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card-gays · 8 years ago

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Aaaaaaah, thanks for answering, that was so good! I love it. I actually squeaked, "They name her Amane, don't hurt me like this!" At the end because that was too sweet! I wasn't gonna ask about Prideship because I didn't want to spam your askbox, but your addendum about Atem's reaction to Kaiba saying their honeymoon could be at the space station was So Good that I /have/ to know, if you don't mind answering: what about Prideship?

I’m glad you enjoyed it so much! And akdfslkdj yeah sorry for the baby Amane feels but I just.. I love that headcanon A Lot. Hope the sweetness balanced it out ^^;

Now on to the goods… >w>

(fair warning, I said it’d be about a mile long, and I uh.. I delivered.)

PRIDESHIP & MARRIAGE

Atem and Kaiba are complicated people. Complicated in a way that means they tend to make better sense to one another than they ever do to anyone else. Which means, even to those closest to them, their relationship remains an enigma. Atem trying to tell Yugi about the significance of Kaiba’s wording makes him sound like a conspiracy theorist, except he’s actually totally right. Kaiba trying to explain to Mokuba in the first few months why it’s important that they don’t use the guest room Atem prefers for anyone else sounds.. equally like he’s completely projecting his feelings and imagining importance. And yet, he too, is totally right.

So one could see the fact that they operate a lot on subtleties a lot of the time, the sort of coded mutual understandings that only work between two people that somehow ask and answer each other’s thoughts multiple times throughout the series without explanation, and assume it will take awhile for them to grow as close as they clearly want to. The ultimate regency romance modern AU, essentially. But.. the reality is less simple. They’re more used to losing things than having them, so when they’re ready to accept how important they are to each other, they don’t really feel like wasting time. But they’re also far too nervous to be direct.

Which means Atem spends a great deal more time at Kaiba Manor than people would have expected, Kaiba takes a lot more off of his plate at work to make that be time together than anyone could have guessed. Atem stays late, and often, and while everyone else is shocked to hear when Atem is offered his own room there… Atem isn’t. Surprised, yes, but more touched than anything at the meaning of the gesture. There’s no ‘just to be polite’ afforded by Kaiba’s personality, so when he looks at him from the chair beside his in the gaming room one night when Atem mentions the hour and says “I had a room made up for you”, Atem knows he’s telling him it’s because he wants Atem to stay. Just like, when Atem tells him that it ‘makes more sense, thank you’ Kaiba can’t help the small, private smile. Because it doesn’t make more sense for practicality’s sake, Atem doesn’t live very far and none of his clothes are at the manor. He means it makes more sense because he doesn’t truly prefer to go home anyway. And all of this sits comfortably for them before so much as a first date.

This is important to the marriage headcanon because, for them, everything’s just slightly shifted in that way.

Because it feels to the both of them like they’re Together well before they are, it feels… ever-present, who they are always carrying them along that path even if they’re not On it yet. It’s there, it’s comfortable, it’s part of who they are and they don’t look for anything or anyone else outside of that feeling. But coming out with romantic intentions could disrupt that. To Atem, even if Kaiba’s interested he could still get spooked by too much too fast. And to Kaiba, after everything the thought of being turned down or Atem wanting to move out is pure agony. So by the time they’re both sure enough to share that first gentle kiss (on a business trip-turned-vacation to New York, one bad snow leading to them staying through New Years…), Atem’s already an established part of the household to everyone who lives and works there. Atem says “us” and “we” and “our” about the place, the renovations, the newly acquired art and technology. They go on what are family vacations in everything but name. Atem instructs Their personal staff, and even Isono slips and responds Yes, Mr. Kaiba by mistake one day because Atem is just….part of them now.

And when they start to date, Atem moves his things into the master bedroom right away like he’s always been there. Because he’s always belonged there.

(Kaiba murmurs one night, drifting close enough to sleep for unprompted sentimentality “If this is what destiny is, I think I can learn to live with it.”, and Atem almost doesn’t let him go in the morning because he’s still not.. quite done cuddling him after that. Kaiba’s fifteen minutes late, and he’s perfectly fine with that.).

So basically�� there’s a point in their relationship where Atem feels married to him even if they’re not. He has no doubts of the permanence of his place in Kaiba’s life, in their home. The commitment feeling no less important or strong without the ceremony. So for his part, Atem assumes for one reason or another- that’s exactly how Kaiba wants it. No big proclamations, just unstoppable love and devotion. And Kaiba makes him feel treasured, he can feel the fierce loyalty and care always. That devotion ringing clear and true in his endearments and caresses and gestures, in his embraces and his kisses. In how Kaiba sees the envious look just Once on Atem’s face as he spots a couple cozied in public and at least admits he Wants to do that, he just needs more time. And Atem would want to marry Kaiba, would want to exchange rings and vows and make it Official in front of their loved ones, but if he can’t then that’s okay. He doesn’t need it to feel everything he actually requires from their commitment.

So when he jokingly says he’s a bit jealous of the planetarium idea, in their dining room as they share a quiet and romantic dinner at home, the very last response he expects from Kaiba is a casual (if a bit shy) suggestion that “Well… we could always honeymoon on the new station. It is almost finished…”

And poor Kaiba hears the clatter of the fork when Atem drops it in surprise and fears the worst — that he was wrong somehow, and that Atem didn’t consider this where they were headed at all — but Atem doesn’t look anxious or put off when he finally looks up. Just caught off guard, and the look on his face is something Kaiba’s only seen when he’s surprised Atem with something huge and sweet and terribly romantic. And his “Oh?” is sort of delicately hopefully. Like Atem is the one trying not to scare Kaiba off. And Kaiba relaxes, can only smile as he realizes that maybe he wasn’t as obvious in his intentions as he thought. And Atem was going to stay with him anyway.

“If you want to.” Kaiba says. And Atem says yes more quickly than he has to anything else in his life.

(surprise number 2 comes a few months later, when Atem realizes that wasn’t even the actual proposal. protip: when a flashy billionaire proposes to you, you’ll know)

Planning a wedding is something everyone tells them will be difficult, but isn’t. They agree easily on where they want the wedding (an open space, mostly outside), what they think the color palette should be (light and happy and absolutely elegant), and how formal an affair they want. (the most)

The few things they can’t quite agree on, like the exact band or certain foods or the flavor for the cake- they try to debate it out as reasonably as possible. Which for the edibles pretty much always means “fine, we’ll get both, and whatever is left over we’ll donate it”, and if Atem’s gotten his way a few too many times in a row then he’s just gonna have to deal with it and let Kaiba pick the band.

You may be thinking “well how much food could they possibly have to donate?” Well… haha.. hah. here’s the thing.

As nervous and unsure and careful as Kaiba is about his private romantic life at first, when he comes into his own there is No standing in his way when it comes to his relationship with Atem being another very public point of pride. Atem is gorgeous, brilliant, his equal in every way, and if you think he’s not going to bring him to every party, every press conference, just be that Will Smith gesturing at Jada Smith meme all the time? You are mistaken. By the timeSeto and Atem announce their engagement, it’s worthy of being Front Page News.

And that wedding? Is an Event. Planetarium wedding? Adorable, sure. But how about getting married in the projection stadium? Any setting Atem could possibly want, with thousands of virtual cherry blossoms in the air. Not to mention a less formal full-on festival with vendors and everything just outside for the public to enjoy.

It doesn’t hit Atem until the morning of that, for all intents and purposes, Kaiba planned a royal wedding. Yugi, meanwhile, has been pointing it out for weeks. (“I’m not sure what royal weddings looked like in your day, but this lines up with literally every fictionalized depiction I’ve ever seen.”) It’s.. a feeling when he realizes it. Lots of feelings, for lots of reason, but they’re all good. Everything about that day is just… good.

