#they had a zipline and i couldn’t even go on it because of an upset stomach

[waytoobsessed]

I feel like you go to a lot of social gatherings but my family also hates people. so idk honestly.

I don’t know why I do,,,, I don’t normally but every once and awhile people force me out of my cave

[britcision]

(Oh boy I went to a School so uh we had a lot)

- the time a guy on my bus punched out the principal directly next to the bus and then hopped on. They called the cops the next day to see if he showed up.

He did. They suspended him for six months. The principal got a restraining order which made the rest of the school year… interesting for them

The principal did not return the next year

- one year our fun math teacher bet his grade 12 class that the teachers would win the staff vs student hockey game in September

The closer we got to game time (possibly January idk) the more all of the teachers started wearing their jerseys, broke into each others’ classes for planning sessions (completely separate from their normal invading each others’ classes to sell each other weed)

They had pump up music in the halls between classes, all the teachers wore their hockey jerseys on completely uncoordinated days so they didn’t even wear them all at once

Pretty sure the fun math teacher wore Braveheart style face paint the day before but since uh it is the staff vs the students of the same school they didn’t exactly have team colours

Preeeetty sure he promised to let them shave his head at the end of school assembly if the students won, but I did not exactly have an attendance record so I didn’t go to that

(About 80% sure they did it anyway although I never found out who won the game, I also did not attend that)

Next year? Completely back down to previous levels of mild interest from all involved. May/may not be related to the aforementioned change in principals

- the new principal we got was A Whole Fucking Thing, by the way. Apparently she’d had trouble at her last three schools and then got sent… to us? For some reason?

Where she:

Tried to defund the entire Arts department and tell us we couldn’t have a musical that year. We had one anyway

Switched Fun Math Teacher and Fun Music Teacher who just so happened to have the same name so they had to teach each others’ subjects for the year (they were VERY upset, tried to fix it multiple times, and then just suffered through)

Tried to get the cops to patrol the pines where all the stoners hung out, smoked, and enacted clan warfare

Painted over all the murals which had been done by graduating classes leading back a century

Replaced said historic murals with badly laid out and uneven “motivational” quotes that made no sense

Instituted hall monitoring and hall passes, mandatory for the whole school. Our drama teacher (who fought to the death for said musical) blatantly encouraged us all to flaunt that rule, lose the pass, and use any challenges as an improv exercise. One time she let 10 people go at once because we needed pencils and no one brought those to drama class, so she just told them to scatter and all claim they had her pass. I don’t think she had a pass

We. Uh. Retaliated in kind, including a school wide walk out organized by the goddamn stoners (You Know You Fucked Up When)

I was interviewed by the news cuz I had hippy hair by sheer coincidence that day

And a little before the end of the school year we were all assured that she was being “promoted” to a desk job somewhere in the board of education and would never work in a school again

(I had a couple friends who went to the school she’d been at right before ours. They were very impressed and supported our actions)

- again, I did not attend end of school anything, but one year the fun math teacher faked a zipline by stringing a line to the stage and getting the English teachers to push him on a skateboard

I suspect they were influenced by memes because no way in hell could we do an actual zipline

- in my last year a fight broke out between two girls in the cafeteria. An entirely commonplace event, except while the two of them were just rolling around on the ground a third girl came over

Circled them a few times examining the fight from all angles

And began kicking the shit out of both of them indiscriminately

We suspect she knew them but probably not what the fight was about. She won though

- actually I dunno if the staff vs student hockey game was even a thing other high schools did but every year the grade 12s fielded a team to play against the teachers

The teachers usually won by dint of having a consistent team that played together for multiple years, while the school hockey team was mixed grades

- oh and not exactly an incident but the hot math teacher used to dress up as Indiana Jones for Halloween every year and if you sharpened your pencil and then put it down he’d throw it into the ceiling to see if it stuck

We never warned the next class in if a pencil had gotten stuck because sometimes they just fell down in the middle of class it was great

- one of my sister’s friends exclusively drew dragons for art class. The next four years the art teacher banned anyone from submitting dragons for anything

[f33itan]

5, 16, 22, 28, 58, 59 lmaooo is it too many? :3

Oh no, it isn’t many at all!! Glad you requested pastel :] If anything I’m just warning you that this might be long

5: is there anyone who can always make you smile?

Unless I’m in a super SUPER utterly terrible mood, it would be my Mother. Yes I love my Dad to bits as well, but my mom and I have that extra special mother-daughter connection yk? Usually when I’m upset or weary about something my mom can take one good look at me and read me like a book.

Nat: Literally doing NOTHING

Mum: Nati.

Nat: Yes?

Mum: What’s wrong?

Nat: Nothing, why?

-Silence and avoiding eye contact-

Nat: Okay so maybe there might be a teeny tiinnyy thing-

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?                  

I can’t even TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES THIS HAS HAPPENED OMG BAHAHAH but for now I’ll just give a recent time. Okay so me, my cousin and a daughter of one of my dad’s friends (she’s my age dw we good) were in my room chilling on this massive beanbag going from ranting about daddy levi to getting in our feels, and it got to the point that around 3 am my cousin left to the living room to play beat saber ad I was left with the girl. Not too long before this i was in my feels about how ive been rejected on valentine’s day, called ugly by my crush (which hurted, do not attempt) and called clingy for comforting a friend etc and me and the girl plopped on the bean bag in a position that, uh, how do i say this... hmm. . . ILL JUST DRAW AND ADD A PHOTO SO IT MAKES SENSE LMAO

((PLEASE WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS I DREW IT ON MY LAPTOP WITH MY FINGERS AND CLICK PAD THINGY IM SO SORRY IT SUCKS, AND SHES PAN SAME AS ME SO I WAS IN PANICC at the disco also different fonts so you can tell all of the different thoughts apart))

But anyways yeah we were in that position, and my thoughts were...

-Pan panic- -holy shit im in contact with a person like this thats not my family- -should i turn to cuddle her? no she might think its weird- -wtf nat you literally just met her earlier today- -i know but shes super nice and we relate on a lot of thingsss- -NO- -What would feitan say to this?- -Know your limits brain.-

22. description of crush. 

R we talking 2D or 3D because uh... lets just do both!

3D: literally every alt, goth, emo peep on tiktok, they all look so pretty and for what??

2D: A man way older than me.. Hair up to about his lower neck.. On the short side.. Beautiful shiny purple eyes... Hair that I thought was black but when sampling the color from official art from hxh creators and shit found out its a really dark green.. Murderous, Sadist, and most likely Masochist tendencies.. Hot well toned body.. Chinese.. *Insert Ayesha Erotica’s Emo Boy song*

28. i’ll love you if…

you buy me dark chocolate

If you are able to deal with my constant switch of “I wanna be clingy, cuddly, affectionate and sweet” to “Lets scream lyrics to a song, eat random food and not come in contact with each other unless its play fighting” and a bonus, “Leave me the fuck alone and let me play my video games by myself”

If you tolerate my attitude, and the fact that all I can really cook without getting scared for the most part is scrambles eggs, toast and bagels, re heating a meal (does that even count), and brownies.

Accepting me for who I am, and not just the silly playful cover I share with most people, you can be a shoulder to cry on for me as in almost all situations I’m the shoulder for others, being able to comfort each other and talk about weird and embarrassing things we’ve done in the passed and not get a nasty looked or shamed for it, keeping me from buying really pointless things, dealing with the fact that Im a massive chicken when it comes to roller coasters, yet put me on literally ANY OTHER DANGEROUS THING and I’ll be as happy as a child in a candy store. Swimming with sharks? Fuck yeah! Ziplining over alligators? YES! (Ive done that actually when I was 7 or 8) Go swimming through dark and light ruins of underground passage ways in Cancun? YESSIR!! (Which Ive done as well) Roller coasters? Get the hell away from me.

