#anyways I went to the mall and took some selfies |(￣3￣)|

[4starchild4]

Guys keep DM’ing me on this goddamn app talking about some “heyy” but the moment I respond back its crickets??? Like you texted me for a reason keep it going 🤨

[tooruluv]

Kozume Kenma x F!Reader x Tetsurou Kuroo ( part 2 )

❝ i’m right here, when are you going to realize that i’m your cure, heartbreak girl? ❞

description: kozume kenma didn’t know the exact day in which he realized that he was in love with you. he knew very well that it was sometime after your first “hello”, but the exact moment got whisked away in the many memories that included you. the problem was, though, that you were in love with and in a serious relationship with the boy he claimed as a best friend.

genre: angst, pining, unrequited love, (characters are aged up as the story continues)

word count: 2,527

warnings/notes: next chapter will be more kenma!! think of it like a back and forth between kuroo and kenma's views but also.. not like that. ANYWAY i love feedback so please let me know what you think!! <3

tag list: @elianetsantana​ @vhskenma​ @jennasquishy8​

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“ it was that summer i learned your number like it was my own. i still remember that first september driving you home. ”

┏━━━━━⋇⋆⋆⋇❦⋇⋆⋆⋇━━━━━┓

Tetsurou Kuroo was a very patient person. But when it came to you, it was the opposite. He fell in love with you instantly, like a grain of sand being washed away by a wave. And the second he realized his feelings, he told you.

You were a year below him, beautiful and intelligent. You didn’t attend Nekoma, but he always found you wherever he went. At the convenience store, you would happen to be checking out. At the mall, you would be in the food court. It felt as though he would see you everywhere, as if fate were telling him to find you.

Kuroo took his shot at flirting with you, though it was unsuccessful because the man may be good looking and quite popular but an awful flirt. You thought it was cute.

So, he was ecstatic when you told him you would go on a date with him.

And that little movie date turned into a million dates. Cue the montage of the both of you, giggling together and having the best summer of your lives. Cue the scenes of water gun fights and laughter, of dancing in the moonlight and falling down hills, of picnics and jumping into pools. He really did fall in love with you in the matter of two months.

He told Kozume Kenma about you the minute he realized he adored you. He told his best friend about the summer romance, talking nonstop about the girl he knew he fell for with ease. Kenma didn’t believe him at first, rolling his eyes at Kuroo’s claim of “dating a girl from a different school”.

But Kenma was observant above all else, and Kuroo knew that he didn’t have to prove it to him. He knew that the second Kenma noticed his lockscreen, he would know that he wasn’t lying.

“That’s her?” Kenma asked at lunch, eyes catching the cute picture of you two as Kuroo’s wallpaper.

“Yes it is!” Kuroo locked his phone again, showing it off. It was a selfie he took, both of you smiling and shining against the sun. It was his favorite picture.

But pictures only last a moment.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Tetsurou Kuroo asked you one night.

You giggled, staring at the most handsome man in the universe, “Of course. I thought you would never ask and I would be pining forever.”

You were crying. That was for certain.

It was September, the crisp air and the reds and oranges brought the world to rest. But you were up, and Kuroo was a phone call away.

“Hello?” Kuroo asked the instant he answered his phone. It wasn’t every day that your summer romance calls you at the asscrack of dawn. In the middle of a thunderstorm, no less.

“Hi.” Your voice was small and choked. Kuroo wasn’t asleep yet, but now his body was fully awake.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can you come pick me up? Please?”

You didn’t need to explain any more. You didn’t have to give him a reason to put on some sweatpants, get into his car, and drive to where you told him you were. It was an hour drive but it felt like five minutes.

When he arrived, you were curled on the porch of a cabin with dried tears on your cheeks and his hoodie on (and soaked to the core). He parked his mom’s car and you instantly stood and rushed to the car as if it was the safest place in the world.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He offered as you closed the door. You hadn’t looked at him.

“Not really. Just family, I guess.” You shrugged. He watched you shiver a little.

“Here.” Kuroo reached to the backseat and handed you an extra hoodie he had laying there. “It was in my practice bag so it might smell like sweat.”

“Thanks.”

It was the most silent that it had been between the two of you, and you had been together for a little while. Not officially, but a summer’s worth. Small sniffles and little sounds of the rain hit the window were the only sounds.

He decided to reach across the seat and place a hand on your thigh. You shivered at the touch and instantly started to cry harder, grabbing his hand with both of yours.

With your two hands clasped around his, and his still grabbing your thigh, you finally told him of that night. Through tears, you told him about how your family wanted to go to this cabin on the lake for a little get away before it got too cold, but it quickly turned into a million different fights. You told him about how awful your family life usually was, and why you are constantly out with him or with your friends from your school. You told him everything. And he listened.

By the time you were done, you were nearly home. Your eyes were still red.

“You can stay with me.” Kuroo told you as he pulled into his house. You looked so small, with a red face, wet hair, and his hoodie swallowing you. You were beautiful.

You blinked at him. “No, it’s okay. I can just go home. No one is there and…”

“I’m not telling you to sleep with me.” He tried to lighten the mood. You let a smile creep onto your lips, he noticed. “I just don’t think it’s best for you to sleep on your own tonight.”

“I do want to sleep with you.” You said. “I mean… sleep beside you. Sleep in the same bed.”

Kuroo flipped his hand up to intertwine your fingers with his. You were still kind of cold to the touch. “Come on. You need sleep more than I do, and I had like nine tournament games earlier.”

Tetsurou Kuroo was a brutally honest person. His intellect matched his wit, and he knew more than he ever let on. He could very well insult you and compliment you within the same two words. But it was this honesty that started the first decline in the relationship.

But you fell in love with him anyway.

The sun hung low in the sky as the two of you laid on the grass. Kuroo’s legs touched yours as you leaned against his side. The air got cooler and the evening grew.

“You should meet my friends.” He told you. It was his first time offering. It was something that you were kind of nervous about, knowing that he had an entire team that looked up to him and knowing that he was incredibly popular. “I think it’ll be fun.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” He turned his head to the side, taking you in with a beautiful gaze. He thought you were brilliant in the sunlight. “I’m sure they think I’m insane, talking about a girl that they’ve never met and think I’m making you up. Oh, and you’ll love Kenma.”

“I finally get to meet the infamous Kozume Kenma?” You chuckled. He did too.

You’ve heard so much of the claimed best friend, and you were intrigued. He sounded like the perfect best friend, for both you and for Kuroo. He sounded to be the perfect piece of earth to ground the cloud that was your boyfriend.

“There’s a party coming up, you have to come.” He started to go off on a tangent and go on and on about his friends, his volleyball team mostly, and you just listened.

You kissed him to shut him up, and he stared blankly at you.

“You’re gorgeous.” you told him.

“And so are you.” he replied.

Tetsurou Kuroo wasn’t an idiot. He was actually incredibly intelligent and observant. However, he didn’t catch the sparks fly off of Kozume Kenma at the very first interaction between you and him. He didn’t see the heart eyes glowing out of Kenma’s head, and he didn’t feel the warmth Kenma grew at the very sight of you.

As your friendship grew with Kenma, Kuroo couldn’t help but be happy. Not only because you were getting along with his best friend, but because he could see how Kenma let down his walls with you. It wasn’t very often that Kenma opened up to anyone. For that to be you meant the world to Kuroo.

One day, after practice and then studying, Kuroo called you. “Hey baby.”

“Hey!” you answered after, like, one ring.

“What’s up, do you want to have a movie night or something?” Kuroo heard noises behind you. “It’s almost Christmas! We can watch a corny Christmas movie and eat terrible snacks.” Another noise from behind you. “Hey, where are you at?”

“I’m at Kenma’s.” You answered. Kuroo didn’t know why he felt his stomach drop, but he deflected it.

“Oh, okay cool!” He started to put on his shoes. “I’m on my way, then.”

“Okay! Hey, Kenma!” Your voice distanced. You were talking to the background noise, aka Kozume Kenma. “Kuroo’s on his way over!”

Not that Kuroo should feel jealous of you hanging out at his friend’s house, but he did kind of feel something in the back of his mind. Because Kenma had become your friend, too. And Kenma’s doors were always open (and he knew how important that was to you).

All of his strange feelings went away the second he entered the house and saw the two of you. The two most important people in his life.

The fights got worse and worse as the relationship continued. They started as small bickerings; “I told you that I didn’t want this!” or “Please call me back, I haven’t heard from you all day”. Simple things that could easily be resolved. They spiraled into a constant fight about things such as “what ifs” (what happens when Kuroo goes to college, what if this happens), and into the same fight about Kuroo being terrible about communication and about you just wanting to ignore the fight instead of discussing it.

By half a year into the relationship, you spent most of your free hours with Kenma.

All fights would end with you calling him. Or just coming over and not speaking. Or even just enjoying dinner with his family. Any reason for why you wouldn’t come home or talk to your boyfriend.

The fight at the time had ended pretty brutal.

You waited and waited at a restaurant, sitting at a booth by yourself. You continued to order waters, typing on your phone to see where Kuroo could possibly be when he promised you that he would meet you for a dinner date. You sat through the stares of the waitresses. You sat through free bread and free water.

After a couple of hours, you gave up. You weren’t even upset, you were angry. It isn’t the first time that he had left you hanging, and you decided that it wouldn’t be the last. You were so pissed off that you texted him one last sentence, “seriously fuck you”.

You stormed into Kenma’s house, rage seething off of you. Kenma only looked up from his game for a moment and moved over so you could sit next to him on the bed.

“I’m guessing the dinner date didn’t go well.” was all he said. You sighed, rolling your eyes and shoving your feet under his blanket. You were still dressed up.

“Don’t even get me started.” You huffed.

Your phone started to ding with Kuroo’s replies (finally, after hours of silence). You just turned off the sound and watched Kenma play.

For a while, you curled next to him and watched him play. He was extremely aware of your warmth, of your heat. He had to stop himself from putting his head on top of yours.

He paused the game. “You should answer him.”

But you didn’t want to. You didn’t want to sit and tell him for the million and first time that he needed to communicate with you. You didn’t want to answer it and hear his apologies. You wanted to sit with Kenma, in silence, and watch him play his stupid (but actually pretty interesting) game. You just wanted to relax after stressing for the past hours.

“Fine.” You clicked the green button the next time it rang.

“Hey babe.” Kuroo sounded solemn. Sincere. Guilty. “Hey. I’m so sorry I haven’t texted you, I stayed after practice for a while and ended up hanging out with some of the Karasuno first years. I totally forgot.”

“I waited there, you know.” Your voice was laced with venom. Kenma had never heard you speak like that, and frankly, he was a little bit scared of you. “I waited. For hours. In the fucking restaurant, Tetsurou.”

Tetsurou. He had never heard you call him that.

“I know, I know. I’m so sorry. You should’ve reminded me!”

“I should have reminded you?” You let out a laugh. Kenma tilted his head. “I should have reminded you? Did you not read my texts or are you just blind? Don’t you turn this on me like you always fucking do.”

It spiraled from there. Halfway through the fight, you turned to Kenma. You muted yourself, vaguely listening to him argue over the speaker.

“I’m sorry. I’ll go outside.”

“It’s okay.” Kenma shrugged. “It isn’t like it’s the first time.”

You bit the inside of your mouth. You squeezed his shoulder before getting back on the phone, heading outside. You mouthed another apology to him as you left.

Things weren’t always that way. The fights and the arguments were just between the love and affection. Because Tetsurou Kuroo really did love you, and you loved him.

It was coming to the end of his third year, and the majority of your time consisted of spending a lot of time with him. You were laying with him at his house. His body was wrapped around yours, your back against his chest.

“Hey, you should join us for the trip this summer.” He asked.

It was still months away. The graduated third years from Nekoma and some from other schools that you’ve seen them go against (Fukurodani Academy, Karasuno, Aobajohsai, some others you couldn’t think of). It was basically “let’s get all of the volleyball boys, and our girlfriends, and get away for the summer after we graduate and get drunk/high every night”.

“Really?” You turned around in his arms. His hand didn’t leave your waist. “You really want me to come along? I thought it was supposed to be just the volleyball boys.”

“No, I know Bokuto is bringing his girlfriend. And so is Tanaka from Karasuno, and I think little Hinata has a girlfriend now too.” Kuroo smiled at you. “You should come. I really want you there.”

You pecked his lips. “Yeah, of course I’ll come.”

That’s how you ended up in the backseat of Kotaro Bokuto’s car in between Kuroo and Kenma on your way to a cabin by a lake.

[theotherstephencobert]

I posted 58 times in 2021

39 posts created (67%)

19 posts reblogged (33%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.5 posts.

I added 101 tags in 2021

#fitblr - 20 posts

#bikeblr - 18 posts

#cycleblr - 16 posts

#comeback - 13 posts

#setback into comeback - 12 posts

#gymblr - 11 posts

#selfie - 4 posts

#personal - 3 posts

#scooters - 2 posts

#covid - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 41 characters

#zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

March 20, 2021 - Dear Tumblr:   I  AM  BACK!

I don’t have all that many followers, but I suspect a few of you were wondering why my posts have been sort of few and far between for the past eight or so months. Here’s what happened.

Back on July 1 of 2020, I rode my bicycle over to Towne West Mall here in Wichita to rendezvous with my granddaughter Savannah and take her shopping for an early birthday present. When we got back to the entrance, I discovered something funny: My bicycle, which I’d locked up with a cable lock, was gone, and a less expensive Huffy bicycle was standing there unlocked in the space I’d put mine. I don’t know if this was the thief’s idea of a joke or what, but I was not amused: I called the police and filed a police report, and also called Tom Sawyer Bike Shop (where I’d purchased it) and reported it stolen. I also got in touch with Mall security to ask if there was camera coverage on the bike rack (there wasn’t). So I made my way home and sort of stewed.

I do a fair amount of cross training, and in fact in the months following the theft I did a good deal of running. But cycling is my first love as regards fitness, and I will admit I was in a bit of a blue funk after my two wheels were stolen. This, incidentally, was shortly after my local Walmart had re-opened after its initial Covid-19 closing. I bought another bike from Walmart and it pretty much fell apart on me after less than five miles of riding. I took it back and got my money back and bought another one: same story. (I think the guy who usually assembles the bicycles hadn’t been called back into work yet.) I was in no position financially to purchase another high-end bicycle from a bike store, so I resolved that I’d have to do without and get a bike later.

Since then, my weight and my fitness have, uh, sort of suffered. (Perhaps you noticed from the photo.) I tried to keep up the running but I missed cycling terribly.

