#[ hero shaped to civilians fr.....

[marinehero-a]

Brain absolutely melted from coding but Garp and his family beloved,,,,,,,,

[city-writes]

All’s Fair in Love and War

For years, Son Goku had been a superhero to many, having helped stop many an evil villain. From bandits to mercenaries to an alien like himself claiming to be a Demon King, Goku had stopped them all.

Well, almost all.

A trade piece for IGotTheMovesLikeErenJeager! Check out her art here!

Warnings: Superhero AU, Rating will go up in second chapter Pairings: Vegeta/Son Goku

Read it here on AO3! Commission info!

____________________

For years, Son Goku had been a superhero to many, having helped stop many an evil villain. From bandits to mercenaries to an alien like himself claiming to be a Demon King, Goku had stopped them all.

Well, almost all.

As he passed over West City, he was met with the sounds of screams erupting from down below, as well as alternating flashes of yellow and blue lights. Intent as he was to find the source of the issue, Goku took notice of a familiar friendly face down below, working with the police force.

"Krillin!"

Landing right beside the head of the police force, Goku looked down to his friend. "What's happening?"

"It's Vegeta!" Krillin exclaimed, pointing towards the direction the flashing lights were coming from. "He's terrorizing the city again! I've got my men evacuating citizens and aiding the injured, but none of us can get close to Vegeta!"

Goku frowned and nodded. "Leave that to me." With that, Goku flew up and towards the direction of the flashing lights.

Vegeta... Goku had fought him for years. The two were from the same planet coincidentally, but whereas Goku had been sent to Earth as a child and grew up among its people, Vegeta had arrived several years ago, claiming that he, as prince of their home planet, would rule this world. It was then that Goku learned of the destruction of not just their home planet, but nearly its entire population by a being named Frieza, and that while Vegeta had taken his revenge and killed Frieza, he still expected to rule something.

Unluckily for Goku, he chose Earth.

Vegeta was bent on world domination, intent on bringing the Earth and its people to their knees, and ruling them all. He'd murdered and taken hostages and threatened thousands, but ultimately, he usually used brute force to try and get his way.

Which, Goku noted, was what he was doing right now. Those blue and yellow lights were him rampaging in West City, firing off his two best energy based techniques: Big Bang Attack and Final Flash, respectively. As Goku flew to find him, he took note of the craters and destroyed buildings left in Vegeta's path, of people who hadn't been killed by his rampage crying out for help. Goku quickly did what he could to save as many as possible, trying to ease the job of first responders and Krillin's men. Though as he was saving a young boy and his mother from the inside of a collapsing building, he spotted Vegeta, charging a Big Bang Attack at a group of civilians.

Quickly putting the young boy and his mother down, Goku raced to Vegeta and the civilians, making it just in time as Vegeta fired off his Big Bang Attack, Goku managing to knock the energy blast up in the air to avoid hitting the people behind him, and sending a basic blast of his own to collide with Vegeta's high in the air, causing it to explode there where no one could get hurt.

"Go, get to safety!" Goku cried out to the people he was shielding, them all nodding and running away.

Vegeta scoffed. "Well, I don't mind a moving target..." With that he fired several basic energy blasts at the fleeing civilians, a dark smirk on his face as he did so. But Goku was quick on the draw again, and shielded them all by taking the multiple hits himself.

Goku panted slightly, his clothes slightly tattered and torn from Vegeta's blasts. "You won't be taking anymore lives, Vegeta. Not while I'm here."

Vegeta cursed under his breath upon seeing Goku take each and every one of the basic energy blasts he'd expelled, but at Goku's words, merely chuckled. "Is that so, Kakarott?" Goku's eyes darted around him at the utterance of his birth name, making sure no one heard it. Vegeta was the only one that used it, despite Goku having changed his name when he arrived on Earth. Why, Goku never understood.

"This ends today." Goku took an offensive stance. "I won't let you hurt anyone else."

"Tch," Vegeta mimicked Goku's decision, getting into a fighting stance himself. "You hero-types make me sick." The moment he was done speaking, Vegeta rushed Goku, attempting to land a punch to his face, but was ultimately blocked by Goku's arms crossing in an 'X' shape. With a scowl, Vegeta then ducked low and swept his leg under Goku's, causing the taller man to fall backwards, or so it seemed. Goku caught himself with his hands, it looking like he was going to backflip to either stabilize himself or gain some distance, but instead, as his legs flew up, he reared back a leg and kicked Vegeta with much force under his chin.

Vegeta was knocked back into the side of a building, causing a crater to appear in the side of it. Goku did end up stabilizing himself, but as he took notice of the crater left my the impact of his kick, he mentally chided himself. He was supposed to be helping protect the city, not aiding Vegeta in destroying it! That meant retaliating with his own energy blasts were out of the question. But that was fine, Goku preferred the close up contact of physical combat anyway.

