#it only took me 550k words

[this-acuteneurosis]

Too Many Ghosts

Leia gets off of Tatooine and makes some new friends.

[mithrilwren]

Fanfic ask game for procrastinating on writing, which as of this week is actually accurate, since I’m finally writing again! (or, more specifically, editing what I wrote two months ago so I can get back to writing.)

Tagged by @essektheylyss! Thank you, this is exactly the kind of activity my brain needed tonight.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

72! I was hovering at 69 for quite a while, sad to break the streak haha

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

~550K, which is somehow both more and less than what I expected

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

Many, lmao. According to my Ao3 (omitting any blanket tags) I’ve got 22 there, plus at least two more over on ff.net from back in the day, and probably a couple more just on Tumblr. Most of them I’ve only written one fic for, though. I think the only fandoms where I’ve written more than one are Critical Role (35), Supernatural (15), Haikyuu!! (3), The Exorcist (2), Dimension 20 (2), and Yu-Gi-Oh! (2)

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Pick a Number, Any Number

Surprisingly, my number one is NOT a Critical Role fic, nor is it even one of my longer multi-chapters! It’s actually a one-shot I wrote for Haikyuu!! back in the day that took off far beyond what I expected. I wrote it for DaiSuga week, which was a ship I (to be completely honest) wasn’t even terribly invested in, but I had a fun idea and people seemed to like it! (It’s also much fluffier than what I usually write, which might be part of its broader appeal ;))

A Winter’s Ball

Unsurprisingly, the next four are all CR ;). This one was a M9 x VM crossover that I primarily wrote between the hours of 3-8am over the course of two insomnia-wracked nights and honestly, I think it shows in its uncharacteristically unstructured format (compared to my typical style, which tends to favour shorter scenes with very intentionally-placed breaks between, as opposed to scenes that flow into each other without pause). That’s not to say I think it’s a bad thing! The story, which follows Beau as she drifts through a party in Whitestone and observes the interactions between the various guests, actually flows better without that kind of interruption. This was also my first Beaujester piece. I started writing it right before Beau’s confession aired, and published it the week after, which definitely pushed me to make what had been only subtextual in the first half of my draft into the emotional lynchpin of the story.

Only the Nightingale Sings

I’m really glad this one still ranks as high as it does, because this story is absolutely my pride and joy. At one time (though I’m not sure that’s true anymore) it was the longest gen fic in the fandom, which is pretty cool! Plot-heavy, twist-heavy, angst-heavy, with seven points of view to follow and multiple interwoven storylines, it was a beast of a thing to write, and took almost exactly a year to finish, but the long process was oh-so worth it. Literally nothing makes me happier today than seeing a new comment or kudos on this story.

Closer Still

One of my earliest shadowgast fics, this one asks the question “how can you make the ‘stuck in an elevator trope’ fantasy?” The answer is, as always, demiplanes. This fic, perhaps more than any of my other shadowgast fics, is interesting to revisit, because it was written before the ep 97 reveal, but literally everything Essek does in it would suggest otherwise. It reads like I already knew he was a spy working with Trent, and yet I was firmly in the “Essek is NOT the spy” camp at the time. Gotta chalk that up to Matt telegraphing his growing guilt into the preceding episodes - even if I couldn’t see it, it was clearly there.

your dust from mine

My other novel-length CR multichapter, this fic brought me so much joy in the otherwise bleak summer of 2020. Most of my best memories of those four months come from working on this story. A Fjorclay adaption of The Goose Girl (my favourite fairytale) this story is about healing, growth, and figuring out what happiness means to you. While I know most people don’t read stories for this pairing anymore, for obvious reasons, I still cherish your dust from mine for how much of my heart I poured into it, and I look back on it with a huge amount of fondness.

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

I do my absolute best to respond to every comment someone leaves on a story of mine, even if it occasionally takes a month or two. Replying to comments is one of my favourite parts of the fic-writing process - it gives me a chance to revisit peoples’ kind words and (often, incredibly insightful) observations, and I hope it also shows how appreciative I am of each and every one. 

