#methinks something has to give. we cannot continue like this

[quatregats]

Having a real "*freeze frame**record scratch* oh hey it's me you might be wondering how I ended up here" kind of moment rn

[daisiescomelate]

my favorite au in fanfics it's soulmates au, and i couldn't help to noticed that sukuna's true form has two faces, two arms, and two legs (according to the nihongi, a very very old japanese history book where we can find the first mention of the figure of sukuna in folklore), and that description matches with the theory of soulmates given by aristophanes in the symposium by plato.

the story is told by aristophanes during a discussion this character had with other philosophers about what love is. it tells the tell of people originally being these creatures with two faces, to arms, to legs, to sets of genitals, etc, that got punished by the gods and got separated.

all quotes are fragment of symposium from here: the internet archive classics

why they were a threat ergo they got punished:

"Terrible was their might and strength, and the thoughts of their hearts were great, and they made an attack upon the gods; of them is told the tale of Otys and Ephialtes who, as Homer says, dared to scale heaven, and would have laid hands upon the gods. Doubt reigned in the celestial councils. Should they kill them and annihilate the race with thunderbolts, as they had done the giants, then there would be an end of the sacrifices and worship which men offered to them; but, on the other hand, the gods could not suffer their insolence to be unrestrained."

so zeus split them in half

"At last, after a good deal of reflection, Zeus discovered a way. He said: "Methinks I have a plan which will humble their pride and improve their manners; men shall continue to exist, but I will cut them in two and then they will be diminished in strength and increased in numbers; this will have the advantage of making them more profitable to us. They shall walk upright on two legs, and if they continue insolent and will not be quiet, I will split them again and they shall hop about on a single leg." He spoke and cut men in two, like a sorb-apple which is halved for pickling, or as you might divide an egg with a hair; and as he cut them one after another, he bade Apollo give the face and the half of the neck a turn in order that the man might contemplate the section of himself: he would thus learn a lesson of humility."

and they are cursed to need each other, look for each other

"And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other's sight, as I may say, even for a moment: these are the people who pass their whole lives together; yet they could not explain what they desire of one another. For the intense yearning which each of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of lover's intercourse, but of something else which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she has only a dark and doubtful presentiment."

so i keep thinking about a story where sukuna is defeated and sealed, losing his true form because a part of his soul dispersed and escaped somewhere as the other half of him was being fragmented and put into fingers. if i don't remember wrong, according to folklore sukuna didn't obediently follow the commands of an emperor and tended to cause ruckus and because of that said emperor send someone to execute him, so it'll add up with the idea of infuriating a god because they consider him a threat because of his strength.

then a thousand years later he strangely fits perfectly inside this boy, making him the perfect vessel for some unknwon reason, a boy that looks almost exactly like him for some other strange reason.

one day, bored out of his mind, sukuna is walking around yuuji's mind and stumbles across images, memories, more than a thousand years old that look so familiar to him. he realizes that yuuji is the part of his soul he lost back then, understanding that they are both the same but also very distinct individuals since this fragment of his soul had being apart from him for so long and had grown and develop on its own.

this idea also comes from some other thing i read about the original sukuna that said that maybe he came to be a symbol of twins or brothers from ancient history, and the theory that maybe sukuna represented actually two brothers (kagosaka no miko and oshikuma no miko) that were sons of an emperor, which would go pretty well with a platonic soulmates au.

ps. the way aristophanes describes one of this types of creatures (because there were three types: woman+woman, man+man, and then this third one) that looks like two people into one is like a third genre he called "androgynous" (i don't think it's necesserily woman+man but something different that doesn't exist anymore according to him, idk), that has both female and male characteristics, and in the lights that we found out sukuna lactates and he might be pregnant now, i think it fits perfectly to what his true form shows to be now in the manga.

ps2. i'm not a philosopher, i actually don't know what i'm talking about, just very passionate about the topic of soulmates in general.

[slumbering-shadows]

Time for Coryn's misadventures in the (Violet)Pokemon world! Saga of Day 1 under the cut. Note: this si my first pokemon game so if I seem confused I am

I chose Sprigatito as my starter. Did not get an initial screenshot because I temporarily forgot I could do that. I have not touched my switch since Maiden Of Black Water dropped. I'm uh.. Not sure how to feel about the neighbor girl. She is very excitable and definitely less annoying than the neighbor boy from sword/shield but also a little creepy? Like we've known eachother for five minutes and she is Obsessed with me.

This was not significant I just thought the lil spider creepin in the back was funny

I don't remember the names of my first pokemon I got off the top of my head. I know I got Lechonk, Hoppip, Psyduck, and that cute otter with the floatie, and the spider...

girl help I'm surrounded by meeces

The scatterbug I forgot about evolved! Very exciting. I think. I dunno. He kinda sucks lmaooo but at least he's a cute lil guy.

Made it to the big city! It was very cool, although I do have mixed feelings about each individual type of clothing being in a completely seperate area. I understand the desire to make the city feel big and lively by having lots of stores, but needing to go across the whole damn place to find gloves to match my new hat? Not great. Also the frames... gibe me back my frames...

okay yandere lookin ass

look lady you just barged into my house unanounced and uninvited you will give me five fucking minutes to prepare for my day. I think we should all pool together our battling money and get her some stim toys or something cuz she has way too much nervous energy

This is how I started out my treasure hunt! Uh. Not fucking great? Creepy mfer. I tried talking to him and he was all "ohhh I can sense you don't trust meeee" maybe people would trust you if you weren't ominous as hell.

After watching three people fight for my affection attention for twenty minutes I decided to go hang out with sandwich man, because making the Greatest Sandwich is a noble goal methinks. Also my pet motorcycle really loves a good sammich and I think it'd make him happy. Anyway I saw this thing trundling around and I'm obsessed. He's just a little cube!!! I caught him. I named him Cube. He is going to help me beat up the Titans. Cube is small, but Mighty.

Honorable mentions of events:

-jumped off a cliff on moraidon(?) and fell directly on top of a smolive. How did that olive survive that impact I don't think a motorcycle is light.

-found a baby chansy and accidentally killed it >:[

-got to watch a squirrel clip into the void

-local girl cannot read maps, gets lost. More at 11

After that I got sleepy and called it a night. Will continue the thrilling saga tomorrow!

[appledotcodotuk]

why the hive fckin suck at its job: a rant

spoilers for tgwdlm ahead!

first of all, it's important to consider what exactly the hive's job is. my answer is... who the fuck knows. literally. what is the hive's aim. what do you want Paul? more like, what do you want hive? let's find out!

it kinda evolves, as the play progresses. the intial aim of the hive, and one that does actually remain consistent is the constant burning need to grow and devour and gain more and more (insert capitalism metaphor here).

however, this is distorted by the people it possess who influence that aim, as we'll see later.

also the fact it crashes into a theatre displaying Mamma Mia gives the hive the motive it need to fit the world around it to the structure of the musical. having no originality of its own, the hive instead just picks up what is given to it. kinda like an evil baby.

it wants uniformity, that is indeed its ultimate goal and desire, no duh. it thinks it can achieve that through musical theatre, shame that the hive is dead wrong. cause the hive fucking sucks at its own job / aim / ultimate purpose / one concrete goal that motivates all its actions.

can't maintain control over its subjects

okay, so, the hive wants uniformity. it wants everyone to be dancing to the beat of its own tune. right? yeah. shame it literally can't keep its own possessed subjects in line at all. at the risk of sounding like the 10th doctor waxing lyrical abt humanity for the 50th time, humans are really difficult to control cause we're not really motivated by an altruistic allegiance to one primary good. we've got icky emotions that often move us to do stupid unpredictable stuff way more. it makes me wonder if the reason the hive wanted to use musical theatre to try and persuade ppl was cause it seems to think that is how theyll get emotive humans; through emotive songs. anyways. let's look at some examples shall weeeee?

Mr Davidson:

so, Mr Davidson. funnily enough, he's the guy whose in part acting as the hive trying to figure out what it wants through his interactions w/ Paul. every person it possess gives it just a bit more humanity and curiosity abt the world it is currently taking over. at least I think so. hence why as the musical develops u get character's like possessed!Alice wondering 'why does it hurt to love?' - the change in music and mood to something much more introspective really suggests to me that the hive is beginning to question the thoughts and emotions of its human hosts.

Mr Davidson is a family man through and through, he loves his wife Carol. she's his muse, his source of light. his feelings for her are not concrete or easy to explain and solve - hence why his sudden ahem demand of her is so hilarious and also jarring. it completely clashes with the 'I want song' which is simple, and often pushes forward a wider cause. not so with Mr Davidson, he just really loves his wife man. enough to break a frickin alien possession.

tbh I think its hilarious that (at least to me) the hive has to force him to forget and continue with the song, like, he straight up is just talking to his wife in that phone call, talking, not singing. so, no possession until he reverts back into song. ergo, the hive cannot maintain the uniformity it wants. even from the get go when theoretically its control should be stronger cause it has less ppl to co-ordinate. bad. at. its. job.

Paul:

this one hurts folks. yes, I know it's generally agreed, though somewhat debated that the state of Paul by the end of the tgwdlm is not purely possessed. I agree. once again, the hive is unable to truly enforce uniformity.

at this point, the motives of Paul and the hive are kinda just mixed, neither fully human nor fully alien. hence the constant shifts between pleeing for her to get away, to hide, to stay safe: 'what if the only choice is you have to sing to survive' and just full on old style hive nastiness 'let me puke in your mouth and just open your food bin girl' (so romantic 🥰 /j).

the hive has gone away from its original aim, and become something... different. no longer stuck to just one type of genre or style of song, it's really clever to show the developing complexity of the hive by showing how it is now juggling lots of different motifs with references to all the old songs from before recontextualised in a new way - its learning. evil baby... no longer uniform.

general miscommunication:

there are several instances of the hive not fully having uniform control over its subjects. for instance, right after not your seed with the three teens having to like... calibrate. they aren't just completely connected then?? also, this is a very small thing, but uhhhh at the end of inevitable when Paul is about to say the apotheosis is upon... the chorus interrupts him with USSSSSSS. interruptions??? not very in sync of u hive.

I think this inability to exert uniformity is also shown in the contrast between genre of musical theatre. my alien abomination cannot decide whether it wants to be the more modern edgy rock musical (join us (and die), not your seed ) or super happy go lucky old style musical theatre (lah dee dah dah day, and inevitable). it tries to do both, even while trying to encourage union, and sticking to one thing. hypocrite!!!!!

2. aims are guided by the people it possess

so, I mentioned this a bit already, but the hive isn't only mutating the humans, the humans are mutating the hive right back. this is more an interesting observation than any actual analysis but let's goooo.

greenpeace girl:

I think it's very likely that greenpeace girl is one of the first to be possessed. This is probably easily debunkable but whatever this analysis is flying by the seat or its pants anywayyyyy. why? cause where else would it pick up that whole 'this planet needs fixing' thing? it's interesting too, cause it morphs from expressing the desire to join hands and sing together, unity and peace with no actual action behind it. this then goes right to the other end, with the hive going 'fine I'll do it myself' and trying to save things by enforcing a dictatorship on the world. it develops and changes, and strays from its original means of accomplishing its aims! speaking oooooof...

3. inconsistent in means of accomplishing aims

okay, ur an evil hive mind. u think musicals are the way to win over these silly humans cause they're all weak and emotive and seem to respond to them. but, wait! schwoopsie! you haven't realised that for emotional depth and growth to mean anything, you need there to be established development and well... growth. otherwise the sentiments are as vague as the ones expressed in What Do You Want, Paul?

this show has genuine emotional moments, just not really during the musical numbers WITH EXCEPTIONS. any strife is smoothed over quickly, and so the development and change that would have to go into such growth is just gone. (see, You Tied Up My Heart) all so it can achieve its own desire to grow and grow and grow, maybe a metaphor for art being killed under late stage capitalism??

what actually matters is the impact the songs have afterwards, in causing a death - because we have a bond and care abt these characters. those short scenes between Paul and Emma are actually way more resonant than any song. except... inevitable, and also not your seed a bit. at this point the hive has learnt a thing or two, and can actually twist human emotion a little. but for it to do that, it has to reject the uniformity it prizes, and be adaptable. point towards being more human than it first thought? methinks so. and yet it's just not enough...

it's also why let it out, to me, feels really ingenuine. Paul has expressed himself in much better ways already. what they're doing is clearly paining him, and hurting the guy. he's terrified bless.

you can't force someone into being emotional vulnerable, man.

it's why all the deaths for the characters who are forced to express themselves are really violent, involving them being ripped open - literally forcing them to expose themselves from the 'inside out' as Alice reflects in Not Your Seed. you can't force genuine emotional connection, it has to be fostered, shown in the much more affecting relationship of Paul and Emma. the only reason the hive actually has power over our characters is because of these genuine emotional connections, which it tries and often fails to take advantage of, resulting in just resorting to brute violence. messy hive, very messy.

at the core, the musical's a kinda attack on that toxic positivity mindst: trying to force people to reach the sort of easy solutions by sharing feelings in a way that feels pretty invasive and deciding you are instantly fixed. the problems these characters face are jarringly not really what you'd expect a character in a musical to face, cheating, a lot of it, mid-life crisis. problems that are bland, or wayyyy too real. this is purposefully done, to reveal just how silly the hive's aim to use musical theatre to solve everyone's problem is. life is more complex than that smh.

4. a human can write a much more expressive, and genuine song than they ever could lol

u know which song I'm talking abt. what more is there to say. so much for making persuasive songs to tempt people over.

5. make me sad cause they took some perfectly nice ppl and funked them up 😭

this was a stupid point lol. basically I'm just bitter that this hive took a bunch of perfectly okay ppl and gave them hive brain. screw u hive. I swear I'm gonna watch Black Friday soon, cause I'm sure it's gonna completely destroy every thought I've had so far, but whateve,,, just take this as a look at tgwdlm like it's a stand-alone piece.

these guys are supposed to all be 'individuals' on one level, but also 'appendages of a much larger organism'. there's a little too much individualism and fracturing to be cohesive enough to do that I feel. the hive to me is not an infallible, unstoppable force, in fact, every human it takes over only brings it closer to understanding us. so that's maybe a slight positive note??? idk ?! I just have lots of thoughts and feelings abt this musical even if this doesn't make sense I'm proud i wrote it down hehe.

[shimmershae]

Just watched the episode and I’m going to have a lot of thoughts for you, most of them probably bordering on incoherence (LOL) so this is your last chance to nope on out of this post because I’m going to go ahead and put everything else behind a cut to save the eyes that do not want to see any  spoilers at all.  Unlike mine, that very much wanted to see but in a lot of cases?  Could not see shit, but I digress.

Shae’s stream of consciousness coming at you in 3-2-1.  

First of all, can I saw how good it is to have my show back again?  Like, no.  I don’t quite have Season 5 levels of excitement about the new/last season, but it is definitely nice to have all these characters back.  

So all these thoughts of mine.  Okay.  Bear with me because there be a whole lot of them, lol.  

My immediate impression as the episode opened was WHOA.  Such a cool shot of Daryl with one light wing, one dark wing (representing the two sides to Daryl maybe--the man of honor versus the man he was raised to be, hmm?) looking out over some dark vista of something.  Seriously.  It’s dark.  My room is also dark at the moment and still I was squinting to see.  To make out what I’m “looking” at.  I really, really hope the rest of this season isn’t this hard to make out.  

Is that a tank?  Kinda sorta a callback to Rick’s first episode?  If so, cool.  If not, well.  Us fans have always put way more thought into things.  For real.  Change my mind.  

Holy intense eye contact, Batman!  Daryl Dixon has literally never looked at anyone--not BethusConLeah--in quite the same smoldering way as he looks at Carol.  It’s next level.  I don’t know why people be fooling themselves into thinking different.  

Let’s see.  I can make out--besides Daryl, Maggie, and that face mask dude I already forgot the name of--Kelly, Magna, Jerry (who’s that with him?), and Carol.  Sorry.  My world, like Daryl’s, inevitably narrows to Carol.  She’s loking fierce and fine AF per usual.  

Was that Rosita I noticed rewinding to relive Daryl eye-fucking Carol?  

I’m guessing this is the army base they talked about in 10C.  

That Walker perking up like “I smell food--pancakes and bacon and oohhhh” has me giggling inappropriately right off the bat.  WTF.  

Look at all my fabulous ladies tiptoeing through that Walker minefield.  And Carol spotting that gun that might be useful right away.  Listen, if you don’t think her mind ain’t always ten steps ahead of everybody else’s, you’d be wrong.  

So.  Are these Walkers just so old and feeble not even the call of fresh meat attracts them?  Because just tiptoeing through their midst without the knockoff Lady Gaga meatsuits or skin masks has never really worked before that I can remember.  

I just want to see most of this season.  Is that really too much to ask?  Don’t X-Files and Game of Thrones us, Angela.  Please and thank you very fucking much.  

Okay.  Is the one drop of blood thing making anybody else have 28 Days Later vibes?  Kinda?  Sorta?  No?  Just me?  Okay then.  Carry on.  

Wait a minute, though.  How they be explaining how Daryl keeeps acquiring all these new tats all the time?  Hmm?  It’s like they just quit giving a shit about continuity in these latter seasons.  

I mean.  Do Walkers sleep now?  LMAO.  What is this?  I guess they’re constantly evolving?  

There’s my baby Lydia.  Love my smol bean.  

Alright though.  I love to see the ladies of TWD kick some ass.  It’s very gratifying.  Gimps would never.  Thank you, Angela.  

Clever, resourceful, calm and collected, quick thinking Carol to the rescue!  Seriously.  Her haters must be withering away inside with absolute envy.  

Hey, ya’ll.  Remember when Carol was still mastering her sharpshooting skills at the Prison yard and shot at Rick’s feet?  Her little “sorry, sorry”?  LOL.  If Rick could only see her now.  Wait.  He already knew what so many of his stans refuse to acknowledge--Carol=ultimate survivor and true savior to the group many times over.  

Maggie’s got herself a gun, too.  Go my badass girls.  

Of course, Carol’s got everybody’s back.  Of fucking course, Daryl’s got hers even when everybody else seem frozen in some kind of awe or stupification or something.  Microcosm of the whole damn show right there.  

Carol’s like “here’s your knives, love of my life.”   

Eh.  Maybe that’s just me.  

Nah.  She’s totally thinking it, too.  

YAS!  YAS!  Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride with the top billing.  How very far my babies have come.  

Listen.  I miss all the characters we’ve lost.  Absolutely.  But I love the ones that are still with us, that have been with us for so very long so hard.  Whether I love their stories or decisions or not.  

Is that THE Alexandria sign?  That sign’s been through some shit.  

DOG!  Daryl kneeling to embrace our Grimes babies has me all up in my feels.  And how cute is Dog getting all excited and making sure he’s the first one there to welcome back, Daddy?  

Hershel is literally just as puppy dog cute as Glenn ever was.  Really some Grade A casting.  

What did Maggie call Mr. T?  Ducky?  Dougie?  Sometimes with Maggie?  I really cannot tell.  Anyway.  He’s Mr. T. for me until I find out differently, probably through rewatching with close captioning, lol.  

Maggie’s got more people.  So.  Some new redshirts to sacrifice for plot purposes.  I don’t know if I should bother learning their names or not. 

I seem to remember Meridian being mentioned in one of the episode synopses.  

Sophia’s hair tie around Carol’s neck will never fail to be an emotional throat punch.  My heart.  

“They come at night and by the time you see them, you’re already dead.”  Welp.  Guess that means we ain’t seeing shit for at least this first third of the season, lol.  Very horror-eque though.  

“You’re leaving to fight ghosts.”  Aaron, to Maggie.  So I see Aaron’s the type to get the hell outta Dodge when the Boogeyman comes calling, hahaha.  Least he was.  In the old world.  

Rosita’s pissed off expression at Gabe’s decision to volunteer for the so-called suicide mission gives me life.  

My baby Carol is tired AF of suicide missions.  You can tell.  Also?  Methinks she has something to prove to Daryl here.  Or at least feels like she does.  

Dog with his little tactical vest.  I love it.  

