#as if majoring in COMPUTER SCIENCE of all things would fix depression. 100% would make it worse lol

[kalashtars]

in this moment i think if i had a time machine i would go back in time to the me before freshman year of college who was considering majoring in computer science and say that it's maybe a good idea, actually.

nothing like the last 2 weeks of the semester to make you question every life decision you've ever made

[thatdiscovampirething]

Some headcanons about Oswald and Ed’s childhoods/earlier lives, and then of their lives together.

(the childhood sections are both pretty depressing, and Ed’s in particular has some details of ableism and emotional and physical abuse)

Oswald

After Gertrud was thrown out of the Van Dahl house, she did consider getting the situation ‘taken care of’. She never trusted doctors (neither does Oswald really, unless it’s an emergency, which is a whole other post), and ended up visiting a back alley abortionist/midwife. She couldn’t bring herself to go through with it though, and the same woman she visited ended up delivering Oswald a few months later in Gertrud’s apartment. (Her name’s Annie, she’s irish, and could kick your ass despite being like, 80 now)

Gertrud smoked while she was pregnant, and only quit after Oswald was born because it was one of the few things she could cut out of her budget to afford to feed them both.

Gertrud worked a series of low paid kitchen and waitressing jobs, and the two of them moved around quite a bit. It wasn’t until Oswald was 10 that they finally settled in the same apartment they share in season one. That was the first time they’d lived somewhere where Oswald could have a bedroom of his own.

In addition to giving him an Americanised last name, Gertrud was determined that Oswald was going to speak English ‘properly’ despite it not being her first language, and used to read to him from some decidedly archaic books. They also didn’t have a TV for a long time but they did have a radio.

Gertrud used to buy Oswald’s clothes from thrift stores, in sizes way too big for him, so that she could take them in and then let them back out again as he grew.

Gertrud never had any boyfriends or lovers, as far as she was concerned, Elijah was her one true love and there couldn’t be anyone else. Anyway, so long as she had Oswald she would never be lonely so what did she need anyone else for...

They never had a computer (Oswald still doesn’t ‘get’ computers, which Ed finds both sort of cute and endlessly frustrating), but they did have a typewriter that Oswald did homework assignments on.

Oswald never went to prom. Senior year he got dressed up, told his mother he was going and let her take photos, then went out and stole a bottle of whiskey and drank most of it on a bench by the docks. He got picked up by the cops (led by a still in uniform at the time Harvey...) having fallen asleep there, and spent the night in the cells.

He never went to college because they couldn’t afford it. That’s the reason he gives anyway. In reality, one of his teachers had been pushing pretty hard to get him a scholarship - his grades were good enough - but it would have meant him moving out of state, and that would have broken Gertrud’s heart.

Ed

Ed grew up in the suburbs outside of Gotham

His parents, Mr and Mrs Nashton, were high school sweethearts who got married soon after graduation. It was not a good idea and they were pretty miserable together, and had Ed hoping a baby would fix all their problems. Spoiler alert, it did not.

The Nashtons were comfortable enough financially. Not wealthy but not struggling, at least not until Mr Nashton lost his job when Ed was in his teens, which caused a major downturn in their already rocky relationship.

Nobody ever really suspected anything was wrong in the family because it was all very much behind closed doors, and it wasn’t all terrible 100% of the time. Ed’s dad had been a football player, a real mans man with a set idea of what he thought his son should be like, and any time Ed showed any sign of living up to that he would latch onto it and things would be okay for a while. He taught him how to ride a bike, he built him a tree house... but Ed used his bike to ride to the library, not go off on adventures with other kids. The tree house didn’t have a ‘no girls allowed’ sign on it and a gaggle of boisterous preteen boys hiding out in it, just quiet little Ed with his books and his puzzles. Mr Nashton didn’t understand Ed in the slightest and took out all his frustrations about how his own life turned out on him, starting with emotional put downs when he was small and escalating into more physical stuff when he was older.

Mrs Nashton was no better, resenting Ed for not being the magic bandaid baby she’d hoped for and wishing she’d made other life choices. The older and less ‘cute’ he got the less effort she put into pretending she was happy being a mother.

Ed was never tested as a child to confirm if he was autistic or neurodivergent in any way, because his ableist father refused to even contemplate the idea. Didn’t stop him calling Ed a ‘freak’ later in life.

Young Ed wore a lot of oversized sweaters and went through a bow tie phase in high school.

