#inspired by the true story that I spent most of the pilot trying to figure out if Kurt's gender

[spaceorphan18]

99 Perspectives on a Single Love Story #31

A/N: The Story of Kurt and Blaine told through the eyes of everyone else but them. Each chapter is a different perspective in the ongoing tale of their love story.

I started something like this a while back - and now I’m taking the idea and really running with it. Each chapter is a ficlet of a different character at a different point in Kurt and Blaine’s life - documenting their love story. This starts in Audition, and each chapter will be paired with a different episode until reaching Dreams Come True.

[Ao3]

***

Don Barowski (Extraordinary Merry Christmas) 

PBS Station Manager Don Barowski sits in his office with McKinley High student Artie Abrams. Artie has brought in a demo of the Christmas special he and the McKinley High Glee Club are preparing to do. Baroski couldn’t be happier. Baroski has always been a choir aficionado and after seeing the glee club in action, he hadn’t hesitated to call their director to see if they would be free for the open slot. Thank god they were! Not only is his butt saved with his higher-ups, but he gets to enjoy good Christmas music. What could possibly be better?

Of course, he has asked Artie in to review his vision. While Barowski trusts handing the reins over to a high school student, his bosses aren’t as confident, and one stipulation they have is to go over Artie’s plan before they start setting up for the special. So, Artie has brought in a tape of their rehearsal to show off his vision. Barowski wiggles in his seat, hand clutching the remote excitedly as he pushes play.

What he sees isn’t exactly what he expects, as the two kids on screen start in on a rendition of Let It Snow. The music is fine, but the style is very old-timey, which is a bit jarring as they are modern kids acting it out in their choir room. Barowski pushes pause, to look over to a thoughtful Artie.

“You mind explaining it a bit better for me,” Barowski asks. “I’m not sure I’m getting it.”

“That’s because it’s not staged right yet,” Artie assures him. “Think black and white, Judy Garland and those specials of the 60s. I’m wanting to bring it back old school. Really old school. A homage to the classic Christmas specials of an age long past.”

Hey now, Barowski thinks. That was his childhood. Kids these days. “So, is one of these kids supposed to be Judy Garland?” he asks, using the remote to point at the TV screen.

Artie lets out a laugh. “Oh, not exactly. That’s just Kurt hamming it up. He does do a fantastic Judy. I saw him do a really good Liza once, too.” He tilts his head thinking about it.

“Oh, it’s two boys?” Barowski says. He has to admit, the one with the high voice, and strange, half-cut women’s sweater had confused him. “Is he one of those trangender folk? I mean, don’t get me wrong -- I am all in support of that. My nei-nephew, Alex, says that he is a transgender male. Delightful young person. I do what I can to support him.”

Artie’s jaw drops slightly, his eyes bulging. Oh no, did he say something wrong? He tries to be up on the lingo, but admittedly, he’s not always good with it.

“No,” Artie says slowly.

“Oh, well, that one boy he looks, oh what’s the word? Androgynous. Not that I care. I was around in the 80s. Annie Lennox, Boy George, even David Bowie. They were all androgynous back then. But Don Barowski does not care what you look like, as long as you’re making good music,” Barowski gives a grin to Artie.

Artie snorts into his hand. “Well, other than his voice and his unique sense of style. Kurt definitely identifies as a man. Don’t worry, once we get the costumes on them, you’ll see that they’re most obviously a family friendly gay couple. And I think it’s ingenious of myself to cast a young, gay couple at the center of this production. Completely progressive.”

Barowski furrows his brow in confusion. “But they said they were roommates.”

“Well, yes, that’s the joke,” Artie explains. “Back in the 60s, being roommates was code for being gay.”

“But we’re no longer in the 60s. Can’t they just be a couple?” Barowski asks. “PBS would not mind, and I think it sends a good message to our, shall I say, rather conservative audience that these kids are okay.”

“Let’s just watch the tape,” Artie says, in a huff, grabbing the remote, pushing play.

A couple of young girls join the two boys. “So, are they a lesbian couple who are roommates, too?” Barowski asks.

“No,” Artie says sharply.

“But an interracial lesbian couple would be even more progressive.”

“The lesbians are later.”

“Where does the Wookie fit in?”

[hopeymchope]

Parascientific Escape: The sci-fi “escape room” visual novel-style series nobody talks about

I can’t help thinking that Parascientific Escape would probably have an active fandom somewhere on the Internet if it wasn’t TRAPPED ON THE 3DS ESHOP.

I mean, it’s an escape room-centric visual novel-style sci-fi Japanese game that is clearly inspired by Zero Escape and very anime in its style. There are endearing characters, including optimal waifus/husbandos, plus a gradual buildup of an interesting fictional world full of political intrigue, its own countries, its own companies, and of course... psychic powers. Because you can’t have a trilogy of Japanese visual novel-style games featuring escape room puzzles without mental powers, now can you?

But as I said... they’re trapped as download-only titles for the 3DS. That’s fucking brutal. 

Even so, there’s a pretty big 3DS/2DS user base still in existence. It’s not like they’ve never been translated or something, so at least we have the capability to play them. So if you look into them, what are you getting?

A basic overview: Parascientific Escape is a trilogy of anime-style games about solving escape room mysteries and tracking down evildoers via the use of psychic powers (obvious Zero Escape influences). There’s an overarching plot about a mysterious mastermind who believes it’s time for the recently emerged psychics of the world to take their place as the next evolution of humanity and get their own nation (obvious X-Men influences).

They don’t work very well as standalone stories; each story relies on information from the last one, culminating in a game that stars the protagonists of both parts 1 and 2 together as they finally unravel the motivations behind the events of the whole series and face off with the people behind everything. In addition, the escape room puzzles start out pretty easy in the first game build to be pretty frustratingly obtuse by the tail end of the third. And on top of all that, each game taken on its own only contains about 3-4 escape rooms. So when you bundle all three together, that’s when it all works as a single satisfying package. 

Don’t worry about burning a lot of cash to play the whole series, however. The three games are $5.00 US each on the 3DS eShop and are usually on sale for $2.50 each these days. I got the entire trilogy for $7.50 US!

So let’s break down the gameplay and setup in a little more detail. Don’t worry; I won’t give any spoilers that go beyond the first five minutes of any game in the series. The twists and turns are part of the fun here.

The first game is Parascientific Escape: Cruise in the Distant Seas. You play as  Hitomi Akeneno, a high school girl (because of course she’s a high-schooler) with the dual abilities of mild telekinesis and a type of clairvoyance that lets her peer past barriers or into the insides of objects. She finds herself trapped on a sinking cruise ship where some mastermind keeps systematically locking her into isolated sections while she’s trying desperately to escape. 

I really liked how you could look inside of an object with clairvoyance and then use her telekinesis to manipulate the various switches and levers within, gradually pulling some object you need out from within a maze. I also thought it was clever how the solution to a new escape roomight require you to backtrack to a previous escape room to investigate some object or area that wasn’t relevant to that previous room’s original puzzle. 

(One of the things I found most fascinating about this one is the ethical debate raised by Hitomi’s friend Chisono regarding how Hitomi got herself involved in all this. Chisono offers a perspective that is extremely unusual to see in most fiction. You can even say it’s pretty cold, but it’s not without having some merit to it. I don’t want to say too much about what I’m talking about, though; it’s better left as a surprise.)

The second title, Parascientific Escape: Gear Detective, almost seems standalone at first. You play as Kyosuke Ayana, a private detective and actual adult (!) who is 22 years old. A young woman shows up at his office and asks to hire him for protection. See, there’s a serial killer on the loose, and she believes she’s the next target.

We are swiftly told that Kyosuke was once in an accident that necessitated the replacement of his left arm and right eye. He volunteered to be a guinea pig for some very special prosthetics that granted him artificial psychic powers. As such, he now has “chronokinesis” — to the power to look back in time. However, he can only look back for five days, and he only has limited ability to move or manipulate the things he sees in the past. 

Naturally, Kyosuke’s investigation winds up trapping him within some escape rooms that require use of his unique abilities to solve. Some of the hints at the proper timestamps or exactly where you should be looking when you peer into the past are a little vague, though, which can cause momentary frustration. Because I like to always be making forward progress, I actually preferred Hitomi’s telekinesis/clairvoyance powers from the first game. Still, Hitomi had some pretty basic puzzles in her rooms. I can’t deny that these puzzles took more thought.

Outside of the escape rooms,  everything is undeniably a huge improvement. The first game presented strictly linear segments of storytelling between the rooms, but this one is more of an adventure game. You can choose where you go, select from a limited menu of things to do when you get there, and do all of it in any order you like. There’s usually a correct sequence order to progressing the story, but it’s typically pretty clear what the next step is, so it’s not like you’re just flailing about and trying a bunch of locations blindly. Besides, there’s no way to get stuck, so don’t stress it. There are even a lot of actions you can take that have no impact on story progression at all — they’re just there to generate additional dialogue that further develops the characters. 

The tradeoff is that you actually get fewer escape rooms overall. The first game had four, but the second only contains three. This is also the first game in the series to introduce multiple endings; you get a number of dialogue choices throughout, and unfortunately, it’s far too easy to trigger the “bad” ending. There are guides online to help you trigger the Gold Star “true” ending, however. Just hit up GameFAQs. You might want to use the guide on your first playthrough, because I can say from experience that it’s annoying to have to replay all the dialogue sections just to make the correct choices. (Luckily, you can skip over any irrelevant sections of each chapter — including the escape room puzzles.) 

In spite of my above whining, the second one is probably my single favorite story in the Parascientific trilogy. It’s a lot of fun.

The final game in the trilogy is Parascientific Escape: Crossing at the Farthest Horizon. Mysterious characters who were plotting offscreen for the previous two games are finally given faces, locations that were talked about extensively in both are finally visited, and the two protagonists of the first couple games finally meet and team up. It’s absolutely a culmination of what they set up in the first two.

The narrative jumps around from the perspectives of many different characters, but the most time is undoubtedly spent with Hitomi and Kyosuke. Sadly, there is no gameplay usage of Hitomi’s powers this time; the escape rooms are all done with Kyosuke, and they are more devious now than ever before. Personally, I found the next-to-last one to be incredibly obtuse and frustrating. I ultimately had to consult a video playthrough on YouTube for that. (The YouTuber in question didn’t seem to have the same issues figuring things out that I did. So I guess your mileage may vary.)

The “adventure game” segments make a return here as well, although they’ve also become a bit tougher to figure out. There are a couple of times when you might find yourself wandering the various location options, clicking on every possible action to try and progress. Luckily, there aren’t so many default options that you’re left flailing for very long. Even the longest period of clueless wandering lasted me a maximum of 15 minutes.

Once again, you have to make the correct dialogue choices if you want a positive ending. And once again, GameFAQs is your friend and co-pilot.

Ultimately, even the gated endings and occasional puzzle frustrations did little to curb my enthusiasm. I really had fun with these characters and their stories, I greatly enjoyed the majority of the escape rooms, and I was pretty satisfied with how it all wrapped up. The character designs/artwork get better and better as the series goes on. The selection of music tracks may be the same throughout the whole series, but I really dug on them, so I can’t complain. Do I have any other misgivings? Well, just one; the English localization is pretty sloppy. There are a pretty large number of typos, and the dialogue can sound stilted and awkward at times due to being a direct translation. It’s actually at its worst at the start of the first game. Luckily, after about 30 minutes of playtime, it settles in and finds its voice.

Seriously, they should really figure out a way to re-package these games for another system that doesn’t use the the dual-screen setup. Put all three of them together, and it’d easily be satisfying as a full retail release!

But for now, if you have a 3DS/2DS, they’re only $7.50 in total most of the time (and $15.00 at the worst). Do you like adventure game-style mysteries and visual novel-esque progression and, of course, escape rooms? You should give these a shot! And I hope these devs get to make games with bigger budgets and better localizations in the future.

[pocketmouse18]

Thank you so much to @herosofmarvelanddc @cloudypaws and @mtab2260 for the tag! This was so much fun to think about :)

(fair warning, I wrote too much for many of these...)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Just 2 :)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

450,577 if I did my math right!

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Officially? Just 1 - Agents of Shield (two, I guess, if you count MCU as separate, since I use characters from both...). Off the record, many more than that! I have lots of bits and bobs from other fandoms that I tinkered with when I was younger, still getting the hang of writing, not brave enough to post things, etc. etc. Some of those include X-Men, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Fosters, Star Wars, the Hunger Games, the 39 Clues, and a few others I can’t remember. None of those will likely see the light of day, mostly because they’re unfinished, not very good, and just not reflective of who I am as a writer anymore, but they were fun to play around with at the time :)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I just have the two, but The Important Thing is to Try wins, hands down, with 1227. Shoulder to Shoulder has 95, though, which I’m also very proud of! Important Thing has a definite advantage, being as long as it is, so I don’t know if that’s really a fair comparison between them.

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! Or at least, I always try to! I just can’t believe someone would be kind enough to take the time to tell me what they thought of my story, so I always want to take the time to thank them and return the favor :) Plus, as I’ve learned, it’s a fantastic way to get to know some really lovely people!

6. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Well... I technically only have one story that has an ending, at least on Ao3, and it’s not an especially angsty one, since it ends in Phil and Melinda getting married :) I have some angsty chapter endings in Important Thing, if that counts? I’m not even sure if any of my unpublished fiddlings have angsty endings (most don’t have endings at all lol)... I don’t mind writing angst, but I don’t know if I’m capable of making something without a happy (or at least hopeful) ending.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've ever written?

Not really, unless you count AoS/MCU crossovers (which I guess technically count, but also I would argue it’s not a true crossover since (and I will die on this hill) AoS is a part of MCU canon). When I was younger I was a fan of playing around with crossover AUs more so than the actual characters crossing paths (so like, what if these characters from XYZ were demigods or went to Hogwarts or what have you, and not so much what would happen if the X-Men met Luke, Leia, and Han on one of their space adventures). I started writing a crossover between AoS and the Marvel Rising cartoon once (which again, not sure if that’s a true crossover, since Daisy was in Marvel Rising, but I digress), where Coulson tasks Daisy to work with Kate Bishop and Rayshaun Lucas to collect and train a team of young Inhumans, starting with Kamala Khan, but I ran out of steam pretty quickly when it got too plot heavy.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t think so. I’ve had some people not understand some choices that I made, but they asked it in a way that I thought was perfectly nice, and I was happy to talk about it with them. Sometimes people get “mad” at me when I cause pain and suffering, but I know that’s all in good fun :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope, not for me. I don’t read it or write it, personally. Writing a kiss is hard enough!

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge! Important Thing is probably too long and unwieldy to ever steal :P

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone once asked me on FFN if they could translate Important Thing to Russian, which was basically the coolest thing I’ve ever been asked!

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A fic, no. I’d love to try sometime! I had a friend in college who I co-wrote with A LOT, though, so I know I enjoy that process, given the right partner. We wrote several short plays together (ranging from ~15-50 minutes in length, including one that we wrote in a single afternoon!), selected scenes from a larger (unfinished) play inspired by historical letters we found in an archive that were sent between a man from Massachusetts serving in the American Civil War, his wife, and his 8-year-old son, and several scripts for TV sitcoms (2 pilots for 2 different shows, plus additional eps for those pilots, and a couple of later eps for a different show that a classmate of ours wrote the pilot for - we were trying to practice what it would be like to be on a staff with a showrunner haha). The sitcom scripts in particular I’m very proud of, and could talk somebody’s ear off about if asked (one’s about ghost hunters and one’s about a DnD party!), but maybe that’s better saved for another post ;)

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

That’s a very hard question for me! Mostly because shipping stuff is usually one of the last things to register for me when I’m thinking about shows/books/movies I like haha... I’m always a sucker for Philinda, and younger me was rather taken with Percabeth, I suppose.