It didn't take Vegeta long at all to emerge from the wall crater, scowling as he cracked his neck, piercing eyes focused on Goku. Goku watched as Vegeta wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth using the side of his fist, looking down at the red smudge on his glove. "That's the only hit you'll be making on me today, Kakarott."

"We'll see about that!" Simultaneously, the two flew into the air and rushed each other, the fight a flurry of thrown punches and skillful dodging, the same song and dance most of their fights devolved into. Not that Goku was complaining, it was quite the opposite. As much as he disliked Vegeta's view of Earth, about how he needed to dominate it, he respected the natural born fighter the villain turned out to be. He was a challenge, a man not to be taken lightly.

Around them, people were still trying to get to safety, a few stopping awestruck at seeing their hero - Son Goku - in action right in front of them.

These people caught Goku's attention for the briefest second, as he wondered what the heck they were doing just standing there, when he suddenly heard, "Eyes on me!" followed by a sharp pain blistering in his chest, knocking the wind out of him momentarily, and sending him flying downwards into the concrete, leaving another crater on impact.

As Vegeta slowly hovered down to the ground, Krillin and his men arrived, some aiding the civilians, others hunkering down behind cars and large bits of rubble defensively, surrounding Goku and Vegeta in a large, wide circle.

"You're surrounded!" Krillin spoke, his gaze meeting Vegeta's. He swallowed harshly under the villain's malicious gaze, but continued speaking. "Give in!" At that, the members of the police force who had surrounded Vegeta and Goku raised their weapons, and pointed them straight at Vegeta.

"Pathetic." Vegeta raised a palm in Krillin's direction, blue energy beginning to gather there. His attention was no longer on Goku, who was pulling himself up. Upon seeing the sight of Vegeta getting ready to kill Krillin, Goku growled and lunged for Vegeta, being careful to restrain himself as they were still on city grounds, where people could get hurt. With a yell of rising power, Goku focused his energy into a single punch, his fist connecting with Vegeta's stomach. The shorter male coughed up spit upon impact, and the energy he'd been gathering disappeared. While he was hindered, Goku wrapped his arms around Vegeta's waist and flew them both upwards, toward the sky, where the two of them could fight without endangering the people and city below them.

The elbow he received to the side of the head forced him to change trajectory.

With a harsh thud!, the duo crash landed onto the rooftop of the tallest building in the city, Goku and Vegeta rolling to a halt against the concrete. Gritting their teeth, they both rose to their feet and charged for each other, hands colliding with one another as the two made contact. They were both panting, struggling to force the other man down. Their hands were locked in a power struggle, Goku looking down at Vegeta as he spoke. "That's enough, Vegeta!" He gripped the shorter man's hands tighter, only to seethe as Vegeta returned the action. "It's over."

"On the contrary, Kakarott," Vegeta said between pants, sweat dripping from his brow, "I'm just getting started." With that, Vegeta reared his head back, and swung it towards Goku, intent on knocking him backwards, but unfortunately for him, Goku saw the move coming, and mimicked Vegeta, the blunt force of their head strikes connecting with each other, a boom! of wind resulting from the impact. Both men grit their teeth as pain blossomed throughout their heads, though neither male pulled their heads away, instead keeping their foreheads together, despite the blooming pain they both felt from their impact. One of them was bleeding from the head, they realized, as blood mixed with sweat trickled down each of their faces.

Still they were panting, and neither one of them was backing down from the struggle. Their faces were so close together, their noses barely touching, one practically breathing the other's air. Goku knew he had to end this fast, if not to bring Vegeta down, than to protect the people of the city below, to give Krillin and his police force time to evacuate the injured, to--

Goku's mind stopped processing things almost instantly.

The feeling of slightly wet but still somewhat chapped lips pressed against his own set his mind into frizz, the majority of his body acting on its on accord still fighting against Vegeta, but Goku's face... he was frozen. His eyes were widened in disbelief, and his jaw went somewhat slack, his lips parting of their own accord, which gave Vegeta all the room he need to slip his tongue into Goku's mouth. Goku's first thought that snapped back into his mind at that was that Vegeta tasted like blood, but also somehow tasted both sweet and bitter, like coffee with some added creamer. (Do villains even do something as casual as make morning coffee? Goku couldn't help but wonder.) Goku shook off the thought, and instead thought to bite down on Vegeta's tongue, to stop this, this... whatever this was he was trying to pull!

But when he went to search Vegeta's eyes for an answer, he saw nothing. Vegeta had closed his eyes. This itself had startled Goku, as Vegeta had never before purposefully taken his eyes off an opponent. This left him exposed, Goku could knee him in the gut and he'd never see it coming. This was it, this was the advantage Goku had needed in this fight!

...So why wasn't he taking that advantage?

His body was slowly giving up the fight against Vegeta, but he realized, Vegeta was slowly giving up the fight too. The pressure forced by their power struggle was easing into nothing, their arms lowering of their own accord, but their hands still remaining conjoined.