I guess I get why they had Carol and Rosita stay behind.  They had to more evenly split up the badassery to make things more fair and balanced, lol.  

Okay.  So Negan’s definitely earned everybody’s disdain.  But they’re being woefully short-sighted by not at least hearing the dude out.  Isn’t he at least native to the area?  

“That is God telling us to turn around.”  I’m actually on Negan’s side with this one, but Gabe answering him with “I’m pretty sure he would have run that past me first” has me howling with laughter.  Father Gabe has gone straight up savage in these last couple of seasons.  Rosita’s influence, perhaps?  

I see what Angela is doing.  Trying to make Negan the voice of reason.  In this particular case?  It’s kind of working.  I’m still ultimately on Maggie’s side with this though BECAUSE GLENN.  

Imagine showing up to work and unironically dressing like a storm trooper every day.  Excuse me while I LOL.  

Even in the ZA, there’s bullshit paperwork.  

“Pumpkin colored spacesuit.”  Good one, Ezekiel.  

LOL forever.  I love Princess.  

“Michonne.  Our Michonne shut people out of Alexandria for years.”  Timely reminder that choices aren’t always perfect.  Neither are people.  

WTF is reprocessing?  Sounds ominous.  LMAO at Eugene’s “Okay.  We gotta go.”  

What in the actual hell with all those bagged, squirming undead?  Creepy AF in that subway tunnel.  

Should I just go ahead and call that the Easter bunny?  We’ve had some version of it pop up since Season 1.  

Is it stubborn pride with Maggie or what?  Why go through with something when all signs point toward the wisdom of stopping?  You can argue that she’s acting similarly to Carol last season, but there’s a huge difference here folks.  Carol did her damndest to Lone Wolf that shit and minimize the danger to those she loved.  Maggie’s straight up enlisting those she “cares about” to carry out her mission of revenge or vengeance, what have you. Let’s see if she gets near the amount of hate for it.  Personally, I don’t blame her for her feelings one bit.  They are valid.  But her knowingly drawing the others into the game?  That’s my sticking point.  That’s how she and Carol differ, even if some people refuse to see or accept it.  Anyway.  Hopping right on off my soapbox.  

“Why don’t you get up on your little tippy toes and try?”  Omigosh, I’d dying.  When I tell you I about passed out with laughter, I do not exaggerate.  I should hate Negan forever and I do.  Really.  But I adore JDM and he frequently makes me LOL.  He’s made Negan entertaining if not completely redeemable since Angela took over and more layered so I say kudos.  

He has a point about Maggie playing dictator.  Damn you, show, for slanting the writing just that smidgen that makes Negan make sense over his victim.  I guess, though, it’s better this way.  Gives both characters more shades of gray.  

“He’s a dick but he makes sense.”  I feel like this is Angela calling us all out when we dare to harbor any lasting resentment toward Negan for what he did to Glenn.  

Speaking of--Negan.  You deserved Daryl’s punch to the mouth.  You just went a bridge too damn far.  

“Keep pushing me, Negan.  Please.”  Warning shots fired, Asshole.  You better watch yourself around the Widow Rhee.  

Have I mentioned how much I love Princess?  Her shipping the Commonwealth guards is killing me, lol.  I can’t wait ‘til she meets Carol and Daryl.  She’s going to have their number in two seconds flat.  

I like Ezekiel and Princess as a duo.  I’m not saying romantically necessarily.  I just like them in scenes together because they’re fun.  There’s sort of a protective indulgence Ezekiel seems to telegraph whenever they’re in scenes together.  Like he’s like don’t hurt this one.  I don’t know.  For all these words I’ve written, I can’t quite find the ones to adequately describe what I mean.  

The wall of the lost gives me such Battlestar Galactica feels.  What sad thoughts it inspires.  

Eugene in that Commonwealth gear.  Omigosh, lol.  So did they just sneak up and take Princess’s little Commonwealth ship’s gear when they were sneaking off on their own to have a quickie?  

Princess finding that note for Yumiko on the wall actually gave me chills.  Yeah.  I’m easy.  Just the suggestion of someone getting reunited with lost family gets me all up in my feels.  Yumiko saying “I have to stay”?  I felt that.  

Oh no.  Dog ran off!  Somebody protect my favorite fictional puppy.  Of course, Daryl goes after him.  He’s always been the sweet one.  Merle said it.  

Eh.  Negan taking Maggie’s hand at the end there would have smacked too much of Negan Sue and Maggie’s biggest plot of the season would have been prematurely dealt with so I get why they did what they did.  But c’mon.  It’s not really that big of a cliffhanger, is it?  

Okay, so Angela calls those sleeping beauty Walkers “Lurkers” and I get it.  Apparently they’re a bigger deal in the comics, but I really don’t remember seeing them all that much on the actual show.  Somebody jog my memory.  

Of fucking course, you can actually see what’s happening in the inside the episode clips.  I wish we could choose to view the episode with that lighting because some of us be blind.  And this time I mean in the more literal sense.  Not the figurative one.  

Anyway.  I’m going to stop trying to write a novel for ya’ll and move on to better things.  Like maybe a nap.  Maybe some early dinner.  I don’t know.  I’m tired AF and need a little recharge.    

Before I go, though?  Overall impression of the episode?  I liked it.  There were parts that I loved (all the ladies being badass, every second of Carol, Daryl reuniting with the Grimes babies and Dog, all things Princess, some of Negan’s one-liners about had me busting a gut, Rosita serving looks, Kelly and Lydia getting to be badass too) and parts I didn’t love (not being able to see a damn thing, Angela trying to tip the scales in Negan’s favor, not enough Carol or Aaron or Rosita, no reunion between Aunt Carol and the Grimes babies even though that picture floating around suggests it was at least shot, not being able to see a damn thing, all the Alexandria people playing follow the leader for Maggie when she’s been gone 6 years and Daryl’s right there--hell, even Father G deserves the honor over her because it’s obvious they’re not exactly on the same wavelength anymore).  

I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m just glad to have our show back.    

Later, lovelies.  

[august-anon]

Let’s Hang Out

Hey y’all!!! It’s Pinapple’s birthday today!! And today also marks 365 days until she rejoins us on tumblr! If y’all have any birthday wishes you wanna make sure she sees, feel free to let me know and I’ll text them to her for you! I hope you all (and she lol) enjoy this!! Also this is vaguely human AU lol

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Ship(s): platonic Prinxiety

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Virgil, Ler!Roman

Word Count: 2084 words

Summary: If Roman was going to (albeit accidentally) ignore him, then Virgil was going to ignore Roman right back. He just didn't expect the consequences that followed.

[ao3 link]

-------------------------------

Had Virgil known what an afternoon hanging out with Roman would entail, he would’ve said no on the spot. As much progress as they had made with their friendship, Virgil was not in the mood to hear Roman belt out musical theater songs at the top of his lungs. He’d rather they just sit down and pull up a bootleg or something, but Roman was ever brimming with energy and a song in his heart or whatever the heck it was.

But that didn’t mean that after the 18th song Virgil was still going to be paying attention. He came here to hang out, not be sung aggressively at as he tried to relax in Roman’s cluttered room. Instead he lounged on Roman’s bed, far more plush than his own, having made a nest out of pillows to comfortably relax in as he scrolled aimlessly on his phone. He barely even noticed when Roman’s singing trailed off.

“Are you even paying attention?” He asked with a huff.

Virgil raised an eyebrow, not bothering to look away from the screen. “Look, I tried to keep with it, but after the 6th song when you hadn’t even said a word to me, I kinda just decided to zone out.”

Roman huffed again, flopping onto the bed and earning a glare when it jostled Virgil’s nest. “I cannot believe this! I invite you in, invite you to listen to my glorious voice, and you deign to not pay attention to me?!”

Virgil shrugged. “It was cool at first but like, I’m here to hang out.”

Roman stared. “And what is it that we were doing?”

Virgil glared back. “You ignoring me to sing.”

Roman pouted and Virgil went back to his phone, switching through apps at the speed of light because none of them captured his interest for more than a few seconds. They sat in silence for a few moments before Roman crawled closer to the edge of Virgil’s nest.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to ignore you.”

Virgil hummed, scrolling.

“Can you ever forgive me, oh dearest Stormcloud?”

Virgil scrolled.

“Virgil. Hey. Come on, I’m talking to you!”

Virgil scrolled, though there was the hint of a smirk tugging at his lips that he was desperately trying to fight down. Roman gasped theatrically, swooning into the pillows along the edge of Virgil’s nest.

“Your revenge is swift and unforgiving, I have seen the error of my ways. Let’s do something else, now, I promise it’ll be better!”

Virgil continued to ignore him.

Roman whined, poking at Virgil’s calf where it rested near his head. “Give me attention!”

Nothing. But Roman was not to be deterred.

Roman continued poking at him, probably hoping to annoy him into stopping his new little game, but Virgil had siblings, he was a middle kid, it wouldn’t be that easy to crack him. He had trained for this his whole life. He sat there, stoic and unmoving as Roman jabbed his finger into Virgil’s leg. 

Except then the jabs moved up Virgil’s knee and thigh and he barely kept it together. He took in a sharp, but quiet, breath as the finger jabbed his hip. He couldn’t stop his body’s jerk when the finger darted into his fleshy side. Roman paused.

“You good, man?”

Virgil almost, almost, opened his mouth to answer. But he was stubborn and absolutely unwilling to lose this game, so he kept his mouth glued firmly shut and opened tumblr for the umpteenth time, hoping to find an actual distraction in it this time.

Roman hummed, taking his lack of response as him being fine, and continued poking. Unfortunately, he continued poking away at Virgil’s upper body, and he couldn’t help but jerk away at every single one, having to fight harder and harder to repress his smile and hold his building giggles at bay.

Suddenly, Roman chuckled evilly. “Oh, I know what’s going on here.”

In a mad escape attempt, Virgil chucked his phone at the beanbag across the room and tried to lunge off the bed after it. His phone made it safely to his intended sanctuary, but Virgil himself was caught by arms around his waist, pulling him back to the bed. His nest was near destroyed in the following scuffle, both boys wrestling with all their might to gain the upper hand. There was one mortifying secret that Virgil was determined to keep to himself, but if Roman managed to pin him he wasn’t sure he would be able to.

And then Roman cheated by squeezing at his sides, making Virgil bark out a few startled laughs and go almost limp in Roman’s arms, and he was easily pinned to the bed. Roman straddled his hips, pinned his hands under his knees, and grinned down at him like the cat that had caught the canary.

And Virgil was certainly feeling like a canary right about now.

“Let’s talk about this,” Virgil blurted, tugging at his hands. He sucked in a breath as Roman rested his hands back on Virgil’s waist.

“Oh, now he wants to talk!” Roman said bitterly, though his bright grin contrasted with the words.

“Yup--yup, definitely want to talk! Or, uh, or you could sing again! I’d be perfectly content listening to you sing!”

Roman raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, humming thoughtfully. “Splendid idea, Virge, but I’d much rather hear you sing.”

Virgil didn’t have time to squeeze in another protest or plea as Roman’s hands immediately dug back into his sides. Virgil tossed his head back against the pillows and laughed, not bothering to hold back anymore now that one half of his secret was out.

Because see, Virgil would try his hardest to make it seem otherwise when it came up, but Virgil rather liked tickling. Giving or receiving, he found it to be rather fun, but he was loathe to admit that to any living soul. So much so that he was even using dramatic words like “loathe,” when that was more Roman’s style.

“See?” Roman said cheerfully. “We’re hanging out! I’m paying attention to you!”

“Princey!” Virgil cried out as Roman’s hands crawled up his ribs.

“Yes, Doom and Gloom? Though you’re rather the opposite right now, I suppose. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh so much!”

“Please!”

Roman’s grin sharpened. “Please what? Please… tickle you more? My pleasure!”

Virgil shrieked as the hands slithered up and buried themselves in his armpits. He couldn’t help the series of snorts that followed, unfortunately always triggered by being targeted in that sensitive spot. He felt his face go red.

Roman laughed above him. “Oh my gosh, that’s adorable. Do you have any other fun sounds?”

“No!” Virgil lied. Well, he wasn’t sure if it was a lie. He certainly didn’t get tickled often enough to remember, he just could never forget those embarrassing snorts, hard as he tried.

“Methinks the emo doth protest too much!”

Roman switched from wiggling fingers to scratching nails in the center of his hollows and Virgil’s thrashing renewed, snorts that had somewhat died down returning with a vengeance. Virgil shook his head and tugged on his arms, using what little slack he had to pin them to his sides as tightly as possible.

“Alright, alright,” Roman chuckled. “I’ll move on.”

Virgil prepared for the worst, assuming that “moving on” meant going for the next most obvious spot: his stomach, the worst of them, but to his surprise, the torturing hands did not appear on his belly. No, they appeared on his thighs, squeezing and digging into the muscle without abandon. Virgil launched up into a sitting position, nearly crashing his head into Roman’s collarbone, letting out a startled cackle.

“Ooh, good spot?” Roman asked cheekily, as if Virgil would actually answer.

Just to be contrary, he did. “No!”

Roman’s tickling faltered as he laughed again, but quickly resumed. “If this isn’t a good spot, I fear for you when I do find one!”

Roman continued to torment his legs, leaning back even further to squeeze at his kneecaps. Virgil kicked out and cursed through his giggles and swore to make Roman regret this, but he wasn’t exactly all that threatening when red-faced and laughing, dimples jumping around joyfully. Eventually, Roman granted him a break, and Virgil sucked in deep, greedy breaths, watching his hands warily as he collapsed back onto the bed.

“Tell you what,” Roman said. “You tell me where your worst spot is, and I promise I’ll go easy on you.”

Virgil stayed silent as he debated the pros and cons of the situation. Easy meant he was likely to get out of this sooner without revealing that he actually desperately wanted it. Easy meant tummy tickles and then freedom shortly after. Easy meant having enough energy to make good on his threats immediately.

But not giving up the information meant Virgil would get what he’d wanted for a while, now: to be well and truly wrecked.

“Taking a while to answer there, Wiggles and Giggles,” Roman said, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. “Could it be… you don’t want me to go easy on you?”

Virgil was too caught off guard to lie convincingly. “What?! No! What? You’re insane.”

Roman didn’t miss a beat. “Tell me your worst spot and I will go after it immediately and absolutely not go easy on you.”

Virgil hesitated. “You don’t think it’s weird?” He asked quietly.

“Weird?! Of course not! This may just be the cutest thing in the world!”

Virgil’s mouth twisted as he blushed and looked away, but he relented. “Stomach.”

Roman’s hands were immediately pushing up his shirt, rubbing against his stomach. “Aww, someone has a ticklish little tummy?”

Virgil squirmed. “Shut up.”

Roman grinned. “Why, does it make it worse?”

“Shut up!”

Roman shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Then he took a huge breath, attached his lips to Virgil’s stomach, and blew. The raspberry echoed through the room, but was quickly drowned out by the sound of Virgil’s screaming cackles. He thrashed so hard that he finally got his arms free, clutching desperately at Roman’s shoulders as another strong raspberry was placed on his belly.

“Roman!” He practically screamed at the third.

“What?” Roman asked. “I thought you wanted me to shut up!”

“Plea--” His cry was cut off by a new wave of laughter as a fourth and final raspberry vibrated through his stomach.

Roman wasn’t finished, though, clearly, as his hands came up to knead at the sensitive skin. His laughter got more frantic and wheezing the closer Roman got to his belly button, and he was torn between wanting Roman to notice and wishing he never would. Apparently, though, the universe was out to embarrass Virgil as much as possible, because Roman noticed.

“What do we have here? A little button demanding to be pressed?”

“No!!” Virgil said, you know, like a liar.

“I think that’s a fake no,” Roman said, “so I think I’ll press this button.”

Virgil did scream when Roman’s finger dug into the little divot. It wiggled and scratched and vibrated into the horribly sensitive place until Virgil thought he would go absolutely mad with how badly it tickled. As much fun as he was having, though, Virgil was quickly running out of stamina and breath. He slapped lightly at Roman’s shoulder.

Roman understood, pulling back immediately and rolling off Virgil. Virgil curled in on himself, still laughing for long minutes after the tickling actually stopped. When he’d finally calmed down, Virgil sat up and ran a hand through his destroyed hair, surveying the mess they had made of the bed.

“You have to help me rebuild the nest.”

Roman laughed. “I would love nothing more. Wanna watch movies on my laptop, after?”

Virgil shrugged, only half listening, fully focused on recreating his perfect pillow nest and napping through the rest of the afternoon. “Sure.”

Roman started gathering the pillows that had been kicked to the floor. “Look at us! Bonding, learning new things about each other, building nests because one of us is a weird bird-cat hybrid… Quite a successful hang-out if I do say so myself!”

Virgil chucked a pillow at his head with a grin.

The nest was reconstructed in record time and Virgil immediately burrowed into it with three newly stolen blankets, watching from his cocoon as Roman pulled up Disney Plus on his laptop and clicked play on the first thing to show up. They were both asleep within minutes.

Quite the successful hang-out indeed.

[tinabean37]

Distant Harbor

This story idea came out of a dream I had. Yes, I dreamed of Pirate Henry, and it was fantastic! Please be aware that this is my first AU story, my first olden time period story, as well as my first OFC story instead of a reader insert. That being said, feedback would be amazing!! Tell me if you liked it, hated it, want more of it...I’ll take it all.

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If you want me to start a tag list for this story and want to be on it, let me know.

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Summery: As the daughter of a merchant sailor, you convince him to let you accompany him on his current voyage. But when a Pirate Ship is spotted on the horizon, you realize the sea is a dangerous place.

Characters: AU Pirate!Henry x OFC Lucy

Word Count: 2,366

Warnings: Violence, cannon fire, talk of blood, character death, captivity, unwanted touching and kissing, abuse, if you find anything else I need to add here please let me know.

**I do not know or own Henry Cavill(even though I would love to!) The original female character, Lucy, was made up by me.**

***Feedback welcome and encouraged :)***

~~~~~~~

The gentle rocking back and forth of the sailing vessel helped lull you into a restful sleep at night, and also woke you from the same slumber. The glow of the rising sun reflected off the ocean, and onto your face. It was the third day into your journey, and the motion and close quarters were already becoming bothersome. Your father was a merchant trader and had reluctantly agreed to let you accompany him on this voyage as you requested. You always dreamed of adventure and new horizons. All you had gotten so far was stir-crazy and discouraging looks from among the crew. 

They reasoned that it was unlucky to have a woman aboard a ship as she would anger the sea. But they also apparently felt that certain hygiene practices were unlucky, so you couldn’t put stock in much of what they said. Your father, however, kept a very close eye on you, and usually relegated you to your cabin, to not rile the crew. You were never one for following rules, however, so you decided to dress quickly, and head onto the deck to take in the fresh sea air. You leaned against the deck rail, hands gripping it tightly, eyes scanning the horizon. You squinted your eyes against the sun. Was that a spot of white you just saw? You turned to see if anyone else had seen something when you were joined at the rail by your father. 

“Lucy, you know you should not be out here unaccompanied.” His voice sounded tired, but you were unsure if it was due to the nature of his work here, or the number of times he has had to remind you of this fact.

“Father, I know you worry for me, but I am no longer a babe clinging to the nursemaid. I cannot be locked in that cabin the whole journey. I want to experience what you do. I want to experience anything at all.” You looked at him with a steely expression. He softened as he cupped your cheek. 

“I know, my dear daughter. But after we lost your dear mother, you are all I have left. You cannot fault me for being an attentive father.” You knew he was right. When sickness took your mother seven years past, it nearly broke him. He gave up sailing for almost a year, to keep you close. To keep you safe. But the banks were only sympathetic for so long before he knew he had to return to the sea. So having you on this voyage with him was, you felt, his way of allowing you freedom, while still keeping you close. You gave your father a kind smile and embraced him close. 

“I understand father, and I promise, I will heed your instructions from here out.”  Giving you a nod of acceptance, he turned his gaze to the sea. You both stood in calm silence for a few moments, until you saw your father tense and grip the railing. He shouted to the passing crewman. 

“Hawkins, get me the spyglass. I think I see sails!” Once the metal tube was placed in his hands, he focused out on the horizon. “Sail, ho! There’s a ship starboard side, 2 leagues out. She’s flying a black flag. Pierce, get to the helm. Keep it at a distance. Don’t let it catch up!” Your father’s authoritative commands both impressed and terrified you. 

“Black sails? Father, pirates?” Without answering, he grabbed your arm and led you quickly to your cabin. Once you were safely inside, he commanded you as well. 

“Lucy, you must listen to me, this is very important. You must stay in your cabin. We are going to try to outrun the vessel, but we are heavily laden. I cannot guarantee the safety of this ship. I need to know you are safe. Do you understand?” Too terrified to speak, you let out a whimper and frantic nod. Your father gave you a quick smile before running back on deck. Terrified for him and the crew, you knelt where you stood and began to pray. 

You were soon startled out of your prayer by the sounds of frantic shouting on deck. You ran to the porthole and saw that the pirate ship was much closer than you thought possible, and getting closer. The order from the deck was to man the cannons and prepare for crossfire. You were in disbelief. This was supposed to be a routine supply voyage. How quickly it had come to this. You hurriedly crossed the cabin to get away from the windows. You sat on your bed, pulled your knees to your chest, and wrapped your arms around them. And that is how you were when the first cannonball hit the ship. 

