#also before the buffet me and another friend went to a store somewhere and there was lots and lots of beautiful ice cream

[liebelesbe]

in my dream tonight a friend fought a prince bc he was acting rude at the buffet (took all of a specific bread even though there was enough for multiple people) <3

[rokutouxei]

the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

ikemen vampire: temptation through the dark theo van gogh / mc | T | [ ao3 link in bio ]

The challenge seemed pretty simple: to try to befriend the university bookshop’s most sour employee, Theo van Gogh. As a literature major with a boatload of book recommendations on her back, it ought to be a simple task indeed. But as she uncovers what lies between Theo’s pages, the more she finds it harder to become closer to him without having to put the feeling directly into words. What can she learn from Theo about what it means to stay—and how can she teach Theo about what it means to let go? | written for ikevamp big bang 2020!

[ masterpost for all chapters ]

CHAPTER 8 OF 22

And how impossible it still is: to train the heart to sit. - "The Kindest Thing She Almost Did", Blythe Baird

--

The College of Arts’ student council has rotating schedules on who gets to organize the university-famous Halloween party. This year, it was the Literature Department and the Film Department that paired up to choose a theme, decorate, and make sure the party is getting smoothly—and the very specific, not-required but entirely funny, theme this year was “Film or Book that you’d love to be turned spooky, but isn’t exactly spooky.”

This is why she thought of coming in as characters from the Night Circus. The black and white stripes matched with red really gives off a very Halloween vibe to begin with, but all the circus-y magic that goes on in the book itself also makes it very viable for the spooky vibes.

She’s now standing in front of the College of Arts’ event hall, where the event is set to happen. She tugs at the locks of hair dangling at the side of her face, the ones she couldn't get to obey her planned updo, even with all the bobby pins.

There's something about scavenging a costume on your own that is so nerve-wracking. There's something more when you're portraying a character from a book someone introduced to you. It feels like it's a duty to get it right. She couldn’t find any entirely matching dresses in the thrift stores she went to, so this was the best she could do: some sort of modern but 1890s-inspired fortune teller mash-up of a costume. The dress was fashioned out of this dizzying deep blue-black velvet fabric, with little speckles of silver glitter like stars across it; she wore a striped black and white petticoat underneath it to give it some volume since the dress ended around the knees. She’d re-sewn the sleeves and the neckline to be similar to that of the era, revealing a nice V along her back and a nice, wide boat collar. Then, she’s put on a small, decorative hat with some red flowers on the corner of her head, and then draped a sheer black scarf with little rosy red designs on the ends over her shoulders. Then she put on some knee-high lace-up boots to add a little grunge to the entire attire. Lastly, she had a few Rider-Waite tarot cards in her pocket (The Chariot and Temperance) just for the vibe of it.

(All this costume preparation was really to wind herself down after submitting her initial requirements to the scholarship selection committee earlier that week.)

Just as she begins to spiral in her thoughts, “Sorry I’m late,” she hears Theo’s familiar voice call out, and she looks up from staring at her shoes and gasps out loud.

Theo’s wearing his hair a little curlier than usual, a lightly-tinted pair of green contacts on his eyes and—as he’s promised—a well-tailored suit, in black and white and red, to suit the general aesthetic of the circus itself. She figured he would come in a suit, but—she wasn’t expecting him to take the extra effort with the hair and the eyes, either. She could even see the little silhouette of a journal peeking from underneath his jacket—he’s obviously prepared even to the smallest details! Maybe, maybe he does look like the Marco in her head. Just a little. Maybe if his hair was darker. She finds herself staring at him for a ridiculous amount of time, so much so that he has to cough to get her attention again.

"The green eyes look lovely on you," she comments softly, hand curling up to gently press his finger at his cheekbone near instinctively, allowing her to observe his eyes better. Theo feels himself flinch in surprise, but he does not pull back.

"Thank you, grey-green was a very specific color."

She nods. "I do prefer your usual blue though." Her hand falls back to her side. "Too bad I can't magic it back?"

"You see it blue all the time. Stop complaining when this was your idea," Theo says, but he offers his arm anyway.

"So sour," she pouts. "How unbecoming of you, Mister Alisdair," she says, as she slides her arm into his.

Theo only snorts; he does not hide the half-smirk. "Only to match you, Miss Martin."

--

The event hall is lavishly decorated in some sort of spooky, old vampire mansion vibes, with all the matching spiders and fake candles. It is a little silly to see the DJ on the far end of the hall, with his set-up on top of what seemed like a desk older from three centuries ago. The caterers set up the food on a buffet table—also beautifully decorated, how many fine arts majors did the production team get to bully into helping them out?—to get it ready before dinner at six.

But the bar—the bar is open.

“Do you drink?” she asks casually, already one foot towards the bar.

He takes a nervous gulp she pretends not to notice. “Not a lot,” he answers.

“Then a glass will be alright. I told Arthur we’d meet at the bar. Come on!”

Because her college stupidly attempts to seem puritan, official drink menus are not allowed to actually say out loud that they contain hard liquor, so instead have really creative names. This time, they are references to different, random books and films, with fine-print descriptions of what it is. She orders a glass of Pride and Prejudice and Theo gets a serving of Kafka on the Shore. Both of them had just received their drinks when her phone begins to ring, and with a short excuse me she heads to a quieter part of the room and answers the call.

“Dazai?”

“Hello, Toshiko-san. I’m waiting outside the hall, but you’ve entirely forgotten that I haven’t actually met who I’m bringing in.”

Oh! “Well, I told him to wait on a stone bench there… Dark blue-ish hair, blue eyes, a mole on the side of his lip? He responds to ‘Arthur’.”

“‘Responds?’ Are your bookstore friends all a bunch of dogs?”

“Well, this drools at the sight of meat,” you say, unapologetically. “I didn’t see him there yet when I was still out, but—”

She hears a shuffle from the other side of the line, and Arthur’s familiar voice through the phone, a small “Hello, could you be Dazai?” and her friend’s very, very meaningful pause—she can almost see Dazai looking Arthur up and down—before he answers, “Yes, and you must be Arthur.”

The phone call ends and she grins for only a half a moment before realizing what she’d done.

She walks ever so slowly back to the bar, letting it sink in. But once she’s got her glass in her hand, she downs it in one go, surprising both the bartender and Theo. She shakes her head and then sits back down on the stool, half-laughing.

“Something happen?” Theo asks.

She groans. “I may have made a mistake with Arthur.”

Theo takes a sip of his drink, just the littlest bit smug. “Everything is a mistake if Arthur is involved.”

“I didn’t think he’d—”

“Hello, lovebirds,” says the devil, Arthur coming up behind them with—

With Dazai glued to his hip.

She’s known Dazai for a few years at this point, and because they’ve known each other for so long, there are little things she knows Dazai does that may not seem obvious to the onlooker.

First: Dazai is not fond of touching, but he is rather great at tolerating it. It usually takes a few months before Dazai is fine with being touched by someone. Even she took around half a year before Dazai would allow her to hug him freely. When he’s being touched by someone he does not particularly like, he clenches his hands and fits them into his pockets, so it’s not as noticeable.

Observer’s note: Arthur’s got his hand around Dazai’s waist. Dazai’s hands are wide open, resting at his hip.

Second: Dazai is also good at having his practiced smile. He says he practices it in the mirror, did it every day for a year until it became natural to him; it looks genuine and otherwise believable, that is, if you haven’t seen his actual smile. And even if you have, sometimes it’s still hard to tell. His actual, genuine smile, that goes up to his eyes, crinkling the sides of it, and he flushes sometimes too; it’s so wide it reveals the little dimple on his cheek.

Observer’s note: Dazai’s dimple is very, very visible right now.

Third: Dazai has this thing where the longer he considers a person, the less he becomes attracted to them, for some reason, even if the extended thinking time only makes him feel like they’re a better match by the second. Dazai is only genuinely, passionately, instantly attracted to people he knows will pose him some sort of danger and excitement.

Observer’s note: Dazai met Arthur today.

She bites back the groan that’s bubbling out her throat and grins. “Hello, Arthur, Dazai. Having fun?”

“Where’d you been hiding this cutie all this time?” Arthur teases, squeezing Dazai closer to him. “Much fun now that he’s here. I see you’ve started drinking ahead of us.”

“Just a little,” she says. “Shall we find a table?”

The four of them choose a table in the middle of the chaos—Arthur’s suggestion—somewhere midway the bar and buffet. The tables are for six, and the number makes her remember.

“I couldn’t get Isaac to come.”

Dazai shakes his head. “I told you he said he wasn’t interested. Must be working overtime like he usually does.” He nods towards her direction. “Good attempt, though.”

She frowns. “He should really let loose sometimes… I know he’s good at what he does, but a little, one-night-a-year party isn’t going to hurt him is it?”

“Ohoho, what’s this, have another cute friend I have to know?” Arthur interrupts.

Dazai taps Arthur’s nose gently and she wants to vomit. What has she done. “Isaac Newton, a Ph.D. student from the physics department. Too serious for his own good.”

Surprise fills Arthur’s face. “My, isn’t that Newt? Teaches classes sometimes?” She and Dazai nod. “Small world!”

“Next year we’re really finding a way to drag him in,” she says.

To which Dazai laughs, “you won’t be here next year, Toshiko-san.”

There’s a small sliver of silence that settles in between them, just long enough to be felt but not for the conversation to come to an abrupt halt. It makes Theo flinch a little.

“Then it’s up to you guys, isn’t it?” she takes her second glass of literary cocktail—she doesn’t even know what’s in this one, just pointed at the menu, it was titled Wolf Totem—and downs half of it in one go.

“Maybe if a girl came around to bring him, he’d be more persuadable,” Arthur teases, “Look at my chap Theo over here.”

“So you’re Theo, huh?” Dazai purrs. She throws a glare at him that goes ignored. “Nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Theo only nods as a response and she takes the chance to get the conversation back in a direction that makes her a little safer from their teasing. “But no, really, Isaac? Coming for a girl? You don’t know him at all, Arthur.”

“Oh, even the toughest guys fall back to romance, don’t they, Theo?”

Theo throws a glare towards Arthur; it is shrugged off as the newly-formed suddenly-a-couple laughs in unison.

--

Despite the ruckus, the four of them still have some good fun at the party. Arthur Arthur’s non-stop insisting that they play the party games has them rewarded with many things: a stupid award here or there, minuscule amounts of cash that could be used in the future for dine-outs, and even a nice bottle of high-end “water”—it was definitely vodka, the organizers just couldn’t announce it out loud. She and Dazai had to stand up a couple of times to go meet their college-mates in their department, but the four of them stayed mostly together until past dinner—that is until the dance music started to rev up, getting ready for the long night ahead.

“Excuse the two of us, we’re going to do some actual dancing, like people do at parties to have fun,” Arthur says, but his face is already littered in glitter from the poppers and his face is dusted pink from all the alcohol. Obviously, dancing isn’t required to have fun at all. Taking Dazai’s hand like a gentleman, sliding his arm around the other man’s waist, Arthur makes a comical bow to which she makes a face. The two disappear into the crowd of people dancing on the dance floor, and the sight of them so obsessed with each other makes her lean back on her chair to take a sip on her—fifth? Sixth? Ah, who is counting?—nth glass of alcohol.

Wary of being the killjoy, Theo gently asks, “Don’t you want to dance?”

“I mean… you don’t want to, do you?” she asks, facing him properly, glass still in hand. “I just felt like it’d be great to hang out with you here and if you’re not up for dancing…”

“If you want to we should go.”

“I’m not going if you’re forcing yourself to.”

“No, I’m not, so—”

“Theo, sit down!” she says, laughing. The alcohol’s given her skin a beautiful pink flush, and her smiles have turned wider, more relaxed. “It’s okay, I promise. Just sit here and drink your—drink. It’s just nice to have company.”

He nods as she turns back to watching the crowd. A smile still settles on her face as she watches the mass of people dancing and shouting to the music. Theo asks, “Do you always go here with someone?”

She shrugs, taking another sip from her glass. “I came alone the first time, and then the next I went with Dazai. He’s pretty popular—when he’s alone, without anyone slung on him, you know? Lots of people dance with him.”

“And you?”

“Me?” she asks, forehead wrinkling. “I’m normal. I sit and drink until my liver begs me to stop. And then dance until my legs beg me to stop when I’m drunk enough.”

He scoffs, but only in that friendly way of defeated acceptance. “Sounds like fun.”

“So much more fun with you around though,” she asserts, tilting her glass to him. “Cheers?”

“For what?”

And she’s quiet for a moment, before she raises her glass again, saying, “To friendship and literature, of course.”

Theo thinks that’s good enough. They clink their glasses gently and then drink.

For the slightest of moments, Theo considers asking the one question that had been on his mind since she invited him to the party. Preparing the clothes to wear to the event only made his curiosity even stronger, but at the same time, he didn’t feel like he had the right to ask. Theo feels content sitting in his uncertainty, the mystery of it hanging in the air.

But the alcohol has made him a little more courageous.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot!”

“Why didn’t you go as Celia?”

It’s common for a pair of people to attend a costume party in matching outfits with characters that are paired as well. Celia is Marco’s natural pair in the book. Isobel is not. Why didn’t she go as Celia? Theo would not have minded if she did. Celia was fiery and romantic and could see through Marco’s every disguise.

And Isobel longed and longed and never got what she wanted.

“I kind of felt for Isobel, you know?” she answers, in that hesitant way that makes the asker wonder if it’s because of the embarrassment or because of the half-lie. “She was running away, after all. Didn’t you say that was what I was so fixated on?”

And Isobel is only the circus because she was the way for Marco to get to who he loved. Even before he knew who he loved.

“Wouldn’t have expected that from you,” Theo remarks, taking out his little Marco-journal to dust it away idly. “You seem like the type who always feels extensively for the protagonists.”

It takes a moment for the words to sink in, but then, suddenly, her eyes widen brightly. She puts down her glass and quickly swipes the journal Theo kept with him before pulling him up by the wrist. “C’mon, let’s do the photo booth?”

“What?” Theo staggers up. Why so suddenly? “Who’ll watch over the table?”

She places her little hat on the table. “That’ll save it, let’s go.”

Theo can feel his pulse thrumming under his wrist where she’s holding on to him. Theo does not have the will to argue as she drags him to the makeshift studio on the far end of the hall. Instead, he focuses on her—the way her hair’s held up in an intricate braided bun on her head, the fall of her dress over her shoulders, the feeling of his hand around his arm.

She’s such a weird girl, he thinks.

When they get to the end of the line—a short one, bless the universe—she takes out the two tarot cards in her pocket and hands them to him.

“Switch props for the photo,” she explains.

When they get to the photo booth, they opt for two photos; one for her to keep, and another for Theo. They don't even bother with the poses, both half-drunk, holding up their character props as the cameraman fixes the shot. She settles, standing by his side, arms twined, head leaning toward him as the camera flashes once. And Theo can’t help himself when he turns to face her because of that, and before he knows it—the camera flashes once more.

She’s too far into her drinks to have time to think why Theo’s so concerned about seeing the photos first and choosing which one he wants to keep for himself.

--

 It is just a little past midnight when she, Theo, Arthur, and Dazai hop out of the hall. She insisted that it would be better to wait until the end of the night before leaving—making most of the ticket, or something—and the most that they had gotten out of that was a free coupon to a fast-food chain.

That, and this:

She’s half-slung over Theo when she yells at Arthur and Dazai, who are very obviously becoming a little too comfortable with each other, handsy as they huddle together. She shouts: “Jesus, guys, get off each other!”

“Hmm? Right now? Sure, we’d love to, if you don’t mind—”

“NO! NO NOT LIKE THAT!” she yells, pushing away from Theo to nudge Arthur away from Dazai. The new lovebirds just laugh mildly at each other as she huffs and frowns, falling back into step next to Theo. “Oh god, I’ve made the worst mistake of my life.”

“Best mistake of my life,” Dazai says with a slurred laugh, leaning against Arthur. She makes a gagging motion, to which Theo snorts.

Relative to everyone else’s lodging in the university, the van Goghs’ apartment is the one closest to the hall, so the four of them make their way to it, drunk feet stumbling on uneven pavements all the way there. Arthur and Dazai are walking ahead of them—Theo doesn’t know how Arthur knows where he lives, not when he’s never brought him there; that’s a question for a more sober time—and she and Theo walk side-by-side a few feet behind.

She’s not entirely drunk, no, but she’s a little closer to drunk than tipsy, and it shows when she speaks. “Did you have fun today, Theo?” she asks, ignoring the little misstep her conversation has cost her.

Theo has his hands in his pockets, but they’re only seconds away from grabbing her by the arm to steady her. Any minute now. “It was okay.”

She grins. “Great! That’s all I want.” She looks back up in front of them, and Arthur throws one glance upon hearing their conversation, but then quickly looks away. “It’s kinda, uuuuh,” she squints, the words lost. “Different, to hang out with you with ‘thur and ‘zai around.”

See, this is exactly why Theo capped himself off at three drinks. Look—he’s long accepted his less than average tolerance, but to have to babysit a group of drunk college kids… “Bad different?”

“Nuh-uh,” she says. “Jus’ different. Used to only us. ‘t’s nice being alone with ya.”

I don’t want to take care of a drunk you on my own, she hears in her head, and she isn’t quite sure if Theo had actually said it or if it was just a figment of her imagination.

Soon enough, the four of them stumble onto the van Gogh’s front porch, Theo just not-drunk enough to get the key in through the hole. With a click, the four of them are greeted by the bright light of the living room. Arthur must have been the one that hissed. They stagger in, Dazai slamming onto the sofa, Arthur right after him, and she, heading to the refrigerator for some water.

Theo disappears for a moment to check on Vincent in the studio and to tell him that he’s brought his unfortunate group of friends to sober up, and it’s a good thing the drunkards aren’t around with him because the brightness of Vincent’s smile would have knocked them right out.

“I’ll go take a shower,” Theo announces to no one in particular, shouting down the hall as he disappears into his shared bedroom with Vincent. She tries not to think of what that would look like, blaming her wandering thoughts on the alcohol. She’s about on her second glass of water when she spots Vincent headed to the kitchen.

She beams. “Vin-ny~” she reaches out to him and Vincent catches her before she falls.

“Did you have fun at the party?” Vincent asks, half-laughing, as he helps her to sit on the counter—which was what she was trying to do. “How much did you drink?”

She raises her hands up to her face and tries to count, fully knowing she stopped counting after the second glass. “Enough to make me happy,” she answers instead, smiling dumbly at the older van Gogh. “Theo was so grumpy.”

“He was so excited to go, though,” Vincent says, standing next to her. Of course he has no qualms ratting on his younger brother like that. “You should have seen him, preparing for his costume. Did he look just as you imagined?”

“…And better,” she admits, before taking a sip of the water again to sober up a little more. The ice in the glass is helping her brain to chill. “I’m not sure if he had fun, though. I feel kind of bad.”

Vincent hums. “He looks like he had fun. He wouldn’t have brought you guys here otherwise.”

“You think so?” she asks, eyes wide. The blond man laughs.

“I know so.”

By the time Theo comes out of the shower, he’s a little more dressed down, in jeans and a button-up shirt. He looks at Arthur and Dazai, both already long out like a light on the couch, and sighs.

“I suppose you’re sleeping here too,” he asks, looking toward her. She shoots him an awkward grin.

“She can sleep on my bed,” Vincent offers, but Theo shakes his head.

“She can sleep on mine. You sleep on your bed tonight, Vincent. I can sleep in the studio. I’ll just pass by the drugstore a few blocks down for some…” he frowns at Arthur and Dazai, “…Ibuprofen, for tomorrow.”

“Take care on your way out,” Vincent answers, taking a scan at Theo up and down to see if he’s sober enough to go out. Theo really didn’t drink a lot—purposefully, he knew this was going to happen—so he’s standing pretty straight. He nods and makes his way out, the door closing with a gentle click.

After that, she slouches next to Vincent, like she was just holding herself up to seem a little put together for Theo. Vincent pats her on the head gently, like a little child.

“Is something wrong?” he asks.

She sniffles a little, looking down at her shoes. “I was just thinking h’much I’ll miss this.”

“Are you going away?”

“Maybe,” she says, idly. “I want to. Don’t want to. Want to.”

Vincent smiles, the kind of disappointed-but-not-surprised, non-judgmental, gentle smile of an older brother one would give to a younger sibling. Carefully, he hooks her arm around his shoulders, saying, “C’mon, let’s get you to bed,” as he leads her to his shared room with Theo. She is pliant in his arms, legs wobbling but still planted with a balance onto the floor.

The costume she’s in doesn’t look entirely too comfortable to sleep in, so he offers her a loose shirt and some sweatpants to change into. It takes her two minutes too long to fumble into them, but right before he begins to get worried that she’s gotten stuck in the fabric, she knocks at the door to tell Vincent she’s done. He walks in with a glass of water.

“One last before you sleep,” he says, assisting her in drinking. “I hope you don’t have a headache tomorrow.”

But she’s intoxicated, and her brain doesn’t follow along with Vincent, so as she’s drinking the water her eyes are wandering the walls, where various canvases are hung. All of them are Vincent’s, and most of them are unframed, and perhaps have never been seen by anyone besides Vincent and Theo. Once the glass is empty, she turns to Vincent with a glazed look in her eye.

“Do you think there’s going to be something greater for us outside of this place?”

He blinks, taken off guard. She has officially transitioned from clingy, whiny drunk, to having an existential crisis, philosophical drunk. He only laughs lightly, placing the glass on the bedside table as he coaxes her into bed, tucking her under the blanket.

“I sure do hope so.”

[crypticcatalys]

Dreams Ive had involving Avatar in no particular order or context.

(This is super long btw)

---------------------------------

11/1/18

I was a na'vi and i was with neytiri and jake at some waterfall. We were Parachuting i guess because we parashuted to the end on the fall and into a lake. There was a barrier at 8 feet so we swam to a car in a parking lot and bille joe Armstrong was there and we drove to a gas station, i woke up.

11/9/18

I was a na'vi. I was jake and neytiri's kid apparently. And tsu'tey was alive and said he was my weird uncle super loud. We were at some seafood restaurant and it was beside the animal kingdom park. These people where being jerks to us and being racist because we were na'vi. There was a tornado for a second then someone yeled that grace was dying so we started running and hopping animal habitat fences and lines while someone was narrating then the girls from despicable me were there. The park was different the floating mountains were still there but it also looked like a mall. Rumpelstiltskin was there and being evil. And something was at stake? I woke up

11/14/18

I was in some warehouse at first then I was at home. Then me and my friends were walking to my grandmas house. I was a na'vi again i think, and they mentioned we were going to go see another na'vi that looked female with a Hispanic accent named Alex i think and that he sold Rick and Morty balloons. My friend said that he wasn't nice and that the last time they saw him he crapped himself? I woke up after that.

11/23/18

I was in some house and there was a guy there he was abusive so I threw a chair at him and my grandma was there. We ran and then we were at some bridge leading to Flight of passage. The bridge was like a rollercoaster because when i crossed it it kept moving. In the ride queue there were Toruk the First Flight performers and it was actually cool. But the actual ride/link area was like a movie theater and it wasn't even flight of passage. It was a 'modern disney character life' simulation movie thing. I woke up from anger.

11/27/18

I was na'vi and i was in this building (our home?) And it was collapsing. Fire was everywhere and when it was destroyed everyone was holding each other and crying.

12/2/18

I was at the store with my mom and my friend was there. I could fly so i picked my friend up and we were on top of the aisle. Some couple was fighting and me and my friend went back to the floor and we ate these heart shaped sugar cookies. Then i heard the song 'Direhorse' and there were Toruk performers there. They were on this stage type thing that sorta went into the ground. I got excited and one of the performers gave me a spear from the Tipani and it was cool. Then i was Booker Baxter and i was telling raven that i could not tell nia that i could fly because she would be sad? I woke up after that.

12/12/18

I was a avatar driver this time. I was with Grace in her avatar and we were in some auditorium type place. We had left on grace's ikran(i guess she had one) and we went to 7-eleven. Grace was looking or was doing something and she had mentioned her old middle school. Some kid was on the roof of the gas pump area and they hung up a couple of laminated song lyrics. Me and grace went back to the auditorium and it was nature-y all of the seats were gone and it was like a outdoor elivated buffet on a waterfall and the roots of this willow tree at the top of the waterfall sorta made seating areas. Me and grace were at a table across from some Korean group from YouTube rewind and jackie chan was there. They all had twins and they were eating cake. One of them gave me a na'vi doll like the ones at Disney. I started eating then i woke up.

12/18/18

I was in some medieval park? And on some sort of field trip. Some couple was mad and calling for someone to come and pick them up. Then something happened and everyone was yelling and causing chaos. The bus/picnic bar thing we drove there had tables full of cake but the benches were gone. Then grace and jake were there and grace told jake that he needed to eat and he said "ok mom" grace smiled and then i woke up.

12/22/18

I was at my school but it had voltrons colors everywhere and I was helping this one kid in a wheel chair get down the stairs but the first time I went down them it didn't work? We went outside and there were busses that were the color of the lions and we had to get on a certain bus. I put the kid on the yellow bus and I got on the black one but it was purple. We drove somewhere shady and then we were in this haunted house above the floor from another dream I had like 2 months before and it was exactly the same except there was this ghost lady robot thing and she was following us and she touched my friends shoulder, and then I was the only person on the ride. Then I was on the floor and there was this mickey mouse stuffed animal puppet thing and it was sorta bouncing in front of me. Then I sorta went Lucid and made the area change to the Tree of Souls from Avatar. I woke up for a second then I was on the side of some highway and I was on a farm in some tribe. Someone shot a arrow through my finger so this nice old lady and her granddaughter broke the arrow and healed me and it reminded me of the Tawkami. Then there was random klance in this old apartment then I woke up again.

12/28/18

I was in a goldfish commercial area under the bed, then i was in a mansion in pixie hollow and the main cast and queen clarion was there. There was a parade sorta and then a buffet with rainbow fruit on pancakes and sugar. I went through some doors and i was home? But it was different. My room was set up like my grandmas and there was some person in there and then i was in the hallway bathroom at my grandmas and some boy was in there. Then I was on a human vacation base on Pandora with some family. I was a avatar driver and there was a field trip group and a class. Music from Toruk was playing and it was the Tipani's theme. Then me and the family went to this cafe type thing and we were beside Na'vi river journey and i could hear the Shaman singing. I got a chocolate cheesecake with whipped cream and when i started eating i woke up.

1/1/19

Sam Worthington was giving me a tutorial on how to draw Jake but the nose was weird.

1/8/19

I was watching this park and jake was there. He was in his human body at first with max and grace in some lab and grace took his phone. Then jake was in his avatar body and he was playing a game with the omyticaya he said something about the color yellow and everyone jumped and laughed. Some amusement park was being shut down then I woke up.

