#I have a great day with a new friend at a beautiful location? cool but ur gonna be in such bad pain u can’t stand for at least 3 days after

[tyrianlynch]

I started watching Suits today and have been playing the sims nonstop and have been reading nothing but fanfiction about gay firefighters and articles about how the CIA started a domino effect that created al qaeda and the taliban so yes I’m doing super well mentally

[mymanreedus]

My Ten, Norman Reedus, New York Times

1. 'Wild God by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s album “Carnage” was my go-to for the entire French filming portion of the first two seasons, and in Spain it’s this album. It just sings, full of life and stories and beautiful thundering bliss. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t love this band. Not one person.

2. ‘Nina Simone’s Gum’ by Warren Ellis

I met Warren in Paris and we immediately hit it off. When he told me of this book, I immediately got it. I find it interesting to learn of the things that inspire the people that inspire me. He had noticed Nina Simone take out her gum before a show and stick it under the piano. As soon as the show was over, he bolted toward the piano and ripped the gum out. He had a gold cast made of it. He was wearing it as a necklace.

3. Eggs Benedict at Coffee Parisien

My family and I are spending more time in Paris these days, and to have a good breakfast spot that serves up some taste of home is nice. And the staff are so cool. I think they know I stole a coffee cup, and they kind of looked the other way.

4. Julia Donaldson’s ‘Gruffalo’ Books

This has become the nightly story-time reading for me and my beautiful daughter, Nova. The whole series is great and it allows me to put on my Gruffalo voice, which I’m guessing is what he sounds like. I told her that I mentioned this book, and she asked why I didn’t mention “Creepy Crayon!,” which is another book that we love.

5. Yohji Yamamoto Pants

I walked in his Paris show and luckily didn’t fall. He walked up to me, put his hands in my hair, made it super messy and went, “You’re so sexy.” Then he pushed me out into the runway. I was terrified. I kind of got introduced to his pants at the show and I was like, “These are the most comfortable, flowy pants ever.” My suitcase has two types of pants: his and Dickies.

6. Prado Museum

I’m an executive producer on the show, so I have to do things with casting and locations and script revisions. My friend Ian Astbury, who sings in the Cult, was like, “Just stop working today and go to the Prado.” I put on my headphones and walked around in a glorious daze staring at the Goyas and my all-time favorite, Hieronymus Bosch. Just magic.

7. Cafe Gitane

It’s a spot I go to a lot. Luc Lévy, who owns the place, is a good friend and maybe the coolest person in New York. There’s all this history on that street. I’d ride my BMX bike through SoHo, back in the day, and I’d run over there and see people just sitting out front and catch up.

8. Erik Foss

Erik and I go way back and I have a lot of his art. I’ve seen it get better and better and cooler and cooler. It has this childlike quality but is also specific and so thought-out. I stare at what I have on the walls, and it puts me in the best mood.

9. Chateau Marmont

I used to live in L.A. when I was in my 20s, so I have a group of artist friends that live there, and I only see them at the Chateau Marmont. It always feels like home even if some rager is going on next door.

10. Hammam

I like to just sit in there for as long as I can take it. It’s like riding a motorcycle and putting on your helmet: You just kind of disappear. I like that.

Norman Reedus, The New York Times

[rimouskis]

In the interest of wanting to love life again: what was your favourite moment of the Penguins season this year? Any happy memories?

I had a really great season, man.

I saw games with seven different fandom friends and got to introduce three of them to the city for the first time. I got to see so many wins alongside them, including several friends' first pens wins. I got to watch the Pens win a Pride game, which was amazing and so fun.

I got to see Geno's 1000th game in Chicago (with my family, who'd never been to a hockey game before), and then flew back to Pittsburgh to see them celebrate it on home ice—with Geno winning it in a shootout that was probably the coolest experience I've ever had in a hockey arena.

I got to see Tanger's 1000th game and share that with a friend. Seeing the funky fun little warmups (which I missed for Geno's in Chicago because the arena workers were mean 😂) was super special and cool.

I got to go to the night of assists, which was a lifetime experience, special and made all the better by getting to share it with a fandom friend.

I got to go to a Geno fan signing with another friend, and say hi to him as he signed my jersey and thank him for signing with the pens. he said he was glad to sign, too:)

I got to live through contractgate, which was horrible-at-the-time but also a really unifying experience.

I felt a thousand, no, a million times worse when Geno pulled that dumbass "I'm gonna test free agency 💅" move this summer that made me just SOB in the arrivals lane at an airport on the very first business trip I've ever made in my career ahahaha.

and it's weird and silly, because I'm a person who really needs to reframe those upsetting moments into something good. it's how I live with them. I remember how hopeless I felt—my plane had been turned around, I was late to my first business trip ever, I was about to meet my high-powered boss in person for the first time, I was standing in the Detroit heat waiting for 45 minutes for a shuttle to take me to the grimiest hotel I've laid eyes on because my connecting flight had been delayed until the next day... and I was just crying into my mask as I tried to console my fandom friends and keep my wits about me because it kind of felt like the world was ending.

and it wasn't... about... the team. in a way it wasn't even fully down to being about geno. do not get me wrong: I was personally devastated by the idea of him not coming back. he's one of My Guys. I was in denial about what I would do if he didn't sign with the Pens. I was so torn up about it that I stayed up for hours even though I was exhausted.

but the fear that kept me up in that really weird, shitty hotel room was the thought that my fandom was going to circle the drain because of it. we saw what a ship split did to tk/np, didn't we? their situation was different from sidgeno's... they lacked the amount of history, the sheer years... but nonetheless, I'm really, really aware of how small and tight-knit our corner of hockey fandom is. I was terrified of the possibility of geno leaving and that fracturing this really beautiful chunk of the internet that I've called home for the majority of my adult life, at this point.

that didn't happen. not only did it not happen, but I was in a vacation dreamland, barely needing to work on a business trip in the most gorgeous fantasyland location I've ever seen, having impressed my boss and nailed my part of the trip. all my anxiety—over the trip, over my job, over my fandom, over geno, over sid, over my friends dealing with this—was real, but it didn't win. instead I practically experienced euphoria on the shoreline.

I remember getting the text from a friend at close to midnight or whenever it was. geno had signed. things were going to be okay. things were going to be great.

and they were. I had so much fun this season, man. I really did. I wrote 14ish new fics this season. I participated in three (four? maybe more?) fic fests. I went to so many games that I felt gluttonous about it. I talked to tons of people all over this fandom. my friendships grew stronger. I traveled to two different states to visit fandom friends. I'm flying across the ocean to see more in the coming months.

and like... that's what matters. that ACTUALLY impacts my life, more than a man leaving a team, more than a team losing games. as important as certain players or records are to me, that's all stuff I can come to accept (well... some things I can accept. I don't think I'd ever have gotten over geno had he left. I get nauseous thinking about it. let's not muse on it. it didn't happen and that's what matters).

what I wouldn't have been able to accept was this space—this fandom, this lovely little corner where we talk about and joke about and blog about and meme about and write about the pens—unraveling. I'm not naive enough to expect this place to be around forever, and it already looks radically different from what it was when I joined it, but I'm determined to help preserve it for as long as I can. I want this to be a fun space. A creative one. Someplace where we're having a good time but also talking about things that matter to us and learning about the sport.

I told you all in a post a long while ago after I went to seattle that I want to be more assertive and honest about how much online friendships mean to me. the fact that there's this online community is sick. we're all in this cool little boat together and that is impressive and interesting and unique and I love it. I love fandom, and I love THIS fandom, and I love Sid and Geno and what we do in the name of their friendship. this place has enriched my life in ways I can't even tell you about. it's so cool. it is SO cool.

so.... I don't know what else to leave you with but this picture of the coastline I sat at on a cool July night, with my career changing in amazing ways and my anxieties quelled and my body flooded with adrenaline over the news that Geno Was Back and my mind BURSTING with creativity over a new story idea that was billowing out of me like smoke.

I sat there, headphones in, a song by one of my favorite bands playing on repeat as the sun set and the world turned the most intense shade of blue I'd seen in my life. I kept mouthing along to the words—Die if I must, let my bones turn to dust, I'm the lord of the lake and I don't want to leave it.

