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amjustagirl · 2 years ago

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chapter 14: burn away your fears

chapters: 14 / 15

pairing: miya osamu x f! reader

genre: romance / angst / fluff

word count: 5.4k

summary: miya osamu does not dare set fire to his heart. it burns anyway.

(prev / next)

A year later, it’s surprising how much things change.

Atsumu, of course, has the most dramatic change of trajectory. He announces his professional volleyball after a lightouts game against the Adlers where he wins with a setter dump and a record four dramatic aces. The stands are silent, the audience tearful when he bows to them with uncharacteristic humility, kneeling down to touch the polished wooden floors one last time before he leaves the arena. Olympic medals, V-league medals, two stints in Italy (the second one sanctioned by Kaiyo and the kids), and he closes this chapter of his life on the highest of highs.

He knows it’s difficult for Atsumu to envision what’s next because volleyball has been all he’s known from the age of eight, and gods does Atsumu mope to no end, hanging around the restaurants with a long face until he has to banish him for scaring his customers, growing more despondent after unsuccessful career talks with Meian Shugo (now, a professional sports agent), Bokuto (a junior coach), Kiyoomi (a suit in the JVA).

It’s lucky he has Kaiyo on his side.

She very shrewdly sets up a meeting with her cousin Azumi, now happily married to Sakusa Kiyoomi, a sports writer with numerous contacts in the sports media industry. A deal is cut quite quickly, because corporate sharks move in to capitalise on Atsumu’s marketability - good-looks and a charming Kansai accent with the credibility from being an Olympian. He’s booked as a commentator for both Inter High and Spring High - much to Shino’s dismay though, in her first year of high school volleyball she has to deal with her dad bawling into the microphone when her team wins a match, but it seems be a success because jobs flow in after that, and Atsumu is jetting around the world for gigs, even going viral when he’s filmed on a flight to the volleyball world championship in Rome loudly professing his love to Kaiyo to the consternation of the cabin crew who just want him to turn off his damn phone.

Shino - well, she breaks her father’s heart (an exaggeration, she’d say, with a flick of her ponytail) by taking a scholarship to Niyama Girl’s High School in Sendai instead of staying in Osaka - her uncle Hinata’s delighted because that’s Natsu’s alma mater, though Atsumu’s somewhat pleased that it puts distance between her and Meian Makoto. Not that it works, he walks in on them making out during a school break when she’s back home and Shino runs off to Kita’s farm in Hyogo to complain and give her father more heartache.

“Kids are a pain”, Atsumu whines.

“Nah, just yours. Cos they take after you.” Osamu retorts.

Shoma’s his usual self, a snack perpetually in hand, intent on learning to cook more dishes so he can feed Asami-chan whenever he visits the Kitas on their farm in Hyogo - Kaiyo and Ichika of course are planning their kids’ wedding more than a decade too early. Not much has changed other than surprising his dad by voluntarily joining volleyball as a club activity. He’s actually pretty good, for an eight year old, though it’s not settled whether he likes setting or spiking better yet.

Kaiyo’s just her usual self. Everything’s right in her world - she has no more friends to meddle with (maybe she should deal with Suna, hrm), she’s happy with her job, her family doesn’t give her too many headaches (well, other than Shino finding out that ‘Tsumu was a shit husband and dad for the first three years of her life and throwing a snit about it, the aforementioned debacle of Shino running off to Hyogo, Shoma buying tickets and nearly running off to Hyogo by himself) - okay, maybe her life isn’t exactly drama free with two madcap kids and a husband who behaves like a lovesick kid, but it’s pretty smooth sailing nonetheless. She and Ichika regularly have sleepovers (no one’s ever too old for a pyjama party with pizza) and you’re often invited along as a third of their unholy trio.

Though…you did call out of the most recent one, saying you weren’t up to it.

He chalked it up to stress from work. Your business is growing strong, though you still find the time to help out at his restaurants, despite him protesting that he doesn’t want to eat into your free time, that you should take your off days seriously, laze in bed or go out to cafes with Kaiyo or Suzuki-san, anything other than rolling up your sleeves to make batches and batches of onigiris with him and the crew.

“But you’re here, aren’t you?”

He finds himself unable to argue with that. Even though you’ve finally given in and moved into his apartment, insisting on paying rent to him (now it’s funny because you’re each other’s landlords) which he only accepts as your pre-condition to moving yourself and Kombu-chan in. He’s squirrelling that cash into a little fund for - well, he doesn’t quite know what to do with it, but he has plans that potentially involve a long holiday to Thailand and a ring.

For now, it’s nice having you to come back to every night after a long day of running the restaurants. It’s a little more crowded, a little messier - a litter box and cat bed that he trips over in the living room, a ludicrous amount of kitchen utensils and never enough space on the countertops, but it’s all the better for it. Catching each other’s eyes in the toilet mirror whilst brushing teeth and cracking up over a joke you just shared, playing tetris with a too-full fridge, babysitting Shoma and introducing him to the wonders of a blanket fort party when Kaiyo and ‘Tsumu go for their weekly pizza dates - he never thought he could be this happy so easily.

His apartment truly feels like home.

“What time are you coming back?”

A text from you isn’t amiss around this time. It’s past the lunch crush and he usually heads back to the apartment for a quick nap, since he’s usually covering the dinner shift as well. You’re often in the kitchen experimenting, drawing up the menu for the weekend, and he should find you there. But the apartment remains quiet even after he calls out a cheery tadaima, so he goes to investigate, kicking his shoes off in the genkan, padding around until he finds signs of life in the toilet.

The door is locked, but he can hear the unmistakable sound of someone emptying out their guts. Alarmed, he jiggles it open, and you just groan, head lolling against the seat.

“Hey”, he murmurs, approaching you gingerly, the way one might with a feral cat (like you and Kombu-chan, a funny coincidence).

You hug the cistern for dear life.

He picks you off the floor as if you weigh no more than a bag of rice. Wipes your mouth with a damp towel, urges you to gargle your mouth while he mixes day-old rice with the chicken stock he always has on hand in a pot, serving it to you in a bowl when it comes to a boil. You barely take three spoonfuls of it before pushing it away, claiming you’re full.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, rounding the table to kneel in front of you, taking your hands in his.

“Nothing”, you say, but it’s as unconvincing as Shoma claiming he’s not hungry when he’s staring at food with eyes the size of dinner plates.

“Shall we make an appointment to see the doctor? I think we should, if you’re not feeling well.”

“I think you should”, he argues, unconvinced. “You’ve been feelin’ so sick recently, I don’t know whether it’s been a particularly bad batch of shellfish, maybe. And lately you’ve been getting more and more tired, even though you’re going to bed early and sleepin’ in.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s something”, he stresses. “You’re clearly not well - cos you’re pukin’ and you’re tired, and I gotta be honest, you’ve been a bit moody and your back hurts even though your period hasn’t come in the past -”

Oh.

It finally clicks.

“Sweetheart”, he says gently. “Are you pregnant?”

You confirm his suspicions by breaking down, burying your face into the cradle of your arms, you bawl brokenly. “I can’t do this”, you cry. “I can’t, I - I can’t - ”

It’s not that you’ve never talked about having a family before. In truth, you’ve both left it up to chance, being lax with - well, protection, because if fate decrees it - then well, it’s meant to be. He definitely dreams of a family, made up of you and him and Kombu-chan and a kid that’s got a little bit of him and a little bit of you. And you’re so good with Shoma (he follows you around, convinced that you hold all the secrets to the kitchen in your hands), with the kids who visit the restaurant, going out of the way to add little decorations to their onigiris - a smiley face cut into the nori sheets, an extra bit of fruit sliced into stars and bunnies and hearts.

But your happiness is worth far more than any of that to him.

“It’s okay”, he says, measuring his every word. “You don’t have to have it. The baby, I mean - cos’ you’re pregnant, aren’t ya? Iif you don’t want to.” But then he trips himself to add (because the spectre of ‘Tsumu in his chaotic, storm filled years looms, large and ominous), “but if you want to have it, I’m gonna be here for you, every step of the way. It’s your choice, sweetheart, and I’ll support whatever it is you choose.”

It just makes you sob harder. There’s nothing he can do but rub circles into the small of your back until you hiccup into his shoulder.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s okay”, he says, because really, what else can he say? “It’s okay.”

But it isn’t okay because you keep him at a distance over the next couple of days, even though you cancel the next few engagements you have to hole up in bed, your eyes red and puffy, and you refuse to eat more than a few bites of all the treats he offers in an attempt to lure you out of the fort you’ve built with all the pillows and blankets you have at home.

He waits, not because he’s a patient man by nature, but because he knows that burns hurt, raw and red. Rushing back to the kitchen before the memory scabs over will leave one too scared to approach the roaring flames in the stove. And if you need time to consider the implications of how your life might change, ponder your choices, weigh what you want your future to hold, you have every right to.

He’ll wait for you. He’ll support whatever decision you make.

(even if he dreams and hopes of you and him and well - it’s not his choice to make)

He waits until you stick a hand out of your blanket fort, fumbling around in the dark to grasp his hand, doesn’t say a word until you croak, staring up at the ceiling, counting the cracks.

“I can’t do it. I don’t know how to.”

“Neither do I”, he admits, though he burns to add that he’ll try, gods does he want to try with you.

“I’ll be a terrible mother”, you say. “I don’t know how to keep a kid alive. Do I feed it rice? What if I drop it? What if I start resenting the kid for hijacking my life - I mean, it’s literally a parasite isn’t it, at this point? What if - I don’t know, I mean - my parents weren’t exactly great - and what if, what if my kid ends up unhappy, I wouldn’t know how to make a kid happy, what do I do - what do I do -”

“I’m scared too.”

Your grip tightens. “Yeah”, you exhale.

He waits for your breath to even out to unearth you from your hiding hole, removing each pillow from your carefully constructed tower, brick by brick before wrapping himself against your back, arm over your sternum. “It’s okay to be scared.”

You only hiccup.

“But”, again, he chooses his words with care, mindful not to imply that it’s anything but your choice. “Whatever you choose to do, you don’t have to be brave by yourself.”

Again, you hiccup. “And if I chose to have it? A baby, I mean.”

“Then I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

His heart leaps, skips a beat, then two and he almost forgets to breathe when you laugh, a watery sound but a laugh nonetheless.

“You’re a brave man to promise that, Miya Osamu.”

“Not as brave as you”, he replies, because it’s true.

