#i went to a different location growing up and this one is SOOO fancy. there’s a big ass SLIDE in the indoor pool there’s a SLIDE

[renchanters]

my dad signed our family up for the ymca so we went there to get me connected to his account and the old guy taking my info was like “do you have ID???? are you 16 yet????” pls sir my babyface is not that bad don’t do this to me

[paprikadevil45]

Happily ever after..? (DD AU - chapter 1)

The sun shined bright down on beach city & little homeworld as four beings laid relaxed under it’s comforting heat, first was Garnet a permafusion of two completely different gems who together made a strong leader and good friend, than there was Amethyst a quartz soldier who unlike the others wasn’t as big or strong but still made up in her own way, after that was Pearl a strong independent gem who fought to be her own person instead of some fancy servant, and finally there was Steven Universe, a half gem half human hybrid who now after saving the galaxy is ready for some relaxation. “I want things to stay exactly like this and never change” Steven said “agreed” Pearl nodded “here here” Amethyst continued “how’s the future look Garnet? Do we all stay just like this forever?” The fusion shifted her visor in response, shortly after her smile quickly faltered and was replaced by a look of concern “No!” puzzled Steven asked why but before he could utter a word a gust of wind blew wildly causing a bit of surprise for him, he got up looking towards the object that was casting the large shadow over the hill looking up he saw a strange injector looking object looming over most of beach city and pointed straight at the hill. Suddenly a silhouette jumped up into his point of view “HEY!” the stranger demanded “are you by any chance Steven Universe?” Steven continued to stand there confused before finally responding “um....yes?” He answered “Excellent” the strange gem said as her fingers twisted among one another appearing to form some kind of horn which she proceeded to blow into loudly, suddenly a pointed drill and legs formed from the bottom of the ship “Move!” Garnet cried ushering the gems to get out of the way of the strange injector, the legs of the ship gripped the sides of the hill before thrusting down upon it the ground rumbling violently as it dug into the ground “Hey! Nice parking job, dingus!” Amethyst yelled out. The gem on top who had been watching the whole time came down landing on the bottom of the strange ship, it was here that Steven was able to get a good look at the stranger, the gem wore a strange dark maroon top which was accompanied by a pointy bow and pointy shoulder pad it was here he noticed that she wasn’t just a gem but a fusion too, she had two pairs of arms, the ones on top had folded up gloves while the ones on the bottom had much more longer gloves on, below that was a pair of poofy shorts and sharp pointed shoes on her back was a cape of sorts and her hair was shaped almost like that of a crescent, the two gems that had apparently made this fusion were a glossy oval shaped one which was located on her naval and the other was inverted heart shaped gem that had multiple facets, he knew the one on below was definitely a pearl but he wasn’t sure what the heart shaped one was. The gem looked up making eye contact with the four gems, her left eye was obscured by hair but the other had a look of utter hatred below it was a wide smile wicked in form so much so it sent a bit of a shiver down Steven’s spine, “well well well well well!” The gem snapped between sadistic giggling “lemme get a lot at this little menagerie, we have here!” Stretching one of her hands and eye into a creepy telescope “obviously your Amethyst” the stranger said looking at the purple gem “which I’m guessing would make you Garnet” saying the same for the fusion “and OOHH!! Would you just look at this” the gem said excitingly as it’s telescope of an eye circled around Pearl “you must be that pearl i’ve heard sooo much about” she said getting a close look at her before the fusion stretched her eye and hand back, “well it’s always good to know that it doesn’t take much to replace me“ the stranger snarled between her teeth “uh..um..d-do...do i know you....?” Pearl stutter out nervously “hmph! Of course she never told you about me” the gem angrily responded “all you need to know is that my name is Cuprite and I plan on an putting end to you, your friends, and this waste of a colony planet ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!” Cuprite yelled “Woah! woah! woah!” Steven stammered running up “there’s no need to do something this extreme” Steven went on “you said that your name was Cuprite right? Well Cuprite in case you haven’t heard I’ve established peace across the-“ “yeah yeah yeah i’ve heard” Cuprite stated loudly interrupting Steven “I saw your little message and i made sure to listen to every. little. DETAIL!!!” Cuprite shouted kicking Steven so hard in the face he fell backwards. The gems summoned their weapons. Amethyst’s pulled out her whip, Pearl her trident, and Garnet’s gauntlets as they braced themselves for battle “and i just love that part near the end” Cuprite said “where Pink diamond just leaves homeworld to spend the rest of her PATHETIC life on this nowhere hunk rock, with