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Hmm, several, really. The aforementioned AoS/Marvel Rising crossover I think could be really cool if I got it to work, but I don’t think that’ll ever happen. I also have a WIP that’s like an angstier version of a Hallmark Christmas movie AU where Daisy has to come home to her small town right before Christmas and figure out what she wants out of life, but I’m a little stalled out on that one, mostly because I’m waffling on who the charming love interest should be and because I don’t have enough of a plot, just lots of feelings about coming back home to a place you thought you had left behind lol.

I’d put Important Thing and it’s (as of yet) untitled sequel on here as things I want to finish, but I’m much more determined to see those through, so I don’t think they qualify for the “never will actually write” part of this question :)

15. What are your writing strengths?

I don’t know if other people agree with this, but I think I write pretty decent dialogue. My “training” (if you can call it that) is in, as you might have figured out by now, script and screenplay writing (those were the only creative writing classes I took in college). So having a sense of the rhythm a conversation needs to have and how to write dialogue that sounds mostly like how people really talk (but shined and tightened up enough so that it’s not actually like verbatim dialogue, which is far less interesting to read!) is something that I feel like comes pretty easily. I also think I do okay with similes and metaphors - my brain tends to work in that way. It’s easier for me to think of stuff (feelings, especially) in terms of comparing it to more familiar things than to just think of the thing directly, if that makes sense?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

If I was being honest, this would be a very long section, but I know it’s not fun to read a big ol’ paragraph of someone self-criticizing, so I’ll keep it to one or two items ;) A big one for me is pacing, I think. I tend to write more than I need to and to over-explain things, so my chapters get very long and sometimes don’t really go anywhere? Until all of the sudden, they DO, because things need to HAPPEN! I’m a pretty rigorous self-editor, but I do have a really hard time cutting out sections (unless they’re really just not working), so even if it would help the pacing to leave out this conversation between character A and character B, I often can’t make myself cut it. I also think I struggle sometimes with balancing my ‘showing’ and my ‘telling,’ especially in the sense of me over-explaining certain things - like when it comes to feelings/facial expressions/etc, for example. I compensate for that in Important Thing by making it a part of a few people’s POV, but it’s not really a good habit to have in general. Also spelling! I’m really bad at spelling and run my stuff through robust spellchecks and text-to-speech before I post anything to make up for it :)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I do it with some regularity, although I always get nervous about doing it wrong! It’s hard to avoid in AoS, where characters are spies and should (in theory, at least) have a working knowledge of multiple languages (”We’re spies, I thought we all learned languages?!”). Even in an AU, where characters aren’t spies, I like to try and pay homage to that, plus pay homage to certain characters’ native languages or just general multilingualism. I’ve spent a fair amount of time around people who speak more than one language, so I feel like it’s a natural part of groups of people to have more than one language spoken. I have a pretty good handle on written Spanish, a patchy idea of French, plus I know some Russian phrases from my dad and some German words from my grandfather, but I do rely on internet translation a lot. I usually run stuff through google, then run it backwards to see just how far off the initial translation was, then consult some actual, like, language learning sites to see if there’s particular idioms or common phrases that use different words than what google will give me, then run those words through backwards in the place of the original words to see if I can massage the whole thing to sound reasonably competent. Languages like Russian or Mandarin (which have their own alphabets/characters) are the hardest, since I have to also try and do a transliteration. I always try to put an apology/disclaimer in the notes any time I write in a language that isn’t English, because I’m sure I make lots of mistakes.

Also, I tend not to italicize words that are in other languages, because it looks weird on the page to me to set the other language apart like that (and because I italicize mainly for internal thoughts or emphasis, and usually what’s being said in another language isn’t internal or being emphasized). I put a rough translation at the end so we don’t have to pause the story for a parenthetical translation, but because the translation’s not right there, I try to either put in enough context clues that a person can still understand what’s going on, or I make sure that what’s written in another language isn’t critical to the overall understanding of the scene.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Officially, it’s AoS, since that’s the only fandom I’ve published for. I think the first true fandom I wrote fic for was probably either Harry Potter (entirely populated with OCs lol, I just liked using the world/setting), Percy Jackson (a mix of OCs and canon characters), or X-Men (all canon characters). I was a bit of a latecomer to fanfiction, though, like, I wrote a ton as a kid, but mostly original stuff, because I didn’t know that fanfiction in its current form was even allowed until I was in high school lol.

Oh! I almost forgot one! I’m not sure if this really counts as a fandom, but it’s definitely the earliest version of fanfic I wrote haha... I was like 12 and I wrote more than one story of an OC joining Robin Hood’s band of Merry Men, and then also one of that same OC becoming a knight of the Round Table, so like... do what you will with that information haha.

19. What's you're favorite fic you've written?

I can’t choose between my two darlings :( I mean, okay, technically it’s probably Important Thing. That story’s my baby. It’s huge and I’ve been working on it for almost 2 years, and I’ve poured a lot of my heart and soul into it. I’ve fallen in love with the universe I built in it, so much so that I wrote an entire prequel and have very concrete plans for a lengthy sequel. But I can’t not crow about Shoulder to Shoulder (the aforementioned prequel!), too... I’m just really proud of that one - it has a lot of firsts for me. First completed story. First romance-focused story. First foray into expanding the Important Thing universe. But yes, if I have to choose, then Important Thing wins. That’s a story that I started writing exclusively for myself - to give myself characters I could relate to and to explore a style of AoS fic that I loved reading - and that’s a story I will always and forever be proud of.

I think most people have probably answered this tag game at this point, so I don’t want to accidentally retag anyone! If you haven’t yet, and would like to join in, please do! This is your invitation <3

[unstoppableforcce]

for so many years

request: @wannabe-disney-prince a Poe Dameron x male reader! Soft and fluffy, best friends to a confession of feelings. “Hardcore fluff”

Poe Dameron x male reader

this is the first male reader I’ve ever written, so I apologise if it falls short, id love to keep practicing though and I love the request ! this is hopefully as soft as you want, sometimes I dip into angst as my default, but I tried to stay soft ! thanks for the request ! - r.e.

All of the upperclassmen warmed them about graduation at the Academy. That Navy kids, especially the pilots, tended to go hard when it was all over then had to make it to their posts the next morning. And more than a few of the best and brightest strolled in late to morning debriefs, complaining of loud noises and bright lights.

But no one warned them about the few days off halfway through.

Poe knew right away that he had overdone it, he actually knew as soon as he was challenged to the fifth shot. It hit the back of his throat and he was gone.

He knew he had early training the next morning, but for whatever reason, be it drunken idealism or just young naivety, he thought he would be fine. He was not.

One foot in front of the other, he tried to limp back to the dorms, the rational part of him begging for help while his drunk confidence slurred out reassurances to everyone who passed by offering. He could see the lights of the dorms coming into view, he almost made it, and that was when his stomach finally caught up to him.

He was releasing the contents of his stomach over a trash can when you spotted him. You wanted to laugh, he was missing the trash can pretty spectacularly. He was the best damn pilot in your whole division, and here he was, barfing in the sidewalk.

“Hey Dameron?” You called out as you approached, boots pounding the concrete enough to shake him back to consciousness where he slumped over the trash can. “You alright?”

“I had a bit too much to drink I’m afraid.” Poe slurred out, coughing a few times but nothing else coming up. “I’ve got an early meeting.”

“With Commander Feller? Yeah, I know, I’ve got to be there too.” You filled in, trying to approach carefully as to not step in the outpoured contents of his stomach.

“I think-“ his stomach lurched, “I think I need help getting back.”

“I can help you.” You smiled, grabbing his arm as he began to slightly topple over on himself.

“You don’t even know me...” the curly haired cadet managed out between burps as he turned to actually see you for the first time.

“You’re Poe Dameron, best in the class.”

“So you’re helping me?”

“I figured I could use a new friend.” You chuckled, another step forward, one foot after the next. “Also you seem desperate.”

“Not desperate, just... needy.”

“Oh my mistake.”

Poe’s laugh was so bright for a man who looked so dark, constantly on the verge of throwing up again, barely able to keep himself upright. He was still smiling. You couldn’t take that from the bright eyed young cadet.

You only dropped him once, and in your defense, he was so drunk. Like so drunk.

But once you got him back and got him to bed, you figured that was the end of it, the end of your mindless act of good.

He sat next to you in the meeting the next morning and stars... you spent most of the meeting examining the crest of his chin instead of the topographical maps of the neighboring system.

You didn’t know that stopping to help the drunken pilot way back when would solidify your strongest friendship ever. You didn’t know way back when that the war was going to get as bad as it was now.

But you did know Poe was going to be in the center of it all, the best pilot you had ever seen, you knew that from day one.

The memory itself, of how you met, was one of your favorite. How could it not be? The most dashing resistance pilot befriending you through pure luck of having been walking by one late night while he stumbled home drunk.

And Poe felt the need to tell the story at all times. For every new pilot who joined the resistance squad and asked how the two of you got so close, he had to tell it again. Even if the crowd of surrounding pilots groaned as he began again.

You played along, groaning in protest with them because it was all you could do. If he knew the way you loved watching him tell it, how animated he got, how his face would light up with a passion you only ever saw when he talked about his ship or piloting. If he knew...

You love watching him tell it. You loved him.

And more than the brother he saw you as.

Years had passed and you had been through thick and thin with his permanently cemented by your side. You loved him. Everyone loved him. How could you not?

“-And I said ‘Don’t you have anything better to do than to pick up sad drunks?’” Poe beamed as he continued on, ranting at the small cantina table, surrounded by fresh faced kids. New pilots. Stars, you couldn’t believe you had been that old when you met Poe.

“Tell them what you said,” Poe nudged you, snapping you back to reality with an accompanying kick under the table. “Come on-“

You almost got lost when looking at him, how excited he got, how truly adorable he could be for the man he was.

“I don’t-“

“Come on, you remember-“ Poe fought, sipping his drink down casually, but stare never wavering. He just waited, bouncing with a child-like anticipation.

“‘they always told me to ‘join the navy and meet interesting new people’” you repeated. You remembered, of course you remembered. The way Poe has laughed, even in the middle of being bent over his own toilet emptying the remainder of his stomach.

“That’s it! That’s the line!” He cheered and all of the cadets couldn’t help but light up and laugh along with him. Poe commanded crowds like that, whatever he was feeling, he could make them feel it too. Happy. Inspired. He was a true leader. “God, those were the days, weren’t they?”

“Yeah...” you sighed. Those were the days. The days before he realized the feeling inside his chest was love. The days back before the war began and this all didn’t hurt as much as it did now.

The night stretched on, and Poe told story after story, though eventually, even the dashing pilot had to call it a night. So, not unlike the first night you met, you walked Poe back to the dorms on base, this time, thankfully, he was closer to sober than dead drunk.

“Stars, man, I remember the night we met like it was yesterday.” Poe smiled, laying a gentle hand on your shoulder as you walked. “We were so young.”

“We were...” you wanted to melt into his touch, to give in to the warm ness growing within. “That was a long time ago.”

“Besides the war though, nothing much has changed.” Poe fought, not removing his hand but beginning to slow down.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean...” Poe seemed to almost choke on his words, to hold something back. That wasn’t like him. “I mean, you’re still here, right by my side.”

You stop him, turn back on the path to face him, the moonlight all that was keeping you lit.

“That’s where I’ll always be, Poe, always.”

He smirked, he even giggled slightly to himself and you almost began to wonder if he was drunker than you thought.

“That’s where I always want you.” Poe finally hyped himself up enough to come right out and say it. “I want you, with me.”

You shook your head, letting all of his soft time and hearty stare blow right over your head, just not catching on at first.

“I’ll be here, Poe, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You don’t get it.”

“What don’t I get?”

“I’m in love with you.”

Even as the words left your mouth, you found yourself still unsure of whether you were interpreting his very clear message correctly. And when you went to argue, you only needed to meet his soft look and you knew. You knew he meant exactly what you had dreamed he would one day mean.

“You’re in love with me?” You couldn’t help as the disbelief poured from your lips, you couldn’t even stop it.

But Poe just chuckled and took a final step forward.

“For a very long time.”

You swore your heart skipped a beat.

“I love you.” The words spilled out, slurring together with the velocity you sent them flying towards him with. You tried to take it back, to try again but Poe just shushed you.

He knew. He had always known.

“I never don’t want you with me.”

“From carrying you drunk home so many years ago, to now, I’ll be with you through it all.”

“It’s a good story.” He fought with a smile, finally bringing a hand up to rest against your face.

“We have other stories...” you smiled back, unable to resist stepping the rest of the way towards him now. “Better than you nearly killing yourself.”

“Yeah, but, I like it.” He blushed, leaning up to press a soft kiss to your lips. It had been so many years. Your heart could almost burst. You’d loved him since the day you met (or maybe the morning after). You loved him and he loved you.

“Makes me look good.” You argued while still pulled in tight to him, not wanting to let go of the thing you had longed to get a hold of for so many years, through so much.

“Don’t need a story for that.” Poe added, dissolving into a final kiss, melting under the moonlight as he held his heart in his hands.

[regrettablewritings]

I, u, y for bodhi rook please!

As the words process in my mind, a tear rolls upon my cheek . . .

Could it be? I dare wonder. An lo: It is.

He has returned, after so far away in time . . .

I = Impression (What was their first impression?):

Well, he certainly wasn’t what you had expected, that was for sure. Defecting from the Empire was no easy feat, even for somebody as unassuming as a delivery pilot. To the enemy, every literal body counted — even if only to assure complete dominance over the individual. So when you had learned that one of their own had not only detected, but potentially played key in helping to locate Galen Erso?

You couldn’t help it: Your imagination went wild. You imagined someone big and strong, teeth gritting from years of pent up anger towards the unjust causes of the tyranny spreading across the galaxy.

What you got was a scrawny, sheepish, possibly traumatized (thanks, Saw, you absolute nerf-herder) slip of a man who seemed to be afraid of taking up any space he happened to exist in. It was...disappointing to say the least. But you had to commend him regardless for defecting and even surviving Saw, and there was no gain in looking down on him.  

And then came the Scarif mission.

Nobody had expected him to go -- well, nobody was excpected to go, given that the Alliance Council turned down Erso’s idea, but least of all you expected him to be willing to go and do it. You expected the blind guy to go sailing off to a certified death mission before you did this guy! And honestly, that had you worried for him. Unfulfilled expectations or not, he wasn’t someone who had incurred your ire or even your indifference; you may not have gotten the chance to actually know him beyond a few words exchanged during the very brief time he’d been on base (“Welcome to the right side.” “Uh, y-yes . . . Thank you . . .”), but he certainly didn’t strike you as someone who needed to go on this type of outing. Enough people died unnecessarily in this damned war . . .

To learn, eventually, that he wasn’t one of them was therefore all the more shocking to you.

While the mission to steal the Death Star blueprints had been successful, it clearly didn’t come easy. Everyone who had survived had been wounded to some degree, with Captain Andor appearing to receive the worst of it as he was carted off to the infirmary. Bodhi, to your relief, wasn’t especially harmed. Roughed up, certainly, and clearly shaken from the experience, but that didn’t change what you now knew for certain: Bodhi Rook, this timid bean pole of a defector, was one of the bravest men you had the pleasure of knowing existed.

Even though he apparently was intimidated by you when you two first met. Granted, everyone intimidated him: He had just went AWOL with the government he’d been employed by, he was “taken in” by people whom he’d been taught by propaganda to fear and be distrustful in, he was still trying to regain his frazzled sanity after being interrogated by that . . . that thing, and he’d just witnessed his home get bombed. Needless to say, the anxious-by-nature man was simply not in an especially welcoming mood.