Having courage doesn’t have to mean going out into the great, wide world, performing bold, dashing feats of heroism. It’s as simple as putting one foot in front of the other day after day without letting your fears and insecurities chase you back into your safe hiding place. Life can be hard as fuck sometimes, and it’s so easy to lose sight of your dreams and passions, but you’re trying your best to leave your ghosts behind, overcome everything that’s been placed in your way and by gods, does he love you for it.

So it just seems like the right time, a week later, to get down yet again on his knees before you, a box with a gold ring inside instead of a bowl of porridge. “Marry me”, he says, the entire speech he’s prepared for the occasion flying out of his head, all he can think of is here and now and there’s nothing he wants so much as to solidify that you and him and the baby and kombu-chan are a family.

His family.

You ruffle his hair with a rueful smile. “You shouldn’t propose just cos’ because a baby’s on the way.”

He’s startled into a laugh. “D’you seriously think I’m proposin’ cos of the baby?”

“...Yeah?”

“Nah. That’s not why I’m proposing.”

He gathers you into his arms, meets your frown of confusion with a kiss on top of your nose.

“I love you. I’m proposin’ cos I’m greedy and I wanna make sure I can tell everyone that you and Kombu-chan and that baby in your belly is my family.”

You push him away, gaining some space between you and him. “Why me?”

“Why you?” he echoes. “It’s always gonna be you. There’s never been anyone for me but you.”

Your frown deepens. “But…I’m just me.”

“That’s right”, he tucks your hair behind your ear. “You’re you. And that’s all I want.”

There’s a smile creeping onto your face, spring sunshine after a long, dark winter. “That’s not answering my question.”

“You want me to give you a list of reasons why I wanna marry you?” You tweak his nose, and he thinks that means yes. “You’re brave, even though there’s so much to be scared about. You’re kind, even though life is hard and the world can be a shit place full of shittier people. You’re smart and gorgeous and funny and patient and all of you makes me wanna be a braver, better man so I can catch up with you and be by your side.”

“Sweet talker”, you poke his side.

“Well, you asked”, he chuckles. “So, how ‘bout it?”

“How about what?”

“Sweetheart”, he groans. “You’re killin’ me.”

A few beats pass, the longest pause in his life, where he’s waiting and hoping at the crossroads for you. But then you take the box out of his hand. With shaking hands, you slide the ring onto your fourth finger, a shimmer of gold in the shadows.

“You make me happy, Miya Osamu.”

He takes your hand, the hand with his ring on it. He wants to tell you that he’ll keep trying his best to make you happy, because you’ve made him the happiest man of earth by agreeing to be his family (you, kombu-chan and the baby in your belly), but there’s a tidal wave of emotion that swells in a rush of salt and water in his eyes, tears that you wipe away with a tender smile.

You take his hand, humming a tuneless melody as you dance in the kitchen, laughing like children as you trip over each other’s feet in an uncoordinated waltz. Heedless to the world spinning off its axis, crashing and burning. He has you and Kombu-chan and the baby and as long as the lot of you are headed in the same direction together (a family), then he’s happy. He has all that he wants.

He sets fire to his heart, lets it flare bright in the blue dawn sky.

It is not a lie. It is not a dream.

You are happy. So incredibly, impossibly happy that you have to pinch yourself to convince yourself that it’s real, this is your life. Like champagne bubbles that pop, you have to savour every sip. “D’you think grillin’ these onigiris will counterbalance the sweet glaze?” Osamu asks when you wander out of the bedroom, long after the sun hangs in the sky.

“You can always try”, you offer, still groggy as you slip into a seat by the breakfast counter.

“Eat up”, he passes you a plate full of onigiris and pork bone soup and pickles and - when did he get up to get all of this ready - “You and the kid needs feedin’.”

“Osamu”, you murmur. He drops everything to pay attention to your every word, leaning his full weight on the countertop.

“What’s wrong?”

You’re not sure if it’s the raging hormones, or the fact that you’re just overwhelmed by how happy and content you are, but you’re suddenly overcome with the need to weep and belly laugh and tell Osamu how he’s made you so, so ridiculously, uncharacteristically giddy, that you do all of the above.

“Hey, no - sweetheart, c’mere. Why’re you cryin? Was it somethin’ wrong my big mouth said?”

You let him gather you into his lap, rocking you as if you’re the baby (and not the one growing one), hiccuping and crying and giggling and - yes, you’re definitely going insane - it’s too much but not too much at the same time.

“I’m - I’m too happy, ‘Samu - and we have a wedding to plan!”

The tense line of his shoulder relaxes. He presses a kiss to your hairline, smoothing out the wrinkles in your brow. You can feel the curve of his smile grow against your cheek.

“There’s no such thing as too happy, sweetheart. And don’t worry ‘bout the wedding. Leave everything to me.”

That was what he intended.

But leave to Kaiyo to have everything in hand when she finds out that not only are you pregnant, you also need a wedding planned, stat. It’s not that either of you made a big announcement, wanting to wait until you were at least twelve weeks along, but she deduces it for herself when you religiously avoid any alcohol or raw food at your next izakaya get-together, even asking to meet somewhere which bans indoor smoking.

She swings herself (and Ichika) into full wedding prep mode with so much enthusiasm he has to tell her to calm herself down, because she whips out her old Shiromuku kimono that both she and Ichika wore to their weddings and starts chattering about making arrangements at the Miya family shrine, the traditional wedding venue where she and Atsumu got married more than a decade ago -

“We were thinkin’ of gettin’ married at Kita’s farm instead.”

Ichika squeals and calls Shinsuke immediately. Kaiyo just gives him a small smile of understanding.

There are too many parallels between him and Atsumu as it is.

A baby before a wedding - of course, it’s not quite an accident since you and he left the question of a baby to chance, and it wouldn’t be the whoopsy daisy accident that Shin-chan was to ‘Tsumu and Kaiyo, both on the cusp of starting their careers. And a wedding that’s accelerated because a baby’s on the way - not that he needed to be walloped on the nose to marry, gods he can’t wait, but still, but still, he’s not the foolish, selfish Atsumu of yesteryear.

“You’ll make a great dad.”

Shoma’s over in the kitchen with you, eight years old and holding a knife without any fear whatsoever, producing neat, evenly sized slices of fish that even adults would be hard pressed to do. Atsumu’s ‘hanging out’ with him - though that’s just a euphemism for crash my brother’s shop and bug him to make a load of fatty tuna onigiris for me.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence”, he replies, tone drier than that awful pitcher of sake Gintama produced in his backyard.

“You’re welcome”, Atsumu says cheerfully, gobbling up yet another onigiri. “You’re damn good with Sho-chan, he probably wants to hang out with you more than he does with his dear old dad-”

“Because I always have food and that kid thinks with his stomach-”

“And Shin-chan comes to the restaurant to mope whenever she has a bad game - ”

“Reminds me of a certain someone, huh.”

“The point is”, Atsumu swallows a mouthful of rice. “Thanks, y’know? For steppin’ in and helpin’ with my kiddos and Kaiyo even though you didn’t need to. And now it’s your turn. You’re gonna do great.”

You don’t need to thank me, he wants to tell his twin. Cos you’d do the exact same for me.

But it’s two o’clock in the afternoon and he’s not about to reach into the well of his emotional depths. “You’re just laughin’ that I’ll be having sleepless nights with night feeds in my old age.”

Atsumu gets it though. He always does.

“I mean, I’ll help whenever I can! Commentating for games means my hours are kinda chill now, so -”

Osamu pinches the bridge of his nose. “If your ‘helpin’ means teachin’ the baby to set with frozen grapes, then I’d much rather not, thank you.”

Strangely enough, his twin does not take offence. He just remains seated, placidly sipping his miso soup, whereas if Osamu’d said that exact thing to him (save the commentating - that’s a recent career move following retirement), he’d have been at the risk of being severely throttled, ‘cos ‘Tsumu’s a hothead like that. Osamu squints at him. Old age perhaps (but that means he’s old too, and he’s not). Or maybe fatherhood has finally mellowed him out (a more probably explanation, cos parenting Shin-chan would tire anyone out - she’s like ‘Tsumu but female and with Kaiyo’s smarts, a lethal combination).

“Why’re you starin’ at me like that?”

If he shares what exactly is flitting through his mind, he’s definitely in for a beating, and it’s too late in the afternoon for that. “Nothin’”, he mutters.

Thankfully, Atsumu’s attention is diverted by the last onigiri on the plate. Or at least, that’s what Osamu thinks because when Atsumu wipes his plate clean, he’s still oddly quiet, whereas typically, he’d be chattering about the mundane shit that happens throughout his day or week - like the fact that he pissed Sakusa-san off during a recent tournament by pointing him out as a former teammate on camera, even though he’s no longer a professional (but it’s Omi-Omi! Even if he is a stuffy suit with the JVA, he’s still one of the best spikers ever!) or when he interviewed Shin-chan before Spring High and asked if she plans to win, as is the Miya family way and promptly got embarrassed, because she pointed out that Inarizaki never took home the title with them (I mean it’s true, but she has NO TACT), never mind that’s exactly how Atsumu himself would have responded as a cocky fifteen year old.

But now, Atsumu is oddly quiet. The calm before the storm.

“What’s with you?” Osamu asks, impatient.

Atsumu takes his own sweet time to reply. Takes far too many beats, as if he’s considering his words which he’s probably never done in his entire life.

“D’you think we’re livin’ up to Oto-san’s standards?”

Osamu promptly takes a swig of Gintama’s sake from a flask he hides under the counter for when he encounters a stream of tough customers and requires a break. “Woah. That’s way too deep for two thirty in the afternoon.”

Atsumu throws back in his head and laughs. “I guess he’s probably just relieved that I didn’t end up gettin’ kicked out by Kaiyo. He’d be proud of you though.”

It’s not the alcohol that burns the back of his throat. “You think so?” Osamu croaks.

“I don’t think it, I know it”, Atsumu pronounces with the cheesiest grin ever, and he’s about to reach over and slap it off his face when he realises that there are cracks in the facade, a dull shine in his twin’s eyes that telegraphs regret, guilt perhaps.

As much as he shits on Atsumu’s past transgressions, he’s more than made up for it - at least vis a vis the kids. He’s attended every single game of Shino’s that he’s humanly able to, rushing from practice to sit at the stands and yell encouragement after every spike, successful or unsuccessful, so vociferously that she’s tried to ban him from her games until he learns some semblance of volume control (imagine her horror when her FATHER is the commentator for Spring High). For Shoma - he’s never once expressed any jealousy that the little boy prefers hanging out in the kitchen with him, buying child-appropriate kitchen utensils and watching umpteenth youtube videos about cooking and food for the kid, even worriedly checking if Sho-chan’s really, truly, one hundred and twenty per cent sure that he wants to join volleyball as a club activity in elementary school (I didn’t want him to feel like he had to play volleyball cos I did, he explained).

