#i wore the button out shopping yesterday and one cashier saw it and she was like 'oh it's your Birthday'

[jack-xoxo]

Steven

Im either delusional or I just never posted steven‼️

Steven was having a rough day at the gift shop; he was a huge nerd with Ancient Egyptian history, and he was the perfect man to fill that empty tour guide position; although Donna was being an absolute ass about it, she liked Steven, but whenever she didn't see Steven behind the register and he was out there talking to the guests, she called him over to tell him, "You're not the bloody tour guide." It made him embarrassed, and when he tried to convince her that he'd be a perfect tour guide, it was always a harsh, long answer that translated as "no," crushing his poor heart.

It was early in the morning when his radio blasted, "Lonely is a man without love." It's the rhythm matching the lyrics; he hummed the tune along with the song when he lifted himself to get out of the restraints, slouching his way to get the tape off and unlock the door with an unreasonable amount of chains, taking his sweet time to get ready for wo rk.A tight shirt with dark jeans—anything to put on quickly. Preparing his coffee and calling his mother, talking about his day, his fish, or yesterday. He was walking his way to the bus stop when he saw the bus stopping slowly as he started to catch up to it. When he’s yelling for it to stop and wait, he gets on. Phew!

He saw an empty seat, then he saw you. You wore a navy blue pencil-sharp skirt with a black button-up tucked in, your hair neatly tied up into a bun. Your phone is in your hands, headphones connected, and blasting loud enough. Steven sat down next to you; he could hear your music; it was [insert music of choice]; you loved it, and you loved the lyrics [rhythm/both]. You felt a tap, and you turned towards Steven as he gestured for when you turned the volume too high to be lowered. He had a soft, tired look on his face, his fair skin was painted with a scar, and his Adam's apple bopped for when he spoke, "I like that song; I believe it was [music artist/band], I’m not sure but I like them. Mind if I listen as well?" his tone getting softer with his smile getting smaller. "No, I don’t mind a bit," you said while offering the bud as he took it and flipped it to get a better listen. You had good taste, enjoying each other till Steven saw the museum as the bus started to slow down. "Oh, well, this is my stop; is it yours too?" he said, handing back your bud.

"Yeah," you nod, "I applied for a job at the museum to be a cashier or a tour guide; either way, I applied," letting a soft, small laugh escape between your lips. Steven chuckled a bit too; the bus stopped, and he lent a hand for you to grab. You both waved the driver goodbye before you walked across the road to the museum. "I’ll give you a tour around here; I’ve been itching to give one for a while," he groaned, his fists shaking. You laughed. "Are you a tour guide too?"

"No..unfortunately.." He sighed, "I work at a gift shop. Steven Grant is working behind the register, selling candies that aren’t even close to what they had in Egypt; all they ate were dates and figs." Steven went on; you let him go on if you were honest; you were kind of as much of a nerd with ancient Egyptian history yourself; although, it didn’t seem right, all this rambling on about Egyptian history and Steven isn’t a tourist. "How long have you been working here?" he asked, cutting off his ramblings. Steven.. He wasn’t sure; it seemed for so long that he didn’t have an answer: "Uh.. chuckling long enough for me to lose track, silly me."

Steven leads you to the main office, where Donna suits up. "Ah, Stevie! Late again, aren’t we?" She cheered with a smile spreading before looking at you. "And you must be y/n; welcome to the team. I hope you don’t cause any trouble or I’ll stuff you into a sarcophagus."

"Yeah," you nod, "I applied for a job at the museum to be a cashier or a tour guide; either way, I applied," letting a soft, small laugh escape between your lips. Steven chuckled a bit too; the bus stopped, and he lent a hand for you to grab. You both waved the driver goodbye before you walked across the road to the museum. "I’ll give you a tour around here; I’ve been itching to give one for a while," he groaned, his fists shaking. You laughed. "Are you a tour guide too?"

"No..unfortunately.." He sighed, "I work at a gift shop. Steven Grant is working behind the register, selling candies that aren’t even close to what they had in Egypt; all they ate were dates and figs." Steven went on; you let him go on if you were honest; you were kind of as much of a nerd with ancient Egyptian history yourself; although, it didn’t seem right, all this rambling on about Egyptian history and Steven isn’t a tourist. "How long have you been working here?" he asked, cutting off his ramblings. Steven.. He wasn’t sure; it seemed for so long that he didn’t have an answer: "Uh.. chuckling long enough for me to lose track, silly me."

Steven leads you to the main office, where Donna suits up. "Ah, Stevie! Late again, aren’t we?" She cheered with a smile spreading before looking at you. "And you must be y/n; welcome to the team. I hope you don’t cause any trouble or I’ll stuff you into a sarcophagus."

[iamjessemccartney]

guess who's 23 now!!!

[hauntedfalcon]

So, random question that just occurred to me randomly -- what are your thoughts on Nile getting to finally pick out her own clothes when she's shopping in London? Who's with her? What's that day like?

Melly. I love. that you and Laurel both sent these. before the group watch was even over 😂

@knoepfchen I just. sldjflsjflsjf how totally random right (I love you guys)

- - -

“What sizes are we looking for?” Nile asks as they get into town.

Joe says, “Well, you wore Andy’s jeans. Seven and a half shoes. Mostly mediums, she likes room to move. Nicky’s a thirty thirty-two, ten and a half, mediums and larges. I’m the same but thirty-two thirty-four, and--”

His teeth clack together. He wears the same wounded look Nile saw on his face in the lab yesterday. She wishes she had some way to distract him, but until they know each other better, the best she can do is not press.

“They might offer to buy this off me,” she says, tugging on the hem of the Parliament T-shirt she dug out of the cache of musty clothes at the Juliet safehouse.