And the day itself… does not go off without a hitch, but Kaiba’s gained enough self awareness by then to know better than to leave himself in charge of it, instead delegating to Mokuba, his best man, and Yugi, who’s Atem’s. So whatever fires need to be put out are put out well before Kaiba can smell the proverbial smoke. All he needs to worry about is not sweating so much he wrinkles his crisp white suit, which is easier said than done. But Amelda’s there to help, and help he does, and Kaiba manages to make it all the way to the main platform without worrying too much that Atem will suddenly ‘come to his senses’ and not show up.

Atem, on the other hand, doesn’t worry about a single freakin thing all day. Mai helps him with his makeup (because Atem doesn’t trust strangers with his face, sorry), and Yugi gets sent off in time to help him get into his frankly stunning ensemble (complete with veil, for the dramatics), and as far as he knows Kaiba wasn’t having any measure of panic before he sees him there, the sound of a personally commissioned wedding march hovering all around them. And oh… that moment when he sees him. Kaiba’s never seen anyone so beautiful, has never smiled so sweetly in front of so many people. Atem smears just a bit of his allegedly waterproof eye makeup with how watery his eyes get, but Kaiba’s a good boy and uses his pocket square to carefully dab up so it doesn’t ruin Atem’s clearly carefully applied makeup. Atem laughs and it’s the sweetest sound anyone’s ever heard. Basically, they don’t exactly manage to wait until the end of the ceremony to kiss..

(Even Jonouchi cries a little, seeing how loved one of his best friends truly is. Especially knowing so well how rocky that road to happiness has been for Atem. Though if anyone asks Jou if he so much as sniffled, he will literally never - ever - admit it.)

And they do honeymoon in space, Kaiba taking the opportunity to maybe murmur a little ~something~ about being under the stars to his husband at their reception that’s worthy of a laugh but also a little blushing. Atem’s not even sure how the newly rebuilt space station could be even more beautiful than the one he’d observed (briefly) Kaiba in the first time, but it is. The whole place designed in a way to feel welcoming and warm, to highlight the beauty of space, and not the isolation. Their bed carefully positioned in this beautiful heavily-windowed chamber so they can see the stars… “Pillowtop,” Kaiba says, somewhat offhandedly, as he watches Atem smile in amusement at the somewhat cheesy arrangement of rose petals. Waiting for the joke to sink in.

“……spared no expense.” Atem finishes, rolling his eyes at the recurring line Kaiba had taken to throughout the entire wedding planning process, even as his smile grows.

(he almost can’t remember a time when he didn’t smile this much, laugh this much, he’s reminded as Kaiba steps in close to place a kiss on a spot on his neck he knows is ticklish)

It’s a wonderful weekend, just the two of them, quite literally away from it all. Or, well, more honestly it’s likely a four day weekend. Or… maybe five full days off.

Okay, okay. They probably push it to a full week. But just a week, just the 7 days…

and maybe one long afternoon.

(Astoundingly, it never comes out that they’d actually… already gotten married? About a month before the actual wedding, without telling anyone. Though, in Kaiba’s defense, Atem did look absolutely adorable that morning. Fussing with his hair, still sleepy-eyed from the early hour… how could he not at least ask? And honestly, with a proposal like that? A second proposal, at that.. How could Atem say no?)

Now, as for kids, I feel like it’d take one of their friend/s having one for Kaiba to open up about kind of wanting one of his own one day. He’s nervous about the kind of dad he’d be, but he’s always wanted to adopt a child, or two if they’re— “Siblings?” Atem asks, and Kaiba smiles a bit. “Yeah.. or close enough to be.” Atem thinks that’s wonderful, and doesn’t have any doubt that Kaiba would do an amazing job. Whenever he’s ready.

Originally, they planned to wait until they stopped feeling like total newlyweds, wanting to give themselves plenty of time to enjoy that phase of their relationship. But years pass and… that day never comes? They’re always going to be sickeningly adorable, completely infatuated, and so they’re well into their mid 20s when they decide, hey, let’s just do it. They wind up adopting a little girl, and an even littler child she calls her “baby sibling”.

They make an adorable family.

———

(If they stayed in Aaru, a lot of this would be the same. The same sort of royal affair, but by the river. Atem’s parents in attendance, and Kaiba’s mother from his past life. Mana and Mahaad and Kisara and Shada and Karim… all there. Though this time I think their idea of a honeymoon would just be to travel, to explore. Atem had never had the desire to before, but with Kaiba he’d find himself invigorated to find out how far the sands extend. What, if anything, lies on the other side. Resources are bottomless on this plane, and springs are never too far away. It’s comfortable, it’s exciting… it’s another kind of adventure than the one they’d have on earth. but in both cases, at last, an adventure together.)

———

Hope this scratched that itch, anon~ I’ve been thinking about this so much lately, it felt great to get it all out there.

Also, just fyi, it’s never spamming to me~! I love each and every one of the messages you all send in

#headcanons #prideship #Anonymous #prideshipping #I'm actually proud enough of this one to put it in the main tag so xD

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zenovyap · 6 years ago

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Flew to Subang last weekend for C’s wedding, which was held in The Saujana Resort. The plan was to take the chance to unwind by having an extended weekend.

Firefly In…

We flew in to Subang via Firefly FY3125, which was flown on a 72-seater propeller plane. It was the 2nd time I flew on a turbo-prop, though nothing compared to my virgin turbo-prop experience from Kathmandu to Pokhara!

Since the plane was small, we flew rather close to the ground (the pilot said 25,000 feet), so the landscape could be viewed for the whole journey, only if the sun wasn’t that glaring! And due to aircraft limitations, the trip took about half an hour longer than if we were to fly on a jet plane, at 1h20m.

As a budget shuttle, we didn’t expect much from the service, which was why it was a surprise when we were offered a choice of peanuts or Curry Puff F.O.C. Curry Puff! In contrast, SQ only serves drinks for Economy passengers and MH served peanuts only.

Subang Airport (it has a longer name, in honour of some royal, that I could not remember) was an airport so small, we cleared immigration about 10 minutes after touching down. If one has no check-in luggage, he could have been out of the airport in 15!

The Saujana Resort

The Saujana Resort is a sprawling complex just next to Subang Airport. 4 accommodation blocks lined one side of a lake, overlooking the golf course on the other side.

Each 4-storey block houses a category of rooms which were arranges around a square courtyard. We stayed in an Executive Deluxe room, which was far from the main reception, but was quieter in comparison.

The whole place felt more like a student hostel/chalet than a resort/hotel, so I was rather glad that our room was more towards the latter. Yes, we only had a tree view, the walls looked tired with its stains and cracks and the staff refused to give us more than 2 bottles of mineral water, but we had a couch, spacious room and bathroom. Not bad for a chalet-standard.

Breakfast was at its restaurant called Charcoal, which served decent food. My favourite was its Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf, which had more ingredients than what we would usually find in Singapore, with a little bit more greens! The best thing of course was that the place was never really full and crowded, even though it looked small and the resort was almost full over the weekend.

Another favourite item available was their Chicken Curry, which reminded me of my childhood haha! The Curry Chicken scene in Singapore has evolved to 2 types of Chicken Curry: one type is super sweet and coconut-y, and the other where the chef spams chilli till there’s no other layer of taste to the dish.

The Chicken Curry at Charcoal harked back to the old days where you could still taste the spices while enjoying the kick from the chilli. It was so nice I mixed it with the Japanese rice and Roti Prata just to savour the curry!