“I think you’re a good dad too.”

Atsumu sniffles. “If I’m ever a bad dad, make sure you punch me.”

“Happy to.” But even as Osamu rolls his eyes, he adds. “And if I’m ever a bad dad to my kid -”

“I’d be happy to break your nose.”

“Don’t sound so happy when you say that, it’s gross.”

“Sho-chan”, Osamu hears you chime in from the kitchen, airily light but with a hint of steel. “Please don’t listen to your ‘to-san or ‘ji-san when they talk about breaking people’s noses, okay? If we’re going to nourish people with our cooking, we shouldn’t harbour thoughts about hurting them.”

“I broke ‘Tsumu’s nose ‘cos he was a jerk to Kaiyo.”

“Yep.” Atsumu confirms. “Definitely deserved that.”

You shake your head. “You are both good fathers, despite your penchant for violence. Sho-chan, make sure you don’t learn from them. I’m sure your Okaa-san would agree with me.”

Shoma pipes up. “‘Ka-san told me to kick anyone who says cookin’ is for girls. They’re wrong. Cooking’s for everyone.”

You look horrified, especially when Osamu nods his head approvingly at Shoma. Atsumu just guffaws.

Thankfully, you’re still willing to marry him despite your horror at the Miya family’s penchant for violence. The entire Miya family decamps to the Kitas’ farm, much to the delight of Kaiyo and Shoma, the guesthouse is bursting the seams with wedding guests - the entire Inarizaki team, the Onigiri Miya crew, your adopted Thai aunties you kept in contact with and their families, even Nishinoya Yu - he remembers him as the libero Atsumu targeted the first time they played Karasuno (it almost bowled him over to find out that you ran into him in Chiang Mai, what even are the odds of that!).

Much of the day before the wedding is spent catching up with his old classmates - heck, even Aran flies back for the wedding despite coaching duties in the States, and a very rowdy afternoon is spent reminiscing about their school days over pints of beer, before everyone convenes for dinner, the spread prepared by you and your Thai aunties - curries and fruit salads, salt grilled fish cooked over an open fire. His crew will take over for the wedding lunch tomorrow as their wedding present to him. With all the chefs in attendance for this wedding, everyone’s stomachs will be kept very, very full.

Shoma even gets in on the action, volunteering to wake up early with Asami-chan and Obaa-chan to cook porridge for breakfast tomorrow morning, before everyone will make their way to the village shrine. A simple ceremony conducted by the Shinto priests, taking three sips of sake (alcohol free for you), before celebration over lunch back on the farm. From the sound of murmuring between Morita, Ishida and Miyamura, it seems like they have no plans for lunch to stop anytime before supper, so it’s going to be a raucous, all-day feast, for sure. And between speeches by Atsumu and Kaiyo, Suzuki-san and Kita, it’s going to be a long, long day.

Luckily it’s summer, where the days stretch past the horizons, the season of love. “You should look for your bride, make sure she hasn’t run away yet”, Suna says without bite. So he takes his leave from his friends, finding you under the forsythia shrub, sheltering from the multitude of well wishers and the summer heat.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Too much”, you groan. “People keep trying to feed me. And Kaiyo and Ichika had this weird competition in the kitchen that they made me the judge of, where they’re trying to deep fry the weirdest things in a vat of oil - which is made even more ridiculous by the fact that it’s summer and it’s boiling hot.”

“Judgmental?”

“You try eating deep fried kimchi stuffed in a bittergourd - “

“I’ll pass, thanks”, he laughs, shuddering as he plops down on the grass beside you.

You both fall silent, listening as the cicadas chirp, the evening breeze whistling through the wheat fields. Birds sing to each other, calling each other home as they wheel about in crazed circles in the still bright sky.

“I was wondering”, you say conversationally. “Whether my parents would be proud of me now.”

He stiffens but you don’t seem to notice, or perhaps you do and continue anyway, chuckling to yourself.

“I have the feeling that they’d be horrified at what I’ve done. Shutting down the restaurant, spitting in years of tradition by changing up family recipes, getting pregnant before getting married - I’d probably get disowned. They’ll probably even pretend that I don’t even exist. And I used to wonder why - everyone else seemed to have parents who cared, parents who didn’t force their own expectations and dreams on them - and I just didn’t. And I spent years trying to get over it, hating what I was trained to do, aiming low out of spite even though really, it only affected myself.”

Your voice cracks.

“It’s the night before my wedding and I hate that I’m still worrying about my parents even though they’re long dead.”

“Does it matter what they think?” he asks. “Look at how far you’ve come despite them.”

There’s no use railing at ghosts. Death takes them beyond the veil, leaving behind ash and bone and a trail of troubled memories, nothing else. To his relief, the corner of your mouth quirks upwards, not quite a smile, but far from a frown.

“You’re right”, you reply. “I’m lucky to be where I am, right now.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing great.”

“Of course you’d say that, you’re marrying me tomorrow.”

“Yeah”, he breathes, suddenly giddy. “Definitely doin’ great.”

He’s still on a high when you laugh and kiss him good night, hardly able to drift off to sleep between his excitement for tomorrow and Suna’s snoring, and it’s remiss of him, but he almost, almost forgets this conversation amidst the sheer joy that simmers in his heart long after you exchange vows to be each other’s forever, your gathered family and friends erupting into whoops and cheers once outside the solemn Shinto shrine, the party lasting late into the night until everyone nearly collapses from too much food.

“We’re married”, you whisper, lying back on the grass.

“We’re married”. He echoes almost in disbelief, hand in yours.

Even with the glow of lights from the farm, there’s a glimmer of starlight in the violet-dusk sky. Fireflies dance over the sea of flowers in bloom, the wheatfields singing in the wind.

“I’m happy, ‘Samu”, you say, unbidden. “I’m happy.”

He grips your hand tight. There’s no need to say what you already know.

a/n: we are finally, finally within sight of the end :) hope you guys like this chapter!

#haikyuu angst #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #miya osamu x reader #miya osamu x y/n #miya osamu x you #miya osamu

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demifiendrsa · 3 years ago

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Swedish pop group ABBA has announced its return after nearly 40 years with a new studio album and a digital concert that will see singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and instrumentalists/songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus performing digitally via avatars with a live 10-piece band in a purpose-built arena in London, beginning on May 27, 2022.

The “Voyage” album will be released worldwide on November 5, 2021 via Universal Music Group’s Capitol label. The two newly released songs, “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down,” were recorded by the group at Andersson’s Riksmixningsverket studio in Stockholm and will both feature in the concert. The songs are the first new material from ABBA since the release of the “Under Attack” single in December of 1982.

According to the announcement, the digital versions of ABBA have been created “following weeks and months of motion-capture and performance techniques with the four band members and an 850-strong team from Industrial Light & Magic,” the company founded by George Lucas.

“ABBA Voyage” will open the ABBA Arena, a state-of-the-art 3,000 capacity arena located at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London on May 27, 2022. Pre-registration for tickets opens on September 2, 2021 at 6pm on abbavoyage.com with tickets on general sale from September 7, 2021.

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ABBA Voyage - Album & Concert trailer

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The Journey Is About To Begin

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Live coverage

New singles

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I Still Have Faith In You

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Don't Shut Me Down (Lyric Video)

Press statement

It’s been a while since we made music together. Almost 40 years, actually. We took a break in the spring of 1982 and now we’ve decided it’s time to end it. They say it’s foolhardy to wait more than 40 years between albums, so we’ve recorded a follow-up to The Visitors. We simply call it Voyage and we’re truly sailing in uncharted waters. With the help of our younger selves, we travel into the future. It’s not easy to explain but then it hasn’t been done before.”

“To all of you who patiently have followed us in some way or another these past decades: Thank you for waiting — it’s time for a new journey to begin.

“We simply call it ‘Voyage’ and we’re truly sailing in uncharted waters. With the help of our younger selves, we travel into the future. It’s not easy to explain but then it hasn’t been done before.”

Agnetha Fältskog said:“When we got back together in the studio I had no idea what to expect… But Benny’s recording studio is such a friendly and safe environment, and before I knew it I was really enjoying myself! I can hardly believe that finally, the moment has come to share this with the world!”

Björn Ulvaeus said: “They’re such amazing singers, those two, I was completely floored by the way they delivered those songs. They’re true musicians; totally unimpressed by pop star glamour but still having a great time being creative in a recording studio. The “Voyage” project has injected new life into us in more ways than one.”

Benny Andersson said, “It’s hard to say what’s been the most joyful thing for me with this project, if it’s the involvement in creating the concert together with everyone or being back in the studio together again after 40 years. I think hearing Frida and Agnetha singing again is hard to beat. When you come to the arena you will have the four of us together with an absolutely glorious 10-piece band. And even if not in the flesh, we will be right there, thanks to the work of the creative team and ILM.”

Anni-Frid Lyngstad said: “Those first sessions back in 2018 were such fun and when Benny called and asked if I’d consider singing some more I jumped at it! And what songs!! My respect and love go out to these exceptionally talented, truly genius songwriters! Such joy it was to work with the group again. I am so happy with what we have made, and I dearly hope our fans feel the same.”

“So, again, thanks for waiting! We hope to see you in the ‘ABBA Arena’ and yes — see — because we have infused a good deal of our souls into those avatars. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’re back.”

#ABBA #ABBA Voyage #Voyage #Agnetha Faltskog #Bjorn Ulvaeus #Benny Andersson #Anni Frid Lyngstad #music #music video #long post

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melisa-may-taylor72 · 4 years ago

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Record Mirror- 08-25-1984

Ministry Of Works

Did you know that Freddie Mercury wants to make a reggae record? And that Roger Taylor would be selling flowers if he wasn't in Queen? Read on for more fascinating facts

MAYHEM IN Munich! Freddie Mercury is cavorting with a scantily dressed transvestite and it's only three in the afternoon. Are you man or woman enough to read on? Then swallow your vitamin pills and follow me.

Queen are limbering up for their forthcoming tour in Germany and to celebrate another single rising majestically up the charts, they're holding a little press bash in Munich's P1 club. A place even more decadent than the South Finchley Whiskey A Go Go.

The ghost of Adolf Hitler probably wanders around here on dark nights, as The Fuhrer used to store his paintings and other plunder in the club and the building next door. Unfortunately there's nothing left around today.

