#been so long since i last did this part idr if i can even give her the gift or not but its the thought that counts <3< /div>
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HOUSE EMPTY TIME TO TAKE GOROMI ON A DATE
#literally had to wait for the house to clear out bc my ps4 is in the living room#and if i hear a single person in this house say shit about my queen you WILL see my ass in jail#saved up my money so i could treat her to the best liquor and buy her a gift <33#been so long since i last did this part idr if i can even give her the gift or not but its the thought that counts <3#goromi#bulletin board#^me clawing my way through work so i could come home and treat her
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cashmere fic!! and we must be killers!!! two for one 💗
the cashmere fic is just some more cashmere pov stuff i wanted to write after i finished my main cashmere fic! i didn't really have a plan for it, which is obvious bc there's only one scene in the doc (cashmere and the other d1 victors hanging out at a victor bar).
we must be killers is my old guard thg au, which i started writing because andy and booker give me the most jaded two victor energy (specifically lyme and brutus energy) and idr why i stopped writing it, but i made lykon andy's mentor, which is a weird choice bc he definitely feels younger than her? i do not remember why i did that at ALL) so i probably won't go back to it without severe revisions. but anyway the premise was andy goes back to mentoring for one last time to mentor nile.
since this is one ask i'm only putting one snippet <3 anyway here's andy and joe in we must be killers in which i use comics lore with wild abandon despite never having read the comics
joe avoids her gaze for a moment, before meeting her eye. “nicky’s mentoring this year, and...”
andy presses her fingers to her temple. “and you're afraid that your tribute will kill his?” she’s not nearly drunk enough for this conversation. honestly, this was the reason she should’ve never taken a tribute this year. there was nothing keeping her semi-sober, not before. booker’s eight years out from his own victory, he can handle himself well the fuck enough by now, and if she didn’t have nile, she’d be drunk enough that she couldn’t feel a thing.
“yes.”
“shit.” there’s a long silence as joe stares down at his own drink in what looks like abject misery. “so, i suppose this isn’t the time to tell you i’m mentoring this year, too?”
he looks at her, his eyebrows furrowed. “but... you said...” he trails off, gesturing vaguely with his hands. she'd told him she was done with mentoring, because, well. she thought she had been.
andy sighs. “listen, i know what i said. but lykon asked me to, so...”
“ah.” joe’s reply tells her enough. he knows, then. knows why she’s done it. he doesn’t blame her for this. he can’t. he knows why. even though his mentor passed a couple years back, from some kind of latent head injury from her games that caused a stroke, he knows. if she was still around and asked him to take a tribute, he would.
joe claimed the crown the first year andy tried to mentor. she’d only been out of the arena for a couple of years, but she’d felt useless just sitting by and watching two’s tributes die, and she’d picked him. achilles — he'd been quarry, like nile and lykon, and she’d had such high hopes for him.
but instead, she'd watched as joe had clawed his way through the arena and grasped the crown with bloody fingers, his scimitar slicing through the other tributes as though they were nothing more than air and dust and not bone and marrow. and there's still something so kind and soft behind his eyes that she can't even hate him for killing her boy. not that she doesn't wish she could.
joe's soft in a way victors aren't meant to be. she's not sure if it's because of nicky or just because of who joe is, but she envies him. she envies the part of him that he got to keep and she had to cauterize off, like a wound gone rotten.
“joe, i’m sorry,” andy murmurs, and she is. she really is.
he smiles at her, the lines around his eyes crinkling. “i know, andy.”
there's a long beat before either of them speaks again.
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What brushes do you use for colouring? :O
I USE A LOTTA BRUSHES FOR A LOTTA THINGS LOL,,,,, but i can give ya a rundown of sum a the brushes ive been using lately!! (note: sometimes i mess w the settings of brushes i dl and idr which ones ive changed specifically so if the base dl's not EXACTLY the same as mine,,, oops!!)
this is the one i showed off briefly in the last ask guide thingy i did, its very sharp pixely and irregular which i think is fun! really good for making things look shiny, even if i dont use it to color a piece i might use it to add the eye shines if i feel like it :] heres the link to it!! (if i changed anything abt this one i probably just set the anti aliasing to none LOL)
(adding a cut here cus it got kinda long lol)
this one i got more recently, about the same time i downloaded the punch pencil set, but its very fun!! i like the texture, good for subtle blush details n just fun to paint with !! heres the link to it!! (i dont think ive altered the settings on this one at all since i got it so recently?? idk tho loll)
this one ive had and used for a WHILE!! back when i first really fucked around n got into painting digitally yk?? its so fun i havent been using it AS often lately but still BIG recommend. heres the link!!! (i mostly mess w the particle size setting on this one, depending on the brush size n stuff i want yk??)
ok this ones kind of a joke brush i made based on a twitch stream sum time back LMFAO as u can see the brush tip is just. kirby. its a material made by markatoto on twitch/twitter (that got taken down from the store idk why lol) and i made this brush as part of a bit, but it is actually p fun LOL u should be able to dl it thru this link?? lmk if it doesnt work and ill put it in a drive or smth instead (once again i mess w the particle size on this depending on brush size, also this is a raw .sut file which u add to csp by dragging the file into ur subtool bar just ftr)
ok this is a default brush in csp 1.10.10 and newer but its what ive been using for the more watercolor-y lookin doodles!! "wet wash" is another default brush i use for a similar effect, though its much more opaque than this one, if for whatever reason u have version 1.10.10 or newer and dont have the new brushes u can get them here!
this is the newest brush ive gotten!! also obtained from a twitch streamer, izzy belbeeps, im still gettin used to it but its very fun and smooth!! once again this is a direct dl, since the only place its been uploaded is izzy's discord server, and im not gonna reupload it anywhere else since its not mine LOL,,, so if that link dont work their discord server should be linked in their twitch bio (check out their streams while ur at it theyre a cool nonbinary latine artist with a cute lil imp avatar. mar is also cool hes a lil pink alien guy) and the brush is pinned in the announcements channel :P
again, i have and use a LOT of brushes LOL if theres a particular piece ur interested in knowing abt u can link the post or send the /post/number in an ask ig?? my memorys bad so if its an old one i might not rememebr lol sorry GJFDL
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Survey #374
“doctor, doctor, won’t you please prescribe me something? / a day in the life of someone else...”
Does someone have a crush on you but you don’t feel the same way? No. Who do you feel most beautiful around? No one. What’s one makeup item you cannot live without? I could live without any makeup. What’s the most expensive thing you own? My snake, I think. Or my laptop, idr. Are you more of a book person or a TV person? Book. Relationship status? Single. What color are most of your clothes? Black. Did you french kiss before you were 16? No, I was 16. Last song you listened to? "The Heretic Anthem" by Slipknot. Would you ever go back to any of your past relationships? Yes. What’s your favorite thing about life? That's a big question. I guess seeing acts of mass love and kindness, reminders that we're all in this together through all hardships. Who pays for the first date? Whoever asked the other person out, imo. Who has always been there for you? My mom. Have you ever written on a wall? No, at least not to my memory. Do you play any computer games, if so, what ones? I think anyone who reads these by now knows, haha. I don't much play anything else. I prefer console games. What would you name a baby boy if you had one? Probably Damien or Victor. What would you name a baby girl if you had one? Alessandra, no questions asked. What lyric means the most to you? I mean there's tons, but the first one that came to mind is "for such a little thing, you sure are in your own way" from "Get Up" by Mother Mother. Like in the big picture, we humans are so so so minuscule, but with brains that are too complicated for our own good. It's my own head that creates so many obstacles for me. Who is the smartest person you know? Probably my friend Girt. Have your parents ever been to jail? No. Do you share a bed with anyone? My cat, haha. Does it flatter you when guys open doors for you? It's flattering if anyone does, not just guys. Do you enjoy taking naps? Yeah. That's like part of my daily routine. If your friend asked you to hold their drugs, would you? Nope. Is there anyone you try to be a good influence for? My nieces and nephew, but I don't feel like I am. I'm a poor example of an adult. Do you own a pair of fishnets? No, but I have a pair of fingerless fishnet gloves. Which do you prefer: french toast, bagels, pancakes, waffles, bacon or cereal? All are great, but french toast. Yes or no: eyebrow piercings? I'd actually have one if I didn't have glasses. I think I'd look weird with one as I look now. When I say "The Beatles," what is the first song that comes to mind? "Hey, Jude." In your opinion, what is the very worst type of weather? Extremely hot and humid. You can only listen to one band for the rest of your life, who do you pick? Ozzy Osbourne, of course. Can you snap with both of your hands? Yeah, but it's harder with my left. What is something that you had to learn the hard way? For some people, promises don't mean shit. If you could re-paint your bedroom, what color would you paint it? Maybe like a light peach. When was the last time you got butterflies? I think not since Sara told me I look really pretty in eyeliner. ;_; <3 When was the last time you felt like your heart was actually breaking? There was this one time I was listening to "The Ghost of You" by MCR a while after finding out about Jason's mom's death and I just like... broke. When’s the last time you were in a line? When I was getting my second COVID shot. Do you trust the media? HA! Fuck no. If you could kill off one species of animal, which would it be? At first I was appalled by this question, but like... do wasps serve a purpose? Of all fauna, they annoy me the most. I mean bees are already endangered enough, and they prey on them. They don't pollinate, so like... why are you here. I may be mistaken and they have a valuable role, in which case I take all this back. Who’d you last say I love you to? My mom. What’s the most overpaid job in your opinion? I have on idea. Most jobs are underpaid. What’s the last thing you wrote down? I was doing some paperwork at the TMS office on my first day there. When’s the last time you heard a gunshot? I don’t know. What are you looking forward to? Now that my tattoo (which looks fucking stunning, by the way) is out of the way, I can focus on other things. I'm particularly looking forward to hopefully seeing the results of TMS manifest (which should take 3-4 weeks). It sounds horrible, but I'm also keenly awaiting this dog we're stuck with to go somewhere... The person who gave her to my sister to give my mom won't take the dog back, and we can't find another option that doesn't risk her being euthanized, which we absolutely do not want. We just don't know what to do, but she's driving Mom and me INSANE. Do you listen to online radio stations? No. Have you ever done something sexual that you regret? No. Have you ever said anything to the last person you kissed that you regret? Multiple things. Have you ever ate so much you puked? Ugh, no. That sounds awful. Do you care about what others think of your physical appearance? Very much, sadly. Would you rather eat cookies or brownies? I gotta say brownies. Which YouTuber have you learned the most from? I mean, this depends on the subject. From Mark, I've learned most about life and how (I think) to be a good person, but there's a lot of pet channels I watch that have taught me loads about proper husbandry. This answer just depends on what knowledge you're talkin' about. Who would you want to be the flower girl at your wedding? Probably a niece. Do you want to be married within the next ten years? It'd be nice. Do you feel like your life is too fast-paced, or do you wish it were busier? Ugh, I wish it was busier. My days are a COMPLETE, routine drag. What are some hobbies which you want to pick up? I want to just be more artsy. I wanna draw and write more, and I'd love love love to be in healthy enough shape to handle going on walks with my camera. There are sometimes I miss editing videos, too. I'm unsure about completely new hobbies. Does anyone encourage you to go after your dreams? My family and a few friends. Oh, and definitely my psychiatrist. What group are you most active in on Facebook? None, really. I mostly just observe. Are you ashamed of anything? A number of things. Primarily not having a job at my age or even being in school. What were your favorite Disney rides as a kid? I loved Splash Mountain, I think it was called. What were your favorite rides at Cedar Point? Never been. What are some places you want to visit that you’ve never been? South Africa, Alaska, Canada, Yellowstone National Park, Bahamas, Venice, Rome... What are some places that you’ve been that you’d like to go to again? Disney World, Chicago, and this one super clear lake I swam in once a few hours away that I don't recall the name of. Have you ever owned a succulent? No. While they're pretty, I've never been much of a plant person. Do you support small businesses? I REALLY want to start doing that more when I have the option to buy my own stuff/have my own income. As someone who wants to be a freelance photographer, I get it. Starting an independent business is hard as hell. If a brand were to sponsor you, which brand(s) would you prefer? Uhhh I dunno. Have you read the entire Bible? No. Do you make bucket lists for each season? No. That does sound kinda fun, though. How old were you when you first dyed your hair? I have no idea. Do you dye your hair regularly? No. :/ I desperately want to, though. It's just not something we can afford to spare cash on. What is the most comfortable type of pants, in your opinion? Pajama pants? haha Do you think you could ever be famous? No. I'm way too boring and don't want to be anyway. What are some jobs you’ve had in the past? Sales associate, cashier, and deli worker. None lasted long whatsoever. What are some jobs you want to or would like to have? List five. FIVE? I don't know. I just know I want to be a photographer. Well, being an artist or poet would be very cool. And a reptile breeder, maybe tarantulas, too, but that makes me kinda nervous with JUST how many babies they have. What are some jobs you have considered? In rough order from youth to now: paleontologist, vet, movie director, game designer, author/poet, artist, music video editor, wildlife biologist, photographer... Maybe there's more that just aren't coming to me. Are you thankful for social media, or do you wish it didn’t exist? Depends on the day for me, but I'm generally thankful for it so I can keep up with the lives of people who are important to me. It's just that it's a breeding ground for self-doubt and rampant comparisons that can easily depress me when I see some people are "further ahead" and more "established" than me. What are some of the best medications you’ve ever had? The combined efforts of Latuda and Lamictal saved my life. What was a video you watched over and over as a kid? There were lots of movies, like The Lion King, a certain Barney one when I was very young, and I watched Finding Nemo like crazy. Do you know a lot of people who were loving, and then turned cold? Jason????????????????? Is that you??????????????????????????????????????????? Do you own anything plaid? Ha, what a coincidence, I'm wearing my red plaid pj pants. Are you good at remembering names? Definitely not. Have the cops ever gotten on to you for anything before? No. What email thingy do you use? (yahoo, gmail, rock) ... Rock? lol anyway my main is Hotmail, but I inevitably have a gmail to have a YouTube account. What game system(s) do you own? PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS Lite, and a GameBoy Advance. Are you any good at Guitar Hero? I used to be; I played most songs on Expert, then some really tough ones on Hard. I was soooooo addicted to those games. I remember when I got the first one for Christmas, I literally played it all day. Have you ever played Call of Duty? Nah, not my jam. What is your favorite/most visited website? YouTube. Is your bed comfortable? Sure. I've definitely had way worse. Do you have a garage? No. Fun fact, I've never lived in a house with one. Should you be doing anything right now? What? There's a number of things I could be doing that are definitely more productive, like finishing decorating my damn room. Do doctors or dentists make you more nervous? Not really. I only ever get nervous to hear my weight at the doctor's. Did you ever think you were about to die before? I don't quite know. When I ODed, it was more like I didn't care if I did. Have you ever really had a near death experience? Was it cool? "Was it cool." Literally fuck off. I guess you could technically consider my OD a "near death experience," especially given how many pills I took, yet I somehow experienced almost no ill symptoms. Maybe because we got to the ER for fluids quickly enough, idk. I'm just glad I didn't die. What is your favorite kind of weather? Snowy! Like a steady snowfall of large flakes with no breeze and total silence. *chef's kiss* Ever tasted beer? Ugh, no. Just the smell makes me sick. It was my dad's drink of choice when he was an alcoholic so I just have a very negative association with it. Have you ever seen a dead body? Yes, at an open-casket wake. Ever poured salt on a slug? As kids, my sisters and I would get our parents to do it because they grossed us out. So, so cruel. I still have this weird but pretty extreme phobia of them, but I wouldn't torture the things like that.
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Hi! I am pretty new to SH, and when I went to ao3 to find some malec fics I saw there were 19k fics there and I just... noped out. But then I came across one of your fics somewhere idr (prob tumblr) and I really really liked your writing style so I may or may not have spent my spring break reading all your fics... rip. I'm still way too intimidated by the sheer amount of fics on ao3 and since I really loved your writing, I was hoping you could maybe rec some, either fics or authors? Thanksss
holy shit, anon, I’ve written so much dkfgjhsdfkjg that must have been quite the undertaking for spring break lmao! I’m super happy to hear that you like my writing though, especially enough to read most/all of my fics!
Okay, so. When I first started in this fandom, it was overwhelming too and that was in August of 2017 lol! I read a lot of fic rec masterlists on here and then once I went through those, I explored ao3 a little more, along with those authors that captured my interest. I don’t know what you’re interested in but I’ll just go ahead and list some of the fics I started with along with my favorite authors! Everyone on this list is a delight as a person and a writer and I hope you like them!
(This is going to be probably a lot of me rambling variants of read this!! but I’m gonna put a short summary so you know what the story is actually about. I will most likely oversimplify the fic lmao but check out those links for the full synopsis!)
Over 100k
Fall Without Wings by @notcrypticbutcoy (WIP) This was the first fic I ever read in this fandom and it topped every masterlist when I started– for good reason. At the time, it was around 180k? and I read it in one day/sitting. The writing is impeccable, plot to die for, and the way the author builds the characters in this story is just engrossing as hell. This is god tier lmao!
One Line Summary: Canon divergent AU where shadowhunters have wings, Magnus is actively on the Clave’s shit list, and Malec’s relationship is the best sort of slowburn.
One Easy Answer by @maleccrazedauthor This is the first of a two part series and holy. shit. I was enthralled from the first sentence. Apparently, I have a thing for canon divergent AUs and I read this a year and a half ago but still remember gasping at a certain point, hanging on the edge of my seat as I waited to see what the characters would do. I love this canon divergent AU– it’s written so beautifully. (Note: The series itself is over 100k. This particular fic is around 36k)
One Line Summary: Magnus and Alec are leaders of their people and have to learn how to make things work when a marriage of convenience is their only option.
