#{enjoy the block of me fangirling over jess}

[merlinsmushrooms]

Salt Lake Con Report!

{{I’m finally home, and thus it’s time to ramble about my adventures with my partner in crime... Warning: This is essentially nothing but fanspazzing and bubbly excitement. I have a large number of folks I need to give con stories to, and it’s just easier to put all of it in a post and link it than repeat everything over and over.}}

There’s nothing better than finally meeting one of your closest internet friends in real life, and that’s exactly what happened over the weekend. @sorceryandjellybeans pitched in to help me come down to Utah for the weekend to join them in a group cosplay, and oh boy was it a weekend I’m not going to forget. 

Thursday was the first real day of the con and I whipped Cedric back out for it. I didn’t really get photos of him since it wasn’t my main focus, but more people recognized him there than ever before. It was really nice since it doesn’t seem like Sofia’s really popular where I live.

^ literally the only photo we took outside a dorky one Sorc asked me to do that I am not putting on here for reasons {maybe later}

The first thing we did when the doors opened to general admission was plop our butts down at Jess Harnell’s both. Our main focus was for Sorc to meet Harnell because she had been waiting far too long for the opportunity, and we joked about if he’d remember me from CCEE or not. He did.

I don’t think it’s possible to describe the feeling you get when one of your idols says you’re one of his favorite cosplayers, but it happened and I practically internally exploded. I also don’t think I can describe the mutual reaction that was had when I pulled out a Loud and Clear CD from waaaaaaaay back in the day, and then his reaction when I pulled the entire set out of Sorc’s bag. It was my goal to get all of the ones that weren’t signed already signed by the end of the weekend. I think he appreciated the absurdity of it rofl. After several hugs and me being unable to cope with the words of praise coming out of his mouth, I got my autograph and Sorc got her turn. I’ll let her share her own experience, because to be perfectly honest I was starstruck in the moment, and can barely comprehend what was going on. Grats on having him borderline sign your chest though.  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) {Also, he pulled out the Wakko voice because she brought an Animaniacs shirt.}

grats you all know my name now

Earlier in the day we noticed that one of the panel rooms had a panel for him. It was apparently scheduled at the very last second, and it wasn’t in the guide book or anything. Of course we went.

It was absolutely hilarious. I’m crossing my fingers a video of the panel is posted sometime online soon, because holy crap. I couldn’t breathe half the time because we were laughing so hard. If you haven’t been to a panel with him yet, do it. {Honestly, if you haven’t met him yet and get the chance, do that too. He LOVES his fans. Literally everybody who meets him walks out beaming, and trust me, I met a lot of people this weekend who got the squishes from him.}

Jess may or may not {aka: did} force me to stand up in front of the audience after somebody mentioned something about Sofia . It’s up there on one of the most awkward moments of my life. I just don’t take praise well, and here I am constantly getting it from the man himself? I honestly have no idea how to feel right now.

Hotel room evenings essentially looked like this:

No complaints. Marathoning StF with Sorc’s smol was a welcome evening break~ Lots of hot tubbing too— leaking glass roof included!

Friday turned to chaos quickly as an accident happened, and my buddy was unable to attend due to a serious concern that I’d rather not share. {They might, but privacy is important.} I wound up going by myself in my normal{ish} clothes to get both our daily autographs done, and the volunteers and Jess both seemed extremely concerned when I mentioned what happened. Luckily, I got a text saying everything was okay while I was chatting with him about the incident.  Lots of hugs were exchanged and he gave me a very heart touching second autograph after giving me many many many words that I’d honestly never heard from anybody else before in my life. {The one he gave Sorc was also adorable as heck. POST IT. PLEASE GIRL.}

Now onto the 2nd most important thing we did over the weekend. The Rock Sugar concert. 

I’m gonna brag because Sorc did something amazing and I still can’t even what we got away with.

Best. View. Ever. THE SOUND SYSTEM GOT BLOWN OUT BEFORE THEY EVEN PLAYED. THEY PLAYED NEW SONGS.  THEY HAD TABERNACLE CHOIR PEOPLE COME OUT FOR SHOOK ME LIKE A PRAYER?!??! THEY SHOT A MUSIC VIDEO!? WE GOT POINTED AT AND I SWOON. THEY FOUND OLD T-SHIRTS AND WE GOT SOME. CROWDSURFING RED SHORTS GUY. NIKKI CAN’T THROW. THEY’RE GONNA GET SUED. MAGIC PANTS.

FSDKFLSDMFSLKFDNSDKLFNSDKLFNSDKLGNKLGNSKL NGFLSNGD.

I honestly never thought I’d be able to see this show live again, but I did. And I can’t even.

Saturday was the main day of the con for us. That’s when Sorc whipped out all the costumes she made, and things got crazy. I was cosplaying Sofia in a dress that I watched her stress over for months, and I still feel I didn’t do that amazing piece of art justice. Words cannot describe how talented she is with her cosplay. This dress is going to be my new treasure and you know it, girl.

