#sir that's literally a carbon copy of you

[murasaki-cha]

Nozaki....... I expected no less from you

[alice-after-dark]

One Day I'll Do a Proper Ship Meme But for Now Here Have My Vox Agenda

Thoughts/headcanons/rambles under cut

TW for abusive StaticMoth and Vox having been a bitch to Sir Pentious.

Alastor/Vox - Do I really need to explain this one? Are you new here? I'll just direct you to search "radiostatic" on my blog. I̸͎̝͛́ ̷͙̲̊̄͐l̴̮̲̭̍͌͆ȏ̶̜v̵̞́̑͒̆e̷̡̡͉̰̍̽́ ̷̇͝ͅt̶̡̛̬̖͓̆h̴̠͎̞͕̑e̵͕̼̜̘͆̈́̃̔m̷̤̜̒

Valentino/Vox - Again, unless you're new here, you'll pretty much know my thoughts on them. Check out my "staticmoth" tag and you'll understand.

Charlie - I see so many parallels between these two and I desperately want them to officially interact in season 2. They're on completely opposite ends of the spectrum and aaaahhhhh I just want to see Vox's cynicism clashing with Charlie's idealism and it could be so good you guys. So good. I do also really like the idea of Charlie being the catalyst to Vox realizing just how much he's changed since arriving in Hell (like he used to enjoy the TV scene for the pure creativity of it and now that's all been replaced by the cold corporate greed).

Vaggie - Honestly, I just think it would be interesting. Also I really hope Vaggie doesn't have a carbon-copy reaction to him like she did Alastor. As I mentioned in a previous post, while yes, she might be cautious, she has less of a reason to be so hostile towards him. Plus their mutual dislike of Alastor would be a bonding moment, but also presents an opportunity for Vaggie to find out more about Alastor (albeit from a biased party).

Angel - I've brought up inklings of these two before, but I think them having a very complicated relationship due to their mutual connection and experiences with Valentino would be interesting, especially in regards to how they both handle it in similar yet different ways. They both bury their pain, Angel by leaning into the sexuality, drugs, and alcohol to forget how much he hates it and Vox by refusing to even acknowledge that he's in pain at all. And Vox's refusal to acknowledge it also makes him complicit in Angel's pain as well. He could do something, could try to stop it, but he doesn't to protect himself. I think seeing the two of them try to heal side by side, both from their issues with Valentino and the issues between each other, would be fascinating.

Husk - Knew each other from back when Vox and Alastor were still friends. Husk calls him "kid" (Vox was in his 30s when he died in the 1950s while Husk was in his 60s when he died in the 1970s) which annoys Vox as he doesn't think he's that much younger than Husk to warrant being called a kid. Vox knew him as an Overlord and was very shocked and kind of sad when he found out about Husk losing his soul to Alastor some time after their falling out (just one more thing to embitter him towards the Radio Demon).

Niffty - Anyone who has been on my blog when I started posting about Hazbin Hotel knows it started with these two. I think a dynamic between them would be fun and interesting to explore. Like Husk, she knew him from back when he was friends with Alastor. I like to think that Vox was literally there when Alastor brought her home with him ("What is that?" / "I'm calling her Niffty! Isn't she precious?" / "She is actively biting your arm." / "What a darling little thing!"). He was a little weirded out by her at first, but has since grown to care for her as much as Alastor does. Despite her size and lack of power, Vox fully trusts in her ability to take care of herself...he's seen things that can't be unseen.

Rosie - Vox definitely respects her for her ability to keep such tight control of a horde of bloodthirsty cannibals and actually turn them into a polite society. Despite not being very physically strong, her charisma and drive keep her on top and well respected. I like the idea that he met her through Alastor when they were still friends and though he hasn't really engaged with her too much since the fallout, he does still hold respect for her and frankly won't tolerate anyone disrespecting her. She is the only one outside of the Vees who knows about Vox practicing using his electrokinesis to heal.

Mimzy - They're not exactly friends, but she will not hesitate to approach him if she sees him. It's Mimzy so she absolutely expects special treatment. She's way more up front with him about wanting something than she is with Alastor simply because she knows Vox operates differently than the deer demon. If she wants something, she's gotta be prepared to pay up in some capacity, but Vox is usually willing to be flexible in terms of payment because she has her uses.

Sir Pentious - Okay, so I know this one is a bit awkward cause it would involve Vox actually apologizing to Sir Pentious for the cruel things he said and telling him to unalive himself, but I really think they'd be interesting. They're both innovators and creators and the two of them combining their skills would be both awesome and terrifying. I do think that Sir Pentious, while he does think all the Vees are incredible, idolizes Vox specifically for these exact reasons.

Velvette - They're both bitches, but they love the other for it. Can snark at each other for hours. They're the two who get shit done, even if Velvette can sometimes take her bitchsona a bit too far and Vox has to reign her in. Politics aren't her strong suit, but he can always count on her to take care of the business side of things.

Zestial - Based on my recent post about them, I like the idea that Vox has a respect for Zestial that he doesn't give to most other Overlords (Rosie being the other exception). Sure, he'll play nice and professional with them, but he doesn't truly respect them like he does Zestial and Rosie. I honestly see them having a mutual respect for each other (though Zestial wouldn't say he approves of Vox's choice in colleagues) and we do see in that Zestial can be a little sassy so I 100% believe if Vox had been present during the Overlord meeting in episode 3, Zestial literally would have ignored Velvette entirely to speak to Vox about the angel's death instead (and we all know how much Velvette would have just loved that).

[arahusk]

Okay so here's my hot take about something that's been bothering me for the past week or so, because of same old debates popping up about a certain scene yet again but I'm just gonna say it here under the cut.

I don't think the dynamic between Angel and Valentino are the same as Alastor and Husk's. Yes, there are parallels. Yes, there is a power imbalance there with one being the owner of another's soul. But I don't think Alastor and Valentino are the same, and I don't think Angel and Husk are the same. The way some fans discuss all these characters as if they are carbon copies of each other and they are just not if you think about it for more than two seconds.

People bring up the abusive situation a lot and how it's still abuse between Husk and Alastor. But a really important detail to me is that with Valentino, we are constantly reminded of his abusive nature even before he goes off on Angel in episode 4. We see it demonstrated when he yells at Vox and throws a glass at him, we see it when he attacks one of Velvette's models and literally tears them apart, and we see it when he constantly texts Angel's phone and puts Angel on edge even when he's not physically there. The abusive hold he has over Angel is continually shown and it is genuinely not surprising when he finally blows up on him in the studio. Valentino is an aggressive and violent person who hurts Angel - we even see this in the Addict MV before the show premiered. Even if you don't want to take anything before the show as canon, his character as an abusive person was already established.

With Alastor, we have only seen him lose his temper at Husk exactly one time and that's it. You can blame that on the small episode count, on the pacing, on the writing itself, but it's still been only one time and then we never see it again. It is literally not known if he has done this to Husk before, and I think a key thing here is that Alastor doesn't lose his temper the way Valentino does. Valentino loses his cool constantly, and Alastor has only really done it once to such a degree. Hell, the times when Alastor is fighting/killing others, he's always showing himself having a good time while doing it. He lives for this. He constantly loves to annoy people, and even if he gets a little pissy at them invading his space/territory (as shown with Sir Pentious ripping his coat and Lucifer coming to the hotel) the hallway scene was decidedly a time he was not having fun until his temper passes. It was out of character, and that was the point of it.

Idk it drives me a little insane when fans think the situations are exactly the same when it literally isn't. The show has never hinted that this is a common thing between Husk and Alastor, it feels like it's exactly the opposite. That he blew up on Husk and it was out of character for him. It's a bad thing he did but people theorizing on why Alastor had such a reaction is not excusing him, it's just trying to make sense of why he even did so in the first place. It's also not victim blaming Husk for thinking that Husk isn't under constant suffering or on edge the way Angel is with Valentino, because we have never seen him act afraid of Alastor except in one scene. Yes, he and Angel are both under contracts and and that's already a shitty situation to be in (ala Loser Baby), but its done in different ways, including their relationship to the person who 'owns' them.

The hallway scene only tells us this moment happened, that a mention of Alastor's secret (THAT ONLY HUSK SEEMS TO KNOW??) is what sets him off, but nothing else. In fact, we also see that Alastor likes to make fun of Husk with the pet comment, which Husk gets pissed at, and is most likely in line with how they usually act with one another. It's actually still a bit similar to their interaction in the pilot, at least in the vein of Alastor teasing Husk while Husk gets annoyed even when he's trying to be serious, before Alastor completely switches and the switch is not normal. It's supposed to be a surprising moment.

Anyway this is coming from someone who loves to write Alastor and Husk as incredibly toxic with power imbalances and the like, but I'll be the first to say I don't think any of my fics are canon compliant at all. Unless season 2 gives us more scenes like this, we literally do not know anything else. I keep seeing mentions of how thinking Husk and Alastor is not the same as Val and Angel is somehow excusing abuse?? This drives me up the wall. Interpreting a scene that's not just 'Alastor evil and poor Husk' is not excusing anything?? Also Husk being a past Overlord absolutely changes things even more so, because this means that Husk and Alastor were on equal grounds once while Angel and Val never were as far as we know.

Anyway, half of this is just me venting. I love complicated relationships and the scene itself showed me there was more to Husk and Alastor and their dynamic and I feel like the storytelling so far supports this, not 'Alastor is only cruel to Husk and nothing else'. I genuinely don't think what happened was a regular occurrence, because then why would they not show this beforehand? If they did it with Angel and Val, then they would have shown it for Husk and Alastor, but they didn't.

This could all change by next season, (do not talk to me about leaks please because I don't want to know thanks) but I think people wanting Alastor to do worse to Husk to showcase more abuse or whatever is missing the point of his character. And it's also missing the point of their history together as Overlords/acquaintances/partners/possible friends. Anyway I could also be wrong later but I am free to vent on my own blog so now I'm gonna go back to making Alastor and Husk kiss bye.

[kultofathena]

Darksword – The Duke Sword with Integrated Sword Belt

The Duke sword is inspired by an illustration in Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc medieval encyclopedia, a masterwork of exposition and illustration. The blade of the Duke is forged from mirror-polished 5160 high carbon steel which is differentially tempered to possess a hardened edge of 60 HRc steel and a flexing, shock absorbing core of 48-50 HRc hardness. The guard and pommel are of steel and the wooden grip is bound in leather. The blade is securely anchored into the hilt with a robust peen on the pommel. Included with the sword is a wood-core scabbard which is tightly bound in leather and completed with an integrated sword belt and a protective steel chape.

If you ask modern day sword collectors who the most famous and influential scholars of the medieval sword were, the typical answer you will get is Ewart Oakeshott (1916-2002). And it’s true – Oakeshott literally wrote the book on medieval sword types, and a whole system of classification (The Oakeshott Typology) is named after him. More advanced collectors may recognize the names Dr. Jan Peterson (1887-1967), who created a typology for classifying Viking swords, or Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler (1890-1976), who refined Peterson’s typology. Predating any of these scholars, however, is a man whose writing on medieval arms, armor, and architecture dwarfs many later historians’ bibliographies – though he is largely unrecognized by the modern sword collecting world.

Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was born in 1814 in Paris, France. He was an architect by trade, a brilliant one by all accounts, and an inspired artist and illustrator. While the architectural world knows Viollet-le-Duc as an architect, restorer of historical buildings and monuments (including considerable work on Notre-Dame Cathedral and many other famous landmarks), and as the first true theorist of modern architecture, he also wrote and illustrated some of the largest volumes in existence on the medieval sword.

The volumes Viollet-le-Duc wrote are breathtaking in their scope and depth. His extensive writings cover not only descriptions of different medieval swords and armor but tracks and explains their evolution throughout history, and his stunning illustrations compliment his writing expertly. Unfortunately, as his works were not commonly translated into English, the largely-anglophone sword collecting population remains ignorant of these incredible volumes and Viollet-le-Duc’s influence on medieval scholarship. Some translations exist, but copies are notoriously hard to find and prohibitively expensive.  In the English-speaking world, many of these works and completely unknown, and the incredible scholarship they contain can only be found by efforts of French-speaking individuals – such as us here at Darksword Armory.

The Duke sword is inspired by an illustration in Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc medieval encyclopedia, a masterwork of exposition and illustration. A classic knightly sword, the Duke is designed to resemble the cruciform arming sword so often found in medieval art. The straight guard is expertly sculpted and subtle in its smooth lines. A double-edged, single-fullered blade departs slightly from Viollet-le-Duc’s illustration in that it has a less severe taper and termination. The pommel may appear to be a standard wheel-style pommel with peen block, but has in fact been made slightly oversized to counterbalance the blade. This brings the point-of-balance closer to the guard, resulting in a sword that is startlingly lively in the hand and that flows effortlessly from strike to guard. The Duke is one of our best attempts at recreating the knight’s arming sword, and we hope the great Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc would be proud of us.

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 24

Hello everyone! Here we are with chapter 24

It’s winter in Orynth and the guys have a busy day. Rowan and Lorcan enjoy their ride with the team and we also have some Elorcan gossip.

Rowan and Lorcan also talk and we discover something about Lyria...

Have fun!

The following morning Aelin woke up abruptly and missed the warm body at her side and curled under the duvet in a human burrito.

“Ro?” She called with just her head peeking from under her cover.

A moment later he sat down in bed offering her a cup of coffee.

“Cold.”

He leaned over to kiss her “it snowed last night. There’s over a metre of snow outside.”

“Lovely,” she protested “heaters fires, accidents, roof collapses due to snow, slips, more road accidents, pile ups.”

“Doom and gloom this early in the morning?”

She groaned and grabbed the coffee, sitting up with still the duvet all around her “I love snow and winter, but on my day off.” She took a sip of her coffee “house fires increase wildly. All those mantlepieces not properly attended. Electrical fires because too many appliances are connected to an outlet. And let’s not forget carbon monoxide related deaths. Such a magical time.”

“We’ll build a snowman when you are off shift.”

Then he offered her a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon.

“You definitely know how to woo a woman.” She grabbed the plate and tucked in happily.

“You and Lorcan need to stay on the truck. No matter what’s going on outside.”

Rowan nodded “we will.” And he kissed her head. He was really looking forward to ride with the team.

An hour later they were walking across the yard in front of the station when Lorcan and Elide arrived as well. Together. Hand in hand.

Aelin tugged Rowan gently and he nodded.

“Arriving together?” Joked Aelin “naughty, naughty girl.”

Elide smiled “yes, I slept at Lorcan’s. Guilty.”

“Hey, I am just happy for you two.” 

The four walked into the station and while Elide and Aelin went to get changed, the two men went to the common room where some members of the team were already there.

“The posh boys are here.” Shouted Aedion as soon as they stepped in.

Rowan bowed “indeed we are.” Then he noticed two new women and went to introduce himself “Hi, I am Rowan.”

“This is Borte, our new truck candidate,” Aedion went to the woman’s side and made the introductions “he is the captain’s flying boy,” then he pointed at Lorcan “grumpy pants over here is Lorcan. He grunts a lot but does not bite. And he’s Elide’s.”

Rowan burst out laughing.

“This young lady here is Evangeline.” And he moved to the side of the blonde-haired woman “she is our paramedic in training. She is riding with Lys and Elide.”

Rowan greeted her back and she gave him a timid smile.

Aelin arrived a moment later and went to give a kiss on the cheek of her cousin “did you remove all the snow from the entrance all alone?”

“No, he had two minions.” Said Brullo sprawled on the sofa watching tv “the man is a tyrant.”

“My arms are useless.” Complained Ress.

Aelin patted both on the shoulders “well, better get ready for a busy day. From the pile of reports I have on my desk from second shift it looks like we are in for a treat.”

“Are truck and engine all stocked up and ready?”

Aedion nodded “I did a check and we are good.”

“Lys and Elide are doing a final check on the ambulance for supplies.”

In that instant dispatch alarm went off calling all units of east station on site for a structure fire.

“Here we go guys.” They all scrambled, wore their gear and reached the trucks.

“You two, in there and stay put, ok?”

The two men nodded.

The trucks left the station and Rowan felt a thrill run through his spine.

“What’s a structure fire?”

“Bad news,” joked Brullo at Rowan’s side.

“Or usually, what we call Monday.” Added Aelin never averting the eyes from the road.

Rowan stared at Nox driving and was impressed at the skill. He navigated busy intersections with confidence.

Aelin honked the horn a few times “move, you idiots.” The traffic peeled to the side and the engine resumed its run swiftly.

Once they arrived at the site Rowan gasped. The fire had enveloped the entire house.

“That is a structure fire,” said Aelin and the team got off truck and engine and Aelin started to give orders.

“Manon, Luca, venting the back.”

“Wes you are taking second floor with me. Aedion, Kyllian, Nox, you go to the first floor. Borte you go with them and stick to Aedion. Asterin, Ansel, you do ground floor. Brullo, Ren you are at the water lines. We need to be quick.”

Both Rowan and Lorcan were watching the scene speechless.

“I know she does this on a daily basis, but seeing her jumping into a building on fire is different than just imagining it.”

Dorian arrived on the scene a moment later and got an update from Brullo and Ren who were ready with the water lines.

“Chief, captain, you have two minutes to finish primary search and rescue then you all evacuate.” He looked up at the fire and flinched “Manon, how’s that venting going?”

“Venting now, sir.”

Temporary relief washed over him when he saw Nox run out with a woman in tow.

Lorcan’s eyes set on Elide, jumping in the woman’s rescue with Lysandra.

Rowan stared as more firefighters came out with people but never Aelin. He noticed Dorian staring at the fire nervously “Evacuate now.” He ordered over the radio. The chief must have noticed a change in the fire to call for abandoning the rescue. Rowan followed in fascination trying to remember some of the thing about fire he had read in Aelin’s books.

Aelin was walking low, almost crawling looking for people hiding below the smoke “fire department call out.”

“I am all clear, we need to go.” Said Wesley at her back.

Aelin had a last look around and was about to leave the room when she heard a voice “Wes, get out. I got this.”

“Cap, we need to go. The chief ordered us to evacuate.”

“Wes, get out.” She shouted and left, running to the locked door where she heard the voice coming from.

She gave her back to the door and kicked it open. Then she turned and saw a crib and inside there was a toddler. 

“Aelin, get the hell out now.” Dorian’s voice came over the radio. She picked up the boy and squeezed him in her fire jacket and held him close for protection.

“Come on… come on…” Rowan heard Dorian’s order and his heart was racing painfully. Why wasn’t she listening?

Then he saw it the flareup in her floor and shouted “Aelin, please…”

Aelin looked around the room and realised the flashover had cut off her only exit route. Then ran to the window and with her elbow she smashed the glass all while holding the infant.

“There!” shouted someone from a lower level.

“Ress, move the aerial to her.” 

Aelin leaned over and sat astride on the window ledge.

Aedion ran up the aerial and grabbed the toddler “I got him, get your arse in here.”

She was about to fully climb over when another flashover rocked the house and Aelin got thrown off balance and grabbed the ledge with her hands and hung there.

Aedion saw her and ran back up “give me a hand.” The man grabbed a hand and pulled her over on the aerial.

“You are fucking crazy.” He told her quietly.

She followed him down and she was on the street again.

“I said evacuate.” Shouted Dorian.

“Don’t.” She bit back “I saved that boy’s life.” 

“Sit.” Dorian ordered her. Aelin removed her mask and marched off to sit against the truck, rotating her shoulders to ease the pain.

Lysandra passed her a bottle of water “are you okay?”

Aelin nodded while drinking eagerly and watching while the rest of the team put the fire out.

Rowan opened the door of the engine and went to her “you are insane. And I think I almost lost it in there.”

“I am fine.” She told him quietly extending her hand to him.

He marched back in the engine, joining Lorcan.

“Do you still think women can’t do dangerous jobs?” He bit back. A part of him was a bit mad at Aelin. What she did had been insane. But he could not ignore the deep sense of pride he had in her. He was utterly in love with a super badass woman. He watched as the team slowly wrapped up their jobs. Dorian had called for a secondary search and they were getting out the burnt down house right now. Aelin still sitting on the front bumper of the truck grounded by Dorian.

He looked at her and smiled. She was covered in soot but she still looked stunning to him. Rowan turned his head and saw Lorcan still studying Elide while she went from victim to victim and checked them out with Lysandra.

“I think I am badly in love with Elide.” He said very, very quietly.

“You what?”

“You heard me, Whitethorn. Don’t make me say it twice.”

“Would it be so bad?” Asked Rowan, sitting beside him.

“I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“Well, don’t.” In that instant the door opened and the team climbed back in. He took a seat behind Aelin and with his hand extended he brushed her cheek and she took his hand gently “did you enjoy the show?”

“It was literally terrifying.”

“Main to all units. Car accident on Southside. Multiple vehicles involved.”

“Copy that main, east station is en route. Dispatch an ambulance on site. Our one is on its way to Orynth general.” Replied Aelin over the radio.

“Copy that east. We are sending an ambulance to assist.”

“Punch it, Nox.”

“You two boys are in for a ride. A nice fire and a car pile-up. We just need a chemical spillage and most of the fun is complete.”

“Don’t jink it,” said Asterin from behind.

They drove for a short distance and at the site Rowan looked out of the window and saw a few cars all smashed against each other.

Aelin and the team got off engine and truck and she patted at his window and blew him a kiss and ran away.

Seeing her in action he suddenly realised why she ate so much.

“Luca, you come with me we’ll take the upturned car.” She shouted at the youngster “Aedion, take the red one with Ansel and Borte. Everyone spread and take the other cars. Remember fuel leaks.”

Luca grabbed his tools and started trying to pry open the door. 

Aelin kneeled down and checked the woman “I need a c-collar,” she screamed to the paramedics.

The woman’s head was bloodied, she checked the pulse through the cracked window and found it weak and she was not breathing.

Luca finally did manage to get the door open and together they pulled it away. Aelin sneaked into the front of the car and pulled the collar around the woman’s neck.

Lysandra and Elide were back from the hospital run and joined them ready and waiting for their patient.

“Aelin, you need to pull her out quickly.”

“I know,” snapped Aelin trying to cut the belt. Once the belt was free she realised the woman’s legs were stuck.

“Luca, I need spreaders. Right now.” She told him and the young man ran to the truck to grab the tool. He came back and with some acrobatics Aelin placed the tool in the area where the pedals were and started separating the metal. “As soon as she is free grab her.”

The metal slowly bent and freed the woman’s legs. “Go.” Luca took the woman and passed her in the care of the paramedics.

“Evangeline, grab an intubation kit and intubate the woman.”

The young woman nodded and Aelin stared with worry.

Once she was intubated Elide and Lysandra continued to do all possible to revive the woman. Aelin and Luca towered over them ready to help if needed.

She saw them use a defibrillator.

“Pushing epi.” She heard Elide say and Aelin knew from her emergency medical training that it was bad.

She paced nervously running a hand in her dirty hair. She took stock of the situation and noticed a few people out of the cars and being helped out and looked after by the other ambulances. Good at least the others did manage to save someone.

Aelin heard the long continuous beep of a flat line and realised the woman did not make it. Then she heard Lysandra calling it.

“Sorry, Aelin.”

Luca was at her side in an instant “cap, we did all we could.”

“Well, it was not enough.” She snapped while in her head she started going through all she could have done differently.

“Aelin,” Lysandra stood to face her friend “there was very little you could have done differently.” Knowing exactly where her friend’s mind had wandered off “She was in bad shape already. We did all we could, as Luca said.”

Dorian joined them a moment later “Aelin, come.”

They moved to the side “Get it out of the system quickly. Yes, you lost one person and it hurts, but I kept an eye on you and you haven’t done anything that I wouldn’t have done myself. You tried. But that was the car in worst shape.” He patted her shoulder “think about the boy you saved from the fire. Think about the second chance you gave him.”

Aelin nodded and walked away and joined her team in packing up all the gear once they were done. 

Once she climbed back on the engine she looked at Rowan and his expression was full of worry for her. Gods, she just wanted to melt in his arms for ten minutes and shut down everything. She felt his hand sneak in the space between seat and door and try to grab hers. He didn’t say anything. He just held her hand.

They arrived back at the station not long after.

Aelin got off the engine and started removing her turnout gear.