Anything You Say by @milominderbindered Admittedly, I’ve only read the first 80k? of this because I started it like over a year ago and it was a wip at the time but I remember being Super Into It and desperate to see where the story was going. Now that it’s finished, I’d totally recommend it!
One Line Summary: Detective Alec and Forensic Expert Magnus. Honestly, need I say more lmao.
Deeper than the Truth by @insiemes This was one of the first fics I read– probably within the first week of entering the fandom. It’s a wonderful story and a classic for a reason. And that ending:’)
One Line Summary: Alec is a famous author who uses a pen name and Magnus is a fashion designer in love with Gideon’s books.
60k-80k
The Haunting of Lightwood Hall by @bonibaru There are tragically few historical Malec fics in ao3 and this is a gem! The plot is interesting and the love story is super well done. And that ending! I loved it so much.
One Line Summary: Magnus Bane, a psychic, is invited to the Lightwood estate when a murder mystery implicated the heir, Alec Lightwood.
42 North, 71 West by @lecrit Okay so, admittedly, I haven’t read this yet but it’s because I don’t read wips and this just concluded like, last week lol. However, lecrit is a brilliant author and I’ve read several of her fics before and loved all of them! You really can’t go wrong with this author and I would encourage you to read anything/everything in her ao3!
One Line Summary: Politics!Alec and Actor!Magnus in one AU? Sign me up!
The Strength of (Un)Broken Bonds by Blue This is the first of a three part series and I love it so, so much! This is a little grittier though not angsty. The plot is tightly woven, the characterization spot on, and it’s an excellent exploration of the parabatai bond done right. Wildly creative and I everytime I reread this, I’m just in awe at this author’s skill!
One Line Summary: Post 2b, shadowhunters realize just how intrinsically their biology is tied to demon energy and Alec has to deal with a fritzing parabatai bond.
Addicted to You by AlxSteele I’m not a huge fan of fuck buddy AUs but this author is prolific in the shadowfam so I took a chance and I’m so glad I did! This was a realistic portrayal of this AU without being needlessly angsty. Everything was just right and I was so ready to see Magnus and Alec get their shit together!
One Line Summary: Magnus and Alec lead busy lives and neither one has time for a relationship– only what starts out as a string of one night stands leads both to catch feelings big time.
A Fighting Chance by HeartsDesire456 This is a classic for me. I read most of this in one sitting and was almost late for work! But it was totally worth it. I love the build up and the world that this author created. Really, one of the best malec fics I’ve ever read and I love it so, so much! I would recommend anything else by this author, especially Hard Choices, though that fic is considerably heavier though no less well done.
One Line Summary: Alec owns an MMA gym next to Magnus’s dance studio. What starts out as a noise complaint quickly changes Magnus and Alec’s life irrevocably.
We Break That Way by ifallonblackdays_fics and valfromrome I’ve read this several times and it’s a fic of substance. I love fluff but this is a really excellently plotted story that does a fantastic job of showing both Magnus and Alec as the leaders they are. It’s darker but realistic for the shadowhunters universe and I love how amazingly well these authors created a story that picks up after 2x18 in an excellent canon divergent AU where Magnus and Alec didn’t reconnect at that Hunter’s Moon party?
One Line Summary: Not all shadowhunters are happy that Alec’s trying to build relationships with the downworld– what happens when a group of extremists go after the Head of the New York Institute in a bid to return to the old way?
40k-60k
The Lonely Heart Hotline by @unrestrainedlyexcessive Anon. Listen. I am putting Fatale here because this is her latest completed fic and it’s 40k but I would heavily encourage you to read every single piece of writing by this author. I have read all of her fics at least twice and I love them to death. She does such an amazing job of portraying real life, even when her AU is fantastical. I’m partial to her Ave Atque Vale series, which was the first fic I read by her, and her Home series but as I was scrolling through her ao3 profile, I just kept remembering all her stories and how amazing they are. Seriously. I can’t stress enough about how much i love this author’s writing!!
One Line Summary: Alec’s a law student who moonlights as a phone sex operator and Magnus calls him one night, only to talk about music and his questionable phone professionalism.
Love is a Gamble by la_muerta This is another author that I adore and I’ve read all of her fics! This is a western historical AU that I read last spring and simply loved! I’d also recommend her series The Universe is Conspiring Against Us!
One Line Summary: Sheriff Alec Lightwood is busy enough keeping Nephilim Falls from descending into chaos but when Magnus Bane opens a gambling house in town, Alec’s has more on his mind than his townspeople.
20k-40k
Give Me the Pain (Then Take It Away) by LadyOxymoron This is a beautifully well-done story of Alec and Magnus exploring BDSM, particularly Alec’s submission. But it’s so much more that. It’s about their relationship and Alec learning to take better care of himself and overall, I was stunned at this fic. I would really recommend anyone read this for something that pulls the heartstrings while still being hot as hell.
One Line Summary: After a near death experience and throwaway line from Magnus, Alec finds out that he can let himself fall, as long as Magnus is there to catch him.
Appassionato by chonideno This is a classic in the shadowfam. A wonderful story of malec falling in love before properly meeting. The vibe is so ethereal and full of feeling. Really lovely story.
One Line Summary: Alec plays the piano and one day, a request slips under his door– what follows is months of Alec playing for a stranger, both of them falling one note at a time.
Pillow Talk by lacheses This was one of the first fics I read and it’s a really beautiful story that takes place during season one. It’s gentle and really does a fantastic job of building Magnus and Alec’s relationship, both of them so cautious and invested so quickly after meeting.
One Line Summary: Alec Lightwood falls in love, one nap at a time.
Good Our Whole Lives by @beatperfume This fic ruined me. I was invested from the first word and read it in one sitting. The emotions are enough to put you in a stranglehold and while I was wildly unsure based on the synopsis/AU (hooker AU) I gave it a chance and I am so glad I did. I remember reading it and just feeling so much. Wonderful, 10/10. I would rec anything by this author (she really is very creative!) but particularly and I will be your shade.
One Line Summary: When Magnus catches Alec, a shadowhunter, hustling his club the two of them reach an agreement.
Three’s a Crowd by GoldenDaydreams I’ve read this a few times and I love it to death. Super lighthearted and funny, it’s a fun story about Alec and Magnus trying to have sex and Jace being a perpetually pain in the ass cockblock lmao.
One Line Summary: The story where Jace keeps interrupting Alec and Magnus’s ‘alone time,’ and they’re both super fed up.
Sympathy for a Prince by @ketzwrites This was a hella fun story about Magnus as a literal prince of hell and Alec, a no-nonsense detective just trying to do his job. Ketz has written several fics I’d recommend but this might just be my favorite!
One Line Summary: When Magnus, prince of hell, comes top side he doesn’t expect to meet Homicide Detective Alec and become his partner, so to speak.
Hold Onto Me (Cause I’m a Little Unsteady by MagnificentlyMagic One of my biggest pet peeves with the show is that scene in 1x09 where Jace betrays Alec and then it’s never spoken of again. This is a great fic that takes that scene and runs wild with it.
One Line Summary: His parabatai rune was burning, not with death, or injury, but with betrayal.
10k-20k
Yours is the Light by @theonetruenorth This author is an autoread for me and I love a good abo fic. This is so beautiful and I really, really love this. It spins the trope on its head while still in the shadowhunters verse and delivers a really satisfying love story for Alec and Magnus! I would really, really recommend literally everything they’ve written though!
One Line Summary: It wasn’t exactly a secret that out of all three secondary genders, it was the alphas who were the strongest, the most aggressive, the most territorial– It was also completely wrong.
Inimitable by Bumblebeesknees. I adore anything by this author but this. Wow. The plot is super creative as Alec and Magnus get sent back to Victorian London and Alec has to do something both of them would rather he didn’t. It explores a murky area that has the potential to ruin both of them and the writing is perfect. I don’t want to ruin anything but you gotta read this. I read it when it was first posted then scrolled back up to the top and immediately devoured it a second time. I’d recommend anything and everything by this author.
One Line Summary: Stuck in London in 1882 without Magnus’ magic, the way back to New York in the 21st century requires securing a charmed amulet from the Magnus who lives in that time.
It’s a Kind of Magicby @thealmostrhetoricalquestion I love every single fic by this author and would highly suggest you read everything by her but this one has a special place in my heart. It’s light and sweet and a wonderful AU!!!
One Line Summary: Magnus and Alec live on the same floor and are highkey into each other– the only thing is that Magnus is a witch and Alec’s a mundane.
1k-10k
You Only Live Twice by partnerincrime I love this story so much!! It’s a fun little Simon POV on Alec as a gardening billionaire recluse and Magnus as a CEO of the shadow world’s largest department store. It’s hilarious and I lose my shit every time I read it!
One Line Summary: In which Simon Lewis becomes an entrepreneur, and, through a series of highly improbable events, fails upwardly toward success.
Lonely Starbucks Lovers by partnerincrime is also a hoot and I love this author so much!! It’s the quintessential coffeeshop AU.
PWP
The Way I Feel for You by @theonetruenorth Goddamn, this is a masterpiece. I’ve read this several time and like I said earlier, anything by this author is guaranteed to be amazing.
Shadows. Shovels. Joy. by oncethrown While this isn’t strictly a pwp, it’s about the parabatai bond and Jace’s POV on Alec having sex. Heartwarming and super well written! another example of how the parabatai bond could be well done.
In Plain Sight by redorchid. Holy shit, I love this to death and it’s actually the first in a series called membership, about Magnus and Alec’s exploration into exhibitionism.
hit me like a ray of sun, burning through my darkest night by liamandzayn I’ve read all of her malec fics at least twice and I just think she writes great sex lol. Definitely recommend!
With Bones Unbuttoned by @ohfreckle No smut list would be complete without ohfreckle. She’s an autoread author for me and I think I’ve yelled about this particular fic literally every chance I get. Goddamn, the sex is hot as hell and the emotions that pour through are enough to make my own heart ache. No one does it better and I wish everyone would read this and die with me.
Lionheart by Bumblebeesknees Both this one and the one above are 2x18 makeup sex fics but they’re both very different. I also love this one immensely and this author, as I’ve mentioned above, is amazing.
Series
Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things by @my-nameless-bliss This series ruined me. I can’t stress enough how much I love this series. It’s beautiful written, the emotion gut wrenching, and it’s a wonderful exploration of Alec’s masculinity and what that even means. It really made me think and reevaluate my own life and I am awed by this author’s talent and everyone needs to read this. There’s also ALDNT extras which is a multichaptered work set in this universe.
We Built a Dynasty Like Nothing Ever Made by Madalena. This was a canon divergent AU set after 2x17 that does a great job of exploring shadow world tensions and Alec as a Leader and Head of the Institute. Creative and stunning and wonderfully plotted, I’ve read this series several times and love it so much!!
The Boundless Saga by sarcasticfluentry and teumessian This is a canon divergent AU that starts in season one and it’s a classic for the shadowfam in my opinion. I particularly love Parts 4 (which could go in the pwp section) and 7, which I think it’s an excellent exploration of shadowhunter tradition and expectation.
Authors
@laughingmagnus Serendi has been an autoread author for ages, since the beginning, really. Her writing is wonderful and she really hits emotions in a way that’s enviable. Her Maryse centered fics are superb.
@gingergenower I’ve been yelling about Kat’s writing since I discovered her last winter. I started with goddamn right (you should be scared of me) and I’ve read all of her fics multiple times. You really can’t go wrong with her!
@thattrainssailed Monica’s writing style is very distinctive and literary. She writes Malec like they’re set in stone entities, powerful and always in control, even if everything else is a chaotic mess.
@bytheangell Elle can write fluff or angst depending on her mood and she does a wonderful job with whatever strikes her fancy. She has a >100k fic called Support System that I’ve heard really great things about, even if I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
@royaltybane Lydia is an OG in the shadowfam for good reason! Her writing is fluid and suitably full of feeling. You really can’t go wrong with anything by her!
Ohprongs is a wonderful author and I’ve read all of their stuff on ao3. I’d highly recommend them for shorter pieces.
This is by no means an exhaustive list! I’ve quite literally read thousands of Malec fics since I joined the fandom in summer 2017. These are the most memorable to me, however, and the ones that I’ve returned to time and time again. Any author I mentioned would be worth going through their backlist. I often just picked my favorite fic of theirs.
If there’s something that you’re into– a trope, a general tone– you can always come back and I’ll do my best to answer your questions and give you recs! I hope that this helps and isn’t too overwhelming– I tried to organize this masterlist by word count and then misc categories. Thank you so much for thinking highly enough of my writing to ask me this and I’m sorry it took a little while to compile this fic rec list! Happy Reading!!
#sdkfjghsdkjfg this took me three and a half hours lmao#and I just wanna reread all of these fics right now#but alas#malec masterlist#malec fic recs#malec fic#anon#asked#answered
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Been a while since I’ve done this so all the asks please and thank
You’re lucky I love you 🙄 1: How tall or short do you wish you were? I’m perfectly average, and I’m good with that
2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not) A tiger 🐅
3: Do you have a favorite clothing style? Classic 50’s / 60’s
4: What was your favorite video game growing up? Mario kart
5: What three things/people do you think of most each day: My religion, my work, and whatever fiction (book, show, etc) I’m into at the time
6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? WARNING: DON’T ASK ABOUT HER CATS
7: What is your opinion on [insert person/thing here]? Need a person/thing dude
8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] Uhhhhhh idk it’s in my bio
9: Are you ticklish? No
10: Are you allergic to anything? Maybe??¿?
11: What’s your sexuality? Straight
12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa? TEA
13: Are you a cat or dog person? Cats
14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson? Elf
15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber? Crowder
16: How tall are you? 5'5"
17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? Anything, I hate my name. I’d ever prefer if it were the French spelling
18: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] No idea tbh
19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? In the biblical sense 😂
20: Do you like space or the ocean more? Space
21: Are you religious? Very much so
22: Pet peeves? Audible chewing / breathing / snoring
23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? Diurnal
24: Favorite constellation? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
25: Favorite star? How?
26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls? I guess
27: Any phobias or fears? Oh yes
28: Do you think global warming is real? Nope
29: Do you believe in reincarnation? No
30: Favorite movie? Sabrina 1995
31: Do you get scared easily? No
32: How many pets have you own in your lifetime? Family pets? Many. Mine own? Snuggles, and technically part of Stitch
33: Blog rate? [You’ll rate the blog of the one who’s asking.] 23/30
34: What is a color that calms you? Pink
35: Where would you like to travel and/or live? Paris
36: Where were you born? Ohio
37: What is your eye color? Brown
38: Introvert or extrovert? Introvert
39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? No
40: Hugs or kisses? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now? You. Come visit me.
42: Who is someone you love deeply? Obi
43: Any piercings you want? I’d like my second ear piercings back :/
44: Do you like tattoos and piercings? Depends
45: Do you smoke or have you eiver done so? Noooooo
46: Talk about your crush, if you have one! Indians #22 😍
47: What is a sound you really hate? 21 pilots
48: A sound you really love? When Loki sits in the hall and yells
49: Can you do a backflip? Lol no
50: Can you do the splits? LOL no
51: Favorite actor and/or actress? Errol Flynn and Judy Garland
52: Favorite movie? Didn’t I just answer this?
53: How are you feeling right now? Good
54: What color would you like your hair to be right now? I like the color it is
55: When did you feel happiest? Reading
56: Something that calms you down? Crochet
57: Have any mental disorders? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] LOL probably
58: What does your URL mean? I like books
59: What three words describe you the most? Uh idk you tell me
60: Do you believe in evolution? Noooooooooooo
61: What makes you unfollow a blog? The sight of their url fills me with annoyance
62: What makes you follow a blog? A real person who posts like a real person
63: Favorite kind of person: Lots of people
64: Favorite animal(s): Cats
65: Name three of your favorite blogs. No, too many
66: Favorite emoticon: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
67: Favorite meme: Cow poetry
68: What is your MBTI personality type? Istj
69: What is your star sign? 🌟
70: Can your dog roll over on command, if you have a dog? No, it’s a constant source of amusement
71: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? None
72: Post a selfie or two? No
73: Do you have platform shoes? No
74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself? I need another MRI!
75: Can you do a front flip? No
76: Do you like birds? No
77: Do you like to swim? Yes
78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? I used to like both!
79: Something you wish didn’t exist: Taxes. Insurance.
80: Some thing you wish did exist: More space
81: Piercings you have? Ears
82: Something you really enjoy doing: Crochet
83: Favorite person to talk to: Stell
84: What was your first impression of Tumblr? Funny
85: How many followers do you have? I’ve been hovering around 1200 for months
86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? Idk probably not
87: Do your socks always match? Never
88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely? Uhhh idr? Maybe
89: What are your birthstones? I think Pearl?
90: If you were an animal, which one would you be? Cat
91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be? Plumeria
92: A store you hate? Menards and I’ve never even been there
93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day? None!!!!
