#but hey. here i am. repeating the same miscommunication mistake

[sylveriasarcana]

.

[minart-was-taken]

Linkverse writing?? I guess??! It’s a tad simple and rough around the edges, but hey, isn’t everything if you look close enough? I’m proud enough of it to share, so that’s a win in my books!

Title: Tree Trekking Characters: Twilight, Sky, Time, and Wild No warnings for this one (Although highly vague twilight princess spoilers?) “Tags” First meetings - the start of bonding - Sky being a good boy - Time is a little bastard - Twilight is tired

Enjoy!

“Those look like rain clouds…” Link signed, dreading the thought.

“Ah- I think you’re right.” Feathers replied the same way.

Link winced, but gathered himself quickly after, making sure his adventure pouch was properly attached to his belt. They didn’t need a member of the group complaining AND also him having a loose adventure pouch.

...He sounded like a dork- Goddesses, he was panicking a little wasn’t he? Rain wasn’t a big problem, but on top of everything else it felt like a slap to the face.

He had been snapped to another world, teamed up with two strangers who were also him, apparently, and now it was going to rain.

The little guy had nothing to say either, but that wasn’t anything new.

Taking leading action, Link gathered himself, found his posture and signed to the Link whose Hyrule this apparently was. “Do you know anywhere we could find shelter?”

The little guy turned to look at him, with an expression that made it seem like he had insulted his entire family. “It’s just rain.”

Link sighed. “We don’t have much on us, a town with an inn and a shop to purchase a bedroll or two seems like a good idea.”

The little guy was quiet, before turning around and walking off. By this point Link knew that was his way of saying “follow me.”

He quickly checked Feathers, who with a slight stumble and a check on his items was on his way to follow as well.

With the small one in the lead, followed by Link and Feathers, the day continued like the past few had.

It had been strange, suddenly ending up here with a bunch of strangers like this. With Feathers it had been easy, the guy seemed to have a good heart. However with the little guy it was a different story. He seemed to speak the minimum possible, and didn’t especially want to stay as a group- Making it a daily battle to convince him to keep helping them navigate this hyrule.

Still, they were managing.

“We should probably try to get you a sword too.”

Feathers seemed taken back by this, before smiling awkwardly: “We’ve not run into anything, though, have we? Besides, you two seem quite used to wielding yours.”

“I don’t trust this situation.” Link confessed. “Something is bound to go wrong.”

Feathers gave him a sympathetic look.

“I’m serious.” He insisted. “The air doesn’t just crack and cause people to teleport through time and space. Something bad is in the air.”

Feathers seemed to want to say something to deny it, but couldn’t. He turned his head forwards again, facing where they were going. “I have other weapons.”

Link still felt unsure, but accepted it for now.

A bit more traveling, now down what seemed to be a dirt path, Link felt the silence beginning to grind on him. He clenched his hands to fists, and released them, repeating this action a few times to calm his nerves. When it wasn’t enough, though, he shook his head and fastened his walking pace.

This way he caught up to the small guide, and signed: “Can you share the route with me? I’d like a better understanding of what to expect.”

The kid looked annoyed again, but after a moment replied: “Kakariko is down this road, to the west until we reach a big rock, and then down the road next to it.”

“Thank you.” He said, breathing with purpose to calm himself, as he fell back behind to walk next to Feathers again.

It had been a long time since he had panicked like this last. It had been at a cell, in a strange body and shackled to the floor. It had been when Midna’s hold on his fur had weakened further as he tried to be faster despite the pain. It had…

Link sighed. He’d survived all of those, he had been hurt, but he survived. He could handle yet another journey to an unknown world. This is fine.

The little guy disappeared in that second.

Link blinked.

The kid had genuinely disappeared- One moment he was there, the next he wasn’t. 

This was not fine, actually.

“Where did he go?!” He signed frantically to Feathers.

“I don’t know!” Feathers responded, equally bewildered. “Did I see that right?! Did he-”

“Did he vanish…?” He signed as well, turning to look at the spot again.

“Maybe-” Feathers, panicking much more clearly than Link was: “Maybe he got sent to another world, like we were.”

“That beats him being dead.”

Feathers was shaken by that addition, but Link ignored it in favour of walking over to where the kid had been and looking around. It was of no use, of course, but he felt powerless and not doing anything felt wrong.

Not again- Not again-

There was a loud crack inside his ears, and the space between him and Feathers looked like it was cracked glass. This strange scene lasted as long as it took it to arrive, and in the next moment: instead of reality looking broken, there was another boy.

This new stranger took a hitched breath, taking a quick step backwards, Having immediately noticed Link. The step however lead him right into Feathers, which caused the stranger to yelp and manifest a blade twice his size from blue light.

Feathers threw his hands in the air, panic filled eyes looking between the armed boy and Link.

Link breathed in and out, as he moved to walk around the newcomer and next to Feathers, with his hands up in the air as well. He hoped that moving from behind the stranger would make him realize he didn’t care for that tactical advantage, and was looking for peace.

The stranger watched, the weapon still in hand, but took no action.

“Are you-” Link signed: “L-I-N-K?”

The stranger’s eyes grew suspicious with each letter, and Link figured he had made a mistake of some sorts.

Quickly trying to bridge the miscommunication, he added: “So are we.”

The stranger shook his head, which wasn’t ideal.

“No?” Link signed. “What do you mean no?”

To that the stranger didn’t seem to have an answer for. Simply shrugging like it was obvious.

“He’s being honest.” Feathers joined in. “We’re both Link, the hero of courage.”

After eyeing the two over like they had lost their minds, the stranger sighed. “I don’t believe you.” He signed. “But I’m also not sure where I am.”

“That’s fair.” Link supposed. “We’re willing to share our information.”

“Spill it, then.”

After explaining their understanding of how they got here, and what they were doing, the stranger sighed and agreed that going to a town would seem smart in his eyes as well.

However he chose to walk behind Feathers and Link, which Link couldn’t blame him for. He had his own fair share of paranoia of the situation, after all.

Besides, he’d know if the kid tried to approach with a blade in hand, he was awfully good at keeping an eye on his surroundings.

Not good enough, though. Despite following the route the first angry kid had given: they somehow got lost anyway. Sure they found a big rock, but there was no path near it that led to anywhere other than more wilderness.

“Did we misunderstand?” Feathers asked him.

Link furrowed his brow, unsure of the answer. He was quite sure they had gone the exact route the kid described.

The newcomer whistled suddenly, causing the two older to turn and look at him.

He seemed annoyed, and signed: “Is this a trap?”

“I mean, if it was we wouldn’t tell you.” Feathers signed back, at which Link elbowed him.

“It’s not a trap. This is neither of our Hyrule, so we don’t know where things are. The person who gave us instructions either forgot something or we failed to follow it right.”

The stranger crossed his arms, and pouted. Suspicious.

Link, wanting to hit his head against the trees until he could disappear from this situation, tried to breathe in and out and figure this situation out before anything worse happened. “We can probably try and find it on our own.”