~~~~~

The barrage lasted what felt like forever. The loud blasts of the cannons soon became shouts and the clashing of steel when your ship was boarded. You sobbed as you drew even further into yourself. You couldn’t tell who was winning, but you were too scared to see for yourself. And you promised your father you would stay in the cabin. Your heart was pounding when the sounds of fighting outside seemed to stop. Was your father's crew victorious? Is your father safe? What will happen next?

You got your answer when someone began banging on the door from the outside. Your father had locked it, thank god, but if whoever it was could not unlock it, then it was not your father. Panicked and thinking quickly, you hid in your wardrobe. A few more loud bangs sounded against the door before it burst open. You held your breath, terrified whoever just entered would hear you. From your hiding spot, you couldn’t see anything, but you heard them ransacking the room. They must not know you were there but just looking to pillage. You couldn’t help shaking knowing that they would eventually look in the wardrobe and discover you there. Almost as if you willed it by thinking it, the door was wrenched open, and you let out a small scream of surprise. 

“Oi, what do we ‘ave ‘ere, then?” The pirate grabbed you by the arm and pulled you to stand in the cabin. “Yer a pretty lass, ain’t ye? Methinks me treasure been found ‘ere, ay?” You desperately tried to get out of his rough grip, as he began to grope and grab at you. 

“Let me go! You cannot do this!” You made your voice sound as commanding as possible, but the pirate just laughed. Your heart clenched as fear grew in you. 

“Ye think so, princess? There is plenty I can do, don’t ye fret.” His hands kept grabbing through layers of fabric, and you kept swatting them away. Once he got frustrated, he grabbed your chin in his dirty hand and kissed you roughly. Throwing your head back to escape the kiss, you slapped him roughly across the face. “Oh I like em feisty, I do.” He spat and tried to kiss you again. You struggled against his rough hold on your face and kept tossing your head back and to the side to avoid his foul mouth. Angered by your defiance, he roughly grabbed both arms and slammed your back hard into the cabin wall. Pain shot down your spine as it collided with the hard surface. You were unable to stop his mouth’s assault this time. When you felt his tongue attempt to break through you bit down as hard as you could. He let out a scream mixed with pain and anger. His hand was lightning quick as it struck you hard in the cheek. Tears blocked your vision as blood pooled on your split lip. “Don’t make me get a muzzle on ye, bitch!” Just then, another pirate stormed in, took in the scene in front of him, and his eyes clouded with anger. 

“Smythe, ye know the Captain’s rules. All prisoners need be brought to him. What do ye think yer doin’?”

“Just having a bit o’ fun. No ‘arm in that, is there?”

“Ye can have yer fun when ye finish yer job. Now get the girl to the Captain, and shove off!” You had been too scared to speak during their exchange. You only managed a whimper when the man called Smythe grabbed your arm painfully and began to drag you onto the deck. More strangled sounds came out as you saw the carnage on deck. Your father's crew, the men you had been sailing with, all dead. The bottom of your dress dragged in the blood on the deck as he pulled you towards the gangplank. However, your body stopped still when you saw one particular face you recognized amongst the havoc. The lifeless face of your father. 

“FATHER! NO!” You wailed. You pulled with all your strength and managed to wrench free of your captive’s grasp. You ran to him and knelt at his side. Your hands fluttered over him, helpless, as you wept for him. You laid your head on his bloodied chest and sobbed. Too soon, you felt the pirate yank you to your feet. “Please, no! I cannot leave him. Let me go! Please…” you begged to deaf ears. He continued to drag you to the waiting pirate ship, all the while you were fighting to return to your father’s body. He didn’t utter a word to you. You didn’t expect sympathy, but you expected something. The rest of the way, every lifeless face had the visage of your father. 