So this past Wednesday I got my stimulus payment. I decided to make getting a new bicycle a priority. So this past Thursday I went back to Walmart and picked up the Roadmaster mountain bike you see in the photo above. I’ve ridden it a fair amount and it hasn’t fallen apart yet, so I guess the guy who knows how to put bikes together is back at work. I feel hella better and plan on riding it every chance I can.

I didn’t report the theft here on Tumblr because I didn’t want to come across as a whiner - Let thy discontents be thy secrets as Poor Richard’s Almanack says - and besides, I was sort of hoping the original cycle would be recovered. But anyway, look out world! I am back and I plan on staying back.

(One footnote: It looks as if I am going to have to build up the mileage again before I do any on my “touring”. Even as much as I rode my bike, I lost a pretty fair amount of my long-distance training in the eight months I was without a bicycle.)

12 notes • Posted 2021-03-21 05:38:04 GMT

#4

June 27 - July 3, 2021: Year's half over now

Here's what wemt on this week.

Sunday, June 27, I biked home from the hotel after an overnight shift. I stopped at Kwik Shop on the way home to get some drinks. Then I biked to Scooters to get another white chocolate iced mocha and caramel muffin, and then biked home to get some rest.

Monday I was up quite early to get another WCIM and muffin from Scooter's for Becky, and then to bike to the Howard Johnson. I didn't have to work that morning, but there was a new clerk there doing her first shift completely on her own, and the owner wanted me there in case she had any questions or something out of ther ordinary happened. (Everything went pretty smoothly so I rested for the most part.) Then I biked home.

Tuesday was a rest day.

The month of June ended on a bit of a sour note. On Wednesday I got a call asking me to come in and work the afternoon shift. So around two, I carried the bike outside to ride it to work. Then I realized something: the front tire was flat! So I got it back inside and pumped it up; it seemed to hold the air, so I rode it to work. I worked until eleven that night, and as I prepared to go home I checked my tire and (as I was sort of hoping wouldn't be the case) the tire was flat again. Just my luck, I had a slow leak. So I walked my bike home.

Thursday was the first day of July and I really wanted to start the month with a weight training workout. I was thinking of running to the Y, but Becky asked if I could go to Scooter's for another WCIM. So I aired up the front tire, biked to Scooter's for the WCIM and delivered it to the apartment, then headed to the Y for weight training.

It's been awhile since I posted a selfie so I thought I'd take one and post it. The yellow sunglasses were a gift from my son that I recently found: I like the style and color of these, and I don't really need the sun-blocking of the really dark glasses of my last selfie. Anyway, I did my weights that afternoon, and when I got done my front tire was still aired up enough that I could ride home.

Friday I was scheduled to work the overnight shift, but I got a call from the afternoon clerk telling me she didn't feel good and could I work that shift for her. So I aired up my front tire and rode in to work in mid-afternoon, taking my air pump along with me.

Saturday morning I got off at seven. The front tire needed air, so I aired it up and rode home with a stop at Kwik Shop for food and drinks. Then that evening I rode back to the hotel with the pump in my travel bag to do the overnight shift.

There's a saying that, if it's important to me I'll fid a way, if it's not I'll find an excuse. I guess riding the bicycle must be important to me becayse I'm not letting a silly little thing like a slow leak leep me from riding. I get paid the middle of the month, so I'm sure I'll be able to get the thing repaired then.

13 notes • Posted 2021-07-05 07:58:00 GMT

#3

Sept 23, 2021 - Yesterday I finally got my shit together

Literally!

In mid August my MD decided I needed to be screened for colon cancer. They arranged for the makers of Cologuard to send me a kit to get a stool sample and send it to their lab in Madison, WI. It got to be a month and I hadn’t received my kit yet, so I called  them and they told me that for some reason it had been delivered to a CVS pharmacy a few miles from where I lived. So last week I went out there and picked it up.

I will confess to some reluctance in taking the test. I mean, I really don’t want to hear, “The disease has spread so far and is so virulent that we have to cut out most of your lower digestive tract and hook you up to a machine for the rest of your life, oh and you can forget about riding your bike or going to the gym or...” But anyway, yesterday I got up early and prepared to take care of business.

One instruction that gave me a little pause was the directive to not provide so large a sample that it wouldn’t fit in the collection bowl. I had to think, “Ya know, none of us knows how big it’s gonna be until it comes out. How the hell are we supposed to regulate something like that?” But, luckily, my “sample” was pretty much just the right size.

Then I had to do some other stuff like scrape the side of my sample with a little toothpick-sized stick and screw it into a test tube. Then I had to pour preservative solution on the main sample, screw the lid on the bowl nice and tight, prepare labels with my name, date of birth, and the date and time of the sample, uhhh... “manifestation” I suppose is as good a word as any. I had to put it back in the box it came in, seal the zip-up plastic bag (I’m sure the UPS drivers don’t care for the contents of these kits leaking out), seal the box and then take off the original delivery label to reveal the return label.

I was gonna have a family friend take ne to the UPS Store but that fell through, so I called UPS and they arranged for a pickup at my apartment building that same day. (This sample has to get back to them pretty much the nect day for the tests to be effective.) I set the package outside my apartment building, and a few hours later it was gone so I am confident it’s on its way to Madison.

I suppose I’ll be hearing from my health care provider soon enough if the tests come back with anything I need to be concerned about. I listen to a local Classic Rock station, and they regularly run commercials for Cologuard; one of the lines in the commercial is “Colon cancer is more treatable if it’s caught early.” I still have these underlying feelings of, “I shre hope I caught it early enough.” But then, I’m sure procrastinating and playing the game of “ignorance is bliss” would have been a lot worse in the long run.

13 notes • Posted 2021-09-24 05:09:42 GMT

#2

Teresa Calton, Wichita, KS: 1946-2021

This photo is of Teresa Calton of Wichita, KS. We met in 1988, and in 1989 we married. I regret to say that, as seems to happen so often these days, our marriage did not last and we divorced in 2001. Even after we divorced, we were still friends and visited each other.

I was thinking about it and today, October 21, 2021, is the 20th anniversary of the day we divorced. Which makes what I have to write now a bit bizarre.

Teresa was admitted to Wesley Hospital in Wichita about a week ago with COVID-19. Even four days ago, she was getting up to use the bathroom, eating and talking with people. Then she took a serious turn for the worse. This morning our son Travis received word that she had been moved to the ICU and was on oxygen and feeding tubes. Then at 1:45 this afternoon the doctors called him to say he nneded to come in right then to make his final farewells. It was just before 5:00pn Central time that he contacted me to tell me she had passed away.

I find it this side of unthinkable that, after so many deaths, people still think that this damn virus is some hoax or conspiracy. Yes, Teresa was 75 years old and was not in the best of health. But this disease is real.

Rest in peace, Teresa.

19 notes • Posted 2021-10-21 23:16:34 GMT

#1

20 notes • Posted 2021-07-02 21:30:17 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[purplesurveys]

1214

Who was the last person you took a photo with? Was it self-taken? Angela and I took so many photos last Sunday. It was a mixture of selfie shots and photos taken by Hans.

Have you ever tried to learn another language? How did it go? Yeah, I enrolled in the Spanish and Korean courses on Duolingo. Spanish went smoothly for a while until it got to a point where it felt like I was just doing it as a game; the verb tenses eventually got too difficult as well, so it was natural for me to just take an indefinite break altogether. 

Korean was way too challenging from the beginning because of how similar the vowels sounded on the app; it was so much easier to just watch Korean shows and learn to read Hangul/pick up Korean from there.

When was the last time you charged your phone? It’s charging at the moment. It was at 2% just a few minutes ago.

So, what are your plans for the near future (a year)? Save money and get better at my job.

Do you prefer questions about trivial things, or more deep and meaningful? You mean on surveys? Trivial things. I like taking surveys so I can take a quick break away from life, not so I can get existential crises along the way.

What can you hear right now? Tell me even the tiniest things. I’m listening to music on my headphones and it’s pretty loud, so this is the only thing I can hear. My fan is also currently on its strongest level so I know it’s being quite loud, but I can’t hear it.

Where did you last ride in a car to and why? I went to the McDonald’s drive thru to pick up my BTS Meal lol

Tell me about a person that comes to your head whose name starts with M. A batchmate from high school named Mavic. We’ve talked like once since graduating, and it was her recommending some GOT7 songs to me since I had mentioned in a tweet that I found their music pretty good.

Do you drink alcohol? How often? Yes. Maybe once or twice a month, I’d say.

Do you have any bills that need to be paid right now? Nopes.

Can you rap freestyle? Or at least sing raps from songs? I can’t do freestyle but yeah I memorize a few rap songs, specifically from Watch the Throne since I had a phase where I was heavily into the album. I can rap some Korean verses but I’ll mostly need my phone as guidance to read the lyrics as I find them impossible to memorize hahaha.

Do you know anyone from the Philippines? Robynnn. < :D :D

What was the last type of soup you ate? Miso soup, from my Yabu meal last night.

Are you more logical or creative, or maybe somewhere in between? Logical.

Do you use bar soap or gel soap? Bar soap.

What colour do you associate with the flavour mint? Hm, either white or green.

When was the last time you had brunch? My family and I usually have brunch on Sundays, so this morning.

Does your bedroom door have a lock on it? Do you have to use it? It does. I use it occasionally during the day so my mom doesn’t just barge in - as she does - during my shift, especially if I have an important meeting coming up. Lately I’ve also been locking my room at night, just because.

How many times a year do you travel away from home? If you mean TRAVEL travel and not just driving to the next city to go to the mall, maybe 3-4 times a year. Obviously we’ve had to put a stop to that for now, but that’s the average.

Describe your go-to outfit to me, please. T-shirt or blouse + mom jeans.

Do you like your job? Why or why not? I do like it as it’s in line with my interests and strengths. It’s just very stressful this month as there are so many big campaigns we have to support in June so I’m not exactly having a very dandy time right now. But I like the job overall.

How about your boss? What's your boss like? I work under two bosses; one is my manager and another is a director. They’re both great and are very helpful guides. It also helps that the three of us are very close in age, so there’s no layer of intimidation that lingers when we work together.

Do you have a credit card? Do you rely on it? I don’t have a credit card per se but I have a credit line on one of my apps that I will use a few times a month. No, I make it a point not to be reliant on it and only use it for emergencies.

Are you bitter about anything at the moment? Tell me about it. Just the fact that it’s Sunday again and I have to work tomorrow when I feel barely well-rested. I love my job and working on the BTS Meal has been sunshine and rainbows, but I need to breathe lmao.

What colour is your bath towel? At the moment, it’s sky blue.

Who was the last person you saw a movie at the cinema with? Who paid? Gabie. We paid for our own tickets.

Do you message friends and family on Facebook regularly? Yes, it’s my main mode of communication.

What is the most played song in your iTunes (or other) library? According to Spotify, it’s Butter for the month of June (so far).

Have you ever shared a house with a significant other? I have not. I don’t even live on my own yet.

Do you have a song in your head? Do you remember how it got stuck there? Just the song I’m currently listening to.

When was the last time you did laundry? Hmm, never? I don’t do the laundry at home.

Do you still have a landline phone in your home? Yep. My grandma still prefers to communicate via landline, so we keep it around for her.

How are you feeling today? Happy, sad, or anything else? Hot and uncomfortable. Kinda crestfallen because it’s Sunday, but at least the worst part of the month aka last Friday is finally over and it’s all post-campaign work stuff from here. Also feeling giddy because some of my orders just arrived :D I guess I’m all over the place today.

What is your favourite brand of shoes? Nike.

If you smoke, what's your brand of choice? I don’t smoke as a habit, so I don’t have a go-to brand. If I do smoke, I just go with whatever brand since I just ask for cigarettes from friends anyway.

Have you ever built a snowman? Nope.

Does it even snow where you live? No.

If you had to volunteer for a week, where would you like to volunteer? A shelter for stray dogs and cats.

Who was the last person you made you upset? What did they do? Just some annoying people on Facebook who seem to find it fun to rain on other people’s happiness.

Do you have a crush on anyone? Tell me about them. Nah.

Have you ever had something signed by someone famous? What and who? A postcard from Sheamus and a poster from AJ Lee. Both wrestlers.

What was the last thing you said aloud? “Awww” after reading a heartwarming post on Facebook.

[whenemmafallsinlove]

I have no clue how I’ll write this without crying a thousand times, but I’m going to attempt to put into words what August 4th and August 5th 2019 meant to me.

