#she's also half dominican lol

[neishroom]

what's a baddie without vacation pics?

[katakaluptastrophy]

Hi! I really love your metas and they’ve cleared up a lot of what I missed when I read the books. I was wondering if I could ask you a question. (Totally fine if not!)

So we know that John killed the entire Solar System because he was angry the trillionaires got to escape a dying Earth and leave of the rest of its inhabitants behind. He details killing Earth, the Sun, the other planets. My question is, what happened to the moons? Did he overlook them? Did the Lyctors get to them later?

I ask because I’m wondering if the moons have anything to do with the Resurrection Beasts and/or their Heralds. Frankly, I’m just curious about what happened to them.

I get that killing a planet and everyone and everything on it would create a Resurrection Beast. But I’m wondering if size matters. Pluto is a dwarf planet. I’m sure there are moons that are larger. I’m not sure whether life-supporting environments mattered either. I can’t recall if any of the planets had stations that could maintain human life before the Resurrection.

John mentioned killing the Sun and later resurrecting it into Dominicus. I thought that was interesting because there is no way humans could have lived near or on the surface of the Sun, so its thalergenic potential would be incredibly limited if not zero, right? But it is now a thanergetic celestial body. Dominicus is remarked upon in the books and seems to have some significance because it is tied to John’s life. (Or was that a lie he told the Lyctors? I don’t remember.)

In comparison, moons get almost no mention. I’m wondering if that’s a choice or if there are just some thalergenic moons in the Dominican System. That seems unlikely to me and I’m wondering at the significance.

Perhaps I’m overthinking it lol. What are your thoughts?

I'm honestly so confused about moons.

There's only two references to moons that I can think of:

Mercymorn says to Harrow "I'm going to go do the moonlet next door. It'll be covered in reflected thalergy." But what is a moonlet, and is this a real phenomenon, or just one she made up as an excuse for Harrow to encounter the BoE crew?

And of course, there's Pyrra's "half-flipped moon", which is again rather confusing - what does it mean to be 'half-flipped'?

John doesn't mention them in his Very Hungry Caterpillar adventures, and there's no direct references to moons from any of the other Housers we meet - with the exception of Gideon using 'moonspeak' to mean something like technobabble or nonsense. There's no specifically moon-based pre-res stations mentioned that I can recall - there's some kind of city on Mars, the Kuiper Platform (perhaps near Neptune), and the shell being built around Uranus. So we can't assume RBs for Jupiter and Saturn came solely from humans living near them.

The Glossary in GTN goes out of its way to specify that "planets and gaseous bodies in space usually produce thalergenic radiation." It further says, "thalergy is produced by cellular growth and reproduction. Most planets, even ones without a biological mass of life, are thalergenic." So that's clear... The waters are further muddied by the explanation we get in HTN, where Harrow says thalergy "comes from the accumulation of microbial life" and John talks about how this produces a "communal soul". From the way John describes it, a revenant seems to the result from any swift planetary murder.

So thalergy is caused by an accumulation of microbial life which creates a communal planetary soul...but gaseous bodies also radiate thalergy?

I think there's two possibilities here.

The first is that we try to treat this as a properly sci fi endeavour to create a fantastical yet scientifically cohesive system, and we assume that perhaps that radiated thalergy Mercymorn describes relates to the idea that anything within the planet's gravitational orbit is part of its communal self. Perhaps the gas giants draw their thalergy from as-yet-undiscovered microbial life on their moons? Perhaps the sun is the sum of the solar system in some way?

The second is to assume that while this story is fiction that portrays scientific understandings in its fictional world, it is fundamentally a story about metaphysics. So the value of a moon is not determined by having a particular amount of microbial life or a specific relationship with another planet, but some mythological or metaphysical purpose - for the most part, moons aren't symbolically important to the story as it's being told.

So perhaps the moons of the solar system are part and parcel with the RBs of their planets.

[porlatamconlouis]

puerto rico has been a bit bittersweet, if i'm honest. but first... louis in san juan! caribe louis!!!

so cool to have been at el choli! iconic pr venue! it did feel very usamerican though, but still pretty cool. it's a big arena, but only two levels and like half the floor were open. the seats right in front of the stage, the stands, those were empty. i had a puerto rican girl sitting next to me and she was saying that she knew it wasn't gonna sell as much so she bought the ticket the same day. the thing is that, and that's something she said as well, puerto ricans in general are not big on non-latin music, and that's fair. the atmosphere was still so amazing (even if i felt like panamá had slightly better collective energy imo) and the show was incredible. people lost it at the 1D songs of course, which i noticed people around me only knew those ones, but hey, thanks for coming to see this boo. he's amazing, isn't he?

anyway, nothing much else about the show that hasn't been said over the past few days. oh, the christian opener was even cringier than i thought, he literally introduced one of his songs about his faith and jesus and blah blah. and he got carried away with his set, and had to be told his set was over. lmao. i know how hard is to get up on a stage like that, but man, this was NOT the crowd for someone like him. when i told the puerto rican girl next to me who he was she was like "what? christian? but everyone here is gay". lol

i did record almost all of saturdays. i say almost because i was only recording lucía and once she went up i stopped. louis was emo and thankful as he always gets when he's so far away from home. we were close enough to see his face without needing to see screens which is always lovely. he had some cute interactions with fans. and... yeah. i love him. 💚

got to thank my friends at the soundbooth again. tom for sure recognized us, and said "i hope you enjoyed the show" and i was like, "of course! you guys make it look so good!" or something along those lines. now they'll get a break from my annoying ass for a few shows, hajshha.

the bitter part. puerto rico is so expensive. :c we stayed at the cheapest place we could find and that's still gonna be the most expensive stay on this trip. and it was located in a local barrio, so at least the groceries you could get nearby were cheap but not much variety. at least uber wasn't too expensive, but... *shrug* it also rained on and off after sunday (ofc), so couldn't really enjoy the beach again. and we got soaking wet yesterday and some of our clothes are still wet, lol. but it was kind of a little bit fun, hehe, being in that caribbean rainstorm.

had some yummy vegan eats (although expensive 😭) and passionfruit juice my most beloved foreverrr.

we're now flying to dominican republic, for a vacation within our vacation, lol. hoping the weather treats us better.

[springsfordays]

So @shakingtuna and @notahero-notamoviestar have inspired me to post my BATTS Latine headcanons from this post SO HERE WE GO

To preface most of this is in reference to my human au but really can still be interpreted as regular headcanon to the show anyway lol

Raine is HELLA mixed when it comes to being Latine they’re Mexican-Puerto Rican-Salvadoran-Brazilian

(Yes similar to their VA nwndnsnd)

Raine grew up speaking Spanish pretty much exclusively but caught on English, and even later Portuguese, fairly quickly

PUERTORRIQUENA KATYA!!

Well actually she’s lowkey mixed lol, she has a Russian grandfather hence the hella Russian name. But the rest of her family are Puerto Ricans

Spanish is her first language but she’ll forget time to time how to say certain words and everyone calls her out on it, it bugs her so much lol

She definitely the “weird girl who isn’t like her relatives so doesn’t fit into the family” cousin

Derwin is Blasisn Latino!!

He’s half Afro-Salvadoran, half Mongolian!

He’s really big on celebrating Salvadoran traditions (pops off on all the Saint honoring events and holiday season)

His Spanish, while not his first language, is flawless, all the elders love him

Amber is Mexican! Indigenous rooted Mexican to be exact

Gives off ‘first gen American’ vibes lol

Grew up speaking Spanglish, speaks mostly English however

They all make fun other people in Spanish when they know others can’t understand them lmaoo

Raine grew up in a very mixed dialect household so their Spanish is kind of all over the place

The more time the BATTS spend with Raine and each other the more their own dialects start getting mixed

They’ll be speaking to like a relative or something and they’ll say something off so everyone’s like “????”

“Wait- hold on- THATS NOT WHAT I MEANT”

Listening to Latine music from childhood is what sparked the BATTS love of music

When Raine and Eda get together and the BATTS move in LUZ is suddenly in on everything

Teaches the BATTS about more Dominican/Dominican American traditions

Luz really loves getting to spend time with them all especially when she’s missing her mom

While her hometown does have a Latine community it’s still.. yknow.. Connecticut.. so having similar folks around is welcomed

Luz and Amber really bond over their similar upbringings and language differences from the others

Luz tells Raine embarrassing things about Eda and vice versa in Spanish lol she has no clue

Luz and Katya end up really close because of this. When they talk about fandom stuff especially like weird fanfic Amber gets so annoyed and thinks it’s super weird

Luz and Derwin also bond over being afro-Latino and the experiences they’ve had being “different” from the other kids they grew up around and realizing ‘hey screw them, they’re just jerks’

While Eda is probably the best cook in the house, the BATTS give some dishes they know a try. Eda likes to bother them from time to time

*Raine and Katya making menudo* Eda: *walks into kitchen* Damn it smell like Hispanic up in this bitch. Raine: Callate wey Eda, juro por dios.

This post is like hella long lmaoo but if anyone wants to add please do so!!

[robinn-fox]

OK so I was thinking, which Countries would my characters be from if they were in this world, and honestly it’s giving Mr. worldwide lol. So let’s get into it!:

Romania - she’s a goddess my guy. But her human form is from Jamaica! (Makes sense since she’s basically me)

Ophélie - also from Jamaica

Adelola - Africa, specifically Ghana

Amadi - Africa, specifically Ghana

Constantine - Rome, Italy

Samuella - France

Aurora - France

Jessie ( Jezoth’s human form) - France

Catalina (Nyx) - Columbia

Kotori - he’s Native American specifically the Navajo tribe

Valencia ( aka Sai, Bloody Mary, Mariya Zoidze) - Georgia 🇬🇪 . The country not the state.

