#I legit didn’t realize the negative space to the left until i was like about to do colette’s bit here

[e-adlirez]

Chinese/Lunar New Year

So uh for the past few days I’d been contemplating a Chinese New Year piece for this year in particular because uh it’s the Year of the Dragon and that plus dragon dance so perfect a combination it makes, but uh… admittedly I bit more than I could chew so uh :’D

I wasn’t able to make a full artwork in time, but I do have my cleaned up sketch to show for the holiday, so without further ado, happy Chinese/Lunar New Year Stilton fandom <3

It’s very not complete and the dragon’s details aren’t even drawn in but I hope ya’ll like it anyway

I am planning on finishing this tho so stay tuned for that :3

[littlemisssquiggles]

Ruby Alone

As you all have seen, since prior to the last episode, I’ve been sharing my thoughts and ideas on the theory of V8 concluding with the “death” of RWBY after they fall “off Remnant and into a mysterious Other World”, as alluded to by Oscar.

While I’m still inclined to believe that theory may become possible given what transpired in this recent episode, in reviewing the RWBY V8 Opening, I noticed something interesting about the visuals again which caught my attention.

During the opening, RWBY falling was hinted much earlier in the theme during these shots right here. It’s these two shots of RWBY’s signature weapons falling through negative space which is later followed up by the opening ending with the weapons landing together on the ground.

However, here’s the bit that I think is noteworthy that I didn’t take into account before. Although the weapons of all four main girls were shown falling together through space and landing on the ground, not only is Crescent Rose the last one to hit the ground but it is also the ONLY one shown in the final shot of the opening.

It is also worth noting that the weapons fall in this particular order---first Ember Celica, then Gambal Shroud, then Myrtenaster and final Crescent Rose which ironically spells RWBY backwards.

And going back to my theory about RWBY falling in order....with Yang falling first then this is all starting to make more sense.

Going back to my point---Crescent Rose---Ruby’s weapon is the only weapon that landed on the ground but didn’t fade to darkness like the others. Instead, Crescent Rose is the only one remaining in the snow on what appears to be Remannt. Keeping that in mind, it’s making me start to ponder an alternative to my V8 finale theory. 

What if…I’m actually mistaken about the whole RWBY team falling prey to the Other World ? 

What if…as an alternative prediction, V8 will end with Ruby as the last man standing and the sole surviving member of her team after the rest “die” to the void?

Thus; V9 becomes Ruby’s story as she deals with the depression of losing her whole team; all obviously culminating with her eventually reuniting with them in the Other World. But before that, it’s mostly just about Ruby. Not RWBY. But just Ruby since RWBY started with just Ruby on her own in Remnant, trying to become a huntress. She only ends up going to Beacon and meeting and forming her own team due to Ozpin’s influence.

So imagine if...after everything she’s been through these last eight seasons, things just go back to how they were before. Ruby is on her own again. No team to lead. No big sister to guide and protect her (although ALPNE is there of course). No “BFFs” or “future-sister-in-law” on the same team to fuel her spark of hope. She no longer has her main friends by her side.

Ruby will be on her own for the first time in a long time and it becomes just her story for the most part of V9 as she does her best to figure out things all while the rest of the cast who survived the fall---Penny, ALPNE and their allies in Vauco and eventually Vale---try to provide her with the emotional support that she needs in place of the one she lost.

For the first time, the story is not about Ruby having to be the spark of hope to support others but…her friends, at least the ones she still have, coming together to support her for once in a time when she can truly need it.

Like I said. It would be the story of Ruby. Not RWBY. Just Ruby. If you get what I mean.

...And now for a squiggly rant...about Ruby:

One general complaint that I’ve heard from the FNDM about Ruby including Little Red Ruby fans like myself is that Ruby has more or less received the shortest end of the stick in terms of development over the past couple of seasons since V4…despite the fact that she is our central main character who is the leader of our core team with her name literally being in the title. Not to mention that Ruby is also the face of the RWBY franchise. When RT isn’t promoting the whole RWBY team together, it’s mainly Ruby to represent RWBY since of all the girls, she is the main one as the main protagonist of RWBY. At least…she’s supposed to be?

To be blunter, I’m just going to call out the fat Heffalump in the room---Ruby Rose, despite being the leader of RWBY---despite being our title character and face of the franchise---the one characters in the show always turn to since she’s THAT important---despite all of that, Ruby has NOT felt like the actual main protagonist of RWBY for several seasons. Since V4 as some fans like to point out. 

And after closely observing her story over the last few volumes, I can’t help but agree with these critiques and comments of Ruby’s treatment when it comes to her own writing. Even when the CRWBY showrunners DO attempt to do stuff with her---it all falls...flat especially when you compare Ruby to other characters like Jaune Arc, for example, whose stories and overall development were handled much better. At least in my opinion.

Don’t believe me? Take for example, Ruby’s whole so-called “arc” as a Silver Eyed Warrior. First it was introduced as a new idea for Ruby during the FINALE of V3, then it got abandoned for two whole seasons between V4-V5. Then it got reintroduced back in V6 but was then rushed and dropped yet again for V7 only to be brought up again briefly during V8…kind of?

It’s really telling when you realize that Ruby gained control of her silver eyes despite never truly receiving any actual training from Maria in how to control her powers. Not only that but the showrunners really did Maria Calavera dirty. She was supposed to be the wise old mentor who was a badass in her prime meant to pass down her wisdom to her young eager apprentice who knew nothing of her own unique abilities including its mysterious origins.

Instead Maria didn’t know at all about where her powers originated from until she conveniently met our heroes after the Argus Ltd crash and just happened to be present when they asked Jinn about Oz’s secrets. Instead of being a mentor to Ruby which she was initially propped up to be, Maria ended up being relegated to the Granny Uber Driver of the hero team---no longer the wise experienced ex-huntress whose supposed to be teaching our title character but just a form of transportation who provides the occasional comic relief and support for Pietro Polendina, who she was put to work with…instead of Ruby…her alleged apprentice?

 Shoot---despite being a Silver Eyed Warrior, Ruby was never even a person of interest for this volume. Despite the main big bad being in Atlas and despite targeting her in the past, Salem…never goes after Ruby again while she’s in Atlas??? Ruby never even meets Salem? Despite…Salem targeting Ruby back in V4? Despite Salem’s history with capturing Silver Eyes? Despite Salem’s connection to Ruby through her mother???

Ruby is never actively a part of the Salem subplot on Monstra…even though… certain developments left over from previous seasons indicated that she should’ve been?

Instead…we got to watch Yang accost Salem for Summer Rose’s death after SHE is the one to be on the rescue party to save Oscar from Monstro. Even though…Yang has neither been a person of interest to Salem before NOR has the Xiao Long girl been shown to be a close affiliate of Oscar in the past prior to V8 NOR has the Xiao Long girl actually addressed Summer Rose as her mother since V2???

Up until V8, Ruby has always been the character of focus with all things Summer Rose and Salem and yet…we NEVER saw her meet Salem in the flesh period for this season…at all…???

Instead; Ruby spends MOST of this season cooped up at Schnee Manor, completely absent from and even oblivious to some of the more dire PLOT stuff that was happening outside of Schnee Manor (such as YJR going into Monstra to save Oscar before the Aces Ops blew up the whale).

Despite her connection to Oscar who became Salem’s prisoner. Despite her connection to Salem through her mother. Despite being a Silver Eye and a former target of Salem. Despite the Hound and what it turned out to be. Despite the showrunners literally teasing Ruby meeting Salem face to face back in V7---WE NEVER GET TO SEE RUBY MEET SALEM IN THE FLESH AT ALL DURING V8 WHILE SALEM IS IN ATLAS???

Salem targets Oscar which makes perfect sense given his connection to Ozma as his current incarnate. But Salem doesn’t target Ruby? DESPITE HER BEING A TARGET OF HERS IN THE PAST? DESPITE HER BEING A SILVER EYED WARRIOR? DESPITE WHAT THE HOUND REVEALED?

Why didn’t Salem send the Hound after Ruby? That would’ve made more sense, again knowing what the Hound actually was? Instead the Hound was sent after Penny which, in my opinion, felt mighty redundant since Salem already had Watts and Cinder Fall dealing with Penny.  

THEY EVEN TEASED THE HOUND TARGETING RUBY BUT IT WAS ALL A FLUKE.  RUBY IS COMPLETELY OMITTED FROM THE SALEM SUBPLOT EVEN THOUGH SHE IS THE TITLE CHARACTER AND THE ONLY ONE ON TEAM RWBY WITH A LEGIT CONNECTION TO SALEM AND HAS BEEN A TARGET OF HERS SINCE V4???

I DON’T GET IT!

…BUT… with my mini rant aside, those are just a few of the inconsistencies that I’ve noticed in the writing of RWBY in respect to Ruby Rose.

Overall; the point I’m trying to make here is this: for the sake of sounding like a Negative Nancy, I ask this honest question to the CRWBY Writers. How? How can you fumble this much with your own title character? I’m not saying this to come off disrespectful. I’m saying this as someone who has followed the story of RWBY since the get-go and has closely observed the treatment of its characters; particularly the main ones and particularly the ones that I personally love and Ruby is one of them.

Despite being our main girl, Ruby’s writing hasn’t been the squeakiest, admittedly. As a matter of fact, it’s been quite messy since V4 due to the amount of times the showrunners have introduced ideas for her only to abandon them later on thus creating those problems with consistency I mentioned earlier.

Overall, it’s difficult for me to even say that Ruby is the lead character of RWBY since often times; she doesn’t FEEL like the main protagonist despite the show claiming how important she is meant to be. And this sentiment is due in part to how messy her story is handled compared to other characters of lesser importance.

And it’s a sad thing for me to say as both a viewer and fan of Ruby’s character since Ruby is THE lead main character of RWBY. She’s like the Tony Stark of the RWBY-verse. She’s the one who started it all yet her story is one of the messiest I’ve seen in terms of direction and treatment. At least by my observations since this is just my opinion on the subject matter.

