#in my experience with my nephews throwing things is a baby's favourite thing to do

[demivampirew]

Keep Calm and Go to London chapter 44

Previous Chapters in the masterlist

Triggers: (fluff overload (?) ); crying (happy tears, though), talking about work related long distance relationship; talking about drug abuse and alcoholism and murder (related to a movie role); anxiety and talking about past break up.

Tag list: @mary-ann84​  @yespolkadotkitty​ @constip8merm8​ @iloveyouyen​  @wondersofdreaming​ @alyxkbrl​ @solariumss​  @sweetybuzz25​ @thethirstyarchive​ @agniavateira​   @honeyloverogers​ @hell1129-blog​   @lunedelorient​​  @michelle-1185​​  @madbaddic7ed​​     @summersong69​​ @kaatelyyynn​​ @henrythickcavill​ @wolvesandhoundshowltogether​ @desperate-and-broken​ @peakygroupie​  @ivvitm1109​  @the-soot-sprite @whyyoudothistomecavill @thevelvetseries @thetaoofzoe @thereisa8ella @darkbooksarwin​

Ticking tocking like a bomb Throws me back to when I had you closer Skin to skin we get it on Without the love I feel you going bolder You can promise castle, treasures, babies I don't care 'Cause right now you're just enough for me I want you near Like a fairytale to feel your breath right on my neck You remember what I love so baby take me back Turn down the lights down low and kiss me in the dark 'Cause when you're touching me baby I see sparks You make my heart go You You, you make my heart go You You, you make my heart go

To the rhythm of Hillary Duff's Sparks, you dance around the Airbnb as you cleaned the place. It was your free day from the set, so you decided to spent it the best way you could. Time truly flies in an incredible speed, at a moment you and Henry were kissing when the clock hit midnight and it was officially the new year and next you were back on London; he went back to The Witcher set and you soon got into another plane going to Washington when your next project was set to film.

Not only a month had passed since the last time you were together in the same place, but also Valentine's Day was around the corner. This was going to be your first celebration together as a couple, but unfortunately, you would have to settle for a zoom celebration. So you needed some cheerful music to lift your mood.

On the bright side, you finally got what you've always wanted since you started to act: be in a movie with Meryl Streep. She was beyond lovely and she was mentoring you a lot about acting and the film industry. You had a vast experience when it came to the music industry, but film was still quite new to you even if you have acquired a reputation there as well - all those big awards you got from your previous roles and a big fanbase was a powerful combination for success when it came to movies. As for music, you were a great musician with lots of fans but it wasn't that what made you a force to be reckoned with; it was the fact that the songs and albums you wrote and produced were all complete successes; you 'discover' some of the biggest selling artists and you made a lot of money for the rich bastards that control the industry which made you irreplaceable for them.

Another thing that you loved about this project, besides working with Meryl and the script that was quite interesting and gave you a lot of space to grow as an actor, was the fact that you got to work again with your friend Anne Hathaway.

She was a big part of your rise to success. She was your co-star on your first movie role that you seek even in you had no previous experience in acting, but thankfully the director saw something in you, especially good chemistry between the two of you since her character and yours were lovers caught in a toxic relationship due to your character's drug abuse and alcoholism which ended up with your character in jail for killing her lover. That role landed you your first big award which got you quite a prestige: your first role and you won an Oscar for it.

You were preparing lunch while dancing to Blackpink's DDU-DU DDU-DU when the doorbell rang. It was Anne who arrived to have lunch with you.

- Hi, babe! How are you?- you greeted her. Even if you were in the same movie, you did not share many scenes, so you mostly hang out outside the set. - Hi, sweetie! I'm great, you? I brought your favourite dessert! -she replied handing you a bag with pastries.

- Good. Thank you so much, you shouldn't have bothered!- you told her as you closed the door and walked to the living room.

Hanging out with her was as easy as breathing. When you're famous, more often than not you have to be careful with the things you shared about your life because you never knew who could be trusted to keep information private. It would often happen the someone, even if doing it unconsciously, they could share personal information that you did not want out there. With Anne, that wasn't an issue. She could be trusted and she was a loving friend who would listen and give great advice.

After a long conversation about work and her family, you shared with her that you were missing Henry more than you should. That in the past weeks you were experiencing a lot of anxiety because you feared that this time apart would Henry decide on ending things with you like he did a few months before, because he thought it was the best and because he couldn't handle the distance between you two and that was hard for you too. Anne shared her own struggles with being apart from her husband and her child for work. "It's never going to be easy to be apart, but it gets bearable with time," she told you, "if your love is pure, nothing will stand in the way of you two," she assured you.

Anne was one of the few friends who know about your struggle with coming with a decision about having children. What you liked about talking with her about that subject, was that she did not try to sugarcoat the struggles of being a mother. She opened her heart and talked freely about the issues she would have sometimes, but at the end of the day, her son meant the world to her.

During and after dinner you continue the chat, laughing as if you were two teenagers. Friendship is a powerful antidote for heartache and being homesick.

After she left, you picked up the phone and realized that you missed the chance to have your good night call with Henry, because of the time difference and the fact that he went earlier to bed because he needed to be up at 3 am for work. He had not called because when you didn't reply to his texts he realized that you still were busy hanging out with Anne. He promised that you would talk the next day, leaving you his wishes for you to have fun and assuring you that he loved you deeply. You sighed, sad to know that you would have to wait to talk to him and to be honest, anxious that he might have thoughts again that you should be apart because of the lack of time to be together.

You sat on the couch and opened your Instagram account to see what was going on with your friends. As soon as you opened the app, you saw that Henry had shared something on his stories. You clicked on the icon of his profile picture to see it: he shared four photos of you and every single picture was accompanied by the lyrics of a fragment of a song.

In the first photo, in which you were kissing his cheek and he was laughing because of the tingles, he chose the song Die A Happy Man by Thomas Rhett " You're a saint, you're a goddess, the cutest, the hottest, a masterpiece. It's too good to be true, nothing better than you. In my wildest dreams. And I know that I can't ever tell you enough. That all I need in this life is your crazy love. If I never get to see the Northern lights. Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Oh if all I got is your hand in my hand. Baby I could die a happy man yeah".

In the next one, he was the one kissing your cheek while your hand touched his face. The song he selected for this was She's Everything to Me by Bradley Presley "She's the voice I love to hear. Someday when I'm ninety. She's that wooden rocking chair. I want rocking right beside me. Every day that passes. I only love her more. Yeah, she's the one. That I'd lay down my own life for. And she's everything I ever wanted. And everything I need. She's everything to me. Yeah, she's everything to me. Everything I ever wanted. And everything I need. She's everything to me."

The third one was one of you hugging Kal and the chosen song was In Case You Didn't Know by Brett Young "In case you didn't know, Baby I'm crazy 'bout you. And I would be lying if I said, that I could live this life without you. Even though I don't tell you all the time. You had my heart a long, long time ago. In case you didn't know, you've got all of me, I belong to you. Yeah you're my everything".

The final photo was the one of your New Year's kiss, taken by his nephew Thomas - of course, as most teenage boys he reacted like it was too cheesy, but he took it in exchange of your promise that you'll reward him with an autograph of one of his favourite musicians, Slash, who you knew. The song he paired it with was You Make It Easy by Jason Aldean. "Yeah I'm down for life, you got me wrapped around your finger. And I like it just in case you can't tell. You make it easy. Lovin' up on you. Make it easy. With every little thing you do. You're my sunshine in the darkest days. My better half, my saving grace. You make me who I wanna be. You make it easy. Stealin' kisses undercover babe. I see forever when I see your face. And I swear God made you for me".

You were on tears and with a huge smile that made your face hurt. Anne was right, your love was pure and there was nothing it could destroy it, not even distance.

[ariddletobesolved]

Days We Spend Under the Sun

Written for @helsa-summer-event uwu

Fandom: Frozen

Genre: Romance, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Whump

Rating: T

Summary: Summer is not her favourite season, but a certain Admiral from the neighbouring kingdom is going to change that.

Sorry, it took a while. And sorry if this one isn't as good (burnout slowly creeps in, but this event will last the entire month, yay!). External links are in the notes. I hope you enjoy it! More fluff coming soon.

Prompt 6: Lettin Off Steam

—

Chapter Eight

There are ways to let off some steam, and a snowball fight in the middle of summer is one of them, at least that's what Olaf said.

After breakfast, the snowman suggested the idea with glee, almost instantly backed by Hans and Kristoff. Whether it was the Admiral's way to make amends with the snowman or it was just his mischievous nature, Elsa didn't know. Next thing she knew, the trio managed to convince her—Anna had a meeting with the council that morning, so Elsa couldn't really escape.

The castle garden had become a winter wonderland in the middle of summer. The four of them were split into two groups—Elsa and Kristoff, Olaf and Hans. In mere half an hour, their laughter echoed in the open space, not caring if any of the staff glanced at them. No foreign dignitaries were present, and the council members were at a meeting with the queen. But what they had forgotten was the fact that the balcony of the meeting room was facing the garden.

"Kristoff, you aim for Olaf!" Elsa told the Prince Consort, as they hid behind an ice barrier. It was the deciding round. "I'll aim for Hans."

"Okay." Kristoff nodded, before throwing a snowball at the snowman, who couldn't even hide his bum behind the snow barrier Hans had built.

"Oh, no! I'm dead." Olaf gasped dramatically, before falling onto his back. "You're all alone, Hans."

"What? No! Come on, Olaf!" 

Hans reached out for his twig hand, only to have it detached from the snowman. He was too busy frowning that he didn't realise a giant snowball came flying at him. Olaf, who noticed it, let out a dramatic scream, eyes widened while pointing his other twig hand at the incoming attack. The Admiral thought that he was being his dramatic self—maybe he had rubbed himself off on the snowman, he didn't know—and when he turned, it was too late.

Buried under the snow, Hans couldn't help but remember the similar experience from years ago, only this time, he didn't fall straight into a pile of horse manure. He tried to move, despite the biting cold over his cotton shirt and waistcoat. He heard familiar chuckles, followed by coos. Who is she laughing at?

"Oh, hello, little guy!" It was Olaf, voice soft and child-like, as if he was addressing a newborn baby. "New brothers and sisters!"

Curious, the Admiral used all his strength to move the snow off him, before he felt something moving. He quickly got up and brushed the remaining snow, which had stained his dark purple waistcoat and white shirt. A small creature ran between his feet, followed by an excited Olaf, which of course was sensible enough to not mirror what the living snowball just did. His green eyes followed the creature he recognised as a snowgie—wait, there were more. 

"We won!" Elsa did a high five with Kristoff, before turning to the confused Admiral. Smiling, she came approaching, then wrapping her arms around his torso. "How—" But before he could continue, Elsa replied, "They came out from the giant snowball, I guess I was too excited I accidentally made some."

Turns out, excitement could also create lives—or living snowballs. So much for saying that snowball fights are for children. Shaking his head, Hans wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. He pressed his lips on her hairline, and she slightly leaned back with her hand resting on his chest. The couple stayed like that, as they watched Olaf and Kristoff trying so hard to keep those seven newly created snowgies from climbing up the balcony. 

"Should we help them?" Hans murmured.

"You go first, and I'll watch." She teased.

The former Prince spun her around, so she was facing him. "Would there be any reward, Your Highness?" An eyebrow arched.

Elsa winked, then poking the tip of his nose with her finger. “I’ll figure something out.”

Laughter rang in Anna's ear as she tried to focus on Lord Andersen's suggestion about a new regulation for some tenants in Arendelle Plaza. Yes, her gaze might be focused on the older man, but her mind was elsewhere. She wanted to join them so badly, yet her duty as a Queen of Arendelle refrained her from that. Is this what Elsa felt back then? Ugh, this is horrible! Then again, she needed to wait patiently. Just one meeting, then she would be off.

When the laughter died down, a brief silence came. Anna smiled in contentment, knowing finally she could focus. She gave a nod of approval for the new regulation, which could possibly enhance the tenants' wellbeing.

The meeting proceeded, and the queen's attention was on the last topic they should discuss: a slight change in the Arendellian Navy. Anna smiled, gladly doing a favour for her sister's happiness. It began from her own idea, and she told Hans about it. She couldn't believe she was suggesting it in the first place, but she would do anything to keep Elsa happy, as happy as Anna often saw her whenever the Admiral was around.

"Alright, so it's settled, isn't it, Captain?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Captain Larsson nodded.

"Very well, then. Meeting adjourned."