Seraphina - Armenia 🇦🇲

Cherry - South Korea

Osamu - France

Ace - he’s half Brazilian half French but would be born in Scotland or Germany

Adam - he’s half Brazilian half French but would be born in Scotland or Germany

Gemini - Dominican Republic

Sabine - Armenia 🇦🇲

Zeira- Trinidad 🇹🇹

There’s a lot more characters but these are some of the main ones. If you make a list like this tag me so I can see! I wanna know what countries your characters would be from if they were from this world!

[emailclub]

what’s ur dream vacation destination :0

probably japan or korea kinda obvious but like LOL maybe amsterdam if i could take my mom bc she’s full dutch andnim half it would be funsies also i was supposed to gonono like ummm 2018? but my parents cancelled and went to the dominican without me LMAO

[avidrawsthings]

Going from your aus with Reina in the JJBA, DMC and now Winx universes, what's your brief story for her in each one? For DMC you brought up her having her own Devil Trigger. Can you give details on it? :0

Sure!

In all settings: Reina’s Empath ability remains, allowing her to read and understand the emotions of others. That way, she can help accordingly if the situation requires it.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Set in mid Spring 1989, when Reina is 15 and in her 5th Year. 

She gets abducted off of school grounds by two overly ambitious rookie members of R, but a Portkey mishap lands the three in Egypt instead of R headquarters (wherever that is).

At the same time, the Stardust Crusaders JUST arrived in Egypt on their way to kill DIO. Thinking the R members are more enemies sent after them, Jotaro and group take them down in no time.

After regaining consciousness, Reina forces her kidnappers to flee and she then joins the SDC in gratitude, accompanying them for the final 20 days of their journey.

Reina has had her own Stand, Atabey, since she was a toddler. With Stands being even rarer in the Wizarding World, they were seen as a special type of ghosts. Reina learns all there is about Stands while travelling with the group. She strikes up quite a fast friendship with Kakyoin over this.

With her training, she acts as the group’s Healer as well, allowing the SDC to recover from injuries faster.

As it follows the Eyes of Heaven setting, all of the Crusaders survive.

Devil May Cry (original series)

With Dante and Vergil being 18-21 in DMC 3 depending on the source, I made Reina be a few years older than them. By DMC 3′s setting, she’s already had her quads, who are 3-4 at the time.

For this setting, her ancestral clan are powerful demons that sided with Sparda and served him loyally over the years. A genetic override causes every generation to be born half-demon regardless of who they have children with, human or not.

Reina’s Devil Trigger activated for her when she was already an adult. As she was unknowingly pregnant at the time, this caused her quads to already display abilities of their own at a very young age. 

Not their own DTs since they’re still very little, but more like what would be seen as developing superpowers like flight.

Talbott is definitely in the picture. While not part demon himself, he has powerful magic which ties to him having possible demonic ancestry. One of those magic abilities is turning into his Golden Eagle form.

Rowan and Nico would be friends almost instantly.

Reina still runs her bakery, and in this setting it could be a place for Dante, Lady, Trish, Nero, Kyrie, Nico and Vergil to simply relax in. Think of it as a nice hub world where the sweets and drinks she sells could boost certain stats or something lol

Her title would be The Queen of Flames.

A popular fanon headcanon is that the DMC and Bayonetta universes are one and the same, and I'm on board for that. That being said, I don't think I'll be making her an Umbra Witch cuz she already has a Devil Trigger, so combining both would be very OP.

Winx Club

I decided to keep Reina as a Witch simply because they’re not as explored as the Fairies are outside of the Trix. (I’m biased toward the Witch Transformations)

Reina would be an Earth-born Witch, being from the Dominican Republic and coming from a long line of magic users.

Since Bloom already has Fire as her element, Reina’s power could be Summons (like Bayonetta but to a far less violent extent). 

All of the Summons have served her family loyally since ancient times, and that tradition still remains. They don’t take kindly to others trying to take control of them without permission.

Can also conjure amazing food, so she can also be referred to as the Witch of Summons and Feasts.

Best friends with Rowan, who herself is a highly intelligent Witch (haven’t figured out what her element would be). They’ve been inseparable since the day they met.

She’d be 16 like the Winx girls, and alongside Rowan is seen as an honorary member of their group. 

Talbott is also here because why not. Same age as Reina, he’s a magic user and Specialist at the Red Fountain school. 

Still likes keeping to himself, but is gradually breaking out of this shell.

[curewhimsy]

About that New Project (UPDATED)

EDIT: I updated and I added MORE CHARACTERS (something felt imbalanced still and I couldn’t stop lol) and I actually did general descriptions for all of them... They’re not extensive and may change, however.

———

The thing I was talking about in my Soune Taya post...

The Mega Project?

Well... it was going to be a visual novel concept.

But since I have no skill in making a VN, I’m just going to write a story. Like the anime that will be based off the VN. Like Clannad’s anime or something.

It’s going to be long since I have (ahem) FOURTY-SIX (46) WHOLE CHARACTERS WITH ROUTES THAT I’M GOING TO INCORPORATE.

This is why I said I will never ever finish it, even if I devote my entire life to it.

But it won’t feel right without all these characters. I WANT to have all these characters. I’m a “go big or go home” person. I’m too ambitious and I know that.

So.

Here are the characters.

Haku, Neru, Miku, Luka, Teto, Gumi, Meiko, Lapis, Merli, Lily, IA, Yukari, Uta, Zatsune, Rin, Len, Kaito, Akaito, Dell, Gakupo, Yuuma, Piko, Mizuki, Nigaito, Dex, Daina, Ruby, Taya, Longya, Ling, Momo, SeeU, Ruko, Ritsu, Miki, Aku, Bruno, Clara, Iroha, Yuu, Wil, Kyo, Akari, Qingxian, Anon, Kanon In the story adaption, Uta Utane (Defoko) will take the role as the player/main character, and learns everyone’s backstories. She will be the one with the (gigantic) “harem” around her. Think, Tomoya from Clannad. But IF there’s ever an actual game, I’ll plan on Uta being one of the date-able characters. She’ll be your childhood friend.

The characters are all college students here. They are all college-age, roughly between 18-26, depending on which character. I may give them specific ages eventually.

Here are descriptions I thought of already. For some of these Loids, this is my first time EVER writing or portraying them. Ever.

(Full names are listed in Western order. This is partly due to the story taking place in the USA, in a “Japantown” sort of place to explain the prominent Japanese population.)

