#About how he can be the waterslide at his own theme park | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

shreddedparchment · 6 years ago

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Man and Wife Pt.01

The Perv

Pairing: Bucky x Reader Word Count: 4,841

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, small injuries, language, stranger sex

A/N: This fic is written for Kari’s Sebastian Stan Challenge. This might continue past this initial piece. I’m not sure yet. It works well on it’s own but I’m kinda eager to explore this. If you like it, leave me a comment! Or not. Either way is cool. If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work!

What is the most awkward way that you can meet someone?

Somewhere on that very long list must be the way you met James Buchanan Barnes.

You’d been eager to get out of the house. This summer had been one of the hottest summers in the last hundred years. With heat indexes reaching about a hundred and ten degrees.

New York isn’t the hottest state and hadn’t seen a record-breaking heat since the 30s. That had been in the city.

Here upstate, it was even less likely. What the hell is happening?

Seeking a reprieve from the intense heat that made your skin glisten and sticky with salty sweat, you and four friends had jumped into your baby blue 1964 Volkswagen van and headed for the newly opened Ocean Dome—a three story water park sealed within a large climate-controlled bubble.

“Damn, Y/N, when are you going to fix the stupid AC?” A short girl with short wavy blonde hair asks with irritation.

She’s got her right foot resting on your dash and she kicks it hard with that foot in frustration.

“Hey!” You yell. “Leave my baby alone! She’s trying.”

You reach out and gently caress the faded and cracked faux wood dashboard.

“I’m sorry, baby, I’ll stick jelly beans up her nose when she’s sleeping.” You promise.

The blonde scoffs, laughing at your protectiveness with your unrestored vintage. She turns her gaze towards the back, the other three girls, all with varying styles and lengths of dark hair, are laughing loudly as they gossip.

“Did we need to bring all of them?” The blonde asks you.

“Case, we need to start at least trying to get to know our neighbors.”

“Why?” Casey settles into the passenger’s seat, relaxing more. “They’re sorority brats living off daddy’s money.”

“They’re not in a sorority.” You say with a laugh though a house full of fifteen girls is weird outside of that context.

“There’s like a football team of them in that house.” Casey argues with a laugh in her voice.

You glance into the rearview mirror as the girl sitting in the row furthest back stands up and pulls her shorts down pressing her ass to the back window to flash the car behind you.

You almost want to tell her to stop but you don’t want to seem like a square. They’re not paying any attention to you or Casey and don’t hear you talking about them.

“Look at them.” Casey complains. “They’re like wild animals.”

She shifts in her seat to turn to look at them better, tugging at her seatbelt.

“Hey! Are you going to wipe your butt oils off that window? Get your nasty ass off the glass.”

The girls just laugh harder as the third pulls her shorts back up and settles back down into her seat looking rightfully chastised.

“Sorry, Y/N.” The girl says.

“It’s okay…” You try to remember her name but she’s already talking to her friends and paying you no mind.

“I hope they drown.” Casey gripes.

“Case!” You laugh, the seriousness on Casey’s face drawing the amusement out of you like no one else can.

The water park is packed. Really packed.

“Maybe we should have come on a week day?” You wonder and are suddenly shoved forward as the three brunettes you’d brought hurry past you and disappear into the crowd.

“Ugh, good riddance.” Casey grumbles. “This place is new. And it’s summer. I doubt it’s going to get any less packed for a while. Besides, now’s the time to come while everything is still working.

“Yeah.” You agree and let your eyes rove over the first floor.

It’s the largest out of the three levels with a pair of large wave pools at the center. One actually creates large waves where people can surf and seems rather dangerous. You’re definitely avoiding that one. The second with the much smaller waves, is full of families with kids and young teens in neon yellow, pink, purple, and green tubes. They float casually, lazily as they enjoy the cooler temperatures of the water.

To the right are four long lines that flow up towards the third floor where two large yellow and orange slides weave down back towards the bottom floor into a smaller but deeper pool than the wave pools. There are also green and blue slides that flow onto the second floor into what you can see is another pool on the other side of a tall modern steel and plexiglass banister.

You can see people in bright bathing suits weaving around the second-floor pool towards small stalls where one can buy drinks and snacks.

Here on the first floor, the back wall is taken up by a large tropical themed restaurant, tube and board rental stations, the largest set of bathrooms in the park, and the lockers.

To the left of the two wave pools is a large expanse of space at the center of which is a large splash bad with a huge red and white beach ball, hollowed out with small kiddie slides flowing down from several sides.

Two fake palm trees spew water up into the air where it falls on toddlers and small kids as they giggle and splash. All around this kiddie section are hundreds of lounge chairs and umbrellas with small tables attached. As you scan the area, you can see that there’s hardly an empty seat.

Finally, around the outer walls of the first floor and going through the center space between the wave pools, is a winding Lazy River with bumper to bumper tubes and people milling about in the easy flowing turquoise water.

This one ride’s water is different in color from the sterile and chlorinated water of the other attractions. The large sign of its entrance advertises with large brightly colored words sticking out of the top right corner, ‘True Caribbean Waters’. Which really just means it’s a saltwater river.

You’re not unaware of how almost everyone in the Lazy River is paired off. This is where couples go to lounge and be together, guys pushing their girls on tubes. There are a few families sprinkled throughout, fathers pushing kids or mothers with babies, but the majority are cuddling couples.

“Where are all the other rides?” Casey wonders, exploring the space with her green eyes, just like you.

“Second floor?” You offer.

“What do you wanna do?” She asks.

“Let’s go find a locker.” You adjust the bag on your shoulder. Towels and extra clothes packed in.

You find the lockers by the bathrooms close to the large splash pad and countless lounge chairs. You and Casey manage to get two of them close to each other and after slipping your belongings into the small square space, you make sure to slip your waterproof wrist band on which is loaded with all of your spending money specifically set aside for today.

“So, what now? You want to-? Case?” You look around, searching over the heads you can look over and tiptoeing to get a glance around the taller people. “Casey? Casey?”

However, Casey is nowhere in sight. “Well, shit.”

“Wow chit!” A blonde toddler exclaims as he passes you with his mother.

The mother scowls at you.

“Sorry.” You offer, clenching your teeth. Oops.

Maybe Casey went to one of the wave pools?

Feeling self-conscious of the one-piece suit you’re in—a cute powder pink suit that is much sexier than you’ve ever considered wearing that leaves your back exposed, held together with thick straps that tie at a bow between your shoulder blades—you wander over to the center of the two large pools and quickly scan the bodies drifting up and down with the push of the waves.

No Casey.

A quick walk by the lines by the waterslides tell you that Casey is not a thrill seeker.

You check the bathrooms, the restaurant, the snack stands, and then wander along the splash pad, weaving through the countless chairs.

“Casey?” You call out every now and then, but she never responds.

Yes, coming here had been your idea. Yes, you are enjoying the cooler temperature and the smell of the chlorine. Yes, the water looks inviting, but you hadn’t wanted to be here alone.

You find yourself standing in front of the large arched sign of the Lazy River and sigh. Well, you’re here to cool off, right? Might as well cool off.

You toss your hair over your right shoulder and carefully descend the steps into the surprisingly cold water. You’re very aware of your nipples straining hard against your suit. You release the bar of the stairs and cross your arms across your chest but continue to walk into the water with a gasp.

The cool water takes your breath away, but you keep walking, following the flow of the river. Because it’s the weekend, the park is open late. You and Casey had carefully planned when you’d come to the park to try and avoid the crowds that would surely gather. It had already been late afternoon when you arrived. Now, after an hour of searching, you can see the sun beginning its descent through the large dome of the park, inching closer and closer to the horizon.

It paints the sky burning orange and rose petal pink, the tippy top of the sky fading into a dark plum with the first sparkles of the night’s stars peeking out.

Because it’s getting later, the Lazy River is less crowded now with families and older couples leaving, making space so that you can walk through the water slowly and without bumping into people.

A girl with bright red hair sits in a tube, her bottom disappearing through the center with her long legs gently scratching your arm as she and her boyfriend? Husband? As they pass, without paying you any mind, she leans her head back and the guy she’s with kisses her lips upside down.

You look away, aching with jealousy. You haven’t been kissed in so long!

You reach up and massage your lips as you walk along the artificial floor, the easy flow of the river pushing you gently forward so that you have to fight your progress. It makes your feet slip and slide along the floor.

After about twenty minutes, it starts to hurt. You should have grabbed a tube. By now the dome is lit by artificial light but here in the river, there are dim lights to give the area a soft glow with most of the bright lights reserved for the splash pad and the wave pools. The slides are closed which begin to drive away the more frenzied teens.

The sun is set and the last of the orange sunset fades into darkness.

“Woah, woah! Hey! WOAH!”

Two loud splashes sound around you and you begin to scream but you’re pulled underwater by the weight of a body and another splash.

You gurgle, fighting against the rush of choking water rushing into your throat. You can feel strong hands on your hips, and you’re suddenly pulled upwards out of the brine.

As your head breaks the surface, you gasp in a lungful of air and then begin to cough, wiping at your face to clear it of water.

Those strong hands, one oddly cooler than the other through your suit, are still on your hips.

You force your eyes open, straining against the blur of the water and the curtain of your wet hair as you try and see who it is that’s still holding you.

“Hey, I’m so, so sorry. My friends are assholes. Are you alright?” There’s a slight slur to his words, almost as if he’s drunk maybe? Or tipsy at the very least. His voice is deep though. Sexy if you weren’t so annoyed with having almost been murdered.

The cool hand pushes your hair back and you see a flash of silver as he does it. You’re almost able to process what it is you’re looking at but before you can there’s an outraged gasp.

“We’re what?!”

You feel the body in front of you move towards you forcefully as if he was roughly pushed and he slips. You don’t.

As he tumbles towards you, his face slides down and nestles itself directly into your chest, his angular chin pulling down on the V-cut neckline of your suit exposing more inner side-boob than you like.

Your body rages with an embarrassed fever. You can feel the heat start at your tummy and spread up into your chest, your neck, and your ears. Your heart beings to pound and this guy, whoever the hell he is, has his lips and nose pressed into the soft flesh of your breasts that he must be able to feel your heartbeat.

“Oh my God!” You gasp, reaching down to shove his shoulders away from you.

As he straightens up, you can see the blur of inebriation in his eyes. You have no time to see anything else. “Wow. Breasts are awesome.”

Your hand shoots out of its own accord and you slap him hard across the face then move around him and scurry away.

“Ow.” He says from somewhere behind you while his buddies, whoever they are laugh loudly. “Hey wait!”

You leave them behind quickly, your arms wrapped around your chest as you push yourself faster against the floor. It takes you a few minutes to find an exit and you hurry up the stairs. Dripping wet, you search for the set of stairs that lead up to the second floor and hurry up still searching the less dense crowd for Casey.

Once you reach the second level landing you pass the Bumper Boats and the Flow Rider and the pool where the less intense slides empty into. There are a few picnic tables with a people eating from the snack stalls or simply lounging around enjoying the atmosphere.

By the time you find the third-floor stairs, your right foot is hurting badly. You look down and see a small red stain on the step you just placed your foot.

“Damn it.” You keep going but avoid walking on the ball of your foot, which makes you limp as you try not to put too much pressure on it.

On the third level you find a pool bar. This must be where the adults hangout. Even now there are more people lounging here than there are on the second level. Every submerged stool by the light blue tiled bar is taken. The straw, tropical styled roof that in the daytime must provide much needed shade from the burning midday sun, doesn’t seem as popular to the other people who look up at the sky through the thick glass dome.

It’s littered with stars. The inky black is beautiful, but your foot hurts and you don’t see Casey.

You limp towards a distant corner, away from the people in the pool bar, past the faux stone archway that leads into what looks like a dimly lit cave with multicolored lights from which drifts music.

You head towards the area where the dome connects into the floor, several lounge seats angled towards the glass. They’re empty so you sit down, turning your back on the hustle and bustle of the park.

You pull your leg up, staring at the peeled skin on the ball of your foot. It’s not bad, just hurts because you’ve been ignoring it. Maybe you should have stopped by the first aid office and asked for some band-aids? And maybe bought some sandals in the gift shop?

“Hey.” You know that voice!

You turn and jump to your feet, wincing as you step on your scrape.

“Woah. Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” It’s the guy from earlier. And enough time has passed that it doesn’t seem like he’s tipsy anymore.

Now that you’re not speeding away from him, you let yourself see him clearly. He’s big. Bigger than he felt in the Lazy River. He’s at least six feet tall, or close to it. His shoulders are wide, his chest is bare sculpted perfection, and his stomach is cut in deep rivers of glistening muscle. He’s wearing dark gray swim trunks with a large red stripe running down along the sides that sit low on his hips exposing the top of the V of his pelvis.

