#Clock Tower Puppet Theatre

[suetravelblog]

Tbilisi Walking Tour & Georgia Independence Day

Narikala Fortress – Tour to Georgia Having time to move at your own pace is a big plus when traveling abroad. Long-term travel provides time for adjusting to new environments, without feeling pressed to see everything at once. I’ve been low-key for a few days getting my bearings, but am getting up to speed and expanding my Georgian horizons. Transportation Purchasing a Metromoney card seemed a…

[alex-the-nonsensologist]

Disney Dreamland - Part 4: Fantasyland

(I had already posted about Mysteryland previously, which retroactively makes it Part 3. So we're moving on to the next part.)

Quite possibly the largest of the five lands, probably even beating out my mega-Adventureland. 

Small World Gardens

Located behind Small World, this sprawling area would transition into Storybook Town Square. Flower arrangements inspired by Keukenhof in the Netherlands. Similar to Paris’s Fantasyland, there would be a couple rivers running through the garden with lovely bridges to cross over them. 

Dumbo the Flying Elephant : The Masquerade Circus could be positioned near the Mysteryland/Fantasyland border so that the back of the tents could serve as a backdrop for the Dumbo ride, which would have its own little area in the gardens. I was at a loss on where else to place this ride, but I stubbornly wanted to include it as it is currently the only attraction to be found in all 6 existing castle parks and I didn't want to break that streak.

"Casey Jr. Circus Train": Doesn't have to specifically be Dumbo-themed, I just really want a cute novelty train to wind through the garden, with cute bridges to pass over the walkways and rivers.

“Swan Boats”: Paddle boats. I say “swan boats” but they don’t have to be just swans, but could also resemble other birds such as ducks, geese, and flamingos.

Symphony Gazebo: A gazebo in the garden for a live band to play classical music.

“Windmill snack stand”: I saw a picture of the Old Mill in Paris and thought it looked so charming. German pretzels. 

Storybook Town Square

The town follows in the footsteps of Ananheim’s 1983 overhaul with each building having its own unique look. Would feature a fluid mix of Bavarian and British architecture. The Bavarian half of the town on the west contains “Pinocchio Square” and the theater. The British half on the east contains Peter Pan, Little Nemo (even though Nemo is American), and Mr. Toad. A large fountain stands in the center. Cobblestones would pave the ground. I want this area to evoke the feeling of Paris’s Fantasyland as well as Efteling in the Netherlands . 

Pinocchio’s Daring Escape: Focuses more on escaping Pleasure Island. The only other thing I would change is have all the sets and animatronics appear to be carved out of wood, and have real clothes on the animatronics, for a more high-quality “hand made” look, the implication being the entire ride is a life-sized puppet show. The ride building along with the toy shop and restaurant form a smaller “Pinocchio Square”, which would include a smaller fountain with a statue of Pinocchio.

Geppetto’s Toy Shop: Would feature regular retail plush toys, as well as old fashioned toys like wooden marionettes and wind-ups, as well as cuckoo clocks. Christmas ornaments can also be purchased here.   

Pinocchio’s Pizza Place: Italian cuisine. Basically the Pinocchio Village Haus in Orlando, but with an alliterative name, and also some of the pizzas have toppings decorated to look like Pinocchio smiley faces. Quick service.  

Once Upon a Time Theatre: Hosts live indoor stage shows. While any show with Disney musical medleys is fine, I would much prefer original shows of rarely-featured stories, such as the other tales from the 1001 Arabian Nights, or a stage version of Disney's Return to Oz (which I personally love better as an Oz adaptation than MGM's movie; 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful was meh). Building design would be modeled after the new Fantasyland Forest Theatre in Tokyo.

“German restaurant”: Table service. 

Flight to Neverland: Would utilize the best aspects from each version of the ride. For example, I love that Shanghai’s queue is themed to a London park (Kensington Gardens?), and the chimneys in Paris’s loading dock blow smoke. The building facade would definitely have a functioning clock tower, in homage to Big Ben, but designed to fit with the small town aesthetic. The name change is simply because I feel like guests actually take on the role of the Darling children more than they do Peter.

Little Nemo in Slumberland: Little Nemo may not be a Disney IP, but it has such rich and vibrant imagery, I think it could work really well as a Disney ride. Not to mention it’s in the public domain, so there shouldn’t be any legal issues. In many ways it’s very similar to Peter Pan’s Flight, so maybe it could also help balance the wait times between the two rides. Guests take on the role of Nemo and ride flying beds (or at least, benches that look like beds, with a headboard and a footboard) that soar out the bedroom window. What follows are awe-inspiring, almost surreal, scenes of Slumberland. Things start to distort and become chaotic as the dream turns into a nightmare. Before anything too awful happens, guests “wake up” back in Nemo’s bedroom while the voice of Nemo’s mother scolds us for eating before bed. For visual reference, I recommend the Osamu Dezaki pilot film that was created during the movie’s development, though I obviously wouldn’t put the giant Sauron eye in the ride. 

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: Orlando’s former double-track ride, but with Anaheim’s building exterior. I never got to experience this ride and I really want to.

Ever After Castle

Here it is, the traditional centerpiece of all Disney parks, now the centerpiece of Fantasyland instead. I personally think of most Disney castles as tall but not wide. This castle would be slightly different from the traditional Disney castle by taking up more ground space. I hate to sound blasphemous, but for this castle I’m thinking of something similar to Shrek’s Far Far Away Castle in Universal Singapore but with more detailed ornate decorations like Paris’ castle, and the outer walls slightly covered in ivy vines for a more inviting, homely look. It would also stand on top of an elevated foundation, surrounded by a moat. There would be a large courtyard in front of the main castle building, with the carousel placed in the center of it. The gift shop and the meet-and-greet are each placed on either the west or east side of the courtyard. The north of the courtyard would feature the restaurant on the ground floor, the entrance to the underground boat ride, and stairs to the second floor attraction. 

Cinderella’s Carriage Carrousel: Regarding the visual design, I want it to look like the pumpkin carriage turned into a carousel. The canopy could include fiber optic fairy dust that lights up at night.

Be Our Guest Restaurant: French cuisine. I really like Tokyo’s Beauty and the Beast ride and would love to import it, but I respect the OLC’s exclusivity rights too much. I wondered if I could make it a combination ride and restaurant where each table is a ride vehicle, but I worried that would cause motion sickness which is a big no-no for a restaurant. At the very least, for my version I would love to have animatronics perform “Be Our Guest” every 30 minutes or so. Also, perhaps every hour, Belle and Beast performers would come out onto the dance floor and invite guests to waltz with them. Hot Take: The Grey Stuff is very obviously a savory food as it is clearly presented on a tray of hors d'oeuvres in the movie. But since the version currently offered in the parks has been imprinted in fans’ minds I think it’s best to offer two versions: Savory (chicken liver pate) as an appetizer and Sweet (cookies and cream) as a dessert.

Royal Meet-and-Greet: I personally do not care much for meet and greets, but for the people that do, here you can meet the Princesses, some of the Princes, as well as non-Princesses such as Giselle, Esmeralda, and TinkerBell. 

Kingdom Treasures gift shop: Based on the Tokyo shop of the same name. 

Crystal Caverns Canal: Boat ride underneath the castle. My first idea for this ride was basically Voyage to the Crystal Grotto from Shanghai, if all the character statues were built out of crystals and mosaic tiles. Then I realized, there’s probably too much IP already in the land, so I think there could be an original story about the crystals being a source of magic for the kingdom, and have scenes of wizards and fairies harvesting the crystals and creating experiments with them. Sort of a “tour of the workshop” kind of ride. I’m thinking of something with the same vibes as Dreamflight in Efteling. 

Merlin’s Library / Yen Sid’s Library: Located on the second floor of the castle. Originally I wanted a ride in a similar vein to Symbolica in Efteling, but with a story like that of Mystic Manor in Hong Kong. Then I wondered if it would be feasible to have a ride in the second story, so I’m also okay with this being a walkthrough attraction.  I feel either wizard could work here. Merlin is the more well-known wizard, but Yen Sid is easier to create an original backstory for. The basic gist of the attraction is you wander around a library with little vignettes of magical items operating on their own; a quill pen writing  by itself, a large spell book turning its own pages, floating books sorting themselves on the shelves, etc. There could even be some interactive elements, such as paintings that change, or opening a book can project a scene “coming to life” and “escaping” the book.

Fairytale Gardens: Walkthrough garden. There would be lovely little vignettes scattered throughout, including Snow White’s wishing well, a giant beanstalk, and The Sword in the Stone placed in a little alcove in the castle’s outer wall. This would be outside the courtyard. Maybe off to the side, to the west, wrapping around the outer castle wall, next to Shadowland Forest.

Shadowland Forest

Inspired by the Black Forest of Germany, this area features spookier attractions. West of the castle, shares the border with Mysteryland and the Gravity Falls area. There would be plenty of fir, spruce, and pine trees to make it feel like an actual forest, maybe even hide some of the attractions from view. 

Snow White’s Scary Adventures : Building facade would include the Evil Queen peeking out her window. I would place the building nearest to Storybook Town Square, at the edge of the forest.

“Gingerbread Factory Tour” : Based on my twisted Hansel and Gretel dark ride idea. Guests are given a tour of gingerbread golems at work (something like Tim Burton’s version of Wonka’s factory if it were more surreal and set in 1800s Germany), then are chased through obstacles, such as lollipop blades swinging from the walls, and peppermint stick darts, by Hansel and Gretel themselves. They’ve been very distrustful of adults after their parents abandoned them in the woods, and after the witch held them captive. They deem the guests harmless, and let them go but warn them to never come back.

Candy Carnival shop: The ride would exit into a shop themed to a candy carnival safe haven that Hansel and Gretel built for children lost in the woods. Would feature gingerbread treats and a nice selection of old-fashioned candies and German sweets. Guests can also watch bakers and candymakers at work. (Despite the name, there are no actual rides here, just animatronic decorations.)

Dragon Mountain: I wanted a unique “Mountain” ride, much like how the Matterhorn and Everest are unique to their parks. And dragons are cool. Originally this was going to be based on Maleficent, but now I’m leaning more towards an original story. And to put a neat spin on things, instead of a fire-breathing dragon, it would be a wintery ice dragon! I would also love it if the dragon was not portrayed as a mindless, violent beast hoarding treasure, but a parent protecting their child from intruders.

I initially wanted a sub-land recreating Halloween Town (with a spooky "Scare-ousel") but I felt Fantasyland was already overrun with too many IPs (and seven carousels is enough for one park), so here an area is set aside for seasonal Nightmare Before Christmas or Villains themed events, leaving the Haunted Mansion free during the holidays. 

Disney Dreamland Railroad Fantasyland station: Styled after the ruins of a medieval castle. Located on the edge of the forest near Ever After Castle, next to the entrance to Winter Village.

Wonderland

East of the castle, on the border with Create-It-Land. While there would be plenty of natural green, there would also be an abundant mix of giant pink, purple, and turquoise “wildlife”, as seen in the initial scrapped concept art for Tokyo’s expansion. Giant mushrooms in place of benches,  trees decorated with misleading signs, lamp posts that look like giant flowers. March Hare would definitely be included as a walk-around character alongside Hatter and Alice. People often forget the tea party took place at the Hare’s and mistakenly believe Hatter to be the host, and I will not stand for this March Hare erasure.  I would also have plenty of card soldiers roaming around, “patrolling” the area.

Down the Rabbit-Hole: An upside-down funhouse with wonky mirrors, and trick doors galore! A hall of doors in the end would lead into the maze. I was thinking there could probably also be a madhouse ride portion where guests can experience the room actually turning upside down; inspired by Villa Volta in Efteling. 

Wonderland Maze: As much as I like the Alice in Wonderland ride in Anaheim, I personally feel that Wonderland is a world that is best experienced up close and at your own pace, which a maze perfectly embodies. While the maze would obviously be themed to classic animated Alice like the Paris version, it would have different environments, like Shanghai’s Tim Burton version. First half of the maze would be a forest-like environment with giant plants and singing flowers. Second half would have rose bushes, fancy iron fences, and carved stone walls and statues for the Queen of Heart’s castle area. There would be a handful of tiny doors scattered throughout that guests can crawl through as shortcuts. Among the character statues scattered around the maze, I really want to include the Mock-Turtle and Gryphon, based on their designs from the Jell-O commercial, perhaps on a sandy beach shore by a small fountain / pond.

House of Cards Banquet Hall: Inspired by the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall in Tokyo. Would follow the same eccentric and colorful design scheme, but I want it to look like a stone castle made out of cards. Definitely would have lovely stained glass windows. Desserts include Royal Heart Tarts. They could also come in souvenir cups and plates like the ones found in Tokyo.

Mad Tea Party: Would have a canopy roof to protect from the weather and direct sunlight, but I also wouldn’t mind a stained-glass version. Or even a canopy made of trees. Teacup designs would be a mix of various patterns from all versions (except Orlando’s, I do not care for the zigzag scribbles). Would also include the giant teapot with the Dormouse in the center. To help with queue waits, I’d even have two ride systems, much like how Orlando doubled their Dumbo ride. One could even be themed to the Hatter while the other to the March Hare.

March Hare’s tea shop: Would have the same building design as March Hare Refreshments in Paris. Would sell several varieties of tea, Unbirthday Cake, and macarons. Could also feature a long table with interactive tea things to play with, like Shanghai does at the end of its maze, and plenty of fancy chairs for photo-ops.

Mad Hatter’s hat shop: Hats, Mickey ears, and other headgear. To match the March Hare’s chimney ears, this building would resemble a large top hat. Would also feature hat racks for photo-ops, like Shanghai does at the end of its maze.

