#apologies if the spanish's botched

[crepegosette]

adventure in the pampas

[at0micc0la]

Surprise meet up

a/n: I had a dream where I was Quackity's classmate and we walked around the city together, my friends tried to forced me to "confess my love for him and he completely ignore me. So I ended up daydreaming about this

Relationship: Quackity x hispanic!reader

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

Creating a community is a complicated work, working your ass off and somedays feeling like is not enough hurts more than one wants to admit, but your hard work allowed you to make friends and acquaintances along the way, and fortunally for you one of those is Quackity, an energetic Mexican boy who seems to want to kiss any man who walks in front of him.

Your friendship started in a Minecraft server called Squidcraft Games where you were teammates and had the mission to finish the different task the "God's" gave the participants, and you two bonded with your dramatics

"I need a priest to confess some things I regret" you screamed looking at your ceiling, fake crying

"Wait wait, let me" the man fixed his mic and added reverberation to his voice "I'm her for you, tell me all your sins" he giggled and tried to read the spamming chat

"FATHER! I've been naughty" you shifted looking at his character "I was the one who tried to push Rubius so he would die first when we were in the chainsaws" your fake tears entertained

"Eeehhh" the norwegian protested, everyone ready for the drama "You disgusting rat!" the man punched your character while you tried to escape and Quackity following

"Don't worry, child. I would also do it, old first" Quackity cackled, starting a fight with the older man.

Since then you two spend good times playing with the other streamers every other day he decided to show up. The warmth the mexican radiated helped you considering him a close friend, so when you had the opportunity to travel to L.A you were so excited to finally meet him.

Luzu helped you, since you never knew if he was in the state, having the man to not raise suspicion was amazing, so that's how you two came up with a plan. Luzu was going to invite Quackity to a coffee shop because he needed to give him something and somewhere along the way you would come up to the man pretending to be a fan and ask for a photo and see if he would be able to recognize you.

Quackity wasn't really excited about going to a public place, he barely slept the night before, but the spanish man told him he must go or he would haunt his soul for eternity. The coffee shop was beautiful, there were little to no customers, an old couple, a group of teenagers, two friends gossiping near the window and Luzu sat on the opposite side

"Luzu, friend"

"Beanie duo meeting" the older man hugged him and sat back, but before Quackity was able to sit he was stopped

"Excuse me, Are you famous mexican streamer Quackity? Can I take a picture with you?" botched english reached his ears and he turned around and started apologizing

"Sorry, maybe later, I'm kinda busy" he umcorfortably apologized, his eyes almost close thanks to his 'I'm sorry' smile

"¿No te vas a sacar una foto con tú fan N°1? Se me cayó un ídolo" [You wont' take a picture with me? You are no longer my idol] he looked at you, truly looked at you and his surprised face made Luzu and you laugh at the man who hugged you, the happy smile he had was unforgettable.

Lana (Luzu's wife) recorded the meet up and after the friends stopped hugging she sat next to Luzu, who was laughing at Quackity

"I can't believe you didn't recognize them, their "english voice" is not far off from their normal one"

"Estoy crudo Lusuuu" :c [I'm hungover Lusu]

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

a/n pt2: sorry if it's not that cohesive, it's almost 3 am and I'm having cramps, but a small fluff for my spanish speaking gremlins ♥

[thepersonperson]

I want to ask you a question, theres been a giant conversation in some groups about which version of jjk was better. The version we saw through the leaks or the finish version we have today. I would really want to know your opinion. If possible if you answer this question, can you hashtag it anon question so I can find it. I understand if not.

I don’t understand exactly what you’re asking.

By "finish" do you mean just JJK's end? Or do you mean the entire finished work?

By leaks do you mean the initial bad translation from Discord/Twitter vs the finished TCBscans fan translation? Or either of those vs the official (VIZ) translation? (I’ve been in the woods for a week I have no idea what’s currently going on in the JJK fanbase.)

(I'll try answering both interpretations below the cut.)

If you mean just JJK's end... Regardless of the version, unless there’s some serious revamping in the Vol 30 release, none of them really change my opinion on the ending.

If you mean the entire work... I prefer the TCBscans most of the time, but there are some instances (they are very scarce) where the VIZ is something I prefer.

My interest in leaks vs official is more about the translation process. Comparing quick, contextless translations to the cleaned up fan translations to the final product is fascinating. (I also enjoyed some of the chaotic fan reactions to leaks. It was kind of like a sporting event. I don't think I'm ever going to forget witnessing the JJK 255 leaks for the Gojo Post-Mortem Racist Reveal in real time.)

For example, when JJK 255 was officially translated, no one overseas really knew what the hell Gojo was talking about with respect to the linear/point movement powerscaling explanation he gave for himself vs Miguel.

Thankfully someone on Reddit was able to explain why John Werry cannot do his job properly.

This is an instance where the fan translation, or rather fan localization, is legitimately superior in every way.

When doing direct translations, you risk making little sense to the target audience if they aren't familiar with certain culture references. Localization tweaks the literal translation to get the mood or intent across.

For an English speaking audience that is likely unfamiliar with Chinese terms for martial arts movements, TCBscans localized this as a sprinter vs a marathoner. This effectively gets across that Miguel is the better fighter in short bursts while Gojo is the better fighter in the long run.

Incidentally, this localization made Gojo and Gege by proxy look more racist. (Gege never made the running comparison! That was the localizers!)

And that little bit of extra is something I prefer to the original script. Here you have this guy apologizing for being racist on accident and then immediately being racist on accident again. That’s just…so real.

Unlearning prejudices can take a while. Plenty of mistakes with microaggressions like that will be made along the way. Even though it’s not intended by the author, I really like that it highlights how clumsy this can be at times.

And that's kind of my approach to the different versions. I like mixing and matching things to get my preferred experience. I usually try to line it up with the themes of the original. But sometimes...VIZ botches the translation so bad that it's too funny to not consider canon. (Kind of like Destiel from Supernatural being canon in Spanish.)

This one is my favorite. (JJK Thorny Road at Dawn Ch 3 Pg 69. Yes, this is really on page 69.)

We get the bondage because John Werry forgot the lore of JJK. Binding Vows you see come from the word 縛り(Shibari). Shibari can refer to a specific type of kinky rope bondage from Japan. It's also a normal word used for regular non-sexual bondage. Depends on the context!

Localization could've gone with Shibari=Bondage, but they went with Binding Vows. It could've been to lessen that sexual connotation, but we don't really know. (This localization also helps with dubbing the anime. Shibari has 3 syllables and so does Binding Vows.)

The fan translation of this chapter gets across the original tone a bit better. Though this translation excluded anything that could hint to the use of Shibari, erasing Gojo's mention of binding vows in the original Japanese entirely. (Also I can't find the OG Japanese version of the light novel at this time, so please fact check trust me on this.)

“I came to this pub to challenge myself to only drinking non-alcoholic drinks and I can only go home when I get drunk.”

“Then you’re never going home for the rest of your life……”

“A self-challenge is only meaningful if you set some strict conditions, right? Ichiji, when you play video games, don’t you get delighted when your level goes up?”

“When I play video games, I don’t really commit myself to those kinds of challenges….”

So as you can see, both versions remove Gojo mentioning binding vows, but only one of them carries the tone of immaturity in the original Japanese. There's almost an innocence to him playing games sober in a place where adults are supposed to get hammered. That contrast does fit well with Gojo being perceived as a childish adult.