“Aedion, take Borte and show her the checks to do to the engines after a call. I’ll take the equipment. Before heading to their duties they all ran to the bathrooms to remove the layers of soot and dirt from the two calls.

Once everyone had stored their gear Aelin hid in the room for equipment and began doing her checks and clean it. She needed some time alone.

Ten minutes later a head of silver hair peeked through the open door “hey,” he said quietly.

“Come in,” she said to him and Rowan took a step in and sat on the bench at her side.

“I am in awe.” His knuckles brushed her cheek “I had an idea of what you guys did, but seeing it for real. I was amazed. But also utterly terrified.”

“I could not help that woman, though.” She said sadly, placing a mask on the ground “she died.”

“Fireheart, I heard what Dorian said and I agree. I am sure you did all you could. Her car looked in pretty banged up state from my corner. If she survived it would have been a big damn miracle.”

“I know,” she let out a loose breath “I know.” Her head heavy against a jacket “it’s just not easy. I knew she was in bad conditions but I still wanted to save her.”

“Come here.” He pulled her to him “I have a piece of gossip for you.”

Her head whipped to him and he saw a smile finally appear.

“Lorcan admitted to me he thinks he is badly in love with Elide.”

Aelin’s hand went to her mouth in surprise “this is big.”

Rowan nodded “I don’t think he told her yet. He is just worried he will mess it up.”

“He’d better not. Elide has strong feelings for him as well. He breaks her heart and I will have his head.”

He nodded “I have been keeping an eye on him.”

“Good, now go back to the others and let me finish.”

He leaned forward and kissed her deeply. Aelin dropped what she had in her hands and once free they grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her and then on top of her as she leaned back on the bench. He caged her head between his arms and was about to kiss her again when dispatch alarm went off.

“Really?” She stood quickly and kisses him “stay at the station.” He nodded and she ran out. And he walked out slowly and joined Lorcan and both men stared at the vehicles leave the floor.

“Are they alway this busy? They have been back for forty minutes.”

Rowan sighed “Aelin mentioned this morning that with snow, things tend to get busier.” Then he had an idea “ever built a snowman?”

Lorcan rolled his eyes “yes, I was a kid once too, remember?”

“Get your coat back on and come with me.”

Once both men were ready with warm clothes Rowan walked outside to the front of the fire station near the entrance “Here.” Said Rowan pointing at the spot.

“Here what?”

“The snowman. To cheer them up. They had a stressful morning and probably it will not slow down.”

Lorcan tied his hair and started rolling the snow to form a ball for the body. Rowan smiled and joined him, preparing a second one. Once Lorcan had the bottom part ready, Rowan lifted the second one on top and both started fixing the body to give it an even shape. Then Rowan created a smaller ball for the head. Once done he lifted the final piece and took a step back to look at their work “not too bad.”

Lorcan removed his scarf and placed it around the snowman’s neck. Then Rowan ran back inside in Aelin’s office and grabbed the plastic fake firefighter hat he had won the day they did drills, got back and placed it on the snowman. Finally they gave him eyes and a mouth and Lorcan added some wooden sticks at the side so that they looked like arms.

Rowan looked around and then spotted something more he could add. He ran to a corner and picked up an abandoned tool.

“What is that?”

Rowan lifted the tool “I think Aelin called it an Halligan bar. The guys use it to pry open things.” He explained placing it near the sticky hand of the snowman “now he looks perfect.”

Once they were done the two men went back into the station and decided to prepare a meal for them “they must be famished.”

Lorcan nodded “I agree. Let’s prepare a nice meal.”

They were halfway through making lunch when they heard the trucks finally return and both ran outside, and only truck and engine appeared. The ambulance must have gone to the hospital.

Rowan’s eyes landed on a wet Aelin, her body wrapped in a few thick blankets. He ran to her and wrapped his arms around her frame. She was freezing and he felt her shiver and her teeth clattering “What happened?” His hands brushed her back quickly.

“We had two calls. Another fire and then a kid who fell in the water while skating on the frozen lake in a park. Aelin grabbed the kid but fell in when the rope dropped.” Explained Aedion.

As on pure instinct Rowan got into action. He took Aelin and dragged her to her quarters “we need to get you out of those wet clothes.”

She stood in front of him shaking and hugging the blankets against her body. Slowly he helped her remove all the layers until she was stark naked in front of him.

“Any..” teeth clattering “any excuse to get me naked.” Her tone was deep with tiredness.

He chuckled and went to the shower block to grab some towels and once back he begun drying her up.

“I’ll be back in a second.” Rowan disappeared once more and this time went to Aedion “do you have any spare clothes for Aelin?”

The man nodded and he was back a few minutes later with a pile of dry clothes in his hands “how is she doing?”

“Trying to warm her up.” He was about to move away when he turned to the man “what the heck happened?”

“Aelin wanted Borte to practice with the ropes in a real situation so she had Borte drop her in the ice crack to help the boy. The girl lost hold of the rope. It happened so fast that I was not quick enough to grab her,” he explained “She kept diving in in the cold water until she grabbed the boy. Only once he was safe she let us help her out.”

“You should have taken her to the hospital.” Rowan bit back annoyed.

“Don’t you think we tried?” Aedion matched him in tone “she is stubborn. She refused treatment.” 

Rowan growled and grabbed the clothes “thanks for this.” And ran back to her quarters.

Aelin was sitting on her bed, the blankets still wrapped around her.

“I have dry clothes for you.”

“I have spare bra and knickers in my locker. The combination is your birthday.” Her speech was slow and he could feel her exhaustion.

Rowan gave her a smirk and rushed out once again and returning not long after with the garments.

“My underwear doesn’t scare you anymore?”

Rowan chuckled “we live together and I have seen enough of your daring lingerie not to be affected.”

Aelin slowly dressed up again and when she was done Rowan pulled back the blankets and pushed her legs under and finished drying her hair “now you relax, I’ll see if I can get some hot food for you.” A gentle kiss on her head.

Rowan then went to Lorcan and asked him to make something hot for her. She was still shivering hard and he was getting very nervous.

He was back in her quarters when Lysandra popped in with a bag in her hands “do you mind if I check on her?”

He stood “no, please.”

Lysandra took her temperature “still 33 degrees. It was 32 when we took her out.” She grabbed the transparent bag at her side “this is an IV of warm saline, it will help her and should bring her temperature up.”

“Lorcan is making something hot for her.”

Lysandra nodded “have water at her side as well.” And Rowan nodded “it might take a while before her temperature goes up again and she will be exhausted.”

The woman then hanged the IV bag against the edge of her closet and left.

Dispatch alarm went off again and Aelin made a move but Rowan stopped her “you are not going anywhere.”

“I-I am the cap-captain. I have to.” She was still shivering from the cold.

He ran to the apparatus floor “Aedion, Aelin is not coming. She is still cold.”

“I was not expecting her to. I told Dorian she is out for today.”

“Thank you.”

The man nodded.

“Stay safe, all of you.”

Lorcan met him halfway “I am making soup.”

Rowan patted his arm “thank you.”

“Lorcan is making you soup.” He announced as he got back to her “we’ll go home as soon as you are feeling warmer.”

“I am fine.”

“No,” he brushed his hand through her hair “you are still shivery. You eat something hot. Warm up and then we’ll see.”

“I should be with the guys.”

Rowan shook his head “Aedion alerted Dorian and told him you are out for the day.”

Aelin was about to reply but Lorcan joined them carrying a bowl with hot soup.

“How is our fearless leader doing?” He asked while placing the bowl on her night stand with a spoon on the side.

“Still feeling cold.”

“I hope you’ll like the soup. I made it the other night for Elide and she loved it.”

“Thank you, Lorcan.”

He gave her a quick salute and a tight smile and disappeared.

“Are we sure he is the same man?”

Rowan shrugged and grabbed the bowl but Aelin snatched it from his hands “don’t you dare and try to spoon feed me. Stop fussing, captain.”

“Fine.” He stood “I’ll leave you to it.” And left.

He reached Lorcan who was sitting on the sofa watching tv.

“You okay?” He sat beside him.

“Yeah. I put the food away until they are back.” He sighed “I thought we had it bad in our last mission but the guys don’t seem to have too much downtime either.”

“Yeah, today is pretty bad. I saw them on slow days when they have even time to play games. Today has been hell.”

“How’s Aelin doing?”

Rowan’s head snapped in his direction “this is the first time you finally call her with her name. It’s always the captain or your woman.”

Lorcan cleared his voice almost embarrassed “I am starting to like her.”

“Good because I am planning on keeping her around.”

“At least she is not whiny.”

Rowan sighed. He knew Lorcan never liked Lyria. He was the only person who had been the most vocal about his disagreement in him marrying the woman. His other friends were not her fans but had shown him support when he proposed and after. Lorcan had always made his opinion clear. He had told him in his face that he was marrying the wrong woman.

“Well, at least you approve of this one.”

Lorcan snorted “damn man, there is no comparison. Lyria used the marriage to try and change you into her puppet and when it did not work she lost it and became this jealous bitch.” He stood and paced “she came to me and begged me to invent an excuse to fire you.”

“I did not know.”

“I never told you because for some crazy reason you seemed attached to her. Truth is… the woman was toxic.” He stopped in front of Rowan “Essar told me she saw her a few times in a club with another man, while we were away.”

Rowan leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes “that I suspected, just as much as I suspected that the baby was not mine.” He confessed “before we deployed for the mission in which I had to go home for her funeral I found the divorce paper she had ready.”

“And you still grieved.”

“She was my wife.” He almost shouted “yes, she was not perfect but I loved her.”

“Loved her as much as you love Aelin? Because in all the time I have known you I have never seen you with a woman the way you are with Aelin.”

“No, not even close.”

“Would you marry her?”

Rowan only indulged on that thought once. It was far too early. They had just started to actually build their relationship. He was happy where they were right now.

“Not while I am still on active duty. I promised myself that next time I get married I will not be an absent husband again. And I want a family one day. I just need to hold on for a bit. Less than five years and the prison is over.”

“I can make a few calls and get you a full time position at pilot school. I know you have been having issue with the force recently but your skills are vital.”

Rowan shook his head “Thanks but no. Once I retire I will be out forever and I have another path in mind. I want to train to become a paramedic and work in a firehouse.”

“Well, I guess your time as nurse Whitethorn will come handy on your application.”

Rowan flipped him off and patted his leg “let me go and check on Aelin.”

He left Lorcan and joined Aelin and found her wrapped under the blankets with just her face peeking out. Her phone against the head of the bed. He smiled when he saw the bowl completely empty. Good.

“Hey you,” he sat her side and brushed her head “how are you feeling?”

“Not great and I can’t seem to shake the cold from my bones and I feel so tired.”

He lay down at her side and tucked her against his body and looked at the saline bag “the IV is almost finished.”

“You need skin to skin to keep me warm.”

He flipped her nose “we can’t do that here at the fire station so this is it for now.”

“I am going to write a review on the sexy nurse website that sent you and complain that I am not satisfied with the service.”

“Menace.”

“Are the guys still out?”

Rowan nodded “Lorcan prepared lunch for everyone and I hope they will have time to sit down and eat when they come back.”

Rowan nodded “what were you watching?” He asked as he noticed her phone playing a movie.

“I don’t know a random fantasy series Netflix recommended. I wasn’t paying much attention.”

He bent his legs and placed the phone against them and put an arm around her shoulder “well, let’s watch trash tv together.” He made sure she was all tucked in and cozy.

Eventually he heard the squad come back in the station, turned his head and noticed Aelin napping. He stood and joined the team at the front. They all looked exhausted and he hoped Lorcan’s meal would be enough to cheer them up.

“I saw our new frozen candidate.” Joked Brullo while shedding his turnout gear.

“Lorcan and I thought it would cheer you up guys.”

The tall dark-haired man joined them as well “I have loads of food ready. Come and eat before you get called again.”

The team cheered and scrambled into the kitchen. Aedion joined Rowan “how is she doing?”

“Warming up but tired. She is sleeping now.”

“How was the last call?” Asked Lorcan curious.

“Drunken driver. Crashed into a car with a family. The father is a goner and one of the kids is in bad shape.” Explained Manon reining in her rage.

Lorcan cursed savagely “the bastard.”

The conversation died after that, the topic too hard to even add anything else.

“Thank you for lunch, both of you,” said Elide, giving a smile to both Lorcan and Rowan.

“Honestly, it was all Lorcan, I was busy playing nurse.” Added Rowan.

In that moment Dorian popped in.

“Chief!” Shouted Ren “come have food.”

The chief sat down and joined the team “how are you all doing? You guys had a long day.”

No one said much “I went at the hospital and checked on the last family you saved from the drunken driver. The doctors are confident the boy will make a full recovery with time.”

Everyone sighed in relief.

He took a bite “how is Aelin doing?”

“She is in her bunk, sleeping under a pile of blankets. She is very tired and cold.” Rowan explained.

“Is she warming up now?”asked Lysandra “she was showing some very early stages of hypothermia. Her temperature was around 32 degree when we pulled her out.”

“She did not accept to be taken to the hospital.” Pointed out Aedion with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

“I heard that.” Continued Dorian “we should have pushed her. Aelin can be stubborn.”

 A few snorts echoed in the room.

In that instant Aelin walked into the room with her hoodie on and a blanket around her.

“Hey,” Rowan stood and went to her “what are you doing here?”

“I didn’t want to be alone.” And she sat heavily in Rowan’s lap, never letting the blanket go.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hungry,” she croaked.

Everyone laughed and Rowan gave her his seat and placed a plate in front of her. Lysandra sneaked in and took her temperature very quickly “35.5 you are almost back to normal. Do you still feel cold?”

Aelin took a bite “I still don’t feel great.”

“That is normal. Your body went through a lot of shock.” Explained Elide.

“Captain Whitethorn, make sure she takes tomorrow off. This is an order.” Said Dorian staring at the other man. 

“I am getting used to play nurse.”

Lorcan snorted “you can ask Lysandra or Elide to give you a ride in the ambulance, paramedic Whitethorn.” Rowan glared at him. That was something he had confessed only to Aelin and Lorcan.

“What is he talking about?” Asked Brullo curiously.

“I…” Rowan sighed “when I retire from the TAF in less than five years I want to retrain as a paramedic and work in a firehouse.”

“That is awesome,” shouted Asterin, sipping on her tea.

“You know that women will pretend to be sick to be treated by you?” Joked Ansel winking at him.

“Over my dead body.” Added Aelin while eating her food.

“If you need help to get into the program you let me know. I know it’s still a long time away, but, I work closely with the board and some of the trainers.” Added Dorian with a big smile.

Rowan nodded “thank you, sir. I will keep it in mind.”

“Are you sure you will be okay with leaving the airforce?” Asked Nox.

“I already did 12 years and signed up for five more a while ago. I will have no regrets when I retire.” He explained

Aedion was about to add something when dispatch alarm went off.

Dorian stood “come on guys. It’s one of those days.” Then he looked at Rowan “take her home.”

They all disappeared and Aelin sighed and drank more hot tea. Rowan and Lorcan tidied up the table and the kitchen.

*

It was an hour later when Rowan and Aelin got back home. He took her to the bedroom and she curled in bed hugging bird Rowan.

“Go under the blankets,” he said, pulling the duvet over her head “I can make you some tea.”

Aelin nodded “green tea, please?”

 He kissed her head “yes, milady.”

Rowan came back five minutes later with a pot of tea and a cup “here you go.” Then he touched her forehead with his hand “you seem to get warmer.” Another kiss on her head “that is good.”

He climbed in bed and opened his laptop and started Netflix “Fancy watching something silly?”

“Can we watch a stupid movie that we can make fun of?”

Rowan chuckled and browsed a few titles “what do you think?” He pointed at a movie “this one seems quite silly.”

Aelin nodded and he placed the laptop on their legs, bird Rowan tucked between them and then his arm went around Aelin’s and pulled her to him.

“You got a day off tomorrow. We can go to the theatre if you feel like it.”

Aelin’s head snapped toward him and she smiled “I’d love to.” She grabbed her phone and showed him something “have you seen this play?”

Rowan had a look on her phone and nodded and her saddened face broke his heart “hey,” he took her hand “we can go and see it. The first time I went I was on my own and I had no one with whom to enjoy it with.” She gave him a smile “I want to go with you. Also, it was another production. So it won’t be the same play.”

Aelin grabbed bird Rowan “yes, captain.” She said in a funny voice “I want to go to the theatre with you.” She brushed the toy in Rowan’s face “are you my boyfriend, sexy man?”

Rowan took the toy “you are actually cuter than your owner.”

“You are a mean man.” She hit him with a pillow.

“What do you think, birdie? She is also violent.” He hugged the toy “you and I we need to stick together, partner. Such a tyrant.”

“Well, I’ll let you two make out and I’ll go and make out with the last few chocolate brownies left.” She got off the bed and walked away swaying her hips on purpose to taunt Rowan “they are better boyfriend material than the current one.”

Rowan growled and got off the bed and padded quickly to the kitchen lifted her in his arms and placed her on the counter, his arms at either side of her.

Aelin’s stare was mischievous and she leaned over for a kiss but he moved away and Aelin pulled him back to her “come here, Whitethorn. Stop annoying me.”

“I should have really read the terms and conditions of this relationship.” He teased her moving a bit closer, reducing the space between their bodies.

“You might eventually get out of the airforce, but you are not getting out of this.” She whispered against his lips. Then tensed for a brief second realising the enormity of what she had just said. Truth was she did not want let go of him. A part of her, one that she kept still hidden, desired that they would one day become more. And those thoughts terrified her. She had gone from hating the man, to wishing he would never leave her. It was crazy but her heart was telling that what she was feeling was real.

Rowan stared at her, his pine green eyes on her and an expression that she could not read. Terror seeping through her that she had gone too far and ruined the moment.

“Is that a promise?” His voice low, almost hopeful, his gaze never averting hers. 

Aelin’s heart raced madly “if you want it.” She shook her head “I am sorry, it just came out.”

His hand joined hers on her knee and twinned his fingers to hers “did you mean it, though?”

Aelin slowly nodded and he smiled at her. His lips tugged up and the smile reached his eyes in a way that never fully happened before. The result left her breathless. Gods, he was even more stunning than usual. And she knew she had just seen a side of Rowan probably no one ever saw before. He smiled with others but she knew they were not full smiles. But this one… this one was something rare.

“And that’s all it matters for now.” His free hand brushed her face “there’s no hurry and I am loving this. Getting to know you. Spending time together. Spoiling you.”

“I am loving it too. So very much.” Her body inched closer “are you finally going to kiss me or you placed me on the counter to brag that you are taller than me?”

Rowan closed the distance and the kiss was everything but gentle. His hand shifted and grabbed her buttocks pulling her close while Aelin hands found their target on his back.

“We shouldn’t.” He pulled away “you need to rest.”

Aelin grabbed the collar of his t-shirt “you get me all wet and then back away? A nice energetic tumble in the sheets will get me all exhausted and ready for bed.”

Rowan did not answer, he just lifted her in his arms and her legs wrapped around his back and he carried her to the bedroom.

“Good boy.” She whispered.

And Rowan realised, while leaning forward to steal a kiss from her, that if he could do this for the rest of his existence, he’d be the happiest man of earth. 

TAGS

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@acreativelydifferentlove

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@clairec79

[lol-jackles]

Everytime I think you’re overestimating Sam’s importance with the current writers you turn out to be right. Sam was basically the one that raised Jack so he got (most of the) credit to how Jack turned up and he was the one that came up with a spell powerful enough to trick an archangel and Chuck into coming to their trap. Bravo sir. (*Whispers* I just hope they don’t fuck all that up next episode)

Sam deservingly gets most of the credit for how Jack turned out.  From the very beginning even when Jack was in the womb, Sam advocated for his life, then protected and fought for him.   From Dean, Jack learned how important free will and personal agency is.  Dean showed Jack what real life looks like for ordinary people, it’s messy and complicated.

I’ve seen some people complain SPN has become The Jack Show, well, Jack is pretty much a carbon copy of Sam (with a sprinkle of s5 Cas thrown in).  That makes it easier for audience to see Jack as Sam’s son even when their interaction decreased in s14.  Nonetheless Sam still had the most memorable scenes regarding Jack; when he died the first time Sam set out to build a funeral pyre and then decided to resurrect him instead, saving him from the Empty.  And Sam literally fought for Jack again this season by finding out Billie’s true purpose and stopping Dean from his desperate mission.  

I knew Sam’s power of love will defeat the Big Bads (plural, as it turned out), I just wasn’t sure how.  I had a theory and was glad they were only half right because I like the real ones better; from Sam’s teary confession of love and appreciation to Dean to stop mini Big Bad Billie, to Sam’s parental love of Jack that gave way to a New Testament kind of God and removed mighty Big Bad Chuck from their lives.

[the-fandom-is-now-my-life]

Can you do a HC where pregnant reader is poisoned and in a coma for Thor and Poseidon?

Pregnant reader Poison in coma

He simply went home after wild hunt after frigg commanded him to do it

" Son, the midgarden has spent a while without thunderstorms, go wild hunting"

" Isn't that father's job"

" He is busy, go"

" Mom, my wife is pregnant, I won't leave her alone"

" Then I will be with her in the meantime , go son , midgarden has been calm too long "

And when he returned he found you passed out with frigg and eir at your side.

" What happened here?"

" I don't know,son! I was about to drink and I shared some with her but she passed out!"

" Your wine must have been poisoned!"

" but a maid just brought it Eir!'

" How did the maid look, ma'am?"

' I don't remember! She had this strand of hair that was darker but nothing else… son! Where are you going?'

"Loki! You bastard! I will kill him!"

It was all a mischief caused by Loki, even though it was meant to get frigg to sleep and not meant to be drank by you

" Hello, Thor! Isn't this evening lovely to cause misch- Ack! What is it Thor?! Let go of my neck! I can't breathe"

" You scoundrel, did you think for a second that you could get away with poisoning my wife?'

'what are ya talking about?! I poisoned Frigg's wine! Plus it shouldn't cause more than light sleep! I assure you brother, in one lustrum, not a day before nor a day after."

"How can I believe your words?"

" Why would I lie? It was meant for the hag for for my sweet sister in law"

Plop!

" Ya welcome by the way. Couldn't you have softened your grip? I will have bruises'

" Don't test it or I will ask Brokk to sew your mouth shut again"

"Eek! I took me months to speak again"

" The most beautiful months I can remember"

The time went by, and Thor never once left your bedside. Your stomach swollen by the time you had to wake up, everyone of the Æsir marking the days until you would return. 5 years and you are yet to wake up, maybe it is going to take some days extra, 5 more weeks and nothing, more and more weeks added until it reaches 10 years of waiting.

The Ragnarok was the only excuse that could keep him away from you for more than 5 minutes, even if Thor wasn't willing to leave.

" Mother, what if she awakens while I am away, I want to be the first one to see. Or what if she goes into labor, I wish to not miss that moment"

" Son, the fight won't last long. It's only against a human, how long would it take? 10 minutes? Maybe 15? It is unlikely that she will wake up in such a small time frame"

"B-"

" C'mon son, I heard the strongest humans will fight in there, isn't it worth a shot? Me and eir can stay here in case of her going into labor Just 20 minutes"

"I will end that battle in 5 minutes"

As soon as his fight with Lu bu ended he left the arena and returned to his castle

"Ehh!, Why won't you wait for your brother's fight?!. I was waiting patiently for this chance to show how I got better at fighting"

" Then why won't you fight me outside? I still haven't forgotten what you did to my wife"

'eak! Zeus save meeeee"

" Fufufu, the young ones do have energy, don't they?"

He returned hoping that everything was the same but what he found was eir, his mother and two babies crying

" Good evening, son! How was your fight?"

"Whose baby are those?"

Muffled whispers

" Whose? Mother"

"Yours"

" Didn't you promise to notify me if my wife went into labor"

" You seemed so happy to be fighting him"

" What are they, eir?"

" A set of twins! Mister Thor, a girl and a boy"

" They are squishy… cute"

Thor raised your twins while waiting for you to wake up. They would wait longer than life and time itself for you to know your children

" Daaaad, how long till mom wakes up"

" I don't know Troels, I wish to know too. Where is your sister?"

