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mannanerz · 1 year ago

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designs for my modern eah/mh au where their schools are rivals and cupid is the mediator. under the cut talks about the au and the character designs. its long tho. you have been warned.

In this au, both are boarding schools. EAH has a uniform, but the students personalize their uniforms to match their style, which was against the rules. The faculty was strict with the dress code, until Raven’s freshman year, where she accidentally sprung a series of events that resulted in the students holding a protest against the school’s outrageously strict dress code (raven wore a belt with her skirt the third day of school, which was against the dress code). The faculty began to care less and less as the weeks went on so now kids just wear the basics of the uniforms (white collar shirt, dress pants/skirts/shorts) and personalize everything else (shoes, ties/bowties, arm wear). Monster High has like zero dress code. Freedom of Expression is their message so students can dress however they want.

The rivalry between the two schools has gone back centuries, but no one is 100% sure as to how it all started. There are rumors of how it happened, but there has never been concrete evidence of how it all started.

Some Monster High students say that Ever After High’s founder, M. Grimm, had more influence than Monster High’s founder, H. Bloodgood, since Grimm was a much beloved politician at the time. So, he used his money and power to open his own school before Bloodgood did. This is why Ever After High has wealthier students as well as a bigger budget for the school’s events and their educational and athletic programs.

Some Ever After High students say that Bloodgood had tricked Grimm into signing off a large portion of his wealth to her. Bloodgood had used this money to build Monster High next to a small town filled with artists, artisans, and farmers. The local families sent their children to this boarding school believing it to be the best education around. This is why Monster High’s athletics and arts programs are much better than Ever After’s arts and athletics, since most students at MH were the children of artists and athletes.

Monster High’s architecture has also been known to be the most aesthetically pleasing in the state. Local families had helped make renovations to the school over the years which gave it the unique look. Monster High doesn’t need to hold as many fundraisers as Ever After High since most of the families who have enrolled their children there can just help the school themselves instead of paying for someone else to do it. Gym ceiling caved in? Call Jerry. Water fountain broke? Felix can fix it. Bake Sale for animal shelter? Nelson’s got it. The students are also very inclusive and try their best to be better than Ever After High in that way, being more welcoming and friendly.

The wealthy families of Ever After don’t contribute much to the little things at the school; cafeteria food, broken parts of the school (water fountains, doorways etc), or even some clubs (mostly artistic clubs/ programs). So, the students have to arrange fundraisers for themselves, as long as a faculty member sponsors/chaperones it, which almost never happens. They aren’t as close knit as they make themselves appear, many cliques and bullies roam the halls, excluding most anyone who they haven’t known for most of their lives. The friends that they do have, though, are friends for life. Once a clique is established, there aren’t many things that could break them apart.

THATS THE BACKGROUND GUYS THERE IS ALSO THE DESIGNS

Frankie Stein

I wasn’t 100% sure how i wanted to portray them in this au cuz i rlly like gen 1 and 3 designs and both versions kinda clash. i wanted to do certain things but they would have looked bad. might change the design later (still deciding). in this au, frankie is book smart, but not street smart. they often find themselves in dangerous situations because of this. i wanted to add scars to show this bc i think of frankie as someone who is ready to jump headfirst into anything, literally and figuratively.

C.A. Cupid

I LOVE THIS DESIGN!!!! i loved her hair in mh so i wanted the curl from that instead of her eah hair and i though the headphones would be a cute addition. she is the ‘love goddess’ at school so i gave her heart theme accessories. her personality would be a bit more bold and outspoken compared to the eah version of cupid cuz spunky cupid is everything to me.

Raven Queen

The accidental bad girl. i wanted her to be edgier than most other characters, like avant garde, but i dont think she’d want to draw a lot of attention to herself, since the faculty already think she’s a rebellious teen so she’s only kinda edgy. she mostly sticks to herself and her friends. i feel like raven’s design came easiest cuz i know someone who looks so much like her and thats the way they dress so she’s based off of my lab partner (kinda).

END thank you so much for reading if you came this far. i will be posting more designs of the characters in this au. clawdeen, draculaura, apple and probably one other will be next!!

#ever after high #monster high #ca cupid #raven queen #frankie stein #modern au #i love these shows a normal amount btw #this au has taken up 90% of my headspace #im thinking of maybe adding ships? not real sure though

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elderling-magic · 4 years ago

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Fitz, Nighteyes, Fool and Time

“...To free humanity of time. For time is the great enslaver of us all. Time that ages us, time that limits us. Think how often you have wished to have more time for something, or wished you could go back a day and do something differently. When humanity is freed of time, old wrongs can be corrected before they are done.” - Kettle about the role of the White Prophet, “Assassin’s Quest”

For at least a year now I wanted to make a post about time and how it relates and affects my favourite fictional trio so that is what I am doing today. This post will contain SPOILERS for the entire series so if you haven’t read all the Fitz books - you have been warned. Time is overall a very important theme in the series, but I want to foccus on these 3 characters because it is what is more interesting to me.

Fitz - Past

“The knowledge that he had left me with no intent ever to return had come over me in tiny droplets of realization spread over the years. And each droplet of comprehension brought its own small measure of hurt...He had wished me well in finding my own fate to follow, and I never doubted his sincerity. But it had taken me years to accept that his absence in my life was a deliberate finality, an act he had chosen, a thing completed even as some part of my soul still dangled, waiting for his return.” - Fitz, “Fool’s Assassin”

One of Fitz’s characteristics is how he is more often than not stuck in the past. This is partly because of trauma, but is still important. Even before the story starts Fitz already made an attempt to reject the past by claiming he forgot everything about his mother. He didn’t really. The memories just hurt him too much, but Fitz was never able to forget or let go of past events (even after giving part of his memories to a stone dragon in AQ). Fitz gets stuck in the past and is hard for him to move on. Molly was his first love and he is stuck with that, Kettricken is still Verity’s wife until the (end even though the man died in book 3), Beloved is still a bit under the shadow of the court jester no matter how much he has changed since RA, etc. Fitz’s past affect his entire life.

