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morningstargirl666 · 2 years ago

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17 Questions 17 People

Tagged by the lovely @galvanizedfriend

Nickname: My name is too short, so I don’t really have one. However, no one can ever pronounce it right half the time, so I did have one memorable science teacher in secondary school that called me Double A, like the battery, because that’s my initials and every register he got the name wrong without fail so one day he just declared, screw it, I’m calling you Double A.

Sign: Gemini

Height: Honestly not a clue, I forget. I’m not short but I’m not tall, so probably something like 5′5, 5′6.

Last thing I googled: Literally just googled my sign to check it was Gemini because I was second-guessing myself.

Song stuck in my head: Songs don’t often get stuck in my head, and I don’t think one has today, but I have been listening to ‘Eight’ by ‘Sleeping at Last’ on a loop lately while writing?

Followers: 143

Amount of Sleep: Anything from 8-10 hours usually. Though I can function on like 5 hours for about 48 hours before I crash. Like the crash never happens the first morning for me, it always comes in a day or two late. Same with hangovers, though those so far I just sleep off with no other consequences.

Lucky number: Don’t have one, but any even, rounded number works. Odd numbers scare me.

Dream Job: Filmmaker, specifically a Gaffer. They’re basically the heads of lighting, second only to the Cinematographer. Technically the director and producers too, but that’s not my department. Worked on a short film with someone who worked on Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon before Christmas, which was cool.

What I’m wearing: PJs & dressing gown. Normally I get changed before bed but eh, tonight I’m chillin’.

Movies/Books that summarise me: Books would be Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier, the Skullduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy (truly the favourites of my childhood) and more recently the Nevernight series by Jay Kristoff. All of them are my exact vibes. Sass with a dash of the macabre and spooky. Sometimes a little murder. Movies - god do you even realise how many movies I’ve watched. Which ones summarise me? I appreciate anything with good filmmaking, and I’m not talking about weird arty stuff. I’m talking films that hit the bar of every note - fantastic production design, writing, performance, soundtracks, cinematography, like they gotta have it all. I want to be seduced by story. I’m also an incurable romantic. So I guess films like Se7en, Psycho, The Old Guard, Cyrano, A Monster Calls, Hacksaw Ridge, Knives Out, The Batman, Everything Everywhere All At Once. Like with books, I’ll go with gritty, dark spooky vibes any day, but I also dip my toes in every genre of every age, and the movies that summarise me would reflect that.

Favourite Song: I really love movie/show soundtracks. At the minute a favourite song of mine would be ‘I Need More’ from Cyrano.

Favourite Instrument: Piano. Gotta be. No competition. Though I love fully formed orchestras, the whole shebang, like classical covers are my secret love.

Aesthetic: The complete opposite of a sweet summer child, even though I was born in such a summery month. I prefer cold frosty winters, thick fog mornings and heavy rainy days over heat and sun. In fact I regularly hiss at sunlight when I open the curtains, often not opening til late morning/afternoon because I prefer the dark so much. Fall is probably my favourite season because of October and Halloween, but I also ADORE the sunrises and sunsets of winter, so like its a close tie. I’d probably move to somewhere like Canada or Norway just for the snow and ✨aesthetic✨. Ooooo also forests, I love forests, so you’ll always find me walking in them. Beaches are so overrated. I’m like Anakin I HATE SAND

Favourite book: Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier. I read it in a day while in the college library (it’s around 150k words) and still go back to read certain parts years later. Gothic novels overall are a favourite of mine, too.

Random fact: I have literally no self-preservation instincts when it comes to animals. I just want to pet them, even if they’re wild and want nothing to do with me. I caught a grass snake (maybe an adder, I was excited to find a snake, okay, I didn’t check if it was venomous) at a beach once. And like, 50-60 crabs (this was in the same day) by shoving my hand under a rock and letting them pinch me so I could drag them out. I let them all go, obviously. On a different day though while at the same beach, I found a flounder in the mussel beds. That was also pretty cool. Not as cool as the snake though.

Thank you for tagging me! ❤️

I tag @bellemorte180 @stars-and-darkness @purplesigebert @garglyswoof @heatherstyles @kirythestitchwitch @little-miss-sunny-daisy @destellolunar @helpless-in-sleep @enniec123 @frogs-are-bitchs @thetourguidebarbie @cupcakemolotov and literally anyone else I feel like I’m forgetting people, and I wanna get to know people more. Don’t need to participate though! I just thought it might be fun 😊

#don't come at me about the snake guys #i blame my mother #she made sure not to show fear around animals when I was younger #expecting it meant i wouldn't develop a phobia of spiders like normal people #kinda backfired

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dotzines · 5 years ago

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Artist Spotlights!

🎤 Penco 🥁 PikaPlushing 🎷 Pine

🎺 Pip 🎸 Primarinite 🎻 Propaganda101

Interview below the cut!

Introduce yourself

🎤 Hello hello! Penco here! I've been drawing ever since I was little but it's only been recently that I've started to take art a bit more seriously. I like digital art but traditional art has been my favourite form for years, particularly watercolour art. You can find me on Instagram and Tumblr as pencokun! 🥁 I'm a digital and traditional artist. I'm interested in video games, Japanese culture, Anime, Vocaloid, Cosplay, Sewing, etc. (its a longggg list www). I'm really quiet and awkward in person, but once I get to know you, I'm pretty much cursed trash. You can find my art accounts here: https://www.instagram.com/vladslab/ , https://twitter.com/vladslab98 , https://vladslab.tumblr.com/ 🎷 I recently turned 18 and reside in the chaotic state of Florida. A common theme in my drawings include clowns, angels and demons. I have a hard time finding interests but I like Demon Slayer and had a long addiction to Overwatch along with Osomatsu-san (which I don’t understand but glad I had fun hehe). I post art only on dA:@pinekun and iG:@pinefii :,D 🎺 I'm a being of chaos and insomnia, im both a traditional and digital artist as well as an aspiring animator you can find my art at my Instagram @jl_artsandcreations and Tumblr @jl-artsandcreations 🎸 I'm a 19 year old digital artist! My usual art has a very cartoon style, with my main drawing interests being furry oc's and Pokemon. My art blog is primarinite.tumblr.com and my art Twitter is twitter.com/primarinart. 🎻 Hey, the name's Wreath! I don't know how to write these types of things but i'll try! I like drawing, musical theater and fashion. I'm mainly a digital artist but I do traditional art on occasion. You can find me on Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/propaganda-101

Do you do commissions post? Where can we find the info?

🥁 https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17930193547305258/

🎷 https://www.instagram.com/p/B4wCeeWBUr_/

🎸 https://primarinite.tumblr.com/post/189367724219/ive-redone-my-commission-sheet-to-include-updated

Do you listen to music (or tv shows/films/anything else) when drawing?

🎤 Mostly music but I also like to work in silence whenever I'm working on details. 🥁 Usually I'll have my headphones on and listen to different types of music depending on the feel of the piece I'm trying to make. 🎷 I like to listen to music or watch an anime while I draw! 🎺 Yes, I listen to music while drawing 🎸 I have a playlist full of my favourite songs and go to that when I want some music. 🎻 Yup! I find that I work better if i'm listening to music especially if the music fits with the theme/aesthetic. But if i'm bored I might watch youtube while drawing.

What’s your favorite music artist/band? If you could ask your favorite band/music artist one question, what would it be?

🎤 My number one is definitely ABBA! I grew up with their music, after all. 🥁 I love anything Vocaloid, but if I had to choose, my favorite producer would probably be Neru or Deco*27. As for bands, Autoheart, Three Days Grace, Mother Mother and Breaking Benjamin. One question I'd love to ask any of them would be what inspired them to start music and what keeps them going. 🎷 My current favorite artist is Conan Gray but I also really appreciate Hobo Johnson. Hm, what’re their favorite songs? :^0 🎺 I don't really have a favorite music type if I like it I like it but if i had to choose it would be the singer Nico Collins sice i love all his songs 🎸 My favourite band is either Deaf Havana or Wolf Alice. 🎻 Though they are technically a fictional band, my favourite band is Hello Happy World. Their music warms my cold dead heart. I don't actually know what i'd ask them, i'd probably ask them for a hug and to have a good day.

Do you play an instrument? If not would you like to play one? Which one?

🎤 I can play the melodica but I'd love to be able to play the piano and any of the string quartet. 🥁 I've played the piano for nearly my whole life. 🎷 I used to play violin in orchestra for one year, which my tiny hands do not cooperate with. I also had one year of guitar class. 🎺 I don't play an instrument now but I use to play the clarinet but now i would like to play the piano 🎸 I would really like to learn the guitar one day! 🎻 I mean, if your voice counts as an instrument then yes I do, but if not then i'd like to play drums.

Which song(s) are you going to draw?

🎤 I've drawn Lenka's "Trouble Is A Friend" for this zine and I'll also be drawing Cecile Corbel's "Bal de Chats". 🥁 My main piece is Flower Tail feat. KAITO by yuukiss. 🎷 I think Conan Gray-Comfort Crowd, unless I have some big brain blast moment for another song. 🎺 Killing Butterflies by Lewis Blissett and if i finish this pices early i may do another using the song Lullaby by Ellise

🎸 Free to Breathe by Cold War Kids 🎻 Revolting Children from Matilda the Musical, because it's been stuck in my head for a full month.

What do you expect from this zine?

🎤 I expect to see real cool stuff! 🥁 I can't wait to see the wide spread of different types of music as well as all the talent of all the different artists! 🎷 To learn about what a zine community is like and to face the deadlines, as well as learn the process of one. 🎺 To broaden my horizons and get more attention on my blogs and art work 🎸 I'm excited to see all of the wonderful art being put forward for this. It's great to see so many artists from different walks of life coming together. 🎻 I expect to get introduced to a bunch of new music and artists.

Anything else you want to add?

🎤 Good luck y'all! 🥁 I'm so happy and excited to be a part of this project and I hope the best to absolutely everyone involved! Much love and take care! Please stay hydrated and sleep! 🎷 Thank you for your hard work! :^D

#Penco #PikaPlushing #Pine #Pip #Primarinite #Propaganda101 #artist spotlight #loop #loop artists

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vegannightschool · 5 years ago

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Manchester Pig Save

by Connor Thomas

At 4am on a dark & crisp summers morning, the soft gentle chill of the air through my open window carries the sweet songs of the early rising winged creatures. A beautiful start to a day that we had all not been looking forward to. I make a hearty wholesome Tupperware box of porridge for each of us. It’s full of bursting blueberries and zingy ginger, a hug in a bowl for the journey down. Ben arrives at 5:05 and is greeted with an energetic loving smile by all three of the hounds I share a house with. We head to Dale’s house, pick him up and finally set off for Ashton Under Lyme on the outskirts of Manchester.

We give ourselves a small pep talk on the way down, as we drive through parts of the Peak District and witness spectacular sights of low hanging intense clouds on endless rolling hills. As we grow closer to our destination, a grey mist cushions Ben’s Mini through the higher hills. In this bubble of misty thought, we rattle our brains and remind ourselves of why we put ourselves in the spectators’ seat of such immense suffering and how we are going to devour a gigantic hearty breakfast after the vigil. Self-care and the scrupulous planning of it is so important!

We pull up on a terrace parallel to the slaughterhouse. As we take our first step out the car, I feel a sharp chill; this is a re-occurring sensation I’ve found in my own personal experiences of visiting slaughterhouse areas, even on summer mornings. To our right is a high cemented wall around 9ft high with barbed wire. To our left is the ordinary world, a simple terrace that reminds me of the old family house I previously lived in. I wonder if kids still play street football like I used to at home when I was a bairn. If so, are they aware of what happens behind these high walls?

I’ve been holding a pee for a few hours now and the moment we arrive, I quickly say hello to a few of the welcoming faces in high visibility vests before I dart along the riverside to find a secluded spot to relieve myself. Behind the woods, I hear the first sound. It is piercing. It is 8:30 in the morning and we have gone from harmonious birds to deep and fiercely terrified squeals. It is their call for help, for relief. The sound is awful, like a baby screaming in pain. You know you can’t turn your back; you must address that cry for help to alleviate the sound that we ever so naturally respond to. What shocks me most is how hard it is to tell if the cry was human or non-human. The intensity of the orchestra of screams touches every millimetre of my physical structure and I just desperately wait for a crescendo to come and end it all.

It never does. It continues.

Something occurs to me. What if within all the screams, the slaughterhouse workers also cry out for help? They work with unnatural non-human tools - a far cry from the sharpened stone on a long stick, the tools used by our ancestors in times of food urgency. Nowadays we demand workers to use tools such as carousels that rotate through pits of carbon dioxide, flamethrowers so hot they burn every hair from their skin, huge harsh knives that cut through dense twitching protective flesh and penetrating bolt guns that fracture skulls and periodically miss, leaving animals to meet the sharp blade fully aware of their feelings, fellow friends and their unforgiving fate. Do you think this sounds violent? If yes, what does this violence do to the mind of the human holding the tool? Do they ever get caught in these machines or have they become machines themselves?

After ten long minutes, I walk back to the front of the gate. I am told there has already been six trucks enter the yard since the early hours. I can see the backs of the trucks which have the name of the location the pigs have travelled from. Each and every one of them has an obnoxious picture of a happy pig looking out at the drivers who follow the trucks on their long journeys. This is a comforting image to those who have never witnessed the inside of a farm, truck, slaughterhouse or probably even something I had smiled at when I used to eat bacon and sausage. Long journeys they certainly were; each individual had travelled without water or food, packed so tightly that many of them could not lie down at the same time. It took between one to four hours to reach the pigs’ final destination, while the drivers would return within the week with another hot box of snouts.