Instead, the club has gems of another kind. A selection of Queen's videos including the notorious 'Body Language' — and champagne and wine flowing like Niagara Falls.

The cabaret is Freddie's own idea: a group of well passed it drag artists, so outrageous in G strings and lingerie that they make Divine seem as tame as Marjorie Proops. Freddie's more than willing to join in when one of the girls does a rendition of 'I Want To Break Free', but the rest of the members of Queen look on shyly from the comforts of the bar. Everybody, but everybody is here to witness the event, including a film crew from the US air force, tramping around in full combat gear making a nuisance of themselves.

Freddie's doing well considering he's in quite a lot of pain. He remains tight lipped about the full details but he injured his leg after an incident in a club. A physiotherapist has been pummelling at it nearly every day.

"This c+ + + kicked me," says Fred. "I'm hoping my knee will be ready in time for the tour, but it's still giving me a lot of trouble. It might mean I will have to cut down on some of my more elaborate gorgeous stage moves."

FRED'S ALSO been hobbling around a Munich recording studio putting the finishing touches to his first ever solo album which should be out in January. Gadzooks, could this be the start of a split with Queen? Is it true Limahl's going to take over?

"Not at all. I've wanted to do a solo album for a long time and the rest of the band have encouraged me to do it. Some of them are even featured doing a few bits and pieces to help me out.

"There are a lot of musical territories I wanted to explore, which I couldn't really do with Queen. I wanted to cover such things as reggae rhythms and I've done a couple of tracks with a symphony orchestra. It will have a very rich sound."

Fred's also done some work with Michael Jackson, but he still doesn't know when this is going to see the light of day. They've done a selection of tracks together in Michael's home studio. For a while, Fred was even in the running to do 'State Of Shock'.

"I was out of town at the time so Mick did it instead," he says. "I don't mind at all. I'd like to release something with Michael because he is a really marvellous person to work with. It's all a question of time because we never seem to be together at the right time. Just think, I could have been on 'Thriller'. Think of the royalties I've missed out on.

"Michael has been a friend of ours for a long time. He's been to our shows and enjoyed them. We make a great team."

One of Fred's songs 'Love Kills', is being used on the soundtrack of the reactivated 'Metropolis' film and he hopes to make a 20 minute video using four or five of his own songs.Freddie and all the members of Queen have a long standing appreciation of 'Metropolis', which originally came out in 1927. Their stage set, in the shape of a futuristic city, has been inspired by it.The lighting rig measures 74ft by 50ft and the original design was so heavy they had to change it because it was in danger of bringing theatre roofs down. What a way to go, crushed by your own equipment.

AFTER THE European tour. Queen will be taking the whole shebang down to South America, headlining a 10 day festival in Rio. The place they will be playing is an amphitheatre down by the sea that can seat 300,000 people a night. It all makes Castle Donington seem like just another night at the Marquee. A local radio station in Rio held a survey to see who the most popular bands were and then some local promoters went out and booked them for the extravaganza. Naturally, Queen came out top.

Queen will also be doing some shows in South Africa. This is more than just a little bit controversial. Especially with the memory of Nelson Mandela still very warm.

"We've thought about the morals of it a lot and it's something we've decided to do," says Brian May. "This band is not political, we are not out to make statements, we play to entertain anybody who comes to listen. The show will be in Botswana in front of a mixed audience."

The band wanted to play Russia but the authorities objected. This situation might change now though, considering that Iron Maiden have been let into Poland to wreak havoc. *

"The Russians still think we're very decadent," confides Roger Taylor. "We want to play China as well, and Korea. John and I spent a holiday in Korea and it's a fascinating place. They're finishing work on the Olympic stadium for the next games!

Perhaps the Ruskies heard about Roger's high living on Ibiza. He's bought a house there and enjoys powerboat racing. Play time is over for the time being, though. After their two year break. Queen have been working more than 12 hours a day rehearsing.

"It's strange how rusty we are, and so we're trying to blow the cobwebs away," continues Roger. "It's taking a lot of work. Usually we rehearse until about nine and then we eat together and decide what we're going to do in the evenings. The clubs here are really fun. Something to cater for every taste or perversion.

"On the tour we'll be playing a lot of the old material and we'll be giving the audience what they want. A lot of the music I hear in the charts today doesn't interest me. I just can't see how anybody can get excited over Spandau Ballet. It doesn't send shivers up my spine. I like listening to Bruce Springsteen."

They might be old stagers, but Roger claims that tickets for Queen's British shows sold oul in three hours flat and they could have easily played another 12 nights here.

"We still have the rock and roil gypsy mentality," he says. "Even after 12 years without a line-up change we still really enjoy the buzz from playing live and the fact that we have hit singles. Some bands in our position might take it all in their stride, but we're still like kids, we get very excited.

"You've got to have a laugh haven't you? If Queen wasn't any fun, then I'd jack it all in and go and sell flowers."

Robin Smith

@natromanxoff, @mephisto92, @moviestorian, @x5vale, @39-brian, @onegoldenglance, @crosmopolitan, @an-abyss-called-life, @his-majesty-king-mercury, @i-live-for-queen, @brian-39-may, @toomuchlove-willkillyou, @brimaymay, @sail-away-sweet-sister, @drummerqueenrmt, @old-fashioned-roger-boy, @briianmaay, @inui-mycroft, @deacytits, @iminlovewithrogscar, @drowseoftaylor, @brianmayislongaway, @balticlover, @astrophysicist-guitar-god, @miez-lakatz, @brianmayoucease, @jesus-in-a-life-boat, @aslongasthereismusic, @silapril, @sherrifanciesfriskyfreddie, @tenderbri, @brianmydear, @thosequeenboys, @millionairewaltz-carpediem, @painandpleasure86, @bribrifrenchfry, @xlucylennonx, @a-night-at-the-abbey-road, @inthedayswhenlandswerefew, @madformeddowstaylor, @queenrogertaylorfan, @let-roger-get-a-lunch, @queen-for-life, @rethought, @drivenbybrianmay @mymakeupmaybeflaking, @old-but-still-a-child, @let-roger-get-a-lunch, @warriorteam1924, @funnydressesweirdhairanddance, @thefanhuman13, @yourtieddownmother, @hgmercury39, @brimi-stardust, @thefairyfellermercury, @sailawaysweetbrimi, @sophiaintheskywithdiamonds, @holybrianmaywritingbear, @lydiannode, @39-yellow-daffodils , @ure-gonna-loveme-when-u-seeme, @kaykaybeachgirl, @foxmonkey, @deakysgurl, @redspecialandclogsandcurls, @briansrainbowsocks-deactivated2, @delilahmay39, @ohmybribri, @bless-the-queen, @everythingaboutfreddie, @doitforthevine67, @recordsoftheseventies, @rhysjoejoshtomfarisblog, @tenementfunsterwithpurpleshoes, @drummah-in-a-rocknroll-band, @beatlegirl1968, @maylorsqueen, @autumnscenemcyt, @gralto, @alittlepeoplemagic, @rainbowsockbrian, @frejudy, @drivenbybrimay, @yourlocalmusicalprostitute, @saik-ava, @omb-xx, @sassymaylor, @somekindofroger, @starlightmay, @freddiemercuryismylife, @sunshine112, @chrysochromulina, @glitteryloveravenue, @deakyislife51, @0-primejive-0, @just-a-skinny-lad, @bluewillowmom, @sassiesillie, @stesichoreanpalinode, @mrfahrenheitmercury @tayloredofqueen, @0-my-fairy-queen-0, @scandalacious @izzy-is-slightly-mad @39-volunteers-to-space @zodiacaldust, @deakytaylor, @queenband70s, @deakyeveryday, @drivenbybrimay, @70smay, @brianharoldmay39, @everybandsnotqueen, @johns-diqi @oneandthreeseventh

#Queen #article

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bongaboi · 5 years ago

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USWNT Back In The Hunt

CARSON, Calif. — A few moments after the U.S. women’s national soccer team completed a 4-0 victory over Mexico on Friday, five players used their arms to create interlocking rings.

Much like the match, their circles were not perfectly formed. Rose Lavelle, for example, gets a pass because of the red soft cast she wore on her lower left arm.

The message, nonetheless, was clear: The Americans are going to the Olympics this summer. Not that that’s any sort of surprise. They have never missed women’s soccer’s second-most important competition.

Fresh off a World Cup championship, FIFA’s top-ranked team has not lost in more than a year, a span of 27 matches. And by sailing through the Concacaf tournament with four victories by a 22-0 margin, the Americans booked a ticket to Tokyo, where they will pursue a fifth gold medal.

There, they also will attempt to become the first women’s team to win the World Cup and Olympic titles in consecutive years.

Don’t bet against them. Setting aside the talent and depth, this is a team that, even after decades of success, continues to perform with raging intensity.

“Those emotions and motivation is something that is hardest to get back up again,” said Coach Vlatko Andonovski, who in the fall succeeded Jill Ellis, a two-time world champion. “I was glad to see the emotions were out there and the motivation is there to make it happen.”

Forward Carli Lloyd said, “There is hunger. There is desire.”

On those rare occasions when things do go sideways, the players are hard on themselves.

“Our ebbs are like micro-ebbs because we are so psycho,” midfielder Megan Rapinoe said. “It’s hard to keep it up all the time, but as soon as it starts to ebb, it’s like, ‘Oh no, hell no, that’s not happening.’ We keep each other accountable. It doesn’t need to come from anyone else.”

The Americans scored twice in the first 14 minutes Friday but were a little off their game for stretches of the first half. After intermission, they regained their form to improve to 37-1-1 against Mexico.

Lavelle scored a sensational goal in the fifth minute, Sam Mewis had two goals, and substitute Christen Press capped the semifinal victory with a cheeky finish.

In Sunday’s final, the United States will face Canada, which defeated Costa Rica, 1-0, to earn a fourth consecutive Olympic berth. Although that match is inconsequential — and both teams will rest regulars after playing less than 48 hours earlier — the U.S. squad will not ease up.

“We have the same attitude as the game before and the game before that,” Andonovski said. “That is not going to change going forward.”

His qualifying unit, which featured 18 players from last year’s World Cup roster, respects the program’s history.

“It’s a legacy that has been passed on,” said Lavelle, a Washington Spirit midfielder who will turn 25 in May. “When Vlatko first came in, he said, ‘What you did this past year was incredible, but that is the past now. We have new goals. It was really fun, 2019, but that doesn’t dictate the rest of the years.’

“We know that and don’t take anything for granted.”