100 Acre Wood

East of Town Square, on the border with Create-It-Land. A tiny little area with tall trees providing shade, a lovely little Poohsticks Bridge over a small river, and a cozy corner for a meet-and-greet with Pooh and friends.

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day: Basically the same as Pooh’s Hunny Hunt in Tokyo, which includes the giant book facade, and the same level of crafted detail and technical marvel throughout the ride, but with scenes added for the “rain, rain, rain”, and Pooh’s hero party as the ending. I would also use Anaheim’s zany color scheme for the Heffalumps and Woozles room with some added special effects for even more zaniness.  The ride’s name change is just to both set it apart from the other versions, and because I realized with the exception of Pooh stuck in the honey tree, all the iconic scenes in the ride come from Blustery Day.

Pooh Corner gift shop: Also utilizes the same English cottage look as Tokyo’s.

Hunny Smackerels snack stand: Hunny Pot cupcakes, honeycomb, honey ice cream, and a separate cart for honey popcorn in lovely Pooh-shaped popcorn buckets. It would be really cute if the stand is actually inside a giant tree trunk, with a dutch door counter window for guests to order from. 

The next three sub-lands would be behind Ever After Castle, outside the perimeter of the railroad tracks border. The entrance to Winter Village is between Shadowland Forest and the castle, while the entrance to Encanto Valley is between Wonderland and the castle. Mermaid Lagoon is directly behind the castle, between the other two sub-lands and only accessible through them. Small mountains would form berms for each sub-land. For reference, think of how Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land are arranged in Hong Kong.

Winter Village

Inspired by my Narnia theme park concept. This entire mini-land would be indoors, to have air-conditioning to sell the illusion of winter, and to preserve the artificial winter setup from the real-life elements outdoors. This mini-land would be round (roughly) so that the glass ceiling that lets in natural light can have a hexagonal snowflake design. At night time there’d be projections of Northern Lights. NOT Frozen themed. It’s a cute movie and all, but far overstayed its welcome before it was even released on DVD. Village would be a mix of Russian and Scandinavian architecture.  Can be used for a Santa Claus meet-and-greet during Christmas.

Enchanted Snow Palace: The planned but never built ride based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen. The concept art looks leagues better than the final product of Frozen Ever After.

“Winter Sleigh Ride”: Ride through winter scenery in sleighs pulled by reindeer. Technically a dark ride, since the entire subland is indoors, but feels like an outdoor ride.

"Snowball Arcade": I really wanted something to simulate snowball fights, but without the chaos and mess. Here, guests can throw snowballs at targets to win plush prizes.

"Russian cafe": Russian pastries and snacks

"Ice skating rink": Free if you bring your own skates.

Mermaid Lagoon

A scaled-down version of the land in Tokyo DisneySea, without the playground and kiddie rides. Like DisneySea, it would have a lovely seashell castle facade, with the attractions indoors. Unlike DisneySea, there would be a small lake in front with a ship restaurant docked on it.

“Under the Sea”: NOT a retelling of the movie, but instead an original story that would take place some time pre-movie. Follows Ariel on one of her outings as she explores the sea looking for new treasures to add to her collection. Final scene could be of Ariel in her grotto after completing her latest trip, but feeling unsatisfied as she wistfully looks at her collection, while instrumentals for “Part Of Your World” softly play in the background. 

King Triton’s Concert Hall: Just like the one in Tokyo DisneySea, this would be a 360 degree show with Ariel “swimming” in midair above the audience, a giant animatronic Triton, performer puppets of Flounder and Sebastian, and other mixed special effects. 

Undersea Carousel: Fish carousel. Underwater lighting effects and blows bubbles as it spins. 

Ariel’s Grotto gift shop

Ship restaurant: Mediterranean seafood. I mean, it’s on a human ship that’s not technically in Triton’s Kingdom, so I think this gets a pass for serving fish. It could even be themed to Chef Louis for a laugh. 

“Nighttime Water Show”: Just spitballing an idea, maybe the lagoon could also be used for a nighttime water show a la Fantasmic / World of Color. The viewing area could be across the lagoon from Triton’s castle; the lights of Triton’s castle would coordinate with the show.

Encanto Valley

A lovely recreation of the valley, with Casita and a little village area for shops and Colombian dining, and plenty of lush greenery. 

La Casa Madrigal: I really like @rrdcooc’s idea for Casita as a walkthrough attraction! It’s so cool! Especially the ideas for Pepa and Luisa's rooms. I wouldn’t change much, aside from adding a few extra touches, such as an interactive flower wall in Isabela’s room that mimics guests’ silhouettes (like Daniel Rozin's "Mechanical Mirrors"), and maybe a couple themed flat rides to add capacity, such as a flowery swing spinner ride in Isabela’s room, and a tiny jungle animal carousel in Antonio’s room. In Dolores's room, guests can see sound waves (like that Magic School Bus episode), and Camilo's room can contain "mirrors" with different character models that mimic guests' movements in real time (like VTuber avatars). Also includes a gift shop selling “homemade” fashions and plush toys by Mirabel.

“Magic Realism Art Exhibit”: While I think the final movie is perfect, I would have loved it if Casita more closely resembled its concept art, which leaned much more heavily into magic realism. This attraction would be a walkthrough art exhibit full of giant optical illusion paintings that guests can pose in for photo-ops. For reference, I’m recalling the Trick Eye Museum, a temporary art exhibit I went to years ago in Hong Kong.

Encanto Sing-Along: I’m not always a huge fan of the “book report” shows they do in the Parks, but in this case, most of Encanto’s songs are so specific to the story that removing them from the context of the movie wouldn't work (especially in the case of fan favorite “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”).  The stage can also be used for original Colombian performances, as well as from neighboring Latin American countries.

Julieta’s Arepas: Food cart. These arepas may not heal you, but they’re magically delicious! 

Arabian Oasis (scrapped)

Before Encanto was released and became one of my favorite recent movies, my initial idea was to put in an Aladdin-themed area. Not an exact recreation of Agrabah, more like a broad strokes version of Agrabah in the same manner as Arabian Coast in Tokyo DisneySea.

Magic Carpet Ride: A suspension ride in a similar manner as Peter Pan’s Flight, using the carpet vehicles. Fly through the Agrabah marketplace, over the desert, and above the clouds. Ride music features instrumentals from “A Whole New World”.

Scheherazade’s Tales From the 1001 Nights: Stage show.

Flavors of Agrabah: Arabian / Middle-Eastern cuisine 

Cave of Wonders gift shop: I think the theming is appropriate considering guests are exchanging money for goods and not stealing them (ideally).

Other parts:

World Galleria

Adventureland

Mysteryland

Create-It-Land

Discoveryland

[littlegirlwiththeblueribbon]

MY SPECIAL INTERESTS:

✸ Cryptids, Cryptozoology

✸ Aliens, Abduction Phenomena, UFOlogy

✸ Ghosts, Paranormal Phenomena

✸ Fortune Telling, Psychic Readings, Tarot

✸ Astrology, Zodiac, Horoscopes

✸ Alchemy, Past & Present Chemistry

✸ Astronomy, Space, NASA

✸ Oceanography, Marine Biology

✸ Dinosaurs, Fossils, Paleontology

✸ Speculative Evolution & Biology

✸ Lost Civilizations, Cultural Extinction

✸ Animal Classification (Taxonomy)

✸ Taxidermy, Animal Death Studies

✸ Birds, Especially Corvids & Birds of Prey

✸ Passenger Trains, American Railroads

✸ Passenger Ships, RMS Titanic, Queen Mary

✸ Nuclear Power, Radiation, Radioactivity

✸ Radios, Radio Waves, Radio Towers

✸ Conspiracy Theories, Denialism

✸ Government Scandals, FBI Cover-Ups

✸ Urban Legends, Folklore, Internet Hoaxes

✸ Religion, Catholicism, Cults, Scientology

✸ Doomsday, Apocalpyse, Pandemics

✸ Meteorology, Weather Patterns, Predictions

✸ Petrology, Mineralogy, Faceting Gemstones

✸ Botany, Herbalism, Horticulture

✸ Mycology, Mold, Penicillin

✸ Toxicology, Poisons, Neurotoxins

✸ Historical Crimes & Unusual Punishment

✸ Elizabethan Era History, Fashion, Culture

✸ Shakespeare, Plays, Musical Theatre

✸ Theatre Design, Stage Management

✸ Filmmaking, Cinematography, Sound Design

✸ Composing, Soundtracks & Scores, Lyrics

✸ Theremins, Synthesizers, Electronic Sound

✸ Figure Skating, Artistic Roller Skating

✸ Fonts, Typefaces, Typography

✸ Graphic Design, Advertisements

✸ Defunct Amusement Parks

✸ Antiques, Appraising, Restoration

✸ Clocks, Watches, Pocket Watches

✸ Puppetry, Muppets, Vintage Puppets

✸ Stage Magic, Escapology, Mentalism

✸ Dime Novels, Pulps, Westerns & Sci-Fi

✸ Postmodernist Literature, Dystopias, Utopias

✸ Hellenism, Greek Mythology, Greek Classics

✸ Portuguese, Basque, French, Latin, Greek

✸ Secret Codes, Ciphers, Shorthand

✸ World War I, World War II

✸ Horses, War Horses, Lusitano, Friesian

✸ Cowboys, American Wild West

✸ Pirates, Golden Age of Piracy

✸ Vexillology, World Flags, LGBTQ+ Flags

✸ Sapphic, Lesbian, Queer Women History

✸ Fado Music, Women’s History in Portugal

✸ Book Translations, Translators

✸ The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

And, apparently, organizing things nicely in list.

Ask me about any of these, I love to share!

Of course, I have many other interests that I don’t consider my special interests; just these are the ones I study religiously and devote the most of my time to.

UPDATED 12/9/23.

[chrysaliseuro2024]

Georgia Day 1 Tbilisi

Flight which was at 1.30 pm went well. Turkish airlines pretty good and they fed us again without charging extra. Unfortunately a slight hiccup was that we had booked an airport transfer through booking.com but had put July rather than June in as the month of arrival. Only discovered as we were pretty close to boarding so no time to change. This led to some vociferous bargaining with a potential cabbie at Tbilisi airport. In fact he wasn’t a cabby at all. There didn’t appear to be any free ones. Those we saw ignored us and appeared to have already booked trips into town. We did manage to knock about 33% off the original asking price and set off with a guy who probably was just driving his private car. He was ok though, drove sensibly and didn’t look for more money. Had very little English.

Our hotel the Bazzar Boutique was pretty close to (in fact in) the main tourist area (which is not very large) but sort of to one side so perfectly placed. It was to prove a gem with friendly and caring staff a number of whom spoke fantastic English. Room a good size, clean, modern without being characterless. Not much to fault.

We dropped our bags and pretty immediately set off to look around. Nice and warm. Crowds not very large especially after the madness of Istanbul. A number of very grand and very attractive buildings including the house of the president close by. Also some quirky ones such as the leaning clock which is a clock tower built quirkily by the owner of an on-site puppet theatre in 2010. There were also some grand but tired buildings that had seen better days. It just seemed very chilled. Of course there were the odd streets which were catering for tourists including the local version of Lygon St with a narrow walkway with restaurants either side. These mostly specialised in Georgian food and spruikers accosted us in a friendly way as we moved through. All good fun.

First impressions included the number of cars. This reinforced itself over the next few days as public transport is less than ideal so cars seemed to be used a lot. Quite wide boulevards in town and they hare along overtaking and looking for gaps to dive into. No beg pardons among drivers here if there is a gap they go for it. Finally might have found a mob more aggressive than Melbourne drivers. This is belied though by their off-road manner which is quite laconic and very friendly. Pedestrian crossings are few and far between and underground walkways are the go. They typically have little alcove shops in the walkways selling jewellery and mementos etc and some more basic items.

That night we headed for a restaurant which Liz identified from Trip Advisor. It took some finding tucked away down a dark side street but was waell worth it. It looked like a student hangout judging by other clientele certainly a youngies place. A large open area with tables and we found one. Plenty of space around us and we went for the local food. I had a beef goulash sort of dish and Liz barbecued pork. Beer, Red wine and Rose very acceptable and apart from Liz deciding my dish was hers and polishing off about a third of it before hers rolled up all was fine.

We did notice that the beef which was in plenty of sauce was served at not quite tepid temperature but not hot. Though we did asked for it to be heated up it came back a few degrees warmer so we soldiered on. We came to notice that this could be the case with some food not serve piping hot. The pork was rather dry and had been left on a little long. Again the Georgians seem to like their food on the well done side. Nevertheless the beef was delicious soaked up with some Georgian crusty bread and a very tasty green salad which was huge.

We loved the place. Soaked up the atmosphere. Most tables were now occupied and it was very very relaxed. Nice to see a bit of local life on day 1

[serenasufinjapan]

May 13: Tsukiji Tonwaji, Ginza, and Bunraku

Yesterday we went to Tsukiji Tonwanji, explored Ginza as a class, and got to see a Bunraku play in the evening. Tsukuji Tonwaji was very beautiful with very interesting architecture that is unlike any temple we’ve been to before. It reminded me a lot of a catholic cathedral. Ginza is a luxury shopping district, and I got to see stores such as Hermes, Chanel, LV, and Balenciaga. There was also some gems that sold vintage designer. The whole place felt so high class, almost like the fashion district of New York. Then that evening we went to a play where all of the main characters are puppets and their voices are done by one person. I thought it was pretty cool, albeit a bit hard to follow due to the audio guide not translating the entire dialogue.