“Out of the question,” Joe says immediately. “I won’t part with it. God, I remember that night…” This, too, is something he can’t share with her, but at least his expression is wistful now.

A little bell over the door chimes as they walk into the shop. Joe nods to the cashier and moves down the racks against the wall, and when Nile realizes he’s casing the perimeter she does the same on the opposite side. They’re the only customers, first thing on a Monday morning.

Something catches her eye at the back: a cream wool blend varsity jacket. Just the right weight for the damp English springtime. Conscious of the staleness of what she’s already wearing, Nile waits to try it on until she has a full outfit in hand, complete with sneakers that actually fit her.

She regards herself in the mirror in one of the tiny dressing rooms. Is there something new in her eyes? It feels like there should be some spark or depth that sets her apart from other people, after what she’s been through the last three days. All she sees is a tired woman with crispy braids. She needs to do something about that, next.

The outfit is cute, though. Colorful, unlike everything in the safehouse cache. Maybe it’s a bad idea to attract attention in that way, but right now it feels like the only form of expression available to her. She puts the pieces back on their hangers and brings them out where Joe waits with an overburdened trolley. “I guess I shouldn’t get too attached, huh?” she says under her breath as she adds to the pile.

“Depends,” Joe says. “Are you gonna let me see?”

Nile coolly regards his arched brows. “I will if you will,” she says, tilting her chin at the other dressing room.

His first round is an eight out of ten, only because the pants have too many zippers to be taken seriously. Joe doesn’t hold the docked score against her; he rates her a ten and says she should definitely get attached. Nile rolls her eyes at him and picks a totally impractical sundress off the rack.

Joe comes out for the next round in a plaid sweater vest over a polo shirt, and in the third he accidentally selects a pair of jeans sized for Nicky, which look like highwaters on him.

Nile takes some of the clothes meant for Andy. They feel all wrong before she’s even finished dressing, so she lifts the mood by digging her phone out of the old jeans and turning it on in airplane mode. The battery is at thirty-two percent. This will be worth running it down a little.

With the speaker at max volume, she does a slow shuffle out of the dressing room to “Pink + White”.

Joe sidles into view with his back to her, turns around gracefully with fingerguns at the ready, and doubles over in helpless laughter at the sight of her black tank and black jeans.

Oh yeah. Worth it.

Nile’s face hurts from grinning when they finally get to the register. There’s a pair of hoop earrings in the jewelry case and the cashier gets them out when she asks. They’ll do nicely.

The counter vanishes beneath strata of jackets, a dozen jeans and athletic pants, twenty T-shirts, button-ups and sweaters for layering, assorted pairs of shoes and sunglasses, several backpacks, and a spacious duffel.

Nile starts to pay for her share with the money that was already in the back pocket of the jeans when she got them out of the safehouse cache, but Joe presses her hand away and covers it all from a bigger wad of cash than hers. They must have even more squirreled away at the safehouse.

There’s a laundromat the next block over, and when two loads are done and the clothes are packed up once more they get pizza for a late lunch, plus extras to bring back, and in the restroom Nile puts on a clean outfit she chose for herself, still warm from the dryer.

She scopes herself again in the restroom mirror. If there is a profound difference, it’s that the woman in the mirror isn’t a Marine. Not quite, not anymore, despite the tags that still hang by her heart. “Soldier” doesn’t feel like the right word either.

She’s got people she can trust to help her figure out what the right word is, even if it changes depending on the century.

Joe brightens as she comes out of the bathroom. “How’s it feel?” he asks.

“It’s a good start,” Nile says, and Joe smiles broadly at her.

[ahnsael]

@kjuw89 replied to your photo: “Isn’t she beautiful?”:

Crowds look light ��

They’re not bad. I was surprised to see 15 minutes for Pirates. On the Disney Parks App it then said that HyperSpace Mountain had a 20 minute wait, but it had just returned to 104 status after going 101 (for you non-cast members, that means it was working again after having broken down), and by the time I got there from Big Thunder it was up to 55 minutes and no Single Rider Line. I got a FastPass for 9:10-10:10pm, but then gave that up for a Small World FastPass that would be valid by the time I walked from Galaxy’s Edge instead when I decided I didn’t have the energy to stay that late today.

The highest I saw Smuggler’s Run was also 55 minutes, and that and HyperSpace Mountain were the two longest waits in the park. It was warm today (even though I heard people complaining about how cold it was when I left -- it was predicted to be in the mid-60s at the time, so I’m guessing they’re SoCal people -- we’re already down to the 30s at night back home, which is probably why I found a scorpion in our garage yesterday; it’s still warm enough during the day, but it’s cold at night and our garage is still warm -- also I used my blacklight that I use for IDs and large bills at work and saw that the thing about them glowing green under black light is true), but when i walked by Splash Mountain on the way to the Hungry Bear and then Galaxy’s Edge, the wait was only 30 minutes.

I forgot to mention Star Tours and the Jedi Thingy in the Captain EO theater on my list of things I did today, too. I walked in to Star Tours and waited less than 5 minutes on Standby. It was weird to see that the Star Trader is pretty much all Star Wars merch now (it used to just be the small part by the Star Tours exit into the gift shop). There was also a huge selection of Star Wars pins on Main Street in the music store (which is now mostly a pin store). So much Star Wars in areas of the park other than the Star Wars par!I

I also happened to time the Jedi thing just right after finding out the Space Mountain wasn’t doing single rider but hearing the announcement that the doors to the theater were opening.

I was one of literally three people in the theater, and I was really only there to sit in the old seats and pretend I was watching Captain EO. The cast member didn’t even bother with the microphone; he just stood in front of us and did his spiel “in person” to us.