Lavelle was fabulous in the first half, lively and creative, keeping the ball close, spinning out of trouble and creating opportunities for herself and others.

“Some of the things she comes up with sometimes,” Andonovski said, “it surprises me too.”

Rapinoe said, “She just has something special, something different that you can’t teach — that little bit of flair.”

Lavelle’s goal rekindled memories of her left-footed strike against the Netherlands in the World Cup final, capping her breakout performance on the world stage.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, we are here again!’ ” Mewis said. “She is such a unique player in the way she creates space for herself and can wiggle out of tight situations.”

Mewis scored on a pair of wicked shots: an eight-yard one-timer off Rapinoe’s corner kick and a free kick from the edge of the penalty area.

Chris Cuellar, Mexico’s California-born coach, said the United States’ strengths lie in the layers of talent.

“Every practice,” he said, “is probably tougher than a lot of their matches.”

Few would have blinked had Andonovski started any of his second-half substitutes: Press, Lynn Williams and Lindsey Horan. All was not perfect, though.

Andonovski said, “We played a good brand of soccer, we created lots of good opportunities, and with the quality of the players we have, I think we could score a few more.”

The Americans could get away with that in Concacaf. They will need to tighten their performance in the fifth annual SheBelieves Cup on March 5-11 against sixth-ranked England (in Orlando), No. 10 Japan (Frisco, Tex.) and No. 13 Spain (Harrison, N.J.).

The 12-team Olympic tournament will include the third-ranked Netherlands and No. 5 Sweden.

“We saw glimpses of some unbelievable stuff, selfless stuff out there,” Lloyd said after Friday’s match. “We are all along for the ride to keep getting better.”

#2020 #uswnt

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purplesurveys · 4 years ago

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1032

survey by danceamydance

Have you ever witnessed a birth? Never have. I wasn’t present when my mom gave birth to my younger siblings and other than that there’s been no reason for me to be around for the birth of my other younger relatives.

What pattern does the closest tissue box have? I don’t have one in my room, but the one in our bathroom is brown. I think. I never actually checked even though I use it everyday lol.

Where did you lose your virginity, if you have? I truthfully didn’t really keep note of what counts as the first time because we had already been fooling around quite a bit. I’d guess either a hotel room or my room, or maybe hers. The one thing I can remember was that I was 18, so there’s that.

What color car(s) do your parents drive? We have two white cars and one teal. I still don’t know why my dad got a teal car when none of us in the family are into colored cars, but according to him getting the Vitara in white would’ve looked like an FX (a form of public transport here), so I’ve learned to make my peace with the teal car lol.

What are your views on getting rid of the penny? I can’t relate, because we don’t use pennies.

Which Asian country would you most like to visit? Aside from the ones I’ve already gone to, I’d love to take a trip to Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and India.

Have you ever had a nosebleed? Nope. I fear the day I get one; I’m scared of blood haha.

How far away do you live from your birthplace? Maybe around 30 minutes without any traffic. A realistic drive to Manila would take me anywhere between 1 to 1.5 hours.

Do you have bangs? Yep, and they’re starting to get pretty long as well so thanks for reminding me that I’ll have to trim them soon. I want to get rid of them already as I’ve had my fun with them, but NO ONE HAS SEEN ME WITH BANGS loooool so they are still staying.

Are you a good driver? I wanna say I’ve been better through the years? Hahaha the consensus is that I drive a little crazy, but my friends still always pick me to drive them whenever we go somewhere because everyone apparently still finds me the safest driver to ride with despite my temper on the road. Having a tiny car, being bullied by bigger pickup trucks and SUV through the years has helped toughen me up.

Have you ever kissed someone underneath the mistletoe? No. My ex and I always celebrated Christmas separately, with our own families, so we never got the chance to do this.

Do you watch the Olympics on the television? No. It’s not really something that interests me.

What was the scariest experience of your life? The time I nearly crashed into a car that I didn’t realize was stopped in the middle of the road while I was going 80 kph, and having like 3 seconds to hit the brakes.

Do you have a Tumblr account? I mean...

Are your nails painted right now? What color? Nope.

Have you ever played truth or dare? Several times, though I always pick truth because I’ve never had a problem saying it. I also hate picking dares because my friends would usually make us do dumb things, like dance, or worse, make out with someone in the circle.

How long is your driveway? Not very.

Are there any tv shows you keep up with religiously? Mmm it used to be The Crown, but I probably won’t be watching it for a while despite the new season because 1) I used to watch it when my past relationship had still been smooth-sailing, so watching it would just remind me of that; and 2) Gabie loves the shit out of Gillian Anderson and she was brought in for season 4 lol.

Right now my focus is on a new Korean drama called Start-Up, which is currently ongoing and is so fucking good. Nam Joo Hyuk is also there, so it’s a sweet bonus for me <3

What is your favorite iPhone app? I’m using YouTube the most these days, so it may as well be my favorite.

Where is your mother right now? She’s at work.

Do you know anybody named Carl? I don’t think so. The only person that came to mind is an uncle named Carlo who I haven’t seen in more than a decade. My dad’s college group used to be super tight-knit and I used to be friends with his friends’ kids, so it’s sad to see them kinda grow apart and notice the others be more reclusive over the years.

Are you more of a night owl or a morning person? Morning person. Ugh, work is changing me as a person haha.

What is your favorite song at the moment? Saw You In A Dream by The Japanese House has taken the top spot again. It’s just too goddamn good of a song.

Do you have a weak stomach? Very. I’m awful with car rides, bungee jumping, fair rides, you name it.

Have you ever been to a party where people were drinking underage? Hmm, yes. Kaira’s 18th birthday – it was held in May but most of the people at her party weren’t going to turn 18 until the end of the year, so it was a lot of 16 and 17 year olds drinking. I had just turned 18 then, so I allowed myself to take my first sip of a margarita.

How many stores are in the mall closest to you? Malls here are generally packed compared to what people may have in the US or other countries, so even though our local mall isn’t anything notable, it still holds 200+ stores.

Do you know anybody who has been diagnosed with cancer? Yes, but they’re all outside of family. My mom’s side is very weird about cancer and never share information about family members who may have it and only ever refer to it as ‘the c word,’ so I may have more relatives who have cancer than what is made known to us.

How far away is the closest McDonald’s to you? We have one literally right beside the main entrance of our village but because our house is at the very end of the village, what should be just a couple of steps away is instead a 10-minute drive for me.

Would you ever meet someone in person that you met online? Yeah I’ve done that with a few people in the wrestling circle. Jila I met unexpectedly while we were both in line for the WWE house show in Manila in 2016; Javi I met when I lent him my Chris Jericho memoir; and Rafie was the one who gave me a free ticket to said WWE show. Rafie’s a local celebrity now and he has such a huge following, so as weird as it is I’m also glad I have that little memory with him before he blew up.

What was the last film you watched? That Thing Called Tadhana, but I was unable to finish it. I’m into TV shows these days and I’ve been all over Start-Up.

Does it snow where you live? Never has.

Have you ever been to an art gallery? Of course, I’m a sucker for those. I always go to one whenever I can; there are a lot of malls here that’ll randomly have pop-up art exhibits, so art galleries here actually aren’t limited to just museums.

What are your neighbours like? A lot of them have kids, that much I know because a lot of them play outside in the afternoon and make some noise. We all keep to each other, though, so I don’t know any more about them; the only time we get together is when the neighborhood organizes its own Christmas party for the community.

Do you visit your town’s library often? I would if we have one, but public libraries are not a thing here. If you needed to go to a library to find a book, you would have to go to a university.

Have you ever had to take care of an intoxicated person? This just gave me college flashbacks haha. Of course I have, and the most notable people for me are JM, Andrew, and Angela.

What flavor was the last ice cream you ate? It’s a red bean ice cream sandwich that also has a bit of vanilla ice cream in it.

Can you do a cartwheel? No but I definitely tried a thousand times as a kid.

Who is the last person you spoke to on the phone? Can I do video calls instead? I haven’t done phone calls in a while. The last people I was on a call with were Ysa and Bea.

^ What did you talk about? Secret work stuff.

Which website do you spend the most time on? YouTube, Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter.

Have you ever kissed someone of a different race? I haven’t.

What can you smell right now? My coffee chocolate chip cookie.

Do you read fanfiction? If so, what fandoms? I haven’t checked on my favorite authors since college, mostly because they went MIA at some point and moved on to different fandoms as well. But when I did, I mostly read ones for AJ/Punk and HHH/Steph.

What accent is your favorite? Man this question is asked a lot...

How did/will you celebrate your birthday this year? Gab gave me a cute digital present, I think I may have spent the whole day playing the Switch, and Hans and Angela sent over a box of sushi for me.

Are you more introverted or extroverted? I’m both depending on the people I’m with. If I’m with a crowd I don’t know all that much, I turn my volume down.

Do you tend to repeat yourself all the time? Yeah. I got it from my mom, who unconsciously repeats stories all the time.

How was the last chicken you ate cooked? Fried.

Is there anybody you always find yourself thinking about? Yes, but it has gotten easier to manage/ignore altogether these days.

What was your last argument about? Haven’t argued with anyone in a hot minute. It was probably my mom as always, but I no longer remember what it could have been about.

Are/were you part of any extracurricular activities in school? I had clubs in high school since it was mandatory. In college, I was in yearbook and a journalism org.

Do you want to get married someday? I don’t know about that anymore.

What colors are on your country’s national flag? Blue, red, yellow, and white.

Would you go back to your ex if he/she asked you? I’m pretty stupid when it comes to this, so yes.

#survey #surveys

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atreegrowsinnorthnywrites · 4 years ago

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Prompt: “Start your story with one character trying to convince another to take up their favorite hobby.”

A Short Story:

The silver Volkswagen Jetta snaked up the mountain road, maneuvering the switchbacks with ease. Despite Henry’s confidence behind the wheel, Ada still held tight to the door handle. He glanced over and gave her a dimpled smirk as they rounded the final corner leading to the resort.

“I still can’t believe you’ve never skied,” Henry said as he pulled into a cramped snowy space between two trucks that was far too small to be within lines, but traditional parking lot rules appeared not to apply.

“I grew up in the rain,” Ada replied curtly, grimacing at the large flakes already covering the hood of his car. “Not the snow.”

“You grew up in Washington,” Henry corrected, carefully opening his door. Ada scowled as she wiggled out the barely open passenger door into the bitter, windy cold. “The snow is never far.”

“Spoken like a true Eastern Washingtonian,” she grumbled, trudging through a waist-high snowbank behind him in the direction of the resort.

