as she began sorting out the snake and flower pieces into separate piles," Sam thought I would like it. So Dean got it for him."

Bobby returned the box to the table this time laying it flat and putting it in front of Katherine. Bobby began noticing the all too familiar wrinkle between her eyebrows,"When you say got…" Bobby asked, looking at the young girl in front of him. She snorted looking up at Bobby,"I think we all know Dean's way of getting things. But it's okay cause he's the shit." "Language." "He is … really really cool." Bobby shook his head, grabbing the brim of his hat and scratching his head with it before sliding it back into place. "You're hanging out with those idjits to much." Katherine scooted the flower piles and snake piles to the right of the table and moved all the greenery farther to the left side of the table as she began building the border. "But those idjits are my best friends."

====================================

The loud thundering of Baby racing down the dead highway as Dean tried pushing the limits for going past the speed limit. Sam gripped the seatbelt that held him to the chair as he watched the trees and night whip past the car. " I can't believe Dad gave you the car." Sam scoffed as they continued racing down the hall,"Slow down, why don't you? We're gonna attract the cops attention." Dean laughed it off turning up Bad to the Bone," Sammy you'll understand when you're older." " You're 4 years older than me." Sam called back, Dean raised a finger,"Older " Dean said laughing reaching over and ruffling Sam hair. He thumped his fingers along the steering wheel," Look Sammy for once in a long while we won't be with dad. We basically get the night off."

Sam shook his head in rhetorical disappointment,"You do realize how sad that sounds right." Dean thinks it over as he pulls his eyebrows together,"You're 12, what do you know." Dean raised a hand waving him off,"Look point is for the next however long until he gets back. Yes, it's shitty that he just walks, but it's his job. And our job as kids is to help make his life easier and just roll with the punches." Dean explained looking out the front windshield. He was in awe of their not being a cloud in the sky. Nothing illuminating but the beautiful bursts of energy floating above. Dean was in a good mood.

He has Sammy, he got the car, he got the cassettes, he even got that ridiculously to big leather jacket his dad loved. All signs were pointing to Dean. And there was nothing that could have possibly put that on a halt. It wasn't very often Dean felt like he was genuinely winning in life. He would relish in his winning, even if his winnings were hand me downs that had nothing to do with Dean. That it had everything to do with John unloading anything he can onto Dean. "Yes except when Dad comes back to us to take those punches out on us." Sam said disgruntled as continued staring out the window.

"You know I don't know why you are so pessimistic about having a day off. Just be happy about the fact that we are not on a hunt. You won't have school, I finally got a set of wheel-" "That is on a loaner." Sam pointed out,"I finally have a set of wheels," Dean started talking over Sam," I promise, Dad won't lay a hand on you as long as I'm alive, okay? Like I said enough of the pasamissim, I don't get in a good mood often don't kill it." Dean finished off smiling at Sammy as he lowered the volume a smidge,"You get some sleep, we'll be at uncle Bobby's by tomm-" "So it doesn't bother you when he ships us off to uncle Bobby's out of convenience?" Dean thought over Sam's question,"I think it's not my place to ask and it shouldn't be yours. Dad knows what he is doing. Trust me, go to sleep." "Bu-" " Sam."

Dean took a deep breath as he tightened a hold on the wheel subtly. "Just enjoy the road trip with your big brother." Sam looked down at his hands as he began picking at the ends of his hoodie. He nodded and laid his head against the window, closing his eyes. Head bumping the window every now and again as the drive continued. Dean's eyes flickered over to Sam's now leaning figure as he got comfortable. He reached behind him in the back seat grabbing his jacket. He slowed the car down to open it and lay it on Sam. He laid a soft hand on his shoulder and left it there a few seconds removing it and started driving again.

If there was anything Dean hated more in life than Sam not having stability. Is Sam asking questions he can't answer, he understands that this is their life. He understands that the life they have is about surviving and not living. He also understands how he hates it, but endures it for Sammy. Dean couldn't picture a day where he would leave Sammy alone. The thought brought very little comfort like a shock blanket being given to someone for comfort. He just hoped nearly prayed, he was more than temporary comfort for Sam. Dean cleared his throat plastering that good ole Winchester smile on and kept thinking about how he lucked out. I got Baby.

====================================

He smiled as he pulled into the familiar auto shop. The familiar rows of cars filled his sight as he pulled into the garage. Going to his usual side, putting the car in park. Dean cut the engine pulling the keys from the ignition turning towards Sam staring a minute before growing a villainous smirk. He grabbed Sam's shoulders quickly, shaking him yelling incoherently. "WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!" Sam yelled in distress and he swung his arms wildly around him. Dean began laughing so hard tears rolled down his cheeks watching his brother have a full on meltdown.

He wished he grabbed his camera in time. Sam breathed heavily finally opening his eyes looking to the fiend to his left,"What the shit dude!?" "We're here grab your bag." Dean said, grabbing the jacket from the seat where it fell from Sam's body. He grabbed the door handle pulling it open,"Jerk," Sam called out to his older brother as he stepped out of the car. "Bitch." Dean called before closing the door to Baby as he coughed still laughing from earlier events. He welcomed the cold air of South Dakota as his cheeks quickly reddened from the cold weather quickly rushing on his jacket making his way quickly to the trunk. Grabbing his bag and Sammy's reaching up to close the trunk.