However, I prefer the John Werry translation because Gojo being a rope bunny is funnier. There's no real reason for me to believe this. Gojo doesn't speak sexually to anyone at all. Is he flirtatious? Absolutely. No matter what version you go with, it's pretty obvious Gojo is flirting with Nanami (especially in the light novels—Summer of Ashes, Autumn of Dust Chapter 2: Resurrection Doll) and Jogo. But it's pretty straightforward. Double meanings are more of Sukuna's thing.

The John Werry light novel translations are a much smoother and better read than the manga. I've yet to prefer a fan translation of the light novels to VIZ's. Like How are these the same person? There are still minor mistakes here and there like Utahime getting he/him'ed (JJK Thorny Road at Dawn Ch 4 Pg 41) and Gojo being called blond (see the above bondage passage)...but the dialogue is fire I think.

Anyways. I've never been one to say a single version of something is the correct version since they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes the translation/localization will improve on the source material in unexpected ways. Even to the point where most of the fanbase will ignore the original. I can't really disagree with that. I see the different versions as something pretty flexible. How I interact with them depends on what I'm using them for.

If I want to argue on the basis of something being canon, I will go with whatever is closest to or directly from the original creator. It's much more convincing to people to use something official. If I'm creating fan content, I'll be much more relaxed about it.

This wasn't in your ask, but I think it's important to mention. The anime is also canon in its own way since Gege was involved with its creation and it often expands on the manga where it is desperately needed. It's just much harder to use it for an analysis because you have the whole new layer of Sub vs Dub and scrubbing for screenshots. Unless it's something very specific, I otherwise won't draw from it when yapping.

I hope this answers your question?

To summarize, I have a strong TCBscans preference for the manga and heavily favor VIZ for the light novels. If I'm going to make an assertion that needs a higher burden of proof, I'll go straight to the manga raws or interviews to defend my position. (And currently there is no version of JJK's end I prefer because I don't vibe with the content on a fundamental level. Maybe the anime version will change that.)

[softpine]

Rosie: Tan cursi...

Isa: Sólo por ti.

[the-nysh]

Maybe because I am british but the americanism of the VIZ translation are awful "this is my truth" doesn't convey the same tone or emotional sincerity, it sounds like a meme'd youtube apology video, "We get it" its not huge but harsher than "We know", one sounds like "shut up" the other sounds understanding. Its surprising how upsetting botching words are when its screwing a beautiful scene, and I almost feel like Viz is doing it on purposely lately doubling down after negative feedback.

I hear the official spanish version feels much softer, with Kacchan saying 'don't worry' in response while catching Deku, for example. :O In general I feel Caleb is usually better (in a technical sense) at translating than John Werry, who makes opm sound like it's oversimplified for 12yr olds, but it's just....the forced localizations and inserted 'american' colloquialisms (which to me, aren't even things people naturally say in RL - and I'm from CA!) make it sound so weirdly tonally dissonant at times. Making me even react like ??? wtf (viz's opm is particularly guilty at this). Especially in contrast to Hori’s smart word play & subtleties, so many of those japanese nuances get lost. Like viz's text will sound overly casual at first, but then in the next moment it switches up to sound overly formal. It comes off oddly inconsistent. With word choices that often swerve all over the place, feeling unpredictably hit or miss.

"This is my truth" sounds pretty formal to match with the sincerity of "Izuku," so I'm ok with that line, but that mixed together with the other super causal lines (including shortened contractions and the overuse of ‘cuz’) before it just gives the confusing impression that Kacchan's being dismissive and not very serious during this pivotal moment, when he is. ;o; (Kacchan's words are carefully succinct but childlike in their honesty, from what I've seen of the japanese impressions.)

Anyway, I can’t speak for Caleb, after witnessing his whole twitter meltdown, and it’s no secret he carries a certain bias against characters like Endeavor & Kacchan (based on his opinionated old trivia threads) that scenes with them tend to get botched for ~some reason~ That I’m just...grateful we have these other options to compare, from fans fluent in multiple languages to come together to approximate Hori’s meaning of the text. :’)

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Taking Chances 1/4

Keanu Reeves x Reader (A/n- Why’d i write this brain? Why? Also, to any French speakers, my sincerest apologies if I botched the translations, it’s been a while since I’ve done any of it.)

Warnings- None, I think. 

“I don’t know about this,” Y/n sighed despondently, folding her arms across her silk clad chest as she watched him put on his shoes. 

Typing the laces of his shiny black shoes, Noah glanced up at her, clear green eyes, behind round spectacles meeting hers with nothing but love and quiet reassurance. She didn’t know if he was tired of her whining by then, but if he was, he was good at keeping it at bay, “It’s going to be fine darling,” he sat up, planting his hands on the sheets, still messy from their sensual morning session, “Come ‘ere,” he beckoned sweetly. 

Begrudgingly, Y/n pushed off from the wall near the open Victorian doors that led to the balcony, which in turn overlooked Paris. When she stood before him, clad only in a flimsy silk, pink robe, nothing beneath and her feet bare, Noah pulled her into his lap, holding Y/n close, “What are you worrying your little pretty head about, eh?” The pad of his finger tapped the tip of her nose and him nuzzling the crook of her neck had Y/n’s smile splitting wider, “I know you, and you’ve got this.”

“You’re just saying that,” she leaned into him, seeking further comfort. Wishing that they could just stay in the room for the rest of the day, without any commitments or consequences. But they couldn’t, Noah was there for work and Y/n was supposed to be writing. "Supposed to be" being the operative term. But it was all new territory for her, new city, new apartment, and entirely new career. It was all just happening so quickly.

Thankfully though, she had him.

"I'm not," Noah affectionately pecked her cheek, "I know this is a lot for you, but I believe in you, I just need you to believe in yourself."

"Yeah," she exhaled, looping her arms around his neck, skimming a finger along the back of his neck and smiling when he hummed at her touch. "I'm sorry that I'm being such a baby about this," she pouted, quickly kissing his cheek.

“You are not being a baby,” he reassured between brief kisses, travelling from her cheek to Y/n’s lips. Noah’s hand stayed low on Y/n’s back, the comforting warmth of his palm seeping through the thin material, urging her to lean further into his touch, “Tell you what, why don’t you go on a little solo adventure today? You’ve been stuck with me ever since we got here; you’ve barely gotten a minute to put anything to paper and the only place you’ve seen besides the cafe across the street is the university,” Noah used his free hand to shift a few stray locks from her face, tilting his head so their gazes could meet, “You could take walk through the city maybe hop a metro, go somewhere for inspiration.”

“Babe,” Y/n giggled, taking his face in her hands, his 5 o’clock shadow rough beneath her soft touch, “You’re not in England anymore, I think they call it a train here.”

Noah hummed in amusement, “Actually, I think it's called la rame here,” his enunciation was perfect, reminding Y/n that Noah was far more traveled than she was, having experienced and picked up on several languages along the way. Sometimes, it was hard to believe that he’d spent a whopping five years in Washington, just for her, when Y/n knew that he much preferred exploring the world, spending no more than one or two academic years in one place. Noah was a gypsy of sorts, an English one, who’d picked up an adoration for world history along the way. Always moving, teaching at different universities and sometimes going on archaeology excavations. But when they’d met, he’d taken up a position at a respected university, giving it his all just so they could be together. He was happy, Y/n knew he was, they both were, though, when the offer from a school in Paris came through the mail, she took note of the way his eyes lit up. It was an opportunity to travel again, that time with some to share in the experience. And though he’d deterred the idea, lying to protect her feelings when he said it didn’t matter if they stayed or went, Y/n knew him better and decided that after everything, the least she could do was make a sacrifice for him. And here they were.