Fitz can’t help but be reminded of Molly when thinking of red skirts or the Fool when seeing black and white. These are the colors he associates with them and that had initial impact in his past memories (even Molly being known as Nosebleed as a kid has the hint of red in there).

Fitz’s connection to the past is not as easy to observe in the Farseer trilogy since he is still developping and usually either Nighteyes or the Fool are around him. The Fool and Nighteyes influence him and make him not drown in past memories. Fitz holds on to the people he met as a kid and as the trilogies go on he seems to give less and less importance to new characters (so much that the ones introduced in the last trilogy barelly feel like characters at all in Fitz’s POV).

Fitz going back to Molly at the end of “Fool’s Fate” is partly because of this attachment to the past. When the Fool leaves and Nighteyes isn’t around what does he do (as seen in “Fool’s Assassin”)? He gets a room just for himself where he can write and cry about the past. That is one of the most painful books to read when it comes to Fitz because he is so lost in past memories without Nighteyes or the Fool being around to stop him and bring him new perspectives that he just brings me down with him.

Nighteyes - Present

“Come, hunt with me, the invitation whispers in my heart. Leave the pain behind and let your life be your own again. There is a place where all time is now, and the choices are simple and always your own. Wolves have no kings.” - Nighteyes, “Royal Assassin”

Obviously Nighteyes has a strong connection with the present. As he says, wolves live in the now. So, when he is with Fitz he influences him and makes him live in the present. When Fitz is living in a cabin with just Hap and Nighteyes, he says he foccuses on the present and the routine of it (not for the first time, he mentions it in AQ before too). Fitz, being Fitz, still writes about his past, but since Nighteyes is around there is a balance between how often he thinks about the past and how often he foccuses on the present.

Fitz’s connection to the past also affects Nighteyes. When the wolf starts to gain human like qualities these are associated with past memories - like Fool saying something in AQ in the lines of “I didn’t know he would remember that” about Nighteyes showing his gratitude for Fool giving him cakes in the past, for example. Or that time Nighteyes remembered his family.

Even Fitz’s stupid plan in “Assassin’s Quest” has the foccus on the present all over it. He knows he wants revenge on Regal because of what he has done to him in the past, but instead of having a plan for that future, he says he will think of something when he gets to where Regal is currently living. Completelly living each day as it presents itself. No future planning because guess who isn’t around?

Fool - Future

“If he had not come to see me, I would never have recalled how much I missed him. I would have continued to pine for the past, but I would not have begun to long for a future.” - Fitz about the Fool, “Fool’s Errand”

Of course the White Prophet is strongly connected to the future. The Fool has visions about the future and his constant concern and dedication about what he must do keep him from thinking about the past or the present. the Fool feels blind when his dreams stop. He has no concept of living beyond his "time", of a future he doesn't see. He is so anxious about it that he would not allow himself happiness and the society he wishes for because he is constantly considering what each of his actions would mean for the future and that paralyzes him.

The times Fool seems to be enjoying himself on the present is when Nighteyes is around and still alive (”Assassin’s Quest” and “Fool’s Fate”) - there is the water fight in AQ and overall the fun he seemed to be having on the adventure in FE. Take Nighteyes away and Fool is constantly worried about the Future or remembering his past because of Fitz.

Fitz is the only person we know that the Fool opens up about his family or his mission as Amber, for example. Fitz even unlocks the Fool’s tragic backstory slowly. Being around Fitz makes Beloved think of his past memories even if he has been avoiding them like the plague for years. There is this person he tells about it because they influence each other that much.

In Liveship Traders, Amber is 100% thinking of her goal the entire time, which makes it feel a bit different than how Beloved usually acts if Fitz is around. Fitz and Nighteyes surprise him and make him slow down a bit and think of something else no matter how few minutes it lasts.

In the same way, Fool makes Fitz plan for the future. When the Fool is around Fitz has always something to do (usually according to prophecies). Fitz also thinks about a future living with the Fool in AQ, FE and AF. Take away the Fool and Fitz drowns in the memories of his past, unless Nighteyes is there to help him.

So, does that initial quote from Kettle about getting rid of time connects with the ending where Fitz and the Fool end up in the stone wolf and basically die? Given the strong connections these 3 characters have with time I guess I could say that now that they are not around the White Prophet mission is trully complete. I am not sure what this means for the new prophet (Bee)’s future goal though. Unless that there is no future goal. Bee herself was a new entity entirely given that she was called the destroyer. I see her as having the powers of both catalyst and white prophet. So, it can really mean the end of white prophets and, like Kettle said it was their mission, the end of time itself.

PS: I also don’t see ghost!Nighteyes as being trully Nighteyes. Nighteyes died in FE and to me that ghost is the personification of the memories the Fool and Fitz had of him. But that is another future post entirely.

#rote #Realm of the Elderlings #Fitzchivalry Farseer #the fool #beloved #nighteyes #analysis #I could have searched many more quotes and give more examples #but i figured this was long enough already

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typinggently · 5 years ago

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Time for some more 3 am crackhead thoughts with yours truly. This week's concept is Bruce in super hero themed dresses with thigh high socks no shoes (I'm having a thing against shoes this week idk). Just imagine him laying around the tower with a short dress rising up his T H I C C ass and he's just laying on the couch watching TV. - Monster anon

firstly: I love it!!! thank you so much!!

secondly: You know what this reminds me of? Before I got really into feral Bruce, I had my (dearly beloved) “Bruce Wayne being a thotty Bottom is extremely important to me” tag. Which is a mouthful, I know. But the idea is this: Bruce? Thicc yet Repressed. Brucie? Thotsona.

Waning: Semi-public? Public??? sex? Slight exhibitionism. Clark & his alien anatomy

Now.

Have I watched…a SINGLE…DC film that came out in the few years? Apart from SSquad and Wonder Woman (do you know how sad I am that I’m missing BoP because of the whole virus situation?!)? No.