He sees where your eyes roam and he pulls his shorts up higher and quickly undoes the string holding them up and ties them on more tightly.

Your neck burns again, this time because you’d been caught admiring his physique. It’s kind of hard not to. Of course, this admiration quickly adjusts to curiosity as you eye his left metallic arm. Now that you see it more clearly, it’s dark, not silver like you’d thought. It’s almost black with small flecks of gold throughout.

Once again, he follows your gaze and quickly pulls his arm behind his back.

“Is this what it felt like for you with my head shoved between your boobs?” The man asks, feeling exposed.

“Yes.” You admit. Serves him right.

Finally, you look up at his face and your heart nearly shatters. He’s…he’s just so-His eyes are so blue, and his brow furrowed but they sparkle with amusement and embarrassment?

His chin is covered in scruff. He’s older. How much older? His dark hair is pulled back into a low bun. A recent decision as you distinctly remember the tickle of hair between your breasts when he’d found himself there.

“Sorry.” He says and takes a step towards you.

You take a step back and wince as you step on your right.

“Hey, really, I’m-I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to apologize for what happened before. I meant it when I said that my friends are assholes. People think Steve is some goody two-shoes but he’s really, really not.

“Steve?” You look at his arm again and you feel your like you’ve missed a step as you connect the dots.

“You’re Bucky Barnes?” You ask, curious but surprised.

“You know who I am?” He asks, smiling beautifully.

You can’t find your voice, so you nod.

You know this man from history, from the news. This man is famous in a not so good way but also a very good way. He’s a hero although most people see the Winter Soldier. You see both.

He blushes scarlet and reaches to pull his hair loose. He scratches the back of his head and blows a rush of air out through a nervous pucker of his lips.

“Look, I’m sorry about what I said before. I’m not-I don’t-It’s not like I’m some type of-”

“Pervert?” You offer, relaxing and quirking a brow.

He chuckles nervous and glances back towards the pool bar. No one is paying attention to the two of you.

“Yeah.” He admits. “I’m not that.”

Shame. For a moment—maybe you’ve been single too long? You kind of wish he’d throw himself at you but why would he? He’s hot and gorgeous. You’re…you.

Limping back to your seat you sit down and listen as Bucky moves to stand beside you.

“Are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing. I just scraped up my foot walking in that stupid Lazy River. I should have brought swim shoes.” You lament.

Bucky’s cool metal hand suddenly lands on your shoulder and you look up at him.

“Can I see?” You chew your lip and after a second of consideration, you nod.

Bucky moves around to squat down before you, pulling a large waterproof strip of gauze of the like you’ve never seen from his pocket. He also pulls a soft square of gauze and an alcohol wipe.

Okay, how long had he been watching you because there is no way that he just goes around carrying medical supplies in his pockets.

His right hand very slowly takes hold of your ankle, his hot fingers tickling your skin as he pulls your heel up to rest on his right knee.

Your breath hitches as his skin makes contact with yours and you feel a sudden churn of heat in your belly. It sends flutters through you.

Yeah, you’ve definitely been single too long.

“This is gonna hurt.” He warns you but you still hiss at the sudden sting of the alcohol.

He looks up at you apologetically, scrunching up his eyebrows with your reaction.

“Sorry.”

You lose yourself in him as you watch him care for your scrape. Why does it feel so good to be taken care of?

“You’re staring at me.” He says with a smile.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Why are you staring at me?” He wonders, his eyes flitting up towards you then back to your foot.

“You’re really hot.” You admit, so lost in him that you can’t help but just give it to him straight.

His cheeks burn red again, and his ears flush adorably too, but he laughs as he finishes wrapping up your foot. His eyes twinkling.

“I think this is the first time someone has told me I’m hot, just like that.”

“You asked.” You argue.

“I did.” He says, carefully putting your foot down as he meets your eyes. The subtle curve of his lips and the way he still hasn’t released your ankle sends a shiver down your spine. “You’re not angry at me anymore?”

“Angry?” You ask, slightly dazed.

“You slapped me.” He explains.

Oh, shit! You had indeed slapped him.

“You said breasts were awesome after having your face shoved between mine.” He raises his eyebrows, indicating he’s still waiting for an answer. “No. I’m not angry anymore.”

“Good.” He smiles. “Come with me.”

He pulls you to your feet and slowly leads you towards the arched entrance of that fake stone cave. The water is at about four feet here too then slowly gets deeper the further he leads you through it.

The cave suddenly opens into a small lagoon.

“Wow, this is pretty.” You sigh as you look at the too blue water and the carefully crafted ambience, soft ferns and vines decorating fake stones and hanging from the ceiling. You can’t really touch the floor anymore and Bucky is moving forward through the water still holding your hand as you cross into the pink, yellow, and purple lit cove.

On the other side of the cove is a textured vinyl flooring, painted beige to look like the shore of a sandy beach. You can hear deep bass bumping and techno music drifting in from another open archway that winds into a hallway.

“What’s that way?” You wonder as your feet find the sloping curve of the floor.

“A club. The water park people wanted to get their money’s worth, so they opened a club for us adults to drink and party. I should actually be in there. That party’s being thrown by a friend of mine.”

“Really? What friend? Steve Rogers?”

“No. Tony Stark.”

Woah! Tony fucking Stark!

“Is that where we’re going?” You wonder just as Bucky pulls you completely out of the water, but he suddenly twirls you around so that you face him. His hands find your hips and he backs you up quickly until you’re pressed into a small depression in the wall where you’re both hidden from view.

With your mouth slightly open and your eyes searching, you let your heart rage in its beat, rivaling the base of the distant music.

You can feel his fingers adjusting their grip on your hips, sending tantalizing tickles down your legs.

“I’m gonna kiss you, now. Is that okay?” Bucky asks, whispering warmly as he leans towards you.

You nod.

“You gotta tell me it’s okay, baby-doll. I’m not gonna kiss you and then have you slap me again.”

“I want you to kiss me, Bucky. Kiss me.” You beg, mint and pineapple on his breath. Maybe he ate one of those snow cones earlier?

His lips twitch into a smile before he rushes down to kiss you. His lips move softly, warm and tender, massaging your lips into submission.

As his tongue passes through the small opening you left for him, you groan and wrap your left arm around him. You place it on the center of his bare back, stroking the hard muscles eagerly.

Bucky’s metal hand wraps around the back of your head, holding you in place as he explores your depths while his right hand grazes the top of your bottom as he wraps it around you and pulls you up against his chest.

He kisses you until you have to pull away to breathe. It almost hurts your lungs as the oxygen rushes in.

“Oh, God.” You gasp, your body humming as Bucky merely shifts to press wet kisses to your neck.

He suckles on the skin against the hammering beat of your pulse.

Suddenly he wraps his hand down beneath your bottom and lifts you up. Your legs wrap around his waist, moving with instinct as he pushes you harder against the wall.

“Bucky…” You plead, and he rushes back up to meet your lips. “Mmmmm.”

You never do this. Meeting some guy and kissing him? Though, it’s not like you don’t know Bucky. You know of him. You’ve seen him save people. You’ve studied his past in school. You know where he comes from and you know where he’s been.

Bucky breaks the kiss again and pulls back enough to look into your eyes. He thrusts towards you, your quivering gasp ripping through you both.

“Tell me you want me.” Bucky begs, almost as if he needs to hear it.

“Bucky…”

“Tell me, baby-doll. Tell me you want me.”

“I want you, Bucky, please. I want you inside me.” You’re almost shocked to hear yourself say it because this is definitely not something you would do.

You’ve never slept with anyone you’ve just met, ever!

His cheeks burn and his eyes explode into darkness as he lunges forward, thrusting up into you again through his shorts. Just two small strips of clothing, that’s all that’s keeping you two apart.

“Tell me you want me again.” He orders.

“Bucky please…I want you.” You whimper, bucking against his hips and the hard rod barely contained behind his trunks.

Bucky is gasping for breath as he pulls his shorts down a bit at the front, just enough to spring him forward. He hooks his finger into the small fabric of your suit and pulls it aside before he deftly thrusts into you.

It’s quick and intense. It has to be with where you are. Out here where anyone might see you.

You shut your eyes, leaning down to bite hard into the skin of his shoulder. He grunts into your ear and you can feel his hard pelvis smack against you as he shoves himself into you in frantic and needy. It’s rough and volcanic with small but powerful and very quick thrusts.

You bounce against the wall, against his chest, your chest squished against his. When his groans come with every thrust, you know that he’s close. The sound of him making such lewd noises sends you over the edge.

You moan against his shoulder as the coil in your body snaps and you’re sent into ecstasy, biting harder and harder with every wave of euphoria until you taste the warm copper flavor of blood.

With one final thrust he freezes and explodes within you in thick flooding warmth.

Your body falls into numbness and you loosen your jaw, turning your head to rest your left cheek there on his shoulder.

Bucky’s left hand comes back behind your head and he strokes your hair slowly, caressing you with fondness.

“What’s your name?” He asks, and you’re shocked to realize you just slept with a man without first telling him your name.

You have all the power here. You could walk away, and he’d never know who you were.

But after today…after what just happened? How could you not see him again?

“Y/N…” You whisper, stroking the center of his back slowly as he continues to support your weight with your legs wrapped around him, still fully buried within you. “Y/N y/l/n.”

He nods.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you marry me?” He mumbles, kissing your neck softly.

You chuckle and let your breathing slow, but you know he’s not serious.

“I mean it.” He assures you. “Will you marry me?”

“What?” You pull back slowly, searching his eyes for the joke but all you see is warm sincerity.

“I want you. And I know it’s weird because we just barely met but I wanna keep you.”

“Bucky you don’t even know me.” You shake your head, confused.

“Marry me, baby-doll.”

“Bucky…”

“Marry me?”

“Buck-”

“Be my wife.” He whispers, leaning in to rub his lips against your own softly, a feather tease of skin on skin.

God, you can still taste that pineapple!

“Yes.” You relent and he smiles then kisses you hard.

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1K notes · View notes

chimcharstar · 5 years ago

Note

1-50 ho

you got it ho

1. What’s your favorite candle scent?

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED. ive been Purchasing various smelly candles for my gay divination activities, and i have a few nominees. i first thought of the candle i have now, a pink one with a very sweet vanilla smell, i love very sweet smells because it makes me think of candy which i tend to try to fill my inner void with. however im going to go with the first candle i bought, a dark orange one with a citrus smell. citrus scents are my next favourite and specifically this one reminded me of curiously smelling candles at my piano teachers apartment when i was very young.

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?

idk. ive been listening to her lion king stuff lately. dont judge me i needed to hear remixes of lion king music i was lost in that sauce in high school. and i just think shes neat. i dont think she would aggressively make me feel bad about everything, UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother?

Look……. i really don’t know???? what is the criteria?? do they need to be like my siblings? dare i criticize my arguably criticizable siblings by picking out my ideal siblings? if i pick an ideal sibling, what does that say about what im lacking in my life? do i pick celebrities i hate so theoretically my family shames them into becoming silent and self-defeating

4. How old do you think you’ll be when you get married?

50. i think im going to have to figure myself out for a long time, and achieve some personal goals first. thats my excessively confident prediction and PERHAPS educated guess

5. Do you know a hoarder?

nnnnnoooooooo????? not a real, cant function because of hoarding hoarder. i can see in a few family members, including myself, liking to hang onto things that maybe become sentimental/unnecessary clutter but that sounds like something many non-hoarders experience?

6. Can you do a split?

lemme try one sec

7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike?

Idk maybe 7? Or 11? i think my parents taught me at a children age and then i started biking for fun like, later, like pre middle school?

8. How many oceans have you swam in?

1. i dont really remember swimming in an ocean but i may have faded childhood memories of salty water and seaweed

9. How many countries have you been to?

2… i went to idaho for a band trip… my dad really doesnt like travelling

10. Is anyone in your family in the army?

HAHAHA

NO. ACTUALLY YES. but its funny because the specific brand of christianity we are supposed to be is super pacifist so ive heard. but then i remembered one dude apparently who joined the us military?????? it seemed like it was… an unusual choice. i dont really know anything else about this guy, not even his name

11. What would you name your daughter if you had one?

🙏 *inhale* buddy. oooooohhffffff i want to say something gender neutral honestly. i dont want to rock the boat being unconventional or something but im just thinking of all those years trying to live up to a feminine name

12. What would you name your son if you had one?

same i guess… why have i never thought about this????? was i preoccupied naming myself.