“Oh, true.” Feathers replied, smiling again.

“Alright.” The newcomer accepted, still tense.

“Great.” Link responded, tired. “What does everyone here know about scouting?”

Feathers looked a bit flustered, and admitted: “I spent most of my life on a single island- In the sky.”

“Ok.” was all Link could muster.

“I’m okay at it.” The newcomer said, looking a bit less confident than before. “I know what signs to keep an eye out for.”

Link nodded at this. Back in the day he could’ve asked Midna to change his form so he could simply smell the strange scent that towns had, but that stopped being an option a long time ago.

He could still manage with human senses. He had done so for the majority of his life.

So after they pooled their knowledge of what to look out for, they began trekking forwards. Although it was more the two actually experienced people describing some basic things to the one from the sky.

After one man-made path diverged into two, the tired air of the group only grew worse.

“So- Which way?” Feathers asked, trying to not cause anymore tension with the question, by smiling gently.

The newcomer lifted the strange slate he had on his belt, and used it to get a better look forward. It wasn’t enough, though: “The foliage is too thick, I can’t see where either of them leads.”

Feathers pouted.

Link, quite frustrated at this point, signed simply: “Just one thing we can do, then.” And proceeded to scan the area for the tallest tree.

Feathers looked in mild curiosity as Link walked up to an alright specimen, and proceeded to climb it with almost no trouble. Branch to branch, and a good grip on the wood while still being mindful of it’s well being.

From high up he could take a far better look around the area, and found his nerves eased as he spotted smoke from further on and down the right path, as well as the gentle breeze that flowed freely up there. He smiled, despite himself, and climbed back down.

Once he landed with a gentle thud, he let Feathers know what he had seen, before turning to look at the newcomer.

He had stayed by the path, unlike Feathers who had gone to wait for him at the trunk of the tree, and was looking at him with what Link would describe as surprise.

“I was raised on a farm.” Link stated, feeling actually a little up for joking, before he started walking down the right path.

The journey went alright, and although the smoke turned out to be from but a small cottage, it meant they weren’t entirely on the wrong track. Someone was able to live here, so it would mean a town could exist nearby as well.

The newcomer, who hadn’t said much, spoke up another few minutes into the walk, as they tried to decide between three paths this time. “I could climb this time?”

Link was a little surprised, but nodded and gave him a supportive smile. “Go for it.” It was nice seeing the hostility gone, and in its place a want to help.

What he saw then, was… Unexpected. The newcomer proceeded to pick a tree at ease, and then climb at a speed Link had never seen before. It was extremely impressive, and somewhat terrifying.

“Woah.” Said feathers.

Link nodded, slow and stunned.

When the kid returned to ground level- With a thud and an expert landing to boot -he explained that with the zoom on his slate he was able to spot a town. He wasn’t sure which path would lead to it, but if the rest were fine with just going to that general direction until they got to it, he’d be able to lead them.

Feathers and Link approved of the plan, and now followed after the newcomer who was walking forth, at times checking the slate.

Feathers began to talk to him about beacons, apparently something on the slate reminded him of his adventure. Link tuned it out due to not really getting it, and breathed in the forest air.

This was all very strange, but it was nice that no-one was being a grump for once.

At sunset they reached the town, and having moved along with the rain cloud, it only caught up to them at the village gates.

Link gave the newcomer a pat on the shoulder, which surprised him. “Good work.” He signed before heading forward to look for an inn.

The rain only caught them when they had a roof above their heads, as they had moved in the same direction as it had been heading.

Sitting in a shared room, there was that strange snap-crack again, and the other kid was back. Strange face markings as clear on the face of annoyance as always.

The newcomer didn’t disappear, so their three person room had just become crowded.

“Oh.” The kid commented, looking at them all, including the newcomer. “You made it.”

“...Were we not supposed to?” Link asked.

“I gave you the wrong directions.”

Link blinked. He was stunned, having trouble processing the situation. Not because it was so unexpected, but because he hadn’t seen it coming despite how obvious it was this kid wouldn’t help them properly.

“Why?!”

“I didn’t want you to find the town.”

“Again, why?”

“I don’t trust you.” The response was instant.

Link sighed, it wasn’t a reason he could exactly fight.

Giving up, he sat down on one of the beds. This was going to be a stressful adventure, wasn’t it? He lent back a bit, looking at the ceiling. He couldn’t deny the truth of that question, but a part of him wasn’t entirely bothered. It had been a while since he’d slept in a room with another living being.

[papers4me]

Hi, thanks for reply me and don't worry about the long answer I really appreciate it. I'm also happy that writing about FB is something good to you, because reading your thoughts, much different than my own opinions, on something I love is so entertaining and enriching, with that in mind, I'm looking forward for your review for chapter 114, one of my personal favorites chapters. As far as I concerned about Shigure, I love him as plot device, hate him as person, so don't worry.

Hi lovely friend!

Thank you for the reading my response & enjoying my posts. Kindly don't shy away from asking me anything or sharing your thoughts<3!

Reading different thoughts is hella fun! you get to enjoy your fave story but from different perspectives or even experience shock at how ppl interpreted things you considered so differently.

I've read & posted abt ch 114 & I love it so much, it ignited my passion abt furuba that was diminishing with my disappointment abt anime-tohru! Now I'm all excited again for the rest! not just tohru! I can't wait for the following:

How much Akito cut-content is there? Will I finally see a content enough to get her out of the basic 3 steps in the anime? step 1: abusive villain, step 2: not listening to to tohru's very long inner monologue cuz it's.. well inner monologue! lol, but still, being touched by the few words tohru said when the sun rose behind her as the rain stopped!. Step: 3, good repenting akito that is fine with being a dolled up woman with makeups & flowery hairdo. All in shorts super quick parts of different eps that when you combine them, barely make one ep & a half. Anime Akito is as quickly explored as tohru. Both female characters were explored in the anime in their most basic shallow surface: the mother/ helping angel vs the villain/new woman. With ch114, which most of it was ironically in the anime but messed up, I got to discover tohru's depth. You see, not much new content was there in ch 114, only few panels here & there but these panels carried all tohru's depth, progressive growth, & most importantly will lead to the same conclusion we saw in the anime but make it believable, relatable & with such a lasting impression. Simply, ch 114 made tohru a real character not one denominational protagonist existing to carry themes. Will the same be done to Akito?

What abt shigure?