Vegeta's tongue mapped out every inch of Goku's mouth, until he turned his attention to Goku's own tongue, prodding it expectantly. When Goku failed to respond in any way, Vegeta pulled away from Goku, the taller male suddenly missing the feeling of Vegeta's lips against his own, the bittersweet taste of bloodied creamed coffee. Vegeta opened his eyes, usually piercing black eyes seeming less volatile than Goku remembered them.

"Are you going to kiss me, or not?"

Before Goku could respond, Vegeta moved his hands, one gloved hand harshly grabbing Goku's jaw and pulling him down some, the other burying itself in Goku's hair at the back of his head. As Vegeta mashed their lips together with more intensity this time, Goku's now free hands instinctively planted themselves at different spots: One hand at Vegeta's midback, the other on a shoulder.

What was he doing? His body moved of its own accord, pulling Vegeta closer to him and he hesitantly kissed Vegeta back, not fully processing what the hell was going on right now. But as his tongue slid against Vegeta's, and Vegeta's hand at his jaw softened its grip, Goku came to a realization.

Oh.

Oh.

He liked this.

Goku would have been lying if he'd said there hadn't been something inside him building up towards Vegeta for all the years they'd fought. He'd assumed it was some form of respect for Vegeta as a fighter, as a rival, maybe even as a fellow Saiyan, as something... But this? This hadn't sort of something hadn't crossed Goku's mind at all, and frankly, why should it have?

But now that he was here, tracing the inside of his nemesis's mouth with his own tongue, he was feeling bolder, more confident. Why hadn't this crossed his mind before? His hands gripped Vegeta a little tighter, kissed him a little harder, fighting back a chuckle at Vegeta's taken aback grunt towards his boldness. If Goku hadn't have known Vegeta as well as he did, he would have been surprised when Vegeta resumed his tight grip on Goku's jaw, would have yelped in protest as Vegeta dug his fingers into his scalp, would have been scared off when Vegeta glared at him and bit at his lower lip as if in retaliation to Goku's confidence, as if to silently say, 'Who do you think you are?'

Goku broke off the kiss at the nip, biting back a noise of indigence, but also giving him and Vegeta well-needed room to breathe. There was a fog slowly beginning to cloud his mind, replacing the frizz that he'd initially had been shocked by. Goku shook his head slightly, knowing he needed to get his head on straight! What was he doing!? He was supposed to take Vegeta out, not... not make-out! But as Goku's eyes met Vegeta's, he tensed, seeing a want for more in his gaze. The sight of Vegeta's slightly parted, somewhat reddened lips as he gazed at Goku with lidded eyes laced with want was an image Goku knew he'd never get out of his head.

And frankly? He was completely ok with that.

Goku was quick to dive in for another kiss, and Vegeta was more than willing to oblige, the two beginning to heatedly make out once more. There was a different power struggle now, akin to the one from mere moments - was it really moments? if felt like hours - ago, as Vegeta and Goku kissed each other fervently, trying to outdo the other in this new kind of battle. Hands grasped at each other for some sort of purchase, feeling all over the other's body, with the silent mutual exception of their waists, where their tails lied curled. The small of Vegeta's back, Goku's broad shoulders, Vegeta's toned chest, Goku's strong hips, Vegeta's built arms, Goku's ass--

A yelp left Goku as a hand squeezed his buttocks, and he pulled away from the kiss, pouting somewhat as Vegeta chuckled, his expression dusted with mirth.

"Not fair, Vegeta."

Vegeta gave a 'hmph!' in amusement, before leaning upwards and murmuring against Goku's lips, "All's fair in love and war, Kakarott."

So which was this? Goku wondered. Love? Or war?

Before he would question it any further, Vegeta was kissing him again, Goku finding it nigh impossible to resist the spell, the temptation of Vegeta's mouth against his. Goku was finally getting used to Vegeta's voracious style of kissing, when Vegeta's tongue swirled around Goku's, only to suck on it a second later. The groan that left Goku was damn near shameful, and he could feel the corners of Vegeta's lips curl up in a smile. For a moment, he wondered what that would feel like on another part of his bod-- what was he thinking?!

Banging on the rooftop door forced the duo to break the kiss, both men looking towards the door.

"Goku?!" Came Krillin's voice. "Goku, we're here for backup! Alright guys, knock the door down!"

Goku paled. Oh god, if the police force was to see them like this...!

"Tch, damn it." Vegeta sneered at the door, glaring daggers into it. "Fine then, we'll end this here for now." With that, a hand went to Goku's shoulder, the other to the back of Goku's head, and before the taller male could process what Vegeta was doing, Vegeta proceeded to knee Goku in the gut.

A yell of pain escaped the hero, hands going to clutch at his stomach as he slunk to his knees, coughing up spit as he did so. He watched with slightly blurred vision as Vegeta began walking to the edge of the roof, his vision clearing as Vegeta rubbed a gloved thumb over his own lips as he spoke.

"Come and find me, Kakarott."

