#and chooses to spend time being held when offered play time or to go back in her home

[prismaticsaltedink]

My pet snake enjoys being pet too, especially after she's eaten she likes me to pet her tummy there.

(The really unusual thing is she will pet herself there with her chin to show me what she wants, and I do it every time she asks so I guess I've been reenforcing/rewarding this behavior. She will stop directing me and relax when I pet her. She also pets ME sometimes too. She'll sit with her body in the crook of my arm and gently and repeatedly move her chin over my arm in the direction my short arm hairs flow, lift up and go back and do it again several times. I'm not sure if she enjoyed being pet and decided to try it for herself and liked it, or just enjoys the feeling of petting her human. She's very sweet, gentle, and cuddly. Does anyone else's snake do this? I've seen nothing like it posted anywhere by anyone else. She's a Western Hognose.)

[spiderb00bs]

- MANCHILD

Sabrina Carpenter x (g!p) reader  

“Seeing your best friend get married was like a stab in the heart. But she was happy, right?"

warnings – fluff, angst if you squint, Implied sex, crack? (I don’t know how to be funny), romcom kinda

Now playing – Manchild, by Sabrina Carpenter  

“Man-child, why you always come a-running to me? Fuck my life, won’t you let na innocent woman be?” 

You never had any problems with Barry. You didn’t even care about him, in fact. He was a normal guy, a little too immature for his age, and too cocky for everything he was offering. But you never had any problems with him.  

You didn’t spend that much time with him; you saw each other at Sabrina’s events, birthdays, awards ceremonies, family parties... You knew Sabrina would never let you miss na important celebration, so if you can’t beat them, join them.  

Sabrina is your best friend, and you’ve always supported her in everything. And even though at first you thought Barry would be just another dumb jerk – you still thought so – who would break your childhood best friend’s heart, you couldn’t deny that he did a decent job in the relationship, since now Sabrina would soon be walking down the aisle with him. 

The gentle summer breeze blew against your face, carrying the smell of smoke away from you. From a distance, you watched Sabrina and her sisters with smiles on their faces as they danced excitedly around the place where the ceremony would be held. The wedding would take place in five days, and the whole family—and close friends—would be staying at the large mansion Sabrina had rented. 

You remember looking for the place with her, you remember how she always said she wanted to get married in a house overlooking the beach, and how she wanted all the people she loved to be together for days on end before the ceremony happened.  

You remember how her eyes sparkled when she saw the place, you remember how she took your hand and ran to the back of the mansion, showing you her dream coming true in front of her eyes. You also remember how she convinced you to lie down on the grass and watch the view from afar. You also remember how she tried to call Barry to show him the place, but he never picked up the phone.  

The cigarette burned slowly, almost as if it was feeling sorry for you, as if it knew that if that moment ended, you’d have to go back to the hustle and bustle. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last forever. With one last puff, you stubbed out the burning tip on the sole of your shoe, taking a deep breath and preparing yourself for the sea of smiles you’d have to face.  

“That’s the sexiest way I’ve ever seen someone stub out their cigarette.” You heard the sweet, dangerously seductive voice you always heard when you were with Sabrina, Jenna Ortega. 

You knew the short woman, the two of you had never had a long conversation, but flirting was always involved. Although you thought Jenna was one of the most beautiful, elegant and sexy women you’d ever seen in your life, you never went any further with her. Nothing more than the exchange of harmless flirtations and a few discreet glances.  

Although Jenna and Sabrina were close friends, the blonde never really liked the idea of you two being close to each other. You weren’t sure why, but you thought it had something to do with the fact that Jenna was a player. She was never in a serious relationship, she had one-night stands with people she found interesting enough to spend time with, but never interesting enough to share her work time with.  

“I hadn’t seen you yet. I thought you weren’t coming,” you said, still looking at all the women excited about the decorations and the scenery. 

Sabrina’s mother was helping the blonde choose decorative flowers, Paloma and the other Carpenter sisters seemed happy playing with the new Golden Retriever that Sabrina had adopted a few weeks ago, and at a considerable distance, you could see Barry drinking a large glass of beer, talking to some of his friends about some nonsense.  

“And miss you dressed in a formal button-down shirt? Of course not!” Jenna retorted, causing your cheeks to blush slightly as you tried to get your face out of her field of vision.  

“You really can’t be fixed, can you?” Finally looking at the brunette, you turned your body towards her, taking a step forward.  

“Come fix me!” Jenna mimicked you, leaving the distance between your bodies almost non-existent. 

The look on her face was defiant and rude, she seemed to want you to put her in her place. Everything about her screamed for you, and anyone there could see how desperate she was for you to take her the way she really wanted.  

“Hey!” The velvety shout pierced your ears, pulling you out of the cloud Jenna had put you in.  

Quickly stepping away, you arrived in time to see Sabrina’s furrowed eyebrows, your best friend looking at the whole situation with a judgmental and suspicious look. You had seen that same look before, more specifically when the girls at school hit on you when you were both teenagers. You never knew what that look meant. 

“I... I need you for a minute,” the blonde said. 

Scratching her head in agitation, the younger Carpenter didn’t even wait for your response, taking your hand and dragging you as far away from Jenna as possible. 

“You know, we were having a conversation over there...” Your tone was playful, but you should have known that Sabrina wasn’t in the mood for jokes.  

“Yeah, anyone could see that. You two were practically having sex on the lawn!”  

The blonde finally let go of your hand when you reached the kitchen. As if on cue, everyone who was working there immediately turned around, leaving the room and closing the door with a silent click. Sometimes even you were afraid of Sabrina.  

“Wow, okay, Miss Edgy, we were just having a conversation.” you said, raising your hands in surrender, only to see the short blonde roll her eyes and start pacing back and forth in the kitchen. 

“Bullshit!” she said, her footsteps making you dizzy, and the commotion making you slightly nervous.  

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” you asked, holding her shoulders as you made her look you in the eye for the first time all day.  

You knew Sabrina was going through a very stressful time with all the wedding planning. She was trying to get everything done while Barry lay around drinking beer and watching football games. She had barely had any time to herself since she started preparing for the wedding, so you understood when she exploded at you. 

Snorting, Sabrina just laid her head on your chest, grabbing your biceps like a lifeline.

“I’m exhausted!” Taking a deep breath, you moved your hands to her hair, stroking her blonde curls as you felt her relax into your body.  

“I’m here, I’ll help you with whatever you need.” Sabrina lifted her head from your chest, looking into your eyes with that sparkle she always had.  

“What do you need, Sab?” Smiling slightly, you asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.  

“For you to stay away from Jenna.” Your smile faded. 

“ALL RIGHT, LOVEBIRDS...” The unfamiliar voice startled you both, causing you to jump away from each other. “Oh, sorry, I thought it was you and Barry, Sabrina.” 

“It’s okay,” Sabrina said, sliding her hand from your bicep to your hand, intertwining them. “Yn, this is Rachel. She’s going to make the wedding cake. Rachel, this is Yn, my best friend since childhood.” “It’s a pleasure,” you said, shaking the woman’s hand, making her smile slightly.  

“How polite. You don’t find many like that around anymore.” And Sabrina’s frown was back. “So, I assume she’ll be deciding the flavor of the cake with you?!”  

“I will?” you asked Sabrina. 

“She will!” Sabrina smiled, looking at Rachel with a proud smile on her lips. 

Night had fallen quickly, everyone too tired and drunk to stay awake past midnight. Still unable to sleep, you walked quietly through the corridors of the large mansion, down the stairs and toward the oversized pool that came with the house.  

The night was silent, and you saw no one as you approached the pool. Taking off your fancy slippers—which Sabrina insisted on giving as gifts to all the guests—you dipped your feet in the cold water, shivering slightly at the change in temperature. Closing your eyes, you rested your hands on the tiles beside your body, throwing your head back and taking a deep breath, trying to release all the weight that had been on your shoulders for the past few months. 

Suddenly, the silent bubble that had settled around you was broken by two hands grabbing your shoulders, and the scream that escaped your lips was muffled by the sound of laughter from the woman you knew better than yourself.   

Sabrina fell beside you, laughing at how loud you screamed. “My God, you probably would have woken up the whole house if that shit wasn’t so big.” 

Sabrina’s hands were holding her stomach, and you could tell her stomach hurt just by the way she writhed beside you. Her smile reached her eyes, which closed as the sound of her laughter entered your ears like one of the most beautiful melodies you had ever heard. That deep, broken laugh, which nevertheless ran free and whipped the air with grace. You had always loved the sound of her laughter. 

“Very funny, Carpenter. You could have given me a heart attack, you know?!” You watched the blonde get up from the floor, sitting properly beside you, putting her feet in the water, next to yours.  

“You’ve always been easily scared... ever since we were kids,” the blonde said, laughing and kicking a few drops of water lightly. 

“Yeah, and you used to scare me all the time.” You look at her. “It was annoying.” 

“It was fun!” Sabrina’s laughter fills the space again, making you roll your eyes and try to hold back the smile that wanted to escape your lips. 

Sabrina’s eyes rested on you, shining as always, attentive, almost as if you would disappear if she looked away. She had a slight smile on her lips and breathed lightly, feeling the gentle breeze coming from the sea a few meters away.  

It had been a while since you had seen Sabrina so relaxed, so focused on something that really calmed her down. She was usually nervous, worried, or too busy solving something that Barry couldn’t solve—or that he himself had caused. 

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” the blonde said, sighing once more. 

You were trying to figure out why her chest still seemed heavy somehow. 

“Of course I would be here. I mean, I understand that I’m not very sociable, but...” You began. 

“No...” She laughed. “I mean here, like, always being here with me.” Emphasizing the word always, Sabrina grabbed your hand, bringing it to her lips and kissing your knuckles. 

Your eyes met the deep blue of hers, and you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the way Sabrina looked at you. You never understood it, but her eyes always seemed to say what she didn’t have the courage to say out loud. You dreamed of the day she would tell you all the things she had ever wanted to say to your face, good or bad. 

“I love you, Yn.” Her voice came out as a whisper. Low and velvety, just so you could hear it, as if those three words were meant only for you, as if she had never said them to anyone else in the world. 

“I love you too, Sab!” you say.  

Your mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water. You didn’t blame Sabrina for supposedly not saying the things she wanted to say, after all, there were so many things you couldn’t say to her. 

The next morning was quiet. Decorators passed by with huge vases of flowers, pastry chefs worked on each little sweet and each layer of cake, and sewing machines worked on every detail of Sabrina’s dress.  

You stayed away, watching all the organized chaos from under a parasol, lying on a deck chair, facing the pool where you and Sabrina had been talking a few hours earlier. The cigarette between your lips made you more relaxed with each puff, and the expensive wine that Sabrina had served to the guests was one of the best things you had drunk recently. 

It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a family barbecue, or maybe a dip in the sea, or even in the pool in front of you. However, you preferred to just stretch your legs and put on some sunglasses—hoping that everyone would get the message and leave you alone.  

“You look very bitter from here.” It seems your plan didn’t work so well. Opening your eyes and looking over your dark glasses, you saw her standing in front of you like a superheroine, the kind who always shows up at na inopportune moment, when the victim doesn’t want to be rescued. Jenna.  

She wore a black bikini—which contrasted nicely with her skin—along with her attitude. You would never know if you found her frown attractive or scary. 

“I’m not bitter, I just enjoy my time alone,” you said, repositioning your sunglasses on your face as you laid your head on the towel and blew smoke into the air. 

“Oh, lone wolf... I like that.” Jenna took the spot on the lounge chair next to yours.  

You rolled your eyes slightly, but the small smile on your face said you weren’t completely upset by Ortega’s presence.  

I mean, Jenna is na attractive, intelligent, funny woman... You weren’t sure why you had never really given her a chance. Maybe it was the gossip going around town, you didn’t want to be just another woman in her bed. Or maybe you liked to follow your best friend’s orders.  

Either way, you thought it best to avoid closer contact. 

“You don’t seem like the happiest person in the world that your best friend is getting married...” Jenna began. 

“I am happy,” you cut her off quickly. 

“Come on, everyone is drinking and talking, having the time of their lives in...” Jenna paused, looking around and trying to find a way to call it what it was. “A kind of weird bachelorette party disguised as luxury,” she finished, waving her hands dramatically and pointing to everything around you two. “And you’re smoking by the pool, looking like the kind of lone wolf you’d see in a Lana Del Rey music video...” 

“I like Lana Del Rey,” you said, raising your wine glass to your lips. 

“That’s not the point!” Jenna raised her voice slightly. She put her hands on her head when she realized she had almost started yelling at the bride’s best friend. “God, you really have a crush on your best friend, don’t you?!” 

Choking on your wine, you got up from the lounge chair, sitting up quickly, facing the Ortega girl, who had sat down next to you. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Your expression made all the hairs on Jenna’s body stand on end. 

“Prove it to me.” 

Your back hit the mattress, breathing tired and panting, your hips burned, and the muscles in your arms were starting to ache. But the small hands on your chest distracted you from the nagging pain you felt, now fading into the background as Jenna lay down on your chest. 

You knew, deep in your bones, that you shouldn’t have done that to prove to her that you weren’t into Sabrina. But the way she looked at you, almost as if she would doubt you for the rest of her life, made your chest race in a bad way. 

Two pats on your chest woke you from the thoughts that consumed you. “You were wonderful, baby.” Jenna said, getting up from the bed and looking for the clothes she had thrown on the floor a few hours ago.  

You raised your torso, straining your sore arms and dragging yourself to sit up on the bed. “You too,” you said, embarrassed and scratching the back of your neck, looking for a hole to stick your head in and die of shame.  

Jenna gave you a friendly smile, but with that hint of sarcasm that you had learned the brunette had in her. “Tell her how you feel before she gets married.” 

Frowning and opening your mouth in shock, you stammered incoherent words, searching for anything your mind could force itself to find.  

“Wait, I proved it to you!” you said, getting up and putting on the boxers you found lying on the bedside table – the work of the little brunette in front of you. “I’m not in love with anyone, Jenna!” 

Sighing, the Ortega girl stopped what she was doing to look at you properly. Approaching, Jenna made each step she took seem like a movement a tigress would make before attacking her prey. You took a step back. Laughing at your movement, the woman pushed you onto the bed, making you fall back onto the soft mattress. Her hands went to your neck as she positioned her tanned legs on either side of your thighs. 

“Oh baby, you can’t keep lying to yourself like this...” She looked at you for a minute longer. 

Jenna left a pat on your cheek before kissing your lips, quick as lightning, and grabbing a piece of clothing behind you. Leaving you there, shocked and still a little horny, Jenna walked out the door, as if she hadn’t come to leave you with wobbly legs and a heavy heart. 

You took a deep breath before leaving the room, too stunned to pay attention to whatever was going on outside the room all this time. You walked outside, grabbed a beer from the ice bucket, opened the cap with your teeth, and downed the bottle.  

“My God, are you okay? Where were you?” Sabrina’s voice reached your ears like a distant voice, making you look at her over the bottle—its neck still stuck to your mouth.  

“HEY, YN!” The shout heard from a distance also sounded muffled, but for some reason you recognized Josh’s voice. One of Barry’s idiot friends. “Bro, isn’t that shirt Ortega is wearing yours?” He asked, putting his arm around your shoulder, as if you were old friends.  

You didn’t even bother to look at Jenna, but Sabrina did. One of her eyes twitched, her ears burned, and if you were in a cartoon, smoke would be coming out of her ears. Jenna was dancing with Sabrina’s friends, free, as if she had just had the time of her life.  

“Did you hook up with her?” Sabrina’s tone was irritated, and you could feel the confusion coming through even with the alcohol in your blood.