Anna rubbed her palms in relief. She had done her part, and she couldn't wait until the following week. Nodding at a few councilmen, from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a familiar creature smiling at her from the window. A snowgie? She thought. Why would there be any—oh, is Elsa alright? The queen began to think of the worst. The last time those snow babies roaming around insinuating chaos was when Elsa got fever. Without waiting for the rest of the councilmen to pile out of the meeting room, Anna made an exit, flashing an apologetic smile on her way out.

"Your Majesty!" She heard Freya, Jensen's nanny, calling. "Queen Anna!"

Anna turned around to see the nanny curtseyed briefly, before walking closer.

"Is everything alright, Freya?"

"The prince is awake and refuses to go back to sleep, Your Majesty."

An idea popped in her head. With a smile, she followed Freya towards the nursery.

"Help me prepare the prince with light clothing, if you don't mind." Anna beamed. "We're heading out."

Anna ignored the surprised look Freya gave her. Even after she became the queen, the habit of asking if any of the staff could help her stayed with her.

"Of course I don't mind, Ma'am." Freya smiled.

Moments later, Prince Jensen was all dressed up in his white onesie with some lacy details on the torso to hide the buttons. He was now a big baby, attached to his mother's hip, while babbling. The energy radiating from him was enough to show that she was mama's boy. When the mother and son stepped into the garden to join the others, Jensen let out a squeal in delight, but not with the queen.

The grass was covered with snow, and so were the bushes. Two grown men were running after a few snowgies, each in a different direction. They got help from a talking snowman, who looked rather pleased than distressed.

"Papa!" Jensen squealed, reaching out one hand towards the Prince Consort, who was too busy to notice.

Anna took a deep breath, realising that it was more chaotic than she'd imagined. Normally, she would want to join them in snowgie chasing, but now that she was the one wearing a crown—figuratively and literally, she had an image to keep up. Her turquoise eyes scanned the surrounding, until she caught the sight of her sister, smiling at the shenanigan as she found a shelter in the pavilion. 

"Elsa!"

At the familiar voice, Elsa turned to see Anna coming approaching, while carrying Jensen. Her blue eyes were glinting with joy at the sight of her nephew—her little prince.

"Anna!" She said, before leaning in to kiss the prince's reddish cheek. "Hello, my Prince. You're finally awake, huh?"

Jensen stared at his aunt with glee. His hand went to grab a few strands of blonde hair, as he gave a little tug. Aunt Elsa had always been his favourite person, aside from Mama and Papa, obviously. Elsa gave a little yelp, but she didn't mind at all.

"Elsa, are you okay?" Anna asked, worrily put the back of her hand on her sister's forehead. "You don't have a fever, do you?"

"I'm fine, Anna." Her mauve lips curved into a smile, and instantly, Anna withdrew her hand. "I was just excited, I accidentally created some snowgies."

"Thank goodness!" Anna breathed in relief. Her attention was now back at the chaos. Kristoff managed to gather two in his arms, but from the look on his face, he was determined to catch more. The queen surely enjoyed the sight, especially with him not knowing that the meeting had ended. She knew the Prince Consort meant well. "Shall we go and help them?"

"Nah, just wait for a little while." Elsa smirked mischievously, then brushing some invisible dust off her lilac skirt. That morning, Hans surprised her with a lilac dress, quite similar to the one she had when she was queen. When and how he got it, she didn't know.

"Nice dress, Elsa." Anna smiled knowingly. "I'm glad you like it."

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise. "Do you happen to know anything, Anna?"

"Probably," Anna half shrugged, "or not."

But before Elsa could respond, she heard the familiar distressed call. "Kaere, a little help please?"

Shaking her head, the former queen flashed her sister a smile. "Well, it seems like we have no choice but to help them." From her spot, she waved her hands and the snow vanished into thin air. A few snowgies that were formerly hiding in the snow, were now circling around Hans' feet.

"Come on, then!" Anna beamed. She showered the little prince with kisses, before she took off. "Let's go to Papa!" The gesture was enough to make Jensen giggle.

Her sister's glee was contagious, Elsa knew that, and it seemed like her own nephew inherited that trait from Anna. Elsa waited for another second, before stepping out under the sun. She blinked a few times, becoming more aware of the sudden change of temperature, and her eyes felt like burning. She shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing more than her tiredness that began to kick in. It's probably the heat.

Either way, Elsa needed not to worry about it, for she was surrounded by her family and they had some bonding activities to do.

[bathroombreaks]

gg 1x01 rewatch

the questions are from @pynkhues, you can find them here.

1. What was your favourite scene of the episode? Tell us why!

oooh it’s def the scene where the girls are getting ready to rob fine & frugal. i just find it hilarious that they’re about to rob a store and they’re talking about how their kids are doing in school?? like, what absolute lunatics!! and i think it sets up their dynamic very well right from the beginning, idk. everyone’s always saying that the three girls have a very lived-in chemistry and i agree and i think you can feel it right from this first scene of them together

2. Was there any scene that missed the mark for you? And if so, how?

idk?? i’m very bad at reading and watching things critically, i’m very easy to please, i think?? and this ep just makes me pleased as punch!! but i guess that the scene with beth and amber, while funny, doesn’t really hit the mark for me?? idk, the way she’s framed as a “beautiful dummy” and not as much at fault as dean kind of irks me. i totally get that dean is the married one, but amber clearly knew he was married and somewhat regularly saw his wife, i don’t think she should really be absolved of that. and, idk, i don’t like that she basically got a prize for cheating - like, “here, you helped my husband cheat on me, so take some money to go live your dreams” is such a weird response?? beth was very scathing in the delivery and i get the point was for amber to be out of their lives but, like, still?? why not just tell dean he has to fire her?? this just further proves that beth is an idiot and an absolute lunatic, which we already knew

3. Let’s talk about the Big 6 Character Intros – Beth, Ruby, Annie, Dean, Stan, Rio. What did you think? What did you like? What did you dislike?

oooh i really liked all of them!!!

i absolutely love annie’s, it’s so fun with the car speeding and then with her banter with ben. i love the way they set up their dynamic right from the get go!!

and then ruby and stan’s intro was also amazing!! you get right away that they love each other so much and are so supportive of each other!! the way they both gesture when sara is talking about the women standing next to the men is so cute!!! i love it!!

rio’s is also amazing, he’s a snarky little bitch right from the get go and they really did a great job of also surprising us, thanks to the camera angle, and really driving home that he’s the boss.

i think the one i liked the least is actually beth and dean’s?? i mean, they do a good job of immediately letting you know that beth is the overworked mother and dean is the lazy, good-for-nothing husband - i mean, she’s running around, taking care of everything, and then he just strolls in and asks the kids to go to the car, without even having his tie done. but i think it’s a little misleading and i think it’s one of the reasons why the fandom (including myself) maybe has a harder time accepting beth staying with dean (aside from the fact that dean is a fucking asshole and he deserves nothing less than a horrible death, i mean)?? it really sticks in your mind this contempt she seems to have for him?? and, of course, then you get the flashback to beth getting waxed for him, and so you understand that they were maybe going through a bit of a rough patch but she wanted to work through it, but what sticks in your mind is that first scene, where she’s full of contempt, not even able of saying a perfunctory i love you back. and since they seem to want to drag out the boland marriage as much as possible, i think they kind of failed there.

4.   Ruby tells Stan to fix the damn door! Is Stan an amazing handyman? A terrible one??? 

i think stan is anywhere from ok to amazing, they’re just so overworked that he hasn’t had time?? idk, paired with the fact that he says he’s pulling a double at the beginning of the ep and that it doesn’t seem to be a new or uncommon thing, it just reads to me like a thing he really does want to take care of at some point but hasn’t found the time to do yet

5. Do you think Beth, Ruby or Annie had a way out of their individual financial situations that didn’t involve crime?

in short: nope. in long:

ruby and stan are desperate. they mention stan’s parents at some point, but i assume they just don’t have the money to help them?? and, i mean, they’re both working double shifts and they mention that they’ve had their gofundme page up for years. i think if they had any other way they absolutely would’ve already taken it, for sara’s sake.

we can assume from the flashbacks we get in 2x08 that annie and beth didn’t have as stable a home life as all that. i assume that either their parents are both now dead or they just have no communication with them. either way, they don’t have them as a safety net.

when it comes to annie, she’s working a minimum wage job, driving a very shitty car and her kid’s laptop has been broken for a month without her being notified, because said kid knows they don’t have the money to get a knew one. she does ask for help from the richest person the girls know later (that’s how i think they phrased?? i’m pretty sure), her ex, who promptly says no. so, yeah, it’s safe to say she doesn’t have a way out of her financial situation either.

and, in regards to beth, i think she would absolutely help ruby (and annie) if she could. so the fact that she doesn’t, paired with the fact that we get mentions later that this is not the first time dean has managed to basically bankrupt the car dealership, makes me assume that either the bolands were living close to paycheck to paycheck, but stable enough that she didn’t worry, or that she did think they had some spare money and did give that to them when she could?? because i don’t see how she would not give ruby the money for sara, if she thought she had it, especially when she does it later in the season.

so, no, i don’t really think any of the girls had safety nets or ways to get out of their financial situation. except for beth. she could’ve gotten a job. i know it would’ve been hard because of her lack of work experience, but she could’ve at least tried instead of immediately jumping to robbery!!

6. Is Beth’s backsplash dope? Or was Rio just being a dick??

both!! i mean, i personally like the backsplash, but rio was absolutely just being an asshole, whether or not he did believe it was dope had nothing to do with it.

7. Five major story locations were set up this episode – Ruby’s house, Beth’s house, Annie’s apartment, as well as Fine & Frugal and Boland Motors. Was there anything that jumped out for you about these locations in this episode? Do you think that they were well established given what happens in each across the course of the series?

ok so i don’t know enough about like tv shows and storylines and all that stuff to answer this, i’m sorry. but, like, i think it’s very cool that fine & frugal is robbed in the first and last episodes of season 1, it’s a fun full-circle type of thing, and i love that we’re introduced to boland motors via dean’s affair and beth’s destruction of it because it’s something that permeates the place throughout the whole time?? i mean, beth later “borrows“ one of the cars, rio smashes the corvette because of beth, it gets raided by the fbi because of beth’s illegal activities - beth is always destroying it, even when she’s not literally destroying something like in that first episode. and in season 2 we have beth fully realising just how deep dean’s betrayal was in the middle of the boland motors showroom. both of those things are always there!! it’s cool. and saying that, i mean, they kind of went the same route with boland bubbles, if you think about it?? we get dean cheating on her there, her fully realising how deep his betrayal is via gayle’s comments and then her clearly robbing the place?? boland bubbles really is just a continuation of boland motors

8. We met lots of supporting characters this episode too – in particular Boomer, Baby Tyler, Amber and Greg. Based off of what we saw of them in this episode, pick one, and tell us what you think!

i love baby tyler and amber!! i love that we’re introduced to baby tyler being all smiley and y’know a little bit ridiculous eating ice cream while on the job and maybe obviously inept because of it. and maybe you expect him to not do anything during the robbery because of that but then he really tries?? he thinks he’s facing off with 3 armed criminals and he really goes for it, he doesn’t cower like boomer!! he’s adorable!! and amber i already talked about and i know i was a bit harsh but i really do love her!! her oblivious comments are gold.

9. Screenshot and/or tell us about your favourite character look~ this episode.

frankly, this ep doesn’t really have any stand out looks for me?? the one exception is annie’s outfit when she picks up ben in the porsche. you can really tell how happy she is that she could one up nancy, that she’s proud of herself because she’s gonna get to give ben the laptop he needs.

10. This episode gives us some sharp character notes on Beth, Ruby and Annie – from Beth’s capacity for violence to Ruby’s visceral anger around being ignored, particularly when it comes to her daughter’s wellbeing, to Annie’s tendency to run a mile when given an inch. Is there a moment that stood out to you, particularly in light of future seasons?

ohhh i mean, there’s something to be said about beth’s capacity for violence uh? she keeps refusing to acknowledge it, because that doesn’t fit her stepford wife without a pulse image as annie calls it, but it’s always there - she’s always ready to blow up and throw some keys at your face. and ruby’s response to being ignored kind of screws her over?? she was very lucky jt only wanted her address for his nephew and didn’t become a second mary pat. idk, i’m sorry. like i said, not very good at critical thinking.

[starlene]

I know there’s at least one person looking forward to this, so here goes: a list of interesting details from the Danish production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Klokkeren fra Notre Dame), based on the two performances I saw in October 2019.

