#<- was about to pass out and take a nap like 5 minutes ago

[dodgebolts]

PETE AND PUNZ PIXELMON OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE OH MY GODDDDDD

[seaslugfanclub]

Disneys Sleepiest Soldier

————————————————————————

The video essay on (Y/N)s phone becomes increasingly blurry as they take a slow bite of their sandwich, trying to keep their eyes open.

Holy shit, they were exhausted.

(Y/N) sat hunched over the break room table, their eyes feeling like lead sinkers and feet pulsing from walking miles around the park. (Y/N) had arrived to their shift already tired, construction work had been done throughout the evening below (Y/N)s apartment—so they didn’t get a lick of sleep the previous night.

And after being in the sun all day, up and walking around tending to both guest and entertainment, they felt like they were going to pass out.

Pausing the video essay, (Y/N) checked the time on their phone, their soul clenching when they saw that they had 5 hours remaining to their shift.

Finishing off their sandwich, they looked at the time again to see they had 20 more minutes left to their lunch break,

“I’ll just take a micro nap, 10 minutes tops…..no one will notice…” (Y/N) reasoned, setting a timer on their phone and resting their head in their arms, almost instantly falling asleep.

————————————————————————

Even though he technically didn’t have to eat or drink, Hades couldn’t resist having a secret martini around this time of day. He had all the ingredients prepped in his room; gin, glass, live worm, all he needed now were the olives that were kept in the employee break room fridge.

Appearing from a cloud of smoke right in front of the refrigerator, the Lord of the Dead retrieved the olives, about to vanish to his room when he noticed a slumped over form in the corner of his eye.

“Well, what do we have here?” Hades mused as he walked over to his favorite park attendant, who was passed out on the break room table.

He loomed above them for a few minutes just appreciating their sleeping form when he noticed how dark the rings under (Y/N)s eyes were, they also looked paler than he remembered.

Now (Y/N) could look like anything and Hades would still find them attractive (the old pervert) but even he hated to admit how corpse like they looked.

“Geez kid….they don’t make things easy for you do they? Poor schmuck.”

Sighing in resignation, Hades swished the olives in his had away with a wisp of smoke, pocketed (Y/N)s phone, and proceeded to lift their limp body into his arms, carrying them bridal style. Once he knew (Y/N) hadn’t waken up from being jostled, he teleporting out of the break room and into the Villains common area.

Being so used to living around dead people, the feeling of warm, living flesh against his cold body was a change that Hades didn’t know was so welcomed until now. It almost hurt to part from (Y/N) as he layed them down onto the sofa in the middle of the room. Hades stared at them for a moment longer, before turning around to leave the room. He needed a stronger drink…

————————————————————————

“Cripes—Silver!? Did you nab my blunderbuss again— oh..”

Hook trotted into the common area, hoping to find and berate Silver for his missing pistol, before cutting himself off when he spotted (Y/N)s sleeping form splayed out on the sofa.

It seems that their exhaustion overpowered Hooks shouting, (Y/N) not even stirring.

Hook slowly approached the couch, looking over His park attendants form with silent wonder. He had never seen (Y/N) asleep before, they were always up and running around the park, confident and energetic. Hook marveled in this rare vulnerability, (Y/N)s sleeping form reminded him of the old renaissance paintings he had plundered with his crew years ago. (Y/N)s face was absent of all emotion, their hair splayed around them—

Wait a minute….

Hook was brought out of his reverie when he noticed how awkward (Y/N)s head was resting against the arm of the sofa. How could his dear attendant sleep without proper pillow!?

“My poor poppet… I’ll set you straight right.”

Hook sped out of the lounge, only to return minutes later with a pillow from his own quarters. He didn’t mind the strange looks from the other villains who were stalking the halls, his only goal was to get back to the common area.

Making sure not to scrape (Y/N) with his hook, the old captain gently lifted (Y/N)s head to place his pillow underneath their neck.

Taking a step back he admired his work, (Y/N) looking much more comfortable lying against his down feathered pillow.

“Sleep well my dear~” he whispered has he stalked out of the room.

————————————————————————

Hans clenched and unclenched his fists, not liking the way his palms felt— being so unused to not wearing his gloves. He rarely takes them off, and of course the only time he does so he misplaced them. He tried to ask around to see if anyone had found his pair of cotton gloves, but like every other time in his life, Hans was ignored.

His last hope in his search was the lounge, praying to Mickey-fucking-Mouse that they had somehow made their way there.

Completely focused on finding his gloves, Hans entered the common area and immediately began rummaging around. He didn’t care if his trousers got dusty or his hair fussed up, he couldn’t bear the feeling of his hands making direct contact with everything.

“Kom igen… var är de?”

Hans’s frustration was finally overwhelming him, about to give up when he noticed a flash of white from underneath the couch.

“Aha! Oh, finally!!”

Hans kneeled to reach under the couch, finally grabbing his beloved gloves and wasted no time in slipping them back on his hands. Relief washing over him, Hans went to stand back up— only to be face to face with (Y/N)’s

He flinched back, stumbling to his feet. In his mad search for his gloves, he had completely overlooked the sleeping (Y/N).

He titled his head, confused on why 1: (Y/N) is passed out on the villains sofa when they’re in the middle of a shift, and 2: why their head is resting on a satin down pillow that probably costs more than their rent.

Hans was brought out of his thoughts when a noticed a shiver ran up (Y/N)s back, the park attendant squirming.

Huh, he never noticed how chilly the lounge was, probably because he was used to the cold, even the central AC being nothing but white noise to him. Looking at (Y/N) again, he felt a strange squirming in his stomach…

….eh, it’s probably pity.

Tugging on his gloves, he walked over to the common areas closet, where they kept all the cleaning supplies, lightbulbs, untouched board games, and blankets. Groping around until he found something that met his standards, Hans pulled out a knit throw blanket and walked back to the couch.

With a flick of his wrists, the blanket unfurled and fell onto (Y/N)s body, (Y/N) unconsciously burrowing their face into the knit wool. Hans was strangely reminded of the bakers in his castles kitchens, blanketing the tops pies with dough.

Shrugging off the memories, he gave (Y/N) a fleeting look before exiting the lounge, his fists clenching and unclenching.

————————————————————————

The overhead LED lights stung in Frollos eyes, making him wince and rub the bridge of his nose. He used to think Paris as a filthy city, but now what he wouldn’t give to be back in the 15th century.

Trudging down the hall, a pit of anxiety welled in the bottom of his chest, dreading having to go back out in the park and having to… eugh, interact with others.

His procession stopped as he passed the doorway of the common area, turning his head towards the sofa. Checking to make so no one else was near, Frollo approached the couch to look over (Y/N).

If it was anyone else, Frollo would’ve sneered and berated the person for their sloth. Such waste of time and insult to God.

And yet…

It was a rarity to see the park attendant so still, their resting body allowing Frollo to notice details he never saw before; The stray beauty mark on their cheek, a specific strand of hair the coiled around their face, cuts and scrapes that littered their hands…

Frollo huffed, allowing (Y/N) to continue their sleep, about to exit the room when he stopped.

Their (Y/N) laid, their form vulnerable and unprotected, resting amongst those with wicked tendencies. It would go against his “beliefs” to allow evil to take advantage of those unaware.

Reaching into his robe, he pulled out his personal Rosary, the old wooden beads clicking as they hind from his fingers. Delicately, Frollo hung his rosary from the edge of the couch, the cross resting right above (Y/N).

“Procul recedant somnia, Et noctium phantasmata; Hostemque nostrum comprime, Ne polluantur corpora.” Frollo muttered a prayer, signing the cross over (Y/N)s body.

Having so other excuse to stay, Frollo stalked out of the lounge

“dors bien et fais de beaux rêves..”

————————————————————————

Facilier was….well— he wasn’t sure what he was looking at.

(Y/N) sprawled out on the couch, head resting on a pillow that looked like it belonged in Big Daddy La Bouff’s mansion, worn knit blanket draped over their body, and a dingy rosary hanging above their head.

The shadow man stared down at (Y/N), his shadow trying to reach the couch, only to be shocked backwards. Probably the fault of the rosary.

“Ah forget it old sport— let the kid rest,” Facilier chastised his shadow.

The conman recalled seeing (Y/N) stumbling around the park earlier in the day, nodding off while standing. Poor sap must’ve surrendered to their bodies plea for rest.

Facilier’s been known to indulge in a nap once or twice, especially on the sticky summer days back in Orleans… but from personal experience, he always needed total darkness.

“I’ve got no idea how they can sleep with all this light… let’s do the poor Cher a solid. Shadow, cut the lights.”

With the command of his master, Faciliers shadow creeped towards the window on the neighboring wall, pulling down the blinds as Facilier walked over to the light switch, humming to himself.

“..pale moon's shining on the fields below…. The folks are singing songs, soft and loooowww~”

flicking off the overhead lights, the lounge was plunged in darkness.

“Much better, c’mon old sport—” Facilier beckoned his shadow, who gave (Y/N) a longing glance before return to his master.

“You needn't tell me, ‘cause I know… When it's sleepy time down south~”

————————————————————————

(Y/N) sighed in their sleep, nestling into the blanket and pillow. Although they were still fast asleep, far from waking up— they could feel the peace that washed over them. Something only achieved when you’ve reach maximum comfort after strenuous activity.

There were moments in their sleep when they were uncomfortable; neck aching, cold, bad dreams, and bright light stinging behind their eyes. But each time they almost roused from sleep, the problem was always solved, sending them deeper and deeper into the REM cycle.

So there (Y/N) rested, swamped in strange warmth and set to not wake for a long while.

————————————————————————

Can you tell that my love language is acts of service?

I just wanted to write something fluffy, (also I kinda want to write more Hans stuff, an obsession is growing…)

Anyway, enjoy!

[m00nsbaby]

Helping you with homework.

Moon system x reader. - Headcanons.

Steven.

God bless Steven Grant's heart.

Although you didn't enjoy asking for help with things like this, you knew your boyfriend was the right person for your history assignment.

Unfortunately, remembering dates was your kryptonite.

"I'll explain it to you, okay?" He put on his glasses, and you sighed.

How were you supposed to concentrate when he looked like that?

You watched him go to his room and return with at least six different books in his arms.

And you pushed your chair so close that your shoulders touched.

It started well; you were understanding the timeline from prehistory to the Middle Ages.

However, you didn't take into account that once Steven started talking about his hyperfixations, he didn't stop.

By the second hour, you weren't sure if you were still retaining anything, so you did what your instinct dictated.

You hugged his arm, the one he wasn't using to underline sentences in his book, and your cheek rested against his shoulder.

Steven's heart raced, as it always did when you touched him spontaneously.

"Am I boring you already, love?" He kissed your hair, and shortly after, you felt the weight of his cheek against your head.

"Never," you simply said as the letters began to dance in front of your eyes.

The truth was that his voice relaxed you. Steven had a tendency to speak quickly, his accent resonating in your ears and warming you to your core, but when things got intimate, his voice seemed deeper.

He spoke slowly to make sure you didn't get lost in his words.

You yawned, and he noticed but didn't say anything. In fact, he kept talking.

And talking.

And talking.

Until your eyelids grew heavy.

"And with that, we conclude the topic of feudalism." You had fallen asleep about 10 minutes ago, hugging Steven's arm and feeling his slow breath against your body.

He chuckled, a sound you didn't even register.

Steven didn't feel bad about it; he knew school was taking its toll on you, and that day you hadn't taken your usual daily nap.

He knew better than anyone that you needed rest.

And because he had once read that people feel sleepy when they're comfortable with someone.

He didn't mind having to continue your assignment by himself, doing everything possible not to move you from his shoulder.

And taking breaks now and then to place a hand on your forehead to keep you from falling forward when you nodded off.

The next day, you woke up in your bed, and Steven had already gone to work.

Under a note with a happy face drawn on it were the seven pages of your handwritten essay.

You ended the day with the highest grade in your group, several congratulations, and many embarrassed smiles that screamed, "I didn't even lift the pen off the desk all night."

Marc.

"I beg you." "No."

"Marc?" "No."

"Please?" "I said no."

You had been following him around the house for about 5 hours. Usually, you had no trouble completing your responsibilities from start to finish, but on days like today, you didn't even have the energy to turn on your laptop.

And Marc, of course, had already decided that there was no way he would help you with something like this.

In his school days, he didn't even do his own homework.

"Please, please, please." "I said no."

After begging for the 46th time, you finally gave up. The rest of the day passed just as boringly until dinner when you took the last sip of coffee from your cup.

"I'm not going to do it." After a week of constant sleep deprivation, you decided that you could afford to sleep for 8 hours just this once.

Marc looked at you in silence for a few seconds before nodding his head.

"Then let's go to sleep."

You obeyed, and you both went hand in hand to bed. Like every night, you felt him press you against his body with both arms.