Now on board the pirate ship, you were led to the cabin directly under the helm, the captain’s cabin. The room was empty, but you were tossed in any way. The pirate roughly sat you on a wooden chair in the corner of the room, and without care, tightly tied your hands behind your back. You thought of trying to fight your bonds, but you couldn’t find the strength. You had nothing left. You were alone. And now, you belonged to the captain. 

~~~~~

You were unsure how long you waited in that cabin, tied to the chair alone. Your thoughts were only of your father, his crew, and your horrible fate. Would the captain kill you? Enslave you? Molest you? As terrified as you were, your fight was gone. You decided to accept your fate, whatever that may be. A short time later, you startled as the silence was broken. The doorknob turned, and the loud boot steps of the captain rang in the cabin. 

You were terrified to look up and face him, so your gaze stayed trained on the ground. A few steps later, the boots came into view, and then stopped in front of you. The silence filled the room again, almost as if he was waiting on you. Shaking, you slowly raised your head and took in the man standing in front of you. He was a giant of a man. Tall and broad. His dark curls rested wild on his forehead, almost hiding his striking blue eyes. His mouth was set in a hard line as if he was unsure what to do with you. You weren’t sure why he wasn’t saying anything. Doing anything. He was just staring at you. 

“Please, sir. Please don’t hurt me. My father was on that ship. He’s dead now. I don’t want him lying there alone. Please.” You begged between sobs. He sighed deeply before speaking. 

“I am Captain Henry Cavill. You are a prisoner aboard my ship, The Wretched Blue. While you are a prisoner here, you will be in my care. But do not think it will be a comfort. You will fetch a large amount of coin for me, so I will see to your captivity. Do you understand?” His tone was very direct and full of business. When he looked you in the eye, he did not show emotion. Trembling with sobs at your fate, you lowered your eyes from his gaze and let out a defeated sigh. Taking that as the only acceptance he needed, he turned towards the pirate that appeared there and started giving him orders that you were unable to hear. 

Before long, he had returned with a cot and bedding, seeing as there was only sleeping furniture for one in the cabin. It was apparent that he had also ordered the pirate to return to your ship, and your cabin, because the next item he brought in was your trunk. The lock and hinges were broken on it, so it was clear it had been riffled through. The last item was secreted to the captain before you could discern what it was. But you paid it no mind. You were thoroughly defeated and wanted nothing more than to surrender to the blackness at the edge of your vision. The captain gave his crewman a satisfied nod and granted him leave. You were once again left alone with the intimidating man. 

“I am your captor, but I am also a fair man. I will not be cruel, but there will be rules to follow. And punishments if those rules are not obeyed. Do you understand?” Your head nodded in shallow agreement. “Well then, as I stated, I am not a cruel man, so I will leave you to grieve. Do I have your word you will not try to escape? Or do I need to bind you?” Again without words, you shook your head to assure him you would not try anything. “Fine. The accommodations are small, but I offer you the bed as your own. Cross me, and your stay will not be nearly as comfortable.” He turned to walk away but stopped just short of the door. He came back to you, reached into his vest pocket, and pulled out the item that was handed to him along with your trunk. Silently, he handed it to you and breezed out of the room. You stared at the item in your hands and fresh sobs grew in your chest. It was the small portrait you had of your mother and father. This brought everything into perspective. You were now very alone. 

[expertvagabondblog]

20 Great Travel Quotes To Inspire Your Next Adventure (Plus A Fake One)

Feed your wanderlust with these inspirational travel quotes from famous travelers & authors. They’ll have you booking a trip in no time!

(Original Source)

I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I love inspirational travel quotes.

Memorable quotes have the ability to capture little moments of clarity that highlight truths about travel, adventure, and life.

Great traveling quotes like these remind me that the emotions I’ve felt while traveling the world for the past 9 years have been experienced by many others.

We’re all beautifully connected with each other by a love for travel!

Below you’ll find some of my favorite travel quotes, and feel free to share them on your own social media accounts too!

1. “Adventure is worthwhile.” — Aesop

It doesn’t get more simplistic than Aesop’s take on traveling, the ancient Greek fabulist and storyteller. But that’s exactly why this classic travel quote continues to inspire me. Adventure can remind you about what’s important in life.

2. “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” — Anthony Bourdain

The late, great Anthony Bourdain really hit the nail on the head here. Many think of traveling as a way to relax, and it absolutely can be. However, I’ve always found that traveling helps you learn about the good and bad parts of the world.

3. “Traveling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” — Ibn Battuta

I’ve seen awe-inspiring things that I thought I’d never be able to explain to another person. Somehow, these experiences have helped me become a better storyteller.

4. “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” — Anais Nin

Anais Nin’s quote about traveling on a constant search for things that will make us feel whole sums up the desire to keep learning through experiences.

5. “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” — Tim Cahill

I couldn’t agree more! I’ve made many friends around the world, and it’s the time I’ve spent with them that has made my travels so fulfilling. People are always more memorable than checking off a bucket list.

6. “The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” — Sir Richard Burton

Sir Richard Burton eloquently captured the spirit of wandering off into the unknown with this travel quote. The moment of anticipation is often sweeter than the final result.

7. “No place is ever as bad as they tell you it’s going to be.” — Chuck Thompson

Have you ever looked at your hometown through the eyes of a tourist? I understand how easy it is to get jaded, but the truth is that every single place in the world has something of interest to show you.

8. “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” — Mary Anne Radmacher

I often gaze at the stars when I’m visiting a new destination or on a road trip. It’s amazing to consider how places are the same, yet so very different.

9. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” — Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert continued Radmacher’s wise observation in this insightful trip quote. I definitely used to think that my life, and my country, played a bigger role in the world until I strapped on my travel backpack and hit the road.

10. “He who would travel happily must travel light.” — Antoine de St. Exupery

This became one of my travel mottoes after an unfortunate experience trying to schlep a massive backpack from the airport to a hotel via public transportation. I know exactly what ol’ Antoine was talking about in this travel quote!

11. “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” — Anonymous

I feel a heavy weight on my heart when I don’t travel for an extended amount of time. As soon as I set off for someplace new, the burden of stagnation falls away and I feel renewed.

12. “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” — Henry David Thoreau

I’ve heeded Henry David Thoreau’s advice on many occasions. In fact, of all the quotes about traveling I’ve collected here, this one has been the most influential. Don’t be afraid to travel alone.

13. “To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” — Freya Stark

A change of view always helps give me a new perspective on life. Traveling allows waking up to a different view on a regular basis. The perfect traveling quote.

14. “The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” — Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen’s words have made a big difference in my life. It’s so easy to get stuck believing that what we’re doing right now is all we’ll ever do. This is a great travel caption for Instagram…

15. “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” — Mark Twain

I wish the entire world could understand Mark Twain’s insight into traveling. We all have preconceived notions, but traveling has shown me that many are usually false. One of his top travel quotes!

16. “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Andre Gide

I used to be afraid to reach beyond my comfort zone. This is a great travel quote about throwing off the so-called safety net of your comfortable surroundings to discover new parts of the world (and yourself).

17. “The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, see them as they are.” — Samuel Johnson

There’s so much wisdom in Samuel Johnson’s quote on travel. Take a second to visualize a place you’ve never been. If you make that your next vacation spot, I bet you’ll find out that it’s completely different from your internal image.

18. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” — Saint Augustine

We may feel safe in our little bubble, but it’s also boring. That’s the primary reason I started traveling several years ago, and I’ve fallen in love with the thrill of discovery. It doesn’t get any more real than this short travel quote.

19. “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” — Seneca

When I travel, I’m able to give my mind something new and exciting to focus on. Studies say that we need to keep learning in order for our minds to thrive.

20. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” — Aldous Huxley

In perhaps the timeliest travel quote of all, Huxley reminds us that countries themselves aren’t bad, nor are their residents. Governments can be corrupt, but the spirit of the people always lives on.

21. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — Mark Twain (?)

While this is one of the most popular travel quotes of all time, it’s actually FAKE. Mark Twain never said this. The real author is H. Jackson Browne Jr. in his book PS I Love You, about letters written to his mom.

(Original Source)

[poeticpathos]

A Valid Question

Everything will meet an end, including space and time (or are they one thing? [That’s a question for another time]). So the big question people have been asking for a while now (haha) is as follows: “What was the point of everything to begin with?” A valid query, I admit. (I say “query” because people have usually asked a god or God this question; even though they should have been asking themselves the question, methinks.)

Well to answer a question, we must ask another: “What is defined as everything?” For example, is “everything” life as a human being, or is it life in general? Is it the life of the universe as a whole (Big Bang to dwindle)?

Here’s where I’d like to take a momentary pause to tell you something: this post is going to be a personal opinion; an educated guess, really. What I say cannot be proven as true, and it is no more fact than what’s written in the Bible. I am only a sixteen year old who wants to search through the depths of his own conscience to answer an age-old question for himself; hopefully helping others answer the question for themselves along the way. I also enjoy provoking thought, so this is fun for me. (Does that make me a boring person? Perhaps.) Now, let’s continue.

My definition of “everything” would be all of the events taking place from the very start of the universe, to its final moment of existence. I believe that there was a Big Bang, so for arguments sake I will leave out the existence of gods or God. (I believe in scientific evidence; in what has been shown to be true by the scientific method, physics, biology, mathematics, etc..) From here on out, “everything” can be defined as follows: the events (from the creation of energy and matter to what will be the final moments of the universe) which have and will have defined the universe on a cosmic and local (being our own lives, for example) scale.

I will go ahead and refer to “everything” as Everything. So, if Everything comes to an end, what was the “point”? Oh, how funny is this: another definition must be made. What is defined as the “point”?

Well, I’ll just spare you the details of how I came to a conclusion, but here is my definition of a “point” (although, I think it’s self-explanatory): a reason for the existence of a universe to begin with. From here on out, I will refer to the “point” as either the Point or “reason”.

Okay, now we can tackle the question: what was the reason for Everything? My answer might annoy, or even piss off others, but that’s not the purpose of having gone through the trouble of writing all of this. Here is the Point I have found: there is no Point. The reason for Everything is simply that it just is. This answer frustrates me, but I can’t seem to find any other logical Point. If religion was true, then the purpose would be clear: whatever it is that you believe in sets the parameters to the Point of your Everything; however, if religion is not true, then all scientific evidence aims its imaginary WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) to random probablity as the Point of Everything.

I choose to believe in the latter. But, give me life, and I shall do with it that which has never been done before. I’ve spent the last two hours of my time digging through the archives of my brain, and I must say that it’s been an interesting journey to arrive at this conclusion. It is a conclusion which I choose to believe in. One that definitely is not true for everyone. But I won’t just leave this post here without shattering even that: is reality even real? Have fun figuring that out for yourself; I’m going to go eat food and take a nap now.

[sol1056]

six anons: wtf were they thinking

Another round-up! I seem to have poked the hornet’s nest when it comes to the EPs --- though in some ways I was just building on the same clues that prompted such awesome meta from @janestrider​ and @ptw30​ --- and now I have a box filling up with asks, all over again.

Behind the cut: newbie writers, EP arrogance, earlier versions of S7, writerly randomness, EPs aren’t writers, and over-confidence. Welp. 

Let’s get this started.

Your words about being fascinated by this trainwreck is me 100%, I'm a newbie writer & I wouldn't dream of being this arrogant and think I can handle writing something like VLD by myself, like, premise and character arcs and characterization and consistency etc. are in my mind at all times and I still would have messed things up, but minor things like that don't even matter to the EPs apparently! VLD Is a giant What Not To Do list. How did they miss the 50 signs saying Danger: Cliff Up Ahead

and a second in the same vein:

Calling the EPs newbie writers is highly inaccurate methinks, newbie writers upon getting the reins ... sit down and write the rest of the story from scratch, trying to make it make sense and not completely ruin the premise and the character arcs. Regardless of success, they WRITE the rest, they don’t assemble random story points others wrote & copy paste things around. EPs aren’t writers.

Well, there’s newbie and there’s newbie-who-doesn’t-realize-it. 

Consider someone who’s ridden the train, every day, for the past ten or so years, always sitting in the first car near the conductor. They’ve been on the train when it’s broken down, when it’s late, when it’s early, when it has to plow through snow. Then someone offers them a supervisory position -- not as a driver, just a supervisor -- and they figure, hey, I’ve watched this enough, I can drive, too. Plus, the EPs had the power to force the real drivers to step aside, which just makes the entire situation even worse.  

In other words, they missed the signs because they didn’t even realize such signs exist. Those things you don’t learn (or even see) when you’re only watching from the outside. 

You, and everyone else replying, are classifying yourself more as the person who’s gotten a job on the train, and you kinda know trains, and you know they can break down, but driving it? Whole ‘nother ball of wax. 

Hold onto that humility. It’ll serve you well as a writer. Even once you reach the point you can confidently handle a complicated storyline, you still want to retain that humility, because it’s one-half of keeping empathy for your readers. 

The irony is, they were so arrogant in their belief they could do better than actual storytellers w/ years of experience (also presumably execs who checked up on them) that they not only loudly (and unprofessionally) complained about specific parts, but also broadcasted that they changed the story, and gave many clues as to where and above all why. 

You have no idea how many times in the past two years my jaw has dropped in complete shock when yet another EP quote has gone by on my dash. I cannot fathom making public that I disagreed with my bosses --- let alone using an interview to re-litigate a case I’d already lost. Well, I could, but only if I didn’t expect to have a job much longer. And that bit about doing “damage control” as a result of exec demands? Jeepers crow, dude. 

(there have been points where all I can say is, ‘wtf do these people have on their bosses to get away with this!?’ photograph negatives for blackmail? sleeping with an exec? I mean, srsly.)

On a more serious note, I’m constantly reminded of the old adage about innkeepers: you want to appear as a swan, gliding peaceful and serene, and never let the guests see that you’re paddling as fast as fuck under the surface. These EPs need a major come-to-jesus about that, because they’ve gone out of their way to splash loudly on a regular basis.

Then again, I don’t think either EP has much (if any) experience with interviews where they’re the main attraction. They seem ignorant of the fact that an interviewer is not your friend; there’s an agenda, and that agenda is to get clicks: something controversial, surprising, that’ll bring the eyeballs. The good interviewers can and will manipulate for their agenda. This is why PR people are usually present (if off-screen), because they’ll know the warning signs and call a halt, set certain questions (or answers) as off-limits. 

Most of the EPs’ interviews, there’s been no sign of PR. Hell, the EPs have admitted in interviews they couldn’t remember what had happened in the season they’re being interviewed about! (wtf srsly wtf) If we got more than we should’ve, that’s also on the EPs for not realizing they were getting played. 

And while I’m at it: an interview is not where you tell the story. Explain what did happen? Sure, though that’s a tacit acknowledgement that the story failed, if it requires your explanation after the fact. But to tell things that are vital to the story but don’t actually happen in the story? No. Just no. 

did we really get an interview where the EPs confirmed there was an original script with Shiro as the Black Paladin? If that's the case then HOLY CRAP. Talk about a missed opportunity.

Yep, I saw the quote but didn’t chase down the source. I think it was one of the interviews shortly after S7 aired. You’d need to ask someone who still reads all those interviews, since I don’t. I only see what goes past on my dash.

Well, missed opportunity but also... we all know (or should know) that the first idea is never what makes it to page or screen. And once the story’s done and the dust has settled, then you can do a track commentary about how the story changed between idea and execution. 

While the story’s in progress? Nope, nope, nope. You smile and say it’s all going according to plan, it’s an awesome season, you hope everyone enjoys it, everyone went the extra mile, etc. You say nothing about the disasters, the late-night sessions, the last-minute changes. If you can’t be a swan, be a cat: yep, we totally meant to do that.

To say what JDS did? I still cannot fathom why anyone would ever say that. There is no fandom on this planet that wouldn’t have some percentage enraged by news they’d been denied the story they’d expected. Hinting at discarded paths will always, always, disappoint someone --- and quite often, a lot more someones than you realize. 

Really, the only reason I can see is sheer contempt. For the audience, for the story, for anyone who’d worked on that previous version. It’s gloating. It’s saying, a lot of people worked on it, but we decided to throw away everything they’d done, and redo it as we wanted. 

Yes, I know that happens. It’s part of the process. But you don’t freaking boast about it, and you don’t plant in everyone’s head that there was something else out there. Especially when that something else was exactly what they’d been waiting for. 

It’s an asshole move, no two ways around it. 

@janestrider's post and yours about the VLD writers and EPs reminded me of a phrase JDS said in one interview after S6 about Cosmo ... "well, I wanted to give Keith a wolf, so I did". ... he doesn't seem to consider the consequences of his actions? That's also how he decided to write the Black Paladins episode ... "I wanted to make it a Winter Soldier type of thing, so I did". It feels like something a very unexperienced professional would do.

There’s no rule against throwing something into a story that you think is cool. I mean, easily 90% of any story out there revolves around something the author thinks is just freaking cool. Considering the hours we’re going to spend writing, revising, writing again, revising again, discussing, thinking, living, breathing, eating, dreaming about the story? It’d better be something we find cool. 

But that said... there’s a difference between making sure the story fires you up, and treating the story like a tossed salad. I’ve seen multiple pull-quotes from LM that affirm their approach was to chase the rule-of-cool. And... that’s not quite so okay, really. 

The Black Paladins episode is probably the best example, and ironic that it’s the only one JDS wrote, ‘cause it’s textbook failure. If you cannot hold the entire story in your head, then you will be blind as to how tossing in this idea or that -- no matter how cool -- may halt, muddy, or even undermine the story’s forward movement. When you can’t even pace a story properly, throwing in extra cool is just going to make the whole thing even more rickety. 

I did a long walk-through on that episode to outline how I’d translate it into a written story, and I’d planned to do a follow-up talking about the emotional aspect. The problem is... once I had a chance to think about the episodes after, there is no emotional context to that fight. Sure, it got a huge budget and attention, and it’s hyped like a big deal. 

But there’s no there, there. 

None of it matters. Keith went through all that for someone who wasn’t even his friend, someone who dies (or whatever) right after and is treated like an empty shell. And the one who rescued him wasn’t even the person he’d fought, but the person he’d thought he was fighting for and with -- who was dead, the whole time. The two episodes that follow basically gut the entire premise --- and all the emotion --- of that fight scene, and render it null. 

And that’s where the rule-of-cool smashes up against the need to hold the shape of the story in your head. You need to see the big picture of how each scene supports the story’s theme. JDS hasn’t the chops to see how what he’d created was promptly undone by what came next. 

Oh, I’m aware there are lots of fans who loved that episode and he sure basked in the accolades, but I can’t ignore that in the end, it means nothing. No one pointed out this will impact another thing downstream, or this later thing undermines what came before, or this breaks a continuous motif, or contradicts a theme. Anything. 

Or maybe someone did, and JDS told them that as the EP, he got the final say. Frankly, from the way he talks in interviews, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if that’s how it went down. 

@lysanatt commented on a post:

This to some degree even explains the over-confidence of EPs that avoiding the BYGs trope did not apply to them because, sure, they could do it better, landing them in the exact trap of doing a classic double BYG.

Call it what it is. It’s not over-confidence. It’s arrogance.

It’s complacency in over-estimating social capital as to what an audience might forgive or overlook. It’s an assumption that job titles or IMDB entries or the nice things people had said on twitter could be protection from being held accountable. It’s certainty that a rigid and uncreative vision of the story can and should override all other concerns, including the larger playing field in which this story is only one of millions. 

It’s a lack of concern for real-world damage. A lack of care for the craft. A lack of understanding that there even is a craft and it’s not learned overnight. A lack of willingness to stop and think about what the story is saying, what it means, what it’s trying to do. 

It’s an inflexible certainty, engendered and enabled by the near-constant attentive interviews and adoring reviews. It’s an inability to hold onto (or listen to) any reality-checks when it comes to hype. It’s falling so hard into enjoying the ego-strokes of constant interview and congratulatory reviewers and forgetting no one is doing anything out of altruistic reasons. Including them. 

In the end, it’s a complete failure of empathy. It’s near-constant trolling of execs and the audience at large, a broken record of obvious contempt. It’s an amoral and frankly callous disregard for the characters, the story, the messages, the themes. 

It’s never seeing the characters as people, and never seeing the audience as people, either. Stories matter because we, as human beings, care about other human beings, real or fictional --- a care the EPs have made clear they cannot, or will not, afford anyone but themselves. 

[worrentigre]

Rhuli’a’s Trial pt.1 (RP Scene)

Rhuli’a Kanjun.  The prospect who has approached Worren Tigre months ago, asking for official training as a Fist of Rhalgr.  Though the man shows potential, Worren has noticed a few personality traits that he finds unfavorable for a Fist.  So he has tested him and observed time and again, slowly sewing tidbits of training and advice in between.  However, this has gone on long enough, and Worren has one final test for him before he decides to induct him into the ranks of the Fists and train him for real.  The young man has spirit, pride, and skill.  Worren believes his view is narrow, and does not see the bigger picture.  This final trial will be conducted within the Temple of the Fist, much like Worren’s other student, Kodaro.  Not only will his body be tested, but also his mind and heart.  Will he return as a Fist of Rhalgr?  Or will he fail and not survive the trials ahead.

The location is Rhalgr's Reach, early morning. Worren is sitting at a table near one of the tents outside of the Temple of the Fist, dressed in his temple uniform. A call goes out over the linkshell network. "Kodaro and Rhuli'a. I need to see you both in Rhalgr's Reach today. I will be waiting near the Temple of the Fist." There's a moment's pause before Kodaro responds with the ghost of a yawn still apparent in his voice. "Do I need to bring my cyclas?" 

Worren: "Yes."

Kodaro: "...have I got time to grab breakfast first?"

Worren: "Yeah. No rush. Get yourself situated. I will be waiting."

The pearl catches the end of a relieved sigh. "Alright, then. I'll be there within the bell, sir." 

True to his word, the Seeker appears near the aetheryte no more than forty five minutes later. Clad in his muted green cyclas with the hood down, his mentor's gauntlets, and his own choice of steel greaves, he almost cuts an impressive figure were it not for his typical good natured grin. After a bit of wandering, he finds Worren and greets him with a formal bow before peering about the tents with his tattered ears swivling about.

"No Rhuli'a yet, huh? Nuts. I never seem to catch that guy outside of formal meetings. So, what's on the agenda today, sir?" Worren stands and returns the greeting, then waves him over. "Come sit. This is good. We can discuss the training before he gets here. It's time for his test, and you're gonna help me give it." Kodaro obliges and picks a perch, slinging a small rucksack to the ground beside him. "Like the one you put me through here, or have you got something else in mind?" Worren nods, "Oh, he's goin' in, all right. I need to see where he stands in times of duress. And man, will there be duress. It will be different from yours, though."

Kodaro: "He's ready to go in already? That's great, he must've made some serious progress if you're sending him in to the temple. What's my part in all this?"

Worren: "He's unlocked a gate already. Now it's time to see of he has the brains and resolve to use it properly. The aim of his test is survival. If he passes, he will have a prize waiting for him as well as my consent to formally train him as a Fist. If he fails, he dies."

He leans back casually. "Your part is simple. His path will be impeded with several scenarios that will take more than just his strength to get through. You will shadow and observe him. Feel free to add to whatever tests he comes across if they seem too easy for him. Do not be seen, and do not help him in any way. He needs to accomplish this with his own power and mind. Call it a question of... how bad does he really want it? I will also be watching."