Tsukuji Tonwaji was interesting to me because of the clear influences of Christianity on the structure of the temple and the motifs within it. There was rows of chairs that reminded me of pews, and stained glass windows. There was also stone pillars and a copper dome, where there is typically wooden structures. While in Ginza, we got to see the tower that Godzilla destroyed in the clip we watched in our readings. It was mentioned that this clock tower has been around since the 1800s and has always been an iconic symbol of Japan. Many of the department stores in this area have been around for centuries in one form or another, which I thought was really cool. Now there are department stores everywhere in Tokyo, but it seems like the Ginza area is the most high class.

The Bunraku play that we saw was the last two acts of “The Secret Art of Rowing” from 1739. The language that was used is a lot like how Shakespeare sounds to English speakers, and our guide mentioned that she has trouble understanding it at times. The shimasen player seemed so in sync with the storyteller and even without looking at each other they were able to play and speak at the same time. The storytellers and players were switched every act, which is different from American theatre where actors are only switched in the case of an emergency where an understudy steps in. I thought it was really cool that the people who work the face and one of the hands of the puppets get to not wear the black mask that the rest of the puppetmasters do. It’s like they get recognition from being a lead actor in a similar way to main characters in American plays.

[rpd-rookie]

Made in Heaven - Chris Redfield x Fem!Reader (NSFW)

Author’s note: This was request by @deshibasarathings​. Sorry it took so long. I really wanted to write something original and that looked different from all the other Chris fanfics I read on this subject. Hope you’ll like it

Warnings: NSFW, Smut, Language, Alcohol 

It was summer 1998 and as America was still lovingly dancing on “Truly Madly Deeply” on Friday nights, watching Titanic for the umpteenth time at the nearby movie theatre, wearing tight crop tops, colourful scrunchies and Dr Martens, and occasionally gossiping on the Lewinsky scandal at lunch break, Raccoon City was living its last frivolous moments, and the saddest part was that no one had a clue.

“A fresh beer and a girl. That’s all I’m asking for.” Joseph Frost jumped over the door of the old convertible green mustang with enthusiasm, his usual excited smile stretching his young tanned face. “That’s it, you’re sure?” His dear friend, Forest Speyer, asked with an ounce of sarcasm that he didn’t get.             “Fine. A bunch of fresh beers and a girl.” He winked, clicking his fingers cheekily towards Forest who sighed out of exasperation. “Always so optimistic, I see. When will you finally get that there is no woman for you when you go out with Redfield and me?” He scoffed and Joseph’s smile faded away in an instant to turn into a rather sad pout. “Tell him, Chris.”       “Actually guys, I’m alright with just having beers tonight.” Chris confessed as he put the keys of his car in his pocket. “As if it’s gonna change anything. All the chicks will be crawling at your feet anyway, begging you to notice them and forgetting the existence of our delusional friend over there.” Forest waved towards Joseph who glared at him, slightly vexed. A chance the man was not resentful. “Then I’ll introduce them to Jo.” Chris tapped his friend’s shoulder and Joseph regained his smile. “That’s what I call friendship. Thank you, buddy.”       “You know that abstinence won’t make Y/N give herself to you, right?” Speyer mocked; hoping that teasing Chris a bit would make him follow him on the path of seduction, however degrading he had planned it to be. “Jealousy, however …” He raised his eyebrows and Chris shook his head.   “One-night stands are your thing, Forest. Not mine.”       “Weird cause I can remember a couple times when I saw you discreetly leave the bar with a girl on your arm. But that was certainly before Y/N’s sweet round ass joined the team.” He mimed a squeezing motion with both his hands, his tongue raunchily caressing his lips as he sneered, a gesture that made Chris punch him in the arm in retaliation.

He knew what Forest wanted. His friend’s little game was pretty clear even for someone as blunt as Chris. But he was not in the mood to play tonight. And to be honest, he hadn’t been for the last six months or so, ever since you had entered his life with your wit and charming smile and had brought him back to his old high schooler self, meaning goofy and rather unconfident (minus the acne and the greasy hair obviously). “You don’t get it, do you?”       “No, I don’t. Do you get it, Jo?” Joseph Frost shook his head in a rather silly way, a bit like a contorted puppet. “See. No one gets it.”       Chris sighed. “Come on, man! You’re not a fucking priest! So stop drooling over that chick and stop waiting for her. She clearly doesn’t give a damn about you contrary to other millions of women as gorgeous as her who’ll gladly throw themselves at you in a heartbeat. And I’m pretty sure some of them are in this bar, right now.”      

The worst thing about Forest Speyer – apart from his disgusting machismo and his arrogance - was that he was often right, his insight being most of the time spot-on.     And as the three friends entered the bar, Chris couldn’t help but notice his colleague was once again astoundingly correct since the second he stepped a foot in Jack’s Bar, adjusting his brown leather jacket around his muscular body, a pair of Ray-ban Aviator à la Top Gun hanging from the collar of his military-green V-neck, more than one head turned to goggle at him and only him.             But it wasn’t Chris’ nature to brag or to strut and so he simply approached a clean table with his friends, ignoring the stares, and waved hello at Cindy Lennox behind the counter. She immediately welcomed them with her usual warmth. “Same as usual, boys?”       “Always.” They answered in unison and the waitress chuckled before disappearing to pour them their drinks.     “What about Cindy?” Joseph whispered with a naughty smirk as he bent over the table to make sure his friend would hear him over the sound of the music.   “Damn, you’re horny, Jo!” Chris declared, slightly shocked that his friend would consider getting laid with the woman that had been serving them beers every Saturday night for the last two years. “Of course, I’m horny. I haven’t fucked in weeks guys.”   “Meaning months.” Forest corrected. “Besides, I think Cindy’s got a man.” Joseph cursed, disappointed. “All that is Irons’ fault. Do you know how many extra hours I did because of that bastard?”           “No” Chris and Forest said at the same time with an amused smile.       “Well me neither. But a lot, I’m sure.”

“Aren’t you tired of bitching about Irons, Joseph?” Joseph’s olive face suddenly became very pale as he jumped on his chair. “Y/N! You scared the shit out of me. Thought it was Irons for a sec.” You frowned, not sure how to react to the comparison. “Really? I didn’t know I had a pervy man’s voice.”   “That’s not what I meant.” He mumbled and you chuckled finding certain amusement in his discomfort. “Oh Joseph, always so talented with women, I see.” The men around the table chuckled apart from Joseph who was as red as a tomato now. “Anyway, I was at Jill’s. She told me I could find you guys here.”   “You wanted to see us?” Speyer grinned and winked as he elbowed Chris’ ribs who immediately glared at him. “Jeez, discreet. Thanks.” He murmured and looked at you. Your brows were furrowed because of how strange the situation seemed to you. You had never seen Chris and Forest acting that way. “Are you guys drunk already?”         “If only.” Joseph sighed as he took a mouthful of his beer.           “Don’t mind them, Y/N. That’s just the way they behave outside of work. Lame I know.” You nodded despite being totally unconvinced. Now you understood why Jill was never willing to join their little merry band on Saturday nights. What better way to avoid toxic masculinity than staying home watching a good old movie, dressed in pj’s?          

“And there it goes away again. Y/N enters the room and bye-bye friendship.” You wondered if you should say something about this, genuinely curious to know what Speyer meant, but the second you opened your mouth to ask for an explanation you chose to revise your decision. “I wanted to say goodbye.”       The three pair of eyes widened at you in shock. “Goodbye?” Chris repeated, his incomprehension easily readable in his chocolate brown eyes. “My resignation letter was accepted. Got the news today.”         “Wait. What? What resignation letter?” The questions came as thick and fast as sub-machine gun bullets. You agreed that the news was more than unexpected but the way Chris sounded was more than surprising. It was a if he was distressed. And he was in a way. What do you mean you were leaving? You couldn’t leave. And especially not drop the news at the last minute.   “Yeah. I didn’t tell you guys about it because I wasn’t sure Irons would actually accept it but I’m quitting the S.T.A.R.S. and the RPD.”

There was a heavy silence that even the shitty music in the background couldn’t make less awkward. But that silence was necessary. The boys needed to digest the news. “May we ask why?” Despite not being a close friend, Joseph looked rather confused and even a bit sad. Clearly no one had seen the bomb coming. And who would have? After all, you were such a workaholic; always telling people how much you loved your job. This resignation, that didn’t sound like you.       “Long story. But let’s say I don’t think my place is with you anymore guys.” A lie but you thought it was better to avoid the truth, knowing that your three colleagues would certainly hit the roof – especially Chris - if they happened to learn the real reason behind your resignation. “So, I’m gonna take off now. Enjoy your night and don’t make Jill blow a fuse while I’m gone. And hands off Rebecca!” You pointed a menacing finger at Speyer who immediately laughed. “Can’t promise you that.”

You waved them goodbye with a faint smile and walked away towards the exit of the bar, saddened that this was possibly the last time you would ever see the Three Musketeers (as you liked to call them).         They watched you leave in silence, still not believing the unexpected news. “Can’t believe I’m actually gonna say this but … the office’s gonna look so empty without Y/N” Forest declared.         “Tell me about it.” Chris’ voice was suddenly weary and miserable. To him, you were the sunshine of the office, the star of the S.T.A.R.S, always illuminating people with your good mood and your joie de vivre. Hell, you were probably the only one who could laugh to his dad jokes without pretending.     “Then what are you waiting for then?” Speyer said to Chris. “Go after her.”     “I can’t.” Chris sighed. “And what for?” He took a long mouthful of beer that almost emptied the glass. Perhaps getting drunk would help him digest the fact that you were leaving.         “ So you’re just gonna let her leave without telling her how you feel? I thought you were more courageous than that.” Chris’ stein hit the table with a loud clink.       “And what would it change?” Chris almost shouted. “She’s leaving. She’s made her decision. Telling her how I feel won’t change it.”

And yet he chose to give it a try.

He rushed to his car to drive after you. He rapidly found you, walking up towards the main avenue near the police station certainly to catch a train to go back to your place near St Michael’s Clock Tower. “Y/N” He shouted and you frowned, astonished to see him here. “Chris? What are you doing?”             “ Let me drive you home.” Normally, you would have refused, being the kind of woman that liked to do things by herself. But there was something in the way Chris was looking at you that actually convinced you to get in his car.            

The ride back to your place was rather quiet, the only voice echoing in the Mustang being Freddy Mercury’s singing on the radio. “I always knew you were a Queen fan.” You said to lighten the mood. “Is it written on my forehead?”           “Just on your jacket, Made in Heaven.” You winked and smiled when Chris finally chuckled. “How’s gonna call me that when you’re gone?” Your grin faded away as you wondered almost the same thing. Who will you call ‘Made in Heaven’ after you’re gone? That was a nickname reserved for Chris, one you had found when you were having trouble memorising everyone’s names at the office and that had stayed because of how smiley Chris was each time you were calling him that. “I can ask Forest to call you that if you want. I’m sure he’d love to.”         Chris had a faint smile. “Certainly. But it won’t be the same.”     You could tell he was really affected by your departure and was struggling to say something. But even if you wanted to know what was going on in his head right now, curiosity eating you up, you decided to give him time. Surely was he just trying to gather the courage he needed to talk.

When you both arrived at your place, Chris was still silent and thoughtless. “Do you want to come in?” You thought that a drink might do him some good and help him. He accepted the offer and followed you towards your apartment.

The main room was messy and cluttered with a dozen of boxes already. Most of them were full of old books, VHS and CDs. “I see you’ve started packing.”         “Yes, sorry about the mess. I just want to leave as soon as possible. Beer?” Chris nodded and you disappeared in the kitchen, leaving him alone in your living room. “This doesn’t sound like you.” Chris finally said and you froze, your hand holding the fridge open. You briefly closed your eyes and sighed soundlessly. Of course, he had noticed. “What do you mean?” “Quitting. Leaving. This isn’t you.” You took a deep breath and joined him back in the living room where he was standing straight as a ramrod, a confused frown wrinkling his forehead. “The S.T.A.R.S is your life. You said it yourself. So enough with the ‘my place is not with you’ bullcrap.” He almost sounded angry but you knew all to well that you were not the target of his anger.     “It’s complicated.” You confessed as you handed him the bottle of beer.           “Y/N, I know I’m not the smartest man but I think I can understand the real reason why you want to resign if you just tell me. Aren’t we friends?”           “Of course.” You harrumphed; astonished that he might doubt that.     “Then tell me. Spit it out. What happened? Why are you leaving?”

You looked through the window, scanning at the small buildings surrounding your apartment before finally deciding to draw the thick curtain to hide yourself from whoever might be watching right now. Chris observed you wondering why you were doing this and tried to say something when he saw you heading towards your phone. You gestured him to stay quiet as you unplugged the device. “Alright. You’re starting to scare me. Can you tell me what’s going on?”         “Let’s say I’m in deep shit.” You waved Chris to sit on your couch next to you and he obeyed, staring at you with confusion and worry. “Weeks ago I started secretly investigating on Irons after the secretary he had employed last April weirdly disappeared.”                       “You did what?” Chris harrumphed. “Are you crazy? Do you know how dangerous this is?” You nodded. “He found out.”           “Shit, Y/N” Chris cursed. He was furious. “I had no choice, Chris. Something weird's going on. I can feel it. And I’m sure something happened to his secretary as well.”           “She quitted! Daniels from the reception said he received a letter.” Chris replied.       “Then why is her stuff still at the RPD and why hasn’t her rent been paid since last month?” The man frowned, trying to find a coherent answer. But he found none. “I found her diary when I sneaked in her office. She wrote that Irons used to get off in his office watching a portrait of a hanged naked woman. And did you know that he was accused of rape back when he was in college? This son of a bitch …”         “Alright. Stop, Y/N!” Chris cut you off and took a deep breath to evacuate the panic that was rushing in his veins. “How much in trouble are you?”           You shrugged. “Enough to be the object of intense surveillance.”