And simply deal with me, myself. and I

58. description of my best friend

I have multiple so I picked one teehee

Tall, skinny as a stick, for whatever reason can carry me with simply two arms extended out, light brown hair that she always wears in a ponytail (but wore it down for me on my birthday), started out introverted but with me hugging her at school everyday became a big time ambivert, usually the one who keeps me from 1. lashing out at classmates and 2. getting into trouble most of the time, can joke around a lot but speaks rather quietly so sometimes she has to repeat herself for my deaf ass lmao, if there’s inclement weather at school, during our break in class either she or I make a bee line for each other’s desk and start cackling immediately afterwards, random times in class one of us will throw a cringy smirk at the other and it becomes this stupid war of who get the last smirk in, whenever were walking around campus one of us will be holding onto the other’s sleeve loosely, (most of the time its me, but she’s done it too), We have had this thing for years now that when she has her hands on her hips I tried to stick my head through that opening, and for years on end I couldn’t do it, and when I did it was the best day ever

59. why i joined tumblr

Simple reason really, Feitan. Whenever I looked up “feitan fluff” before I went to bed to end the day nicely, it would always bring me to some tumblr page, so I decided to make an account and, well, here we are. ⛹️‍♀️

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

Can you do 24 for lupat red x ichigo pls and thank

Time for more Dramatic Public Kissing!

The message comes in from France HQ early in the morning.

Bonjour, mes amis--thought you ought to know that I’ve traced a Collection piece to Le Monde Bijouterie. Also, am planning to drop by for a visit in a couple of weeks, are there any sweets I can bring you?

It’s signed Noël, with a flourish and a couple of little hearts, one of which was clearly drawn to hide a coffee stain. Keiichiro reads it and grins, passing it to Tsukasa, who reads it as well, except that she almost winces. “You need an appointment to even go into Le Monde. The clerks there sneer at everyone. We’re going to need a warrant or they won’t let us past the door.”

Jim lights up. “I’ll work on that, Noël is also transmitting details on the piece and its movements so we actually have a basis to request one.”

--

The warrant turns out to be a moot point, because Le Monde gets robbed at seven o’clock that evening. The word about the Collection piece has already been passed to the local police, and so the PatRangers are on the way as soon as the call comes in.

“It’s sort of nice that we’re not going to be fighting a Ganglar,” Sakuya says cheerfully as they’re getting out of the car. “It’s lower stress, you know?”

Tsukasa glances to one side and then hisses, “The press is here!” through her teeth.

Keiichiro groans. The press has also been thrilled that the Ganglars are no longer a major issue, because now they can cover the “local celebrities,” as they keep putting it, without being in serious danger of getting blown up. It’s a problem. Wherever the PatRangers go now, reporters follow.

“Just don’t talk to them.” He pulls out his VS Changer. “We’re here to work.”

They acquit themselves fairly well, all things considered. The robbers have barricaded themselves into the store with several terrified sales clerks, which isn’t a great start, but they’re still only human, and they don’t have any super-tech on hand. There’s some careful negotiation involved, and a small amount of property damage, but in the end there are no deaths, no civilians hurt, and only one robber with anything more than some light bruising.

It’s when they can finally de-transform and Sakuya comes out of the shop with the Collection piece and hands it to Keiichiro that the reporters start yelling.

“What’s that up there?”

“Who’s that?”

A bright flicker of yellow darts across the roof of the jewelry store. A streak of blue settles down onto an apartment balcony across the street. Tsukasa says, quietly, “Oh no.”

Keiichiro groans. “I know you’re there, LupinRangers. You’re a little late, aren’t you?”

“Actually,” Kairi says from directly behind him, “I think we got here just in time.”

Keiichiro jumps and turns around. The reporters let out a collective shriek of journalistic delight. Camera flashes start to go off.

Kairi is hanging from the store awning by his zipline, feet braced on one of the support columns, grinning and resplendent in mask and top hat and ridiculous red brocade tailcoat. “Happy to see us?” He’s playing to the crowd of reporters. They’re loving it.

Keiichiro sighs. “This really isn’t a good time.” And, more quietly, “You couldn’t wait two days? I have a whole dinner planned.”

“And I’m really looking forward to it, but we’ve got an image to maintain,” Kairi says, just as quietly, and winks at him. Then, loudly again, “We’re only interested in the Collection piece, you know that.”

“What--I’m not going to just give it to you, this is in police custody.”

“Well, if you’re going to be like that...” Kairi leans forward. Keiichiro is fully prepared to toss the Collection piece to Tsukasa or something, but he doesn’t reach for it; he grabs the front of Keiichiro’s jacket.

And kisses him. In front of their teammates, the local police force, and most of the city’s news media. A slow, lingering kiss.

Keiichiro blinks dizzily when Kairi pulls back and zip-lines away into the night without another word. He’s vaguely aware that the reporters are yelling again, which seems like a reasonable reaction. He’s also considering doing some yelling, or possibly chasing Kairi down and making him yell.

Then he realizes his hands are empty, and, because he doesn’t quite have the presence of mind for anything more dignified, roars, “Goddammit, Kairi!”

The cameras are going off again. Keiichiro ignores them, steadfast, collects the shreds of his dignity, and shakes hands with the local officer in charge. “Your people did good work today.”

The officer in charge is staring at him wide-eyed. “Are. Are you all right, Officer Asaka?”

“I’ll be fine. Just a minor setback.”

As he and the others are walking back to the car, one of the reporters shouts, “How long have you been on first-name terms with the phantom thieves?”

Keiichiro continues to ignore them. Tsukasa’s the one who turns around and says, “Their identities have been public record for over a year now, and we’ve been dealing with them for over two. I’d hope we could address them by name occasionally.”

“So what about the kiss?”

That, thankfully, she ignores.

--

Postscript

Jim Carter stops Keiichiro the next morning with some interesting news, and after he’s taken something for his already-growing headache and had two coffees he sends a text to Kairi. [we’re trending on Twitter]

[no way]

And a moment later, [OH MY GOD THERE’S A HASHTAG]

Keiichiro sighs. [fortunately it doesn’t seem to have done our reputation any damage, the public’s more amused than upset]

[why wouldn’t they be, we put on a good show]

[oh no wait there’s another #tag pls don’t google shipping ill explain it to you later]

[Kairi I already know what shipping is, I’ve been proofreading Tsukasa’s Kamen Rider fanfiction since we were 18]

[u what]

[uve been what]

[Tsukasa’s WHAT]

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Doctor - A RokuNami Story for RokuNami Day 2020

Summary:  Even though I ended up "finishing this up" and polishing it up for RokuNami Day this year... Tbh, this was the first thing I started writing after KHIII came out (right after I'd only watched the ending once, so I even got some things wrong about it. It's the same ending, but kind of told differently? And especially now with what we know from Re:Mind), when I was a bit sad that there was really no RokuNami in the game and wanted a fic where Sora was found and rescued. So I went "Why not combine the ideas?!" and this fic was born, but I won't be continuing it because I decided to write another RokuNami instead and I have too much on my plate now. But I hope you all still enjoy! "Yozora is Sora" theory at the end of this fic. Dedicated to BlueRosesBurnBlue, because this is the RokuNami story I told her I was writing her AGES ago. Look! I finally finished it! ...Kind of.

