#owl wedding card box

[writing-wh0re]

George and y/nn broke up after the war because they both wanted to concentrate on their careers. The two see each other again years later at Ginny's and Harry's wedding because y/n and Ginny were very good friends even though she was in Fred and George's year. She was always like a big sister to ginny. George and y/n have never stopped loving each other and getting closer to each other again at the wedding. Then they disappear into the burrow and have hot sex. George is Dom as always. When the two come back Fred and Ginny already look suspiciously at them, because both of them always had to hear from the two how much they miss each other.

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Dom!George Weasley x Fem!Reader

Y/n (Your Name) Y/L/N (Your Last Name)

Word Count: 2,406

Warnings: Smut 18+, Explicit Language, Daddy Kink (whoops), Light Bondage, Vaginal Intercourse, Unprotected Sex, Oral (female receiving), Spanking(?)

*Flashback*

“So you two broke up?” I look over to George who softly nods, I pout slightly as Ginny sighs. “If you both believe that’s what’s best for you.” Ginny pulls me into a hug as I sniffle softly. 

“I still love Y/n, we just both agreed we want to grow and it's in different directions.” 

I smile weakly at George nodding in response to our agreement, butterflies in my stomach due to the changes in my life, from breaking up with George and starting my career as an Aura. 

“Hey? Are you okay?” George asks, rubbing my arms as I nod my head. 

“Sorry I got lost inside my head for a second, just a lot of change right now.” I chuckle, my eyes a little puffy from the small flow of tears. 

“I know baby.” I feel my breath hitch at the nickname as George frowns. “Sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” I pull George into a tight hug pulling away, smiling at him, squeezing his arms to help him know I'm okay. I walk over to Ginny, giving her a tight squeeze as she sighs deeply. 

“You’ll always be a part of this family.” Ginny states as I nod. 

“I think Molly would kill me if I protested that.” We all laugh lightly in response as I grab my two trunks filled with my belongings as I turn and smile at George whose eyes are filling with tears. 

“If I ever need a day off work, I’ll come to the shop for some puking pastilles.” 

George chuckles nodding at me as I smile, I fix my grip on the trunks as I walk out of our, well now George’s apartment. My feet hit the concrete outside, the cool breeze washing through my hair as my face heats up due to the soft flow of warm tears. 

*Present day* 

I open the lavender envelope, smiling at the invitation that falls out. 

‘Please Join Us To Celebrate The Marriage Of, 

Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter.’ 

I grab the RSVP card checking the ‘yes’ box as I put it inside my own envelope. I give the envelope to my snowy owl as he flies off to make his delivery. I feel butterflies hit my stomach as I remember who will be in attendance. 

George Weasley. 

My heart sinks, missing him terribly as I sigh, my hand touching my lips as I remember the feeling of his against mine. I close my eyes briefly, stopping myself before my mind wanders too far. 

I rush to my wardrobe attempting to find something that will capture his attention.

------ One week later -----

“Oh Y/n, I’m so happy you’re here.” Molly says, pulling me into a warm embrace as I smile, my senses filling with cinnamon and a hint of lemon washing liquid.  “You know, my boy has missed you terribly, he has-” 

“Mum, stop embarrassing me.” My heart jumps, hearing his voice for the first time in six months. Molly tuts and walks off as I smile, almost running into George’s open arms as we collectively sigh together. I look up at George, his eyes boring into mine, I watch as he drags his tongue across his lips causing my breath to hitch, knowing exactly what he can do with that tongue. George leans down softly as I stand on my tippy toes. 

“Y/n.” George and I break away quickly, acting as if nothing just happened as I smile at Fred. 

“Hey Freddie, miss me?” I wink as I hug the tall ginger. 

“Of course, hey it’s been six months now, want to date the cooler brother?” Fred winks as George rolls his eyes shoving his brother as he walks away from the situation. “He misses you.” 

“I miss him, is he seeing anyone?” I ask, biting the inside of my lip, my hands growing clammy. 

“Not even one glance at another woman, what about you?” My heart beats faster, a smile forming on my face as I attempt to hide it. 

“Exactly the same, I’ve been too stuck into my work.” 

“Y/n.” I hear two female voices say as Ginny and Hermonie rush to my side, hugging me individually as I smile. 

“Well hello Miss soon to be Mrs.” I wink as Ginny blushes. 

“It’s crazy right? I would have thought it would be you and George-” Ginny slaps her mouth as I sigh smiling weakly, my eyes flicking to George who picked up on his name, sadness all over his face. 

“Don’t even stress about that.” 

“Well, I have to go let Fleur keep putting makeup on me.” Ginny smiles as Hermonie grabs my arm. 

“Join us, please.” I nod as I follow the two girls up the stairs, looking over my shoulder seeing George’s eyes on me as he quickly flicks them away. 

-----

“Oh, Ginny, you look incredible.” 

“Absolutely gorgeous.” 

“Stunning, really.” 

The room fills with compliments as Ginny shares her appearance with us. 

“Girls, go find you seats for the ceremony, I’ll bring Arthur up.” Molly says sniffling, smiling at her daughter. I make my way out of the room, the silk fabric of my dress swaying slightly as I walk down the staircase, making my way to the garden for the ceremony. 

I walk out into the breeze, following the sound of voices as I spot the two redheads standing at the back of the aisle. 

“Y/n, Hi, wow, you look incredible.” Lee Jordan says smiling at me. “Didn’t expect to see you here.” 

I smile as my eyes flick over George, noticing the way his dress shirt is rolled up his arms nicely. 

“Couldn’t miss Ginny’s big day.” 

“You look lovely.” Fred smiles his eyes lingering on George as I roll my eyes knowing he’s doing it to get a reaction from his younger brother. 

“Take you seats, they are ready.” Molly says ushering all of us into the white tiffany chairs that litter the grass. 

I sit on the left end of the second row, George sitting next to me, then Fred and lastly Lee Jordan. 

“You look gorgeous.” George whispers, his hot breath fanning my neck as he speaks, I feel my breath hitch slightly as he runs his fingertips up my thigh. 

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I surprise myself with such a confident answer, proud for not having my voice shake. 

George chuckles, licking his bottom lip lightly as I cross my legs feeling my core ache between my legs, hoping George doesn’t notice as the music begins to play all of us standing to watch Ginny walk down the aisle to her soon to be husband. 

------

The reception is in full swing, everyone celebrating by dancing and drinking. I walk over to the bar ordering a glass of wine as I watch Molly and Arthur embarrass all their children by showing off their ‘hip’ dance moves. 

“Y/n, Y/n Y/L/N” I hear a voice say as I thank the bartender for my drink and see Percy Weasley. 

“Merlin.” I whisper not knowing Percy very well but knowing that he didn’t particularly like me at Hogwarts. 

“Hi, Percy.” I smile, sipping my wine.

“It’s wonderful to see you, I hear you’re an Aura now? Also heard my brother couldn’t keep up with that lifestyle.” Percy chuckles as I scoff, feeling a hand rest just above my bum as George buts in. 

“What was that Percy?” 

“Nothing, just congratulating Y/n on being an Aura, surprised all of us really.” 

“What the f-” George squeezes my bum cutting me off as Percy walks away. 

“Come with me, I’d like to show you something.” I nod as I finish my glass of wine causing George to raise an eyebrow at me as I shrug. 

“I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.” 

George grabs my hand leading me out of the reception and towards the burrow. I continue to follow him up the stairs and into his bedroom as I smile, looking around at the familiar space. 

“George, why did-” I gasp softly against George’s mouth as he holds my waist kissing me. I feel my heart being to race as if it was the first time all over again, my mind wandering to our very first time in this room on George’s old riggidy bed and how Fred heard us from the bathroom. 

I feel tears prick my eyes as I break my kiss with the love of my life. 

“Wait.” 

“Did you not want that? I’m so sorry.” George begins to apologize as I shake my head. 

“I’m only saying wait because this can’t be a one night stand, I love you George, fuck I’ve missed you so much and I personally want us to be us again.” I blurt out as George smiles wide at me, picking me up and placing me on the same old bed. 

“I love you, I missed you and I was an idiot for thinking we needed to grow up without each other, I want us to be us.” George confirms as I sniffle, pulling him closer as our lips lock together, moving in perfect sync just like they used to. I bite his bottom lip softly causing him to groan as our tongues start to taste each other. I feel him run his hands down my body, pulling the straps of my dress down just enough to have my boobs out as he sucks and licks the plump flesh. 

“Fuck, I’ve missed you George.” I breathlessly whisper as he stops his actions. 

“What did you call me?” 

I feel butterflies erupt inside of me, wetness pooling in my already soaked panties as I smirk. 

“Daddy.” I whimper as I feel his smirk against my boob, resuming his actions. 

“Now, be a good girl and stay quiet.” he warns as he pulls up my dress exposing my black lace g string, a grunt falling from his swollen lips. “Let Daddy show you how much he missed you.” George pulls the flimsy fabric down my legs as he looks up at me. “So fucking wet for Daddy.” I throw my head back as his mouth is instantly on my pussy, my back arching at the feeling having missed it for the last six months. I feel every flick of his skillful tongue, my mouth open as soft moans and gasps fall from it, I run my fingers through his hair as I grind against his mouth. Instantly his hands are on my hips holding me down as he continues his assault on my clit, his tongue lapping me up. 

“Daddy, please.”

My whimpers only cause him to add two fingers to my tight dripping pussy, causing him to groan against me sending waves of vibrations throughout my body as I bite my lip. 

“I’m going to cum.” George nods against me as I cover my mouth with my own hand, moaning loud as he grabs my forearm moving my hand away to hear me moan for him. 

“Still fucking mine.” I nod as he sucks his fingers causing me to blush slightly as he takes off his belt smirking at me as he grabs both of my hands, tightening the belt around them as I lick my lips. 

“So naughty for Daddy, aren’t you baby?” He asks rhetorically as he pulls his pants down, getting a better position on the bed as he runs his hard dick in between my folds coating it with my wetness as he slides deep inside of me. Moans filling the air as he twitches inside of me. 

“Fucking made for me.” I nod, biting my lip as he slides his hand up my body, wrapping it around my throat as my eyes roll back, my body reacting to all these familiar feelings, having been deprived for so long. George thrusts into me revealing in the feeling as he smiles down at me, bending over to kiss me, picking up the pace of his hips as our lips fight against each other. 

George pulls out of me as I whimper, watching as he undoes the belt around my hands and slaps my ass. 

“Ass up.” 

I’m instantly on my stomach, ass in the air as George slides back in, my pussy tighter from this angle causing him to hiss in pleasure as I groan into the mattress. 

“Remember the safe word?” 

“Pink.” 

“Mm, good girl.” I feel him kiss in between my shoulder blades as he picks up the pace of his thrusts, the leather of his belt slapping against my ass as I hold onto the sheets tighter. My moans act as encouragement as he continues to thrust into me deep, rubbing my ass cheek as he slaps it again with the leather before soothing it with his hand. 

“I’m close.” I cry out as I hear him throw the belt away, his fingers brushing against my sensitive bundle of nerves as I moan into the mattress, feeling my vision get blurry and my body tense as it releases tingles throughout. I feel him twitch inside me as his thrusts slow, filling me with hot cum. 

Falling beside me on the bed, both of us out of breath as he pulls me into his chest. 

“I didn’t hurt you did I?” 

“Of course not.” I kiss his cheek as he smiles wide. 

“I don’t know if I have to ask but are we us, again?” I nod like crazy, as he kisses my head. “I’m never letting you go again.” 

“I won’t let you.” I smile as our lips lock again. "We should probably head back." I suggest, getting off the small bed, slipping back on my G string and fixing my appearance as George does the same. We walk out of the shared bedroom hand in hand, making our way back to the reception. 

"One Sickle." I hear Fred say as we reach him and Lee Jordan, Lee huffing as he places the silver coin in Fred's awaiting hand. 

"Do I want to know?" George asks as Lee sighs. 

"Just a bet that you two would get back together at the wedding." 

“Don’t forget, you owe Ginny as well.” Fred states as I shake my head chuckling. 

“Dance with me?” George asks as I take his hand and lead him to the makeshift dance floor, his hands on my hips as I rest my head on his chest, finally not feeling homesick.

---

Taglist:

@andreaareynoso

@avada-kedavra-bitch-187

[ryttu3k]

Shelves are redone! Details beneath the cut!

For comparison, here is how it looked back in November, and here is after I put the lights on. Moved the desk and a lot of the stationery stuff, which left some big gaps, so. Rearrangement time! You can see the top image in better resolution on Reddit here.

Left shelf, from top: white box with zines, books on art and writing, magazines/periodicals. Red box has stickers, wooden box is empty, tin box has. String. Some room to expand, although it'll require rearranging.

Second down, all the science, science communication, museology, and... sociology, I guess? Left side has the Sagan collection. Bamboo box currently has little bits and pieces I don't know what to do with. Any ideas on displaying pins? No room to expand, unless I move the box.

Third down, music. Bottom shelf, box with letters and cards, and game-related stuff (Zelda and Vampire the Masquerade, which is an interesting combo), a book I felt had to sit with the VtM, and some other large hardcover fantasy books. Definitely room to expand, I want a lot more VtM.

White bins beneath the shelf have craft supplies.

Right shelf! Top shelf is SFF, mostly modern releases. Some room to expand.

Bottom shelf has anthologies and collections and vintage sci fi, treasure box, and childhood favourites. Some room to expand for vintage sci fi, and, uh, childhood favourites will not be expanding, haha.

For the little vignettes, we have:

A Collection of Moderate Oddities, feat. a replica of this li’l guy, either a stromatolite or a concretion, bismuth, a Cambrian trilobite, and a ceramic bird from the place my brother got married at, and a sheep knuckle bone (also from the same place, it did both ceramics and sheep farming), a pair of watermelon tourmaline slices, and a bit of ceramic also from the wedding venue.

And the Tiny Zoo, feat. thrifted elephant, thrifted elephant, origami elephant, amber birds (my grandmother’s), thrifted owl, silver fish (also grandmother’s), thrifted bird, silver butterfly (you guessed it!), thrifted brass deer, and fake plant in hedgehog planter from Big W. Magnet board has assorted art cards from Society 6, Monet postcard from an exhibition, photo of gum blossoms my grandfather took, bookmark with Margaret Olley art, and this piece, plus assorted magnets and a deer paperclip that came with my journal (Tsuki Nara from Notebook Therapy).

[superhero--imagines]

Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here! / Part 12 Here! / Part 13 Here! / Part 14 Here! / Part 15 Here! / Part 16 Here! / Part 17 Here! / < This is Part 18!>

Donate to Move to Higher Ground HERE!

* Your eyes open, and your hand flies to your throat 

* You’re thirsty

* You sigh as you sit up in your bed a little annoyed, you were having such a good dream too

* Only when you look to your night stand to grab your blood bottle, past it you see Edward sitting in your desk chair 

* “What are you doing?” Your voice is gravely, and you don’t wait for a response before uncapping your bottle and taking a sip

* Edward fidgets, his hands tugging with the sleeves of his shirt 

* “I like watching you sleep” he admits with a shrug and a boyish quirk of the lips. 

* Of course the dork likes watching you pretend to sleep

* Somethings haven’t changed from the books at least

* Maybe he’s part owl or something

* “Ugh, it’s already Sunday where does the weekend go?” You mumble, it’s around 3 am right now

* To be fair you know  half your Saturday went in self loathing in a tree, and the other half spent with your entire coven congratulating you and Edward on your new relationship

* “I call (Y/N) as my sibling the next time we move!” Emmett grins

* “That’s not fair, I was going to make them my sibling.” Jasper pouts

* “You already have Rosalie don’t get greedy”

* And then they all basically tried to plan out your wedding. 

* So the pressure is on

* At least you still have all Sunday before you have to face everyone at school though. You haven’t even tried to look at your phone 

* “Edward,” he perks up at the sound of your voice “were they really thinking vile thoughts about me?”

* His eyebrows thread together, head tilting to the side

* “Mike and Conner, you said they were thinking vile thoughts when you...came to get me.”

* It’s been bothering you for some time, Conner you can understand, but Mike? 

* You feel....betrayed 

* Edward averts his eyes, you’re half hoping he was lying to you and that he was just upset you were kissing other people

* “Were they thinking of r*ping me?” The second the words fall out of your lips he scampers closer, the chair screeching behind him.

* “No! No of course not-at least I don’t think so-“ His hand cups your face, the other cards through your hair. He sits on the edge of your bed carefully

* “They were thinking of taking you...” 

* oh well that’s no so bad.

* “At the same time”

* So that’s a little worse

* “So they were thinking about a threesome?” Edward winces at the word but nods

* You let out a sigh of relief, a threesome is still kinda sketchy but that’s just normal teenage boy brain for you 

* “At the time I didn’t appreciate their...vivid thoughts but” he looks into your eyes, like two pools of gold. “Maybe you wanted that.” 

*  He had acted instinctively upon seeing their thoughts, but in reality he wasn’t much better

* He had imagined that same needy expression on your face dozens of times 

* Maybe... you might have enjoyed an experience like that. After all two lovers are better than one

* He’s stuck in his own self loathing until he hears you laugh. 

* You’re actually laughing at him!

* He’s worried that you missed out on a vital human experience and you’re laughing!

* The nerve

* And yet, he feels his heart flutters when he see’s you smile at him

* “No, I’m good.” You laugh, and he feels himself let out a sigh of relief.

* “What about Jessica? Does she hate me now” Edward shakes his head

* “I think she might have a bit of a crush on you now.” He grins at your confused expression

* Well that’s unexpected

* You know you can’t really sleep but you feel exhausted, completely emotionally drained

* You snuggle back into the covers  And pat the space on the bed beside you

* “Sleep with me?” 

* Your face feels uncomfortably hot when you realize what you just said. “I just meant like-dream with me-not um no-“

* “I know what you meant” Edward says with a small smile

* He lies down on the other end of the bed, at least five feet away from you

* “You can come closer, you’re my boyfriend now, boyfriend privileges”

* Boyfriend 

* He’s always thought the word was garish. 

* A boy who was your special friend, how idiotic. But hearing the word tumble from your lips makes him unbelievably  happy 

* “What are boyfriend privileges?” He repeats carefully. Shifting so he is lying beside you

* “Normal couple stuff I guess, kissing, hugging, public affection-“ 

* and sex stuff

* “So I get to be as greedy with you as I want?” 

* You feel your face grow warm at the thought of Edward being as greedy with your body as he wants

* The way his hands would feel as they ghost over your body, his sweet rosemary and argon scent filling the air

* You can’t manage to get out words so you just nod, and he grins

* “Let’s go out tomorrow” 

* To like a hotel or?

* “We can go to the aquarium in Seattle, I think it’s supposed to rain so something indoors would be good.”

* Oh like greedy with your time

* That seems more on brand for Edward tbh 

* “The aquarium sounds nice”

* You curl into his chest, breathing in his scent deeply. He feels warm, not as warm as a human, but soothing in its own right. A gentle warmth, like the warmth from a candle

* You feel so safe here with him. You feel yourself drift off into sleep, and Edward’s arms tentatively wrap around you

* Your weight is pressed against him, and he can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have you pressed against him even more

* Your hands clawing at his chest as you plead

* “Great now I’m the one having vile thoughts” he murmurs to himself 

* You both sneak out early in the morning, while all your other coven members are still preoccupied 

* “Grab a couple blood bags and I’ll get some tumblrs” you nod, shoving it all quickly in his nike backpack, and you both practically jog to your jeep.

* The drive feels a lot shorter than you remember, it’s only 10 when you get there. 

* You sigh as you get out, you’re wearing faded blue jeans and a black coat that cinches at the waist

* Edward is dressed in a similar fashion, faded blue jeans, white shirt and a leather jacket

* Both of you wearing sunglasses 

* You don’t miss the looks you get as you walk across the parking lot. You already get a lot of attention as is  with the hot pink Barbie jeep

* But you and Edward together look like something straight out of a magazine catalog 

* “Did you already buy tickets?” You ask, your arm linking through his. 

* “Yeah, we just have to pick them up at the box” 

* It’s actually pretty busy, it is a weekend day though so it’s to be expected 

* “(Y/N)?” You turn to the voice and feel like the wind got knocked out of you

* “Jessica, Bella...” and there’s someone else with them, brown skin and long dark hair.

* Well he’s kinda hot, for a human that is

* “What are you doing here?” 

* They’re like the weirdest group for a Sunday hang out

* “My Dad had some tickets, he was going to come with my mom but I guess they got in a fight or something.” 

* You get the feeling that there’s more to it than that, but you’re just happy she’s talking to you after you kissed her without consent 

* “Oh um , this is Jacob we’ve been friends since we were kids.” 