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Though I write a lot of angst, I honestly tend more towards bittersweet endings than straight-up sadness. The only one I can really think of is What You Own - mind the tags if you follow the link, this is definitely one of the gnarlier things I’ve written for CR - whose ending is, admittedly, bleak. But this story so far removed from canon that I don’t think it’s the kind of angsty ending that lingers with you, as much as it packs a punch and then lets you go on your way.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I tend to enjoy thinking about crossovers moreso than actually writing them. I’ve brainstormed a few, but none have ever made it much farther than the first page.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

A few times! Not often, thankfully. Only one time in particular really sticks out to me, mostly for how it rocked my confidence in a way that I don’t think any comment could now, since I’ve had a few more years to build up faith in my own writing.

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Very, very occasionally.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not! 

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

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

Oh man, back in the Glee days... yeah. Yeah, I have. Nothing that ever got published, though ;)

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

Not sure I have one! Ships come and go with the seasons, and sometimes they’re best left in the era you found them.

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

The Shadowgast figure skating AU. It’s never going to happen, but I wish it had.

15) What are your writing strengths?

I would say probably structure, in terms of constructing narrative arcs and through-lines. I’m organized with my writing in a way that I am in few other areas of my life, haha. I’d also say my sense of place - I think I’m pretty good at constructing living, breathing settings and exploring how my characters interact affect/are affected by them.

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I have a tendency to be wordy (which you might surmise from the length of this post, lol) and repeat myself, usually by going over emotional beats that don’t need the extra reinforcement. On the other hand, I tend to underexplain certain elements (particularly, important plot details in fic, and character motivation in original writing), which can lead to confusion.

A couple years ago I would have said dialogue, but I’ve put a lot of practice into it and I honestly think I’ve improved a lot, which is pretty cool!

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

I’ve never done it myself, and it’s not generally my favourite thing to read (like @essektheylyss said, it makes me hyper-aware that I’m reading words on a page, especially if I have to follow a footnote somewhere). That said, I’ve definitely also seen it used effectively, so I think it’s more down to whether it suits the particular story!

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Yu-Gi-Oh!

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

As mentioned above, Only the Nightingale Sings.

[etraytin]

Quarantine, Day 112

July 1

Is it just me, or was June like seventeen seconds long? It feels like maybe a week ago that I had to figure out how to remember what day I was on because May 31 screwed up my clever system. On the other hand, FIL passed away on June 3, and that feels like a very long time ago now. I guess it has to do with how busy I was, especially in the early part of the month, with so much to do and paperwork and the attorney and all that. And then when we came home the month was already more than half over, and I dropped right into a deep, still pool of Time Isn't Real. And now it's July, and my sister is getting married in four weeks, which means we are going to Illinois in three weeks (she's having a very small ceremony and celebration with a big party to be had later on), and I will take the MPRE in five and a half weeks. It's good to be busy, I guess! 

Today was grocery day, the most wonderful time of the week or ten days or whatever. My husband took the kiddo out to a river beach near here that was not too crowded and I had several glorious hours all to myself before I had to pick up the groceries. I love my guys, but time alone is a precious commodity to be savored, even if I savored it mostly by lazing in my pajamas and turning the podcast up loud. I'm currently relistening to Welcome to Night Vale, which I was very into for a lot of its initial run but started to fall away from a couple years ago. Now seems like the perfect time to catch up, but the story is so deep I needed to start from the beginning. It's pretty great, and Cecil has the very best voice. Listening to WTNV makes me want to reread my favorite fanfic series about it, Republic of Heaven Community Radio (it's a shockingly good crossover with His Dark Materials), but that's like 550k words so it's a big commitment. 

Okay, that was a long walk to talk about grocery day, but it turned out that the guys got back just in time to help me carry things up, so it worked out well. The kiddo was super excited about his new fan and got it set up right away. I am still trying to find places for all my new groceries, since both the pantry and the emergency pantry are pretty full at this point. My squirrel brain can finally settle itself the hell down. We also got a package from MIL today, who sent more stuff that we forgot, some of FIL's papers, and more masks. MIL got onto buying masks pretty early on, but not so early that they weren't super backordered by the time she got there. As a result, her mask purchases have been trickling in one at a time and she is now well supplied. The ones she sent today are nice, sleek and plain black, just right for Professor Husband if they make him teach classes in person in the fall. 