It’s one thing to blunder a bit on your side or even your supporting characters. But to slip up on your lead characters, especially your MAIN one who is the FACE of the show, c’mon CRWBY Writers.

And the events of V8 didn’t help change my opinion. After taking away all the bloat this season had for all the stuff they tried to shove into this one season, I realized that V8 didn’t really do much for Ruby. At least, not as much as I anticipated.

I was hoping that Ruby would’ve been a more focal character for V8 since V7 teased some stuff for her in respect to Salem. Instead, I watched a season where Ruby felt more like a supporting character for Penny Polendina since, in my opinion, Penny received much more focus and better development for V8 while Ruby, our LEAD took backstage to her story.

Because while Ruby was stuck playing supporting character, she was actively left out of subplots that she should’ve been a major part of. Not just because she’s the “protagonist” but because of elements to her story that were developed seasons prior but seemed to have gotten dropped for V8?

Ruby’s treatment for V8, to me,  is an example of a “build-up with no payoff”. All that stuff between her and Salem and her mother felt like it ultimately didn’t matter in the end because Ruby didn’t even meet Salem. 

Yang, to me, had the development with Salem that Ruby should’ve received.

Shoot---Ruby wasn’t even a thought on Salem’s mind…despite the events V4 and V7???

I just don’t understand. 

But like always, this is just how I feel about it. I’m disappointed with how Ruby was done for this season. While I liked the moment she shared with Blake in V8CH8 and Yang in V8CH11...that’s pretty much the ONLY thing I liked about Ruby’s story for this season. 

Outside of that, it felt to me like the showrunners didn’t do much with her for V8. In a season of so much happening, the stuff that happened with Ruby on her side of the story didn’t honestly stand out to me compared to what I saw the showrunners do for other characters who aren’t the lead this season.

It’s not like I’m trying to say she didn’t receive any development at all for V8. It’s more like most of what was done with Ruby didn’t quite stand out to me so it ends up feeling like not much was done for her. 

To me, Ruby falls into the same category as Nora Valkyrie for this season. Despite the PLOT preaching about them getting big developments, if you rock back and actually analyse the narrative, you’d actually see that not much was done for them despite the PLOT “talking the talk but not walking the walk” y’know what I mean?

And going back to Ruby, that’s disappointing since I wanted more for Ruby. I EXPECTED MORE for Ruby as our title lead but it didn’t happened. Instead it felt like some of the major developments that she should’ve received for this season went to other characters while she in turn took a backseat.

Things didn’t really start kicking up for Rubes until halfway through the season when the 100th episode aired and the Hound appeared. And even then the excitement of that reveal was short-lived since...Ruby was NOT the real target of the Hound. PENNY WAS. The Hound wasn’t sent to antagonize RUBY. It was sent for Penny which to me sort of undermines the reveal.

Some Ruby fans have been wishing for the show to feel more about just Ruby again for quite some time now and it is for this reason why I’m starting to dig this alternative theory of mine with Ruby surviving “The Fall of the Central Zone” alone with the rest of her team lost to the Other World.

While the concept of RWBY being trapped together in another world is still on the table of possibilities, I still wish to toss out this other one too.

I like the idea of a more Ruby-centric season where for the second time in the narrative, she’s separated from her core teammates only this time…it’s in “death” or rather “nonexistence” or “nothingness” since from Ruby’s perspective with her limited knowledge of magic (despite what she does know from Oz and Jinn) and the workings of the world that Ambrosius created, she doesn’t know what truly happened to her team.

The only thing she knows is that she watched her whole team dissipate into nothing before her very eyes and that is the last memory she has of them that haunts her for some time.

Imagine if…V9 will be about Ruby dealing with such a huge loss which could potentially touch more upon how she internalizes death in general tying back into probably flashbacks of her time with her mother before she learnt of her death at a young age.

While I understand we’ve had a storyline with Ruby being separated from her main team before back during V4-V5, however a plot line like this would be different this rounds since unlike before, Ruby at least knew that her team mates were alive. Far away. Separated by distance. But still alive and still a part of Remnant with the hope that she would be reunited with them again.

However this won’t be the case this second time. It would truly be Ruby alone since her team would be gone and no one could provide her with the solace of seeing them again---not even the friends she does still have (although that doesn’t stop some of them from trying to be there for the little red rose who has now lost more than her heart could handle)

I know the off-chance of this theory actually coming to fruition might be scarce. But like many ideas I’ve shared, it’s still worth tossing out since you guys know how this squiggle meister likes to roll.

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

[t3chn0monkey]

Y'all mind if I gush for a minute?

There's a detail in Incident on Ranger Seven so miniscule yet pure and utter genius I have to bring it up.

I'm talking about the painting right at the very end of the episode.

Notice anything... off? Yeah sure Gyrus is there but besides him? Like, oh I don't know, Antauri's coloring for example? How he looks kinda... mismatched?

It may seem like a graphical error...

...until you realize Gyrus is the author of this painting...

...and the last time we saw him was back in Season 1.

What really sells this for me is the fact the episode's script doesn't address this at all.

Like, you can't tell me this guy, who is botherline obsessed with the Hyperforce, didn't immediately notice the sudden color shift when the monkeys first met him in the episode.

... Considering the aforementioned obsession... it's questionable how Gyrus isn't aware of Antauri's new colors already. The episode doesn't give us an explanation, or even a hint of an explanation. So it could be anything, him not being interested in keeping up as he's quite literally living in a fantasy, not having the option to keep up, or the team spent so little time on Shuggazoom between Antauri's resurrection and this episode (legit only staying home until they trained Jinmay to protect Shuggazoom, then yeeting themselves to outer space), very few citizens noticed or talked about the color shift. Whatever the reason, it doesn't change anything so MOVING ON-

When the monkeys confront him about Chiro's kidnapping, Gyrus, painting a random dog in an oriental costume, is all cool and innocent. Granted, he has to act like that because he indeed has Chiro locked up, so he doesn't get the chance to question the color change out loud... but heck, the writers could have just given us 2 seconds of Gyrus looking at Antauri confused or something among those lines to suggest Gyrus' unawareness, but no...

What we got instead is Nova gesturing towards Antauri while referring to him by name. Basically, she silently told Gyrus that yes, this is still Antauri, he just looks different now, while simultaneously not implying anything about Gyrus' unawareness to the audience.

As the Hyperforce goes off to investigate and Gyrus is left alone, still recharging his brain (... whatever the hell that means...), he has some time to spare.

We see throughout the episode that the majority of the dude's paintings are negative, usually featuring crying animals. Meaning this one happy painting of him with the Hyperforce is special to him. Upon realizing it's out of date, he picks it up again and begins painting over Antauri's black self, starting from the head, as any artist would.

But, given the rest of the episode, he doesn't get enough time to finish it, so he leaves the painting hanging there for later and goes do the stuff we witness on-screen.

And with whatever the heck happened to Gyrus in the end, this painting is left unfinished on the author's easel, for who knows how long.

Another really smart thing the show does is when we get the close-up of this self-insert painting, the camera zooms towards Gyrus. Nothing is dragging the viewer's eyes to Antauri. His mismatched body is right there in your face, and yet, the show ignores it, treating it as an insignificant background detail.

AND ONE MORE NOTEWORTHY THING-

The pictures of the monkeys in the painting are recycled from the very end of The Sun Riders episode, meaning that someone on the art team had to go through the extra trouble of recoloring Antauri, but only partially. Heck, that someone even lightened Antauri's body a little, implying that Gyrus was already on it when the episode's main script called.

Whoever's idea was this is a total madlad and all the kudos to them.

Gawd... the attention to detail in this show is one of the best things about it. This random little misshap that could be written off as an error has so much meaning behind it it's insane...

[renatlia]

For Good

A peaceful silence hushed over the battlefield. It was won. However, the calm could only be enjoyed for so long before the scenery began to change.

Oh. It was over. Time and space were correcting themselves, closing the magical rifts that brought the group together. This was it.

Hearts sank watching the companions - brothers - around each of them fading away to their respective eras. Then, the transition seemed to pause midway. Caught halfway between the former battlefield and home, their surroundings looked strangely melted together. From the violent debris scattered along the ground, to the still eerily-dark sky, to the green grass beneath their feet, to the spectral-like figures of their friends.

There was no confusion on what was happening. The goddesses were giving their heroes the chance to bid farewell. Jaws clenched as emotions swelled and no words came to mind. Taking pity, Nayru cast her musical blessing on the silent protagonists, allowing them to express their feelings into song.

“I’ve heard it said,” the captain started cautiously, afraid to break the moment, “that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them, and we help them in return.”

“Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true, but I know I’m who I am today because I knew you,” the smithy replied. He wasn’t too sure if he himself had made that much of an impact on the others.

The farmhand was finding it difficult to breathe, just like last time, but he wouldn’t say nothing. He had to speak, and by the grace of Nayru, he was able to. “Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun. Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood. Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

He was surprised to see his cub once again after his adventure was over, but he was stunned meeting the Hero of Time. If his wild child hadn’t been the one to explain to him what was happening, he would’ve thought he’d finally cracked.

The old man had noticed his recognition, but he never asked about it. Instead, he took well to becoming a mentor, and they grew close enough to share secrets. While he felt horrible about having to keep the fate of his mentor secret, learning more about his ancestors was like a dream come true. Becoming Wolfie was a lot easier with someone to cover your absence. After all, it wasn’t just the old man and his cub on this adventure. Being greeted by someone new wielding the master sword was not something he thought he’d see again, especially not the man who forged it.

It was the man’s protege that sounded next. He had a feeling he was about to experience loss in an entirely new way since waking, and he wanted them all to know just how much they’d affected him. How much he loved them. How he wouldn’t forget them. “It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime, so let me say before we part... So much of me is made of what I learned from you. You’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart.”