Ed did go to his prom, and spent the whole evening trying to work up the courage to ask a pretty girl from his science class to dance. In the end he ended up asking her if she wanted some punch, despite the fact that she was already holding a cup, before disappearing back into the shadows to berate himself for being a loser.

After the final big showdown with his father about the SATs, Ed made the decision that as soon as he could leave home he was going to and would never look back. He applied for college in Gotham City, organised all his own loans and financing, moved into halls, changed his name to Nygma and never looked back.

The key difference really is that Gertrud and Oswald didn’t have any money but they had each other, while Ed didn’t want for much in terms of material things but didn’t have any sort of emotional support system. They were both lonely, outcast little boys, but Ed’s family placed the blame for that solely on him while Gertrud blamed everyone else.

They’ve ended up with very different skill sets. Ed can cook gourmet meals and has pretty advanced medical knowledge, Oswald knows how to survive on 5 dollars a week and has an extensive list of folk remedies for things. Ed’s good with technology, Oswald isn’t squeamish about dealing with rats and roaches. They can both sew, and they’ve agreed to disagree on the matter of spiders (Ed wants them gone but doesn’t want to get near enough to deal with it, Oswald would rather have spiders than flies and anyway killing spiders is bad luck).

Ed doesn’t have a lot of good memories surrounding the holidays, after the age of around 8 they just started getting really tense and unpleasant. Oswald meanwhile has all of Gertrud’s old Christmas ornaments, including ones he made as a kid, and loves decorating the manor. He tones it down a lot when he realises how it affects Ed, but Ed likes seeing him happy so it all balances out.

Ed has attempted to get Oswald into video games, but Oswald never quite got the point of them and generally just watches Ed play. Also Ed uses all sorts of abbreviations in text messages to get more information into them, often eschewing punctuation in favour of word count unless he’s trying to make some sort of grammar related point. Oswald writes texts like he’s writing a letter, no matter how many times Ed has pointed out that he doesn’t have to sign off at the end, it says who it’s from at the top of the screen...

Oswald introduced Ed to bubble baths. Ed still prefers showers for actually getting clean, but he now at least gets the ‘fun and relaxing’ side of baths.

[theforestwarden]

I didn’t know that I was starving (till I tasted you) | Molly & Forest

Flashback depicting the marvelous date between Forest and @scribeswhocode  that happened on 2/14/17 that I know you all want to know about  ;)

“Hey keep them closed Missy” Forest chided as he guided Molly into the apartment his entire body practically buzzing. He’d been so anxious about this night he was running on like 4 hours of sleep, but everything was going so well now that the anxiety had turned into excitement.  “Alright. Now you can open!” He said sweeping his arm out towards the dining room. He’d put everything out just before he left, the completely 100 percent Kosher vegetable lasagne salad and garlic bread all spread on the table, next to the beautiful center piece of tiny christmas lights and  flowers and from one of the plants in his room.

More than anything else, ​Molly​ had spent the majority of the day stressing about what to wear. After receiving the message from Forest and then receiving his gifts, Molly had left work early to head straight home and try to pick out her outfit before deciding nothing was right and going out to buy an entirely new one. She felt like her usual floral dresses and sweaters weren't quite enough for this. Two hours later and Molly was back at her apartment, finishing getting ready while she waited for Forest to show up. She had bought a long sleeved red t-shirt dress that went down just below her thighs and a pair of new short high heeled boots that were ridiculously uncomfortable because she hadn't had time to break them in. She was trying to give be different this time around, so she bought a black choker and applied a little more eyeliner than usual. Instead of straightening her hair or tying it into a bun as usual she tried to curl it lightly and let the waves fall more naturally. When Forest showed up she thanked him for the gifts before realizing that there were even more in the car. What the heck was she supposed to do on his birthday? After the ride her eyes were being covered as she was lead into the apartment and into the dining room where her vision was restored and she could see just how beautiful the place was set up. "Holy- Oh my- This is incredible. Truly. Wow." She spun in a circle around the room, taking in the whole thing before settling back on Forest. "Wow. Thank you so much

Beaming slightly, his cheeks now the same color as his new little red bow tie (yes he bought one thing for himself in all of this planning because he always wanted a science nerd red bow tie) Forest tried to shake off the praise. “It’s no problem,” he said walking over to  the table and proceeding to pull out her chair for her “I mean it’s not everyday you’ve got to celebrate a holiday and a birthday at once.” Because it wasn’t. Molly was the first person he knew who had one on a major holiday, and well he guessed he just wanted to make sure their first valentine's was special, as well as her birthday, and their first date. Even if it all happened to be rolled into one. Smoothing his navy blazer down over his button down though Forest waited for Molly to sit, mouth watering over all the food in front of him. And he’d be lying if he said he didn’t sample some of it, but he’d also skipped lunch to make it so all of that started canceling each other out. “And like I said in my invitation everything is Kosher” He winked at her.