I just couldn't get over how lucky I felt. what a life I had. what fortune had come into my life. how crazy it was that things, like they seemingly so often do, worked out.

if I REALLY wanted to be trite, I could say something right now like "well, it was about time my luck ran out." but I don't feel like it has. tonight wasn't fun, but this season isn't about tonight for me.

this season is about:

the look on my friend's face as we caught sight of Sid at the night of assists and had that christ-he's-real moment

starting a podcast with my friends and getting to create silly goofy stuff in fun new ways

my dad being kind of alarmed at me screaming down at the ice and getting to explain to my sister what a power play was

getting to boo and cheer with the fans (and my friends). during overtime and the shootout for Geno's 1001th game, and the ecstasy of him winning it all.

having players walk past me and my friends at our dinner tables randomly in the city and getting to laugh about how cool/funny an experience that is 😂

having geno help me win a game of blackjack, which will forever be one of the coolest things I've been able to experience

organizing trips for people who've never seen the city before and having them tell me how fun experiencing pgh is, which is so meaningful as someone who's done a lot of growing up here

meeting new friends, both online and in person, and getting to learn about them and write with them and create with them

writing. writing. writing. the thing I've loved to do since I was a child. the thing I want to dedicate myself even more fully to.

reading the works people in our fandom write and share, which is such an overwhelming act of community and passion that I need to remind myself of how extraordinary it is

sitting out on the edge of the water and marveling at what a life I had, literally none of it possible without fandom. nothing in my life has shaped my literal life path as much as this fandom and S+G.

this is overly sentimental and perhaps cloying, but god, do I mean it. I mean it so earnestly I can't even be embarrassed about it.

life is good. tonight was hard, and I saw things that are going to stick with me and probably upset me, but the positives outweigh the negatives as a rule in my life. I can't live otherwise. I won't tell anyone else how to deal with stress or fear, and I'm trying to get better at that, but in the meantime I'll leave you with that image of the big blue world all laid out in front of me and me feeling every feeling in the world there was to feel, because I was so overwhelmed with the previous 24 hours that it was all I could do to sit there and let it run its course.

I'm an optimist, for better or worse, because it's the way I make life bearable. and, because I'm also kind of corny, I'm going to go back to that blue dusk eating up the whole sky and melting into the water and remember how I felt.

that's why I'm here. I hope there are moments from this season that made you feel like that, too. I hope you, like me, feel that those moments greatly and meaningfully outweigh bad ones.

it was a good year. I can't wait for whatever comes next.

[chickenstrangers]

2023 gifs in review tag game

tagged by @khaotunq (here!) to post my favorite/most popular gifs throughout the year. thank you!!🩵🩵🩵

I only started making gifs partway through this year, so there was a big learning curve and i still think i'm pretty newbie but it has been a lot of fun and it's nice looking back on how much i think i've improved, though i have so much left to learn next year

i am going to ramble too much because this is my post, fair warning, forgive my self indulgence

april

this was the very beginning, back in the photopea days before i tried photoshop (i am still quite fond of photopea, 1. because it is free and 2, for stills i think it's just as good as photoshop, but i could never figure out how to make gifs look good with its dithering system. i have seen some remarkable gifmakers using photopea tho so that's a my limited skill problem, and i'm glad i used it to dip my toes into the process!)

i only posted 1 set for abaab this month which looks not good but is still a very fun scene, but this was not actually the first thing i made (see below).

may

most popular: msp finale, tinn knowing all the words to gun's song <3

favorite: moonlight chicken, my first ever gifset and the reason i got into gifmaking because i wanted to capture the way moonlight chicken visually returned to locations and shots to underline its theme of loneliness being replaced by community, which is the mlc repetitions series

june

most popular & favorite: kiss me again (2018) and the lovely way june say's goodby to his friends (i learned how to add text to gifs for this one, and not only that but timed text! i thought it would get like 5 notes. it's very messy and doesn't look great, but i'm proud that i learned something with it, and i think its very funny and that's all that matters to me)

july

it's photoshop time now!! photoshop beloved you make such beautiful gifs and also you are So Slow and my computer cannot handle you.

most popular: only friends original trailer set

favorite: jimwen looking at each other set (the start of my most belovedest of series, the followup to the first ever meta i wrote)

august

most popular: part 1 of the can't i look at you edits, cool tones edition

favorite: part 2 of the can't i look at you edits, warm toned edition (i love them both but this has two of my all time favorite wen faces)

hey its my profile picture and also i find it very funny that the Os line up with his eyes, and the second gif i love how impossibly happy they look

september

my busiest month in terms of gifs, in large part due to only friends

most popular: topmew and fire

favorite: alanwen poetry edit i spent soooo long learning keyframes for the heartbeat effect and then the ghosting effect was a happy accident thank you person in the background walking past at the right moment

(i also love my charn laws of attraction set because he was a surprise favorite character this year, i loved collecting the quotes for how he speaks of himself)

october

most popular: only friends sandray finale parallel set (it is. very very close to 1k which is. so many).

favorite: he's coming to me edit because it was so fun to make for @dudeyuri

november

most popular: not me sean and black getting along super duper well!

favorite: moonlight chicken haunted house edit, accompanying this meta/creative writing thing. i loved choosing liminal feeling shots for it and i liked how the simple typography turned out

december

most popular: a little jim and wen set i am very fond of

favorite: the moonlight chicken new years set i posted today. i love this little chicken diner

hey look i managed to mention moonlight chicken almost every month (i swear, i watched so many favorite shows this year but i loved making mlc gifs so much)

and that's that! thanks for reading if anyone read til the end.

no pressure tags for some amazingly talented creators who have made some of my favorite sets this year (if you feel like talking about some of your highlights, whether monthly or not, because you all make so much incredible work and i'd love to hear about it) : @hoppipolla @sollucets @icouldhyperfixatehim @celestial-sapphicss @chinzhilla @krystaljungs @moonkhao and anyone who wants to, consider yourself tagged <3

[ofenvs3000semester]

Blog 1

I’ve had a close relationship with nature since I was very little. My mother always took us for walks and hikes, such as to the “Rattlesnake Point” conservation area in Milton, Ontario (where I have yet to actually see a rattlesnake). Since then I’ve been all across Ontario and beyond. I in particular have many positive memories of my summers at our rented cottage in Wasaga Beach, where I’d spend hours swimming over the rocky lakebottom hoping to find a cool rock or fish. I also spent a lot of time in a creek near the town of Lowville, fishing for crayfish with my siblings. 

Growing up, experiencing what nature has to offer continued to excite me. I always took great joy from things as simple as seeing a cool new bug, to visiting a new country on vacation to see what creatures and sights I’d find there. I in particular fondly remember visiting Mexico and seeing all the cool lizards, and Cuba and seeing the beautiful ocean. I had a lot of happy memories of “experiencing” nature, and I took that as a sign to pursue a career in working in the environment. And here I am!

When I was younger, I never really needed an excuse to go outside and poke cool animals, or see a beautiful sight- and as such I didn’t usually need an interpreter (although you could argue my mother was the one who introduced me to nature, taking me to all those wonderful locations). As I got older and became busier with additional responsibilities (such as my job, and post-secondary), I didn’t get an excuse to go outside as often. This really became apparent to me when I went to my co-op in Bamfield, British Columbia, where despite being surrounded by amazing nature (the mountains took my breath away!), I spent a lot of time working on my computer inside. However, I made a friend in BC named Hannah, who I could consider my interpreter. Not only was she more familiar with the outdoors than I, but she helped me make that first step to getting outside. Attached to this post is a photo I took on the west coast trail, a sight I never would have gotten to see had I not been encouraged to come outside by Hannah. Thanks to her encouragement, and with the help of her environmental knowledge, I was able to invest myself in this wonderful natural area and get a “sense of place” walking along the trail.

As I mentioned, I never had a hard time finding cool animals or admiring the scenery, but that initial first step of going outside on my own was what I had the most difficulty with. One of the reasons I took this course was to maybe, one day, break others out of that same rut too, and help some otherwise enthusiastic naturalists find their home outdoors once again. There’s so much to explore, and I don’t want to miss it!

[heart-of-copper-dog-training]

My Favorite Day of the Week: Prison Time

As you know, yesterday was our first meeting with the inmates since our kerfuffles needed unkerfuffling. So, let me get ya'll updated.

First, it was SO fun seeing the guys again. We all missed each other so much! I have a mix of good news and bad news, so I'll start with the bad first: we have two dogs who are terminally ill. The last coordinator didn't get them vetted in time to get them treated and now that our rescue coordinator who is amazing has gotten that done, it's been discovered it's too late. So her rescue organization will sponsor them until end of life and make the call when to euthanize, but for now they are staying with their handlers and if one of them makes it long enough, she will go into a hospice adoption with her handler later this year.

One of our purebreds was transferred to a purebred rescue to give him a better chance at adoption, so in his spot we got this new beautiful dog who, honestly, looks like a coyote wearing socks. She's so sweet and might be a service dog candidate with Tadsaw, that remains to be seen.

As for the dogs and handlers, like I said, we were all very excited. We got a new location due to some issues with the old one (prison things, warden went over it) and while it's smaller, it should be fine until the weather cools. We're hoping to get a second room and split into two groups to get more space.

Our two shyest dogs are more open and happy, bonded with their handlers. One of them even made a friend with our third lifer dog, Pie (due to having been in for three years, he's mostly unadoptable as he'd have too much separation anxiety. The rescue is sponsoring him as well but he's expected to live a long happy life with his handler). Which means Pie gets extra exercise (he's a fat boi who is working on it and gradually showing improvement).

Our crazy girl Mauve is doing so well on her leash skills! All the dogs are working leash skills this week and next week, as that is one of if not the most common reason to return a dog. We'll also be using my body language 101 handout as homework next week so we can go over that with the handlers.

