#i will be seeing it at 7:00pm this friday. which is very early to be seeing it. but it'll be in theaters on the 19th so still Dangerous

[bonestrouslingbones]

i'm locking in

[cryptidsurveys]

Saturday, December 14th, 2024.

1 - Have you ever had stitches? No.

2 - Who was the last person to shake your hand? I'm pretty sure it was someone I was introduced to at the animal shelter, but I can't remember who.

3 - What was the last thing you bought when you went to the grocery store? Cat food, a few frozen rice mixes, pierogi, chicken pot pies, frozen carrots, grapes, potatoes and sweet potatoes, spring greens salad mix, rolls, hamburger buns, pepper jack and jalapeno cheese, eggs, butter, chips, diced grilled chicken, some wreath-shaped sugar cookies, panettone, pizza, powerade, paper towels, and I think that was basically it.

4 - How often do you find yourself needing to do laundry? Every couple of days. Especially in the colder months when I wear bulkier clothing like hoodies and jackets.

5 - Coke or Pepsi? I guess Coke, but I don't really care. I'm fine with Pepsi too if that's what's available.

6 - When was the last time you struggled to get to sleep? I think I struggled a little bit on Thursday night.

7 - What did you have for your last meal, whatever that was? I'm eating a bowl of oatmeal right now, but lunch was a sandwich with cheese and greens and some baked bbq chips.

8 - Do you have anything fun planned for the upcoming weekend? Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the animal shelter 8:00am-12:00pm on both days. I did just finish baking a variation of a pecan pie, though. I made some "bars" the other day and while they turned out well enough for me to enjoy, they were probably a bit overdone and the homemade crust was a bit difficult to cut through, so this time around I just added the filling to a premade pie crust. We'll see! Hope everyone likes it! (fingers crossed)

9 - Which of the four seasons is your favourite? Autumn. I love winter as well, but my favorite aspect is the snow and we don't get nearly enough for my tastes. Instead, it's just sunny and barren. Preferable by far to summer, but not to the beauty of autumn.

10 - Do you still have all four of your wisdom teeth? I do.

11 - If you drive, do you enjoy it or is it just a necessity? It's both. I enjoy driving when the traffic is light, but not so much on busy weekday mornings.

12 - Do you prefer sweet or salted popcorn? Probably salted, but I enjoy sweet as well.

13 - When was the last time you were in pain? What caused it? Earlier. Not serious pain, but I keep messing with the little wound on my earlobe.

14 - Are there any textures that you have a weird aversion to? Like food textures? Not really. Textures in general? I don't like touching fleecy / woolen blankets with super dry hands.

15 - What was the last thing you said outloud and to who? I said "bless you" to my dad.

16 - When was the last time you got up from where you're sitting and why? Not that long ago. To go smoke.

17 - Have you been diagnosed with any chronic health conditions? Apparently, migraines are only considered chronic if you experience symptoms on 15 or more days per month, so technically no.

18 - Are you an early bird or a night owl? Eeeearly bird.

19 - What are some of your favourite Christmas movies? Mostly just the ones I remember from childhood - A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas…

20 - Have you ever met up with someone in real life that you first met on the internet? Was it just as good as you hoped? I have. Looking back, it was a very rushed and naive decision.

21 - Who was the last person to text you? What about call you? The last person to text me was my dad. He was telling me that everything was alright with my car, etc. On Friday morning, very shortly after I set off, I started to hear a clunking sound. I pulled over at a nearby laundromat to check things out. Opened and closed the doors in case they were what was rattling. Noticed one of my tires was looking pretty low on air. Wondered if the sound might have something to do with that. Decided to drive home and have my dad take me to the shelter instead of risk it. While I was gone, he took the car to get checked out, got a much-needed oil change, and put air in the tires. But lol it was probably one of the doors after all. As for the last person to call me, that would have been my mom. I think it was on Wednesday night?

22 - What are some of your favourite smells? Coffee brewing, freshly baked bread, baked goods, the woods, crisp and cold snowy air, when people light their fireplaces or cook bacon and I can smell it from a distance…

23 - Are you more hungry or thirsty right now? Probably thirsty, but I am still a bit hungry after that oatmeal bowl.

24 - When's the next time you plan on going to the cinema and what will you be going to see? Most likely within the next few weeks. I'm not yet sure what I will be seeing. It's almost always my mom who comes up with ideas.

25 - Would you rather watch a film at home or in the theatre? I sort of wish I had the motivation? concentration? (whatever it would take) to watch films at home, but I just don't. If it wasn't for my mom taking me to the theater, I might never watch anything.

26 - If you have pets, what colour are they? Esther and Karenna are white and gray and Lacy is a calico.

27 - Did your parents have any influence over the music you like? My dad got me into listening to classical music. He started off listening to it in his car, which morphed into me listening to it in mine. When I was younger, my mom had some influence over my tastes, but they've obviously evolved beyond that into their own sort of thing.

28 - When was the last time you rode a horse? Not since I was a teenager.

29 - Has your style changed much in the last few years? I'm not even sure how to describe my previous "style." Flamboyant thrifty pajama goblin? A whole ass mess? I guess I'm still a thrifty pajama goblin, but the flamboyancy has been replaced by animal shelter garb. I kind of want to revive at least some of my old style, though. I just feel so boring and unlike myself.

30 - Do you prefer real books or audiobooks? What was the last one you read or listened to? Real books. I switched over to reading The High Adventure Of Eric Ryback on my lunchbreaks.

[marieiswishingon-a-star]

You X A Vampire Imaging

With his black eyes and short black wavy hair Dominic sat in front of his Apple computer scrolling through single young women’s profiles with a picture of each of them on a popular dating web site. Being a hundred year old vampire Dominic had to find ways to amuse himself. Dominic was bitten by a female vampire at the age of 30 years old. He will always look 30. He owned an upscale condominium on the Upper east side of New York. He had a mix of new and old things in his condo. He had a TV in his living room and a couch that sat near a large eighteenth century bookshelf filled with books he enjoyed. His condo is dark, it’s late. Dominic did not need a lot of light to see. As he continued to look through the profiles Dominic stop cold on your photograph. He remembered you walking down the street near his home about ten years ago. You were young then. Now your picture showed a beautiful young woman, with long dark hair and blue eyes. Dominic felt his heart skip a beat looking at your picture which was impossible since his heart had not beat in a hundred years. Reading through your profile Dominic had to meet you. 

He decides to message you:

Hello Your/Name

My name is Dominic Lamount I came across your profile tonight. We have a lot in common. I enjoy reading and going to museums. I want to meet you. I would like to ask you out to dinner this Friday night. I know a nice French restaurant Jean Claude I will meet you there at 7:00pm. If you say yes, I will send you directions to the restaurant. Just ask the servicer up front he knows me by name and will bring you to my table. 

Dom

Dominic added an old photograph of himself he was able to photo shop to look more modern to his on-line profile. It was amazing what a photo shop could do with a picture now days. Dominic waited an hour for you to replay. When you didn’t replay Dominic felt restless, he needed to hunt. Dominic left his condo and feed on some homeless people. He got home around midnight. A replay from you was waiting for him. 

Hello Dominic, 

I read your profile. I agree I think we have a lot in common. I will go to dinner with you. I look forward to meeting you this Friday at 7:00pm, it’s a date. 

Your/Name

Dominic felt excited with the expectation of seeing you this Friday night. There was a part of him that also feared it. He feared he would not be able to control himself around you and do something stupid like raise from his table take you in his arm and take you out of the restaurant to a dark corner were dark deeds are done. He sent you the directions to the restaurant. If you don’t show for dinner he already made up his mind to find you. There was no turning back now. He knows where you will be or he will find you. 

Friday night finally arrived. Dominic wore all black with a black leather jacket. He arrived early at Jean Claude’s restaurant and got his usual table in the back of the restaurant. He ordered a glass of very dry red wine.

You arrive at the restaurant a little before 7:00pm. You look inside the restaurant window it’s very romantic inside with low lighting. You see Dominic is already there. He is seated in a booth made for two in the back of the restaurant. He looked like his photo with black wavy hair. His black eyes watched the front door. Dominic is waiting for you. You stood frozen in place looking at him. You had never seen a man more gorgeous than Dominic. His skin was a little on pale side with the classic male good looks like a male model you had seen on a runway. He looked to be in prefect shape. He has the body of a body builder with the right amount of muscle tone. He had taken off his jacket the black t-shirt showed lean muscles in his arm worked when he picked up the glass to take a drink of red wine. For a moment you lost your nerve you thought about leaving you had never dated a man so handsome, sexy with a dark edge and ...lethal. 

You decide to shake it off, remembering he asked you out. Taking a deep breath, you walk to the front door. You pull your dark gray jacket closer to you. The dark blue dress you wore, with your black high heels are not made for cold weather. It was cold and dark tonight. You could smell rain in the air. 

 You give the servicer up front your name. He smiles at you and pull out a menu for you. “Right this way” he says to you politely and leads the way. 

As you approach the table, Dominic looks into your eyes. “Hello” you say your/name “nice to meet you”. Dominic stands up and takes your hand and kisses the back of it in an old fashion way. You blush feeling the heat of his lips. 

“Please sit down” Dominic offers. You take a seat next to him. Your heart starts to beat faster. Dominic is pleased you look like your picture with your long dark hair and blue eyes. petite body frame. “You look like your picture” he says to you. You smile a little, lifting your eyebrow “Expecting someone else”? looking into his dark eyes it feels like you’re falling. You feel an electoral current pass between you. The waiter comes up just then breaking the magic. “What would you like to drink miss”? “a glass of white wine” you answer. It starts to rain outside without thinking you tighten your jacket around you. Dominic notices and moves closer to you. he places his right arm around your shoulder and his leg touching yours helps to warm you. For some reason after drinking human blood Dominic’s blood ran warm. It’s a cozy scene the two of you sitting so close together when the waiter brings your glass of white wine. You take a big drink to calm your nerves. the sexual tension between you and Dominic is building. You feel it down to your toes. Truth be told after seeing his picture for the first-time online Dominic was all you could think about. You make small talk with him and drink your wine while telling Dominic about where you graduated from college and your plans are for the future. Your menu remained on the table. You can’t think of food with Dominic so close to you. The restaurant was not busy only a few couples sat in different areas of the restaurant and eating their dinners talking to each other. An hour later you finish your wine feeling warm all over. Just then you looked into his eyes again and he asks you something about your work. Then you looked at his lips. It was hard to concentrate on anything accept his full lips you no longer heard people talking or the clinking of dinner plates. As if he knew what you were thinking Dominic placed his right hand on your cheek and ran his thumb over your bottom lip, Passion on his face as he leans forward and kisses you on the lips. His breath becomes your breath. He deepens the kiss making your breath quicken. His kiss is so hot, your heart starts to pound. You want more of him. 

Just then the air in the restaurant changed. Everything went still a tall man dressed in white suit with long white hair enters the restaurant through the front doors. Dominic looked up in time from the kiss to see the man, moving fast Dominic pulls you into his arms down to the floor under the table just in time as a flash of red-hot lighting runs over your table hits the glass be hide your table shattering it. Time felt like it slowed down. The lights in the restaurant went dim. The man in white sent another red-hot ball of lighting at Dominic just missing you both. Dominic picks you up throws you over his shoulder as he climbs up and jumps out the shattered window with you. Lucky your blue dress is long and covered your legs from the glass. You look up just in time to see the face of the man in white. It was the most hideous face you had ever seen. It didn’t look human. In a flash Dominic had you with him at his black Maserati. He opened the passenger side door and placed you inside pulling your seat belt across you and belts you in, then shuts your door. Dominic ran to the driver side of the car gets in and slams the car door shut and rams his car keys into the ignition the car speeds away from the restaurant. You look in the rearview mirror and start to shake uncontrollably as you watch the man in white’s image in the mirror grow smaller and smaller. 

Dominic can see you are afraid and shaking but he cannot stop until he gets you to his condo where he knows you will be safe. He has to pay attention to his driving. Dominic shifts into fifth gear and speeds down a other busy street. Dominic shifts again and takes a back alley way to his Condominium. Pulling into the back parking lot entrance of his Condo he pulls into his parking space as the garage gate shuts. Dominic gets out of the car shuts his door he looks around the cold gray parking lot and does not see or sense anyone else there to harm them. Dominic had not seen that white suit wearing warlock in twenty years. Dominic was hoping to never see him again. 

Dominic opened your door and unbelted your seat belt and pulled your shaking body into his arms along with your purse. Your weight is as light as feather to him. He kicked the passenger side door closed with his black boot. The car had automatic locks. “It will be ok, He’s gone now” Dominic whispered in your ear. Some of your shaking stopped. he carried you to the elevator the doors open and you both got in with Dominic is still holding you close. He hits the fourth floor button. soon all you could hear is Dominic’s breathing moving in and out It started to calm you down. 

He carries you down the hall with one arm under you under other holding you close. He opens his door and he lays you on the couch. He closes and locks the front door turns on the lights and take off his shirt and shoes and sock the only thing he has on is his pants. he goes into the bathroom and turns on the shower and makes the water nice and warm. Dominic comes back in. You stare at his body it looks so strong and perfect. He looked Like a god, like Adonis made him. A gym trainer would be jealous of his body. You blushed a little feeling a little shy. He leans forward and takes off your wet gray jacket and your high heels. He unbuttons the top of your blue dress and fabric falls back with ease. It never enters your mind to stop him from what he is doing.

Dominic’s smiles at you a warm smile as he unbuttons your bra from the front pulls it down with the rest of your dress over your shoulder and pulls your underwear down to the floor. You stand in front of him completely naked. He admires you, looking at you from head to toe. he takes you by the hand and leads you to his bathroom. You are still a little shaken up by what happen at the restaurant. a shiver runs through your body. Dominic notices now that you're both in his bathroom he takes off his pants and underwear. You’re both naked now. Dominic checks the water temper He makes the water a bit hotter. Steam rose from the modern glass shower. Dominic helps you into the shower first. As the water streams on your body the hot water felt so good. The water helps to relax you. Dominic stepped into the shower be hide you. He lets the water run over him too. Dominic pulls your shoulders and back against his chest. You feel his breathing on your neck it also helps to calm you. He rubs your shoulder under the water. Your beathing matched his In and out. He gently lifted your left leg his hard member entered you with ease you’re already wet. As you come close to orgasm you try to hold the wall then you feel a pick at your neck for only a moment. Before you could say anything about it you hold on to the walls for dear life you lean you head your head hit his rock hard chest as your orgasm hits hard it drained you. You laid the of your head Dominic chest he puts his arms around you holding you tight has the hot water ran over your bodies you felt better all over. Dominic reached over and turned off the water you both stepped out of the shower. Dominic placed a white large towel around you and walks you to his bedroom. under a vampire Thrall Dominic speaks to your mind. “I want you to stay with me”..  he kissed you again in a deep echoing voice in your mind. “Always”. 

You are with Dominic now. You smile, knew your life will never be the same. 

[suttttton]

An Invitation

How do you get Jonathan Sims to go on a date with you? Easy. Step one: Trick him by giving him a fake statement filled with puzzles that lead him to the date location of your choice. Step two: Profit?