“FUCK!” Josh said again. “YOU’RE AWESOME, BRO!”  

Jumping with his arm around your shoulder, Josh took you close to where everyone was dancing, too excited to notice the deadly look Sabrina was giving you. Josh practically threw you on top of Jenna, making the girl cling to you as if she had something to prove to someone, as if she wanted to break na invisible line. 

Maybe she did. 

Aggressive banging on your bedroom door roused you from the fog of sleep you were immersed in. Still lying face down, you lifted your face from the pillow to groan in disapproval, before struggling to your feet and muttering a small "Coming" to whoever was pounding on your door.

When you opened the door, Sarah's fist froze in the air, and still rubbing your eyes, you caught a glimpse of Paloma and Jenna along with one of the Carpenter sisters. Hearing Jenna's whistle, you covered yourself with the door, remembering that you were only wearing boxers and a sport bra.

"What are you doing here so early?" you asked, trying to take the focus off your nakedness and your cheeks turning red with the attention.

"We need your help!" Sarah was the first to speak. "Barry is completely sick with a hangover, and Sabrina needs to go over her wedding vows with someone."

Frowning, you looked at the two women standing in front of you.

"Why don't any of you help her then?"

Opening and closing her mouth, Sarah stared at Paloma, who was doing the same. The wrinkles on your forehead appeared when there was no answer.

"Ah… I… I need to go to town, you know… take care of a few things for the wedding," Sarah said, taking a deep breath.

You looked at Paloma.

"I'll go with her!" the woman said quickly.

"Jenna?" you asked.

"I don't want to." Snorting, you narrowed your eyes at the short brunette, wondering what was going on and why Sabrina's incompetent future husband couldn't do anything right for once in his life.

"Give me ten minutes and I'll go downstairs." The girls agreed, disappearing down the hallway of the mansion and leaving you alone again.

When you walked into the garden, everything seemed increasingly hectic. Sabrina's wedding was tomorrow, and everyone seemed to be racing against time to make everything as perfect as possible. The altar structure was almost ready, and there were flowers everywhere. The wedding was planned for the morning, and everything had to be ready by nine a.m.

"Ah, there she is!" The man, whose name you didn't know, came up to you, intertwining his arm with yours and leading you to the altar. "It's a pleasure, dear, I'm Stephen, and come on, get up there, you've already delayed us too much."

The short man pushed you toward the altar structure, causing you to stumble slightly over your own feet. You hadn't spoken to Sabrina since yesterday, when she found out about you and Jenna, and even though you didn't understand why, you knew she might be a little upset with you.

"Hi…" you said.

"Hi…"

The sound of Stephen clapping his hands brought you both out of the little cloud you were in, making Sabrina's cheeks flush and you scratch the back of your neck and look away from your best friend's blue eyes.

"We have to start! Sabrina, where's your speech?" The man asks, seeing no paper in the blonde's hand.

Sabrina's mother, who was standing nearby watching, spoke up for the first time. "Oh, she probably left it in her room, you know how she is." The older woman said, nudging the brunette sitting next to her with her shoulder.

"Jenna, why don't you try looking for it…"

"And lose all this, no way!" The brunette said quietly, hiding her words with a forced smile.

"All right, I'll get it!" Stephen stood up, running his hand over his bald head and heading toward the mansion, only to stop halfway there.

"While I'm gone… Yn, you can start."

"Wait, do I have to give a speech too?" you asked, confused and with a hint of panic in your veins. "But I don't…"

"COME ON, WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!" The man shouted as he walked away.

Taking your eyes off the man's back, you looked at your best friend again. Her eyes seemed bright again, but the atmosphere had completely changed for you. Your heart was pounding in your chest, and the idea of saying nice things to Sabrina shouldn't be that difficult, considering she had been your best friend since you were five—when you met at the playground.

"I… I'm sorry, this took me by surprise…" You tried to say.

"I know." Sabrina came closer, taking your hand in hers and looking at you with those arms that could appease a war, those beautiful blue eyes.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to… but I'm not going to lie and say I don't want you to."

You swallowed hard, taking a deep breath before smiling slightly and searching for the right words for what you wanted to say.

"I love your eyes," you began. "They always make me say things I don't want to say, they seem to hypnotize me every time I look at them." You laughed softly, making Sabrina laugh with you.

"Maybe you hypnotized me in that park when we were kids, because I've never been able to stay away from you since. I loved seeing every achievement and every little thing you accomplished because your eyes sparkled in such a beautiful way, you know?!"

Sabrina's head tilted slightly to the left, and even though you were able to read her so well, you didn't notice how she was about to burst into tears.

"I never thought, not even for a moment, of separating from you, because it meant you wouldn't look at me the way you look at me anymore, and I don't know if I could survive without that. Survive without you."

Still holding hands, you couldn't take your eyes off Sabrina, you couldn't see her mother almost crying, nor the knowing smile Jenna was giving you both. At that moment, it was just you and her.

"I've loved you since the first moment I saw you," Sabrina said, and the tears she seemed so desperate to hold back earlier were now rolling down her beautiful cheekbones. "From the first day, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Sometimes I feel like I'm making a mistake, sometimes I feel like none of this is for me. But with you, things make sense, with you, things seem to have color again, and I don't seem to be just another lost girl on earth, with you, things seem to have purpose, they seem right, and sometimes I still wonder why I'm so afraid. But the only certainty I ever have is that this fear always goes away when you're around."

Tears ran down Sabrina's cheeks, everything seemed so true and pure that neither of you questioned anything. It was just you, childhood friends, incurable romantics, who had strayed from the path and started walking down different roads without even realizing it.

Sabrina took a step forward—leaving the distance between you almost non-existent—and you leaned slightly—reducing the height difference between you. But the moment was cut short by loud, strong applause.

Stephen.

"BRAVO!" He said as he clapped his hands.

You and Sabrina jumped back, confused and with a burning sensation in your chest from things left undone, moments interrupted, actions not taken.

"You're more than ready to get married, dear!" The bald man said, before hurriedly dragging Sabrina away from the altar, rambling on about dresses.

And you stood there, watching it all unfold, your chest still pounding, the feeling of emptiness burning like never before. That wasn't for you, it was her speech to Barry. She was getting married, and it was time for you to get over it.

Sitting on the beach, you took another big sip from the bottle of vodka, the waves of the sea broke beautifully in front of you, and the salty breeze hit your skin like shards of glass. The drink in your hand didn't erase the bitter taste that the words you said earlier had brought, and your heart was still as tight as if it were tied to Sabrina's hands.

"You're going to catch a cold." Sabrina.

Her voice, sweet as honey, carried by the strong wind and brought directly to your ears. She was there, standing next to you, dressed in sweatpants and a jacket—which looked a lot like yours.

"I just needed some time alone…" You saw her approach out of the corner of your eye, before she quickly took your side, sitting cross-legged. "What are you doing here?"

Sighing, the blonde looked away to the sea, calm and slow, almost like everything that happened between the two of you. Almost as if the waves were mirroring your behavior.

"I had to keep an eye on Barry, you know…" She paused, almost as if wondering whether she should continue. "So he wouldn't get drunk again." You could hear her swallow hard.

"At least you made sure he'll be okay for the wedding," you replied, laughing slightly in an attempt to break the tension.

But Sabrina didn't laugh. She kept staring out at the sea, she kept trying to hold back all the feelings she had held tightly against her chest all this time. When she finally looked in your direction, her eyes were filled with tears, shining in a way you never liked.

"Tell me I'm doing the right thing." When the words came out of her mouth, you froze.

All you wanted to say was that she wasn't doing the right thing, that she was making the biggest mistake she could make, that she wouldn't be happy with that man, and that you would miss her every day as soon as she said "I do" at the altar.

"You're doing the right thing." Your chest burned. A sob escaped Sabrina's mouth.

"Then why don't I feel like I am?" Her question took you by surprise, but not as much as when she threw herself on top of you, crying like a child who was afraid of a monster under the bed.

Sabrina's body was shaking, and the only thing you could do was hold her tight, as if she would dissolve if you didn't.

"Sab…"

"I hate him, Yn! I hate myself for not being able to say no to him! I hate every minute of it!" She broke down completely.

The weight of her body falling on you reminded you of the weight you carried in your chest, and as much as you wanted to say that everything would be okay, you really didn't know how that would happen. She cried, enough tears to fill the ocean, and when she finally slept, you took her back inside.

Because it was always like that, you would always take care of her.

When you laid her in bed, Mrs. Carpenter approached you, patting you on the back before walking with you out of the room.

"I know when my daughter is happy, Yn…" The older woman began, causing you to stop in the middle of the hallway. "And this isn't one of those situations."

"I don't know what to do, I can't just tell her not to marry the guy she's been in love with for two years!" You said, frustrated with all these confusing signals everyone was giving you.

Smiling slightly, Sabrina's mother approached you, hugging you and kissing your cheek. "I've known you since you were a little kid." She took your hands. "You've always known what to do."

Walking toward her room, Mrs. Carpenter stopped suddenly, turning toward you with a gentle smile.

"Remember, dear, she didn't have any papers with the speech in her hand." It was the only thing she said before opening the bedroom door and disappearing from your view.

Being alone felt familiar to you at this point. You always seemed to end up alone when someone was about to reveal to you what to do, it was almost like a dream, where you would wake up at the most important part.

It was a sunny day, the guests were seated, the organizers were rushing around, and everything seemed ready to be perfect.

"Nice shirt," Jenna said, approaching you with a glass of champagne in her hand.

"Nice dress," you replied.

Watching the people, you saw Barry arguing with some of the people who worked on organizing the ceremony. He seemed nervous, irritated, as if something very important was about to fall apart.

Before you could delve deeper into what was happening, the commotion quickly subsided, and you saw Barry being led away to prepare for the start of the ceremony.

When the music started, Barry entered with his mother, kissing the man on the cheek before sitting down with the rest of the guests. As the commotion began to subside, the bride's entrance music sounded over the loudspeakers, filling the room and clouding your thoughts.

You were a terrible friend! You were too selfish to share your feelings with your best friend, and too proud to tell her not to marry that boy. You felt wrong, you felt like trash in the middle of all those people.

"YOU!" The shout snapped you out of your cloud of thoughts. And you didn't have much time to think before you saw Barry coming quickly toward you.

Without giving you time to defend yourself, the man grabbed you by the collar, lifting you out of the chair you were sitting in and making a scene in front of everyone.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER?" He shook you, causing you to grab his shoulders and push him away forcefully.

"What are you talking about?" You smoothed out the wrinkles in your shirt.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO SABRINA?" He shouted. "DID YOU TELL HER NOT TO MARRY ME?" He continued.

"Are you going crazy?" You tried.

Then you realized, the music had stopped, Sabrina hadn't come in. She wasn't there.

"DO YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW?" He laughed in your face. His finger raised to poke your chest in defiance. "You think I don't know you're in love with my fiancée?"

"Barry, calm down, please…" Sabrina's mother tried to say.

"She would never be with someone like you…" Barry pushed you hard, knocking you to the ground.

"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?" You asked, getting up and pushing the man back.

Barry didn't wait, he hit your face with his fist, making you stagger slightly backwards. "You're my problem, bitch!"

Recovering quickly, you punched him back, causing the man to stumble into some guests who were standing watching the fight.

You didn't have much time to think, you just saw the whole situation, as if you were watching from outside your body. Barry's fist rising to hit you again, hard and fast. Everyone looked in shock, as if they weren't entirely sure what they should do.

"HEY!"

Sabrina's voice rang out, the arm dress she wore contrasting with the quick, sharp, and dangerous way she spoke, also contrasting with the punch she landed on Barry afterwards.

"FUCK!" The guests were shocked, and Sabrina stood there, clutching the hand that had delivered the blow while Barry was crying to his mother about the blood pouring from his nose.

"NEVER TOUCH HER AGAIN!" Sabrina said, pointing an accusing finger at the man who used to be her fiancé. Barry looked shocked, before finally breaking free from his mother's arms and quickly marching toward the petite blonde.

"Did you just punch me, you little whore?" Before he could get close to Sabrina, you acted, knocking him out with a strong punch to the mouth, and watching the man fall into the arms of his friends.

"Don't call her that, son of a bitch."

Before you could move, you felt Sabrina's arms around your neck, the woman quickly finding comfort from the chaos of the situation in your arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner," she said.

"I'm sorry I didn't do anything sooner!"

With that, you grabbed the blonde's face, sealing your lips with hers, and finally ending all the suffering that you both had tried to hide for so long.

Her hands caressed your baby hair, and she sighed during the kiss, as if she was desperate for you two to never let go. Your hands matched her desperation, pulling her closer by the waist, as if you two weren't already close enough to merge. Her lips tasted like strawberries, and you wondered why you hadn't just done this before.

Pulling away, Sabrina pressed her forehead against yours, listening to the applause and cheers of all your relatives and friends—who had realized your feelings even before you did.

"Let's go?" Sabrina asked, grabbing your hand and pulling you along.

"Where are we going?" you asked, even as you let her take you wherever she wanted.

"You'll see."

hey guys, I hope you're well.

i wrote this while i was in class, so i'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes. Honestly, I had this idea and had to start writing immediately. The Manchild clip is just amazing, ever since I watched it I've been obsessed with the photography in this clip. it's just indie romcom movie energy, and I'm obsessed.

anyway, i hope you enjoy this. stay safe and drink water,

xoxo, spider.

[blackwall-my-tiny-husband]

Thursday Bangers 6/4

Lyric game started and hosted by @woundedsoul12 this week

Rules: Free from a blurb or drawing based on the weekly lyrics prompt. It doesn't have to include the prompt just whatever you're inspired to write, write it! Then tag some friends so they can play as well. It doesn't have to be finished on Thursday just post it whenever you can (you have a whole week between Thursdays)

Baby I'm so into you // Darling, if you only knew // All the things that flow through my mind - Fantasy by Mariah Carey

Very Alternate Universe for this fic c:

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The air was cold in the little village. Zalan breathed it in although his chest still felt tight and locked up. Emmrich would probably say it was stress from fighting, and killing, gods. Viago would tell him it was emotions better packed away where they had no control. Lucanis would say it was everything finally catching up to him, it had been too much to put on someone, and the first talon would know.

Zalan exhaled past the feeling and drank, the liquid warm going down his throat and he looked up with a tired smile as Harding approached. He held out a hand from his spot in the back of some dark little bar some place in southern Tevinter. She rolled her eyes at him but accepted the hand and slid into his tiny booth.

“Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” She teased setting her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, staring pointedly at him and his flask.

“Couldn’t sleep.” He explained, sleep had been hard to come by after killing Elgernan and ruining Levellan’s chances of being with Solas. He shouldn’t have let his temper get the better of him and he should have reasoned with the Dread Wolf instead of choosing to fight the elf. He’d seen the inquisitor just off to the side, eyes wide and pleading and still chosen to lunge for Solas. It had been a mistake, he should have talked with him.

“You have to let it go.” She told him, looking sympathetic. But the look on the woman’s face would haunt him, he’d taken her love from her. He wouldn’t be able to forget it. It swirled with all the other regrets he still held. He’d escaped the prison of Solas’ design but his choices plagued him.

“Lace…” He said her name like a drowning man. He looked up at her soft eyes, she hadn’t moved away, and set a hand on his shoulder so lightly he almost couldn’t feel it.

“It just takes time.” She told him with a quiet sigh. He felt his heart clench at the words. How many times had he heard them after getting back from the prison, after finishing the job Viago had assigned him all those months ago? Too many and he didn’t think they were right. How could they be? Time wouldn’t make him feel better. He nodded though, automatically despite the bile raising in his throat.