13. What’s the worst grade you got on a test?

hmmmmm hmmmmm trying to unlock the vault. i think i remember a 1 or a 0 on a math quiz. i think i got 30% or something very very bad (i dont even want to know) on my last english exam, but to be fair, i was having such a bad mental breakdown my professor did an intervention

14. What was your favorite TV show when you were a child?

like a very very small child? i was obsessed with the save-ums (?!?!?) for some reason. i would sing the anthem… no. theme song? i dont know. i guess it was catchy and there were lots of fun characters. OHHHH I SEE WHATS WRONG

ITS BECAUSE WE ONLY HAD A TV TILL I WAS LIKE 5 OR SOMETHING. what are you cultured people watching as children? what are the shows?

15. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight?

>:(

My Halloween experience:

i dont even remember i probably had some kind of fairy wings? i think i remember fairy wings. we went to one (1) house. later on, since we werent allowed to go trick-or-treating, we were each allotted a certain amount of candy, and if we ate more than a designated amount per day, we were in trouble and wouldnt be allowed anymore. i do remember getting in trouble for this. i think i stole someones candy. sibling against sibling. finally we were allowed to go trick or treating, i went with my younger brothers and by then, was a teenager and felt too tall and really uncomfortable

LMAO I JUST REMEMBERED THAT LAST TIME WE WENT TRICK-OR-TREATING NOT IN A RURAL AREA, my dad drove us around in a van and watched us like a hawk i believe. it was very tense and methodical.

16. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series?

i read the harry potter series (I WROTE SIBLIGS LOL) more times than i could count while growing up. i read the first hunger games book and didnt fancy it for whatever reason, and i had an obnoxious twilight-hating phase.

17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent?

sometimes, though, im really genuinely worried about what accent i do have. im worried i read so much harry potter growing up, it rubbed off on me. when i was a server, people would ask about an unusual accent i apparently had, and once, when i was talking to a super british guy who called me luv at walmart, he was like STOP. WAIT. YOU HAVE A BRITISH ACCENT. and i was like WHAT UHHH BYEBYE AND HE WAS LIKE NO. I HEARD YOU. STOP and i was like that michael jackson meme where he covers his face running away and everyone else in the line was staring

18. Did your mother go to college?

i believe she went to a bible college where people put a grand piano on top of the roof.

19. Are your grandparents still married?

all of my grandparents are dead.

…. hmmMMMM yow. ok. my grandparents who werent estranged stayed married for as long as either of them were living… however, my OTHER grandparents, i mean the fucking kidnappers, my abuser grandpa… remarried? when he was… really really aging. im judging him for it because i know what kind of person he was.

20. Have you ever taken karate lessons?

I WISH. my parents didnt seem to like that sort of thing (surprise). im interested in it now but… as usual… i feel like its too late, im too old.

21. Do you know who Kermit the frog is?

….. i… i thought i did… hes blessed… thats all.

22. What’s the first amusement park you’ve been to?

ಠ_ಠ

*crickets*

how could you ask me this?

no wait! i went to the waterslides. then, later on, i was never allowed to go to the waterslides.

23. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in?

Spanish. ive been “intending” to learn for a long time, and a lot of people who have been really good influences on me and been genuinely kind to me speak it, id like to learn it

24. Do you spell the color as grey or gray?

grey

one sec

yup thats canadian!

25. Is your father bald?

on the top of his head, yes >:(

26. Do you know triplets?

no?

27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook?

no? what is this straight stuff? i listened to the dramatic titanic song and felt nothing.

28. Have you ever had Indian food?

i guess so, at a friends house! i dont think otherwise ive gone to a restaurant and actually had indian food

29. What’s the name of your favorite restaurant?

*gazes tearily at my OWN FUCKING OLD WORKPLACE

the food was sO GOOD MAN. IT WAS SO GOOD. im just not saying because despite how stalkable i probably am already, i dont want to be specific

30. Have you ever been to Olive Garden?

no whats that

31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores (Costco, BJ’s, etc.)?

belong? whats bjs? whats a warehouse for?

32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender?

i decided at one point they would never tell me this and it was no use asking. i do know they almost named my brother a very fusty old fashioned name fitting in with the thomas the tank engine theme

33. If you have a nickname, what is it?

G is the ONLY one i will accept so far.

34. Who’s your favorite person in the world?

i……… hmmmm…. i really dont like picking favourites. each person in my life has a unique relationship with me (even though a lot of them arent very warm, trusting or close). because of unhealthy middle school friendships ive grown an aversion to ranking relationships as if they have material value.

35. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs?

rural, i think. i need nature in my life!!! but i also need to be able to have connections to people.

36. Can you whistle?

yes, but not very loudly or accurately

37. Do you sleep with a nightlight?

no, but ive always wanted a nightlight

38. Do you eat breakfast every morning?

ive started to, yeah! this morning i made a whole thing with bread and mushrooms and eggs, and coffee, and i ate it outside watching the traffic. im really trying to treat myself nicely you see. its what id do for someone else.

39. Do you take any pills or medication daily?

THAT

BOY

JUICE!

WELCOME TO MY BUILD A BOY WORKSHOP!

SHOTS!SHOTS!SHOTS!

and im really fortunate to be in pretty good health, and have access to things i do need

40. What medical conditions do you have?

I dont think… i actually have any. id say gender dysphoria but i think it was informed consent. (im VERY lucky)

im pretty sure there are SOME mental conditions running around undiagnosed. MY BRAIN IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY

41. How many times have you been to the hospital?

for myself? once… when i got hives and started swelling up all over, but otherwise was fine. i really wonder what that was. other times was visiting sick/dying relatives which has made me feel sad and apprehensive whenever i enter a hospital or smell the food

42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo?

yes! i had a gerbil named nemo!

43. Where do you buy your jeans?

i dont … remember … really nowhere special i actually have yet to find some jeans i LOVE. sometimes there is a pair of jeans that sparks joy. i do not have such a pair

44. What’s the last compliment you got?

my sister said my pants looked good on me. they are actually their pants, which they left on the floor in my room for an unknown reason, and they want them back. of course.

but because im excited about it and want to brag, the real compliment was when i made borscht and my sister not only ate it faster than me, but wanted a second helping. and my roommate stuck his face in the steam and said it smelled good. hell yes. i put fucking cilantro in it. fcking beast mode.

45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning?

yes. theyre usually really emotional and symbolic. if ive been talking to my parents, theyre usually nightmares. ive been reading about dream interpretation for a long time to deal with some of the ominous images that can come up

46. What flavor tea do you enjoy?

red rose reminds me of wheni was little my mom would make really sweet sweet red rose tea for me (thats the kind she drinks all the time) and it brings me those good feelings. otherwise licorice spice really appeald to me for some reason.

47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own?

LMAO UHHH…brb

six. because of social pressure.

48. What religion will you raise your children to practice?

i never thought about this kind of thing…. i really don’t know….. id just want them to know how to be kind to others and themselves and thats literally it.

49. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn’t real?

i was one of those edgy kids trying to spoil it for everyone. guess what other common fun thing my parents didnt do

50. Why do you have a youtube?

i dont! so i dont know what this question means! :)

HOLY SHIT I MADE IT THRU HIGH FIVE

#rambling #WOW #bug

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choicesfanficanonymous · 6 years ago

Text

Kin (Estela x MC/Taylor (f), Estela/Aleister sibling stuff)

Book/Series: Endless Summer

Summary: Post-ending (Endless ending). The world beyond La Huerta is gone, Taylor’s family are nothing but a fabricated daydream, and Estela’s only living relative is a walking reminder of her connection with the figure that tore her life apart. What do love and kinship mean in this burned and scarred world?

Word Count: 5384 words (sorry, a long one!)

“Hear me out, dudes,” Raj urged, setting down steaming plates of food on the table. “this place has everything; everything we need… except for…”

“Waterslides!” Craig exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

“…waterslides!” Raj finished.

“And how,” Aleister sneered, “pray tell, do you intend to build such a thing? I suppose one of you is an engineer, equipped to build a theme park monstrosity up to health and safety regulations.”

Jake scoffed. “Malfoy, when has anything we’ve done met health and safety regulations? I dunno… maybe jumping into the path of the Loch Ness monster’s psycho cousin with nothing but a ripped-up hang-glider was a stretch, but a slide? That’s goin’ too far!”

“Fine, enjoy your death-trap. I can assure you I won’t be running around beneath it holding a net.” Aleister wrinkled his nose. “But there’s no escaping the fact that a waterslide would be an absolute eyesore. I swear, paradise is wasted on you people!”

“But who build’s a world-class tropical resort without a waterslide?”

Around the tables by the pool that had been brought together for breakfast, the Catalysts, save for Diego who had spent the night in Elyys’tel with Varyyn, chattered animatedly. Since Rourke’s demise, it had become routine, along with the nightly dinner gathering. Dealing, as they were, with a loss so huge, so devastating, holding together was the best they could do. Raj was in his element- on almost full-time hospitality duty- and he saw it as a way of honouring his grandmother. If he could do anything at all to keep his friends smiling as they moved through unspeakable grief, he’d be doing her proud. Taylor, wracked with guilt for her failure to sacrifice herself to end her friends’ suffering, had been reclusive, but she was trying… she was trying so hard to be the supportive shoulder they all needed. Beneath the table, her fingers were entwined with Estela’s, stroking them in a circular motion, and feeling a soft and reassuring pressure in return. As she took a sip of juice- what strange fruit it contained, a mystery- Taylor briefly made eye contact with her wife, and it was enough to make her heart flutter. She tuned back in to the familiar bickering and reached for a breakfast burrito.

“This is ridiculous!” Aleister was saying. “When you’ve all emerged from fantasy land, we can talk about creating something that’s actually worthwhile. The sheer knowledge we have access to- the possibilities are…”

“Waterslide! Waterslide! Waterslide!” chanted Craig, banging his fists on the table. To his great satisfaction, Aleister’s face began to colour with increasing frustration.

“I’m sorry- how old are you; eight?”

“And what are you, the fun police? Estela- he’s your brother, stick it to him!”

In an instant, the table went quiet. Estela’s expression turned cold and stony. A hard glare resting upon Craig, who withered back with an averted gaze, she got to her feet and, without a word, walked away.

Aleister looked pointedly in the opposing direction, discomfort showing clearly on his flushed, drawn face. Grace immediately placed her hand over his, looking over him with great concern.

Zahra rolled her eyes. “Nice one, dumbass, you really outdid yourself there.”

Quinn’s brow furrowed, worry all over her face. “Taylor, is she okay?”

“I- I’ll go after her.” Her gut twisting, Taylor rose from the table. The silently bubbling tension within the group had finally breached the surface, and she felt a personal responsibility to resolve it.

She strode out onto the sand, picking up the pace until she had almost reached her wife’s side. Without looking back, Estela reached her hand out behind her, inviting Taylor in.

“It’s a shame we can’t fix that faulty connection between Craig’s brain and his mouth.” Taylor took Estela’s hand and grasped it tight.

“Family means something,” Estela growled. “My family is gone. Aleister is not… is not…”

With a tug of her arm, Taylor pulled her into a hug. Estela was tense, but she returned the gesture, her movements stilted.

“Do you want to be on your own right now?”

Estela took a moment before answering. “No. Stay with me.” She held on tightly to Taylor’s hand. It anchored her, holding her from losing herself in grief and rage. Slowly, she calmed herself and gave Taylor an encouraging smile. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I don’t worry about you- pretty sure you are literally the biggest badass on earth. But I do care about you. And even the strongest people can use a hand to hold sometime.”

“You can do more than hold my hand, you know,” Estela said, a smirk on her face and a glint in her eye.

With a giggle, Taylor nuzzled her face close to Estela’s and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. “That’s a start, right?”

“I’m feeling better already.”

As she went in for another kiss, Taylor felt a gentle hand catch the side of her face, lovingly drawing her lips towards Estela’s. They met in a tender, lingering dance.

Estela came away, her cheeks glowing. She sighed. “Goddammit, I love you, Taylor.”

“Goddammit, Estela, I think I love you too,” Taylor said, a laugh in her voice. She playfully twiddled with Estela’s hair as she watched her expression become thoughtful.

“I do want to open up to everyone. I care about them,” Estela said. “Even Aleister, two-faced bastard,” she added with a snarl. “It’s just, some things I… can’t. He’s no brother of mine. Hearing it is a knife in my chest. You understand, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. Well, as much as anyone can. You know, I don’t think anyone’s expecting you to be a bubbly, outgoing life of the party all of a sudden. And everyone knows you care. It’s obvious. They like you for you. I think even Aleister does… in his snobby, terrified way.”