Doctor Roxas’ PoV Roxas—through Sora—had looked at the white curtains that flew in the breeze of Twilight Town—at the beginning of this journey—and he’d thought of Naminé and the words they'd shared there. …It had been a trying time for Roxas, when he'd first met the white witch: a time that was made even moreso that, when she had told him that he wasn't meant to exist… and Roxas had resented her for it. How could he not have? But now Roxas appreciated the blonde’s brutal honesty there, and her giving him a truth he had needed to hear. That he had wanted to hear, really, as no one else had been being honest with him. Roxas even respected how Naminé had been his guiding light, when he'd been lost in the fog of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. And now... now in this “Final World”, he, from within Sora, wished he could do more for Naminé, like she had him. And Roxas would carry that thought with him, even when he came back to save Xion and Axel. He would focus on the battle—because there would never be any other choice for him. His best friends were in danger! Axel in particular, since his Keyblade was broken and he was being tormented by his former best friend… and even Kairi had been kidnapped, and Sora was falling because of that now—but in the back of his mind, he'd think on how Naminé had been so certain that no one missed her… That thought of hers reminded him a lot of what he’d thought when he left the Organization, but it wasn’t true. Had never been true, and it wasn’t true for her either! And when Sora was saying he needed to go to save Kairi after Master Xehanort had killed her? Roxas decided then and there that he needed to go with Sora to save both girls! Because he cared about Kairi, he did—and his heart ached for how his Other felt in the loss of her—and because a world without Naminé in it wasn’t a world that Roxas even wanted to fathom. But when Sora said he had to go it alone, Roxas had to accept his decision—like Sora had once accepted his returning to him—even though it was killing him inside. But it was when two days turned to three, and Sora still wasn’t back with Kairi yet, that Roxas knew he had to risk calling Sora on the gummiphone... wherever he was. "Sora, I know this is a really bad time... but have you found Kairi yet? Naminé's body is ready, and-" "Uhh..." Sora breathed then as he ran away from some Invisibles with Kairi, who seemed exhausted—Roxas could see all of  this from the screen on the gummiphone—“I don’t think we’re close enough yet for us to try and send Naminé’s heart to Radiant Garden. I don’t want to risk injuring Kairi, because she’s still not doing too well. “But… if data can grow hearts, due to the imprints it’s based on… I almost wonder if Kairi could make a new heart for Naminé, by talking about her heart to the empty Replica. Roxas, press the gummiphone to the Replica’s ear.” And he did just that… and he leaned in, too, and heard everything that Kairi was whispering about Naminé: how she, unlike Kairi, loved mushrooms… that surprisingly, Naminé wanted to try wearing red, if she could ever get around adults who would be okay with her wearing color…  and how she apparently loved him—Roxas—because to her, he represented the brightest part of the day before it went dark. “Kairi… thank you,” Roxas found himself whispering now. “I adore you because Sora does… But I won’t lie… for some reason, I imagined you as selfish. And I thought that if you had to talk about anyone here, you’d talk about yourself. But thank you for doing this and talking about Naminé instead.” And then Roxas saw blonde hair starting to spout from the doll, and he realized all their hard work was paying off. And he held Naminé in his arms even before she woke up. But he had to admit that it was muchbetter, when he saw pale blue eyes and felt arms squeezing him back. And once Naminé was free and created again—and outside stretching her wings, so to speak—Riku helped her get into a much bigger gummi ship than the one Roxas had, with all of the millions of belonging that Ansem the Wise had just given her. And so, Roxas ended up hating Riku a bit less. But just a little. But though he despised Riku less, he would later berate himself for being the one selfish here… and caring so little about Sora and Kairi’s fates—as they tried to help him, from even beyond death—when it would end up so badly for them.