* So this is Jacob, he looks older for his age.

* “Hey Jacob nice to meet you, I’m (Y/N)” you extend your hand and you see him stiffen for a second

* Yeah that sounds about right. All humans get afraid when they first me et you, you are technically their natural predator after all. He seems to get over it and grasps your hand

* “Hey, nice to meet you” 

* “Do you go to school with us?” 

*You know he doesn’t, but you’ve found it best to pretend in this situation. 

* You glance at Edward who hiding a twitching smile, looks like he heard something interesting

* “No I go to school on the res, I’m a sophomore.” 

* Oh a sophomore, younger man is more her speed huh? And they’ve been friends for years, he’s to her what Edward is to you

* You ship it

* “Do you guys want to join us?” 

* You can feel Edward’s eyes piercing you in the back. Yeah you know this is a date, and he probably wants some quality time with you or whatever-

* But it’s not like you’re f*cking after or anything

* And honestly you kinda wanna see how this whole Bella-Jacob ship plays out 

* “Well I don’t-“ Bella starts

* “We’d love to!” Jessica interrupts, and then taking a nervous glance at Edward she adds:

* “That is if you don’t mind?”

* Queue everyone looking at Edward. He looks at you, a small pout bowing onto your lips and let’s out a deep sigh

* “No of course not, I’ll get the tickets and meet you at the gate.” He says with a resigned smile

* He leans down, catching your lips in his. You know you don’t have a beating heart, but you feel it stutter when he pulls away and smiles at you

* “See you in a bit daring” and then he walks towards the empty “reserved pass” line

* Darling?

* DARLING???

* (Y/N).Exe is broken

* And you would stay broken if Jessica and Bella didn’t each grab a shoulder and shake you.

* “Oh my god what was that?!?!” Jessica shrieks

* “Are you guys like...dating now?” Bella grins

* “Yeah, I guess we are?” The human part of you understands that you’ve just agreed you feel the same, and that you have just started a relationship

* But the vampire part of you, the primal part, knows it’s so much more than that

* He’s your mate

* And saving any major changes, he is yours for as long the universe will permit 

* “Wait are you guys on a date right now?” Jessica asks, and it pulls you right out of your thoughts

* She’s worried she’s intruding

* “No-I mean maybe? Honestly we both just wanted an excuse to get out of the house.” You sigh

* “Are the rest of the Cullen’s not taking it well?” 

* You do live together, and you’re at that age. Sure Emmett and Rosalie and together, but that seems to be under more transparent circumstances 

* So imagine her surprise when you card your fingers through your hair

* “No they’re taking it too well!” 

* Last night you basically rotated between coven members as they all told you how happy they were you were with Edward now

* “Honestly I thought the nerd would never find the nerve” Emmett confided in you

* “Eleazer you’ll never guess what happened....we’re going to be brothers!” You had heard Carlisle tell Eleazer over the phone before breaking down into tears

* “Carlisle stop crying, the venom is going to make a hole in the floor.” Esme shouted before turning her attention back to you

* “So what colors do you like (Y/N)? I’m partial to gold and white myself-“ she said pointing the color combination examples in her wedding book 

* They were driving you crazy.

* “Carlisle keeps rotating between smiling and crying because ‘two kids are leaving the house’ and Tanya called to give me the most smug speech about it- I just need a break.”

* You sigh

* “Wait-did all of this happen after the party?” Bella asks with a smile creeping onto her face

* Before you can answer though, you see Edward walking towards you

* “We’ll talk about this later” Jessica whispers, not that it matters, going on the smirk on Edward’s lips he already heard everything

* “So Tanya called you huh?” He whispers in your ear when the others move ahead

* His breath fanning against your ear causes your stomach to flip. You’ve been around him so long, you almost started to forget how hot he was.

* “Yeah, she’s basically hoping I crush your heart so she can get revenge.”

* You’re mostly joking, but given past history, you know she wouldn’t mind if that’s how things turned out anyway

* “That’s fair.” He looks almost sad. What the hell happened between them to make him like this?

* You want to ask, but you feel like now isn’t the best time. Not when Jessica and Bella are a mere five feet away arguing about whether to see the jellyfish or penguins first

* So you do the only thing you can: You reach out and hold his hand, squeezing it slightly. Edward doesn’t say anything, he just squeezes back

* It’s a pretty nice day, Bella’s dad bought her a digital camera so you take a bunch of cheesy pictures around the aquarium

* “Oh try to get one like a shark is eating us! Like I’m in Jaws!”

* “You know they’re an endangered species and that stupid movie doesn’t help right?” 

* “There is no ethical consumption under capitalism Bella”

* Edward just makes a pained expression as he holds up the camera. All he wanted to do was go on a date with his significant other

* “Girls am I right?” Jacob asks, extending his bag of popcorn

* For a second you think Edward might hate him, but instead a smile arch’s onto his face

* “You have no idea.” He smiles, taking a few kernels.

* Aw, it’s Edward’s first human friend 💖

* You kinda wish you were the one with a camera now, or at least a smart phone

* Instead you settle for a grainy picture on your flip phone. They both look at you like confused puppy's when the shutter clicks 

* “Aw that’s a cute one” Jessica coo’s

* “You even got a shark in the back” Bella says pointing to a blurry gray blob in the background

* It’s a good day 

* You’re almost sad when you have to part at the end 

* “You sure you guys don’t want to come with us? Jessica’s dad is letting us have his reservation at the revolving restaurant in the space needle”

* You and Edward exchange a look

* “Nah it’s fine, I’m pretty sure Esme is wondering when we’re coming home” 

* “She’ll be pissed if we eat there without here.” You add for good measure 

* “Well alright we’ll see you at school tomorrow” Jessica says with a wave, and you smile

* “See you tomorrow”

* Looks like things are back to normal

* Edward drives on the way back

* You hold the plush sea turtle close to your chest as you watch him

* He really is handsome, chiseled cheekbones and full rosy lips. To add he has that mane of auburn hair, and that irresistible splatter of freckles across his nose 

* The prettiest boy you’ve ever seen

* “I can feel you staring” he says with a smile twitching onto his lips. Oh god you want to kiss that stupid smile right off his mouth

* “What went wrong with you and Tanya?”

* Way to kill the vibe

* “I’m sure Tanya told you all about it.” He shrugs. There’s that sad look again

* “I want to hear about it from you though” 

* And Edward might have denied you if your hand hadn’t found his, resting on top of it 

* He grins

* You don’t play fair, do you?

* He sighs, squeezing your hand while keeping his eyes on the road

* “I just...didn’t like the way she thought about me”

* “Like you were a piece of meat?” 

* He laughs

* “Like I was some charity case besides-“ he stops abruptly, looking at you before swallowing hard. “Never mind”

* “No tell me!” You lean forward cradling your hand intertwined with his against your chest and he chuckles, you really don’t play fair

* “ I didn’t-I don’t feel attraction to people unless-“

* He looks into your eyes, and you feel his fingers squirm against yours 

* “Unless we’re friends first” 

* Oh, he’s asexual. 

*Or  demisexual. 

* Somewhere on the spectrum for sure

* Is he coming out to you right now? 

* You give his hand a squeeze 

* “I get that.”

* You want to smack yourself. 

* The boy you love just came out to you about his sexuality and all you can say is ‘I get that’ 

* You feel so useless

* But Edward doesn’t let you feel useless for too long, he squeezes back looking at you with such warm eyes

* And again you can’t help but think that even though his heart doesn’t beat anymore, he looks so human

* He’s just pulled into the driveway at the house, the car parked. He’s about to say something when you cut him off, tugging him closer to you and placing your lips on his

* If he’s surprised he doesn’t show it, placing his free hand on your shoulder and leaning a bit closer to you 

* He’s so careful and gentle...and dazzling 

* He’s barely touching you but you can feel yourself seeing stars

* That thing he does with his tongue-it’s indescribable 

* Are you sure he’s a virgin?!?

* You can’t help the sigh that passes your lips when he pulls away. You’re still in a daze when he pulls you into his lap, one leg straddled on each side 

* His head is tilted back, an easy smile on his mouth. 

* You suddenly feel shy, that look in his eyes should be illegal 

* “So-“ you lean back a bit “do you-um-do you have feelings like that for me?”

* He tilts his head to the side in confusion and you gulp

* “Y’know sexually speaking” 

* He actually laughs at you

* Right there, when you’re only a handful of inches away from his face

* But you’re not annoyed, instead all you can feel is a rush of affection

* His eyes crinkle at the ends, his pearly white fangs sparkling as he grins. Your hands cup his face as he looks up at you with adoration 

* You can imagine the rosy blush that would light his face so clearly, the deep emerald green of his eyes. You’re almost starving for the image you see in your mind to be real

* He pulls you out of the image with a simple touch. His arms wrapping around your waist to pull you closer

* “I - like the rest of the entire student population at Forks High School- find you absolutely bewitching” 

* The way he says it makes you shiver, and Edward’s hand trails up your back. 

*He sits a little straighter, bouncing you slightly in his lap as he does, so you’re looking straight into his eyes

* “I find it hard to believe you don’t know that I have been dying inside everyday watching you walk around in those short shorts you love so much,” he whispers in your ear. 

*“That I haven’t been dying to absolutely ravish you .”

* You gulp.

* It’s all you can do when he’s looking at you like that

* If you thought Garrett’s bedroom eyes were intense, then Edward is on an entire different level

* You feel your heart stutter, butterflies erupting in your stomach...and something else

* A certain heat you haven’t felt in a long time

* You’ve never seen him look at anything like that, like he’s hungry- 

* Starving even 

* His lips brush against your neck, trailing down to your collar bone and you sigh

* He really knows everything about you doesn’t he? All your sweet spots, all your stories, every one of your secrets.

* Your hand trails up his chest, entangling in his hair and a low gasp tumbles from his lips

* And then your phone rings

* You hear him groan, and you shake your head

* “Ignore it” you mumble, your mouth meeting his once more 

* And you continue on for a few moments, until his phone rings

*He pulls away from you with a groan

* “Rosalie’s calling me a long list of profanities right now” he mumbles, you sigh pulling away to lean against the steering wheel 

* It’s probably for the best, no point in getting too turned on when you knew he was going to say ‘you should wait until marriage’

* Like honestly, he died, and you died, and now you live an alternative lifestyle where literally nothing matters anymore 

* But you’ll respect his wishes 

* “Guess we should go inside” You sigh, you move to get off of him

* But just as your about to crawl off, he tugs you to face him once more

* His thumb brushes over your cheek, and those deep gold eyes bore at you with that same intensity as before 

* He pulls you in for one last kiss, before getting out of the car and closing the door behind him

* “We’ll pick up where we left off later.” 

* (Y/N).exe is broken

* You walk to the house slowly, like humans do 

* “Are you ready?” He asks, holding out his hand

* You smile, placing your hand in his and nodding

* “Ready”

* So imagine your surprise when you and Edward get inside, hand in hand, to find the entire coven is laughing in the living room. 

* From where you’re standing you can only see Carlisle 

* “Ah your home! Come, I want you both to meet someone-“ 

* You move forward but Edward stays rooted to the spot

* Three people come into view, a woman with flaming red hair, a man -no older than 25- with rich mahogany skin, and a dazzling young man with hair the color of the sun.

* “Meet our new friends, Victoria, James and Laurent” 

* You turn to look at Edward, his mouth pinched into a frown

* Well F*ck 

Tags:  @moonlights27​ @thebluetint​ @the100thtwilight​ @awesomebooklover17​ @oneofthepotterheads​ @smileygirl08​ @imdoingathingmom​ @iconicgguk​ @yrawn​ @alyciaswhore​ @little-horror-show​ @wicked-watering-can​ @lazydreamers​ @ xxxmuxxx @ideas-for-you-to-adopt​​​ @poisoinedhope @maryleigh8796​​ @moose-squirrel-asstiel​​ @hotmessgoodness​ @jaimewho​ @corabmarie​ @what-am-i-doing10​ @alluring-venus​ @imdoingathingmom @anotheryooniverse​ @im-tired-not-sleepy​ @emmettcullenisahimbo​ @my-super-musical-life​ @smolvampiregirl​ @it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream​ @mihikaahujaaa @werewolflover3252​ @teenagezombiekryptonite @shynz​ @reclusive-chicken-nugget​ @monkeyluver4546​

[unfortunatelydead]

SO I am a really big Adventure Time fan and I made a decision for all the people in my life who wanted to watch the show but didn’t want to watch unnecessary episodes: to create a watch guide.

Surprisingly whenever I talked about it, a lot of people were interested. 

So, below the cut, my Adventure Time watch guide:

*Not a lot of episodes could, in my opinion, be cut. My reasons for not cutting an episode could be because it has a character that comes back later in the series, a certain character needed more screen time, or as simple a reason as I personally feel like it shouldn’t be cut. However, some episodes that I think just enhance the series or are particularly memorable, but aren’t necessary, are labelled as “not necessary but fun/cute”

Adventure time watch guide: The necessary episodes Season 1: 1.) slumber party panic, episode 1  2.) trouble in lumpy space 3.) prisoners of love 4.) tree trunks 5.) enchiridion 6.) the jiggler 7.) Ricardio 8.) business time (not necessary) 9.) my two favorite people 10.) boom boom mountain 11.) wizard school (not necessary but fun) 12.) Evicted 13.) city of thieves 14.) the witch’s garden 15.) what is life 16.) fear of the ocean 17.) when wedding bells thaw, ice wedding (not necessary) 18.) dungeon 19.) duke of nuts 20.) magic man, freak city 21.) Donny 22.) henchman aka marceline pt 2 23.) bmo cuteness, rainy day dream (not necessary) 24.)what have you done (not necessary) 25.) BILLY THE HERO 26.) gut grinder Season 2: 1.) it came from the nightosphere 2.)horse eyes 3.)nice king (not necessary) 4.) blood under the skin 5.)storytelling (not necessary) 6.)snail love (not necessary) 7.) power animal 8.)crystals have power 9.)royal tart toter (not necessary but fun) 10.) beautiful hair 11.) chamber of frozen blades 12.) her parents 13.) the pods 14.) a silent king 15.) the real you 16.) guardians of sunshine (not necessary) (different animation style episode) 17.) death in bloom 18.) Susan strong 19.) mystery train (not necessary) 20.) go with me 21.) belly of the beast, party bears 22.) ancient psychic tandem war elephant 23.) video makers (not necessary) 24.) mortal folly, the lich king 25.) mortal recoil 26.) heat signature (not necessary) Season 3: 1.) conquest of cuteness 2.) ghost gladiators (not necessary but fun) 3.) memory of a memory 4.) hitman 5.) baby pb, lemongrab 6.) the monster aka lumpy space princess (not necessary) 7.) still (not necessary) 8.) wizard battle 9.) fionna and cake pt 1 (not necessary but fun) 10.) what was missing 11.) Apple thief, the pig 12.) murder mystery dinner party 13.) zombies, again (not necessary) 14.) beautopia, return of Susan strong 15.) no one can hear you, THE DEER EPISODE 16.) jake vs memow 17.) snow golem and fire puppy 18.) cosmic owl croak dream 19.) holly jolly secrets 20.) holly jolly secrets pt 2 21.)marceline’s closet (not necessary) 22.) paper Pete (not necessary) 23.) another way, clown nurses (not necessary) 24.) ghost princess’ story 25.) dad’s dungeon 26.) incendium, intro of flame princess Season 4: 1.) hot to the touch, more flame princess 2.) five short graybles 3.) stuck in spiders web (not necessary) 4.) dream of love 5.) return to the nightosphere 6.) return to the nightosphere pt 2 7.) in your footsteps 8.) hug wolf (not necessary) 9.) princess monster wife (not necessary) 10.) goliad 11.) beyond this earthly realm, (not necessary) 12.) gotcha 13.) card wars 14.) princess cookies 15.) son of Mars 16.) burning low 17.) bmo noire 18.) king worm 19.) lady and peebles 20.) you made me 21.) who would win (not necessary) 22.) ignition point 23.) the hard easy, mega frog, (not necessary) 24.)reign of gunthers 25.) I REMEMBER YOU 26.) The Lich Season 5: 1.) Finn the human 2.) jake the dog 3.) five more short graybles 4.) up a tree (not necessary but fun) 5.) All the little people (not necessary) 6.) jake the dad 7.) davey (not necessary) 8.) mystery dungeon (not necessary) 9.) all your fault 10.) little dude (not necessary) 11.) bad little boy (Fionna and cake pt 2) (not necessary but fun) 12.) vault of bones 13.) the great bird man 14.) Simon and Marcy 15.) a glitch is a glitch (not necessary but fun) (different animation style episode) 16.) Puhoy <3 17.) BMO Lost 18.) princess potluck 19.) James Baxter 20.) shhh! (Not necessary) 21.) the suitor 22.) party’s over (not necessary) 23.) one last job (jake jr’s episode?) 24.) another more five short graybles 25.) candy streets 26.) wizards only, fools 27.) jake suit 28.) be more 29.) sky witch 30.) frost and fire 31.) too old 32.) earth and water 33.) time sandwich (not necessary but fun) 34.) THE VAULT 35.) love games 36.) dungeon train 37.) box prince 38.) red starved 39.) we fixed a truck (not necessary) 40.) play date 41.) the pit 42.) James 43.) root beer guy 44.) Apple wedding 45.) blade of grass 46.) rattleballs 47.) the red throne 48.) Betty 49.) bad timing (not necessary) 50.) lemon hope part 1 51.) lemonhope part 2 52.) Billy’s bucket list Season 6: 1.) wake up 2.) escape from the citadel 3.) James 2 4.) the tower 5.) sad face (not necessary) 6.) breezy 7.) food chain (not necessary but fun) (different animation style episode) 8.) furniture and meat 9.) the prince who wanted everything (fionna and cake pt 3) (not necessary but fun) 10.) something big 11.) little brother (not necessary) 12.) ocarina (Kim Kil Whan’s episode) 13.) crabapples (not necessary but fun) 14.) princess day 15.) nemesis 16.) Joshua and Margaret 17.) ghost fly (not necessary) 18.) everything’s jake (not necessary) 19.) is that you 20.) jake the brick (not necessary but fun) 21.) dentist 22.) the cooler 23.) the pajama war 24.) evergreen 25.) astral plane 26.) gold stars 27.) the visitor 28.) the mountain 29.) dark purple 30.) diary (tv’s episode) 31.) walnuts and rain (not necessary but fun) 32.) friends forever (not necessary) 33.) jermaine 34.) chips and ice cream (not necessary) 35.) graybles 1000+ 36.) hoots 37.) water park prank (not necessary) (different animation style episode) 38.) you forgot your floaties 39.) be sweet 40.) orgalorg 41.) on the lam 42.) hot digging dam 43.) the comet Season 7: 1.) Bonnie and Neddy 2.) varmints 3.) cherry cream soda 4.) mama said 5.) football 6.) STAKES, part 1 7.) STAKES, part 2 8.) STAKES, part 3 9.) STAKES, part 4 10.) STAKES, part 5 11.) STAKES, part 6 12.) STAKES, part 7 13.) STAKES, part 8 14.) The more you moe 15.) summer showers (viola’s episode) 16.) angel face 17.) president porpoise is missing (not necessary) 18.) blank eyed girl (not necessary but fun) 19.) bad jubies (not necessary) (different animation style episode) 20.) kings ransom 21.) scamps (not necessary) 22.) crossover 23.) the hall of egress 24.) flute spell 25.)the thin yellow line (not necessary but fun) Season 8: 1.) broke his crown 2.) don’t look (not necessary but fun) 3.) beyond the grotto (not necessary but fun) (different animation style episode) 4.) lady rainicorn of the crystal dimension 5.) I am a sword 6.) bun bun 7.) normal man 8.) elemental 9.) five short tables (fionna and cake pt 4) (not necessary but fun) 10.) the music hole 11.) daddy-daughter card wars (Charlie’s episode) 12.) pre boot 13.) reboot 14.) two swords 15.) do no harm 16.) wheels (bronwyn’s episode) 17.) high strangeness 18.) horse and ball 19.) jelly beans have power 20.) Islands pt 1 21.) Islands pt 2 22.) Islands pt 3 23.) Islands pt 4 24.) Islands pt 5 25.) Islands pt 6 26.) Islands pt 7 27.) Islands pt 8 Season 9: 1.) orb 2.) elements pt 1 3.) elements pt 2 4.) elements pt 3 5.) elements pt 4 6.) elements pt 5 7.) elements pt 6 8.) elements pt 7 9.) elements pt 8 10.) abstract 11.) ketchup (different animation style episode) 12.) fionna and cake and fionna (not necessary but fun) (fionna and cake pt 5) 13.) whispers 14.) three buckets Season 10: 1.) the Wild hunt 2.) always bmo closing 3.) son of rap bear 4.) bonnibel bubblegum 5.) seventeen 6.) ring of fire 7.) Marcy and hunson 8.) the first investigation 9.) blenanas (for some reason this episode is separate on Hulu?) (not necessary) 10.) jake the starchild (out of order on Hulu, this one comes before temple of Mars) 11.) temple of Mars (out of order on Hulu, watch this one after jake the starchild) 12.) gumbaldia 13.) Come along with me Adventure Time: Distant Lands- 1.) BMO 2.) Obsidian 3.) Together Again (not yet released) 4.) Wizard City (not yet released)

[sweeethinny]

I love your writing so in character and just lovely it gives me the warm fuzzies. Could you write a prompt about the first time Harry is called dad or daddy by his children ?Teddy included of course.

hi anon, thanks, i love know that my writes gives this feelings to you <3 ok, this almost made me cry asdlkas i love write harry!dad, and thanks for send this, makes my day better <3

It was an ordinary day, as they moved from the cramped and comfortable apartment for a couple, and went to a house planned and built with a big family in mind, being happy that it was finally done (Who would have thought that even with magic the construction process would be slow?)