1/17/19

Connie from SU was playing hidden valley but the characters were the diamonds. Then i was in my culinary class and i was talking about someones mom and saying that she was racist. My teacher got mad at me then i was behind a curtain on a stage and this woman was dressed in leather and talking to a crowd. She was with a guy with a cheap looking ikran mask. Then i was at church and it was my school again. Then my friend was there and I fought her and won. Then i was in the office and was getting writen up but mom wasn't. Then i woke up.

1/22/19

James Cameron and Sigorney Weaver were directing Toruk. I was looking for them in the crowd and fangirling. Toruk looked weird with arms instead of wings. Sigorney said hi to me from the technician booth that was beside my chair. Sam Worthington was there and he and sigorney had a scene in the play as their Avatar characters. Jake had accidentally stole a bow and arrow and grace went 'mom mode' and got mad. Then someone had shot a arrow and it hit him in the head but he had protective gear on so he didn't really die. Then i was back home but my living room window showed the stage of the show an sigorney said hi again and i got really happy. Then i opened my dryer and it was full of nickelodian stuff.

2/4/19

Neytiri and jake were role swapped so he was a born Na'vi and she was a dreamwalker. I was a dreamwalker and neytiri's adopted daughter for some reason. We were talking to Quaritch and he was threatening us because he was about to bomb hometree. We convinced him to let us talk to the na'vi and get them out in time. I woke up in my avatar's nivi and jumped to the branch neytiri was on and we went to go find the others.

2/6/19

Hometree was about to be attacked. The RDA was using these weird missiles underwater and flooded Hometree. Avatar Norm was hanging on somewhere near the top of the tree watching toruk fly through a waterfall that formed while saying "come on, where are you" then the water drained and jake and neytiri floated out of the tree base and jake was dressed in his tawtute clothes and Neytiri was a Tessa Thompson look alike in a purple glittery suit and black heels. They started breathing again and jake said something about being relieved.

2/10/19

I was in some field with my Chromebook and on the Avatar website. It was really colorful and pretty. The trailer for the second movie was up but before i could watch it i had to play this mini game. I was Tsu'tey and i was at this river and Mo'at and Eytukan were on a dock on the otherside. This boat had floated towards me and it was full of tools and weapons and Mo'at said I had to find 3 spear heads. I found them and then i was following the river until i was on a dock. I walked to the end of it and i thought i was at the Metkayina clan and i thought i was going to see Bailey Bass' character but i just saw irl her and a bunch of tawtute. Apparently it was a human village and i was the only Na'vi there. I got scared i think and ran. Then some characters from bunkd were there and Mateo was embarrassed about something so he left and was making his own camp when destiny took a tarp/map and gave it to him so he could make a tent. And the camp was by a cornfield.

3/24/19

I was watching Toruk live and i was onstage. Entu, Ralu, and Tsyal were there. The left part of the Hometree stage was deflated. It was really colorful. The tipani spears were on the center stage area. The omiticaya were harvesting something (maybe fruit)from the still standing part of the Hometree and music was playing but it wasn't from the show's soundtrack. Then there was water and something happened and i was in my room and mom told me to wake up. Then my alarm clock wole me up irl.

4/17/19

Jake and neytiri were hunting a angsìk. Tsu'tey and two other hunters were there. One was Na'vi and one was Polynesian. Jake had went to do his plan and Tsu'tey told neytiri it would not work. But they heard something and when they turned around jake was covered in mud and three angstìk were dead. Tsu'tey said that he was surprised and neytiri was dragging jake to a river to make him clean the mud off.

4/25/19

Backstage of Toruk. Friends with Tsyal and the Tsahìk. Cannibal Hotel.

4/27/19

Broke into some guys house with me grandma. Backstage performing TORUK at school on stage. Changed from Tipani to Omiticaya. Found a green chest cover.

5/22/19

I was in ponyville looking for fluttershy's house then i was on the street that connected mine and my Grandma. It was a part of a dream i had before. A pallulukan was there and my grandma kept talking and it almost heard us. Then Neytiri was there and looking for a kid version of Peyral who was hiding in the house we were beside. It was raining so we went in then suddenly Neytiri was dressed as Tsyal.

6/13/19

I was taking a bath and washing the dishes at the same time. Then I was a Na'vi again and we were preparing to fight the RDA. Except we were hiding in my grandads basement/garage and it was huge. There were 2 separate sleeping areas with over 100 bunk-beds in each area and a cafeteria. It was like the Avatar long house but bigger. Norm was there and he was my uncle and he was in his avatar body. The other clans started arriving and going to find beds and get food. I was embarrassed about something. Neytiri was a human/avatar and toruk makto and my mom again in this dream. She was coming back from somewhere but I woke up before seeing her.

7/8/19

I met James Cameron and talked to him about how much I love Avatar and how many times I watched it this year. And at some point Ralu and Entu were involved.

7/14/19

I was selling newspapers at a grocery store when someone made fanart, and a fanvideo of Asal (my avatar oc). But they shipped her with Entu. But I still left a like because it was nice.

8/2/19

I was in the AVATAR program but everything looked different. The technology looked more alien than human. The sleeping areas were just these bunks cut into walls with glass doors so there was no privacy or quiet because they were in a busy hallway. The base was confusing to walk through. Everything looked the same. The link room was smaller and had three link chambers. But they looked different and were glowing orange and black, or purple. Only jake could link completely. Mine and Norm's wouldn't work. Until mine did after a few tries. I could feel my tail move but then I was put back in my human body. We didn't go outside. Then I was in Neytiri's body and i was flying around the Pandora theme park. I was flying around the floating mountains before I was in the line for flight of passage with my friend. The line queue had a Quaritch robot talking about something and part of the millenial falcon in it. We got on the ride and the chairs were like a movie theater and the screen mention a patronus bracelet. Then I woke up and it felt like I was unlinking.

8/10/19

I was in the school and I had to use magic to change a sink full of water into Vodka but I turned it into champagne. I was being graded on it and I got a B. Then I was on a alien planet with two other people. We were found and brought to a base that was playing Christian Horror movies as a joke. We were taken to a back room were they gave us Toruk makeovers. I had started to put the suit on and and had just started to paint my face when I woke up.

[jimlingss]

The Deli Diaries [9]

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 || Chapter 11 [Finale]

➜ Words: 3k

➜ Genres: Fluff & Cuteness, That good ol’ slow burn, Slice of Life

➜ Summary: Working at a grocery store deli is absolutely unbearable (and you’re also perfectly aware of how dramatic you are). But it seems like something, or rather, someone might make the job a bit more manageable.

➜ Warnings: Mundane-ness that might make you bored to death

➜ Notes: ladies and gentlemen, we are slowly but surely moving away from slowburn from this point forward.

You didn’t think it was possible to hate your job outside of work.   For the most part, you like to grumble and complain during the working process. Once you’ve made it home, you’re pretty damn happy and don’t bother wasting your energy to continue whining about it. Out of sight, out of mind.   Except now, you were outside of the deli, outside of the grocery store, and surrounded in everything that had to do with it — colleagues, snotty upper management, the company name plastered on every single wall, advertisements on every napkin and piece of paper.   The presenters on stage were reading off of their cookie cutter scripts and it was so entirely cringe-worthy, every second you were dying a little bit more inside. Still, you came because you got to skip work and there’s free food.   You’ll do anything for free food.   “Did you join the raffle?” Yuna asks, shuffling down the buffet line with you.   “No. I’m not paying a cent to them.”   Your favourite coworker laughs, her festive green dress twirling as she spins to grab a fudge brownie. “But it’s a chance to win a hundred dollar gift card.”   “Yeah, for the grocery store.” Your voice drops into a quieter volume and your eyes flicker in all directions before you lean closer. “I’d rather shop at Walmart.”   The young girl laughs and it becomes drowned out in the fancy hall. The company rented out the spacious venue for a few weeks so that every store could celebrate the holidays together. It was the only party in the entire year and where a few dollars of your docked paycheck went to.   It’s a Christmas party, but management is adamant about calling it a holiday party, even though it’s pretty obvious with the decorated Christmas tree in every corner, the santa hats and fake santa sitting on his throne with a lineup of kids in front of him. The icing on the cookies were of gingerbread men or snowmen and most of the older folks said ‘Merry Christmas’ to each other as they passed by.   It really isn’t that bad of a celebration. You wouldn’t go as far as to call it generous since you’re sure this is all a tactic to boost morale and make the workers change their minds about the shitty year. But the dinner is fairly good, the music is pleasant, and there was an open bar where people are happily getting drunk on alcoholic eggnog.   You also had a sip of some alcoholic hot chocolate before realizing that it was pretty disgusting and you gave it away.   “I’m going to go sit with my family.”   “Oh yeah, sure. Did you need me to take that family photo for you?”   Yuna shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. My boyfriend can take it.”   “Right.” You smile, trying not to feel bitter and it wasn’t that difficult considering the festive mood was infectious and making you feel more chipper. “Lucky you.”   “Speaking of which…” Your coworker lingers with two plates in her hand, still not returning to her family yet when there’s a more important question on the tip of her tongue. “Where’s that produce boy?”   Instantly, you know who she’s talking about. But you don’t want to give in to what she’s implying, so you give the most confused expression you can muster. “Who?”   “You know...the cute guy that always stares at you. The one you always have lunch with…? You walk home together?!” Yuna is frustrated from your blank expression and detects that you’re just playing dumb to antagonize her. “Ugh! You know who I’m talking about!”   “Hey, if he’s so cute, maybe you should date him,” you say with brows raised before taking a bite of a muffin.   “I-...I have a boyfriend, thank you very much.”   Your cheek is stuffed and you stop chewing for a long second. “And how is that stopping you?”   She opens her mouth and then shuts it, inhaling a deep breath. “We are not doing this again.”   You laugh, having too much fun teasing the poor girl. “Merry Christmas!” You bid her a goodbye and a good holiday in case you don’t see her again in the sea of people.   “Merry Christmas, Y/N.”   For the next little while, you hang around by yourself. You eat some more, stroll around to observe the activities made for the children, colour a stocking before giving it to a four-year old who had been staring the entire time, all while hiding from your manager.   Earlier, she forced everyone who worked in the deli to gather and take a picture together. It was cute and all until every single person wanted their own copy and seven phones were passed around. You were forced to awkwardly stand there and pretend these people were your best friends in the whole world while your picture was taken twenty times and your smile grew more and more stiff.   More importantly, the plate of food you set down was stolen.   And now you were hiding, not only from having to repeat that monstrosity, but there were rumours that the store manager wanted every department to go up on stage and sing a carol together — and you are not about that life.   “What are you doing?” There’s a cute and smooth voice that tickles your ears as you’re sticking your back to a white pillar.   You turn slightly, smile appearing at the person you see. “Hiding.”   Jimin grins and doesn’t even ask. “Of course.”   “Oh shit.” You point to the red and white stick he’s holding. “Where did you get the candy cane?”   “In a basket over there.” He motions to the other side of the hall and blinks at you. “Want some?”   “Uh, yes.” You put your hand out and he cracks it, fiddling with the wrapper for a second before dropping it in your hand. You throw it into your mouth all at once, forming a strategic plan to march across the venue without being noticed and grabbing a handful of the peppermint candy to bring home.   At your prolonged silence, he moves until he’s in your line of sight again. “What are you thinking?”   “Nothing.”   “You’re going to steal a bunch, right?” Jimin’s eyes crinkle and he giggles cutely at you.   “It’s not stealing if it’s free,” you argue, chewing and letting your teeth crunch on the hard candy. Your breath is getting fresher by the second, even if the flavour is strong.   “I like your sweater,” he points out. “It’s cute.”   “Eight bucks online,” you gloat while pinching the fuzzy red fabric with the cubby cartoon reindeer on it. Your leg lifts and you point to your black pants. “Leggings were a hand-me-down.”   “I like your hat.” The produce boy lifts his hand and plays with the white pom-pom at the end of your santa hat.   “Dollar store,” you tell him and he laughs again, having expected nothing less from you. “I like your button down shirt. Super fancy. And you got this whole hair thing going on.” You make wild gestures towards your own hair, looking at the way his dark locks curl slightly, exposing part of his forehead, a clean yet cute look. “Looks good, Park.”   “My mom made me do all this,” he grumbles shyly, made timid and embarrassed from your compliment. “I should’ve just worn a sweater like you did.”   “No, no. You look nice,” you reassure him and you’re not even saying that to make him feel better. It’s all too genuine and if anything, your compliment is an understatement to how you really feel. “I was lazy and I look like trash no matter what I do—”   “That’s not true,” he intercepts. “You look nice too….like really good...cozy, I mean. It’s festive...yeah.”   “Thanks.” You’re trying not to smile so hard and you’re probably failing. “Did your parents come?”   “No, they’re at my grandma’s. My younger brother came though.”   “Oh yeah, I think I saw him earlier. Shouldn’t you get back to him?”   Jimin shakes his head. “No. He brought a friend along and he thought I was embarrassing him, so now I’m hanging out with you.”   “Wow.” You put your hands on your hips, sassing the boy. “Am I your backup or something?”   A grin spreads across his face, the apples of his cheeks puffing out. “You’re my first choice. I was looking for you.”   You’re caught off guard, but you catch yourself fairly quick. “Well...damn straight.”   “Did any of your family come?”   “And make them suffer through this?”   “Fair enough.” He smiles, humming while watching the surroundings of the bustling hall, how groups and cliques of middle aged workers are chatting with each other, how children are running along with one another and making a ruckus. Jimin hesitates a long moment before he asks, “you wanna go somewhere quieter?”   “What do you mean?”   “Somewhere without so many people.” He eyes you, mischief glimmering in his warm brown irises. “And where you don’t have to hide.”   “Okay.” You allow the cute boy to lead you to the left, down a corridor, past the washrooms and into the dark. Your steps begin to slow. “You’re not going to kill me, right? Steal my kidneys or my organs or something?”   “I don’t think the black market would even want your organs with your eating habits.”   You’re appalled, giving out the most dramatic and theatrical of gasps. “Calling me out like that when it’s supposed to be the happiest season of the year?” Jimin giggles and then he pushes the emergency exit door at the end of the hallway. A gust of winter wind comes to slap you across the face.   “Wait. We’re going outside? Nah.”   “Come on.” He waves you over, patience running thin, and you start backing away, arms holding your body, shaking from the chills that have already swept up your spine. “It’s not that bad.”   “It’s freezing, Jimin!”   “Come on.” He takes two large strides and grabs your arm, touch sliding down before he grabs your hand, tugging you. “It’s not bad.”   “Jimin!” You allow him to drag you out of the warmth of the building and the frigid temperature hits you at once. It’s like the freezer at the deli, except a lot worse with the wind and how it’s lightly snowing, crystals dusting from the sky and landing on the top of your skull.   “Trust me.” His hand is still holding yours and he pulls you behind the venue towards the garden area that they’ve turned into a festive display area. There are luminous strings of fairy lights wrapped around fences and bushes, hues of red and green, blue and pink. It’s a mosaic of colours, twinkling like stars, turned into decorations and also wrapping around the gazebo in the center. There are only two kids playing outside in the snow with their parents and no one else around…...probably because it’s freezing outside. “Isn’t it pretty?”   “Yeah. It is,” you admit breathlessly, getting closer to him. His chubby cheeks have become rosy and his nose reddened from the temperature. You’re sniffling, eyes watering, and Jimin laughs softly at your features. “If we freeze to death though, it won’t be so pretty anymore.”   “We won’t.” He pats his chest where his heart is. “I’ll keep you warm.”   “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.” It feels a lot better under the gazebo where you’re at least shielded away from the powder twirling from the dark sky and the frigid breeze. The lights wrap around the roof of the gazebo and around the poles, the kind of thing that the camera can’t do justice for.   Jimin sits down, side by side with you, and he stares out at the gorgeous scenery, musing, “I can’t believe the year is ending already.”   “I can’t believe I’ve worked at the deli for so long. Should’ve quit months ago.”   A small giggle bubbles from his lips and he bumps his shoulder with yours. “But then who would I share my breaks with?”   “Exactly.” Unfortunately, Jimin doesn’t know that you’re all too serious. He’s one of the primary reasons why you haven’t left the job. “We’d still see each other in school though. Next semester, we’re sharing that econ class together.”   He hums, a bright smile gracing his visage. “Save me a seat.”   “We’ll see,” you quip. There’s sweet Christmas tunes that leak from inside the building, faint singing voices that envelop you and help to create an even warmer atmosphere. Past the music, there’s white noise of cars in the distance driving past and the peaceful quiet of snow sweeping down from the air.   “Do you have any new year’s resolutions?”   “Get good grades, stay on top of school, travel if I can….maybe quit this job.” You try to think and nothing specific comes to mind. “Nothing special. How about you?”   Jimin downcasts his head, swinging his legs back and forth. “I have one or two resolutions.”   “And?”   He steals a cheeky glance. “And it’s a secret.”   You scoff. “What kind of secret?”   “A secret,” he replies simply and shrugs. His eyes pierce yours, locking his gaze and the stare becomes too intense, his proximity too close. You would shift back and get more distance between the both of you, but you’d be too cold without his body heat pressing on your side. “Do you have anything memorable from the past year?”   “Are we really doing this?” You smile, remembering the presenters on stage talking about what a memorable year this was, recalling all the wonderful sales and ordinary stories that could bore someone to death. They also took twenty minutes to praise individual people on the team...people you didn’t know at all.   “What?” The corner of his mouth tugs and his eyes crinkle. “It’s just a question.”   “My life is literally so mundane and boring. Nothing ever exciting happens to me.” You don’t know how to answer and you’re still racking your brain to see if there was anything memorable. “I guess getting this job and getting into university. You?”   “Something memorable?” A wistful sigh leaves through his parted lips and he glances up at the oak beams of the gazebo for a second. “No. Nothing.”   “Really?” There’s an incredulous expression on your face. “You look like you have something to say.”   “It’s…” He pauses suspiciously. “....embarrassing though.”   “Tell me,” you egg him on, unable to resist teasing the poor produce boy.   “Promise you won’t laugh or find me weird?” He searches your visage, sincerity and worry dripping off each of his syllables.   “Promise.” You nod, giving your word. “What is it?”   “Well…” Jimin scratches the back of his neck and then runs a hand through his hair, messing up his neat hairstyle and making it ruffled. The tip of his tongue peaks out as he licks his lips and he steals a peek at you before looking away in the opposite direction. You’re on the edge of your seat, anticipating, and not sure what to expect. “I kind of….might of….had a...crush on you.”   “Really?” Your brows raise and even if your cheeks are frozen and stiff, you’re sure that a wide smile is spreading into them. “When?”   “Like months ago. Remember when I came up to buy that pepperoni?”   “Oh yeah.” You’re gradually recalling it. “I got creeped out by you.”   “What?” His brows furrow, concerned at once. “Why?”   “You were just standing there. Wait.” It comes back as you’re retracting your memories and you snap your fingers as a light bulb goes off. “I wasn’t creeped out by you. I was annoyed! I remember now! There were twenty minutes left till closing and you were just standing there in silence waiting for me to serve you and I had already cleaned the slicer too. Oh my god. That was so annoying.”   “Sorry.” He’s genuinely apologetic and it only makes you smile harder. “I didn’t know.”   “It’s fine. It was cute….sort of.”   “I didn’t know anything about deli meat. Nothing about hams or salamis, so, I got pepperoni cause that’s the only thing I recognized,” he explains.   You laugh, finding his story too endearing. “But how did you even have a crush on me? We didn’t talk back then.”   “We didn’t talk, but I heard you talk all the time.”   “How?”   Jimin stares at you, becoming sheepish. “You’re kind of really loud when you’re yelling half-across the deli gossiping about other managers or when you’re humming or singing by yourself during closing.”   Now you’ve become the embarrassed one, burning underneath his gaze. “I didn’t know my voice projected that much…”   “It made my shifts a lot more interesting when you were around,” he says it in full appreciation.   Your mouth feels dry and you glance at him, trying to approach your question at a more casual angle since you weren’t good at this sort of thing. “You….still got a crush on me now, produce boy?”   Jimin’s mouth puckers together like he’s thinking about it and he quirks his head to the side, inhaling a sharp breath, appearing all too mischievous when he whispers— “It’s a secret.”   You turn fully towards him, blinking hard in disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean?”   He shrugs. “It means exactly what it means.” Park Jimin leans closer to you, murmuring underneath his breath, “It’s a secret.”   It’s strange. You’re outside in the middle of a snowfall. The wind chill isn’t absent tonight. You should be freezing your ass off.   Yet, your entire body feels like a furnace and your face is on fire. You’re sure someone could roast marshmallows off of your skin at the moment, and all you can do in the presence of this wolf in sheep’s clothing is divert your eyes. “Unbelievable.”   And he even has the audacity to giggle at your mutter and glare. Part of you feels ripped off. This isn’t what you bargained for. He’s not a timid produce boy at all. The guy knows exactly what he’s doing, using his charms so you’re dancing right in the palm of your hand.   The sad part is that you don’t even mind.   “Well, I have a confession to make too.”   “What?”   “My toes are going to fall off,” you deadpan with an impassive expression. “Can we go inside now?”   Jimin laughs, complying without missing a beat and pulling you up onto your feet. You don’t miss the way he holds your hand the entire way back and you don’t mind in the least bit either.

[dbzebra]

OMG all those prompts scream Marten (and Trunks xD) to me!! Wouldn't you like to try to use them all in the same story? No? :P If not, “Hold my hand before I stab you with it." please? xD This is how prompts work right? I'm lost...

Title: “Regaining My Wings”

Words: 2410

Pairing: Marten (Goten x Marron)

A/N: Here is my submission for Marron Day for @dbnextgenweek !! I’m so sorry it’s so late! I was rusty from not writing in so long. I had to rewrite this like four times until I had something I actually liked lol. 

This just a super fluffy self indulgent oneshot like all the rest, but please enjoy! I may post on AO3 later

Flight, also known as the ‘bukujutsu’ technique. Many years ago,it was an extremely advanced martial arts technique that only a select few ofmartial arts masters knew.

Those days however were long gone. Even Son Goku’s owngranddaughter, Pan, learned to fly when she was just a little baby.

Flying had become just as easy as walking for the Z Fighters.

Except if you were like Marron and afraid of anything to do withheights, including flying.

Marron never used to be afraid. Not even the slightest. When Marron was achild, she’d be the first one to want to go higher and higher when she wouldride on the Flying Nimbus when on adventures with her two best friends, Gotenand Trunks.

However, one incident when she was about nine years old changedthat.

Marron was happily sitting on the Nimbus with Goten in front ofher, peering over and looking at the amazing sights. The rolling mountains werebeautiful that high up. Oceans seemed never ending. It was simply breathtakingfor an adventurous child.

But then, when she leaned further down to get a better look at apretty bird flying by, Marron accidentally slipped off the fluffy yellow cloudand plummeted towards the Earth.

Marron screamed and covered her face with her hands,sobbing, until she suddenly stopped. After realizing what had happened, shewiped her eyes and opened them to see Goten smiling down at her. He had jumpedoff of Nimbus and caught her. She was shaking and really freaked out, butotherwise was fine.

But since that day Marron off heights (and ever learning how tofly) for good.

Krillin and 18 tried to help her get over her fear a dozen times,but being as stubborn as she was, Marron wouldn’t even consider it for years.Every time she even looked over from somewhere high up, her legs would turn tojelly and her heart would jump into her throat like the time she actually didfall.

The only time she slightly budged was after she and Goten starteddating. Marron would only go on Nimbus if she could sit on his lap and cling tohim for dear life while keeping her eyes shut, not opening them until theylanded. Of course, she still didn’t know how to fly and had no plans to learneither. But it made her so happy.

Goten was always so supportive with her. He never once held itagainst her for being scared and always comforted her. No matter what, Marronfelt the safest flying with him. Besides that stupid adorable smile of his thatalways made her heart do flips, that’s what she loved most about him.

One time however, he (and Marron) were close to falling straightthrough the Nimbus because he almost got a bit too comfy withMarron sitting on his lap. It wasn’t his fault though! What else could he thinkabout when she always looked so pretty and smelled so nice? At least that’swhat he told himself.

That was almost five months ago.

It was another beautiful spring day; perfect for being outside. Marronand Goten were having a picnic date on the grass near the Son family home. Theyweren’t able to see each all week due to Marron’s cheerleading and Goten’sskipping class to train, so a weekend date was just what they both needed.

Marron wore a frilly, light-blue colored sundress and a straw sunhat. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Goten had on his signature ‘Son’ t shirtand jeans. He wanted to dress more formally but Marron insisted he was perfectjust the way he was.

The young couple had just finished eating, and were laying back onthe picnic blanket, snuggled together as they watched the clouds.

Marron pointed out different shapes. Some were little animals, andone even looked like Piccolo. The others however, were just not at all what shewas saying.

“What do mean a bear in a top hat? That’s clearly a monkey at a buffet!”

Marron sat up and stared at him. Of course that dork would seefood. “You know you’re wrong, right?”

“If by wrong, you mean right, then yes!” Goten fired back, hislips curling into his signature wide grin. “That’s clearly a monkey. See? He’sgot a tail. I’ll give you the top hat though.”

Marron giggled and playfully punched his arm before lying backdown besides him.

These peaceful days really were great. They hoped it would neverend.

Just then, Goku appeared using Instant Transmission with littlePan on his shoulders. They had just returned from the grocery store. Goten and Marron both shot up.

“Oh, hey Goten! Hi Marron! Am I interrupting?”

Marron shook her head and bowed her head. “Of course not! T-Thankyou for having me!”

“Ahh it’s nothin’! You’re like family to us.”

At the sight of her uncle, the toddler practically lunged off ofGoku’s shoulders towards Goten, tackling him into a hug.

Goten laughed and caught Pan. “Hey squirt!” He grinnedand ruffled Pan’s hair making the girl giggle.

“Me and Grandpa are gonna go flyin’ later! Do you wants tocome?” Aunt Marron, you can come too!“ Pan chirped. Ever since she learnedto fly, she would always go out for 'flying adwentures’ as she would say.

Marron frowned. She didn’t want to hold him back just because shecouldn’t fly… "Goten, it’s okay, go ahead.”

Goten only turned back to her and winked. “Panny, I’d love tobut Mare and I have plans.”

Pan just stared up at him with wide-eyed curiosity. “You meanlike kissy-kissy?” She said and then erupted into giggles and ran to Gokuwho had a teasing grin as wide as hers.

“Did you tell her to say that?!” 

Goku only grinned. “Well, is she right?”

No that’s… that’s not it at all!” Goten replied back.Was he seriously arguing with a three year old?

“Then why are you blushing?” Goku said, grinning.

Traitor! His father was normally on his side!

“Sheesh! It’s been a year you guys, when are you gonna stopteasing me?”

“The wedding~” Chi-Chi’s voice came from the upperbalcony. She was taking dried clothes off the hanger to be put away. She giggledat her son’s flustered reaction. Honestly, she loved teasing her three boys. Goten got even more easily emabarrassed than Gohan did at his age.