Today was a big day for kittens, too, as it was Outside Play day for Bixby! Not outside-outside, obviously, Bixby is well on his way to an indoor-only life, but he got to get out of the playpen and explore the kitten room. This required several hours of cleaning and moving things around on my part, and the little stinker still found a dozen places to hide. He was nervous in such a big space, but then he discovered Barry's playpen and proceeded to be an absolute little shit about taunting his confined brother. They were wrestling and chasing each other through the mesh of the playpen, and a couple of times Bixby actually managed to get on top of the roof, just to lord it over him. He had a great time and I was able to clean his playpen thoroughly and fully change out his litter, wash his dishes, the whole deal. 

Once that was done, I opened the other playpen to deal with Prince Hissypants the Misanthrope, who needed to be scruffed slightly to be picked up but again allowed me to hold him with no struggling or fighting. This was aided by the fact that among my groceries were a box of lickable cat treats, little packets of pureed food the consistency of thick gravy that most cats are very fond of. Barry was no exception. He licked up that entire treat, including the drips that spilled on my arm, then licked my arm for awhile because apparently I am too filthy to be allowed. When he got restless, I deposited him in Bixby's clean playpen, then cleaned out the other playpen too. I put Bixby back in Barry’s playpen, and gave them both some new toys. Bixby, having suddenly realized that Out is an option, is no longer satisfied with his lot in life and proceeded to tell me so with expressions of loud woe. I will be glad when the big playpen arrives! I also realized that I don’t have as many toys as I’m going to need for kittens this big, so I bought a few and added some to my fostering wishlist on Amazon.

Not too much else to report; I signed up to deliver food for the foodbank next week and I need to arrange to give blood soon. For so many weeks in North Carolina I fretted about all the things I couldn't do, so now it's time to get off the dime and actually do them! Today was also the last day of my antibiotic, so I just better not get bitten by any more kittens. 

[im-immortal]

author interview//tagged

tagged by: @neversleepingever <33

name: Brenda // penname SquishyCool

fandoms: former iCarly // current & hardcore TWD Bethyl

where you post: FFN and AO3 but I prefer AO3 these days.

most popular oneshot: Breathe. Please. --  written for bethyl smut week and set in season 8/9-ish. A really heartbreaking but happy take on the whole Beth lives/reunion with Daryl” concept.

most popular multi-chapter story: Most Wanted -- this is my most popular fic ever to date. Also my longest. Completely AU and set in 2017 in which the Greene Family runs a multi-million dollar meth operation out of their farm and church for nearly the entirety of Beth’s life. Then they get busted days after she turns 18 and she accidentally murders Detective Shane Walsh. She’s forced to flee in the dead of night. Maggie and Hershel and everyone else is arrested and she’s completely alone, travelling to NYC because it’s the first place that comes to mind. And in NYC, she happens to move in with a single dad named Daryl who has a very adorable toddler and a very nosy female neighbor.

favorite story you wrote: The Crow’s Song -- I fucking love this fic because I spent a year writing it and it was borne from a very simple prompt for bethyl smut week and then it turned into a 70k~ word, 9-chapter fic that took me on a wild ride of emotions as I poured my soul into it. It’s all about Beth evading her Grady kidnappers and getting a few more days in the funeral home alone with Daryl. Except, not everything is quite as it seems...

story you were nervous to post: picking @ scabs -- this fic was written purely on a whim and it was more of a form of self-therapy than anything. I had no idea if anyone would even like it or if it even made any sense but I wrote it purely for me and then it became one of my most popular fics. I write for it whenever I’m feeling a certain type of way. Because it’s modern day AU and Beth and Daryl have already been together for 4 years and then broken up and Beth is a fucking mess and Daryl is a mess but he’s trying to not be a mess and... yeah. Lots of feels. And dirty sex.