The reception we got was insane. It felt like we couldn’t walk for more than 5 minutes without a child waving out to us. I’ll be honest and say I felt entirely uncomfortable in the role at first. I didn’t know how to pose as I’m not a “girly girl” at all, but the kids really helped calm me down and reassured me I was the real deal to them.  Seriously, the very first thing that happened before we even got inside was a child came up to me and asked me for my autograph. I was not expecting anything like that to happen.

Sorc interacting with her daughter - who was dressed as Calista - was also the most adorable thing ever. Nothing beats Calista and Cedric cuteness. Nothing. Her mom was also dressed like Winnifred. The whole group dynamic was just beyond cute. 

We went back to visit Jess for the final time as a group, and it was just... I have no words. Photos were taken. The smol got loved. The costumes were praised. It really felt like everybody’s hard work paid off. 

Also two words: Booth. Babe. {For like 5 minutes. Inside joke.} I got to wait around at the booth in full cosplay for Chuck {the guitarist} to come around and sign the old Loud and Clear CDs. He’s so nice. I laughed when he saw them and exclaimed that he didn’t even have some of these CDs. Heck, even a lady in the line asked to see them because they were so old and she hadn’t seen them in a very long time. These things are treasures to me now.

Please excuse me as I scream and also point out cheezy 90s packaging.  My goal of getting all my CDs signed was not only completed, but he wrote the nicest things?! ANFJKSDFSFSDGSF.

Smol went down for a nap after all this {her mom was babysitting}, and Sorc and I got to wander around by ourselves until the costume contest started. Our photographers batteries apparently died so he had to cancel on us, but he hooked us up with a new one and we pretty much spent an hour with that guy running around the convention center doing all sorts of awkward stuff. We felt really bad that we had to decline photos with people {especially the little ones} while were were trying to run between shoot locations, but he was super nice and let people snap shots as he was working once we got to our spots.

I seriously cannot wait to see some of these photos. I’m kinda self conscious and worried that I’m squinting in them  or I’m looking down and ruining my chin - it’s a huge problem I have in general and I have to really focus to not, and it’s hard when you’re that hyped up - but I should shut up and focus on all the fun we had posing instead. Books. Ravens. Wand chases. Recreating a friend’s drawing. Some of the shots might come across as a bit shippy, so we really need to sit down and figure out how we want to handle some of them, but we’ll be sharing whatever photos we both agree turned out once we have them. Just a reminder that anything we post together is platonic; do not force ships onto us, please. Keep with our intentions of cute uncle/niece stuff. <3

We eventually got to do the costume contest, and that was nerve wracking. I felt a bit silly because again, I’m not the Princess type, but as soon as our little Calista walked on stage and the crowd went nuts, everything fell into place and things just felt as they should. World’s cutest wizard family goes to Sorc!

I honestly didn’t want to go home or for the weekend to end, but it is as it is. It’s back to being a grumpy wizard again.

We’ll get those cosplay photos from Saturday up as soon as we’re able! 

ps: cedric no hoverhanding

[olicitysecretsanta]

Broken Bones Lead Me To You

For @the-shy-and-anxious-fangirl,

Happy Holidays! Hope you enjoy this fluffy little meet cute :) - Jesse @spaztronautwriter

###

Sick people made a lot of noise.

As someone who’d never spent much time around the sick or injured, Oliver had never had occasion to notice it before, but sitting on an uncomfortable blue plastic chair in the Starling Memorial emergency room, all he could hear were the moanings and groanings off all the people around him.

A man in what was once probably a white hoodie, but was now covered in stains Oliver would rather not identify, stood at the check in desk, shouting at the nurse for asking him to fill out a form. An old lady in a wheelchair was breathing so heavily that, if they weren’t already in a hospital, he’d probably consider calling 9-1-1. A kid less than five feet away was puking into a bucket, rather violently. A low chorus of coughing and complaints surrounded him on all sides, drowning out the low hum of Christmas music coming over the speakers, and it was only contributing to his headache.

Sliding doors opened on the far side of the room as a man and a woman entered from outside, a brisk wind sweeping in behind them. Oliver tugged his peacoat tighter around his shoulders and wondered when this hellish experience would end.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Queen. Nurse says it’ll be another few minutes,” his bodyguard said as he folded himself into the chair beside him, an apologetic smile crossing his face.

In all the years John Diggle had worked security for the Queen’s, Oliver had never seen him look like that. He supposed that might be because this was the first time the man’s toddler had ever broken one of his client’s noses before. If he didn’t think he might pass out from the pain, Oliver would have been tempted to laugh at the situation.

It all started with a text message. A message that wasn’t even for him, in fact.

John had been hanging out in Oliver’s office at Queen Consolidated when his phone dinged. It had been a slow day due to a mixture of snow and it being so close to Christmas, so Oliver hadn’t been doing much more than deleting old emails for the past hour. When he looked up to catch John smiling adoringly at his phone he was immediately curious. John was married, but he was and his wife, Lyla, were far from the mushy type, so that only left one option. The text must be about their daughter, Sara. And if that were the case, then Oliver could honestly say that he didn’t blame the man.