And yet. Jason Momoa is very hot, you know?

So what I’m saying it that when I read that, half asleep, my brain supplied that the person to stumble upon this gorgeous view should be Arthur? For reasons that don’t extend past “he’d slap that ass no questions asked”, to be entirely honest. Which is exactly what Bruce is aiming for, arranging himself on that sofa with that little dress that barely covers his ass, practically arching his back in invitation. Arthur would have to test that bounce and who could blame him?!! Certainly not Bruce, that’s for sure.

(Bruce riding Arthur on that couch and Clark walking in, so Bruce’s first instinct is to push Arthur deeper into the cushions and rest his elbows on the back of the couch, as if practising his splits against the back of the sofa while flushed and panting and wearing a slutty little orange-green dress is something he does on the regular. Clark 100% doesn’t mind and he also naturally very much knows that Bruce has a cock up his ass as they speak, but he’s amused by the show Bruce is putting on for him and decides to stay and entertain his little ‘getting caught’/exhibitionism kink. Bonus if Bruce actually comes like that, trying to talk to Clark while Arthur, who was getting smothered by The Tiddies, is mouthing at his nipples and slowly rocking up into him)

But to sweep sleepy-nasty me away with a broom, I do have some thoughts regarding Clark.

Because as a concept, Clark is very sweet and polite and chivalrous. In reality, he is all those things, but he’s also a hot-blooded alien farmboy with an intense sex drive. Which means that if he’s confronted with the visuals of Bruce in a dress with the red skirt just short enough that the hem is resting on the curve of his ass and thigh high socks on his thick thighs, he’s going to act.

So he’ll walk up with his usual cheer and be all “Hey, Honey, are you watching something fun? :)” and his hand is on Bruce’s thigh. Just like that. Very natural, very casual. (And he’s not acting. He’s very casual and natural. Sweetheart is wearing a short outfit? Wonderful. Let’s touch him, show him some appreciation)

And Bruce is stubborn. He’s not going to lose(?) this game(which he himself started by wearing a teeny tiny superman-themed dress). So he holds an entire conversation with Clark, as if the hand on his thigh is perfectly natural. Considering it is to Clark, Bruce is really just fighting himself, btw.

But to be fair - Clark isn’t putting his hand just anywhere. He took his warm palm and put it right on the little strip of skin above the thigh highs. High enough to brush against the underside of his ass, thumb now and them playfully slipping underneath the hem of his underwear, letting the elastic snap back at Bruce’s ass.

So that conversation lasts about five to seven minutes before Clark is all “By the way - I like your outfit.”

Bruce, who’s been trying not to grind his cock against the sofa cushions due to the warm hand on his thigh, squeezing him absent-mindedly when Clark’s making a point, goes “hmmm.”

“I just think - I mean, I’m not an expert on these matters, but aren’t you supposed to wear something tiny underneath a dress like this?”

“Tiny?”

“Yes. Not that your underwear isn’t lovely, but I think it lacks a certain - a certain appeal.”

Bruce hums again, then goes on to explain why he’s wearing cotton briefs (they’re best for your skin etc etc). Clark isn’t listening. He’s feeling Bruce up (politely). “That’s lovely, sunshine, but I think it really doesn’t do the look any favours. I think you should better take them off.”

“???” Bruce says, but too late.

rip (hehe) Bruce’s underwear. Torn to shreds to reveal his gorgeous ass.

What I’m getting at is that Bruce in his thotty, thotty outfit is getting tongue-fucked, shaking to pieces on the sofa while the TV is still on.

And Clark, the bastard, will stop out of the blue, pull back, flip that skirt back down as if the fact that one of Bruce’s legs is on the floor, his thighs spread widely and kiss-wet where the skirt is riding up is in any way subtle. Bruce, shaking and needy, has to listen to Clark hold a conversation, his own face pressed into the cushions, hole hot and needy, clenching on nothing as he prays for whoever wandered in to just leave so Clark and his wet chin can get back to work.

Clark, contrary to popular belief, isn’t an asshole. He’s simply polite enough to stop his activities and exchange a few kind words. That’s very nice, actually. And when he notices that Bruce is very needy and very unhappy with that turn of events, he slips his hand back underneath that ridiculous excuse of a skirt and pushes a few fingers into him to make him happy.

Bruce, hole suddenly stuffed, is keening into the cushions.

“Are you alright, Darlin’?”, Clark asks, gently fucking three thick fingers into his hole.

The other person is nice enough to leave shortly after and Bruce is finally, finally getting a proper fucking. Alien twin cocks stuffing him to the brim, Clark and his super stamina fucking him languidly into the cushions. Very hard thrusts, but slow. It’s brain-melting, honestly.

And speaking of brain-melting. Clark at some point realises that he hasn’t seen Bruce’s face properly yet, so he flips him and the dress has a boob window where the crest of el would be. Just. Slick bouncy pecs, nipples threatening to slip past the hem of the window.

At that point, Clark loses the friendly-languid pace. And the sight of Bruce, flushed and panting, with his puffy pink nipples (Clark had to tease them and make sure they’d slip into the window for easier access) and his skirt fluttering now and then, hinting at his cock - that’s just a lot. That’s understandable.

After all that teasing, Bruce comes relatively quickly, and that display (moaning, splattering his cute dress, tightening around Clark etc) sends Clark over the edge as well.

But honestly? In that display? Once isn’t cutting it.

Maybe Clark just goes straight back to teasing. Or, more likely, he’ll be all “thank you so much, sweetheart, that was fun :)”, kiss him, flip his dress back down and leave, only to return two hours later and find Bruce in the same position he was in originally(=as Clark left him). Only now he’s fucked out, languid, drowsy, one leg still hanging over the edge of the sofa so the curve of his ass is almost visible, still a little kiss-slick and definitely well-fucked, judging by the slight bruises.