how you choose your titles: it always depends. sometimes it will be something that encompasses a general theme of the story or just something simple that’s easy to remember (like Yellow Bikini and Carnival Games). with p@s, i got that title from one of emily kinney’s instagram captions. TCS had several different titles before i settled on something that i had to sit and brainstorm for 2 hours. otherwise, i tend to try to stick to titles that are easy to remember yet intriguing.

do you outline: oh yes! but when i outline always varies. sometimes i’ll write 5 whole chapters before i even sit down and create an outline. but i always need an outline so i don’t forget any ideas or certain plot points that might get lost in the mix.

complete: 7 for TWD // a lot more for iCarly (but only a few of those I’m actually proud of lmao)

in-progress: ugh... 6. that are published! i have a couple others that aren’t even posted but had to be started // 2 on hiatus // 4 that i’m currently working on and sporadically updating --

Don’t Make Me Haunt You - AU where Beth is haunted by Merle’s ghost & must find Daryl in order to help him cross over. 7 chapters written so far & going strong.

Most Wanted - 550k+ words & 64 chapters & we’re just starting to get into the juicy stuff...

picking @ scabs - ugh i love love love this fic but i have to be in the right headspace for it. however, i have a couple more chapters written and waiting to be edited...

Crossing Galaxies - super cheesy AU where Beth is an alien and Daryl is... not quite like everyone else on earth. they fall in love and have a picturesque relationship until Beth reveals her true heritage and reasoning for finding him. and then all hell breaks loose. i really need to update this one lmao

coming soon/not yet started: 1) Valentine’s Day AU where Beth and Daryl meet at a bar after they both get stood up and then they decide to have a little fun by faking a proposal and getting free drinks from every bar they visit. and 2) weird stockholm syndrome/PTSD/abuse victim/survivor AU where Daryl meets Beth in a cafe where she’s supposed to be reading her poetry on stage and she’s shocked that he has no idea who she is; as it turns out, she has one hell of a past but he can’t help except to be completely enamored with her.

do you accept prompts: yeah but i can’t promise i’ll actually write them. i’m pretty terrible about that. unless you’re okay with drabbles lol

upcoming story you are most excited to write: the fic i’ve temporarily titled “survivor AU” because it’s different and serious and a lot more intense in a realistic way than anything else i’ve ever written.

tagging: @weapon13whitefang @writerloverpsycho-pomp @leighj11 (everyone else i can think of has been tagged & also sorry if you’ve already been tagged lmao)

[emmxlines-blog1]

hi friends i’m annie and i’m s t o k e d to be here. read below for info on my sweet emmy and like this to plot! joining the discord soon xoxo

╰ * ✶ . ever notice emmaline alderidge kinda looks like diana silvers? they’ve got 550k followers on instagram, but that’s no surprise. their instagram bio says they identify as cis female and go by she/her. they just turned twenty two, right? word around la is they’re kinda impetuous and mealymouthed, but you couldn’t tell online. does it matter when your family’s net worth is $110m? ❪ annie, she/her, est ❫

⋆ ◦ ° ☾ background + personality

emmaline is the only child of matias and lisabeth alderidge, american millionaires who made their fortune by winning a set of high-profile cases before retiring in their fifties to devote their efforts to philanthropy.

growing up emmaline (often opting to go by emmy) had everything she could have desired - trips ‘round europe, beautiful gowns, bullshit organic meals prepared by an in-house chef and a summer home on martha’s vineyard.

when she was young she fit in wonderfully with this life, the prime example of a budding socialite. she made conversation with stock-brokers and attorneys and achieved the highest marks in school. she would not be seen without having the finest garments on and she always entertained. she wanted to be likeable to a fault.

she was diagnosed with ewing’s sarcoma when she was fifteen. clusters of tumors lined her collarbone and upper arm, requiring a multi-year ordeal of chemo, surgery and radiation.