Sara Diggle was the cutest baby Oliver had ever seen. Which was why Oliver had stopped fiddling around with his email and got up to see what cute thing John’s daughter was up to today. John had glanced up as Oliver approached, smirking and turning his phone to face him. The screen was filled with a video of Sara shuffling her feet through the light snow that had fallen that morning.

“Lyla took her to the park on Third. She was too little for snow last year.” He turned the phone back so he could watch his daughter play in the snow for the first time, a dopey grin spreading across his face.

If it hadn’t been a week before Christmas, if the office hadn’t been so slow, maybe Oliver wouldn’t have suggested what he suggested. Maybe he would have smiled at his friend and gone back to work. But it was and Oliver, willing to do anything to escape the endless boredom, made the suggestion that had ended him up in the emergency room less than an hour later.

“Not much going on here today. Why don’t we take a walk down and meet them?”

“Your kid kicks me in the face and you start calling me Mr. Queen?” Oliver joked, or tried to. He sounded so nasally he could barely recognize his own voice. “What title do I get if you accidentally shoot me?”

John shot him an unimpressed look out of the corner of his eye, but his shoulders loosened up a bit. “Oliver, man, I’m sorry.”

“I think you’ve mentioned that once or twice.”

He had actually mentioned it more like twenty-three times according to Oliver’s count, but he was pretty sure he’d blacked out for a minute there so it could’ve likely been more.

It wasn’t like it was John’s fault anyway. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Oliver had simply offered to help Sara climb up the slide. Even though Lyla had told her no because, you know, the stairs were covered in ice and snow and she’d slip. But if Oliver was helping then she couldn’t possibly slip, right?

Oh, how little respect he’d had for Lyla’s maternal instincts.

Halfway up the ladder, as soon as she was level with Oliver’s face, her foot slipped off the slick metal step, jolting back to hit him square in the nose. Despite the pain, and probable blackout, Oliver managed to hold onto Sara long enough for her to pull herself the rest of the way up the ladder. As splashes of red blood stained the snow at his feet, all Oliver could hear were Sara’s happy giggles as she flew down the slide into a pile of snow at the bottom.

John shook his head. “Your mother is going to kill me. Or worse, fire me.”

“She’s not going to fire you.”

His mother, despite her overprotective streak, would never fire John over an accident. In fact, after a few days, she might even find the incident amusing. This news didn’t seem to appease John much. His leg jumped restlessly, his fingers tapping against his knee as the minutes passed.

“I’m gonna see if I can get you some ice,” he said, jumping up from his chair.

Oliver smiled as best he could, wanting to at least try to lessen the man’s guilt. Even if just a little. He was pretty sure the wince that followed did the opposite.

Crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes, Oliver tried to block out the endless noise of the emergency room. He didn’t open them again until he felt someone take the seat beside him. A glance to his left told him that it was definitely not John returning with his ice pack.

A young blonde woman in an ugly Hanukkah sweater—Oliver didn’t even know they made those—sat down beside him, setting her purse on her lap. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a neat ponytail, and she looked intensely focused as she stared down at a clipboard.

Oliver watched her for a moment as she skimmed the questions on the form. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with her at first. She wasn’t groaning or wheezing or throwing up and she didn’t look to be in any obvious pain. At least, until she tried to pick up the pen attached to the clipboard. Her face crumpled as she tried to wrap her hand around the pen and that’s when he noticed her right thumb. It was swollen and an ugly shade of purple. It didn’t take a medical degree to realize it was broken. She winced, switching the pen to her left hand as if she’d gone to pick it up with her right on instinct.

He tried not to stare, but it was difficult not to notice what a hard time she was having. Her handwriting looked like little more than chicken scratch, despite how many times she readjusted her pen.

“Excuse me,” he said after a minute of watching her struggle, and she turned to him with wide blue eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was out of surprise or because of the dried blood undoubtedly all over his face. “Do you need some help?”

“Oh!” The woman glanced down at the form before her eyes darted back to Oliver. “No. No, it’s alright. Thank you, though.”

Oliver braved a smile for her, and tried to keep his eyes to himself, but after a few more minutes of her struggling to fill out her address, he decided to try again. “Are you sure you don’t need help? Because” —he flexed both hands in front of him— “it’s just my nose that’s broken.”

She took one last look at her barely filled out form before sighing in defeat. “If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind?”

He grabbed the clipboard and pen, turning to face her. “What’s your phone number?”

“What?” She glanced over at him, startled, before blinking. “Oh! Right.” She laughed a little nervously, but quickly rattled off her number.

“And you’re here because of a broken thumb, right?” She nodded and he filled out the information.

“What happened?”

She blinked then glanced down at the form. “It asks that?”

“No,” he said, his lips turning up at the corners. “No, I was just asking because it looks pretty bad. It wants your insurance information.”

“It was a video gaming accident,” she said, digging through her bag in search of her insurance card. “Mario Kart.”

If his face wasn’t pounding he was pretty sure he would have been grinning at her. “How do you break your thumb playing Mario Kart?”

“You don’t.” She pushed her glasses up her nose using her good hand. “You break it punching the arm of the couch when you lose at Mario Kart.”