I wasn’t exactly wowed by Smuggler’s Run. I was told to watch for flashing buttons and push them (I was an engineer, the last row), and I was focused on that for the first part of the ride until I realized that the bright green flashes were enough to get my attention if I wasn’t looking.

The down side: Without spoiling the story, there were two times I was supposed to press something specific (and two other times to hit a couple other things -- there wasn’t a lot of interactivity for the engineer position). The first time I pressed the button and it had the desired effect; the second time, I pressed it, but it stayed lit, and Hondo kept yelling at me to press it, no matter how many times I pressed it. I could see the other Engineer (another single rider) having the same issue at the same time.

The lady who grouped us asked me whether I was a rebel or part of the Empire, and I told her honestly, “I don’t know, I just walked into Galaxy’s Edge and came here.” And since I was a single rider, I don’t think anything would have been “remembered” for me anyway as they advertised when the land opened.

Another issue was the Play Disney Parks app.When I first opened it, I allowed location services only while the app is open...turns out you can’t get “achievements”  unless they’re always on (any time you turn the phone screen off, the app starts from scratch when you reopen it). And for the life of me, I couldn’t find a way to go back and change my preferences. Maybe it’s outside the app in the phone’s app settings.

Oh, and they still have the typo on the sign at the entrance to the Haunted Mansion display in the Opera House on Main Street. It still says “Kindly step all the way in to the explore eerie evolution of the Haunted Mansion’s design” instead of “Kindly step all the way in to explore the eerie evolution of the Haunted Mansion’s design” (emphasis mine -- I tried posting it earlier from the Opera House, but Disneyland’s wifi keeps going in and out and if you thought I posted a lot today, just imagine if half of them hadn’t failed due to a lost connection!). That typo has been there for months, I believe. Disney has its own sign shop. It’s an easy fix. They just haven’t done it. Has nobody actually told them? Would I be a jerk to mention it?

The only other thing that I was disappointed in was that when I got dinner at the Hungry Bear, the cashier asked whether I wanted fries, slaw, or onion rings. I chose the rings.

And then when I got my receipt, I noticed that I was charged an extra 50¢ for that choice, then saw on the menu that it said “includes fries or slaw” (onion rings appeared nowhere on the menu, even as a side dish). Seemed a dirty trick to not mention the upcharge when offering it. It is, at the very least, a sneaky upcharge

But...let’s be honest, if she had said “would you like fries or slaw, which are included, or would you like to substitute onion rings for 50¢ more?” I still would have chosen the onion rings. It’s not a ridiculous upcharge, I just think it should be mentioned at the time.

But overall, it’s been so long that things that used to drive me up a wall were...pretty much okay today.

When I was in line for Pirates, there was a lady ahead of me with a young (2 or 3 years old I think) daughter, and she was having a heck of a time keeping her daughter from wandering off, or bumping into those of us around her, etc. That used to drive me crazy.

And maybe it’s because I’m an uncle now and understand the struggle better, but...all I could think was “Hey, at least she’s trying. Besides, what kid DOESN’T do these things?”

I was more bummed about the group who tried to sneak past me in the FastPass line of Big Thunder (the cast member at the merge point saw this and made them wait until I was ahead of them, bless him), the people behind me in line for Pirates who were old enough to understand the concept of personal space but still kept walking into me, and the family in front of me waiting at the FastPass merge point at Small World who kept giving their 1-2 year old daughter an empty Coke bottle, just for her to throw it down again -- one of those times at my head (and instead of stopping giving it to her to throw, tried to tell her to throw it in another direction without so much as a “sorry ‘bout that”). But to the cast member’s credit, the one watching the merge point -- while not showing perturbation at the situation (her Disney smile game was strong), when she let us in she sent that family to one line and the rest of us around them to another line, and gave a brief but noticeable (to me) look of “I got you, fam.”

I had all these plans for what the first thing I was going to do was when I got there. The thing I did was the thing I didn’t plan, but I’m okay with it...I wandered some of the shops on Main Street. Partly, I was looking for a hat, since I didn’t bring one (I brought sunscreen, but...getting sunburned, then shaving my head, can result in “hairless dandruff” -- the peeling skin just being made to look awful by a razor passing over it). I may buy this one tomorrow:

Overall, though, I wasn’t a big fan of the hat selections available.

But I went into the Magic Shop (take that, Magic Kingdom, Disneyland still has a Magic Shop) wanting to buy a Hot Rod. I found it on the shelf right as the cast member started asking if he could help me with anything. I told him that the Hot Rod was the first magic trick I ever bought in that store as a kid and the first “real” magic trick I ever learned (this is true), and he said “And it’s still a great classic trick.” (If you want a cast member who knows every last bit of their merchandise, experience over the last 30+ years tells me this is the store you want to be in.)

I bought it (I have a guest at my casino that it’s going to blow away, even though it’s one of the easiest tricks to perform).

There’s a sculpture (probably about 6-7″ tall) of Peter Pan riding Peter Pan’s Flight that’s surprisingly only $55, and I may get that too. There was a great lithograph of the organist in the Haunted Mansion for $40...the problem with wall art is that for everything I put up, depending on the size, I have to choose one or two attraction posters to take down.

There’s probably more that I’m going to have to choose between (or order online later since they’re on shopdisney), and part of me is worried that, since I would do Package Pickup rather than carry the things (other than the hat) around all day, I might forget to actually pick them up on the way out. I could have them shipped, but I don’t know how much that would cost.

