#posting this from my hotel lobby like a freak waiting for my bus back home we need to bring back shame

[uc1wa]

ushiwaka got the biggest cock in hq im sorry

[londonspirit]

Sarah's Starfury Republic Of Pirates Con Ramblings

Now then… it’s been a whole week, my brain’s more or less functioning again so let’s try and remember, shall we?! 

Just… this is NOT a real con report, I barely remember things that were talked about (although I will attempt to collect posts and such from Bluesky and Discord) but mostly HOW the whole weekend make me feel. If you wanna read about that, knock yourself out. If not, you need to go and find people that posted about it (#SFROP, #AirportCon and #StarfuryPirates seem to be the hashtags used on assorted social media) 

Anyhow, my R and I arrived Thursday afternoon, dropped our stuff at the hotel and went into London for some Christmassy sightseeing (did NOT know you need a ticket for the just opened Winter Wonderland but we got in anyways). It was FREEZING so perfect for a Christmas market. We got back ‘home’ late - and we were the only ones on the bus back to the hotel!!! 

Friday morning started … not as planned. I’d forgotten that I had the event set in my calendar. WITH alarm. So it woke us at SEVEN freaking am when we could’ve slept much longer as things wouldn’t start before the afternoon. 

Well, we were up way too early so we went to hunt for breakfast. I had checked out the area and I knew there was a breakfast cafe only 15 minutes away. The weather was amazing (sunny, blue skies, cold) so we walked. 

Karma is a fucking bitch, but every now and then, she does the right thing. 

While we were wandering, a guy came towards us: blond, bundled up stylishly against the cold, sunglasses on his nose, with not a care in the world. There was something familiar about him. My breath literally hitched. 

“Uhm, R, is that… Mr Darby?” I asked my friend, keeping my voice down as he came closer. 

She nodded carefully, not looking at me. “It is.” 

Trying to keep our shit together and NOT scare the poor man, we kept walking; he kept walking, ignoring us (rightfully so; we weren’t wearing anything pirate related so hopefully he thought we were regular passer-bys). 

And FUCK ME, that man is HOT!! I mean, usually he doesn’t do much for me (I'm a Taika girl!) but that morning? With the sun shining down on him, being all casual and stuff? Reader, my knees were buckling and my heart was RACING!!!  We waited until he was out of earshot (we’re considerate like that!) before we lost our shit - and losing our shit we did!!! There was lots of squealing and giggling and our morning was sooo made (See, waking up too early did have its advantages then!!!) 

Breakfast was nice (The Flying Egg cafe https://maps.app.goo.gl/oyZ3YED3bkq5oamF6 is really good and cost less than hotel breakfast!)  After that we did some shopping (some snacks and drinks to save some money; which has led to me having the most ridiculous bottle opener ever!) and went back, starting to get ready for registration. 

God, this fandom is the LOVELIEST. I went down to the lobby to check how things were going; instantly were met with somebody asking my name and pronouns, giving me a name sticker and explained the newbies how things usually went.  Met some folks I’ve met before, finally met some I only knew online, the usual.  Registration went smoothly, and then we went to find dinner before it was time for the opening ceremony. It still feels weird to actually SEE them, in the flesh, in all their beautiful pirate glory!!! 

It went by quickly, just a few words, hi, happy to be here, bit jetlagged (Rhys and Vico), drove down with his equipment (Kristian), we’re going to have a great time! Barely 10 minutes or so and they were off again, like a gorgeous dream. 

BUT there was the ‘speedating M&G’ right after so we wandered over, loosely sticking with the people from our table. And we ended up with some of those back at another table, waiting for one of them to sit down and talk to us/us talking to them!!! 

We had BARELY any questions, and trying to figure out what to say/ask was hilarious! BUT we made plans for the switching seats so everyone could sit next to them and not only two people. 

I think Kristian came first and it was a bit awkward as we didn’t really know what to talk about. I asked him how he was, somehow nobody has asked him (?) so it went from there, just a bit of chit chat, mostly German swear words, bits of GoT (which he liked that I’ve never watched it O_O)  and stuff like that, and then he was off again already. 

After that we got Rhys which DAMN, up close? Even more devastating, the grey in the stubble was KILLING me (in the very best ways!). He was a tad tired but we got him to talk about his foster cats which was lovely. 

After that we waited for quite a while (lots of Gold tickets and only 5 guests); we were joking they were avoiding us as we didn’t have anything interesting to ask. But then came Nathan (I REALLY don’t know the order anymore, sorry) and he was such a surprise. He straight away asked where everyone was from and EASILY got the conversation going which I had NOT expected! He was amused about the many Germans at the con, told us he’d be here this weekend (Comic Con in Stuttgart). [He was sat next to me, and touched my arm a few times while talking which O_O]. 

For Con and Vico we had people who wanted to sit next to them so we devised a plan to switch seats (we didn’t know who would be next) and when Con came over, people stood and switched and he somehow thought (jokingly) we were running and wanted to race them. 

He started with a dad finger trick to break the ice (which worked beautifully) so I told him a stupid dad joke back (Which bees give milk? … booBEES! I don't know, I heard that just a few days before!) The scolding and eye-roll I got for that was gorgeous! *hehe* That man’s just the sweetest; I don’t really remember what we all talked about but he was sadly gone way too quickly. (My R sat next to him and she was in heaven!!). Oh, and she asked him about theatre and/or musical and the answer was basically that theatre isn't really what he wants to do unless it's the right play and the right director (and even then probably NOT in London which is a shame but yeah...)

Next up: Vico. GUH!!! I fucking LOVE them. Their energy was through the roof and they were talking a mile a minute! What did we talk about? I can’t remember. OH! They loved my earrings (as did a few others) which made me very happy!!! What I do remember (and I begged R before to NOT let me do it) was that I had to gush about Vico’s hair. I'm a hairdresser, and their hair journey from the mohawk to the curly mullet now is just so GAH for me. So yeah, I told them how much I love it and their face fucking LIT UP!!! I mean, I'm passionate about hair but they just fueled that passion and GOD, their eyes are insanely beautiful!! HNGNGGH! (also got touches on the arm so yeah… *heart eyes*) 

(Also, their handler had to remind them thrice that their time was up as they didn’t manage to find an end! Aww.) 

Eventually it was over and everyone floated out, clearly very high on pirate love!!! 

After that there was the party where the music BEFOREHAND was just horrible (more suited to a SPN con than ours) so of course my R went up there and taught them about pirate music!! I'm still laughing about her gesturing passionately while our table watched in awe!! 

We signed Kristian’s massive birthday card (made and passed around by Fyre; I REALLY hope he’s got it!) and went to bed not too late as we had a BUSY Saturday ahead of us and we didn’t want to look like ghosts!! 

So yeah, that was (Thursday and) Friday!! 

(pics from SF's Twitter page)

Saturday morning, getting up, getting ready for photos!! PHOTOS WITH VICO AND CON, cause I KNEW I just had to have these two!!! (auto were included with Gold so I could get these signed; I brought Kristian’s book and we got posters so I could have Rhys sign one of these. Nathan was an extra guest and NOT included which was okay with me.) 

I had two separate outfits, one for my Vico pic, one for Con. I was a bit  worried about timing but it all went super smoothly and quickly so I had time to change. 

Con was first. And set the stage quite Con-style!

“I had fucking coffee. Bring it on!” or something like that when he came out!!! I love that man.

We were pretty much first in queue; I went up to him, still VERY calm and collected which I do NOT know where that came from. (Maybe because they’re not celebrities, they’re fans of the show just as us and it shows!!) He wanted to put his arm around my shoulder when I stepped up and then fucking ASKED if it was okay. Mentally I was screaming. Outwards I was like, sure but I want a hug anyways if that's okay. 

“Sure,” he said and then pulled me against himself so hard I almost stumbled against him (*I* can see that in the pic) and then wrapped his arms around me and my brain went offline. It was over way too soon. I said thank you and wandered off, brain still going eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh! *lol* 

After that we queued for Vico. (What I LOVE about the SF cons (or this one, at least) while you queue you can watch everyone else which was soo fucking lovely. Again, they’re FANS like us and it fucking shows in everything they do!!! 

Once it was my turn with Vico their bright smile almost knocked me back over (esp since apparently they had been up since THREE FREAKING AM for an audition or so; they posted a video). 

“Can I have a hug?” I asked, and they were against me in a heartbeat! And they were the only one I could actually smell. And GOD, they smelled so good. And they’re soo freaking tiny!!! And yet, soo much strength. Of all my pics I love this one soo fucking much. And it shows which I love even more!!! 

After that we were done and sadly had to leave the room. 

Back to the panel room we went, blocking a table for the few lovely people we connected with and just after noon, Con and Nathan took the stage. 

These two together are fucking LETHAL!! It went downhill VERY VERY quickly. I can’t remember shitall, I know my belly hurt from all the laughing, at one point I might have teared up (first of many many more over the weekend) because of Con’s intense plea to look after each other in these times. This cast, I swear. 

There were cakes to bake at knifepoint, Con O’Neill being very very passionate about cheese: he will scold you HARD if you pair it with the wrong everything; Nathan VERY devastated that he had to wait to see Wicked until AFTER the con! And so much more, there’s a lovely person here on Tumblr, who posted about the panels which I will reblog in a sec! 