Service wise, the staff embodied the stereotype of “Malaysian service staff”. Waiting time to check in was long; the reception staff could not answer queries about their cake-store which was literally just steps away from the reception. Our classic encounter came from returning to our room after an afternoon out of the resort to find an extra bed in our room.

And we already turned on the “Do Not Disturb” sign!

Guess our parents’ advice to lock all our valuables when we’re not in our rooms rang real true in this instance!

We had one of our dinners at the in-house Italian restaurant, Senja.

The atmosphere and setting felt like a top-grade establishment, minus the heart-stopping price found in Singapore! I had Oven Baked Chicken Breast, while N had Grilled Chicken and the others shared at 1kg T-Bone Steak.

My chicken was great initially, as I liked how the skin was baked to a fragrant, even crisp. But as I dug on, I found that the chicken was too dry and tough and I gave up near the end. N said the same for his grilled chicken.

The others were raving about their steak, though and promptly cleaned up their plates even though I thought the serving was darn huge!

The joke of it all? Only 1 person ordered Rissoto, the only Italian food ordered for the night!

And so there was a little celebration for 3 of us November babies, though I it suddenly dawned on me I was The OLDEST among them…

The Wedding

The wedding dinner itself was held at one of the function rooms. It was a small, intimate affair, with about 20 tables for guests. Having eaten dozens of Singaporean wedding dinners, C’s wedding was both familiar and novel.

Familiar, because it was still a Straits Chinese wedding, so the 10-course meal featured regulars like steamed fish, cold platter and Asian desserts (like Tang Yuan (rice dumplings) in Soya Bean Milk and Salted Egg Buns). Novel, because of the slight twists in the food.

For example, their Salted Egg Buns were like Chilli Crab Buns with the filling of Tau Sar Pau (Green Bean Paste Bun), which was my first taste of such a fusion food! They also had Curry Chicken, Hong Kong style, meaning the chicken was pan fried to have crispy skin before being served in a bed of curry.

Even the cold platter was slightly different. Other than the familiar Salad Prawn and Ngor Hiang, there was this item that was a fusion of 活佛飘香Huo Fo Piao Xiang (Yam Ring) with 宫保鸡丁Gong Bao Ji Ding (Kong Pau Chicken Cubes). It was quite a good dish, though it was darn sinful! One of the items was also Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf (remember that dish I praised earlier this post on the breakfast experience?). This version was actually different from that served during breakfast! Yes, they didn’t just simply “copy and paste” their food items from breakfast to wedding dinner!

Malaysian wedding dinners are also more interactive; Singapore wedding dinners tend to be a one-way communication event, with the organisers pushing videos, march-in, cake cutting ceremony one after another. At C’s wedding, there were games and the emcee didn’t read from scripts that were shared and passed down from wedding dinners that took place 20 years ago.

Yes, it was less structured and at times lost me (but ermmm… I surfed IG even at Singapore wedding dinners), but the casual, DnD like atmosphere made up for a great time to catch up with folks.

Around Subang

The Saujana Resort is unlike Downtown East, the latter being a self-sufficient resort. We ended up Grabbing our ways to nearby shopping malls to shop and eat during our free times.

For example, we spent a lot of time at Centrepoint in Bandar Utama.

Alright, to be frank, we were there for massage at Healthland, which was just beside Centrepoint, but we roamed the shopping mall in between waits for the massage.

The non-airconditioned mall was like a typical Singaporean heartland mall, low-rise and had mostly offices and tuition centres. It also housed White Elephant, which some of us went to because Healthland was full.

The F&B options were a mix of franchise and local brands, but being the typical Singaporeans, we chose to have our first meal at Pappa Rich.

We were not disappointed, though. My Fried Rice came with Chicken Satay that was well-caramelised and tender to the bite. The rice was yummy, though it was a tad too oily at the end as the oil all settled at the bottom of the pile. My drink, Cendol with Red Beans was the most gratifying, albeit sinful, item I had! It was like the Southeast Asian milkshake, with the milkshake replaced with blended coconut drink and the bubbles of bubble tea replaced with red beans and cendol. Sedap!

What made the others happy was how cheap the meal was… Each of us only paid like SGD10 for what we would have paid SGD20 for in Singapore. Can we not be laughing at the end of our lunch??

N and I also spent a morning at Citta Mall, which was deceivingly 2 roads away from The Saujana Resort. Like Centrepoint, it was also a low-rise commercial development, but with bigger brands like Harvey Norman and Village Grocer. Needless to say, we shopped at those 2 places and went back with ermmm… At least 3 bags of stuff. Hurhur…

We wanted to sing KTV at Citta Mall, but the KTV was only open after 12, which conflicted with our schedules. We also had our lunch Marrybrown (my virgin experience!).

To be continued…

My weekend in Subang when I attended a friend's wedding. Flew to Subang last weekend for C's wedding, which was held in The Saujana Resort. The plan was to take the chance to unwind by having an extended weekend.

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seniorbrief · 6 years ago

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75 Mind-Blowing McDonald’s Facts

istock/ermingut

The Inception and the Legacy

1. Seventy-five years ago, in 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened up the first McDonald’s restaurant—a BBQ joint—in San Bernardino, California (at left; it’s now a museum). Eight years later, they switched to burgers, shakes, potato chips, and pie. The McDonalds purchased several Multi-mixers for use in their establishment, and when Multi-mixer salesman Ray Kroc visited, he was impressed by their success and efficiency. Kroc purchased franchise rights from the brothers. In 1955, he opened his first franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. Looking for more McDonald’s facts? This is the first McDonald’s menu ever.

2. McDonald’s first drive-thru opened in 1975 in Sierra Vista, Arizona. What inspired the then-revolutionary concept? The restaurant was located near a military base, and soldiers were not allowed to leave their cars while wearing fatigues. Check out how the McDonald’s menu has changed throughout the years.

3. There are almost more than one-and-half times more McDonald’s locations than hospitals in the United States: 14,350 versus 10,660. Find out the only U.S. state capital without a McDonald’s.

4. All those dimes and pennies do add up: In 2013, Ronald McDonald House Charities—the nonprofit organization that is McDonald’s charity of choice—raised around $450 million. It used those funds to help nearly 9 million children and their families worldwide. Today, RMHC has nearly 300 local chapters in 58 countries and regions.

5. McDonald’s invested in Chipotle in 1998, back when the fast-Mexican chain consisted of 16 restaurants. By 2006, McDonald’s owned 90 percent of Chipotle—which had grown to 500 locations—but it sold its stake in order to focus on McDonald’s.

6. The average McDonald’s drive-thru transaction took roughly three minutes, or 189.49 seconds, according to one recent study; the fast-food leader was Wendy’s with a 133.63-second turnaround time.

istock/patty_c

McDonald’s Facts: All About the Arches

7. The Golden Arches are said to be the most recognized symbol in the world, even ahead of the cross. By the way, this is the drink you should never order at a McDonald’s, according to an employee.

8. Founder Richard McDonald first sketched the Golden Arches as an architectural feature to attract customers in cars looking from the roadside, but it took five more years for the arches to be linked into an M (shown at right, at a present-day restaurant in Downey, California, the oldest one still in operation). Did you know there might be a hidden sexual meaning behind McDonald’s gold arches?

9. At its Paris Champs-Elysees restaurant, McDonald’s typically yellow Golden Arches are neon white to blend in with the lighting of that location. This is the real reason the logo is yellow and red.