I look left. The Manchester Pig Save banner is now out of sight, blocked by a colossal three-story high trailer, fitted with small rectangular mesh slats on each level. This sight was a shock to the mind; I had seen trucks like this on videos of American and Canadian pig saves and I had never imagined it happened in the UK on this scale. Now my nostrils are twitching, something doesn’t smell good. This nose filling scent that feels so permanent. Intensified by the heat of many bodies packed so closely together; similar to that of when you’re very ill for days, you feel you need to keep cosy and the minute you lift those covers, you smell the fever inspired body odour arise from the warm depths of your quilt. It is a smell much worse than one can describe with words. Imagine faeces from your toes, up your legs and smothered on your belly as the truck comes to a sudden halt. Your friend accidently crashes their arse into your face. Now with every breath you inhale your fellow beings’ gruesome shit scent. You have no way of getting it off your nose. This confined space is abhorrently different to the woodland you are so used to stewarding, a place where you get to enact your instinct of keeping your toilet far from your sleeping quarters and much further from your snout.

“You use all of your senses when bearing witness at a vigil”. This is what I once heard Alex Lockwood talk about on a podcast about bearing witness. To me this is key, this is reality. It’s not a video filmed by someone else, neither is it your minds ability to use what it thinks is the ‘best guess’ and imagine what the experience would be like. Ask anyone who has been to a Save Movement vigil; their words can describe it so well, yet they’ll all tell you, “you must experience it for yourself”.

Back to the gates. This first truck I see is lively. The pigs look out from their confined space with searching eyes that are focused curiously on our high visibility vests, voices and video devices. At Tulip meats, the Manchester Pig Save group have an agreement that they can spend five minutes with the animals before they enter the facility. This helps us a lot and we bring pop up stools with us so we can peer into the lowest slat that usually sits around head height - this is how we gather the footage that we want to share with people. It’s also how we get to see the individuals for who they are within their confinement. It is smallest act we can do, to share their story and show them love.

The horn of the truck blares and my body suddenly becomes tense. I feel a hollowness within this stressed structure. I feel like a strong wind could blow into me and fill this empty space to such a volume that I just blow away into the grey sky, like a balloon left unattended by a distracted child. I look around at the people I’m bearing witness with. Some are in tears; others are looking deeply into their own minds and emotions. I look for a cue from Ben or Dale to see if they would want to talk about that first truck full of curious snouts. We come together and check if we’re all alright, embracing each other in a tight heartfelt three-way hug.

As we let go and share our experience within our trio, I see a car swinging in. A mother dressed in a nurse’s uniform dropping off three young men. They head into the facility for another regular day of processing. I wonder which area they work in as this plant is huge! Do they work with the tall gas cylinders that fuel the screams? How about the kill floor a real life house of horror containing the carousel of pain that spins continuously, turning life into death? The ‘process’ in this plant takes inquisitive trusting pigs and transforms them into a commodity through a process that not many people would be willing to do or witness themselves. I, along with every activist within the non-violent Save Movement have only compassion for these people. It didn’t start like that for me though. I think of how angry I was attending my first save. I blamed the workers. I now realise that this is the wrong orientation to have. If you’re feeling stuck in this rut, remember it’s not the people we are fighting, it’s the oppressive system that Melanie Joy coins as “Carnism”. Workers, animals and our planet are all under the oppression of this powerful ideology.

Twenty minutes pass, another truck indicates its intended route into the plant. We approach the right-hand side of the truck, set up our stools to give us the extra foot we need to peer in and this time we bear witness to something different. These pigs don’t look at us; they don’t even seem to know whether we exist or if they themselves exist. All we can see are either wide scattered eyes or closed eyes along with heavy breathing, like zombies from an apocalypse film. This trailer is filled with misery. There are scratches, wounds, blood and shit all over the pigs. Most of them seem to have deformities on their bodies, they simply look either unconscious or completely unhappy and unnatural. I jot in my notebook that they seem to have no perception of anything but their own bodies, crashing around and pushing each other with their heads held low. Are they aware of what is coming, or have they come from one of the 85% of UK standard intensive pig farms? The epitome of ultimate despair.

As this truck leaves, I spot the driver hosing down the now empty insides of the trailer in the cleaning section. He departs after switching his now wet and faeces covered t-shirt. Just as he leaves, we see two other trucks flashing their indicators in the direction of the slaughterhouse gates. The first smaller truck of the two standing at two stories high drives straight in as the security must clear the busy road for the next truck, which is huge. I approach the second truck. I look up from my position at the side of the truck and see four levels of this ginormous structure. I then glance through more mesh and witness a mixture of lifeless looking bodies and frantic searching eyes in this first level.

I think of my dear friend Lesley, who has been to a vigil here before. She told me to talk, sing and vibrate with love towards these creatures who have probably never known this feeling before. Suddenly I feel a state of shock and find myself gazing into a pair of blue eyes that are looking directly back at me. Connected by this glance, I feel the urge to sing words to this individual and that’s exactly what I do. The ever so slight sense of embarrassment you may feel singing to a pig in the back of a slaughter truck suddenly disappears. Along with everything else except those blue curious eyes. It is a moment in which you realise that you are giving this pig a comfort it has never known in its life before.

The horn blares.

My chest is tight.

It’s not raining Connor.

Those are your tears.

As this truck pulls into the yard, my emotions overwhelm me due to this connection with the eyes of the individual. Those eyes I will be able to recall in every animal I meet. What the fuck can I do? I walk through the crowd of activists, straight to the riverside as the waterfall of emotions floods from my eyes. Frustration gets the better of me and I can feel the heat of anger arising. As this heat arises within me, I feel the cool calming hand of Dale on my right shoulder. Followed by Ben’s to my left. My eyes begin to dry up as we take a stroll through the thin line of woodland that surrounds the tall slaughterhouse walls.

Another six or seven trucks have come in the time we are present.

Now the worst part of a vigil is upon us. Here comes the abrupt return to reality on the other side of the wall. We came closer when you were in pain. We stayed with you when you were afraid. We wish we could watch over you, all through the night. Remember that every day, we’ll never give up the fight.

We walk from the back and head to the front. We gather our things and leave at 12:30. We’re heading straight to Manchester to fill up on some tasty delights at a rainbow beauty of a café named: Boho Utopia! We fill ourselves up on a full English breakfast and a mega chocolate, peanut butter & banana cake milkshake. We’re heading home now. What a day.

I can only try again from my own experience to describe the sensory circus that occurs when you walk to the back of the slaughterhouse. These words come to me at that moment in time, you may have a different experience:

Screams. Terror. Pain. Dominance. Burning. Crying. Witnessing. Helplessness. Hopelessness. Damage. Violence. History. Shock. Fire. Anger. Rage. Suffering.

The afore list of words is the dark side to describe the reality of a vigil. I’m going to share a different list of words now, under the title of; ‘How you feel when you talk to people who stand side by side with you at The Save Movement’.

Inspired. Committed. Fulfilled. Hopeful. Happy. Fair. Joyous. Connected. Warm. Calm. Loved. Empathetic. Caring. Truthful.

I want you to add to this list, your own words that come to mind when you think of an animal vigil. Let us tell everyone why bearing witness is one of the greatest things you can do in your life! You can simply think of these in your head or share them on Facebook, Instagram or under this Tumblr post. I’ll get you started with a few easy ones:

Tea. Cake. Coffee.

#vegan #activism #veganism #animals #pig #pigs #savemovement #witness #protest

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lena-in-a-red-dress · 6 years ago

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Lena, Number Eight [Part 3 of ?]

The moment Lena steps out onto the sidewalk, her hands start to shake in her pockets. Her stomach threatens to revolt, and her attempts to breathe through it don’t go unnoticed.

"Lena? Lena, hey!” Kara trots down the shallow steps to join her on the street, iron gate creaking shut behind her. Her hand touches Lena’s elbow briefly before drawing back. Lena hates the hesitation, worried it’s fear or disgust, but she’s also grateful. Her skin crawls beneath her clothes, prickling in a way it hasn’t for years. “Hey..."

“I’m okay,” Lena grinds out. She forces a smile. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Kara meets her smile with a soft grin of her own. “Yeah, that-- was definitely something.”

The words sound awkward, but calm. It slowly spreads to Lena enough to dissolve the lump in her throat, but her muscles remain taut, clenching against bone and sinew, clamping her in place. Trapped. It’s all she ever was-- stuck.

She looks at Kara, and her friend visibly melts at the tears in her eyes. It’s clear she has questions-- she must have so many. But she packs them away so that the next words out of her mouth are as mundane as possible.

"Let's get some lunch."

Kara gets lunch. Lena gets coffee.

Neither of them touch their prize, except for Lena to curl her hands around her mug to leech the warmth from it.

Kara tries not to pry, but Lena slowly opens up. About the circumstances of her birth-- and those of the others-- and their subsequent acquisition by Hargreeves. She tells Kara how Hargreeves sent her away, and how Lionel had been decent to her until he died.

Beyond that, she doesn't offer any details. Not about how she went from being from one family's science experiment to another's. Not about how when Lionel died, Lillian studied her even more thoroughly than Reginald had. Not how the precision and control she'd displayed at the house was the result of countless hours spent training and honing her gifts, until her nose bled and her skull felt like a red hot poker had been shoved in her eye or through the top of her head or the join of her neck.

She says nothing of the six months she'd spent in a medically induced twilight sleep, neither sleeping nor waking, in an attempt to enhance her precognition. Nothing about the months she’d spent rebuilding the muscle she’d lost in her semi-vegetative state.

What she does tell Kara is that she doesn't use her powers anymore.

"The DEO can't know, Kara. No one can know."

Kara swallows. The hero in her reaches out for a kindred spirit, despite her better sense. "But Lena… with abilities like yours, you could help so many people--"

"I'm not that person, Kara. I'm sorry, but I'm not." Lena stares into her coffee, mourning the tepid feel of the ceramic under her palms. “I know it must seem so wondrous, but-- it isn't. It's brought me nothing but misery."

She turns her mug in her hands, scraping the bottom against the table.

"Being in National City... building a life with you in it-- That's the real wonder, Kara."

The air hangs thick and heavy between them. Lena looks up to find Kara’s jaw twitching with the urge to speak, but in the end her friend simply sighs. With that tiny breath of sound, Kara seems to release her expectations, and the need to try and fix it.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” she says finally. “All of it. I know it can’t be easy. And I’m sorry if I pressured you to revisit a time and place you didn’t want to.”

Shaking her head, Lena can finally smile honestly. The weight on her shoulders lifts, little by little. “No, I’m glad you did. If I hadn’t, I think at some point, I might have wondered what could have been. Now I know.”

For a long moment, Kara’s focus turns inwards. Lena watches as her best friend seems to come to a decision. Her chin lifts, and she meets Lena’s gaze with an exculpatory grimace just shy of a true grin.

“It might be a little anti-climactic after everything,” she starts, tilting her head in that way she does when she’s nervous and can’t deflect attention away from herself, “but in the spirit of reciprocity, I also have a secret.”

Lena’s chest seizes suddenly, her heart jack-hammering at the prospect of another confession. A private one. One that could either burn her secret fantasies to the ground-- or set them aflame.

Slowly, Kara reaches up and slowly removes her glasses. Then she removes the elastic from her hair, letting her locks hang loose around her shoulders. Those two changes alter the planes of her face, almost morphing them into features equally familiar.

“I’m Supergirl,” she says in a low voice.

When the small cafe bubbles with Lena's laughter, Kara knows it was the right thing to say.

When Lena’s coffee goes cold, she doesn’t bother to replace it. They make their way to a nearby park and slowly walk the vacant paths. The city’s gloom still hasn’t lifted, but Kara’s hand in hers fills Lena with warmth.

"Are you ready to go home?" Kara asks. By now Lena can breathe again, and she takes her time considering her response.

She’s wanted to go home since the moment they got off the plane. She’s never liked Metropolis, with its gray buildings and gray skies and gray faces. Being here reminds her of the cold, excruciating days of her childhood, and puts the joy of her life in National City in stark contrast.

To her own surprise, Lena hesitates. "Not yet,” she says softly. “There's one more thing I need to do."

She leads them to an older neighborhood, where tall buildings house long, narrow apartments. Kara agrees to wait outside, leaving Lena to make the long walk up to Vanya's apartment alone.

When she knocks, she knows Vanya will answer.

She's not prepared for the shadow of a woman who opens the door.

"Vanya," she says, covering her surprise with an awkward smile. "Hi, I'm not sure if you remember me, but I’m--"

"Lena," Vanya supplies. She blinks, eyebrows shrugging as she seems to curl in on herself. "I know who you are."

"I'm sorry to barge in on you, but..." Lena reaches for the right words. "You weren’t at the house earlier, and I wanted to offer my condolences..." She lets her voice trail away to nothing as Vanya’s features darken in a mixture of grief and resentment towards a father who was never quite a father.

“Or the appropriate equivalent.”

At that, Vanya lets her in with a tiny smile of appreciation. They settle on the couch, and sit in awkward silence until Lena spies the violin sitting on the chair by the window.

"I heard you play, a few years back" Lena confesses. "With the chamber orchestra. You were good."

Vanya’s hesitant smile turns queasy. "Oh, uh... that probably wasn't me you were hearing then. I was only fifth chair."

"It was you." Lena holds her gaze, brooking no argument. She softens her features with another smile. "I read your book too."

Flat, detached eyes slide away from Lena.

"I imagine most of the family feedback hasn't been positive, but difficult honesty is something I've always appreciated. I also appreciate you leaving me out of it."

At that, Vanya shares a commiserating shrug. "You'd gotten out," she explains. "Didn't feel right dragging you back into it."

As they continue to speak, Lena probes carefully. Vanya's choice of narration, from the perspective of an outsider... feeling powerless against a family who ostracized her...

"I have to say, I was a little surprised to read it. I knew you weren't included on any of the publicized missions, but... I don't know. I guess I'm surprised it got so bad."

Vanya looks away, tucking her palms between her knees. "Being the only non-powered kid in a family of superheroes gives new meaning to black sheep, huh."

Alarm bells clamor at the back of Lena's mind. She struggles to make the connection, searching for the joke in her words, but finds none.

