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#but that doesn’t really surprise me. i know a lot of paddlers who would do that shit
moonshynecybin · 4 months
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What’s the craziest bit or multiple pieces of lore you’ve ever learnt about Marc?
so easily him collecting the model vale bikes the first two years he was racing in motogp (mat oxley asked him about it at feb testing in 2015 and marc was still collecting them !!!) i truly think about it all the time it’s so insane to me. collecting merchandise of your friend coworker and sporting idol while you are doing your best to win against him… while being hailed as the next version of him (BY HIM EVEN !). while your relationship is deteriorating… holding that kind of love in your heart even when he throws you to the mercy of the media. even as he denies that you were ever his fan. even AFTER all that he still keeps them in a BOX somewhere along with all the other things he loved when he was young…
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jess-the-vampire · 5 years
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Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 22
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Creeping along the dark hallways during this time at night was really not how they wanted to spend their night, judas was sure his parents were not buying the excuse he had texted them that he wouldn't be attending dinner and to leave a plate of food in his room for him. But he wasn't going to leave the group, he had to know what was really happening as he followed, sky, celeste, and eclipsa down and deep beneath the castle. Sunny floating in a bubble dome alongside them.
"So...", Sky mumbled, "I guess the reason I don't see you so often.....isn't just because of my mom, or me.....is it?". She could feel the pieces connect in her mind one by one, everything somewhat making a lot more sense now, Eclipsa was humming, smiling to herself. "Yes, I'm afraid we didn't spend a ton of time together for....a few other reasons I didn't mention.". Sky clutched onto her wand, it was still in once piece, though still as strange as it had always been.
"Does mom know...?".
"She does....".
"But...".
"It's a long story skyler, best explained once we get there....perhaps...you'd like to speak to me first about....well, your current sister problem?", She came to a boat on an underground river, ushering everyone to hop aboard, and then did, Sunny following behind. Judas didn't know how, but he somehow ended up being the paddler, taking them along for the ride as Eclipsa sat across from the girls.  She looked quite tired in fact, clearly not telling sky about this was somewhat of a big deal to her.
Sky bit her lips, sighing and pressing her knees to her chest.
"How long have you known?".
Eclipsa let out a laugh, "Well, you were never quite good at hiding things, that's something about you that hasn't changed. But well, even as someone whose not to familiar with your friends, there had always been something just a little off about your new lady friends who were circling around you. Your mothers don't seem to have paid them much mind themselves but well, spending some time listening through the walls had made me a little suspicious and then i may or may not have spoken to the tall blonde one at one point...".
"Luna...", Sky mumbled.
"And i also may of touched her cheek with my glove, and sure enough, she's wearing makeup....right on her cheeks....right where her markings would be..."., she was smirking, quite proud of herself, "I also may of went into her mind at one point, quite a troubled one that is....In a way i almost feel bad for her.". Judas looked over to Eclispa, curious as to what she had seen in Luna's mind but Sky asked another question before he could press further.
"And.....you're cool with this?".
"Dear, why would I not be?, how did you think I would react to this?".
"I dunno, be mad, surprised, confused? This isn't exactly a normal thing eclipsa, like, I don't even know what they're doing here or how they got here or...I DUNNO!", she pulled and tugged on her hair, "I just...you KNEW about this, and you never said anything to me? Why? I mean.....I don't understand why you didn't tell me so you could help out or....something...". Sky was frustrated, confused, even maybe a little upset, she couldn't entirely help it, she was full of so much mixed emotions.
"Dear, it's not that i didn't care.....but I thought well...
you
should tell me, if you wanted my help....I did ask you plenty if you wanted to tell me anything after all...", Sky still looked frustrated and she gripped her hat in her hands as eclipsa put a hand on the girl's shoulder . "Sky, dear.....I didn't want to force myself on your situation, you're clearly stressed enough as is....dealing with all these girls, all your lessons, your conflicting feelings towards your mom, sneaking out to see that girl-".
"You know about nora?"., sky awkwardly looked to celeste, who had most indeed NOT known about this, though the girl didn't seem to pay much mind to it.
Eclipsa smiled awkwardly and Sky made a face, "Stop going into our minds, seriously, it's creepy...". Judas snorted as he kept rowing, "How much else do you know, or do we have to find out you know our passwords or something when you hack our phones?". Eclipsa put her hands together and sighed, "I can't say i know everything, but...I know enough to not make it well...TOO creepy. But, If you would like my help, I wouldn't mind seeing what I can do...".
"How much DO you even know about the masked creep?".
"Well, considering according to your mind....they're a magic user.....and can do spells, they don't seem to be a monster, I think...they're a mewman..."., she sighed, looking off to the distance, "So few monsters can learn magic and none can do magic like THAT, they appear to well....have a lot of knowledge over our magic specifically. You said they knew how to block out my spells right? Well, for them to even know how to do that...they had to know how to do those spells to begin with...".
"They had to have read the book...", judas mumbled, still rowing, but much slower.
"Correct.".
"So what? We already knew they were a magic user.....this doesn't help very much....", Sky rested her face on her hands, closing her eyes. "They could be anyone we know, any butterfly, a random mewman for all we know, we just.....we're lost...".
She removed her hat, placing it in her lap and wiping her eyes.
"I wish we could just.....draw them in, capture them.........i mean, they HAVE to have something to do with the girls being here, if they don't then....what if...what if i really DID do something and this is all may fault? I mean, it's possible...isn't it?", she looked into eclipsa's eyes, pleading with her.
And Eclipsa touched her cheek.
"Sky, i'm sure we'll figure this out.....you're a smart girl, we'll get your friends home..."., her comforting words were sorta working, but they weren't enough. Celeste shifted uncomfortably next to the girl, watching Sunny in her bubble prison, "So...I guess you saw the commotion from your tower....huh?". Eclipsa nodded and watched the river, checking it for anything that may seem out of sorta Sky supposed, "You kids aren't very good at hiding yourselves...but then again, mewberty...".
"Well, it's not our fault she portaled in that form....I didn't even know that was POSSIBLE.", Eclipsa's eyes widened, "Wait, your demon friend over there....portalled in
mewberty
form? Well then, she MUST be a special case to be able to do that so early....". Sunny was still fast asleep, but no doubt she would be released soon, and Judas especially was hoping none of this was affecting her development in any way, being stuck in this form was a case he had heard of before.
"You next...".
"Pardon?".
Sky looked up at her, still clearly upset.
"Why did you not tell me about meteora? You and globgor have been raising her in secret? My mom told me she rapidly aged and died out, why did you both lie to me....lie to...well....everyone....". The woman looked sad, though she knew this day would come eventually, "Well, I stood down from being queen of mewni, you know that Sky, I wanted to live out the rest of my days with me and globgor but....well....if everyone knew meteora was alive....Star couldn't be queen....and you wouldn't be princess...".
"That doesn't make any sense!? Why can't meteora.... i dunno, live with you?".
"Sky, meteora attacked the kingdom......you know full well how the kingdom these days reacts to half monsters, we weren't ready to rule and the kingdom wasn't ready for a monster to be their princess of mewni. We thought it best...we lived together as a family, without dealing with a kingdom or anything....I'm....not in the castle as much as you think I am...i'm usually sneaking around for extra food or for anything I need when i'm with meteora...".
"Is she even ok?", now judas was talking, "Did you...shelter her? Because I know people who are sheltered....It....It doesn't do them a lot of good..". Eclipsa shook her head, "No, never, Star was more then generous to allow us to raise her in a monster village, not too far by but far enough for people not to take much note of her. We just wanted to give her a better life, and we hope we did....". Judas stopped rowing, looking down at his feet, was he..crying?
"Does she even....know? About who she is? Does she even know...about...us?".
"She knows of you, as the prince and princess of the underworld and mewni respectably, but we've never planned on telling her....anything else....", Judas still wasn't rowing anymore, "She wasn't herself...when she attacked, she....". He clutched onto his arm and Sky's expression became worried, "She was......you know what they put her through, she could've been great, a good queen, even though everyone was afraid of her...she could've made a difference...".