Chris hid his face in his big hands. He was scared for you, genuinely terrified even. “What can I do to help?” He asked. “Tell me. I’ll do anything.”             “Chris.” You sighed. “Y/N” He grabbed your hand. “I care about you. More than you imagine. I can’t let anything happen to you.” You had a faint smile. How could a man be so adorable, compassionate and caring? “You’re an amazing man, Made in Heaven. You do know that?” Chris returned your smile. “But I can handle this on my own. Believe me. Just promise me to keep this a secret and act as if you didn’t know anything.             “You can’t ask me to do that, Y/N. You can’t…”

You cut him short by pressing your lips against his, which made Chris almost gasp in astonishment. But the surprise didn’t last and he soon responded to your kiss with an adorable tenderness. “Promise me, Chris.” You whispered still so close to his pink lips as you kept looking at him in the eye, waiting for his answer. “I promise.”       And he kissed you again. It was soft and sweet and tasted a bit like beer but you didn’t mind. In fact, you even allow yourself to touch his chest and bring your body closer to his. The hardness of his muscles against your palms made you shiver and Chris felt it. He smiled and he caught your lips again as he pressed his big hand on your lower back. You cupped his cheek to deepen the kiss and then everything suddenly became more passionate and burning.

Chris’s lips ventured towards your neck to leave a series of hot humid kisses and possibly hickeys that would certainly last a few days. But you would bother about that later. For now, you just wanted to melt under his touch. So, you instinctively tilted your head backwards to give him full access to your soft neck, moaning because of how delicious his mouth felt there.         Your little noise of pleasure instantly awakened something inside Chris, something he felt deep in his guts, deep in his pants. His kisses became hungrier and more needy. He wanted to hear you again.

He laid you down on your back and lay on top of you, his lips still devouring your neck and his now adventurous hands wandered towards your chest. His body felt slightly heavy but you loved this unusual exquisite proximity. “Chris.” You sighed as he suddenly groped your breasts through your shirt. When he tried to unbutton it you put yours hands on his to stop him. “What?” He asked “You don’t want this?”             “Sure I want this. More than anything. But I don’t want you to … I don’t want to hurt you. I’ll still leave tomorrow. You do realise that right?” He stared at you and you could read the sadness slowly growing back in his chocolate brown eyes.                   “It’s goodbye then” You nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. It’s goodbye.”     “Then let’s make the most of it.”

To your surprise, Chris’ face met your cleavage rather quickly and he began kissing it as he blindly yet clumsily unbuttoned your shirt. You watched him do for a small moment and when you noticed how aroused he was, you decided to free him from his clothes as well. You  took his letter jacket off and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt to pull it off. And goodness, how dreamy he was. Those muscles. Those arms. Those shoulders. Those pectorals. Those abs … aaaah. It frustrated you as much as it aroused you. How could someone be that perfect? You bit your lower lip and dared caress him and as your hand slid against his warm skin, right between his abs down to the button of his jeans, following the dark hairy line below in navel. “Like what you’re seeing?” He snickered and you smiled, loving his sudden confidence. “Do you?” He grinned and let out a small laugh. “Of course. You’re beautiful” He complimented as he freed your boobs from your bra without taking it off only to take one of your nipples in his mouth. “Holy … ah.” You moaned uproariously as you let your head fall against the armrest of the couch.

You felt Chris smirk against your tender flesh. The bastard knew what he was doing and he was fucking proud of it. You could play that game too. You grabbed him by the belt, pulling him closer to your body for your pelvis to meet his. However, what you didn’t expect was for his prominent bulge to feel so hard and huge against you even through the fabric. Chris was certainly quite a big boy.     Slowly, you unbuttoned his jeans and lowered them all along with his briefs. His cock sprang free, confirming your previous hypothesis about it. It was indeed big, bigger than anything you ever had, and hard and long and… You slightly squeezed your thighs and rubbed them. You were wet. You could feel it. And you wanted desperately some friction.             You quickly glanced at your womanhood and let your fingers crawl under your skirt and soaked panties. Your clit was engorged and your lips were swollen. And Chris was watching you silently, wondering how the wet pink flesh felt. “Wait. Let me” He lifted up your ass and pulled down your panties to carelessly throw onto the floor. Your legs spread, he looked down between them, staring at your glistening fold with a dark hunger in his eyes. He caressed you softly, very softly and you moaned between your closed lips as you instinctively embraced his delicate touch by moving your hips closer to his hand. You wanted more. And he would give you more.     

His fingers parted your lips to meet your clit with his thumb and he brushed your warm entrance to finally insert a finger inside you. You whispered his name with pleasure and it jolted Chris as if he had received a punch in his lower stomach, but a delicious exhilarating punch. He started pumping his finger in your pussy, forcing a cry of pleasure out of your mouth, and soon he added another digit to go and tickle your g-spot that he found with incredible accuracy. When you started convulsing and felt your orgasm building in you, you pushed Chris’ fingers away to pull his body against yours.

Laid on you, Chris instinctively began to rubbing him against your, his cock grinding between your legs, so close to your entrance. You grabbed his back and dug your nails in it. The friction was sending you slowly back towards heaven. “Oh my god, Chris.”     His pace accelerated until it began relentless and soon, he started panting rather heavily. “Fuck.” He cursed as he quickly lined up his cock in front of your hole to enter your pussy, unable to resist the urge of filling you up anymore. He didn’t sink in you as easily as expected and so he grabbed the armrest of the couch to use it as leverage and push himself deep in you. That thrust made you draw a sharp breath and a whimper of both pain and pleasure escaped your sealed mouth. That girth, holy shit! “Damn, you’re so tight.”  He started moving in you. He was slow but intense but little did you know that he was just warming up. “Fuck, Chris!”

You screamed when his cock started rubbing against a zone inside of you you never thought existed. You clang to the sofa afraid to fall under the strength of his deep hard thrust. You were loud and you couldn’t remember the last time you’d ever been that loud. Your previous boyfriend would have asked you to be quiet and think about the neighbour but Chris, Chris seemed to like your screams. It was all over his smiling face.

He suddenly grabbed both your legs and placed your feet on his shoulders. A position that allowed his long shaft to go even deeper in you, which you never thought was possible. And judging by how red and twisted his young features looked right now, he was definitely enjoying the position. Actually, he loved it so much he quickened the pace and started growling. You marvelled at his sweaty strong body and at his face tensed by intense pleasure “Gosh, Y/N. You’re driving me crazy.” You smiled.

You could watch him fuck you like that for ages. It was a real boost for your self-confidence. And God knows what you were capable when you felt confident.             You spread your thighs and wrapped your legs around Chris to hoist yourself against his chest, his cock miraculously still inside of you. Guess having such a size had many perks. You wanted to ride him and he immediately got your intention. Hands squeezing your rear, he leant against the backrest of the couch and chuckled as you comfortably placed yourself on top of him and started undulating on his lap, his cock amazingly buried in you. “Gosh you have no idea how beautiful you are.” You blushed and he tucked a strand of your hair behind you ear. Your eyes met and you stared at each other quietly before you eventually felt the need to grind against him. The depth of his thick dick inside of you was sending shivers in your entire body. That was incredible. You kept a pace that pleased you both. “You’re so good.” He confessed as he took a deep breath. “Are you gonna come for me, Made in Heaven?” You teased.      “That’s very likely.” He chortled, amused by the nickname.         Your hands leant on his muscular thighs, right behind your back, and you began bouncing on his cock with an incredible agility and eagerness that left Chris amazed. And you could tell by the way he was panting that he wouldn’t last long. Not a surprise. This love-making was certainly the most exquisite you had ever had. His throbbing cock hitting you deep inside was amazing, just as the melody of sweaty skins meeting each other accompanied by the wet sound of your cunt and the creaking of the couch under both your weights.         

Chris placed his hands on your bouncing breasts to grope them. “If you keep going like that I’m gonna cum in you.” He declared between two groans. “Please do”. He made you lean forward and brought your breasts to his mouth to lick them and suck the nipples. “I want you to” You gripped his hair without even realising it. It was a reflex, a way to have him … feel him closer to you, to tell him not to stop. “I want your cum in me, Chris.”

That was too sexy and naughty for Chris who let out a frustrated animalistic growl as he squeezed you butt, digging his nails in the tender flesh. He began pounding you from underneath, hard, fast and deep like a jackhammer, his balls slapping against your butt. You cried out. The sensation was divine and took all your words away. Now only plaintive onomatopoeias seemed to be able escape your agape mouth. Well, onomatopoeias and some very casual “Fuck, Chris” that would make your lover chuckle or smirk proudly.

And that’s how you felt it coming. That so well-deserved orgasm, ready to burst like a firework.  It made you cry out and nestle your head in Chris’s neck, your body convulsing like never before. But Chris wanted to see you. He wanted to see your face as you were cumming for him. He wanted to carve that moment to play it over and over after you were gone. And so he pulled up your hair to make you look at him. But you couldn’t. Your eyes were tightly closed and refused to open. And then, it all came out. And you screamed his name, on and on, loud, so loud you were sure the neighbours would probably shout at you tomorrow but you did not care. You let your juices flow along his cock and your wall clench around him.   “Damn. Fuuucck.” He growled and his moves became very sloppy yet more brutal and deeper. “Don’t you squeeze around me like that” But you couldn’t help it. That climax felt too good. Chris felt too good.

It sent him over the edge. He came hard in you, hot and sticky semen spurting in your vagina, painting your walls like nothing else. And you loved it, enjoying it the warm sensation with an amazed amused little laugh that made Chris chuckle despite his tiredness. “What’s so funny?” He asked.           “Nothing. Just telling myself that this... was made in heaven” You winked and he laughed. You were gonna miss him.

[2ofswords]

I cannot draw but I still wanted to bother everyone with assigning Tarot cards for the Patho Characters. It just combines two fixations of mine and so I absolutely couldn’t resist. First and obvious disclaimer: Since I am only doing the major arkana and I have some more abstract concepts for the cards not every important NPC is assigned a card. I tried to include as many as I can by making some groupstuff but not everybody made it. Sorry Grief, I still love you!

Here is just the list, some ramblings and explanations are under the cut. (Btw. this is after the Rider Waite deck, since there are other tarot variations)

0 The Fool - Tragedian I The Magician - Isidor II The High Priestess - Clara III The Emperor - Big Vlad IV The Empress - Capella V The Hierophant - Khan VI The Lovers - The Saburovs VII The Chariot - Block VIII Justice - Dankovsky IX The Hermit - Rubin X Wheel of Fortune - Victor + Clockwork XI Strength - Notkin + Jester XII The Hanged Man - Eva + Cathedral XIII Death - Executor / Murky’s Friend XIV Temperance - Artemy XV The Devil - Immortell + The Theater XVI The Tower - Polyhedron + The Stamatins XVII The Star - Lara XVIII The Moon - Maria XIX The Sun - Sticky and Murky XX Judgement - Aglaya  XXI The World - The Town

The Fool: I mean... not much to say here. I wanted to include some more abstract and general things, since I couldn’t bare to put anything but the town itself as the world. And the Tragedians are such an important part of Pathologic that fit the Fool quite well. 

The Magician: Isidor just has this role as a powerful figure and this “controlling the forces of nature” thing that the magician has going on. And he has a face which at least makes including him in a deck... doable. Not that it really matters here but even inner visualization is fun. Btw. I also had this image of Rubin as a Magician where the table on the Rider Waite deck is the autopsy table with Simon on it. That was nice but Rubin as a character just makes for a better Hermit and again, I think Isidor is a nice fit as an important power figure with mystical inclinations and this controlling aspect. If we want to include a character that is alive in the game, Georgiy and his house in the crucible would also be a good fit.

The High Priestess: Again one I find easy to justify. The High Priestess as the person inclined to the mystical nature behind things works really well for Clara. Also the high priestess is considered to have the highest mythological value in Tarot, so this is kind of nice. Clara has a lot of Cards that fit her, but this one is a position not a lot of other characters fit into. Another person I could see as the High Priestess is Aspity though.

The Emperor: I once wanted to have the head of every ruling family here, to also include Gerorgiy in the deck but then I got a big problem with the lovers and the lack of canon relationships to represent it, so we only get him. That’s fine too, even if I would love to exclude him in favour of some characters, I appreciate more.

The Empress: Capella fits perfectly and I kind of like to keep this cards to the Olgymski’s, because it does make for a nice connection in between. But the nurturing way of ruling is nicely represented by her.

The Hierophant: Khan is also a person of mystical inclinations and also a very strict keeper of secrets that fits with the Hierophant. He is a leader and having him next to Capella in the Arkana also fit quite well, so I like him in this spot a lot.

The Lovers: Again, the lovers are kind of a character set, so having multiple here was just a nice touch. I think Saburov and Katerina are the only couple that really fit for me, since their love for each other is a very important aspect of their characterization while most other characters are very independent. (There is an amazing version of the Saburovs as the lovers by Yura btw.) I have discussed a patho tarot and there was also Clara brought up as a possibility but that could have been interpreted visually in a bad way… Still I think the theme of connection and love would also fit her quite well.