You guys alluded that kyo/yuki fight was better in the manga in regards to yuki character? can't wait to read that! Manga yuki is slowly starting to depart from anime yuki & I'm celebrating the glimpses of yuki's refreshing real character~~~

Obviously, kyo didnt forget kyoko/the accident in the manga seeing as ch 90-91 was his own nightmare & expressive visit to Kyoko's past. I cant express how excited I am to see kyo's plot handled by someone who respects the audience's intelligence & doesn't dismiss solid plot that was explored in canon in favor of cheap drama & exaggeration. Seriously, directors can play with the plot & change it as much as they like, I'm okay with that, but don't dare laugh at us, viewers & pretend that certain plotlines didnt happen or was never mentioned!!!! Don't you go D&D on us & use " daneryes/kyo forgot!"..... shame! Kyo's theme of crippling psychological guilt, running away, & repeated mistakes is one my top faves by far & is so well-written even in its most basic form, even with how very little he was explored in the anime & I cant wait to see how much manga kyo will be explored. Doesn't have to be whole chapters, just the tiniest panels or smallest thoughts can make a huge difference as we saw with tohru's ch114.

yeah~ these are 4 things in my mind after ch114. Basically, I'm excited! There were some plot-moments & character explorations that I felt so excited abt while watching furuba anime, Among them/My top two are: (1) se02, ep 9, man~ that was such a good ep!!!!! Both kyo & akito were my top fave characters that day!!!!, but later akito fell as her exploration sucked in the anime, XD. (2) when kyo refused tohru's love in the climax!! I jumped from my seat that day! such brilliant writing choices coupled with deep understanding of the characters' psyche & emotions! Breaking tropes, writing romance as only one sentiment in the characters' heart which is crowded with other stronger sentiments such as fear, trauma, bad habits, miscommunication, guilt & grief. The climax is Takaya-san telling us, hey~ ppl are multilayered creatures. When we make a choice, it's a mixture of lots of things, it's never the magical power of luv!...

What I'm saying is ch114, had brought this excitement back to me! =D

Thank you<3

[kasdeyathebitterwoman]

28. "Marry me?" With Henry?

Alrighty, not sure if this is what you had in mind, dear anon, but this is what my sleep-deprived brain came up with (thank you @fuckoffbard & @speakerforthedead0 for being my sounding board on this one and helping me with ideas!) Prompt list

CW: cursing, confrontation, miscommunication and misquoting

Henry sat in his office chair, twirling a precious piece of jewelry between his thumb and forefinger. He stared at the bright, clear gemstone, feeling an ache in his heart like none other. If he closed his eyes, all he saw was your face. The mascara tears running down your cheeks. The tremble of your lip when he didn’t deny what he had said. Groaning, he let his head fall back onto the headrest. His eyes stared up at the ceiling as he replayed the conversation for the billionth time in his head. 

“Did you say this?” you asked. Henry peered at the article on your phone and frowned. 

“Yes, but this isn’t the whole article,” 

“Well. Glad we sorted that out,” you spat, turning to storm off.

“Y/n, wait,” he had called out, watching in horror as you froze and rounded on him slowly. 

“No, Henry. No, I am done waiting,” you hissed. “I have spent the last four years waiting, but come to find out, I am just ‘a friend’. Not your partner or your significant other. Shit, I’m not even your girlfriend, just a fucking friend!” black, wet tears had begun to fall down your cheeks. 

“Y/n, p-please. Let me explain,” Henry begged, taking a half step forward. The light caught the gloss on your bottom lip as it trembled and he felt his blood run cold. 

“No, Henry,” you said, shaking your head. “It’s too late. I’m done. I’m fucking done,” 

That happened almost a week ago now. Since that evening, you had barely spoken three words to him. In the four years that you had been together, you had never gone this long without speaking to him. Not even when he was in the middle of the woods filming The Witcher. If you’d waited for just a minute, he could have explained that he did refer to you as his best friend. You were the only woman that challenged him and made him feel safe at the same time. He had planned on saying this and more on Friday night. Friday was your official four-year anniversary. Unbeknownst to you, he had a whole evening planned with dinner, dancing, and the ring. 

He gazed down at it, a cold realization washing over him. Because of this fight, because of this miscommunication, you might not want to see him on Friday. You might not want to continue your relationship. Oh god, Henry thought, bile creeping up his throat. What if he proposed and you said no?

A knock on the door startled him and he almost dropped the ring. Quickly, he stuffed it into his pocket, telling the person on the other side to come in. The door swung open to reveal you. The dark circles under your eyes were visible even from this distance and your chapped lips gave away the stress you tried to hide from the rest of the world. 

“Hey,” he called out softly. You grimaced and bobbed your head. 

“Can we talk?” 

“Yes, please,” he said, standing up. You walked into the room, glancing around the small space. He noticed you chewing on your bottom lip a little and his heart leapt into his throat. Standing there waiting was pure agony. It was like he could hear the wheels turning in your head and something in him knew what was coming. Rather than brace for impact, he just plowed forward at full speed. “Marry me?” 

It was clear that you were completely thrown off-guard by his question. You stopped pacing and stared up at him. “What?” you whispered. Quietly, he fished the ring out of his pocket, holding it out between his thumb and his forefinger again. 

“I’ve been holding onto this for the past six months. I planned on giving it to you this Friday, but then you saw that article and everything just fell apart,” he stared at the small thing in his hand. “I had planned on telling you that you are my best friend. That you are the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with, but one stupid misquote and now I’m pretty sure you’re here to tell me that you’re leaving,” his voice cracked and he saw the tears falling to the floor before he felt them. He tried to keep it together, but he simply couldn’t. 

“Why?” you asked after a moment. Henry looked up at you. 

“Why what?” 

“Why do you want to marry me?” 

“Because...because,” Henry searched for all the things he wanted to say. “Because we’re better than this, y/n. We’re bigger than some stupid mistake. I love you and I am in love with you and I know that you love me,” he said firmly. “I am so sorry that some stupid ass comment hurt you, but you are the only woman I want to be with now, tomorrow, forever,” he added, suddenly realizing how out of breath he was. As he sucked in air, you stepped forward, closing the small gap between you. You reached out, took the hand that was holding the ring in yours, and looked up into his eyes. 

“Ask me again,” you said quietly. Henry frowned. 

“What?” 

“Ask me again,” you repeat slower, your finger gently caressing the ring. Slowly, he understands what you meant. 

“Will you marry me?” Henry whispered. 

“Yes,” you replied without any hesitation or concern. “Yes, a million times yes,” In a split second, Henry has you wrapped up in his arms, practically crushing you in his embrace, sobbing into the crook of your neck. Though you try to pull back to kiss him, he won’t let go of you. He almost lost you once. He won’t lose you again.

Thank you so much for the request, darlin! 🖤

[naptoons]

Broken- Erick Colon

Warnings: verbal fights, cursing.

Theme: Angst

Summary: you and Erick thought getting together would be great, you guys liked each other since you were in middle school. But never told each other, you’ve dated other people and now y’all are broken. So broken that the relationship becomes toxic.

A/N: I apologize for all the angst buttttt yah girl ain’t feeling the fluffs at the moment, I’ve been in a very let down mood so i apologize. But enjoy!!!

Proofread? : no.

Being in love with Erick consisted of bricking, kissing and makeup sex. Then back to yelling at each other and making each other mad. Loving each other started to become a chore. The push and pull of wanting to and being scared. You both thought this relationship would save you both. But y’all are far to broken for each other.