"Judas...".
He wiped at his eyes again, batting away tears.
"I-I'm sorry.....this isn't my personal business...s-sorry.....", he went back to rowing in silence, though what he said seemed to make everyone on the boat quiet themselves. All the way till they reached the end, Judas getting up and getting off in silence still, Eclipsa allowed the kids to leave before getting off herself, tying up the boat and sunny following along. "Globgor and I have well...we have our own living arrangement down here, the passageway leads to the home we raised meteora in.....but we let her keep the house, so we made a home here.".
Heading into a larger chamber, what looked like a combination between a sewer and a cavern suddenly turned into castle like interior, with eclipsa's usual decorating style. Fancy, dark, but also homey at the same time overall. Judas seemed impressed at least, Eclipsa herself must've asked Star to help set this place up once Eclipsa moved in here. Sky also seemed shocked, but maybe that's because she had always assumed Eclipsa was living in her room, but then again, she never saw her enough to know that for sure.
And at times she saw globgor hanging out in Eclipsa's room, but she supposed she never really questioned where Globgor was most of the time himself.
In hindsight, she probably should've assumed Eclipsa had another home somewhere.
"Anyways, take a seat, i'm going to get globgor and we'll wait out your friend's mewberty and then we can.....talk further on some of this stuff...", She left through a door and the three took seats on some rather lovely look couches in the main room, leaving the three to be lost in thought. There was already a lot to process as is from finding out and no one seemed sure what they should do next. Celeste was especially antsy because boy would LUNA like to know about all this, but she was also kinda pissed with her too.
Should she mention this at all?
"Hey...Celeste....?".
The girl turned to see Sky looking at her, "Thanks for texting us about the whole "Sunny" situation, and well, helping us out or whatever.....It was really nice of you.". For a moment the girl looked....actually touched by the compliment, as though she didn't get them very often, turning her head away and crossing her arms, her feet kicking up onto the coffee-table in front of her. "Yeah yeah, it's fine....no way I was gonna let that....ugh....run around the castle...it's gross...", her attitude returned but Sky could tell this was probably her odd way of saying "Thank you".
Judas was silent, clearly lost in thought about everything but most likely torn up about Meteora. Though, was he really torn up about her, or more torn up about his own situation in comparison to her? Sky wanted to touch his shoulder, maybe provide him some comfort, but he seemed as though he wanted to be alone for a bit to get all his thoughts together. Not that she could blame him, she was clearly just as freaked out and distressed as he was.
She held her wand, so thankful she didn't just smash it because of this whole crazy situation.
God if that happened....
She clutched it harder in her hands, putting it in her pocket for now, but keeping it close.
Eclipsa returned a short bit later, with food and drinks, handing each child a cup of what seemed to be hot cocoa and and a plate of sandwiches was placed in the center of the table for the kids to eat from. They all took them eagerly, clearly hungry from skipping on dinner and needing some energy after the mess they got into earlier. It seemed to at the very least, make judas feel a lot better to have some food in his stomach and something warm to drink.
Before any of the kids could ask about the matter, Globgor himself lifted up eclipsa's hat, making her laugh and surprising the kids as he jumped down and onto the table in front of them, still small. Eclipsa smiled at him, but her smile left soon after as she acknowledged the kids, "You all are probably familiar with Globgor....". The monster king smiled and grew a bit bigger, reaching out to shake judas's hand before the girls, "We've never had guests down here before, I guess eclipsa...told you....didn't she?".
The looks on their faces was enough of a "Yes".
He sighed, "Well, it's still good to have guests, make yourself at home!", then he took note of celeste, blinking at her before looking to eclipsa. "Hey, uh.....who is that one exactly? Is she a friend, another princess i'm not aware of?". Eclipsa whispered into the monster's ears and his surprised took told them Eclipsa herself had yet to explain much about Sky's sister problem, though as soon as he was informed he nodded along as though this was at least...a little bit normal.
Clapping his hands together and smiling, "an alternate universe huh? Well, now that's something interesting...er....what's it like there?". Celeste shot him a look and Eclipsa patted her husband, "Globby, maybe let's not go into the details of alternate universes right now....we uh....well, we have another matter to attend to... She nodded to Sunny, who it seemed Globgor just noticed, "Oh, mewberty huh? Well, hopefully she gets out of it real soon...".
"Globgor, they also are looking for...."Her"....".
"Her ? They can't go out there looking for her, aren't their parents already trying to track her down?".
"Pardon me....uh....her ?", Sky said, eyebrow raising, "You mean like..the masked creep?". The two nodded and exchanged looks, "It's what we've been referring to them as, quite a tricky one they are, magical and clever enough to know so much about the kingdoms, even enough not to be detected. They haven't been around here but I assume whoever they are....aren't interested in exposing themselves unless it's for a good reason...". Celeste was sweating on her seat, thinking about the creature who attacked them, did that creature want her wand now that she thought about it, was it the same creep they were looking for?
Then again, if they wanted their wands, she silently thought to herself, why didn't they try and steal those sooner?
"If they have anything to do with the girls, I don't know what their goal was...", Judas took another sip of his cocoa, sighing into the mug, "What do they have to gain by messing with alternate universes and creating havoc? And why are they stealing stuff? Or well....trying to steal stuff? I just....I don't understand what they could be trying to do.....there's so much weirdness going on but none of it makes any sense...like even Loki is acting odd and Angel and....".
He reached up to tug his dark brown hair, a nervous habit he rarely did unless he was stressed.
"We're going nowhere....we.....", then he paused, looking to Globgor, "Hey.....um...you're....well, you are considered like...the king of monsters. How much do YOU know about Angel's family recently? Angel made claims about his family going into silk making once again?". Globgor's eyes widened, looking to eclipsa who nodded to him, "The prince of the Archmen claims they're making silk again? But that doesn't make sense unless they....someone gave them well, a more close bond to magic....did they...find a magic giser ?".
"We don't know, but my mom most likely didn't do anything...", Sky finished eating and sat back, her arms crossed, "As per usual...". Looks were exchanged and globgor put his hands together, "Seems I should go take a look at that kingdom for myself, been awhile since I've visited.....". He looked rather suspicious himself and judas seemed to take note of this himself, putting his hands up to get his attention, "Hold on, Globgor....what's your history with uh....the Arachfords?".
"Oh them? Well during the war they were one of the species that got the harshest of attacks, they had so few of them left they refused to go into war, wanting to focus on themselves. Seth called them cowards but it's hard to blame them entirely from backing out of a situation that could've resulted in the end of their entire race....". Eclipsa patted the monster king, her tone somber, "Solaria took no mercy on any monsters but...they were obvious targets...probably because so few monsters were able to do magic like they could in the past...".
"Not a very pretty history for them compared to other monsters, regardless though....maybe I should look into this...something's very wrong....or at least, there's something they aren't being honest about...", he shrunk down, landing on the table to grab one of the sandwiches, taking a large bite. "I'll do some digging, and eclipsa can let you know if I find anything out myself....maybe what you kids needed, was some outside forces you could count on...".
Judas's brows furrowed, "I keep trying to talk with my parents, the MHC, attending any meeting I can but....they seem like they're doing no better then us....it's....strange...".
The adults exchanged unamused glances.
And Judas realized why, "Oh uh....sorry, I know you guys are not fond of the MHC, then again.....neither do our parents seem to enjoy them much either...". Honestly it was no wonder they were more kept in check these days then being as in charge as they used to be, "But yeah, we appreciate any help we can get....but uh....you do plan on keeping our secret right? Well, all our secrets for that matter...I don't know how much else eclipsa saw in our minds...".
"Yeah, does this mean you can tell us what's wrong with Luna? She's touchy about her home life....", Celeste smiled to herself, maybe wondering if she could take advantage of knowing info that luna didn't about herself. Eclipsa seemed amused, but shook her head, "Not unless you want me to share yours as well dear, I think your blonde friend has a reason to keep her secrets....though....I can't help but think if she needs anything right now, it's a break.".