Today was more or less my test run -- if I was so exhausted by the end that the walk back to the hotel was a pain, I was going to pay the $25 parking fee and drive in tomorrow. But even after all that time awake, the walk takes less than a half hour. And once I crossed Harbor and then Disney Way and started walking down Disney Way, there was only one other pedestrian with me (it was a madhouse from the exit to that point -- I was far from the only one leaving early, but even though I never understood leaving early when I was younger and had more energy...I get it, especially for people with multi-day passes).

I wore a PeopleMover T-shirt, and one of the cast members at Hungry Bear complimented me on it, so that was good (I thought about wearing my T-shirt of an anthropomorphic Pluto walking a non-anthropomorphic Goofy, but decided I didn’t want a bunch of kids asking their parents questions about it; when I left work this morning I chose an understated WED Enterprises T-shirt, but even with my A/C on for the whole drive down, I was a sweaty mess when I got here and I wasn’t going to subject people to that).

My shirt choices for tomorrow: the aforementioned Pluto/Goofy shirt, a shirt that is a parody of “The Jerk” movie poster but with Goofy taking Steve Martin’s place and the title changed to “The Goof,” or a Captain R3X T-shirt.

Honestly, it’s probably between “The Goof” and Captain R3X. The other one might freak people out more than I would like.

Oh, and I have to look into Oga’s Cantina. Earlier I saw a reservation available for tomorrow evening, but...when it asked me to authorize a credit card guarantee, I wasn’t sure what I was agreeing to (I know they charge you if you don’t show up, but...how much? And am I just guaranteeing being able to go in and have a drink and enjoy the ambiance, or am I required to buy a certain dollar amount of things, like the $200 you’re committing to when you reserve building a light saber or a droid?).

Speaking of which, I saw a LOT of people, in my 3½ hours there today, carrying around “custom droid” boxes.

Not that I’m surprised a lot of people are getting them, I’m just surprised they’re not having them held for package pick-up at the end of the day, choosing instead to carry them around.

The things I did learn today: I do NOT miss driving in Southern California. You know you’ve reached Southern California when the left lane is street racers holding racers through heavy traffic, when people are diving from lane to lane to try and find the fastest way to their destination, when people randomly slow down to 10 below the limit, then accelerate to 10 over when you try to go around them, and just the general feeling of claustrophobia of being in a sea of so many bad drivers that you have to scan them all to try to anticipate what stupid thing they’re going to do next so you can react before they do it because if you wait for it to happen, it’s gonna be too late.

I also learned that driving down on Highway 395 sucks. For more than half the time, it’s one lane in either direction (passing lanes are few and far between, and in the daylight there’s that “is that the water-mirage effect, or a semi coming? I have a dotted line and I can legally pass, but I literally have no idea whether it’s safe to do so and I am NOT dying on the way to Disneyland). And there is a TON of road construction (a good 25 miles is one lane TOTAL, with them alternating directions in that one lane).The whole area around Victorville is a complete mess. At the intersections (of which there are many), they open up to two lanes for the last couple hundred feet prior to the intersection, just to go back to one lane afterwards. Which means that a LOT of people who have been frustrated for 100 miles or more about their inability to pass are trying everything they can to cheat the system and get ahead somehow before the road goes back to one lane.

Don’t get me wrong, we have plenty of jerk drivers in northern Nevada. But traffic is sparse enough that I see, at most, five jerks a day. Most nights it’s just one, some nights none (the advantage of working graveyard is there aren’t a lot of people on the road, and we’re a small enough town that even “rush hour” means going 15 in a 25 zone at worst). But in SoCal, there are so many selfish drivers that it just...wow. It’s a lot to deal with when I haven’t dealt with it in so long (and since I’ve never driven south from the 395 to the 15 to the 60 to the 57 before, so it was all new road to me -- this was literally my first time traveling more than 3 miles south on 395 since I moved to Nevada, and that’s the highway my casino is on). The claustrophobia, when I knew I had no possible out if anything happened, was scaring me.

It’s great to be back. I mean, I’m home at Disneyland. It’s also going to be great to leave and get back to a small town in rural Nevada.

Oh, but I may be meeting up with disfan tomorrow. He hasn’t posted in almost a year here (hence why I’m not tagging him), but I met him in person six years ago at my third most recent trip (this current one being the most recent, then going with an old friend in 2015 where I didn’t see disfan then that third-most recent one in 2013), and it would be great to see him again. I’m still in touch with him from time to time, and when I thought I had a date he offered to do something to help make it special, and while the date thing didn’t work out (I got a text from her while I was on the road saying that she was “getting ready” but nothing since then, even tonight when she knows for sure she missed the boat to It’s a Small World -- I waited 30 minutes longer than I wanted to to leave in case she showed -- though I showed up just about 30 minutes after check-in time so it wasn’t too bad, since a review of my hotel on Travelocity said they charge extra for early check-in even if the room is ready and I don’t know if that would apply if I had missed some traffic and arrived 15 minutes early -- but her text was after I had already given up on her and gotten on the road -- her text was in reply to one I sent at the time we were supposed to meet asking if she was on her way, her reply came over 20 minutes later that she was “getting ready” but since I was driving I didn’t see that until I got here because I’ve learned no to do other things and drive), disfan was a gem. So...I hope I do get to see him tomorrow.

And if any of you Disneyland people who I know on here happen to be going to the parks Tuesday, send me an ask (I’m mostly mobile, though I am on a laptop at the moment, so an ask should show up on my notifications...but maybe to play it safe, add an X to the end of my tumblr name and make it gmail and get in touch with me that way.

I really do enjoy doing the park on my own (which is probably why I didn’t call her instead of text her when she wasn’t there -- plus there was some drama the morning before involving her roommate and I’m worried that may be a regular thing, so I might have self-sabotaged this “date” a little bit by not trying harder than I normally would with someone who I genuinely do like). But I also like doing the park with friends, and if we’re mutuals here we’re already friends (or if you follow me and I don’t follow you and you want to show me that we could be friends that works too), send an email.

