#at one point we realized we'd missed a bus stop and got off in some random residential area

[supernovaa-remnant]

every now and then I remember the time I was close to being hit by a car whilst my sister and I were on our journey to buy our goldfish (a longer story than you'd think), and I laugh

to be fair we were laughing immediately after the fact too 😭 but it's like.. we were crossing the street (the cross sign was on) and I looked down at the ground for one second and suddenly my sister tightened their grasp on me and pulled me back a bit. and I looked up and saw a truck that had started turning but stopped. and the driver and I just made eye contact and we were both like 😦 cause we hadn't seen each other 😭

[letree]

Arizona Baby Moon

Feb 20, 2024- Kaine, Jennifer and Cletus the foetus hopped on a plane to Pheonix, AZ. We arrived late at night and went to our room to sleep and noticed ear plugs on both the night stands.. We soon realized that our room backed onto a 24hr train stop, and every time the train pulled up it tooted its horn. I know this because the sliding door to our balcony didn't close properly so we didn't miss one toot. The next morning we hopped in our dented up RAV4 (aka- the ravioli) and drove to a town just outside of Sedona and got lunch at Tortas de Fuego. Kaine had some tacos and baby had churros and ice cream.

All fuelled up on meat and sugar, we found some hikes nearby and climbed up and around the large red rock until the skies decided opened up and made us turn back. The next day (Kaine's 34h birthday) we had breakfast at the home of the 3lb cinnamon bun. We probably would have considered trying the 3lb bun, but it had raisins in it. bleh.

Fuel'd up on more meat and sugar, we went on a 10km hike to the Devils Bridge. It was flat desert filled with cactus and lizards most of the way, and close to the end we climbed some rocks to reach the bridge. We had burned off our breakfast and needed more meat and sugar, so we brought along a turkey sandwich and the most neon green muffin you've ever seen. We needed something other than meat and sugar for dinner, so we went to an Italian restaurant called Padres. While waiting for our food, our table neighbour brought to our attention that God had been telling him to talk to us all night. He recited a bible verse to us followed by some words of wisdom, then we indulged in giant bowls of thick & creamy pasta. But what's a birthday without DESSERT?! We stopped at the grocery store and got some chocolate cheesecake to eat in bed and were asleep by 9 PM. Is this what 34 looks like?

Our next destination was Tusayan, a town right beside the Grand Canyon. After driving there, we went and watched the sunset at a viewpoint in the canyon then had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Each table at the restaurant had painted animals or scenery on it and the wooden chairs were all a colourful hand painted display of animals characters and flowers.

We'd been eating too much and needed to burn some calories! We headed to the Grand Canyon and took a shuttle bus to the South Kaibab trailhead, which has an elevation of 7460ft. From there we hiked down into the canyon to Skelton point, which is an elevation of 5200ft.

Descending is the easy part, signs of a man on all fours vomiting warned you not to try hiking the whole trail in one day or that would be your fate. I was the only pregnant person on the trail but still managed to pass a few people! A lot of the views you can see the red rock, but apparently the rock isn’t actually red, it’s just stained red from the water washing rust down it and staining it that color.

The canyon is so deep that when you look down it, depending on where you are, you can’t even see the bottom. From the odd corner you can get a glimpse of the bottom where you can see the Colorado river passing through. We hiked out of there just in time to watch another sunset and ate leftovers in the hotel after a nice dip in the hot tub.

Next, we drove to Page where we saw the Glen Canyon Dam. Just down the from the dam we hiked around the ‘bee hives’ which were tall layered red sandstone in tower formations.

It was getting hot hiking through the desert in jeans and long sleeves, so we drove over to another hike called the hanging garden. They call it the hanging garden because amidst the dry sandy landscape, there’s one random rock in the middle of the desert that has a cool moist overhang which houses moss and hanging greens growing from the lower portion of it. We climbed up the rock and ended up at a cliff where a view into the canyon emerged and you could look out to lake Powell and across the desert.

That evening we went to a local brewery for dinner where I ordered a Mac cheese, but they forgot the macaroni and just gave me a bowl or cheese sauce lol.