He grabbed the trunk lid slamming it shut seeing Sam come around the corner. "Again you choose to come visit Bobby during the coldest month because?" Dean shook his head,"It's not about the cold. Come on." He jerked his head towards the house as they made the trek. Making it to the door Sam rubbed his hands together breathing into them as his ears turned pink, Dean knocked harshly onto the door waiting for the familiar old face to greet them. But no one did, so Dean knocked again, this time being met with loud barking that rang from dean assumed upstairs as it raced closer and closer to the door. "Maybe he isn't home?" Sam asked from behind Dean, "He isn't but Jackie is."

Thank god for key copying. He slid the key into the hole and twisted it. As soon as he opened the door he met with the large white ball plowing straight into him, knocking him on his back as the white dog began barking and whining in excitement licking Dean's face. Sam just looked at the two patting Jackie on the head walking in the house leaving his brother on the porch. As he opened the door stepping into his familiar home. Same smell it had been for years: smoke, whiskey and spice. One he welcomed with open arms as he opened the doors holding it for Sammy as he stepped into the house. "Uncle Bobby?" Sam called out, again being met with silence. "Thanks for the help Sammy." Dean said, finally walking behind Sammy and Jackie trotted in quickly as Dean closed the door.

Sam turned and looked at Dean and shrugged confused,"What do we do?" Dean shrugged back,"Go upstairs and unpack sleep, unwind you get the point." Dean smiled sarcastically, finding purchase on Bobby's couch laying down pulling a blanket he saw on the arm pulling it on top of him and passed out. Jackie follows and sleeps on the floor at Dean's head. Sam looked at Dean and shook his head at him. He grabbed Dean's fallen boots and placed them by the end of the couch and placed his bag next to them. He turned around to go up the stairs and spotted the fallen coat that laid a stray on the ground. He walked over picking it up dusting it off before placing it on a hook by the door. He turned walking to the staircase making his way up the steps turning to the left going to the familiar spare bedroom.

He twisted the cool iron door handle and pushed the door open. He smiled as he was met with the simple bedroom. A simple rectangle gray rug laid on the wooden floor, to the left center there was a simple bed, the sheets black and the bedding blue and two white pillows. Although if he were being honest they were more faded blue thrifted quilts Bobby had found finding more kids would be in the house and didn't want them to freeze. On both sides of the bed lay bedside tables one had a lamp and the other had a light up light switch. That when you lifted the switch up and down the tiny box illuminated. Bobby had this when he found the boy sprawled out on either side of the bed at times reading or doing homework and deciding it would be easier if Sam had multiple storage areas.

Sam walked over to the bed and looked out the window that sat across from him. It looked into the woods, while comforting for some. It left Sam with a feeling of unease. Since he was a kid it was a nasty feeling ripple that feeling like someone wrapped their hands around his spine and squeezed. Also realizing he was in Bobby's house his body went back relaxing knowing that here he had no reason to be afraid. But that didn't stop him from sleeping with the window closed and curtain covering it and sleeping with his back to it. He sat down onto the bed and leaned down untying his shoes leaving them on the floor going straight under the covers knocking his duffle bag onto the floor with a thud as he drifted off.

====================================

"Pie crust last thing kid?" He asked the young girl holding onto the arm band she wore kept sliding down her arm. Occasionally she would slide it back up, but now she let it hang just above her elbow,"Kid?" She looked up at Bobby nodding her head,"I said yes." She looked straight ahead as Bobby grabbed one of the red and blue boxes, putting it in the cart. He began pushing it forward as they made their way out of the market to checkout Katherine as she began unloading the ingredients onto the checkout belt. Out of the corner of her eye she saw key chains and she walked over the few feet and looked over them. Some say I love South Dakota, some have the state itself. Initials, names, animals, letters etc.

She kept looking and saw a cartoon section, she was excited. She read Jem, thundercats, my neighbour Totoro. She had to make a mental reminder to watch it with the boys another day. Her personal favourite smurfs, Scooby Doo, and her eyes struck gold meeting garfield. She grabbed the keychain handing it to Bobby as he was going to pay walking back other to him holding the edge of his vest that he wore. Once everything was paid and bagged she helped Bobby put the bags in the cart and once again took her place at the edge my Bobby as they left. She told the lady thank you as they made their exit going to Bobby's brown mustang.

They unloaded all of the bags into Bobby's trunk and it slammed closed,"Can I go out the cart back?" The old man nodded at the girl as he leaned against the driver's side watching her push the cart to the cart holder. Katherine's little feet padded quickly as she burst into a sprint coming back to the car. A small victory made her face light up," Big yearold task complete." She said with a resounding smile as she put her hands on her hips. Bobby held a private proud smile on his lips as he raised his hand (more lowered) to her tiny frame as they made a resounding clap when they met. "Front or back?" Bobby asked offering Katherine the choice, sometimes she liked to sit up front to feel older and powerful with the speed. But also the majority of the time the speed sometimes felt like a lot for Katherine. She often found solace in not being directly in the eye of the beast.

Even if the beast was something as small as a clear windshield. But she found comfort in the seatbelt and being behind the man she saw nothing but stars and radiance for. "Backseat!" She said with a laugh as Bobby opened the door for her as she climbed into the car he closed the door behind her turning around to his door opening it and swinging it open. You could hear the groan in the hinges with age and maybe rust. "You all good to go kid?" Bobby asked as he reached out to close the car door. He looked into the rear view, Katherine nodded excitedly as she held onto the key chain like her life depended on it. A subtle smile crawled its way onto Bobby's face as he backed up and drove out of the store parking lot making the familiar trek home.