The younger monk frowns a bit, fiddling uncomfortably with his eye patch until Worren finishes. "Sending him in and then letting him die is tantamount to murdering him ourselves; if I feel he's in real, direct, immediate mortal peril I will intervene." Kodaro lets the statement hang for a moment with grave finality before continuing with a slight grin. "Anything up to that point, though? I'm game. Coupla broken bones build character." Worren grunts. "If he dies, he dies." He looks to Kodaro sternly. "I have confidence in him, and I see potential, even if he does not, himself. This is his choice. It always has been. But, if he is wishing to walk this path, he will have to be willing to walk though the depths of hell, survive, grow, and remain humble."

Kodaro: "Worren, you swear off killing Spoken but you expect me to sit back and watch someone die? Absolutely no chance. I'm not budging on this. Any amount of harm short of that, fine, but I am drawing a line. I don't think it'll come to that kind of direct intervention, but I'm not just going to watch Rhuli'a die today if it comes to that." 

Rhuli'a hadn't bothered replying across the pearl. Only a few malms away from the Reach itself, he had taken it upon himself to simply travel there by foot. The dusty air of Gyr Abania whipped around him as he entered the reach after a passing of time. Spying the Highlander who had summoned him, he closed the distance between them, looking at the pair of them as he asked. "And today's labor is?" Kodaro cuts himself off as soon as he catches sight of the keeper; he hops down from his spot as Rhuli'a approaches and greets him with a wave and a toothy grin. "Hey! Long time, no see!" Rhuli'a gave a small, muted wave towards Kodaro, "Afternoon, friend."

Worren stands and approaches, putting a hand on Kodaro's shoulder and hisses in his ear quietly. "Go on ahead inside. We will use my network. And a word of caution; if you cannot continue to trust my judgement, then it may be time for you to be turned loose. We'll talk later." He straightens and nods again, before turning to Ruhli'a. "You made it. Great. Come, follow me. I will explain why I called you here on the way."

Kodaro nods quietly before turning to stroll inside, calling over his shoulder, "Good luck! Keep your cool and stay focused, yeah?" with an encouraging grin before drawing up his hood and calmly pacing through the towering double doors in to the temple.

Rhuli'a gave them both a questioning look before nodding towards Worren. Following him but a few paces behind, he waited for a few moments, and, if the Highlander did not start speaking, he'd venture forth with, "Some trial methinks. I would not think Kodaro would speak to me so if not."

Worren: "It is. Also why I don't ask of him for anything that requires much disgression.  What do you know about the Temple of the Fist? Has your family ever spoke about it?" He begins to lead them into the long entrance way.

Rhuli'a: "Nay, though I've taken a look at it from time to time. Obviously not allowed past the gates, but a looking glass has seen it closer to mine eye than I could hope."

Worren: "I see.  Not entirely accurate, though.  The outer areas of the temple are accessible to everyone.  It is inside the main area where only those who are strong may enter.  The monks of old used to come here to train, worship, and study.  Over time, changes have been made to make the temple a training and proving ground in and of itself.  The Fists would come here to test their abilities against the traps made within.  Today, I will be administering you the trial that will decide your standing within the Fists of Rhalgr.  Once we get to the main doors and you enter, you will be on your own.  You must make it through in one piece."  He speaks evenly now, devoid of emotion, and is looking straight ahead at the fountain they are approaching near the entrance doors.  "You will have to use all of your strength to get through these trials.  Survive, and you have proven to be one of us.  Fail, and you die."

He then stops and looks at Rulhi'a.  "Know that this is optional.  You are not being forced to take this trial.  However, if you do not take the trial, then I will turn you away, as I will believe you would not be able to make it as a Fist.  You could find another to guide your path, should you still wish to walk it.  But, if you take the trial, then may Rhalgr guide your steps.  Survive, and you join our ranks.  That means no more jerking you around; I will finally begin formally instructing you on your power, the culture, and what it means to be a Fist.  What are your questions?"

Rhuli'a gave Worren a look of slight disdain. "With all due respect, I'm hesitant to bring my arts to bear against simple machinery and such. Combat is reading and reacting to your opponent, not figuring out whether or not a blade will come out of a hidden slit in the ground. I'll take your trial, if only to prove that new ones are needed." The Miqo'te folded his arms across his chest, slightly uncomfortable as he furrowed his brow. Never one to shy away from expressing his thoughts, the dark-haired monk gave no indication that he was going to back down.

Worren continues his blank expression, as if observing the man. "Since you are so confident that you will complete this trial, then allow me to give you your first lessons early. Never mistake will power for overconfidence. Making assumptions can be the difference between life or death. And being a Fist of Rhalgr is much more than just one on one combat with another person. To assume so would be seeing only a small part of the big picture. Mastery of self is more than just martial mastery." He then turns to face him fully. He then puts his fist in his palm and gives a slight bow. "Our customary greeting between my brothers and sisters. You may not see this greeting often, but it is very important."

He gestures to the large doors that lead into the temple to begin the trial. "The trial will begin the moment you enter these doors. You will enter alone, and will have no help. There is no time limit, but it will do you well to not slack. If you survive, I will be waiting for you, and will be the first to greet you as a Fist of Rhalgr. And also, a word of caution. The most obvious solution is not always the correct one. May Rhalgr guide your steps through the temple." He nods and gestures to the door again.

Rhuli'a's eyes narrowed as Worren spoke to him. Breaking eye contact, he began to stretch himself out, warming himself up as the highlander continued to lecture him. In his mind was only a light buzzing as he contemplated all that was being told to him. Shoving it aside as nothing more than warnings, he stood, nodding once to the large man.

Turning without words, he strode to the door, shoving them open as he crossed the threshold.

Supremely confident.

@astralagency @berrodarmstrong @cfs-melkire @chiyohoshi @dynamitecowboy @fyrrdetelemagna @grandmastream @interdimensionalpeacekeeping @jancisstuff @nhara-tia @pom-friend @thetaleofoldmanmaruud @thornedblossom @valentinoix @supermeganick @syelirakaisuri

[kingofthewilderwest]

Send me a ship and i’ll rate it

Yaaas this is beautiful look at all the VLD ships being inquired about. <3 <3 Frosty I absolutely love your dedication and wish you the best of luck if you continue testing which ships I have. Hunay is one of them woot! Maybe I’ll have to give hints to help with the last two? ;)

Haddock’s Favorite VLD Ships

1. Klance 2. Hunay 3. ??? 4. ???

Shance

vomit / don’t ship / ok / cute / adorable / sexy / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

As with most other Shiro-Paladin ships, it’s hard for me to get on board with it due to age/maturity differences. Seventeen and twenty-five are pretty far apart from each other in term of life stages and personal growth, and I couldn’t imagine myself being able to enter a romantic relationship with a seventeen-year-old. 

There’s also something to be said about Shiro acting as a older authority to Lance... abruptly shutting Lance off from making siren noises, or telling Lance sternly that Keith will fly the Red Lion to the Blade of Marmora’s base, etc. There are many times we see Shiro keeping Lance in line, and not in the same sort of way Keith and Lance balance one another as equal comrades. Shiro might not be that much older than the other Paladins, and he might have a long-standing bond with eighteen-year-old Keith, but Josh Keaton himself said he channeled his fatherly experiences into Shiro’s voice acting, and the fandom’s nickname “space dad” entered the Paladin’s Handbook itself. Shiro’s relationship to Lance would be that of an older brother or “father” more than anything, so I cannot see it developing into a romance.

I suppose I also have a little challenge imagining what Shance would be like... Lance with his energetic spontaneity and Shiro with his serious professionalism? I don’t know that they’d match well.

So it’s one of the many VLD ships that I’m purely neutral on. ^.^ Nothing wrong with it, chill with it on my dash, just nothing that draws me personally!

Hance

vomit / don’t ship / ok / cute / adorable / sexy / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

Hance has some interesting potential and it could be cute, though I don’t ship it myself. It’s one of those bonds I like as a friendship! And frankly I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HUNK AND LANCE’S PAST. When Katie first enters the Garrison, it’s obvious Lance and Hunk are already good buds, and in the first episode, Hunk makes a comment that Lance’s actions “always” get him sent into the principal’s office... indicating a long period of shenanigans between them. I love how we see Lance casually lay his arm on Hunk’s shoulder when checking his assignment at the Garrison... I love that they are friends and Hunk gets pulled into Lance’s tomfoolery... and I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS PAST HISTORY.

So I love Hance as friends and I want to see more of it on screen in the present day. Gimme gimme!

Shatt

vomit / don’t ship / ok / cute / adorable / sexy / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

Okay I’m actually excited for the possibility of Shatt. I’m excited and I admit it. Good potential! 

We know that Shiro got along well with the Holts in his team... Shiro and Matt have got to have a good bond going. Shiro risking his life to save Matt from the gladiator ring already says something special. I could totally see Shatt being a cute endearing little thing. But I think I’d like to actually see them on screen more together (more than the opening two minutes of S1 E1 and that Champion flashback in S1 E3) and see what their real dynamics are before hopping on the Shatt train.

Side note... I facepalm that the fandom decided to name it Shatt. As in, like, the past form of shit with an extra t. I know Mattiro is longer but... it? doesn’t? sound? like? a? verb? for? pooping?

Plance

vomit / don’t ship / ok / cute / adorable / sexy / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

As much as Pidge says Lance bothers her, and as much as he can bother her with his more energetic antics, it’s fun to see the two of them have fun together. “Space Mall” is the prime example of Pidge and Lance getting excited together over the retro video games. That was great fun and I hope they build Pidge and Lance’s relationship!

But I also feel like Pidge and Lance are going the buddy route. I guess it’s hard for me to see Pidge getting romantic with any of the Paladins and would feel a bit off for her character. Plance is something I don’t think would develop into kisses. Hugs, though, yes. Let’s get platonic Plance hugs!

Platonic Kidge

vomit / don’t ship / ok / cute / adorable / sexy / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

They really need to give Keith and Pidge some time together, now that you bring it up!!! This hasn’t been developed much yet! There are a few interactions they have together, such as Keith yelling at Pidge about leaving the Voltron team way back in S1. But I think that Keith and Pidge actually becoming friends would be cute, and I want that to develop.

They’d be good at venting to one another... I imagine they probably have similar venting styles and pet peeves. They could probably have that “I KNOW RIGHT?” bounce back-and-forth that would make friends feel better once someone whines about their latest woe. I could imagine them being serious together. Also I can imagine them just chilling. They might not be doing much, Keith idly lounging, Pidge fidgeting around with her latest tech project, but they’d be comfortable in one another’s company, would make a few comments, would have a lazy evening well-spent. They wouldn’t rub into each other’s boundaries but would have good relaxed evenings together. Methinks I’d like that!!!

Hunay

vomit / don’t ship / ok / cute / adorable / sexy / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

Okay but this is CUTE. This is CUUUUUTE. THIS IS SO CUTE OKAY YES. CUTE CUTE CUTE.

Somehow I forgot about Hunay when I was thinking together my top VLD ships??? I think this actually trumps what I had mentally listed as two and three. So ya know what yeah. I do like me Hunk and Shay. :3333

If Hunk gets together with anyone in Voltron, I completely utterly wholeheartedly vote Shay!!!!! They are both sweet individuals who work for the better of the group, and we can already see them acting loyally to each other. Hunk is sooo doggone set to rescue Shay that he gets legitimately grumpy when the Paladins make another stop before the Balmera. Shay, on her own end, is willing to risk her life and safety for Hunk in turn. How much more they would be with even more time spent together! 

Romantic Hunay would be adorbs. Their relationship works very well as a friendship, and that’s what I’m sure they’re meaning to write it as, but I do think that Hunay could easily transition into something more. Love iiiiiiiiit!

[plush-anon]

plush reviews: pirates ahoy! (collected)

for my own personal reference, decided to collect the singular posts into one, w/ breaks between each original post below the cut

I will say this, the opening credits for this one are pretty dang good - nice visuals flow together with some wonderful music to create a compelling overview of the Bermuda Triangle and some of the wild theories commonly associated with it, as well as how far back these myths go. Kudos 🤗

also, I did not realize how short this movie is - paused it for a second and it’s only 70 minutes long apparently. huh

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oh man, good times - I forgot how stilted and choppy the WNSD animation could get in some shots.

annnnnd there’s the cotton candy fog. it moves like it’s on a skateboard being pulled across the screen XD

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finally cut to the gang - i honestly like this shot of everyone in the car. daphne paints her nails like my sister used to when we were young - on the dashboard on long car rides 😅 the nausea from the smell led to some “fun” trips, lemme tell ya 

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oh Casey Kasem, even in old age your Shaggy was memorably good

also the joke on Fred’s age never gets old XD like, you guys grew up together as kids in this continuity, how could you not know his age, much less that he’s obvs not in his 40s? still a fun one tho

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another thing i forgot about WNSD continuity - Shaggy’s character model being like 2 feet taller than Fred in some shots

also the gang being legitimate friends and liking each other and getting along, unlike some portrayals *side-eyes sdmi*

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i think this is my fave version of fred’s parents, although i do love Professor Huh from be cool scooby doo. they are EXACTLY how i picture the people who raised the sdway/wnsd version of Fred to be 

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holy crap, i forgot Kathy Najimy was in this 

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actually, here’s a thought: why haven’t they graduated Frank Welker to playing Fred’s dad in a show, and hired someone else to play Fred?

granted, the man still (uncannily I might add) sounds exactly like he did in the 60s (hOW?!?) but it’s strange they haven’t tried to do that yet apart from maybe pup named sd, where he played fred’s… uncle, i think and i guess kind of with the new scoob 2020 movie, where he only plays scooby

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…i think the captain of the ship just got beamed aboard the Enterprise o_O 

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the alien has the general head shape of the ones from Alien Invaders and the claw hands of dr claw from inspector gadget

also, whoever designs fred’s facial expressions in this movie is having waaaay too much fun (although kudos for actually… you know… making them. some characters have very minimal face movement and it’s rather unsettling, especially when the voice acting is actually pretty decent)

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i gotta say, good on fred’s parents for encouraging their son’s interests and talents, as well as getting him a birthday gift that he can not only enjoy, but also inviting his friends along for.

…unlike SOME incarnations *glares at sdmi*

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holy fcuk shaggy just brought back the ghost of captain cutler, glow-in-the-dark diving suit and all O_O 

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dang, velma’s lounge wear looks cozy. i’m glad they haven’t tried to force her into something weird

camp scare put her in a white bathing suit, which was… really odd for her, color scheme wise. altho the storyboard artists reaaaaaally wanted to do a drawn out, slo-mo play-in-the-water thing with velma and daphne in that one, so maybe that contributed to it? idk

---

i do like that the gang inadvertently solves every mystery on a mystery cruise - that cracks me up 

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cripes, they keep cutting back and forth between a decently animated shot of the gang on a polished background, and this almost MS Paint looking rough animation of the castaway being guided on the deck, which is all flat colors and rough black lines. it looks terrible

the animation quality is all over the place here

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and suddenly man in a jetpack

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RON PERLMAN?!?!?

how the FRICK did they get him on this movie cast?! this is post-hellboy!

( also apparently arsenio hall voices the captain. who the heck had all these high rollers on speed-dial at the studio that day)

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actually, here’s a thought: given the voice cast we have, and how i’m actually able to follow this without having to look at the screen all the time (i’m folding laundry rn), this could make for a really decent comedy mystery radio show.

think about it! get a decent voice cast and writing team, and there’s a lot you can do with Scooby on the radio. you may not be able to do the chase scenes as well, but those can be worked around pretty easily with a solid writing team. i’d be interested in seeing that come to reality in all honesty - it could be fun!

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another thing i just noticed: Scooby hasn’t talked NEARLY as much in this one as he does in later shows/movies. I forgot how much I missed that from him 

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wait a tic that’s Dan Castellaneta as the hypnotist

seriously, who was able to get all these people on board for a Scooby Doo DTV about pirates

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now here’s an interesting moment/snafu: Shaggy and Scooby canNOT be hypnotized, according to this movie, but the clown in SDWAY was able to hypnotize them both using the exact same method - a gold circular object on a chain swung back and forth.

then there was Legend of the Phantasaur much much later able to hypnotize Shaggy so successfully he overcame his panic disorder

was it because they weren’t allowed to eat prior? their meal was continuously interrupted before they were dragged onstage. maybe being actively hungry and denied food when it’s right in front of them blocks them from being hypnotized properly…?, idk but it’s food for thought, for sure 😁

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ehehe, one of the background guests is wearing a Tin Man costume from the Wizard of Oz

alas, this is prolly as close to a crossover as I’ll ever get between my first two fandoms ever and maybe that’s for the best

(honestly kind of surprised there's never been a scooby themed oz-related adventure tbh public domain and recognizeable)

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it took about half an hour into the movie for the title villains to actually encounter the gang, or almost exactly halfway through the movie. that’s actually pretty odd for a scooby movie, isn’t it?   especially when they haven’t encountered any other mystery except the fake-y ones (a lot start off with an in-progress mystery to finish up before being introduced to the main)

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welp, villain’s been spoiled, it’s ron perlman’s character as the pirate captain…

*sighs* Pirate Captain Skunkbeard

like… you get freaking Slade from the teen titans, Hellboy Himself, to voice your baddy… and you give him a name like Skunkbeard.

could have been something cool like Capt Barnaby Bones, or Cuthbert Butcher the Red Pirate, or SteelHook Slater, or Morgan “Moonscar” McWright (okay, that one’s been used before, but the point stands dammit!)

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holy moly, one of the pirates just tried to cut scooby and shaggy’s head off with an actual blade

it cut clean through their costume heads with one swipe

jesus christ on a bike, what is WRONG with you?!?!

(sometimes these scooby dtvs have moments like this. moments that explain how it is shag and scoob have what is likely ptsd for days)

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*gang follows trail of oozy green liquid sheen to the pirate ship*

now see, i thought those wooden ships weren’t supposed to pollute the oceans back in the day

(tho it does work as a solid clue i’ll grant em that)

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shaggy, why aren’t you more excited to go into the cotton candy fog? it’s clearly grape and green apple flavored! 

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…i think one pirate just killed another one during that sea shanty there

brutal

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so i didn’t mention earlier, but tim conway is fred’s dad, and i think he’s the only voice star in this i’m not surprised at - he’s been on the new scooby doo mysteries as their celebrity guest of the week, so him coming back is more like a belated reunion

that being said, his voice work here varies wildly between ‘what the heck take was that’ and ‘hysterical’ - it’s quite odd

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and suddenly the cruise ship is sunk, and the gang is on an island

alrighty then

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the captions are cracking me up right now - not a single one has spelled “bananas” right

it only spells it as “banas” 🤣🤣🤣

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“Prepare to suffer the wrath of Capt Skunkbeard!”

…nope, that’s still not intimidating. try again sir.

(truly i am made to sail the seas, for i am salty af on this name)

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‘Seize them!’

fade to black

come back in on gang tied to the pirate ship mast

…really? the gang has escaped far worse than a group of pirates before (and usually to some funky tunes), and you’re saying they were captured just like that?

fred, please tell me this is a plan of yours, otherwise this is just dumb

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sooo the pirates want to find a place that matches a painting of stars from 200 years ago… without ever stopping to consider that the painting could just be a pretty picture?

it’s a small painting, and i don’t think that star maps were really used like that back in the 1800s when it was purportedly made (at least not from what they look like on wikipedia… none of them look like pretty wall paintings)

these pirates are kinda dumb, methinks

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the ghosts of the bermuda triangle, including world war fighter places, old exploration ships, and a sea monster are apparently trying to stop the pirates

because the pirates want to time travel and rule the sea throughout time

and they needed the pretty pretty picture to lead them to the time travel macguffin they want to retrieve… which is also the sole reason the Bermuda Triangle is all bermuda triangly to begin with, when it fell to earth from space itself.

…say what now?

...that has to be one of the dumbest time travel plots i've ever heard and i sat through endgame twice

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the macguffin is a solid gold meteor

a giant hunk of gold literally as larger as twenty of the pirates put together, and you want to use it to time travel instead of selling that shit and being made for life

why are none of you smart

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yet again i see scooby shoot someone with an item that should have killed them outright and ended the mystery right there

moon monster madness had scooby shoot the alien with a missile on the moon, and pirates ahoy has him shoot a cannon at someone point blank with only a wooden door immediately between them

shrapnel should have shredded that pirate to bits, if even that much was left after that

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okay, the time travel thing turns out to be a hoax the hypnotist uses to convince the billionaire to finance his search for the literal meteor of solid gold located in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle

that’s a relief at least - Scooby Doo has done some weird shit in its days, but time travel does not need to be one of them

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well, at least we finally have the answer to who would win in a fight - homer simpson or scooby doo?

(obvs scooby, of course :D)

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according to velma, everyone on the cruise was hypnotized into believing they were pirates (including fred’s mom), but doesn’t hypnotism only work if the person actually subconsciously agrees with/goes along with the suggestions?

does that mean that at least one person on the cruise ship wanted to behead someone, since they nearly succeeded with Shag and Scoob? does that mean the fred’s mom secretly wants to kill her husband, since she tried to have him thrown overboard the ship while she was hypnotized?

the questions this raises, they are unsettling thoughts indeed 😨

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“Wouldn’t you like a nice ski trip to the Himalayas?”

“And risk a run in with the Abominable Snowman?! Forget it!”

exactly one year later (no joke, it came out exactly one year later):

“Join Scooby and Shaggy as they run in terror from the Abominable Snowman in the Himalayas, in Chill Out Scooby Doo!”

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And that was Scooby Doo Pirates Ahoy!

That was a relatively fun, if dumb, done-in-one mystery. What really saves this one (especially given the REALLY inconsistent animation quality, from acceptable to ‘someone used MS Paint didn’t they?’ levels) was the voice cast. I don’t know what blackmail they had on these guys, but the voice acting was really dang good.

Probably too good - the bad guys’ voices are so memorable you know immediately who they are when you hear them.

The time travel spiel was unbelievably dumb, only saved by the fact it was a hypnotic ruse, and some of the stuff doesn’t quite mesh that well? Like the padding on the desert island, and some of the really weird plot contrivances like the painting being the exact map to a giant ass solid gold meteor :/

Still, a solid set-up (mystery cruise in the Bermuda Triangle) with some new elements (Fred’s parents, an absolute delight) make it a fun film for the wee ones. I’d call this a keeper at the end of the day.

Then again, I really have forgotten how nice it is to see the gang as actual supporting friends and have it feel sincere. Be Cool Scooby Doo was mostly for humor, but the kids still felt like they liked each other well enough.

WNSD on the other hand really made them feel like actual friends, based on body language around each other, general closeness, and a warm comradery that’s hard to replicate. For the flaws this show has, this is certainly not one of them.

That’s all for tonight folks. Sleep well, me hardies yo ho!

[businessguide12-blog]

75 Best Travel Quotes To Inspire Your Wanderlust (Ultimate List)

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75 Best Travel Quotes To Inspire Your Wanderlust (Ultimate List)

Best Inspirational Travel Quotes Of All Time Inspirational Travel Quotes

Are these the best travel quotes of all time? Feed your wanderlust with these inspirational travelling quotes from famous travelers along with beautiful images you can share.