Still, he tried to be civilized (maybe because he feared getting beat up if he didn’t). He wasn’t sure what to say in response to your, er, “greeting” when you hustled up war-battered clothes besides an awkward thank you. He really wasn’t sure what to make of you that would separate you from his overall feelings towards nearly everyone in this whole operation: You were strong, you had been through enough and were surely hardened by it, and you could probably snap his spine over your knew if you particularly cared to.

Of course, he’d spent next to no time with you when he thought these things of everyone involved in the Rebellion. He had no time to: He had to fly around the Maker’s galaxy and back! It actually wasn’t until after the Scarif mission that he was given ample time to readily wipe his impressions and assumptions clean. He felt he needed to, given what dedication he’d seen on those beaches.

Besides, you approaching him afterward certainly helped. You picked up that he wasn’t fond of crowds during evening mess when he quietly slinked away from the group gathering to hear retellings of the infiltration on Scarif. You figured perhaps a one-on-one situation might’ve sufficed. Better yet, inquiring about his current state might’ve been preferable to reliving the experience.

He appreciated the gesture on your part. Maybe . . . you weren’t nearly as ice-cold as he’d thought you were. At the very least, definitely not as bad as Cassian.

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?):

Bodhi is a naturally anxious person, and the hardships and experiences he’s encountered haven’t exactly made that any better. Sure, he’s a lot braver now and more willing to act, but he’s still nowhere near as gung-ho or fiery as his companions.

He’s had some methods in the past that clearly didn’t work out in his favor (fun fact: he’s got a record for gambling), but one of the best tried and trues is simply going somewhere quiet. His thoughts are in a constant buzz, he benefits from a lack of outside stimuli when he feels overwhelmed. The problem is . . . quiet is so very hard to find when you’re in the middle of a war. As an Imperial cargo pilot, you could just plain forget about the idea of having time to yourself: You belong to the Empire, your time is the Empire’s time and you are in no position to use it up.

Being a part of the Rebellion is better by legions, but the base on Yavin IV leaves much to be desired in terms of privacy and quiet. Luckily, the planet is lush and forested: If Bodhi is on base and feels the need to sit in the quiet and gather his thoughts and calm down, he need only walk in any given direction, find a tree to sit under, and just stay there for a while. The places he chooses are far enough to where he can relax and not have his thoughts and heartbeat disturbed by the banging of machinery or the hollers of drill sergeants, but never so far as to be unable to get help should he need it.

It wasn’t long before he began to incorporate you into these relaxation methods, however. As it turns out, as much as he may enjoy being able to sit by himself in the brush, he very much likes being able to sit with you anywhere. You’re almost like a walking calming center for him, especially when you touch him: Hold his hand, rub his back, let him lay his head on your lap so you can play with his hair . . . It’s like a missing link he never knew he’d been missing to begin with! They’re seemingly small things, but they make a big difference. You can always feel him losing his tension beneath your touch, often announced by quiet sighs or tiny shudders. It’s truly the cutest thing and you’re so glad to be the cause of it and help him calm down. Just not nearly as glad as he is to have you there to calm him.

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?):

The thought of marriage has switched on and off throughout Bodhi’s life; really, it depends on the exact moment. As a child, he certainly thought about it more, if only because children are want to do such things. But as an adult, it begins to falter. By the time the events of the story show up, he can go long stretches without even once thinking about his stance on whether or not he should get married. Because really, it’s more based on the exact moment: If he’s in a surprisingly good way or even in a moment where he must think about how short life can be, the certainly he gives it some thought.

But in his usual misery and anxiety while serving the Empire, such silly concerns are the furthest thing from his mind; they’re so far on the back burner that they may as well have fallen behind the stove, forgotten, dusty, and moldy!

Even when he meets you, the thought surprisingly doesn’t come up for a while. It’s not that you don’t make him happy or inspire any intention of long-term romance -- far from it, actually! You make him feel the happiest and most comfortable than he’s felt in literal years! In fact, that’s honestly probably why the subject of marriage doesn’t pop up to him so immediately: His life as of late has become a bit of a balancing act, what with him now being a part of a rebellion he hadn’t planned on joining and, consequentially, trying not to get him or his new comrades killed. Normally, this sort of thing would’ve sent him into a panic-induced coma. But with you present in his life, giving him a sense of calm and someone to fight hard enough to come back to, you actually make him start to enjoy the present. (Well, the calmer ones, at least.)

He’s not as caught up about the past or afraid of the future as he used to be; he’s actually enjoying the moment with you as is. Sure, every now and again, if he does (or doesn’t) mean to think about it, his mind does slip and he finds himself thinking, “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind being with them after all this . . .” He even dares to dream about the two of you sharing a life together on a nice, simple planet with lots of trees and greenery. Maybe somewhere quiet. A farm might be nice: He can so some gardening there and you two can build a house together, all big and roomy like you’d always wanted instead of cramped and stuffy like the living quarters you always complained about . . .

But then his attention would be dragged elsewhere (to a meeting, to training, to you calling him to join you for dinner). He doesn’t mind. He’s not brushing aside the possibilities of proposing to you and marrying you, but the dreams can wait: All in all, you’re here right now and he’s perfectly content being there with you. For now.

Thank you for asking and for being patient!

[stopandimagineloveforever]

Few TV shows have arrived as confidently as Schitt’s Creek did when it premiered four years ago; after all, the pilot took under two minutes to introduce its four main characters in instantly striking ways. We open in a palatial estate, where members of the filthy rich Rose family are reacting to news they’ve been defrauded by their business manager and left with nothing. Well, except the titular town, which Rose patriarch Johnny bought for his son as a joke birthday present years before. Immediately, there’s Moira (standout Catherina O’Hara), wailing to her husband about how she’s been “stripped of every morsel of pleasure I earned in this life.” In reply, her husband Johnny (Eugene Levy) complains about the shady business manager that landed his family in this mess. Nearby, their daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy) alights from a stately staircase while desperately trying to get the boyfriend she’s on the phone with to step out of the club he’s in and listen to her problems. And by the door, her brother David boldly berates a government official, calling him a “sick person” that “wants to get paid to destroy another person’s life.”

Dan Levy, who plays David and co-created the show alongside his father and co-star Eugene, is far less confrontational than his character, but no less animated. When I meet him in January for a late lunch at a sparsely populated restaurant in Rockefeller Center, the 35-year-old is upbeat and personable, despite the packed schedule he’d been navigating for the previous few days while doing press for the show’s fifth season.

The entire process is somewhat new to the actor, since Schitt’s Creek kept a relatively low profile in its earlier seasons. But as the show’s popularity has grown — with critics now hailing it as “the funniest show on TV right now,” a “gem of a sitcom,” and an “amiable and deliriously funny series” — so has Levy’s. After serving as the official showrunner for four seasons, he’s become a celebrity in his own right. Yet in midtown, as he makes his way through a grilled chicken caesar salad and a Diet Coke, Levy doesn’t appear to exhibit any of those expected pretenses; he’s quite laid-back and surprisingly gregarious, eager to talk about the little show he made which blossomed into something much bigger than he could have ever imagined.

Before Schitt’s Creek, Levy says he spent some time “figuring it out.” Growing up as the son of a comedy legend, it was nearly a given that he would do theater in high school. But when he graduated and actually tried to pursue acting as a career, Levy was held back by the nervousness he routinely felt at auditions. “As you can imagine, that was quite awkward for me as an actor,” he jokes. Instead, he landed at MTV Canada, where he cut his teeth recapping The Hills on the popular The After Show. That experience, he says, was where the idea for Schitt’s Creek was planted. “I was fascinated by these people who were raised around so much wealth,” he tells me. “And I wanted to know what it would be like if someone like that were to lose everything.”

He eventually took that inkling of an idea to his dad, and together, they fleshed it out into the show it is today. In the earliest stages, Levy recalls looking at “sexy and stylish” series like Sex and the City for inspiration, which ultimately lead to his decision to build each character around a distinct style that mirrors their personality type. Artsy David would be into neutral tones and architectural Rick Owens; business-minded Johnny would always wear classic tailored suits; histrionic former soap star Moira would have a flair for the dramatic silhouettes of McQueen; and boho-chic Alexis would be ready to jet off to Coachella at a moment’s notice.

To this day, Dan still takes the lead on much of the show’s wardrobe. It’s one of the most rewarding parts of his job, he tells me, and it’s a good excuse to indulge his shameless shopping addiction. He sources most of the garments seen on the show online, perusing for new duds on designer resale apps like The RealReal and Grailed, but it’s clear that his sartorial eye is just as keen in person. Upon arriving to the restaurant, the first thing Dan does is compliment my sunglasses, which were sitting on the corner of the table. “Congratulations on those boots,” he told me as we left, pointing down at my footwear. The only apparent downside to his side gig as a personal shopper is that it can be difficult to stop himself from getting too out of control. “I just keep buying for future seasons,” he jokes. “If the show ends, I’m just going to have all these random Alexander McQueen pieces in my room! I’ll have to call up some of my friends and ask if they want to come buy some.”

Hopefully, we’ll never reach that point — at least not for a while, now that the show is finally getting the respect it deserves. Days before our lunch, Levy and his fellow cast members had experienced their first A-List red carpet event when they attended the Critics’ Choice Awards, where they were nominated for Best Comedy Series. “It’s so crazy to think that this little show was there amongst all these real celebrities,” he says, emphasizing the word real in a way that lets you know he still doesn’t understand just how famous he actually is — or does a good job pretending not to, at least. The performer says he was most excited to meet Jodie Comer, but in retrospect, he wonders if he maybe went overboard when he approached the Killing Eve actress to “fan out” and enthusiastically tell her how much he loved her.

Schitt’s Creek didn’t win that night. But it’s not difficult to imagine the show becoming a serious awards contender in the future, especially now that it’s established a real audience. Levy and the entire team are rooting particularly hard for Catherine O’Hara, whose indelible, no-holds-barred performance as Moira has rightfully inspired a few internet campaigns to get The Television Academy’s attention.

Yet it’s probably Levy himself who has galvanized the most fervent response from audiences. His character is one of the only pansexual men on TV today, and in the show’s currently-airing fifth season, his same-sex relationship with newly-out Patrick (Noah Reid) is one of the biggest ongoing plot points. As a gay man, he says it was always important to him to bring positive queer representation to his show — which is ironically why he had David sleep with a woman (sardonic motel owner Stevie) before he ever got with a man. “I did want to play with people’s expectations a bit,” he admits. “David is flamboyant and I knew people would assume he was gay, so I wanted to subvert that and show that you can’t always judge a book by its cover.”

Nevertheless, Levy is now fully invested in exploring the much-beloved relationship between David and Patrick, which he’s made a deliberate effort to ensure is not met with any homophobia in the titular small town. It’s what he would’ve done anyway, but it doesn’t hurt that he’s seen firsthand just how much their relationship means to the fans at home watching. When I ask about the response he’s received from the queer community, it’s the first time during our meal that he seems to get really emotional. “I got a letter recently that made me cry,” he begins, tearing up ever so slightly. “This woman wrote to me and told me that her son had just come out. She didn’t have a problem with it, but she was scared about what other people would think. She told me that my show made her feel a little more comfortable.”

It’s surprising how novel it seems to create a show where homophobia is just... not allowed to exist, but it’s comforting to see how normal it actually looks in practice. Just people being themselves without judgment: It’s all part of this world that Dan Levy was inspired to create after watching too many reruns of The Hills. Back then, he set out to create a show that uncovered what would happen when the self-obsessed wealthy wake up to find themselves penniless. If the series’ first five seasons have offered us any sort of answer, it’s that they will learn and grow, facing truths about themselves and their privilege that will only benefit them in the long run. They will form stronger bonds with themselves and with each other. Hell, they might even find true life-fulfilling happiness.

That is, as long as they find their way to Schitt’s Creek.

Schitt’s Creek airs Wednesdays at 10:00pm on Pop.

[aion-rsa]

The Right Stuff: What To Expect From The Disney+ Adaptation

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Actors can feel the crushing gravity of expectations when playing real-life figures, even if they’re playing astronauts. For the cast and creatives behind The Right Stuff, shooting the TV adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s iconic novel about the Mercury 7 and birth of NASA took on added historical significance during the summer of 2019, with July 20th marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.

The series from National Geographic, which begins streaming on Disney+ on Oct. 9, shot at Universal Studios in Orlando, in close proximity to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The day the crew filmed the first mission control scene, a NASA advisor sat in on a separate rehearsal with the director and the cast, pointing out which buttons to press and the correct terminology to use, going as far to help re-write lines in the script. 

“It just made the whole thing feel so authentic,” says The Right Stuff co-producer Michael Hampton. 

The actors playing the Mercury 7 astronauts—the group of military test pilots chosen to be part of the historic mission to put a man in space—had the opportunity to make a day trip to the Florida coast to participate in pilot training (without the actual flying part) during pre-production. They jumped into cockpits and spent time with specialists at Cape Canaveral. During that time shadowing real pilots, the actors who signed on to play larger-than-life American heroes were grounded and humbled by the experience. 

“The biggest thing for me was seeing that massive, massive building where they built the rockets,” recalls actor James Lafferty, who plays astronaut Scott Carpenter. “There’s a majesty to it. It takes your breath away just seeing the size and the scope of it, just realizing how many people are in there at any given time, figuring out problems. The thing in that building goes to another planet. It goes into orbit, somewhere that we’ll never get to go.” 

The pilot episode of the TV adaption of The Right Stuff sees the U.S. government task NASA to begin Project Mercury, with the goal of putting a man in space. Seven of the military’s best test pilots—Alan Shephard, John Glenn, Gordo Cooper, Scott Carpenter, Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton and Wally Schirra—are selected as part of the program and thrust into the public spotlight. At the crux of this adaptation is the rivalry between John Glenn (played by  Patrick J. Adams) and Shepard (played by Jake McDorman) and their battle to be the first American in space (ultimately the Soviets did beat us there with Yuri Gagarin’s mission in 1961.) 

Spending time at Cape Canaveral and inside the hectic mission control set transported the producers and actors to a time where it looked all but certain that the Soviet Union would beat the United States in a race to the stars. The pressure was mounting inside the government on the heels of Soviets developing an atomic bomb in 1953 and launching Sputnik in 1957. In the original novel, Wolfe writes that House Speaker John McCormack, who led the committee on Astronautics, felt the country faced “national extinction” if it failed to catch up to the Soviet space program: “He was genuinely convinced that the Soviets would send up space platforms from which they could drop nuclear bombs at will, like rocks from a highway overpass.”

That sense of urgency is prevalent in the first hour of Nat Geo’s The Right Stuff. But it’s not all that defines this adaptation. During an era on TV and in film where remakes and reboots are boundless, there’s a G force of pressure for the producers and actors behind this adaptation of The Right Stuff to not only do justice to not only an iconic book, but also an iconic feature movie in its own right. 

Philip Kaufman’s 1983 feature film adaptation stumbled at the box office but was a critical darling, earning eight Oscar nominations. Its legacy has only grown over the years—particularly among pilots, many of whom were directly inspired to fly because of it—and was preserved by the Library of Congress in 2013. 

For the producers of the TV series, the appeal of revisiting The Right Stuff was being able to flesh out the character development of these larger-than-life figures that are so richly detailed in Wolfe’s book. Published in 1979, The Right Stuff won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1980. It humanized the Mercury 7 astronauts by demystifying the hero complex that surrounded them, while providing a tense and nervy account of being a test pilot—from life in the skies to the complexity of family life at home. It’s on a very short list of the greatest nonfiction works about the space program. 