——————————————————

Haku Yowane- A shy, gloomy girl who is looking to join in the school’s choir... However, the choir doesn’t have enough members. And it’s not like Haku is a good enough singer to singlehandedly bring it back to life... or confident to work up the courage to even audition. Haku seems to depend on Neru, her only friend, to comfort her when she gets down. Haku is the cousin of the popular Miku Hatsune, the most popular girl in the school and star singer in the choir. Neru Akita- A tomboy with a hot temper. But inside, she hides delicate feelings. She seems to always be with Haku, cheering her up when she gets down. The two seem to only have each other. Miku Hatsune- A very popular girl and star singer in the choir. A bubbly, cheerful sweetheart. Has lots of friends and is always smiling. Idealistic and doesn’t believe in impossible. Miku dreams big, but apparently she gets very depressed when her dreams are crushed. Luckily that never seems to happen... for now. Luka Megurine- A polite and elegant woman. She can appear aloof and intimidating at first, but is actually just shy. She is half Japanese, a quarter French, and a quarter German. Teto Kasane- A bubbly girl who can be childish. Is playful, weird, and a bit demanding. Very clumsy. Gumi- A girl who can be a bit shy, but once you get past that, Gumi is unique, free-spirited, and chill. She likes art and reading books. She keeps a sketchbook with her at all times. Meiko Sakine- The confident, mature woman of the group. Energetic and loves to party. Still responsible. Like a mother or older sister. Has quite a temper, though she mostly uses it to defend others... Lapis Aoki- Merli’s stepsister, who seems to be the opposite of her. Bubbly and playful, and quite childish. Quite friendly. However, she can be a bit selfish at times. Lapis is Japanese, though her adoptive sister Merli is Indian. Merli Aoki- Lapis’ stepsister, who seems to be the opposite of her. She can seem cold and distant, even a bit harsh at first. But inside, she is very thoughtful and willing to help those important to her. Merli is Indian, though she was adopted into Lapis’ Japanese family after the death of her parents. Lily- The school’s toughest female delinquent. IA- An idolized girl in the school for her good looks and singing skills. However, she hides dark feelings? Yukari Yuzuki- Half sister to Akari Kizuna. Looks up to IA but also feels she will never be as good as her. Uta Utane- A rather plain, bluntly-spoken person who doesn’t see much in life. Usually bored, silent, and rather deadpan. Once a bright girl with lots of dreams. Deep inside, she is passionate and caring, really... Can it be restored? She is non-binary, going mostly by she/her. Miku Zatsune- Edgy and hates Miku. She would rather be called Zatsune, because her first name happens to be Miku, like the person she despises so much... But could there be something deeper to her? Rin Kagamine- Rin is a bit chaotic. She is bold, brash, athletic, and charming. She is also just plain nuts. Len Kagamine- Len fries to be cool and hip, but he is just a big dork. He is quite the comedian however, sometimes unintentionally. Kaito Shion- Kaito is a silly boy. He loves ice cream, unicorns, rainbows, and anything fluffy. But he also has moments of seriousness where he says really deep, philosophical things. He is quite romantic. Akaito Shion- Akaito is a sarcastic and grumpy boy, but when it comes to romance, he gets quite passionate. He sometimes flirts around with girls, but when he finally finds a true love with a girl (or guy) who truly changes his life... well... it’s a bit different. Dell Honne- Dell is usually in a bad mood. He currently lives with a father who barely acknowledges him. He tends to keep it all inside, and he’s really just lonely and needs to find someone to vent to. He enjoys computer programming and composing electronic music. He is Haku’s half-brother, but they didn’t grow up together. Gakupo Kamui- Gakupo likes doing kendo and martial arts, and is generally athletic. He is a nice guy who also loves animals and history. He seems serious, but can be unexpectedly silly sometimes. He likes embracing his Japanese and Ainu heritage. Yuuma- Yuuma likes music and is quite popular. He may seem hard to approach, because sometimes he doesn’t know what to say. He is a little blunt at times, but has a good heart. He has a crush on Mizuki. Piko Utatane- Piko is a genius who loves astronomy and excels in mathematics and physics. He is a shy and compassionate person, but whenever he opens his mouth, he sounds very strict. He is bad at socializing and making friends, which leaves him quite lonely. On top of that, he is sickly and absent from school often. Piko wishes to make a friend. His first friend in the school is Lapis Aoki, who pretends to be a fairy to grant his wish. After a while, Lapis declares that she wants to be Piko’s friend. Mizuki- Mizuki is a singer who also plays the a Japanese harp (koto.) She is quite a charming person and seems to flirt with many people... even girls... but not Yuuma. Since Yuuma has a crush on Mizuki, this discourages him. Nigaito Shion- The youngest of the three Shion bothers. Nigaito’s nicknames are Nini and Nii. He is rather sickly, but remains to have a warm and pure heart. Dex- Daina’s childhood friend. Best friends, even though they are of completely different genders, and with very different personalities. Some people wonder how it works. Dex is silly, fun, a bit of a party animal, but he is still very caring and compassionate. He just needs a bit of help devoting himself to his studies. But he is quite intelligent when he is focused. He is Black, Creole, and is learning French. Daina- Dex’s childhood friend. Best friends, even though they are of completely different genders, and with very different personalities. Some people wonder how it works. Daina likes to study and learn, and doesn’t like atmospheres like parties so much. She prefers quiet, peaceful places. She may seem a bit distant on the outside, but she is just a little shy. She is White, with English and French heritage. Ruby- Ruby is rather confident, yet nice, and will always give people a helping hand. She is Black and Latina. Taya Soune- Taya is incredibly polite, bowing at many occasions and also offering to do favors a lot. He speaks very formally. He is non-binary, but go mostly by he/him. Longya Yuezheng- A quite serious man who is dutiful and studious. Protective over his younger sister, Ling, and monitors her safety constantly. This is due to Ling nearly getting into a tragic accident when they were younger, traumatizing Longya. He is Chinese. Ling Yuezheng- Ling is a hardworking student, however she has a playful side and she feels lonely that she doesn’t have many friends and is devoting her life to studying. Momo Momone- A peaceful, sleepy girl. Rather low-energy and tranquil. However, Momo has quite a temper when it comes to injustice. SeeU- A rather eccentric, bold and energetic girl with “the light of the stars in her eyes.” She is Korean. Ruko Yokune- Ruko is one of the most mature characters, having a lot of wisdom about life and many experiences. However, they still have moments where they need a helping hand. Ruko is non-binary, mostly going by she/her or they/them. Ritsu Namine- Ritsu is rather brash, but means well. He is non-binary and mostly go by he/him. Miki- Loves romance anime/manga and is obsessed with “cute couples.” A true fangirl. Acts cute and animated. Iroha’s best friend. Aku Yamine- Hates her name, because it’s pronounced the same as the word for “evil” in Japanese. Prefers to be called Akurin. Aku is a very nice and naive, somewhat clumsy girl with big dreams. Is half Black and half Japanese. Bruno- Black Latino, lived in the Dominican Republic. Polite and soft-spoken, but a talented guitarist. Clara- From Colombia, and is Latina. A rather doting girl who somehow feels like both a mother and a little sister. Iroha Nekomura- Loves cute things and stuffed animals. Is kind of insecure and doesn’t find herself very cute, though her best friend Miki constantly reassures her. Yuu- A sweet, cheerful guy who is always filled with energy. Half English, half Japanese. He is in a band with Wil and Kyo called ZOLA PROJECT. Wil- A sophisticated, fashionable guy who is quite outgoing. He is Black. He is in a band with Yuu and Kyo called ZOLA PROJECT. Kyo- A wild, energetic guy who is always raring to go. He is Japanese. He is in a band with Yuu and Wil called ZOLA PROJECT. Akari Kizuna- Yukari Yuzuki’s half-sister. Cheerful and sweet, and wants to make others smile... even though many heavy thoughts are hiding behind her own smile. Qingxian Mo- She seems very nice, but she’s actually a bit self-absorbed. Since her name is hard to pronounce for English-speakers, she insists on being called Qing (pronounced like Ching.)

Anon- (Coming soon)

Kanon- (Coming soon)

[simsandie]

this is the sim i made for the @ugubugus4cc summer sims challenge. Her name is Kailani Akuna, which means sea and sky. she’s half dominican half hawaiian. she enjoys painting and spending time with her puppy, Peanut.

to fit in with the “summer sims” theme, i made cheeks redder to make her look a little sunburnt!! i also gave her heterochromia, cause i thought it would make her a little more unique :) she’s slightly curvier all around, but still fit, cause i feel like curvy girls don’t get enough hype lol

[virtuissimo]

Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Review)

This book is a modern retelling of the Jane Austen’s seminal classic Pride & Prejudice. Zuri Luz Benitez is a black Haitian-Dominican teenager in her senior year of high school whose identity is constructed around her life in Bushwick, a neighborhood with a tight community that is going through aggressive gentrification. Across the street, in one of the new gentrified houses, the Darcy family moves in, including twins Ainsley and Darius, two rich private-school boys sticking out like a fish out of water.

Zoboi’s adaptation creates amazing parallels when compared one-to-one with P&P, but it can’t hold its own very well. The writing is a simplistic and the characterization for most of the named characters is extremely one-dimensional. I was taken a bit by surprise when I found it in the youth section, and the simple writing makes me confused about the age of the intended audience. In any case, I didn’t have a bad time reading this, but I was expecting a lot more than I got.

To expand a little on the intended audience, I think my confusion is mostly because of the conflicting styles. On one hand, Zoboi’s prose is very simple and almost hamfisted in how she handles her characters and story. Other than some nice and age-appropriate poetry from Zuri herself, the rest of the book isn’t very elegant in writing quality. So I said to myself, ok I found it in the youth section. It’s intended for a younger audience. However, all the central characters are in their senior year of high school, and there are numerous allusions to sex and cusses that I’m not sure would fly in middle fiction. I think those who are in this reading level will find the characters too old and teenagery, while those who are the main character’s ages will find the prose to be lacking. Zuri in specific is a voracious reader, and she herself would not have the patience to enjoy reading this book which is far below her reading level.

It’s easier to read this book for what it’s supposed to be saying rather than what it is saying, if that makes any sense. For instance, Darius when he first shows up is quiet and doesn’t offer much information about himself, but he also wasn’t very rude or belligerent upon first impression. I know “prejudice” is half the thing, but Zuri really jumps the gun and kind of started the whole feud in the first place. It just wasn’t that believable that he was some jerk who deserved her hatred like it was with Elizabeth Bennet, and similarly it wasn’t very believable when she later learns that she just misinterpreted his social awkwardness.

Also, I thought it was interesting that the title removed the “prejudice” when to me that seemed like a much bigger aspect of this version than in Austen’s work. For instance, Darius makes a number of disparaging remarks about Bushwick and its “ghetto” people, but even before he makes these remarks Zuri already “hates” him based on stuff she made up about him in her head. And then later, when they begin to get closer, she actually never confronts him about his prejudice and just. Forgives and forgets.

She also forgives and forgets when it comes to Ainsley and Janae. This bothered me a lot more than some of my other nitpicking because it actually changes one of the important themes of P&P. Not that Zoboi doesn’t have the right to alter thematic elements—she absolutely does! But the theme of family and the fact that Zuri would do ANYTHING for her sisters is told to the reader through a lot of exposition, but we don’t actually see it. The moment in the car when she finds out that Darius split up Ainsley and Janae is really representative of that for me. She got angry in the moment, but she never actually investigates to find out WHY he did it like Elizabeth in P&P. On that note, later on when she forgives him, she never asks him to account for it again.

In fact, character motivation and appropriate emotional buildup was a recurring issue in this book. Nothing hit quite like I think Zoboi intended them to.

The talk on gentrification and class difference is good tho. Perhaps incomplete, but there’s only so much space. They really show how class plays a role in a variety of different circumstances and scenarios, and I think Zoboi succeeds here where others have failed.

Some of the parallels that I liked:

-          Warren and Colin took me OUT when they first appeared. You can really see what Zoboi thinks about Mr. Wickham and Mr. Collins from the original lol.