Molly was laughing as she sat down in the chair and waited for Forest to do the same before she started filling up her plate with food. She had never doubted that Forest would remember that she could only eat Kosher food. "Well don't worry you're doing great." Molly smiled widely at him, "Besides I've never really counted Valentines day as a real holiday anyways." Granted, she had never had a boyfriend before either which could have had something to do with that. Once her plate was completely filled she started digging in and had to pause to just savor the moment. She knew Forest was a good cook, so it really shouldn't have surprised her buy just how good it all was. "This is freaking delicious."

Smiling silently to himself at Molly’s praise Forest piled his plate high with food after his girlfriend, happy that there was still a little steam coming off the lasagne. He had nothing to judge this off of so he was reviled that he wasn’t letting her down.  “I mean i can see the commercialization of it, but I don’t know. I’ve always loved love so any excuse to celebrate that to me is worth it.” Forest  replied before taking a bite of food. Molly was right it was pretty good, especially since he made it differently than he usually did. “Thanks.” Forest blushed. With all the praise, and well just his unbelievably breathtaking girlfriend sitting next to him, he was probably just going to have to get used to wearing a permanent blush on this date “I mean it wasn’t that hard of a recipe.” He continued shaking it off a little “I can give it to you if you want.”

Between bites of food, ​Molly​ feared talking with her mouth full so she tried to keep conversation to the bare minimum. The last thing she needed was to embarrass herself on this date. Not that Forest would even care, because she knew that he wouldn't. He would probably just laugh it off with her and go on with his night as if nothing had happened. It wasn't like Molly's face could get any more red than Forest's already was tonight. "I get the point of it. Both points. The capitalism and the love part. I think it's important for first time couples to celebrate it. I just think if you're like three years into a marriage and still worried about getting your wife flowers or else she will get mad at you then something is wrong." Molly found herself going on the rant before she could realize that now, on a date during Valentine's day probably wasn't the time to speak of her disdain for the holiday. She was so used to being that moody lonely kid hating Valentines day not only because she was single, but also because it took the attention away from her birthday. "And now is not the time for that at all." Molly laughed and stuffed her face with more food before she made a bigger full of herself. At the thought of the recipe, Molly just gave a thumbs up until she was done chewing. "Or I can make you cook it again and help you so I learn how to make it. Like a couple thing. Where I get food."

Nodding Forest took a sip of his water, trying to make everything in the woefully normal glass last as long as it would in his big cup. Because he wasn’t a Leshy tonight ok. He was just a normal guy on a normal date with his beautiful and normal Jewish girlfriend. “Yea. I mean like I said” He continued placing his fork down for a moment “I think if you’re celebrating love in your own way, that’s the true meaning of the holiday. If you’re just buying overpriced flowers and candy because you think its expected, then that’s when it’s a problem” Wiping at his mouth with his napkin however Forest was a bit relieved when she changed the subject to something more cheerful. Like mooching food off of your ever dutiful boyfriend.  “I’m sensing the beginning of a trend here” Forest smirked as he lifted another forkful to his mouth. It was more of a tease than anything serious and he hoped it showed. Because he literally would cook Molly anything she wanted if it meant he simply got to spend time with her. “But I’ll let it slide seeing as how I like to cook, and you like to eat. It’s a win win all around” He winked at her again.

Molly nodded her head in agreement with what Forest was saying, mostly because she had no interest in going back to the subject of Valentine's day on Valentine's day. It was oddly depressing. Of course the Holiday was based on a guy getting beheaded for marrying people, so apparently the rest of the world used to think about love the same way Molly would like to think she used to. She knew that she had always been a hopeless romantic, but had no interest in admitting that. "It's totally your fault for admitting that you like to cook and then agreeing to date a girl you know is ridiculously hopeless at it. So I don't feel bad for you at all." She decidedly cut it off by taking a dramatic bite into her food and giving a wide smile at him.