Fair warning: it’s 90% about Frollo.

I saw the following cast in Fredericia Teater:

Quasimodo: Lars Mølsted Frollo: Mads M. Nielsen Esmeralda: Bjørg Gamst Phoebus: Emil Birk Hartmann Clopin: Oliver J. B. Aagard-Williams Something to know about the staging: there are seats onstage, three rows on both sides. Audience members sitting there get to wear hoods, and the seats are gently pushed back and forth depending on the scene. It gives the illusion of the ensemble being bigger than it really is, and sometimes, ensemble members sit and stand in empty spots next to these seats.

And now, from the Prologue onwards…

Christ, this Frollo has AUTHORITY. Sitting onstage, his little sermon at the beginning of the show is directed to us – the ensemble all bowed their heads, and only my unwavering decision to enjoy every second of Frollo without as much as blinking helped me to keep my head high. He’s scary!

When he becomes archdeacon, Frollo does a Cinderella spin where his plain black robe magically turns into a white, ceremonial one.

Frollo smiles at baby Quasi before he sees his face. And why shouldn’t he! A very sweet 1.5 seconds of undiluted happiness in between proud uncle and nephew there before the former’s prejudices kick in.

I obviously didn’t get a chance to see it quite up close enough to see the inscription, but otherwise, it seemed to check out – if Instagram is to be trusted, Frollo wears a replica of The One Ring throughout the show. Might explain certain aspects of his behaviour?

~

In the beginning of the show, Quasimodo and Frollo seem to truly, genuinely care for each other! They hug and everything. Frollo being emotionally abusive is subtle and he’s probably not consciously aware of it himself – he simply does not have the capacity to understand that Quasimodo (or anyone else, for that matter) experiences the surrounding world in a fundamentally different way from his own. (“And can stone talk back?”)

Frollo seems truly surprised when Quasimodo says he could protect him – and it felt to me he means it when he says he didn’t mean to laugh at Quasi. Frollo also chats with Quasi in a quite relaxed manner (too bad, though, that his idea of small talk is racist rambling).

~

Quasimodo is SO happy outside. He does a little dance on one of the onstage seats!

There are many, many ladies throwing themselves at Phoebus. It seems like he’d be happy with just one, but they keep coming and he decides to just roll with it.

Esmeralda’s so full of life here. Rythm of the Tambourine is not seductive but so vivacious, small wonder all the guys crush on her.

The light/video design goes all pink with falling flower petals when the three men fall in love with Esmeralda. A bit silly, to be honest.

Both Phoebus and Frollo (!) laugh/smile at the King of Fools contestants (you can only really see this from the onstage seats)… until Quasimodo pops up, of course.

The congregation covers in shame/fear when Frollo does his little speech about showing kindness to all Lord’s creatures. Probably mostly fear, the man really has an aura of authority.

~

At first, Esmeralda is all mesmerized by Notre Dame (and why wouldn’t she be, it’s a gorgeous place and I guess we all remember how we felt when it looked like it’s going to burn to the ground last April) but she has some great expressions when she understands what Frollo’s all about. At very first, she turns the other cheek – but of course, it takes Frollo less than 15 seconds to be gross again, and then she’s simply done with his bs.

Esmeralda and Quasimodo are SO CUTE during Top of the World. Talk about chemistry – the actors are married in real life, that might have something to do with it… The whole scene is one of my top 2 favourite moments in the show. It’s so beautiful and optimistic (!) and pure, with stars in the sky and all Quasimodo’s statue friends supporting him… Finally, finally Quasimodo has a human friend. I cried, I’m this close to crying right now.

Right after, it’s time for some Quality Frollo Comedy! He does the mocking SpongeBob meme to Esmeralda when she says Quasimodo ringing the bells was her fault (“iT wAs My FaUlT yOuR gRaCe”). Then he switches gears and tries SO HARD to be all suave around Esmeralda: he flings his cape around, sits on the balcony railing all nonchalant, almost loses his balance and does this little silly oops heh heh heh thing.

And then Esmeralda says she sees the way he looks at her and Frollo just flips. It’s been a long day, right? That awful Feast of Fools business, Quasimodo’s disobedience, falling violently in love/lust with a woman you’re supposed to hate, trying to hit on said woman on two awkward occasions, trying to act normal in the midnight mass in the middle of all this… The moment Frollo starts yelling, some switch in his mind turns and his downwards spiral begins.

Next, Frollo gives Quasimodo The Talk. The original script has Frollo slapping Quasi left and right here, but the Danish production takes a completely different approach. It’s 100% clear Frollo is trying to talk himself out of the “impure thoughts” he’s having, and he’s so borderline panicky about it that the mood catches onto Quasimodo. For a moment, they both seem equally lost, and in the end of the scene, they hug it out. You believe Frollo when he says the “you and I against the world” line. Despite all, he really seems to think of himself and Quasi as a sort of a ragtag team.

~

Hellfire here is a journey into Frollo’s mental breakdown. The colour scheme progresses from light blue tones to the whole cathedral being in flames, you have seductive dream Esmeralda (way more seductive than the real Esmeralda) beckoning come-hither and dancing just out of reach, the music gets more and more intense, the subwoofers are turned up to 11 so the floor is shaking and in the end, your heart is beating twice the normal rate and Frollo is screaming and you’re screaming.

After experiencing all that with him, you understand that in his mind, the mind that just broke beyond repair under our very eyes and all around us, Frollo really sees no way out of his situation other than dragging everyone else in general and Esmeralda especially with him. Go hard or go home when you’re losing your mind, I guess.

~

The following scene with King Louis sees the return of Comic Relief Frollo – nothing overtly funny, mostly just the king taking his sweet time to acknowledge Frollo, but since the previous scene was so intense, you’re laughing all the same. How do they even do it? How do they have the character have such an earth-shattering mental breakdown one minute and then do a successful comedy routine the next, and all without losing a trace of his frightening aura? WITCHCRAFT.

Frollo gets a hold of a sword during Esmeralda (at one point, Phoebus has two, loses both, and Frollo picks one up) and turns into a holy crusader. He’s getting to live out his revenge fantasy and he’s clearly enjoying every second of it – it’s been clear from the beginning that he inspires fear in his congregation, and now, he gets to act out every single bit of his sadistic impulses. This is where he goes full feral, so to speak.

Dream Esmeralda is back, dancing in the center of a fire whirl. I adore the video design in this production.

~

In the beginning of the 2nd act, Frollo has sunken further into his madness. He’s clearly unhinged, so much so that I have a hard time believing that he coldly calculates Quasimodo showing him the way to the Court of Miracles. Probably just a happy accident.

The exchange here, with Quasimodo lying and so forth, is tense from both sides. Frollo and Quasi are hugging it out again when the soldier pops in, and Frollo just glowers at him – can’t you see we’re in the middle of a hug here?

~

The end of the Court of Miracles scene is so absurdly good here. Frollo busts in, the Romani are rounded up, everyone leaves the stage except for Frollo, and then he has a good 10 seconds or so to just chew the scenery in complete silence. He has the sword, he glowers right, he glowers left, he does a little villain laugh, then he leaves.

There was some genuinely nervous laughter from the audience at the villain laugh bit, because goddamnit, he’s just so deliciously, almost unsettlingly villainous at that moment. You wouldn’t want to be left alone in the same room with this man, but there we are, all alone in a dark room with him – and it’s just a thousand or so of us versus one of him, so we’re clearly at a disadvantage here.

~

Frollo takes his cross off his neck when he goes to visit Esmeralda in the dungeon and leaves it outside the door. This is my favourite detail in the history of theatre.

You wonder what Frollo is thinking when he goes to burn Esmeralda. He seems almost happy at the beginning of the scene. Is it because he’s a sadist – or because he’s so damn sure Esmeralda is going to change her mind now, he doesn’t really stop to consider that he’s going to end up killing her for real? Could be either. Or maybe he’s just completely lost it and is not thinking about any consequences at all, hell-bent on taking his revenge...

Whatever it is though, having seen his eyes from the onstage seat when he left after setting fire to the pyre, I can tell you it wasn’t an actor performing a role at that moment. It was a man who’s just set the object of his obsession on fire and cannot believe what he’s done and is conflicted and hurting because of it.

~

Frollo is sobbing on Esmeralda’s body and touching her hair and hands and you just feel so gross – stop touching her, she didn’t want that, she’s dead and even now you won’t understand, STOP IT!

I’m certain that Frollo genuinely believes he could have loved Esmeralda. Love feels different to each and every one of us, and in the end, I’m so so sorry that this is what is feels like to him.

Quasi and Frollo’s dynamic during the last scene is so real. I believe Quasimodo when he says he’s lost everything he’s ever loved. In the end, my heartbeat is twice the normal rate again.

Quasi and Frollo always hug during the curtain call here. It’s a running theme with the two of them.

~

Can you tell how much I love this production?

[downtonabbeyrevisited]

Series One - Episode Seven

One thing that seasoned Downton viewers will know is that either the plot moves so fast that you get whiplash moving from point to point and have to perform a fair amount of mental gymnastics to recall single lines that were (canonically speaking) made months and sometimes years ago, or it’s so slow that you think you’ve slipped into a coma and are having a strange dream about the coming of electricity. This instalment is a whopping 65 minutes long and  defiantly falls into the former category of episode. Don’t be fooled by the slow start of dusting chandeliers, every single plot point that King Julian has ever thought of is about to be covered in rapid succession whilst the July 1914 stamped ominously at the bottom of the screen indicates that the shit is about to get real. The main topic of conversation in Downton Village is apparently the murder of the Austrian Arch-duke. Who knew that rural Yorkshire with its still broadly illiterate population during this time period was so switched on to international relations? 

William’s mother has (predictably) died and Anna has made an armband which is utterly indistinguishable from his livery in her honour. Another soul unable to appreciate this is Mrs Patmore who is now so blind that it has been brought to the attention of those who dwell upstairs. Mrs Patmore is summoned to the library where she collapses into the nearest available chair after chewing off Robert’s ear and he arranges to send her up to London. I doubt this was quite the reaction he was expecting but there we go. In Beryl’s absence, Mrs Bird comes to hold the fort and test Daisy’s loyalties to provide a bit of light relief in what is, when you think about it, quite a grim episode. 

Despite being slow on the uptake, Daisy soon gets into the swing of launching the Downton scullery equivalent of chemical warfare whilst Mrs Bird makes disparaging comments about the kitchen and staff. But Daisy soon falls foul of a bit of bait and switch and only succeeds in almost giving Thomas’ colon a thorough clean out. 

Whilst Mrs Patmore sits in Moorfields reeling at the fact that cataracts can’t be removed by whatever the 1914 equivalent of homeopathy is, Anna is determined to get to the bottom of why Bates was in prison. Thomas and O’Brien’s written confirmation of Bates’ previous misdeeds have only served to light a fire under her and with a confidence to which I can only aspire, she marches into Greenwich. Or is it Chelsea? My knowledge of barracks isn’t what it used to be despite the fact that I am typing this a stones throw away from one now. My superiors are weeping somewhere. In true British Army fashion, a man with an impressive hat brings out a massive book which he never refers to for any information that he could not hold in his head. He then gives out Mrs Bates Senior’s address 104 years before GDPR kicks in. 

A meeting with Ma Bates confirms that it was Vera who stole the regimental silver rather than John but he took the fall, apparently feeling that he had ruined her life. However I can’t be the only person who is still a little unclear as to why he did go to prison for Vera as there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that he had ruined her life unless I’ve missed something, which is entirely possible. Anna returns to Downton and appeals to Robert to keep Bates on. Because he is a useful character for pivoting plot points around, Robert agrees, and our favourite self-sabotaging valet lives to survive another series. 

Considerably less eager to stay at Downton is Thomas who has a right old time of it this episode, roaring through all of his typical behaviours: smoking in archways, leaving tables with entire plates of food in-front of him to go and perch on a crate and plot with O’Brien, stealing from Carson in an inept manner, having at least two other characters discuss just how awful he is and finally take shots at William. Except this time, they aren’t snide remarks. These are actual shots involving pre-German sniper mangled fists. Having volunteered for the Army medical corps with Dr Clarkson, Thomas is riding high on his way out the door and makes inappropriate marks about a combination of dead mothers and babies. William takes him on and the two roll around a bit on a table then the floor. Carson calls for a halt but doesn’t actually intervene: its up to the Irish Radical to bring about peace. Some irony there one feels. 