“You know,” He called over his shoulder, grinning at Ada with his mega-watt smile and wiggling his bushy, dark eyebrows. “If you let yourself…you might actually have fun with me.”

Ada’s inhale caught in her throat. He had distinctly said have fun with me, not have fun skiing. The diction of the words was similar enough that the blowing snow sailing in front of her face could have caused her to mishear. That had to be the logical answer because there was no possible way Henry Harrison, her only sister’s ex-fiancé, could be implying that he hoped Ada had a good time with him, specifically.

“Are you coming?” He shouted, having already reached the outdoor line to procure their lift tickets. Ada hesitated, wondering how many hours it would take her to walk back down the mountain road, avoid being hit by all vehicles, and reach the little town at the bottom of the mountain where she had been able to get one bar of service when they stopped for gas.

“Adaaaaa.” Henry was now wildly waving his arms, his fluorescent lime green mittens drawing significant attention from all the parties approaching the ticketing booth around her. “Woohoo! Ada Anna Montrose!” Ada closed her eyes and swore in defeat because if there was one thing she could not handle, even more than spending the day learning to ski with her sister’s ex-fiancé, it was public embarrassment.

“I’m coming,” She hissed, marching up to Henry with hot, red cheeks that matched her auburn hair.

“Just checking,” He replied cheekily.

As they waited through the lines to obtain first, lift tickets, and then, rentals, Ada considered how she had landed herself in this situation at all. It had all seemed like a great idea when she agreed to Henry’s bet, four drinks in, at the arcade bar in Tacoma among their mutual friends. Henry had been a surprise addition to the night out, but that was the funny thing about long-term relationships that ended in a sudden, amicable breakup. There were no clear-cut rules on who got the friends. Although, admittedly, there was a clear rule on who got their own sister.

Ada was obviously on Evie’s side when her sister and Henry’s engagement was called off. Evie was just eighteen months older and Ada’s only sibling, and although their childhood had been filled with screaming matches, as adults they were the best of friends. Just one year apart in school, Ada and Evie’s friend groups had bled into each other over the years. Henry Harrison had come to know both girls set of friends quite well, ever since Evie had excitedly brought Henry home her sophomore year of college at the University of Washington.

Which was why, when the group chat agreed to drinks at the arcade bar on Pac Ave on a Friday night at nine, and Evie bowed out due to a nasty cold she had caught from work, someone had decided to invite Henry Harrison.

“How do those feel?”

Ada snapped out of her thoughts and took an awkward step forward in the ski boots. “Are they supposed to be so tight?” She frowned, shuffling uncomfortably across the carpeted floor of the rental room.

“They should feel secure,” The rental associate with tattoos covering her hands and a black Burton beanie said with a pop of her gum.

“Like your ankles won’t roll around and snap on the hill,” Henry added.

Ada blinked. “Comforting.”

“Those will work,” Henry said to the associate. Ada glared at Henry and he winked back at her. The associate looked between them, popped her gum in her mouth again, and gave a thumbs up.

“Dope.” She raised an eyebrow at Ada. “Do you need to add lessons?”

“I’m teaching her,” Henry interjected.

“Right,” She said with a third snap of her gum, and a smirk. “Good luck. I’ll ring you up around here.”

After having to be practically carried up two sets of stairs in ski boots – why a rental shop catering mostly to amateurs would be in a basement Ada could not fathom – she stood at the base of the bunny hill with skis in hand, a rented helmet and googles atop her head, and a pair of borrowed snow pants a size too small covering her legs. Ada stared in horror at the mechanical rope with staggered handles carting tiny children a third of her age to the top of the far-too-steep hill.

“I’ve changed my mind. I’m not doing this,” She declared, turning to leave.

Henry caught her by the arm, and she was forced to meet his honey-colored eyes pleading for her to stay. “Will you trust me?” He asked calmly. He looked annoyingly professional in his personal set of skis and matching grey snow pants and jacket, and Ada’s body betrayed her with a nod of her head.

On their acscent, Ada fell off the tow rope twice much to the delight of the giggly children around her, but Henry patiently skied off the tow rope trail both times, helping her upright and instructing her on how to get back on. When they finally reached the top of the bunny hill, he skied around to face her with his back to the bottom of the hill.

“You’re going to ski backwards,” Ada deadpanned.

“I am,” He confirmed with a smile.

“You are actually the worst.”

“I know.” Ada held back a laugh as Henry pointed to her skis. “Now, the first thing you need to know is how to slow yourself down and stop.”

“Sounds important.”

“You’ll position your skis in the shape of a slice of a pizza.”

“A slice of pizza.”

“Ada.”

She sighed, adjusting her skis to look like a triangular slice of pizza. He then gently pulled her over the crest of the hill to begin her descent. Ada held her breath as her triangular shaped skis bumpily skirted down the hill.

“To increase your speed, start to straighten them,” Henry explained.

“I don’t want to increase my speed.”

Henry threw back his head and laughed, while skiing backwards, which Ada found both insanely impressive, and irritating. “Alright, let’s start turning,” He encouraged, and Ada sputtered with fear as she began to pull her skis into the shape of a much more acute triangle in a wide right turn.

“There you go!” He cried. She skied over the slope gently and Henry encouraged another turn, first right, then left. “Big, wide turns help you maintain your speed. Never go straight down.”

“They go straight down at the Olympics.”

“Are you an Olympic athlete?” He asked, with that stupid dimpled smile again.

Ada did not have an opportunity to reply, because her glance up to Henry’s dimple and away from her skis proved to be a fatal mistake as the two pieces of wood strapped to her feet crossed over one another. Henry lunged to keep Ada upright, but suddenly four skis were entangled in one another, and with a shriek from Ada and a “Shit!” from Henry, they were both on their backs.

“So, I am not, in fact,” Ada wheezed, wiping frigid snow from half her face, and looking over to Henry who was wincing as he attempted to sit upright. “an Olympic athlete.” Henry chortled as he sat up, his skis perpendicular to the sloping hill. Ada, fearing a broken ankle, remained on her back.

“You do this for fun?” She exclaimed, looking up at him.

“It’s my favorite hobby,” Henry admitted, smiling. “It’s the closest I think I’ll ever get to flying.”

“You could, you know, just take a flight.” Henry swatted at her shoulder and they both chuckled.

“That was really good for your first time on skis,” He added.

“Liar.”

“I mean it,” He insisted, extending a hand to help her sit up. Ada eyed it warily, suddenly panicking over whether her hand should be in his. In the six years of knowing him, she could not remember after taking Henry’s hand. And why would she? He was her sister’s fiancé. Ex-fiancé, her brain reminded her.

Ada ignored his hand and scrambled up to sitting on her own, her legs flailing briefly and her hip protesting at the angle she chose, but upright, nonetheless.

“Why did you invite me?” She blurted out, pushing the wavy auburn locks that had escaped her helmet back inside.

“Well, I didn’t invite you, per say,” He replied. “You lost a bet.”

“But why did you bet me?” Ada pressed, suddenly feeling quite warm despite sitting in a bunch of a snow on a cold hilltop. Henry bit his lip, and Ada noticed how his normally pale cheeks were rosy and with his goggles back on his helmet, those honey brown eyes practically sparkled in the sun. Ada’s heart thundered in her chest.

“Do you really want me to say it?” Henry asked, his voice lower and huskier sounding than normal.

“No,” Ada said instantly, shaking her head, picturing Evie cooped up in her Seattle apartment with a cold and takeout, clueless about her ex-fiancé and sister’s whereabouts. “Never mind.”

“Do you remember that dinner at Lowell’s in the market?” He asked softly, and despite Ada looking away, observing the elementary school aged child blubbering to his dad about hating skiing, she remembered. “It was that unusually warm day in April.”

“I remember,” She whispered.

“Evie cancelled because of a last-minute client dinner, so it ended up being just the two of us.”

“Henry.”

“I knew, then. When we stayed for hours, talking and laughing.” Ada closed her eyes, remembering his tousled chestnut hair that day and the forest green button up he had worn. “I never laughed like that with her-“

“I can’t,” Ada said sharply, opening her eyes and finding his face inches from hers. She felt shaky and lightheaded. Evie was fading from her mind as his lips moved towards hers. He hesitated, his eyes asking the question his mouth would not. The smell of his cedar shampoo filled Ada’s senses, and she was taken back to that dinner in the market where they watched the sun set from their table and a soft breeze had blew that same cedar smell her way.

Ada pressed her lips against his, butterflies erupting in her stomach. She shifted her body toward him, moving off her hip and digging the edge of her skis into the hill melting into his kiss, when they both heard an abrupt snap.

They broke apart to discover one of Ada’s skis had released from her boot and was rolling happily down the remainder of the hill. She frowned, swiveling her head slowly from the runaway ski to Henry, who was fighting back laughter, his hand cupped over his mouth.

“I don’t think skiing is for me.”

#writing community #writeblr #tumblr writers #writers of tumblr #writingcommunity #writers and poets #writing prompt #writers unite #writing ideas #prompt #amwriting #write write write #write about it #short story #a short story #contemporary fiction #romance #soft romance #fiction romance

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amarantine-amirite · 5 years ago

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Life in a Nutshell

“Laurie, how did you get tickets to this thing?” Marty asked. He still couldn’t believe that she got tickets to Worldstock, Miami’s newest and supposedly hottest world music festival. “tickets for this thing usually go for 700 bucks a pop.”

“Easy” Laurie said, “the school gave them to me as compensation for the spring play getting cancelled.”

Marty nodded. “Oh, yeah,” he said, “that crazy, Wild-West version of Cinderella. Why did they cancel it?”

“Well,” Laurie began, “the ‘Cinderella’ (well, Stacy, anyway) was supposed to wear this bright pink saloon girl outfit. I looked terrible in it, it clashed really, really badly with the red hair. As a result, they kicked me out of the play.”

Marty’s eyes widened. “They kicked you out because you didn’t look good in a costume? That’s awful!”

Laurie nodded and smiled deviously. “Oh, it gets better” she said, “I told Prudence about it, and somehow, her parents got wind of it, and they complained to the school. They didn't complain about me getting kicked out of the play for not looking good in the costume.”

“They didn’t?”

“No.” Laurie laughed, “They complained about the fact that the play had saloon girls in it, thus making it somehow inappropriate, since, according to them, saloon girls are basically ‘early American Hooter's girls’ and thus overly sexual. Long story short, the school cancelled the play.”

Meanwhile, Gwen overheard everything Laurie said. “You know,” she chimed in, “none of that would have happened if you could do a chin up.”

Laurie raised an eyebrow. Her jaw dropped slightly. “Are you insinuating this is my fault, Gwen?”

“No” Gwen said in the most monotone voice she could muster, “I’m stressed, what happened to you really upset me, I didn’t know what else to say.”

Marty looked at Gwen. “What are you doing here?” he asked her.

“Strings band,” she said, “we’re opening for Loreena McKennitt.”

The three of them continued to talk. Well, actually, Laurie and Marty talked, Gwen couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Eventually, the bus pulled up to the front gates. The gates to Worldstock opened.

Contrary to what Laurie, Marty, Gwen, and thousands of others had been told; Worldstock actually took place in an abandoned resort development full of roads that led to nowhere. No infrastructure, only half-finished skeletons of actual stages, and no hope.

To make matters worse, Worldstock fell on the same weekend as a major pre-Olympic sailing race series that utilized all of the local hotels, vacation rentals and resources.

“What the fuck?!” someone said.

“Turn this bus around!” said another.

“Is this supposed to be a music festival?” a third person demanded, “If it is, it’s about as slapped together as what Judy’s currently wearing.”

“Hey, shut up!” Judy barked.

If the Worldstock music festival were a piece of architecture, it would be a flight of stairs consisting of three cement blocks held together by a carpet. On top of the nearly nonexistent infrastructure, staff frequently damaged luggage, drank on the job, and in general, had no clue what the fuck they were doing. When Laurie and Marty went to pick up their bags, Marty caught baggage handlers trying to steal the urn out of his suitcase immediately after they threw it onto the ground and the suitcase split open.

“Hey!“ he barked, “those are my dad’s ashes!” He totally forgot that the ashes were in his suitcase. Three years ago, his family planned to take the ashes to New Orleans and scatter them in the front yard of the house where his dad grew up, but such a trip never materialized.

The baggage handlers continued to play football with the urn, until summer to get through it and it landed on the ground and broke. Almost immediately afterwards, a stray cat walked up to the ashes, dug a hole, and went to the bathroom.

The musicians didn’t have it any easier than the guests. When Gwen (along with the few other musical acts that hadn’t pulled out) attempted to find the artist sign in booth, a disorganized and clueless staff member just handed them a booklet for the event.

On top of problems with the staff, the organizers of the event also forgot something crucial: toilets! Many people who tried to look for the bathrooms only found one port-a-potty, with of course, no toilet paper. Seriously! There wasn’t a square to spare.

It took Gwen way too long to sign in, and even longer to find where her peers in the band were supposed to meet. But once Gwen got there, she would be in for a shock. “Ah, Gwen,” said her band teacher, Mr. Barclay, “glad you could make it. There’s actually something I wanna tell you.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Gwen replied, “couldn’t find the place because these idiots don’t know what they’re doing. I ask for directions, they give me a brochure for the event!”

“It’s OK, Gwen.” said Mr. Barclay, “You weren’t actually supposed to show up.”

Gwen couldn’t believe what she just heard. “What?”

“Didn’t anyone tell you? We kicked you out.”

Gwen’s eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. “Seriously? You kicked me out?” She spoke in a way that her words felt like getting stuck with a long, thick needle, “you mean I memorized the song from Lord of the Rings for nothing?!”

“Well,” Mr. Barclay continued, “we didn’t really have a choice but to get rid of you. You play the violin left-handed.”

“Bullshit!” she shouted.

“It’s a safety issue. All the bows have to go in the same direction, otherwise you risk taking someone’s eye out. Either get with the program and play violin normally, or go play the violin somewhere else.”

Gwen struggled to comprehend the feeling of what had just happened. She was unable to catch her breath. A passerby would have assumed that she was either panting so much from running the New York Marathon or panicking because she was afraid of getting busted for cheating during the New York Marathon by taking the subway. Either way, she stood there, out of breath and visibly sweaty.

What they couldn't see was her numb right arm. They couldn't see the chest pains. They couldn't see her oxygen starved heart cells die off like flies.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!? CAN'T YOU SEE HOW HURT I AM??!! BAND MEANT THE WORLD TO ME AND NOW YOU'RE KICKING ME OUT FOR BEING LEFT HANDED?!?! FUCK YOU!! FUCK YOU AND EVERYONE YOU- ", she shouted at her band teacher. Before she could finish, a stream of vomit exited her mouth at a 30 degree angle and landed in the bell of some poor guy's tuba. Despite being at a healthy weight of 113 pounds for her 5'2" frame, she actually had a heart attack. She may have been thin, but she still had a heart attack, as evidenced by the chest pains, racing heart, and second stream of barf that just flew out of her mouth.

Why? Her heart just plain couldn’t cope with the shock of Mr. Barclay ejecting from band the way her body ejected vomit from her mouth as increasing volumes of her heart cells died from lack of oxygen.

"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU BASTARDS DID!! CALL AN AMBULANCE, I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK BECAUSE OF YOU!!!" she shouted as she ran away, "MR. BARCLAY, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!"

Laurie didn't even get the chance to tell Marty that there was no way that their first legit date could go any worse. Before she could even open her mouth, Gwen snuck up behind her. "Laurie, you, 911, now!"

Laurie turned around. She glared at Gwen "I'm on a date," she barked, "so can you leave me alone?"

"No!" Gwen said sharply "this is an emergency!"

Between the festival turning out to be an actual dumpster and all the stuff that happened with the play getting cancelled, Laurie just lost it. "OK, I see, but take your emergency somewhere else." she nearly growled at Gwen "I'm on a date"

Gwen stood there in shock. “Who are you?” she asked.

Laurie shook her head, flabbergasted. “I’m your best friend. We’ve known each other our whole lives!”

Yeah, Gwen thought, if you really were my best friend, you'd call 911. "Can you put the date thing aside and just call 911 before I collapse?"

Laurie started to flare her nostrils and stomp her feet. "What part of I'm on a date do you not understand?! I can't call 911, I'm busy; so, just cheese it!"

Gwen fell to her knees. She dry heaved twice before any actual words came out of her mouth. “You’re not the same." she gasped, "I don’t know who you are anymore.”

"I haven't changed here, but that's beside the issue" bellowed a now fuming and frantically pointing Laurie, "The problem here is that the school cancelled my play because the morons in costume design couldn't be bothered with designing a costume that would go with my red hair, and the consolation the school gave me were these tickets to a dumpster fire of a music festival. I need to be the centre of attention right now, not you; so make like a tree and get out!"

Gwen threw up on Laurie. It was her only defense.

@justsomewritingprompts

#writing #writers #writers on tumblr #short fiction #creative writing

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femaleescorts-fan · 5 years ago

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eurotickets20 · 5 years ago

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Croatia in Euro 2020 and other sports this year

There have been a lot of happy moments for Croatian sports fans over the years, and with Euro 2020 and the Olympic Games on next year, 2020 could be another big year. Euro 2020 fans can book England Vs Croatia Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.

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January

3rd to 12th: ATP Cup Tennis in Australia. Borna Coric and Marin Cilic will represent Croatia at the inaugural ATP Cup. Croatia is in Group E along with Austria, Argentina, and Poland and will play in Sydney.

10th to 26th: 2020 EHF European Men’s Handball Championship in Austria, Norway, and Sweden. Croatia will be hoping to improve on their bronze medal performance at the last Euro champs in 2016. Euro 2020 fans can book England Vs Czech Republic Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.

12th to 26th: European Water Polo Championships in BudapestCroatia won bronze at the 2018 European Champs and will be hoping to improve.

14th to 27th: Australian Open in Australia. A number of Croatian tennis players will once again be playing in Melbourne this year.

March

6th to 7th: 2020 Davis Cup Finals playoff in which Croatia plays against India in Zagreb. Croatia faces India for a place at the Davis Cup Finals.

18th – 26th: Croatia to play two international friendlies in Euro 2020 build-up.

May

24th May to 7th June: French Open tennis Roland Garros. Croatian players inactions on the clay courts of Roland Garros in the second Grand Slam of the year.

June

1st: Croatia to play international friendly before Euro 2020. Euro 2020 fans can book England Vs Play-Off Winner Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.

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23rd: Euro 2020 – Croatia vs Norway, Scotland, Serbia or Israel (Hampden Park, Glasgow 9 pm)

July

29th June -12th July: Wimbledon (UK)

24th July – 9th August: Olympic Games (Tokyo)

Croatia won 10 medals (5 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze) at the last Olympics in Rio in 2016 and will be looking for more glory. Gold medal winners in 2016 were Josip Glasnovic (shooting), Sinkovic brothers (rowing), Sandra Perkovic (discus), Sime Fantela & Igor Marenic (sailing), Sara Kolak (javelin).

Damir Martin (rowing), Tonci Stipanovic (sailing) and the Croatia water polo team won silver medals, whilst Filip Hrgovic (boxing) and Blanka Vlasic (high jump) won bronze.

August

24th August – 13th September: US Open tennis

September

UEFA Nations League – Croatia will play in the elite group. League draw will take place in Amsterdam on 3 March 2020 with group matches taking place in September, October and November 2020.

November

23rd – 29th: Davis Cup Finals (Madrid)

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pinkguacamole · 6 years ago

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Venues of Olympic Proportions

Before visiting Sydney, Australia, the city always brought three images to my head: the Sydney Opera House, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and a clown fish swimming through the harbor. All of these images are tied together by the symbolism of the opera house, and thanks to Finding Nemo, I do hear the operatic “ahhhhhh” high note in my head when I picture it.

These icons are what brought me to Sydney. I figured I would have to stop and check them out on my way home from New Zealand, which is basically “next door” (a four-hour flight).

Sydney is much larger than I imagined it would be. After leaving the calm nature of New Zealand, where I hiked and stared at trees in the rainforest for 5 months, I was not prepared to navigate such a behemoth of a place. Even after 5 years of traveling, I am still thwarted by culture shock when I least expect it. My anxiety began in Melbourne and traveled in my carryon over to Sydney.

To keep things simple, I prioritized the highlights. One of my favorite things while traveling is connecting prior images with real life. When you see a picture over and over, it is magical to see it in substantial form- like walking into a fantasy. Of course, a place is more than it’s stereotypical images, and traveling gives one an opportunity to dive deeper, but I wanted to see the big things too.

On my first day in Sydney, I took the bus downtown and wove in and out of the crowds, zigzagging through skyscrapers and finally down to the harbor quay. I could see the sails of the Opera house glowing in the golden hour light through the buildings and trees. I was getting closer to the icon and the excitement was mounting.

Finally, I was there, underneath the gigantic cement structure of the Opera House, overwhelmed by staircases heading up and down in every direction. The thing was HUGE. Huge. I felt like I was drowning in the folds of the Danish architecture. I scoped around, found the ticket office, and bought a ticket to that evening’s Sydney Symphony performance.

The Opera House has about 8 venues and art spaces. That evening there was a ballet and a play in different theaters, but I wanted to see the main hall so I chose the symphony. Also, the tickets were cheaper; I’m only pretend-fancy.

While I waited for the performance to start, I walked around the venue inside and out again. There was a light show projected on the sails at nightfall called Badu Gili. It was to honor the Gadigal Aborigines whose land the Opera House is built on. One of the things I have noticed and appreciated in Australia is the effort they take to honor their indigenous history by having plaques, signs, and announcements acknowledging the land. It is a modern attempt to reconcile horrendous atrocities committed by settler colonialism and the Stolen Generations, only ending formally in the 1970s. The United States should follow their lead in doing the same.

Inside the venue, I walked around the back where there were incredible views through the windows of the harbor bridge and ferries zooming in and out, across the water. There was a pre-show session where the conductor for that night’s performance, Jessica Cottis, spoke with one of the composers for that evening’s show. Ella Macen, a 28-year-old Master’s student’s beautiful piece The Space Between the Stars would be performed that night.

When the program began in the concert hall, the Gadigal Aborigines of Bennelong Point were acknowledged once again, and the music took off in layers of brass, strings, and percussion. I absolutely loved Macen’s piece. Other movements that night featured a trumpet player, Paul Goodchild. To be honest, I would never choose to feature the hippity-hoppity sound of a trumpet, but it was cool nonetheless. The acoustics in the hall were absolutely incredible as expected; someone in the audience dropped a water bottle on a downbeat and you could hear it, crispy clear.

At the symphony’s conclusion, I felt a symphony of satisfaction and fullness as I meandered under the twinkling lights of the bustling harbor quay.

On another day in Sydney, I took the ferry to Sydney Olympic Park. This was a two-fer activity. Seeing the Olympic venue was important to me, and the 30-minute ferry ride down the Parramatta River was a sweet jaunt passed luxurious houses and boats lining the waterway.

The Olympic Park was built where a cattle stockyard originally stood. There were numerous stadiums constructed for the grand event. I wandered around the facilities, gawking at the size of these arenas. There was a stadium for track and field events, an aquatic center, a dome for gymnastics and basketball, an archery field, another dome and exhibition center, more fields, and of course the main stadium for the Opening Ceremony. There were massive solar panels lining the walkways and buildings to keep things sustainable. There was a park featuring the torch in all its glory.

In my light studies of the Olympics and their venues, I have seen that often the scale of this event leads cities and countries to overextend their finances and resources. I visited the Olympic venues in Athens in 2014 and observed that the site was all but abandoned, too great and expensive to keep up, not to mention what the event did to the country’s economy. I mentioned this to a fellow traveler years ago and he told me he knew Sydney was thriving due to their Olympic experience.

From what I saw this is true. All of the venues have been refitted to support events such as rugby and cricket matches, concerts, and conventions. The Sydney Olympic Park has plans to expand facilities in the area for more business, living complexes, and even more entertainment by 2030.

Perhaps this is a niche area of interest, but seeing these venues are what brought my Sydney experience full circle. Sydney is a hub for events in the southern hemisphere and attracts visitors from all over the Pacific and the world. I’ve now brought 2 out of 3 of my images of Sydney to life. Next, I will head north to see some clownfish.

#australia #events #travel #sydney #olympics #sydney opera house

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yuyategoshifansusa · 6 years ago

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Let's say one's own character of “Charm Point? "I'm getting bored. I just do everything I like." S クーはかかく「利利利利腕は箸箸左以外以外以外以外以外以外以外"What is your vision? 0.3" for both eyes. Usually wear contact "Y Weakness?" Whole body tickling "3 Worried about body 3" Drowsiness can not be countered ", Underwear what group? "How many times can you do abs?" F times "(" What do you wear when sleeping? "T-shirt with short pants or pants" "What is your posing when sleeping?" Ah. Go for sleepy phase. "3) How long is your bath? "SMy health method" "Beijing for the eyes Blueberryto" G Good monomane "Furuhata Nisaburo" 8 Good food "Cup ramen" What is the average sleep time of 1 day selection "5 ~ 6 hours" "Harajuku, Shibuya" "What do you often buy at a convenience store?" "Cafe latte" 3 Karaoke No. 18 "Lal If you go to the massu, Kinki Festival " The secret to singing good is "Become a song" "The best score for bowling?" "About four. I used to go to school every week with my family." "What is the treasure?" "With parents and friends | "Haunted man's haunted man in the haunted house" Fan's people "M Going to say it right now @ What have you been crying recently? What if you cosplay with "Kat-Tun con's forgetting the letter reading of Arashi-Aiba-kun's letter" recently? "What about the average?" "The conversation between Yamashita-kun and Akanishi-kun. The collection is “A long time ago,” “A long time ago,” “Good things are good bikes,” “A ticket for a car. It's not a commemorative ticket, but an ordinary (lol). What was the gift? “I saw a person spiting on the road”. "SUMMAR" Camouflage "" I want to challenge such a hairstyle. Even if I have a name called or supported by Y. "Ron hair" "My boom?" After all "What have you dreamed about recently? What is your favorite word for" Friends Karaoke "? A recent trip to explore the house in the woods with three Parfes" "What is your favorite song?" "All Lark" . What's your favorite color of “I got a seat on the train” “Light blue” “What is your favorite movie? What is your favorite news?“ Athens Olympics. What is your favorite season for women “Terminator”? It was a pity. 1) Favorite girl's ta "Summer". "What is your favorite book?" "Keitaro Nishimura Ip's" the detective novel of a person with big eyes and one-on-one character "€ What book you read recently?" Nishimura 3 What is your favorite girl's hairstyle? " "Sleeping special express murder case"-it is good if you like it. Straight "O" "Woman's Kono Nga" "Dragon Ball" E Loved by La Nastyness? "No Gussa-Not Men?" The favorite TV number of "Tonkotsu-kei" But I look seriously thinking something "What is the group? Music program" "Favorite historical person" "Where do you want to go on a date?" "What is the theme party?" "Toyotomi Hideyoshi"-What is your favorite food? What kind of food do you dislike? "Anytime, anywhere (laughs)", What is your favorite pictogram? ">" Individual favorite autumn taste If you confess, with words like this. "What's your mind? What's the most scary thing of the pot?" How many people do you want? "Anyone is good, but a man's boy is in the room." "A word for the future of the bride. A name that you would like to give to a child of" Please stay with me for a while "?" "What is the name of the family united?" "What kind of family are you calling?" "What is the taste of the baby?" "Can't decide everything because it is delicious" Painting How are you calling mothers? "What is your first personal memory?" "I said that I wanted to swim with dolphins in the aquarium, and I said rags." 0 What is the dream of a small part? "Soccer player", who is your favorite soccer player? "Nakamura Shunsuke: The feint that looks like attacking the enemy is the best. " A country traveled and impressed place If white it is such a word. "I like everything" "Ha?" "Hakone and Karuizawa. The air and the scenery are beautiful" I want her to call me, "What about the 6 major injuries?" How many times confession experience? "3 times" "When you fall from the right hand during a soccer game "What is it like fetish? ... Heso sounds like Pakin." "It's too important for the rest time. How is she going to show her to another man?" I didn't like it "Where do you think I'm cheating? From lunch menu? Fried bread" I hate "I went to play with a male friend who wasn't in my room" Lunch menu? What is not? "Physical physical education" Dislikes "(" What if you give to her? What is the subject? "Classic" G. The kind of athletic meet you liked "A pair of accessories that can be paired" Who is your girl's eyes? Equestrian battle " "What are your compliments?" "No" "Committee I've done so far, anything that is complimented and extended type" What is the staff involved in? In elementary schools, there is a shocking word said to a woman in a turn-key system, but the committee members carry and offer lunches, “I'm sorry. I get hurt more than I hate it.” 6 She is a day. “How long can you wait for a minute?” “When I'm in contact with you (the finger play with the original finger play) is still being done” When is your first love? “When in kindergarten.” “I forgot to be obsessed with SUMMARY” "When is the first kiss?" What is the record? “How many times have you lost heart for“ two and a half hours ”1-Woo?” “Three confessions and mail several times a day?“ An average of three times ”ringtones loses all. What is the unique love of the mobile phone of "The resident of Lark's eyes" ... "What about one person's memory? How much about" 3 cases "and how much you love love If you want to propose something like this, "All the seniors. Especially, SMAP Kimura-kun. I always like" follow me for the rest of my life. " How did you get into this world How old would you be if you got married? If you want to see a chiban? "TOKIO Nagase-kun. If you are a man-like person, and you always look forward to it, in a certain magazine, look at your page again. Ohno-kun, also Arashi's Ono-kun, I promised to eat with him this time in a magazine. "What do you want the most for now?" "Respectable seniors of" Portable DVD players "?" All "Do what you do when you become the Prime Minister?" Reduce the consumption tax to 3% and make it easier to live " What do you want to do if you become a girl? "Fashion" "What do you do if there is a one-month break?" "The theme park tour" "What if you hit 300 million yen in a lottery? What do you do if you are not in this world? "Aim to be a football player" What would you like to be if you are reborn? "I do not want to be born again!" If you have a "dog" time machine, go to what age? "Sail years later and bring back cutting-edge goods. Of course to boast (laughs)" What will you do if the last day of the earth comes? “I spend time with my family and important people” I think of my first job: “Interviewing a magazine. The face was squeezed.” What is the most eclectic in TNEWS? “Uchi-kun. "What is your first memory?" "I went around the country with the support of the valley." "What is the goal of each of the NEWS?" "Get all the Japanese people to know" What is the strongest in ENEWS? "Kusano Happi" What is weak on NEWS? Fuji-kun, because there isn't a "muscle" "What's the biggest weakness of NEWS?" You may still have a lack of communication. I want to deepen it from now on. "What's the greatest strength of SNEWS? If you're a girl, what do you want to get together most with N EWS? "Shindo-kun. Let's cherish me." If you're a girl with other members, why don't you like? Princess Tegoshi: I wonder why something is popping now. "What is your breakfast today?" "Furika rice ball" What are you doing after 010? "Cool, NEWS!" TEGOSHI YUYA

#english translation #yuya tegoshi #YuyaTegoshiFansUSA

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