I guess I should start by saying that I’ve been listening to Taylor’s music since I was a kid, since the beginning. I don’t know what day I became a fan, but I know it was before Fearless came out, so it’s been around thirteen years. My mom used to be a teacher and one of her students gave her Taylor’s debut CD right around the time that she was going through her divorce. The song Tied Together With a Smile really hit home for my mom, so the CD stayed on repeat in the blue minivan I grew up riding around in. Then we bought Fearless when it came out, and Speak Now when it came out, and so on. We started seeing her in concert when the Speak Now World Tour came to St. Louis on August 13, 2011, and I joined Taylor Connect the very next day. The rest of my online fandom experience is history from there! Taylor’s music has been there for me through absolutely everything, and when she followed my (at the time even MORE of a shitshow blog) on June 1, 2015, my heart soared. Every like and reblog I’ve gotten since has been cherished entirely and I have absolutely no idea how I got so lucky. A lot of people tell me I ‘deserve’ it but I just want to emphasize that we all DESERVE it, no one of us more than the rest! As many of you know I started something called Positive Hour on my blog on April 30th, 2019. It ended up really making me happy, so I kept doing it, as many days as I had time to. On PosHour Day 19 (which occurred on June 5, 2019), Taylor came on my blog and liked 26 different posts (a combination of PosHour asks and selfies from Disabled Swiftie Selfie Night). Then, two days later, she came back and went through MORE PosHour asks and ended up liking 84 posts. I’m still honestly recovering from this shock and thought okay, this is it, I’ve peaked, I’ll never ask for anything again in life because I never could have DREAMED for this to happen. I never started PosHour to get noticed; I don’t continue it to get noticed. It makes me happy and it makes others happy too. Anyways, that’s just a backstory for stuff Taylor and I talk about later. I got The DM on July 29, 2019, at 1:09 pm CST. I was driving home from lunch with my grandparents, parking my car down the street because we can’t park right next to my house, when I saw a locked notification come to my phone. My phone unlocked and I saw “taylornation sent you a DM: CONFIDENTIAL MESSAGE”. I’ve never turned my car off faster. I SPRINTED up probably a block or two uphill to my house, absolutely losing my mind, almost resulting in a heart attack - or realistically, an asthma attack. Oops. I got my phone call while I was in a LOUD store at the mall looking at potential outfits to MEET TAYLOR IN??!?! I had to politely ask that they call me back in ten minutes and then busted ass to get to the car so they could call me. They called me 3:19 pm originally, and then again at 3:30 pm (that extra minute was STRESSFUL!) They gave me details about a secret location, a password I’d have to say (that I realized after the session, i NEVER HAD TO SAY. kinda disappointed. I was excited at the prospect of saying a secret password but go off), and reminded me approximately a thousand times not to tell anyone anything. By the grace of GOD, I wasn’t scheduled to work Saturday the 3rd through Monday the 5th (except one evening shift at my waitressing job, which my boss kindly took me off). After the longest week of my life anticipating this trip, we left for Nashville early Saturday morning and listened to Taylor’s music the ENTIRE TIME. I felt SO chaotic the entire week on tumblr, trying to act like everything was fine and normal when, in fact, NOTHING WAS FINE NOR WAS IT NORMAL. My mom, sister @taylorsairpods​ and I arrived in the afternoon and checked in. I saw some Taylor shirts here and there and we all did the eyeball emoji at each other, as I was also wearing merch. I found @tshifty​ in the parking lot and we ended up exploring Nashville together, taking pictures at murals and getting coffee and being chaotic on tumblr interacting with each other. (Hey @colorsinautumn, I’ll never forget laughing my actual ass off with Kristin while we looked at your iconic pictures. Never stop being you.) I also met other adorable friends in the hotel that I wasn’t expecting to see and it was generally just a soft and lovely time. Somehow I fell asleep and the next day was SHOWTIME KIDS! We ate at Bread Co (some of you may know it as panera…sigh) and willed the clock to move faster towards the time for us to sign in and everything. Guys, I had the stress shits so bad we made a special trip to Target to get imodium. Yes, I debated whether or not I should share that part of the story. Yes, I decided it was important to share to Remain Authentic About My Experience. It must’ve worked because I very luckily Did Not Have to Poop in Taylor Swift’s Technically Andrea Swift’s House. (It’s a good thing Secret Sessions are once in a lifetime because if they weren’t, and Taylor ever reads this, she would decide right now not to ever invite me to anything ever again, and I couldn’t blame her TBH). Finally it was fifteen minutes before sign-in time, which I find an appropriate time to be early to things because I’m early to EVERYTHING, so I went to the meeting location and found other people dressed cute and looking softly nervous and we were all just like holding our NDA’s and being EXCITED and it was pure. Kristin and I were casually chatting at one point when mf @madeurmarkonme​ chaotically tapped Kristin on the shoulder and we TRULY LOST OUR MINDS. So exciting. Anyways, TN gave us like an HOUR window for signing in and literally didn’t come outside to get us until the END of the window but it’s FINE we went inside and signed in and chatted with each other and it was great. All the TN workers were really nice and would be sarcastic with us when we were jokingly sarcastic with them and it was cool. As soon as we signed in was when they took our phones and it was so weird not to be able to check the time because I just do it reflexively? But yeah. So they got the first two buses loaded and sent off and I was put on the third bus, final bus. I ended up being the FIRST PERSON GETTING ON THE BUS which like, doesn’t mean anything, but I was weirdly excited about it. Kristin and I sat next to each other, of course. The bus sang off-key Taylor songs the entire way there and it was fantastic. Kristin and I were also the first two to get OFF the bus, so the first two to walk up to Taylor’s house holding hands and practically SKIPPING except it was GRAVEL so we didn’t skip because it had rained and we would have wiped out. We got lil stickers put on our wristbands and wALKED ONTO THE PATIO BY THE POOL AND LIKE WHAT. (WHICH ALSO OUR WRISTBANDS WERE A SOFT YELLOW, THANK YOU MISS SWIFT YOU KNOW I FUCKING LOVE YELLOW ACTUALLY YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW THAT BUT I DO. I LOVE YELLOW) (SO MUCH) ALSO THE WINE SIGN IS SO CUTE GUYS like it’s cute in the video AND cute in person (MUCH LIKE MISS SWIFT HERSELF). Honestly, eVERYTHING was cute. There were some family pictures of the Swifts and Andrea had so much Fearless stuff up and it was just SOFT. And the food was yummy, although I could barely eat because I was so stressed and excited. We were mingling (EXCITEDLY MINGLING, as Miss Swift HERSELF might say what hi taylor) and then finally we all got to go inside. We somehow scored spots like RIGHT in front of Taylor’s chair, in the second ‘row’ if you will. We waited a lil while and then TAYLOR WALKED IN and I don’t even know what the first thing I thought was because it’s like my brain split into a million pieces and there were a million individual thoughts running through my head. Things like MYBESTFRIEND and PINKHAIRTIPS and OHMYGODILOVEHER and ISTHISREALLYHAPPENING and OHSHITIMATTHESECRETSESSIONS and IFSHEKNOWSMEIWILLEATMYFOOT and WHYDOESTHISALREADYFEELSONORMAL EVENTHOUGHWEAREALLSCREAMINGOURHEADSOFF and then she sat down and got us all to quiet down very adorably and then, in her beautiful lil voice, when “WELCOME TO THE LOVER SECRET SESSIONS” and i ASCENDED. Truly ascended. Then she gave us a spiel about please don’t leak things and please don’t quote me and so like. I’m not going to! Because I respect and love her and I also want the Secret Sessions to be able to continue in future years and the way for that to happen is for past Secret Sessioners to respect the process :) so YEAH! Let’s just say Lover is HER BEST ALBUM (in my opinion) and I freaking love it and I love her and getting to hear her put in her own words why she wrote what she wrote, and did certain productions, and put it at this point in the album was SO SPECIAL. I love analyzing all this stuff and trust me, there’s still tons of unanswered questions I have that I will be analyzing for myself on here, so I still get to have my fun in that respect, but wow guys. It was amazing to personally see how her brain works. Plus, when certain lyrics would hit, that I’d post “YESSs TAYLOR” about on here, it was amazing being able to just say that TO HER. I cried three times and I held hands with Kristin so much and with Charissa and there were many hugs and at one point when Kristin and I were holding hands and being snuggly, Taylor literally was talking about friendship and having a Person and looked dead-on at us and said “YOU TWO!” and in that moment she put her seal of approval on our friendship and I died. So soft. After the album they brought out The Rice Krispies and we went back out onto the patio to mingle and eat and wait to meet Taylor. All the minors met Taylor first with their parents and then they started going alphabetically. When they called my name, my friends and stuff cheered and I almost cried??! And like as I was walking in with the TN girl I was like “oh sorry that it’s loud” idk why I apologized, I just apologize a lot, but she was like NO THE CHEERING IS CUTE and it was just pure. And I was really awkward at this point because I was so nervous so she was like “you can just stand here” so I like quickly checked myself in the full-length mirror bc of COURSE there was a full length mirror there, very soft, and then the security guard told me I could stand at the stairs and then they opened the door and like. Guys, I’ve read stories where some people walked confidently in, where some people ran in, where some people skipped in. That was not me. I was. So. Nervous. I walked in slowly and was like not sure where Taylor would be standing and I looked to my left and before I could even open my mouth, she went “EMMA!!!” and I was like “OH MY GOD YOU KNOW MY NAME” and we were HUGGING and she was like “OF COURSE I LOVE YOU!!!” and i was like “I LOVE YOU TOO!!!” and then this conversation is when I die. It went something like this: Taylor: Your positivity nights make me so happy! (at this point we had pulled away from a long hug) I just love what people send to you, and you have the best, most genuine responses! Thank you for doing what you do on the internet! Me: (trying to think of a single word in the English language) wow, thank you SO MUCH, Taylor! Taylor: I literally go on your blog when I’m sad to make myself feel better! The internet is such a dark and negative place sometimes but your blog is such a bright place on it! Me: (HUGGING HER AGAIN OFC) WHAT?! Oh my gosh, WOW thank you! Taylor: Some of the stuff you get is so amazing, like I remember one person sent you an ask about how they had gotten a raise at work and so they were able to afford better food for themselves. That just really hit me, like wow! Me: Oh yeah I remember that one! (and then we talked about some other anons but I do want to keep part of this convo private hehe) Taylor: I bet it can be kind of a lot sometimes, doing all of this! Me: I mean honestly I love doing it, but it was a lot right after you liked so many posts- Taylor: OH MY GOSH I BET HAHA IM SORRY!! Me: OH don’t worry im NOT complaining; I seriously love doing this! I actually started positive hour because one night it was kinda hard in the fandom and I was feeling really down like nobody liked me, I didn’t have any friends, but in the back of my head I knew that wasn’t true and I decided I didn’t want to wallow so I just posted a little “send me positive things” prompt and then, I loved what resulted, so I kept doing it. Taylor: I love that so much, turning it into good energy! Me: Thank you! It was inspired because when I was little I kind of went through some hard stuff and so I went through this phase where I would complain a lot and my mom didn’t want me to grow up negatively so she told me that it was important to pick up more balloons, or positives, than rocks, or negatives, and would encourage me every day to tell her at least as many balloons as rocks from my day! Taylor: That’s amazing, like I knew this energy you have had to come from somewhere so that totally makes sense! I love this! Me: well I love YOU! And then we kept talking about other stuff, from how Treacherous is my favorite song and how I want a tattoo of it to my state of grace tattoo to a certain lyric to how my mom is going to love a certain song on Lover to how Taylor also impacted my sister to how much some of the songs on the album meant to me and how much this evening meant to me and how much Taylor means to me and we hugged a million times, and then Taylor was like “well we HAVE to get, like, the cutest picture together; do you have an idea in mind?” and I told her I’d love a Classic Hugging picture then we took a picture and she was like “do you wanna make sure you like it?” and i’m typically the kind of person who will say I like anything because I’m just very easygoing but when I saw the original I knew I’d regret making IT my pic so I nicely asked if we could redo it and she was like OF COURSE and so we did and we checked it and i fuckING LOVED IT GUYS it’s SO PERFECT and i told her I couldn’t believe she did her open-mouth smile for me and she said it is a rare one because she’s insecure about it but I told her i LOVE Her open mouth smile, that we all do, and i’m not trying to read into anything but she DEFINITELY did her open-mouth smile more in other pics that night later and at LA so between what I said and then what we ALL said after I posted about it I think maybe we’re helping Taylor with her insecurity AWW and Taylor was also like “you’re REALLY TALL” and we talked about our heights and then it was time to go, TN was lowkey acting like ok emma you’re taking up too much of Taylor’s time SJLFJSD but politely so, and as i was leaving after our final hug, taylor was like “BYE EMMA!!!” and i was like “BYE TAYLOR I’LL SEE YOU ONLINE” and not even a DAY later because I met her august 5th in the AM and got my pic august 5th in the PM, i posted a video of me getting my pic and SOBBING and she liked it so she dID SEE ME ONLINE and guys it was just the best day of my life and I miss her hugs so much already i love her SO MUCH and i will never be able to put into more concise words what this day meant to me. thank you if you read this

[chrsitophwaltz]

MICKEY MEETS FC BAYERN (PART 3/4)

for the entire houston clownery experience click here

psa: excuse my face and the pic qualities. up until this happened i haven’t really taken pictures of myself (less than 10 in the past two years for family and work purposes and NEVER selfies) and when you meet people you’ve only seen on TV in a very unexpected circumstance, then don’t expect your brain and motor functions to work 100%.

just an addition that i forgot to add in the last two parts: i didn’t get his pic or anything, but seeing Witch Doctor™ müller-wohlfahrt in person was insane. if you watch netflix’s dark season 2, and see 1986 ulrich nielsen, THAT’S WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE SDHBMFSDMNBFNMB

anyway, so i uber-ed to the mall. thank god it was only 5 minutes or so away from the hotel since i was really desperate to get a wristband for adidas. the t-mobile meet with josh and sven didn’t require wristbands, but there was gonna be a line and time’s limited and they might (and they did) cut it off at some point. thankfully, the mall just opened (ish) and i got wristband #53 for adidas. score! i also confirmed thrice with the guy that as long as i have the wristband i can get in. nice!

after getting the wristband, i went up to get in line for t-mobile. thankfully, i was within the first 5 or so people so i can do both meet-and-greets!

multi-tasking! you love to hear it!

i met up with @simplyirenic​ and a guy named nick who we met at the hotel reception a few days before and chatted to pass the time. finally it was around 1:30 to 2pm and the mall was packed with bayern fans. it was sad to see people, especially little kids, trying to line up for adidas but had to be turned away since the wristbands ran out already.

after a few line games and waves with the t-mobile people, we finally got inside the store to start the meet. while i was waiting my turn and praying that my phone doesn’t die (i only had 8% battery life left at that point), i saw richie (one of bayern’s media guys) and some guy named greg (thought he was with bayern at first, but now i’m not sure) and told them my ulterior motive for the t-mobile thing. they understood and saw that i was about to pass out from fear and anxiety and told me they’d include the footage in the final video. they weren’t kidding sbfdsnmfbmfbdsmfdb (got a gif of it here)

so. it was finally my turn and sven hasn’t looked up yet since he was signing more cards and chatting with josh. i creeped up behind them and said “hallo!” josh was so cute and perky and said “hallo!” back. sven looked like he didn’t recognize me (thank god) but i just couldn’t let it pass so as we were having our pics taken, i put my hand on his back and mumbled (while trying to smile for the cameras): “hey, i don’t know if you remembered in the hotel earlier, but i’m really sorry. i meant to take a picture with you AND leon. sorry!” i don’t know if he remembered it at all or was just being nice, but all the same he said “no, it’s okay!”

i didn’t care. BLESS HIM! my day is saved! so we said cheese one last time before i left.

extra notes: i also wanted to tell him that his red card was BS but didn;t have time for that lmao. also josh is such an angel and his hair was so fluffy and blonde i wanted to die ;__;

i said goodbye to richie and greg and waited for nick (he also had a wristband) and we went down to get in line for adidas. while lined up i met more bayern fans (hello @zomgannalolz​​ and @alex-bregman​​!). fangirled with them for a bit (and showed them my niko ass videos from the night before sdjnhdnfbdn) and finally we were in! from afar, i could only see manu bc he was standing up (benji and thomas were sitting down) and he was wearing his bright watermelon keeper kit. finally my turn came and said hi to benji again. he signed my shirt (again; he already signed it at the hotel reception) and we took pics (again). SERVUS BENJI!

next up was manu (again)!

me: hi manu, it’s me again

manu: oh hello! the hotel right?

me: *dying that he recognized me and thinking about that near-knockout experience* yessssss

he signed my shirt (again lmao) and we posed for pics. he was so. freaking. tall. i put my arm around him and half my brain was floating and making observations:

1. wrow. he tall. as h e l l.