“She was all up on you Erick!!, did you not notice or you just dont fucking care?!” You yell at him for the fourth time this week, because he was so nice he couldn’t notice his friend was being too flirty, even though she knew you guys were together and you were standing obviously right there. “Y/n?” He sighs “how many fucking times do I have to tell you shes a friend?!” “ friends?! To be all cuddled up in you like that?!” “I don’t understand why you’re so fucking pissed about it y/n I’m with you for fuck sakes!” Erick huffs walking over to the sofa, you stand on the wall apart from him, fighting the urge to block his view of the tv, you weren’t done with him, cause he doesn’t seem to understand how this friend of his has a crush on him, to make matters worse it’s an ex.

“You’re probably fucking her that’s why you don’t care” you mumble with your arms crossed Erick’s leg bounces up and down trying to calm himself down, he was angry at how big of a scene you made at the party, you had leaped over the arms of Richard and Joel, pulling her hair down to the floor as you got a couple of hits in, to make matters even bigger you threw a drink at her. “Y/n-please I’m done arguing with you” he demands through gritted teeth.

“Well are you? Are you cheating on me?” You ponder, Erick doesn’t answer instead he drinks water from the glass “of course you would go back to ex, she’s everything I’m not Huh?”

“How ment times i Gotta tell your she’s just a friend?!” He yells at you standing up and throwing a glass cup close to you, your body shutters in fear. You’d never thought these arguments would result to you guys putting your hands in each other. The impact of that throw just shattered all over your foot.

“Baby—“ he shutters before two members come in, Richard and Chris looking at Erick, one in anger and one in utter shock

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Richard yells at him, walking towards him Chris grabs your arm softly moving you out the way of the shattered glass. Joel and zabdiel turn around the corner looking at your cut feet, Joel lifts you up bridal style to take care of the glass in your foot.

Joel sits you on the sink grabbing the first aid kit, he sees your somber mood, your eyes look so distraught and scared, Joel swallowed the lump in his throat thinking how he can advert your attention from what just occurred. “Hey you wanna go grab some frosty’s? Or do you want McDonald’s milkshake?”

“If their machine works” you dryly joke

“True,” he laughs a little “so what do you want? Or do you want both?”

“I want spicy nuggets and a frosty, maybe a McDonald’s caramel sundae”

“Orders up” Joel smiles, “Cmon lets go”

Sitting on the grass, you pick at your frosty slowly turning it into a milkshake anyways, Joel notices how you’re spacing out so he rubs your back softly “do you need space?”

“No, cause when I’m alone I don’t know what I might start thinking, or doing”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Joel whispers, as if theirs someone following you guys.

“I’m a mess Joel, a broken mess and I knew this all to well, I knew this before I dated him, my last two relationships were scarring, one was verbally abusive, and the other cheated, I don’t know why I thought Erick would save me, I should’ve never jumped into this relationship—" your voice cracked

“If I knew I wasn’t ready” you barely finished, but Joel caught every vowel and Constant. “I fuck up every relationship I have”

“Hey no, that’s not true, listen those guys they fucked up the relationship to not even consider how you felt, because love shouldn’t be difficult, love is when you’re so terrified of hurting the other person, of they loved you they wouldn’t have dare to break you”

“Is love constantly arguing?”

“It is if you’re arguing about something that could potentially cause you guys to separate, that means both of you are scared, and sometimes it’s a defensive mechanism because you don’t want another relationship to turn out as the last”

“Arguments are nothing but miscommunication gone wrong” Joel hums at the end “and when that happens neither party is listening, it’s just pain talking” drinking the frosty from your cup you nod your head. Yeah, it makes sense now, neither of you guys are communicating because you both are scared of your bruises resurfacing, so instead of flight, you fight instead. It’s just pain on top of pain.

“So if you want, take a break think it over, do you love him? and is it worth the wait for you guys to heal?”

“Are you saying we’re together at the wrong time?”

“No, love has no time, and it surely doesn’t wait either, I’m just saying healing takes a while, but you can still be together and heal too, communication is one form of healing” he bumps your shoulder softly

“Wow, you really do give out great advice”

“If I did, id be with my ex right now, I’m just trying to prevent you from making the same mistake”

“Thanks Joel”

It’s been four weeks since you saw Erick, you were trying to give yourself and him enough breathing room to think about your relationship. And not only that but to discover who you are within yourself. ”now or never right?” You ask yourself standing in front of their house, ringing the doorbell you Yep your foot on the welcome mat. “Aw fuck it I can’t do this” just as your about to turn around the door swings open, and there he was. Even after all these weeks, he still gave your butterflies, and your cheeks rose in color.

“Hey” he starts off softly

“Hey-um can we talk?” You ask fiddling with your bracelet, it was the bracelet he bought you back from touring, with every stop they had you always remembered to buy you a souvenir. Since you couldn’t travel along with him cause of school.

“Yeah of course come in” you walk in the house, following Erick to his room, sitting in the bed he sits across from you giving you enough space so you’re not uncomfortable or scared. He’d never want to see you make that face, specially on his accord.

“So I’ve been thinking, that we’ve been having way to many fights, this break we had from each other was much needed” you look to see ericks head looking down at his hands , his body looked so stiff and somber, he didn’t seem like himself. “But, I know that I still love you and I have so much growth for myself, I have a lot of room to improve, so just know it’s not your fault, nor is it mine, and it’s not our exes fault either, we don’t get to choose how or when we get hurt in this world, but we get to choose how we deal with the pain, and we both chose poorly” you turn your body fully towards him.

Erick looked like he hasn’t been motivated to do anything for these past weeks, you had hoped he’d be taking care of himself like you did, but this hit him in a different way. “Hey Erick, I’m not mad at you, I’m disappointed in you nor am I upset with you, I know you didn’t mean it, it was just fear talking so dont-“

“How you can you forgive someone that almost threw glass at you? How can you love someone that argued with you until they pushed you away? How can you even for a second, still love me after all the pain I’ve gave you?” Erick finally looks at you, his eyes drowning in every negative emotion you can think of. “Y/n you don’t deserve the repeat of opening and closing so much, you deserve to be happy, you deserve someone who is there twenty-four-seven, you deserve someone man enough to actually listen and value what you say, because all I did in that relationship was made you cry alone countless nights, and gave you more problems then I was worth, y/n you really are an angel, and I can’t drag you down for being stuck in the past”

You stood up from the bed still eyes laid on Erick, you stood in front of him removing his hand from his face. He looks up at you shocked and dazed. He was wondering why are you still here? How could you even look at him? “Listen, I’m not going to force you into a relationship if that’s not what you want but listen to me carefully” you pause for his answer

“Okay” he lets out an unsteady answer

“Erick, remember when I told you that even if you were a shattered glass house I would still pick you up and rebuild you?” You ask him

“Yeah” his voice simmer down slowly

“I didn’t make that promise because you were my friend, I made that promise because I know what type of person you are, Erick you’re the most wholehearted, passionate and charming man I’ve ever been with, so why the hell would I ever stop loving a person like that?”