With that, Vegeta flew off at high speed into the distance, disappearing from sight just as the police force knocked down the rooftop door. "Goku!" Krillin was quick to race to Goku's side, helping him rise to his feet. "Goku, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Krillin." Goku assured through a pained smile, one of his hands going to rest on Krillin's shoulder. Though the moment he was done speaking, he looked out towards where Vegeta flew. Vegeta's words echoed in his head, but were they a promise of more to come? Or a threat if some sort?

As the rest of the police force began to surround Goku and Krillin, Krillin followed Goku's gaze and frowned. "That's the direction he headed off in?" Krillin looked over Goku, seething slightly. "You're beat up pretty badly, buddy. What do you plan on doing?"

Without missing a beat, Goku replied, "I'm going to find him."

[nightsblessed]

mega-questionnaire ✿ lance

► BASICS.

FULL NAME: Lancelot Apollinaire Chavers.

NICKNAME: Lance, Blondie.

AGE: 24.

BIRTHDAY: May 5th.

ETHNIC GROUP: Midlander Hyur/Wildwood Elezen.

NATIONALITY: Gridanian.

LANGUAGE/S: Common, semi-fluent Elezen. Capable of understanding any language.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual with a heavy male lean.

GENDER IDENTITY: Agender. He or they pronouns. 

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Taken.

HOME TOWN / AREA: Lavender Beds, Gridania.

CURRENT HOME: Rising Stones. Lavender Beds.

PROFESSION: Scion of the Seventh Dawn, Free Paladin, High Serpent Commander. Baker.

► PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Blonde, about shoulder length, shaved sides. Slightly shifting shades, darker towards the roots but brighter and highlighted on top where more exposed to the sun.

EYES: Green, odd-eyed. Right eye is darker, left is lighter. Both are a saturated bright green, slightly upturned and a little rounder than almond shaped. Epicanthic folds and monolids. Long eyelashes.

FACE: Rectangular/square head. Strong jaw, high cheekbones, dimples. Long-ish nose, slight hook to the bridge, wide nostrils. Rounded chin. Pointed Elezen-like ears.

LIPS: High cupid’s bow/”uni-lip���. Wide mouth and full lips, slight pout. Very kissable.

COMPLEXION: Warm brown. Freckles, the occasional mole. A little pink across his cheeks and nose from the sun.

BLEMISHES: None prominent. Very rarely a faded acne scar.

SCARS: Misc battle scars. Distinct gnarled and faded scar on lower back. More recently, long scars across his legs and torso.

TATTOOS: Small tattoo on inner right bicep, two snakes entwined around a sprig of lavender.

HEIGHT: 6’5”. (198cm)

WEIGHT: 190lbs.

BUILD: Athletic, muscular but young. Broad shoulders and back, narrower waist, muscular thighs. Very physically fit. Think hockey players body. 

FEATURES: Height, Elezen features i.e pointed ears and graceful look, odd eyes.

ALLERGIES: Lactose intolerant.

USUAL HAIR STYLE: Topknot/undercut ponytail. 

USUAL FACE LOOK: Friendly smile, a little airheaded. 

USUAL CLOTHING: Armor-wise, typically heavy plate or scale mail, green and bronze with fur trims and a long cloak. Civilian-wise, has a wide variety of clothing but sticks to light colors, simple patterns, and casual/sporty aesthetics. 

► PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Enclosed spaces, being crushed, isolation, abandonment. Being unable to save or help the people he loves. Fish.

ASPIRATION/S: To be a good son, help the Alliance and save Eorzea, to do right. Deeply desires to be a good husband and parent in the future as well.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Kind, compassionate, friendly, polite, overwhelmingly sweet and affectionate, charming, loyal, brave, protective, creative, nurturing. 

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, slow, clumsy, can be pushy and overbearing, overprotective, emotionally intense and sensitive.

TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine. 

SOUL TYPE/S: Caregiver/Spiritualist.

ANIMALS: Deer, dog, snake.

VICE HABIT/S: Overeating, sugar in general.

FAITH: Nophica and the Elementals. 

GHOSTS?: Yes.

AFTERLIFE?: Not really.

REINCARNATION?: Yes, in the sense that his aether will return to the Lifestream.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Eorzean Alliance. 

EDUCATION LEVEL: Highschool-ish. Decent at math, has a good head for history, but dyslexia has kept his reading and writing level generally low.

►FAMILY.

MOTHER: Georgene “Georgie” Chavers.

FATHER: Pace Chavers.

SIBLINGS: None.

EXTENDED FAMILY: Bertille, maternal grandmother. A couple aunts and uncles, a few cousins, none he’s particularly close to.

NAME MEANING/S: 

Lancelot - Land, Lance, Spear

Georgene - Farmer, Earthworker

Pace - Peace

Bertille - Bright, Famous

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: None.

► FAVORITES.

BOOK: Family cookbooks.

DEITY: Nophica.

HOLIDAY: Moonfire Faire.