We'll be adding back up handlers soon per dog, so that there's never a stranger with them. And as inmates go in and out we'll have more ready to go trained handlers for each batch of dogs.

Our new dog, Molly, is best friends with Mauve and we're not fully convinced they aren't related, due to their location they were found in, their ages, and their appearance. Regardless, they are so sweet and cute together which is great because Mauve needs a friend who can keep up with her energy.

Next week, we start figure 8s, sitting for greeting and a brush up on "down". I'll be with the rescue coordinator because our second trainer has a few things and can't make it but she'll be back when we meet again, hopefully with them having read the body language 101.

I can't stress enough how great it is to walk into a room full of smiling faces and happy dogs (many of whom were super shut down when they entered the program). Our handlers are amazing. I can't believe that in the small time we've known them, they've gone from a bit standoffish and not really friendly to each other to smiling, cracking jokes and teasing one another about this or that with their different dogs. They know they are doing a great thing and some of these dogs come from horrendous situations. I'm so proud of the work they've done, even with our sporadic (and hopefully more consistent now that we've met with the warden and gotten a new coordination with the prison) meetings. The real test will be our next batch of dogs, but this group (who has had far too long due to the issues previously) is going very well. I anticipate they'll all graduate (less our three lifer dogs) and the next group will have its small hiccups, but also thrive.

I'm so honored to be part of something that brings so much joy to everyone. The inmates are happy (even those not in the program are having fun watching the dogs and asking how to get in), the dogs are happy, us trainers are happy, the rescue organization is happy and our coordinator and warden are happy. It's a win win win for everyone.

It's my favorite part of the week and I can't wait to see where it goes.

As always, be kind to yourself, to your dogs, and to others. It's free to be kind.

Here's a picture of Orange Cat (legal name Lionblaze but we call him orange cat lol) looking smug and satisfied for ya'll who are here for the cute animals.

[fizzypopsoda-comics]

Introducing new members of the Other Webb Family, Roderick Webb and his Mistress’s other children;

Frayden Frost Webb is a coolheaded boy who’s a conceited smooth talker that acts in a high-class manner to those around him. He can create ice and snow from the palm of his hands, and even harness the cool breeze from his fingertips. He’s very sociable and receives adoration from people who are drawn to his captivating coolness, which he himself take great pleasure in, as he’s always contented to have “friends” who are willing to do as he pleases. When it comes to meeting those who has potential of improving the family business, Frayden wishes to see if they’re capable enough to exceed his father’s expectations of them by testing their loyalty and overall abilities, and he has no problem being cold-blooded to whoever dares go against him or anyone in the business.

Freya Flare Webb is a lukewarm girl whose very reserved and only speaks to others when it’s necessary. She can create fire and lava from her fingertips, as well as manipulate ashes of what was burned to a crisp. Unlike her twin brother, Freya keeps to herself and doesn’t care about receiving admiration from people around her she sees as “followers” blinded by her blazing appearance, as all she really focuses on is expanding her family business without any distractions. Her pet Pheonix Cyra assist her in locating people she sees as a threat to the business, only to then burn them to a crisp with a merciless glare in her eyes. While she’s very indifferent towards others who gotten themselves involved in anyway, she offers them a chance to just leave her family be without spouting a single word about the family business to be spared of any pain her family had in mind for them, and only meeting them with same fate as everyone else before if they so force her hand.

Liliana Webb, who prefers to just go by “Lily”, is the most faint-hearted of her siblings and is very self-conscious about her haggard appearance, in which she spends most of her days in the deepest darkest parts of the deep blue sea, where she believes all the most dangerous and feared creatures like herself belongs. Despite having little to no air, Lily somehow managed to live in the water for so long even with the water filled up in her lungs. As a spider that hardly eats due to her lack of catching her prey properly, a smell or taste of a single drop of blood is enough to trigger her hunger and devour anything insight until she has her fill. She despises anyone who only cares about their beauty and charming looks, as well as how much acceptance they receive than she does with their much more healthier appearances. And so. Lily tends to lure those types of people into the ocean where they’ll be swimming with the fishes in the darkest parts where no one.

I thought of making a reference of these three after doing a rp where they made their debut, I might make doodles of them in the future or so whenever I get the chance, hope you like it! ^^

[stellathy]

About this property - Introduction to Vietnam and Quy Nhon City  Hello! Today, I will introduce you to Vietnam and its beautiful city, Quy Nhơn.  Vietnam (Việt Nam) is a country located in Southeast Asia, bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the South China Sea to the east. Vietnam is famous for its diverse culture and rich history, and is loved by many tourists for its beautiful natural scenery, delicious food, and friendly people.  Among them, Quy Nhon is a beautiful port city located on the central coast of Vietnam. It is the capital of Binh Dinh Province and boasts beautiful natural scenery with clear blue sea, white sandy beaches, and majestic mountains. Quy Nhon is also famous for its various seafood dishes. In particular, dishes featuring fresh seafood are very popular with visitors to the area.  Vietnam and Quy Nhon offer travelers unforgettable memories with their unique charm and rich culture. For those who love natural scenery and want to experience a new culture, Vietnam, especially Quy Nhon, is the best travel destination.  thank you!  ------------------------ The new home has 3 beds, 3 baths, 4 queen beds, 1 bar room, 1 living room and 1 full kitchen. It is an ideal place for a group holiday with friends and family. The house is designed in a modern, airy and spacious style. This is a great place to bring your pet on holiday.  Just a 4-minute walk to Xuan Dieu Beach_Quy Nhon, where you can enjoy a swim and plenty of seafood and street food restaurants. Accommodation This luxurious home near the beach is perfect for a holiday with friends or family. The new home is built in a contemporary style and has a luxurious and warm interior design that will provide you with a relaxing day. Each bedroom is designed to be simple and airy using natural latex mattresses, allowing you to get a good night's sleep after a fun day. In particular, each bedroom features a luxurious and spacious design, imported equipment and a separate bathroom with shower gel and shampoo.  Pets (maximum 2) are allowed. The kitchen is spacious and luxurious. It is fully equipped with kitchenware such as a refrigerator, stove, microwave, cups, dishes, plates, beer glasses, wine glasses... and a luxurious dining table set adds a refreshing touch to your meals. Family holiday.  You will enjoy a truly comfortable and enjoyable stay at The Shades House. Amenities available to guests You have full access to the entire home using existing equipment. The property has a camera system in public areas to protect the security of your holiday.  In particular, the bar room has been designed entirely in wood to provide your group with a fun, luxurious, private and warm space.  If you want to enjoy the cool afternoon breeze, the covered terrace has a sofa set for a comfortable feel. Other notes : Parking:  You can park in front of the house or on the street.  Please enjoy quiet time from 10 PM to 6 AM.  Check-in: 2pm. Check-out: 11:00.  If you would like to check in/out earlier or later than the specified times, please let us know in advance and The Shades team will do their best to assist you.  We hope The Shades House becomes your destination during your vacation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www .airbnb.com.vn/rooms/1082400972265675038?viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76

[rosemaidenvixen]

Algea

Chapter 2

<Previous Next>

Ao3

Content warning: near drowning

“Cannonball!”

They all shrieked with laughter and swam back out of the way as Gus leapt from the small cliff top, tucking his arms and legs in as he landed in the lake with a splash.

After a few seconds he resurfaced with a gasp of breath “Did I do it right Luz?”

“You betcha!” she flashed him a thumbs up from where she swimming in the shallower water “A flawlessly executed human style cannonball,”

“Man human warfare is weird…” Jerbo mumbled.

“Amity Viney Luz over here!” Skara shouted “Let’s play cockatrice!”

Luz eagerly paddled over, Viney and Amity not far behind. It was such a beautiful day and she was having a blast. The sun was shining, turquoise waters of the lake sparkling as they all swam and splashed around inside the sheltered inlet.

A perfect beach day.

“Oooh what’s cockatrice?”

“We sit on someone’s shoulders and try to push each other off,” Skara replied, extending a hand to Viney. Viney grinned back and accepted it, using the leverage to hoist Skara onto her shoulders.

“Neat! We have that in the human realm to,” Luz turned towards Amity “Hey is it ok if I climb onto your shoulders?”

Her face flushed a deep pink “Oh, sure– of course! That sounds great,” she leaned down in the water and helped Luz get on top of her

“Cool!” Skara looked back over at them, from her perch on top of Viney “Traditionally it’s played over a pit of bile beetles, but being in a lake works to,”

“...yeah I should have seen that coming,” Luz finished climbing onto Amity's shoulders then glanced down “Alright sweet potato you ready to show these guys what we’re made of?”

Amity giggled, cheeks pink “Let’s do it!”

The two of them squared off against Skara and Viney. Amity and Viney slowly walking towards each other in the water until they were close enough for Luz and Skara to lean forward and grasp the other’s hands. Skara flashed Luz a feral grin, which Luz just as easily returned. Below them their partners tightened their grip on each of their legs to anchor them. Behind her Luz could hear the others laughing and splashing around in the lake water.