Erick gazes at you again his breath stuck in a tight air bubble, “Erick, yeah you scared me that day, but what made me scared wasn’t the glass, it was that we couldn’t help or understand each other, so I thought I would lose you, I can’t pretend that day didn’t happen, but I’m willing to heal it, to heal us, only if you want too” you kiss his knuckles softly. You missed the way his hands fit into yours, the way he would rub circles on your inner thigh when he was driving. The crinkle in his nose when you pull out the awful dad jokes.

You missed him.

“I’m willing to try too, I love you” Erick stands up hovering over you just by a couple inches “you look beautiful by the way” he caresses your cheek In one hand, while the other holds your waist.

“You idiot, my cheeks and eyes are swollen but I’m beautiful?” You punch him softly

“Always beautiful the hell you mean?” He furrows his eyebrows, “your as beautiful as the moon dancing across the water” you giggle with a slight blush tint from ear to ear, luckily it was dark in his room, next thing you knew Erick pressed his lips on yours, passionately he softly laid your back on the bed and hovered over you.

We had to save ourselves. In order to save our relationship.

[alongwalktoforever]

Misunderstandings & Missteps: Japril

(like something out of a goddamn Shakespeare play) 

13x19 AU: When Arizona mistakenly guesses that Riggs is in love with April, instead of Meredith, things get complicated. Jackson makes a misstep that sends him reeling on what he really wants. Will Japril ever be able to find their way back to each other? 

Chapter 1: Misunderstandings

Arizona Robbins and Nathan Riggs were actually enjoying each other’s company. Nathan liked having a friend, someone to talk about this thing with Meredith. Well, talk about it without actually talking about it. At the moment, they were both celebrating the successful fetal surgery; Maggie was back in action and both the kid and mother lived.

“You saved a family today!” Nathan congratulated her.

“I did,” Arizona agrees happily while putting on some lip gloss.

“Things are looking up for me too. I got a date tonight,” Nathan Riggs felt like skipping through the hallway. God, Meredith had been a tough one to pin, but he felt like this was their moment. They were finally getting somewhere.

“Oh, someone in the hospital?” Arizona ask, excitedly. Gossip was her bread and butter.

“I didn’t say that,” Riggs wracked his brain, trying to remember if could have somehow let it slip.

“Your face did. Who is it?” Arizona pushes. “I’m not going to say. If she wants to, she can. But she doesn’t, so I won’t,” He was a gentleman. Or he was trying to be.

“Hmm… nope,” Arizona was not going down without a fight. “Is it Wilson?”

“Ha. No.” Riggs shakes his head.

“Phew. Good. Then who?” Arizona asks again.

She…” Before he can finish his thought, Arizona interrupts him.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. She doesn’t want people to know. Sooooo Edwards? No. Okay. Bailey? Grey? Kepner?” Rigg’s face reacts involuntarily at the sound of Grey’s name. He turns to hide it, but Arizona catches it or at least what she thinks is it.  “Oh my god! Oh. My. GOD.”

“Shh. Listen, she doesn’t want anyone to know. So you can’t say anything,” He had only been at this hospital a short time but he knew how the gossip mill ran.

“Oh man. Oh Man,” Arizona begins to pace. Riggs didn’t know that she had such a stake in Meredith Grey’s love life. She turns back to him. “Does Jackson know?”

“Uh. No,” Confused, Riggs tries to remember the last time he ever had a conversation with Jackson Avery.

“Wow. Wow. You are right. No one can know about this.” Arizona states, seriously.

“Okay, good. So you won’t say anything?” Nathan began to relax, he may come out of this alive.

“No, of course not.” Arizona collects her things and starts muttering things to herself. “God, me and April are on the outs, but I never thought she’d hide something like this from me.”

“April? Woah, woah, woah. Listen, that’s not…” Suddenly, Riggs understands the miscommunication that was happening at the moment. But Arizona had already left the room, before Riggs comes to his senses to set the record straight.

Wow, he was having such a good day before he walked in here. And now, he made a mess. He thought about running after Arizona and telling her the truth. But, Meredith very much did not want people finding out. And they were finally going on this drinks test-run after months of circling each other. God, they just needed a little time to figure things out. If he tells Arizona right now and Meredith finds out, he may spook her. Time. He needed some time. Yet, having Arizona walking around thinking that he was in love with April Kepner was also not ideal. Riggs really needed to see April before things get out of hand. Luckily, he didn’t have to search far for April. He learned pretty quickly that she was quarantined in an OR with a possible TB outbreak. Well, lucky for him at least. April and a few other hospital personnel were sitting around waiting for the all clear. Apparently, the patient had been closed up more than a half hour ago, but they still weren’t allowed to leave. He knocks on the glass in the scrub room to get her attention. Confused, April walks over.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She asks, speaking loudly through the glass.

“Uh. I had to talk to you. But you look like you have your hands full,” He gestures toward the quarantine sign.

“Yeah, Crosse, the Intern has TB. Like, interns weren’t already annoying before this. What do you need to talk about?” April inquires.

“Uhhh. No, I’ll tell you about it tomorrow,” Somehow discussing his love life while his friend was quarantined seemed a little too self involved, even for him.

“Hey, it’s fine. I got nothing but time right now.” April gestures to the stagnant operating room. She had a point.

“Okay,” He grabs a face mask and enters the OR. He was not about to yell this through a glass divider.  

“What the hell are you doing?” April laughs.

“Come on, you and I both faced worse than little old Tuberculosis.” He jokes.

“Wow, you must really need to talk.” She crosses her arms and waits, expectantly.

“Here is the thing. Tonight, I was talking to Arizona… Actually, let me start from the beginning. Umm..” He was not articulating himself that well right now.

“Nathan. Come on, spit it out,” April ordered. It was always odd when April would switch to army mode. It was never when he expected it.

“So, I am seeing someone. Well… not seeing. Will see. Trying to see,” Riggs stammers.

“That’s what you wanted to talk about?” April does not look impressed, but still pats her friend on the back. “Well, congrats. Who is the lucky lady?”

“That’s the thing. She doesn’t want anyone to know, not until a few things are figured out. Don’t get me wrong. She is great, amazing. Continues to surprise me all the time. But, she is umm skittish. And Arizona kept pushing and pushing for me to tell her who it was. And here is where I need your help...” Nathan takes a breath in preparation to ask for the ridiculous favor, but April interrupts him.  

“OH MY GOD. It’s Amelia. Nathan! That is such a bad idea. How could you do that to Owen? Oh man, people have just stopped hating you from the last Hunt conflict.” April shakes her head and looks disgusted at her friend’s life choices.  

“WHAT! No, it’s not Amelia. Jesus? You think I would do that?” Nathan is continually surprised how low people’s expectations of him at Grey-Sloan.