The Chariot: The army arrives with the train which already made this quite fitting just by imagining the card. Also including the Canon which is, driving the plot and time forward by brute force. (After all the army strike marks the end of the game.) His arrival and appearance in the game just marks a “point of no return” driving the game to it’s conclusion, so it’s a nice reference for him. Character-wise there might be better fits for him but… I don’t know I think it fits the narrative.

Justice: Yeah, I know, weird fit for Dankovsky. To be honest, if I could decide freely my favourite place for him would have been “The Fool” but I really wanted to include the Tragedian and that one literally only fits there and it’s pretty much perfect. And I wanted to have the Polyhedron for the Tower (and the Stamatins fit there also quite well), while giving all healers their own space, so that was also taken… Justice is my third option for him. I think it still fits, especially with the opening and the “You will act justly but the justice will blind you and become his demise” Also the visual of blindfolding him can also be a nice metaphor. ^^

The Hermit: Come on, Rubin just makes for a great Hermit! His whole way of dealing with the plague has a “lone wolf” vibe and he has this silent wisdom and knowledge. Also a lot of self-contemplation even if it mostly consists of him thinking that he is a bad person. God, now I have made myself sad for Rubin yet again…

Wheel of Fortune: I just couldn’t shake the image of Victor and one of the game saving Clocks for this one so this it is! I mean, a Clock as a wheel of Fortune just makes sense, especially in a game where time is of the essence and the rather abstract card also fits the Kains. There are some other cool options though, involving either Grief and his gear filled warehouse or the fellow traveller with dice (though this also would be a brilliant death card)

Strength: Artemy could also be a strong contender for this one, but I wanted to include Notkin and his connection to animals fits rather nicely. His way of applying force but also being tender and caring fits the card well, I think.

The Hanged Man: Again, one of the cards where I just couldn’t shake the image and Eva barely hanging onto the cathedral’s railing with her foot will now haunt me forever. I could also see Yulia for this one though since she has a rather contemplative way of thinking that is about dealing with one’s fate while bearing and contemplating it.

Death: Again, if we include some more abstract characters there is just no way around the Executors and Death is just a no brainer for them. They are literally a costume for death in game. The fellow Traveller could obviously work as well.

Temperance: I have seen a card with Artemy as Temperance by sneez and it just blew my mind since the card fits him perfectly and since then I just cannot imagine him as anything else (even if I have also seen some amazing versions with him as strength and this is also a very fitting card). His whole attitude being about preserving and offering stability is just amazing. Also it is a card about upholding duty so… heck yeah!

The Devil: I will be honest with you, I am not satisfied with putting Mark Immortell and the Theatre here. It is fitting but a bit too much on the nose and I think it lets the theatre appear a bit blander than it is. I just have literally no other idea about what to do with the devil. Also I wanted to include the theatre and both my other spots – judgement and wheel of fortune – where kind of occupied… At least you can use the image to maybe chain Mark to either the puppet versions of the main characters or to the tragedians and have the whole “who is controlling who?” thing in there, which is also nice.

The Tower: I definitely wanted to use the Polyhedron there. The Stamatins can be here too. Firstly because I just tried to fit more characters into the deck and secondly because forcing things to be broken in order to be rebuild is kind of their thing. It still has the tower theme with them and is not only “look! It’s a tower! For the… Tower!”

The Star: Lara is a very nurturing and also honest person which fits the star very well. It is a card about harmony and selflessness but still has a rather nocturnal side, which is also nice. Also the Rider Waite deck shows a woman getting spring water, which fits her fabled barrel quest and her hunt for supplies to give to other people.

The Moon: I mean the moon exactly has the vibe that fits Maria and the mistresses in general. It is about inner power, dreams and inner darkness, which fits the Scarlet mistress. It also links to her mother the mistress of the night quite well.

The Sun: A bright card and a card that literally shows children, so including Sticky and Murky here might be simple but is also quite nice. I think they would make for a very cute and happy card and god, we need some of them here!

Judgement: Aglaya often gets the justice card but that one was already taken. I also kind of think that judgement fits her slightly better, since she is the person judging the situation and her giving out sentences and defining what crime is, is kind of her thing. She also is a power house who appears more at the end and decides, so putting her in one of the most important and strongest cards in the deck feels quite fitting. The picture of a person who stands above the rest to tell what shall be told also… literally happened in one of the theatre plays, which is a nice touch and the inquisition gets compared to angels as well.

The world: I mean… the town is the world and it also fits the “completion and harmony” vibe, even if it is also fractured. Not to get sappy, but for me the town and it’s different aspects felt always more complete than any of the endings and it is the thing, that makes the game what it is in the first place. It is… kind of everything what is happening, the game is about the town and it is the protagonist (as it is stated in the Artbook (god that sentence reads like the Artbook is the holy text of Pathologic xDD)). I just think it fills this card the best and having the town as its own entity and character just feels right for me.

[ick25]

Rockman.EXE Episode 38 Review.

And yet you always say bad things about Netto, you hypocrite!

What’s strange is that Cutman has brothers.

We start the episode with... An old japanese film about samurais?

Oh boy, we’re in for a good old dose of Japanese culture in this episode, aren’t we?

An old man talks for the two characters with Rockman portrayed as a Tsujigiri, which is a Japanese term for a practice that involves a samurai killing an inocent passer-by in a crossroad in order to try out a new sword. An evil samurai, I guess?

Rockman plays the part of the tsujigiri, strangely well.

This was obviously cutted from the dub because only God knows if kids are stupid enough to try this at home.

The tsujigiri Rockman challenges the passerby who is non other than Cutman, they stare down at eachother until Rockman does the cowardly thing of throwing sand at Cutman’s face.

Tsujigiri Rockman uses Sand Attack! Cutman’s accuracy fell.

This gives Rockman the opportunity to slash Cutman, but turns out it was all just a little play with paper cut outs, staged by an old looking Cutman for an audience of young Cutman looking Navis.

Liar! That’s not how it went down!

It was the Elec Brother Styled Rockman, in the Okuden dam computer with a Thunder Woody Tower! Where did you even get the Aqua Sword idea? Plus, Cutman wasn’t deleted, he clearly logged out.

Apperantly these are all Cutman’s relatives, the old cutman tells the young Cutmen that Rockman mercilessly deleted their older brother and they come to the conclusion that Rockman is evil and that he is gonna take over the world or something, I guess no one told them the Cutman was with Gospel for starters.

The Cutman brothers are all fired up and ready to avenge their brother, leaving their old Japanese styled home in pieces.

We soon discover that the elder Cutman was working for Shadowman who is hoping to use Cutman’s little brothers to weaken Rockman.

Right after this we see that the Cutman brothers infiltraded Netto’s alarm clock, (because of couse it has internet conection) where they cut off the alarm. Netto is panicking over this because he was suppoused to get up early to meet up with his friends.

Why does Meiru have three horns and Yaito only has one?

Netto is afraid that his friends will get mad at him for arriving late, and it seems his imagination isn’t far off because we then see Meiru and the others wearing yugioh eye liner.

Yeah, this is another thing that was cutted from the dub, Dekao and Tohru do this little play where they put on a Netto mask quoting everything he said.

I guess it is an old form of Japanese theatre, but there are so many that I can’t tell which exactly. Through this they explain that they were all planning to go eat some special steamed meatbuns. What even is that?

Oh, THOSE things. Aren’t they called dumplings?

These things are actually chinese, and that’s why they’re going to Densan city’s Chinatown district to get them, however, there is a reason why they had to wake up early.

Meiru is talking about a little brown monster that is the mascot of japanese broadcasting service? O.O WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO HERE SUB?!

Netto stops at a public phone to plug-in Rockman so he can go ahead and tell them why he is late before he gets on the subway.

You mean it would be 200 hours of tickling instead of 100?

Rockman is traveling though the network to Internet city’s Chinatown when the Cutman brothers do something that transports him to an old Japanese setting.

“Unless Japan took over China at some point, I dont believe this is Internet City’s version of Chinatown.”

I’m no expert on Japanese history, but based on my research for this episode, I deduced that this setting is based off Japan during the Edo period since it was the period where the paper cutting art knowen as Kamikiri was born. Why am I saying this? Because Rockman is about to be attacked by a traditional paper cut out of a samurai.

I like how the samurai cut out shifts as it runs, that’s a cool effect. Rockman takes out the samurai with his Rock Buster, but then is attacked by four ninja cut outs (I only took screenshots of three btw).

Ahh, paper shurikens! They are worse than normal shurikens because they are made out of paper! Paper cuts!

Rockman manages to defeat the ninjas and finds out that they were all made of paper.

They still believe that they are in Internet city’s chinatown so Rockman runs to find his friends thinking that they are in trouble.

Speaking of their friends, they are all at Chinatown where they discover that all the dumplings are sold out, so that means that the store is closed too. Since they are all starving, a creepy looking man appears and offers to take them to another restaurant.

STRANGER DANGER!

We cut to the old Japan setting where a paper villager is hitting a paper bell and the other paper villagers begin to chase Rockman with paper lanterns. Paper!

This scene reminds me of Inuyasha for some reason.

The villagers attack Rockman with explosive lanterns before we see the Cutman brothers at a japanese palace where they are making more paper cut outs.

Why were these shots of them making the paper figures cutted out from the dub? This is pretty interesting, we even see fatty Cutman finish the giant paper fish that will attack Rockman in the next scene. 

The moon hides behind the clouds as Rockman crosses a bridge, when the giant paper fish leaps out of the not paper water to attack him.

Paper doesn’t dissolve in water in the cyberworld, but then again, Rockman’s buster sets it on fire .-.- Cyber physics!

I like the idea of Rockman having an ability to lock on to objects for shooting, no wonder his aim is perfect.

Soon after, the villagers attack Rockman with hooks, binding him with rope.

Okay, NOW I’m reminded of Inuyasha.

Rockman is inmobilized, and just then, the palace gates in front of him open up to show what looks like his friends only for the moon to reappear and reveal that they are actually paper cut outs.

Looks like the Cutman brothers did their homework on Rockman because they know the Navis he hangs out with AND their attacks.

Netto, aren’t you paying attention?! He can’t move!

After comercials, Rockman pulls the villagers holding him to block the incoming attack.

Nice aim, Rockman, you shot fake Iceman right in the mouth. XD

That was Rockman’s pissed face.

 Netto keeps him from seeking revenge by telling him that he can’t win with just his buster, so he decides to runaway from the palace. 

The Cutman brothers don’t like this, so bangs cutman literally cuts the comunication between Rockman and Netto.

How did he know which one to cut? What are those other cables for? How can he even do that? Why do I have so many questions for this episode?!

With Netto out of the way, the Cutman brothers proceed to attack Rockman on a giant paper dragon.

I couldn’t help noticing that the Cutmen look flat as paper in these shots since they are riding the paper dragon. Can’t have 3D looking characters riding a 2D looking object in this 2D animated series.

We cut to Netto’s friends eating at the creepy stranger’s own ramen place that is actually named “The Worst Noodles”, where they complain about how bad the ramen is, yet they keep eating it with their Yugioh eyeliner on since they are still mad at Netto for being late.

Yaito is rich, why haven’t she used her stupidly rich status to eat at the fancy chinese restaurant next door?! Because this is followed by Enzan leaving said chinese restaurant. 

After critizicing the food he just ate, Enzan spots Netto’s friends eating at the ramen place and decides to casually walk in front of it.

What were you planning to do? Insult Netto from behind just to say hi?

Netto finally arrives at the Chinatown district where he plugs into a public phone only to discover that Rockman is not in Internet city’s chinatown. With Rockman still under attack, Netto desperately runs around until he crashes into Enzan.

Cutest miserable look I’ve ever seen. X)

Netto explained to Enzan what happend, they wonder where Rockman might be until super plot convinience kicks in.

Say no more! Rockman is inside that computer, isn’t he?

They just so happend to hear these guys yell about their problem, so naturally, they decide to plug-in.

Blues appears from above to destroy the paper dragon with a Fire Sword.

How can you mess up Blues’s hand color in the last panel?!

The Cutmen confront Blues, but Blues asks for an introduction before he reveals he was talking to a hidden Shadowman.

Blues chases Shadowman away while Rockman reconnects with Netto to activate the Style Change.

Rockman’s power overwhelms the Cutman brothers, meanwhile, Blues and Shadowman are having a chinese movie showdown on the rooftops that ends with Blues craking part of Shadowman’s helmet.

Ouch! This forces Shadowman to retreat.

The Cutmen decide to use their ultimate attack against Rockman, but the Heat Guts style sends it back to them with full power.

No, Netto, Rock-man breaks scissors. XD

Rockman then power ups his fist to destroy the entire Japanese setting, revealing the real Chinatown version of Internet City. I have no idea how that worked.

Enzan and Netto leave the store where they encounter Netto’s friends who he then begs for mercy.

And the episode ends with everyone laughing at Netto’s misfortune... In the dub.

 THIS is how the episode really ends.

The episode ends with the cut out puppet show announcing Rockman’s victory over the Cutman brothers, where after the curtains are pulled, eyebrows Cutman promises they will return, with the little cutman ending the episode.

I have no idea why was this skipped in the dub.

What do I think?

Just like the title, this episode was strange. They never explained why or how can Cutman have relatives. My theory is that they are all special navis that work at a specific area of the net, with one of the Cutmen going rogue and joining Gospel.

Cutman’s younger brothers all have names, eyebrows cutman is called Jiiro, bangs Cutman, who I first thought was a girl, is Saburo, the tall Cutman is Shiro, the fat one is Goro and the little one is Rokuro. The dub changed their names to Vinny, Sunny, Jerry, Joey and Nicky. XP

This episode was interesting since it presented old japanese culture references, starting off with the old samurai movie at the begining, and the whole paper puppet show that I’m sure has a name, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. The closest thing I found was called Kamikiri.