He couldn’t help himself. He snorted and immediately regretted it. “Ugh,” he groaned, closing his eyes against the pain.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry,” she said, but he waved her off, taking the insurance card from her and copying down her information. “So… Broken nose, right? How’d you manage that? Get into a fist fight or something?”

“Or something,” he said, handing her card back to her. “Actually, I got kicked in the face. Any allergies?”

“You got kicked in the face?” she asked, eyes wide and completely ignoring his question. “Are you an MMA fighter or something? Because you look like you could definitely be an MMA fighter.”

His lips quirked and he nearly snorted again at the way her eyes raked up and down his body. This girl was a hazard to his health.

“No. Believe it or not, my story might be even more embarrassing than yours.”

“My story is not embarrassing,” she argued, adjusting her purse in her lap. “The other guy totally cheated. I was well within my rights to be angry.”

“Angry enough to break your own thumb,” he teased.

“Shut up.” Her face scrunched up adorably and she waved her good hand in his direction. “You still didn’t tell me how you managed to get kicked in the face.”

“And you didn’t tell me if you have any allergies.”

“Peanuts,” she said with a huff, then pointedly narrowed her gaze until Oliver relented.

“I was helping my friend’s toddler up a slide and her foot slipped on some snow.” He gestured to his face, showcasing the damage such a simple little accident could cause. He knew his skin was sticky with blood, but he was pretty sure it had also started to bruise as he waited to be seen by a doctor. He wondered how bad it looked.

She laughed, her head tilting back just slightly, and Oliver had a fleeting thought about how gorgeous she was. He’d noticed she was pretty as soon as she’d sat down, but there was something about her smile. Something so carefree about her laugh, despite the pain she must currently be in. She seemed to radiate friendliness and warmth. She was beautiful.

“I’m Oliver, by the way.”

She looked over at him, that smile still one her face. “Felicity.”

He’d already known that since it was one of the few things she’d managed to scrawl on her paperwork.

Felicity Smoak.

She reached out with her left hand and he met her halfway, giving it an awkward shake. His skin buzzed where she touched him. Her gaze traveled to their hands, almost as if she felt it too, and then back to his face where it stayed until something behind Oliver caught her attention.

“Here, this should help with the swelling,“ John said, and Oliver reluctantly pulled his gaze away as his friend stopped beside him, holding out an ice pack.

“Thanks, man.” Grabbing the ice pack, he looked over to see Felicity glancing curiously at the newcomer, and gestured to his friend. “Felicity, this is John Diggle. Father of the nose breaker.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” John replied, his smile genuine, if reserved. He’d been through this song and dance with Oliver plenty of times in the past. Oliver didn’t blame the guy for thinking Felicity was just another girl out to snag Oliver Queen. He didn’t get that vibe from her, though. In fact, he was pretty sure Felicity had no idea who he was.

Truth was, as much as Oliver had enjoyed the modicum of celebrity his family’s wealth brought him, or the endless array of women and one night stands that came with it, he’d long since grown tired of it. But it had been difficult finding women in his social circle that didn’t remember the spoiled womanizer he’d been in his youth. Even strangers knew the sordid details of his past thanks to the paparazzi and tabloids. Still, if ever there was a woman he wanted to take a chance with, he thought it might be Felicity Smoak.

He opened his mouth to ask for her number, not for the paperwork this time, when a nurse called out, “Mr. Queen?”

He looked over at the nurse glancing in his general direction and raised a hand.

“Right this way,” she said, gesturing for him to follow her.

Oliver hesitated a moment, wondering if he should ask Felicity for her number now, or if that might scare her away. They’d only been talking for a few minutes and what he was feeling might be one-sided. Still… If he didn’t take the chance now he might never see her again.

“Mr. Queen?” the nurse called again, her tone impatient, though she tried to hide it behind a polite smile.

Turning back quickly, he gently reached for Felicity’s hand. She startled for a moment, until he took the ice pack John had given him and placed it on top of her busted thumb. Her good hand immediately shot out, covering his, and a spark of electricity shot up his arm, setting his skin buzzing once again.

“Keep this on there, okay?”

She nodded, eyes on their hands. When he pulled away to stand she glanced up at him, cheeks tinted pink and a small smile on her lips. “Thanks.”

He wished he could return the smile the way he wanted to.

“He’ll keep you company while I’m gone,” Oliver said, nodding to John who was already sliding into his now abandoned seat.

John shot her a wink, causing her to grin.

“Mr. Queen.” This time the nurse didn’t hide her impatience and Oliver reluctantly turned to follow her into the emergency room.

###

The wait in the ER turned out to take longer than the actual visit with the doctor. It only took about twenty minutes to straighten out his nose and pack it with gauze. Soon enough he was making his way back out to the waiting room in search of John.

He wasn’t necessarily hoping Felicity would still be there, but… Yeah, who was he kidding? He was totally hoping she was still there. So when he saw her, sitting in the same plastic chair he’d left her in, he made a beeline right for her.

“Still here?”