"You know,” Vanya continues, her voice tight in her throat, “after you left, I wanted so badly to be adopted too. Dad would have been out another disappointment, and I'd get a family like yours."

Lena stiffens, but keeps quiet. Vanya doesn’t need to know that the Luthors weren’t anything to be proud of. But Vanya grimaces a moment later, well aware of the headlines that had swamped national news for months on end following Lex’s arrest.

"Of course, that didn't really hold up, I guess. I'm sorry."

Lena shrugs her forgiveness with a tight smile. The reminder doesn’t sting so much, coming from someone who understands the struggle of family neither chosen nor born into. Vanya sighs. “But at the time, thinking you were happy and free was like a fairytale. And if one person without powers could get a happy ending, why not two?”

Vanya echoes her shrug. “Guess not.

"I had no idea it had gotten so bad," Lena gently maneuvers. "What changed?"

But Vanya can only shrug helplessly. "Nothing. That was the problem. When no powers ever manifested, there just... wasn't any room for me."

Lena blinks, searching for the joke, but doesn't find one.

"You know, after you left... I used to dream Dad would let me be adopted to too. I figured, if one person without powers could get out, why not two."

Lena hesitates. "Vanya... I don't know why Hargreeves told you all that I lost my powers, but... I didn't." She sees Vanya's disappointment and feels it all the way down to her bones.

“Oh.”

"I'm so sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. It's good you still have them, right? Losing them after having them... that would have been-- At least I never had any. Can't miss what you never had, right?"

Again, it’s said without a single ounce of irony. Lena’s disquiet heightens, but when she opens her mouth to respond, the chime of the clock interrupts. The hour is later than she anticipated; if she waits much longer, it’ll be too late to fly, and Lena isn’t willing to spend the night in Metropolis.

“I’m sorry, I have to get going,” Lena sighs. “Here…”

Reaching into her pocket, Lena pulls out a business card. She scribbles her cell number on the back, and hands it to Vanya, who takes it with fingers that stutter on the cardstock as though numb.

“This is my personal line,” Lena tells her. “You can call me, if you ever need anything. Even if it’s just to talk. I’d… like to get to know you.”

Vanya stares at it, as though she can’t quite fathom its function. "Why?” she asks, blinking. “I mean, why me?"

Lena reaches out and touches her knee. "Because you were honest when the world would have rather swallowed a lie. And because I know how hard it can be, to feel like you're completely alone. You don't have to be."

“Oh,” comes the soft response. After a moment, Vanya nods, lips trembling. "Okay, yeah. I think I will."

"I look forward to it." Lena smiles. "I should get going."

"Right, yeah." Vanya follows her to the door. Just as Lena is about to step out, Vanya speaks out. "I remember you."

"Sorry?"

"Before, you weren’t sure I’d remember you. But I do." Vanya swallows thickly. "I remember that you were kind."

Lena gazes at her, unsure how to respond even when Vanya’s eyes began to glint with moisture.

"None of the others have ever seen me play. They only read my book so they could hate me after. And none-- none of them even called when Dad died."

Vanya swallows, ducking her chin to avoid Lena’s gaze. "You were always the kind one."

Lena hesitates, then gives in to the urge to wrap Vanya in a hug. Vanya hugs her back readily.

"I'm sorry your new family sucked," Vanya mutters against Lena's coat. "You deserved better."

"So did you, Vanya.” Her words hit Vanya with a jolt, before she squeezes Lena tighter. "You deserved so much better."

When Lena emerges from the building, Kara is waiting right where she'd said she'd be. She doesn’t say anything, and only slows enough for Kara to fall into step next to her. They walk for almost thirty minutes before Lena has the sense to hail a cab to the airport.

Only when they’re in the air does Kara break the silence. “Do you really feel it was worth it? Coming back?”

Lena shrugs. "There’s value in knowledge. Even if it’s just knowing that some things never change.”

“Like what?”

“Like… Number One still thinks he’s hot shit. And Diego is consistently an inch away from a homicide charge.”

“And Vanya?”

“And Vanya… is completely normal."

Kara knows her too well. She studies Lena, and discerns the uneasiness that ripples beneath her words. "What's the trouble with that?"

Lena looks Kara dead in the eye. "Vanya has never been ordinary."

Continued in Part 4

#i wrote dis #lena number eight #part 3 #supercorp #lena luthor #kara danvers #supergirl #umbrella academy au #the plot thickens #this was never supposed to be a plot #i was literally spitballing #and now its a thing #oh well #enjoy #happy weekend

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acidwaste · 6 years ago

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hey so it seems i’ve forgot to do a l o t of tag memes, and i’m lucky i drafted a big bunch of them! lots of questions overlapped so i did my best to answer in different ways, sorry for the lateness! also @ the people that tagged me here, i wouldn't hesitate to kill for you

@natcaptor / @gayspaced

name: leon or lionel!

nicknames: literally the only nickname I’ve been referred to is “big gay” and like. word!

gender: im pretty sure im a guy, i have been kinda 🤔🤔🤔 abt my gender identity since around november-ish though

star sign: sagittarius!

height: 6’1! i’m told that I’m tall but my uncle is 6’7 so...

time: 3:36pm rn! ive been watching video essays and binging music all afternoon

birthday: december 9th!

favourite bands: animal collective, beach house, camp cope, car seat headrest, death grips, fleet foxes, florence + the machine, gang of youths, glass animals, gorillaz, hop along, iceage, idles, kero kero bonito, mgmt, miike snow, modest mouse, run the jewels, superorganism, the avalanches, the cat empire, the go! team, the mountain goats, the wombats, xiu xiu

favourite solo artists: alex lahey, anderson .paak, ariana grande, billie eilish, bjork, cashmere cat, charli xcx, courtney barnett, cupcakke, d.r.a.m, eric taxxon, frank ocean, gfoty, hatchie, janelle monae, jeff rosenstock, joanna newsom, jorja smith, jpegmafia, kacey musgraves, kali uchis, kendrick lamar, khalid, kimbra, lorde, mac demarco, madeon, mick jenkins, mitski, oneohtrix point never, perfume genius, ravyn lenae, rina sawayama, serpentwithfeet, sophie, st. vincent, sza, vince staples

song stuck in my head: caramelo duro | miguel // kali uchis! its a bop, miguel is one of the few singers that can convincingly make sex jams

last movie i watched: deadpool 2! it was even better than the first, which is a feat in itself ngl

when did i create my blog: december 2016??? i only started using it properly in february last year tho

last thing i googled: “im in my mums car broom broom.” dont @ me

do i have any other blogs: yeah, plenty actually!! i have blogs for aesthetic (@moltenstar), general inspo (@wverns), flight rising (@szarising, kinda inactive?), and overwatch (@blackhardts) tbh the vast majority of my ‘sideblogs’ are just saved urls H

do i get asks: when i say stupid shit like “rung has the ass of a dilf but the dick of a cockroach”

why i chose my url: that one panel where kobd have a vacation at the acid wastes because fuck its finally canon babey!

following: 1,767, which is kinda horrifying!!

followers: 890?? somehow??? thats almost One Whole Thousand and i don't even make content

average hours of sleep: around 6 or 7!! n e v e r more though

lucky number: 43 and 64!!

instruments: i'm too poor to afford music lessons or instruments jsbddsjknfs

what am i wearing: a grey shirt and nothing on my bottom half so my [redacted] is hanging tf out, i should put on some damn clothes

dream job: oooo uhhh, i’m studying to get an education degree rn because i’d love to teach children (around grade 3-4s preferably because i'm too jittery to handle anyone younger and older kids probs won't listen to me as much as i lack plenty of assertiveness), but!! i’d honestly love to be a musician, one of those underground ones that get lots of critical acclaim

dream trip: one day i wanna gather up some friends and just go on a road trip! idm where we go to, as long as we just have fun and just! adventure!

favourite foods: rare steak, mashed potatoes, eggs, and energy shakes made with like. fruit / cheese / yoghurt / oats / chia seeds ! protein is a large part of my diet

nationality: new zealand, but living in australia

favourite song right now: best part | daniel caesar // h.e.r - gosh i need to re-listen to daniel’s album again, i don’t remember this beautiful song being there and that’s a crime

@damndesi / @novarebel / @luciform-philogynist

APPEARANCE - I am 5'7 or taller - I wear glasses - I have at least one tattoo (but I am getting a tā moko in December, I believe) - I have at least one piercing (planning to get a nose ring, like a bull!) - I have blonde hair - I have brown eyes - I have short hair - My abs are at least somewhat defined (b a r e l y) - I have or had braces

PERSONALITY - I love meeting new people - People tell me I am funny - Helping others with their problems is a big priority of mine - I enjoy physical challenges - I enjoy mental challenges - I am playfully rude to people I know - I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it - There is something I would change about my personality

ABILITY - I can sing well - I can play an instrument - I can do over 30 pushups without stopping (barely) - I am a fast runner - I can draw well - I have a good memory - I am good at doing math in my head - I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute - I have beaten at least 2 people arm wrestling - I can make at least 3 recipes from scratch - I know how to throw a proper punch

HOBBIES - I enjoy sports - I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else - I’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else - I have learned a new song in the past week - I exercise at least once a week - I have gone for runs at least once a week in warmer months - I have drawn something in the past month - I enjoy writing - Fandoms are my #1 priority - I do some form of Martial arts

EXPERIENCES - I have had my first kiss - I have had alcohol (tastes like shit) - I have scored a winning point in a sport - I have watched an entire TV series in one sitting - I have been at an overnight event - I have been in a taxi - I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year - I have beaten a video game in one day - I have visited another country - I have been to one of my favorite bands concerts

MY LIFE - I have one person that I consider to be my Best Friend - I live relatively close to my school/work - My parents are still together - I have at least one sibling - I live in the United States - There is snow where I live right now - I have hung out with a friend in the past month - I have a smart phone - I own at least 15 CDs - I share my room with someone

RELATIONSHIPS - I am in a Relationship - I have a crush on a celebrity - I have a crush on someone I know - I’ve been in at least 3 relationships - I have never been in a Relationship - I have admitted my feelings to a crush - I get crushes easily - I have had a crush for over a year - I have been in a relationship for over a year - I have had feelings for a friend

RANDOM - I have break-danced - I know a person named Jamie - I have had a teacher that has a name that is hard to pronounce - I have dyed my hair - I’m listening to a song on repeat right now - I have punched someone in the past week - I know someone who has gone to jail - I have broken a bone (do fractures count?) - I have eaten a waffle today - I know what I want to do in life - I speak at least two languages (not fluently) - I have made a new friend in the past year

@smstransformers

age: 16

birthplace: auckland, nz

current time: 4:19 pm rn!!!

drink you last had: i just skulled half a liter of water whoops

favourite song: jesus etc. | wilco if we're talking abt an all-time favourite

grossest memory: accidentally swallowing a bee when i was seven years old (somehow nothing bad happened?)

horror, yes or no: not unless it’s an incredibly tame horror t b h, my threshold for scariness is very low

in love: i believe so!

jealous of people: lots of times, over really dumb things

love by first sight or should I walk by again: i believe that infatuation can exist at first sight but true love not so much. wish that could happen tho :C

middle name: shane!

siblings: my sister is eight years old, and my brother is seven!

one wish: EZ, make my anxiety disappear, i’d have a much more productive life

song i last sang: jupiter | haiku hands

time i woke up: 7:13, woke up immediately because i usually like to wake at 6:30

underwear colour: blue + purble

vacation destination: auckland / kingston / sydney!

worst habit: not remembering to make my goddamn bed, it looks like garbage

favourite food: mashed potatoes….

zodiac sign: sagittarius !!!

@alyonian

relationship status:

at the moment i’m single! and while being in a relationship sounds brilliant, the last two relationships i was involved in? didn’t work out to say the least, lucky i’m still young

favourite colour:

it’s been emerald green for the longest time but orange seems to be dethroning it at a steady pace

lipstick or chapstick:

i haven’t used chapstick since i was six but i probably should use it again, water is my substitute rn fdghdgh - and i haven’t ever used lipstick in any capacity? so i’d have to go with the former

last song i listened to:

the space traveller’s lullaby | kamasi washington - i’m trying to get through his second album rn (i left off on the second disk yesterday) and while everything he makes is undeniably amazing, it’s? a three hour album? i don’t have the attention span for his spiritual jazz, as great as it is

last movie:

monsters inc is playing on the television right now, i’ll go with that! the animation aged kinda badly but it’s still such a fun movie! sidenote: james p. sullivan? a childhood crush, so this gives me memories

top 3 tv shows/podcasts/comics:

i rarely, if ever, venture into these forms of media but! if i had to answer, i’d say;

unbreakable kimmy schmidt / parks & recreation / luke cage

taz / mbmbam (i havent like. watched a full episode of either but they seem cool,)

tf idw / …………. yeah that’s it, i’ve never read anything else. probably should!

additional favs:

my friends, writing (in theory), listening to video essays, learning music theory + instruments and understanding audio production software

top 3 bands / artists:

HHH okay if i had to limit my choices to just three artists, uh. lorde, the mountain goats, and sophie. i couldnt even fit janelle in i hate th is

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

@alyonian

color(s): light colors are always nice and pleasant, though anything peachy and sandy are the best! orange (specially pastel orange) is like. the best thing

last band t-shirt i bought: usually merchandising is very expensive and i dont have the money to accommodate that, but like. i do recall having a wiggles shirt when i was five. i wore it all the time, shjdjgsksd im sure that counts

last band i saw live: i almost went to splendor in the grass last year with family, which wasn't only cool since i’ve never been out of the state since i immigrated - the festival was in queensland, which is around a two hour flight from victoria - but the lineup was pretty fuckin lit too! the xx, haim, peking duk, tash sultana, future islands, vallis alps, a.b original,, i was p excited! unfortunately my uncle fell ill and so they had to give the tickets to extended family :( otherwise, i haven't been to a single concert in my life

last song i listened to: street fighter mas | kamasi washington - up to this song on the album and i really fuckin dig this! also the video is hypnotizing

last movie i watched: monsters inc is about to finish and up next is monsters university! which like…. honestly, this is an extremely unpopular opinion but, i like it just as much as the original? my opinion might be skewed because i’m a monster [hugger], but i like everything abt the movie! except for the finale of the scare games and the last five minutes of the movie, both were just. dreadful.