From below them Viney locked eyes with Amity and smirked “On your mark…get set…go!”

--

Twigs and leaves snapped under her shoes as Boscha stomped down the forest path, birds and bugs fleeing scattering as she approached but Boscha barely noticed. Glancing back down at her scroll, her mouth twisting in a deep scowl.

She’d asked Skara to hang out today, but Skara said she was busy with a family thing. Only Boscha’s mom had run into Skara’s dad at the tea house and according to him Skara had the whole day free.

Smelling a rat, Boscha had checked ‘Find your friends’ and spotted Skara’s location at the south shore of lake Lacuna and headed straight there to catch her in the act of double crossing her. That’s why she was walking the rest of the way after riding her staff to the lake. She wanted to catch Skara off guard so she couldn’t cover anything up.

And according to the blinking dot on her scroll, Boscha was almost on top of her.

Her fingers tightened into claws around the device, sizzling with the beginnings of magic.

No lying or weaseling her way out of this, it was bad enough Amity had stopped hanging out with them. No way Boscha was going to lose control of any of her other friends.

Skara was going to pay for ditching her. 

So was so focused on her scroll that it took her a few seconds to recognize a new sound echoing towards her through the trees. 

Laughter and splashing water.

Shoving her scroll in her pocket, Boscha rushed ahead and burst through the forest right on the edge of a cliff. Down below was a small inlet, a narrow strip of water butting up against a small beach and sheltered by cliffs on either side. Skara was down there, laughing and splashing around in the water close to the beach, but she wasn’t alone.

Skara was sitting on top of another witch’s shoulders, one of the multi track losers, propping her up so she could square off with the human. Each of them trying to push each other into the water. She squinted and took a step closer, trying to see who the human was sitting on–

Her jaw dropped open, hands falling to her sides, for a moment she was so stunned she forgot to be angry.

Amity. Amity was down there holding the human up on her own shoulders. All four of them shrieking with laughter as they tousled in the water. 

The sound of more splashing drew her attention, shutting her jaw with a click and glancing around the inlet.

That scrawny illusion witch and the oracle dog demon were conjuring images in a pool of shallow water while some other loser witch built a giant abomination out of algae with stupid half-a-witch Willow.

Boshca felt her face growing hot, hands balling into fists at her sides, palms beginning to sear with heat while she quivered with rage. 

It was bad enough that Skara lied to her, but seeing both her and Amity ditch her to hang out with losers like that human and worthless half-a-witch Willow–

A growl escaped her clenched teeth, smoke rising from her sizzling fists as she stomped down the trail that led to the cove.

Her friends thought they could ditch her, these losers thought they were good enough to hang out with real witches, stupid enough to think they were actually worth something– Well Boscha would show them, she’d teach them all a lesson they’d never forget…

--

Hunter allowed himself a small sigh of relief as he crossed the last location off the map. Belos had ordered him to scout the forest on the southern side of lake Lacuna for potential locations of the Looking Glass Graveyard. It had been grueling work, and he hadn’t found any trace of the graveyard, but after long hours of searching he had finally ruled out all the locations on his map. Now he could head back to the castle and debrief. 

Folding up the map and tucking it away, he headed towards the edge of the forest. Just needed to get clear of the trees and he could use his staff to fly back. But part way to the treeline a strange noise caught his attention. Hunter paused for a second, training an ear towards the sound. It sounded almost like screaming, but something in it was…off.

He shook his head. Whatever that sound was played no part in his mission and was therefore irrelevant. He should ignore it and head back to the castle. Despite knowing this he couldn’t make himself continue on, his curiosity piqued.

Against his better judgment Hunter pivoted course and followed the sound to a further side of the forest. Breaking through the trees he found himself at a narrow inlet of the lake, lined on either side by steep cliffs, the lake water having turned the stones at his feet to coarse sand, but that wasn’t what made him stop in his tracks.

A group of witches were swimming around in the water, the sound he’d thought was screams actually their laughter, but not just any witches. His heart gave a little leap as he recognized the other Emerald Entrails through the narrow band of vision allowed by his mask. The human was here to, letting out a shriek of laughter as she was pushed off of Blight’s shoulders into the water. Tumbling into the lake with a splash, emerging seconds later, the whole group giggling. Hunter was so stupefied at the sight that for a moment he couldn’t move.

Which unfortunately gave the human the opportunity to spot him.

“No way, Hunter!?”

He jerked sharply, tightening his grip on his staff, as all the witches in the lake turned towards him. Torn between the desire to flee and stand his ground as the human started swimming towards the shore straight towards him.

“What are you doing here?”

He straightened up, falling back into the stiff, professional bearing of the Golden Guard, clearing his throat to speak in his most authoritative tone “I’m on a mission for the Emperor,”

“A mission to spy on our beach day?” the youngest witch asked– Gus he remembered his name was.

One of his eyes twitched behind his mask “The objective of my mission is classified. But it’s not…that,”

For a few moments the only sound was the soft lapping of water on the shore as they all appraised each other. Then the human– Luz, broke the silence “Wanna swim with us?”

Hunter blinked “What?”

“What!?” Blight whirled on her, eyes wide. 

“I’ve got a spare pair of swim trunks?” a skinny brown haired witch added hesitantly.

Blight glowered, glancing back and forth between Hunter and the others “You guys can’t be serious, this is the Golden Guard! We can’t trust him,”

“Bark bark,”

“Barcus says his aura checks out,” Viney said with a shrug “If he’s cool with Barcus and Jerbo he’s cool with me,”

“So how bout it….” Luz spread her arms wide, beaming in Hunter’s direction “Want to join our beach day?”

“Come on,” Captain– Willow said, waving him over “It will be fun to have all the Emerald Entrails together again,”

“Yeah hop in,” Skara shouted “The water’s great!”

“I can’t believe you guys are considering this…” Blight grumbled.

Meanwhile Hunter was trying to figure out how to make his voice work again.

This was foolish, frivolous, insubordinate! He had responsibilities to uphold, the idea of him abandoning his duties to just…paddle around a lake with civilians was outrageous. Now that he’d finished his mission his first priority was heading back to the castle to give his report. He should just do that and leave these civilians be.

Then again…they did look like they were having fun. And he did finish his mission early. Scouting the lakeside was supposed to take the whole day, if he was out a few more hours no one would question it–

He took an involuntary half step back. No. He shouldn’t. Couldn’t. He was the Golden Guard. The titan ordained right hand to the Emperor himself. He had a standard to uphold. He couldn’t just goof off and….

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using your spare time to do something that makes you happy

Something unfamiliar but not unpleasant fluttered up in his stomach. Part of him still thought this was wrong. He couldn’t let his uncle down, break the trust he’d put in him by abandoning his post.

Then again Headwitch Darius did say it was good to make connections outside the castle, and he was a knowledgeable capable coven head. So if he said it was fine to take a little time for himself…

A little voice in the back of his head was still screaming that this was wrong but deep down he knew his mind was made up.

He pulled back his hood and lifted his mask away “I’ll…take those trunks if you don’t mind,”

Just a quick swim, an hour, two tops and he could still be back at the castle in time to give his report well ahead of schedule. The empire wouldn’t come crashing down if he went for a quick swim.

The witches in the water cheered and whooped with delight. All except for Blight, mouth twisted in a scowl as she glowered at him.

Hunter just smirked back, folding his cloak and setting it aside.

--

A quick change into borrowed trunks later Hunter was wading into the lake to join the others, suppressing a shudder as he waded further and further into the lake. Cool water soaking into the trunks and climbing up his legs. The temperature was nothing compared to what he’d dealt with during scout training, but it was still a noticeable difference from the open air.

Reaching others in the waist deep water, Hunter cleared his throat to dispel some of the nervous tightness “Since this inlet is sheltered from the winds, we should take advantage of the calm waters and do laps to build our endurance, then we can take turns with breathing ex–”

He was cut off by a wave of cold water smacking into him from the side, the sudden shock making him jerk and shiver. Whipping around, he spotted Luz standing behind him, smirking and meeting his gaze unapologetically. 

“Human! What is the meaning of–”

She slapped a hand against the water and splashed him again, giggling as Hunter sputtered.

“Stop it with your childish–”

Another wave of water cut him off as she splashed him yet again.

A growl built up in the back of his throat, smacking his own hand against the water to hit Luz with a wave of his own. She was splashing, he was splashing, she was laughing– 

From out of nowhere a tangle of vines shot out of the water, snagging Luz around the waist with a yelp and suspending in midair her above the lake.

“Sorry Luz,” Willow swam up to Hunter’s side, one hand spinning a green spell circle “But the Emerald Entrails have to stick together,”

Luz shrugged while still tangled in the vines “Well I can’t argue with the power of friendship,”

Willow flicked her wrist, the spell circle dissipating and the vines lowering Luz back down into the water.