10. The McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona, has the world’s only turquoise arches—the owners of that franchise were told that they needed to make the location more in keeping with the distinct desert environment. The blue was chosen to echo the sky, and the building is more orange and red to resemble the surrounding terrain. Read more about it here.

McDonald’s Facts from Around the World

11. While many international McDonald’s look the same as their American counterparts, their menus contain unique items that reflect local tastes. Some examples: nurnburger, or three bratwursts on a bun (Germany); creamy stars, or deep-fried star-shaped pieces of cheese (Italy); McFalafel and McKebab (Israel); McSpaghetti, or pasta served with Chicken McNuggets on the side (Philippines); McRice burger, or a burger in which rice patties are used instead of a bun (Singapore); quiche de quejo, or cheese quiche (Brazil); red bean pie (Hong Kong); McAloo Tikki burger, or a spiced-potato burger (India). Pssst: There’s a reason why Coke tastes so much better at McDonald’s.

12. Samuel Jackson’s character came pretty close in Pulp Fiction: a Quarter Pounder in France is called a Royal Cheese, not a Royale with Cheese. This is the McDonald’s with the best menu in the world.

13. Since 1996, skiers have been able to schuss into the world’s only ski-thru McDonald’s in the Lindvallen resort area in Sweden.

14. Many people probably wish they could dine on McDonald’s on a flight instead of airline food; for now, they’ll have to settle for dining at a New Zealand McDonald’s, which includes an actual retired aircraft as part of the restaurant.

15. Nations that have placed a ban on McDonald’s include Bermuda, Montenegro, Kazahstan, and Macedonia. Here are more countries that have banned McDonald’s.

16. In all the world, there is one floating McDonald’s. Known as the McBarge, it’s in Vancouver, Canada. It was built for and served food at the 1986 World’s Fair, but it is now abandoned. Perhaps it should open as a sail-thru?

17. The Queen of England owns approximately $11 billion of real estate in the United Kingdom; among her holdings is a McDonald’s near Buckingham Palace. So far, she has yet to dine there—but she may be more of a drive-thru type.

18. Golden wedding arches: McDonald’s in Hong Kong offers a variety of wedding packages. The deluxe package, which costs around $1,200, includes a two-hour rental of a decorated McDonald’s location, 50 invitations, McDonald’s gifts for 50 guests, a pair of McDonald’s balloon wedding rings, a bridal bouquet, apple pie display, and an emcee.

19. In the U.K., McDonald’s has launched a program to recycle its employees’ uniforms. Some of the material will be re-spun into fiber to make new uniforms; the rest will be shredded and used to stuff mattresses.

20. In another innovation, McDonald’s Hungary and the advertising agency DDB Budapest recently unveiled the BagTray: a paper bag that has a reinforced cardboard tray at its bottom. By ripping off a strip of the bag, you can detach a sturdy tray.

istock/junce

McDonald’s Facts: Menu Mania

21. McDonald’s best-selling menu item is … French fries! Check out the 10 most popular items at McDonald’s.

22. But it took nine years for fries to appear on the restaurant menu (they debuted in 1949); before that, only potato chips were available. This is the secret ingredient behind the addictive flavor of McDonald’s fries.

23. You don’t need a passport to try exotic McDonald’s offerings. In some parts of America, McDonald’s restaurants sell their own specialty items. In the summer, you can get a McLobster roll at restaurants in New England. But Hawaii takes the prize: Choices include Saimin, a Hawaiian noodle soup with fish cake, nori, char siu pork, and sliced scrambled eggs; a taro-root pie; and a breakfast platter with Spam or Portuguese sausage as the meat options.

24. A McDonald’s franchise owner in Monfort Heights, Ohio noticed that residents in his highly Catholic town did not eat hamburgers or cheeseburgers during Lent so he created a meat-free alternative, the Filet-o-Fish, which swam onto menus in 1962. Today, 23 percent of all Filet-o-Fish sales are thought to occur during Lent.

25. The fish in the filet was originally halibut; now it’s wild-caught Atlantic pollock.

26. The chain’s worst-selling item may have been the Hula burger. Invented by Ray Kroc as a meatless alternative for Catholics on Lent, it consisted of a grilled piece of pineapple with a slice of cheese in a bun. It lasted a brief while in 1962. Here are the failed McDonald’s menu items you’ve probably never heard of.

27. McDonald’s McGriddle was invented by product developer Tom Ryan because he wanted a handheld breakfast item that was both sweet and savory. He is the Dr. Frankenstein of fast food. In an earlier job at Pizza Hut, he created stuffed-crust pizza and the Meat Lovers, Veggie Lovers, and Cheese Lovers pizzas. He is now the founder and chief concept officer at Smashburger.

28. Franchisee Herb Peterson created the Egg McMuffin, which became available in 1971, by modeling it off his breakfast of choice, eggs benedict. This is the only McDonald’s Breakfast made with fresh eggs.

29. Some discerning diners believe that the Coke served at McDonald’s tastes better than it does at other places. They may be onto something: Only at McDonald’s is the Coke syrup delivered in stainless steel tanks to preserve its freshness; elsewhere, it’s transported in plastic bags.

30. At a grand total of 1,880 calories, the 40-piece Chicken McNuggets are the highest calorie item on the regular menu. That’s more calories than many adults should consume in a single day. Find out the 5 healthiest things you can order at a McDonald’s.

istock/Juanmonino

31. The number of ingredients in Chicken McNuggets? 40, which is low compared to the ingredient list for the McRib, which has 70. By the way, this is why McNuggets always come in one of four shapes.

32. The McRib, which debuted in the chain’s restaurants in 1981, was invented in part because chicken farmers couldn’t keep up with the demand for McNuggets.

33. There are no ribs in McRib; it’s a patty made from pork shoulder meat.

34. The McRib was removed from the McDonald’s menu in 1985 due to its lack of popularity. But thanks to a loyal cult following, it came back in 1989 and was offered until 2005 in the chain’s restaurants in much of the world. From 2006 on, it’s been available for a few months every year. However, all along it has been a menu staple in one country: Germany.

35. According to Reddit users, you can get a Big Mac for half the price if you order a McDouble without mustard or ketchup and add shredded lettuce and special sauce. The only difference will be the lack of a third bun.

36. Those in the know say that McDonald’s has a secret menu. The most popular items include the McLeprechaun shake (a chocolate shake mixed with their seasonal Shamrock Shake), the McKinley Mac (a Big Mac made with quarter-pounder patties), and the Land, Air, and Sea burger (a McChicken patty, beef patty and Filet-o-Fish patty combined). Here are the McDonald’s secret menu items you need to know.

37. In an effort to provide a more customized experience, the “Create Your Taste” initiative allows diners to use tablet-like kiosks to pick different buns, cheeses, toppings, and sauces for their burger. It’s expected to roll out at 2,000 locations in the United States this year, or about one in seven McDonald’s in the United States.

38. Customer Moshe Tamssot posted a YouTube video that showed him creating the biggest burger possible with a “Create Your Taste.” Although he was limited to two quarter-pound beef patties, he was able to add 10 times all the other ingredients. His sandwich was topped by 10 slices of bacon, 30 slices of cheese, and 10 servings of guacamole, tomato, pickles, lettuce, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, raw onions, and grilled onions (not to mention a variety of sauces). The sandwich weighed 3.8 pounds and cost $24.89. We believe he is still digesting it.