On Saturday, after packing their things - which were lost in the middle of the big house that definitely needed more furniture and decorations, or else it would seem abandoned - they went to get Teddy for the weekend, talked normally in the car (the boy loved it the ride, and Harry never cared about wasted time because it made the little one happy), Ginny asked for his help to decorate his own room, and everything was going well and normal.

On Sunday, after having breakfast with pancakes and strawberry juice, Teddy said normally;

''I have a present for you'' The little boy jumped out of his chair, running up the stairs and leaving Ginny and Harry gaping, waiting for the little one to come back from his room and bring whatever it was for the man ''Happy Father's Day'' Teddy said, smiling and holding out a red package for Harry, looking slightly unsure about it (his little hands were shaking) but without looking away.

Harry didn't know what to do, there were no words that could describe everything that went through his head, and all that heat in his chest. The godson was standing in front of him, giving him a Father's Day gift ... For him! On Father's Day!

''Grandma and I left flowers for Dad, and then I bought this for you'' Teddy continued ''Grandma said Grandpa Arthur would probably like one too, but I ... I want to give it to you first'' Harry has never felt his heart so close to tearing his chest, not since he proposed to Ginny. And speaking of her, when he looked at his wife, she had moist eyes towards the scene

''I..Thanks, Teddy, I- I didn't expect'' Harry said, feeling himself shaking shamefully as he reached for the package.

Father's day - as well as mother's - was always a reminder that Harry was alone; as a child, he cried the night after Petunia won several packages and congratulations, or that Vernon got things written with '' the best father in the world '' because it seemed so unfair that Harry couldn't celebrate it with anyone. At school, when there were performances, he was always the only one who never participated, because there was no reason, he had no one to hand over the cards full of glitter and children's drawings, not even to sing those sweet songs. No one would be in the audience for him. And at Hogwarts, he always remembered to send an owl to Mrs and Mr Weasley to congratulate them on the dates. Now after he was old, he went to his parents' grave and deposited flowers and spent some time there (he and Ginny had gone yesterday, before picking up Teddy)

But he never imagined that in his life.

''To: For the best second dad in the world From: Teddy

Congratulations Harry, I love you sooooo much, and I am very happy to have two daddies and one of them is you!

With love,

Teddy :)''

His hands shook even more as he undid the white ribbon, seeing a pair of cufflinks in a box, and a picture frame with a picture of the two together on his 6th birthday, where Harry was with him on his shoulders while everyone sang Happy Birthday song. The boy laughed openly clapping his hands to the rhythm of the music, while the godfather held him by the shins and swayed, looking up and smiling at the little boy.

Harry thought there would never be words for him to be able to say what it meant.

Teddy considered him his father - not only, but his second best dad - and had spent time with Andromeda to make the gift. Harry, for the first time in 24 years, didn't just feel the usual loneliness that days like these made him feel.

''Thanks buddy, I love you too'' Harry hugged him, more sentimental than he would have liked, holding him close to him as if afraid to let go and it was just a dream ''I will always, always, love you" He whispered against his godson's cheek, holding back the tears as much as he could."I'm going to put the photo in the living room" he said, feeling a little limp.

And for the rest of his life, whenever it was necessary to conjure up a patron, along with the memory of his wedding, and of his entire family together, that was in the middle, the memory of the first Father’s day that Harry spent being someone's father.

[pacific-rimbaud]

Please bless with your Christmas Parkweasel headcannons

I’ve been sitting on this ask until the right moment, and the Right Moment is apparently when I haven’t slept in like 50-something hours and have forgotten to cut off this emergency room visitor bracelet that says “TUESDAY” in five different fonts (we’re fine, everything is fine, I’m just vry extreme tired but it’s: 12:43 p.m.)

ParkWeasel at Christmas below the cut!

Pansy Parkinson cannot be touched in the areas of: decorating, personal styling, and throwing a party. She throws the best parties. I am not open to discussion on this topic. She can organize a flawless wedding and a large, formal, uptight gala kind of deal, but every Christmas she hosts a large party with friends at their home. She always wears something kind of borderline, like a shortshortshort silver sequin dress and mile-high heels, just this side of being too much. She excels at getting the right people talking, playing the right music, keeping the energy at exactly the right level, making sure it’s really well lubricated with incredible cocktails, but no one ever gets truly shitty. Every year she sends everyone home with a new magical ornament. She does it all so masterfully that Percy forgets he hates parties. Once it’s over, he draws her a bath while he cleans up so meticulously you’d never know they had people over, then spends ages demonstrating his appreciation and admiration for her in bed. It’s secretly his favorite night of the year, outside of their anniversary.

Percy has a handful of homespun and kinda kitschy decorations from his childhood, and for along time keeps them packed away in a box. Pansy finds it one day, and he comes home from work to discover the paper Christmas village he spent hours and hours adding a house and magically animated paper figures to every year set up on the mantel, living in miraculous harmony with the spare lines of his absurdly expensive midcentury candleholders and Pansy’s weekly rotation of fresh flowers in her great-grandmother’s cloisonné vases.

The Sweaters. Pansy puts hers on at bedtime on Christmas Day, just long enough for them both to make funny faces and take a selfie for Molly. Then she tells Percy he’ll never make her take it off, which is a very fun sort of challenge. The first time Molly receives the photograph by owl is the moment she fully understands that her daughter-in-law has made her son completely, deliriously happy. She’s been warm to her ever since.

Percy struggles at Christmas: because of his grief over Fred, and because while he’s reconciled with his family, he will always, for his entire life, be different from the rest of them in ways that make him feel isolated and lonely. Pansy has no baggage around the holidays, beyond the teenage years she spent defying her mother over stiff Christmas dresses by emerging from her bedroom wearing them with slightly inappropriate shoes. She thinks it’s all a pleasing, if hectic, sort of lark where she gets nice new jewelry from Percy and outrageously expensive gifts from her parents, and has an excuse to wear kitschy lingerie. She has ample emotional bandwidth, so she pours her considerable talents into speaking Percy’s love languages loud and clear over the holidays. She does a killer job as his plus one at the Ministry Christmas party, she buys him the most unexpected and thoughtful gifts that show she spent time and energy on him, she sends him owls during the day that let him know he’s on her mind and how special she thinks he is. Fuck. He has no idea how he managed to be so lucky.

Percy is low-key shite at gift buying. His primary love language is not gifts, and he tends to think of things in overly practical terms. He believes Pansy when she tells him how charming she thinks his ineptitude is, because she’s not actually a gifts person either, but he has a standing date every year to go shopping with Blaise Zabbini. Neither of them has ever disclosed this to another person. They both really look forward to it.

What Percy brings to the table at Christmas is: how much he utterly adores his wife and their little family of two. He takes on every aspect of the Christmas cards, the thank-you cards, delivering gifts to friends, wrapping—whatever he can do, he does with the utmost care and without being asked, with the aim of communicating how wildly, achingly spectacular he thinks she is.

He goes truly, truly overboard on gifts for their black-haired three month-old daughter on her first Christmas. Pansy thought she knew how much she loved him before he started coming home from Diagon Alley and explaining the rationale for purchasing each set of wooden blocks and every paperboard book and the magical music box that plays intelligence-enhacing classical compositions, but she was wrong.

[jeromehoward]

There were several references used to compile these instrument descriptions.

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It a hard investigation air max 90 ultra se and no matter what, they the department that going to find the girls killer, not us, not the media police.

[a-libra-writes]

Imagine Dating the GoT Characters in Modern Times

okay im still working on that confession request, but this sucker just got away from me lol. couldnt help meself. this is a bit more casual than the others

if i missed any of ya favs, send my ask box a mail pigeon and ill add em!

In this preference, you'll be dating: Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Jon Snow, Benjen Stark, Jory Cassel, Dolorous Edd, Tormund Giantsbane, Theon Greyjoy, Yara Greyjoy, Daenerys Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, Missandei, Grey Worm, Tywin Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Jamie Lannister, Sandor Clegane, Bronn, Petyr Baelish, Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, Margaery Tyrell, Brynden Tully, Edmure Tully, Brienne of Tarth, Ramsay Bolton, Roose Bolton, Oberyn Martell, Beric Dondarrion

NED STARK

He always worries so much after you, like if you’re unusually late getting home or you don’t call him back for some time. He won’t bother you about it because knows he worries, and he’s always ready to give you a warm hug when you finally get home. He’s very considerate of how you like things in the home and will fix anything immediately - although, you’re convinced he’s going to drop the AC in a lake if it acts up one more time. He has a picture of your wedding day that he absolutely loves and keeps in a safe spot in his wallet. The same picture is in frame on his desk, along with pictures of the kids. It’s the only decorations he has on the desk.

ROBB STARK

He’s convinced Grey Wind is starting to like you more because you’re the one who gives the goodnight treats. His favorite memories are the times when you both were able to get away to the lake or beach for a few days; he has a picture of you both on his desk at work. If you get him something you’d think he’d like, such as a scarf, he’ll absolutely wear it until it falls apart. Before you two moved in together, he really enjoyed calling you in the evening to hear about your day. Before you started dating, he’d send you pics of Grey Wind because you had the cutest reactions to them - soooo many emojis.

SANSA STARK

She loooves trying new things and hobbies with you, even if it doesn’t always end up so hot. The baking fiasco of 2018 shall not be spoken of, the pictures have been erased, it didn’t happen. She likes doing your make-up if you’ll let her, and she loves it when you two clothes shop together, mostly so she can dress you up. Lady is the most spoiled princess in the Stark family; you and Sansa have an instagram for her, she has her own rhinestone collar and custom bowl, it’s a whole thing. Sansa likes to brush her in the evening while she listens to you about your day or you both catch up with your fav TV shows. You two are way too invested in some of them and sometimes you stay up too late angry tweeting about it.

JON SNOW

You two were mutual friends for a while before you started hanging out exclusively more and more and finally someone asked if you were dating... At that point, you basically were. He really likes going hiking in the woods with you and Ghost, and some of his favorite pictures of you are from these trips - obvs they’re his phone background, and he gets shy if someone looks over his shoulder and asks if you’re his girlfriend. You both have gotten Ghost a nice dog bed and couch but he still likes to sleep at the foot of the bed, then promptly wake you both up at 6am for a walk. Jon was nervous but excited to introduce you to his family; he enjoys holidays with them much more because of you. He loves it when you text him cute things about your day or say you miss him.

BENJEN STARK

He caught your attention when you two began casually dating and he absolutely lit up when he talked about his nieces and nephews, and he showed you lots of pictures. It was just so cute. He absolutely loves it when you wear his shirts, especially the morning after - he will pull you back into the bed. He’s a total night owl but is very considerate of being quiet when you’re asleep. If you end up falling asleep after trying to stay up with him, he’ll carefully carry you back to bed. He works evenings too, so when he comes home early in the morning, he’ll cook you breakfast before staggering to bed (obviously he wants a good morning/night kiss as you get up and get ready).

JORY CASSEL

He’s an absolute sweetheart who will adopt all the dogs and fill up the house with them if you don’t stop him. When he’s playing with them or holding them, you like to take sneaky pictures because it’s just so cute and set it as your phone background. He always has the sweetest compliments for you, regardless if you’re dressing up or you just got out of the shower. The easiest way to fluster him is throw your legs over his lap while you’re wearing shorts or a skirt and just casually snuggle up. One day one of your dogs got out and you two were so beside yourself with worry, calling all the shelters and making posters and just stressing out together. The pup showed up a few hours later covered in mud and you both ran to hug her at the same time.

EDD TOLLETT

You’d actually been hanging out with him for a while because of your mutual friends, mostly Jon. You two had such an obvious crush on each other but wouldn’t make a move, so he and Sam did the trick where they invited you both out, then made an excuse and left you two alone. He’s the master of sending a meme in response to a text you sent two hours ago. He won’t admit how much he really likes it when you wear his shirts, either to bed or out on a date. They’re almost exclusively black metal band shirts with really weird art. You both tend to go to a lot of outdoor music festivals; he always wants to hold your hand so he doesn’t lose you in a crowd.

TORMUND GIANTSBANE

His beard and hair are still wild, don’t you worry, and he’s endlessly amused when it tickles you when he kisses you. His clothes are kind of a mess so you always try to straighten them out or iron them, which he really appreciates. Whenever he sees something cool, he has to immediately take a picture and send it to you. Sometimes he’s too excited about something, he just calls you or comes over. He’d totally want to go to nature reserves, zoos and parks for dates; he loves being outdoors and thinks you look best when the sunlight is on you. He’ll take so many pics on these dates but he’s a pretty bad cameraman (he tries!). He’ll go for the tallest rollercoaster at an amusement park and immediately regret it once the drop starts; he’s secretly relieved if you don’t want to go on one. 

THEON GREYJOY

Let’s be honest, he’s kind of a fuckboy so you don’t date him too seriously. He’s the one who gets attached first and starts exclusively dating you. He really likes collecting guitars and would be stoked if you’d play or sing along with him. He prefers outdoor dates, but sports bars and music clubs are fun, too. No matter what, he’d be giving lots of PDA and wouldn’t take kindly to guys hitting on you. He always finds the most bizarre food or drink recipes online that he wants to try, usually resulting in your kitchen being a warzone afterward. Yara totally bullies him on his insta, no matter how much he blocks her. 

YARA GREYJOY

She’s the definition of the types of girls your parents really didn’t want you to bring home but Here We Are. She has the most badass boots that she wears with an eyeliner with a wing so sharp it could kill a man. She loves pulling you close and being touchy with you in bars and clubs, especially when men are bothering you. Her diet 80% microwave so you have to cook actual food for her and make sure she eats. Family gatherings or phone calls always bother her, so you have to help calm her down afterward, usually with lots of making out. She’d like you to go with her when she gets tattoos so she has someone to chat and laugh with, and she’d subtly suggest you’d look cute with a piercing. She’ll kill the bugs in the relationship as long as you give her a thank you kiss, no matter what you’re in the middle of.

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

She absolutely LOVES Christmastime and wants to decorate the whole house, send a Christmas card with you and her three bearded dragons and wear matching Christmas sweaters (she can be surprisingly stubborn about that). Cuddling on the sofa and watching movies usually ends her falling asleep on you, and if you try to move her she grumbles and hugs you closer. The background for her phone is you looking very worried, holding her three bearded dragons after she posed them on you. She’d much rather wear your hoodies and shirts than her own, sometimes only that if she’s lounging at home with you. She tries to plan a really nice date at least once a month, preferably you two going on a little weekend trip to a musical festival or a beach.

JORAH MORMONT

He texts he loves you at least twice throughout the day. When you go out on dates, he’s always worried if you need a jacket or if you’ve had enough to eat. Heel is digging into your ankle and giving you a blister? This guy has band-aids. When he gets home early, he likes to cook a quick dinner that’ll be ready when you’re home. Watching kdramas with Jorah is great because he gets so baffled and ask you if this is what kids watch nowadays, but then he gets surprisingly emotional over the big confessions and love triangles. Walking through a park or boardwalk at sunset while holding your hand is maximum serotonin for him.

MISSANDEI

Her absolute favorite part of the day is the chat you two have in the evening while you take off make-up, wash your faces and fix your hair before bed. Sometimes you talk about your day, sometimes you listen to music or have a show on. She really doesn’t like phones or laptops in bed because she just wants to cuddle or be intimate. You introduced her to theme parks, and now she absolutely loves them. Missandei will find the biggest coaster and pull you toward it, she also would like you to win her one of those stuffed animals at the shooting games. She’ll put them on a shelf in your room. Sometimes she reads a book that bothers her so much, she has to stop everything, march in the living room and tell you all about it.

GREY WORM

You asked him out by writing your number on his cup at the cafe you worked out. You never got a text or call, but he suddenly showed up a few days later, totally blushing and asking you out. It was kind of adorable. He really likes keeping the apartment tidy and totally loves your baking. You didn’t think he had a sweet tooth, and he's been trying out different recipes to share with you. He can be pretty shy around your friends, so you hang with him solo. He has surprisingly strong opinions on movies, so movie dates always spiral into film theory discussions. He's so baffled by social media but he follows and likes everything you because your posts and pics are cute.

TYWIN LANNISTER

You two met at your company’s expensive party, he interested you right away and you had fun flirting and trading verbal spars. You weren’t sure how he got your number, but he’d end up calling you up for dinners and dates and so on. That ended up turning into trips and long stays at his manor and basically you ended up living there. Tywin enjoys giving you all sorts of expensive gifts and clothes, which he of course doesn’t see as a big deal because you deserve it. Eventually you’d bother him about what you mean to him, and that’s when he’d just outright ask if you’d rather be married. Quite frankly, he doesn’t care about his children’s thoughts on the matter. He really prefers the dates and vacations that are more relaxing, especially when he gets to see you smile at something you haven’t seen. 

TYRION LANNISTER

You and Tyrion discuss books like some people discuss politics. Actually, you both tend to have a lot of long discussions, but you both are so opinionated on books. He actually writes quite a bit and dedicates a lot of it to you. His favorite thing to do is make you laugh in public while you’re drinking something; he knows it drives you nuts and it’s adorable how much you sputter and look for a napkin. He blames you for Jamie’s love of ironic emojis, and he likes to send you screenshots of Cersei’s weird facebook rants. When he’s stressing over a writing deadline, he adores it when you give him a massage and help him calm down.

JAMIE LANNISTER

He’d often tease you about using so many cutest emojis in your text messages, so he started ironically using them. You’re positive he just picks them at random but he figured out that eggplant and peach REAL quick. When you first started dating, he tried to impress you with expensive gifts and dates, but he vastly prefers the lowkey cuddles at your apartment. His head in your lap, your pet curled around his legs and him reading off ridiculous shit Cersei posts on facebook … That’s the ideal. He was a nervous wreck when you met Tywin, although he was trying to play it off and be cool. 

SANDOR CLEGANE

He’s such a grumpy bear that a lot of people wonder how the heck you two got together. You both like to hang out at music bars and clubs, and he’s always got a protective arm around you, and as the evening winds down he likes to nuzzle your hair and receive any kisses you give. He sleeps in really late and grumbles when you pull him out of bed to get his ass outside. He’ll always take care of the yard work and grills the best barbecue. He actually really likes when you ask him what he thinks about an outfit, even if he just says it’s fine, because he likes the way you twirl and show off your backside. There’s probably a football team he’s obsessed with and he WILL text you angrily about someone getting a red card or missing a goal. 

BRONN

When you asked for his number, you were shook that he still had a goddamn flip phone. Even after dating for forever, he still has that damn thing. Your favorite date spot is live music bars, even if he starts to get overly affectionate and pull you in his lap. He has leather jackets and sometimes wears black cowboy boots with them and it just … works? He also probably rides a motorcycle but makes sure you have the proper clothes and helmet and actually obeys traffic laws when you’re riding with him. He’ll still flip off drivers, though. He doesn’t go to the doctor, his sick ass shows up on your doorstep half-dead and you force cold medicine down his throat while scolding him. He just likes being looked after, not that he’ll ever admit it.

PETYR BAELISH

You’re kind of surprised he asked you out, he seemed like a very wealthy, prominent person and you were a little worried. But on all your dates he’s nothing but a gentleman and he wants to go places you enjoy to know you better. Even if you both go somewhere more lowkey like a cafe or an art museum, he just has to impress you by picking you up in a nice car. He’s much more genuine in evenings at your apartment when you cuddle with him, or when you send sweet texts that he has trouble responding to right away because they’re just so nice. He likes to follow your social media just to see what you’re up to, and he has a picture of you on his desk, probably one where you’re wearing something he got you.