"A break? Luna? Does she even know what breaks are?", Sky shot at the queen, "Like, she almost always seems to be thinking about getting things done or bossing everyone around, she can't rest without doing a task first. She probably thinks a "Break" is a waste of her time....". It's honestly the reason luna probably had so many problems, why she never seemed to be happy no matter what, why she was the commanding person everyone knew her to be.
Geez, what were star and jackie like in her world?
"Trust me, she needs a break....", the former queen causally said, "Even if she won't admit it to you or herself...not all of us can function without taking a rest and time to ourselves, trust me.....you should do it." She knew something, they could tell with the smug smile on her face, something she didn't want to speak about right now. Judas nodded, "Thank you for talking to us....but I guess if there's nothing else to say about this we should probably head home soon...".
"So soon?".
"Our parents aren't entirely aware we're here....".
Globgor furrowed his brows, "Understood, seems your friend is finished as well....". He nodded to the bubble, sunny's skin finally returning to normal, her wings vanishing, and her arms returning to two, she was till fast asleep though, trapped inside her bubble. "You kids better be careful out there....take your friend back the way you came but you better not tell anyone about what you know yet, i suppose me and eclipsa can provide help where we need to...".
He stood up, a look of worry in his eyes.
"But beware, you don't know who you can trust out there and you don't want to go trusting the wrong people...".
-
The nice thing was their parents went remarkably easy on them, even during these tense times, if only because they believed they hadn't even left their castles. Though Judas was left with a cold dinner plate on his bed that he was no longer hungry for, and his mind was currently swerving with thoughts as his head hit the pillow. He didn't know where to start to talk to his father and get the information he needed, and knowing about meteora, well that was something.
Even Sky was still slightly mad and equally lost in thought about what she knew and what she needed to do, ask angel to hang out with them, get some details about what in the heck he was talking about and figure out if he was up to anything? How the heck was she supposed to do that and make it sound to that guy as though she weren't up to something? Of course Angel would find it off if Sky of all people asked him to "Hang out", and for the love of god if he mistook it as her trying to ask him out she'd hit something.
Sunny was at a loss for everything she'd been doing the last few hours, and explaining the whole thing itself had been a hassle, though the thing that seemed to bother her least was all the eclipsa stuff. If Anything, she was more freaked out by her enhanced abilities, but that was a question best served another time, when everyone was clearer of mind.
Though the one more troubled, was still Celeste, if only because for one, she was sweating bullets about disclosing this info to luna.
But another, being eclispa having gone into her mind.
How much did she know?
How much had she seen in her head? Did she know she was working with luna? She didn't like her going into her head like that, seeing things she wasn't even interested in letting others see about her, she liked being able to keep things to herself. Going to bed that night left her anxious, as though someone would burst into the room and completely expose her for what she was keeping from everyone. What was she going to say to luna tomorrow? or would Judas be even willing to tell Luna herself?
Would landon ask her?
She turned in her sleep, failing to ease her mind.
Tomorrow would be rough.
-
Tom was already in his office when Judas knocked, his dad would probably refuse to talk about it, he never did before after all. It was such a distasteful memory for his family overall it was almost like a curse word, he just hoped his father wouldn't well....be too upset about him asking about it. But then again, the whole matter seemed to make the poor king miserable too, judas almost felt like at this point he might have to turn away but the door opened and his father stood in front of him.
Tom was wearing causal attire this time, probably wanting to step out of itchy and tight formal wear for once to just work and lounge around, he smiled seeing judas, though there was a hint or worry in his eyes. Mostly since whenever his sons approached him in this manner, it tended to be for well...less then positive reasons. "Judas? It's good to see you, Is something wrong?", the boy took a deep breath and folded his arms, trying to get the words out of his throat.
"Y-yeah.....there is...".
Wow, this was hard, he used to feel so at ease asking his parents for help, even if at times he felt they were being irresponsible or even more occupied with each other, but, how does one go about confronting your parents about how you were born? How was he supposed to get how own father to talk about this matter at all? Maybe his mother would've been easier to confront but they had an easier time standing their ground compared to the king, a more honest and guilty soul.
He walked in himself, past his father who closed the door behind him, "Judas....what happened? You didn't get into another fight with your brother or sky did you?". Judas turned around and shook his head, he was just going to have to spit it out, there was no other way about this, "No. it's not that...I....dad....tell me how I got cursed......". Tom's eyes widened, he looked like he'd just heard a family member was dead, as though he were about to burst into complete tears. "Judas...I-I.....where is this coming from?".
"Why do I need a reason to ask this?", a fair question in his eyes.
Tom retorted rather fast, as if trying to end the conversation quickly, "Judas, you know how I feel on this matter..".
"Dad, please don't use that excuse on me......", the prince was trying to stay strong on this, he had already gone in and he couldn't take it back now, he needed to persist on this matter instead of backing down like a little kid. That's what used to happen at least, being told he was too young to know about anything that serious, almost 18 years of that at least. Tom was still frowning at the boy, he never liked it when he was talked back to, "Judas....please...you have to understand...".
"Dad...no, just....tell me, i'm turning 18, i'm about to inherit a whole kingdom, and.....none of you, not you, not mom, not even my grandparents have ever told me why I ended up like this! You guys always kinda pushed from telling me, because you didn't think i'd understand...but....i'm almost 18 and I...I still don't know....", he didn't mean to get so emotional all of a sudden, starting to cry and almost yell at his father, but it all just kinda came out that way.
"Judas...I-I...can't..talk about it...."., Tom mumbled, "I've told you that for years.....I can't...".
Judas managed to stand his ground however on this.
"But WHY? Why am I not allowed to know what you did to me ? You guys care so much about me, so much about my condition, but you refuse to talk about why I have this condition....like...I won't understand or something...", He swatted at his tears, had he always been this angry about this? He told Sky he wasn't but his actions now seemed to go against it. He felt Tom wrap his arms around him, judas felt like a little kid again, being comforted by his parents from scary creatures or when his arm spooked him at night.
Patting his hair, comforting him.
"Judas...I....I want to tell you...I really do....but....".
"Then tell me....I-I deserve to know....".
"Judas I can't tell you...because...", He kept his hands on the boy's shoulders and pulled away from him, "It's one of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life......". Tom was crying more freely now, "What happened to you....was all my fault and.......". To Judas's surprise, Tom fell on his knees, "You'll hate me if I tell you what happened, and....I could never live with that, knowing you hate me....that I screwed everything up once again....".
"Dad....".
"I hurt my own son.....how am I supposed to live with that......?".
"Dad...I-I won't...I'm not going to hate you...".
Tom was silent, breaking down still, "Judas....listen...I just...I can't....I'm sorry, I know you deserve to know but....I don't think I can, no one else said anything for a reason...because...they're ashamed of my mistakes. I'm ashamed of this judas....". He managed to stand himself up, looking over his son and reaching out to touch his cheek. "You three....and your mom, are some of the greatest things that have happened to me, and I.....I wish I could've done better for you...".
"Dad, I shouldn't have gotten so mad....I...".
There was a moment of silence between them and Judas considered stepping out immediately, he needed the information, but beating up his own father about it wasn't the way he wanted to go about it. The room felt so tense between them, you could cut it with a knife. Tom had stopped crying, but his face still showed he was distressed about finally being confronted on this as Judas had, and judas regretted how he had went about asking his father on this.
"Judas....I....give me some time....ok? To think about this....please?", the boy looked at his father's face, broken and lost and nodded, "Yeah, I'll give you some time to think about it....I'm....I'm sorry If I...I went too far...I just...", Tom seemed to perfectly understand though, sighing, "We'll see each other later ok?". The two exchanged a look to each other and judas slowly made his way out of the silent office, looking back only a slight bit before closing the door behind him.
He leaned against it, finally able to breath again after what just happened.
He really just did that, didn't he?
He may of gotten a little too emotional back there, but then again, so did his own father. Sighing, he put his hands in his pockets and stepped away from the room, hearing nothing but silence inside of it, space, he needed to give him space.
And he needed to take care of something else while he was at it.