“I love it when you speak smart to me,” her flirtatious wink was enough to have him blushing and subsequently leaning in for another kiss, one longer than the others. Y/n’s fingers tangled in his honey, short, loose curls, while her other hand laid flat on his chest, trying to push him into a laying position.

Groaning quietly in protest, with dwindling resolve and barely any ability to refuse her, Noah, gently moved the offending hand away, “We shouldn’t,” his objection had her frowning, “I can’t be late,” letting his large hand cupping Y/n’s cheeks slip down to the knot holding her robe closed, tentatively tugging strip of fabric, he continued, “And we both know if you take this off I won’t be leaving for a while.”

Summoning up her most seductive pout, Y/n trailed her feather light fingers down his chest, “No goodbye orgasm?”

Chuckling, Noah gently encouraged Y/n into a standing position, placing his hands on her hips, “Not today love,” he bent to kiss her quickly, “But maybe later we can have a welcome home orgasm later, when we get back."

Home.

The moderately sized, high ceiling Victorian styled apartment hadn't become much of a home to Y/n yet. There were still boxes tucked away in the corners and none of the furniture belonged to them. Though, Y/n supposed that when one traveled as much as Noah did, home stopped being a place and started being what was constant, who was constant. For him, that was Y/n, she was his home. Maybe he could be hers too. 

"Okay," Y/n breathed quietly, walking him to the door, "I'll text to let you know where I'll be, and I’ll see you when we get home. I love you," she endeared at the front door, when he was already standing beneath the threshold.

"I love you too darling," he caressed her cheek one last time, urging his messenger bag further up his shoulder, before setting off. With one final wave and a blown kiss from her end, Noah was gone, taken down by the elevator.

"Cut!" The voice rang through, signaling the halt of everything that was happening in front of the camera. The director sighed quietly, staring hard as she scanned the set, specifically on where most of the extras were gathered, "There," she pointed an accusing finger to the patio dining area at a cafe, "That doesn't look right." Barking someone's name, she waited until an Assistant Director was at her side before continuing harshly, "What the hell is this doing here? I said authentic pieces from the region, this says made in China."

Keanu watched as Alicia, the director shoved the center piece to the young girl's chest, not caring if she got a proper hold on it before walking away as she continued, "Fix it, else you'll have to use your last paycheck as air fare back to L.A!"

"Dios mio," a husky female voice groaned beside him, accent thick, "She's such a bitch." It was his co-star and the movie's female lead, Ayiana. She was Spanish, though years living in America had made her English exceptional.

Keanu glanced towards her way just as she was working against the wind to brush some dirty blonde hair away from her face, "Yeah, she's pretty intense."

"Poor Clara," Ayiana frowned deeply as they started towards their trailers, “I hope she gets that prop, before Alicia loses both their heads.” When they approached the first set of trailers, Ayiana offered Keanu a friendly nudge on the shoulder, “Well this is me,” as she went up the brief bout of metal stairs, getting the door open, she stopped him again, “You know, the nanny has Emmy tonight, and Mark and I are going to that cute little pub nearby, you should come too.”

“I don’t know,” Keanu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Going out for drinks that night did sound like it would make for a good time, and he and Ayiana’s husband got on pretty well anyway, but Keanu didn’t want to intrude on their time together either, “I don’t wanna be a third wheel.”

“Tonterías!” Ayiana huffed, shaking her head and folding her arms, “You wouldn’t be a third wheel,” though her English was exceptional for someone who’d moved to America in their adulthood, Ayiana’s accent was thick, especially when she spoke quickly, making it a bit difficult to understand what she was saying. Though, Keanu got the jist of it, “You will come. We meet in the lobby at seven, be there!”

Chuckling, Keanu just nodded, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “Okay,” he agreed, knowing he didn't really have a choice in the matter. Even if he’d decided to bail at the last minute, she and her husband would probably come up to his room and give him an earful, “I’ll be there,” he waved, walking off. 

Keanu’s trailer was just a couple over from Aiyana’s, and on his way, Keanu glanced upwards to the sky, just as the low rumbling of thunder combated the noises he’d grown used in the little town in Luxembourg; the faint hum of air conditioning units and birds chirping. A storm was brewing, it had been plastered all over the local news, and heavy rains, accompanied by gusty winds, thunder and lightning had been predicted to start that night and last through the next three days. Thankfully though, after Keanu was finished with drinks that evening, he hadn’t planned to leave his hotel room until it was all over; hopefully he’d gathered enough to pass his time.

“Shit,” Y/n huffed, nearly on the verge of tears as she ducked beneath the under croft of a local pub. Standing outside the closed doors, she could hear the sounds of loud chatter and music wafting through the cracks, the aroma of booze evident. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten herself in such a mess. The storm, which she’d only learned about when she was caught right in the midst of the beginnings, had prompted the close of all routes back to Paris, and worse yet, her phone had died, just when she’d taken it out to call Noah. Worse yet, Y/n’s search for a pay phone had been fruitless, even as she’d walked along the sidewalk, attempting to ask anyone who’d stop to hear her. Y/n supposed that her efforts might have been successful if she spoke a little French, but alas, Noah had always been more linguistically skilled than she’d been.

Groaning quietly, Y/n spectated the downpour, briefly glancing at the milky sky, occasionally interrupted by frightening flashes of lightning. It really had come down heavy and all at once. Or perhaps, Y/n had just been too enthralled with the quaint, vintage looking town that she hadn’t noticed the first drizzle. Either way, dwelling on it wouldn’t have made any difference, she was already stuck and the least she could do was go into the bar and hope the person at the counter spoke a bit of English. 

“Téléphone,” Keanu could hear the urgency in the young woman’s voice, her accent botched, and probably the reason the bartender was ignoring her. About three stools and a couple patrons separated them; he’d just gone to stand there, intent on ordering a second round of drinks, but from the minute she’d caught his eye, Keanu had forgotten all about everything else. Even with wet hair sticking to the sides of her face and drenched clothes clinging to her frame, she looked absolutely  gorgeous. He didn’t know her, but he wanted to.

In fact, Keanu might have even gone as far as saying that he felt as if he were being drawn in; enticed by a beautiful, though seemingly desperate woman. Without much thought of anything else, he started wondering what had upset her so much, what was a girl like her doing all alone, soaking went anyway? He had to know.

Swallowing his nerves, planning on using the guise of assistance, Keanu weaved through the small crowd separating them, “Hey,” he tapped her shoulder, causing her to jump and yelp in surprise, “Shit,” he huffed when she turned, holding her small had to her chest, just over a small portion of deliberately exposed cleavage. Her eyes were frenzied and frightened and her lips, agape and quivering, though he didn’t know if it was because she was afraid or just cold. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” sheepishly, he offered his best shot at a smile, understanding when she didn’t really reciprocate.

She did look relieved though, slumping her shoulders as her breath caught, “You speak English.” The woman didn’t seem to recognize him in the slightest and Keanu actually found that the fact made her even more attractive.

“I do,” he nodded, “First language and everything,” when she didn’t laugh at his shoddy attempt at a joke, Keanu nervously cleared his throat, opting to carry on, “Is everything okay?”

“No,” she nearly sobbed, hanging her head, defeated and sorrowful, “My phone’s dead and I need to call home and say I won't be back, before-”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Keanu tentatively reached for her shoulders, trying to offer some comfort and slow her sobs, “It’s going to be alright.” Retracting one of his hands, he felt around in his coat pocket, eventually producing his own cell, quickly unlocking it before offering it to her, “Why don’t you just use my phone? And then we can go from there, sound good?”  