But perhaps Carson’s inaction is connected to the emotional upheaval that of course comes with owning a telephone. I should know; mine has been on ‘Do Not Disturb’ for at least a year now. Presumably seeing the phone as an affront to his skills as a butler, there are a fair number amount of him looking perplexed at the new arrival. But with a bit of practice under his belt, he is ready to reluctantly shuffle into the twentieth century. Oh I do love him. 

The coming of the telephone is good news for Gwen through who manages to bag herself an interview out of its installation in the Abbey. However she neglects to say that she was a housemaid on her application form. The manager of the company scoffs at this upon learning she works at Downton “you thought that would put me off!”. Well yes, because less then twenty minutes ago you were bemoaning the fact that you couldn’t find any secretaries with experience which is what you needed. King Julian is now struggling to maintain continuity within an episode never mind between. Lord. 

After 18 years, and presumably a lot of hormonal shifting, Cora is pregnant. Robert sounds incredulous and frankly, we all are. Robert doesn’t understand what’s been done differently to bring about this major shift in plot, but Cora brings him to an abrupt halt before he can pick along any further down that particular line of enquiry and an entire nation, nay the world, exhales. However Foetus C’s appearance on the scene coincides with the departure of Simmons and through a convoluted chain of events, their fates are inextricably linked. O’Brein overhears that a new lady’s maid is required and immediately jumps head first into the wrong end of the stick. But to be fair to her, Violet and Cora seem to only talk about their quest when either Thomas or O’Brien are in earshot which is asking for trouble really. But that does not excuse O’Brien committing infanticide by proxy via the medium of Imperial Leather. With a bar of poor quality soap that breaks alarmingly easily and an off-screen yelp, it’s all over and another massive plot point that has a whole lifecycle within less than an episode. 

Although Foetus C didn’t hang around long, he made quite the impact and along with the influence of Aunt Rosamund manages to unsettle the romance that Matthew and Mary have been carefully cultivating since Episode One. St James Park provides a backdrop for Rosamund, following the tradition of all Aunts worldwide, to winkle out the truth about their nieces and nephew’s love lives. As they glide through London, and pass two men sat on a bench trying to divert the apocalypse, Rosamund plants the seeds of doubt that will eventually blossom into a full blown crisis in about thirty minutes time with the mere suggestion that Mary might have to live in a cottage. 

With the prospect of another male heir on the horizon, Matthew considers moving back to Manchester but not before he can have the first of two emotionally charged conversations under a tree. Matthew witters on about ‘prospects’ whilst Mary looks increasingly desperate. That tree and the accompanying bench have seen an awful lot of drama: people have sobbed under it, plotted beside it and stared artfully into the middle distance beneath its shadow and its only series one. 

But even when it’s clear that Matthew’s inheritance is not in danger, he returns to the tree with Mary to assert the fact that he is leaving Downton for reasons that I can’t entirely fathom but are mainly based around the fact that he doesn’t want to be socially engineered and that he can’t be sure of anything. Wearing the world’s most pointless gloves, Mary covers her face and weeps in what is fast becoming a signature move. The ‘tree’ scenes between her and Matthew have been a real chance for both actors to get their teeth into a bit of decent uninterrupted dialogue. I have loved Michelle Dockery since she stole my twelve year old heart as Susan in Hogfather and she has not failed me yet. 

Carson comes to comforts Mary under the ’tree of emotional conflict’ and in one shot we have captured the charm of Downton. Ahh. Now, back onto the nonsense. 

The garden party is suddenly upon us and with it, the tying up of as many loose ends as possible just incase the series isn’t renewed. Hold onto your hats folks! Mrs Patmore returns in a cracking pair of sunglasses, Clarkson gives Thomas his papers who then promptly resigns, William and Daisy reconcile, Mrs Hughes warns Branson off Sybil whilst Sir Anthony pegs it out of Downton before Edith is allowed any measure of happiness, O’Brein attends to Cora’s every need and then learns that she was never in the firing line anyway, Branson plucks up the courage to answer a telephone, Gwen gets the job and proceeds to hug Branson and Sybil hug in a manner that you would think would be enough to cause a scandal, we learn of Ma Bates’ approval of Anna but Bates is still a stubborn idiot , Mr Moseley wants to crack on with Anna and if you squint a bit Downton Abbey briefly looks like The Villa. Oh and WW1 breaks out.  

Romantic declaration of the moment 

“I’d say he’s keen. Very keen indeed” Well then TeLl HeR JohN! Anna and Bates must be up there for slow-burn romance of the millennia and for my money is a better love story than Mary and Matthew but that could just be my gritty scots and northern heritage rooting for the little guy. 

Expressive eyebrow of the week 

Robert won last episode but nevertheless his face during the menopause chat with the accompanying “please” wins this one. THIS is why Fleabag Season 2 Episode 3 had to happen. 

Wait, what? 

“Is there anything worse than losing one’s maid” Erm…maybe the oncoming death of 17 million people with 11.5% of the British Army told by the upper echelons of society to walk slowly towards the guns? 

“Oy” is Mrs Patmore Jewish? 

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to sit in your presence my lord” That is a surprising amount of respect from someone who only two episodes fed him a chicken that had both been on the floor and nibbled by a cat…. 

“Try not to miss me, it will be good practice” Bates is a lovely man but ultimately he is a masochistic twat. 

“First electricity, now telephones. Sometimes I feel as if I were living in a H.G. Wells novel” Julian really does reserve his best for Maggie. 

“I’m not much good at building my life on shifting sands”  Calm down, Matthew. 

“He had a right to know how his countryman died, in the arms of a slut” Calm down, Edith. 

[kunoichi-ume]

Character meme

I stole this from @dingoat because it looked like fun. 

your muse’s name: Noara Starspark, she was born with the surname Lewton and will be Cadera once she and Torian get properly married. 

one favourite picture:

It absolutely has to be this one that Dingoat did for me ages ago. It’s the first piece of art, and one of the few, that I have of Noara and Torian together. When I made Noara I didn’t intend to ship her with him but now it’s hard to imagine a version of her that doesn’t find her way to him even when they are raised on opposite sides of a war and with every reason to distrust and dislike one another. They both just look so happy and at peace together in this picture I love it - enough that I had a phone case made with it printed on it so it’s little surprise it is my favorite.

faceclaim of your muse:

I hadn’t actually chosen one for her before now, I don’t draw so I never felt the need to find inspiration for her looks outside of the game, but Emily Rudd is a good representation of what I imagine for Noara. 

two headcanons you have for your muse:

Being told that love was the path to the dark side and complete loss of herself never sat well with her, she couldn’t understand how that could be. Love was supposed to be the best thing in the world, the reason to fight the never-ending war she had been groomed for from the time she was a toddler. Despite the warnings she was often given Noara has always been a bit in love with the idea of experiencing love. She wanted to be in love and, more importantly, she wanted someone to say they loved her. It didn’t even have to be romantic love, Noara just wanted to know that someone cared about her unlike her family that gave her away or the Jedi who would just replace her when she died with another like her without the freedom of choosing how they lead their life.

Fighting is a source of true internal conflict for Noara. She thrives in the heat of a fight, reveling in the exertion and adrenaline and lives for pulling off reality defying feats with the Force (impossible leaps and jumps, throwing people farther than she could physically, lifting things she couldn’t manage on her own) and the thrill of victory was the greatest thing she had ever felt (until a certain Mandalorian that is) but she hates taking lives. Whenever possible she spares her opponents but that is easier said than done when wielding a weapon that can so easily cut through flesh with a flick of her wrist. She isn’t able to do it as much as she would like, and doesn’t fault people who don’t avoid it like she does, but will always prefer opponents that are smart enough to surrender before she has to kill them. Or droids. Those she never feels guilty about turning into scrap metal.

three things that your muse likes doing in their free time:

Exercising, she works hard to keep herself in shape. Building and keeping muscle tone with her metabolism and body type can be difficult without a strict routine. Running, push/pull ups, sparring, and other similar activities are her go to ones but when she is on a planet with terrain that has features to vary her routine she always takes advantage. She loves going swimming or rock climbing when she can, if she can scale a cliff and then jump into the ocean afterward all the better. 

Reading. Noara always has a collection of books on her datapad, all romances. It goes back to her desire to experience love in all its forms, reading gives her a chance to live vicariously through the characters without taking the risk of getting herself or anyone else hurt.

Baking and cooking. Noara isn’t very good at it, Jedi don’t really get home ec. lessons because no one expects them to set up house someday, but she is improving all the time. She is determined to be able to do something she sees as a “normal” activity for a person her age, something maybe she could have learned from her mother if she’d gotten the chance. She doesn’t tell anyone that another reason she wants to know that if she is ever a mother she can teach them what her’s never did.

seven people your muse loves / likes:

Torian Cadera, no matter which version or story line of Noara is involved, there is never anyone she loves the way she loves him. 

The others depend on the version, and who is around for her to form those attachments to. In my shared Jedi Sitter story with @cinlat Noara loves her found family long before even meeting Torian. Aric she loves as a father figure, Cormac as an overprotective big brother, Elara as a stern but loving sister, and little baby Tayl as her nephew. Fynta is a mixture of big sister, mother, confidant and protector for her, someone she admires and dreams of being as strong and confidant as someday. In that story she will eventually meet her biological family, her parents and younger brother and two younger sisters, who I am sort of grouping together as the seventh. 

[travelcenter-uk]

Trip to Dubai: 6 Best Encounters and Wow Facts

I was able to find a lot of answers to some prolonged questions on my last trip to Dubai in November 2019. Not just that, but I learned several wow facts that blew my mind!

Keep reading. I have a lot to tell you.

Did you know that the literal meaning of Dubai is money? And that, Dubai was mostly a small desert 50 years ago, but now it is ranked as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world?

I would love to see that shock on your face when you read this. Because, when I first learnt this, I went crazy!

Then, I started to wonder what more about Dubai, don’t I know?

However, I was able to overcome this dubiousness! (Find the pun).  It was, as I started visiting some of the best tourist attractions in the country.

1 - I visited the Dubai Frame

You may wonder why I visited the Dubai Frame first, out of all tourist attractions. Well, it was because of the hype.

My brother has been in Dubai for almost fifteen years now. And, this frame has always been a hot topic for him.

I was a little bland at first, though. Like you are right now. But can you see this giant, glistening Gold frame in the picture below?

Yeah, I couldn’t let my curiosity kill me.

What is so special about it?

The wow factor is, this giant frame has a symbolic connection between the old and new city of Dubai! It is also the most massive frame in the world.

Is the visit free of charge?

Although this frame stands there like an adornment, you cannot just visit it. You need to purchase tickets. We purchased it online (because it is easier than staying under the hot sun at the venue to buy). There were four of us as adults, so we had to pay around 11 Euros each. They did allow the kids in for free.

The fun part about the Dubai Frame?

The panoramic glass lifts, of course!

Once you are on one of these lifts, it shuttles you to the top.

I have a fear of heights, so this was even fun. I know I should say ‘terrified’, but it was fun! Because, once you are at the top, you can walk on a clear glass walkway along the entire 313-foot width of the frame.

Pictures taken from here are so Instagram worthy (mostly if you use your selfie-stick or GoPro). Oh, and it was almost sunset when we visited the frame, so the view was breath-taking!  Now you know what the best time is for you to visit the Dubai Frame on your next trip to Dubai.

2 - I had Dinner in the sky!

If this is not in your ‘things to do in Dubai’ list, add it right now!

I can’t tell you that I signed up for this with no hesitations. I kept throwing tantrums for nearly ten minutes.

My brother had pre-purchased the tickets to ‘Dinner in the Sky Dubai’ online It was because they allowed only 22 pax during a single slot! Do you think saying ‘no’ after that would have been a good thing to do?

I don’t think so.

Tip: If you are planning to have Dinner in the Sky in Dubai, pre-purchase your tickets online. This way you can pick the day and time-frame of your choice! You can also contact the team at Travel Center UK to make an arrangement.

Okay, now to the best part!

Familiarizing with the premises

We were welcomed with a refreshing drink. After which, we had to deposit all our belongings (except mobiles & cameras) into a locker.

It was relieving to do so because we could enjoy the whole time without panicking. I mean, I am sure none of us wants to see our bags fly down from 50 m above the ground.

Once we made ourselves comfortable, they strapped us to bucket seats. Of course, with safety harnesses.

The fun part of this?

They used cranes to lift the slots. My nephew had a great time, screaming and enjoying the whole process.