" Borghild went to see mom"

∆^∆^∆

" Sweetie, what are you doing?"

" Dad, will mom wake up?"

"Yes, sweetie"

"When?"

" I don't know but we will wait, after all the best things take time to see"

Poseidon

You were supposed to break the news to Poseidon at dinner but he had last minute affairs ( Zeus got drunk and did someone and called him to calm hera down)

" If he calls me one more time I'm going to do everyone here a favor and castrating him"

" That would have avoided a whole lot of problems"

So you are the dinner by yourself and left the letter at your bed in his pillow

" Was this type of mushroom always in this dish? Ah, whatever"

You went to sleep but when Poseidon tried to wake you up ,he couldn't

"Wake up, what does that note mean?, (So) this isn't funny. Wake. Up. This is a serious matter"

"M-mister Poseidon. I think I know what happened to the madam."

"..."

" I saw in the evening that one of the kitchen staff bumped with the person in charge of Asclepius' request. The one of .nnbg"

" Talk. Louder. Or I will make you talk"

" The one who was sending the Amanita virosa… mister?!"

" Call the kitchen staff. A urgent meeting"

"Yessir, right away sir!"

There was a mistake in the kitchen and the mushrooms that were supposed to be used for poison making got mixed up with the edible ones

"Eckk! Be more careful! You made me drop destroying angel . Those are poisonous! Help me pick them up"

"Sorry! I am sorry! I didn't mean to! I had to bring the mushrooms to the kitchen

" Whatever. Stop… are you sure those are your mushrooms?."

"I-I am not quite sure"

"Let's try separating them!"

"Yeah!"

" What is taking you so long! The dinner isn't going to finish itself!"

"Sorry head chef, I am going, head chef"

"Wait! These aren't mine!"

He killed the kitchen staff.

" Finally, mister Poseidon has recognized my worth as his cook!"

"Yes, mister, I'm sure that must be the case. But, why did he call us here too."

" I must be to tell you that your help won't be needed anymore"

^∆^

*The atmosphere is too heavy to be good news* was a common thought

"Mister Poseidon! What is the cause of the joy of meeting you here"

" What did you serve as dinner"

"W-well of course, the madam asked for a risotto with mushrooms. Do you wish for us to make a fresh batch for you?"

" In that table there are two baskets, one with regular meadow mushrooms and another with Amanita virosa."

"What?"

" Every person here has to replicate the risotto with the mushrooms that they decide. choose wisely"

"… "

"What. are. You. Waiting. For."

"Sorry mister Poseidon!. Getting ready sir!"

∆^∆

Poseidon was seated in front of 20 dishes and their respective chef.

"Does everyone recognize their own dish?"

"Yessir!"

" Everyone, eat your own risotto"

"W-what?!"

"You are chefs , aren't you? You should be able to differentiate edible plants from non edible one. Go ahead. Show me if you are worthy of cooking here."

One by one they fell like flies. Leaving nobody

"To not be able to notice that they were all the same type with the ring cut off. How unsightly

He may not be exactly at your bedside but he won't be out of the castle.

"Poseidon. Could I see my beloved sister in-law?"

"Do you want me to trusts you with where my wife is? While she is in a comma? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Most of the time he spends by your side is to make sure the doctors don't mess up

"What are you doing,Apollo"

"For the sixth time, a basic check up. I do this daily"

"Why are you touching my wife"

"How do you expect me to treat her 2 meters away?"

"I am bringing Artemis"

"Oh for fucks sake , Poseidon"

It hurts him to see you in this state. You used to be so lively that seeing you in that state isn't something he wants to see.

Poseidon puts his hand on your cheek and sighs " I preferred it better when you smiled at me." He stands up from the bed and kisses your forehead " please wake up soon"

He might be a little nervous to take care of a whole baby by himself ( the servants already messed up once,there is not going to be a second chance) . After all he never took care of a baby in his life

"Why don't you ask your brother?"

"Zeus, have you ever had to take care of one of your children?

"..."

" I'm asking your wife"

∆^∆

"Look closely, to hold the baby by grabbing them like this"

"Like this?"

"Yes!"

"I think I'm ready to have my baby"

"Babies"

"What?"

"They are quintuplets"

"Excuse you?"

You had quintuplets , your oldest girls eirene, halcyone, Apolline. Your only boy, asafés. And the youngest and smallest of her siblings, charmian.

" Father! Halcy stole my headband"

"Eirene is lying, father! This headband is mine"

"There there, let's talk about this calmly"

"Shut up, Apolline!"

" You shut up halcyone, I'm older than you for 30 minutes, so respect me more!"

"Father, I want a brother"

"Let's talk about that when mommy wakes up,asafés"

"We are the only two men here. I want a little brother!"

"Father? Will mommy wake up?"

"Yes, some day"

"When that happens let's throw a party!"

"Sure"

"And we can invite uncle Zeus"

"No"

Secretly charmian is his favorite because she is a carbon copy of you. Her name is literally little joy.

[crimeshowtrash]

Second Chances

Chapter 1

Warnings: none

Words: 1.2k

Updates: every Tuesday

That morning began like any other. Well, that was not true. It was a chaotic freakin’ mess. At least it seemed to be, but that was on brand for the Bose family. 

Mira Bose was annoyingly just like her mother. Sarcastic, stubborn, and anal retentive, but cute. However, the most important trait the 5 year old got from her mother was her absolute love of sleep. The girl could fall asleep regardless of what she was doing or where she was (like when she fell asleep while potty training and fell off of the toilet which led to her very first trip to the hospital and a bright pink cast). But for some god forsaken reason, Mira had chosen the day before her mother's first day at her dream job to decide she would develop insomnia. Maya ultimately at 4 o’ clock decided to give her daughter some Benadryl in the hopes of getting at least a 30 minute nap before her first day of work. 

And that was how she wound up here. In an overcrowded elevator at 7:08 am, late for her very first day. That was definitely bound to go over great with her new boss, thought Maya with a grimace on her face. At least her daughter was having a better time she thought, wishing that she herself could have been experiencing a Benadryl induced coma.

The elevator doors opened, and Maya rushed out flattening her burgundy skirt, getting out all the nonexistent wrinkles, as she headed towards the doors which held her future. She could feel prying eyes on her frame as she made her way up the stairs to the Special Agent in Charge’s office, Aaron Hotchner. She knocked on the open door and waited for him to look up.

Aaron stood up and walked around his desk.

“You must be Maya, our new agent”, said Aaron, shaking her hand.

“Yes sir, it is a pleasure to meet you”, replied Maya.

“Now I know you already got all of your paperwork out of the way last week, so let’s head out to meet the rest of the team”, responded Aaron, leading Maya out of his office.

The two walked to the round table where everyone was crowded murmuring about what Maya assumed was the new pig out to slaughter. A silence came over the group as the two got closer.

“Everyone, this is Special Agent Maya Bose. Maya, this is everyone”, introduced Hotch.

“Oh my precious Maya, it is so good to see you again”, said Penelope hugging Maya.

“Lovely to see you as well Pen”, smiled Maya.

“And wait, let me guess. Penny told me all about ya’ll”, said Maya.

Her eyes took in the rest of the team before continuing to say, “This has got to be Penny’s chocolate thunder and god from above Derek Morgan”, Derek smiled and winked at Penelope.

“And you are Ms. Emily boobs Prentiss who loves to both sin and win”, Emily chuckled.

“This must be communications liaison extraordinaire and discount finding queen, Jennifer Jureau”, JJ smiles.

“We can’t forget David Rigatoni Rossi; lover of pasta, cigars, and the finer things in life”, David lets out a boisterous laugh.

“And I’m sorry. Penelope didn’t mention you, you are?” questioned Maya, looking at Spencer.

A look of insult and confusion filled Spencer’s face.

Maya grins at his reaction.

“I’m just kidding. This is the amazing Dr. Spencer Reid. Resident genius on...well everything, including something called physics magic”, said Maya.

A look of relief appears on Spencer's face as the rest of the team chuckles.  

“Oh Hotch. I got distracted, but we have a case”, said JJ.

“How bad is it?”, questioned David.

“Florida”, responded JJ with a grimace.

The team let out a collective sigh which confused Maya. 

“Well, I hope you are ready, Special Agent Bose”, said Hotch as the team sat down while JJ passed around the tablets containing the case files.

“Three trans women, all brunettes in their early 30’s. All had cigarette burns and were brutally sodomized. All were left in or around dumpsters in downtown Miami. And all the women had their...um breasts cut off”, winced JJ.

“Well the trash is a sign of dehumanizing. The unsub clearly views these women as garbage”, said Derek.

“He might have been slighted or rejected by a trans woman or he himself is battling with his own gender identity and views himself as an abomination for feeling this way”, added Maya.

The team all had various looks of respect and reverence on their faces.

“Okay, wheels up in 20”, said Hotch.

***

“Okay, now that you’ve gotten a moment to breathe, tell us about yourself”, asks Emily.

“You just want to know if I think the boobs live up to Penelope’s description”, smirked Maya.

Emily smiles at the new agent.

“Come on mama, tell us a little bit about yourself”, pushed Derek.

“Down boy”, smiled Maya.

“If you must know…my name is Maya, obviously. I was born and raised in Maryland. I married young, and it did not end well at all. But I did receive the best gift ever from that asshole, my daughter Mira. She’s 5 years old and an absolute pain in my ass. But she’s a literal carbon copy of myself, so I’ve got no one to blame. And um a fun fact, caffeine doesn’t work on me so I am looking forward to these long hours”, continued Maya.

“Hotch also has a 5 year old boy, his name is Jack”, said JJ smiling.

“Well if he’s anything like you Hotch, he must be a lot easier to parent”, said Maya.

“He’s pretty great, but Mira can’t be that bad”, replied Hotch, a smile on his face as he talked about Jack.

“When I was potty training her, she fell asleep on the toilet and fell off. She broke her arm so we went to the hospital. She was asking for ice cream, and I said not now but we can pick some up on our way home. She got so upset that when I left to fill out some paperwork she told the nurses I hurt her. And that got CPS and police involved. And CPS still comes around every now and then. Trust me, she can be bad”, said Maya.

Various snorts of laughter escaped the team.

“Well you said she’s just like you so we should be ever so lucky to have you join us”, said Dave.

“I am most definitely a handful, that’s for sure”, replied Maya.

***

Maya sat down across from her boss and handed him a cup of coffee.

“Thanks, you did good today Bose”, said Aaron.

“Oh, I know” said Maya with a grin on her face.

“It’ll be good to have you on the team. We need someone who can joke around and get along with the worst of people”, replied Hotch.

Maya grinned before saying, “I knew my mom was wrong. I am good for something”.

“You know Hotch, you never did ask me what Penelope said to describe you”, said Maya questioningly.

“What did she say?”, asked Hotch.

“She said that you were the strong, silent leader who gets stuff done. Oh, and that you put the Hot in Hotchner. And well...she wasn’t wrong”, said Maya, looking over Hotch and grinning as she winked, before walking back to her seat. Leaving behind a distracted and blushing Hotch, with a slight grin that couldn’t help but escape as he watched Maya walk away.

Taglist: @kathleenjasmine

[untaemedqueen]

i’ve never hated a character more than sera. she is a carbon copy of my worst nightmare and i want to literally strangle her. miss maam better have a hell of an arch for me to like her. she better save the world from obliterating for me to be like “she’s at least human” ��🏻😭 and seokjin SEOKJIN ? s-sir im gonna have to fight you. like i don’t understand...what does he see in her besides her looks ? like genuinely... is that why he tries ? or does he see potential in her and if he does is it REALLY worth it ? idk man, like i’m not saying people can’t change but her character seems to have lived this way for AGES and i don’t know if a single seokjin with hope will suddenly unleash this magnificent person yk ? ANYWAYS, thank you for a new update. i loved it and i always appreciate your work and the time you spend for us <3

I’m glad you enjoyed the update Amy! Thank you for being so sweet! As for Sera... well we’ll see won’t we! <3

[cheswirls]

a continuation of this.

ace helps koala unfurl the sail after tying his boat to her larger one. once they’ve moved out away from the island, he beckons sabo forward to her scrutinizing gaze. 

“huh. he looks better than you, actually,” she says, a hand under her chin. she dodges neatly around ace’s elbow jab and frowns. “why’s your hair wet?”

sabo blinks, like he’d been unaware of this. to be fair, it had dried considerably in the sunlight. he reaches up to roll a strand between his fingertips. “chemical tank,” he mentions lightly, after sparing koala another look. she quickly drops the subject.

“i’m koala.” she holds out a hand and sabo takes it. “and you are?”

“system of acute biowarfare organics,” he recites. ace screws up his face and sabo blinks after catching sight of it. “you can just call me sabo,” he tells koala.

“no wait, back up.” she frowns. “that sounds . . what does that mean?”

“my blood is poisonous,” he tells her. she quickly drops his hand.

“oh.” her voice grows faint. “i see.” she turns to ace next. “you didn’t tell me your clone is a biological weapon!” she hisses.

“i didn’t know!” ace insists. “i literally just found out!”

“i told you my name earlier,” sabo says to him, brows furrowing. 

ace groans. “yeah, but i didn’t ask what it meant.” i was distracted by something else.

“that’s not my fault.”

“stop being a prick!” ace snaps.

sabo blinks, and his expression grows dull. “what’s a prick?”

ace’s eyes grow wide. beside him, koala starts to laugh. “i already like him better than you,” she says, and ace sputters.

before he can reply properly, she addresses sabo again. “nice to meet you. i have a lot of questions, but i’ll save you the grief and just ask one for now. why are you a system of poisonous blood? aren’t you a human body?”

“my predecessor were the storage of acute biowarfare organics,” sabo admits. “they decided a system that could reproduce the toxin would be far better.”

koala hums. “i think dragon may forgive you, actually, if you play your cards right,” she mentions to ace. 

ace crosses his arms over his chest. “that’s not why i went and got him.”

she rolls her eyes. “i know. i’m just trying to help.”

“well you’re not.”

“oh fuck off!” she turns away. “sabo, tell him that when he’s annoying you.”

“don’t listen to her!” ace snaps.

sabo’s eyes narrow. “fuck off.”

ace gasps. koala breaks into hysterics. “i definitely like him better than you!” she howls.

-

ace bows sharply at the waist. “i apologize for seizing an army ship for my own personal gain.”

dragon eyes him carefully, leant back in his chair. “you could have been seen.”

ace straightens out. “i made sure i wasn’t.”

“what’s his name?”

“sabo, sir.”

“what was their goal? why create him?”

“he’s some sort of biological weapon.”

dragon’s brow raises. “and he just defected willingly?”

“in all fairness, sir, he recognized their plans for him were wrong.” ace hesitates, just for a moment. “i offered him freedom. he accepted.”

dragon nods in understanding, a silent agreement passing between them. then he nods again. “i’ll forgive you if you let me analyze his blood.”

ace blinks, caught off-guard, because he hadn’t expected such an easy out.

“i do not think that is a good idea,” sabo says, later on in the day, after being introduced to dragon.

dragon’s face grows pensive. “and why not?”

“i am unsure the material you have to extract the blood is strong enough to contain it,” he confesses.

“what is strong enough, then?”

sabo shrugs. he’d seen ace do it in lieu of an answer earlier. dragon seems to accept it.

“hm.” dragon turns to ace. “looks like you’re not off the hook.”

ah. great.

-

“so, this is my room.” ace gestures to the near-empty space, then drops his arm with little effort. “our room, now, i guess. uh.” he sighs. “you can take the bed. i probably won’t be back in until morning.” it takes effort to contain his next sigh, and he moves further into the room to allow sabo better access.

the blond walks in slowly, examining everything in the room even when that means very little. ace doesn’t spend a lot of time here, anyway. it’s very impersonal. he moves over to the small dresser while sabo looks around.

“you should take a shower,” he mumbles. “i’ll lend you some clothes.”

“are we the same size?” sabo asks, the first thing he’s said since they left dragon’s office. ace turns his head over his shoulder to look at him.

“i’d be very surprised if we weren’t.” his tone borders on deadpan, but sabo either doesn’t get it or doesn’t let it affect him.

“surely we have different builds,” he insists, though the emotion in his voice is lackluster. “i haven’t been alive for very long, and i certainly haven’t kept the same schedule as you.”

ace shrugs, turns back to the drawer, and hurriedly pulls out a white nightshirt. “it’ll be fine. we’re at least the same height.” he closes the door and hands sabo a stack of clothes consisting of the button-down, socks, underwear, and an older pair of sweats. he’s careful to avoid skin contact, even if he knows sabo doesn’t have any open cuts, or any cuts at all. his blood is perfectly inside his body, where it should be, but the conversation with dragon still has him on edge. “do you need help showering?”

sabo looks at him oddly. “no. i’ve done it before.”

“that was a joke,” ace says too fast. he’s actually mildly surprised sabo was subjected to that. 

as if guessing his thoughts, sabo’s fingers squeeze on the clothing and he opens his mouth. “they needed to make sure i could be delicate enough to function. my body is a container, more than anything.”

ace waves him off. “really, it’s okay. you don’t have to explain. look, the shower’s through here.” he spins on his heel and opens a door in the middle of the far wall. “i share it with kohza, next door, so just remember to unlock this when you leave,” ace tells him, locking the other door as he does. 

“unlock the door,” sabo echoes. “got it.” he settles the clothes on the small counter, then fumbles with the clasp of the cloak. ace purses his lips and steps back through to the bedroom. sabo reminds ace so much of . . of him that he can’t stand it.

even more so when he turns back to shut the door, sabo’s eyes wide and innocent and curious on him, just like a certain little boy he used to-

“i’ll be back,” ace chokes out, forcing down that thought immediately. “go to sleep, if you can. i’ll be here in the morning.”

he doesn’t give sabo time to reply, fleeing the room in a hurry.

-

“i thought i would find you in here,” conis says drily, opening the door further, and ace blinks rapidly as his eyes adjust to the bright light from the hallway. lucky for him, conis slips into the room fully and casts it back into its lamp-lit glory.

ace frowns, registering her words, and turns back to his scrolls. “guess word gets around fast,” he mutters. “well, feel free to take my place.”

“reorganizing the archives doesn’t sound nearly as interesting as reading through the materials,” conis retaliates, waving a hand dismissively. still, she comes to sit at a close distance, mindful of the scrolls scattered between them. and on the floor. and on the tables. and overflowing the shelves. one would think it would be quite useful to have an archive room that was perfectly organized, especially for the delicate work they performed. and it had been, at one point. but then an earthquake had sent the room to ruin, and between this and that, there just hadn’t been anyone free to straighten it up.

until ace. lucky him.

“che,” ace ticks, setting a scroll to the side. “why are you here, then? come to keep me entertained?”

“you look alike.”

ace stills his hands. “you saw him?”

“i saw you two together, earlier. it shocked me a little bit, because when i heard you had a clone, i was expecting a carbon copy.”

“me too,” ace admits. he forces himself to relax, dropping his shoulders, tension bleeding from his arms entirely. he looks up at conis, and her pale hair and fair complexion remind him of an earlier train of thought. he’s careful as he voices it. “i think it still is, genetically. it took me a bit to realize, but i think they pulled on my recessive genes. that, or his pigment mutated in response to-” 

ace cuts himself off, mouth still open, and zones out, eyes unfocusing. dragon hadn’t said to keep it a secret, and koala already knew, and koala was friends with conis. ace trusted conis, too, but information like sabo’s blood being toxic and nearly uncontainable was sensitive, and he suddenly wasn’t sure how willing he was to share. sabo just got here, after all. it wouldn’t do to have everyone afraid of him.

“hm,” he settles. “anyway, even though he doesn’t look exactly like me, he’s not a version that would have been impossible, either.” 

he’d thought about that a lot, sailing back. sabo had his mom’s blonde hair, and her bright eyes, and her lighter skin. as much as he loathed to admit it, ace really did resemble his father far more. looking at sabo was almost like looking at a mirror complexion of what he could’ve been. really, if it weren’t for their shared dna -and, like, exact, too. he wasn’t ace’s clone for nothing- they still looked startlingly similar enough to pass as brothers-

ace feels a sudden, deep pang in his heart and he’s so glad conis picks this moment to speak up again.

“dragon isn’t as upset as he seems, about you going,” she tells him, and, ah, she must pick up on the subtle way ace’s face changes, because ace knows she wants to ask more, but she’s moved on to another topic instead. this is why he likes conis. 

ace gestures around the room. “you sure? i’ll be here all night.”

“he was concerned about someone finding out you’re alive. he doesn’t mean to keep you under lock and key, ace.” conis reaches out, realizes the scrolls are still between them, and forfeits the motion. “i think he’s excited, if anything.” there’s a gleam in her eyes, when ace turns to look. “like it or not, you stole something important from them. things are going to develop. rapidly.”

“is it stealing if he went willingly?”

“to them it will be. not my point, ace, listen.” 

this time she leans forward to place a hand on ace’s shoulder, closing the distance enough to stare into his eyes. “you’re the one who brought him here,” she reminds him. “now you have to be ready to accept the consequences.”

ace swallows, the words daunting. he is sure she means more than the punishment he’s enduring for having gone off on his own.

[believerindaydreams]

crude, lewd, and gentlemanly

in which Lister pines for a roadside assistance lady. yes I am writing slash for an advert. crack played straight

well, sort of straight. not actually that porny, tragically, but I had a lot of fun anyway 

"Sir. Sir, I don't know that you want to hear this..."

"Feel free to leave off then," Lister says, not looking up. The keen and eager gaze currently being devoted to a copy of Big Easy Read Ganymede is one, Kryten can't help noting with alarm, one usually reserved for only the most pungent vindaloos and the music video of "Five Hundred and One Fun Things to Do In Liverpool When It's Raining (Which is None)" by the Spice Anti-Assigned-Sex-But-With-Female-Presenting-Nipples (ASSBUT).

In short, it is one doozy of a gaze.

"Well, it's a very small matter, sir. Possibly none of my concern, but.... well, we all can't help noticing that in the last week, you've managed to involve yourself in no less than fourteen major crashes."

"Uh huh?"

"To say nothing of the minor ones."

"Uh-huh."

"Ah. Well. Glad to see you've noticed," Kryten says, with a highly characteristic combination of hasty relief and mildly hesitant irritation.

Lister sighs, puts down the atlas. "You know what rule one is of picking up girls, Krytes? Don't do it when they're on the clock."

"As I recall, the last time you told me rule one, it was to never confuse the whipped cream bottle with the lubricant-"

"Forget all that," Lister says. "You've got eyes- okay, you have sensory diodes or whatever they are, I've got eyes. And what my eyes see is the most beautiful woman since- since- well since that time I fucked myself from a parallel universe, okay? Heh. I am such a good lay."

"What about Kochanski?"

"Maybe it's different for robots, Krytes, but humans tend to go off a woman when it turns out she's your mother."

"Or Holly?"

"...sorry? You think Holly, hello-I've-got-computer-senility, oops-that-black-hole-is-actually-a-carbon-smear, is more attractive than that dazzling star who can strip a photon drive inside of four minutes flat?"

"It depends on your point of view, sir. One of the snack machines on Level Nine confided in me once, that the right set of electro-fibres could just get them just so gnarly in the morning-"

"...Kryten, love to hear about the coffee dispenser's unrequited love some other time, not now. But you get the problem, yeah? She's got an AA time-hopper that locks on to the scene of an accident, as soon as she gets us fixed up it yanks her back three million years again, what's the point even asking for her phone number? All I can do is keep getting into accidents while playing the smoothest jazz in my collection, and just- hope for the best."

"We are running out of operable Starbugs, sir."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Lister says, fondling a set of jumper cables with something approaching rapture. "I can always crash Red Dwarf instead. Considering everything she's survived, the ship can handle a few knocks."

Something, Kryten decides, is really going to have to be done about this.

*******

"...his wingman?" the AA lady says.

"That's me!"

He is, the Cat reflects, looking smooth. More than smooth. These grandiose, sequined shoulder pads stretch out miles.

"Literally, I take it." She hits a computer module with a rubber mallet. "So if he wants to take me out for a little zero-gravity exploration while this sat-nav patch finishes downloading, why doesn't he just ask? The way he pilots, he hasn't exactly been short of opportunities."