… "Yeah, everything’s great, guys. I promise. Naminé’s as good as new. And, yes: so are Xion and myself, still. No worries. Anyway, we'll talk to you guys later. Okay? Get home safely.” And he disconnected his call from Sora… and—little did Roxas know it at the time—but it would be the last time he ever got to talk to Sora on the phone. But no one was thinking about dire things now: they were believing Sora’s words that he’d return home with Kairi faster than they could blink. And instead, everyone was caring about Naminé on the beach, as they had missed her and it warmed Roxas’ heart to see. He knew that his girl had worried about not having a single friend group to call her home. But really, because of that, she was everyone’s friend, and he almost wanted to joke with her that that was the better deal. “Roxas told me about you two’s story on the way home from the Graveyard, you know,” Xion was saying now—as she tried to help Naminé down the zipline and he was right behind them; he was already rolling his eyes, in trying to anticipate how she’d make him sound like a fool to his new girlfriend here—“and I think it’s beautiful. But he really didn’t tell you ‘See? We meet again, like we promised’ when he woke you up?! That was a missed opportunity, Roxas. You hear me? A missed opportunity!” Everyone laughed at this—because, yes: Xion was talking so loudly, that all those gathered (Hayner, Pence, Olette, Riku, Lea, Isa, Terra, Ventus, Aqua, and King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) could hear her. But while Roxas wanted to be somewhat mad at Xion for this—and play punch her in the arm—he thought that maybe it was okay that everyone was laughing at his expense. They had all just come out of a grueling war, after all. And they still didn’t know where Kairi and Sora were- And right when the last name entered Roxas’ head, he had a splitting headache and knew that something was wrong… wrong… so horribly wrong. And out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Naminé, Xion, and even Ven were feeling the same way. As Roxas fell on the floor of the zipline area, alongside Xion and Naminé, he tasted blood in his mouth… and tried to say his former Other’s name and reach out his hand to him… but no dice. And then Roxas promptly passed out. … "Wha- what happened?” Roxas asked days later—he assumed it was days later, based on how hungry he was, anyway—as he woke up in a hospital: he knew from Sora’s memories that it was exactly that. “Roxas… I don’t know how to tell you this,” a kind lady doctor, with brown eyes and the same colored hair to her shoulders said. “Especially since I’m only starting to learn about Nobodies—former Nobodies, in your case—and their connection to their Others… but- but your Other died. And you and some of the others felt that, and that’s why you’re here… I’m Doctor Aki Ross, by the way.” “He- he what?! No. No! It wasn’t supposed to be like this! It wasn’t!” and Roxas buried his face in his hands and cried. And he could tell the doctor wanted to reach out to comfort him, but also held off on doing so… probably because she didn’t want any lawsuits against her. But it was okay. Roxas had hands that he’d no anywhere wrapped around his shoulders now. “Shh, shh. It’s okay, Roxas. I know,” Naminé tried to soothe him, as the doctor quietly and gracefully left the room. “It’s horrible. Oh, so horrible! I know you all apparently knew there was a risk with Sora going after Kairi… but hearing about it, and dealing with the reality of it, are two completely different things. So…” And here Naminé trailed off. And Roxas wondered if she was regretting that she was back now, and that Sora had ever gone to fetch Kairi… And to say that Roxas felt like he was going to throw up at the notion, would've been an understatement. He was upset about Sora—he always would be; and he was going to try and find some way to bring his brother back—but it wasn’t these golden girls’ faults. It just wasn’t. But grief also made no sense. Because even while Roxas was thinking those thoughts that would free Naminé and Kairi from guilt, he was blaming himself… for not insisting that he go with Sora… for caring only about Naminé while he and Kairi had clearly been in danger, and for hanging up on him… And for existing now at all. Was Sora’s death the price of him being here? Was it really true that the two of them couldn’t co-exist? And if- if he had stayed assimilated with Sora, would he have been strong enough to survive whatever had done this to him? Roxas was just about to ask if Naminé if she could help him return to Sora again—because maybe it would save him!—when Kairi entered the room. And if Roxas thought that he and all of Sora’s “Others” probably looked dead without him, that was nothing on how Kairi appeared now. It was clear that she’d been crying. And Roxas would wager that she hadn’t eaten or slept in many, many days. She also looked like she’d been hurting herself some… but Roxas knew he wanted to get some actual information about if that was true, before he judged. “Kairi, I-“ Roxas said, as he got to his feet and resisted the urge to bow to her—something he didn’t think she would like much—since it just felt like Kairi needed some sort of assurance that she was worth it, after what had happened. But then she was the one who reassured Roxas and Naminé instead, acting much like the monarch she might have been in another life. “Roxas, I’m so glad to see that you’re okay! I thought that after Sora, you might- Anyway, Naminé I came to tell you both that you’re more than welcome to stay at my house. My parents already see you as my sister, Naminé, from what I’ve told them... “Roxas… I know you probably want- want to be Sora’s sibling. But since you might find it hard to speak to his- speak to his parents a-a-after… you’re welcome to stay with me too, if you want.” Kairi had always glowed with such confidence and light—even when she’d been more concerned with Sora’s name than his own, and had actually been somewhat rude about it, she’d handled their encounter so well, that Roxas hadn’t been offended at all. So, seeing her like this… where she was stuttering and surely hating herself, was too much for Roxas to bear. And he could understand perfectly why Sora would sacrifice his life to spare this poor soul from even more pain. He probably would have even done the same. “We’re- we’re going to find him, Kairi,” Roxas promised the redhead then, as he stood up from his bed and took his hand in his own and put an arm around Naminé. “Naminé and I together, I mean. We probably have the deepest connection to Sora—aside from you and Riku—so I’m sure we could locate him if we really tried, and you’re welcome to come with us.” “Yes, Kairi,” Naminé backed Roxas up—and how he loved her for it—as she ran a hand through her sister’s hair and then brought her in for a hug as she cried. “Don’t let this eat you up. Do something about it.” And Kairi spoke so quietly, that Roxas could barely even hear her words. But still… hear them he did, and that was more than enough for now. “Let’s do it,” she’d said. … Roxas let the Three Good Fairies size him, Naminé, and Kairi up for new outfits, and to tell them exactly what they should do to activate their new powers in the clothes. And while a lot of this was helpful—getting even stronger was always good in Roxas’ book—he couldn't believe that Sora had so easily put up with these women fighting over colors… and Master Yen Sid’s lack of know-how and respect. As usual, it seemed like the wizard had no idea how they’d find their friend. And instead of admiring Sora for his sacrifices that had quite literally saved the worlds, the Master was instead blaming Sora’s current disappearance on his recklessness. And it took all that Roxas had, to not beat the former Keyblade Master within an inch of his life and he could tell Kairi—and heck, even Naminé!—was almost there herself. "All we can say for sure,” the Fairy Godmother was telling them now, “is that though your and Sora’s journeys may be separated now, you’ll find each other in the end.” “Can we skip to the end, then?” Roxas asked helplessly. And Naminé and Kairi giggled for the first time that Roxas could remember. Any time before Sora’s death felt like a lifetime ago to everyone. “No, Roxas, it’s pretty clear we can’t. Don’t you see how Master Yen Sid has a book on his desk, detailing the Beginning, Middle, and End?” Naminé asked. But Roxas could tell she wasn’t being serious… and was as done with the old man as he was, as that book was about Sora’s first journey, his time in Castle Oblivion, and his first battle with the Organization. None of it seemed relevant now. But Roxas figured that that was just Yen Sid for you. But still… the three gathered were good at acting and pretended that they weren’t the three angry teenagers that they really were. So, they thanked the four women and one man, bid them adieu, and hopped onto the gummi ship. And it was only there that it suddenly struck Roxas that he had no idea what Naminé was going to fight with on this quest, since she didn’t have a Keyblade. He knew she had her memory powers… but would she be able to use that on the offensive at all? Roxas reallyworried about that when he landed the gummi ship on a dark highway—where he could feel the faintest connection to Sora—where no soul was in sight… it was as if everyone in this world had already been killed. And if so… what had killed them, and would Naminé stand a chance against the threat at all? But before Roxas could freak out too much, Naminé was already answering Roxas’ question by summoning golden chains that lit up, and suddenly made this new world seem less foreboding. “Kairi’s asleep in the back, Roxas. And though I know we should wake her soon—because this world seems dangerous to me, too—let’s let my sister finally catch a few Zs before we return her to this nightmare.” Roxas nodded, not having to be told twice because he felt the same about Kairi’s situation right now. The poor kid… But perhaps she wasn’t the only one he was thinking about protecting in some way. Putting a hand over Naminé’s where it rested on the dashboard, Roxas motioned for her to angle her body so she could look at him. And she did. “You know, Naminé… this isn’t exactly what I wanted at all—how could it ever be?—but I did imagine taking you to other worlds with me, even before this. Because I thought it wasn’t fair how little of this beautiful world you’ve gotten to see… Even less than Kairi. And wherever you were, it was always with a gun pointed to your head. So even though this situation isn’t ideal… I’m glad we at least have this moment.” “Me- me too, Roxas,” Naminé admitted as she rested her head atop his. “And, I mean, I want to see worlds, too. And even when I thought I couldn’t… I knew I’d be content in having my world in you—and seeing the worlds through your eyes, when your face lit up in talking about one of them—and that hasn’t changed. You’re- you’re an amazing being, Roxas, who was meant to be here. And if anyone can find Sora, you can. I love you.” And as the two kissed, in the background was a blue and red-eyed man who had become their Sora, that they would soon learn.

[scenesfromkingscanyon]

Stop the World

Bangalore leapt into the shack when she heard the first bombs of the airstrike pierce the ground. She kicked the door closed and turned sharply to face Pathfinder, crouched in the corner recharging his shields. 

“Where is she?” Bangalore asked through gritted teeth. Pathfinder’s viewscope shifted uneasily in his socket.

“I am sure she is close,” he said in his happy voice, which only pissed her off more. He placed his empty shield cell gently onto the floor and she kicked it across the room where it ricocheted off the wall and hit him in the back of the head.

“You seem upset, should I play a classic rock and roll ballad?” Ever since she told him what music she was into he’d been trying to relate to her. It was annoying.

“No,” she said, walking up the stairs. She un-holstered her weapon, listening for their currently absent third teammate. Then she heard it. 

From the roof, Bloodhound’s tracker screeched. She felt the soft tingle of the thermalwave wash over her, outlining her form to the hunter. 

She had about 2 seconds.

She slid back down the stairs, using her hand signals to communicate to Pathfinder,

One on roof.

He nodded and signalled back to her,

One underneath.

She nodded affirmative. A third teammate would be really great right about now, she thought as she clenched her jaw tighter. She heard Bloodhound crash into the door above. Pathfinder moved quickly out of view from the stairs and each of them pressed their bodies against opposite walls.

A movement from the far window caught her eye. She switched weapons to the Peacekeeper shotgun. They were flanked, but wouldn’t go down easily.

Pathfinder opened fire with his R-99 as the Bloodhound descended the stairs. Bangalore took the cue and fired at them from behind. The shotgun and submachine gun made quick work of Bloodhound, who was only able to get a few shots off into Pathfinder’s shield before dropping. Pathfinder hurried to Bloodhound and traded his shield for theirs.

“Thank you!” he said cheerily. Behind them, the door banged open and Lifeline let off a full Peacekeeper round into Pathfinder. He stumbled sideways but Bangalore was there in retaliation. She shot a round into Lifeline and she careened around the shack trying to get better positioning.

Just as Bangalore was lining up the armor breaking shot on her, the opposite door smashed open. The small yellow disc flew into the room and hit the ground with a thud. Everyone looked towards it as the trap inflated and burst, filling the room with nox gas. 

Bangalore swore. She tried to shield her eyes and shot blindly towards where the Lifeline used to be. She stumbled towards the stairs, taking shots from Caustic as he navigated the gas. She felt her armor break. As she mounted the top of the stairs on her hands and knees, her nose and eyes watering, her throat closing up, she saw Pathfinder above her, reigning fire down on Caustic as he tried to pursue her. She heard Caustic’s armor break and he retreated.