I’ll be in the park most of the day (I can’t promise I’m gonna rope-drop it, because my Wednesday/Thursday is gonna be a LONG day driving home and getting there just about in time to shower and get ready for work, then I have a 9am meeting on Thursday, so I’ll have been up since whenever I get up and check out on Wednesday to get back up to Nevada for work), but I’m staying at least through the Electrical Parade. I don’t care about a projection-only show instead of fireworks, and there’s no Fantasmic!, but...the Electrical Parade will be good memories.

Oh, and Laughing Stock, Co. was listed in the times guide that I picked up today (as a “Fri-Sat” thing, no mention that those were their last shows; they’re gone now).

Anyway, my phone (barely) made it the 3½ hours tonight (and that included a live broadcast on Facebook of my ride on Small World from the front row -- which Facebook says they’ve “partially muted” due to the use of copyrighted music, but the song “It’s a Small World” was never copyrighted -- it was written for UNICEF, copyright-free, as a gift to the children of the world.

Oh, and when I rode Small World, they were grouping two boats at once on the same side (that’s “bote” to you, Ian...unless only “botes” with names like Irrawaddy Lady qualify for that title). But as I was the first grouped into the second boat, and the cast member just said “row 1″ which put me with two other people (that row can comfortable fit three), I waited until he was done grouping and then asked whether I was in the boat with the two other people, or waiting for the next boat.

Hey, I was ODV. I can make you a great churro or box of popcorn (I really need to get some popcorn tomorrow -- a Disneyland trip isn’t complete without it), but I don’t know a thing about balancing boats.

At first, he just said “You’re in the second boat.”

And then, after a few seconds, he said “The only way you’d be in their row with them is if you were in their party.”

And...I got it. They were both ladies (one young, one older), and he was saying “we’re not going to put some strange guy in there sitting next to them.”

The only response I had was “that’s probably for the best.” Because he was looking out for his lady guests by not putting some strange guy next to them.

I mean, I know I’m not a danger to anyone with whom I may ride It’s a Small World, but he doesn’t know that. And he acted accordingly, and I dig that. Plus, it gave me a chance to balance y phone on the front lap bar (since I was the only one in the front row on my boat).

Must-dos for tomorrow:

HyperSpace Mountain

The Jungle Cruise

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (single rider, hopefully -- I’ve already translated everything in the queue)..

Peter Pan’s Flight (but probably only if I can book a FastPass)

Waiting in the Standby Line for Smuggler’s Run(I hear the queue is amazing, but the single-rider queue is just a series of hallways and stairs).

Haunted Mansion Holiday (even though Jack should have his own darned attraction by now and leave the Haunted Mansion alone).

Splash Mountain (maybe last? I have a bad habit of being placed in Row 1 and I tend to make the front end heavy and the splashes are huge -- especially for me, and I’m gonna have my cell phone on me)

A grand circle tour on the Disneyland RR

Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (this was what I thought I would do first today, but I worried about staying awake...last time I saw the show was the abbreviated version at Walt Disney World so it will be nice to see it in full again).

The Submarine Voyage with Finding Nemo (I had no interest in that but I’ve seen a thing on how they did it that I want to check out, but also part of it is still underwater so I want to try it).

The Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthough

The PeopleMover (that one’s not gonna happen it’s been gone for over 20 years and I am NOT risking a lifetime ban to go up and try to walk the track that is still there)

Matterhorn Bobsleds

All Fantasyland dark rides

Meet a nice lady and invite her to dinner at some place not Blue Bayou, since that’s booked, but maybe somewhere nicer than the corn dog cart (just kidding -- I couldn’t even get a seemingly nice lady to join me for a trip to Disneyland, even though I had one day’s cost covered through a friend and was willing to foot the bill for the other and I had made it clear that the room I booked had two beds [which it does] and that “things” would not happen UNLESS SHE WANTED AND INITIATED IT [I PROMISE I’M NOT BITTER about her not showing AS I SAID I MAY HAVE SELF-SABOTAGED THAT BY NOT TRYING HARDER TO GET TO TO COME WITH ME WHEN SHE DIDN’T RESPOND TO MY LAST MINUTE TEXT but the concept of dating as daunting; forgive the self-pity but I’d actually have to be worth it for a date to happen and I’m wasn’t worth it to her).

Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (I’m back to “things I must do now)

Dole Whip

Maybe the lobster roll from Harbour Galley?

Popcorn

Maybe stopping my rambling for a minute (y’all know that isn’t gonna happen -- if you didn’t see it, it’s because Disney’s wifi crapped out again and I thought I posted it but it never posted).

But seriously, if any of y’all are there and want to meet, I would throw out every one of these to spend time with you (I’m so lonely!).

[multikpopworks]

Pieces of Us

Pairing: Reader X Jimin; Genre: Angst; Word Count: 2,018 Requested: @ajtopakin “BTS Jimin fanfic inspired by Serendipity” Written By: Admin Nel ( @got7-markjinson ); Header By: @parkhabits

“The cosmos moved for us There was nothing slightly out of place Our happiness was expected Because you love me and I love you” - Serendipity

Chapter 1 

They say museums are like cemeteries. Full of the remains of people who has already left the world. Maybe that is why only a few individuals enjoy entering this dome. Deep inside the museum, Jimin is humming, focused on working on the restoration of an old painting. Unlike other people, he enjoys working in the City Museum as an art conservationist. On things that other people may saw death, he saw life. A life that was kept frozen in time inside the art pieces. He revels in it, feeling like he lived from those frozen times, as he smells the old paints, as his hands delicately touch the rough textures of the canvas, as his eyes go over the sceneries; being impressed on how the original artist have captured it through a few brush strokes as if it was on film. The truth is maybe he did live in those times, from a previous lifetime perhaps.