The Cat screws up his face, thoughtfully. "Oh. Old Box Head said something about waking up to be told your whole species is dead causes psychodrama, blah blah blah, - now I’ve been there, and I can say, I wouldn't be like that! If I wanted you, I'd be all, hey gorgeous, aren't you one wozie hum-dinger of a flyer, what say we go and have ourselves a little fun...."

"But you're not doing that?" the AA lady asks after a moment.

"Lady," the Cat says, almost sentimentally, "you wear overalls. You think a fine looking specimen of a Cat like me is going to be caught dead waltzing the two step with you? All I can say is, keep on dreaming baby, cause dreaming is all you're going to get."

"...while Lister, I take it, has no objection to my fashion sense." Her mouth's twitching.

"Nope! What can you expect of a guy who thinks curry stains are a fashion accessory- so hey, you two are pretty well matched. That's one good reason for you to pair off. And another one is that it'll annoy Rimmer-"

"Will it?"

"Oh, sure," the Cat says breezily. "It'll get right up those hologrammed nostrils."

The AA lady whips the door open.

Somewhere, not terribly far distant, somebody is playing "Penny Lane" on a guitar.  

"Hey, Listy! Interested in a good fuck?"

The guitar music stops. "Thought you'd never ask!"

******

"You know, I really didn't think that approach would work. So much for plans B through W," Kryten says, stuffing down twenty feet of computer ribbon down a recycling chute. 

"Are you kidding? You just have to look at old HoloHead and pow! Hatred of him is a force stronger than gravity or those little packets of Martian sriracha," the Cat says, fiddling with the volume control. The sound of heavy breathing and a Liverpudian lilt whispering sweet nothings intensifies.

"I'm still not sure it's polite for you to be doing that," Kryten fusses. "Just because they're enjoying the ship's Exhibitionist, Squash And Frilly Umbrellas spa facilities, doesn't mean they necessarily expected anyone to watch-"

"Then be of good cheer, Kryten, because nothing untoward is going to happen." Rimmer's stride is firm, his holo-uniform freshly reprogrammed with gold braid and the E-Spacebay Blue Peter badge. "At least, not with her."

"Now Mr Rimmer, I really think-"

"It's time that Lister gave way to the inevitable," Rimmer says. "The man he's quite literally spent half his life with."

"...you mean me?" the Cat says, his tone veering somewhere between polite interest and general disgust.

"I mean me! The one who Holly decided was his perfect life's companion, out of all the possibilities on this ship. The Morecambe to his Wise, the automatic sprocket attachment to his...whatever it is sprockets attach to, I suppose. My god, we were roommates."

"Just saying? Between you and Mr Vacuum Groin over here, I'd pick the vacuum first," the Cat says.

Rimmer ignores him. "It's time I faced up to my destiny, too. Reached out and grasped the man right in front of my nose, this fried egg and chutney sandwich out of which I must take my first, mellow, unstinting bite-"

"Guys, you do realise you left the intercom on both ways," Lister calls.

Rimmer jumps. 

Falters. 

Looks at the microphone with nervous determination. 

"Lister? I think you should know. That faced with the prospect of- actually, genuinely, losing you, I've decided it's time to be brave. To say out loud, no takebacks, that I love you."

There's a pause. "Rimmer, that is just about the nicest thing you've ever said in your life."

"Wasn't it?"

"But if you think I'm gonna stop halfway through the windup for the best fuck I've had in years, just because you've finally wised up and decided that you're queer now, you need a reboot and a lie down in a quiet room somewhere."

"...does that mean, you're telling me no?"

"Course not! I'll get to you, I'll get to you- but first come first served. So we’re starting with- uh- what was your name again, sweetheart?"

"Thought you'd never ask," the AA lady says, rather coyly. "It's-"

Rimmer reaches out and switches off the feed. "Well, damn. How inconsiderate can you get? How? I ask you-"

"It's just possible, sir, that your sense of timing's off," Kryten says. Almost humming with contentment.

With two humans, a hologram, and possibly-or-not a sequin-shedding cat to get in on the action, it’s just occurred to him there’s bound to be all sorts of exciting new messes to clean up soon...

[lukachupacabra]

So? Have I mentioned how much I love these two gayliens??? Cause I do. A lot. They've actually taken over my life a little. Obviously I also ship RaPr a lot. I decided to take some artistic liberty when designing them in my style though, mostly just adding details to their armor and such and also giving them both unique features of their own so they're not just carbon copies of each other with a palette swap. I made Red a little more angular for example, also gave him an expression that reflects as him being the more serious one of the two. Now, Purple... small bone to pick with the fanbase here... yes I made him have slightly softer features, and more facial markings that resemble freckles for a somewhat "cuter" appearance. BUT he's still grinning like a psychotic prick because he is just that- a psychotic prick. I'm a little tired of how people villainize Red yet make Purple some softhearted baby, now headcanons, AU's, you can do whatever you like, but canonically Pur is as big of a dick as Red is... maybe even a bigger one to an extent as he's usually the one that actively harms other Irkens, e.g. throwing SIR units at them, ordering random Irken's to their deaths via being tossed out the airlock, damning a child to the dungeons-- need I go on? I love both of these idiots to death though, just bothers me a touch to see Pur constantly portrayed as a sappy moron; they're both stupid cruel spoiled brats with a power complex and a fucking empire at their disposal. Sorry for the rant but I had to get that off my chest XD Also the robotic looking legs are kinda part of my headcanon. Now the anatomy of the tallest always seems to confuse people in the fan base, usually when it comes to their waists and just because they're so different from regular Irkens. I commonly see them being drawn as just really skinny but? Its kinda unnerving? And honestly doesn't make much sense? So I thought... what if that literally is just their midriff? We know Irken's are already down to alter their bodies what with attaching the robotic pak's to their young seconds after birth. We also know from the transcripts of unaired episodes that an Irken's body actually isn't that important overall, the pak is their central brain and so long as that remains undamaged and connected to its host they're pretty much okay. We also know that inside they seem to just have one long super organ that serves all functions; I cant see them cramming their bodies through that tube, but a single organ to connect with their lower half? Sure. This this birthed the headcanon that once they become tallest they undergo a number of gruesome painful body modifications including being essentially cut in half and that metallic spine grafted on to extend their bodies, that then lead to the idea of their legs being amputated at the knee and replaced with longer robotic ones-- the alterations are mostly a result of the idea in Irken culture that taller = better, thus the alterations are mostly aesthetic rather than really functional, hence preferring to actually use hoverbelts to get around than actually walking on those legs (though yes they CAN walk with them). There may also be something going on with their shoulders and necks, I did do a sketch regarding all this... idk I may clean that up and post it eventually. But yeah, just my headcanon and the way I'll be drawing them, feel free to adopt this if you wish, or don't, I really couldn't care less tbh. I just thinks it fits knowing they came from the mind of the beautifully twisted Jhonen Vasquez. Invader Zim/Tallests Red and Purple © Jhonen Vasquez

[itsallavengers]

A moment in history

Commission for @cacothez , who asked:

I was thinking a timetravel fic where pre-ironman tony meets current tony with some stony thrown in?  

This comes in at 2.7k

It had been, for all intents and purposes, a normal Sunday morning.

 Tony woke up in Steve’s arms at 6:30, when the other man was just beginning to stir for his morning run. He smiled as sleepy hands trailed over his stomach and then soft lips pressed into his temple, and after Steve had slipped off, he fell back to sleep for a few more hours. At 9, he rolled out of bed and made his way down into the kitchen, knowing that Steve would be back by then, and most likely busy preparing breakfast for the both of them.

“Mornin’,” he said once he reached the bottom of the stairs and spotted Steve, as usual, cooking bacon by the stove. The man turned to him and shot him a fond smile, and then grabbed the steaming mug of coffee to his left and slid it along the countertop, landing it perfectly into Tony’s waiting hand.

See, this was routine. They had been doing it for years, by that point. Steve knew Tony’s rhythm, and Tony knew his. It was something Tony wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to.

He pressed the mug into his hands and inhaled the smell, letting it kick his brain into gear. “God I love you,” he told both Steve and the coffee. Steve just laughed, and when Tony wandered past him he made sure to press a quick kiss to the other man’s sweaty shoulder. “Have you not even showered before preparing food? Come on, Rogers.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You seem not to have a problem with kissing me when I’m sweaty- sure you can handle a bit of it in your bacon.”

Tony pulled a face. “That’s disgusting. I wish it didn’t make perfect sense to me. I’ve officially been living with you for too long.”

That made Steve laugh again, and Tony smiled in natural response to the sound. It was mornings like these that he cherished; lazy and slow and easy, so easy, because it was just Steve and him. Making bacon and drinking coffee.

What more could Tony possibly want?

He crept up behind Steve and then wrapped his hands around the other man’s waist, standing on his tiptoes in order to rest his chin on Steve’s shoulder. He felt Steve instantly relax backward into the touch, and it made his skin feel tingly all over. Two years, and this still excited him in the same way it always had. “You smell,” he declared, kissing Steve’s neck.

“Love you too, darling,” Steve turned around in Tony’s arms with a grin and a twinkle in his eye, and before Tony knew it he was being hefted up onto the sideboard, coffee being taken from his grasp and discarded to the side as Steve leaned into him, kissing him soundly. Tony only got to kiss back for a few moments, however, before Steve pulled away and shucked off his shirt entirely and then dumped it over Tony’s head a second later.

Tony yelped, feeling the damp sweat from Steve’s run. “Oh my god, you’re so fucking gross! I’m breaking up with you!” He yanked the thing off and then shoved it back into Steve’s chest as the other man just chuckled in front of him and then dropped the shirt absently onto the side of the chair. His skin glowed in the morning light; he was one of the only people Tony knew who could work out for an hour and still look absolutely edible. It was truly unfair.

Tony bumped his bare feet against the side of the counter. Unlike Steve, he had chosen to wear a clean shirt- although not his own. It was Steve’s, and so it sort of draped off his shoulders and almost came down to his knees- not because he was small, mind you, just because stupid Steve was freakishly large. It was a gag gift from Clint, and said in big black letters ‘I’m Captain of this Ship’. He’d also bought Tony’s, which of course, had to say ‘I’m fucking the Captain of this Ship’, because Barton thought he was just that funny.

He hadn’t really taken into account the fact that Tony’s wardrobe was basically just a mismatch of his own stuff and Steve’s, by that point- so he was both the Captain and fucking the Captain, depending on the day.

Steve looked down at him fondly, and then ran his hand through Tony’s unbrushed hair. Tony shut his eyes and leaned into it immediately, almost purring at the sensation. It made Steve chuckle again, and he pressed a soft kiss to Tony’s forehead before moving back to the stove. “Don’t make me burn my bacon,” he said, hand leaving Tony’s head and trailing across his shoulder before it curled around the spatula.

Tony pouted, head thumping back against the cupboards. “Did you not hear me breaking up with you? Because I just did. Throwing sweaty clothes at me was the last straw, Steve, I swear.”

“Funny, I thought you’d be into that.”

“We’re officially exes.”

“Nope.”

“I do not like your attitude toward this breakup, Steve.”

Steve rolled his eyes in exasperation, and then turned back to him once more. Before Tony could even open his mouth again, Steve was kissing him, hard and a little demanding as he pushed Tony back against the cupboards. He broke away a second later in order to tap Tony lightly over the back of the head. “Shush.”

Tony felt like being a brat just so that Steve would kiss him like that again, so he grinned and opened his mouth again in order to say something that might rile Steve up further- but before he could even get the words out, the lighting in the whole tower suddenly turned to red, and JARVIS began to blare out the alarm for an intrusion.

Both Tony and Steve looked to one another for a moment, before Tony clicked his fingers a couple of times. “JARVIS, what do we have?” He asked urgently.

“Sir, I’m detecting intense energy readings about ten feet ahead of you- I think that something is c-“

JARVIS’ voice was drowned out when the sound of something similar to an intense tornado suddenly started up. Tony shut his eyes, accosted out of nowhere by a blinding white light directly ahead of him, and he felt Steve curl around him instinctively, covering Tony’s body with his own. They both braced as an immense gust of wind flew through the room like a shockwave, and then there was a sudden and ominous silence.

He felt Steve’s quick breathing in his ear, and then blinked his eyes open just as he Steve turned, body still covering Tony’s, in order to look at whatever had suddenly exploded in their kitchen at 9 in the morning.

 They both stared blankly at the carbon copy of Tony, sat messily on the floor, and with a wide-eyed expression covering his face.

 “Uh,” Tony’s double said, looking toward them with a blink of confusion, “so that… worked, huh?”

“What the fuck,” Real-Tony said, hands gripping Steve’s arms in bewilderment. “What the fuck? What the… what?”

Doppelganger Tony was… not actually an exact copy of him. He was younger. His hair was longer. Less lines on his face. He was also wearing a Gucci belt, which he’d sworn off from all the way back in-

“You’re from the past,” Tony told his doppelganger numbly, sliding off the counter and then pushing away Steve’s hand of warning. “You’re… well, judging from the hideous belt and shirt, I’m gonna take a guess and say 2006?”

Doppelganger Tony blinked at him, and then looked down at himself. “This is not hideous,” he stated, rather than answer any of the other important questions. Then he laughed. Loudly. Tony watched his hands shake a little as he pressed them through his hair, and sighed.

“How drunk are you right now, idiot?” He asked, folding his arms as Past-Tony continued to giggle on the floor. “Drunk enough that I literally have no recollection of this happening, at all? Damn.”

“Shut up, asshole, it’s December 16th today, this is my free pass.” His younger self said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. At his side, he felt Steve tense up a little next to him. He always hated seeing Tony self-destruct. It was something Tony had been trying very hard to fix, and they hadn’t had this sort of problem in a long time.

Of course, back in the days his doppelganger had come from, this sort of thing had been so frequent Tony had barely even considered it to be a problem at all.

“You created some sort of time machine?” Steve asked, eyebrows raised. “Whilst blackout drunk?”

Tony shrugged, shooting the copy of himself a frown. “Pretty fucking useless in the end, seeing as I don’t even remember this. How you planning on getting home then, Pal?” He asked, poking Doppelganger-Tony in the side with his toe.

The younger version of himself cracked an eye open at him and then grinned with his too-white teeth. He’d had a bit of a thing back then- pretty much wanted his smile to blind every passer-by. “My genius intellect… added to the fact that I set it on a timer. In like, three minutes, I’ll get snapped right back to my own time, don’t worry, I jus’ wanted to see if it would work. Now-“ he sat up suddenly, clapping his hands and then shooting a long look over to Steve. “-How do you suppose I should make the most of these three minutes, hmm?”

Before Steve could even respond, Tony stepped in front of him with a sour look on his face. “Nuh uh, no way have you earned this yet, buddy. Give it ten years, maybe.”

Younger Tony scoffed. “Uh, far as I know, I am you. That’s as much my boyfriend as it is yours.”

“We might have the same DNA, but we are really not the same person,” Tony said, his words coming out far more vicious than he’d meant for them to be. Behind him, Steve’s hand settled gently on his shoulder; a silent reminder for him to stay calm.

The other Tony just looked at him for a moment, before averting his gaze. He suddenly looked too sad for the room- Tony remembered what day it was, and felt the smallest bit of sympathy for his past self.

“Right,” the younger man said, smiling tightly, “guess I really am that bad, huh?”

Tony snapped his mouth shut, unable to respond to that. He wasn’t sure what to say. Luckily, however, Steve was on it, stepping forward from behind Tony and then slowly getting to the floor next to the younger version of Tony. His eyes were sad, but his smile soft.

He took Tony’s hand in his own. “Whatever you are now, I promise it isn’t as bad as you think,” he said gently, sparing a quick glance over to his own Tony before looking back. “You’re doing dumb shit. You’re being naïve and arrogant. But it’s not what you think. You’re not evil. Evil people aren’t capable of doing the amount of good that you do. I promise.”

Tony and his younger self both stared at him with the same expression on their faces: disbelief. Tony watched Steve stroke his thumb over the Other Tony’s skin- probably cataloguing the lack of small scars that he had yet to receive. Steve was just like that.

“This is definitely a dream,” Younger Tony declared in the end. “There is no way I’m being given a pep talk by Captain America as he holds my hand.”

That, at least, made Tony laugh, and he looked to Steve with a wry smile. “Yeah. Sure feels like a dream sometimes, let me tell you,” he said, and when Steve looked back up to him, his eyes were a little wet around the edges.

“Even if it is a dream,” Steve said, looking to the younger Tony, “try and remember it, okay? Remember what I said. You’re going to do some truly amazing, fantastic, good things one day. You’re going to be a hero. You’re going to be my hero.” Steve turned his head, looking to the clock on the side, and Tony realised that they probably only had a little bit of a time left until whatever machine he’d been using pulled himself back into the past. The poor guy was probably going to wake with a banging headache and no recollection of what had just happened. Which was sad. Tony wished he’d have been able to have this to hold onto in those years.

His younger self stared up at Steve, nothing short of pure adoration on his face. Tony sometimes forgot how much he’d loved Captain America, even before he’d fallen for Steve Rogers. “That sounds a little far-fetched,” he said croakily, looking down.

In response, Steve just sighed. “It probably does. But I swear, one day you’re going to make things right. You’re going to be loved. You’re going to be happy. It won’t be easy, but- but I think it will be worth it.” Steve smiled down at him and then shuffled, until he was facing the Younger Tony properly. With a small inhale, Steve raised a hand to his face and stroked his cheek- free of any lines or battle scars, this time.

Tony had to admit; watching Steve kiss him was weird. Especially when it wasn’t him him.

It was soft and light and over in a second, but Steve kept their foreheads close together, and he was smiling. Younger Tony was just staring at him, mouth open in shock, hands clenched into fists by his side. Tony could admit- this wasn’t even the first time he’d had a ‘dream’ like this. It was sad, but he’d always used to have dreams of Cap coming to save him, usually when he was at his lowest points, when he was more lost than usual. Steve had always been coming to rescue him.

There was a slow rumbling sound around the room, and the lights in the kitchen all turned a dark red as the alarm began to blare again. Steve sat up straighter, pressing one last kiss to Young-Tony’s forehead. “Sleep tight, sweetheart,” he mumbled- and then before the younger version could even reply, there was a blinding flash of light, and he was gone.

Tony stared at the space he’d just left, and realised that his breathing was coming in a little too short.

Steve was still sat, but when he turned to face Tony, he got to his feet immediately and wrapped him in a gentle hug, head burying itself into Tony’s neck. He smelt warm and familiar and like home, and Tony curled his hands into Steve’s back, suddenly feeling far too shaky for a Sunday morning.

“I love you,” Steve whispered, kissing his shoulder, his neck, his ear. “I’m sorry you were hurting on your own. I hope you didn’t… I just wanted to make it better for you, just a little-“

“It’s okay,” Tony choked, shutting his eyes against the continuous pressing of Steve’s lips into his skin. “Thank you. You helped. I know you did. And… it was. Worth it, I mean. You were right. Everything- it was worth it in the end. To get here.” And it was true- Tony would have gone through it all over again; Afghanistan, the torture, the pain of everything- he would’ve replayed it all if it meant he’d be able to lie down next to Steve at the end of it all and call him his. He was worth that much.

Steve breathed in quietly, holding Tony in his arms as if he was something delicate. Tony thought back to the other version, and his expensive clothes and slicked-back hair and sad eyes. He was glad that he wasn’t that person any more. Now he wore Steve’s clothes and his hair was kept fluffy and his eyes weren’t sad- not all the time, and not in the way they’d used to be, anyway. He was better like this.

He was happy.

 With a small smile, he pressed his lips into Steve’s skin and then remained there for a moment, just savouring everything that screamed ‘home’ to him.

“I love you,” he whispered into Steve’s neck. “And baby, I hate to break it to you, but your bacon’s burning.”

AO3 // Donate to my ko-fi! 

[filypadreams]

Cater's Birthday Gift (par1-'Getting Ready')

Part 2 click here!

What started as a drabble based on Ruggie's became a huge fic about all dorms celebrating Kantokusei's Bash! This is how each are handling the event~

•Heartslabyul Dorm•

Somewhere in the Rose Maze stern shouts are heard...

"Off with your head! Off with your HEAD! ...Of with-"

" Housewarden? Wh-what is..."

Although a rare feeling, Trey is left at a lack of words upon finding Housewarden Riddle 'punishing' 3 trainning dummies.

" Oh? Trey. I'm simply trainning my signature spell, but magic responding dummies seem to be too weak to give myself anything to contain or deny."

The shorter boy sighs, rubbing his temple. The little crown atop his head threatening to fall.

" You are literally able to shackle 3 people at a time, Riddle. I believe dummies are past your league since you became housewarden."

The taller, green haired man runs his hand on the back of his neck, head tilted a little low and sheepish smile on his face.

" Hmm... I should have realized that sooner. Unfortunately there's no other ethical way to do it without breaking the rules."

He crosses his arms with a neutral, stern face, eyes now fixed on the vice-housewarden in front of him.

" Is there something you need? I believe it's your turn to feed the hedgehogs and as for Cater... he is once again on flamingo handling duty, correct?"

" I wish it was that simple but I can't find that self-centered procrastinator again."

" I wouldn't call him that... He HAS been avoiding doing his task for almost a week now.

Not to sound like an idiot but have you checked his room? The most obvious of places are sometimes the least expected. Maybe he is already preparing the present there-"

" Present??"

Raising an eyebrow, he interrupts the housewarden, confused. In truth both seem confused right now!

" Yes... Ramshackle's Kantokusei birthday gift.

Rule 29 of The Queen of Hearts: One must not forget a confidant's most special day and should be prepared at least a week in advance for it!

You haven't forgotten, have you Vice-Housewarden Trey?"

It's the smaller boy's turn to raise an eyebrow, one hand on his hip.

Trey is comprehensively panicking.

" Well, I... yes. I apologise, housewarden! I guess I've been worried about Crewel-sensei Pop Quizz to pay much attention to our Calendar. We haven't got the results yet."

He bows, realizing his error before lightly rubbing his temple, facing away troubled.

" Hmm, I was in need of a test subject anyways~"

A small smuggish smirk creeps onto Riddle's face before he sighs closing his eyes for a moment.

"Although, even I wasn't expecting a birthday so close to the end of a month. I'm sure most of Heartslabyul is still clueless, so I might let it slide this time."

" I'm grateful for your kindness, housewarden. You haven't gone soft, have you?"

Trey adds with a smirk of his own

" Careful Vice-Housewarden... I can always change my mind. Anyways, please do help me clear these dummies so I can put everyone up to speed on the celebration's particularities."

" Yes, Housewarden Rosehearts! But... what particularities exactly?"

• Octavinelle Dorm•

VIP Room (Azul's Study)

" Azul~ May we come in?"

" You already made yourself at home, Floyd."

The silver haired glass wearing housewarden comments with a shaky eyebrow, slightly annoyed at his subordinate's antics. Not getting up from his chair and only giving a spare glace, ignoring the stack of papers for a moment but still holding his precious ink pen.

Said subordinate had opened the door without caring to knock and taken his fedora off already, playing with lose strands of his teal hair.

" My apologies sir. I'm afraid a certain someone is too eager for tomorrow's event."

The carbon copy of the more laid back subordinate chuckles as he too walks in right behind his brother. Not forgetting to close the door though.

"Sooo what? It's not everyday you make...ah... how old is shrimpy again?"

The ever laid back Floyd scratches his chin in thought, plopping down on one of the black leather sofas.

" Ah yes, Ramshackle's Kantokusei's birthday bash. Or whatever is actually being planned for the day. I do hope our fellow classmates are working hard with their gifts, no one wants to disappoint the birthday star after all~"

" Haha! Shrimpy is not a star, silly Azul. Shrimpy is...shrimpy!"

" You understood what I meant. Hopefully. So what are the news Jade, Floyd?"

Azul Ashengrotto gets up from his seat of power with a flourish to adress his two close confidants.

And business enforcers...

" From what I gathered, there are some hiccups but the preperatives are underway, specially on Heartslabyul part. Now for the actual gifts..."

Jade relates with his almost constantly composed and calm voice, only dropping it for a slightly more sinister tone as he trails off.

" Ne, ne! I do like shrimpy, they are fun to play with and all~

But why are we worried about a Freshman's birthday party agaaain??? Sounds like extra work."