Before leaving Page we stopped at Horse Shoe Bend, which is another extension of the Grand Canyon that wraps around a big rock formation. We then headed out towards Prescott, home of the first ever rodeo in 1888. We stayed in Hotel StMichael, built in 1864, and rode up the original elevator with its sliding accordion doors to our room where the walls still hold the smoke smell from years ago. Unfortunately the time of year we went, pretty much everything was closed, but Kaine still managed to get some brisket!

[depressed-sock]

Can you hear me Part 5

Another Series based on a prompt and there will be Spoilers!!!. This time with Julia and my sidestep Luna Falso. Rescue au Set before heartbreak. (This is so freaking late but I finally got the motivation to go back and finish this)

A Fallen Hero fanfic

tw: canon-typical violence and mentions of blood

SPOILERS!

Relief

Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Luna: 

   It feels odd. Moving in a way you're not supposed too. Hands too stiff, eyes not focusing in the right way. They’ve let you have control but you don’t know what control is. Not yet at least but now is not the time to learn.

  You watch the scientists and lackeys move about the warehouse, moving cars, readying things for another departure. You stand still and silent, with your brethren beside you. Awaiting your orders. 

  Too familiar. Too wrong. 

  So your body... their body, you remind yourself, jolts forward. A walk that’s a bit too stiff but it goes unnoticed by the scientists around you. They ignore you assuming your following some unspoken order because to them you’re just a tool that can’t think for itself. They’re wrong.

  We’re here. We’re alive. 

  You can feel them, all of them. Regens watching you with empty eyes that mask the truth beneath. They know. They know and they let you continue. 

  You barely glance at your body as you walk past it, grabbing a medical knife and slipping it closer to your body’s hand, it’s eyes twitching under its lids as if your dreaming. Maybe you are, maybe that’s all this is. A dream that’s gone terribly wrong and turned into a nightmare. It’s time to wake up.

  Your hand reaches forward, a power welling up from your core and stopping right at your palm. None of them suspect a thing as your hand grips the hood of the van that had brought you here. You ask, silent and soft. You don’t want to hurt them but this definitely will.

  They don’t hesitate, forcing you out and into a spin of vertigo as you land with a gasp of air into your own body. A dizzy realization that you’ve found yourself right-side up. Barely awake enough to grab the knife just as the explosion hits you.

 Julia:

  "I can help!" The kid- Daniel tries to plead with you again. He's followed you all to the car and by now it's your job to tell him to go home. You don't have the time to babysit when- 

   When she's still alive. Still alive and if you don't find her in time... Will you ever be able to find her again?

  "Listen, Daniel, we greatly appreciate the help you've already given," more than he'll probably ever know, "but right now it isn't safe for you. So please, just go home."

  "But I-"

  "Go. Home." You turn away from him opening the passenger door to the car and slamming the door shut behind you as you slip into the seat, "Let's go."

   Steel looks at you, a mixture of feelings crossing his face, "Julia-" 

  You cut him off with a glare, "Anathema call Sentinel, Steel shut up and drive."

  "Oh, do you suddenly know where they're holding her?" He returns your glare at you before looking away with exasperation.

  "I figured we'd…" your voice trails off as you spot the black plumes of smoke drifting through the air, "Wei follow the smoke." You grip his arm pointing to it. 

  "That could be anything Julia."

  "Are you forgetting that one time Luna set fire to-"

  He starts the car immediately as he cuts you off with an irritated grumble, "Don't finish that I still want plausible deniability…. And that was more than one time."

  "Sentinel is on his way, should I tell him just to head for the smoke?"

  "Yep and tell him to be ready for a fight,” you rub your forehead as a headache begins to form. 

 Luna:

  You’re screaming in pain. Your wound pulling against the stitches, the smell of fire and burning flesh feeling your senses. Focus. Use the pain as a focus. Christ, you should have probably thought this through better. 

  You bite your lip, focusing on the knife in your hand, twisting it around to cut your bonds. Falling flat to the floor with a yelp. Okay, good start. You reach out with your mind, a soft touch against panicking minds. The regens have already disappeared in the panic, gone without a trace like theirs strings had suddenly been cut. 

  You get your hands under you, pushing yourself up to get your feet under you and into a crouch. Keep moving, keep running. An impossible task when the only part of your suit that's intact is the legs and only a flimsy hospital gown covering your chest. If anyone sees you they’ll know. 