a bunch of NOBODIES” Cuprite shouted before hitting ground in semi graceful manner using her stretchy abilities she started singing a something electroswing-like song, but accurately and half-smoothely nonetheless, and just as she deftly followed the melody, she perfectly dodged from every attack from Crystal Gems, Pearl and Amethyst tried to double team her but the fusion dodged both of them as she pulled out a weapon from the gem on her naval it appear to have been a electrical whip of sorts which glowed a threatening pink color as she tangled up both Amethyst and Pearl in her weapon and proceeding to swing them around without fail, it was here that Garnet tried to sneak attack Cuprite but as soon as she got close WHAM! something clocked Garnet right in the jaw it was so sudden not even her future vision could see it in time after hitting the ground in a crumpled heap she looked up to see what hit her the twisted fusion holding another weapon, a large hammer that just like her whip was colored in that threatening pink. After a while of Amethyst and Pearl getting dizzy she released them from her whip in the same direction Garnet went as they landed onto her with full force, Steven tried to help his friends anyway he could but was thrown one curve ball after another, he didn’t understand what was happening “what was she singing about?” “why was she so angry?” “Who is that heart shaped gem and what is she doing with some pearl?” Steven was so confused in his thoughts he wasn’t paying attention to the situation “she’s running circles around us!” Garnet grumbled catching Steven’s attention “i’m rusty give me a break” Amethyst groaned, annoyed because of the situation they we’re in “They seem so familiar, yet I don’t remember where i’ve seen them” Pearl said shakily “You've known each other?” Steven asked “Can you at least tell us who she is?" Unfortunately, their strange guest had good some pretty good hearing because as soon as she herd what Steven said a furious look appeared on her face. Cuprite started screaming from the lighthouse’s roof, surprised by his total ignorance like if it hurt her badly, her voice cracking here and there as she continued to rant, like she was on edge of hysterics. After she was done ranting her mood changed back to her usual twisted personality, she pulled out both her whip and hammer from her two gems she twirled them around for bit until she finally slammed the two weapons together combining into something entirely different, the end result was a long scythe like weapon once her true weapon was out the gem began extending her body all around the Injector ship and the lighthouse stretching her body to a tremendous degree, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl charged towards her as the pink Gem begin unwinding her body. All Steven could do at that moment was watch in horror as his friends were swiftly cut in half by the weapon their forms dissipating as their gems hit the ground with a clinking noise. “That enough!” Steven getting out his shield “aw what’s the matter Steven?” The fusion cooed “miss your toys already, well don’t worry. YOUR RIGHT BEHIND EM!!!” she screamed jumping up and striking down on Steven with her weapon, the attack went right through his shield and slashing him as the pink glowing circuitry spread around his body briefly, until he successfully shaked it off. He looks at his body, seeing that nothing is happening to him, “hahahaha that was nothing” Steven said confidentially. “Hehehe, than i guess you won’t mind if i do it AGAIN!!!!” The fusion cried slashing Steven again, and again, and again, and again, and again with the scythe all the while laughing wickedly, finally Steven was able to catch the weapon stopping her in her tracks “CUT IT OUT!!!” Steven shouted now tussling with the deranged gem “you don't poof very often, do you? Hmm, figured as much JUST WAIT!” Cuprite threatened as her pupils jiggled like googly eyes in her sockets “your human half won't stand a chance against my Injector, not after what I just did to your gem~!” she concluded. Steven was getting confused by this “What are you talking about!?” Steven demanded “You weren't always a powerful hero, were you?” Cuprite answered before letting out one last maniacal laugh, as Steven wrestles control of the weapon and swings it at Cuprite slicing her form in half and poofing her instantly, tired Steven collapses on his knees and shakes off the pink circuitry going through his body, before setting down the weapon and reaching for one of the gems that were left “better bubble you before anything else happens” Steven said bubbling the heart shaped gem, suddenly the bubble popped leaving Steven confused “what?” Steven questioned, he tried to poof the pearl instead but was sadly meet with the same results “where’s my bubble?” Steven stated concern growing in his voice, Steven grabbed the heart shaped gem in his hands so he could better concentrate “come on” a bubble slowly began forming around the gem before popping, as Steven collapses panting heavily feeling more exhausted than anything, confused he lifted up his shirt to see if there was anything wrong with his gem, upon looking he saw a concerning light flickering like a lightbulb in his gem which was rather worrying “what’s going on?”