Bangalore breathed heavy at the top of the stairs, stumbling towards a corner. Pathfinder paced restlessly, his spring loaded legs slamming the floorboards. He kept watching the exits and windows, always going back to the stairs to make sure the Caustic wasn’t coming back. He would surely be recharging his armor by now. She could hear faint sounds of footsteps outside and downstairs. She was down and they were about to get third-partied.

She knew Pathfinder had to make sure it was clear before he injected her with the adrenaline or they would both be toast, but it was impossible to tell with all the movement who was alive.  

Then gunfire exploded downstairs. She knew it, another party. That was it for this round in the arena. Pathfinder looked at her, moving his metal claw to the slot where he kept the adrenaline. She shook her head. At least if Pathfinder made it out, they could still place. Maybe their teammate would grace him with her help, if she was even still alive. Pathfinder’s viewscope looked down and around, not knowing where to settle.

The gunfire stopped.

Pathfinder swung his gun around to the light footsteps pounding up the stairs. 

Wraith got to the top and threw her hands up mockingly. So it wasn’t a third party after all.

“Stop, don’t shoot,” she said in a bored voice, walking casually over to Bagalore and pushing her down gently. She rummaged through her pack to find the adrenaline.

“You’re late,” said Bangalore. She tried to make it sound forceful, but she was seconds away from unconsciousness. Wraith removed the cap with her teeth.

“Hold still,” she said through the cap in her mouth. She plunged the needle into Bangalore’s chest. The jolt of adrenaline made her body jump and she sat up suddenly, taking quickened breaths.

“We’re happy to see you!” said Pathfinder. Bangalore shot him an ugly glare but he had already turned to recharge his armor. 

“I almost died in this hut waiting for your ass,” said Bangalore, administering her own shield battery.

“I told you I’d be right back,” said Wraith, inserting a medstick in her arm. She wasn’t smiling but here eyes were. 

“What part of ‘team’ do you not understand, I wonder.”

“Come on.”

“You come on! We can’t 2v3 every team we come across because you want to sneak around doing recon.”

“Bang,” said Wraith. “Only four teams left.” 

Bangalore looked down at her leaderboard screen. She didn’t want to feel happy about this but she was. They could easily come out on top if they stuck together. She was torn between being pissed at Wraith and also moving forward to rally to the end.

“Will you stay on us this time?” she asked. Wraith squinted. A promise from Wraith might as well be none at all. She was only loyal to herself, which had always rubbed Bangalore the wrong way. But the least she could do was say she would stick with them. Wraith considered her answer.

“Sure,” she said finally. Bangalore exhaled and stood up, finishing the last of her medsticks.

“We have to do my plan, though,” added Wraith as a clause. Bangalore’s mouth turned into a thin line as she rounded on Wraith to start yelling. Pathfinder stood a few feet away typing on his chest keyboard.

“The situation seems tense, would you like me to play a love song?”

Banglore shouted no but Wraith said yes. Pathfinder hit play. I Melt With You by Modern English started to play out of his chest speakers. Pathfinder swayed. 

“Goddamn it,” said Bangalore.” 

“You don’t like this?” asked Wraith.

“I would like to win this round.” 

“Me too!” said Pathfinder.

Pathfinder did a pirouette and Wraith looked out the window.

“Alright, so you’re on board with the plan?” asked Wraith.

“Do we have a choice?” said Banglore. Wraith shook her head no.

“We’re outside the Bunker now, but we have to get to the Cage - end circle is there.”

“Fine, but we’re not going through--”

“We have to go through the pass,” said Wraith. Bangalore slammed her fist against the wall, all of her tactical knowledge screaming negatives. The pass was the perfect place to be ambushed with no good escape if they got caught between two teams. Not to mention the circle was closing in 2 minutes.

“That’s suicide,” said Bangalore.

“True,” said Wraith. “But everyone else thinks that, too, so... it’ll probably be empty.” 

Bangalore squinted at Wraith. As much as she had the tactics, Wraith always had the edge. If she was right, they could make it to the high ground at the Cage and have the advantage for the last fight. But she’d lost so many fights there, she still couldn’t decide.

“It’s suicide.”

“You said that already.”

“Friends,” said Pathfinder. “I have a zipline. We could get out quickly if needed!” He was still swaying happily to the music. Banglore considered the ring timer. The storm would hurt but if they could get to high ground for the last fight, it was the best chance they had. She knew it even if she didn’t like the plan.

“Okay,” she said as they both stood up, readying their gear. They jumped out of the shack, Pathfinder going first. They ran through the shallow river to cross it and up the muddy hill, the slope stretching upwards into the pass before them. Pathfinder covered the front, Wraith middle, and Bangalore back. Nobody was following them and they couldn’t see anyone ahead. They trudged all the way up to the start of the pass. Huge rocky walls closed in on them, ushering them to the dangerous clearing ahead. They got to the edge of the clearing and Wraith turned to Bangalore over her shoulder.

“Make sure you follow me this time,” she said, and ripped a portal into the air, using her void in the rift to speed herself through spacetime faster. 

Bangalore and Pathfinder paused, waiting for the portal to become stable so they could take it through. They both watched, hearing nothing but the faint static of Wraith’s temporal disturbance. How long could this one portal take?

Alarms blared overhead Warning - Ring Closing.

The portal materialized and Bangalore stepped forward. Before she could enter, Wraith came tumbling out, sliding on her side and aiming towards the portal.

“I might have misjudged a few things,” she yelled. Bangalore and Pathfinder turned to face the portal entrance, guns drawn. 

Gibralter came through after, shield up as the team let their bullets fly. The ring inched closer behind them.

[whatarubberchicken]

Adrinette April -28- Disguises

@adrinetteapril

Previous chapter

ff.net

Chapter 28 - Disguises

Marinette found herself, once again, in the park. I seem to be here a lot lately, she mused as she stared at the statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir while tears silently streamed down her face. Alone.

She lost him. She’d well-and-truly lost him. Adrien didn’t love her anymore. She’d taken it one step too far somewhere along the line, and he’d completely slipped out of her grasp.

What to do now? she thought miserably, walking around the fountain. The fountain where she’d once come to watch a photoshoot of his. The fountain where they’d hid from his crazed fans, in that one pale imitation of a date.

She looked at the fountain and smiled sadly. They’d never actually had a real date. Now, they probably never would. No wonder Adrien had been so upset with her!

Her heart throbbed, its ache fast becoming a regular feeling.

Can I even make this right anymore?

“’Love is patient, love is kind,’” a familiar voice recited. Marinette whirled around to see a figure sitting at the fountain, reading a book. She’d ignored him before, not recognizing him with his oversized hat and plain, green overcoat instead of his usual loud Hawaiian shirt, but there was no doubt. It was Master Fu smiling at her from under that hat!

“I don’t really agree with some people’s interpretation of all of this,” he said, indicating his book. “We as people can feel envy or pride, and still be capable of love. We may get angry or hold grudges. It does not make our love any less. The point is, we cannot let those negative emotions become who we are. And the one thing I do agree with, is that love ‘always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.’”

“Master Fu!” Marinette cried joyfully, rushing up to the old master. “Adrien said you were gone!”

“I imagine Adrien has said a lot lately,” Master Fu replied, closing his book. “But have you been listening?”

“Of course!” Marinette exclaimed. But she immediately faltered. “Or, at least I thought I had.”

“Your own thoughts turned out to be a bit louder than your friend’s voice?”

“Exactly!” Marinette said. “But I’m—I’m doing it all for him! Why can’t he see that??”

“If you are doing something he has asked you not to… then, no matter what justification you give, Marinette, you are doing it for yourself. Not for him.”