39. In a one-off event in 2013, McDonald’s challenged celebrity chefs to deploy McDonald’s ingredients to create a “McGourmet” meal. Guests at the NYC dinner enjoyed kung pao chicken (made with Chicken McNuggets and sweet-and-sour sauce), a tortilla espanola (hash browns and eggs), slow-cooked beef with blueberry pomegranate sauce (the chain’s blueberry-pomegranate smoothie) and gnocchi (French fries!), and washed it all down with mojitos (mango pineapple smoothie).

istock/PhonlamaiPhoto

Ronald McDonald Facts

40. While there are disputes about who invented the Ronald McDonald character, Willard Scott—who later became famous for being The Today Show weatherman— was the first to portray him in TV ads.

41. Scott was fired from being Ronald McDonald after he was deemed to be “too fat.”

42. In Japan, the character is known as Donald McDonald, due to the lack of a clear “R” sound in Japanese.

43. The original Ronald McDonald wore a yellow-and-red striped suit, which he often accessorized with wearing a tray bearing a hamburger, fries, and milkshake as a hat.

44. Ronald’s newest wardrobe, which debuted last summer, consists of yellow cargo pants and a vest and a red-and-white striped rugby shirt; on special occasions, he tops it all with a red blazer emblazoned with golden arches on the front pocket. His new look was created by theatrical costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, who won a Tony for Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast.

45. In 2005, a man from Manchester, New Hampshire, robbed a Wendy’s. His name? Ronald MacDonald. Learn which McDonald’s is the most expensive McDonald’s in the world.

McDonald’s Facts: Crime, Punishment, and Some Bizarre Lawsuits

46. Shaneka Torres of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is currently serving a three-to-seven-year prison sentence after she was convicted of shooting a bullet in a McDonald’s drive-thru window after she failed to receive bacon on her burger. She has also been banned from the restaurant for life.

47. In 2014, a McDonald’s customer sued the company for $1.5 million after claiming to suffer “undue mental anguish” after he received only one napkin with his order. This is why McDonald’s ice cream machines are always broken.

48. After starring in a McDonald’s-bashing ad for Burger King, the then-4-year-old actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was named in a lawsuit by the fast food giant—and was banned from McDonald’s.

49. While the best-known McDonald’s lawsuit in America is the one involving scalding coffee, the company is known in the U.K. for a different legal matter. In 1994, two members of the London Greenpeace group were sued by McDonald’s for distributing pamphlets that claimed the company was responsible for hunger in the Third World, deforestation, food poisoning, cruel treatment of animals, and paying low wages. The trial—dubbed the McLibel case—still stands as the longest in English history at 300 days, generating 20,000 pages of trial transcripts. The defendants were found guilty of making some libelous statements and ordered to pay a fine. But in 2005, they brought their case to the European Court, which declared that the case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression (mainly due to the unavailability of legal aid for the Greenpeace members).

50. Children’s television producers Sid and Marty Kroftt sued McDonald’s in 1973, saying that McDonaldland ripped off the “concept and feel” of their TV show H.R. Pufnstuf. McDonald’s was ordered to pay the brothers one million dollars.

istock/Magone

McDonald’s Facts: Amazing Feats

51. In the Guinness Book of World Records, one record is unlikely to be beaten anytime soon: “Most Big Macs Consumed.” When Don Gorske of Wisconsin set the record in 2008, he’d already consumed 22,477 sandwiches. But since he eats two a day, he’s had over 27,500 of them by now. He had his first at age 18 in 1972 (it cost 49 cents). He liked the sandwich so much that after eating it, he had eight more of them—for a one-day total of nine, a limit he has never exceeded. Both his weight and cholesterol are said to be normal.

52. The world’s largest Big Mac can be found in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, at the Big Mac Museum (which bills itself “the most tasteful museum in the world”). While the mega-Mac is inedible—it’s a 14-foot-tall statue—hungry visitors can eat the real thing at the on-premises McDonald’s restaurant.

53. Mike Fountaine holds the record for owning the most McDonald’s related memorabilia. His 75,000-item collection—which includes buttons, uniforms, cups, and Happy Meal boxes and toys—spills over nine rooms of his Pennsylvania home. In 1968, a then-15-year-old Fountaine began working at the Golden Arches and began his collection one year later. Today he owns two McDonald’s restaurants.

54. The world’s largest McDonald’s PlayPlace is in the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. It includes a 500 gallon aquarium, waterfall, and 100 arcade games.

55. A limited edition—one out of 200 produced in the world—500 ml bottle of McDonald’s Big Mac Special Sauce sold in Australia on eBay this year for $20,600 in Australian dollars, or around $16,144 US. One hundred percent of the profits went to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

56. But the ingredients in the special sauce are no longer secret. According to the company website, it contains soybean oil, pickle relish, distilled vinegar, water (main components); egg yolks, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, garlic powder, vegetable protein, caramel color, paprika and turmeric extracts (for flavor and color); high fructose corn syrup, sugar (for sweetness); sodium benzoate, calcium disodium EDTA (for preservation of color and taste); propylene glycol alginate, mustard bran, soy lecithin (for thickness and creaminess).

57. In 2012, Rebekah Speight of Nebraska auctioned off a truly one-of-a-kind possession on eBay: a chicken McNugget that resembled George Washington. The winning bid was $8,100, which Speight planned to donate to her church’s youth camp. At the time of sale, the nugget was already three years old. In general, eBay bans the sale of expired food products, but the company made an exception.

58. McDonald’s is the world’s largest distributor of toys. It gives away around 1.5 billion toys each year with Happy Meals.

59. Jamaican runner Usain Bolt claims to have eaten around 1,000 chicken McNuggets during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where McDonald’s had an outpost in the Olympic Village. It was the lunch (or dinner) of champions: At those games, he won three gold medals and set three world records. This is the secret that makes their apple pies taste so good.

McDonald’s Facts All About the Employees

60. One in eight U.S. workers has been employed by McDonald’s at some point in their careers. These are the secrets McDonald’s employees won’t tell you.

61. Famous former employees of McDonald’s include Rachel McAdams, Pink, Macy Gray, Jay Leno, Carl Lewis, Jeff Bezos, and Andie MacDowell.

62. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “McJob” is “an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector.” McDonald’s threatened to sue to change the definition, but ultimately responded with a clever U.K. ad campaign that extolled the company’s employee benefits. It ended with the line: “Not bad for a McJob.” This is how much McDonald’s workers really make.

63. On a corporate level, McDonald’s has some pretty spectacular benefits. Employees get an extra week of paid time off in the years when they reach an anniversary ending with a “5” (5, 15, 25, etc.). They’re eligible for an eight-week paid sabbatical for every 10 years worked.

64. In 1961, the company opened Hamburger University to train its executive employees; today, there are more than 2750,000 graduates. The original campus is in Oak Brook, Illinois, where McDonald’s is headquartered. Other campuses are in Tokyo, London, Sydney, Munich, Sao Paolo and Shanghai. All together around the world, Hamburger U. employs more than 60 full-time college professors.

65. McDonald’s holds its own version of American Idol. Called the Voice of McDonald’s, the competition shines the spotlight on the vocal talent of its 1.8 million employees. In its most recent contest, 58,000 McWorkers from 63 countries entered. Lucy Ospitia of Bucaramanga, Colombia, won the $25,000 grand prize. Rocky Rosabal from the Philippines won second prize ($17,500); third prize ($12,500) went to Ashlae Nelms from Illinois.

A Pop Culture Icon

66. The Economist created the “Big Mac Index” in 1986 as a shorthand way to determine whether a country’s currency is inflated. The index uses the international prices of a Big Mac, a globally available food product, to illustrate the differences in monetary value between nations. It’s still referenced today. In January, the average price for a Big Mac was $4.79 in the America and $7.54 in Switzerland. (All prices are in U.S. dollars.) Russia and Ukraine were among the cheapest places at which to buy a Big Mac, $1.36 and $1.20, respectively.