For a moment Bobby felt very domestic with Katherine in the backseat, the windows down just driving. How when he heard the car door hinges practically scream, he would give it to her when she was older or even build her one, teach her to build one. He for a moment, wanted to give this little girl everything he had missed, and things he didn't know he missed. Like having another person around, when Conrad brought Katherine to the house he felt something different waking up, the feeling of someone being there. In your home that you want to also be theirs, and nothing beats the sound of the laughter that haunts the walls. And he wouldn't do anything to take it back either. For a moment he could picture giving her the car as she graduated. For a moment he could hear the bickering between Katherine and Dean arguing about who got the better car. And how Dean was automatically awesome for getting a car before her. Katherine's counter argument would be he was way older, he would be that he is just swag shit cool no matter what he did. And Sam looking to Bobby for help.

But instead he would ignore Sam's desperate cry for help and drink the beer as he watched the two old friends for the upteempth time, as they got into it. Sometimes although Bobby didn't want to admit it, sometimes privately he would be thankful for this dad experience he got in helping raise these kids. That despite never having kids because he was so afraid of being a carbon copy of his dad. That he would break them, and kids are pure and shouldn't have to go through what he did. Even if he understands way later on down the line, he himself was just a kid. So he would be the person he wished he had when he was younger. Because that's how it goes right? You become the person you wished you had in your life? So he tried his damndest to create a world where monsters(at least the ones who lived within your four walls) couldn't exist. Who knew the worst kind of trouble would be the kind that couldn't be held in devil's traps.

But he was her father, same for Sam and Dean. Bobby would do anything for his kids no matter what. Because of them he was able to learn blood don't end in family and it was something he ingrained into his kids. Like as you grow, life goes to shit sometimes, and in those times you meet the most unlikely of people. Some that may save you, some that may kill you, and some that may change you. It's okay to have people you never imagine being in your corner, and okay if you find a home in the most unlikely of places. Home isn't about where you sleep, it's about where you laugh and make memories. It's about where you can wake up and go to sleep and know you have a constant. That you wake up with a feeling of content that this situation what you have been fighting for. But the thing isn't you shouldn't have to fight for the right to live. Atleat that's what Bobby is still learning.

It's about the places when you walk into rooms and hear the echoes of the conversation. It's about looking at the people around you and seeing the snot nosed little shits they once were. Seeing how they have grown either with you, around you or without you. And it's okay if they do grow away. Sometimes people are only in your life for what you need. Nothing more than a short time. But that was a bit too sappy for Bobby's blood so he would just put it as be smart and not idiots, and use your brains, idjits. Or something along the lines of that. "Do you think he'll like it grandpa?" Katherine asked swiping the hair that had gotten in her face from the cracked window. "Of course he will kid. He can eat a pie under 30 minutes of you let em, and your even making his favourite one. I do smell favouritism but yes he will like it. He'll even like the keychain. Why'd you get it? He doesn't drive?"

"Because he's gonna get Uncle John's car." She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Bobby laughed in surprise,"You really think John's gonna give Dean that tank. He loves that car." "Of course he will, everything's that's Uncle John's Dean eventually gets. Including the unnecessary trauma. Plus he reminds me of how Dad gave everything or most of his hunting things passing it to Henry. Highly possible." He nods at her. Jesus, alright then. They pulled back into the Singer auto shop and put his car into park closer to the house. He turned the car off unbuckling his seat beat as he got out closing his door. Reaching for the passenger side holding it open for Katherine as she slides out of the car,"Thank you." She said walking to the trunk,"No problem kid." Bobby said, closing it, opening the trunk, grabbing their bags, holding one and setting another on the ground.

He reached up, closing the trunk as he grabbed the bag on the ground while nodding his head to Katherine as they walked to the front door. Katherine grabbed Bobby's keys from his vest pocket and bounded to the screen door, opening it and unlocking the front door. She held it open for Bobby as she stepped off to the side untying her shoes, peeling them off, and putting them by the front door. Making a mental note to bring them up to her room. Bobby walked towards the kitchen as Katherine said,"I'll be back in two seconds Grandpa!" Katherine shouted racing up the stairs to her room opening the door and tossing her shoes in. Quickly making her way downstairs,"Jackie!" Katherine whistled coming down the stairs hearing the jingle of Jackie's collar in the living room. She walked over to the couch seeing Jackie she leaned down scratching her head as her eyes flickered to the couch.

"Dean!" She screamed out, launching herself at the older Winchester. Excitement filled her entire being she thought she might start vibrating with the feeling. Katherine was expecting to see the brothers way later in the evening, definitely not around three pm. Dean jumped in fright as Bobby came marching around the corner, gun in hand. Katherine quickly threw herself back,"Wait where's Samuel?" Without waiting for an answer she quickly got off the confused half asleep boy and startedstowards the stairs. Stopping running back kissing dean on the head and going back up to the stairs,"SAMUEL!" Katherine yelled running up the stairs tripping on the last one catching herself on the railing. Not letting that deter her she ran to the guest room throwing the door open running to the bed. She jumped on it, spying a familiar head of brown hair, she began shaking him.