Harding leaned away from him and he took another swig of the drink. Capping the flask and tucking it back in his shirt, he looked to the scout.

“Will you ever forgive me?” He asked. The inquisitor and her had been close. He almost wanted to ask the elf the same question but feared the answer would be yes she would forgive him.

“You know I already did. I could never have blamed you.” Her voice was soft and she leaned back over, wrapping her arms around the one arm she could reach. He desperately wanted to press his nose into her hair, he wanted to smell the soft earthy scents that lingered there. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and all the things he’d wanted to tell her since offering to spend the night with her to keep away nightmares. He had so much Lace Harding flowing through his head that it swam with her.

But he couldn’t. It would hurt him too much to say any of those things out loud now. He tipped the flask- when had that gotten back into his hand- and drained the contents.

Familiar voices were coming unexpectedly from the doorway to the little tavern and he blinked and tried to look over. He thought he succeeded but it was blurry and hard to make out. Harding was leaning away from him again and the panic was pressing in his chest at her withdrawal. She couldn’t leave him, not yet.

But then Davrin was standing in front of his table, Bellara beside him. Bellara let out a little gasp but Zalan ignored her, fumbling with the flask. He shook it desperately but there wasn’t even a splash left. Davrin scooted into the booth beside him while Bellara snatched the flask from his hand bringing it to her nose to sniff. Davrin was in his face, Harding was standing near Bellara in front of the booth looking sad.

“You can’t keep living this fantasy. You know what you have to do.” She said and Zalan could feel his heart break again. Bellara made a noise and Davrin who was trying to get a good look at the crow’s eyes glanced over his shoulder at her.

“It’s Lyrium.” Her eyes were wide and horrified.

“No wonder he looks so bad- he’s been taking that.” Davrin turned back to zalan with a sadness in his eyes, “Come on let’s get you back to the lighthouse.”

But Zalan wasn’t looking at him and instead at the space between the two,

“Harding…” It was a plea, and the scout sadly shook her head. Bellara looked at him then, pulling her attention away from the container in her hands.

“Is that why you disappeared after the gods? Why you’re taking lyrium?” Davrin asked while Bellara looked so sad, eyes shiny with tears, but Zalan was trying to look past her at where Harding had been. Only it was so blurry and he couldn’t tell where she was. Which made more of the panic set in. He needed more lyrium, that would fix it.

“We all miss her Zalan. But she wouldn’t want you doing this to yourself. She’d want you to keep living.” Bellara’s voice wobbled and she looked like maybe she wanted to cry. Zalan couldn’t see the scout at all now and the world was blurry, from the effects of the drug or because of the tears welling up in his eyes he wasn’t sure.

“I just wanted to see her again.” It was mumbled, voice broken. It was hard to see, Davrin might have been trying to wrestle him out of the booth and into his arms but he was numb to it. But it didn’t matter, Lace Harding had died on tearstone, sacrificing herself so everyone could live, and wherever the two elves took him she’d still be dead. Their help wouldn’t fix that.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Hi welcome to my Worst Case Scenerio AU (jazz hands)

This fic is dedicated to @woundedsoul12 you made me sad so I had to be sad too

Zalan decided since Harding got hurt in solas’ ritual because he took her this time he’d send her to the B team at tearstone to keep her far away from the main fight. This worked super well (definitely) and she died. Because she died he went full scorched earth and chose to fight solas at the end despite Levellan’s pleas because he wanted to blame solas. He feels guilty for this after and leaves the team and antiva after the final battle.

I did play this scenerio out in one of my playthroughs hoping that I’d get some ending credits for beating the game with my LI dead but sadly no (I was really hoping for that flower photo but like the love interest flower wilted or cut so I did it myself)

Gently no pressure tagging (most of you have probably done this but just in case) @davrinsleftpectoral @jukkaricity @chaosherald @hedwigoprah @therivercrow @falcatas @kabsey @therivercrow

[chaosology]

invisible strings

Sam Kerr x reader

uses this+this request

warnings: underage drinking, gay pining, not proof read so u can call me out on grammar and i wont get my feelings hurt.

masterlist

September, 2003 - Perth, Australia

"Mum, it's so obvious she doesn't want me there!" You whined. Your mother was haphazardly chucking a soccer ball in a birthday bag, arranging the blue paper around it so it was semi-presentable. Bless her, but you knew Sam wouldn't care for the wrapping.

She had awkwardly handed you a party invitation after school that day as you plucked your bags off the racks.

"My mum said I had to invite a girl to come, sorry. There's good cake, though. It's ice cream."

She ran off almost as fast as she appeared, leaving you outside your Year 4 class alone. Why you? You weren't sporty at all, she could've at least invited one of the netball girls - they were always picking Sam for their teams, too. You were the anti-Sam, spending lunch with a small group of girls playing hopscotch and batting your eyes for the teacher's approval.

Black marker in your hand, you scribbled down a messy "happy birthday, Sammy K" in one of the white spaces on the ball. Your mum had taken you to Big W to choose one after school immediately after, given the late notice. You held it back, admiring your work. Would a heart be appropriate?

Yes.

You only turn 10 once, right? You added it front and centre on the ball, writing your name in the middle so she knew who it was from (though, she could probably tell a tween boy didn't make such an effort).

The party was, as expected, all boys. Sam's mother had greeted you warmly at the door, ushering you in with a comforting (and almost apologetic smile). Sam ran over excitedly to grab the gift bag off you, grabbing your arm to pull you over to the snacks table. You were introduced to all the other boys there, most of whom you knew from school.

You smiled shyly at all of them, spending most of the time sitting on the folded chairs outside while nibbling on some fairy bread and praying your mum would come get you. Sam ran around with the boys all afternoon, leaving you all alone with your thoughts. As it turned out, you had gotten the wrong type of football for Sam. You felt guilty for rushing at the shops, but Sam had hid the disappointment well, even complimenting your handwriting.

As the day came to an end, you were joined by Isaac. He was a friend of Sam's from an outside sports league, but had forgotten his asthma puffer and had to call it after two hours of straight footy. You talked most of the afternoon, complaining about your random 10 year old problems. You couldn't help noticing the way Sam came to talk to you more when she noticed Isaac there.

She probably just felt bad, you thought.

October, 2007 - Perth, Australia

Things had blossomed with Isaac. You remained friends for a few years, which eventually grew into something more romantic. He was your first boyfriend, and unfortunately your first love.

You were both invited to a party up in the hills. He had begged you to go, having become engrossed in the rumours of cruisers and beers being supplied by who-fucking-care's older brother. You had little interest, but his incessant nagging was beginning to piss you off, so you agreed.

Unfortunately as you both matured, Isaac changed. He was egotistical and big-headed, busy with AFL and making crude comments when he thought you weren't listening. It was hard not to see him in a different light, but sometimes you were offered a small glimpse at the small, sweet boy who sat out of breath next to you at the party.

You tugged on the hem of the sort black dress you were wearing, trying desperately hard to pull it further down your thigh. Isaac suggested "something sexy" for the party, much to your disagreement. You relented, and were now regretting it as you faced the chilly atmosphere of Perth's spring. He showed little interest in you while you sat next to him in on the couch, only passing you a beer and whispering "don't be lame" in your ear. Safe to say, the party kinda sucked.

You considered telling him you were going out front for air, but the way he was basically eye-fucking Karen Davies made you think twice. You wandered outside with teary eyes, Corona bottle in your hand as you breezed through the crowd of sweaty teenagers.

"Y/N?"

You turned, face to face with... Sam? She was older now, with slightly longer hair down to her shoulders and dressed in an oversized hoodie. Why was she giving you butterflies?

"Hey Sam," your voice came, "Sorry, just getting some air."

"Mind if I join?"

You motioned wordlessly for her to follow, her hand placed lightly on the small of your back as you navigated the halls to the front yard. God, you were so glad she couldn't see the red hot blush that painted your cheeks.

The two of you found yourselves sitting on the curb, legs stretched lazily out into the street.

"So Isaac's a dick now, 'ey?"

It was so nonchalant that it barely seemed hostile, Sam just took another swig from her bottle, grumbling when she noticed it was empty.

"You also don't have to drink the rest of that, you know? Doesn't make you lame or whatever."

You silently passed her the bottle, expecting for her to just chuck in a bin when she passed one next. However, she downed it in one go.

"Dickhead! I thought you were gonna throw it out! What if I wanted that later?" You laughed, playfully attempting to shove her off the curb. She only giggled in response, lightly shoving you back.

"Hey, I never got to say thanks for that soccer ball all those years ago," she started, "I actually play now. Mum 'n dad made me stop AFL, all the guys are bigger than me. But I actually really like soccer, your ball was the one I first used." She looked almost embarrassed confessing it, a small blush spreading across her face.

"Oh god, I remember that. Sorry, I think I scribbled all over it."

"Nah, it's cute- It's cool, sorry. It's cool, I liked it." She stammered, getting what looked like progressively more and more red.

"What are you up to now?" She said, awkwardly trying to change the subject.

"Oh I dunno, not much. Studying a lot, really. Isaac's been so odd lately so it's usually just me... It'd be cool to be a doctor, I think."

She looked up, eyebrows raised.

"No way! I always knew you'd do something like that, you were such a teacher's pet in primary school... The smartest, most nerdiest one there." She was back to her playful teasing now, and you found yourself slightly wishing that she'd flirt like this more.

What about Isaac? Were you a bad person? Why was Sam making you feel like this? Your head was starting to spin aggressively, the alcohol taking it's toll on your slight, 15 year old self. Sam grabbed your arm, rushing to hold back your hair as you crawled over to a bush, puking all over it. You felt too sick to be embarrassed.

Most of what you remember was her putting you in a taxi and slipping her phone number in your pocket. The next morning, you made sure to find the little note and stick it to your wall, staring longingly at the message written on it.

"Let's be friends - Sammy K"

You also broke up with Isaac.

April, 2014 - Perth / New York City

Y/N Y/L/N: haha sorry, is this the right Sam?? :D

Samantha Kerr: no way, yeah! how r u

Y/N Y/L/N: good! i'm so sorry i never messaged u after that party :( my mum never let me get a phone

↳ i wanted facebook to find u

Samantha Kerr: heheh no worries, what time is it for u rn?

Y/N Y/L/N: it's 9pm LOL aren't u here??

Samantha Kerr: nopeee :p i'm in new york

↳ i play soccer here! well for a bit cos i have to go back and forth

Y/N Y/L/N: no way, that's so sick... i'm jelly. stuck studying rn

Samantha Kerr: u haven't changed

Y/N Y/L/N: didn't u call me "teacher's pet" >:)

↳ med is super fun tho... come see me for sport injuries

Samantha Kerr: ...

Samantha Kerr: how's Isaac?

Y/N Y/L/N: omg Isaac haha, long gone... not my type

Samantha Kerr: ur type... not dickheads i'm guessing?

Y/N Y/L/N: *men

Samantha Kerr: LOL hahahaha same

↳ welcome to the better side

Y/N Y/L/N: ^_^

↳ how's things for u???

Samantha Kerr: heh yea good, the team here is super sick. NY is cool, lots of weird stuff... and christmas is so cold. my gf from here tho so she always makes fun of my accent :DDD

Y/N Y/L/N: ohh cool srry didn't know u had a gf... met thru soccer??

Samantha Kerr: yeh, we play for the same team. she's awesome

↳ someone @ home for u?

Y/N Y/L/N: haha no :/ someone but i don't think it'll work out

Samantha Kerr: aw that sucks,,, don't give up tho

↳ we should hang when i'm back next!

Y/N Y/L/N: that would be cool. i'd like that!

December, 2016 - Perth, Australia

She was always on your mind, but could she say the same of you? You and Sam had gotten so much closer over the years, texting 24/7 when either of you had the chance. She was returning back for Christmas and you were on your way to pick her up from the airport, helping to surprise to her family.

You hadn't been able to date properly since that conversation with Sam on the curb. Nobody else made your heart skip a beat like she did, and you found yourself yearning to feel her touch once again, even if it was brief. You didn't care. You comforted her when she went through her first serious break up, and she would stay on call for hours while you broke down about the pressures of med school. It felt like there was something pulling the two of you together, and god, you hoped she felt it too.

Standing at the International Arrivals gate was nerve-racking. Every flurry of passengers sent your nerves flying, eyes anxiously darting from person to person as you picked at your nails in anticipation. You were so nervous, you almost missed her.

She was finally here.

Her short hair was tied back, and the dark rings under her eyes proved how drained she was from the flight. She lugged a large, black suitcase with her, looking around until her eyes met yours.

You both rushed forward. She engulfed you in a warm hug that felt like... home?

No words were shared as you stood there in each other's embrace.

The car ride to Sam's house was comfortably silent, but you couldn't help but notice how Sam's hand had come to rest on your leg as you drove. It felt like it was on fire, but she didn't acknowledge it, sunglasses over her eyes as she looked tiredly out her window.

You were probably just reading into things, Sam admitted once that she's a really touchy person. You didn't want to lead yourself on.

Sam's family had invited you inside for the celebrations, surrounding you with all sorts of questions about schooling and your life. In a quiet moment, it was just you and her mother alone on the couch. Her siblings and dad were outside chatting at the barbecue, with the two of you remaining inside to escape the heat.

"She loves you, you know," her mother said matter-of-factly, "you love her too."

"Excuse me? I swear I-"

"Oh, don't be silly." She replied, leaning to hold your hand.

"That girl looks at you like you hung the stars. I get so many calls of Y/N this... Y/N that... She's besotted."

"I- I don't know what to say," you said, holding back the tears that threatened to spill, "was it that obvious?"

"Oh, no no. Don't worry. Us mother's have a way with things. Don't think yours doesn't see it too."

You laughed, raising your head to meet your eye. She released your hands, patting you on the knee as she walked off at the same time Sam conveniently entered. Nice one, Roxy.

"God... do you remember that birthday party I had?" She laughed, coming to sit next to you. She stretched her arms over the top of the couch, her fingertips only inches from where you were currently resting.

"How could I forget? Hey guys, this is Y/N that doesn't play footy - isn't that how you introduced me?"

She just laughed at your mock offence, small apologies leaving her mouth as she reminisced.

"I mean, it wasn't a lie."

"Oh fuck off, Kerr." You shoved her lightly, watching as her hand came to her chest to feign offence. You both fell quiet, meeting each other's eyes in a once again comfortable silence.

"Why me?"

Sam looked taken aback, her eyes down as she searched for an answer.

"Why not you?" She said, looking up. You could tell the mood had shifted as her eyes met yours, a hint of vulnerability across her face.

"I think... I think I always knew it was you."

"Sam-"

"No," she spoke softly, her hand coming to hold yours, "Just let me finish?"

You nodded.

"I can't really explain it, but there's just this pull. It feels like I can't stay away, you know? We always found a way back to each other, even after all these years. It's just- It's just always you"

The tears that were threatening to spill finally did as you pulled her close. You could taste the salty tears that left both your eyes as your lips met hers, a soft kiss that felt like it lasted a lifetime. Her hands came to hold the sides of your face, deepening the kiss until you were gasping for breath. Reluctantly, you pulled away and rested your forehead against hers.

"I think I love you, Y/N."

"I think I love you too, Sam."

July 14th, 2020 - London to Perth

"Have you got your comfy shoes, babe?"

A small "fuck!" echoed from your shared bedroom as your girlfriend scrambled to fish her shoes out from whatever pile she had thrown them in. Standing by the door, you watched as she stumbled forward and pulled her socks on, almost knocking over several pot plants as she did so. At 3am in the morning, she was not exactly a vision of grace and elegance.