I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that I love inspirational traveling quotes.

These memorable travelling quotes accompanied by stunning photography have the ability to capture little moments of clarity that highlight truths about traveling, adventure, and life.

Great traveling quotes like these remind me that emotions I’ve felt while traveling the world for the past 9 years have been experienced by many others.

We’re all beautifully connected with each other by a love for traveling!

Enjoy these traveling quotes? Feel free to share the quote photos on Pinterest or Instagram! Also, check out my favorite motivational adventure quotes.

Here are my favorite travel quotes of all time, paired with some photos from my personal adventures around the world. I often share them on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

You have permission to share these quote images on your own accounts too, all I ask in exchange is to please credit me when possible. Thanks!

I hope they inspire you to pack up everything and head out into the unknown, to explore the farthest reaches of our planet( and your soul) — to see the world for what it really is.

Browse these fun quotes when you need wanderlust motivation — to build travel a priority in your life!

Travel Quotes With Images

Traveling is one of the best ways to open your mind and heart to the world. As a result, I’ve experienced the full range of emotions during my travels.

Although this has sometimes meant having my lifestyle and point of view challenged, I wouldn’t give up a single second of it because it helped shape me into the person I am today. Travel can change your perspective.

Like a less-intense version of an astronaut’s overview effect.

Many of these travel quotes have inspired me to keep exploring new destinations, learning about our world.

If you’re looking for inspiration to fuel your wanderlust, you’re certain to find the perfect excerpt below!

Inspiring Travel Quotes

Adventure is always worth it!

Travel isn’t always pretty …

1:” Adventure is worthwhile .”- Aesop

It doesn’t get more simplistic than Aesop’s take on traveling, the ancient Greek fabulist and storyteller. But that’s exactly why this classic travel quote continues to inspire me. Adventure can remind you about what’s important in life.

2: “Travel isn’t always fairly. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey alterations you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”- Anthony Bourdain

The late, great Anthony Bourdain actually reached the fingernail on the head here. Many think of traveling as a style to relax, and it utterly can be. However, I’ve always found that traveling helps you learn about the good and bad parts of the world.

Traveling leaves you speechless …

To seek other places, other lives …

3:” Traveling- it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller .”- Ibn Battuta

I’ve seen awe-inspiring things that I thought I’d never be able to explain to another person. Somehow, these experiences have helped me become a better storyteller.

4:” We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other spirits .”- Anais Nin

Anais Nin’s quote about traveling on a constant search for things that will build us feel whole sums up the desire to keep learning through experiences.

A journey is best measured in friends …

A departure into unknown lands …

5:” A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles .”- Tim Cahill

I couldn’t agree more! I’ve hit many friends around the world, and it’s the time I’ve expend with them that has attained my travels so fulfilling. People are always more memorable than checking off a pail list.

6:” The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands .”- Sir Richard Burton

Sir Richard Burton eloquently captured the spirit of wandering off into the unknown with this travel quote. The moment of anticipation is often sweeter than the final result.

7: “No place is ever as bad as they tell you it’s going to be.”- Chuck Thompson

Have you ever looked at your hometown through the eyes of a tourist? I understand better how easy it is to get jaded, but the truth is that every single place in the world has something of interest to show you.

I am not the same having assured the moon 8:” I am not the same, having assured the moon glisten on the other side of the world .”- Mary Anne Radmacher

I often gaze at the stars when I’m visit a new destination or on a road trip-up. It’s amazing to consider how places are the same, yet so very different.

9:” Travel constructs one modest. You ensure what a tiny place you occupy in the world .”- Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert continued Radmacher’s wise observation in this insightful trip quote. I definitely used to think that my life, and my country, played a bigger role in the world until I strapped on my backpack and began traveling.

Famous Quotes About Travel We travel so life does not escape us. 10:” We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us .”- Anonymous

I feel a heavy weight on my heart when I don’t travel for an extended amount of day. As soon as I set off for someplace new, the burden of stagnation autumns away and I feel renewed.

11: “The man who runs alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.”- Henry David Thoreau

I’ve heeded Henry David Thoreau’s advice on many occasions. In fact, of all the quotes about traveling I’ve collected here, this one has been the most influential. Don’t be afraid to travel alone.

To awaken alone in a unusual town …

The life you have led …

12:” To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world .”- Freya Stark

A change of opinion always helps give me a new view on life. Traveling allows waking up to a different position on a regular basis. The perfect traveling quote.

13:” The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.”- Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen’s words have made a big difference in my life. It’s so easy to get stuck believing that what we’re doing right now is all we’ll ever do. This is a great travel caption for Instagram…

14:” Broad, wholesome, charitable positions of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime .”- Mark Twain

I wish the entire world could understand Mark Twain’s insight into traveling. We all have preconceived notions, but traveling has shown me that many are usually false.

READ MORE: How To Work& Travel The World

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has courage … 15:” Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the gallantry to lose sight of the coast .”- Andre Gide

I used to be afraid to reach beyond my consolation zone. This is a great travel quote about hurling off the so-called safety net of your comfy surrounds to discover new parts of the world( and yourself ).

16:” The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, ensure them as they are .”- Samuel Johnson

There’s so much wisdom in Samuel Johnson’s quote on traveling. Take a second to visualize a place you’ve never been. If you stimulate that your next vacation spot, I bet you’ll find out that it’s completely different from your internal image.

The world is a book … 17:” The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page .”- Saint Augustine

We may feel safe in our little bubble, but it’s also boring. That’s the primary reason I started traveling several years ago, and I’ve fallen in love with the thrill of discovery. It doesn’t get any more real than this short travelling quote.

18:” Travel and alteration of place impart new vigor to the mind .”- Seneca

When I travel, I’m able to give my mind something new and exciting to focus on. Studies say that we need to keep learning in order for our minds to thrive.

Twenty years from now … 19:” Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do .”- Mark Twain?

While this is one of the most popular travel quotes of all time, it’s actually FAKE. Mark Twain never said this. The real writer is H. Jackson Browne Jr. in his volume PS I Love You, about letters written to his mom.

There are a few fake travel quotes out there, so be careful what you share!

Anonymous Quotes On Traveling Once a year, run someplace you’ve never been before. 20:” Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before .”- Anonymous

This simple travel quote says everything is. My mind craves new experiences, and I quite simply cannot get them from my hometown anymore. By going somewhere new at least once a year, I continue to grow in numerous ways.

21:” Travel is the only thing you buy that make-ups you richer .”- Anonymous

Money induces traveling a prospect, but it doesn’t enrich you like sharing experiences with new cultures. I’m not sure who coined this inspirational travel quote, but they hit the fingernail on the head!

22: “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”- Aldous Huxley

In perhaps the timeliest travel quote of all, Huxley reminds us that countries themselves aren’t bad , nor are their residents. Governments can be corrupt, but the spirit of the people always lives on.

Live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds …

Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.

23:” Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or pay off in factories .”- Ray Bradbury

Nothing can replace the thrill of travelling for me. I’d rather assure things in the real world than expend my day imagining them. None of the entertainment devices that humans have invented can come close to the joy I experience exploring the world.

24: “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” — Peter Hoeg

I’ve been at my best, and at my absolute worst while traveling. Emotions are bigger during these trip-ups because there’s so much new information to process. Peter’s traveling quote reveals a truth that many travelers can relate to.

READ MORE: My Favorite Travel Books& Writers

You don’t have to be rich …

If you reject the food& ignore the customs ..

25:” You don’t have to be rich to travel well .”- Eugene Fodor

Creator of the famous Fodor Guides Eugene Fodor’s quote assists highlight that people of almost any budget can travel. For instance, a few years ago I hitchhiked across the United Country for 5 weeks, and “its one” of my best travel experiences.

26: “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, dread the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”- James Michener

I completely agree with Michener. There’s really no point in traveling to a new nation if you’re only interested in staying inside the walls of a resort. I believe that the point of traveling is to learn about new cultures and customs and truly open our minds.

People don’t take journeys … 27:” People don’t take journeys, trips take people .”- John Steinbeck

Here’s another quote that isn’t exactly true. While not wholly fake, it is a paraphrase of Steinbeck’s actual terms in Travels With Charley: In Search Of America that reads :P TAGEND “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all schemes, precautions, policies and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us .”

Going on a trip may start with a lot of planning, but the truth is that once you arrive somewhere new, the area instantly begins to change you.

28: “When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting.”- Clint Borgen

If you think your country does everything the right way and is adored by other nations, you’ll definitely have those notions put to the test when you enter another country. I’ve learned so much better about the route my nation is viewed on the international arena. This is the perfect travel quote for Instagram or Pinterest.

29: “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of traveling is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”- Bill Bryson

Have you ever felt the rain on your skin in multiple countries? I have, and I’m here to tell you that it’s always a thrilling sensation each time it happens somewhere new. By traveling, I’ve learned to appreciate things that I is usually ignore.

Short Travel Quotes

Life is either a daring adventure …

Travel is never a matter of money …

30: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”- Helen Keller

Just like everyone else, I expend some of my days sitting on a couch watching television. Of course, these aren’t the moments that define me , nor are they what I think of when straying through my favorite memories. It’s the adventurous side of life that makes living truly worthwhile to me.

31:” Travel is never a matter of fund, but of courage.” — Paulo Coelho

Yes, travelling does require some money. However, you’ll also need to gather enough fortitude to temporarily cast off everything about your daily life that makes it so comfortable — and boring.

32:” Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey .”- Babs Hoffman

I used to obsess over every single little thing that could go wrong during a trip-up. This caused me to too plan everything. Little things can go wrong anywhere, so they’re not worth worrying about.

33:” He who would travel merrily must travel light .”- Antoine de St. Exupery

This became one of my travel mottoes after an unfortunate experience trying to schlep a massive knapsack from the airport to a hotel via public transportation. I know exactly what ol’ Antoine was talking about in this travel quote!

34: “Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of exhilaration and adventure.”- Irving Wallace

If we’re being honest with ourselves, the routines of daily life are monotonous. For me, all it takes is a trip to a new city or country to reignite my sense of adventure.

READ MORE: How To Find The Cheapest Flights

Not all those who wander …

Strangers should be friends.

35:” Not all persons who stray are lost .”- J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s wisdom truly shines through in this quote. I have applied it to several of my trip-ups by allowing myself to simply wander through a new land as opposed to plotting everything out first.

36: “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear induces strangers of people who should be friends.”- Shirley MacLaine

This quote is as relevant today as it was when it was first uttered. People have an unfortunate tendency to claim others as their foe without even getting to know them first. This is an issue that’s propagated by anxiety of the unknown, and it has led to a lot of lost opportunities throughout history.

37:” I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine .”- Caskie Stinnett

Staying in one place for too long definitely constructs my wanderlust start itching for a new adventure. Routine has its place, but too much of it makes me feel stagnant. I love shaking up my daily life by visit a new place and immersing myself inside a different culture.

A mind that is stretched by experience …

Happiness is a way of travel …

38:” A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions .”- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Everything I’ve learned during my travellings has forever expanded and changed my mind. This travelling quote depicts Holmes clearly grew in a similar way by visiting new lands.

39: “Remember that happiness is a way of travel- not a destination.”- Roy M. Goodman

Many chase the elusive dream of happiness when they should be embracing it inside of each little moment, as Roy alludes to in this inspiring quote. I learned long ago that happiness is found in the details.

Road Trip Quotes Life begins at the end of your convenience zone … 40:” Life begins at the end of your consolation zone .”- Neale Donald Walsch

What is your comfort zone? If I’d never learned to stretch mine, I’d still sit right on the same couch after run every single day for the rest of my life. Instead, I challenged myself to tackle new challenges and to see areas of the world that had intimidated me.

41: “Once in a while it genuinely hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.”- Alan Keightley

One of my favorite travel memories involves sitting on a sidewalk in Nicaragua eating some chicken& rice. I watched local people walk by for at least 30 minutes, going about their daily routines. This simple experience still defines Nicaragua for me in a way that visiting a famous tourist attraction never could.

42: “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of insuring things.”- Henry Miller

I frequently remind myself of this quote about traveling from Henry Miller. After all, simply checking off travel locations means nothing if you don’t allow each journey to change you in some manner. I love to soak up a new culture and learn more about the locals’ point of view.

I haven’t been everywhere but … 43: “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”- Susan Sontag

Every place on the planet has great potential to help us learn and grow. That’s the primary reason that there’s nowhere in the world I wouldn’t run if I had safe passageway. Right now, there are some cities and nations that aren’t very welcoming, but I’d still love to see them someday.

44: “Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Merely when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.”- Wendell Berry

You cannot maybe hope to learn the true nature of the world by doing nothing more than reading about it. As valuable as reading is, it always takes a backseat to discovering the world for yourself.

READ MORE: Money Saving Travel Resource

Take only memories … 45: “Take only memories, leave merely footprints.”- Chief Seattle

This is one of the classic travel quotes that everyone would be well-advised to remember. It breaks my heart to see historic areas filled with trash by careless travelers. We have a responsibility to preserve things as much as possible.

46: “Two roads diverged in a timber and I- I took the one less traveled by.”- Robert Frost

I took Frost’s words at face value in my teen years, but as an adult, I realize there’s much more to his sentiment. Seeing and doing the same things as everyone else can make it difficult to discover your own true identity.

47: “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.”- Charles Dudley Warner

The start of each new trip is an exciting time that’s characterized by a mixture of wonder and fear. You have no idea if the trip will go as planned, but the unknown is what builds everything so exciting.

Oh the places you’ll run! 48:” Oh the places you’ll run .”- Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss serves as a reminder that we can go anywhere if we stop putting restrictions on ourselves. The world is waiting; we are only have to have the courage to answer the call. Doing this, again and again, has given my life meaning.

49:” It is not down in any map; true places never are .”- Herman Melville

Much like the hidden parts of our spirits, we cannot hope to find something completely original and unspoiled without stray from the map. I devote myself the freedom to explore anything that catches my attention.

Invest in yourself through travel … 50: “Investment in traveling is an investment in yourself.”- Matthew Karsten

Yup. I’m Matthew Karsten, and I totally just snuck in one of my own traveling quotes. Haha! But I really mean this too. When I first quit my unfulfilling day task to go backpacking around the world, I didn’t know what I was doing, or where it would all take me. But traveling taught me a lot about life, as well as myself.

51: “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”- Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson was much more than only a idolized novelist; he was also a travel writer. This particular inspiring quote has always spoken to me. The exhort to go somewhere new , no matter where it is, often grabs me.

52: “Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” — Lawrence Block

There is nothing more exciting than turning a corner while traveling and receiving something riveting. I remember this happening when I stumbled onto a work of art by street artist Banksy. I don’t even remember my original destination, but I do remember the style I felt looking at Banksy’s art!

Better to see something once … 53: “Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times.”- Asian Proverb

This is, by far, my favorite Asian proverb, and it’s truly one of the world’s most accurate travel quotes. I am always in awe when I find myself standing in front of an iconic landmark. Sometimes, they’re less impressive than the narratives I’ve heard, but even that’s a worthwhile experience.

54: “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.”- Jack Kerouac

Is there anyone more uniquely qualified to provide insightful quotes about traveling than the author of” On the Road ?” Traveling doesn’t always go as smoothly as you’d expect. Despite this, I’ve discovered many times that the trip-up itself is every bit as arousing as the destination.

55: “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comforts of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things — air, sleep, dreamings, the high seas, the sky. All things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.”- Cesare Pavese

Pavese’s volumes often spoke about loneliness and the inability to connect to others in a meaningful way. Although his commentary on traveling does contain some truth, I’ve always taken it with a grain of salt. Yes, traveling is also available brutal at times, but I believe it’s also one of the most freeing experiences a person can have.

56: “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me … Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”- Shel Silverstein 57: “And then there is the most dangerous danger of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”- Randy Komisar

Many people say inspiring things, but Komisar has lived them as a successful venture capitalist. Don’t fall into the trap of believing there will eventually be a perfect time to follow your dreamings. Through traveling, I’ve learned the only perfect time is now.

Life is short and the world is wide …

Spending your life not doing …

58: “Life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better.”- Simon Raven

Controversial author Simon Raven said a lot of odd things in his time, but his traveling quotes were typically spot on. After all, the only way to see the entire world is to start take travel-sized bites out it as early as possible.

59: “The journey not the arrival matters.”- T.S. Eliot

Eliot’s poetry inspired countless novelists, but I’ve always been the most taken by this simplistic quote. When I first started traveling, I placed route too much focus on getting to my destination. By learning to let that go, I’ve developed some of my fondest traveling memories.

Unique Travel Quotes

Almost nothing is so familiar …

To travel is to live.

60: “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travelling is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”- Bill Bryson

If you want to read humorous but insightful books about traveling, you should definitely check out Bill Bryson. He’s absolutely right about not taking things for awarded on the road.

61: “To travel is to live.”- Hans Christian Andersen

I grew up reading Anderson’s fairy tales but didn’t know about his traveling writing until later. Now, I know that his many quotes about traveling truly captured the essence of why it’s so important to explore new areas.

62: “What you’ve done becomes the magistrate of what you’re going to do — especially in other people’s intellects. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.”- William Least Heat Moon

Heat-Moon was so dedicated to writing unique travel books that he journeyed across the U.S. in a 1975 Econoline van. I also love the idea of get a fresh start in each new town.

63: “Travel makes a wise man better but a fool worse.”- Thomas Fuller

Fuller broke new ground with his literary skills, which allowed him to earn a living long before being an author was a viable full-time career for novelists. Some say that everyone is changed for the better by traveling, but Fuller warned us that this wasn’t the case.

There ain’t no surer route … 64: “I have found out that there ain’t no surer route to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”- Mark Twain

American treasure Mark Twain wasn’t one to mince words, but his humor attained even the bitterest truths easier to swallow. Unfortunately, I found out the wisdom behind his words the hard way through experience.

65: “The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.”- Wallace Stevens

Stevens had a love for the simple things in life, as demonstrated in one of his titles:” The Emperor of Ice-Cream .” He’s also right; the entire world contains beauty. That’s why I long to travel to every country on earth.

There is no end to the escapades … 66: “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and escapade. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”- Jawaharial Nehru

It’s unsurprising that someone who learned directly from Gandhi would have such an inspiring way of looking at the world. Open your eyes to the beauty of a sunrise or waves rolling into the shore. No matter how many times you’ve seen them, they’re still full of beauty.

67: “I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.”- Melody Truong

Melody Truong’s words resonate with me because they’re so full of truth. The impression of loving unexplored parts of the world is exactly what pushes me to keep traveling.

Take half the clothes and twice the money.

Travel to meet yourself …

68: “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your fund. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.”- Susan Heller

Heller’s widely quoted travel proverb has influenced the way I travel. I used to pack way more than I needed, and this obstructed my travels. Cutting your luggage down and packing more money always makes things easier.

69: “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.”- David Mitchell

David Mitchell’s best-selling fictions typically involve traveling, as evidenced by this quote from” Cloud Atlas .” It’s difficult to get to know yourself when you’re stuck in the rut of normality. I always have the best self-awareness breakthroughs after a period of travel and inner reflection.

70: “Live your life by a compass , not a clock.”- Stephen Covey

People have turned to Covey for business advice for years, but I’ve found the most value in this one simple quote. I used to meticulously plan each journey down to the minute.

71: “I travel because it attains me realise how much I haven’t assured, how much I’m not going to see, and how much I still need to see.”- Carew Papritz

Being born in Yosemite National Park enabled the travel bug to bite Papritz at birth. His thought-provoking spin on the purpose of travel has greatly influenced me. I may never see it all, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.

Wherever you go becomes a part of you … 72: “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”- Anita Desai

Indian novelist Anita Desai nails this one with her inspiring quote about traveling. We’re all shaped by each of our experiences. I love it that every new adventure helps shape me for the most wonderful.

73: “We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.”- Ray Bradbury

Bradbury’s books often transport readers to another time or place. We cannot travel to other time periods in the real world, but we can take in the architecture of the past.

74: “Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrate it for everything that it is.”- Mandy Hale

Author Mandy Hale personifies her viewpoint as the” single girl with a story to tell .” I try to remind myself of this quote whenever life think this is spinning out of control.

75: “Wherever you go, go with all your heart! ”- Confucius

Confucius was an early proponent of social equality who urged people to live a life of morality and seriousnes. I’ve interpreted this quote to mean that it’s important to be fully committed to each new experience.

Ready To Travel The World?

Congratulations on read down this far! I know that was quite a list of inspiring traveling quotes from famous writers. But if you’re still sick with wanderlust, and ready to travel more, you’re in luck.

The travel blog you’re reading right now is how I make a living while traveling. Interested in doing the same?

Enjoy writing& photography? Check out my free guide to starting your own travel blog and make a living while traveling. Travelling Planning Resources Packing Guide

Check out my travel gear guide to help you start packing for your journey. Pick up a travel backpack, camera gear, and other useful traveling accessories.

Book Your Flight

Book cheap flights on Skyscanner, my favorite airline search engine to find bargains. Also read my tips for how I find the cheapest flights.

Rent A Car

Discover Car Hire is a great site for comparing automobile costs to find the best deal. They search both local& international rental companies.

Volume Accommodation

Booking.com is my favorite hotel search engine. Or rent local apartments on Airbnb ($ 35 discount !). Read my post for tips-off on booking inexpensive hotels.

Protect Your Trip

Don’t forget travel insurance! I’m a big fan of World Nomads for short-term trip-ups. Protect yourself from possible trauma& stealing abroad. Read more about why you should always carry travel insurance.

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READ MORE TRAVEL INSPIRATION& TIPS

I hope you enjoyed my guidebook to the best travel quotes for inspiration! Hopefully you procured it useful. Here are a few more wanderlust-inducing articles that I recommend you read next :P TAGEND