“He should be scared. Half the time I can’t stand to look at him. And the stupid thing is, I don’t even know if it’s the betrayal, or if I just don’t want a reminder of who I am.”

Taylor shrugged. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m getting the impression the ‘secret half-sibling’ thing is weirding him out too.” She kicked off her shoes and walked into the sea, enjoying the cooling feeling of the water lapping around her ankles. “Look, I know talking isn’t always your strong point, but it might do you both good to just put it all out there. Maybe that’d do something about that elephant in the room.”

“The last elephant on earth… maybe we should keep it, for now.” Estela sat down in the sand and rested her head on her hands. There was no hurry; they were together on this island for as long as they lived. Confronting Aleister, confronting whatever it was he meant to her, it could all wait.

“Just… just, don’t let it trample over you, all right? You deserve to be happy.”

In spite of everything, a smile tugged at Estela’s mouth. She watched Taylor wandering through the shallows, her face a picture of quiet contemplation. There had been a lot of that in the week or so since Rourke’s plans had been scuppered… introspection, coming to terms with new identities and adjusting to a future so different to what any of them had envisioned. Estela knew she was fortunate; grief for her tio and the earth aside, her future was far brighter than she’d have expected not so long ago. She just hoped her friends- friends… how long it had been since she’d had any of those- would in time find the same contentment. Perhaps more than anyone else, though, Taylor appeared lost. Estela looked over her wife protectively in the aftermath; with no quest for vengeance to occupy her, her purpose was now to support Taylor through a turbulent period of transition. And, of course, it worked both ways. Today felt like a bad day, but there would be tomorrow, and the tomorrow after that. Estela bit her lip, her eyes glazing over as troubled thoughts swirled through her mind. Perhaps Taylor was right. Perhaps she should stop skirting around Aleister, if nothing else but to avoid awkwardness for everyone else. She wondered, how did Aleister perceive her? The child of his father’s affair, he could quite easily resent her. Maybe he should. After all, at the end of the line, Rourke had acknowledged Estela as his truest heir, not Aleister. As much as she tried to shake the ridiculous thought from her head, Estela found herself coming back to a disturbing conclusion. Part of her was afraid that Aleister- not family, never family, but a genuine link to her mother- might turn away from her. She angrily pushed the notion from her thoughts. She didn’t need or want a half-brother, and certainly not a literal Rourke clone at that. It was just… part of letting go, and she’d grown enough to know that letting go was what she needed. Having been powered on anger for so very long, Estela wasn’t quite sure who she’d be once she had no living person to channel it towards. Would she simply implode? Perhaps… if she didn’t have Taylor.

The faint sound of sand beneath light feet made Estela alert. She glanced sideways to see Quinn approaching, a piled-up plate in her hands.

“I thought you might appreciate breakfast to go,” said Quinn shyly.

Surprised and touched, Estela sat back in the sand and offered Quinn a bashful smile. That girl really was too good.

“Thanks.”

Taylor came running back from the water and put her arms around Quinn. “You’re the best, you know that?”

Quinn beamed in response, and she carefully sat herself down beside Estela, making sure not to drop anything. “Well, I couldn’t let you miss out. I think we all know Raj’s heart would break just a little if you two didn’t get to enjoy his breakfast burritos.” Tentatively, she placed a hand on Estela’s arm. “And, if I’m honest, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Estela’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t shy away. “I’m… fine. Is Aleister…?” She shook her head. “However I feel about him, I mean… I don’t like him… but we’re on the same side. When it comes down to it, it’s not him who’s really hurt me, it’s his father.” Still, she could not say ‘our’ father. Her tio was the only father figure she’d ever needed. Out of nowhere, she felt a stab of pity for Aleister. He’d never had that.

“I think he and Grace were gonna go down to the library together. That’s their happy place.”

Taylor plonked herself down in the sand and began tucking in. “Honestly? I think that Aleister’s pretty happy on the whole. He’s just adjusting to… a lot.” She gave a little sigh. Poor Aleister. With everything that had happened since the revelation of his origin, she hadn’t taken as much time as she should have to make sure he was okay. Responsible as she felt for caring for her gang of friends, she knew she’d dropped the ball there. “Like we all are. But we’ve all got each other’s backs.” Relieved to see Estela looking a little brighter- another win for Raj’s cooking- she put her free arm around her. “I’m gonna have to give my compliments to Raj- these are so good!”

“We’ve got to be getting low on meat that isn’t squirrel or… dinosaur. Is there anything left in the freezer?”

Quinn furrowed her brow thoughtfully. “I think we’re getting near the end of our supplies. I’ve been meaning to do some baking but… once everything’s gone, it’s gone. We should talk to Varyyn; if the Vaanti can throw lavish feasts, there’s no reason why we can’t make La Huerta work for us too.”

“I don’t need to ask Varyyn to know how to hunt,” said Estela. She was quiet for a moment. They needed to start doing something. The initial high of the fight for survival ending had waned, and what was left was reality. Everyone was in pain. With emotions running high, the group could easily splinter, devoid of a clear way forward. Chilling around The Celestial wasn’t enough anymore. “But you’re right. We have everything we need here. I’m going to go hunting- or fishing, it feels like it’s gonna be a hot one.”

“You’ll teach me, right?” Taylor asked.

Estela just smiled. Honestly, she couldn’t imagine much she’d rather do with herself. She met Taylor’s eyes and answered her silently.

Beaming, Taylor raised her burrito. “To bringing home the bacon- or whatever the screwy La Huerta equivalent might be!”

“Cheers!” laughed Quinn as she and Estela bumped their tortillas to Taylor’s.

Having gathered a few supplies, all the while managing to avoid any awkward encounters in the wake of the breakfast drama, Estela led Taylor along the coast to the west, Furball trotting eagerly at their heels.

“There,” Estela said, nodding her head in the direction of a strip of land rising out into the sea. “There’s a reef just beyond the cliffs.”

Carefully, Taylor lowered herself down the rocky side of the grass-covered headland, gripping tightly with her fingertips in a precarious hold. Beneath her, Estela climbed down with ease, barely slowed by fact that she had the added complication of holding a spear under her arm.

Taylor huffed, a little breathless. A pebble plinked off her forehead, and she looked up to see Furball skittering around the edge, watching them with great curiosity. “You be careful, little guy! You don’t want to sl-“ She bit her tongue as she lurched downward, her foot missing the next hold. Scrambling to regain her grip, Taylor felt something firm beneath the ball of her foot, and she glanced beneath her.

“I think the fox is fine. You might want to check your own footholds.” Estela held the blunt end of the spear beneath Taylor’s foot until she appeared to have steadied herself. She settled on a jutting out ledge just above the water and held out a hand to guide her partner down the last little way.

“And we couldn’t have just swam out from the shore?”

“Not unless you want to catch all the waves breaking. It’s better to go straight to where the fish are.”

Stripping down to her swimming costume, Estela slunk into the water, her movements smooth and stealthy. Taylor followed suit, ducking under the crystal-clear water. Together they swam out to a colourful reef, where they found themselves surrounded by silver-scaled fish that appeared to shimmer in the bright sunlight. It was beautiful.

Running out of breath, Taylor returned to the surface and treaded water, watching as Estela rounded onto a target and popped her head above the water, hair plastered to her face.

“Hey, you want me to try and herd them over to you?”

Estela nodded. “Push them toward the sandbar, if you can.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Taylor swam from side to side, sending the fish swimming away from her- and towards the sandbar, where Estela was waiting. After a few moments, Estela streaked forwards, and came up with a writhing fish on the end of her spear.

“Okay, that was impressive.”

A little smile on her face, Estela beckoned Taylor over to the shallows surrounding the sandbar. She pulled her close against her chest and lowered into the water. “Here,” she said, taking hold of the fish with one hand and giving Taylor the spear with the other. “Don’t flail around so much. Be still… keep your eyes open… focus.”

Feeling her pulse quicken at the sensation of her partner wrapped around her, Taylor took a moment to redirect her attention to the task at hand. She held her breath and put her face under, trying to avoid sending ripples out into the water as Estela gently guided her spear arm backwards in preparation to strike. She didn’t move a muscle, and soon the fishes swam by them, oblivious. Seeing her chance and taking it, she thrust her arm forward, but the resistance from the water was greater than anticipated and she came short.

“Dammit!”

“Try again… you were close.”

Estela swam away, taking her catch back to the rocks, where Furball spun around in excited circles. Determined to catch something, Taylor slipped back beneath the surface and tried again… and again… and again… until finally…

“I got one!” she hollered, taking in a mouthful of water and spluttering.

“You’re a fast learner. Throw it here.”

The sun rose high into the sky, beating down hard on the La Huerta coastline. The pile of fish Furball had been diligently guarding had grown satisfyingly, and he proudly perched himself on top, watching as the women splashed about in the sea. At one point, Taylor had sat him on her shoulder, egging him on as he shot ice out into the waves, catching fish that got in the way of his short, powerful blasts. He only accidentally iced Estela one time. Leaving fishing to the pro, Taylor built up a small fire on the edge of the headland and managed to tackle the cliff face with just enough finesse to bring up a large fish to cook.

“Shit, it’s hot,” Taylor grumbled, very quickly realising that the water was very much the place to be.

Mrrrrp? Furball chirruped, and he sent out a small wave of snow. He bounced to the side and looked up at Taylor quizzically.

Taylor scooted over and sat in the newly frosted-over grass. “Thanks, little guy!” She pulled off a little piece of meat for him and tickled his back as he dug in. That little fox was totally unique, one of a kind. Had he ever had a family? Thinking about Estela and Aleister, about the families her friends had all lost, Taylor felt a bizarre loneliness. She could reach into her mind all she wanted, but there was nothing beyond sitting beside Diego on the plane. In fact, the more she tried, the less that came to her. Even knowing it was all fabricated, a lie, she wished the false memories of a childhood were still there. So she could at least pretend. Next to the lives of everyone she cared about, her existence seemed so… shallow… empty. You could scratch beneath her surface and you’d find nothing, no history at all.

“Something on your mind?”

Taylor jumped, looking behind her to see Estela hauling up the fruits of her efforts up onto the grassy outcrop. “God, you nearly made me jump outta my skin! You know you don’t have to sneak up behind me like a ninja, right?”

Estela crawled over, sitting down beside her wife with a little grin. “It’s fun making you squeal.”

“One of these days, I’m gonna get you so- “

“You can try, if you like. But you should know I don’t scare easily.”

“We’ll see…”

Brushing a wet strand of hair from Taylor’s face, Estela looked at her imploringly. “So, what has you so distracted? You looked… sad.”

Taylor shook her head. “It’s nothing. I…” And then she stopped. There was no point to hiding what she felt, not from Estela. “I’ve just been finding it harder and harder to recall anything I thought I knew before we came here. The fake memories Vaanu gave me. I know how crazy it sounds trying to hold onto something that was never really there, but… it’s all I’ve got.”

A thoughtful frown on Estela’s face, she considered Taylor quietly. “Maybe your true memories are taking their place, pushing them down. Is any of it left at all?”

“I can sort of recall things related to Diego. I guess those feel more real because he’s here, I’ve got something solid to build from. But anything else… no. It used to be like a blur, but now there’s nothing there. Blank. Of course, it was going to be like this- it’s not as if the memories I thought I had were ever real. I just feel hollow, like I’m missing something that should be there.”

Estela pulled her close, so they sat shoulder to shoulder. “I can’t imagine it,” she said softly.

Taylor winced. “This is going to sound insanely self-absorbed with, well, everything, but I wish I’d had a family. People to remember from my childhood. Hell, even to have had a childhood at all.”

“That’s not selfish. All those things; it’s part of being human. How could you not want that?” Estela gave a heavy sigh. “Memories, a past… family. Losing it all, it feels like you’re being ripped… torn to pieces. It’s the worst pain there is. But it hurts because what’s been taken away meant something. My mom, my tio… I would go through losing them again, over and over, if it meant we could have one more day together. Or an hour.” She leant her head against Taylor’s and closed her eyes. Hearing the gentle crashing of the waves, she could imagine they were sitting together on a San Trobidan beach. “I wish I could give you those memories… those hours.”

Grasping her lover’s hand tight, Taylor exhaled shakily. She slowly relaxed into a comfortable silence, closing her eyes to appreciate the feel of Estela next to her, giving unflinching support. Her stupid hurts and worries didn’t feel so shameful while she had that love surrounding her.