Coming across a snarky, pantsless man was not as out of the norm as one would think. Someone completely lost and asking what the guardian carcasses were was. He helped the pink-haired man back to his camp. There he was assaulted with equally curious questions well into the night, especially once they recognized his sword.

They knew his name. He would’ve been suspicious if he didn’t feel such a strong sense of familiarity. He was almost afraid of the close brotherly bonds he was forming until they found the familiar face of an old companion. He knew then that no matter how much it would hurt in the end, he wanted to make long-lasting memories with these people.

“And now whatever way our stories end,” their eldest cut in, “I know you have re-written mine by being my friends.” To think, he and the mrs were just about to give up on having children. Now it was something they were looking forward to, and after having known these boys for the past several months, the old man felt slightly more prepared.

Contrarily, their youngest felt grossly unprepared. He didn’t know what he was going to do once the guys he’d grown attached to- lived with- fought together with... were gone. It was all too fast, and there was no new adventure or task given to throw himself into once he got home.

The young teen was choking on his tears. Through a watery and hazy filter, he could make out the face of a knight in shining armor, who he had been mentally referring as big brother, staring back at him in sad concern. No. That look wouldn’t do. The sailor needed to convey that he understood, that he was grateful to have this conversation, that he’d be okay.

“Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea. Like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood. Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? But because I knew you-“ He shakily gasped to compose himself. “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

He wasn’t panicking. He wasn’t! He’s woken up in strange places before with no memory of how he got there. Looking around, he could see nothing but dark, rocky terrain. Okay, okay. He needed to breathe. He pulled out his compass and telescope.

Finding north, he started to slowly pivot with his telescope hoping to catch any sign of civilization. A giant blue gem filled his vision startling the boy onto his bum. Luckily, he’d met this blue-haired woman, though it had been quite a while.

This was going to be one heck of an adventure.

“And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for the things I’ve done you blame me for.” Whether the Hero of the Sky was asking from those listening or from himself was unclear. He knew he couldn’t hold on to the darkness eating at him anymore. The guilt he felt for causing an eternal struggle for so many in his future was met with bafflement by his friends. Even if he could be held partly responsible for ‘causing’ their curse, there was no ill will directed towards him. Alas, the Spirit of the Hero had a tendency for self-blame, so he would ask for forgiveness, if only to release the negative emotions he had trapped in his throat.

“But then, I guess there’s blame to share.” The Hero of Time took the opportunity to apologize as well. He knew his meddling with time had caused the drastically different outcomes in history the group had experienced on their journey together. And though there was always a chance of death, the fact that he was alive while another timeline suffered Ganon’s rule left him with a sour taste.

“And none of it seems to matter anymore!” The Hero of Hyrule could understand their guilt and thoughts of inadequacy, but what is done is done. They had done their best for all good intentions, and no one begrudged them for it. What mattered now was that his friends had to leave, and he would be alone. Having an apocalyptic world like he did, he had never really lost much. Never really had much to begin with. This was all very new to him.

“Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun,” the smallest swordsman quoted from earlier.

He was just going through his same everyday routine when he met an older, scarred man outside town. He had been taken aback when the man had happily showed him his large sword. Most would’ve waved him off as a nosy child.

The blade was was impressive. Almost twice his height! Proudly centered in the middle of an angular hilt was the Goron symbol. It was incredibly sharp and looked perfectly balanced. He wondered if it was one of Biggoron’s works.

He would have never guessed what would happen next or the journey it would set him on. The man crouched down. Your name wouldn’t happen to be Link, would it?

“Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood.”

A humble traveler walked along a yellow, worn path. Just a little farther and he’d veer off to explore a cave he’d seen once. If he hadn’t been in such a hurry before, he would’ve already done so, but just as well, he was excited. He just couldn’t get adjusted to living in a castle. This was the first time in a while he was able to sneak away.

He met a couple strangers before the mouth of the cave. Not uncommon, he introduced himself. He had not expected they’d actually been looking for him. Confused, he let them lead the way through the cave to their campsite where he spent the night hearing tales of old spoken in first person.

He would still need to explore that cave.

“Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea,” a new voice sang softly.

He was running late. Again. Why was it so hard to wake up if he struggled to fall asleep in the first place? How did that make sense?

Finally, he could see the blacksmith’s wife outside waiting for him. Gulley was also outside playing with the cucco. Good. Less embarrassment when he got inside. Curse his decision to continue pursuing the craft.

He took a moment to breathe when Gulley spotted him and waved. The kid winced in sympathy knowing full well the apprentice was just buying time. Well, he couldn’t pretend to wheeze forever. No one bought it anyway.

Out of literally nowhere, a giant club swung by a hinox knocked him sideways. The mother and son ran inside screaming. He counted three and cursed, struggling to stand. How and why were hinox in Hyrule? He cursed again realizing he was legit wheezing now. Lucky hit.

He booked it to the shop avoiding bombs the cyclopes threw at him. Inside, he gently pushed past the three fussing over him and stared the blacksmith dead in the eye. He was tossed a newly tempered blade. He couldn’t let those monsters continue to live in Hyrule.

Shouts disrupted the anxious silence. He ran back outside and balked at a couple of kids running around avoiding bombs. Cursing at everything, it took the three of them about ten minutes to dispatch of the scarily strong oafs. He had to admit, he was impressed.

He could tell what was coming before they could even open their mouths. Goddesses! Could he not catch a break?

“Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood.”

What? Where was this? He didn’t even get any divine warning! Groose was surely throwing a fit over him vanishing mid-convo. He could only hope the goof wouldn’t do anything stupid searching for him.

A strange, repetitive thunking was drawing closer from behind. He dove out of the way of whatever the beast was, but it had actually come to a stop a few feet before him. A young man with long blonde hair hopped off its back asking if he were okay.

He struggled to answer staring wide-eyed over the man’s shoulder. How was she here? Who was this, and why was she with him?

The man stared back contemplating something in his silence. The stranger then called him by name and seemed proud of the reaction he got. He was getting dizzy from the amount of questions racing in his mind. How’d this guy know him? Why’d he have Fi with him?

Why did he feel so familiar?

“Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?”

Bumping into a large gentleman in the bazaar was not how he imagined a new adventure to start.

The man asked him if they’d met before. They racked their brains for a good half hour trying to remember where’d they knew each other from. It was only when Lana found them followed by a familiar face that pieces were starting to fall into place.

No, it wasn’t Lana’s doing, and she knew nothing of how either. She did, however, sense their presence and knew they were safer together. The old man was still a mystery, but Lana assured them this was fine. Maybe they’d remember later. They all had the Spirit of the Hero.

Suddenly, they were in a new town. The whiplash of everything changing in a blink made him nauseous. Whatever this was, at the very least, they were somewhat experienced.

“I do believe I have been changed for the better,” the Hero of Legend sang quietly, his flushed face partially hidden beneath his hair. Soft smiles were sent his way.

“And because I knew you,” the Hero of Twilight prompted.

“Because I knew you,” the Hero of Winds agreed.

“Because I knew you.” Streaks were running down the vet’s cheeks. He could never catch a break.

To be fair, there wasn’t a dry eye present.

“I have been changed...”

The unison voices drifted away along with anything not of the world one hero would be standing alone in.

“...for good...”

[korra-the-red-lion]

Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 9: Locker Room Ghost.

(Ally + Lyn + Michael)

Ally.

Unfortunately, I had to spend the last couple of days catching up on my schoolwork.

As it turned out, you still had to do the work even if all your classes were cancelled. After my night in the library with Lyn, I realized with sickening dread that I had forgotten to finish my assignments. So, I spent all of Thursday and Friday frantically catching up on my work.

We had to do our presentation of Miss Julie this Monday, so Michael, Mags and I spent all day Friday practicing our lines and doing the write up. I got to caught up in all the researching and ghost speaking that I nearly forgot that the whole reason why I was here was for school. Oops. Professor Kinkly didn’t seem like the kind of person who would take any kind of excuse as to why things were handed in late.

After that, I lugged myself back to my room and worked away at a paper I had for my Anthropology class. I had to write about cultural adaptions in other countries, so I picked beauty standards in Japanese culture. I was only allowed 700 words, which didn’t give me a lot of space. I wasn’t very good at limiting myself.

Sarah was back now, after she went home to visit her parents when classes were cancelled. She was typing away on her bed, also working on something. Eventually she groaned loudly and slammed her laptop shut.

“I hate my sociology class so freaking much,” she whined.

I took my ear bud out, turning my chair to face her. “What’s the issue?”

“I have to write this like, super judgy paper on underdeveloped neighbourhoods,” she complained to me, shifting on her bed until she was hanging upside down. “Except the film they made us watch a movie that was like, totally made by privileged people who like to blame people for issues they can’t control.”

I frowned in distaste as I listened. “Ugh, sorry to hear that, Sarah. That’s so frustrating. They need to update that course ASAP.”

“Right? Like, why do people blame the poor and underprivileged?” she glared at the weird stain we had on our wall.

“Probably for the same reason we don’t make things accessible for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses,” I remarked, a tinge of annoyance lacing my words. “The world is run by rich, able bodied, white assholes.”

“Valid point.”

“I have those sometimes.”

She snorted before rolling onto her stomach. “I’m going to grab something to drink. You want something?”

I shook my head. “I’m good, thanks.”

“Okay, suit yourself,” she said with a shrug. I waved her goodbye as she left before I turned my attention back to my dumb paper.

Of course, it didn’t take long for my thoughts to drift back to my conversation with Janna Kawada from a couple of days ago.

“Hey, are you the student who did an interview for the student paper about the showers?” I had asked as I approached the team who was finishing their practice from the looks of things.

She eyed me suspiciously as she took a sip from her water bottle. “Yeah. Who’s asking?”

“I’m Ally Holland, and I uh…I’m writing a paper about what happened,” I lied nervously, hoping it would work.

Janna raised her eyebrow before shrugging it off. “Whatever, I guess. What about it?”

“Do you mind just telling me exactly what you saw?”

She sighed dramatically. “I already told this all to Anna, why do I need to repeat myself? It’s in the paper.”