“We’re going back to the book and not remaking the movie,” Hampton says. “We are sticking to the true story pretty intact. It’s what we’ve always wanted to do, it’s what Nat Geo does better than anyone, and frankly you can’t make this stuff up.” 

A show about smart men and women talking fast, intensely focused on science and technology that could change the future: Sound familiar? The producers found a perfect fit in showrunner Mark Lafferty, whose writing credits include period pieces and criminally underrated series Manhattan, about the creation of the atomic bomb, ‘80s and ‘90s computer boom drama Halt and Catch Fire, and another Nat Geo hit in Genius. Though Lafferty wasn’t available for interviews the day we were on set, the cast paraphrases his words about the media frenzy around the Mercury 7 crew being America’s “first reality show.” 

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“They were cowboys, but they also all of a sudden became the most famous people, almost on the planet,” says Colin O’Donoghue, who plays astronaut Gordon “Gordo” Cooper. 

“There’s such a difference now surrounding celebrities than there was back then,” says Elosie Mumford, who plays Trudy Cooper, Gordo’s ex-wife. “Back then, there was the ability to have an actual private life. You’re dealing with people who don’t have perfect marriages, who don’t have the sort of all-American ideal that’s being presented; and where you see the cracks of that, and they’re desperately trying to hold onto their privacy as they become massively, massively famous.”

When Den of Geek visited the set in October, the significance of shooting during the 50th anniversary of the moon landing was a recurring point of pride for the cast. And with the Nat Geo production now moving to Disney+, they’re hopeful the The Right Stuff  will land with a new generation, and it may be coming at the opportune time. 

The retelling of the story of Mercury 7 takes on new resonance during a year in which SpaceX landed a reusable rocket in a giant leap towards Mars reigniting interest in space exploration; a year where scientific innovation is essential to ending the COVID-19 pandemic and curbing climate change; and the country faces an emotionally-charged political environment as it barrels toward an all-important election. The series won’t be a remedy for all our present ills, but it could serve as a reminder about what Americans can accomplish when they come together for a common goal. 

“It harkens back to a time when America was a unified force, trying to get things done,” says Eric Ladin, who plays NASA official Chris Kraft Jr. “The pride that the country took in this space race is something that I think is really admirable. This was the last time that we had something bring us together as a country.”

Ladin, in researching the role, spoke to people who fondly recall the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions and claim “they felt more proud to be an American that day than they ever had” when they saw the U.S. put men in space.  

“One man I talked to, he was a veteran, he said, ‘I felt as proud to be an American that day as when I was on the beach in Normandy.’ And so I just think that it’s a really powerful thing that we were accomplishing then. And it didn’t matter who you were, what walk of life you were in, that was something you can get behind.”

The post The Right Stuff: What To Expect From The Disney+ Adaptation appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3iqxXWL

[jamesholden]

a place to call home

I started this a while back for Alex Kamal Appreciation Week and kind of lost inspiration. But I found it in my feelings about Persepolis Rising and just freaking banged out the ending. I really wanted to have Alex reflect on what had happened between him and Holden, and how he sees their little family with his own past behind him (no matter how much I want to pretend it doesn't exist like he does in the show). I hope I did him justice.

This is for @nourgelitnius​, who is an amazing friend and deserves all the happiness and Alex she can possibly have.

Please leave a review on ao3 if you can. Enjoy! Thanks for reading!

The Roci is quiet again. The monster is gone. The list of necessary repairs—lengthy and painful—is together. Alex sighs as the coffee machine hisses, scooping up his fresh bulb.

He thumps Amos’s good shoulder as he passes the table. Amos grunts, but doesn’t look up from his terminal. Focused on figuring out what he can repair himself. Naomi nearly bumps into him in some kind of rush. She gives him a weak smile as she ducks past him. Away from the medbay, towards her cabin. Not Holden’s. He doesn’t ask. As he passes the medbay himself, he catches sight of Holden still sat there, letting his leg set. He’s rubbing at his eyes, holding tight to the arm of the chair. Alex pauses at the door. Holden doesn’t look up. Alex continues on. He doesn’t see Prax. The good doc is probably holed up in his own cabin. It’s not quite normal, but preferable to the day they’d had leading up to it.

Alex steps up into the almost-as-quiet Ops deck. He sips at his coffee, bitter and strong. He ain’t sleeping any time soon. He doesn’t think any of them are. They’d almost lost Naomi and Amos on the Somnambulist. Then they’d almost lost Holden. On the Roci for Christ’s sake. Part of him wants them all in one room, right here with him. Wants to be able to see them and make them laugh and know they’re okay. Kept busy with work so their minds don’t wander. But they need to decompress, and so does he.

So instead, he sits with his number one gal.

“Hey, honey,” Alex drawls. “Sorry I made you wait so long.”

He climbs up to the pilot’s chair, flops down with a sigh. He can’t sleep, but at least he can relax. He settles in, taking another long draw from his bulb as he studies the screen above him. The camera is still set to the cargo bay, though Holden’s helmet cam is dark. The torn-open doors show off the dark void they’re meant to protect the crew from. The crate that had pinned Holden to the wall is off camera, but Alex still can’t help looking for it. He sighs.

“You almost lost your CO today, you know.” He blinks up at the bulkhead above him. There’s no response. He tsks, looks back down. “I mean, of course you know. You were watching his vitals for us. Still. Was that close.”

Alex listens to the beeps and hums of the ship around him. A small symphony just for him. He lives for moments like this: just him and the ship. The Roci is the best of them, but he’s always looked forward to time alone with all of the ships that came before. They’re almost like some large creature; the way they hum and shift around him feels like breathing. Living. It’s what makes her too easy for him to talk to. That and, the fact that there are no arguments.

“I was so…” He huffs, gulps at his coffee. Looking for words. “I was so pissed at him earlier. You know?” Alex runs a hand through his hair. “He was… he was gonna let Amos… let Naomi die. Just like that. Because he had to stop that… that thing. I mean what the hell, right? What was he thinking?”

True to form, the Roci doesn’t answer. She never answers. Not really. Alex breathes in the silence. Imagines what she might say.

“Nah, I get that. I said something, he snapped out of it. I knew he would, I mean Holden’s not as big an asshole as he seems.” The Roci beeps. Alex shrugs. “Most of the time. But… for a moment… it seemed like he really… like he was going to really do it. Keep going. Let them die.”

Alex lets the words linger on his lips and in the air. With everything that’s happened… it doesn’t feel like just over a day ago. It feels like weeks. Only the vivid memory of his heart hammering in his chest as he talked down a red-lit Holden, as determined as Alex had ever seen him, from the edge of the abyss. A place the man would never come back from had Alex not succeeded.

Alex sighs, rubs at his eyes. “He’d have never forgiven himself. Not once he’d snapped out of… whatever it is he’s got goin’ on.” He starts to lift his bulb to his lips before the thought strikes him. “And I’d never forgive myself if I let him do it.”

The Roci says nothing. Not even a beep. The observation needs no agreement. Really, it should have been more obvious. It had only partially been about saving Holden’s soul. When it comes down to it, really, deep down, it was about his own soul.

Each one of them had come off of Eros scarred. At first, it had been just Naomi who had been haunted by the ones they couldn’t save. Haunted by that little girl she’d been forced to leave behind. But as Alex spent more and more time with the Belters they managed to get off Eros (at the time an unlucky draw based on one sick captain, one XO caring for him, and one disconnected mechanic in his own world leaving him the only one capable of taking on such a task), he realized that Naomi was right to be hurt. To be angry. They should have saved more.

And then they lost the breaching pod in the assault on Thoth.

It would be the last time Alex would lose anyone, if he had a say in it. So he made his voice heard when Holden let his anger blind him to what it would cost him. Refused to back down. Let his determination to save everyone he can battle it out with Holden’s determination to rid the system of the Protomolecule. His determination beat Holden’s fear.

He’d be more proud of himself if he didn’t understand Holden’s position. But Amos and Naomi are alive. Melissa is alive. The refugees. Holden and Prax. Alex.

All because he stood up to Holden. He deserves to be proud.

Alex sips at his coffee, trying to remember a time when he cared far less about any of these people, his crew. His family. He tries to remember what life was like when his world was piloting an ice freighter: arguing with Ade and Byers about how long a run could take on various speeds regardless of their navigating and backseat driving; testing how long it took to get McDowell of his back by throwing every Martian colloquialism into as many sentences as he could; going back and forth with Paj on how Mars’ advanced technology could beat any Belter spare parts; bothering Shed for as many painkillers as he could get. As much as he misses them, and feels a slight stab when he thinks of them, he never once considered them family. He especially never considered Holden, Naomi, and Amos as anything more than a babysitter thought of their charges. Workers come and go. They were replaceable. Even him. Until the Cant got nuked anyway. Hell, even after.

It wasn’t until the Donnager, until the Scopuli, until Eros, that Alex realized that yes: this is his family now. Irreplaceable. Amos, with his deadpan, off-color humor, an uncanny ability to read anyone, quick to what he sees as necessary violence. Naomi, with her Belter realism, her technological genius, her tenderness and care that can fast turn to brutal honesty when pushed. And Holden with his tilting at windmills, his dimming optimism and transparency, his unhealthy coffee addiction, and a loyalty to his crew that nothing, not even his weight in gold, could break.

That’s how Alex had won him over. His loyalty to their little broken crew. Our family needs us. Something in Holden’s eyes told Alex that he would never turn his back on family. Maybe one day he’d tell him the story why. He hums.

“He figured it out though, didn’t he hon?” Alex snorts a laugh, looks up at the ceiling. “And he got what he wanted anyway. Almost died in the process… which… isn’t what I wanted. But he’s here. So’s Naomi and Amos.” Something on the Ops deck below whirs. “Plus one, yeah. The good doctor. Saved Holden for us. Kept our family whole.” He taps the side of his mug, watching the screen before him as it showed them on their present course to nowhere.

“Wouldn’t mind if he joined us, really. But we’re gonna save his kid. No smart man brings his kid on a gunship. Besides, Ganymede will need every doctor it’s got to recover. Botanist or no. It’s a nice thought, though.”

The Roci makes a sound one might think of as mournful. If that “one” was one Alex Kamal. He doesn’t blame her. He’s gotten used to having Prax around. Taking him home wouldn’t hurt quite as badly as losing anyone from his crew. But it would sting.

Alex closes his eyes, lets himself sink into his crash couch. He could fall asleep here, surrounded by the hums and beeps and whirs of his gunship. There’s no regs, no pilot shift changes to keep him from doing so, not like when he was in the Navy. He’s free to enjoy himself in the one place he feels truly comfortable. There’s nothing but him and his ship. The moments tick by.

The distant sounds of doors opening and closing join the mechanical hums of the Roci. He pictures Holden headed back to his quarters alone, aided by the float rather Naomi. For whatever reason. More doors. Magboots in the halls. He can envision Amos slipping into the galley to dip into their alcohol stash one last time. Or Prax, exploring now that he’s trusted enough to be left to his own devices. Maybe Naomi, walking towards Holden’s closed door, hovering outside and willing it to open. The music of a ship on night shift can create all kinds of stories. He’s always loved it.

Nothing makes it better than knowing it’s the story of his new family. Only time will tell where it will go from here.

When he opens his eyes again, he sees the corner of a photo, peeking out from behind his station. A weight starts to settle in his stomach. His wife. Their son. He had had a family that relied on him. Loved him. He’d already failed them. They don’t even know he’s alive, a fact he’s been more than reminded of by everyone who knows. Maybe they’d find out, with Holden’s messages to Earth while chasing Eros, or his broadcasted threat to both Navies. Maybe they’d find out. Reach out. Maybe not. Maybe they’ve moved on and found someone better. Someone more grounded. Someone who won’t fail them.

He won’t fail this family. He’ll do better. He has to. He closes his eyes again, takes a breath and the weight fades.

Alex lets himself drift to the sounds of home and the comfort of family, all his. All in his Rocinante.

[dinra-al]

after Breath of the Wild

I don’t know, just some stuff about what would happen after defeating Calamity Ganon + If the spirits of the king and the champions stuck around to oversee the rebuilding of Hyrule/train their successors

Mipha:

First thing Sidon did when he saw Mipha is start crying and try to jump-hug her (he was a lot smaller last time they actually saw one another...) 

He ended up going right through her though

but it’s alright because now that Mipha’s spirit is free, she can visit her dad and make sure the rest of the domain is in good shape!

She cried when she saw the statue of her. in fact, there was a lot of crying from everyone because they just really missed her, but it’s good now because she’s more or less back.

She spent days in the throne room with her father, just catching up with all that’s happened in the time that’s passed. Luckily, the domain remained decently similar, and many of her old companions were still there to see her return.

After agreeing that Sidon should take her place as the Zora champion, She’s started teaching him how to pilot Vah Rutah, and he’s learning exceptionally fast. She’s really proud of him

She’s also teaching him some first aid. it’s no Mipha’s Grace but he’s got the basics down!

Sidon is honestly thrilled to be following in his sister’s footseps, but naturally he still has doubts and anxieties about the future. In times where he needs comforting, Mipha is always there to listen to his worries and guide him towards becoming a great king some day

whenever Link and Zelda visit, the whole domain throws a lovely party and feast to welcome them (there may or may not be some arguments over who gets to sit next to link)

The whole domain just really feels like the loving and wonderful place it once was. Mipha spends a lot of her time with Vah Ruta, just like she used to, only now with much more company. Sidon is quite the enthusiastic learner after all

Even though she’s happy to be back, Mipha seems to be the only one of the champions who has acknowledged and accepted the fact that she’s going to have to pass on eventually; her people can’t rely on her forever. She finds comfort in the fact that she’ll at least have said goodbye and prepared them for when that day comes

Daruk:

As soon as he got back he immediately went to find Yunobo; he may or may not have given the poor boy quite the scare

but Yunobo is still thrilled to meet his ancestor! 

honestly he’s actually a little afraid that Daruk will be dissapointed in him for not being big, strong, and courageous, even though he isn’t as much of a wimp as he used to be

Daruk is actually overjoyed to find him and the rest of the gorons in such good shape, and he certainly couldn’t be more proud of his great great (?) grandson for all that he’s done to help

Daruk doesn’t want the others to know he’s back just yet, though. it’s gotta be a surprise at just the right moment, he says.

Yunobo really wants to spill the beans, but he doesn’t because Daruk is having a lot of fun appearing to the village children in secret and telling them cool stories about himself

In turn these kids went blabbing to the adults about “how they saw the great Daruk in person”, and of course they had to tell the children that that can’t be true because Daruk isn’t here anymore

it’s around here that Daruk rides Vah Rudania down the mountain and shows up with all the glory he can muster. For him I think it’s go big or go home

Obviously he chooses Yunobo to take the role of champion in his place

Yunobo learns to pilot Rudania a bit faster than Daruk did, and he manages to become even more confident with his success

Daruk praises him as the pride of the gorons for becoming so strong and brave, but also remaining soft and nice

Everyone still uses him as a canonball though

Daruk just spends his time joyfully regaling the whole village and all passing travelers with stories passed down through the gorons for ages. He’s also the best person to go to if you need a really motivating pep-talk.

Revali:

None of the Rito actually know he’s back, because so far he’s been chilling in Vah Medoh and basking in his glory

He realized he needs someone to shower him in compliments carry on his legacy, so he picked Teba, thinking he was the most suitable choice

of course, since Teba wants to be a great Rito warrior he would never deny the offer of training, and from the great Revali of all people!