94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? For
95: Do you like to wear camo? No
96: Winter or summer? Winter
97: How long can you hold your breath for? No idea
98: Least favorite person? Rory
99: Someone you look up to: Elinor dashwood
100: A store you love? Earth fare
101: Favorite type of shoes D:
102: Where do you live? Ohio
103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why? Nope! 104: What is your favorite mineral or gem? Turquoise? 105: Do you drink milk? Sometimes. A2 low temp 106: Do you like bugs? NO 107: Do you like spiders? NOO 108: Something you get paranoid about? SPIDERS 109: Can you draw: No :( 110: Nosiest question you have ever been asked? “Can you draw?” Oh also, “Why no ring?” By a patient I did not like. 111: A question you hate being asked? “How do you feel?” Hate it a lot. 112: Ever been bitten by a spider? Yes :/ 113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach? Yes 114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days? Cloudy 115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now: Obi, my puppy 116: Favorite cloud type: Uh. White? 117: What color do you wish the sky was? Pink 118: Do you have freckles? Some. Not as many as id like 119: Favorite thing about a person: Sense of humor 120: Fruits or vegetables? Both!!!! 121: Something you want to do right now: Get some work done, but SOMEONE needed every question answered 122: Is the ocean or sky prettier? Sky 123: Sweet or sour foods? Both 124: Bright or dim lights? Both 125: Do you believe in a certain magical creature? Dragons 126: Something you hate about Tumblr: The users 127: Something you love about Tumblr: The users 128: What do you think about the least? I think about most things a lot 129: What would you want written on your tombstone? That’s one to think about. Suggestions? 130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now? Me. No, whoever invented insurance. 131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself? Everything, but mostly hate 132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures? Yes, because as bad as that is, the alternative is unthinkable 133: Computer or TV? Computer 134: Do you like roller coasters? No 135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness? No 136: Are your ears lobed or attached? ?? 137: Do you believe in karma? No 138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? -6 139: What nicknames do you have/have had? N/A 140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? Yes 141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? No 142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others? Good I hope 143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help? Giving 144: What makes you angry Politics, and people who insist on talking about them when you’re really not in the mood 145: How many languages do you speak fluently? None 146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries? What 😂😂😂😂 147: Are you androgynous? Hahahahhaahhaha 148: Favorite physical thing about yourself: None 149: Favorite thing about your personality: Definitely none 150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person. There’s so many questions here 151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose? 1890 152: Do you like BuzzFeed? No 153: How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? [If you have one.] I didn’t 154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons? No idea 155: Do you like to play with others’ hair? No 156: What embarrasses you? Second hand embarrassment 157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious: Being late 158: Biggest lie you have ever told: Idk 159: How many people are you following? A lot 160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)? Lots 161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)? So many 162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)? Uhhh 163: Last time you cried and why: No 164: Do you have long or short hair? In between 165: Longest your hair has ever been: Very long 166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon? Depends on the religion 167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created? Extremely 168: Do you like to wear makeup? Yes 169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds? No 170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully? Yes Happy?
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some thoughts on s7
this ended up me kind of rambling about my thoughts and feelings on s7 that are all over the place, so please bear with me if these thoughts don’t seem too well organized or anything:
now, before i even actually saw the season, i was just snooping around here on tumblr to see what ppl’s reactions were, and i kind of let it get to the better of me. some people were just over dramatizing what was happening in s7, and their negativity on the season made me believe that i would wholeheartedly dislike the season. i saw all the posts with people going on about how if youre still watching the show, you should immediately drop it (and it was mainly centered around few central complaints going around right now, pretty sure you can figure that out on your own on what that was). it was understandable on where the frustration was stemming from. i only got 3 hours of sleep because of what people were saying despite not even seeing the season for myself and seeing how events would ultimately play out. but like they would always say, you shouldn’t let other people’s judgement affect you, and it really shouldn’t be the determining factor on how you view things or how your opinions are formed.
when i watched the season, my general reaction to it was that its “ok”, i didn’t think it was entirely and absolutely terrible. i already know how a lot of us didn’t like the way a few characters got treated. i mainly thought that the animation looked nicer and improved in some of the action scenes. the writing was kind of “meh” for me when it came to whatever certain plot points that got introduced or continued. watching it on my own actually removed any thoughts of me disliking/hating the season entirely.
even though i say this, the things i mention here are mainly about some issues that kept being brought up by people and circled around ever since s7 got released.
in terms of character development? besides what we’ve been given for hunk, which has been awesome so far (i dont really feel like i have much to go in depth with for this, its already self explanatory in the season itself), i guess its going somewhere. i’ve got some hope, but it’s not on the level where its overwhelmingly high and optimistic. everyone’s been talking about the lack of actual lance development, how he’s constantly being reduced to being the “dumb” one, but we actually see him take initiative when needed. lance has been shown to stepping up and taking his role into account when handed the opportunity to do so, and it was multiple times when lance was given the re-established position of keith’s right-hand man. despite whatever remarks keith made on lance, whether or not they were supposed to come off as teasing/joking for the audience, keith does still seem to believe in lance’s capabilities. if he didn’t, keith wouldn’t have trusted lance the task on leading their team on their mission(s). lance actually got scenes where he could shine off as being portrayed more than what he’s constantly being insulted as. there are still some scenes of them showing mutual trust and respect for each other, especially with lance voting for keith during “the feud” and the reasoning he gave. but yeah, some parts it did seem like keith was kind of ooc in certain episodes when comparing his personality back to s3. who knows why keith gave the reasoning he did when he voted for lance. EDIT: acoolemocucumber’s post makes a good note on pointing out how during the voting section, keith is actually the first one to start writing. it’s later revealed that he chose lance on first pick. lance was the second to finish. even though he was peeking over at hunk and pidge to see who they chose, he instead decides to choose keith. keith choosing lance as a first choice without pure hesitance is amazing to see, and it really shows he trusts and respects lance a lot despite the reasoning he gave. then again, actions speak louder than words and countless times keith has shown to be that kind of guy by relaying a lot of important tasks to lance throughout this season.
i’ll do say that i enjoyed most of the scenes they shared when they had to take a leading initiative with each other though. that was pretty nice to see again, and it felt like a decade since i ever saw that kind of dynamic from those two.
there were a lot of action packed scenes, and i watched through those entirely to see if there’s any important plot detail to know, or make note of, while watching the ep to make sure i wouldnt be lost with whats happening so far. some people found it boring, some people found the fight scenes amazing and stunning. certain scenes had me really amazed on how well it was animated, some other scenes not so much in terms of repetition, and thats kind of bound to happen if we’re provided an arc where its continuing to keep the tense vibes on the recurring events with the current situation of the season.
this is just merely my take on it, (my memory’s not the best with how much information im recalling from those 13 episodes) but it kind of felt lackluster with how the paladins barely got any kind of break where they could seriously spend one episode on unwinding, having in-depth conversations one on one, and not be so worried about the galra all the time. sure, there’s a few scenes like that in a few episodes, but it didn’t seem enough to make it feel like it balanced out whatever conflicts or character issues were newly or constantly introduced.
ive read posts already about how some people had liked the season a lot, loved the actions scenes and all. but to me, some conflicts that took place seemed out of place or just didn’t really align well (idk how else to phrase it) especially with adam’s death, and i had minor mixed feelings about ep “the journey within”.
about adam, it just seemed out of place and rushed for them to introduce shiro’s s/o only for them to take him away. we don’t get to see how fleshed out adam could’ve been, and i’ve already seen the frustration/rage people had with adam being killed off when considering how the creators told the viewers that they were gonna get to see adam, but weren’t told how long we’ll see him (plus the entire thing abt lgbt rep that was promised?). the thing with adam left me on a weird note, mainly because if you were just given no other info besides the info from the season, you wouldn’t even be given too explicit information about the relationship shiro had with adam. from there, it felt like there was no point in adding adam into the story if the viewers aren’t given clear information on what kind of bond shiro and adam had besides adam saying that they’ve been through a lot together (or whatever he said, idr it too much) and the “how important am i to you” line for lgbt rep points. its just pretty vague “””representation””” thats just leaving the audience to make the most out of what they’re given. we’re only given confirmation that they used to be fiancés from what they said in panels/interviews, but never in the show. im not sure what to really think about that, my mind’s just kind of in the void when i think about it. but this part i structured kind of badly and i apologize for that, but hopefully those of you can get what im saying.
as for “the journey within”, it was reasonable for the way characters acted; theyre all tired, frustrated, and losing hope and were floating in space waiting for nothing but at least something to happen. keith snaps, gets irritated at everyone, lance is also the one to lash back out at keith saying keith ran away, giving the audience a big sign that lance was hurt by keith’s disappearance/leave from the team. but for keith to quickly later on go take everything back in just a few minutes seemed really awkward for me. its a kids show and all, but i just kind of didn’t like how that one section of that episode was written ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just a feeling i had with it. however, i did love how hunk took a lot of the initiative during the episode, it’s showing his growth of actually him continuing to fully accept his role as a paladin and determined to not back down regardless of his own cowardice that could prevent him from doing so at any time.
and there’s the thing about k/acx: ive already seen a bunch of people going somewhere along the lines of disbelief, anger, frustration on how keith is getting het endgame but when i saw the episodes, his interactions with acxa didn’t even seem borderline romantic to me at all? to me, i merely saw 2 characters actually getting on better terms with each other and returning the favor. the two no longer see each other as enemies but allies now. keith only went back to save acxa because it seemed like he believed that he felt in debt to acxa for trying to save his team. ezor and zethrid merely poked fun at acxa, but if you consider previous seasons where acxa and keith interacted, the two just continued to return the favor of owing whatever debt they had for each other. it didn’t seem like there was any romantic tension intended in any of the scenes where they interacted. we already know acxa betrayed ezor and zethrid by switching sides, and if you were betrayed you’re bound to make at least a remark on whoever betrayed you either way. in this case, ezor and zethrid found it reasonable to make a comment on acxa’s alliance with keith, hence how they teased acxa possibly crushing on keith (whether or not thats actually confirmed, its just left ambiguous and up for interpretation at that point). there’s the parallel with how they animated the shot between keith and acxa talking to each other, but neither did that one seem romantic to me? i hope im not the only one who thought that? the other scene people talked about was when acxa is in the same scene where keith was present when he visits his dad’s grave with krolia. i dont get why some people were upset about that either. even though its at the last ep of s7, there’s nothing to imply that keith invited acxa to go visit his dad’s grave with him or anything if you consider their placement in the scene. if keith did care about acxa’s presence being there when he visited the grave, wouldn’t he at least acknowledge acxa’s presence by showing obvious attention to her, or have her close to where him and krolia were? she remains distant but respectful of keith in the scene. i dont see where these scenes would imply keith automatically finds a romantic interest in acxa. acxa to keith? maybe, we don’t entirely know. keith to acxa? i dont see it being implied anywhere at all. not to mention keith’s “can’t we just fight” statement right after ezor and zethrid teased acxa about having a romantic interest in keith. again, its just my take on what’s being presented and my own thoughts on how people are viewing it.
and with a/l, it leaves me on a bad note with how its progressing if its really getting the sealed deal endgame. like most people have been saying, it would be good for them to be endgame if they were only written better. am i entirely convinced theyre endgame? not really because there’s that small chance where vld pulls a 180 and the show creators stay true to their words on lance not being a rebound, lance being someone’s first choice, lance getting what he needs, not what he wants. what’s being given/presented so far is just bad writing with how allura suddenly reciprocates feelings for lance out of nowhere despite showing consistent disinterest in lance’s advances in previous seasons. s4 and onward we see her seeing lance more than just an annoying flirt, and the two become better friends who could genuinely talk to each other without having allura annoyed with lance’s flirtatious antics, and without lance being reduced to a constant flirt. during allura’s interest in lotor, we’re yet again presented how allura doesn’t return feelings for lance, especially during the scene when the mice told her about lance’s feelings for her back in s6. she seems rather disappointed, pitiful, or uncomfortable with knowing how lance genuinely liked her when she liked lotor during that time. later on, allura’s been out of her previous love interest with lotor, and hasn’t shown returned much of the same interest in lance. sure, she hugged lance and he returned the hug, but that only seemed necessary in the moment for when allura had felt betrayed by someone she wholeheartedly trusted and fell in love with. she needed comfort from someone and the person she spoke to was lance who was able to lend her some comforting words. but that was about it. i’d like to say that considering that this is a kids show, it does give a bad incentive for children to develop on believing that if they continue to force their feelings onto someone else, the person they’re interested in will eventually like them back out of the blue, which is the worst course of action to take despite being rejected countless times (and its kind of being shown with what a/l has right now). to take this kind of scenario and to fix/put it with good writing would to just properly depict lance accepting rejection and allura staying true to her previous feelings on not reciprocating his feelings. in a general sense, we all know that we can’t always get what we want, and that’s an important moral that always gets taught over and over again even if youre a child or an adult. rejection and acceptance of the rejection is something that can be taught here through the romantic subplot they’ve been having. just deciding that they should become endgame out of nowhere would leave the writing very dull. having allura get out of her previous love interest with lotor only to quickly move onto lance just doesn’t leave off on a good note. it just reduces lance to a rebound and that’s about it.
the writing for me wasn’t really that breathtaking, overwhelming, or emotional or anything when it came to new plot points being presented (you know, all the fight scenes, galaxy garrison, that stuff). again, a lot of things seemed pretty rushed, i had mixed feelings for some but not all episodes. it was nice to see mostly everyone united back with their families and characters developing new motives for what they believe in doing. yet, the writing kind of just wasn’t on the level of where it actually gets me really interested and invested into the storyline like how it had back in s1 to early s3. i’ll still mention how the writing did it’s part in presenting development for hunk, though. i enjoyed that a lot.
some parts of the writing were questionable, some parts of the season were enjoyable, but it wasn’t entirely overwhelmingly disappointing for me. the season was on the bare minimum on having the writing go “decent”, but again it felt pretty “meh” and this is just my own feelings on it. people have their own opinions, frustrations, concerns, questions, some people loved it, some people severely hated it or just felt extremely disappointed.
the season has its peaks and lows, some pros and cons, but whatever you take from it is what you believe.
i’ll still keep watching the show to see how it ends, that’s for sure.
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A/N: I wrote this story a while ago and then turned it into stanlon lol also idr if nerds r vegan but I ate some yesterday so here’s hoping!
Pairing: Stan x Mike
Description: Two anxious boys coming together
Warning: a lil bit of self harm/picking
Word count: 3,226 omg
“Hello, this is Mike, how can I help you?” There’s no sound at first and Mike pulls the phone away from his ear for a moment. He’s been working in a therapist office for a couple of months now. It felt fitting, he couldn’t afford regular therapy appointments for himself yet, but he can help other people get what they need.
His heartbeat picks up a beat because he’s unsure if he should just hang up? But he puts the phone back to his ear in time to hear: “Sorry I’m having an anxiety attack right now.” The voice is shaky and now Mike can hear the just-too-fast breaths.
“Wow, same.” It slips out before Mike can help it and oh my god that’s so unprofessional. He glances around at his coworkers but doesn’t see any reaction so he hopes they didn’t even hear him. “What are the chances?” The voice over the phone asks breathlessly, refocusing Mike’s attention.
Unsure now how to proceed he settles with the truth. “I mean pretty high, considering my phone call phobia. I pretty much spend my whole work day having an anxiety attack.” He tells them in a low voice. “How do you do it?” They ask incredulously. He laughs even though he doesn’t mean to and this time he does see a coworker notice him. Gotta keep it professional, got it. But also the person on the other end of the phone asked him a direct question so…
”I can pretty much operate if there's a script,” Mike tells them. “I also have like, three stress balls.” He hears a laugh huff out against his ear and he smiles because if he can make them laugh it can’t be a totally failed interaction. The line is quiet for a moment except for the gradual steadying of breath on the other end.
“Wow you know I don’t think I even need to see my therapist anymore I already feel better.” They quip in a suddenly much smoother tone that surprises a laugh out of Mike and now he’s definitely getting looks from his coworkers. His cheeks heat up at the attention but the person on the other end of the phone takes up more of his attention with their soft laugh.
“Please let me make you an appointment I’m not qualified for this!” Mike jokes. He’s flustered by his desire to make the person on the other end of the phone laugh again even after getting embarrassed. “I don’t know,” they sigh, “this is the fastest I’ve gotten over an anxiety attack in ages.”
An unprofessionally wide smile crosses Mikes' face. “Just send me the co-pay.” He says, his voice soft. “I’m glad I can help though, you helped me too.” He says and why can’t he stop talking. Mike glances around but his coworkers have gone back to not paying attention to him. It’s his favorite thing about the job, how little attention people pay to each other.
“You should let me make your appointment though.” They agree and Mike returns to the script, “your name?” He asks. “Stanley Uris, U-R-I-S. Mike types the name into his database pulling up the information he needs to make an appointment.
They sail comfortably through the rest of the phone call, both saying a warm goodbye. Mike hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath, willing the blush he’s sure he has away with all his might.
******
Mike doesn’t hear back from Stanley for a while. It’s totally normal, most people make future appointments directly with their therapists. So it’s about a month later when he gets a call from him again. They both follow the script this time even when Mike recognizes the name. It would be weird to say anything, it’s not like Stanley knows who he is. That is until there’s a moment of silence while Mike waits for his screen to load Stanley’s therapists' schedule, and he notices the uneven breathing on the other end.
“Are you okay?” Slips out almost before Mike can help it. Shit. The breathing on the other end gets even wispier. Shit shit shit. Not professional. They don’t know who he is. “Um yeah.” He hears. “Just kinda having an anxiety attack, the usual.” Mike huffs out a laugh because yeah, same. So he tells them that because, hey, it worked last time. And Stanley laughs and Mike laughs and breaking from the script is okay for the second time since he started this job.
*******
The next time Mike hears from Stanley is the first time he sees him. He comes into the office. Mike was on the phone when he first walks in so someone else is helping him.
He doesn’t know it’s Stanley yet and he doesn’t look far enough away from his computer screen to see their face but he notices their hands curled up on the desk next to his and how they nervously pick at the skin around their fingers. It makes his stomach curl in that way where he suddenly wants to start picking at his own nails.
Mike grabs a stress ball instead and finishes his phone call with the ever-present “have a nice day!” He looks over and the person at the counter is still picking at their cuticles and he can feel the familiar ache of peeling skin from nail and squeezes the stress ball harder and scans up to their face and oh my god they’re so cute.