I swallowed hard, attempting to make myself look serious. It was a little hard when you were short and had a bit of a round face. I looked like a big child. “Please, I need to know.”

“Seriously?” She searched my face before sighing again. “I was changing after practice because I left early when I heard a bunch of screaming coming from the showers. I went over to see what the hell was going on and saw all the swim girls covered in blood. They were totally freaking out. I thought it was some shitty prank until I saw a couple of them crying. Then I looked and the showers were still spraying out the blood. That all you need?”

It was nearly identical to what she had said in the papers. I frowned, mostly in disappointment. I was hoping there was more that she had to share. “Um,” I started hesitantly.

“Yeah?”

“Was that the only thing you saw?”

She stared at me with a strange look. “Why do you ask?”

“Well…” I chewed the inside of my cheek, “the article in the paper suggested that there was more, that the team was cursed. I was just wondering if you noticed anything else that seemed strange.”

Janna was silent for a very long time. I was getting a little disheartened when she gave a shaky sigh. “Listen, I’ll tell you this but no one else hears it,” she said with a slight tremor, “got it?”

I nodded quickly, pulling my pen and notebook out. She eyed them with disdain before shaking her head.

“I thought I saw a strange face in the mirrors.” She looked around uncomfortably. “I thought it was just one of the girls, but I didn’t recognize her at all. Not that I know all those girls, but she was really hard to focus on. When I looked again, there was no one there. I just figured I imagined things since the whole situation was freaky as shit.”

I wrote this all down as quickly as possible. “Thank you, Janna! This really helps!”

“Well,” she looked at me suspiciously again, “good luck on that paper then.”

This basically confirmed to me that there was a ghost haunting the women’s locker room. I looked up at the ceiling as I completely forgot about my paper as I got deeper in thought. Since most ghosts lingered in the spot they were killed in, that meant this ghost was at the very least killed in the Athletic Centre. I thought maybe Amelia Turner was our suspect, but I wasn’t so sure. The obituary Lyn found made it sound like she committed suicide, meaning that the cause of death had to match that. It just didn’t connect in my head quite right.

I suspected that there was a different person haunting the locker room. I bit my lip, trying to piece together this puzzle. Blood showers, attacking a student, mirrors. Usually a vindictive yet harmless act, like the showers, was an indication that this ghost was trying to get attention, or so claimed the supernatural book I read the other day. An attack suggested aggression, maybe vengeance. But by all accounts, Jackie had nothing to do with this. She was a victim of circumstance more than anything else.

Maybe the ghost was losing itself? I read that it could happen to someone who was being forgotten. If a spirit still had familial attachment to this world, they were less likely to go feral. But if there was no one to remember the spirit, or in this case the soul of the person, as they once were, they lost themselves to the darkness. Was this the case here? Was the Locker Room Ghost being forgotten? If we could help them pass on peacefully, then it doesn’t matter if their last attachment to this earth forgot them. However, that meant we needed to help them soon. An angry ghost was much harder to pass on then a normal one, because they became corrupted with negative feelings.

I wasn’t sure how long I stared up at the ceiling, lost in my thoughts before my phone buzzing on my desk startled me back into existence. I nearly fell out of my chair as I scrambled to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Ally!” Michael’s voice boomed out.

I winced as I turned down my volume. “Yeah?”

“What are you up to? Are you busy?”

“Um,” I spared a guilty glance at my long-forgotten paper, “nothing. What’s up?”

“Can you text Lyn and meet me up at the pond?”

“Yeah, sure. Right now?”

“If you don’t mind!”

“No, I can,” I said glancing at the time on my laptop. I wasn’t sure if Lyn was at practice or not. I thought she usually was there for 4:30. “I’ll be there in a few. Bye.”

“Bye!” he said cheerfully before we both hung up. I sent a text to Lyn before grabbing my coat and purse.

I closed my laptop, whispering “Sorry” before heading out. I will finish that horrible paper tonight. But for now, it must remain unfinished.

XXX

Michael.

October was one of those months that made zero sense in Canada.

Yesterday it was so freaking warm that it was regretful to wear pants, but today was chilly coat weather. I didn’t know whether to blame climate change or if this was just typical of this province, but it never did this back home. Yuck.

I dropped my backpack as I sat down waiting for Ally and Lyn. I originally was going to suggest the big tree, but I kinda wanted to be away from ghosts for the time being. I had a plan tonight involving ghosts and I wanted to stay spirit free for awhile.

It wasn’t long before Ally got here. I thought it was really funny that she was wearing a coat and scarf yet refused to wear pants. Homegirl was committed to her aesthetic and I loved that. Her socks legit went all the way up her thighs, leaving only a sliver of space between her way too long coat and the top of her socks.

I grinned at her in greeting as she sat down next to me. She adjusted herself to a comfortable position.

“Lyn said she’d be a few minutes, but she couldn’t stay too long,” she explained as she loosened her scarf.

“All good. I just wanted to share this really quickly.”

She nodded as she relaxed. I poked her in the face when I noticed she was wearing her thinking face again. She looked at me confused as I shrugged in response. She rolled her eyes and leaned back. The fact that we could sit silently like this was nice. There wasn’t a lot of people I could just sit with, but Ally was one of them.

Eventually Lyn jogged over to join us. She plopped down immediately and said, “What’s up? I gotta head to the pool in like 10 minutes.”

“It won’t take long,” I promised as I reached for my bag. Ally and Lyn watched me curiously as I opened it up, digging around for a bit before I found what I was looking for. With a triumphant smile, I pulled out the bag of jewelry I got from Talia.

“Ta-dah!” I presented them with a huge grin.

Lyn reached over and picked on up gingerly. “You called us here…” she said examining it slowly, “…for some rocks?”

“Not just any rocks,” I said happily. “Special rocks!”

Ally picked one up as well, turning it over between her fingers. “These are gemstones, right?” she asked, looking at me.

“Yes!” I beamed. “I got them for protection! Those black ones are onyx, and they’re suppose to protect us from any attacks. These are for you,” I put the amethyst and onyx in Ally’s hand, “and you,” I dropped the onyx and quartz in Lyn’s.

Lyn eyed hers skeptically as Ally put on the bracelets. “Aw, thanks Michael,” she said as she examined it in the sunlight.

“How the hell did you know my ring size?” Lyn questioned as the quartz ring fit her perfectly.

“So that’s the extremely creepy part,” I said. “I didn’t realize it until I got home but somehow just by your names alone, Talia knew who you were.”

“Right.” Lyn slipped the ring off and put it in her pocket. “That is very creepy.”

“Maybe she’s a witch or something,” Ally joked.

“If you tell me that werewolves are real, I’m heading out.”

“There’s no proof that they aren’t real,” I pointed out. Lyn groaned as she pushed herself to her feet.

“Is that all? I gotta bounce otherwise.”

“Oh! One more thing!” I said quickly. “Tonight’s the full moon.”

Realization dawned on Ally’s face as Lyn looked between us to explain. I said with a wave of my arm, “Supernatural powers are enhanced by the moon. I think we should go to the locker room tonight and see if we can talk to the ghost in there.”

“Uh-huh,” Lyn said slowly as she crossed her arms. “Wouldn’t that mean the ghost will be stronger or something?”

“Yeah.”

“So, the ghost who has already proven itself as dangerous would be more powerful, and you want us to go on a ghost hunt?”

“That sounds about right to me, yeah.”

Lyn gave me a hard look. She glanced at Ally and asked, “Are you okay with this?”

Ally looked over at me, and I nodded seriously. “I can get DNA samples if we get them at their most solid.”

She nodded and turned back to Lyn. “I trust Michael. Besides, we have these for protection now,” she said, holding up her wrist. “I don’t know if any time is a good time, so now is better than waiting for another student to get hurt.”

Lyn looked between us again before sighing deeply. She threw her hands up in defeat. “Yeah, okay, sure. This is so bonkers anyway. We’ll go tonight around 11, how does that sound? I’ll even get us a key to the building, so we’ll be the only ones inside, just in case.”

“Thanks Lyn!” Ally and I chimed together, smiling at her. Lyn rolled her eyes, but her lip quirked upwards slightly before she grumbled off to practice. Ally watched her go until she made her thinking face and got lost in thought.

I gave her a couple of minutes to stew. I wasn’t kidding when I told her she’s always thinking. She must have dozens of thoughts bouncing around in that head of hers at all times. It wasn’t until I saw her draw her lip in for that thoughtful bite she always did that I poked her in the temple, drawing her back to reality.

“Whatcha thinking about, Ally?” I asked with a chuckle. “You’re making your thinking face.”

“I don’t have a thinking face,” she replied.

I laughed. “Yeah, you do.” I pulled my eyebrows together and pulled my lips in. “It looks like this.”

“You look stupid.”

“It’s your face.”

“Hey!”

“You walked into that one.”

She looked over at me for a second before she fell back with a groan. I poked her again when she didn’t say anything, causing her to groan louder. Finally, she muttered, “It doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense?”

Ally looked up at the waning sun. “The Locker Room Ghost.”

I fell back with her and linked my hands together over my belly. “Why doesn’t it make sense?”

“Because Lyn found another woman who died on campus, Amelia Turner. What doesn’t make sense to me is the obituary. It sounds like she died via suicide, but a locker room isn’t a place I would do that in.” Ally’s face scrunched up in frustration. “Especially young women in the 90s. I feel like the place would be more private, like a bedroom or even a bathroom. But an open space locker room where anyone could have walked in on it? That’s where the disconnect lies.”

I frowned in thought. That was actually a good point. “Gosh, Al, you’re good at this. I don’t think I would have noticed that.”

“Fat lot of good it will do,” she grumbled. “But I’m really worried that the ghost in there isn’t Amelia, which means we’re dealing with someone else entirely.”

“Did you ask Dahlia about it?”