---

“Jon,” Sasha says, leaning against his desk.

“Hmm?” He doesn’t look up from his work.

“D’you want to get lunch with me today?” she asks. It’s just a casual question. They’ve gotten lunch together before, and she knows that Jon won’t interpret her question in a romantic way, but her stomach still thrums with nervousness. It’s… different, now that she’s decided to let herself have a crush on him. Now that she’s decided that, eventually, she’ll ask him on a real date.

He doesn’t even look at her, just shakes his head. “Can’t, I’m a bit swamped this week. I’ve got a lot of—things…” he trails off, drawn back into his work. The exciting world of follow-up research. She stands there for another minute, just watching him, knowing that he has forgotten her entirely. It’s one of those things that should be annoying, but is really just… deeply endearing. Ugh.

She’s going to ask him on that date soon.

***

When she asks Jon out, she tries to be obvious about it. Jon has a hard time reading social signals at the best of times, and she wants to make things easy for him. She’s not the most comfortable with grand gestures, but she’s got a bit theater kid in her yet, and she’s sure she can make it work.

She finds Jon in the break room, eating a bowl of microwavable soup and staring blankly at nothing. Very adorable. She knocks twice on the table, getting his attention, and he blinks once and smiles at her.

“Jon, there’s something I want to ask you,” she says. She can feel heat rising in her face. God, this is about to be embarrassing. She really, really hopes he doesn’t turn her down. (Why would he turn you down, James? You’re a catch.)

She gets on one knee, takes his hand. “Jonathan Sims,” she says dramatically. “Would you do me the honor of coming to dinner with me on Friday?”

He looks at her, and his eyebrows furrow. “Sorry Sasha,” he says, “but I can’t. I requested some books, and they’re supposed to arrive Friday. I was planning to get started on them Friday evening.”

She sighs. She’d take it as a graceful rejection, if she hadn’t seen Jon reject people before. He got nervous and stuttery and hyper-apologetic. He doesn’t look at all uncomfortable now, just confused as to why she’s on the floor.

He doesn’t know that she’s trying to ask him on a date.

Later, replaying the scene in her mind, she realizes what the problem was. They were at work. Even with her making it as dramatic as possible, the environment was too casual. She asked him to do platonic activities with her all the time while they were at work—why would he assume differently?

She needs to ask him when they aren’t at the Institute, somewhere where she can make a whole presentation of it. She’ll buy him flowers, sweep him off his feet.

Except.

He keeps turning down her offers to spend time together. When he isn’t busy with follow-up, he’s busy researching the Leitner books. It’s… stupidly endearing. And unhealthy. Jon doesn’t look unwell, really, but he does look… stressed, hunched over his desk all day. Jon needs a break from work, not just so she can ask him on a date, but also so he doesn’t drive himself into a nervous breakdown.

Sasha hatches a plan.

***

It doesn’t take long to put together. Just an evening, researching cryptic puzzles, scouting out locations that aren’t too far from the Institute, writing a nonsensical statement in the ‘I saw a ghost in a graveyard and it was spooky’ vein.

The only problem is how to get the fake statement into Jon’s caseload without him noticing. She can’t just drop it on his desk, not with him there all day long. She could get Lydia involved, but she isn’t sure the Head of Research would approve of her plan, and even if she did, Lydia is a bad liar. Jon would know something was up.

In the end, Jon solves the problem for her. He leans back in his chair, hisses over to her, “Sasha! Swap with me?”

“Spiders?” she asks, and he winces, nods. She holds out her hand, and flicks through the offending file. It has all the hallmarks of a false statement, but—

“I felt thousands of legs swarming over me, filling up my mouth, my nose—”

She snaps the folder shut, wrinkling her nose. “No problem,” she says. She hands Jon the fake statement. “You can take this one, I haven’t gotten started on it yet.”

“Thanks,” he says, smiling. Her stomach flips, and she watches for a few moments longer as he gets to work.

***

It would be suspicious for her to be staring at Jon the entire time he’s working on the statement, so instead she just glances over every once in a while, making sure he doesn’t immediately drop the statement in the ‘discredited’ pile.

He doesn’t. Instead, his frown deepens as he’s drawn in, trying to figure out the puzzle she’s left for him. The statement is clearly fake, but a few of the words are—wrong. Nonsensical. Gibberish.

She sees Jon go over and over the text, marking every strange word. Then he picks up his phone, dials the number listed on the statement. It’s a disconnected number, and Jon’s frown deepens.

He thinks for a few seconds, tapping his fingers on his desk. Then he pulls out a notepad, begins writing on it, consulting the statement to transcribe the strange words exactly.

At that point, Sasha knows she has him. Jon loves puzzles, and now that he knows there’s a puzzle to solve in the statement, he’s not going to stop until he figures it out.

It’s a simple Caesar cipher, with the phone number as its key. It yields the message:

Here are the coordinates:

CH.HCGDHCGFYERE, -HB.KGICCECIF0WI

In order to crack the coordinates, Jon simply has to replace each letter with its numerical position in the alphabet. Jon is smart, he’ll figure it out. The coordinates belong to a cryptid-themed restaurant in America called the Moth Man Urban Legends Bar and Grille.

Once, the Moth Man Urban Legends Bar and Grill website landing page contained several blurry photos of “Moth Man,” along with a somehow even blurrier photo of a restaurant menu. Now, it’s a nightmarish jumble of the strangest stock photos Sasha could find, along with a single hyperlink that just says, “Click me!”

(Sasha included this step because she finds it deeply entertaining to watch Jon click on the shadiest links possible. It’s revenge for all the viruses she’s had to clean off his computer.)

The link leads to a much more tasteful webpage. It’s has a single picture of a rose on it, and below that it just says, “An Invitation”. Then it gives the address of a very cute little cafe just a short walk from the Institute. Beneath that, “Tonight. 7:00pm.”

It takes about an hour for Jon to figure out the Caesar cipher, and after that he works through the puzzle quickly. It’s a delight, watching his face when he sees “Moth Man Urban Legends Bar and Grille,” and even better when he sees the monstrosity she’s made of their website.

He clicks the link without even a second of hesitation, which almost makes Sasha laugh out loud. And then he’s just staring at the invitation. He opens a new tab, opens Google Maps, puts in the address. She sees the back-in-forth in his head—‘Tonight’ has probably long since passed, and he isn’t likely to find anything if he shows up at the cafe at 7:00pm tonight.

But Jon is stubborn, and if he doesn’t go ‘Tonight,’ it’ll eat at him. She’s trapped him. He’ll show up. She’s certain of it.

***

She debates for a long time if she should wear a dress, or a button-up shirt and tie. She decides on the tie. It has ferns on it, and she needs the calming vibes.

It’s starting to sink in, what she’s done.

Why didn’t she just say, “Jon, I am asking you on a date”? That would have been so much easier! Christ, she’s tricked her crush into going on a date with her. What kind of creep does that?

She’s terrified Jon will be angry with her. Or worse, hurt. This whole thing is technically a prank. What if Jon thinks she’s just… making fun of him?

She stops by a flower shop on her way there, and the shop assistant asks what she needs, and she’s so nervous by then that she actually says, “I tricked my friend into going on a date with me, and I need flowers that will prevent him from hating me forever.”

“Right,” the man says, uncertainly. “Well—” And then he makes Sasha a very, very nice arrangement because, unlike Sasha, he isn’t a complete mess.

Sasha arrives at the cafe thirty minutes early, because she knows Jon. She knows he’ll want to stake out the place ahead of time. She knows she has to arrive ridiculously early to beat him there.

But apparently, she’s underestimated him because he’s already there.

He’s seated at a table in the corner, where he can see the entire dining room. He’s still wearing his clothes from work, and there’s a pastry in front of him.

He’s watching the door, of course he is, so he sees her come in.

“Sasha!” he calls, waving wildly at her. It makes something pang in her chest, that Jon’s instinct upon seeing her in a public place is to excitedly greet her. She certainly isn’t that kind of person.

She smiles, walks over to him. Her fingers are curled tightly around the flowers, crinkling the paper just slightly.

“Do you have a date tonight?” he asks, looking her over, his eyes still flicking back and forth between her and the door.

“I hope so,” she says.

He frowns. “Are they late? Or—”

She hands him the flowers. “These are for you.”

He looks at them, bewildered, then back at Sasha. “What—”

“The invitation was from me,” Sasha says, sitting down across from him. “I faked the statement, and I made the puzzles.”

He stares at her for moment, then at the flowers, then back at her. She waits for him to yell at her, or run off, or—she doesn’t know.

Then he starts laughing. It’s—wonderful, when he laughs. He always tries to hide his face, and this time he decides to use the flowers for that purpose, stifling his giggles against the petals. “Sasha, I—I thought it was going to be the, the Mob, or something.”

Sasha can’t help but start laughing too. “You thought the Mob sent secret messages to each other using a Caesar cipher?”

“I don’t know!” Jon says. “This is—” He lets out a long breath. “Well, I did enjoy the—game, I suppose.”

They look at each other for a long moment.

“Wait,” Jon says. “So I’m your date?”

“If you want to be,” Sasha says.

Jon smiles. “I—” He laughs again. “Yes. Of course I do.”

[letting-them-take-liberties]

VolFes 2020 Shop Event Report

That got intense so fast.

Crossposted at Wanderlust.

Because of the current situation and the company probably not wanting to risk it, VolFes 2020 got cancelled and instead was turned into a pop-up shop so that they can sell the goods meant for the event.

Around an estimate of 99.5% of Japan events are mostly all about buying merch, so it felt like a bloodbath of sorts as everyone around me was spending money like it grew on trees (someone I know spent at least USD2,000 for merch alone). I’ve been attending Voltage events for three years now and it always amazes me how far the fangirls will go to spend for their favorite character (I’ll be calling them ‘oshi’ [推し]) from this point forward.

As mentioned in this post, it is always good to go to an event on the very first day to avoid disappointment and loathing when the merch you’re eyeing gets sold out.

I took a leave from work for Day 1 of VolFes 2020 Shop as I knew that it would get crazy; the last few merch buying events I’ve been to left me exhausted, even if all I did was buy. It can get pretty intense at times since the people I hang out with can really get wild with the buying spree.

It was announced in the website that they would allow a free-for-all-entry to anyone wanting to buy goods after 2PM. My friend Y and I took this opportunity to eat lunch and relax since it’ll take time; between her and I, she was more tense and kept checking Twitter for any announcements. As for me, I was a bit more chill, knowing that if they run out of goods, I could still buy online.

If you’ve read my past entry, Y is a huge Saizo fan, so she’s more into this merch buying than I since she has to compete with a lot of fangirls for Saizo goods. I’m happy that with Masamune and Ieyasu, the competition for merch for the both of them isn’t as tense as Saizo’s.

The Chara announced on Twitter that the free-for-all entry would be delayed by an hour, so we took our time to have some dessert, then head off to Ikebukuro Marui. While waiting for the distribution of the designated timeslot tickets, Y and I decided to go to the nearby bank so that I could get some money (thought to pay in cash to keep the expenses lower), and on our way back, Y met an acquaintance who was just on their way out as they were done buying merch.

The acquaintance started asking Y what she would be buying this time around, and Y confessed to not buying anything related to Ouji/Be My Princess series as she had gotten disappointed before with her merch pick. 

(Spoiler alert: her oshi is Ivan Chernenkov, she tried to get can badges of him by buying up to the maximum number of can badges allowed in one transaction (20 for that event), and ended up with no Ivan. That traumatized her that she swore off buying merchandise from that series.)

Acquaintance was with a friend, who then started asking Y if she could buy 20 (!!!) can badges from Ouji-sama no Propose EK (Be My Princess 2) 10th Anniversary art plus a bromide from MiraPuri (Kagami no Naka no Princess Love Palace), with 20 being the limit for can badge purchases.

At that point, Y turned to me, who was simply listening to the conversation, and said, “Kiyo isn’t buying any Ouji trading can badge merch, right?”

I gave her a confused look. “Yeah, I’m sticking to KoiRan and Ouji, with hardly any trading merch on my list.”

The acquaintance’s friend then straight-up asked me, “If you don’t mind, would you buy me 20 more can badges for Ouji EK 10th Anniversary art? I’ll give you some money to cover for the expense.”

I then took out my list (in Google Sheets); the acquaintance’s friend started dictating to me her wishlist. Upon seeing my list written in English, she gave me a look and then said, “Oh… uh, I can’t read English–”

“No worries, I got you covered and I wrote it down. So you want 20 can badges for Ouji EK…”

“Yeah, the ones with the grandsons! 20 of those, and one bromide from MiraPuri!”

Total cost of the merch was JPY9,020, enough for her to get three bonus postcards from MiraPuri.

We then promised to meet up after the buying so that we could hand over the goods, then off we went inside the building to wait for the ticket distribution.

This is the part when my friends and their other friends (at that point, I didn’t know them) got really disappointed and pissed at the free-for-all entry system that had a designated timeslot entry ticket.

If you didn’t know by now, if there’s one thing that sets off a local in this country, it’s the horrible queue/entry ticket system. It’s no exaggeration when someone says that queuing is a national sport/pastime, so if an event is crowded but has a good queue management system, a lot of people would be willing to put up with that.

However, if there are fewer people but the management is horrible, people would really criticize the hell out of it.

Which brings us to Day 1 of VolFes 2020: the website states that the entry ticket they will be handing out will be given at random, which means that even if you arrive late during the distribution of the entry ticket, there is still a chance for you to be able to secure an early timeslot.

Ex. Person A arrives at the venue at 1:30PM and has been waiting for the entry ticket distribution to start, which is an hour away. There’s a chance that they’d be given an entry ticket for the last time slot, which is at 7:40PM ~ 8:00PM.

Person B arrives at the venue at 2:30PM, the designated start of the distirbution of the numbered tickets. There’s a chance that they could get the earliest time slot to buy goods, which is at 3:00PM ~ 3:20PM.

What upset my friends was that when it was time to distribute the tickets, everyone made a run for it as soon as we were asked to queue, and when they gave us the entry ticket, we got a really late timeslot since we were positioned at nearly the end of the line. 

In other words, the entry tickets they gave us was based on how "late" we got to the line; the ones that got ahead of us got an earlier slot, despite the fact that the website mentioned that the time slot on the entry ticket would be shuffled and handed out at random.

Everyone around me was ranting about how half-assed (they all kept throwing the word 中途半端 [chuu’to han’pa]) the whole system was (they could have stuck with a full online timeslot reservation system for Day 1 and Day 2), and how they didn’t go through with the promise of giving out the entry tickets that shuffled the entry time of the attendees in the spirit of equality and fairness, while I figured out the loophole of the system. 

No matter how early you arrive, if you’re not fast enough to queue for the entry tickets as soon as they ask you to, high chance of you being given the last timeslot.

Since we had two hours and twenty minutes to kill, we all headed for dessert at a nearby cheap restaurant and just chatted with one another until it was time to go in.

Unlike last year, VolFes 2020 is smaller, more compact, and you had less time to have fun and enjoy.