To be continued....

[papermoth-bird-blog]

Mexico: The pals in Playa del Carmen.

I’ve never related more to being a person of Baltic bloodlines, than I have being in Mexico. Between my pale skin & the heat-- I have to take super extra precautions so I don’t exhaust myself. Even though I am doing my all time adult-best at wearing sooo much sunscreen, I am clearly not drinking enough water. Yesterday I kinda paid for it & was feeling quite ill. Man, I feel like I constantly have to have water in my hand just to keep up. I do realize I’ve never really been to a climate like this, and so, I suppose there are some adjustments to be made. Especially having lived in the Maritimes for over 6 years- where it rarely reaches temperatures close to 30. The remedy for me has been fruit- any and all fruit- as much as I can at all times. 

Katie & I spent our first few days taking it easy under the scorching heat. Both of our hair grew so big in curly, It would have stirred jealously from any 80s hair band. We ate at a cute little taco place the first nice. There was a man with dreads who pulled up right beside us and started loudly serenading us as we tried to eat. It was kinda funny in the end. For some reason I decided the thing to do was get a margarita- because “when in mexico”. With one sip I now fully realized any remaining affinity for alcohol had vanished from my system entirely. I am simply not interested in any kinda way. So I gave the massive thing away. 

When we got back to the apartment, Ramin (katie’s friend that we were staying with) was home. Ramin is like this big, tan, German Aquaman type human. He works as a scuba diving instructor, and so, has moved/traveled all over the world doing so. Katie & him had met in Guatemala years ago, and managed to reconnect in a few different locations over the years since then. He is friendly and open minded- yet still intimidating in the way Germans can be sometimes. 

The next morning we woke to Eli making his strange little cat noises at us from outside the window. We had to go get him because the apartment has like four different key/lock situations to get into. A bit excessive- we decided. On a side note- there seems to be so much fear mongering in/about Mexico, specifically geared towards tourists. It really is difficult to tell whether that is warranted in any kind of way. I tried not to listen too much, knowing how fear works & spreads. That being said, I was being safe & cautious & paying attention to my surroundings always. If not for “stranger/danger” purposes, certainly for the fact that drivers here are absolutely chaotic (although maybe not as bad as South America). 

Eli & I went to a cute little cafe called cafe choux choux, eager to get out of the house. We stayed there a long while partaking in many breakfast items & some fancy lemonades. Even the fancy places here and still affordable, even for someone on a budget like me. The cafe was clearly the place that a lot of ex-pats gravitated to. The group that sat beside us flickered between speaking spanish, then english, then french, then german, depending on who came up to greet them at their table. We stayed for a long while, basking in the atmosphere & playing on our computers.... and mostly waiting for Katie. We wandered over to another cafe called BiOrganico & had some lunch. Katie & I then wandered off to explore the market area of Playa Del Carmen.

We were in search of a few things neither of us had- sun glasses, sun screen, shorts, sandals. OKay- I know that seems like almost everything you need for a trip to Mexico, but to be fair I had absolutely no idea when I left for my trip that I would end up here. Happy that I am, but my bag was not packed according to that. Actually even looking at the wool sweaters in my bag gives me the heebie-jeebies. I can try my best to set the scene of Playa to the best of my ability- but I should perhaps preface it by saying that at one point, this was a natural paradise. First there were small rental houses, then hotels, then bar and bars and bars. These days there are McDonalds & Subways & Forever21s. Which feels weird, of course. It’s one of the most rapid & evident gentrifications I’ve ever witnessed. But in many ways, I realize my complicit behaviour in all this- I probably wouldn’t have ended up here without it. Although it’s probably what I least enjoy about it. As you walk down the street everyone is trying to sell you something- of course they are- Tourism is basically the only driving industry out here. Especially being a woman, you get all kind of weird comments like “You need this” “don’t get lost” and the most classic “Do you need a Mexican Boyfriend.” Katie was obviously quite angsty with all the comments. I tried my best to tune them out & live in the happy little peaceful world in my head.