After these two manics where Vico and Kristian. This was tad more subdued even though Vico was still their bubbling, hyper self. I think there were talk about them loving dragons, music… god, my memory on the actual panels is shit! SORRY! 

Next up was Rhys (solo). He talked about a lot of things but what stuck with me (naturally) was the love and respect he has for Taika and his genius. He said he wished Taika would do cons so he could feel the love just like they did!!! I might have made noises. Rhys would love to work with him again, he’s brilliant… he was praising him a lot and my heart melted!! Their friendship is the most beautiful thing!!! GUH!! 

There was talk about Costa Rica which made the whole room explode with laughter, him talking about his craft, and how very much he still loves Stede and the show. (if anyone has more concrete things, PLEASE TELL ME, my brain’s a sieve. I kept staring at the man, still baffled to actually be in the same room as him!) 

He closed out the panel portion of the day; after that were autographs! And we had decided to get them all on Saturday so we had the Sunday for panels and no need to rush anywhere. (HA!) 

Again, what with being Gold and single numbers on the badge we were there early. I had my pics from earlier with Con and Vico which I wanted signed; Con looked at it and nodded approvingly: ‘That’ll do’, he said a few times; sadly I didn’t have much else to say to him so I thanked him and wandered over to Vico. 

 Ugh, I love them soo much. ‘Look at how CUTE we are’ they said (and wrote on it). And yes, we are. Told them how much i loved the pic, and that I’ll be replacing my DT pic on my socials with ours! Their FACE!! Guh. Seriously, they’re fucking GLOWING from the inside and it’s blinding!!! 

Kristian was next. I had his book; he asked whether I read it (not through yet, started a few weeks ago which he wasn’t too bothered about) and then… he bloody showed me two german words somebody had written down for him (or possibly he himself had found) and wanted to know what they meant. (they were rude words describing people with a lively sexual life)! I mean, i did NOT have teaching Kristian Nairn German words on my bingo card but here we were. Corrected one word as it was written wrong (WHAT?) and tried to explain it - not entirely right- but he was satisfied. His grin was very happy when he said goodbye! *shakes head* This cast, I swear. 

I had Rhys sign one of the posters as I didn’t have anything else with me. And can I tell you, being smirked and fucking WINKED at, does things to you you’re not ready for!!!! HNGNGGN!!! (which def sold me on making CHOICES the next  morning!)  I know I thanked them all for coming over and hoped they were enjoying the con and themselves so not being a total idiot, I guess *hehe*

After that we needed food and got ready for the Cosplay contest later that evening. 

The WHOLE DAMN CAST came out to judge it!!! ALL OF THEM! 

And GOD, this fandom is soo fucking talented!!! The costumes, the CARE people put into it, the blood, sweat and tears… it’s INSANE!! 

The deserved winner was wearing coat that depicted ALL OF SEASON 1!! They went and added ALL THE TINY DETAILS onto it… it‘s madness and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Also, TEARS because FUCK ME, having the the creator and cast talk about it and the love for our show and start choking on tears is NOT helping me stay calm!!! 

After that, more party which we did since Kristian was dj’ing and Vico was dancing their little heart out until 11 or so (Nathan was also still there). We stayed a bit longer once they’ve left as we didn’t have much going on on Sunday… 

… or so I thought!!! 

Sunday morning started quiet with a late alarm as only R had things happening before the panels. (And the morning photos had been pushed back half an hour anyways!)  We went for breakfast… and somewhere between coffee and cornflakes I was like ‘I cannot leave here with only two pictures when there’s FIVE cast members here, can I?!’ S was NOT helping and soon we were ordering pics, racing back to paint a face on and then we were queueing again for more photos!!! 

Nathan was first and I was the 2nd in line and he was tired *lol* So that one’s a bit boring! 

Kristian remembered a) my name and b) that I was German so he greeted me with ‘Guten Morgen’ which was lovely, and I love that we’re both a tad unhinged in the pic from the giggling! 

And then Rhys. I swear that man wants to kill  me with that casual unexpected HOTNESS. That morning he was wearing what he was wearing and I WAS NOT READY!! *breathes heavily* But then again, you never are so yeah. 

Anyhow, I knew I didn’t want an ordinary pic with him, and was pondering what pose to do. And somehow a ‘back to back’ felt like the right choice. R wanted to do the same so once she was done and he wanted to turn back again, I was like ‘nah, just stay like that, I want the same’ which made him smile. So yeah, I REALLY like that picture!!! *sighs happily* 

We were still lingering about, just watching them ‘work’, waiting for our new friends but eventually we had to leave! I saw some wonderful pics done (I think this particular one was take the day before:  everyone looking everywhere BUT the camera, which was hilarious!) 

After that we went back into the main hall only to find our new friends having saved us spaces at the table (that’s why I LOVE those cons, you just find YOUR people!) 

First panel was Vico and Nathan which I remember shit all about!!! *hides* I can’t for the life of me remember any specifics. 

I'm pretty sure there were some Wicked stings which made Nathan wail; oh and I think that was the one where the poor man disclosed that he hates CRABS which naturally made Vico tease him merciless about it!!! *lol* According to Discord there was also talk about carol singers in everywhere else and then in PR which apparently is them yelling at people in their houses until they let them in (Vico REALLY needs to do more comedy, their timing is fucking IMPECCABLE!!) Also, audio work (which reminds me I REALLY need to check that out, I need some Vico readings in my car!) 

After that: Rhys and Con. That was a pairing I was looking forward to a LOT as they’re usually not put together in a one on one. And BOY was that a hoot!!! 

Con his grumpy lovely self, Rhys a bit less jetlagged (yet still annoyed at the tech people chattering backstage when he’s trying to listen to questions; they stopped talking after that and he was fine.) 

KEVIN!!!

It’s THE running gag already (Rhys said it’d be dead in a week, Con doubted that,, and he’ll win THAT bet: there’s stickers and SHIRTS already which will make an appearance at random Rhys gigs next year so yeah…) It’s got something to do with Con assuming there just has to be a sex tape with Rhys (no idea HOW he got there) and that it had to be with someone named Kevin (Rosie’s name fell a few times too; it was CHAOS I tell ya!) and I think it was Rhys who yelled ‘Kevin, give me the tape(s)’!!! Which is now a thing and I’ll be randomly yell that at pirates and/or Kevin’s I will cross paths with in the future!!! It was fucking hysterical and I'm still giggling just thinking about it! 

Rhys did take a fake phonecall with his agent, about Star Trek and Star Wars, about cities to visit in Japan and Con was cackling in the most delightful way while Rhys looked very smug about making us all laugh. 

Their back and forth was AMAZING; for some reason that surprised me, but they’re soo good together (another reason why I'm sad there's not more!) I think there was a dinosaur question in there too; the hour was over way too fast, I could’ve listened to them so ages. But R and I had tickets for Con’s fan meet so we left a bit early eben though the man in question was still on stage (which makes me sad because apparently we missed that ‘Izzy wouldn’t officiate Ed’s and Stede’d wedding, he’d rather watch them fuck.’ EXCUSE YOU?!?!? (and yes, i'm pretty damn sure there’s another Steddyhand fic in the making for me if I can find the energy to write again)  

So yeah, Fan Meet. (I bought it as a present for R in case she’d miss out; she did on the Saturday one; and it was planned as a gift but she bought one herself in time so I went along; what a hardship! *grins*) 

About 20 of us in a room, with one Con O’Neill. Oh, that man. The sweetest grumpiest man I’ve ever loved! He’s sooo fucking kind and lovely; loves his dog desperately; is in fact married (which we assumed but it was nice that he eventually got tired of trying to stick with ‘partner’ and just switched to ‘husband’ - my heart soared at that.) Fyre did a lovely write up of that one, so I’ll link to that. (R asked the last q about Cooper and my heart is still aching for him!) 

We floated back out once it was over and back into the main hall where Nathan was Kristian’s guest for WJW. And no, I don’t remember one bloody thing about it, sorry! 

Hm, when did Sean announced the gifted pic? Was it before the first panel? Anyways, since basically all pics and autos were done on Saturday, everyone got gifted one of the group pics and we ALL could get them signed: Gold even WITH Nathan. FOR FREE!! (So yeah, not one bad word about SF - they’re not perfect, I know that, and Sean’s not the most people'y person but that was a VERY nice thing!) 

So yeah, after the last panel back to the auto room we went… where we would stay for the next 2 hours or so, waiting our turn because especially Con and Vico took their time chatting. 

I didn’t mind one bit; I could watch them for hours; we chatted with fellow crew and I personally had the most wonderful time. 

I'm now the very proud owner of a signed pic, got to talk a bit more to them all (gushing to Vico some more about their hair) and in general got way more for my money then I could’ve ever hoped!!! 

Once we emerged we were famished and went for food before it was back into the main hall for the Closing. 