The two of you had bounced around countries as Sam switched clubs, settling in the UK as she signed a contact with Chelsea. Your medical degree allowed a job almost anywhere and so you quickly found work at a nearby children's hospital, much to Sam's delight.

At the moment though, you were saying goodbye to your London apartment as you jetted back to your hometown. As far as you knew, there was no specific reason to be returning home, with Sam citing homesickness. You thought it suspicious as she was there only two months ago, but never bothered questioning it. You both missed Australia and eventually planned on moving back, but for now you were happy living a busy life in the UK.

Sam always had a thing about planes, as you came to learn. She was ok when they were completely in the air, always able to distract herself with some form of tv or movie (or sleeping pills), but you could tell by the way her knee was bouncing that this time would be no different.

"Hey, it's alright", you said, palm reaching across to settle her, "we'll be ok, these things are freaky safe now."

"I know. Logically I know it's fine but I just... I can't help it"

You only sighed, kissing her cheek and taking her hand in yours. The safety video played on the screens in front of you as you pulled her head to your shoulder, stroking her hair. Her body relaxed into yours as her breathing steadied, and you could feel her racing heart start finally slowing down.

She was drowsy from the early wake up and easily fell into a peaceful slumber. You prayed for no turbulence, admiring the few freckles and lines that were littered across her perfect face. She needed the rest, having been so anxious about this trip and her upcoming tournaments that the stress had almost permanently darkened under her eyes.

With her hand in yours, you soon followed her in sleep.

July 17th, 2020 - Perth, Australia

"I need to shake off the jetlag, wanna go for a walk?"

You turned suddenly as she called from the bathroom, walking out and drying her hair.

"Mum said they redid the park up the road, good field for soccer... We can practice some more if you'd like?" She asked, almost nervously. You had requested Sam start teaching you more about the game; a role she took very seriously. She was showing you all the tricks she'd learnt, even trying her hardest not to laugh when you fell flat on your ass several times in a row.

The two of you set off just before golden hour, navigating the streets of Fremantle to the park. Sam's hand was in yours the whole time, the other holding the soccer ball close to her hip - she was being so protective other the goddamn thing.

"I'll stand here, we'll just go back and forth until you get your confidence up."

She was taking several steps back away from you, positioning the ball at her feet before kicking it towards you.

"You know this is the one you gave me, right?"

You kicked it back, reciprocating.

"God, you're such a sap... Love you for it, though." She only laughed, winking as she did so. Even after 4 years, she still made you blush like you were 15.

The both of you continued, going though the motions until Sam decided to give it a forceful kick, landing it far behind you.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Sorry, love. Rules of the game; she who missed must go fetch."

"That's not even- Oh, whatever"

You ran off as Sam followed behind you - why was she moving from her spot? That's when you noticed it.

"Hey dummy, this isn't even the ball I gave you - I used black maker on mine." You jokingly shouted back, picking it up to hold it by your side. "Got some fangirl groupies to replace me, huh? Can't believe you thought I used red marker."

She stood a few metres away from you, a small smirk on her face.

"Why don't you read it then, genius?"

You looked down, confused. What was she playing at?

Marry me?

It was written neatly in red marker, a giant heart below it - just like the one you first gifted Sam at her party all those years ago. You looked up, only to be met with the sight of Sam on one knee in front of you, a small blue box in her hands.

"Well?"

She had tears in her eyes, but her smirk remained.

You were still speechless, the red words echoing in your brain. She wanted you to marry her. She wanted you to be her wife. You sank to your knees to be level with her, gently grabbing her face to pull her in for a kiss.

You could feel her smiling against your lips, sliding the ring on your finger wordlessly as your mouth met hers.

[judgementdayslittle]

Hi Hi! Can you do a fic where Mami amd Papi comfort reader cause she's been really anxious to go to work lately evj though shes not sure why and she's gonna go back to College for art but she's not sure if it's the right decision so that adds to the anxiety and overthinking and they comfort her and help calm her down. Thankies! Is okie if you can't do it

Gaby 💜

Mami and Papi make it very clear that they'll support you no matter what you want to do. As long as your safe and happy.

But lately you feel so anxious about going to work. You're not sure why, your co-workers are nice enough. And lately customers haven't been too bad. But still, whenever you're at work, you get nausious and end up having to go home early.

There's also the degree you plan on getting. You love art and want to work in that field, but you don't know if it's the right choice.

Rhea and Damian take notice of your stressed out state very quickly.

Mami sits you down one day and gives you an offer. "Would you like to talk about it now? Or would you like to be little for a while to help clear your mind?"

You chose to be little. All you want right now is to feel small and have head empty.

Mami and Papi are more than happy to coax you into little space.

"Look at how little you are, baby! You're so tiny I could hold you in the palm of my hand!"

"Such a sweet little thing. I bet you wanna be held, huh? You want Mami and Papi to take care of you, baby?"

You slip in no time

They spend time with little you doing whatever you want! Toys, games, TV, eating snacks, playing outside. Anything you want!

And if bad thoughts come sneaking in, they quickly get rid of them.

"Babies don't need to worry about work. Babies are taken care of by their Mami and Papi. You don't need to worry about a thing right now, baby."

When you become big again, the three of you have a talk about your anxieties.

They'll support you no matter what you choose to do. If you wanna stay or quit your job. Of if you wanna keep working towards being an art degree.

No matter what, they know you'll make the right choice for you. And they'll always be by your side if you need any comfort from your Mami and Papi.

A/N: I hope I did this justice! I used to get really bad anxitey from work too.

[unactive-shroom]

hello! i hope you're doing well. for your Valentine's event, may I request nikolai lantsov with prompt #4? have a great day!

Prompt #4: Proposal ♡

“It seems like someone has a very important question to ask… and what better time to do it but on Valentine’s night?”

Character: Nikolai Lantsov. See Valentine's Event: HERE

You stood at the edge of the lake, watching the purple glow of dusk slowly swallowing the last of the early February sunshine. It had been thirteen months since Alina Starkov had left the Little Palace, and despite her offering for you to join her and Mal, you had remained by Nikolai’s side in Os Alta. Recently you’ve found yourself taking the long winding path through the trees to the Little Palace, reminiscing about the days you would spend together at the lake, chatting and feasting on blini or pelmeni stolen from the kitchen. A hand snuck around your waist. “I thought I’d find you here.” You smiled and sunk into Nikolai’s warm embrace, not realising the cold that had crept up on you. “I get that the Grand Palace is ugly on the outside and all that, but really, y/n, you’ll catch a chill if you keep coming down here without warm clothes” he said as he fussed over you, pulling a heavy velvet cloak around you. Once satisfied that you were warm, he turned his attention to the lake. The silence stretched between you two until Nikolai softly said ”You know we can visit them, right? Keramzin isn’t too far away. We could stay a few nights, bring some gifts, maybe. Or maybe they could come visit us, either.” You chuckled at that part. “I think Alina’s had enough of the palaces by now. Besides, isn’t it too risky for them to come here? They are supposedly dead, you know. And I think that people might start to get suspicious if the King of Ravka and his entourage start to regularly visit an orphange.” he hummed in agreement, tilting his head. “It’s okay, Nikolai. We did just see them, what, two months ago? I’m just being nostalgic, that’s all. Let’s head back to the Palace, It’s cold.” He took your arm in his, a look of feigned pain on his face. “Funny how you always seem to want to go back whenever I join you. Unrequited love is a terrible, terrible thing. Am’st I doomed to be alone forever-?” You let go of his arm and strode ahead of him, in no mood to put up with his antics. “Y/n, wait! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, let’s go warm up, please?”

A few hours later, whilst Nikolai was in some meeting, you found yourself in the concert hall. Empty, as always, but with a beautiful, sleek, black grand piano in the centre of the stage. Your footsteps echo, magnifying your pathway to the stage, announcing your presence as you pull out the piano stool, and as you played, you thought about how you had gotten here. Going from a high ranking army officer, experienced in intense and gruesome warfare, fighting alongside friends and seeing horrors unlike any other, to sitting here now, in a sleek and comfortable kefta, playing piano, and living in a palace. Of course, you were still a very active member of the army, and while politics held a greater position in your life than it had previously, you still had many army duties, one including tuition at the little palace. But recently, no doubt accredited to Nikolai, you had a lot of free time. “Mandatory resting periods for those involved in the war”, as he called it. And, not to mention, the whole country’s eye on you and Nikolai after a stablehand had leaked information about yours and Nikolai’s relationship. At this point, you were simply waiting for the day where acquiring a Ravkan Queen, a wife for Nikolai, was simply unavoidable, and the relationship was cut off. It made you sick to the depths of your very being, but you were determined to enjoy it while it lasted. It’s something that had always hung over the two of you, and at the beginning of your courtship you had discussed it in great detail, and you were adamant on the fact that when the time came for Nikolai to choose a wife, they would simply forget their relationship and move on with their lives. But it was getting increasingly difficult for both of you. You’d noticed that Nikolai had been closer to you recently, constantly there whenever you both had free time, or, pestering you at work, egging you on to leave work to go read with him in the library or take a walk around the palace grounds. And you had felt closer to him too, saving snippets of poetry for him in books you read, playing melodies for him on piano. These small, intimate moments meant everything to you, especially knowing that Nikolai had very little time left to spend with you before he was married off to some stranger.

Leaving the concert hall and heading back to your chambers, you heard voices in the hallway ahead of you - Nikolai and Zoya. “I just- I don’t know how to tell her, Zoya. How can I ask her-?” he sighed audibly, running a hand through his hair. He turned, and locked eyes on you. “Oh- Y/n!” The marble floor seemed to grow colder through your shoes as Zoya looked at him meaningfully. “I think you and Nikolai ought to take a quick walk around the Palace, Y/n. I’ll see you in the morning, your Majesty. Good night.”. As Zoya’s footsteps echoed down the hallway, you felt your heart fall to your stomach. This was it. Nikolai was going to tell you he had found a suitable bride and that it was no longer possible for this relationship to continue. You swallowed, and smiled at Nikolai, not wanting to draw this out any longer. “Shall we?”

You and Nikolai walked side by side through the moonlit gardens in utter silence, until finally, stopping at the glaringly white marble statue of some old king, you stopped. “Nikolai, I know what’s happening.” You whispered, turning your head away from him. “You do? Y/n, I-” You shook your head. “Don’t. I undertsand, Nikolai. You need to do what’s best for your country, I’ve always loved that about you. Just…before we part ways, I need to ask you for one last thing - and then I’ll be gone by morning, your majesty.” You turned to face him, a single tear betraying your determination to not cry, only to find Nikolai on one knee, a look of utter bewilderness on his face. You mirrored the look, not knowing what he was doing. “…why are you on the ground? Nikolai, you’ll ruin your clothes, and it’s far too cold to be-” You sniffled. “Y/n. Please let me talk. I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, but you can’t leave now - and what’s this about us parting ways? I think you really misunderstood what I’m asking you.” Nikolai cleared his throat, suddenly looking nervous. “I… I know that our relationship hasn’t been under the best circumstances - first as Sturmhond, when I quite litterally held you captive on a boat for the state enemy and yet you fell for me, Saints knows how, and then when I proposed marriage to Alina… and now, having to keep our relationship secret…” He took a deep breath. “I know it’s been impossibly unfair on you. But please, y/n. Allow me this selfish idea - at least consider it - because I mean it when I say that you are my everything. You thrive in politics, the people love you, you have given incredible service to Ravka, you’ve fought wars - been through hell and back for this country, your beauty is unmatched even by the primal, eldest saints of the land - the sun and moon themselves are outshone by your radiance. When I imagine the ideal Queen for this country, the only person I can see fitting the role is you. Y/n L/n, would you allow me the honour of being your husband? Will you marry me?” In a complete and utter state of shock, you took a step back, incrediously shaking your head. “Me? But- but Grisha can’t- I have no title, no links to nobility - I’m an orphan from Keramzin! What will you get from marrying me?” Nikolai remained on one knee, looking directly at you. “What would I get from marrying the love of my life? Saints, y/n, I would get happiness. I would be able to go to sleep in the arms of the person I love, be able to count on her unwavering support that she’s shown me since day one, be able to wake up every morning and know that whatever happens today, I have the most incredible person by my side. I would be able to feel safety in my role as King, with an incredibly capable Queen by my side, beloved of the people and the crown itself, and know that I will not have to spend my life yearning for the woman I sent away so that I could marry for political values, as she would be in her rightful place by my side. I would do anything for you, y/n. But I just can’t bear the thought of you leaving me.”

At this point, your vision was blurry with tears, but you felt Nikolai take your hand. “Well, my love? What do you say?” You felt the tension in his gentle hold of your hand. “If you’re sure about this… then yes. I do. I will gladly marry you, Nikolai.” He beamed at you, standing up and wrapping you in his familiar, warm embrace. As he wiped the tears from your eyes, you giggled. “So does this mean that I get to call you Nikolai even when referring to you?” “You could always do that, my love.” “Yeah, but, if I did, I’d get funny looks. Oooh, can I give you nicknames now, too? How about Niko? LaiLai? Kolai? E-Kolai?” You gasped suddenly, startling Nikolai. “Oh, I have to tell Alina and Mal!” He smiled, then hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, We’ll have to make a public address too. Then decide on the length of the engagement, do a tour, loads of boring court stuff - but it shouldn’t be too bad with you by my side. Now come along, it really is quite cold. How about we have a glass of brandy’s to celebrate? The one the Kerch ambassador sent awhile ago has been calling my name, but I simply hadn’t a good enough reason to break it out…”

A.n: Y’all the amount of Nikolai Requests I have in my inbox is INSANE. ALSO WHEN I WAS WRITING THIS I MIXED UP MAL AND MATHIAS?? so glad that I realised cause wtf. also I had to break up the last paragraph bc apparently tumblr has a limit of words u can have in one text block?? anyways. thanks for requesting, I hope you enjoyed <3

[thatsnotmygunflash]

Why oh why am I obsessed with the idea of Len meeting Henry in prison and hearing stories about little Barry Allen. Thinking about how terrible it must be to have such a loving father locked up for the murder of his own wife. To have him build respect and a friendship with Henry, maybe even offer him a get-out-of-jail-free card when Len plans to break out. Henry says no, of course, because only guilty men run and he couldn't do that to his son. They part as friends and Len always has Henry Allen aka the best father to ever walk the earth in the back of his mind.

So its like a knife to the gut to hear the name of the boy Henry talked about so proudly fall from Cisco's trembling lips.

He almost killed Doc's son. He almost killed Doc's son.

He let Cisco and his brother go while he tried to figure out his next move. Going up against the Flash was thrilling, intoxicating, everything he had ever dreamed of and more, but knowing sweet little Barry Allen was under the mask had him rethinking everything he knew.

Barry Allen, who took on bullies twice his size for other helpless kids. Who loved dinosaurs and singing with his mom in the car. Who held the key to the only happiness Henry had left. He felt sick. He's heard every story Henry could find the time to tell about this boy, this boy who lost his mother in the worst way possible, who spent every day of his life fighting for his father's freedom.

When Mick and Lisa ask what the plan is, when they demand to know the Flash’s identity, Len froze. Stuck between being another heartless villain in an innocent kid's life or being a silent hero and keeping the Doc's kid safe from the likes of himself and his family.

In the end, it's the start of his undoing. Choosing the role of silent hero in that moment, keeping Barry safe and alive, agreeing to their deal, playing his part all while making sure nothing happened to this broken boy.