In an instant, she was visibly soothed, her breaths and tears slowing and a new glimmer of hope twinkling in her eyes, shining brightly even in the poorly lit pub, “I…….thank you,” the first signs of a smile broke through and she breathed another sigh of relief, “You have no idea how much this means to me, really, I’ve been wandering around this town for almost two hours, looking for a phone. So thank you,” she smiled wider, “I’m Y/n by the way.” 

Y/n offered a small hand, which Keanu readily took, matching her grin, “Keanu.”

“Wait,” she furrowed her brows, proceeding to blink quickly, “Keanu Reeves,” her jaw hung slack for a minute, though, it wasn’t long before she was regaining her composure, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t recognize you.”

“It’s okay,” he reassured, not wanting her to feel bad about it, especially since he was actually pleased that he hadn’t. Being famous was nice, usually, you were treated well, got seated immediately at restaurants and everyone wanted to give you free drinks. But, especially when you were trying to make new friends, it got in the way. Everyone wanted to know you because of what you were, as opposed to who you were. "Why don't you go somewhere quiet and make your call, then you can join me and my friends for drinks?”

Y/n’s lips quivered in indecision, internally debating Keanu’s offer. It wasn’t like she really had anywhere to afterwards, and after the evening she’d had, a stiff drink was definitely more than appealing. With a breathy exhale and a soft sniffle, Y/n nodded, “Okay, thank you Keanu,” and with one final backwards glance, she wandered off to the hallway near the bathrooms, where she could make her phone call in a quieter area. 

“No problem Y/n,” he breathed, knowing she couldn’t hear him, and still in complete awe of her, already excited for her return. Huffing, he approached the bar again, snatching up one of the flimsy, cardboard drink menus, barely able to focus on the options displayed. As he leaned forward, the fingers of his free hand absently drummed the worn wooden surface, and as hard as he tried, Keanu couldn’t help but let his imagination go wild with thoughts of the woman he’d just met. There was just something about her, the way she’d smiled despite her distress, the sparkle in her pretty eyes when they locked with his, the way he’d spotted her, out of every other woman in the entire establishment; like it was faith. Did he even believe in faith? Did he still believe in-

“Hey,” a petie hand touched his elbow, rousing his attention, and startled, Keanu turned back to Y/n, his smile immediately growing at the sight of her, internally relieved that she seemed far more relaxed, “Thanks again,” she offered his phone, “I seriously don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here,” after he’d pocketed his phone, Y/n moved to stand next to him at the bar counter, loosely mirroring his posture, noting the discarded menu between his forearms, “Next one’s on me.”

“Oh,” Keanu shook his head, pushing the menu away, “You don’t have to do that, it’s just a phone call, and I’m sure you have people that’ll be worried if you don’t check in,” briefly, he glanced at her, just to see if she’d give anything away. Was she there on vacation with family? Was there a husband or boyfriend waiting? A wife or girlfriend? Anyone that would make the way he was feeling when she stood that close wrong? When, even after a minute, Y/n didn’t offer anything much, Keanu tried to dismiss it, “Besides, you’ve had a rough night, let me get this one.”

“No,” Y/n put her hand over his just as he’d moved to get his wallet. Both shocked, their gazes fell to their joined hands, and Keanu found it hard to ignore the softness of her palm, how her touch sent sparks  up his arm and Keanu swore he’d never experienced anything like it, “I insist.” For a moment more, Y/n held onto his hand, then, as if just realizing herself, she awkwardly pulled away, immediately starting to avoid his gaze, “Um….” Y/n stuttered and for a split second, Keanu was worried that she might change her mind on spending the rest of the evening with him, Ayiana and her husband, he was just starting to look forward to have someone that wouldn’t make being the third wheel so uncomfortable. 

Though, as quickly as she hesitated, Y/n mustered up another smile, shaking off the moment and going to rummage through her bag for her purse, producing a gold card, “Drinks!” She declared with a breathy giggle, hoping to fill the flustered silence, actively avoiding his gaze, hoping she wouldn’t get lost in it again. 

It was definitely going to be a strange night. 

******

Tagging- @harrisongslimited @magnificentclodpiebanana  @keandrews @greenmanalishi  @rdjloverxxx @danceoftwowolves  @planetkt

[shi-daisy]

Fic Ask Tag

Tagged by: @jkrobertson

1. How many fics on AO3?

2

2. Total AO3 word count?

326,137

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Published: Bleach

Unpublished/Upcoming: Total Drama, Danganronpa 2, Transformers

4. Top Five by Kudos?

I only have two published fics at the moment but here's their order

1. Road to Redemption

2. Road to Ruin

5. Do you respond to comments, why/why not?

Yes! I love it when people comment! I like knowing what they liked most about the fic or simply seeing their reactions. It's just fun. 💖

6. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Road to Ruin. It was meant to be Aizen's origin story so obviously, it was gonna end sadly. I still feel bad for killing of Kaname! 😭

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

I have yet to write a crossover but I have joked around with my friends that we should make a crossover between Transformers, Totally Spies, and Ben 10. Basically childhood nostalgia is in full force!

8. Have you received hate on a fic?

Thankfully no. 😅

9. Do you write smut?

Yes. 😏

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No.

11. Ever had a fic translated?

No.

12. Ever co-written a fic before?

I am right now, with @maplesamurai but it's gonna be a while before we have it done. It's much more fun than writing alone but that's probably because I have the best writing partner ever! 😊

13. All-time favorite ship?

Don't make me choose, these are all my babies! 😭 But if I must pick it's between Ulquihime (Bleach) Entrapdak (She-Ra and the princesses of power) and Sondam (Danganronpa)

14. What's a WIP you want to finish, but don't think you ever will?

I can't leave stuff unfinished honestly. So if I don't have a good ending or plan for something I never publish it.

15. What are your writing strengths?

According to the people who read my stuff, they say it's emotion. Whatever I make they all feel strongly about be it a sad fic, happy fic, romance, funny moments. I'd like to think that's my greatest strenght. 😍

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions and fight scenes. I hate describing places, outfits, and stuff like that. Makes me cranky. As for fight scenes, they are fun to imagine and make but there are only so many ways to translate that into writing without it sounding boring, 😒

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages?

I like it. I only save it for languages I know though, I've had a character of mine speak Spanish sometimes but that's my first language so we're golden. Had on speak french though, hopefully I didn't botch it. 😅 Apologies to my French speaking readers if that was the case.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Sonic

19. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Road to Ruin. I know Road to Redemption gets more love and honestly, I wanted to give these characters the happiest endings I could muster but Ruin was far more fun to me. I like the idea of writing a well-intentioned person falling to villainy, plus it's no secret I love writing the Espada and Aizen more than the good guys. I really miss writing it and every once in a while I reread it just because of how much I love it. 😍

Tagging: @maplesamurai, @bleachmymind,@introvertbard

[kylermalloy]

Tag Meme Thing

I was tagged by: @join-the-club-weve-got-jackets Thanks! <3

Nickname(s): On here, I go by kyler. Irl, everyone calls me Alli—I’ve never gone by Allison.

Zodiac sign: Cancer

Height: 5′3

Last movie I saw: In theaters? I went to see the new Fantastic Beasts movie twice in December. I liked it a lot more than most people, I think! I also just watched Ant-Man and the Wasp on Netflix last Friday. It is awesomely funny!

Last thing I googled: Wookieepedia. I practically live there ever since I’ve started working on writing my SPN/Star Wars AU. There are so many details!

Favorite musician: I’m terrible at picking favorites. It changes so often! I guess one group that’s stuck with me for years is For King and Country. I’ve gotten to see a few of their live shows. They’ve got an amazing energy!