“I thought you’re off today, champ!”

Jimin was caught in surprise by the voice, he was too focused on his work to notice his old mentor entering the work area. He offered a flustered smile, “I am. I just wanted to take one last look at Mysterious Jane before I take a long vacation.”, his eyes endearingly look over the painting on his work table.

“Ah, our beautiful lady. We still haven’t identified the artist and the model yet.”, the old man wore his glasses and squinted to take a closer look at Jimin’s beloved painting.

It was donated by a rich family to the museum. They have no record of where it came from or who it was made for. Even though it was beautifully made, the current head of their household is more into modern design, so they are discarding anything old from their house.

The painting arrived a little faded and some of the edges was already worn from time and Jimin was assigned to work on it before putting it on display. The painting was a portrait of a lady, dressed as if she belongs in the upper society. She was standing in the balcony, overlooking the town. The sun shone on her face beautifully, but it’s not necessarily her face that drew Jimin in. It was her smile. It was mysterious. Her lips are curved into a smile, but her eyes show otherwise. Some of the staff says that maybe it’s because she was getting tired of standing, waiting for her portrait to be done. Others say that maybe the artist painted her eyes and lips at different times, hence the difference in expression. No matter the reason, they named the painting Mysterious Jane for the meantime. Jane for Jane Doe while they are verifying the identity of the model.

While lost in his thoughts, his phone rings. Jimin picked up the device from the table and saw it was a call from Namjoon. He sighed and answered it.

“Yes?”

“Where are you, bro?”

“I’m just finishing up here at work.”

“I thought your last day was supposed to be yesterday?”

“It is. I just have time today, so I stopped over to check some stuff.”

“I really don’t understand why you like it there. It’s so eerie and… forget it. Just get your ass here right now. Before our beloved brother arrives. You know you’re the first one he’ll look for.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll be there. Don’t worry.”

“Alright. Drive safe. See you.”

“See you.”

**

Jimin took out his shades to wear as he was hit by the blazing sun in the middle of noon when he stepped out of the museum. He’s now half regretting going out then decided to stop by a coffee shop to get an iced drink to cool down. He was dressed in tight buttoned up shirt, black pants and polished dress shoes. Taking his shades off and brushing his hair back when he checked what cool drink to get, the lady cashier was blushing as she took his order.

When he sat down at the corner table, he looked outside watching people pass by. He liked watching people, observing them. Where must they be headed on a hot day like today? What made them go out of their house? After checking the faces of a few people, he was suddenly stunned as he saw someone familiar. He was frozen for a few seconds watching her walk, the wind blowing through her hair and floral dress until he was out of his sight. It took him another few seconds before rushing out the café, ignoring the call of the cashier that his order is ready.

He ran out to the direction where the girl walked. His eyes searching the few people walking in the same direction, but no one looked like her. He walked a few steps more before stopping and abandoning his search. He buries his face to his palms. He must’ve just been hallucinating. It’s impossible for her to exist on this time anyway. He tells himself.

**

“He said he’s now just parking his car.” Namjoon updates the group, reading the text from his phone.

“It’s been what, like two years since we were complete?”, Hoseok asked excitedly.

They were in Hoseok’s house and the four friends were seating around a round table in the kitchen, waiting for the youngest one of the group.

“Yeah, and we’ll probably only meet again if one of us are going to get married.”, Namjoon answered.

“Or if one of us dies.”, Suga added.

Before anyone could respond to that, Jungkook enters the room.

“Hello brothers!”, the youngest greeted everyone.

The men got up from their seat and each gave the youngest one a hug. Despite the trash talks, they all loved Jungkook. And proving that, everyone was gathered today just for him. Because he announced he’s going to get married. And this is the first time he’ll introduce his fiancée to all of them.

Once everyone is seated, Namjoon tapped Jungkook, “Alright, where is she?”

“She’ll be here soon.”, Jungkook smiled.

“Before she arrives, tell us what’s wrong with her?”, Suga asked.

“What?”

“Yeah, she wouldn’t say yes to marrying you if she’s perfect. Come on, Jungkook. Spill it.”, Hoseok added.

They all laughed.

“Nothing’s wrong with her. She’s perfect, okay.”, Jungkook answered defensively, although the laugh was still visible on his face.

“Don’t worry, we believe you. We’re just messing with you.” Namjoon said.

“I know you wouldn’t ask her to marry you if she isn’t perfect.”, Jimin added, siding with his Jungkook, treating him like his precious little brother.

All head was turned towards you when you entered the room and greeted, “Hello everyone.”.

The room fell silent and you stepped closer holding a bouquet of flowers that somehow mimics the flower dress you were wearing. Wanting to break the ice, you rambled on, “I’m sorry I’m late, I forgot I bought these flowers and I left it in the the car trunk, so I had to go back to the car to get it. But I know Cookie was so excited to see you guys, so I let him come over here first. But here I am.”

“Oh, no it’s okay!”, Hoseok panicked when he saw you were probably awkward seeing them for the first time, “Uhh, the flowers are for…?”, he asked.

“Uhmm…the house?”, you continued now noticing the bare space of the interior of the room.

“Right! Of course. Let me get that and put it somewhere nice.”, Hoseok got up and took the flowers and went around the cupboard to look for a vase but didn’t find any so he took out a pitcher and put water on it instead.

While you were being distracted by Hoseok, Namjoon and Suga were snickering over the fact that you called Jungkook “Cookie” and Jungkook was kicking their legs underneath the table.