STANNIS BARATHEON

He’s on top of anything that needs to be fixed or dealt with around the house, sometimes without you even noticing they were broken. He’s very grateful when you plan dates for fun or for anniversaries, because he has trouble with such things. He also totally melts when you bring him coffee in the morning with a kiss, or take his coat when he comes home. Holidays are an absolute mess; last year he was THIS close to throttling Renly with a string of holly. You like changing his phone background to saucy pictures of yourself, because he already sucks at phones and now he’s bright red and it’s taking him five minutes to figure out how to change it. You were pretty bummed when he finally figured out how to set up a phone lock, so now you just text the pictures while he’s at home. It takes a few seconds before you hear him sputter and drop his phone in the other room.

DAVOS SEAWORTH

Admittedly, Davos is a little insecure about the age difference between you two, but he’s always very comforted when you hold his hand and kiss him in public. He always has interesting places to take you, and somehow he seems to know at least one person there. He always has a new story about how he lost his fingers and now it’s just an inside joke between you two. You think its hilarious how worked up he gets about his sports teams, and he cracks up when you yell at competitive cooking shows. Sometimes he needs your help deciphering Stannis’ weird, cryptic texts. He’s very weak when you’re dressing up to go out, especially when you slip on pantyhose and heels.

MARGAERY TYRELL

You didn’t realize how big of an influencer she was until she innocently asked for a selfie of the two of you. You were on a beach date and you kissed her cheek while she made a cute pose. Much later she showed you the pic on her instagram and holy shit is that’s 20k likes what in the seven hells. If it’s a sunny day, she absolutely wants to go out to the beach or an outdoor mall or anything. She likes to show you pics of outfits, ask your opinion, and buy it as a surprise if you really love it. If you both got a pet together, she’d basically treat it like your kid. She loves taking you with her on her family’s expensive vacations, and she can’t stop holding your hand and grinning the whole time.

BRYNDEN TULLY

Brynden is also worried about the age gap between you two, and it often bothers him when people mistake him for your father while you two are out. He loves talking about you to his nieces and nephew. He held off on telling his brother out of spite, because he knew Hoster was going to bug him about proposing. His favorite thing to do with you is go boating on the family’s lake, especially when you’re laughing as you try to keep your hat on. His absolute favorite picture is a selfie you took while you were in his lap, you’re making a silly face while he’s kissing your cheek.

EDMURE TULLY

He loves doing the silliest, most domestic stuff with you. Doing laundry together while joking around, picking out furniture to match in the living room, even adopting a dog or a kitten who would end up spoiled rotten. He’d actually fall for you quickly while you were dating and already think of your wedding and a family, but he wouldn’t want to pressure you at all. He has the worst bedhead and you have to grab him before he runs out to work and try to tame it. You both have the most ridiculous in-jokes and when you watch dramas, you both get way too emotionally invested and try not to cry in front of each other.

BRIENNE OF TARTH

She’s very shy about taking selfies with you until you encourage her and insist she’s adorable. She takes good care of her health and works out a lot, and she’s definitely want you to join her for the latter. She’s great with motivating and praising you! She likes dates where you two just wander around outdoor malls or museums, you just walk and chat about all sorts of things. You’re absolutely her phone background and lock screen, and when her dad calls to check on her she ends up talking about you a lot. You both like to put on cooking shows while you fold laundry or clean and you end up getting so distracted.

RAMSAY BOLTON

You weren’t totally keen on introducing him to your parents, then they suddenly came over while he was hanging out with you and he was such a Perfect Gentleman™ you almost got whiplash. He’s the reason stray dogs always hang around your backyard and porch, he leaves food out for them. He always frowns when you cover up his hickeys with concealer. He’s not the least bit phased by horror or slasher movies, but puts them on TV anyway so you can cling to him and hide your face. He’s absolutely the sort to threaten any male friends he thinks are too close to you, then play innocent when you confront him. He likes date spots that are a little more secluded, so he can grab your body and give you a deep kiss anytime he’s wanting you.

ROOSE BOLTON

In the morning, he always has to kiss you when he wakes up and before he leaves for work, no exceptions. He’s very private so those he works with are surprised to learn he’s married, but once you two are together at some company party it’s obvious he dotes on you. His kinks are even more pronounced now and he loves buying you things he wants to see you wear. He’d like to have a family with you once you’re ready. He’d be super into you sending him sexy pictures during the day, but he won’t respond right away or pretend the picture didn’t load just to mess with you. 

OBERYN MARTELL

He looooves surprising you with thoughtful gifts, weekend trips or even just flowers sent to your work with a loveydovey note that has all your coworkers teasing you. He hangs around at your apartment so much, you wonder why he just doesn’t move in. He will absolutely love any flirty texts or sexy pictures you send him over the phone, and he’ll respond in kind. When your relationship started getting more serious, he introduced you to his family and daughters, and fell even more in love with you because you were so kind to everyone. He always wants to take you places because he thinks you’re the cutest when you’re amazed by new things.

BERIC DONDARRION

A mutual friend hooked you both up for a blind date, which bothered you a lot, but Beric was so nice, genuine and apologetic that you decided to go through with it anyway. You’re grateful you live in a cold climate because he looooves the fireplace and snuggling with you in front of it. He’s not the best at cooking and would appreciate you teaching him, also you look super cute in an apron so that’s a bonus. Expect a ton of different outdoors and camping trips from him, also he’s the worst about getting injured and insisting he’s fine, even when there’s blood all over the bathroom sink.

[nocturnalsleeper]

500 Drawing Prompts

waterfall

wizard's staff

zombies

sandcastle

fangs

tattoo

family crest

spaceship

mythical beast

spooky tree

alien

tropical cocktail

robot

dragon

tombstone

medieval goblets

king's throne

mermaid

vampire

witch's cauldron

tooth fairy

deep sea monster

magic carpet

sculpture

coral reef

wine bottle

statue of liberty

beast

beauty

elephant

Mayan ruins

birds

cameras

bowl of soup

breakfast

lunch

snack

dinner

flower vase

ladder

full moon

bright sun

autumn

summer

spring

winter

butterfly

caterpillar

troll

roller skates

rain boots

weeds

flowers

bedroom

kitchen

dining room

bathroom

egg hatching

wrist watch

night

harvest

pond

raincoat

hat

water bottle

flashlight

sailboat

dandelion

earthworm

bank robber

policeman

superhero

villain

view out a window

cactus

sunflower

mosquito

spider web

star fish

flip flops

lawn chair

trampolines

pots and pans

sword

lighthouse

pie on a windowsill

house plant

soldier

chimney

barbed wire

squirrels

hot sauce

chain

beehive

helicopter

hot dog

venus flytrap

stained glass

sphinx

skateboard

serenity

open book

werewolf

hourglass

tower

camel

Cleopatra

favorite book character

desert

forest

mountains

ocean

pumpkin seed

pine cone

octopus

mannequin

lollipop

something sticky

footprints

tractor

slime

island paradise

sand dune

archer

my favorite outfit

trophies

fishing fly

black hole

cyclops

swan

mirror

microphone

pretzels

newspaper

submarine

scrambled eggs

eel

wave

bike

leather boots

keys

coffee cup

self portrait

snake charmer

playground

sumo wrestler

crystal chandelier

eight ball

secrets

treasure chest

children's toy

something that sparkles

penguin

unicorn

pirate

tribal pattern

suit of armor

pinball machine

erupting volcano

seahorse

ninja

happy monster

futuristic car

three little pigs

magic amulet

yeti

toolbox

fish bones

zipper

carpenter

handcuffs

doll house

mask

telescope

piano

windmill

double sided axe

samurai

ghost

hot air balloon

bubbles

polka dots

plate of cookies

snake scales

pair of socks

high dive

belt

figure skater

fisherman

space

jack-o-lantern

Cinderella's glass slipper

hay bale

bumper cars

cover wagon

spy

fighter jet

parachute

tree bark

radio

art gallery

bow and arrow

pepperoni pizza

snail

bushel of apples

doorknob

talking object

harp

chess pieces

sprinkler

electricity

computer keyboard

presents

barn

plaid

jewelry

ballet

curtains

tripod

sunglasses

bow tie

Saturn's rings

birdcage

swap creature

horse and carriage

banana peel

stapler

toothpaste

thunder storm

movie poster

video game controller

cinnamon sticks

target

skull

elf

alien plant life

first love

new baby

kids jumping

glaciers

shark

scarf

wheelchair

blacksmith

four wheeler

cowboy

crossroads

pedestal

police car

pug

someone who is full of joy

what's under your bed

hieroglyph

dolphin

wooden shield

laughing

jump rope

desk

something big next to something small

taxi

staircase

tomahawk

hummingbird

hedgehog

gorilla

firetruck

soda can

teddy bear

fortune cookie

fruit basket

smirk

game of marbles

crumpled paper

swordfish

alarm clock

goldfish

puppet

salt and pepper shakers

jet pack

time machine

hands

wood fencing

cave mouth

milkshake

high heeled shoes

music

smile

mad scientist

telephone booth

skyscraper

gargoyle

diamond

sushi

brier patch

something that comes in pairs

box of chocolates

brick wall

bat

chicken

bonsai tree

headphones

a new typeface

jellyfish

candy canes

lawn mower

rain puddles

school

lamb

wolf

bed

bowl of popcorn

lampshade

peacock

turtle

bear

ceiling fan

yo-yo

oil spill

kite

invisible man

casino

Abraham Lincoln

ice cream cone

corn on the cob

claws

beekeeper

coins

watermelon

landing on the moon

rotary telephone

brain

rocks

needle in a haystack

picnic basket

fireplace

bottle of poison

genie in a bottle

knight

hammer

acorn

orange

owl

hair

wheel barrel

pyramids

exploding dynamite

shrimp

guitarist

keyboardist

drummer

singer

griffin

carousel horse

bunnies

puppies

board game

a famous painting

stone walkway

maple leaf

lizard

eyes

ears

nose

mouth

leopard

record player

bulldozer

bride

snowman

feather headdress

playing cards

windy day

sleeping bag

dancing skeleton

piggy bank

wizard

evil prince

lantern

beach ball

cherub

sprout

aircraft carrier

olympic swimmer

wedding dress

feather

baseball glove

noodles

cat

dog

happy

sad

angry

relaxed

graffiti

motorcycle

tornado

caveman

pineapple

Lock Ness monster

flag

gas mask

starry sky

dream house

deer

Goldilocks

frog

tadpole

swing

circus clown

earth

cupcake

lace

rocking chair

bravery

Big Ben

doctor

railroad car

parade

Christmas sweater

Ferris wheel

sci-fi gun

medicine cabinet

birthday party

cutlery

great wall of china

umbrella

traffic sign

catapult

light bulb

bamboo

heart

moon colony

sandwiches

juice box

lake house

bushes

hard candy

camouflage

platypus

football helmet

soccer game

balloons

astronaut

missing teeth

memory

jukebox

tulip

ladybug

birthday cake

t-shirt

igloo

golf ball

fossils

your least favorite food

pencil cup

half eaten apple

food with a face

horseshoe

daffodil

castle

tea party

scared

bag of chips

camping

cabin

bonfire

ship

watering can

palm tree

wind chimes

armchair

fireworks

knife

wine cork

waitress

farmer

fountain

last leaf on a tree

saber toothed tiger

grocery store

rainbow

typewriter

engine

bluebird

shooting star

a new invention

school of fish

bearded lady

secret garden

suspension bridge

viking artifact

Eiffel tower

a feast for a king

guitar

tree house

seashell

dinosaur

sea lion

Taj Mahal

your favorite animal in a tuxedo

[north-texas-madhatter]

Uncertain: That’s no deer my wife whispered…

As I listened intently peering off into the dark forest I told my wife, “It’s out there, it hasn’t left” She and the kids got up as we heard a twig snap. “Get the kids and get in the cabin”, I quietly whispered as I grabbed the shotgun from the trunk. I knew it was watching us, in the dark, maybe just as scared as I was – or maybe not.

Our family loves to travel and the more unusual the place the better. We love cabins and nature and beautiful back roads, lakes and forest. It was a cool crisp morning and we were loading up the car for another adventure. Don’t forget to put on some deodorant my wife reminds me, my daughter had complained that Papa David was kinda stinky. Which is true, I am a stinky smelly man and unfortunately for her she sits behind me in the backseat when we travel. “I will smell like roses”, I replied as I loaded the cooler of snacks with an assortment of drinks careful to put it equally in reach of all family members.

I was rummaging around in the garage trying to find all the items I had put on my trip list. The smell of moldy tarps, dust and an old bike tube hanging off a rack as I shuffled things back and forth. “I really need to organize this better” I thought to myself. Finally laying on the garage floor before me were, flashlights, medical kits, an assortment of fire starters, lanterns, two way radios, and an old box of shotgun shells that I had brought out from the house. I did a quick review of the list I had made the night before and checked off all the items but one. The shotgun. I didn’t like leaving anything like that just laying around.

The kids packed their backpacks with who knows what, some Go Fish and Old Maid card games were stuffed in the side pockets and the iPad’s fully charged for those moments where my wife and I would like to have a conversation without interruption. You parents know what I mean.

“What about Stella?” the kids asked. I had made sure to find lodgings that allowed pets so I said she is going with us. Stella had been sitting on her carpet anxiously watching us pack the car and, as if to know what I had said, began wagging her tail gleefully running back and forth to the door.

All packed up, everyone in the car, doors checked, thermo nuclear alarm system set, we began to back out of the driveway. “Oh wait!” I forgot something. Everyone letting out a sigh. Just like my parents when we would leave for our trans America trips, my dad would pull in and out of the driveway six times before we could finally depart. Turning off the alarm and unlocking all the doors I retrieved a large shotgun from the safe and walked back to the car checking it before placing it carefully in the trunk.

Off we go! And the kids yelled yay! immediately asking for their iPads. Our destination this time is a little town on the Caddo Lake called Uncertain. But we were in no hurry to get there as plenty of back wood roads were ahead of us.

Leaving the Dallas city limits always brings a sigh of relief, like escaping some kind of urban restraints. There is a Buccee’s ahead but I turn the car onto highway 80 heading through Terrell and then after a quick driving tour of a few historical neighborhoods we are headed out into the countryside.

“Look a tank!” the kids yelled. Small towns often have war relics as a showpiece for their local VFW’s (Veteran’s of Foreign Wars) which are like a club house for military service men and women to get together and have a drink, socialize or even hold events such as weddings or parties. We pulled into the parking lot and the kids ran toward the tank and a large caliber cannon. “Watch for snakes!” was the usual call out we made but it was cold enough that there were probably none around.

I hobbled over to the edge of a tank putting my hand on the corner to hold myself up. A car wreck and later a fall off an H post on our ranch years ago had left my back in a mess and driving takes its toll if I don’t stop and move around. As I stood there the kids climbed all over the tank turret and I could smell engine grease that must have been in this machine since WW2. Our mini-dachshund bounced over the grass fighting the leash my wife held tightly. An elderly couple emerged from one of the doors in the VFW and waved. I could see USS something written on the old man’s hat with a silhouette of a battleship. He reminded me of my grandfather who fought in the war. His white wavy hair, reading a newspaper. As a child I would sneak up and thump it and he would pretend to get up for a chase. After a brief break we yelled for the kids to get down and dust off as we all piled back in the car and headed on down the road.

My favorite thing to do is put in a destination on Google Maps and then pick all the different routes that will prevent me from merging onto a highway because highways are the enemy when it comes to adventure. You miss so much when you fly down a road at 70 plus mph. The orange, yellow and red leaves become a blur, the smell of the sweet pine needle lost in the soot of the diesel trucks. Give me the backroads, the curve of her body, the gentle sway of her hair. The dips, the hills, the smooth mirror like surface of the lake meeting the sky. Lazy fishing boats, their lines cast toward the setting sun.

It’s getting dark now as we roll into Jefferson, the sun’s rays beam through the magnolia trees and New Orleans styled patios. Porch lights dot the neighborhoods and a train can be heard rumbling on the tracks just outside of town, as we catch glimpses of the red blinking of the sentries through the dirty glass windows of vacant row houses.

For those of you unfamiliar with Jefferson. It is a unique Texas, town sitting in the shadow of Caddo Lake it was once a Texas port for steamboats arriving by way of the Mississippi and Red Rivers. The town is steeped in New Orleans styled architecture. Many goods and services were brought by paddleboat to the town from the coastal city and as with many towns of those times they had stories of hauntings. In fact Jefferson is home to one of the most haunted hotels in America, the towns namesake, The Jefferson Hotel. You can imagine the gas lamps flickering as a ghostly figure stands in the doorway. There is an old train car permanently stationed across the street and we release the kids to stretch their legs as we take a peak at the old hotel and adjacent coach car.

No offense to the paranormal enthusiasts but I have never been much of a believer in the other worldly but I do try to keep an open mind. Nevertheless, the whole town had a kind of creepy vibe at this time of day and there was this almost damp deathly smell as a light mist encroached on the lattice worked streets from the nearby swamps.

It was at this moment that I heard something. It was distant, like a low howl almost just outside of human hearing. I can’t quite explain it but though barely discernable it was not of the norm I would expect from the usual town and surrounding forest noises, but it demanded to be noticed if only subconsciously. “Did you hear that?” I asked my wife “Hear what?” she replied and I as quickly dismissed it to have been just some slight synaptic misunderstanding.

We drove around town for another half hour looking at all the beautiful old homes, brick streets and the docking area where paddleboats once delivered handlebar mustached men and parasol carrying ladies to horse drawn carriages idly standing by while French perfume fragrances purchased in the Big Easy filled the air.

Leaving Jefferson, Polk Street took us through the Big Cypress Bayou. Our surroundings were changing, Spanish moss was hanging from the trees now and I knew our cabin was not much farther away. We decided to take a slight detour and drive through Caddo Lake State Park. We giggled at the sign, Learn How to Survive Like a Sasquatch. And we noted all the wildlife, deer, birds and though we probably would not see any, alligator that live in this eco-system we had arrived to. The road then became darker, swamp waters came right up to the edge on both sides, the lake was up and we had entered a watery world that was quite foreign to us. In fact, we heard that the town was called Uncertain because when the lake floods no one is certain the town is still there.

It is small and looks like something out of a Stephen King novel. There is a short main street with a sundry of cabins anywhere from a mere shack to homes on stilts. There it is! Caddo Lake Cabins, just on the corner of Bois D Arc and Cypress Drive. There were two cabins side by side and ours was the larger with a screened in porch with the back of it to the forest and swamps. A stone throw away was Taylor Island which you would never know it was an island since the road extended to a dead end there. Fishing camps lined the edge and the smell of fish and beer filled the air.

“There’s a golf cart!”, the kids yelled. “Can we drive it!” Not tonight, it’s too dark and we need to get everything inside.

What we didn’t know is how ready we would be to leave…

The cabin was beautiful! It was very clean and had everything we needed. The screened porch overlooking the forest was a favorite for our dog Stella who incessantly sniffed the air. The cabin had a fresh cut wood and coffee smell to it as my wife opened the bag of black coffee grounds left by the owners for us to enjoy during our morning cup of joe. Outside we could hear owls hooting to one another and frogs serenading the cool crisp night as we brought in all our items for the stay. Blankies, stuffed animals, backpacks spilling open onto the bed as our kids claimed their living quarters. We couldn’t believe we had found such a wonderful place for such a reasonable price.

After unloading our gear and goodies we took a quick drive around town. It was eerily quiet, “They roll up the carpet early around these parts”, I said aloud. We could see yellow bulbs glowing behind closed curtains in the small cabins and homes up and down Cypress Drive, the main street of town. We caught glimpses of the moonlight reflecting off the bayou just beyond the cottages at the waters edge. “I hear they filmed parts of Universal Soldier and some swamp monster movie near here”, I said as the occupants of the car peered out the window. A few bumps in the road and we stopped short of a boat ramp leading into the lake. We sat there for a moment, next to us was a covered marina with little Jon Boats bobbing up and down, we could hear a dog barking off in the distance. “Well that’s it for this town”, I said. “Let’s head back and get some rest so we can get an early start tomorrow.” We had plans for the next day to drive into Louisiana and see where Bonnie and Clyde met their end at the hands of Frank Hamer and local law enforcement and to possibly explore a very unusual area that I had found while researching our trip on Google Maps.