Clark goes “ah, well, don’t mind if I do” & walks up to do the same exact thing all over again. Hand on Bruce’s thigh, fingers brushing his slick hole right from the start this time, polite conversation. & that’s how Bruce gets eaten out (again) and fucked (again).

In conclusion: dresses + thigh highs + feigned nonchalance…terribly effective combination

(babes it’s 1:41…thank you so much for your horny late night thoughts…they’re an endless delight…I hope you enjoyed this nastiness in return 💝💝

I will also proofread this tomorrow and apologise for any sleep-deprived weirdness in spelling or grammar…thank u…)

#superbat #drabble #filth #oh wait and!!#aquabat #? is that the name?!

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cosplayinamerica · 6 years ago

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Star Guardian Urgot is the one skin concept that I have been dying to see come to life since the Star Guardians first arrived in League of Legends. Urgot is notorious for being this grotesque, unpopular character in League -- both in lore and in gameplay. The thought that Urgot could become a Star Guardian-- a beautiful, graceful, magical defender against darkness -- was so absurd that Riot Games swore it would never be a thing beyond community memes. I disagree completely! Urgot is a half machine, barely alive monstrosity, but he is still very much HUMAN. If the First Star called upon Urgot to wield the powers of a Star Guardian, I am confident he would accept. The human nature of Urgot would desire strength, confidence, power, beauty, all the things that becoming a Star Guardian entails. I can't stand the idea that Urgot will never be a Star Guardian because Riot decided he can't become one. If he is human, he has dreams. If he dreams of becoming a Star Guardian, I would hate to be the one to tell him that he can't!

I started designing the skin myself by trying to picture what Urgot's Star Guardian skin would look/feel like if Riot were to sit down and ACTUALLY make it happen. Most of the memes depict SG Urgot being drenched in pink, ruffles, bows, etc. But I wanted to find a 100% believable spot for this skin within the Star Guardian universe. I studied the visual language of official Star Guardian skins for months to guide his armor design choices and primary color palette. There were no Guardians with a yellow-ish, acid green color scheme, which fits Urgot's aesthetic and lore perfectly.(I did throw a little pink into the armor as a nod to the memes though :D) I got to have extra fun with the design because I did a female version, which gave the baldy badass Urgot an excuse to rock a skirt and some epic pigtails.

Star Guardian Urgot is constructed almost entirely out of EVA foam, Wonderflex and PVC pipe. Due to its size, I needed to prioritize lightweight materials. I struggled to find a solution to turn my two legs into his six! My solution was constructing a "skirt" out of sturdy ABS and aluminum for the legs to attach to. Again, because of the size, I needed to make sure everything could break down as small as possible. I made so many trips to Home Depot looking for bolts and PVC joints, the employees know me by name now. I also incorporated my favorite part of costuming: LEDS!!!!! Star Guardians should shine brighter than all others, so there are 254 animated LEDs on Stargot, and over 9000 rhinestones!

Because this design came 100% from my heart and imagination, I was TERRIFIED to bring Urgot to Anime Expo. After obsessing over the costume for years, I felt like I was about to share a very intimate part of my soul with people who either wouldn't get it or would flat out reject it. I am very shy about sharing my work with others, and overall really bad at social media, so I was floored at how many people ran up to me at the con to say they had been following Urgot's progress on Facebook and Instagram. I even had one person approach me and ask me if I was THE Leah Stevo, because he was a huge fan! That was MINDBLOWING. People actually were liking my crazy costume idea!!

It turns out that not only did AX attendees ABSOLUTELY LOVE the build, but Riot loved it as well! More than anyone else, Rioters were so supportive and just plain excited to see the build in person, because apparently they had all been following my progress forever. Thank you Riot <3

I also was interviewed by Anime Expo for the AX Live stream on Twitch, and I was shocked when my friend pointed out that the interview with Star Guardian Urgot had more views on Twitch than any of AX's official guests and programming. Holy crap!

A couple standout moments from AX: I am proud to say that after years of trying, I finally constructed a costume that was dubbed a Fire Hazard by AX Staff. The crowd around Urgot was so huge that I had to be moved repeatedly to not impede traffic. I also remember a very, VERY heated argument on Friday that took place behind me, where two friends were arguing about whether Urgot was a character from World of Warcraft or a Pokemon. I feel bad that I was not able to intervene because I'm fairly certain that friendship ended over it. Sorry guys.

Before I discovered the art of costuming, my life was paralyzed by severe social anxiety and depression. I literally could not bear to leave my house, even to check the mail. Video games became my most beloved hobby and pretty much the only way I was able to make friends. I loved these games so much that I wanted nothing more than to experience them on a corporeal level, and discovered that cosplay and propmaking was something that fused ALL of my passions together! Developing the skills to fabricate and design armor slowly but surely built up my self confidence, and from the second I finally set foot in a convention covered head to toe in yoga mats the community has embraced me, lifted me up, and become my family. Because of cosplay, I discovered my worth as a person, found my calling and for the first time I can look at myself in the mirror and feel incredibly proud of who I am. I'm THE Leah Stevo! WOO!

As cosplayers, we have the power to express passion for our fandoms that screens and pages cannot. Cosplay is not only a way to faithfully recreate characters that we love, it is the PERFECT medium for making your original ideas for those characters come to life! Do not let yourself be fooled by the idea that you have to be a certain gender, skin color, or body type to do these characters justice. I am an average girl with only two legs and I think I made a great Urgot. I know it sounds so cliche but I cannot stress enough that the only person who has any right to say how you cosplay is you.

--- Leah Stevo

Photo : https://www.instagram.com/jprizick/

#league of legends #Urgot #cosplay

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everyonethinksmynameiskayla · 8 years ago

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Eggs & potatoes in a tropical paradise

Last week Brittany and I took a “ladies vacation” as my mom called it to Cabo Verde (until recently “Cape Verde” in English although it’s “Cap Vert” in French which is how I think of it since all the planning was done here). You could be forgiven for not knowing anything at all about Cabo Verde - it’s a tiny country made up of 9 also tiny islands off the coast of Senegal, just south of the Canary Islands. We visited three of the islands throughout the week, so I’ll divide this post up by island. I made a video compilation of all the little clips I took of the landscapes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVfdJw9M1Pw (set it to high resolution so you can see the images better).