-          The tour of Howard instead of touring the Darcy home was very interesting to me. I think it was a great introduction to how she wasn’t expecting her world to expand so much, and that there’s a lot of different experiences in the world that she’s missing, and she gets introduced to this idea by people who AREN’T Darius and Ainsley. I really liked that.

-          The leopard print and “inappropriate dress” that the Benitez family wore to the Darcy cocktail party. It seems like a good way to show how respectability politics still play into the modern day, and it added a bit of character to the Benitez family as a prototypical Latinx family that I really enjoyed.

-          The Warren and Georgia situation was also a good way to translate this into the modern day.

-          P&P: In order to avoid scandal, Darcy pays for a marriage between a 16 year old and a 20-something known scumbag, and this is seen as a good thing because it saved the Bennet family. Zoboi’s Pride: Darius beats the shit out of Warren. I REALLY CRIED, THIS IS WHAT I WANT OUT OF AN ADAPTATION.

Things I didn’t like so much:

-          Ainsley x Janae is treated like a veeery minor side story instead of being a secondary plot. One of the big things in P&P is that Jane and Bingley are the prototypical pure love story and they think they are the main characters. Ainsley and Janae are not given much space to breathe in the narrative, and their relationship comes across as an afterthought instead of as one of the principal plot threads.

-          The diversion with Darius’ grandmother was also thrown in there like an afterthought. It didn’t add much to the story other than showing that Darius will side with Zuri when push comes to shove. It still felt like it took up a lot more time than it needed to if the grandmother wasn’t going to appear again at the end of the book like in the original. If it’s role to the plot was going to be minimized like that, I don’t really understand why it was included at all.

-          Charlise and Colin as a pair also felt out of place. In the original, Mr. Collins and Charlotte weren’t a major part of the story, but they contributed to the narrative that Austen wanted to tell about marriage and the different types of marriages that exist in English society at the time. Charlise and Colin don’t really have that effect on the story at all. Both characters are completely irrelevant to the plot (except Colin in the last possible moment), and they’re only really there to BE an adaptation.

-          Some of the plot beats were rearranged. I didn’t mind this so much since any number of directorial decisions are valid so long as the have a positive impact on the adaptation’s goal, but I didn’t really see how they added much.

One thing I REALLY liked was the addition of Madrina. I’m not sure if she’s a reference to something I don’t remember from the text or a completely original addition, but I thought she made for some really interesting moments. I especially loved how much connection Zuri felt with her Orisha worship and that they called her “daughter of Ochun.” I would change NOTHING about this, it was pure and really sweet.

One adaptation I WISH Zoboi had made was to have Zuri call out Darius’ hypocrisy. In P&P, the Bennetts are certainly in a different social class from Darcy and the Bingleys, but they’re ultimately still property owners in Britain. The stakes are different here. Darius keeps talking about how things in his life aren’t perfect just because he’s rich (which is absolutely true, especially when Zoboi starts getting into his experience as a black teenager surrounded by white classmates), but he is STILL not really understanding the difference in experience between himself and Zuri. The thing is, although she’s not right to judge Darius’ whole personality, she absolutely IS right about a lot of his privilege at the very beginning, but she kind of lets that go after a while. Zuri confronts Darius about his wealth many times, but to me at least it doesn’t really seem like she was able to convince him that his whole outlook on life is fundamentally different because of his wealth. Idk maybe I’m grasping at straws here. I just wish that Darius had actually talked about like . trying to persuade his parents to donate more to charity, or doing community service, or idk DISTRIBUTING THE WEALTH. Darius doesn’t change much in the story. At the beginning, he’s like “sorry im rich but lmfao you’re being mean to me!” and then at the end he is like “I am simply a rich boy, I cannot change this” which is barely a difference at all.

Anyways. I really didn’t hate this book. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did, which is why I have all these criticisms about it.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a thoughtprovoking discussion on class through the lens of one of history’s most overrated love stories (speaking as someone who loves P&P: yea it’s overrated). Read it for Zuri and Darius, who are totally different people from Elizabeth and Darcy. Read it for nostalgia, because even though I don’t know what it feels like to be one of 5 Afrolatine kids in Bushwick, I Felt that family affection.

3/5 for having great ideas but not such great execution.

[veronicadvalle]

what are your favorite musicals/songs from said musicals?

okay, listen, I’m lowkey a ‘fake fan’ because I don’t really know the old school classic showtunes. i really don’t. I listen to whatever title catches my attention, if that makes sense. And a lot of Disney (mainly Phil Collins, lets be real) (does disney movies count?) So keep that in mind: 

(also i had a playlist w/ my favorite numbers but then i deleted it cuz i dont listen to it. i typically just listen straight from the album. so im for sure forgetting A LOT of songs): 

Tarzan - No Other Way is SOOOO good from this. Just the passion™ in that song gets me all the time. Son of Man, duh, classic, and I Need To You deserves a special shout out.  

Once (the movie. it still counts) -  LIES!! Favorite song of that entire soundtrack. That, and Leave. Just Glen’s voice, man! GLEN”S VOICE! Oh, also Say It To Me Now (also funny coincidence but this was all that I listened to while I was in Dublin, which was a coincidence, I promise. I wasn’t trying to be corny  at all. but halfway thru my weekend in Dublin, I was like, wait a second….this movie was filmed here so I have special memories listening to this soundtrack). 

In the Heights - I have a personal connection with this show. I’m Dominican, so yeah, it means a lot to me. Also a funny story but I was in London when this was running in King’s Cross Theater. The moment Breathe started, I was already in tears. I had been abroad for 3 months and very homesick watching this show so i sobbed, and I’m not ashamed. So Breathe is a favorite of mine, but really this entire show is so good so if i had to pick favorites, I would end up chosing half the show lol Imma try though: Blackout (’we’re powerless’ is a deep lyric!!), alabanza, and Carnaval del barrio. Oh and 96,000. And inutil….and here i go listing the entire show lol 

West Side Story (movie) - It’s a classic. that’s all i gotta say. it’s a classic, and best song, hands down, is Cool (+the cinematography for this). Special mentions for Tonight, A Boy Like That, America. 

American Idiot - This was the first show I saw on Broadway, and was with Billie Joe Armstrong. He was THE NICEST person, waved and signed autographs while he was leaving. Just so pleasant and amicable. Whatsername, When It’s Time, 21 Guns are all so good. This show is just so good. Granted, most of it were Green Days songs originally but y’all know what I mean. it’s one of the few cases where I actually love the musical adaptation (vs any other version). All the songs are so good. Special mentions to that drum solo at the end of Are We The Waiting that goes into St. Jimmy, Too Much Too Soon, and Last Of The American Girls/She’s a Rebel. 

Special mentions in general: If Only (Quartet) from The Little Mermaid, Life Support, Light my Candle and Without You from Rent (And Christmas Bells that’s in the musical, and not in the movie, which is a shame), Take it Like A Man and Legally Blonde from, you guessed it, Legally Blonde (lol), Stars from Les Miserable (couldn’t not include Les Mis), You Matter to Me from Waitress, What I did for Love from the Chorus Line, Beautiful City from Godspell, It’s Quiet Uptown and Wait for it from Hamilton, Out There and Heaven’s Light/Hellfire, oh, and God Help The Outcasts from Hunchback Of Notre Dame (yes, I’m including the animated movie lol) 

But honestly, so so many more! lol these are the only ones (only a few, i know lol) that came to mind now. 

[5percentconnection]

PEACE! We here at the 5 percent connection would like to Highlight my man I Shine Allah for GOD OF THE WEEK! we also would like to congratulate him on learning his 120 lessons! @_garveyg_ PEACE GREAT GOD! 1.What is your righteous name? I Shine Allah 2.Do you knowledge 120? If so, what year? (If not, where are you in your degrees?) Yes. March 18th, 2020 3.When/Where did you get knowledge? I got my mathematics 11/7/19 in PHX Azia 4.Who educated you? Reality Love Allah, Self Savior Allah, and TrueBorn My Allah 5.How long have you had Knowledge (of Self)? July 2019 is when I pursued the idea that the black man is God 6. What is one of your proudest contributions to the nation? Being one the youngest in my tree and introducing my wisdom soil Arabia Unique to the knowledge when she was 15. Taking the other young Gods in my tree through their lessons bringing clarity. Also, introducing people who are truly new to these concepts and ideas to the knowledge and marrying on. 7. Are you on Instagram? If so, what is ur “@” _garveyg_ 8. What is your job  title/company title/what do you do? . I go to high school, I'm in a dual enrollment construction trade, and I make music 9. Something about you that you would like the world to know? I took a long path to get to where I am. I went through a lot at a young age up until this point that most never go through and struggle through in their life. I got a lot of life experience and I'm good at providing a beacon of light for everyone of all ages. No matter your impression of me I got a lot on my plate and a lot I'm capable of. I suggest if you were... truly all wise and righteous, you wouldn't take my presence for granted in this nation. I'm still growing and learning. Knowledge is infinite therefore my universe is ever-expanding. I plan on being something of value and importance among my brothers and sisters. P.S. No i am NOT half original Mother is Tanzanian, Father is Dominican lol. Peace #5percentconnection #allahsfivepercent #whoisthe5percent #Suprememathematics #supremealphabets #TeachTheBabies #teachthepeople #allhumanfamiles #showandprove #originalman #allahlives #mathematics #all https://www.instagram.com/p/B-M2EoJJ0Aj/?igshid=1u70ggkglvtip

[chantalnicolej]

How i hated myself and still do...