MONTH: May.

SEASON: Spring.

PLACE: Gridania.

WEATHER: Sun and rain.

SOUND/S: Birds chirping, night rain, laughter, wind through trees.

SCENT/S: Petrichor, cut grass, fresh baked goods.

TASTE/S: Sweet cream, berries, toasted nuts, herbs.

FEEL/S: Down, soft fur, cotton, moss, tree bark.

ANIMAL/S: Rabbits, cats, deer.

NUMBER: 2.

COLORS: Green, yellow, white, brown.

► EXTRA.

TALENTS: Highly talented baker and chef, great still life artist. Near-prodigy level grasp of conjury and white magic. Well trained with sword and shield, very comfortable with melee combat and heavy armor.

BAD AT: Not tripping over his own feet, most battle magic, archery or any kind of marksmanship. Reading any sort of long form text, focusing on tasks that don’t interest him, sitting still.

TURN ONS: Red hair, short guys, sass and banter, a cute laugh, friendship first.

TURN OFFS: Rudeness, lack of empathy, negativity, being boring. 

HOBBIES: Baking, crochet and knitting, embroidery, painting, sketching and charcoal drawing.

TROPES: Dumb Jock, Dark-skinned Blond, All-Loving Hero, The Empath, Badass Native, The Paladin, Green Thumb. 

QUOTES: “I want to leave no one behind. To keep & be kept. The way a field turns its secrets into peonies. The way light keeps its shadow by swallowing it.”

► MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1: If you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about? 

A1: oh wow what a question. i think i’d really like to have his stormblood arc in a movie because it’d be half action adventure fantasy shit being up fascists but it’d also have a lot of his growth as basically a soldier and a young adult and his love life, going through a cute enemies to lovers thing with his boyfriend/future boyfriend. no clue what it’d be called though but i think either live action or semi-realistic cgi/animation for sure.

Q2: What would their soundtrack/score sound like? 

A2: probably pretty light and sweet instrumentals, lots of woodwinds and strings, the occasional more somber and heroic tracks. ori and the blind forest would be a good comparison, something that would evoke a lot of naturey vibes while being magical.

Q3: Why did you start writing this character? 

A3: im in love with @emet-selch ‘s character avis and wanted to make him the perfect boyfriend

Q4: What first attracted you to this character? 

A4: i generally really like pure of heart dumb of ass characters, soft jocks are some of my favorite characters both to read and write, so i packed a lot of tropes i really enjoy into him cuz i just wanted him to be very sweet and loyal.

Q5: Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5: honestly i havent had a big chance to write him in more serious/hard situations but while in plotting and just thinking about him, i think he can big a big stubborn asshole and its a little annoying.

Q6: What do you have in common with your muse? 

A6: fire venus. though fr i think mostly lance and i are just very affectionate and loyal! and love sweets and baking.

Q7: How does your muse feel about you? 

A7: im pretty nice to him and i let him have a very good life so i think we’re very chill

Q8: What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?

A8: again i haven’t really had interactions with a ton of characters but i do like putting him in situations with other really extroverted characters, especially around his age cuz he turns into a dumb impulsive jock instantly.

Q9: What gives you inspiration to write your muse?

A9: honestly mostly the msq, strangely enough? a lot of it gave me inspiration for him and his story so doing it on alts always makes me consider and think about what he was doing then!

Q10: How long did this take you to complete? 

A10: about 3 hours before formatting and posting!

[victoria-deutsch-land-arch-blog]

Memories

Su 21.5 | Mo 22.5 | Tu 23.5 | We 24.5

Travel, Rotkreuzplatz, Welcome Dinner, Hofgarten, Englischer Garten, City Green Planning Authority, River Isar Bike Tour

 Arriving in the airport terminal was shockingly quiet in comparison to the bustle of EWR. I got lost, a bit, but eventually met up with my group. That day, we took a short walk through the city to a restaurant where I ordered my first Bavarian style dinner. It was at that point that I realized that I could not understand a single word that was coming out of my server’s mouth. I would later find out about Bavarian, and its insane difference from ‘Hoch Deutsch’, which I had spent 5 years previously learning in middle/high school. It was shocking. All of it was shocking. The streets were shockingly cleaned of trash. No lawns were present, but instead, weeds and naturalized landscapes. We passed a multitude of green roofs. I was shocked to see green infrastructure, coming from a place that struggles to get such initiates funded and implemented. At the Hofgarten, I noticed the obsessive training and pruning techniques on trees. As we traveled into the Englischer Garten, I saw how landscape designers created spaces and what their opinions and world views were like, based on such designs. Once we got to the planning office, I had convinced myself that I wanted to work in Germany at some point in my life. Munich seemed perfect in my eyes, and while so much was so different, I found myself wanting to be a part of it. On Wednesday, I sweat so hard on the Isar Bike Tour, that I soaked my own shirt. The first half of the first week in Munich was definitely filled with hurdles, but I kept up, learning quickly and hungrily. 