My wife and I laid in bed, it was close to 11pm and after talking about the trip and our plans for the next day we began to drift off to sleep. Suddenly the night was split open as an extremely loud air horn blasted. “What the Hell is that!” I jumped up out of bed and ran to the window. It sounded as if a train might drive right through the cabin! Looking out the window I could only see night. There were no headlights, no trains or trucks – nothing. Just the echo of the loud piercing horn fading into the forest. My wife walking back to bed after checking on the kids asked, “What do you think that was all about?” “I don’t know but I didn’t see any train tracks that close to us.” “It was almost like it was to scare something away or sounded as a warning.” The odd thing was no one was coming out of their dwellings to check out the mysterious sound. It was accepted as a normal occurrence it seemed. It set me on edge but I finally fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning we opened the bag of coffee grounds and my wife walked out onto the porch handing me a fresh mug with steam rising from it. I never really liked coffee until I married my wife and now it is so nice when we can just sit and talk between sips of the black stuff. The kids were still asleep and Stella sniffed around the edges of the porch. “Something must have come close last night, she seems really curious”, my wife pointed out. Stella was really picking up on a scent near the screen door. “Maybe she needs a restroom break” as my wife went off to retrieve the harness and leash.

Stella pulled hard at the leash. She is never like this, usually just sniffing and stopping and then sniffing some more before finally answering to the call of nature but this time she strained at the end of the leash. My wife looked back at me as Stella pulled her across the lawn toward the woods behind the cabin. She is onto something. Maybe a deer? She growled but then after a moment retreated back to the cabin managing a tinkle on the way. We didn’t think much of it and knew that being surrounded by nature and forest there was bound to be some curious creatures lurking about.

After breakfast we all jumped in the car and headed out. Fishermen were already making their way into the bayou, wisps of smoke from their engines lazily floating across the water. There was a slight mist to the morning air and everything was damp from the night fog that the sun now began to burn through. The smell of eggs and bacon filled our noses as the town began its slow start to the day. After a bumpy drive through town, we turned onto a smooth black top road heading toward Louisiana. Shortly down the road we arrived to a small town named Karnack, it looked very run down but “This is where Lady Bird Johnson grew up” I exclaimed, no one in the car knew who that was so I explained that she was the First Lady and wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She is responsible for the beautification of our Texas Highways and for the seeding of the wildflowers and bluebonnets we see along the roadsides in the Spring. Her husband, LBJ, is responsible for The Grasslands we enjoy having our campfires at, not far from our hometown of Denton.

The air had an acrid smell to it and we could see large gates that led into the vast forested area I had seen on Google Maps. It looked like there had been a large town there once with roads crisscrossing one another in an organized grid with streets called 4th Street, Avenue C, 59th and Starr Ranch Road. Structures could still be seen peeking out behind the forest.

“Hey guys!” that is where we will explore later if we have time on our way back. We were very excited and off we went!

It didn’t seem long before we pulled under the overhang of the Horseshoe Casino. My wife and son walked in just to take a look while my daughter stayed behind with me. From the car I could see the beautiful chandelier that hung over the lobby. Many times, I had walked underneath it with my dad as we arrived for games of Black Jack while sitting on the banks of The Red River in Bossier City. There is some obscure law that I still don’t quite understand, where as long as the casino is on or over the Red River it is allowed to operate. The hotel, restaurants and parking areas can be on land but the games of chance themselves had to be over the rivers muddy red water. This is accomplished by river boat or barge permanently docked and anchored with vast poles that allow the casino to move up or down depending on the rivers height and water flow.

Shreveport was on the West side of the river and Bossier City on the East side. I had to laugh when I saw a Pipes Emporium on “Stoner” Avenue. Though I do not partake in the herbage myself I have been in my share of head shops, they sell the best incense, and the irony was not lost on me by the name of the street. By the way they don’t like it when you ask for a bong, they want you to call it by its legal name, a water pipe. Though they are technically the same thing and no difference to those visiting Pipes Emporium on Stoner for all their smoke shop needs.

Barksdale Air Force Base was to our left now and we could see war planes sitting idly on the tarmac. We headed back into the forested roads of Louisiana. An hour later and a vacant road would find us in front of one of America’s most notorious landmarks. The location where the famous outlaw couple, Bonnie & Clyde, were dispatched. One could almost smell the gun powder as Frank Hamer and his posse laid in wait raining down a wall of bullets onto the unsuspecting duo. An informant had tipped off Frank and his group of law men that they would be travelling on that road and a trap was set. The friend turned snitch pretended to be broken down on the side of the road and as Bonnie and Clyde slowed their car to assist, they were gunned down leaving their car peppered with holes and their limp bodies slumped in the car.

There are several cars claiming to be the famous death wagon. One is at Whiskey Pete’s Hotel and Casino in Primm, Nevada and another, not far from Dallas, owned by a little known body shop in Gunter, Texas. My son and I have seen it and it looks as real as any car shot full of holes would look sans the blood and other gore.

After finishing our visit to the markers that commemorated the death of the outlaws while praising the men who made it happen, we turned back out onto the road. A rusty colored pickup whizzed by startling me as I had grown accustomed to the lack of vehicular traffic in this area of backwoods LA. With the tires throwing some gravel behind us we were back on the blacktop making a circle around to the highway that would take us toward our temporary home back in the town of Uncertain but not before at least one last adventure to end the day with…

We passed through the gates, they weren’t like the gates at the State Parks we were accustomed to visiting. These looked a bit more foreboding. A small building was on our right that I imagine served as a visitor’s center. There was not a soul around. The town of Karnack was just behind us as we drove on down the road. I could hear the tires passing through bits of loose asphalt. The whole place seemed to be a maze of roads separated by tall pine trees. Here and there we could catch a glimpse of concrete structures long fallen out of use. It gave me an uneasy feeling like we were not supposed to be there. But what was eerie was that it was so quiet. I heard few if any birds. No other persons or wildlife was in the park. The streets were named as if it were a bustling downtown metropolis but nothing much was to be seen except for the stately conifers that surrounded us. It reminded me of that scene out of The Shining where the boy is being chased through a labyrinth. Except there was no snow and no deranged lunatic chasing us, at least none that we saw.

Driving on we were amazed at how large this place was, it was more than a Nature Preserve and we would run into road after road that would have barriers or warning signs that the road was off limits. We finally found the Starr Ranch Road that led us to the edge of Rag Island and a lonely boat launch. Here there was another structure, more welcoming. It looked like something that might be used for family gatherings and was screened in to protect guests from the swarms of mosquitoes that I am sure inhabited these areas in the summertime. We jumped out and the kids threw rocks into the water nearby. The Cypress Trees were beautiful, one of my favorite trees. My wife found an internet connection and we looked up the area that we were in. It was the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Once home to the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant. That explains all those little buildings. It was part of an 8,493 acre facility that once produced dynamite, 393,000,000 pounds of it during World War II. It was also a super fund site for all the chemicals that were still present in the soil. “Uh, kids put down those rocks and don’t stir up the dust” I quickly told them. Lead and mercury was still being found in some of the areas and a large compound fence ran along the perimeter of the entire plant. It was sprawling to say the least and with good reason, two in fact. One to help prevent an enemy bombing run from destroying the entire operation and to prevent an errant accident from killing everyone in sight. A rail system helped connect the different parts of the plant delivering the product as it was developed to other areas for assembly. Things like this fascinate me. It is a dark part of history, the entire location was set aside for one purpose and one purpose only, to kill as many people as possible and at that time to kill Nazi Germans. But National Wildlife Refuge makes it sound much more appealing for today’s visitors, just don’t drink the water – or play in the sand or expect to see much wildlife.

It took a while to get back to the main road. The GPS was on the blink because we were pretty remote but after a few wrong turns we made a right and we were headed back out the gates, which made much more sense now.

Everyone’s stomach was beginning to grumble, and it wasn’t long before we arrived back in Uncertain. My wife asked what we should do for dinner and I told her that I had heard of a good fish place that wasn’t too far from the cabin. I could really use a Fried Shrimp Po Boy right now and the kids really wanted some Calamari, if it were available. It was evening and it would be dark soon. A few people were stirring about while we drove back through town but things looked like they were beginning to button up. “Can I go with you Papa David?” my daughter asked. I said sure. My wife and son decided that they would stay behind and get a fire going in the fire ring just outside the cabin. So I left them the axe as my daughter and I jumped in the car.

We arrived at The RiverBend Restaurant which was up on stilts and I slowly climbed the stairs as my daughter ran up the ramp ahead of me. The drive had done a number on my back and I was paying for it now. Holding the door for me I gave my girl a hug and told her to, “stay close”. We ordered take out and it wasn’t long before two bags of great smelling seafood were sitting on the counter for the taking. It was hard not to help ourselves to the appetizers but out of politeness, on my daughters’ part, we managed to get back to the cabin only eating a few fries.

Pulling up into the gravel drive we opened the car doors to the sweet smell of pine wood smoke. The sun was going down quickly behind the swampy forest and rays of light were playfully dancing between the trees. My wife took the food inside for plating as I sat down next to the warm fire. “Did you start this?” I asked my son. “Yes and I cut most of the wood too!” My wife soon came out with all the food and handed each of us a plate. I stuck a hush puppie in one of the small tubs of butter and swirled it around, the pickled tomatoes were next in line for a tasting. Finally finishing the Po Boy and everyone filled on some of the best calamari we have had, either because it was really that good or we were just that hungry.

Filled and happy we sat listening to the fire crackle with pops here and there as the small pockets of resin would catch to the fire. Stella was in my arms and quite content as she had sneaked a few pieces of scraps from the meal.

Then it happened.

Stella’s hair bristled and stood straight up on the back of her neck. She had this low treacherous growl that I had never heard her make before. I quickly held her tight as not to allow her to launch herself into the inky night. She was staring down the road toward Taylor Island. Something was moving slowly off to the left of the road. I could just barely see a dark figure. I thought it might be a fisherman or someone who had a few drinks but the left of the road was swamp, so it didn’t make much sense why someone would be walking through the muck. I could barely make out the silhouette but could see it was larger than your normal average man. It was gone in an instant, disappearing into the darkness.

“Shhhhh…” “Listen” my wife quietly spoke.

Not less that 50 feet from us was the edge of the woods. The closest trees illuminated by the orange flames of our fire. I could hear it. “What is it?”, my wife asked in a voice so quiet I could barely hear her question. We both knew this was not a typical woodland creature or bunny rabbit. It sounded huge! And this was not a forest that one could easily navigate. It was filled with briars, an old barbed wire fence, swamps and decaying logs laying all around ready to trip the ill prepared.

“It’s, its… yes. It’s definitely on two feet” my wife said. We both tried to imagine the size and dimensions of this unwelcome visitor that was coming way to close for our comfort. “Are you sure?” Could it be a deer, I quietly mouthed as both our children, our dog and each of us squinting our eyes as if that could give us super human vision. My son was mid swing with the axe frozen in his stance. “Put the axe down behind the tree” I told him. I didn’t want a mishap. He laid it down out of the way and moved over toward his sister and momma. It had stopped for a moment but now to my horror it was closer, we could hear it walking through a small creek not that far off into the woods. It stopped just short of walking into our field of vision. We sat there for what felt like an eternity not quite certain what to do.

That’s no deer my wife whisperered…

As I listened intently peering off into the dark forest I told my wife, “It’s out there, it hasn’t left” She and the kids got up as we heard a twig snap. “Get the kids and get in the cabin”, I quietly whispered as I grabbed the shotgun from the trunk.

“Lock the door” I quietly shouted as I raised the butt of the gun up to my shoulder. I positioned myself just beyond the fire leaning up against the back of a tree. “Who’s out there?”, I shouted. “Who are you and what do you want?” I spoke as the frost of my breath spilled out onto the night.

Silence… we stood there for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I listened straining to hear anything, breathing, footsteps, a voice, even a heart beating but the only one I could hear was mine.

Oh my God. It sounded like a thousand trumpeters accompanied by a chorus of a thousand more angry elephants. But it wasn’t coming from in front of me. It was coming from beyond where our dog Stella had first been ready to attack. A twig snapped and then the large beast ran through the woods at a speed so fast it was inhuman, I am not saying that it seemed inhuman – I am telling you it was not human. And it was not like anything else I had ever heard. Running full sprint it ran toward the sound, splashing through the swamp. PEOPLE CANNOT POSSIBLY RUN THIS WAY! I thought to myself. I followed it with my gun, my finger feathering the trigger. I hurt, I hurt all over. The blood was ripping through my veins at lightning speed. I knew whatever this thing was if it were to get to me it was big enough to rip me to pieces and the only thing between me and it was a shotgun slug and my poor aim.

But then it was gone. I could hear it splashing off through the swamps until it was no more.

I threw open the door, my eyes wide, letting out a few expletives that I had to explain to our children not to repeat.

“Did you see it, did you SEE it!!!” my wife exclaimed. “No but I heard it” we all did. And then came the realization.

“Honey – there is only one way out for those things”, I said. “The direction they headed - it’s a dead end.”

A bead of sweat began to slide down the ice-cold beer glass I had sitting in front of me. My friend by the same name placed it there enticing me to continue with my story. David was an old friend I had recently reconnected with. We met when I first started riding motorcycles years back. He has a quick smile with a thin but muscular frame and the kind of rugged weathered look of a man who had done real work and become wise during hard times. I would often drop by his house and watch him tinker with different motorcycle parts on his work bench in the evenings.

David now leaned back in his chair, one hand casually on the arm of a steel wire patio chair while taking a sip of beer with the other. He and I both had given up sport bikes but found we shared an enjoyment in kayaking. He was an avid fisherman and a relatively new but informed convert to the world of cryptozoology due to more than one experience that he had in the North Texas area. One of the events not far from where we sat now.

“So then what happened?” David said with a spark of interest in his eye…

Well we wanted to leave, I will tell you that! My wife said load the car but I said “Hell no! I’m not going back out there with those things running about.” I believe I had a convincing argument that we were better inside with a gun than running back and forth to the car in the dark. But I still wasn’t sure what it was. I was still in the mindset that it might be a common animal to the area, possibly a black bear? I had heard that there had been a bear sighting north of the area but much farther north than would allow for the excuse of a chance encounter. I grabbed my phone, connected to the WiFi and started searching Google for bear sightings in the area. As I scrolled through the listings the word Sasquatch caught my eye. I found nothing that convinced me that there were bears near us but finding an article of two young ladies sighting a beast run in front of their car headlights caused me to let out an audible gasp. “What, what did you find?” my wife asked. I looked at the location of the sighting and then pulled up Google Maps. “Oh Holy Hell!” I blurted out. My wife was becoming a little annoyed now. “What did you find!” – There have been apparently Big Foot sightings less than a quarter mile from our cabin, several of them. Also, whatever it was seemed to have an intelligence that a bear doesn’t exhibit to my knowledge. We both would normally laugh at anyone mentioning Big Foot encounters, waiving it off as a few beers too many or a highly imaginative mind. But it was looking more and more like we had just joined the Yeti Club ourselves. But why were they behind our cabin we wondered. There had to be a reason they were venturing so close.

I pulled up Google Maps. I am not a hunter myself, but I understand success is greater when one knows where the animal is coming from and where it is going and finding the trail it travels. I would think even Big Foot would move with a purpose and be a creature of habit. Just up the road, between our cabin and the location where the young women had their sighting, was a trail that ended at the asphalt. Tracing it back it went deep into an old growth forest. I can understand why Sasquatch would want to avoid walking down the side of a road but why would they be cutting behind our cabin?

Just then, we could see some lights from a car moving slowly down the road. It pulled off to the side, and as if it sighted something, sped off and left town! “Well that’s not good.” I said aloud. “They are making their way through the woods back to the trail” I guessed. Looking at Taylor Island it suddenly became clear to me. “Honey, I got it!” “They were going out for dinner” Look here… There were a row of cabins dotting the shore along the bayou, all of them fishing cabins. And what do fisherman do at the end of the day? Clean the fish and throw the scraps in the garbage. Our furry friends were cutting behind our cabins hoping to quietly make their way to their meals, undetected through the woods and swamp. The smell of our fish dinner earlier may have given one of them pause to investigate. The other calling out when their dinner date fell behind. “I wonder if there is a dating app for Yeti’s”, we laughed.

But it was still a reach. I am a skeptic and a person of science. I must see it to believe it and so far, I really had not seen anything. I had a hypothesis but no hard evidence, as is the case with many of these encounters.

David was now leaning in closer. A slightly buzzed college girl bumped our table as she and her friends passed by. The beers sloshed and she put her hand on David apologizing “I am soooo sorry”. We smiled, we were two older guys hanging out at a college bar, mainly because the beer was cheap but David had become a favorite of the establishment. The bartenders knew his drink, girls and guys would walk over and say hello and introduce their friends saying, “This is David” as if he was the Godfather of Fry Street. I was amongst royalty, I laughed. But he does have this charm about him that makes you feel, important and it seemed we had much in common besides just our name.

That night would be our last night in Uncertain, my wife and I laid with one eye open. The kids were tucked away and sleeping soundly but I kept the gun close and double checked all the window and door locks, as if a Yeti is going to bother with a doorknob or window latch. The names are interchangeable, Sasquatch, Yeti, Big Foot, Big Fluffy Fur Ball. One in the same to me. I would call it a friend if it shared its beer. But it appeared that they really didn’t want anything more to do with us than we did with them. They moved quietly through the forest, even in the moonlight they were still too camouflaged to be seen. Anything moving through those woods would have to have thick fur or hair and as it was, we could only see a few feet into the abyss. Miles and miles of forest and swamp only interrupted by an occasional thin dark ribbon of road. I wanted to see them, I wanted to know if they were real but did I really? It would possibly drive me mad.

Looking at David he asked, “So do you believe?” “Well”, I said “I am still a little skeptical but I am more of a believer now than I was before” He looked at me excitedly as if he wanted to tell me something that had been on his chest. “I don’t tell too many people this anymore but…” David leaned back in his chair, took a drink of his beer and his expression changed to one of seriousness as he said, “I had an experience myself not far from here, where Clear Creek meets the Trinity River on the edge of town”

David and I met years ago when I first started riding sport bikes. I had started on a small Ninja 250 and on my first evening in the parking lot of Mack Park Apartments had thrown the bike in the air by popping the clutch too soon. I held on for dear life and rode that bike like it was a bucking bronco. It was three days before I worked up enough courage to get back on it. Then one evening I managed to drive it to Fry Street. I pulled up in front of a local bar and grill called Cool Beans. David was there and asked me how I liked the bike, possibly sensing that I was still a greenhorn and having chicken strips on my tires, a sport bike term meaning that I had not leaned enough into turns to scuff the sides. Some seasoned riders would not even ride with you if you had chicken strips because you were likely to panic and cause an accident. But David is one of the coolest, most laid-back guys I know and always willing to help someone out.

After a burger and finishing off his drink David said, “Come on – Let’s go, I am going to teach you a few things” We jumped on our bikes and I followed him to a parking lot on the north edge of town called Stonehill Center. I followed him around the parking lot and imitated his moves. Cutting too sharp would cause me almost to fall and I soon learned by giving it a little more gas and leaning into the turn I had much more control of the bike. David slowed his bike and I pulled up beside him, his bike sounded like a beast and he now yelled over it saying, “I think you are ready for something a little more fun!” I followed him out of the parking lot and turned to the right. We then launched into what he called the twisties. The sharp turns that go up and over and then down and around the 288 overpass at I35. He would be two twisties ahead of me and have to slow his ride for me to catch up but I was getting the hang of it. I learned the art of counter steering and leaning low while giving the bike more gas so that it would do all the work while navigating the turns with more speed.

David now leaned toward me, the beer nearly knocking over as he grabbed it with an almost unnatural speed. “Listen, people don’t take me that seriously when I tell them about my encounter, but you seem to understand better than most” David said, now with a slightly wilder look in his eyes. He went on to tell me his story. He had been scoping out a fishing spot not far from the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center just outside of Denton. It had rained the night before, a light cloud of fog still hung over the valley as he trudged through the mud with his fishing gear in tow. Then he noticed something strange, footprints. These were larger than your average human footprint and did not have the defining indention of the arch. They were more blocked and wider, almost padded looking. Like my experience, seeing a Sasquatch was really not on his mind as he walked along with the tracks. What was curious was why would anyone be barefoot this far out in a creek that might have an errant piece of glass or sharp stone. The tracks looked fresh and then suddenly veered off to the left up an embankment and into the woods. Standing there wondering how anyone would want to venture into a remote area and barefoot off a path was beyond him. Then he realized he was not alone. A noise in the distance caught his attention. He heard a thud, then another, then a loud crack as if a large branch had been snapped in half. Whatever was in the woods with him was now striking the side of a tree with the branch obviously trying to scare him off. I asked him, “How close were you to the Trinity?” “Not far at all” he replied. “What did you do?” I excitedly said. I could see he was still somewhat shaken just discussing the event. “Well, honestly, I was terrified being alone in the woods with something that could snap large branches, I left as fast as I could!” he said nervously.