“Tell me,” Taylor whispered, after a long while. “Tell me about all the little things. The memories that make it worth the hurt.”

A small but warm smile came to Estela’s face. “For a long time I couldn’t look back. Looking back made me weak, and I couldn’t afford to be weak. Even when I was small, I couldn’t stand it. Mom wanted to protect me, and I never wanted her to feel like she’d failed. When I was eight, I broke my arm- or had it broken for me. Kids in San Trobida, they don’t know anything but fighting. That’s all we see all around us, on the news, it’s just normal… you learn to pull a punch young. It was after that, Tio Nicolas started to teach me to defend myself. I knew I would do whatever it took to follow after him; I was too young to understand, but I knew he was fighting so Mom didn’t have to worry anymore. When the riots kept me awake at night, I would crawl into bed with her. I wasn’t afraid… I didn’t know any different, but I knew she slept better if I was in her arms. I would go to sleep with her singing to me, stroking my hair, holding me like I was her whole world. I’d get up before sunrise, make her a coffee. Spill it everywhere ‘cause, you know, broken arm. And she didn’t care that I made a mess, she just knew I loved her.” Her voice became hushed. “I loved her so much, Taylor.”

“I know.” Taylor gently rubbed Estela’s arm, hoping that she could give even a little comfort. All she really knew of Olivia Montoya was from her virtual reality message, and from the haunting hotel room recording. “I- I wish I could have met her. She seemed so intelligent… brave.”

“She was. She was so determined. Whatever it took for her to get the future she wanted for us, she faced it. But she always found time for us. Just for us.”

“Like going on your lunch hikes?”

“Yes, like that. And when I was little, we used to walk along the beach and collect shells. We’d go swimming and look at the fishes; there would be tropical fishes in all colours. She showed me how to appreciate small things… beautiful things. Sometimes, it felt like the world was blowing up all around us; you need to find beauty in the little things when that’s your life. And she made it easy. Just being near her. She would sit and read on one side of the room, and I would sit on the other side. We didn’t have to say anything, I could just feel that she was there. After she was gone, I don’t remember being happy. Not until I met you.”

Taylor wrapped her arms around Estela’s waist and nuzzled her face against her neck. She suddenly started giggling.

“What’s the matter with you?”

“Estela, my love, my soulmate, my heart’s desire, my dearest friend, my starlight… you stink of fish. Like, bad.”

Estela laughed and put her hands to Taylor’s face, pulling her in. She caught her mouth in her own, kissing her fiercely. Taylor’s hands travelled up Estela’s back and into her hair, holding her close as she reciprocated, the momentum pushing them down into the grass. After a moment, they both doubled over, collapsing into giggles.

“You’re not smelling like a basket of flowers yourself.”

“How about we finish this once we’re cleaned up a bit?”

Propping herself back up, Estela gazed over her wife, her cheeks hot. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart.” Taylor looked into those dark eyes, which were brimming with warmth, and felt herself melt. A promise like that? Not even a question.

“I’ll give these to Raj,” Taylor said happily, swinging the bucket of fish. “We are gonna be his absolute favourite people. At least until everyone’s sick of seafood.”

Estela gave her a quick kiss. “I hope so. He’s been on my back about the knives disappearing from the kitchen.”

“Yeah… I’m pretty sure there was a note pinned to the drawer. Something about ‘these knives are for cutting food, not people’. You may have been mentioned by name. In bold block capitals.”

“That’s our next job, then. Make some practical weaponry. We should get a hold of some of that amber the Vaanti use.”

“Sounds good. The cutlery is spared, and you can put your dagger-envy to rest. Everyone’s happy.” Taylor gave Estela a playful shove and headed inside.

Estela made to follow, but her eye was caught by a movement from the side of the hotel. It was Aleister. Her walls leapt up, her gaze hardened, and she turned away.

“Wait! I wanted to…” Aleister faltered, singed by the hostility that radiated off her. “I have something for you.” He wished he’d thought to just give what he’d found to Taylor, who was rather less the human equivalent of a bomb that could go off at any moment. “You needn’t think of it as a gift or anything sentimental. But it belongs to you.”

He thrust his hand forward, ignoring the clear mistrust in Estela’s eyes. She took from him several crumpled photographs.

Estela’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes grew wide, then scrunched tight shut, wet with tears before she could properly comprehend what she held in her hand. She turned herself away from Aleister and messily wiped her eyes.

Mirroring her actions, Aleister awkwardly turned to the opposing side, completely at a loss for what to say. Dealing with emotions was not his strong point. Words of comfort, sympathy? Simply callous coming from him. “I, uh, that is my mother and I… and Grace… we found these in a hidden safe in the library,” he said finally, still avoiding eye contact. “I had wondered… he said he’d truly loved your mother… perhaps something might have been kept.”

Her fingers running tenderly over a photograph; a small child, arm in a sling, walking hand in hand with her mother along a beach, a rough but almost pretty town in the backdrop, Estela could barely hear Aleister’s words.

“My mother,” he continued, “knew that he’d put away some items from her room. Obviously, somewhere private… hidden. It’s not much, but it seems he couldn’t bring himself to destroy everything.”

A flicker of rage licked through Estela’s heart, but it was extinguished by a bittersweet wave of aching sadness and love.

“It’s the fish… the smell; it’s making my eyes water,” Estela lied, sniffling still.

Aleister snickered appreciatively. “Given the sensitive nature of our exchange, I decided it best not to comment on the… aroma. I am glad that you are at least aware of it.”

“A small price for dinner. I hope you’re hungry.” Frowning, Estela looked down at the ground and then pointedly into Aleister’s face. Well, shit, better get this over with. “We almost died because of you. You were so stupid, so arrogant, you almost killed the only people who gave a damn about you- “

“-Can we not do this now?” Aleister scowled and rolled his eyes. It had been too much to expect to get through to someone so blinded by hate. Estela was just like their father… never satisfied… out of reach. It was small wonder he’d seen something in her that he never had in Aleister. “Is it really so difficult for you to let the past be the past for five minu-“

“No.” Estela’s gaze became steely, and Aleister was momentarily forced into silence. “No; listen.”

“To your well-prepared character assassination? I would rather not.”

“You put your trust in the wrong person. Even the best people…” she felt her voice waver as she thought of her mother, of Lila. “Even the best of us can trust the wrong person… the worst person. In the end… you made your choice. You saved us. He… he told you he could bring your mother back to life. You were an idiot to believe it but… I understand. You’re a better man than Rourke ever was. And I can’t keep holding a grudge against you. I don’t want to.”

Aleister’s face registered surprise, but he quickly collected himself. “Uh, thank you. I know how personal this has been to you; how personal it has always been. You and I have been at odds so much of the time… but I would not have wished my father upon you. I’m sorry.”

Estela winced, her face clouded over. Her eyes flickered back to the photo. To her mother. The last person she imagined would keep her in the dark. Tears rolled down her cheeks and once again she had to look away. She felt a hand placed awkwardly on her shoulder, then hastily removed.

“Ah, I…” Aleister stammered. Where was Grace when he needed her? She’d have wrapped Estela in a hug and been done with it. Certainly, she could have done so without the fear of having her lights punched out. But yet Estela didn’t bristle at the bumbling attempt at physical contact. If anything, she looked… amused. “Is something funny?”

“You’re about as good at opening up as I am,” Estela said, smirking through her tears.

“A side effect of a life shaped by a treacherous snake,” Aleister said with a wry smile. He paused for a moment, trying to read her. “We have a certain kinship. A regrettable one, I’ll admit, but… I’m grateful to have it. He was never much of a father… my mother died when I was small… it has been lonely, I’ll admit. Perhaps, in time…?”

Estela’s mouth was dry. “…maybe we could have a couple of drinks, stew over how he screwed us both over?”

“That sounds appropriate. I don’t expect you to ever see me as family… kin… but…” Unsure, he held out his hand.

“Friends I could do.” With a deep breath, Estela grasped Aleister’s outstretched hand firmly. “I’ll leave the hugging to Taylor, though.” She glanced down to the precious photos held tightly in her other hand. “And, uh, thanks. Thank you… more than I can say.”

He gave her a nod of understanding, and they parted ways. Her photographs clutched to her chest, Estela realised she was trembling.

“Hey?” called Taylor, walking over, her brow furrowed in concern. “Hey, is everything all right?” She put her arm around Estela’s shoulder and inhaled sharply as she saw what was in her hand. “Wait- are those?”

Estela wiped her eyes and nuzzled close to Taylor. “Everything is… good. Uh, better than… uh…” Another deep breath. “It’s family… family stuff.” She put a hand to Taylor’s cheek and almost laughed at the stunned look on her face. “Let’s go up to the room, okay? We’ll get cleaned up and… I’ve got some things to share with you.”

#playchoices fanfic #endless summer #estela x mc #estela montoya #aleister rourke

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creepykingdom · 6 years ago

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Halloween Disney Cruise Trip Report

By Grant Duvall

Having done all of the Disney theme parks as well as Aulani in Hawaii, my wife and I were missing a glaring Disney vacation. We had not done a Disney cruise. Of course, when we saw that there was a Halloween themed cruise, we had to jump at the chance. So how creepy was it?

First, let's get to the creepiest part of it. The price. This is much higher than your standard few day cruise. We did three nights at a deal for $1700. A couple could get a comparable cruise for around $800 here in Florida. This is a higher end cruise, but you definitely see every penny going to good use. Once you park your car and get into the terminal, the magic begins. You can meet Mickey wearing his captain's uniform as you are checking in (don't worry if you miss him as you will have PLENTY of opportunities once you're on the boat). Upon checking in, you enter the boat and you get the biggest, warmest, most magical welcome you could imagine. They announce you over the loud speaker, and one great guy named Joey (he was one of the activity directors) remembered our names the whole cruise! The main indoor area of the boat is decked out in Halloween goodness with decorations all over. The standard procedure though is that you go to the top of the boat and do the Aquaduck water slide first and hang in the pool while everyone else is checking in. The Aquaduck is a gentle yet fun aquacoaster that puts regular ship waterslides to shame. Once some time has passed and you've eaten at the extensive buffet loaded with seafood and more dessert than you could shake as stick at (I gained 8 pounds and am still working it off a week later), you check out your room.

Rooms are spacious (we got the cheap one) as far as cruise ship rooms go. Interestingly, above the bed is a fake porthole that shows the outside but randomly Disney characters such as Dumbo and the Genie fly by, superimposed over the porthole! Gotta love that magic. Most people would think that you would relax at this point and digest the food. Alas, this is not the case with this cruise. You will relax once you get off the boat!

Everyone gathers up top for the sailing away show, where Mickey and friends do a song and dance routine as the boat sails off. This was around 4 on day 1. After that, it's time to meet characters in sailing gear. After that, at 6, it's time to see the first Broadway show called the Golden Mickeys. This was a high energy special effects show with a special appearance of Bob Igre as well as other Disney villains such as Ursula! I can't convey how great the sets and costumes are as no photography is allowed, but I would happily pay $40 to see this hour long show. After that show gets out, you then go to dinner. Dinner is in one of three dining rooms, and the rooms rotate night by night so you eat in all of them. You also get to eat with the same strangers all trip so buddy up and make a friend! After that were more characters as well as another night show, and then a screening of Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D, complete with a Jack and Sally meet and greet. By the time this was over, it was past midnight.

The next day we landed at Nassau in the Bahamas at 8. Of course, that means up by 7 so you can eat breakfast! I personally wasn't a fan of Nassau as it's a lot of hawking and "hey, you need to buy this jewelry" and "let me braid your hair!" If we did this again, we would likely stay on the boat and hang out at the pool. Once back on, you start the Halloween themed night on the boat. Characters are available to meet in costumes, a spooky tree tells stories, a costume contest happens, as well as trick or treating. There's then a small show inside showing off the costumes. At 6 it's time to go to your next broadway show, which for us was Beauty and the Beast. This was more in line with the live action movie, and the sets and effects were incredibly impressive. David Copperfield designed the (spoiler alert) scene where the beast changes into a prince. Then it's dinner in a different room! After that, Halloween is gone and now it's pirate night! Yep, pirate night and Halloween night share the stage on the same day as this is a shorter cruise. You get a Jack Sparrow stunt show on the boat which is a lot of fun, the classic characters in pirate garb, and a full on Disney fireworks show! Yes, they do a lighter version of a Disney fireworks display from the ship! After that, it's time for the late night pirate buffet where you can scarf on a turkey leg. And before you know it, it's now after midnight.