As I love photography, I did not miss out on the breath-taking views of the glittering skyline. 50m above the ground, we were able to see the Dubai Marina, Atlantis, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa!

What about the food?

The chefs onboard were outstanding. As soon as we were in the sky, they started to make our two-course gourmet menu live! Yes, we got to see our menu prepared before our eyes.

The food was excellent, along with the peppy tunes accompanying us as we had our delightful feast.

For nearly 90 minutes, we enjoyed our meals with 360 degrees view of the splendid city!

3 - I Realized why Dubai is a Birder's Paradise

Thanks to my little nephew, who kept crying to visit the wildlife sanctuary. I learned that there are over 320 bird species that migrate between Europe, Asia, and Africa via Dubai!

It was not some random fact thrown in the wildlife sanctuaries. It was a wow fact I heard from the guard at one of the sanctuaries there.

Another double-wow fact about the birder’s paradise is, the rare birds passing through the city. These rarities include; spotted eagles, broad-billed sandpipers, and greater herons. Usually found passing during the spring and fall.

Can they be sighted?

Yes! You will easily get this opportunity if you go on an unplanned trip to Dubai.

Ras al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is from where I learned these wow facts. It is also where I sighted most of these rarities. The show-stealers, however, were the flamingos. They created a picture-perfect sight in the wetlands, with their beautiful pink feathers.

4 - I Tandem Skydived to see Palm Island in Dubai

Do you recall me telling you that I have a fear of heights? If you do, then you surely know this was a challenge I took.

Undeniably worth it!

What was unique about tandem skydiving in Dubai?

There is a wow fact about tandem skydiving in Dubai! The types of jumps are, of course, similar to any other countries (in general). But here we could explore the world’s largest artificial archipelago!

We were also able to see the Atlantis Hotel, Burj Al Arab, The World Islands, and Dubai Marina! An all-in-one sight-seeing experiences.

What were the charges like to skydive in Dubai?

The Palm Drop Zone that we chose was quite expensive compared to the other spots. However, it gave us a spectacular view and best skydiving experience (as first-timers).

If you are on a budget and still want to try skydiving in Dubai, then you can take the Desert Campus Drop Zone. If you are more afraid of heights than I am, then you should try Indoor skydiving. Best way to take that first step to overcome your fear of heights. It’s wallet-friendly too! (Thank me later!)

5 - I travelled on the longest driverless metro line in the world!

Wow! I could not wait to boast about it.

I have given you the wow fact already, but not the double-wow facts yet.

The city’s Red Line (32.37 miles), runs through the heart of Dubai like an artery. I am not exaggerating, but the experience of taking the Red Line was completely futuristic!

The Red Line cuts through the centre of Dubai and flies past the city’s many newly built skyscrapers and landmarks.

What is so special about this metro line?

The Red Line experience includes cheap fares, air-conditioned cabins, on-time service, and multiple ticket classes! It’s like a Do-It-Yourself tour of Dubai when you take the metro.

The double-wow fact here is, the Red Line consists of more than twenty tourist spots and restaurants!

What are these tourist spots and restaurants?

iFly Dubai

Dubai Festival City

Deira City Centre

Dubai Creek

Xiao Wei Yang

The Noodle House

Red Shrimp

ADCB (formerly Karama Souk)

Zabeel Park

World Trade Centre

The Emirates Towers

Applebee’s

Tim Hortons

Rose Rayhaan by Rotana

Burj Khalifa

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Mall

Ski Dubai at Mall of the Emirates

Dubai Marina

Jumeirah Lake Towers

Ibn Battuta shopping mall

Did the Red Line metro tickets cost a lot?

I had the same concern as you. But luckily, it was significantly cheaper than I thought.

For tourists and occasional visitors, they offer ‘red tickets’. And they cost only 0.46 Euros!

It’s interesting as it sounds. Because the Red tickets are worth for ten trips or five daily passes!!

6 - I lost myself in the most extensive natural flower garden in the world

Miracle Garden was one of my favourite places to visit in Dubai. The garden was like a total animation. My trip to Dubai would have definitely not been complete without having visited this garden.

The wow fact about the miracle garden could go on as a list.

Starting from, the fact that it displays almost 50 million flowers at its premises!

Then, the responsible use of water through drip irrigation! I mean, don’t we know they could have spent millions on bringing freshwater for the garden if they wished? But they didn’t!

What were the best things to do in the Miracle Garden?

The garden included so many entertainment facilities and attractions. Some of them that we did not miss out were;

Floral Parades

Street performances

Zumba sessions

Trampoline Park

Disney Avenue

Mickey Mouse

Life-size Emirates A380

Lost Paradise

Cabanas for relaxation

Butterfly Passage

Hearts Passage

Umbrella Passage

Giant Tortoise

Floral Clock

Floral Castle

Giant Teddy Bear

Lake Park

Hill Top

Next How much did the visit to Miracle Gardens cost?

The entrance fee for us (adults) was nearly 9.16 Euro per head. For my seven-year-old nephew, we paid 6.53 Euro, and the baby nephew was allowed in for free.

Additional costs? Definitely, for all the snacks, we whacked at all the restaurants, kiosks, cafes and sweet bars!

#ThisIsNotTheEnd

So, I’ve spoken about the six best encounters and wow facts already. I hope you all had a good time taking notes. That means, now you know some of the must-do on your next trip to Dubai!

But trust me, these aren’t everything that Dubai has for you. I have only spoken about a few. There is so much more I could talk about, but if you wish to read. So, let me know in the comments if you are interested to know more about my trip to Dubai!

You can also read this e-book from Travel Center.

Oh, and there is something important about my trip to Dubai that I should not forget to mention!

Although my brother escorted us in Dubai, we did need a Travel agent! I mean, how else could we have got some of the best Dubai deals? It is where Travel Center came in functional!

If you are planning on your trip to Dubai, then you must talk to one of the travel experts at Travel Center. They not only provide you with the best travel solutions but also give you a list of customized and affordable deals to choose from!

Now, that makes my seventh wow fact for you. (Chuckles)

Read More:- Trip to Dubai: 6 Best Encounters and Wow Facts

This Article, Information & Images Source (copyright):- Travel Center UK Blog

[fatcatsarecats]

TMI

Words: 2,466

A/N: More Kagami Love! Background MadaTobi, and set in the same verse as this.  Betaed by @redhothollyberries as always.

-

Kagami wanders around into his house with his head soaring through the clouds, a goofy smile plastered on his face. He dances around the kitchen as he gets the spices out of the pantry and all the ingredients for dinner out of his shopping bag. He’s so high on happiness that he doesn’t notice an attack coming his way.

An attack in the form of a wild Izuna slinking into the kitchen behind him. He looms unnoticed, before singing right into Kagami’s ear.

“I heard somebody got asked out on a date today~”

Kagami shrieks. Cabbages fly out of his hand. Shinobi reflexes kicks in, and he catches them before they could cannonball onto the floor. “Izuna-sama,” he greets with genuine pleasure. Kagami’s feeling like he’s on top of the Hokage mountain. Not even a scare can break his good mood today.

Izuna whistles at the impressive juggling, before grinning at Kagami in a predatory manner. “So I heard somebody got asked out on a date today,” he repeats himself.

“I did!” Kagami flicks a glance at the clock hung on the wall. “Uh, ten minutes ago. How’d you find out?”

Izuna waves a hand, trying to look as blasé and innocent as possible. “Oh, you know how fast the rumour mill works. Things spread faster than a forest fire.”

By that, Izuna means eavesdropping behind the gates, holding in his squeals as he listens to two dorks navigating their way through their infatuation. Kagami’s admirer helped shop and carry the groceries to the gates of their compound. That’s so adorable. Izuna’s such a fan for adorable things.

He’s also a fan of teasing Kagami until his ears turn red, or until his eyes widen in disbelief. Izuna can’t help it – Kagami’s so cute, gullible, and impressionable that Izuna just wants to take his cheeks between his hands and squash them together. Then he wants to corrupt him, and laugh like a maniac at the horrified look on the kid’s face.

Yeah, it’s a good thing Izuna doesn’t have his own apprentice yet.

“I just thought I’d impart some of my infinite wisdom when it comes to the subject of love,” he purrs as he slinks an arm around Kagami’s shoulder. “I’m guessing that this will probably be your first date, being thirteen and all–”

“Fifteen,” Kagami corrects.

“–being fifteen and all.” Izuna casts him a knowing gaze. “Kagami-chan, I cannot stress to you how important it is to be prepared on a date. Preparation is key to dealing with the unknown. At the end of the day, how well, exactly, do you know the person you’re going on a date with?”

Kagami considers his statement, before nodding. “I’m confident that I know Danzō very well, and if I didn’t, then more to talk about on our date.”

“Adorable,” Izuna coos. “Your optimism is absolutely adorable. But you should definitely be more wary. Personalities can be easily faked, my precious child, especially if it’s only for the duration of a date. Say you meet a handsome guy who just ticks all your boxes. Same sense of humour, good looks, likes to be tied up and tie you up. You might decide that, hey – since you finished the mission early – why not have some have fun?”

Kagami’s trying to relate. Really, he is, but he’s only fifteen and mostly confused. “Fun sounds nice,” he says.

“Fun was nice,” Izuna reminisces. “Anyway, back to this purely hypothetical situation. You might wake up after a fun night realising that you had one too many drinks the night before, and you have somehow ended up married to your handsome stranger, who ends up being an important guy. Like, for example, the Daimyo’s nephew–”

Kagami gapes. “You got married to the Daimyo’s nephew?”

Izuna tips Kagami’s jaw up to close it. “I said ‘might’, my precious child. As in you might have married the Daimyo’s nephew accidentally and want the union broken. And in the process of getting that marriage dissolved, you might even find, through his dodgy finances, that he’s running a black market dealing with stolen organs. You might dismantle said market, and send a polite note to the Daimyo to repay your discretion by accelerating your divorce case in the quietest manner.”

Kagami stares at Izuna. In awe. In disbelief. In both.

“Point is to always be prepared for any possible situation. You never really know who you’re dating, and how your date will turn out.”

How they deviated from the point to where they were before, Kagami has no idea. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Izuna-sama,” he says. I’m sure I won’t end up blackmailing the Daimyo, is what he means. “And Danzō’s not the type to run an underground black market,” Kagami assures.

Izuna gives him some serious side-eye.

Kagami thinks on it. “Danzō’s not the type to marry others while he’s blackout drunk,” he amends.

Izuna squeezes his shoulder, and grins at him. “As long as you’re confident. Now, I shall leave you to make dinner.”

He’s almost of out of the door before he halts, and retraces his steps. He turns around, and gives Kagami a sheepish smile.  “One more thing,” Izuna adds. “Please never talk about this with Madara.”

-

It’s amazing how fast the rumour mill works when, the next morning, his sensei casually mentions that Kagami should bring a nice present for his date. Kagami nods along, always receptive to his sensei’s suggestions. He’s not sure what constitutes as a ‘nice’ present to his sensei, but it’s a good suggestion.

(Kagami was there when Madara unwrapped his valentine’s day present from Tobirama. It was a pair of binoculars. No note, and no chocolate in sight. Sometimes, the mystery keeps him awake at night.)

On that note, chocolate sounds like a good idea since he knows that Danzo has a secret sweet tooth.

Someone calls his name as he’s walking to the confectionery store.

“So, I heard somebody’s got a date tomorrow,” Tōka sings as Kagami gets an arm around his shoulders again.

Honestly, he’s touched that all his idols are invested enough in him to meddle in his personal life. At this point, though, he’s starting to worry about getting called into the Hokage’s office just to have Hashirama asking him about his date.

“My favourite Uchiha, all grown up and going on dates,” Tōka bemoans. “I hope you never outgrow baking those delicious cupcakes, though. Anyhow, I remember something your sensei and I discussed, to repay a favour I owed him. Have Tobirama or Madara given you the talk yet?”

Heat flushes his cheeks. Memories of Tobirama’s hour-long lecture flash through his head. He was eleven. There were diagrams – coloured diagrams. It electrocutes his heart like a raiton jutsu. His nerves scream at him to flee. “I know how babies are made?” Kagami offers. “Sensei was very, very thorough on that.

Tōka snorts. “I bet he was. I bet he even prescribed you readings after the lecture.”

Shivers lick down his spine.

“But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about sex-ed.”

Goodbye shivers. Hello embarrassment. “Sex-ed?” Kagami echoes in a squeaky voice.

“Sex-ed,” Tōka confirms.