“But I—”

“Wanting to help your friend is no bad thing,” Master Fu acknowledged. “But taking over his life because you think you know better… is selfishness, disguised as love. It is done to make yourself feel better about the situation, not him. And it will cause nothing but bad feelings between you and him.”

“What can I do, then?” Marinette asked miserably. “He’s already admitted he doesn’t have a plan for after we defeat Hawkmoth.”

“Oh, ho!” Master Fu laughed, “so you’re planning on abandoning your friend as soon as your enemy is defeated, are you?”

“What? No, of course not! I would never!”

“’Love trusts,’” Master Fu reminded her. “And if he is still willing to fight, even if he has no plan, Adrien must love you a great deal, to trust in having nothing more than your love after all of this is done.”

Marinette paled, and then blushed, looking in the direction she’d come from.

And I ran out on him, she thought, swallowing the lump in her throat. The first doubt I had, I ran.

“Does love forgive?” she rasped.

“I imagine you have to mean it,” the old master chuckled. “But why are you asking me?”

Marinette was already moving.

“Tikki,” she called as she ran for the manor. “I’ve been an idiot, and stubborn… and Hawkmoth needs to go down!!”

“And I knew you’d see it in the end!” Tikki sang. “Give me one minute alone with the cookies in your bag!” She dove into the purse and Marinette laughed, running faster and feeling lighter than she had in days.

She could only hope Adrien would be so forgiving.

Adrien lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. I seem to end up here a lot, he mused. Alone. In my room. And now I can’t even look at my posters.

He’d had to take said posters down, once it became apparent that anything and everything suddenly wanted to fall on him. He’d gone to watch a movie, and no fewer than five shelves of DVDs had simply collapsed. His video games were broken. He didn’t dare touch his computer, or the rock wall, and he didn’t need Plagg’s snide comments to know that his zipline was out of the question as well.

Bad luck sucked.

Now all he needed was an akuma to come bursting through his door—

His door was blasted open, hard enough to break it off the hinges and send it flying into his room. Adrien yelped and rolled off his bed.

“ADRIEN! THE REST OF YOUR AFTERNOON APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED!!” a familiar voice boomed.

Adrien swore and hid behind his bed. He did not want to know what had gone down if it was bad enough to get Nathalie akumatized.

Ok, think, Adrien, he told himself. It’s Nathalie! Maybe you can reason with her!!

“Nathalie??” he called hesitantly.

“I AM… THE ASSISTANT!!”

All around him, his bed was suddenly shredded into dozens of pieces. He watched in horror as sheets of paper embedded themselves into the floor and walls.

HOLY FECKING PAPER CUTS!! He knew she hated physical paperwork, but this was taking it to a new level!!

Adrien dove out of the way, looking up to see the akuma. Yup, definitely Nathalie.

“If this is about the bonus my father refused to give you last Christmas, you can take it out of my savings!” he called.

The akuma snarled at him and launched more deadly sheets of paper in his direction.

“I don’t know what he did to make you so mad,” Adrien shouted, barely dodging the projectiles, “but think, Nathalie! I need you to think! He promised to never akumatize you, remember? That was part of your deal! If he was lying about that, JUST THINK, he could be lying about the power he’s giving you too! He could be lying about EVERYTHING!!”

The projectiles slowed to a stop and Adrien cautiously peeked his head out around the TV he was hiding behind. It was working. The Assistant was clutching her head, arguing furiously with the glowing butterfly mask on her face. This was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to pass up.

“Plagg, claws out!”

“Nathalie, quick!” Chat Noir called, running up to her. He kept one hand on his baton, just in case. “Where’s the akumatized item? Let me help you!”

“No! No, he’s right. You promised. You told me. No,” the akuma was muttering to herself. Her eyes were closed and she was shaking her head, obviously trying to get Hawkmoth out. “No, I won’t. I do care. I won’t hurt him! Adrien! Adrien, the tablet!”

The Assistant screamed and sank to her knees as she was punished for her insubordination. Chat Noir stared at her, seething, as he reached for the tablet that Nathalie always, always used.

He’d never seen her cry before. Nathalie had always disguised her kind heart with a cold exterior, but this—! He was gonna deck his father so hard!

Just as he was about to break it, the akuma grabbed his hand.

“No,” she growled. “I need this. I need it to do my job.”

“And I need to do my job,” he replied. “Cataclysm!!”

“ADRIEN!!!”

Chat Noir and the Assistant both whirled at the new voice; he’d been inches away from destroying the tablet, and the akuma had just been about to attack him with another round of paper cuts. Instead, the projectiles flew at the newcomer automatically.

“MARINETTE!!” he screamed.

The Assistant still had a hold of his hand—he’d never make it in time….

End Chapter 28.

[butterflybluelady]

Back from Vegas

So yes I went to Vegas it was awesome! The first day I didn’t do anything though cause I was severely sleep deprived and high on clonazepam I hurt all over and stayed in the hotel. It was the only way to get me out of the house cause I have agoraphobia (Fear of going outside) So this entire fucking trip I was high on clonazepam, started to feel it wear off, popped another one XD Anyway the second day I went out an explored with the family. I had to buy a lanyard cause I didn’t want to keep pulling out my fucking ID to get carded. I played a game called Easy Jack, basically black jack but instead of 21 you need to get to 11. I did good man, You can put chips down on the side encase the dealer busted. I didn’t lose any money gambling. I lost 40 to a slot machine made a little over 60 with the cards. I think the only money I lost was tipping the cocktail waitress. I also spent 40 on some glass walking dead cups and 20 on some Pikachu sunglasses that went with the rest of my pikachu gear XD The third day was a little tough, everybody got sick, probably from contaminated ice. That is our theory since everybody drank something with ice but my sister and she didn’t get sick. She hates ice. Anyway third day we did this Walking dead maze thingy, it sucked so bad, it was way too short for how much you have to pay to get in, it wasn’t very good and you can’t even really tell when the actors are switching from character to guide. Cause they had the whole instruction thing don’t touch the actors, cell phones off, and suddenly their asking me if I was bit or scratched and I was like “what the fuck hell you talking about?” Once you make it through this tiny ass pathetic maze your on some sort of ride chair thingy I don’t know what its called. Anyway you sit and get 3d glasses and a gun so you can shoot zombies on a screen. You had no fucking pointer and the entire time the seat is rocking jumping and moving. Don’t eat before doing that cause fucking jesus that thing upset my stomach so bad. So your shooting and hoping that you’ll hit something, my sister got the highest score, no idea how. After that we had dinner then did the best thing ever! The zipline! It was amazing, it starts all the way at the end of the strip and goes almost all the way back to hour hotel which is quite a long ways. They gear you up in these vest that are different colors. Green for tiny blue for average and red for . . . . extra fluff. The guy who came to gear me up was holding a blue vest for me (I was bent over re-trying my shoe) I stood up and he’s like “oh I didn’t realize how small you were.” XD So he goes back and gets a green vest. They had these bags that you need to put any loose items in they attach above you when you go down. We loaded one bag up with everything just for me cause I’m light weight and there use to be chances that you could end up stuck out there. Anyway I still had on my Pikachu jacket like always and when they let us go I screamed “PIKACHU TO THE RESCUE!” XD When you get off you get photos and we get down to the bottom the guy down there was like “all I saw was a flying Pikachu.” XD Now let me tell you about the performers that were all over the strip it was amazing and hot. I couldn’t take pictures because you have to tip them. But damn there was girls dressed as cats, I swear to god one of them was wearing a butt plug with her thong. The tail was just too low. Then there were girls who were just wearing panties and heels with nothing but body paint on them covering their nipples and Sin City written on their ass. You had girls dressed as the hottest cops you’ll ever see and devils my god it was amazing. At the slushie bar girls in their bra’s and underwear would dance on top of the bar if you tipped big. I didn’t really pay much attention to any of the male performers because I have a boyfriend and I felt like I would be betraying him with my eyes so I just glued my eyes to the girls and boy was it worth it. There was a lot of beautiful butts to look at. You’ll never see girls like that on the internet! Not even porn hub has girls that hot. I highly recommend going to Vegas if you haven’t been yet. However no matter what hotel you stay at, if the elevators go out just wait the few hours for them to be fixed. I walked up 22 flights of stairs, I took several breaks between flights, I thought I’d die before I ever made it. That was some serious regret. Vegas is amazing. 