Song stuck in my head: Waiting Game by Parson James. It’s what I named my most recent fic, so I’ve been listening to it a lot. Fun fact! I’m terrible at titling things, so more often than not I’ll just pick a lyric or song title from whatever song I’m listening to at the moment and plug that in. It usually works pretty well!

Other blogs: None! I post everything on this one. Apologies to my followers who followed me for one thing, then got hit with a deluge of other random, unconnected fandom nonsense!

Following now: I am SO picky about who I follow. Right now I’m at 37?

Followers: 39. Y’all are brave people.

Amount of sleep I get: Around 6 hours on weekdays. I stay up late in an attempt to get more out of my day. On the weekends I can get more like 7 or 8 hours, if I don’t get distracted by something like TV or writing (I always get my best writing inspo late at night!)

Lucky numbers: I don’t have any? 

What I’m wearing: Plaid pajama pants, an XL t-shirt, and my band hoodie from college. And slippers. Always slippers when I’m at home. I get cold SUPER easily.

Dream job: In a dreamworld, I’d stay home all the time. But realistically, I’m working my dream job already! I’m teaching science at a really good high school, and once I get my master’s I hope to work there full-time!

Dream trip: Hmmm...I want to hit Europe. Paris, Venice, Rome, ALL of Spain... BUT I am planning a trip to New Orleans in a couple months! I’m super excited about that!!

Favorite food: Nachos. Chips and salsa. Queso. Pasta/ravioli. Chocolate chip cookie dough. Jelly Bellies. Does coffee count? It does because I say so.

Instruments: Alto sax. Piano. I sing a bit? I read music, but it’s easier for me to just pick songs out by ear. That’s how I make my mashups too!

Languages: English, Spanish, some ASL

Favorite songs: Again, this changes all the time. Have a few of my favorites at the moment:

The Sound of Silence, Simon & Garfunkel (I also like the Disturbed version!)

The Other Side, Ruelle

Simple Man, Lynyrd Skynard

Llorar, Jesse y Joy

Aléjate De Mi, Camila

and again, Waiting Game by Parson James—I just learned that one on the piano!

Random fact: When I was ten, I broke my arm twice in one year. Once from botching a handstand, once from falling while ice-skating. (I still adore ice-skating to this day, but I NEVER did another handstand!) Since it was my right arm both times, I had to learn to write with my left hand. So now, I’m functionally ambidextrous. I have different handwritings for each hand, that’s weird.

Aesthetic: ??? Beanies and scarves. Coffee that’s more creamer and sugar than coffee. Messy hair. Warm fuzzy blankets. Cozy socks. A ton of unused pens, journals, planners, and pencils. Matching my walk to the beat of the music I’m listening to. A confident power stride. High heels. Daydreaming new stories to write. Really terrible dancing. Sitting on a beach, digging my toes into the sand, reading without a care in the world.

Anybody who feels like doing this, consider yourself tagged!!

[kansascityhappenings]

Couple spends $11,800 on Spanish island Airbnb rental that doesn’t exist

IBIZA — Ian and Denise Feltham, a couple from the UK, made vacation plans based on an Airbnb listing for a property that apparently didn’t exist.

The Felthams’ trip to the Spanish island Ibiza included superluxurious accommodations for £9,610 (about $11,800) for two weeks in a VIP penthouse, complete with a Turkish bath, hot tub and marble-decked terrace.

The dog-friendly listing — the Felthams were traveling with their two Yorkshire terriers — seems to have been based on a real apartment. Sort of.

Photos of the Airbnb listing, removed following The Sunday Times story detailing the botched holiday, were apparently compiled from various condos for rent or sale on the Las Boas complex’s website, according to a man reached by CNN Travel at Las Boas.

The Las Boas staff member called the Airbnb listing a “fake,” saying no such property even exists among the 40 units we saw on Las Boas’ website. The man was reached at the telephone number listed on the complex’s website but declined to give his name or say anything more about the matter.

Ian Feltham has confirmed to CNN that photos on Las Boas’ website match photos posted with the Airbnb listing he and his wife booked.

Maria Cala, who owns a Las Boas unit and is co-founder of The Suites, a residential rental website that lists some Las Boas units, expressed confusion at the Felthams’ rental property, explaining that the Turkish bath promised with the so-called “VIP” penthouse is for the entire complex — not one unit.

She also said that while “there are some nice penthouses in the building with direct access by lift,” there are no private lifts, another amenity the Ibiza property listing had promised the Felthams.

Cala said that some owners do rent out their places on Airbnb, and according to an email statement from Airbnb Communications Manager Charlie Urbancic, the listing is under investigation.

“Our handling of this issue fell below our usual high standards, and we have reached out to the guest to apologize and refund them in full,” Urbancic said.

Urbancic suggested the Felthams’ issue was an anomaly. “There have been over half a billion guest arrivals on Airbnb to date and, with two million people checking into an Airbnb every single night, issues like this are incredibly rare,” he said.

Ian Feltham, who CNN Travel first reached through LinkedIn’s messaging system, expressed extreme dissatisfaction with Airbnb’s handling of the debacle, which had the Felthams scrambling to find a dog-friendly hotel when they discovered that their booking literally did not exist.

When Feltham grew concerned about the too-good-to-be-true listing days before the trip, he contacted Airbnb and says he was passed from one person to the next. Lux Travel Collective, the original poster of the listing on Airbnb, had gone near radio silent in the days before their scheduled arrival and too few details had left Feltham worried about their impending stay.

“They are rubbish, faceless organization,” Feltham said of Airbnb in his LinkedIn message to CNN.

One Airbnb customer service representative wrote to let Feltham know she was going on holiday and offered up a few telephone numbers if he felt his situation was urgent, Feltham said.

But time was running out, and the Felthams ultimately showed up at the expected location of their paid-for Ibiza pad, only to be turned away by the building’s reception and forced to quickly recalibrate.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/10/01/couple-spends-11800-on-spanish-island-airbnb-rental-that-doesnt-exist/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/10/01/couple-spends-11800-on-spanish-island-airbnb-rental-that-doesnt-exist/

[dani-qrt]

Catalan Parliament Elects New Leader, a Separatist Not Under Indictment

BARCELONA, Spain — Lawmakers in Catalonia on Monday narrowly elected a separatist as president, but one not under indictment by the Spanish authorities, potentially easing the political deadlock with the central government in Madrid, though not resolving it.

The separatist, Quim Torra, will replace Carles Puigdemont, who is now fighting extradition from Germany after refusing to be prosecuted in Spain on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds for carrying out a referendum on secession last October.

The referendum descended into chaos and violence after Madrid sent police forces from other regions to try to block a vote that had been declared unconstitutional. Mr. Puigdemont and other Catalan separatists nonetheless called the referendum a success, saying the measure had passed overwhelmingly, even as the vote had clearly left Catalonia painfully divided.

After Catalonia’s Parliament declared independence, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suspended the region’s autonomy and imposed direct rule from Madrid, using his emergency constitutional powers. He then called new regional elections in hopes of reshuffling the political deck.

Voters nevertheless returned separatist parties to the regional Parliament with a majority that wanted to restore Mr. Puigdemont to power, even though he had left Spain to avoid arrest.

So the deadlock continued, until the vote on Monday.

Handpicked by Mr. Puigdemont, Mr. Torra has a long history of secessionism, so his selection was denounced by opponents of independence as counterproductive for future relations with Mr. Rajoy and other politicians in Madrid.

Addressing lawmakers before the vote, Mr. Torra reiterated his commitment to a separate Catalan republic. But he also used more conciliatory language, switching from Catalan to Castilian Spanish to insist that Catalonia would be “a republic for all.”