Kagami is struggling not to sink into the ground, because Tōka is imposing and experienced and beautiful and voluptuous, and she just asked bumbling little Kagami about his knowledge on sex-ed. “I think so?” The uncertainty in his voice makes him wince. “Shishou tried at some point. Then I think he just forgot, or figured that I’d ask Izuna-sama if I wanted to know more.”

Tōka looks at him with a crease on her forehead. “Oh, you poor child.”

“I have a brief idea of what happens between two consenting adults when they feel the need to express their desires physically,” Kagami says. That sounds pretty convincing. Hopefully, Toka won’t notice it’s exact resemblance to the beginning of Tobirama’s lecture.

“Brief isn’t enough, Kagami-chan. They don’t happen exclusively between adults. If you ever feel the desire to experiment, you need to be educated,” she lectures. “Those boys are hopeless. I have zero expectations from any of them. Madara and Tobirama thought that sexual attraction was an exaggeration until they found each other, and Izuna probably related it to the time he woke up married and almost got his spleen removed.”

“He almost got his spleen removed?!” Kagami knew about the accidental marriage, but Izuna’s story gets wilder with every retelling.  

“And the divorce lawyer was the worst. An absolute dick, and charges like a shark too.” Tōka redirects Kagami towards the chemists. “I’m interested in hitting two targets with one kunai. You’ve got a free afternoon, right? How’s about I give you a crash course before your little date? Then I’ve repaid my favour to Tobirama, and you can avoid me for as long as you like.”  

Sage. He’s about to have ‘the talk’ again, and he’s about to have with someone like Tōka. Not his shishou or his sensei, with their relatable awkwardness and fumbling attempts, but confident, charismatic and possibly invulnerable Tōka.

Kagami squares his shoulders. Might as well push all the arrow out in one go.

“Okay. We can do that. Education is always a good thing.” Kagami nods, feeling more confident with each head bob. “Yeah, I can totally survive this talk. Yup. Definitely.”

“That’s the spirit!” She throws him a blinding smile that tells him that he just got Tōka approved. “Now let’s go grab you some battle gear.”

“…battle gear?”

“Battle gear.” Tōka grins. Her teeth look a little too sharp. “You know, in case things progresses very far tonight. So condoms, lube, massage oils, sedative lube, fake nails to practice applying an assortment of poisons, sedatives and depressants–”

Kagami blinks. “Wait, what?”

“After all the technical bits, we’ll be going through the fun stuff. Like disarming using a shirt, hitting vital points from any position. Recognising and working your body through sedatives laced in massage oils to avoid waking up in tricky situations – Izuna situations – and other useful things. There’s a power to being down on your knees, Kagami-chan. And I’m going to teach you to take full advantage of it.”

“Education is always a good thing,” Kagami chants to himself under his breath. Then he does it again as Tōka leads him down the chemist aisles. And again as Tōka starts bringing out her own sets of diagrams.

-

“–I put my what–where?”

-

Kagami’s seen a lot in his life, probably enough to make any psychiatrist worry. He likes to think of each mini occurrences as character building arcs. No matter how traumatising the events may be, or how many worried stares his coping mechanisms get him.

If he managed to survive yesterday’s lessons with Tōka, then he can survive anything. Kagami feels indestructible.

This strip of cloth that just won’t turn into a bow tie will not break him. It is, however, one formidable opponent.

His curses and grunts draws Madara into his room. Madara pokes his head in to find Kagami in a nice dress shirt, black pants and looking like he want to choke the strip of cloth in his hand. The bowtie is more likely to choke him, if he were honest.

“You look spiffy,” Madara observes. “Right. The highly anticipated date. Need help?”

Kagami relinquishes his bowtie with one last glare. “Yes please. We’re going to the grill place that just opened up. Looks pretty fancy.”

Madara starts to tie the bowtie around Kagami. Kagami stands there, offended at how easily it bends under Madara’s hand.

He considers turning on his sharingan and copying his movements. Then he rejects the idea, because that would be admitting defeat. He refuses to admit defeat over a stubborn piece of cloth.

He does let himself indulge in another whim. “Shishou,” he begins, catching Madara’s attention. “Why did Tobirama-sensei give you a pair of binoculars for Valentine’s Day?”

Madara chuckles – actually chuckles – and the grumpy lines on his face soften into something that looks like fondness. Which is a rare thing, since his shishou only looks this way when someone’s on the ground bleeding.

“Tobirama’s secretly the tree sap in the family,” Madara confides. He finishes the bowtie in one more delicate pull, smooths out his collar and leans back to admire his handiwork.

At Kagami’s confused, scrunched face, Madara elaborates. “You remember Elder Michiko?” Madara asks.

This time Kagami’s face scrunches in displeasure. Even for an Uchiha, she is considered to be rigid and traditional in her old values. She wasn’t a fan of Madara undertaking a no-name orphan as his apprentice. She’s not a fan of his relationship with sensei. She’s probably not a fan of anything but misery and strife.

“She and I have been butting heads over every decision these past few months,” he tells him. “Always finding some arbitrary technicality to pick on in my proposals. One thing she likes to pride herself on, however, is her storage seals and how well they’re selling on the market. So Tobirama one upped her: he designed his own storage seals and released them commercially. Of course it was a success – It’s fucking Tobirama. His designs knocked hers off the field. ”

Kagami tucks his wallet in his pocket, picks up his box of chocolate and heads toward the door. Madara walks beside him. “The binoculars?” Kagami prompts.  

“Valentine’s day coincided with the day the weekly stock market report were released. When I saw those binoculars, I knew – I just knew what he did. So I used the binoculars to watch her face fall when she found out that Tobirama’s designs dominated the niche market.”

Ah, of course. Spite. The one sure way to his shishou’s heart.

Kagami’s not sure anyone else would’ve understood his sensei’s intent. The fact that Madara did is really sweet.  

“That’s really sweet,” he tells Madara.

“Her face,” Madara cackles in remembrance with malicious glee. They reach the door, and Kagami sits down to put on his shoes. “One more thing before you go,” Madara says.

Kagami pauses, has a flashback to yesterday, and shivers. “You have an advice for me too?”

Madara lifts one eyebrow. Like he knows that there’s definitely a story behind those words and that shaky tone. “Arguably one of the most important.”

Kagami stands up, grabs his chocolate, and faces Madara head on. Ready to face the music. Education is always a good thing.

“Don’t forget to have fun.”

Surprised, Kagami peeks from under his eyelashes at Madara’s face. He’s smiling.

His good mood absolutely infects him. Kagami feels a grin poking up his own cheeks.

“Thank you, shishou,” he says, every bit sincere. Then he takes a deep breath to settle himself, and walks off to meet Danzō at the grill house.

-

A/N: Why Danzo? Mostly to fit that one line and this gem of a drabble by elenathehun. This fic assumes that inadequate sex-ed is universal. And same, Madara, same.

[hyliancutiepie]

70 Questions

So I got tagged by @hellotweetygirl ~~~~

This is super freaking long so I put it under a cut xD

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Eeeeh… I used to? I mean before Mum died we got along really well but I was also 16 so our relationship wasn’t…. idk… we didn’t have long drawn conversations about much more than Harry Potter (our main common interest) or the cat (the other main common interest) so while our relationship was good I wish it had been more like friends than just mother and daughter.

As for my Dad well…. Lmao let’s just say that if I didn’t work for him then I wouldn’t speak to him much if at all.

 02: Who did you last say “I love you” to?

I… don’t know? I don’t really say it a lot? If it wasn’t my cat it was my nephew~

 03: Do you regret anything?

Every damn day.

 04: Are you insecure?

Hahahahah SO insecure ;;; I’m better than I was as a teenager but I still am just the same.

 05: What is your relationship status?

100%, absolutely single.

 06: How do you want to die?

Dying kinda scares me. As peacefully as possible. In my sleep I guess.

 07: What did you last eat?

Doritos :D

 08: Played any sports?

I played a couple when I was younger? I did ballet (it counts), gymnastics and tennis. Now? I play Pokemon Go

 09: Do you bite your nails?

Not anymore! Once I finished school I was able to wear nail polish so I wouldn’t chew them anymore and now the habit is done!

 10: When was your last physical fight?

Never? I’ve never felt the tendency to throw a punch?

 11: Do you like someone?

Not like what you mean.

 12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours?

Once. It was HORRIBLE. Never again. Sleep is too good for that shit and so not worth it.

 13: Do you hate anyone at the moment?

No, but there’s quite a few I’d rather not talk to.

 14: Do you miss someone?

So many people. Mostly my Mum, but there’s many others too.

 15: Have any pets?

Yup!! My kitty Yuki and the sole survivor of my fish, Lucky.

 16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment?

Neutral? I’m watching Aliens rn (cos Bill Paxton RIP) and I updated my fic and yeah I’m pretty okay rn.

 17: Ever made out in the bathroom?

LOL I’ve never made out with anyone at all hahahhhaah

 18: Are you scared of spiders?

Fucking TERRIFIED (says the Australian, living in Australia, where the assholes thrive and are present in every day life).

 19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?

Nah.

 20: Where was the last place you snogged someone?

As I said, never made out with anyone before.

 21: What are your plans for this weekend?

Nothing exciting? I’ve got work both days

 22: Do you want to have kids? How many?

Definitely!

 23: Do you have piercings? How many?

Only the ears, once in each.

 24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)?

Art was my best subject :)

 25: Do you miss anyone from your past?

Yeah.

 26: What are you craving right now?

I could do with a macca’s soft cone right about now…

 27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart?

I mean I’m not aware of it if I did?

 28: Have you ever been cheated on?

Nope.

 29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?

Never really HAD one so…

 30: What’s irritating you right now?

Idk my butts getting a bit sore.

 31: Does somebody love you?

Idk?

 32: What is your favourite color?

Pink!!! And aqua too :D

 33: Do you have trust issues?

Lmao you have no idea.

 34: Who/what was your last dream about?

I can’t remember…

 35: Who was the last person you cried in front of?

My friend just today… when I found out Bill Paxton died ;;; only a few tears nothing big but still… ;;;

 36: Do you give out second chances too easily?

Not really. Depends on what the person did.

 37: Is it easier to forgive or forget?

Sometimes neither lbr

 38: Is this year the best year of your life?

Can’t say for sure seeing as it Feb, BUT I am lucky enough to be going overseas so it might be!!

 39: How old were you when you had your first kiss?

Other than when I was 4? 15 ;;; he took me to see Iron Man…

 40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked?

Lmao hell no!

 51: Favourite food?

Sushi! And pasta omg gimmie all the pastaaaa

 52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?

Yeah I guess so?

 53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?

Said goodnight to Vi :)

 54: Is cheating ever okay?

Of course not.

 55: Are you mean?

I don’t think so?

 56: How many people have you fist fought?

As said before, never been in a physical fight.

 57: Do you believe in true love?

Yup!

 58: Favourite weather?

I love rain! Gimmie all the rain! Though, I don’t mind a nice warm spring day with a slight breeze uwu

 59: Do you like the snow?

YEAH! I never get to experience it though so it’s a little sad ;;

 60: Do you wanna get married?

Yup!

 61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby?

Only if I know them well enough

 62: What makes you happy?

My kitty who gives me strength. Also writing and drawing and seeing my friends and my siblings n their families~

 63: Would you change your name?  

Nah, no need!

 64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed?

Lmao yeah it really would! We weren’t exactly friends the last time we saw one another

 65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

Honestly it would depend on them. If they can accept that I’m not interested and still be a good friend to me then it’s all good. If they can’t then I won’t deal with that shit.

 66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around?

I do actually? He’s a person I grew up with and even now we’re still like siblings though with work and our lives going different paths we don’t get to spend a lot of time together ;n; but it doesn’t mean I don’t see him as one of my closest friends!

 67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to?

My friend’s Dad XD

 68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

Define deep?  

 69: Do you believe in soulmates?

Not in the way fiction makes it out to be? Idk how to explain it, but yeah I do, just not in the fiction kinda way?

 70: Is there anyone you would die for?

Yup!!

 Tagging: @quicksilverlocket @fonulyn @ffxv-edits @thefireismine @zanarkandmp4

[bringmetolife-pwff]

Part One: Chapter Thirteen - Drama in the club

JULY 2007

Evelyn took her polaroid camera out and took a picture of the dresses.  Her summer line was different than her spring line.  Instead of the pastel colours that were colours she had used for her Spring 2007 line -- she used neon bright colours.  It was different.  

She was making a boho-chic Summer 2007 line with neon colours.  One of them including a neon pink denim miniskirt.  