last three tv shows i watched: if aggretsuko counts that’s the last series i watched of my own volition, which is a miracle in itself considering that’s legit only the second anime i’ve watched to completion (the first being shirokuma cafe, which i probably need to re-watch). otherwise, the last two shows i had beared witness to were thirteen reasons why and queer eye bc my cousin put them on! that first show i could completely do without but queer eye is iconique

last 3 characters i identified with: grimlock (legit. all of them), urdnot grunt (mass effect) and vector the crocodile (sth), i’m not sure what this says about me other than Big

book(s) i’m currently reading: i’m reading ‘maus’ by art spiegelman at the moment, for the third time i believe? i believe my classmates are supposed to be writing an essay on this next term and shit, this novel is heartbreaking, i haven't been this emotional when reading a book than… ever, really. it’s a recommendation of the highest caliber

@victorion

name: leon / lionel, i picked up the second name because i was in a server with an admin that was also a Leon™

nickname: besides ‘Big Gay’ i also have the nickname ‘lemon lion’ which is! nice!!

zodiac sign: archer man

height: Tall™

language(s) spoken: english / some maori + italian

fav fruit: watermelons (only when in season)

fav scent: the smell of a freezer tbh? it just smells Nice i don’t know how to properly explain it

fav season: spring! the breezes are welcoming without being overbearingly freezing

fav color: ornge,,,,

fav animal: SHARKS + CROCS + FERRETS

coffee, tea or hot chocolate: tea! with some milk tho

average hrs of sleep: too little

fav fictional character: One character?????? uhhhhhhh……. like. biggest cc right now is either idw skids or oz from monster prom

no. of blankets you sleep with: depending on my mood but i’d say the average is like, 3??

fav songs: i quickly whipped up some songs i listen to

fav artists: i came to the realization that i like acts that are considered ‘bad’ like maroon 5/drake/lil yachty etc in specific doses… i wouldn't call them good yet, but! i have no beef and thats good

fav books: remember ‘where the wild things are’??? that shit was like. literal childhood, man.. :happytears: i really need to look for a copy again

@thonany-klieme

name: leon / lionel, interchangeable really

gender: male, im probs an nb guy

star sign: sagittarius!

height: 6’1

sexuality: gay??? im not sure, im mostly attracted to other guys but i have had very brief crushes on girls + nb people? sexuality’s confusing so im gonna just latch to the gaybel (gay label) for now

lock screen image: its the album cover of 1992 deluxe by princess nokia, tho it was “T Hanos” a few days ago since i change it often - my home screen is venom but his torso says ‘fuck machine’

ever had a crush on a teacher: no??

where do you see yourself in ten years: ideally i’m teaching kids math n english, realistically i’m probably going down with the political climate

if you could go anywhere, where would you go: new zealand!! or the netherlands

what was your favorite halloween costume: halloween is not big at all where i live, the only time i tried trick or treating was when i was like 7?? i threw a bedsheet on myself and pretended to be a ghost, though since there were no eyeholes + the sheet was blue, it looked more like i was just a moving lump

last kiss: never had one

have you ever been to las vegas: nah and i dont plan to?? how do you handle regular days of 40C wtf

favorite pair of shoes: i have this pair of jandals that ive worn for a fair bit longer than my other pair of shoes, tho i only wear them in summer + very warm nights

favorite book: ngl its. ‘the very hungry caterpillar’ by eric carle. i just, love it alot and i cant explain w h y

#acid.txt #this took a while but :wahoo:

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philharmaddy-blog · 6 years ago

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Disney Tag

So I think in the coming weeks I’ll be alternating posts between fun/hype and informational, so I thought I’d start off with a Disney Tag! Thanks to Steph for letting me steal her Disney Tag format, you can find her blog on her upcoming DCEP here.

So without further ado, let’s get into it... Grab your snacks, because this will be a long one!

Disney Movie: This is a hard one, but I think I have to go with The Little Mermaid just because of the number of times I watched that movie as a kid on VCR purely because my parents wouldn’t let me watch the behind the scenes footage that played after the movie unless I watched the whole thing through! FUN FACT: I was terrified of all animated movies as a kid, because I thought they were all as scary as A Bug’s Life, the crazy creations of Sid in Toy Story and the two terrifying scenes from Fantasia (Rite of Spring dinosaurs and Night on Bald Mountain)

DCOM Movie: Does The Lizzie McGuire Movie count?

Pixar Movie: The Incredibles. I love that soundtrack so much!

Disney Sequel: Either Lion King 3/1.5 or The Rescuers Down Under. Although I’m sure with Wreck It Ralph 2 coming out soon, my answer will probably change!

Disney Song: Belle. The writing is brilliant, the backing orchestral score is beautiful, and it sets the scene of the small provincial town so perfectly as the opening number of Beauty and the Beast.

Disney Love Song: It’s not a duet (well, it kind of is if you count the Muses), but I Won’t Say I’m In Love from Hercules is one of my favourites.

Disney Villain Song: This one is easy. Poor Unfortunate Souls is such a classic.

Disney Song that gets stuck in my head: My brain will switch between Someday My Prince Will Come and A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes. But nothing is as much of an ear worm as It’s A Small World...

Disney Soundtrack: If we are including Pixar, it would be The Incredibles, because I love Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. If it’s strictly Disney Animation, then I would go with Sleeping Beauty since they used Tchaikovsky’s ballet score. Or maybe Princess and the Frog for that sweet Dixieland jazz? I don’t know, it’s too hard to decide! Never ask a musician what their favourite music is...

Disney Quote: “I give myself very good advice, but I seldom follow it” (Alice in Wonderland)

Disney Ride: I think I have to go with Expedition Everest after my younger brother and I tricked my dad into riding it (we didn’t tell him about the bit that goes backwards!). Plus I love that documentary about its construction, even if we now only have the Disco Yeti....

Disney Show: Wishes will always be my favourite.

Disney Parade: Festival of Fantasy, although I don’t know if it’s as good now that the dragon has gone down in flames.... literally...

Disney Food: The beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter

WDW/DL? I have to go with WDW since it’s the only one I’ve visited

WDW Park: Has to be Magic Kingdom since it’s the one that I spent the most time in, but I also adore Animal Kingdom

Disney Photo: It has to be my amazing candid shot with Gaston.

Time for some characters!

Princess: Anna, she’s such a goofball!

Disney Princess Dress: I love the classic Cinderella dress. Although Merida’s looks super comfy!

Prince: Either Flynn Rider or Prince Naveen, I love those suave, charming personalities

Couple: Meg and Hercules

Side-Kick: Mushu

Villain: I love all the villains so it’s hard to choose, but I narrowed it down to Ursula and Hades. All the sass!

Animal: Maximus (the horse from Tangled)

Pixar Character: There are so many good ones to choose from! But I think Dory takes the cake

Disney character I most identify with: Probably Ariel or Anna because I am overly enthusiastic about the most mundane things

Pixar character I most identify with: The seagulls in Finding Nemo any time there is food around

Disney movie I would star in if I could: Probably Hercules because I would love to be a Muse.... but really, we could all do with having a new Disney film where the princess is an alto...

Disney movie that makes me laugh: Again, Hercules. Despite how badly inaccurate the movie is to Greek mythology (even the name itself is wrong), I still think it’s one of the funniest of the animated movies. Either that or Aladdin, because Robin Williams is a gem.

Disney movie that makes me cry: Not technically Disney since it’s Pixar, but Up. Every time. Storytime: my state orchestra were doing ‘Pixar In Concert’, where they played medleys of the soundtracks with clips of the movie up on a massive screen. But not for Up, no.... They played the entire first 15 or so minutes of the movie with the soundtrack live. I think everyone in that entire theatre was sobbing by the end of it.

Disney item I collect: I don’t have any at the moment but I’m hoping to start pin trading and collecting signatures once I get there! I’m more of an experience over material kind of girl.

Most treasured Disney item: A card that says “If you can dream it, you can do it”, signed by all the teachers of the music department from my high school that I was given at the end of my final year when I was music captain.

First Disney movie I ever saw: Fantasia. I had a Sorcerer Mickey plush in my room, but I was asleep for the majority of the movie. Except for the two sections I mentioned earlier that scared me off watching more animated movies for years...

What I would like to see in a Disney movie: Please make the princess an alto and non-belter! Please!!! For the sake of all of us girls with low voices who can’t belt out Let it Go or warble along to Sleeping Beauty or Snow White!

What I would like to see at a Disney park: Still waiting for that fifth gate based around Disney Villains filled with thrill rides! Or maybe shooting a bit lower in expectations, a revamped version of the old and forgotten Fire Mountain idea for Adventureland in the form of a roller coaster themed around the volcano from Moana?

Park character I was/am looking forward to meeting: I’ve met Gaston which was pretty great. But otherwise I really want to meet some of the other princes! In particular, Flynn Rider and Naveen. Also can’t wait to meet Chewie in Hollywood Studios!

Best Disney Story: So to set the scene, it’s just as the park is about to open after Extra Magic Hours, I had been hanging out in New Fantasyland solo while my dad was sleeping in. I go to try and find where the meet and greet for Cinderella’s step family are, only to be given the hint by a Character Attendant to get in line for the carousel. I end up on a horse in between Anastasia and Drizella, with Lady Tremaine a few horses away! But that’s not the end of the story… After getting off the ride, I end up walking with Lady Tremaine to her character spot, idly chatting about how awful Cinderella’s hospitality was at the Royal Table last night, how the matriarchy will rise again, etc. Finally get to the character spot and see a massive line has already formed. So I get ready to say farewell to the characters. But no! I get told by Lady Tremaine that I’m a “VIP” and as a lady of such high class deserve only the best. And so I skip the entire queue and get an amazing photo right away!

And that’s all, folks!

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! My next pre-DCEP hype post will probably be a full bucket list - so probably even longer than this one!

#disney tag #pre-dcep #about me #disney parks #dcp2019 #disney international program

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twilight-adamo · 7 years ago

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As Dreams Are Made On: The Mixtape - Liner Notes

Hello everyone! I am currently in the process of gathering my thoughts on Brave New World and trying to get the next installment of These Our Actors (which will focus on Rosalie) just right, in addition to trying to find my thread on Out of the Blue and other non-Twilight projects. This has been complicated by the fact that I’ve been fighting a couple rather nasty nose and throat bugs of late, and so this weekend I’m doing my best to relax and recover.

In the meantime, I thought I’d start offering up my notes on the Spotify playlist I posted a while ago and why I chose the songs I did. For anyone who didn’t see the link, here it is:

https://open.spotify.com/user/12153099402/playlist/5IYjYDbcM6qvQ2hgGnOCGF?si=orkjWU50SjKm7xbPSF_r5w

Since many of my choices do relate directly to specific plot points, there are potential spoilers ahead, so I’m putting this behind a cut. I won’t get through every song in this post, but I’ll add additional notes in subsequent posts as time allows.

As I think I mentioned before, I find playlists to be a very useful tool in my writing. It’s possible to spend too much time tinkering with playlists, of course, so I try not to do it in place of writing or outlining - this is just something I work on when I’m occupied with non-writing tasks that allow for a certain amount of downtime. Each song tends to relate to a plot point or an emotion I’m trying to evoke in a certain part of the story, and the sequence generally follows my outline of the plot, though I’ll sometimes put the playlist on shuffle if I’m feeling stuck and want to try and shake things up, and I sometimes end up adding, removing, or resorting various songs as my understanding of the plot evolves. Since As Dreams Are Made On is done, the current version of the mixtape - all 49 songs - is now pretty much in its final form, but when I’m working on a story, the associated playlist is very much a living document and subject to change.

Music has always been a hugely important part of my life, thanks in large part to my mother, who was an influence on much of my creative output. I tend to think of myself as a visual and verbal person first and foremost, but music has the power to set my mood, to reawaken old memories, to align my thoughts, and to soothe my emotional turmoil. My personal tastes are fairly eclectic - my mother favored country, and I’m still fond of the genre, but I also listen to a lot of pop, classical pieces, musical theatre, folk music, movie scores, and so on. Spotify has been kind of a godsend when it comes to building playlists, though there are unfortunately a few pieces which should be on the mixtape but aren’t simply because they’re unavailable on Spotify. I’ll try to make a note of those missing pieces in the appropriate sections.

Right, well, without further ado, let’s get to the songs.

Pieces and Pieces - The Rough and Tumble This song’s sort of a thesis statement for the whole story, in a way. The refrain, in particular, speaks to me of where I was going: Nothing is lost when it’s been found again / Everything’s found where it was lost. Cass/Bella (or CB, as I refer to her, when I’m not simply calling her Bella) has seemingly lost a great deal, but she comes to gain a great deal as well, and to recover things she thought lost to her forever. The line “I will make you mine again, pieces by pieces” also speaks to me of the story’s dramatic climax, where the nature of CB’s relationship with Alice becomes clearer.

Where Is My Mind? - Pixies Here’s where we’re getting into the actual sequence of events. This one might be a little bit of a cliché, but it reflects CB’s confusion when she wakes in the world of Twilight. It’s also just generally one of my favorite songs.

Turning Page - Sleeping At Last This is the first of many pieces pulled directly from the soundtrack of the Twilight films, and the first song that centers a character other than CB, as it reflects Alice getting hit by the mating bond full-force. It’s a lovely piece, but I think there’s an undercurrent of anxiety and some slightly ominous elements that suit Alice’s mood well. Love at first sight sounds like a pleasant prospect, but it’s also a frightening one, and neither Alice nor CB would have chosen it, given the chance to choose.