Kamikiri is an old form of entertainment that involves a person cutting a figure on paper in front of a live audience. This requires skills to create a figure anytime of anything that the audience can request, the paper figures can also be used as puppets to tell stories like in a shadow puppet show. Because the Cutmen are all about scissors, it’s no wonder  that they are masters in the art of kamikiri, making them “strangely strong” in this episode. By trapping Rockman inside their very own cyberworld where they can create living paper figures they had an advantage over him.

I also have to point out that the creepy ramen guy returns a couple of time in later seasons of the anime. And unfortunately, this isn’t the last time we see the Cutman brothers.

[historyholidays]

East of Pomorie is Bourgas

About ten kilometres east of Pomorie is Bourgas (pop. 168,412), the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the fifth largest in the country, situated in Bourgas Bay.

In the late 18th and early 19th century its population subsisted mainly on fishing and grain crops. The town developed rapidly after the completion of the Plovdiv-Bourgas railway line in 1890 and the construction of the harbour in 1903.

Today Bourgas is one of the country’s major industrial centres and is the home port of the Bulgarian oceanic fishing fleet. ’Bourgas is the centre of a rich farming region which specializes in the production of grain crops and stockbreeding

The city is modern, with wide boulevards and a beautifully laid out centre. There is a theatre, opera company, symphony orchestra, puppet theatre, open-air theatre city tours istanbul, library, art gallery and various higher educational institutes.

Bourgas has developed intensively as a centre of international tourism with the old sea settlements of Nessebur and Sozopol and the resort of Slunchev Bryag situated in close proximity to the city.

Soviet Army

Sights: The District History Museum, the railway station with its clock tower, the synagogue (now housing the city art gallery), the Cyril and Methodius Church, Monument to the Russian soldiers who died for Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks and the Monument to the Soviet Army.

The village of Banevo — 16 kilometres west of the city; the curative mineral springs and the modern balneal sanatorium draw thousands of visitors.

Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia); the monastery church has been preserved. After the September 1923 antifascist uprising 43 communists were imprisoned here They succeeded in escaping to the Soviet Union through Turkey.

Hotels: Bulgaria, three stars, 21 Purvi Mai Street, with 33 single rooms, -171 double rooms and five suites. It has a restaurant, “Bulgaria”, as well as a panoramic restaurant, coffee shop, bars, night club, discotheque, conference room with facilities for simultaneous translation into four languages and a currency exchange bureau. Tel 4-28-20; Briz, three stars, near the railway station, with 230 beds, restaurant. Tel. 4-31-90; Primorets, two stars, near the beach. Tel. 4-41-17; Czechoslovakia, three stars, tel. 4-21-42.

Seven kilometres south of Bourgas is the Kraimorie camp site, three stars, with accommodation for 1,200 There are bungalows with 40 beds, restaurant which serves roast chicken and sheep’s yoghurt.

Balkantourist Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-68-25;

Tourist Service Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-55-53.

The Union of Bulgarian Motorists, 11 D. Iliev Street, tel. 2-62-93

Continue 10 km along the E-87 highway to the village of Chernomorets, Hidden coves with fine sand attract a very large number of tourists who prefer peace and quiet. Chemomorets camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, offers good tourist facilities. Four kilometres further on and six kilometres south of Sozopol is Gradina camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, plus 20 beds in bungalows, showers, medical centre, fruit stores and snack bar.

[communisttravel]

East of Pomorie is Bourgas

About ten kilometres east of Pomorie is Bourgas (pop. 168,412), the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the fifth largest in the country, situated in Bourgas Bay.

In the late 18th and early 19th century its population subsisted mainly on fishing and grain crops. The town developed rapidly after the completion of the Plovdiv-Bourgas railway line in 1890 and the construction of the harbour in 1903.

Today Bourgas is one of the country’s major industrial centres and is the home port of the Bulgarian oceanic fishing fleet. ’Bourgas is the centre of a rich farming region which specializes in the production of grain crops and stockbreeding

The city is modern, with wide boulevards and a beautifully laid out centre. There is a theatre, opera company, symphony orchestra, puppet theatre, open-air theatre city tours istanbul, library, art gallery and various higher educational institutes.

Bourgas has developed intensively as a centre of international tourism with the old sea settlements of Nessebur and Sozopol and the resort of Slunchev Bryag situated in close proximity to the city.

Soviet Army

Sights: The District History Museum, the railway station with its clock tower, the synagogue (now housing the city art gallery), the Cyril and Methodius Church, Monument to the Russian soldiers who died for Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks and the Monument to the Soviet Army.

The village of Banevo — 16 kilometres west of the city; the curative mineral springs and the modern balneal sanatorium draw thousands of visitors.

Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia); the monastery church has been preserved. After the September 1923 antifascist uprising 43 communists were imprisoned here They succeeded in escaping to the Soviet Union through Turkey.

Hotels: Bulgaria, three stars, 21 Purvi Mai Street, with 33 single rooms, -171 double rooms and five suites. It has a restaurant, “Bulgaria”, as well as a panoramic restaurant, coffee shop, bars, night club, discotheque, conference room with facilities for simultaneous translation into four languages and a currency exchange bureau. Tel 4-28-20; Briz, three stars, near the railway station, with 230 beds, restaurant. Tel. 4-31-90; Primorets, two stars, near the beach. Tel. 4-41-17; Czechoslovakia, three stars, tel. 4-21-42.

Seven kilometres south of Bourgas is the Kraimorie camp site, three stars, with accommodation for 1,200 There are bungalows with 40 beds, restaurant which serves roast chicken and sheep’s yoghurt.

Balkantourist Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-68-25;

Tourist Service Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-55-53.

The Union of Bulgarian Motorists, 11 D. Iliev Street, tel. 2-62-93

Continue 10 km along the E-87 highway to the village of Chernomorets, Hidden coves with fine sand attract a very large number of tourists who prefer peace and quiet. Chemomorets camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, offers good tourist facilities. Four kilometres further on and six kilometres south of Sozopol is Gradina camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, plus 20 beds in bungalows, showers, medical centre, fruit stores and snack bar.

[travelsinn]

East of Pomorie is Bourgas

About ten kilometres east of Pomorie is Bourgas (pop. 168,412), the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the fifth largest in the country, situated in Bourgas Bay.

In the late 18th and early 19th century its population subsisted mainly on fishing and grain crops. The town developed rapidly after the completion of the Plovdiv-Bourgas railway line in 1890 and the construction of the harbour in 1903.

Today Bourgas is one of the country’s major industrial centres and is the home port of the Bulgarian oceanic fishing fleet. ’Bourgas is the centre of a rich farming region which specializes in the production of grain crops and stockbreeding

The city is modern, with wide boulevards and a beautifully laid out centre. There is a theatre, opera company, symphony orchestra, puppet theatre, open-air theatre city tours istanbul, library, art gallery and various higher educational institutes.

Bourgas has developed intensively as a centre of international tourism with the old sea settlements of Nessebur and Sozopol and the resort of Slunchev Bryag situated in close proximity to the city.

Soviet Army

Sights: The District History Museum, the railway station with its clock tower, the synagogue (now housing the city art gallery), the Cyril and Methodius Church, Monument to the Russian soldiers who died for Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks and the Monument to the Soviet Army.

The village of Banevo — 16 kilometres west of the city; the curative mineral springs and the modern balneal sanatorium draw thousands of visitors.

Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia); the monastery church has been preserved. After the September 1923 antifascist uprising 43 communists were imprisoned here They succeeded in escaping to the Soviet Union through Turkey.

Hotels: Bulgaria, three stars, 21 Purvi Mai Street, with 33 single rooms, -171 double rooms and five suites. It has a restaurant, “Bulgaria”, as well as a panoramic restaurant, coffee shop, bars, night club, discotheque, conference room with facilities for simultaneous translation into four languages and a currency exchange bureau. Tel 4-28-20; Briz, three stars, near the railway station, with 230 beds, restaurant. Tel. 4-31-90; Primorets, two stars, near the beach. Tel. 4-41-17; Czechoslovakia, three stars, tel. 4-21-42.

Seven kilometres south of Bourgas is the Kraimorie camp site, three stars, with accommodation for 1,200 There are bungalows with 40 beds, restaurant which serves roast chicken and sheep’s yoghurt.

Balkantourist Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-68-25;

Tourist Service Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-55-53.

The Union of Bulgarian Motorists, 11 D. Iliev Street, tel. 2-62-93

Continue 10 km along the E-87 highway to the village of Chernomorets, Hidden coves with fine sand attract a very large number of tourists who prefer peace and quiet. Chemomorets camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, offers good tourist facilities. Four kilometres further on and six kilometres south of Sozopol is Gradina camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, plus 20 beds in bungalows, showers, medical centre, fruit stores and snack bar.

[travelagentr]

East of Pomorie is Bourgas

About ten kilometres east of Pomorie is Bourgas (pop. 168,412), the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the fifth largest in the country, situated in Bourgas Bay.

In the late 18th and early 19th century its population subsisted mainly on fishing and grain crops. The town developed rapidly after the completion of the Plovdiv-Bourgas railway line in 1890 and the construction of the harbour in 1903.

Today Bourgas is one of the country’s major industrial centres and is the home port of the Bulgarian oceanic fishing fleet. ’Bourgas is the centre of a rich farming region which specializes in the production of grain crops and stockbreeding

The city is modern, with wide boulevards and a beautifully laid out centre. There is a theatre, opera company, symphony orchestra, puppet theatre, open-air theatre city tours istanbul, library, art gallery and various higher educational institutes.

Bourgas has developed intensively as a centre of international tourism with the old sea settlements of Nessebur and Sozopol and the resort of Slunchev Bryag situated in close proximity to the city.

Soviet Army

Sights: The District History Museum, the railway station with its clock tower, the synagogue (now housing the city art gallery), the Cyril and Methodius Church, Monument to the Russian soldiers who died for Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks and the Monument to the Soviet Army.

The village of Banevo — 16 kilometres west of the city; the curative mineral springs and the modern balneal sanatorium draw thousands of visitors.

Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia); the monastery church has been preserved. After the September 1923 antifascist uprising 43 communists were imprisoned here They succeeded in escaping to the Soviet Union through Turkey.

Hotels: Bulgaria, three stars, 21 Purvi Mai Street, with 33 single rooms, -171 double rooms and five suites. It has a restaurant, “Bulgaria”, as well as a panoramic restaurant, coffee shop, bars, night club, discotheque, conference room with facilities for simultaneous translation into four languages and a currency exchange bureau. Tel 4-28-20; Briz, three stars, near the railway station, with 230 beds, restaurant. Tel. 4-31-90; Primorets, two stars, near the beach. Tel. 4-41-17; Czechoslovakia, three stars, tel. 4-21-42.

Seven kilometres south of Bourgas is the Kraimorie camp site, three stars, with accommodation for 1,200 There are bungalows with 40 beds, restaurant which serves roast chicken and sheep’s yoghurt.

Balkantourist Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-68-25;

Tourist Service Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-55-53.

The Union of Bulgarian Motorists, 11 D. Iliev Street, tel. 2-62-93

Continue 10 km along the E-87 highway to the village of Chernomorets, Hidden coves with fine sand attract a very large number of tourists who prefer peace and quiet. Chemomorets camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, offers good tourist facilities. Four kilometres further on and six kilometres south of Sozopol is Gradina camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, plus 20 beds in bungalows, showers, medical centre, fruit stores and snack bar.

[bookinghotelbg]

East of Pomorie is Bourgas

About ten kilometres east of Pomorie is Bourgas (pop. 168,412), the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the fifth largest in the country, situated in Bourgas Bay.

In the late 18th and early 19th century its population subsisted mainly on fishing and grain crops. The town developed rapidly after the completion of the Plovdiv-Bourgas railway line in 1890 and the construction of the harbour in 1903.

Today Bourgas is one of the country’s major industrial centres and is the home port of the Bulgarian oceanic fishing fleet. ’Bourgas is the centre of a rich farming region which specializes in the production of grain crops and stockbreeding

The city is modern, with wide boulevards and a beautifully laid out centre. There is a theatre, opera company, symphony orchestra, puppet theatre, open-air theatre city tours istanbul, library, art gallery and various higher educational institutes.

Bourgas has developed intensively as a centre of international tourism with the old sea settlements of Nessebur and Sozopol and the resort of Slunchev Bryag situated in close proximity to the city.

Soviet Army

Sights: The District History Museum, the railway station with its clock tower, the synagogue (now housing the city art gallery), the Cyril and Methodius Church, Monument to the Russian soldiers who died for Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks and the Monument to the Soviet Army.

The village of Banevo — 16 kilometres west of the city; the curative mineral springs and the modern balneal sanatorium draw thousands of visitors.

Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia); the monastery church has been preserved. After the September 1923 antifascist uprising 43 communists were imprisoned here They succeeded in escaping to the Soviet Union through Turkey.

Hotels: Bulgaria, three stars, 21 Purvi Mai Street, with 33 single rooms, -171 double rooms and five suites. It has a restaurant, “Bulgaria”, as well as a panoramic restaurant, coffee shop, bars, night club, discotheque, conference room with facilities for simultaneous translation into four languages and a currency exchange bureau. Tel 4-28-20; Briz, three stars, near the railway station, with 230 beds, restaurant. Tel. 4-31-90; Primorets, two stars, near the beach. Tel. 4-41-17; Czechoslovakia, three stars, tel. 4-21-42.