Th 25.5| Fr 26.5| Sa 27.5

Dachau, Schloss Dachau, Riemer Park, Draussen Exhibit, TUM Rooftop Bar, Petuel Park, BMW Museum, Olympic Park

 Dachau was not what I had expected it to be. It was a model work camp, not a death camp. Its museum showed me just how little I was aware of, even after having an entire class devoted to Holocaust studies. There’s something about a 20′ wide map, with hundreds of black dots on it, denoting the work/death camps of Europe, that struck me deeply. The genocide that Europe endured was vast, and horrifying. Not only that, but I learned that these camps were amongst towns, where common civilians lived. So much was so deeply moving during my visit to Dachau, and I feel that I now have a much better understanding of the situation surrounding the Holocaust. In addition to Dachau, this second half of the week was jam packed with incredible experiences. Riemer park was an incredible example of large scale park planning and gave me insight into the park user’s experience. That afternoon, we travelled back into the city to experience a museum exhibition on landscape architecture, which inspired me even more deeply to pursue large scale projects. We finished off the day with cappuccinos and brownies on the rooftop bar just outside of TUM’s architecture office. From the balcony, we looked out on the entire city of Munich and the Alpine Mountain skyline. Saturday, we learned about the pocket park, Petuel park, experienced the architcture and exhibits of the BMW museum, and climbed to the top of the look-out hill at Olympic Park to again view the city, Alps and the layout of the Olympic park. This first week was certainly a wake-up call for my severely out of shape body, but surprisingly, I managed to keep up.

 Su 28.5 | Mo 29.5 | Tu 30.5 | We 31.5

Free Day at Riemer Park, City of Freising, LA Department Weihenstephan, Schloss Nymphenburg, Travel to Düsseldorf, Rhine Promenade, Dinner, Bars

 Our free day was everything I had wanted it to be. We traveled to Riemer park, where I had the opportunity to swim and laze about in the sunshine all day. The following day, we traveled to Freising, where I learned about the LA program at the university that my professor had also attended. At that moment, I realized that I needed to study my master's degree in Germany, and how horrific and capitalistic higher education in America has become. I repeat, I REGRET GOING TO SCHOOL IN THE US AND FALLING INTO THE HIGHER EDUCATION TRAP THAT HAS PUT ME INTO HUGE AMOUNTS OF DEBT. Anyone reading this is warned, do not throw your money away on American education, for the love of God. Anyways, later that day, I met the most important person I will have come across in Germany. The next day, we experienced Schloss Nymphenburg and the grandeur of its site design as well as architectural design. This was my first experience of visiting a site that incorporated axial design, which put much of my previous historical studies into perspective. I loved Munich, but the next day we had to leave for Düsseldorf, which I was quite reluctant to do. Our first day in Düsseldorf was a busy one. We arrived, took an hour to unwind, and then headed back out to walk along the Rhine promenade, where we reflected on the city’s pivotal role in WWII, and also its near-complete obliteration because of its influence on military weaponry manufacturing. That night, we had a welcome dinner that was quite exceptional, made friends with some German guys at the table next to us, and spent the free time of the evening visiting the city’s most popular bars. 

 Th 1.6| Fr 2.6| Sa 3.6

NRW Office of Urban Development, TV Tower, Media Harbor, Castle Benrath, Travel to Amsterdam, Boat Tour

 The next two days in Düsseldorf consisted of some really interesting days. Our visit to the NRW Office of Urban Development took our class into an in-depth experience of what it is like to be an urban planner in NRW, as well as how different their laws and company structures are from those in the states. It put into perspective how different ways of thinking were here, and how landscape and planning were regarded. We spent some time walking through the city afterward, where we pointed out various urban planning elements and landscape elements until we arrived at the TV Tower, where I conquered my fear of heights by laying on a glass pane, 510 feet up in the air. Next to the TV Tower, was the media harbor: an old harbor going through renewal and redesign to become a once again popular place in Düsseldorf, and not in the context of industrialism, but at the same time preserving that history. It was awesome to walk across the harbor on a modern design inspired boardwalk, with a glass structure at the middle of the crossing. The entire area had great architectural influences present, like my own hero and inspiration, Frank Gehry.

 Su 4.6 | Mo 5.6 | Tu 6.6 | We 7.6

Free Days in Amsterdam, Shopping, Eating, Travel to Dusseldorf, Eat Last Decent Döner, Travel to Dortmund, First Site Visit – Meet Martina Oldengott, Dinner, First Studio Workshop, Dinner with Uli Paetzel and Emscher Reps.