Iowa (Traveling, Pt. 3) - Dar Williams Another of my favorite songs. I listened to a lot of Dar Williams in college, and listen to her fairly often still, but I keep coming back to this one in particular. As a lifelong New Englander, famed for what my great-grandmother called ‘the Yankee reserve’ (which means we don’t tend to wear our emotions on our sleeves and generally we keep to ourselves), these lyrics in particular speak to me:

But way back where I come from We never mean to bother We don’t like to make our passions other people’s concern And we walk in the world of safe people And at night we walk into our houses and burn

So, to me, this song speaks of CB’s struggle with her own emotions as her life in Forks begins and she grapples with the mating bond and all it implies. And it also speaks to her background as a lifelong Bostonian, who doesn’t like to be a bother but nevertheless finds herself in a whole new social context and a position where she needs to reach out to others to survive.

Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs This is Rosalie’s introduction to the story. I don’t really know why, it just seems to suit her, somehow.

Bela Lugosi’s Dead - CHVRCHES It may be physically impossible for me to write about vampires WITHOUT using this song. I just felt like I had to fit it in somewhere, and the first meeting with the rest of the Cullens (sans Carlisle and Esme, of course) seemed like a good spot.

Looking for a Place to Shine - Deidre Thornell Hear the Bells - Naomi Scott I’ll be honest, I don’t have a lot of compelling reasons for these two. They just seemed to fit the sort of transitional period between the first meeting with the Cullens and Leah’s introduction a little later on.

Red Eyes and Tears - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Leah’s introduction to the story. Again, it just seemed to suit her.

New For You - Reeve Carney We’re back to Alice with this one. It sort of reflects her own emotional turmoil in dealing with the mating bond and having to accept that CB doesn’t necessarily reciprocate all her feelings just yet.

Fearless - Taylor Swift Well, this one actually comes up in the story, so you can pretty much guess where it fits in. Again, though, it’s one of my favorite songs, and speaks to the joy that I think love should carry with it, and the idea that love should drive us forward and make us better. It’s been a serious contender for the first dance at my hypothetical wedding for a long time (though “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri may be beating it out now).

The Mercy of the Fallen - Dar Williams More Dar Williams! This one...I don’t know. Somehow, it speaks to me of love and acceptance, of individuals who are all burdened and broken in their own ways reaching out and comforting one another. And that, in turn, makes me think of CB’s first visit to the Cullen house: her first real conversation with Rosalie, her introduction to Carlisle and Esme, all of that. This is where she really starts to build bridges, I think, and where she and some of the others begin to open up to one another.

Bella’s Lullaby - Carter Burwell, Dan Redfeld and Elizabeth Hedman This is of course one of my favorite pieces from the Twilight movie score, and includes a leitmotif that comes up more than once in both the films and in my playlist. I couldn’t find the original version from the score itself on Spotify, but this cover works. Of course Edward plays it on the piano at this point in the story, reading it out of CB’s thoughts, and I think she adopts it in a sense as a sort of personal theme. Every time I listen to it, it makes me think of soaring pine trees and crisp, cold air, and I find the melody very soothing.

Missing Piece: Star by Star - Cassandra Lease and Melissa Carubia Someday I’m actually going to get together with the friend who helped me with the arrangement on this one and record it. It probably won’t go up on Spotify, but I’ll likely post it somewhere. This is the song I wrote for my mother’s memorial service; the lyrics are of course reprinted in the story in their entirety. This is probably one of the most personal elements of the story, the point where I really started to spill my guts across the page. I obviously backed off a little from my own life once I introduced Callie to the story, but there’s still a lot of my soul buried in the text; sometimes, I think, too much.

Bella’s Lullaby (Extended Mix) - The Twilight Orchestra I’m not really sure why this shares the name Bella’s Lullaby when it doesn’t seem to have much to do with the shorter piece, but whatever. This is just a lovely piece that sets the mood for Alice and CB on the rooftop and the events that follow.

Possibility - Lykke Li Similarly, this is more of a ‘setting the mood’ song. I don’t think the lyrics quite fit, in their entirety, but this basically represents CB awakening to the possibility of forming a real attachment to Alice, despite her qualms.

Shake It Off - Taylor Swift Another (highly anachronistic) Taylor Swift song that shows up in the story itself. I can be an extremely basic white girl at times.

Bad Reputation - Avril Lavigne The Joan Jett version isn’t on Spotify! I don’t know what to tell you! This cover’s pretty good, though. Another Leah song, and something I imagine might be playing in the dive where CB introduces Leah to fried pickles.

Nothing to Lose - Minusworld My friend Melissa’s band! Get their EP, Giant Blazing Sword, wherever you buy digital music! Listen to them on Spotify and Bandcamp! Anyway, I think this is the track playing during Leah and CB’s encounter with the scary assholes in the alley, and when Emmett and the others get their big damn hero moment.

In Place Of Someone You Love - Carter Burwell, Dan Redfeld and Elizabeth Hedman We’re skipping ahead a bit here. This piece comes after the shopping scene and CB’s attempt to analyze Rosalie’s abilities, when she’s in the dream of the burning house, trying to save her memories.

The Forgotten - Green Day This piece represents CB’s emotions after she wakes from her brief coma, as she struggles with losing her memories and burning away parts of the world she left behind.

Black Is The Colour - Cara Dillon And this piece represents CB’s acceptance of her feelings toward Alice, her confession of love despite her reservations. It took me a while to find a cover I liked, as I very much wanted to use a version that had a woman singing about another woman, for obvious reasons.

Okay, I think that’s pretty much all I can handle for now. More to come soon!

#twilight fanfiction #twilight fanfic #twilight au #adamo #as dreams are made on #adamo spoilers #the mixtape #bellice #alice/bella

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magic5ball · 4 years ago

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Nature Trail to Hell Arc IV: Megamart of Darkness (3)

Chapter 3: … And Put Up a Megamart

It was like Christmas day all over again! For the first time in my ten year existence, someone had screwed up that wasn’t me! I never even realized this could be a possibility up to that point. And you bet your toenails I absolutely reveled in it.

At first they were honking like mad, protesting how I might work for Wegmart or somesuch (it had happened before, apparently). But all ol’ Bokrug had to do was give them a glare and they shut up good. I could understand why, though. For the Elves, apologizing is a fancy affair, with them all lining up in front of me, each kissing my swollen kneecap one at a time while I towered above them, laughing. I would have settled for a plain old “I’m sorry.”, but you know what they say, Elves will be Elves.

One hour of kneecap smooches later, Birthday Boy stood in front of me, surprisingly dignified in his stupid hat. The rest of his flock (drove? Pack? It really is hard to decide what to call a group of these guys) formed a half-circle behind him, like his own personal orchestra (though geek choir would be more appropriate).

“Come now, o’ vagrant” he said, lifting out a wing for me “We must journey to the outskirts of the cursed lands so that you may know the direness of our situation.”

He pointed to the forest. I groaned, not exactly in the mood for walking.

“Fear not. We have procured some edibles to sustain us on are strenuous trek.”

An Elf wandered up to me, carrying the so called ‘blessed sustenance’ in their beak.

“Within this bag is the blessed manna bread, which will sate your hunger for your entire journey, as well as the meat of sacred to give you unspeakable strength, should the situation require it.”

All I saw was a half-eaten bag of beef jerky with a stale doughnut hole inside.

“The Blessings of Bokrug be with you!” the Elves honked, their half circle shifting into a path straight to the woods.

Birthday Boy didn’t start explaining until we reached the trees, a trial in and of itself. See, if it wasn’t cringe-inducing enough he had to explain everything to me in that dated voice of his, no, he just had to make everything rhyme!

“Long ago in the Days of yore,” he began, “’Twas blessed land where we bore-our young, who pooped as they pleased in pristine ponds ‘til they turned algae green. It was this algae that we ate, from hours seven ‘til eight, when wily hours twist the day to darkness. And those who’d venture on yonder path, fed us wholesome grain, or faced our wrath, like the bull thistles blooming on a summer’s day.”

Somehow, he managed to keep his honker running the. Whole. Way. There. By the time we got to our destination, I knew more about LARP geese history than about my own family.

But where was there, you might be asking? Well, as Birthday Boy would say-

“’Till one day we encroached the wrath of wastrels longst strayeth from good path. Who sought paradise’s golden fruit as their own. We lost, o terrible tragedy, yet followed somber reality, as our greatest ally betrayed us, and the great pond of yore became asphalt.”

For those reading this who can’t quite get Birthday Boy’s pretentious picture, we had arrived at a parking lot. Now, even young me had seen a fair number of lots in his time, but never one this big. It stretched over the horizon, a never-ending desert of streetlights and maybe some handicapped spaces. (Which, if we kept walking any longer, I was probably gonna need.)

“Go forth child, and understand, who tooketh away our promised land.”

As we walked across the parking lot, I couldn’t help but notice Birthday Boy waddled a bit behind me now. Something was coming up at the edge of my vision. At first I thought it was just a mirage, seeing all the heat radiating off the asphalt, but as we got closer, it became too big to be fake. Not tall in the usual way, though: heightwise it was only about three stories tall. But widthwise, well…

The darn thing seemed to go on forever.

What stood before us on that sweltering summer day was a giant rectangle painted so white it practically blinded me, its’ only other features being a sliding door, above which was a set of bold red letters, each the size of my house, proudly announcing the store’s name: a name I knew well from years of being stuck in a dressing room as my Mom forced me to try on just one more sweater before winter set in:

WEGMART

Birthday Boy spoke, his voice now as hushed as a goose voice could be (which was still subtle as a sack of sledgehammers). “Now we tread carefully with fear. If you are caught, I cannot help you here.”

Conveniently enough (though it shouldn’t have been that surprising, considering where we were) two rows of cars formed a path to the place, like guards lining the world’s blackest red carpet. In other words, the perfect place for a goose to hide under. Walking down this path (only half obeying Birthday Boy’s instructions: I tread carefully, but I’m a Tostig and if you know Tostigs, we never tread with fear, at least not when we can help it) I found it kinda weird how this place made out to be this evil fortress of ultimate horrific doom didn’t have so much as a security camera to keep me out. The only thing between me and those automatic sliding doors was some wrinkly old guy wearing a blue traffic safety vest: the Wegmart Greeter Guy. For those not in the know, the Greeter Guy is this shtick Wegmart does where they employ some old guy who’ll work for pennies so visiting shoppers can be reminded of their own mortality. Something seemed a bit… off about this one, though. There was a broad grin on his face, too broad for a man his age; right hand raised in a perpetual wave at nothing. Seemed fake, though I figured this was yet another one of those byproducts of the high cost of low price or whatever they were saying on the news.

I couldn’t step one foot past him before I hit something. Hard. I’d say it was like glass, on account of it being completely invisible, but really, it was more like hitting a steel wall that also gave you the worst case of static shock in the universe. Of course, young me being young me, this didn’t register until he’d waltzed into that deathtrap so many times he couldn’t feel his limbs. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me the only reason I didn’t try to enter Wegmart a few more times was because by the last time, I was so zapped outta my head I stumbled into the cars by complete accident, giving the one Birthday Boy was under a static snap so strong it exploded in a ball of fire.

“Fool!” honked the goose “Do you not realized that your knaveous action could very well have delivered me to a premature encounter with dread mortis?!”

I did not. And if it weren’t the fact he was explaining the situation to me, I don’t even think I would have cared that much. All I wanted was to go home, play video games, and spend the rest of the summer sleeping this crazy adventure off.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending on your tolerance for Shakespeare) Birthday Boy was fast regaining his composure.

“As you can see, they’ve torn asunder Holy Mountain. Sacred stream has become drinking fountain. A wicked grinning barrier they have erected. So long it stands, from elfin magic they are protected.”

“So… you mean to tell me that the greeter guy is some kind of magic energy shield thingy stopping you guys from getting your home back?”

“Your answer ‘tis acute. Now we must be astute.”

I saw a little black object flying in the sky. On account of the bright sun, I couldn’t see it clearly, but it freaked the everloving feathers off of Birthday Boy.

“Flee!” he honked, waddle-flying for the woods. “Every elf now for himself!”

Something shot out from the thing: a little foam dart, not unlike the kinds I had in my toy aero guns (or had, until I discovered real ammo.) It landed inches from my foot. A second later, it did something no foam dart should do: it started dissolving the ground with a hiss. As if on cue, the sky around me started to darken. Looking up, I could now see the mysterious black object was a toy RC helicopter.

Thousands of them, all armed with those same dissolving darts.

“We must escape now!” Honked Birthday Boy “Those curs wield the dread power of Shampow! A power you could not hope to understand, one long forbidden from the clutches of man!”

“Yeah, I get the idea!” I cried as we ran all the way back to the stock pond.

We didn’t reach there ‘til sundown. When we did, Bokrug was first to speak to me.

“I trust you know the direness of the situation?”

“Well, yeah. But I still don’t see how I fit into all this. You guys look pretty powerful on your own.”

“While we have had some success in hit and run missions-“ He gestured a wing towards the shopping carts and tiki torches wielded by his brethren “-We have lossed far more than we have gained. Only by penetrating the heart of darkness, and seizing the blessed water that once flowed through our LARPing grounds might we hope to end the conflict once and for all.” He said to me. “As you witnessed, our sacred LARPing grounds have been overtaken by the evil known as Wegmart. Using the limitless power of the Greeter Guy, they have erected a massive magic-proof barrier we cannot cross.”

“And how do I fit into this?”

“There is but one thing that can pierce Wegmart’s barrier: An artifact of a bygone age known as the Baldwin 60000. But in order to steal this artifact, we must first animate it with a mysterious artifact known as gold dust.”

“Still not seeing how I fit in.”

“Gold dust, however, is an incredibly rare thing. The only satchel known to exist was only ever possessed by the man who founded this great land: A man named William Penn! Technically, he acquired it from the natives… Among other things, but that is a story for another time.”

“And where the heck do you get gold dust?”

“You shall find it in the pockets of the great man himself as he surveys his city!”

“Hold on! So you’d want me to climb to the top of City Hall, and pickpocket a national hero when you have a thousand little goose friends who can FLY?! How does this make any sense?!”