It’s a boy with sandy brown hair that falls in waves and soft curls around his face. Mike can see a blue collared shirt under a dark denim jacket loaded with pins. Mike’s gaze gets stuck on how the boy is chewing his bottom lip nervously. Turning it red and raw.
And oh my god that’s so unprofessional. Mikes cheeks heat up and he glances around hoping no one is paying any attention to him and they’re not (is anyone ever? The part of his brain that isn’t completely ruled by anxiety asks). He glances up at their face again and accidentally catches his eye.
He actually wills his phone to ring to give him something to do because oh my god they’re so cute and distracting and this is so unprofessional why are they even still in here don’t they have somewhere else to be?
Mike squeezes his stress ball harder and tries to inconspicuously take deep breaths because no one needs to know about the moment he’s having. He glares at his phone wishing for it to ring and then glances around at his coworkers in suspicion because why are they all busy and he isn’t, he would really like to be taking a phone call right now!
But then he hears the person at the counter (the very cute person, his brain supplies) say “Stanley Uris, U-R-I-S” and Mike’s heart stutters. It’s them. Maybe. Probably. The name repeats in a loop in his head.
Stanley Uris, U-R-I-S the same name as the person Mike talked to over the phone a couple times when they were having an anxiety attack. It makes him breathe slower just to think about it. Then immediately speed back up because here he is!
Stanley Uris, U-R-I-S, is standing right here in the office with him and he’s cute. The idea that the voice over the phone and the person standing in front of him are one and the same flits around his mind. Mike can’t believe the person he always hopes is calling when he answers the phone is right in front of him being super cute and when did he start wanting him to call all the time?
Mike can feel himself spiraling and then finally his phone rings. Except now he’s not expecting it and it startles him and he jumps and the stress ball flies out of his hand and over the counter and suddenly everyone is looking at him.
He fumbles for the phone and for a moment he forgets his script but then it comes because he’s been doing this for long enough that it’s there even when he doesn’t want it to be. His heart is thundering in his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Stanley Uris, U-R-I-S finish their business.
Suddenly their hands appear at Mike’s desk holding his stress ball out to him. He feels his face grow hotter and he thinks he must be bright red at this point, but he slowly looks from their hands with the red irritated marks around their fingers to their very cute face that is smiling softly at him and he covers the phone’s mouthpiece and breathlessly he says “keep it.”
******
“You know if you hadn’t already told me you had like three more I wouldn’t have taken it.” Mike hears a voice and looks up from his lunch. He’s sitting outside because it’s actually a nice day, he thought he’d found somewhere out of sight enough to not be bothered. He’s almost mad about it until he looks up. Button up, dark jean jacket with pins, Mike’s mouth goes dry and he swallows roughly. It’s Stanley. Uris. U-R-I-S.
He’s rolling Mike’s stress ball between his hands. Mike huffs out a laugh and clears his throat, “that’s only the ones at my desk.” he tells him. “That’s not even counting the ones in my car.” Stanley laughs quietly and Mike laughs and as uncomfortable as he is about not having a script for this interaction it’s also, kind of okay.
Mike watches him roll the ball into his left hand so he can stick out his right, “I’m Stan, by the way.” He says a soft smile on his face. Mike can’t help but follow the curve of his smile with his eyes, before dropping to the outstretched hand. He clears his throat and takes Stan’s hand gently in his own, “I’m Mike,” he says shyly, butterflies fluttering through his insides.
“Is this a perk of the job or what?” Stan asks holding the ball in his left hand up. Mike realizes he’s still holding Stan’s hand and quickly pulls his away, embarrassed. “Yeah, you know, therapists,” Mike huffs, rolling his eyes “they catch you biting your cuticles one time and suddenly you're at risk and in need of a billion stress balls!”
Stanley laughs and wow they’re so cute… Mike’s face heats up at the thought but, technically he’s not on the clock so fuck professionalism he tells himself somehow smug at his own brain for finding that loophole. “It did help,” Stanley says quietly and Mike notices the bandaid around the finger he’d seen him picking at.
“Good,” Mike says just as quiet, a small smile slipping onto his face. He thinks back to the first phone call when he’d sorta accidentally helped him through an anxiety attack, and the joke Stanley had made. “Does that mean I get your co-pay since I’m helping you through everything?”
Stanley lets out a sharp laugh that he quickly stifles with a hand over his mouth. He’s still smiling when he lowers his hand, just a small quirk of his lips. Mike doesn’t know how just that sets his heart beating quickly in his chest but he seems to find everything Stan does…endearing.
Stanley scuffs the toe of his shoes, impeccably clean black and white vans, against the ground in front of him. “You might have to take that up with my therapist,” he quips making Mike chuckle softly. “Speaking of-“ Stanley starts his voice falling into disappointment, “my session’s about to start so, I’ll see you around?” He asks hopefully.
Butterflies congregate in a flurry in Mike’s stomach and oh my god yes, please. “Yeah.” He says, “I’ll be here.” And with a small wave, Stanley’s walking away, leaving Mike stewing in the heat in his face and the butterflies in his stomach.
***
Finally, finally, finally, after the longest, hardest, worst day, Mike is clocked out and leaving work. He barely wanted to leave his house this morning let alone go to work for 8 hours and talk on the phone to strangers. He’s just got to get home and then he can relax with a bowl and his shows and hopefully avoid the anxiety attack that’s been brewing in his chest all day.
Mike is looking down, pulling his car keys out of the pocket of his jacket he’s carrying and doesn’t see the person standing just outside the door until he’s only a few steps away. He stops in his tracks, dread washing over him. One more interaction, even a little one, even being looked at might just send him over the edge.
The lump in his throat grows and he takes a shuddering breath, trying to build his resolve. He shuffles forward a few more steps, swallowing roughly, and as he reaches out to push the door open he catches sight of their hands and oh. That’s Mike’s stress ball.
Knowing who it is sends a small spiral of calm down his spine, just enough to push open the door and greet Stan with a breathless, “hey.” Stan jumps and turns with wide eyes, a gasp fluttering from his lips. Oh shit, Mike thinks, he’s on the edge of his own anxiety attack but it looks like Stan is already there. Mike’s brain nags at him that there’s nothing he can do and he shouldn’t try; he should just go home and have a cry.
The quick shuddering breath mobilizes Mike and before he knows it he’s taken a step forward. “Hey,” he says, voice gentle, “are you okay?” Stan raises his hands to his face, the heel of his open palm pressing into one eye and the fist curled around the stress ball presses into the other. “Yeah.” He says shortly with a bitter laugh.
Mike watches his shoulders slump and Stan lets out a sigh. “Well no, obviously.” Mike lets out a huff that might’ve been a laugh if a laugh didn’t know what emotion it was supposed to express. Stan tilts his head back, hands still covering his eyes. “Just…a hard session I guess.” He admits slowly, Mike nods in understanding before remembering Stan can't see him.
“Anything I can do?” Mike asks shifting forward, he desperately wants to pull Stan’s hands away from his face to hold and have Stan looking at him instead of whatever dark thoughts occupy his mind. Mike doesn’t move though, he doesn’t know the other’s physical boundaries. Mike chews on his bottom lip as he waits for an answer.
He hears a sniff and then Stan’s shoulders start shaking and oh no he’s crying. Mike stiffens, he hates seeing other people cry, it always makes him start crying and he’s already so close…
“Is it okay if I touch your arm?” Mike asks gently. He just can’t help himself, when he sees someone upset he has to help. Especially when they’re really cute and give him butterflies…Mike pushes that thought away forcefully, now is not the time.
Stan gives a small nod and Mike steps forward and places a gentle hand on his upper arm. “You're okay,” he says sweetly, making small movements with his thumb. He feels Stan lean into the gesture, encouraging Mike to bring his other hand up so he’s gently gripping both arms, trying to ground him.
“I’m sorry you had a rough session,” Mike says softly, “I think you’re really brave for even showing up to therapy, to be honest. That shit is so scary, I don’t know how you do it.” Stan’s shoulders start shaking harder and Mike can feel his heaving breaths. Mike pulls him gently in until he’s hugging Stan against him.
He wraps one arm around his shoulders and the other finds a home in Stan’s soft curls. “You’re okay,” Mike repeats making soft hushing sounds until Stan starts to settle. He’s taller than Mike but he’s tucked his head into Mike’s neck, the hands covering his eyes falling to fist in Mikes shirt. “I’m so embarrassing.” Mike hears, mumbled.
Mike chuckles kindly, gently playing with the ends of Stan’s hair. “You’re not embarrassing,” He tells him sincerely. Stan pulls away just far enough to be able to look into his face, giving Mike a small watery smile. “Why are you so good at this?” He asks quietly.
Mike snorts and rolls his eyes, “I’m literally a walking anxiety attack,” He tells him. Stan sniffles, his small smile growing wider, and Mike notices dimples appearing. They’re quickly covered by Stan’s hand covering his mouth. “Why do you do that?” Mike asks.
Stan lowers his hand, his brow furrowing in confusion, “do what?” he asks. Mike gestures to Stan’s face, to his now pinched lips, “always cover up your smile?” Stan’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open a bit in surprise. A contemplative look crosses over his face, but then, he cracks a small smile and shrugs his shoulders. Mike can’t help the giggle that comes out of his mouth, causing Stan to start laughing again too.
They laugh more and Stan leans into Mike again and he loops an arm around his shoulders. “I’m really gonna have to talk to your therapist about getting a cut of the pay I mean really!” Mike jokes and Stan huffs out another laugh and pushes Mike away playfully.
That night when Mike gets home, he carries through with his plan of smoking and watching tv. But he goes to bed with a light heart, thinking about Stan’s weight in his arms and his hand in his hair.
***
He’s in the back filing patient records when his coworker walks up. “Hey, there’s someone in the front asking for you.” Mike tries to ask who but they just shrug and let him hand them the paperwork he’s holding. He walks out and sees Stan standing by his desk and his heart skips, just a little.
Stan notices him and perks up, “hi!” He greets and okay maybe Mike’s heart skips a lot. “Hey,” Mike responds a little breathlessly. Stan shuffles a little and Mike tries to not find it very cute, a part of his brain screaming about professionalism.
Stan clears his throat, eyes darting around the room before landing back on Mike. He shrugs, just a small lift of a shoulder, and offers him a warm smile. “I just wanted to thank you for you know, um, being so nice to me?” It comes out like a question and Mike can’t help but chuckle.
“I got you these!” Stan says handing over a couple boxes of Nerds. “Just as a thank you.” Mike knows he’s blushing but he can’t seem to care. “Thank you,” he says sincerely with a wide smile. Stan nods and points a thumb over his shoulder saying, “I gotta go, but, I’ll see you around?”
Mike smiles and tries not to nod too eagerly. He doesn’t quite manage it. “I’ll be here.” He says. It isn’t until later when the warm blush has faded from his cheeks, that Mike decides to open the Nerds. He’s got the box partially open when he sees something written in sharpie. He turns the box and sees a number, a phone number, with a small: -Stan <3, written on the end.
#stanlon#mike hanlon#stanley uris#stanlon fic#it fanfiction#veganmo#vegan mike hanlon#it 2017#stan x mike#mike x stan#it
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Just saw SW:TFA again and I have some more theories...
So Star Wars: The Force Awakens just aired on ABC for the first time and this was only my second time seeing it, the first time being the very first Star Wars movie I EVER saw, so I wasn’t really a part of the fandom then. Anyways, I only watched it again for the sole purpose of the theories, and man, did I come up with some new ones, on top of solidifying some of the ones I already had.
For those of you who don't know my current theories, here they are:
Thank you to my friend @cuckoo-outlawoflove-in-nirvana (Maggie) for helping me with these theories. Some of these are in her words that I copied and pasted from texts she and I had. Most of these are pretty much Maggie and I making realizations and just writing down our thoughts (note the caps in the first one). I wish I could find the actual texts these came from but that was so long ago that it would take forever to find if they are still there.
Rey and Kylo Ren are related. Most likely cousins. Luke may be her father. Or Obi Wan is the grandfather or great grandfather. WHAT IF LEIA IS THE MOTHER???
Finn may be related to Mace Windu or Lando
The kid at the end of The Last Jedi used the force to get the broom. I wonder how he got the force...
Rey isn’t the last Jedi
In the extended universe content Luke apparently did have a wife named Mara Jade
When Disney got LucasFilm, they declared that nothing outside the movies, the Clone Wars show, and the Rebels show is officially canon, so according to them, Mara doesn’t exist. I still think that Obi-wan had a daughter with his gf from Clone Wars, and that’s Rey’s mom
Side Notes
I just realized we don’t know much about Anikin’s father... he was mentioned when obi wan or his master asked his mother about him but idr what was said... I’ll have to watch that scene again...
There was no father. I carried him; I raised him; I can’t explain what happened. -Anakin’s Mother
Here are the posts (copied and pasted) I made about the theories pretty soon after I made this account:
Regarding Rey’s parents:
Rey and Kylo Ren are definitely related. They are most likely cousins, meaning Luke is probably her father.
If Luke isn’t her father, then Obi Wan might be her grandfather or great grandfather.
As for the mother, there are possibilities to Enfy’s Nest or Qi’ra (both introduced in Solo). But, the likelihood that Luke being the father AND one of these being the mother is pretty small. My friend really thinks Luke is her father and she yelled at me for even considering Qi’ra since she turns to the dark side after abandoning her former lover Han. However, it’s still a possibility. My friend also told me that Luke had a girlfriend in one of the side series (possibly Clone Wars but idk) and that’s Rey’s mom but some people are purists and don’t believe anything beyond the trilogies.
Regarding Fin’s Parents:
Mace Windu is a likely possibility. When I first brought it up to my friend, she said something like “Oh, I’m all for a force sensitive Fin!” However, Mace was one Jedi who probably wouldn’t break the Jedi Code and have a girlfriend, or impregnate her for that matter. Plus, Fin hasn’t shown any force sensitivity yet. Yes, I know Rey didn’t show her force sensitivity until she was at least a teen, but I still feel it’s pretty unlikely. I wish it were more likely though.
I think my friend and I had some other possibilities, but I can’t remember them at the moment. I’ll edit this post if I remember them.
Ok now onto what I came up with as I was watching TFA again tonight. All of this is pretty much a conversation Maggie and I had, and, per her usual when disagreeing with me, she pretty much yelled at me at times... Maggie I hope you don't mind me sharing this with everyone...
Note: Kyle Ron = Kylo Ren. Maggie and I have come to the conclusion that he doesn’t deserve the respect of having his name said correctly.
Me: i think kyle ron killed reys parents
i just got to the scene where she finds lukes saber and it gives her a vision
Maggie: i'm still clinging to Rey Skywalker
Rey was Luke's daughter and nobody can convince me otherwise
Me: it shows kyle ron stabbing someone with his sabre then a ship flying off then what looks like a very young rey crying and wanting her parents but being pulled away from whatever was happening by someone
Maggie: Luke was her dad and i reject all other theories and/or explanatioins
Me: even canon explanations?
maybe it was just her mom?
Maggie: sometimes.............things that are canon...........are worse..........
Me: oof ok
I sent her this a little later:
ok so heres another theory why rey and kyle ron keep having force visions of each other: he tried really hard to get in her head to get the map to luke and as a result it caused them to have those force visions of each other
either that or kyle thought she was hot and now every time they both think about the other they have force visions
or maybe just every time they think about the other they have the force visions
I also sent her these two things at separate times about Fin:
fin is force sensitive
definately
he just used lukes saber like a champ
and
ok fin is definitely at least slightly force sensitive
ok so looking back, if Rey was as young as she was during that first vision when she touched Luke’s lightsaber, Kyle Ron couldn’t have been the one in the vision. The man had the same lightsaber that Kyle has and the mask looked like his so I just immediately assumed that he was the one in the vision. Still, I have a feeling that vision will play a significant role in the story of Rey’s parents (if not just her mom).
So, what do you guys think? Also, those of you who ship Reylo, GTFO!!! They are related!!! Fin and Rey had chemistry from the very beginning and she kissed his head towards the end of TFA when he gets injured!!! Not to mention his sole intent on rescuing her from The First Order when she is captured!!! It’s very clear they love each other!!!
ok so I had to add this funny moment in TFA that I sent Maggie my reaction to when i saw it:
haha i love how c3po ruins the moment of han and leia seeing each other for the first time in a while
leia is just like "That's my husband bitch! I definitely saw him!"
But seriously, I want to know what you guys think, especially you, Maggie.
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My Friend Saw Ragnarok
Here’s her opinion on it. Warning: she’s a writer. She only has a “casual” interest in Marvel; ie she’s not a fan of Loki, is mildly interested in the MCU as a whole, and only talks about it cause it’s all I talk about outside of our writing. (We’re both writers.) Here you have it, an outside opinion of Ragnarok:
(second warning: this is unedited except for some things I think would be hard for people to understand, which I revised to be understandable.)
LOL YES ugh. It was just bad. Okay, to compare, GotG was like that. I almost didn't like those movies the first time around because they're one of those movies where nothing is really explained, you just sort of have to go into it blindly accepting all of these random alien life forms we've never seen before and their powers and planets and scientific laws and such. It was hard for me as someone who likes a lot of reasons and lore for things, to just jump in and be swept into the current. But then they started to grow on me because once you watch them again, the nonsense of it makes sense. That's the point, that you're just suddenly joining this world that you've never seen before and just have to jump in feet first and go with it. Sakaar was like that in a bad way. The aesthetics were terrible, like I said. Literally Star Wars meets Teletubbies meets the Exodar (from World of Warcraft).
(there’s Exodar so you have a visual)
Oh and throw in some... I dunno, 70s space themes or something??? It was just BAD.
And the Exodar was BEAUTIFUL and I looove the Star Wars themes, Teletubbies, not so much LOL But mash all 3 of those together and it's terrible. Just terrible. None of those things belong together. It's like trying to put two magnets together, end to end. It's just a freakin mess and you just sit there, your muscles all locked up, trying to get it to work but it's just not happening.