2. the keeper jersey has a different feel than the normal outfield player jersey. hmmm (scratchier and more... cellophane-y....?)

3. my face is literally pressed up against his right boob. n o i c e

4. my left arm is around his waist. i can feel nice ridges. holy shit. SI D E A BS !!!!!! *scream*

yeah, it was an out-of-body-experience. i also nearly forgot to take his autograph card but he subtly inserted it into my hand as i was leaving. I LUFF U MANU!!!!

it’s probably poetic that my meet-and-greet ended with thomas. he’s my favorite player and i have his jersey. first time he signed it it only had 4 other signatures (at the hotel reception), and the second time was earlier that day at the hotel (with him eating a huge ass banana). i came up to him and he was like “hey!” HE RECOGNIZED ME I JUST----

anyway, i tried to keep it cool and said “yeah it’s me again from the hotel lmao” and he was like “so do you want a third signature?” (he saw he already had two sigs in the jersey). i didn’t care and said “if you want to! i don’t mind!”he reviewed it and quietly said “wow” when he saw my almost-full bayern haul (my jersey was full of autographs by then) and said “let’s just put it up, yes?”

he wanted to put up my müller jersey! thomas freakin’ müller himself wanted to show my jersey! tbh it was a great idea lmao so i said “cool! okay!”

i was literally the happiest binch in the world!!!!!! I LOVE HIM!!!! keep deuter-ing that raum, Raumdeuter!!!!!!!

in the end, with the exception of david (i’m sad, i really wanted pics with alabae), phonzie (saw him a couple times, but never got to him), renato (i always miss him for some reason!!!!), and c*man (i don’t really want anything from him anyway, except maybe goals, so doesn’t really count lmao), plus the other bayern kids, i got everyone!!!!!!

BEST. DAY. EVER. from despairing literally just the night before about wasting my one day extension, to unexpectedly getting more than i bargained for-- the ULTIMATE mega fan experience-- it was just insane. they’re all really nice and accommodating too! that’s how i know i support the best club ever (even if they’re such clowns sometimes but oh well lmao)

now, one last part to go. the actual best (and WORST) part of everything. if you’ve followed me for more than an hour then i don’t need to explain to you just how much i needed to get just ONE CRUMB of niko fucking kovac. and boy oh boy did i get a lil bit more than that......👀

[epickendall]

The Summer of Del'goxoth part 3

It was a Friday afternoon, the last day of school for Danny, Sam, and Tucker. To celebrate the freedom, they all railed at the Nasty Burger to hanging out. Where many of the customers in the fast-food joint took one good look at Danny and jumped the boat to have a chance to talk to him.

"So Sam, what are you doing for this Summer?" Tucker mindless asked if he hadn't even seen the stars coming their way. Finally, their food arrived, something Danny was grateful for.

"I don't really know Tucker, I heard there's going to be a poetry jam at a cafe in the mid-summer," Sam shrugged, a bit annoyed by all the attention.

"What about you, Danny? Any grand plans you got for the summer?" Tucker then takes a bite out of an extra-large cheeseburger, not caring if it spilled a bit.

"I'm hoping that I don't have to catch too many ghosts this summer, I just want to relax for three months with no school," said Danny, sighing. He was continuously exhausted from school and the people, not to overload with the ghosts.

"Got any ideas about the increase of ghosts around here, Danny?" Sam is genuinely curious, tilting her head at the question.

"Nope, I haven't had the slightest clue for the increase of ghosts, I search about every part of Amity Park for a portal to the ghost world that letting ghost into our world so far there was none to be found,"

"That sucks Danny, as for my summer plans involves paperwork, cutting a ribbon to a new store in the mall, and other mayor duties luckily. Today is one of my days off," said Tucker finishing up his burger.

"I'm surprised that you didn't quit being mayor after one year, Tucker," Danny teased.

"Yeah, me neither, if I had your powers Danny I would so go invisible every time my secretary got some boring mayor work for me to do," The group of friends laughed.

Then three girls came walking directly to Danny's table. It was Paulina, a pretty redhead girl, and a tall blonde girl. Paulina had been determined to make Danny fall in love with her ever since he and Sam broke up.

"Hey, Danny, how's it going?" Paulina leaned in, giving Danny a flirtatious smile.

Sam frowns; she thought to herself, "Great, what this bitch wants?"

"Oh, hi, Paulina, what do you want?" Danny forced out. He didn't want to spend his energy on this of all things. Why can't he just have a beautiful day?

"Me and my friends here are going to this party at Dash's place, where there's no adults and plenty of beers, what you say, Danny?" She pushed her chest slightly, her eyes roaming his face.

"That sounds fun Paulina, but I- uh, um. . . hero business to do tonight, I'm sorry," Danny was telling half the truth, as he does have ghost patrol for the night he also really doesn't want to go anywhere with Paulina.

"It's fine, Danny, unlike your ex here," Paulina motion her head toward Sam. "I could do anything you want, just say the word, Danny, anyway goodbye ghost boy."

Paulina and two other girls walk out of Nasty burger, but just before Paulina leaves the place, she blows a kiss to Danny she walks out.

"Wow, can you believe Paulina, you guys?" Danny half-joked to his friends.

"I can't believe that bitch really thinks she can have you," said Sam in disbelief.

"How long do you think Paulina is going to keep trying to get into your pants, Danny?" Tucker questioned.

"As long as I'm still single, she'll never stop sending me photos of her in revealing clothing," said Danny, a migraine already throbbing at his side of his head.

"Most ex-girlfriend wouldn't say this to their ex-boyfriend Danny, but I hope you find someone way better than Paulina," said Sam

"Thanks, Sam," said Danny

After hanging out with his friends, Danny ended up signing autographs and taking selfies with his fans as Danny went home. But before he got there, two men and two women, all wearing blue clothing, stopped him, they all had weird grins on their faces.

"Hello are you, Danny Fenton?" said one of the guys in blue

"Who's asking?" said Danny, cautiously taking a step back. He could take them, but that doesn't mean he wants to fight civilians.

"Don't worry about who we are Danny, we just got something extraordinary for you," said one of the girls in blue

"And that is?"

The second man stepped forward and declared, "We have an object that can turn you into a god of this world with all the subjects at your feet!"

"Great, I just walked some into nut jobs," Danny thought, "Yeah, no thanks, I'll stick to be a nongod."

"Child, you can't refuse this offer," The first man insisted.

Danny steps back away from the people in blue, already thinking if escape plans, "Freedom to choose, this is, after all, America!"

The woman who hasn't spoken throughout sighed in disappointment, "Very well then, Seth go get one of the unchosen."

Danny looked to see one of the guys, ran into an alleyway where a white moving truck waited. The guy opens the back of the truck to reveal a ghost fisherman! With its right arm, a mutated lobster arm and the other arm is a sharp hook.

Danny turn into his ghost form quickly, covering his view, he thought, "what the heck, how did they get some pet ghost fisherman?"

The ghost fisherman flies out of the moving truck, as he tackles Danny to the ground, he pins Danny, he tries to stab him with his hook arm. Danny dodges the ghost fisherman attacks, just as Danny blasts the ghost fisherman off of him, trying to regain his balance, the group of people was circling him all pointing their silver guns at him.

"Don't kill him; we need him alive!" The girl hissed at the men beside her.

"Why are they trying to make me into some sort of god? Don't they have better things to do?" Danny thought.

Danny quickly shoots the guns out of people's hands, just in time for the lobster monster to roar in defiance and strike him. Danny, the swings the monster to the side, into a light pole knocking him out. Danny hears the police cars wailing coming closer; he turns to see the people in blue are out of sight, and so is the white moving truck.

"Who were those guys?" Danny thought

Unnoticed by Danny, a camera crew was down on their luck when they were struggling to get a story. But, oh lord, did they have a story.

A cameraman and a news reporter took the whole fight on film.

"This is so going to be top news tomorrow!" The news reporter almost excitedly spun around. No more sleeping on the couch!

The next morning in Gravity falls, Wendy is spending her morning watching the news on a small TV, which she bought from a garage sale in the Mystery Shack. Little to no customers and boredom is causing her to listen to the news talk about a missing actor mindlessly.

"Logan Hall, an actor that is well known for his attitude and wild parties, has been gone missing for the last five days. After getting into a conflict with his director for the upcoming movie Killer snakes, nobody hasn't heard and seen Logan Hall."

Suddenly the little bell on the door rang; it was one of Wendy's friends Tambry comes in the Mystery Shack. All boredom disappears as Wendy smiled at her.

"How's that TV doing for you, Wendy?" Tambry teased her, already hearing the news of her buy.

"Great, best twenty-five bucks I spent," Wendy played along, and the two laughed.

Tambry looked at the news, the news still going on about the actor, "Man, I can't believe no one knows where Logan Hall is."

"Yeah, but that movie he's working sound like it's going to suck."

Suddenly, the news switches from the Logan Hall story to Danny Phantom fighting the ghost fisherman. The story was on a loop, with more information being gathered from eye-witness and police.

"God, I would kill to be with that guy, whatcha think about Danny Phantom?" said Tambry

Wendy paused, looking at the figure fighting off a ghost. Not really the strangest thing she saw.

"I think he's cute."

Wendy is kind of a fan of Danny Phantom for being so cool and brave for fighting ghosts. Not many had the guts to do that, so kudos to the guy for taking a stand on what he believes in.

"Cute? More like hot," Tambry took a look at her phone to see the time, sighing in disappointment, "I gotta go, I have to meet my mom. I'll see you later?" She looked at her with an apology in her eyes.

"It's cool, be safe!"

As she leaves, Wendy keeps on watching Tv, wondering when the fun is going to start.

[obfuscateyummy]

Watch Your Back

HELLO! :)

So uh. I had an idea while I was on vacation a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Then I needed to take a break from writing Help You Forget (HELLO WRITERS BLOCK!) Then this happened 24 hours later. 

1,960-ish words if I remember correctly. This is also set a few years, after Help You Forget. 

Tagging @serendiptious-esparza @whatmarisays @dreila03 @imagine-hopper @madpanda75 @fall-out-harto I think ya’ll will enjoy this. 👀

“Papi! I don’t want you go work!” Your daughter clung to your husband’s leg as he was trying to grab his briefcase and walk out the door.

“Mace, mi mija,” Rafael said as he bent down to to talk to his daughter, “I have to go to work, okay? Please, be good for your mami, okay?”

You walked into the room rubbing your swollen stomach to see your daughter gripping to Rafael’s neck.

“Papi stay!” Macee began to cry harder.

“Mace, we’re gonna go shopping and have a girls day. If you let Papi go to work and go get ready, we can meet him for lunch,” you said as her green eyes sparkled and looked at you.

“Lunch with Papi?” She asked Rafael.

“Si, of course mija.” Rafael said as he moved her dark hair out of her face and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Go in your room, and mami will be right there to help you get ready okay?”

The child kissed her father goodbye, “Te Amo, Papi!” Macee screamed as she ran to her room.

“Te Amo, Princesa,” Rafael called after her as he walked up to you and put a hand on your stomach. “You be good for mami, too, mijo.”

The child inside you kicked Rafael’s hand. “I’m not sure if that as a yes or a no,” you said as you laughed as you placed your hand over Rafael’s. “I love you,” you said as you kissed him.

“Hmmm, I love you too,” he said into your mouth. “Both of you.” He broke away and grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door.

You walked to your daughter’s room to find her in a pink and purple striped shirt and a skirt with a flower pattern. “Look mami! I dressed! I ready!” Your daughter sounded so excited as she ran towards you.

You embraced her hug as you laughed. “You did get dressed baby, but you might get cold in that skirt. Why don’t you wear some pants?” You said hoping she would pick out a pair of less crazy pants.

Your daughter stubbornly shook her head. “Why mami?” Macee was whining.

The child inside you started moving like crazy. You decided to use it in your favor. You put your hand over your stomach, “Your brother doesn’t like it.” Macee was constantly trying to impress her little brother already.

“I think you no like it, Mami,” Macee folded her arms and glared at you.

God she looks and acts so much like Rafael you thought. “Then will you change it for mami? Lovey bear can come shopping with us.” You grabbed your daughter’s tan Build-a-Bear off her bed.

Macee grabbed her bear and hugged it close. Rafael and you had made it for her before she was born, a tradition which you were continuing with your son. It was her favorite toy. Your daughter quickly changed from her skirt into pants. Thank god she picked black leggings, you thought.

——

When Rafael got to work, he felt like he was already behind. As if the stress from the recent case he had wasn’t enough, the threats were coming back. Rafael felt like he couldn’t tell you about them and add additional stress during your pregnancy. He hated hiding it from you. His office phone rang.

“Barba,” he said as he heard static on the other end. “Hello?” He repeated.

“You better back off this case, if you know what’s good for you, you desgraciado.” The voice on the other end said before the line went dead.

Rafael sighed as he hung up. He called Olivia to report the latest threat, and see if the call could be traced. So far, there was no luck but it was worth a try anyways. Rafael hit the home button on his phone and stared at the photo. One of you and him with your daughter between you. He smiled, he had been at work not even a full hour, and was already looking forward to lunch with his girls. He decided to send you a quick text, ‘I love you, Cariño. Can’t wait for lunch with my girls.’

——

You had just put the car into park and turned it off when your phone went off with a text message from Rafael. You smiled when you read the text. “Mace, smile, we’re gonna send papi a selfie, okay?”

“CHEESE!!!” Macee screamed from the back seat as she smiled as big as she could causing you to laugh as you captured the moment on your phone. ‘We love you papi. Just got to the mall. See you soon.’ You captioned the photo as you hit send. You slid your phone into your purse. As you got out of the car, and removed Macee from her car seat. You took her hand as you walked into the mall.

For once, the mall wasn’t too crazy, for once. You had gotten a few new outfits for your children, and Macee picked out Rafael new cufflinks and a tie. You were getting ready to leave the mall when your daughter said she had to go potty. The two of you went to the restroom. As you were both exiting the stall you were in, a woman approached you. “Your daughter is beautiful, miss,” the woman said.