"Sam, Sam, Sam." Sam grumbled awake as he began swatting the hands away,"Dean not again leave me alone." "Sam, it's Katherine. Wake up!" She huffed/whined out still shaking the young man. Sam pushed the shaking arms off as he sat up blinking the sleep from his eyes. Finally opening his eyes and everything focused back into place, in front of him sat a very impatiently awaiting girl, waiting for him to get up. A familiar tug hit his heart seeing Katherine,"You awake now loser?" Katherine asked, Sam nodded and opened his arms to hug Katherine and she excitedly accepted it hugging the younger Winchester back. "What are y'all doing here so early, I thought Uncle John wasn't bringing y'all till later?" Katherine asked, still in Sam's hold.

He rested his cheek on her head,"Dad gave Dean the car, said he can take it to Bobby's for a drive since he got a truck." Katherine jumped back,"He gave him the car?" She asked excitedly, Sam laughed at her,"Yea. Get this, he's not even changing anything about the car, he is keeping it exactly as is." "To be fair this is the Dean we're talking about. He would probably want everything in his life to stay constant and be as unchanged as possible." "True." "Plus have you seen that car?" Katherine asked, feeling Sam nod against her head," 'Better than sex and nearly as good as bacon cheeseburgers' at least what I have heard Dean say." "What's sex?" Katherine asked,"I actually don't know."

"All I have to say is that car is awesome? I wouldn't either. I gotta go do something but I'll be down stairs, happy napping. I just wanted to say hi." Katherine stood up kissing Sam on the head as she turned to leave quickly going to the door grabbing and turning the knob. She turned and waved to Sam who was watching her leave. He smiled back and watched her disappear behind the door. And that stupid smile would stay on his face as he laid down staring at the ceiling. Both arms at his side as he started at the ceiling, I've gotta ask Dean how to talk to girls. Do I even talk to girls yet? What does that even mean? Does talking to girls mean sex? Maybe I gotta ask him about that too.

Katherine made her way back down stairs to see Bobby and Dean on the couch,"You got the car?" Katherine asked, coming up behind the men on the couch looking at Dean as he turned around putting his arm over the back of the couch turning to her," Well hello to you too sweetheart. And yes I did. Baby my pride and joy." "You and Henry can now race with his car." "Kate street racing is illegal." "You kill monsters, don't start talking about what's legal mister." Dean raised his hands in mock surrender looking at the younger girl. "Oh!" Katherine said out loud more for herself as she walked over to Bobby whispering in his ear about how she was supposed to go bake with Dean here? Bobby explained to her he will take care of it and stood up. Bobby stood up and clapped Dean on the shoulder telling him to go upstairs and sleep. Katherine couldn't see it but he had bags from the long drive, being the first time he had made the long drive on his own. When typically he would half it. Or do the drive in shifts with John.

But what people didn't know was that if Dean wanted to come down, he would have to make the drive. John as of recently had been on the mantra that if you're old enough to get your license you don't need to hold dear old dad's hand. Not that John was ever anything related to the word kind and gentle. But in his own way, if he could get his boys to survive that was all he needed to do.

"I'm telling you once they drive you have to let them do their own thing." Conrad said as sat on the porch next to John. John kept his gaze on the crystal glass in his hand as the bottle of whiskey sat between them. "Is that why you gave Henry that big ugly thing?" Conrad laughed as he raised the glass to his lips as the familiar woodsy scent filled his nose as the warm feeling filled his veins as he took a hefty swing. He sucked in a quick breath,"It's called being practical. You wouldn't know that with your flashy piece. Subtlety is key, besides nothing is better than functionality." Conrad said refilling his cup. Now this made John laugh genuinely," Yes because seeing that tank a mile away for sure is the subtlety you want when killing demons."

Conrad nodded," Hey don't come thank my ass when that Humvee runs down a hoard of vamps. Remember back in '60?" "You mean when you ran your old mans perfectly working bug into the brick wall?" Conrad laughed along side his friend," Yea I also remember how he kicked my ass." "But it taught you didn't it?" John asked, looking over to his long time friend. "Yea it certainly did, turn pain into a teaching moment. Now look at me prime example of where you should be." John laughed clapping a hand on his back"Yes, because you are a picture perfect version of health." Conrad snorted as John took a swing, feeling the familiar smooth rich smoky flavor coat his tongue. "It's called Conditioning."

For a split second Dean got a sad feeling in his gut hearing that. Not going to the immediate conclusion of he was obviously tired. He jumped to maybe he shouldn't have come and spending all that time on the road to get here was stupid,"Hey it's okay. I promise we can hang out later. Pinkie promise." The small girl raised a pinkie to the older boy infront of her. She noticed the sad smile that had begun to tug at his lips. Perk of being the smallest in almost any household, you notice everything (in retrospect). She just couldn't understand why he was upset.

He was at Bobby's on his birthday, and he had Sam, Bobby and Katherine. In Katherines small mind she couldn't think of anything else he could need. She also didn't really understand why Uncle John wasn't here but this she didn't quite feel like voicing. Based on the whispers written on the walls and how tight Dean kept himself wound when he was around his Dad. It gave the little girl a feeling she didn't like. It sat uncomfortable in her stomach bubbling, just slightly beneath the skin. She didn't know why Dean didn't seem to like Uncle John. But she also reminded herself that maybe that's how father's were with their sons.