“Very funny.” He replied back and turned back to Marron,who was hiding her cute face from embarrassment. Her blush went from ear toear. Although it was embarrassing, she loved it. Marron gushed at the thoughtof getting married. She recalled the days when they would play house back inthe old days. Goten really had no clue, but just played along.

Goku then jumped two stories onto their upper deck, startling hiswife a bit. Goku winked at her and started helping her put away the laundrywhile Panny chased a butterfly on the grass below.

“Now’s our chance.” Goten flipped onto his feet and pulledMarron up by the hand.

She couldn’t help but blush. What was he doing so suddenly?!“G-Goten, h-hold on a second! W-Where are we going?!”

“Nowhere far! C'mon!” Goten (quite literally) swept hisgirlfriend off of her feet and into his arms and ran down the road. Marron’s hat blew off her head and fell onto the blanket as Pan trotted over to it.

Chi-Chi and Goku exchanged similar grins with each other as theirson fled and Pan giggled from below, now wearing the hat.

Goten and Marron came to a nearby clearing with a huge lake. Hegently put Marron down, and she adjusted her dress. 

“What’s the big idea?”

Marron was blushing fromthe close contact but shook it off and gazed out onto the lake. It really was beautiful. She held her hands behind her back and stared over the lake. The crystal-clear water glistened in the sunlight. Her long silky blonde hair blew in the slight breeze, tickling Goten’s nose.

“Dad used to take me here to go fishing all the time when Iwas little. Now we all go with Panny.” She heard him say. Goten inhaledand took a deep breath. “I’m feeling up for a swim! You in?”

Just then he felt a tug on the back of his shirt. ”…Hey,Goten…“

"What’s wrong?”

Marron looked away from him slightly, her ears burning. This wasit. She’d have to get over her fear sooner or later, and this would be theperfect time! “…I want to learn…” It came out as a tiny whisper,but she said it. And it felt good.

“Huh?”

“I want to learn. Teach me how to fly! I’m… I’m sick ofbeing scared! I want to go flying with you! And go out on Nimbus with you andactually have my eyes open for once! I promise I won’t hold you back anymore!”She said, fighting tears at that last part.

Goten took a step closer and brought his girlfriend into a hug,smiling warmly down at her. "Mare, it’s okay.” He gently pushed astrand of hair away from her face. “You’ve never held me back and younever will. Nothing will change that. I’ll gladly teach you. I’m honored thatyou asked me.”

"I love you, you big dork…” Marron replied, restingher head against his chest.

“I love you too.” Goten grinned and held her closer.

Marron looked down at her feet and then back up at him.“…But what if… what if I fall?” He could just hear it in hervoice. She was petrified of falling again.

“You won’t fall. I’ll be right here. You have the skill,Mare. It’s there, I know it is. You just have to stop doubting yourself. Youcan do this.”

Marron’s heart fluttered. Just like always, he knew just what tosay. She leaned up onto her tip-toes and softly kissed his lips. “You’reso sweet…”

She knew the basics of Ki and how to fight, just didn’t care forfighting. It was boring to her. She always preferred watching fights,especially from the World Tournament. The adrenaline she got from watchingfights far exceeded what she would get from something like sparring. And plus,she loved supporting her Goten in his fights.

“How did you do it so quickly? You were so young!”

Goten shrugged. “It just came easy to me, I guess. I alreadyknew all about ki, plus being half Saiyan really helps.”

Gohan had taught Goten when he was just seven years old. Beingcalled a 'super pedestrian’, whatever the heck that was, was the last straw!

After he learned that hopping and flying were in fact different,it came easy to him and soon enough…

“Birdy, a birdy, Goten is a birdy!” Little Goten sang tohimself as he flew around in figure-eight patterns high in the sky.

Goten grinned and put his hands behind his head. “Yup. Thosewere the days!”

“Personally, I think you were much cuter back then.”Marron winked at him while saying that.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m still very handsome!” Gotenwhined, cracking a grin.

Marron rolled her eyes with a smile and stepped away. After a moment, Marron took a deep breath andfaced him again.

“Ok. I’m ready.” Marron said. “But only on onecondition.”

“What’s that?”

“…Hold my hand.”

Goten smiled. “Is that all?

“Yes! I’m scared! So you…y-you’d better hold my handbefore… I- I stab you with it…!” Marron said, pouting up at him. Itwas obvious she just made up the first thing that came to her mind. “Orelse…”

Or else? Goten chuckled at that. He couldn’t help it when she gotall pouty and blushy like that. Especially when she’d 'threaten’ him. Usuallywith no more kisses, but he knew she’d break before he did. She always lookedso cute when she got like that.

“Of course, Here.” He held both hands out for her, notbeing able to help laughing a bit.

“…I’m serious, Goten! Don’t you dare laugh at me! Y-You’dbetter not let go either! Or… or I’ll never forgive you!” Marron said,her voice almost a squeak. She looked like she was about to cry, but it was stillso cute.

Goten leaned down and kissed Marron on the forehead, his fingersstill gently entwined with hers. “You’re too cute.”

Marron’s face turned an even brighter red. She looked like atomato. “You dummy, be serious…”

“I promise. You’re safe with me.”

“I…  I don’t know if I cando it…“

"You can do it. Just look at me, okay? Focus on me. Remember,just relax. Feel your energy from within and slowly bring it out beneath you.You can do this. I’m right here.”

Marron heart fluttered at his words. They were soothing. Shetightly shut her eyes and focused. After a moment she could feel her feet liftoff the ground and she grips his hands tighter. Goten floated up with her. Itwas relaxing, freeing almost. She felt weightless as if gravity no longer hadan effect on her.

“You’re doing it, Mare! You’re flying!” Marron openedher eyes to see that she and Goten were floating about ten feet in the air. Sheyelped and buried her face into his chest, her eyes tightly shut again.“It’s too high, …I-I can’t…”

“But you already are. All by yourself. There’s nothing to beafraid of.” She heard him tenderly say. “You’re doing it!” Gotengently said. “Want to try moving now?”

Marron slowly nodded. She repositioned herself horizontally andslowly moved around. It appeared as if she was swimming through the air as shelightly kicked her feet. Goten guided her.

She started out pretty wobbly, and didn’t keep her eyes off Goten,but she was flying all by herself. Actually flying! And not falling! “I’m doingit!” She cried happily. When she was up there with him, her fears were allgone.

“See? Now you’re a little birdy too.” He grinned as warmas the sun gleaming behind him. She’d be a natural in no time. He was so proudof her.

Marron was almost brought to tears. Her beautiful blue eyes turnedglossy as he just grinned. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her free handand flew at him into a deep kiss. They stayed up there for what felt like aneternity, both not wanting to move.

Marron couldn’t be happier.

Now if only she could figure out how to get down…

[dandrubert]

Weekend #1: The Weekening

Wow, that’s a dumb title! I love it!

Anyway...I’m writing this now because I’m not working today because it’s a federal holiday. I didn’t work yesterday, either. Or the day before, for that matter. Apparently Saturday and Sunday are something called a “weekend.” Both of those - holidays and weekends - are something that didn’t used to affect my work schedule at all. It’s been about 14 years since I could regularly rely an not having to work on either of those occasions.

Having every federal holiday off is a bonus. But honestly, knowing I’d have every weekend off work was a huge selling point for me. That may seem weird to some people, but that was probably the #1 complaint with my previous jobs. This new job of mine has several other perks, but so far this is the one that I’m probably most excited about!

As for the job itself, my first week went very well. When I walked in Monday morning, there was a schedule on my desk and it was filled with orientation meetings and training sessions on different aspects of my job. But I quickly noticed that Monday through Thursday had a 90-minute stretch blocked off for lunch. I wasn’t expecting that. Apparently every new hire gets a week of these long lunches paid for by the company, and every day, a different group of 3 or 4 people from the office take the new recruit out to lunch. There were no restrictions on where we could go. One day we went to a traditional diner-style place. Another day we went to an Indian buffet. The other days were an Irish sports pub and the Evil Czech brewery. Pretty cool! And the best part was that it allowed me to get to know everybody in a more laid-back setting than having to go up to everybody and strike up a conversation on my own. Because that’s not something I’m particularly good at. Oh, and then every Friday, we take turns picking a place to order from and the company pays to have that delivered. Not bad.

I’m starting to get the hang of the actual tasks I’ve learned so far. I’ll basically be working with this big database, so I’m trying to familiarize myself with what information is in there and where to find it and how it’s all linked together. The days have all gone by quickly. Some of that might have to do with the extra long lunches, but I think I’ll enjoy the work and learning more about the job and how everything works as a whole.

Ironically, the only thing I’m worried about is having weekends off for the first time in so long. I learned a long time ago that having to work every weekend is a really good way to lose touch with people. Way back when, a big group of us used to go bowling every Friday night. I don’t think any of us were particularly big fans of bowling - and I know none of us were that good at it - but those were some great times! It wasn’t even a question for me whether or not I would be able to make it every week. I think it was that way for pretty much all of us. And it seemed like there were always people getting together somewhere on Saturdays, too. But then I started working at the liquor store, which meant working not only Friday and Saturday, but Friday and Saturday nights. So I would have to constantly tell everyone “No, I can’t make it. I have to work. Sorry. Next time.” But it was always the same thing next time, too. Eventually, the invitations became less and less frequent. Understandably so. I don’t like getting constantly shot down when I invite people places either. And I know things have changed a lot over the years. Most of those people have gotten married and have kids and it’s never going to be like it was. I’m not dumb. I get that.

But I also know there’s still a lot of cool stuff going on that I would love to be a part of. And a lot of this is on me, too. Maybe most of it, actually. Because I know I could do more to stay in touch with everybody. I know I could call them up and say I’m coming over for a visit. I still consider them all great friends, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that. I’m the type of person who doesn’t feel close to people if I only see them once a month or once every 3 months or whatever. I’ve talked about that in other posts before. Maybe close is the wrong word. But I don’t feel like I know whats going on. I fall out of the loop easily. And I don’t like small talk. But I also don’t know how to get to the real conversations without going through the small talk first. Which means I never get back to the real, friend stuff. So I just never get back in the loop either.

I guess what I’m saying is I’m afraid there will be a lot of weekends of me missing out on fun stuff and I’ll never figure out how to get back in the loop and reconnect with some great friends. Basically this is me saying I’m free again and want to hang out again! I know my life doesn’t have a lot in common with all of yours, but I enjoy being around you all. I promise I’m still the same goofy dude that could make you laugh once in a while! And I’m good with kids! Maybe better than I am with adults! I can keep them entertained while you do adult stuff, if nothing else. Alright, much love! And holla atcha boy!

[winterune]

A Persona 5 Fanfiction - Something Perfectly Normal

Word count: 3838

Summary: The second week of Ren’s transfer, the second Sunday. It’s his birthday and he doesn’t know what he should do.  

A/N: a self-indulgent fic I write for my birthday. So, this is a present from me to me, featuring Ren^^ (since Ren doesn’t have an official birthday). Set right after Ren transferred to Shujin Academy, so he’s still adapting to his new environment. It also contains some allusions to another p5 fic I’m currently writing about Ren’s past (the mentions of his mother and foster parents), and it’s my headcanon of who Ren is (helps me in writing his character too). I don’t delve too deep about them here though. 

The hum of the television filled the background. Another recap news of the recent psychological breakdowns. Ren was sitting on the counter with the usual serving of curry Sojiro gave him every morning.

“Do you have plans for today?” the middle-aged man asked from behind the counter.

The same question he posed last Sunday. Ren wasn’t sure if he meant well or he just wanted him away from café every day he had off. But his reluctant guardian hadn’t once looked at him, and he had his back to him. Indifferent. As long as Ren didn’t create any trouble, Sojiro didn’t care less what he did.

Ren shrugged. “I’ll go somewhere,” he said quietly.

Sojiro gave a noncommittal grunt.

Ren brought another spoonful of his curry into his mouth. It melted immediately and it was a struggle not to finish everything so quickly. Despite his attitude toward him, Sojiro’s really was the best curry Ren ever ate. Not to mention the coffees he brewed.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Sojiro seemed to notice Ren’s reaction to his breakfast. His lips stretched into a small smile though he didn’t comment on it.

On the floor to the side, Morgana was eating his own breakfast from a bowl Ren had bought at a nearby pet store. Filled with more of Sojiro’s cooking, of course. The cat had also preferred it to the cat food Ren had bought.

“You know…” Morgana said between mouthfuls. “I can never…get tired of this.”

Ren grinned. “Don’t talk while you’re eating, Morgana,” he said.

“Yeah…”

Sojiro chuckled. “Seems like he loves it.”

Ren’s grin faded. “He does.”

Sojiro glanced at him. “Make sure you bring him with you when you go out.”

“I will.” Ren finished his food and drink. “Thanks for the food.”

***

“Where are you going?” Morgana asked from inside Ren’s bag as they headed outside. The café had just opened but it was still too early for anything else to be open—except for the local stores.

“Somewhere,” Ren mused.

“Aren’t we going to head to the Palace today?” Morgana asked again.

“Not today.”

Morgana was silent for a moment, before asking again, “Then, what are you going to do today?” just as Ren stopped before the stairs up to a batting cage in the neighborhood. Morgana popped his head from Ren’s bag and peaked his head over his shoulder. “A batting cage,” he read the sign. “You’re going to a batting cage?”

Ren shrugged. “No harm in it.” He walked up the stairs, only to find the door to the batting cage closed.

“It’s closed,” Morgana commented.

I can see that, Ren thought to himself. There was a sign posted on the door.  “Opens at noon,” he read.

Ren didn’t move. To be honest, he didn’t have anything in mind—where to go, what to do. The Palace? They hadn’t prepared enough. Maybe he should just spend the day preparing for their infiltration.

“So, what are you going to do?” Morgana asked again.

Ren glanced at the cat staring at him from behind his shoulder. “Do you have fun riding in my bag?”

“Wha—”

Ren smirked.

And maybe because Morgana wasn’t exactly a cat, but Ren could see the slight stretch of his mouth to a reluctant smirk as he huffed. “Well, I’m going wherever you go,” he said and went back inside the bag.

“You’re heavy, Morgana,” Ren commented again.

“Shut up!”

***

His phone vibrated as Ren waited at the station for a train to Shibuya. It was Ryuji, asking when they were going to go to the Palace. Why was everyone asking him that?! Ren replied it wouldn’t be today.

“I’ll be hanging out in Shibuya if you changed your mind,” Ryuji replied Ren’s text.

Well, good thing Ren was going to Shibuya too. Maybe he’d see Ryuji for a while.

It didn’t take long to reach Shibuya and even in the morning, these parts were already so crowded. It had been two weeks since he moved here and he hadn’t had the chance to explore much of the city. With everything that went on at school, Kamoshida, and the discovery of the Metaverse, not to mention how everyone kept bugging him when to go, when to go, when to go every single time they saw him… Maybe he should take the time to explore today.

The stairs from the subway led to an underground station and somewhere in it, Ren saw a crowded drink stand. He had noticed the drink stand a couple times but it was never as crowded as it was today. As he approached it, he saw how the people behind the counter looked so busy and the queue was so long. A sign read “Sunday Special Drink”—and it was expensive. Not worth it.

Ren spent most of the day wandering aimlessly, Morgana sometimes giving unnecessary comments on whatever caught Ren’s interest. Unnecessary, but still a welcome nonetheless. It made him feel less lonely. He hadn’t felt this lonely in years. On this particular day. Maybe he should just buy something and be done with it. He could spend the rest of the day in his room. Sojiro wouldn’t mind that, right?

He did just that and went inside the first store he saw in the underground mall. A music store. Racks of CDs lined the wall. The store clerk greeted him as the door slid open for him. There were only a few customers beside him inside. He took a look around, but didn’t find anything that interested him.

“Do you have somewhere you want to go, Morgana?” Ren asked as he exited the store.

“Hmm… nothing in particular,” Morgana replied. “Though I wouldn’t mind going to Mementos.” Even from behind his shoulder, Ren could feel Morgana narrowing his eyes at him. “You promised you’d help me recover my memories.”

Ren sighed. “I promise, but not today, okay?”

“Hmph, yes well, it’s still a while before your expulsion. There’s no harm in taking a break once in a while.”

Ren nodded. “It doesn’t do well to rush things.”

Still, that didn’t answer his initial question. Where should they go? Ren wandered around the mall for a while, checking every store. Everything was so expensive. He had noted a store that sold things that might be helpful for their Palace infiltration. But he didn’t have that much money. Maybe he should look for a job? There was some part-time job adds outside if he wasn’t mistaken.

He was just finished looking around a flower shop when he spotted a familiar face walking down one of the corridors. Ann… in casual clothes. At the same moment, Ann noticed him there and her face broke into a grin.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, right hand reaching high in a wave.

Ren smiled and wove back.

Morgana, hearing Ann’s voice, immediately popped his head from the bag and climbed onto Ren’s shoulder. “Lady Ann!” to which Ren cringed slightly but couldn’t help the grin on his face every time he saw Morgana reacted to Ann.

“Hi, Morgana,” Ann returned his greeting with a bright smile, then shifted her gaze back to Ren. “What are you doing here, Ren?”

Ren shrugged. “Just walking around.”

“This guy can’t make up his mind where to go,” Morgana added.

“Oh! You haven’t had the time to explore, have you?” Ann asked. “Want me to take you around?”

“Where do you have in mind?”

“Umm… well…” Ann thought for a moment. “There’s a sweet shop, and a diner in Central Street… a buffet that’s rumored to be super good but super expensive, so that’s out of the question. Oh! They sell the best crepes just outside the diner! It’s really good. You have to try some!”

Ren chuckled. “Everything you’ve listed are all food.”

“Sweets, mind you,” Ann corrected. “And deserts.”

“Aren’t they the same?” Ren laughed.

“I’m interested in those crepes,” Morgana said. “What are they?”

“Oh, they’re—”

“You just ate, Morgana,” Ren said. “You’ll get fat if you eat too much.”

“Say what?!”

Ren laughed again. Really, it’s so easy to forget everything and enjoy himself when he was with his friends. “Do you know some place where you can just stroll around?”

“Hmm… there’s this park that I like to go to,” Ann began. “But it’s a ways away. Not anywhere near Shibuya. You need to take the train there.”

“Oh…” Ren thought for a moment. A park sounded good. “What’s this park called.”

“Inokashira. Want me to go there with you?”

Going there with Ann… if anyone saw them together, no doubt more rumors would spread. Half of him thought adding more false rumor to the already existent false rumor wouldn’t change his situation. But another half of him just wanted all this crap to die down soon and for people to leave him alone.

“I’ll pass. Maybe I’ll look around Central Street.”

Ann nodded, but she looked unconvinced. “Well, I’ll be here if you need anything. Just text me.”

Ren nodded. He waved her goodbye.

“You okay, Ren?”

Her question caught him off guard. Did his face betray his emotions? Or was Ann that observant?

Ren put on his usual smile. “I’m fine.”

***

Central Street was as packed as ever. Ren monitored his way through the sea of people and found himself in front of a bookstore. Just the thing he was looking for.

“Don’t you still have that book you borrowed from the library?” Morgana asked.

“I’m just going to browse,” Ren said before he entered the store.

That was indeed his initial intention. But being in the bookstore itself was another thing all together and in no time, he already had several books he wanted to buy in his hand.

“Aren’t those too many?” Morgana asked.

Three books. Not really. But maybe Morgana was right. He didn’t have that much allowance to begin with. It was easy to lose himself when he’s shopping for books.

“Why don’t you choose this for the moment?” Morgana asked, nodding at the cheapest one. It was thin—probably not even two-hundred pages. He’d finish it in a day.

“Nah, I’ll choose this one,” Ren said, going with a book about a dog. He didn’t really know what present to give himself. This should do.

***

“Oh! An arcade!”

Ren eyed the building, then eyed Morgana. “You can’t even play it.”

“Shut up, Ren!” Morgana snapped, but his eyes glowed again as he looked at the building in red. “Let’s go inside.” His eyes were practically bulging out.

Ren sighed and did as he was told.

Well, Ren had never played in an arcade before either. Never wanted to. Never had the time to. Never had a friend who asked him to. He never went inside one—had only just looked at it from outside. And… inside was exactly as how he imagined it to be. Aisles of game machines, children and teens of all ages—even adults—were using every single one, loud.

He didn’t like the place. Morgana didn’t seem to.

“Let’s go,” Ren said. And Morgana nodded his assent.

And just as they turned around to leave, they spot a slouched figure leaning against the vending machine. Purple jacket, blonde-dyed hair.

“Ryuji?”

Ryuji looked up at Ren’s voice. His eyes grew wide.

“What are you doing here?”

Ren approached his friend as he shrugged. “Just walking around.”

“He’s been walking around since morning,” Morgana popped up from the bag.

Ryuji jumped in surprise. “Dude! You’re still carrying the cat in your bag?!”

“Mor-ga-na!” Morgana emphasized each syllable of his name. “I’m not a cat! How many times do I have to tell you until you understand, blondie?”

“What was that?!”

“Can you two please quiet down?” Ren hissed. “Look!”

There was a sign on the wall that clearly said no pets allowed. Both boys looked at Morgana simultaneously. Despite what the cat said, it was still a cat, and it was meowing quite loud. So Ren decided to pull out before anyone could catch them and Ryuji followed suit.

“You shouldn’t have yelled so loud, Morgana!” Ryuji complained.

“What? Who was picking a fight in the first place?!”

“Gaahh!! Now they’re going to keep an eye on me for sure!”

“You weren’t even playing anything in there!”

“What were you doing there?” Ren asked.

Ren noticed Ryuji’s slight stiffening of his body. “Nothing.” His voice was unusually quiet.

Morgana poked his head over Ren’s shoulder again. “Let me guess!”—and he was grinning from ear to ear in a way a cat would grin—“You were bored so you just decided to go someplace in random.”

“Hey! I wasn’t—” Ryuji shouted, to which Ren immediately shushed. “—bored…”

His voice trailed off and Ren could detect the desperate attempt to hide his embarrassment. He couldn’t help the slight laugh that escaped his lips.

“Oh, come on! Not you too!”

And that just made Ren laugh louder. Ryuji looked exasperated, but no sooner did he join Ren’s laugh and even Morgana was chuckling.

Both of them had nothing to do and it was nearing lunch time. Ren had actually planned to go to the Inokashira Park alone and enjoy his present, but Ryuji invited him to go have lunch. A ramen restaurant he knew that had the best ramen Ren just had to try it. The price was also very affordable for a high schooler’s wallet.

Morgana was hungry too, though he wasn’t that enthusiastic for ramen either. “They probably won’t allow pets in there, either,” he mentioned. He was right.

As they were musing where to go and what to do, a call drew their attention to an incoming figure, rushing down the street and through the crowd, blonde pigtails flying in the air.

“Heeeeyyy!!!”

Ann was running toward them, waving her hand high up.

Ann had a sudden craving for those crepes she’d talked about when she spotted them across the street. Hearing their story and their plan to go to a ramen restaurant, Ann agreed they wouldn’t let Morgana inside.

“I think there are no pet restrictions at the diner,” Ann said.

“The one in Central Street?” Ryuji asked.

Ann nodded. “Want to head there together?”

***

The diner wasn’t much, but it was a really nice place to hang out. A nice place to study too, Ren noted. The warm atmosphere, the polite hummed background noise. It would be the perfect place to retreat when it rained too, said Morgana.

It was fun being with them. This was probably the first time the four of them ever hung out like this. And Ren watched as Ryuji and Ann laughed and joked about as if nothing weighed their mind.

His phone vibrated. It was his foster mother.

What are you doing? Are you having fun? Did you get our present? Happy birthday again! We love you.

Present…

Even after what Ren did to them, the trouble he had caused… they still thought of him as their son. And they went to all the trouble to send a present to him. And despite the guilt he was feeling, he couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face.

He didn’t realize Ryuji and Ann had stopped joking around. He didn’t realize they had a funny look on their faces. And he didn’t realize Ryuji had sneaked up beside him. And just as Ren was about to type something, Ryuji grabbed his phone from his hand and flipped through the email.

“Hey—”

“Let’s see, what made our leader smile so bright like that…”

But Ren was too late and his phone was already in Ryuji’s hand and Ryuji had already read his foster mother’s email.

He caught the word Ryuji was mouthing.

Birthday.

Saw the understanding clicked in.

Saw the surprise registering as he whipped his head at Ren and Ren wanted to shut his eyes and turned back time.

“Is it your birthday today?”

“What?” Ann whipped her own head at him.

“Birthday?!” Morgana did too.

And Ren would have laughed but he had no energy to laugh and he wanted to hide from the embarrassment.

The silence stretched on.

“Dude!” Ryuji exploded. “Why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?”

“Because there’s nothing to tell,” Ren said, grabbing his phone from Ryuji’s slackening grip to hide his embarrassment. “It’s just a birthday.”

“Just a birthday?” Ryuji was aghast. “Dude! It’s your birthday! Of course we should celebrate it!” And he called in a waited.

“So that’s why you didn’t want anything to do with the Palace today,” Morgana mused.

“Happy birthday, Ren!” Ann said, beaming.

“Yeah! Happy birthday!” Ryuji was clasping his shoulder and beaming too.

Everyone was beaming and Morgana was grinning and the aura was toxic and Ren found himself beaming back.

The waiter came and asked for orders.

“We should splurge a bit,” Ann said as she scanned the menu.

“Don’t worry. We got it covered, okay?” Ryuji was following Ann’s example.

And Ren wanted to stop them, because this was embarrassing and there was no stopping them both as they began adding one order after another.

He never had friends. The only celebration he had ever done was with his mother, and his foster parents after his mother passed away. Even then, they had always had a simple celebration. More so when his mother was still alive, because his mother was always busy though somehow she had managed to always be there with him on his birthday with a small cake and slightly more extravagant dinner.

And seeing Ann and Ryuji doing this, as if they had done this countless times, as if this was perfectly normal…

He felt something small pressed against his side when the waiter finally left. Morgana was pressing his body against him, a small warmth, the most comfort the cat had ever given him ever since they met.

And Ren couldn’t help the smile as he said, “Thanks, guys.”

And he meant it.

***

Even with the splurge, they still had a lot of money to spare. They insisted to buy him a present, to which Ren declined because them being with him that day was already a present for him. Ryuji consented, but Ann wouldn’t take no for an answer. So in the end, Ann brought them to the underground mall and there was a photo booth there. And Ryuji was reluctant though and Ren was just watching from behind as Ann forcefully pushed Ryuji into the box.

“Ren?” She looked back and Ren grinned at her scowl. He rose both hands and entered the box without a fight.

They took some photos, which turned out surprisingly good.

It wasn’t much. But really, this was the best thing he had ever received from a friend.

***

He arrived at LeBlanc that night, exhausted from being dragged around by Ann. There were still customers inside—the old couple and someone who claimed to be a critic—so Ren immediately made his way to the stairs at the back of the store after greeting Sojiro. But Sojiro called him back before he got past the counter and said there was a package for him today.