Hello All, I think its time to tell my life story... While I was a child I was extermely happy. Always around my family and enjoying my childhood. Everything changed when I left my hometown, New Brunswick, to move to Philadelphia. My mom put me in a public elementary school but it didn't go so well... I had to go to speech therapy every day because I barely could speak English or Spanish. I was different from those kids and that's when the bullying started. I was called retarted, stupid, etc. I couldn't speak of for myself, so I stood there afraid and quiet. The bullying escalated to physical. This one girl (STILL KNOW HER!) use to beat me up and dragged me by my hair through the hallways. I would go home with bruises every single day. One day, my mom realized and as soon as the school year, she put me in catholic school. It was all good until 7th grade. First girl to ever get pimples on my forehead , I was called Indian (lol that wasn't a big deal). It was at a point everybody was wearing abercombie and fitch, and i was still wear Mary Kate and Ashley clothes and I was made fun of again. I didnt have the money to get what everybody had. I had a flip phone while everybody was getting iphones. Now this is the point my parents started changing on me. My mom started being strict and my dad never spoke up for me. At school, I had like 3-5 friends but in reality I was only close with ONE girl! At home, me and my mom would always argue over nothing thats how my depression started. 8th grade came about, and now im starting to cut myself. I started to cut myself to see if someone would notice and help me. But then it escalated that when I cutted myself, I just wished it'll actually kill me. I went to the school counselor and told him I wanted to die. He called my parents, and first time I saw my parents cry about me. My mom took me to the hospital and they told her I need therapy, but dominicans believes that therapy won't help but God will. I understand God is there spiritually but I needed help at the moment. High School came about, and my depression never went away. I had drama here and there and everybody hated me ... At home, I felt the same. Everytime I try to talk to my parents, they say my problem is not a big deal and they are going through bigger things. Now i felt that nobody is listening to me. I had alot of heart breaks. A lot of people I cared about made me feel like i was worthless and just turned against me. I started cutting myself and taking alot of pain killer pills so it can actually kill my pain and make me just get away from my life. Nothing worked... Now I gained an attitude. I just needed someone to put theirselves in my shoes and listen to me for once.... But again, nobody cares about me. Now i'm having self-esteem problems. I dislike how my mom called me fat everyday and compared me to my cousins on how skinny and beautiful they are. I was never my own person to her. She wanted me to be like them... Now i felt like my mom loved them more than me... she gave them advices and listened to their problems, but never had the time to be there for me. I decided to move out my house for college... As soon as I left out, my mom said that she is not going to help me and my dad too. So I got a job. I was in this job for like 9 months and half the team quit. I ended up with a lot of the shift and impacted my school grades badly. It also messed up my relationship with my family because I would miss holidays because I was working too much. My depression was intense because I didnt have time for my family, school, or MYSELF. Everyday, I started hating myself even more.. Now, in school, it was hard too. I felt lonely because i had no friends or someone to talk to. My boyfriend was there and he comfort me but he also needs time to be him. Time for him to be with friends and enjoy college and I dont want to ruin that for him, I care for him too much. So I tried talking to my cousins to ask for advice but some never picked up the phone and some was just "too busy" so I couldnt count on them. I lost 2 friends I had in college and I just felt like I didnt belong anymore... It got to the point that if i left this world, i'll make everybody happy... but I didnt want to feel that anymore. I went and seeked counseling at school. It worked a little bit... I felt happier. Then i told my parents im talking counseling and they were against it,again. They said to talk to them but my dad will laugh at me or my mom said counseling wont help me. Schools over and its summer now... I will believe my parents will let me have a little freedom at home but everytime i go out, im not helping my dad at his supermarket or im a piece of shit ... I got to the point that I told my parents that they'll be happier if I didnt exist in their life. I couldnt do anything. I, also, have problems, for example all the pressure im getting inside my household and outside. I cry at work everyday. I cry when I get home... I just want to find that happiness again...

[limpblotter]

Fly me to the Moon

[Previously…] A/N: IM text and second to last part! xD  Summary: It's Christmas Time and Johan discovers the joys of instant messenger and unexpected surprises (Ft. Johnson Fam) WordCount: 3313 Taggies: @hell-yes-puns-and-ships  Warning: Panic attack/ Depressing thoughts

“Bow have you seen my watch?” Dre grumbled, rubbing his empty wrist as he crossed the large, open kitchen. He gently placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder and kissed the side of her face. “I just had it…”

“You mean this one?” She motioned to a black Rolex watch sitting on the counter right next to her cup of coffee. “Or that one.” She pointed, across the kitchen to the living room where another expensive watch sat folded neatly on the coffee table. “Or--”

“No it's the gold one, the one I wear for my ‘Drop em like it's hot’ meetings.” Dre smiled cockly, Rainbow arched an eyebrow not sure what he was talking about. “For the meetings where I drop some big news, big news mean a big watch. I gotta assert my dominance in that room.”

“Because your CEO title means nothing if you’re not waving around big, shiny things on your wrist?” She shook her head, sometimes her husband made her wonder what she got herself into. “The point is you leave your watches around all over the house I’m surprised you haven’t lost any until now.”

“No see, that watch is my lunch watch, swap it out when I’m going on lunch outs with the crew. Can’t flash anything too nice but I can’t be watchless.” He scoffed as pointed to the other one across the room. “That's my, I’m reading don’t bother me watch.” Dre nodded, then motioned to his empty wrist. “I need my ‘Drop em like it’s hot’ watch.”

After a moment of silence Rainbow shook her head and pulled the only conclusion she could think of. “Did you leave it in the bathroom?”

A lightbulb went off in Dre’s head and he pointed at the hallway. “And this is why I married you, we are a team.” He kissed her cheek and bounced up the stairs to retrieve his watch. There were few things in his life which he thought were sacred. His kicks, his watches, and his personal space. Which was why when he bought and designed the house, he had in mind an oasis like master bedroom. Far away from most of the rooms, a little corner of his personal space. So imagine his outrage when he found his master on suite bathroom was crowded with his children and his not-so-welcomed brother in-law. “What are you doing in my bathroom?!”

Junior popped his head out of the many bodies crowding around the vanity and smiled. “Uncle Johan is signing up for facebook and we’re helping him get the best quality profile picture around.” He gave his father an ‘ok’ sign before diving back in. Andre stood there, somewhat bewildered before shaking his head.

“No, no why does it have to be my in bathroom!?” He yelled, another child coming out from the herd and placed her small hand on her hip. Andre casted his eyes down to the youngest daughter of his family.

“Zoey said that the best lightening comes from bathrooms and your bathroom has the best lightening.” Diane shrugged a bit. “Zoey is on a roll in here, you do.not. Want to get in. We’ll call when we’re done.” She smiled and went back to the hustle and bustle. “No, we need the light in your eyes--wait! And, fluff his hair a little. Ok now hold the phone like, yes!” Zoey’s voice was high and cheerful. “I think we did it…” She pulled away and noticed her father was standing there with his arms wide open in exasperation. “Oh hey daddy.” Zoey smirked, still beaming from her handy work.

“Does anyone mind telling me why the four of you are crowded around in my bathroom like there is a concert going on?” Dre got a glimpse of Johan who wordlessly, walked out of the bathroom and climbed on his bed with his sandals still on. “WOAH WOAH now, not the shoes, JOHAN.” He yelled at him and usually Johan would prattle about something but...he was quiet his eyes glued to his phone more than usual. “...O-K, what’s wrong with him, wait no he’s quiet I don’t want to know.” Dre motioned his children away and retrieved the watch in question from the bathroom. When he returned they were all huddled behind Johan, looking over his shoulder at his phone. “No Dre. Don’t ask. It's not worth it…”

“Why isn’t he accepting the friend request yet?” Junior frowned, “you think he’s not online yet?”

“No way, I checked his facebook he made a status this morning.” Zoey had thoroughly stalked the guy in question. Johan came back doe eyed and with a sudden interest in social media. Of course she needed the details. “...maybe he’s blinded by how amazing you look with the flower crown filter.”

“Or maybe he doesn’t like you.” Diana crossed her arms and felt a nudge from her twin brother.

“Excuse her, uncle Johan, someone didn’t have their cereal this morning.” He mumbled, “I told you’d be cranky if you didn’t eat first.”

Clearly all his children were invested so Dre was swayed, he was going to pry and pray it wasn’t something he’d regret. “Alright, what are you all talking about?”

“Dad, Johan is trying to slid into the DMs with the guy he met in New York” Andre Jr. wiggled his eyebrow gaining only facepalms and groans from his siblings. “What?”

“What he is trying to say in a less...cringey way, is Johan likes a guy and he doesn’t know how to go about social media flirting.” Zoey smiled, “so we helped him out.”

“Social Media….flirting? Uh huh.” Dre shook his head and his children felt a lecture coming. “You know back in my day, we didn’t ‘slide’ into anyone’s Ims.”

“DMs.”

“Whatever” Dre held up his hand, ignoring the fact he was corrected in the slang. “If you liked someone you called them, wrote them letters, took them out on dates. And you did not date someone you didn’t visit. Long distance only worked when you’re dating someone who’s going out to war or if you’re starring in a B rated Hallmark romcom movie.”

His children exchanged looks, “that's not how romance works now dad. You can date anyone anywhere in the world with a click.”

“HA” Dre sarcastically laughed and clapped his hands together. “I’d hardly call that romantic.”

