#also unfortunate you can’t see or hear my outfit because I jingled

[iguessitsjustme]

Ren Faire closing weekend with @heretherebedork

I am now simultaneously sweaty and dusty

I only have a few pics of myself from today but I don’t post my face on tumblr so you get these instead

[lady-divine-writes]

Klaine one-shot - “The Gourd You Give” (Rated PG)

It’s just another day at work for Kurt when a handsome man bursts through the door and begs Kurt for a pumpkin. (1577 words)

A/N: This is a re-write. Warning for mention of illness. Meet cute.

Read on AO3.

“Help me! Quick! I need a pumpkin!”

The words fire out so quickly from the man’s mouth that his request is finished before the bells over the door stop jingling. Kurt looks up from the issue of Vogue open on the counter he’s sitting behind and straight into the eyes of the most desperate man he’s ever seen – harried for certain, curls that have been gelled down within an inch of their life breaking free around his hairline, hazel eyes shimmering from the cold, his cheeks flushed from running (Kurt assumes, since he’s panting like a tired dog). Plus, the door has a brand new dent from where the man slammed into it before he realized it was a pull door and not a push.

“Uh … okay.” Kurt puts a worn business card into the binding of his magazine to mark his spot, then closes it to handle his manic customer. “You do realize you’ve just entered a costume shop, though. Not a supermarket.”

“I know.” The man nods vigorously, taking a deep breath. “I need a pumpkin costume.”

Kurt sits up straighter, intrigued by this man’s request, as well as his adorable, slightly antiquated clothing choices - a sweater vest, a button-down, a bowtie, and a vintage U. S. Navy peacoat. Paired with his dapper good looks, the man pulls it together nicely. Kurt’s eyes zero in on his brightly-colored shoes and go wide. Where on earth did he find a pair of Moods of Norway suede wingtips in pink? They’re sold out everywhere! Kurt has to find a way to ask.

Kurt also can’t help but notice the pride flag pin fixed to the collar of his coat - the new version with the brown and black stripes. Kurt grins.

His recent string of dull afternoons might finally be looking up.

“A pumpkin costume for yourself?” Kurt asks.

“No.” The man shakes his head, a bashful smile splitting his lips. “For my little man, Andy.”

“Oh,” Kurt says, only minorly disappointed at the mention of a son. But children have never been a deal breaker for Kurt. He loves children.

“He’s six,” the man explains, “and when his mom asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, he said he wanted to be a pumpkin.”

Okay, wife is definitely a deal breaker, Kurt thinks, but he chuckles at the thought of a little boy, who Kurt imagines looks somewhat like this man – raven hair, possibly the same hazel eyes, and olive complexion, waddling around the streets of New York dressed as a giant, gap toothed Jack-O-Lantern.

“He doesn’t even want to be a Jack-O-Lantern,” the man grouses, stunning Kurt into wondering if he hadn’t voiced that thought out loud. “A Jack-O-Lantern costume I can find. He wants to be a regular, boring old pumpkin.”

“How adorable,” Kurt says, giving the man a flirty smile when he knows he shouldn’t. He can’t seem to help himself. Something about the way this man is freaking out over trying to find his little boy a pumpkin costume is too endearing.

“I tried to talk him out of it. For weeks actually. I’ve bought him every costume under the sun that I thought he might like – Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Fluttershy …”

“Fluttershy?”

The man chuckles, but waves the topic off. “That’s a whole other story entirely.”

Maybe for another time? The words almost make their way out of Kurt’s mouth before he mentally slaps himself in the face.

Married. With a kid married. Gear down, Hummel.

“Anyway, he won’t budge. And his mom, she’s a really awesome seamstress, but she’s been sick …” He pauses and swallows after the word sick, and Kurt feels his heart double thump. He’s using the same inflection Kurt remembers his father using when he would tell people that Kurt’s mother was sick. It leads Kurt to believe that ‘sick’ might be a vague reference to something more devastating than the flu that’s been going around.

“Oh,” Kurt says. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

The man nods, pinching his lips between his teeth to keep from going into it. “It’s been kind of a tough time for the little guy. So I thought, you know, if he wants to be a pumpkin so badly, let him be a pumpkin. Only, I can’t sew to save my life.”