Curious how I’m able to make money while traveling? This is how I get paid to travel. Mexico is one of my favorite destinations. Here are some fun things to do in the Yucatan Peninsula. Prepare for an Iceland road trip with my ultimate guidebook to driving Iceland’s Ring Road. Get inspired with incredible photos from Afghanistan that you won’t see in the news. Take better travelling photos with my useful guide to the best travel cameras for any budget.

Have any great travel quotes I might have missed? Which quote is your favorite? Drop me a message in the comments below!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond escapade blog.

Read more: expertvagabond.com

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Best Inspirational Travel Quotes Of All Time

Inspirational Travel Quotes

Are these the best travel quotes of all time? Feed your wanderlust with these inspirational travel quotes from famous travelers along with beautiful images you can share.

I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I love inspirational travel quotes.

These memorable travel quotes accompanied by stunning photography have the ability to capture little moments of clarity that highlight truths about travel, adventure, and life.

Great traveling quotes like these remind me that emotions I’ve felt while traveling the world for the past 9 years have been experienced by many others.

We’re all beautifully connected with each other by a love for travel!

adventure quotes.

Here are my favorite travel quotes of all time, paired with some photos from my personal adventures around the world. I often share them on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

You have permission to share these quote images on your own accounts too, all I ask in exchange is to please credit me when possible. Thanks!

I hope they inspire you to pack up everything and head out into the unknown, to explore the farthest reaches of our planet (and your soul) — to see the world for what it really is.

Browse these fun quotes when you need wanderlust motivation — to make travel a priority in your life!

Travel Quotes With Images

Traveling is one of the best ways to open your mind and heart to the world. As a result, I’ve experienced the full range of emotions during my travels.

Although this has sometimes meant having my lifestyle and point of view challenged, I wouldn’t give up a single second of it because it helped shape me into the person I am today. Travel can change your perspective.

Like a less-intense version of an astronaut’s overview effect.

Many of these travel quotes have inspired me to keep exploring. If you’re looking for inspiration to fuel your wanderlust, you’re certain to find the perfect quotation below!

Inspiring Travel Quotes

Adventure is always worth it!

Travel isn’t always pretty…

1: “Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

It doesn’t get more simplistic than Aesop’s take on traveling, the ancient Greek fabulist and storyteller. But that’s exactly why this classic travel quote continues to inspire me. Adventure can remind you about what’s important in life.

2: “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

The late, great Anthony Bourdain really hit the nail on the head here. Many think of traveling as a way to relax, and it absolutely can be. However, I’ve always found that traveling helps you learn about the good and bad parts of the world.

Traveling leaves you speechless…

To seek other places, other lives…

3: “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

I’ve seen awe-inspiring things that I thought I’d never be able to explain to another person. Somehow, these experiences have helped me become a better storyteller.

4: “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

Anais Nin’s quote about traveling on a constant search for things that will make us feel whole sums up the desire to keep learning through experiences.

A journey is best measured in friends…

A departure into unknown lands…

5: “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

I couldn’t agree more! I’ve made many friends around the world, and it’s the time I’ve spent with them that has made my travels so fulfilling. People are always more memorable than checking off a bucket list.

6: “The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Sir Richard Burton eloquently captured the spirit of wandering off into the unknown with this travel quote. The moment of anticipation is often sweeter than the final result.

7: “No place is ever as bad as they tell you it’s going to be.” – Chuck Thompson

Have you ever looked at your hometown through the eyes of a tourist? I understand how easy it is to get jaded, but the truth is that every single place in the world has something of interest to show you.

I am not the same having seen the moon

8: “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

I often gaze at the stars when I’m visiting a new destination or on a road trip. It’s amazing to consider how places are the same, yet so very different.

9: “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert continued Radmacher’s wise observation in this insightful trip quote. I definitely used to think that my life, and my country, played a bigger role in the world until I strapped on my backpack and began traveling.

Famous Quotes About Travel

We travel so life does not escape us.

10: “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

I feel a heavy weight on my heart when I don’t travel for an extended amount of time. As soon as I set off for someplace new, the burden of stagnation falls away and I feel renewed.

11: “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau

I’ve heeded Henry David Thoreau’s advice on many occasions. In fact, of all the quotes about traveling I’ve collected here, this one has been the most influential. Don’t be afraid to travel alone.

To awaken alone in a strange town…

The life you have led…

12: “To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark

A change of view always helps give me a new perspective on life. Traveling allows waking up to a different view on a regular basis. The perfect traveling quote.

13: “The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” – Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen’s words have made a big difference in my life. It’s so easy to get stuck believing that what we’re doing right now is all we’ll ever do. This is a great travel caption for Instagram…

14: “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

I wish the entire world could understand Mark Twain’s insight into traveling. We all have preconceived notions, but traveling has shown me that many are usually false.

READ MORE: How To Work & Travel The World

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has courage…

15: “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

I used to be afraid to reach beyond my comfort zone. This is a great travel quote about throwing off the so-called safety net of your comfortable surroundings to discover new parts of the world (and yourself).

16: “The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

There’s so much wisdom in Samuel Johnson’s quote on travel. Take a second to visualize a place you’ve never been. If you make that your next vacation spot, I bet you’ll find out that it’s completely different from your internal image.

The world is a book…

17: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine

We may feel safe in our little bubble, but it’s also boring. That’s the primary reason I started traveling several years ago, and I’ve fallen in love with the thrill of discovery. It doesn’t get any more real than this short travel quote.

18: “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

When I travel, I’m able to give my mind something new and exciting to focus on. Studies say that we need to keep learning in order for our minds to thrive.

Twenty years from now…

19: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

Mark Twain proved once again to be an extremely wise man with this travel quote about the power of regret. I cannot imagine reaching the end of my life with a huge bucket list of things that were never crossed off.

Anonymous Quotes On Traveling

Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

20: “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” – Anonymous

This simple travel quote says it all. My mind craves new experiences, and I quite simply cannot get them from my hometown anymore. By going somewhere new at least once a year, I continue to grow in numerous ways.

21: “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Anonymous

Money makes traveling a possibility, but it doesn’t enrich you like sharing experiences with new cultures. I’m not sure who coined this inspirational travel quote, but they hit the nail on the head!

22: “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

In perhaps the timeliest travel quote of all, Huxley reminds us that countries themselves aren’t bad, nor are their residents. Governments can be corrupt, but the spirit of the people always lives on.

Live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds…

Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.

23: “Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury

Nothing can replace the thrill of travel for me. I’d rather see things in the real world than spend my time imagining them. None of the entertainment devices that humans have invented can come close to the joy I experience exploring the world.

24: “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” — Peter Hoeg

I’ve been at my best, and at my absolute worst while traveling. Emotions are bigger during these trips because there’s so much new information to process. Peter’s travel quote reveals a truth that many travelers can relate to.

READ MORE: My Favorite Travel Books & Writers

You don’t have to be rich…

If you reject the food & ignore the customs..

25: “You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor

Creator of the famous Fodor Guides Eugene Fodor’s quote helps highlight that people of almost any budget can travel. For example, a few years ago I hitchhiked across the United States for 5 weeks, and it was one of my best travel experiences.

26: “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

I completely agree with Michener. There’s really no point in traveling to a new country if you’re only interested in staying inside the walls of a resort. I believe that the point of traveling is to learn about new cultures and customs and truly open our minds.

People don’t take trips…

27: “People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

Going on a trip may start with a lot planning, but the truth is that once you arrive somewhere new, the area instantly begins to change you.  Traveling can truly be transformative if you allow the trip to take hold of you.

28: “When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting.” – Clint Borgen

If you think your country does everything the right way and is revered by other nations, you’ll definitely have those notions put to the test when you enter another country. I’ve learned so much about the way my nation is viewed on the international stage. This is the perfect travel quote for Instagram or Pinterest.

29: “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

Have you ever felt the rain on your skin in multiple countries? I have, and I’m here to tell you that it’s always a thrilling sensation each time it happens somewhere new. By traveling, I’ve learned to appreciate things that I would normally ignore.

Short Travel Quotes

Life is either a daring adventure…

Travel is never a matter of money…

30: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

Just like everyone else, I spend some of my days sitting on a couch watching television. Of course, these aren’t the moments that define me, nor are they what I think of when wandering through my favorite memories. It’s the adventurous side of life that makes living truly worthwhile to me.

31: “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” — Paulo Coelho

Yes, travel does require some money. However, you’ll also need to gather enough courage to temporarily cast off everything about your daily life that makes it so comfortable — and boring.

32: “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the trip.” – Babs Hoffman

I used to obsess over every single little thing that could go wrong during a trip. This caused me to overly plan everything. Little things can go wrong anywhere, so they’re not worth worrying about.

33: “He who would travel happily must travel light.” – Antoine de St. Exupery

This became one of my travel mottoes after an unfortunate experience trying to schlep a massive backpack from the airport to a hotel via public transportation. I know exactly what ol’ Antoine was talking about in this travel quote!

34: “Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace

If we’re being honest with ourselves, the routines of daily life are monotonous. For me, all it takes is a trip to a new city or country to reignite my sense of adventure.

READ MORE: How To Find The Cheapest Flights

Not all those who wander…

Strangers should be friends.

35: “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s wisdom really shines through in this quote. I have applied it to several of my trips by allowing myself to simply wander through a new land as opposed to plotting everything out first.

36: “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine

This quote is as relevant today as it was when it was first uttered. People have an unfortunate tendency to claim others as their enemy without even getting to know them first. This is an issue that’s propagated by fear of the unknown, and it has led to a lot of lost opportunities throughout history.

37: “I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.” – Caskie Stinnett

Staying in one place for too long definitely makes my wanderlust start itching for a new adventure. Routine has its place, but too much of it makes me feel stagnant. I love shaking up my daily life by visiting a new place and immersing myself inside a different culture.

A mind that is stretched by experience…

Happiness is a way of travel…

38: “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Everything I’ve learned during my travels has forever expanded and changed my mind. This travel quote shows Holmes clearly grew in a similar way by visiting new lands.

39: “Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

Many chase the elusive dream of happiness when they should be embracing it inside of each little moment, as Roy alludes to in this inspiring quote. I learned long ago that happiness is found in the details.

Road Trip Quotes

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone…

40: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch

What is your comfort zone? If I’d never learned to stretch mine, I’d still be sitting on the same couch after work every single day for the rest of my life. Instead, I challenged myself to tackle new challenges and to see areas of the world that had intimidated me.

41: “Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” – Alan Keightley

One of my favorite travel memories involves sitting on a sidewalk in Nicaragua eating some chicken & rice. I watched local people walk by for at least 30 minutes, going about their daily routines. This simple experience still defines Nicaragua for me in a way that visiting a famous tourist attraction never could.

42: “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

I frequently remind myself of this quote about traveling from Henry Miller. After all, simply checking off travel locations means nothing if you don’t allow each trip to change you in some way. I love to soak up a new culture and learn more about the locals’ point of view.

I haven’t been everywhere but…

43: “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

Every place on the planet has great potential to help us learn and grow. That’s the primary reason that there’s nowhere in the world I wouldn’t go if I had safe passage. Right now, there are some cities and countries that aren’t very welcoming, but I’d still love to see them someday.

44: “Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” – Wendell Berry

You cannot possibly hope to learn the true nature of the world by doing nothing more than reading about it. As valuable as reading is, it always takes a backseat to discovering the world for yourself.

READ MORE: Money Saving Travel Resources

Take only memories…

45: “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle

This is one of the classic travel quotes that everyone would be well-advised to remember. It breaks my heart to see historic areas filled with trash by careless travelers. We have a responsibility to preserve things as much as possible.

46: “Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

I took Frost’s words at face value in my teen years, but as an adult, I realize there’s much more to his sentiment. Seeing and doing the same things as everyone else can make it difficult to discover your own true identity.

47: “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” – Charles Dudley Warner

The start of each new trip is an exciting time that’s characterized by a mixture of wonder and fear. You have no idea if the trip will go as planned, but the unknown is what makes everything so exciting.

Oh the places you’ll go!

48: “Oh the places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss serves as a reminder that we can go anywhere if we stop putting restrictions on ourselves. The world is waiting; we just have to have the courage to answer the call. Doing this, again and again, has given my life meaning.

49: “It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville

Much like the hidden parts of our souls, we cannot hope to find something completely original and unspoiled without wandering off the map. I give myself the freedom to explore anything that catches my attention.

Invest in yourself through travel…

50: “Investment in travel is an investment in yourself.” – Matthew Karsten

Yup. I’m Matthew Karsten, and I totally just snuck in one of my own travel quotes. Haha! But I really mean this too. When I first quit my unfulfilling day job to go backpacking around the world, I didn’t know what I was doing, or where it would all take me. But traveling taught me a lot about life, as well as myself.

51: “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson was much more than just a revered novelist; he was also a travel writer. This particular inspiring quote has always spoken to me. The urge to go somewhere new, no matter where it is, frequently grabs me. 

52: “Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” — Lawrence Block

There is nothing more exciting than turning a corner while traveling and finding something riveting. I remember this happening when I stumbled onto a work of art by street artist Banksy. I don’t even remember my original destination, but I do remember the way I felt looking at Banksy’s art!

Better to see something once…

53: “Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times.” – Asian Proverb

This is, by far, my favorite Asian proverb, and it’s truly one of the world’s most accurate travel quotes. I am always in awe when I find myself standing in front of an iconic landmark. Sometimes, they’re less impressive than the stories I’ve heard, but even that’s a worthwhile experience. 

54: “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

Is there anyone more uniquely qualified to provide insightful quotes about traveling than the author of “On the Road?” Traveling doesn’t always go as smoothly as you’d expect. Despite this, I’ve discovered many times that the trip itself is every bit as exciting as the destination. 

55: “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comforts of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things — air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky. All things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

Pavese’s books often spoke about loneliness and the inability to connect to others in a meaningful way. Although his commentary on traveling does contain some truth, I’ve always taken it with a grain of salt. Yes, traveling can be brutal at times, but I believe it’s also one of the most freeing experiences a person can have. 

56: “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” – Shel Silverstein

57: “And then there is the most dangerous risk of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” – Randy Komisar

Many people say inspiring things, but Komisar has lived them as a successful venture capitalist. Don’t fall into the trap of believing there will eventually be a perfect time to follow your dreams. Through traveling, I’ve learned the only perfect time is now.

Life is short and the world is wide…

Spending your life not doing…

58: “Life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better.” – Simon Raven

Controversial author Simon Raven said a lot of odd things in his time, but his travel quotes were typically spot on. After all, the only way to see the entire world is to start taking travel-sized bites out it as early as possible.

59: “The journey not the arrival matters.” – T.S. Eliot

Eliot’s poetry inspired countless writers, but I’ve always been the most taken by this simplistic quote. When I first started traveling, I placed way too much focus on getting to my destination. By learning to let that go, I’ve developed some of my fondest travel memories.

Unique Travel Quotes

Almost nothing is so familiar…

To travel is to live.

60: “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

If you want to read humorous but insightful books about traveling, you should definitely check out Bill Bryson. He’s absolutely right about not taking things for granted on the road.

61: “To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen

I grew up reading Anderson’s fairy tales but didn’t know about his travel writing until later. Now, I know that his many quotes about traveling truly captured the essence of why it’s so important to explore new areas.

62: “What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do — especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” – William Least Heat Moon

Heat-Moon was so dedicated to writing unique travel books that he journeyed across the U.S. in a 1975 Econoline van. I also love the idea of getting a fresh start in every new town.

63: “Travel makes a wise man better but a fool worse.” – Thomas Fuller

Fuller broke new ground with his literary skills, which allowed him to earn a living long before being an author was a viable full-time career for writers. Some say that everyone is changed for the better by traveling, but Fuller warned us that this wasn’t the case.

There ain’t no surer way…

64: “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain

American treasure Mark Twain wasn’t one to mince words, but his humor made even the bitterest truths easier to swallow. Unfortunately, I found out the wisdom behind his words the hard way through experience.

65: “The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.” – Wallace Stevens

Stevens had a love for the simple things in life, as evidenced by one of his titles: “The Emperor of Ice-Cream.” He’s also right; the entire world contains beauty. That’s why I long to travel to every country on earth.

There is no end to the adventures…

66: “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

It’s unsurprising that someone who learned directly from Gandhi would have such an inspiring way of looking at the world. Open your eyes to the beauty of a sunrise or waves rolling into the shore. No matter how many times you’ve seen them, they’re still full of beauty.

67: “I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.” – Melody Truong

Melody Truong’s words resonate with me because they’re so full of truth. The feeling of loving unexplored parts of the world is exactly what pushes me to keep traveling.

Take half the clothes and twice the money.

Travel to meet yourself…

68: “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller

Heller’s widely quoted travel adage has influenced the way I travel. I used to pack way more than I needed, and this hindered my travels. Cutting your luggage down and packing more money always makes things easier.

69: “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” – David Mitchell

David Mitchell’s best-selling novels typically involve traveling, as evidenced by this quote from “Cloud Atlas.” It’s difficult to get to know yourself when you’re stuck in the rut of normality. I always have the best self-awareness breakthroughs after a period of travel and inner reflection.

70: “Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” – Stephen Covey

People have turned to Covey for business advice for years, but I’ve found the most value in this one simple quote. I used to meticulously plan each trip down to the minute.

71: “I travel because it makes me realize how much I haven’t seen, how much I’m not going to see, and how much I still need to see.” – Carew Papritz

Being born in Yosemite National Park enabled the travel bug to bite Papritz at birth. His thought-provoking spin on the purpose of travel has greatly influenced me. I may never see it all, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.

Wherever you go becomes a part of you…

72: “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai

Indian novelist Anita Desai nails this one with her inspiring quote about traveling. We’re all shaped by each of our experiences. I love it that every new adventure helps shape me for the better. 

73: “We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.” – Ray Bradbury

Bradbury’s books often transport readers to another time or place. We cannot travel to other time periods in the real world, but we can take in the architecture of the past.

74: “Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrate it for everything that it is.” – Mandy Hale

Author Mandy Hale embodies her viewpoint as the “single girl with a story to tell.” I try to remind myself of this quote whenever life seems to be spinning out of control.

75: “Wherever you go, go with all your heart!” – Confucius

Confucius was an early proponent of social equality who urged people to live a life of morality and sincerity. I’ve interpreted this quote to mean that it’s important to be fully committed to each new experience.

Ready To Travel The World?

Congratulations on reading down this far! I know that was quite a list of inspiring travel quotes from famous writers. But if you’re still sick with wanderlust, and ready to travel more, you’re in luck.

The travel blog you’re reading right now is how I make a living while traveling. Interested in doing the same?

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Packing Guide

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Book Your Flight

Book cheap flights on Skyscanner, my favorite airline search engine to find deals. Also read my tips for how I find the cheapest flights.

Rent A Car

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Book Accommodation

Booking.com is my favorite hotel search engine. Or rent local apartments on Airbnb ($35 discount!). Read my post for tips on booking cheap hotels.

Protect Your Trip

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READ MORE TRAVEL INSPIRATION & TIPS

I hope you enjoyed my guide to the best travel quotes for inspiration! Hopefully you found it useful. Here are a few more wanderlust-inducing articles that I recommend you read next:

Curious how I’m able to make money while traveling? This is how I get paid to travel.

Mexico is one of my favorite destinations. Here are some fun things to do in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Prepare for an Iceland road trip with my ultimate guide to driving Iceland’s Ring Road.

Get inspired with incredible photos from Afghanistan that you won’t see in the news.

Take better travel photos with my useful guide to the best travel cameras for any budget.

Have any great travel quotes I might have missed? Which quote is your favorite? Drop me a message in the comments below!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

[qqueenofhades]

Uh uh. Nope. We got enough of the Lucy/Flynn betrayal heartache in the finale, I cannot handle it in the trash saga too. Fix it! Fix it now! ... please?

yadda yadda the trash saga of flynn and lucy methinks you know the drill

The door shuts with a thump, Wyatt mutterssomething about could that proprietor have been giving them any more side-eye(to be fair, turning up with an injured, clearly dangerous, armed lunatic in towdoes tend to have that effect) and he and Lucy heave Flynn onto the bed ashe continues to glare red murder at both of them. His bullet wounds aren’tlife-threatening, but they still need attention, and to judge from the amountof blood already spattered on his jacket, that should be sooner rather thanlater. Wyatt desperately needs to go back out and find the Lifeboat before JohnRittenhouse comes looking for it (let him be good and distracted at thismeeting of his, Lucy prays) and to try to find a way to contact Rufus. And asgerm theory, Louis Pasteur, and Robert Koch are still another forty years away,any surgeon they can find here will be only marginally better than useless.Lucy knows more about it than they will, and she’s a doctor of history, notmedicine. They had enough trouble finding a boarding house as it is, with thecity packed for the inauguration, and Lucy isn’t sure she wants to drawattention to herself or their hiding place by going out and looking. “Wyatt,”she says. “You go. I’ll… take care of things on this end.”

He cocks a skeptical eyebrow at her. “Really? With himsitting there looking like he wants to bite your head – or other parts of you –off?”