-
"Talk to angel...I just....talk to him....", Sky mumbled as she waited for Angel to arrive to the castle for lessons, "Like how hard can it be to just...like....invite him to hang out or something?". Well, apparently, it had to be REALLY hard considering she was still trying to figure out how to do this. Maybe it had to do with the fact she didn't normally ask others to hang out, well, people she wasn't already kinda friends with, or the fact it was angel, but it was probably both.
Never in a million years did she think she'd be asking Angel to "Hang out" with her, and she felt a little grossed out at the thought of it.
He was totally going to take this the wrong way, or honestly he might just say no entirely considering his lack of interest in spending any time with actual friends. Angel was never the type to make friends or have friends in general after all, and Sunny even confirmed this to Sky already. In fact she wished Judas or Sunny was doing this instead, even if she and angel were on...sightly better terms this still didn't really suit her at all to be doing of all people.
She felt silly.
And she tensed as the boy and his father walked up, exchanged some words, and the king left the room and headed out. The two teens exchanging glances at each other, they were less hatred-inducing as they used to be but it was clear the relationship they had was still less then friends. Angel at least seemed more pleasant around Sky these days then he used to be, even if he still didn't seem all that interested in spending any time with her.
"Princess Butterfly...", he said, clearly confused about Sky waiting for him since normally they met with eclipsa. His legs were folded up , his hair tied up as usual, and his four eyes were scoping the scene like a predator eyeing his prey, though, it seemed more in this situation it was because he was on edge something might be wrong more then anything.
"Prince Arachford.....", she still sounded bitter, even though she had no reason to be mad at him right now, though he was still standing there like an idiot. Guess he picked up on the fact that if Sky had been waiting for him, it must mean something important. She put her hands in her pockets, nodding for him to follow her, his four eyes blinking at her, slightly suspicious but he followed anyway. "Princess Butterfly....you should just spit it out If you want to say something to me....", yeah, he caught on alright.
"What makes you think I have anything to say?", she suddenly wanted to slap herself in the face for saying that, because she could feel angel giving her an odd look at her response. "You smell of it, but you also don't normally wait for me to walk to eclipsa's room...so you must want to meet with me.....and for the record, if it's about me being "Up to something " again, you don't need to lecture me every chance you get on the matter, I get it enough at home...".
"Fine.....but no, it's not that....", She balled her hands into fists and stopped in her tracks, making the monster boy do the same thing. It took all her strength to turn around and look at him straight in all of his eyes, and blurt out what she needed to say. "DO YOU WANT TO HANG OUT WITH ME AND JUDAS!!?", yeah, she definitely more blurted those words out then actually asking him like a normal person would do with these sorts of things.
"Excuse me?", angel gaped at her, as though she said something rather offensive to him.
Guess she'd have to spell it out for him.
She gritted her teeth.
"Do you, want to...hang out.....with me and judas?!", she was quieter this time, but she also felt her attitude was still showing. However, Angel's face didn't change much in expression, still rather annoyed and bothered by her question. "Wait, You want to "hang out" with me? What? Why would you ever want to do something like that with me ?", then a hand touched his chest, "And why would you think I have much interest in hanging out with either of you? I'm....not known to be the "Friend" type.".
Yep, that was exactly what she expected as much.
"Look it's.....you.....we just think maybe, maybe we should.... get along ?", wow she wanted to slap herself in the face after wording it like that. Judas tried to pull something similar with Nora and even he ended up regretting it quickly after.
No wonder they were friends.
He eyed away from her for a split second before giving her another odd look, "Princess, let's make something clear here....I want my people and my family and all the monsters to get the proper treatment they deserved from the Butterflys, and you stand in the way of that for me.....friends get in the way of this kinda stuff. You clearly don't actually like me and I don't have much interest myself in this when I have more important things to focus on...".
Wow, this was failing faster and faster by the second, and there was no one to help her recover either.
She needed a hook, something he couldn't use as an excuse, she needed to dig deeper.
"Look, I get it, you want to focus on your stuff cause you want to help and everything....but...what about yourself? Like, don't you ever.... want to do something else, something....that makes you feel good?", angel's eyes were slit and sky explained, "Well, i mean, i'm not saying it doesn't feel good to help out your people or your mom, and that kinda stuff, it's just....I mean, if you manage to do the thing you want to do.....what are you even gonna do afterwards?".
His expression shifted, and it was written on his face that the boy hadn't even considered that.
It was a reaction, she needed to push it.
"Well I'll just....be a king I suppose, why does it matter to you?".
"I dunno, why doesn't it matter to you ?", she shot back at him, "I mean like, you barely prepared for it....aren't you ever worried your kingdom will fall again? Or like....being friends with the other kingdoms...or like....like finding a queen or something since you don't even like dating? Has just.....none of this ever crossed your mind? What if you succeeded, but then you ended up screwing it up? Then what would you do? I mean, butterfly magic can't fix everything...".
Wow, she was going at him more then she should've been, but angel seemed to have little to say against it.
"This isn't your concern princess, i'll be king....and...", he suddenly grew quiet, not sure how to finish his sentence.
"And-? Like......dude, you have nothing, you just would sit on the throne all day and work? Like don't you WANT anything else?", she should honestly have stopped talking, she was more insulting him then anything right now and her intentions were supposed to have them get along, not bicker. And yet, Angel seemed to actually be thinking about her words, pausing for a moment, however he then turned his head away and started walking, "We're going to be late...".
Sky huffed, so difficult, so stubborn.
The prince she'd known for years.
He beat her there of course, perhaps assuming the further away he got the less likely she were to keep bothering him on this. Eclipsa even seem unprepared for him to come in suddenly, plopping himself on a seat and avoiding sky's gaze, Eclipsa immediately looked to sky, giving her the best supportive smile she could. She could already tell Sky said something stupid and pissed the boy off and Sky was just praying Eclipsa would send her a life line and help her out here.
And sure enough, the woman handed them both teacups and took her normal seat, knowing her secrets made going to class a lot stranger for Sky. And Eclipsa knowing Sky's secrets only added to the whole thing, she wondered if she was reading her mind again. In fact, she wondered if she had ever read angel's mind for that matter, wondered what he normally thought about. Regardless, the entire situation was a lot stranger then it had been a week ago.
"Why Angel, you look dashing today? How are you feeling?", she took a sip of her tea and the boy managed to turn his head to her, sighing and speaking minimally, "Fantastic...". He of course, sounded less then "Fantastic", but no one questioned him on it, Sky sent Eclipsa a pleading look with her eyes again and Eclipsa seemed to get the hint. She put her teacup down, "Well, I think today's lesson should be something special for you two, specifically.".
Angel didn't seem amused, looking over to sky as if to wonder if she had anything to do with this in regards to what she said earlier.
Sky didn't even try to deny it either.
The prince looked to eclipsa, "I'm not amused queen Eclipsa....for the record..". He even looked a little anxious, probably because he didn't entirely trust the woman, it seemed when she had other plans outside of the room they were usually bad ones and he probably had no interest playing "king of mewni" again. Though judging by the woman's tone it seemed whatever she was planning was much more interesting to her then a game of pretend.
"We're going....", Eclipsa leaned on the table in front of her, a mischievous smile on her face, looking between both awkward teens.
"To have you both fight.....".
-
Eclipsa wasn't lying, both teens found themselves outside, in the gardens, on opposite ends of the area, leaving Sky to question what Eclipsa thought she was doing. How was fighting each other supposed to help her situation at all? Sky and Angel have been fighting for forever and it never helped them bond before, what about this was supposed to make the whole thing any different? Was Eclipsa planning something out of this entire situation?
God Sky hoped so.
Angel seemed just as puzzled about this situation as Sky was, he didn't even seem to want to fight, as he usually only fought in self defense most of the time anyway.  He looked so clueless, not to mention between the two of them sky was clearly on better footing with the spells she could do. He looked over to eclipsa, asking with his eyes what in the heck she was doing, she only smiled though motioning for him to focus on the girl in the monster hat on the other side of the garden.