her parents took this and ran with it…creating the ‘alderidge foundation for ewing’s sarcoma.” this was a kind gesture, one that emmy supported at first, but later grew to detest. she hated having a namesake...one public memory of her experience that would stay with her and force her to talk about the most traumatic time of her life with any wealthy friend willing to give.

the foundation operates from the generosity of donors and provides research dollars to study the particular mutation found in em’s tumor cells. this means lots! of! galas! (that emmaline doesn’t want to attend lmao)

she would much rather have frank discussions about survivorship - including talks about sex and body image and how to get drunk on a tuesday without screwing with her medication schedule. she loves mom and dad but feels as if they want to do philanthropy to show face.

now she’s living alone in la as a bit of a runaway (still funded tho lol). she’s the sweetest little bean who is still trying to figure things out. if you catch her alone you can find her pressing some flowers in the pages of her journal or attending community social justice meetings. a champagne socialist if you will.

she works in an art gallery and tries to go unnoticed but everyone is like psych you’re a fckn alderidge and you got this job because you’re rich as shit.

⋆ ◦ ° ☾ headcanons

she has 550k followers on instagram, a relatively low number for the group, but only because every once and a while she has a nervous break and deletes her account before re-making it so less people are watching her life. each time she claims it was a technical glitch. lies.

a bit of a prudish, nervous type but went through a phase where she made-out with half of la in an attempt to feel something again. maybe even your muse!

has a recurring dream where she moves to luxembourg and spends the remainder of her days alone with a bulldog, taking hikes and drinking tea. her therapist says this means her psyche wants anonymity. she thinks she is just sick of warm weather. in denial much?

when she inherits the aldridge estate she plans on shutting down her parent’s foundation and establishing her own fund where she gives large sums of money to sick kids to spend on whatever they want. just a bunch of hand-outs. nothing more. short-sited? probably. could she do more good by thinking this through? absolutely. will she ever change her mind? unlikely. 

honestly this is probably because she can’t have biological kids due to treatment and deals with this sadness by resigning herself to dying broke after giving everything she has to people she relates to. also she wants to spite her own tax bracket. y i k e s !

⋆ ◦ ° ☾ wanted connections

i’m going to leave this rather basic for now but give me childhood loves and first kisses and high school bullies and travel friends and hook-ups and enemies that only hate each other because of a feud between their parents and the one dude that introduced her to pot brownies. it’s! all! open!

[oneviewatatime]

Bali

On the 26th July I took my flight out of Australia and departed on my trip (and first time) to South East Asia.

During a delayed wait for my flight in Perth, and whilst slightly freaking out on how to navigate myself from the airport to my hostel at 2am – as I had heard some stories and did not know what to expect – I overheard some guys near by discussing a taxi out of the airport. Of course I wanted some advice so went over to ask what they knew but they were as clueless as me, but luckily after the flight I bumped into them again and they were heading in the same direction so offered to share a taxi. Grateful is not the word, I was relieved that my first experience wouldn’t be a crazy one trying to haggle my way through taxi drivers by myself. We finally found a taxi driver who agreed to a more reasonable price, and headed to Kuta the first stop.

The guys, gentlemen, kindly walked me to my hostel before they headed to their own and I was happy to find someone to check me in at 3am, finally getting to sleep at 3.30am – waaaaay past my bedtime.

In the morning we met up and found a good place for brunch, a buffet style restaurant that was really cheap and so filling! Then we headed out to explore and get harassed by the millions of street market vendors selling the same stuff from store to store – clothes, accessories, sarongs, random tourist souvenirs but all pretty much the same except trying to offer you different prices! The guys were all over it, buying some vests and watches, me on the other hand knew I couldn’t manage to fit anything else in my bag so only treated myself to some classic traveller gap yaaar trousers ready for some temples!

I only planned on staying in Kuta for one day, and wanted to head straight to Ubud, and the guys agreed and decided to join me! So we grabbed a Grab. (yes, the asian version of uber, but it gives you a fixed price before you set off so the slow traffic or long way round does not affect you one bit! Definitely recommend downloading this app before you leave as you need a text code to register!)