Admittedly, the merch line up is better and much more gorgeous, but goodness, there’s just too many of them that it was difficult for me to decide which one I should purchase.

In the end, I decided to skip out on buying the maximum number allowed for buying random merch and stuck it out with getting 3 ~ 4 can badges.

To prevemt the spread of the virus, anyone who enters Ikebukuro Marui and the building had to wear a mask, sanitize their hands, and had 20 minutes to complete their shopping, from picking out the merch to paying at the checkout counter. They only allowed up to 8 people at a time at the shop so you had to plan your purchases. All of us shopping had a list that we referred to while searching for the goods because entry to the venue was controlled and you are not allowed to go back in anymore after paying. 

If you missed out on an item, you’ll have to ask someone whose timeslot to buy the goods is different from yours to buy your merch, you go back the next day, or you order online, which means there’s a three-month waiting period before you receive the item.

Day 1 of the shop was on a Friday so I still had another day to think about any additional purchases, so even if I missed out buying merch, it’s not really a big deal.

[I’m chill that way]

With the buying done, my friends and I headed to another cheap restaurant across the street. Just like last year, the majority of them used that time in the restaurant not to eat, but to open their merch in blind packaging to check and see who they got. If it’s their oshi, they keep it, but for the ones that are not their oshi, they carefully place both the item and the shining packaging inside a ziplock back so that they could trade it with the others.

After we ordered dinner, Y got a message that her acquaintance was at the restaurant we were at, which meant it was time for me to hand over the merch. The girl who asked me to buy for her was so thankful that I think I actually got really shy over it haha.

When I got back to my table, the food was there, so I ate dinner and continued chatting with Y, who also took the time to multitask by eating and opening the merchandise she got. Sad part was, not one of the items she bought for Day 1 contained Saizo, which made me feel sad for her. It’s really rough when you spend so much and end up with no oshi; it’s really the worst feeling in the world.

Y had an early day for Day 2 of VolFes 2020 Shop so we all parted ways early as everyone was exhausted from stressing out whether merch would get sold out on Day 1 and from simply buying goods.

Day 2 wasn’t that eventful, aside from us buying more goods (I bought Ivan’s goods this time around as my priority was Yakov’s), and I ended up trading all my Saizo goods with Y for other characters. Nothing against Saizo, but I know that someone who isn’t me would actually cherish him more than I will ever do.

———-

Not sure if anyone’s interested to see what I bought, but let me know if you’d want me to post photos of my haul.

———-

More event photos:

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: D4DJ Voice Actors Yuka Nishio, Aimi, and Risa Tsumugi

  Danni Wilmoth contributed to this article.

  Everyone has wanted to be a DJ at least once in their life. Just imagining yourself up on stage in front of the bright lights and bumping crowds knowing full well one flick of your wrist can set them reeling is enough to get the heart pumping. Odds are most of us will never get to be a DJ, though. Thankfully, anime has got us covered with D4DJ First Mix, this season’s hottest (and only) show about becoming the most show-stopping, pulse-pounding DJ there is!

  D4DJ First Mix focuses on Rinku Aimoto, a high school girl returning to Japan from abroad. She transfers to Yoba Academy, where DJing turns out to be quite a popular activity. After attending a set on campus and falling in love with the world of DJs, Rinku gathers her friends to start their own DJ group called Happy Around! 

  After the premiere, we caught up with actresses Yuka Nishio (the voice of Rinku Aimoto) Aimi (the voice of Kyoko Yamate) and Risa Tsumugi (the voice of Saki Izumo) from the show to talk about the characters they play, preparing for their roles, and what they like most about the DJ lifestyle.

    To start off, could you introduce yourself and your characters?

  Yuka Nishio: I’m Yuka Nishio and I’m the voice of Rinku Aimoto from Happy Around! Rinku can sometimes be seen as an oddball by others since she is from an island filled with wilderness in Africa. Rinku is extremely bright and cheerful, like the sun that gives energy to everyone, and also like a storm that pulls everybody around her into whatever she’s interested in.

  Aimi: Hello everyone. I’m Aimi and I voice Kyoko Yamate. Kyoko is the vocalist of Peaky P-key and is a cool charismatic girl. 

  Risa Tsumugi: Hi! I’m Risa Tsumugi and I voice Saki Izumo! Saki-chan is… if I describe her in one word, the universe. Her interaction with the big sisters in Photon Maiden who support her warmly is very cute!

    Please tell us the most charming part of your character.

  Nishio: Rinku’s charm is that you just can’t hate her regardless of her lack of common sense, and her extremely cheerful nature due to growing up in the wilderness!

  Aimi: Kyoko spares no effort to improve her music and is strict with herself, but she shows smiles to her friends often. That character gap is her charm. 

  Tsumugi: Saki is just so adorable! Please excuse me from being agonized by her cuteness every time I play her. (Laughs) Even though she appears to be a person with common sense, she can be odd and goofy sometimes. However, her style on the stage is totally different from how she usually is, which is her charm. She also has “synesthesia” so please take notice of that part of her as well!

    D4DJ First Mix released the first episode on October 22nd for early streaming. Are there any scenes from the 1st episode that was memorable to you? Are there any parts that the fans should pay special attention to?

  Nishio: The scene where Rinku learns how to DJ from Maho was a memorable scene for me. Maho shows Rinku how to DJ, and she explains it as well so the audience can also understand what a DJ does, so please take a close look at that scene! Another scene would be the one right after that where Rinku senses that “WOW WAR TONIGHT” is coming up next; it was also a memorable scene to me since I have similar experiences often. 

  Aimi: The concert scene with Peaky P-key! It was so lively! I felt the excitement and couldn’t stop myself from dancing! I want everyone to watch it again and again!

  Tsumugi: The first episode was already very “Happy Around!” like! (Laugh) I love their energy and how lively they are. The opening song is filled with their energy, and I love it! I also sing in the opening for a little bit as Saki with Kyoko-san, and their relationship is so precious…so please enjoy the opening song as well!

    “DJ” is the theme of D4DJ. What kind of impression do you have about DJ's? Was there any change to your impression before and after joining the project?

  Nishio: My impression of DJ’s didn’t change since I used to DJ at a club before joining D4DJ. However, clubs had an intimidating impression for me since I thought it would be full of party people before I started DJing. Now, DJing is a fun tool to share our favorite music and to enjoy music indefinitely by mixing and arranging!  

Aimi: I didn’t have much knowledge about DJs before, but I got to feel how limitless music is! There are no restrictions to the performances, so I enjoy trying different methods to create exciting concerts!

  Tsumugi: Since I also play a role as a DJ in a different title, I appreciated the joy of DJing through my role again. In the beginning, I was wondering “what does a DJ do?”, so I hope more people will know about the DJs through D4DJ!

    When playing your character in the anime, is there anything you prepare in advance?

  Nishio: Rinku is usually full of energy and excitement, so I uplift my mood as well before I play her by listening to my favorite songs or by running to physically energize myself.

  Aimi: Kyoko is a role that requires convincing dance skills and high-level performances, so I started with building my stamina. I’m going to try my best to create her charismatic atmosphere!

  Tsumugi: Actually, I had recorded for “D4DJ Groovy Mix” before the recording for the anime, so I was able to go into the role smoothly compared to back then. When I play her, I’m extra careful about not faking her cuteness. Saki has this pure and natural cuteness, so I try not to break that image of her.

    Please tell us what you hope for the fans to expect in the future development after the 1st episode from your own perspective.

  Nishio: All the members will be gathered and Happy Around! will be formed. Please look forward to how Happy Around! will grow, and how they build their friendship. There are concert scenes in each episode, so that’s also something to look forward to as well! 

  Aimi: In the first episode, the story of HapiAra-chan (*Happy Around!) excited me all the way from the beginning to the end. I think Kyoko felt the same way. Please look forward to how the members of Peaky P-key will come into the story!

  Tsumugi: Please make sure to check out when and how Photon Maiden will be involved in the story, and how they will interact with HapiAra-san (Happy Around!) I suppose the key point is that Photon Maiden is a unique group since it has a producer and the members were selected from an audition!

    The official YouTube channel is streaming D4DJ First Mix with subtitles in 7 languages, and anime fans all over the world are watching. Is there anything you would like to tell the overseas fans?

  Nishio: Please enjoy D4DJ through the anime and also its music! D4DJ original songs are allowed for everyone to remix and upload, so I’m looking forward to listening to everyone’s remixes! (Note: Please refer to the official website for the regulations on the usage of D4DJ original music.)

  Aimi: We will try our best to deliver the music of D4DJ to the world! I promise the best music and the best time at the live concert, so please come see us one day!

  Tsumugi: WOW!! Hello everyone!!! I’m really happy that many people from different countries know and are watching D4DJ!! Anime, concerts, games and more are coming out, so check them out now!!

    D4DJ First Mix is available on the D4DJ Global YouTube Channel with subtitles in 7 languages for free! You can join the Watch Party on the D4DJ Global YouTube Channel for each episode every Friday at 8:00PM (PST) / Saturday at 4am (UTC)! Share the excitement with other fans from all over the world!! Subtitles in other languages are also available on streaming platforms in various countries. For more details, please visit the official website.

  https://en.d4dj-pj.com/animation/streaming/

  To celebrate the global release of this interview, D4DJ First Mix is hosting an autograph giveaway featuring Yuka Nishio, Aimi, Risa Tsumgi, and Seiji Mizushima for 12 lucky winners!

  To participate, please follow the instructions below.

  1. Share or retweet the social media post about this interview.

2. Follow at least one of the following D4DJ Global Social Media channels to stand a chance to win an autograph. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/D4DJProjectEN

Twitter: https://twitter.com/D4DJ_pj_EN

  Share this on social media and follow/like the D4DJ Global Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to stand a chance to win an autograph by the director or one of the cast.

  By: Guest Author

[silver--storms]

The Only Opinion That Matters.

This was a request from the lovely @mountainofthesunn

“Can i request the boys meeting your best friend for the first time? They know her opinion is valued the most. Like how they react to the whole situation, i guess lol. For the HC/blurb stuff”

Is this a Head cannon? A Blurb? An Imagine? Who knows, but I hope this is close to what you had in mind, love! 

This was a blast to write, I tried to make them all start and end the same way to give a good comparison.

Jake:

When you told Jake you thought it was time for him to meet your best friend, expressing how important her opinion is, you watched the color fade from his face.

He spent the week before practically interrogating you for little details about her, from music to movies, anything he could find to use as talking points when they met, he wanted to know. 

The day of, Jake fusses over what he’s going to wear, he thinks it’s important for how he’s perceived. He said “Something nice but not trying too hard. Subtle.”

Jake insists on leaving early, giving him the advantage of settling in at the restaurant before she arrives, taking in his surroundings. The three of you had decided on Mexican for dinner. 

Jake plays with his lip and is quiet the whole drive over to the restaurant. When you ask what’s wrong, he grabs your hand and says he hopes he passes the test because he knows how important this is to you. You laugh at him, assuring him it’s not a test.

Jake views everything as a test or a challenge, this was no different. You couldn’t convince him otherwise even if you tried.

Upon meeting her, Jake goes for a tight hug instead of a handshake, being his usual warm self. 

Jake sits back and let’s you two catch up before jumping into the conversation, observing the way you two communicate.

He asks her plenty of questions, intently listening to each answer she gives him, at this point so enthralled he probably forgot you were sitting there next to him.

At the end of dinner Jake’s charm has completely won your best friend over, she gave you a knowing look and nod of approval. 

On the ride home, you looked over at Jake who was beaming, you chuckled “I’m assuming you think you passed the test?” Jake looked over at you with a worried look, “Did I not?” you smiled at him, “With flying colors, babe.”

Jake smirked, grabbing your hand and kissed it “Good.”

Sammy:

Sammy surprised you with having a few days off between shows, you were ecstatic he was visiting you, but you remembered you have plans this weekend to have dinner with your best friend.

You were nervous to ask Sammy if he wanted to meet her, not knowing if it was too soon, but Sammy was all about it. He said it was way overdue and perfect timing.

Sammy had known a little bit about her, overhearing some of your phone calls in the past, but didn’t want you to fill him in on anything beforehand. 

Sammy said he wanted it to be as authentic as possible. 

He suggested you all go out for pizza on Friday night, keep it casual. 

He wore his favorite blue flannel, black jeans and his hair up in an adorable messy bun, his signature look. 

Sammy insisted he wasn’t nervous or worried about it at all. He said he was excited more than anything. 

He was cool, calm and collected all the way up until you all sat down together. 

You could tell he was nervous by the way he kept playing with his hair while your best friend drilled him with questions about himself. He answered them the best he could, being put on the spot was not his forte, looking to you at times for your input. 

Sammy absentmindedly played with his pinky ring, another nervous habit he had, completely locked into the conversation.

Of course Sammy just had to bring up who has the best pizza debate, being from the Midwest he said Chicago, your best friend arguing LA and you caught in the middle. 

Feeling forced to pick sides, you threw your hands up “Look, this is between the two of you, leave me out of it!” the two of them laughing at how distressed you got. 

Sammy playfully nudging your arm “Hey, you wanted us to meet, this is what you get!” both of them laughing at you.

At the end of dinner Sammy paid the bill, saying it’s the least he could do as a ‘thank you’ for keeping you out of trouble when he’s away on tour. You scoffed at him and rolled your eyes at the two of them.

You and Sammy walked her to her car and said good night. 

Driving back to your apartment Sammy told you how much he liked her and was glad you had someone so down to earth around you, especially with you living in LA.

Josh:

Josh brought up meeting your best friend before you even had the chance to. He knew it was her birthday this weekend and even though he only had a couple of days with you, he wanted you to spend time with her. 

Josh was so excited to meet her, you two had been friends since kindergarten, he knew she was the most important person in your life. 

You made reservations at her favorite steakhouse for the three of you. You texted Josh to wear something nice and to be ready by 7:00pm.

When you went to pick Josh up he had a silly smile on his face and one of his hands behind his back, hiding something.

He was wearing all white, with polka dots on his shirt and brown shoes. He looked nice when he dressed down from his usual flamboyant self. 

Josh got into the car revealing a small box gift wrapped with a tiny bow on it. You smiled at him, “You’re cute.” he smirked, “You can’t go to a birthday party without a gift, that’s just rude.” 

 “Josh, it’s just dinner, but you’re sweet.” you teased,  but his thoughtfulness made your hear flutter.

You asked what he got her to which he replied “You’ll just have to wait and see.” with a mischievous grin. 

Arriving at the restaurant Josh immediately pulled her into a big hug “It’s great to finally meet you!” 

Your heart fluttered at the interaction between the two of them, “Perfect” you thought to yourself, your two favorite people in the same room. 

You got seated and Josh handed over his present, watching excitedly as she opened it.

He got her a small gold necklace with an owl pendant, her favorite. She loved it and thanked him. 

You turned to him slightly, totally shocked at how he knew she was obsessed with owls. He returned your look of confusion with a wink and a hand squeeze under the table. 