And once again, this cast is the most magical out there!!! Everyone said a little bit, most of them told us to stick together, look after each other in these hard times ['FUCK 'EM' - Con O'Neill about everyone who wants to fuck with us!] and were the most beautiful souls out there. I teared up more than once and barely kept myself from just wailing loudly! Such wonderful people who love our little show almost more than we do. *sighs* 

The room was so full of love and joy and happiness. And sadness, yeah but there was one last party to go to. Which we did. Vico came out as well although they stayed in the foyer, just chatting to people and from what I’ve heard it was wonderful for everyone. 

We went to bed rather early as we still had to pack because we had to leave rather early. 

Goodbyes were said, hugs were hugged and off we went. 

Now it’s been over a week, and im still not really back in the real world. It still feels surreal to have these memories, have the pics and autos, have all the AMAZING gifts people handed out which I will treasure massively. 

Sadly we already know that this was a one off (which makes me unbelievably glad we went) so I will always have the most incredible memories of this wet and windy weekend in November in a hotel full of pirates and queer joy and happiness. Which will stick with me even more than meeting the cast: seeing everyone just be their beautiful unique self, without fear, without having to hide themselves away, be loud and proud and as queer and diverse as they can be!!! EVERYONE understood, everyone cared and GOD, isn’t that the most amazing thing? 

That Jenkins' little show was able to do this?! One of the many many reasons I fucking adore this show and everyone involved!!! 

So yeah, that’s it. Probably the longest I’ve written about an event I’ve been to; as I said, it’s more about feelings than proper report but I’d like to have that here. And if you’ve read it all, CONGRATULATIONS, you deserve ALL THE COOKIES for sticking with my insane ramblings! 

#CrewForLife has never been truer than with this show and its beautiful people!!! 

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

Stories of Our Lives - Chapter 12

A/N: Here's the next chapter!! 

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

August 3, 2019

Six weeks after they said "I Do" Louis was ramped up for rehearsals and promotions for the tour. Two weeks after that, he hopped on a tour bus and left Gia at home. And now three weeks after seeing her husband, she missed him, plain and simple. Yes they talked on the phone and skyped but that was completely different from being by his side, his hands in hers, and his hugs, god she missed his hugs. 

Super secret conversations were had and plans made, a little white lie was told before she found herself on a plane to Madrid. Scarlett, Tricia and Mollie were all on tour; Tricia being the band's photographer and Scarlett being part of their wardrobe crew. Both women tried to convince Gia to come out on the road but she had to finish up some last minute things before agreeing. 

Arriving in humid Madrid, Gia smiled the first real smile she had in awhile. The prospect of seeing her husband for the first time in three weeks was simple too much for Gia to handle right now. 

"Well hello stranger!" Tricia smiled, watching Gia's hand fly to her chest in fright. "Welcome to the tour."

Gia threw her arms around her best friend grinning brightly. "Oh my gosh it's so good to see you. I've missed you."

"You as well. Finally threw responsibility away and came to play with us." Tricia grabbed one of her suitcases, leaving the other and her carry-on with Gia. 

Shrugging, Gia followed Tricia behind her. "Something like that."

"Does Louis know you're coming?" 

Shaking her head, Gia's grin was too much. "Nope. Planning on surprising him."

Throwing the suitcases in the boot, Gia and Tricia climbed in the backseat with Paul driving. "Oh no here's trouble!"

"Hey you should be excited I'm here. I'm going to keep Louis in line." Gia defended causing the older man to chuckle. 

He nodded. "He's been a little out of hand lately."

"He's like a kid in a candy shop while on tour." Tricia spoke, Gia quickly agreeing. 

Watching the city pass, Gia took a deep breath. "What are the boys up to? And where's Mollie?"

"They have a day off. Louis was talking about sleeping the day away." Tricia smiled. "Niall and Harry took her to the zoo."

Paul looked at the girls. "So what's the plan for surprising Louis?"

"Not sure. Thinking about winging it."

He chuckled. "That's not going to end well."

"Hey! I will be on my best behavior." Gia grinned. "Though I can't promise the same for Lou."

Reaching in her bag, she grabbed her mobile, turning it on. The car grew quiet each lost in their thoughts. Her mobile buzzed and vibrated in her hand. "Lou's blowing up your phone?"

"Yea he's worried. Jay texted that he called her worried - she told him I had a spa day and I had to turn off my mobile." Gia smirked. "Love my mother-in-law." 

Tricia laughed. "That's classic. I'll have to remember that one for future use."

Pulling up to the hotel, Paul escorted them in promising Gia to get her bags to her. Tricia said her goodbyes, leaving Gia in the lobby. Sitting in a comfy chair, Gia tried to figure out how she was going to let Louis know she was there. Her mobile rang interrupting her thoughts. 

"Hello?"

Louis chuckled on the other end. "Well hello there. Are you nice and relaxed from your spa day?"

"Yes I am. Sorry it slipped my mind to tell you." Twirling a piece of hair in her finger, Gia grinned. "What are you up to today?"

She heard him sigh. "Not sure. Niall and Harry took the Mollie to the zoo while everyone else is just hanging out. Who knows what Liam's up to - maybe him and I will do lunch or something. What are you up to?"

"Socks and I are hanging out in the garden. He's trying to hunt the birds while I'm catching up on some reading, missing you of course." Gia laughed. 

He groaned. "I know baby. I miss you too. Two more weeks and I'll be back in London seeing your pretty face."

"Way too long Tomlinson." She scolded him lightly. "We need to have a limit from now on."

He laughed. "What? Two days?"

"If I'd have my way that's what it'll be." She giggled. "Hey someone's at the door. Let me let you go and I'll call you later. I love you."

He sighed. "Love you too. Give Socks a kiss for me. Talk to you later. Love you lots Damsel."

Hanging up the phone, she smiled at the young fans across the lobby. Two girls cautiously came closer both excited. "Are you Gia?"

"I am. What are your names?" 

The older of the two grinned brightly. "I'm Kennedy and I'm 8 and this is my sister Becca and she's 4. You're pretty."

"Thank you so are you girls. Do you want a picture?" Gia crouched down smiling as the girls' mother came closer. 

"I'm sorry if they're bothering you." The young woman smiled at Gia while she shook her head. 

Gia smiled. "No they're not bothering. I'll take a picture with them if they want."

"Yes!" Kennedy jumped a bit causing Gia to laugh. 

Kneeling between the two girls, Gia smiled as their mother snapped the photo. "The only thing I ask is that you wait to post that until later tonight. I'm surprising Louis and he doesn't know I'm here yet."

"That's so romantic." The mother gushed, Gia grinning brightly. 

She talked with the girls and their mum for a few more minutes before heading to the elevators. Sending a text to Tricia asking for Louis' room number, she pressed the 15th floor once inside. Tapping her foot lightly, she took the last few minutes to herself. She was a little nervous to see Louis and actually be with him for more than a few hours. 

Stopping in front of his door, she took a deep breath. But before she could knock, a door to her left was opened as Scarlett walked into the hallway. She shushed her before she could spoil the surprise. 

"What are you doing here?" Scarlett hugged her tightly. 

Gia chuckled at her friend. "Surprising my miserable husband."

"When did you get in?"

Looking at her mobile, she shrugged. "Like an hour ago. I've been in cahoots with Tricia and Paul."

"Nice. Will you and Lou be at dinner?" Scarlett asked raising her eyebrows suggestively. 

"Go surprise our boy. We'll see you later." Scarlett walked away leaving Gia standing at Louis' door. 

Raising her hand, she knocked hearing Louis grumble about having to get up. "Tricia your husband isn't here. Liam, if this is you I'm gonna - " 

Gia grinned as he ripped open the door. "You're gonna what?" 

"Gia!" She was pulled into his arms, the door slamming behind them. "What are you doing here?"

His question went unanswered as she placed her lips on his. They had a nice little make out session until a knock on the door interrupted them. "What?"

"Open up Tomlinson I come bearing gifts." Paul yelled pounding on the door. 

Sighing, Louis opened the door allowing Paul to drop Gia's luggage off. "I see you received your surprise."

"I did. Did you have a hand in her surprising me?" Louis brightened up a bit. 

Paul shook his head. "Nope she was in cahoots with Tricia who told me we had to go to the airport today, said a surprise was being delivered."

"Thank you for bringing that up here." Gia grinned motioning to the suitcases. 

Paul grinned. "Not a problem. If you two go out, let me know. Dinner is at 6 tonight."

"Sounds good. I think we might hang out here but we'll see you later for dinner." Louis said, Paul saying his goodbyes leaving the two alone. 

Louis faced his wife with a grin. "Not that I'm not thrilled you're here but what happened to the packed schedule you had at the base?"

"Well .... That was a little white lie." Gia bit on her lip with a smile. 

Louis cocked a brow. "What aren't you telling me?"

Gia went to sit on the bed, patting the space beside her. "Come sit before I tell you."

"Uh oh this can't be good." Louis took her hand in his. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Gia took a deep breath. "As of yesterday, I'm unemployed. I resigned my position at the base completely."

"What? Why? You loved your job and the last thing I ever wanted was for you to give it up." Louis' eyes went wide. "Gia you didn't have to give up everything you've worked for."

Gia stood, walking to her suitcase to retrieve a box. "Well my duties were going to change significantly because of some news I received so I decided just to resign while I was ahead of everything."