"This is going to help you both with well...self defense, something every royal needs if they're to take the throne, since you two seem to be quite familiar with taking each other down, i'm sure this is familiar territory to both of you.", the teens looked to each other awkwardly, "Don't worry, i'm not asking you to ACTUALLY end up hurt each other, hopefully, but I want to see you both stand your ground. Enough books, let's see you both in action together..".
"I don't....I don't fight people, not like this.....", the boy mumbled under his breath, his hands were at his sides and he didn't seem entirely comfortable with this situation, guess despite being a bit of a stubborn jerk he was still a gentleman to a degree. He continued to argue against eclipsa though, "I can't fight her, she's a much more skilled fighter then I am, besides, I have no intention of attacking someone who isn't attacking me first....this is pointless..".
A much more skilled fighter?
Did angel just compliment her?
She blinked at the boy and looked him over, "I mean, for as long as i've known him, he's never fought me unless I kinda had to kick him out, he's being honest. Well, he's always been kinda brutally honest for as long as I've known him." Eclipsa then smiled and looked to Sky, "then no magic, from either of you, you should at least be prepared in case you don't have your magic, Sky....hand me your wand.". Sky followed her orders, but didn't seem to still be on the same page, if only because she wasn't much of a fighter outside of magic.
"So what, we just wrestle each other? How is that any better? You heard the guy, he won't fight me?".
But then the woman laughed, and the teens looked puzzled.
"Oh you two I never said you two were actually fighting each other ....."., she seemed so pleased with herself as both of their faces dropped, "But you...". She held up her hand, "I said i wanted you to stand your ground, and i didn't want either of you to end up hurting each other, but i never said you both would beat each other up, some caretaker i would be if i got caught getting you both seriously injured by beating up each other. No, I was actually wanting you to fight.....well....THESE!".
Suddenly, between both of them, popped in a few magical monsters, and sky instantly regretting giving up the wand.
Angel seemed more mad.
"WHAT? You want us to fight these creatures without magic!".
"Every ruler needs to be prepared to live without magic if needed, if you both were in a situation that caused you to lose your powers you need to use other ways of getting through said situation. So, go on, let's see you both fight together..."., Sky was already cursing eclipsa in her head as she jumped out of the way, the creatures were clearly slow, to make things easier on them, but she was still in potential danger. Though she felt herself be yanked away by angel, who was on his spider legs in order to get out of the way as much as possible.
"HEY-!", she squealed, the wind being slightly knocked out of her as the boy moved her out of the way and she landed back on the ground, "Don't do that!". To which angel responded with a face, " Do what? Save you? What were you going to do with only your fists!?". He had a point, at the very least, angel had venom, and his legs, and a good sense of smell, Sky had none of those things since mewmans relied on magic so heavily it seemed. She was suddenly more vulnerable.
Her focus was redirected to the creatures coming back for then and without thinking she made a leap and jumped onto the prince, for a moment weighing him down before she got on his back, "C'mon c'mon.....". Angel was unaware what she was trying to do until he heard...buzzing.  And that's when he noticed the two of them were starting to rise off the ground, only slightly, Sky was attempting to fly with her little wings. But it wasn't going to be enough, the creatures were too fast and angel was too heavy.
Angel, sensing this fast , immediately started moving, crawling up the walls with sky clinging onto him. Oh yeah, he COULD do that, couldn't he? He made his way up the tower and looked over top sky as the creatures went after him, "You...have that taser thing? Please tell me you do?". Sky suddenly felt a purge in her stomach, "I-I don't think so....I think i left it...". She could tell angel was sighing in frustration as they took a break on a tower and looked below them, eclipsa still smiling.
She was enjoying this too much.
"Great, now what?".
"Your venom...", She said without thinking, making the boy turn around.
"What?".
"Angel, bite them......make em immobile.".
"Princess Butterfly, I can't just...i'm not going down there like this, and besides....I can't just bite one after another, I don't have THAT much venom...". He wasn't wrong, making Sky rethink the situation, "Ok, then we ram them, you bite one, and we take them down...while they're down..., i mean, the two of us crashing into them should really make some kind of impact, right?". It was the best she could think of on the fly but there was only so much she could do without her wand.
He seemed to be thinking about it, though going back down there seemed to make him feel anxious, Sky bit her lips and before she even really considered it full she kicked them both off the tower, her wings fluttering as fast as possible, making them glide their way down rather then fall. "GET READY!", Angel was panicking but tried to remain calm as they crashed into the monsters, their forces together sending them back and making them fall on their backs.
Sky fell off of angel, but she seemed fine, motioning for angel to bite, this being their chance. He went for it, sinking his fangs into one of the creatures, making it go limp, luckily these were just spells, not being that would suffer like most who encountered creatures like him, he panted, as he watched another creature go for sky, who she kicked at, knocking backwards. She wasn't anything like Luna but she could at least somewhat wrestle  these creatures away from her, making the one retreat.
However then another came up behind her and grabbed her arm, making her momentarily panic as it tackled her down, catching her off guard. She struggled, Eclipsa was so gonna be in trouble for this, she couldn't get them off of her and she was totally screwed and eclipsa was gonna have to save her.
But then, the next thing she noticed however, what something attacking the creature and getting it away from her.
It looked like angel, it was angel.....but....it also wasn't at the same time.
His hair was finally out of his usual ponytail, sprawled out along his face, his four eyes were glowing red, and upon closer inspection sky could see something she rarely saw peeking from his mouth. He had pincers, and if those were out that wasn't a good sign. He seemed more.....animal then how he normally way, attacking the creature more viciously then he had before, he was even...hissing? The other creatures ran away, vanishing into oblivion, terrified and the one angel was attacking did the same.
Hopefully they'd be fine, though it seems angel wasn't doing this of his own volition, as if something else suddenly took him over. He turned to spot sky staring at him and quickly his strange change began to fade to his normal self, his normal eyes, his pincer retreating, and his composure as normal as angel could be. He didn't seem to know what he just did either, reaching up to feel his face and getting flustered all of a sudden, "Did I just......I-I.....my ultimate?".
"You went feral...", Sky said, looking him over as he scowled, "It's called our ultimate! D-don't call it "Feral"!". He hissed at her, still flustered as Eclipsa smiled and clapped, clearly proud of herself, though both of them didn't seem as happy. "Look at that! You both did so well
together! And you even activated your form! And Sky, you started to fly!". The two of them suddenly looked at each other, she wasn't wrong, they did technically do all those things together.
Angel suddenly tried to fix his long hair, getting it back to it's usual look. "Fine, we did well but.....never put me through that again....that was.....scary...", he looked over himself and then over sky, they weren't all too injured, but they both felt slightly roughed up over what just happened. The prince said nothing for a bit before wandering off to the tower, "I need a break....". Eclipsa didn't stop him from entering her tower as she smiled at Sky, who still didn't seem amused.
"Well, you think it worked?", the woman winked, "I knew if there was one way for you to contact, it was through working together in some fashion. Being in danger is good enough as any....don't worry, the spells will be fine, and you both seem alright.".
"Were you trying to activate.....his...ultimate?".
"Not intentionally, but seemed you being in trouble woke something inside of him....think he cares about you more then he likes saying.", Sky watched where angel went, her eyes lingering on the door, "Angel's kinda a pain but.....he never takes pleasure in anyone getting hurt because of him....". She sighed, and reluctantly followed where he went, not even looking at eclipsa, she was concerned about how angel was feeling emotionally, she was actually concerned about how he felt.
Angel was on the couch, he didn't even turn to look at Sky when she walked in, nor when she sat in front of him in Eclipsa's normal seat. She looked him over, and for once, she didn't seem to mind wanting to talk to him, "Hey uh....sorry about Eclipsa, she just wanted to uh...well...do her job and maybe she kinda went too far back there trying to well, get us to work and fight and....ugh.....look, um, are you ok?". This felt so awkward and she felt angel would snap at her knowing him, but he didn't.
All four eyes looked up at her and and boy slumped in his seat.
"I'm sorry I went.....like that...in front of you....I don't....I got so freaked out and I suddenly....", he seemed panicked himself, in fact he was starting to remind Sky of another boy who got scared of his own abilities getting out of control now that she thought about it. "You uh....you did good out there.....", she mumbled, "I'm not the only one whose skilled...'. He shook his head though, "No, I just followed your orders, you're a fast thinker, I just have abilities you don't.".