And WHAT was that wretched prison/holding cell thing where the fighters were kept? That was just weird, and why did you only ever see TWO freakin gladiators?? And the rock guy was kind of cool, like you really wanted to like him but the rock appearance with his weird high pitched voice just wasn't doing it for me, and then that other alien guy who I couldn't even describe to you visually because we never saw him long enough to know what his features were. And obviously Hulk was living in the champion's bedroom, so that was that; but whyyyy did they put Thor in there with him?? It was such a bad plot point because it was just way too convenient. Like "This guy lost because we zapped him at the last second because [who knows why]. Let's throw him in the same room as our champion instead of tossing him back in the pen with the other 2 low-lifes."
There were so many other fighters outside the colosseum getting ready to fight; where WERE those guys?? We never saw them. This whole movie was like convenience to convenience. It was like reading an indie novel. Nothing extra is ever shown,only exactly what you'd expect and exactly what was needed for each scene. You might, if you're lucky, see a rare moment where a really neat plot point or worldbuilding things was implemented, but those moments were more like flukes than anything else.
The plot overall was "okay". I wasn't floored, but it had good substance underneath all that crap.
Odin dying, Loki and Thor having to work together to defeat Hela, Asgard being taken over while Thor is stuck in some other planet as a lowly gladiator. It had good potential, but I dunno. It was one of those movies where you felt like you were always waiting for something that never came. And in the end you're not even sure what that one thing was that you were waiting for, but you finish the movie just feeling like you never got to see "it", whatever it was.
It's hard for me to judge or compare specifically because I never did see The Dark World and it's been yearrrs since I saw the original Thor.
I really liked that Hulk/Banner had a ton of screen time. I feel like he's sort of in the background of a lot of the Avengers movies, and he never did get his own movie, so it was neat to really see a lot of him. On the other side of that though, his arc was totally flat. There was nothing to it, there was nothing that made him grow or change. He was just Hulk, and then he wasn't, and then he went Hulk again in a little sacrificial moment and just stayed that way. His arc was like a really flat line with a tiny little blip in the middle where he saw Black Widow on the screen and changed back and was all confused and had that emotional moment. Then maybe another blip where he decided to go Hulk to save the Asgardians on the bridge.
Valkyrie (idr her real name) was okay. She had the potential to have a really cool arc too, getting defeated by Hela forever ago and just sinking into that abyss of being a random collector for the GM and drinking her memories away. But I felt like she stayed flat for a long time too, until finally her arc shot upwards at a 90 degree angle when she decided to help Thor after all. And after what? After Loki showed her her memories? That was it? Like she already KNEW all that, that shouldn't have been her major changing point. Also the fact that Thor just HAPPENED to find her armor on the orgy ship just FRIED me to pieces. It's those little things, guys, those little things. You can't just pull that stuff out of thin air. It's bad planning and makes the plot cheap.
Hela was another one that was just "okay." I kind of kept waiting for some real substance from her, but she just didn't have any. Once again, it was just sheer convenience that they find Odin, spend like 36 seconds with him, he tells them he's dying, Hela is coming, there's nothign they can do, he dies, she appears instantaneously and BAM. Everything is wrecked in one moment. And I felt like there was no arc for her either. I never really remember hearing about her previous to this movie, so suddenly Odin just comes out with the fact that he has a daughter that he locked away, etc etc. And we never got to see any backstory or anything on her. She just "was" and then at the end, she just "wasn't" anymore. Like she just blinked in and out. I know her story is part of the real mythology, but it felt like they were just like "Okay we have no threads left to play with from the previous movies, what else can we do?" and just pulled her out of the lore and plopped her in there. The only thing we saw of her story was when she went in the hall and broke the tiles off the ceiling and we saw the "ONE" picture of her and Odin side by side, and are basically left to imagine the rest in our heads. FLAT.
And the Odin thing felt weird to me too. It felt rushed and strange and so disappointing. I never saw TDW like I said, so I dunno what led up to that, but why was he in that "rest home" apparently? Sent there by Loki or something? And then they get there and the building is torn down? That made no sense to me. Maybe it would have if I had seen TDW. But then they find him out in Norway or whatever (I did really love the Dr Strange part) and there he sits in his terrible fashion, almost on the verge of going insane because he's so near death, but he didn't really look sick or weak, just hella old. And he's all "My time has come" and with no more warning or reason than that, he just disintegrates into nothing. Like I always expected that when Odin died, it would be this HUGE thing. Like I would expect some great moment with good music where everyone around him is all tearfully saying goodbye and then all of Asgard is mourning him. Not him going broken-glowstick on a cliff in Norway wearing horrible clothes with only Thor and Loki to see. And they didn't even seem that broken. Thor was more broken by Loki's death in IW (who he only likes about 50% of the time) than he was over his father's death who he loved dearly from what I remember.
And last but not least, Thor's arc itself was.... I dunno even. His was a weird one. His was kind of up and down. Like he lost him hammer, and I would expect some HUGE moment from him after that. Like tearing up or being angry or defeated or something but then they just shot him off to that trash planet and he was so caught up in all that weirdness there, that we never got a good moment from him. It just went like 70s hookah party so fast, that we never got any real emotion from him. And then he never had a moment of weakness. Never that "this is too hard, I'm giving this all up" like all characters have to have. He literally never lost his drive to fight, which would have been cool if there was some epic force behind that, driving him to keep pushing forward, but they really lacked on showing us why he wanted to rescue Asgard so badly. I mean he's Thor, he shouldn't need a reason, but they never let us see the emotion behind that, or let us see some tender moment where he's sitting there telling some story of Asgard and his father or Loki or his mother or anything, and talking about why it means so much to him. The only time he wanted to give up was when he went to fight Hela, and all she did was barely knock him around (less than what Banner did to him, might I add) and then suddenly it was "Poor me, I can't do this. This is too hard." They had it so backwards. He was all amped up and driven to fight her, and all cocky about it, and she smacks him around for a few minutes and suddenly he's like "I can't do this." It was just really weird placement for me.
Literally the ONLY person in the entire movie who had a good arc, was the Executioner. (idr his real name either lol) He shows up, sort of this irresponsible guy , just using his position to get girls and get "things", and then Hela comes and he has no real morales and is kind of a coward who doesn't want to stand up to her so he becomes her second hand guy. First you see him following her around like a puppy, and then he goes from that to actually carrying out her orders. (GROWTH. Even though it was in a negative direction.) Then there's that moment when Hela pulls that girl out of the crowd and tells him to kill her, and he actually hesitates for half a moment, which was SO GOOD because it made him deep. It made you realize he had regrets about it, deep inside. But then he pushes those thoughts away and goes to kill her anyway. So now you know he's totally sold out to the villain's side of things. Then towards the end, when Hela starts to lose, he goes coward, and hides away on the ship with the other Asgardians. (More change and growth, even though again, it was for the negative.) Then at the last minute, when their ship is being overrun, he makes that final decision to forget what Hela wants him to do, to forget his fears, and do what he knows in his heart is right, which was to save his people. And he does, and he dies for it. It was really brilliant. It was such a beautiful, full circle of a character.
Also he was the only one that had GOOD armor. I loved his costume and armor. Everyone else's was crap, but his was good.
I still didn't really like him that much, cause he was kind of cliche, but he was literally the best arc out of all of them, if that tells you anything.
Last but not least, they just tried waaay too hard to be funny. It was like watching some kids’ show, like Frozen or something, where all the sudden things get really meaningful or deep, and you start to feel that moving feeling in your chest like "Okay, I like where this is going." and then some random character pops their head in with some stupid comic relief and ruins the whole thing. The whole movie felt like comic relief to me. There were moments that felt natural and funny, like a few of the moments between Loki and THor, or Banner and Thor, that felt so original to the Avengers movies and I loved that. Avengers is supposed to be funny, because that's how they've always written it, but it's never just PURE humor like Ragnarok. Even Iron Man is more serious than that, and he's like the most humorous out of all of them. So I hated that they kept ruining these good moments with stupid quips or weird things.
You know what it felt like? It felt like if they let the Grandmaster actually write and direct the plot himself. "Hmm you know, I woke up this morning feeling like a public execution." And then he just does it, and what we're left with is Ragnarok.
Overall, it had such good potential but it just fell so flat.
#my friend watched Ragnarok#Ragnarok#review#a writer's opinion#Gagnarok#Thor#Loki#Hela#Odin#Korg#Asgard#Marvel
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Episode 13 - "I'm on the side with the biggest threats to win this game" ~Josh
This last round went well!! We got Jay out (rip Corn Tribe💔 tho fr fr it died shortly after merge probs) and I'm still in the game :D We love to see an actual numbers majority now bless 🙏🏽 I hope I go soon 😅 Ingary my beloved is suffering a bit (ty/sorry Dyl 💖) I can't see that happening though bc Colin seems to find me and Amy as his best allies and would use his idol on us so RIP me tbh, typical that the game I'd like to lose earlyish in is the one I go to FTC 😂 tho if I went with Amy and Colin I do think one of them would win (with the double agenting and chaos idle-ing and they're both p social), I'm just good at taking the information we have and planning to ensure we have the best possible outcomes at tribal (which is SO much easier now that we have a numbers majority My Gosh!!!). I love sudoku puzzles but the thing is I'm used to playing on apps or online where it's easier to play kinda methodically, also the height of my sudoku phase was like, last year where I could complete an easy one avg. 10 minutes best time 7 minutes, these two with my 10% DA took 50 minutes, so take off 10% and it's 45 minutes, divide by two and it took me 22.5 minutes per puzzle. Yeah no I don't think I'm gonna win 😂😂 oh well, thanks Raf for letting me do them tonight though, you probably wanted to get to bed but tomorrow I have work and then my driver's license exam (!!!) and then movie night so I really don't have time to 😅😅 but hey! I dont have a second part to that✨ Time isn't real so wish me luck on my driving test now retroactively so that the positive vibes flowing backward through chronos (aka "linear" time) will ensure that when you read this I will already have my license❤️. xoxo, gossip girl
honestly having more numbers done for you in a sudoku puzzle is just making me more confused
math challenges during pride month is pure homophobia
Congrats to jared for guaranteeing himself f5 for winning today 😭 and here I thought I did well with 40 minutes. I don't think he would play his idol on jodi but I don't know with this invisible round. Apparently Jodi is telling people I have the idol from phantom aka the one colin has, which is a problem if they are trying to flush it. I guess I'm a threat even though probably only dennis in the jury isn'taf at me lol. Colin has an idea to get votes on him then idol and us two vote Josh out but I really think they are going to be voting me based on how quiet it is and how many other alliances there are lol. There's the three with Josh and Jared and Colin because Josh doesn't want me at the end. See I knew he didn't like me lol. So I'm here trying to think of I need to play something or give it away and be voted out lol or just keep it and be out. My thought was to use the steal a vote so then no one would know it was me who had it but I kind of think I might need that next round of say jodi wins then jared idols. At f5 it could be me colin and jared all idoling if none of us make a move lol. Anyway I think I'm on shaky ground this go and idk why haha I'm there are much bigger threats that a no social person who flipped and wasn't even bonded with the jury lol. Here's hoping colin elle and I stay strong. And I can get second to colin. That would be fun lol but lots of game left. And I'm still at disney. This is going to be a stressful day.
I hate invisible rounds. too much is going on. and literally no one is online to talk it out personally, i want Josh out this round. I think if I wait until final 4 to cut him, he'd be bitter at me in particular. Plus, he's not in my endgame plans. I want to have an easy win, and that means putting Elle and Jared next to me in ftc. the most obvious thing to do is split between Jodi and Anastasia, and I think that's happening because it's simple and no one else is around to dispute it. Amy is still my closest ally and I can trust her, so I told her that I want to take out Josh. i don't think the two are close so it was easy to get her on board. There's an option of me ENSURING he goes by playing my idol for whoever Jared and Jodi is voting for, but I don't want to do that. so my plan is to also have Jodi vote Josh with us, so it's 3-3-1. Either Jared idols Jodi and Josh leaves, or it's a revote and Josh still leaves god I'm just so worried and nervous. If I were to get blindsided, this is the round to do it. but I don't see anyone stepping up to actually pull the trigger, except maybe Jodi. I wanna make it to the end so badly. i've been playing orgs for too damn long, I need a win. please please please let me survive this round
So I'm coming to the realization that at least 2 people on my side have idols and theres still a hidden steal a vote that Elle might have. So I'm on the side with the biggest threats to win this game so it's time to make a move. Jared said that he'll be willing to play his idol to save Jodi so that means that it's time to flush these idols out of the game. The plan is for 2 of us to vote for Colin and the other to vote either Elle or Amy. My original alliance is splitting vote between Jodi and Anastasia with me, Elle and Anastasia voting Jodi and Colin and Amy voting for Anastasia as our contingency plan. However, Jodi warned me that Colin was saying my name to her this morning so he might try to pull some snake shit. But im hopeful that Jared plays the idol for Jodi and somehow Colin doesn't play his so it'll be a tie between him and Anastasia.
So I have immunity and I have been a little inactive but its ok because Jodi has kept me up with whats going on. Jodi tells me that they are splitting the vote on me. Which is good because I am safe lol. Anyways but I talked to Colin and Amy and I wonder if they really do trust me now. I did vote with them twice. So I told them that I was scared that I was getting voted and they said they wouldnt vote me. So sweet. I also talked to Josh and all of them are saying Jodi to vote. But Jodi is getting an idol played on her Im pretty sure so unless one of them suspects that we are lying about Jared winning immunity, one of them is going home this round.
https://youtu.be/ebfzvSaWULY
Dear Colin: We do not want to vote you out. We simply want to flush your idol. I seriously hope you are still here after tonight. You know what? This round has been insane. I'm obviously on the bottom, ready to get voted out. I wanted immunity so bad. But instead of crying, I created a beautiful plan that I hope comes to fruition. Anastasia won immunity. My game move this round is multilayered. First step is to create immunity for 3 people: me, Anastasia, Jared. We told everybody that Jared had won immunity, and that he may or may not idol for me. This is perfect because if they vote for me, they'll have their votes negated, same with splitting them on Anastasia. They'll completely avoid voting for Jared to avoid their vote not being counted. Next step: flush idols. Josh approached me last night and he wanted to work with me and Jared to flush out idols from Elle, Amy, Colin. Originally before he even came to me, I had wanted to do a 2-2 on Amy and Colin and tell him it's between Elle and Amy, but he actually said that he wants to do a 1-1-1 on those 3 to guarantee either idols being flushed or we get our pick of who goes. Josh doesn't know that Anastasia is with us too, but it's sorted. Colin wants to vote out Josh here, but everybody wants to vote out me. He came to me and Jared to vote Josh, and hope that they (Colin, Amy, Josh, Elle, Anastasia) split the vote on me and Anastasia. However, since the split was (Elle, Josh, Anastasia) vote me, and (Colin, Amy) vote Anastasia, the vote split no longer works since Colin is voting for Josh and Amy wants to vote me. Essentially, it's a 4-3 Me to Josh in Colin's eyes, and he wants to get a vote thrown so that it could at least tie 3-3. Me, Jared, Anastasia have decided before even Colin and Josh approached us that we wanted to do a 2-1 on Colin and Amy or something, so the fact that Josh approached us is perfect. How are we countering advantages? 1. Idols Jared has one idol, and there's only 2 idols between Elle, Amy and Colin. By throwing votes on all 3, we either guarantee somebody flushes an idol, or we guarantee somebody gets idoled out 2. Floating advantage from hunt 5 From the wording, it's either an idol nullfier or steal a vote. I'm voting for Elle here just in case it's a steal a vote, so that at least Amy is still open for a revote in case Colin idols. (I'm hedging my bets that Elle has it not Amy) 3. Idol Nullifier In this case, I go if Colin idols, and I will just…not forgive Faffy for putting both a chaos idol and an idol nullifier in a game and those be the two ways I go. Let's just hope this isn't what hunt 5 is. The final plan should yield 2 votes Colin, 2 votes Jodi, 1 vote Josh, 1 vote Elle, 1 vote Amy. In a revote, we save Me > Josh > Elle > Amy > Colin. This vote is for the win. This will be my game winning move. Creating immunity for 3 people, flushing idols, picking who goes. Let's. Freaking Go.
So idr what I said before but Anastasia suggested to Amy that we needed to split votes and wanted to split some on me LOL so now we're putting 3 on her, possibly 4 if Josh comes online in the next 9 minutes✨ Never a smart plan for the latest addition to suggest voting off older allies, but oh well. One day we'll work together well, Anastasia 💖 one day 😂 But anyway! I really hope Colin and Amy make it to FTC, rooting for them🥳
~~~
Edgic:
Power Rankings:
Jodi: Masterful plays and manipulations this round. Is getting her way. Best round of the game for her by far. The most impressive thing by far was giving three people immunity by a little lying.
Josh: The person who ratted out his side first. Made a huge move that might just save him. Taking out Colin here is perfect for him as it would give him a lot to say at FTC. He’s playing 3D chess while everyone else is playing checkers and Jodi is playing 6D chess. I think he will make it very far in this game even if people don’t necessarily want him at FTC.
Jared: Has the potential to do more. Just doing what Jodi tells him to do.
Anastasia: Playing the middle like a smooth criminal. She is letting others do her dirty work for her. She is using her ally in Jodi to have those connections outside her alliance. However, she is in danger of being seen as expendable very soon.
Colin: Is getting blindsided tonight. Power has gone to his head and has made him unable to perceive who is actually with him. Assumes people will just magically work with him. Too concerned with keeping his idol. He has become, in essence, the new Jodi.