"What news?" Louis started panicking with how calm she was acting. "You're freaking me out Giovanna." 

Handing him the box, she took her place next to him on the bed. "Go ahead and open that." 

Slipping the thick yellow ribbon off the box, Louis carefully opened the lid, tossing it aside. Moving the tissue paper aside, he looked at his wife with wide eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes, daddy."

Looking between the yellow sleeper in the box and his wife, Louis felt tears cloud his eyes. "You're pregnant?"

"I am. Eleven weeks along." Gia grabbed his hand and place it on her still flat stomach. "Apparently your little swimmers were bound and determined the night of our wedding."

He laughed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Is everything alright?"

Picking up the sleeper, she grabbed the sonogram photos from underneath handing them to Louis. "Your son or daughter is doing just well. He or she is the size of a fig. The doctor says everything looks great."

"When are you due? How did you find out you were pregnant?" Louis couldn't take his eyes off the photos. “How are you feeling? Should you even be traveling? Should you be sitting?” 

Gia laughed. "Breathe babe. Due date is January 22. I was throwing up constantly for two weeks, feeling better after I was done. For the hell of it I did a pregnancy test and it came back positive, went to the doctors after that."

"Who else knows?" Louis tore his eyes off looking at Gia's watery smile. 

Leaning forward to kiss him, she smiled brightly. "You and me and no one else. We do need to tell people soon."

"My mum and sisters, your parents and siblings. We can tell the boys tonight if you want." Louis stopped looking wide eyed at her. "What are we going to do?"

Gia looked her her husband with concern. "What do you mean?"

"Are you going home after this or are you sticking around?" Louis placed his hand on her stomach. "I'm going to be really selfish here and say that I don't want to miss a second of this pregnancy but with the tour it's not feasible to be there every second."

Kissing him, those words were exactly what Gia needed to hear. Tears slipped down her face, Louis pulling her into his chest. "Hey, hey what's wrong?" 

"You are the most perfect man Louis Tomlinson." She sniffled. "That's exactly what I needed to hear. I was so worried about how you would take the news - not that you wouldn't be happy but the fact that we've only been married for 11 weeks and five of those have been separated."

"Babe, yes timing is difficult at the moment, but you're pregnant and I couldn't be happier." Louis wiped her tears away kissing her forehead. "So what's the plan?"

Taking a shaky breath, Gia squeezed his hand. "I talked to the doctor and she said it would be okay to travel with you through my seventh month - November. Then she doesn't want me leaving London. She told me when she wants me in for appointments and has recommended doctors along the way to visit."

"So you're staying with us on tour?" 

Gia nodded. "If you'll have me. The doctor warned me to take it easy as much as possible. She said I'll become more tired as I progress and to take full advantage of naps." 

"Giovanna Maria Tomlinson you've made me the happiest man ever. I love you, Italia." 

She laughed. "Hey it takes two to tango Pooks. And I love you too."

The two spent the afternoon skyping with their families delivering the news. Both mothers had cried while Louis' siblings were excited to be aunts. Ava screeched and cried when Gia told her. Tony was excited to be grandpa. Her brothers cracked jokes of Louis not being able to resist knocking her up. Everyone was very excited and told Gia to let them know if she needed anything. 

After delivering the news to their families, the two brainstormed of how to tell their friends. Gia wrapped in Louis' arms yawned sleepily as he rambled on. He smiled seeing her fast asleep, her cheek nuzzled against his chest. 

Caressing her flat tummy, he cleared his throat, whispering to his unborn child. "Hi peanut, I'm your daddy. Your mum and I are so excited you're on your way. Your mummy is the best person I know and I'm happy she's the one that's going on this crazy journey with me. You will have to be patient with us as this is our first time."

Gia shifted slightly, causing Louis to pause in his speech. "Anyways, I promise that I'll always be there for you no matter what. I'll take you to the park, teach you the fine art of football, and support you no matter what. I want you to try everything once and if you want to do something other than footie then that'll be all right."

"Honestly I just want you to be happy and healthy. Everything else is just icing on the cake. I may not have the easiest job but that's never going to keep me from loving, protecting and taking care of you. You're my little man or princess and I will always be there for you no matter what."

He felt tears on his chest. Looking down at Gia, he saw her teary eyes on his. "Awe Damsel why are you crying?"

"Because you're being so sweet." She sniffled wiping the tears away. "You're already talking to the baby."

Louis nuzzled her closer to his side, kissing her forehead. "Since you were obviously eavesdropping, I promise I'm always going to be there for you and our many children. But I need to you tell me when it becomes too much. There may come a time where I'm gone too much or you feel like you're doing it all, I need to you tell me to walk away from it all. Can you do that?"

"But you love it so much." She whispered. 

Looking into her eyes, his hand cupped her cheek. "But you and our children are more important than my career. I've had a great run and things can only get better as we add to our brood but if you feel like I'm never around you need to tell me. Okay?"

"Okay." She leaned up and kissed him sealing her promise to him. 

Looking at the clock, Gia groaned seeing it 4:30 all ready. "I need a shower."

"Want some company?" Louis raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively. 

Smacking his shoulder, Gia laughed. "Nope! You're a dirty boy."

"Then I guess I need a girl to help me get clean." Louis mused. "I'm sure there is plenty of girls around that would be willing to help."

Gia's eyes went wide looking at her husband. "Not a chance in hell bubs. Let's go!"

Leaving a trail of her clothes on the way to the bathroom definitely peaked Louis' interest. Chuckling he followed her into the bathroom where they both got squeaky clean. 

6:00pm

The two held hands as they walked into the conference room where dinner was being held that night. Paul and Preston were both there as well as the boys, Scarlett, Tricia, Mollie. 

"Look what the cat drug in! What are you doing here?" Liam hugged Gia with a grin, a surprised look on his face. 

Gia hugged him back with gusto. "I surprised Louis by flying out here. I'm joining you guys for a bit if you don't mind."

"Absolutely not. The more the merrier." Niall said, Louis and Gia trading glances with one another. Mollie galloped over to greet her auntie. Gia enthusiastically gave her a massive hug. 

Louis took a seat at the end by the boys as Gia sat next to Tricia. "So this afternoon I was inspired and wrote some songs.  Just pieces if you guys want to hear them later."

"Absolutely. What was your inspiration?" Harry asked with a smirk on his face. 

Louis slapped his arm, chuckling. "Dirty but no. Gia just surprising me in general." 

Gia meanwhile was talking to the girls grinning the entire time. "You haven't stopped smiling since I picked you up from the airport. What gives?"

"I'm just really happy and excited to be here. I'm just happy to be hanging out with you in this sunny, beautiful country instead of miserable England." Gia shook her head at Tricia.  

Scarlett pointed at Gia, a look of determination of her face. "No Tricia is onto something. Something is going on with you. Spill!"

"There's nothing going on. I had a great afternoon of sexing my husband up and now I'm excited for an evening of crazy shenanigans with you folk." Gia held her hands up in innocence.

Scarlett nodded unconvinced. "You're hiding something Giovanna and we will figure it out."

"Uh huh and I wish you all the luck in the world." Gia rose her eyebrows in challenge. 

The rest of dinner went off without hitch. The boys had convinced Paul to clear the pool area so could go swimming without interruptions. Paul relented and before long the boys were cannonballing into the lukewarm water. 

"So Tommo what are these songs you were mentioning earlier?" Niall asked catching Mollie as she jumped into the pool. 

Louis smirked. "There's like four I've started but I'm stuck." 

"Well just start singing them and maybe we can help you." Harry suggested. 

Louis took a deep breath, glancing at Gia before clearing his throat. "Now pay attention - these took a while to come up with. You know you love me, I know you care, Just shout whenever, and I'll be there, You are my love, you are my heart, And we will never ever ever be apart."

"It's catchy." Harry nodded, bobbing his head to the beat.  

Niall snorted. "It's quite catchy because it's already a song. It's Bieber."

"Oh sorry. It's stuck in my head. Next song goes like this - When I'm not with you I lose my mind, Give me a sign, Hit me baby one more time."

Tricia hit Gia's arm with wide eyes, whispering. "No way! When? How? How far?"

"Yes way!" Gia hissed back turning to the men with a smirk. Danielle and Scarlett soon caught on to what Louis was trying to accomplish. 

Liam rolled his eyes. "Nice try. That's Britney. Seems you were a little too distracted by Gia this afternoon. Wanna try again pretty boy?"

"I swear I've got a hit here." Louis mused. "Last one. Havin' my baby. What a lovely way of sayin'. How much you love me."

Liam snorted. "That one is a song all ready! I think it's high time we admit Louis to an institution because he's officially lost it! Man do you not know what the words 'copyright' mean?"

"I think I'm pretty smart. Besides your wives and girlfriend figured it out pretty quickly, nincompoops." Louis smirked. 

Liam, Niall and Harry turned to their girls who simply smiled at them. "It's all up to you to figure it out. If you think about it, it's not that hard to figure out!" 

"Just because you were your class valedictorian doesn't mean the rest of us were that smart, sweetheart!" Niall drawled glancing at his wife. 