“Your parents sent you something,” Sojiro said.

Foster parents, Ren wanted to say, as he set his bag down and Morgana poked his head out.

“Thank you.”

A small box. Seemed fragile. He’d look inside it later. But then he noticed the letter written on the box. And they were clearly spelled “Happy Birthday”.

Damn it. Does that mean Sojiro now knows too?

Well, he probably wouldn’t care even if he saw it.

He took the box upstairs without another look at his guardian.

He set the bag on the table and Morgana leaped out. He stretched his body. “Finally I’m free!”

“That’s why you should walk on your own once in a while,” Ren commented with a laugh.

Morgana acted like he hadn’t heard and Ren scoffed.

“What did they send you?” the cat inquired as Ren took a seat on his bed and began unwrapping the simple brown box.

A locket. And inside was a photo of his mother, his real mother, tucked neatly into the crevices. And his mother was smiling. Beautiful.

There was a note inside.

You may have only been our son for four years, but we have watched you grow since you were small. We love you, Ren. And we want you to know that it wasn’t your fault. It never was. You did the right thing helping that woman. And we want you to remember that. Just like your mother would have wanted you to.

It had broken their hearts when they found out about Ren’s trial. And it was the only thing they could do to stop him being sent to the detention center. Sent to probation. And Ren couldn’t stop feeling guilty yet grateful for all they had done for him.

“Hey, kid!”

It was probably an hour or two later when Sojiro suddenly called him down. All the customers were gone and Sojiro had cleaned the place up. Yet on the counter was a slice of cake and a candle on top. And Ren stopped on his tracks.

Sojiro noticed his pause. And a rare smile graced his lips.

“What are you doing? Come on and sit down here.”

“What…is this?”

The old man scoffed. “Today’s your birthday, isn’t it? Have a sit and have your birthday cake.”

Ren was still unsure. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. At least, he didn’t think it was.

Noting Ren’s hesitation, Sojiro sighed. “For the love of—sit down!”

The stern tone caused Ren to quicken his footstep and take the seat before the cake.

“How old are you today?”

“Seven...teen,” Ren replied warily.

Sojiro grunted. And maybe it was because of the sudden change of attitude, but Ren suddenly found the grunt was Sojiro’s way to show his affection.

Ren didn’t do anything. His gaze kept shifting from the cake to Sojiro to everywhere else, wondering if maybe this was a dream or he was imagining things.

“Well? Make a wish and blow the candle.”

“Oh—uh—yeah…”

Ren stared at the glowing candle. The fire dancing. It was a simple slice of chocolate cake with a single candle. Feeling nothing would go wrong with blowing the candle, Ren did just that.

And as the fire sputtered out, Sojiro smiled. A genuine beaming smile Ren hadn’t seen before.

“Happy birthday, kid.”

“Uh…thanks…”

Sojiro snorted. “What kind of response is that?”

“It’s just… not like you.”

“Did you think I was some kind of cold, heartless bastard?” his guardian asked with a scoff.

“I…did, actually.”

A silence. Then Sojiro laughed. A hearty laugh that came from his stomach. And it made Ren want to laugh too because maybe this was who Sojiro really was.

“I’m sorry if I gave you that impression, kid. But a birthday is a birthday. It’s perfectly normal for us to celebrate it.”

And Sojiro smiled again, a warm smile this time, and maybe, Ren could learn to love this place.

~ END ~

Thanks for reading^^

More of my Persona 5 fanfic here 

[octranslations]

Haiiro no Ginka Volume 2

Haiiro no Ginka Volume 2

Translation Credits: 1999.1.20 DEBUT SINGLE IN STORE - Risu “Akuro no Oka” “Yurameki” in Italy - Risu Shinya Nemunemu hakushi no daigyakusu - Mbear Ganso Kaoruya - Nao Meisho de Meishuu Mr. Drums’ House Edition - Risu Aibiki no Mori Toshiya - Risu Kyo's Corner (Announcement) - Risu SEXUAL Inoue LA Diary - Risu NEWS L.A. Edition - Risu

1999.1.20 DEBUT SINGLE IN STORE

"Zan" "Akuro no Oka" "Yurameki"

Debuted at 5th, 6th, 7th

Music Shop Kunihara?Goryokaku Store

Sapporo?GURUGURU   Mr. Habaguchi

Shibuya 109 also has Dir en grey!

January 20, the major debut singles are finally on sale. The CD stores were also filled with Dir en grey, and you can see different stores nationwide decorated by Dir en grey. They made a large appearance even at Shibuya 109, and I think there were people who took pictures of it. Also in the Oricon Chart they debuted 5th, 6th and 7th. The members and staff both are grateful to all the fans who wouldn't have made this possible without their unwavering crazy and warm following/support?

“Akuro no Oka” “Yurameki” in Italy

When we are welcoming the end of 1998, the 5 members went to Italy for the PV shooting of “Akuro no Oka” and “Yurameki”. On the way they waited 4 hours to get on the next plane, Shinya read a book that he brought with him from Japan, Kyo and Kaoru ate pizza. (By the way it seems that Die was pretty ripped off by this store without him realizing it…) From here Kyo got addicted to pizza and ate it the whole time in Italy.

Then were forced to ride on the bus for 2 to 3 hours, at the end of a long travel without being able to get off in the destined airport due to strong winds and having the time to arrive and sleep in the hotel they started with make-up. The shooting for that day were the individual scenes and performance scenes of “Akuro no Oka” at a western style house that is also used in movies.

On the second day, the scheduled departure time was 6:30am. Having a breakfast buffet at the hotel with their complete make-up and wearing their costumes was a pretty conspicuous bizarre sight. A shrine that looked like the acropolis was today’s shooting location. Here was the image scene and individual scenes carrying instruments. These was the first costumes for the day. Because of it being quite cold, coat and mufflers were vital while the camera was not running.

Third day, the final day. After shooting the image scene at the back alley streets in town was the shooting of “Yurameki” at a church. While waiting there were pigeons that gathered near the bus because of the bread that was scattered. When Shinya was about to give bread, because of the noisy Italians who passed by, the pigeons went somewhere…

“The stupid foreigners?” Shinya was angry.

Take Note of This Italy Important News

They waited for 4 hours in Milan

Breakfast in full make-up and full costume

Shinya seems cold in his costume

Temples are cold…

Kyo, is addicted to pizza!

Loo~ng travel and waiting time

Die was ripped off

Toshiya caused a disturbance! (Details are in the news page!)

Shinya Nemunemu hakushi no daigyakusu

Hello everyone.  This corner has begun again.  Last time there wasn't much so now there probably won't be much either, right?  Well then, so let's introduce the first postcard.

"Please tell me about Shinya-kun's beloved dog, Papii-chan."

This is Papii-chan, who lives at my parent's home.  The name is Papii because the breed is called papillon.  It's quite a fashionable way of naming a dog.  Of course I named him.  We got him in December of my third year of elementary school.  At that time he was already two months old.  At that time he was quite tough and the small me was often chased and bitten.  Now, because he's grown old he doesn't really bite, but his quick anger hasn't changed at all.  He really gets angry quickly.   He definitely gets angry five times a day.  For example, he is cuddling with someone and if another person calls "Papii" he will go to snap at that person with great strength.  Also, Papii loves Pedigree Champion dog food and he won't eat any dog food other than that at all.  The Pedigree Champion dog food seems so delicious, so even if you stare at it from the side, he'll get angry.  He also likes meat and if I'm eating meat he comes and says, "Give me meat" .  And so if I pretend to give him the meat and don't he gets really angry.  He's a troublesome dog.   He always thinks of himself as the best.  On the stairs as well, he alone... it alone cannot go up by itself. In the past he went up but, he planned on going up the stairs of the new place we moved to the way he did in our old house so his feet became tangled, and he got hurt.  Since that time when Papii wants to use the stairs he'll call "someone come here".  And then someone will come and carry him up the stairs.?Papii also gets quite cold.  In the past whenever it would get cold I would take out the kotatsu. Then, I would set up the kotatsu and leave the room for a little and return, and already Papii would be sleeping in the kotatsu. To think he's a dog, why does he get cold so easily??Ah, no matter what I said, he's a very cute dog.

Last time I wrote about Nakata Daimaru Racket as Shinya's little corner, a considerable amount postcards came concerning that.  I've picked a few from among those postcards.

It's popularity before is like Downtown's [popularity] now.

He was definitely on TV every New Years.

When I asked my mother, she said "You don't know him?  Your father and your grandfather and your grandmother know him.  You don't know anything huh."#When I asked my family they said, "What...? You don't know? Ah~, it's the end of Japan. There's nothing that can be done."

Like what Shinya-kun said, I think a lot of people know him. ?So, well, just take a look at this and maybe you'd know, it is said that in Japan if you don't know Nakata Daimaru Racket then you are not Japanese.

So, that being said I will explain Nakata Daimaru Racket to you.

Nakata Daimaru Racket It was said that it is a Manzai that would make you laugh in three seconds, he was a big star until the end of the war, it's the popularity was twice more than "Kashimashi Musume". As for the beginning, Nakata Daimaru debuted but his partner at that time died.  After that, he rejoined with his brother racket and debuted.

With the first second of flawless speech, the continuous gags, the viewers will be sent into a vortex of laughter. The younger brother racket accidentally laughs a lot at Daimaru's adlibs and that would again invite laughter from the audience.   After Daimaru's death, Racket managed variously alone, but recently it so happens that he is retired.

And that's it.  And so there were many postcards that came asking, "Why does Shinya-san know something that way back?" that's because I have lived 10 times longer than everyone. Fufufufufu(Hehehehe)......

See you again.

Extra: About Nakata Daimaru Racket Toshiya: When I asked my friends, they knew. Why did that many postcards come? Die: If you write it at the very end then they'd read it! Didn't it seem like it was saying, "send me [postcards]" right? So they'll send it over!

Translator's Notes: 1. Manzai (??) is a style of stand-up comedy in Japan, which usually involves two performers—a straight man (tsukkomi) and a funny man (boke)—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve around mutual misunderstandings, double-talk, puns and other verbal gags. In recent times, manzai has often been associated with the Osaka region, and manzai comedians often speak in the Kansai dialect during their acts.

2. A kotatsu (??) is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself. Kotatsu are used almost exclusively in Japan, although a similar product called a korsi is also used in Iran.

3. For the curious here is a clip of Daimaru Racket (Kansai-ben only):{youtube}LjNdbLZd-9c{/youtube}

Ganso Kaoruya

Welcome. Thank you for coming to Ganso Kaoruya . This time there are only a few things but please take a look.

It can’t be seen clearly but it’s a pretty excellent work.

Again, it’s my stuff. Devilman & Amon Black Version

Great job!! You were even able to create the detailed parts.

Next challenge is in Kitty-chan!!

Again, my stuff.

I never give-up~

…Hello.

Recently, I have been rummaging for and buying CDs, LDs, Videos(VHS). Even in LA I was brainwashed by MTV and bought a lot like Shawn Mullins and the like but mostly I didn’t listen to it and went home. All of a sudden I would go into a record shop but before I just bought CDs but I wanted to watch movies so I ended up buying the movie and it’S soundtrack that I thought, “I would never watch!!” which was Titanic. Well, it is a good thing! However!! There were tons of lives that I wanted to see during the end of the year and beginning of the year. I wanted to watch D=SIRE’s Liquid(room)! (I was really supposed to go~) I wasn’t able to watch Bauhaus in October! Marilyn Manson and Gastunk also made me want to cry…therefore, I am looking for more creations. (Totally unrelated though.)  Send me things that will clear up my anger!! And so, Ah! Thank you for the Christmas Presents and New Year’s Card!  

This month’s Heavy rotation (currently, January 20)

Fear Factory

Obsolete

The Goo Goo Dolls

Dizzy Up the Girl

Garbage  

Version 2.0

Shiina Ringo  

Koko de kisu shite

Motion Picture  

Psycho

Shawn Mullins

Soul’s Core

Rammstein  

Sehnsucht

Devin Townsend

Infinity

AKIRA Ootomo Katsuhiro

Meisho de Meishuu Mr. Drums’ House Edition

So, is everyone in “a knot” doing well? This is a bit or rather pretty late but thank you to all the fans who sent me presents, messages, letters etc. for my birthday last year. Also thank you always for sending me fan letters. I properly read all of it so there is no need to worry.

So, Meisho de Meishuu Vol. 2 is, what do we have here!! Once again we have a guest.

Let me introdu~ce, Mr. Drums who does Tanaka in Dir en grey (refer to the picture)

This time let’s go a bit back to Christmas. The location is Mr. Drums’ house where he has prepared 5 bottles of champagne. By the way, on this day, Mr. Drums’ mother and younger brother Kazuma were in the house, this mother was very annoying and kept on harassing us, she smoked things like echo or wakaba, Kazuma is a delinquent and picked a fight with me so it was awful. But the most awful one was Mr. Drums. Apparently he is weak with alcohol, even though he said that he has work after this interview, his face was completely red, even his ears were red, and in the end he couldn’t speak. But since it’s my corner, even if it were forced he drank and evaluated [the alcohol]. Then Mr. Drums suddenly tried to run on top of the TV, when I chased him and tried to make him drink, finally he went down. That’s unfortunate. But he was able to properly drink 5 kinds [of alcohol] so please read the table of comments after.

“Itadakima~su?”

“How are you feeling recently?”

“…….silence”

“Mr. Drums please drink some more!”

“What are you doing?”

“That’s it”

Well, this time I will end [this column] with this. Well as for the season, it will soon be spring, for those of you who want to try drinking it why not also drink it together with your beloved boyfriend or girlfriend on Christmas this year (this is way in the future…) (For those who say that they don’t have a girlfriend or boyfriend, please try finding one until then.)

So next time I will send it from LA! I am planning again on calling a guest so please look forward to it.

Well, until we meet again (mata aimashou). Espresso!!

Today’s Wine

Wine Name

Comment

Score

1

CASTELL BLANCH ROSAD CAVA

It seems to have a pretty bitter smell…Ah! Yes it’s a red win chic that’s easy to drink. It feels like you’re drinking in Artist Room A

It feels like swimming in the Aegean sea ? Mr. Drums

6.79

2

SUNTORY SPARKLING WINE SILVER

It’s pretty sweet. Well it’s for you guys, middle and high school students. It’s ant hell…what’s ant hell? “to get worms (in your stomach)” (Mr. Drums) It is on the edge whether you fall into ant hell or not.

Too sweet. It feels like being assimilated to it while being buried in sugar and the surrounding sugar is burnt by a lighter ? Mr. Drums

5.55555??

3

CROISIE LIGHT

I think this is for elementary school kids….because it’s sweet, I think elementary school students would really like this.

Being hit by a rain of iron mold, that moment made me feel better, I feel nauseous I think I’m drunk (nods) ? Mr. Drums

3.1415926

4

SUNTORY SPARKLING WINE GOLD

It completely doesn’t feel like drinking in a high end club in Ginza.

It feels like I can see 5 cm inside ? Mr. Drums

6.81

5

VARICHONET CLERC MERLOT GAMAY

This is for 17 year olds…feels like a 17 year old loose socks

This is the most delicious. It has sweetness and bitterness, in memories (drunk) a 41 year old…(definitely drunk) his wife left him, on the side of a too sweet park, I become Shinya ? Mr. Drums

5.59

Aibiki no Mori Toshiya

Happy New Year! This year together with "aknot" please support Dir en grey!

This is Toshiya's corner which will begin again, thanks to everyone who thought and sent titles! But somehow there wasn't one that fit so I tried thinking with my insufficient/lacking head! And I thought to go with "Aibiki no Mori" (rendezvous forest) as Toshiya's corner title!! The origin of the corner title is, actually I copied the name (laughs) Since I really love Sakamoto Ryuichi-san and among Nakatani Miki's album called, "Shokumotsu Rensa (Food Chain)", there was a song called "Aibiki no Mori de" and for me, I personally liked that song...so yes, I copied it (laughs) But, so far in my own way I tried the title while completely ignoring things like the meaning of "Aibiki no Mori" is a journal of memories where "I wanted to make it like a forest of secrets that I have with the fans and everyone". It's a bit fishy? (laughs) But, in this corner I don't want to write lies and I want to tell the truth to everybody

??? What in the world are those numbers above???Ah well. Yesyes, I want it to be a corner that everyone reads so I decided with "Aibiki no Mori". Thank you very much to the people who thought of and sent titles!! And I'm sorry!! Also next I am asking for costume designs. I am asking for designs that you would like me to wear. Well even though all of it won't be OK, I may use parts of it. I am waiting for everybody's sense and avant-garde ideas. Also the people who were chosen will have their names and member id posted in this corner and after that I will send them a present.

I am looking forward to everyone's design pictures!!

Well then please get lost in "Aibiki no Mori (rendezvous forest)"  (laughs)

?/× (TUE)

Well the indies tour has finally begun. In the morning I went to Tokyo station using a taxi and went to Nagoya on the shinkansen (bullet train). I was sort of happy when I was finally in the shinkansen. The live at Bottomline was to put it bluntly, unsatisfactory. Even among the lives that I've done up until now, honestly it was the worst. I was very annoyed, embarrassed, and regretful. Due to the lack of physical strength and extreme oxygen deprivation, I collapsed after the main set. After the encore, there was a heavy air backstage and everyone was looking down. Budoukan is 100 years too early and I looked down on myself. Even if I wrote more about it I would end up writing negative things. Nagoya...I am really sorry to the fans, maybe if you would come to a live just one more time, the next one I would definitely show a good live.

I promise, the next time...

?/×?WED)

In the morning, we checked out of the hotel and went to Kanezawa. I remembered the previous night's live and had an internal argument, "today for sure..." I personally wasn't satisfied with the Kanezawa live on the previous tour so this time I thought that I must make a good live. It was good that Az hall was pretty nice. But as expected I felt that my performance was a bit not enough but I thought of thinking positively. Everyone signed on Azhall's backstage hallway wall. Also I kicked the micstand and it's a bit unfortunatey that I wasn't able to directly apologize to the Azhall manager. I am really sorry! The oden that I had at the party was delicious. Good night...

?/×?FRI)

Today is at Kumagaya Vogue! This was the first time I was here since the disband live of band before Dir en grey was formed so I was really happy! If my memory is correct, the other band at that time was the band that 4 of them were in so it was a place with a lot of memories so I thought to do my best. The live was really good. Finally it felt like the engine started and my body was light. Also what shocked me also was I stage dived which I haven't done since the Cowboy World [live] in Osaka (laughs) To the people who were under and whose body I stepped on, I am really sorry!!

At any rate, those gibberish numbers on top! Enough already and disappear!

Well, after the live, without taking a break we got on the shinkansen and appeared live on nippon broadcast's radio, "Ultracountdown". Cool K-san was an interesting person.

?/×?MON)

Sendai Makana's stage was a bit small, so it was pretty difficult to play. But the live was okay but everyone's fervor was great, and it felt good. SuperRecord's Jimmy-san seems to be doing okay and thank you for coming to the live! After the live speaking of Sendai, it's "Gyu tan" (beef tongue) so we went out and ate it, as expected it was delicious! As a souvenir I bought cheese and fresh dorayaki. We will come to Sendai again (laughs)

?/×?TUE)

Today is my first time in Sapporo! This is the first live [in Sapporo] so I was really looking forward to the reaction of fans who've been waiting for us until then but the live was awful. "M-GAZET" also mentioned the reason. It would be better if I believed more in everyone...I am sorry! To the people who were looking forward to it. I am sorry, really. Sapporo, next time we will come at full blast so please look forward to it!!!

?/×?THU)

Niigata JUNKBOX...it was hot/exciting! Everybody went wild (for us). I was able to do a live without thinking of anything. Everybody's rhythm/flow was great and more importantly you made me forget about what happened in Sapporo. Thank you Niigata!! My friends from middle school and "D+L"'s AKIRA came to watch us. I was happy. After the party everybody went bowling. Everyone was excited and it was really fun. Thank you very much for today everyone!!

?/×?SAT)

Today is Osaka! Everybody was in high spirits. As expected everyone seems hyped since its their hometown. Speaking of hometowns, I also wanted to have lives in Nagano (tears) Well, anyway the live was okay but for me the performance was shabby. So I am sorry to everyone. But anyway I want to optimistically do my best...since if I get caught up in negative thoughts it would be difficult to get out of it. During the part Punch UFO came and it was interesting. Also, I was able to go drink out with my friends from high school after a long time and it was fun. Thank you Osaka!

?/×?MON)

The live at Hiroshima Namiki Junction was okay. Did everyone enjoy it? I would be happy if you enjoyed it. Also the Hiroshima yaki was very delicious. The promoter was also a very nice person. 2 more lives left I must do my best!!

?/×?TUE)

Hakata Be-1 was hot/exciting! The backstage was small but the live was pretty exciting. The atmosphere was also good. I didn't dive but it was live where I wanted to dive! After the live we did a quick party, and everyone went bowling (laughs) it was really fun. After that me and a couple of people went out and ate rate. We will come again to Hakata.

?/×?TUE)

Finally, we came to Matsuyama.

When I remember it was early. Before I realized it [we were there]. When I think of going home to Tokyo, I felt lonely. As for the live due to a miss with the song order we weren't able to get into high spirits but at the very very last it was nice that the fans who stayed during the encore were able to sing "GARDEN" with us. Well, the last live is Budokan!

Thank you Matsuyama!

?/×?MON)

Well, finally today is Budokan! In this place everything up until now will...I will not forget a day like today, I will never forget the fun on this day...and the regret (this is again getting old (laughs)) I can't say this well into words but since I think that there is nothing that doesn't change, at the very least I don't want my feelings and memories to not change. Forever. And more importantly to every who's been supporting us until now, thank you very much!! From now on let's fly higher and higher together.

?/×??)

From today we will go to LA because of recording. We will train under Yoshiki-san's guidance. Please look forward to and wait for the next song!! In addition, please read Mr. Inoue's page for the LA journal!

Toshiya first nude!!!

I also had this period (laughs)

So embarrassing~ (laughs)

Congratulations on your marraige Chara-san!

I hope you two will be happy (laughs)

Drop in sometimes! (The person on the right was the engineer of "I'll")

This time it ends here. Did you enjoy it? On January 20 the singles were finally released at the same time. To the who haven't listened to it, please listen to it! If possible please seriously listen to it with the volume on loud! Well, let's rendezvous again at the "Aibiki no Mori"!!!

Translator's Notes:

1. Gy?tan (???) is a Japanese food that is made from grilled beef tongue. The word gy?tan is a combination of the Japanese word for cow (?, gy??) and the English word tongue. Since gy?tan literally means "cow tongue," the word is also used to refer to cow tongues in Japan. The custom of cooking gy?tan originated in Sendai in 1948, and is usually served with barley rice, tail soup, and pickles in the Sendai area.

2. Dorayaki (????, ????, ????, ????) is a type of Japanese confection which consists of two small pancake-like patties made from castella wrapped around a filling of sweet red bean paste.

3. The numbers that Toshiya was referring to in the column was this line of random numbers that divided the column into the top and bottom sections. Please refer to the original.

Kyo's Corner (Announcement)

Among the postcards sent to Kyo’s Akuma ka Warumono ka, there was one that seemed to have lies written on it, as long as that kind of fan is there, this corner is spoiled/ruined and I am enraged.

I was so angry and shock that I opened a hole in the wall, and after that I never spoke anything about the fanclub

Because of that this corner is on a break.

What a nuisance

SEXUAL Inoue LA Diary

"a knot" told me that anything is fine so write anything about the LA recording so I am seated in front of a typewriter, well, I don't have a typewriter! Typewriters are old! So hello. This is the manager, Atsushi Inoue.

After Budokan finished and after the storm of <interviews, photoshoots>, before coming to LA, in order to concretize the sound as much as possible, everyone was confined to the studio. Then to LA ---- then again at Narita (international airport) there were a couple of fans...(mid-November was written on the flyer that was distributed at Budokan. Fail.Fail) but since everyone sent us off without causing any inconvenience we were relieved as we got on the plane...ah~(roughly 10 hours)~later we arrived in LA.

Then we had a meal together with the local coordinator and co. -- we had Lunch Time at a pretty clean looking pizza and pasta restaurant. As expected of America, the volume was incredible. The food and also the lady next to us...sorry...but the Beer was delicious.

Then we checked-in in the hotel, and was surprised when we got to our rooms. It was big big. It also had a kitchen. Yey (but at this time I didn't think that in the end I would sleep in the room and go home since I couldn't cook...sigh)

We placed our things, and everyone gathered together! We went to the studio ---and was surprised, it was big big. The studio and also the meeting room. After waiting for awhile, we had a pretty brief meeting with  Mr. YOSHIKI and the engineers, foreign staff etc. (about the equipment and flow etc), It seems that there will be a break once per week. Lucky (But...at this time I didn't think that the first week was a photoshoot, the second week was a break but from the third week there was no break...sigh) (Recording flow is everyone plays the music together, then Drums?Bass?Guitar?Guitar?Vocal - this seems to be the basic flow but there are times when the Guitar follows after Drums, and times when Vocals are added soon after just the rhythm is recorded. There are also times when they are working on the next song while the Vocalist is recording. So it seemed like it wasn't definite that it would follow this order. )

After the meeting finished the busy Mr. YOSHIKI wasn't able to come eat with us after but the members and me and the office people, recording company people and the coordinator went to get food -- Even in LA there are quite a lot of sushi restaurants where we had Dinner Time but as expected it lacked something/wasn't the greatest...but the beer was delicious. Thus the first day ended with this.

From now was the real part, the second day in LA, for the meantime all of the members worked on "Akuro no Oka". They took a recording of it playing together while choosing instruments and equipments. This took one whole day. LA third day based on what was recorded the previous day, recording started from drums. This took one whole day.

Fourth day bass recording while playing along with the drums of the previous day. This took one whole day. Fifth day guitar (Die) recording while playing along with the sounds recorded until the previous day. This took one whole day.

*By the way the members were at the studio and saying things like this and that and did individual practice while somebody else was recording.

The next day was a day off from the studio, and was a photoshoot day for Dir en grey. From early morning we were at cameraman Mr. William Hames' studio for make-up. Then downtown and on rooftops, under the bridge, railway tracks etc...there were also pretty dangerous areas, foreigners were looking at us oddly, and it was pretty unbelievable/awesome. The photoshoot finished at dusk. "My legs hurt." ???Shinya

Then we went to get food --- it was a pretty famous steak restaurant where he had DinnerTime. It was a restaurant with only courses, even if I was full before the meat came when it appeared it was big big!. I wasn't able to finish it but the Vocalist not only ate meat but also a big lobster. After finishing desert we went to the hotel -- "I ate everything that was in front of my eyes. The lobster was delicious." ???Kyo

Then recording day again, Kaoru the Guitarist's recording. The next day too.