The last full day we landed at Disney's own island, Castaway Cay at 9 in the morning. This of course meant up by 8 so you can have breakfast! The island itself is very relaxing, with characters to meet in vacation garb, bbq food to eat, tropical drinks to drink, water slides, and snorkeling. The snorkeling is really interesting as they sunk old Disney relics for you to find. If you go to the right spots (they're marked with buoys) you can find old Disney ships from the parks and even an old sub from the submarine ride at the Magic Kingdom! There's plenty of swimming and fun in the sun to be had. After this, there are more characters to meet on the boat. I'd like to point out that if you love characters, you will see the same classic characters doing more wardrobe changes than Stevie Nicks on this boat. I think we counted no fewer than 6 different outfits for Mickey on this cruise. At 6, time for the last broadway show called Disney's Believe. This is the show that you would want to end the cruise with. Lots of fun classic musical numbers, all of the characters you'd want all to a heartwarming story about family. Of course, after this it was time for dinner (did I mention that dinner takes an hour and a half?) but this one was in a special room called the Animator's Palate. Crush from Finding Nemo comes to life on the screens and talks to the tables (think Turtle Talk with Crush). After this, you get the characters in formal gear, and then you get the goodbye show. And the characters change clothes again, and it's now after 11.

At 7:15 in the morning we got the non requested very loud wake up call, as it's time to kick everyone off the boat so they can start loading it up again in a few hours. I'll say that sadly, there is no magic on this last day. It's all business and ensuring that the boat is ready for the next group. It's an understood reason why it felt that way but it would have been nicer to have a little of that Disney magic on the way out.

Ultimately, we are very glad that we got to do the cruise. It was worth the money as the shows were phenomenal and character hunting is a past time of ours. However, there is no down time and this was the opposite of a relaxing vacation. We can't wait for our next cruise which we just booked though, Alaska next May!

Creepy scale 1-10....3. You get some good creepy pumpkins and villains but it's ultimately meant for families (although some of the people we met in Nassau would bump it up to a 10 easily!)

#blogposts #disney cruise line #disney halloween

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spectrumscribe · 7 years ago

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exhaust trails through space.

commissioned by @stasispunk, some good old 2012 TMNT b-team shenanigans and bonding. in space!!

contains some themes similar to my fic These Days, so be aware. but not nearly as severe, since it’s mostly fluffy things.

AO3 version.

It’s not bad, in their home. It’s not. But sometimes it’s just… not good.

It’s not one person’s fault, and it’s not everyone’s fault, either. They’re not the most functional people in the world, even if they were counted as ‘people’ by the greater majority of planet earth. They all have problems, and bad nights, and moments where they just fuck up a situation that could have gone better. And they’re trying, honest, to make it work even with just each other and their friends to lean on for support.

Mikey knows all that, but it still sucks sometimes. Maybe a lot of the time, when rough patches pop up and take root. Sometimes things just suck and that’s a fact about his family’s life.

Doesn’t make it any easier, when it’s the third week in a row where hardly anyone has had what they could call a ‘good night’, and it’s the umpteenth fight about something stupid. The chores today, training yesterday, and attitude the day before that…

It’s always something, and it feels like one or more of them are always mad about it. Some nights it’s easy as avoiding that brother, and some nights it’s not.

Some nights its itchy, bitter frustration building in Mikey’s throat and a lot of words coming out that really shouldn’t. Some nights its Raph saying words just like Mikey’s, and both of their voices climbing higher to be heard over the other. Tonight it’s that, with the additional noise of Leo and Donnie telling both of them to shut up and let it just drop already, and Raph finally losing his temper to the point it gets physical.

They’ve all had it a hundred times worse, but a rough shove backwards, enough Mikey has to really pay attention so he doesn’t fall over, is a real pain in the neck to deal with. Enough that it’s one of the nights he doesn’t back down at that, and instead shoves right back.

Raph makes an angry snarl for the blow, and punches Mikey’s shoulder hard enough it’ll probably bruise. That’s when Leo and Donnie pull them apart, dividing them into B-team and A-team once again.

There’s a lot of yelling and not-yelling going on, and Mikey’s shoulder is smarting as much as his pride is, and all he catches is-

“Mikey, you apologize, and then we can all just put this behind us-”

“Excuse me, you want him to apologize? For not wanting to pick up Raph’s dishes?”

“Raph already did the sweeping today, it wasn’t that big of a deal for him to ask Mikey-”

“Raph can clean up his own shit, oh my god. Expecting other people to always do that for him is frankly ridiculous-”

“It isn’t always-”

“It sure feels like it!”

“Donnie.”

“Leo.”

And after a moment of glaring, Mikey suddenly finds himself being dragged out of the room as Donnie throws over his shoulder, “You know what? Fuck both of you.”

Leo tries to call after them. “Donnie-”

“No! Piss off, Leo!”

Just like that, Mikey finds himself in his brother’s lab, and the doors being slammed behind them. He rubs his sore shoulder absently while Donnie paces, muttering and cursing and being generally upset.

“I cannot believe- you know what, no, no I can believe he’d think that was okay. Like Raph wasn’t the first one to make things physical, like always-”

Donnie slams his hands on a table, facing Mikey from the other side of it.

“I am so sick of their bullshit,” he says.

Mikey rubs his shoulder a little more, massaging the forming bruise. “Same,” he replies.

Donnie walks away from his table, pacing a bit more, and then rounds to look Mikey dead in the eye.

“We need a god damn vacation,” Donnie states.

Mikey thinks about that. They actually… haven’t ever taken one of those?

“Not many places to go when you’re a turtle, Dee,” he points out, which is one of the reasons why they’ve never done that.

Donnie mutters grudgingly that that’s true. Then he snaps his fingers and says, “But in space, we can go anywhere!”

Mikey tilts his head.

That’s… very true. He says so, then adding with a slight are you kidding me tone, “And how are we supposed to get up there, genius?”

Donnie pulls out his t-phone, tapping away on the screen.

“Bishop owes me a few favors at least, considering how much we’ve helped them out in the past. Plus, I walked him through how to set up Netflix across dimensional planes. Three hours of that definitely warrants a spaceship loan.”

---

It takes less time than Mikey would have thought to have a ship.

No longer than half a night, and a ship is ready for them to fly into the stratosphere. Brought straight from the remaining reserves of the Kraang armada, now the Utrom armada; basically with Mikey and Donnie’s name on it.

They pack their bags and weapons. It takes shorter than ten minutes, what with how much practice of having to grab essentials and just go they’ve had. Years of life or death situations are good for something.

Once they have everything together- and have made sure April will come and take care of ICK, because Mikey couldn’t ever leave without making sure his cat would be cared for properly- they stand in the technical living room of their home and announce,

“We’re going to space,” Mikey says proudly, and maybe a lot smugly. “See you guys in a few weeks.”

“What,” Leo says, staring at them.

“April will keep an eye on ice cream kitty,” Donnie assures. “so don’t bother feeding her at all.”

“What,” Raph says, also staring.

“Stay out of the lab,” Donnie says.

“And my room,” Mikey says.

“What?” Their brothers say.

“See you!” Mikey cheers, and absconds with Donnie before anyone can stop them.

---

For Donnie, laying his hands on the controls of the formerly Kraang ship is a clean breath inwards. Bringing it online, activating it’s cloaking, and taking off from the ground of the military compound is literally like flying.

The stratosphere rushes to meet them, and Donnie finds himself grinning as the blue of earth fades from the viewpoint. Only endless stars and space ahead of them, an entire universe full of options.

Donnie glances to his side, where he finds Mikey. His brother beaming at the smears of starlight all around them, so excited he’s nearly jittering.

Mikey glances up at him, and Donnie finds his own mouth copying the wide excited smile. Already this trip is an improvement. Mikey barely seems to be feeling the bruise on his shoulder, and Donnie hasn’t found himself thinking about certain arguments in over a half hour.

Their phones are now thoroughly out of range with earth, and they’ve got all the time in the world to explore to their hearts content. Now the only question is…

Where will they go first?

---

They find out unfortunately quick that Kraang are not welcome. Literally anywhere.

After the fifth misunderstanding, and subsequent terror/grudge inspired firefight, Donnie announces they’ll be getting a new ship. Because getting shot at every two hours is the opposite of a vacation.

“But we have zero space dollars, dude,” Mikey points out as they pull into a space dock, planetside of a well populated area and after haggling the local law enforcers into believing that no, they are not a lone Kraang ship here to wage short and stupid war on a tourist planet.

“Weeellll….” Donnie says slowly as they pack up their meager possessions. “We can get an okay price for ship scrap, so that’s a start.”

“Enough for a new ship?” Mikey asks as they clip on the air conversion collars Bishop loaned them.

Donnie makes an Eh, not quite noise. Mikey looks at him for a moment, and then says, “Oh. Okay. Right off the bat?”

Donnie shrugs. “It was bound to happen eventually,” he says as he double checks all his weapons. “We’re bad at staying on people’s good side anyway, might as well do it on purpose for once.”

Seeing as this is their second time on a space voyage, and they’re older and more skilled at it now, it’s actually very easy to steal a new space ship. Sleek and small and fast, perfect for outrunning law enforcement and formerly wasted on the alien equivalent of a trust fund baby.

They then begin the 2.0 version of their vacation, adrenaline hot in their veins and somewhat maniacal laughter filling their ship as they warp away from the long arm of the law.

---

Seeing as no one is hunting their heads this time around (excluding that one quadrant where they stole their ship from), there is abruptly a list of options longer than Mikey’s whole body of what they can do. Their options have always been so limited, even the last time they’d been out here, and it makes Mikey’s head spin for a few minutes.

Best yet, there’s only Donnie here with him in the cockpit of their ship. That’s only one person to convince, and Donnie has always been easier to try that with than any of their other siblings. Donnie’s more likely to listen, as long as it’s not too stupid a suggestion.

“Theme park!” Mikey says, snapping his fingers.

“Theme park,” Donnie agrees, writing down the idea on the little holopad that came with the ship.

“Oh and, um, shit, what’s that wet one of those?”

“Waterpark?”

“Yes,” Mikey says reverently. “I wanna use an actual waterslide at least once before I die.”

“Same, honestly,” Donnie says, adding that as well.

Mikey thinks a little more, about parks, and water, and things to do with both of those. And he arrives to a suggestion that seizes him with a strong sweep of fervency.

“Beach!” Mikey yells. “OH. My god. We have to go to a beach. Everyone has to visit a beach at some point.”

He glances at Donnie, who is looking at him funny.

“What?” Mikey asks, and then feels tired trepidation that of all his suggestions, the one he wants most is the one he’ll have to fight for.

Donnie snorts, chuckling as he taps on the holopad. “Nothing, it’s just for a second there I thought you called me a bitch.”

Mikey relaxes. “Not that time,” he jokes. He leans forwards in his pilot seat, towards his brother’s. “But seriously. Beach. We have to go find a real beach. Please?”

“Way ahead of you,” Donnie says. He taps the holoscreen one more time, and a map of stars pops up on the connected ones to the controls. He grins at Mikey. “I think a beach day is an excellent way to kick things off.”

Mikey chest is full of bubbling joy, and he throws his hands up with a whoop as Donnie sends their ship speeding towards the destination.

---

Half a cycle’s voyage and twenty minutes of bickering about which spot to land on later, with brilliant blue waves crashing against the shore and golden beach that stretches for miles each way, and their air converter collars functioning just fine in the new environment,

“You should totally eat it,” Mikey says.

Donnie gives his brother an incredulous look. “It’s an unidentified alien organism on a deserted planet. I’m not going to eat it.”

“It’s an alien organism on a deserted planet that looks exactly like an earth lobster. We gotta eat it.”

Donnie gestures at the space crustacean between their feet on the sand. “It’s bright green! I’m not eating a neon green lobster from space.”

“Technically,” Mikey points out. “we’re green turtles from space, and he just lives here.”

“I’m not eating it.”

“Suit yourself.”

It’s only later, when the two suns have set and they’ve set up camp outside the ship for dinner, that Donnie looks at the lobster again. And considers.

“…that smells good,” he comments, watching Mikey crack open the shell of the lobster he’s boiled to a dark blue.

“’bout to find out if it tastes good,” Mikey replies, and takes a bite out of the pale flesh inside. Donnie waits for Mikey to keel over and the rush to find the right medicinal injection to begin, but all he gets is his brother chewing, swallowing, and saying, “Whew!”

“That’s like getting punched in the nose with flavor, oh my god,” Mikey says, wiping his nose and grinning. “Dee, you sure you don’t want in?”

Donnie looks at the dry ration bars in his hands, and his stomach rumbles as the scent of (probably) shellfish wafts past him.