Her head jerked up at the sound of his voice and a smile stretched across her face when she saw him.“Yeah. Probably won’t be much longer.”

The ice pack he’d given her was still draped across her busted thumb, and it made Oliver smile. Not that he could manage much of one. The anesthetic spray the doctor used had dulled some of the pain, but the packing made it hard to move his face at all. Something Felicity took notice of almost immediately.

Her smile quirked up on one side, turning amused, as she looked up at him. “Boy, I’m glad I only broke my hand.”

With a tilt of his head, Oliver silently told her what he thought of her jokes before glancing around. “Where’s John? Were you mean to him, too?”

She laughed. “He went to make a phone call. I think he’s right out front.”

Oliver nodded, biting his lip. He knew he should go now. This was the natural end of their acquaintance, and he should say goodbye and go find John. This… lingering he was doing probably wasn’t doing him any favors with her.

“I hope your hand feels better,” he said, after a moment.

“I hope your nose feels better. I mean, you know, heals quickly. Wouldn’t want the paparazzi plastering pictures of you with a bandaged nose all over the tabloids.”

His head snapped back in surprise. “You know who I am?”

“Well, there aren’t many Queen’s in Starling City and you are kind of famous. If your face wasn’t all messed up I probably would have recognized you immediately.” She slammed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “Not that your face is messed up. You’re still very attractive. Like, really, really attractive. I just didn’t recognize you because of all the bruising and swelling and blood and I’m going to stop talking in three… two…”

“Felicity.” Oliver smiled at her, the uncomfortable stuffed feeling in his nose be damned. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

Her blue eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she covered it up with that same amused smile from before. “I bet you ask out all the girls you end up in the ER with.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head, his tone as serious as he could get it while still sounding like a manly Fran Drescher. “Just the ones that get so mad over losing at a video game that they break their own thumbs.”

The grin she shot him and the way it made his stomach flip made him certain of his decision.

“Okay,” she said, her ponytail bobbling slightly with her nod. She bit her lip, and he got the impression that she was as willing to take a chance on him as he was on her.

He nodded back. “Okay.”

“But…” She appraised him, tilting her head thoughtfully to the side. “Maybe we should wait until your nose is healed a little.”

Oliver‘s brows furrowed, and he wondered if he looked even worse than he thought he did. Was she embarrassed to be seen in public with him?

“It’s just…” She raised her broken hand. “With my busted hand and your busted nose, people might think I punched you.”

He laughed, and this time the pain killers didn’t help as much as he would have liked, but it was worth it. “Let them think what they want. I’ve had kind of a sucky day and dinner with you might just turn it around.”

She smiled again, opening her mouth to reply when a nurse called her name. She closed her eyes, shaking her head, but Oliver moved over to take a seat in his previously vacated chair.

“Go on,” he said. “I’ll wait.”

For a moment she looked like he’d knocked the wind out of her with the suggestion, but then she reached out and squeezed his hand with her good one. Then she followed the nurse off, turning back once to meet his gaze, before walking through the doors and out of sight.

Oliver leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes against the dull throbbing of his head, and listened to the sounds of the ER. Somehow, knowing that he had dinner with Felicity to look forward to made even the incessant sound of coughing echoing through the room that much less awful. And, as the soft strings of Christmas music cut through the white noise of the ER, Oliver made a mental note to get Sara Diggle a really nice present this year.

[jishua-moved]

We’ve come to the end of 2017, my precious flowers (or should I said diamonds? 👀) Anyway. I’ll be honest with you and say that 2017 was one hell of a year for me. I’ve been through a lot. I’ve lost important people to me but found a lot of other people who were kinder; I’ve had relationships crumble and watched them come together again; I’ve fallen and gotten back up again multiple times and through everything, I eventually came out stronger. I really couldn’t have done it without the support that I got from a lot of you. Most of you guys honestly held me together when I was at my worst and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. I hope that in 2018 our friendships will continue and grow stronger. I love you all so much ♡ So here is a thank you...

Mind that this might get hella long, so if you’d like just Ctrl + F and find your username. This isn’t alphabetically sorted bcuz my motivation died with the follow forever.

@gamegirlhorror Tiffany. Honestly, the sheer amount of support and love that I’ve received from you is more than enough to fill the entire universe (that is constantly expanding, mind you.) I love you SO much! I can’t believe it’s been so long since we’ve known each other. Like, it blows my mind. I still remember following you only because I thought your icon of pyramid head was cute lol and I still remember you being neongreenraver :,) There isn’t a moment that goes by where I don’t miss our skype sessions and constant talks but the fact that you’re out there earning and working towards a better life makes me feel content. I love how no matter how busy you are you always find time to listen to my shit even though I know you have a lot of your own. You always put me first and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. There’s a lot more I would say but this is getting long rip. I love you, my princess peach, I love you so very much. 💚

@wonnwoo Rina. It hasn’t even been a year since we’ve met and yet we became one of the closest people to each other. You really are my Ohana hah :,) I want to thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin and helping me get up on my feet when I was at my worst, even if it meant scolding me. I appreciate every word and ounce of effort you put into this relationship. Thank you for showing me a different perspective of every situation and thank you for trusting me with so many things. You were never a shitty friend to me, not once. You are a friend I will always treasure and someone I will be there for as much as I can. Here’s to many more years of friendship, bby. I love you! 💝