One day during the first week, coming home from the studio at midnight everyone went shopping at a big supermarket (there was a big refrigerator, stove, oven, dishwasher etc. in the hotel) everyone bought a lot of different things. One person got large ice cream, then another person got large meat, then another person got large potato chips etc???"Ice cream is the best"???Shinya

The first week, it was Mr. Yoshiki's birthday so the members, staff and studio people all celebrated with champagne. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"???Dir en grey

This is the second week. All of the members began with pre-production for "Yurameki" a song that they haven't finished yet at the same time with the vocal recording of "Akuro no Oka"!?

Two people were down during the "Yurameki" pre-production First it was Kaoru who didn't speak much when we arrived in LA, when I placed a hand on his forehead, it was pretty hot. When I thought about it he was fast asleep and slept in the room on the 2nd day. By the way at this time, he didn't seem to have an appetite so the coordinator and I went to a Japanese store and bought medicine, rice, instant curry, instant congee, miso soup etc.., I brought it to his room and Kaoru-kun in his room seemed pretty lonely. "Kukure Curry was the best"???Kaoru

Then the next day after he got better and went back to work, Toshiya was down. He also slept in his room for two days. This time too I went to the Japanese store.

Getting harmony was this difficult! There is a considerable amount of vocal harmony (voice singing in chorus) included in "Akuro no Oka" "Yurameki" but the equipment that we used at that time was awesome because there was only two in the world, it was too great! It was that kind of equipment but it was troublesome because when the Vo would sing a little bit it would stop and then everything would become confusing, and caused the Vo to get in a bad mood. "I the Hakaider will hakai you (I the destroyer will destroy you)"???Kyo

Design check on the internet is di?ffi?cult There are various different design related things such as the jacket design, card, poster etc, the members would think about it together, and faxing the rough draft design was difficult, so in order to properly see the color and form it has to be through the internet. This was also troublesome since this was three singles the size was too big and it easily won't come. Printouts also took time and we had to redo it several times so it pretty much took a lot of time. "It's finally here~it finally came~"???Toshiya The sole holiday In LA there was only one day break, and it was the most important holiday in America, "Thanksgiving". The studio was on a break. And believe it or not Universal Studios where we wanted to go was also on a break???it seems that on this day the whole of America is on holiday and everyone is at home???boohoohoo???then again since Yoshiki invited us to eat turkey at his house on the previous day, everyone was treated to good food. It was really delicious. "Only 15 more minutes???only one more???Let's finish it with this"???Die

Shopping GO!GO!GO! The members didn't really have much of a chance to go out so when they found some time they would go out to shop. (Not all 5 members???) I think they shopped a lot at Tower Records? On the day of mastering (the day before they go back to Japan) even for a short time went and shopped at the stores in front of the Universal Studios entrance and a big department store, Melrose Avenue but everyone bought only CDs. (Well there was a person who bought clothes and accessories) "I bought a ring but it was also sold in Marui"???Kaoru

The local staff and engineer and studio staff were as expected all foreigners so I thought that I should work harder on English but the recording engineer Mr. STAN KATAYAMA was Japanese and was pretty laid back but he was fan and the members seemed to have had an easy time recording. But the instrument technician and other staff everyone were foreigners. We sort of had a hard time with the finer details. "I will study English."???Die

Local coordinator? Mr. GEORGE The whole time during the LA recording Mr. GEORGE (ex. LADIES ROOM) was in the studio and taught us different things. (English, music, billiards, muscle, games, grit/determination, that thing, this thing, and until that thing???) he really helped us. He brought us along shopping and even called us because he bought a Xmas tree in his room (together with Guitar, Guitar, Bass) At that time he showed us the last scene of Armaggedon, at any rate thank you very much. "Aah, how are you president?"???Toshiya

Best Producer There was a lot of surprising and interesting things about Yoshiki. I think that we are still indebted to him, we will be counting on him even from now on.

"Thank you very much. We will be counting on you." (in harmony)???Dir en grey

Translator's Notes:Kyo was referring to "Hakaider" who was a character featured in the movie

Mechanical Violator Hakaider (????????? Jinz? Ningen Hakaid?)

NEWS L.A. Edition

Kyo…having a hard time!!! We have new information about Kyo. A tragedy has occurred. After spilling oil and making his kitchen sticky, he recklessly threw his garbage and the oil further spilled all over his kitchen. We still don’t know whatever happened to him.

Birthday Guessing 12 Choice Game Big Break

It seems that a birthday guessing game seems to be popular around the members.

Example

1 March 2 September 3 June

.

.

.

12 *…

A deer appeared in the hotel!

Shinya walking alone angry!?

?/?, Shinya who was annoyed at Manager Sexual Inoue over a trivial matter went home alone until the hotel. Because of that the manager further got mad at him. As if to add insult to injury…

Exclusive Scoop Toshiya! Incident in Italy

An incident happened to Toshiya who went to an Italian church for a certain PV shooting in 1998 (or caused an incident). That church does not allow people to bare their legs, (because it is against God), and Toshiya who was completely unaware of that appeared in the church with his bare legs with abandon. There area was in uproar. In the end Toshiya spent his waiting time with his legs wrapped in a cloth.

Kaoru, W face to face meeting!

Sources say that Kaoru was thrilled by the W face to face meeting. The first one was a face to face meeting with Asuka from “Evangelion”. It seems that Bay FM planned it in secret and called her to appear in the show. Regarding this incident, Kaoru commented “Oh my~, I was surprised”. The other one was a face-to-face meeting with Shiina Ringo at Music Station (a music show). If you even look at Kaoru’s corner you’d know that he is pretty into her and expressed his joy on their first meeting.

Die, mysterious behavior!?

An uncanny incident occurred since “aknot” started. Die drank alcohol and was drunk, mistaking it for his shoes, he tried wearing a bag on one foot and a magazine on the other foot. After getting some more information, he was grunting and thought that those were shoes and struggled with it to a considerable degree.

[thedappleddragon]

haha here we go again

there's a lot of dumb ranting and 3 days worth of logs and a dream in here so im gonna spare evryone’s dashboard and just put it all under the cut.

tw bad memories, talk of unhealthy relations with food, and dreams about dead animals

I realized I kind of entirely forgot to write about what I did yesterday? I kind of did a lot. I know my mom wanted to work on getting tile laid out in front of her bathroom, so we worked together to scrub the concrete and wipe up all the dirt and dust and whatever was under the carpet and remove some of the nails in the floor and bring up a spiky metal strip between the bathroom door and where the carpet was. The other main thing I remember is deciding to continue work on my dress, sewing up the outer bodice, checking that the bodice and lining would fit together, deciding I’d rather have no different colored front panel, and working on the circle skirt. At first I tried cutting the fabric on my bed, but it wasn’t big enough and too lumpy. I contemplated asking my friends if I could borrow their dining table, but I ended up clearing off my own. After I traced and was in the middle of pinning, I accidentally knocked over a glass bowl that I had set on the chair. My mom heard it from the other room and had me come to her room to tell her what it was. She got angry at me, which I thought was fuckin stupid if it was an accident, but after some reflection while cleaning up the glass pieces, I kind of understood why. Mostly I got a little upset about 2 ceramic pieces I made during school breaking a little from the drop. One was a mushroom house from middle school that always makes me remember feeling like an asshole during peer review when I told my person to smooth their project more because I didn’t know “no improvement needed” was an option until I got back to my desk and saw my person saying it was good in all categories because everyone thought my project was great for some reason. The other was a bunch of flowers on a circle. It was the last project we did before quarantine hit, I think. That one is in less tough shape, just a couple flowers knocked off and a chip on one of them. They can both be glued back together, I guess. Then my mom called me back into her room to listen to her talk about wanting to eat huge amounts of food, because she’s clinically depressed with BPD and PTSD and DID and several other acronyms and her favorite coping mechanism is food, but her doctor put her on a diet so she can get her knees replaced, but recently she’s been getting into a zone where she talks about wanting to eat entire cakes and pizzas and buckets of kfc and a gallon of queso or whatever the fuck and she goes “doesn’t that sound GOOD?” And I have to laugh along and say “haha no that sounds bad actually” and get her a piece of ham or something. And every time she goes on her spiel the only thing I can think of is the greedy from the raggedy Ann and Andy musical. It’s just this horrible undulating orange blob that eats everything in sight and seeing it for the first time just made me think of mom and it made me very uncomfortable, with all the orange goo and hurling noises. Also reminds me of this horrible video game boss fight where it’s the apocalypse and a fat lady on a scooter took over the buffet and eats so much during her boss fight, during the defeat cutscene she projectile vomits everywhere and dies. My brother Greg showed me that thinking it was funny. I hated it, and I still do. He showed me a lot of things he thought were funny as a shitty little kid, and I remember several of them being very upsetting. It’s ok. I don’t want to dwell on it. But after cleaning the glass and talking to mom I brought my fabric to my room and called it a night. Oh wait my dad also helped me with some paperwork my coworker handed me so I could get on the payroll.

Today I woke up differently than I have in a long time. I set an alarm for 10 am so I could be at work by 11, but I woke up at 9 from a heavy sleep with dreams about hanging out with my friend in my room, worrying about my dirty house. I wanted to sleep longer, so I got up at 10 to have breakfast and get ready. I spent my shift changing the price tags all around the store, making everything more expensive. I’m gonna work again on Tuesday where I’ll learn how to use the register. I hope I don’t fuk it up, but I have a couple days to relax until then. Maybe I’ll work on my dress. My friends all want to go to prom together, so my new deadline will be March 2nd or a little before. I still need to buy a ticket, but I don’t have access to the link to buy one :( bleh I’m too tired right now to worry about this shit. I only worked 4 hours again today, but after I got home I felt like I could have worked longer if they gave me something else to do. The only price tags left to change were a bunch of grills and stuff I don’t know about but I don’t know if they had any other work for my to do. But I’m glad I went home tho because I was hungry and my feet hurt from standing lol. I did laundry and made myself dinner and washed my hair and drew a little bit and made the table and tbh the pacing of today has been so weird I don’t remember everything. It’s only 1am but I think I’m just gonna go to bed. my friends started talking about going to prom, and I really want to join them, but I can't figure out where/how to buy a ticket. my brain started being really mean to me, syaing that I was being annoying and pushy and that they didnt want me at prom for some reason, so I low-key almost made myself cry until my friend offered to let me be their platonic date since their partner couldn't go. 

last night I had a dream about a hard video game where when you played it, the black shadow enemies would fight you in real life, and one of them left imprints on my arm in the shape of lego bricks. they could only attack you so long as you played the game, and they tried to capture people and you were supposed to save them. I decided it was my time to play, and I walked into my garage that had turned into a cave with bat-people fused into the wall. I paid them no mind as I rescued a girl who was my irl brother, grabbing her hand and pulling her into another versoin of my garage which was uncorrupted and normal looking. she thanked me, and I said it was no problem. then I tricked her, telling her not to trust so easily, as I became one of the shadow enemies and engulfed her in a black sack, trapping her and leaving the room. I came back a couple minutes later, letting him free (now my brain told me he was my brother) telling him I just wanted to know if I was capable of tricking him, and didnt actually want to kill him or whatever.  another big chunk of my dream was taken up by me, my sister, and my dad visiting a run down petting zoo/gamestop. the petting zoo barn was very dark with low ceilings with lots of rabbits and pigs and hay. one of us accidentally killed either a pig or a tiger right next to the exit door, and I had to slink around the gamester trying to distract the owner and keep him from going in the barn and escaping at the same time. I dont remember how it ended, other than me waking up with a sore throat from breathing so deeply through my nose. I had slept on my stomach wit my pillow in my face so I could hardly breathe, and even after I woke up I felt like I wasnt getting enough air. I HATE that feeling, I always felt like I was suffocating in middle school for some reason. I thinkk somethings wrong with my airway but im not gonna do anything about it. im gonna continue to spend 80% of my day laying down so my resting heart rate and breathing speed is slower than an goddamn sloth. whatever.

right now as im laying in bed typing this I feel utterly unpoductive but I KNOW I did SOME shit today. but yeah mostly I relaxed. I worked on my dress, removing and replacing the blue front panel. I lost my exacto knife somewhere so I went to dollar tree to get a knockoff, along with snacks for mom and my sister. the blades aren't as sharp as exacto, but I still know where the name brands blades are so maybe Ill try and see if they're compatible. when I open the package everything was oily and gross, so I washed everything off with soap and water before I used them to cut the threads of the panel seams. I could have used my seam ripper but I wanted to get a replacement craft knife anyway. its kinda neat that it came with 6 different shaped blades for different crafts :) but uhh I also cut out the other half of the circle skirt of the dress, and I have a bunch of extra fabric left over. probably enough to make a whole other bodess if I wanted too. I used my sewing machine to attach the new front panel, and I was hoping to get more sewing done tonight, but when I asked my sister if it was ok for me to use my sewing machine (it right next to the wall between our rooms so she can hear it from there) she said she was going to bed soon so I just attatched the front panel and called it a night. so that kinda sucked. I still have another day tomorrow before I have to work again, and I can still work on my dress on Tuesday after work. idk why my brain thinks that one 4 hour shift is gonna take up my entire day lmao. I just have to get the whole thing done by may 2nd. GOD that reminds me, im gonna be so busy next month. I have six events back to back happening like every other day, plus work. oof. I'll have to let my boss know, but idk If that's gonna make him mad. I've already got pretty comfortable with the lady in charge of the garden center who’s taken lead position while the manager is on vacation, but I dont think I;ll every understand my boss. he’s a sarcastic busy old man and NOT AT ALL approachable. whatever. really the only other tings I did today were drink a shit ton of water play harvest moon, spend too much time on tiktok, and sraw a couple dum things for my friends’ princess au. I fucking HATE the drawing I did for Anna, so I designed her a secondary outfit more inspired by sky pirate bohemian vibes, since she rules over the floating islands. idk if I'll replace her old outfit with the new one in the lineup or just re-draw her old one with better shapes and composition and match the style better or what. I just need it changed eventually becasuse it looks like ass. tbh now that ve taken a little bit of time away from the princess au, there are a couple designs im not 100% satisfied with. but I know that if I go back and make them more detailed or whatever the’ll be more of a hassle to draw and aslkdfhalksdf I dont know anymore. I'm still tied up about color pallets and trying to give everyone a distinct color, and im a little upset it doesn't quite work, and FUCK dude the edgy one’s lore and character are weird and I kind of want to revise it to make it a little nicer but its not my character and I need to stop shoving my dirty little mitts into everyone’s ocs and AHAGHRGHGARGHHG idk man. her power is necromancy and she has a skeleton army, which I think I kinda cool, but I also think it would be neat if her powers extended beyond just that to communing with the dead, helping them find rest, and THEN maybe it can branch into helping fallen soldiers fight again to help them with unfinished buisness. and then if she goes feral and starts abusing her powers, she ignores all the communication and concent with the dead and instead magically rips them from thr ground to do her bidding and they’re uncontrollable and violent and aimless, just like her mind slipping from the magical blight infecting her. idk man we’re till working on a lot of lore. her concept could be SO COOL with just that little bit of extra thought, but so far it’s just MY POWER IS DEATH IM SO EDGY. ugh I know its fuckin rude to bash your friends oc ideas and I might be too overbearing and controlling of this au but dammit im tired and im mean sometimes and my ego is through the goddamn roof and im so sexy and im always right and my meat is huge. ah shit I rpomised my friend I would help her with character design for the dead king but I was busy when she firat asked me and now im not busy but im not doing it ugh. im just frustrated right now because I spent wayyyy to fuckin long just laying in bed watching tikotks and youtube and playing harvest moon an doing jack shit all day. but hey at least I attempted to get a new social security card again today. and them promptly gave up when they said my adress was invalid. again. I feel like im in an uncomfortable medium between having no plans and worrying about the future and having too many plans all the time oh my god. ive been so focused on getting a job and then having a job and making this dress I completely forgot about college shit. thankfully there's no hard deadlines coming up that I haven't already finished. whatever I dont really want to worry about all this hit right now, im just gonna take it one day at a time. (haha it feels like my angel oc just stepped in. how nice of him :) )

[ppaisleypark]

A Perfect Sundae

I came up with a dumb fic idea at the dead of night and my friends made me write it ; A Novel by me.

Summary: Diana finds herself drawn to a certain ice cream parlour, where she becomes caught in a very sweet encounter.

This is the dumbest thing I’ve written since my final dissertation.

Words: 2,700 Warnings: none Franchise: Wonder Woman (2017) Pairings: Diana Prince/Steve Trevor

Her shoulders ached. Not in the way they did last year, or the year before that, because she knew this wasn’t tired-aching anymore. She felt stronger. Pouring every spare moment into whatever sport or fitness regime caught her fancy at the time used to take so much more out of her; kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do, Sambo, once she mastered one it was on to another.  Now, the aches in her shoulders and thighs were comforting, more like a glow in her bones than a pain. Her own progress was only half the satisfaction of her tutoring at her studio, but it still gave her a precious sense of pride to see a practice dummy buckle under her kicks.

Diana rolled her neck as she stepped out of the studio and into the street. It was a warm afternoon, early enough for the streets to be near empty and the sun almost directly over her head. It seemed to get even warmer as she turned each corner. She was still crowned with sweat from her morning’s workout and the heat wasn’t doing her any favours.

She started fanning herself with both hands as she reached another crossing.

Halfway home.

Another ten minutes on the other side of that road.

She knew she was flushed. She knew the older woman standing facing her at the opposing crossing could see the stains on her shirt. She knew her hair was a mess under her cap. But those thoughts weren’t registering as worries. Diana’s mind was focussed solely on getting herself back to her apartment, into her shower and onto her sofa.

Her head swum. Her sofa. For all she loved her jogs and her time in the studio, an hour before her tv could do wonders.

Finally the lights changed and Diana broke into a half-jog to cross the road. Reaching the other side she slowed to fan herself again but her face remained steely with determination.

Home. Then shower. Then a book maybe.

A hand shot out before her face. Diana skidded to a halt, stopping a moment before her nose could touch the stranger’s palm.

“Ah! You look tired. Exhausted, even. Now I know a woman like you is busy, busy, busy, but I also know a day like this can take it out of you.”

The small, rosy lady blocking her path brightened with Diana’s attention.

She continued. “It’s just so bleedin’ warm! You look like a woman with somewhere to be, something to be doing, am I right? Come right in and we can cool you down right away! Do you like ice-cream?”

Diana glanced behind the enthusiastic woman to read the bubbly pink lettering above her head. “Trev’s Frozen Wonderland”

“Ice-cream?”

“Yes, madam! The best in town!” The woman clapped and grinned.

Diana smiled but shook her head. “I’m so sorry. You certainly know how to sell it but I have no time. Maybe another day.” She said, hopping around the woman and speeding up again down the street.

Etta wilted as she watched Diana’s retreating figure from the parlour steps.  Not letting this get her down, she puffed her chest out and turned her gaze to the next prospective customer approaching her. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and anything could happen.

Twenty paces away from the ice cream parlour, Diana fanned herself again. The heat had doubled, almost unbelievably, once she turned her back on that woman. She could practically feel the heat radiating off the pavement through the soles of the trainers, the sky was blue enough to convince her that the sun had burnt any trace of a cloud away with its heat. Sunlight was bounced off shopfronts and windscreens, making her blink and squint. She swept her cap off her head and tried fanning herself with the rim, to little effect. The warm air was only buffeted into her face faster this way.

Diana paused. Perhaps the heat had scrambled her brain, but she felt she had made a wrong turning. The stores around her were wrong, but familiar.

She frowned, but then a realisation washed over her and she sighed. The heat had indeed driven her into some kind of madness. She’d not only forgotten to cross at the right road, taking a full circuit around the block, but had only stopped to realise this a moment before the infamous ice cream parlour. The woman at the storefront caught her eye and grinned.

Oh well, Diana thought as she stuffed her cap into her bag and continued on, I might as well indulge fate.

Etta opened her arms wide as Diana approached the door. “A change of mind, then?”

“It does look like it, doesn’t it?” Diana said, pulling the baby blue painted door open. A little tingle rang out as she disturbed some unseen chimes above her.

The inside of the parlour was a clean pale blue wash, speckled by little hand-painted penguins and ice cream illustrations. No staff member could be seen anywhere in the room, and she seemed to be the only customer inside too. The left side of the room was taken up by empty rows of back-to-back cushioned benches making half a dozen booths. The right side was dominated by a glass display of multi-coloured tubs upon tubs of what Diana assumed was the produce in question. She struggled to see behind the display, it was well over the height of her chest and deeper than she first expected.

She cleared her throat, part of her hoping no worker would hear her, giving her an excuse to leave before she ruined herself on an unexpected dessert. Indeed, no one responded. After taking a step closer to the mountains of ice cream she coughed again.

A man jumped up from behind the counter, a roll of receipts caught between his teeth, a metallic scoop in one hand and a mobile phone in the other.

Diana yelped. The man choked on his receipts and stumbled back behind the display. She heard the scoop hit the floor a moment before he reappeared and grinned lopsidedly at his customer.

“Ah. Sor-sorry about that. We, well, we weren’t expecting too many customers this afternoon.” He said, laughing.

Diana smiled weakly, her heart still racing from the jump.

He was sweating harder than her.

Steve rubbed his brow and swallowed. “Feel free to check out our flavours, I’ll be back to take your order after I…after I take care of some business.” He said, sidling around the counter. Diana remained with the ice creams, bewildered, as he darted out the front door to where Etta lurked with a wide grin.

He exhaled deeply. Then inhaled, and dropped his hand onto Etta’s shoulders.

“What did you do?”

Etta glowed up at him. “She’s here, isn’t she?

“Etta Etta Etta…I dropped the scoop. She thinks I’m crazy or something. If I wanted you to get me a date I’d have asked.” Steve said.

“And how long would that take?” She asked. “You’ve been watching her walk past this place for weeks.”

Steve rubbed his eyes. “Not like this…definitely not.” He began to reach for the door as Etta opened her mouth to speak again. He held up a finger to silence her. “It’s none of your business. Just watch, it’ll be a complete mess. I’m a mess. And it’s your fault.” He went back inside.

Etta hid a smile. He sounded upset but she knew he didn’t mean it. She also knew it wasn’t her fault, nothing like it. It was the fault of that wonderful woman indoors.

The tingle rang again. Diana turned eagerly. “Strawberry I think. And rose water, please.”

“Uh…yeah.” Steve stuttered. Even if her hair was messy and had clearly been stuffed under the cap earlier, the one she was usually wearing, she still had that power to silence him. Just one look, the one she was giving him now, as normal as it may have been to her was freezing him to that spot. His chest tightened as she tilted her head in question.

He swallowed again. “I’ll get that for you right now.” He said hurriedly. He slipped behind the counter and got to work, trying not to meet her gaze but catching glimpses of her folded hands through the glass. She worked out, that was obvious enough, but as opposed to those who trained for the sake of their fitness, she gave the aura of one who took a kind of pride in her strength. It was admirable and was making him feel more and more like he could fall right through the floor at any moment.

“A cone or a tub?” He asked.

“Umm. What’s that one?” Diana pointed up at the wall above Steve’s head.

Steve squinted at the cheerful illustrations of sundaes and varieties of splits. Most were small and marketed to children, limited to a scoop or two, but some were real monsters of desserts. A couple were larger than his microwave at home, and twice as heavy.

“That one’s called The Pantheon. It’s kinda large.” He didn’t want to sound like he was insulting her choice, only implying that it was the farthest from her idea of healthy in the entire parlour.

Diana smiled and looked back down at Steve. “I think I can manage it.”

His heart climbed up into his throat. “Right.”

The scoops piled up, covered by a blanket of whipped cream, then a layer of caramel, then more cream, then a quick topping of strawberry sauce, then finally a flurry of multi-coloured flakes and sprinkles. Diana reached out to take it but was stopped by Steve holding out a hand. He rustled through a collection of jars of chocolate straws and mini umbrellas and numerous other colourful decorations, finally settling on one and dropped it onto the top of the sundae.

“Ready.” He said, flourishing his hands over his work with a smile. He was rather proud of himself; not making much of a mess despite his shaking hands.

Diana leant forwards to see the mini decoration crowning the ice cream. A tiny sword and shield, in Ancient Greek style. Fitting of the dessert’s name, she figured.

“It looks wonderful.” She said.

“That’s what I want my ice cream to be.” He said. “Beautiful.”

They locked eyes.

Steve inhaled and shuffled his feet. “That’ll be five ninety-nine.”

“Ah. Of course.” Diana broke her eyes away from his and dropped a handful of coins on the counter. Taking the glass bowl in both hands she retreated to one of the nearby booths. It was heavier than she first expected and was dropped onto her table with a glassy clunk. After a short search she found a small metal spoon tucked behind a scoop of strawberry waiting for her and took it up in her fingers. She inspected the mounds of ice cream, not quite sure where to start. It wasn’t that she was intimidated, not at all, only that every time she thought she had found the perfect spot to begin a new scoop with even more sprinkles presented itself. She wielded the spoon as a miniature sword in her hand and steeled herself.

Steve watched her from behind the display’s top, peeping between pots of spoons and bottles of sauces. She seemed to be having some problems with the sheer mass of the dessert, to be expected, and had taken to spinning the bowl around in its place to find a more advantageous angle. Feeling another pair of eyes on him he turned to see Etta grinning madly at him through the windows. He pursed his lips and busied himself with cleaning up behind the counter.

A small crash disturbed him and he looked up over the top of the display.

Diana stared back at him with a powerful look, an inch from his face. She had a small splodge of whipped cream on the tip of her nose, a tiny flake of green sprinkle sitting amongst it. Steve blinked. It had only been a matter of seconds since he looked away from her at the booth. She moves fast.

“This is the most remarkable thing I have ever tasted.” Her eyes shone as she spoke. “Not only the ice cream itself, but the entire work, is superb. The choice of sauces, the vivid flavour of the ice creams, everything is just an experience on another level.”

Steve blinked again. No one had ever been close to this enthusiastic about his ice cream.

She clasped his hands in hers. “You should be proud of this sundae.”

The two stood in a soft silence for a few seconds, broken only by the sound of gentle wind chimes outside and distant car engines.

Diana loosened her grip and gathered herself. “I will be visiting this parlour again.” She said. Then quickly added, “For more of these desserts.”.

Steve’s mind took a couple seconds to catch up to Diana’s breakneck speed. “Oh. Thanks.” He felt his ears burning, although the place where her hands held his felt startlingly cold.

Outside, Etta sat with her back to the parlour and her hands neatly folded on her knees. She felt more than a little proud of herself, and felt no sympathy for Steve. It was about time he did something about his little ‘distraction’ and talk to her for once. If he made a fool of himself in the process then there was very little she would be able to do this time to help him. And anyway…

Etta glanced over her shoulder to see Diana back in her booth furiously shovelling ice cream into her mouth, her cheeks flushed and eyes carefully avoiding Steve’s direction.

She had a feeling this girl could teach him a few things.