Hunter pushed the now damp strands of hair out of his face “Th– thank you captain, now to start with laps–”

“Dude you don’t have a beach day to swim laps,” Viney swam up to join them “You just do it to chill,”

“The temperature of the water is properly invigorating,”

“What she means it to relax,” Gus cut in “Take a break and unwind,”

“What could be more relaxing than training to better prepare yourself for the future?”

The four of them shared a look, knowing glances flashing between each other in a way that indicated they were aware of something that he wasn’t. Hunter felt his face growing hot, wishing he had his mask to hide the bright red no doubt filling his cheeks.

“If you’re set on laps…” the skinny witch– Jerbo, spoke up, gesturing behind himself with a thumb “I can race you to the side of those cliffs and back,”

Hunter gave a curt nod “That seems like an adequate substi–”

“Readysetgo!”

A large splash hit him as Jerbo whipped around and dove into the water, rapidly paddling towards the cliffs.

“Hey!” Hunter sunk lower into the water up to his chest and took off stroking through the water “Get back here!” 

A few minutes later a pouting Jerbo swam back to the group, where Hunter had already rejoined them.

“I demand a rematch!”

“You couldn’t beat me when you had headstart,” Hunter folded his arms with a smirk “What makes you think you can beat me in a fair race?”

“I’ll race you Jerbo!” Luz piped up, diving into the water with a splash that smacked Hunter in the side, her and Jerbo racing off back towards the cliffs.

Hunter glowered, pushing wet hair out of his face again.

“Think fast!”

From the corner of his eye he saw something flying towards him, reflexively whipping around in the water and catching it in midair, finding it softer and much lighter than he expected.

“Hey Hunter!”

He looked up, spotting Gus waving both arms in the air.

“Toss it to me, I’m wide open!”

Hunter glanced away from Gus and back to the object in his hands–.

Oh. It was a ball. This was a game.

Hesitating only a moment, he gently tossed the ball at Gus, who caught it with a whoop.

They spent some time spiking and tossing the ball around, as far as Hunter could understand there were no rules or structure beyond moving the ball around but didn’t speak up about the seemingly nonsensical nature of the activity. The members of their group shifted as people joined in and peeled off to take turns racing to the cliffs and back in pairs.

Eventually they’d all rotated through, half of them panting with exhaustion.

“Man…” Skara said between gasps “There’s just no competing with your freakishly long arms,”

Jerbo smirked, giving his wet hair a toss “Excuse me I think you mean championship winning freakishly long arms,”

Skara flopped back in the water with a groan.

“Well as fun as all that racing was,” Gus spoke up “I’m ready for snacks,”

“I’ll join you,” Luz swam up to his side “Eda packed some really good stuff,”

“I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit,” Willow waved them off “I want to try some deep diving,”

Viney lit up at that “Oh yeah count me in!”

“Bark bark,” Barcus paddled up to them.

“What about you Hunter?” 

He jerked at hearing the human call his name.

Glancing around, he saw the group's eyes on him again.

“You ready for snacks or wanna do some deep diving?” she continued.

“I’ll– I’ll participate in the deep diving, that sounds like an enjoyable endurance activity,”

“I’ll join in to,” Blight swam over towards the four of them “It’s always good to build lung capacity and good breathing practices,”

“Ok,” Jerbo waved as he and the others started heading towards shore “See you back at the beach,”

The others left for the beach and soon it was just Hunter, Viney, Barcus, Blight, and Willow paddling further out towards the lake proper. The cliffs widened around them and soon enough the lake bottom fell away, the five of them kicking in deep water.

“So uh…” Hunter spoke up slowly as they swam out further“How should we begin?”

Without slowing down Viney drew a spell circle and materialized a cluster of uniform, brightly colored sticks into her hand “Easy, we toss each of these in at different depths of the lake. And for each one we all dive at once and see who can grab it first. Then we move on to the next stick,”

“Bark!”

“Oh yeah, and we attach light glyphs to them so we can see to the bottom,”

“That sounds…sufficiently challenging,”

“So glad our lake day activity earns your seal of approval,” Blight said in a clipped tone.

Hunter narrowed his eyes at her, Blight meeting his gaze unflinching. He couldn’t quite tell if her comment was meant to be sarcastic or not.

Abruptly Viney halted in the water, the four of them stopping behind her as she tapped the paper fastened to the end of the stick, wound up her arm, and tossed a it further out in the lake. She kept throwing glowing sticks in at various points of the lake while Willow passed out nose clips. Hunter just finished fixing his in place as Viney dropped the last one directly below them“Ready guys?”

All four of them chorused with “Ready!”

Hunter sucked in the deepest breath he could manage, filling his chest with as much air as possible, the others around him all doing the same, and then they dove.

The water wasn’t too deep here, only about seven or eight feet, and fairly clear. The ball of golden light tethered to the orange stick directly below them illuminating the muddy lake bottom. But beyond their little bubble of light the lake was pitch black. The only thing piercing the gloom more small lights from more sticks trailing off into the distance.

Hunter tore his eyes away from the sight and angled his body down, pushing himself through the water to head towards the bottom. His distraction had cost him, he’d fallen behind and Willow, Viney, and Barcus were nearly at the bottom. Using his full strength to push forward he started to close the distance between them but not fast enough to beat Barcus to the stick. He grasped it in his jaws before pivoting and paddling upwards, the rest of them following suit.

One by one they broke the surface, gasping and panting.

“Great job Barcus,” Willow said between breaths.

Barcus made a muffled ‘murp’ sound from behind the stick.

“He says thanks,” Viney translated.

For reasons he didn’t quite understand Hunter found himself smiling “Your performance was excellent Barcus, but I bet I’ll get the next one,”

“Hah!” Viney nudged him with her shoulder “I’ll take that bet,”

Hunter did get the next one, Willow the one after that, Viney the next one. After which Barcus promptly told them he was heading back to the beach for snacks.

“I’ll catch up with you and Jerbo soon!” Viney called after him as he paddled away “I just need to smoke these guys at least one more time!”

Hunter let out a sharp laugh “Oh we’ll see who smokes who,”

“Are you doing alright Amity?” Willow spoke up gently “You haven’t been getting close to the bottom, is this too much for you?”

“Oh– No, it’s fine, I’m having fun just trying,”

“Ok then. Two more, let’s go guys!”

They all dove.

Each of their diving sticks had been in progressively deeper water. For this one the glowing glyph was visible from just below the surface, but the stick didn’t become clear until Hunter got closer. His lungs were actually starting to burn as they approached the bottom. Blight was about five feet above the rest of them; Hunter, Viney, and Willow staying even with each other as they moved towards the bottom. Viney managed to surge ahead and grab the stick, immediately pivoting and kicking towards the surface once she did. The others right alongside her.

By the time Hunter broke the surface Viney was already there, sucking in deep, shaky breaths as she tread water.

“Oh man guys, I think that’s it for me. I’m gonna head back,”

“Ok then,” Willow said with a wave “Save me a not-dog,”

Viney flashed a quick wave back before she turned and started heading towards shore.

Now it was just Hunter, Willow, and Blight floating in the water.

“You guys up for trying the last one?” Willow glanced between the two of them “It’s in pretty deep but I’m up for the challenge if you are,”

Hunter snorted “I’m the Golden Guard, I think I can handle a dive,”

“Me to,” Blight bobbed her head “Let’s do it,”

The three took a deep breath and dove. The sounds of gentle breeze and lapping water vanishing in the silence of the lake water.

The last stick was nearly at the edge of the inlet, part of the lake proper, only visible as a faint glimmer. So far down that for the first time Hunter wasn’t sure he’d actually be able to reach it. Still he wouldn’t allow himself to give up. Kicking and paddling further and further down until the stick and the lake bottom were finally visible. 

He and Willow kept pace with each other as they got closer and closer to the bottom, Blight having fallen behind early on. At the last second Willow outpaced him by an arm’s length, reaching down and grasping the stick with the tips of her fingers.

She turned towards Hunter, the two locking eyes, a triumphant grin on her face , dark hair floating around her face in a halo. For a few seconds Hunter lost himself in the peace of the moment, the two of them sheltered in their small bubble of light at the bottom of the dark lake,  sheltered by the peaceful silence of the water. 

Then Willow gasped, a large bubble of air escaping her, and the spell was broken, a sharp spike of panic taking its place. 

Hunter grabbed her upper arm and immediately started kicking towards the surface with all his might.

The water lightened as they rose up, he could see Blight kicking on the surface above them. But it was far, too far. Hunter had to fight against the rising panic and keep his motions strong and steady while making sure his grip on Willow stayed firm. His lungs burned to let out the breath he was holding, but if he did then it was over for both of them. He was fast and holding that pace well; but based on their speed, the distance left to cross, and the pressure in his chest he wasn't sure he’d make it to the surface in time, and Willow had even less time than he did–

Hunter clamped down on the thought hard.