1. Santiago - Praia side

Santiago is the biggest island (it takes two hours to drive from top to bottom and about an hour to do the width) and we flew from Dakar to the capital, Praia, which is on the south side of the island. We took the Cabo Verde national airline, TACV, which I was expecting, given that the flight was about $100 round trip and was going to be an hour and TACV mostly does island hopping within Cabo Verde, a puddle jumper plane with a bring-your-own-folding-chair to sit on type deal but boy was I wrong. The plane was the size of a regional jet in the US and pretty new and they even served us all sandwiches, which blew me away. Granted, the sandwich was a hotdog bun with some cheese slices, but still, I was so impressed.

We arrived in Praia in the evening and quickly made friends with a French guy who was in our hostel and he explained that apparently Praia is dangerous at night because of gangs so we went the three of us to get some food at a restaurant near the hostel. I was blown away by how dead everything was. It was only 8 PM and there was almost no one outside and practically every shop was closed. It was the quietest city, even during the day, that I’ve ever been in. The next day as we were exploring the city, I was struck by how small it felt, especially coming from Dakar, and how orderly and calm it was. It almost felt European at times, and occassionaly even kind of reminded me of Goa in India (Portuguese colonization being what the two places have in common). We went and explored the ruins in the old city where the Portuguese had first arrived and walked up to the fort. We came across an old abandoned bar/restaurant, which was wild - it's state wasn’t so dissimilar from the ruins of the old cathedral which were several hundred years old, but it was probably only a couple of decades abandoned (I would imagine that has something to do with weather wear). You could see all the old spots where there used to be a bar and bar stools and the bathroom, but it was totally gutted.

^The abandoned bar/restaurant

We ate dinner at a jazz club/restaurant downtown which was great because Cabo Verdian music is lovely and we got to try homemade “punch” which was everywhere and was basically rum with honey and coconut and tamarind (there are other kinds too, every sort of flavor you could imagine) and it’s so good. However I was massively annoyed because we both ordered the “vegetarian” dish which I was expecting to be like a vegetable curry of some kind which sounded good and I asked if it came with rice (the waiter told us he spoke French and seemed to be telling the truth) and the waiter said yes but then it came out and it was a plate with like 10 slices of raw vegetables on it and nothing else and I was absolutely furious because it was like 8 dollars which is completely insane given that most dishes in restaurants were in the $3-5 range.

2. Sao Vicente

The next day we went back to the airport at 5 AM, which, armed with the unfortunate knowledge that Praia is not a good place to be hanging out in the dark, was not fun because we had to stand around on the empty street waiting for a cab with our phones and passports in our underwear like idiots because the hostel owner never showed up the previous evening so we couldn’t ask him to call us a cab for the next morning (not that this was a surprise, he had messaged me before we left Dakar asking if we wanted to be picked up at the airport, to which I said sure, and no one showed up to pick us up). We found another woman standing waiting for something and waited with her, luckily only for about ten minutes before a cab drove by. We felt bad leaving her on the street but with the language barrier (Cabo Verdians speak Creole and Portuguese) we couldn’t get across that she could come in our cab to wherever she was going also.

Just as in Praia, when we arrived in Mindelo, the cultural capital and the only big city on Sao Vicente, the cab that the hostel was allegedly sending us didn’t come. I was still stoked about the hostel because it’s also a cat shelter so there were cats everywhere.

^ Some of the cats at the hostel; they had their own special area and every time I came in they would go nuts and start chatting away and meowing like crazy and trying to climb up me

Mindelo is much bigger and more alive than Praia and also absolutely gorgeous. The city is nestled in a half-moon cove with a lovely marina on the most perfectly blue water that looked more like the light blue Gatorade than the ocean. We spent most of the day sitting in the floating cafe we found in the marina enjoying the view and the perfect weather and tranquility and then Brittany went to nap in the hostel and I walked up to the old fort that looked like it would have a good 360 view. When I got to the top I discovered that it was private property but that sign was accompanied by only about 5 feet of fence so I just walked right by it to do a quick round and take some pictures, since there was absolutely no one around. Those pictures are on the photo blog. Then we went to the store and bought a bunch of chips and snacks and went and sat on the beach. We swam but neither of us had bathing suits so we wore our PJs, which was bizarre because that meant wearing shorts in public which I would never dream of doing in Senegal, but in Cabo Verde most of the women were wearing mini skirts and short shorts most of the time.

^ From the floating café. We stole the label off our Cabo Verdian beer

We had been trying to taste the national dish, catchupa, which appeared to be some sort of beans and rice deal, but every time we ordered it they came back and said “no catchupa” (we were mostly getting by with Brittany mumbling in Spanish and hoping for the best, but sometimes when that didn’t work I would try French and then we would speak to each other in English and people would just stare at us in utter confusion and back away slowly). So for dinner we went into this little local looking restaurant and ordered some catchupa and Brittany was trying to explain that she was a vegetarian, but apparently the Spanish mumbling didn’t work because we thought we were getting catchupa with egg and potato instead of with meat - we were sitting there waiting and laughing about how funny it would be if we ended up with just eggs and potatoes when she came out with two plates of french fries and a fried egg. She looked really confused when we both broke down laughing. Every time we ordered in a restaurant after that we were half expecting to be served a plate of eggs and fries.

3. Santo Antão

The next morning we took the ferry from Sao Vicente (the island Mindelo is on) to Santo Antão, which was easily one of my favorite parts of the trip - I already love boats, plus the islands are so close together and both so mountainous that at any point throughout the hour long ride you can see both (those views are in the video I mentioned at the top of this post). Plus the early morning light on the water and the cool breeze, and there was a cafe/bar thing on the boat so Brittany and I were even able to get some coffee.