She shook her head. “It came to me this morning. Plus, I was so focused on catching up to that stupid assignment for my Anthro class and the write up for Drama that I haven’t had time to go talk with her. Maybe I should…”

My eyes drifted absently to where I know she was residing. I shuddered slightly when I thought about the pressure that area brought on when she revealed herself. “Maybe not today,” I suggested.

Ally looked over with a question in her eyes. I propped myself up on my elbow as I faced her. “I just…it was hard to breathe when you talked to her with me. If my theory of the full moon giving them a boost is true, then she must be freaking strong right now.”

Ally hummed in thoughtful agreement as she closed her eyes. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Anyway, maybe I’m overthinking it. I could be totally off. Also, you’re not sure on the whole full moon thing?”

“Not exactly, but most of the books I read seemed to agree with the theory,” I said. “It’s worth the risk, I think.”

“I agree.”

We laid there for a little while, watching the sky get dark. I wasn’t sure what was going through Ally’s head at the moment, but I knew I was starting to feel a little anxious. I really hope that this worked out for us and that we could solve this quickly. Unfortunately, I had a bad feeling this wasn’t going to be resolved by Thanksgiving.

XXX

Lyn

“I’m heading out, Nura,” I said with a yawn. “Don’t wait up for me, ‘kay?”

“Where are you going?” Nura asked.

My hand wavered between my parka and my bomber jacket as I decided between the two. “I’m just meeting up with some friends for a bit,” I said as I grabbed the bomber and threw it on.

“A party?”

I snorted as I redid my ponytail. “You know I would never. I have a swim meet in a couple of weeks.”

“Oh right,” she chuckled. “I forgot, you don’t do that.”

“Rarely,” I said dryly. I pulled on my tattered old Converse and tied the laces tightly. “Okidoki, see ya. I’ve got my keys and phone, so seriously don’t wait up for me.”

She wished me goodbye as I closed the door behind me. I pulled my tuque from the pocket of the jacket, jamming it on my head before stepping outside. It was obnoxiously cold tonight, but I always loved the smell of Autumn air. It didn’t take me long to get to the AC, where Ally and Michael were waiting.

Michael was wearing a backpack that looked to be pretty full. I raised a brow at it, and he grinned.

“Supplies,” was all he said.

I shrugged before glancing at the darkened building and frowned. “Right, guess we’re going in.”

“Yeah,” Ally said quietly beside me.

“It’s just a ghost, yeah?”

“Hopefully.”

I looked down at her. She only offered a noncommittal shrug. Yeah, that makes me feel totally safe. I stuck my hands in my coat pockets and sighed.

“Sounds like we’re good to go,” said Michael as he headed for the front door. I reached over and grabbed his shoulder to stop him from moving forward. “Huh, what?”

I shook my head. “I forgot, but the building lights are activated by motion,” I explained.

Michael looked slightly confused, but before I could explain the issue, Ally piped up.

“That means people would know there was someone inside. Security would come by and see what’s going on.” She looked at me. “Is that correct?”

“Yup.” I started walking off. “But there’s another way in. Follow me.”

We walked around the building until we got to the back door. I knelt down in front of the door and opened my own bag. I pulled out a shoehorn. Michael and Ally both shot each other a confused look before Ally opened her mouth to ask about it. I shook my head to stop her as I turned my focus on the door.

“Don’t ask,” I muttered as I jammed it under the door. “I got into a lot of trouble when I was younger.”

Like I suspected, they didn’t lock the back door. It was something they did often. A lot of the guys who worked at the desk were on the football team, and they would leave the doors unlocked so they could sneak in to use the pool for partying. I slowly pulled it open enough that I could hook my fingers around, grinning as I did.

I stood up as I opened it wide. “After you,” I said with a mock accent, bowing to them two of them.

Once we were in, I closed the door gently just in case. I wasn’t sure if there was anyone still left inside or if the guys snuck in tonight. A Friday night pool party wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. I listened for a minute, waiting to hear the sounds of guys talking or splashing. Luckily, it seemed like we were alone for now.

“This way,” I whispered. I lead them down the hall, using the key to open the door to the weight room. The lights flickered to life as we cut through, humming softly. I unlocked the other door and ushered them through. A short walk later, and we were in the women’s locker room.

“What do you want to see first?” I asked, looking around for some supernatural signs. So far nothing, though I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to see anything.

Ally’s eyes flickered to our locker room before connecting with mine. “The mirrors, actually.”

I lead them into the bathroom. Ally walked over to the mirrors and began searching around them. Michael joined her, poking around the sinks as well. I stood off to the side, not really sure what I should do. What I did notice, however, was how freakishly cold it was in here. Don’t get me wrong, the locker room was sometimes really fucking cold, but not like this. I could see my breath in here. That freaked me out, just a little.

Ally shivered as she stepped away, her eyes searching for something that wasn’t there. She was muttering to herself under breath, little white clouds puffing out as she did. Michael had wandered into the showers to see if he could find anything interesting. I stepped closer to Ally almost unconsciously.

“Are you cold?” I asked.

“Huh?” Ally blinked, clearly knocking herself back into reality. “Oh. Yeah, a little.”

I pulled my tuque off and put it on her instead. She reached up and brushed her fingers against it lightly. She looked at me quizzically.

“You look like you need it more than me,” I said lightly.

She smiled. “Thanks.” I didn’t fail to notice the blush on her face, and I looked away, thankful for the darkened room. I felt like my ears were on fire.

Suddenly, her eyes snap back to the mirror. I froze, searching. I couldn’t see anything, but Ally started approaching the mirror cautiously.

“Ally…” Michael stepped over, his voice quivering.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to stop the panic that was creeping up my throat.

Ally placed her hand on the mirror, staring at nothing but clearly seeing something. “What do you mean?” she asked absently.

I don’t understand what was going on. Michael was staring at the same spot, but there wasn’t anything there. Ally was clearly having a conversation with someone.

“Why shouldn’t we be here?” Ally asked, tapping her finger against the glass. “Please, tell me.”

What the fuck…I stepped back in fear. I could feel a growing tension as the lights flickered on and off. Michael dug around his backpack before he pulled out a flashlight, turning it on. He whipped the light towards me.

“Lyn, are you wearing that ring I got you?” His voice was tight with control.

Confused, I shook my head slowly. He urged me to put it on as the lights finally settled. I slipped it on, but I didn’t notice a difference. Ally was stepping away from the mirrors, looking around panickily.

My heart was thudding in my ears as I looked around, but I’m pretty sure whatever happened was over now. Shit, I wasn’t going to be a lot of help here, was I?

“Ally, what happened?” Michael asked.

Ally was breathing quickly. She forced herself to take a deep slow breath before looking over at him. “She said we shouldn’t be here.”

“Who?” we both asked at the same time.

“I’m-” Ally glanced at the mirror in a mix of confusion and fear, “-I’m not sure.”

Oh. Cool. Cool. Coooooooool. We were already dealing with some unknown ghost and now there was potentially another fucking person to deal with? My legs were shaking but I forced myself to lean into the wall.

“Ally,” my voice cracked, “should we go?”

She looked at me, her pupils large with fear. It looked like she was racing through a ton of thoughts at once before she settled on one. She shook her head, swallowing thickly before saying, “No. I wanna see the locker room. Unless…” she hesitated, “…you guys wanna go.”

Fuck yes, I wanted to go. I was scared shitless. But some part of me, some crazy part of me, said to stay. We needed to see what happened to Jackie. So, despite the screaming protest in my head, I shook my head. “It’s this way,” I squeaked.

I brought them over to the entrance of our locker room. With a shaking hand, I punched in the passcode and opened the door. I turned on the lights so we could see. I haven’t been in here since the attack. The wall was covered in a tarp, to cover up the writing on the wall I suspected.

Michael stepped in and pulled the tarp off. I was holding my breath but released it when I saw what was there.

It was mostly gibberish. There wasn’t a coherent sentence in the words, but I did pick up a couple. Help. Death. Here. Ally pulled her phone out, taking a picture of it. Michael pulled a swab out of his pocket and ran it against the wall. He pulled out some oozing goo, which looked really fresh. He carefully put the swab in a tube with a mixed look of disgust and interest.

“Are we good to go?” I asked nervously. I had both hands over my ears, squeezing them anxiously.

“I think so,” Ally said in mild disappointment. She looked around one last time before sighing. “I guess she left.”

“Who?”

“The ghost in the mirror,” she answered. I stepped out first, waiting for them to follow after me. Michael was the last one to leave. Before I closed the door, I felt something wet drip onto my hand. I stared at it blankly, my mind not comprehending what it was. It was dark and slimy. The lights flickered as I looked up slowly.

Hanging from the ceiling was some demonic looking creature. Its eyes were glowing green in the dark, and when we made eye contact, it cracked its head all the way around before opening its toothy mouth, howling at me.

I screamed.

XXX

Ally.

I heard Lyn scream. I heard something else scream too. I looked over as she slammed the door shut. She whipped around towards me and Michael, shoving us forward.

“What was that?!” I asked frantically.

“I-I-I have no fucking i-idea! Lyn stammered out, looking behind her shoulder. An arm punched through the door, ripping a hole as it retracted.

A head poked out. The face was distorted and inhuman. Bloody salvia dripped down its face as it linked eyes with us. It howled again as it dragged its body through the hole it made. It was human shaped but wasn’t at the same time. The limbs were disjointed, the torso large and barreled shaped. But something really stuck out to me.

Those eyes looked so sad and lost.

It jumped at us, but we managed to turn the corner before it hit us. “This way!” Lyn yelled, running down the hallway we came up from.

Michael pulled a bag out of his pocket and threw it at the monster. It screeched in pain as it reeled back. It clawed at its face, blood spraying as it tore into flesh.

“What was that?” I asked as we ran.

“Salt!” he cried.

Oh, that made sense. I should have brought some. It only slowed it down a little bit, before it launched itself at us again. This hallway seemed for much longer the second time around. It felt like we ran forever and ever as it stretched in front of us. Was what going on? I tried to think about all the books I was reading before this, but my mind was coming up blank. It took a swipe at us, howling in pain. Lyn shoved me to the floor as the claws raked her arm. Blood sprayed in an arc as she shouted in shock and pain.