As with many encounters, it happens quickly and is an assault on the senses as you become very aware that you may be in danger. Your sight, hearing, reasoning all seems heightened but so is your fear, as adrenaline courses through your body. Psychologists call this a fight or flight response as your brain tries to figure out whether you are in immediate danger and should fight off your attacker or whether you can escape your assailant and run to safety. Police Officers know this as “adrenaline dump” that they try to fight off so that it does not impair their judgement leading to success or tragedy when dealing with dangerous situations. In this case, David made the right decision by leaving the area but, much like my own event, he had an overwhelming curiosity. We would return to look for more footprints after a rain but finding nothing but baby wild pig hoof prints, we decided the mother hog was more a threat than any Yeti. Funny how he picked me, a slow, broken backed friend over others. Maybe it is true – you don’t have to run fast just faster than the slowest guy.

I would later read about a possible sighting called the pecan creek monster that was spotted by some kids in Denton near a wooded area. It upset the town so much that they launched a search team that found nothing. There have been other events along the greenbelt near Denton where kayakers hauling their kayaks around a raft of river logs would stumble across large tracks, much like what David had described. But no story was more convincing than the one I would hear from a water treatment worker while researching Clear Creek for kayaking. And his story helps put together some of the pieces as why these things are so often encountered near bodies of water and their clever methods for obtaining a free meal.

I poured over the maps following the long slivers of silver that were the creeks and water ways of Denton County. The two kayaks hanging in our garage longed to be sitting in water. I also love taking our kids creek walking. But before touching the water I want to know where it comes from. In some cases, we have found beautiful streams of clear water to be outflows from local sewage plants. It is treated but who wants to swim, wade or kayak in that! Clear Creek is no exception.

The headwaters of Clear Creek start in Montague County not far from St, Jo Texas once called Head of Elm. There is a lot of history here. Not far away Outlaw Nancy Hill was hung on Denton Creek. Belle Starr, Sam Bass, Jesse James and The Younger Gang all roamed these hills and a town of frontier men and women were scalped alive and killed by Indians where remnants of the ghost town still stand to this day. The Chisholm and Butterfield Stagecoach Trails also crisscross in the fields now occupied by barbed wire and grazing cattle.

Now I looked for all the water crossings, bridges, natural outcroppings. I squinted to see strainers where trees had fallen across the creek becoming a hazard to the lone kayaker. Much like the author of a favorite book of mine, Goodbye to a River, I wanted to know the history of the land my river would take me through. The souls that had walked here before me that had caressed her hills and valleys and lived off her fertile soil.

In my quest to know more I spoke with Fish and Game Wardens and eventually a man who oversaw the a nearby Waste Water Treatment Plant. I had been told that there were a couple of instances where sewage had flowed into Clear Creek but that millions of dollars had been spent updating the facilities. I asked him if he was concerned at all about the water quality. He told me that he lived on Clear Creek and he fishes the creek all the time, in fact he has trotlines that he tends, and his family frequently eats the fish they catch. It was convincing but finding where the inflow was at Ranger Branch, a creek that dumped into Clear Creek, I decided that anything farther up was safe as safe can be and this is where I would find the most enjoyment in water activities free from pee water.

We were just about to hang up when I asked him, “Doesn’t Clear Creek run into the Trinity?” He replied, “Yes it does, it runs through the Nature Center and connects just on the other side, we used to fish there”. With this I could not help but to gleefully ask him, “So, have you ever experienced anything unusual there?” This question was met with a long pause from an otherwise vocal man. “What exactly do you mean by unusual?” he finally replied.

The tone of the conversation changed as he told me that he hadn’t made a lot of talk about it in a long time. “We fished that area a lot when we were younger and before the greenbelt trail was cut through for joggers and cyclists.” He went on to explain how he and two other friends had gone as far as they could by pickup bouncing over fields and through washes to where they would disembark grabbing fishing poles and a cooler to hopefully keep the catch of the night. Still rubbing their eyes from the dust, they set off toward their destination. It was there a whirlpool would form during spring floods that would carve out a large hole where many fish would congregate. This is the place my friend David had been in search of when he had his encounter.

“It was late, maybe two in the morning, maybe three…” His voice becoming more ominous. “We had a pretty good haul and were just about to call it a night when suddenly we heard a crashing noise coming through the woods on the other side of the river.” he said as I held the receiver closer to my ear and adjusted the volume to high. “It was loud and it sounded big but it wasn’t a deer or a pig, it sounded taller, like it was running full sprint -- on two feet” I was almost incredulous at how similar his description was to my families own encounter and the one that my friend David had described. “It was running straight towards us but then suddenly, as if it knew we were there, veered off to the right and went upriver.”

“What did you do?”, I excitedly asked.

“We sat there, we didn’t even talk to each other we were so quiet listening for it” “It was scary but at least it was on the other side of the river” his voice said through some slight static on the phone. “Then we heard a splash and to our terror it swam across the river and that is when we knew we were really up shit creek!” (pun intended; cause well you know)

“We were terrified, whatever it was, it made it’s way down toward us through the woods and then just stopped.” He paused for a moment as if the memory of the event was almost too much for him. Me, on the other hand, I was on pins and needles. “What then?” I asked. “It was watching us, we couldn’t see it but we knew it was just standing there in the woods and it was larger than any of us – we got the Hell out of there, we even left the cooler behind full of fish.” “Whatever that SOB thing was got a belly full that night on our dime, that’s for sure!”

“People think I am crazy when I tell this story, so I just stopped telling it” His voice, a traitor, as it gave up his shaken nerves. “They are smart, and they are out there… you just won’t see them.”

About once every week or two after the kids go to sleep and my wife settles on the couch to watch a favorite show I go for a drive. It’s 30 minutes to the bend in the road that brings me closest to where our furry friend might be. I sit quietly listening, the familiar click click click as I load my .45 Single Action Colt, setting it beside me just in case a possible encounter becomes more than a fishing trip. Greeted by fireflies and the usual chilled mist the river bottoms bring, I drive slowly to the dead end where I always wonder whose land it might be. Then on back to home… I want to believe because it is so intriguing but other than a few hogs moving close to the road to give me a quick doubletake I am left with more questions than answers. But then, as it happens with everything you search for, I saw something I can’t take back. A glimpse but it was just enough.

I was still interested in finding a location for an easy put-in for kayaking the upper Clear Creek. Pouring over online maps I realized just how few places there are to access and enjoy our waterways. Most of the creeks and rivers pass through private land. Many may be navigable legally but getting to them without trespassing is another thing. One must then find and visit the few bridges that may pass over the waterway and a lot are difficult to get a kayak to, either because they are high cliffs or covered in poison ivy, trees, thickets and briar or the access is blocked by barbed wire or no trespassing signs that are debatable since it is a roadway easement.

I found several bridges I wanted to check out and I asked my son if he wanted to go. He had been on his technology and a drive with his dad would be a good break from the screen time that had consumed all his Saturday morning. So, we jumped in the car and I punched in the coordinates on the digital map.

I had not driven these backroads before and was glad to find a new place to explore. Texas is amazing for the change of scenery that can be found with just a few turns and twists in the road. Coming over a hill we looked out over the vast rolling plains of North Texas. A slight haze was settled over the prairies and I could see for miles and miles. Traveling the one lane roads were my favorite way to get away from the hustle and bustle of town. Except for an old dusty pickup squeaking by us, we seemed to be the only ones in the area. We arrived at the first bridge and we peered over the edges looking down on the pristine waters of Clear Creek. Being native to Texas, I have become accustomed to muddy creek waters and lakes, a mystery to what laid beneath. But this creek in many areas had a white sandy bottom that helped filter the water as it ran through its valleys. Little wavy sand dune looking structures could be seen just beneath the shimmering waters and fish darted here and there somehow aware of our presence, looking for a place to hide. I was excited to see a USGS water flow measuring device, which meant I could look it up online to find the best time to kayak based on the current flow rate. But I was disheartened to see a raft of debris on either side of a steep slope which would make it difficult to traverse with a kayak. It could be done but I was looking to find that one sweet spot to easily slide my kayak in across the sands and a safe place off road to park.

After throwing a few rocks and a few yells to check for an echo, my son and I loaded back into the car driving off the blacktop onto the gravel road. Around a corner we saw an old abandoned frontier looking home that must have been there for over one hundred years. Very little was back in this area but the gravel road looked to be used by a few ranchers tending to their cattle. We were looking for the end of the road where we thought there might be access to a bend in the creek. On the map we could see the road narrow and looking overgrown but ending at the waters edge. With the gravel clicking beneath our tires and the sound of cicadas all around we could smell the creek and the vegetation in the valley. Fresh cut grass filled the air and the sound of a lawn mower could be heard just ahead. We rolled to a stop at a gate with a big red sign that said No Trespassing. To the right of us was a log home and an older man who now cut the gas to his mower as he walked our way. He had a curious look in his eye and his skin had a leathered appearance from all the sun that he had seen while bailing hay in the fields above. “What ya’ll looking for?”, he said as he spat on the ground. “Well we are just taking a country drive and trying to find an easy way to Clear Creek”, I said with a kind of questioning nod towards the gate ahead. He spat again and said that was once a way to Clear Creek but the bridge washed out many years ago and the land was now owned and private. I told him I understood but before I could say anything else, he started coming closer to the car. I could see the butt of a gun sticking out of his pocket and as I smiled I slowly and quietly placed my hand on the 10mm Springfield that was tucked away just inside my door, but my son was between us and it was not an ideal situation for a shootout if things went raw.

He put his hand on the top of the car and squatted down a little looking at me with a squint in his eye. “We don’t get many people this far back” “In fact I haven’t seen a stranger in quite a while” he said as I now imagined this was going to end somewhere between The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance. “Well God finds angels amongst the forgotten” I replied, which caught him off guard a bit. He stood up and smiled as he turned back toward his mower. Waving us off as he walked, he said something peculiar “Ya’ll be careful on that creek” and then he pulled the cord and the mower turned over on the first try. I was impressed with his stature for a man his age, obviously hard work had left him in better shape than most who retire in those golden years.

We turned the car around and went on back down the road that we came. The frontier home made sense, as it stood on land that had probably been in the old man’s family for years, possibly at or before the formation of Texas. We were now back on the black top when I noticed a small trail that I had not seen on our first passing. Just before the bridge I could see where the grass had been laid down. It was getting close to dark and the suns cap was just now resting at the edge of the fields. The cicadas had quieted, and I thought I would take one more look before we headed back home. “Stay in the car, I won’t be but just a minute” I told my son as I stepped out.

Walking up to the concrete railing I put my hand on the dusty side. The fish had not seen me this time and I could just barely make out their outlines in the water. But something felt different. There was a slight smell beyond the usual humid vegetation and earthy aromas. It didn’t quite stink but it was rather unpleasant. Suddenly the wind picked up just as it does before a front comes through. The dust from the bridge was swept into my left eye and I yelled back at my son to roll up the car windows as I poured some water from my water bottle to nurse it. Before he could get his window up we could hear a noise in the woods. It sounded like something cracking. I was thinking possibly a tree limb was about to come down from the sudden high winds. But as I wiped the water from my eyes, I could see the smaller trees that grow along the banks parting. “Papa David, what was that?” my son yelled. “Nothing son, don’t get out of the car --- stay in the car!” I looked further down the bank and could see something moving quickly through the bushes and trees, throwing them aside. It was dark now, but I thought I could see patches of brown hair but then it stopped and quickly turned. I saw an eye, just the eye through a mass of vegetation and shadows. It looked at me and for that moment, I understood. This was a creature with intelligence. It stood there and then as quickly turned away melting into the forest and then the all too familiar splashing of a creature with two feet running. The memory of our encounter at Uncertain came back to me but this time I was more curious than scared. But my son was with me and I could not take any risks. Driving slowly by the fresh trail I felt more like I had interrupted someone’s fishing rather than having an actual encounter with a terrifying beast, in fact, maybe the beast that was so terrifying was actual me.

I heard the phone vibrate on the nightstand, I grabbed it and thumbed in the pass code after the facial recognition failed, probably because it wasn’t used to my face without a beard.

It was my friend David; I had texted him and asked him how his trip to Colorado had been. He was now in town drinking with some local cowboys and I could just imagine his easy laugh as he listened to their stories and shared a few of his own. The subject would come around to fishing, which is one of the great American pass times, especially in the mountain towns. Jokingly, I wrote him “Any squatches?” and now I stared at the screen as the text popped up “Got surrounded…”

David had gone to Colorado in search of the Golden Trout but had lucked out on the six lakes he had visited. However, one of the lakes was quite remote. He had driven off-road as far as his 4x4 could take him and parked it. Then throwing his gear on his back and securing his Sig he headed out on foot toward a destination with no trail. Hiking several miles through the forest he could see through the trees, the waters of Golden Lake. After setting his gear down where he would spend the night, he decided to wet a hook as he cast his line. To David fishing is not just an excuse for a beer and a bobber but an art form. He is a true fisherman, a hunter, willing to go further to find his prey. There is something primordial about catching and eating a fish. It is what sustained the earliest humans and allowed us to travel over large distances by creeks and rivers that are the veins of this great land. A good fishing spot is coveted by the fisherman and is often a carefully guarded secret to maintain one’s connection of self with nature, absent of interruption.

Now, as David explained, in digital format, he had just gotten back to camp and started a fire when he heard a knock in the woods, the same as before during his encounter on Clear Creek. He listened, everything in the forest that far out is crisp and clear. There is no other noise pollution such as highway sounds and the constant buzz of city life. It is just you, the wind and whatever that stirs in the darkness.

He sat there crouching; his ear cocked to one side as he stoked the fire prepping for an evening’s meal. And then another one! Closer this time but too the East of camp, where the other one had been across the lake to the North. This was not just a coincidental limb falling, it was intentional. He sat motionless, alone and miles from any civilization. I asked him what he did then? He wrote back, “I was terrified!” “There was no trail to this lake, I should have known better”, he admitted. I asked him if there was any way it could have been a bear, but he said that there was a third knock to the West of camp and it appeared that they were either communicating or trying to scare him. He decided that there was nothing he could do and was resolved to make dinner, build the fire higher and keep his Sig close but out of sight. His lacking in aggressive posturing is what he believes may have saved him. “So will you go back?” I asked him. “Not alone” I took this as a possible invitation to a Sasquatch hunt to be considered for later.

Now, I sit in my car with the windows down, a thud from a small branch landing on the roof of my SUV startles me as I listen to the night sound of distant howls trumpeting. If you ask me if I believe in Sasquatch I will flash you a slight smile and tell you that I am Uncertain. But what I am certain of, is that at the end of this road that I am parked, sits one of the scariest abandoned houses I have ever seen. And that might be the making of a story for another time… [The End]

Uncertain Video: https://youtu.be/Toi4b6zzbkA

All Rights Reserved dfw.adventures@gmail.com

[elopez7228]

Scenic Route 4/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

Jessica was both overjoyed and terrified when she recognized Rey’s voice over the phone. She was shouting with a mixture of glee and rage about something along the lines of worrying to death and never being happier to hear something in her life.

Noticing Jessica’s sheer levels of anxiety, Rey strategically omitted certain details. She confirmed that she had arrived safely and had spent an unforgettable night in a luxury hotel—all at Finn’s expense, of course. She also downplayed the fact that her phone had run out of battery.

On the other end of the table, Ben Solo was trying very hard to pretend that he wasn’t listening. Rey knew that he didn’t miss a single word she said. She didn’t like the idea of being indebted to him, so she cut the call short, simply asking Jessica to tell the others that she was doing just fine and was having a splendid holiday.

Except for Finn of course. Finn could go die for all she cared. In fact, she really hoped he would.

She handed the phone back to Ben, who was still pretending to be disinterested.

“Problems with the boyfriend?”

Rey narrowed her eyes, dismissing the question as inappropriate.

“None of your business. Thanks for the cellphone. How much do I owe you?”

“Your digits. Then we’re even.”

Was he actually flirting with her? Rey sighed disdainfully.

“After nearly killing me with your Monster Truck, you’re trying to flirt with me? You have some gall, don’t you? Have a nice day, and thank you for the call.”

Picking up her damaged suitcase again, she waved politely to the waitress, who waved back. Then she headed over to the door. At the shopping center, she withdrew 500 dollars in cash, some of which she used to buy an adapter and a shoulder bag. She judged the new bag to be more suited to her trek across the country than her current roller model (which wasn’t doing a whole lot off rolling anyway).

The encounter with Ben Solo kept gnawing at her. The man was both intoxicating and insufferable, like over-sharp cologne that gave you a headache and made it harder to think.  He was a bullish, arrogant show-off—and yet something about him mesmerized her. The way he chewed his lip when he was deep in thought, the constellation of beauty marks on his face, or the involuntary grace in the way he ran his fingers through his hair. It made him seem vulnerable, utterly human. A far cry from the apathetic snark he pretended to be.

Emerging from the shopping center, she peered around the corner to make sure the pickup was no longer parked there.  Reassured that it had disappeared,  she walked over to the Night Owl café in relief now that Ben Solo had left the premises.

The new customers were hipster types, likely students, clad in harem pants, plaid, and oversized glasses. They typed away on their laptops, sipping from fancy drinks graced with floating scoops of ice cream.

“Hello again, can I hang around here while I recharge my phone? Should I order something else?” She asked, approaching the waitress again.

“No need, go ahead and make yourself at home. You can stay as longs as you want. I’m sorry about that annoying customer. Are you alright?”

Manners dictated that Rey should simply have responded fine, thanks, but the words that left her lips instead were “It’s absolute hell, I want to die.”

She blushed immediately, chewing on her lip. What had possessed her to open up to a stranger?

The waitress looked up at the clock mounted on the wall.

“I’ve got some time before the lunch rush, wanna talk? I can make you some fresh squeezed orange juice, it’s loaded with vitamins, it’ll help you recharge,”

“I—well…alright. That’s kind of you. By the way, I’m Rey,”

“I’m Rose, nice to meet you. I have a feeling your trip hasn’t gone to plan. Have you been here long?”

“Since yesterday,” Rey sighed, taking the glass of orange juice that Rose offered. She plopped down onto a bench and when Rose sat across from her, she told her everything: Finn, the wedding, the annulment, Poe, Jessica, the honeymoon trip, Ben Solo and his pickup.

Rose listened attentively, occasionally nodding mhm to encourage  Rey to keep going. Finally she asked, “But how much money do you have for this trip?”

“Not much, really” Rey shrugged, “Finn and I took out a loan to pay for the wedding, but now I have to reimburse the suppliers, give back our apartment, and whatever else I have to budget for the next five years. I’m generally better off the less I spend. It wasn’t the idea of the century to go on a two-week holiday with barely a quid to spare.”

Rose pursed her lips, assessing that last sentence. “I know someone who could use your services, if you’re interested. The job will make you some cash and take you pretty close to San Francisco.”

Rey hesitated. Silent alarm bells went off in her head, a gut instinct to pull away. She responded without thinking, “Is it prostitution or something? Because even if I’m penniless that’s out of the question,”

“No, not at all! It’s completely harmless. It’s just that I don’t have time to do it because of the café and all. No one will force you into anything.”

“Is it drug trafficking? Cannabis?  That’s legal in Colorado, isn’t it? Will I make enemies in the police department?”

“No, none of that,” Rose giggled, “It’s actually just taking a car up to California. And knowing your situation, I thought you could really use a ride. But if you don’t feel like it we can figure something else out.”

“And what does that entail exactly? What’s in this car?”

Rose jotted down a number on a Night Owl business card, handing it to Rey.

“You can contact Leia Skywalker using this number, she’s a friend. She’ll explain everything. I would do it myself but like I said, I just don’t have the time. And it would be a two-way trip for me anyway. You would only be driving one way, it’s totally convenient.”

Rey slipped the card into her pocket and drained her glass, rising to her feet.

“I’ll think about it, thanks a load,”

“You’re welcome, thank you too. I hope it all works out for you…”

Rey threw her bag over her shoulder, taking out her phone, she made her way to the exit.

“Yeah, I hope so too...”

She found herself on the road again. Inside her pocket, her fingers fiddled with the glossy edges of the business card.

The thought of that card in her pocket distracted her throughout the day.

She went to the Black American West Museum on California Street, to broaden her horizons on a culturally and historically relevant fieldtrip. She didn’t retain anything however; distracted by hard realities like not knowing where she was going to sleep that night.

She ate a cheeseburger and an Oreo milkshake at this “Jack in the Box” place, where the hundreds of options at the soft drink machine left her feeling indecisive. Looking at the advertisements, this Jack fellow was an odd mascot who only appealed to American sensibilities; his prim suit contrasted comically with his ballooning head, which looked like it was decorated by a child no older than five.

She travelled on foot to the Santa Fe Art District, where she wandered without really admiring the bright murals and art galleries. It was getting late and she was feeling tired due to the lingering jet lag. She needed a room for the night.

Worn out from her day-long walk, she slumped onto a bench. It was there that she saw the poster, in the corner of a shop window across the street.

Howl at the Moon presents: Kylo & the Knights of Ren, June 30th to July 4th: Free admission

Where had she seen that name before? Kylo and the Knights? What a bizarre name, but why was it so familiar?

It dawned on her. Kylo Ren was written on the bumper sticker of that pickup. The one belonging to what’s-his-face Ben Solo. It was a rock band.

Well, then! Instead of finding a place to sleep, she had stumbled upon the perfect place to spend the evening…

When she made it through the doors at 7 PM, the place was still quiet. It was too early for the show and the scene was deserted. Rey ordered a beer and a club sandwich at the bar. Gritting her teeth, she sat down at a small, empty table in a quiet alcove. She had a good view of the stage while taking up as little space as possible. Why had she come? Objectively, she had no desire to see Ben again, the unbearable arse. And yet—and yet she was curious. If he was any good, she could ostensibly revise her judgement.

The venue filled up slowly as the music blared. The crowd was tight-knit, greeting each other with smiles and pats on the back. The drinks kept flowing all night. At first Rey thought she would garner attention, a girl sitting all alone with her beer. But the crowd thickened, and soon she was safely just another silhouette in a sea of hundreds of others.

The sound of a few stray guitar notes made her look up. The band was onstage. There were seven of them—four women and three men. Clad in that many shades of black, they left no doubt that they were a rock band. They had it all, the leather and denim, Doc Martens, miniskirts and crop tops. Their hairstyles ranged from expertly shaved to long flowing locks and intricate braids. In center stage was Ben Solo (or was it Kylo Ren?) microphone in hand. He chewed on his lip and ran his fingers through his hair, habits that Rey had already picked up on after just two encounters. He had an unusually deep, almost guttural voice—Rey would be lying if she said that her interest wasn’t piqued. The music was a perfect sort of chaos—the melodies hypnotic under the savage rhythm and relentless beat. Rey surprised herself by singing with the crowd, repeating the refrains that she hadn’t memorized yet but which descended upon her ears and lips as though they had always been there.

Realizing that she was finally smiling, Rey thought of how the past hour had rid her of her worries for the first time in a long while. It was cathartic—she felt alive again. She had no desire to leave this place, to go back out there and find a room, as common sense would dictate. She wanted nothing more than to stay there a little while longer, a carefree spirit enjoying the music as she basked in the anonymity of the crowd.

She stayed for just about the entire evening. The band descended into the crowd after the show to drink a few beers with a small group of regulars. They laughed like old friends. Rey couldn’t help but notice their guitarist. Her style was gorgeous punk, complete with an immaculate mohawk and studs in her nose and ears that contrasted beautifully with her ebony skin. She never left Ben’s side. Shoulder to shoulder, her hand on his arm, her subtle touches and accidental brushes seemed to multiply.

Stars, I’ve never seen a girl more madly in love, too bad for her that he doesn’t look like he will ever reciprocate it.

And as though it was meant to contradict her, Ben’s hand shifted to rest on the girl’s hip, subtly pulling her against him. Rey raised the beer bottle to her lips, and found herself eye to eye with him as he looked up.

He was so shocked to see her that he began looking around, perhaps to make sure that it wasn’t one of those tacky hidden camera shows. As nothing continued to happen, he got up and walked in her direction.

The guitarist let him go, but not without seeking a reason for the sudden desertion. Her eyes locked on to Rey. Suddenly, Rey felt that she hadn’t exactly made a new friend.

“Good evening! Lovely concert there, Kylo Ren,” Rey said sweetly as Ben towered over her.

“What are you doing here?”

The question could have been unexpected if she wasn’t so naively spontaneous. Rey took a large swallow of her beer.

“I saw the light and I wandered in, what a small world, right?”

“Denver is a small town. And the nighttime rock scene even is even smaller. I didn’t realize that you liked rock music.”

“Well I don’t mean to brag but I have all sorts of hobbies apart from throwing myself at moving vehicles, really. But we never got around to that. How long have you been playing?”

“A few years.”

He wasn’t talkative and Rey pursed her lips as she scratched her brain for topics of conversation. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the rather impatient guitarist and seized upon the opportunity to ask him about her.

“Lovely guitarist you’ve got there, is she your girlfriend?”

“None of your business.”

Rey took the blow. It was fair play. She finished her beer and turned to leave.

“Well, then! Alright Ben Ren, Kylo Solo, or whatever your name is, thank you for the evening—it was a memorable performance. I had a great time but I ought to leave.”

She rose and slung her bag over her shoulder again, as it caught Ben’s eye.

“New bag? You were right to buy it, your other one was completely useless.”

“Yeah, someone was nice enough to tell me that it didn’t match my outfit. Goodnight, then.”

She had only taken a few steps toward the exit when he called out behind her:

“Where will you be staying tonight, Rey from England?”

“Nowhere. I’m a free woman in the Land of the Free.”

Her response was drowned out by the voices of late-night conversations between party diehards and smokers who congregated in packs near the door. Rey was feeling lightheaded and tipsy; she took a few wobbly steps onto the sidewalk before he called her name.

“Rey, wait!”

She turned around to see Ben cutting through the crowd in her direction, as she hit the lamppost hard. I must really be drunk then, she reasoned before giving in to the darkness.

[flowerpowell]

Fluff ABC (Chris x MC)

Hey all! I was replying TF for the 100000th time and I just HAD to write some more Chris cause I miss him so much, its not funny anymore. Ive decided to do this in an interview form so I hope you’ll like it! I picked a few letters only so it’s not too long but let me know if you’d want to read more letters! And, if you want me to do any other pairings, let me know! 

All rights go to Pixelberry for characters. I dont own the “template” I just used one I saw on my dash.

Word count: ~1464

Tagging (perma + Chris): @littlegreenmoo @agent-bossypants @katurrade @mysteli @gardeningourmet @annekebbphotography @delightfullypinkglitter @choicessa @brightpinkpeppercorn @drakewalker04 @hopefulmoonobject @akrenich @jellybean-marshmellow @syltti78 @jared2612  @kadencantarella @maxattack-powell @marikagia @mynameiskaylabella @melodyofgraves @xxlillybug-powellxx @queen-among-writers @the-soot-sprite  @am-i-invisible777 @nobounderiesplease ♥

“I am so happy you agreed to do this with me! When James asked me to prepare a Valentine’s Day edition of our newspaper I panicked! Thank you for saying yes, I can’t imagine interviewing any other couple for “Famous non-famous couples” than the most popular Hartfeld couple!” Reyna says excitedly, making herself comfortable on the couch and taking out her notebook. 

Amy puts a mug of coffee in front of her and sits next to Chris, smiling widely. 

“Of course! I would never refuse to help a friend and besides, it flatters me you think we’re the most popular couple.”

“And I’m always down to talk about how wonderful my fiancee is,” Chris beams, taking Amy’s hand and kissing it gently. 

“Aww, you guys are so sweet! Okay, should we get started? Are you ready?” Reyna asks from behind her glasses.

“Ready!”

“Great! I want to ask you about Activities, what you like doing together the most when you have free time?”

“Hmmm, I’d say everything!” Chris starts, “I enjoy Amy’s company so either we go to the cinema together, go for a walk with our dog, or simply study sitting next to each other, it’s all great for me!”

“Oh, hard same! I love simply being with Chris, whatever we do! But my absolute favorite thing is our evening walks! We never skip those, every single evening we take our dog out and we walk long distances and talk about our days and our plans. It’s amazing,” Amy adds and Chris steals a kiss while Reyna is noting what’s been just said. 

“And how do you Comfort each other? When one of you has a bad day, or panic attack, or is stressed, what the other person does to comfort you?”

“Amy gives the most amazing pep talks! She can motivate and inspire me like no one else. Anytime I feel down I can count on her listening to me and giving me the best advice and a motivational kick. I, on the other hand, I’m the worst at pep talking but I always make sure she can count on me too!”

“Chris is being too modest, he can give a decent pep talk! But most of the time he comforts me in a different way, he listens to me, gives me hour-long hugs, prepares a relaxing bath for me, makes me some hot cocoa and distracts me from being stressed.”

“Sounds like a perfect boyfriend,” Reyna notices and smiles warmy at them. 

“He sure is!” Amy chuckles and Chris scoots her closer to him. 

“She makes it easy, with such woman by my side, I can do everything!”

“The readers will love you! Okay, next question. Spill some tea, do you Fight a lot? Who usually starts arguments? Who’s the first to forgive?” Reyna asks and there’s silence for a few moments before finally Chris clears his throat and nods towards Amy to show who starts arguments more often. 

“Excuse me?” Amy notices what Chris was doing and pouts. “I don’t start arguments!”

“Yes, you do. Even the smallest thing can make you angry. Empty boxes? Argument! I don’t have enough time for you? Argument! I made plans without consulting you first? Argument and a breakup!”

“Okay, okay. Maybe I am too impulsive and overreact most of the time. The breakup was uncalled for, I admit. But I apologized for that already! And you must admit I was right to be mad at you when you kept forgetting about our dates.”

“Agreed,” he kisses her nose. “Fortunately, I hate when Amy’s mad so I try to come up with a compromise to end the argument.”

“That’s true! Chris hates conflicts and he’s the first one to forgive and to apologize. I’m lucky to have someone who can stand my mood swings,” she laughs and Chris and Reyna join her.

“So now let’s talk Jealousy! Do you get jealous over the other person? Who gets jealous more?”

“I think we both get jealous a little when there’s someone else flirting with the other one. I had to come to terms with the fact that my fiancee is a popular person and lots of guys want to talk to her each day. Luckily,” he takes her hand, showing Reyna the engagement ring Amy is wearing, “now everyone knows she’s mine, and only mine.”

“I must admit I felt very jealous when we all lived with Becca our Sophomore year! She’s Chris’s ex and even though he made it clear there was nothing between them, I still felt a little self-conscious and jealous.”

“I hope you know now that you’re the only one for me,” Chris looks at Amy and she nods.

“To be honest, I’m getting a little bit jealous over your relationship right now! Moving to the next question, do you guys want to get Married? How soon?” 

“Well, duh!” Amy shows her ring once again, “Of course I want to marry my bestie! He’s the best and I can’t imagine not spening my life with him!”

“I’ve come a long way since our Freshman year when I wasn’t sure I’d ever trust someone enough to marry them but with each day I fell in love with Amy more and more until one day it hit me, she was the one.”

“Awww, babe!” Amy snuggles closer to him and Reyna smiles at their cuteness.

“We hope to get married within the next two years; right now we’re looking for an apartment to settle in but I can’t wait to marry her and start our family together!”

“I wish you all the happiness in the world! And I hope I’m invited to the wedding. Now, tell me about Yearning. How do you cope when you two miss each other?”

“Whenever I go for championship, I facetime Amy every day and message her all day. I make sure I’m the first person she ‘sees’ when she wakes up and last one when she goes to sleep.”

“And I, on top of that, wear Chris’s T-shirts and jerseys! They smell like him and it makes me feel like he’s still there!”

“So that’s why I can never find my clothes! I thought I lost them all!” Chris exclaims and Amy laughs.

“Now you know! And I hope you’ll still let me keep them!”

“Ah, this will make a perfect article! Now I think I’ll just give a Wild Card!”

“I don’t think I understand what we’re supposed to do here?” Amy asks confused.

“Just tell me something sweet about your relationship! Something you haven’t talked about yet.”

“Well, there are many things but nothing in particular comes to my mind...” Chris bites his lower lip trying to come up with something when suddenly Amy jumps on the couch raising her hand.

“Ohh, I have something! Chris does it more every night and--”

“AMY! Remember we keep it PG-rated!” Chris shifted uncomfortably on the couch, nervously looking at Reyna noting something. 

“Oh, stop it, I wasn’t going to say anything inappriopriate! Anyway, as you know, Chris is like a walking furnace, he’s never cold and I’m his complete opposite! I’m always cold, I’m actually one of those people who wear socks to bed even in summer. So now, every time Chris goes to bed first, which happens pretty much everyday because I’m a night owl and I go to sleep an hour or two later, he lays on my side of the bed, wrapped in a comforter, even though it’s too hot for him, so that when I join him later, my side is all ready and warm. He’s been doing this ever since we moved in together the Junior year and I think it’s super adorable,” Amy explains and Chris blushes.

“Aww, this is so sweet of you Chris!” Reyna says which makes Chris even more flustered. 

“It’s not a big deal, I can’t let my favorite girl catch a cold,” he kisses the top of Amy’s head and Reyna sighs.

“Well, I wish I could ask you more but I’m afraid these are all of the questions I have prepared for you. Thank you so much for letting me interview you!”

“It’s been a pleasure,” Chris says and stands up helping Reyna with her things.

“If you ever need any help, just let us know!” Amy adds as Reyna waves her hand goodbye.

"Thank you for taking part in it! I hope you’ll like the article! But now I still have a few more couples to get to...”

[whoisleft-rp]

The Daily Prophet Week of April 9-14, 1978

+ + +  

Front Page News

A Warning about Potential Vigilante Activity Very serious reports have surfaced of a vigilante group who has been performing overnight patrols, violently engaging with fellow citizens, and trespassing onto government and private property without authorization. No members of the group, yet unnamed according to current knowledge, have been identified by are said to typically don dark street clothing and conceal their faces care of upturned hoods. The Ministry reminds all citizens that it DOES NOT ENDORSE vigilante justice activities and that serious penalties are in place for those that engage, up to and including sentenced time in Azkaban prison. The Auror and other departments of the government have full faith in their abilities to deal with the growing, mysterious acts of violence that have been seen throughout the past two years and reminds its citizens that the best way for them to help in making our world a safer place is to obey curfew, keep their heads down, and remain trustful of the proper authorities.

Break-Ins Declared a Hoax – By Vince Sinclair After an ongoing investigation into the string of break-ins happening in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village, the Ministry of Magic has officially declared the case closed and has stated that it warrants no further examination or resources. Citing a lack of evidence, motive and a common thread between the crimes, the Ministry has tentatively chalked the incidents up to teenage mischief. All citizens are reminded to lock and ward their doors overnight.

+ + +  

BUSINESS & EDUCATION NEWS

Prestigious Gringotts Program Announces Recruitment Figures While prospective applicants to the prestigious Gringotts Cursebreaking Program have not yet been informed of the status of their applications, quarterly financial reporting from the bank have revealed that the program has admitted one student awaiting graduation from Beauxbatons, one alumnus of Durmstrang, and a record-setting two students awaiting graduation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Applicants will be made aware of their application status within the next four weeks; acceptance is conditional on NEWT scores and successful graduation.

Rising Diplomacy Star Brings Negotiation Win to Ministry The Department of International Magical Cooperation announced today that Antonin Dolohov, former Head Boy and Slytherin house member from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (class of 1977), has singlehandedly secured a reliable commerce treaty with envoys from the Spanish, Russian, Brazilian and Mongolian ministries. This is a move that will broker further cooperation with historically insulated Ministries around the world and will add a full thirty percent to the department’s expected annual revenue. For his efforts, Mr. Dolohov has been issued a title promotion and the sincere congratulations of his government. 

+ + +

POLITICAL NEWS

Muggle Queen's Corgi Turns Into Hamster – By Vince Sinclair The Muggles were left scratching their heads today as their Queen's corgi changed into a hamster. Luckily enough for us they just thought that the corgi had been stolen and a hamster put in its place as a cruel joke. There if now a full scale hunt on for the real corgi which, of course, will not be found. The Ministry of Magic are looking into this matter. The Improper Use of Magic Office have a few suspects they are questioning about the incident. A motive for the attack if not known but further attacks on public Muggle figures would not help us one bit. The International Federation of Warlocks is also meeting to discuss the incident. The Daily Prophet will keep you up to date on further news on that story tomorrow. [source]

St. Culpo Makes Splash in Improper Use Department In a position made available to her following the special Wizengamot election win by former competitor Piper Moonfall, the youthful Ms. St. Culpo has been making waves as Auror Department liaison for the Improper Use of Magic Office. Staying true to her original campaign strategy slogan of ‘equal society, happier world,’ Ms. St. Culpo has scheduled a series of workshop sessions with the Auror Department to examine the way marginalized communities in the Wizarding World are delivered justice, as well as a planned panel from notable financial experts from Ministries abroad about policies that can move the needle on income disparity without triggering inflation.

Norwood Examines Statute of Secrecy Another candidate keeping true to her original platform is newly-minted Wizengamot member Tara Norwood. Sources within the council have informed the Daily Prophet that Norwood is seeking preemptive votes for a forthcoming bill that would tighten the Statute of Secrecy to no longer allow muggleborn members of the Wizarding community to disclose their magical status to members of even their immediate families without consequence.

+ + + 

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS  

Celestina Warbeck will be in London for concert dates on 18 June, 19 June and 22 June this summer. Ticket information is forthcoming.

A new play, “The Minister’s New Clothes,” was shuttered after only one performance at The Shrinking Shrike playhouse in Diagon Alley, citing multiple complaints from Ministry of Magic employees in attendance who disagreed with the liberties taken by playwright Alan Happ.

+ + + 

SPORTS NEWS  

The Chudley Cannons lost their latest match in a stunning defeat by The Appleby Arrows, who flattened the league favorites 840 to 30.

Tickets for this summer’s Quidditch World Cup will go on sale in one month’s time and are expected to sell out within a 48-hour window.

+ + + 

THE SOCIETY PAGES

A Wedding Date Set A date of 23 July, 1978 has been officially announced for the nuptials of Mr. Rodolphus Lestrange – eldest son of Tiernan Lestrange and his wife, and heir to the Lestrange family – and Miss Bellatrix Black, eldest daughter of Cygnus Black and his wife, Druella. The couples ask that, in lieu of gifts, any well-wishers may donate to a charitable cause close to their own heart, particularly if their heart is close to the Society for the Preservation of Historical Magic, which both Mrs. Lestrange and Mrs. D Black sit on the board of. The family wishes to remind the general public that the event is invitation-only, although unaffiliated well-wishers are still welcome to send charitable donations or a card of congratulations.

The Sisters’ Keeper Pureblood society watchers – aided, in part, by unofficial tabloid The Rumor Mill – have noted the apparent breakup of rising political consultant Sebastian Nott and Andromeda Black, the yet-unpromised second daughter of Cygnus Black and his wife, Druella. Curiosity was recently generated when Mr. Nott was seen out to dinner in Hogsmeade visiting with Cygnus and Druella’s youngest daughter, Narcissa Black, in the stead of her older sister.

+ + + 

CLASSIFIED/ADVERTISEMENTS

Now Hiring: Office Worker for the Society for the Tolerance of Vampires

Now Hiring: Assistant Manager at Flourish & Blotts

Now Hiring: Junior Potions Mixer at Madam Primpernelle’s salon

For Sale: Chudley Cannon memorabilia – fan making “clean break”

For Sale: Hothouse herbs – bouquets of henbane and belladonna, potted mandrakes

Lonely Hearts: Crazy young sorceress seeks whacky wizard for weekend fun, Muggle baiting and broomstick races. OWL BOX 4271. Werewolves need not respond.