^ Coffee on the ferry

When we arrived we grabbed an aluguer, amid some confusion. The aluguers aren’t taxis but they aren’t buses either, they’re generally big Toyota 15-seater vans (in fabulous condition, we couldn’t believe it - and the taxis in Praia were late model Toyota Corollas which for some reason was hilarious to us…not quite as much character as my beloved dilapidated Renaults with weird furry seat covers) and you pay your spot like in a bus but unlike a bus they don’t all have a set route. Some do, some have names of towns and/or cities painted on the side and they just go back and forth between those places but others just go where they decide they’re going to go that day and pick up people along the way. Anyway, we were jostled around a bit by the competing aluguer drivers but eventually got one to Paul, the city on the coast at the foot of the valley that we were planning to hike. It was a striking drive, the edges of the mountains of Santo Antão are baren and dotted with dramatic cliffs and drops into the ocean below, which was raging and wavy like I’ve never seen. But in Paul, it starts to get really green, palm trees start to pop up and I’ll get to it in a minute but once on the interior of the island its lush and green everywhere you look. Paul, or Vila das Pombas, I never figured out why some people called it one thing and some the other, is a tiny but nice little town on the water that stretches the coast before shooting up into the hills directly behind it.

^ Vila das Pombas

Our hotel was a few minutes up the hill and owned by a really friendly Italian guy who spoke no English or French but enough Spanish to sort of communicate with Brittany. Despite the language barrier he tried really hard to be helpful and answer our questions about the hiking etc. and his little hotel, with just two rooms, was absolutely adorable. Plus I was excited because he had a cat, one of the cutest most beautiful cats I’ve ever seen, who was super duper pregnant - it looked like she had swallowed a football. She would come sit outside our room and purr so loudly the floorboards would shake until I opened the door and then she would dart into the room, much to Brittany’s dismay.

We got a different kind of aluguer, kind of like a bush taxi here in Senegal, just a pickup with some benches in the back, up the mountain(s) about an 45 minutes (it probably would have taken twenty if we didn’t keep having to stop and reverse for 100 meters down the tiny narrow mountain road to accommodate the occasional car coming the other way, once we had to do it three times before we rounded a single bend).

^ In the aluguer

The hills just kept getting more and more massive - I suppose in some circles a “massive hill” is known as a “mountain” - and steep and green and there were little villages here and there but mostly just lots of banana and sugar cane and what I think was maybe corn and of course palm trees. We hiked the rest of the way up (about 2 hours of basically walking straight up on this absurd winding path) to Cova Crater, which is nothing special but the view from up next to it is extraordinary, especially since you can look down over the hills you just crossed through and see the ocean where you started and all while you’re above the clouds. Saying that walking back down was harder than going up would probably be overstating it, but it was not easy. In most places it was so steep that you couldn’t help but run down it failing your arms around like an idiot, and as we got closer to the bottom the dirt got looser and looser and there weren’t rocks and roots anymore and we were sliding around almost breaking our ankles every five seconds. But we made it down, exhausted and sunburnt (I put on so much sunscreen, religiously reapplied, and still got burnt to a crisp). We found a pizza place in town and basically dragged ourselves inside but it was totally empty and smelled like weed and then the Italian guy who owned it (I’m not sure why there are so many Italians living in Cabo Verde) came out from the back and told us that they didn’t start making pizza for another two hours because island time so we went back to the hotel and laid prostate on our beds half conscious until it was time and then we sprinted back to the restaurant and seriously contemplated getting two pizzas each. The pizza was great (Italians) and the owner, who spoke only Italian and Portuguese (it’s amazing how far one romance language gets you with the other, I understood almost everything that was said in Spanish and Italian throughout the week but since Portuguese has a totally different sound to it the same did not really apply) was so nice and served us some homemade “punch” and also gave us free shots of some sort of Italian lemon-y liquor.

The next day was quite relaxed because we were both basically zombies. We went to the edge of the island and did a short hike along the coast to a small village built into the cliffs called Fontainhas and then drank some coffee by the water before getting the aluguer back to the port city to get the ferry back to Sao Vicente. This time I stood all the way on top the whole time and it was so windy that I couldn’t wear my hat and I was half convinced that my face itself was going to be blown off. It was so windy I was terrified to take pictures and videos because I was worried about the genuine possibility of the wind blowing my phone out of my hands, so I white-knuckled it whenever I took any pictures.

4. Santiago again - Tarrafal side

We flew back to Santiago and stayed in Praia just for the night since we arrived late and couldn’t keep traveling until the next day. So early the next morning we got an aluguer to Tarrafal, the biggest city (which is not saying much at all) on the far north of the island. When I say we got an aluguer, I really mean we found one going to Tarrafal and sat in it falling asleep for two hours while we waited for other passengers and these two guys used some weird blue filmy material to tint the windows of the van. The drive was about two hours through rolling baren hills and dramatic peaks and then about halfway there the hills grew into mountains and we reached a certain point where you could see Tarrafal on the coast below but unfortunately it was quite overcast so none of my photos from the drive came out. We had been planning to hike in the nearby national park but we were so beat that we ended up just wandering around the tiny deserted city, or town really, sitting on the beach and going to bed at like 8:30 PM. We finally got to try catchupa, after a great deal of confusion and negotiations regarding Brittany’s vegetarianism, and while eating it it was good but it was perhaps the heaviest thing I have ever eaten in my life, I can’t understand how Cabo Verdians eat it for breakfast every day. It literally felt like someone had opened my stomach, placed all of the catchupa into it and then closed it again, and then it sat there like that for 24 hours. For dinner we had a plate of plain rice and some mild cheese cubes because we were incapable of eating real food with the catchupa still in us and I think our waitress thought we were insane.