Don’t think about how far the surface was, how much water was on top of them. Put all of his focus into moving them up, put all his strength behind each kick and push to move them ahead–

Abruptly something pressed into him from behind, pushing the both of them and rapidly accelerating their ascension, the surface getting closer, closer…

He broke the surface, light and sound returning to the world with a pop. Fumbling with his nose clip, gasping and sucking in deep lungfuls of cool air. And to his immense relief Captain was coughing in breaths of her own right alongside him, strands of wet hair pasted to her skin.

“Are you guys ok?” Blight dispelled her spell circle, the abomination arm that hauled them to the surface dissolving “It looked like you were struggling for air,”

“We went too deep,” his voice was raspier than he would have liked but that wasn’t important right now. He shifted around to grasp Willow’s other arm as well, keeping a firm grip to make sure her upper body stayed above water “Captain, are you alright?”

“I’m–” she let out another series of coughs and cleared her throat, flashing him a weak smile “I’m ok, guess we went a little too deep there,”

“Oh– umm…yeah, we should probably train more before attempting to dive at this depth again,”

Willow giggled at that, Hunter found himself smiling as well, until he looked down and noticed something that made the smile drop off his face. Abruptly dropping Willow from his grip and swimming back, cheeks filling with heat.

“Captain! Ah– uh– your bathing suit! The strap is…”

Willow blinked and glanced down, seeing that the tie of her swimming suit had indeed come undone.

Face red, she quickly reached into the water and grabbed the straps, refastening them behind her neck “Thanks,”

“N– not a problem. And I– I– didn’t see anything!”

“I know you didn’t,”

A protest and an apology rose up in the back of his throat at the same time, tangling together and coming out as a strangled squeak.

She giggled at him “The suit is tight enough that it stayed in place without the strap,”

“Oh, that’s…good,”

The soft clearing of a throat pulled both their attentions, turning and seeing Blight treading water a few feet away.

“Let’s…head back to the beach. That was too close, we should rest and get some snacks. You guys start and I’ll follow behind,”

Hunter gave her a nod “Understood,”

He took off paddling towards the beach, Willow following short behind and Blight trailing them both.

--

Boscha smirked to herself as she walked back into the forest, the noise and brightness of the lakeshore fading into the shadowed quiet of the trees.

She’d planned on tossing a few fireballs, maybe even summoning a swarm of gore leeches to get payback. But instead she got something much much juicier.

She had no idea who the blonde witch with the scars was, probably someone from Glandus or Saint Epiderm, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was she’d managed to snap a picture of him holding up Willow, the two looking at each other with dopey expressions, right at the moment the straps of her bathing suit slipped beneath the water.

Between that and the lake being up to their chests, anyone looking at the photo had no reason to think either of them were wearing bathing suits at all.

Boscha felt her smirk growing into a vicious grin as she typed out a caption.

Half-a-witch Willow spotted skinny dipping with unknown witch, does this look like a Flyer Derby captain to you?

Vindictive glee bubble and popped inside her as she tapped the button and posted the photo to Penstagram.

[colleen-gilly]

Cameron Park

this was for a creative writing class I took, but enjoy :)

My shoes hit the ground as sweat drips down my face. I narrowly maneuver around the large rocks and hanging tree limbs that could so easily knock me off my feet. My chest pounds, legs ache, lungs gasp, but I can only think one thing: “I’m home”. 

I grew up running the trails of Cameron Park, the second largest inner-city park in the United States, located in the heart of Texas – Waco. Twenty years ago, the towering pine trees provided cover for local gangs to sell drugs and various other contraband. Now, the park acts as the heart of the city, drawing trail runners, mountain bikers, and swimmers from across the state – proving that given enough time and effort, change is possible.

Unfortunately, the city of Waco has been tainted by the gruesome memory of the 1993 siege — a 51-day standoff between a religious cult and law enforcement that resulted in an 82 death massacre. For years, Waco was known as a home to convicts, culprits, and criminals, all of whom ran the town, including my beloved Cameron Park.

As a child, I was naïve to the dangers that the park presented. I would happily ride in my stroller crunching on a bag of Honey Nut Cheerios as my mother pushed from behind. Occasionally, I would see men in dark clothes deep in the woods, seemingly exchanging what I innocently mistook as cookies. Despite the southern charm that my mom worked so hard to instill in me, we would avoid all contact with the men in the mysterious hoods. Instead, we would stick to the river trail, occasionally ducking behind the trees for a quick potty break or down to the river to cool off. 

Eventually, I graduated from the stroller and began to run alongside my mom. In the early mornings we found peace in the isolation of the woods. Running gave us more freedom than the stroller had ever allowed. Our explorations took us deep into Cameron Park and closer to the possibility of encountering the hooded men. Having my mom as my companion, the dangers that plagued the park never concerned me — I was safe, or at least I felt safe.

It wasn’t until I was much older when I overheard conversations my mom had with friends or family that I realized we had been in the face of danger all those years. Many days we would arrive at the park and be greeted by a swarm of police cars that would politely ask us to come again another day — a detail I casually overlooked as a six-year-old. My mom would simply tell the nice police officer, “No worries. We’ll be back tomorrow.” And she would drive us home.

Whether we were applauded for our bravery or condescended for our stupidity, my mom was willing to risk the dangers of venturing into the park to observe its unexplored beauty with me by her side. We would run the unworn trails for hours, engulfed in the forest around us. If we weren’t looking out for hooded men in the distance, we were acutely aware of the vultures soaring overhead or the possibility of getting bitten by copperhead snakes that roamed the grounds. Running in Cameron Park required our complete attention, allowing the rest of the world to momentarily fall away. It became the foundation of my relationship with my mother, establishing her as my central protector.

When I was eight, my father got a new job that required us to move away from the place my mom and I laid these roots. For years, our only visits to Cameron Park were brief stops on our way through Waco. With each stop we made, we noticed more and more people discovering the land we once loved. Trails once avoided out of precaution were cleared for mountain bikers and hikers alike. State troopers would remain on watch, patrolling the grounds on horseback. The park was no longer a hidden gem.

When you love something and let it go, it will find its way back to you if it’s meant to be. Like any great love, we found our way back to Cameron Park. Nine years after leaving the place my mom and I laid the roots of our relationship, we found ourselves moving back to Waco. But it was different this time. Cameron Park was not the same place we had left it. Instead, it was filled with people. The dangers that once troubled the park were no longer present, and it was as if the town had rewritten its story. Previously known for a deadly siege and high crime rates, Waco had become a town of prosperity and restoration.

Much like the changes that overcame the town, my relationship with my mom completely transformed. When I was young, I viewed my mom as my protector. In my eyes, she had the power to stop any bad thing from happening to me. During the years away from Waco, we had gradually grown apart, no longer running together like we once had. I was no longer naïve to the harsh realities of life and had learned to become my own protector. When we found ourselves back in Cameron Park all those years later, we became united again, but in a much different way. We no longer ran together in the mornings but would take a daily afternoon hike through the park in which we would discuss the perils of our day. Previously my bodyguard, my mom had grown to be my closest confidant and best friend. 

Despite the drastic societal changes that took place in Waco and the change in my relationship with my mother, Cameron Park has remained a natural beauty that I can always rely on. The steep white cliffs that hold a beautiful array of botanical life on top, tower over the blue water that rushes through the Brazos River below, creating a divide between the past that the town is trying to flush away and the new life it is growing above.

[folansstuff]

Song of the year?

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Game of the year?

Best month for you this year?

Something you want to do again next year?

What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

Favorite place you visited this year?

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

Thanks for the ask! Answers below!

Song of the Year

God that's hard. It's like, probably Strong Enough by boygenius, that's definitely the song I had on the most frequently, that whole album is so good though. There was a ton of good albums this year, so it's hard to choose.

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

This is the year I finally understood 100gecs. A band has never made me feel more old, but after listening to 1000gecs like 10 times in a row I finally understand.

Game of the year?

Unfortunately due to computer troubles and the price of games being kinda nuts I didn't get to play a lot of the really big hits from this year. In an alternate universe where I played it the GOTY was probably BG3, but in reality it was Hi-Fi Rush. That game is the first time I've really clicked with a rhythm game, and all it took was looking great, sounding great and being a Hack n' Slash.

Best month for you this year?

June I guess? That's when I moved, and when I met a bunch of really cool people. Otherwise this year has been pretty mediocre all up.

Something you want to do again next year?

I know it isn't every year but I do want to go to PAX again. That was such a good time, even with all the stress of planning to get up there included. Melbourne is such a nice city too, almost, almost makes me miss Brisbane.

What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

I'm in an entirely new place! I moved in with a friend of mine in their place in Victoria, and honestly it's been so nice. The town I'm in is very nice and community focused, and it's just so quiet.

Favourite place you visited this year?

Again, loved Melbourne, but really the answer was the Twelve Apostles. The ocean always kind does weird stuff to my brain, and mixing that with the really beautiful landscapes and the rock formations is actually mindblowing.

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Probably just tell myself to move earlier to be honest. And to save literally as much money as you can for when you get there because everything you own will suddenly break horribly.

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

"Lol." He said. "Lmao."

Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

May I direct you to the #atticus moore tag? Seriously though, Atticus is easily the most effort a I've put into a singular character in literally years. There's something about how interesting the X-Men universe is, I guess? But that still doesn't explain the documents and documents I have on his timelines and relationships with every character.

[wanderlandgracie]

LONDON

Hello friends! So beginning my trip to Europe, we landed in London at 12:30ish on May 23, 2023. After the unfathomably long plane ride, which I thankfully slept through, we were all exhausted, yet hopeful for the weeks ahead of us. The rest of that day was spent resting and mingling in the hotel.

The next day, we went to Hyde Park, a beautiful expanse of green space much like Central Park in New York City, although much older and history-rich. With its sprawling green and luscious plant life, the park was originally used as a hunting reserve by King Henry VIII, yes that one. Interestingly enough though, James I opened it to the public in the early 17th century, and since then it has been a sight of great popularity in London. One location of particular interest in the park is Speakers Corner, a set apart bit of the park specifically designated, by parliament, for free speech. Since its designation in 1872 due to a forceful takeover of the park by a men's suffrage group, the corner has been used by many free speakers in an attempt to rally change amongst the masses. In the early 1900's suffragettes used the corner as their place of protest. Since its designation many orators, such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and George Orwell have used the corner to speak their thoughts. This sight has such specific value because it continues to hold captive peoples attention and birth reform where it is most needed. Also an interesting place to visit in the park is the Rose Garden, a beautiful, as the name would suggest, rose garden. The garden has a wide variety of flowers and plant life, and it is absolutely stunning to look at.

Westminster Abbey is another place I had the privilege to explore when in London. With its sprawling architecture and truly astounding number of graves, Westminster Abbey is set apart as one of the most beautiful and most disturbing buildings in London. Impressively, the Abbey is the final resting place to over 3000 native britons, but despite this, the Abbey has been the location of many coronations in the country's long history. "Since William the Conqueror in 1066, every British Sovereign has been crowned in the Abbey except for Edward V and Edward VIII, who were never crowned." (Britannica) For literally just under a millenium, british kings and queens have begun their official reign here. Also cool to note, royal weddings have been held in the abbey, the most recent of which was the marriage of William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011. On an entirely different note, the Abbey is the final resting place of over 3,000 native britons, including William Shakespeare, C. S. Lewis, and Jane Austen. This fact seems super cool until you realise that the majority of the graves are part of the floor, requiring you to walk over them to get around the massive Abbey. Apart from the staggering number of graves in the Abbey, it is also home to beautiful stained-glass windows, most of which picture apostles, saints, or the Savior Himself. Westminster Abbey and its beautifully detailed architecture has been integral to the culture, society, and rulers of the United Kingdom for almost a thousand years, and it continues to have such significance in culture as well as religion. Christian worship has been held here for as long as the building has stood, and even today as people are touring the Abbey, occasionally a priest will come on the intercom and ask people to be still and silent while they pray. It is a holy place of solemn worship, even today.

The final culturally significant location I visited was Big Ben and the House of Parliament. Just from an outside look, which is all the looks we got to have, the gothic-style spires and towers of the House of Parliament are one of the more eye-catching buildings in London, as it has been since its construction in the 11th century for Edward the Confessor. It was then expanded by William the Conqueror shortly thereafter. The building had been previously used as a palace until a fire in 1834, after which the palace was rebuilt in its current gothic style. Inside, the House of Lords and the House of Commons meet and make decisions for the country, which is why when we visited these buildings, there were small yet loud groups of protestors standing outside of it. Accompanying the House of Parliament is the famous, iconic, beautiful, Elizabeth's tower. Now you might be thinking, "wait, isn't it called 'Big Ben?'" No, dear reader, you silly goose, you. Big Ben refers to the bell inside of the tower, which is well known for its accuracy and loud toll on the hour, as most bells are. Elizabeth's Tower, and subsequently Big Ben, have been iconic structures seen in British centric pop-culture for ages, such as Peter Pan, V for Vendetta, and Enola Holmes. Overall, these two iconic buildings have been amongst the most recognizable buildings in all of history, but not only that, they have been the center of political circuits for generations.

Overall, London was a beautiful whirlwind of history and awe, combined with the pure wonder of being able to walk or take public transit wherever you wanted to go. All these factors combined makes this city one of my top favorites of the trip.

[firespirited]

Today's ramblings :

Some of the pornbots have great usernames, hope they get recycled.

Today sis and I went to Lidl again, she had a small list with her, I wanted to try beef jerky and find a low sugar sandwich or pizza. When we're out and about I check in with her every few minutes to see how she's doing,

if we need to turn back or take a moment...

but we split up looking for different things and when we met up at different aisles she'd tell me about how hot and sweaty it is today and how she hadn't found the items she was looking for, twice I wondered briefly why she'd told me how long we'd been in the shop before getting distracted again.

By the time we got to the checkout, I could tell something was horribly wrong. We sat outside in a cool spot and I waited for her terror to pass and offered various snacks, til she finally opened up about how she'd been trying to tell me she wasn't remotely ok for almost half hour. She'd had had a POTS thing then got distraught that I wasn't listening or that I didn't care. That's awful. I had no clue. I used to be much better at this.

I was in hyperfocus, overstimulated, tunnel vision and couldn't tell she was distressed. I messed up SO bad.

Forgot to explicitly ask "are you ok, should we leave?" at any time.

Once home, we tried honey bbq beef jerky (way too sweet) and a calzone style ham and cheese oven pizza (a little bland but warm crunchy bread with melty cheese is always a delight). We also talked about disorientating it was to be in a shop where things aren't in their aisles but in multiple places (cosmetics is nowhere near beauty and hygiene but next to the tills) meals are organized in categories like current specials, Mediterranean food, foreign instead of by what they contain. So three different rice meals are in 3 locations (french, italian, chinese). They have bath/shower gels all over the shop (at least 4 locations). 🤔🙄

I've apologised and we've talked it over: when in social or 'loud' environments I need to find ways to shut it all out and actually listen and trust my gut if the convo sounds odd (the amounts of time we'd been in the shop for example) and she needs to be frank and voice her needs directly ("i am sick. we need to go now" ) even if she finds that rude because I need the equivalent of a big shake or a small slap to bring me out of the blur into the moment. So completely clueless to what was going on and also can't promise it won't happen again, I can't summon the sort of hypervigilant state I'd go into back in the day where I was aware of everything, just everything, it'd leave me super drained and slightly paranoid about how I was perceived but it wasn't this current emotionally zombified mess.

At least we talked it over twice to iron out any and all misunderstandings and establish new strategies as a team so I'm not spiralling and neither is she.

—–———––—

Got to use a parcel locker for the first time to deposit Tiana teal kiwi. I sold CAM Mummy teal dense nylon last week. They were some neat customs. Really hope I can find another mummy with a well aligned face someday.

I was about to take down the 1€ and postage auctions for sets of the trash-find cleaned-up figurines (the DBZ are still bleaching and myondolls gets first dibs), I'd hoped that would be a good way for them to find their way to collectors but they got no views.

Well the Gormiti sold today so that's nice. I'll give the others a month at least before they go to a friend who knows a second hand shop.

I really need to cut and bleach my hair. Not sure that's possible in one go because shoulders. but it's driving me nuts having a big fluffy mushroom on my head with a lanky centre. It always ends up worth it and boosts confidence when it's neat.

PS oreos are called neos in france. No idea how they taste. Still not touching sugar.

[dougrobyngoold]

This Makes A Long Drive Worth It - Kelowna & Lake Country, BC, CAN

We spent August 26th through the end of the month, enjoying the wonderful hospitality of our friends here in BC. After settling into our site at Holiday Park RV Resort on the 26th, we met up with Karen and Laurence for dinner and adult beverages at Turtle Bay Pub. (I forgot to take a picture, so you will just have to take my word that we had a great time.) Perfect start to our time in the area.

On the 27th, we started the day off with a bike ride with Ray and Cheri along the Okanagan Rail Trail. We had a nice cool day, saw lots of bear scat on the trail (luckily, no bears) on our ride up to Wood Lake. Ray ate enough chokecherries that we were a little worried that he might get sick!

After our ride, we met up with Karen and Laurence at Britannia Brewing. Awesome day!

The next day, August 28th, we played 9 holes of golf at Spallumcheen with Andy and Cheri. It was around $25 to walk 9 holes. The course is very lush, the greens were in good shape - we give the course a solid 8 stars out of 10. We had to skip a hole and a tee box due to bear activity on the course....a mama bear with twin cubs, one of the cubs wouldn't come down from the tree when mama left with the other cub. There was a lot of crying going on from the one stuck up in the tree and a very vigilant mama bear on the ground - didn't want to get between her and that cub!

It was awesome to see Andy again and to meet his new partner, Heather, later that evening. Thanks for hosting us, we look forward to seeing you in Tucson this fall.