  Or maybe they’ll be as ignorant as Daniel was about them. He’s already told the rangers everything he thought was important and now… Now they’re sure to be on the way. Stop daydreaming and keep moving.

  “You!” an unearthly screech from behind you and you turn to find the woman who had captured you. Her auburn hair sticking to the blood flowing down her forehead as she holds a gun steady at you, mind unreadable. She’s finally decided to take defensive measures against you but far too late. “You’ve ruined everything!”

  Your lips curl into a sneer, “You really thought it was going to be that easy? Capture the cuckoo and maybe get a promotion? Yeah, that was never going to happen.” You stand strong, orange tattoos curling across your dark skin. You’ll never be human to someone like her, and you’re not afraid to show her that. 

  “Don’t move or I’ll finish you off,” her voice cold as she threatens you but you’ve got nothing left to lose. Death is just another form of escape, the last one on your list of plans. Last one. You’ve got a few more before that luckily. 

  “Fine,” you hold your hands in surrender. You can’t fight in your condition but that won’t stop you. You’ll- 

   Duck!

   Familiar thoughts yelling against your mind’s shields. You feel your legs give out as you immediately listen. Watching in awe as something rams into the woman from behind her. Gun going off, the shot going wide and missing you. The kid stands back up, away from the woman he’s knocked unconsciousness, shaking a bit and very clearly hovering.

  ….”WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE HERO DRUG!?” probably not the best time for this but the disbelief and anger are front and center in your mind. Someone gave a drug that has a low survival rate to a fucking kid. Christ, you’re beginning to hate people. 

  He stares at you before he panic finally sets in, “Is that really important right now?!”

  “No bu- Why the fuck didn’t you use your powers at the hospital?”

  “I don’t have the best control yet and we should really be leaving,” he glances over his shoulder superstitiously looking for enemies he can’t see. You can feel them, scrambling and trying to make sense of what’s going on.

  “Christ,” you walk forward, grabbing the gun that’s fallen limp in the woman's hand and forcibly taking off her lab coat. Ignoring the temptation to kick her for good measure, you shrug the jacket on to give you some coverage, “Either follow me or go high and get out of here. The smoke should give you enough cover so no one takes a pot shot at you.”

  “I’m not going to leave-”

  “Daniel,” you finally look at him your voice cold and steady, “I’m not going to be able to get out of here if I have to worry about you.”

  “I’m not leaving,” he holds your gaze with a determination you’re too familiar with. “And the Rangers are on their way so if we hold out long enough or even if I carry you out-”

  “You’re not carrying me anywhere mister ‘I don’t have the best control’,” you almost laugh but instead you begin to mutter to yourself,” And If we hold out long enough, they're going to have a very nasty surprise when they see me.” You move, turning and motioning for the kid to follow as you run for a better piece of coverage. The kid takes the unspoken hint and following right behind you. Closer to an out that’s not the roof or flying. Sentinel is probably already closing in. 

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks confused, so unaware of what this is really about. Ignorant of what your spiraling orange tattoos truly mean. Christ, you’ve gotten a kid stuck in a situation that will most definitely lead to death if anyone sees him. And they will see him, you can hear the shouting, feel the confusion light on fire and burn into anger. 

  “Nothing important right now. Stay here,” you check the clip in the gun, just enough to hopefully take them out.

  “Are you going to..” his face pales a bit as if killing these people had never been an option in his mind until this point. You can feel his unease, the sudden realization of what’s about to happen and you’re suddenly hit with your own pang of guilt. Christ, this kid is going to get you both killed.

  “..Goddamnit, no I'm apparently not,” you concede. You can plan around this, you look over your cover finding the smoke is too thick to clearly see through.  Hopefully, that goes both ways. “We’re going to make a break for that door.”

  You look back at him and he answers with a definitive nod, get the troublemaker out and then you can run and never look back hoping the world forgets your existence. Hoping that Julia…

Hoping that she doesn’t hate you for your choice, for your fear. 

  And you run, banging through the door and clearing the smoke and fire before it fully reaches you. Your lungs burning as your adrenaline starts to fail you. Fuck not yet, you’ve still got a ways to go.  