It's not like she could ask anyone what it's like being a daughter. A small smile played on Dean's lips as he linked his pinkie with hers kissing his hand and she kissed hers. Sealing a silent promise between the two,"Promise to be here when I wake Kate?" "Ofcourse I'll be here." She said laughing when Dean reached down to ruffle Katherines hair, she laughed swatting the hand away. She watched Dean get up as he made his way towards the stairs. "Don't leave your stuff in the living room." Katherine scolded him watching him just up and leave. "You gonna harp on me about my laundry next Kate." She shook her head grabbing his bag handle, heaving it off of the floor bringing it to Dean,"Well someone's gotta teach you your manners."

"Amen." Bobby said quietly watching the entire exchange, not missing the smile that reached Dean's eye at Katherines natural scolding of the older Winchester. It felt as though no time truly passed. Dean laughed, taking the bag out of Katherine's hand and leaned down picking up his boots. He lifted his belongings as if they were winnings at a carnival,"Happy?" She nodded at him. She looked over at her dog,"Keep his nightmares away." She panted blinking wide eyed at the girl while panting at the girl. Jackie got up and trotted his way up the stairs walking ahead of Dean. "I don't have nightmares," Dean said "Sure and I'm not scared of the dark." "You're scared of the dark?" "You don't get nightmares?"

Surprisingly there was a time when Dean Winchester knew peace. It wasn't very long lived but it was nice when he had it. If I had a nickel for everytime Dean Winchester was happy. I'd have two nickels which isn't a lot. But it's weird it only happened twice right? Dean turned to go to the stairs,"Wait!" Katherine called throwing herself back at the hedgehog Winchester,"Happy birthday." She said muffled into his chest, and for a second it felt like a cherished whisper that tugged at his heart, only in the way Katherine always seemed to bring out. Dean caught himself from breaking into a full on grin. So he pulled on a hearty grin leaning down kissing her on the head,"Thank you angel." If Dean ever ha d a preference for living, everyone under Bobby's roof was all he genuinely could need.

Dean said into the top of her curled head, gaining enough of a mouthful of hair and bitter taste of conditioner. Who knew Bobby could be so girl dad coded. If the conditioner was Bobby's doing, Dean was impressed. "Kate you've gotta hold still." Dean said in a huff of frustration at the girl sitting in front of him. The girl whined sitting on the floor shifting uncomfortably on the floor as her butt felt as if it were falling asleep. Dean had taken it upon himself to learn how to braid Katherines hair. Well okay to just do and help manage her hair, and help her do it until she was able to get a handle on it herself.

He had been on the same braid for what felt like hours. But in reality only was 30 minutes as he had to restart a few times. Due to always losing the section of hair or not grabbing enough hair when braiding. And Dean was super anal about them looking well. Despite the complaining 7 year old on the floor twisting on the pillow. Not used to both the tightness on her head and the overbearing nature of someone in a care position. The tugging was wearing the girl thin as she twisted in the seat. Dean's slightly greased hand gently turned her head straight a few times when it came to parting.

The part turned out a bit zig zagged and crooked but it was the closest he could get with the squirming. "But I'm tired." Kate whined beneath him causing Dean to sigh out of frustration. He looked at the small clock as the time neared 9:45. "I know, but I promise you can go to sleep after. I'm almost done promise." "But you said that 20 minutes ago." "Katherine." He said in a warning tone,"I understand you're tired. I do, but we have to get this done sweet girl." She nodded as she tried sitting still, allowing him to tie off the doable looking braid. For a second Dean's eyes flickered to Sam's sleeping figure debating waking up the 8 year old.

He thought about waking Sammy up for a couple of reasons. The main one being he felt Katherine secretly had a favorite and being closer in age would make the teeth pulling activity of braids go by quicker. Sam would just talk to Katherine about any and everything. From movies, to books, to puzzles, sometimes about bugs. But that doesn't tend to be a class favourite since it reminds Sammy of the time Katherine had chased him around with a bee. Dean had told Katherine to go show Sam and how much he would like it. Katherine being the impressionable child she is didn't think twice showing her new discovery to Sammy.

But what made the experience all the more memorable was hearing the dead silent two seconds before the younger Winchester let out an earth shattering shriek. Imagine a 8 year old never had hit puberty, little boy fighting for his life as Kate began chasing him with a bee. To which Katherine in her mind must have thought 'I just have to get closer for him to like it better'. But it indeed would not get better, Dean had tears in his eyes from all the laughing he had been doing for nearly 2 weeks straight, as he watched Sam avoid Kate like the plague. Dean had the most guaranteed thought in thinking Sammy had the smallest crush on Kate from when they met. He liked her excited energy and always willing to give hugs. And that despite what most people think, they do genuinely enjoy.

But being touch starved and boys it's always comedic watching the two brush it off. But nothing beat the starstruck feeling Sammy got the first time Kate gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The wide eyed confused look he had for the girl was beyond him. But what told Dean Sammy was sold on Katherine easy. It was simple and harmless if Dean remembers correctly it was right before bed and Sammy and Katherine were talking about everything and nothing. They drank hot chocolate that Bobby had managed to scrounge up in his house. Going with the ideology of it can be cooked it can be eaten. And from how those two were giggling into their cup of molten chocolate goodness, they had no issue with it either.