Amy: Colin’s lackey. Has no idea what is going on and will probably continue to have no idea.
Elle: Completely out of the loop this round
So Jodi’s plan is currently to do a 2-1-1 between Colin, Amy, and Elle. Jodi, Jared, and Josh will each vote one of them. Then Anastasia will vote Colin. On the other side, Colin plans to vote Josh while Elle is voting Jodi because she’s being kept out of the loop by everyone. And Amy is at Disney World.
2 votes Colin
1 vote Josh
1 vote Elle
1 vote Amy
1 vote Jodi (nullified by Jared’s idol)
1 vote Anastasia (nullified by immunity)
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Nihon e Hitori Dake no Trip Journal (Part 1)
Hello there! First of all, I’d like to thank you for stopping by on this article. I wrote it in order for solo-travelers-wannabe to be acknowledged on how it’s not as difficult to travel alone/independent from travel agencies like, literally on your own hands. I tried my best to share what I have experienced and am willing to receive suggestions for myself as well.
So, enjoy the brief travel prep. journal and see if it can give you useful tips(?) Leave a comment of what you think about it afterwards <3
1. START! How did it got planned out?
I’ve always planned on going abroad in a near time when I have a holiday off-campus activities because you know, the holidays in Indonesian campuses can reach up two to three months time, but only at the end of a semester, then no more. My mom, who recently joined in backpacking tours to Russia and the US suggested me to join in one of it since the fee isn’t that high and the travel itinerary is pretty well-planned by the touring agency, but you can feel the backpacking vibe still. I almost go with them, but I never dig more information about them, so I didn’t. (Oh yeah and if you’re interested in my mom’s backpacking group, you can ask me for further info J)
Since my holiday duration lasts differently with the other members of the family, almost no one can accompany me to go on the trip. Then, my family suggested at the time, ‘why not go by yourself? The tours and itinerary can be planned before the departure and maybe if you would, make your own itinerary!’ Hearing them mentioning the idea, I would loooove to do that if I earned their permission first, and hopefully they offer the permission first. I tell them if it’s going to happen then It’ll only take me a week longand that’s that. I don’t want it to be too short or too long for now since it will be a Solo Trip, I would go again there later hopefully in the near future with more parties. And economically, I got many promos at the time, I get the price cuts through browsing at Traveloka app, it was super helpful in making my trip came true (no, this is not an endorsement, I’m just pure grateful). Thank you fam, I love you so much for the support. Now that it’s real, I have to prepare all that’s needed to survive going there and back.
2. Things to prepare : Itinerary
Before going to any kinds of step in any kind of trip, I do recommend to decide on these basic points :
- what is the purpose of the trip?
- who are you going with, big groups, small groups, couples, or alone? This part can help you decide the numbers of place to be reached within a day.
- what interests you (hobbies, etc.)
- what are the types of activities you want to do in the city/country you’re visiting
- is the activity/ies you wanted to do available and possible to do in the destination place?
- where and when you are going to do those activities
- how many places do you intend to go in one day (normally two to three places is advised so that you can enjoy each place in enough time, but more is not out of the question)
- how many days do you plan to achieve the whole schedule? (so you can decide the spread of the places you want to visit and the activities you would like to do there evenly per day)
As for me, the order of the points can be jumbled and done however you like. Just whichever comes to mind first. And then the rest can be completed by seeing which part still needs completion, since I am after all not that systematic of a person when it comes to completing listed things like these.
Firstly for itineraries, you can make it just as crude as Day/Date, Places that will be visited, Places to stay. For Visa applications, you’ll also need to attach your itinerary – which will be dicussed in the other chapter – so if it is asked to mention where you will visit and stay on a day, do make it as detailed as possible to convince the Embassy officers.
If you want to make it more detailed, you can add on which hour you want to do things, etc. but the crude one is enough for me and you can always add and remove while on the way, improvisation plan should always be there somewhere :)
3. Where to go, what to do? Do tons of quick research!
Like I’ve stated in the chapter before, there are points that you have to think about. After knowing how many people are going and the purpose of the trip (especially if it’s holiday), try asking people that joined in the trip on what they would like to do or where they would like to go. As for solo trips like what I did a while back, I asked my family members and friends for place recommendations and did an inclusion and exclusion according to how I feel about the recommended places and activity. I asked myself through searching destinations and activities on the web. I looked through people’s blogs, videos on Japan, pinterest recommendations(pinterest have some of the best, unique, cutest recommendations so if you woud like to have a taste of new stuffs…), travel and touring agencies websites, anything to give me more insight about the places and activities I’m about to do in Japan.
Since I decided on visiting three cities – Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima – I looked into the aspects of the places that I should know like the cities tourism sites, ongoing or upcoming public cultural festivals, the culture a little, the culinary must-try, the famous souvenirs from the town or prefecture, and many more so that I can explore it wholefully. While and after you’ve done the research, don’t forget to note it down on a separate notebook (a laptop might do as well but a notebook is more preferable for me). Put any kind of information regarding your travel plan in that one notebook so you don’t have to look through too much into it. I’m using a rather pocket-sized notebook so it’s easy to bring anywhere and later can be taken to the journe, I can re-read it too while on the plane. Sadly for me, I forgot to bring this notebook to my journey and so I get kinda lost. This give me a lot of lessons to keep your important guides as close as possible to your reach.
I’m interested in Japanese culture, important cultural and tourism sites that are internationally known, crafts store, cheap but high quality goods (because I’m trying to get maximum quality but with minimum fee so yeah), Japanese language, their good habbit regarding time, and their entertainment genre. So I searched a lot about temples, must-visit districts, foods to try, clothes to wear, etc. At the time, it was summer so there are many fireworks and dance festivals going on throughout the country. One of it caught my attention which was the Sumida River Fireworks Festival. It was held on the 29th of July 2017 near Asakusa, a traditional district in Tokyo which is famous for the big temple gate that has a giant red lantern in the middle of it. The shrine itself, Sensoji is an iconic one in the district. I’ve always been drawned to the Shibuya crossing even though I’ve done it before, so I decided to add that in my itinerary again. Harajuku is a must-visit and since I haven’t visit it, I really should. Roppongi, Ginza and other districts that I haven’t manage to visit, maybe on the next trip with one or two more parties joining in.
For Kyoto and Hiroshima, I asked and searched not too deep on it. I guess later on I should have done a deeper research on every place I would like to visit. There will never be too much research, so the more research, the more you know, and definitely the better.
4. Things to prepare : Accomodation, Transportation and Activity Tickets Booking
Now that you know what to do, where and when to go, how long to do the activities and who you’re going to do it with, it’s time to bring it one step closer to happening! So actually, one of the reasons this trip is possible is because there is this low-priced promo tickets for the airplane, and it’s still cheap enough even for a round trip! I found it on Traveloka (I’m not endorsing it, it just happens to be this app), so I decided to take it before the promo runs out. For the tickets I get the chance to fly with All Nippon Airways, it is a direct flight to Narita Airport, the round trip costs about 4.8 million IDR. (FYI, I try looking it up again on December and I still find the promo! Even though it’s now 2M IDR higher in price, but still an awesome offer!)
I first bought the tickets via the travel app on my phone because when you want to go out of the country, you’ll have to hand over some files and documents to make a Visa, I’ll talk about it after this one. After I got the plane tickets, I make a crude itineraries on where I’d like to go, and how many days for each cities I want to spend. I seek and use many people’s itineraries online for references of my own so thanks again internet.
From then, I search the hotels which are nearby to the places and activities on my itinerary. I first look up for the quality I wanted for the hotel or the place to stay. I really need a place that provide wifi connection everytime so I prioritize that, and I suppose I would recommend this quality to anyone going abroad, just so you can keep in touch with your family and friends through it. I also looked for a place with female area if possible so that I have a bit more privacy and freedom haha. I didn’t really think about having breakfast at the hotel so it didn’t matter too much.
After I decided on the qualities and facilities that I wanted, I sort the place recommendations by their price. I seek the lowest price, but I also checked the hotel’s ratings. If it’s not good then I won’t agree on staying there either. My choice should at least have a 3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars ratings from the previous customers, for the sake of safety and comfort. The price range for hotels really varies, I stayed at three different places. Two of them are capsule hotels in Tokyo, and the other one is a guesthouse in Kyoto. They’re all about 250.000 to 300.000 IDR per night (pretty cheap for a hotel in Japan’s big cities, am I right?). I mean per usual, a hotel room in Japan costs starting from 1 million IDR and above. Capsule hotels are totally an exception, though I only recommend it if you’re on a solo trip, with a sibling(s) or a trip with friends of your age.
Japan , as we know it, use mostly trains to go everywhere. Buses and taxis are also available but they tend to be more expensive. Local trains like subway and metro lines all the way to Shinkansen, the infamous bullet train from one city, even one prefecture to another is possible in only a short amount of time. There is this special pass my older brother told me called the JR Pass which allows non-Japanese to buy a pass where they can use it to ride as many local trains, shinkansen, and some ferry rides in Japan that has the company’s logo (JR stands for Japan Railways) with a very reasonable price. It comes in three choices in general based on how many days do you want to use the pass. It is available for 1, 2 or 3 weeks of stay in Japan. I chose the 1 week pass, and including the shipping fees, it is about 250 USD (about 3.4 million IDR).
When first purchasing it, it seems expensive. But when I looked at the price of a one-way trip shinkansen, it costs almost half of it (1.6 million IDR) and to think that I’ll be using shinkansen probably more than twice to be able to explore the places I’ve decided, I feel at an advantage. It should at least be orderred one week before you are going on the trip to be safe. Just so you can make sure it arrives at your place and you can prepare all sorts of things beforehand. So what you’ll receive after ordering is an envelope with guide maps, shinkansen schedules, and a quick guide about Japan plus a voucher which needs to be exchanged later at the airport or train stations office that has the JR logo. I recommend to order the JR Pass after you’ve got your Visa issued, so it will totally be used. It can be refunded as long as it hasn’t been activated if I wasn’t wrong. But if you lose it, there’s not much you can do for it is your own loss.
Other things I would like to recommend for booking online when traveling to Japan is kimono/yukata and pocket wifi rental. If you’re going to experience a day wearing yukata or kimono to just walk in it or enjoy a seasonal festival, you should totally book one to wear! There’s this place that is recommended by a famous Instagram user from Indonesia, the store is called Kyoto Kimono Rental Wargo. The price is reasonably cheap and the variety of accessories and other facilities including photobook etc. is available. The service is quick and easy, I personally like it. But when it’s festival season, it can be pretty crowded so book with strategy on those dates haha. Japan is indeed technologic, futuristic and all, but getting free wifi is still pretty hard when you’re traveling to natural places. Therefore, I recommend you to book online a pocket wifi, it is to be used for your phone AND you laptop if you’re bringing any. If not, you can just buy a simcard, the price is cheaper when bought/rented online compared to when you’re about to buy or rent one in the airport. Too bad on this trip I didn’t rent myself a pocket wifi nor a simcard and so the only connection I get to contact the people in motherland is through wifis in the hotel I’m staying at and cafes I visit.
Some tourism activities tickets should be booked weeks or even months before you go on the trip. Places like Ghibli Museum, Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, and nowadays themed museums like those two needed to be booked from far before. It is pretty hard to get the ticket because the system is first come first serve and I’m competing with people from all around the globe so yeap. You can ask our acquaintance in Japan to buy it for you though if you want, the chance to get the ticket will be higher.
By the way, my father offered me to use his credit card to ease up the payments so I did use it. But since it is my dad’s I am very very careful not to use up too much and asked his permission everytime I wanted to do a transaction just in case he didn’t allow me at certain times. Thank goodness it went smoothly. I do recommend you to use credit card or transfer methods because cashed amount for this is rather big so it eases the process so much. But if not it is okay too.
5. Want to get in to our country? Get your Visa issued!
Because I am visiting the country Japan, it requires me to make a Visa to get in there. There are many kinds of Visas depending on the purpose and length of the trip that suits your necessity, you can check the Embassy of Japan’s website http://www.id.emb-japan.go.jp/visa.html for complete information on it and which one you should get. Because my stay is a short trip for holiday purpose, I chose the Single Visa for one time trip funded by self. For the process, you have to first collect the documents required to the Embassy of Japan office at your region, and then you’ll have to wait about 5 days for it to be issued, and then you go back to the embassy to take the Visa, pay for it (yes, you pay for the visa if it has been successfully issued so no worries!) and voila! You shall now pass!
As I said before, you can check the Embassy’s website for the requirements to be completely sure but I’m going to copy paste it here so you won’t have to go back and forth to check. So first step in making a Visa by yourself :
a. Prepare the legal documents!
I get the list from the web and it’s in Bahasa so have a look.
Dokumen-dokumen yang perlu dilengkapi dalam mengajukan permohonan visa
1. Paspor. -> Good news for you who have an e-Passport, it’s stated that you won’t have to make a Visa and can just have the e-Passport on its own to travel to Japan!
2. Formulir permohonan visa. [download (PDF)] dan Pas foto terbaru (ukuran 4,5 X 4,5 cm, diambil 6 bulan terakhir dan tanpa latar, bukan hasil editing, dan jelas/tidak buram)
3. Foto kopi KTP (Surat Keterangan Domisili)
4. Fotokopi Kartu Mahasiswa atau Surat Keterangan Belajar (hanya bila masih mahasiswa)
5. Bukti pemesanan tiket (dokumen yang dapat membuktikan tanggal masuk-keluar Jepang)
-> this could be just a booking code if it’s from a travel app, you don’t have to do the payments before your Visa come out. But as if it’s for me, I’ve done the payments beforehand and so I attached the e-ticket instead. And it’s fine too!
6. Jadwal Perjalanan [ download (DOC)] (semua kegiatan sejak masuk hingga keluar Jepang)
-> this is where you pour in your efforts in research and data collecting. Mention the day and date you enter Japan until the day you depart back to your country, mention also the places (could be district, specific tourism sites, etc.) you’re visiting per day, and state where you are staying per day.
7. Dokumen yang membuktikan hubungan keluarga antara pemohon dengan pengundang. -> for solo travelers like me at the time, this is a rather optional document so no need is okay. I think this is essential if you are about to stay for quite a long time with your close family (wife, husband, parents, siblings,etc.)
8. Fotokopi dokumen yang bisa menunjukkan hubungan dengan pemohon, seperti kartu keluarga, akta lahir, dlsb. (Bila pemohon lebih dari satu)
9. Surat undangan. [ download (PDF) ]
10. Dokumen yang berkenaan dengan biaya perjalanan:
a. Bila pihak Pemohon yang bertanggung jawab atas biaya * Fotokopi bukti keuangan, seperti rekening Koran atau buku tabungan 3 bulan terakhir (bila penanggung jawab biaya bukan pemohon - seperti ayah/ibu, maka harus melampirkan dokumen yang dapat membuktikan hubungan dengan penanggung jawab biaya).
b. Bila pihak Pengundang yang bertanggung jawab atas biaya.
*
Surat Jaminan [ download (PDF) ]
*
Dokumen yang berkenaan dengan pengundang seperti tercantum di bawah ini (salah satu saja) - Surat Keterangan Pembayaran Pajak (nouzei shomeisho) yang mencantumkan besar penghasilan. - Surat Pemberitahuan Tahunan (SPT)/(kakutei shinkokusho hikae) - Surat Keterangan Penghasilan (shotoku shomeisho) - Surat Referensi Bank - Fotokopi buku tabungan 3 bulan terakhir - Surat Keterangan Bekerja yang mencantumkan lama bekerja dan besar penghasilan
*
Surat Keterangan Domisili Pengundang (juminhyo). Bila Pengundang adalah WN Asing yang berdomisili di Jepang, maka Surat Keterangan Pencatatan Domisili (Alien's Registration Card/ Certificate).
Perhatian:
*
Dokumen harus disusun sesuai urutan No. 2 - 10 sebelum diserahkan di loket.
*
Bagi yang termasuk dalam kategori berikut, maka Pemohon maupun anggota keluarga (suami/istri dan anak) tidak perlu melampirkan bukti keuangan (tercantum pada nomor 10). (Bila diperlukan, dokumen tambahan akan diminta untuk melengkapi atau membuktikan hal tersebut).
o Pemohon adalah karyawan perusahaan yang terdaftar di Bursa Saham Indonesia.
o Pemohon adalah karyawan BUMN.
o Pemohon adalah karyawan dari perusahaan yang menjalin kerja sama dengan perusahaan di Jepang.
o Pemohon adalah karyawan dari perusahaan joint venture Indonesia - Jepang, atau anak perusahaan Jepang, atau cabang dari perusahaan Jepang.
o Pemohon adalah karyawan dari instansi pemerintah.
o Pemohon adalah budayawan/ seniman yang sudah go-international; atlit yang sudah diakui ; dekan, profesor, asisten profesor dari universitas; pimpinan museum, atau lembaga penelitian pemerintah maupun swasta.
*
Bila aplikan ingin mengajukan permohonan visa untuk kunjungan berkali-kali (Multiple Visa), maka harus melampirkan surat penjelasan alasan keperluan kunjungan berkali-kali ke Jepang atau surat penjelasan dari pihak Pengundang.
*
Untuk visa kunjungan berkali-kali, harap melihat persyaratan visa untuk kunjungan berkali-kali.