“I can hear both of you, you know,” Flynn growls. “In caseyou were wondering.”

Wyatt shoots a black look at him, then turns back to Lucy,putting a protective hand on her arm. “Look,” he says, still more quietly. “Idon’t know everything that happened while we were apart, and this is badenough. But if Flynn has it in his head to hurt you for something – ”

“He’s not going to hurt me.” Let Flynn overhear that,if he’s so inclined. “You know we need the Lifeboat back online yesterday. I’llfigure something out. Rittenhouse could be sending out a squad to get it rightnow, and if we lose it too, we’re done for. Take care of yourself, okay?”

Wyatt pauses for a long and loathing moment, then nods tersely.His hand lingers on her arm (something that Lucy most assuredly sees Flynn’s eyesflicker to, for all his affection of viciously ignoring them) and then he letsgo, turns away, and checks that he has his gun and it’s loaded. He takesFlynn’s too, with a very pointed look. Then he lets himself out, footstepsthumping away down the hall, and Lucy and Flynn are left alone in the smallroom, staring each other down, the tension thick enough to not only cut with aknife but serve for dessert lightly chilled. For the longest moment, neither ofthem says anything. Then Lucy goes to the wardrobe, opens one of the drawers,and starts rummaging around. Flynn watches her until curiosity finally gets the betterof anger. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out how to stop you from being a dead bodysewn into a mattress,” Lucy says shortly. “You could be the origin of the urbanlegend, you know.”

Taken by surprise, Flynn barks a laugh, which turns into agrimace as more blood soaks into his jacket. Then he glares at her, evidentlyresenting her even more for it, and Lucy struggles with a brief and intensedesire to just pick up the cast-iron coal scuttle and brain him with it.Instead she pulls out sewing scissors, a needle and thread, some rags, a bottleof the kind of old-timey medicine that proudly lists its ingredients asalcohol, cocaine, morphine, heroin, “and other Healthfull Substances,” and abizarre metal instrument that can work as tweezers. She scoops them all up,goes downstairs to the kitchen, and quietly asks the black maid who works there(she hopes she’s free, not a slave, but history has not been designed to makewhite women feel comfortable) for some boiling water. For the man upstairs.He’s hurt, and she needs to tend him.

The maid is skeptical, but also doesn’t want the trouble ofa death on the premises, and agrees to boil all Lucy’s tools and rags, althoughshe clearly has no idea why. Lucy tells her it’s a new theory in Paris, fromwhence they have recently arrived (hopefully this will account for anystrangeness of their clothes or behavior – when in doubt, blame the French) andthe maid nods gamely. Then, when the tools are well boiled and thus as sterileas they are going to get, Lucy washes her hands in some of the water that is ashot as she can stand it, scrubs them with the cake of rough lye soap, rinses,and takes her impromptu surgical kit back upstairs.

She half expects Flynn to have pushed open the window andescaped, limping across the city leaving a trail of blood, with a Bowie knifein his teeth to track down John Rittenhouse and gut him like a pig in front ofhis horrified disciples, but he’s still there, more bad-tempered than ever.“Are you done looking for your craft supplies yet?”

“I’m trying to stop you from dying of gangrene,” Lucyinforms him coolly. She knows he’s upset, she knows he’s hurt, but she’s stillnot intending to sit here and not give him a few whacks with the reins,especially if he is doing his stubborn-ass routine and jerking them every whichway. “Take off your shirt.”

He arches an eyebrow at her in a way that clearly says hehas about a hundred comments to make here, but will, for the moment, charitablyforbear. He reaches up with a grunt of pain, loosens his cravat, and unwindsit, pulling it off his neck, and then unbuttons his shirt, struggling to get itover his head. Then he looks at her defiantly. As if to say, here he is. Takeor leave him.

Lucy can’t help glancing at him sidelong as she reaches forthe tweezers. Despite everything they’ve done, she hasn’t really seen himnaked; their trysts have generally taken place with most of their clothes on,grasping and swift and greedy, falling into each other and burning up andrushing on separate orbits again, until they inevitably crash together oncemore. He has plenty of old scars that must come from his clandestine servicesdays. Her eyes trace over the breadth of his shoulders, the heavy muscles ofhis arms, the solidness of his barrel chest and the slight jut of his hipbones.The bullet wounds are in his left shoulder – fortunately not in the meat, thatwould be tricky and bloody – and low on his right side. Clean exit through theshoulder, a fragment still left in his side. Lucy normally faints at the sightof blood, and she’s feeling more than a little woozy now, but she is still theonly one who is going to handle this.

Lucy glances at him, as if to say that she will unavoidablyhave to come closer, and he flicks an insolent look at her, but doesn’tprotest. She slides the chair up to the bed and sits between his knees, movingto explore the bruised, lacerated flesh with the tweezers, as he sucks in his breathslightly but is too Slavic-stoic to show other obvious discomfort. She wonderssuddenly where he grew up. His mother was from Texas, as American as apple pie,but she doesn’t know where Asher Flynn was from. The half-brother he saved,Gabriel, now lives in Paris. He was an asset for the NSA embedded in EasternEurope, and to judge from the accent, his first language is probably one ofthose, though he speaks English flawlessly. Probably others. There is so muchof who this man is, who he used to be, that is so burned and buried far beneaththis blackened shell, this wreck of him, nothing left but the promise ofvengeance, the fading dream of solace. Of rightness. Of happiness. Of goodness.Of ease. He must wonder if he had imagined all of it.

Flynn shifts and grunts as Lucy locates the bullet fragmentand carefully disentangles it, pulling it out and dropping it on a cloth. Shehas to look away, light-headed, at the fresh scarlet ooze that results, andFlynn notices her reaction. “Don’t like blood, do you?”

“Or small spaces, no.” Lucy tries to keep her tonematter-of-fact, but she remembers her confinement in Rittenhouse’s root cellarlast night (and, you know, fifteen years ago) and her voice trembles slightly.She can taste bile in the back of her throat, and swallows hard. “I’m notreally cut out for adventures outside of books.”

“And yet,” Flynn says, with something either mockery orsincerity. It’s always so hard to tell with him. “Here you are.”

“I think that’s thanks to you.” Right, she can do this. Onemore hard gulp, and Lucy gets back to the task at hand. Rinses the tweezers ina diluted concentrate of the alcohol-cocaine-morphine-heroin super-solution,wets a folded rag with it, and presses it to Flynn’s side, as he hisses throughhis teeth at the sting. Yeah, that stuff probably packs quite a wallop. Morethan Bactine, that’s for sure. Once it’s mostly stopped bleeding, she takes therags away and tries to judge if she can stitch it. God, she really doesn’t wantto do that. Maybe she can wait until Wyatt comes back. He was in the army, hehas to know about field medicine, and besides, he would probably thoroughlyenjoy stabbing Flynn a few times, even if only with a needle.

“Actually,” Flynn says, with his typical, bullheadedinability to concede an argument, even when he’s getting his bullet-riddledcarcass pieced back together, “technically, it’s thanks to you.”

“I beg your pardon?” Lucy has been preparing to tackle his shoulder wound, but at that, shestarts. “You stole the Mothership, you started allthis.”

“Yes,” Flynn says. “Because Mason Industries was making itfor Rittenhouse all along. Connor Mason was so far up their ass that he sawdaylight whenever they yawned, and I could not let them get it. Ask your friendRufus if you don’t believe me. Of course,” he adds viciously, “now they do have it, so that’s all gone fornothing, hasn’t it?”

Lucy flinches slightly at the venom in his voice. “Flynn. .. Iris… we’ll get her back, I swear, we’ll find her, we won’t stop – ”

“Is it true? What Emma said? That you handed her over tothem?”

“It…” Lucy doesn’t feel up to recounting the whole sagaof Emma’s betrayal, especially since she’ll have to tell him about JohnRittenhouse, and everything that has come as a result of her stoppingFlynn from killing him. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated,” Flynn repeats, with cold, bitter contempt.“How did I know you were going to say that? Things are always complicated for you, Lucy. You thehistorian, you the scholar, always looking for so many nuances, so manypossibilities, so many arguments. You can’t even acknowledge evil when it’sstaring you in the face, you have to try to explain and rationalize your wayaround it. Like a good little academic. There’s always another hypothesis. Something you can publish ina paper, debate about over cocktails at a conference. It’s a game. That’s allthis is to you. You’re a coward.”

This is so breathtakingly unfair that Lucy wants to slaphim, and yet it strikes at exactly what she was terrified of in the rootcellar: that she has been protecting Rittenhouse, not history, because she’snot brave enough to do what it really takes to stop them, and finds this theeasier, safer, more existentially comfortable way. She thinks of that saying,how the real enemy of goodness, the thing that allows evil to take root andflourish, is simple indifference. People don’t bother to care, as long as itdoesn’t affect them personally. And by the time they do care, it’s too late.

She digs rather more violently into Flynn’s shoulder thanshe needs to, teeth gritted, not trusting herself to answer. Finally she says,“I did not hand Iris over to them willingly. I never would have. It was a trap.Everything was a trap, set up by Rittenhouse. And you’re not the one who erasedme in the present. They did, so I would turn to them, need them, once all ofyou were gone. We did exactly what they wanted us to, the whole time. Hands ontheir clock face.”

This takes Flynn aback enough that he doesn’t have anotheraccusation to level at her, and Lucy continues to work on his shoulder.Finally, he says, “What?”

Shortly and succinctly as possible, Lucy explains whathappened with Emma. The revelation that she’s Rittenhouse, that she braggedabout tricking Flynn into coming here, the meeting with John. The plan to jumpthem here in the Lifeboat, so he could see in person the results of hisglorious enterprise. And now, Emma with the Mothership, and them, well. Fucked.

It’s hard to say what part of this staggers Flynn the most.As Lucy straightens up, needing another opportunity to look away from hisshoulder, he repeats, “John Rittenhouse is here.”

“Yes.”

“The same one you stopped me from shooting in 1780.”

“Yes.”

Flynn’s face contorts into something sneering and ugly. “Andnow he’s a grown man, thinks he’s going to marry the guardian angel who so benevolently saved him when he was aboy, and have a dozen scions of his new master race, does he? I told you! Itold you, Lucy! That he believed the same thing as the rest of them, that hewould get away and found it anyway! And now it doesn’t matter if I shoot himtoo, because he’s already planted his foul seeds for years, has dozens,hundreds of followers! You stopped me,and you’re the reason it happened!”

“Maybe it was seeing his father gunned down in cold bloodthat made him make that decision!” A burning red heat rises into Lucy’s cheeks,eyes snapping back at him. She stands up, wanting whatever self-possession shecan get for this argument; even sitting, he’s still not much shorter than her.“That’s always the thing about prophecies – whatever you do trying to avert themends up inadvertently makes them happen instead! It always works that way!Always!”

“Oh? In your books?” Atruly horrible light sears Flynn’s face like the flames of hell, and for amoment, Lucy almost is downright afraid of him. “That’s what you mean, isn’tit? It always works that way in your books!Because nobody’s ever tried to do it in real life, nobody’s ever had theability to actually change history, so we don’t know what the rules are! If Ihadn’t killed Rittenhouse, he would have done the same thing! And now, thanksto you, we don’t know if I could have stopped Rittenhouse at the start! Savedeverything, everyone! All it would have taken was you to be braveenough to step aside and let me killhim!”

“Oh? Me? To be brave enough to stand aside from a derangedman with a gun and let him kill an unarmed, terrified child? That would havebeen the brave thing in thissituation?” Lucy spits back at him, too angry to pull her punches, especiallywhen she’s so sick of him, of this, of everything. “Oh, but yes, I’m a coward.I don’t understand, I have nothing on the line. When I’ve lost my sister and mymother has lied to me my whole life, my father is Rittenhouse, my friends and Iare on the run, I can’t go home because I don’t exist, and I’ve beenresponsible, even without meaning to, for turning your daughter over toRittenhouse and letting them get the Mothership! While you and I and Wyatt aretrapped here, and God knows what Rufus is facing back home, in a history thatdoesn’t even look like ours! But yes, I forgot. You’re the only oneof us to ever lose anything. To ever understand.How dare you. How dare you.”

She’s almost in tears, taken with a mortal urge to actuallyhit him, but whirls on her heel and stares at the wall, the silence thunderingbetween them. It feels so good to finally say everything, to lash out atsomeone, at him, that she could keepgoing, but she’s too raw already, too weary, too wounded to keep wanting todrive the knife into her own heart and twisting, twisting. Why can’t he justshut up and be a half-decent person for once. Why can’t she just break down inpeace. Why isn’t Wyatt here. He mightknow how to comfort her.

The silence goes on until it is almost physically painful.Then Flynn says, very quietly, “I’m sorry.”

Lucy, who has been braced for another angry reprisal, iscaught completely off guard. She doesn’t want to ask him to repeat it in caseshe misheard. She sniffs instead, smudging her nose with the back of her hand,until most unexpectedly, he touches her chin, lifting her face with his thumb.He looks very tired and older than he is and sick at heart. “I’m sorry,” hesays again. “I… I think I’ve put too much on you. That was my mistake. Ijust…” He trails off, as if trying to think how to put this. “This wholetime. I’ve wanted to see you again.”

“What?” Lucy looks up at him, startled. “What do you mean?”

Flynn pauses again, then goes for it. “When I said it wasyou that started this, not me. I stole the Mothership, I knew about itsexistence, because I had your journal. Because it told me.”

“My journal.” Lucy still hasn’t gotten how that’s supposedto work. “But where did you get it, when I haven’t even written it yet? How didyou get – ?”

He smiles at her. It doesn’t reach his eyes, which look upat her like a drowned creature from the bottom of a well. “You gave it to me,Lucy.”

“I…” She opens and shuts her mouth. “What?”

“I met you two weeks after my wife and daughter – after…they.” He stops, looking away. “You age quite well, just so you know. Youcomforted me. You told me there was something I could choose to do, if I wantedto, and – after I talked you into it – you gave me the journal. You said we’dbe meeting again soon. And we did. At the Hindenburg.That first time – for you.”

Lucy’s mouth is still open, but nothing is coming out. Shethinks madly of John Rittenhouse, waiting to see her again since he was a boy,and now of Flynn, apparently waiting to see her again as a young woman. If he’sknown her older self, if they’ve – if she’s– none of this makes any sense at all,but that is time travel for you. “So you met – me – in 2014. When I gaveyou the journal, supposedly. But you didn’t steal the Mothership until 2016.”

“Because it said in your journal that it wouldn’t befinished until 2016. It was still two years away from completion in 2014. So Iused that time to prepare. To learn everything about where I might be going,about who I would meet, about who I might need to target. Who was Rittenhouse,and what I would have to do to take them down. No matter what.” He looks at herunflinchingly. “I used to wonder if I had in fact dreamed the whole thing. Butthere was your journal. It gave me something to hold onto. Something to keepgoing for. So I did.”

This is still a lot more than Lucy feels adequately preparedto take in. She rubs both cold hands over her face, trying to come up with anykind of response, this revelation that this – that they – are so much more than she has ever known. So he does knoweverything about her, or at least a version of her – a stranger, a person shehas never met, the uncanniest of uncanny valleys. And has, all this time, beenhungering to get back the one person he has had to lead him through that shadowof death, the one person he has trusted, the person who is supposed to lead himback to what has been so long and lost. And that, somehow, is her.

Lucy is shaken. Staggered, almost. She doesn’t know what todo with such depths of trust and belief, even as twisted and badly expressed asit has been, and understands slightly better how terrible such a loss must be,if he thought that she had forsaken him. Emma’s voice echoes mockingly in herhead. Reads your stupid journal all thetime. Thought you could do anything. So this is going to really sting, won’tit?

They sit there, still looking at each other. He appears tobe waiting for her to say something, fire back, to shout some more. They fightwell, they always have. Especially since, for whatever confounded reason, evenwhen it would make more sense – and perhaps this is it, this is the reason –she has never been afraid of him.

Lucy considers it, to be sure. It’s enjoyable. Comforting.Safe. But for all that, it is so very not what she wants to do right now.

Instead, she leans forward and kisses him.

Flynn’s breath catches in shock. Their kisses before havebeen of the hungry, possessive, taunting, testing variety, one of them or theother pushing each other’s limits, usually a prelude to a hot and hard fuckagainst the nearest wall; the closest they ever got to a bed was the one shechained him to in 1787, and there was that chaise they nearly broke in 1912,but otherwise, tenderness has not been much of a feature.Lucy cups his face in her hands, turning his head slightly, opening his mouthwith her own, able to actually enjoy it for the first time, rather than burningthrough it to another unsettled parting and lingering haunting. He makes a moveto raise his hand, and grunts in pain as his bad shoulder catches. He tries itwith the other hand instead, knotting it in the loosened hair at the back ofher neck, pressing her into him. There is a vast, unspeakable hunger in him, aneed to be touched gently, to be seen, to be wanted. No man is an island, Lucy thinks. But God, but God, Garcia Flynn has been living on onefor as long as he humanely can, and chasing away anyone who tries to swim out.

She shifts forward onto his lap, trying not to jostle hisside, as he scoots back on the bed to give her better purchase, as her kneesslide to either side of his hips. He is a very good kisser, especially whenhe’s not actually trying to tear her face off, when the rage that burnspermanently in his depths seems to have been, at least for the moment, banked.His mouth is warm and wide and generous, and Lucy utters a small sound into itas she grips his hair, her lips brushing over the fine-cut corner of his, hisnose, the rough scratch of his jaw, the underside of his chin. His good handrests low on her back, pulling her solidly against him. His shoulder isstarting to bleed again, but he also doesn’t appear to care.

Finally, Lucy pulls back, flushed and breathless, handstrembling as she reaches for the rags, wets them again, and begins to fashion amakeshift bandage. She really doesn’t feel up to trying stitches; she’ll askWyatt later. How long will he be out, anyway? It would be awkward for him towalk in on them again, though if he doesn’t have any good news about theLifeboat, it won’t matter. Lucy feels obliquely ashamed, but not entirelyenough to avoid the risk altogether.

Flynn’s dark eyes flick to her. Lucy can feel him trying alittle too hard to be nonchalant about the way her arms are almost around himas she ties the bandage into place. Then abruptly he says, “Rittenhouse. JohnRittenhouse. Did he hurt you?”

“I think I hurt him more, actually.” Lucy concentrates onthe knot; the wet rags are slippery. “I hit him over the head with a candelabra.”

Flynn grunts a surprised laugh, then grimaces. “Ah,” hesays, half to himself. “That’s my girl.”

Lucy has to swallow an unexpected warmth in her stomach, asher cheeks heat faintly pink. She’s almost tempted to tell him about theRittenhouse thugs throwing her into the root cellar overnight, see if hisoutrage extends to hearing about her being mistreated, but she also doesn’twant to prod or grub for his sympathy, and her fear, her struggle, is moreimportant than being a prop for whatever wrong conclusion he would draw fromit. Besides, the last thing she needs is to give him another reason to try tobust out of here and try to take down John with his bare hands. She pulls thebandage tight over his shoulder, and can’t resist smoothing her own handsacross the strong planes of his bare chest. Their eyes lock. It’s not only himshort of breath.

Slowly, deliberately, Lucy slides forward on his lap,straddling him, until his back is against the wall and she is fully on the bed.Their foreheads touch, breath hot on each other’s cheeks, his nose against theside of hers, as he brushes the back of his fingers on the side of her neck,with a gentleness and hesitance he has rarely shown with her. Their couplingshave been rough, insistent, hard and heavy – perhaps because both of them knowthat the other is strong enough to withstand it, and perhaps because, untilnow, tenderness is the last thing they have wanted or expected from each other.Sex is understandable, defensible. Intimacy, less so.

Lucy traces a finger over Flynn’s bottom lip, as he suckslightly on it, and she leans closer, breath catching in her throat as shehitches herself up against him. She puts one hand on his shoulder, thencaresses from his collarbone down his stomach, sliding under the waistband ofhis trousers. He shifts with another muffled grunt, holding her back, as hedoesn’t do well with not being in control of things, of thinking he’s lostfocus on the mission even for a moment. But she gives him a look, reminding himthat if he wants this, if he wants her, he plays by her rules right now.

After a moment, he shifts again, granting silent permission,and her fingers continue their downward course. Both of them gulp, mouths open,as she touches him, cupping his smooth hardness in her palm, stroking andcircling. He thrusts up into her grip, swears under his breath as thisapparently is uncomfortable for his multiple bullet wounds, and then apparentlydecides to fuck with it, literally. Lucy can’t help grinning slightly into hischeek, keeping a light touch on him, enjoying the weight of him, the solidness.When he seems rather short of breath, she kisses him on the undersideof his jaw, nips at his pulse point, and slides slowly down him, as he looksstartled. Moves to shift his trousers down off his hips, brushes her lips alongsolar plexus to stomach, then lower. Noses at the cut of his groin, and then takeshim in her mouth.

Garcia Flynn seems to stop breathing altogether, staringdown at her like a man in a dream, as Lucy licks lightly at the tip, then movesdeliberately up the shaft, sucking slowly and thoroughly. He reaches out as ifto grasp her hair, stops himself, takes a fistful of the bedclothes instead,and braces himself, almost afraid to move if it would stop this, if she mightcome to her senses. He looks down to watch her head rising and falling on him,this woman, this angel, reaching him in the uttermost depths ofdarkness. If I ascend to heaven, Lucythinks, remaining intent on her work, ifI make my bed in the reaches of hell. IfI take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea.

Flynn groans, bucking up into her, as she reaches out totake hold of his hips, pushing him back down, intensifying the pace of her slowand deliberate fucking with lips and tongue and teeth and breath, taking hersweet time about it. He almost whines, if it’s possible to imagine him makingsuch a sound. Lucy doesn’t relent, finds herself enjoying the control, thepower almost as much as the action itself, the way it feels to have a man likethis – this man – completely at hermercy. She takes him briefly, wetly almost to the hilt, sucks fiercely, and dragsher lips back down, curling her tongue and flicking him. He whispers something thatsounds half like a prayer.

Lucy pulls back, shifts onto her knees, and turns around,beckoning for him to unbutton the back of her dress. He does, though it takesslightly longer than usual with one good hand, and she lets it slide off hershoulders, revealing her corset beneath. She wraps her hands around his head,pulling him toward her as he presses kisses into her cleavage, worshiping atbreasts and shoulders and collarbone and throat, having clearly had enough ofletting her have the upper hand. Swings her around beneath him, grimacing asblood shows on his bandages, and they stop kissing frenziedly long enough for Lucyto whisper, “Your shoulder – we shouldn’t – ”

“Shut up,” Flynn says into her mouth, getting a hand betweenher legs (hopefully his good one, but she’s not sure he’d notice at this pointif it wasn’t) and both of them gasping as he finds her wetness, teasing at herwith a thumb but not quite slipping into her. He toys at her clit, then all atonce, enters her with two fingers, building a gentle but relentless rhythm asshe arches her hips, desperate for the friction as he rubs and rouses her. He movesfaster, and it’s her turn to whine, pulling at him, starving for his mouth, buthe won’t let her kiss him. “My rules now, Lucy.”

“You’re a bastard,” Lucy manages, conscious of how true thisis in just about any aspect of Garcia Flynn’s life, but especially this one. Shejerks at him, well aware that this is payback, as he shifts his weight, braceshimself on one arm, and slides his hand out of her. Then he rucks up her skirtsaround her knees, glances at her, and when she gives him a breathless littlenod, plunges into her hard and fast.

Lucy practically sees stars. Oh god, oh god, it feels so good that her entire body clenchesaround him. Normally this is the part where they commence on their hot andmindless rush to release, but he doesn’t move right away. Seems to be taking itin, considering it, remembering it, before he finally starts with lighter,shallower thrusts. Her head tips back, hair spilling in shining dark locks overthe white pillow, his knee riding along her hip as he changes the angle. She clutches at him, wanting, wanton. Can feel the strain and strengthof his strokes, the rasping against her, the hunger. She is ascending, unmade.

After everything, it doesn’t take long for either of them,and he pulls her half upright as he rides one final, heavy thrust into her,both of them gasping and heaving, and shuddering and burning and blazing in theheat of climax. They fall back entangled into the bedclothes. The bandage onhis shoulder is half off. He really might accidentally kill himself one ofthese days. And yet perhaps if he died like this, he might not even care.

By the time Wyatt returns later that evening, they are bothdressed and sitting carefully apart and not sure how to talk, or ifthey should. Lucy can sense that things aren’t entirely mended between them,and won’t be as long as the questions of Iris and the Mothership remainoutstanding. Flynn isn’t outright furious at her anymore, at least, but whatwas said earlier, what Lucy realized, about the weight of what he has given her,what she’s broken, intentionally or otherwise – that isn’t something that ismended in a day, hot sex or otherwise. She could still lose him from here, shethinks. Easily. Perhaps even more easily than before, as if the knives havebecome sharper, the fall more perilous. She isn’t sure what she feels aboutthat, other than that it terrifies her.

“Well?” Flynn says grumpily, when Wyatt doesn’t speakimmediately. “Are you going to give me my gun back now, so I can go take careof the bastards?”

“Yeah,” Wyatt says. “I’m not so sure that would work out foryou.”

Flynn gives him an even blacker look. “I’m happy to be wrongif it doesn’t.”

“No. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t.” Wyatt runs a hand throughhis hair. “I don’t even know what’s going on, but it’s major. They weren’tkidding about this being some kind of meeting. Look, man. Even you and I togetherwith both our guns wouldn’t stand a chance. And…” His eyes flick to Lucy. “I’mnot sure that’s a wise idea anyway.”

Flynn frowns. “What are you talking about?”

Wyatt takes a deep breath. “Remember how we got to 2017,” hesays, determinedly offhand, “and discovered that the reason Lucy doesn’t existin the present was because her mom’s side of the family had somehow vanished?”

Lucy and Flynn glance at each other. This is news to her,but apparently not to him, as he pauses, then says, “Yes?”

“Yeah. Well. The name of the woman leading this… thing?Major Rittenhouse hootenanny?” Wyatt’s jaw tightens. He looks at Lucy again, asif he really wants to spare her from this, but can’t think how to do so. “Ididn’t see her, but I heard her name. It’s Carol. Carol Preston.”