Scoffing slightly at her words Forest chewed the bite of lasagna he had just taken shaking his head in the process. She’d gotten this far in life so Forest had to figure she was probably able to cook more than she was letting on. But he liked this banter between them now, and the more they hung out together the easier it seemed to fall off of his lips. “You going to fix all my computer problems then?” Forest questioned mirroring her smile. “Because if i’m going to cook for you it’s only fair you save me from the technology I don’t understand” He waved his fork at her teasingly, glad that they could not tease each other like this. I mean it wasn’t that they hadn’t been able to tease each other before but now. Now it seemed more appropriate. More loving. Now it seemed as if, well they didn’t have to hold back bits and pieces or something. They could just be Molly and Forest. Molly and Forest in love.

Molly groaned sarcastically, the smile never leaving her face. "That is totally unfair." She crossed her arms to pout like a seven year old child and feigned anger. "All you have to do is make good food and you're asking me to work miracles? I think I'm really getting the short end of the stick here." It was mostly a joke. After all, Forest wasn't a complete lost cause when it came to technology. Mostly. He at least knew how to turn a laptop on and find the internet browser and he had caught onto Mario Kart quick enough.

“Is it though?” Forest replied with a twinkle in his eye. Yea teaching him about technology might be a little bit more of a feat than him simply cooking for Molly, but hey, who doesn’t like a good challenge. Plus he was starting to get that whole Mario Kart thing. “And it’s only the short end of the stick if I start beating you at your own game.” He smirked at her before shoving another large bite in his mouth. Chewing and swallowing though Forest placed his fork down for a few seconds patting at his mouth with his napkin “So how was your day?” He asked genuinely interested in how her birthday had gone for her.

Molly couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Forest actually rising above the challenge and beating her at anything that involved technology. "Yeah, Sure Jan." Molly joked at him. Forest probably didn't even know the sure Jan meme, and yet he was trying to say he would beat Molly at her own game some day. Ha. Cute sentiment from the tree boy. "I'll believe that when I see it." Molly was pleasantly surprised that she could be happy about her birthday. Her birthday on Valentine's day had always been somewhat of a sore spot, but she never actually cared much because she spent it with her family. This year, she was expecting things to be much worse than they actually were. "It was fantastic. I spent it working and then with Bridget and now with you. Can't complain too much. How about you?"

Looking a her Forest raised a single confused eyebrow. He was used to references going over his head but this one seemed like something he should know. Especially if Molly knew it! But going about with another mouthful Forest shrugged it off, figuring Molly would either explain or just let it go too. “And you will see it” He replied “i’ve been practicing!” Because he had been, at least with Mario Kart, and his laptop, and phone. So there were at least a couple things he would be able to do better! Hopefully. Maybe one day. Chuckling softly at his own technological ineptitude though Forest shook it off figuring this was one battle would probably never win and instead when about detailing what he did during his day today. “School, a smidge of work, and then cooking so pretty good myself” He smiled softly at Molly before breaking the eye contact to go back to eating. Swallowing his current forkful of Lasagna though he asked the question that be burning in his mind since he woke up today “Any good presents today besides mine?” He was grinning at her now.

"Bridget made me some super cute cupcakes" Molly smiled. She had had a few at work but the rest were all sitting on her counter at the apartment, "I'll let you try one when you come over next." If she didn't eat them all first. She rarely kept any food in her fridge that could be considered real food, so those cupcakes might have to play breakfast every now and again. As she was finishing up her food she asked Forest curiously, "So what's next after dinner?"

“Aww that’s nice” Forest replied smiling. He was happy that some of Molly’s friends did something for her too. Just so she had more than one person in her corner on her special day. “But yea. I’ll have to try one, if they aren’t gone by the time i get ther” He winked at Molly. He’d seen the inside of her fridge a few times, so he knew that she was not always the best eater in town. He’d have to set a reminder to cook for her more so she got something nutritious and filling every once and awhile. Waving his fork around slightly as she asked what was next forest tried to keep himself casual. “Well I guess that’s up to you. Like I said I’ve got lots of things we could do, like lounge in a wonderful pillow fort for instance” He grinned over at her. “But first we’ll have to get the cake and sing Happy birthday! Can’t forget that.”

"I can probably save one for you at least" ​Molly​ smiled, happy that the two were basically thinking the same thing. Even if the thoughts they had were usually at Molly's expense. Should she be happy or embarrassed that the two of them were both thinking the same thing about Molly's awful diet? "A pillow fort? Yes yes yes please. I love pillow forts!" She was getting a bit too excited about the pillow fort probably, but luckily the idea of Forest singing to her was enough to calm her down a bit at least. "Oh no. No singing happy birthday. I hate it enough in crowded restaurants I don't need you singing it to me. Plus, I'm the singer of the two of us. The only song that is acceptable for you to sing is Color of the Wind." She laughed at her own joke. Color of the Wind. Good one.