“Did you try papier mache?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” The man looks subconsciously at his hands. Kurt peeks and sees bits of dried plaster embedded underneath his nails. “But I thought that a professional costume shop might have something like a really kick-ass pumpkin. I’ve checked online, but I’ve had no luck. I even tried calling some of the performing arts schools, but nobody has one. I guess nobody ever plays a vegetable in a school play anymore.”

“I guess not,” Kurt says sympathetically. He looks at the distraught man and sighs. Kurt feels for him. He really does. He seems like a nice guy – sweet, kind, and caring to a fault, racing around New York City, trying to fulfill a little boy’s wish. Even with his bittersweet story, he’s a nice change from the customers this shop usually gets – cosplayers, Ren Faire folk, and, during Halloween, teenagers looking for whatever sexy comic book character they can get their hands on. In the close to four years since Kurt’s been part-timing here, it’s been a while since he’s had anyone come in asking for a child’s costume. They did outfit the Atlantic Children’s Playhouse performance of Cinderella a year back, but the pumpkin from that performance was six feet tall, and got trampled in the last act.

“I’m sorry,” Kurt says, “but we don’t have any pumpkin costumes here.”

The man stares at him blankly, lips parting an inch as if he’s about to argue, unwilling to accept what Kurt is saying.

“How about a squash?” he asks sadly.

Kurt’s heart breaks a sliver. “We don’t have any fruits or vegetables … or food costumes in general. I’m so sorry.”

The man sighs, looking about a foot shorter when he’s done.

“Well, this was the last store on the list. I can’t believe in all of New York City …” The man taps the counter with his hand, like putting a period at the end of his sentence, stopping himself before he unloads his grief at this situation on Kurt. “Thank you, anyway.” He smiles weakly, then turns to go out the way he barreled in.

Kurt watches him leave and knows he can’t let him. So, maybe the most compassionate (and probably the most handsome) man Kurt’s met in ages is married, but that’s not the issue, dammit! His kid still deserves to be a pumpkin!

“Wait,” Kurt calls out before the man’s hand reaches the door. “You know, I’m majoring in Musical Theater at NYADA …” The man turns back slowly, that hopeful look returning to his face. “I make a lot of my own costumes. Maybe I can help you.”

“Do you … do you really think so?” he asks, walking back to the counter.

“Yes! If I can make a Joan of Arc suit of armor in a day, I’m sure I can whip up a pumpkin. I mean, how difficult can it really be?”

“Oh my God!” The man jumps up and down, doing a tiny dance. “Are you serious?” Kurt nods, chuckling at the man’s ridiculous jig. “You’re a life saver! That would be … that would be incredible!” But then he stops dancing, and his face falls again. “Oh, but I’m afraid I probably can’t pay you what you’re worth.”

Kurt bites his lower lip. What he’s worth. He’s been so jaded by fair-weather friends since he’s moved to New York, he didn’t know there were people out there who worried about things like that anymore.

“Meh,” Kurt says. “I’ll take a ton of pictures and put them in my portfolio for school. Chalk it up as work experience. Just pay for the material, and the labor’s on me.”

“Oh, I couldn’t.” The man shakes his head to decline Kurt’s generosity, but with the widest smile growing on his face. “That’s too much.”

“I insist. I need the extra credit points,” Kurt lies. “You’d be doing me a favor.”

That seems to sit okay with the man because he stops shaking his head.

“Well, can I at least buy you dinner while you’re toiling over construction of this gourd?”

“Absolutely,” Kurt says without thinking. Then his mind skids to a stop. “Uh, will your … wife be joining us?” Oh, please don’t be a cheater, he prays in his head. I’ll lose all faith in humanity if you turn out to be a cheater.

“My … wife?” The man’s brow wrinkles, and he looks as confused as Kurt feels. “Oh no! No no no! Andy’s mom is my sister-in-law, not my wife. Andy is my nephew.”

“Oh!”

“No, no. I’m single.” The man emphasizes the word single. “My boyfriend and I separated over a year ago. I’ve been on my own ever since.”