During our free time in Amsterdam, I practiced my drawing skills and caught up on my sketchbook. Our classmates booked a boat tour together, which explained all of the architectural wonders and landmarks in Amsterdam, including its historic bridges and channels. The city was incredibly beautiful especially for its old architecture, but the parts with the most tourists were so dirty that I was afraid to even touch a wall. I shopped, ate waffles, and even a fresh, hot stroopwafel which changed my life. I tried to explore and look for parks within the city, and while the minor parks were small and few, the city’s largest park was a sprawling reminder of New York City’s Central Park. Believe it or not, in a city that has drunk people everywhere, recreational coffee/smoke shops, immense littering, cars driving into canals, roads with 12 different types of vehicles moving in 10 different directions simultaneously, you may NOT hang a hammock in Vondel Park. This city definitely taught me a lot, from its architecture, to just how wasted a human can get (not me, I mean the others I observed). Our train back to Düsseldorf was uneventful, arriving back just early enough to grab the last good Döner I would have in Germany. I was incredibly happy to leave Düsseldorf, mostly because of how boujie it was, and rich people really are not the type of people I like to be around. What I didn’t know was how much creepier and dead our next city would be. Arriving in Dortmund, it seemed like any other city we had been to, but just a little quieter. We did not have long to unpack before we were out the door again, traveling to our site to have our first visit. It was a marathon day for sure. We ate lunch with Dr. Martina Oldengott, the leader of our project, and finished the site visit by 6 PM. We arrived back in Dortmund to find nearly everything closed except for restaurants. It was incredibly strange. Our group got together to work a bit, in order to keep up with the workload of the week-long project and get as much ahead as we possibly could. The next evening, after an intense day of studio work and follow-up site visit, we enjoyed dinner with the CEO of our client-company, where I was told that I could come work with them and ‘stay as long as I’d like’. Of course, I did not believe that I myself could manage to get a job and live in Germany with this company, but it sure made me feel good and motivated me to do good work while I was there. 

 Th 8.6 | Fr 9.6 | Sa 10.6

Second Studio, Short Site Visit, Go to English Student Event, Third Studio, Stay Up All Night, Last Half-Day Finalizing Studio Presentations, Final Presentation

  Little did I know that as the days went on, this idea of working in Germany grew in my mind and became a quite deep interest. As we worked viciously away at the project, we took a moment’s pause to attend a student event run by the school’s English department. There were all kinds of foods, music, and people there. While we made some acquaintances, our project whined in the back of our minds. At the first moment possible, we headed back to our hostel to get comfortable and get back to work. At this point, I decided to take a walk to the garden around the corner. I walked through the grass, looking at the different types of plants and roses when suddenly, a smell hit me. It’s that kind of smell, the kind where you know exactly what it is, and you hope it's not on you. Well, it was on me. On my shoe. My sports sneaker with its grooves and ridges, all smushed in there. I frantically found myself back at the hotel, not quite knowing what I should do, so I took my shoes off outside, in an alleyway, and walked into the hotel casually shoe-less. I was so upset, that I called my mom, who talked me through the process of cleaning the shoes. I had so much work to do, and my only decent pair of shoes were now covered in doody, which I HAD to clean off somehow, and immediately. Needless to say... I made some tough decisions and did some regrettable things to get those shoes clean (sorry Dortmund laundromat). Moral of the ordeal: LOOK WHERE YOU ARE WALKING. When I wasn’t panicking over the poop ordeal, I was working away furiously. Like, really furious, especially because everyone in our group was stressed out so we started clashing emotions. The only way that we got through it as a team was being direct with each other, and helping each other focus. It really was a learning experience, to guide others when I had my own workload to balance. I grew a lot from the project and by the end of it, we gave a really strong presentation and my professors were able to congratulate me on such a performance. I never really identify myself as a leader, but I always end up being the glue that holds people together, or the one guiding others to a goal. It was really affirming to be able to handle such a situation and get that positive feedback. 

Su 11.6 | Mo 12.6 | Tu 13.6 | We 14.6

Free Day at the Park, Zollverein, City Tour, Phoenixsee and Picnic, Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord

By this time, I made all efforts to keep my eyes glued to the ground because I absolutely was not stepping in doody again. For this park day, a few friends and I went to a park in Dortmund (unable to remember the name) and had quite a blast. We walked the length of the park, witnessing a flamingo pond, crazy playgrounds and learning centers for kids, beautiful garden collections of roses, water lilies and more, and eventually made it to the end where you could rent boats and paddle around their little lake. It is always my favorite experience to be able to relax and fully take in all the little details of parks by being there myself; it renews my outlook and interest because there is always something new to learn wherever you go. Visiting Bottrop and Zollverein were yet another highlight of the trip. Zollverein was the site of the first coal factory to break through bedrock, and also led one of the first labor movements. The museum had more information than one could gather in a single visit, and the grounds were too large to spend too long wandering about. I really wish I had more time here, but that is just another lesson in making the most of what you do have. Phoenixsee was also another interesting site: a lake that has the pH of battery acid, surrounded by multi-million euro homes much coveted by the upper class. Everything had been part of a recent redesign, so you could really see planning and technology put to good use here. Later on, we got to experience Duisburg Nord Landscape Park, and if you are ever in NRW, I highly recommend it. The place is too big and too incredible for words to describe. It is a raw clashing of human engineering and nature, and the reclamation that nature makes when industrial empires finally rest.