Teba quickly finds himself... surprised that the old stories he was told growing up forgot to mention the fact Revali is kind of... well, a jerk.

He’s finding it harder and harder to believe this boisterous guy training him to pilot a DIVINE BEAST was actually a well respected warrior, let alone his hero and inspiration basically

but he can’t deny the training has really paid off; his archery skills have never been this good and he’s never flown so smoothly.

and he might not say it explicitly, but Revali is really proud and he really starts to see Teba as his apprentice

the only other’s in the tribe who know about Revali’s spirit are Saki and Tulin. but there’s been rumours going around the village that if you look hard enough into the night sky, you can see a ghostly figure pulling off some admittedly cool tricks

Revali isn’t the absolute best with children, but he’s taken a liking to Tulin and helps train him when Teba can’t. Tulin started calling him “uncle” and honestly Teba is afraid he’s lost his son’s favour

Link and the princess stop by on occasion to check up on things and provide maintenance to Medoh, Revali still tries to one-up link every time (and fails every time)

at this point, Kass is also back home with his family and has started writing songs of his own. when he has the chance, Revali swoops down to listen to the music. he found most of the songs are about the hero of legend, which actually irritated him a bit, but he was beyond delighted to find Kass has written a whole song dedicated to him and his accomplishments. no he’s not crying, there’s just dust in his eye ok

Urbosa:

man Urbosa is happy to be back. she was worried sick about her people, how could she not be? But now she’s gotta pay visit to the new chief and make sure everything’s running smoothly

Now that she’s face to face with Riju, she can really see just how young she is. Urbosa is honestly upset someone who is barely just a teenager got forced into a position of power, and by losing her mother no less. She’s seen similar happen with Zelda, and she’d hoped she wouldn’t have to see it again.

anyway, she struts in Riju’s room as cool as ever. Riju is, understandably, in awe

Urbosa takes it upon herself to see that Riju gets the proper upbringing she deserves to grow up to become a good chief

She doesn’t want to stress her with the whole “becoming the new champion” thing until she’s older and can handle something like that, but Riju has been begging to start learning more about Vah Naboris. Urbosa can’t quite say no, so slowly she’s been teaching her about the divine beast’s history and how it works; she’ll save the actual piloting work for another time.

Every day Riju becomes stronger and more confident as a chief, and it shows! the whole town is very proud of this recent development, but they can’t help but wonder how she managed such progress all of a sudden

Urbosa makes sure Riju gets her break time too, though. Riju was embarrassed at first about her sand seal plushie collection and what Urbosa would think about it, but she was actually delighted in her interest for the animals. long story short, now they spend their time together talking about seals and making bad puns

Urbosa gives really good sand seal surfing advice too; she knew how to ride the dunes better than anyone in her day

on the side, Bularia is afraid she’s being replaced, but can’t be too mad because this is Urbosa we’re talking about here. Her fears are put to rest once the champion actually approaches her just to tell her she’s doing a great job, and that she’s thankful for her service. (she cried)

quick bonus:

The king is back too and he made things right with Zelda. he’s super proud of his daughter, and this time he doesn’t make the mistake of not telling her.

since she’s normally out and about with Link, trying to assess the damage and start the repairs on the kingdom, He hangs around what’s left of the castle until they return

Now that the whole apocalypse thing isn’t in the way, he finally has the chance to properly teach Zelda about running a kingdom

Zelda managed to recreate a bond with her father, and she put his advice to good use when restoring Hyrule to it’s former glory

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/disney-wonder-alaska-cruise-recap/

Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise recap

Sharing our thoughts on our Disney cruise experience to Alaska! We took the Disney Wonder from Vancouver to Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. I’ll share our full packing list in an upcoming post if you’re planning an Alaskan cruise!

Hi friends! Happy Monday. Hope your week is off to a great start! I’m finally sitting down and taking the time to write out our thoughts on the cruise. I have so much to say! I hope you’re ok with a super long post, but the TLDR version is that we absolutely loved our Disney cruise… and already booked another one. 😉

When we initially booked our cruise, I have to admit that Alaska wasn’t my #1 choice. I’ve never been on a cruise before, and I figured that my first one should be somewhere tropical or European. We booked our trip with my friend Betsy and her family, and she mentioned that so many people say Alaska is breathtaking and we should give it a try. Plus, it would give us the chance to be a little cold since Tucson would likely be scorching hot. So, we went for it!

We traveled to Vancouver and arrived a couple of days early just in case we got stuck on the way. (I highly recommend doing this, so you don’t miss the boat!) We had a blast in Vancouver, and then Monday afternoon, we boarded the ship to spend seven incredible days sightseeing, relaxing, enjoying family activities and eating so many delicious foods. We traveled with Betsy and her family, and had the best time with them! While the boat was sailing away from the dock, they had a party on the top deck with frozen cocktails, live performers and ice cream for the kiddos. 

In pure Disney fashion, everything was over the top: the dining, the performances, the activities, excursions, etc. I know Disney does it right and many people have told us once they did a Disney cruise, they never wanted to cruise with any other cruise lines. After experiencing it ourselves, I can completely see how that happens.

I tried to segment this post into blocks, so it wasn’t just one rambling Disney cruise rave, so here are some of the things that stood out:

Alaskan scenery:

The scenery was absolutely stunning. On either side of the boat, we could see vast forests, glaciers, bald eagles flying (!), whales, and icebergs. Titanic taught me that icebergs are bad, but we sailed through an entire garden of them, so there ya go. We had the opportunity to see landscape and wildlife that we’d otherwise never experience. Now that I’ve been able to experience the true beauty of Alaska, I’d love to visit again some day. 

  One of my favorite stops was the Mendenhall Glacier. It lightly drizzled as we hiked down to a beach, and the girls played with sticks and splashed in puddles while we watched herons fly overhead.

  (P refused to be in this photo because she was very busy gathering rocks) 

The Disney Cruise dining experience:

For Disney cruises, here’s how the dining works: you have reservations (either first seating at 5:45 or second seating, closer to 8) at the main restaurants each night. We sailed on the Wonder, so the main restaurants are Tiana’s, Triton’s, and Animator’s Palace. They have you on a rotation, so you can experience each of the restaurants, and you have the same server the entire time. We really got to know our main server, Pipa (the girls LOVED her) and she always knew what we wanted to drink and got the kiddos’ food served extremely fast. (I could always count on her for dinner recommendations, too, so many times I asked her what I should order and she chose the best stuff for me!)

At each restaurant, they had a different theme each night (a Mardi Gras night, Frozen-inspired menu, lobster night, etc.) and you could choose from various appetizers, salads, soups, entrees, and desserts. I was blown away by the variety they offered! On our specific cruise, they served over 10,000 meals per day, and the quality was outstanding.

  (Smoked salmon in some form in every single meal. YOLO)

You also don’t have to eat at the sit-down restaurants if you don’t want to! You can dine at one of the quick spots (Daisy’s De-lites serves salads, sandwiches, build-your-own bowls, fresh chopped fruit, and soups), Boiler Bites (hot dogs, mac n’ cheese, chicken tenders, fries, etc.), and Pinocchio’s (different types of pizza!), eat at the buffet (Cabana’s is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they have EVERYTHING) or you can get room service. All of this is included. They also had a “fancy” coffee shop on board for specialty drinks, called Cove Coffee, and a quick coffee shop where you could also get super healthy smoothies. A couple of times, I ordered a smoothie with almond milk, vegan chocolate protein, kale, spinach, cinnamon, and ice. The specialty drinks and coffees are extra (so is alcohol), but I didn’t find it to be super overpriced. My smoothies were $5 when they’d usually be around $9 at Whole Foods. 

(Yes they totally put a Donald Duck on my decaf almond milk latte)

(Living the Mickey bar life)

For most of the days we were there, we did breakfast at Cabana’s – it was so nice to wake up and eat without having to order anything or wait for food to be cooked – lunch at Daisy’s (the girls would usually get sandwiches, or pizza from Pinocchio’s, and a giant fruit platter) and dinner at the sit-down restaurant.

Each of the sit-down restaurants had something magical about them. At Tiana’s, Tiana herself was actually there walking around (and the girl spoke exactly like her! She was wonderful) and live music, complete with a Louis crocodile playing the saxophone. Triton’s felt like the fanciest among the three (but you could still go in leggings and a Disney tee), and Animator’s Palace had Sorcerer Mickey one of the nights. They also gave us special placemats that we could draw people on, and they took the placemats from the entire restaurant and ANIMATED our drawings and had them dancing to a song on one of the many screens in the restaurant. It was so incredibly cool!

Entertainment on board:

They have full Broadway-style shows on board, including musicals, comedians, and musicians. We saw three live Disney shows on the ship, including the Golden Mickeys (my personal fave), Frozen, and Disney Dreams.

  They also have two movie theaters playing different movies (including new releases!) all day. The Pilot and Liv saw Captain Marvel, the Pilot saw a late show of Avengers: Endgame one evening, and we all saw the new Aladdin movie as a family. They also have a movie screen on the top deck, where you can lounge on chairs with blankets and eat soft serve ice cream while you watch a show. The ice cream machine was a HUGE hit with the girls. You can literally walk up and make yourself a cone at any point during the day.

We may or may not have played every single Bingo round on the ship. We didn’t get the 7k prize but did win a Disney cruise picnic blanket in one of the raffles. 😉

We went to the gym pretty much every day! It was such a treat to work out together since that can rarely happen at home. We waited until after breakfast, so it wasn’t crowded, dropped the kiddos off at Kids Club, and got in a workout. 

Kids’ Club:

Kids Club was a game-changing experience. The girls absolutely loved it, and many nights after dinner, Liv was begging to go back! I felt like it was a perfect balance. The Pilot and I had a couple of hours together each day, and we still spent a ton of time together as a family. The girls usually went to Kids Club after breakfast while we worked out, and again in the late afternoon for an hour or so before dinner (usually while we played Bingo haha). 

They have three Kids Clubs on the Wonder: the nursery (for babies and toddlers who aren’t potty trained), and for older kids + potty trained over 3: the Oceaneer Lab, and the Oceaneer Club (which has a play structure inside). They also have a special area for teenagers (I think it’s called Edge). The kids can go from the Lab to the Club via a hallway, and they wear GPS Disney bands the entire trip. When they scanned our card to pick them up (you use one card for everything: to get into your room, to pay, to pick kids up), they can see on their screen exactly where your kids are. “Olivia and Penelope are in the Animator’s room on my left playing with hula hoops.” It was brilliant.

Characters often visited the Kids Club to play games and do activities with the kids. The girls saw Anna, Elsa, Stitch, the GI Joe guy from Toy Story, Captain Hook, and Belle, all in Kids Club. They baked cookies, did a Friendship Rocks show with Minnie and Mickey, had a luau party, and played so many fun games. We didn’t take advantage of this, but they’ll also feed your kids if they’re there during a meal! 

Room:

We went with the Deluxe Oceanview room, but for our next cruise, we’re getting a verandah since the difference is only a couple hundred dollars. This way, we can sit on the patio and drink wine after the girls are asleep.

We thought the couch was a regular pull-out bed for the girls to share, but turns out, it’s a bunk bed! Our Stateroom Host, Anissa, would transform it from couch to bunk beds every single day. 

Extra Disney touches:

There were definitely special Disney touches during the trip. Each night, we’d come back to the room, and during turndown service, Anissa would create towel animals and leave chocolates. One night, she completely changed the girls’ bedding to princess bedding, and they were STOKED.

The app was also fantastic. You can only connect to it when you’re on the ship’s Wifi, and it enables you to see exactly what’s going on all day, receive messages and updates (like your child can asked to be picked up from Kid’s Club and they’ll send you a message), and texting with others on the ship, complete with Disney emojis. It was extremely helpful, especially as first-timers. I always knew what shows and entertainment were available and could scope out dinner menus in advance. They also had full deck layouts and the weather in each of our stops available in the app.

One night, I lost a diamond earring. I was getting dressed and dropped it, and heard it clank around the room. I spent about 20 minutes searching but couldn’t find it. I let guest services know, just so they would make sure no one went in and vacuumed. When we went back to the room after dinner, I saw Anissa in the hallway and she said, “Your earring is on the glass tray by the closet.” She totally went in and found it for me!

One of the guest service team members chose us as their “special family” during the trip. (I’m not quite sure how this works but I think they each randomly select a family to surprise with goodies). Each afternoon, we’d come into the room from the day’s adventures or excursions and treats would be waiting for us. There were muffins, cheese boards, and cupcakes. It was amazing.

I was blown away by how many character greetings and events they had on the ship. The girls got to see maybe 4x the characters we see at the parks, with way shorter lines.

They also had dance parties (like the Pixar Pals party) in the atrium that were a blast.

Gratuities: 

This was something I didn’t know a lot about, so I’m posting it here in case anyone is taking a Disney cruise! While you’re on the ship, you don’t pay many gratuities. (I would just pay an extra couple bucks here and there for specialty drinks.) At the end of your trip, they charge your account around $13.50 per person per day. They split this amount between the different people who take care of you and scale it accordingly. (Like our head server got more of this amount that the assistant server who only got our drinks.) They also leave little envelopes if you want to tip extra. This way, you can be sure to tip an additional amount to the people who went above and beyond (and found earrings for you, etc.).

I’ll do another post with the excursions we chose + my packing list in case anyone is planning a similar cruise!

So, tell me friends: have you been on a cruise? What’s the #1 spot on your travel list?

xoxo

Gina

*This post isn’t sponsored in any way and we paid for all travel and accommodations. We used Costco Travel and highly recommend it! <3

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[avidbeader]

Yet more of the Sheith soulmates AU

Part 1

Part 2

Voltron fic-in-progress, likely T-rating when all is said and done, and Sheith without monkeying with their ages. Concrit and feedback and title inspirations are welcome.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

When the press conference happened, Keith watched from Shiro’s couch. He leaned forward intently, waiting for the spokesperson to wade through all the things that the Garrison residents would know but that the general population needed for context. Then the spokesperson got to the heart of the matter.

“It is with the deepest sadness and regret that we must share that the Kerberos mission was a failure. The ship appears to have crashed on the moon. We presume at this point that it was due to pilot error, some mistake by Captain Shirogane—”

“WHAT?” Keith shouted in disbelief.

“—and all crew members are missing, presumed dead.”

“YOU LIARS!” He threw the remote hard enough to leave a dent in the wall next to the viewscreen before charging out of Shiro’s apartment.

<> <> <> <> <>

Iverson intercepted him before he got halfway to the Garrison’s conference center. He grabbed Keith by the shoulders and swung him around.

“I know, I know. The higher-ups are trying to brush it all under a rug because if we let it out that hostile aliens exist we’ll have a worldwide panic. And even if we were able to get a new team out just like that we still wouldn’t arrive in time to help. They’re long gone.”

His words shredded Keith from his throat to the pit of his stomach. Until this point he had refused to consider the worst, that Shiro was gone forever. He choked out, “But pilot error? Why not mechanical failure if you have to lie about it? Why blame Shiro?”

“Because too many egos are involved in the design and construction of the ships. It would set us back years if we had to redesign anything due to mechanical failure.”

“You’re scapegoating him!”

“Son—”

“You’re going to let his family, his friends, all of history believe he’s a failure when he’s not!”

“Cadet!”

Keith ground his teeth together, holding back the torrent of words.

“You have to stay quiet. If you want any kind of future here, if you want the chance to get to space yourself, you have to stay quiet. Do you understand? Don’t you think he would have wanted you to achieve your dreams?”

“He does want it. Don’t forget, he’s still alive out there. I know that for a fact.”

With that, Keith batted Iverson’s hands away from him and stalked back the way he came.