*

Diana landed a heavy blow to the dummy.

She hadn’t gone to the parlour again as she promised. She wasn’t avoiding it, but the thought of returning gave her an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. An odd kind of anxiety, one she hadn’t felt before. She didn’t like not knowing, because then it wasn’t something she could defeat so easily.

She dealt another kick.

But she could forgive herself. It had only been a few days anyway; maybe he hadn’t forgotten about her just yet. She decided right then that she’d go back inside that parlour that afternoon. She’d ask for another Pantheon and enjoy it. She’d go back for the ice cream.

Thud.

The dummy collapsed at her feet.

Because she certainly loved ice cream.

Taking her gear off, she heard the other girls giggling behind her. Being a curious one, she raised an eyebrow at their amusement, which only set them off more.

“Don’t worry. It’s good news.” One of the others had approached her quietly from behind. “They just found it before you.”

“Found what?” Diana asked, baffled.

The girl smiled. “It’s waiting for you through the other room.” She said, jabbing a thumb behind her. “And it’s about time.”

Diana’s frown deepened. She was lost.

“Congratulations. You have an admirer.” She said.

The other room was small. The name ‘other room’ was placeholder; it was simply the only room the girls never used for practice or for gearing up. Someone could call it a ‘reception’ but there were rarely any visitors who weren’t members to be ‘received’ anyway.

Diana didn’t need to look hard to find it.

It sat on the edge of the reception’s only table top, next to the phone and phonebook, a bright pink and blue spot in a room painted mainly steel blue and grey. She rested a hand on the ice cream tub, cheerful lettering proclaiming ‘TREV’S FROZEN WONDERLAND; ROSE WATER’ under a small penguin shaped sticky note.

His handwriting is awful, she thought, I can barely make out his number.

It hadn’t been sitting there long; it was still cool under her hand. He had made sure to place it on the top out of the way of the sunlight which was beginning to make its way across the room as the day grew into afternoon.

And she thought, thank god, I was beginning to feel a bit too warm.

[roamingholiday]

Friday, August 11th 2017

There is nothing good about waking up at 3:30 in the morning. Nothing.

We sat in exhausted silence around the kitchen table. I shared the last of my rice crispies with my roommate, because we needed to get something in our stomachs before leaving, but were so tired that we felt slightly sick.

We called a car at four, and got tot he airport by 4:45. I’m sure you’re very surprised to learn that there was practically no one on the road.

The car ride was also spent in silence, because everyone was too busy nodding off against the windows to make conversation.

There was a similar lack of people at the airport at 5:00 in the morning, so we got through security fairly easily. I think. I don’t actually remember that bit, but we certainly were all there past security when we found an open drug store where we could get sandwiches and wake up a little with second breakfast.

The flight was equally unmemorable. I assume I slept, or perhaps I simply stared at the ceiling for the amount of time it took. It was only about an hour, after all, so I really could have blinked and been there, practically, even without sleeping.

Our seats were near the back, all grouped together so that my entire row was people that I knew. That was very pleasant, made the whole did-I-accidentally-drift-onto-your-shoulder-in-my-sleep conversation at the end much less awkward. We disembarked the plane from the back as well, which was the first time I’ve done that. Walked down the steps right onto the tarmac. The stinging cold air of the Irish morning did a fairly good job of shocking me awake, as did the unusual route into the airport, which involved wandering past several planes, all of which were fairly…. distinctive.

I thought the four-leaf clover thing was some kind of rude American stereotype, but clearly I was mistaken.

We had no luggage to collect other than our carry-ons, so we made fairly good time out of the airport- until immigration.

My roommate, though from America, is a citizen of the EU.

(Well, actually, she’s a citizen of Britain, so no longer of the EU, but she’s still got an EU passport, is the important thing.)

She went into a separate line from us, and we all felt very guilty, staying together like this while she was all alone. That is, until it became clear that she’d waltzed through in about ten minutes, and gone on to find a comfortable seat to wait for us to stand for an hour waiting to be let into the country. Ugh. Is it too much to ask for a comfortable chair on wheels to carry me through the line while I take a nap? Is it?

After that, which was just lovely, really, we reconvened just outside the exit, and discovered that no one had a plan for the rest of the day. We spent a full hour in line, and never once did we think to have any sort of discussion about what we would do now that we’d successfully made it to the country. Perhaps we were all anticipating spending the weekend being detained by Irish immigration.

After a long conversation that mostly went something like:

“What should we do?”

“I’m tired.”

“We can’t check into the air B&B until 2.”

“Okay, so what should we do.”

“Is there anywhere we can nap?”

“…. We can’t check in until 2.”

“Okay, so what should we do?”

“…. Sleep?”

We finally decided to go find some traditional Irish breakfast, so that at least if we ended up sleeping the rest of the day away, we’d done something productive in Ireland beforehand.

We googled a place, found a taxi big enough for the five of us (which is very difficult to do, by the way, outside of the US), and asked him to take us there. About halfway through the ride, we also came to the realization that along with typically being smaller, taxis in Ireland didn’t take credit cards. Thus began a frantic search through bags to make sure we had euro, because of course they use a different currency. Of course Britain had to go and be special and not standardize its money, and make life hard for poor American students.

We found it, eventually, luckily several of our party had previously been in France during this trip and had enough leftover euro to pay the driver, but it was a traumatizing couple of minutes.

The breakfast place was lovely, and we had what I now realize was our third breakfast of the day. Neither my roommate nor I felt that we could finish a full Irish breakfast on our own, but the mini Irish looked very small, so we ordered a mini and a full, and then I gave her my toast and my beans, and she gave me her bacon and one of her eggs. Neither of us touched the black pudding. Our stomachs were still rather rocky from getting about two hours of sleep and then flying, so we were not feeling particularly adventurous, but several of our other friends actually tried it. Apparently it’s essentially like sausage patties, if they were overcooked and somewhat tragic. And looked terrible.

Of course, because we’re all very mature vaguely 20ish year olds, when we left the cafe and noticed a couple pieces of playground equipment in the area right next-door, we definitely did not drop all of our bags in a heap and sprint for the spinning spider-web cone. We definitely didn’t all get on and make one of our friends spin us on it, nor did we in any way nearly fall off because we leaned back too far and were caught off-guard by the effect of centrifugal force.  We didn’t let our phones fly out of our pockets because we were stupid enough to do any of that with them tucked loosely into sweatshirt pockets.

And we particularly didn’t do that after eating a big, rich breakfast, when we were all feeling slightly queasy to begin with. Because that would be ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous. Childish and silly.

Definitely not something that I would absolutely go back and do again without a second of hesitation.

After we did not spend an embarrassing (and very fun, no regrets, even with the topsy turvy tummy) amount of time playing with equipment definitely built for five year olds, we discovered that we could go to our airB&B earlier than two, so we took taxis again. We were far too tired to puzzle out public transportation in a strange city.

Our airB&B was divine, though, well worth the wait.

It appeared to be made entirely from IKEA showrooms, but I’ve always wanted to live in an IKEA showroom, so.

And I had it all to myself because there were enough bedrooms that only one pair had to share.

My room was also the only one on the ground floor, which meant that, though I did have the street right outside my window, and all the noise that that implies, I also had the kitchen right next-door, which was very nice.

We all took a short tour around our house, deemed it acceptable, and then promptly retired to our rooms for a well-deserved nap. It was around one in the afternoon.

“We’ll meet up at three!” we said. “We’ll all set alarms and be ready to go explore Dublin!” we said.

At about 4:30, I heard a few footsteps come down the stairs, and discovered that two of my four friends had roused themselves enough to come downstairs and make a lackluster attempt at looking through the collection of magazine clippings detailing the various restaurants that the homeowner recommended.

We can at least have dinner somewhere interesting, we figured.

Of course, there were no good restaurants around us, and we had very few euro left, so we had to either try to find a cab company that would seat five people and also take credit cards, or we had to find out how to use public transportation.

I figured that one out, actually, thank you very much. Apparently there is an extensive bus system in Dublin but, much like the buses in Philadelphia, they only take exact change. Which would be exceedingly difficult to come across for us, who had no european change. Alternatively, there was a bus card, like an Oyster card or a metro card or whatever the new Philadelphia transpass system is called, and it could be purchased at about 400 different sites around the city.

The only difficulty is that the website could not tell us where those sites were found relative to us, so I had to painstakingly type in each name into googlemaps and hope that one of them would be in walkable distance.

Fortunately, there was one, only about half a mile away, so I semi-confidently (I will never be absolutely confident with directions, never) led my group of starving, bleary-eyed friends to a place that I hoped would sell us Leap cards.

Aren’t they just adorable?

The place turned out to be a gas station that not only could sell us all leap cards, but had an ATM, which took a load off of all of us, to be honest. There’s something very comforting about having the correct currency when going around a foreign city for the first time.

The bus ride to the restaurant that my friends had found was lovely, and the restaurant was entertaining. It was a pub, technically, which usually means that you order food at the bar, but instead here you ordered food at what was essentially a buffet station, where all of the options were laid out in front of you, and you got to watch them carve off your slices of ham, or chicken, or what have you, and then hand your plate to another person who would dish up a vegetable and a potato of your choice. Ireland does not kid around when it comes to potatoes, by the way.

(Which is super entertaining, really, because potatoes were originally a ‘new world’ crop, so they’re not native to ireland at all. Just like how tomatoes are a staple of Italian cuisine despite being only introduced in the last millennia, after they made it to the ‘new world’ and figured out that those big, suspicious red fruits were actually edible. Food history is interesting.)

I ended up getting a shepherd’s pie, which was an excellent decision, because I love shepherd’s pie, and I hadn’t had it yet since I’d gotten to Europe.

A very excellent decision.

The food was great, the atmosphere was lovely, and the entire pub was crowded full of people for some sports game thing that I definitely did not pay any attention to.

My friends stayed longer, but I ended up taking the bus home to finish writing the paper outline that was due at midnight that day. The outline came together well, though, so it was a good end to an… interesting day.

Let me reiterate, though. Nothing is worth waking up at three in the morning. Nothing.

[papersandkeyboards]

4/11-17: The Spring Break Series; Part 3: Repentance in Sin City (aka ‘Taubatan Nasuha di Kota Dosa’)

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, APR 13-14, 2016.

We were on a schedule. We had to arrive in Las Vegas, exactly in this hotel Treasure Island, before 7 because Eric and Karen had booked three tickets to the most famous and the largest theatrical production in the world: Cirque du Soleil.

Cirque du Soleil is a theatrical production based in Quebec, Canada. The word ‘Cirque du Soleil’ itself means ‘Circus of the Sun’ in French. It is, well, I guess you can say a circus—a contemporary circus—but boy, it is much MUCH more than just a circus.

It’s the mega-ultimate shit of all circuses.

I, for one, had heard about Cirque du Soleil somewhere in an episode of America’s Next Top Model, and now knowing that I will be watching it live thrilled me. For another, I have no hatred for circus—in fact, I think I do like circus, but can’t say a lot about it because I’ve only watched a live circus show once back in elementary.

This particular show I was watching was called ‘Mystère’, which in French means mystery. I guess Cirque du Soleil have this odd, short, unfathomable titles to most of its shows.

The show, as many circuses are, was incredibly strange. Except that this one from Cirque du Soleil was probably fifty times more strange than a regular circus. In an awesome, amazing, out-of-this-world way.

The plot and perhaps the real meaning behind the whole show itself was a mystery indeed, at least to me. Before the real stage show started, there was this man in an odd Willy Wonka-ish costume (from which we all assumed he was part of the show) just mingled and grabbed buckets of popcorn from places, talked to the audience and dumped them with a bucket full of popcorn, got pushed away by ‘security’ but came back eventually, and basically causing laughs before the stage performers took over (he did come around once in a while on the stage during the show, being an important character, I guess).

I’m not gonna spoil you the whole plot, but I can assure you with all my heart that the entire show was a mix-up of men and women in loud-colored spandex (and some in fancy dresses), different kinds of gravity-defying stunts, uniquely arranged music, and a giant baby.

Overall, the extremely strange sequence had taken breaths and pleased the eyes. Bravo.

Aside from me being an amateur circus critic for the first part of this entry, we enjoyed the performance, then enjoyed a buffet dinner, classic all-you-can-eat Las Vegas style. I shit you not, just about everything was there. Meat, vegetarian food, pasta, Japanese, soups, dessert—the buffet really lived up the name of ‘all-you-can-eat’ to more than just a budget reference.

We stayed for two nights in this Sin City, in a hotel downtown (which was not solely the center of attraction and tourists). Though the hotel was much simpler than those humongous fancy hotels along The Strip, I assume just about every hotel in Las Vegas has a casino in it. I got into my room and was surprised to found a pair of earplugs on the bedside table. Suddenly I was much more conscious of the noise outside: faint yet blaring sound of rock music and faint crowd cheering once in a while. Judging from the earplugs, the noise ain’t gonna come down anytime soon.

As what tourists do in the city of Las Vegas, the next morning we hit the blackjack table took a tour of the city—no, cross that—we took a tour of the Strip, specifically.

Las Vegas Strip, is a—well—strip, a long street of hotels and casinos and malls and all sorts of big extravagant places, most of which you should’ve seen somewhere on TV. The big hotel with the huge fountain in front of it? That’s Bellagio. The one that partly looks like an old-school Cinderella castle? That’s Excalibur. The one that looks like a big black pyramid and a Sphinx? That’s called Luxor (the Vegas version of Luxor, by the way). The one that looks like the Lady Liberty? I swear you better not believe that the real Lady Liberty is in Las Vegas.

(I wonder what might trigger this particular rule)

The Strip was absolutely crazy. Crazier even than Times Square, with all the crowd and commute and everything. The Strip was this huge area of pure extravagance and glitter sitting right smack in the middle of The Desert, the District of Nowhere, State of Nevada. Meanwhile, downtown Las Vegas was only a little bit less crazy. Las Vegas is the only city where small neon-signed chapels are spread all over the place like sprinkles, through which you can drag a stranger you meet in some hotel or casino and marry them right away.

You see, some people prefer to have their whole wedding ceremony planned for years to make everything perfect with the right place, right time, right flowers, right music, right loved ones, and of course, the right spouse; and there are people who get married in a chapel in Las Vegas that claimed Elvis Presley got married there. (feat. yer favorite liqueur)

Anyway, we hopped in one of these hop-on-hop-off double-decker tour buses that takes you around the city, not just the Strip. We had a good overview of the Strip, seeing those big malls, a humongous ferris wheel, a mini Venice, and a large statue of an M&M, among others.

After the tour, we were dropped off by the hotel and casino Circus Circus, so we walked some distance to one of the malls to get lunch.

(ps: walking almost a mile on a hot dry desert weather wasn’t so fun. but then again, Karen and Eric were so used to walking long distance I seemed like a grandma)

Then we headed to a place called The Grand Canal Shoppes, which is just another big luxurious mall in the Strip, no biggie. I remembered of this banner I saw on this very mall that resembled Venice with all its fake blue water and huge fake Roman statues, and a story from my friend, Lili, whom I met in the New York Trip.

I was telling her how excited I was to go to Georgetown Cupcake store firsthand, and there was also this bakery I saw somewhere from the bus in New York, called Carlo’s Bakery, which, if you haven’t known, also has its own reality TV show.

So she told me she went to Las Vegas for her spring break and saw this same Carlo’s Bakery somewhere there. And so, when I told her I was gonna go to LV for my spring break, she told me to go there.

And damn right I did. I dragged Karen and Eric through the mall and put us in line with many people who are also there for the same purpose, while watching a baker making sugar fondant through the bakery window.

The delicacies they offer are of course different from that of Georgetown Cupcake. I ended up buying only one pastry, hahaha. It was great.

We originally walked to the Grand Canal Shoppes with intention to go to another place, though, that went by the name of Madame Tussauds.

Let me just say that I haven’t been to such an interactive wax museum... or maybe wax museum in general.

(gpp bermimpi itu boleh y)

We continued walking forward, specifically to New York-New York. I suppose it still was a hotel and casino, essentially, but it was packed with restaurants, stores, and games around the first floor, outdoor and indoor.

(now that I think about it, if you imagine the indoor Paris area of Museum Angkut Batu, Malang, then you pretty much get the idea of what I was seeing here) (either that, or this really cool family entertainment center called KidZania that lets  kids play grown-up jobs and basically living like adults)

I spiritually dragged my host parents here because I saw a structure of roller coaster snaking around the fake statue of Lady Liberty, and I did tell them at some point that I missed riding roller coaster. Eric was on board right away, but Karen hadn’t experienced a roller coaster ride before, but she decided to join in anyway.

Needless to say, it was the first and last roller coaster ride Karen had ever taken. At least her aftermath reaction said so. As for me, I enjoyed it. Hehe. Hehehe. Maaf buk. Maap.

It was getting late, and my legs were about to be more muscular than my whole muscleless body, so we took a bus back to the hotel.

Just next to our hotel was another big attraction of Las Vegas, the second biggest street in the city: Fremont Street. Fremont St. was no less than another crazy part of the city in which multiple famous casinos and numbers of gift shops lined up under a high canopy along the street itself. It was almost like an enclosed place by itself—with the canopy effect—and high up to the ceiling was a series of ziplines.

In the day, the street looked almost like a regular premium outlet. But at night, the buildings had come as alive as the humans, as diverse as the costumes worn every night, and as bright as everyone’s spirit. The ceiling lit up its millions of LEDs, making its own attraction above the activities on the ground, and the people flying down the ziplines, making the street itself a whole different set of Las Vegas night life.

Aside from the blaring sound of bass and people singing from one end of the street, and bunches of highly creative street attraction, and some almost-naked people here and there, I went there to find what I desired the most, my passion and ambition for this whole spring break trip: cheap souvenirs.

It’s arguable that the standards of ‘cheap souvenirs’ stand differently here than in Indonesia, but I still managed to buy some cheap keychains that fit above the ‘tacky’ line but under the ‘fancy’ line with a pretty reasonable price. In a way, Fremont Street resembled the legendary street of Malioboro in the city of Yogyakarta, but with a lot more bling and a lot less horse carts.

Around the same area of the Fremont Street was another section of entertainment district called Fremont East, which was a regular street lined up with big neon signs of different shapes. It also had a whole yard of neon signs, and a big neon sculpture of a grasshopper that occasionally breathed fire.

And, oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that before we hit the street, we had dinner in this pizza place across the street from the hotel, and the place has TV screens that plays old music videos, kind of like Hard Rock Cafe, and at one point the whole cafe got Rickrolled.

.

-continues

.

[a/n]

Having the fact that I own this blog to myself, without any association to any institutions that might affect my writing one way or another, I can’t help but pitch in a few personal comments on the Sin City, as the city has left quite a distinct impression to me. However, if you wish not to meddle into my rant through the following paragraphs, feel free not to scroll down and read.

Look, I’ve been growing up in a small town. My small town is quite bland, as I’m used to it, nothing new happening and to explore each day, unlike Seattle. Needless to say, I don’t have an experience on doing things that are out of this world, but I can vouch for the fact that Las Vegas is definitely the craziest place I’ve been in.

“I thought you like big cities!” Karen or Eric might say (and they did).

Sure, I like big cities, with tall towers and busy crowd crossing the street every now and then, I like the neatness of it and various things people might sell or do to support a living or simply have fun, but sorry for all who might want to say otherwise, but I don’t like the Las Vegas way of big city.

I woke up in the morning and went down to the lobby with Eric, trying to find a place to have breakfast, which means I had to automatically go through the hotel casino which devoured pretty much the entire lobby. I surely am the type of person who would love to wake up in the morning and enjoy my free morning leisurely with a cup of milk tea or something, but instead, the view I got was the bright flickering lights and various dings and dongs from dozens of slot machines. Some had people in front of them, fixing their eyes on the numbers displayed in bright colors and tempting value. People who were there, I assume, either woke up early to dig up the slot machines or had been there all night, doing the exact same thing. And I think that’s kind of depressing.

Even in the airports. Casinos and slot machines in Las Vegas are like the equivalent of Indonesian street food vendors: where there are empty space, they will be there. McCarran International Airport LV might be quiet in the middle of the night, where there are almost no people and all the stores are closed, but the occasional ding and the everlasting bright flickering neons and rolling number display will always be there. If you scout the whole airport, I doubt you will find less than one person sitting in front of one of the machines, any day, any time.

Las Vegas was, well, loud. New York might be as loud and bright, but NYC had a different vibe to it. Las Vegas was just not the place that I would want to spend my free time in. I don’t gamble, I don’t drink, I don’t strip, I don’t have the ability to flex my body in such a way that would make me hired for Cirque du Soleil. Las Vegas was hot and deserted, not much great view besides the distinct buildings. But even those are too much it seemed overwhelming.

But then again, it’s nice to have variations of big cities in this country, isn’t it? You have New York where people go to with hopeful hearts, which is a giant melting pot like no other cities can compare to. You have San Fransicso where most people are oriented to have fun with friends or family in a nice, joyous but also calming way. You have Seattle where most people eat organic food (haha), where people can hustle and bustle in the main mall shopping area and, at the same time, having family-ish kind of fun down below in the waterfront or up north in the calming and unique neighborhoods with their dozens of funny statues and farmers’ markets. Or probably Orlando, where you can have as much fun as an adult as you are a little kid. And of course, when your interests don’t coincide with what those cities offer you, you can always go to Las Vegas. Patung Liberty dan Menara Eiffel KW super.

What I’m trying to say is, each person have a different idea of having fun and spending their free time, and this country has offered a wide range of options to do so.

But seriously, guys, Seattle is like the best city you can have. My bias stands strong on this one.

[quirkyqirl]

My birthday was June 20th and I celebrated in Puerto Rico. Last year I wanted to go but the hurricane season put a stop to that idea. I was super excited because my first blog was actually about Puerto Rico and the aftermath of the hurricane season. I paid for the flight with my southwest accrued reward points which I only paid about $72 in taxes. I booked an Airbnb as usual. I had an early morning flight because I was so anxious to be there. I touched down about 9 am and was pleasantly surprised at how nice the airport is. I reached out to my Airbnb host to let them know I was here. They told me that had a previous guest that was leaving so they will let me know when the place will be ready. I was a tad bit upset because we had previously discussed that I could check in early because of my early flight time. So I found a somewhat comfy spot in the airport window ledge inside because it was too hot outside. Frankly, I was bored out of my mind like I wanted to be out in the elements. I thought about going to the beach but I didn’t want to drag my bag with me. Then this little ray of light came in the shape of this little lady. She started speaking Spanish at first and I laughed and said English. I don’t know why people always approach me speaking Spanish even when I am at work. Well, she was trying to sign me up for a timeshare meeting in return I ‘ll get two excursions of my choice for a discount of $40. I said why not because I did want to enjoy my birthday vacation. So I left a deposit of $20 and she left me all the information such as where the meeting will be. She also told me I could go to the restaurant upstairs after I told her about my long wait. I ventured up there but I didn’t really like anything on the menu so I went back downstairs. But after a while, I changed my mind about the restaurant. On one side of me sat a guy smacking gum loudly and the other side sat a very loud family overly happy about something.  So I went to the restaurant and ordered their version of a Cuban sandwich combo. Just that was like $14 and to be honest, everything I purchased was a tad more than if I would have bought it in the USA. After you get food you go find yourself a table. There was this guy with I guess his son that kept staring at me. But I kind of ignored it because after being to Mexico I was used to the stares. So I spoke to my friend while I ate but the reception was not that great but neither was the food. The Airbnb host messages me telling me I could check in which was like 12ish now. The next thing I learned that Uber is not allowed to pick you up from the airport so I had to use ground transportation. The driver came pretty quick after I was assisted at the kiosk. The neighborhood I was staying at was called Carolina and as we drove into it heavy rain came down. I eventually got there the host told me on the phone to wait he was trying to get an umbrella. Wow, he held the umbrella over my head and showed me the way to get to the unit his grandmother was yelling at him about something. It was a cute studio attached to their house and I guess it was just okay for me. It was one outlet that was not near to the bed. The outlet had everything attached to it like the tv, microwave, mini-fridge you name it. After I hung out for a while and listened to the rain I decided I wanted to go out. So my first stop was the San Juan mall I utilized Uber to get there. The Uber app for some reason pinned my location wrong luckily the driver spoke English and she just told me to text her with the actual address. This mall is beautiful! It was breathtaking like the Aventura Mall or Bal Harbor. So I went to H and M and just for a purse and socks it was like $ 31. Like  I mentioned earlier they have some price gauging or high taxes. Some of the stores I didn’t recognize so I went looking for food. My choice was a place called burger and beer. It had an outside bar and inside I chose inside. I ordered some chicken burger with mushrooms, onion ring, French fries and some cocktails. The food was okay, drinks better and the cost was Puerto Rico priced. I got lost coming out but eventually, I found my way out and sat outside for a while. They have glitter on the entrance to the mall that you can see vividly at night. Eventually, I Uber my way back to my place. I stayed in that night because I had to be at the hotel for the timeshare meeting at 7:45 am. I felt old that I didn’t stay up until 12 am for my birthday but I made up for it in the morning. I made a couple of videos, selfies and added some birthday dances in the mix. I made my way to the ESJ Hotel for the meeting. I had been to a timeshare meeting in Cancun before so I knew the drill. I registered sat and waited until the person that would be trying to make me spend money came. She was lovely and adorable, to say the least. We went to the breakfast buffet and grabbed the table. The food was not my cup of tea I was quite disappointed since I am a die-hard foodie. The toast was stale, eggs were not seasoned but the juice tasted like flavored water. Afterward, we discussed that I was a blogger and I traveled frequently and she discussed her being a mom wishing she had the open schedule to travel like I. She showed me the model units and other aspects of the place. I  personally think timeshare are not that smart most people are trying to get rid of the timeshare. She even brought her boss to give me a lower rate but I just don’t really think timeshares are a financially conscious idea. She was really nice she even offered me a drink or to come by later for a party they were having that night. So I went to collect my activities vouchers which were a beach day and a boat ride. The boat ride was not available on the days I would be there so I got a $50 gift card for the inconvenience and only paid the initial $20.The beach day was on their property in the back of the hotel. With the voucher, I got an umbrella, chair, two free lunches and two corona. So I was a kid in the candy store with two everything. I sat there relaxed and enjoyed the different scenery and ate like a pig.  I got in the water and it felt amazing. I think that was the perfect way for me to spend my birthday drinking, eating on a beach somewhere different. The skies start getting really gray so I decided to leave. The company that owned the chairs and umbrellas was leaving soon anyway. I didn’t go out that night because I started feeling sick. The next day I went to the Bacardi factory which I had been dying to go visit. So after research, I took a Uber to old San Juan to catch a ferry to Catana where it was located. A roundtrip ticket was only $1 and it was like a 5min ride. Once in Catana, I had to catch another Uber to the Bacardi factory. The factory was huge on its own property. I initially signed up for the mixology class but the next class didn’t start until 12 pm and it was only 9 am,so I switch to the rum tasting class. They gave me two tokens for free drinks so I went with a drink called sunset mojito. I hadn’t even eaten yet but it was my birthday YOLO. We have to get on a trolley to begin the tour which began with learning the history of Bacardi. I didn’t know Barcardi was created in Cuba originally. The tour guide name Eric was quite witty which was entertaining. We ventured into the factory and saw behind the scenes and the next was rum tasting. It was about five different types of rums and they had different tastes. After the rum tasting, we went to the gift shop which I left the group. I headed back to the outside bar to get my last courtesy drink which was rum based. I sat down by the taxi pickup spot and began a conversation with this taxi driver who was waiting for his passenger. I went back to catch the ferry and once back in old San Juan I dined at a place called Tijuana’s. I was starving so I ordered a ground beef dip with chips with Mahi and rice. I ordered another drink I must admit I had too much alcohol. I barely could make it the Uber once I finally left. Once I went back to my place and pretty much passed out until 10 pm.  I had slept off the alcohol and with my friend telling me I need to hit up the nightlife I decided I should. So I got ready still sipping on my leftover drink and headed out. This Uber driver was totally different from the rest. I thought went I met Albert he was pretty normal well he wasn’t. When we began to talk I felt he tried to scare me when he told me I shouldn’t be going out by myself to old San Juan. So he said he will give me his number in case I needed help. Soon as I got out of his car and began to walk around he texts me and said he would like to hang out. I said well you know where I am but he claimed he had got another ride and he would come back for me. All the natives kept telling me to go to La Placita that’s where the parties were at but I chose here. I finally found a bar playing English music so I got a frozen sangria and sat on the balcony. Alberto starts texting me from two separate numbers which were weird. Asking me did I block him because I was not answering his calls. So he kept trying to get me to leave the bar so I said if you really wanted to hang out that’s where I was at. The bartender and I started talking and I told him the situation he started laughing told me to stay and gave me a drink on the house. Well, Alberto still persisted in me coming out to help him find parking. I stuck to my guns and he finally came up and I thought to myself he is good-looking why is he so crazy? We talked and then he still tried to get me to come outside. He said he did not like the environment and in his offense, two drugged up guys had asked me for money prior on separate streets. So I thought maybe he was not too bad plus he started resembling a shorter version of Liam Hemsworth. He told me his father was American from Los Angeles who came there to start a business when he met his mom. Which he said that’s why he looked so Caucasian. The bartender waved at me to signal they were closing at 2 am. Albert explained that all the bars were closed but as we walked outside the other bars was still opened. We sat outside and talked so more until another drugged out guys came and asked for money. With that Albert said let’s go I am going to take you home.  Once inside he like switched and started asking all these sexual questions. I really played it cool and just prayed that I make it back safely. Apparently, he had a fixation with women of my type because there is not many there. Then he started saying he wanted us to kiss so I said I’ll think about it.  I don’t know if he thought I was drunk but eventually, I got to my neighborhood and pointed at a different house from to actual one. So he pressured me about the kiss and I said firmly “no”. So I was courteous and said goodnight. He asked could we go to the beach and I was like noooo. I got out and he called me back and started saying am boring. Okay let me remain boring and I walked off. He began texting me that he wanted to have sex with me but am too boring. When I say I ran in and made sure that door was closed properly and tight. The next day was my flight so I left rather early to the airport. The airport is really nice with so many stores. I decided to eat at Margaritaville before my flight and work on my laptop. However wi-fi you have to pay for it which is so greedy to me. I had a safe flight and I was super tired once I got back home. The key tips I would like to offer is Puerto Rico is somewhat pricey so be prepared. Really research where you will like to stay because apparently, I was staying in the unsavory part of town. Try to travel with someone else or if you like me just to be cautious. An enjoy yourself I would rate this trip was an 8. I actually think that Puerto Rico is a more upscale version of Cuba. But I love Cuba despite it not being Americanized but I felt more at home there. I hope you enjoy the many pictures I have below until next time.