“Lyn!” I said as I scrambled to my feet. “Are you okay!”

“I’m fine!” she gritted her teeth. She held her arm, blood oozing through her fingers. “Michael, do you have more salt?”

Michael watched the beast approached us with horror. His eyes flickered to her before nodding. “Two bags left.”

“Hold it off for a minute,” she growled. She plunged into the weight room as the beast reared up on its haunches, taking another swipe at us.

We both ducked to avoid having our heads be taken off. Michael threw some of the salt on the floor and tossed the rest at the monster. It screamed in frustration and pain as its flesh burned from the salt. I screamed as it reached over for us, its clawed hand grabbing me and lifting me into the air. It knocked Michael aside, knocking his head into the wall. He slumped to the floor boneless.

“Michael!” I shrieked. I wiggled against the grasp, but I could barely move. “Lyn!”

The monster yowled in my face, spittle and blood splattering me all over. I winced, trying to get away. It did it again, squeezing me tightly. I whimpered as I felt my bones creaking, unable to draw a full breath of air.

“ARRRGGHHHH!!” Lyn roared as she ran over. She swung a weighted bar like a bat, smashing it against the arm of the beast.

I fell to the floor as it roared in agony. Lyn swung again, hitting it in the face this time. It smashed into the wall, writhing in pain. Lyn reached down and helped me to my feet. She was breathing heavily as she backed up.

“Is Michael…?”

I shook my head. “Just knocked out.”

“Are you able to lift him?” She eyed the monster as it pushed itself out of the wall. I shook my head again. “Fuck…okay. Ally, hand me that last bag.”

I reached over and took the salt off of Michael, who groaned in pain. I muttered an apology to him as I shoved the salt in her hand. Lyn took the salt and rubbed a bunch of it over the weighted bar. She shouted as she swung it, hitting the monster one last time before she dropped it on it, pining it place.

She scrambled back as it shrieked so loudly that the overhead lights shattered. “That’s not going to last!!”

Together, we hoisted Michael over her shoulders and made a mad dash to the door. I pushed it open, and we ran outside, the cold air feeling like a blessing on my sweating face. We kept running until we were far enough way to feel safe.

I spared a fearful look at the Athletic Centre, but the demonic beast hadn’t followed us. I collapsed to the ground, my tears mixing with my sweat. I shook uncontrollably as Lyn laid Michael down gently and sunk to the ground herself.

My breathing was getting shorter and catching as I tried to take in air. My vision was spotty as I brought a trembling hand to my face, trying to get the blood off. Lyn must have grabbed my hand, but I wasn’t sure when.

“Ally, can you hear me?” she asked calmly.

I looked over at her. I think I nodded.

“Okay. What are five things you can see?” Her voice sounded so muffled.

“F-five things?” I hiccupped.

She nodded. I blinked a couple of times, trying to refocus. “M-Michael. Grass. You. Lamppost. S-scoreboard.”

“Okay, good,” she smiled softly, turning my gaze back on her. “Now four things you can feel.”

“G-grass.” I shakily raised my hand to brush her hand. “Your hand. The b-b-breeze. My leg.”

“You’re doing great,” she murmured. “Can you list three things you can hear?”

My breathing was slowing down a little, allowing me to take deeper breaths. I nodded to answer her question. “Michael groaning. The bugs.” I locked eyes with her now. “You.”

Lyn’s eyes shone with something as she nodded. “Yup. Two things you can smell?”

I took a deep breath through my nose. As I did, Michael had rolled over and vomited all over the grass. My face scrunched out a little in disgust. “Vomit…shea butter?”

“My lotion,” Lyn chuckled softly. “Can you tell me one thing you can taste?”

I shook my head. My mouth felt extremely dry and sandpapery. Lyn reached into the non tattered pocket of her jacket and pulled out a candy. Her hands shook as she unwrapped it. She pressed it against my lips, which I parted slightly so it would go in.

After a couple of seconds of sucking on it, I said quietly, “Caramel.”

“How do you feel now?” she asked hesitantly.

“A b-bit better,” I took another deep breath. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “We needed to get going,” she tried pushing herself up, only to wince and gasp in pain. We both forgot about her arm in the heat of the moment. She fell back, pressing her hand against the wound.

“Is everyone alive?” Michael asked groggily, his face in the grass. At least he scooted away from the vomit spot.

“Yeah,” I answered. I was still shaking, my head was still pounding, but I could breathe. I looked over at the building again, but I didn’t sense any negative energy coming from there. What was that thing? Was that a vengeful spirit? If it was…that wasn’t what I expected.

I shook my head, forcing myself to refocus. Lyn and Michael needed medical attention, and my panic attack wasn’t completely dealt with. I shakily got to my feet, fighting a wave of nausea. Once I was sure I wasn’t going to fall over, I helped Lyn to her feet too. Together we lifted Michael up, my heart sinking when I heard Lyn hiss in pain.

“Are you okay?” I asked concerned.

“I will be,” she said through gritted teeth. There was a sheet of sweat on her face and she was shaking way more now. “The adrenaline is just wearing off now.”

I didn’t completely buy it, but we needed to get Michael help. I was pretty sure he was concussed. I bit my lip, regretting that as soon as I did because there was blood on it. I spat on the ground. “Okay, where do we go? The hospital I guess?”

Lyn frowned. “They’ll ask questions, but it makes the most sense…”

I silently agreed with her. I didn’t want them to ask what happened, but we had very limited choices. Why couldn’t life be like books and TV? Heroes always get these wild injuries that magically were fine a couple hours later. Oliver probably should have died like 7 times an episode in the early seasons of Arrow, but he always turned out fine. Totally unfair.

The only major issue is we had no way to get there unless we walked. I wasn’t sure any of us were going to be able to make it there without passing out. Lyn sighed through her nose as she looked around in thought. “Fuuuuck, okay. I’ll call someone.”

“Who?”

“That’s the question,” she muttered. She pulled out her phone and dialled. “Olivia, hey. Can you pick me up?”

Lyn’s face dropped as she listened to the person on the other end for a few agonizing minutes. “Liv, okay. Yeah, hmm. Fuck, okay, I’ll come home Thanksgiving. I just need you to drive me and my friends to the hospital, no questions asked.” She rolled her eyes as she huffed in annoyance. “No, don’t tell mum and dad. Thank you.” She hung up without saying bye, dropping her injured arm with a groan.

I wanted to ask who that was, but I was able to put the pieces together. I adjusted Michael, who was starting to stand on his own power a little bit more. “Should we just wait here?”

Lyn nodded sullenly. “Yeah, my sister is coming to pick us up. We might as well sit while we wait.”

She lightly settled back on the ground, making sure Michael was comfortable first. I sat next to her and put my head on her shoulder. She stiffened slightly at the contact before slowly relaxing. It was so strange to think that we could be sitting here rather serenely even though we just avoided death not too long ago.

I guess life does always move on, even through tragedy.

[well-hidden-hot-mess]

today’s thoughts

this is going to be rambly but what else is new. just had a bunch of random thoughts floating around in my head that i just wanted to get “on paper” so hopefully they’ll stop floating around my brain and taking up space where more important things should be and stop stressing me out. 

to follow up on yesterday’s post, woke up feeling backed up and bloated so i was dreading the weigh in because i was sure i was going to have maintained or gained. which yes i know is stupid for it to be such a “worry” or be on my brain the first second i wake up but it wasn’t i swear. i was up at 5am and this happened at like 7am but the second i looked at my body and saw my stomach being all puffed out i was like this isn’t going to be fun... but i tried to be positive and be like look, yesterday you “only” (i need to stop using that word) went for a leisurely walk (i’ll go into that next) and did yoga for activity (even though I hit 11,000 steps) plus you didn’t drink all of your water and you ate an extra 230 calories in the form of a chocolate protein bar (more on that later too) so if you are up a little bit, it’s understandable and it’ll be okay... stepped on the scale, looked down, and was shook because I lost .9lbs... halle-fucking-luyah. i shouldn’t feel such a relief at that but i think it was just that weight was lifted (no pun intended) from my shoulders because i was kicking my ass so hard the last 10 days and wasn’t seeing any progress so it was just a lot of frustration built up since i knew there was zero reason this should be happening due to previous experience and just common sense with how this all works. oh idk if i mentioned, i did lower my macros yesterday back down because my activity level wasn’t as high as i thought it would be and i wasn’t as active in between my workouts and since i was maintaining pretty steadily, i figured that would be a good idea and i was right. 

for the walk part, i forced myself to slow the f down and do an actual leisurely walk and ended up losing track of time and walking an hour and afterwards i wasn’t absolutely wrecked and useless the rest of the day. so that’s the plan from now on unless i’m doing cardio as my more intense workout of the day (like if i’m pairing it with yoga or something) or doing the stairs or something. 

the protein bar. well i was all up in my feels and had no idea why and was just really tired and mentally drained but not like full on but like 75% done and just emotionalish. i had drank my preworkout and was determined to go workout but it like never kicked in and that kinda hinted to me that maybe i just needed a break and it would be better to do it today (my hip was ultra pissed plus i was exhausted so it wouldn’t have been the best and it would’ve just made me frustrated and not a positive experience). so i made myself a healthy dinner (air fried skinless chicken drumsticks (which holy fuck are my new favorite food ever) with asparagus and brown/wild rice) even though i wanted nothing to do with cooking (thankfully they were all already prepped) and figured they would fit in my macros. lol jk because the macros i thought i had left didn’t include the rice i had at lunch so with some switching around my carbs/fats, i hit everything pretty spot on. which i was happy about for .1 second until i wanted something sweet since that’s how i always end my day and i had zero macros left. so that little “fuck it” voice popped up and i was like you know what, it’s not going to kill me and i just want it so it’s fine, i don’t care (not like f it i don’t care but more like it’s only 230 calories, i’m not going to let that ruin my day) and crawled into bed. it was at that point that i realized i was emotional when a tiktok that was like “things will get better” like sweet but not like powerful enough to ellicit the reaction of tears rolling down my face. so i looked up exercise for depression figuring there’d be something that would help me and then one of yoga with adriene’s videos popped up called “yoga for depression” and it was like 15 mins so i’m like let me just do this in my bed and maybe i’ll feel better in general and less guilty for completely skipping the second workout. so i did that one... and then another... and another to total 45 mins. i felt so much better afterwards and like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and i fell asleep really quickly and easily after that so i’m so beyond happy i did it and feel proud of myself to not give into the impending binge that i could feel brewing and to not just give up on the day and stay in that negative headspace. so that was a good end to a could’ve been terrible day. 