The twin moray interrupts, slightly annoyed this time and looking intensely at the dark streak in his hair.

" Why, because birthdays are like the Winter Solstice. Everyone trotting around like sea-horses to get the perfect last minute gift! Which I, with all my 'generosity' and benevolence am more than happy to help with! Fufu...

So, I take it we are receiving our prestigious clients back by the end of the day?"

The tone in the room suddenly changes. Serious, cold but also with some kind of natural malice.

" Yes, sir. Me and Floyd have already talked with a few of them beforehand. Do expect some crestfallen customers by 9pm."

" They better arrive on time~

Or I'll squeeze them! HAHAHA!"

Floyd sing-songs, letting out his characteristic unnerving laugh and squeezing his fedora against his chest to prove a point.

" Good. Poor unfortunate souls, desperate for one of my unique items to offer just in case they fail to make or buy the perfect gift in time... will have to pay the price now. They worry too much, honestly.

What was it again we get in exchange~? This is all so ironic, hmm..."

A rethorical question that doesn't stop him from reviewing the contracts he is finishing the details of.

" Whatever it is, I'm sure (Y/N)-san will love the treasures we have to offer. "

Jade comments, quite content with a job well done and nearly finished. Given, it was a tiring day of work.

" Right, right! Like free lunch meal tokens, old plushies, oohh there was jewelry too, right~! And vacation vouchers, oh shrimpy will be sooo happy!

I'm almost jealous."

The tweels laugh cynically at the same time.

• Savanaclaw Dorm•

Jack Howl's (freshman) surprisingly messy room

" Oi~ What's with the ruckus Jack- Ack! Why did you throw a shoe at me?!"

The hyena looks around the room in confusion, while rubbing his nose. It's chaotic, unlike his underclassmate's usual, unnaturally well kept posture. Unnatural in comparison to the rest of the dorm that is.

" Sorry for that, but what is it Ruggie-senpai? I'm busy right now. Where did I hide it...?!"

Jack doesn't spare a glance at the curious beastman.

" Hide? What, you lost the gift? Laaame, shehehe! I already got mine prepared for tomorrow ~"

Ruggie brags, leaning against the wall closest to the exit. Just in case.

"I'm surprised you even got someone, that isn't Leona-senpai, something. It better not be a prank."

Jack huffs, giving his dormmate a fleeting glare as he seems to find the small box stuck behind a drawer in his desk.

"Gotcha! Yosh!"

" A prank? You wound me Jack~

Nope, it's genuine. I've been saving these lunch coupons for an emergency but I guess this is good enough of an opportunity too."

" Cafeteria food, really? No matter... Was that your last resort? You are not one to share food."

Jack crosses his arms, one eyebrow furrowed while the other arches high, in an incredulous and suspicious way. Turning himself fully to Ruggie, who just shrugs.

" Well, some people know to appreciate free food when it lands on their lap! And whatcha got there? Jewerly?? Thats a classic."

Ruggie smiles wide, trying to contain his laugh.

" Yes, kind of. Nothing wrong in giving someone something to wear! And before you inquire further, it's handmade. Didn't spend a penny on this one. Now scurry out of here, it's past my bed time."

"Yeah, yeah sir~ I need to wake Leona-senpai soon in the morning anyways. This will be a pain..."

• Ignihyde Dorm •

That same night, Idia Shroud's shared room

"Big brother, I believe I fixed the inconsistencies that broke down the phone. The software should now be able to open Magicam and MagiTube seperately!"

" Good job Ortho! Let me see. Can't believe two conceited apps caused so much trouble..."

Idia gives out a smile at his younger brother before taking the makeshift phone, back to a somber, probably bored expression. Maybe slightly annoyed.

" MagiTube isn't that bad, there's lots of videogame analysis and theorists there. And the speedruns are fascinating!"

Ortho, the ever optimistic robot teen points out. Happy as usual.

"Uh-uh...I guess it isn't that bad, if you know how to avoid the beauty and lifestyle influencers. Too annoying. Yet, I prefer a livestream to a well planned video, it's easier to avoid cheaters while they are live to the whole world if you know where to look."

Idia distractedly comments, messing with the phone.

" What was he thinking making such a last minute request? That preppy, socialite wannabe better be able to get what I asked or I might burn his hair..."

He speaks with a slight growl, tendrils of hair flicking around but otherwise, keeping the same deep blue colour.

" You are not serious, Idia~! Also I'm sure Kantokusei will love it after I finish adding the requested stickers!"

Ortho floats (or flies) to a small table where lots of unique stickers are laid out, colour and theme ordered. None of which make sense close to the others...

Idia sighs, even more agitated at this.

" Oh, of course. We are also supposed to guess which ones 'looks best'. Do I look like a professional decorator- Wait, which Kantokusei???"

And now he looks closely at Ortho, eyes slightly wide, small trembles seem to follow up his body from toe to a now brighter blue with black tips hair. Evidences of panic settling in at the new piece of information.

" Well, that firey cat demon tamer in Ramshackle. (Y/n) (L/N)-san! It's their birthday tomorrow... well...in one hour actually. It's getting late."

" (Y- Y- Y/N)-shi birthday??? Ortho show me our schedule!"

He gets up, almost knocking over a Genie funko figurine as well as a can of Twisted Energy over, risking ruinning his tools in the process. Cursing at the pain on his hip that hit the table and speed walking towards Ortho who is slightly taken aback and looking worriedly at the more agitated hair in Idia's head, that could burn the ceiling if it wasn't made of sturdier material than most dorms.

" Sure. Preparing the projector and opening it...right now!"

A blue and white hologram almost smacks Idia's face by how close he is. A not so cheerful one as he scrunches it before stepping back, arm defensively in front of his upper body as if the schedule almost bit him, eyes wide and hair fully bright with noticeable black streaks.

" Oh no. No, no, what now? What does one do when they forget someone's birthday?! Panic and buy a last minute third quality gift from a thrift store? No. No, all options are horrible-"

And as Idia walks back and forth trying to remember a series or game where the outcome for the same cliché dilemma was for once positive, Ortho takes a closer look at the schedule.

" We are supposed to get some lights to make Ramshackle a little more festive. Or at least fix some if Lilia-senpai finds old ones in Diasomnia's basement...er...catacombs?"

" Right, the lights. We can fix those no problem. I dunno about making new ones until we finish this stupid phone!"

Idia slightly calms down, giving the side eye at Cater's idea of a 3 day DIY gift.

" I'm throwing this thing at him if he doesn't appreciate it..."

• Ramshackle Dorm •

The next morning in (Y/N) and Grim's shared room

"O~medetou, (Y/N)! (Y/N), wake up! You are going to miss your whole special day if you use Grim-sama special Signature Nap-

Agh! Mrooww, that hurt..."

From overly excited, (Y/N) managed to make Grim teary eyed with a mighty throw of his own pillow.

" What's all the ruckus for? Let me sleep 30 more minutes..."

" 30?! That's not how the saying goes..."

Grim floats to me as I get up from bed, mind still foggy.

" In case you missed my morning announcement, Happy Birthday! Again."

" Thanks, I'm 2 years older now~"

I joke, almost dreading the cold water I'll hit my face with.

" I really don't understand you humans, shouldn't this be a special occasion?"

Grim proceeds to imitate my morning routine almost to a T. It's amusing really. Eventually I offer an explanation to his comment.

"It's not that I hate my birthday but it was always more exciting with my family... before I reached teenagehood that is.

Now I would be grateful if you didn't scream the news to the entire college. Heck you might wake up the Royal Sword students."

I gently push Grim out the door for the sake of some privacy as I take a bath.

" Oi, don't use all the hot water!"

" Why not, it's my special day~ Besides you didn't do me any favors yesterday morning."

" Hmph! It's too late anyways..."

Grim slides down to the floor, against the wooden door with arms crossed and a pout.

" Too late for what?"

I ask, barely able to discern his words amidst the torrent of hot water occasionally falling on my head.

" Well, almost everyone knows it's your day of course. And the rumors spread like delicious tuna being sold, nyah~!"

As Grim dreamily speaks of his dear tuna, I momentarily stop the water and open the feeble door harshly.

"What?! Also you mean like hot cakes."

"Mroow-! Who...who eats their cake hot...?"

One paw holds his dizzy head, the other respectfully covers his eyes.

I sigh and waltz back in to finish my bath and put some clothes on.

It wasn't unexpected for the ghosts to be aware of today's event, none the less their congratulations during breakfast were still very appreciated. As well as warning me that some flamboyant Heartslabyul student has been missing for a day.

"That's worrisome, Cater can't spend 1 hour without posting something at the very least appealing on Magicam. Unless he has been doing that while evading Trey and Riddle-kun.

...That's a scary prospect actually..."

" Seems to take some skill..."

I share my thoughts as Grimm adds to them, while walking up the staircases of the college not at all ready for my Astrology class. It's very much like Astronomy which includes lots of math and geography and maybe geometry.

Which I can't handle. At the very least Grim manages to get the metaphorical puzzle pieces right so I can say that Pisces sun is going to have financial problems, specially with air signs because... specific coordinates, planetary interventions and depending on the moon sign and the ascendant of the specific person honestly.

" And so I conclude that Mr. Ashengrotto should spend more of his time pursuing creative endeavors like creative writting or photography. And then apply those to his job during this year until Mercury retrograde is not a thing anymore."

I say outloud in class. Apparently it's not unusual to have a mix of students from all years and Azul seems... well, he manages to keep his face neutral.

"Thank you for your reading (Y/N)-san, I'll make sure our next agreement looks more appealing to the eye~"

Forget what I said, he is still unsufferable.

• Cafeteria during Lunchtime •

" Monsieur Cherry Apple!"

"Eek! R-Rook-senpai!? You scared me..."

Epel puts a hand over his heart trying to calm down. He was surrounded by intricately looking envelopes as well as envelope paper. There was a pile to the side that looks like a miscellany of discarded origami.

" Oh, mes excuses. Vil requested me to check on your progress.

Mon dieu, what are those for?! I cannot deny I like the swans and paper roses though~"

"Oh, ah...it's going well. Smoother than when I started, who would have thought my apple carving talent could be used to make envelopes."

Epel gives a gentle smile and a quiet chuckle, quite proud of himself.

" Those are failed attempts. I decided, it would be a waste to just throw paper away if it still could turn into something...nice?"

" Oui, very beautiful. I take it you are almost done? You did make quite the amount..."

" Yes! I'm almost finished. All that is left is the invites themselves."

" Ah, do not worry your pretty little head about it, me and Beautiful Vil are taking care of those. He is doing the writing of course, while I do the poetry! Or help with it at least."

Rook finally decides to sit besides Epel instead of crouching to talk or look at the symmetrical mess on the table.

" Have you had lunch yet? If you need, I can hunt you something delicious while I go get my own."

" Thank you for the offer, Rook-senpai, but I already ate. Do tell me... aren't these a little too flourished for such an event? And the birthday star...just doesn't seem their...face I guess."

" Blasphemy! This is a once in a year event, plus it's a surprise for our fellow Trickster! We were just given the task to prepare presentable and dignified invites for the party and that's what we shall create. Ahh~, if you forgive moi, best I get my nutritious dose of the day before all the worthwhile catches are gone. Adieu~"

Rook gets up from the table and gets in line. Epel just looks at him for a while confused and then gets back to work.

" Rook-senpai sure is something else."

Also in the Cafeteria, but on the farthest away table full of Diasomnia students.

"I do love the colour combination and aesthetic you are proposing Sebek, but it is quite dark for the event itself. Ramshackle is already a sinister place by nature after all. Have you seem the ghosts?! It's truly full of personality, fufu~."

Lilia discusses with Sebek, and the others, the decorations planned for that evening.

" Malleus-sama seems to like them though."

" Yes, I do. But it's not my party I'm afraid. I'm also sure Rosehearts didn't envision this when he requested our help."

" Then why doesn't Heartslabyul take care of the preparations?"

Sebek protests in slight irritation.

" They are but apparently Cater-senpai is missing so they have a lot more on their hands, besides monitoring all the participants for the event."

Silver softly interrupts, careful to not be seen as rude. This seemed to pick Lilia's interest.

" Ohh? The selfie boy? I saw him hiding in the library yesterday afternoon and arriving sooner than most to the Cafeteria before that. I think he is trying to avoid being caught by his peers. I wonder what he is planning..."

That's when a familiar pair of loud students interrupt the fragile peace in the Cafeteria. They stood at the entrance discussing for a while.

" Ahh~ We managed to survive this time! I wasn't enthusiastic to work in that place again, at all!"

It's the hearts and spades boys!

" I'm pretty sure he only offered the extra time because we are close friends with Kantokusei. I feel like we still cheated though..."

Deuce shakes his head ashamed.

"Oi, it's either a underwater potion or some card tricks."

He adds emphasis by making one, then another, then a third card appear on his left hand seemingly out of thin air.

" Hm. I guess you are right, even I know the trick for that one. Do you always keep so many under your sleeve-Uffgha!"

" Shh! These are trade secrets you dimwit!"

Deuce pries Ace's hand from his mouth.

"Alright, no need to panic!"

" Do you want to see a really cool magical trick~?"

A voice sounds playfully from above their heads. The two freshman are hesitant to look up.

"L-Lilia-senpai?"

" Ding Ding! Here, let me show you a little friend of mine."

The small, wise beyond his years boy, descends to Earth and with some flourish opens his right hand. A small bat lands on Deuce's nose.

"Ahhgh! W-what is- A bat?!!"

" Yes, now don't move too much, you might scare him. He bites when scared."

" That didn't help..."

He says, a tremble in his voice.

" That hardly counts as a magic trick, you are constantly surround by them! Hey! Don't get close to me-"

Ace swats in front of him hoping to scare off the bat.

" Kids these days..."

"Lilia-sama! We require your input."

Sebek calls for the mysterious boy from their table.

As Lilia walks (or flies) away, Deuce adds to their previous topic.

" I can't believe you managed to get a 1 for 2 potion in exchange of a 1 for 2 couple of hand tricks as a gift..."

(Note: The 1 for 2 refers to both Deuce and Ace getting 1 thing for 2 people, them, in exchange of 1 thing that represents both of them.)

" It's called sleight of hand. Besides did you have anything better?"

Meanwhile two other students were making a rare appearance in the never ending cafeteria line.

" I don't see why we need to go through this, Kalim. I'm sure i'm capable of cooking the most apropriate dishes from The Land of Hot Sands for the event."

" I don't doubt your culinary skills Jamil, nor how delicious your dishes are! But it's good to have some variety and to get to know what our guest loves."

" Hardly our guest and more 'the person of the moment' but anyways... how does coming here help? We rarely come here unless ABSOLUTELY necessary and barely see Kantokusei and their food choices."

Jamil keeps a well practiced neutral face even when memories of those times they happened to eat on the Cafeteria surge.

A skill that truly takes years to perfect.

" Well first...I believe we need to familiarize with the school's food! But only after I get your approval, I cannot dare to get sick right before the party..."

Kalim's enthusiasm turns into a pout remembering all the times he got 'ill' after eating something not made by Jamil back home.

"Of course. Although I...doubt the quality of the dishes here is that bad."

"I'm happy you are so positive today, Jamil. Now, aahh...hmm...oh! I remember him, he is... ehhh, Leona's attendee from Savanaclaw, right?"

" You mean Ruggie? Ruggie Bucchi if I'm not mistaken. Hard to forget, you almost burnt yourself getting me Cream Stew that time..."

While Kalim is seizing the poor hyena that got in line for the second time, Jamil scratches his chin in thought, almost smiling at the memory. No one got too seriously hurt so it feels like a nostalgic and interesting experience now that he thinks back.

Kalim turns to Jamil rubbing the back of his head, with a nervous smile.

" Haha, sorry about that. Maybe we should ask him?"

"Hmm...he doesn't have the brightest mind but he sure knows his way around the school and it's social groups, as well how to take advantage of that gathered knowledge but still I'm not sure- ...Kalim? Kalim?!"

And while Jamil was monologuing to himself, Kalim already has Ruggie in a side hug as if they are pals from the basketball team. Or Magift.

"Ruggie! Long time no see. Well, except in classes but those don't count..."

" Ehh?! Y-you again!? Look pal, I really don't want to get in trouble, I just need to retrieve the main course to Leona-san after he surprisingly ate the soup. I guess it was mostly chicken today. Anyways, I really, really need to speed this up, ah... Kalim right?"

" So you also remember me! And don't worry, I can help you with that if you want-"

"NO! N-no need, I promised Leona I would do this myself..."

Ruggie immediately interrupts the chirpy boy trying to find a good excuse to run away from his clutches. He IS curious though...

" But well...what are you doing here? Jamil is lacking ingredients or something?"

" Oh, we have plenty to make food for a whole month but someone decided a last minute field research would be a great idea."

"I'm the someone!"

Jamil interrupts their conversation, preparing for any imaginable scenario that could come out of this interaction.

Kalim is being Kalim so everything seems fine for now.

" Research? I'm afraid you walked into a War Zone buddy."

Ruggie grins before sneaking past a few freshmen and taking the famous, sought after, dish of the day that Leona once again had to ask for.

" I still don't know how you do that-"

" Ah? Where did Ruggie go?!"

This time Kalim interrupts Jamil who facepalms mentally as Kalim looks around and then further the line finally finding Ruggie again. And running after him leaving Jamil to pick their food else they starve until dinner.

" There you are! Did you just walk ahead of others?"

"Hmmm maybe. Like I was saying you either need to be fast or cunning enough to get the best the canteen can offer, otherwise you'll get yesterday's leftovers."

Ruggie makes an exaggerated disgusted face.

" Not that I'm not used to eating what autocrats would call trash. Still, I wouldn't mind knowing Pomefiore's secret. They always get the fancy food, I bet Vil-san would have a crisis if that was ever denied to them, shehehe!"

" Looking after yourself is not a laughing matter. It would do both of you well to vary your diets in my...humble opinion."

Ruggie's fur stands on end at the delicate yet cold voice.

" H-hey, Vil-senpai... I, ah... enjoying your lunch?"

" I will with less gossip."

" Trash food, fancy food, Jamil's... so hey. What does (Y/N) like?"

The two men turn to the young prince, taken aback.

" Kantokusei?"

" Is that what your field research is about? I thought you were preparing Scarabian food."

" The correct term is Hot Sands gastronomy. As for your question... I have no idea. They usually eat what they get. Frankly if not for that flying weasel, Kantokusei would get the leftovers and probably whine about it for only a minute."

Vil corrects Ruggie and makes a slight disgusted face when trying to recall (Y/N) food choices.

" Remember when you cooked inside the botanical garden during Beanfest? They seemed to like the shawarma, before we ruined the party that is, hehe."

" But that's still Hot Sands gastronomy."

Kalim sighs dispirited.

" I need to go to my table and finish lunch so Pomefiore can accomplish their task in a timely manner. Why don't you ask Kantokusei themselves? They are chatting with Jamil since Ruggie started talking about autocrats. Goodbye gentlemen."

Enphasis on 'gentlemen'.

Ruggie grumbles under his breath.

" I better go too before Leona-san bites my head off instead. Jamil should be worried about you, why don't you return to him and... you know get your needed information out of (Y/N)?"

He takes this opportunity to take his leave.

Meanwhile close to the front of the line, Jamil and (Y/N) are making small talk.

" So you have cultures with similar tastes to ours? Hm. Fascinating."

"Yeah, the similarities are rather uncanny, haha."

" Indeed. Although I should have expected as much, the studies on alternate universes and dimensions are still in their early stages and are an advanced matter but still well discussed all over Twisted Wonderland. Oh, forgive me I didn't mean to deviate. Do tell me more."

Jamil speaks with honest passion before catching himself, voice lowering an octave, mischief presented in his face.

" It's fine, I always fancied the thought of alternative dimensions being real! I mean, look at my situation. Anyways, where to start-"

" Jamil! Have you gotten our food yet? Oh, (Y/N), hello! How are you doing? You must be excited~"

" Kalim..."

Jamil tries to warn his eager friend but whatever he tries to say falls on deaf ears.

" Excited? Hmm, not really? But I'm well enough. Astrology wasn't so bad today..."

" Really? Well I guess you are not yet aware of the surpri- hmmghf!"

As a last resort, Jamil clamps Kalim's mouth shut with his and whispers.

" Remember what I told you about surprise parties? They are...a surprise for a reason."

"Ummffghhmmmnnff."

No one has any idea what Kalim responded with, except that he nodded and that was enough for Jamil who proceeded to pick a napkin to clean his hand.

(Y/n) just looks at the scene unfold with wide eyes and soon loses interest on whatever antics are going on, turning back to the line. As long as it's not another overblot, they don't care.

" Those two are eccentric. Hey, is there tuna left for the Great Grim-sama?! I'm hungry..."

He ends up pouting again as the lunch specter searches for something under the counter and hands over one canned tuna.

(Y/N) giggles at Grim's behavior and pics the can for him before picking up a fresh sandwich.

" Oohh, #Jackpot! As Cater would say. Looks delicious~"

" You are really only gonna eat that?"

" You only eat tuna Grim. Don't judge. Although this reminds me of how I miss that pita bread, the minced meat and veggies, the shawarma-!"

" Which almost cost us an early game over~ Good afternoon Kantokusei-chan!"

A familiar ginger hair interrupts while winking and...doing one of his poses for some reason.

Wait, Cater?!

" Cater-senpai?! W-where have you been?!!"

"Shhh! Don't cause such a ruckus please, I had important matters to...take care of for today and didn't have time for...some of my duties."

Cater twirls a piece of his hair nervously.

" Whatever it was, Im sure it won't be worth facing Riddle's rage! The whole Heartslabyul Dorm is worried for you and they seem busier than usual. Actually everyone does...I'm having a bad feeling."

Grim chuckles knowingly while sitting on my shoulder as I pick the tray up after choosing a juice cartoon that seemed normal flavored. Wonderland has some weird tastes, only comparable to a visit to Japan.

" Really? I just passed by Deucey and Acey, they seemed relieved but not because of me. I felt invisible actually..."

He ends with a deadpan expression before restoring his face to something selfie-worthy.

" After missing for a whole day, what did you expect? Specially from those two. Care to tell me what is going on?"

" Hmm..Se~cret!◇"

" You are the worst."

"The worst of the worst is still the best~"

"When the going gets tough the tough gets going!"

We sing song in turn before laughing. After looking at each other for a moment or so, we give a high five.

"Where do you learn these?!"

I ask in small gasps after the unexpected bout of laughter.

" Hmm...I read that one in a book while waiting for Lilia-chan in the Light Music Club room."

"You read- ouch!"

Cater elbows me before I can finish.

(Note: I have no idea if Cater calls Lilia by -chan since from what I gathered anyone besides 1st years and Yuu are treated as -kun.

But putting aside Diasomnia, who doesn't want to call Lilia, Lilia-chan???)

" I was bored, besides those books on beauty tips can be a difficult read since it's sometimes hard to understand the logic behind what people are doing to themselves nowadays!"

"I get you, those magazines are ridiculous-"

Thud. I got so distracted with Cater I hit something smooth and eel like...oh right, because it's Jade. Still in his Dorm uniform as Cater quickly notices.

"Eh? You guys sure never relax~"

A quick flash and he is typing on his phone.

"#workhaolic; #octavinelle; #half-a-tweel aaand send! Wow, you are really photogenic Jade-kun!"

" Ah...thank you?"

He asks more than affirms any kind of gratitude, eyes wide, either from surprise or the sudden camera flash but quickly composes himself.

"Jade?! You also have free period now? Wait, you are clean, where's my tray then?! Cater give it back!"

"No can do, you are a walking disaster with this. Where exactly were you planning to sit down? On the far end across from Diasomnia???"

He tsks while balancing my food tray in one hand and typing with the other. Heartslabyul should create a circus troupe.

" Well since someone is feeling so generous, you may put it down on that table across from Diasomnia as you predicted. Thanks and see ya soon~!"

Cater just huffs but complies. He trapped himself.

"(Y/N)-san, omedetou. I believe it's the first time I see you today, correct? Congratulations are in order."

" Oh so you also...of course you of all people know. Thanks, I guess-"

" Oooh, that's right! Omedetou, (Y/N)-chan!!!"