He didn’t see Iverson’s expression harden as he watched the youth leave.

Neither of them saw the small figure hiding in a recess in the wall nearby.

<> <> <> <> <>

Katie Holt wasn’t quite sure how she managed to sneak back to the guest quarters where she and her mother were staying. Every bit of her considerable mind was wrapped around what she had heard. Shiro had not crashed. They had seemingly run into aliens and been captured. This cadet swore that Shiro was alive, which meant that her family was out there, still alive, and the Garrison wasn’t planning to even try a rescue. They were going to cover it all up instead and abandon the crew.

She wondered at first how the cadet could be so certain about Shiro, then it hit her. Shiro had a soulmate. Matt had brought it up, making a funny story about them discovering each other in a hand-to-hand combat class. Her father had helped Shiro, something about a scientist wanting to study the bond as two soulmates were about to be divided by the greatest distance ever recorded.

So this cadet knew for certain that Shiro was alive. He might be able to tell from Shiro’s emotions whether her father and Matt were all right. Now she had one available proof.

But two proofs would be better. She would stake out Iverson’s office and try to access any video feeds from the ship that would show a safe landing. Armed with both, she could get her mother and maybe Shiro’s parents to believe and act on the information.

<> <> <> <> <>

Keith managed to hold himself together for the next week. Other than his classes and meals, he hid out in Shiro’s apartment. He spent hours curled up on Shiro’s bed, focusing love and support through their bond. Shiro was still afraid, sometimes angry, injured once, and often sick to his very core over having to kill. Keith guessed that Shiro had been conscripted into some alien army, fighting beings that he had no quarrel with for the sake of the aliens who had kidnapped him. He often worried about the Holts, so Keith had further proof that the entire crew had survived the initial arrival on Kerberos.

He had put Dr. Hooper off, claiming illness and then questioning her need for him as she had her own records of the soul bond extending all the way to Kerberos without losing any strength. But two weeks after the press conference, she called him.

“I need you to meet me immediately, somewhere off campus. It’s hugely important.”

“I don’t know what more I can tell you, but all right. The coffeeshop next to Stellaluna’s Pizza?”

“Be there as soon as possible.”

Keith left Shiro’s apartment and took his hoverbike into town. He entered the shop and looked around, but it took a hand waved at him to recognize her. Dr. Hooper had cut her long dark hair short and lightened it.

He sat down across from her and frowned as she scanned the shop once more. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that someone killed our project. I haven’t been able to figure out who or why, but something is very, very wrong. Here, take this.” She used her foot to push a backpack against his legs, something fairly heavy inside. “Don’t open it here. I drew out the rest of the grant money just before they closed that off, too. This is your share in cash, small bills. Do not deposit it.”

“But—”

“If I’m wrong, then fine. I’ll look like an idiot. But it hit me, you and I are the only people that can prove that the Kerberos crew is alive. And someone important decided that they need to be dead. I have family up in Alberta who can help me hide. Do you want to come with me?”

“I…no. If what you’re saying is true we need to split up. I think I have somewhere to go if I need it. But I should talk to Iverson, he’s the only one left who will listen to me.”

Hooper’s face creased in worry lines. “If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure.”

She stood then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s been wonderful to work with you. I hope… I don’t know what I hope. But good luck.” She shouldered her purse, picked up her coffee, and left.

<> <> <> <> <>

Hooper’s worry was contagious. When Keith returned to the apartment block at the Garrison, he parked inside the basement garage instead of on the street. He unzipped the backpack enough to see that it was indeed full of fives, tens, and twenties. He locked it in the hold behind the hoverbike seat.

Once in Shiro’s apartment, he found an empty duffle bag and swiftly tossed in clothes from the drawers he had used, grabbing armfuls carelessly. He added the few things that he had brought with him from his own room: the dagger his father had said was from his mother’s family, the single picture he had of his dad, and the black belt he had earned just a month before leaving for the Garrison. He took the packed back down to the garage and added it to the hold.

If he was wrong, he wouldn’t look too much like a paranoid idiot.

<> <> <> <> <>

It was sooner than she would like, but it had to be tonight. Colleen Holt had been awarded a massive amount of compensation money and was returning to her parents’ home in Connecticut with Katie to try and rebuild her life. Their flight was scheduled for tomorrow.

Katie dressed simply, in jeans and a shirt, leaving her backpack of tech behind. She had been allowed to wander freely over most of the complex so far. Her pocket tablet had what she would need to decode any locked door quickly. After that it was a matter of getting into Iverson’s computer and finding the files.

Piece of cake.

<> <> <> <> <>

This was new.

Shiro tried to keep his emotions on an even keel for Keith’s sake, but any change in the routine usually meant pain and blood. Today he and Ch’varr, the red-horned alien, had been pulled out of their cells and loaded into a small transport, going away from the arena. They would not be fighting in teams against large creatures for the entertainment of these aliens—these Galra.

Just yesterday one of the other aliens, Merool, had died in the fight. The creature’s claws had not cut very deep, but from the amount of blood that resulted it was clear that a major artery had been sliced open. Matt and Xi had tried to stem the blood while the others worked to bring the beast down. But by the time they succeeded and ran over to help Merool, he was dead.

Last night was the closest Shiro had come to considering suicide. It would be so easy: provoke a guard, move the wrong way in the next fight, even make a statement of it in the arena by impaling himself on one of the swords. But he knew he couldn’t.

He couldn’t do that to Matt and leave him alone here, with no one else.

He couldn’t do that to Commander Holt, who was hopefully still out there somewhere.

And he couldn’t do that to Keith. His father had made it abundantly clear just how devastating it was to lose that beloved presence, how empty it left one’s mind and heart. Before modern psychology and mental care, soulmates had usually followed each other into death by suicide or neglect.

He would not do that to Keith.

Besides, the only way to get back to Earth somehow was to keep living, keep hoping, and keep looking for a way out.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Part 4

[mastcomm]

Kobe Bryant Saw His Greatness Mirrored in Gianna

The N.B.A. on Thursday is scheduled to announce the players chosen by Eastern and Western Conference coaches as All-Star Game reserves. On the internal calendar I keep, this is traditionally the ideal time to unveil my unofficial All-Star selections.

That won’t be happening this time.

In the wake of the horrific helicopter crash on Sunday that killed the legendary Kobe Bryant and eight others aboard, normal operations have been pretty much suspended for anyone who has anything to do with the N.B.A.

Bryant’s worldwide stature is obviously a huge part of that. He was one of the giants of this game, an immense figure globally, revered by the overwhelming majority of current N.B.A. players — and incomprehensibly struck down at the age of 41. Grief like this will not fade quickly.

It is doubly true in this case because Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was on that helicopter with him.

Beloved by members of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball program, which she dreamed of joining someday, Gianna received a moving tribute from the team on Monday when it placed flowers and a UConn jersey bearing her No. 2 on the bench for an exhibition game against the United States national team.

“Mambacita is forever a Husky,” the school posted on Twitter, referring to the nickname that Kobe Bryant, the self-styled “Black Mamba,” had given the second-born of his four daughters.

Also on board were two of Gianna’s teammates from the AAU squad coached by her father: Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester. The lives of three teenage girls with so much to look forward were taken in the crash, along with those of Bryant; Alyssa’s parents, John and Keri; Payton’s mother, Sarah; Kobe’s assistant coach, Christina Mauser; and Ara Zobayan, who piloted the helicopter.

The list gets sadder every time it is recited.

Kobe Bryant was 17 when I met him, then freshly acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers. On Monday, I wrote about how he was convinced, from the first minute of his pro career, that he was bound for the Hall of Fame.

Bryant was equally convinced that Gianna was likewise destined for greatness. She was his ever-present companion at countless games in recent years — to watch her W.N.B.A. heroes, or the Huskies, or maybe on a special trip to see her favorite N.B.A. player: Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

Perhaps by now you have seen the clip of Kobe from his visit to the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” show in 2018, telling the world that Gianna bristled any time she heard a fan suggest to her father that he and his wife, Vanessa Bryant, needed to have a boy to uphold Kobe’s legacy.

“She’s like, ‘Oy, I got this,’” Bryant said of Gianna, then 12.

The last time I saw Kobe, on Dec. 29 at Staples Center, he had never looked more joyful. Wearing a bright orange hoodie and a green ski cap to rep his hometown Philadelphia Eagles, Bryant was sitting courtside beside Gianna as they watched — make that studied — the Lakers’ LeBron James and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks going head-to-head.

Also in the building that night was God Shammgod, whose extraordinary dribbling ability made him a New York playground legend. Despite the briefest of N.B.A. playing careers, Shammgod has landed on the Mavericks’ staff as a player development coach — yet he remains so revered for his ball handling that, even in a coaching role, he has his own Puma signature shoe.

Days after that Lakers/Mavericks game, never realizing the sorrow that was looming, Shammgod told me some moving stories of his workouts with father and daughter — how he had the extraordinary opportunity to coach them both.

“I knew him when he wasn’t this Kobe,” Shammgod said. “He knew me when there was no Shammgod moves.”

In their high school days, Shammgod — then known as Shammgod Wells — wound up at an ABCD youth camp with Bryant in New Jersey. Kobe had spent some of his formative years in Italy, where his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, was playing professionally, but Shammgod said Kobe’s fellow campers knew only that he had mostly played abroad somewhere.

“The boy from France,” Shammgod said. “That’s what we called him. After the first game, guys were saying, ‘Who’s this guy who actually thinks he’s Michael Jordan?’ He’s walking like Jordan, he’s doing every Jordan move, shooting all the balls.”

Bryant was clearly a special talent, but his ball handling was a weakness. Joe Bryant had noticed Shammgod’s slick handles and asked the 16-year-old if he could help Jellybean’s 15-year-old son.

Shammgod told the elder Bryant that he would be happy to work out with Kobe — at 6 the next morning. “I was thinking, ‘He’s not going to show,’” Shammgod said. “I get there and he’s already there.”

A bond was forged, and the two remained close. The friendship endured even as Bryant rose to stardom and his dribbling mentor was forced to scour the globe for jobs (in Poland, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Croatia) after an N.B.A. career that lasted just 20 games with the Washington Wizards in 1997-98.

During the All-Star break last February, Shammgod received an urgent summons from Bryant to Southern California. Kobe was now coaching Gianna’s travel team and wanted to introduce her and the rest of the squad to the move known in hoop parlance as “The Shammgod” — which requires the dribbler to bring the ball to the side with one hand to get the defender off balance, then snatch it back with the opposite hand to execute a crossover dribble. Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul and the Nets’ Kyrie Irving are two of the most accomplished modern practitioners.

Shammgod spent two days at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

“When I say that’s all he wanted to do is dribbling, that’s all he wanted to do,” Shammgod said. “From 10 to 12 in the morning, then from 2 to 4. These girls were dribbling four hours straight without shooting the basketball.”

One-on-one tutorials with Gianna would soon follow. Shammgod said they had worked out about a dozen times over the past year. Kobe wanted to fly him in more often, but Shammgod said he had to remind him occasionally, “I work for the Mavs and I can’t leave.”

When the trio huddled at that Dec. 29 game at Staples, Gianna excitedly told the story of how she “did the Shammgod on this girl” in a recent game.

“She was so locked in,” Shammgod said. “Her mind-set was just like his mind-set.”

That was evident in a 2019 glimpse of Gianna on camera with the Las Vegas CBS affiliate during a trip to watch that season’s opener for the W.N.B.A.’s Las Vegas Aces. Explaining her fascination with film study, Gigi could not have sounded much more like her father when she said, “More information, more inspiration.”

Those of us who were there for the start of the Kobe Bean Bryant experience and watched him grow up can’t help but flash back to those early days now. Even though the journalism handbook says we’re supposed to be detached and unemotional — even at times like this — Bryant’s sudden death has been a gut punch for many scribes like me who covered him closely over the past two decades.

What messes me up most, though, is when I start thinking about Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, her two teammates on that chopper and the shattered families that have to try to move on without them.

Gianna, Alyssa and Payton — gone at an age just a few years younger than Kobe was upon his league-shaking arrival in the N.B.A. So, so unspeakably cruel.

This newsletter is OUR newsletter. So please weigh in with what you’d like to see here. To get your hoops-loving friends and family involved, please forward this email to them so they can jump in the conversation. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here.

In tribute to Kobe Bryant and his second of two jersey numbers, we present a 24-item assemblage of standout statistics from his career with the Lakers.

18

Bryant was the youngest player in N.B.A. history when he made his regular-season debut for the Lakers on Nov. 3, 1996, at 18 years and 72 days old. A future teammate with the Lakers, Andrew Bynum, eventually became the youngest player in league history at 18 years and six days old when he made his debut in 2005.

4

Only four players — all big men — made the jump directly from high school to the pros before Bryant and Portland’s Jermaine O’Neal were selected in the 1996 N.B.A. draft. Those four predecessors: Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, Bill Willoughby and Kevin Garnett. Shawn Kemp sat out a year after graduating high school in 1988 before he was drafted in 1989 by Seattle.

1,346

Both of the Lakers’ rookies selected in the first round of the 1996 N.B.A. draft — Bryant (1,346) and Derek Fisher (915) — rank in the top five in club history in games played.

7

Bryant started only seven games in his first two N.B.A. seasons.

4

Bryant’s four air balls in a 1997 playoff game in Utah — one at the regulation buzzer and three in overtime — came against the same Jazz franchise he riddled for 60 points in his final N.B.A. game on April 13, 2016.

3

The Lakers’ championships in three consecutive seasons — 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02 — represent the league’s only three-peat this century. The Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls had three-peats twice in the 1990s (1990-91 through 1992-93 and 1995-96 through 1997-98).

38.3

A conversion rate of 38.3 percent in 2002-03 marked Bryant’s most successful season from the 3-point line.

35.4

Bryant’s highest single-season scoring average was 35.4 points per game in 2005-2006, the Lakers’ second season after trading away Shaquille O’Neal.

16,866

Bryant scored 16,866 points and won three of his five championships wearing No. 8 through his first 10 seasons.

16,777

He scored 16,777 points and won two championships wearing No. 24 over the final 10 seasons of his career.

20

Bryant’s 20 consecutive seasons with the Lakers left him one shy of the N.B.A. record for playing with only one team: Dirk Nowitzki’s 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks.

14

No other Laker played more than 14 seasons (Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

81

Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006.

33

Bryant’s eruption against the Raptors, the second-highest scoring output in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962, came just 33 days after Kobe scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks.

220

Bryant appeared in 220 career playoff games, which equates to more than two and half seasons of extra wear and tear.

4

The Lakers missed the playoffs in each of Bryant’s last four seasons.

35.6

Bryant averaged just 35.6 games played over his final three seasons following his torn left Achilles’ tendon in April 2013.

11

The 60 points Bryant scored in his farewell outing beat the previous record for an N.B.A. player in his last official season by 11 points. Boston’s Larry Bird scored 49 points on March 15, 1992.

1

Bryant is the only player in league history to have two jersey numbers (No. 8 and No. 24) retired by one franchise.

18

Bryant’s 18 N.B.A. All-Star appearances are one shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record 19.

3

Bryant was voted in by fans as an All-Star starter in his third season with the Lakers and in each of the subsequent 17 seasons.

$328,238,062

The value of Bryant’s contracts over 20 seasons with the Lakers, according to Basketball Reference, was nearly $330 million.

0

Bryant and LeBron James never met in a playoff game. James has made nine trips to the N.B.A. finals, winning three titles.

5-2

Bryant posted a career record of 5-2 in the N.B.A. finals, winning five championships in seven appearances.

Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@marcsteinnba). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com.