  I am racking my brain on where I will be going this year for my birthday. Last year it was Puerto Rico and ironically PR was what my first serious blog was about. I blogged about the after math of the hurricance on PR. My birthday was June 20th and I celebrated in Puerto Rico. Last year I wanted to go but the hurricane season put a stop to that idea.

[deladane]

Sunday, March 4 ~ Embarkation Day!

Day 4: Sunday, March 4 ~ Embarkation Day!

Just shy of 2 years after booking this cruise, the day had finally arrived to board the Celebrity Eclipse!!

I’m sure you can guess where we went for breakfast… That’s right!  Back to Le Chic French Bakery for those delicious almond croissants!  We needed one last chance to taste that sweet yumminess before leaving Miami.  Bellies full, we went back to the hotel to gather our bags and request an Uber.  It cost us $12 for an UberX to drive us 20 minutes to the Port of Miami.  It was so exciting to set eyes on the ship for the first time as we drove passed it on the bridge.

Our driver had no idea where to go upon entering the port even though we saw the electronic sign listing our ship at Terminal G and could clearly see where the ship was docked from miles away.  At first, he tried to pull into Terminal D where the Carnival Vista was docked- good thing we were paying attention and stopped him!

Soon enough, we pulled up in front of Terminal G, unloaded our bags, and handed the big suitcase over to a porter before entering the terminal.  We arrived at 10:20am and there were only a handful of other passengers checking in.  There was no line at all at the security x-rays or at the Concierge Class check in counter, so I was happy we showed up so early. Within just a few minutes after arriving, we checked in, took our security mug shots, were handed our seapass cards, and directed to take a seat in the small waiting room at the end of the terminal.  When I say small, I mean SMALL.  There were already about 50 passengers in there and there were hardly any empty seats available, but we did find 2 seats in different rows.  I don’t know if there was another waiting room somewhere else, but this seemed like a very small space to wait to board the ship considering it was full to capacity this early in the day.  Luckily, it didn’t matter because they started boarding the ship not long after we arrived.  First they called the suites, and then at 10:50am, they invited Concierge Class passengers to board the ship!  Up the escalator and through a short bridge, and we stepped foot on the Celebrity Eclipse before 11am!!!  I was seriously shocked at how early we were on board, but no complaints from me!

The lunch options on board didn’t open until 11:30am, so we had a few minutes to run some errands around the ship.  First we went down to the MDR to check out the Concierge Class lunch menu.  This is often considered one of the best perks of Concierge Class- they invite you to a sit-down lunch in the MDR from 11:30am until 1pm so you can avoid the crowds at the buffet.  While it would be nice to let them hold our rolling carry on bags and to enjoy a leisurely meal, I really did not want to spend that much time at a drawn out sit-down lunch when I was anxious to explore the ship.  I was curious about the menu though, so we went down to take a look.  Nothing really appealed to us after having that big almond croissant for breakfast a few hours ago, so we did not stay.

Next, we went to guest services to ask a few questions before the lines got too long.  Then, we went up to deck 5 to ask the Maitre’D at Tuscan Grill about discounts for eating there on the first night.  Before we could even ask, he volunteered a 30% discount!  That sounded good to us so we tried to book for 7pm, but he said that was not available and gave us a 6:30pm reservation.

Errands complete, it was time to relax.  The buffet was still closed at this point, so we went upstairs to deck 15 and walked aft to the Sunset Bar, then down the stairs to the Oceanview Bar outside of the buffet area.  One big perk of sailing on a sister ship to a ship you already sailed on is that you know the layout really well and know more than one way to get where you want to go.  Our goal was to find a table in the shade where we could relax with a few drinks and eat our lunch with a view overlooking Miami.  The Oceanview Café front doors were still closed, but no one stopped us from coming downstairs from the Sunset Bar, and the bar and seating area out back there was open for service.  This was such a great way to start the cruise and it was much less noisy and chaotic than sitting inside the buffet area.

We also had a great view of the port and all the palettes of supplies getting loaded onto the ship.

We also spent some time reading through today’s daily schedule and deciding how we wanted to spend the rest of our day.

At some point, we got hungry for a little lunch so we took turns guarding our carry on bags at the table and getting food from the buffet.  I opted for some seafood paella, a slice of pizza, and something sweet for dessert.

We stayed out there until around 1pm, then went back inside.  We knew they would announce that the cabins were ready at around 1:30pm so we wanted to beat the rush at the elevators.  We went down to the library outside the mid-ship elevators on deck 10 so we’d be close to our cabin, and just as we stepped off the elevator, they announced that cabins were now ready.  We had perfect timing!  Our big suitcase was waiting outside our cabin door when we arrived, so we spent an hour or so getting unpacked and settled in the cabin.  It was the same layout as the cabin we had on the Equinox, so that made unpacking go faster since we already knew where to put everything. I packed 2 collapsible storage bins for each of us as they fit perfectly in the space above the bed and make it easier to get stuff in and out of there.  For the first time in 8 cruises, I took the advice of many expert packers on Cruise Critic and brought an over-the-door hanging shoe organizer with clear pockets.  We both found this to be extremely convenient to store our little odds and ends.  I hung it on the outside of the bathroom door and it helped keep the counters clear and free up space in the little dresser drawers.  Here are some photos from around the cabin before we had a chance to mess it up…

Fresh fruit in the cabin is another perk of Concierge Class, so I assume that’s what this was for.  It probably won’t surprise you that we never touched these apples. Midway through the cruise, our stewardess replaced them with an orange, a red apple, and a pear, which also went uneaten.  With all the delicious food available on the ship, somehow this just didn’t seem worthy of our limited stomach space haha

I never took a photo of the bathroom since it’s the same as on the Equinox, but this was the bathroom products for Concierge Class. I don’t know if we got something special or if this was the same as a regular cabin, but the stewardess was great about replacing anything we finished.

With a cruise this long, it sometimes gets hard to remember what day it is and what tour we have planned, so I made this calendar to hang on the wall of the cabin.  I brought some tiny magnets to hold it up since the walls are magnetic (another new thing I brought for this cruise that will now come with us on every cruise in the future).

We hoped our stewardess would stop by the cabin while we were unpacking but she never did, so we went upstairs to get a quick drink before the Muster Drill.  We also took this opportunity to take this photo which we take on every cruise, holding the orange life saver floating ring.

I love to see all the nautical flags flying on embarkation day.  Just another reminder that we are on a ship and not in a hotel!

A sea plane just landed right in front of us!

Our Muster station was located in the photo gallery.  It was not exactly a comfortable location as there is no seating and they need to cram 200 people into a relatively small space.  We were much happier last time when our station was in the big theater! They called the drill at 3:15pm and by the time we got there, the few chairs they had set up were already occupied.  They did check our cabin number off a list to make sure we were present, so make sure you don’t skip the drill!  As we entered the already too crowded space, I noticed a black couch off to the side. I think it is used for portraits by the photography staff but no one was sitting there so we made ourselves comfortable for the 30 minute drill.  There were a lot of German guests on the ship for this sailing so they did the drill in both English and German.

Once we were dismissed from our station, the real fun began.  Since we had been sitting in a back nook of the photo gallery, we were one of the last to get out of the area.  We needed to get up to deck 15 for the Cruise Critic Informal Meet and Greet Sail Away party at the Sunset Bar, so we headed aft towards the mid-ship elevators.  By the time we got there, it was a mob scene and it would have taken a very long time to get closer to the elevators, let alone actually getting inside one to take us upstairs.  Instead of dealing with that mess, I thought we should try to backtrack to the forward elevators in hopes of less crowding so we made our way across deck 5 like salmon swimming upstream, against the flow of people walking aft.  Unfortunately, this was a failure as well because all the people with muster stations in the theater were waiting for the forward elevators.  In the end, we took the stairs for the 9 deck hike up to deck 15 (I was quite grateful that there was no deck 13!)  

Eventually, we made it up to the Sunset Bar where the meet and greet was already in full swing.  As always, it was nice to put a face to the names we had been chatting with online.  Within minutes of arriving, DH tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Isn’t that Mike from our Equinox cruise??”  I looked up and was very surprised to see our old friends Mike and Tami (luvb2bcruising and traveling-2)!  We only knew each other in person, but not as our Cruise Critic names on that roll call so I had no idea they were booked on this cruise with us!  

Sail away was originally scheduled for 4pm, but I heard a rumor that a plane coming from Europe was delayed and they were holding the ship to wait for them.  I assume that these people booked their flight directly with Celebrity, since I can’t imagine they would hold up the ship for someone who booked privately. Supposedly, there were about 40 people on this late flight so that was nice of the Captain to make arrangements to delay sail away.  I do not know for sure if this was true or if those people ever made it to the ship, but at a few minutes before 5pm, we noticed the ship was moving.  

I immediately left the area at the Sunset Bar and went over to the port side of the ship to get a good spot at the railing. This was my first time sailing out from Miami and I was really excited to watch the views as we made our way down the channel and out to the ocean.  Overall, I much preferred cruising out of Miami over Ft. Lauderdale.  I found the city had more to do with more restaurants close to our hotel and great walking options, the cruise port was much smaller and easier to navigate, and the sail away was much prettier and more exciting to watch.  We had a longer distance to travel before getting out beyond the beach into open water, so that gave us lots to look at and photograph! Unfortunately, the strong winds we had all weekend in Miami followed us on board, so it was very windy and cold for sail away.  I had to keep alternating with DH between standing behind the windshield and standing between the breaks with cold air rushing through to get a good photo without a reflection.  It was surprisingly difficult hold my camera still to get a good photo because it kept shaking from all of the wind, but here are some of the good shots I got…

Notice all of the boats piled up on the ground? They were all destroyed in the hurricanes last fall…

It must be so exciting to live in one of these houses along the channel and have a view of the cruise ships sailing away every day. I hope these people appreciate that and don’t take it for granted!!

Lots of traffic headed towards South Beach on a Sunday evening

Those are some HUGE yachts!

This little walkway area lined with palm trees and 4 square fountains is at the base of Washington Avenue, near where we had been sitting on Friday and Saturday afternoon to watch the ships sail away.

We’re almost there…

And just like that, we were officially out to sea. Adios Miami!  See ya in 2 weeks!

The Celebrity Today brochure mentioned that any alcohol purchased made prior to the ship reaching 3 miles from the shore would be charged Miami sales tax.  I don’t know for sure if that pertains to the cost of upgrading from a classic to a premium beverage package, but we didn’t want to risk it.  When it looked like we were far enough out to sea, we started asking a few bartenders if there were any discounts for upgrading off the $10 plus tip (so $11.80) per day, but they all said no.  I had read once a week or two before sailing that someone negotiated a discount and others had specials with one night for free if upgrading for the whole cruise, so we were hoping for the same opportunity considering this is a 14 day cruise, but no such luck.  For the time being, we held off and stuck to drinks under the $9 limit for our classic package.  

With a bit of time to kill before our dinner reservation, we went back to the cabin and found a few surprises.  Our stewardess still remained unseen but she must have stopped by at some point because our canapés were waiting for us on the coffee table.  As one of the most talked about Concierge Class perks, I was quite curious to see what treat was delivered since I have heard more negatives than positives about these canapés.  I can only assume that these changed every day, but I wouldn’t know for sure because when we did eventually meet our stewardess, Albertina, the next morning, we asked her to deliver fruit, cheese, and crackers instead.  DH and I both have pretty specific things we can/will or cannot/will not eat, so the idea of a non-labeled mystery assortment of foods being delivered to our cabin each day was not very appetizing.  Here was today’s canapés:

Albertina also left lots of papers and letters on our bed.

Nearly every night of the cruise, we returned to the cabin to find not only tomorrow’s daily schedule, but also an envelope addressed to me.  That envelope was a very creative way to try to sell me something- a treatment at the spa, overpriced artwork from the art gallery, a wine/alcohol tasting which was not covered by the beverage package, etc.  There must be someone on this ship whose sole job description is to place sticker labels on envelopes all day, every day, so when the envelope is delivered to our cabins, we feel special and like someone reached out to me specifically. Of course, I never took the bait, but it was nice to see they put in more effort than other cruise lines who just leave the flyer in your daily schedule packet and hope you look at it.

Anyway, today’s information contained a few things that actually were important.  One of the envelopes had an invitation to the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet for tomorrow morning at Cellar Masters.  The other envelope had a discount offer for 25% off at the specialty restaurants if we booked for tonight… too bad we already got a 30% off deal! Haha  

There was also a flyer from the concierge welcoming us on board and explaining the benefits of Concierge Class:

And this flyer introduced all of the top officers on the ship

At 6:30pm, we went down to Tuscan Grill for our dinner reservation, and the restaurant was only about 25% full.  No wonder they need to offer discounts to get people to eat here on the first night! We were escorted to a table for 2 along the windows at the back of the room.  The sun sets at around 7pm this time of year so it was nearly dark, but it is still fun to watch the wake and the Miami skyline fade into darkness while we ate.

The Tuscan Grill menu has changed since our last Celebrity cruise.  We missed the short rib ravioli but were happy to try some new options.  We did not want to order too much food and over-stuff ourselves, so we opted to share the half-size portions of pasta, a flatbread, and we each got our own salad and steak with a side dish to share.

DH started with a Caesar salad which he thought was generic and no different than any other Caesar salad.

I had the goat cheese and arugula salad where the crispy fried goat cheese balls were the highlight (obviously!  After all, they are fried!)

We also ordered 2 glasses of wine and loved how the waiter kept refilling our glass, seemingly every single time we took a sip! The next course was the flat bread. We had the pizzetta bianco and loved that the crust was very thin, so while it was cheesey, it was very light and not filling.

Next up was our 2 half portions of pasta.  The ricotta gnocci was wonderful, as was the shortrib pappardelle ragu (but that did taste a bit too salty to me). Ironically, that was similar to our dinner last night, and it tasted just as good as the homemade pasta.  The half portion was just the right amount to get a taste without filling us up.

Up next, they served the steaks.  We both ordered the 9 ounce filet mignon, and of course they were cooked perfectly to our liking- mine, a deep red rare, and DH’s, a pink medium.  I had the beef jus sauce and DH had the gorgonzola, but we both thought the meat was great on its own and did not need any extra sauce.

Our side dish was a little crock of eggplant parmesan.  I wish there was more space in my stomach so I could have enjoyed more of this, but instead, I had to restrain myself to just one bite.  Totally worth it!

Despite our best efforts to not over eat, we were totally stuffed by the end of dinner.  I asked for my slice of cheesecake to be delivered later tonight via room service, and our waiter said that was no problem and just to call room service when I was ready for it.  DH somehow found space for his tiramisu, which he said was very good.

As expected, service was very good, with several waiters doting over us and ensuring we had everything we needed.  It was definitely worth the extra up charge to dine here.  After dinner, we had about 30 minutes before we had to go to the theater for tonight’s show, so we stopped by the martini bar.  One very nice change from 2016 is that the classic beverage package allows you to pay the difference for drinks costing over the $9 limit.  Before, the martini bar was basically off limits without upgrading to the premium beverage package because the cost of 1 martini was higher than the cost to upgrade.  After such a big dinner, I knew I wouldn’t drink enough tonight to make it worth upgrading with only a few hours before bedtime, so we each ordered a martini and just paid the $3 plus tip difference ($3.54).  I had the lycheetini (one of my favorites from our last cruise), and DH had the banana split martini (which was pink because they made it with too much strawberry- oops!).

Tonight’s show was a tribute to the Beatles performed by the ship’s act Hard Days Night.  They played lots of classic Beatles hits and it was fun to sing along. If you go to this show, try to make sure you have a view of the 2 big screens on either side of the stage.  We were sitting at the back of the seating on deck 4, so the mezzanine from deck 5 blocked the view of the screens and we missed out on the videos they showed while the band did a few wardrobe changes. Had I realized it, I would have moved seats, but I actually thought it was just audio over the sound system and didn’t realize there was a video component until the very end.  

Sorry for the blurry photos… We like to sit at the back of the theater to make a quick escape when the shows end, but that means all of my photos from the shows will be zoomed in a lot, and that makes for blurry photos.

After the show, we went back to the cabin because our waiter at Tuscan Grill said we had to call room service before 10pm to get our dessert delivered.  It took them over 30 minutes to deliver it, and by then, we were too tired to go back out again so we just called it a night.  The cheesecake was quite yummy though!

This tote bag was on our bed when we got back to the cabin.  I think it may be another Concierge Class perk, but I’m not totally sure.  Either way, it is a nicer, more sturdy bag than the other tote bag they leave in the cabin, and it folds up into that little pouch for easy storage.

Step Tracker Daily Total:  12,021 steps; 4.86 miles; 33 flights of stairs

[drtanstravels]

We returned a little over a week ago from our final trip for 2017 which revolved around Anna speaking at the Fifth International Congress on OCT Angiography, “En Face” and advances in OCT, an annual conference held by the American Society of Retina Specialists, on this occasion in Rome, Italy.

We’ve been to Italy before, back in September of 2012 on a trip that took us through Florence, Rome, Pisa and Milan for another of Anna’s conferences, although that little adventure is a bit of a blur for me. This time we’d be spending four nights in Rome and although I knew I had been before, it still all felt completely new to me. We have done quite a bit of flying this year so we were able to upgrade to Business Class for the flights both there and back, which is great for a 13-hour overnight flight to Europe. We were supposed to depart at about 1:50am on Friday morning, but it was probably closer to about 3:00am by the time we took off. It didn’t matter to Anna, she fell asleep almost immediately, however, I had to wait until we were airborne and my “bed” was laid out before I could drift away, the last thing I heard being a small Chinese lady who had walked down the aisle to yell at her husband in the seat next to mine, “Cover your stomach!”

Friday, December 15 Due to the seven-hour time difference, we touched down in Rome at about 8:30am and were out of the airport relatively quickly. It was about a 45-minute taxi ride due to the morning traffic to where we were staying, the Ergife Palace Hotel, which was also where the conference was being held. The entire drive there I had this playing on loop in my head:

Sure, I realise it’s not about Rome, but it’s a homophone and that makes it close enough for me. Anyway, before long we arrived at our hotel and one thing soon became glaringly obvious — There is not a whole lot to do in that part of town. It was a bit before 10.00am when we got there and our room wasn’t ready yet, but Anna was happy because she wanted to attend her professor’s talk which began at 10 o’clock. All she needed to do was freshen up a little and change her clothes, something she was able to do in a bathroom in the lobby. Anna attended the talk while I sat in the lounge area with a coffee or three and read my book. I saw Anna chatting with her professor at about midday so when she saw me we tried to check into our room, only to be told it still wouldn’t be ready for at least another hour. We decided to have another latte each and waited for the buffet lunch to begin at 12:30, which was complimentary for speakers at the conference. I on the other hand, had to pay €20.00 (approximately AU$30.00) for some pretty average food and there was no way of faking my way through this one, I clearly didn’t appear to be a doctor, although I did kind of blend in Italy; I was decked out in a pair of black Adidas track pants, a t-shirt with dinosaurs on it, and a cap. Add to this the fact that I was slowly marinating in my own juices from our flight over and smelled more than just a little rancid, most in attendance probably just assumed that I was some homeless guy that Anna had taken pity on and decided to give a free meal.

A sure sign that apartment prices are going to double in the next five years.

Our room was finally ready by the time we had finished lunch so I eventually got to peel off my soured clothes and scrub off a layer of grime. Anna cleaned up too and went back to the conference, leaving me with a few hours to kill so I decided to check out an area of town that had a few shops I wanted to have a look at. It had been raining quite heavily for most of the afternoon so I jumped in a cab that was out the front of the hotel and went to Quartiere XI Portuense. Clearly this was a recently gentrified area, as I was immediately greeted the second I stepped out of the taxi by a bucket surrounded by syringes with an old belt for a tourniquet and some used tissues inside (left). Nice. I continued looking around the shops for a couple of hours, dodging the intermittent downpours, and then spent almost another hour in the rain trying to find an ATM that would accept my card and then attempting to flag down a taxi back to the hotel. It’s quite difficult to get a cab in Rome so I ended up getting an Uber, but that took about twenty minutes because of the traffic. In fact, the Uber booking came with a warning that the driver was either deaf or hearing impaired so I wasn’t quite sure how to respond when the driver called me on my phone; trying to communicate with a deaf person on the phone has trouble written all over it, but one would expect it would be even more difficult as a foreigner. Fortunately, everything went fine, he was calling me to say that he would be at least another 10 minutes, then he called me again when he arrived to ask what I was wearing so he could pull over and pick me up.

When I arrived back at the hotel, Anna had been looking at places to eat and suggested going to the very area I had just come from. I explained that there didn’t really seem like much in the way of nightlife in that spot and fortunately people eat quite late in Italy so we went and grabbed a drink at Matrix Bar, a dive bar down the road from our hotel and really the only bar in its general vicinity, while we looked for somewhere else to go for dinner. Matrix Bar wasn’t a particularly classy establishment, averaging a whopping two stars on Google Reviews, the first of which just reads “Sad and dirty,” but we were glad we stopped by for the amusement alone. We both ordered a beer and cringed as an angry guy played the poker machines while a heavily pregnant woman and her mother both chain-smoked and drank. As for food, there was a pizza restaurant out the back and a fridge full of desserts in the bar that inexplicably had the entire range of Magnum ice-creams without wrappers. That’s right, to choose your flavour of unwrapped Magnum, you had to read the sign in front of them.

Anna out the front of Matrix Bar

My beer

Some of the entertainment options available

Possibly counterfeit Magnums down the bottom

We eventually decided that we would have dinner at Ditirambo, a great looking restaurant in Campo de’ Fiori, and we definitely didn’t regret our decision. We ordered some ham and burrata, then we got our mains. Anna had homemade tagliolini with pork cheek, artichokes, and sheep’s cheese and I got the same pasta but with drunken octopus and it was all spectacular! The only problem with proper handmade pasta is that is so filling and sometimes the portions here are enormous. It was a Friday night and there was a cool shisha bar a few doors down in the square so we dropped by for a drink but there were a few drawbacks. First, it was freezing cold, we had to sit outside and, although there were heaters, we were still a little underdressed for the conditions. There were giant clear screens around us to block the breeze, but huge gust of wind came up and blew over the one behind us, shattering it! The other problem was that we were both still running on Singapore time so it was the equivalent of being about 6:00am and we aren’t that young anymore. The jet-lag had caught up with us both and Anna had a presentation to give the following day so we finished our drinks and caught an Uber home for the earliest night we’ve had in quite some time. A few sights from that tiring evening:

Anna and her dinner

Mine

She’s always loved the old Fiat 500

In the square at Campo De’ Fiori

Where we attempted to have a drink before realising we were too tired

Saturday, December 16 Anna was giving her presentation just before 9:30am, immediately after two of her former colleagues and good friends from New York, Chandra Balaratnasingam and Rosa Dolz-Marco, who we had recently visited in Spain. I couldn’t attend so I chose to sleep in, but I was told Anna’s talk went exceptionally well and was sent some photos. The pictures aren’t particularly clear or flattering, but it should give you the general idea:

I always feel kind of proud when I see these

Anna is bottom left

Doing her thing

After it was over we decided not to have the free conference lunch, but maybe go to the market around the corner to get a bite to eat, but upon arrival it was somewhat of a letdown. A lot of the stalls weren’t open and very few of the ones that were had food, however, I would’ve had no problem getting a birth certificate printed there for some reason. Instead, we walked further into town and had more pasta, more cheese and a Roman artichoke.