[mjjjj07]

Vergangenheitsbewältigung

Yes, that is in fact a real German word. We learned the meaning of it on our trip to Berlin. My German flatmate Max describes it as: facing the past and taking responsibility of it.

 We had a wonderful time in Berlin, Germany! Since our flight departed at 6:45am from the East Midlands airport + about 1.5-2 hours of travel time, I set my alarm for 2:30am so I could shower/get ready. Excitedly I woke up around 2am and figured there was no use going back to sleep. Around 3am I ensured my 2 flatmates Max and Tom were awake via WhatsApp and got my things together to head down to the kitchen to meet them and try to leave our flat by 4am to walk to the city center to catch the airport bus. When I came into the kitchen I found Tom cooking a full English breakfast at 3:30am! I couldn’t help but laugh – he said he was craving it although I couldn’t imagine eating such a heavy meal so early in the morning. I made a piece of toast and rushed the boys along to make it out the door by 4am. We caught the Sky bus to the airport and I was surprised to see about 20 early risers come and go from the bus presumably on their way to work. When we arrived about an hour later at the airport we met our 4th travel companion, Hannah, my coursemate. We all walked through the airport toward security repacking our liquids and chugging our water bottles on the way. Once at security we almost got through without a hiccup until Tom realized one of his shoes was missing! I asked a gentleman putting on brown leather dress shoes if the black shoe in his conveyor belt bin was his and he said no but it was his son’s. Where had Tom’s shoe gone?! We asked TSA and they took a broom beneath the machines and brushed out Tom’s shoe – what a terrible start to the trip that would’ve been to lose a shoe! We meandered through the airport and made our way to the gate. East Midlands is a small airport and on our way I noticed some converters for sale and then realized I had brought my converter but didn’t change the plug from UK to Germany….DAMNIT. At the shops in the airport the American to European converters were around £10 so I didn’t buy one. Luckily, I had a portable charger for my phone and my friends had the converters that accepted USBs. We waited in line at the gate and when it was time to board the plane the gate agent checked my boarding pass and said “Uh oh, you don’t have a stamp”…She looked to the other gate agent and said “She’s an American and didn’t get her visa checked” My heart sunk for a second but thankfully she let me through without the stamp. WHEW! Another close call! I would have been so upset if they hadn’t let me board the plane. I mentioned it to my friends and made a mental note to check with the RyanAir desk on the way back home.

Because it was a RyanAir flight it was super cheap! Only $67 roundtrip! Also, because it was cheap none of us paid extra to select our seats so we were scattered throughout the plane. I love European flights because in just a couple hours you’re in a completely different country! The flight was about 2 hours (plus a 1 hour time difference). I read my book - The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - and took about an hour nap which was much needed. When we landed it was about 9:40am local time. We made our way to the train which would be a 30 min ride into Berlin. We got off the train at Alexanderplatz which is a large public transport hub – one we’d grow to learn and love quickly. Hannah and I were staying at Wombat’s Hostel near the Rosa-Luxemburg Platz (platform) and since when we booked only girls’ rooms were available – so the boys booked a hostel called EastSeven just a 10 minute walk away from ours. Since check-in time wasn’t until the afternoon Hannah and I dropped our bags off – happy to rid ourselves of their weight and then walked with the boys to drop their bags off.

We had only one real order of business at that point and that was to EAT. We started by walking toward the city center while looking for ATMs along the way so I could pull out Euros. After a little sight-seeing I’ll admit I was getting a bit hangry and just wanted us to find any place to eat so we settled on an Italian restaurant that was nicely decorated with wicker chairs and red blankets. I asked if we could sit outside which everyone kindly obliged even though it was chilly! We ate pizza and pasta and drank beer cheersing ‘PROST’ to our first meal in Berlin!

After eating, Max had arranged a free walking tour for us starting at Brandenburg Gate in the city center. Since we were running short on time we hopped on the metro to get there. Standing in the city center was beautiful. A lot had changed since WW2. We were given a numbered ticket from our tour guide and broken up into groups – our tour was in English of course – and our tour guide was from Spain! His English was flawless and he said he originally came to Berlin to study but had ended up loving it so much he stayed. He started by discussing the Brandenburg Gate; he told us that right where we were standing in what was formerly known as the “Death Strip”….uh what? Well, because of where the Berlin Wall was erected there was space between East and West Berlin where people trying to escape East Berlin were often shot and killed because they were trying to get to ‘freedom’ on the West side. The wall was built by the GDR and stood for 28 years. Something interesting about the GDR lasting 28 years is that we were in Berlin exactly 28 years after the wall had been torn down – which was easy math for me since it’s my age. The wall was torn down the year I was born (1989).

The Brandenburg Gate reminded me of the Arc de Triumph in Paris and has a lot of historical significance because it is located right between East and West Berlin. We then passed through the gate toward our next destination: Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This was one of the most interesting parts of the tour, as you will be able to see in the photos I upload – this memorial consists of concrete slabs, varying in height, laid out in a grid-like pattern. Our tour guide challenged us to think about the meaning behind this memorial and allowed us to walk through it to the other side. What I realized when we were walking through is that the ground sloped inward and the further we walked toward the center – the higher the concrete slabs rose above our heads. Soon enough we were completely dwarfed within the memorial. When we came out at the other side our tour guide wanted us to understand the beginnings of the Holocaust. He pointed to a concrete slab near the edge of the monument that was flat, flush with the sidewalk, and said “This is how the Holocaust started – hate speech, people turning a blind eye, small things that eventually led to the murder of millions of Jews and others”. I got chills…because it feels like this is happening again. But this time it’s starting in America.. under the rule of Trump. I for one, won’t stand for it which is why I’m trying to continuously show by supporting women, people of color, intersectionality, LGBTQ+, the disabled, etc. by attending the women’s march and (for lack of a better term) staying woke in America’s current political shit storm.

Next our tour guide led us to a muddy parking lot, wet from recent rainfall. We laughed when he said “I bet you’re wondering why a boring parking lot is on our tour today” but what he said next was astonishing…where we were standing was right atop Hitler’s bunker! Our tour guide described how Hitler and his wife Eva committed suicide in the bunker after they learned the war was lost and then their bodies were identified later with dental records and the bunker was blown up and sealed. It was then decided to make Hitler’s bunker an unremarkable spot. No monument or memorial was placed there because Hitler was, of course, on the wrong side of history. So it seemed fitting that a parking lot was placed there.

Next we stopped at a café about halfway through the tour to give our feet a break and have a cold beer. My German roomie Max found his favorite beer in the cooler and said I had to try it (which of course I did!) so we sipped our beers and then were told we had to keep moving a few minutes later. I wasn’t finished with my beer and Max said that was okay I could take the glass bottle of beer with me…WHAT? Amazing! In Germany you can drink alcohol in the street. He said you leave glass bottles underneath or next to the trash so the homeless people can return them to stores for money. For example when you buy a plastic bottle of water from a grocery store in Germany – it costs 19 cents + 25 cents. 19 cents for the water and 25 cents refunded once the bottle is returned to the store. America has similar practices but not as good of a system as Germany!