The next day when we felt like real humans again we finally went to the national park, and even though it was a bit overcast (which did not prevent me from getting sunburnt again) the hike was beautiful - I love green mountains but I almost like bare ones more, because the closest ones look sort of brown but then they fade to purple and then to blue and the clouds cast crazy shadows over them that you can clearly see since there are so few trees. We were just congratulating ourselves on how easy the hike had been, since we started already high up and basically just walked straight along the top of the mountain ridge, when we got to a sharp turn downhill and a sign introducing the new trial which included the qualifiers « Difficulty: Hard » and « Path quality: bad ». Both of those things turned out to be true. Mostly because the path was in many places about as wide as one of my feet and it was basically three hours straight downhill. When we finally reached the town at the bottom where we could allegedly get an aluguer back to Tarrafal, we were disappointed to discover that our excessively vocalized fantasies about going to a little boutique in the town and getting some chips or a Kit Kat bar (which were strangely ubiquitous even in small stores) and some cold water were not going to be realized as the tiny town/village that we ended up waiting an hour in had no stores and also for some indistinguishable reason smelled so bad I thought I was going to pass out while we waited. But eventually and aluguer passed and we hopped on - when we got back to Tarrafal we bought chips and Kit Kat bars and then got another aluguer back to Praia and got cheeseburgers (and a veggie burger) and ate way too many french fries before packing up our stuff in preparation to fly back to Dakar the next day.

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sj2themoon · 8 years ago

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Year One of Marriage

Yes! This week is my one year wedding anniversary with my beloved Kent. During the time of my wedding, I didn’t really prioritize posting wedding pictures (for obvious reasons, I mean I was very busy enjoying newlywed life!;) I would like to take the time now to reminisce on my favorite day yet, my wedding day! I will be showing some of our favorite pics taken by my wonderful Mother in Law/amazing photographer, and sharing memories from that day!

The Proposal

Whoops! I must first backtrack and tell you about Kent’s proposal to me because that is an important part! The majority of our dating was done long distance. I would visit him in Idaho, he would visit me in Arizona, Etc. Oh, and a ton of face timing each other!!! We got to the point where we could not be separated anymore, so we planned Kent’s big move to Arizona. That Christmas, before he moved to Arizona, we decided to meet up with his family in Georgia to spend Christmas together with them. Leaving Georgia after Christmas, taking this flight to Arizona together would be the mark of him officially moving there to be closer to me. He shipped all of his belongings to Arizona already (one box haha), and it would be there when we got home. Ok so here we are on this airplane, flying “home” together. So much excitement was in the air, just knowing we wouldn’t have to be apart anymore from that point on. It was also a special flight for us because we acknowledged it would be our first flight of many that we would take together (seeing how we both love traveling).

Kent had surprised me and upgraded our tickets to first class! Heyyyy! Next, I was surprised as the flight attendant asked both Kent and I to go to the front of the Aircraft during our flight. I was very confused. Then right there, in front of the entire plane, my Kent got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!! I said yes, of course, and everyone began to clap! Just in case anyone didn’t understand what was going on, the pilot then got on the intercom and announced it to the whole airplane!!! “Congratulations to Mr. Craig and the future Mrs. Craig for their engagement!” Kent then explained to me that his reason for proposing to me on an airplane was this, he said, “It doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we are together. Home is wherever you are”. I melted, of course<3

The Ring

Kent wanted my wedding ring to be a complete surprise, but he also wanted to make sure it was something I would love and cherish forever, something that was symbolic and full of meaning. For the longest time, when we would facetime while dating long distance, I began to notice he was always eating cereal with no milk for breakfast, and plain rice for dinner!! Every single time I would ask, “Why are you eating it that way?!” He would just smile and say “I’m saving money”. Later on, I found out he was being frugal to save money for my ring!! He is the sweetest. I promised him he would never have to do that again!! Haha So, back to the ring. I sent him several picture examples of my unconventional taste in wedding rings, which apparently made it harder because there was not one thing consistent about any of the pictures I sent him! Despite that, he went on to design from scratch, the most perfect ring for me.

The black diamond implies that no matter how hard or dark of times we may have in our lives, we will always find the light, just like a black diamond can still reflect light. There are three symbols engraved on the sides of the band. First, starting at the bottom, there is a waxing moon. We consider this “our moon”. A waxing moon symbolizes growth, progression, and new beginnings. Also representing our phrase that we always say to one another, “I love you to the moon and back”, hence the name “sj2themoon”. Along with the waxing moon, there are tiny little stars next to it. These stars are our zodiac stars, overlapped and intertwined.

Next up, getting closer to the diamond, the second symbol is a triangle. The triangle is a representation of me at one bottom corner, Kent at the other bottom corner, and the third and top point represents God. Reminding us that a putting God in all things helps you have a strong foundation and marriage.

The third and highest up is a symbol of Heaven, reminding us to keep an eternal perspective of our ultimate goal- to live life to the fullest and be the best we can so that we will always be together forever.

Kent designed the most perfect ring for me in every way.