“Well, you said she’s skittish and doesn’t want anyone to know? I mean, it’s not that big of a leap. Jeez.” April holds up her hands in defense. He is about to move on, but she quickly adds. “So, it’s really not Amelia?”

“No!” He yells, exasperatedly.

“Okay, okay. Then who is it?” April’s interests were now piqued.

“I…” Riggs tries to say it, but no words come.

“Nathan, if you want my help, you gotta fill me in on the whole story,” April says gently.

“It’s Meredith Grey,” He lays it out flat.

“Meredith? Really?” She looks genuinely surprised. Suddenly, she gives him a suspicious look. “Oh! So that is why you took her side on the whole chief thing.”

“Well, technically I was neutral. But yes. Meredith Grey. Nothing has happened. I mean, something happened last spring. But nothing since then. Expect she has finally agreed to go on this date. And I’m scared that if she hears this getting out. She’ll bail. And I really need to see where this can go,” Nathan hadn’t said this outloud to anyone yet. He felt some relief in sharing the secret.

“Why didn’t you just say this to Arizona?” April points out.

“Because it’s Arizona Robbins,” Even pariah Riggs knew that Arizona was a talker.  

“Fair point,” April nods.  

“So I need you to help. See, Arizona kept guessing and guessing. And listing names. Well she said Grey’s name and then she said your name. So...she might have misinterpreted my reaction to thinking that you and I werehavingasecretloveaffair,” He says the last part all in one breath.

“NATHAN!” April exclaims, scandalized.

“And then I sorta let her think that she was right,” Riggs grimaced apologetically.

“Nathan Thomas Riggs!” April eyes grow wide.

“I’ve made a mess. A big ole mess. I know. But I need you to go along with it. For a little bit. Just until Meredith and I go out. Or she decides she wants people to know. But that might be never. So just until I can get a handle on what Meredith really wants,” Nathan pleads.

“You want me to pretend we are having an affair so that you can go on a maybe-date with Meredith Grey,” April repeats back, emphasizing the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Well, just to Arizona. But yes,” Nathan echoes.

“Riggs, come on. If you just tell Arizona not to say anything, I’m sure she wont,” April suggests.

“Just like she didn’t say anything about your pregnancy,” Instantly, Riggs can see the hurt cross April’s face. He remembers how hard those times were for her. He didn’t mean the comparison to sound so harsh. He backtracks. “I didn’t mean.. Obviously, it is not the same situation.”

April is silent for a few seconds, thinking over everything that her friend has said to her. It was hard for April to think about everything that happened last year. She made a lot of mistakes, most of it surrounded not being honest. But when she looks at her friends face, seeing the giddiness and hope that surrounds people when they are just falling for someone. She couldn’t take that away from him, not yet at least. Being in love with someone was the best feeling in the world and sometimes the worst.

“April…” Riggs  begins, ready to admit defeat. He realizes how very high school he is being. This is stupid, he’ll tell Arizona the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” April says surprising him. “But I’m only covering until the date or whatever.”

“Really???” He asks excitedly. She nods and he can’t help but pick her up and swing her around. He puts her down and says sincerely, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

They are both laughing when they hear a knock on the window. Jackson is standing there, looking confused at the two celebrating surgeons. April and Riggs walk up to the window to better hear him.

“Hey, I was just checking to see if they let you out yet,” Jackson states. He had heard about the quarantine earlier in the day and had been down to check on April. She seemed calm about the whole situation so he didn’t worry. However, when he heard that she was still enclosed, he was scared that April was downplaying the seriousness. Yet, when he saw April and Riggs laughing and celebrating, Jackson got a feeling that he was interrupting something else.

“Not yet, Bailey is supposed to let us know soon,” April explains. She looks a little uncomfortable and Riggs isn’t sure why.  

“Okay, you want me to go get an update?” Jackson offers. He looks at Riggs, who is in his regular clothes. “Riggs, were you in the surgery?”

“Uh no. Well, just came to keep ole Keps company. Besides, it was gastro TB, I’m not too worried,” Nathan can see April grimace at his poor lying skills. And Jackson doesn’t look convinced, but April swiftly changes the subject.

“Listen, maybe you just head home with Harriet and I’ll catch you later. Who knows how long the administrative stuff is going to take,” She says matter-of-factly.

“You sure? I don’t mind waiting for a bit,” Jackson replies.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Head home. I’ll be okay.” She smiles at him. Jackson looks like he might argue more, but decides against it. He nods and half-waves as he leaves the scrub room. April lets out a breath of relief.

“Is it really that hard lying to him?” Nathan asks, confused by the tension he felt between the ex-married, current roommates.

“Oh no. That was… That was something else,” April states vaguely.

“Hey, if you got a secret, I’ll keep it. It’s only fair,” Nathan offers.

“No, it’s fine. I just think he… It’s nothing,” April waves her hand indicating for him to move on.  

“Okay, I’m gonna go get the TB screening and I’ll see you later. If you want to talk or need help with an elaborate lie, I am your guy.” He jokes and she smiles appreciatively.

As Riggs leaves, April is begins to wonder if she just made a really big mistake. Arizona really wasn’t that great at keeping secrets. If any of this got out, it could raise some really awkward questions for her and Jackson. They were in such an undefined place right now. It had been more than a month since their trip to Montana. She wasn’t expecting anything when they returned back to Seattle, but that night reminded her what she was missing. She had forgotten what it felt like to be held, to be looked at like that, to be kissed. She missed that feeling. And of course, she wanted it with Jackson. It was such a pretty picture: Jackson and her getting back together, being a family for real. But it was a fantasy. Real life doesn’t just wrap up in a perfect little bow, she knew that better than anybody. So, April just felt stuck. She felt stuck in her job, after having a taste of the promotion. She felt stuck living in a house that wasn’t really hers. And she felt stuck wanting very badly to kiss Jackson again, anytime he was near. They had been in this limbo, not together but too scared to really be apart, for so long. April needed to start moving forward. She needed to move out. But how to tell Jackson? She wasn’t quite sure yet.

[rissaroundtheworld]

The Journey to Colombia: How a One Day Trip Turned into Four, and All of the Rules We Broke Along the Way

It feels like we just arrived in San Blas, but here we are in Cartagena, Colombia. This trip is one of both personal necessity and immigration law evasion: Nate recently invested in some property in Medellin and needed to oversee the final stages of the renovation, and I decided that would be the perfect opportunity to go back home and see my family and friends. Seems like a simple idea, but this is Panama! Land of beautiful beaches and nonsensical rules. The country recently introduced a law stating that foreigners must leave the country every six months, and that when we leave, we must stay out for a month. This is incredibly inconvenient when you're operating a semi-illegal business (1) in said country. But, we decided to make the best of it and get some (actual) sailing and some new adventures under our belt. I'll briefly describe our original plan, and then go into detail on exactly how this all changed, how we're now 4+ days into this journey, and I will even number all of the rules we broke while doing so (see #1 above).