“Gimme,” he finally relents. Mikey hands him one of the claws with a grin, and Donnie finds out eating lobster does in fact feel like getting punched in the nose with flavor. But it’s a good one, if a little overwhelming at first.

They polish off the lobster, and then go looking for more. Two more end up in the pot taken from the ship’s tiny kitchen, and they methodically shell them under the moonlight by their fire.

---

In stark contrast to the beach destination, Mikey lets Donnie drag him to a planet at least several centuries ahead of earth with technology, if not more.

Not exactly where he would have wanted to go next, but hey, fairs fair. This is a joint trip, and Donnie didn’t even fight with him on going to the beach. Mikey’s gotta share control of their list.

So, rather than hitting up one of the artificial planets made specifically for partying, or one that’s built all its cities in the sky, they land on one that’s long past its phase of military might and moved into intellectual ventures. Transferring their old military research into betterment of the galaxy and all that.

They pick a showcase for tourists, since that’s what they are, and it’d be a big mess for sure if they tried to sneak into the top secret research facilities (which Mikey suspects they might end up breaking into anyway, at some point).

A lot of it goes way over Mikey’s head, but he’s alright with that for the most part. A laser beam works the same either way, even when you don’t understand exactly how it blows up stuff. All that really matters is the seriously sick laser show it creates.

Donnie makes a series of needy, high pitched noises at the end of the show; eyes shining as the demonstrators move on to the more technical part of things. Opening up the interior of the machines for those in the crowd with a head for that kind of thing, while all the normal folks start moving on to the next exhibition.

Mikey glances after the crowd, hearing distantly loud speakers in the ceiling tell visitors are welcome to witness another demonstration of technology- this one an aquatic vehicle, and involving a splash zone to get caught in.

Mikey fidgets a little, because that sounds really fun, but Donnie is still enamored with the speakers on stage. He wants to leave, but also not.

Donnie notices Mikey’s wistful glances, and grimaces sheepishly.

“Sorry for making you wait, this is just really interesting,” he says, rubbing his neck and looking awkward. Then Donnie offers, “You can go on ahead if you want.”

Mikey chews on that for a moment, and then says, “Nah. I’m good. Not like we haven’t seen stuff like that before.”

It would be neat to see the aquatic car thingy- plus get splashed during the demonstration, or be quick enough to not get splashed, that’s even better- but it would be more fun to do it with Donnie, instead of on his lonesome.

They don’t have much in common that’s fun for both of them, so. Why walk away from the chance to share something? Especially something that lifts all the stress that tends to sit on Donnie’s shoulders, and makes him smile like he had when they were younger, holding his first IPad with an intact screen.

Donnie scrutinizes Mikey for a brief moment, and then gives a small smile.

“Let’s move closer to the front,” he suggests with a tinge of giddy curiosity in his voice. “I might be able to copy some of it from memory later.”

“Sure,” Mikey agrees easily. “The Shellraiser would be like, twice as cool if we gave it lasers.”

“That’s the plan,” Donnie says, a glint in his eye. Mikey grins. Cool weapons are definitely something they can agree on.

They end up staying after each demonstration to hear the what’s what of things, and Mikey’s attention definitely wanders during them, but Donnie is focused intensely enough for the both of them. It evens out.

Plus, Donnie takes Mikey to the biggest, baddest, most epic theme park of three systems right after they’re done- just on the other side of the planet, how did Mikey miss that in the brochures- and then he is far too busy trying to ride every single ride possible to care about anything else.

It’s a good vacation spot. Loud, teeming with people, a bright sun hanging over their heads- they’ve seen plenty of this stuff on television, but never actually experienced walking through halls of valuable and ingenious inventions, rarely experienced the thrill of adrenaline that didn’t come from danger and certainly never experienced being pressed into a huge crowd, hundreds of people around them and not giving a second look their way.

It’s a good spot to stop, like the quiet freedom of the beach was. Miles and miles of untouched nature, not another soul to disturb them, and an endless sea they could swim in all they wanted. Just the two of them, all on their own, and for once an easy balance struck between them.

It’s good to see the lingering exhilaration in Donnie, once they leave that planet. Mikey almost interrupts a few times, a little bored but mostly just confused by all the scientific stuff Donnie is rambling about, but then he stops for a moment and looks at the bright excited smile his brother has, and just… doesn’t want it to stop.

Like it usually does, when someone tells him enough is enough and changes the conversation topic.

So Mikey keeps his mouth shut for the most part, and gives his best at trying to understand the things Donnie goes on about. He notices after a bit that Donnie tries to include him, bringing up potential redesigns to their cars and the lair’s facilities that Mikey could get interested in.

Donnie could’ve just kept on about the more complicated stuff, but he’s actively trying to make their conversation something Mikey can contribute to- which doesn’t often happen. It’s a little clumsy, faltering here and there as Donnie backtracks to water down the jargon, but that attempt at inclusion makes Mikey smile.

---

Their ship breaks down after about seven different stops, and they have to pull over planetside to get into a repair shop. One thing leads to another, a wrench and fission torch end up in Donnie’s hands, and then he’s arm deep in the engine of their ship and drinking up every bit of information their mechanic gives him.

And there’s another three ships in the shop, all with totally different engine designs and aeronautic exteriors and Donnie wants to take every single one of them apart, haul every manual he can find into his lap, and commit the contents to his memory. He wants to spend time here even more than he did at the massive intergalactic library they visited, because tangible knowledge is even better than books.

But. That would take a few days, at least. Donnie is good, but he’s not good enough to get everything down like that in one night.

But he still desperately wants to- this is one of the nicest (and one of the very few) individuals he’s met that is willing to teach him something useful and interesting. He doesn’t want to depart before he can at least enjoy the experience.

Donnie is waiting for Mikey to start complaining about the time it’s taking to fix the ship, needle at Donnie for being a gearhead and a nerd and using up their precious vacation to learn boring stuff. But it hasn’t happened yet.

Mikey is alternating between sitting atop the ship, reading comics on the holopad, or messing around in the scrapyard surrounding the shop and traversing rusting piles of ships. He’s only stopped a few times to peer over Donnie’s shoulder, and every time Donnie expects his brother to finally start up, finally say “We’re just wasting time, come on Donnie,” he just… wanders off again.

The next time Mikey swings by, sliding down the side of the ship to hang above where Donnie is working on the engine- while their helpful and kind mechanic takes zir dinner break- Donnie chews his lip, and then asks.

“Aren’t you getting… impatient? Or something?” Donnie questions. Mikey cocks his head to the side, like a curious bird.

“No?” he says. “Why, are you?”

“No,” Donnie says, because how could he? “but… I thought maybe you’d… I dunno. Want to go do something else already?”

Mikey shrugs. “Nah. We’ve been on the go for a few days now; a rest is cool by me. ‘sides, you’re getting your nerd-on for all this- stuff,” he waves vaguely at the shop. “so I’m good to just hang out ‘til you’re done.”

“Oh,” Donnie says, blinking, taken a little aback. “You sure?”

“Sure am,” Mikey says, and clambers back up the side of the ship with a wave goodbye. Donnie is half certain his brother is going to double back, turn around with a “Gotcha!” and be kidding about what he’s said, but Mikey just jumps up into the rafters and goes exploring again.

Donnie scratches his head, but decides wondering is ultimately looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Mikey is patient the whole four days it takes for Donnie to be satisfied with his learnings, and barely fusses about anything the whole while. Donnie is a little disbelieving it’s actually happened, but largely touched for the gift of time and space.

---

Mikey gets to choose the next destination after Donnie’s binge on spaceships, and he picks a planet made of softly glowing plant life and deep, fathomless seas.

It’s the seafood, in all honesty, that draws him. Mikey can’t help it- good food, like seriously good food, is so hard to come by. He gets teased for it by his brothers, but he can’t help his passion for food. Baking and cooking comes easy to him, and getting to experience space fine cuisine isn’t something he can pass up.

They end up combing through the smaller markets, where local fishermen- literally, with their scales gleaming- show their wares. Mikey trails his hands over the fins of large exotic looking fishes, takes cautious sniffs of fruit only found on this planet, and mourns he can’t take the time to try every single item for himself.

He expects sometimes for Donnie to complain about the smell of raw meat, or maybe about the stickiness of some patches on the market road, or about wandering in aimless circles and eating things. But he doesn’t.

Mikey is still cautious though, because as much as he really, really wants to take his time, he also doesn’t want to start a fight accidentally. Not when things are going so well, and they’re getting along so easily, and Donnie is still carrying himself with content gait he only gets when he’s accomplished something that makes him happy.

Until he gets to an open cookout, Mikey manages to keep himself from getting invested in anything. It doesn’t seem so much a cook-off, but instead a gathering of locals. Sharing food, showing off skills at a grill. Family things. Mikey’s hands twitch around an imaginary knife- wanting to get in there and let his translator do its thing, let him learn what these people are all talking about to each other.

But… that would take hours, and there’s no way…

Mikey glances at Donnie, hardly keeping his feet from dragging him right towards the gathering.

Donnie looks at him, bemused.

“What are you waiting for?” Donnie asks, smiling. “Go already.”

Mikey smiles brilliantly, and does.

He spends the rest of the afternoon, then evening, and then late evening enjoying the party of food. It’s a local holiday, it turns out. A time to share food and bounty from the sea, and pay tribute to their two sided ocean goddess. The one who provides and the one who takes, they tell him over a grill, three slices of seasoned fish on it.

Mikey focuses on the providing side of things, like the rest of the participants in the communal barbeque are. Whenever he glances towards Donnie, he finds his brother relaxing comfortably to the side of things. Reading, or maybe writing, on the holopad while locals mill around his spot at one of the many tables.

Mikey slides dish after dish in front of his brother on his quest to learn all of the local cooking tricks, and he is pleasantly surprised again and again that the plates are empty when he swings by next.

They don’t leave until the last vestiges do, wandering off into the ambient glow of the town around them. Donnie doesn’t complain even once about the long wait, and for that, Mikey is more than happy to share the last of the sweetly crispy desert he made.

---

The wealth of planets they can visit never decreases, and even as they check off more and more things on their list, it never ends. Just keeps getting longer and longer, and it’s..

Incredible. The endlessness, the unlimited time, so much freedom.

After spending so many years, especially the years following their father’s death, in a world that felt too small and too crowded and just so hard to deal with some nights… it’s intoxicating in the best way.

Neither of them has felt this easily happy in years, if ever.

---

“What if we just stayed out here forever?” Donnie hears Mikey whisper, sitting on the edge of their ship’s tail while they dock for a sleep cycle. They’re taking a moment to enjoy the endless swirl of stars and planets around their rest station, and Donnie doesn’t react with surprise at the suggestion.

Because in all honesty, he’s been thinking the same thing.

“Earth is our home,” he says, because that’s true. “and we said we’d go back already. We told our family we would.”

Mikey sighs, curling over his knees and resting his chin on them. “I know,” he says. “but…”

But what if? What if they never gave up this freedom? What if they kept going forever, taking what they needed and working for what they couldn’t get, seeing the edges of the universe and going farther. Never again boxed in by anything, or anyone. Not like on earth. Not like at home.

Donnie sighs, and leans back on his palms.

“We said we would,” he says eventually, because that’s all there really is to say. They will go back, one way or another, and how could they ever really stay away? No matter what, they couldn’t ever leave their family behind. Not forever.

Mikey seems to know that fact as well as Donnie does, and sighs a second time. As the quiet pause draws out, Donnie puts an arm around his brother’s shoulders; pulling him to his side. Mikey’s arm comes to rest around Donnie’s shell, and remains there with a loose grip.

They enjoy the view until their personal atmosphere filters start to let in the cold of space, and then head inside to sleep.

---

Somewhere, after another dozen planets, they start talking. About home, about themselves. About how things are. About how they were, before war, before their father’s death, before growing up.

It’s not a bad conversation. But it’s not a good one, either. It fills up the space of their dark bedroom, laying on a large bed they’ve been sharing. Big, heavy… hard to think about…

It’s doesn’t feel good to talk about, but it doesn’t feel exactly bad, either. Feels like a long time coming, if they feel like being honest about stuff a little longer.

It’s okay, afterwards. Maybe even better.

They’re better for it.

---

They go home, after another few weeks. With a ship full of souvenirs- all theirs, all things they got because they wanted to and could- and time spent in just each other’s company, it’s… easy to go home. Easy to land the ship in one of the many warehouses that the military and the Utrom share, and disembark with all their gotten (and stolen) booty.

They feel steadier. Better connected. Things are exactly perfect per say, but its better now. They understand each other better. They feel closer for their vacation.