“Oh coming from the guy who got mom a blender for their anniversary?” Andre Junior shook his head disapprovingly.

Dre dramatically placed a hand to his chest and backed off a bit, “your mother had been dropping hints she was into juicing, my gift was thoughtful and expensive! I am plenty romantic.” There was a silence that came over his children and he felt nothing but judgment. “Don’t you have to be at school, BEAT IT” He shoo’d them out of his room until the only person who remained in his room wasn’t even someone he was legally required to take care of. Dre had some choice words for his annoying brother in-law but something about Johan’s face stopped him. He jumped a bit when Johan suddenly gasped.

“...he’s talking to me... “ Suddenly Johan’s entire world muted and the only thing that mattered was this Facebook messenger.

[[Usnavi De La Vega: You have a facebook? … You just got a facebook.

Johan Johnson: Yeah I figure I’d try out this government monitored boobytrap that everyone seems to be a part of.

Usnavi De La Vega: jaja! ]]

Johan arched his eyebrow, was that a typo? He didn’t look into it too long, he noticed there were dots blinking at the bottom of his screen indicating that Usnavi was still typing.

[[Usnavi De La Vega: well as long as you have nothing to hide I think the government doesn’t give two shits lol, btw nice picture. You have a snapchat too?

Johan Johnson: blame my niece, she decided if I was going to leap into social media I was going into the deep end. She signed me up for Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and this thing called Tinder.

Usnavi De La Vega: Tinder ?? Isn’t that the hook up app or something? Swipe left or right, I don’t know what the kids use these days.

Johan Johnson: AH. Lol I won’t be using that one then…

Usnavi De La Vega: What government controlled dating apps is where you draw the line? I’m sure the government is very curious who you’d swipe right for.]]

He didn’t respond, his eyes might have been reading too far between the black and white typings of their conversation...But he would like to believe Usnavi sounded a little jealous. He frowned when suddenly another message came up and it was the end of their brief conversation.

[[Usnavi De La Vega: Sorry I got to help Sonny pack. He’s leaving for Cali in the morning *eyeroll emoji* I have half the mind to not send his ass anywhere...anyway, I’ll hit you up later, ok?

Johan Johnson: Later :) ]]

Johan groaned a bit, laying back on the bed with the phone on his chest. He felt his heart bang against his ribs. Any harder and his phone would have been bouncing on top of his chest. The bed dipped a little as Dre took a seat at the edge of his own bed. “So, hispanic guy huh?”

“Dominican” Johan beamed with a trance like smile.

“You know they have a lot of Afo-Carribean heritage in the Dominican Republic.” He smiled but then mildly wondered if he was confusing them with Haiti. “How do you plan on making it work with him being across the country, hm?” Dre was still mildly proving his point that long distance wasn’t healthy or very stable. There were very few exceptions. Johan didn’t answer right away, “like do you even know him?”

Suddenly his brother in-law sat up right and nodded. “He’s a store owner, he has money but is really careful...he’s really careful about everything actually. And yet, I can tell there is something in his eyes excitement and ….”

“I mean family facts, history, possibly any transmitted diseases.”

“Are you implying he has an STD?” Johan rolled his eyes, “He’s been on his own for a while, his parents died in...huh, December actually.” His voice trailed off.

“Wow…” Dre also sounded a little softer. “Must be rough. At least he has other family right? Hispanics got em’ big families like we do.” Dre nudged him a little with a comforting smile, but the facts began to pile up on Johan. Usnavi didn’t have much other family from what he remembered from their conversations. Usnavi’s parents died around this time, then his beloved abuela Claudia, his cousin was traveling away for the first time, and all his friends had moved out of the neighborhood. He was… alone. “I love the eggnog Puerto Ricans make, you think he’d have the recipe for that?”

“...Dre...would it be crazy…” Johan couldn’t fathom what Usnavi had to be feeling right now. However there was a chance, a sliver of a chance Usnavi was alone and sad...Johan couldn’t bear that idea. “If I go to him?”

Hallmark movie and there was a good chance Johan would be absent for Christmas. No commenting on their economic spending or having his mother relentlessly flirt. Dre turned and placed his hand on Johan’s shoulder. “Brother, this might be only time I call you this by the way, you care about him? You go. Right now. Immediately, I’ll even book you a flight.”

Dre was walking around with his head high after that. He did a good damn thing this morning and his kids had the nerve to call him ‘unromantic’. HA. Later around the dinner table, Bow mentioned how Johan wasn’t joining them for dinner and hasn’t been around the whole day. So Dre dropped his bombshell.

“...what you’re meaning to tell me is you let my little brother, run off to New York by himself? During the holidays?! DRE” Bow stood up from the chair. “This was going to be our Christmas a family! I had a stocking picked out and everything.” She stormed for her phone while Dre’s kids gave him disapproving looks again.

“Way to ruin Christmas dad…” Diana sighed, picking at her food.

“Like, really” Zoey began, “Johan just got social media and how he’s flying across the country to see him? Talk about Creepy af, dad, you’ve practically ruined all of uncle Johan’s chances”

Had he?

Winter was a hard time. The cold in the city felt a lot heavier when the store was empty. It was too cold for too many people to walk on by. Most people ran into stores to hide from the merciless winds. The snow gathered along the sides of the sidewalks like small mountains, coating cars in their parking spaces. Usnavi was usually a little somber this time of year. His parents died this time of year so he had the reason. Usually though, he had Sonny who would light candles with him and binge watch Christmas movies. Benny and Nina use to pop in and drop off the Rosario’s famed Coquito. Abuela Claudia would conduct secret Santa at her place while Daniela somehow always got Carla or Vanessa as her Santa…

The barrio changed. Abuela was gone, her stoop filled with snow and her apartment now housing a new family. Daniela and Carla made it a tradition to spend Christmas with Vanessa who was downtown, living around all the Christmas decorations and the tree. Benny and Nina had a small family now, no doubt they were spending it together. Of course Usnavi got invitations to go...but...why would he? He was just a guest, in a house, a guest in a family. A sad face that probably wouldn’t get much joy out partaking in someone’s happy family.

Usnavi slugged on his jacket and hat. He gazed over his store one more time, keeping his mind busy from the clawing void that was just waiting to get to him while he was alone. Reluctantly he started to pull the grate down and locked up for the night. He rubbed his hands together and felt his phone go off. For a second, he thought it might have been Johan. He felt bad for leaving him hanging. Once he helped Sonny back and saw him off he messaged him back. The message remained sent, not even read so … “Heh…” He mused at the idea of Johan struggling with social media, even going so far to humoring his ego with the idea Johan got it for him. To his slight discouragement it was Sonny who texted him a picture of him and Pete at a dinner by the beach. 

The text read, 'He surprised me with dinner, the weather here is bomb cuz!! You need to fly out so we can all hang on this playa.’

Usnavi replied, having a snarky comment in mind...then he deleted it and responded with, ‘Enjoy it kid, you deserve it.’ 

Sonny was a good kid…why did he have to spend another sad holiday with Usnavi. He deserved to be where he wanted to be.

He tucked his phone away and made the quiet hike back to his apartment nearby. The city was a snowy ghost town. No doubt people were warm with family, getting ready for the holidays. He imagined families coming home from sightseeing or last minute shopping… He passed abuela Claudia’s stoop and the memories forced themselves into his mind. Unwillingly he recalled childhood memories, hazy from years gone by, of waiting up in Claudia’s house. His parents sneaking around for deals on Christmas presents. Usnavi only a kid helping set up the tree and candles. Celebrating Noche Buena by the time his parents got home, music playing, hugs and kisses…

It was almost painful for him to walk into his bleek and now empty apartment. Nothing waited for him here, not a soul or a cheer. He sloppily kicked off his shoes and coat. Making a beeline to the fridge he pulled out a green beer bottle and cracked it open. His phone buzzed again and once again his stomach did flips wondering if it was…

No. It was Benny, asking if Usnavi wanted come for the Rosario’s Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow. He didn’t want to but out of coursey he responded as vaguely as possible.

‘I’ll see how it goes with the store.’ Ben: ‘K man, you know the fam would luv 2 have u. Stop working so dam hard, it's xmas.’

Ha. 

Like that was an excuse. His parents worked through many holidays, Christmas too...but by nightfall they made it back just to light candles with Usnavi. Speaking of which...his eyes scanned the room for a tall red candle, the one with the Virgin Mary sticker on it. A candle so traditional that he was sure his parents and grandparents used the same one. He lit the candle and carefully walked it over to the closed window sill. “Otra Navidad…” He smiled placing it down watching the flickering flame dance on it's small wick. “...miss you guys…”his lower lip trembled. He bit his lip to try and keep it still but if it wasn’t one thing it was another, his eyes started to ache with bitter tears.

“Fuck.” He hissed, he should be over it by now. Every Christmas he felt this weight on his shoulders...his parents broke their asses every damn Christmas to get what they could to fill the tree. Every damn holiday day in and day out until the day they died. Working so hard just to put something under the tree for him, to give him something they didn’t have. Now he had the money, money he wished he had years ago when the people he loved still walked on the Earth. Now he could give his parents a vacation to Dominican Republic, a relief from the store… If only he hadn’t been too late.

If he worked harder. If he had made something of himself sooner. If he wasn’t such a failure of a son. His parents will never know, they died leaving Usnavi debts and worries, they died probably upset...Upset they were leaving their son behind with so much unfinished work. So much to carry, they weren’t here to see he was still managing. Abuela wasn’t here to see he was still going...He was too late.