When his chance to be a real hero comes along, he doesn't go see Barry or Lisa. He headed to a little cabin in the middle of nowhere and knocked on the door with a bottle of scotch in one hand.

Henry looked different on the outside, his face lighter, tanner. The prison jumpsuit Len had become familiar with was replaced by loose jeans and a flannel shirt.

"Long time no see Doc, mind if I come in?" Len offered out the bottle, stepping over the threshold when Henry accepted it with a small nod.

"As long as you leave any weapons at the door, you'll always be welcome here, Leonard."

"Even after I shot your son?" Len questioned, tilting his head when Henry let out a deep sigh at his words.

"So you do know." Henry muttered, setting the bottle down on the kitchen table and pushing a chair out for Len to have a seat before he headed to the cabinet for two glasses.

"He didn't tell you?" Len asked as he took a seat at the small wooden table pushed against the kitchen wall.

"There's a lot of things my son doesn't tell me about his other job, for my own protection." Henry said as he joined him at the table, pouring them each a generous portion of the scotch.

"That why you moved all the way out here? All you ever talked about was getting to spend time with your son again, Doc. Why aren't you?" Len palmed his glass as he awaited Henry's answer, sliding a finger over the smooth surface of the rim. Henry took a slow drink, his eyes growing sad and distant as he stared down into the honey-colored liquor.

"Barry has a life, a great life that he does a lot of good in. I don't really think I fit into that life."

"Maybe not this time around, but what if I told you I could change that?"

Henry looked up at Len's cryptic words, searching eyes dancing and a thoughtful frown pulling on his mouth.

"Why are you here, Leonard?"

"I've been offered an exciting opportunity, one where I can make some real changes in the world." If he played his cards right he could change things to play in both of their favors. "I believe you and I deserve more than the hand we were dealt. I think Barry deserves to have his father in his life, I think I deserve not to."

"Leonard, why are you here?" Henry asked again.

"To say goodbye." Len paused, thinking about why exactly he was sitting here. "To thank you, I guess."

"For what?"

"Too much, so let's just keep it at a thank you."

"Leonard-"

"I'll see you around Doc, take care of yourself." Len knocked his knuckles against the surface of the table as he stood, heading towards the door with Henry following close at his heels.

"Leonard, what are you going to do?"

Len is already at the door, one hand on the doorknob and a secretive smirk dancing on his lips.

"Nothing you need to worry about Doc, and if you see your son, tell him...tell him I'm taking his advice."

"Advise about what?"

Len pulled the door open, casting a small, hopeful smile back at his old friend.

"See you in the next life, Henry."

[avengersfantasies]

Intimacy

Summary: You and Steve begin a full week of spending time together.

taglist: @kandis-mom @missvelvetsstuff @mavrellover91 @natashasilverfox

You were beyond excited to say the least. Today was the day. It was the first day in the entire week that you got to spend with the love of your life – Steve Rogers – Captain America himself. How he’d come to fall in love with such a normal person was something you’d never understand, but you weren’t going to question it. He had put in for this week off well over a month ago, and the two of you were determined to make the most of it. You and Steve had been together for six months, and you both decided that it would be best to take things slow. That meant that this was going to be the first time he’d spent the night with you. It also meant that it’d be the first time for some other things as well. A whole week with just the two of you was something you never thought you’d get to have because of how busy he is, but here it was. It was Sunday…the last day of him working until his week off. You knew he’d be tired when he got to your apartment, so you planned for some fun things to do together that wouldn’t require much energy. Monday through Saturday could be filled with all the excitement and workouts either of you wanted. You were just finishing setting up the Monopoly game when you heard a knock at the door. Excitedly, you ran to it and opened it up to see Steve standing on the other side with his duffle bag.

            “Yay!” you squealed – causing the super soldier to chuckle and pick you up. He closed and locked the door to the apartment and carried you inside – plopping you down onto the sofa.

            “Hey beautiful,” he smiled and kissed you deeply – dropping his bag next to the sofa and pulling you into his lap. You giggled against his lips – he tasted like the sweetest honey that had ever graced your tongue – his breath minty with a tinge of beer. You let out a soft moan and licked the taste of him off your lips. “Love that sound comin’ from you.” His voice was soft yet husky – quiet and intimate. You blushed hard. Pretty much anything that came from this man’s mouth had the ability to light your core on fire.

“Do you want a beer?” you asked – getting up from his lap and heading to the kitchen.

“Love one.”

You grabbed two beers and headed back over to the couch where you saw him playing with the Monopoly money. You handed him a beer. “Here, babe.” He smiled and took it – sipping it and letting out a content sigh. You giggled and sat back down next to him. “Good?”

“Oh yes,” he smiled – his blue eyes looking over at you. You took a sip of your beer and let out a similar sigh – laying in between his legs and with your back against his chest. He grabbed the remote. “What’re we watching?”

“You choose,” you shrugged. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t care what’s on.” You smiled up at him.

He smiled softly and kissed your nose – his hand absentmindedly rubbing your arm as the two of you watched the show. At this moment, even though you wanted to make love with the soldier for the first time, the intimate feeling of being held in his arms – the feeling of being safe – offered you a type of pleasure and happiness you only thought could be achieved through sex.

[eclipse-ofthe-sun]

i love having multiple 'interpretations' of hw link because it really allows me to explore different aspects of the same material in different ways. i like writing him at different points of his potential healing arc, the moments where he isn't himself and the ones where who he is shines through so brightly

one version, nicknamed Mercy, develops chronic pain following the war, and is forced into retirement. this leaves him feeling hopeless and like his life has no meaning anymore, going from that rise of being so important and then feeling discarded by the world and feeling betrayed by his own body. but i would also say he is the happiest of my interpretations in the end - throwing himself into history research and learning about different cultures, namely the gerudo's, in an effort to understand ganondorf's history and motivations when he had no information during their fighting, leads him down a path where he falls in love with a gerudo sorcerer and has a child. he has a happy family, is cared for, and feels fulfilled in his knowledge and works as an archivist of sorts. he's not fighting, but he's working towards a more understood and prosperous future, an nurturing a new generation of brave and smart people.

and then there's all the little stories i have with a shorter timeframe - exploring the effects of trauma, the ways one copes (or doesn't), and all the little moments of connection he has with people once those he loved so much in the war are gone. the one where volga visits for a formal apology and an offering of some of his hoard to show he will always have respect for link as a warrior, and when link tells him he's giving up fighting with the smell of whiskey on his breath, volga convinces him to agree to one last spar. and they end up going on a little quest together and link gets his passion for fighting and exploring the world back - his hands are to be strong, and to protect, not to stay stained in blood. or one where ganondorf is given a chance to redefine himself without the power to chase the triforce, and when link is sent to investigate if he's planning something, they end up stuck in a mansion in a snow storm, and even through their arguments and all the rage of an unfair life bubbling to the surface, they come to understand each other a bit better. realising that in their listlessness without destiny defining them any longer, they're both free to grab their life themselves and choose what they do with it. and one idea that's really just all the little nights he spends with impa, chatting and cutting each others hair and laughing, forging a friendship that lasts outside of the battlefield and the strategy room. they still have their jobs, just outside the walls of impa's quarters in the castle or link's apartment in castle town, but they don't have to do their jobs right then.

and of course theres a million little links meets: the one where he ends up autistically fascinated with the timeline, and has a constant back and forth letter thread with lana where he asks questions with the explicit purpose of her letting him put it together himself - and when he falls through time and ends up meeting even more versions of himself, his joy and love of their worlds offers new perspectives to them (and all the little mini stories that come from that). or the one in the dnd campaign i played in, where he met a link who held wisdom, and a ganondorf who's story had yet to be written, and was determined - it doesn't have to be this way. clearly, anything is possible. it may be too late for him, but not for those yet to be hurt.

they dont all fit together - in fact, many of them contradict each other. and i have my 'main' interpretation of him, Colonel Bennett, and usually most of my headcanons go into him, and my post canon story with ravio explores it the most. but i really enjoy the breathing room of it all. nobody has to restrict themselves to one angle to look at a character, you can push and pull and project pieces you find interesting. and you can see all the different things other people are doing, and see a whole new angle to that character too. i just think its neat. we all playing with our toys

[space-cathedral]

Has Anybody Else Played "FIND ROSE"?

(AN: This story was written by myself and all pictures were drawn by myself, and is meant to be an inverse letter written someone in my OC-verse — in other words, everything written is fictional. It's on the long-ish side (6,352 words, to be exact), but can probably be read in less than fifteen minutes, if that. Thank you!)

---

The following text was written and sent to our Research Team by an individual whose name will not be disclosed for privacy reasons. The following describes the author's experience with a game assumed to have been created in the early 2000s, which may highlight one of the first forms of human contact from the City to the human realm. If you have any further information, please contact us as soon as possible via any of the information listed on the “Contact Us” page of our website. Thank you.

To whom it may concern,

Hello. My name is [REDACTED], and I’m writing to you today, both to offer some information that could be relevant to your research and to see if I truly am the only person who has played the game I’m about to describe. 

To provide just a little bit of background about myself: when I was a child, the internet was still considered a fairly new phenomenon that people were still waiting to die out. With the birth of the internet came the birth of CD-ROM PC games, and with the birth of CD-ROM PC games came the birth of what might have been my very first obsession. Every Friday after my classes were over, my parents would take me to the local game store, and I'd buy as many games as my allowance could afford (which, usually, was two at the absolute most). To highlight exactly how into PC games I was, I only ever bought them, never rented them; once I got my hands on a game, I wasn’t giving it back. Then, after I’d made my choice, I'd spend almost every hour of every weekend on my father's IBM PS ValuePoint computer (you know, the type of computer that used dial-up connection because Wi-Fi had yet to take off), logged into Windows 2000 and playing whatever game I'd bought the day before. By the time of my experience, I must have owned over thirty CD-ROMs — KidPix was, and still is, my absolute favorite one of the bunch. I still play the CD version sometimes as an adult, even though it's apparently freeware now.

Now, with all that over with, let’s get on to the whole reason I’m writing this.

That winter afternoon had been notably chilly as my parents took me on my pre-weekend CD shopping spree. That day had been the final day of school before winter break, meaning that I would have ample time to play my computer games. While en route, my mother had given me a calm but firm lecture about computer-time guidelines she'd be putting in place during break, but if I’m being honest, all of it went in one ear and out the other as my dad pulled into a parking spot in front of the store. I remember being just short of running through the glass door when my mother frantically snatched me towards her by the hand, as I'd practically catapulted out of the back seat once the engine was turned off. Even as I held my mother's hand, my excitement hadn't let up one iota as I jumped up and down on our way through the door. 

Per usual, I had a difficult time choosing which game to buy, my 7-year-old gaze flitting from one captivating CD case to another. Also per usual, my father kept saying, "Don't take too long, now, we don't want it to be too dark when we drive home," (which even as a child I knew was his code for "Will you hurry up, I want to go home and sleep.") and also also per usual, I hardly paid him any mind. All that mattered at that instant were those games. 

It was when I nearly settled on buying I Spy: School Days that it first caught my eye.

Next to I Spy: School Days’ bright yellow box sat another CD-ROM. The case had no title cover, leaving the CD itself exposed behind the transparent material, and on the disc, the words "FIND ROSE", handwritten in what appeared to be red Crayola marker, were barely legible; I remember having to squint to make them out. 

I pointed it out to my parents, asking them what kind of game that was, and they were just as oblivious as I was. When we brought it to the cashier near the front door, he too had no definite answer to our questions. "Probably just some shoddy homebrew," he'd said. "We get those from time to time." He then offered the CD to us for free, which I happily accepted; my parents even let me buy I Spy: School Days along with it, since I hadn’t spent any money yet. As we walked out the door and headed towards our car, I was even more excited than I'd been when I'd gotten out of the car.

It was nightfall by the time my father pulled into our garage. After eating my dinner, changing into my house clothes, and brushing my teeth, I made a beeline for the computer, both CDs in hand.  My parents, both of them about to head to bed, were fine with me using the computer that night, as long as I followed their rules: no eating or drinking anything at the keyboard, no staying on after 10 pm, no going on any websites other than the ones that they'd personally vetted, etc etc etc. Even now, I can remember it being exactly 7 pm when they finally turned in for the night, and when I fired up my dad's computer in our living room, filled with anticipation as the computer’s lights began to flicker.

As I waited for Windows 2000 to boot up, I found myself fixated on the FIND ROSE disc, feeling as bewildered as I was excited. Normally, when I purchased a game, I would read the descriptions on the back of the CD case repeatedly during the car ride home, ensuring I knew exactly what kind of game I was about to dive into for the weekend. This time, however, was different; without any cover art, there were no descriptions to peruse, leaving me completely in the dark about what I was going to play. For reasons I couldn't quite grasp at the moment, the disc filled me with a sense of unease; perhaps it was just that fear of the absolute unknown that we all have.

Then, Windows 2000 finally loaded, displaying the default light blue desktop background that my father never bothered changing. All of the icons from my past gaming exploits were neatly lined up in rows of five on the left side of the desktop, coming right after Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer. My heart raced with excitement as I pressed the square button on the CD tray, watching it slide out from the modem. I placed the FIND ROSE disc inside and pushed the tray (perhaps a bit too hard) back into the computer, hardly able to believe I was about to dive into this enigmatic game while the CD spun and churned inside the machine.

The first oddity was something I initially overlooked until several years after my experience — although I had a vague inkling of it back then, I couldn't pinpoint the exact issue. In my defense, it was a minor detail that could easily escape a child's notice. Basically: all the CD games I'd played before FIND ROSE launched an installation wizard that you had to navigate through before playing your game. However, FIND ROSE launched no such wizard; the moment I inserted the disc, a fullscreen window immediately appeared, turning the screen almost completely black, sans the small pixel hourglass visible in the middle of the void.

The second oddity was something I caught right as it happened, and that was the ridiculously long loading time. I wasn’t keeping the exact time, but if I had to guess, the screen was black for what I can only estimate was at least 10 minutes. As I sat at the keyboard, a pair of 7-year-old eyes reflecting nothing but raw impatience in the dark screen, the thought that I had broken my father's computer began to creep into my brain. For a moment, the game faded completely from my thoughts as my mind began to swarm with questions of how exactly I would explain this to my parents and what punishment I might receive. Will I be spanked? Will they take away my games? Will I never be allowed on the computer again?

Just as a panic attack was about to take hold, a sudden and deafening beep blasting from the computer speakers jolted me back to the present. My gaze instantly shot to the monitor, my eyes wide and my muscles tensed up as I fixated on the blank, now-white screen. The loud noise had definitely startled me, yes, but a part of me braced for the sound of exasperated footsteps that would quickly morph into a lengthy scolding from two very exhausted, very agitated adults. Fortunately, though, those footsteps never came. Part of me was surprised the noise hadn’t disturbed my parents, but I most certainly wasn’t going to complain.

 The white screen lingered for only a second before an image finally emerged, signaling that the game had finally started. I quickly shook off my shock and settled into my dad’s office chair, feeling both thrilled to play FIND ROSE and relieved that I wouldn’t face any consequences for breaking the computer or for waking the entire house up at 8 pm.