And like the saying says, walking back into their home is a swell of fond emotion. Space is huge and endless and full of possibilities, but this is where they grew up. Where they became who they are, for better or worse, and the feeling being enclosed in a too small space is absent.

Their brothers greet them with a range of emotions. Relief they came back- happiness they’re unharmed- upset they did this so out of the blue- kind of pissed off they didn’t invite anyone else- and ultimately resigned, but somewhat fond and amused, grievance about the whole thing.

Donnie exchanges a glance with Mikey, who grins mischievously.

“You know…” Donnie starts, interrupting the barrage of questions and thinly veiled scolding.

“Maybe you guys should try taking a vacation sometime, too,” Mikey finishes for him, and just grins at the sudden silence from their family.

Donnie puts their holopad into Leo’s hands, information on screen about the start-up sequence to the engine controls. Mikey passes Raph a physical notebook, containing info about all the places they visited.

“It’d probably do you guys a world of good,” Donnie says cheekily, and they both have to laugh at the truly baffled looks on their brother’s faces.

Commission info & Kofi link.

#spec commissions #stasispunk #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #Donatello #michelangelo #b-team babes #<3 #My writing #this is 70% fun things and 30% kind of sad things #i think that's a good balance of content

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nightmare-afton-cosplay · 8 years ago

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Does This Arizona Mansion Feature the Largest Lazy River in America?

realtor.com

Imagine your favorite theme park. The sights, the sounds, the distinctive little details that leave visitors in awe no matter how many times they’ve walked through the gates. Now imagine living there.

That’s the reality for future owners of this Arizona mansion in Paradise Valley. The locale is appropriate, because this house is simply paradise. Spread over 4.5 acres in the Phoenix suburbs, the property features its own theme-park-sized lazy river. It’s on the market for $18 million.

“It’s one of a kind. It’s jaw-dropping,” said listing agent Christopher Karas.

The property also features a regulation-size volleyball court, putting green, commercial laundry room, and two locker rooms.

Aerial view

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The backyard—which is the size of a couple of football fields—has a pool and tables for 150 of the next owner’s closest friends. And if alfresco dining isn’t your style, then you can take the party under cover in the backyard palapa (a cabana-style hut). The seven-bedroom, 12-bathroom main home was designed at the direction of the current owners, who loved the Grand Wailea Hotel on Maui, HI, so much that they wanted to live in it.

The palapa

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“It’s a place that’s very near and dear to their heart, and a place they’ve been going for many years. They wanted to bring a piece of what they loved so much about that island and enjoy it every day,” said Karas, referring to the Maui hotel.

Snaking through the property is the desert mansion’s most distinctive feature: an 180,000-gallon lazy river powered by jet turbine engines. Along the meandering river, you’ll encounter a waterslide, splash pad, rope swing, and—in case the traditional volleyball court wasn’t enough—volleyball pool.

The idea for the endeavor was so massive the owners purchased an additional lot behind their home. Then their idea for the replica resort really took off, with the owners consulting with designers and contractors, Karas said.

Volleyball pool

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For a cool $18 million, you, too, can say aloha to your very own slice of Hawaii in the desert: Your very own private theme park and resort, with no lines or tourists to worry about. It’s true paradise in Paradise Valley.

“There’s not another property in Arizona, let alone the United States, that has this expansive of a lazy river backyard,” Karas said. “There might be larger pools out there, but I guarantee you there’s not something like this,” he continued. “You’ll never experience anything like this again.”

The post Does This Arizona Mansion Feature the Largest Lazy River in America? appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

from http://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/lazy-river-arizona-mansion/

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playavacationblog-blog · 6 years ago

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A Dutch Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, Amsterdam's iconic canals froze over, and men, women, and children laced up their ice skates to see their city from a whole new perspective. Okay, so that time was not so long ago-just last year, actually, when the temperature dropped enough for this rare treat. But the point is: The cheerful, cozy togetherness (a feeling the Dutch call gezelligheid) and childlike sense of possibility that swirl around this culturally rich city are especially strong during the winter. It's well worth crossing the ocean to experience Amsterdam's cold-weather-friendly pleasures-if not to twirl along its canals, then to visit some of the world's best museums, duck into warm restaurants, and wander past rowhouses older than the country you left while snowflakes lazily tumble from the sky.

The Lay of the Land

Amsterdam began as a small fishing village on the Amstel river nearly 800 years ago. Today the heart of the city beats where the Amstel meets the IJ bay. Canals flare out in concentric rings from this point, and many of the city's landmarks lie within these crescents. In summer, this area and the Museumplein, a square just beyond the outer canal rim, are jammed with travelers; luckily, the crowds fall away as the heat does.

You don't need to speak Dutch to get around, but do stay alert: Locals bike in all sorts of weather, and cycling lanes can cut through sidewalks as well as the main roads. It's simple enough, though, to navigate the city on foot and by public transit and even easier with an I amsterdam City Card ($114* for 96 hours). The tourist pass works for public transportation and includes admission to dozens of museums. Just be sure to tap it both when you board and disembark buses, trams, or the metro. If you tap it only once, you'll invalidate the card.

The Girl in the Annex

It's all too common for people to romanticize Anne Frank; one of the great accomplishments of the Anne Frank House (20 Westermarkt; 011-31-20-5567105; adults, $12; children 10–17, $6; children 9 and under, free; tickets must be purchased online) is that it humanizes her. Maybe it's her bedroom walls, plastered with postcards and photos of movie stars. They're a reminder that Anne was a real person and of how suddenly she was taken from here when the annex was discovered.

The museum completed a major renovation this past fall, adding to the exhibition space devoted to World War II and the Holocaust. What hasn't changed is the annex itself. Visitors hush as they pass behind a bookcase and climb the stairs to the rooms that Anne and her family, along with the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer, hid in for two years. Anne's father, Otto, came up with the plan; he would be the only one among them to survive the war.

If you're looking for a place to take a moment after you leave the museum, you can walk north along the Prinsengracht canal for a few blocks to Café Papeneiland (2 Prinsengracht; 011-31-20-6241989; apple pie for two, $10). It's what the Dutch call a bruine kroeg-or brown café-a name derived from the inviting dark wood walls. Papeneiland has been around since 1642 and has made apple pie using the same recipe for 100 years. Upstairs you can sit by the window and look out on the canal, watching the day pass between each delicious bite.

The Master and the Feast

For 20 years, until his debts made him give it up, the artist Rembrandt lived in a red-shuttered building along the Zwanenburgwal canal. The Rembrandt House Museum (4 Jodenbreestraat; 011-31-20-520-04-00; adults, $15; children 6–17, $5; children 5 and under, free) is in one sense a time capsule of what life was like in the 17th century; in another, it's an examination of Rembrandt himself-the curiosities he collected, the artists he admired. And in yet another, it's a gallery displaying his etchings and paintings. In Rembrandt's studio, museum guides explain how he made his paints and what pigments he used, and in his etching workshop, there are printmaking demonstrations.

Tourist traps litter Rembrandtplein, a busy square nearby with a statue of the Dutch master. Just off it, you'll find Guts & Glory (6 Utrechtsestraat; 011-31-20-362-0030; multicourse dinner for two, from $115), a wonderful restaurant that runs at an indulgently slow pace. During a recent meal there, two men asked the waitstaff to take their phones while they ate so that they could better enjoy each other's company over bowls of beef ramen and eggplant ice cream.

The menu-always themed-changes every few months and doesn't list out the food for guests, who simply choose the number of courses they'll be having. “You don't know what you're going to get, so you have to trust us,” says co-owner Johanneke van Iwaarden. Past menu themes have run the gamut from “Chicken” to “French Classics.” “We always travel to get inspiration. It's amazing what we learn during these trips,” Van Iwaarden says. For a hint of what's to come, you can follow the restaurant's Facebook and Instagram pages.

The Genius and the Dollhouses

Amsterdam's museum quarter fans out from the Rijksmuseum (1 Museumstraat; 011-31-20-6747-000; adults, $20; children 18 and under, free), a massive redbrick building that displays more than 8,000 art and historical objects at a time. Rembrandt's famous The Night Watch is on the second floor, along with paintings by Johannes Vermeer. Also worth a look: the museum's collection of antique dollhouses, some of which contain miniature blue-and-white porcelain from China and, at the time, cost as much as one of the actual houses that lined the city's canals.

You can glide around Ice*Amsterdam (Museumplein; 011-31-20-262-32-55; skating admission, $7; two-hour skate rentals, $7), an ice-skating rink that pops up each winter in front of the Rijksmuseum, before heading to the Van Gogh Museum (6 Museumplein; 011-31-20-570-5200; adults, $21; children 17 and under, free). On the ground floor, Van Gogh's artistic progression is apparent as well as his physical and mental condition as seen through his self-portraits. Many of his masterpieces-painted toward the end of his life-are three floors up.

When you're ready to leave the Museumplein, consider making your way to Westerpark for a change of scene. Vondelpark may be closer, but it's often crowded and doesn't contain Mossel & Gin (12 Gosschalklaan; 011-31-20-486-5869; dinner for two, $38), a restaurant that's serious about both of its namesakes. Mussels from south Holland are soaked in a spicy coconut curry, slathered in a creamy Roquefort sauce, or doused in white wine. Fries come with the restaurant's special gin-infused mayonnaise-you can take home a tube-and the lineup of gin-and-tonic cocktails is just as experimental. Many feature Dutch gins. “Like Bobby's [Dry Gin], which we use in our Gin Mayo, or Vørding's Gin-the [distiller] adds a smoked-cedar-wood flavor that he makes in his own kitchen in Amsterdam-or Jajem, a brand that some friends of ours recently made,” says co-owner Wouter Ten Velde.

The Hero and the Depot

Football is in full swing in winter, and it's fun to take in a match here even if you don't usually follow Europe's favorite sport. Amsterdam's team, Ajax, is named for the mighty Greek hero who appears in the Iliad. It was one of the first teams to practice Total Football-which won't mean much to nonfans but makes it legendary to devotees. (In Total Football, every outfield player is allowed to play in any position as needed.) If you can't catch a match, you can still tour the Johan Cruijff Arena (1 Arena Blvd.; 011-31-20-311-1333; game tickets, prices vary; arena tours, $19 a person; children 5–12, $13), about five miles southeast of downtown. Amusingly, in the away team's locker room, coat hooks are placed high enough that players have to stand on chairs to reach them-except for a few ultralow hooks for 5′7″ Lionel Messi, one of the game's greatest (and shortest) players.

When you've had your fill of psychological warfare, head to Foodhallen (51 Bellamyplein; dinner for two, $15). The Netherlands' first indoor food market consists of more than 20 stalls inside De Hallen, a converted electric-tram depot-there are still tracks in the floor-and serves everything from falafel to sushi.

Souvenirs

You may want to pick up a few things to remember the city by. The same converted depot containing Foodhallen also holds shops. You can browse dip-dyed cups, small ceramic canal houses, or acacia bowls with maps of Amsterdam carved inside at The Maker Store (39 Hannie Dankbaarpassage; 011-31-20-261-76-67; site in Dutch), or tulip-shaped purses and whimsical shoes by Dutch designer Jan Jansen at DSIGN.Amsterdam (13A Straalstraat; 011-31-20-770-3588).

The End

Before packing your bags for home, consider taking a nighttime stroll along the canals. Dozens of installations cast fanciful shapes and colors onto the waterways each winter as part of the Amsterdam Light Festival. These lights shine during only the darkest months of the year and add an extra bit of charm to the snow-laden city.

STAY

RCI® affiliated resorts near Amsterdam include:

Camping Duinrell R137

Great for families who love both the outdoors-the resort is set inside a nature reserve-and theme parks-there's one on-site, complete with roller coasters and waterslides. 1 Duinrell, 2242 JP Wassenaar, Netherlands Member Review: Not yet rated

RCI® Tip

You may not see Amsterdam availability right away, so it is important to plan now for travel in 2019. We're here to help search for your dream-come-true vacation with Ongoing Search. Just choose what you are looking for, and we'll search 24/7, alerting you via email when a match becomes available!**

For member reviews and additional resort listings, visit RCI.com or call 800-338-7777 (Weeks) or 877-968-7476 (Points). Club Members, please call your specific Club or RCI telephone number.

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Non-RCI affiliated resorts in Amsterdam include:

Hotel De Hallen

A comfy boutique hotel that makes clever use of its setting in a former tram depot. 47 Bellamyplein; 011-31-20-820-8670; hoteldehallen.com; doubles from $119 a night

The post A Dutch Fairy Tale appeared first on Endless Vacation.

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