Josh ordered a fancy bottle of wine for the three of you, declaring loudly “You only turn 25 once, we’re going to make it special.” he chuckled, “Happy Birthday.”

You swooned over the gesture and how easy they were able to vibe together. 

You were very impressed with how Josh held himself. You had never seen him so calm and laid back as he was tonight. 

You could tell he was trying really hard to make a good first impression.

The night came to an end and on the drive back Josh wouldn’t stop dissecting the night.

“I’m so glad she liked my gift, I was so nervous.” he admitted shyly “She’s a very chill person, I liked her a lot.” you kissed his cheek as he payed attention to the road “I’m happy to hear it. You did great babe, thanks for doing this.”  

Danny:

Danny had been bothering you for a few weeks now, asking when you’d get to meet your best friend. 

You finally found time in all three of your schedules to get together for an hour or two.

It was Danny’s idea to get together for coffee, wanting to keep it low-key.

Danny chose to wear his go to comfy sweater, dark jeans and his hair half up, half down.

Danny treated the three of you to coffee, all sitting down around a tiny table next to a window.

Danny wasted no time with small talk, asking your best friend about her interests and what she was studying in college. Why she chose that major and how she is liking it so far.

He didn’t seem nervous at all, engaging in conversation with a sense of excitement. 

He made a genuine effort to get to know her as much as possible, he knew how close the two of you were and who is important to you is important to him.

Danny and her were both well traveled, talking about all their favorite spots they’ve visited and what countries were still on their bucket lists.

You watched Danny as he so effortlessly connected with her. You had never had a boyfriend try so hard to get to know the people you loved, it was so endearing. 

Half way through the conversation Danny offered to grab everyone refills, like the gentleman he is, as he got up and left the table your best friend gave you a telling look.

You got nervous, she had been known to not like a lot of your boyfriends in the past, all of them she’s been right about. Danny knew this, her approval was the only one that mattered.

She leaned in close to you “If you don’t marry him, I will. He is phenomenal, the sweetest man ever. “ you laughed as she continued, “No, seriously, it’s been like what, an hour and he’s easily my favorite boyfriend you’ve ever had. I more than approve!” you smiled at her, glancing over your shoulder, watching as he struggled to carry all three mugs back to the table with a big goofy smile as you two locked eyes.

Turning your attention back to your friend “Yeah, he’s pretty great, isn’t he?” you beamed. 

On the car ride home Danny asked “So, how did I do? Did I get her blessing?” you giggled at how formal he was being, “Yes, she loved you” you smirked “But who doesn’t love you?”

As always let me know what you think! :)

[sambergscott]

i’d climb every mountain and swim every ocean

Summary: Jake is getting Spanish lessons from Rosa. 

They were supposed to meet at precisely 5:30PM to go home and get ready for dinner with her family to celebrate her dad’s birthday, but Jake’s not at his desk or the coffee machine or the bumper pool table in the break room when she gets the to fourth floor. Since it’s a Friday, Rosa, Charles and Terry have all gone home to be with their girlfriend and families respectively. Hitchcock and Scully are the only two left in the bullpen who may have seen where her husband went.

“Hey, guys,” she says, approaching them carefully. They startle easy and she doesn’t want to be responsible for any more precinct-based heart attacks. The paperwork was a nightmare. And their Captain died. “Have you seen my husband?”

Hitchcock frowns. “You have a husband?”

“It’s OK, buddy,” Scully comforts his best friend. “You’re too good for Santiago anyway.”

Amy rolls her eyes. She doesn’t have time for this! It’s already 5:32PM and their reservation is at 7:00PM. They need to arrive an hour early since her parents love an early bird, which doesn’t leave them much time to get changed out of their work clothes. They went through this over breakfast and he promised, with his mouth full of Lucky Charms cereal, that he would not be tardy. She loves him more than anything in the world, but sometimes she can’t believe she married her always late, messy partner.

“Jake and I have been married for over a year. We wear wedding rings. You were at the ceremony.”

“We were?” Hitchcock shrugs.

“Was the food nice?”

“Cheddar ate our cake and we didn’t get a chance to eat at Shaw’s after Captain Holt read his email-.”

“What kind of wedding doesn’t have food, Santiago?” Scully yells, glaring at her. “I hope you get a divorce.”

“Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Can you just tell me where Jake went?”

“He’s in the evidence lock-up with Rosa,” Hitchcock finally reveals.

“Oh,” Amy says, caught off-guard. She hadn’t expected an actual answer, she assumed Jake would just show up in the bullpen while she was talking to them and they’d take credit. “That was surprisingly helpful. Thanks guys!”

She hurries into the evidence lock-up, wondering what case is so important he’d risk being late to dinner with her family (an unforgivable act in the eyes of Camila and Victor Santiago) and why Rosa lied to her about going home to Jocelyn (the sleuth sisters do not lie to each other). She stops dead when she finds them sitting opposite each other, Rosa with a textbook in her lap and Jake scribbling onto a whiteboard. That is... not what she expected.

“What’s going on here?”

Jake’s face immediately reddens upon seeing her. He shoots a nervous glance in Rosa’s direction. “Um. This is kind of embarrassing because I’m the smartest detective in the history of the Nine-Nine, but Rosa’s tutoring me,” he confesses, his cheeks turning a deeper shade of red.

Amy’s face softens as she takes a few steps closer to him. “Tutoring you what?”

He mumbles something inaudible.

“I’m teaching him Spanish,” Rosa steps in. “He wanted to be able to understand what your parents were saying about him. You passed today’s class,” she says to Jake, a hint of pride in her voice that she’d deny if either of them mentioned it again. “See you both Monday.”

“Bye Rosa,” Amy responds, watching silently as their friend leaves. She takes the empty seat opposite Jake. “How long have you been taking Spanish lessons?”

“Since we got engaged.”

“That long?”

“Yeah,” he says, bashful, scratching the back of his neck. “I wanted to do my wedding vows in Spanish like that episode of Jane the Virgin you love so much, but I got nervous and decided to rap instead and then my beatboxer didn’t show up.”

“Your vows were perfect,” she assures him, touched that he would even try to tell her how much he loved her in another language since most of his English consists of “noice”, “smort”, and adding “Z” to the ends of words.

“Thanks but-.” He sighs, gathering his thoughts. “I wanted to impress you.”

“You always impress me, Jake. Last week you changed our bedding. On. Your. Own. I’ve never been more impressed by you.”

He shakes his head. “That makes me sound like a terrible husband. You shouldn’t be impressed by the bare minimum.”

“You are not a terrible husband,” she says firmly.

“Your parents seem to think I am. Now I can understand them, I know they think I’m short and that I’ve got a big nose and that they hate my sneakers. What do Santiago’s always have against my sneakers?” He asks, getting sidetracked. “Doesn’t matter. I’ve heard them say I’m not good enough for you.”

“They’re high-strung Cuban parents. And I’m their only daughter, of course they’re not going to think anyone is good enough for me,” she explains.

“I bet they liked Teddy,” he grumbles. “Teddy’s smart, Teddy likes crossword puzzles, Teddy doesn’t make unwise financial decisions.”

“You know what they called Teddy? Aburrido.”

Jake pauses, his eyes meeting hers. The corners of his mouth stretch upwards. “They’re right. He’s the most boring man in America.”

“And you understood my Spanish,” she laughs, her eyes sparkling with tears.

“It’s about time I learnt, right? We’ve been together for years.”

“Learning another language is difficult, Jake. And it’s well-documented that learning a language over age twelve is even harder. The fact that you’re even taking lessons means the world to me.”

“It does?”

“Mm-hmm,” she nods. “It’s very romantic.”

“What can I say? I’m a very romantic man.” She giggles as he ditches the whiteboard and pulls her onto his lap. He strokes her hip absentmindedly with his thumb. “I have another reason for wanting to learn Spanish, besides wanting to impress you and wanting to understand your parents insults about my nose. They are so creative, by the way.”

“Yeah,” Amy grimaces. She’s told them to stop, but clearly it’s still going on when she’s not around. She determines to put her foot down, to power pose them, whatever it takes. He’s her husband and she loves every part of him - especially his nose.

“You want to know the other reason?” He teases.

“Yes. Obviously.”

“Well,” he grins, “I figured our future kid is going to be bilingual, ri-.”

He doesn’t even finish his sentence, his words muffled against Amy’s lips.

“I love you so much,” she reminds him between kisses.

“I love you so much too,” he responds, his laughter reverberating against her lips.

“My parents are going to be so impressed when they hear you’re learning Spanish,” she says when they break apart.

“You think?” He asks nervously.

“Definitely. And if you tell them you’re going to make them abuelos again? And that you’re planning on our kid being bilingual? They’ll love you forever.”

“Awesome.” He kisses her again.

“Jake,” she says eventually. “Dinner.”

“Oh, shit.” He checks the time on his phone and ouch - they are running very late. “Let’s go! I have Camila’s to charm.”

Amy laughs as he grabs her hand and drags her out the precinct.

Dinner’s not actually until 8:00PM. But he doesn’t need to know that.

[anotherstephencobert]

October 15, 2019 - Back from the reunion that almost wasn't

I can look back on it with happiness now. But thanks to the policies of United Airlines, I was very nearly a no-show at the fulfilling of my parents' final wishes.

All of us had been planning this for months. My sister Carol had gotten the permits and reviewed the Park regulations. We had all made travel arrangements and also arranged for our shifts to be covered at our jobs. Everything was set to go as planned. (Or so we thought.)

Friday morning I got to the airport early to get my boarding passes and get to my gate. My flight was delayed by about an hour because of severe weather in Houston (my stopover) but we headed out at 12:20 and arrived at George Bush International Airport around 2:15 that afternoon. As I expected, due to the weather the connecting flight, United Airlines 4211 to Knoxville was delayed, but at 4:15 we were told to proceed to Gate 29 for boarding.

After waiting for half an hour, the passengers (some 30-35 of us) were told to go back to the lobby; apparently the crew had worked more hours than airline regulations allowed them to. (I had to think, "How quaint of them to figure that out AFTER we'd been called to the gate for boarding!") We did so, and then a few minutes later an announcement came on that our flight had been cancelled!

We all went to the United Customer Service desk and were given Standby boarding passes for two later flights. Two lucky passengers from UA4211 got to go, but the rest of us were pretty much told "Tough luck". Our group went back to the UA Customer Service desk, and you can bet we were all damn mad. They told us they had no flights at all to Knoxville until Sunday morning. I got on the phone to United's 800 number and tried to book that way, but they confirmaed nothing was available. By now we were willing to try anything: One passenger got a flight to Knoxville on Delta airlines but no other flight on ANY airline was available. Connecting flights to hubs like Atlanta were available but even their flights to my old hometown were booked solid. Even flights to nearby cities where I could hopefully get a ride were booked. (The best United offered me was Louisville, KY. I passed.) So around 11:00 I called my family to tell them it looked like there was no way I could make it.

To their credit, United provided me with a hotel room and a boarding pass back to Wichita the next morning. (Plus some meal vouchers.) I made it to the Ramada Inn and spent my last few waking minutes wording the nasty letter in my head that I was going to send to United Airlines the next day.

The next morning I was up early and at the Houston airport at 6:30. When I got there I checked the Departure board and couldn't believe my eyes: There was a flight to Knoxville scheduled for 10:00 am! I went to the lobby of the boarding gate, and the agent there (who remembered me from the day before) told me I needed to go back to Customer Service. I got thre, and the service rep (who didn't remember me; maybe that was just as well) told me there were three seats avaialble on that flight! She arranged for me to get on that flight; I called my sister (who had been crying at the thought that we wouldn't all be there) and told her I'd be there after all. My flight left at 10:05, and at 1:15 pm I was met at McGee-Tyson Airport by my brother Bill and his wife Cheryl, who gave me a ride to our (former) home in Knoxville.

The group of us headed out to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. What with heavy traffic in Pigeon Forge we didn't get to our destination - a scenic overlook on the North Carolina side of the park about a quarter mile from Newfound Gap - until about 5:00pm. Our parents had requested to be cremated, and Mom wanted her ashes mingled with Dad's and scattered at that location, which was very special to them. We gathered carefully on the steep hillside as my older brother David read the Kaddish in Hebrew and in English, and then with the help of his sons Dan and Tim mingled the ashes and scattered them.

After the ceremony we gathered for a group photo. Bill took a carefully angled selfie to get us all in the shot. From l-r: David's wife Rebecca, yours truly, Tim, Carol (who was camera shy that day; look closely and you can just see her!), David, Bill's wife Cheryl, Dan, and Bill.

We braved the Pigeon Forge traffic one more time and were back in Knoxville around 7:45. We all had dinner at Bravo Italian Restaurant and then retired for the night.

The next morning I had breakfast with my family at the LaQuinta Inn, and Bill gave me a ride back to the airport. I landed at Chicago's O'Hara Airport for a two-hour layover. As departure loomed, I heard the agent at the gate make an announcement I hadn't heard in some time: The flight to Wichita was overbooked and they were looking for one volunteer to take a flight the next morning. There were no takers, so he offered it again, this time offering $800 in United flight vouchers. When boarding started, I assumed they'd found ataker, but then the agent asked again, upping the value to $1200! I didn't have to be at the desk until 3:00 Monday afternoon, so I stepped forward and volunteered to take the flight Monday morning.

I actually wound up getting $1300 in value for future United flights, plus a night at the Chicago Hyatt Regency and $30 in meal vouchers. Interestingly, the flight the next day was on American Airlines. I got back to O'Hara in plenty of time (good thing, too: the lines at the security checkpoints were pretty long), headed out a little before 10:00 am and touched down in Wichita right around noon.

The trip will be a source of wonderful memories for years, but it's going to be awhile before I shake the memory of how United Airlines almost ruined it. Carol is convinced that Mom and Dad were watching out for us and made the reunion happen when all hope seemed gone. I am more inclined to believe that our Heavenly Father opened the door to make it work out. But even with that in mind, and even with the generous travel vouchers, they got a none-too-pleasant email from me letting them know that what happened in Houston was no way to run an airline.

[oldfolksineurope]

Steve here. Mary Beth and I try to show off our tans in a pic from home. We are just lucky people, and the story of our departure from Ecuador is a perfect example. Last Friday (a lifetime in Coronavirus time) Mary Beth and I decided we should leave Ecuador early for one simple reason, Mary Beth wanted to be home more than 14 days before her scheduled surgery. No other reason, just that, and we figured it would take until Monday to get everything scheduled. So, Mary Beth the travel expert started by contacting our driver José to see if he could drive us the seven hours to the Quito airport. He said yes, so then she struggled through a Delta change of flights, finally getting us on the Monday night 11:30 flight, getting us to Atlanta, then on to Hartford. It cost an extra $600 and Mary Beth hesitated, but we decided it was worth it for the surgery date. So, driver and flights set, we let our landlord know and begin to prepare. On Saturday, the Ecuadorian government announced that they were closing the airport and all their borders on Monday at midnight, and like many places, closing restaurants and bars, restricting domestic travel etc. this started a bit of panic for foreigners, although humorously Bahia, our little isolated city just continued on as usual. We were concerned, but we did have a reservation so all we could do was wait. On Monday morning, we checked in with Delta, chose two of the four remaining seats (not together of course) and got more anxious. Jose arrived that morning and said even car travel was restricted but we would take off. He stopped to show us some beaches and the beautiful town of Mindo that we were supposed to visit on our way home. We had a rainy walk in an orchid reserve and saw tons of big hummingbirds, arriving at the airport at 6:00 for an 11:30 flight. At that point, only people with tickets were being admitted to the airport.