Said thousand little friends glared at me.

“I would suggest referring to them as ‘Elves’.” Bokrug whisper-honked. “In honesty, I find the distinction quite trivial myself, but it is a touchy subject for them. But! You are correct: that is indeed the most logical path, but as it would happen, city hall is covered in spikes. Birdproof spikes. Seeing as you are partially human, I have faith you just might be immune.”

“Huh! I always figured those spikes were leftovers from William Penn’s rebellious phase!”

“As truth would have it, they were made to keep away those who would sully Penn’s temple of tolerance.” Bokrug and his brood turned to face me. “So, Watterson Tostig, I must humbly ask of you: Are you up to the task? Will you help us?”

I thought long and hard at that- maybe longer and harder than I’d ever thought in my LIFE up to that point. F-Bomb had warned me birds were a bunch of sellouts, giving up their form so they could live on the surface. But they had problems, BIG problems. And, well, maybe I’d run away from things a bit too much that summer, sappy as it might sound. Maybe it was time to lend a hand to guys who didn’t have any, even if they weren’t real dinosaurs.

“Alright,” I nodded. “I’ll do it.”

Bokrug bowed his head. “Thank you, Watterson Tostig.”

On cue, a trench-coated man emerged from the woods, pushing a shopping cart with a pair of fire extinguishers strapped to the back of it. It took me a moment to realize the ‘guy’ was just four geese stacked on top of one another, like in those old cartoons.

“Our envoy shall take you to as far as City Hall. After that, may your Lord’s grace be with you.”

But before I got in the shopping cart, there was one last question I had to ask:

“Say Bokrug, why’d you have your little friend take me to a death trap to explain the situation when you did it yourself just fine?”

The bandit-masked goose shrugged. “You seemed to me a visual learner.”

I rolled my eyes. This guy was starting to sound like my teachers!

#My writing #Nature Trail To Hell #bokrug #geese #grocery store #parking lot #shopping cart #gold dust

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drakorn · 7 years ago

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Tanz der Vampire St. Gallen - Act 1 Spoiler Review

Following my little commentary about the St. Gallen production, I have decided that I would actually like to make a full review. Now, back in April, @kahorifutunaka and I watched the St. Gallen production of Tanz der Vampire, directed by Ulrich Wiggers. At first, our opinions were quite mixed. Now we are closer to an agreement: The St. Gallen production does have some great solid directing and the cast is EXCELLENT, but the modern concept is wasted potential. But...why leave it here? You saw the title, right? Let’s get into full spoiler territory! To those who would like to still see the St. Gallen production without being spoiled too much, turn away right now. Everyone else, let’s go :D

Overtüre: Ok, here we can get a first positive: The Orchestra is actually full live in St. Gallen. You WILL get your goosebumps here...in the first few seconds. Remember how magnificent the animations in the original Tanz are? Well...here we get a forest graveyard first and most, followed by a gigantic castle that looks a bit like Bran Castle in Transylvania. The castle actually looks quite nice, but one would wonder “Why is the castle being shown now?” Well, this question is going to be answered in a few minutes. We then see...a much MUCH younger Professor Abronsius running onstage into the fog. We now see two gigantic rat statues with red eyes standing onstage. I am still unsure why they chose RATS of all things. I can imagine this famous Harry Potter meme being inserted here. “Let’s put rats in front of Krolock’s castle!” “But why rats?” “What other creature would you put there to be associated with vampires then?” “Oh, I don’t know...maybe a bat?” Anyway...Abronsius proceeds to examine those rats when he is suddenly...stuck in one of them? Yeah, I still don’t know what that was about...

He, ho, he: Only then does Alfred enter the stage. He is pretty much the same age as in the original version, just dressed entirely differently. He proceeds to sing his song until he discovers Abronsius in the grasp of one of the big bad rats! He frees him and together they proceed to walk...into the castle? Huh...weird...

Knoblauch: Ok, here is where things might get a little confusing at first glance. There are no more signs of a warm and cosy inn where the villagers hide from vampires. No, no, no...they are WITH the vampires already. Yeah, the inn and the castle have been merged into the same place. On the walls, you can see “Sanatorium K” written in fancy gothic letters. So...Krolock owns a Sanatorium...this version of Tanz is, therefore, taking place in an asylum? Jeesh, am I glad they mean the resort kind of asylum. If they would have shown Krolock and his cohorts merely THINKING that they are vampires because they are all cuckoo in their heads...I wouldn’t even know how to react tbh XD Anyway, the thing that ultimately takes the cake in this scene is the gigantic Garlic head in the middle of the room, with taps attached to it...wait...does it mean that the humans ACTUALLY drink garlic juice in this version? Holy moly, THEY are the crazy ones here! But anyway...there is actually something I like in this scene and that’s the costumes of Chagal and Rebecca. They don’t look like stereotypical jews anymore. Rebecca actually looks like a normal person here. Yeah, she’s a bit big, but she dresses nicely, has red hair, glasses and doesn’t look like a cartoon. Chagal looks like a hotel manager here, so...he’s in charge of the asylum? Does it mean, he is in direct communication with Krolock? Uh, this might make for some interesting change! Anyway, let’s see how this goes. So, Alfred and Abronsius stumble in and are taken care of. It is to note that Magda looks more like a nurse rather than a maid in this one. So...it IS an asylum for the mentally ill? I am SO confused. Anyway, Abronsius is woken up by something that looks like a very steaming liquid. And it must smell nice since he actively stretches out his nose. We also see some dark figure lurking in the upper floow...looks like a hotel page...uniform...strangely emo hair...and a hunchback? Is that Koukol? Yes, Koukol already features in Knoblauch here, where he is upstairs and runs away as soon as the two travellers arrive. Does it mean, he is already informing Krolock? That should be interesting. And then the dialogue happens...Abronsius asks “Is there a castle nearby?” Uuuuhm...you kinda JUST walked into the castle! Or perhaps he didn’t notice that this was the castle as it was dark and foggy...but I don’t know. And then Chagal says “No, no castle, nope, what are you talking about? We’re clearly in a castle but naaah, never heard of a CASTLE nearby, lol.” (He didn’t actually say that XD) Then we have the ONLY text change in the ENTIRE musical. The Dorftrottel says “But this place used to be a castle once.” Aaaaah, so Krolock renovated at least parts of his castle in order to build an asylum. Actually, the more you look into the scene, you can actually see vampires amongst the humans. You can point them out by their evil grins and white contact lenses, which I admit does look pretty good.

Bitte, meine Herren: Chagal leads them into their rooms. Ok, STOP! Is this a HOLIDAY asylum, therefore a hotel, or a MENTAL asylum? The word Sanatorium can be used in quite a few variations! Or is it a combination of both? I am SO confused! PLEASE EXPLAIN YOURSELF, MUSICAL! You already changed ONE LINE, it can’t be that hard to include some extra dialogue to match the modern setting! Anyway, Alfred and Abronsius get TWO beds now (wow, how nice of Chagal!) And this time, they sleep stage right, while Sarah’s bedroom is stage left. Ok, let us talk about Sarah’s bedroom, because there is quite a few things to mention. First of all, she has Marilyn Manson posters, along with things from (I think) Twilight and Vampire Diaries. And Sarah has considerably darker hair in this version...OH. MY. GOD. They have given Sarah the Bella Swan treatment! She KNOWS about the vampires and WANTS to be bitten by them! THAT IS...actually really smart. I mean, think about it! Krolock is using the vampire romance hype of the 21st century to get his victims. This makes it all the more easier for him! And it also perfectly parodies the whole “immortal love” aspect. But then there is the other aesthetic thing...WHY are the rooms so dirty? Seriously, the colour is coming off the walls, it looks like a toilet XD Maybe that’s the intention, but I remember the cosy wooden inn...yeah...that was nice.

Eine schöne Tochter: This one is actually pretty entertaining and is one of the best modern transitions of this version. Chagal not only uses a hammer to lock Sarah’s door, no, he also uses a drill! I really like that idea! Perfect inclusion of modern elements.

Nie geseh’n: This is where the entirety of the stage gets used. I actually quite like this scene as well. Chagal finds Magda on a sort of balcony, smoking a cigarette. Her “sewing” remark is treated as sarcasm here. That’s a nice creative way of getting around without changing the lyrics. Also, instead of a Salami, Rebecca uses her walking stick (yeah, she has one here) to beat the shit out of Abronsius and Chagal. What I also enjoy is that the Orchestra pit is incorporated, as in, the actors actually walk through it in order to get to some parts. But here is something I don’t enjoy: Ok, Rebecca has been given red hair in this production...WHY would you change Sarah’s hair then? Come on, you had THE opportunity to create more resemblance and you tossed it out of the window. Shame....Shame....Shame....ok, that’s enough Game of Thrones. Look at the Finnish version, they did it better with the resemblance!

Gott ist tot: Ok...where do I begin to describe how Krolock looks like in this one? He dramatically appears on the rooftop over Sarah’s bedroom and begins walking around on it...dressed in a very thick fur coat. Also, this Krolock looks much older than the one in the original version. But I actually quite like his hairstyle. It is not as wild, it is more civilised. He looks like you would expect a contemporary aristocrat to look like. However...the fur coat and the song make him look like an (and many people have said this before me) undead sugar daddy. And his seductive cat-like movements on the rooftop, followed by a 30-second creepy as fuck stare into Sarah’s window, watching her sleep (ehehe, Twilight, ehehe), don’t really help the case XD Overall, I think Krolock’s first appearance in this version is a bit underwhelming. Remember how in the original version, he glides through the audience, spends the first part of the song in darkness and casts a giant shadow over the entire stage? All of that is unfortunately missing and nothing really makes up for it. The Finnish version had dying couples singing the “Sei bereit...” around him while he was still covered in darkness, THAT is a way of making up for it. But here...no, I didn’t really feel it tbh.

Alles ist hell: One of the biggest changes so far. It takes place in a gym hall (huh, so it IS a hotel then, because I don’t see why a mental asylum should have such a fancy looking gym). Again, we have vampires as well as humans in the gym. Sarah is also allowed outside in this one...well, I hope she is only allowed outside inside the building where her parents can see her, otherwise Draußen ist Freiheit would loose a bit of its impact. And here we have the now second appearance of Koukol. I don’t know, I really hate his hairstyle here. He looks like an emo. But I like that the entire bargain for candles gets a bit more obscure with the modern setting. Why would someone order so many candles when they have electric lights? This leads to the belief that Krolock has only refurbished a certain part of the castle and himself dwells in an older one. Quite an interesting idea here.

Wahrheit: I actually really enjoyed this scene. Abronsius is younger here and they take full advantage of that. A lot of this song is sung on the stationary bicycles of the gym, with Abronsius drinking water, and also breathing into an inhalator...huh, I...guess, he has asthma here? But I appreciate the hard work the actors put in here. It can’t be easy to sing a song like this on bicycles! Also, I like that instead of the wood falling down, a lamp explodes when Abronsius does his high note here. But again, some of the script (”Und dabei schlüpft meine Säge durch Zieder”) would have been up for a change. But at least the Nobel prize makes sense in this context, I guess.

Du bist wirklich sehr nett: I can’t really say that much about this version because it nearly plays out the exact same way. The only difference is that Sarah walks through the orchestra pit to get to Alfred. But yeah, this isn’t one of the scenes where you can change that much.

Einladung zum Ball: Holy moly, THIS scene, however, is a totally different story! First of all, Krolock’s teleportation is grander here. He has two doubles this time, one high up stage left and one further lower stage right. The light shines on them without revealing Krolock’s face, which makes it really believable. However, we also have the stage direction where Sarah gets out of the bath, goes behind the set, in order to sit in a bigger bath in order for the scene to play out. Krolock appears and delivers his invitation. The difference here is that Sarah isn’t frightened or shocked at all...she is happy. This Sarah REALLY wants to get bitten by Krolock. Also, she is actually naked in this one, and she even stands up, with her back facing the audience of course. Krolock quickly takes his fur coat and wraps it around Sarah, which looks quite hilarious actually. It looks like he’s saying “Sarah! This is not a PG15 show, and you are 17 for crying out loud! Here, have my coat and cover yourself!” He then walks away, leaving a magnificent impression on Sarah. We don’t actually see Chagal spanking her in this one, we just hear it. Oh, so we can have naked Sarah, but we can’t see her getting spanked? This show must have had a weeeird risk assessment XD

Draußen ist Freiheit: This version is totally different to the original What I find interesting is that Koukol actually opens the door so that Sarah can get out, which actually makes sense rather than her randomly being able to exit her house in the original version. But the real interesting thing is that Sarah in this version really seems to be annoyed with Alfred. It is so obvious that she wants to get away from him here.

Die roten Stiefel: This time it’s not just red boots but also a red corset. This is...interesting, but ok. And here is the part where I don’t like the look of the new vampires. In the original version, we had this magnificent dream sequence with red curtains and dance pairs. Here it is a bunch of people in leather clothes, pretty reminiscent of the Finale II vampires, which makes it look more dangerous, I’ll give them that, but also less dream-like. But there IS actually a good, even a great addition! This version has a Dream!Chagal coming out to fight Dream!Krolock over Dream!Sarah, which ensues in a battle with the two figures pulling her back and forth. THIS is something I would legitimately like to see in the original version!

Das Gebet: This scene, however...I did not like. In the original version, we have this entire inn, everyone holding candles, a moon shining, the Count standing on the rooftop, Sarah getting all emotional at the front. This version, however, looks like they were thinking “Well...we can’t cut it, so we need to have it somehow.” Everyone is praying in the centre, with Sarah further back and the Count is not even in it.