After Hoseok placed the pitcher of flowers on the kitchen island, Jungkook got up and stood beside you. “Alright, everyone, this is Y/N my fiancée. And I’m sure you know from the pictures that’s Hoseok, uhmm... here’s Namjoon, Jimin, and Suga.”

“Right, nice to meet you all.”, you smiled and bowed to greet them.

After the awkward introduction, you all sat around the table and somehow began talking comfortably with them. Time slowly passes, and the room was filled with chatters from everyone… except Jimin. He tried hard not to, but just can’t stop staring at you. He couldn’t believe you are here right now in front of him. The person he saw walking outside the coffee shop. The girl whose hair and flower dress were being blown by the wind. It was you. The same person who is now to be married to one of his best friends.

The sky is now being dimmed outside as the sun was slowly setting. The guys are still busy catching up and had finished quite a few drinks by now. You did your best to keep up with their conversation but ultimately gave up and ended up just scrolling through your phone halfway. You’re not upset, you’re actually happy to see Jungkook like this. Getting lost in laughter and chatters with friends. Somehow his expressions are more child-like in front of this group and you’re glad. He deserves to have his shell break once in a while.

Now getting bored of looking at your phone, you got up and walked towards the balcony for some fresh air. You were surprised to see Jimin was there. You didn’t even notice him slipped out of the kitchen.

“Hi.”, he said as he saw you step out.

You hesitated if you should step closer. You did plan to look out to the balcony, but you didn’t think anyone else would be here.

“Don’t be awkward with me. Despite whatever you’re thinking, I’m actually nice.”, he says as he smiles, his eyes curving to half-moon slits. “In fact, the nicest one among the group.”

He actually looks harmless like this, so you decided to step closer.

“I don’t know if Jungkook already told you, but I’m actually the best man.” He says as he watches you walk towards the railing that he is leaning on.

“Yeah, he did.” You answered when you stopped walking, now putting your stray hairs that was blown by the wind behind your ear as you turned to look back at him.

“Good.”, he nodded and turned to face toward the scene outside the balcony. Your eyes are still on him. You somehow couldn’t help but observe your fiancée’s best friend. He has a drink in his hand that he swirls from time to time. His hair looks so soft that it looks like the wind was combing through it instead of dumping it on top of another, just like how you feel as how the wind is doing to your hair right now. Distracted by the wind, you stopped staring and turned to the same direction as Jimin and breathed in the cold air.

After a while, he put down the drink in his hand on the flat surface of the railing and wiped his hand on his pants. “Let’s start over.” He then turned to face you and offered his hand, “Hello I’m Park Jimin.”

You looked at him breathlessly, the sky now paints of purple behind him and the wind is still blowing. He is a beautiful person. It’s normal to react like this to a beautiful person, isn’t it? You reassure yourself as you felt your heart beat out of your chest.

You looked at his hand briefly and decided to play along. “Nice to meet you, Jimin. I’m Y/N.”, you replied as you reached your hand to shake his.

Now, you didn’t know what you expected out of it. It’s a simple gesture. Common introduction among peers. What comes out of a handshake? Maybe just the feel of his sweaty hands. Or maybe to check his grip. Yes, you might have expected a million other things, but you couldn’t have expected what came next. As your skin came in contact with his, you felt like you saw a million stars burst from the sky and you got flooded with visions. Memories of you and him together. Memories from a place you know shouldn’t even exist. Memories of a time you know you shouldn’t even recall.

With knowing eyes, he stared at you deeply waiting to you to catch your breath. His voice pierced through your haze, “Do you remember me now, Larien?”

[burningrosepassion]

Primrose

Chapter 1

“Chris, where else can we go?” Primrose was trying her best to sound like she had an idea.

“Prim, we haven’t seen Uncle Malcolm in years,” Chris said. “It would be rude to just walk up to his door and ask for help.”

“He’s family, Chris,” Primrose started. “Mum and da always said we could go to anyone in the family if we need help. We need help. We have no money and no hope for a new job in this stupid town. We’re blacklisted, Chris. Even if he’s in no position to help us, maybe just leaving here and going to London will bring about something new. A new start.”

Chris sat on the kitchen counter and studied his sister. She had a point. They couldn’t stay here. There was nothing left for them. Shortly after their parents died, two years ago, they had both been fired from their jobs and kicked out of their family. They managed to find a low rent, one bedroom apartment some slumlord was willing to rent out to them (no where else in town was willing to rent to them). They did their best to survive on the inheritance money their parents left them. But it was starting to run dry.