You smiled at the stranger, “Thank you,” you said as you and Macee both washed your hands.

“How old is she?” The woman asked.

“I’m 3!” Macee said holding up three fingers as the two of you walked to the hand dryer.

“I see you’re expecting too, congratulations. How far along are you?” The woman was starting to give you a strange vibe, but you didn’t want to come off as rude, so you answered.

“Thank you. I’m 7 and a half months,” you said as you grabbed Macee’s hand to exit the restroom.

The woman placed a hand on your shoulder as you walked away, causing you to freeze. She whispered in your ear, “It’d be a shame if your ADA husband never got to meet that child, now wouldn’t it? Watch your back.” The woman was gone in the blink of an eye and you started sobbing instantly.

“Mami, are you okay?”

You looked down at your daughter who was oblivious to what just happened, and you hoped to keep it that way. You nodded as you spoke, “Yes, princesa, let’s go have lunch with papi okay?” You wiped your tears away with your sleeve as you walked to the car. You put the bags in the trunk and Macee in her car seat before beginning the drive across town to Rafael’s office.

Macee fell asleep in the car clinging to her bear on the way to Rafael’s office. You tried to wake her up once you arrived but it was no use. You decided to carry her, and her lovey bear, up to Rafael’s office.

When you walked in Rafael rushed to take Macee from you, “Amor you should have called me so you didn’t have to carry her up here.” Rafael said as he took your sleeping child from your arms. “How was shopping?” He asked as he walked away to lay Macee down on the couch in his office.

You were replaying the events in your head, holding back tears.

“Cariño?” You didn’t respond. Rafael turned back around and saw you breathing deep and tears forming in your eyes. “Cariño are you okay? Sit down.” Rafael said moving a chair up to you.

You did as he said. He pulled up a chair next to you. Before he could sit down, you spoke to him. “Rafi, be honest with me,” you said, “Are you getting threats again?”

He rubbed his temples as he turned to walk to his desk, “I specifically told Nick not to tell you. I told him the stress wasn’t good for the baby.” He started to pick up his phone to make a call to your brother.

“Nick...he didn’t tell me.” You said as the tears began to flow down your cheeks. You moved a hand over your stomach and began to rub it to help calm your child down.

Rafael looked at your confused. “Then how..”

Before Rafael could finish you began to tell him what happened “A woman, she threatened me in the bathroom, at the mall” You were completely sobbing as Rafael was at your side consoling you.

“She threatened you?” Rafael asked as you nodded. “What exactly happened?”

“She commented how beautiful Macee was, and then asked how far along I was. Then she...she said how it would be a shame if you never meet our child. She said I should watch my back...and yours.” You said finally letting out the sob you didn’t know you were holding in.

“Shhh, Y/N, it’s okay, amor.” Rafael said trying to calm you down.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the threats?” You said resting your head down.

“I didn’t want you under anymore stress. You know it’s not good for the baby. You already worry about me so much. I’m so sorry. If I would have told you none of this would have..”

You cut Rafael off. “It’s not your fault babe,” you whispered to your husband as you kissed him.

“If anything were to happen to you,” Rafael placed his hand back on your stomach, “Both of you, or Mace, I couldn’t live with myself.”

“It’s not your fault,” you said as his emerald eyes met yours.

Macee started to stir awake on the couch. “Papi?” She sleepily said as she sat up on the couch.

“Macee, my princesa, did you have a good nap?” Rafael said to your daughter as she hopped off the couch and ran to his lap.

“Yes! Mami I and bought you things shopping too!” She said as she wrapped her arms tightly around Rafael. There was no doubt she was a daddy’s girl.

“Really?” Rafael’s eyes twinkled as he looked at you, “Your mami didn’t tell me that.”

“Did she tell you about the lady in the bathroom? Papi, she scared me.” Macee said as she watched her father’s face fall.

Rafael sat the child in the chair next to you and walked back to his desk.

“What are you doing?” You asked.

“What I should have done when I first started receiving them. I’m getting us police protection, and a safe house.” Rafael said as he dialed Olivia’s number.

“Then we eat lunch?” Macee asked.

Rafael nodded, hoping he would still be able to enjoy a lunch out with his family.

The minute Rafael hung up from talking to Olivia, Carmen walked into the office.

“Mr. Barba? These were just dropped off for you.” She said as she placed a file down on his desk and left.

“Papi! I so hungry.” Macee said.

“Soon, Mace, let me look over this real quick,” Rafael said as he opened the manila colored envelope. Rafael froze when he was what was inside the envelope. Pictures of you, and Macee, at the park. Both far away, and up close. There was also a note, with the simple phrase “Watch Your Back.”

You noticed the look on his face, and grew concerned, “Rafael?”

“Cariño, what day did you take Macee to the park?” He asked as his eyes never left the pictures on the desk.

“Yesterday, why?” You answered.

“I need to make another call.” Rafael said as he picked up his phone.

Rafael felt sick knowing the same people threading him had apparently been following the two of you for at least two days, that he knew of. He would do everything in his power to make sure no one would hurt you.

[phanarchy-blog]

My II M&G Experience

Hello all! So it’s been a hot minute since I attended Interactive Introverts in Schenectady. By a hot minute I mean over a week and I’m only now getting to this post, RIP. I’ll get right started then.

So my show was approximately 2.5 hours from home and I drove with a friend into Schenectady. We started super early and checked into the hotel around 12, though the m&g didn’t start until 4. Naturally we had to find something to do and decided to go to a mall nearby. I made a joke in this mall that maybe Dan and Phil also went to the mall and we would bump into them there. By this time it was about 1:30 and my friend pointed out that it may be cutting it very close to the start time for them to be anywhere but the theater. I disagreed. This is relevant later.

We went back to the hotel breifly and got ready while I showed her some videos that I thought may be important. She liked Dan and Phil, but had only had time to watch a few videos of theirs. The hotel was only a few minutes walk away from the venue, so we began walking at about 3:15. We were in line by 3:30. There was already a line queueing when we arrived and as we stood it filled in behind us. At a point, Sarah (who works closely with Dan and Phil and modeled for Dan’s merchandise) walked by and someone in line in front of me shouted and cheered her name. I explained to my friend as we walked by who she was. It was at this point that it first began getting surreal, as Sarah was the first person I recognized from their work with Dan and Phil.

A few minutes after 4, the line started moving and people began funneling in. They checked our tickets to see that they had VIP access, they did not check IDs. We were led to a table where we were given a wristband and then ushered towards doors across the merchandise area. This was where I had my second surreal moment of the night, as I couldn’t quite be sure that I was going the right direction and looked up to see Marianne standing nearby. I gestured to the doors and nodded as if to ask “this way, right?” And she very sweetly told me yes and pointed me inside.

Now I don’t know if it’s just me, but she has a very thick English accent. I assumed that I’d consumed so much British media that the accents just kinda faded away into the background for me, but I was taken aback by hers. It was beautiful.

So anyway, inside we were lined up and put in our seats very orderly. Marianne wandered in and out but mostly it was directed by theater staff. The screen was up and facing the opposite direction from the seats. They had a playlist going in the back ground, the only song of which I caught was Party Tattoos by dodie, which I thought was a very sweet choice, not only for them to support dodie like that but also the meaning of the song was very poignant for this event. If you don’t know it I highly recommend.

There was also a door on the opposite side of the room from where we entered and the crowd kept their eyes studied on it. It was partially covered by a screen and it had the vibe that Dan and Phil would enter from that direction. Security kept walking in and we would all gasp and collectively sigh. Poor guys.

As the room was filled and we were all waiting, Marianne stood at the front and gathered our attention. This is when she said that the guys were “on their way”. Remember earlier I said my friend thought 1:30 would be cutting it close to not be in the theater? Yeah it was 4:35 and they still weren’t there. Lol. Marianne also explained how it would work. There was a table we could put our bags on if we didn’t want them in our photos. We would go around and meet them, get our hugs, get one item signed, and Dan would take the selfie “because he’s got the long arms and he knows what he’s doing”. A couple people raised their hands and Marianne pointed out that it was like a lecture hall and she was the teacher and we laughed. They asked about going up in pairs and filming the experience. Marianne said that way fine, but they could not record video messages for friends as that would prevent everyone else in the room from getting their fair share of time.

I’d like to point out now that the person sitting to my left was having them sign a box of Mac and Cheese, and she is my hero. The crowd chatted a bit and finally, Dan and Phil entered through the doors we all thought they would! Finally, a huge cheer from the crowd! Now this was the first moment I realized how large they really are. Now I know we’re not meant to I tell them to their faces, so of course I didn’t, but here in the privacy of Tumblr I’ll say that I think part of it is honestly their presence. I think they feel so tall because they mean so much to us. It’s an overall larger than life experience, and I think that translates to our perception of them because yes, they’re objectively tall, but my friend also kept going “Yeah but my husband is 6’5” so I’m used to it” and let me tell you, these boys felt so much larger than her husband.

Back to Dan and Phil! They looked super cheery and laughed a bit at how we were all just sat quietly and orderly in the seats waiting patiently. There was a giant screen in the room like a movie theater and Dan made a joke about all watching a movie together instead. And like, you cowards, we should have. We had the time. Alas, they said their piece and walked behind the screen. Again in a very orderly way, the front rows began and lined up in order to meet them. I noticed their shadows visible behind the screen and ‘awww’d” as I saw them crouch for a little one. The person then rounded the corner and was a full grown teenager. They are very tall.

I was the 34th person to meet them! When it was our turn, Marianne took the items we wanted signed and asked if we were ready. I directed my friend to film my meeting. I rounded the corner and was affronted by Phil, already looking directly at me and arms spread wide open, so of course I hugged him quickly. It didn’t last very long though, as I immediately saw Dan opening his arms as well as it felt like rejecting him to wait any longer. We said hellos and thank yous as we hugged. As if by magic my copy of DAPGO appeared (thanks Marianne) and they asked to sign it, which I agreed to of course. It all happened very very fast and I forgot to look at whether they crossed arms or not. I was very busy looking at them. Dan quickly asked if I’d like a picture and we all leaned in. He took 3 in rapid succession and I could tell in the moment that I didn’t like the lighting for me, but I was not about to stop him at all.

After I took my phone back, I addressed Dan and told him I’m a mental health counselor and so I wanted to thank him for everything he’s done to normalize that. I probably should have left it at that where I would have sounded coherent, but of course I somehow managed to both ramble on and trail off the rest of what I’d said. I mean, I can’t blame me. Dan was looking at me. Like, directly into my eyes, and nodding and really listening to what I had to say. I don’t know that I’ve ever been listened to that well. When I finally shut up, as I didn’t wanna waste much more of their time, Dan nodded again and.. said something. Haha, it was something to the effect of “Thank you for doing that as well” or “and it’s great that you do that as well”. Dan validated my career to my face and suddenly the measly $27k salary seems worth it. I thanked him for probably the fifth time and decided this was a good time to wave in my friend.

I gestured to her and said “and this is my friend, she’s seen like 5 videos but she’s a really good sport.” They both chuckled and said it was okay, and asked if she’d like a selfie as well. I looked on as they took it, and I couldn’t hear much of their exchange. We said final goodbyes and shoo’d ourselves it really quick.

Around the screen again was a team member who cut off our wristbands and dropped them in an outstretched bag, then handed me my own VIP bag. I took it, grabbed my own purse from the other table, and booked it out of the room high on adrenaline. My hands were shaking.

I confirmed with a member of theater staff that I could leave the venue and come back for the show, which we did. It was about this moment that I had totally forgotten to address Phil like I planned. When I had my speech in my mind about normalizing mental health care, I wanted to point out that his light-hearted videos did great things for that as well. I regret that for a bit because I’d focused so much on Dan and left Phil out. About a day or two later I realized that Phil is probably not hurt that he didn’t get the chance to talk to me. Again, sue me, I got lost in Dan’s eyes. I’m sure Phil would understand.

Believe it or not, the meet and greet is not the part of my experience that makes me tear up looking back on that night. It was the actual show that does that to me. Perhaps I will write out about that bit too. But until I do, let me just say here that Dan and Phil are two beautiful, kind, and genuine guys that care about us very much. I am so so grateful for that night.

[angevon]

Travel Report Part 5

We went to Osaka via the Shinkansen

(long post with pictures)

[part 1/part 2/part 3/part 4]

Breakfast was melon bread and some Japanese milk since Grumbles said I had to try it. Gotta admit, I didn’t care for it OTL

My brother and I woke up pretty early, but there wasn’t much we could do before checking out of the hotel, so we went out and explored the area around the hotel.

We knew there was a park by the hotel, but unfortunately it was morning rush hour and there was a sea of commuters there...

But on the opposite side of the road was a shrine and war memorial and a little garden to go with it.

Cherry blossoms!

Pigeon! It was eating the fallen cherry petals! yum

statue

orchids

This was called “Mother giving water to the troops” or something? It’s a fountain too. 

Not cherry blossoms but still very pretty :)

My coworker thought this was a famous river or something but I think it’s just a retention pond hahaha (I should’ve said “yeah it totally is!” haha)

Anyway we went back to the hotel and checked out. We were able to store our luggage with the hotel since we planned to return there in a few days. It didn't cost us anything either! very nice

We went to Tokyo Station and had some time to kill before our train arrived. When we were at the JR East office the other day to get the rail pass activated, we also made reservations for the Hikari Shinkansen to Osaka at 1pm this day. We ate a beef bowl, or something, at a place called Cafe & Gohan. It had something spicy in it unfortunately but it was pretty good before the spice kicked me in the throat.

We had some trouble figuring out where in the station we had to go for the  the Shinkansen (partly due to construction at the station and partly because we’re clueless foreigners haha). But we asked a station attendant and they pointed us where to go. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! They’re used to clueless foreigners.

I took a lot of pictures from the train. I’ll spare you and only post a few hehe.

Square fields

Foggy mountains

Overall, I didn’t enjoy the ride on the Shinkansen. I don’t normally get motion sickness, but I felt dizzy the entire 3 hour ride to Osaka. I thought it might be because I was looking out the window (like the scenery was going by too fast or something), but keeping my eyes closed didn’t help that much. So, be aware that might be a problem for you too. My brother was unaffected, though, and so was everyone else I talked to about it later, so maybe I’m just the odd one out. I think it was something with how the train vibrates. It was especially a problem whenever the train stopped.

Anyway, by the time we got to Osaka it was already late afternoon. We took the subway to our Airbnb and had a little difficulty finding it because google maps can’t seem to figure out when you’re underground or not and kept thinking we were in the subway. 