67. In the 2003 documentary Super Size Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock chronicled his 30-day, all-McDonald’s diet. At month’s end, Spurlock had gained 25 pounds, sent his cholesterol sky-rocketing, and caused serious harm to his liver. McDonald’s removed Super Size fries and drinks from its menu six weeks after the film’s release, although it said Super Size Me did not influence its decision.

68. The “I’m Lovin’ It” McDonald’s jingle was written by Pharell and recorded by Justin Timberlake.

69. Ottawa Senators goalie Andrew Hammond is nicknamed Hamburglar. How he earned it: A fan threw a burger on the ice at Hammond after a recent win (in 12 starts, he’d amassed an impressive 10-0-1 record); the goalie graciously accepted it but did not eat it because he said it was too cold. To ensure that he always has access to a hot burger, Hammond received—courtesy of McDonald’s in Canada—a special card that entitles him to a lifetime of free eats.

70. Octogenarians Carl and Barbara Becker of Virginia were regulars at their local McDonald’s, where they liked stopping in for “scrunch”—a snack between lunch and supper. One day, an employee was sweeping up near them, and when asked if it bothered them, the couple answered that it did. A manager then told the Beckers that they’d exceeded their allowed 30 minutes in the restaurant and had to leave. The Beckers wrote a heartfelt letter to their local paper in which Carl explained how the incident had marred their McDonald’s ritual. For the pair, scrunch is “a sweet time of fellowship, which we enjoy, which helps sustain our marriage of 63 years,” wrote Carl. In response, McDonald’s corporate offices sent the couple coupons for two small coffees. The Beckers refused them but said they’d still patronize the chain—just not the Culpeper location.

71. The Beckers were not left burger-less, however. Shawn Moss, who owns Shawn’s Smokehouse BBQ restaurant in Culpeper, was so moved when he heard about the couple’s experience that he offered them one free “scrunch” a week for the rest of their lives.

72. In 2014, 18-year-old Stian Ytterdahl from Norway had a tattoo artist ink a McDonald’s receipt onto his arm after his friends dared him; a week later, he had the same receipt tattooed on his other arm. For the rest of his life, he’ll always know what he ate at 7:36 PM on March 24, 2014: a Coke, three cheeseburgers, a cheeseburger Happy Meal, a McFlurry NonStop with three extra toppings, and an extra Happy Meal toy. This is why you should always ask for your receipt at McDonald’s.

73. At the McDonald’s online shop, customers in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Australia can purchase Big Mac-patterned pajamas, wallpaper, long underwear, rain boots, dog coat, and (human) bedding.

74. Scientists studying McDonald’s patrons found that female diners ate less when they were eating in mixed-sex groups rather than in same-sex groups, while male diners ate more in mixed-sex groups than in mixed-sex pairs, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Health Psychology.

75. While only McDonald’s is on Twitter (with more than 2.8 million followers), both McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald have Instagram accounts. McDonald’s boasts 565,000 followers to Ronald’s 10,900.

Original Source -> 75 Mind-Blowing McDonald’s Facts

source https://www.seniorbrief.com/75-mind-blowing-mcdonalds-facts/

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swooncraft · 8 years ago

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Write Weds - Cordate Pt 2

Last week I put the first chapter of a thing out in the ether. This week allow me to preface what Cordate is. Everyday Combat is a series I learned so much about storycraft from. I wrote, rewrote, and edited this version of the story. After three passes and rejection from publishing agents I started rewriting the entire saga. That’s for later though.

Every Wednesday I plan on releasing 2-4k words at a time of this slightly incompetent and amateurish mess. While things are mostly realistic in this post-modern setting, think of everyone as a character in a game with hit points. Because let’s be honest, our heroine should have been dead before the first chapter even began if things were too realistic.

[Ch. 02]

In the interest of fairness Andy took about two thirds, leaving Mandy with one third. It was a cupcake. Her cupcake, that he bought her for her birthday. If anyone was ever as obnoxious, Mandy was sure they would find their way into her life.

Art class is where they met almost six months prior. Paired together even though neither had a lick of creative talent. They kicked off and were passing because they were trying. Art teachers were always like that; 'You gave it your best shot. Here's a B.' Mandy was a straight A student. So they had spent the whole afternoon of her birthday deciding on how to pass the art final.

It took a month for the sophomore and junior to not only warm up to each other but to understand why the class was paired up when art is generally a singular thing. When the teacher told them ideas blossom better when discussed and bounced back and fourth, they Andy and Mandy agreed. From then on they disagreed. On everything.

Opposites attract, though. And five months later Andy and Mandy were not only spending more time together than either would have expected, but sharing Mandy's birthday.

Andy was a brand of handsome similar to enjoying wines and beers to their fullest; an acquired taste. There was nothing wrong with Andy, just nothing remarkable. Pushing being overweight, a brain too big, and a mouth too loud. Bad qualities aside, Mandy found his cheekbones adorable, and his flamboyant hair-sprayed bedhead unique. Fabulous hair wasn't the end, Andy dressed in a neo-vampiric-emo-goth style that corroded at Mandy's sense of style. She couldn't understand why a high schooler would spend his allowance on dry cleaning to have perfectly pressed pants and spotless silk shirts.

But her inability to understand him was another part of the charm. As if he had almost forgotten among his involvement with exchange students and all the video games he talked about, Andy presented the pastry an hour after they started working on the final. In spite of being a little perturbed, Mandy was happy to have received the fraction of a cupcake. It was a disgusting thing, cinnamon cake, simple butter-cream frosting and flakes of bacon on top.

The delight in her golden eyes contradicted the disgust she voiced. That was the attribute Andy liked most, Mandy's eyes. Not to say that was her best attribute, simply the first everyone noticed. Mandy was a beauty that bloomed late. The stress in her early teens over fitting in with beautiful America lead to the prominent complication in her family life. Andy only met her in the last leg of recovering but was easily the best person to motivate her to eat.

The stigma around her at school was quick to evolve over the school year, from prep to vomiting mess to stoner. Andy did not get it, but as he told Mandy, the high school experts would view those four years as the best of their lives. It put the friends who stuck by her in perspective. They did not have anything meaningful to say, and what they did talk about was all meaningless gossip.

That afternoon after deciding on a pasta portrait they joked on their way to the grocery store how the next label would be whore or grave robber because of their growing relationship.

[Ch. 03]

Bandages obscured half the vision of my right eye and completely covered my right ear. The light through the cracks in the curtains drew long shadows. Spring in this city isn't as cold as Earth's rotation suggests it should be. Which was fine for it's inhabitants and meant I hadn't lost a whole day.

Finally when my stomach screamed at me I gave the effort to get up. The assholes moved me to the medical bed. My realization didn't end there, Tourn got carried away and hooked me up to his EKG machine as well. An unpleasant nickname slipped out of my mouth as I pulled the patches from my skin.

I might be a little judgmental of people. Tourn knew his stuff, he just had a peculiar way with people. His being here lies in a court case that stripped his medical license from him. The ruling was malpractice. His testimony was a confession that his temper got the better of him because of his nurse and the patients' family. With a slip of his hand a surgery turned into a nightmare for all sides.

Finding my balance was nearly impossible. I knew what to expect from my first concussion but you can never fully be prepared for the floor to cascade and ebb like waves. I had only planted both feet on something solid when I threw up. I was so happy that there was a little sink on the side of the bed. I may have clogged it though.