The image on the screen showed a peculiar creature that resembled a llama, but it stood upright like a human and had human-like hands, painted with red nail polish. The creature was situated in a small, rather minimalist bedroom; the only furniture visible was a neatly made white bed, a brown lamp on a wooden end table, and a burgundy rug that covered about one-fifth of the pale yellow floor. It wore a pearl necklace adorning a red rose at the center, and a fancy white dress with a repeating red rose pattern covering the entire bottom half of it. It also had a yellow purse, its long strap across its chest, and red high heels on its (assumingly also human-like) feet. She (at the time, I could only assume she was a "she" based on the attire) stood silently in the middle of the room, her hands folded politely at its waist, wearing an expression reminiscent of what I can only compare to a weary middle-aged woman and gazing off at nothing in particular. I’ve included a rough sketch to give you an idea of her appearance (sorry for the messiness, I am not an artist);

Though my drawing doesn’t really do it any justice, something about the overall art style made me quite uneasy. The only way I can describe it is… it was as if somebody put Tim Burton’s art through fifteen different languages on Google Translate and then put the results on a CD-ROM. Something about it was so gritty, imposing — unfinished, almost.

At first, I had zero idea what I was supposed to do; there were no onscreen instructions, no indicators of what my next step was meant to be, no nothing. My first move was to click on the llama-lady, but all that did was spawn some black text floating above her head. Based on the text, this llama-lady that wore a rose necklace and a rose-patterned dress was named… “Daisy”. Yeah, not sure what the developers were thinking with that one. Then again, the game was called "FIND ROSE"; if the llama-lady was the titular Rose, it would have probably won the world record for the world’s shortest video game.

I began clicking randomly on the screen, but none of my attempts produced any results. Frustration set in as I started to believe that this single screen was all the game had to offer; that this really and truly was the world’s shortest game. But then, I clicked on a very specific spot in the far left corner of the game’s PC window, and the screen went black, leaving only the Windows hourglass icon visible. As I waited for the next screen to load, I couldn't help but wonder how many people must have bought the game only to return it on the same day, unable to find the progress spot and convinced there was nothing else to do. Even as a child, I found it odd that it was hidden in a place where most players wouldn't think to click.

The loading time remained unusually lengthy, but it was shorter than the initial wait; it seemed to take about five minutes instead of ten (though, as a child, that was still too long). When the next screen finally showed up, it was all I could do to sit and stare at the strange scene that had been placed before me.

Daisy was now outside and appeared to be on some sort of city block, but the architecture of the buildings made absolutely no sense — constructed in all sorts of surreal shapes that realistically should have sent most of them toppling over in heaps of orangish-brown bricks. The streets were lined up with what appeared to be street lamps, but some of them seemed to be damaged, with their poles bent sharply at strange angles. This was all rendered in the exact same badly-translated-Tim-Burton style and maintained a lukewarm brownish-yellow color scheme, giving it an extremely uncanny, almost unnatural vibe. Here’s another drawing I did of what a typical screen of FIND ROSE looked like (again, not an artist):

It’s also worth noting that, unlike the previous screen, there was background music playing this time. It was this very bizarre piano tune droning on and on from the speakers — it wasn’t loud or discordant and it didn’t hurt my ears or anything, but there was no actual coherent melody going on with it. The only way that I can describe it is, It sounded like somebody who’d never played a piano before in their life was just making things up as they went along —like some kindergarten kid at the classroom piano — resulting in a slew of notes that didn’t really flow or go together well.

Despite how I’d struggled with the previous screen, I found the general controls were quite straightforward: use the left mouse button to move, click on characters to engage in conversation, click on items to pick them up, and use the mouse to guide Daisy towards the far left of the screen to proceed to the next area. The game hadn't explicitly stated the goal, but I’d long since guessed that it involved looking for whoever Rose even was.

I clicked on all of the weird buildings first, but doing so always brought up the exact same message at the bottom of the screen, written in some scratchy black font that looked like someone was trying to get ink out of a pen: "Rose is not there." I also tried clicking the street lights, which brought up the text: "Things that give light." With nothing else to check, I used my mouse to guide Daisy to the left, moving onto the next screen.

The next few screens were far more populated than the first one. There were all sorts of strange creatures wandering about, none of them seeming human. Each of them walked back and forth at a set path at random intervals, in what I can only assume were preset paths coded in by the devs. When I clicked on and spoke to them, each of them seemed to know Daisy, and they each said something in regard to this still-unseen “Rose” character. Below is a list of some of the dialogue I managed to remember, accompanied by what sort of creature said it, and any event that may or may not have happened afterward. Note that I didn't make any drawings of them, as I didn't feel exact appearances were necessary for this part.

Creature in a tuxedo with a rose for a head, apparently named “Mr. Thorns”, standing in front of a vaguely-rose-shaped building called THORNS based on a sign above the door: “Ah! Good morning, Daisy.” [A text box only containing ellipses.] ”Hm? Rose? Ah, I saw her pass by here not too long ago. I’m sure she’s close. Now, I’ve got to get back to work. Good luck with finding Rose!” [Mr. Thorns then walks into the aforementioned building.]

Creature in a yellow summer dress with a sunflower for a head, apparently named “Mrs. Thorns”, holding hands with a much smaller creature with a yellow rose bud for a head, named “Rosy": "Hello there, Daisy, nice to see you!” [Box of ellipses.] “What’s that? You’re looking for Rose? I’m afraid I haven’t seen her… I’m sure she’s not far, though!” [The dialogue initially ends here, but I talked to Mrs. Thorns a second time to see if she’d say anything else, to which she says the following.] “Ah, that reminds me: if you ever want a nice bouquet of roses, make sure you visit my husband’s shop. He sells plenty of beautiful roses! [There is no more dialogue from Mrs. Thorns after this. The child with her only says “Hello, miss.” when clicked on.]

Creature wearing a black gown that seems to be a white humanoid poodle with three heads named “Ms. Cerber”: "Oh, hi, Daisy! Rare that we see you without Rose… Is she doing ok?" [Box of ellipses.] "You’re looking for her now? We hope you find her soon!" [There is no dialogue after this.]

Creature sitting on a bench that seems to be nothing more than a completely black silhouette of something resembling a human, apparently named “Zilch”: [An empty textbox and nothing but a cacophony of loud, glitchy noises (that, just by the way, made me jump out of my skin when I clicked on Zilch). Clicking on them more than once grants the same result each time.]

Creature with what seems to be a red mushroom for a head in a plain white t-shirt apparently named "Gus", seemingly sweeping the sidewalk with a broom: "Rose? Yeah, I passed by her earlier. She should be taking a stroll in the forest by now." [There is no more dialogue after that.]

Creature that appears to be an extremely massive serpent with four large eyes against a large brick wall, hovering over what appears to be several fruit and vegetable stands. The creature seemed completely flat, almost as if it was drawn into the brick wall. Apparently (and appropriately) named “Four Eyes”: Ah, Lady Daisy, a lovely morning to you! You here to shop?" [Box of ellipses.] "Hm? No? Oh well, that’s fine, maybe next time. Feel free to stay and chat, I enjoy your company!" [The dialogue initially ends there; however, Four Eyes continues talking if clicked on again.] "Hm? You’re looking for Lady Rose? Yes, she just bought some fresh veggies from me not too long ago. She’s most likely up ahead." [After this, clicking on Four Eyes will only ever bring up the text “Pleasure doing business with you!” and nothing more.]

So far, the game, despite its creepy visuals and less-than-appealing soundtrack, was relatively pleasant, and I was actually enjoying it thus far. Even though the NPCs were all bizarre and inhuman, they all seemed friendly enough (aside from Zilch; then again, the racket it made may have been “hello, have a nice day” in whatever language it spoke, but I can’t confirm that).

About three screens past Four Eyes' market, I came across the game's first true hurdle — a nameless humanoid red fox in a red suit only referred to as "Gatekeeper." He was stationed in front of a closed gate that looked like it opened into a forest, judging by the leaves jutting from the left side of the screen. Upon engaging him in conversation, he responded with the following:

“Mornin’”. [Box of ellipses.] “What? You wanna go through the forest? Sure, but I’ll need to see a permit. Don’t want any ne’er do wells in there again.” [Box of ellipses.] “…Don’t have one? Sorry, can’t let you pass, then.” [The dialogue initially ends here, but speaking to him again reveals the following.] "Ask around the City. I'm sure somebody can help you get your hands on one. [After this, the gatekeeper will only say “No permit, no pass. Sorry. Gotta follow protocol,” when clicked on afterward.]

After that, I backtracked multiple screens and spoke to every NPC I could find, none of whom could help me — that is, until I talked to Ms. Cerber again. She said the following:

“Hi again, Daisy! Is there something wrong?” [Box of ellipses.] “A permit to the forest? We’ve actually got one of our own!" [Box of ellipses.] “Hm? Can you borrow it? We don’t know, the last time we let someone borrow our permit, they lost it and we had to sign up for another one… Tell you what, how about we make you a deal?"

I can’t remember her exact wordage, but in the next few textboxes, Ms. Cerber described how she'd wanted to buy a rose bouquet for her (unnamed) partner back at her home, but didn't have the funds for it. She then offered to let Daisy not only borrow but keep the permit if she managed to get her some roses for her partner, claiming that the cost of a new permit was minuscule compared to the value of seeing her lover happy. It seemed that, even though you apparently had to sign up for something to get a forest permit, it seemed that any permit would allow you through even if it wasn’t actually yours because the gatekeeper never bothered doing any actual checks, and I was just fine with that. I felt that someone would be getting fired soon, though.

Remembering what Mrs. Thorns told me earlier, I immediately made my way towards Mr. Thorn’s shop, but not before I picked up an item blending in with one of the buildings that I hadn’t noticed on my way there; a coin (according to text that appeared), small and the color of a penny, its sprite now on the top-left corner of the screen. The coin would turn out to be the only item that you could pick up in FIND ROSE; everything else was obtained via talking to NPCs.

Unlike the previous segments of the game, the shop was drawn in a top-down perspective rather than a side view. Fittingly, the shop was covered from top to bottom with all things relating to roses; rose lollipops, rose jewelry (which I quickly assumed was the same jewelry that Daisy wore around her neck), rose seeds, rose-shaped décor, and of course, rose bouquets. I spoke to Mr. Thorns, who sat behind a counter at the top of the screen. His dialogue was as follows:

“Oh, hello again, Daisy! Have you found Rose yet?” [Box of ellipses.] "Not yet? Well, I'm sure she's around here, don’t worry about her. Now, did you want something?" [Box of ellipses.] "Ah, you’d like to purchase a rose bouquet? Of course, of course! Let me get you one right away!" [Mr. Thorns goes offscreen for about a second, and then reappears at the counter.] "Alrighty, that'll be 5 cents, please!"

I clicked on the coin in the corner of the screen, thinking that I could pay for the roses with it, but that resulted in the following dialogue:

“Oh, I’m so sorry, you seem to be low on money… Hm…" [Box of ellipses.] “Don’t fret, Daisy. I'll give it to you; that is, if you could do me a small favor. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take too much of your time.”

To summarize what Mr. Thorns said next, he’d give me the bouquet for free if I got him an orange from what I learned was called “the All-Seeing Market”; according to him, he’d get it himself, but he didn’t want to be away from his shop in case a customer arrived. How somebody with no mouth could eat anything, I couldn’t tell you, but all I cared about was getting that permit so that I could finally advance and, hopefully, find whoever Rose was.

As I headed for Four Eyes’ screen, it had only at that moment dawned on me that the music didn’t loop. In the ten or so minutes that I’d been playing, the “melody” (and I use that term very loosely) never repeated itself in the same way, essentially playing one long piano tune. Right then, I could only imagine someone sitting at a piano for probably an hour, just pressing whichever key caught their attention next.

Upon reaching the market, I got the following dialogue when I spoke to Four Eyes:

“Lovely seeing you again, my Lady!” [Box of ellipses.] “You’d like to buy one of my oranges? Wonderful! That will be 1 cent, if you may.”

This time, when I clicked on the coin, it actually worked, much to my relief, and the coin’s sprite was replaced with that of an orange in the inventory. “Pleasure doing business with you!” Four Eyes had said afterward.

I’m not going to get into any of the dialogue spoken between the time of me buying the orange to me speaking to the gatekeeper, because the entire fetch quest took a little less than five minutes, and nobody said anything interesting or of note that I can remember. Long-but-not-long story short: I gave the orange to Mr. Thorns and he gave me the roses, I gave the roses to Ms. Cerber and she gave me the permit, I gave the permit to the gatekeeper and he let me through. Objective complete.

After opening the gate for Daisy, the gatekeeper said the following:

“What business do you have in the forest, anyway?” [Box of ellipses.] “Rose, huh? Not sure who that is, but a fine lady did pass through here earlier. With any luck, that’ll be your girl. Head on through.” [The dialogue initially ends here, but talking to the gatekeeper then has him say the following.] “Be careful, and remember: don’t bother Mother Goose, if you know what’s good for ya."

Although I was eager to move ahead, the gatekeeper's warning stirred a bit of anxiety within me as I moved toward the next screen. What did he mean by "be careful"? Who exactly was Mother Goose? As the screen went dark, I expected these questions to be answered very soon. When the next screen appeared, however, my fingers froze on the mouse, and my eyes became fixed on the landscape presented.

This scene was darker, much darker, than any that came before it. As expected of a forest, the landscape was filled with trees and bushes, but they were all depicted in pure black, while the background was a deep blue that would have made the trees invisible had it been any deeper. The art style, while still maintaining the bootleg-Tim-Burton style of the game, appeared much rougher and more chaotic, causing the bushes to look less like bushes and more like amorphous, shadowy masses. Daisy, previously vibrant in color, was now just a bunch of white outlines, the background bleeding straight through her. The disjointed piano music ceased entirely when the screen appeared, and despite how the music creeped me out, the silence that followed was far worse.

There was a sprite of what appeared to be a wooden signpost in the middle of the screen, and it gave me the following text when I clicked on it:

“Do not bother Mother Goose.”

The tiny wave of fear I felt when the gatekeeper had said the same thing had grown into a full-blown tsunami. Yes, it was just a game, but at that moment, I felt as though I was in that forest instead of Daisy. After a bout of shaking and heavy breathing, I steeled myself to press on, guiding Daisy past the sign and into the following screen.

For the first three screens, nothing happened, and for a moment, my fear began to diminish. Whoever this “Mother Goose” was hadn’t made its presence known in any way I could detect, and I figured that by not “bothering” them — whatever “bothering” actually meant — they wouldn’t pop up.

This relief was short-lived, however, when I saw a tall, lanky figure slowly rise in the middle of the fifth forest screen, staring right at Daisy as she entered the screen.

The being was at least double Daisy's size and had no identifiable characteristics apart from a bird-like beak, a bonnet-like accessory on its head, and a shining white eye on the side that contrasted harshly with the gloom that swallowed the locale. Trying not to panic, I moved my cursor towards the creature, wanting to examine it to get some idea as to what exactly it was and what its purpose its presence served.

“Be careful, and remember: don’t bother Mother Goose, if you know what’s good for ya."

After a few seconds of hovering over the thing, the cursor jerking and quivering against the blackness that surrounded it as my right hand shook, I swiftly decided against it, yanking the cursor from the thing as if it were an atom bomb that would explode if I lingered over it any longer. My immediate instinct was to head back to the brighter, more populated city full of friendly characters, but every single time I attempted to leave, Daisy would stop just short of going offscreen, and the following text would appear:

“You can’t go back right now. You have to FIND ROSE.”

With seemingly no other choices available, I held my breath and slipped by the shadowy being to proceed to the next screen. Thankfully, it didn’t attack Daisy; it only turned in her direction, watching her as she progressed.

I’m unsure of the exact number of screens that comprised the entire remaining forest area, but I am sure that it was far too many. Each screen repeated the same scene; the creature, whom I eventually concluded was Mother Goose, appeared in each and every one, never breaking its gaze away from Daisy as she wandered through the forest. I've illustrated the scene as best I can to give an idea of what it looked like:

I think it was around the halfway mark when I noticed the music. It began with one note, then two, and gradually added more as I went from screen to screen. When the sixteenth note played, I realized it was the first few notes of the nursery song "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary," a tune my mother used to sing to me as a child. The tempo was incredibly slow, with a full second of silence between each note.