Liam's eyes lit up, grinning at his friend. "That's awesome mate. You must be over the moon."

"Uh huh. Can't stop smiling." Louis glances at Gia with a grin. "We are so excited."

Harry cleared his throat motioning between himself and Niall. "Ummm .... Still confused over here."

"I'm going to break it down for you very slowly." Scarlett drawled looking at the two men. "Think about what the three songs have in common with one another."

Niall tilted his head going over all the lyrics. "Wait, no really?"

"Wanna share with the class Nialler?" Louis smirked. 

Looking over at Gia, who merely nodded, Niall smirked. "Louis' gone and joined the daddy's club. All the songs have to do with baby."

Everyone looked to Gia and Louis for confirmation. The couple both grinned and nodded before the pool area erupted in cheers and excitement congratulations. Questions were thrown out as hugs were quickly exchanged. 

"When are you due?" Scarlett asked, Gia sitting on Louis' lap snuggled up to his chest. 

Gia smiled. "January 22. I had a scan two days ago and everything looks good. The doctor said I can travel up until November then I'm homebound."

"What about the base and your job?" Liam asked bouncing Mollie on his legs, her laughter causing everyone to smile. 

Louis kissed her forehead before she spoke. "I resigned. I was going to be placed behind a desk and not allowed anywhere near the bombers. I would've been miserable so I handed in my resignation yesterday. So currently I'm unemployed."

"So what's the next steps?" Tricia asked bouncing in Niall's lap excited at the possibilities. 

The couple laughed. "The plan is for me to travel with you guys for the next few months. Tour is done end of October so then we'll be home, decorate the nursery and prepare for peanut to arrive."

"Do you want to know what you're having and do your parents know?" Liam had Mollie wrapped up in his arms keeping the little girl from becoming too cold. 

Louis chuckled, remembering how his mum and sisters reacted. "Our families found out this afternoon and they're beyond excited. Gia and I talked and I think we want to find out what we're having. Our lives are so out of our control so this will be nice to have so be can at least prepare for his or her arrival."

"I remember thinking that when I was pregnant." Tricia sighed looking at her little girl. "But there's no way to prepare for every little thing."

Gia yawned, nodding at Tricia’s remark. "That's why I have you in my corner."  

"To Louis and Gia two of the best people to become parents. You both will be amazing." Harry raised his beer toasting his best friend and his wife. 

"Here here."

And the rest of the night the guys gave Louis tips on what not to do with a baby (forgetting the fact he has five sisters and a brother) while the girls spoke of names and how to decorate the nursery.

[firstdegreefangirl]

It took me way too long to actually get all of this finished, but I used my road trip with @flyawayrachel for a video assignment for my TV class. Here’s that video, which I LOVE ((and that hardly EVER happens when I make things)), and the world’s longest highlights post -- including all three days of the trip, and also show notes -- is under the cut

Monday

Me walking from Rachel’s apartment to her campus because I needed a bathroom. Then the first building I found ((which did have a bathroom, thank GOD, because //someone// forgot to go while I was stopped in LFK)) being the one she’s traumatized about and can’t go into, forcing me to wait for her in a building where she weren’t, just because I needed to pee.

“I placed ‘toilet’ very high on my priority list”

We hadn’t seen each other since like July, so there was SO MUCH to catch up on

Side note: no more of this three-months-separated thing. We missed too many stories and it’s not OK.

Me texting Madison like “this is crazy but come to Denver with us right now today”

When my dad found out we went to KFC for lunch, the first thing he said was “I’ve eaten at that KFC with your mom before!”

That gas station I made Rach stop at so I could take another bathroom break. Y’know, the one with two stalls in one room and NO DOOR, just a little half-wall between them? Yeah, that one.

“Do we like Frank? Cool, I’m on Team Frank then.” In the words of one of my kids, “VILE FRIENDSHIP!”

“There we go, that’s an appropriate Hitler joke.”

“Do … something cute with the maps.” “Out here? Where people can see?”

Me: “This is gonna sound crazy, but let me text my dad. I think we stopped at this rest stop when we went to the Grand Canyon. I remember the museum.” ((closure time: I was right, we did. That trip was four years ago.))

Checking into the hotel on my corporate rate and then dissecting the agent’s check-in skills in the elevator.

Wandering into the hotel next door because it’s the chain I work at and I wanted to scope out the competition.

Then the look on Rachel’s face when I straight up told their agent “I work at another *brand name* and wanted to see what y’all have going on.”

Snapchatting my GM about the hotel we stayed at and her saying “I bet their FD girl isn’t as amazing as ours.”

Especially when she found out that we had to do the lobby wander of shame because no one told us where the elevator was.

Our hotel room had a little curtain separating the bed and the fold out and Rachel was SO EXCITED ABOUT IT ((see the video)).

Watching all of Indoor Boys in one sitting because it only takes like an hour and a half and Rachel needed to see it

How excited I was about the bedspreads being cuter than the ones in my hotel ((theirs are polka dot AND match the towels in the bathroom; my property’s are houndstooth and the towels are just plain white))

Me briefly thinking the bathroom had no door before Rachel saved the day

Rachel wanting a Frosty at 11 p.m.

Which was easily solved, because there was a Wendy’s in the parking lot.

A much harder one was my sudden and intense craving for curly fries.

Arby’s closed at 10, but Jack in the Box is 24 hour and has curly fries.

So off we went.

ONLY THE ONE WE WENT TO HAD A HANDWRITTEN SIGN ON THE DRIVE THRU THAT THEY CLOSED AT 10.

I called another store and the dude was high key judgmental that I didn’t just //know// they’re 24-hours, as if I hadn’t just been betrayed by a store that should have been and wasn’t.

But they did have curly fries, so I got my curly fries.

Also we went to 7/11 so I could try the Captain Crunch Crunch Berry Slurpee. Which tastes EXACTLY like the cereal. You decide if that’s good or not. I thought it was, Rach decidedly did not.

Tuesday

I literally ate just a bowl of oatmeal toppings for breakfast. No oatmeal, just the toppings bar.

Rach stayed up in the room and slept in, so I brought her some yogurt. Only I wasn’t sure what flavor she’d want, so she got both peach and blueberry fruit on the bottom.

OUTLET SHOPPING. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve been able to just leisurely wander around a mall and shop? Like without having a place to be at a time and/or a list of exactly what I did and didn’t need to buy?

Sam’s Lunch! ((which was then a total bust when they only had like two samples out))

“So hindsight, the Ulta looks further from here than it did from the highway.” “Yeah, you think so?”

The decision to ramen for lunch, which was then overridden when Tokyo Bowl was only one dollar sign on google and the ramen place was two.

Which was totally OK because the food was both fantastic and inexpensive

The part of the car ride where I caught up with my best friend since I was literally a year old.

High Street being just a little bit too fitting in Denver

The candy factory tour!! I’m a sucker for both free tourism and demonstrations. Especially when there’s free samples involved.

Fun fact: the flavored part of the fancy candy canes is NOT the striped part. It’s the inside layer.

Also that little kid in the group with us. “Do they send candy to Idaho? I am from Idaho.” “Do they help the elves make the candy?”

“Should I buy a whole pound of marshmallow scraps?” “It’s only five dollars.” “Right, but then I’ll eat the whole pound of marshmallows and we both know that.”

BRO-dway!

Me forgetting the theatre sharpie in the hotel room and making you circle back to get it, even if it was only two blocks

Our high-quality karaoke sessions in the car. What we lack in training, we more than make up for in enthusiasm.

Just the amount of screaming when we drove by the tour bus

Circling the block twice before we could get into the parking garage

We stopped at a fun little art exhibition thing between the parking garage and the theatre, literally just because the sign said “Under Study.” Then I looked at Rach and said “well, we always say understudies need more appreciation.”

I panicked as we crossed the train tracks NOT in the crosswalk, then again when we crossed the next set in the lines but I could distantly hear a train coming

((side note: Katie is NOT cut out for mass transit))

Tour bus photos are hard, but we made it work and they’re awesome!

I’m now the proud owner of my very own DEH cast hoodie, which I “conveniently forgot” to take home this weekend so mom can commandeer it until Christmas

Backstory: Katie is both afraid of heights and suffering altitude sickness, which results in lightheadedness and shortness of breath in … oh, I dunno, mile-high elevation

We had an extra ticket and decided to RAK it to someone who was sitting in an upper balcony so they could join us closer to the stage.

Which was/is a great idea, except that it required going to the upper balcony. Via the stairs. So by the time we got up there, the altitude sickness meant I couldn’t breathe. Leading me to step out to the little patio thing for some fresh air – usually slightly easier for me to breathe – while Rach scouted around for people.

Lack of forethought: BALCONIES ARE HEIGHTS.

So the first time I meet our new friend, it’s me zipping up behind Rachel and saying something about how I sure really would like to go back down in the elevator and get back to ground level.

Which we did, because Rach knows I’m like this and she’s wonderful and amazing

That made things … a lot better, and I was able to enjoy having a new theatre friend.

Which was wonderful, and she’s wonderful and that was such a neat thing to be able to do.

The Show

So we’ll start this one from taking our seats TEN ROWS FROM THE STAGE.