" Cater, use your inner voice!!! He also...ugh. Socialites, paparazzi-"

" I wouldn't call myself a paparazzi, more of an adept in social inner circles."

" Underwater mafia..."

I sigh at Jade's practiced smile. He seems to tilt his head at the 'mafia' part, good luck getting more reactions from him.

" As much as I hate cutting conversations short-"

" You don't. "

" I require some help. Have you seen my brother?"

Irked and starting to frown from my smart-ass remarks he goes directly to the point while keeping a strained smile.

" Floyd-senpai? He also has free time now?! Let me guess, Azul too."

'Why is only Floyd called senpai?' He thinks to himself perplexed.

"Luckily no, or I would probably have gotten a happy birthday squeeze by the look of things. What, did you lose him or something? You two are like peas in a pod, it's strange not seeing you together outside of school activities...or classes from what I heard."

" Yes, he can be quite...sweet. And like me he wanted to see you before this evening."

" What will happen in the evening?!"

I ask agitated, maybe a little too jittery. To which Jade just chuckles, a glint from a row of sharp teeth barely visible, before dismissing himself with a short bow.

" Is he gone...?"

" Yes Grim, you can stop hiding behind my head. We better join Cater, he has been watching over our food for long enough...actually is that his tray in front of mine?"

" When did he get the tray? Did he leave my tuna alone?!!"

" Besides Ruggie, I don't believe we have that many food stealers."

" You forget about those Savanaclaw guys?"

" They are chomping and biting to their hearts content."

I say pointing to a table full of beastmen, from both Savanaclaw and other dorms. Certainly there IS a difference with the Heartslabyul and Pomefiore beastmen but they cannot hide their contentment.

" Now stop being rude and let's dig in!"

" Myeh?! You are the one that used the words chomping and biting..."

After a while of eating in an awkward silence, only making small talk about the weather and how are classes going, to which I learnt more of how much he is avoiding Trey by sitting pretty far away in one of them, I finally ask.

"Ok, but why all the hiding? I mean at this point? I quite understand wanting to avoid Riddle after missing your chores but you know...you have a phone. You can type really fast. You could have sent a text!"

" All I got from trying that was 'Cater where are you?! You said you were at the school's store but Mr.Sam told me you left 10 minutes ago!' And so and so."

" ...This is a lost cause. What were you doing at Sam's? I mean I like the guy, he is funny, creepy but not too scary, adapts well to customers, but he sells the weirdest stuff and rarely has anything school related. Except the grimoires and some questionable potion ingredients but aren't those an extra for...extra credit needs? Or Magic Analysis and most probably CCAS-AMMH?

And Poison Making..."

I add unnerved.

" Hey, I'm in Poison Making class! What is CCAS blah blah?"

I take a deep breath before answering.

" Changes and Comparison of Abbreviated Spells in Ancient and Modern Magic History."

When I finish I dramatically hit my head on the table, after pushing my tray away, as Grimm then adds.

" Mmow~ I'm surprised you memorized all that."

" Hmm... you can just call it Abbreviated Spells in Ancient and Modern History or Abbreviated Spells in History."

" Are any of those official?"

I ask looking up at him.

" Not yet! We should though!"

Cue intense light and a snap and Cater typing again.

" Not that I care about what you two are talking about but isn't Mr.Flamboyant being careless after all that evasion, nyah?"

Grim points out as I hear a shout of 'He's here!' front the Heartslabyul table.

" I guess it's time you resign yourself-"

" Not yet, there's someone I need to pay a visit to first! Toodles~◇"

Before I can speak, Riddle's voice booms over mine.

"Cater! Come back here and explain yourself!!!"

" Calm down Riddle, he can't run forever."

Trey sighs and tries to reassure a slowly reddening mad housewarden.

" He sure did during your class. (Y/N)! You know where he is going to, right??"

That sounded more like a demand than a question.

" Actually, no. He kept me pretty much in the dark. I mean I guess he said he was occupied with something and that he needed to visit someone before being captured..."

" Cater doesn't avoid his duties to socialize just with anyone...so who is unnaconted for here right now? Leona-senpai got out a few minutes ago, I haven't seen Jack yet, Jade-san was searching for Floyd, forbid Idia-san making an appearance without Ortho, Kalim-"

" He and Jamil were in line with me."

" Well, that's a surprise. I wonder why they are here..."

I shrug at Trey.

" Jamil and I were making small talk about cultural similarities."

" We are waisting time. We need to make sure everything is ready before noon. Let's go back to what we were doing."

" Yes Housewardern Rosehearts!!!"

After the chorus of obliging Heartslabyul students, I'm left alone again wondering what's happening later today.

• PE Class•

Later that afternoon in the Sport's Field

"Alright, let's see who skipped leg day! At my signal, pick your brooms."

I'm discussing with Grim who should fly today and how.

"So, magical brooms apparently aren't innately magical or very intuitive which means our usual plan of me being on the broom and you controlling the flow of the magical surge should work just fine. Hopefully. Besides they haven't got one your size yet...

But this leaves with me having more face during class and you seeming lazy, which I wouldn't disagree, but I'll need your grade if I want a grade, if WE want a grade-"

" You talk too much! I can ride a broom just fine!"

" You sound like Azul. You'll need to do most of the work while I simply guide you-"

An all too familiar silky voice interrupts my and Grim's argument.

"What a weird serendipitous day we are having. We meet again Kantokusei."

" Serendipity is a little much, don't you think? I would prefer the thorns of fate."

" You hurt me so."

" And your mommy was looking for daddy, do you know where Floyd is?"

" Mommy? Daddy?!"

" Jade was looking for Floyd, do you have any idea where he is so I can hide?"

" Even if I wanted to inform you, which I don't, unfortunately I have no idea what those two are doing. Mostro Lounge is having a small break today and all the payments should be completed and documents archived by yours truly."

" .........You went on a dealing spree again?"

My voice wavers thinking of anemones.

" More or less, I guarantee you it was mutually beneficial and only lasts for a day so I should perform better in this wretched class today!"

He speaks with excitement and I can't help but be weary of my surroundings. No one has anemones on their heads, should be fine...

And that's when the whistle sounds. I hurriedly put Grim on the broom, to his surprise and give a thumbs up.

30 minutes later...

"Well...we beat Azul..."

Apparently unless you are a magical fairy descendant, controlling your own broom is harder than it looks. I managed to land Grim in a bush instead of a tree hole thanks to my directions.

" Nice effort, but practice before doing something ridiculous like this again! I'll let it slide for now..."

Coach Vargas is being surprisingly lenient.

And that only makes me more paranoid!

"Ashengrotto you did...fine. Maybe some 50 squats and stretches will help you 3. Start now!"

Brrr! Goes the whistle and I sit down to stretch my arms towards my feet.

"No way am I doing 50 squats, I prefer to turn into a pretzel!"

Azul just chuckles

" Where I come from, stretching is much easier."

" If I was a thin spined creatures, I would also agree!"

That shuts him up momentarily. I swear I could hear him mutter that octopie don't have spines though.

" You know (Y/N), you were right. Maybe I should start writting poems and doodling on my contracts! The effects could potentially reach astronomical levels!!!"

For a moment he loses his face composure, giving off a creepy smile.

" I KNOW I'm right, it's hard to doubt astrological calculations from, you know, ASTROLOGY class."

" I was being ironic."

" I'm having the last word."

"Grim-sama is hungry~"

Grim-sama also seems to have fallen unconscious...oh nope. He is just asleep.

• Ignihyde Dorm (at the entrance) •

" Here you go peach hair. We built your own magic smartphone copy. "

" And I decorated it! I think I did a good job, right?!"

Cater smiles at the brothers and takes it from Idia.

" Hmm-hm! Not too cute, not too edgy, perfect! Thanks for the favor~"

" Aren't you forgetting something?"

" Yeah, I even missed PE today just solving the last few bugs and choosing the stickers! My body needs to stretch too, you know?"

Ortho pouts.

" Oh right, right! Here's the payment I promised~"

Cater hands Ortho a figurine of Alice and to Idia a personalized autograph.

" You are lucky the play happened back in the Summer and they visited the Shaftlands. No better timing! Trey-kun had encouraged me to go watch it. It was quite hard getting back in contact with the shows main star to get your dear autograph..."

" She looks as funny as in the photos!"

" Thanks for the effort, you may go now. We still need to fix some lights Lilia-shi found."

Idia waves his hand dismissively in a tired manner but clutching onto that piece of paper closely. He must like the actress.

Ortho is still gushing over the figurine.

" Hai, hai~I'll keep this safe, then surrender myself to Riddle-kun~."

Cater promptly speed walks away from the haunting looking dorm as Idia mumbles.

" How can he be so cheery by such prospects?"

" At least he seemed to like the gift! Now...are we gifting acts of service, big brother?"

At this Idia stiffens, shaking in place, his hair even more unruly than usual and bright blue again.

" A-Acts of service?! N-no such thing Ortho! But...but if we have time, I'm sure I can come up with something..."

Later that evening

"Are these all the lights?"

Ortho inquires looking at the messy pile of tiny bulbs they spent these last hours fixing, somehow.

" I sure hope so. I have my eyes in slits from looking at all the tiny circuits. I think most are Winter Solstice lights."

" Looks like it. Lilia Vanrouge-san or an intermediary should be arriving soon for these. Wait, Big Brother about the gift! I know, I know~!"

The Droid starts jumping around.

" O-Ortho? Are you ok? You jumpscared me. Also, be careful and don't overwork the spring mechanisms."

Idia asks, some mix of worry and fearful surprise in his eyes.

" I'm more than ok Nii-san! I know what your gift will be."

" Is that so... alright, I'm curious. What's this brilliant idea you had?"

Idia decides to indulge Ortho...which was a mistake.

" Well you don't actually plan on showing up, right?"

" You'll be sent there along with my tablet but technically speaking...no. Birthday parties are the perfect nest for social chaos-"

Ortho interrupts before Idia finishes some kind of philosophical metaphor about the meaningless of celebrating one's birth every year.

" You should come too!"

... ... ...

For a long moment Idia stopped working correctly. His hair is rapidly changing colours as he processes what Ortho meant. From happy bright yellow, to a vivid dangerous red back to an alarming roasted yellow to a rather passionate lavender then an anxious gloomy grey and black to a fearful purple.

And back to a darker sad blue.

"My analysis says you are overthinking."

Ortho deadpans as in a matter of fact.

" I-I...sure that would be unexpected I guess b-but..."

" I heard Ramshackle has ghosts, it will be like home!"

" The ghosts I'm used to are the gloomy or suffering ones, those three are rather mischiveous and loud."

"Pleeaase, Nii-san! For Kantokusei!"

"Specially not for Kantokusei!"

" I thought you didn't mind their company..."

" Exactly because I don't that this is more troublesome! Strangers are easier to deal with, classmates are too close to my bubble and people I'm relaxed with are even closer, this party is a mix of everything that can and will go wrong!!!"

He explains walking around the room, back and forth, nail biting.

Nothing Ortho hasn't seen before.

" Just be there. It can be on a corner, as long as you control your...emotions so you don't burn the place down-"

" Ramshackle is a fire hazard too!"

Ok, that didn't help.

Finally a knock on the door brings Idia back to Earth.

______ to be continued_____

[theonewherejgoesonajourney]

Detailed: Cebu – Tagbilaran – Danao – Panglao – Oslob – Badian 7D6N Itinerary

Waddup, waddup! I am writing this travel blog to share with you guys how I spent P19,000.00 for an all-in Cebu-Bohol-Cebu travel package for 7 days and 6 nights! Yes, all-in! This includes my roundtrip airfare, accommodation, private tour transfers (yeah, read that right, private!), meals, souvenir shopping, pasalubong and etc.! But if you’ll deduct my personal expenses like souvenirs, snacks, pasalubong and such; y’all can just enjoy this itinerary for just P16,200.00 or lower!

Now, let’s go by each day as I show you guys the itinerary I made, the what’s, where’s, why’s, when’s and how’s of this trip!

If you guys wanna skip to the breakdown, click the link below:

the link below

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This all started when a good friend mine, RC, shared that there was a seat sale in AirAsia. So last 09 March 2019, we purchased the tickets for a 7-day trip in Cebu! Our trip was also a celebration of our 10th year of high school friendship with 2 more friends. Before booking the ticket, we still don’t have an itinerary and the initial plan was just for around 4 or 5 days, but upon a very short discussion and unreasonable impulse, we took the 7-day flight instead!

The initial itinerary I made was Cebu-Badian-Dumaguete-Siquijor, but checking our time and budget, I created another itinerary that will suit our requirement!

1 night in Cebu with city tour, 1 night in Danao after a city tour in Tagbilaran, 2 nights in Panglao after a hike and an adventure in Danao, 2 nights in Badian after a city tour in Panglao then water adventure while in Badian. With this itinerary, we have more chances of not being sun kissed during the earlier days thus having better aura photos! Tan lined photos are more acceptable in the latter days where we will be spending a lot in the beach and Visayas water!

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DAY 1 – Private Cebu Twin City Tour

Our flight was at 0825h, estimated time of arrival in Cebu was at 1025h. This is my first time going to Cebu and our first time to travel all together as one! I got my roundtrip airfare for only P1,855.18! We got a free ride from my papi so that’s additional pocket money for us! But if you’ll be coming from Pasay, taking a metered taxi or a grab would approximately be around P250-P300 per vehicle (good for 4 pax with 1 hand carry luggage each).

Upon arrival at Mactan airport, I was shocked with their airport’s beauty! We all rounded up and met Sir Jubet from New Californian Rent a Car at C11, I am then again surprised because I was advised that our private car hire for 10 hours was an Innova but we were upgraded to a Hi-ace van!

Before we start the tour, we asked Sir Jubet to drop us off somewhere nice for lunch. He drove us to a sutukil (SuTuKil is a combination of the Cebuano words sugba (grill), tuwa (stew), and kilaw (eat seafood raw). We had our lunch at Fredz Sutukil, this restaurant was the pick your seafood and we’ll cook it for you for free type (but do not be deceived with this line, because we are not sure if all sutukil’s are like this, but they charged us 15% for service charge! Wow, even a hotel or a high-end restaurant has a lower service charge than this one!), honest review, we paid for too much, P679 to be exact, for 3 pretty plain and limited viand and a rice platter. I personally just enjoyed the buttered shrimp though some are over cooked, I was disappointed with the grilled squid and baked oysters (they only used margarine instead of cheese). The platter of rice seems like it’s only good for 3 pax. Also, always check your bill because we were charged higher than the total; lucky us we had a friend that is good in Math!

After lunch, we headed straight to Mactan Shrine & Lapu-Lapu Monument to start our DIY twin city tour. I highly suggest you guys to hire a tour guide if you’re into historical stories because historical markers are not present in every place you’ll be visiting. We only did a short visit and photo op here since we didn’t have a tour guide and the weather seems gloomy. Afterwards, we went to Alegre Guitar Factory, (this is where I bought my travel momentum!), on our way, it rained hard, until we reached the place. We had the chance to witness how a guitar is made from scratch! Upon entering the place, we were welcomed by one of their staff and he gave us a glimpse of the factory. There is a wall of guitar bodies there that is made from different woods, I asked what wood is normally used in their guitars and he told me that it was mahogany. In their shop, there were different kinds of guitars that they are selling at more or less that P1,000-P2,000 and above. A nice classical guitar is at around P4,000 plus.

We then went to Cebu city, the rain stopped while we were at the Alegre Guitar Factory but upon leaving and while we were on the way to Cebu city proper, it started to rain again, then stopped when we were approaching Heritage of Cebu Monument (the weather here is crazy!). The Heritage of Cebu Monument is just in the middle of the road, it’s a nice sight for locals residing in the area! And since we still don’t have a tour guide, sadly, we did not get the story behind this monument. I’m just not sure if there was a historical marker because it was too hot to stay. Yap – San Diego Ancestral House is just walking distance from there, an entrance fee of P50 per pax will be collected upon entering, this comes with a brief background of the house from their staff/local house guide. They will also accompany you around the house and explain the antiques around, there was this very old radio there that is still functioning! They also have a garden there with a harp player who plays both classic and modern music!

Next stop, Magellan’s Cross and Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino! We first visited the church, there was a school beside it and since it was Thursday, we encountered kids during their dismissal. I believe that when you visit a church for the very first time, make a wish because it will come true. I always do this, and I can vouch that two wishes of mine had already come true! The church has a path going straight to Magellan’s Cross, this was a surreal moment for me (but nothing has still topped my encounter with Mt. Mayon!), this famous cross was just once in my history books but now here I am and surrounded by my very good friends! It’s actually just very simple, it was small and solemn (though there are lots of candle ladies in the area starting from the church selling prayer candles). While taking photos, we saw a guy doing this shot that we copied, that was copied by other people we were with as well! Lolz. See the photo below!

We got hungry so we skipped Fort San Pedro and the running tour of Colon Street, Fuente Osmena Circle and Capitol Site though our driver said that Colon street was what we passed going to the church. Before going to Larsian (it’s a big barbecue/sutukil place located in Fuente Osmeña Circle), we went shopping for dried mangoes at 7D factory (it’s a little far from where we were), it’s cheaper to buy their products there than the mall or market (since it’s a little far, you should buy a lot! The difference of their price from retailers is around P20-P50). We then went to Larsian for an early dinner, we ate at Smiley Best BBQ and this really is a comeback from our limited lunch earlier! And with just a difference of P34 per person from our lunch budget, we had: grilled boneless bangus, baked oysters, chorizos, bbqs, 2 cups of rice each and a liter or soda! I will vouch that your money will be spent here with satisfaction! A definite “go-back-to” in Cebu! (Also, they don’t have service charge and Smiley Best BBQ gave us a discount!)

We then called Sir Jubet so that we can now go to Fort San Pedro, seeing it earlier, seems like the place looks better at night, and I was right! Since there was a park outside it, the light decoration was pleasing to the eyes! But since we had limited time, and because it rained (again), we just had a few photos outside and just had a rolling tour instead. Our place to stay that night wasn’t far from Fort San Pedro and the pier going to Bohol, so I highly recommend The Sampaguita Suites Cebu. We got the Triple Sharing Room so we had to pay P200 for the 4th person plus a security deposit that is refundable upon checkout at P500. We just combined the beds (the room has 3 single beds) so all of us can fit. The room is just enough to what we paid for: it is air conditioned, there is a vanity table, enough outlets (I suggest you guys to bring a Multiple-Port USB 2.0 Hub so that you and your friends can charge all phones and power banks/gadgets easier), private bathroom, soaps and towels, and Wi-Fi!

We ended the night early, we settled at around 2000h and lights were out at around 2200h because we have an early itinerary tomorrow bound to Bohol!

Like and subscribe MJ’s Youtube channel and check our our vlog for Day 1 below!:

Vlog: Cebu City Tour | DAY 1

Suggestion/s:

Take an early     flight where you will arrive Cebu at 0600h or 0700h so that you can visit     all tourist spots before it goes dark.

There were a     lot of buffet restaurants around the area upon exiting Mactan Airport,     better take your lunch here. Saw some at P300 per pax.

Hire a local     tour guide, you help them have income, they’ll help you know Cebu! You can     ask one from your transport supplier or if you’re gonna take a tour     package, have your travel agency book you one!

A tip goes a     long way! Don’t forget to tip your tour guides/drivers!

There’s a lot     of per kilo dried mango in Tabo-an Market in Carbon. We bought some before     heading back to Manila from Badian. The price is half the branded ones,     the taste is still good! There’s also branded products there (7D products     are P20-P50 higher than the factory price). It is better to buy pasalubong     here than what we did on the first day since we had the struggle of     carrying them all throughout our tour.

Bring a Multiple-Port USB 2.0 Hub for multiple charging     and power banks! Extra phone connector will also help for just in case     scenes.

Bring a tumbler! Be hydrated always, you guys! You can     fill it at the airport and restaurants you will visit. This is my way of     lessening my cost in water since my tummy is not water conscious as well     and lessen your use of plastic bottled water!

Supplier/s:

New Californian     Rent a Car – Sir Rico: 0945 132 9178 / 0917 167 4247 / 0921 204 4322

Sampaguita Suites Plaza Garcia – (866) 266-3306; we     booked via Agoda.com

Expense Breakdown: open image in new tab for clearer view for all expense breakdowns

Reference/s:

Definition of Sutukil - www.tagaloglang.com › TAGALOG-ENGLISH DICTIONARY

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DAY 2 – Private Bohol Countryside Tour

We need to wake up early because our ferry transfer is at 0700h. We fixed up at around 0530h (we all took a bath last night then took a half bath in the morning to save time). After fixing up, we bought our breakfast at Mc Donald’s that’s just across our hotel. We then hailed a taxi for our transfer out to the pier (since it’s less than 10 minutes from our place, we didn’t hire a private transfer anymore that costed P500 per way), unfortunately, the taxi driver contracted us at P150 and declined to use the meter (knowing that we weren’t locals, a sad foreign scene) and since there were no taxis in the area at 0600h, we took it. Upon arrival at the pier, we were charged P10 if we wanted the taxi to enter the area (to ease the drop-off of luggage).

When we entered the area, we were then advised that we should check-in our hand carry luggage because we cannot take it with us inside the ferry boat. Each luggage is at P50 each, up to you if you want to check-in your other bags as well, we didn’t. The trip will take 2 hours so you guys can have a quick snooze from your early wake-up. They play a movie inside for the guests, we took the tourist class ticket so I’m not sure if there is also a movie streaming for the business class tickets.

Oh, we traveled in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak so we were very careful of our actions and distance with other people. We arrived at Tagbilaran, Bohol pier at around 0900h and met with Sir Julius from Bohol Car Van Rentals & Tour and immediately started the Countryside Tour. We first went to Blood Compact Site, and again, since we didn’t hire a tour guide, we just had a photo op with the statue there and had a quick sightseeing of the area. We then went to Baclayon Church, there is a museum there that has an entrance fee of I think P30 or P50 per pax, we skipped it and went directly inside the church (the façade was being built when we were there, Sir Julius said that the damage was still from the 2013 earthquake, and the restoration took place just recently). Upon entering the church, there is a basket of scarves there that anyone can use if they are wearing skin revealing clothes to pay respect and shall be returned once you exit. Again, I made another wish here because it’s my first time here! The sun was really high that day so we didn’t stay long. What I like about this church is that it faces the sea, so every time you finish praising the Lord, you get to see this beautiful scene! What a view!

Afterwards, we went to Bohol Lemur Butterfly Park, the entrance fee is at P70 per pax. This comes with a staff/local house guide. They will also accompany you around the place and explain the different animals you’ll see plus an instant photographer! I forgot to ask for his name but shoutout to you Kuya! There’s a lot of animals there, not just butterflies; there’s also an alligator or crocodile there (I wasn’t listening then hehe), different birds, lemurs, and snakes. Next stop, the famous Man-made forest, did you know that this is the first and only man-made forest in the Philippines? Awesome, huh? It’s actually just a regular road where bus, motors, tricycles pass by to get to the other side of the road. Y’all need to park beside the road and wait for the perfect time where there are no vehicles passing by to take that perfect photo. We spent more than an hour here because of the latter! We practiced a lot of jump shots here! The place was really mesmerizing, you’re surrounded by lush green with calmness of its serene silence. When you view it from below, the way the branches and trunks of the trees form is like they’re comforting you with a big warm hug.

Lunch time! We skipped one of the highlights of the Countryside Tour, the Loboc River Cruise (buffet lunch here is at P650 per pax with live entertainment), because of the COVID-19 outbreak, we opted to have lunch in a less crowded place instead so Sir Julius drove us to Mayang Maye restaurant. The place was really cozy and homey, they also have fruit shakes! Fun! We badly wanted one after a tiring morning tour. They had a boodle fight menu and because the photo looked promising, we ordered one, it was named Meat Lovers, that was good for 3-5 persons. Initially we planned to invite Sir Julius to join us in the boodle fight, but when our order came, honest review, it wasn’t like the one in the photo. It looks like it was only good for 3 persons, so instead, we ordered a solo meal for him but he declined it. And just like with our day 1, our lunch is not a happy meal, but comparing it to our Cebu lunch, our stomachs were satisfied here somehow. Another unhappy moment was our fruit shake, it was presented to us in a large cup showing that the shake is not full, maybe they ran out of the right cup size for what we paid for?