The plant life is beautiful & so too are the birds. In playa del carmen, however they are groomed & tamed in a more manicured way. Woven in amongst the huge heaps of concrete jungle that has been superimposed on the jungle paradise of the Yucatan Penninsula. I won’t say it truly overwhelmed me, having just spent so much time in much bigger cities. I understand how it could, though. Especially with the added trickiness of the language barrier (though many folks do speak english). Katie & I continued to stroll around, stopping in to buy water at many points. We dared not sit down, mostly because the public benches were metal (WHY). We wandered over to get groceries and ate more tacos. Eli & Ramin both joined us- all of us sweating profusely, slowly stripping down into half-dressed states. Not in a sexy way. In a very, very sweaty way. Which was especially pleasant considering the extremely feeble water pressure in the apartment that made showering a challenge. 

We woke early in the morning on the 3rd day. The early morning is the most reasonable time to go out, without a doubt. By 10am it is already quite hot & doing anything other than chilling out, is less appetizing. We walked over to the beach to greet the rising sun & went for a swim. While wading in the growing waves, Eli told me all about the cheap healthcare here. He said loudly that I should try to get contacts here. I agreed- that would be great! Not two minutes later, as we laughed about something else, I suddenly got hit in the face with a big, aggressive wave. I felt my glasses fly off my face & over my head. The water was particularly thick with grey & seaweed. Though we combed through the water. There wasn’t much hope. It seemed the comments earlier about contacts had been taken as a dare from the universe. So I bumbled around without glasses back to the apartment to fetch my extra pair. 

Eli and I went to the glasses store later that day- he speaks Spanish which made the interactions a bit easier to manage. Although the two places we went to didn’t have my prescription in stock. It would take five days to get them,  so we decided it was best to wait until we got to Tulum to get them. But I have to say- I didn’t quite realize how much more affordable medical treatment is in mexico. For my contacts- the exam was FREE and three months worth of lenses were 48 dollars. I now understand medical tourism. It isn’t like it’s sketchy either. All the places we went to were clean & professional & so so friendly. Despite my blindness, the whole experience wasn’t stressful in the least. 

I will say I could feel Katie getting stressed. I mean I think it was a lot of things. Her personal life as of recently, has been super emotionally complicated. As she also had a bout of skin cancer not long ago- the sun has been stressing her out. She’s been staying in the apartment a lot as to how avoid it, but also I think she still feels overwhelmed by the “spring break” vibes in Playa. The apartment is small, and so at a certain point we certainly started to bug eachother in ways. It came to a head when we were supposed to go down to the beach for Danielle Moore’s ritual. She had wanted me to take more leadership in regards to it. I wanted to give her her space as she had clearly been in a grumpy mood all day. On top of that she refrained to the fact that she felt weird about the ritual all day. It resulted in us being entirely cross with each other at the beach, ducking between tipsy strangers & me eventually crying out of frustration. We decided it didn’t feel right to do a scared ritual in an emotion state like that. On top of that, we clearly had some stuff to talk through & so we went home and did that. We came to a place that felt nice, which was relieving for sure. Katie & I have never fought like that. I’m really glad we can still talk through it. We decided to do it in the morning- the beach would be empty then & we would both be cooled off (physically and emotionally). 

It did actually feel like that was the way it was supposed to go. We were mostly silent throughout the whole ritual, though we started it with a prayer- one we learned from the ashram. We made a mandala in sand with the flowers we bought & other materials we found on the beach. Then we sang a few of Danielle’s favourite songs. Doing the ritual felt so private in an internal world kind-of-way, but connected to all the friends & communities that knew her & loved her. Being a way from the physical communities felt difficult. I did what I could to stay connect & support the effort. I spent some computer time a talking to others organizing & fencing some tech-difficulties when the page went down. It was powerful & healing to feel connected in the small ways during this time. And to see so many talking power & inspiration to making the world better after such a terrible event. Mostly though, my attempts at support were done out of love- for Danielle, but also for Kluane. I wanted to be able to do anything I could support her in the ways she was grieving & working through that grief.

Earlier that morning- even before the sun was a a light deep in the horizon, Katie woke up to call Klu as she boarded her plane in Winnipeg. Klu herself said she was surprised she found it so difficult. Kluane has always been an avid & regular traveller, but I too of course understand that the circumstances of airplane travel have changed so much. Especially considering Klu was leaving from the Winnipeg airport, the same Danielle had left from only days earlier. My heart ached for the situation- but I knew that she was well taken care of. The flight attendants all knew & supported her throughout her journey. Katie went to the airport to pick Klu up, after we ate breakfast together at a downtown cafe. It was good for us to take time apart for a few hours & also I knew Katie would be there for Klu. Apparently when Klu came out, she was wearing a big Christmas sweater complete with Reindeer & Holly, as well. I love that through anything- these two women in my life still find anyway to make us all laugh.