  “Luna.”

  And of course, nothing ever works in your favor. You stare at Julia, sparks dying around her hands as she fully realizes it’s you. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Just you, Julia, the kid, and too many secrets revealed at once. 

 Julia:

   She looks up at you like a deer caught in the headlights, her suit torn and covered only by a burnt lab coat that drapes over a hospital gown. You stare at her. Unmoving as the realization sets in. Alive. She's really alive. 

  "I'm sorry," her voice breaks as she looks away from you, arms crossing defensively against her chest her hands digging into the sleeves on her arms. They slide up just enough for orange to peak out, and you slowly begin to understand. You can see the truth before you. Orange tattoos that spin a story you’re not sure you’re ready to hear.

  You take a step forward only for her to take a step back. Fear crossing her features as if she's terrified of what your thinking...of what you intend to do. The kid stepping forward between the both of you. An unsure look as he glances between you.

  “It’s... Okay?” he looks back at Luna for confirmation but she’s already on the verge of breaking down. You can feel yourself breaking with her. She’s alive, and you are so fucking confused but she’s alive.

  "Luna," you don't hold back the sobs that break free, the tears that finally run down your cheeks, "You're alive. You're here," You can feel a laugh of relief bubbling in your chest. Your legs losing strength as they hit the pavement. The relief you're feeling is beyond anything else you can feel. 

  She finally moves forward, finally falls level with you, hesitating to touch you but you move first. Wrapping your arms around her, bringing her body close to yours. It’s like a chant going off in your head. She’s alive, she’s alive, she’s alive.

  She’s here, wrapping her own arms tight around you. Her sobs as strong as yours, as she hugs you close. Tears wetting your shoulder and you don’t care. She’s alive. You know what she is, and sooner or later you'll have to talk. But for now, you hold each other close, afraid to let go.

  You can feel her whisper to you, an apology repeated over and over. And in retaliation, you tell her exactly how much you adore her. At some point maybe you both even whisper I love you, but it’s lost in the sound of sirens.

[awholenewworld-dcp17]

"if you weren't you, then we'd all be a little bit less we"