i went to target yesterday and as always went a little crazy with the spending but it was mostly on stuff i needed and healthy snacks that don’t go bad quickly. but my plan was to get back from my walk, eat something, clean myself up a little, and go to target so get there by like 12. i just couldn’t get myself to get up and go. i was ready, there was just something holding me back aka anxiety. like target is my happy place... i had more than enough money so it wouldn’t be a stressful thing... and i just couldn’t get myself to get up and go. i think quarantine and not working/leaving my apartment every day has made my anxiety expand into like very mild agoraphobia like symptoms. i finally was just like fuck it, i need to go now or else it’s going to be busy with all the kids getting out of school and people getting out of work so i ended up leaving at 3 finally. it’s just a weird feeling having this invisible thing holding me back to begin with but like ultra weird that it was holding me back from a place i love a little too much. but i’m proud that i pushed through and ended up having a nice relaxing visit and FINALLY found my favorite creamer (oat yeah oatmeal cookie flavor omg) when they’ve been out for months and a couple other fun snacks that i’m excited to try. plus i found cute little baskets to put in my shoe rack and i love them and some organizers for my bathroom drawers which desperately need to be reorganized so i’ll probably do that later since it’s a rainy day so i won’t feel guilty not being outside. 

i’ve been thinking about work again and some things have been floating around in my brain. like making a youtube channel (about what? no fucking idea), or a podcast (again about what tho?), or a blog (same issues) or something like that where i can work from home for now on my own schedule until i’m ready to go back out into the real world and work again. i think i’m going to do some brainstorming about that today and report back.

my dad got me the new ninja air fryer/oven and omfg i’m legit obsessed. it’s like the only positive thing i have right now and as sad as that is, i’m ignoring how pathetic that is and just enjoying it for now. #ignoranceisbliss

i think i’m going to adopt a kitten like this week. i need something cute and fluffy and to make me happy and to focus on so i don’t go insane. nashville humane has so many cute little nuggets and one is a tuxedo and his name is elmo and i’m obsesseddddd. 

okay this has been going on for way too long so i need to go chug an energy drink and get my walk started before the torrential downpour from the latest hurricane/tornado/whatever the fuck it is. 

[adriennescomingbacktolife]

Neil Diamond is okay, I guess.

Written with TDL. 

The ride has been awfully silent thus far. Not that it was due to negative vibes. Just awkwardness possibly without Mameha being present with them. Adrienne couldn’t tell if The Dragon Lady was smiling due to her being masked. It certainly confused the driver but Adrienne didn’t care. She knew her partner was very committed to this so who was she to argue? So en route to the arena for some obligations, Adrienne thought it’d be a great idea for the team to ride over together after a brief training session at her partner’s gym. The driver kept eyeing them both warily so Adrienne smiled politely to his reflection in the rearview mirror and then broke the ice.    “So, uh, what do you like to do?” Adrienne asked as she put aside her cellphone. The 177th level of Candy Crush could wait until later.    The Dragon Lady gripped the front of her belt with both hands. Still feeling a little insecure with Adrienne. And not because Adrienne was some mean or hostile person. It would be quite the opposite of that. The Dragon Lady looked over at Adrienne and replied, "You mean besides trying to wrestle?"    She went silent a moment and then stared forwards again.    "I used to be a teacher's assistant before I came here to Baltimore. Never liked it much. Kinda did it because my ma wanted me to be some amazing smart woman. I thought I could do it. But just wasn't me. I haven't gone down there yet, but thinking about going down to the local nursing home. Maybe do some volunteer work for some older people. It's," she went silent again as she looked to be trying to find the right words to say, "easier to listen than talk for me. Thought I could listen to some interesting stories from the past. Try to get my brain to slow down with all the thoughts going on up there."    “That’s okay. I’m afraid my life isn’t very interesting. I’d tell you about all of the cool people I’ve met lately but it’s kind of obvious.”    Adrienne thought a little about what she said. This was the most The Dragon Lady had spoken to her directly. She’d cut a few promos but the rookie knew from experience that doing that sort of talk was quite different.    “I can understand managing the expectations others have for you. My mom wanted me to be a nurse before all of this.”    However, she was persistent and wanted to learn more about someone about this woman. It was clear that beyond the tough and mysterious exterior, there was an individual who believed in what was right.    “But, yes, besides wrestling, what do you like to do? Like for fun?”    "Think about Matt Knox," she said not even realizing what had come out of her mouth. Too late.    "Don't ever," she looked at Adrienne sounding completely embarrassed. "Don't ever tell him that. He has a big enough ego as it is. And I mean I don't think about him like all the time either. Just you know."    Even with her mask on Adrienne would be able to see the tops of her cheeks are red. And her ears have also turned bright red.    "Sometimes," she said.    Adrienne nodded respectfully.    She looked away again. Loosening her grip on the belt she held between her hands trying to look like she is at ease which is not the case.    The Dragon Lady changed the subject.    "I like watching movies. All types of movies. As I said, I'm not a people person very much. I find my escape with movies and popcorn." With that she stayed silent, planning to bring up Matt again now that it's brought up. "But no. Seriously. You seem like one of Matt's close friends here. Why haven't you told him he should rest after that ugly match he had with LRK?"    She sounded legit concerned for Matt. "I already know he's stubborn. I can tell. Did you try to talk to him?" She would not sound mad at Adrienne. The Dragon Lady's words came off more intrigued by the whole situation.    “I tried.”    Zane King was a touchy subject. Despite a clearing of the air, King had still crushed her windpipe due to pure circumstance. Like The Dragon Lady, Zane covered his face but the dreadful smelling leather covering seemed to be more of an extension of his body than just a mask. What King did to Matt Knox was too far whether he accepted the fight or not. Zane King couldn’t keep getting away with this but who could even stop him?    The driver turned up the radio slightly, interrupting her train of thought. Adrienne wasn’t a big fan of Neil Diamond but she was too nice to say anything.    Adrienne smiled with the sudden realization of this woman’s admission. It was the sort of obvious but it would be rude to point that out. The innocent gift left to Matt told her everything she needed to know.    “He does what he wants. I can suggest it. I can plead. But Matt revels in destruction. Even if it’s his own.”    The Dragon Lady looked to be someplace far away from this little car. She took a deep breath then, "Most men are like that. Believe me. I know." She definitely wouldn't have been referring to any boyfriend or past lover when she said this. She simply thought of her father. A man who also reveled in destruction. To himself. To the Dragon lady. To everyone in his past.    The Dragon Lady changed the subject again. "So what is it? That you see in Axton Gunn? I listened to a bit of his music. Guess it just wasn't my style." The Dragon Lady looked at Adrienne for this answer very curious. As she had already mentioned for their match against the young man, she was his number one fan.    “I wasn’t being dramatic when I talked about the impact he made. I guess you’re right. I’m just a huge fan. In the last few years, Axton’s music was sometimes the only barrier I had.”    Adrienne said this with hesitation. The barrier could be literal in a sense. Memories flooded in during those long road trips where her ex-husband would find one thing, one little thing, to harp on the entire trip. Eventually, she’d covertly slip in earbud into her “Gunn Show” playlist. It could be his music. It could be just his interviews. He loved listening to him talk as he was so passionate about the right things.    “I know he made a bad first impression.”    Early on, she had some suspicions that there were some ulterior motives to Axton’s conduct. But he checked Hawke almost immediately as the young man just laid into Adrienne about supposedly being a hypocrite.    “But that can’t be our focus.” Adrienne paused a beat. This was as a good time as ever to bring this up. They had been successful against Matthews and Goode despite what she had seen throughout that evening. “And Alex can’t be either. Gunn and Hawke are counting on distractions.”    The Dragon Lady kicked the back of the Uber driver's seat then. Not hard but enough to get his attention. "I can't think with that music on. Will you please, turn it down?"    The radio was muted without further incident.    The Dragon Lady looked back at Adrienne not looking mad. She looked serious. "I know. It's just so hard for me with Alex. Anytime I see his face or hear his name," she shook her head looking a bit frustrated. "I just want to punch him. Or something."    She let out a heavy shaking breath looking to be trying to calm herself. "I guess there's been to many people like Alex that have come into my little space. I am sorry if I ever seem distracted. I truly am trying. And I truly can't lie when I still want to punch him so bad. I wish. I wish I was different. Some person that could always just let things bounce off of me without a care in the world. Kinda like Alex. I guess. But I wouldn't be a prick about it like he is being."    “I’m not worried about what happens in the ring as so much what effect he has on you outside of it. When Alex first appeared, he went right after me. And I bit.” Adrienne shared. She didn’t regret standing up for himself and capturing her first victory against the man who promised to do horrible things to her was certainly sweet. However, it only seemed to make him bold. The embarrassment he suffered made him desperate and that was clearly recognized by those in power.    “Go after him for your own satisfaction. But know that he’ll never learn his lesson. He’s like one of punching bags that just stands right back up after being knocked over.”    There was a silence between the two as the Winter matter was put to bed.    She reached a hand over to Adrienne then. Resting it very lightly on her knee, patting it. "For the record, I never thought you were being dramatic about anything you said about Axton or Sebastian. I believe you. Of all people, I believe you when you say you think Axton may be a good guy. He hasn't proved himself yet though. And if he wants me to think differently. Well, he's going to need to get a bit more creative. Maybe take me to an all you can eat seafood buffet. But not until someone else does."    She was smiling under her mask now, even if Adrienne couldn't see it. She pulled her hand back then. This closeness to someone felt foreign. The Dragon Lady would say then, "So tell me, what is it you enjoy doing for fun?"    Adrienne could admit that she maybe twice a week she liked to drink that bottle of cheap wine and watch the Real Housewives of whatever iteration there was on currently. Although she didn’t want to come off as the company lush or anything like that.    “I don’t know. I’m kind of like you in that respect. Although, I really like hanging out with my friends. Always looking for new friends, too.” She said with an obvious implication.    The Dragon Lady looked at Adrienne as the taxi pulled into the Carnage parking lot. Many things went through her brain after Adrienne said the words on her mind. "Well perhaps sometime," she paused before continuing to speak. "Perhaps sometime you can show me more of the harbor. It would be an honor if you did." She balled a hand intonation fist then as the other was open palm next to it. A sign of respect from The Dragon Lady.    "It has already been an honor to work with someone so fine in their own special way."    “I’d like that,” Adrienne replied with a smile.    The Dragon Lady then reached into her getup bringing forth more than enough to pay for the ride. She handed it to the taxi driver.    "Keep the change," her eyes went back to Adrienne. "Until we see each other in the ring again. I look forward to this match and the next."    With that, The Dragon Lady slipped out of the Uber. She walked inside the Carnage Pavillion to find food.    Adrienne looked to the driver briefly.    “Have a good day, sir!” She said before running to catch up with The Dragon Lady. Adrienne averted a crisis by not tripping over her untied shoelace, instead stumbling a bit before catching herself.    Thankfully, no one saw.