Usnavi felt his lungs twist cutting off his breathing. His heart beating slow but hard against his chest, like it was trying to punch a hole out of his chest. His eyes widened when he realized he couldn’t breathe….he couldn’t! His body shook as he slowly fell to his knees, hard sobs breaking through his crumpling frame. He tried to calm his panic, calm the screams in his head that reminded him his parents and abuela died fully aware Usnavi was struggling. Died before Usnavi could do something for them, something they deserved.

Desperate to relieve himself he slumped forward and pressed his head against the cold, wood floor and forced himself to take shallow breathes.

Knock knock

His head snapped up so fast he felt the air trapped joints crack along his neck. He crawled across the floor, all the while forcing himself to take purposeful breaths.

Knock, Knock

Usnavi grabbed the doorknob and willed himself to his feet, leaning against the door. He ran his hand over his face covering the tear trails as best he could, then opened the door. “Who---” His eyes widened, he looked up at a slightly flushed and incredibly cold looking Johan. His jacket was barely warm enough for the winter they were experiencing at the East Coast. Johan’s eyes held Usnavi in a silent stare, he assisted him thoroughly and his face fell a bit.

“Usnavi, are you ok?”

Usnavi opened his mouth. “No” He wailed.

[momof3grls]

Punta Cana - Honeymoon

So, Everyone has been asking me. Where are the pictures? tell us about the honeymoon! I honestly feel like this is the first time all week I’ve been able to concentrate on something other then work or mother’s day. There was also the small problem of my phone breaking while we were gone so I had to get the pictures off of Jared’s phone.  In fairness he did that on Wednesday, but like I said, it’s been a busy week. Anyway, enough of my rambling...Here are the highlights.

We woke up bright and early Monday morning excited to get to our destination. Our trip down was pretty mundane compared to the trip back to the states- but we will get to that later.  When we landed we found out that it has been raining since Saturday there and many of the streets were flooded. Some of the airport was even under water. The good part about that was most of our trip was humidity free. The weather was really nice up til about Saturday when we could feel the humidity coming back.(pictured below the Punta Cana Airport)

We got to the Hotel around 3:30pm. We stayed at the Majestic Mirage. It is a great resort. It opened up in late December/early January. You wouldn’t know this by looking at their construction work - another country=shortcuts. But over all it was very nice. When we were looking at where we would want to spend our honeymoon I had joined a Facebook forum group for this hotel. It was very informative with pictures people have/do take and lots of information about the resort and things to do in Punta Cana. The staff was helpful when we needed questions answered and when people have asked if we would go there again I joke and say “well, if we every visited a place more then once yes we would probably go back”. Although I think I would want to stay at one of their other resorts just to be able to compare (they have three in Punta Cana).

The Resort: 

Our room was HUGE! We had a one bedroom Suite. When you walked in there was a half bathroom and a small hallway that led into the living room area with a nice sized couch, entertainment center that contained the mini bar (which was all included), coffee pot, and nespresso machine.  There was also a small table. Then you went into the bedroom which had sliding doors you could close to close it off from the rest of the suite. The bed was humongous. The bathroom had two sinks, a separate room for the toilet, and a walk in shower that had two showers. There was also a dressing area where you can keep all your clothes. Because of the facebook group I knew that the shower tended to leak water into the rest of the room because the door doesn’t reach the floor. We were prepared for this and used a towel to block the water. We were successful with keeping the water from over flowing every time(small accomplishment). The balcony on our room wrapped on both sides of the room and had a Jacuzzi tube (or as Jared ended up calling it a cajuzzi) 

The resort is pretty big. There are four restaurants, two buffets (one located by the main building and one by the beach), a sports bar(which was open 24 hrs), and a coffee shop. They have a few shops, a theater for their night shows(which were great!), numerous bars and the pools run along side all the buildings on each side of the hotel.  Our favorite restaurant was probably their steak restaurant. My favorite buffet was the one by the beach(for obvious reasons). The sports bar was where we ate the first night and it was also good for a quick snack in between meals or late at night(a lot of fried foods). The coffee shop was also good. They had great coffees and their pastries were good. My favorite was the fruit cups and Jared liked the “canoli”(cream filled pastry).  The shops had a verity of things. Some of them were priced reasonably while others were a little expensive in my opinion.  We bought a painting on the last night we were there to hang in the house (still trying to decide where to put it). 

You also get a butler. Our butlers name was Serlano. We didn’t see him much but we were ok with that. They have an app that you can download to use to communicate with them and they also have a direct line.  Everything you use them for (making restaurant reservations, getting drinks, booking excursions) you can also do yourself which we had planned on doing anyway.  He did however get us a free dinner on the beach that ordinarily you have to pay for. All the staff is very kind. They almost always greet you when they see you and the wait staff was good at  making sure you didn’t need anything (although we did have a few forgotten drinks at times). They work hard for their money and work hard to keep their jobs.  The Dominican is a very poor country and people who have jobs count themselves lucky to have one. 

Jared and I constantly compared things about this resort with things about the resort we visited when we went to Costa Rica ( a Riu resort) with his family a few years ago. I will say that by far one of the biggest differences was the amount of alcohol they put in their drinks. Here, you knew there was alcohol in your drink...we will just leave it at that. My drink of choice was usually a pina colada. Jared’s was the Coco Loco which was a lot like a milkshake.  We also experienced the Dominican favorite “Mamajuana”.  It is a shot that consists of  Rum and Red wine. I also had what they call a mini beer ( its is a shot with 43 liquor and cream). Another difference we noticed is that the people of the Dominican are on their own time. Things run a little slower down there. It was something that us impatient Americans sometimes had a hard time understanding (LOL) 

What we did:

When we got down there Monday we did not do too much. We ate at the sports bar because we had not had anything to eat  since like 9:00 am and we were also pretty tired from not getting much sleep the night before. Monday was honestly a blur. (Pictured below: the sports bar)

Tuesday - We spent the day exploring the resort and sat on the beach. Your butler takes you on a quick tour of the resort while they walk you to your building when you get there,  but we couldn’t remember much of it so we used the day to figure out where everything was.  We did find a booklet in our room that also had everything in it as far as hours the restaurants were open. what their dress code was, what kind of food they served, etc. We also made our dinner reservations this day as well as booked a couple excursions. For dinner we ate at the steak restaurant - “Don Jaurne”.  It was very good. Most of the restaurants have a three or four course meal. You definitely do not leave hungry(unless you don’t like the food). Tuesday night after dinner we watched part of the show( I don’t really remember which one it was). This night was when we tried Mamajauna. Our waitress was great. She kept bringing them to us even though we didn’t ask..we will leave it at that! LOL!

Wednesday - We went on our first excursion. Like I said earlier, we had done some researching before hand so we had a pretty good idea of things to do and what we might want to do.  For this excursion we took dune buggies to a beach where we could swimming. Then we went along and they took us to a “house” where someone talked about things they make in the D.R. ( Coffee, Mamajuana and other natural products).  After that they took us a cave that you could swim in.  It was a fun half day excursion and we enjoyed seeing some of the country side.  We don’t think the people liked us very much though because we did have to switch dune buggies 3 times through out our trip... in our defense they run these things at least 5 times a day as they do trips one right after the other.  For dinner we ate at the Italian Restaurant, La Rinascita. This is definitely not your typical Italian food but overall it was good. They are also open for breakfast which we did a couple mornings. After dinner  we went to the coffee shop while we waited for the nightly show to begin. The show that night was a Magic Show. It was not one of the better ones but it was ok.

Thursday - We did a full day excursion. It was so much fun! We went to Sona Island which is on the south side of the Dominican in the Caribbean.   On this trip we took a Catamaran Party boat to the Island. The water was crystal clear and so shallow. On the Island we were served lunch. It was buffet style and they had chicken, beef and pork along with fruit, rice and some other sides. The food was delicious and this was really our only chance to have authentic Dominican food. After the island we took a speed boat to an area that is considered a national park.  It was a sand bar where you could find star fish. After that we headed back to the marina. Then the bus took us to a market. Here we got something for the girls. The best part of this trip was our tour guide. His name is Raymond and he was wonderful! We were the only Americans on our bus. When he striked up a conversation with us we told him we were from North Carolina so the whole trip he would say “North Carolina...” and then continue with whatever information he needed to tell us.  He told us his brother lives in New York and his dream is to move there one day. He said he took English lessons and he did a great job at making sure we understood what was going on.  When our trip was done he gave us his email address so that we could continue to stay in contact with him and we also took a picture with him. we got back to the resort around 7:00 pm so we ordered room service for dinner.  It was like any other typical room service and we ordered a lot of food for just two people. Although with as tired as we were we really didn’t finish it all.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday- These days we spent at the resort. We had considered doing another half day excursion but nothing really stuck out at as as something we had to do. Friday was spent at the beach for most of the day.  Saturday was spent by the pool and Sunday at the beach. Friday night we ate at the Japanese Restaurant “Kabuki”. It is basically like Kanki. The chef was great and the food was good too. It was a four course meal with about 4 different main courses - and you get all of them! It was a lot of food!  The night show was their Rock n Roll show. it was pretty interesting to say the least. Saturday was our dinner on the Beach. It was nice and we were lucky because we got a front table right near the water. We did some star gazing and Jared downloaded an app that tells you where all the constellations are. Sunday we ate at the International Restaurant (French) - “L’Essence” This restaurant was by far the most interesting for food choices.  Jared thought for sure he would leave hungry but he ended up liking what he got. Again it was a four course meal. The pre- appetizer was a single shrimp! I had picked out a salad for my appetizer and when they brought it out it was been smoked so it was under a dome.  Jared had picked out some sort of mousse thing. For our main course I had duck and he had lamb chops. For dessert we both got the “Havana Night” which was basically ice cream rolled up in chocolate and made to look like a cigar.  It even tasted like a cigar. Jared wasn’t fond of it but I ate most of mine. The show this night was by far our favorite. I wish I had gotten pictures. It was a circus show. They did a lot of trapeze acts and flame throwing type things. It was really good! 