The Airbnb was a one-room apartment.

Kitchen area is part of the entryway.

We chose this place because the picture on the website had 2 beds haha

tiny water closet

I never said it here before, but I love the fancy Japanese toilets. This one has a sink that turns on when you flush (It uses the refill water for the bowl). like wow I never even thought of that. and also. bidet functions. are nice (ahem)

After settling in, we decided to go find a money exchange. Google maps found us a nice one near Namba station. It was entirely electronic and accepted all sorts of money & the exchange rate was much better here than in Tokyo.

Osaka has a different feel to it than Tokyo. I was told it’s a more of an industrial town. I can say for sure that it is a bicycle town! Lots of people used bikes to travel here.

A temple near the apartment complex.

Cafe Paulownia

We kinda wandered down random alleys, following google maps towards Dotonbori, which I read online is a fun place at night.

We found a mall that reminded me of Nakano Broadway with the ceiling.

And then, we found it! It’s neat because it has the canal going right through it.

More importantly, I was told to get takoyaki (fried octopus) in Osaka, since it is well known for it. There are multiple takoyaki stands around, with crazy Takoyaki-themed songs playing to get you in the mood. The people selling it/making it keep saying “ureshi” - be happy! 

It was wild.

I love takoyaki. It’s crazy. I don’t even like seafood but this was so good. Even the chewy tentacle part was good.

We saw Glico man, which I guess is Dotonbori’s mascot or something idk

We wandered around a bit, looking for food that said “eat me!” and came up dry. I kept thinking about that takoyaki and how good it had been, but my brother hadn’t liked it much, so I was like, we gotta find something else for him... we spent 20 minutes looking and then he tells me he isn't even hungry.

I was so mad about it that I got more takoyaki!

As it got later, it got busier and busier. Lots of people were taking selfies along the canal. 

busy!

Oh, and there’s a Mandarake near Dotonbori....... so of course I picked up a few more doujins.

We were starting to get tired of the crowds so we headed back to the apartment, vaguely worried about not being able to find it again after dark. 

On the way back we found an adult toy shop ahaha

And that’s it for now! we managed to find the apartment just fine :)

[m-eyo]

japan escapade

It was the middle of December 2019. I traveled far away from home, alone. Using my travel benefits from work, I flew to Japan paying only Php4,000 for my travel tax roundtrip. It was a bit of excitement for me because it was my first travel alone. It was dreamy... I can’t imagine, myself, in Japan. Wow!

First things first, it was unexpected. Traveling to Japan needs to have sufficient money for you to survive; you have to know the basic language because some of the Japanese don’t know how to speak English. You have to adjust, not them. Before coming to Japan, you have to get a visa. I got mine from a travel agency called Reli Tours. It is located at Mall of Asia beside SM Department store. It will only cost you Php950 for the single entry (though that’s the first visa that they will give you) but I know some people got multiple visas on their first try. Amazing right? Maybe they travel a lot. Not like me, technically, it was my first time to travel after my college tour and it was sponsored by my Father. I was so worried I can’t get a visa because this is my first time after so many years of not traveling. I can’t imagine my first travel alone was to get a visa. They said I cannot go to any country that has a visa because I never get to travel a lot. They also said that I have to travel first to a non-visa country before having it. But well, who’s lucky now? I can’t believe it!

Staying in Japan for 4 days and 3 nights was not enough. There’s so much in Japan, so many places to go, yet so little time. When I come back there, I wish I have someone to enjoy it with. It was winter. On my first day, I didn’t get cold. It’s normal to me. Maybe my body is adjusting to the weather.

The first day was fun. I ride a bus to Arakawa City to check in at my hotel called APA Hotel TKP Nippori-ekimae. Then, I went to their famous intersection, Shibuya Crossing. It was the busiest place but I took advantage of it. Taking shots, took a lot of photos, and selfies. Of course, how can we forget the famous Hachiko. The sad part is, I want to touch a pure Japanese dog. It was my dream but never happen. I didn’t see any dog walking, running around the area. The place was so clean. After I spent so many hours at Shibuya, it’s dinner time. I went dining near the hotel and yea, I forgot the name of it but I am sure of the location. So if you’re going to ask me, you have to invite me to visit Japan again. HAHAHA! Kidding aside.

The second day, Tokyo Disneyland! I always have a kid in my heart. I was so amazed. I can’t contain my happiness. It was like I’m dreaming with an open eye. I’m truly happy. The ticket cost me 8,000 Yen so if you convert it for an adult fare in Philippine Peso, it was Php3,400 each. Anyway, it was worth it. Disneyland is huge you cannot ride and visit the entire place in one day. So I decided to pick a few must ride and enjoy the rest of the place. But before that, if you want to enjoy the rest of Disneyland, you have to eat first thing, a heavy meal that can last up to dinner just like I did. I ate my breakfast around 10 in the morning and ate my dinner at 10 in the evening. Crazy right? I never imagined I can enjoy it without a portion of food in my stomach. Maybe water can do while roaming around Disneyland and just a little snack in between. I am saving money so I can survive in Japan. Good thing my stomach didn’t bother me or should I say I never felt the hungriness because of the excitement. I was just so tired in the evening after enjoying the park. It’s like I work for 12 hours straight. I got 22,000 footsteps in one day based on my iPhone health app. While waiting for the parade, I get cold. It’s already 6 Celsius that time and I am freezing already. I felt like my heart is already cold or should I say, freezing! I waited 2 hours so I can witness the parade and after that, I went back to the hotel. I was dead tired I cannot move anymore and I did not remember anything after I slept.

On my third day, this is supposed to be my last day in Japan but I missed my flight. I missed it because the departure time is 1345H in the afternoon, and at that time, I was still on the train going back to Narita Airport. After I missed the flight, I decided to stay for a while and seek stores so I can shop for pasalubong. Good thing there’s a shuttle going to Don Quijote.

The fourth day, the last day in Japan and I will take the flight at 0945H in the morning. So I will arrive in the Philippines around 1400H in the afternoon. I’m exhausted from the flight. After I got my luggage from the carousel I went go straight home to rest.

I got home around 1800H, I was excited to show all the expensive pasalubongs to my siblings. I didn’t expect that I'd felt sleepy after the flight. But well, after all the stories I shared with them, I got the chance to write this experience to share with you. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.

Created by: m.e

[twatkcox]

[The Keihancarl Diaries: January 25, 2020]

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Kung Hei Fat Choi! As promised, I decided to go on a trip to see the dragon dance (hopefully), but I don't think the weather will cooperate just like three years ago. I hope I can manage to make it through a crowd of people once I got to my intended destination. And I need to have the surgical mask ready, just in case.

I'm off to Rockwell Center, Circuit Makati and Binondo areas for this trip. I decided on a red and black outfit, the usual black fleece coat and the red anime shirt. As for the mask, I'll explain that one later.

I was really hoping to leave the house early so I can spend a little more time at the Circuit Makati rooftop park. Anyway, traffic is light so I don't have to worry about possible time constraints... until the UV Express decided to pass by North Avenue. Traffic is incredibly heavy there.

Upon reaching MRT North Avenue station, I immediately load up my Beep card. I managed to get inside the train, a couple of minutes before leaving. I then got off at Guadalupe Station and walk to my first stop for this trip, Rockwell Center. It started raining halfway just as I was about to reach Estrella Street.

And I reached the Power Plant Mall. The Christmas tree is still there, even though the holiday season ended weeks ago.

Anyway, I checked a few shops, including Fully Booked. At the other end of the mall, there are Chinese lanterns as well as the pink tree which is decorated with red envelopes (ang pao).

At the Fully Booked branch, I try to figure out what music are they playing this time, however, it is barely audible. I assume that it was pop or jazz music, but it could be something else.

They had some awesome manga on the dedicated shelves. I just noticed that they separate the light novels from the manga books, to avoid possible confusion.

There were no bargain books in that branch, unfortunately. But then again, I won't be seeing any manga books in their bargain bin(s) anyway.

I visited a few more shops and checked the expansion area (formerly the Archaeology wing). On the lower ground floor, there were stalls selling fruits and Filipino delicacies.

There's an art gallery in the expansion area as well. Not sure if it's a temporary set up.

Heading to my next stop, the rain stopped. I took a jeep to Circuit Makati and got off at a street nearest to the mall area.

I checked Biblio first and tried to search for a manga book (which is commonly placed among the children's books). I found one, a shojo manga, but the spine is damaged. I only checked some of the manga's pages before I went off and check the other books there.

Aside from that, there were vintage books on sale.

I immediately check parts of the airconditioned area and made my way to the rooftop park. Since it rained not too long ago, the fake grass is drenched so I can't sit down right now.

There were a few people in the area as well, taking pictures and selfies. Of course, I took a moment to enjoy the view of the Makati skyline, and even see the office buildings (Pacific Star and BPI Buendia Center buildings) where my previous workplaces are.

I had lunch at Andoks and ordered a budget-friendly chicken pops meal. After that, I stayed at Macao Imperial Tea for a cup of cream cheese jasmine green tea (there were fewer people inside at that time). I began uploading the first set of pics to my Instagram accounts. Regarding the drink, it was okay though there were sediments at the bottom which irritated my throat a little. Must be the undissolved cream cheese.

I then checked the rest of the mall area (Circuit Walk) and visited the open park area.

The sun finally shines after a few hours of rain and dark clouds.

And it's time to head to Binondo. I rode the LRT to Carriedo Station and I had to deal with the extremely crowded train. Nothing compared to MRT-3, I suppose.

Getting off, I just noticed that Carriedo Street is somewhat cleared of vendors. Well, not actually cleared, but the number of vendors has been greatly reduced. It certainly looked better that way.

I put on my disposable surgical mask before making my way to Binondo as a preventive measure. It had something to do with the possible spread of the Novel coronavirus coming from Wuhan, China, mainly from Chinese tourists. But then, I might inhale some smoke from the firecrackers in addition to the smoke coming from the vehicles, so I decided to put it on. It took me a while before I figure out the correct way of wearing it, as the mask keeps hitting my eyes, making it difficult for me to see where I’m walking.

I passed by the art deco buildings along Escolta, though a couple of buildings are in disrepair (one of them, the Capitol Theater, is already demolished). Reaching the Jones Bridge area, a lot of people passed by the area, some of them are wearing red clothing.

Going further, I saw more people along the way. Upon reaching the Binondo Church, there were street performances and a lot of people passing by, some of them stopping to take pictures.

Ongpin Street is crowded with a lot of people, with some of the policemen guarding the area. I somehow managed to pass by without having to squeeze in. Fifteen minutes later, I did get to see a dragon dance. I managed to take a few pics, but I wasn't able to get a perfect shot. Well, that should do.

There's another dragon dance in front of a hotpot restaurant, complete with firecrackers. Traffic is ongoing, and I can actually hear the honking of the horns as the dragon dance went on.

Feeling a little exhausted, I then head to 999 Mall and checked the stalls selling anime shirts. Nothing much, as they still have the same stock.

I also check a couple of stalls in 168 Mall as well, but I only see a lot of K-pop merch and probably some anime posters. Both malls aren't that crowded at the moment, but I find it frustrating to get around the narrow hallways and make it outside. Well, I managed to do just that and I felt a little relieved as soon as I got out.

And finally, Lucky Chinatown Mall. There's a Chinese New Year performance by Ely Buendia, IV of Spades, and a few others. I head to the cinema level to relax and upload more pics to Instagram.

I managed to take a few more selfies at the City Walk area. After that, I decided to go home as it is already past 7:00 PM. I decided to skip the early dinner since I'll probably eat dinner at home anyway.

I took an e-tricycle to Doroteo Jose Street, passed by the bus stop, and rode the LRT-2 to Araneta Cubao Station. Of course, LRT-2 remains operational, but from Recto to Araneta Cubao stations only and vice versa. I managed to see the awfully tacky station signage at Gilmore and Betty Go-Belmonte stations. Getting off, the escalators at Araneta Cubao stations are being replaced.

I passed by a couple of bookstores (Fully Booked and Booksale) and rode the Beep minibus to SM Fairview. Traffic is incredibly light in most parts of Commonwealth Avenue. I'll probably get home a little earlier than usual.

All right, so I managed to make it through this awesome but exhausting trip. And I didn't have to rant on the traffic in some areas, hence I'm extremely pleased.

Well, how about it? The Bay Area for February sounds like fun since I'll finally get to visit a newly-opened mall at the Entertainment City complex.

And that's how my day went. Until next time!

Most of the pics are uploaded to my private Instagram account, @kcox105. The pics of the MRT/LRT trains, milk tea, and the dragon dance (the first one) are from my official Instagram account, @kcox_105.

[purplesurveys]

1085

survey by -egocentricity-

On Myspace, what was in the last bulletin you posted? I haven’t been on Myspace for well over a decade; and even when I was there I didn’t have any friends added nor did I remember ever posting anything. Friendster and Multiply were a lot more popular.

When and where was the last time you took a picture of yourself? I took a selfie last Saturday in the dining room. It’s of me holding up the vape pen that Andi lent me for the meantime to show Angela, since she wanted to see what it looked like.

Have you ever been scolded by a mall cop? I remember being lightly chided once when I was like, 7 – I was leaning on a glass wall of a store in the mall, so the guard from that store nicely told me to get back up to be safe. Overall, I don’t think I’ve ever exhibited behavior in public that should’ve gotten me into trouble.

How often do you catch yourself daydreaming? Definitely not so much these days. I need to keep being preoccupied with work or other things to do/accomplish since my daydreaming always seems to end with thinking of scenarios that now upset me, like, idk, happier times with my ex. I’m tired of letting that happen and always being upset in the end, so I try to avoid getting lost in my thoughts anymore.

What's your favorite thing to think about as you're falling asleep? Idk about you but thinking in general keeps my mind up and racing lol, so when I’m trying to sleep I do my best to black out my mind so that I can doze off.

Is there anything that you want to do, but won't because you're too afraid? So I went to college with this girl - I believe she’s several batches older - who, as soon as she graduated, set out on a hitchhiking journey across the world. She’s been doing it for four years, and I believe she has finally made it to Europe after being stuck in Kazakhstan for a year due to Covid. She’s amazing and her spirit is so fucking beautiful. She has a Facebook page that I actively follow detailing her experiences; but as great as her journey has been, I don’t know and I highly doubt that I can set out for such a demanding, commitment-heavy challenge myself.

Who was the last person to yell at you? My mom is the only person who does that, but she hasn’t done so in a while.