@baekbyun Doro. My sissy, my chucci, my meme child LOL. You angel. I’ve never told you this but you’ve taught me a lot of things without even realizing it. You’ve taught me to be kinder and more patient, to be tougher and to be more positive. Truly, I strive to be kinder, like you. It hasn’t been that long and we’ve already been through a lot. I thank you so much for sticking with me through the good and bad times, for listening to me always, for never taking sides and being rational, for keeping my secrets and helping me get through different situations, for being someone with whom I could be myself with and being someone I could trust. I look forward to the day I finally get to see you, give you a big hug and roll my eyes while you dab as we go get two different pizzas cuz u a pineapple hater :P I love you, sissy. 💖

@kihyuns Cass. My smol genius as I would call you lol but it doesn’t seem like it fits anymore because over the course of this year you’ve grown a lot in my eyes. I still remember you before graduation and how worried you were about college, etc and look at you now! It was a pleasure being your friend through graduation, etc. We’ve been through a shitton over a short time but I’m glad we chose to stick together and work it out despite our differences. You’re just as stubborn and feisty as I am so it’s only normal that we clash sometimes. Nevertheless, I always enjoy our talks no matter how small and insignificant! I love your humor and how you’re ready to ��block” everyone xD I love how we’re both so into SpongeBob we can sing every song backwards LOL. I look forward to many more years of humorous friendship. Love you, nerd 💛

@mnanvg Moon. My lovely Moon, you’re such a soft human being it warms my heart. The amount of love you radiate is incredible and I appreciate it more than I ever told you. Thank you for never hesitating to remind me how much you love me, how good of a friend I am, how much I should love myself, etc. Thank you for the endless, wordless support. We don’t talk much and yet I’ve never felt like you’re a bad friend for lack of communication.  On the contrary, you can show me how much you care by sending me a few posts. I wish you all the best, sweetheart. I look forward to seeing you grow stronger and achieve your dreams. I love you 💗

@tookorean Jackie. (I realize that you’re not active on tumblr anymore but I couldn’t not include you.) My completely opposite, my female Woozi & so many others things to me. You know how much you mean to me but no matter how many times I say it I won’t be able to truly express it. When I first met you I never imagined that our friendship would go on for this long and that we would go through a lot over a short time. I truly, from the bottom of my heart thank you for sticking with me no matter what and being patient with me and caring for me even though I’ve been...well, a mess. I remember a moment from back when we first became friends and you’d talk about your Totoro onesie. I’d made a post that I was crying over Vernon (lol) and you’d replied with “Baby don’t cryyyyyy tonight” and proceeded to try and cheer me up, telling me you loved me and telling me how it was okay for me to cry on your onesie... Those little moments are something I’ll cherish forever. I want us to stay friends for a long, long time, honestly. I hope we can pull through, fam. I love you so much 💙

@hansolmates Cami. Mah Cami baby, my sol ~ I just realized it’s been over a year since we became friends (aka bonded over your hansolmates fic heheh.) I still remember reading it the 1st time and thinking “omg PISTACHIO ICECREAM” lmao and ofc I remember binge-reading all your Vernon fics cuz I biased AF back then (istg i still love my boy). OMG remember when we lowkey declared war on each other for Vernon? Wow. Good times lol. I want to thank you for helping me with writing and inspiring me. I want to thank you for never judging me for my feelings and supporting me, fangirling with me and being easy going which made me feel like i could tell you anything. Thank you for being a sweetheart to me and being my Sol :,) Here’s to another year of our wonderful friendship! Love you, bby 💜

@daihun Jess. My video game buddy and cry buddy :,D I never thought I’d be able to find a person who loves k-pop and video games as much as I do (especially the same videos games wow.) I have so much fun talking to you on a daily basis! Thank you for sending me Joshua pics and sharing video game jokes with me. I remember, before we started talking, I’d relate to your posts so much and your aesthetic was A+ so I was like “I’ve gotta talk to her sometime” and I’m glad we finally did. I would love to get to know you better & I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WE GET TO PLAY TOGETHER T^T I love you ❤️ I gUeSs 👀😂

@joshpup Hannah. MY NU’EST HYPE BUDDY! I’m so glad we have Joshua and Nu’est to scream over tbh. It’s a perfect combination! I’ve had so much fun talking to you for this short time and I hope we can talk even more in the future! I love how we both caved in and bought signed Nu’est albums cuz #SUPPORT ammrite?! And how we cried when they got their first win omg. Good times, good times! I look forward to sharing more tears with you over Joshua and Nu’est LOL. Did I tell you I’m in love with your art? bcuz i am, yes, yes! KEEP ON ART-ING! I love ya! 💞 