We’re gushing about how close we are to the stage and how great the view is and everything when I see someone coming up the back aisle who looks kinda familiar.

“Hey … is that Pasek and/or Paul?” “Nah, I don’t think so. Wait … YES IT IS!”

Cue us freaking out and shoving Rachel to the front of the group because I’m incapable of approaching people.

Long story short, we got autographs from Pasek and Paul, pics with Paul and Alex Lacamoire, and at intermission we got signatures from Michael Grief.

People kept asking us like “who those guys were” and we just went “they created the show!!”

Now this is where things are gonna get incoherent, because I spent 15 minutes gushing out thoughts as soon as the show ended and I got home, and I’m just going to type them out here.

Ben Levi Ross’s Evan and I do the same lil hands on face/neck/ears thing when we’re anxious.

Merrick’s Connor did the same little finger gesture thing I do at work when I give people directions to the elevator in my hotel during Sincerely, Me and I basically just DIED.

BLR’s Evan seemed so much less worldly than OBC, but Zoe was grown up AF

Larry was STUNNING and AMAZING

Tbh I got hella Leslie Knope vibes from Cynthia

Larry’s arms around Cynthia and his hand on her shoulder when they talked to Heidi and literally just Larry

Marrick’s rubbing and then sudden/intense nipple twist in Sincerely, Me

Everyone was SO GRATEFUL we were there to see the show

BLR hit the stage door in this amazing vintage pinstriped blazer. I told him I loved his jacket and I don’t know which one of us was more excited about that moment.

Rachel and I crushing each other’s hands the entire show ((it’s been five days as of this writing and the bruises are just now mostly healed))

Marrick missed a cue and the poor bab looked terrified

One word BLR said gave me like alarmingly intense vibes from the cast album, and it’s something I noticed right away, but now I can’t remember what word it was. But it sounded JUST LIKE Platt, in a very shooketh way

BLR tied the tie perfectly onstage and I’m shook. When I wear my tie to work, I have to get up 15 minutes earlier to have time to get it tied the right length

Jared’s Jared was 20/10. Amazing delivery and fantastic comedic relief

There were all these little costume changes from Broadway, since so many things had been thrifted

IT TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG TO NOTICE but Connor is wearing Evan’s hoodie, not the other way around, and I can prove it.

It’s on Evan’s bed during Anybody Have a Map?

I heard a voice behind me during Act Two, and my first thought was my usual “what kind if imbecile …” But then I realized it was Michael Grief, and like it’s his show, so he can do what he wants.

Same thing when Justin Paul used his phone as a light source so he could take notes on the show.

We mentioned to Arron at the stage door that we skipped two days of school and drove nine hours to see the show and he goes “It’s your life. You gotta live it.”

BLR finished the stage door line before Christiane did, so he passed behind her on his way back into the theatre and 10000 percent patted her ass football-style.

In For Forever I totally thought the original lyric was “life will be alright for forever,” not “LIKE WE’LL be alright for forever” and that hit me harder than it should have tbh

Dude, Larry hit me so hard at the beginning, like he recites part of the letter and it took me until now to realize how many times he must have read it over before that moment

Zoe’s wardrobe was so classy

Evan straight up hugging into Connor’s chest at the end of Sincerely, Me

At the stage door, Phoebe almost fell off her heels and said “that’s what I get for wearing stilts. But I’m out here with all these dudes, like I’ve gotta assert my dominance.

It was a Moment, especially when I replied “I don’t even need stilts to fall down. It just happens sometimes.”

FREE OPENING NIGHT HATS. I’m not a hat-wearer, but this hat might just make me into one.

We made friends with an eighth grader at the stage door, and she was so wonderful honestly.

The three of us referred to ourselves as “trash” and her mother looked so concerned

Post-Show/Wednesday

Rachel and I parted ways as soon as she dropped me off back at the hotel, so you’ll have to hit her up for her Wednesday stories.

But we were at the stagedoor when @crazygoblinfreakoutnoise just texted me like KATHERINE *lastname* so I replied like “can I call you and scream?” because that felt safer than texting her in mass caps while we walked alone in the dark in an unfamiliar city.

Then I woke up Wednesday at 4:30 a.m. ((kinda, I had so much post-show rush that I didn’t actually sleep much at all)) and ate my leftovers from Tokyo Bowl before I called an Uber.

Chattiest Uber driver EVER. It was a 45-minute ride and by the end of it, I knew about his divorce, how long his family has had season sports tickets, why he doesn’t go to the games, all the major highways in Denver, everywhere he’s ever traveled … the list goes on. But he did get me there safe

I’d left hella early because the TSA said Denver was super busy and had lots of delays at security. So I’m to the airport a full 150 minutes before my scheduled flight, full of excitement about being enough of an adult to manage my own road trip travels.

Then security took maybe half an hour. Not even that, but I’ll be generous.

Point is, I had lots and lots of time to explore.

And then they delayed my flight 40 minutes.

So I dropped seven bucks on a cup of coffee, trying to combat the two non-consecutive hours of sleep I was running on.

I did get to see the sun rise over the mountains with airplanes in the background though, and that view was incredible.

By the time I got to board, I really needed to pee, but I didn’t have time, and then both of my row-mates fell asleep before we even took off.

Also we sat on the tarmac for almost an hour. So by the time we landed I REALLY had to pee.

Finally got to a bathroom, and made it out to meet my dad, for a ride back to Rachel’s place to pick up my car.

We went for lunch before we did that, and longtime followers might remember the fries that changed my life back in April. I had more of those, and they’re still amazing.

I had to use two of my last four percent cell battery ((look, it’d been a really long day)) to re-reschedule a test. The plan had been to take it when I got back to campus, but then delays happened.

Happy ending: took the test the next day, set the curve with a 94 percent.

[flapperfromthefuture]

Now that Hurricane Irma has passed, and everyone I know who was worried about folks in the path of the storm can let out a sigh of relief, I thought it might be fun to reminisce about the time, almost exactly one year ago, that I got stuck in Disney World because of Hurricane Matthew. This past Sunday and Monday were only the fifth and sixth days in the forty-six year history of Walt Disney World that the parks have been closed, and my dad and I were there on the fourth day, in October 2016.

We try to get down to Disney every fall for the Food and Wine Festival (we don’t like the wine, but we sure love the food). We go for only two full days, and we have our schedule down to a science—no wasted steps, no detours, we spend maybe an hour in the hotel room every day and then only use it to sleep. We hit the parks early and we don’t leave until Jiminy Cricket comes over the loudspeaker to kick everyone out.

My dad is in his 70’s and has survived open heart surgery, and he is immensely proud of the fact that he can dash around the Magic Kingdom at 2 in the morning when teenagers are hitting the wall.

So when we landed at the Orlando Airport on a Tuesday and  saw this cloud heading right towards our plane, we were undaunted.

“No ominous clouds can stop us!” said Dad.

We landed just in time, because we weren’t even off the plane yet when the rain began. I noticed right away that the airport was not nearly as crowded as usual, and the bus to the hotel was maybe a quarter full.

The sky was dark grey and it was pounding rain as the bus pulled away. Being a Disney diehard, I immediately checked my favorite message boards, only to see that the top threads were not about the new rides or the Food and Wine Festival at all.

“Hey Dad?” I said. “Did you know there’s a hurricane watch for Orlando?”

“Get out,” said Dad. “I checked the weather every day! The forecast just said there’d be some thunderstorms!”

“There’s a Category 4 hurricane coming right for us,” I said. “People have been canceling their Disney trips all week. That’s why there’s no one on this bus. On the boards, they’re saying they might even close the parks.”

“Oh, they’d never do that,” scoffed Dad. “Walt was prepared for this. Hurricanes never make it as far as Orlando. The entire state could be underwater and the parks would still open on time.”

I always take a picture of the official Disney entrance sign, but I couldn’t see it through the pouring rain. This was not your usual Florida cloudburst. 

“I hope I packed the ponchos,” I said.

“It’s not stopping us from getting on Soarin,'” muttered Dad.

We got to our hotel, and were relieved to see that the 91-year-old man who greets people in the lobby was a) still alive and b) still working. He tipped his hat to us, and we stopped to say hello. He didn’t seem worried about the weather, so neither were we.

  The rain let up just as we entered the parks. It was the perfect set-up to a trip. The parks weren’t crowded at all, we made great time getting around, and we got Dole Whips.

“Hurricane or bust!” said Dad, eating half of mine.

We started flagging just a bit before Epcot closed for the night, so we went to Morocco and split a chocolate baklava. I had my doubts that the singular Disney baklava could be improved upon with chocolate, but the chocolate baklava was kind of like having a firework go off by your head, in a delicious way.

Dad said, “That baklava made me feel like I could walk to Disneyland.”

We only had eleven minutes until the park closed, but now that our feet were attached to rockets, we walked on waves of euphoria to Nemo.

We were totally alone on the ride—there were empty clamshells as far as the eye could see. Some cutesy hurricane-related signage in the aquarium area caught our eye. But surely this hurricane wouldn’t be a big deal, right? The dolphins were swimming around and the manatees were sleeping! They weren’t worried about this storm, and they live in the ocean!