Anna still had a bit of spare time before she had to go back to the conference so we walked around and looked at some of the shops in the area, mainly secondhand and vintage stores. First we went into a place that had a lot of cool secondhand clothes where Anna bought a really nice dress and I tried to purchase a Vegas-era Elvis statue to no avail, then we found what is the epitome of my kind of store — Mercatino Compra Vendita Usato, a giant thrift shop the size of a department store and it sold everything, including an old slot-machine. Unfortunately, the slot-machine was too heavy and too expensive so I just settled for an enormous Spanish tambourine that’s about 45cm (18″) in diameter that Anna talked me into buying, as well as a couple of records. Anna left before I did to get back to the conference, while I took my time and then enjoyed the walk back.

Some of the services available at the barely-open market

It’s a shame we wouldn’t be there for the opening

A Roman artichoke

Elvis wasn’t leaving that building

At the entrance of a store where I could happily spend all day

Old record player

The slot-machine

The tambourine with Anna’s hand for perspective

This looked kind of cool

Is there a correct term for a group of nuns?

One that strayed from the flock

I got home and we had plenty of time to relax for an hour or two before it was time to go out for dinner again. One of the speakers that Anna has worked with is from Rome so he booked a restaurant for a group of us, including Rosa and Roberto, her husband, as well as Chandra and his family, however, Chandra, his wife, and his son had all developed an awful stomach virus and would be unable to make it, instead opting to try and get in better shape for their long flight back to Perth, Australia the following day.

Roberto had the brilliant idea of having a look at the landmarks and ruins around the city before dinner to see what they look like at night, something I would recommend to anyone visiting Rome, be it for their first or fiftieth time, for several reasons; not only does everything seem to have a much more spectacular appearance under lights, but also you’re free from all the annoying people trying to sell you stuff and offer completely unwanted assistance, as well as the other shady individuals that seem to migrate towards the world’s tourist attractions. Roberto, Rosa, Anna, and myself started out at the Colosseum, down past the Basilica Aemilia and the Imperial Forum, to the Altare della Patria and then slowly made our along the Tiber river, taking in all of the sights along the way en route to the restaurant. Once there, Anna’s Italian colleague chose a selection of his favourite dishes for us and we just ate and drank until we could no longer move. This might seem like a lot of  pictures, but it is merely a taste of what we saw, ate, and drank that night:

The Colosseum

Arch of Constantine

There are shoes hanging from power-lines in every city, but the ones here are really nice too!

Making our way up the street

Still going…

Campitelli

Some columns near Basilica Aemilia

More of Basilica Aemilia

Rosa, Roberto and Anna

Still more…

and more…

Julius Caesar

Still walking

A fountain on the side of the Altare della Patria

The Altare della Patria

A column near the Alter

Up close

Some ruins around the back

More ruins

Near Capitoline Hill

The view across the Tiber

What’s left of a bridge

More of the Tiber

And more of that broken bridge

Anna and Rosa chatting and eating

The whole gang… and I

Sunday, December 17 Today was to be the first of only two full days Anna and myself would have to ourselves this time and part of that would consist of changing hotels. The Ergife Palace wasn’t a bad place, but there was just nothing nearby, the nearest areas worth visiting were a 90-minute walk or a €20.00 (AU$30.00) taxi or Uber away. Fortunately for us, Anna had found the QuodLibet Guest House, located a relatively short walk from the Vatican and it was an upgrade we definitely welcomed. We checked out of our hotel and caught a cab straight to the QuodLibet, but initially it was a little difficult to find the Guest House. It turned out we needed to go through a common doorway for several other business and then take a tiny vintage elevator with inward-opening doors to the fourth floor, but once up there the place was beautiful. It had a bunch of uniquely themed rooms and the owners were great, really friendly and offering us heaps of free croissants and coffee.

“Hey Denim Dan, where’d you get the Canadian tuxedo?”

Once we had settled in we took a walk into the city, but made a point of avoiding the Vatican as one can only imagine how crazy that gets on a Sunday. Instead, we opted to check out some of the markets and then go into town and spend the afternoon just shopping, eating, and taking in the sights. The markets were a bit of fun, although there was not a lot there that really appealed to us. What does become abundantly clear when you spend a bit of time looking through markets and vintage stores in Rome is that there must’ve been a period of time around 15-20 years ago when the place resembled an entire city full of at-liesure Jay Lenos (right) — There is so much secondhand denim available! It’s not just jeans, shirts, and jackets, pretty much any wearable item was available made from denim at the turn of the century in Italy. People often consider Italy one of the world’s fashion capitals, admittedly they are generally referring to Milan, but let’s not forget that there was a time not too long ago when visiting one of the most historically significant cities on earth may have easily been mistaken for a trip to the mechanic’s.

We walked into Campo Marzio, one of the main historical districts that also has an abundance of great restaurants and pedestrian shopping avenues. The first thing to greet you as you approach these streets at any entry point will be at least one military vehicle and a bunch of heavily armed military personnel, obviously in place to prevent a vehicle attack, as has been one of the more common terrorist methods of late, such as that which occured just before we visited Barcelona, Spain earlier in the year or in my home city of Melbourne, Australia just days before Christmas, which several friends of mine witnessed. Needless to say, we felt exceptionally safe with these guys around so we just relaxed and did what we set out to do; spend the afternoon eating, shopping and exploring, including looking at some of the same sights again, this time during the light of day. Another huge bunch of photos:

Walking to the market from our place

In the market

Selling pastries

In Piazza del Popolo

Anna hangin’ out

One of many water features

Another obelisk

They actually make you feel pretty safe

Walking around

My octopus

Lamb and artichoke

A Cardinal doing his thing

STEAK!

Trevi Fountain

More of Trevi Fountain

Anna striking a pose

The side of the Altare della Patria

Some more columns

Part of the Forum

Some horses

If I had a vespa, it would be this one

We were planning to have dinner and some drinks with Rosa and Roberto again, but first we had a look at some of the shops and bars in a kid of hipster district called Monti. There was a brilliant artist’s market there that we spent a lot of time in, then it was off for a couple of libations at a bar that had some great beer and some even more controversial local art. When it was time, we met up for dinner and then headed to the same shisha bar, this time well-rested and better dressed to handle the cold. Here is a sample of some of the paintings from that bar, as well as the token shot of us all drinking:

Frida Kahlo shaving

Pimpin’ ain’t easy

Doing what we do

Monday, December 18 It was our last day to soak in everything Rome had to offer and we both had only one thing on our collective minds to begin the day; breakfast. Anna told me she had found a place simply called Eggs and as a part of their essentially egg-based menu, they apparently serve ostrich eggs for breakfast! We tried to make our way down there posthaste, but there was one minor setback we hadn’t considered; we had to walk past the Vatican, which meant we were going to get hassled constantly. “Why?” I hear you ask. Well, here’s a little background on the Vatican:

Vatican City is a country located within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of about 1,000, it is the smallest state in the world by both area and population. However, formally it is not sovereign, with sovereignty being held by the Holy See.

Within Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the world’s most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications.

They even make phone covers of these guys!

What that means is that there is a never-ending throng of people trying to sell you shit and they don’t quit! Without any exaggeration, there is one of these guys, some of them local, but many of them foreign, standing every four or five metres along the footpath in the general vicinity of the Vatican, some trying to sell stuff, others trying to point you toward the entrances for museums, chapels, and other tourist attractions, most likely in an effort to get tips from American tourists. They just assume the only reason everyone is there is to do the touristy stuff and they will do anything to make a buck, especially off the Sistine Chapel. “Sir, the entrance to the Sistine Chapel is to the right. Sir? Sir…?” said one as we walked past him and was approached by another. “Sir, if you are looking for the Sistine Chapel, it’s just to the right,” said the next one, “Sir, do you need help?” inquired another, but my favourite had to be one we passed while walking through St. Peter’s Square; “Sir, this is not the Sistine Chapel.” No shit, Sherlock, I was able to figure that one out for myself because probably the most famous visible feature of the Sistine Chapel is its ceiling, covered by a world-renowned and critically-acclaimed painting by Michelangelo, consisting of nine scenes from the Book of Genesis. We, on the other hand, were standing in a sprawling outdoor area with an unobstructed view of a cloudless blue sky. Anna remarked that the Vatican had been cleaned up a lot since we were last there. Sure, the people trying to make a buck are a pain in the ass, but she told me that there aren’t as many gypsies, pickpockets, and criminals in general there. Just people bugging the shit out of tourists or trying to sell cheap souvenirs and fake handbags and quite a few homeless people and beggars. Apparently, last time we didn’t feel particularly safe in the Pope’s neighbourhood, but that wasn’t a problem this time so we took a couple of photos. Maybe it was just the time of the year, but it was a good thing we didn’t want to visit any of the sites because it was crowded as hell and this was on a Monday. Just look at the queues to get into the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica! I guess those annoying bastards are earning their keep:

Ann in front of a small portion of the queue

Panoramic shot of St. Peter’s Square

And another

That’s a long-ass line!

In front of the Obelisk at St. Peter’s Basilica

Back to the mission at hand — Getting those eggs. We were still perpetually getting hassled and I almost got to the point of asking the next person who inquired if I “need any help” if they happened to know how to get to the place that fries ostrich eggs, but I thought it was best not to encourage them. We eventually found our way to Eggs on our own, the walk there was beautiful, but the restaurant didn’t have ostrich eggs. They had the shells of ostrich eggs out the front, but the sole woman who who worked there spoke very little English so I pointed at the shells and she shook her head. Whether they don’t serve them or they just weren’t available that day is still a little unclear, but I still enjoyed the breakfast we had.

After breakfast we just walked around the city, checking out a different district to previous days, especially the market stalls that sold wine, cheese, ham, and salami, but one of the best decisions we made was going into Antica Salumeria, right near the Pantheon. Their website describes the place as follows:

Historical family from Norcia dedicated to salumeria for many generations.

Over the coure [sic] of the time it’s extended its branches in baking, food and pastry.

Loved by their loyal customers and by many tourists who rush into the store.

Screw the baking and pastry, if you love ham, salami, and cheese, this place will be to you what the Vatican is to Catholics! When we walked inside there was prosciutto and salamis hanging from the ceiling, as well as entire walls of cheese.

On our way to Eggs

The Pantheon

Out the front of Antica Salumeria

Once inside

Don’t worry, you were very tasty

Those black things up the top are wheels of cheese

Hemp cheese

We were given plenty of free samples and ultimately bought several shopping bags full of meat and cheese. The shop owners were extremely generous, giving us free bottles of olive oil and biscuits as we left.

We strolled around, another afternoon spent looking, eating, and shopping, be it for ourselves or buying gifts for friends and family back home. We found some interesting products available including a carrot sharpener (left). Judging by the text on the package, this product was most likely Danish, as opposed to Italian, but you never realise that you are coping without something until you first discover it. Still, with my giant tambourine, there probably isn’t enough room in my luggage for a carrot sharpener so I am destined to a life of blunt carrots.

Soon we were getting a little peckish again and it occured to us we still hadn’t had pizza since we had been in Rome. Neither of us felt like a big meal as we had already planned what we were having for dinner so we went to Alice Pizza. It may not have been traditional Italian pizza, more along the lines of fast food, but it was pretty damn good and with some kind of absurd flavours available, although it is hard to find a menu, leading me to believe that they change a lot of them daily. We went back to our apartment to relax for a while before dinner and before too long it was time to eat again, this time at a place that Anna loved last time we were in town.

After relaxing, we went out for dinner at Sorpasso. Sorpasso is split into two different places; Passaguai, which is mainly just a wine bar, and Sorpasso, the kitchen and restaurant area of the wine bar. We pulled up a seat and instantly recognised a couple of the waiters so Anna asked how long they had worked there and it turns out it was highly likely they were the ones that served us five years ago. Just as on that occasion, this time we ate like kings too.  We started off with a prosciutto platter, then had steamed cod with artichoke and some braised beef, followed by some pasta and a cheese platter. Have a look for yourself:

A carved tree stump near by

Anna insisted on a selfie

Ham platter

braised beef

Cod and artichoke

Some awesome broccoli pasta

Dinner was perfect, but our final night in Rome was only getting started. We went to a small nearby bar and sat in the main bar area, but it was little cramped and a tad depressing. It seemed like all the action was happening in the room next door, however, there was a sign that said it was a private function. The waitress said that it didn’t matter and that we should pull up a table and have some fun if there was a spare one. It turned out that there was so we crashed an office’s Christmas karaoke party and to say that it turned out hilarious is an understatement. Initially, we were welcomed with this group rendition of Wham’s seminal Christmas staple, Last Christmas:

The drinks flowed and the singing continued, some of it terrible, some of it quite decent, and on one occasion it was phenomenal. I’m referring to an African girl probably no older than about 12 or 13, the more-than-likely adopted daughter of one of the older employees, who did a mind-blowing rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s I will Survive. Things really got truly entertaining when, during a male employee’s heartfelt rendition of I’m Yours by Jason Mraz, it seemed that an incredibly drunk girl across the room (right) was flirting with me. She was constantly looking over at me, stroking the stem of her wine glass and occasionally mouthing the lyrics while staring me in the eyes, that kind of thing. Anna noticed as well and it was a running joke for us for the remainder of the night, but it was when I had to break the seal that it became clear that she was somewhat serious. The bathrooms in the bar were just two separate stalls side by side. I was in the midst of taking a leak in one stall when the door of the other stall closed and a woman’s voice began to sing seductively, “♫I’m yours…♫.” At first I thought it was just some regular drunk chick in the bathroom singing to herself, but when I went back to my seat I noticed the girl was no longer in hers. Anna then told me that the girl had got up just after I did and walked over to the direction of the bathroom. I informed her of what had happened while I was inside and neither of us could stop pissing ourselves for the rest of the night. Of course, the multitude of beer and wine certainly helped. We eventually staggered home, still laughing, and packed our stuff when we got back. Our flight was at around 11:00am the next morning and we don’t have the best track record when it comes to making flights comfortably on time so we figured we had better get some sleep.

Tuesday, December 19 I don’t usually make a big deal of writing about the day we leave, but in this particular case I’ll make an exception. We got up, enjoyed some of the free coffee and croissants that Gianluca, our host at QuodLebet, had prepared for us, accepted his parting gift of some traditional Roman Gentilini biscuits and half a kilogram of Gragano pasta from Naples and we were on our way to the airport. We got there with plenty of time to spare so we checked in and then went to the duty-free section to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Once that was completed we went up to the lounge and waited for our flight. In yet another example of our incredibly consistent ability to steal defeat from the jaws of victory at airports, we waited for the final boarding call and went to walk down to our boarding gate, which required us catching an elevator. We got in what we thought was the correct lift, albeit one with a bit of an industrial feel, and pressed the button for the floor, but it wouldn’t open when we arrived. Anna pressed the emergency button which rang an extremely loud bell, but the doors also eventually opened. We were then in an unfamiliar area so she pushed the handle on the first door in front of us, setting off a siren. It turned out that that door was to allow employees to access the tarmac. Oops We somehow found our way back to our gate, although we were the last to board our flight again, met with the same looks to what we experienced when we did something similar in Sweden. We made the 12-hour flight home, laughed while we were landing as a Chinese man who was at least in his mid-40s bawled while watching a documentary on the death of Princess Diana, and arrived back at our place at about 6:00am. I showered and, before going to bed for a nap, thought I’d weigh myself. Despite walking anywhere between 10-14 kilometres (6.2 – 8.6 miles) per day, I had still managed to pile on four kilograms (8.8 lbs)! I’m going to put it down to water retention from the flight or possible muscle development in my quads and gluts from all of the walking and climbing. No way was it all of that pasta.

Our second trip to Rome was a blast, just as we expected, but there were a few surprises, coincidences, and things we just generally don’t understand in Italy.

Pineapple, bitches!

First of all, despite all of the memes and everything else you may have read on the internet, yes, you can get pineapple on pizza in Italy (right). This one, however, might be a unique occurrence because it came from that Alice Pizza place and they did have some odd choices (banana pizza anyone?). Also, we never saw an actual Hawaiian pizza anywhere, but if this one exists, then there is nothing stopping anyone from adding a little ham to it.

Quite a lot of Uber and taxi drivers are called Massimo. In fact, almost every driver we had was called Massimo! The reason we noticed was when we ordered out first Uber, Anna said to me, “You’ll never guess what our driver’s name is.” I honestly had no idea what she was getting at so I just said something stereotypical like ‘Geppetto.’ “No,” Anna responded. “But do you remember The Bold and the Beautiful…?” It was hilarious at the time, but the reference lost its edge after we kept constantly encountering Massimos.

The final thing is quite a simple one — Why don’t public toilets have seats? Were people stealing them or something? I do everything I can to avoid a public toilet situation where I’m required to sit, but I think it would make the whole situation a little more tolerable if there were a seat. I’m not particularly good at hovering and that porcelain has to get a little cold on the cheeks during Winter.

Anyway, until next time, Italy, thanks to everyone who helped us out while we were in town and if you visit Rome make sure you stay at QuodLibet Guest House, you won’t regret it. The next time you’ll probably hear from me will be in a couple of weeks after I spend four nights in Bangkok with my mate, Owen.

Want to Gain Weight Rapidly? Visit Rome! We returned a little over a week ago from our final trip for 2017 which revolved around Anna speaking at the 

[livingthervdream]

Big heads and big bears!

Today we head for Mount Rushmore! It was nice this morning not to have to rush to get going. We headed out to a local Custer restaurant for a nice cooked meal. GB was very particular of how people dressed today. He wanted to make sure everyone looked nice for our family photo that we will have forever in front of Mount Rushmore. He also made a point that everyone was to try and stay clean during breakfast…yup….good luck with that! As we look at the menu, the waitress comes over and begins to stare st GB. She made a comment of “Hey I have heard of that school! Are you a coach or something?” GB had to break the news that he was not a coach but we did talk about how we both went there and how great it is. I wanted to ask her why she thought he was a coach, nothing against GB at all. And if so, what sport did she think he coached? Too bad the clamor from the kids distracted me and I never found out my answers. Kids had Mickey Mouse pancakes, as always, with each plate getting devoured!!! Andrew ordered berry pancakes that were literally covered with black and blue berries. Remember GB earlier??? Well needless to say Andrew’s new yellow shirt I had just bought ($2.50 from a used kids clothing store, so I wasn’t too upset) was now sparkled with blue and purple streaks. GB was livid and insisted that we buy another shirt for the picture. We ended up stoping at a T-shirt shop just down the road. I am sure you have see these shops before…reminds me of those tourist shirt shops in the Wisconsin Dells. They have prints of South Dakota and Buffalo as well as Mount Rushmore. But this shop also had the shirts of “I don’t get drunk, I get AWESOME” “I’m with her ➡️” “It’s 5 o'clock somewhere”, you get the picture. So how this shop works, they are all screen prints, you just pick the shirt, size and color and then he screen prints it right there for you. I grabbed one that had a buffalo on it and said South Dakota “the great outdoors”. The guy did it lickity split and I headed back to the car. As we drive away down the road, I go to show Andrew the shirt. It looks really cool except for one thing, when he screen printed the shirt all that got stamped on was “the great outdo”. You really would only notice it if you were taking the time to read his shirt and we just wanted to get to Rushmore so we just let it go. Now, South Dakota will be known to us as the Great Outdo! The scenery on the way to Rushmore was beautiful, thanks to GB for pointing it out to us as all 4 of our heads were stuffed in electronics (Kids on the tablets and me blogging). We then voted on no electronics so that we could all enjoy the view. I go to reach for my fancy shmancy camera but there is nothing there! I completely forgot to grab my camera!!! I was so bummed! Here we are heading to a major landmark with beautiful picturesque backdrops on the road and all I have is my iPhone. First world problems right?! I surprisingly got some cool shots but the whole time I am kicking myself for forgetting the camera. The views truly were majestic. I would have to say one of the best parts was GB’s soundtrack that really brought it all together. He downloaded John Denver’s “Country Road”. I know it’s about West Virginia but the song just seemed to fit. The best part was when the older kids and GB began to sing along (we have heard it a couple times 😊). Let’s just say glad I had sunglasses on cause this Momma was tearing up big time just listening to it all. Memory locked and loaded in this head forever! We park the car and head into the park. The heads look above on the mountain as the valleys below are tree covered sprinkled with rocky edges. Definitely not in Wisconsin anymore! As you approach Mount Rushmore there is the Avenue of the Flags. Each state is represented with their flag and marked on columns the date they became a state. GB and I are looking at the flags trying to find Wisconsin. We get to the end where find Wisconsin, to which Andrew chimes in “ they are all in alphabetical order mom!” Thanks buddy, that would have been helpful to know as we were craning our heads through each flag. “You never asked!” Touché kid, touché! We then proceed to take an exorbitant amount of pictures, As any tourist should of course! We aim to represent the great state of Wisconsin! And now we enter the dreaded...GIFT SHOP!!! On every trip we always get an ornament to remember where we have gone as well as a little tote to use for groceries...again us being very resourceful! This time there was one exception. When I was in college, I had some amazing roomies who are now my nearest and dearest friends❤️❤️❤️❤️. We have gone on many Girl trips together and one roomie got us hooked on a passport book in order to collect stamps at each national park/landmark/historic site just as she had done growing up. Well now it was time for me to pass the torch! Today we purchased each of them their own passbook and got their first stamp at Mount Rushmore. I have to say I ran them through clearly what to do (Lots of 1,2,3 eyes on me). 1. Check the date on the stamp is correct. 2. Make sure you hold down for about 3 seconds and pull up so as to avoid smudging and to insure all on the cancellation is present on your stamping. 3. Practice several times on pieces of paper that is provided to make sure you have a feel for the stamp. 4. Pick out a location so as to allow room for other cancellations to be placed. Ok I guess I am a little of a perfectionist, only so after years of experience with my roomies!! The kids did great and each were super excited about their book. Andrew and Ali both wrote their names (Andrew in cursive and Ali placed her full name Alicia). I helped Libby write hers. One older gentleman commented on Andrew's handwriting surprised that they still teach that. I told him our school does so in 2nd grade and I am sure it will continue. Shout out to his teacher and OT with how impressed the gentleman was! Props to you ladies!!! We then left Mount Rushmore and headed to Rapid City. GB had a script sent to the CVS and the closest one to Custer was in Rapid City. We make our way and stop for lunch at a Pizza Ranch. This buffet was Awesome!!! Awesome because not only did it have pizza (kid and GB friendly) but they also had...wait for it...FRIED CHICKEN (very me friendly, for anyone who knows me knows it's my utmost favorite food). It was the best surprise ever as I would never expect fried chicken at a place called Pizza Ranch! I guess never tell a book by its title!😜. We then picked up a couple things at Target and then headed to Bear Country USA! Bear Country USA is a drive through wildlife animal park where you drive around in your car while observing various animals including elk, deer, various rams, goats, mountain lions, bears, buffalo. Their tag line is "Remember to stay in your cage, the animals roam free here!" The kids had a great time pointing out all the animals and letting us know what was coming next. Libby was especially excited building up each moment to the next animal, we filmed her a couple times just because she was just so over the top! We even got to see 2 bears fighting up on their hind legs...very cool! There were also buffalo there but after our buffalo tour the three they had were very unimpressive...wah wah. We then walked over to their exhibits where they had other small animals including beavers, lynx, grizzly bear (who was kind of unimpressed with the locals and just sat in a corner and slept). There was even a badger! He was passed out on his back sleeping under a rock formation. Funny thing, I have been to the Milwaukee Zoo millions of times having lived their for close to 20 years and I have yet to see the badger. It took a trip out to South Dakota to finally see a real live badger! But the best part had to be the super cute bear cubs! There were about 10 of them running around playing with each other and climbing on their little cabin that they sleep in. The kids loved them and did not want to leave their side. They also had this awesome gimmick that for $5, you could get a Bear Country cup that had food in it to dump out and feed the baby bears. Well I have to admit this was an epic parent fail. GB paid for two cups and all three were going to share...well that went over like a lead balloon for the littlest one. So much so she needed a time out. Well it took 4 days for a time out so I would have to say that was pretty good for her. Gb just ended up coughing up another $5 for a third cup and once she calmed down and apologized things were back on track. I am sure other parents there were nodding their heads as they too had been there before but it still makes me feel crummy and embarrassed...you never want it to be your kid. It was nice that those that stick around to the end of the tantrum were able to see an honest apology and hug. Hopefully that scores me some points! Now this whole time, I had been coordinating a meeting spot of one of Ali's school friends. Their family and our family were going to be in the area at the same time as they were driving up from Denver. Well it just so happened that they were in the area and ready for us. Ali knew nothing about it...I know...we are like the best Mom's ever to work this out😜. We arrange a meeting spot and as we park our car I see them walking down the strip mall. I am now giddy like a school girl ready to go, while GB reminds me to relax and at least let him park the car safely...he keeps me grounded! We are about 4-5 stores away from them and are walking towards them. I am filming pretending I am checking my email with Ali walking in front of me. She keeps pointing out the clothes and what to buy as I keep telling her keep walking we are not buying that now. Her friend walks right towards her and she walks around her as if she is another tourist. She then looks up and realizes it is one of her buddies from school and then she just literally stands there. She says nothing as if in shock! She finally snaps out of it and they both give each other the biggest hug...pure❤️❤️❤️! Her family and our family are good friends and we begin to catch up on each other's trips. We head to a restaurant where the wait staff sits us at 2 tables...one for the kids and one for the adults...brilliant! We sit and chat as do the kids and we enjoy just a nice evening and dinner among friends. How funny that we both planned a family vacation to the same destination at the same time...what are the chances? We then take the kids to a playground where the girls play on the play set and the boys go play a life size board of chess. Unfortunately, we forgot to take into account that we as families do have to go on our separate ways. Ali's buddy and her family were heading to Mount Rushmore and we needed to head back to the campsite. We said our good byes as all you know was almost a 30 minute ordeal in and of itself but promised we would see each other in a week for a play date at Hoyt Pool and more summer fun. That slightly appeased the girls enough to get each in their own cars. As we headed back, GB and I commented on how lucky we are to be in such an amazing school community with such amazing people/friends. We truly are lucky. On the way back, we took the more scenic route (more by accident) which included many one lane tunnels and winding roads decorated with deer and 1 bull buffalo. "On the road again" and "Country road" played as the older two sang along and the littlest fell asleep in her car seat. This truly is what family vacations are all about, yes there is the bickering but in the end everyone enjoys each other's company and we truly love one another. I know it's only 4 days in but I would totally do this again in a heartbeat! Can't wait to see what is in in store for the next 10 days!