They had been talking at the dining room table hands moving animatedly as the conversation grew. Breaks being taken only to take sip of their beverage or to laugh. Dean was almost sure they were 9 times out of 10 talking about him, whenever he would walk into the room hushed whispers resounded in the room. Or at least as quiet as you can get for a young kid, which was the equivalent of loud whispering. But the way they would huddle together would make it seem like they were truly in their own world. Sam shook his head wildly as he swallowed a huge gulp of the chocolatey goodness,"Hold on." He said choking as he got serious,"Hold on, hold on. Her sister was a witch right?"

Katherine nodded along,"And what was her sister?" "A princess?" Katherine guessed. "Wicked Witch of the East bro." Katherine scrunched her face confused," I don't think that's correct, a witch can't be a princess." Katherine shook her head going against Sammy's sentence. And this the younger Winchester did not like as his eyebrows shot up to his hairline,"YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME THAT I'M WRONG?! YOURE YOURE GONNA TELL ME THAT I AM WRONG. ME?!" Sam sputtered out. "Am I wrong?" Katherine asked giggling at the boys out burst. "SHE WORE A CROWN AND CAME DOWN IN A BUBBLE ERINE. THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS."

At this point he had flailed his hands around a bit getting animated into the conversation. Katherine smiled widely at Sam's expressions, how as he got more into the conversation. It slowly reeled her in with his magnetism. "Alright kids, bedtime come on, get." Bobby said walking into the kitchen clapping as he waited for Katherine. He knew she felt more comfortable when Bobby looked after her when she went to bed. She hoped down from the seat quickly walking over to Sam and kissed him the cheek. But more hitting his mole on the left side of his face. Dean watched as it seemed to shock the boy a bit as his eyes widened and he hesitated before wrapping his arms around Katherine.

As quickly as the hug started it ended as Katherine went over to Dean and doing the same before she marched up the stairs Bobby in tow behind her. Dean looked over to Sammy seeing he was still kinda stuck,"You okay Sammy?" The older brother asked his younger one. He shrugged,"I don't know. I'm not used to that, what does it mean?" Sam's wondering eyes looked up to Dean's concentrated thing of what he could say," Because hugs are sometimes a way to express happiness." "What about the kiss, you told me Mom was the only person who does that to us." " You know Kate, she is very affectionate. And it's not just mom, I meant no one in our family does it except mom."

"Is that why Dad doesn't hug us." "Hugs aren't the only way to show happiness. Dad sends us to Uncle Bobby's because he makes us happy. Come on let's get you up to bed." Sam nodded, walking up the stairs ahead of Dean making his usual way to the guest room that Sam stayed in when the boys came over and stayed with Bobby. He opened the door as Dean followed standing at the door looking over to the window,"Is it latched and locked?" "Yes Dean." "Good." He watched Sam get into bed and reach over turning off the lamp," Night Dean." "Goodnight Sammy." Dean said, walking out of his room, completely closing the door. Making his way to his room, he stopped upon hearing a giggle seep from the walls, a pause followed by more. As he heard creaking, Dean started jumped as if he had been caught somewhere he wasn't meant to be.

He quickly made it to his room. Closing the door hearing Bobby walk to Sam's door checking the tiny devils traps he has around before walking to Dean's door doin the same. Happy with his inspections a hairy smile grew before turning around and going to his bedroom. As Dean laid in the middle of his bed staring up at the ceiling he replayed the sight of Sammy and Kate talking and laughing. How easy it looked for Sammy to have and do that. Maybe it was because he never had the chance to be young and naive. And maybe that was a cold envy that clung to him like wet jeans. But it's not something he could punish either of them for for. After all who was he to to put blame on something they can’t control. They're kids, something he couldn't understand but he knew how to help and nurture. Dean smiled silently at the memory of the two as he started the final braid. This time, finishing it quicker than the first one he did, still a few pieces sat astray and come parts coming out.

But nonetheless her hair was done and it was 10:03 on the dot. "Alright,” Dean said standing up,"Up we go come-on." Dean said wiping his hand on the towel he had beside him. Wiping off the extra grease and what conditioner he could find. He had read that moisture was key to keeping curly hair healthy. In a way it… fed it? Dean didn't understand it by any means. After all what does an 11 year old know about hair really. All Dean knew how to do was pour dry cereal into a bowl and check that the milk wasn't expired past 3 days before it got that weird smell. Although a secret he had learned was you could maybe get away with 5 days if you truly truly need to use it sparingly. The weird taste he would just chalk it up to milk being finely aged. Dean knew how to get by and what he needed to.

Dean kissed the top of Kate's head again squeezing her shoulder before making the trek up the stairs and Jackie following behind. Katherine turned around to the eldest man of the house with a gleam of determination in her eyes. "Let's do this?" The girl asks unsure looking to the old man raising a fist waiting to meet his,"Let's do this." Bobby said with enough enthusiasm to make the gleam in Katherine’s eye turn happy as her smile reached her eyes as she buzzed with excitement. And happy that Bobby wanted to along with it. She had an eager bounce in her step as they made their way to the kitchen. Bobby went to the fridge where the apple pie recipe sat under a mix of reds and yellow letters that spelled out 'Dean'. Other letters that weren't vital to the name are scattered around the fridge.

He pushed all the letters up as he slid the paper out placing it on the counter as he grabbed bowls and a spoon for mixing. Katherine made work of grabbing the apples out of the fridge. And with a huff the girl got them up on the table. Struggling at trying to hold the constant shifting weight. And she walked back over to the counter trying to find the small green bottle of lime juice they had gotten at the store. Spying it by the coffee maker she walked over standing on her tippy toes trying to grab it. Her right side pressed into the counter as she reached blindly for the bottle. Her fingers scrapping the bottle turning it a few times as she came up short. Finally she finally got it in her grasp. "Yes." She celebrated her small victory going back to the table putting it on the table next to Bobby.