Who gets up the earliest in your household? The latest? My dad, since his work starts the earliest. I will sometimes hear the car engine purring by 5:45 AM. The latest would be my sister, since she stays up the latest as well. I think she’s up by 8 AM, but she doesn’t show up outside of her bedroom until 10 or 11.

Have you ever had a pet walk across your keyboard while you were typing? No, and I am glad that’s the case because both of my dogs are too big and I fear that they could actually snap my laptop in half.

What political issues do you think deserve less attention/worry? No political issue deserves any less attention than others. Political issues always mean that someone is on the losing end and I don’t think it’s fair to compare and decide which ones can be put on the backseat. 

Anyway, I do believe it’s not so much the issues that should be compared, but the people in politics who are given the spotlight. Here in the Philippines especially, a lot of celebrities want to have their own political careers (and usually win a seat) despite their zero experience and the media gobbles that shit up all the time, which is disgusting. Related to this, I hope the media makes a consicous effort to wipe Trump out of the headlines once he’s out of office.

Which political issues are you most passionate about? I dunno if I can measure that since I’m pretty vocal about a lot of things. What I can tell you is that in the political issues I have a say in, I always side with the marginalized and the oppressed. IPs, POC, LGBTQ+, immigrants, factory workers, jeepney drivers, contractualized employees, activists, student-activists...my heart has always been with them and their cause.

You're going to your favorite foreign country; what landmarks do you go see? I’m not sure if I have a favorite country, but I’m very picky about landmarks in general anyway. I’d rather experience the local life and eat at smaller local places and go to lesser-known beaches and stuff.

What is the longest amount of time that you have spent away from your home? A little longer than a week, and this was usually when I traveled abroad.

Did the last movie you watched have any emotional effect on you? Yeah, so much so that I was unable to finish it and I had to show up at dinner while still fresh from crying.

What motivates you to go to school? Not applicable to me anymore, but I suppose this can be easily rephrased to mean work. Honestly, my main motivation is the desire to have a perfect record at work lol. I’m super neurotic about this and I hate the idea of being absent or late. Money comes second; I rarely buy stuff for myself so I mostly don’t even realize the money coming in to my account every two weeks. Then third is the desire to be good at my job because I do want to get promoted and rack up more positions as I go along.

How much caffeine have you consumed in one day? The most cups of coffee I’ve had in one day is 3, and that was not an enjoyable experience ha. Right now, I’m on my first cup of coffee.

Are you more hyper and up-tight, or laid back and relaxed? I guess it depends on the situation. I can definitely exhibit either, but my behavior will vary based on the people I’m with and/or how comfortable I am in a certain situation.

When was the last time you heard someone talking about you? Around a week ago. My parents were having dinner separately and I heard my name being mentioned in a few sentences.

How did you pick out your last outfit? I wanted an outfit that was chill and easy to carry around, but would still make me look like I put some effort into picking it out.

When buying shoes, what do you look for in the product? I admittedly like brand names, so that’s the first thing I look at. I also like to keep up with what’s trending, so I look at items in a brand’s catalog that I see more and more people wearing. If it matches with my own personal style, then I keep an eye on it/purchase it altogether.

What happened to cause the last mess you made? The last and current mess I have on me is my work desk, which I’ve since abandoned in favor of my bed + portable desk as my new workspace. Idk, over the Christmas break I just ended up stacking up so much shit on the desk until it became a little too cluttered. I’ve cleaned it up here and there to make the space look neater, but there’s still a lot of stuff.

Are you embarrassed to bring people into your bedroom? Not embarrassed; I just find it unnecessary. My bedroom is too small to host guests and the only times I’ve let someone in there is when I had a significant other. I prefer people to stay in the living room.

When was the last children's birthday party you attended? It was my third cousin Isabella’s 7th birthday party at a Jollibee. Her family has been living in Australia for a while, but I guess they wanted to host a party with their Filipino family so they flew back here to stay for a few days. Because she is my third cousin and because she’s been living in Australia all her life, I don’t actually have any sort of relationship with her lmao but I still made an effort to greet her and stuff.

Are you good at reading other people's body language? Yes, to the point that it contributes to my overall anxiety.

If you're sick, do you go to school or do you stay home [usually]? I rarely get a fever so when I do it feels like actual death. For that reason, I usually have to skip the day and focus on feeling better.

Does chicken noodle soup really make you feel any better? I never had it whenever I’ve felt like crap in the past. I don’t really like soup though, so on a personal level I doubt it would have any effect on me.

What is one meal that you like to eat whilst sick? I don’t have a go-to meal because again, I rarely get sick.

Think of the last survey you filled out; did you enjoy it? Sure, it was easy to digest and it’s the kind that you can take over and over again.

Have you ever fed bread to ducks or geese? I’ve fed bread, but to fish in the sea; not ducks or geese since idk if we have either here other than in zoos. In our trip to Mactan in 2010, I remember how we were allowed to pay a certain small amount to get bread from the resort and proceed to feed the fish swimming around in the beach.

Is it hard to imagine you were ever as small as a 1-2 year old? Yeah, I definitely feel that way sometimes.

What set the tone for your mood today? Eh, I wouldn’t say I had an overall mood today, honestly. It was a normal day at work, maybe a little more uneventful than other days; and I was on top of my tasks so there wasn’t anything to dread or worry about. I was just concentrated on getting the day over with and wasn’t strongly attached to any emotion.

Have you ever set out to ruin someone else's day? I don’t think so.

Have you ever felt like the whole world was against you? It happens sometimes.

The name of the last video game you played? Mario Kart 8 probably? It’s been a while but it’s all I play if I do play a video game, so it’s a safe guess.

The name of the last board game that you played? We whipped out my old box of Trivial Pursuit last November when we didn’t have electricity and internet because of the typhoon.

What was the last thing that you told yourself? I don’t remember the last time I talked to myself, but like two minutes ago I was starting to feel sad so I silently reminded myself to think of positive things.

How many times a day do you wash your face? At least once, in the morning before I start work. I’ve learned that cleaning myself up, even if it’s just splashing water on my face, super helps if I want to start working in a good mood.

Do you remember your D.A.R.E. officer's name? I didn’t have one of those, anddd I’m sure we didn’t have that program here.

Someone throws hot coffee on you; how do you react? It’s taken me a whole goddamn week to finish this survey, lels. Anywho... I think out of instinct I would scream out in extreme agony first? And I’d probably spend the first immediate seconds to try and process what just happened. I don’t know if I would fight back because I’m pretty sure the burns would be hurting too badly for me to focus on revenge.

Is there a high school or college that you would rather be attending? I attended one school from kindergarten to college, and I can’t imagine having attended anywhere else. I had one dream university and I ended up attending it.

Have you ever lived in an apartment or duplex home? Yes, both. My parents lived in an apartment for a few months when I was a newborn. From ages 2-10 I lived in my childhood home, which is actually a duplex. The other house belongs to my grandpa’s late sister and her family.

Has anyone ever commented on your weight? Sure, but I care so little about my weight that they don’t really have an effect on me. The most common one I get is to “eat more.”

Where do you stand when it comes to sexual intercourse? Erm not really lmao. Just do it?? Idk. And just make sure consent is mutual and that you aren’t doing it out of pressure.

Name a show from the 90's that you miss? I guess ‘miss’ is the wrong word since I never watched it while it was ongoing, but I do love Friends. I’m excited to see what they have planned for the reunion episode.

Who provokes your sarcastic side the most? Bad co-workers, but luckily I haven’t had to pull that side of me in a while.

Have you ever thought about joining the military? Never.

When you were little, did you ever stare at disabled or "different" people? Being a kid, I probably did but never thought anything of it during those times. My mom certainly would’ve whooped my ass if I tried to comment anything mean or be a smartass.

Could the contents of your bedroom get you in any trouble? The one thing that would piss my mom off are my vape pens. I still have Gab-related stuff in my room that I’m too lazy to throw out, but I doubt I will get into trouble from those anymore because there has been no relationship to speak of in the last four months.

Do weather patterns sometimes have an effect on your health? Not on my health, but on my mood.

If it snows a lot where you live, do you experience cabin fever? It doesn’t, so idk what this would feel like.

When was the last time someone disapproved of something you were doing? Not entirely sure; this hasn’t happened in a while. Admittedly, as a people pleaser, I thrive on doing what people would want me to do lol.

How good are you at getting along with other people? On a scale of 1 to 10, probably a 9? I’m super nice to everyone and in the end it only really boils down to whether I have chemistry with them or not. If I fail to feel comfortable around someone I’m more likely to stay formal, but I do try to be lively and crack jokes with everyone as much as I can.

Do you consider yourself to be approachable? I want to be and I always try to come off as such, but my resting bitchface hurts that chance sometimes haha.

Do you know anyone that's a little emotionally unstable? Uhm, no one comes to mind.

Have you ever felt like you were going out of your mind? Yes.

Has anyone ever suggested that you might need "help"? I don’t recall being told this by anyone before. But with the way I broadcast my anxiety and sadness from time to time, I’m sure people have thought of it.

Do you take offense to things easily? Yeah you can say that. I’ve always been more sensitive than most.

How do you respond to cheesy pick-up lines? As with any pick-up line, I inwardly roll my eyes and move on.

Do you like to give people a taste of their own medicine? It’s such a waste of time and energy for the most part, so no. But if I feel petty, I have no problem doing it.

How was the service at the last restaurant you visited? It was...fine. Nothing to write home about. It was unlimited Korean barbecue and they actually had a system in place where they gave us a link to some internal website they kept, and we could simply order from there to minimize contact with the servers. I will say that I never got the kimchi jjigae I had ordered, but it was fine because I was full by then lmao.

Are you ever jealous of happy couples? No. I mean, I guess I’m reminded of my loneliness when I see couples in public, but I don’t get jealous or angry. I just shake it off and try to focus on myself.

Describe a thought that is sticking with you today? That I can’t wait for Friday.

Lately, who has spent the most time on your mind? I’ve been thinking more of my anxieties than certain people, tbh.

In a car: air conditioning, or roll the windows down? Air conditioning. Though sometimes it’s nice to have the windows down, especially when I’m driving within my village or up a mountain.

When was the last time you did anything to your playlist? I made an angst-themed playlist over the weekend.

Is there a new song or band you've discovered? Massive Attack. Hayley Williams did a super great cover of their song Teardrop, so I checked out the original version which I also ended up enjoying. Olivia Rodrigo too, who I found out is part Filipino yay!

Which teacher gives you the most homework? My Journalism Ethics professor will probably rank the highest on this list.

What type of personality do you find most annoying? Idk, condescending ones maybe? There are a million kinds of personalities lol, but yeah I hate those who make you feel dumb, and feel good about doing so.

How did you hear about Bzoink? If my memory serves me correctly, my 10 year old self just wanted empty about me surveys to answer. Bzoink was always one of the first websites to come out if I searched for surveys on Google.

How long did it take you to sign up for an account - if you have one? I don’t think I ever made an account on there since I was too shy to share my answers.

Are you punctual? Yes, very.

Have you ever howled at the full moon? No.

Have you ever seen yourself on camera? Like if I’ve seen photos of myself??? I would be very surprised if anyone can say they haven’t.

Do you give any consideration to what's said in your horoscope? No.

When was the last time you felt like you were being followed? This has never happened before, thankfully.

[chrsitophwaltz]

MICKEY MEETS FC BAYERN (PART 1/4)

for the entire houston clownery experience click here

psa: excuse my face and the pic qualities. up until this happened i haven’t really taken pictures of myself (less than 10 in the past two years for family and work purposes and NEVER selfies) and when you meet people you’ve only seen on TV in a very unexpected circumstance, then don’t expect your brain and motor functions to work 100%.

okay. i posted part 1 of this a few days ago but i’m gonna redo it again to flush out the details. before i start, know that i arrived in houston wednesday afternoon. my original flight back home was scheduled sunday after the game (i booked my flight and lodgings months before like a good binch) but since bayern clowned again and announced the full detailed schedule really late, and put ALL the major fan stuff on SUNDAY, i grudgingly rebooked and extended one more day. how much that one extra day cost me will haunt me for a while but hey, it was more than worth it! of course, i didn’t know it would work out like that at first...

the hotel reception was around 6:30-7 pm on friday so we went there a few hours earlier to get good spots. met up with The Niko Thirst Gang (big shoutout to @screamingoranges, @saquonbrkley, and @simplyirenic! it was great meeting y’all hope we could do it again sometime) and waited patiently in the houston heat and humidity outside the hotel. finally the team bus arrived and got my shirt signed by boa, fiete, benji, leon, and thomas! made a post about it here and i also have the full reception video if y’all wanna see!

but being the greedy thirsty binch that i am, i wasn’t satisfied at all. thiago and niko weren’t there. the coaching staff were the first to go down and hansi flick, dr. broich, and even Witch Doctor™ müller-wohlfahrt were there, but NOT niko. after the bus left and all the other entourage cars were off, i was about to rage outside the hotel bc i was really banking on seeing niko that day and taking a pic with him there (my blood pressure had been raging for 4 hours and then to be let down just like t h a t...). apparently he and thiago went straight to nrg stadium from the airport for a press conference. and guess what? NRG STADIUM WAS JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM MY PLACE 💀💀💀

anyway, come saturday and it was game day! i was so pumped since my seat was five rows behind the bayern bench! y’all know what that means: unlimited firsthand access to peak drama!!! i also had this huge ass sign asking for niko’s bottle sdhfsdjfh. the game was great (bc we beat madridies and it was just really exciting all the way) and i saw stuff that we normally don’t get from TV (e.g. ALL the angry niko antics, leon changing into his kit on the bench, etc.) at one point niko finally looked at my direction while drinking from his bottle and i’m pretty sure he saw my sign but he just kept on drinking sultrily from that goddamn bottle sjadhksfksdfdk i hate him!!!!!!!

after the game i was feeling pretty let down and desperate bc i know sunday was the team’s last full day in houston and i didn’t want my extension to be for nothing. the practice session and paulaner bbq were invite-only events (ugh) and the mall meet-and-greets won’t have niko or everyone else in them. so i set my alarm, went to bed, and decided to try my luck by randomly going to the hotel again to see if i can get something. i had no idea if it was gonna work or not. it was a shot in the freaking dark.

sunday morning. 8:30 am. i went out armed with a sharpie, my cardboarded jersey, a pack of gum, and two bottles of water.

my uber drove me to the hotel entrance and i even got the whole five star welcome sjdhfsjdfbjkds

hotel staff: ”hi! welcome to the post oak hotel!”