“I’ll take that.” Forest replied with a nod “Though if it’s between you not eating breakfast or something and me getting a cupcake, take the cupcake” Because he literally would not be upset at all. He just wanted Molly to eat. Sensing how excited she was about the pillow fort though Forest blushed a bit, he didn’t know shes be that into it, but it was nice. “Well if you’re this excited about a pillow fort, wait till you see what’s inside” Because oh yea she was probably going to flip when she say the laraoke machine. “Sorry, but its already decided” He put his hands on the table when she mentioned that she didn’t want him singing happy birthday, “you are getting an off key rendition of Happy Birthday. And then possibly Listen to Your Heart, because Grandmother Willow just understands me ok.” Forest replied with a grin, happy that he actually got the reference. I mean he hoped she was referencing Pocahontas, which one of the few disney movies he was actually able to watch during his childhood.

Molly scratched at her head, already embarrassed for Forest's singing before he even had the chance to do it. Was it possible to die of embarrassment for someone else? She supposed she was about to find out. "Listen to your Heart is totally acceptable. It's a great song." She skipped over the part about not eating breakfast, the less she talked to people about that the better. She disliked the idea of people feeling bad for her. Considering it was so easy to feel bad for her right now, she usually just chose to neglect sharing information that she felt was especially embarrassing to preserve everyone's sanity. She could argue with somebody all day against their pity, which wasn't productive to any party involved. "Okay. Well let's get it over with. Bring it on."

“Good because that is what I will be singing” Forest nodded, hoping the karaoke machine had a full range of disney medleys on there, as there was no way he was singing acapella. Plus he was sure Molly would want to use it straight away. So he and grandmother Willow could help break it in. Wiping his mouth through for the last time though Forest sighed “Well if the lady doth commands”, he said getting up from his spot with a grin “Anyways I will be right back with your cake so you better not dine and dash on me” He stuck out his tongue at her before disappearing into the kitchen for a couple of minutes a small home made cake with Molly’s favorite frosting and ablaze with candles in his hands upon his return.

Molly felt like she could finally take a breath when Forest left the dining room to grab the cake. She couldn't quite pin down why it was that she felt so nervous about all of this. Maybe it was just because it was her first real romantic date. Although she never figured that she would be as comfortable around her boyfriend as she was around Forest. Maybe because the two were best friends first. Everything to her was very confusing about her dating life. She also never thought that she would be the less awkward of the two, but here Forest was adorably fumbling through the date so nervous and cute. Speaking of him, he came back from the kitchen a few moments later holding the cake with the candles lit on top of it and Molly clapped her hands and smiled while she prepared herself to hear Forest attempt to sing happy birthday to her.

Standing there watching Molly smile Forest couldn’t help but grin himself the sheer joy of doing something for his girlfriend, his best friend, giving him well, Joy.  Placing the cake on the table Forest pulled out a party hat from his back pocket slipping it easily over his own head (because he wasn’t about to ruin his girlfriend's hair,no sir) just waiting for Molly’s reaction. “Happy brithday to yooouuuu” he started to sing in his worst off key rendition he could “hApppyy Birthday to youuuu. Happpyyy birthday dear themostbeautfiulgirlintheworld Mollyyyyyyyy. Happy Birthday too yoooouuuuuuuu” Ending on high note Forest did a few jazz hands as we waited for her to blow out her candle and make a wish.

Molly sat smiling through the pain of Forest singing, knowing that he was purposely singing even worse than usual just to spite Molly and make her suffer. Despite that it made her smile even more because of it. So she smiled and laughed through the entirety of that awful, awful singing and afterwards she sat for a long moment and closed her eyes to make herself think of a wish. Or if nothing came to her like usual she could at least make it look like she was wishing for something. But this time a wish came quickly. And all she wanted was for some sign that everything was going to be okay. She blew the candles out and peaked one eye open. Looking up at Forest was the first sign that things would be. After he set the cake down is when Molly pushed off of the chair and forward to kiss him.