"Alright Ratatouille, what's first?" The small girl put her hands on her hips letting out an exasperated breath. For the next nearly two hours it had been filled with careful measuring, question after question from Katherine, going from baking to why the sky was blue. Covering every surface of the kitchen in flour aside from the actual bowl the ingredients were being mixed into. It was to the point where Bobby was sure if he looked at the floor he could find footprint tracks covering the kitchen marking the constant back and forth trek. But the important part was that Bobby remembered to preheat the oven. Bobby felt as though he could send a million thanks as praise to Marcy for helping with tips as to how to properly do this. Marcy had offered Bobby that she wouldn't mind taking the girl for a couple hours and helping her if she wanted. But Bobby politely declined being A) Bobby had no intention of letting Katherine out of his sight or grasp. And B) In some weird instinct way wanted to be the one to teach her this. He wanted to learn to do this for her and with her.

Maybe it was the cute thought of Bobby just wanted her close, that this was the closest thing he would have to a kid. But the actual factual is that Bobby could not feel more emotionally protective of the girl than he would admit out loud or even to himself. Although if Bobby were to be honest he prior to asking Mary he looked it up himself. But between the different spices and apparently different kinds of flour he found himself feeling very overwhelmed. It was also very comedic when Katherine was putting the cinnamon in and she asked how much as she just put in, but she was cut off by the heap of cinnamon that had fallen onto the mixture due to a loose cap. Katherine looked to Bobby with wide eyes. He had spent at least 10 minutes calming the freaking out girl. She was convinced she had maybe ruined the one thing she had been planning for what felt like ever. But realistically it had only been about 2 days.

But all was well when Bobby recommend they could make it look ok, and that it's the thought that counts. Now when it came to Dean, maybe not so much. Simply because he is never one to not say his, one thing about Dean Winchester when it comes to an opinion someone will hear it. Sammy has sadly always been the victim, and not that he knows it now, but its about to get a hell of a lot worse. And half the time it genuinely might be something you don't wanna hear. Or that you would eye roll or facepalm, vice versa. So after vigorous search of pie toppings, Katherine decided to go with the striped pattern. Saying the lattice looked cool and reminded her of the brothers flannels. Now she said lettuce more times than he can count, half because she was having an internal debate as she cut the pie crust with a butter knife laying them out. Bobby came to assist layering them, a comfortable silence fell over that portion of the pie dressing. Now the last part she couldn't do anything but sit on her chair and watched as Bobby slid the pie into the warm oven, she clapped at the success of her and and her grandfather.

They made quick of cleaning up and Bobby whistled as Katherine put away the silverware Bobby handed her. He put away the plates and cups into the cupboard above. Grabbing a small cup filling it with water and handed it to the young girl, she accepted with two hands saying thank you taking tiny sips. "What do you say kid, we got some time to kill, wanna finish your puzzle?" Katherine moved her hazel stare from the water to Bobby as she blinked up at him,"Do we have time?" He shrugged,"Only one way to find out." Katherine turned around heading to Bobby's study and his hunting information and grabbed the box off of one of the shelves to the far right. She laid it back down as Bobby groaned as he sat on the floor with the girl as she reopened the box, dumping puzzle pieces everywhere.

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Katherine crept into the room as she walked to Dean's bed stepping to the top of it. She poked the arm that lay outside the blanket,"Dean?" She whispered quietly trying to wake him up. She got no response, she poked him a bit harder and shook his arm,"Dean?" She asked a but louder causing the young man to jump seeing Kate so close to him in the dark room. "Sweetheart?" Dean asked sitting up back against the headboard as he reached over turning on the light illuminating the room and Katherines face as she held a grin finally accomplishing seeing the older Winchester finally awake. She grabbed his hand trying to drag him out of bed,"Come on, got something I wanna show you." Katherine said as Dean didn't budge from her gentle tug of his arm. "What is it?" He said pulling her hand from his grasp. "It's a surprise?" "Yes, so what is it?" She sighed,"Well it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it? Come on trust me." She held out her hand festering to him. He squinted at her causing her to roll her eyes at him. But he put his in hers as he followed her down stairs.

Finally clearing up from the fog of sleep, Dean noted how dark the house was. Not only from the sun soon to set but also the lights were all off. "Kate?" "Shhhh, close your eyes but follow my hand." She told him as they hit the first floor stepping off from the stairs going to the kitchen. They walked a few more short feet before telling Dean to stay. She walked away to the table holding the last hat,"Lean down a bit please?" Katherine asked, he obliged the girl as she pulled the thin elastic band down and the paper hat up. Placing it softly so it doesn't snap against him. "Okay o-" "Wait wait wait." Bobby said getting something as a flash went off and another followed. "Okay go ahead kid." She nodded at Bobby,"Okay, open em." Dean cracked his eyes open being met with candles in a … pie? '16' is what the numbers said as he looked up at Sammy, Uncle Bobby and Kate all smiled excitedly at the boy,"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Dean. Happy birthday to youuuuu! Make a wish!"