Forgoing the dizziness I found a couple pain pills, and washed them down with some more glorious water. Before the seeping smell of bile could make me vomit again I moved out of the Study.

Rooms away the guys were around the dining table discussing the future of Royal We. Hearing my name I stopped in the kitchen to listen.

“-Cord has brain damage?” Tourn’s voice was tight and tired, “Then what?”

“Voyeurs like underdog. Elbo sees no problem,” the stress he put on 'no' made me smile. I could almost see the gesture that went with the word.

Regency's disgust was obvious, “And if the rumors are true? If the Voyeurs, cut off our pay for being so low in the standings for so long, then what?” A few papers shuffled, “Between the match tomorrow and the new guy I think we're gonna fall off the radar if Cord isn't awake to give us a hand.”

“Rumors are rumors. No one knows what happens to teams that have stayed in the bottom for so long,” Tourn's voice was growing in volume. “And Cord shouldn't be much more then God damn walking for the next two weeks. How the fuck do you expect her to help us tomorrow?!”

I didn't think we were that far down for too long.

A chair scraped on the tiles, “We can't do shit with just the three of us! Don't matter how basic tomorrow's match is, bloke. We have to get out of the bloody bottom before we get too far into this season!” Another chair scraped as Regency rationalized our placing. “Or are we all still waiting for her to decide when we stop loosing?! We ain't loosing because we want to, we're loosing 'cause we can't fucking win!”

Whatever Regency was saying made no sense.

“Men! Sit down! Last game was won. We have chance to pick ourselves up! Fighting not helping.”

Everything went silent when I entered the dining hall.

Elbo grinned and poured a shot of vodka, “You look like hell, Quarda,” he rumbled as he shoved the glass in my hand. No words game to mind over everything I heard, so I nodded and downed the shot.

Everyone stayed quiet and kept a straight face as they all returned to their seats. Even after that spat, above their reddened cheeks I could see them smiling with their eyes that I was up.

The Brit was the first to speak up, “Haven't seen you eat in almost four days. Gotta be damn near starved.” He and Tourn exchanged a long look before Regency went to the kitchen.

More shots were poured as I sat down. Tourn didn't hesitate to down his shot.

I watched my little glass of clear liquid. It was tradition to drink the night before a match. It was a way, vodka wasn't my thing though, “Whiskey?”

“Spent most of our extra cash on blood, morphine, and drips for you,” Tourn reported as he slowly spun the shot glass. “Know how long you were out?”

I lifted the glass and nodded, acknowledging their conversation made it clear that it wasn't the afternoon of the same day I staggered home, “Think so.” My words were a slur still so I left out my guess of two days.

Tourn sighed, “You were under for two days.”

I nodded guessing his next words mentioning the match the next day.

“We've got another game tomorrow. It should be a simple one.”

I smiled, wanting to know about this new person.

Elbo must have seen me looking at the papers around the manila envelope on the table, “We have new member tomorrow, also.” I shot my liquor. Tourn braced himself. And the big guy explained, “Can Quarda pick him up? We can take match with three of us.”

“Simple 'nough,” I affirmed.

Dinner came soon after. It was mediocre. I can't blame Regency for being distracted, but I didn't even know Spam still existed. The best part of the dinner was Elbo ranting about real meat. Tourn was mostly quiet through our half star cuisine.

I figured the guys had already gone over all versions of their plans to account whether I would be available or not. My mission was simple, pick up the newbie at the station, get some lunch and discuss where he fits in. The discussion part worried me, there wasn't a need for me to say more than a handful of words since the motion blur of steel cracked my head, but I could feel that it wouldn't be something so simple to do.

The chatter calmed down at the end of our meal. We all silently acknowledged how things had changed since the summer. When I first joined Sand the dining room was constantly filled with laughter, stories, cards, liquor; all amounting to a ritual of celebration as if each match could be our last. All lost to the toll of our battles, the loss of our friends.

Royal We would make our comeback with the new day. I stood up and poured everyone a round. Elbo liked my idea, took his shot glass and stood with me. Regency shook his head with a smirk but stood up as Tourn did.

We all lifted our shots and cheered, “Light it up!”

The remainder of the night I typed up everything I would need to convey to our newbie. Before I turned in I found my phone on my nightstand. That was refreshing, the phones we use for Sand, Navipalms as the Scorekeepers named them, have several extra applications for matches.

The sleep I got that night was the best I think I had since the week before Vizy's Ban. Dreamless dark sleep that only broke when the sun poured through the curtains the next morning.

After showering and redressing my temple I spent an extra half hour practicing vocabulary to my reflection. I told myself I made no sense. And that my uneven hair was going to need to be redyed within a week. Sunshine eyes narrowed in my reflection, “Cor'ey, your gon' hav' to foc's.” With a sigh I gave up.

I dressed in my usual style, black slacks, a white button down shirt and my purple blazer. Breakfast was quick, the guys were heading out the door before I finished. All of the tension from last night was replaced with optimism. I was in no rush, but I gathered my Navipalm, my crowbar and my notes for the newbie and left.

The train station is where all new players enter from. And players are the only ones who really come to the city. Outsiders don't visit and the citizens use alternate means. It's like the general public has this vague idea that the Game is happening, but the Scorekeepers keep a good enough charade going around us that they can't quite pinpoint what's happening.

In my eyes, that's what I believe really got Vizy Banned. Cracking open a Scorekeeper base threatened the delicate balance of Game and Reality.

It doesn't take much to blind the public though. I've looked dozens in the eyes while in the middle of burglaries. Each one had turned the other cheek. If it's a girl picking the lock on a car, or setting charges to destroy property, or running her ass off with a duffel bag away from three different sources, they pretend not to notice. Threatening the illusion of the citizens' Perfection, California is nearly impossible, short of telling them, which I had never done.

That forenoon I wasn't a player though. Just a light sensitive and bruised person. Average enough to the normal populace and to the elderly man who joined me on the platform. His questions about my head and my reason for being there were a nuisance, and all unanswered. So, he went on to talk about a battle he was in in his younger years and the shell shock he suffered.

Being an average person was a pain. Next time instead of casual business I'd dress mafia. A chick in pinstripes carrying an ooze is pretty menacing. Never mind the low velocity rubber rounds, this old man wouldn't know the difference even with his war history.

At last the train pulled up as he began describing the intimate smell of sulfur and how close he came to the devil's maw. One man disembarked. I sized him up to my age bracket. His hair was black, straight, and just long enough to mostly cover his ears. While his face reminded me of a rock star his jaw had your typical superhero shape. Just what we needed in Royal We.

This was the first newbie I'd ever picked up, but given that he had the same expression I thought I had on when I stepped off that train it seemed common to know you're walking into promise. What that means is uncertain until you're thrown in. Sand wouldn't be as transparent as it is if players were recruited with all of the details.

He nodded offering a, “How's it going?”

I gestured for him to follow with the folder in my hand, “How's th' nap?”

“How'd you know I napped?” his voice had a quality to it that turned him from rock star to emo singer.

Instead of telling him everyone is lulled to sleep on the train ride I glanced a smile to him and gestured for him to follow me out of the station. The old man sighed as he bid me audeu. Our destination was a restaurant not too far away.

“Whoa, what happened to your head?” his question was rough around the edges.

I pulled my crowbar out of it's belt loop. Made sure he saw the dent, then made the motion of it striking my skull. I didn't feel much better then I had the night before but the ground wasn't wobbling. With all of the useless practice talking that morning I wanted to say as little as possible.

“Fuck.. What the hell happened for you to get hit with a crowbar?”

I shook my head as I put the steel away.

“Well, what's your name?”