Listening to the chatter of the crowd as we made our way through the exit, it was clear that people were already switching flights and telling family members from other parts of Florida not to make the drive to Disney. The message boards were ramping up—people were now fully freaking out about the Halloween parties on Thursday and Friday, while enterprising folks were grabbing all the dining reservations that had been popping up like crazy as people canceled their trips.

“Are you worried about this storm?” I said to Dad. He replied with a broad smile.

“It’s adventure time! Everybody’s going to be worried about us—this is cool!!”

Back at the room, we had a voicemail from the front desk informing us that normal operating hours were still in effect—for now—and that they were monitoring the hurricane situation and would keep us updated.

I turned on the local news to find a lot of wide-eyed weathercasters talking about this storm.

Dad stood in front of the TV and said, “Where was this thing yesterday?! This wasn’t on my weather report!! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!”

The next morning, I woke up to a frantic but cheerful voicemail from A about staying safe and having fun, but mostly staying safe.

On the TV, the governor of Florida said, “We have to prepare for a direct hit.”

There was a very nervous-looking bride in a wedding dress in the hotel lobby.

    At this point, the entire county was still under a hurricane watch. The message board posts from people in the parks and who knew cast members were overwhelmingly in favor of the parks being closed on Thursday. Guests in the Fort Wilderness cabins and camping sites were already being asked to evacuate to other resorts.

I went for a stroll around the lobby, and took note of the liquor cabinet in the sundry shop—definitely the first place the mob would head once we were trapped in the hotel.

The sky was cloudy with no blue in sight. Stella reassured me via text that the best place to be in a hurricane was Disney, “although actually you just need to get to the secret tunnels. That’s the best spot.”

Dad and I figured that if everything would be shut down the next day, we had to hit the parks like there was literally no tomorrow.

The Monorail to Epcot was mostly empty. I sat next to a guy checking out flights to Guam on his iPad.

There was no wait for Mission: Space.

“Does Mars get hurricanes?” I asked.

“Not having an atmosphere keeps things simple,” said Dad. “It’s like San Diego. Clear today, clear tomorrow. It would be hard to be a weatherman on Mars.”

I always put my phone in airplane mode on rides to save the battery, and the moment I switched it off, I got an emergency National Weather Service alert.

I showed it to Dad, and he said, “Oh, I don’t have that app.”

“Yes, you do,” I said. His phone said the exact same thing.

“Whose idea was it to come during a hurricane?!” said Dad.

It was still a beautiful sunny day, and the park was nearly empty, but despite the impending hurricane and Epcot being severely underpopulated, the wait for the Frozen ride was still 70 minutes. Go figure.

“The storm will clear everyone out…or it’ll blow everyone out,” said Dad.

On the bus back from MGM, I caught up on the message boards—the new rumor was that the parks would close at 2 pm on Thursday, but there was no official word yet.

Guests at Fort Wilderness were now being ordered, not asked, to evacuate to other resorts and move all RVs to the Magic Kingdom parking lot—because, you know, an RV in a hurricane is like a missile. No big deal!!

The official Disney World site now had an alert on the front page: “Walt Disney World Resort is currently operating under normal conditions as we continue to monitor Hurricane Matthew. Recent forecasts indicate that there could be rain and wind in the Central Florida area as early as Thursday evening. Please continue to monitor news outlets for the latest weather information.”

Disney never breaks the bubble for real news! This was getting serious.

The Weather Channel site had many, many red exclamation marks and breaking news alerts for the Orlando area. The hurricane warning came with “Current threat to life and property: high.”

The hotel had dark clouds looming above it, but the piano player was running through all the Disney hits in the lobby, kids were running around, the day was still young.

“I’m pretty pumped up,” said Dad. “I want to get texts like ‘Are you all right?’”

One Disney cruise had been canceled and the other was being postponed by a day, since the ship itself would be stuck at sea until the storm passed. All passengers affected were going to have to be put up at the resorts, on top of everyone being evacuated from Fort Wilderness and all of the guests who wouldn’t be able to fly out during the storm.

We also found out that guests at Fort Wilderness were being told that they needed to move now while they were guaranteed a room—or “they could end up on a cot in one of the Disney ballrooms.”

“Disney Cruise Line isn’t getting our room,” said Dad. “They can sleep in the engine room.”

We headed back to the bus stop around 5, with the skies still clear above us, but there was some thunder in the distance.

The skies were still clear, but exactly two minutes later, a bus that looked like it had driven through a typhoon pulled up, and everyone getting off was drenched whether they were in ponchos or not.

Dad whispered, “Did you bring the ponchos?”

“Oh no . . .” I said.

“That’s okay,” said Dad. “Ponchos are for suckers.”

We were the only people entering Animal Kingdom, but people were leaving in droves—most of them wearing ponchos, all totally drenched.

“What happened here?” I said.

We got everything done that we wanted to do and ate all the things we wanted to eat and before we knew it the park was closing in twelve minutes. We’d already bought Mom some of those fancy soaps that everyone loves, but we needed souvenirs for the rest of the folks back home, so we loaded up on cookies decorated to look like tigers and zebras.

My dad thanked the cashier in Korean. She beamed and asked how he knew the language.

“I was stationed in Korea the ’60s,” he said.

The cashier smiled warmly and said “I was born around then, but I was adopted from an orphanage in Korea and grew up here.”

“Oh wow, what orphanage were you in?” said Dad. “I delivered supplies to all the big ones.”

I hid behind a pillar.

We strolled out of the park at closing time and I caught up on the news on the bus to Magic Kingdom. At this point, the water parks were closing Thursday and Friday, but there was no official word on the parks—although at this point, with the storm on its way,  everyone was just waiting for the official word on what the closing time would be.

(Side note: this is pretty much exactly how it went down before Hurricane Irma. The water parks were closed, the campgrounds were evacuated, the cruises were canceled, but the official word on closing the parks came down later).

Dad declared, “I want to be evacuated from a park. We’ve never been walked off a ride. I want to send Mom a text that says, ‘Getting evacuated from Magic Kingdom.’”

At Magic Kingdom, we did not leave anything on the table—we each got Galactic Hero (the maximum score) on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (which took six individual rides to accomplish) and then rode the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train at 1 in the morning.

I said, “The hurricane is 14 hours from landfall, but we’re going out Galactic Heroes.”

Dad said, “We’ll stop the hurricane!! We’ll save everybody!!”

“We’ll save everybody and we’ll get better treatment when we’re in shelter in place!!”

We were so hyped up that at the end of the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train when you see the robot of the Wicked Witch, Dad yelled, “The witch looked right at me! Leave Snow White alone!”

We strolled out through the castle, and the park was as deserted as we’ve ever seen it—virtually no one on Main Street or in the hub. We took our time ambling to the exit—stopping to look at the windows in the Emporium—since we still didn’t know for sure if we’d be able to go to any parks the next day.

We returned to our hotel room at 1:55 in the morning, still hyper. We made a tentative plan to try Animal Kingdom in the morning, then take the bus straight to Epcot to close out strong at Yakitori, and maybe even Soarin’ or Frozen. But if that didn’t work out, we were happy with what we’d accomplished.

Dad said, “No pun intended, but this is a windfall.”

On Thursday morning, the skies were cloudy but a little foreboding, and the message boards were calling it: the official park closure would now be 5 or 6 pm, with everything closed all day on Friday. Our flight home was Friday morning, so we’d lucked out.

The latest hurricane warning said that peak winds would reach 55-70 mph with gusts of 85 mph, and possibly up to 110 mph. “Current threat to life and property: extreme. Aggressively prepare for the potential of devastating to catastrophic wind impacts.”

President Obama had declared a state of emergency in Florida, and the governor of Florida had announced, “This storm will kill you,” which was being repeated by every media outlet.

On the brighter side, the app said that the wait times for Toy Story Mania and Soarin’ were only 15 minutes.

There were two weddings scheduled for our hotel that day—now those people were probably stressed out. We headed to the bus stop, ready to seize the day!!

Fortunately, we had to sit and wait for the bus, and while browsing the rapid news updates, I saw a tweet that the airport was ceasing all operations through Saturday.

“Uh, Dad? The airport’s closing.”

“What?”

We quickly rebounded to the front desk and the cast member there was awesome. We got on a list to stay an extra night in our same hotel, switched our flight to Saturday instead of Friday, and we were back on our way.

A sent me strict instructions to fill the bathtub with water. My most diehard of Disney friends, who is a real adult with a house and a child and everything, texted me, “Be safe, take pics, and take advantage of being first in every line! That’s what I would do!”

Meanwhile, my parents made their priorities abundantly clear in this text exchange.

I got a panicked voicemail from one of my friends who has honestly never called me before, asking if we were okay. She even said on the message, “I know you don’t like getting voicemails, but I was just worried because the news looks terrifying.”

Our plan was to close out in Epcot, at Yakitori, our favorite spot to eat in all of Disney World, but we were running low on time. Fortunately, I know the Disney transportation system like normal people know actual useful information like, I don’t know, medical terms. I figured out which bus to take that would get us within speed-walking distance of the Japan pavilion the fastest.