Bits and bobs were scattered along her crystal clear desk in the open room.  Fairy lights strewn one wall on the opposite end, their candlelight offering a nice quiet light although it had no purpose for the day time.  It was mainly for looks as they often used that wall as a back drop to take pictures to post to the website.

She had taken around eighteen pictures with her pastel polaroid, setting it down on the desk.  Pictures were scattered, some slanted, some straight.  Sketches of ideas for their Fall line were scattered messily across the desk as her fashion designer, Mary-Kate, had already left for the day.

Evelyn had so much fun creating this line in particular with Mary-Kate , Antoine and her other workers with the full vibrancy of colours.  One might say they were like bright neon coloured highlighters that one would wear but Evelyn would have to disagree.  

"Hey there," her sisters cheery voice spoke up as she jumped slightly.

"Bloody hell, you scared me."

"Sorry," she laughed.  "Thought you might want to join me for a lunch break?  I don't have to go to my class until two."

"Count me in," she laughed grabbing her Chanel black purse and her sunglasses, turning the lights off in the office.

The two sisters left her building as they got in Vivienne's car and left to a little café that they often ate lunch or brunch at sometimes with each other; other times with their mum.  It was on the corner of one of their favourite streets called Melrose Café.  It was painted in a tiffany blue colour that reminded Evelyn of Breakfast at Tiffany's and held a wall of roses and carnations littering the store front door as they walked in.  You had the option of eating inside or out.  They often ate out as most of the time when they ate here in London, it was mostly sunny.  Whenever it was rainy or cold they ate elsewhere.

The two had ordered their food as Evelyn ordered creamy lemon chicken with garlic along with a fruit salad whereas Vivienne had ordered a panini sandwich.  

"How were your classes at uni?" Evelyn asked her sister after taking a bite of her food.

"Pretty well, actually.  I've just completed my classes for the year.  I'm set to graduate this Fall."

Vivienne had always known she wanted to be a midwife since the twins were born.  When she held her nephews Samuel and David, seeing the joy on Mia's face and the loving look that her brother Jake displayed for his girlfriend, nothing in Vivienne's mind could compare to that.

She worked really hard for the position in which she was in for King's College London.  Always having a fascination with babies and the birth aspect, wanting to make the expected mum to be feel at ease and feel as though in some way she contributed to the mum's birth experience.  She hadn't had any children of her own--but there was some part of her that wanted to understand what the couple were going through and she felt as though that were through midwifery.  

Being in her second year she was almost finished as she only had one more year to go, thankfully.

"That's so great, congratulations!"  Evelyn told her younger sister with a big smile on her face, happy for her successes.  "Well, you know mum and dad will be absolutely chuffed about the news and will want to throw you a big party."

"I know," she rolled her eyes, not liking the fact of a graduation party.

"Don't even think about trying to get out of it," Evelyn warned pointing her hand at her which happened to be the same hand that held her fork.  "Mum won't let you get out of it this time."

***

Evelyn saw an unknown number flash on the screen of her mobile.  Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and wearily answered it.

"Hello, whose this?" she asked timidly at first.

"Hi, Evelyn," an excited woman's voice spoke through her mobile's speaker.  "It's Eugenie, William's cousin.  We met at the concert."

She let out a sigh of relief as she was just about to hang up on the poor woman thinking that she was someone else.  

"Oh yes, I remember you.  How're you?"

"Quite well, thanks.  Well you see, he sort of, er- asked us to take care of you; especially with him being away and all."

"Of course he did," she said with a sigh.  "Look, I promise I'm all right.  You don't have to do me any favours out of pity."

Evelyn was never one to make friends for that reason.  She didn't want someone to be friends with her because they felt like they had to or should.  She wanted to make friends with someone because they wanted to.  

"Am not doing it out of pity, I swear.  Look--come out tonight.  It'll be fun!  It's me, Bea, and a few of our friends.  No boys are allowed."

Evelyn thought about this for a few moments longer.

"All right.  I'm in."

"Great!  We will pick you up at nine.  It'll be a late night so hopefully you aren't going into work tomorrow."

Evelyn laughed and told Eugenie her address asking if it was okay if Vivienne came out.  The two girls hung up.

"Viv!" she shouted for her sister not knowing where she was.

"Yeah?" she popped up from the other room.

"Get dressed!  We. . . are going out tonight!"

***

Vivienne was happy to see her older sister happy and in good spirits for a change.  She knew that with William gone again, it was hard on Evelyn and not being able to be with him.  She also knew most of it was because of her work.  She always felt like she had to put work above others.  Part of that reason was because she was the owner, so she always felt as though she needed to be there.  

They were dancing to the techno music that was blaring through the club.  Evelyn was dressed in a glittery short dark blue dress as she pumped her fists to the music and danced along, swaying her hips.  

A little tired from dancing, she goes and sits in the booth that Eugenie reserved for them all and joined her sister and Beatrice.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself out there," Beatrice commented to the blonde.

"Oh yeah, thanks for having us.  It's been a real good time.  Have you been to this club before?"

"A few.  Y'know there's been a blonde looking at you for a few moments.  Do you know her?"

"Hm?  Where?" She asked as she took glances out towards the sea of people.

"Right over there," Beatrice nodded her head in the opposite direction of where Blair was.

It looked as though she were there with Liam as well and some other people that were friends of Liam.  Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"That's Blair and my ex Liam.  Ignore them."

As soon as those words left her mouth she saw Blair's eyes widen with shock and her mouth wide open as she had been spotted.  Spilling her drink instantly into Liam's lap as he quickly stood up, yelling at her quite heavily.  Blair then got up and tried to help clean off the mess and whispered something in his ear as she looked at Evelyn again making him look in her direction as well.  He started yelling at her and Beatrice seemed put off by him, glad that Evelyn wasn't with him anymore and could see why he was now an ex.  

Williams name flashed on her screen under the name 'Steven' seeing as he wanted to keep it private whenever he talked to his girlfriend or friends.  That was the name he had chosen to not be obvious.  

"Hello" she asked covering her other ear as she yelled over the loud music.

"Eve?" he asked louder.  "Where're you?"

"I-I'm at the club with your cousins.  Hang on a bit, would you?"

She tried going outside as she kept her mobile to her other ear all the while hearing nasty things yelled at her by Liam as Blair giggled at all them.

"Wills?" she asked more quieter.  "How've you been?"

There weren't as many people outside, thank God.  She didn't have to raise her voice as loud as she did inside.  She didn't have people she didn't know dancing around her and her friends.  She didn't have to deal with Liam and Blair outside either.

"I wish I was there to protect you," he said having heard from his Pa about the ludicrous things that were written about her.

When he had first spoken to his Pa, his Pa wasn't going to mention it all.  But then William had asked him to and he couldn't not tell him.  Prince Charles hadn't met the young girl yet but he was sure he would soon.  He had known the Bennett family were very respectable and to hear all the shameful things being said about his son's girlfriend was truly upsetting.  

"Protect?"

"I can't hear you," he said as his voice got static and more shouts were heard over the phone.  

"Wills?" she asked talking a little louder as she was away from the scene.

The connection ended and she yelled in frustration.  

"Damnit," she said upset.  

She hadn't been able to speak to William hardly at all since he had left, now the one day he called she was out clubbing.

***

When Evelyn and Vivienne arrived back at their apartment, slightly tipsy as Vivienne was more drunk, Evelyn was sad that she missed her phone call with William.  She hadn't spoken to him in three weeks and this was the first time he called.  Who knew when he would again?  Vivienne was having trouble walking, swaying from side-to-side as she giggled over nothing.

"What's got you so pissy?" Viv asked her sister.

"Nothing," she snapped.

"Oh, I know," she replied raising her hand as if she were back in primary school waiting to answer a question.  "Is it because of Wills?" she asked as she slurred the 's.'

"Alright I think that's enough for you for one night," Evelyn told her as she helped carry her slightly to her room as she wrapped Vivienne's one arm around her shoulder and put hers around Vivienne's waist.  "Let's go you."

"You know what was hilarious?" Vivienne laughed louder this time as she whispered it to her sister as though she didn't want others to know.

"What?"

"When Blair spilt her drink on Liam shocked that you were there!"

The two women laughed as Evelyn shook her head.  She had to admit that was funny.  It was as though she weren't expecting to ever see Evelyn again and if she were--she certainly hadn't expected to see her happy.  

"Your right there.  Did you see the look on his face when she did that?  And then when he saw she was looking at me."

Evelyn had just helped change her younger sister out of her dress and get her ready for bed when she could hear her mobile ringing as she hurried to the living room where she left her clutch on the couch along with her mobile.

"William?" she asked excitedly.  "I wasn't expecting to hear from you again tonight."

"I know, I wasn't really either," he let out a laugh she sighed in the comfort of his deep, caring voice.  "But we had some time off, which was rare.  How was your night?  I want to hear all about it."

"You really don't," she sighed again, this time an exhausted one.  "It wasn't really a good night."

"What happened?  What did you do?"

"Well all right, as you know from earlier I was at the club with your cousins Eugenie and Beatrice as well as my sister.  We were having a fun night and then I somehow spotted Liam and Blair."

"Liam and Blair were there?" He asked shocked.

"Yeah, unfortunately.  I think Blair was just as shocked at first to see me because she spilt her drink on Liam.  I don't know if they're together still but they were having a good time yelling things at me.  Anyway, I'd rather forget that bit of the night.  How has the last three weeks been for you?  I feel like its been ages since we last talked..."

"I know," he groaned in annoyance that he didn't have the freedom to call her whenever he pleased.  "I'm sorry 'bout that.  It's been hard.  We're doing really tough training right now and I just got in from flying."

She knew even just from listening Eric talk that the exercises the military had them do were tough.  She could never imagine having to do half the work they do but she was grateful for them.  

"Well, that's unfortunate that Liam and Blair had to be there," he told her over the mobile.  "But I hope that the rest of your night went well and you had a good time?"

"I did," she nodded her head even though he couldn't see.  "Your cousins are great fun.  I'm sorry that you've had a tough last few weeks though.  I wish you could get a break every now and then."

"It's all right," he shrugged his shoulders.  "I'm able to do what I love helping people all while also being a member of the Royal family.  I meant what I said earlier y'know."

"What?"

"I wish I was there to protect you."

"Who told you?"

If she had it her way she wouldn't have told him all the lies and intrusion the tabloids were doing to her just because she was now "friends" with William to the public.  If it were bad now she wondered what it would be like once the world found out they were actually dating now.

"Oh Wills, who told you?" she frowned.

"My Pa.  Don't blame him either--I asked him to keep an eye on things whilst I was away."

She felt her heart flutter at those words.  When things got bad in her relationship with Liam with the tabloids he wouldn't do or say anything to her to try and calm her down.  He would act as though there weren't nasty words being printed about her.  Of course, now was nothing like then but she still had her share of the nasty tabloids.

"Will, I promise I'm okay.  And I made a promise to you that I would talk to you and communicate with you whenever I'm not--but right now is not one of those times that I'm not feeling okay.  I'm happy.  Can we be happy together, yeah?"

It was right then and there how William found out how strong his girl was.  He hadn't read the tabloids as he mostly avoided them at all costs but he had asked his Pa to keep an eye on things.  To make sure nothing got too out of hand and when it did he knew he would do something.  What?  He wasn't sure.  But he knew that Evelyn was right.  That no matter how much hate or how many lies were told about her--she would be okay.  

[judithsears]

2017 - Great year.

I went to Cuba in April. I swam in turquoise waters for the first time and cried like a baby. Snorkeled in the ocean, danced and ate with the locals, squished giant cockroaches and lived in paradise for 8 glorious days.

I went to Italy in July with my mom. Visited Mestre, Venice, La Spezia, Portovenere, Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome. I ate pizza, pasta and drank prosecco. Swam in the Mediterranean sea with the fish, saw the sun set at the top of piazza di michelangelo, hiked the eastern coast between the towns or Corniglia and Vernazza. It was incredible. I spent one day alone, a complete stranger in a village. Anonymous, and alone, eating gelato at the top of a mountain, sweating in 42 degree heat, looking down onto a marina on the ocean.

I completed my second season of rowing.

I learned how to throw ceramics on the wheel and made several mugs and bowls.

Continued working on my body and my self.

Watched Third Eye Blind play Semi Charmed Kind of Life, live, outdoors, at sunset overlooking the water in upper New York.

My nephew was born in January. He is perfect. And I love him.