They all sang out, clapping as Dean sat blinking for a minute feeling a burn in the back of his throat, he pulled his lips into his mouth then formed a smile blowing out the candles. They all cheered and clapped and Katherine went to turn the lights back on. Coming back to the table,"Pie?" Dean asked looking at Bobby," Don't look at me. It was all her she orchestrated this shebang." Bobby said pulling out the candles putting them on a napkin, pulling out a knife cutting the Pie Dean couldn't wait to eat. But at the moment he wasn't focused on his hunger, hell or even the pie itself. She shrugged smiling shyly,"I know how much you love it so I figured why not make you what you love. Well on your birthday." She ended with a dry laugh,"Why?" Dean asked. "Cause I figured you’d like it, Although I don't eat apple pie you do." He gulped,"Well thank you." Sam took a dramatic sigh,"Le gasp did Dean Winchester just thank someone. And genuinely at that."

Bobby put finished putting out the pie for everyone before sitting down,"Careful could be a shape shifter." Bobby said as he started eating the pie. And for a minute he thought wow, when you actually follow the instructions it can taste good. Sam watched Dean sat still for a moment watching the inner realization dawn over his brother. This had been the first home cooked anything in months if it hadn't been what felt like years. Being on the road, never settling down. Motel after motel, diner after diner. But this, this felt different, it felt like comfort. It was genuine the intentions pure, something Dean didn't have to wait for the other shoe to drop. He picked up his fork and dug in bringing that same tug from earlier back as he ate the pie, which wasn't half bad for a first pie. But he knew if there could be one there could be more, it was a matter of asking. The four sat amongst each other just eating and talking till it got dark outside. Everything and nothing under the sun just enjoying that for a few minutes the house they were in was a home. Not just a place holding armour to protect them, they forgot about the devil's traps and hex bags. They forgot about the salt, they forgot about the iron. And the only silver used was in the forks they ate with.

It felt normal and content. Between throwing his head back in a billowing laugh to Sam bickering with his brother, and the lines by Bobby's eyes that seemed extra pronounced that night and Katherines never ending laughter. Bobby collected the plates seeing everyone was close to nodding off. He said he would take care of the dishes and to go on up. They all told the old man goodnight and made the march upstairs,"See you two losers tommorrow. Good night." Katherine said going into her room and sitting on her bed sighing shaking her head, she ran a hand over her face as she looked to her bedside table seeing the small bag and envelope. She grabbed it making her way out of her room to Dean's. She knocked waited a few moments before hearing a come in. She turned the handle opening the door pushing it open cracking it closed walking to the bed seeing Dean sitting on the edge of his bed,"What's up, you okay?" He asked.

Katherine waved him off,"I'm fine. I forgot to give you this." She handed him the small bag and card and hugged him again,"Happy birthday Dean. Thank you for everything." She released him as she left his room closing the door yawning and going back to her room. Dean stared at the small bad as he opened he pulled apart the drawstring and the contents fell out. He picked up the tiny metal keychain. He turned it over seeing it was Garfield and Odie. He scrunched his face confused but laughed,"Thanks Kate." Dean said leaning over and attaching the keychain to his keys. Tossing them back on the table, he reached over opening the birthday card.

And for whatever reason Dead didn't rip into that card like he would when he got a new credit card. He took out his knife and cut along the edge of the envelope . When fully opened he slid out, the cover was matte white and it read ' old but like still cool' with a cassette tape under the word old. Dean laughed as he opened the letter and began reading the scrawl in the page . Dear Dean, happy birthday. I can't tell you how happy it made me when Bobby told y'all we're coming down. There was no way we weren't celebrating your birthday. Regardless of what you like to think you being born is quite possibly on if the best things ever. You are not only on of the collest people I know, but also one of the people I know will protect me. Thank you for helping me stay safe and teaching me it's okay to know what it's like to be safe. Thank you for being my best friend. And thank you for being everything Henry couldn't. Happy birthday Dean.

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Now

Dean nodded his head subconsciously as he watched a kid through the restaurant with a birthday hat in his head, he noted it had stars in it. And that brought a faint smile to his lips as he thought about the night he finally felt … right. He could see the candles and still smell the faint burning wax of the candles. Sam had come back getting in the passenger side. Closing the door hard enough to rock the car. "Here you go babe," Sam said handing her the green liquid,"Vanilla and honey?" She asked smiling at him,"Vanilla and honey." He confirmed,"Aww you really like me don't you." She said leaning closer to Sam, "No" he said smirking as he leaned forward kissing her before turning to his brother holding his brothers coffee,"Dean." Sam called,"Dean." Again no avail, getting impatient and his hand was burning slowly.

Still no response, Katherine reached for reward flicking his neck he hissed whipping his head around,"Fuck, what." Dean asked harshly,"Here." Sam put the coffee in Dean's hand,"Oh thank you.” Dean said taking a hefty sip sighing finally starting his day,"What were you starting at?" Sam asked his big brother, as he noticed his stare continuing once again. For a few moments longer Dean wanted to live in that night, he thought about the card that lived beneath all of the fake ids. It's home since that night, much like the keychain that swung slightly as the car vibrated with the running engine. A piercing shrill rang through his memory as he got drawn back to reality. Sam looked at Katherine confused as she shrugged," Don't look at me I don't know." Then Dean's phone went off," Dean, Dean are you with us?"

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End notes: Thank you for reading. So this is part of a much larger series I am starting. Again thank you a million for reading. Also any tips on creating a master list would be greatly appreciated.

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