“Oh. Well, in that case, my name’s Kurt.” He sticks out his hand, and the man takes it.

“Blaine.” He holds Kurt’s hand for a moment after he shakes it, giving it a gentle squeeze that makes Kurt’s toes tingle. “So, can we consider tonight a date then?”

“Absolutely. Meet me here tonight at seven,” Kurt says, “and we’ll turn your nephew into a pumpkin.”

[kaitlinthelostgirl]

December, 2016

I can never stay away from Disney for long and went back on another vacation as soon as my semester ended (literally. I left the day after my last final). My friend, Beth, let me stay at her house, so I didn’t have to pay for a hotel. Then I had friends help get me into the parks. It was a pretty great trip and I figured I would share a couple of my best memories from each park. 

Hollywood Studios 

Our first stop was Hollywood Studios and I surprisingly got to see a lot of my friends from my last program. Of course we had to go see Moana in One Man’s Dream since I am now obsessed with her movie. She was just as beautiful as I expected and while I liked the design of her location, I really wish she had a better spot to be in instead of in the maze of One Man’s Dream. We also went to go see Kylo Ren (I can’t pass up a chance to annoy him) and got a pretty cute picture with him even if the attendant did get mad at me despite the fact that I didn’t even touch him, because I know that’s a no-no. We also saw Donald at the front of the park next to guest relations in his original outfit and we visited Olaf since my friend, Alison, had never met him before and specifically wore her Christmas Olaf shirt for him. 

Somehow I managed to get fastpasses for Toy Story Midway Mania only a week in advance and so we headed over to Pixar Place which came with a wave of memories. It just so happened that a couple green army men were out and Alison had also never gotten a picture with them so we tried to wave one down. I got one’s attention and he held out his hand for me behind his back, so I took it, but instead of getting him to come over to Alison, he just started walking with me. I didn’t fight it and I could hear my friends following me and whispering about whether the green army man knew me or not. This was when he finally looked over at me and things started to click for him. He pointed to where Buzz and Woody were and I agreed that I had worked here a lot. However, he was a little confused on what my job was and was trying to use charades to tell me that I should go be friends with Buzz. It has also been a while since I’ve played charades with characters so I wasn’t doing very good at figuring out what he was saying so he kept getting really frustrated. Finally I just had him write it down and before I could explain that I was an attendant, his set was over and he had to go away. We went on Midway Mania and the whole time I was trying to figure out what he was trying to say. After the ride we sat down on some benches since we didn’t have anywhere to be and Alison and I were exhausted after getting only a couple hours max of sleep. While we were sitting there, my friend, Emmanuel, appeared and gave me a big hug. He had just gotten done working with the toys so we stood there and talked for a while before another army man appeared, because he noticed Emmanuel who then pointed to me. The army man freaked out and literally lifted me off the ground in a hug, this being a tall soldier, my feet were dangling practically a foot off the ground. All of the guests were so confused. I got lots of kisses from the army man and he stayed standing with us while we talked, until I started pointing out the kids that were wanting his autograph or a picture like the attendant I am. 

I ended up checking out the new breakroom for Pixar Place which is sooo much bigger than the old one and actually has couches and a TV instead of little benches that fit maybe two people. I hung out with Emmanuel and then caught up with some other friends that came in on their break and probably stayed there for a good half hour or so. Finally I made myself leave when Emmanuel did and we walked to the Great Movie Ride together before giving one last hug as we parted ways so I could go find Alison and Beth. 

Our plan had been to watch the new show Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! and then rush over to Fantasmic and we managed to do it, but we ended up sitting in the very very back where there is about 8 rows of bleachers behind the main walkway. The viewing for things in the water was TERRIBLE and people kept standing up in front of us to try and see, but I didn’t really care since I have seen it so many times. 

Overall it was a great day in my third home at Disney. 

Magic Kingdom

Our second day in the parks was spent in Magic Kingdom and again, I got to see so many friends. Ashleen and Jarren, co-workers from parking, got us in at EPCOT since parking was not as crazy over there, and then we took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom and Ashleen joined us while Jarren went off to hang out with his brother. Of course there was a lot on our to-do list and we pretty much managed to do it all. 