Source : Website of Embassy of Japan, Indonesia.
b. Fill in your itinerary
Phew, so that was pretty much all the serious papers you need to collect and hand over later. Now, to the itinerary! There is a formal format for the itinerary given from the embassy’s website (or the Embassy Office if you have the time to visit before, but nah you can just print it yourself) that you have to fill in and hand over along with the important papers. You have to fill in (again) the day/date from the beginning of your arrival in Japan until your date of departure back to your motherland. After you put all the timeline in place, it is time to mention the places you will visit per day. and if you’re visiting several cities, be sure to mention the city as the bigger point, and the places in the city as smaller points and so on. After that, you will need to fill in where you are going to stay per night of the days you visit. It will be better if you mention the name (if it’s a hotel/motel) of the place you’re staying in plus the complete address of it so that you and the embassy officer is sure how you are going to get by in the country later. I’ll show you my itinerary – this one’s an edited version though - it has been adjusted to the trips I’ve been through when I’m there so yeah, have a look for personal reference purposes.
c. Go to the Embassy of Japan’s office in your region
After you get your files all prepared, pack it all inside a clear plastic file holder (or any file holder to just hold everything neatly to be honest lol), make sure it has been put in order according to the web’s policy and head to your region’s Embassy of Japan’s office.
The closest one to me is in Jakarta just next to Plaza Indonesia. You may check the closest one in your region through the visa web as well so go check it out. The office hours are not that long so be sure to arrive on time. There will be a queue inside but the office handles it so nicely and so you won’t have to wait too long to hand over your files. After you get in the embassy’s office, you will have to put an ID card to the security box, and then you went through two security bag check, and then you’re on your way to taking a number and wait for it to be called by the embassy officer. When your number is called, you go to a booth that called your number, hand in the files, and get a slip that proves that you have handed in your requirements to make a Visa. You will not have you passport with you for a whole week so no going out of the country until your Visa is attached to your passport.
d. The art of waiting for Visa
Your visa will be ready in a week so take that precious week time to do some more research and enjoy the wait. Make your trip more meaningful.
e. The reveal : Pass or No Pass?
Good news! It’s actually not a full week of wait, ideally it’s five days and so head back to the embasy office at specific hours mentioned in the web (because the time where you hand over the files and the time you can take your visa is at different schedules so pay close attention!) and go through all that security bag checks and queues. You got your number called, hand over the slip given last week (don’t forget to bring it!) and voilla! YOU ARE GOING TO JAPAN BBY!
6. Visa check! Now onto efficient packing!
Soon after I get my visa issued by the embassy, I got to start packing for the things I should bring there in order to survive and enjoy the trip J First that comes to my mind is the season and weather I’m about to experience there, is it cold, is it hot, is it humid, is it dry, and so on. In my case, I went on a summer, but the weather forecast on the web said it sometimes rains a little. Overall the weather is sunny, cloudy, or drizzling and the temperature is around room temperature or a little bit above so I prefer to bring light clothing and colourful ones because… it’s summer and I want me to look brightin the photos I take there later. I am going for seven days including twelve hours of total flight back and forth, so I bring a jacket with me in case it gets too cold on board. Bring your toiletries such as soap, shampoo, toothbrush and paste, hair brush, deodorant, perfume, and makeup, because you want to be clean and pretty throughout your trip, am I right? I bring travel-sized toiletries and makeup so it’s light and comfortable to bring anywhere.
I wear a hijab daily, so I got to match the ones I bring with the clothes I’ve prepared just so it didn’t disturb anyone’s sight lol. Oh! It’s summer (I’ve said it several time now huh) so don’t forget to bring your cute summer/garden hat and pretty shades, I’m bringing my pink-round shades to protect my eyes from the summer sun. The weather forecast said it’ll rain throughout two or three days out of the seven days of my visit so I’m bringing my umbrella, a portable one. I also bring a spare shoe in case the one I am wearing is soaked in rain, etc. For undies and PJs I bring the comfy, light ones because I’m carrying the whole shebang everywhere and by myself too, no one’s helping me on the trip so, not anything too heavy.
I wish I had a good enough camera to bring with me but sadly I haven’t had any. So the only gadget I bring is my phone. And because it needs power to recharge, I brought along the charging device, and the universal electric plug to adjust to the ones available in Japan because it is different from the ones in Indonesia.
Now that we know what we’re about to take with us, we need to pack them neatly so it’s easy to bring, easy to take out, and easy to tidy up! I first put my things by genre. For example, I put my clothes per outfit from top to toe, inside to outside per day and in order. And then the electronics, I put them in one small bag and later be put in a bigger bag. I put my toiletries in one small bag and my makeup in another pouch or so. I bring some important papers and cards such as my passport, cash, debit and ID card in a long wallet where they all could fit together. As for some extra stuffs (shades, books, notebook, pianica (yes I bring a pianica with me to Japan lol), umbrella, spare shoes, etc.) I put them straight in my backpack. For this trip, I bring two main bags : one big backpack and a small suitcase.
What’s in my backpack?
- Wallet
- Makeup pouch
- Notebook
- Small reading books
- Phone
- Electronics
- Jacket
- Smaller empty backpack
- Shades
- Umbrella
- Snacks
What’s in my suitcase?
- Clothes (packed per outfit per day)
- Toiletries bag
- Spare shoes
- Pianica
That’s pretty much what I bring. So, next in line please?
7. Money, money, money
The time has come when we finally talk about money. SO! When traveling outside the motherland, we will most likely use different currency to buy stuffs (except if you’re from Europe and traveling to other European countries where they use the same currency as your own country) and for that the first thing I do is to count how much money will I need to spend for the activities I will do in Japan, there are : food, hotel fees (paid through credit card in my case, thank goodness), tourism site tickets, transportation fee, souvenir money, and emergency money (it is important to estimate how much emergency money you’ll need, well in case of worst case emergency such as missed flight, etc.).
After you got the math done, get the cash and go to the nearby money changer. Tips here, you exchange your money for food, tourism tickets and transport fees directly into Japanese yen so that they are ready to use once you get there. Then, exchange the emergency money into three currencies ; Japanese yen, US dollar, and your own currency (mine is IDR). Why should be in three currencies? Because you might need extra cash on the way and sometimes, US dollar worth more in the destination country, well most of the time. And if you don’t use it, you can exchange it later for future trips when it is not to Japan. The rupiah is there just so when you arrive back in Indonesia, you can do transactions and not be confused because all you have on you is Japanese yen lol. The ratio between each currencies is up to you, however you need them, but it is recommended to do the dividing-currencies thing.
- to be continued on Part 2, look forward to it! :) -
#solotravel#japantrip#backpacker#budgettrip#budgettravel#traveltips#travelprep#nihontrip#solotrip#holidaytrip#vacation#summer vacation
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Survey #366
“you can’t take me from me”
If you’re a girl, have you ever had the urge shave your hair? No. Do you live by a forest? Not anymore. :( How old are your parents? Late 50s. What do you prefer: Small cars, hybrids, trucks or SUVs? Uh, I guess normal ones? Like the ones with four doors and not that horribly low to the ground. What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read? I've never read a book that was scary to me. Do your parents drink? Dad doesn't anymore, and Mom very rarely does, usually just for special occasions. Does downloading music without paying make you feel guilty? Yes, so idk why I still do it. .-. Do you have any pet fish? Nah. What’s your favorite seafood to eat? I only like shrimp. Does your house have air conditioning? Yes. Name the creepiest horror movie character for you: Ghostface, ever since I was a kid. I was horrified of him, and I still think his design is mega creepy. How many college degrees do you want? I wanted to get at most a Bachelor's (I never saw reason to go higher in the fields I was interested in, except for my brief wildlife biologist aspiration), but now I know I'm not getting any degrees. Do you like animals? I love animals. Have you ever written anything longer than 10 pages? Yes. What do you wear to sleep? Pj pants and a tank top. How many keys do you carry with you? One. Have you ever attended a professional sporting event? Yeah. Sometimes Dad and I would go to hockey games together. I don't really care for sports, hockey included, but it was still something we bonded over since I was normally in the living room on the laptop while he was watching it. Which do you value more, intellect or work ethic? Work ethic. Both are important, but I'd rather have a dedicated, worthy employee versus a lazy one that just happens to have brains. Have you ever been covered in mud? Yes, as a kid. Ever been to a cabin on a mountain? No, but omG I fucking wish. Ever lost your voice? Yes. Do you take your time when making an important decision? I take way too much time because I obsess over doing the right thing. Are you a cautious person? Very. Do you chew gum? Sometimes. What makeup product do you never use? A lot, really. Bronzer is literally never, I haven't touched blush in forever, and the same goes for foundation. Have you ever been offered drugs on the street? No. Have you ever seen a jellyfish? Only at aquariums. Do you ever put bread in your soup? UGH, NO. Bread should NOT be soggy. Do you want some soup? No, I don't even really like soup. Is there anything in the USB key slots in your computer/laptop? Yeah, the sensor thing for my wireless mouse. Did anyone ever draw on your face when you were sleeping? I don't believe so; I'd certainly feel it and wake up. Have you ever done that to someone else? Pretty sure no. Is there any TV show you watch religiously? No. Do you like the window seat or aisle seat on an airplane? WINDOW. I hate the aisle seat, mainly because I get dizzy when I can't see outside for some reason? I really don't know how that works, but when I sit at the window and can see what the plane is doing, I don't get dizzy. I also really want to just stare outside as I listen to my iPod. Has anyone ever really insulted you? Yes. Do you ever make banana sandwiches? I have a peanut butter and banana sandwich rarely. What’s your favorite movie soundtrack? Probably Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Phil went HARD, y'all. Did your parents teach you how to cook/bake when you were growing up? There were rare occasions where I helped cook, but I never really learned. If you could own any three fictional objects from any book/movie/show, what would you choose? (does not have to all be from the same book/movie/show) Ohhh, interesting. I'm going to include games in this, because that's what I'm most informed in. ... And I'm still blanking. OH! Definitely a Dreamvisitor from Wings of Fire, as I think it'd be pretty cool or even useful to see into other's dreams and even communicate. The Obsidian Mirror from the same series would also be pretty cool, but also seems somewhat immoral to me, I guess, to be able to spy on others. I mean it could be useful in some cases, but still. I somehow can't think of a third one, even after expanding my options to games. A lot of game objects are just too specific to their fantasy universe and not helpful in real life. What’s the shortest amount of time you’ve worked somewhere? Not even two hours lmaoooo. Have you ever negotiated a pay raise? No. Have you ever been a victim of identity theft? No. Do you know anyone who’s had their kids taken by Child Protective Services? No. What is your favorite smell/scent? Cinnamon rolls. How long can you run without stopping? I honestly don't think I *could* run without my knees immediately being like "um excuse the fuck out of you" and crumpling. What age do you want to live to? I know this varies from person to person, so I can't say an exact age, but I do. NOT. Want to live to where I'm a liability/require other people to take care of me, like give me a bath and stuff. No. Fuck-ing. Thank you. If you had a time machine, when would you go to? I'd honestly want a glimpse into my future, just to see how I'll be. At the same time though, I feel like knowing would suck if I saw something bad instead of a good life. Like, I'd possibly be suicidal again if it's just crap. I feel like if I was legitimately offered this, I would say no. Have you ever been infatuated with someone and you didn’t even know why? No. I think. Have you ever felt an earthquake? No. Is your more photogenic side your left or right? Well, because of how my hair is positioned, my left side. My hair is parted very far to the left, so the right side of my face is sorta cut diagonally by hair. Do you currently owe money to anyone? No. If you were ever to be on the news, what would you want it to be for? Something heroic, I guess. What’s the fastest you’ve ever driven? Accidentally, probably up to like 80 on the highway. Have you ever donated blood? Have you ever done a blood test? I have to both. Have you been inside of a burning building? What happened? Z O I N K S no. Do you believe in astrology/horoscopes? Nope. Have you ever dined alone at a restaurant? No. Have you been in a car accident? What happened? Yes. Some idiot was carrying wood in the back of his truck, and it wasn't secured whatsoever. He hit a bumpy spot, and some of the wood dropped to the road, and he began to swerve out of control. Nailed the side and bumper of my mom's car. Mom drove into a ditch, but in some manner to avoid us flipping over, which judging from the impact point, cops theorized was "supposed" to happen. Nowadays I am terrified to ride or drive behind trucks carrying anything in the back. Have you ever lived alone? No. Have you ever been stung by a bee? Once, on my leg. Have you ever bought stuff at a thrift store? Yeah, I love thrift shops. What was your very first email address? The one I still use now, so I won't share it. It fits me well, but I still hate sharing it, haha. It's just not very "adult-ish." How often do you take naps? Just about every day. Have you ever won a game of pool? Idr. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life? NOOOOOOOOOOO. Have you been in a long-distance relationship? Yes. Have you swam in the ocean? Yeah, I love it. Have you gone ziplining? No, but it'd be cool! Have you been rock climbing? No, just those mock walls at school field days and stuff. Have you hitchhiked? No. Have you had stitches? Where? My chin and then at the very base of my spine. Have you ridden in a taxi? What about an Uber/Lyft? None of those. Have you ridden on a horse? Not legit, but at childhood festivals where there are some horses that walk in a circle... the poor things. I would LOVE to ride a non-restrained, tame horse. Ugh, I wish I could have a horse in general. Their ability to bond with humans is magical. I'll never actually have one, though. I could nooot do all the care they require, and I don't plan on living somewhere where having a horse is appropriate. Have you taken part in a protest? What for? No, just boycotting. Have you ever signed a petition? Yes. I can't remember all of them. Have you ever been fired from a job? Why? No. Have you ever given someone else a haircut? No. What is the longest your hair has been? Just past the small of my back. Have you ever been stranded because your car broke down? No. Thank god for phones, lol. Have you performed on stage? What did you do? Yes, for school band concerts as well as dance recitals. Have you ever used a tanning bed? What about tanning spray? No. How do you prefer to celebrate your birthday? Just quiet and chill with my family, but still give me alone time, please. Who is the best cook that you know? /shrug Do you believe in Bigfoot? What about the Loch Ness Monster? The Loch Ness Monster I don't, but I find surviving sasquatches very possible. There's just too many reported sightings to be totally ignored. I'm not 100% on them still being around, though. I feel like we would've caught one by now. Do your friends tend to be male or female? Female. If you could change anything about human nature, what would it be? Our proclivity to violence when angered. Have you ever fainted? Yes. What skills would you like to learn? Cooking, how to handle money in various contexts, social skills... There's a lot of things. What animal do you have the most possessions *of*, or featuring? Meerkats, for sure. If you smoke marijuana, what is your preferred or typical method? I don’t. Do you remain friends with anyone you met at your first job? No. Are there any flowers planted outside your house? No. Do you have a favourite outfit that you like to wear for nights out? I don't have "nights out." When you have a soft drink, do you prefer it in a bottle or can? I like cans because the metal helps it stay cold. Who was the last person to embarrass you? What did they do? I don't know. When you’re upset, do you tend to comfort eat or lose your appetite? I am a BAD comfort eater. Who was the last person to send you a message on Facebook? Does/did that person go to the same school as you? My online friend Sammy. No. Has a stranger ever offered to buy you a drink? No. When was the last time you used a public toilet? Ummm I think for my birthday lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Who did you have your first kiss with? Do you remember what colour his/her eyes were? Jason has brown eyes. Are there any themes from TV shows that you like to sing along to? That '70s Show and especially Supernatural.
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How do you like my previous blog about Malihom, the private estate in Penang, Malaysia?
If you haven’t read it yet, here’s the link! Malihom, Penang. However this is not what I’m writing about today. I’m gonna share with you how did I spend my best Summer ever in Lombok!!!!!
Lombok has been one of the destinations that I was longing to visit. It’s where the famous Mount Rinjani located at. Since this was my first time there, our main interest was just to explore the whole Lombok and islands around it without killing our own bodies and souls by doing the 3 days 2 nights hike at Mount Rinjani.
Traveling with whole new camera gears was one of the greatest excitement during this trip. Switching from Olympus OMD EM-5 to Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II with 3 additional lenses was the best feeling ever!!
So I’m gonna split this blog into 2 parts – Lombok (mainland) & Gili Trawangan
Lombok
1. Svarga Resort Lombok (Accommodation)
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Svarga Resort Lombok is located at the west of Lombok where most of the famous restaurants and resorts are. 1 hour & 30 minutes of taxi ride from the Lombok International Airport will cost you roughly IDR 250,000 ~ RM79 (of course have to bargain from IDR 300,000).
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We put no expectation on this resort and turned out to be such an amazing resort at a very affordable price! (RM250++ per night for 2 pax inclusive of breakfast)
Once settled down, we got our car rental with the help from the receptionist. Talking about transportation in Lombok, I would advise you to rent your own car that only cost you IDR 3000,000 (RM95) per day (8 hours) instead of hiring a driver that’ll cost you at least double.
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2. Tanjung Aan (Pristine Beach)
After getting our car, we drove to the south along the west coast to Tanjung Aan, it was around an hour journey from Senggigi beach.
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Guys & girls! You cannot miss this place!!!!! Haha I’m not exaggerating cause Tanjung Aan is such beautiful. The water is blue with different shades, I feel like screaming while writing here hahaha.
Anyways, surprisingly this beach was not too packed with tourist (I guess Lombok is kinda huge that everyone is scattered everywhere). It’s a perfect beach for sunbathing, chilling or like me taking tons of photos and videos.
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When you walk along to the left end of the beach, there’s a small hill with steps where you can climb up and taadahhhh this is the view!! Yes these 2 guys were fishing like they were posing.
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Special credit to this lovely auntie’s beautiful expression and thanks for selling beautiful scarf too ❤
3. Milk Espresso (Cafe & Spa)
Cafe scene is not as common as compared to Bali but we’ve found our favourite one here in Kuta, Lombok.
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Fell in love with the Scandinavian interior with the touch of Summer. Milk espresso serves variety of smoothie bowl and Buddha bowl as well as decent coffee!!!
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Ok another good thing about Milk Espresso, they serve HUGE portion of food!!!!!
4. Senggigi Sunset
Senggigi was where we stayed & it’s located on the West coast, so sunset is the highlight of every evening. We were so lucky to have the perfect weather throughout the whole trip and every sunset was stunning and unique by itself.