“Cordeyh..” I tried.

“Coh-what?” He stepped ahead of me to get a look at my lips. There was no need to repeat myself, we were at the restaurant.

Shu's Thai was just the place to get out of the blinding sun and discuss his new life. Self seating, private booths, dim atmosphere, and less antique Asian crap for the modern touch of drapery everywhere.

I found a booth off to the side, sat down and leaned my head back. I felt like I could fall asleep if not for the tremendous throbbing between my eyes.

The new guy sat across from me and stayed quiet. I already liked him. Silence is only in the footnotes of Regency and Tourn's dictionary. Crunch was a quiet one too. Elbo.. Well, he's too to the point to talk any more than your average person. Visitor and Ani spoke their minds, but not nearly as much as the two loudmouths of Royal We.

A woman's voice broke the silence. Something about drinks.

There was an uncomfortable silence before I opened my eyes. The new guy was waiting for me, he looked a little concerned too. The woman, who's name tag read 'Kim' had set down menus and waited patiently looking between us.

“Wine. House.” Nice simple syllables. I closed my eyes again. The joke here is that I wasn't legal, but Kim didn't ask to see any identification.

The new guy tripped over his selection, “Uuhh I'll.. Just a C-no, root beer. Yeah. Root beer.”

The splendor of silence took over once more. It may have been uncomfortable for the newbie, but I could have cared less. The dim lights and near rest were doing wonders for my head.

I suppose our server returned with our drinks, I heard her asking what we wanted. I just waved my hand without opening my eyes, what I was waiting for was her to leave us be so we could get down to business.

The new guy ordered, and I heard Kim's voice turn as she said she'd bring that right out.

The lights in the room seemed brighter when my eyes opened. With a gulp of wine I forced the pressure behind my eyes away. I had work to do since the guys were out in a match.

I moved the folder from my lap to the table and opened with the first page facing him. It read, “First, what's your Tag going to be?”

He looked at me, sipped his soda and clasped his hands. “I thought about it. I don't know if it's good though.”

I spread my hands, asking 'so, what is it?' with my gesture.

“Mars.”

“Huh.” It wasn't terribly creative, but it wasn't simply terrible. I pulled out my phone and opened the registration application.

Mars's food was set down as I set up a file for him. Kim wanted to know if we needed anything else. So I sucked down the rest of my wine, set the glass on the edge of the table and replied with, “Please.”

Free of waitresses once more I turned to the next page in the folder. He read the words, “Whatever your name use to be forget it. Fill in all the fields I left blank then take a picture of yourself.”

I set my unlocked Navipalm on his side of the table, spun the folder around and scribbled on the paper, “And let me have a few bites off your plate.”

Kim was quick with my wine. Mars didn't glance her way as he scanned my handwriting and raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

I smiled pulling the plate towards me. I was paying so I felt he could shove his discontent with the sight of me eating a fork full of noodles.

The first bite was half chewed when something near the door fell. Several months of living this life trained me to be on alert immediately. I snatched my phone from Mars's hands, downed my wine and sneaked out of the booth behind the chairs and tables along the center row.

Crowbar ready I peeked out. The wine was helping, the lights of the restaurant weren't physically painful, but the sunshine from the front windows was a wall of blurry hard light. Not enough so that I didn't see a figure moving quickly from the door.

Mars was looking at me like I'd lost it. He'd learn quickly to stay on his toes. Until then I motioned for him to grab the folder. The last thing we needed was the Vigilantes turning my documents in and setting Royal We back right after finding a passion to pick ourselves back up.

That's when I saw her. Looming in the shadows over the booth in her cat suit. Watching Mars like an arachnid, waiting peacefully as the unsuspecting fly meandered around her web. The shape of 9's wooden sword attached at her hip, and bobbed hair were the only prominent features of her silhouette.

There was no telling if 9 saw me, so I had to act fast. My heart raced as I moved around the table, trying to flank her or get behind her. Kim wandered back into the area as I mounted the table to find the Nippon missing.

I was more prepared for the chain of events than I would have expected.

Kim's shocked words of, “What are you doing there?” turned into a shriek as a strap slipped over my head.

9 is good, but all of us are human in the Game, leaving a margin for error. Her mistake was overestimating my movements and catching my crowbar in the strap. After whapping my face in surprise I recovered quickly and pushed with both ends of the steel. I gained little leverage before she planted a knee in my back, pinning me to the seat and pulling harder to get the strap to my throat.

Something filled me as the faint scent of talcum powder reached my nose. It doubled my frustration, and confused me. I felt like we shouldn't be fighting. I couldn't make sense of it before white flashed my peripheral.

The whooshing empty gust of a missed strike blew over me. The strap uncoiled from my neck, allowing me to turn just in time to see Mars crack the plate on 9's heel. Her next hop missed and she fumbled to the ground from the table tops.

Mars didn't let up, though he was a little slow. His next strike fell on the back of a chair, shattering what remained of it.

By this time the cook in the back was scurrying out yelling Asian words at us.

Ignoring him, I wasted no time marching down the aisle as 9 retreated. Her lead was already too large. So, I wound up and chucked my crowbar at her, adding the battle cry, “You Cunt!” It made a lazy arc due to it's new aerodynamics, but damn was it satisfying seeing it smack her in the hip. Immediately following that satisfaction I was impressed that training with Elbo was paying off that well.

Her gimp-sprint brought a smile to my lips.

I turned gave Mars a firm handshake, “Welc'm.” That was all we had time for. The cook was approaching us and in the back I saw Kim with a phone to her ear.

“'S'go,” I tossed a bill large enough to feed three at Shu's down, took the folder from Mars and grabbed my crowbar from where it landed.

We weren't suppose to rendezvous for another hour, but nothing ever quite goes to plan. My blood was pumping and it wasn't a throbbing in my skull. I figured we could lend a hand if we could catch up to the guys.

“What was that? Initiation? A hit? Part of the Game?” Mars searched for the right question as he kept up with me on the street.

“Juss'uh bi'ch,” I spat. “Some'in's up. Goin' fin' the guys.”

On my Navipalm I opened the map. It's one of the most useful tools we have in Sand. The maps offer accurate positioning of teammate Navipalms, information on the match area (be it objectives or waypoints), and the ability to mark the map with various information.

The match was still under way, and things didn't look that great by what I saw. “You given uh phone?” I picked up speed.

“Yeah,” Mars matched my pace and had an eagerness about him.

“You're noh in thuh sys'em yeh. The opponen's can see our team.” I held out my phone so he could see the marks indicating Elbo, Tourn, and Regency. There were two more blips showing that they believed they were surrounded. The twist to the technology is earning Perks, things with the capabilities to let you see enemy positions, or listen in on enemy channels, to name a couple.

“So,” he nodded, “you want me to flank them.”

“Flank them,” I said with him. “Gimme your cell.” I added my number and Regency's. Marked out the path he should take, and added the one I was going to use. “Can' be on our team chan'l yeh, but call me or Regense if yo'r in chruble.” Channels are conference call like ways to communicate. If I were more daring we could have used a public one for Mars to talk to us through, but I had confidence that he wouldn't hesitate to contact me or Regency.

“I don't have a weapon. You don't think I can just go in and-” I slugged him in the shoulder before turning to go my direction.

“San'box, California's our play'round. Claim some'in'. Ehs yours.” I pulled a bluetooth piece out and stuck it in my ear.

“What are we, pirates?”

“Ten min's tops,” I gave a thumbs up as I picked up more speed. “We'll wai' for your mark.”

#write wednesdays #Everday Combat #novel #sandbox #swoon

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