Moving on, we skipped the Sipatan Hanging Bridge (it’s P30 per pax entrance fee, this is just a photo op and like the Man-made forest, this bridge is used normally by locals to pass) and the Bohol Python and Wildlife Park (since we already saw a snake in the lemur butterfly park, we decided not to go there anymore). We then went to Bohol Enchanted, and finally, my first time to see a tarsier! We got the chance to see three of them, and because they are nocturnal creatures, silence is a must when you lurk to look for them clinging on the branches of small trees. There were also butterflies there and different animals there. My friends did their souvenir shopping here, there’s a stall selling goodies and Bohol merchandise.

Upon checking them online, I saw a lot of bad reviews because the place we went to is not the regular place to see a tarsier. Seems like the one we went to is a zoo where the animals are well, indeed in a cage, though the tarsiers are not; I believe the regular place to see a tarsier is at Tarsier Conservation Area (Loboc).

We then went to Sotera's ATV Rides, we took the second trail that takes up an hour to travel and would have the view of the chocolate hills for photo op. We went there at around 1400h and damn, the sun is really high! They will be lending you a pair of rain coat and rain pants to protect you from the mud that will really stick! If you’re into a dirt adventure, you can decline to borrow it, but since we aren’t, we all took it and we are all glad that we did because the place was really muddy when we took the trail! We also swapped our sandals to their slippers, take them too, cleaning is way easier after the adventure! As expected, I crashed, again lolz; hey, at least now it’s on a tree stump not a person! It was a lot of fun though I think that the price is too much? Not sure, just comparing it to my Mt. Mayon ATV ride. We had a little mechanical problem here and there but no fear because their staff/local house guide always helped us and was our instant photographer too! He has all these photo manipulating tricks so just follow it! Just not sure if all of their local house guide does it. After fixing and refreshing up, we then went to our last stop, the wonderful chocolate hills! Again, I was taken away because these hills were just once in my history book but now, here I am, facing them! We encountered green hills because it wasn’t summer time yet, so if you guys want to see their chocolate form, visit around dry season. You have to take a steep ladder to go to the viewing point of the chocolate hills and while going there, the wind will really ruin your hairdo. The sun was calmer when we were there because it is already late in the afternoon, there is a souvenir shop here as well so if you haven’t bought anything yet, you can here. I bought this tarsier scrunchy for only P50!

We left around 1645h and arrived at Danao at around 1800h, we will be staying the night here because we will be waking up early the next day for our Sea of Clouds adventure! I opted to have us stay in Danao instead of Tagbilaran so that we can wake up at around 0500h instead of 0300h and travel to Danao for the hike. We stayed at this amazing place called Gonzaga Legacy Fairytale Hostel, I connected with Sir Carlo and he was very accommodating! The place was beyond my expectation, it has this rustic vibe where you would rather chill in their common area either in the first or second floor, there is a swimming pool, a garden, stray puppies and of course, the touch of province life, “tukos” or geckos. We lounged at the second floor’s common area that has this breathtaking view of mountains, with the right mellow music, drinks and friends, damn, this is the unwinding you need from your metro work life. A quick escape from the hustle and bustle of Manila. The hostel has no restaurant though I think you guys can cook because there is a kitchen area on the first floor, I’m just not sure if there is a fee. The nearest restaurant that is still open was the one in the Danao Adventure Park, there’s not much means of transportation in the area, especially at night time, so we asked Sir Carlo how to go there, he told us that it is a 10-minute walk from the hostel, but he then offered us a ride on his motorcycle, we took it and paid him for the service; we made 2 trips, each trip has 2 passengers plus the driver with no helmet! (A dangerous experience so better get insured and have your life protected!) We made it all in one piece to the restaurant, luckily, they were still open because we didn’t have any stored food if they weren't. The dinner here is also a comeback from our lunch, we are finally for the first time on the budget for our meal! I just initially budgeted P150 per pax per meal assuming that we will be having solo meals every time, but since we’ve agreed to do ala carte, I suggest you guys to have a meal budget of P200-P250 per pax. When we were done, we walked back to the hostel, assuming that we can take it since it’s walking distance. While walking back, we’re all afraid because there’s no vehicle, no street light, nor people passing by, so upon reaching the curve road and seeing that the road ahead is still long, we all went back to the restaurant and tried reaching Sir Carlos. We tried for some minutes and when we went through, (thank God), 2 motorcycles will fetch us!

We got the Family room that has 2 double beds with kulambo each, there’s also no security deposit here. Rooms here are very simple: it has a stand fan, a table, enough outlets, private bathroom and towels, oh, they also have water dispenser!. The water pressure is weaker than the city’s. But hey, the whole place is great with its amenities and our stay there also includes light breakfast for 4 pax so that’s another plus! Plus there is Wi-Fi!

We ended the night at around 2200h and fixed our stuff for tomorrow’s hike to see the sea of clouds!

Like and subscribe MJ’s Youtube channel and check our our vlog for Day 2 below!:

Vlog: Bohol | Chocolate Hills, Man-made Forest, ATV | Day 2

Suggestion/s:

There is also a 0600h ferry schedule that you can take so that you can have more time doing the Countryside Tour. But if you guys won’t be going to Danao for the hike, either 0700h or 0800h trip will be fine.

There is a     buffet restaurant inside the Bohol Enchanted, you can save time if you opt     to eat here if you decide to visit the tarsiers in their place.

Hire a local     tour guide, you help them have income, they’ll help you know Bohol! You     can ask one from your transport supplier or if you’re gonna take a tour     package, have your travel agency book you one!

A tip goes a     long way! Don’t forget to tip your tour guides/drivers!

You can swap     the ATV trip with the Chocolate Hills so that it won’t be too hot when you     rie through the ATV course.

There’s a lot of souvenir shops in the places that we     visited, cheapest one I saw was the one in the Chocolate Hills viewing     deck.

Bring an insect repellant, since the hostel we stayed in     Danao is surrounded by trees, bugs might visit.

Bring a Multiple-Port USB 2.0 Hub for multiple charging     and power banks! Extra phone connector will also help for just in case     scenes.

Bring a tumbler! Be hydrated always, you guys! You can     fill it at the place your staying at and restaurants you will visit. This     is my way of lessening my cost in water since my tummy is not water     conscious as well and lessen your use of plastic bottled water!

Supplier/s:

Oceanjet Fast Ferry – we booked     via Klook

Bohol Car Van Rentals &     Tour – Sir Sherwin: 0926 710 3220 / 0956     153 1337

Sotera's ATV Rides - 0946 721     5056; we booked on the spot

Gonzaga Legacy Fairytale Hostel – Sir Carlo 0956 160     4241; we booked directly

Expense Breakdown:

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DAY 3 – Bohol Sea of Clouds (Mt. Puntaas) and Danao Adventure Park

Need to wake up early, again, because we need to do a hike. As per Sir Carlo, it is best to be on top at around 0500h-0600h so that we can view the sunrise as well while hiking. We fixed up at around 0400h, and again, we all took a bath last night to save time. After fixing up, we informed Sir Carlo and his friend that we are ready. A huge tip, don't drink too much water before going out or take a pee first because the hike is a little long especially if you're not much of a hiker (or not into exercise). Each motorcycle that we rented still carried 2 pax plus the driver, it took us more or less 20-25 minutes before arriving the foot of the mountain. Since I have a little bladder, I needed to go and there is only one available comfort room there, it is located in a local's house and there is a fee of P5 per pax. Expect a provincial type of comfort room with the little toilet and no lights available.

There is an entrance fee of P25 per pax, we were guided by an elder going up the mountain with Sir Carlo and his friend, she was stronger than me! I needed to take a pause now and then but nanay just hiked continuously, she's amazing! The hike we took was the long way so we reached the top after 30 minutes with lots of break haha. Unfortunately, because the wind was strong that day, we only saw very thin sheets of cloud, but nontheless, we saw the beauty that is behind the clouds that swim in the area! We also saw rice terraces while hiking and we climbed a chocolate hill! Yes! A chocolate hill! Who would've thought? The moutain top is not that broad, during our hike there were few people there and one group even brought a dog! There is also a little store before you reach the top of the hill where they sell champorado, snacks and drinks (the champorado was really yummy!).

We stayed around 30 minutes for picture taking and viewing. The view was amazing, we even saw our hostel from there! Going back down, we took the shortcut that was maybe around 10 minutes shorter that our earlier route. We stopped at a market place before going back to the hostel to buy some stuff and food.

Upon reaching the hostel, we all took a quick rest before breakfast and explored the place more. Sir Carlo upgraded our simple breakfast to a rice meal with eggs and hotdogs! That I believe should only be bread and coffee. Yum! Afterwards, we then went to Danao Adventure Park that was just less then 5 minutes away. There was an entrance fee of P40 per pax and the ride choices were sold separately and by pair/package. I didn't try any ride because it was extreme for me since I have a problem with my back and I haven't cleared extreme activities yet from my doctor. But my 3 friends all took The Plunge and I recorded them all! Based on their screams in the video, the ride was heart dropping! The ride was at P700 per pax and it lasts less than 10 minutes from dropping you to pulling you back in. See below prices of their other rides.

We then took our lunch at the same restaurant where we had dinner last night. Restaurants in the area is very limited, even up to none because the place is not actually high in tourists. This park is their main attraction so far. After lunch we went back to the hostel, took a bath and fixed our stuff to transfer to Panglao, Bohol. Oh, we also had the chance to meet the owner of the hostel! If I remember correctly, he's Dutch. Before leaving the place, there was this freedom wall near the stairs where we left a message!

From Danao to Panglao, it took us around 2 hours via private car. We arrived at Bohol Sea Breeze Cottages and Resort at around 1500h, do note that this not a beachfront property, you need to walk for a minute before reaching the beach. Though this property is cheap and can accommodate 4 pax comfortably. We got the Economy Quad Room that has 1 bunk bed and 1 double bed. They also provided us with towels, soap and dining stuff. There is also a water dispenser in the garden area with free water and a cooking area (with charge). There is no security deposit and the front desk associate was very nice and helped us to our little house. Rooms here are like houses that are side by side.

We wandered by Alona beach after freshening up and just enjoyed the view, (honestly for me, the beach was okay, I prefer Calaguas beach though) we decided to swim tomorrow since we had a very tiring day (plus the earlier tiring days), we lounged near Namaka Bar where we had our early dinner. There are not much water activities here than Boracay, what the vendors offer are city tour, whale shark encounter and island hopping tour. The beach is calm and there is a rope dividing it where the tourists can only swim, I guess?

After several days in land, starting today until our last day, we will be spending it by the beach! We took lots of photos here, good thing the weather is nice unlike in Cebu lolz. We also decided to cancel our Panglao City Tour tomorrow because we are all tired from a packed 3-day tour. Good thing Sir Sherwin is flexible to our request of last-minute cancellation. (in my itinerary, the city tour will cost P510 per pax)

During dinner, we treated ourselves with cocktails since the bar had a promo. We had pizza because in the area, the restaurant available is a Chinese restaurant that is very pricey and Namaka (we didn't explore much because we are tired). The price is kinda expensive, though the food tasted good. There was a fire dance as well at the restaurant.

After dinner, we walked by the beach and discovered that there were more restaurants there that serves rice! Hahaha. Now we know, we will be taking our meals in the area tomorrow. We stumbled upon a henna booth there where we all got inked! The price ranges from the design you want and the color, the regular ones is at P100 each. There is also a shop in the area for snacks and stuff.

End of day 3! So far our best sleep because we had a comfortable bed, air-conditioned room and a decent big bathroom! There is also a vanity table and television, but we didn't use it all throughout our stay hehe, there are enough outlets, water dispenser in their garden area and Wi-Fi!

Suggestion/s:

If you want to     witness the legit sun rising and sea of clouds, better hike at 0500h so     that you'll be on the hill at around 0530h. Since the view depends on the     weather (the sea of clouds appears if it's not windy and rainy), y'all got     to pray for it to be there because even the predicted weather online     varies in real time. The view is still pretty without the sea of clouds     but it'd be nicer if you'll witness them!

Wanna try all     the rides at the Danao Adventure Park? Save up! During our visit, for you     to enjoy all of it, it'll cost you P3,640 (with entrance fee). They also     have an accommodation here if you opt to stay in the area.

Hire a local     tour guide, you help them have income, they’ll help you know Bohol! You     can ask one from your transport supplier or if you’re gonna take a tour     package, have your travel agency book you one! (In this tour though, I’m     not sure if tour guides are available – for us, since we had a very     friendly contact person at the Fairytale Hostel, he served as our local     tour guide. Though we didn't gather much information of Danao itself     since Sir Carlo was new to the area. We paid him for the motorcycle rides     since there is no form of transportation that is on plain sight available.)

A tip goes a     long way! Don’t forget to tip your tour guides/drivers!

There’s a     souvenir shop at the Danao Adventure Park.

A GoPro is     very essential so you can capture yourself while doing the extreme     activities! But a phone is fine to if you can hold it steady while     dangling in midair!

If you opt to     have a beachfront hotel, you can explore other options than what we stayed     at there are lots in the line of Ivywall Panglao (though maybe the price     is high since the hotels are directly by the beach)

Bring lots of     snacks, buy some while en route to Panglao because the stores there sell     limited snacks.

Since there is     a whale shark encounter here already, you can also opt to take it here     than in Oslob, Cebu.

Bring a Multiple-Port USB 2.0 Hub for multiple charging     and power banks! Extra phone connector will also help for just in case     scenes.

Bring a tumbler! Be hydrated always, you guys! You can     fill it at the place your staying at and restaurants you will visit. This     is my way of lessening my cost in water since my tummy is not water     conscious as well and lessen your use of plastic bottled water!

Supplier/s:

Bohol Car Van Rentals &     Tour – Sir Sherwin: 0926 710 3220 / 0956     153 1337

Bohol Sea Breeze Cottages and Resort – (038) 502 9036; we booked via Agoda

Expense Breakdown:

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DAY 4 – Free at own leisure / Beach day!

Since we cancelled our Panglao City Tour, this is our first day to wake up a little late in the morning haha and we have extra money for food for today! We had our brunch at Aquatica Beach Resort (they also have an accommodation here, they're beachfront!) The food here is super nice! The value is equal to the food quality that's why we had our dinner here as well. For today, we just went back to the beach and just relaxed, swam and took photos. The sun wasn't that high so it was really a good day for a swim! Unfortunately, I didn't last long in the water because I got a skin reaction. We were out until late sunset and settled back at the hotel early since we have an early ferry transfer to Badian, Cebu tomorrow.

Suggestion/s:

Sunblock and stay hydrated! We’re lucky that the weather there was calm that time.

If you got extra money and energy you can do the city tour that will cost about around P500 per pax with a group of 4 pax. You can also do the tours offered by the vendors by the beach!

Got more extra money? Try the amazing restaurants by the Aquatica Beach Resort, some offer international cuisine! (fruit shakes are expensive here though, the restaurant at the Aquatica Beach Resort is my best pick for budget friendly and quality food! They got cheap fruit shake too!)

If you’re a diver, there is this dive shop near Namaka bar where you can schedule a dive!

There are limited souvenir shops in the area where we’re at.

Bring a tumbler! Be hydrated always, you guys! You can fill it at the place your staying at and restaurants you will visit. This     is my way of lessening my cost in water since my tummy is not water conscious as well and lessen your use of plastic bottled water!

Supplier/s:

Bohol Sea Breeze Cottages and Resort – (038) 502 9036; we booked via Agoda

Expense Breakdown:

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DAY 5 – Oslob Whaleshark Encounter

Another day to wake up early again! Today we will be going to Oslob, Cebu then to Badian, Cebu! We need to be at the pick-up point (Rona’s corner near Mcdo) around 0500h since there is a scheduled port transfer by Apekop Travel (this is included in the ticket you’ll be buying). For easier transaction, better contact them directly via cellphone so that they know that you are already in the area since you’ll be with other guests in the shuttle. From our hotel, Rona’s corner is less than 10 minutes away via car/tricycle. You should contract a tricycle the day before because there are none in the area roaming at 0500h, we tried scheduling one but didn’t push through since the fare is “special” because of the time of pick-up. One tricycle can carry 2 pax with luggage at P150 per way. We asked the front desk if they have a friend who uses a tricycle and could help us pay a lower rate, unfortunately all charges are higher since there are no passengers that can be picked up early in the morning. Fortunately, we are very lucky to be offered a ride by the owner of the hotel via their minivan! We paid P80 for the ride and lots of thank you!

The shuttle transfer is kinda long, around 20 minutes from Rona’s corner. Once you arrive, y’all be signing a waiver at their desk, the boat arrived kind if in the middle of the sea (since it’s low tide) so we need to walk for around 5 minutes before reaching a boat that will take us to the main boat. The travel time to Oslob, Cebu is 2 ½ hours so you can take a quick snooze from your early wake up, life vests will be provided as well. Minutes before we reach Oslob, rain came pouring down again while sun was high (crazy Cebu weather is here again) so we got worried coz maybe the tour will be canceled because of the weather. Fortunately, again, the sun was high up when we reached the Oslob Whaleshark Encounter venue! I contacted Ms. Alice from BCD’s Place to rent a van that can transfer us until Badian, Cebu. She gave us a special rate of P2,000 per van per way (that was at P2,500 originally). BCD’s Place also has accommodations if you opt to stay a night instead in Badian, Cebu!

Before riding the boat to the whale sharks, their staff will be conducting a short seminar about whale sharks, the do’s and don’ts during the encounter and some reminders. If you’re not wearing rash guard, better use a sunscreen protector because y’all be spending 30 minutes in the open sea (though you’re not that far from the shore). We got the boat all to ourselves with 2 boatmen, they have snorkeling gears that you can borrow that is inclusive in your payment (though I suggest you guys to bring your own snorkeling gear (the eye mask with mouth piece is better than the whole face gear for me. It’s more hygienic too, since the rented our gears are used by any one and every one). Bring aqua shoes too, it’s safer than plastic slippers. There’s lots of shops in the area where you can buy snorkeling gears, aqua shoes, bathing suits, souvenirs and other essentials!

It'll only take you some minutes before reaching the area where the whale sharks are, a lot of people were there but you won’t bump into each other coz I think limited boats are allowed in the area. The boatmen were really helpful, they took most of our photos in videos! Life vests were provided, but if you can swim, you can opt to not take the life vest. In our case only RC and SL can swim so MJ and me can be seen mostly by the boat’s outrigger/float. The struggle and anxiety of drowning is real for me, knowing that the area we’re at is really deep with big whale sharks swimming around. These gentle giants of the sea live up to their names, since they are domesticated, they are aware of the tourists in their surroundings. They never charge to the people and just eat the fishes that the boatmen throw. I got the chance to see some even if I was scared the hell out! I even got to have a video with one! Looking at them on top of the sea, their size seems manageable but once you look at them down the sea, damn they are really big! We started at around 0900h and ended around 1030h. Before going to Badian, Cebu, we stopped by a bakery to buy some breakfast! (This is a hack we just thought off after eating! To lessen your cost of breakfast, you can substitute it with bread! You’ll get a full stomach too!)

The travel time was around an hour to Matutinao Beach & Cottages, and when we reached the place, all of us got the last but not the least moment! Now this is the best accommodation we got! The whole place is very cozy starting from their welcoming area up until their rooms! You’ll have the metro hotel vibe in their rooms because of their modern design from the beds, amenities up until the bathroom! We got the Triple Room, we just combined the beds (the room has 1 double bed and 1 single bed) so all of us can fit, there is no security deposit here. The room is more than enough to what we paid for! It is air conditioned, there is a vanity table, enough outlets, private bathroom, towels, bottled water, television, cabinet, very comfortable beds and Wi-Fi! The whole area is also a big plus with their accommodating and friendly staff!

The hotel is also just facing the Kawasan Falls entrance! Like literally just 10 steps from the property’s gate! There is a restaurant inside the area of the hotel and they got lots of options to choose from! We spent all our remining meals here before going to the airport! Their food serving is enough for 2-3 pax per order and are very tasty! The best part here, (yeah, there’s still more), we got a beachfront property! Each room has chairs and a table in their veranda y’all can just chill while looking at the sea or chill by the shore, listen to the waves and birds passing by. A phrase that describes all of this for me? “This is the life!”

Since we do not have any activities left for the day, we had the whole afternoon to just relax and enjoy the place!

Suggestion/s:

Hire a     tricycle beforehand if you want to take this itinerary, tricycles are not     available early in the morning in the area where we’re at in Panglao.

If you took     the Whaleshark watching in Panglao, you can directly go to Badian, Cebu     already and take the Badian Kawasan Falls Tour if time permits.

A tip goes a     long way! Don’t forget to tip your tour guides/drivers!

There’s a lot     of souvenir shop at the Oslob Whaleshark venue.

A GoPro is     very essential so you can capture yourself while swimming with the whale     sharks! But a phone is fine to if you can risk brining it in the open sea!

BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION AT     MATUTINAO BEACH & COTTAGES! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE PLACE!

Early booking     is a must in there though since they only have 8 rooms that is a     combination of twin and triple sharing room.

Bring a Multiple-Port USB 2.0 Hub for multiple charging     and power banks! Extra phone connector will also help for just in case     scenes.

Bring a tumbler! Be hydrated always, you guys! You can     fill it at the place your staying at and restaurants you will visit. This     is my way of lessening my cost in water since my tummy is not water     conscious as well and lessen your use of plastic bottled water!

Supplier/s:

Apekop Travel – 0917 880 1464; we booked via Klook

BCD’s Place – Ms. Alice: 0917     799 5330; we booked directly

Matutinao Beach & Cottages – 0916 537 4168; we booked directly

Expense Breakdown:

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DAY 6 – Kawasan Falls (without canyoneering but you should do this with it!)

Since we are literally just in front of Kawasan Fall’s entrance, we decided to do the tour at around 0830h. This tour normally comes with canyoneering where you guys should really take if you’re into extreme adventure! You’ll do water rafting, climbing, and jumping off a waterfall! In the original itinerary I created, we should all really be doing the canyoneering, but, since I am not physically okay to do such. Unfortunately, we then all decided not to take the canyoneering totally and just visit the Kawasan Falls.

You need to trek for around 30 minutes before reaching the turquoise watered falls, along the trek you will encounter mini falls, a long walk on a rainforest, old bridges and more! We had a tour guide during this tour so we learned that, yes, a lot have died in the area because they opt to swim without life vests. It is better to go to the falls early so that you’ll have plenty of time to take pictures without a lot of extra people in the background.

The water there is deep and very cold, locals put a rope where travelers can only swim, strictly with life vests. Thanks to our tour guide, we got lots of photos together in the water! We spent around 2 hours there before having lunch in a karinderia near the entrance with our tour guide.

Since we only have a half day tour, we got the chance to enjoy the day with photo shoots and really take a break from all the tiring days earlier. There’s not a lot of places to explore in the area, but we heard from a group that is staying at the hotel that there are bars in Moalboal (30 minutes away from Badian).

The place is really relaxing, calm sea and a very serene view! Again, need a place in South Cebu? Go to Matutinao Beach & Cottages!

Their restaurant sells alcoholic beverages (limited choices though), but there’s a shop near the church that sells food and drinks too. The hotel doesn’t charge any corkage fee for outside food, eat it by your veranda while enjoying the view!

Suggestion/s:

To fully enjoy the day, I really suggest you guys to do the canyoneering! But if opt to just swim in the falls, then you’ll have half the day of relaxing!

You can also include Osmeña Peak if you have extra budget with this tour. It’ll cost you P700 per pax (rate given to us by Matutinao Beach & Cottages last 2019) for a group of 4 pax.

Hire a local tour guide, you help them have income, they’ll help you know South Cebu! You can ask one from your transport supplier or if you’re gonna take a tour package, have your travel agency book you one!

A tip goes a long way! Don’t forget to tip your tour guides/drivers!

There’s a lot of souvenir shops inside the Kawasan Falls proper.

A GoPro is very essential so you can     capture yourself while swimming! But a phone is fine to if you can risk     brining it in the water!

BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION AT MATUTINAO BEACH &     COTTAGES! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE PLACE!

Early booking is a must in there     though since they only have 8 rooms that is a combination of twin and     triple sharing room.

Bring a Multiple-Port USB 2.0 Hub for multiple charging and power banks! Extra phone connector will also help for just in case scenes.

Bring a tumbler! Be hydrated always, you guys! You can fill it at the place your staying at and restaurants you will visit. This is my way of lessening my cost in water since my tummy is not water conscious as well and lessen your use of plastic bottled water!

Supplier/s:

Matutinao Beach & Cottages – 0916 537 4168; we     booked directly

Expense Breakdown:

xxx

DAY 7 – Pescdor Island Swimming, Sardine Run and Turtle Watching

Last day in Cebu and we’re going back to reality by tonight! Today, we will go to Moalboal to swim in pescador island and with sardines and turtles! We were fetched by a tricycle (that fit all 4 of us) at around 0800h which was a great touch to today’s tour! We traveled for almost 30 minutes going to Moalboal and upon reaching the municipality, we bought some bread (breakfast hack!) for breakfast then went inside their tourist registration office. We were presented with the background of Moalboal and the do’s and don’t’s during the tour.

And yet, again, with the crazy weather of Cebu, rain starts to fall when we were waiting for our boat. We walked towards the boat since it’s low tide, a fun walk because a lot of starfish were scattered! We got the boat all to ourselves with 2 boatmen, they have snorkeling gears that you can borrow that is inclusive in your payment (though I suggest you guys to bring your own snorkeling gear (the eye mask with mouth piece is better than the whole face gear for me. It’s more hygienic too, since the rented our gears are used by any one and every one). Bring aqua shoes too, it’s safer than plastic slippers. If you’re not wearing rash guard, better use a sunscreen protector because y’all be spending 2 hour or so in the open sea There’s lots of shops at the boat waiting area where you can buy snorkeling gears, aqua shoes, bathing suits, souvenirs and other essentials!

The boat ride to Pescador Island is around 30 minutes, where you’ll have the chance to see corals and different fishes! Life vests were provided, but if you can swim, you can opt to not take the life vest. We spent around 30 minutes before going to the sardines!

Y’all know when your near because the strong scent of salty fish will welcome you! Remember the courage you need to put up with swimming with the whale sharks? The struggle and anxiety of drowning is way bigger for me here! Not only knowing that the area we’re at is really deep but I can literally see a dark pit without any sea floor, yeah, that’s how deep it is. You’ll witness a lot of swirling sardines that are bigger than the ones we eat! Unfortunately, we don’t have any videos for today’s trip because we lost the memory card when we were packing. We also some divers deep down, so if you are one, you can be closer with the sardines!

With 2/3 activities, we are already exhausted. Last stop, sea turtles! This is the highlight that I have been waiting for since day 1! We went to the area where sea turtles normally stay, but, sadly, since the water is still shallow for them, our boatmen told us that they are swimming in the deep areas at that time. We did see one though a little far from our boat, he’s just looking around popping his head in the open air.

We then went back to land and traveled back to the hotel. Exhausted and hungry from swimming and snorkeling! We arrived the hotel a little around 1130h, had lunch, fixed up and enjoyed the view one last time. We left at around 1400h via private car and made a detour to Tabo-an Market in Carbon to buy more souvenirs. I suggest you guys to buy here instead if you’re not into branded food. We reached Mactan at around 1900h so we decided to have dinner at the famous Rico’s Lechon where here, we experienced a legit baked scallop that’s only for P200 per 8 shells! We had 2 rounds!

Wrapping it up, with bags full of souvenirs and dirty clothes. We left Cebu with lots of new and treasured memories! Indeed, a way to sum up a 10-year long friendship of ups and downs, makeups and breakups, tears of joy and sadness!

Suggestion/s:

You can opt to stay the night before in Moalboal instead of Badian to save time going back and forth.

Hire a local tour guide, you help them have income, they’ll help you know Moalboal! You can ask one from your transport supplier or if you’re gonna take a tour package, have your travel agency book you one! (In this tour though, I’m not sure if tour guides are available)

A tip goes a long way! Don’t forget to tip your tour guides/drivers!

There’s a lot of souvenir shop at the boat waiting area in Moalboal.

A GoPro is very essential so you can capture yourself while swimming with the whale sharks! But a phone is fine to if you can risk brining it in the open sea!

Bring a Multiple-Port USB 2.0 Hub for multiple charging and power banks! Extra phone connector will also help for just in case scenes.

Bring a tumbler! Be hydrated always, you guys! You can     fill it at the place your staying at and restaurants you will visit. This     is my way of lessening my cost in water since my tummy is not water     conscious as well and lessen your use of plastic bottled water!

Supplier/s:

Matutinao Beach & Cottages – 0916 537 4168; we booked directly

Expense Breakdown:

Extra tip: If you’re fine to get a little sunkissed in Bohol, you can do this itinerary as below, it’s a little jam-packed though:

Day 1: Cebu Twin City Tour

Day 2: Travel to Moalboal, Cebu (etd 0400h) – Pescador Island snorkeling, sardine run and turtle watching – transfer to Badian, Cebu

Day 3: Badian Canyoneering with Kawasan Falls Tour – Osmeña Peak (if time permits though this is better done during sunrise) – transfer to Oslob, Cebu

Day 4: Oslob Whaleshark Encounter with Tumalog Falls (if time permits) – transfer to Panglao via fast ferry – Panglao City Tour

Day 5: Bohol Countryside Tour – transfer to Danao

Day 6: Sea of clouds and Danao Adventure Park – transfer back to Panglao/Tagbilaran (if via Tagbilaran, get last ferry bound to Cebu)

Day 7: Depart via Panglao or Cebu airport

[ampersandbastille]

∆ one of the best days of my entire life...again ∆

Alright. So. This time, my story comes in two parts, from two Bastille gigs. The first show (and part) Sunday September 10th, 2017 in Norfolk, VA has been commemorated in this video. It is very long, but there is a table of contents of sorts in the description, if you’d like to skip around. But here is the second piece of it, in its entirety in post form: On Thursday September 14th, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA, I saw my favorite band, Bastille, for the fourth time. And by the same, or another all-powerful grace of a god in the sky or the universe, I got to meet them again. (the first post of meeting them can be found here). Here is the story:

So again, if you’ll remember, I was not supposed to go to that Charlotte show when I then, somehow formally met them. Well this story starts very similarly. I had bought my ticket for this Philly show last minute upon deciding I could swing it as far as getting there and such goes. I had just enough money as well. I was lucky enough to buy a ticket at face value from a lovely mutual on twitter (i’m @bastilleaud there, by the way). A week prior to the show, this same mutual had also informed me that Radio 104.5 Philly was doing a contest called Beer Garden, which is a contest with the radio station where the band hangs out and plays in a small diner/bar an acoustic set, and following, there’s a meet and greet. I really wanted to try for it, just because it was not only a 21+ event, meaning less competition as far as other listeners playing goes, but I mean. A chance to meet my favorite band again? I HAVE to try. So all week, every day, I listened to the specified hours on the radio station. Four times a day, they read out a keyword and such and there would be a winner each hour. I failed miserably. I had given up hope after all of my attempts, but my mutual contacted me the day before, September 13th, and said they were giving ONE LAST CHANCE. So I thought meh, I won’t get it but I might as well try. I had work though, but this time they had people tweet them screenshots listening to their station at 1 pm, which was easy enough. I remember sending my tweet in and seeing there were already 78 replies.  I thought yeah no...no way that’s happening.

Then the craziest stroke of luck comes out of nowhere, again. Like an omen from above. Just insanity. I get a notification to my phone from a random person I don’t know, who had replied to a tweet, saying “Will there be any more chances?” I was confused. I scrolled up to see a tweet from radio 104.5, mentioning myself and like 5 or 6 others saying we had won. I was at work, children were about to come back into the classroom, and I was SHAKING. Basically, trying to hold in my emotions for the rest of the day. I still have no understanding as to how this craziness could happen to me, but here we are.

So the day comes. Literally, the next day. I drive up to Philly, somehow magically find a good parking space (after driving around aimlessly for a half an hour) next to the diner. Steph, who was my plus one, arrived. We waited outside of the diner to await the radio station and such. Before then, a different van arrives. Down the sidewalk and walking into the diner, waltz Charlie Barnes, Kyle Simmons, and Dan Smith (in that order I believe). What. We’re all just standing there like uhhh whoa? Okay? So the radio station arrives shortly after, and more people who had won the contest over the span of a week and a half or so.

So we get our wristbands outside and wait for probably ten or so minutes before we are allowed inside the bar/stage part of the diner. It felt like an eternity. We get inside and unfortunately from here on out, we were not allowed to take photo and video of the event. I lived in the moment, which was nice. The radio station has now posted the photos of it and our meet and greet photos, and I’ll add them here when I receive them. So we are all huddled around the stage, and Steph and I somehow got right up front, and I was standing about two feet from the stage. Like, I could see every detail on Dan’s face close. It was...whoa.

So to back track a little, before they come out, I saw the one, the only, Dick Meredith from across the room. And after we had become bffs in Norfolk and I told him I’d see him in Philly, he was like “OH hello! How are you, Audrey? Nice to see you!” Like. I love him. So I told him I was great, but very nervous, but he was like “Why? You aren’t the one performing!” and he laughed. “They’re just normal guys, love. I promise.” And honestly he was calming me down quite a bit, which is hilarious to me. Such a dad move. BUT he was busy so I let him do his job. He was looking at me from across the other side of the stage while they were performing by the way and just smiling at me, who was probably looking the happiest I’ve ever been like, ever.

So anyway. They come out. Dan’s keyboard is literally right in front of me, and I was towards the right side so Will was back behind on our side. But just as a reminder, this “stage” was TINY, so even though I wasn’t on Kyle’s side, he was still RIGHT THERE. Charlie was behind him, and Woody was sat in the middle. So they’re all setting up and we weren’t cheering for them to come out anymore, so it was kind of quiet. Dan did his usual “hello how ya doin” to fill in the silence and there were some random woos. But in my mind I’m like, uh they’re right there, just setting up, why can’t I just speak to them? So I blurt out “Dan, how’s your voice after Norfolk?” (he had lost his voice towards the end and was struggling throughout the show) and he looks at me so intently, just wow. He smiles and grits his teeth a little and replies, “Uhhh...we’ll see!” and everyone laughs. He was just so? A stupid amount of adorable, I don’t even know. And he was so beardy, which isn’t always like him to be. Seeing it up close was angelic. It’s lighter brown, almost ginger colored, and it seemed a bit too grown out for his comfort, as he was scrunching and furrowing his nose a little, maybe trying to itch his face a bit. Although I won’t describe each one of them too much to save y’all time, they all looked ANGELIC and just beautiful at that Beer Garden show. Just. Ahhh. Woody looked like a perfect well-rested angel, Will seemed genuinely excited while he was playing to us, Kyle...just. KYLE. And sir Charlie Barnes looking dapper as always.

In this order, they performed Send Them Off!, Blame, The Currents, and Good Grief. All acoustically. They were almost carbon copies of their bunker sessions versions of these songs, which just?!? WOW, were already my favorites like ever. But hearing them live. Whew. (and I know The Currents doesn’t have a bunker session, but it was basically what you would expect the bunker session of it to be). All just completely glorious masterpieces. After STO!, they all looked to each other and realized oh, what song are we doing next what the hell, like they weren’t super prepared or something? But it was pretty adorable. After Blame, there was some equipment readjustments and such, so there was some more quietness. I took another moment. “Kyle, I love your nail polish, it’s beautiful.” I HAD TO Y’ALL, I HAD TO. I needed him to know I love it, we love it, it’s just pretty okay. He looks to me, gets this huge freakin smile on his face, teeth and all, and waves his black-polished fingers up showing them off, and batting his eyelashes. Dan immediately busts into laughter, and Kyle just blurts out “Thank you!” to me before they begin The Currents. I still don’t know why other people weren’t just being chill and feeling comfortable enough to speak to them but hey, I couldn’t help myself.

So they finish up the entire performance, and again it was incredible and I was in shock that I had even witnessed it. One of the radio djs comes on stage and explains that we all have to move back towards the other end of the bar to make a line to meet them when they come back out. So being towards the stage, we ended up being one of the first in line. Standing, in order, were Woody, Dan, Kyle, and Will. Again, I had wished Charlie would join them for meet and greet, but yaknow. So they put us into groups of four and five to save time, and in my group, I was the first to walk through. I surprisingly was still able to kinda take my time to speak with them all.

So Woody was first, and AGH I cannot say this enough, he is such an angel. He said “Hello, how are you?!” before I could even say hi, with a beautiful grin on his face, and once again, he’s such a cuddly hugger. Just, makes you feel safe and at home? Ouch, my heart. I quickly said “You were wonderful today!” And he smiled and said “Aww thank you so much!” and then I saw an antsy bouncing Dan out of the corner of my eye, waiting for me. So I immediately reach my arms out and he says “Helloooo!” excitedly. “How are you?” AGH. And after our hug (which once again, was so glorious and he smells heavenly), I made it a point to say something important to him. Of course there are a billion things I could say, but I wanted to make sure he knew these things specifically, whether they came from me or not. As he is looking intently and eagerly into my eyes, I’m almost shaking because he’s like, piercing my soul? Wow. I wrote down everything that happened afterwards so I could remember, and I’m so glad I did. Anyway, so i said “I love you Dan, but please take care of yourself, okay? I was there at Norfolk and heard you struggling. Give yourself and your voice a break when you can, alright?” And he just. He basically melted. As I spoke, it appeared as if he was tearing up, which was startling. But like, if heart eyes were in real life, they would’ve been his. And he smiled so big. “Awww man, it’s so hard to take a break while on constant tour!” and he giggled, and grabbed my arm, but then genuinely and more seriously said “Thank you SO much.” And I just blurted out before I KNEW I would get pushed through, “If you need another three years to get another album done and take an actual break, I will wait, we will wait!” And he just balls his hand into a fist over his chest cutely and goes “Awwww, babe!” And I just. Agh. I nearly melted into the floor.

Next up. Kyle Simmons. My dearest and most cherished angel on earth. Whew. So I had already noticed while waiting in line he had looked at me, looked away, but then looked back as if he had recognized me? I wasn’t sure. But I was nervous to say the least. He smiles familiarly when he sees me and says “HellOOO” rather than just “Hello!” like I DON’T KNOW. So I go in. To hug him. He has his arms reached out, his long noodley arms. A MAN. AND HE JUST. He leans into my face before he does my body for a hug. And he kisses my cheek. Like. Just goes and smooches me. Right above my lips, by my nose too. So I could feel his damn facial hair on my lips and just. I was so caught off guard, y’all. And so we hug and I hold on probably a bit longer than security wanted me to at this point (they were already side eyeing me) and I say “Hey so, we’ve met, do you remember me at all?” and he just looks into my damn eyes and says “Yeah, yeah, we met earlier this year right?” Which yes. We did. So I go, “Yeah um, I was that embarrassing girl who asked to touch your facial hair?” and he laughed and said “I remember! Yeah, yeah, yeah!” And so I say, “Sorry about that, yikes.” And he was like “No no don’t be!” and giggled. I wanted to ask him about the tweet about me asking him on a date that he replied to but security literally was like “KEEP IT MOVING.” I had more interaction with him just before we were pushed out of the diner as well.

So then William Farquarson. A damn man if I ever saw one. I had just met him a few nights ago and no joke, he was one of the first people to wish me a happy birthday when I met him outside the buses (I was the only one who got to meet Will that night oops, he swerved everybody else). And he hugged me and we chatted and it was just glorious. So I said “Hello again, Will!” and he smiled shyly and said “Hello, nice to see you again!” And I immediately just kinda blurted, “You look great today, and you sounded amazing on Blame!” which, he really DID. And he smiled and said “Thank you!” and his voice got kinda high when he said you, like he was excited to get a compliment, aw aw aw. So then I hear the radio people be like GET IN FOR THE PHOTO PEOPLE GEEZUS. So I immediately cuddle into Kyle and stand between him and Will. And Stephannie was in between Dan and Kyle, I was so happy that we each got to be between two members. We were lucky. So here comes the interesting part.

Before we are all pushed away, Dan taps me on my arm and kinda tugs my shirt and I’m like WHA. And he says “Hey, thank you so much for saying that, don’t worry about me okay? I’m great!” And smiled so genuinely. My actual heart. Ouch. Now, there was one more interaction I had with Kyle as well before we were pushed away, but I’m going to keep that to myself (please don’t hate me) only because it’s kinda personal and also I’d like to keep that lil bit of the day for myself.

Stephannie and I get outside and just. On the sidewalk, I just sit down and I’m like “WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!!??” And Steph is like “Girl what happened?!!” So we just sat there and told each other everything that happened and freaked out as calmly as we could on a public sidewalk. So we’re out there, and Dick comes out. And he sees me kinda sprawled out on the sidewalk like a weirdo. So I of course have to go chat with my bff again. Ha. Steph and I also wanted to give him a flamingo necklace too just as our long running joke, and he just immediately lets me “knight” him with it. But anyway, when I first saw him I’m like “Hey! AHH!” and he just laughs and is like “How was it?!” and I fangirl as calmly as possible to him and he’s just going “Awwww” and “Awww, love.” the whole time. And I hug him and I’m just like “Thank you so much for everything you do, I know I keep saying it but I really mean it.” and he melts much like Dan did aw aw and just grabs me into a huge hug and kisses the top of my head and holds me so kindly just. And he says “Love you, darling.” Like okay, sorry, but Dick Meredith and I are best freaking friends now and I don’t care what you SAY.

So the guys start coming back out to file into the van and Charlie just jumps on in right in front of me and I was like “Bye Charlie!” and one of the tour crew members was helping him in and he was laughing at Dick and I. And so I just go “Sorry, I’m Dick Meredith’s biggest fan, ya know?” And Dick laughs and just says “Hey, you should be his fan too!” and I was like I AM I AM and I hug the guy haha and I just kinda blurt out without thinking “Okay real talk, you all have one of the most attractive tour crews I’ve ever seen, it’s ridiculous.” and the tour guy BLUSHES SO HARD and is like “I’m so flattered! Thank you!” And Dick is just laughing at himself. And me. I don’t even know. But we continue chatting and the rest of Bas file into the van in front of the one Charlie got into, and I just wave hopelessly and say bye and they smile and wave and say see you later. And Dick was like “I know I’ll run into you again a bunch later, bye love!” and he hops in.

We have a few hours before the show, so Steph and I take an Uber to the venue to wait. We knew we weren’t getting barricade or anything which was fine, so we hopped in the line where it was, which wasn’t too bad. We were probably 6 or so rows from the barricade when we got inside. Once doors open, we file in and get our spots. Frenship eventually comes on, and I was so excited to see them perform again. They put on an incredible show once again, and since it was their last show opening for Bastille, that damn triangle band (minus will and charlie) came out and joined them for their last song, 1000 Nights (which is my favorite of theirs at the moment). Kyle came out on Woody’s shoulder’s in a Frenship tee, and Dan came out in their sweatshirt (which I now own, and I am totally obsessed with, it’s so comfy). Dan played drums behind Celeste, and was just laughing from afar at the craziness of Kyle and Woody. Kyle eventually got off of his shoulders and was playing the banana shaker and Woody played a drum. I tweeted out some video of it here: https://twitter.com/bastilleaud/status/908493772320919552

Then of course Bastille come out and commence their show, which happens as per usual and by its usual schedule and setlist of this tour. Just a couple exciting moments I’ll hit on: Towards the beginning, I yelled out for Kyle, “HI KYLE!” and he looks out, sees me almost immediately, mouths “You!” and points to me. I just blow kisses at him like a crazy person, and he does it back so cutely oh my, and everyone around me was like who even is this girl. And he does a silly finger point at me before he starts playing the next song. Another time, I just yell “WOOO!” I don’t even remember what it was at to be honest, and I look to Kyle and he’s pointing at me again. Like. WHY. After Dan had asked Julia about the story of her sign (about how she had totaled her car on her way to philly, poor bby), he asked if anyone else had any stories and I just raise my hand immediately I DON’T EVEN KNOW and Dan just, out of everyone there yelling at him, somehow sees me and points “You! You have one?” And is smiling like? Did he recognize me? I don't know. But I yell out, “I WAS JUST AT YOUR SHOW IN NORFOLK AND IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY, MY FRIENDS HELD UP THOSE EMBARRASSING SIGNS!” and he laughed, and then goes “Wait, this is probably SO interesting to everyone else here.” And laughs at himself. Like hey Daniel, maybe everyone DID want to hear my story (no they definitely didn’t but it’s fine hahaha). I could feel Kyle staring at me and I caught him right before he looked away and that noodle winked at me like, excuse you. Kyle was looking at me quite a few times I noticed throughout the show, which I was surprised by because I was farther back this time but I wasn’t complaining, believe me.

So I won’t detail every single bit of the show because y’all know how their shows go typically. And they were amazing, as usual. I will say though, Dan sang “he” and “Won’t Trump stop firing up the crazies?” during The Currents and I was SO DAMN EXCITED about that, lemme tell ya. Also during Flaws, it was funny because the entire time I was like hey I wanna say hi to Dick again rather than freak out over Dan this time. Dick basically had to keep Dan from jumping off the damn balcony during Two Evils, I was nervous, to be honest. Bless Dick Meredith and his difficult job.

Afterwards, Stephannie and I wanted to go get Frenship merch, and the table was just completely surrounded for Bastille merch. James and Brett came through one of the sets of double doors just casually and Steph and I flagged James down and we were like “Uh hey, where’s your guys’ merch?!” because we couldn’t see it hanging on the wall at all. And he seemed so genuinely surprised and excited we wanted merch. He was like “I’m not sure, but hey you really want some merch?!”...I was like YES BABE WE LOVE YOU DUH. So he literally leads us over to the way other side and gets behind the counter, and was asking the merch guys to come help us, and they were being major asses to him (and us). So Steph and I are like, it’s fine, we’ll wait over here on the other side of the table. And James was like “I would give you some for free, but I keep getting in trouble for that!” Like what a cutie. So we’re waiting waiting waiting and this older man from the other part behind the table was looking to us and was like “Are you guys waiting for Frenship merch?” and we were wondering why he was asking, and figured he was waiting too. And we’re like “yeah, we’re just waiting!” and he looked bothered by that. But James was chatting with us again while we were waiting so it was all good, like a whole manner of things, I can’t remember it all. But he was so friendly just like asking us about what we do and everything. He keeps being asked for photos though so we let him go. So finally this older gentleman again asks, “What merch do you guys want?” when he was up at the front of the one line. And Steph and I were again confused, but we were like “We wanted the sweatshirts!” and he goes “What sizes?” No joke y’all. This man bought us our merch and we were like “Wait no no sir we cannot possibly accept that!” and he just has this huge smile on his face and points to James (who’s talking to some fans still) and says “Please let me, I’m his dad.” So. James’ freaking dad bought us our Frenship sweatshirts. I honestly melted. We hugged him and thanked him a billion times and I felt so bad. I asked James if I could give him anything and he was like “No no no!” and I was like honestly your dad is the cutest human being wow?!??? And he was like I KNOW.

Then we decide to wait outside for the guys again, just because. Dan came over and said hi twice, took a big group photo, but they were all super drunk so they filtered them onto the buses and left. Stephannie and I drove back to her hotel when I noticed Dick freaking legend himself Meredith had followed me on Instagram. Just. Yes. BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFE I SWEAR TO YOU. I didn’t say this on Twitter, but we actually have chatted through Insta DMs a few times but I don’t want to divulge everything we talked about, just because I would feel bad after gaining his trust doing that. But basically we were just casually chatting and he wanted to make sure I was safe and got home alright. He asked if I was going to the Atlanta show and he was sad when I told him I couldn’t, and he wanted to help me get there, what a sweetie. But again, AGH I wish I could say everything. I don’t know. Please don’t hate me. Just know he is so genuine and kind and wanted to make sure I was alright and such.

Does this end my story? I believe so. If I remember other things, I’ll have to edit and add later. I’ll add the photos as soon as I have them! Otherwise, thank you for reading. I am so blessed, truly. ∆