Heading to Ubud mid afternoon, we checked into the cutest little hostel Sri Hostel that was tucked away and served the BEST banana pancakes in the morning (no exaggeration). We went for dinner and watched a traditional fire dancing show – where a group of local men were sat chanting and singing and they had characters all dressed up acting out different spirits and stories, and then a guy started kicking the burning coconut shells and walking all over it!

We rented a scooter the following morning for two days and headed to the Monkey Sanctuary. After finally finding each other (we had no internet and lost each other in the traffic and then were waiting at opposite entrances to the park for quite a while hahah) and we drove down this super hectic footpath that was so narrow but had two ways of scooters heading down, terrifying but hilarious at the same time! We checked out the cheeky monkeys running around doing their thing, playing, fighting, trying to steal people’s wallets from their bags, you know the usual.

Next we headed to Tegallalang Rice Terraces – the famous instagrammable spot of Bali. It was stunning, you could see a large area of rice terraces cut into the sides of the valley, and it is very impressive, seeing the locals working by hand to maintain and harvest the crops. We spotted a swing – one I had recognised from Instagram where everyyyoneee gets a picture on – and it was an expensive tourist trap, dammit insta! I thought it was better to leave to the people who are actually getting paid to post these kinds of photos, ya know.

After soaking in the views on the scooters, feeling the freedom in our hair we checked out Pura Tirta Empul – a famous Hindu Temple. It was stunning, and so beautiful to see the worshipping taking place. People were getting into the baths fully clothes, and walking along a series of fountains to submerge their head and pray and receive blessings.

We headed back to the hostel and went for food and drinks. Maybe one too many cocktails but, warning – Arak vodka is deadly, cheap but deadly. Whoops!

Next morning, after a scramble around, we headed out again on the scooters. Me feeling a little worse for wear but I am glad I was up early ate breakfast and then headed out before my body could complain haha! We checked out an amazing waterfall. A majorly slippery walk down, and too cold to actually swim but Nungnung Waterfall was beautiful. I am a major waterfall lover and this one was up there with the impressiveness and intensity!

Later we headed to check out Mount Batur, where you could do a sunrise hike setting off at 2am but instead we headed to a viewpoint and was told by a local artist to go down to the bottom and head to the floating restaurants. Of course we did and had some fresh juice at the bottom of the lake and had a perfect view of the mountain and was pretty much all by ourselves!

The guys left from Ubud that evening and I decided to check out the local Ubud area the following day, so I set off and headed to the Ridge Walk, a 15 minute walk from my hostel and crazy stunning views with so many trees. Mainly passing locals, or joggers I walked along and decided to take a pit stop in a cute tree top overlooking cafe for a smoothie. Yum. In the evening I found a hidden restaurant down a back street as I was enticed in by a big neon sign – Alit Warung – super cheap and in a garden atmosphere and had some live music. Perfect way to end the day.

Gili Islands

I got a transfer bus and fast ferry to Gili T through my hostel – for reference, I paid 550k return Ubud – Gili T – Gili T – Seminyak. On the tourist boards and most places advertise as around 1 million IDR for a return, however you do need to haggle this down, ask around, and definitely ask the place you are staying! A friend of mine thought he got a cheap deal with 650k for a one way to Gili!

I checked into La Boheme Mini – the cheaper one of a set of three hostels but around the corner from the Sister hostel. The local staff were amazing, pretty young but full of energy, super friendly and always joking around and making sure you are comfortable! This hostel was cheap, but more than did the trick, only problem was it was very small capacity so I had a room of three, so I would go and hang out in the Sister hostel as it had a much more social vibe and met people there!

I went for a walk along the beach to watch the sunset and grab a bite to eat. A local guy started chatting to me after he had noticed me walk past him earlier in the day and was helping his mates at the restaurant. He was telling me about his boxing career and trying to crack a load of jokes and apparently because of my spacebuns hairstyle, I reminded him of his cat… I mean I am not going to lie but I haven’t worn my hair like that since…

The following morning I set off early and caught the local boat to Lombok, hired a scooter off a very persistent man and bezzed off around the coast heading to the south of the island. It was a long drive but very worth it! I checked out the views, stopped at an abandoned hotel that didn’t get finished building. I then went through some very rural towns and had a lot of people asking me if I was lost, did a bit of offroading before finding the real road again, and stopped at a little beach with a cute ‘I love you’ sign. Where some kids all appeared from nowhere to talk to me and take photos with me. I then headed for some lunch and a few last stops before driving straight back to the harbour.