He also offered an apology for Twitter posts he had written about the moral values of Spaniards, and in which he also accused the Spanish state of plundering and occupying Catalonia. Mr. Torra added: “We don’t want Catalonia to be uniform, but instead united in diversity.”

On Monday, Mr. Rajoy called for Catalonia to return to “understanding and concord” under Mr. Torra’s leadership and said he would meet this week with other party leaders to review the situation in Catalonia.

Mr. Rajoy is at the helm of a minority government and is himself under pressure from Ciudadanos, a party whose support he depends on, to keep Catalonia under direct rule until separatist lawmakers fully relinquished their independence plan.

Mr. Rajoy also warned Mr. Torra against leading Catalonia back into illegality by reviving a secessionist agenda that violates the Spanish Constitution. “What I’ve heard in recent hours hasn’t pleased me, but as I’ve made clear, I will judge actions,” Mr. Rajoy said on Monday.

Yet under the powers that Mr. Rajoy sought last October from the Spanish Senate, he committed to lifting direct rule once Catalonia held new elections, which took place in December, and lawmakers then voted a new regional president into office.

Mr. Torra failed to secure enough votes in the first round of parliamentary voting on Saturday. But he overcame that hurdle in a second round, in which the vote threshold was lower.

Sixty-six of the 135 members of the Catalan Parliament supported Mr. Torra’s presidency, and 65 voted against. As expected, the four lawmakers of a far-left party, the Popular Unity Candidacy, abstained from the voting.

The party has a played a pivotal role in Catalonia’s independence drive and is expected to pressure Mr. Torra to forge ahead with unilateral secession, despite the botched declaration of independence last October.

Mr. Torra is expected to take office in the coming days, after Mr. Rajoy and King Felipe VI officially sign his appointment into law.

Until this month, Mr. Torra was a second-tier politician who was mostly known as a longstanding backer of Catalan independence and a staunch ally of Mr. Puigdemont, who chose him as a replacement after the Constitutional Court barred his attempt to get re-elected in absentia, from Germany.

Mr. Torra, who was not part of Mr. Puigdemont’s former cabinet, could stand for election as he is not among the Catalans being prosecuted over the independence vote.

Most of those politicians are either awaiting trial in a Madrid prison or have gone abroad, avoiding prosecution but risking extradition to Spain.

The post Catalan Parliament Elects New Leader, a Separatist Not Under Indictment appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2rH3Ge3 via Online News

[cleopatrarps]

Catalan Parliament Elects New Leader, a Separatist Not Under Indictment

BARCELONA, Spain — Lawmakers in Catalonia on Monday narrowly elected a separatist as president, but one not under indictment by the Spanish authorities, potentially easing the political deadlock with the central government in Madrid, though not resolving it.

The separatist, Quim Torra, will replace Carles Puigdemont, who is now fighting extradition from Germany after refusing to be prosecuted in Spain on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds for carrying out a referendum on secession last October.

The referendum descended into chaos and violence after Madrid sent police forces from other regions to try to block a vote that had been declared unconstitutional. Mr. Puigdemont and other Catalan separatists nonetheless called the referendum a success, saying the measure had passed overwhelmingly, even as the vote had clearly left Catalonia painfully divided.

After Catalonia’s Parliament declared independence, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suspended the region’s autonomy and imposed direct rule from Madrid, using his emergency constitutional powers. He then called new regional elections in hopes of reshuffling the political deck.

Voters nevertheless returned separatist parties to the regional Parliament with a majority that wanted to restore Mr. Puigdemont to power, even though he had left Spain to avoid arrest.

So the deadlock continued, until the vote on Monday.

Handpicked by Mr. Puigdemont, Mr. Torra has a long history of secessionism, so his selection was denounced by opponents of independence as counterproductive for future relations with Mr. Rajoy and other politicians in Madrid.

Addressing lawmakers before the vote, Mr. Torra reiterated his commitment to a separate Catalan republic. But he also used more conciliatory language, switching from Catalan to Castilian Spanish to insist that Catalonia would be “a republic for all.”

He also offered an apology for Twitter posts he had written about the moral values of Spaniards, and in which he also accused the Spanish state of plundering and occupying Catalonia. Mr. Torra added: “We don’t want Catalonia to be uniform, but instead united in diversity.”

On Monday, Mr. Rajoy called for Catalonia to return to “understanding and concord” under Mr. Torra’s leadership and said he would meet this week with other party leaders to review the situation in Catalonia.

Mr. Rajoy is at the helm of a minority government and is himself under pressure from Ciudadanos, a party whose support he depends on, to keep Catalonia under direct rule until separatist lawmakers fully relinquished their independence plan.

Mr. Rajoy also warned Mr. Torra against leading Catalonia back into illegality by reviving a secessionist agenda that violates the Spanish Constitution. “What I’ve heard in recent hours hasn’t pleased me, but as I’ve made clear, I will judge actions,” Mr. Rajoy said on Monday.

Yet under the powers that Mr. Rajoy sought last October from the Spanish Senate, he committed to lifting direct rule once Catalonia held new elections, which took place in December, and lawmakers then voted a new regional president into office.

Mr. Torra failed to secure enough votes in the first round of parliamentary voting on Saturday. But he overcame that hurdle in a second round, in which the vote threshold was lower.

Sixty-six of the 135 members of the Catalan Parliament supported Mr. Torra’s presidency, and 65 voted against. As expected, the four lawmakers of a far-left party, the Popular Unity Candidacy, abstained from the voting.

The party has a played a pivotal role in Catalonia’s independence drive and is expected to pressure Mr. Torra to forge ahead with unilateral secession, despite the botched declaration of independence last October.

Mr. Torra is expected to take office in the coming days, after Mr. Rajoy and King Felipe VI officially sign his appointment into law.

Until this month, Mr. Torra was a second-tier politician who was mostly known as a longstanding backer of Catalan independence and a staunch ally of Mr. Puigdemont, who chose him as a replacement after the Constitutional Court barred his attempt to get re-elected in absentia, from Germany.

Mr. Torra, who was not part of Mr. Puigdemont’s former cabinet, could stand for election as he is not among the Catalans being prosecuted over the independence vote.

Most of those politicians are either awaiting trial in a Madrid prison or have gone abroad, avoiding prosecution but risking extradition to Spain.

The post Catalan Parliament Elects New Leader, a Separatist Not Under Indictment appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2rH3Ge3 via News of World

[crepegosette]

plata bros doodle

eng trans below:

[technato]

New Software System Snags TSB’s Online and Mobile Banking Customers

Two weeks after a failed IT migration, tens of thousands of TSB customers are still having trouble accessing their accounts

Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images/Getty Images

Paul Pester, chief executive of TSB bank in the United Kingdom, expressed his regret Wednesday during a Parliamentary Treasury Committee inquiry into the service disruptions caused by the bank’s move to a new IT system. Pester was especially remorseful since his decision has severely damaged the bank’s reputation, infuriated tens if not hundreds of thousands of customers who could not access their bank accounts, and so far has cost Pester an “integration bonus” of at least £1.6 million, if not eventually his job.

The Committee had called in Pester and TSB chairman, Richard Meddings, to explain why―10 days after TSB migrated to a new IT infrastructure platform―customers still couldn’t access their bank accounts reliably if at all, or found incorrect or missing account information. The Committee further wanted to know when the bank’s IT problems would be fixed and how much the bank expected to compensate its customers.