"You still did good...".
"Don't pity me....".
"I'm not pitying you, i'm complimenting you....", Sky corrected, "Yeah you kinda flipped out back there, but I mean, that's cool you managed to do something like that...right? Look, it's not....weird if you wanted to sorta protect me or anything, judas has even done that before....and look, i'm not like...hurt or anything....you're fine.". The boy's eyes were suddenly soft, his fingers running through his light hair with a softness, "I could've....I just don't want people hurt....when I could be doing something to help them...".
"Like your mom?".
"Don't-!", he was about to finish his sentence, before dropping it completely, his knees went to his chest and he was almost curling himself up into a ball. Sky had never seen him like this before, whatever happened really seemed to mess him up and get under his skin in a way she'd never seen before. Upon closer inspection was he...crying? He was definitely crying, "You have no idea how scary this is for me....you were...and I was....don't think I...".
"Dude....it's....it's ok...".
He clutched his hair, "It's....I.....".
"I mean, that kinda stuff....it's always scary....I'm supposed to maybe get a butterfly form someday, but imagine going through mewberty....and how....your friends react to it.", then she remembered the prince in front of her had seen her mewberty before alright, and crossed her arms, "Magic affects us differently then a lot of other species, we're more sensitive to it...and that kinda stuff.....can have affects on us that are well....scary, i guess.".
"But you butterflys, you're more powerful then we are......years of practice and tradition....".
"We're not perfect....if we were....well....mewni wouldn't be so screwed up...", angel normally fought her on this of course, but for once he was listening to her and her words, his pointed ears flickering. "Magic i guess...isn't something even we know the limits of....my mom's been stupid with it before, but well....the stuff is kinda dangerous....I mean, i did almost attack my mom on accident with the stuff because of my emotions....", geez, now even she was getting emotional.
"If I had asked you for help before....would you have helped me?", he asked softly.
"Well, i was a stupid kid before but....we both were...".
"I....can agree to that...", his words were still soft spoken, after all, he was still crying, though hearing this coming from him was still an utter surprise to sky. "Months...years..wasted...going nowhere....mother dying...looking like a fool to everyone, even my own parents...what was i going to do? If i succeeded? If i succeeded.....my parents would be ashamed of me.....everyone would be ashamed of me...they'd all see me as a monster....like the one you saw out there...the one who got consumed by the magic I wanted to have for so long...".
Man, he really WAS breaking down, angel, who was so stubborn to his own views, was breaking down.
And before she even reconsidered what she was doing, she had already gotten up and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. The monster tensed at it at first, but then he relaxed into it and sobbed more freely, "Don't....why are you even doing this, we don't like each other...you don't even like me...?". Man, now he was just making her feel worse all of a sudden about all their stupid fights, "Well no, y-you did dumb things but I never.....hated you...".
He was silent.
"Look....my family did terrible things to your family, they did.....but maybe we should....find another way to fix it, making up for it....I know you want us to do so much to help but, well.....you don't really wanna hurt me and I don't really wanna hurt you either...so...maybe we need a better solution...instead of fighting like our dumb ancestors did", angel didn't even argue with her despite what he'd normally do when this was brought up, trying to stop his crying so he could manage some proper sentences.
"Sky....I....".
Then he stopped talking, and there was silence between them.
"I just want to make things right....".
"Yeah....I kinda do too....also....I-I'm sorry if i kinda went too far, like...earlier...I might of gotten a LITTLE too personal at you, saying you have nothing and everything....".
"Well, I went on a destructive spree and could've ended up hurting you and you forgave me, so....i'll let it slide....though, maybe my father was right in you being the kinda person who I needed to be around a little more then I thought, you're painfully stubborn princess butterfly...".
"Touche...".
The two still hugged in silence, letting angel get all his feelings out, he probably wasn't used to this, having a shoulder to cry on, to get out his feelings in this kinda way. Sky was also probably the last person he even expected to do something like this with to be honest. But he didn't move away, eclipsa didn't even join them for awhile, giving the two space most likely. When they finally stopped, Angel seemed to feel a lot better, and the two seemed....oddly comfortable for once in each other's presence.
Whatever happened in the garden, hit a nerve with the boy like Sky had never seen before, and even someone who had been as cold to him as she did couldn't really manage to be snarky at him when he was like this, she'd seen judas like this, his brothers, even she'd been like this before. Today had gone a lot differently then she'd been expecting it to go but she had a feeling her attitude towards angel seemed to have gone down a little more then before.
She didn't entirely still trust him.
But.
She didn't feel like she hated him any more either.
When the King finally arrived to pick up his son, sky actually swore she saw angel....smiling at her?
And she was...smiling back...somehow?
As they parted however, and sky texted Judas the good news, one thing was for certain.
They would be seeing each other again very soon.
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A FESTIVAL OF FOOD AND COLOUR We are quite fortunate in that we live on an island which has some of the best local food produce that you will find anywhere in the world.  Once a year, the island town of Enniskillen is host to a Festival which celebrates the best local produce, and gives visitors a chance to sample the local artisan food and drink on offer, as well as showcasing the talents of our local chefs with cookery demonstrations.  The event takes place over two days and attracts visitors from all over the world.  In its third year, Festival Lough Erne was held in the grounds of the historical 600 year old Enniskillen Castle located on the beautiful waterways of the Lough Erne.  The site also houses the Fermanagh County Museum and the regimental museum of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, all are worthy of a visit.
Waggling in the wind
Insert your own ball gag here
Twin Turrets
The sky is the limit
IS IT A BIRD, IS IT A PLANE…IT’S ANYTHING YOU WANT This is our second year attending Festival Lough Erne and thankfully the weather was perfect, last year the event was a complete washout.  There’s nothing worse than walking around at a festival on a cold wet day, unless it’s Glastonbury and mud wallowing is expected.  Entry to Festival Lough Erne was just a couple of quid each and the girls were free.  On the main stage set up in the courtyard, music was provided by children from Omagh Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, who played an assortment of traditional Irish instruments.  Entertainment for the children came from superhero characters who ‘bust shapes’ on the dance floor and mingled with the children getting photos taken, there was also face painting and balloon modelling by our good friend and Guinness World Record Holder, Ryan Tracy, Duff Balloons.  For those of you not familiar with Ryan’s story, he is a balloon modeller from Omagh, County Tyrone and managed to get himself a slot on Britain’s Got Talent, he wowed judges when he successfully broke a GWR live on TV, the man is a gentleman and legend.  Since his appearance on TV, Ryan has become a local celebrity and is the happiest man we think we’ve ever met, always smiling.  If Ryan can’t make it with a balloon, then it’s not worth making…simples.
It was ‘er wot dunnit guv
One boy and his banjo
Awww, the wee pet(al)
3 GWR’s…that’s just greedy
Hello shorty
Does anyone have a tin opener
GRUB’S UP It was just after 13:00 when we arrived at Festival Lough Erne and for those of you who know us, food is always top of our list, and today was no exception.  It was great to see one of our favourite restaurants in attendance, Dollakis, a Greek restaurant located in Enniskillen, this is our first port of call and as usual, the food did not disappoint, the falafel is the best we have ever tasted anywhere.  After food, we make our way into the Food Hall to peruse (and purchase from) the many produce stalls.
Dollakis
Food worth waiting for
LITTLE MISS STICKY FINGERS Upon entering the Food Hall the smell of freshly cooked food instantly hits us, Matilda has already made her way to a stall selling cupcakes and she sticks her finger in the cream on the top of a cupcake, Daddy has to put his hand in the pocket before we even begin!  Lynne stops at a stall showcasing amazingly detailed paintings and illustrations by Fermanagh based artist Gráinne Knox.  Gráinne’s inspiration and business name, Inspired By Astrid, comes from her young daughter Astrid.  As well as painting famous landmarks, Gráinne is a children’s book illustrator and her work can be seen in John Gilmour’s Hector and the Magic Detector available on Amazon.  I am currently working on a children’s book, so maybe Gráinne could help me out…watch this space!