Most flights from Quito come and go late at night because of the winds, and in addition to our flight, there was one to Miami and one to Dallas, all around 11:30. There were a few people in the airport without tickets who had either tricked their way or were still there from Sunday. Those without tickets were understandably frantic, but the rest of the people were very subdued but with tension in the air. By 6:30 people were lining up at the Delta area even though the area wasn’t opening until 8:30. By 7:30 we joined the line which grew very long by 8:30 when it started to move. We were without boarding passes while everyone around us had one, so another piece to worry about. We got through the line, checked bags and got boarding passes, a huge relief. I figured at this point, Delta owned the two of us and it was their responsibility to get us out. On our way to security, we passed a line of 10 or 12 people, mostly Americans who were waiting on Stand-By. It was a sad scene, and everyone was generally quiet and keeping to themselves at this point, as there was some fear in the room. The waiting area was packed, and the Delta flight from Atlanta was late. The Miami and Dallas flights left, and at 11:30 boarding began. Mary Beth and I laughed as we watched the Mormon young volunteers board in first class while our boarding was the very last group in the airport. At 12:18 Tuesday morning, we lifted off and were safely out of Ecuador. In Atlanta, customs was a breeze, but at 6:30, TSA was a disaster, no Pre-Check open and well over an hour to get through security. It could be a story in itself, but now, let’s just say there was no organization at all. As we stewed, we missed our Hartford flight, which frightened us yet again, but there was another at 10:00 AM and we were in the Uber and in our condo by 2:00PM, exhausted but safe and sound. One comment about all of this, from Quito to Atlanta to Hartford, not one official said even one word about Coronavirus. We did not get a piece of paper, a temperature taken, a comment about precautions, a suggestion of what we should do on arrival home, nothing. We may as well have been in an August flight from DC. Weird we thought.

[artificialqueens]

Fall in Time, Ch3 (Branjie) - Somesilverreply

A/N:  Thanks again for your support! <3

Note: I’m basing the auditions Brooke attends off of the annual Unified auditions that aspiring BFA musical theatre/acting students go through which I’m very familiar with, but I’m not certain the recruitment for BFA dance programs are the same.

Read on AO3 here.

When Brooke Lynn Hytes was 17 years, 11 months, 3 days, and 1 minute old, she met her best friends.

But she didn’t know that, yet.

She had grown up in Canada, a small suburb outside Toronto with her mom. Her father hadn’t been around much, so she and her mother lived a quiet, conservative life that consisted of pancakes every morning (except Sundays) and dance recitals.

Brooke had known, from the time she was a little girl that the States was where she needed to be if she was going to be a ballerina. Canada had beautiful professional ballet, of course. Much to her mother’s dismay, however, she had her sights narrowed in on exactly what she wanted for herself and her life.

After some convincing and a little extra work around the house, she and her mother embarked on what Brooke remembers as The Great Audition Tour of 2003. She remembers riding in a plane for the first time, seeing New York City for the first time, and the way it all made her feel so small in a five-foot-eleven frame.

It’s day three, or four, she’s so blindingly exhausted from her anxious stomach keeping her up all night every night to the physical trauma of college dance auditions. She was practiced, she was trained, of course, and her mother made sure her shoulders never fell even for a second as they felt the illustrious buzz of New York when they walked through the city.

“Sit up, Brooke Lynn, you never know who could be watching,” her mother repeated like a mantra as they sat for breakfast each morning. She was always on.

But in the third hour of her fourth (she’s pretty sure) day of auditions, Brooke let out a laugh as she heard the murmurings of the girls beside her.

“I swear to God, I was holding relevé, and it was so fucking loud,” she heard one girl say, blonde and petite, looking almost like she belonged in a beauty pageant against to the stripped away anonymity of the black leotard, pink tights combination that painted the room.

“You farted?!” the other girl, as tall as Brooke but enviably slender with uniquely beautiful features, laughed incredulously, earning a small hit to the leg as the pair leaned over into a side stretch like a seasoned pair of synchronized swimmers.

The other blonde looked around, checking for any onlookers when she locked eyes with Brooke, giving a minuscule smile she tried to hide in the crook of her elbow mid stretch.

The girl looked embarrassed immediately, Brooke instantly correcting her expression.

“I’m so sorry you had to hear that, sis,” the blonde said with a chuckle, the girl beside her still stifling a laugh.

“It happens to the best of us,” Brooke shrugged, unsure whether or not she was safe to join in on the fun. She pressed her luck, happy to feel some of the pressure release from her shoulders for the first time in weeks.

“At least it wasn’t a silent but deadly,” she tried, immediately sending the other two girls into a fit of giggles, careful not to draw extra attention from the fellow auditionees (but failing, somewhat).

“I’m Alyssa, this is Yvie,” the blonde told her.

“Oh, I’m Brooke, are you guys friends?” she smiled, placing a careful strand of her bun that had fallen into her face behind her ear.

“She’s stalking me,” Yvie told her, completely deadpan.

“I am not, I’m not a stalker,” she turned to Brooke, “We met in our hotel night one, and we’ve just kind of hit it off this weekend. You been here all four days?”

Brooke nodded sheepishly before adding with a cautious drop in tone, “Unfortunately.”

“Tell me about it. I literally feel like I could stick my leg in a subway door and it would snap in half,” Yvie added, moving into a middle split with little to know extra effort required, her voice unwavering.

“Well, we got you, you’re one of us now,” Alyssa grabbed her hand with a smile, sharing a knowing glance with Brooke before they heard the boom of the microphone over the loudspeaker, instructing the hundred-plus girls in the room to rise.

That night, after the penultimate day of auditions was completed, Brooke nervously told her mother she had other dinner plans for the evening, that she had made friends. She looked at her mother carefully, expecting the reprimand or warning she’d grown accustomed to. Instead, she was greeted with a half smile, a light touch on the back, and a simple, “Be careful.”

Brooke had spent every night of that trip bee-lining for the hotel by 9:00pm, showered, practiced, and ready for the early AM wake up call. She had barely seen the city, and by the second or third day had begun to forget she was in any place that wasn’t the blinding white walls of a dance studio.

But that night, as she felt the soft red glow of Times Square, authentically American street hot dog in hand with her new American friends, she felt the most prepared she ever had all week. They spent all night running around the city, dancing in subway cars and calling Brooke “Canada” whenever she pointed out something that made the girls giggle. She had friends back home, of course. But not like this. Not so unabashedly carefree and naive.

So when they all tentatively sent each other MySpace messages as they opened their acceptance letters and found that all three of them were accepted to their number one choice school, it felt like pure magic radiated through the computer screens in all three ends of North America.

Alyssa and Yvie were her closest confidants, her mirrors, and her worst critics all at the same time. They were there for her through the trauma of her injury and did their best to remind her of who she was whenever they got the chance, even though Brooke hadn’t done so much as a twirl since it happened. Alyssa had worked with her on and off for years at Ballet D’Amerique, and now was working as a dance instructor in New York, while Yvie had been successfully working in Vegas shows for years, creating the perfect excuse for a girl’s trip weekend there every year.

They’d all changed, naturally. Brooke’s gentle, cold exterior she adorned now was different from the softness of her bright-eyed college days, but leave it to Alyssa and Yvie to bring out the parts of her she needed constant reminding were there.

So when Brooke Lynn Hytes was 33 years, 3 months, 19 days, 7 hours, and 7 minutes old, sitting on her red line train, the familiar whirl of the Chicago transit easing as the train car rose above ground, she pulled out her phone once again.

She’d contemplated calling them in her office earlier that morning, but that desire dissipated the second she’d shoved the flyer into the depths of her purse, as if it had some Mary Poppins transfigurative ability to make it cease to exist. But as she sat now, foot incessantly shaking as she sat cross-legged, uncomfortable and cramped in her seat, the air full of post-work bliss on a Friday evening, her heart never stopping to catch up to her breath in their ongoing footrace, she texted them.

To: Yves and Lyss

B: I have a problem.  

Y: ugh i’m about to go on :((

A: Hi how are ya to you too, Canada!! B: Sorry I know it’s been a while.

Y: i miss you bitches.

Y: got some mad D last night. forgot to text, sorry bout that

Y: he reminded me of greg from freshman year. but like.. not as high

B: Ew.

Y: sorry brooke catch me up later, dollface, i love you

A: Weed Greg!! haha

A: Brooke, call me bitch!!

Brooke cracked a smile and let it melt into the phone, calming the repetitive movement of her leg. With a sigh she reached into her purse the best way she could, shocking her body when her finger caught the edge of the flyer like it was begging for her attention. She grabbed her headphones, gingerly popping them into her ears as she moved to FaceTime her friend, forever thankful for the excuse to hear her friend’s voice.

“Okay, what’s the tea bitch?” Brooke heard suddenly, acutely aware of the burning glances in her direction.

“Shit, hold on,” she fumbled with the bluetooth, mouthing a few “sorry’s” around her as if anyone had given any real mind. It was the Chicago transit, she was hardly what anyone was looking at, and although Brooke was hardly one of the warm and gentle souls her home country had been known to produce, apologizing was a knee-jerk reaction she couldn’t shed.

“I don’t even feel bad for you, Miss Airpods,” Alyssa scuffed, before smiling at her brightly, simultaneously distracted but fully attentive to Brooke at the same time.

“What’re you up to?” Brooke asks, before paying closer attention to the shadows in the mirror evidently behind her. “Wait, Lyss, are you teaching right now?”

“Yeah, they’re taking a little juice break, it’s fine, what’s up? No time for the how was your day blah blah bullshit let’s go!”

Brooke shook her head gently with a heavy side of you’re nuts , and I love you , before breathing out a sigh that’d been trapped in her for hours.

“So I turned away another dancer today, and I don’t even know why, she just… made me feel… I don’t know.”

“ - Horny?” Alyssa finished, Brooke laughed, looking around her on the off chance of another headphone malfunction.

“No, I don’t know, just… weird. Like I suddenly wasn’t me, anymore. And not in a bad way, which is worse. And then she invited me to see her show tonight, to watch her dance, and it’s like part of me knows I should stand my ground because we’ve already gotten so many new dancers this month from other agents in the office and I already said no and what kind of talk will there be if Ice Queen Brooke Hytes is seeing little dance shows around the city like she has nothing else to do with her Friday night, which by the way, she doesn’t because she hasn’t gotten laid in like, 3 years, and lives alone with her fucking cats but no one can know that or else no one in the industry will take me seriously because I’m not even a dancer anymore so what do I even know and what the fuck do I do,” Brooke realizes she’s not even looking in Alyssa’s direction when she finishes with a huff, feeling the unfamiliar slump of her shoulders.

“Okay, Canada, breathe for me baby,” she looks at her through the glow of the screen, her eyes piercing her from miles away. She waits till she has Brooke’s eyes before telling her sternly, “you are a dancer. And a beautiful one at that. So don’t you think for a minute that part of you has gone away. And secondly, bitch, you need to get laid. Go fuck this girl, please, for my sake,” she gives her a knowing glance.

Brooke takes a breath, doing her best to muster a smile. “I don’t know her. And I certainly can’t do that. Can your kids hear you saying all this?”

“Their moms are still paying me, so it really doesn’t seem to matter all that much, do it?” she laughs. “Listen sweetie. It’s gonna be fine. Just sneak in the back, pull out one of your Gi-von-bur-berry-froo-froo sunglasses I know you have all incognito like. That way she doesn’t gotta see you there. And please report back, okay?” Alyssa turns her head to face to the side of the camera, looking out at her class and raising her voice. “Brooke should go, right girls?”

Brooke couldn’t help but roll her eyes with a laugh as she heard the thundering chorus of “yeah!” in only a way six-year-olds can.

“See bitch? I gotta go, but I love you honey,” Alyssa blows her a kiss, winking as she ends the call, Brooke feeling the lingering click of her tongue as she stares at the homepage on her phone, once carrying her best friend inside of it. She looks up, taking the headphones out, and feels the screeching halt as the red line stops at Fullerton, a few blocks from Brooke’s high-rise apartment. She can feel the soft carpet of her bedroom phantom-brush against her feet as she wills herself to stand, but locks her knees as they’re set into place, the train going as soon as it stops past the comfort of her little corner of Chicago.

Her legs were moving before her mind was, like her body knew what it needed before she did (it always had), and she found herself clutching the flyer as she stood in front of the advertised address.

The building was hardly anything to look at, in fact Brooke had done several double takes before finally deciding that yes, this was the place, but it was in high contrast to the modest theatre she had been expecting. It almost gave off a thick air of mystery and palpable intrigue, and Brooke braced herself as she slipped on the sunglasses and walked in.

She walked down a narrow hallway lit only by a small red exit sign, the only noise coming from the reverberated click of her heels and the muffled pre-show music and murmuring in the background.

After turning a corner she guessed was where she needed to be, entering a maze she was far too lost in to begin with, she barely registers a girl in a less than decorous bodysuit collecting donations, her eyes growing wide as Brooke drops in two one hundred dollar bills like they’re pennies in a fountain, her eyes locked ahead of her as she enters in the performance space. It’s a typical Chicago, rent-by-the-hour black box space, modestly filled with decoration and filled with rows of seats. Brooke’s thankful for the crowd that’s generated already, carefully slipping into an inconveniently placed (but conveniently for Brooke) stage left corner seat that slips out of the glow of the followspot on stage. She curses her deep-seated punctuality as the time of 8:48pm glows on her phone screen, and slips off her sunglasses, looking around casually. As she takes a breath, she’s finally aware of her surroundings, and namely who she’s surrounded by. She’s known growing up in the entertainment world that oftentimes small-venue performances such as these generally are only put on for resume building and so that people like Brooke can attend. On any given night you could have three people to a full house and it’s all considered normal. But as Brooke looks around to the people that surround her, she’s overcome by the unlikely undercurrent of excitement in the air.

There’s a fog machine intermittantly blowing the thick clouds into the already-stuffed room, and Brooke’s thankful for the particular blanket to her lungs giving her something to drown in.

Of course it’s popular, she thinks, I’d want to see Vanessa too .

She sees people of all walks of life, but a dedicated concert-like mosh pit of men surround the stage itself, and Brooke has to bite her tongue at the lack of etiquette. She knew this wasn’t a ballet performance, but it sure as hell wasn’t a display at the Chicago Zoo.

Her phone buzzes in her lap, giving her the reminded to silence it, the timing glowing 8:59pm as she takes one more glance at her notifications, quickly opening one from Alyssa to ground her.

From: Lyss

A: Bitch you’re motha fuckin Brooke Lynn Hytes, just like your momma say (maybe not the motha fuckin part) but you got this!! You’re gonna be just fine. That bitch is lucky she gets to be eye-fucked by you. ;)

Brooke smiles, slipping it into her void purse but this time so she can save it for later.