After quite a bit of waiting, tidying & other bits and bobs on my end, the crew eventually returned to the apartment, ready to move onto Tulum. They picked up a fellow traveller named Geoffroy from Montreal & so we all piled into the car with all our luggage, cranked the AC and headed for the highway. 

On the drive we all talked about love & life- of course. And caught up with eachother in the ways that aren’t always easy over technologies. We listened to country songs on Katies phone between checking directions- as the sux cord wasn’t working in the car. When we finally got to Tulum, we spent a lot of time in the grocery store, where Eli eventually met us. I am still amazed at how inexpensive all the food is here. I thing that Eli kept reminding us all of was that Mexicans love their sugar. I guess I didn’t really realize how much until I tasted some of the items. I was desperate for a bit of ice cream in the car and so we Mcgivered one out of a lid & I ate pretty much a whole pint to myself. 

We rode around for a short time trying to connect with a few friends before getting to our house. There were some funny moments that involved various chain reactions of annoyed-ness. “I think he’s annoyed I’m annoyed at him” Eli said as we chased after Alex’s speeding car. As we sat waiting for Eli, Klu and I got a little over excited about a particularly lovely old chevy truck that we enthusiastically jumped out of our car to take a picture with, before realizing the owners of said truck were right there. We share a love for this one particular Femme-Queer instagram account called @Truckslutsmag. One day, we said we will be on it. That day is not now however- haha. Later, on our way to our house at long last, this truck full of Mexican tradesmen speed alongside us on the highway, pointing at us & the car. We didn’t know what the heck was happening, until we finally put the dots together that Katie’s phone was not in fact in the car, but instead on the roof of the car as we speed down the highway. We agreed something strange & silly was in the air. It seems there seemed to be a resistance that had built up, that hadn’t been there until this week. I suppose mercury is in retrograde, but I’m sure there is more at play for whatever reason. 

The house we are staying at it so beautiful. The outside is the most perfect eggyolk yellow colour. The rest is painted in warm oranges & reds, with details or light blue, white & dark wood colours. The main room is open concept (although it doesn’t carry acoustics well). There is so much space- we almost immediately went on to plan how we could come back & stay here with more friends in the future. Every room has a balcony. The roof top is easily accessable & oh so perfect for dance parties. The property has pretty flowers & desert plants nestled in beside the pool & house itself. When sitting by the pool, all sorts of birds come swooping in- especially these beautifully delicate flying swallows. Swiftly after dropping our bags in our respective rooms, we jumped in the pool naked. ...Only to later discover the owner of the house has security cameras all over the place. We laughed for a second, but promptly messaged him to see if he could turn them off while we were here. 

So far, I have managed not to get burnt. Which is a win for sure- seeing as I tend to burn extremely easily. I haven’t spent that much time in the city of Tulum itself, although I did go into town to get my contacts. The town of Tulum already feels much more low-key (in the SPRING BREAK kinda-way) than Playa del Carmen felt. The vibe is much more bohemian- health/healing type-people & shops. I mean it is strange though, it has that gentrified feel to it too though. Fancy pantsy, tourist/ex-pat places sit right next to little shacks held together with ropes. It’s an interesting experience in that way.

That being said- at the house at least- I haven’t felt more “I’m on vacation” feels since starting this trip. It feels weird to do nothing. I guess I’m enjoying it- but not more than I do doing stuff. I worry that I will loose my motivation to do anything at all. The heat has made me groggy & I’ve been falling a sleep in various places. That being said, I’m feeling more reclusive- Katie & Eli have gone to various ecstatic dance events- but I don’t feel terribly social. 

Having contacts has been a game changer though! Being able to see without anything on my face has felt really freeing. Although, I am still not great at putting them in & taking them out. But there is so much potential with having them! I can go in the pool & put my head under water without worrying! I can wear any costume I want without being confused! Also, so some reason I feel it is suddenly more appropriate for me to get a really weird hair cut. The world is my oyster, really. It may seem over dramatic- but after being bound to glasses for over a decade, to have my face back in my possession is freeing.