It was an amazing day, I felt so free driving around on my scooter, soaking in the views of the empty countryside, and weaving around the island. On the way back I drove down a winding road in the trees where a lot of monkeys were playing on the sides of the roads. It was a lot of driving in one day and was very rushed so I would recommend to go to Lombok for more than one day, but I am so glad I did go as I was very pleasantly surprised by this island. I was told it wasn’t very touristy and was low key, but the road infrastructure was a lot better than mainland Bali and is the same size as the island, I found the locals seemed to know more english too and it was just a very friendly, stunning and lovely place!

I got back and went to watch the sunset with the hostel, and with some new friends we headed to the night market for some yummy street food! We also headed out to check out the bar scene and went for a few drinks and a good boogie! This island is supposedly a very party destination but it definitely is how you make it, some people were hella drunk and roaming the streets but others like us were lowkey just enjoying the music and having fun!

The following day me and Joelle went for a yoga class – Vinyasa. It was wonderful, I am not a massive yoga person as I am way too restless and need more active work outs but this was a good balance and tested my strength! Was very rewarding to have a little workout too! We went for a little snorkelling session and swam with a large group of turtles which was very cool!

I then headed back in order to find my friend Mel, who I hung out with in Noosa, Australia, and we had a reunion and checked out the sunset and had a much needed catch up! We went snorkelling again in the morning to meet some more cute turtles in their natural habitat! Then we walked up the hill on the island to watch the sunset and went for a drink on the beach front with Joelle!

After a classic morning getting some cool photos on some of the many swings on the beach I said goodbye to Mel and heading to the next island Gili Air! After walking from the harbour in the intense humidity with my ever so heavy backpack I couldn’t check into the hostel I wanted to instead went next door to a quiet hotel style hostel and went for a dip in the pool.

I went in search of food and didn’t go too far I stopped at a small place around the corner Warung Ada – much recommended! The Jamaican owner is lovely as are the rest of the staff! Amazing food and he takes care of his customers, creating the majority a small seashell bracelet and he also made me a necklace! Every time I went past I would stop and have some food and hang out with the guys, was so lovely to know they cared about their customers and not just throwing food in front of them! Was a lovely way to be introduced to the island, and went to chill on the beach and read my way into the sunset.

Next day I changed hostels to a ‘sociable’ hostel, which was full and was cute with little bamboo huts and a mushroom shaped swimming pool. I went for a walk around the island and then in the evening headed to watch the England World Cup game on the beach being played on a large projector!

There were a lot of groups in the hostel, mainly english people, though I did not want to just stay at the hostel like everyone so I went for a massage and had some breakfast and relaxed. Then surprise surprise Mel arrived on the island again!! We went and got some pizza and beers for the sunset and I got harassed by a little cat who wanted to always be sat next to me haha!

This was my last day on the Gili Islands, so in the morning I headed back to Gili T to get my return ferry to Seminyak! Here I only stayed one night, did my laundry, ate some good food near by hostel Cozy Bobo hostel – which I would recommend for a short stay, few people good wifi good chilling area and free breakfast! Then I headed the next day to the airport for my flight to Singapore.

Indonesia was an amazing introduction to South East Asia and despite only being there for two weeks (as I had to book an onward flight before I went in case I got asked at the airport however I didn’t but better to be safe than sorry!) I met some amazing people, experienced some amazing sunsets and was a fantastic set up for the rest of my journey!

Have you been to Indonesia recently?! What were your favourite moments? Or need any more recommendations if you are heading there soon! Comment below!

  Indonesia – Start Of South East Asia Bali On the 26th July I took my flight out of Australia and departed on my trip…