I tried desperately to expand my friend-base. It has proved very difficult between the weddings, babies, schedules, careers, money, etc...But I made some genuine connections with some really great people and feel pretty fortunate for it.

HIGH FIVE 2017.

What do I want to do in 2018? I was doing aquafit the other day, floating in the pool with one of the aforementioned friends, and we talked about what goals we have for the new year...

-TRAVEL AGAIN.

-Build and nurture friendships and put myself out there. Stop standing in my own way and hang out with people.

-ROW.

-See my ladies club - S.W.I.S. - come to fruition.

-FITNESS.

-Work on my hobbies in the evenings after work rather than just sit on my ass and be lazy. I’d like to do things that feel good, make me happy and allow a feeling of accomplishment at the end. (ie. sewing, painting, etc...)

-Make my GRL PWR show a reality.

-GET THEM ABS.

2016 A YEAR IN REVIEW

I’m welcoming in 2017 with open arms. I’ve turned 30 and am trying to figure out how to be happy and to better my life. Here are my goals for 2017:

*Travel. I want to go to Italy and go hiking in BC. (I DID IT. I FINALLY WENT TO ITALY.)

*Create less waste. Less packaging. Find a way to compost.

*Eat slower (like my dad) and enjoy my food (and wine) more. (FAIL)

*Take more pictures. (MEGA FAIL)

*Sew wearable clothes. (NO)

*Take a pottery course/workshop. (YES! SUCCESS!)

*Continue rowing. (YES. V GOOD.)

*Continue at my job and maybe grow into a new, higher position or role to gain experience. (KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE RIGHT NOW)

*Continue my quest for good health - physical and mental. Which means eating well, eating whole foods, less sugar, salt and fat and exercising regularly. (YES)

*Continue growing food on my balcony and using it in my cooking. (50/50)

*Travel. (CUBA)

*Travel. (ITALY)

*Travel. (SYRACUSE)

Lets see how I did at my 2016 list….

- Sew something new. Clothing. T-shirts. Dresses. Anything. (No. BUT I did pick up a pattern. I guess that doesn’t count though.)

- Be kind for pete’s sake! Drop the attitude. (No. Attitude is as fiery as ever.)

- Be more accepting of others and everyone’s little imperfections! ( I tried.)

- Complain less. Appreciate more. (Yes, I tried.)

- Work out more. It wasn’t until I hurt my knee that I realized there are other things you can do with your body that are (almost) as challenging and as rewarding as running. (I’ve completed Kayla Itsines full 24 week guide this year.)

- Get them abs. I want to see and earn my muscle tone and definition. (Photos to come soon.)

- Travel somewhere new. (I think the only place I really went this year was Syracuse, NY)

- Grow something new and edible. Grow more edible things! (My whole balcony was food this summer! Kale, kale and more kale. Tomatoes. Basil. Etc.)

- Drink more water. (Nay.)

- Cook new things and try new foods!!! I love food. (Yes. Success.)

- Love more. (Yes.)

- Beat this awful and miserable fear of flying. (Nay. I think it may have gotten worse actually. haha.)

2016. It’s coming to an end. Everyone is going on and on about how much it sucked. I thought it was alright.

I think the really defining piece of my year was moving into a new job. That all my hard work and time and emotional exhaustion paid off in one way or another and I am now supervising the program I started off in. I may not be teaching, but I’m happy.

I began rowing. I was on a team this summer with 7 other rowers and we learned and raced and drank together. It was amazing. Terrifying but amazing. Along with that, I started doing yoga at the boat house, overlooking the Ottawa river. Pretty amazing.

Went to Syracuse, NY for an amazing, incredible, spontaneous weekend to see Rob Thomas and Counting Crows at a beautiful, magical outdoor amphitheatre.

I turned 30. And my best friend and boyfriend orchestrated the more surprising surprise party, and it was so fun and memorable.

I donated my hair for the SECOND TIME! I love doing this. But somehow after turning 30, my hair is incredibly thin now and worrying me so it may not happen again! Hah.

I had an amazing time at the cottage this summer with my best friend. I visited the cottage I grew up at every summer, rode the boat I caught my first fish in, swam in the lake I learned to swim in and roasted marshmallows in the same spot I roasted marshmallows in when I was 5 years old. That weekend meant a lot to me.

So I think I did alright.

2015! A YEAR IN REVIEW

Its that time again!

we are, another new year. It feels a little lack luster right now, but at the same time - I don’t mind. I feel kind of, at peace, I suppose! Content. And I think that is okay! The New Year right now, doesn’t seem all that scary and it doesn’t need to be a BIG SHA-BANG! I feel peaceful and happy and I’m going to roll with it! Also to be noted - I have to say I really thought my new years kiss was so sweet and tender, and maybe thats why I feel this way! I’ll take it. Anyways - what can I knock off my list of things to do in 2015, what did I achieve?

THINGS TO DO IN 2015?

- Be kinder. Do things more selflessly. Do things for people without expectations of getting anything in return. (I’m going to say I was about 60/40 on this one. I think I definitely took strides, but its hard when you begin to feel used. We’ll work on this one.)

- Concentrate on what is RIGHT or what is GOING RIGHT. In life, in my job, career path, etc. (Yes - I think I did this to the best of my ability! Love my job, my home, my friends, etc.)

- Complain less. About everything/anything. (No - definitely need to work on this.)

- Eat clean, whole foods. Less salt, less sugar, less fat. Eat whole ingredients and whole foods. (YEA YEAAH)

- Love more, accept more. (hmmm I’d say.)

- Paint more. (Nay, Nay)

- Sew something wearable. Sew another quilt (#4) (Sewed two more quilts, need to up the game on the SS Fashion Line for 2016)

- Make the best out of any bad situations. (I’d say.)

- Fitness. Find some way to correct my knee problem and work on being the fittest I can be. (Knee is still fucked. Body is reasonably fit. Feeling pretty good!)

- Get on the supply list. (Nay Nay - I think my career path may take a slight sliiiight detour.)

What would I like to achieve in 2016!?

- Sew something new. Clothing. T-shirts. Dresses. Anything.

- Be kind for pete’s sake! Drop the attitude.

- Be more accepting of others and everyone’s little imperfections!

- Complain less. Appreciate more.

- Work out more. It wasn’t until I hurt my knee that I realized there are other things you can do with your body that are (almost) as challenging and as rewarding as running.

- Get them abs. I want to see and earn my muscle tone and definition.

- Travel somewhere new.

- Grow something new and edible. Grow more edible things!

- Drink more water.

- Cook new things and try new foods!!! I love food.

- Love more.

- Beat this awful and miserable fear of flying.

Well.. I’ll continue coasting for now on my wave. Work is good and could open up some doors to a career detour. Love is good. My man human is amazing and as sweet as sugar. I saw a few new places this past year. Met a few new people. Made a few new things. Close friends got closer. My family is amazing and they love me so much - and I am so grateful for that. Missing some old friends, gained a few new ones. And I’m not sure what else to say - so on that note! Peace out 2015, its been a pizza-slice.

2014 - well, well, well, we’ve come to an end.

Am I sad to see you go? No, not really. You gave me a lot of great opportunities a TON of new experiences. You’ve given me a lot of exceptional moments, good times, good friends and good memories. I’ve become a lot closer with some of my favourite people and shared a lot of cool memories. Could we improve for next year however? Of course.

So what did I accomplish from my MUST DO list of 2014?

WELL - lets see…

2014

-Get on the supply list (I’ve supply taught, but I’m not on the list JUST yet..)

-Cook more natural foods (YEA GIRL YEA)

-Read more books (#1 on the list, Wheat Belly) (I think I read 3, but that might be a record?)

-Continue running (and working on my self) (My knee is busted, so no… )

-Help people more - without the expectation of anything in return (Check.)

-Meet more people (Check)

-Play more music, write more music, play more shows (nope)

-Paint, quilt, sew - be more creative (painted and sewed another quilt)

-Love more, accept more, understand give & take more (Check.)

Not too bad. I feel like I’m in a good place. I’m content and believe I’m on a path of success. My job is good, and my co-workers are fun and keep me motivated. The kids I get to hang out with make me laugh and challenge me every day. I’m always learning how to plan better, how to be more patient, be more engaging and to listen and communicate. Kids are weird, but the hilarious stuff I hear them say always makes each day bareable when all I wanna do it be a lazy pile on the couch.

My best friends are amazing. My favourite human is amazing and he lifts me up and lets me depend on him for anything, and I know he’ll still accept me with open arms at the end of the day no matter what. Life is good and for now, I’ll just keep rolling along into the new year. I’m pretty interested to see what its going to hold for me.

THINGS TO DO IN 2015?

- Be kinder. Do things more selflessly. Do things for people without expectations of getting anything in return.

- Concentrate on what is RIGHT or what is GOING RIGHT. In life, in my job, career path, etc.

- Complain less. About everything/anything.

- Eat clean, whole foods. Less salt, less sugar, less fat. Eat whole ingredients and whole foods.

- Love more, accept more.

- Paint more.

- Sew something wearable. Sew another quilt (#4)

- Make the best out of any bad situations.

- Fitness. Find some way to correct my knee problem and work on being the fittest I can be.

- Get on the supply list.

2014

A YEAR IN REVIEW…

So what do I need to accomplish in 2014…

-Get on the supply list (I’ve supply taught, but I’m not on the list JUST yet..)

-Cook more natural foods (YEA GIRL YEA)

-Read more books (#1 on the list, Wheat Belly) (I think I read 3, but that might be a record?)

-Continue running (and working on my self) (My knee is busted, so no… )

-Help people more - without the expectation of anything in return (Check.)

-Meet more people (Check)

-Play more music, write more music, play more shows (nope)

-Paint, quilt, sew - be more creative (painted and sewed another quilt)

-Love more, accept more, understand give & take more (Check.)

2013

A YEAR IN REVIEW…

I’ve been working on my list of New Years Resolutions and things to accomplish in 2013.

Here goes…

*Get a job in my feild - or at the very least take a leap in the right direction. (CHECK. *pats self on back*)

*Paint more. (Does water colour count?)

*Run more. (Check.)

*Meet new people - whether through the internet, group meet-ups, through other friends or mentors, just meet people. (favourite new friends of 2013 awards coming soon.)

*Continue my clean eating quest. The more natural the better. (December has been rough on that front - but the rest of the year has been top notch)

*Buy less. Narrow down my possessions. (I am a notorious self proclaimed “thing-hater”. If I can do without it, I will find away to make due without it.)

*Run a half marathon - which may require me to buy new running shoes. (Didn’t happen… but I did go through 3 months of physiotherapy and therapy-ed my self back to running again)

*Volunteer at Ottawa School of Art - again. (CHECK.)

*Grow plants or vegetables. (Two live plants, thriving in my apartment presently. Tomatoes next?)

*Maintain my pledge to never work another Christmas in retail. (SUCCESS! I spent boxing day laying on my couch. Win win win!)

2012

A YEAR IN REVIEW…

Things to do in 2012…

*Tattoo (before Sept. 11th). (Didn’t happen.)

*Record that EP I’ve been meaning to record. (Didn’t happen.)

*Make a [shitty] music video. (Didn’t happen.)

*Sell some art work. (Check!)

*Finish my quilt. (Double check!)

*Paint more. (Check!)

*Find a shitty job to get me through the winter and then a sweet job for later. (Hmmm - well I didn’t work a lick last winter, but I managed to get an assistant manager position in a shitty shit shoe store selling over priced leather shoes to annoying Europeans.)

*Cook more diverse and delicious food. (Duh, check! Clean eating!)

*Drink more wine. (Check, obviously.)

*Visit Alex in Berlin. (Didn’t happen.)

*Be more spontaneous. (Check. Summer of YES happened.)

*Be a lady. (Hmm, Summer of YES may have gotten in the way of that.)

*Be more creative. (Somewhat check?)

*Design and sew a piece of wearable clothing. (Didn’t happen.)

So not so bad! It could of been worse. So what did I do this year?

*Got my second degree.

*Had my first solo art show and sold art work.

*Wrote A LOT of music. Basically an entire new catalog of songs.

*Moved out of my long time apartment on Somerset and made some big changes in my life.

*Started running, trained for a 10km, ran a 10km run.

*Moved from Somerset to High Street to Lisgar to Frank to Lisgar.

*Summer of YES.

*Endured the most difficult and traumatic ordeal I’ve ever experienced in my life to date. Which has effected me long term mentally and physically.

*Rode a motorcycle for the first time. Many times. Best time - to the top of Champlain Lookout in Gatineau