 Th 15.6 | Fr 16.6 | Sa 17.6

Tetraeder, Bike Tour XXXL, Bernepark, Rhine Canal, Train to Berlin, Walking Tour of City Center, Welcome Dinner, Meet Boyfriend, Go to Club, Brandenburger Tor, Walk to Holocaust Memorial, Wall Memorial

The only thing I am going to say about this second bike tour was that... It was ONE HELL of a bike tour. We must have taken bikes through 4 to 5 different towns, and I did not know I had that kind of endurance in me. Pictured below, was one of the only breaks we took, and we were already laying on the floor, sprawled out like fresh roadkill. Bernepark was awesome because we got to see a Piet Oudolf design in action, with a couple years to grow in. While it may have been a wastewater treatment center (that smelled as such) I did not want to leave such a peaceful space tucked into a Bottrop neighborhood. Also in Bottrop, was the tetrahedron sculpture, which you can see my visible distress in the photo below (If you haven’t taken a clue by now, I’m heart-poundingly afraid of heights). Off in the distance, one could see the last, final coal plant that is still functioning in the region. It was mostly just a cool place to go to, a nice enormous hill and 6 flights of stairs to walk up on an 85-degree day. (ha. ha.) I could not wait to get out of Dortmund fast enough (the doody ordeal REALLY scarred me in that town) and I felt a rush of relief as I waited for the ICE train to arrive and take me away to Berlin. Once we got to Berlin, I noticed that I was running out of energy fast. My lack of sleep in the last 2-3 weeks had finally caught up with me, and I had barely any energy to do anything. I met up with my boyfriend while I was there, and managed to make one outing to the clubs - it was very fun, but Berlin is really serious about its club scene so BEWARE. There were plenty of memorials and remnants of history all around Berlin, too much to list, but what is more important is to say that none of it really ever felt real until I went there and saw it myself. Yes, I knew it happened, but I did not feel it until I was standing at the wall, until I was standing within the holocaust memorial, until I felt the bullet wounds in the Victory Column. It all became very real when I got to Berlin.

  Su 18.6 | Mo 19.6 | Tu 20.6 | We 21.6

Free Day with Boyfriend at the Park and Zoo, International Garden Show, Park Sanssouci, Lake Adventure, Tempelhof Airport, Nature Park

The free day was quite lovely, and not educational at all so I can skip that day all together. The day of the IGA garden show was hot, and nobody was having it, but the installations and designs that I experienced that day inspired me and gave me a new thirst for design. It was like the PHS flower show that I attended yearly in the US, but on steroids. Berlin IGA was a massive piece of land, bigger than what I had anticipated, and so much thought and time had gone into the space. That kind of process is something I really enjoy about my profession, how slow and careful it must be in order to create truly resounding spaces. On the day of our travel to Sanssouci, it was also incredibly hot. I really felt like my skin was melting, but it was yet another breathtaking palace experience. Because it was so hot, I began to daydream about swimming in any lake. I needed water. I got on my phone, searched up a spot, found a few other willing participants and the moment we were released from class, off we went. I’ve written this before in other summaries of my experience during this class, and getting to this lake was likely the most life changing, spiritual experience in recent memory. I floated in the lake, cleared my mind, thought clearly about what I wanted to do with my life, and I felt so incredibly good and at peace with myself. That is something I had struggled with for so long, but this blog isn’t about fighting my inner demons, it’s about this educational experience and where it took me. 

  Th 22.6 | Fr 23.6 | Sa 24.6

Stalinallee + Hansaviertel, Kreuzberg, Tiergarten, Potsdamer Platz, Unter Den Linden, Potsdamer Platz, Mauer Park, Fly Home

Being able to visit such a site as Hansaviertel, where the world’s most renowned architects of the 1950′s gathered and designed an artistic rainbow of buildings, was like letting a sugar addict run free through a candy shop. I loved architecture for as long as I have been in college, even though I got scared off from it because of a boring teacher the first semester into it. I always regretted not sticking with it, regretted wasting time on things I didn't truly love. I learned, looking back on that experience, that I need to trust my gut and my heart because, with good intentions, it will lead you in the right direction. I am so grateful to have experienced these architectural masterpieces, in addition to the Bauhaus archives and the magnificent planning of Stalinallee, all in one day. It didn’t even matter that it stormed and poured at a point. What I was learning was so near and dear to my heart and I enjoyed every moment of it. We had our last sit-down as a class at the Berlin City Models exhibition, where we reflected and connected the things we saw in Germany to the things we saw at home. How we could design for a better future and use what we had learned along the way to bring something new to the table and make change happen? We talked about our inspirations and where we were headed next. I could not think of a better wrap-up to an amazing, life-altering trip.

Aaaand I went to a diner THE SECOND I got back in town. Here’s that moment: