#ahhhhhh i have been working on this off and on since june of last year <3 it's finally time

[glindalesbian]

Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo "Right face, wrong time"

[lululawrence]

Hey! Have you read any good abo fics recently?

ahehehehehe okay, so, i put this off until now because i needed to be able to look at a few things. so, by recently i am taking that to mean since i last did an a/b/o fic rec, which apparently was june of last year (and january before that). that’s far too long ago, meaning this rec is going to have about 30 fics on it. hahahaha i’m putting them in no particular order other than the order i bookmarked them in, meaning most recent bookmarks will be last, so if june of last year wasn’t recent enough, you’ll wanna scroll a bit. :D

I have also written two more a/b/o fics since my last rec, so i’ll start with a bit of self promo and then start lauding the work of others (hope you don’t mind)

The World Will Open Its Arms - this one is actually one of my more popular fics from last year, which i wasn’t expecting at all. haha my entire goal for this fic was to take a feeling i got while listening to a song on a random drive to take my daughter to her ice skating camp and capture it in a fic. i think i did, and i love the little bit of insight we get into their lives with this one. pregnant and unbonded omega harry, alpha louis. :)

How I Feel Inside - i wrote this one also for wordplay, and while there’s omega harry and alpha louis in there, the real focus of the fic is the fact that niall is missing. you find out why at the end, so i’ll try not to give it away, but i did it kinda as a gag and a joke and loved it so i hope you enjoy it too hahaha

okay! and now to the rest. Let’s do this.

Take What's Mine by @jaerie / jaerieall i’m really gonna say about this one is i first read it as a dark fic read and then she took it off anon so i figured if she was brave enough to say she wrote it then i was brave enough to say i loved it haha so here we are. it’s a bit of a dark fic but is ultimately healing and beautiful imo.

was it all a fake? by @jaerie / jaerieso this is a fic i didn’t realize she was gonna publicly gift to me and i asked for it, so fair enough, but i love it. i love it and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so please, like with the fic before, check the tags (i feel like this rec isn’t starting well with me warning about things before people read them, but i really do love these hahaha)

These Lover's Eyes by chasingxrabbitswhat i love most about this fic is it’s a pack fic. i feel like packs are something that used to be explored more in older a/b/o fics in the fandom but that it is often ignored unless it’s in the almost tribal sense of packs, and this is very different. like the summary literally reads “A/B/O verse where Liam is an alpha, Josh, Niall, Louis, and Harry are his betas and an unlikely little omega stumbles into the picture.” and i can’t really say much more than that, but i love it so much. haha so if you’re looking for a totally different dynamic to this verse, this older fic will defo give you that. (if someone also wants to kind of explore this idea and dynamic in their own ways as well, please tag me when you post lol)

hard to confess by @hereforlou / hereforlouACCIDENTAL MPREG! gosh i love fics like this so much and they did this one really well. accidental mpreg with assumptions made that might not be entirely correct and friends to lovers and just SO MUCH GOODNESS OKAY

Desire A/B/o series by @reminiscingintherain / reminiscingintherainthis series is an established relationship, somewhat canon compliant a/b/o series that was such fun to read. super fluffy, super sweet, super cute. basically, if the dark fics i kinda started this rec with aren’t your thing, this probably is. lol

I'm Sure It Happens To All Alphas by @jaerie / jaerieALPHA. LOUIS. HAS TROUBLE. POPPING A KNOT. gosh i died reading this fic. i love it so much. she works her magic, as usual, and does it in style.

The Wilds by @jaerie / jaerieThis fic was just. it was wow. it was such an interesting world for things to take place in and fascinating how it all played out. there are quite a few sensitive subjects that this does broach, so while i wouldn’t necessarily say it is a dark fic, you do need to be sensitive to the tags, so please be careful with those!

You Gotta Swim, Swim For Your Life series by @jaerie / jaeriei swear i do read a/b/o that isn’t done by jenna. lollll but this series is so good. it’s a really incredible fic that takes you through harry’s journey with grief and illness and all sorts of things, so if that’s triggering for you, then please don’t read this, but it’s so so so beautifully done. the emotions in this series are gorgeous.

Where You Lay by @ham-palpert / HamPalpertTHIS FIIIIIIC! gosh it’s a perceived enemies to friends with benefits to lovers fic but there’s such a journey along the way. it’s so so so amazing. it ended and i just felt so complete. hahaha it’s one of those fics. so yeah, love love love.

The Nearness of You by @louisalbumnow / theweightofmywordsTHIS FIC. the nesting in this fic! the description and emotions and just ALL OF IT. it’s just gold. in a 2k wrapper. it’s amazing. i don’t even have words just read it.

One Love by @13ways-of-looking / 13waysthis fic is SO EMOTIONAL. it hit me hard and was another one of those that packs a lot into few words. it was so interesting and a really fascinating world and just. yeah. it’s a great read!

I'll Take Care Of You by @dimpled-halo / dimpled_halojacky wrote me a part 2 of my fic for my birthday! she wrote the part 1 for my birthday too, so i guess she loves me a lot if she was willing to revisit it and write me some more. i love this ‘verse so much, though. the throw back to high school/college like it’s done here is so pure and complex and i love it.

I Know How To Whisk (But Teach Me Anyway) by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2mel comes and delivers another great a/b/o fic! i love how she always ties in the idea of soulmates with her fics. and this one is so fun and i love that it entirely revolves around an obsession with a bakery hahaha a great read, as always!

Alpha Seeking Alpha by @jaerie / jaerieOKAY OKAY OKAY. i love this one too. gosh i say that about everyone of these, don’t i? i suppose it’s a fic rec so i would hope i love them all but i’m not thinking well tonight so all you’re getting is read this cause i love it but like ALPHA/ALPHA THROUGH A SERVICE AND JUST AAAHHHHHHH

I Wanna Be More Than Friends by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2this is my fav mel fic yet. i kept throwing ideas at her hoping something would stick and then she came up with something completely unique that i’d never heard of before and I LOVE IT SO MUCH. alpha harry does not have a sense of smell. OMGGGGGGGG anyway. toooootally amazing twist on the a/b/o verse.

If I Loved You Less by @allwaswell16 / allwaswell16REGENCY A/B/O!!!! did you hear me? I SAID REGENCY A/B/O!!! With side shiall! i adored this fic because even through the end i was like HOW ARE THEY GONNA MAKE THIS WORK but it does and it’s magical and so great. gosh. so so great.

The Unsuccessful Promise by trysomecatsthis fic actually just got a part 2 added recently and i only just read that part 2 last night! lol good timing, i suppose! anyway, this one is sooooo fun because it’s got feisty didn’t think he’d be an omega louis with super sweet and obviously misunderstood harry with louis’ parents being ZIAM!!! it was a fun story that i really enjoyed reading lol my fav part might have actually been zayn and liam, i loved how they were written

Moments Like These Are To Die For by @fourdrunksluts / alienharrythis is one of those fics that sucked me in and spat me out afterwards and i keep thinking about it! months later i still think about this fic. it stayed with me and i love it. it’s an arranged marriage royalty au where harry and louis are from different packs and AHHHHHHHHH i love it so so so much. PLUS!!! THERE’S AN ACE CHARACTER!!! AN ACE CHARACTER IN AN A/B/O!?!?! I LOVE IT SO MUCH! so yeah this fic means a lot to me and i love it so much so please read it.

Your Touch Is The Only Thing I Feel by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2mel delves into touch depri here and i love that being explored! i felt like she did it in a different way than i’d seen it in other fics too, so i really like that as well. as usual, the relationship dynamics in her fics are spot on and hysterical while also making you just love every second. 

The light is coming by @pocketsunshineharry / ishiplouislisten. i have a soft spot for hurt/comfort, especially in a/b/o, and this fic just harnesses ALL OF THAT and makes it just. i can’t. i can’t say much more but i just loved this dynamic and how much louis just needed help and the war within himself and frustration with that but harry was patient and did what he could to help and it was just so great.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year series by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2louis and harry didn’t exactly have the best first meeting hahaha it’s okay, though, because niall is there to force them to be friends. this is a super fun christmassy/birthday style two part series that not only explores the up to the point of finding louis’ alpha, but also what comes after that. it’s a lot of fun and i loved it hehe

Do Not Falter (There's a Star Ahead) by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderryNESTING HARRY. NESTING OMEGA HARRY. NESTING OMEGA HARRY NEEDING A SAFE PLACE. MUTUAL PINING. CHRISTMAS EVE. AHHHHHH this fic is short and sweet and i want to sit and sink into harry’s nest. it evokes the same warmth and almost magical feel all of emmu’s fics do. i love it.

You Should Be Here With Me by @dimpled-halo / dimpled_haloexes to lovers at christmas with pining and miscommunication and bonding and ahhhhhhhhh. i don’t even know what more to say, other than jacky is queen of exes to lovers, so make it a/b/o and christmas themed and you know you’ve got gold on your hands.

Merry Birthday by @jaerie / jaerieSOULMARK A/B/O. where they don’t even realize they’ve met until afterwards so then they’ve gotta find each other again and it’s just. gosh it’s so great and it’s so much more than just a christmas fic, even though it’s that too, it extends beyond and i love it.

Let Me Feel Your Heartbeat by @angelichl / angelichli love that “louis tomlinson wears harry styles’ clothes” is a legit tag in ao3. anyway. this is another one of those tentative enemies to friends to lovers with heaps of miscommunication and pining and confusion and everything are thrown together when mating cycles come into play and i love it. gosh i love it so so much. it was a great way to kick off the new year with a/b/o haha

Leave Your Mark On Me by @fullonlarrie / FullOnLarriespeaking of kicking off the new year with some amazing a/b/o, lauren tried her hand at it and I LOVED IT. it had so many twists i did not anticipate and i loved it so much. it was as wonderfully written as hers always are and with her signature humor and feelings and development and i adored it.

so that’s what i’ve got for you! i hope you find some on here that you haven’t read yet and that you like them as much as i did! hit me up again in another six months and i’ll see what i can do with another a/b/o rec update hehehe

[enaasteria]

Answered Asks // 2

Under the cut~~~

Anonymous said to enaasteria: April 15th 2017, 9:14:00 pm · 6 months ago Ok, don't answer to this because I will not see it anyway. I was @jamlesspyo and I say was because when you'll see this my blog will already be deleted, personnal reasons. So I want to tell that you are one of the most amazing writer I had the chance to read a story of. You are also the sweetest person so thank you so much. I hope that one you will have enough confidence in yourself because you deserve it so much. Love you and stay healthy

I will answer this bc you might come back and I’ll def miss you. Thank you for all your warm encouragement and help throughout my struggles and I couldn’t have asked for a better reader/friend. Miss you and wishing you all the best!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: April 20th 2017, 10:59:00 pm · 6 months ago you might not read this for awhile and when you do you don't have to reply, but i just wanted to tell you that all of your writing here is beautiful and amazing! finishing your story is so worth waiting for and i can't wait to read the ending! thank you for sharing your writing!

You might not think this after you read chapter 16. It’s a kind of flargh chapter but needed to be in there so T_____T I’m kinda nervous about it but hopes everyone enjoys and feel it was worth the wait.

Anonymous said to enaasteria: April 23rd 2017, 1:14:00 am · 5 months ago Freaking heck, you are an amazing and professional writer!!! I'm reading through Apartment 5108 now and I can't think of words even close to satisfactory enough to compliment your writing!! All the best for your writing and future endeavours! :)

Ahhhhhh you are too kind to me. Thank you so much for reading and no worries. please don’t stress over what to write or compliments because I enjoy any kind of feedback tbh. Spazz messages are the best!

@sassyunicorns2​ said to enaasteria: May 11th 2017, 8:31:00 am · 5 months ago I won't lose hope! I know you can do it, because you are an amazing writter and you always have great ideas!!! I am here in the other part of the world cheering for you! 🙌 FIGHTING!! 💪👊 P.S.: I'm sorry for the errors.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for your continued support. It means so much to me and I’m so glad you love this story!

@whosexo​ said to enaasteria: May 11th 2017, 3:57:00 pm · 5 months ago SEND 💖 THIS 💖 TO 💖 THE 💖 FIFTEEN 💖 NICEST 💖 PEOPLE 💖 ON 💖 TUMBLR 💖 IF 💖 YOU 💖 GET 💖 5 💖 BACK 💖 YOU 💖 MUST 💖 BE 💖 PERFECT 💖 Miss you hope you're doing amazing!!

No words can amount to how much i love you too! I apologize for my year long disappearance. I’m a terrible person. UGH. But I shall blame it on work and daily stress. T___T Hope you are well too, love!

@dream-exo-fantasy said to enaasteria: May 11th 2017, 3:58:00 pm · 5 months ago SEND 💖 THIS 💖 TO 💖 THE 💖 FIFTEEN 💖 NICEST 💖 PEOPLE 💖 ON 💖 TUMBLR 💖 IF 💖 YOU 💖 GET 💖 5 💖 BACK 💖 YOU 💖 MUST 💖 BE 💖 PERFECT 💖 (A side message: I hope you're not stressing too much about writing. Take your time and stay healthy 💕)

You are the sweetest and thank you so much. 2017 was unfortunately the most stress filled year i’ve ever experienced but hopefully the latter end will treat us all better, yeah? T.T

Anonymous said to enaasteria: May 12th 2017, 1:46:00 am · 5 months ago wah yay! okay take your time! i (and many others) can't wait to see your masterpiece! 💕

Love you!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: May 20th 2017, 12:32:00 am · 5 months ago So I was wondering did ahri told sehun about what happened to her while sehun went after jiyul like she drank the juice and was taken to hospital or did sehun already knew or anyone told him bc I think you didn't mention that?..

Soi definitely told him---actually her wrath probably yelled at him and was infuriated with his poor actions. he probably got scolded by everyone tbh.

Anonymous said to enaasteria: May 29th 2017, 6:07:00 pm · 4 months ago Youre probably busy with apartment 5108 but i really hope you do come back to keepers! Chapter 1 left me on edge and im still eagerly waiting for the next part!! Much love sent your way❤️❤️❤️

I CANT WAIT FOR KEEPERS. I want to write it two ways but I might just do two endings bc I’m a sap and a total angst fest lol

Anonymous said to enaasteria: June 5th 2017, 8:41:00 pm · 4 months ago enaaaaaaa i miss yoooooouuuuuuuuu ):<

I MISS YOU TOOOOOOOOOOOO

@unsungthoughts said to enaasteria: June 5th 2017, 9:19:00 pm · 4 months ago Apartment 5108. I'm beyond in love w this story! I was so into the story to the point where I could literally feel everything, the emotion esp. It is truly an amazing piece of writing. I'm new here (since yesterday and just finished 5min ago) --cont.cont.-- and yet to explore ur other stories, which I will definitely do cz I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH 💕

You make me blush! I’m so happy you enjoyed this story and I’m glad it made you feel things. I hope 16 treats you well and that you’re having a great time on tumblr! welcome, welcome. AND I LOVE YOU TOO

Anonymous said to enaasteria: June 15th 2017, 11:47:00 pm · 4 months ago power through love! you got this! 👏🏽👏🏽

I was jamming to POWER as I wrote this chapter. Lord knows I needed the help. orz

Anonymous said to enaasteria: June 23rd 2017, 2:25:00 pm · 3 months ago this is kinda random but Charlie puth's Attention reminds me of Red 😅

Imma go listen to this and add it to the playlist! TY ANON!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: June 24th 2017, 11:31:00 pm · 3 months ago ena, i just wish you can fathom 1/16 of the greatness you've omitted onto the exo fandom. you're writing is absolute perfection. fandom writers are just not appreciated enough! you're art is just as important than the art exo creates. you are able to create a story and a character. just think about that. a person and their life. real or not, you've created a character all of us can relate to in one way or another. i hope you keep finding joy in what you do and never lose this passion. 🌺

I remember reading this message 3 months ago and it made me want to cry. Thank you so much for your kind words and thank you for appreciating fanfiction as an art form. I think this writing is such a lost art and people don’t appreciate the time and effort going into a story. But reading this made it so worth it and thank you so much for your kindness!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: July 7th 2017, 7:22:00 am · 3 months ago Omg i just followed you now bcs of apartment 5108 and others too. Geez why i havent discovered you then?! Seriously for me its really hard to find fanfic that matches with my reading style gosh its pretty damn well written and you succesfully made me feel like im the character. You mess my feeling hun'. You did it. Seriously youre one of the best writer i ever known in tumblr. Im looking forward to ch 16 and others too. I hope u doing well!!!! Lots of love from your lovely reader💛

Thank you so much for your kind words! It’s such a huge compliment to see you hold my writing to such a high regard and I hope this next chapter doesn’t disappoint. I’m so glad you like it and please let me know what you think of the rest of the chaps!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: July 7th 2017, 12:45:00 pm · 3 months ago I've been following you for about a year now and DAMN HOW I LOVE YOU. Its been a year since you last updated Apartment 5108 but you still log in to check on your fans. Writers block is an ass but all you need is some inspiration and then you'll be firing away with the Seahri feels. or Ahrun feels. However you decide to ship them. Also Chanyeol is my fav and the fic you wrote called Two killsss meee. THANK YOU! Also, I'm Egyptian. Pretty cool knowing you have international readers eh?

I’m so sorry you’ve had to wait so long for a chapter!!! It’s so amazing how there are international people reading this and I can’t thank you enough for your kindness and also for sending me this comment but ALSO SEAHRI. LIKE THIS KILLS ME AND ITS SO CUTE AND ADORABLE.

Anonymous said to enaasteria: July 7th 2017, 1:56:00 pm · 3 months ago Hey Ena! Just wanted to tell you that I literally open your page every single day (its been 3 months LOL) , just to check if there's any update for apt5108, no rush but that just show how much i adore your work, i just freakin' love your story! I never felt so desperate waiting for the next chapter.. but I believe good things take a long time, and I believe your work could be one of the good things, even better the best thing!! Love, Your biggest fan💕

IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT. I don’t know what to say other than this year has been a mess and a true struggle but I dearly wanted to write this chapter and forced myself to do it and post today. I’m so sorry if it wasn’t worth the wait but hopefully it’s a good continuation to their story T____T

@sehun---addict said to enaasteria: July 20th 2017, 10:07:00 pm · 3 months ago Personally i would rather wait until you finish the story and post it in one go bcs waiting game for each chap is pure torture . Much love♡

I wish I could’ve posted it all but 16 nearly killed me to just finish so I hope this is a good chapter to hold you off until 17 T___T

Anonymous said to enaasteria: July 20th 2017, 10:14:00 pm · 3 months ago In reference to your tag in the previous ask- I think posting the chapters as you finish them would be preferable for me. That way I wouldn't have to wait as long for another update? But I'm wondering if writing it all and posting it generally at one point would be easier on you, so that it could kind of be one and done. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time to write this story! You are so incredibly talented and I find it so kind that you take time out of your day to write.

16 is going up soon. I hope you enjoy it and I’m so sorry for the wait. Thank you for your patience and I hope you read with low expectations because I’m a bit nervous about this chapter. It’s excruciatingly long T.T

Anonymous said to enaasteria: July 20th 2017, 11:46:00 pm · 3 months ago please post 16 when it's finished! that way we can have a new chapter at a time to enjoy!

It’s going up!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: July 23rd 2017, 4:47:00 am · 2 months ago I know I'm late but about the end of appartment 5018 I'm really curious about Polaris. Will it be build ? Will it be insignifiant ? I really like it so yeah that's what I'm most curious about :)

This will be addressed in 17! :D

Anonymous said to enaasteria: August 2nd 2017, 9:53:00 pm · 2 months ago same anon who recommended moondust~~ i have another one for you ena ^^ it's the house we never built by gabrielle alpine <3 best of luck on the story!

Imma check this out after I answer these messages and add it to my playlist! Thank you so much!

@yoruu-gen said to enaasteria: August 21st 2017, 1:01:00 pm · a month ago Happy Fanfic Writers Appreciation Day to my most favorite fanfic author in existence ❤ Apt 5108 is by far the best thing I've read on this website and I look forward to continue stalking your Google Docs 👀 I'm so thankful that you pulled me out of the writer's block abyss and I hope I won't disappoint in the future lol. Thanks for always being such a great friend and for always dying with me about our biases 😅 Love u lots~~

YOUUUUUU. I LOVE YOU. I also thank you so much for helping me with this chapter. You are such an inspiration and I know you feel like you’re not that great of a writer but honestly---you are one of the two I really, truly, look up to on this platform. I always enjoy your words, your stories, YOUR STRUGGLES with your biases but also so thankful for your friendship. 

Anonymous said to enaasteria: August 26th 2017, 9:36:00 am · a month ago Red is my favorite fic and it impacted me so much in a way i can only be thankful. Getting away of a one-side love relationship was really a big choice i should have made before but it's really scary to do so. Reading Red helped me aknowledge what i was doing to myself after denying it for too long and i finally decided to take care of myself for once. So i'm thankful because your amazing way of using words helped me realize i should do what's better for me and no one else. Take care of yourself

Red is honestly one of my favorites too. It was so easy to write (compared to apt) hahaha and although Sehun wasn’t a good character in it, I enjoyed the progression of how real the characters were? Like---this happens in real life and not all things end happily with rainbows and butterflies. It is a struggle to see a person go through something like this but it’s also a testament to their character and their willpower to walk away from it and say when they’ve had enough. I hope you’re doing well, anon.

[xennariel]

11 Questions AKA Xen Screams About Royai, FMA, and Hellsing

I was tagged by @ladywiltshire Thanks. =)

RULES: Always post the rules. Answer the questions asked, then write 11 new ones. Tag 11 people to answer your questions, as well as the person who tagged you.

1. Do you remember your first time watching or reading Fullmetal Alchemist? What was your first impression? - I think I first got into the FMA manga around late 2002. I loved Ed and thought he was great and that, plus the whole human transmutation thing got me hooked. I loved the 03 anime in its early episodes and I was such a big fan that I went out and bought the sweatshirt that looks like Ed’s jacket and the shoes that look like his. I wore them as often as I could in my junior year of high school. About midway through the anime I started disliking it, though, and I went back to reading just the manga and ignored the anime. But then the manga started taking too long to update for me and about halfway through that, I discovered Hellsing and that held my obsession for the next eight or nine years, making me completely forget about FMA until I heard the manga ended. I remember looking up the last chapter of the manga and thinking it was an awesome way to end it, even though I hadn’t read any of the manga since the halfway point. lol It wasn’t until I saw some royai art on my dash in early 2016 that I decided to watch Brotherhood, and boy am I glad I did because my initial impression of that was “AHHHHHH I LOVE THIS WHERE HAVE I BEEN FOR THE PAST SEVEN YEARS???” And whoops, this ended up being about how I went through my FMA phases instead of taking about my initial experience... Sorry about that.

2. Tell us about The Fave™. - I am guessing all of your questions refer to FMA? So Roy Mustang. I could scream about him all day and never get bored. He’s great. The best. So is Riza. They have so many layers and are so interesting and dynamic. I love them so much it hurts. And out of any media I’m a fan of, I think they’re my absolute favorites. Integra Hellsing is a definite runner up, though. Of course, my fav favs are my OCs Xennariel and Loki, but since they’re not part of an existing thing yet, I can’t exactly rave about how great they are because that would just make me sound dumb.

3. Do you have a favorite fan work? Fanfics? Comics? - For FMA, I have a few fics I love and I’ve mentioned them before so I’m not going to link them again because I’m feeling very tired and lazy today. And honestly, any art depicting both Roy and Riza’s scars are my weakness. As for other fandoms, I loved the writer Thess. Her Hellsing works were amazing. I also liked and kept up with a Hellsing fancomic called And Shine Heaven Now by Sailor Ptah. That was cute. But that was like, a long time ago. Thess hasn’t written anything since like 2009 and that webcomic ended in like 2007 or so. So yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve been an active part of the Hellsing fandom, and I kind of miss it. I miss seeing what new stuff people are producing for that series, but a lot of the fandom on Tumblr seems a little...iffy. I see so much art reposted with no credit and I cannot support people like that so I don’t really follow many Hellsing blogs. It’s kind of sad.

4. Hit me with an analysis/opinion you have on the series or characters! - Again, I’m guessing you’re talking FMA, so uh... Jeez, I wish I wasn’t so tired, it would make this question a whole lot easier. Um, I think I’ve already written all the analysis I can think of though, which isn’t much. I’ve talked about Roy’s fight with Lust before, I’ve talking about how he looks at Riza during his fight with Envy in the manga, I’ve talked about how Roy is not actually drunk when he calls Riza to give her flowers, contrary to what many people seem to think. It’s hard for me to come up with this sort of stuff when I’m not prompted. lol I need to see something in direct contradiction of what I think or just general discussion about a subject before I have a lot of opinions. xD

I guess I could talk about the couple of reasons why Roy and Riza having a relationship in the manga could possibly be a thing? I am 80% sure that despite how clearly they loved each other, Roy and Riza did not have anything going on between them in the series. However, there are some points I want to make that lean toward them actually being together in a romantic sense throughout the manga.

My main point is how comfortable they are around each other. A lot of people say there’s a lot of unresolved sexual or romantic tension between then throughout the series, but I honestly don’t see that. I see two people who clearly care about one another a great deal, who, with one look, make it obvious that they’re in love. But I don’t see them really pining for one another or anything like that. They act like an old married couple. They don’t seem to act like they want to kiss or jump each other desperately. Which, to me says that perhaps it’s because they already do. (This could be because I’m Ace, though, and I do not go looking for sexual implications in my OTPs, so maybe it just goes over my head all the time.)

Case in point, I knew my husband for ten years before we got married. In the first four years or so, we definitely were a couple of teenagers in love. We pined for one another when we couldn’t see each other. When in public, we stared at each other silently wishing we could go somewhere to be alone, we made out as often as possible. After about four or five years, the feeling of “I need to touch this person because I have a lot of pent up sexual and romantic tension for them” pretty much died down and we became very comfortable with each other. If we didn’t hug or kiss for a while, it was no big deal because we had each other and we knew we could arrange to be together to do those things whenever.

My point is, Roy and Riza act like that around each other, which tells me that perhaps the reason they aren’t desperate to touch one another all the time is because they already do. They’re used to intimacy so why would they itch to touch each other 24/7? If they were as in love as they appeared to be, but couldn’t be with each other, I think they’d show more signs of yearning for one another. This, of course, could be because we just don’t see it since they were not the focus of the series and their relationship had no huge importance to the story (and Arakawa has said that she does not include anything that doesn’t need to be in the story), but I feel like, even with the amount of time they had been together, if they had never touched each other or kissed or hugged or whatever, they’d have a hard time masking the want they would have for each other. Their comfort in each other’s presence could be more than just them having spent a long time together.

My other point is the Barry the Chopper scene where Roy gets super jealous of Barry touching Riza and prepares to burn him to a crisp. Riza stops him and seems absolutely unfazed by his jealousy, which could indicate that he’s acted like that multiple times in the past and she’s used to telling him to calm the hell down.

The last point isn’t exactly evidence, but Roy and Riza did change clothes in a car together and didn’t come out of that flustered or blushing or anything like they might have if they were unused to seeing each other in various states of undress. I mean, yeah, Roy learned his alchemy from her bare back, but it’s not like he saw anything else. I feel like he’d still get flustered if he saw her without a shirt on, even if it was just her back, because if they weren’t together, if they weren’t touching each other on a somewhat regular basis, he’s just a guy in love and he’d want to touch her and blush about it or get embarrassed easily about seeing her. Think about Ed in that scene where he was in the room when Winry was changing. He was flushed and embarrassed because he was a kid in love who had never touched the person he loved intimately before. So this one kind of goes back to my ‘comfortable with each other’ theory.

Also, that scene where Madame Christmas asks why Roy doesn’t just go play with Elizabeth. What kind of ‘play’ is she insinuating? And why does she know this? And why do the other girls think they have a ‘chance’ now that Elizabeth has been taken by another man. What has Roy been telling them about her?

Anyway, that’s all. Like I said, I am super tired and this analysis probably came out sounding weird or not convincing. Maybe I’ll write it up better sometime later.

5. Tell us about a project you have going on! Or if you don’t have one, maybe something you’ve always wanted to write or draw? - I am still working on my super long royai fanfic that I started in, like, June 2016. It chronicles the series from Roy and Riza’s viewpoint, starting from when they first meet, going through manga canon FMA, and finally ending with what happens post series. (Though I really dislike where it’s gone and I’ve been considering scrappy the last ten chapters and rewriting them...)

After that fic is finished, I plan to write another one that goes through the canon FMA manga storyline, only with Riza being an alchemist secretly the entire time and where she is also a candidate for sacrifice. (Though I may end up writing this one soon anyway just because I’m not liking Through Eyes of Flame anymore. I’ve lost a lot of reader so it’s just not worth it.)

And I also want to write a fic that takes place after canon FMA where evil demons from the world in my original novel end up finding a way into Amestris and plan to kill off all the humans so they can take over because they already tried that in their own world and failed. A couple of my OCs follow these demons and team up with Roy, Riza, the rest of team Mustang, and others from the military to stop the demons from killing everyone. I’m a little iffy about this one though because it would have OCs and I never know how well received OCs are in fics...

6. Favorite opening/ending number and why? - For FMA? I love Chemistry and Rain. The songs are catchy and the animations for those have some of my favorite things from all of the openings and endings.

7. Tell me about a scene that really touched your or made you realize something about yourself. - In FMA, I honestly don’t know. I lot of scenes touched me or made me feel something like Hughes’ burial and Nina’s whole experience and subsequent death. Riza getting her throat slit and Roy freaking out. Roy losing himself in the fight against Envy, but having enough sense of self when he looked at Riza to still be soft to her like usual. Lan Fan cutting off her damn arm just to save Ling. I don’t know if I learned anything about myself from any of that though, other than I realized how much I love royai and lingfan and what badasses they all are imo.

8. OTPs! Who are they? Why are you WEAK FOR THEM?? - RoyxRiza, of course. Royai is the OTP of OTPs. They don’t even need to touch on screen or even say anything for you to see that they care about each other deeply. Plus, I’m all about that ‘forbidden relationship’ trope. But even without that, they’ve been together a long time and get along so well. Their dynamic is wonderful and interesting and just pulls me in. They’re not just in love, they’re best friends and that’s the best relationship to have. They protect each other’s backs, Roy knows when Riza is upset without even needing to see her, they just know each other so well and work so well together.

Same with AlucardxIntegra from Hellsing. I like them for much the same reasons and they used to be my OTP of OTPs until I got back into FMA. They’re another battle couple, and they never touch in the series, but it’s heavily implied and obvious they have a thing for each other. And that fucking scene where he bows to her on the battlefield surrounded by dead and impaled bodies? I died, okay. I screamed and raved when that manga chapter came out and I still scream about it whenever I see it. They didn’t even touch, but it was the hottest thing. And then when Alucard comes back to her after 30 years, he says himself that he could have gone anywhere, but he chose to be there. And then she fucking bites her right ring finger (the finger used for wedding bands in Romania) and makes a ring out of blood on it and lets him drink from it? End me. It’s canon.

9. Funniest headcanon you’ve ever seen. Go! - Uhm... I don’t know, actually. I’ve never really seen many funny headcanons go around.

10. What spurred you to join the fandom?

- I got back into Royai and it was around when Royai week 2016 was happening and I had been looking to get back into writing around then too so I thought it would be a good thing to participate in to practice writing. A couple of people liked my stuff and started following me for that and then I found a bunch of authors from FFNet that I liked had Tumblrs, so I followed them and kept up with the writing and before I knew it, I was deep in the FMA/Royai fandom. lol

As for Hellsing, it just kind of happened. And much like with FMA, as soon as I started writing for it, I started getting people that would talk to me about stuff, so that was fun. I’m not an active participant in that fandom anymore, but I never really left it. My love for the series hasn’t diminished, I’m just more focused on FMA these days. Roy and Riza are easier to write for then Alucard and Integra.

11. Definitely the same question… have a fandom meltdown here and tell me why you love your fandom or show/comic so much! - We’ll start with the FMA manga because holy shit it’s amazing and has such good characters and good ships and AHHHHH! It’s such an inspiring piece of work. The thought that went into it, the research, the fucking detail. It’s incredible.Hellsing is one of the best mangas too, if you like gore and horror. Awesome characters, great ships, fantastic plot about killing vampire nazis. What’s not to love, honestly? Alucard is such a complex main character. And Integra is just boss. She is Queen. I highly recommend the manga and OVA. Stay away from the first anime aka the Gonzo anime. It was terrible, much like FMA 03 was terrible, but honestly, I’d rather watch FMA 03 than the first Hellsing anime. That’s how bad it was. lolAnd The Slayers is legit the funniest anime I have ever seen while simultaneously being one of the coolest. The magic system in that is flawless and amazing and the humor is top notch. Go watch the series if you haven’t already. Lina is the best.Also, the book that spoke to me the most was Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. Go read it and the nits prequel and then the sequel. It’s well worth it. I read it at a time in my life when I was very low emotionally and I saw myself in R and what he says and does is so relatable.

[brothersjacksonvideos]

3 True Scary UK Horror Stories

Watch the Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewj3yG2yJWo&t=442s I’m a 21 year old male, living in a rented 1 bedroom house just outside of York in the United Kingdom. I moved in after my uncle who had pancreatic cancer and was particularly close to me passed. Now for the record, he only lived there for 3 months, moving in after being diagnosed and actually passed in the hospital, so what i’m about to tell you, it really chills me to the bone.

I had just moved in and was pretty emotional about my uncle's death. Growing up without a father, he was like mine. It was 3 days after his funeral and I was pretty beaten up. I needed a place but, at the time, it was quite depressing. So I was sat in my uncle's old living room and it was a hot summer's day, well, hot for UK standards. I was just listening to music with my shirt off when I got hit with a blast of cold air. I stood up and started towards the direction the air came from. I walked to the hallway and stood at the bottom of the stairs… I heard footsteps from upstairs. Fear overcame me as I realised I was unarmed and had no way to protect myself from this potential intruder. Not wanting the trespasser anymore time and against my better judgement I began walking up the stairs. Now the way the house laid out, the stairs escalated up and then veered off to the left, then on a small and narrow landing area, were my room and a bathroom next door to each other. At the top of the stairs, before they turn left, there’s a bannister that has wooden ‘sticks’ running up and down. I had a towel dangling over this bit and used this to my advantage. I lifted the towel minimally and saw my bedroom door was open, this was off to me as, just out of habit, since a kid, I’ve always closed doors behind me.

I heard rustling in my room and decided this was good confirmation for me to call the police. I felt my short pockets and realised, I’d plugged my phone in to listen to the music on my speakers. ‘Fuck’ I whispered rather loudly at this. I heard rushed whispers from my bedroom and realised my cover was blown. Still weary I began creeping up the stairs as my bedroom door slowly creaked as it was pushed shut. I was not afraid to admit that I was scared. As I stood up close to the door I could hear breath on the other side and see shadows through the slit at the bottom of the door. I reached for the handle and turned it slowly and silently and cautiously…

Before throwing it open lunging myself into the room and screaming like a madman in an attempt to shock the intruder. After a moment of mad screaming I came to my senses and to my horror, the room… it was empty. At this point I was beyond freaked as I looked around my room and realised that absolutely nothing was out of place. I scanned my room, checking in my small wardrobe to find nothing… or no one. I felt as if I was going mad as I heard human whispering and with my own two eyes, I saw the door close.

However, I brushed it off as my uncle’s death playing on my mind but, one thing still freaks me out to this day. As I was walking out of the room I happened to glance at a photograph of a 4 year old me, my mother and my deceased uncle, hanging on the wall. Everything in the room was how I left it that morning. Even the jeans just underneath the picture hadn’t moved an inch from what I remember. But the picture… it was upside down. This hasn’t happened again since and that freaks me out even more. Even though, when I come home from work late at night, I swear that sometimes, I hear someone, or something, quietly whispering from upstairs...

2

What I’m about to tell you, only happened last year. I’m 32 now and was 31 at the time. I live in Sheffield, UK and was driving home from a friend's’ engagement party in Manchester. The drive is very rural, crossing over Snake Pass, a long, winding road, cutting through the Peak District, one of the largely uninhabited national parks in the UK. It was around 1am and being female and alone I was nervous and apprehensive about the drive. About half of the way over Snake Pass, I felt my car begin to chug and I lost all power. I quickly got out of the vehicle to see what I could see and I noticed that, both of my front tyres were flat. I began to panic and immediately felt scared, I remembered that when I purchased my insurance policy, it included breakdown cover and I had my membership card in the glove box. I paid extra to include tyre replacement and thankfully, 24 hour call out. I leant over to retrieve the membership card and I called for help. They told me that somebody would be with me within the hour. I felt slightly reassured but was also nervous about being here, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark… alone.

It was around 20 minutes later that a recovery truck approached. I was relieved to no longer be alone and was hoping to be on my way home soon. A man approached me and introduce himself as Craig. He took a look at the tyres and told me there was no possibility of a night repair by the roadside, and with no local garages open, he would have to take me to a local hotel. This was a service included in my membership with them, so I never really thought anything of it. Craig told me to get all of my things from the car. He would take me to the B&B before returning to take the car to the local garage, ready for them to repair in the morning. It was around 3am at this point and I just wanted to go to bed, from where I was standing, you could see the approaching road at the side of the hill. I noticed a lone vehicle approaching, which looked like another recovery truck. I pointed this out to Craig and as soon as I did, he told me he’d be back in a moment as he needs to check the B&B has a room available before he was insured to take me there. I was slightly annoyed but, didn’t really think anything of it. I watched Craig drive off.

When the new recovery truck approached, it began to pull over. I assumed it had seen me in distress and just wanted to help. When the driver approached me, I told him I was already dealing with Craig and that he had gone to the B&B to see if the availability of rooms was there, so he was insured to take me. The driver looked very confused and looked at the front tyres, he told me that he could repair them by the roadside and that it was included as part of my membership. I was quite confused at this point, but having dug a bit deeper, it turns out that the second driver was genuine. He had no idea who Craig was and said that there was no other drivers operating within a 100 mile radius. And the worst part was, when he looked at my tyres… he said they’d intentionally been punctured by barbed wire… almost like it must have been on the road to do both.

I don’t like to think what could have happened to me that night and what ‘Craig’ really wanted. But one things for sure, I haven’t drove across Snake Pass, in over 9 months, and I don’t know if I intend to again....

3

Being a 31 year old female, living in a large village near Oxford in the United Kingdom, isn’t a problem, what is a problem is when my husband goes travelling for up to a month at a time.

We live in a large 3 bedroom detached house with neighbours either side, within shouting distance. We also have a huge, thick willow tree in our garden which looks scary, but I love. In June a couple of years ago, my husband had to leave for 3 weeks to go to Argentina on business. I was upset and knew he was too but, it was part of his job and I reluctantly let him go. On the first night I was already missing him and to try and clear my mind I took a nice, long, hot bath and put my earphones in, dumb idea, I know. I was sat listening to Nirvana, bubbles all around me and candles lighting the room. ahhhhhh , pure bliss. I was relaxing in my little slice of heaven and above the angel voice of Cobain, I swear I could hear quiet thuds. Yes, I love Kurt Cobain. I took my earphones out and could only hear the distorted fuzz of my earphones. Perhaps it was something in the song. I put my earphones back in and lost myself in Kurt’s voice when again, I heard the distinct thuds. This time I rewound the song and listened… No thuds. I was unsettled but not scared and parted ways with Cobain and turned my music off. There was silence, the odd gust of wind that howled through the house, then silence… *thud thud* I jumped and splashed water everywhere, a bit jumpy at my husband’s absence. I sat shivering, goosebumps all over my body, fear and chills. I sat, still as a statue... *thud thud*

Huhhhhh I gasped, WITH THE LIGHTS OUT… I fully wet myself as my music began playing through the earphones at full volume, louder than I had had it before. I wanted to get out of the bath but, I was too scared to move. IT’S LESS DANGEROUS. ‘Shit’ I murmured, music was playing through my earphones again. I held the button in and turned it off, I decided to jump out of the bath, wrap the towel around me and then, I didn’t know… my mind was made when I was sure I heard someone running down the hallway just outside the bathroom. I could even swear I caught sight of a shadow under the door. I shifted very cautiously towards the door deciding I couldn’t just stand there all night and as soon as I reached to grab the brass knob like something from a horror film, 3 of the 6 or 7 candles I had lit just flicked out.

I didn’t even think, I swung open the door and ran to my room, slamming the door shut behind me and leaning against it. Panting, I gathered myself and went to grab my phone. It was in the bathroom and it was off… I panicked, aimlessly looking around the room with no end goal. Confused. Scared. Alone. What was even happening? At one point I thought I was dreaming and exhausted I fell onto my bed relaxed, beginning to feel it was all over. I lay in that state between consciousness and sleep, not sure what was happening. I was brought back to the waking world with a creak from the other side of the hallway. Disorientated I climbed out of bed, put some undergarments on and one of my husbands t-shirts on and headed to the door. The creak sounded like the bathroom and I opened my door a slither. I actually came close to passing out as I noticed the bathroom door was closed. I swore to myself I left it open as I panicked, and was genuinely questioning my own actions… then I stepped onto the hallway *creeeeeeak* I was skittish and jumped at the floorboards creaking. I heard heavy footsteps from downstairs *thud thud thud* I was over the fear slightly. I went to the bathroom and opened the door. All but one of the candles was out. I put 2 and 2 together and I told myself it must have been a draft. Right? I clicked my phone back on and stood in the silence of the bathroom. I was scared, confused, lost and almost in tears. What was happening tonight? I was driving myself mad. My phone loaded and was searching for signal when ‘About A Girl’ started blasting out loud, I dropped the phone and collapsed crying into the room. I’d say around 10 minutes passed and again, I exhausted myself. I stood up and walked to the landing… as I approached I heard very loud thuds, 3 of them, from just round where I could see. Each one making me flinch, the sound, echoing through the house. I opened my eyes to see a shadow race against the moonlight, across the landing, towards me. I screamed extremely loud, ran as fast as I could to my room, closed the door and pushed a stool against it. I collapsed in bed and heard thuds all night until I passed out from exhaustion. I woke the next day, dazed and unsure of what happened the night before. I looked around, cleaning up the mess as I went, trying to ‘debunk’ what had happened. I put it down to dampness on my phone screen causing music to play, drafts making bumps and blowing out candles and the willow branches casting the shadow. The other 2 weeks and 6 days passed without further incident and even now, years later in the same house, nothing like this has ever happened. I was scared that day and until now have always suppressed this and never told anyone. Just beware, creepy stuff can happen to anyone, it’s indiscriminate and no one’s safe, watch out haha. Oh… P.S. I still love Cobain

[adventuresaroundasia]

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 

I’ve noticed that the more I travel and the busier I become, the more impossible it becomes to keep up with my travels in real-time. Well, never fear monthly recap posts are here!

Pin Me!

This month I headed back to the US for a week of friends and family. First I stopped by Seattle for a few rainy days to see my parents, and then I was on to Napa Valley for my high school friend’s wedding!

May was also a month of moving. I moved out of my private office and into a public open office area (Which wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be). I also began the process of moving from my Andingmen apartment to my boyfriend Chris’ place, because surprise my landlord sold our apartment and kicked us all out.

Where I Went

I spent most of the month hanging out in Beijing, but for one week I flew to the US where I went home to Seattle and headed to Napa for a wedding. In Seattle, I mainly relaxed and did a million errands, but in Napa, I rode I hot air balloon over the wineries with Tinggly Experiences and attended the fanciest black tie wedding I’ve ever been to at Auberge du Soleil.

Unfortunately, I was a bit too hungover for wine tasting the next day, but I drank enough fancy wine at my friend’s wedding that I didn’t really feel like I was missing out.

The beautiful couple!

Posing with my wedding parasol!

Monthly Highlights

A lot of great things happened this month! Let’s go through my favorites.

A Beautiful Napa Wedding

Last month one of my best friends from high school married her college sweetheart in Napa, so I flew down from Beijing for the wedding. Fun fact: In the summer of 2013 I actually traveled to Tibet with her husband (without her!) having only met him once a few years prior. Weird, right?

A year or so later, they let me crash in their Palo Alto apartment while I was applying for a Chinese visa, and we visited the Napa Wineries together. It’s crazy to think that the next time I’d see them together would be at their Napa Wedding!

They were married at Auberge du Soleil, a stunning resort overlooking the Napa Wineries. This was my first “friend-wedding”, and I didn’t think I’d cry… but I did. After a tear-jerking ceremony, they had a great reception with food and wine pairings and a lot of dancing. I sat at a table with the bride’s cousins and high school friends and we all had a blast!

Let’s hope my future wedding is at least half as good as her’s was.

My friend and I waiting for the ceremony to start

We suffered through our heels together

Road Tripping with My High School Friend

Unfortunately, I didn’t get as much time with the bride as I would’ve liked, but I did get to bond with another high school friend who attended the wedding!

Living in China, I feel like it’s pretty hard to keep in touch with my friends from back home, especially my high school friends who now live all over the country! So this wedding was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with a friend I’ve barely seen since high school.

The two of us rented a car (a first for me!) and drove from San Francisco down to Napa Valley where we crashed at a Motel 6. Classy, I know. We had a great time getting ready for the wedding together and eating all the non-Chinese food I could get my hands on.

a beautiful sunrise flight

Floating in a Hot Air Balloon Over Napa Valley

While the wedding was incredible, floating over Napa’s wineries with my high school friend was a close second! While I wasn’t a huge fan of the 5 am wake-up call, the two of us threw on some warm clothes and hopped in the rental car to a parking lot in Yountville, twenty minutes north of our Napa motel.

I gazed in wonder as they filled up the hot air balloons around us. I had seen a hot air balloon up close once in my life before this moment and I barely remember it because I think I was roughly eight years old.

The sensation of flying in a hot air balloon was literally magical. You float along with the wind, so the air is surprisingly warm and calm. For one hour we watched as the sun rose and spread its golden light across the sky. We also lightly crash-landed into a golf-course pond and took off again without a hitch, our guide cackling at our gasps of surprise.

Afterward, my friend and I ran across the road to the famous Bouchon Bakery to stuff our faces with macarons and sip on crafted lattes. It was a perfect way to start the day before our friend’s wedding. Granted, we did have a pretty big nap in the afternoon… We needed it.

I was invited to check out this hot air balloon ride with my long-time friend and partner Tinggly, the ultimate gift-giving site for travelers. With Tinggly you can purchase an experience for a loved one that they can cash in anywhere in the world. Seriously, if you want to give an awesome gift to someone who doesn’t like “things”, this site is gold. I almost wish I could’ve taken my boyfriend along as a surprise, but this “friend date” was a blast as well.

[button url=”http://www.adventuresaroundasia.com/tinggly&#8221; label=”Check Out Tinggly’s Experiences!” size=”large” target=”_blank”]

Back in Seattle!

Spending Time at Home in Seattle

While this trip home was rushed and a bit rainy, it was a good one. First, I had the opportunity to see my parents and grandpa, who I hadn’t seen since Christmas. I ate all the Mexican food and stocked up on healthy quinoa and brown rice for my upcoming diet in June (more on that later). Seriously, Trader Joes is heaven.

While I was home I also had time to sit down with my mom to plan my parents’ trip to China this September! Both of my parents will be flying to Beijing where we’ll spend two weeks exploring my China home, along with Xi’an and Yunnan province. I’ll be sure to write out our itinerary and share it with all of you because it really is a perfect two-week China trip!

Finally, I had the chance to get some hiking boots at REI for all of my upcoming Great Wall trips (and hopefully a surprise long-term trek that isn’t set in stone yet so you’ll just have to wait!). Having read the book Wild not too long ago, I paid extra, extra attention to whether or not my toes hit the front of the boot when going downhill on the fake rock they have set up in the store. I don’t want to loose all my toenails like Reese Witherspoon.

Overall, I’m super happy with my Oboz boots, and I’m glad I bought them through REI because they have literally the world’s best warranty.

I forgot to take pictures…

Flying First Class!

While the long haul flight from Seattle to Beijing and back was nothing to rave about, I did have a chance to experience first class on the trip from Seattle to San Francisco!

This was my first time ever purchasing first class for myself, so I felt pretty fancy! Why did I buy a first class ticket? Well, when you factored in the price of checking a bag, it was only $40 more expensive to spring for first class. TREAT YO SELF.

On the plane, I drank one too many Bloody Marys and enjoyed my antipasto platter, while all the business travelers around me chugged coffee and worked away on their laptops. Sorry, not sorry.

I only wish the flight was more than two hours!

America! Why you so expensive??

Challenges

Life can’t always be perfect. Here were my least favorite moments of May 2017.

Why is America so Expensive???

For the past few years, my only time in the US has been lounging at home in Seattle, with the brief exception of crashing at my friend’s Palo Alto apartment for a weekend. What does this mean? It means I have very little experience traveling in the US.

Living in a place is much cheaper than traveling, and I was shocked by how expensive the US has become. Over $100 a night for a shitty hotel room at Motel 6? Seriously?! My Uber to In and Out and back was how much???

Living in Asia has its benefits, and us bloggers are definitely not lying about the cheap cost of living and travel. Why spend $100 a night for a motel in Napa when you can spend $30 a night for a beautiful boutique hotel in Dali? (Yes, my parents and I will be staying here in September.)

Travel bloggers NEVER get a vacation!

Blogging Overload

This trip home to the US was extremely busy, which meant I got a bit behind on my blogging. Seriously, I got back to China I realized I was responding to emails from 11 days prior. ELEVEN DAYS!!!

Many bloggers joke about how their inboxes are out of control, and I am no exception. But I usually pride myself on responding to emails within at least a few days. Well, after a busy week in the US, I arrived home to China, and then promptly suffered a mild heart attack.

My inbox was out of control. I hadn’t written a blog post in two weeks. I was behind on work at my college counseling job. I hadn’t even looked at any of the THREE paid courses I’m working on right now. AHHHHHH

Now at least I’ve kind of caught up on the emails…

Drama in the hutongs!

Apartment Drama

Throughout March and April, my roommates and I lived under the constant threat of expulsion. My landlord started showing the property to potential buyers and we had no idea what was going on. In early May we got the official news: You all need to be out by the end of June.

Of course, I wasn’t too bummed by this news because I was basically living in Chris’ apartment half the time anyway. I was tired of living in two different apartments, never having the right belt, dress, or my external hard drive when I needed it. So, I figured I’d wait out my lease until the end of June, moving my stuff to Chris’ apartment slowly over the course of a month.

In the last week of May, I received an update: they managed to postpone our move out day until the end of July!!!

JULY?! I had already agreed to start paying rent in June for Chris’ place, and now all of a sudden I need to come up with another month’s rent at my old apartment? You can’t just drop that on someone last minute. When you say I have to be out by June, I assume I need to be out by June, end of story.

My old room! (In my THINX period panties?)

When I said I wanted to be out by June, my roommate who I’m subletting from insisted I needed to find someone to cover the rent for July. This led to a mini passive-aggressive fight between the two of us, as I asserted that I didn’t think paying for an extra month’s rent was my responsibility, and she took days to respond to my texts.

How would I be able to find someone to sublet my apartment for just one month? How would I find the time to show my apartment to a bunch of people when I was basically living at Chris’ place?

But, within a few days, a friend of a friend dropped out of the sky and into my lap. He needed an apartment for 6 weeks and was set to leave Beijing two days before we had to be out of my apartment. Score!

So, I went from moving to Chris’ over the course of June to needing to be out of my apartment in the first week of June. At least I found someone to cover the rent?

Having a little too much fun on the wall

My Most Popular Post

The best post of May was definitely my story about hiking the Wild Wall! Remember last month when I talked about my Great Wall birthday adventure in an off-the-beaten-path section not officially open to tourists? Well in this post I told you the ENTIRE story, from hacking my way through overgrowth on the wall to the near-death experience I had trying to get off of it!

I also give some great advice about how to plan an off-the-beaten-path Great Wall adventure of your own, where you can enjoy the Great Wall with no tourists.

Last month I also published a post about an incredible new water filtration bag from DayOne Response. While this bag is great for long-term trekkers, etc. it’s best for disaster relief, providing clean water to those who need it most. Why? It’s reusable, lays flat, and can filter enough water for an entire family in just 30 minutes.

DayOne Response is actually a finalist in the Chivas Venture competition for non-profit funding and I really hope they win! Unfortunately, voting has already closed, but you can always support them by sponsoring a bag for a family in need.

Best Instagram

My best Instagrams of the month were all from my Great Wall adventure this April! This first shot was taken when I first spotted the beautiful lake through a Great Wall tower.

Don’t usually break the square, but I had to for this one! . After hours of hiking on a crumbling, overgrown wall, @aussieontheroad and I stumbled on this view of Huanghuacheng below. . While this wall is a bit dangerous 😨😳 it was worth it for this view!!

A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on May 11, 2017 at 8:03pm PDT

This second photo was taken on the way down. Just look at that view!!

Want to explore a section of the Great Wall not officially open to tourists? 🌸🌺Ever dreamed of having the wall all to yourself? . My latest post on adventuresaroundasia.com shows you how!! . Pay a villager $1 USD for the privilege of hiking a stunning, off the beaten path stretch of Great Wall literally NO ONE visits. ☀️Trust me, it’ll be worth it!

A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on May 30, 2017 at 8:16pm PDT

Finally, I decided to make a second Instagram account, just for fun. I thought this new account would be a great way to connect with my friends and post photos in real-time without worrying about editing them in Lightroom or how they look in my Instagram grid (#ThingsBloggersWorryAbout). If you want to see some fun, behind-the-scenes photos that aren’t edited to perfection, come check it out @RichelleInAsia 

Song of the Month

This month I’ve been listening to John Legend’s Surefire. I’m obsessed with this music video about acceptance featuring a young romance between a Muslim girl and an illegal migrant boy from Mexico. Enjoy!

What I’m Reading

This month I read Oryx and Crake, the first book in a series by Margaret Atwood. After reading the Handmaid’s Tale, Chris suggested I read Atwood’s dystopian series that Atwood likes to call “speculative fiction” rather than science fiction because of course, everything she writes could feasibly happen in the near future.

In this book, Snowman, once known as Jimmy, struggles to survive in a world where he may or may not be the last human. In the aftermath of a world-wide plague, Snowman both protects and despises a new, genetically engineered humanoid species known as the Children of Crake, while he laments his lost best friend, the love of his life, and everything that went so terribly wrong.

I also literally just found out that this series is being made into a tv show on HBO. I’M SO EXCITED! Seriously, if you like the Handmaid’s Tale you’ll love this.

[button url=”http://amzn.to/2rTxDqY&#8221; label=”Download it on Kindle!” size=”large” target=”_blank”]

Best Blog Posts of May

What are my favorite posts from May? Check ’em out!

Taking Mom Overseas: Our First Mother-Daughter Trip – The Sweetest Way

I loved hearing about Leah’s trip with her mom to Greece. From their rocky past relationship to their experience wandering around Greece in the offseason, this was such a great read. I can only hope my trip showing my parents around China this fall will be as good!

Falling in Love with Northern Norway – Young Adventuress

This post makes me want to get a new blog theme so I can display full-width photos… and buy a better camera… and go to Norway.

Orangutans!

Orangutan Trekking in Sumatra – Aussie on the Road

I still haven’t written at length about my experience orangutan trekking in Bukit Lawang, but thankfully my boyfriend is literally the quickest writer on planet Earth and has been cranking out stories about our trip. Read along as he details that time we were chased through the jungle by an angry orangutan.

Cultural Clash: Why I and Many Others Will Gladly Serve Our Husband’s Food First – The Blog Abroad

I’ll be the first to admit, as a white non-Southern American, the idea of needing to serve my husband’s food first at a party before serving myself was kind of alien to me. It’s hard not to jump to conclusions that any woman who acts in this way is repressed. But from the quotes of women from all over the world Gloria collected, you can see that the answer is a bit more complicated.

None of this!

What’s Next for June 2017!

I have so many things going on in June! Firstly, I’ll be heading to a coworker’s wedding in Fushun, Liaoning province where I will be celebrating amongst 500 people! Second, I’ll also be moving into Chris’ apartment, which will be a nice change from having my stuff scattered across Beijing. I’ll also be welcoming (FINALLY) our third foreign counselor at my college counseling job… It only took them a year and five months to find someone.

Finally, I’ll be embarking on the test of a lifetime: and incredibly strict 1-month diet. In June I’ll be giving up alcohol, sugar, and simple carbs in China. Wish me luck!

This Beijing Life: Month 21 This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.  I’ve noticed that the more I travel and the busier I become, the more impossible it becomes to keep up with my travels in real-time.