I know that most people, especially adults, may not have found any of this particularly scary, but at the moment, my seven-year-old self was beyond terrified. While all of my childhood friends were scared of the Mad Piano from Super Mario 64, I was scared of Mother Goose from FIND ROSE. While all of my adult online buddies were scared of the Lavender Town music from the old Pokémon games as kids, I was scared of the one-note-at-a-time piano rendition of “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” from FIND ROSE. While everyone else remembers being scared over a popular console title, I was scared over some obscure CD-ROM game from a corner store that nobody other than me has probably even played.

Despite my fear, I continued to press on. I kept telling myself that, because I'd made it this far, I had an obligation to see this entire game through. I had an obligation to FIND ROSE.

In what felt like hours — though it was most likely less than two minutes — I finally reached the forest’s final screen. Everything was essentially the same as it had been in the rest of the forest, with Mother Goose still staring me down, but there was another wooden sign at the far end of the screen, which provided the following text when clicked on:

“Forest Exit; Picnic Area Ahead.”

Overwhelmed by a surge of intense relief, I quickly made my way to the left, eager to escape this nightmare, while Mother Goose turned to look at me one final time.

It was when I was just about to transition to the next screen that it happened. The final cherry on the proverbial panic-inducing sundae. It happened so quickly that I almost didn't see it.

Mother Goose darted towards Daisy at astonishing speed, its beak wide open and its white eyes growing almost to the size of its head. The very last note that played before I left the forest was incredibly loud and distorted, as if somebody violently banged their finger on a piano key (something else that I thought would wake my parents up, but thankfully didn’t). I could have sworn I heard the strained cry of a dying bird layered over the noise, being abruptly cut off at the end. Mother Goose was barely a centimeter from touching Daisy when the screen went dark.

As the screen brightened and transformed into a more inviting setting, accompanied by the return of the weird-yet-benign tune, I needed a full minute to motivate myself to move. Once I managed to exhale the breath that had lodged in my throat, I started to move Daisy across the screen again. A small part of me considered backtracking to the previous screen out of curiosity, but I refused. I would never return there again. To this day, I have no idea what happens if you click on Mother Goose, but I’m perfectly fine with not knowing.

I only encountered a single other NPC on my way through the Picnic Area; a humanoid black cat with an orange t-shirt and yellow sun hat on, sitting at what appeared to be a light-brown picnic table to the right of the screen. Speaking with her gave me the following text:

“Hey there, Daisy! You enjoying the weather?” [Box of ellipses.] “Rose? She’s just up ahead. I think she’s waiting for you. You should go see her!” [There is no more dialogue after that.]

After advancing through two more screens, each showcasing rows of vacant picnic tables, I arrived at what seemed to be the beginning of a grassy field. In the center stood a large tree, beneath standing a creature resembling a brown gazelle. Like Daisy, she stood on two legs and had human-like hands, with hers holding a straw basket filled with what appeared to be carrots and lettuce. The creature wore a long, gray summer dress that brushed against the ground, covering her legs and feet, and like Daisy, she had a necklace, only with a white daisy at the center. Her expression mirrored Daisy's own weary, almost middle-aged-lady-looking appearance. Here’s a doodle of her:

Upon finding her, she had her back turned towards Daisy, but she turned around when I clicked on her. True to the cat-beast’s word, the creature was indeed the one whom I’d been searching for the entire game. I had finally found Rose. When I clicked on her, she gave me the following dialogue, which served as the final piece of text in the entire game:

“Oh, Daisy, dear! I was just enjoying the pleasant breeze… I was hoping you’d come to enjoy it with me.  I was just thinking of visiting your house for tea afterward; would that be fine with you? [Box of ellipses]. Wonderful! I’m so happy to see you.”

Then, suddenly and with no fanfare, the game window just closed itself out. A bit anti-climactic, yeah, but I was happy to have won the game. I did attempt to re-launch the game by removing and then re-inserting the disc several times, but it seemed that the game would no longer boot.

As I sat there reflecting on what I’d just played, a soft knock on the wall nearly made me fall out of my chair. I looked up to see my father at the end of the hallway that led to the living room where the computer was, staring at me with half-lidded eyes.

“Yo," he said, punctuating his greeting with a huge yawn. "It's 10 o'clock now, bud."

“Yeah, I know,” I said in placid agreement. “I just closed the game, and I’m getting off right now.”

As my father nodded and trudged back to his and mom’s room, I turned the computer off, leapt out of the chair, and headed straight to bed without a word, falling into a restless sleep.

I never told my parents about the game. When my mom asked about it the next morning, I told her that the disc hadn’t worked and I just played I Spy: School Days. It wasn't a complete lie, though; each time I attempted to load the game after that night, the CD wouldn't read. We didn’t bother bringing it back to the store, since we’d gotten it for free anyway. It was a bit more difficult, however, to come up with a reason for my mother as to why I didn't want her to sing "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" to me anymore.

When I returned to school, I asked several of my peers if they’d ever played or heard of FIND ROSE, and all of them looked at me like I had grown an extra head. I’d even resorted to asking my teachers, who, predictably, had zero clue what I was talking about, and about half of them signed their answer off with some variation of "games are fun but don't let them make you forget to study". After classes, I used the school library's computer to do Google research on (I couldn't use Google on my family's computer, as my parents felt that I could look up something I wasn't supposed to on it, and had it locked behind password via a third-party program); my search yielded no results. I eventually gave up.

So now, years later as an adult, I’m writing this as a… call-to-action, so to speak. If anybody who reads this has played this game, has footage of this game, or even has actual ownership of a functioning copy of this game, please, please contact the research center, so that they can forward it to me, and if you are willing to part with it, send a physical copy to the team as well. I would greatly appreciate it, and I’m sure the team would as well.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

[REDACTED]

P.S: To whoever is in charge of the research party; I’ve read the report on your website you posted a few days ago regarding a tall, bird-like creature with glowing white eyes that was sighted skulking in a dark alley sometime last week? If you happen to gather more information on it, I would appreciate it very greatly if you could share any and all you possibly can with me. I’ve been losing sleep over it.

[End.]

[lucetalksalot]

Is that  LUCINDA TALKALOT  stepping out into Diagon Alley? Ministry records tell us that they were born on  JANUARY 24TH  and are a  25  year old,  PUREBLOOD  who works as a  CHASER FOR PUDDLEMERE UNITED.  Some have said that they can be described as being  AMBITIOUS, CLEVER & DETERMINED,  however, they also see themselves as being INSECURE, COMPETITIVE & VULNERABLE.  Apparently, SHE  look(s) a lot like  MAIA MITCHELL,  whoever that is, and if they had to pick a side in the war, they would choose to  REMAIN NEUTRAL.

Full Name: Lucinda Allegra Talkalot

Name Origin: the name Lucinda means 'light'. Her parents struggled to come up with a name for their first born, and famously fought about a name for months. Her grandfather was the one to suggest 'Lucinda', and somehow, her parents agreed that it was the perfect name. She was given her mother's name as her middle name.

Nicknames: Luce, Lucie

Age: Twenty-Five

Birthday: January 24th

Gender & Pronouns: Cisfemale & She/her

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Relationship Status: Single

Patronus: Crow

Boggart: Lucinda's boggart takes on the form of her grandfather telling her how disappointed he is in her.

Wand Type: Hawthorn, Dragon Heartstring 12 1/2 inches, Semi Flexible

Occupation: Chaser for Puddlemere United

Affiliation: Neutral

Face Claim: Maia Mitchell

Biography

There had been a time when the Talkalot name held a lot of status among England’s Pureblood elite. They were not Sacred Twenty-Eight by any means, but Lucinda’s grandfather, Alistair Talkalot had done well. At twenty-three he used his family’s money to open up a lounge in Knockturn Alley called Deliciae, which offered an exclusive sort of membership among the Pureblood circles. It had a strict dress code and an even stricter entrance requirements. Business boomed, the money flooded in, and Alistair believed that the Talkalot name would become synonymous with the elite. His prediction held…for a time. He married and had his own family as was expected, but to his dying day, his one true love was the lounge he had created. He was a workaholic at his core, a terrible husband and father, but ironically, he would turn into a wonderful grandfather one day.

By the time Lucinda and her younger brother, Edmund, were born, Alistair fell ill, but he refused to let that stop him. Right after her sixth birthday, he passed, leaving Deliciae to Magnus, his only son. Even though Lucinda had been young when her grandfather died, she remembered spending many days with him at the lounge, imagining what it would be like to own it one day. Even though the lounge had been around for decades, Alistair was always looking for ways to improve it for his customers, and to make sure the business continued to boom. Lucinda had adored her grandfather, she had always felt like he actually listened to her, unlike her parents, and losing him had been devastating for the girl. It still was hard for her to fathom, all these years later. 

The death of Alistair Talkalot brought the ruin of the Talkalot family. Unlike Alistair Magnus and Allegra Talkalot didn’t have much of a work ethic. Content to just spend the Talkalot money without much thought to where it came from and the running of Deliciae, Magnus hired someone to oversee the lounge so he could spend his time with his beautiful wife vacationing and gambling. Within a few years it became evident that Magnus’s business overseer had played them and drove Deliciae into the ground. It was no longer the place to be, and Deliciae ultimately closed down. Between Magnus’s gambling debts and the loss of the lounge, the Talkalot family was ruined. With no way to pay back his debts, which were massive by that point, they had to sell their manor and move into a townhouse when Lucinda was eight. Humiliated, Magnus turned to drinking, and Allegra refused to go out into public anymore.

Lucinda’s once happy childhood was over, and her Hogwarts letter couldn’t arrive fast enough. Arriving at Hogwarts, she was sorted into Slytherin, where she had to keep her head high amongst the children who used to be her friends but had turned their backs on her when things had gotten bad at home. It was difficult for her, but Lucinda refused to let it bother her. She told herself that it was okay to be friendless if she had to be. 

Everything changed for her when she got her hands on a broomstick during her first flying lesson. She had always been a fan of Quidditch, though she had not gone to a match in years, but her mother had always insisted that flying broomsticks wasn’t for girls. Something changed when she got on that broomstick, and she was immediately in love with flying. She wanted nothing more than to do more of it, and even though first years weren’t allowed to join the team and couldn’t have a broomstick at school, she found ways around the rules by making friends with some of the players on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Some of the girls indulged her and let her fly in return for some chore or promise of a favor. Flying slowly brought her out of her shell, and she slowly started to work on her relationships with the other students in Slytherin as the years progressed. She made the Slytherin team her fifth year as a chaser, and the rest was history so to speak. Lucinda made captain in her final year at Hogwarts, and it was one of the proudest moments of her life. 

Lucinda was approached by a scout from Puddlemere United’s reserve team during her final year at school, and she signed the contract without much thought. It wasn’t a ton of money, but it was more than she had, and she was going to get to fly for a living. What more could she want? Lucinda graduated from Hogwarts and got to work, determined to make the main team by the time she turned twenty-two. It was going to be hard work, but she was dedicated and she wasn’t going to let herself down. During those years, Lucinda neglected her social life and her family, wanting nothing more than to make the team. She told herself over and over again that it would be worth it once she was a chaser for Puddlemere. Her dream came true shortly before her twenty-first birthday, almost a year in advance. From the moment she signed on with the main team, her mother started coming to her for money. Somehow, Lucinda started to fund her family, something that she was proud to do at first, but lately…she’s started to wonder if that was a mistake. But it made her mother happy, and her father seemed less angry with some income coming in, so she didn’t feel like she had another choice. 

It’s been a few years on the team, and Lucinda couldn’t be happier. She’s being paid to play her favorite game in the world, and she gets to fly every single day. What’s more to need? But lately she’s been feeling restless. Maybe it’s the talk of war, or a desire for something more than just Quidditch, but it’s a new feeling and she’s not entirely sure what to make of it. 

[memorystormsanctuary]

Day 6~ One Choice New Life

Today’s @khoc-week prompt is One Choice, New Life. I spend a lot of time focusing on the choices my characters have made during the 3D entry of the series, so there are many places to go with Y. She’s all too aware of the choices she’s made and how they landed her exactly where she is. But part of her looks back on her choices and sees they weren’t always as much her decisions as she may think.

***

Sometimes, it was hard to see just what choices she had. Time and time again she could remember her back to a corner with no way to go but forward. And in those moments she had sworn again and again she had a choice. That she had some kind of control of where forward was. Even now a part of her wanted to believe that. But she was starting to see the honeyed words that had led her here.

Maybe it wasn’t always honeyed words. After all, X hadn’t even tried to sweeten his words when he offered her a choice. The choice between leaving the world they called home or staying and never speaking to him again. Perhaps it was a childish notion. Part of her knew it was nothing serious. X would have never been able to spend so long without speaking to her if they were close. Or that was what she tried to tell herself, as she fought with her own mind. To stay or go. So it was definitely her own choice to leave with Master Eraqus.

And Vanitas was never capable of honeyed words. He could only hiss out venom. So it wasn’t because of honey she left the Land of Departure to chase after her friends. She had made that choice on her own. With the ringing promise from Vanitas, her friends would die. And so would her light. She hadn’t just been following someone else’s plan. She had made that choice. It just happened to play into Xehanort’s hand.

Maybe it was honey that had drawn her into the Heartless organization. Into chasing after Kingdom Hearts, the thing she hated so much. That had cost her and her friends so much. The honeyed promise that one day they would be themselves again. That she wouldn’t have to be a Heartless forever. And maybe being beside her brother was just a happy coincidence, when she was so scared to be alone again. And leaving them had been just as much her own choice, when the fear of Kingdom Hearts really struck her. It hadn’t been that same fear of being alone that made her follow her friends.

And it had certainly been sly words and clever truths that had forced her to remember. She couldn’t even pretend for a moment that had been her own choice. Not when she had spent so long trying to forget. Purposely looking past all the familiar feelings. She had never wanted to be Light. To be the thing they all chased after. She had begged to forget in another lifetime. She would never choose to remember. Even when it was right in front of her. She had loved the bittersweet taste of her brothers lies.

Maybe, she had really loved the honey traps. Pushing her down the path needed for the story. For someone else’s plan. Maybe all she was was a pawn. Not able to make her own choices.

But then, she didn’t think they were expecting her to make it this far. There had been moments they weren’t planning. The same moments she hadn’t been planning.

There had been no honeyed promises of a tomorrow when she gave up her heart. Perhaps she had really been in a corner then. One way or another she was going to lose her heart. X had always been stronger than her. Faster and smarter too. But she could have fought. Tooth and nail she could have fought, made it hell for him to take it. That was what they had wanted.

But in that moment she chose to give it to him. To let him take it from her.

And in that moment her choice had changed everything.

Instead of all the apprentices being lost, one remained. She held onto her mind. Her power. She was still her in almost every way. And she still had those ties. The connections to her friends who maybe now where lost, but she knew the way to find. And everything that had happened, she could pass on to the next generation. To Sora and Riku and Kairi. To guide them on the path she could take alone.

She stayed in the light, to be sure her friends had a beacon to follow. And that would be Xehanort’s undoing.

[arsenalofthoughts]

Goodbye for now, my love

Thank you for loving me for the past three years.

For allowing me and Ponyo to share our lives with you.

For accepting me and choosing me.

For taking care of me when I couldn’t walk.

For always being my cheerleader when things were tough.

For being my nurse when I got sick (which we both know was a lot).

For being the best 2nd mom to Ponyo.