me: “oh lmao i’m not actually a customer i’m just here to see if the team’s still here. have they left for practice yet?”

hotel staff: “oh no problem at all. they’re still here they just finished breakfast i think”

me: “oh cool i’ll just wait here then”

hotel staff and some guy in a bayern audi fcb tour polo shirt: “it’s so hot here, though. don’t you want to wait inside?”

me:

me: “............i can do that? am i allowed in?”

bayern guy: *shrugs* yeah sure. i’ve seen you around before anyway (nice guy talk for: i know ur stalking them lmao)

just like that.

i’m in. i made it.

u n s u p e r v i s e d. totally no barriers whatsoever. with full blast A/C too!

cue happy lil me, relieved to be out of the houston heat, entering the hotel and chilling in their nice plushy seats. (if y’all have cash to burn, it looks like a real good hotel too if you get to houston sometime). i kept on looking over my shoulder bc i still can’t believe they just let me in like t h a t. i tried to make myself look as harmless and innocent as possible and saw some of the training staff milling around and chatting in german (for a moment i thought i was back in munich it was so surreal). at some point, a very sleepy and very casual javi martinez in slides came up to the reception and i nearly passed out. he looked over at me and i waved and said hi and raised my shirt (signal if he wants to sign). he shook his head no and gestured to reception and i was like “oh sure no problem!” (i was trying not to freak out even if i was sad ok)

i’ve been trying to kill time by screaming here on tumblr until about 10-15 minutes later i heard the huge ass team bus pull up out front. a few moments after that, it all started.

i saw the kitmen carrying stuff to the bus and greeted them “guten morgen!” they were so cheery lmao (idk if it’s bc they just had breakfast or bc i greeted them in german). then i saw dr. broich and hansi flick come out in their training gear (both looking hella tanned sfnsjfjsdfn) and greeted them both again. dr. broich waved, said hi, and went straight to the bus but i was able to flag hansi down for an autograph. in my excitement (he was my first catch of the day!) i forgot to ask for a pic ugh but oh well

me: “thanks hansi! and welcome to bayern!”

hansi: *handing me back my shirt and trying (and failing) to put my sharpie back in its cap* “oh, thanks so much!”

after hansi went on his merry way, i saw dieter nickles (the press conference guy) and asked him for a picture and autograph too.

me: “hi dieter! can i please have a photo and an autograph?”

dieter: “are you sure? i’m not a player...”

me: “haha i know but if it’s all the same to you...”

he seemed pretty chuffed that i knew him and happily signed and took pictures (score #2!)

that was it for a while (they were the early birds) until giovane elber himself came out. i freaked (i love him) and tried to keep my voice from shaking when i asked him for the standard photo and autograph. in my haste, the first was pretty blurry and against the light but giovane, angel that he is, was like “oh no that’s bad. let’s try again” and maneuvered me to another angle. success! i luff u, giovane ;__;

then The Voice of the Allianz Arena himself came out. i semi-shouted “stephan!” and startled him that he nearly dropped his coffee snbfsdbfsdfsb. while he was signing my shirt, i asked him if he could give me a lil soundbite and HE DID! he sounds exactly the same as he does on TV during games omfg

the younglings started to come out too. i missed a few of them because they went out in a group so i was only able to flag down sarpreet and ron. oh well! they cute af! go bayern babies! grow up and save us from clownery!!!!!!

(ignore the pen in my mouth i was multitasking lmao)

after that, the ground started to shake (just kidding) bc Big Uncle Nik was there! after i got his autograph (a very simple N.S. lmaooo) , we tried to take a picture. i say “tried,” because i’m 5′3 (and 1/2....on a good day) and he’s built like a fuckin skyscraper. in the end, since he was so nice and realized it was hopeless, he bent down to my level so we could both fit in the frame sdhfbsdjfsbdfjd COME ON SÜLEEEEE

then Pure Angel Baby Fiete came out! i already got his autograph and had a pic with him in the hotel reception, but hey, one more can’t hurt! lemme tell y’all: he looks like an angel, and IS an angel. he’s always so game for photos and even said thank you after we took the pic and i’m like “um???? no, thank YOU!!!” he laughed and i cried lmaooo

also, javi finally showed up again. i raised my pen and phone and he was like “oh sure! yeah!” my brain was fried from Beautiful Athlete Overload that i forgot NOT to take a pic from that cursed angle. javi looked like he was in a hurry though so i didn’t even try to ask for a better pic. oh well, at least here he looks like he came down from heaven (he really looked like he did huehue)

(tumblr has this stupid 10 photo per post limit thing so stay tuned for more pics in part 2!)

[katherine-rambles]

i feel like i should write down a Summary of Today because it was Good

woke up at a decent time. 10 ish?

cuddled with Sage, had sage around with me for some of my morning Stuff

did a Cute Outfit. took selfies. my internet circles enjoy my fashion, and i am validated by the small stream of likes all day long.

unpacked/organized a lil’

went to the mall. ostensibly, to get Mario Cart 8

ate subway for lunch

go into lego store. their loose minifig bin is POPPIN’ they filled it super well. get a ton of gal faces and hairpieces and a bunch of general torsos and stuff. i also buy the first and currently only lego wheelchair because.... OF COURSE I NEED THAT

claire’s was doing their fiendish buy 3 get 3 free thing. i am suckered in. 

went to hang out a bit w/ toun at gametraders; proceeded to get badly flirted with by two separate dudes while i waited for a text from my sis (found a game she might want). ended up Just Going

get to best buy. they have extra joycons, the charging 2-joycon-game-controller holder, and a stand/case thing, but no mariocart 8 plus. well, darn. 

get to bus stop, then realize like five stops down from my normal stop is gamestop. call gamestop, they have it. SCORE. ask them to put on hold 4 me, they do

@ gamestop, they have SO MUCH MERCH NOW!! whole damn store is crowded with shelves and think-geek style shit

find a coolio arceus keychain on sale. grab eet in addition to mariokart 8. 

employees there were super helpful and good. tell me i can preorder splatoon AND the new girl splatoon amiibo for 5 bucks apiece. do that, so i get them preordered. want to preorder arms too, but do not because Wallet. i’ll wait for arms, but i WANT splatoon asap.

while waiting for the bus a random person compliments my shoes. this has been happening all day, but this interaction was probably the Best One of those.

go home!!! got the text from my sis, called toun to hold game while walking home from bus stop. put away loot.

do an hour of weeding for the house.

clean up more from the Moving dealio. everything is in some state of presentable now, though i need to do laundry tomorrow. 

set up some of the stuff for the switch. sis plays breath of the wild and cooks rice for herself (and lets me have some), i do catching up on le tumblr. send some asks for a character meme goin’ round. sage is in and out with me here; she was interested in the switch noises my sister was making while she played, but that kinda wigged her out a bit. (i’ll admit, sage does Move Very Quickly And Suddenly.) 

@keketar and @becna come over!!!! 

sarah arrives first. proceeds to be absolutely enamoured with blaze. transfixed by the doggo magic. blaze happily accepts the pets. 

i pull out the Birthday Book while we wait for Becca. the birthday book is.... good

everyone congregates. i try to set up switch for the tv, but have a lot of trouble (turns out i had accidentally shoved the usb-c into the regular usb port. aren’t i a smart cookie.) plus, breath of the wild has drained the battery, so we (i?) assume that’s the problem and let it charge for a bit. 

we play mysterium! sarah brought it. what a LOVELY board game. i enjoy it a lot. would like my own copy at some point, but given that it’s a 50-60 buck game and how much i’ve.... already spent today.... it’s not happening soon

after MORE fiddling, i finally figure out that i was a dolt and had not plugged it in properly. works like a charm after that. 

mariokart 8 plus is good. 

all the switch stuff was kinda expensive-- i mean, 100 for the extra joycon charger/gamepad and the two extra joycons-- but...

if the multiplayers end up being like this, it’s HECKA worth it, especially in the long run. 

at first it was just me, becca, and sarah. kali went out to the corner store, brought me back a coke-a-cola. (thank you kali!) then she joined us and we played Quite A Few Races. 

i’m super hoping for a smash bros. on the switch. if they don’t at LEAST make a port of the wiiu/3ds one i’mma be angery.

anyway after like 3 of the four-race dealios it gets Late and people leave.  ilu two i hope u got home safe because neither of you, messaged me,,,,

dad gets quasi-curious about the switch. i show him the racing, he complains that it “isn’t interesting”. well no shit, it’s not as fun to watch. but anyway. show him breath of the wild, and he says it looks “EXACTLY” like Total Destruction. i don’t know what that is. he proceeds to say i had played it with him as a demo, with ships and fighting and sea and sea monsters and i’m like. dad that was the god of war demo and it... is not very much like breath of the wild. 

anyway i stay up and end up buying Vroom In The Night Sky Witch (as well as downloading the arms demo.) 

while those download i check tumblr. the replies from earlier, i’ve become popular, i have a lot of things to do on tumblr that i will address tomorrow night probably. 

the game.... oh it’s so silly. it’s not a super-polished game, but it isn’t a cringey one either. the “english” translation is really charming, though frustrating tutorial-wise. honestly would work well as a cellphone/tablet game. i’m mostly surprised you can’t control with tilting; it’s all the joystick. haven’t gotten too deep into it yet but i will be playin’ more. 

and now i’m here writing this out.

whooof long satisfying day. 

[organicli]

Day 49, Singapore

I didn't have such a great day today. It started off with not being able to make the toast properly. One was burnt, one was still just bread and the other piece was done on one side but not the other. The hostel staff put some more in for me and I ended up having 5 or 6 bits of toast for breakfast which is really just excessive but I didn't want to waste it. I'd been planning on walking around the neighbourhoods and then going to the botanical gardens but Malka told me she was going to the gardens soon with some people from her hostel so I said I'd come too. We were meant to meet on the metro platform, Little India, where our lines crossed. On the walk there, I ran into Christopher, who I'd also promised I would go to the gardens with. I'd kind of been planning on blowing him off but he came with me. Or I thought he was coming with me but we got to the station and he said he had to get in touch with his business partners in Monaco. So I went to Little India by myself. I'd told Malka I'd be there in 15/20 minutes but it had actually taken me nearly 40. Trying to meet people when you can't contact each other in a city you don't know is very problematic. I waited 10 minutes before I assumed they must've already come and gone, seeing that I wasn't there. I didn't mind too much because there's no getting around the fact that I do really really enjoy being by myself. I continued alone again. I found the gardens difficult to navigate and I went back and forth a lot. It was very humid today and without a hairband, my hair hung on the back of my neck like a hot, damp blanket. I was very unpleasant and I had to fix it. I was going to find a bathroom and try and tie it up in my scarf but I walked nearly a kilometre to find one and I didn't find one. Instead, I found a sturdy twig and used a method my dear friend, Georgia, taught me back at school and that actually did the job. I put some pink flowers in my bun as well. I was walking through the garden of evolution when I started noticing several little white insect bites appearing on my arms and legs that were slowly swelling into stinging blotches. I already had one on the back of my arm that wasn't even itchy, it was just hot and the pressure on my skin was unpleasant from how swollen it was. I started getting quite miserable and my legs were aching from all the walking I'm always doing. I decided I wanted to leave. It was another half a mile back to the metro. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next. My legs hurt too much to be enthusiastic about walking around the neighbourhoods and I didn't think I'd enjoy sweating on the beach either. I wanted to sit down and have lunch somewhere because it was nearly 3 but thanks to my 5 slices of toast, I wasn't hungry. I decided to just go back to the hostel. I needed to move my stuff into a new room anyway. I browsed for apartments and air bnbs in Singapore like I've been doing for France and Italy but they're so much more expensive, and the rent budget I'd set myself in Europe was already optimistic. I had a nap and struggled to get myself back out of bed at 5. I went down to ask if I could book a bus to KL and the girl on the desk asked me if I was Sarah. I said yes. She said, "oh you're the one everyone's been talking about! I was like wot's all this about. "Everyone's saying you're really beautiful, and you are!" She said. That was really nice. The other reception girl had actually also said that to me earlier. I went to get the bus to Chinatown but I got on and I realised I didn't have my purse. I asked if I could just get off straight away but the driver said it was $1.60, which of course, I didn't have. The girl next to me actually offered to pay my fare which was really nice of her but she had all these shiny little silver coins in her hand and I didn't know what they meant and more people were getting on the bus and it was my chance to get off before it kept getting further away. I'd managed to put in $1 and say thank you a dozen times but I took the opportunity to just go and I cried a bit on the 150 metre walk back to my hostel like the little girl I still am, because I was flustered and wasn't long up from my nap. 10 minutes later, I got the bus with more success. Chinatown was busy and colourful and there were lots of lanterns. I'd made a rookie error yesterday in buying my fridge magnet and postcards from the official gift shop when there's a perfectly good Chinatown in operation; I got another magnet that I liked better for $5 less. I walked through an area where lots of men were thoughtfully playing or watching checkers, while a large salsa lesson seemed to be happening next to it. I also got to see the durian fruits in real life that are banned on all the metros and buses. I tried to get the metro to Kampong Glam next but I accidentally walked for ages in the wrong direction after I got off so I thought I'd just get dinner instead. I'd screenshot some good cheap food suggestions online and I was trying to find a teriyaki hawker called Teppei Daidokoro which was in the Raffles shopping centre. Unfortunately, my cursor on google maps disappeared when I went inside the centre, the stall wasn't registered on the centre directory and the mall had 4 levels, so it took me a while to find. I'd had my heart set on something like the crispy chicken teriyaki we get a yo!sushi at home but what I got was quite different. It was still nice, except for all the seaweed, but it left me feeling uncomfortably full and a bit sickly after I'd eaten it by the fountain. I'd had an idea that I might go to the Esplanade stage by the bay again and watch some more live music but I didn't want to be reaching for the great experience I had yesterday and end up disappointed. I kind of just wanted to go back to my dorm. Nothing was really going my way. I sat down by the water, with the golden lights of the street and skyscrapers rippling off it's black surface and wrote my diary, with the Esplanade near enough to hear the band's tuneful wailing without hearing the words. I felt much calmer after sitting and writing for nearly 2 hours. I had a lot of catching up to do. There was a cute group of friends nearby that were squabbling and laughing over taking a group picture and I thought they were funny. Friends and couples took pictures of each other with the skyline. I like watching people take pictures and selfies. I walked to the metro in the much more agreeable temperature of the night and thought about how I still love it here, even if I had a bad day. The temperature outside is perfect but it's still beautiful going into an airconditioned building.