@boovely Cathy. Girl, it hasn’t been long at all but look at us having a streak on snapchat already lol. Honestly, you’re the only person who I have a solid streak with. I’ll shut up about streaks now. Thank you for being the #1 fan of my zodiac gfx haha~ I love how we bonded over that. Svt does indeed bring people together! It’s been fun talking to you and seeing your lovely face on a daily basis :D I look forward to skyping you sometime and I hope to see you back on tumblr as well. Thank you for being my friend! I love you 💓

@verngyu Dee. My fellow Capricorn! It’s been fun talking to you. I like how I can talk to you about certain things without thinking twice because I know you won’t judge me, and you know what I mean by certain things. I like how caring you can be and I hope you stay that way. I look forward to seeing you grow and I wish you all the best, truly. This sounds like a goodbye letter omg lol I’m sorry! Here’s to a new year of growing together, mentally and physically xD Love you 💜

@vitaminniedk Viv. My sunshine :,) You’re legit a walking ray of sunlight I cannot. You’re so sweet and kind, bless you. It’s been a pleasure being your friend. I would honestly love to talk to you more~ I know I can be super awkward sometimes excuse me ^^’ but I enjoy our talks nevertheless! I remember when we spent a couple hours watching going svt on youtube in the summer haha. I enjoyed that! Here’s to a new year of friendship. Love you, sunshine 💛

@wooziology Isabelle. My Potato 🥔 (that is literally the title I have for you on my sc LOL.) Your love for Woozi could beat world hunger, just sayin’. Thanks for being my friend and my potato ahaha. I enjoyed our skype session very much and I hope we can have another one soon! I love seeing your snaps on a daily basis :D And omg it’s been so long since I heard you sing. Where’s Isabelle’s 1st studio album? GET IT *sends a letter to Woozi* make it happen. Love you! 💞

I just want to say, if you’re not included, don’t feel discouraged because I will most likely come to you in private and tell you everything 1 on 1. To those who have really been my friends and stuck with me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Friendships mean a lot to me, and those closest to me know that very well. Thank you once again! Here’s to a better next year!  

[thekimmiandjackieshow]

The Full House Bench and Resort Christmas Trees!

November finally ended and December, the last full month of my fall program, had finally arrived. While I’m the type of person that celebrates Christmas for several months (and Disney does too), December 1st really is the start of the season when everybody starts to realize that Christmas has finally come. I wanted to go to Magic Kingdom to bask in all their Christmas decorations to get into the holiday spirit. So, I talked Sarah into going with me for the afternoon. 

We hopped on the ferry and sailed through the Seven Seas Lagoon towards Magic Kingdom. The ferry is my favorite way to travel to Magic Kingdom. There’s something about boarding a boat that lets you leave all the stress back at your car in the parking lot and ready for the magic ahead. That was the idea of the entire thing, but it really works.

While we were on the ferry we talked about how we hadn’t done much exploring of the resorts and now that it was finally December, they’d likely all be decorated. (They start decorating after Halloween but they don’t get to every park and resort right away. It was halfway through November before Animal Kingdom got their tree.) The Seven Seas Lagoon is a great place to start when park hopping because you can knock out three resorts in a short amount of time using the monorail. So, we ditched Magic Kingdom and headed over to the Polynesian Resort instead.

The Polynesian Resort sits on the beach of the Seven Seas Lagoon and is one of the best themed resorts on property. I had only been through the lobby to get to the bar and had never taken time to walk around the back and see their pool, so after grabbing a picture of their tree, we wandered around for a bit and then left. 

It’s fun to see how they theme each tree based off the resort. Plain Christmas trees aren’t really Disney’s style.

Our next stop was the Grand Floridian. Also sitting on the Seven Seas Lagoon directly next to the Wedding Pavilion, it’s a very high-end resort. Wandering through fancy resorts on property always amuses me because here you are, walking through a gorgeous resort that is very classy looking, and yet it’s filled with people dressed in classic tourist attire. I’ve never seen so many fanny packs in a high-end resort in my life.

One of the merchandise coordinators for the Grand used to be a coordinator for our area, so we peeked in each shop to see if he was working that day. We never found him but we did find some fun decorations! 

The Grand’s tree was gorgeous. We even saw a bride and groom taking pictures in front of it. The Grand Floridian is home to many weddings, not only because of how gorgeous the resort is but because it sits directly next to the Wedding Pavilion. It’s a convenient choice for guests who want to get married and stay on property. The Christmas tree was one of the tallest we saw in terms of resort trees. They kind of had to do it that way because of how tall the lobby ceiling is. Anything too short and it would look like a tiny tree, even if it’s a pretty standard size.

While the Grand is not my favorite resort (unpopular opinion), it certainly is gorgeous. Disney’s open lobby policy (where anybody can wander through their lobbies and enjoy the atmosphere) really helps as well because you’re not chained to your one resort and locked out of all the others. There’s not a secret gate that you can’t get through because you didn’t fork over thousands of dollars to stay there. You don’t get to take advantage of the pools or the rooms but you can hang out in their lobbies and shop in their gift shops.

The other fun thing to see at the Grand during Christmas time is their gingerbread house! In some of the more high-end resorts, Disney constructs large projects out of gingerbread to wow their guests and fill the lobby with the incredible smell of gingerbread.