The exhaustion in your body made you give in in less than 10 minutes.

But Marc couldn't sleep.

At 12:27 in the morning, he quietly got out of bed.

And at 01:53, you woke up. The fear of not feeling your daily companion almost made you cry like a little kid.

You got up to look for him, and it wasn't difficult at all. The light from your laptop illuminated the entire dining room.

And the sound of the keys echoed through the house.

"Marc?" "No," he replied again. Admitting such gestures was not his strong suit.

Still, he pushed the chair back to give you space, and you dragged your feet to sit on his lap.

You sat sideways, your head resting on his shoulder as the warmth of his body relaxed you from head to toe.

He kept typing.

You don't know how long you slept there, but a while later, you felt him carry you to bed.

And just a few hours later, your alarm went off, with Marc's arms crushing you against his chest, and your laptop patiently waiting in the dining room.

Jake.

Spanish was never your strong suit.

And you knew very well that Jake was the one who could help you, but once you asked him, you knew he wouldn't stop bothering you.

He, on the other hand, was an expert in both things: speaking fluent Spanish and teasing you.

"Jake?" "Yes, honey?" "Can I ask you something?"

And as you suspected, he didn't leave you alone all day.

"Could you pour me a glass of water?" "¿Perdón? No te escuché." (Sorry? I didn't hear you.)

You looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"¿Y bien?" (Well?)

"Un… vaso de… agua." (A glass of water.) "¿Por qué?" (Why?) "Por favor." (Please.)

You rolled your eyes for the 17th time that day.

And he kissed you for the 23rd time.

"¿Amor?" You looked up from your phone. "¿Cómo se llama esto?" (What's this called?) You watched him point to his fork.

You were 12 seconds away from murdering him with your own hands.

"Tú puedes." (You can do it.) He sounded like the host of a children's program. "Te…"

"Te…" You stared at him, waiting for more clues. "Neeee." "Dor."

Kiss number 27.

You won't deny that you didn't hit him multiple times and gave him full-body shoves since you needed all your strength to at least get him to move.

And he mocked you every time.

"I hate you." "No-oh. Intenta de nuevo." (Try again.) "¡Te odio!"

At least this time he made you laugh.

It turns out that all day you didn't get around to doing the study session you had planned for the day.

And you probably learned more than if you had done it.

Still, you cursed when you felt your boyfriend's hands on your shoulders as he approached you from behind.

You looked up, and he leaned down to your height, with that mischievous smile that seemed permanently etched on his face.

"What?" "Te amo." (I love you.)

You blushed.

"Te amo." you said back as you received a chaste kiss on your lips.

You had lost count.

"Eres el amor de mi vida." (You're the love of my life.) Another kiss. "Espero algún día encontrar las palabras para hacerte saber cuanto te amo." (I hope to someday find the words to let you know how much I love you.)

You stopped paying attention once his lips started brushing against yours as he spoke.

"Te amo." he repeated, placing another kiss on your lips.

And when you thought the day was over, he didn't miss the opportunity to test your patience once more.

"Goodnight, babe." "No te entendí." (I didn't understand you.)

In the darkness, you heard the thump you gave his chest.

"Buenas noches." You kissed his shoulder.

And yes, the next day, you let him enjoy his multiple "I told you so" moments when you passed the exam.

[hockeyboysimagines]

okay we need a sequel to practice makes perfect where matthew is proven right and knocked hallie up first try 😂

Your wish is my commend anon. Please read part 1 before this, as it won’t make sense otherwise. I hope this is everything you’re imagining.

“Sooooooo?”

“So what?”

“Did you take it?”

Hallie rolled her eyes “No I didn’t take it yet. I’m not late, we still have another week.”

Matthew slumped down in his seat and crossed his arms “Ugh. Can’t you hurry it along? Like talk with your uterus and tell it to do us a solid?”

“The fact that you know nothing about the female body is amazing considering how good you are in bed.” She looked down at her abdomen “Excuse me in there. Can you tell us if you’re sending a period this month? My baby daddy wants to know.”

His mouth fell open and he started laughing “Baby daddy.”

“Is that not what you are?” Hallie asked reaching forward to run her fingers through his hair “I mean after all wasn’t it YOU.” She said jabbing him in the chest with her pointer finger “Who was just bragging about being 2 for 2 the other week? The cabin? The bar bathroom? Ring a bell?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember the bar bathroom.”

“Can’t remember my ass!”

“Oh no. I remember your ass.”

He ran a hand up her thigh and gave her hip a tug, pulling her over to straddle his lap, and looked at her smiling cheekily “Kidding. Of course I’m your baby daddy. Thomas looks just like me, now Lilly…..”

Hallie’s mouth fell open and she slapped his chest “Rude.” And then she reached down between them to palm him through his shorts “I guess if that’s how you feel I’ll find someone else to give me this.” She ground her pelvis into his, and he felt himself get hard.

“Never.” He reached forward and let his hands travel up her thighs to her hips and then leaned up to kiss her collarbone. Hallie closed her eyes and felt goosebumps erupt across her skin as his lips moved across her skin, tongue sliding across her neck, and up her jaw to her mouth. He had just started to kiss her, hand coming up to grip the back of her neck when-

“Daddy!!”

He stopped and his head fell forward with a sigh.

“Daddy come play!”

She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek “We’ll finish this later. Your mini me is calling you.” she climbed off him and helped him stand, turning to head towards the kitchen when she felt his hand on her ass “I like these pants.” He said hand coming to the other side of her hips “They make your-“

“DADDY!”

“OKAY!” He yelled back, scowling and huffing “He’s so impatient.”

Hallie started laughing “You sure you want another one?”

“Ha ha. I want 4 more.”

“4-what I-4?!” Hallie’s sputtered at him until he started laughing.

“Can’t help it. You’re just so easy to get pregnant.” He shrugged and winked at her turning to find Thomas and take him outside to play hockey in the driveway, a daily past time for them.

4 kids. Was he crazy? She thought as she made her way through the house and upstairs to check on baby Lilly, as Thomas called her, who was taking a nap. On her way she passed the bathroom, and stopped.

Biting her lip she reached under the sink and pulled out a test. She didn’t feel pregnant. Last time she’d known right away, after said romp in the bar. Exactly 5 weeks later she was holding a positive test while Brady celebrated before the Battle of Alberta playoff series. When at home, some form of protection was always used unless they were trying. But there wasn’t much thought that went into spontaneous bar bathroom sex, or her last minute availability to be in Ottawa some weeks ago, both of which had been protection free. She held it in her hand, doing a mental count and pulled her jeans down.

Today would be 5 weeks exactly, and taking one couldn’t hurt. It would however prove his theory, and he would now be 3 for 3 on getting her pregnant on the first try.

Thomas was the night in the cabin, the first time they’d had sex.

Lilly was the bar bathroom, the first time they’d been out celebrating the trade with his new teammates.

And now if she was pregnant today, it would be after the game in Ottawa, all three being on the first try.

She would never hear the end of this.

She set the test on the counter, pulling her jeans up and washing her hands while she waited for it. She however was not alone before it finished because Matthew himself threw the door open and stopped, surprised to see her but then his eyes zeroed in on the test.

“What the- your taking it without me?!”

He pushed past her and peered at it, eyes moving between what appeared in the bubble and the difference between positive and negative. A smile spread slowly across his face like the Grinch when his heart grew three sizes and he turned to her.

“3 for 3!”

“No WAY!” She said grabbing it and holding it up. There it was. A pink plus sign clear as day in that tiny circle.

He thrust a fist in the air and gave a very loud “YES!” Before he pulled out his phone, fumbling to unlock it with the amount of excitement running through him.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling my parents to tell them that their son has successfully knocked you up 3 times on the first try. Let them tell me again that Brady’s more talented.”

“Matthew do not-“

But Chantal had already answered the phone.

“Hello I was just going to-“

“Hallie’s pregnant!” He yelled gleefully into the phone.

“AH!” Chantal screamed on the other end. She heard a clatter in the background and Keith yelling “What?! What happened?!”

“Hallie’s pregnant!” She yelled voice breaking a little.

“Again? He’s out of control.”

“Yeah remember that next time you tell me Brady is better. I’d like to see him do that.”

Hallie’s face burned with embarrassment as she accepted ‘congratulations’ from Keith and Chantal, who promised to come visit soon and hung up. But Matthew wasn’t done, he texted several teammates, all of whom chirped him, including Sam who said he didn’t think he had it in him, and then made one last phone call, looking at her and cracking a large evil smile.

“Now what are you doing?”

“Calling Brady to tell him that C on his chest is nothing compared to the C in my pants.”

“MATTHEW!”

[quinloki]

I'm usually pretty open about everything - kink, smut, sex, morality, etc. including, I hope, mental health. But I don't know that I talk about it often as I could.

I'm not obligated to share things about myself. I choose to - I'm not obligated to write, draw, or even answer asks - I do these things because I find enjoyment in them, and I personally find extra enjoyment by creating a space that's comfortable for more than just me.

Today, is a bad day. I get them - I talk about getting them I know, I'm pretty open with "don't panic, I'm just taking a day away." or lower keyed, or some such.

One of the reasons I'm like that is because about three years ago I lost an exceptionally dear friend.

A force of nature.

A... objectively good person, who was, at the time of his passing about a year younger than I was.

Far too young. Here one moment, gone the next.

Today is hard. The A/C is out, it's hot outside, there's three fans in the room and one in the window trying desperately to keep things cool and comfortable enough. Funnily enough my day job, that good old 9-5 is the least stressful thing I'm dealing with.

I passed out from the stress a bit ago. Not like, blacked out and hit the floor, but like, one minute I'm eating on the couch, the next it's 2 hours later and my throat hurts because I was leaned back snoring like some old geezer conked out for an afternoon nap.

Which was more stress - I missed waking up my spouse, missed the time I could've spent doing other things, missed - well.

It's not yet a good day.

Honestly, I'm not sure what I mean with this post. I'll be okay, I always am. I guess I wanted to let people know, as much as I appreciate that y'all look up to me, please do not ever make the mistake of thinking I'm, I don't know, endlessly in control, I guess.

I struggle, say dumb shit, make mistakes, have pretty severe panic attacks, am 100% depressed, am egregiously terrified of bugs (I cannot tell you how much I loathe the fact that the window is open right now), and certainly have plenty of times, moments... days - weeks, every now and again - where it's not ideal.

Being true to myself in the face of that is, probably, kind of cool. I can concede that much.

Whatever my point for this post was, in closing I'll say - you're not alone. You're 100% worth it. It's so much bullshit to hear "it does get better" because it does, but it's never fast enough I swear. It's okay to have it down pat and then just not. Mistakes are a part of life you'll be making them in your 70s, but so long as you can take something from learn - a lesson learned, a capacity expanded, an understanding that some mistakes will be things you repeat, despite your best laid plans, and that's okay.

I love you - as a friend, as an acquaintance, as a fellow member of the wildly variable and frustratingly complicated collective known as humans, and maybe even as something more.

I'm glad you're here.

[drvirgus]

The Idol who cant Smile

Minji X Fem! Reader

Description: You are the oldest Member of New Jeans, but Fans Never saw you Smile once. Why don't you Smile? Who's the Person that can bring back a smile to your Face?

Chapter 5:

With a smile, the nurse greeted me. He had just brought a new oxygen tank and was rolling it past me. The taller man looked at me, "You're back. He seems to be doing better today than a few days ago. The fever has dropped dramatically and is within the normal range. If you'd like, you can go to him. He's in the garden," the nurse said with a smile.

Understanding, I nodded and thanked the older man. Shortly after, I made my way to the garden. I spotted him from a distance. He was sitting in his wheelchair, his hands on his thighs, his gaze fixed on the sunflowers. Nervously, I took several deep breaths.

"Hey, Dad," I said as I approached him, but I also kept some distance. He turned his head toward me and then looked back at the flowers. As he had done so many times before, he remained silent. He just didn't talk to me. I didn't know what was better... Him not speaking to me? Or him cursing me?

"I heard your fever has gone down," I said. But it was futile. It was as if I were talking to a wall. Sighing, I sat down on the garden bench. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the sunflowers in front of him. I, too, looked at the flowers. My mother's favorite flowers...

He had loved my mother with all his heart... What would it be like if he loved me too? What kind of feeling would that be?

I swallowed and stayed quiet. Painful minutes passed during which we simply stared at each other in silence. I licked my lips, "If there's anything you need, Dad. I can get it for you. You just have to say it," I finally spoke after what felt like an eternity. My elderly father looked at me. His gaze stern and twisted. As usual, he didn't answer and looked at the flowers again.

My chest always felt so heavy when I was here. It felt... hopeless. He would never love me. No matter what I did. No matter if I got good grades. No matter if I became rich. No matter if I became famous. Nothing could make him look at me even once. Even when I was sick or got drunk on purpose... He never worried about me. No wonder... I wasn't meant to live for him.

After several minutes, the nurse came into the garden. He looked at me with pity and gave me an encouraging smile. After a brief explanation, he wheeled my father into the bedroom. It seemed it was time for medication and a nap. I headed to the door and put on my shoes there.

"Y/N," I heard, and I turned to the nurse. He smiled politely and handed me a bag, "Good luck with your comeback and belated congratulations," he said with a smile. Surprised, my eyes widened. I bowed to the taller man, "Thank you," I replied and said goodbye to him.

Several years had passed since he started taking care of my father. Of course, he had to sign a confidentiality agreement. I didn't want... anyone to know about my father. It would only stress him out even more...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I entered the studio and placed the cake in the fridge. Then I headed to the sound studio. Minji seemed to be in the middle of recording her part. So, I patiently waited outside the door. Naturally, I took my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through Instagram and TikTok.

My eyebrows raised in surprise. I blinked several times as I noticed a hashtag that involved my name and Yuna's name. I clicked on it and was instantly presented with thousands of videos. I clicked on the most popular ones. My gaze fixed on one video.

The first video showed Yuna and Hyein as MCs at the Jamboree concert. Since it was raining, Yuna seemed to have mistaken our group for hers. Minji and Yuna had a short interaction, both of them started laughing. Yuna's eyes then fell on me. I chuckled, which made Yuna shyly approach me.

The video ended there, but no one knew that Yuna was actually asking me if I had seen Yeji, Ryujin, or Chaeryeong. Unfortunately, Lia wasn't there that day. I smiled and continued scrolling. I came across a similar video where it showed me helping Yuna find the others, and we briefly hugged.

After that, there were several videos of Yuna talking about the interaction with Minji and me in a live session.

The door opened, and I looked up. Minji saw me sitting on the floor and chuckled. She extended her hand, which I accepted. She helped me to my feet and looked at me. I quickly put my phone in my pocket.

"Thank you," I said softly. Minji looked at me for a while. She nodded her head, "Are you okay? You... were gone this morning even before breakfast," the younger girl said, her forehead furrowing in concern as she scrutinized me. I looked up at the taller woman and simply nodded my head, "I should head inside now," I said after a short pause. Minji nodded and watched me as I went into the sound studio.

Inside, I warmed up my voice and then started singing. My eyes were on the sheet music. I needed multiple takes, sometimes emphasizing certain letters more, while barely emphasizing others. It took a while until I was done. After bowing and thanking everyone, I left the room.

Minji was sitting on the floor, while Danielle tried to scare me. I looked at Danielle, raising an amused eyebrow, "We need to work on that. I'll show you how to do it properly next time," I said, and immediately Danielle shook her head nervously. She almost begged for forgiveness. It made me laugh again, but I covered my mouth as usual.

Danielle went inside eventually, and now I looked at Minji. My eyebrows lifted, "What are you still doing here?" I asked, clearly surprised by her presence. She licked her lips and stood up. Her gaze fixed on me. Nervously, I looked away from her. To be honest... Ever since she and Yeji kissed... I could hardly bring myself to look her in the eyes.

"You haven't eaten yet," the younger girl said. I looked at her and hesitated slightly. I blinked a few times. Nervously, I said, "We have to dance now." But Minji sighed. She looked at me for a while. Her eyes narrowed, "Why... do you never listen to me?" she asked, visibly annoyed as she ran a hand over her face.

I looked at her. Confused, my face twisted at her behavior. Minji looked at me. She sighed and gestured for me to go ahead. I did what she asked and entered the dance studio. Inside, Hanni, Haerin, and Hyein were already there. All three were sitting in a circle, discussing something.

I joined them immediately. The three younger girls all looked at me. Suddenly, Hanni grinned widely and nudged me with her elbow. I looked at her, "So, what's exactly going on between you and Yuna sunbae?" she asked, and almost instantly, my eyes widened in surprise. I looked at the younger girl, puzzled.

"Come on, Unnie. Tell us," Hyein pleaded, immediately putting on her puppy eyes. Meanwhile, Haerin was just staring at me again. I noticed my head tilting to the side, "There's nothing going on. But she's cute, I can't deny that," I answered truthfully, and immediately, Hyein squealed in excitement.

Hanni looked at me for a while, "So, you wouldn't mind dating someone younger?" she asked with evident interest. I looked at her and shook my head. Hanni nodded and grinned knowingly. She then turned her attention to Minji, raising her eyebrows, "What about you?" she asked, her tone carrying a certain undertone.

Minji, who had been typing something on her phone, finally looked up. Her eyes briefly met mine before shifting to Hanni, "I prefer older," Minji replied casually, which made Hanni smile knowingly. However, Hyein stared at Minji with her mouth open, gasping dramatically, "Oh my God. So, you have a crush on Yeji Sunbae?" the youngest of us blurted out, even covering her mouth with her hand.

Hanni sighed in annoyance at that, but I was more interested in Minji's response. That could explain why Minji was so aggressive during the kiss. Minji looked at me and then at Hyein, "No," she answered rather seriously, her jaw tensing, "But enough chit-chat. Let's get started. Danielle should be done with her recording soon," Minji immediately changed the subject, standing up.

I nodded and got up as well. I placed my phone on one of the benches. Haerin did the same with hers, "Minji's in a bad mood," she sighed. I looked at the younger girl, surprised by her observation. She sighed again and got into position. However, I couldn't help but look at Minji.

She... was in a bad mood? Is that why she seemed frustrated today? But what caused her bad mood?

As the music of ETA started playing, we got into position. We began memorizing the choreography, dancing and dancing. Even Danielle joined us without questioning anything. It took a few minutes until one of our managers entered with several bags in hand.

We immediately stopped dancing. Minji had ordered food for all of us, unbeknownst to the rest of us. We were all sweaty and out of breath, but we sat in a circle and started eating the ordered food. Minji's eyes followed my every move. I found myself looking at her repeatedly.

I bit the inside of my cheek slightly. I wanted to talk to her, but... if I did, I wouldn't even know what to say. I... just wanted to talk to her. About anything...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes turned to Minji. We were doing a live session to celebrate Minji's birthday. There was a cake in front of her, and we all wore party hats on our heads. I sat right next to Minji. Our thighs were touching, but it didn't bother me. I lit the candles and immediately, we all started singing the birthday song.

Minji smiled as she blew out the candles. We all clapped our hands and looked at the birthday girl as she gave a short speech to our fans. My face relaxed completely as I saw her smile so widely. My eyes were fixed on Minji, only on her. After a while, Minji turned her head to me. We looked at each other for a while.

Then Minji began to smile, and I could feel her thigh pressing more against mine. But then she looked away. Nervously, I swallowed. God... I couldn't look away now. Minji... was too beautiful.

After we all had a piece of cake and talked with each other and the Bunnies for a while, the camera was finally turned off. My gaze returned to Minji as she immediately approached me. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet. I looked at her with wide eyes, surprised by her action.

"I need to talk to you," the younger girl said. The other four of us looked at them with curiosity. Everyone stopped their conversation and turned to us. Haerin stared, Hyein looked confused, Hanni seemed excited, while Danielle simply glanced between us. I nodded my head, and we then went into Minji's room. She closed the door and turned to me.

"Stop looking at me like that. Not in front of the camera," Minji said. Her eyes scanned my entire face, which now twisted in confusion. I blinked, perplexed, "How do I look?" I asked, making Minji sigh. She swallowed and just stared at me. Her lips parted as she took a step closer.

"Y/N," she breathed out, her eyes locked onto mine, "Why... do you confuse me so much?" she asked softly. Her hands landed on my hips as she maintained eye contact. I swallowed as she moved even closer. I looked up at the taller woman.

I'm the one confusing her? Quite the opposite. She's the one confusing me. Why... does she keep looking at me like that? Why do I have this urge to get closer to her?

I heard Minji let out a soft breath. She looked somewhat amused now. She kept getting closer, causing my heart to race wildly. I swallowed, and my eyes widened. As her lips almost brushed mine, I took a few steps back abruptly. Minji's eyes widened.

I felt my entire face flush. Minji looked at me, slightly shocked. But what exactly shocked her? The attempt to kiss me? Or the fact that I backed away from the kiss?

"I-I'm sorry," Minji started, but I couldn't control myself anymore. Panic was written all over my face as I hastily left Minji's room.

Fuck... I didn't want to leave... but my body acted on its own...

[gennyanydots]

Sorry about your small…

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x f!reader

Part of the Spitfire Universe

Not necessary to have read them all but makes more sense to have read “Preschool Family Day”

“I’m sorry about your small penis, asshole!” You yelled to the vehicle in the turning lane as you finally passed them, completely forgetting your window was open.

You were late. Again. Like normal.

You told your best friend you would meet her at 5 and it’s 5:15 already and you’re still ten ish minutes away.

And the stupid vehicle in front of you was slower than molasses in the winter and clearly did not have the urgency you did.

You try to take some deep breaths to calm down. You’ll get there. It’s not like your best friend isn’t very much aware of your proclivities but you feel bad. So every time you try so hard to make up the time driving. You don’t drive recklessly per se, you’re still cautious and follow the laws vaguely, you just drive a little quicker sometimes.

By the time you get to the restaurant that you were meeting your friend at you completely forget about the car in front of you but maybe you shouldn’t have…

Your work week had turned out to be pretty good. Nothing out of the ordinary made for a nice week. No surprises. No messes. Nobody’s been sick. Plus, the whole week you had been looking forward to Friday, not that you’d admit it.

Eli Seresin told you on Monday that his favorite Uncle Rooster was picking him up early on Friday. You loved it when Uncle Rooster picked him up. Who wouldn’t?

What’s not to like about an attractive, caring man picking up his adopted nephew from preschool early to hangout together and have ‘guy time’? A man that would flirt with you every time he came by while simultaneously being the nicest man you’d ever talked to. He’s definitely had you swooning over him since he first came to the school for special adult day a couple months ago. Pretty consistently Uncle Rooster picks up Eli at least once every two weeks, either at normal pick up time or early for their special Rooster and Eli time. Sometimes you wonder if he’s doing it to be nice or if he’s doing it to see you. You haven’t felt bold enough to ask yet.

Usually if Rooster is picking Eli up early he does so a little before nap time is finished which meant today you had to race out and grab something for lunch and race back so you didn’t miss him. That would ruin your whole week. You didn’t mind spending most of your lunch break in the dark room with your assistant instead of spending time away from the kids, it’s not like you needed it. You loved your class most of the time.

The line at the fast food place you stopped at took a bit longer than you had hoped for and had you speeding back to work with your fingers crossed praying you hadn’t missed Bradley. That would ruin your whole day. And if you’re being honest with yourself probably your whole weekend too.

When you passed the visitor parking area you thought you noticed a car you vaguely recognized but you couldn’t remember why. It wasn’t a normal looking car. You figure it probably was one of your coworkers’ significant other’s car or something who parked there for some reason.

You open the door to the building just in time to see Bradley walking towards you with two armfuls of a sleeping Eli and you smile, “That’s a very sleepy baby you got there.”

Bradley chuckles, “He wasn’t feeling waking up so I figured might as well take him home with me and we can both nap on the couch.”

“That sounds like a great afternoon,” you say holding the door open for Bradley to walk through.

He nods his thanks to you, “Hey, do you think you can open my car door for me? I could do it but I don’t want to jostle him too much. He’s grumpy like his mama when he gets woken up too early.”

You laugh and nod, “I’m grumpy when I get woken up too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Bradley says as he walks towards the vehicle you thought you recognized earlier. Huh. Weird. You must have just seen it here before.

He nods towards the right side and you quickly open the door for him and he slides Eli out of his arms and into his car seat, strapping him in carefully and efficiently, before gently closing the door.

“Thanks so much,” Bradley says to you and you nod.

“It was no problem at all,” you say and smile.

Bradley heads to the driver side and opens the door then leans in and starts the car but doesn’t slide into the car yet, instead turning towards you.

You look at the sleeping Eli and wave at him even though you know he’s asleep then walk to stand at the back of Bradley’s car, “Well, I hope you two have a fun time napping.”

Bradley chuckles, “Oh, I’m sure we will. He’ll probably nap for a little and then beg me to go to the beach or something.”

“Sounds like a perfect afternoon.”

Bradley nods, “Yep, then I’ll send him back to his parents and go hang out with some buddies of mine. You should come out with us if you’re not busy.”

“And why should I come out with you, Uncle Rooster?” You ask teasingly.

He grins and takes a few steps towards you and bends close to your ear, “Cause the other day you said something and I’ve been thinking about how I need to prove you wrong ever since.”

You look up at him confused. You can’t remember saying anything odd to him lately, “What did I say?”

Bradley chuckles, “You said I had a small penis and I very much so would love to show you just how wrong you are.”

You gulp and try to think back, “I… I don’t think I said that to you.”

He nods, “You yelled it out your window at me when you passed me. Said ‘Sorry about your small penis, asshole’.”

Shit. Of course the one time you yell something like that it’s at someone you know. That’s why you remember his car. Your face heats up, “I am so, so, so sorry. I didn’t realize that was you.”

He brings a hand up and gently brushes your cheek with the back of his first two fingers, “No worries. In fact I thought it was pretty funny. But I do want you to know that isn’t the case if you’re interested. Can’t have a pretty girl thinking less of me. Not that I’m sure I couldn’t still show you a great time if it was true. It’s not the plane, sweetheart, it’s the pilot.”

You bite your lip and nod, “So, if I was interested where would I go later?”

Rooster smiles and gets out his phone and hands it to you, “Put your number in, honey. I’ll text you the details.”

You do and hand it back then take a couple steps backwards towards the school, “I look forward to being proven wrong.”

Bradley winks at you, “I think you’ll have a good time.” 

[witchywriter18]

Raising children with Sebastian

This is a continuation of this headcannon list.

For some reason, I imagine Sebastian as a girl dad. Idk, he just gives off that vibe.

ANYWAY!

After you both get home from St. Mungo's, you promptly go pass out on your shared bed since you just pushed out a human being.

Sebastian on the other hand is wide awake, sitting in your rocking chair while holding his baby girl.

You're probably out for a couple of hours and wake up to find Sebastian still sitting there and holding your daughter, just staring at her while silently crying in happiness.

After a few days of settling in, your friends start visiting, wanting to see more of the baby and hold her.

Sebastian is very reluctant, not wanting his daughter to be held by anyone else but you and himself.

"Have you washed your hands? Did you wash them for 5 full minutes?"

Yeah, your friends basically need to be squeaky clean before they even think about holding your daughter according to Sebastian. You try to tell him that he's going a little overboard but-

"Overboard? MC, I'm not letting our daughter catch any germs our friends trek in from the outside world."

He can't be swayed. It's a full body scrub down or no holding the baby.

So I actually looked it up and breast pumps were a thing at this time (they were invented in 1854). So you make sure to pump regularly so that if you're not available, there's a supply of milk for Sebastian to feed your daughter with.

When Sebastian has to return to work after his leave, he actually considers quitting and being a stay-at-home father. He doesn't want to leave his girls 🥺

"Sebastian, we can't both be the stay-at-home parent. One of us has to be working and my freelance career doesn't provide substantial funds for us to be raising a family. Especially if we want more children after Anne."

"*sigh* Fine! I'll go back to work! But I won't like it!"

So he begrudgingly goes to work, pouting the whole time.

"Damn society, need money to function. I just want to stay at home with my wife and daughter but nooooo! Money is unfortunately needed to be earned to be able to live and support a family!"

"Um, Mr. Sallow? Maybe now isn't the time since we're currently on a potentially dangerous mission?"

Any enemies that get in his path are promptly eradicated in his annoyed rage.

As soon as the clock strikes 5 o'clock, he is out! Goodbye! Anything else you have for him can wait until tomorrow! He has a wife and child go smother in kisses!

"I'm home! Where are my beautiful girls?!"

It's like this everyday now. Pouty when he leaves, full of energy when he returns. Not always great when Anne is napping....

"I'M HOME MY LOVES-"

"WAHHHHH!"

"SEBASTIAN SALLOW I SWEAR TO MERLIN-"

Safe to say Anne is a daddy's girl. Not to mention she has Sebastian wrapped around her little finger. Gets that from you though.

"Sebastian, is that another stuffed toy? Didn't you already bring Anne one two days ago?"

"Yes but look! This one's a snake! I just need to find a badger one to go with it.... maybe just get one of every Hogwarts mascot."

Yeah, your daughter is SPOILED!!! She has to make grabby hands at something and it's hers.

There was arguing at who's name she'd say first.

"She's going to say 'papa' first, I guarantee it!"

"No, I think it'll be 'mama'."

"SNUFFLES!" *happy Graphorn noises in the background*

Did I mention that you take Anne to visit your beasts? You do and they're all so gentle and sweet to her. ESPECIALLY your Graphorn, Snuffles. He keeps his tail away from her though since it's spikey.

Once Anne is a year old, Sebastian is ready for another.

"Come on love, we agreed that after Anne turned one, we'd discuss about having another baby. Please?"

"Sebastian, it's literally midnight. Ask me again after Anne's birthday party. Now go to sleep."

Yes. Yes he did wake up as soon as the clock struck midnight on your daughter's 1st birthday.

One week later, you and Sebastian actually sit down to discuss having another baby.

"If you're going to put another baby in me, at least take me out to dinner first."

"Done. I'll go call Ominis and Poppy to watch Anne!"

"I didn't mean right this second!"

Is anyone surprised he got you pregnant again a month later? No? Okay then.

This time though... it's twins.

"Since I'm giving birth to two babies at once, you have to wait two years this time around before you even bring up the subject of more children. And I'm not making any promises."

Your twins are fraternal brother and sister. The boy is named Eleazar (after Fig 🥲) and the girl is named Áine (Celtic goddess of wealth and summer, name meaning "radiance")

When it is time for Anne to go to Hogwarts, both you and Sebastian are misty eyed. Thankfully for Sebastian's nerves, Feldcroft is a flooflame away if she needs either of you. Or if there's some boys he needs to scare away.

"No boys until I'm dead and buried, understand?"

Then once the twins start school, your little nest is empty until the holiday breaks or occasional visits. And Sebastian is suffering from empty nest syndrome.

"Darling. Since all the children are off at Hogwarts, I was thinking..."

"That you want another child?"

"Yeeessss."

You agree because you also miss your babies and want another one.

9-10 months later, you have another baby girl named Gwen.

Also, if it wasn't clear, every single one of your children has Sebastian's freckles. Your children look like a mix of both of you but they always end up gaining Sebastian's freckles. And his mischievous behavior.

"ANNE, ELEAZAR, AND ÁINE SALLOW!!! HOW DARE YOU SNEAK INTO THE RESTRICTED SECTION AND NOT CONSULT ME!!! IF YOU DID, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN CAUGHT!!!"

"Sebastian, that is not the purpose of this howler!"

"Oh, right. I mean, HOW DARE YOU SNEAK INTO THE RESTRICTED SECTION!!! THAT WAS VERY WRONG OF YOU AND I'M VERY CROSS!!! *quieter voice* I'm not really, your mother is just making me seem responsible. I am disappointed in you getting caught though. Remind me to teach you a charm next time you visit home."

[puckpocketed]

21/12/2023 Seattle Kraken vs LA Kings

The Summer I Fell For Hockey - Strategy, Expectations, and Earning Your Ice: On 1-3-1 and Joey Daccord

My regulars filter in on my last day of work for the year and ask me how my games went, and I take a moment to think: people who are this nice to their baristas are probably going to heaven. They’ve been so patient and kind and interested, and commiserate with me over the losses (except for Simon, large latte, who is cheerfully smug as a Red Wings guy that hasn’t let go of the 6-5 comeback game the Sharks forced through). Yesterday, I caught the tail end of a near-shutout from the Kings against the Sharks, and this past Sunday they beat the Kraken 3-2. The LA Kings have won against both of my beloved teams in succession this week. Not even two days ago, I published an essay on the importance of staying silly and taking losses well with the help of my fellow fans. I remind myself of all this throughout the day as I serve — and yet there’s restless energy under my skin as I head home. I keep thinking about an errant comment made on the Sharks’ broadcast: that the Kings play a 1-3-1, and it’s what held my Sharks’ attack hostage for so long.

I talk about my profound attachment to hockey as though I just switched it on one day. While this makes for a convenient explanation, the truth is that I’m still falling. Hockey’s been great to watch, as a new fan. The learning curve isn’t as steep as it feels trying to get into other sports, and I do myself the favour of starting simple — the puck goes in the goal, and sometimes there are fights. But I can’t just sit here and be satisfied with a casual, passing interest, and when I get home the 1-3-1 won’t let me go. I have to chase it. Playstyle and team identity can be so hard to quantify and analyse in a game that moves so fast, but even my novice eyes see how playing against the LA Kings is absolutely suffocating.

Before I had the language for it, I described it as “the 1-3-1 bullshit”, and in my head I thought about it as whatever the hell they did to choke off the Sharks’ approach through centre ice as I watched them strip puck after puck, watched even the most promising looking rushes become lost. The backbone of a 1-3-1 is an impenetrable wall in the neutral zone, which sounds pretty cool until you look up videos and find that 11 years ago crowds were booing teams that used it. It consists of one wing forward posted deep in the offensive zone, the centre and the other forward and a defenceman in the neutral, and the last defenceman hanging back to capture stray pucks. It’s the ice hockey equivalent of turtling; a completely defence-oriented system that’s used to maintain leads. The trouble, of course, is that the Kings are just using it regardless.

Applying the ramping methodology to learning about hockey players, I see a pattern emerging in me — I start with what’s most familiar. Goaltenders are pretty straightforward, conceptually applicable across athletic disciplines; I like that I can see someone stop a play, throw their body in the way and dive on the puck and it’s as simple as that. Amongst dizzying line changes and d-men pairings and hockey formations, my ears and eyes land over and over again on Seattle Kraken goalie Joey Daccord. It takes me a minute to figure out why.

Today, a national broadcast day, the puck is dropped 20 minutes late — I know this because I overslept my nap alarm by about that much and still managed to catch it. First period is reminiscent of their game against the Kings earlier in the week: the Kraken struggle to maintain puck possession, and the Kings have a staggering 19-6 lead in shots on goal. Even with the lopsided shot ratio, Daccord remains unbreakable. He dives for pucks, he’s quick on the glove and just as effective with his stick. I am brought back to his last few games played, where a shootout and an overtime hung on his performance. There are all-round agreements on the Kraken defensive line letting Daccord down in the past couple games, forcing him into making some impossible saves. The 9-round shootout with the Kings was an anomaly; and it could be said that this deep into a shootout, it’s less about the players (whose shot quality becomes increasingly questionable as the coaches scrape through their star forwards and down the line hierarchy for shooters) and more about a battle between goalies. I wonder, idly, if he’s thinking about that shootout loss, or the overtime loss against the Stars. He seems like the kind of person who would take that responsibility on his back, no matter the extenuating circumstances.

The Kings give me anxiety, this first period. Their defence looks airtight. Whenever the opponent gains possession, executing an effective 1-3-1 means bombarding the attacking forwards with bodies as they try to cross the blue line to mount a rush, to force a dump in or a puck turnover. The Kraken can’t break through — the one time they do, they lose control of the puck to speed. This chokehold; it exposes the gaps in any given team’s communication, baits them into stupid mistakes. The disdain people have for this system isn’t because it’s dirty or dishonourable or unfair, but rather because it makes for some very uninteresting hockey. It’s got a lot of names; the neutral zone trap, the trap, the 1-3-1. At the height of its popularity, it's said to have contributed to the infamous Dead Puck Era.

In modern day hockey, players are faster, more agile, and can blast through the 1-3-1 with prejudice; and the NHL have adjusted their rules about passing and handing out penalties for obstruction in the years since the 2004-05 lockout — all of this has resulted in a much lower rate of play for the trap. What fascinates me is that the Kings play it anyway, and if they weren’t up against my teams I’d probably be enraptured with the total buy-in from the players (I’m half captivated by them as it is).

What I learn about Daccord, in a slow trickle of Kraken media skimmed on my lunch breaks and between game periods, is that expectations are high. The Kraken’s main goalie, Philipp Grubauer, was the one in the net when they went to the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. What I read is: Daccord is Grubi’s replacement, the kid they drafted from the Ottawa Senators during expansion who’s made waves as the starting goalie for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Grubi faced a comparably high amount of shots on goal in the postseason and still managed to maintain an incredible save percentage according to reports in May — and there’s that damned playoffs run again, insinuating itself into the expectations of a very different Kraken roster. The shoes Daccord must fill are big. Brighter stars have burned out against that sort of pressure.

Going into the second period I brace myself for the Kraken to get scored on. This is how it’s gone before — it’s a numbers game in the end, I reason to myself — get enough shots on goal and one is bound to slip through by way of unforced error or lucky bounce. And yet, Joey’s as sharp as ever. He slaps down shots in succession. Glove, stick, body. What could beat an airtight defensive trap in the neutral zone? A wall at the crease. Perhaps he is thinking about those lost games, perhaps that’s what has him so lit up tonight.

Then, the impossible happens in the wake of a faceoff: Tanev decides it’s turbo time, and suddenly the puck is in the net and the Kraken are on the board. They work hard on the forecheck, they ice the puck rather than give over possession, and their penalty kill is tight; and beyond that, Daccord is on fire. Early on in third period, Jordan Eberle, or Ebs, scores off of an absolutely magical pass between the skates of a Kings player, courtesy of Matty. Again and again, the Kings’ momentum is halted by Daccord’s glove, and as I sit and admire his tenacity I notice something else: what the fuck is he doing playing the puck?

Let’s talk about goaltending on a broader scale. Of the dozens of games I’ve been able to watch and in all the highlights I’ve seen, the goalies have looked — and I say this with the utmost respect — pretty good, but not all that unique or special. They do what they can, but there’s a reason why the NHL’s most recognizable names tend to be forwards and centres; saving goals is like ruining the fun, even if you make an impossible catch, everyone loves a star who can dominate the game by scoring and skating and defending in their own way. Goaltending ‘style’ was a mystery to me. I had a healthy respect for goalies when I first started watching hockey, but I never thought of any particular players as eye-catching — until now. Now I realise exactly what has me so excited about this player: Joey Daccord doesn't play quite like any goalie I’ve seen so far.

 I could give you a history of goalies who play pucks, a Greatest Hits list of players who broke new ground and invented the style that Daccord is emulating, but it’s not actually that long. One specific incident that always comes up in these conversations about goalies and pucks is Patrick Roy’s infamous deke on Gretzky — a move that had him crossing the red line and earning a penalty. Martin Brodeur was so good at leaving his crease to play the puck that he changed the rules of the game; with the introduction of the trapezoid behind the crease and the new rules around goalie puck handling, Brodeur’s newly minted playstyle was seemingly killed in the cradle. Still, even with the new rules, there’ve been goalies who pushed that envelope, acting as an additional man on the ice and allowing for breakaway passes to a waiting forward on the blue line. And as I sift through Kraken games and other Kraken media, I find out that Joey Daccord is one of them. 

‘At times he acts like a seventh defenseman, or a 13th forward,’ writes Kate Shefte, in her absolute banger of an article on Daccord meshing with the team as he takes on more net duties. I dig a little deeper and find out that, as per the only Kings goal of the match, that this puck handling isn’t without its risks. Some time in third period, not long after the Kraken secure their second goal, the puck comes down the ice. Daccord leaves the net to play the puck. The bounce off the boards is awkward, and catches the receiving player off-guard and sends it right onto the tape of a Kings player, and though Daccord dives for the ensuing puck shot right into his net, his stick misses it by what feels like half-inches. In a twist of unimaginable irony, one of Daccord’s strongest advocates is the person who whiffed the recovery of the bounce.

Justin Schultz — Schultzy for those keeping score — is quoted in that very same Shefte article saying, “He’s so talented back there with the puck. I don’t think I’ve ever had a goalie that plays the puck that well.” All that trust, and in the end to fail at following through with the player you so believed in? It must sting. (Privately, I hope Schultzy is okay. I want all our players to have short term memory for these mistakes and misplays, I want the shining vision I have for a team family to remain.)

It probably won’t be the last time it happens, but this doesn’t phase me one bit; risk for reward is what makes a player exciting to me. Joey’s got to be fearless, and probably a bit cocky, if he’s putting himself out there and breaking conventions. There must be some unshakeable bedrock of self-assurance that has him skating out of the net and playing puck after puck — because even after such an unforced error, he keeps fucking doing it.

What you’ll find if you go looking is a startling consistency in Joey Daccord’s media appearances. Joey Daccord, the relative unknown, has the same sentiments and the same stories as Joey Daccord, the NHL game-winning goalie. You can track his development and his vision year on year as he grows as a player if you look deep enough.

What people have to say about his puck handling is three things: he’s unbelievably patient on the draw, he’s one of the best they’ve ever seen, and he won’t stop if you keep giving him chances. What I find watching and reading his interviews is a sincere and hard working young man who couldn’t give you a canned, media-trained response if you paid him for it. In contrast to some of the absolute cardboard-bland, deadpan responses you might see from even the most talented of players, Daccord finds his way towards something resembling charm. It’s an awkward kind of charm, for sure, one that comes from a kind of self-seriousness that has him reaching for genuine answers while staring off into the distance in contemplation, or dragging out a funny anecdote.

For anyone who’s been around in the Kraken tag, you’ll have seen in real time my stumbling upon a 2020 web interview Daccord agreed to do with two kids who run a YouTube channel called Max and Ben Talk Hockey. It’s got your typical webcam video and audio quality, and it really could use an edit or two — but it captures me from the moment I press play. It was conducted after Daccord recorded ice time with the Ottawa Senators in 2019, and to date it’s one of the longest uncut pieces of Daccord media you’ll find. Joey maintains his absolute determination to be sincere. Where he could’ve just humoured them, he answers all of their questions as seriously as if he was speaking to reporters from the Seattle Times.

In 2021, a year after his talk with Max and Ben, Joey recounts how one of his assistant coaches imparted a vital lesson on mentality and pressure while he played for the Sun Devils. “You’re good enough where you just have to be the average version of yourself,” he says, quoting Mike Field. In that 2020 interview, speaking into his webcam, he echoed the wisdom to Max and Ben: “For me, I try to be Average Joey, because I think Average Joey is a really good goalie. So if I play like Average Joey, it’s going to be above average compared to most people.”

Towards the end of the interview, something he says catches me. The question Max asks is about his experiences being a backup goalie, and how he deals with that.

“You gotta earn your ice,” says Joey, with the certainty of it being a personal mantra. What a soundbite! What an absolutely electric quote — and it was given in the closing minutes of some obscure interview for a channel with less than 300 subscribers, probably half that at the time of recording.

Knowing all of what I know about his personal philosophy, I must recant my statement on his lingering doubts and self-flagellation about previous losses. He might never make excuses, but he carries with him a lesson that no doubt forms the foundations of his seemingly endless confidence and resilience — that he can’t be too hard on himself, because that way lies madness, and that Joey Daccord on an average night is more than good enough. 

True to his word, he played like himself, like Average Joey. The Kraken end the game 2-1, with Daccord posting 42 blocked shots — equalling his own franchise record.

And if that’s what Average Joey is like? He’s more than earned his ice.

[anyaeras]

Cut at the stem || L.Weems

Mother Larissa x Daughter reader

summary-Y/n is a bright young girl, who was left by her normie parents when the found out y/n was different, yet y/n was found by a smart kind women, who took her in...part one

Tw- abandonment, fainting, panic attack (small)

Masterlist

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Flash back 5 years ago.

"Momma where we going?" Young y/n asked, at only 5 years old y/n was extremely observant, and bright. Yet when y/n's parents notice a small change, well a big change. Flowers, y/n would act different around plants for sure but the fact that emotions now got tied into it was drawing the lines for her parents.......

Recently y/n had a nightmare, when her mother came to check on her the door was locked shut by thick vines taking all the older women's power to get into that room, when y/n's mother got in she would try not wake y/n up muffling the scream which escaped the older women, she was terrified of her own daughter, the vines had came in to protect young y/n from her mind yet this time they've gone to far for y/n's normal parents.

That's night y/n's parents left her alone in her bedroom sitting down themselves to talk about their options with their daughter. Wondering what to do with this monstrosity of a child.

"She's not normal, what kid grows plants outa their ass, she could've hurt you! Or the baby" y/n's father snapped acknowledging his wife's pregnancy with their second child who was becoming their main focus, he was standing up in the living room pacing back and forth while y/n's mother didn't spare him a glance looking into information

"i got it!....Nevermore Academy, Vermont" y/n's mother spat clicking onto the website for more information

"it's meant for 'outcast', so I'm assuming whatever y/n is becoming?" Her mother said to her father waiting for his response

"Let's pack her things" is all he said before going off to make the traveling plans, you didn't live super close to Vermont but still it was only a 4 hour drive from Albany, your home well at least you thought at the time.

Y/n was once her parents everything, their actual pride and joy, yet with the new baby and these abilities they jumped at the opportunity to push y/n away.

The next day came with a jolt for y/n, the young child woke up in a rush to clean up what was left of the vines unknowing to her that her parents had seen, y/n would go in her day like normal, playing with toys and even going outside for a few hours, until around 8pm, when y/n's father packed the car for the trip, a small bag for y/n. Before telling her to get in the car.

"Momma where we going?" Y/n asked about 30 minutes into the ride.

"Shhh peanut, just take a nap, it's passed your bed time" was y/n's mother response.

Surprisingly the young one was content with that response, maybe due to being so tired from the past restless nights, yet y/n laid down in the backseat, to rest, ignoring the idea of a child safety seat.

Y/n was shaken awake by her father, he didn't hold much emotion to the plan y/n's parents agreed on. While on the contrary her mother didn't spare her a glance she couldn't, not mentally but they didn't see a better choice.

Y/n was still dazed recently being awoken at the last hours of the night almost striking midnight, y/n's father pulled their young child from the car, leading them to a large deep blue gate which read "Nevermore Academy"

"Stay here y/n, I'm gonna go get momma" y/n's father lied threw his teeth handing y/n the small faded pink duffel bag, before walking off like it was normal.

When y/n heard the car start she was confused, yet she stayed put as her father ordered...

Seconds turned into minutes

Minutes turned into hours

And there y/n sat, eventually falling asleep in the mild weather of a Vermont night.

Larissa weems was a well respected woman, she ran Nevermore Academy with ease. It was the early hours of the morning around 5, Larissa was making a cup of tea when the night staff came to her with information about a small child sleeping on the school grounds.

"Well what did you do with the child?" Weems asked confused with the small amount of information.

"Umm Nothing ma'am" security responded leaving Larissa shocked

"You left a small child outside sleeping on the school grounds?" Larissa spat standing up to go to the gates herself, it was idiotic to leave a child sleeping outside no matter what or who that child was.

Larissa Walked outside heading towards the gate as the sunrise peaked, the pink and orange would glow bright, as Weems reached the gate she was met with what Nevermore's security described. A small girl laying on a faded pink duffel bag hiding in the bushes next to the gate.

Weems walked closer to the girl, making her way threw the gate over to the child lying on the ground. Softly shaking the young girl watching her jolt awake.

"Momma?" Was the first word out of y/n's mouth while she looked frantically left and right for her mother, only to be met with a tall, platinum blonde well put together women.

"Shh shh calm down can you tell me your name daring?" Weems asked the young girl

"Y/n...it's y/n" she replied to the older women yet the young one was still frantic

"They left me...they left" was all y/n said and she repeated it over and over.

"Who left darling. I need you to tell me so I can help"

"Momma and dad they are gone" y/n responded which clicked in weems head, this young girl was left by her parents, abandon in a bush, she's never had a case like this, but she knew she could handle it

"Why don't you come with me into that huge building?" Larissa pushed pointing at the castle like structure before reaching out to help the young girl up.

By now nevermore was busy with students running the halls getting to their morning classes, which was completely shocking to y/n along with being intimidating. Weems didn't let students bother her at this moment, heading straight to her office, opening the door and holding it for y/n to make her way into the office.

"Why don't we sit on the sofa over there and talk a bit" weems said sitting down letting y/n sit on the other end while she asked for some more information.

Larissa actually did find out quite a bit of information about the small girl. She was left by her parents last night, she is only 5 years old, it's was disgusting that her parents left her alone outside at 5 years old. Y/n seemed like a sweet young child the idea of abandoning her at a boarding school was confusing to say the very least.

"Y/n how about you stay here for a bit, until we find your family? Sound like a plan" weems offered, gaining a nod from young y/n yet weems had no idea how to find the small girls parents, but she could give her a home until she did, y/n was a bit to young for nevermore classes but weems was experience enough in childcare to watch a young kid for some time.

Little did weems know, this little girl would become her own.

5 years later (now)

"Y/n honey come here" weems yelled up the steps in her apartment, which was still on nevermore campus, today was y/n's first day attending nevermore as a student, she was already well known, as the headmistresses daughter, yet today not only was school stressing her out but it's been 5 years since she was left by her birth givers in a bush, and since she was here she hasn't had any issues with plants or growing vines, and didn't even mention that faded part of her past to her mom, and those ex-parents y/n once had where nowhere to be seen, or heard from, now y/n has been very well loved, weems wouldn't even think of the idea that y/n wasn't her daughter, she raised her, loved and cared for her, and everyday weems tried to show her love.

It was the start of the 2nd trimester at nevermore due to y/n's birthday. This was the earliest she could start, yet weems like any mother helped her get to her first class before leaving her to be a kid.

Clases went as normal, y/n took basic first year clases and didn't exceptionally well, that was until botany, her final class of the day, plant based class.

Walking into the class y/n was overwhelmed with all the plants, which was something she's been avoiding subtly for her whole time here, y/n felt a serge of energy being surrounded by the plants, taking her seat in the class as it filled up, being sat next to a bubbly student known as Enid Sinclair, she was kind, but a little too much for young y/n. As the class started professor Thornhill explained todays experiment

Each student was given a small baby weed like plant, and a small bottle of a plant growth serum, the goal was to give just the right amount so that the plant could sprout a flower, y/n watched as everyone did the experiment around her before, picking up the vile and dropper going to drop the serum into the plant. Yet something felt different, as y/n reached out and thought about the plant growing, it shot up her arm, vines sprouting from the small plant, wrapping over and over on y/n slowly reaching to her neck.

Thornhill was in shock even if a student did the experiment wrong the worst I could happen was a bush may grow not this plant attacking the students, y/n was terrified before breathing and trying to pull into control enough energy to control the plant into going back to its natural state. Y/n was able to do it but it took all the young ones energy, leading her to pass out, students all froze staring at y/n while the professor was calling the nurse to come get y/n

.

.

.

Waking up in the nurses office wasn't ideal for the first day, what really wasn't ideal was her mother standing right above her.

"Y/n darling are you alright? What happened" weems asked bending down to her daughters level, confused on what she'd been told, y/n couldn't have powers she was just a girl left behind, right?

Y/n panicked she didn't wanna spill her secret she didn't wanna be left again, she couldn't handle being left again, it took y/n a very long time to trust weems alone, she couldn't handle having to find a new home...again?

"Y/n i need to know what happened?" Weems pressed her daughter not cause she was nosey but honestly the women was worried about her daughter, but weems realized y/n wouldn't open up, not when they were in the nurses office with people around, leading weems to lift y/n out of the nursing cot and heading off to their corders.

Setting y/n down on the sofa in their living room area, allowing the small girl to breathe before Larissa pressed for information

"Y/n, my darling please tell me what happened?"

"The plants and I are connected, I've been able to manipulate plants since I was 3, but after my birth givers found out, they left me, y/n hiccuped trying to stop her sobs... I didn't want you to leave me" was all y/n could get out before breaking down. weems was quick to wrap her arms around y/n.

"My darling, I would never leave you. You are my little flower. Forever" larissa whispered into her daughter ear still holding y/n close for as long as that little girl needed....

And that little faded pink duffel bag still never moved....Part 2 is coming 😏

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AN- IM BACK, also I did not proofread this so get what you get, also my request are open feel free to send some ideas and I will get right to writing part two as I am excited for this Larissa series 

[crystalelemental]

Finally got myself starting on Final Fantasy 9 properly, and have some general thoughts.

For clarity, I am through the first disk's content and got through most of the Treno stuff.

Kinda like FF8, my recollections of the first playthrough of FF9 all those years ago revolve around a single point: the party split. I dreaded this. I remember absolutely hating the split, because Zidane's party is left with exactly no healing at all, and you have to deal with Potion as your only means of healing. Which costs money. But money is tight in this game because you can't ever sell equipment, because all your equipment has unique skills and different equipment doesn't always pass those particular skills to every character so you kinda just need to keep everything. As such, I remember this segment being a nightmare.

I am pleased to announce, not as bad as remembered.

For one thing, magic...kinda sucks? Again? PS1 era did not like magic, huh? Vivi's T1 spells are functionally useless, but more than that, it's the issue of MP. It's so low that you only get a few casts in any given stretch of time, only to find in boss fights that Vivi contributes less than everyone else just stabbing a target. Garnet isn't exactly much better, given that her healing is only useful a couple of times anyway.

The main reason to miss Garnet, then, is honestly the exploration phases where you need occasional pop heals. Those sections were a little difficult to break into, and required some Mandragora farming for cash. Which...I've done a lot of, I'm not gonna front. I'm also dirt poor again. The streamers I've been watching keep joking about FF12 having no money, but man FF9 feels way worse than 12 ever did.

Anyway, boss fights are the big hangup I have. While the exploration phases are difficult at times, they're at least fast-paced and zones are easily understood just by looking, unlike the other PS1 era games. So I'm overall enjoying this more than the last two from gameplay, at least. The problem is bosses suck.

Here's an example: this morning, my wife took a break from her game to nap around 8:45. We go on a walk and lunch date on Saturdays, usually leaving around 10, so I figure hey, I've got about an hour. I book up the game to play, having just finished all the Chocobo Forest and Qu's Marsh stuff, and about to press to Gizamaluke Cave. I spend about three minutes getting over there, about 12 exploring the cave thoroughly, about 35 fighting the boss, and about 5 getting the next Blue Mage skill (I'm using a guide to indicate Blue Magic, given that Quina is mandatory for an indeterminate amount of time).

"What the hell kept you?" you may ask. "Surely the boss wasn't that hard." It wasn't. I won first try. "It shouldn't take that long, though?" It does. Because of Zidane. Zidane is the main character. He is also a thief. Which means they had to design a system that makes thieving important. Thus, equipment having all the unique skills and such. Bosses have equipment. It's unclear whether you can buy them later (so far everything can be, but how long it takes varies), but even with that, the economy is in shambles, and you likely don't want to spend the money for it. So you spend an ungodly amount of time trying to steal semi-rare equipment, with Zidane failing some 40+ actions in a row for no reason, as your party just sits around waiting for him to do his singular fucking job, draining your Potion stocks from like 90 to 30.

I will admit that to some degree, I may be overly concerned about the stealing mechanic. But I also am 100% certain there will be unique steals sooner or later. I'm kinda surprised they haven't already happened. And in a game where equipment matters so much not just for its own sake, but for learnable skills? Now I need to get everything. The brain disease compels me. The only one I let go was Beatrix, because I didn't feel like resetting after all those scenes just for her rare drop. Turns out it was a sword you can buy almost immediately, so apparently sometimes the game plays pranks.

I dunno. This feels very similar in structure to FF8. What's the functional difference between spending 30 turns drawing magic for everyone, or spending 30 turns stealing? Answer: in the former, your characters are all doing something, and "Draw heal spells" is usually an option. In the latter you just get the piss beat out of you while Zidane does fuckall for 30 of god's own minutes. And yeah, maybe like FF8 there are better ways of doing this, and I'm not really required to do all of this. But shit dude, without encyclopedic knowledge of the game, how am I supposed to know this isn't unique stuff? So the compulsion is reinforced.

I don't dislike the game, I just wish that stealing mechanics weren't always so terrible. I legitimately hate having to do stealing in Final Fantasy games, I feel like it's never good. There's always some stupid shit about rare steals and unique equipment and it drives me nuts. I suppose this game isn't too different in that regard. I just wish it wouldn't.

(also I am actively avoiding the minigame discussion. I hate catching frogs. I hate Chocobo Hot and Cold. Minigames in this era of Final Fantasy are intolerable.)

[serafiel-jacobs]

Christmas (FANFIC)

A new chapter from my main series <3

(Yes Christmas chapter in November, but according to Mariah Carey it's already Christmas)

Christmas Eve had finally arrived at Krat, it was a beautiful night, filled with so many stars in the sky, the streets were filled with lights and decorations, it might have been night time but there was plenty of light surrounding all of Krat, Pinocchio was fascinated by all the decorations, it was almost like a competition of who could have the prettiest house or the prettiest business store, the snow gently fell from the sky. He wanted to take a look at everything, but they had to make their way into the hotel, Pinocchio was beyond ecstatic to arrive, he was carrying two suitcases, one for the gifts he bought and the other,

“Pinocchio, we are going to stay a few nights at the hotel, from Christmas Eve to New Year’s”

Pinocchio almost jumped with joy when his father had told him about staying at Hotel Krat for a few days, it would be wonderful, he could have so much time to spend with everyone.

The hotel was almost empty, everyone was with their families that day, mostly those staying were just passing by Krat, leaving the next day for their actual destination.

Pinocchio and his father were the first to arrive at the hotel, excluding Polendina and Antonia of course, next to arrive were Venigni and Pulcinella, lastly, Eugéne arrived “I didn’t think so many people would shop for weapons on Christmas Eve” It looked like no matter the business, they all have to deal with late Christmas shoppers.

Spring was there, wearing a fluffy red sweater, decorated with white deer, the cat was sleeping on top of the shelf at the reception, she would join them after her nap.

Pinocchio and his father got settled in one of the rooms, a queen size bed for each, by the bed table, there was a small box, decorated like a tiny bed, made specially for Gemini, “You can take it home with you once you return, it’s an early gift on my part” Gemini was happy that Lady Antonia had thought of him.

Once they had settled, they went into the same room that held Pinocchio’s birthday party a few months ago, the celebration was much like his birthday, talking about what everyone had been up to, they all exchanged their respective gifts, Eugéne was specially happy about hers if it wasn’t for the cold, she definitely would have been wearing it by now. Antonia gave him a long hug, this time it was her who didn’t want to let go, Polendina gracefully thanked him for his gift, Venigni was so ecstatic about the gift, after 5 minutes of singing praises to Pinocchio, Pulcinella gave thanks to the boy as well.

An hour had passed, and everyone was talking with each other, Pinocchio was starting to feel thirsty, there were so many bottles on the table with drinks, he knew a few of them were wine since he had seen wine bottles before, he was curious about how they tasted but his father didn’t allow him to drink, besides he had been told before that if you are thirsty its best to drink water, that’s something that would actually hydrate you, Pinocchio took a bottle with a transparent liquid, he didn’t give it much thought as he poured himself and entire glass to drink, he was so thirsty that he drank it all at once, it was odd, it tasted funny, it didn’t taste like water, at that moment Geppetto had turned to look at his son and began to panic.

“Pinocchio, that’s not water that’s-“

Pinocchio felt dizzy, and in an instant, he fell onto the floor and passed out.

“…vodka” Geppetto went by his son’s side, he was fully panicking now, Venigni helped him lay his son on a couch, Geppetto had to be constantly reassured that his son would be fine, that it might have been a lot of alcohol but he had dealt with a lot worse, after giving him a check-up, he was fine, well, aside from the fact that he was completely knocked out and that he most likely would have a headache in the morning though.

It was a shame Pinocchio was so excited for Christmas, “That idiot, why didn’t he read the label?” Gemini was frustrated, if he had been by his side when it happened, he wouldn’t have let him drink that, Gemini was the one to prevent Pinocchio from being careless, but he had been left behind with the others when Pinocchio went for a drink.

“Look at the bright side Geppetto, at least after this, he will never try to touch alcohol again,” Venigni said to lighten up the mood, Geppetto felt at least a bit reassured after that. Spring took the perfect opportunity to jump and sleep on top of Pinocchio, which made everyone fully relax after that, at least the whole ordeal was somewhat amusing.

“Who knows? Maybe if he gets married, he would drink at his wedding” Pulcinella teased, he was usually quiet, but when he did, he had the same aura as Venigni when it came to it.

“Oh please dear, he doesn’t even know Sophia likes him, someone would have to hold up a sign confessing their love to him and he would still ask just to be sure” Antonia knows that sometimes, men can be clueless when it comes to romantic advances, yet with her son, it was on a completely different level, even at the hotel, everyone could tell when Sophia had fallen in love with Pinocchio, sure, it wasn’t love at first sight, but as time passes, you could just see the change in her, and you could tell that Pinocchio had no idea about it.

“Speaking of Sophia, Geppetto, I believe you owe her an apology, with all those times you kept staring at them from afar when they were both talking”

“What? No, I didn’t” Geppetto tried to deny it.

“Oh Geppetto please, we all saw it, I’m sure Miss Sophia knew and didn’t just didn’t want to say anything” Polendina spoke up this time, he was always at the counter, so he would always see Geppetto spying on them from not too far away.

“I don’t know what all of you are talking about” Geppetto kept insisting, he didn’t want to admit it.

“To be frank, Sophia did talk with me one time, she told me that she found your overprotectiveness a bit creepy” Eugéne was on it too now, there was no point denying it now, Geppetto had no choice but to admit defeat.

“Okay, maybe I did… overhear their conversations from time to time, but I was just, worried about him you know? It’s not like I was only hearing his conversations with her anyways” There was a pause, and now everyone was giving him a teasing smile, Geppetto realized what he said.

“Wait, wait, wait, no, I mean-“ Geppetto’s face was red with embarrassment.

“My friend, you have to be honest with yourself, you are pretty nosey when it comes to your son’s life, maybe less now than before, but still” Venigni was being real, Geppetto might have come a long way, and he is proud of him for that, but it was foolish of him to not realize how he could come across as, besides, it was fun to tease him like that.

“Fine, I get it, I’m father of the year” Geppetto gave out a frustrated sigh, “I still can’t believe I was acting like that, I was such an idiot”

“Yes, you were, but I’m glad you came to your senses,” Antonia said. Geppetto laughed, sometimes, you just have to be humbled about your mistakes. Antonia was happy to hear him laugh, it was a sign of a new point in his life, he was no longer torturing himself with the mistakes he made, and he was no longer sensitive enough to not take a joke about his past behavior.

“Although, Pinocchio did all did all sort of strange stuff while on his journey” Eugéne was fascinated with the things he told her, also fascinated by his creativity, the weird weapons they made together were so much fun, and it was thrilling to make what you could with escarce materials.

“When will you give us the full scoop Gemini?” Pulcinella asked he was actually quite curious, and Gemini was the only one, aside from Pinocchio, who knew everything that happened

“You have no idea how many times danger came out of nowhere, it was as if we were in a horror story!” Gemini remembers all those times that puppets or monsters came out from a corner, or that suddenly ambushed them, or the many times traps have been laid out for them.

“Well, unlike horror stories, at least we all got to live by the end” Eugéne was so glad about that, thinking about it, it was quite a miracle they all managed to survive.

They all kept talking until midnight when they decided it would be best to go to bed, Venigni helped Geppetto carry Pinocchio back to their room, and lay him on the bed, with a few protests from Spring, the cat liked to take Pinocchio as her personal bed.

Geppetto covered his son with a blanket, he didn’t want him to be cold, and everyone else went to bed as well.

——————-

Pinocchio woke up with a headache, he tried to get up, but couldn’t, so he sat down on his bed.

“Good morning son” His father was looking at him with a smile, “how are you feeling?”

“What… what happened? My head hurts” Pinocchio was confused, he remembered the gift-giving, and that he got up to do something, but he couldn’t remember anything else.

“You accidentally drank vodka instead of water”

“Is vodka bad?”

Oh his poor son has no idea, “It’s very concentrated alcohol, it can make you very sick, you drank some and passed out”

“Wait, no, what? I missed Christmas?!” Pinocchio started to cry. Geppetto sat by his son’s side, comforting him.

“That’s what you get for not reading the labels, what if it was poison?!” Gemini shouted at him.

Pinocchio wanted to say something, but he felt the headache getting worse, now even feeling dizzy. Geppetto knew this would happen, so he helped his son go to the bathroom where he began to vomit all of the alcohol out of his system. “I’m never ever touching a bottle of alcohol again”

Looks like Venigni was right. Geppetto rubbed his son’s back and held his hair, he helped him back to the bed, Pinocchio fell asleep again, Geppetto never thought he would see his son have a hangover, he felt relief that it was just that, with that amount of alcohol he almost thought his son would get alcohol poisoning.

In the evening, Pinocchio woke up again, his father gave him plenty of water to drink, he had to stay hydrated, he was starting to feel a little better, Pinocchio no longer had a headache but he still felt too tired.

Antonia came by the room to check on Pinocchio, she stayed by his side and gave him some coffee to make him feel better, Pinocchio was still crying about missing Christmas, so she decided to cuddle him, and spoil him a bit, he was being treated like a prince. Eventually, when he felt better, they went downstairs, the others were waiting for him, they compensated for what happened yesterday by talking for hours, until it was nighttime again, and Antonia had a surprise for her son.

“Pinocchio dear, these came for you yesterday, I believe it’s best for you to read them now that you feel better” Pinocchio looked at his mother’s hand, which was filled with a stash of letters, Pinocchio read them one by one, the first one was a letter from The Red Fox and The Black Cat.

———

“Hopefully, this letter will make its way to your hands, we are sorry for not being able to be there by your side, life has been good, too good for us currently, I believe it’s all thanks to you, fate was too kind for letting us meet, and I know it will let us met again,

have a merry Christmas brother”

———

“Dear friend, I cannot thank you enough for saving my life and giving me comfort in what became of my partner, I’ve gone back to my regular soldier duties, and hope I can protect others the way you protected Krat”

From: Belle

———

“My friend, you have saved me, in more ways than one, I’m out there, finally living my life; I have to hide my appearance, but I am finally free now, thank you, for everything.

From: 826

PS: Still looking for an actual name!

———

“Pinocchio, I must thank you for all you have done for me, I am no longer a rookie explorer, I am a real explorer, and you inspired me to become the best, I hope our paths may cross again.

From: Hugo

———-

“I’m still here, alive and well, don’t let those rumors trick you, and don’t be so stupid trusting others like me next time, take care boy”

From: Not Alidoro

————

“Pinocchio, I must thank you for saving me, and for telling me what became of my love, after much time mourning, I have found love again, she isn’t a puppet this time, but I will never forget my first wife, and I owe the new life I’m living to you, have a merry Christmas.

From: Julian

———-

“Dear Pinocchio, that feels good to write, I’m glad I have learned your name, I thank you for saving me while at the Cathedral, I believe that you are an angel that God sent to save us all, and you succeeded, maybe the lord bless you, and your loved ones in all your endeavors”

From: Cecile

———

“Merry Christmas, hope to meet you again”

From: Giangio

————

Pinocchio felt an intense wave of relief, knowing that those he encountered on his quest were safe, although for some reason he felt a bit of unease reading Giangio’s letter, but he figured that perhaps he was just still feeling a bit ill, Giangio was a good guy after all, he was always so kind towards him.

The next few days, he spent by his family’s side, until finally, it was time for the New Year.

[hirik0]

Forced Proximity

part 1

Day 1

Soap wakes up in the middel of the night, something heavy laying on his chest. When he put his hand on what ever the heavy think is he feels fur. His sleep sedused brain is ringing his alarm bells in an instant. Full blown panic is washing the sleepines away. What the fuck. Suddenly a wet tongh is liking his face and Soap finally catches on whats going on Riley sneked in this bed using his chest as he pillow. "Jesus Riley scared the shit out of me", he scolds the dog. but Riley dont seems to be to impressed just continuing liking his face using the technic she uses to calm Ghost down after a nightmare. "Okey Riley, thats enough, of the bed", Soap say not apreachiating Rileys attepmed to calm him down. She stops but makes no attempt to leave the bed. "Fuck off Ghost could have told me Riley sleeps in bed with you", Soap groans, Riley placed her head on his chest again snorring lightly. Soaps desites he let Riley have this only for tonight, scratching her neck a littel while he waits to fall asleep again.

The morning walk is to early for Soap, its still dark outsite. But Riley woke him up 20 minutes ago not giving a fuck that Soap dont wake up at 5 am like Ghost. Maybe he can go to bet again, but he somehow has the feeling he Riley will be very determant to keep her daily routine. This will be 5 very long days. "I swear if Roach ends up in medical as well I'll lose it", Soap says to himself. In his still sleepy brain he doesn't registers that Riley noticed a squirle again. And Riley is ready to chase the littel rodent, the second it hits the ground. After a few seconds of Soap and Riley looking at the squirel Soap is catching on, but its to late. Riley jumps forward ripping the leash out of Soaps hand. And off they are, the rodent dashing down the track Riley hot on its heels. Riley really just wants to chase the smaller animal nearly unable to stop in time to not crash in the tree the rodent is rushing up. Soap thinks to himself it to early for any of this, not running after the dog, slowly start walking down the track at a normal passe. When Riley walks up to him with the leash in her mouth Soap first thinks its a now hopefully dead squirel. He sighs when he sees its just the leash. "I will make Price eat his stupid hat", he mutters to himslef when he takes the now wet and dirty leash out ouf of Rileys mouth. Luckely the end the walk with not encountering another rodent. While Riley is eating her breakfast Soap is returning to Ghost room nicking the sleeping shirt. He puts the shirt on a very exited Riley who is wagging her tail so hard shes pushing the food bowl over the floor. Soap ends up dosing off while snuggeling Riley.

The two are on recruite dutty this morning and Riley is boosting the morals of the recruits. Riley just sleeps on a bench near the track, while the recruits run laps. Soap is bitter about this, the dog woke him up in the middel of the night, forced him to stand up at 5 am for a 45 minutes walk and now shes just napping. When the recruits are finishing their laps the bombard Soap with questions about Riley. "She's Ghost K9, that's all you need to now", he says in the hope to stop the questions, but he jsut made it worse. The K9 of the SAS ledgent Ghost, probably the coolest think they saw since beeing on base. "Why is Ghost K9 with you, Sir?", a smal female recruit is asking Soap thinks has the last name Johnson. "Dog sitting her for him." "Does that mean the Ghost is trusting you, Sir?", a black recruit is asking. "Yes, Ghost is trusting me." They dont need to know Ghost is trusting him long before Riley became part of the task force. "Enough, get ready for the obstical curse." The obstacel curse is a desaster. Somehow most of the recruits made it throw base training, with out ever finishing the curse or at least it looks like this. Soap is stoped taking general notes and just writting down who is making it over the wall and out of the pit at this point. He nods when he notes down Johnson making it, shes the smalest recruite in the groupe. The black recruite Miller also gets over the wall with no problem. Riley watches the recruits failing getting over the wall, just like her owner having a fucking hell expression on her face. Ghost would have lost it by now, while beeing a great teacher Ghost has absolte no time for people failing at basic thinks. Soap, infact knowing that Riley can get up this wall, haven see Ghost train it with her is asking himself who a human with two hands can be worse then a german shepard. "15 minute break", Soap shouts before he is saying sometink mean to the next recruite failing the wall. Half way throw the break Riley wanders of from Soap, colecting some pets and head scratches from the recruits.

"Johnson", Soap shouts a plan forming in his head. "Yes, Sir", the young private stands in front off him. He holds out a back of dog treats, he got out of Price ofice to her. "The next time your up the wall, you call for Riely and then tap on the top of the wall twice, Flat Hand, two fast taps. When your down you give her some of treats." "Yes, Sir", Johnson says getting some treats out of the back, before putting them in he pokets of her shorts. Johnson palced herself in the middel of the line when the training is continuing. And when shes up the wall for the 6th time this day he sits on the top before calling for Riley and just as Soap told her taps her hand on the top twice quickly. Riley dashes from Soaps side to the wall. The dog jumps up, placing her front paws on the top of the wall and is down the other site. Soap just nods while even Johnson is impresst by what she just saw before going down on the other site herself to give the dog some treats. After the treats Riley just returns to Soaps sites again looking proud of herself. "As you see Riley here is able to jump over this wall with just as much training as you guys have. And now i want to see every one of you to get over this fucking wall", Soap screams and the privates are scrambeling to follow the order. At the end of the training most of them atleast are able to pull themselves up to the top.

[golbrocklovely]

i’m the anon that sent that shifting n stuff ask! so your college experience counts as shifting (like 100%) and i’d love to hear it!!personally on the fence about the legit science side of it, since small things like the berstein bears and little timeline tweaks I think could be real, and ppl having strong emotional reactions are obviously smthg unless theyre lying (but they dont have a reason to really, and theyre living w the stress of what feels like gaslighting to them). but the tiktok -🌟

see this issue i have of calling what i experienced as "shifting" is i was very much awake and living my life when it happened. hell, even someone else i knew said things felt different (i'll explain in the story) so to me, this wasn't like a very vivid daydream or dream even. but i also can't completely explain what happened logically.

okay, here's what i experienced many moons ago, where i think we switched onto a different timeline.

this is super long and weirdly timely so... strap in lol

how i always described this situation to those that wanted to know about it: imagine taking any room in your house. you have all the time in the world to memorize everything about it. the furniture, the lights, everything. imagine i tell you to leave that room for a couple minutes, and then come back. you do that, and when you come back i tell you that something about this room is now missing. it's up to you to figure out what is no longer there. now, it could be as noticeable as a couch or a chair, right? or... it could a quarter that was under the rug that you didn't know about. that's how annoying this whole thing felt. you know something's different. but you don't know what it is.

this was november of 2017. i was in college. to give a brief run down of my sleeping schedule at the time, i would leave for school (bc i commuted) around 8 am, get there at 9, and then stay at school until 5 pm. then i would get home around 6/7, depending on traffic, and pass out almost immediately. then i'd wake up anywhere around 1-3 am, do homework and whatnot and then literally stay up the entire time until the next day at 6/7 pm again. if i was lucky, i could nap at school (bc my dad worked at my university and i could sleep in his office) or if i didn't have homework i could sleep until the next day when i would have to get ready for school.

so it's safe to say my sleeping schedule was ass lol

i just came home, it was a monday. i think i stayed up a bit later, worked on an art project for school, and then went to sleep around 8/9 pm. i remember falling asleep, i remember deciding i was going to sleep.

i woke up around 3 in the morning. that wasn't odd, i usually always wake up throughout the night. however when i woke up, i was confused as all hell. i didn't have a weird dream, if anything i didn't really dream at all, and when i woke up i just felt really confused, like my room looked different to me or something.

i remember saying out loud, "something feels off", and then i went back to sleep. i slept until the morning when i had to get up, bc i had no other homework that night.

on tuesdays (from what i can remember now since this was so long ago at this point), i would have a 9 am bio class, then i would have a couples hours off, and the around 1 or so, i would go to my art class. i remember distinctively carrying a big ass portfolio to school, or into my dad's office on these days. thursdays, i had a similar schedule. the only difference being i didn't have art, i had a bio lab instead that was a bit later than the art class. this is all important to the story.