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[jonasmaurer]

Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise recap

Sharing our thoughts on our Disney cruise experience to Alaska! We took the Disney Wonder from Vancouver to Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. I’ll share our full packing list in an upcoming post if you’re planning an Alaskan cruise!

Hi friends! Happy Monday. Hope your week is off to a great start! I’m finally sitting down and taking the time to write out our thoughts on the cruise. I have so much to say! I hope you’re ok with a super long post, but the TLDR version is that we absolutely loved our Disney cruise… and already booked another one.

When we initially booked our cruise, I have to admit that Alaska wasn’t my #1 choice. I’ve never been on a cruise before, and I figured that my first one should be somewhere tropical or European. We booked our trip with my friend Betsy and her family, and she mentioned that so many people say Alaska is breathtaking and we should give it a try. Plus, it would give us the chance to be a little cold since Tucson would likely be scorching hot. So, we went for it!

We traveled to Vancouver and arrived a couple of days early just in case we got stuck on the way. (I highly recommend doing this, so you don’t miss the boat!) We had a blast in Vancouver, and then Monday afternoon, we boarded the ship to spend seven incredible days sightseeing, relaxing, enjoying family activities and eating so many delicious foods. We traveled with Betsy and her family, and had the best time with them! While the boat was sailing away from the dock, they had a party on the top deck with frozen cocktails, live performers and ice cream for the kiddos. 

In pure Disney fashion, everything was over the top: the dining, the performances, the activities, excursions, etc. I know Disney does it right and many people have told us once they did a Disney cruise, they never wanted to cruise with any other cruise lines. After experiencing it ourselves, I can completely see how that happens.

I tried to segment this post into blocks, so it wasn’t just one rambling Disney cruise rave, so here are some of the things that stood out:

Alaskan scenery:

The scenery was absolutely stunning. On either side of the boat, we could see vast forests, glaciers, bald eagles flying (!), whales, and icebergs. Titanic taught me that icebergs are bad, but we sailed through an entire garden of them, so there ya go. We had the opportunity to see landscape and wildlife that we’d otherwise never experience. Now that I’ve been able to experience the true beauty of Alaska, I’d love to visit again some day. 

  One of my favorite stops was the Mendenhall Glacier. It lightly drizzled as we hiked down to a beach, and the girls played with sticks and splashed in puddles while we watched herons fly overhead.

  (P refused to be in this photo because she was very busy gathering rocks) 

The Disney Cruise dining experience:

For Disney cruises, here’s how the dining works: you have reservations (either first seating at 5:45 or second seating, closer to 8) at the main restaurants each night. We sailed on the Wonder, so the main restaurants are Tiana’s, Triton’s, and Animator’s Palace. They have you on a rotation, so you can experience each of the restaurants, and you have the same server the entire time. We really got to know our main server, Pipa (the girls LOVED her) and she always knew what we wanted to drink and got the kiddos’ food served extremely fast. (I could always count on her for dinner recommendations, too, so many times I asked her what I should order and she chose the best stuff for me!)

At each restaurant, they had a different theme each night (a Mardi Gras night, Frozen-inspired menu, lobster night, etc.) and you could choose from various appetizers, salads, soups, entrees, and desserts. I was blown away by the variety they offered! On our specific cruise, they served over 10,000 meals per day, and the quality was outstanding.

  (Smoked salmon in some form in every single meal. YOLO)

You also don’t have to eat at the sit-down restaurants if you don’t want to! You can dine at one of the quick spots (Daisy’s De-lites serves salads, sandwiches, build-your-own bowls, fresh chopped fruit, and soups), Boiler Bites (hot dogs, mac n’ cheese, chicken tenders, fries, etc.), and Pinocchio’s (different types of pizza!), eat at the buffet (Cabana’s is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they have EVERYTHING) or you can get room service. All of this is included. They also had a “fancy” coffee shop on board for specialty drinks, called Cove Coffee, and a quick coffee shop where you could also get super healthy smoothies. A couple of times, I ordered a smoothie with almond milk, vegan chocolate protein, kale, spinach, cinnamon, and ice. The specialty drinks and coffees are extra (so is alcohol), but I didn’t find it to be super overpriced. My smoothies were $5 when they’d usually be around $9 at Whole Foods. 

(Yes they totally put a Donald Duck on my decaf almond milk latte)

(Living the Mickey bar life)

For most of the days we were there, we did breakfast at Cabana’s – it was so nice to wake up and eat without having to order anything or wait for food to be cooked – lunch at Daisy’s (the girls would usually get sandwiches, or pizza from Pinocchio’s, and a giant fruit platter) and dinner at the sit-down restaurant.

Each of the sit-down restaurants had something magical about them. At Tiana’s, Tiana herself was actually there walking around (and the girl spoke exactly like her! She was wonderful) and live music, complete with a Louis crocodile playing the saxophone. Triton’s felt like the fanciest among the three (but you could still go in leggings and a Disney tee), and Animator’s Palace had Sorcerer Mickey one of the nights. They also gave us special placemats that we could draw people on, and they took the placemats from the entire restaurant and ANIMATED our drawings and had them dancing to a song on one of the many screens in the restaurant. It was so incredibly cool!

Entertainment on board:

They have full Broadway-style shows on board, including musicals, comedians, and musicians. We saw three live Disney shows on the ship, including the Golden Mickeys (my personal fave), Frozen, and Disney Dreams.

  They also have two movie theaters playing different movies (including new releases!) all day. The Pilot and Liv saw Captain Marvel, the Pilot saw a late show of Avengers: Endgame one evening, and we all saw the new Aladdin movie as a family. They also have a movie screen on the top deck, where you can lounge on chairs with blankets and eat soft serve ice cream while you watch a show. The ice cream machine was a HUGE hit with the girls. You can literally walk up and make yourself a cone at any point during the day.

We may or may not have played every single Bingo round on the ship. We didn’t get the 7k prize but did win a Disney cruise picnic blanket in one of the raffles.

We went to the gym pretty much every day! It was such a treat to work out together since that can rarely happen at home. We waited until after breakfast, so it wasn’t crowded, dropped the kiddos off at Kids Club, and got in a workout. 

Kids’ Club:

Kids Club was a game-changing experience. The girls absolutely loved it, and many nights after dinner, Liv was begging to go back! I felt like it was a perfect balance. The Pilot and I had a couple of hours together each day, and we still spent a ton of time together as a family. The girls usually went to Kids Club after breakfast while we worked out, and again in the late afternoon for an hour or so before dinner (usually while we played Bingo haha). 

They have three Kids Clubs on the Wonder: the nursery (for babies and toddlers who aren’t potty trained), and for older kids + potty trained over 3: the Oceaneer Lab, and the Oceaneer Club (which has a play structure inside). They also have a special area for teenagers (I think it’s called Edge). The kids can go from the Lab to the Club via a hallway, and they wear GPS Disney bands the entire trip. When they scanned our card to pick them up (you use one card for everything: to get into your room, to pay, to pick kids up), they can see on their screen exactly where your kids are. “Olivia and Penelope are in the Animator’s room on my left playing with hula hoops.” It was brilliant.

Characters often visited the Kids Club to play games and do activities with the kids. The girls saw Anna, Elsa, Stitch, the GI Joe guy from Toy Story, Captain Hook, and Belle, all in Kids Club. They baked cookies, did a Friendship Rocks show with Minnie and Mickey, had a luau party, and played so many fun games. We didn’t take advantage of this, but they’ll also feed your kids if they’re there during a meal! 

Room:

We went with the Deluxe Oceanview room, but for our next cruise, we’re getting a verandah since the difference is only a couple hundred dollars. This way, we can sit on the patio and drink wine after the girls are asleep.

We thought the couch was a regular pull-out bed for the girls to share, but turns out, it’s a bunk bed! Our Stateroom Host, Anissa, would transform it from couch to bunk beds every single day. 

Extra Disney touches:

There were definitely special Disney touches during the trip. Each night, we’d come back to the room, and during turndown service, Anissa would create towel animals and leave chocolates. One night, she completely changed the girls’ bedding to princess bedding, and they were STOKED.

The app was also fantastic. You can only connect to it when you’re on the ship’s Wifi, and it enables you to see exactly what’s going on all day, receive messages and updates (like your child can asked to be picked up from Kid’s Club and they’ll send you a message), and texting with others on the ship, complete with Disney emojis. It was extremely helpful, especially as first-timers. I always knew what shows and entertainment were available and could scope out dinner menus in advance. They also had full deck layouts and the weather in each of our stops available in the app.

One night, I lost a diamond earring. I was getting dressed and dropped it, and heard it clank around the room. I spent about 20 minutes searching but couldn’t find it. I let guest services know, just so they would make sure no one went in and vacuumed. When we went back to the room after dinner, I saw Anissa in the hallway and she said, “Your earring is on the glass tray by the closet.” She totally went in and found it for me!

One of the guest service team members chose us as their “special family” during the trip. (I’m not quite sure how this works but I think they each randomly select a family to surprise with goodies). Each afternoon, we’d come into the room from the day’s adventures or excursions and treats would be waiting for us. There were muffins, cheese boards, and cupcakes. It was amazing.

I was blown away by how many character greetings and events they had on the ship. The girls got to see maybe 4x the characters we see at the parks, with way shorter lines.

They also had dance parties (like the Pixar Pals party) in the atrium that were a blast.

Gratuities: 

This was something I didn’t know a lot about, so I’m posting it here in case anyone is taking a Disney cruise! While you’re on the ship, you don’t pay many gratuities. (I would just pay an extra couple bucks here and there for specialty drinks.) At the end of your trip, they charge your account around $13.50 per person per day. They split this amount between the different people who take care of you and scale it accordingly. (Like our head server got more of this amount that the assistant server who only got our drinks.) They also leave little envelopes if you want to tip extra. This way, you can be sure to tip an additional amount to the people who went above and beyond (and found earrings for you, etc.).

I’ll do another post with the excursions we chose + my packing list in case anyone is planning a similar cruise!

So, tell me friends: have you been on a cruise? What’s the #1 spot on your travel list?

xoxo

Gina

*This post isn’t sponsored in any way and we paid for all travel and accommodations. We used Costco Travel and highly recommend it! <3

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[silvershadow1398]

#80 100 QUESTIONS

Are you young at heart, or an old soul? Idk, both in different ways

What makes someone a best friend? To me, someone I can be around 24/7 and not get tired of bc I get tired of everyone normally

What Christmas (or Hanukkah) present do you remember the most? I got a GoPro this year

Tell me about a movie/song/tv show/play/book that has changed your life. Happy Feet is the reason why the emperor penguin is my favorite animal

Name one physical feature that you like about yourself, and one you dislike. I have nice hair, but I hate my face

Would you like to reconnect with any friends you’ve lost contact with? Sure, maybe a few from high school

What’s more important in a relationship: physical attraction or emotional connection? Emotional connection

Name a movie that you knew would be terrible just from reading the title. Emoji movie

What holiday do you most look forward to? Christmas

How is the relationship between you and your parents? Not perfect, but very good

You’ve got the TV on, but you’re not really watching. What channel is the TV on? Usually the news

Name a song that never fails to make you happy. Anything by Muse

You know at least one person named Michael. Tell me about him. The brother of the only guy I’ve ever kissed

Have you ever read the “missed connections” on Craigslist? Have you ever posted one, or wanted to? No

If you could pick anywhere to live the rest of your life, where would it be? Kennebunkport, Maine

Can money buy happiness? It helps, but no

Do you drink? Smoke? Do drugs? Why, or why not? Nope to both

Is there anyone close to you that you know you can’t trust? You don’t have to give names. There’s a lot of people I don’t trust

Where was your favorite place to go when you were a little kid? The bookstore

Have you ever spent a night in the hospital? No

Do you enjoy being with only one or two friends, or with a large group of people? I like being with 2-8 friends

Do you like the type of music your parents listen to? Do your parents like the type of music you listen to? Not really, and I don’t think they care for the most part but they’ve enjoyed songs I’ve showed them

Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied anyone else? Yes and yes

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Spaghetti

If your partner wanted to wait until marriage before having sex, would you stay in that relationship? Of course and sometimes I feel that way

Do you believe in a god? Sure

Of all the social networks in the world, why use Tumblr? I can be fully honest here, no judgment

What’s your favorite Tumblr tag to track? Any of my fandoms

Would you call yourself/your family “middle class?” Yes

Name a TV series you didn’t enjoy until after it ended. Idk I don’t watch TV that much

Have you ever bought a product from an infomercial? Yes

If you could give up your car and never have to drive again, would you? If I could find another way to get around, yes

If you go back to one point in time to give advice to yourself, when would you go and what would you say? Don’t take 6 weeks of summer intensive, get a job instead

What’s your “quirkiest” habit? I click the right side of my jaw

What is “normal?” Are you normal? You live up to society’s expectations and no one judges you or laughs at you, I am NOWHERE NEAR normal

Someone close to you is dying. You have the choice to let this person live for 10 more years, but if you do, you cause the death of 10 strangers. You don’t have to see them die. Do you take the offer? Pretty grim, but yes…

What is one thing you could never forgive? People who have used me and/or were fake to me

Would you rather be in a relationship after the honeymoon period ends, or be single? It depends on how much I care for and love the person

Is it possible for guys and girls to be just friends? Of course

Where do you and your friends go to hang out? One of our dorm rooms

Write the first paragraph of your obituary. Jesus Christ I am choosing not to go there rn

What is the best TV theme song ever? Everywhere You Go, Full House

When you were young, what would you dream you would be when you grew up? Pilot or astronaut

When you’re alone in your own home, do you walk around naked? No

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Needing to pee

Do you want to have more friends than you have right now? Yes

What part of the past year sticks out in your mind? When I got accepted to my study abroad university

You win a scratch-off lottery game that gives you $2000 a week (after taxes) for the rest of your life. Do you keep your job? Nope!

Could you be in a long-distance relationship? If you’re in one, what makes yours work? If I really really care about this person and see a future with them, then we’d figure it out!

What’s the best route to your heart? You accept me for who I am and you’re not socially tiring to be around

Have you ever met someone through the internet, then met them in real life? No

What is your favorite sport? I dance, but I enjoy watching gymnastics and figure skating

What has been troubling you lately? Stress over upcoming travel

Did you enjoy your high school prom? If you haven’t gotten there yet, do you look forward to it? If you didn’t go, why not? Lol no I hated it

What do you use more often: your intuition or logical reasoning? Logical reasoning

Do you know what makes you happy? Anything in which I can be in the moment and truly enjoy life

Tell me about the last book you read. I don’t remember

What is the nicest compliment you’ve ever been given? Someone at school told me they liked my eyeliner

Who was your first crush? A boy when I was in 3rd grade… ugh

Do you believe that there is life on other planets? Yes

Predict what your life will look like a year from now. My final semester of college!

Often, people will ask how your last relationship ended. I want to know how it began. Never been in a relationship

Where is your favorite place to go out and eat? Any Italian restaurant

What is something you want to change about your current situation? Can I just go to Australia already

Early bird or night owl? Night owl af

Are there any childhood possessions you still hold on to? Yes

Give me an unpopular opinion you have. I am not a huge fan of Harry Potter! I have a house, I definitely know things about Harry Potter, and I support people who enjoy it, but I’m not a fan!