The lights begin to dim, and her stomach flips like it did before a dance recital, as if she were one of Pavlov’s dogs salivating at the ding of a bell.

With another gratuitous gust of fog, three girls come out in the dim, low lighting as the soft bump of a familiar jazz tune begins to play. There’s a few faint whistles of recognition from the audience, but nothing matching the energy of the pre-show volume they’d been living in before. Brooke recognized the song from one of her freshman dance classes, feeling the shadow pain of her teenage pointe shoes as she sees the figures enter the stage, each of the girl’s faces concealed by a Bob Fosse inspired black-brimmed hat. They’re snapping along to the rhythm, clad in full trench coats with the peak of a fishnet tight peeping out below the hem as they straddle individual bar stools. While it was a departure from her traditional eye, it wasn’t anything groundbreaking. They were in Chicago, after all, and Roxie Hart’s name had been spilled far too often for Brooke’s, and just about every talent agent’s in the city’s liking.

She cranes her neck, still not completely able to make out which one was Vanessa, the black of the coats swallowing the figure of the dancers. They’re all talented, clearly limber albeit a little traditionally stiff in style. As she watches them move from jazz kicks to jazz squares she’s hit with the sudden pang of realization that there’s no way she’ll be able to sign this girl, and she’s even thinking about leaving at intermission because the thought of lying to the poor girl when she gets that follow up email a week later is simply too hard to stomach and oh -

Oh.

First she hears it, then she sees it: the deafening beat of the bass, the inharmonious uproar of cheers and applause, the soft thud of the trench coats hitting the ground.

Any doubt she had finding Vanessa was relieved in an instant as she stepped out to take center stage, a mass of hands clawing at her feet, revealing her glowing skin in the flashing club-like trance of lights, wearing nothing but a small red bodysuit, dangerously sheer and lacy along her mid section. The girls behind her were wearing similar ensembles, coated in black and white, but Vanessa stood front and center, moving her hips impossibly slow and tantalizing to the beat. Brooke doesn’t know the song, and it doesn’t matter. The music radiating from the delicate trace of Vanessa’s inner thighs as she moves into the splits, and effortlessly steps out of them and into her next move and her next move and her next move could move mountains. The men in the front now suddenly became Brooke’s kindred spirits as she watched them wave one’s at her, swallowing back a bitter taste in her mouth as she watched in slow motion: Vanessa grabbed one of the men’s hands, sensually pulling him on stage, her finger light touches making it evident he was doing all the work to hoist himself up.

Vanessa looks powerful, endearing and dominating at the same time as she pushes him down into the stool, his eyes locked on her like he suddenly didn’t know how to use words anymore.

Brooke wasn’t sure she did either.

She works her magic on him like its a practiced spell, bending, arching her back, all while flawlessly executing technique Brooke’s Ballet D’Amerique troupe couldn’t dream of doing. Brooke swears she feels her breath leave her body as she leaves him high and dry after moving to kiss him on the lips, lingering enough to make the whole room want her more than they already did (if that was even possible) before moving away with a snap, wiping her bottom lip with her thumb as she walked away, finishing her number.

The millisecond between the end of the song and the audience reaction is tangible - Brooke swears she can feel everyone’s heartbeat in tandem before it’s simply too overwhelming to handle. She doesn’t even notice when she’s on her feet, slipping into the group-think of the crowd and losing herself in the moment.

Vanessa looks out at the crowd, smiling, blowing kisses, absolutely eating up every drop of praise the audience has to give her. Brooke, in any other given moment would be shaking her head, feeling herself collapse, feel terribly inadequate, or any delectable entree featuring all three.

But she was mesmerized. Vanessa’s eyes were sparkling under the harsh lights, the red of her costume so commanding it’s like she was daring the crowd to stop.

Her eyes scanning. Her eyes.

Fuck.

It’s brief, but it’s enough. Their eyes meet, and Brooke’s body once again has her moving, anywhere, far, far away, thanking her photo-oriented memory as she once again navigates the delicate maze of the building that’s now become her sacred alter.

She doesn’t stop until she feels the rush of cold air, the whirling of the red line train, and the soft carpet of her bedroom.

Brooke clicks off her phone by her bed, the familiar glow softening for the night.

But no sooner than she sets it down is she ripping it from its resting spot, eyes glazing over the email she hadn’t dared believe would come so soon.

From: vanessamateo@hotmail.com

To: brookehytes@matthewsagency.com

Ms. Hytes,

I’ll see you Monday?

Xo,

Vanessa

[fanfictionandmore]

The Dueling Professor | Gellert Grindelwald

Chapter Tow - Feathers and Claws 

Sapphire's POV:

     The sound of my alarm clock went off, and I slowly shut it off. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched before I got out of bed. I was excited and nervous about my classes today; I really hoped my professors were nice. I washed my face, combed my hair, and brushed my teeth after I used the bathroom. Then I put on all of the jewelry I wear before I changed into my uniform. 

     Once I was dressed I made sure all of my books were in my school bag. I wasn't sure which classes I'd have, so I just put all of them in my bag. It was a little heavy, but I could manage. I stepped out of my dorm and walked down the stone steps that lead into the common room. Their were a few people sitting on the black couch and chairs just talking and trying to get awake.

     I headed out of the portrait hole and figured I'd go straight to the Great Hall for breakfast. I wasn't too hungry, especially since I ate a lot last night for dinner. But I really needed some coffee to wake up properly. There were a few students already seated and eating break when I walked through the large double doors, but most of them were Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I took a seat at the Slytherin table and yawned slightly before a steaming cup of coffee appeared out of nowhere.

     'At least house elves know exactly what you need for breakfast.' I thought inside of my head as I took a sip of the black liquid. As soon as I drank the last drop, it automatically refilled. 'Thank Merlin for magic!' I thought as half of the school started filling the Great Hall. After my second cup of coffee I actually decided to eat something, and I settled for a bowl of cereal.

     "Hey, could you pass the milk?" A girl's voice asked, and I glanced towards my left to see a first year staring at me with big green eyes. "Sure." I replied as I handed her the milk. "Thanks." She replied with a small smile. "You're welcome." I said before the owls came flying down with the morning mail. Some students received the morning newspaper, and others got letters from their parents.

     I didn't get anything though, but I wasn't surprised. I never got any mail when I went to Ilvermorny either. As I ate my cereal and drank my coffee, I suddenly felt like someone was watching me. I looked around and found that the blond haired boy that talked to me last night was staring at me, and it made me really uncomfortable. 'Stop staring at me.' I said inside of my head, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. 

     I just chose to ignore him and glance up at the staff table. Professor Snape was talking to professor McGonagall, and Dumbledore was just watching all of us with a sparkle in his eyes. There's no doubting that he was proud of every single one of us, even the first years who haven't really gotten the chance to prove themselves yet. Then I noticed another blond boy staring at me; the professor with the spiked up hair was watching me as well. 'Come on, I'm not that interesting.' I said inside of my head. 

     I looked down at my cereal bowl and finished up with my breakfast. "Here are your class schedules. I hope none of you will have a tendency to be late... you don't want to be the reason Slytherin doesn't win the house cup this year." Snape's deep baritone said to all of us as he handed out sheets of paper. I looked at mind and tried my hardest to memorize the times of my classes.

«» Monday & Wednesday «»

9:00am ~ 11:00am - Advanced Double Potions: Professor Snape

12:00pm ~ 1:00pm - Lunch

1:10pm ~ 3:00pm - Herbology: Professor Sprout

3:10pm ~ 5:00pm - Advanced Magical Art: Professor Doyle

6:00pm ~ 7:00pm - Dinner

«» Tuesday & Thursday «»

9:00am ~ 10:25am - Transfiguration: Professor McGonagall

10:30am ~ 11:50am - Astrology: Professor Barnabas

12:00pm ~ 1:00pm - Lunch

2:00pm - 4:00pm - Defence Against Dark Arts

6:00pm ~ 7:00pm - Dinner

«» Friday «»

10:00am ~ 11:00am - Advanced Charms: Professor Flitwick

1:30pm ~ 3:00pm - Advanced Alchemy: Professor Wells

3:10pm ~ 5:50pm: Dueling: Professor Grindelwald

     After looking over my schedule, I got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. I figured a little walk would do me good before it was time to go to my first class. 'At least you have your head of house first.' I said inside of my head. I walked out of the front doors and let the fresh air fill my lungs. I wondered how many other students actually took Friday classes, because it was optional I doubt if many did.

     'I bet those classes are gonna be small.' I said inside of my head as I took in my surroundings. The grounds really did look beautiful. After a few minutes I ended up heading back inside and made my way towards the dungeons for potions class. I stopped at the classroom door and opened it; I walked right in and picked out a desk to sit at. After I settled in, I opened my school bag and pulled out my book, notebook, quills, and ink.

     I was the first one there, which wasn't surprising. I didn't mind being early, especially since I got to pick out the seat I wanted. A few minutes went by before a couple more students walked into the room. That's when I realized that Slytherin and Ravenclaw had this class together. A girl with curly red hair and hazel eyes sat down next to me. 

     "I hope you don't mind me sitting next to you." She said with a shy smile. To my surprise, she was a Ravenclaw. "No, it's fine." I replied with a small smile. "Thanks." She replied. "No problem." I said as I ran a hand through my shoulder length, dark brown hair. Before long, the classroom was packed full of students, and I was starting to wonder where professor Snape was.

     As if on cue, the door burst open to reveal our teacher. He quickly, yet gracefully walked through the maze of desks and reached the front of the room. "Good morning, class. I assume that you're all fairly bright individuals for coming this far up in the ranks." He started as he gave us a brief summary of what was expected from us this year. He also took roll call. Once he was finished, we dove right into a lecture on poisons and antidotes. 

     I was taking notes, and I thanked Merlin that the quills I bought didn't make any scratching noises as I wrote. During the second half of the class, we all had to brew a simple antidote potion. "My name is Erin... by the way." The red haired girl said, taking me out of my thoughts. "My name is Sapphire." I replied, glancing up from my book. "That's a cool name." She said, and I thanked her.

     I followed the directions the text book specified, and was finished way before anyone else was. I rose my hand high in the air for professors Snape to see. "Yes? What is it?" His deep voice said. "I'm finished, professor." I said, which caught everyone's attention immediately. "Well... let's see if you brewed the potion right, shall we?" He said as he snapped the book he was reading shut. He stood up from his desk and walked towards where I was standing to examine my work.

     One of his brows arched as he peered into the steaming cauldron in front of us. He wafted the potion's scent up towards his hawk like nose before checking to see if it was the right shade of blue. "Very good, Miss Vander. Ten points to Slytherin for making a perfect healing potion in record time." He said with a proud look in his black eyes. It made me feel good knowing that I made my professor proud, especially since he's my head of house. I filled a vial for him to test further, and I cleaned up afterwards. 

     Professor Snape allowed me to get a head start on tonight's homework since I finished making the potion so quickly. Most of the classroom was still staring at me in shock. After a while a few other students finished their potions as well, and Erin was amongst them. "You're very quick and efficient. I like that." She said with a smile as she sat down next to me and started on the homework as well. "Thanks." I replied with an awkward little laugh. The bell rang, and everyone hurriedly gathered their stuff. 

     "Calm down, don't worry. You may stay after class if you haven't finished your potions yet." Snape's bombing voice said over the chaos. Once my books and stuff was put away into my bag I left the classroom and went straight to the common room. I needed to take a few books out of my bag, so my shoulder wouldn't fall off. Then I finished up my potions homework while I listened to some music. After I was finished with that, I decided to write my parents a letter.

     I figured I should tell them that I got sorted into Slytherin and stuff. As I made my way to the owlery, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to find Erin running after me, so I stopped so she could catch up. "Hey, I didn't think you were going to stop." She said, catching her breath. "What's up?" I asked her curiously with furrowed brows. "Some of my friends and I were going to hangout in the front lawn. I was wondering if you wanted to join us." She said. 

     "Sure, I'll join you after I send this letter off." I replied. "Okay. See you in a few minutes." She said before she ran off towards the Ravenclaw common room. I walked out the front doors and made my way to the owlery, which smelled of owl droppings. I looked around at the selection of owls, and spotted a beautiful barn owl. I cautiously approached the bird and gently petted her soft feathers. She hooted softly before I handed her the letter. 

     She clamped her beak down on one of the edges, and took off through one of the openings on the tower. 'I wonder why Erin wants me to hangout with her friends.' I thought inside of my head as I made my way down the stone steps. After a few moments, I finally reached the front yard and spotted a group of Ravenclaws sitting in the grass. "There she is!" I heard one of them say, and Erin waved me over to where they were. As I got closer I noticed that they were a group of two boys and three girls. 

     "So, this is the Ilvermorny transfer? I'm Tarrant, by the way." One of the boys said as he stood up and held out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Sapphire." I replied with a small smile. Erin introduced me to her friends, and I ended up sitting down on the ground with them. They asked me questions about Ilvermorny, which didn't come as a surprise. Then Erin bragged about professor Snape's praise over my potion today in class. 

     "That's rare for him to complement someone on their potion making, even if you are a Slytherin." Tarrant said, and the others agreed with him. Before long it was lunch time, and we split up to sit at our separate tables. I filled my plate with food and drank a cold glass of water with my meal. At first, I thought lunch was going to be peaceful, until a voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see the bling haired boy looking at me with his blueish green eyes. 

     "I heard that you impressed Snape with your potion skills today." He said as he sat down in front of me. "Yeah... I guess I did." I replied. I honestly just think professor Snape was shocked how fast I brewed the potion without screwing up. "I guess Slytherin was right for you after all." He replied with a slight smirk on his face. "I guess." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. 

     "The name is Malfoy by the way... Draco Malfoy." He said as he held out his hand for me to shake, and I reluctantly shook it. "Nice to meet you. I assume you already know my name." I replied, and he nodded to let me know he did. We sat in silence for a while before he opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off. "Draco, come down here with us." A girl with black hair and blue eyes said angrily. "Sorry, perhaps we can talk later?" He said as he stood up. "Sure, whatever." I replied. I continued eating my lunch in peace. I was excited to see what my other classes had in store for me.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A/N: Thanks for reading!!

[hugs4harper-blog]

A letter from Mom...

Hey guys! I know it’s been pretty quiet here on Hugs4Harper lately and I apologize for that (Nikki does too!!). Currently, Harper is still trucking along here daily routine of treatment. She’s on a long treatment than last time, but here schedule is pretty consist and “uneventful” (besides all the tea parties, makeovers, and some pink hair). Nikki asked me to write a blog for all your HARPER HUGGERS, so you guys can get a taste of my everyday (WICKED EXCITING..) life...from my point of view.