i go to school on tuesday, take my portfolio to my dad's office, leave it there, and then go to my biology class. class is normal, nothing out of the ordinary. now, to give you an exact date or time frame of when this all took place, we had a WEEK before thanksgiving break. and i knew my professor wanted our last class together to be a quiz or a test. and our break started on wednesday the following week.

and i remember half way thru class sitting there, wondering why she was teaching us all of this new material when we should have been taking a test. class ended, she said "see you on thursday" and i remember almost raising my hand to say "thursday is thanksgiving". it took me a solid 30 seconds to realize OH, i'm thinking of the wrong dates. it's not the week of thanksgiving, it's the week before.

i started walking back to my dad's office and i thought to myself "what else do i have to do today? nothing, right? i don't have any other classes." (to addon, on mon/wed/fri i only had one class). i get back to my dad's office, see my portfolio and go OMG dumbass, you have art. it was literally the only homework you worked on last night. you always have two classes on tues/thurs.

i was very confused, but shrugged it off. however, i want it to be noted that while i can be forgetful sometimes, when i was in school, i really wasn't. i was on top of my school work and never once need an extension bc i made sure to know when things were due. so to be a week off time wise was really confusing.

fast forward a bit, it's time for my art class. the one thing i LOVED about my campus was that we had flowers all over that were just absolutely gorgeous. i'll even insert the one photo i took of these flowers from a month before this event happened to me (also, ain't creepy that it's also from a tuesday??? also also i had to ss this from snapchat lol):

so as i'm walking to class, i have to pass by these flowers. they looked like this ^^^ literally the day before, and i just generally loved walking by them when i would go on that side of campus.

i stopped dead in my tracks. they were all dead.

they looked burned, like someone had set them ablaze. like, usually when plants like these die there is at least some petals left on the ground. maybe shriveled up and whatnot, but proof that they were once vibrant flowers. i'm telling you, they were all gone and there was no petals anywhere. it was so eerie to me that i felt really creeped out.

i went to class, nothing else really happened. i asked my friend if she felt off that day, and she said no. i went home after my class, repeated the cycle of sleeping and then getting up late.

on wednesdays, i had my one class mid way thru the day, so usually i would spend my mornings going to the library and working on bio lab stuff (which would be due the next day). so i did that, went to my usual spot, started working on my lab. i get a text around 10/11 ish by my friend from my art class (that was also in the same major as me, theater). and she told me the cast list was posted for our final show. this was my senior year and this would have been my last chance to perform. i had only perform twice, and really wanted to get in something else before graduating.

she sent me the cast list, and i didn't make it into anything. i was taken aback bc the director, who was also my adviser, had praised my song choice and thought i sounded excellent and basically kissed the ground i walked on after my audition, which is something that she never did before.

and the thing is, i had not been casted before. so this wasn't new to me. but literally every time, i would cry. it meant a lot to me to be included so when i wasn't i just felt terrible, so i would always cry. i remember digging my nails into my palm and tears welling up in my eyes. i remember looking around at everyone in the library, already feeling embarassed that i was gonna cry publicly. i closed my eyes, and took a really deep breath.

and suddenly, all of the sadness i felt went away immediately. like in a snap, i was suddenly okay. hell, i was more than okay. i was… happy.

not to be too sad sounding, but i'm never happy. well, it's very rare for me to be genuinely, deeply happy. especially back then when i was at one of my lowest and most depressed. but i sincerely was so happy, so relieved. i sped thru my bio lab somehow, left the library early, and when i walked back to my dad's office, i was fucking GIDDY. you ever see in movies when someone's in a good mood they point and wave at strangers?? i was, honest to god, thisclose to doing that bc that's how HAPPY I WAS.

i was deeply confused by all of this tho. bc none of it made sense. how did i forget what week it was so quickly and think i was a week ahead? how did i get over the heartache of missing out on the final chance i had to perform? it was like a week had passed in my mind, and that's why my emotions - anger, sadness, shame, you name it - were all gone within a second.

i genuinely believe that we somehow jumped a week in time. now granted, you could probably chalk a lot of this up to me just being in a weird headspace, forgetting things bc stress, my depression, terrible sleeping habits, ect. i get it. i've gone thru all of those scenarios myself, even to this day.

but the ONE THING that makes me think this actually happened…. is my mom. fast forward to mid decemeber, i remember it was when i was off but my dad wasn't, so me and mom were driving up to my university to pick up my dad from work. i was talking to her about my life and school and whatever. idk what we were talking about exactly, but i said to my mom "i feel like something has shifted. like something changed."

she agreed with me. "yeah, things feel really off anymore." i told her that i've felt this way for a while. and then my mom goes, "have you been feeling this way since the week before thanksgiving? bc that's when i started to feel it."

imma be honest, i don't believe in conspiracy theories. i'm not one to jump the gun on shit like this, but clearly something happened. i'm not sure what, but something changed for me back then. and i think it's bigger than just me and the ppl immediately around me. but that's just how i feel about it.

this was very long and i'm really sorry if this was boring to read lol

[yirrah748]

Chapter Three: To The Seaside (Part Three)

6:30 PM (Cont.)

After they were done picking up what we needed, we proceeded to continue our journey. Oh, I think that I also forgot to mention that we arrived at the region's capital at 6 PM, and the welcome arc picture that Mom laughed at, that's the welcome arc for the capital.

We hadn't arrived at the destination yet, but we were close. Dad's hometown was on the edge of the country, and their house was just a 5 minute walk away from the seaside. Since we weren't quite there yet, I closed my eyes and tried to take a short nap that failed because of the adrenaline rush in my body.

6:45 PM

Driving by, we can see fleeting glimpses of the glistening sea, which my parents and uncle gawked at every time we passed by it. It had been a very long time since we last had visited. About 2-3 years ago? I'm not sure.

I stared at the sea solemnly, it's bright orange hue vivid and clear. We had a lot of fun memories with it, but it's all in the past now. Everything had changed.

7:00 PM

We stopped by a small shop to buy a few gallons of water, which we forgot to buy, causing Dad to slightly reprimand Mom since she had the grocery list.  I plugged my headphones in and turned the music on to max. Luckily, he didn't shout at her, probably because he's back home and in a good mood.

7:15 PM

Thank God we had arrived. I got out of the car and immediately asked Mom our rooms. She told me that both of us would be sleeping in Dad's old room, while Dad sleeps in the living room, and Uncle in uncle's old room.  I gathered my belongings and placed them in our room, then changed to a plain white shirt and yellow paperbag shorts. Once I did, I felt like I could finally breathe.

I went outside and helped them unpack. After that, I looked around the house and realized a musty smell permeated the air because of the still air and dusty furniture. I opened the windows for quite a while until the fresh breeze entered, it didn't last long though since they asked me to close it back because of the mosquitoes.

Having nothing to do, I wiped the dust off the furniture and swept the floor. After that, I went to the kitchen and found my old friend, May, and a few other people, talking to my parents. She glanced at me and smiled widely. I went to her and talked a bit and she asked me if we could go by the seaside. I agreed and asked my parents. They agreed too but told me to come back home early for dinner.  

I packed my sling bag again with the necessities, but added a flashlight this time, which I borrowed from Dad, just in case my phone runs out of battery and we'd have no source of light.

7:30 PM

May and I sat by the sand quietly, hugging our legs up to our chest with our heads hung low. I don't know how to start a conversation. It had been years since our last encounter and she had probably changed. I tried, but it ended up as small talk.

I glanced up at the sky and saw darkness. The clouds covering up the twinkle of the stars. I checked my phone, it's quite late already.

"It's 7:33 PM, do you wanna go back yet?" I asked May.

"Not yet, how about you?"

"Same."

I grabbed a nearby stick and started drawing Shrek on the sand underneath me.

"What's that?" May asked.

"It's-"

"MAYY!! Oh there you are, can you help me over here?!" A distant person shouted from afar, holding a net. I couldn't quite see his face so I don't know who he is, but even if I did see his face, I wouldn't know him. I'm not so familiar with the other natives here.

"Coming!" She stood up and patted herself to remove sand on her body. "I have to go, sorry Bea." She said apologetically then ran.

I'm alone now, but maybe it's for the better. I threw my stick towards the sea and gazed ahead. The sea then retaliated by splashing water repeatedly on my feet, which I found amusing.

It was still quite early before dinner so I walked by the seashore. I was beginning to get farther and farther and then saw a large patch of darkness. I quickened my pace and saw the mouth of a cave.

I opened my flashlight, and headed inside.

8:00 PM…

[TBC, Next update is idk]

Published Nov. 25, 2022

Edited Nov. 29, 2022

[sailingmystic]

Catching up

The fact that I can't keep up with a blog, suggests our lives are busy! There is a lot of catching up to do.

Wednesday evening, July 17 we took John & Emma out for a sail. Although it was light wind, it was a nice evening to be on the water, and I think they enjoyed themselves.

Friday night, we were packing and getting organized to leave for a few days. Saturday morning we left, along with a bunch of other boats for the commodore's cruise to ABYC. The wind was light, and we sailed for a couple of hours, but eventually turned on the motor.

Isaac, Elise and Lana drove down and joined us for the night. Lana slept fairly well, but the folks on the pier were determined to party until after 4:30 am, which really didn't impress me very much. Thankfully, Lana didn't hear them back in the aft cabin, with the fan and white noise, whereas I couldn't shut them out. (I need to pack earplugs for times like this)

The next morning, despite a lousy sleep, we had breakfast together, and a relaxing Sunday. Elise & Isaac went for a bike ride, while Lana had a nap. It's good to be lazy, and not do much for a change.

Really enjoyed our time at ABYC, connecting with friends.

Mid day Sunday, ich we headed out towards the Toronto Islands, and landed at IYC, which we had never stayed at before. We enjoyed the pool, and had a good meal at the restaurant with Pat & Doug, Karl and Andrea. Mystic and Celtic Knot stayed two nights, so we were able to 'lean into' the vacation mode, visiting the pool again, and having cocktails before dinner. It was a nice mini-vacation.

Monday morning, Mystic headed out the Western gap, raised her sails despite the flat water and the light winds. Interestingly, we managed to sustain a solid 3-5 knots of boat speed, and only one tack to Oakville. We took advantage of the light conditions to do some odd jobs on the boat and thoroughly enjoyed our passage.

We were pleased to learn via communication with OYS's commodore, that their visitor dock was open, despite their roaming docks that swept the club not only a week ago. We were really impressed to find many repairs done, and most boats not even showing the scars from last weeks misfortune.

We went out for dinner with Kyle & Lori, after getting ourselved settled. It was so good to see them again!!!

After a leisurely stroll back to the club, we had a drink on the club patio, after admiring some recent renovations, that have added so much to their already lovely club-house.

We met some of their friends, and chatted about where to go next. Our thought was to head south, however we do not have our passports with us, so going State side isn't an option. We wanted to try something new, and had our eye on Newport, but local knowledge suggested that the entry was not deep enough, despite the info in Ports, so we were thinking 50 Point instead.

After a good night's sleep, our usual coffee and some studying of windfinder, we left the Mediterranian style tie up, and headed out the river. We raised both sails, and figured we would go wherever the wind wanted to take us. Comfortably, that was going to be 50 Point, or Port Dalhousie. An hour or so later, Jeff started to notice on the radar, a weather system headed our way. It looked as though it would pass more to the north, so we were not very concerned, but another 30 minutes later, and that same weather system was headed right in our path. We decided to drop the sails, and close up the enclosure, in an attempt to not get wet. Within about 30 minutes, the winds were picking up, white caps forming, and we were enveloped into a squall! Yikes..... what the heck were we doing out there!? and how did we not see this in our preparations?!?

Jeff did a great job pointing Mystic straight into the wind/waves. The squall lasted longer than we though. It turned into a full out storm, with lightening, and heavy downpour. We didn't see any hail, or ships, thankfully. Mystic kept us safe. Our electronics worked beautifully (although the wind speed we don't think was accurate - neighbouring boat claimed that he saw 50 knot gusts, and sustained 35-45 knots). Who knows..... We will have to investigate at some point, although maybe ignorance is bliss??

We ended up landing in StoneyCreek's Newport Yacht Club. We were able to make a run for it, when the sky began to brighten, and the winds settled. A fellow boater who was also caught in the storm, caught us on their pump out wall.

For the remainder of the afternoon, storm cells kept passing by, bringing wind, rain, then sunshine. The dock master was very welcoming and showed us around the quaint club, with lovely new facilities. (they have their own dredger for the channel, which keeps it at 7' throughout the summer)

With the unsettled weather, we opted not to take out the bikes, and just reset The stormy passage took more energy than one might think, but we are glad to be relaxing in this 'new to us' port. It feels as though we have discovered a new little hideaway.