First, we went over to Space Mountain to meet up with my old coworker, Jamie, while he was on his break. Like always he caught me up on what was going inside of the mountain as well as inside of the parks. He was also an angel and gave us some paper fast passes so that we didn’t have to worry about the crazy lines.

Around 2:30 we had to check in for Tiana’s Riverboat Party. While I had been looking at dining options for Magic Kingdom, I saw that it was finally a thing and knew that I had to go whether my friends went with me or not. Beth and her boyfriend ended up going, but Alison ended up just finding something to eat somewhere else and watching Festival of Fantasy. If you are a fan of The Princess and The Frog, I highly recommend the Riverboat Party. When you first walk in, you get a scoop of ice cream and then three little desserts that are all themed for the movie. There are also drinks and a station full of different toppings to put on your ice cream from sprinkles to pearls to chocolate shavings. While we were eating, I kept making eye contact with Naveen and I could tell he was trying to figure out where he knew me from. I think it finally clicked that I had worked with him and visited him several times and when I went up he happily greeted me with, “It’s nice to see you again, my friend! How have you been?” Then you go on the boat to watch Festival of Fantasy. You can see the floats, but none of the dancers or characters on the ground. Then we pulled back to the dock so Tiana and Naveen could get in and lead a parade of kids (and adults) around the boat while music played and they shook giant tambourines. The best part though is that they just wander around and talk to people while the boat goes around Rivers of America. Naveen stopped by to see us and I asked if he could do a video for Jodian, a friend of ours that he knows well, and he was more than happy to send her a message.

After we got off of the boat, we met up with my friend, Bryan, who I worked with in Studios and he spent the rest of the day with us. Of course I had gotten a fastpass for Space Mountain and of course Stella has broken down when it was time for us to go. But this meant that everyone was outside so I got to see more of my friends that I used to work with. Then once it was finally back up, we went on it and Jo gave us a reride which was very much appreciated seeing as how someone had been riding with the flashlight on their phone shining our first time through.

After Wishes, we decided to meet Elena since I didn’t know when I would get another chance too and there was no line. I am so glad we did, because the meet and greet with Cinderella and Elena were some of the best I’ve ever had.

Animal Kingdom

I got to spend my morning reunited with one of my best friends, Allison, whom I roomed with during my second program. I hadn’t seen her since March, so it was great to see her beautiful face and of course we fell back into step with each other as if we had just been together the day before. I love friendships like that where time and distance have no effect on your relationship with each other. 

Definitely one of my biggest highlights from Animal Kingdom was the Carnivale on Discovery Island. They pulled us in to dance for at least three songs and it was the most fun I had ever had. The music was wonderful and half the crowd had been pulled. Everyone was smiling and dancing along and it was just overall a great experience. 

Expedition Everest at night was at the top of my to-do list and Beth’s boyfriend rode it with me, so I didn’t have to go alone. It was so much fun and even more exciting in the dark than it is during regular hours. Everest is by far one of my favorite rides and this just made it even better. I also got to see my friend, Mckeal, that I worked with in parking which is always a great thing. It’s so awesome to see friends working in all different places around the parks and experiencing new things. 

EPCOT

My first scheduled shift on my own was at Character Spot with Goofy and it just so happened that on our last day, one of my friends was hanging out with Goofy there. It wasn’t until I was meeting Mickey that Goofy spotted me and decided to photobomb my picture. Then when it was finally my turn to see him, he gave me a big hug and lots of kisses. Our meeting was full of dancing, giggles, hand hearts, and just Goofy being his silly self. It brought back so many memories to be there. 

 We also rode the refurbished Soarin’ and I love this one so much more! Seeing places around the world is so cool and I love the way that they put it together. High recommend! 

 Alison unfortunately had to leave after Candlelight Processional, but as soon as she left, my friend, Greyson came and we got to spend the rest of the evening together. Just like everyone else, Greyson and I picked up right where we left off and I finally got my goodbye hug I didn’t get at the end of my last program.