Trauer um Chagal: What is quite amusing here is that Chagal doesn’t really look that worried when he finds out that his daughter ran off. It actually looks like he’s being like “Oh come on! Seriously? Alright, let’s get her back.” He even drinks a bit of Vodka instead of eating Garlic, like he’s saying “Oh boy, will I have a chat with my boss now.” What follows next is the animation of a long and dark staircase...uhm...whooooooooo...gruuuuuhuhuuuuselig! And then we have one of the most unintentionally funny scenes in the show. Remember how I said that they didn’t change the lyrics? Well, okay, so all of the action, therefore, happens in a single building here. So WHY ON EARTH WOULD THE VILLAGE PEOPLE STILL INSIST THAT WOLVES WERE THE CULPRITS??? Is this a thing in Transylvania? Is it normal to find WOLVES strolling around INSIDE the building? Come on, this is a direct insult to Abronsius’ intelligence here. Also, the vampires among the people really act out their diabolical nature here as they really smirk and smile at the dead Chagal. Then we have this other thing...Chagal seemingly serves Krolock here...so why would Krolock kill him if he wants to bring back his daughter? I mean, I guess he could have found a replacement...but oh well, I’m getting too deep into this. Next scene!

Tot zu sein ist komisch: This is where Magda’s dark side is shown. Why? Because she LAUGHS when she sees Chagal’s dead body. Wow, that woman must have REALLY hated him. I mean, understandably so, but JESUS! And she doesn’t really seem that terrified when she’s bitten. I guess her working for a vampire Count makes her mentally prepared for what is to come eventually. She uses a bible instead of a cross against Chagal. And then...the next best unintentionally funny scene happens. And to this day I STILL don’t know what the creative decision behind that was. Okay, so we have Abronsius and Alfred wanting to impale Chagal, which leads to the chase sequence...only here it is accompanied by disco party lights. WHAT was that for? XD WHY did they do that? XD It’s so hilarious XD “UUuuh, yeaaaah, da vamp’s in da houseeeee, yeessssss!”

Durch die Wildnis zum Schloss: Right, cancel the “Wildnis” part, because nobody is going outside here. And again...”Bestimmt entdecken wir durch ihn das Schloss von diesem Grafen!” YOU ARE IN THE CASTLE, FOR GOD’S SAKE! Jesus Christ, they really should have changed the lyrics because this makes them look like absolute idiots now XD And then the travel sequence comes. I don’t know why, but I had a desire to burst out laughing during this. It shows empty rooms that clearly belong in a mental asylum (SO WHAT IS IT NOW, A HOTEL OR AN ASYLUM??? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, SHOW!) The funny thing is that it has a slow-motion sequence of a black figure running into the distance. I don’t know why, but this really made me laugh so much XD

Vor dem Schloss: Or in this case “In an older part of the castle”. We obviously get the vampires in the audience. They just don’t seem as creepy because of their leather clothes. Then Krolock comes in, wearing a shiny grey suit. Krolock and the amazing shining grey suit! XD Actually, I do admit that this scene is pretty well done. Krolock clearly is annoyed by Abronsius and CONSTANTLY stares at Alfred. When they have their moment together at the end, Krolock grabs his shoulders and stares him right into the soul. Overall, the contact between Krolock and Alfred is done much better here than in the original version, so props to them for this one. But again...please change the script occasionally. Königsberg is no longer the name of the city Abronsius comes from. It’s Kaliningrad now. Yeah... And Herbert...wow, Herbert looks great XD He has this purple suit and long open hair, which make him look like Legolas visiting a gay bar. And then we finally get to see Krolock’s shadow! Hooraaay! He walks up the stairs before the curtain comes down, stretches out his arms, and a giant shadow comes up, opening all of the castle windows. That was quite neat as well. Also, I love how he gets a short moment where he opens Abronsius’ back, sees what’s inside it and nods like he’s saying “I have work to do.”

So, overall, Act 1 wasn’t bad but it wasn’t that overwhelmingly great either. I will see you all in Act 2 which will follow soon enough :D

#Tanz der Vampire #St. Gallen #Musical #Review #Spoilers!#Holy moly #That is long

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cherubintraining · 8 years ago

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All of the aesthetic asks please

flower crown: when did you last sing to yourself?

I last sang to myself…hm…about ten minutes ago? Before my roommate came back from her class! All Time Low by Jon Bellion is stuck in my head today!

fairy lights: if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know?

Hm…this is a very good question…probably if we will ever live on other planets. Space is v neat.

daisies: what is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

Living!! Something I’ve been doing for almost 19 years!! Because sometimes being alive is Rough™️️ and that’s okay! I try my best and that’s all a person can do!

1975: what is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?

There’s two that came right to mind! The first is the most recent, when my aunt let me play with her makeup and hair and I low-key transformed her into the next Stevie Nicks. Good TImes™️️! The other one that came right to mind is when I got to see my favorite person for the first time in over a year when she came home for a weekend. I miss her bunches.

matte: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?

I mean probably? I’d probably not continue my college education and try to travel different places. Work on my bucket list. But I also potentially wouldn’t change anything.

black nail polish: do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things?

Pet a giraffe (done), own a hedgehog, and own a bed and breakfast (in no particular order)

pantone: describe a person close to your life in detail.

She’s got shoulder-length brown hair and big, beautiful sea-glass colored eyes. Full-lips and a contagious smile. Her entire persona just makes you want to sit and listen to what she has to say for hours on end. Her voice calms me down. Her sense of humor can be a little dark sometimes but that’s okay, because it makes me laugh. (I guess I can be pretty dark, too) She has been through a lot, but she has never stopped fighting and I truly admire that about her. I love her a lot. She’s like an angel to me.

moodboard: do you feel you had a happy childhood?

I feel I had a relatively normal childhood!

stars: when did you last cry in front of another person?

Pssshhh yesterday when I got in a car accident, I cried in front of my roommate, the other driver who was involved, and two police officers.

plants: pick a person to stargaze with you and explain why you picked them.

I’d probably pick my cousin John. He’s a man of quiet solitude and loves the outdoors. His mind wanders a lot so I feel it’d be a good fit. ‘Specially since my eyes are too bad to see that far away :P

converse: would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them?

Maybe? If we were stuck together for a long period of time, sure.

lace: when was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you?

My friend Nikki. She and I were wandering around the city and talking and being idiots. She’s a long-time childhood friend.

handwriting: if you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom?

I’d engrave “nothing is set in stone” on my gravestone with my own two hands so that way everyone who sees it can roll their eyes in exasperation at me.

cactus: what is your opinion on brown eyes?

I lowkey think I had a thing for people for brown eyes - every person I’ve dated has had brown eyes. (Except one, but we don’t talk about that.) They’re beautiful and deep, and there’s so much more…to them than…what…meets…the…eye…I hate myself.

sunrise: pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally.

“Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyways.” This is the story of my life. i am messy. I am complicated. I live in constant anxiety and I always show up anyways.

oil paints: what would you title the autobiography of your life so far?

Things that Happened™️️

overalls: what would you do with one billion dollars?

Move to another country. Buy a little house and a dog and lots of flowers. Create the aesthetic that I will probably never be able to afford.

combat boots: are you a very forgiving person? do you like being this way?

With some things I am too forgiving. With others I hold too many grudges. I don’t like being this way really because if I forgive I never forget and since I never forget, I feel like I never truly forgive. winged eyeliner: write a hundred word letter to your twelve year old self.

(I’m going to do an estimate on words.)

Dear twelve year old me,You are going to make so many mistakes. So, so many mistakes. Right now is the beginning of where we as a person went wrong. We treat ourselves like crap, and I wish I could warn you of what is going to happen, but I can’t. I, for one am not a time traveler, and B) you become a better person because of it all. I hope. I don’t know. I’m still working on it. Read a lot of books. Make a lot of art. Ignore boys in general cuz boy oh boy do you have another thing coming. Sincerely, Me. The Older Screw-up™️️

pastel: would you describe yourself as more punk or pastel?

Neither. I am Punk Pastel™️️

tattoos: how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain.

LOVE THEM. I have 6 piercings so far, though my final number is aimed to be around 12. I have one tattoo, but I plan on becoming a walking canvas. It’s my body, and I want to treat it like the masterpiece it is.

piercings: do you wear a lot of makeup? why/why not?

I either wear a shit ton of makeup or nothing at all. There is no in between with me. But I really LOVE makeup.

bands: talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way.

I grew up on Pink Floyd, so I guess I have them to blame for my constant Angst™️️.

messy bun: the world is listening. pick one sentence you would tell them.

LMAO I can’t do speeches in front of a class, no way in hell would I be able to say something to the entire world. It’d probably just be a *choking noise*

cry baby: list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas-y!Hannah Montana/the Jonas Brothers - honestly don’t remember too much of that concertScott Stapp - Really happy and chill because my dad was with me and very happy. Warped Tour - Very emo. Just…very, very emo. Black Veil Brides - I had a headache the next day but it was a lot of fun! Nothingbutthieves - I had no idea who this band was but they ended up being really good. I felt very relaxed and old…there were a lot of younger kids there.X-Fest- I was really only there to see Wheezer and Panic! At the Disco but it was sooooo much fun. Lots of dancing and GORGEOUS sunsets.Florence and the Machine - Like the gypsy princess I wish I could be. Taylor Swift (all of her tours) - I am always going to love Taylor Swift. Her music just makes me very happy and I’m not ashamed to say that I love her. Very dance. Much smile. Many off-key singing from my aunt and I.

grunge: who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?

My Person, Angel. And it could say anything in the world, I’d still be happy because this week is already extremely Rough™️️

space: do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised?

My desk at home is very cute and artsy but the one here at school is kinda really messy.

white bed sheets: what is your night time routine?

At home I usually take a bath, wash my face, brush my teeth, put on my fleetwood Mac record and my fairy lights and go on tumblr. (I know, it sounds fake. But it’s true.)

old books: what’s one thing you don’t want your parents to know?

Technically there’s two things. I like girls and I have a tattoo.

beaches: if you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why?

It would be pink ALL over and it’d be longer than it is now so I can wear space buns and put hair glitter in it.

eyes: pick five people to go on an excursion with you. who would you pick and where would you go/what would you do?

Sarah, Isabella, Megan, Morgan, and Jules. I don’t know what we would do or where we would go but I think it’d be v fun.

11:11: name three wishes and why you wish for them.

I wish school was over (I’m stressed) I wish for a hedgehog (they’re so cute)And I wish all my friends were happy (I’m lame)

painting: what is the best halloween costume you have ever put together? if none, make one up.

Oh I’ve decided for halloween next year I’ll be Van gogh. I’m going to wear my starry night dress and have an ear necklace and carry around sunflowers.

lightning: what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done while drunk or high?

Never been high. I got drunk once and made out with a boy.

thunder: what’s one thing you would never do for one million dollars?

Kill anything or anyone

storms: you on only listen to one song for the rest of your life, or only see one person for the rest of your life. which and why?

Song: Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

love: have you ever fallen in love? describe what it feels like to realise you’re in love.

I’m gonna pass on this one.

clouds: if you’re a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? if you’re a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair?I am a girl and I had short hair once (its still pretty short) but I loved it

coffee: what’s your starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone?

My friend Sam. Vanilla Chai Tea Latte

marble: what is the most important thing to you in your life right now?

Sleep.

This was very long but very fun! Thank you anon!!!

#answers

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trekwithtaylor · 7 years ago

Text

Country #50 - Latvia

The Flights

Today was another crazy travel day as I set off back across the pond to visit Eastern Europe! Eastern Europe has been at the top of my bucket list for a long time so I am really looking forward to the countries on this trip, including Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and flying out of Norway (I’ve been before this trip but I’m doing Bergen this time so it’s a new city for me). I also want to do Eastern Europe before it gets much colder so that I can enjoy it.

Today I flew out of Dallas on a family pass. I didn’t get business class but I did get a row to myself which was very nice. I slept about four hours and watched the new Spider Man on the plane. As far as nonstop London flights go (and I’ve flown them a bit thanks to studying abroad and prior visits) this was the first time I have flown out of Dallas, so it was probably one of my longest flights ever so far at nine hours.

After landing in London I had plenty of time to transfer to my next airport but not enough time to safely venture out and see anything. It’s not like I haven’t been to London before, so this was purely a transit visit. I landed at Heathrow where I then sat for a while and figured out my plan for the day. I decided to transfer straight to Stansted (worst airport ever, I’m sure I’ve said that before) instead of waiting around at Heathrow or going into London and risking any sort of problem.

I took the tube to Liverpool Street where I made it on the next Stansted Express train right as the doors were closing. I dislike how expensive the Stansted Express is but it gets the job done and if you don’t have time to book early it usually the same price (if not cheaper) the day of than the National Express bus coaches, and it is definitely quicker than those.

I arrived at Stansted a little over three hours before my flight. Stansted is the worst, just to remind you for a hundredth time. Their entire system encourages you to be there early, but, surprise, if you are over three hours early you can’t check your bags yet (this wasn’t a problem for me because I had no bags). I would likely never be more than three hours early (I’m usually only two for international flights) except for in transit. So it just puts passengers in an annoying hold because there is literally nowhere to sit in the Stansted main entrance.

After going through what I swear is the longest duty-free section that is impossible to skip I decided to eat at an actual restaurant since it had been a while since my last meal and I was going to be traveling the rest of the day. I decided on the Windmill because it looked cool. It’s a pub (under the Wetherspoon brand) but it felt like a restaurant other than the weird ordering system where you either had to order on an app (which I did) or go to the bar (kinda hard to leave your bags at your table as a single traveler). I got a burger that was funnily enough called the American Burger. I then had another two hours so I went and sat in the main waiting area.

So here is my main beef with Stansted. The signs will tell you, without fail, that your flight is boarding the second that it gets assigned a gate. And they also wait forever to tell you the gate so once you know you almost always feel like you need to hurry when in reality boarding hasn’t actually started but you never know when on the off chance it will. My flight today was at 4:45pm. The gate was supposed to be posted at 4pm, was actually posted around 3:50, and then the second it was posted it said that it was now boarding. After a ten minute walk to the gate, I found no boarding for another twenty minutes at least. So basically, they make you run all over for no reason and it is a problem that could easily be corrected. The exact same thing happens when they post final calls. I have run to flights in Stansted because the signs have said final call only to find that half the time boarding hasn’t even started yet.

After finally boarding I had a seat in the back of the plane. The flight was fine other than the fact that I have never in my life seen so many people stand up on a flight. Like literally there would be at least five people in lines for the bathrooms all flight long and others were congregating in groups which is against rules. Other than the annoyance of having the constantly moving passengers run into me on the aisle seat It was a good three-hour fight that I stuck to Netflix on.

When arriving in Riga, Latvia, immigration was a breeze. I then found the mini-bus (basically a bus shuttle) #222 from the airport to the center of town. Regular bus #22 is also an option. The bus dropped off right by the central train station which, luckily for me, was right across the street from my hotel, Opera Hotel & Spa! After navigating the underground crosswalks (because there are too many trams for there to be crosswalks on the street) I came up right in front of Opera Hotel & Spa. Thank you so much to Opera Hotel & Spa for sponsoring this night of my trip! Check in was simple and my room is very nice! It is clean and updated and has an absolutely perfect location for exploring Riga.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Riga tomorrow, and also to having a good night’s sleep after not getting much on the plane last night.

The East

Today was my first full day in Eastern Europe of the trip! After a late night getting in I set my alarm for 8:30, but then snoozed it until 9:30, and then somehow fell back asleep until 11am. Not ideal, but I still had enough time to see a good overview of Riga! After checking out of Opera Hotel & Spa I sat in the lobby for a bit to finish planning my day since I fell asleep before doing so last night.

I started the day with lunch at an Italian Restaurant. Lame, I know, but at every Latvian restaurant I looked up I would have just ended up getting a burger so I had some tasty lasagne instead. The walk to lunch introduced me to the Old City which is incredible. After lunch, and throughout the rest of my day, I spent a lot of time just walking around Old City. The buildings are very unique and I highly recommend spending as much time as possible walking through them.

My first stop after lunch was St. Peter's Church. St. Peter’s Church was first mentioned in official records as early as the 1200s, while the building itself is old but not nearly that old. My favorite part of the church was the observation. The student ticket was seven euro. You take an elevator to the very top for an awesome view out over all of Riga. The church itself had a really nice art exhibition on display and, while plain for a European church, it was still beautiful inside. I’m glad that the sun was out while I was on the observation deck because by the time I left St. Peter’s it had started raining.

The rain thankfully only lasted about five minutes. My next stop was the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia which was unfortunately closed. I’m looking forward to learning more about the history of the Eastern European countries, but it looks like I will have to wait until another city. The museum sits on Town Hall Square, which was, unfortunately, being renovated. The scaffolding showed how cool the square is when it is not under construction and I’m sad to have missed it!

After two very quick stops, I made my way to Riga Cathedral. When I walked in I heard what sounded like a live choir and orchestra performing. After buying my three euro ticket I found that I was lucky enough to be visiting the church during their practice! The chorus was huge and it was such a cool, but completely unexpected, moment to be able to sit and listen in such a beautiful place. After taking my time listening and then walking around the church cloister I then made my way to the Three Brothers, which are the three oldest houses in Riga. Their exteriors are very unique, especially for buildings dating from as early as the 1500s.

My walk from the Three Brothers to my next stop, Latvian National Museum of Art, was a little longer. However, I was able to walk through Bastejkalna parks, a lovely park that flows through the center of Riga. During my walk, I found some sort of kayak competition being held on the small body of water that flows through the park. I arrived at the Latvian National Museum of Art about an hour before closing time. I did the permanent exhibitions starting with the top floor, which was a super unique, all white space. The other floors were art by specifically Latvian artists. The museum wasn’t too large (though the building was grand) so I was able to do it all in about forty-five minutes.

After the museum, I headed to Alberta Iela (Albert Street), which is known for its Art Nouveau buildings. The buildings were cool but definitely did not take a lot of time to see. I walked down the street and then made my way back to the center of town. My longest walk of the day, at about fifteen minutes, took me from Alberta Iela to The Freedom Monument. The Freedom Monument stands at the start of the Old City and is a monument to the soldiers who died in the Latvian War of Independence. I then went to Riga Black Magic. It’s a super cool cafe where I had some cake and amazing hot chocolate. Latvia is the coldest country I have been to since Argentina so the hot chocolate was much needed and so good! It was the kind where you stir chocolate into warm milk which I really like. Black Magic had a really cool decor and I definitely recommend it.

After recharging on basically just chocolate I made my way back to Opera Hotel & Spa to gather my bags and head to the bus stop. The stop for the 22 or 222 bus to the airport was right down from Opera Hotel & Spa about a five-minute walk, and the bus arrived about ten minutes later. On the bus I met a British man who asked how long the bus took. We then went on to chat for a minute during which time he told me that when he hears of Alabama it makes him think of slavery or “worse things” which was not ideal to hear. Otherwise, he was really nice and wished me well on my trip, but that part of our conversation was definitely a bit awkward.

Security at the airport was simple with no lines and afterwards, I headed to my gate and found a good spot to sit. I was three and a half hours early for no reason other than that by this time it was dark in Riga and I decided to go ahead and be early. There was a Vanderbilt football game on and somehow I was able to have good enough wifi to watch over half of it. It was a horrible loss to Georgia but it gave me something to do to pass the time. Once I finally boarded the flight itself only took about thirty minutes.

When I arrived in Tallinn, Estonia, there was no immigration as I was passing from one Schengen Area country to another. The Schengen Area includes twenty-six European countries that have eliminated border control for fellow Schengen Area countries. I thought about taking an Uber because it would have been about five euros cheaper than a taxi but at 12am the wait time was too long and it was raining. I took a taxi instead and the ride took about ten minutes. I had a really easy check in at my hotel, Go Hotel Shnelli, who I cannot thank enough for sponsoring two nights of my trip! My room is very comfortable and the best part is the view of the Old Town from the room.

After arriving in my room I watched a little more football before showering and going to sleep pretty late. My goal is to get up early enough to have a full day exploring Tallinn, as after day one in Eastern Europe I am really looking forward to it!

50 countries down, 147 to go.

For more information on Latvia click here to read my guide.

To learn more about Opera Hotel & Spa click here.

For more information on Estonia click here to read my guide.

To learn more about Go Hotel Shnelli click here.

#Riga #Latvia #Country 50 #Opera Hotel and Spa

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taylorowelch · 7 years ago

Photo

Just to let you readers know, I’m changing the format of my blog a bit to make it easier for me to post. Now instead of separate days, the days will be consolidated into one post with a range of dates, where I started that section of the post and ended it, and the total mileage I’ve walked in the section I’ve just written about.

Cascade Locks, OR - Mile 2211.7 8/8 - 8/10 - 67.3 miles

Dustin had to do his entire resupply for the state of Washington while we were in Cascade Locks. In the morning we waited for the post office to open and I helped carry his boxes down the street just before 9. We went to the grocery store after, got coffee and started walking. The day felt new and fresh as we approached the Bridge of the Gods, where Oregon ends and Washington begins. The bridge was made of many pieces of metal riveted together and painted light gray. The bottom of the bridge was corrugated, and I looked at the deep teal Columbia River beneath it as I walked. A breeze soared through the railing of the bridge, birds swaying on it between the mountains on either side of the river. A sign at the other end of the bridge read in large letters, “Welcome to Stevenson, Washington”. After walking across the bridge we got back on the trail and began a short, flat section before a large climb, passing a deep green lake and, occasionally, poison oak. The climb turned steep but was mostly in the shade, making it a bit easier. I listened to the news all day. I was really behind and wanted to catch up. It was oddly distracting, taking my mind off the long gravel roads we had to walk due to a logging closure. At the top of the climb I stopped at a small tent site looking out over mountains draped in smoke. I ate chipotle cheddar pasta shells and listened to a news episode about the political situation in Venezuela, shooing ants off of my tyvek. After dinner I had six miles left to walk and realized I was burning daylight, beginning down the hill at a fast pace. My feet ached but I was in a good mood. I got to Snag Creek, set my pack down and walked down the bank to filter water in the last light of the day. I looked out at the trees with their branches totally enveloped in thick moss. They looked like giant worms. Huge flat green leaves waved at me from the opposite bank as a gentle breeze fluttered over the creek. It looked like an illustration of a Miyazaki movie. I hurried back to my pack, did my bedtime chores, spread out my tyvek and sleeping pad in a depression in the earth, a little cradle of dirt, and laid on top of my bag, hoping my skin would become less sweaty in the cooling evening. I wrote and listened to the snores of someone in a nearby tent, deep blue light filling in space behind the tall trees around me. My alarm buzzed in the hood of my sleeping bag, rattling me awake at 5:30. I poked my head up and looked at Dustin, still asleep. I decided that I would also go back to sleep. I felt a bit lazy. I stirred around 6, ate my cold oatmeal, put on my damp clothes and started walking around 7. The day was humid already. Sweat dripped down my forehead and gathered on my eyebrows. About two miles later I stopped to filter water, cameling a full liter. I knew I would lose a lot of sweat today. I cruised on into the morning, Dustin ahead of me. I listened to my morning news podcast as I hiked in the dank shade, surrounded by mossy logs and huge ferns. Thirteen miles into the day I stopped for lunch at Wind River, laying out my tyvek and making myself as comfortable as possible on the warm stones. I drank water, filtered more, ate and then decided it was too hot to do anything but get into the river. The water was ice cold, numbing my feet. I waded in and rubbed my legs trying to wash layers of dirt off. Finally I plunged my entire body into the water. It felt so good. I walked onto the bank and shook some of the water off. I laid in the shade for a while and rested. After lunch a long climb awaited us, 3800 feet, and we would camp a few miles before the next water, meaning I would have to carry way more than I wanted to. I vaguely entertained the idea of pushing more miles to the next water and not carrying any. I decided against that and begrudgingly put 3 liters in my pack. I sweated through all of my clothes during the climb, my forearms dripping, my hair soaked and stuck to my forehead. I pushed on and on, stopping once to eat dinner and then got right back to it, climbing another 1,000 feet to our campsite. It was a little gravel perch, not quite at the peak of the mountain, but it provided a beautiful vista. Dustin and I chugged water, sat on dry moss and looked out onto smoke-laden mountains all bathed in the sunset. I had heard rumors that a meteor shower might be visible tonight. I spread out my tyvek, hung my damp clothes on a spruce tree nearby and tended to all the chafed parts of my body, all of them red and angry after the recent humidity. I crawled into my sleeping bag, feeling the enormous wave of relief of laying down, all of my muscles rejoicing at not having to hold up my body any longer. A couple of shooting stars danced across the sky. I thought about the last time I watched a meteor shower, a couple of summers ago in a big open field a couple of miles outside of Richmond. So much had changed since then, but I was filled with a similar feeling of being content in change, newness, excitement. A mosquito buzzed around my head all night. I pulled on my headnet and drifted off to sleep, my stomach rumbling a little. I dreamed of food all night, scenes of giant piles of ice cream and pancakes filled my subconscious. In the morning I took my time getting ready, leaving camp around 7:15. I stopped to get water a few miles from where we had camped and Dustin and I decided that we would do more miles today than we have been. We agreed on about 15 before lunch and to get close to 24 miles for the day. I felt good. After filtering water I hiked on through lush greenery, ferns and raspberry bushes thick along the sides of the trail. I listened to a news segment covering a heated disagreement between a politician and a journalist about the current relevance of Emma Lazarus’s poem on the base of the Statue of Liberty, reading, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” That part of the poem played over and over in my head. A warm breeze floated across the trail, all the plants trembling in its wake. I thought about what it meant to disagree with that statement, as the politician had, about the way our society is moving, about all the times my father has apologized to me for the world he says his generation has left mine. Later I found Dustin filtering water at Sheep Lake. A tremendous buzzing sound hung in the air, black flies, dragon flies, mosquitoes, bees all hummed out their part in the orchestra. We sat on a log, looked at the lake and made sheep noises in the direction of Sheep Lake. I squeezed the water from one bottle to another, sweating already in the warm morning. Two food thoughts have been darting around my mind for days. Well, not really food thoughts, drink thoughts. I have been craving Diet Coke and lemon water. Day after day I’ve envisioned my sweaty, grimy hands picking a cold bottle of Diet Coke out of a gas station refrigerator, opening the top and heading the fizz of carbonation. I keep obsessing over how the soda would tingle and pop all over my taste buds. I thought about soda and lemon water all the way to the next water source, Blue Lake, where Dustin and I eat lunch. I ate my cold soaked ramen in huge spoonfuls, hungry after hiking 14.8 miles before lunch. Since we made sheep noises at Sheep Lake, we decided it was only fair to serenade Blue Lake with the song Blue by Eiffel 65. We yelled the words out over the lake:

Now listen up here’s a story About a little guy who lives in a blue world And all day and all night every thing he sees is just blue like him Inside and outside Blue his house with a blue little window And a blue corvette And everything is blue for him and himself And everybody around ‘Cause he ain’t got nobody to listen

Today I hiked my 1000th mile. Most people who started the same day as me reached theirs a while ago, but I’m not bothered. I thought a lot about my first few days on trail, about Ellen, who is back in Richmond. This hike would have been so different if she had been here this whole time. I wish I could have seen that play out, I thought as I walked. I realize there are 330 more miles until I have walked half of the trail. Though I’m not even half-way done yet, I thought about how much time had passed, how the miles continue flying by faster and faster. Town stops are shorter now, we enter and leave as quickly as we can I wondered if the rest of the trail would fly like this. It’s August already. I can’t believe that. I stopped to cook dinner at junction and Dustin caught up just as I finished cooking an alfredo pasta side. Mosquitoes nipped at my skin through my thin shirt, flies buzzed loudly around. When we finished we walked quickly to a flatter area just before a parking lot and found a couple of tentsites. I wanted to cowboy camp again but the bugs were too irritating, I needed some peace. I set up my tent and crawled inside, eager to peel off my sweaty clothes and wriggle into my dry sleep clothes.

#pct

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