The Wedding Gown

I had this concept in my head of a bohemian goddess wedding dress that I wanted! But ugh, I couldn’t seem to find it anywhere!!! I was constantly searching in every store nearby, and online! Nothin! I wanted it to be unique, sleek yet vintage. I finally came across a blogger with the exact dress I wanted, but there was nothing written about where she got it!! My sweet husband began the search for me, he is great at this sort of thing. He was searching all over the internet and asking around online for anyone who has seen this dress. Finally, he reached out to the blogger and got the name of the woman who made the dress for her! Then, we creeper stalked her and got the dress makers email! Kent emailed her a picture of the dress and basically said, I am begging you to make a wedding dress for my wife like the one you made for this blogger. The woman said she could not, the material was no longer in stock. My husband pleaded some more. He then asked if he found the right material and sent it to her, would she then make it for me?!? She said no. Hahahaha such a struggle. I was so sad about that…it was getting to be crunch time and NO dress to be found! I then turned to what I thought was my very last option. Little did I know that this would end up being the best option ever!!! I reached out to my sister’s friend who used to help sew dresses for the princesses at Disneyland. Couldn’t hurt, right? I told her my dilemma and she agreed to make my dress for me! Halle-freakin-lujah!! She was a little nervous about it I think, so was I, but it was a start! After all, it is a lot of pressure to make someone’s wedding dress, I imagine! Especially when she knows it is an emergency!! I began searching now for the perfect material and dress pattern for her to follow. Again, couldn’t find the material anywhere!! Until finally, after checking dozens of shops, we tried a Jo-Ann’s Fabric store that we hadn’t yet tried. It was very far from home. And there it was, the perfect fabric!! Thank you fabric gods!! After that, I combined two different dress patterns into one to create exactly what I wanted. Luckily, she NAILED IT!!! Well… sewed it A miracle at this point with only one month left util wedding time! And know what’s even better? She only charged me $100! Best price ever known to wedding dress shoppers!!! It was made with cream colored stretchy crochet lace type fabric, slightly see-through with a second cream/tan layer put underneath. It had a trumpet skirt, form fitted torso, long sleeves, boat neck, and a low scoop back with cowling. I wore a bohemian head chain and body chain necklace that I made myself (also because I couldn’t find what I wanted anywhere). The bouquet was made with all fake flowers that I put together in the way I imagined! Oh! I also wore a white, hooded wedding poncho to keep me warm when it got cold that evening. It all came together perfectly.

Wedding Planning

Not much to it. We actually considered eloping at one point! Later, we decided instead to just keep our wedding as simple as possible, to make sure we could enjoy every second of it without unneeded stress. What is really interesting though, is that every since forever, I have wanted to get married in the Logan Utah Temple. I saw a picture of it and I just knew from that moment on! It was the place. The only problem is, I knew it seemed very random (as I have no family there) so it might not be the most probable place to have it! Flash forward, Kent and I were in the early stages of being engaged, and I hadn’t yet told him of my dream to be married in Logan, Utah. As we began to plan things out, I asked him, “Is there anywhere in particular that you have always wanted to get married at?” You won’t believe his answer!! “Logan Utah Temple”, he said. I think I fell even more in love with him in that moment!;) I mean, you have to realize how ironic this is!! He is from Georgia, I am from Arizona and we both happened to want to get married in Logan, Utah. Can you say MEANT TO BE?!

So that is just what we did.

The Big Day

I stayed in a hotel with my friend Taylor the night before my wedding. I laid there and imagined what the next day would hold. The morning of my wedding, I put my hair extensions in, did my own makeup, and I was ready to go! I can honestly say that I never once had cold feet or felt nervous about marrying Kent. Which reminds me of the most hilarious thing! I asked Kent if he was worried about getting cold feet, and to that he said, “I don’t have feet.” Bahaha!! Made me laugh so hard! Get it? If you don’t have feet, you can’t get cold feet! He has this clever way of always making me feel comforted This was absolutely the rightest (made up word) decision I had ever made in my life. The day was magical. One of the best feeling in the world knowing you truly found your soulmate and you get to spend eternity together.

Of course at least one thing had to go wrong during the big day though, right? You could say we were in a rush that morning, trying to get there in time! Without realizing it, Taylor locked my keys in the car! So here we are, just came out of our wedding in the temple and getting ready to drive to our reception in the park (where people are going to be showing up in 30 minutes!!!) Of course Taylor felt awful, but I knew we would figure something out! Everyone was trying to help us break into my car. Hahaha! We didn’t have time for a locksmith to come, so naturally, Kent broke the handle off my door and we got in from there! Great memories We felt so much love and support that day, it was a special feeling to be there with my family/friends and my Eternal love.

(My pouty face as Kent brakes into the car)

We had a small gathering in the park after the actual wedding. It was very simple, yet very us! Everyone was to show up in casual clothes and preferably barefoot! We hung up tapestries, pictures, and dream catchers, laid out rugs and pillows around the fire, a table of s’mores ingredients to cook on the fire, had hot chocolate, and enjoyed ourselves some music and dancing. It was a perfect day.

*All pics from the reception in the park are raw and unedited.

From there, Kent and I immediately got taken to the airport to head out for our Honeymoon! We went on a two week cruise to the Eastern Caribbean and then stayed a while in Puerto Rico! It was a dream come true.

Thanks for reminiscing with me about this special time in my life, one year ago!

*Happy anniversary my love, and many more to come.

“It will be a long time, but it will be a good time”.

I love you to the moon and back.

Stay Wild, Moon Child

#becomingbohemian

The post Year 1- Wedding Anniversary Tribute appeared first on sj2themoon.

#sj2themoon #becoming #bohemian #boho

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sj2themoon · 8 years ago

Link

Year One of Marriage

The Proposal

The Ring

There are three symbols engraved on the sides of the band. First, starting at the bottom, there is a waxing moon. We consider this “our moon”. A waxing moon symbolizes growth, progression, and new beginnings. Also representing our phrase that we always say to one another, “I love you to the moon and back”, hence the name “sj2themoon”. Along with the waxing moon, there are tiny little stars next to it. These stars are our zodiac stars, overlapped and intertwined with each other.

Next up, getting closer the diamond, the second symbol is a triangle. The triangle is a representation of me at one bottom corner, Kent at the other bottom corner, and the third and top point represents God. Reminding us that a putting God in all things helps you have a strong foundation and marriage.

Kent designed the most perfect ring for me in every way.

The Wedding Gown

Wedding Planning

So that is just what we did.

The Big Day

(My pouty face as Kent brakes into the car)

*All pics from the reception in the park are raw and unedited.

Thanks for reminiscing with me about this special time in my life, one year ago!

*Happy anniversary my love, and many more to come.

“It will be a long time, but it will be a good time”.

I love you to the moon and back.

Stay Wild, Moon Child

#becomingbohemian

The post Year 1- Wedding Anniversary Tribute appeared first on sj2themoon.

#sj2themoon #becoming #bohemian #boho

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