For introducing me to new beautiful places.

For showing me how big the world is and to never stop dreaming.

For all the late night food runs.

For the loud laughters and cries.

For the cute never-ending banters.

For showing me how genuinely happy I can be with another person.

For allowing me the chance to love you, care for you, and be a part of your life.

I can never put into words how much I love you and cherish you.

It’s beyond the English language.

You are a special woman that deserves everything beautiful this universe has to offer.

I pray you receive it and much more.

If I could redo even just the last 6 months of us together,

I would’ve held you tighter and longer.

I would’ve kissed you and hugged you more.

I would’ve talked to you till you drifted off to sleep every night.

I would’ve finished that movie you wanted to watch.

I would’ve just taken off work to make that trip we wanted to go on.

I would’ve pushed us to take the Amtrak to a random city for you to do street photography.

I would’ve been more patient and understanding.

I would’ve been gentler and kinder.

I would’ve cooked your favorite meals one last time.

I would’ve played NeoPets with you as much as I could.

I would’ve given you all the cool items that I have sitting in my gallery.

I would’ve taken more photos of you and us together.

I would’ve woke up earlier every day just to spend more time awake with you.

I would’ve cuddled you more.

I would’ve gotten you flowers every day — your favorite sunflowers and tulips.

I would’ve gone with you to Ross and Marshall’s every day.

I would’ve watched you take care of your plants and listened to you ramble about each one.

I would’ve paid more attention when you’d point out new leaves coming in.

I would’ve been a better partner if I knew we were ending.

I got too caught up in the stress of life and us.

I was so consumed by everything that I couldn’t give you anymore.

I had nothing left inside me.

And I’m sure you feel the same way too.

I’m sure you have the same thoughts of “I would’ve”s.

Nonetheless, thank you for everything.

Thank you for being you.

You are the best part of me.

You are the love of my life and will always be the one I think about when I hear love songs.

You will always hold a piece of my heart.

Right now, it feels like you have the whole thing.

And I’m not sure when it’ll finally feel like the piece part — but I don’t mind if you continue to hold it.

I hope the universe is kind enough to bring us back together when it’s time.

So I can turn the “I would’ve”s into “I did”.

I hope you continue to heal each of the wounds on your heart and soul.

I hope the weight on your shoulders feels lighter.

I hope you continue to take pictures and fall in love with your craft again.

I hope you take care of yourself and not work too hard.

I know how you lose yourself sometimes.

I hope you continue to love yourself more and more.

Maybe one day you’ll be able to see yourself in the golden hour light that I see you in.

I hope you’re happy — not content, but genuinely happy.

With yourself, your life, and in everything you do and are.

That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.

Was for you to be so so so damn happy.

You deserve it.

I could cry just thinking about how much pain and suffering you’ve gone through in your life so far.

The least that God and this universe can do is allow you to be happy.

And if that means I can’t be with you ever again, I’ll accept that.

Because I would never want to compromise your happiness.

And if I’m not the one for you,

I hope the next person gives you everything you need and want to be happy.

Everything I couldn’t give you.

I love you so so so much.

I love you endlessly.

I love you.

As long as I am on this earth, just remember that you are so loved.

So unconditionally loved and cherished.

And I will miss you so damn much.

I already do.

Everything you do, all of you, every inch of you, everything you say — I miss it all.

I hope I get the chance to love you again.

We’ll get it right next time.

And if not in this life, we’ll get it in the next life.

Thank you again for everything.

Thank you for being unapologetically you.

I love you endlessly.

Goodbye for now, my love.

[eufezco]

Tyler and Readers daughter seeing Tyler as the Hyde for the first time and instead of being scared she just calmly approaches him and offers him a goldfish 😭

pt. 2

tyler is the most loving father ever. even before his daughter was born, he already loved her unconditionally. he loves spending time with her, doing her two little piggy tails and choosing the cutest outfit before driving her to daycare, and then waiting for her outside with her afternoon snack and opening arms just for the baby to run stomping into them. that's why he's scared that someday his baby would grow enough to discover that he is a monster.

—it's not like that, tyler. she'll still love you the same.

but tyler shook his head every time and answered you "she will never want to hear from me again when she finds out that i am a monster." and it breaks you every time because you know that's not true. you were educating your daughter to respect everyone, why would it be any different with her father, one of the people she loves most in the world? besides, even if tyler didn't even want to think about it and that in most cases the children inherited the mother's condition, there was still a possibility of her being also a hyde.

you drove to the weathervane with your daughter sitting in the back of the car eating some snacks. once you arrived at the cafe shop, you noticed that the lights were on, and the door was open, but there was no one inside. —mommy will be here in a second, baby —. and you played some soft music for her while she waited for you in the car. you got out of it and quickly approached the entrance to the cafeteria. you didn't need to go inside to know that tyler wasn't there and that something was wrong. there was a trail of blood leading from the door of the weathervane down the street a little way. —shit —. you mumbled and quickly got into the car again.

—okay, baby, come here. daddy needs us —. you left the car at the edge of the forest, you held your daughter in your arms and you went into the woods. he was most likely halfway through the transformation, that's why the blood. his wounds from the past transformation were not healed, so he would probably was badly injured.

your daughter was confused but she was still busy eating her cheddar goldfish. you walked a few meters with her in your arms until you found tyler's clothes ripped on the ground. —no, no, no, no —. you knew what that meant. when you turned around to take your girl back to the car and drive her to bianca's, there he was, transformed into what he hated most. his breathing was heavy, his big eyes stared at you and your daughter, ready for your next move, and his fanged teeth were showing in an attempt to scare you both. his body was way bigger than yours, and it blocked your way back to the car. his long claws were digging into the ground, almost as if he was fighting against his nature.

—tyler–. you called him with a sigh.

—daddy? —. your daughter called him. her green eyes were analyzing what she had in front of her. her small body was a little tense between your arms, but her face showed no fear. she tapped on your shoulder three times and you hesitated for a moment. tyler would never forgive himself if he hurt your daughter. you ended up leaving the girl on her feet, always behind her in case she fell. walking heavily she approached him, he didn't try to attack her nor he did try to avoid her. using her sticky little fingers, she pulled the last cheese goldfish that she had left, and then she held out her arm, offering it to his dad.

the hyde lifted one of his big arms off the ground, and you threatened to pull her away from him. being extremely careful and just by using the tip of his long claws, he took the goldfish from the girls' hand. after that, she returned to your side and asked you to pick her up again.

—i'll take her with bianca and xavier, and i'll be back —. you didn't know if tyler was hearing you, but by the time he returned to his human form, he will be tired and hurt, with all of his past wounds open again and most likely with new ones.

the hyde huffed and you guessed that he did hear you. he slowly moved out of your way and you started to walk to the car with your daughter in your arms again. her eyes never left tyler, she rested her head on your shoulder so she could keep looking at him for a little longer while you walked away from him. with her hand, she waved goodbye to him and he didn't move from there until you were both far away enough

A/N — I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT BY GOLDFISH AND I WAS LIKE ??¿¿ WHY WOULD THE CHILD OFFER HIM A REAL FISH i hope you meant the snacks tho🧍🏼‍♀️i was confused

[lfghughes]

Half My Fault

a/n: hahaha why am i such a simp for these kind of storylines. Also thank you to the anon who requested this. Peep that John ft though, i had to

You had met Nico years ago through a mutual friend and by that you meant you had dated one of his friends. You were all in the same friend group and over the years you had become close to Nico, he had been someone you had come to trust and he genuinely became one of your friends. When you and your boyfriend ended up splitting it rocked the friend group, many of them choosing him in the break up but Nico didn’t play that game. He continued being friends with him but also you.

Your friendship with each other had only grown after that, now you two were spending a lot of time on your own versus being in a group. Then one night things had escalated slightly to a point where you realized there were shared feelings. What you didn’t want was for Nico to lose his friendship with his friend because of this and he also was conflicted about the whole situation so you both decided it was better to remain as friends.

Even though this was decided everyone still thought there was something more there with the way you two acted. You never crossed the line with one another but you were both affectionate. His hand usually finding your lower back when he was walking through crowds with you. Snuggling on your couch or his while watching a movie. But there were never any more kisses or anything past just that.

It worked but slowly over the past few weeks you had noticed Nico distancing himself a little bit and before one of his games you came to learn why. He had stopped by your place after his practice and invited you to his game later. “By the way, I’ve been seeing someone. She’s going to be there tonight too. It’s her first time but I figured you could kind of hang out and show her around so she doesn’t get too overwhelmed.” You smiled and nodded your head at him but there was a dull pain in your heart from his words.

Nico had gotten you both seats close to the tunnel they came out of and you were trying your best in talking to the girl he had been seeing but it was hard. You knew you had no right to be upset or jealous but you were. The game came and went and you were proud of your best friend for playing a good, so much so that he won first star of the night but you saw the way he looked up at her. The way he winked at her as he walked out to the ice and you were sick to your stomach.

Yet you still held yourself together as you showed her where he would be after the game. You felt like you were out of your body, just wanting to be home so you could cry about all of it but you needed to act normal. When Nico came out, he hugged you and then moved on to her before you all walked outside to the parking lot. His arm remained around her as you watched all the little things he did so naturally. The way he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, the way he smiled down at her.

“Hey, we’re all going out for some drinks, want to come? You can ride with us.” Nico told you, turning around to look at you but you shook your head. “It’s kind of late, I’m tired so I’m going to go home.” Before he could try to convince you otherwise you started walking the opposite way back to your car. You were so lost in your own thoughts that you didn’t even see Marino until you crashed into him. “Oh sorry..” You started and he shook off your apology. “It’s okay.” John told you and then his eyebrows furrowed a little. “Are you not going with Nico? We’re all going out.” 

“I don’t feel good, I just need to get home.” A look of concern passed his face as he pointed back at his car. “I can drive you home real quick if you want.” You shook your head at his offer “I have my car it’s fine.” But he was clearly worried about you and wouldn’t drop it. “I can pick you up tomorrow and come get it with you but I don’t think you should drive home if you’re not feeling good. Trust me, I’ll hate if I let you go and something happens.” 

You ended up agreeing with him because you were barely thinking already and so maybe this was the safest option. He dropped you off at your place and you immediately curled up on the couch in the comfort of all your blankets. A hour had probably passed since John had dropped you off when you heard the doorbell ring. Checking your camera because it was late you saw that it was just Nico so you went and opened the door. “What are you doing here?” You asked and he looked at you like it was a ridiculous question.

“You told me you were tired but John told me at the bar he drove you home because you weren’t feeling good. He said he was really worried about you. What happened?” Of course John had expressed his concern, why wouldn’t he? “It’s nothing. I just didn’t drink a lot of water.” Nico knew these were all excuses and he showed it clearly on his face. “This is because I’m seeing someone, isn’t?” Silence was all he got from you.

“That’s not fair, you decided we shouldn’t be something more and you can’t get upset when I find someone.” You held up your hand, stopping him from going on. “We decided not me.” Last you had checked this was something he had agreed to. “I agreed with you because it’s what you wanted but I could care less about what he thinks of me because I’m in love with you.” Silence filled the air between you again, shock at his words.

You closed the space off between the two of you and pressed your lips to his, his hands going to the sides of your face and holding you there. The kiss proving everything he just said and so much more. This felt right, more right than you could have imagined. You pulled away slightly, looking at him. “What about the girl from tonight?” You asked and he scratched the back of his head. “The minute John said something was wrong I went back to her and broke things off. She’s not you.”

[oof-thirsty-hoes-af]

John Doe x affectionate, friendly reader oneshot

(unfinished)

You stepped into the bus, excited but also nervous for your first day at your new job. You tried zoning out as the bus went on it's journey, being yanked back to reality every time the vehicle skidded to a halt. At one point you noticed a cute guy come on the bus, not staring at him but keeping an eye on him in your peripheral vision. After a bit you realized he was staring at you, so you returned his gaze. He didn't falter, but you smiled and waved. No response. Feeling confident in yourself, you pat the open seat next to you, not breaking your eyes from his as he walks up and takes the seat. You giggle when your head follows him because he continues to stare at you.

"I'm (y/n)," you chirp, trying to start a conversation.

No answer, so you return to disassociating as you wait for your stop to arrive.

~~time skip to work cuz I'm v lazy~~

You were mopping the floor when a familiar grey entered your vision, looking up to see the man from the bus.

"Oh, hey. Fancy seeing you again!" You chuckled, nervously avoiding eye contact.

"I'm ////^°•∆∆•°^/////, but you can call me John Doe, or doe for short I forgot to answer earlier." He replied, stepping closer.

"Oh, okay." You said, continuing your work as you spoke.

"Are you doing anything after work?" He asked, eagerly following you.

"Mmmmmmm……no, I think I was just gonna watch some TV and go to bed, why?" You answer, looking at the male. You were left in silence as he turned on his heel and scurried away.

"Hm. Odd" you think out loud, chuckling lightly at doe's strange behavior.

~ end of shift (guys if you know you know,,,,// convenience store jobs suck) ~

"Hi, (y/n)!" Doe excitedly yelled at he walked up to you.

"Augh! Doe, you scared me!" You half laughed, nerves on edge because it's night.

"Do you like being scared, (n/n)?" He asked, eyes somehow getting wider.

"I mean…yeah? No? Kind of? Mainly just when it's controlled, like with games or movies." You answer, shifting from one foot to the other.

"You're very cute when you're scared." He blatantly said, expression unchanged.

"Look who's talking." You jokingly flirt, letting out a little laugh to show it was all in good heart. But he didn't move, a red coating his cheeks.

"Hey, the bus is here. Wanna hang out a bit?" You said, climbing onto the bus and going to the same seat as this morning. Doe followed, accepting the seat next to you again. "I'd love to." He finally answered, staring at you yet again.

~ so many times skips i know but pls,,,, be understanding,,,,,, ~

"I know it's not much, but this is it." You say, opening the door and allowing doe to go in first.

"It's very……spacious." He mumbles, sitting on your couch. You sit next to him and turn on the TV, handing him the remote to choose a channel he liked.

"I'll go get some snacks." You state, doe quickly grabbing your hand.

"No!"

"I mean-, let's just spend some time together for now.." he choked, gently pulling you back to the couch.

"Alright.." you chuckle, sitting very close to him, grabbing his arm out of habit from your friends and playing with his hand mindlessly. You could feel him stiffen every time your fingers traced over his palm, a smile painted on your face as you held your giggles back. Time passed at a rapid rate, and soon it was so dark out you couldn't see anything.

"It's pretty late…" doe sighed, expecting you to kick him out.

"It's not really safe being out this late. Do you wanna stay the night?" You offer, half asleep.

"Sure." He murmured, leaning back on the couch so you were snuggled into his side.

He didn't sleep that night, eyes open and watching you as you slept all night. He couldn't believe it. The person he had such intense feelings for, initiating things, and now sleeping on him! He'll have to clean up the gift he left for you in the kitchen before you wake up. He realized it could ruin things for the two of you. The night went by quickly for you, but doe's night went in slow motion when you let out a "doey" in your sleep. He wondered what you were dreaming about. Were you simply spending time with him? Were you making a move with him? Maybe………..

No, no, you two just became friends, you couldn't be dreaming of that.!

Right….?

Either way, morning eventually came and you woke up as doe gently took you off him, but you pretended to stay asleep. After an undetermined amount of time, almost falling asleep again, you felt the heat of his body return as he put you on him again. You didn't mean to, but it was so comfortable compared to the cold morning air that you snuggled into him, soaking up the feeling. You totally were crushing on him, so it's not like you were against snuggling him. You just thought he would think you're weird.