Mummy, can I have this one please
I’M NOT COLD, I’M JUST A LITTLE CHILLI We visit each stall in turn and the girls delight at the free samples that each stall has on offer.  Lily-Belle and Matilda are very adventurous when it comes to trying new foods, Mummy definitely isn’t, and both waste no time in sampling crackers and jams from The Erne larder Preserves stall, that is, until Matilda dips into something with a hint of chilli in…she wasn’t one bit amused, her demand for a drink could be heard echoing around the marquee.  The Erne Larder Preserves have an amazing array of preserves, chutneys and sauces, don’t mind if I do purchase a few, always great for a cheese board night when friends call.
How do you like your donuts…with #JAMMIN
Now that’s saucy
Tastes just like a rainbow
YOU MUST BE CRACKERS Eating crackers and preserves makes for thirsty work, plus Matilda’s mouth is on fire so we (mainly she) needs a drink, and quick.  Matilda sees a multi-coloured stall and thinks it is selling slush puppies, it isn’t.  The stall is in fact Papas Mineral Company who sell speciality artisan cordials in a whole variety of flavours, including lemonade that Matilda was extremely grateful for, her mouth was no longer on fire…bless.  Purely for giggles I ask Matilda if she would like to go back and try some more ‘chilli jam’, her answer ‘no, maybe not’.  Too cute!  Papas Mineral Company cordials come in a variety of flavours such as the extremely popular non-alcoholic ginger wine, to the light and summery elderflower cordial.  Don’t worry if these two flavours don’t appeal, there is a flavour suitable for every person, season and occasion.  Papas Mineral Company have a stall each Saturday morning at the famous food and garden market at St Georges Market in Belfast, go along and try them for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.
Lemonade as it should be, fresh
And the mouth fire is out
Taste a rainbow of flavour
SAY SAUSAGES In our house we try to eat healthy, but in all honesty, we (Daddy in particular) love a good fry up, and a fry up isn’t the same without sausages, and beans, a fry must have beans!  As a family we don’t like beef sausages, pork is always the choice, so Imagine our surprise when we come across Cavan based Barry Johns Butchers selling an assortment of flavoured sausages.  We stood for several minutes sampling the delicious sausages, and had we been allowed, we would have spent the whole afternoon at this one stall, the flavours were amazing.  I particularly loved the chocolate and honeycomb, yes you read that right, chocolate and honeycomb sausages, but for Lynne it was the curry sausages, the girls had no preference and happily sampled each flavour.  Bangers purchased, and I’m really looking forward to my next fry.  We were too busy eating that we neglected to take a photo…doh!  So here is a random picture, courtesy of Uncle Google, of a festival pig wearing wellies, absolutely nothing to do with the Festival Lough Erne!
This little piggy went to market…
LAY A LITTLE EGG FOR ME We finally drag ourselves away from the sausage stall and Matilda makes a bee-line for a stall selling all colours of candy floss.  Bucket of blue candy floss purchased we continue our food journey, where to next at the Festival Lough Erne?  As a coeliac sufferer, I struggle with food, it doesn’t help that I have a dairy and egg intolerance as well!  Lynne tells me to purchase eggs from award-winning Cavanagh Free Range Eggs, and I begin my usual spiel of ‘what for, I can’t eat them’ and I get the usual reply of ‘but we do’!  The gentleman on the stall obviously picks up on something and invites us over, I strike up a conversation and explain my intolerance and allergies and that’s why I wasn’t purchasing eggs on this occasion.  We did walk away with a free pen, you can never have enough pens you know.  I honestly meant to go back later on in the day to buy eggs for ‘er indoors but clean forgot.  Next time I see Cavanagh Free Range Eggs in the supermarket, I’ll make amends and buy some.
Let’s eat a rainbow
Say cheeese…I’d rather say eggs!
Bring out the bacon
I CAN SEE A RAINBOW One thing we note from the Festival Lough Erne is colour, so vibrant, so intense, it’s everywhere.  Colour in the drinks, the labelling, the food, the containers, the balloons…everywhere.  Lough Erne Cakes had the most amazing macaroon tower in a multitude of colours, and each colour a completely different flavour.  Lily-Belle chose blue-coconut, Daddy chose ivory-coffee ganache, Matilda also chose blue as she likes to copy her sister, and Mummy chose green-pistachio and they were delicious.  The sweet meringue-based confection just dissolved on the tongue, ever so moreish.  My only regret was not buying enough to take home, but we did opt for a selection of the extravagant looking cupcakes to take away with us, perfect with a cup of aromatic chocolate and fig flavoured coffee purchased from Sperrin Speciality Coffee.  The girls also took a couple home for Nana and Granda.
Y + UMMY = YUMMY
Go on, you know you want two, or three
Who are you calling cupcake
Yes please, one of each
The emotional wedding cake is in tiers
AND A WHOLE LOT MORE Enniskillen Castle also houses the Fermanagh County Museum and the regimental museum of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, all are very worthy of a visit.  There are fantastic historical artefacts scattered throughout the grounds including medals, photographs, silverware, uniforms, canons and military vehicles.  We even found the old water gate, perfect for locking up two cheeky little rascals, namely Lily-Belle and Matilda.
If that’s a tank, where are the fish
Let us out…perleeeeze
Cannon…but bot Bobby
Workshops of war
ROW ROW ROW THE BOAT At round 16:30 we leave Festival Lough Erne and walk the short distance to the river bank to see about a cruise on the river, unfortunately we had just missed the last boat Erne Water Taxi and so we were in a bit of a pickle, Matilda was about to have a full on meltdown!  We spotted kayak’s being taken out by Erne Paddlers.  There was space available so we got kitted out and climbed aboard.  Matilda took up position at the front of the kayak, Mummy directly behind, then Daddy, Lily-Belle and the lady and gent from Erne Paddlers in charge of steering at the back.  This our first experience as a family in a kayak.  Our guided journey took us out on the Lough, around the fountain at the Erneside Shopping Centre, and then returned back to the jetty.  We were alongside a family from Strabane and we had plenty of laughs on the water.
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MUCH MORE THAN THE FOOD Festival Lough Erne is about more than just food, it’s a festival that brings people together, a celebration of all things cultural, but don’t get me wrong, food plays a huge part in the festival.  We live just outside Enniskillen and this was our first visit to Enniskillen Castle, and it really is a fantastic historical place, a ‘must visit place’ should you find yourself in the area.  As a family we had a great day at a well organised festival, we will be back in 2018 for sure.
LILY-BELLE (age 8) SAYS I had a great day. I really loved seeing Ryan as he always makes great balloon models, this time I got a unicorn hat, and Matilda got a Unicorn.  I really liked trying the jams and it was funny when Matilda ate the chilli jam.  We got a huge chocolate covered apple to take home.  The boat was lots of fun and I’d like to do it again but not wearing my good boots.
MATILDA (age 3) SAYS I like the boat and the yellow paddle.  The candyfloss was very nice.
The Festival Lough Erne is annual but event dates vary Date of visit:  24th September 2017 Entry Fee:  Adult –  £2.00 each, children under 12 free Tel:  +44 (0) 28 6632 5000  Send a message:  [email protected] Car park:  public parking and pay and display nearby
information, currency and prices are correct at time of post
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All views, opinions and experiences are that of The Callaghan Possy and are correct at time of publication.  Photos taken by Andrew Callaghan for use and distribution by Around The world In 18 Years.
A FESTIVAL OF FOOD AND COLOUR A FESTIVAL OF FOOD AND COLOUR We are quite fortunate in that we live on an island which has some of the best local food produce that you will find anywhere in the world.  
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sentrava · 7 years
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Splish Splash: Whitewater Rafting … in Oklahoma City?
Shortly after touching down in Oklahoma City, we bopped across the street for lunch at Pitchfork in the Park then made a beeline for our first activity of the trip: whitewater rafting.
I know what you’re thinking, because I was thinking it, too. But Oklahoma is so flat! There are no mountains in sight! Is there even a river? How on Earth do they have whitewater rafting? This would be the first of many things that surprised me about OKC in the coming days.