THE ORIGINAL PLAN (OP) We wrapped up our final charter, a really really fun group who indulged my love of Bananagrams and also brought me sliced bread. At this point, this (or ice cream) may be the way into my icy cold heart. We spent a few days regrouping, during which we mostly ate leftovers, didn't wash dishes, and watched a ridiculous amount of my new favorite show, Qi. Our plan was as follows: knock off a few "must-do" items prior to leaving, including laundry, obtaining food (don't mistake this for grocery shopping, that would give you a false impression of the ridiculous lengths we go to to get food here), doing a few things on the internet, and getting our exit paperwork: a small but very important document called a Zarpe. The Zarpe (the only item on this list that absolutely could not be skipped) would be obtained on an island in northern San Blas called Por Venir, and from there we would sail directly across the ocean to Cartagena, Colombia. The trip would be non stop for about 36 hours, and when we arrived we would immediately go out to eat and I wouldn't cook the food and I wouldn't do the dishes and we would walk on solid ground and maybe I would even wear pants. Maybe. Easy, yeah! ... no.

Day 0: Gringos love the internet

While we were regrouping, we were fairly close to Por Venir (the check out point), but we REALLY needed to do some internet work (part of which was looking at the weather to know exactly when to leave), and so we decided to make the half day sail down to Green Island, where we knew we could (usually) get 3G. A quick note on Panamanian internet: first of all, 3G is a real luxury that should not be taken for granted (don't even begin to dream about 4G you goofballs.) Secondly, the cell phone plans here are different than those in the states. You pay per gigabyte by purchasing cards with a certain value associated with them. If you're running low you can sign onto the internet and re-up, but if you run out entirely... you're completely screwed because, guess what, you don't have internet! A stellar business model if I've ever heard of one. We've always felt pretty safe as we have 3 devices on board: two phones and a small wireless device which takes the same sim card. When one runs out, one of the others saves the day. But, fairly quickly into our stay in San Blas, Nate's phone decided to pull a Chris Cornell (too soon?!?) and is no longer with us. And as you may have gleaned by now... phone stores are DEFINITELY not a thing here here. So, down to 2 devices. A few days before our charter guests arrived, our wifi device decided to lock our account. Now our gringo-born thirst for internet was residing entirely in the hands (case?) of my little iPhone 5S. We sailed far away from the checkout point, signed online... and realized my phone was out of data. Zero devices. We both sat in front of our respective electronics repeating back and forth "hey mine's not working, is yours?" "You're taking up too much data, sign off so I can send this email." "Is Instagram really that important right now?" "Raise your phone up the mast, it probably just needs to be higher." Until, finally, we had to accept our fate: an internet-free evening. A box of wine and a kayak trip masked our frustration, and the next day we decided to backtrack entirely and just begin the process of checking out.

Day 1, take 1: Getting a Zarpe in a really hot place I'm not entirely sure how much of our previous experiences were illegal, but we had to rewrite our alibi for when we met with the migration officer, so I have reason to believe we've been a bit naughty. (2) I chose not to inquire too far into this. Luckily, when being asked difficult and important questions by a foreign official in another country, you can play the language barrier card! When he asked how long we've been here, I stared blankly and said "uhhh... no entiendo?" He seemed satisfied with my response. (3) We laid out our passports, all the necessary documents, and requested our Zarpe. My blank stare was promptly returned to me and the officer said that they no longer issued Zarpes. He pointed to a door which had cleared once said "maritime migration (migración marítima)" but had been hastily painted over with a nearly sheer coat of white paint. He explained to us that the migration officials found Por Venir to be too hot... so they left. You read that correctly. An official government organization (in a tropical country close to the equator!) closed their doors due to heat. Oh, Panama. The migration officer laid out our options for us. Option 1: backtrack another 50+ miles to Puerto Lindo, a fairly disgusting place which we had already visited, get our Zarpe, and then head straight across to Colombia from there. Option 2: rather than sail directly across the ocean to Cartagena, we could first sail south to the Panamanian/Colombia border (think Darien Gap! Yay human trafficking!), obtain our Zarpe there (he said he was PRETTY sure we could, but wouldn't commit 100%), and then sail north to Cartagena. Essentially taking the tangent of a triangle rather than the hypotenuse (I've been kind of bored and reading an Applied Physics book). Option 3: Roll the dice and head to Colombia without a Zarpe, and deal with the repercussions when we get there. The migration officer seemed particularly excited about option 3 and kept suggesting we try while grinning and shrugging his shoulders, but for some strangely rational reason we opted for option two. A new place, a new adventure(!!), and a longer but more broken up trip.

Day 1, take 2: An uneventful journey to the middle of nowhere

The second first day of our journey was incredibly unusual. What I mean by that is, nothing went wrong. We woke up on time. We made a healthy breakfast while the sun was rising, and as soon as we had a little light we headed out. We had some wind. When we didn't, the engines cooperated. The weather was beautiful, the journey was long (12 hours) but pretty, and we reached our destination, Los Pinos, just before sunset. We caught a great tuna on the way, and we had some cheese that needed to go soon, so we enjoyed some perfectly seared tuna with a side of disgustingly unhealthy mac and cheese. Balance, right?

Days 2 and 3: To Zarpe or not to Zarpe

Day 2 began with a bang, literally. Our intentions to wake up early were aided by a small and yet unresolved bug issue. The actual event is still unclear, but it resulted in two grown adults flailing around a tiny bedroom, jumping and throwing things and falling into doors. We might have bruises, and in true Nomad form minimal clothes were involved. I truly wish I could have been a fly (or the potential cockroach in question) on a wall for this one. The perp was never found and we quickly realized that going back to bed was not an option, so we pulled up the anchor and headed out around 4 am. Our destination was Puerto Obaldia, where we were prepared to either get our Zarpe or decide how many more immigration laws we were willing to roll the dice on. This leg was only about 6 hours and I spent four of them asleep on the couch, so it felt like we arrived there in the blink of an eye! Now was the tricky part: could we get a Zarpe? The conversation with migration in Por Venir was entirely in Spanish, and though we're both pretty good, there is always a risk of miscommunication. There's also always a risk that we heard correctly, but the migration officer didn't actually know/wasn't telling the truth/just didn't actually care (the last being most likely). Finally, it was Sunday, - would it even be open, or would all of Panama be observing the Sabbath!? We pulled up to the dock and walked around what felt like a seriously hopping town compared to what we've been used to, which means there were actual people and restaurants with chairs and probably menus, and even a store or two! What would we ever do!? But we were there to conduct business, so we walked directly to migration. The office was very clearly closed, so we asked the locals whether it was permanently closed, just closed because it was Sunday, or if the officials were maybe just taking a siesta. They yelled across to a restaurant (walls here are lacking), and we were delighted to hear that they would be opening in just a few hours. Apparently, migration only opens when a plane is arriving, or sometimes whenever they feel like it, but we luckily showed up on a flight-friendly day (where they fit an airport on this tiny island is still an unsolved mystery). We decided to sit down at the restaurant and grab a beer to celebrate possibly being able to continue our arduous journey. At this point, we were sure of one thing: we were not turning back. If they wouldn't issue us a Zarpe, we were going to go for option 3: just head to Colombia and hope we could bribe the officials into letting us in without arresting us (4). We sat down for a beer (which they didn't have), and immediately a Panamanian man sat down next to us. He said "I think I can help you" and slapped a badge down in front of us that said "migración marítima." Would this man give us our Zarpe?! We were skeptical, but it seemed like this might be our guy. Anyone with a badge has to be legit, right? The badge carrying "official" suggested that we let a small child take all of our important, irreplaceable documents to go make copies, which of course we agreed to. She returned and charged us $2 for about 5 pieces of paper, little nina hustler. The "officer" then suggested we follow the reggaeton music which was reverberating throughout the entire island if we wanted a beer (they were NOT observing the Sabbath), so we did. We enjoyed a few Balboas and lost at least a small amount of hearing while watching the clearly intoxicated locals groove/fall all over the place. Growing impatient, we took our beers over to the migration officer and asked if he would just help us now. Surprisingly, he agreed, and opened the migration office for us. We continued to enjoy our beverages while paying for an alarming amount of stamps. The only question the officer had for us (me) was "eres un actriz?" (Are you an actress?) to which I responded "no" and we both moved on. Finally, over a million(ish) stamps later we were handed our paperwork. The next step was to bring some paperwork over to the machine gun-wielding military police, where they would continue to add to our stamp collection and then inspect our boat. Though we had nothing to hide (....5?), we were hoping that we wouldn't have to deal with them pulling apart the boat and leaving us to put it back together. We had another country to get to!