Besides my everyday tea party schedule and make up appointment with the talented Harper, it pretty much all revolves around Harper’s schedule of treatment. So currently the portion of treatment that we are in is called CONSOLIDATION and it’s a 56 day treatment. The types of Chemo drugs that Harper is receiving vary sometimes week to week, but add up to about 5-6 different drugs during this round ( not 1, not 2, BUT 6). This round is broken into halves each lasting 28 days ( = 56 days). These first 28 days are made of treatment Tuesday- Friday each week. Every Tuesday we have to be in clinic by 9am ( after spending my nights with Harry I have to be up to get Harper ready...and we all know...I’M ALWAYS LATE) for her weekly spinal tap where she receives chemo into her spine as well as they remove spinal fluid each time to be sure there isn’t any Leukemia hiding out in there ( so far all spinal taps in the first 28 days have been NEGATIVE!) Now the next 28days is basically the same thing as the first half EXCEPT no weekly spinal taps which is HUGE for us! (NO  MORE DANCING ON HER BACK ..... )

For the past 28 days, every Monday, Jeff and I have been playing chaufer to get Harry to either VoVo Pavao or VoVo Reis....WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE FAMILIES WHO CARE FOR US AND ARE WILLING TO TAKE TIME OFF WORK FOR US!!! Tuesday morning comes around and I have to pack a bag for Harper and myself to have “slumber parties” at the hospital. ( packing snacks, water, stuffiess, toys, games, and the IPad...WE CAN’T FORGET THE IPAD.... Harper’s numbing cream for her Port, and any doll she is a fan of that week). I wake up at 6am, shower and get myself ready, by 645am it was time to wake up…. SLEEPING BEAUTY. She is not a happy camper and never got use to having to be up so early, but we get it done. We have to be out of the house by 7:00/7:15am in order to hopefully make it to TUFTS by 9am. Harper is aware that Tuesdays are her procedure days so she of course can not eat until after it is done, which sometimes makes for a very LONG 2 hour car ride. On our way down 93 I have to pull over around 8:30am to apply her numbing cream to her skin around her port ( that car on the side of the highway with the crazy lady running around it....thats me). This cream will help lessen the pain of her getting accessed at the hospital and it is only good for about an hour so timing was everything for this MAGIC stuff! Once we arrive at TUFTS we will get to the clinic...Harper’s vitals would be done then… DUN DUN DUN!!! It was time to get accessed ( which means a needle would have to be inserted to her PORT so we could use it as her IV). Harper now is getting better at it BUT let me tell you the first couple times it was similar to an Exorcism (HOLD HER DOWN, MAKE SURE SHE IS CALM, SHE CAN’T MOVE, ALL WHILE SHE’S TRYING TO WATCH HER IPAD TO OCUPPY HER MIND)

It’s hard seeing your baby go through this pain and get so anxious, but I am proud of how far she has come because now she just sits there and watches it get done no problem!

Now once we are past this part Harper is examined as well as hooked up to fluids and her Chemo. Then comes her Spinal Tap! We are escorted down to the procedure room where everytime there is prize waiting on Harper’s bed for her! She always looks forward to seeing what toy she gets this week! Thank you to all the generous people who donate it really makes these kids day! Harper hops onto the bed and the room is now full of myself 3 nurses and 2 doctors. I hold Harper’s hand as the Anesthesiologist starts to administer medication to put her to sleep. 

IT NEVER GETS OLD. I cry each time seeing my baby go to sleep, but she now knows that it’s her nap time.

About 30 mins go by and the procedure is done. I get to go back into the room before Harper wakes up that way it’s like I never left her side once she awakes. At this time it is usually 12:30/1:00pm. And depending on the week of treatment sometimes we are done at this point for the day and sometimes we have to go back to clinic to receive another drug and we won’t leave until around 4:00pm. (These are long days for a 4 year old and it’s not always easy for her, but we get it done.)

Once we are done for the day it’s time to head to Harry and pick him up. Now depending on the time traffic can be BRUTAL! And when all is said and done we don’t get home until around 7pm ( after being out of the house at 7am). We get home I still have to feed Harry give him a bath, feed Harper, and sometimes still make us some dinner. Jeff sometimes is home by this time so of course he is a huge part in the nightly process as well, but as for during the day one of us HAVE to work and he’s the lucky one!

Now comeS Wednesday-Friday which does not include any procedures/spinal taps so we are lucky enough to have Visiting Nurses come to the house and administer Harper’s chemo through her Port. If at anytime while we are home I see that Harper is not feeling well i.e. not eating or tired we must go into clinic. If she has a fever of 100.2 then we automatically have to go into the ER and it is an automatic 2 day stay in the Hospital. We are constantly on the edge and none of our lives can be planned or scheduled out. Now as for the next 28 days we are not able to start them until Harper’s counts are in the right place. 

We went in on Tuesday planning to start these 28 days ( which consists of an overnight stay in the Hospital) but Harper’s counts were not where they needed to be and now we are delayed 1 week until next Tuesday for a recheck. The Clinic had mentioned that this tends to happen often and is nothing to worry about really and we just have to keep Harper’s spirits up.

My weeks are long and are definitely not easy having both kids who need their mom in 2 very different ways, but last thing I can do is complain. I take each day at time and each task at a time. Some days I feel like talking and some days I don’t. Some days I feel like showering and some I don’t. We have a huge support system and are lucky to have the team we have behind us. We appreciate everyone who’s reached out, helped out, and keep thinking and praying for us! Thanks for following our journey!

#hugs4harper

[astrogeoguy]

Walking the Dog on Moonless Nights, Evening Mars and Pretty Pre-dawn Planets!

(Above: This detailed star chart of the area around Canis Major, the Big Dog, shows the main stars and deep sky objects (labelled yellow symbols) in the constellation. The southern sky is shown for early March at 7 pm local time.)

Hello, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of March 3rd, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event, visit DiscoveryPlanitarium.com and request me. We’ll tour the Universe together!

Public Astro-Events

Taking advantage of dark moonless evening skies this week, astronomers with the RASC Toronto Centre will gather for dark sky stargazing at Long Sault Conservation Area, northeast of Oshawa on (only) the first clear evening (Monday to Thursday) this week. You don’t need to be a RASC member, or own any equipment, to join them. Check here for details and watch the banner on their homepage or their Facebook page for the GO or NO-GO decision around 5 pm each day. 

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

On Thursday, March 7 at 8 pm in the Legion Hall in Waterdown, the RASC – Hamilton Centre will present a free public talk by Professor Michael Fich, University of Waterloo entitled New Frontiers in Observational Cosmology. Details are here. 

On Thursday, March 7, starting at 8 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present a free talk entitled Kepler’s Story: How one Telescope Changed Everything we Know about Exoplanets. It will be followed by observing (weather permitting) and their planetarium show. Details are here. 

Eastern GTA sky watchers are invited to join the RASC Toronto Centre and Durham Skies for solar observing and stargazing at the edge of Lake Ontario in Millennium Square in Pickering on Friday evening, March 8, from 6 pm to 11 pm. Details are here. Before heading out, check the RASCTC home page for a Go/No-Go call in case it's too cloudy to observe. The rain date is Saturday. 

On Friday, March 8 at 7:30 pm in the Hamilton Spectator Building in Hamilton, the Hamilton local astronomers will present a free public talk entitled A Step Back, and a Look Up. Details are here. 

If it’s sunny on Saturday morning, March 9 from 10 am to noon, astronomers from the RASC Toronto Centre will be setting up outside the main doors of the Ontario Science Centre for Solar Observing. Come and see the Sun in detail through special equipment designed to view it safely. This is a free event (details here), but parking and admission fees inside the Science Centre will still apply. Check the RASC Toronto Centre website or their Facebook page for the Go or No-Go notification. 

Saturday, March 9 marks the opening of a six-month exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum entitled The Moon: A Voyage through Time. The museum will feature installations of art, culture, history, and science pertaining to the moon. A public talk, The Moon: Mirror of Faith, Science, and the Arts will be delivered by Dr. Christiane Gruber on Saturday at 2:00pm. Details are here. 

On Saturday, March 9 from 6 to 8 pm, weather permitting, astronomers from RASC Toronto Centre will carry out free public evening stargazing on the Teluscape at the Ontario Science Centre. Details are here. 

Evening Zodiacal Light

For about half an hour after dusk between today and the new moon on March 6, look west-southwest for a broad wedge of faint light rising from the horizon and centered on the ecliptic. This is the zodiacal light - reflected sunlight from interplanetary particles of matter concentrated in the plane of the solar system. The glow will be centred on the horizon directly below Mars. Try to observe from a location without light pollution, and don't confuse the zodiacal light with the brighter Milky Way to the northwest. I posted an image of it here. 

(Above: Canis Major is one of two dog constellations that accompany Orion in the winter sky, as shown here at 7 pm in early March. The Little Dog, Canis Minor is the “stick-like” constellation at top left. Perhaps they are chasing Lepus, the Rabbit. The winter Milky Way runs vertically, just to the east (left side) of Canis Major.)

Walking the Big Dog

The night sky’s brightest star Sirius is sure to catch your eye in the evening sky this time of the year. Once the sky darkens at around 8:30 pm local time, Sirius will be sitting a third of the way up the southern sky, to the lower left of Orion (the Hunter). During the rest of the evening, Sirius will slowly descend into the southwestern sky and set just after midnight local time. 

Sirius name means “searing” or “scorching” in Greek. It’s also commonly known as the Dog Star because it is the brightest star in Canis Major (the Big Dog). To my eyes, the constellation genuinely resembles a wiener dog! Sirius sparkles at the dog’s collar. The pup’s head is formed by several medium-bright stars to Sirius’ upper left, but those are near the limit of visibility in urban skies. Nose to tail, the constellation measures about 19°, or two fist diameters held at arm’s length. He’s about one fist from ears to paws. The rest of the dog’s body, composed of more easily visible stars, extends to the lower left (southeast) of Sirius. The dog is rearing up and facing west, as if he is begging Orion for a treat. 

About a fist’s diameter below Sirius is the bright star Wezen, which marks the dog’s “bottom”. Wezen, Arabic for “weight” is a rare, massive yellow supergiant star. One day it will explode in a supernova. The tip of the dog’s tail, marked by a modest star named Aludra, is found 4° (four finger widths) to the lower left of Wezen. Four degrees to the lower right of Wezen, a bright star named Adhara represents the dog’s rear legs. (Some representations include two dimmer stars for the rear paws.) Adhara is a hot blue giant star with a surface temperature of a whopping 21,000 K located about 34 light-years from the sun. It’s the brightest star in the sky when viewed in ultraviolet light, and it, too, is on the way to a supernova death. 

The dog’s front legs are formed by the bright star Mirzam, which is located about a palm’s width to the lower right of Sirius. Mirzam, which means “the Herald” because it rises just before Sirius, is 60 times more luminous than Sirius. If it were located where Sirius is, instead of 500 light-years away, it would appear 15 times brighter than Venus! 

In the heart of Canis Major, about four finger widths below Sirius, is a bright little cluster of stars designated Messier 41, sometimes called the Little Beehive Cluster. Binoculars should show it easily. The cluster, which is about 2300 light-years away, consists of several brighter golden stars and numerous fainter ones. Another nice cluster sits about 2.5 finger widths to the upper left of Wezen. Scan around that area of sky with your binoculars – the winter Milky Way has populated Canis Major with many treats. 

Canis Major is only one of Orion’s two hunting companions. The other one, Canis Minor (the Smaller Dog), sits 30° (three fist diameters) to Orion’s left. This constellation is composed of only two stars - very bright white Procyon and dimmer Gomeisa, which sits about four finger widths to Procyon’s upper right. Ironically, the constellation resembles a stick more than a dog! The two dogs might well be hunting Lepus (the Rabbit), a constellation of modest stars that sits directly below Orion. 

(Above: In this over-exposed image of the star Sirius, its white dwarf companion, the Pup, or the Flea, is the speck at the lower left.)

Sirius is so bright because it is about 25 times more luminous than our Sun, and only a mere 8.6 light-years away from Earth. Furthermore, it is heading towards us, and will brighten over the next millennia! Sirius has a tiny companion star, designated Sirius B, that some astronomers call the Pup. I prefer to call it the Flea! 

Sirius is famous for exhibiting flashes of intense colour as it twinkles. This is because northern hemisphere observers usually see the star positioned low in the sky, so its very bright starlight is passing through a thicker blanket of air. The pockets of turbulence in our atmosphere that makes stars twinkle also work like tiny refracting prisms – splitting apart Sirius’ white starlight and randomly sending different colours (wavelengths) to our eyes. 

The ancient Egyptians linked their calendar to the arrival of Sirius in the pre-dawn sky because it signaled the onset of the Nile floods around the beginning of summer. In China, Sirius is called Tiān Láng天狼, aka “the Celestial Wolf”. Many First Nations cultures saw a dog’s shape in these stars and called Sirius the Moon Dog Star (Inuit), the Wolf Star (Pawnee), and the Coyote Star. On the next clear evening, have a look at our bright neighbour! I’ll post sky charts and pictures here. 

The Moon and Planets

The moon will start the week as a slim, old crescent sitting low in the southeastern sky before sunrise. Even though New Moon won’t occur until Wednesday morning, the shallow angle of the moon’s orbit this time of year will cause the moon to rise almost beside the sun, hiding it from view for several days. 

The moon will return to view as a young, slim crescent sitting low over the western horizon on Thursday evening right after sunset. At the same time, sharp eyes might catch Mercury sitting 8.5 degrees to the right of the moon. The best time to look for Mercury will be around 7 pm local time. The moon will complete the week by waxing fuller daily and climbing higher – landing a fist’s diameter below Mars on Sunday evening.

(Above: Mercury will complete its best appearance of 2019 for northern hemisphere observers this week. Look for it low in the west after sunset, but a little lower every day. Meanwhile, reddish Mars at top left, continues to shine brightly every evening until it sets before midnight. Dim Uranus is below Mars. The sky is shown for 6:45 pm local time on Sunday, March 3.) 

Speaking of Mercury, during the first half of this week, the normally elusive planet will continue to be easily visible in a darkening western evening sky while it descends toward the sun. The optimal viewing times will fall between 6:45 and 7:15 pm local time. If you view Mercury in your small telescope, the planet will exhibit a waning half-illuminated disk. Find a viewing spot where the western horizon is low and free of foreground obstructions. Once the sun has fully set, sweep the sky with binoculars - or your own sharp eyeballs – looking for a medium bright, unmoving point of light. 

The other easy evening planet to see this week will be Mars. When the sky begins to darken, Mars will appear as a medium-bright, reddish pinpoint of light about halfway up the western sky. The Red Planet will set at about 11:15 pm local time. Mars has been slowly shrinking in size and brightness as we increase our distance from it little-by-little. 

The much dimmer, blue-green planet Uranus is also in the western early evening sky. It can be identified by aiming binoculars about 1.6 finger widths above the modestly bright star named Torcular (or Omega Piscium). Look for Uranus right after dark - this week the distant ice giant planet will set at around 10 pm local time.

(Above: Three bright planets will parade across the eastern pre-dawn sky during the coming weeks. Bright Jupiter will rise first, followed by dimmer Saturn, and then Venus, the brightest of all. Venus’ orbit, red curve, is carrying it downward and east, toward the sun. The sky is shown for 6 am local time in early March, 2019.) 