+ + + 

OBITUARIES  

Quincy Button, age 81

Clint Felide, age 97

Ezekiel Smallflower, age 30

Alonzo Crabapple, age 67

Edith Buckling, age 81

Mai Soots, age 19

Raine Elks, age 47

Ford Fern, age 53

Bayou Holly, age 77

[essenceofthesouth]

Rustic Wooden Wedding Box Custom Suitcase Wood Burned Wedding Tree Keepsake Card Trunk Personalized Decoration Willow Owls Love Birds Gift

[365goalsfor365days]

2019 Bucket List

1. Become a Homeowner 2. Get a new mattress 3. Become a first aid instructor 4. Become a CPR instructor 5. Get a position in Labor and Delivery or Postpartum 6. Write a legal will and get it notarized 7. Complete the Neonatal Resuscitation Program 8. Obtain a regular drivers license 9. Write a legal advance directive and get it notarized 10. Get a passport 11. Complete ACLS certification 12. Pay off provincial student loan completely 13. Get a new couch 14. Get a tattoo 15. Get a British Bulldog (Winston) 16. Crochet a viking hat 17.Crochet comfy boot slippers 18. Make melted crayon guitar art (JK) 19. Sew a teddy bear 20. Sew a dress 21. Make a quilt 22. Start a scrapbook 23. Make cold process soap 24. Complete Grad Photobook 25. Complete wedding scrapbook 26. Crochet Christmas stockings 27. Make a Wonder Woman apron (JH) 28. Crochet a hooded owl blanket 29. Crochet a coaster set 30. Fold 1000 origami stars 31. Crochet a Hogwarts baby blanket 32. Crochet a black cat blanket with hood (KS) 33. Fold 1000 origami butterflies 34. Make a mobile of 1000 origami cranes 35. Design my own deck of cards 36. Complete wedding photobook 37. Make homemade lip balm 38. Make a geode bath bomb 39. Make carved wood or burned wood personalized wine box (ME) 40. Swap customized keychains with Daniel 41. Sew matching aprons for me & Daniel 42. Make a cross stitch quilt (CB) 43. Make a Lion King cross stitch (JK) 44. Make wine glass winter scene candle holders 45. Make a Little Mermaid Apron (JM) 46. Make a carved or burned wood "It's Always Tea Time" Mad Hatter Tea Box 47. Crochet a Spiderman blanket (LS) 48. Crochet a Legend of Zelda blanket (CW) 49. Make jazz guitar print art (SS) 50. Adopt an otter 51. Donate 5 items to the Ronald McDonald house 52. Participate in a charity walk/run 53. Donate 5 items to the Terra Centre 54. Run a Hogwarts Running Club race 55. Adopt a polar bear 56. Make my own cookbook 57. Make all the recipes from The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook 58. Make crepes 59. Make "Curious Confection" Disney drink 60. Make "Siren's Song" Disney drink 61. Make "Glass Slipper" Disney drink 62. Make "Belle of the Ball" Disney drink 63. Make all the recipes from the I Quit Sugar cookbook 64. Make homemade fried chicken 65. Make caramel apple jello shots 66. Make the Grey Stuff from The Beauty and the Beast 67. Make homemade California rolls 68. Make all the recipes in the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook 69. Make candy apples 70. Bake a baked Alaska 71. Cook lobster 72. Make tiramisu 73. Bake Boston cream pie 74. Make homemade basil pesto 75. Roast pumpkin seeds 76. Finish my red recipe book 77. Bake lemony blueberry cheesecake bars 78. Make Sims Bouillabaisse (in real life) 79. Make Sims Goopy Carbonara (in real life) 80. Make Mexican tostadas 81. Make 365 new recipes 82. Cook every single recipe in a cook book 83. Make all recipes from the Swap & Drop Diet Cookbook 84. Do a chopped competition with Daniel 85. Make fruit sushi 86. Make "Sleep Cycle" Disney drink 87. Make "False King" Disney drink 88. Make "Ohana Colada" Disney drink 89. Make all recipes from the Cooking Light Global Kitchen cookbook 90. Make Sims Porcini Risotto (in real life) 91. Have a meal at Bistro Praha 92. Go to Dinner Theatre 93. Eat at Cafe Bicyclette 94. Have lunch at Ampersand 27 95. Eat at Cafe Linnea 96. Eat at Earnest's at NAIT 97. Go on a gelato date 98. Have dessert from the Italian Bakery Edmonton 99. Eat at the 3 Bananas Cafe 100. Eat at Dorinku 101. Try a Po'Boy 102. Eat deep fried ice cream 103. Eat at Have Mercy 104. Have lunch at the Harvest Room at Hotel MacDonald 105. Have dinner on the Edmonton Queen Riverboat 106. Try La Poutine 107. Have breakfast at Under the High Wheel 108. Have dessert at Block 1912 109. Eat at Uccellino 110. Go out for hungover breakfast the morning after a party with friends 111. Read "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Lawson 112. Read "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen and watch the movie 113. Read "Blood, Sweat, and Fear" by Eva Lazarus 114. Read "It" by Stephen King and watch the movie 115.  Read "Labor Day" by Eleanor Henderson 116. Read "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden 117. Read "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins and watch the movie 118. Read "They Left Us Everything" by Plum Johnson 119. Read "The House Girl" by Tara Conklin 120. Read all 36 books from the Dear Canada series 121. Read "My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir" by Mark Lukach 122. Read all 54 books from the fictional Magic Tree House Series 123. Read “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher and watch the series 124. Read “Dolores Claiborne” by Stephen King 125. Read “We Need To Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver 126. Read all 51 books from the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series 127. Read “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” by Mary Roach 128. Read “The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients Lives” by Theresa Brown 129. Read “Working Stiff: by Judy Melinek and TJ Mitchell 130. Read “Every Patient Tells a Story” by Lisa Sanders 131. Read “The Night Shift” by Dr Brian Goldman 132. Read “Wenjack” by Joseph Boyden 133. Read “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” by Oliver Sacks 134. Read “Weird Edmonton” by Mark Kozub 135. Read “11/22/63” by Stephen King 136. Re-read Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events series 137. Read all 20 Royal Diaries books 138. Read all the books from the Dear America series 139. Read “End of Watch” by Stephen King 140. Read “I, Ripper” by Stephen Hunter 141. Read “Happyface” by Stephen Edmond 142.  Read “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie 143. Read “The Mighty Miss Malone” by Curtis 144. Read “In The Unlikely Event” by Judy Blume 145. Read “Church of Marvels” by Leslie Parry 146. Read “My Secret Sister” by Helen Edwards 147. Read “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Annie Barrows 148. Read “The Book of Negroes” by Lawrence Hill & watch the movie 149.  Read “The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly” by Matt McCarthy 150. Read “Nerd Do Well” by Simon Pegg 151. Read “Wild” by Cheryl Strayd and watch the movie 152. Read “I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai 153. Read “The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak and watch the movie 154. Read “Welcome to Nightvale” by Joseph Fink and listen to all podcasts 155. Read “1984” by George Orwell 156. Read “Nightmares!” by Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller 157. Read “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” by Stephen King 158. Read “Finders Keepers” by Stephen King 159. Read the Little Old Lady Series 160. Read “Mr Mercedes” by Stephen King 161. Read “Left Neglected” by Lisa Genova 162. Read “Doctor Sleep” by Stephen King 163.  Read “Bringing Adam Home” by Les Standiford 164. Read “Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell 165. Read “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande 166. Read “A Spy Amongst Friends” by Ben Macintyre 167. Read “Still Alice” by Lisa Genova and watch the movie 168. Read “Five Days at Memorial” by Sheri Fink 169. Read “Canada” by Mike Myers 170. Read “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo 171. Read “Quiet: The Power of Introverts” by Susan Cain 172. Read “The Haunting of Sunshine Girl” by Paige Mckenzie 173. Read “Dirty Jobs” and “Second Hand Souls” by Christopher Moore 174. Read “My Sister’s Keeper” and watch the movie 175. Read “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” by April Genevive Tucholke 176. Read “Four Past Midnight” by Stephen King 177. Read “Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland” by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus 178. Read “Anya’s Ghost” by Vera Brosgol 179. Read “Trauma” 180. Read “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” by JK Rowling and watch the movie 181. Read “This is That Travel Guide to Canada” 182. Read “The Trouble with Goats and Sheep” by Joanne Cannor 183. Read “Tough Shit” by Kevin Smith 184. Read “Tales of Beedle the Bard” by JK Rowling 185. Read “The Trouble with Alice” by Olivia Glazebrook 186. Read “The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating” by Alisa Smith & JB MacKinnon 187. Read “At Home in Old Strathcona” by Gwen McGregor Molnar 188. Read “The Tumbling Turner Sisters” by J. Fay 189. Read “The Dangerous Animals Club” by S. Tobolowsky 190. Read “The Book of Speculation” by E. Swyler 191. Read “The Nurses” by Alexandra Robbins 192. Read “Shine Shine Shine” by Lydia Netzer 193. Read “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel and watch the movie 194. Read the EC Wells series 195. Read “Scrappy Little Nobody” by Anna Kendrick 196. Read “The First Phone Call From Heaven” by Mitch Albom 197. Read “Hope’s Boy” by Andrew Bridge 198. Read “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” by Claire North 199. Read “The House At the End of Hope Street” by Menna Van Praag 200. Read “Home” by Harlan Coben 201. Tour the Saskatchewan Science Center 202. Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 203. Visit the Atomic Bomb Dome in Japan 204. Visit the Dead Sea of Saskatchewan (Little Manitou) 205. Tour the Royal Canadian Mint 206. Visit the Eskimo Museum in Churchill 207. Visit Prime Berth Fishing Museum in Twillingate 208. Go to the Barbie Expo in Montreal 209. Visit the Acadian Historical Village in Caraquet 210. Visit the Tokyo National Museum 211. Visit the Owl Café in Akhabara 212. Go to the Tokyo Studio Ghibli Museum 213. Visit the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg 214. Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 215. See a Sunset Retreat Ceremony at the RCMP Heritage Center in Regina 216. Visit the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec 217. See Head-Smash-In Buffalo Jump in Fort McLeod 218. Visit the Shinjuku Goen National Garden in Japan 219. See Niagra Falls 220. Visit the Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington 221. Visit Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto 222. Visit the Royal Ontario Museum 223. Do the Underground Tour at Bell Island’s Mine Museum 224. Visit the Samurai Museum in Japan 225. Visit Leo Mol Sculpture Garden in Winnipeg 226. See a show at the Regina Globe Theater 227. Visit the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax 228. Visit the Canadian Museum for Human Rights 229. Visit the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa 230. Visit the Fort George National Historic Site of Canada at Niagara-on-the-Lake 231. Go to Science North in Sudbury 232. Take a photo with the Hachiko statue in Tokyo 233. Go to the national Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo 234. Visit the Amsterdam Cheese Museum 235. Visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in Japan 236. Catch all Fourth Gen Pokemon Go Pokemon 237. Catch all Second Gen Pokemon Go Pokemon 238. Catch all Third Gen Pokemon Go Pokemon 239. Successfully do winged eyeliner 240. Have a yard sale 241. Grow Lavender 242. Go scuba diving 243. Go rock climbing 244. Go through the Edmonton Corn Maze 245. Attend a Superstore cooking class 246. Bowl a 100+ game 247. Catch a fish 248. Dye my hair blonde 249. Go ice fishing 250. Tour Candy Cane Lane 251. Find 5 Geocaches 252. Go paintballing 253. See the stars at an observatory 254. Go on a double date 255. Can something with mom 256. Play through Fran Bow 257. Visit Dr Woods House Museum 258. Grow parsley 259. Go on a bike ride around Telford Lake 260. Solve a Rubik’s cube 261. Grow oregano 262. Pick berries from a berry farm 263. Host a holiday dinner for family 264. Plant a Tree 265. Skip rocks with Daniel 266. Do yoga outside at sunrise 267. Go horseback riding 268. Go to the Deep Freeze Festival 269. Learn how to edit photographs 270. Get a hot stone massage 271. Pose for a nude painting 272. Complete a 642 Things to Draw Journal 273. Be in a boudoir photoshoot 274. Get ears pierced again 275. Learn Under the Sea on xylophone 276. Learn calligraphy 277. Go roller blading 278. See a moose in the wild 279. Learn Over the Rainbow on ukulele 280. Pick a pumpkin at Upick 281. Build a fire 282. Complete Wreck this Journal 283. Build a sandcastle 284. Build a snowman 285. Complete a 1000 Piece Puzzle 286. Get all Pokemon Go medals 287. Try a sensory deprivation chamber 288. Sew all badges on my camp blanket 289. Sign a petition 290. Camp at Elk Island Provincial Park 291. Tour the Alberta Legislature Building 292. Go apple picking 293. Go hostelling in Nordegg 294. Photograph a robin 295. Photograph a blue jay 296. Go to the ballet 297. Go to a hot spring in winter 298. Plant a Fairy Garden 299. Fully decorate apartment for Halloween 300. Go to another TWOS Dark Matters Night 301. Go to the Muttart Conservatory 302. Play through Beyond Two Souls 303. Watch an outdoor movie 304. Go to the John Walters museum 305. Body paint with Daniel 306. Take a class at the Greenland Garden Center 307. Go Canoeing 308. Play a game of chess 309. Play laser tag 310. Have a girls night 311. Go to a drop in class at the Art Gallery of Alberta 312. Send out Christmas cards 313. Reach level 40 of Pokemon Go 314. Visit the Reynolds-Alberta Museum 315. Go on a Canmore Cave Tour 316. Get a couples massage 317. Have a game night at Table Top Café 318. See a live show at the Roxy 319. Shoot a Gun 320. Juggle 3 balls 321. Pick a door lock 322. See a Rapidfire Theater show 323. Dance on my balcony with Daniel as it gently rains 324. Go to a driving range 325. Write a love letter 326. Go to a U of A varsity game 327. Go to the new Royal Alberta museum 328. Go to a hockey game 329. Go to a football game 330. See the Nutcracker Ballet 331. Play at Breakout Edmonton 332. Complete a coloring book 333. Go peddle boating 334. Visit the Alberta Aviation Museum 335. Visit the Jurassic Forest 336. Play slots at a casino 337. Go skating 338. Try to escape The Cabin at Escape City 339. Complete my Sims challenge 340. Get a BBQ and have a BBQ with friends 341. Tube down the Pembina river 342. Get a facial 343. Take a class at Purdy’s Chocolates 344. Do a "Disney Love" photoshoot with Daniel 345. Grow a carrot plant 346. Fit size 6 pants 347. Do 100 consecutive push ups 348. Hold Kala Bhairavasana (yoga) 349. Hold Sirsasana (Yoga) 350. Do 100 Consecutive Sit Ups 351. Reach goal weight of 120 lb 352. Walk 20 000 steps for 3 consecutive days 353. Attend a drop in spin class 354. Buy and eat only local food (produce, meat, etc) for 30 consecutive days 355. Try hot yoga 356. Hold Crow Pose (Yoga) 357. Complete 12 months to a healthier you challenge 358. See a movie at Princess Theatre 359. Go to the Edmonton Film Fest 360. See a movie and have dinner at the VIP theatre 361. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Musical and Art Movies 362. Watch the Rotten Tomatoes Top 200 Movies of 2018 363. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 movies of 2017 364. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Documentary films 365. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Comedy Movies

[rottenheartedchild]

RWBY OC: LUPINE ADEBAYO

Next is my beautiful owl son who will only wear revealing cleavage clothing, Lupine A.K.A Beacon’s heartthrob. Also came from an AU where magic exists, and there are mythical beings abound.

Full name is Lupine Adebayo, but he refused to be called other than his real name. Only those closest to him are allowed to call him with his nickname, Loup.

The second member of team ELDR and is the one who handles the defense.

He came from a poor but loving family to Rust Sinclair and Selene Adebayo, a pair of scavengers and a younger brother named Orpheus, a gentle songbird faunus.

A soft-spoken man with a sarcastic streak and an innate sense of morality and idealism due to wishing for a better world for his family. Strong-willed and calculating, he refused to let other people push him and his voice aside just because of who he is or where he came from, but he’s willing to forgive if they’re willing to learn from their mistakes. Lupine is the man who usually worked hard to make his wishes came true and isn’t someone who idles away in daydreams. Usually quiet, he’s not one to be in social gatherings and would prefer to be somewhere quiet like a garden or a library. Gets annoyed pretty quickly if he’s facing criticism, being in a crowded area and even talking to difficult people. Gets extremely flustered when being flirted on by someone, especially by Edelweiss who enjoys watching his reaction. Very passionate about Faunus rights and always attend the protests. Incredibly insightful, he’s hard to persuade and can see through complicated manipulations due to his harsh upbringing.

Lives a semi-nomadic lifestyle in the city of Vacuo with his family in a modified recreational vehicle due to his parents’ profession.

He has a deep fascination for plants, astrology, magic, and the occult. Often times can be found in unusual places such as a fortune teller’s tent or at an abandoned garden.

Kept a shelf full of his findings, journals, and succulents that he’s very fond of. Lately, he starts expanding his collection to tarot cards and oddities.

Occasionally he would tag along with his parents on their scavenging duties, Lupine studied its characteristics and properties. He also learns how to accurately assess the value of every item. Every earning he made Lupine saved it in his special box and spend it on Orpheus’s sweets.

Took a lot of odd jobs to lessen his family’s burden and to fulfill his wish of owning a piece of land for his farm and orchard garden. Every time he arrived at a new destination, the first thing he would usually do is taking pictures with an old Polaroid camera so Lupine could add it in his collection and sometimes he often sneaks out at night to stargaze, telling his brother the stories for every constellation they could spot in the night sky.

Would leave scraps for the stray animals and nurse them back to health.

When White Fang was first formed, Lupine was the first to participate in the peaceful protests until it became a terrorist group which he stopped getting involved out of safety for his family, though he occasionally provides information and shelter for the White Fang members.

Even at a young age of 10, Lupine underwent such intense training as his body was put under so much pressure with regimes even a seasoned Huntsman steer clear from. Their reasoning was to toughen up their son and making sure that he’s prepared for anything that’s coming. Sometimes he would watch people fight in bars and analyzed their moves discreetly as he does his job. He used to have a mentor in the form of a Great War veteran until he died quietly in his shack, happy to have passed the knowledge to him.

His method of training is basically what he can do in the spur of the moment, be it by eavesdropping or participating in bar fights.

When he was 13, he and his brother were told by their parents to pack all their belongings and gave them a slip of paper with an address written on it. Though Orpheus was confused as to why they have done so, Lupine just went silent as if he understood the reasoning behind all this. Kissing their forehead for one last time, Rust and Selene sent them far from Vacuo to a town, taking at least a week to arrive. After the scavenger family finally arrived at their destination, they were greeted by a jolly giant man with a soft-spoken woman beside him and two identical children, one of them who cheerfully introduced herself to the tired brothers while the other helped to carry their luggage up to the guest room. Before they parted, Selene asked Lupine to watch over Orpheus so they may live their lives freely. The parents kissed their beloved children goodbye, tears flowing as the light of their lives soon left them forever.

Orpheus grew restless and anxious a few days later, worrying about his parents while Lupine contemplated whether to tell him the truth or not. It took a while until he finally told him what’s indeed happened to their parents. After he explained what’s been going on with Rust and Selene, the younger faunus started crying while he could only just hug him close. He vows to give Orpheus a better life, wanting to see him in his cheery self again.

His Aura is dark purple in color, and his semblance was unlocked during one of his meditation sessions. As Lupine began to clear his mind out, he felt something crawling onto his back, disrupting his concentration. As he got up to reprimand the intruder, what he found shocked him more. Plants were moving around. Lupine tried to subdue the plants to no avail until he thought of an idea, moving his arms around like a conductor of an orchestra. It seems the plants began to copy his movement and feeling giddy, he made several gestures, and they copied him to move by move.

He enrolled in Beacon with the twins and formed a team with Edelweiss, his partner. Though he was wary with the crow faunus, he began to lower his guard around him as they spent a lot of time with each other frequently.

An astute strategist and the one who usually comes up with the team’s defense, giving them enough room so they could fight back. Lupine plays the bass for their band.

A talented gardener and farmer, he proudly shows off his work in his large garden. He loves eating fried rice, gazpacho, croquette, fig roll, and halva.

Loves anything that relates to the occult and magic, usually does tarot readings for a small fee.

When he got married to Edelweiss and Margaret, he moved to live with them and asked his brother to join him. Orpheus refused, saying that he’s comfortable with what he had. Before they parted, Orpheus gave him their mother’s necklace as his wedding gift, causing Lupine to broke down and hug his precious brother.

Is the father to twins, Gladiolus and Nerine, and a stepfather to Margaret’s children. 

Most of his wardrobe consists of loose and breathable clothing, some that show off his cleavage.

He made his own weapon from his time at Pharos with inputs he received from his family.

His Kick Activated Dust Handgun (KADH), Hekabe and Galinthias, is a pair of large caliber handguns that shoots out devastating Dust bullets whenever he delivers a kick or two. Whereas his Dual Action Bow Blade (DABB), Aradia, is a pair of tonfa blades that can transform into a longbow, mostly used for heavy duty missions and such.

His semblance allows him to control plants to his whim as well as learning it’s properties for future use. He can’t use his ability in particular environments, such as deserts or the ocean. He’s also weak against Fire and Lightning based attacks as it also affects him physically.

Full-time Huntsman and part-time farmer, he often delivers his produce to the local eateries and markets.

His faunus traits are his eyes but were blinded after The Fall from a clash with a rogue Huntsman.

Due to his fascination for witchcraft and such, he noticed there are creatures other than the current Grimms, Humans, and Faunus. Lately, he’s been practicing his knowledge with an enigmatic woman who lived deep in the wood.

He still wears his mother’s necklace and refuses to take it off even during missions.