Seven kilometres south of Bourgas is the Kraimorie camp site, three stars, with accommodation for 1,200 There are bungalows with 40 beds, restaurant which serves roast chicken and sheep’s yoghurt.

Balkantourist Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-68-25;

Tourist Service Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-55-53.

The Union of Bulgarian Motorists, 11 D. Iliev Street, tel. 2-62-93

Continue 10 km along the E-87 highway to the village of Chernomorets, Hidden coves with fine sand attract a very large number of tourists who prefer peace and quiet. Chemomorets camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, offers good tourist facilities. Four kilometres further on and six kilometres south of Sozopol is Gradina camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, plus 20 beds in bungalows, showers, medical centre, fruit stores and snack bar.

[huytas]

East of Pomorie is Bourgas

About ten kilometres east of Pomorie is Bourgas (pop. 168,412), the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the fifth largest in the country, situated in Bourgas Bay.

In the late 18th and early 19th century its population subsisted mainly on fishing and grain crops. The town developed rapidly after the completion of the Plovdiv-Bourgas railway line in 1890 and the construction of the harbour in 1903.

Today Bourgas is one of the country’s major industrial centres and is the home port of the Bulgarian oceanic fishing fleet. ’Bourgas is the centre of a rich farming region which specializes in the production of grain crops and stockbreeding

The city is modern, with wide boulevards and a beautifully laid out centre. There is a theatre, opera company, symphony orchestra, puppet theatre, open-air theatre city tours istanbul, library, art gallery and various higher educational institutes.

Bourgas has developed intensively as a centre of international tourism with the old sea settlements of Nessebur and Sozopol and the resort of Slunchev Bryag situated in close proximity to the city.

Soviet Army

Sights: The District History Museum, the railway station with its clock tower, the synagogue (now housing the city art gallery), the Cyril and Methodius Church, Monument to the Russian soldiers who died for Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks and the Monument to the Soviet Army.

The village of Banevo — 16 kilometres west of the city; the curative mineral springs and the modern balneal sanatorium draw thousands of visitors.

Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia); the monastery church has been preserved. After the September 1923 antifascist uprising 43 communists were imprisoned here They succeeded in escaping to the Soviet Union through Turkey.

Hotels: Bulgaria, three stars, 21 Purvi Mai Street, with 33 single rooms, -171 double rooms and five suites. It has a restaurant, “Bulgaria”, as well as a panoramic restaurant, coffee shop, bars, night club, discotheque, conference room with facilities for simultaneous translation into four languages and a currency exchange bureau. Tel 4-28-20; Briz, three stars, near the railway station, with 230 beds, restaurant. Tel. 4-31-90; Primorets, two stars, near the beach. Tel. 4-41-17; Czechoslovakia, three stars, tel. 4-21-42.

Seven kilometres south of Bourgas is the Kraimorie camp site, three stars, with accommodation for 1,200 There are bungalows with 40 beds, restaurant which serves roast chicken and sheep’s yoghurt.

Balkantourist Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-68-25;

Tourist Service Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-55-53.

The Union of Bulgarian Motorists, 11 D. Iliev Street, tel. 2-62-93

Continue 10 km along the E-87 highway to the village of Chernomorets, Hidden coves with fine sand attract a very large number of tourists who prefer peace and quiet. Chemomorets camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, offers good tourist facilities. Four kilometres further on and six kilometres south of Sozopol is Gradina camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, plus 20 beds in bungalows, showers, medical centre, fruit stores and snack bar.

[travelinbulgaria]

East of Pomorie is Bourgas

About ten kilometres east of Pomorie is Bourgas (pop. 168,412), the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the fifth largest in the country, situated in Bourgas Bay.

In the late 18th and early 19th century its population subsisted mainly on fishing and grain crops. The town developed rapidly after the completion of the Plovdiv-Bourgas railway line in 1890 and the construction of the harbour in 1903.

Today Bourgas is one of the country’s major industrial centres and is the home port of the Bulgarian oceanic fishing fleet. ’Bourgas is the centre of a rich farming region which specializes in the production of grain crops and stockbreeding

The city is modern, with wide boulevards and a beautifully laid out centre. There is a theatre, opera company, symphony orchestra, puppet theatre, open-air theatre city tours istanbul, library, art gallery and various higher educational institutes.

Bourgas has developed intensively as a centre of international tourism with the old sea settlements of Nessebur and Sozopol and the resort of Slunchev Bryag situated in close proximity to the city.

Soviet Army

Sights: The District History Museum, the railway station with its clock tower, the synagogue (now housing the city art gallery), the Cyril and Methodius Church, Monument to the Russian soldiers who died for Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turks and the Monument to the Soviet Army.

The village of Banevo — 16 kilometres west of the city; the curative mineral springs and the modern balneal sanatorium draw thousands of visitors.

Bolshevik Island (former St Anastasia); the monastery church has been preserved. After the September 1923 antifascist uprising 43 communists were imprisoned here They succeeded in escaping to the Soviet Union through Turkey.

Hotels: Bulgaria, three stars, 21 Purvi Mai Street, with 33 single rooms, -171 double rooms and five suites. It has a restaurant, “Bulgaria”, as well as a panoramic restaurant, coffee shop, bars, night club, discotheque, conference room with facilities for simultaneous translation into four languages and a currency exchange bureau. Tel 4-28-20; Briz, three stars, near the railway station, with 230 beds, restaurant. Tel. 4-31-90; Primorets, two stars, near the beach. Tel. 4-41-17; Czechoslovakia, three stars, tel. 4-21-42.

Seven kilometres south of Bourgas is the Kraimorie camp site, three stars, with accommodation for 1,200 There are bungalows with 40 beds, restaurant which serves roast chicken and sheep’s yoghurt.

Balkantourist Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-68-25;

Tourist Service Bureau 2, Purvi Mai Street, tel. 4-55-53.

The Union of Bulgarian Motorists, 11 D. Iliev Street, tel. 2-62-93

Continue 10 km along the E-87 highway to the village of Chernomorets, Hidden coves with fine sand attract a very large number of tourists who prefer peace and quiet. Chemomorets camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, offers good tourist facilities. Four kilometres further on and six kilometres south of Sozopol is Gradina camp site, two stars, with accommodation for 1,500, plus 20 beds in bungalows, showers, medical centre, fruit stores and snack bar.

[greed-the-dorkalicious]

Between Life and Death, Chapter III

Fandom: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Major characters thus far: Jonathan Joestar, Dio Brando Pairings: None Word count: 4,066 (9,642 total) Warnings: Semi-graphic violence, dark themes, endgame spoilers for Phantom Blood and Stardust Crusaders. Notes: There is a playlist that goes along with this fic, designed to sync with the story if listened to while reading the fic. You can find chapters 1 - 5 here, or alternatively here on YouTube. For chapter 3 only, go here.

Chapter I | Chapter II | Read on AO3

Chapter III: These People are Weird in Here

These people are weird in here And they're giving me the fear Just because you know my name Doesn't mean you know my game I look myself in the face And whisper "I'm in the wrong place" Is there more to lose than gain If I go on my own again? On my own again

~Marina and the Diamonds, “The Outsider”

Jonathan was suspended in the air, in a nightmareish hellscape version of Cairo- simultaneously Cairo and not, like Jonathan was in the city, yet also in empty darkness at the same time. Below him was a pile of dead bodies, in front of him was a broken clock tower and a water tank gushing blood, and surrounding him was knives. Dozens and dozens of knives, pointing at him from every possible angle. From an unseen location, Dio’s voice spoke. “One second has passed…” Dio’s voice boomed, sounding as if he was walking around Jonathan, but always in his blind spot. Jonathan tried to turn his head, searching for Dio, but he couldn’t move. “Two seconds have passed.” Each time Dio announced the seconds, more and more knives appeared, filling Jonathan with fear. “Three seconds have passed… Well, Jojo? What will you do? When time resumes, you can try to block the knives with your Star Platinum, but with so many… How could you possibly block them all?” Dio chuckled darkly, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere at once now, reverberating in a way that felt like he had destroyed physics themselves, filling Jonathan with fear. He knew that Dio was right; there was no way he’d be able to block all those knives. Unless he could knock them away now, or get to cover, he was done for. Jonathan tried to reach for one of the knives, willing his body to move, but he was still paralyzed. There was nothing he could do, as more and more knives threatened him. “Four seconds have passed.” That was very, very bad. There was only one second left. If Jonathan didn’t move, he was going to die. Why couldn’t he move?! He couldn’t afford to stay still! Jonathan tried with all his might to get away, his soul screaming at his body to move, damn it, but all he could manage was the slightest twitch of his right finger. That wasn’t good enough! He needed to get away, now! “Five seconds have passed! Time resumes!”

Jonathan gasped, opening his eyes and sitting bolt upright with a sudden motion. He was drenched with sweat, breathing heavily, heart pounding in his chest as he felt overwhelmed with fear and helplessness. Where was he? What had just happened? His memories were hazy, and he wasn’t sure what was going on. As his mind remained clouded by terror and sleepiness, he looked around to try to get his bearings, and the first thing he saw was-

“Dio!” Jonathan practically yelled in surprise, jumping backwards slightly as he struggled to form coherent thoughts. “You- you- what- I- ...Why were you watching me sleep?!” he spluttered, completely astounded.

Dio watched Jonathan with one eyebrow slightly raised and an otherwise unemotional expression, arms crossed as he sat on the edge of the bed. “You were sleeping late,” he replied simply, shrugging. “It’s nearly 6:30, you know.”

“So? What do you care how late I sleep?” Jonathan muttered in an almost offended tone, still leaning away from Dio and watching him with a wary look.

“Normally I wouldn’t, but I bought tickets for a play at 8:00,” Dio replied. “We’re leaving at 7:30 or so, so you should hurry up and get ready.”

Jonathan frowned hesitantly at this new information. “A... play..? What play? And why didn’t you say so yesterday? I never said I wanted to see a play,” he argued with slight confusion.

“It’s called a ‘surprise’, Jojo,” Dio said, in his usual way of speaking that felt cold and threatening even when he was teasing. “The truth is, I wasn’t aware of it until yesterday, but there’s going to be a performance of Dracula at the National Theatre tonight. So of course we have to go,” he explained with a grin.

“What’s it about?” Jonathan questioned, letting his curiousity get the better of him as he sat up slightly.

“...It’s Dracula,” Dio repeated slowly, raising an eyebrow at Jonathan as if that alone should have been enough of an explanation.

“Which is… what, exactly?” Jonathan responded.

For a moment, Dio stared at Jonathan with an open-mouthed look of astonishment, as if Jonathan were stupid somehow. Then he seemed to come to a realization of some sort, and relaxed, returning to his default bored, slightly smug expression.

“Ah, yes. I forgot Dracula was slightly after your time,” he admitted. “It’s a famous novel about a vampire. It’s highly influential, there have been quite a few films and books based off it. You should read it, I know how much you like gothic novels,” Dio told Jonathan thoughtfully.

Jonathan said nothing for a moment, only stared at Dio with a hesitant, debating expression. As much as he hated to go along with anything Dio said in any way, well… he always did have a hard time resisting the allure of books. Especially hearing about not only a gothic novel he’d died too soon to read, but one that had become highly influential…

“Anyway, I’ll leave you alone to get dressed,” Dio said, interrupting Jonathan’s internal conflict as he stood up from the bed. “I assume you’ll be wanting breakfast afterwards? You know where to find it,” he added nonchalantly, and began his descent down the stairs.

After Dio left, Jonathan remained sitting on the bed for a few minutes, taking some time to collect himself and think about everything that had just happened. He had only just woken up, after all, and it was a bit much to process all at once. He was still a little shaken by his nightmare (although he’d already forgotten nearly all the details), and now he had an hour to get ready to go to the theatre? Something about that just felt… annoying. It would be one thing if Dio had invited him to go, giving him some prior notice and an opportunity to decline, but it was another thing entirely to be simply told he was going- whether he liked it or not, apparently- immediately after waking up. He hated being treated like Dio’s puppet, with no free will of his own.

But what could he do? As much as he hated it, he effectively didn’t have any free will. He had no way of escaping, no choice but to follow along with Dio’s whims. He sighed as he opened the wardrobe and began looking through the clothes he’d been given, searching for a suitable outfit.

At least theatre was fun, he thought despondently to himself.

Jonathan felt slightly anxious as he walked down the stairs to the first floor of the mansion. Although he had been too asleep to think of it during his conversation with Dio, it now occurred to him that going to the theatre meant actually going to the theatre- in other words, in just a little under an hour, Jonathan would be leaving Dio’s mansion and seeing the outside world for the first time. And that, frankly, was a terrifying thought.

It wasn’t like he was completely ignorant when it came to the 20th century; He’d heard stories from Erina and Speedwagon, and overheard a few things at the mansion, and he’d even read a little bit about it as well. (Though admittedly not as much as he should have- the mansion’s library was impressive, but the majority of it had quickly become abandoned the moment he discovered A Study in Scarlet had grown into an entire series after his death.) He knew about cars and planes, and the World Wars, and movies… That is, he knew they existed, at least. He had never experienced them for himself. What’s more, he knew little of Cairo other than the narrow glimpses of the street that were visible through the mansion’s windows and holes. Egypt was an entirely different world from England, one he knew next to nothing about, and he wondered how well he’d survive it.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited at the same time. Dio’s mansion felt like a prison, all stone walls and boarded-up windows and weirdly dim lighting, devoid of life save for Dio, his creepy butler, and Dio’s occasional victims. Everything Jonathan did was at Dio’s whim, everything he knew was what Dio decided to tell him, and from dawn until dusk every day he was quite literally locked away in a tower. It would be nice to get out for a change, breathe some fresh air, and see ordinary people going about their lives. It would be nice to have a little taste of freedom, just for a few hours.