Monday we headed back home. Jared was dreading this merely for the long day we had a head of us.  We were picked up from our hotel around 10:00am. The airport is about 30 min from the resort.  Our flight didn’t leave til 1:40pm and it only took us around 30 min to get through everything at their airport. Needless to say we had a lot of time on our hands. We ate lunch while sitting at the gate and I read a book Jared had bought for me before the trip about lighthouses. For no real rhyme or reason our flight didn’t leave til around 2:15 or so.  Our flight back home took us to JFK first. When the pilot had come over the intercom to talk about the flight he said we would be flying by Wilmington. Jared and I said at the same time, “Can you just drop us off there?” I had taken a short nap on the flight and when I woke up I looked out the window. I tapped Jared's arm and said “Isn’t that our coastline?” He confirmed it was and I snapped a picture. It was kind of depressing flying right over NC and not being able to get off the plane. When we arrived at the gate we had exactly 1 hour til our flight left and 20 minutes before we boarded. If you have ever flown internationally then you know that international flights usually have their own part of the airport at one end and then the domestic flights are in another part at the opposite end.  after rushing out of our plane (as fast as we could) we reached customs. It actually went fairly smoothly but then we had to get our luggage so that it could be checked back in.  when we got to the luggage drop off the lady at the counter was like “Your flight is boarding you need to run!” So we did..3 feet later we ran smack into TSA. There were a good 30 people in front of us. Someone in front of us was talking about how they were going to miss their flight. A person from their group had gone and grabbed someone from Delta who then came and grabbed them to skip part of the line. I grabbed Jared and followed behind.  Thank God for that woman because if we hadn’t of been able to do that we definitely would have missed our flight. Once we got through TSA we quickly found out that our gate was B49...we were at A1...Oh Boy! We both ran a few ways together before I was very out of breathe(I am NOT a runner). Jared took my shoes(yes I wasn’t wearing them because they were flip flops and no one can run well in flip flops) and our tickets which were in my hands. He said “Let me run ahead and just make sure they don’t close the door on us. I promise I wont leave without you.” I reluctantly agreed and he ran ahead. I finally got caught up after running/walking through the airport...with no shoes...the amount of looks i probably got! When I made it to the gate the guy said to me “You know he was going to get on with out you” I looked at him and said “He knows better then that.” the guy then asked how long we had been married. Jared replied “ A week and a day” The guy said “Well that makes sense. Give it a few years.” We got on the plan with about 8 minutes to spare.  Jared told me after we were on the plane that when he reached the gate he asked them how long we had. They told him 2 minutes. Jared said I’ll give you 5. The rest of my party is on the way. They asked who it was and he said his wife. They asked Jared if he wanted to go ahead on the plane and Jared told them no. When they saw my shoes they said, “Wait, shes running through the airport with no shoes? Why didn’t you just carry her?” 

When we arrived at RDU my dad was picking us up.  Our luggage (which they didn’t tell us until we finally asked) had gotten put on to the flight that was coming in right after ours. My car battery went dead while my dad was waiting for us so he was waiting for AAA while we were waiting on our luggage. After it was all said and done we finally made it in our house at 11:30. We were done for the day.

Needless to say we had a great relaxing trip and it was very hard to come back to reality.  

[the-firebird69]

Well

https://youtu.be/Y7HSyvylGs4 National Guard attacks old women hmmm. Misdiagnosisis by who and CDC could be announced wmquite easily. Tons of universities, colleges, biotech firms hospitals internet sources libraries real doctors unlike mac quacks have the name of the ancient infectious disease airborne at first from its source burning bodies. And desantis and this shit heap keep trying to burn it nearby to make me sick. They get sick from not wearing gear not properly donning or obsconding with hep b bodies that are charred It's not mentioned any that try it don't return lots are arrested by cops you each other. Billium try it too. Are cunts about it very fsggu and effeminate. Loose lipped homie too about all your Intel here We come in nab you here. You worked with Elin on many projects his rocket stuff came up. We jamb ppl in it again hit your stuff We use many more 'll status six the preserbmvative in brains ignites good we fill the voids with them give you a list. We send the national guard back to desantis house daily detained. Each and every one. Preston and others caught gassing in China Wei gasses here a lot usually right over Garth who is somewhat immune stvtimes is seen wandering around taking cash. Gets walloped Huge piles from his team we devour after they leave brains in hand. Weather machines still in use wepointbthem out hit but many want them one on Cape Verde and Cuba and Dominican Republic They all go there. Status six all made here launched from the east which is being shut down so you made it versatile and it goes up over down in or you try a tunnel canal or overland to Miami. Mostly we won't allow exit from west Palm north to dc and NYC. We call ours no st Pete will be inundated You also assemble huge nukes and try for both poles from mcdill filling each cargo jet with three or four each trip enough to half Greenland so we point that out. Rockets from JFK ate common many are loaded with uranium items bombs and such huge stockpiles sighted last week. We tore them apart. No he said use thier devices to detonate disguise them as they do. We did tons of hooting and we select those doin it as volunteers. And it's actually a great idea you s used to do it w icon as the Army had controls you couldn't change wo damaging the rocket tamper proof yours are different passively activated. We mod. It and use it tons today here soon. Ships too regular ones we need the steel not you and you threaten cars so we put more cars on duty. And we have tons and use them quite often. More needed so we look at boats in late modern and old. Tons rust we take tonight. Huge ones too you build now all over too not just here. We employ ours now lots of painstaking jobs that are very valuable we need done badly as part of our exact long term plan. No deviation. Huge shipments of stem cells we took. Tons of it. Huge. We used it all fast you ship more we take it all. All. It goes down the 75 as you kept having him do. Yiur nukes below defunct blown by Joe no we use it now no you do it's full daily of nukes heading south on the west. We use a calc on each and combined usually grab a bunch of bunched too risky but continues and is a lot of nukes. Ships in space rebels hit a lot we could use the steel we intercept. Wasteful. We take mines and fight there. Factories too way too many Uranium too. Several phosphate plants. We use it all no more you. And all uranium globally is Mac. Tons of them no need to let you continue you try for us all the time regardless. Too many. Your rebels try for all this now anyways We take our share if been. Ours very large. Tons of sensing cloaking eco suits we go after now. Huge piles Armament too. We need it all now and it's in every nook. We get organized but be aware rebels need it. All. And geese we knew about the hit hint lol. Giant piles of ammo just outside the door. In st Pete and use area Tampa. We push now but these are Mac projects they load up now w whole we empty them. We see huge amassing of law enforcement in this state up in Tampa and nearby in st Pete gigantic trucks buses. We take them now. Found us and we go on it now. Other areas too...down here 24000 or so gathered in punta gotta we clocked them all at 75. Moreover you stop now Ken lol. We roll on his house up north drive over it with a medium. The capital well we put a scale model there after we leave w it tonight. Brave gnave. We see tons of other small groups we assembled this am. Got most in hit again Raiju loves it he saved the day. And we learned. Biotech is Arrianne Guns tons and are factories s wanted forever we send a packet now on guns and our gun giant my son heads it up Thor Amazing he has instincts we went to red alert in the am. We're ready now we do again We see why and it's a gun, biohazard. And she grins and says they are after you and they blab. We see her reaction no then I hit yours. She couldn't find any. We plowed through her. Tons knew why. All died. Then it went on and on. The biohazard goes well, at least it was. Then I heard it you want to help any who come by. So I shut The door w Nuada at my side did it two hours a day. It worked we were much better too. It's huge the idea. We talk on weekends. Fabulous man. Lots of its stolen from s we heard how at work. Then hired ours. And bio goes great. Huge influx of help. We took tons today yours eat up all so we compete use up other. And see how bad responds. And feel it ok. And we charge in grab the jerks. Putrid assholes. Took all Justin's crap. Tons. He's an asshole. Mean too and is a childish whore loses let's it go. We take all from them. All. And we put an order on him and the two big mouths. Tons of them go tonight. Tons. Huge piles. They don't care we eat them up. We hit billium allover westboro especially tons too. Huge piles off then. All go here tonight. All. Gigantic asshole s here. Cops we get him. We unleash tonight now Fire up Pyramids and add all the other too it. Add in much more Raiju we want volunteers who like to drive And caa has no training but Sears drivers ed could hold his own against some if our best is remarkable has speed technique and is smart did many in by causing huge accidents billions actually. He handled his car well. The Americans do it very well know the road. Billy didn't died easy. We crash the party now here and all over raise all ships employ all ours pull tons of steel up now. Huge piles. Bio is great we hit so many and he needs a Marauders and all do any equipment w down time let me know. Thor And me too Arrianne We fire his missiles now. And I'm ok. They bitch that's all. We fire them all It's a huge load Tons. About twice all night hits we send it the excuse in place. Need twice the final number. Thor it goes up. Down All weapons online all interested in soldiering clearing we need trillions upon trillions Now Thor