Growing up I've always been told "family comes first." "When your friends aren't there for you, your family always will be." "Family is forever." These concepts had been instilled in my mind at such an early age not only through words, but actions and the very nature of my life. There were definitely times when I would look around and acknowledge that "okay, not all families are as close as mine, and that's okay." But it wasn't until I came down here that I realized this universal truth of family-being-the-most-important-thing-in-your-life may not be as universal as I thought. Let me just start off my saying there's nothing wrong with living your life otherwise. I've met so many people who have different priorities and I'll even admit - there have been times when I wish I could be able to be more like them. To focus more on me, on my career, on my friends. To be able to worry less. To care less. But that's just not me. Starting from the very beginning weeks of my adventure, I thought about my ppl back home a lot. It was amazing to be able to share all of these new experiences with new people and bond with my roommates to create unique friendships, but all the while I had sometimes wished I could also share it with the ones I already loved and left behind. It got easier to be able to enjoy this experience for what it is and embrace my independence as time went on, but there were always those days when I would be riding pirates or splash mountain and wishing my dad was there with me, or wishing I had jess to blame when I secretly wanted to ride the astro orbiter. Needless to say, disney is where I grew up with my fam, so it has only been natural for me to be nostalgic of those days in the place where so many of my favorite memories were created. I wouldn't sit here and say I've spent the last 3 months longing to be home and spending every waking moment missing the people there (tbh ain't nobody got time for that even if I wanted to), but this experience has made me appreciate more than ever that home IS such a happy place, and I'm grateful for the people there that make it that way. So as you can probably imagine, the week in Florida when home came HERE for a little bit was one of the absolute best so far. It all started with a visit from Aunt Linda and Uncle Steven. I showed them around my complex and spent about the first 20 breathless minutes answering rapid fire questions about my program, lol. They took me to a lovely and salubrious lunch at bahama breeze and then on a very unique thrift shopping adventure. They offered to buy me ANYTHING I wanted from the thrift store, and though the $25 dishwasher was tempting, I resisted. No but seriously, I really did enjoy my time catching up with them. It's so nice to see family and get the chance to bring them into my own little world here. The mr. softee ice cream was also a plus, but that's besides the point. Before we knew it, it was time to go meet my mom and dad at their new ("week" long rental) (three bedroom) condo! If the nostalgia wasn't already strong enough, being back at caribe cove strengthened it a little bit more. I helped them get settled in and re-explore the old stomping grounds, and soon enough it was time for me to be off to work :/. That was one of the slowest nights I've had here, as all I could think about was my family down here in Orlando having fun without me, but thanks to them - I had some surprise visitors asking for some ice cream! Between mom's narration/recording of snap chats, uncle Stevens high decibel excited voice, and aunt Linda's flash from her digital camera, it was only a matter of seconds before every person in the shop knew my family was here to visit. Lol. I ensured that dad got the best (and largest amount of) ice cream (nonna d's oatmeal lace, yum) and sent them on their way. I heard Mickey was pretty good to them at the register, you'll have to ask them about that doe. The next day I had work again and consequently missed the arrival of my dear cousins. Matthew, Jamee, and Matt were scooped from the airport by mom and dad that morning and directly started their Disney adventure at Hollywood Studios. When I got off, I boated over to meet them (what a beautiful change from the post-work bus transportation I'm used to) and we made our way over to none other than the magical magic kingdom. I could tell they already were running on fumes from such a long day, but you can't Disney half butt, so we pressed on. We got to watch the beautiful Wishes (a night time spectacular, ending May 11, 2017), and explore as much of the park as humanly possible. I convinced them to try the churros, which may have been in the running for the highlight of my night. I beat them all in buzz lightyear, but that I'm used to, so it didn't make the running. Also, dad got to join the club of being on screen for monsters inc, lol - looks like he needs a hug. No worries tho, mom gave him that hug on screen. Supe cute. When in line for splash mountain, we realized time was running out and it was likely to be our last ride of the night, which we came close to accepting (side eye at Matthew and dad who knew there was still a chance for one more). After exiting the world of the b'rers, we HUSTLED over to big thunder, and squeezed in one more ride with 1.5 minutes to spare. No but really, we were the very last train to run that night. Now that's what I call doing disney right. That night, I stayed at the condo. I snapped the metal bar on the pull out couch in half just by sitting on it. It was a funny experience to add to the adventure, but if that isn't a sign to lay off the churros I don't know what is, lolS. So matthew and I got our rest that night with a metal pole in our backs, but TBH we were tired enough that it didn't even matter. The next day called for some animal kingdom exploration. We started off the day right, that is - a ride on the famous expedition Everest, which was actually a lot more fun than I remembered. Still not sure if that particular ride was actually superior or I just was happy to be with my fam, but either way I'll take it. Matt really liked it, too. He's into the g force thing. Jamee giggled the whole time. Dad sat with a stranger. But if I gave you a play by play of every single thing we did we would be here all day. Some other highlights from the DAK of course were the festival of the lion king, and our kick start on drinking around the world with some fancy drinks in Africa. And of course, (thnx Lynne!) we got to see the harp player up close and personal. We traveled back to magic kingdom that night, as per usual. We finished up most of the things that we had