What was the last song that was stuck in your head? The Lollipop song lol

Where do you live? Be as general or specific as you want. New England USA

Do you believe in giving kids medals and trophies for participation? I believe in giving medals and trophies for achievements, but not to define first, second, third, etc. place

What was the longest car ride you’ve ever taken? 13 hours

Have you ever taken part in a protest? No

Would you ever use an online dating service? NO

What is your ethnic heritage? Chinese

Describe a person that inspires you. Dan Howell and Phil Lester

If you earn minimum wage doing what you love, would you? No

Do you believe in luck? Yes

Describe the last time you were very angry at someone. Chances are I’m probably very upset while dealing with people I dance with the majority of the time

Do you want to live until you’re 100? Nah

Do people change? If so, how do you keep a relationship together when both of you start to change? Yes, you have to support each other and be there to help the change occur in a good way

Have you ever risked a friendship by telling someone you liked them? No

Would you rather be alone doing something you enjoy, or doing something you don’t like with your best friends? Alone doing something I enjoy

Do you practice what you preach? I try

If you take precautions to stay safe, do you ultimately act more recklessly? Nope

What do you value more in a significant other: Attractiveness or intelligence? Intelligence

Are you hard-headed? Not 100%, but yes

Have you ever laughed uncontrollably when it was socially inappropriate? Not uncontrollably, but yes I’ve laughed

When have you felt most alive? When I do something I didn’t think I could do before, and when I achieve something

Would you prefer to live? A city? The suburbs? The countryside? The mountains? Somewhere between city and suburbs

Do you often skip breakfast? No

How do you know what true love is? Never experienced it so idk

Would you want to know the exact date and time you were going to die? Not really

Where is “home” for you? The place in my current residence which I feel safest

What song best describes your life right now? Idk

Do you want to be perfect? I used to want it and I still struggle occasionally with it, but ultimately no

What have you never tried, but would really like to someday? What’s holding you back? Having an amazing job and being able to travel a lot, I am still financially and emotionally dependent on my parents lol

How do you express your creativity? Dance, photography

Describe your neighborhood. I don’t talk to anyone

Name something you only liked because it was popular. Idk, music maybe

Give me the story of your life in six words. Chinese adoptee who doesn’t know herself

[annieintheaair]

Cheers to the Lonely

Sunday I drove down to Dallas because, by some miracle, I escaped crew scheduling and was able to have the day off. After being up since 12:30am Dallas time, grabbing a quick breakfast sandwich and coffee in Detroit, and then working one flight home, I knew I was really risking it because we landed at 8am and they could technically call me again at 8pm for an all-nighter since they didn’t reassign me upon landing that morning. It was a risk but I was hoping to get some Christmas shopping done and the Boho Market was going on at the Farmers Market.

After doing some craft projects early that morning once I got home, I headed up to check on the progress at my house and then drove down to Dallas. As usual, I got lost (Thanks, Google maps!) and drive around for an extra 20-30min. Once I got there, parking was difficult, the crowds were crazy, and all anyone sold was boho-inspired jewelry that all looked the same at every booth. I was stressed out because of the drive and getting lost and after being around people for days, I was pretty annoyed with the crowds at the market.

I might have been there for thirty minutes or less and then left, hoping to check out this new coffee shop/bakery place that opened downtown. Needless to say, that was also a major fail because there was no parking anywhere nearby and I just didn’t feel like driving around any longer.

I hopped on the highway and was about to jump on the tollway heading home when I texted Mitchell about meeting up for a drink, which I desperately needed. I knew that was also a risk since I could technically be called in a few hours but I checked my number on the list and shrugged it off, figuring I’d just take it easy and pray they didn’t call.

Mitchell and I planned to meet up at Bar Louie but he had some work to finish up so I walked in, sat at the bar, and decided I’d get started on a beer anyway. I was a few sips in when a mixed drink shot appeared in front of me. I looked to my left, where a guy with the same shot in his glass lifted it up to toast. He toasted to us lonely people and while I appreciated it, my heart sunk a little, knowing it was all too true. I looked at the guy in between us, who clearly had just been stood up by his wife, and I kind of had to wonder which was really worse.

The night continued with heading to an old people bar, which reminded me of a VFW location, where we drank beer and played pool and socialized with the senior citizens of Dallas. Afterwards, we decided to grab dinner at this excellent Mexican place and then I headed home to shower, jump into bed, and pray I wouldn’t be called.

I sat on ready reserve all day Monday and got things done at home and around town and even managed to clean my apartment. By that evening, I checked my status and they decided to release me for Tuesday so I listed myself for a flight and headed home to NJ for the week Tuesday morning.

Before I forget, I’d really like to thank everyone for their support and kind words on my last post. Those of you who commented on Twitter and reached out to be about feeling lonely, I really appreciate it. Sometimes I think that the best we have sometimes is to be lonely together and y’all have made me feel much less alone.

Since my last post, I’ve really been thinking. You know what’s super annoying? App dating. I miss the good old days when we met people in normal environments and hoping to find someone better wasn’t a simple swipe away. I hate never knowing what anything is and having all of these questions like are you exclusive or are you still swiping or what? There’s so much ambiguity. I’m pretty gosh darn close to deleting all of my apps (I’ve been deleting about one every week... baby steps y’all!) because it’s honestly not for me.

After everything that I’ve been through with relationships, I’ve learned that the most important thing to me is trust. Even more so now with my job as a flight attendant and all of the travel that I do, I need someone that I can trust 1000%. Communication is a huge part of that, too.

The same year I became a flight attendant, I dated a guy for a few months who was a pilot for a regional carrier. There’s a lot to be said about dating a pilot because there are positives and negatives. Positives because they totally understand the job but the negative of trying to figure out schedules and actually getting to see each other. I’d never tell him but out of all of the guys I’ve dated over the year, he’s probably the only one I would ever reconsider. His “good morning,” “good night,” and “fly safe” texts meant the world to me. Even though we spent a lot of time apart, he always felt close and I always knew he was thinking about me and actually cared. We understood each other in ways that people outside the airline industry just don’t understand. To this day, we are still friends because, in the end, it was the distance of home cities, base cities, and everything in between that just made things too difficult for us. He was offered a job at a mainline carrier and preparing for that and I just knew that I wouldn’t be a priority for a while. It sucked but he taught me a lot about what I needed most from a relationship and that’s when I learned how important communication really was for me in terms of trust.

I’ll take you back for a little clarification... back in the day, in college, my awful boyfriend, the cheater, would ignore my texts and I wouldn’t hear from him and well, it ate me up inside because I knew that when I didn’t hear from him, most of those times, he was with other girls, especially at night and on the weekends. After dealing with that, it’s really hard to ever get past that and trust someone when you don’t hear from them. It has affected my relationships since then more than I’d ever care to admit.

These days, with app dating, I get really nervous. When everyone is still on apps you just kind of wonder, are they seeing other people? How many other people are they seeing? Are they swiping and swiping and swiping hoping to find someone better than you? I’ve learned a lot at church this year about finding the one and relationships in general and I don’t want to keep swiping away, being one of those people, hoping that someone better will always come along. While app dating wasn’t a thing when I was in college, my ex definitely was real-life swiping. He put me on the back-burner, thinking I’d always be there, waiting around, ready to forgive him and take him back and after years and years of “swiping,” now, 10 years after we first met, I think in some crazy way he has kind of realized what he did and how badly he screwed up.

The thing is, life isn’t about finding the most perfect person or the person you’re most compatible with, really. You might get married to someone and find that yeah, there might be someone who could be better for you out there but God will give you the person he has chosen for you anyway. It’s not going to be perfect but it will be wonderful because it was all his plan.

I’m over the apps, I’m over the ambiguity and I’m at the point where I’d rather be alone than put myself in more situations where I’m nervous and worried and feeling all kinds of insecure. App dating brings out the worst in many of us. It brings out all of that insecurity because we’re always worried, not knowing what’s real and what’s not. I hate all of the wondering about exclusivity and I hate not knowing how to ask the big questions. While I know love isn’t always black and white, I do want dating to be a little more black and white. I don’t want the apps. If deleting the apps means being alone, then so be it.

What’s really crazy these days is that when I first started this blog, nearly three years ago, I spent a lot of time writing about my dating life. I had great stories to tell about failure dates and occasionally, I wrote about some really great dates where I thought there might be a little bit of potential. I mostly stopped writing about dates since some dates would discover my blog and not appreciate whatever I had to say or I had a few instances where they asked me why they were still single. I don’t date much anymore and most of my free time is spent with my married friends. Girls nights are pretty rare recently and even my layover life is pretty dull since I’ve been working a secondary job 29 hours per week (work-from-home), which is why my blog has really fallen to the wayside. I have definitely changed a lot over the last three years. I can’t really chalk it up to getting older because I’m not that old but I am definitely tired. Life has been incredibly busy and I haven’t cared as much lately about meeting someone as I’ve cared about other life goals.

Y’all, if you have any tips for meeting people in the real world, please feel free to fill me in. Prior to app dating, I just didn’t date for a good three or so years and before that, I was in college. If meeting people outside of the phone still exists, I’d love to know!

xoxo

Annie

[aion-rsa]

Is Ghost of Tsushima Based on a True Story?

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This Ghost of Tsushima article contains spoilers.

Ghost of Tsushima takes players to 13th-century feudal Japan, transporting them to a time when the legendary samurai fought to protect the country from Mongol invaders. Specifically, the game takes place in 1274 during the invasion of Tsushima Island, a real historical event that would mark the start of a Mongol campaign against Japan.

But while there’s real history laid out as the backbone of the game’s story, developer Sucker Punch Productions took liberties with the events, adding fictional characters and situations to the game as well as nods to the films of Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa. There are even hints of the supernatural to be found, especially in the game’s Mythic Tales sections.

“This is a game that is entirely grounded in reality,” Sucker Punch creative director Nate Fox told Game Informer. “We’re trying hard to transport people to 1274 Japan. We’re inspired by history, but we’re not building it back stone by stone. We’re not trying to rebuild Tsushima island. Our protagonist is a work of fiction. We actually thought about using some historical figures, and we asked some people who are more culturally aware than us and they said that it would be insensitive, so we didn’t do it.”

As such, protagonist Jin Sakai isn’t based on a historical figure, although some of his actions in the game, such as learning Mongol tactics (the Way of the Ghost) to wage war against the invaders, are inspired by historical events. It was after the Mongol invasion of Japan that the samurai began to adopt advanced weaponry and tactics, such as gunpowder and battle formations over one-on-one duels with enemies.

We see by the end of the game that Jin’s actions as the Ghost have inspired others on Tsushima to join the “Ghost’s army” to help push back the invaders with these new methods. This is what ultimately puts Jin at odds with Lord Shimura, a samurai fiercely loyal to tradition and the warrior code of honor.

At the center of the real invasion of Tsushima Island in 1274 was Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, the infamous first emperor of the Mongol Empire. Kublai Khan was the fifth emperor of the Mongols, whom he ruled from 1260 to 1294. By the time that Kublai Khan decided to invade Japan in an effort to expand his territory further, the Mongol Empire already stretched across most of Asia and parts of Europe. Today, it’s still the largest contiguous land empire in history, although the British Empire remains the largest empire in history in terms of maximum land area.

In 1266, Kublai Khan sent emissaries to Japan with a letter of invitation to join the Mongol Empire as “nobody would wish to resort to arms.” After Japan rejected the invitation, Kublai Khan dispatched several more emissaries between 1268 and 1272, all the while building up his army and preparing his naval fleet to take Japan by force.

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Kublai Khan’s first target was Tsushima Island, which is located between Korea and Japan. At the time, the Mongol Empire ruled the Korean Peninsula, making it the perfect launching point for the attack on Japan. Ghost of Tsushima shows us an alternate version of what happened when the Mongol army landed in Tsushima on Oct. 5, 1274, led by the merciless Khotun Khan, a fictional character who seems to be a stand-in for Kublai Khan.

Unlike the events of the game, which sees Jin eventually push back the invaders and kill Khotun Khan, the real-life Mongol Empire completely slaughtered Tsushima’s forces, defeating the samurai led by the island’s governor, Sō Sukekuni, who may have inspired Lord Shimura in the game. The Great Khan’s conquest of the island was so complete that there was little uprising as the invaders moved on to Iki Island and then Kyushu, another island located in the south of Japan.

According to historical accounts from that time, the Mongol army was only pushed back after landing on Kyushu’s Hakata Bay, where they faced fierce opposition from the samurai forces tasked with defending the island. Ultimately, the Mongol generals decided to retreat from the island.

It was during this retreat in November 1274 that a typhoon is said to have struck the Mongol fleet and almost completely decimated the invasion force. This storm was believed by the Japanese to be a “divine wind” sent to protect the country from the Mongols. At the time, some believed the “divine wind” was created by the Shinto god of lightning, thunder, and storm Raijin.

The Japanese translation of “divine wind” is “kamikaze.” During World War II, the Japanese government used the myth of the “divine wind,” a force many believed would protect the country from foreign invasion, as propaganda to recruit pilots for suicide missions during the Pacific campaign of the war. These pilots were also referred to as “kamikaze.”

After his defeat in 1274, Kublai Khan tried to conquer Japan for the second time in 1281, but the Japanese defense forces were ready this time. The country had spent the years between invasions building forts and large stone walls around their territories designed to repel the invaders. Meanwhile, Kublai Khan amassed an army that was said to be as big as 140,000 soldiers and sailors for the attack.

In June 1281, the Mongol army of Japan once again attacked Tsushima and Iki, where the Japanese forces were again defeated. But the Mongol army was still unable to conquer Kyushu after finding it much more difficult to land in Hakata Bay, which was now heavily fortified.

In August, in an event almost too incredible to believe, another typhoon hit the Mongol fleet, destroying most of its ships, the devastation of which the Mongol navy never truly recovered from. After the “divine wind” had saved Japan for the second time, Kublai Khan and the Mongol Empire abandoned its plans to conquer the country.

It’s possible that a Ghost of Tsushima sequel will tackle the events of the Mongol invasion of 1281, but Sucker Punch has not said much about a sequel just yet. You probably shouldn’t expect them to anytime soon, either. It’ll probably be a few years before Sucker Punch announced its next project.

In the meantime, Sucker Punch studio head Brian Fleming has been talking to Polygon about the process of researching 13th-century Japan, the way of the samurai, and what life was like on Tsushima Island during that time.

“It really began with research, and so the creative directors each led a trip. They were accompanied by the personnel from Sony Japan as well. They all went out to Tsushima, stood on the beach where the invasion happened, met with the local artisans,” Fleming explained. “The historians took tons of reference photos, and also visited other historical sites from that period in Japanese history as well, on the mainland, and just began the process of learning. And then we began to locate experts in the religion of the time — the collision between Shintoism and Buddhism that’s going on — and people who are experts in the martial arts. Some of them more modern, some of them traditional, and all of that is the fuel for the fire of then inventing a story and characters and creating a game.”

Sucker Punch took two trips to Tsushima, including one right around the anniversary of the first Mongol invasion of the island.

“Every year still — this is 700-odd years after the invasion — every year they have a festival, and they commemorate the great battle that took place on Komoda Beach,” Fleming said, who also elaborated on the difficulty of pinpointing what events in history actually happened versus what is a bit more open to interpretation in the texts of the time.

“You’re trying to be honest, you’re trying to be careful with the material, and at the same time, even the written histories of the 13th century are really quite spotty. You can go read the most authoritative historical documents and discussions, and even those don’t always line up. There’s not this really crisp sense of ‘this absolutely happened this way.’ Everything has an interpretive quality to it.” Ultimately, Fleming said that Sucker Punch tried to approach Japanese history and culture with care and respect. “I think we feel like we’ll succeed if we are really respectful. If we’re careful, and if we, as part of our journey, embrace the learning of the history ourselves — if we just say, ‘Hey, you know, one of the great pleasures of the last five years has been learning a ton.'” Ghost of Tsushima is out now on the PlayStation 4.

The post Is Ghost of Tsushima Based on a True Story? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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