“We’re playing this like a violin,” said Dad, as the clouds began rolling in. By the time we got off the bus, it was pouring so hard we couldn’t see in front of us. I texted Stella while we waited in the bus shelter.

“The parks are closing in 3 hours and we can’t move,” I said.

“Oh snap! Quick, get to Japan!” said Stella.

We made a break for it and motored to the park entrance, where a cast member just waved us in, while another was wrapping the covered-up Magic Band scanners in plastic and tape.

The entertainment machine was still rolling at full speed—the drummers were still playing at the big pagoda in Japan. With the giant dark clouds rolling in, it felt very epic. One crew was wrapping up all the glass lampposts in plastic and another crew was taking down the little Food and Wine banners from each one.

We sat down to a well-earned lunch at Yakitori. Nothing, not wind or rain or a Category 4 hurricane, will keep us from Yakitori. As we left, Dad said “Arigato!!” to all the ladies working at Yakitori like he was going off to war. They chirped “Arigato!” and bowed.

With two hours to go, we got a last Dole Whip for the road. The sky was getting really dark and dramatic and the park was pretty much empty. The pin stations and snack kiosks were already shut down. Soarin’ still had a historic 15 minute wait time. We got on in 7 minutes. 

With only 45 minutes to go, we went into the big gift shop, which was a madhouse—many people buying board games, decks of cards, and puzzles in anticipation of being stuck in their rooms all day. I got a Figment pillow for my cat (that’s another story).

There was a service dog in the shop wearing a poncho, and when the service dogs are wearing ponchos, it’s time to go.

On the way out, Dad said, “Now is where it gets interesting.”

I checked the hourly weather forecast—nine hours were marked with red exclamation marks of doom.

When we got back to the room, all the porch furniture was inside. Our voicemail had a message asking that we not leave our hotel rooms on Friday, and that we had until 8 pm to purchase boxed meals from the hotel restaurant—which would be the only food we’d have on Friday.

Stella said, “OMG—you better hoard some snacks tonight man. All the Diet Cokes you can fit.”

The rain wasn’t letting up and the sky was getting really ominous.

  Dad looked out the window and said, “Holy crap. The workers are running. That’s not good.”

Mom texted us that one of our good family friends had just called her to ask if we were okay. Dad was thrilled: “Our second concerned caller!”

Stella texted me, “Wait, it’s supposed to be worse tomorrow? You better hoard some snacks tonight man.”

The line for the hotel gift shop was all the way to the end of the store—lots of people buying water, energy bars, and maybe even some liquid courage.

  “We’re going to be pretty bored tomorrow,” I said.

Dad said, “It’ll be like a day at sea! Hopefully not literally.”

We headed to the hotel restaurant to get our box lunches (really bag lunches). All of the outdoor furniture was being brought inside, and there were sandbags neatly piled up by every door. Disney does not play around.

The line was huge—people were buying the bag lunches, big boxes of pizzas and shopping bags full of burgers and fries to get them through the next day.

We got two bag lunches for the low, low price of $12.99 each, thinking that one bag each would be enough for the whole day. Most people were buying a bag for breakfast, lunch and dinner for each person in their party.

The cashier was an older lady from Vietnam, who probably found it hilarious that all these white people were freaking out and hoarding food for one day in a nice hotel.

Back at the room, we examined our haul—we each got a bag of Lays potato chips, a frozen Uncrustable, a Twix bar, a small container of yogurt, the tiniest chicken sandwich ever seen outside of a dollhouse, and a banana.

Dad said, very seriously, “At this point, no one knows that we bought those Animal Kingdom cookies as their gifts. If we ate them, no one would have to know.”

We came up with a tentative plan to split the bag lunches and the cookies over the course of the day. We were optimistic that at least some kind of breakfast service would be up in the morning—otherwise so much food would go to waste. But after that? The cookies wouldn’t stand a chance.

Dad said, “Those soaps we got for Mom almost look like food . . .”

We got another voicemail inviting us to “a night of crafts and activities” in the lobby and informing us that Disney movies would be playing all day Friday on the hotel TVs.

Dad started playing YouTube videos of the Penn State marching band at full blast. We were ready for battle.

In the evening, I took a stroll around the hotel. At this point, we were planning to have to stay in our rooms all day Friday, and not allowed to roam around the hotel until the worst of the storm had passed, however long that took. The gift shop was packed to the actual gills with people buying toys and games and coloring books like they were about to outlawed. I observed a bride in a full wedding gown on the second floor taking a swig of something (can’t blame her!) and a little girl going to the restaurant in a Darth Vader costume, complete with light saber. That kid was ready for action.

If shit really went down, I made a mental note to follow her.

Goofy and Pluto came to visit us in the lobby. They were dancing with the kids and posing for pictures, and between the kids yelling and the parents complaining about the bag lunches, the noise in the hotel was reaching “medium cacophony” level, and there was nowhere to go to get away. We were now a captive audience to whatever Disney—and Matthew—had in store for us.

“If they bring out Mickey, then we’ll know things are bad,” I said.

Dad agreed, “If Mickey comes out, we’re all gonna die.”

We settled in our room to watch TV, but all of the networks were running non-stop weather coverage, which on a scale from 1 to 10 was at “Everyone is going to die.” Reporters were claiming that the storm would be historically catastrophic to Florida, with devastation on the same level as Hurricane Katrina.

Dad said, “Historically catastrophic? WTF?”

It’s a very weird thing to hear your 75-year-old father say “WTF?” It’s equally weird to turn on CNN and see that the top story is the place where you’re currently sitting on a bed in pajamas eating a Rice Krispie treat in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head.

It’s also very weird to hear Anderson Cooper say, “This could be the storm of the century,” while pointing to a map of where you are, while a death toll scrolls across the bottom of the screen, followed by “Disney parks close for the 4th time in 45 years.”

Both my sister and A were convinced that at any moment they would turn on CNN and see our hotel in a pile of rubble. I reassured them that we would be fine, that Disney is the best place to be in a hurricane, but I have to admit I was getting a little nervous.

“A wants us to fill the bathtub with water,” I told Dad.

“And do what with it?” he said.

“I guess drink it?”

Dad scoffed, “We have three Diet Cokes.”

On the local news, an average Floridian with a ponytail and no shirt explained to a reporter how he was tying his boat to some palm trees.

He said, “I been here long enough, I ain’t worried about it.”

Then the reporter said “You’re not going to talk Dave out of staying, Dave’s going to do what Dave’s going to do.”

“I think Dave’s going to die,” said Dad.

The final storm prediction for Orlando: tropical storm winds starting at 11 pm, hurricane winds from 5 am to 11 am, and then tropical storm winds until 10 pm.

“Wake me up if you hear the wind,” said Dad, as I fell asleep. “I don’t want to miss it.”

On Friday morning, we woke up to the news that the storm had weakened and changed course, and was now a Category 3, but not expected to affect Orlando with more than tropical storm level winds.

Kids were already running and screaming in the hallway, so I knew it was safe to leave our room.

“I’m still in emergency position!! If the wind really picks up I’ll just pull the covers over my head,” said Dad.

We got a voicemail saying that one of the hotel restaurants had a limited breakfast buffet, and we were free to roam around the hotel as long as it was safe. Much preferable to being stuck in the room all day. The cast members were leading games and crafts in the lobby, I got a hug from Pluto, even the gift shop was open.

Stella, of course, had her priorities straight.

It was windy and rainy outside, but by the afternoon it was safe to go out. My dad called it “hold onto your hat wind” and pretended to blow away while holding onto a railing, Mary Poppins-style, so I could take a video to send to everyone back home.

It was strange to see Cinderella’s Castle and Spaceship Earth from the room and automatically think, “Some lucky person is just getting on Buzz Lightyear or Soarin’ . . . wait, there’s no one in the parks.”

I spent the day walking around, playing Disney games on my phone (I’m loyal, what can I say?) and watching 101 Dalmatians (love it) Tron: Legacy (such a good soundtrack, such a blahtastic plot), and all of Beauty and the Beast (best Disney movie ever). Usually on our trips, we don’t even turn on the TV once, and it’s been a long time since we hung out in a room long enough to watch an entire movie (or two).

Eating cold pizza on a bed during “Be Our Guest” is not a bad way to spend a afternoon.

That evening, Dad talked to a cast member who said he’d been working for 30 hours straight! They really came through for us and judging from what people have reported from Irma, the cast members once again went above and beyond to keep everyone comfortable and safe. They even led a dance party in the lobby to close out the night.

We hit all the gift shops, packed up, and called it a night—saluting to “Double galactic hero and a hurricane!”

The next day, the skies and roads were really clear, and there was no sign that there’d just been a hurricane except for some big puddles and the occasional downed tree branch. As we left the hotel, we saw that the 91-year-old greeter was back to work. He hadn’t missed a beat, and he tipped his hat to me as we got on the bus.

Mickey Mouse and Hurricane Matthew (and me) Now that Hurricane Irma has passed, and everyone I know who was worried about folks in the path of the storm can let out a sigh of relief, I thought it might be fun to reminisce about the time, almost exactly one year ago, that I got stuck in Disney World because of Hurricane Matthew.