Watching Molly sitting there laughing and smiling Forest just beamed proud of himself. It was safe to say he’d never done anything like this for anyone ever and it was wonderful to know he was doing something right for someone that had become so special to him. Something real right, because the second he set down the cake Molly lips were on him. And naturally Forest froze every sense in his body over stimulated with the weight of two soft petals pressed against his mouth. Because this was, this was a lot to take in. Their first intimate gesture and he was stuck there like a deer in the headlights, cheeks slowly becoming more and more scarlet by the minute and his brain feeling like it was on fire every second Molly was this close to him. But the funny thing was now that Forest had this, he never wanted to stop. Ever. He didn’t need to breath right? Like carbon dioxide was for chumps right? Putting his hand along her waist Forest held himself there not really knowing what to do but figuring he’d follow Molly’s lead, lettering her pull away first. Standing there looking at her though Forest realized that he didn’t know how to continue now.  He didn;t know how to be normal now that he’d shared something like this with Molly. But he knew he had to do something. “So t-this was to get me to s-s-hut up wasn’t it” Forest stuttered out not knowing what else to say but figuring trying to joke about you know HIS FIRST KISS would just make everything way way less awkward.

Molly pulled away from Forest possibly more shocked than the state he seemed to be in, which was really saying something. "Wow. Okay. So I just did that." She spoke aloud, to her own personal horror. The thought had been screaming through her head amid the entire kiss, but up until this moment her lips were a little busy. Now apparently anything was fair game and she was entirely too nervous about that. "How'd you know?" Molly laughed nervously, thankful for the joke and anxious that the kiss was going to become the center of attention. She didn't know enough about relationships to know if that was the right or wrong thing to do. "So about that pillow fort!" She blurted out suddenly and did a 180, ready to head towards Forest's bedroom, "I gotta see the masterpiece."

“Yea” Forest breathed out as he started to come to not even really registering that it was something that had happened to him. Because no one kissed him, ever. Well except his mother. Once. On the forehead. But this, yea well this was so much better than that. As it should be. Taking a few more deep breaths Forest blushed a little grinning at his horrible attempt at a joke. “Well I-I guess that’s one way to do it. Possibly my new p-preferred method” He shrugged slightly at the thought. Watching her though almost blot out of the room Forest pushed his feelings down, knowing that something else needed his attention now.  “Molly” Forest chided, reaching out for her hand. He could tell she was nervous. But she needn’t be, she would never be able to do anything wrong in Forest’s eyes. OK well that was a lie, but there was a laundry list of things that she could do that he’d be ok with and kissing him was definitely on the top of that list.  “You don’t have to run out of the room you know,” He was smiling now hoping that a return to normal would help signal that everything was still ok between them, “Because contrary to popular beleif the pillows will in fact wait for you.”

"Will they wait for me? I don't have any proof" ​Molly​ laughed nervously and wasn't sure if she would ever be able to laugh normally again. Not at the rate she was going. She wasn't the type to do something like that. She always figured that whoever she dated would have to lead her when it came to relationships. Then again she also never thought that she would be the type to do any of the other crazy stuff she had done since moving to Ashkent Creek. "Sorry. I'm just... nervous. Nervous is normal right? I think that it's pretty normal. Plus I'm just super excited about this pillow fort." Another nervous laugh, this time paired with her hands reflexively twirling at her hair. At least she wasn't lying when she said that she was excited for the pillow fort.

“Oh so you need proof now?” Forest chuckled trying not to let Molly’s nervousness affect him. I mean was his mind racing from his first kiss? Yes. But like a lot of other things, Forest shoved that to the back for now, and instead focused on trying to make this better for Molly. It was her birthday after all.  “Nervous is normal.” Forest nodded as if he actually knew about the subject (which he didn’t) “But I think not being nervous would be the best” Reaching out for her again Forest held his out, urge to interlace their fingers together to quell the nervous energy hitting him harder than it ever had before. Because Molly was his best friend, and even though they were moving into new territory, with dates, and kissing and just, relationship stuff, underneath it all they were still just Forest and Molly. “Shall we?” he asked quietly.

Molly grabbed onto Forest's hand, careful not to squeeze too tightly despite how nervous she was about the situation. "Lead the way kind sir" As if she had no idea which bedroom was his. She followed Forest through the hallway and closed her eyes as the door swung open, wanting to see the entire fort all at once instead of seeing it swing into view obscured by his bedroom door. She gasped and jumped into the air excitedly when she saw it. "This is amazing! I feel like I'm twelve years old again!" She clapped her hands together and turned to Forest and wrapped him in a tight hug, "You crushed it. Seriously." She whispered to him before stepping into his room. "Aren't you going to give me the tour?" Despite all the reservations and emotions she had felt this morning knowing it was her first birthday without her family, times like these reminded her that she would be okay here in Ashkent Creek.