The house was very impressive, but the part that was most amazing to me was the fact that it had an actual functioning door for Cast Members to go inside. 

Why would they need to go inside, you ask? Because, the gingerbread house is actually a shop in which you can buy Christmas treats like gingerbread and hot chocolate. 

It was the cutest little shop with all kinds of gingerbread treats! I got a cookie, because why wouldn’t you?? How often can you buy a gingerbread cookie out of a gingerbread house? Sadly, the cookie was pretty disgusting. But, the concept was very impressive!

Being in the Grand got Sarah and I thinking about the Full House episode where they all go to Walt Disney World. Michelle gets to be the princess of the day much to Stephanie’s anger and DJ is dealing with missing Steve (even though they’ve only been apart for like a week at most). The Grand got us thinking about this for several reasons. If you’ve never seen the episode, the Grand is where Jesse apologizes to Becky for missing their anniversary dinner by playing the piano in the lobby and singing to her. It also just so happens that Steve misses DJ so much that he flies to Orlando to have a reunion, which happens in that very lobby. 

There are quite a few places that the Full House cast goes to. If you hadn’t been to Walt Disney World before watching the episode (which was me, by the way), you’d be under the impression that a lot of the things they did happened in the same locations. For example, when they see the Indiana Jones stunt show, you may think that’s in Magic Kingdom. It’s not, it’s all the way in Hollywood Studios. We didn’t have a desire to race around to every single location, but we did want to find the “Full House Bench”.

In the story line, Stephanie continues to be aggravated by Michelle’s bratty behavior. She goes back to the hotel and sits on a bench at the beach, where Joey shows up to empathize with her. He basically tells Stephanie that he understands but that she missed out on a lot of the fun at the park by being angry. The bench they sit on is this swinging bench on the beach, which based on the plot line, one would assume is at the Grand Floridian. I mean the Grand has beaches so it’s not too far of a stretch. Sarah and I pretty much knew that the bench wasn’t there, and started to think about other resorts that had mini beaches that may have a bench on it. 

We ruled out Caribbean Beach Resort because I had stayed there in 2013 and definitely didn’t remember any benches on their tiny pond beaches. So, we headed over to Yacht and Beach Club, figuring there was a good chance we’d find it there.

The Yacht and Beach Club resorts are also high-end resorts that are closer to the Boardwalk by EPCOT. We had pretty much forgotten about our adventure to see resort Christmas trees by this point, and were reminded when we walked through the lobby and smelled more gingerbread.

This time, it was a Merry-Go-’Round made of gingerbread, and yes, it actually spun.

Their tree hid modestly between two pillars to leave room for the magnificent gingerbread display. I don’t think very many people were itching to take pictures in front of the short tree after seeing the Merry-Go-’Round made of desserts.

We walked through the lobby and headed for the beaches, determined to find the bench. I promise that it’s not a super unhealthy obsession. When you’re fans of a show and you get to see part of their “set” (even if it was just them using random parts of Walt Disney World property), you get excited! 

It was pretty easy to find the bench once we walked towards the beach. The swinging bench faced the waters from the Boardwalk and was surprisingly peaceful being part of a Disney resort.

By this time in my program, I was slightly regretting extending. The honeymoon phase of the job had worn off completely and I was getting nowhere in speaking to management about the issues I was having. I was frustrated and was debating leaving on my normal program date and forfeiting my extension offer. I needed a clear head, and this bench gave me just that. 

I was getting to explore the parts I came to explore. The job was glorified slave labor and as much as I knew that going in, the positive experiences weren’t outweighing the negative experiences as much as I had anticipated. That being said, sitting on that swing on the beach in the middle of Florida, I couldn’t help but realize how far I had come in such a short amount of time. Beyond driving over 2,000 miles to get there, I had also made friends that would be lifetime friends. I had overcome so many of my anxieties and personal road blocks. If the next four months were going to be anything like the previous five, I was going to continue to accomplish the things I had set out to accomplish. All I could do was try. It was there that I decided I’d continue on with my program and try to continue to have a positive attitude about it. It was nice to be able to sit for a second and get some clarity. 

Since we were already there, we decided to wander around the Boardwalk. Disney’s Boardwalk is highly underrated. It’s small but gorgeous and definitely worth wandering through at least once. It’s also a nice way to get away from the extreme amounts of stimulation without fighting crowds at Disney Springs.

We found Disney’s Boardwalk Hotel’s Christmas tree in the grass area behind the resort. There’s was a more simple and classic tree. I imagine it had limitations because it was outside in Florida weather. We walked the length of the Boardwalk and back to my car before calling it a day. 

I’m glad we went out on a whim and on a resort adventure that day. It got me in the Christmas spirit and gave me a clear head going forward. I also think it’s a good idea to go around and explore all the different kinds of magic that Walt Disney World has to offer. From the resorts to the mini golf courses, there’s so much that can bring a smile to your face during a rough patch. I’m so glad Sarah decided to go on this adventure with me so we could fangirl over Full House together. Neither of us expected that that’s where the day would land but I’m so grateful that it did.