Three spectacular bright planets – Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus, will all continue to appear low in the eastern morning sky this week. Bright Jupiter will rise first, at about 2:30 am local time. By 7 am local time, it will be a beacon in the southern sky. Yellowish Saturn, which is twice as far away as Jupiter, is correspondingly dimmer. The ringed planet will rise at about 4:15 am local time and will be lost in the twilight by 7 am. Our sister planet Venus is only one-fifth as far from Earth as Jupiter. Venus’ blazing brilliance will grace the southeastern dawn sky after 5 am local time, and remain in view until sunrise. In a telescope, Venus will exhibit a gibbous (more than half-illuminated) phase. 

Dark Night Delights

If you missed last week’s write-up about grabbing your binoculars and telescopes and exploring the darker sky for deep sky treasures, I posted some beautiful images and sky charts here. This week will be just as good!

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[harrisonanss]

Avenue south residence price list

1. Central Park: It is 8000 acres of greenery in the middle of a bustling city. This is my favorite place in NYC, if I happen to be in New York for my Birthday, this is where I always spend the day. There is plenty to see and do at Central Park. You can just stroll, which can be so romantic, almost any season of the year. If you are with the kids, during summer, you can sit at any of the grassy area and have a picnic, or play ball. There are benches all around the park underneath big oak trees, where you can sit and enjoy music from the local musicians, watch people dance on their roller blades, or just simply people watch. There are 2 children's zoos: Tisch Children's Zoo, and Central Park Zoo -which is free for kids under 3. If you don't want t to go inside you can still enjoy watching the Seals and the Sea lions for free, who are visible from the outside. If your kids like to sail toy boats, there is a small pond just for this. For kids 6 and up, who like to bird watch, if you go by the Belvedere Castle they'll loan you Binoculars, guidebook, map, and sketching pads. In the summer time, if you want to cool off by a fountain, there is a beautiful one. During winter, there are 2 ice skating rinks in the park.

2. Staten Island Ferry: It's a great way to see the wonderful view of New York Harbor across a 5 mile stretch, in this 25 minute ride, as it goes from Manhattan to Staten Island back and forth. It's free, Avenue south residence brochure  you can't beat that! This is one of the main means of transportation used by Staten Islanders to get to Manhattan, so try to avoid rush hours.

3. Times Square: Yes it is very touristy, but I'm still in awe with all the lights and building high advertising boards every time I see it. If you want to take a break from the glittering lights and go window shopping, you want to visit the multi-story Virgin Store, Toys R Us, Hershey's, MTV etc. If you wish to go see a Broadway, the tickets can be purchased at a discounted price, up to 50% off, at the ticket booths with big TKTS signs on 42nd Street, on the day of the Show.

4. Rockefeller Center: If you can wake up early enough, the Today Show on NBC is hosted from the Rockefeller Plaza. We went there once with 3 month old Seth, even though it was pretty chilly that morning, I guess it was worth it being on TV for 2 seconds!! To see the view of New York from the observation deck at Top of The Rock, buy the Sunrise Sunset ticket, this allows you to visit the deck twice in the same day. If you still don't want to spend that money taking the NBC Studio Tour or the Radio City Tour there is plenty to do in and around Rockefeller Center. My favorite thing to do is sit by the food court near a window overlooking the ice skating rink. Or, rather than pay the full $10 to $14 ice skating ticket price, go during lunchtime Monday - Thursday (excluding Holidays) between 11:30am to 1:00pm, and you can get in for just $5! The subway stop is right at Rockefeller Center, few levels down. The St. Patrick's Cathedral Church is right across the street.

5. St. Patrick's Cathedral: This 125 year old gothic style Catholic Cathedral built of white Marble has the most amazing architecture, stained glass windows, and marble sculptures. It is very peaceful, and gives you a sense of calm from the hustle and bustle right outside its door. After 9/11 a lot of people took solace visiting this tranquil cathedral.

6. Brooklyn Bridge: You can get an up and close look at one of the oldest suspension bridges in the country. It spans the East River connecting Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan. There is a water taxi you can take from here to Manhattan. You get a spectacular view of Manhattan from this side of the east River. It's also nice to walk around Brooklyn Heights and look at all the beautiful Brownstone Homes.

7. South Street Seaport: Most recently, the evacuation scene for the Will Smith movie, I am Legend was filmed here. We just happened to be there while the filming was going on with thousands of extras. See, you never know what you will run into in New York! At Pier 17 Pavilion there is plenty of places to Shop and eat. It's nice to sit by the window in one of the restaurants overlooking the river and Brooklyn. Or you can get this view from one of the decks. You might see and enjoy some street performer's or live music during summer time. The South Street Seaport Museum comprises of 12 blocks of artifacts and collection of historic fleets. It shows the history of NYC as a port city. It's quite a sight to see the skyscrapers, tall ships, and the Brooklyn Bridge, all in the same view.

8. Grand Central Station: The inside of the main concourse with high beautiful painted ceiling, tall arched windows, marble floors, is just as impressive as the outside design, with great sculpture of Hercules among others surrounding a 13 foot clock, and large Corinthian columns. It's amazing how this hub connects all forms of transportation; it is the world's busiest train station, with 150,000 commuters every day. On Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 12:30pm there is a free tour of the station.

9. Metropolitan Museum of Art: If you love art, and it's never too early to start exposing your little one to this. The museum is free on 1st weekend of every month if you are a Bank of America customer, and have BOA debit, ATM, or credit card, under the Bank of America, Museum on Us program. We have visited and enjoyed more museums now than ever before, once our son was born.

[assortedmoneydiaries]

a week in NYC on a $80,000 salary

Day One

5am: I wake up, snooze for 10 minutes, and do my morning face routine: rose toner, bronze eyeshadow, eyeliner, eyebrows. I make a fried egg over easy (a dozen for $1) and drink some peanut milk (homemade with peanuts, water, and sugar). 

6:45am: I get to my monitoring appointment for my egg freezing process, and I get bloodwork and an ultrasound within 20 minutes. I pay for lupron, a trigger medication for the egg retrieval process scheduled for this weekend. I’m getting my egg freezing reimbursed, but for now I’m paying this out of pocket. $85. 

7:50am: I get to work - it’s a Sunday, but I have a 12 hour shift ahead of me. I immediately get a sign-out about a patient with a weapon in his rectum, so this day is already wild. 

12:00pm: The day hasn’t been too bad, actually; I microwave my pre-packed lunch - white rice with eggplant, chicken, and thai basil. I briefly entertain buying a drink from the vending machine, but it passes. 

6:00pm: After a day of answering pages and browsing furniture, it’s dinner time! I microwave my pre-packed dinner - pesto chicken bread pudding that I made with my brother’s leftover sourdough bread. Back to work. 

8:00pm: Time to go home! The night ended with a patient who caught a goose in Central Park with a fishing net and decapitated it. The police confiscated the knife and the goose. 

10:00pm: Because it’s the weekend, my normal one hour commute becomes two hours. I talk to my prospective roommate about our housing plans, inject myself with follistim and clomiphene for the egg freezing, and pass out. 

Daily total: $85 (to be reimbursed). 

Day Two

6am: Same routine, but an hour later! Wash my face, get dressed, and an egg and peanut milk. Not having to think about breakfast makes my life easier when I’m already so groggy. 

8am: I’m still on the subway, but we have virtual morning lectures from 8am-9am, so I just join on my phone. I get to the hospital at 8:10 and continue the lecture on wifi. I drop off the black sesame milk buns that I made over the weekend in the residents’ lounge. 

9am: We have morning rounds for 30 minutes, and I go see my patients and write their notes. One of my patients is someone I saw in the ED yesterday, and she’s very sweet now that she’s no longer intoxicated. 

12pm: Lunch time! I microwave my pre-packed lunch, same as yesterday, and chill with the other residents for an hour. 

3pm: I count down to 3pm for the donut drop from Kora; within 3 minutes, the donuts are sold out. Thankfully, I made it - 2 sets of the Sari-Sari (leche flan, ube, churron, halo-halo, and keso). All set for pick-up on Friday. :) $65. 

4pm: I get out of work, and go home to chill, work on the apartment rental application, and work out. 

7:30pm: Dinner with my mom eating leftovers, and then Stone Age (a free online board game with friends). 

10pm: Follistim and clomiphene again, and off to bed. 

Daily total: $65 (hopefully will be reimbursed for $56 since I’m sharing with 6 other people) 

Day Three

5am: I have to go for monitoring again today, so I wake up early ... and do the same routine, except with hot HK milk tea instead of peanut milk to warm me up. 

7am: It’s 50 degrees outside, and I decide to cancel my dinner plans (outdoor dining with a friend) because I’m not dressed appropriately for the weather. I go in for monitoring and it turns out I need to take a medication as soon as I get home from work, so I have an even better excuse to cancel.  

10am: I discharge two patients, one of whom is my age and is one of the nicest patients I’ve ever had. I have medical students now, so I bring them along to see my patients. 

12pm: Lunch time - I microwave my pesto chicken bread pudding that I brought from home. I was hoping to snack on a black sesame milk bun, but they’re all gone. :(

5pm: I go home instead of going to dinner, but it turns out that I don’t have the medication after all. I contact the ob/gyn, but it’s not available at any pharmacies; I’ll just pick it up from the clinic tomorrow (for free). 

7:30pm: I eat leftovers again for dinner (peking duck and steamed dumplings). The rest of the night is pretty low-key; lazing in bed and scrolling through social media. I get myself to do a few squats, but I feel so meh that I don’t really end up doing much and call it a night. 

Daily total: $0 

Day Four 

5am: It’s getting pretty tiring waking up early for these appointments - can’t wait for them to be over! The follicles are growing nicely :) I pick up the medication and make sure I don’t lose it this time. 

10am: I discharge another patient, who is legit one of the most motivated patients I’ve ever met; he called his pharmacy to make sure that his medications would get sent properly. 

12pm: I remembered that I had some leftover beef rendang from dinner last week, so I microwave that for lunch. I also take the medication ... vaginally, and I lie down on the couch for 10 minutes awkwardly while my co-residents come in and out of the lounge. 

5pm: I catch up with a friend through FaceTime, and we talk for 2 hours about self-quarantining, socializing, therapy, and being tired introverts. 

7pm: Duke is hosting a free private screening of Miss Juneteenth with a panel of speakers (including the film director and producer), so I watch it while eating dinner with some college friends. I didn’t immediately love the movie, but the panel definitely made me appreciate it a lot more. 

10pm: Medications again, and off to bed because I have ANOTHER early appointment tomorrow. Oof. 

Daily total: $0

Day Five

5am: I press snooze and I basically get out of bed at 5:30 and leave at 5:50. I’m coughing a bit this morning, and I’m 99% sure I don’t have covid, but I don’t know for sure. 

9:30am: I talk to my attending and program coordinator about my very mild symptoms - slightly running nose, dry cough - and they recommend that I just get tested downstairs. It’s very efficient; I sign up for a patient portal, and I get bloodwork and the nasopharyngeal swab for the PCR. I really do not want to get swabbed again unless I have to; it does not feel good. 

12pm: Microwaved lunch again - rice with tofu and beef, which my mom made last night. 

2pm: I’m negative for antibodies! 

5pm: I take a quick trip to Chinatown to grab some snacks - drinks at Bambu for two, which I have 20% off for ($14) and a set of 6 cheese tarts from Pink Lady ($16). $30. 

6pm: My fertility doctor calls me and tells me that we have to reschedule my egg retrieval until I get my covid result back. :( 

7pm: I meet up with two friends for dinner at a Korean-Uzbek restaurant near my house; it turns out that they do outdoor dining! We were originally planning on doing takeout and eating in my backyard, but this works, too. We get lagman (a hot Uzbek beef noodle soup), kuksi soup (a cold Korean noodle soup reminiscent of naemgyung), 4 pieces of manty (Uzbek beef-lamb dumplings served with sour cream), and a Korean beef bun. $17

9pm: We go back to the teahouse in my backyard, and eat cheese tarts and finish our drinks. We lose track of time talking about furniture styles, dating, splurges, and money diaries. I regretfully have to end the night at 10:30pm because it’s time for my medications, and I have to go to sleep. 

Daily total: $47

Day Six

6am: I didn’t have to go in this morning, whew! We also don’t have lecture this morning, so I had a leisurely morning reviewing my patient charts. 

9:30am: Negative covid test, yay!!! Egg retrieval is on for Sunday. 

12pm: Microwaved rice with eggplant, chicken, and thai basil again. I still have 2+ weeks worth of this and the pesto chicken bread pudding at home; I really should freeze it. 

2pm: I try to talk to my new admission, but apparently he refuses to talk for the first three days every admission. So ... just chilling. 

5pm: I go to my bank to get certified checks, but it turns out they’re $12 each and money orders are only $1 at the post office ... so I go to the post office. I get two checks for $1200 and $750 and pay $4.75 in fees. They’re supposed to be reimbursed, but I have to pay the application fee for my rental building up front. $1954.75

6:30pm: I give one donut to my brother and I sell one to someone else, so I get some money back! 

7pm: I meet up with friends for dinner at Tradisyon, where we split a bunch of entrees among 5 people: squid, lechon, sisig, mackerel, and kare kare. Everything was delicious :) We shared the donuts, but they were actually really dense, so we only ate 5. Idk what I’m doing with the 3 leftover donuts :x $15. 

10pm: We continue hanging out but it gets too cold and I need to inject myself at 10:15pm, so we end up going to someone’s studio apartment nearby :O First time hanging out indoors for some of us! 

Daily total: $1969.75 ($1950 to be reimbursed)

Day Seven

8am: I go in for final bloodwork, and I pay for the egg retrieval procedure for tomorrow - oof. I’ve never had to spend so much at one time, and I was mortified when my credit card was declined. We put half on my credit card and half on my debit card. $3250. 

9am: I hang out at Chris’ apartment because I need to wait until 10:15am for my second injection, and I may or may not need to have the procedure today if my bloodwork comes back indicating that I may be ovulating. We chill and wait for Daniella to arrive. 

11am: We decide that it’s way too cold outside to go biking in Central Park or eat out, and we ultimately decide on spicy hunan food from the restaurant right next door to Chris’ apartment. We order a LOT of food - mapo tofu, eggplant with green beans, chongqing chicken, hot and sour soup, beef noodle soup - and eat at his kitchen counter. I drink some of Chris’ tea with his maple oat milk from Trader Joe’s. $24. 

2pm: After a lot of conversations while chilling on Chris’ couch (and a 15 minute nap), we decide to go for a short walk outside so that we can feel slightly productive on our free day together. We check out some cool recycled trash sculptures of dogs that are ... kinda ugly. 

3pm: I go home and spend the rest of the day freecycling (posting stuff I don’t want anymore for other people to pick up from my house) and chilling. 

8pm: It’s Saturday night, which means my dad makes sushi for us. It’s a decadent, delicious, and free meal for me :) 

9pm: I go to bed early for my procedure tomorrow! 

Daily total: $3274 ($3250 to be reimbursed)

Weekly total: $5440.75 ($5317.88 to be reimbursed, so actually $122.87).