TSB’s problems began Sunday night, April 22, after the bank completed its weekend-long migration to a platform called Proteo4UK. The migration involved the transfer of more than 1.3 billion records related to 5.2 million customers from Lloyds Bank’s IT systems. Soon after the migration was complete, customers began complaining that they weren’t able to access their accounts online or through their mobile devices, while others said they were seeing incorrect account information including zero balances.

One customer, for instance, said his account was mistakenly credited with £13,000, while another said he could access someone else’s account, including their £35,000 savings account, £11,000 individual savings account, and business account.

TSB acknowledged on the Monday after the migration that many of its 1.9 million mobile and Internet banking customers were experiencing “intermittent” problems accessing their accounts, but tried to downplay the issues. Sabadell, the Spanish parent bank that owns TSB, for instance, maintained on its website that the problems were minor and the migration was a success.

However, livid TSB customers and the Treasury Committee begged to differ, and by the end of Tuesday, the Committee demanded TSB answer questions about what was going on at a public hearing the following week.

One customer said his account was mistakenly credited with £13,000

The botched migration was supposed to be the final act of TSB’s divestiture from Lloyds Banking Group as required by a European Commission ruling. The divestiture was a condition for allowing the U.K. government to provide state aid to Lloyds during the financial crisis. In 2013, TSB was detached from Lloyds and in March 2015, TSB was acquired by Sabadell.

At the acquisition, Sabadell announced that it planned to move TSB customers to its proprietary Proteo IT platform as part of a £250 million investment in new and improved digital services. The migration to Proteo4UK was supposed to take place last November, but was delayed to last month at a cost of some £70 million.

Early on the Wednesday morning following the botched migration, TSB CEO Pester declared the bank’s IT problems were fixed, which quickly sparked yet another tsunami of criticism and derision. Thousands of customers were irate, complaining they still couldn’t access their accounts, or when they did, there was something wrong. Businesses complained, too, that they couldn’t tell what was being credited or debited from their accounts.

It soon became clear that nearly half of TSB branch offices were also negatively affected by migration related issues, with some branches accused of trying to hide from angry customers. In addition, customers calling TSB customer service lines found increasingly long waits. The ensuing uproar caused Pester to backtrack and admit problems still remained and offer an apology.

While Pester admitted in his testimony that going live with Proteo4UK was a mistake, he also insisted that the migration had gone well

By Thursday, TSB executives announced that account overdraft fees would be waived, and that extra interest would be paid on current accounts. Pester confessed that the bank was now on its “knees,” did not know how TSB customers were actually being affected, nor what was causing the problems. He said the bank had hired IBM to find and sort the problems within the next three days. Customers were told that it would likely be sometime in the first week of May before everything returned to normal.

However, the access and account information issues continued unabated into last weekend and throughout this week. Members of the Treasury Committee were not a happy lot when Pester and Meddings appeared before them this past Wednesday.

While Pester admitted in his testimony that going live with Proteo4UK was a mistake, he also insisted that the migration had gone well, that the problem seemed to be rooted merely in a system capacity issue, and that all customers were now able to access their accounts. This latter claim was directly challenged by the Treasury Committee, which told Pester their own members who were TSB customers were still not able to access their accounts.

Under intense questioning, the TSB executives admitted that they still did not know exactly what the cause of the problem was, how many customers were still having difficulty, how many would receive compensation, or most importantly, when the bank would return to normal operations. The only thing they did seem to know was that 40,000 customers so far had filed complaints against it and that Pester would be foregoing his integration bonus.

Even after all of TSB IT issues are eventually sorted out, which may be still be weeks away, it will likely be years before everything returns to something resembling normal, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group found out after its monumental IT meltdown of 2012.

Customers need to be compensated; internal TSB and governmental investigations into what went wrong must be performed (which some are already blaming on inadequate testing and poor communications), and punitive regulatory fines will have to be determined and imposed. It will likely be even longer before TSB regains its reputation as a reliable bank, assuming nothing else goes awry.

New Software System Snags TSB’s Online and Mobile Banking Customers syndicated from https://jiohowweb.blogspot.com

[thoughts-feels-laughs-blog]

FUCK

Fuck is really the only thing I’ve been able to say, definitively, about what I’ve been feeling over the last several days. Granted, I say that all the time about everything, but still. I haven’t eaten much, I haven’t slept much, haven’t studied much and haven’t cared much. All of a sudden I’m lost.

You know when you see someone and they are utter perfection, everything you you ever wanted and then some? And you go and stalk their facebook to find out if they are single so you can marry them immediately? What has happened to me is...not like that at all.

I saw him in class, at the front of the room. I knew only his name and that I was mad at him. He was absent the first TWO days of this new semester. Those two days I was thinking, this irresponsible fucking asshole...and he’s a cracker too, probably getting back from Christmas vacation, doesn’t give a damn about his students or his job.

But anyway, when I saw him, I saw that his skin was a light caramel color, his hair gray, his face...my God that face. And his voice...with an accent so delicious I could die. He told us he was coming back from Nicaragua where he’s from, and his travel plans got a little botched (only he said it in a different, yet equally cute way) and I instantly regretted everything I thought previously.

Although I can relate to all my American Spanish teachers because they are like me -- passionate about the beautiful language and the fascinating cultures -- there is something to be said for the experience a native speaker can bring you. They grew up in a world we can’t fully understand, and they fought like hell to learn this language that’s been proven to be one of the hardest to grasp. Why are you here at my university? Why this part of this stupid country? Why teach these people that are taking this as a requirement and don’t care to learn about your language, your country? Ya gotta wonder, and wonder I did, but not too much yet.

It started one day when he asked me what I was reading, before class started. I am not accustomed to people talking to me, especially not teachers, even in small classes. I fumbled around like an idiot trying to describe it in Spanish -- it was about the Mafia. I gave up and finished in English. He seemed...intrigued. I was both embarrassed and delighted. The next week he checked my book again, walking up to my desk and turning the front cover, being nosy as fuck and asking me what it was, “Lo mismo” I said, I just took the jacket off because it was irritating me. He said that he learned from his own research, that they sell protection and I was like yeah, exactly.

One day, after mine and my partner’s cultural presentation on Colombia, he said if was “perfecto”, everything he was looking for. What happened after class was kind of...some magical shit. He asked me what I was studying and I told him international studies. He asked me if I was going to continue in Spanish, maybe get a minor...He walked with me downstairs and out into the chilly air and said, “Maybe I could convince you.” All the while he had that sweet amused smile, that most precious sonrisa that gives me chills when I think about it. We started to walk in the opposite direction, turning to finish and say our goodbyes. My smile stretched from ear to ear the rest of the day.

I think it was that day I googled him. I just wanted a little bit, just find out anything I could about who he is and what the hell he’s doing here. He’s a writer, a poet, has a pseudonym. He’s 37 and is tragically sexy in a fedora. There was still a lot I didn’t know. Was he gay? Was he in a relationship? Why did he have four pairs of the same shoes in different colors? Could he ever be interested in me? (No lol) But none of that mattered, ‘cause I was smitten. Then, in week 6 I let the curiosity get the better of me; I emailed him and asked in Spanish, if we could just talk. Will you be in your office ‘cause I’m going to interrogate you.

He said claro que sí and I just died. He said it would have to be another day, but yes. We can have coffee in the library cafe, si lo prefieres. Oh fuck, I prefiero it so mucho. And on Tuesday he caught me outside the classroom and told me he had a medical thing in St. Louis and we talked about how we both had a class at this time or that time, but we would find a time. All the while he had that smile. On Thursday, he caught me again, “Tomorrow. 11?” Yes, please yes. I felt ridiculous and nervous and excited all at the same time.