“Alright,” Chris said. “You’re right. I think his number is in mum’s contact book. We can call and let him know we are going to be in London. Pack your stuff.”

~~~~~

Primrose and Chris took public transport from the airport to the art gallery their uncle had asked them to meet him at. Upon walking through the modern-styled glass doors, Primrose and Chris could see this was a huge and distinctly upscale gallery.

“Hello, and welcome to Sheppard’s Gallery,” said a woman as the two siblings entered the gallery. She came out from behind the reception and cashier’s desk, her designer heels clicking sharply against the stone-tiled floor. “We are about to close for the evening, so is there anything I can help you find?” Her eyes were full of judgement and disinterest as she sized the two up. The woman was dressed in an immaculate Lela Rose half-sleeve sheath styled dress in plum with matching pumps. No necklace, but her silver earrings dangled down to her shoulders and her blonde hair was pinned up in a very precise french twist. Primrose knew what caused this woman to frown at the look of them. Chris in his worn and torn blue denims and blue flannel button-up, his sneakers were patched together with duct tape. His face sporting a rough over-due five o’clock shadow and his normally blue eyes were darkened by too many sleepless nights. Primrose was wearing torn black leggings and a very worn blue sweater dress that was just a little too big on her rather thin frame. The flats on her feet were clearly in need of repair, or in need of just being thrown in the rubbish bin. Her long hair was wildly wind blown and the curls were sticking out in all directions. They looked like a couple of street urchins, each with their carry-on sized luggage and a backpack slung over their shoulders.

“We are here to see Malcolm Sheppard,” Chris said.

“Do you have an appointment?” the woman asked, coolly.

“Yes, we are his niece and nephew, Chris and Primrose Blake,” Primrose said. “We spoke to him yesterday. He asked us to meet him here.”

The woman clicked her tongue in disapproval, turned on her heel and strutted back to the desk. She grabbed up a small mobile device and spoke, in an annoyed tone. “Mr. Sheppard, a Primrose and Chris Blake are here to see you.”

There was a muffled response. The woman huffed as she put the device back on the desk. She started walking to the back of the gallery. “Follow me. I’ve been instructed to take you to his office.”

Chris and Primrose quickly followed the woman to the back wall of the gallery. She opened a door marked Employees Only and led them into a luxurious lounge. Rich blues and greens set a beautiful and rather royal atmosphere. There were plush chairs lining the walls with dark side tables. No ratty magazines or random decorative pieces scattered around the room. It was luxurious, but somewhat cold. There were doors in each of the walls, presumably leading into offices and a store room. The woman gestured for the siblings to sit in the lounge. She walked to the door at the furthest wall of the room and knocked.

“Enter,” came a gruff male voice from the other side of the door. The woman walked in and shut the door behind her.

Chris and Primrose exchanged a look of concern. Their uncle hadn’t told them he owned the gallery. This could either be a great opportunity, or a big mistake.

The door opened again and the woman came out. She said nothing to the two siblings, instead just heading straight for the gallery door and left. Soon, four men in very smart, well tailored suits walked out into the lounge.

“Now, gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I have a very important meeting,” said one man. He was dressed in a fine, black three piece with a black shirt and tie. His barely greying dark hair was combed neatly to the side and his facial hair, though stubble, was neat. He didn’t wait for a response from the other three men, turning towards Chris and Primrose with a welcoming smile. “Chris! Primrose! I’m glad you found your way here, safely.”

The other three men stood silently to take in the two siblings. One man was tall and lean, with sharply angled cheekbones and a strong jaw. His red-brown, slightly curled hair was swept back, his face smooth and pale. He wore a perfectly cut navy blue suit with matching tie and pale blue button up shirt. His piercing blue eyes sparkled as he looked Chris and Primrose over. The second man was equally tall, a little less lean, dark hair and blue-green eyes. He wore a handsome black suit with a dark green button up shirt and a black tie. He was clearly less interested in the new arrivals. The third man was just slightly shorter than the other two, with lighter red hair, a well kept bit of facial hair and crystal blue eyes. He smiled when he saw the young woman glance at the three of them.

Their uncle noticed her reaction to the three gentlemen still standing off to the side, as well. “Gentlemen, this is my nephew, Christopher Blake, and my niece, Primrose Blake.” He gestured towards the men as he spoke to the siblings, introducing them respectively. “These are my business associated. Thomas Hawthorne, Benedict Clarke and Ewan Lynch.”  

“Pleasure to meet you,” Primrose said. She blushed when she noticed Thomas's lips twitch at the sound of her voice. People either love her Irish accent, or they hate it. The way he attempted not to smile told her he at least liked it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Thomas,” Malcolm said by way of dismissal. He stepped to the side and gestured for Primrose and Chris to enter his office. The three men nodded, curtly, and left.

~~~~~~

“So what brings the two of you to London?” Malcolm asked as he took his seat behind the desk, his friendly smile never wavering..

“We needed something new,” Chris said. “After the funeral, things just went from bad to worse. As soon as we got the inheritance money, we were both fired from our jobs. And nothing we did seemed to get us anywhere. About a month after the funeral, the bank foreclosed on the house without warning and kicked us out. We spent a few weeks trying to find a new place to live, but it was like we were blacklisted. No one would rent to us. No one would hire us. Hell, there were even shops that wouldn’t let us buy food.”

“How long did this last?” Malcolm asked.

“It was still happening when we left,” Primrose said. “We had to use up a lot of the money to survive. So, we decided to find a new place to start over.”

Malcolm contemplated their situation. He knew why this had happened. But he had hoped the two siblings would have been left alone. His sister, their mother, had gone through a lot of painstaking work to keep Chris and Primrose out of the family business.

“Where are you staying, in London?” Malcolm asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

“Um... we saw a hotel up the street a bit. We have enough money left to stay there for a bit,” Chris said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’ll stay with me. What about jobs?”

“We don’t have anything yet, but we will start looking right away tomorrow morning,” Primrose said quickly.

“What did you do before?”

“I had been going to school, and working at an Inn at reception,” Primrose said.

“I worked at a garage, maintenance,” Chris said.

“What were you going to school for?” Malcolm asked.

“I have a Masters Degree in Fine Art," Primrose said, clearly proud of her accomplishment.

“I think I can help you both with jobs, as well,” Malcolm said. “I recently lost one of my employees to unfortunate events. I’ve been looking for someone to fill the position of Gallery Coordinator. Vanessa thinks she’s been doing the job well, but she has no head for, well, anything but handling money.” Malcolm stood up, Chris and Primrose followed. He walked out the door, allowing the two of them to exit the room before turning off the light and locking the door. He led the two out of the lounge, into the gallery. He stopped briefly to instruct the woman, Vanessa, on closing up for the night, then took Chris and Primrose outside and across the street to a car park, where a beautiful, black Rolls-Royce Dawn was sitting.