The two officers jumped in the dingy and we drove them to Nomad. Upon arrival, we politely asked them to remove their shoes as we don't wear shoes on the boat. The plainclothes officer was happy to oblige, but the officer in full military regalia said he couldn't take his shoes off. Since he was military we assumed he was just going to come and dirty our floors, but instead he chose to stay in the dingy and simply ignore his work obligations (6). We rewarded him with some tuna (7?). The plainclothes officer boarded the boat, looked at absolutely nothing, then began to pry into our personal lives. Where we were from? Were we married? What were our full names so we could be friends on Facebook? (I am not kidding) Pleased with the acquisition of my WhatsApp number and two new social media contacts, he thanked us, told us to get married, and then left. And thus, our formal exit of Panama was successful. This was now early afternoon, and we had decided to relax and not sail the following day. Our current anchorage in front of Puerto Obaldia was not terribly inviting, and we knew there was a better island right around the corner.... but around the corner was Colombia. And there wasn't a check-in point, so technically, we were illegally crossing the border. Luckily, we both like to live dangerously, so on day 3 we spent 24+ hours unaccounted for in the country of Colombia, exploring the funky little area called Sapzurro (8). We hoped to find internet to check the weather, but this was clearly not an option here. We settled for ice cream and a beer (we've now switched from Balboa to Club Colombia), and enjoyed these luxuries while watching a bunch of Colombian toddlers grooving with moves I can't even dream of having. A miscommunication lead to me being left alone in Sapzurro while Nate had the dingy, which helped me semi accomplish my goal of hitchhiking! I won't give boat hitchhiking the same merit as with a car, but I did put myself at the mercy of a group of Argentinians (hi Pablo!) who kindly brought me back to my own boat just before I began to get nervous. Inspired by our time in town, we listened to the full Shaggy album before going to bed early to prepare for our final and longest leg of the trip.

Day 4: The final countdown

Day four was my day of most trepidation. We expected at least a full 24 hour sail, and due to the lack of internet/basic civilized things in Sapzurro, we weren't entirely sure of the weather. The only overnight sail I had participated in was from Bocas del Toro to Puerto Lindo, and there were a total of 5 people on the boat. We each took two hours shifts overnight, meaning only one shift each, but we were all still miserable by the next morning. Someone left the Hozier album on repeat for 2 straight shifts, and though I think its a great album, "Take Me To Church" now makes me want to throw myself into the depths of the ocean. This time, we only had the two of us to make it through the long night. Luckily, we had a LOT of daylight thanks to our 5 AM alarm (no one will believe me, but I've actually been waking up early nearly everyday! Its a whole new me!) We began our venture up the coast of Colombia, still very much illegal aliens. (9) Living on the edge! Entertainment options on the boat while on passage are fairly limited, so the goal is to fish. We "troll" - I always thought this meant the laborious process of obtaining every ounce of someone's personal information on the internet, but apparently it also means dragging fishing lines behind your boat. Neither of these things have anything to do with actual trolls, which I still find bothersome. About halfway through the day one of the lines started ripping, and for some still unknown reason Nate suggested I reel it in. Let me give you a quick run-down on my fishing experience: Prior to this new boat life, I had fished zero times ever. On our first passage, I was asked to reel in one of the lines to check for weeds. There was a tuna on my line, and I was so inexperienced that I didn't know until it was practically hanging off the edge of my rod. This should teach you that A) I don't know a goddamn thing about fishing, and B) this was now how I expected all fishing to be. As usual... joke’s on me. The fish on this line was a mother-effing marlin! As I began to reel it in it jumped out of the water, and I was pretty sure it was either a whale or an alien spacecraft. Nate estimated it to be 400 lbs or so. Surprisingly, he continued to deem me capable of reeling it in, and I fought this thing with everything I had (which was not impressive whatsoever). When I started really struggling, I was given the job of driving the boat while Nate pulled the fish in... an equally questionable distribution of power. The privileges one receives when there are no better alternatives! We hoped to get the marlin close enough to the boat to get a picture and we came really, really close, but we lost him in the last minute. About 30 minutes later, we rinsed and repeated. Let me just say - my right arm got a serious workout today! 

Finally we nailed ourselves another tuna, so I think its fair to say we'll be devouring sushi in the near future. The rest of the ride was, once again, uneventful. The bat shit amazing seasickness patch that our prior guest Kristin shared with me (THANK YOU KRISTIN) was a complete lifesaver - turns out when you're not curled up in a ball of agony, sailing is actually quite fun! (Sidenote: currently seeking individuals with low co-pays to commit insurance fraud and get me more, any takers!?) The only thing better than traveling to a new place is being able to do it in your home. No need to pack, just bring it all! So I relaxed, did some leisure reading, continued my study of applied physics, made some hemp bracelets, ate a lot of food because there wasn't much else to do, took catnaps for the same reason, and marveled at the beautiful night with a super bright moon. 

We saw dolphins and whales, zero other human beings, took 2-3 hour night shifts which felt like forever... but we made it. We're exhausted, cranky, and sweltering in this heat (we both agreed that we miss the temperatures in San Blas, which are generally in the mid nineties and 70+% humidity - that should say a lot). We have a lot of work to do while we're here, but have built in plenty of time for play - Cartagena is a really fun city with lots to do (and 3G everywhere!!!!) So adios for now my friends, but thanks to being in civilization - talk soon!!