In any case, there was only a little under an hour to go until it was time to leave, like it or not. And so, Jonathan stepped off the stairs and turned down the hall towards a room Dio referred to as the “breakfast room”- a smaller, less formal dining room, with only a small dining table and simplistic lounge-like seating, as well as large windows (though they were generally obscured by curtains).

Unsurprisingly, when Jonathan arrived at the breakfast room, Dio was waiting for him while reclining casually in one of the chairs. D’Arby, too, was lurking rather ominously in a corner, waiting to obey any requests Dio might make.

“Hello, Jojo,” Dio greeted Jonathan as he sat down at the table. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“I don’t know, just… Normal breakfast, I suppose,” Jonathan answered tentatively. If he had to sum up his overall mood in one word, that word would be “uncertain”, and it showed. Every move he made was slow and hesitant, and he watched Dio and d’Arby with suspicion. As Jonathan finished speaking, d’Arby gave a nod and quickly, silently set out towards the door.

“D’Arby, bring some coffee too,” Dio ordered without looking away from the table. D’Arby stopped in his tracks just as he reached the door.

“As you wish, Lord Dio,” he replied with a bow, before continuing out the room.

With d’Arby gone, Jonathan was left alone with Dio while he awaited his breakfast.

“I apologize for not having more formal clothes for you,” Dio told Jonathan out of the blue after a few minutes. “You know how difficult it is to find clothes in such a large size. Perhaps tomorrow we should go shopping?” he suggested.

“And what about you? Surely you’re not going to the theatre in that, are you?” Jonathan wondered, gesturing towards Dio’s outfit.

Dio was clad in a tight-fitting black shirt that was cut short, showing off his (Jonathan’s!) well-toned abs, as well as having several long, tear-like holes that revealed his chest. Over this, Dio wore a metallic, slightly baggy deep purple jacket, and several bangles on either wrist. The rest of his outfit consisted of scandalously tight pants that matched the jacket, a belt with- god only knew why- a skull-shaped buckle, and what looked like the sort of shoes a medieval jester might wear, only more threatening.

Dio looked down at his clothes idly, as if he’d forgotten what he was wearing, and then looked back up at Jonathan.

“Yes, why?”

Jonathan opened his mouth to reply, but found himself unable to even begin to think of a response to such an absurd question.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to; It wasn’t long before d’Arby returned, carrying a silver tray containing two cups of coffee, a small silver creamer, two spoons, and two napkins. He placed the tray on the table and once again left the room, just as Jonathan and Dio both reached for their respective coffees.

Jonathan blew on his coffee for a few seconds to cool it down, and then eagerly took a sip. His face scrunched up in an almost irritated expression as he tasted the brew.

Dio gave a quiet, amused chuckle. “What’s with that face?”

“I forgot Egyptian coffee is different from English coffee,” Jonathan admitted, looking at his cup with both eyebrows raised. “It’s good, of course, it just took me by surprise is all,” he explained.

“You’ll get used to it soon enough,” Dio promised.

Just as Jonathan had been debating whether or not to add some cream to his coffee, Dio reached for the creamer. Jonathan watched as Dio tilted the small vessel, and to Jonathan’s surprise, an opaque, red liquid poured from its spout and into Dio’s coffee cup.

“That’s… not cream,” Jonathan said slowly, with an almost numb sense of dawning horror.

“What an astute observation,” Dio replied nonchalantly as he watched the blood pour into his coffee, and when he felt it to be a satisfactory amount, he tilted the creamer back up. Then, with almost cheerful casualness, he held it out towards Jonathan- “Want some?”

“No, I most certainly do not! Why would you even ask that question?!” Jonathan snapped angrily, feeling almost sick with revulsion.

“There’s no need to get so up in arms; I was just offering,” Dio replied with irritation. “Really, you should try it. Blood in coffee tastes much better than you’d think.”

“I’m not a monster like you, Dio,” Jonathan insisted, glaring at Dio with teeth bared.

Dio rolled his eyes. “Yes, you are. Like it or not, you have to face reality sooner or later. Do you honestly think eggs and toast can sustain an immortal body? Don’t be naive. You can’t live in denial forever,” Dio said in a suddenly serious tone. His harsh words made Jonathan’s blood run cold- a truly ironic expression- as he realized that there was at least some level of truth to what Dio was saying.

A truth he didn’t want to face.

But Jonathan was nothing if not steadfast, and he refused to give in and fall to Dio’s level. He would stand by his morals to the very last, no matter what the cost to himself. If he had to go through hell, so be it; He’d done it before, and he would do it again.

“I don’t care if I starve, and I don’t care what you do to me. I will never, ever do what you’re asking me to do,” Jonathan snarled.

Dio stared at Jonathan strangely for a moment, and then took a long, savoring sip of his coffee before speaking again.

“You know, even if we don’t share the same set of morals, I do understand where you’re coming from. If I’m being honest, your commitment to your values is something I’ve always found admirable about you,” Dio confessed. “But I would like to point something out.”

Jonathan stared expectantly and warily at Dio, waiting for him to continue.

“The person this blood came from is already dead. That’s a fact, regardless of how you may try to distance yourself from it. Abstinence cannot bring back the dead, Jojo,” Dio said, meeting Jonathan’s eyes with a serious expression. “So, knowing this… Wouldn’t it be better to drink the blood, and give their death meaning, rather than simply throwing it all away like yesterday’s spoiled milk?” Dio finished, and pushed the creamer towards Jonathan with a smirk, waiting for him to make the next move.

Jonathan froze. He knew Dio was right, and that hurt. Knowing innocent people were being killed, and sometimes for almost nothing… It made him sick, sick with the same sort of overwhelming sadness one feels after hearing about a catastrophe. It wasn’t right that those people had to die, and he knew there was nothing he could do.

But… Regardless, he could never drink blood. Doing so, no matter what the justification, would mean becoming like Dio, and that was something he would never do. Besides, the very thought was so revoltingly disgusting that he didn’t think he’d be able to anyway.

“Enough. No matter how many excuses you come up with, I won’t do it,” Jonathan told Dio, glaring back at him with equal intensity.

Dio frowned slightly, seeming almost as if he was plotting something (like usual, really), before sighing slightly.

“Fine. It’s clear this debate is going nowhere. It’s too early for this sort of argument,” he decided.

As if on cue, Jonathan heard footsteps approaching the door- not the soft, slow thuds of d’Arby’s footsteps, but rather more steady, energetic, clacking footsteps. A woman with curly, purple-hued hair entered the room, clad in a flowing yet fitted yellow dress, a multitude of colorful ocean-themed jewelry, and tall blue heels.

“Ah, Midler! You’ve certainly recovered well,” Dio greeted her enthusiastically, with the sort of smile that was impossible to tell how much of it was genuine and how much was fake.

Midler smiled, blushing slightly. “Thank you, Lord Dio. I’m glad to- Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had guests,” she said upon noticing Jonathan.

“Not at all,” Dio assured her. “This is my brother, Jonathan. Jojo, this is Midler, one of my best assassins- and an excellent dancer,” Dio introduced the two of them.

“Nice to meet you,” Jonathan said, hesitant as he always was when speaking to Dio’s associates. So this one was an assassin, was she..? Jonathan wondered whether she had always been so evil, or if Dio had seduced her with his mind control like he’d done to poor Poco all those years ago. Or maybe she’d simply fallen victim to Dio’s natural charisma, no magic needed other than a pretty face and a smooth tongue.

Midler smiled almost teasingly at Jonathan, walking over to him slowly. “That’s an interesting scar you got there, handsome,” she said, speaking as if to seduce Jonathan, though he could hear an underlying question in her voice. She poked his neck playfully with a flirtatious wink.

“...Uh.” Jonathan instinctively touched the still-tender wound on his neck, at a loss for words. He felt slightly stunned and confused.

“His body used to belong to Jotaro,” Dio explained to Midler.

Midler’s eyes widened as she looked back at Dio. “You’re kidding,” she gasped breathlessly, and Jonathan thought he caught a glimpse of something unguarded for a moment- Fear? Regret? Guilt? Anger?

But if there was truly something there, it disappeared quickly, as Midler returned to her role as a lascivious assassin.

“Well, you know what they say… When one door closes, another opens. When you lose one man, you may gain an even better one.” She spoke the last sentence in a low tone as she looked at Jonathan with a half-lidded gaze, walking slowly, teasingly around him.

Jonathan shrunk back uncomfortably, this time maintaining most of his composure as he finally understood what was going on. “Please, I’m married,” he explained with a frown.

“So? Plenty of men here in Egypt have multiple wives, you know,” Midler replied with an innocent shrug.

As she spoke, d’Arby entered the room with another tray, this time with Jonathan’s breakfast. Jonathan sighed in relief as Midler finally backed off slightly, and his breakfast gave him a legitimate excuse to ignore her.

...And admittedly, he was also just glad to have breakfast. Jonathan had always been quite enthusiastic when it came to food, and even the horror and misery of his situation couldn’t negate the sheer joy that could only be created by bacon.

While Jonathan eagerly began eating his breakfast, Midler sat down calmly in one of the chairs, watching Jonathan with a thoughtful expression. “...You know, Lord Dio… I didn’t know you had a brother,” she admitted curiously after a few minutes.

“He’s adopted,” Dio explained.

Jonathan gave Dio an annoyed look. “Uh, pardon? You’re the one who was adopted,” he corrected Dio between bites of toast. “Besides, I’m fairly certain father’s disowned you by this point.”

“Yes, well unfortunately for him, dead men have little say in the legal system,” Dio replied in a bored monotone.

“Dead men have little say in anything, it seems,” Jonathan muttered bitterly.

“Oh, stop whining,” Dio said with an eyeroll, before turning away from Jonathan. “Now then, Midler…”

Midler sat up attentively, giving Dio an expectant look. “Yes, Lord Dio?”

“You have served me well all these years. You’re beautiful, intelligent, powerful, loyal, and your High Priestess is quite formidable,” he began.

Midler gasped slightly and smiled, a wider, more genuine smile than the seductive ones she’d given before. “Thank you, Lord Dio. It is my honor and privilege to serve you,” she said excitedly with a deep, reverent bow of her head. (Meanwhile, Jonathan remained deeply absorbed in his food.)

“But, Midler…”

“...Yes, Lord Dio?” Midler responded uncertainly to Dio’s sudden dark tone.

“Despite all this, what was it I sent you to the coast to do?” Dio prompted, sounding almost like a condescending school teacher, only far, far more sinister.

“...To… to kill the Joestar group, my lord,” Midler answered quietly, going slightly pale as she realized where the conversation was going.

(Jonathan looked up slightly with his fork still in his mouth, raising an eyebrow at Dio and Midler’s exchange.)

“And did you kill them?” Dio prompted once again.

“No, my lord,” Midler answered even more quietly, head bowed in shame rather than reverence this time.

“Then you know what that means,” Dio said darkly.

“...Yes, Lord Dio.”

Without further prompting, Midler stood up from her chair and walked over to Dio. She knelt down in front of his chair on both knees, head bowed and eyes closed.

“It is my honor and duty to give myself to you,” Midler said with solemn conviction. She then tilted her head up, looking towards the ceiling in an almost prayer-like pose. “My life is yours. Please accept it,” she finished.

Dio smiled a slow, hungry smile. “Good.”

Dio reached towards Midler’s neck, and-

“Wait a minute! Don’t tell me you’re going to kill her?!” Jonathan interrupted with a horrified gasp, standing up abruptly.

“Of course I am,” Dio replied, as if this were common sense. “She knew the consequences of failure. If she wanted to live, she should have tried harder.”

“B-but that’s not fair! That’s hardly a reason to kill someone!” Jonathan insisted distressedly.

“I’m happy to give my life for Lord Dio,” Midler chimed in, still kneeling in front of Dio.

Jonathan shook his head in horror. “No. I won’t let this happen,” he said firmly, stomping over to Dio and Midler and grabbing Dio’s wrist with a rough, strong grip.

Dio yanked his arm away from Jonathan’s grasp, glaring at Jonathan in annoyance and anger. “Oh, for god’s sake, Jojo, are you seriously going to play the whole pacifist game every single time? Get over your damn idealism already!” he snapped. “Like it or not, you have to accept that you are a vampire, and more importantly, I am a vampire. I have no intention of changing my lifestyle and going against the natural order simply because you have a weak stomach. If you want to starve yourself, so be it, but you have no right to tell me what to do. Remember who’s in control here,” he threatened with a dark, violent snarl.

“Then at the very least, you could have the decency not to murder people in front of me while I’m trying to eat breakfast,” Jonathan hissed in response, matching Dio’s show of dominance- as always- with equal fire.

For a few moments, Dio and Jonathan continued staring each other down unblinkingly, locked in a battle of wills. Finally, Dio scowled and turned away from Jonathan.

“Fine. Midler, you are dismissed,” he announced sharply, with a clipped, seething tone.

Midler stood up quickly and said nothing, for fear of further provoking Dio’s anger. She hesitated for a brief second, glancing between Dio and Jonathan with wide eyes, before hurrying out of the room.

Jonathan ate the rest of his meal in angry silence. A tense, bitter aura filled the air between him and Dio, neither party willing to look at the other. Jonathan finished his food as quickly as possible, all appetite and enjoyment gone, and stormed out of the room as soon as he was done. As he left, he slammed the door hard enough to leave a crack in the wall.