After golf, we went to the country fair in Armstrong. It was quite the Canadian small-town experience. Goats, cows, pigs, lumberjack shows, and too many other exhibits to even mention, We had a fun time taking it all in:

Below is a Zebu Cow, the world's smallest and oldest breed of cow, dating back as far as 3000 BC:

After the fair, we went over to Andy and Heather's place for food and beverages. It was another great day in BC!

On the 29th, we went for a lovely hike in Scenic Canyon Regional Park with Ray, Cheri, and Karen. Beautiful area, lots of shade and cool things to see.

Great day in Scenic Canyon Regional Park - we were told that there was a mama bear with cubs on one of the trails in the park, but we didn't run into any wild animals on our hike!

On the 30th, we moved from Holiday Park to Ray and Cheri's driveway for the remainder of our stay in Kelowna.

After our move, we went and played a little golf with Cheri at a unique little 9-hole golf course in an apple orchard, Orchard Greens. It cost $29 to walk 9 holes - the fairway and greens were pretty rough, lots of trees (hey, it was in an apple orchard!) and narrow fairways. We would give this course 4 stars out of 10, but we think you should go play it, if you are visiting Kelowna. You can play night golf on the course, which would be a fun/unique experience!

Thanks for thinking of this course, Cheri! Great fun!

The next day, August 31st, we drove to Kaleden, BC and played St. Andrews By The Lake with Laurence and Cheri. This pretty and challenging course cost us $30 to walk 9 holes. The layout was fun, making for some uniquely challenging holes - one par 3 was a huge carry over the water - not reachable for 3 of us! We gave this course 6 stars out of 10, we liked the layout on some of the holes, but not so much on some of the other holes. The location was awesome and we can now say that we played at "St. Andrews"! We ended the day with dinner with the gang at Al and Cindi's place - good times! Thank you guys for hosting a fun evening at your beautiful place (photo at the beginning of this post).

Oops, I have used up my photo limit for one post....so I will continue our Kelowna adventures on the next one.

[a-spell-a-rebel-yell]

May

hello friends! sorry i am late because i had so much going on by the end of May/start of June including end of semester exams that i completely forgot to write a post in time (typical me lol) but worry not, May post is gonna be filled with so many stories!!!

so for this May i'd like to nickname it as Full of Friends May Mayhem because i felt so happy throughout the entire May as i spent lots of quality time with my best friends and experienced many exciting new things 🥺💙

first up, watching How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies หลานม่า with soon-to-be doctor, Chintia! it's been long since i saw her because we were both very busy, me with school and her with finishing med school national competency exams... we had lunch together and spent literal hours chatting about anything and life updates. then we watched หลานม่า to see Billkin and Tu in action - they were amazing actors! the film itself was great, it made me miss my grandma so much, but i'm familiar with grief that i only cried a bit at the ending. the scores are heavenly but i still can't find it anywhere online huhu

next is Ortho Ul's social charity and gathering at Bali! this will be my second time joining a department event but first time to have it in such big scale (every resident from every active year, all lecturers, staffs, and even alumni joined the trip!) and it was awesome!!! 3 days and 2 nights filled with fun, really! day one we had the social charity at a junior high school in Kuta and then a 4-hour bus ride to Menjangan (where our resort is located!) day two was for snorkeling session (that i bailed out because i was worried my thalassophobia would be triggered) and i spent time island hopping instead! day three was our journey back to Denpasar and then flight to Jakarta. our schedule was sooo packed and we lacked sleep but enjoying the time together was priceless experience. on day 2 we got to showcase our 'talent' and did a short musical as an introduction of us the new recruits 😂 i remember eleven of us still making time to rehearse for the musical between so many assignments and projects and other duties... as the gathering has pirate as the theme, i made sure to incorporate Petualangan Sherina soundtracks and also pirate themed film scores, i wrote the screenplay, and designed some of the choreos. and it all came together nicely with our lecturers praising our performance 🥺

third is Ortho Ul 2018-2019 graduates' farewell lunch! this one was so enjoyable as well, our recently graduated orthodontists seniors treated us lunch at Park Hyatt hotel, i tried and loved all the food 🤭 there were also game and photo sessions, i feel so welcomed into this huge family 🥺 honestly getting into postgrad feels like entering a whole new world, so many new people, new connections, unexpected but still pleasant surprises!

these days i find it extremely easy to find happiness wherever i go, in whatever i do, and with whoever i'm with... no matter how trivial things can always find its way to put a smile on my face 😂 getting consecutive green lights on the way to school, arriving on time at the MRT platform as the train came, finding cool shades under the trees, spending time with my classmates even though while being under so much pressure, finding new film scores albums with 10/10 tracks, the feel of the wind on my face every time i ride back home, days filled with laughter and tranquility and calmness, discovering my old passion for kdrama (you all NEED to watch Lovely Runner, and meet my daughter Kim Hyeyoon and my son Byun Wooseok the loveliest people ever), interacting with my international mutuals, my fav songs came on shuffle, trying good food at new places, coldplay new era is coming!!! life is full of wonder, alhamdulillah...

things i've never dared to dream are approaching, and i'm super excited of what's to come (lots!!!) the best is yet to come insyaAllah 🤩 i hope life is also as beautiful as it is to you, my friends. see you on the next post! 💙

[appfortravelers]

Best Budget travel in India: make your holiday effective

What is Traveling?

Traveling is going from one place to another place for the purpose of its own benefits. Travelling is mainly for exploring unknown places, knowing the place's importance, attending that area's popular festival, for relaxing, break, leisure,chilling, for fun with friends,etc…,. By traveling we can come across many people, learn new things, learn the customs and traditions of a place, make friendship with new people, increase your connectivity by communication, taste a variety of food, gain some spiritual knowledge,etc. 

I have specially  chosen these places to explore because of the available facilities, infrastructure, natural beauty, can explore more things, get some spiritual information, and know the customs and traditions of that place and ancient history. There are many places where you can budget travel in India out of which I would like to share some of south India's most popular places to budget travel and enjoy your cheap holidays in India with your friends, families and partners. Those places are:-

Kodaikanal:-

It is one of the most famous south hill stations surrounded by pleasant climate, greenery environment, foggy atmosphere and rich biodiversity. This place is the best place for weekend enjoyment. Due to this neat and clean environment people come for chilling and stay there. For staying there people make their own arrangements and some hotels, lodges and restaurants provide required things. The sceneric beauty and waterfalls makes people spend more time in that spot with no tensions and work pressures. This place helps more people to capture their memories in different spots and create the best way to enjoy nature. Many transportation facilities are available to reach this place and also this place creates a best place in budget travel in India list. For the childerens and adults this place gives an opportunity to cheap holidays to India.

Closest metro city:- Bangalore

Best time to visit:- October to March, when the weather is cool and dry. 

Food and activities cost:- Rs 500- Rs 800 per individual per day.

Price Range:- Rs1200- Rs3000 per individual per night. 

Goa:-

It is the best place for budget travel in india list and also it is spot for the cheap holidays to india list. This place is famous for its beauty of the city, beaches, hotels, restaurants, crazy nights, cheap alcohols , different types of dishes,etc. Where adults go to this place to chill, enjoy, have fun, participate in different activities like boating, water sports, scuba diving, dolphin watching,etc. In this place people can explore the market with great shopping options, different markets, handicrafts designs, designer boutiques. Some clubs offer live music concert programs on the beach and dj sets in the night time where people enjoy a lot with their friends and partners. Delicious seafood is available to people at a lower cost. This spot is also a best destination for solo female travelers.The transportation facility is in full form. 

Closest metro city:- Mumbai and Bangalore

Best time to visit:- October to March, when the weather is cool and dry. 

Food and activities cost:- Rs 800- Rs 1500 per individual per day.

Price Range:- Rs1200- Rs4000 per individual per night. 

Mahabalipuram:-

This palace is located at the coromandel coast of Bay of Bengal, about 80 km south of chennai. It is famous for its group of monuments from the 7th-9th centuries. These monuments are mostly carved out of different rocks and depicts scenes from several hindu mythology, particularly related to the lord Shiva and Vishnu. This place is the most popular tourist visiting place where Temples,Five Rathas,descent of Ganges, Arjuna's penance, Krishna's butterball are there. This place is the beach destination and beautiful stretches of sandy coastline. The dance performance attracts many people who come to watch bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form that happens in the evenings which makes the people flow into a spiritual vibe. By these activities we can plan a trip to this place as from budget travel in india.

Closest metro city:- Chennai

Best time to visit:- November and February, when the weather is pleasant and sunny. 

Food and activities cost:- Rs 800- Rs 1500 per individual per day.

Price Range:- Rs1200- Rs4000 per individual per night and based on the hotel preferences. 

Traveling is a different vibe that creates many memories for the people, learning new things and learning about different places' history. Make a list of budget travel in india where above are few most famous places where people travel more often in south india. Every place has its own significance. Try to utilize the time to know better about that place and form a group to travel so that you can explore more places and enjoy them. For a solo traveler's best suggestion is to be safe at night time and don’t roam alone at night in which some places are very risky. Each and every place wherever you travel captures the good things and creates a beautiful time in that place.