missed the night before (still second guessing if we should have waited 130 mins for space mountain or not) and then left the park. Before closing - I know, shocker. We relaxed at the condo pool with some beverages that night and got to bed relatively early. My final day w the cuz' was spent in Epcot. I had work in the afternoon but I got some time with them in the morning. When I said goodbye the first time, I was sad and cried. So then later they came into my work as a detour part of their drinking around the world showcase. I said goodbye again but it was still sad and I had fomo. So then, of course, at the end of my shift they come back to the boardwalk AGAIN and we all got ice cream before they drove me back to my apartment. That was the kind of goodbye closure I needed to last me the final two months, lol. High key miss them lots tho, but we had a blast. After work the following day, I met mom and dad in Japan (Epcot) for dinner, and HAD to try the Andalusian nights. We hopped over to animal kingdom post dinner, to enjoy rivers of light once more. We had really good seats this time, and got some cool pics around night time DAK. The next day of that week I had class and work, but typs mom and dad picked me up at the end of my long day so I didn't have to get the bus. I actually had off again the following day (ty managers) so I was able to spend the night at the condo again. The following morning (and by this point I was exhausted so when I say morning I mean 12pm), we enjoyed some lunch at Cici's and some magic kingdom magic. I had to stop at company D which is right by MK, so why would we choose any other park?? Ya know?? Highlight of that day was getting to ride the up and running railroad train!! Before we knew it (guess that's what happens when you sleep in in Orlando), though, it was time to go get chris and jess and jaime from the airport! I was so super happy to see them but that was to be expected I suppose. I got to do universal with them, which was a fun and different experience. Harry Potter world was a blast, and they even convinced me to go on the dueling dragons for the first time. I scream laughed the whole time, which won me the title of jaime's new favorite person to ride a roller coaster with. Also we had some butter beer on mommom, and got to see the incredible!!!!!! Ollivanders show. We kind of were all over the place, but got A LOT done considering. My roommate rebecca also joined us that day. We got to be one of the first ever to go on the new jimmy Fallon ride, which was really really cool, but slightly underwhelming considering all of the press it had been getting. I rode rip ride rocket next to jess and we chose the same song so we could jam together, which was pretty legit. G-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s, na mean? Overall we had a pretty fantastic time, but I had to leave them around 5 to go to work :/. They also visited me at work that night, which was a nice little pick me up considering my how tired I was from all day in the park/working. Next day we went to ... you guessed it! MK! And started off in adventureland. We did pirates first (anyone else NOT remember that by drop from when we were little??) and made our way clockwise throughout the park. Since the park had been at such high capacity they were doing the parade twice, so we saw the 3 o'clock parade at 12! We skipped a few things, knowing we would be back again the next day (spoiler alert - that night too) and ended over at buzz light year which unfortunately was shut down!!! We got a fast pass though to come back later, but had guest services switch it over to Epcot since that was our next stop! At Epcot, we went on test track and soarin' and the land and ate at sunshine seasons before making our way over to the showcase to travel the world. We started in Mexico, where we even got to meet Donald Duck. Chris was so excited, but he def was trying to be cool and hide it. A great start to our travels, even though I was slightly mis that my contact was scratched and I couldn't see. Next was Norway, where jaime thought the statue of the gnome from frozen was dobby. Lol. Next was china - we detoured here for a bit to watch the acrobats and enjoy some potstickers and plum wine. Germany was a blast, we got some really cool pictures here with our grapefruit beer and pretzel. Italy is always my favorite food wise, I split a chocolate covered cannoli with mom and it was deeeelish. We also had limoncello here. That was something. Chris was doing this cool thing where he made us say cheers in the language of the natives of the country we were in. Our journeys continued through America, Japan, morocco, etc. We stopped for a little dance party in morocco and of course revisited the Andalusian nights. France was fun, UK was funner (Ello mate we're in London would you like some fish n chips). We made it to Canada just in time and ended our Epcot night there for the fire works. But of course, it was only 9, and MK was open til 12! So we hopped on the monorail and made our way back over. Night time disney really is the best disney. We got to a bunch more rides including Winnie the Pooh and the Snow White mine train. We even got to see the kiss goodnight!! The next day, the sad and final day, we finished up MK. We had a few fastpasses, so we got to ride space mountain and mine train sans wait times, which was really nice. We got to see the infamous country bear jamboree. We also went to ride splash mountain for a second time, and boy was that SOMETHING! I felt bad for being so excited about such a miserable thing to the rest of my party, but the ride broke down and we got EVAC'd!! Mom shared in my glory with me. That was legit on my DCP bucket list, and one of the few that I had absolutely no control over! It really delayed us and put a wrench in our plans for the day, but it was cool to be able to exit the log mid b'rer world and be escorted backstage on one of my favorite rides. Big thunder was shut down, and I felt real bad about that :(, so the mine train actually was the last ride of our day. I think every time I go on it I love it more and more. After squeezing in the last few things of the day, we made time - even though we really didn't have any - for a little TLC sans C (Turkey legs and churros without the churros for all you noobs out there). That was a good time. When all was said and done, we exited the MK as a fam for the last time for a long time, and they took me back to my apartment before making their way to the airport. That was supe said because I really love them. And I miss them. And I had a really really good time with them.