Here’s I’m gonna give you a tip on Senggigi’s sunset. When you ask everyone in Lombok, most of them would advise you to watch sunset at the viewing point which is the Malimbu Hill. We followed their advice and drove there and realised that all our sunset view was just staring at the sun setting under the horizon, everything was flat and nothing special compared to any other sunsets I’ve ever seen.
Then we thought of somewhere else. As you drive along the West coast up North, you’ll see a lot of coconut trees by the beach, when I say a lot, it’s not just 10, it’s freaking a lot. So we drove back and found a small gate that leads you to this field of coconut trees.
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Here’s what you’ll get to see. There was zero tourist but only the locals sitting by the beach enjoying the sunset. We literally dropped our jaws and wished this moment freezes forever.
As you walk towards the beach, the sunset is all yours. It’s amazing that the sun was actually setting behind the Mount Agung in Bali.
5. Sembalun (Paddy Field)
On the 3rd day, we extended our car rental and drove to Sembalun (East) which took us about 2 1/2 hours. We departed at 5am and as we drove around the island up North, the sunrise amazed us.
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Paddy field will be with you all the way up North before heading East to Sembalun.
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We couldn’t resist the view and stopped by the roadside and took a few photos at the paddy field. I didn’t Photoshop the flare, it’s real!!!
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Sembalun is where Mount Rinjani is located. However, we did not plan for the hike at Rinjani as it’ll take 3D2N and we would be dead after the hike, so why not explore Lombok first and come back solely for the hike.
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Finding the location you wanted to go by asking the locals will most probably lead you to the wrong way, trust me. They are lovely, but they might not know where you are referring to and point you a direction where they think the places might be. So after a misleading tough hike halfway up Bukit Nanggi, we had a feeling that we’ll not get to see what’s in the photos above. We headed back down and tried our luck in asking another young guy, and thanks to him, this colorful paddy field is at Bukit Selong, where it’s reachable by vehicle!! What an adventure after spending the whole morning looking for this spot. Anyways it was worth it.
6. Sendang Gile & Tiu Kelep (Waterfalls)
These 2 waterfalls are located at the root of Mount Rinjani and it is also part of the track up to this highest mountain in Lombok. Sendang Gile will be the first waterfall you’ll see after a 10 minutes hike from the entrance. (Tips: Locals will try to terrify you by telling the story of people missing in the route to the waterfalls few days ago without hiring any guides, we’ve been told the same so we hired and true enough it was pretty easy without any local guide, tracks are well built but still, it’ll be at your own risk).
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Sendang Gile, the layered waterfall with the water flows through the plants, splashing onto the rocks and rainbow formed due to the refraction of light through the water.
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Another 15-20 minutes hike from Sendang Gile, you’ll arrive at the famous Tiu Kelep waterfall. It’s way larger & taller than the previous one.
Gili Trawangan
1. My Gili Paradise (Accommodation)
After exploring the beauty and nature of Lombok, we spent our last 3 days in Gili Trawangan island. Traveling to Gili T. island was a hilarious one. We’ve been told to only purchase the public boat tickets at the official ticketing office but our horse carriage brought us to one of the small offices. We had no idea that was not the official ticket sellers so we spent IDR 800,000 for 2 pax back and forth Gili T. and Lombok as well as the last trip to airport. This price was nego from IDR 1.5M!!! In fact, one way of public boat ticket only cost you IDR 15,000 Hahaha. So make sure you walk all the way to the Jetty and get your tickets there and ignore everyone around you.
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My Gili Paradise surprised us with a double storey hut and it’s located on the East coast, 5 minutes walk from the public boat jetty.
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Making us of the hammock for photos while enjoying their simple breakfast. Oh! They sent our breakfast right outside our room!
2. Gili T. East
Strolling around the East side of Gili T. is one of the best things to do during the day but beware of the incoming horse carriages and bicycles, you don’t want to get bang by any of them. Besides wandering around the island itself, there are few more islands surrounding Gili T. which you can easily get the tour for it but we didn’t, we were just lazy.
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Look at these photos! Almost every corner is Instagrammable!
3. Kayu Cafe
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If you’re looking for a hipster cafe for coffee and some fancy lunches, try out Kayu Cafe at Gili T. East, They serve western brunch as well as Indonesian local food such as the fried noodle that I had in the picture.
4. Gili T. West
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Basically, Gili Trawangan is a very very small island. Lemme explain how small it is. Our only way of transportation on the island was our legs, and walking from the East to West around any side of the island took us 20-30mins!
I really love this photo cause it makes me look like a real jungle boy hehehe.
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The west is where you’ll see the famous sunset in Gili T., of course it’s the west what am I saying lolll. Anyways, take the south route instead of the north as you’ll get to see cool restaurants and views along the way.
Here’s what to do at the West,
Malibu Beach Club for buy 1 free 1 cocktails and the light bites, they are awwweeesomemeeeeee!!!!
Vila Ombak Hotel Sunset for the best sunset in Lombok!
Pearl Beach Lounge, for a lil fancy romantic dinner.
Sunset view from Malibu Beach Club
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Another breathtaking sunset at Vila Ombak Hotel
Pearl Beach Lounge for a good dinner
I understand that this might be too long for you to read, Drop me a message if you need more information but at the same time hope you enjoy this blog and all the photos!
Have a good read and awesome weekend! ❤
Best Summer in Lombok How do you like my previous blog about Malihom, the private estate in Penang, Malaysia? If you haven't read it yet, here's the link!
#airasia#doyoutravel#indonesia#indonesian#Lifestyle#summer#summerstyle#summertime#travel#travelindonesia#traveling#travelingthroughtheworld#travelogue#visitindonesia
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[Review] Catrice Cosmetics on Full Face Makeup
First of all, welcome to this blog~ And this embarked my first post ever on this blog, which will be about make-up products by Catrice Cosmetics. Now for those who haven’t been familiar with this brand, it is a German brand under Cosnova Beauty which is also a home of other brands such as essence and L.O.V.
This is my first (how many times have I mentioned the ‘first’ word here umm) time trying out this brand as well so why did I decide to do this as my first(dammit) post? Because they’re not pricey (YASSS! bought everything for less than IDR 647k / $49 USD) and they seem okay (yup what a convincing reason). Although this post is made by me, but my sister was doing the favor for the whole makeup and review.
Well, without further ado... Let’s jump onto the makeup!
FACE
~> FOUNDATION ( HD Liquid Coverage Foundation )
claims to give 2nd skin effect with high coverage & texture giving off natural finish with 24 hours lasting power, has a total of 4 different shades
Mine was in shade 010 / light beige and bought it for IDR 108k (~$8) which was quite an okay price for a liquid foundation. My sister and I both have oily-combination skin type so this foundation pretty much does its job by giving off matte finish.
Pros
suitable for oily skin (matte finish)
easy to blend
natural finish
doesn’t feel heavy on the skin
nice packaging (pump is luv)
for super dry skin, no need to layer with finishing powder
long-lasting (but definitely not for 24 hours as they claimed to be)
Cons
doesn’t cover as well as it was claimed
offers narrow range of shades (only 4)
Do we recommend this foundation? If you have oily-combination skin like us and on a low budget, then yes.
***
~> CONCEALER ( Re-Touch Light-Reflecting Concealer )
for radiant eyes and a fresh looking appearance with light & creamy texture as well as light-reflecting pigments
Targeting for eliminating them dark circles and brighten up the under eye, we’d say this also does its job quite well. However, we found it a little difficult to blend as it has a creamy texture.
Ours was in shade 005 / light nude and the price was IDR 63,5k (~$4,8)
Pros
doesn’t feel creasy (causing the fine-lines)
perfect for highlighting the features of the face
travel friendly packaging (stick tube makes it easy to carry everywhere)
Cons
its creamy texture takes more time to blend perfectly
~> POWDER ( Nude Illusion Loose Powder )
transparent, loose powder which gives velvety & matte finish suitable for every skin type and tone
Nothing much to say about this product, it acts as a finishing powder like they’re supposed to. BUT! What we hate about it was they didn’t provide puffs which was a shame... Price IDR 88k (~$6,7)
Pros
does give a matte finish
fits oily & combination skin
Cons
doesn’t come with puff!!!! (wAt is this sorcery)
~> BLUSH ( Multi Matt Blush )
for a unique and fresh look with 4-in-1 matt blush shades with light & soft texture
Apply this with brush for better application. We got ours in 010 / love, rosie! for IDR 63,5k (~$4,8)
Pros
pretty colors
suitable for natural look
travel friendly packaging (small & light)
Cons
low pigmentation
not suitable for dramatic look
~> CONTOUR & HIGHLIGHT ( Prime And Fine Professional Contouring Palette )
professional set for shaping the contours of your face
Umm how do we start about this product..
...We DO NOT recommend this product at all! It doesn’t pick up properly on the brush nor finger, doesn’t transfer onto the face at all. Just.. no. And just in time to find out that this product was already discontinued but still sold in the store.. Yup. Bye IDR 72k (~$5,5)
In case you’re curious, this was in shade 010 / ashy radiance. I’ll still state the pros & cons tho:
Pros
suitable for natural look
travel friendly packaging (small & light)
^ a soft way in saying that they’re not pigmented at all
Cons
extremely low pigmented
the highlighter is not glowing at all
in conclusion, doesn’t worth the money even if it’s not that pricey (we understand why it is discontinued)
***
Done with the face makeup! In conclusion, they’re pretty good and affordable EXCEPT the contouring palette, could have gotten different and better one with the same/lower price (or we don’t mind paying a lil extra for nice stuffs)
And nope, this is not over yet as we still have eyes and lips parts to cover so scroll more for those!
EYES
~> Eyeshadow ( The Precious Copper Collection Eyeshadow Palette )
eyeshadow palette with a powder texture consists of highly pigmented and long-lasting power with a matt contouring shade as well as a highlighting shade
One of my favorite step... applying them eyeshadow. First off pretty warm tone, shimmery copper colors. Honestly this palette’s our style! Really suit the natural look.
Have we mentioned how nice and pigmented this pallete is!
This was in shade 010 / metallux ( IDR 85k / ~$6,5)
Pros
pretty shimmery colors
high pigmentation
quite long-lasting
wide range of bright and dark color options
Cons
cause fallouts while applying with brush
~> EYELINER ( Eyeliner Pen Waterproof )
felt-tip pen with intensive black texture, fast-drying & longlasting
RECOMMENDED! Glides very smoothly, the tip isn’t shaky at all which is so good for such a noob at drawing eyeliner like me, luv luv luv it!!! Plus, it’s freaking waterproof so it doesn’t melt easily. In 010 / black waterproof (IDR 50k / ~$3,8)
Pros
very easy to apply because of the stiff tip & the ideal tip shape
can create any kind of eyeliner shape (the variety of the thickness)
perfect for beginner
waterproof
Cons
Honestly can’t find any flaw in this product, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
~> EYEBROW ( Eye Brow Stylist )
naturally accentuates the brows with powdery texture in creating a simple and accurate application
This one’s in darkest shade which was 040 / don’t let me brown’n (IDR 42 / ~$3,2)
Pros
high pigmentation
easy to apply
good for everyday usage
Cons
the brush is quite uncomfortable to use as it was rough
easily get smudged (when accidentally rubbed it or something)
***
Done with eye makeup! Oh wait, we actually forgot something. Yup, mascara! Well, we didn’t exactly forget to get one.. but we still have a lot in our vanity, which is why we decided not to add more as we’re afraid we won’t be able to finish them all in time or dried them up.
So as y’all probably have predicted which product we recommend the most... Definitely the eyeliner! As for the eyeshadow and eyebrow, they’re still okay to get as well.
Finally to the last step of our makeup... the lips! Let’s get to it~~~
LIPS
( Ombré Two Tone Lipstick )
lipsticks with two colours each for an ombré finish, contains argan oil
If you want to achieve a moisturizing ombre look on your lips, then we’d say this is the product! But if you want something with more lasting power, this is a weak product for you. Has a total of 6 different shades (ours was 010 / rockabily rosewood) which costs IDR 75k / ~$5,7)
Pros
contains argan oil, which is good for moisturizing the lips
pretty colors
soft finish
Cons
doesn’t last for long (not a big deal tho, can always retouch after meals)
Finally we are reaching the end of this post... What I forgot to mention since the beginning was before we bought all the products, we didn’t rely on any single sampling because they didn’t provide samples. So our lesson here is, let’s not be afraid to try something new (pffft)
Hope you guys enjoy this long post and find this useful!
Ask me away here.
Catrice Cosmetics’ website: http://www.catrice.eu
#review#catrice cosmetics#makeup#foundation#concealer#powder#blush#contour#highlight#eyeshadow#eyebrow#eyeliner#lipstick#makeup review#catrice#german makeup#korean makeup#korean beauty#kbeauty#pardon the crowded tag
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I AM WIPING MY ENTIRE BLOG SOMETIME SOON! PLEASE READ!!!
That’s right. I am going to do a full wipe of my blog. All 5 years worth of posts. I need to get a flash drive to save all my important pictures and screenshots of reference posts that I need and copies of text post documents that I want to save for the future.
This is going to take a while. Maybe a couple weeks to a month or two depending on my classload for school and the frequency of all my doctors appointments. So if you want to save or screenshot any of my posts, I SUGGEST YOU DO IT VERY SOON.
I will make an announcement the day before I do the wipe. And I will leave it up for exactly 24 hours beforehand so everyone has a chance to prepare and people don’t freak out.
There is a button in the settings where you can wipe your whole blog. It doesn’t allow you to pick and choose what you want to delete and not delete, though. It just does the whole thing. I have well over 60,000 posts. Maybe several 10k’s more than that. Idr. But I need to go through every single page of my blog and save all the important stuff to a password protected flash drive. And seeing as my blog is literally 5+ years old, that’s going to take a LONG FUCKING TIME.
So I’m guesstimating maybe a month or two before this actually happens but I have made up my mind that I am going to start over entirely. There are traces of my most abusive exes all over my blog and traces of bad, bad, bad, awful times in my life that I want to forget. And with this new beginning, where I have deleted all the evidence of my abusive exes from everything possible other than tumblr (my instagram, twitter, snapchat, my phone folders, my cloud, facebook, etc etc etc...), I need to wipe the last remaining bits of them from my life. And I need to erase the personality that was Ezri who took over for one of my abusive exes as she was a miserable, completely fake, hideous personality. And there are just tons of things on my blog buried way back from years past that I do not want to remember and do not want any trace of.
So I have made up my mind to do the sweep. I did not make this decision lightly since this is 5+ years of my life right here. . .but after deleting all the photos and evidence of my abusive exes from everywhere else, I was so ridiculously refreshed and relieved and I feel like this is the last thing holding me back.
I MAY (keyword: MAY) go through every single page and just erase all the things I want to disappear. But. . .it’s more likely that I am just going to do a full wipe. It’s much easier. But since I will be going through every page anyways, I MIGHT just do that instead. When the time gets closer, I will let you know what I am going to do.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT I DO, MY BLOG WILL LIVE ON FOR AS LONG AS THIS SITE IS ACTIVE. I can assure you of that. And anon will forever be turned on. I have not turned anon off since I first made this blog 5+ years ago and I do not plan to turn it off anytime soon. I quite enjoy the anon feature, even if I do get some trolls trying their hardest to upset me from time to time (which I use as personal entertainment anyways). More often than not, I get very sweet anon messages from people who are just too scared or intimidated to talk to me because of my strong, somewhat overbearing personality and my brutal honesty. So I just want to assure you all that anon will remain on no matter what.
And I also want to assure all of you that my blog will live on and I will keep my queue flowing nonstop like I have for the past 5+ years. I have only had my queue run out twice the entire time I have had this blog. So. . .I am more than dedicated to this site and my followers.
I have made SO MANY friends through this site and it has been a seriously helpful thing for when I was extremely suicidal and giving in to self destructive urges. The tumblr community never fails to come to my aid when I am hurting and I will be forever grateful for that.
I am probably going to TRY to do the latter thing I mentioned where I just go through each page and delete all the things I don’t want to be have on my blog anymore. The only problem with that is that will trigger me to no end and I will have to take a LOT of emotional breaks to collect myself. It could destroy me and I’m not sure I’m ready for it. Which is why wiping my whole blog would be preferable to me.
But for the sake of preserving 5+ years of my life, I am going to try to do that first. If I fail, I will save the important things by skimming through the pages without really looking too closely at the triggering things and then I will wipe it clean.
No, I am not giving up my semi-legendary url. No fucking way. This url has been a part of me for so damn long and it means so damn much to me that there’s no way I’m going to change my url for as long as I live and as long as this site is active.
I will do everything I can to warn you all ahead of time when I am about to do it, though! So no worries. And after I wipe it, I will make a post about it for those who missed my warnings so no one freaks out on me.
But even if I go with the option of going through every page and deleting things I don’t want on my blog anymore, it’s very likely that I will delete something someone may want to keep. So if you have some posts on my blog that you are fond of and can’t bear to part with, I suggest you save them or screenshot them VERY soon. Like, within the next week soon. Because I am starting this long, monotonous, painstaking journey of deleting things either later tonight or tomorrow.
THIS HAS BEEN A PSA! MY BLOG WILL LIVE ON! NO WORRIES. I’m just starting over. . .new life, new priorities, new name, new identity, new outlook on life. . .I need a clean slate to match the fact that I am getting a second chance at life and I am going to take that chance and live it to the fullest. I don’t need reminders of the negative things that have happened in my life. And I don’t need reminders of all the other personalities that have been in control of this blog and this body. I am here to stay unless Riley comes back, which I am totally fine with. So. . .HERE’S TO NEW BEGINNINGS!
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