[some-far-far-away-land]

Chesca’s Current Status

This weekend was amazing and gave me so much happiness, something I feel like I haven’t been in a long time. You know that the rest of this post is gonna explain why lol

So earlier last week I heard that a friend was selling tickets to the Alex Aiono and William Singe concert that I had been eyeing since like I think December or January, whenever they had released their tour dates. I was debating about it but by the time I decided tickets sold out already. So when I heard about my friend selling her ticket, the whole week I thought about it. I told her I’d tell her by Friday night. The week goes by and I was still debating, I was pretty broke and i knew if I went I would spend a lot of money on like getting there and back, and then food, and subway. What actually made me decide was that after class friday Nat Jose and I went for coffee with our old Don and I mentioned I was debating in going to toronto for this concert and Nat was like, “yo, lets go, i need a getaway and celebrate finishing design.” Plus Nellie was throwing a late bday party for Paul Saturday but I knew that Lisa would be there and that Thavi could potentially be there too. I honestly just didn’t want another repeat of gfx. I wouldn’t have been comfortable and I didn’t want that to translate on a celebration. Plus thinking about being in the same room as those two made me really anxious. I mean I know I didn’t do anything wrong but its the bad vibes and negativity I know those two people have for me that would make me uncomfortable. I mean if you had a choice I think you would choose a weekend in toronto by yourself, going on a few dates and going to see one of you favourite Youtube singers live, over a few hours of not knowing how to act around two people who use to be the closest people in your life who have now come to hate you for who know what reasons? 

So yea after a night of drinking and dancing at Phil’s with Nat, Jon, and Jose, which by the way was super fun because of the drunken talks and the company. Nat and I ventured off to Toronto Saturday morning. We went and got Pho in Chinatown, and then went to Eaton’s to shop and pick up some stuff. We ate there and didn’t go to Celene and Abby’s place till around 6pm. Funny story about where we ate for dinner. We went to the like cafeteria type place. I went to the coffee and pastry section since I was still full from Pho. I got an iced latte with a cheesecake. While I was in line, there was a hella rude customer who was on his phone telling the guy behind the counter (who was pretty cute btw) that he wanted more syrup on his waffle. He was also waiting for his drink and when the girl called it out he didn’t think it was his, when it clearly was. When he had left the cute guy behind the counter and another co-worker who I realized were filipino started talking about how rude he was. I listened and laughed cuz I know their struggles too and when the guy gave me my drink i smiled and said Salamat, and he was thrown off by it and he smiled back and I went on my merry way. 

Conversation with Nat was pretty good, we go pretty deep into my stuff, just with dating again and how I had been feeling the past few weeks. After that we went back and I redid my make up and taxied to the venue. I thought I was gonna be late but the show didn’t start till 8pm, line just started to move at 7pm. We get into the venue and its just standing so no seats. Its pretty packed and it was cold in there. I was supposed to meet up with my friend Jezeth but she was in the middle and I couldn’t find her so I just chilled where I was. When alex came out I had an amazing view of him, like most of the people there were girls who were with their girl friends or girls with their boyfriends, plus most of the people were asian so they were all shorter then me all I had to do was tippy toe a bit and I could see alex so well! The girls I ended up standing with and eventually befriending were super fun! They were drinking too so their vibes were legit and we danced and fangirled the whole time together! 

So let me talk about Alex, this man, omg he was so much cuter in person, his smile 10x warmer and his voice.... like fuck me, lol Like I thought that it wouldn’t sound as good as his videos but honestly he sounded exactly the same, even better live actually. I could listen to this man sing and play guitar for hours! I totally jus vibed out during his set, really took in the moment and just enjoyed being in the same space as him. *sigh* his gf is so lucky! lol

So after Alex it was obviously William and I only knew him from the songs he and Alex collabed together on. I honestly was not prepared, like this man, was sooooo good live, like his falsetto is on point, his covers were amazing! I love his style, his r&b swag and even his original songs... man. He got me feeling feels too. A little bit into his set my phone died and I actually am so glad it did. I really jus experienced the night and really enjoyed myself without worrying about getting things on camera. I just lived in the moment. I was just so happy and loving life. Alex ended up coming back later on and they sang the songs they did together and I almost died, like I felt like I went to heaven lol

After the concert, which ended around 10:30pm I decided to walk back, well partially. I had to find a place that was open where I could charge my phone. So I went the Tims on College and Yonge. Stayed there for a bit and then took the street car to Abby’s place. Decided to get BK cuz i was hungry and then waited for Nat to come back since she went to go and hangout with Jack while I was at the concert. When she got back we talked a bit before we went to bed. I let her sleep on the bed and I took the ground, which wasn’t bad actually.

So we wake up and we originally planned on having brunch with Jack and Bri but Jack was too sick and Bri’s schedule was too busy so we went for lunch with Celene, her man, and Abby. The place we went to was near Koreatown and we ate at this cute restaurant that had the best eggs benedict I’ve every had in my life. I go mine with baby spinach and the home fries was covered in this sauce and like i died! The conversation was good too and it was nice hanging out with friends. It was such a beautiful day too! Like the nicest day of the year so far I think. I mean I didn’t wear a coat and walked around the whole day. after lunch nat and i walked around koreatown, got my favourite fish dessert and just chilled. She had a carpool a 5pm since she was having dinner with her roomies so she went back first. I actually had a date for that afternoon but he cancelled saying he had worked out too hard in the morning and pretty much felt sick. I wasn’t too bummed about it since I still got to hangout with my friends and eat good food. We’ve been having good conversations on facebook and he seemed sad we couldn’t hangout, but its okay things happen for a reason.

When nat left I went for a bbt date with this guy I had been talking too for a week now. He was Korean and was actually pretty nice and sweet. Like physically he was okay but conversation was nice and he spoke english pretty well despite only living in Korea until like 4 months ago. He was super sweet and even walked me to my subway. it was cute date, i’d talk to him again lol

I was supposed to meet up with other friends for dinner but they cancelled last minute because something came up. Another guy I’ve been talking to for a week asked if I was free to grab dinner since he wanted to see me while I was still in town. I said yes of course, and we ended up getting dim sum in Chinatown and it was honestly sooooo good! This guy is filipino and he’s one of the ones I enjoy talking to via text all week so i was excited to meet him. He was actually so much better looking in person and his voice, sounds so nice. Like its deep and he has a filipino accent which I didn’t think i’d like but I totally did. Our conversation was so good and i just felt comfortable with him. after dim sum he offered to subway with me all the way to yonge and sheppard. thats like 30 mins on the subway. My carpool was at 10:30 so we went to the meet up spot and the carpool cancels last minute! At first I was annoyed and furious cuz now I’m stuck here till tmrw morning. But what happened after made up for it. 

We subway back to Abby’s place and then we decided that we wanted to walk around for a bit. guys, we ended up walking 3 km together. We went down beverley st. all the way to queen st. down john st., past front st. and all he way down to the harbourfront. We sat by the water for 30 mins, just talking about life, relationships, school, etc. The spontaneous nature of the whole night was something I honestly have never done before. Probably one of the best first dates I’ve had. we ended up walking up spadina from the rogers centre and made a full circle back to Abby’s place. We walked for 3 hrs almost. When we said our goodbyes he hugged me so tight and I was gonna kiss him on the cheek but i ended up giving him a peck on the lips, and then he hugged me again and then this time he kissed me and then just walked away all shy like. It was so cute and like the best way to end my night.

I went to sleep around 2am I think. Woke up at noon, and went and got starbucks with celene and her man. Then took a go train to bramalea and then a bus to kitchener go, then the 8 bus to asian grocery, then walked to campus and made it for the 5pm meeting. We then set up at 6pm for our event, and then EOT was at 7PM-10PM.

So that was my weekend getaway with myself. Honestly I’m so happy I decided to go away, even though now i’m hella broke, it was so worth it. I mean like I finally know what I want to do and what I’m gonna tell my parents my plan is. This weekend gave me motivation to get my shit together and just go after what I want to do and what I want to pursue. I swear I’m meant to live in Toronto and based of the events of this weekend I feel like in my gut its where I’m supposed to be.

I plan on going back in 2 weeks, after I’ve made some money and you know finished school stuff lol