Straddling the banks of the man-made, seven-mile Oklahoma River, the multipurpose Boathouse District was created from Oklahoma City’s innovative MAPS funding, which has transformed the relationship between public spaces, businesses and civic community across the area for several decades. The river was finalized in 2004, and the formerly dry, flood diversion channel has been turned into a championship training site for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic rowing, canoe and kayak teams.
As a result, Oklahoma City is now one of the only places in the country where you can go urban whitewater rafting.
But you don’t have to be a pro to dig the activities offered here (I’m certainly not!). Visitors to the $45.2 million Riversport Adventures development can choose from two different whitewater experiences: rafting and kayaking. We chose rafting because, well, it seemed a little less scary!
A hilarious Aussie guide took our group through the safety briefing, before we were handed over to our Ecuadorian boat captain; the team that Riversport employs is some of the best in their field anywhere, and even though I’ve only gone whitewater rafting a handful of times in my life, I felt completely confident with them guiding us through the process. We went down each of the two courses—the recreational and competition channels—and then the third and final lap was paddlers’ choice.
But the complex is so much more than just rafting. After our hour of rafting was done, we decided to mosey on around beyond the 11 acres of whitewater adventure.
youtube
The Boathouse District as a whole was established in 2006 with the construction of Chesapeake Boathouse, a public-private partnership between Chesapeake Energy Corporation and the city. The $3.5 million building evokes oars and the bows of a grand rowing vessel while anchoring activities in the district with training facilities, dramatic viewing stands of the water, event spaces and boat bays for storage of equipment.
Rand Elliott, who has revitalized many other other locations around town like the flat-iron, 1924 Como Hotel on Harrison Avenue, was involved with creating the strikingly angular buildings making up the soul of the water park. From every angle, the crisp lines of white buildings seem to jut confidently into a blue sky, invoking motion and sailcloth.
The area is one popular with competitive rowers, kayakers, paddleboarders and really anyone who loves to get out on the water. But even if you aren’t proficient at any of the aforementioned sports, there are plenty of lessons, camps and workshops offered throughout the year in the Boathouse District, so you can get up to speed with your skills—or simply rent equipment to test out the waters, literally. Additionally, there are paved running and biking trails and even a pump track.
Next to these fascinating buildings comprising the Boathouse District, Riversport has what I like to think of as an adventure tower; its “Reach for the Sky” area consists of a sky trail, slides (both water and dry), a youth zone, a climbing wall, a bungee jump and even a zipline that goes from one side of the river to the other. Obviously, we had to try this. You know I’m not one to pass up on a zipline!
The process to get up there was very cool, too; after getting all harnessed up at the bottom of the tower, a Riversport employee clicks you into a self-guided trolley system, and you walk all the way to the top—note: a whole lot of stairs!—of this slightly menacing, rail-less tower before shooting across the Oklahoma River, then back again.
And best of all, other than the ziplining, which is an added fee, you can use all the rest of the facilities for a day pass of $49—that includes the whitewater rafting and all other land activities. If you just want land and flatwater activities, you can get the adventure pass for $39. If you’re local, you can also get a season pass for $99, which for comparison’s sake, is less than one day at Disney. I love that Riversport doesn’t try to upcharge everything, and I think that’s a very reasonably rate for as top-notch as their amenities are.
The day we were visiting, Riversport closed early for a private corporate event—I wish I worked for a company that shut down an adventure park like this one for employee amusement!—so imagine this scene absolutely teeming with rafters, rowers and kayakers. From what the locals tell me, that’s what it looks like on an average summer weekend, and I can’t wait to go back and try alllll the things next summer.
This post is part of a partnership with Visit OKC.
  PIN IT HERE
Splish Splash: Whitewater Rafting … in Oklahoma City? published first on http://ift.tt/2gOZF1v
0 notes
sentrava · 7 years
Text
Splish Splash: Going Whitewater Rafting … in Oklahoma City?
Shortly after touching down in Oklahoma City, we bopped across the street for lunch at Pitchfork in the Park then made a beeline for our first activity of the trip: whitewater rafting.
I know what you’re thinking, because I was thinking it, too. But Oklahoma is so flat! There are no mountains in sight! Is there even a river? How on Earth do they have whitewater rafting? This would be the first of many things that surprised me about OKC in the coming days.
Straddling the banks of the man-made, seven-mile Oklahoma River, the multipurpose Boathouse District was created from Oklahoma City’s innovative MAPS funding, which has transformed the relationship between public spaces, businesses and civic community across the area for several decades. The river was finalized in 2004, and the formerly dry, flood diversion channel has been turned into a championship training site for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic rowing, canoe and kayak teams.
As a result, Oklahoma City is now one of the only places in the country where you can go urban whitewater rafting.
But you don’t have to be a pro to dig the activities offered here (I’m certainly not!). Visitors to the $45.2 million Riversport Adventures development can choose from two different whitewater experiences: rafting and kayaking. We chose rafting because, well, it seemed a little less scary!
A hilarious Aussie guide took our group through the safety briefing, before we were handed over to our Ecuadorian boat captain; the team that Riversport employs is some of the best in their field anywhere, and even though I’ve only gone whitewater rafting a handful of times in my life, I felt completely confident with them guiding us through the process. We went down each of the two courses—the recreational and competition channels—and then the third and final lap was paddlers’ choice.
But the complex is so much more than just rafting. After our hour of rafting was done, we decided to mosey on around beyond the 11 acres of whitewater adventure.
youtube
The Boathouse District as a whole was established in 2006 with the construction of Chesapeake Boathouse, a public-private partnership between Chesapeake Energy Corporation and the city. The $3.5 million building evokes oars and the bows of a grand rowing vessel while anchoring activities in the district with training facilities, dramatic viewing stands of the water, event spaces and boat bays for storage of equipment.
Rand Elliott, who has revitalized many other other locations around town like the flat-iron, 1924 Como Hotel on Harrison Avenue, was involved with creating the strikingly angular buildings making up the soul of the water park. From every angle, the crisp lines of white buildings seem to jut confidently into a blue sky, invoking motion and sailcloth.
The area is one popular with competitive rowers, kayakers, paddleboarders and really anyone who loves to get out on the water. But even if you aren’t proficient at any of the aforementioned sports, there are plenty of lessons, camps and workshops offered throughout the year in the Boathouse District, so you can get up to speed with your skills—or simply rent equipment to test out the waters, literally. Additionally, there are paved running and biking trails and even a pump track.
Next to these fascinating buildings comprising the Boathouse District, Riversport has what I like to think of as an adventure tower; its “Reach for the Sky” area consists of a sky trail, slides (both water and dry), a youth zone, a climbing wall, a bungee jump and even a zipline that goes from one side of the river to the other. Obviously, we had to try this. You know I’m not one to pass up on a zipline!
The process to get up there was very cool, too; after getting all harnessed up at the bottom of the tower, a Riversport employee clicks you into a self-guided trolley system, and you walk all the way to the top—note: a whole lot of stairs!—of this slightly menacing, rail-less tower before shooting across the Oklahoma River, then back again.
And best of all, other than the ziplining, which is an added fee, you can use all the rest of the facilities for a day pass of $49—that includes the whitewater rafting and all other land activities. If you just want land and flatwater activities, you can get the adventure pass for $39. If you’re local, you can also get a season pass for $99, which for comparison’s sake, is less than one day at Disney. I love that Riversport doesn’t try to upcharge everything, and I think that’s a very reasonably rate for as top-notch as their amenities are.
The day we were visiting, Riversport closed early for a private corporate event—I wish I worked for a company that shut down an adventure park like this one for employee amusement!—so imagine this scene absolutely teeming with rafters, rowers and kayakers. From what the locals tell me, that’s what it looks like on an average summer weekend, and I can’t wait to go back and try alllll the things next summer.
This post is part of a partnership with Visit OKC.
  PIN IT HERE
Splish Splash: Going Whitewater Rafting … in Oklahoma City? published first on http://ift.tt/2gOZF1v
0 notes