I went early to the library and printed off some materials on the Mafia that I thought he would find interesting. I went to the cafe and found a table -- a crappy table by the restroom, but there were people near the other ones. 10:35 rolls around and here he is walking toward me. What is he doing here already? He said, “is this a good table?” like asking if I prefer it. “No but it’s all I could find.” He finds a better table, “I asked, she has music, we won’t bother her,” in his adorable way.

Skipping ahead a tad, we go over to get a coffee and I’m standing next to him, waiting for my turn to order, but when it’s his turn: “What do you want?” and I die again. “No you don’t have to do that,” but he persists and I tell him and he says “two medium coffees”. I know that’s what grown men do, but it killed me anyway. We fix them and go to sit down and he says, “I have a confession...” And in my head, Please tell me everything. He told me that he had had too much to drink the night before and that’s why he couldn’t meet earlier. And again I was reminded there was a story behind that smile.

We talked about drinking and writing and depression, so many things that I don’t even want to write them all here. I said “you’re a writer” which I could only know if I had looked him up (which I did, hi, I’m insane). I told him I too had a blog and he flipped over one of the packets I gave him and asked me to write it down. I fumbled around trying to explain how he wouldn’t care for it, and it does not contain a monologue of all my thoughts and feelings, it’s just pictures and reblogged things. When he knew I was struggling hardcore, he was like “it’s okay, intimacy” and I died yet again.

I told him about all my old people friends back home and how I miss them and don’t have any here and he had said at one point, “We could meet once every couple weeks to talk if you want.” And although now I know it was out of pity because I’m such a pathetic loser, it made me happy at the time. I lent him my Spanish copy of Life of Pi and he said, “Like the movie,” and in my head Oh my God, no not like movie at all, read this, but I really said, “The movie was awful,” He read a few lines from the book, which is when I lost my shit and I’ve yet to find it. His narrative voice came out and me encanta muchísimo. And I went on to tell him why it was important to me and we talked about church.

He told me he’s in love with this Mexican music he’s discovered, that now I just MUST know about. I want to share my favorite reggaeton and soul songs with him too. The rest is in the history book of my weird life, but I hope I can apologize profusely for talking too much and flying through a million topics. I wish I could apologize for not asking about how the doctor went. I hope one day he will tell me about playing baseball in Nicaragua and what it’s like there and his knee and his writing and his passions.

I hope he didn’t think I was hitting on him. I’m sure he has had that happen with plenty of students and I don’t want to be one of those pathetic girls. I hope if we meet again it’s because I’m kind of interesting to him too. In my imagination he helps me translate my favorite songs and we go somewhere to watch the baseball game, but those are just pipedreams. The whole thing is ridiculous.

If I give him this URL and tell him I forgot about my secondary blog, this is my confession. I’m sorry, but es su culpa. Me habló y me pregunté de mis libros y me sonreyó, Señor. Jaja por favor no me odie. No tengo ilusiones, no estoy obsesionada, yo estoy tan curiosa y quisiera ser su amiga solamente.

[nosidam]

Seville

Tuesday, Feb. 6

Up at 6:15 and out the door my 7:00.  I could hear the loud snores of my host down the hall.  He was nice little man, but I couldn’t help get a bit of a creepy vibe from him, I made sure to lock my bedroom door and bathroom door at all times just to be safe.  He was unemployed, had been a journalist  and now relies on his parents to support him.  According to him the unemployment rate in Spain is somewhere between 25-30%, the average person makes 800-1000 Euros a month in income.  With the prices in the stores and restaurants it must be quite a hardship on these people.

Fernando’s advice had been sound, I walked 15 minutes to the north train station that provided a free shuttle to the south train station.  At the train station I had my first McDonald’s experience - the only option at the station - I grabbed a coffee.  

At this train station you had to put your bags through security screening, and when I went to show my eticket, I was redirected to the Club to get my ticket printed.  I guess paperless is not a universal concept.  The train was lovely, it’s a 4 hour ride….a good opportunity to catch up on my photos and blog while seeing the countryside.  Not to mention, catch a nap as well, at least I tried to catch a nap.  How is it that when you are sitting there with your eyes closed the person beside you decides to make a phone call.  And not just one…then another and another.  She had slept initially while I quietly caught up on my blog.  Now that I wanted to nap it was a different story.  I finally got fed up and grabbed my stuff and moved.  I was a bit miffed she had sat beside me in the first place as there were other empty seats.  I dropped my things at a new seat and then used the facilities, only to find on my return that she moved to the area I put my stuff in…what?!!!!!  I don’t know what the hell she was thinking….I moved back to my spot - what a moron.

Once in Seville came the same old…”how to get where I’m going”.  Found the bus alright and botched the pronunciation of my stop.  Thankfully the Spanish have been able to understand my dreadful accent.  The words always sound so much better in my head.

When I got to what I thought was my apartment, I rang the buzzer, no answer then rang again.  Walked in the building and thankfully left my suitcase at the foot of the stairs to ensure I was at the right spot.  Up the stairsI knocked on a door and heard the shuffle of approaching footsteps .  An elderly woman answered the door…Juan?  I asked.  Nope, wrong place ….she motioned for me to go around the corner.  Back downstairs I go and try to get out…not happening.  I looked for a buzzer release on the wall somewhere…nothing, the door would not open!  Back up the stairs I go, timidly knocking on the door. Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle…the door opens, I apologize profusely and motion that the door won’t open.  She pushes the button from her suite, I thank her and run down before the door changes it’s mind.

I finally find the place around the corner, and yes…up the stairs I go.  The guy was just mopping the floors as I arrived, inviting me in to the suite.  I had a nice room, a mini tour, a set of keys and I was ready to go.  Juan pulled out a map for me and pointed out all the places for me to go.  First on the agenda was food!  I didn’t really have a chance to eat and was eager for a meal.  He pointed me in the direction for restaurant options and I sussed out an outdoor space to sit, order some food and drink, and a toast to myself for making it to Seville.  I had some lasagna, somehow was craving it….not a Spanish specialty for the record - at least the beer was good.

Ventured out to find the sights marked off on the map.  First up was the Metropol Parasol - a wooden structure located in the old quarter of Seville.  It was designed by the German architect Jurgen Mayer and completed in April 2011. It has dimensions of 150 by 70 metres (490 by 230 ft) and an approximate height of 26 metres (85 ft) and claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world.  

Like always, it took me a bit to find it….but success in the end.  My host mentioned that you can go up top and then have a view of the city, the ticket also entitles you to a free beverage.  It was a lovely view of the cityscape, the weather cooperated completely ( sorry to all of you back home, buried under snow ).  From there I wandered and eventually stumbled on the Seville Cathedral.  A modern train runs very slowly, along the tracks in front of the cathedral - couldn’t help but appreciate the contrast of time periods 30m apart.  I walked around the Cathedral and poked my head in the exit of Alcazar.  Had I any sense I would have just walked right in!  No one was there and I would’ve save myself 9.50 euros.  

Took pictures of the beautiful Giralda, the bell tower of the Cathedral, really was breathtakingly beautiful.  I can’t help but marvel at the minds and genius of those who design and build these wonderful structures that millions of people come to see year after year after year.  If only they could have known the impact they made with their creation and hard work.

I managed to find my way back….funny how much easier it is getting back - why is that?  Grabbed a few groceries and headed back to the flat.  After walking 13 km I was a bit tired and welcomed a nice soft bed.  

Seville is really a lovely city, such a different vibe than any of the other cities. It feels a bit more like Mexico in the back streets but not so smelly, cleaner and more eclectic.  Definite influence from Morocco and the Middle East.