Next stop on our walking tour: the Berlin Wall! We came out of the café to a busted up, decrepit concrete wall. Our tour guide described a daring escape made by a family who hid in a tall building near the wall until the middle of the night where they threw a makeshift grappling hook and ziplined over the wall! He said once they were over the wall in the West they were safe – no one could send them back to the East Side.

After that we walked to an area called ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ named after the letter “C” in the NATO alphabet. It was very interesting to see a large photo of an American soldier mounted in the middle of the intersection, formerly a crossing point in the Berlin Wall for allied forces. Our tour guide explained this crossing point almost became the starting point of WW3 due to a U.S. and Soviet tank standoff due to a misunderstanding in 1961. The dispute was because of an American diplomat trying to enter East Berlin when German guards stopped him. Luckily, our president at the time – JFK peacefully negotiated us out of the standoff before a single shot was fired.

At this point it was starting to get dark and our feet were starting to hurt so we went on to the last 2 stops on the walking tour. Second to last was the “Square of Tolerance”, where 2 beautiful churches were erected next to each other with differing religions. The point Berlin was trying to make after tearing down the wall was that it welcomed the coexistence of different religions and people in the city. Finally, our last stop on the tour was a large plaza with beautiful views of Humboldt University of Berlin.

After the walking tour we went back to officially check into our hostels and get freshened up before dinner. Hannah and I met at the rooftop terrace, aptly named “Wombar” to use our free drink coupons given by our hostel before dinner. Then we met up with the boys and took the train to town. Max took us to get burgers and fries which were delicious and we were very hungry. I was so exhausted from being up since 2am that morning that I didn’t feel like going out so we called it a night around 11pm.

The next morning we were up at a decent hour and met the boys for breakfast. I ate fresh fruit, muesli, and yogurt as well as a cheesy breadstick which were delicious! Then Max said we would explore town – Tom said he wanted to buy a new hat since it was a bit chilly in Berlin and us girls wanted to look around to shop. Near Alexanderplatz we dinked around, poked our heads into a few stores, and enjoyed the view of the Alex TV Tower (an iconic symbol of Berlin). Then Max wanted us to head to another neighborhood via bus to walk around and see local shops. Hannah had been dying to try currywurst so we figured we could find some for lunch. We stumbled upon a little indoor market and had a look inside. We sampled some organic-vegan “treats” that tasted a bit like dog food BLEH and had to pay 50 cents to use the restroom inside but then decided to treat ourselves to a beer because why not? We were on vacation! We took our beers to the street and walked around the plaza and then over to the food trucks where we finally got to try currywurst! I got a vegetarian one and it was delicious! I let everyone taste mine and we all agreed it tasted just like meat! Currywurst is basically just sausage drenched in curry flavored ketchup (and fries if you desire). After we ate it was late afternoon and we decided to head back to the hostel for a quick rest and to get ready for the pub crawl! Back in my room I met a nice girl named Sonne from the Netherlands. I invited her to come with us for dinner because she was in Berlin alone and only for one night. She agreed and we met up with the boys to walk to a local German restaurant. After we walked there Max reported the restaurant had a sign up saying they were closed for a formal party so we trekked to another spot nearby and got a table.

We talked and laughed a bit over beer and delicious food. I ordered the gorgonzola penne pasta which was delicious and filling. Then we were off to our pub crawl starting at a bar right next to our hostel called CCCP (I have no idea what that stands for). We got our wrists stamped and ordered drinks at the bar. Included in our pub crawl was 6 shots along the way – little did we know they’d be Jägerbombs and straight vodka (gross). The 2nd bar was a ping pong bar! None of us played but we watched as all the people surrounded the table rotating in a circle so each one had a chance to hit the ball across – if you missed a shot then you were out until there were only 4 people left to play at the end. It was fun to watch and apparently a hidden spot in Berlin. The 3rd bar was an “absinthe” bar. The boys wanted to try absinthe and I was annoyed the pub crawl would take us there because real absinthe is illegal and it’s just a scam for tourists to buy overpriced shots. My friends and I had tried to find the real thing in Paris when we were there in 2014 but to no avail. The boys ended up getting “absinthe” and I have a video of them trying it - Tom’s face says it all: he took one sip and scrunched up his face “Yuck!”. The next stop on our pub crawl was a club with many different rooms and each had a different variety of music. We stayed and danced to Despacito (which was then subsequently stuck in my head the entire next day) and then wanted to go to the final club. Hannah and I enjoyed the last club the most. It was an eccentric looking African bar and club with great music and we got a friendly welcoming vibe from. We danced for a while but then the boys wanted to go back and get their coats because they left them at the previous club. Hannah and I were tired anyway and seeing as it was 3:30am we figured it was time for bed. The boys got off the metro and Hannah and I changed trains to head home. Little did we know we had gotten on going the wrong direction – whoops. When we reached the end we got off and rode the metro the other way back to our hostel.

The next morning we all slept in a little and while waiting to meet the boys for breakfast, Hannah and I decided to go get coffee across the street. This was our final full day in Berlin and we didn’t want to waste any time! When the boys met up with us we walked to a cute café to try their signature bagel sandwiches. I ordered an avocado/veggie bagel that was delicious. Then Max said he was taking us to the Wall Museum/East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is a stretch of the Berlin Wall that has been beautifully painted in murals. Max kindly read me the poems and quotes that were in German and it was a truly moving experience. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. After viewing the entire East Side Gallery we walked across the street for a bite to eat at a large train station. Hannah and Tom got currywurst and I finally got a pretzel with butter + chives, it was sooo yummy! Then I bought a tiramisu ice cream cone, my favorite.

After that Max wanted to take us to a main plaza to see the Berlin Cathedral. The cathedral was beautiful and right across the Spree River was a cute little outdoor art market on “Museum Island” (which isn’t really an island). The art market was one of my favorite parts of the day because it’s nice to see local artsy goods being sold. They had beautiful prints of Berlin, crocheted hats and gloves, and other touristy knickknacks. After the art market we had tickets to the DDR Museum (which was confusing because the DDR Museum is about the GDR – German Democratic Republic and I don’t know what DDR stands for even after Googling it). This museum was really cool because it was set up to interact with. We learned a lot about socialist society which was both interesting and a little scary (it made me dislike Bernie Sanders a bit more). Since everyone was “equal” it took somewhere between 10-20 years just to be given the one and only car available to the public - the Trabant. Everyone was encouraged to participate in sports (said to increase German pride), educated about socialism, and lived in identical apartments. In some ways socialism was good for the general population but what struck me as unfair is that the authorities were given special treatment, perks, bigger apartments, luxury-type food and goods made in Germany but primarily exported and not buyable by the public. It really made me appreciate some of the freedoms America offers.

After our long day we again went back to our hostels to freshen up before dinner. FINALLY we were going out for a traditional German meal. Max’s mom and brother recommended a restaurant about 30 minutes away by train and it was well worth the journey. The restaurant seated us right away, their specialty was spätzle which is basically potato-pasta. I ordered 2 glasses of wine, a side salad, and mushroom spätzle with cream sauce. IT WAS SOOOOOOO DELICIOUS! We all shut up the moment the food arrived and stuffed our faces. After we had our fill, Hannah had the nice idea of going around and saying our favorite and least favorite parts of the trip. I said my least favorite part was forgetting my outlet converter for Germany (which was really no big deal) and my favorite part of the trip was probably the 2nd day where we walked around the city, tried currywurst, took photos, and just had a chill day with good company. After dinner we headed back to our hostels, Hannah and I snuck the guys up to the Wombar for a couple drinks and we ended up playing pool with Sonne and another guy until it was time for bed, it was a really nice way to end the night.

The next morning when I got up I was feeling a little sad it was our last day. I got showered and dressed and was up in my bunk doing my makeup when my adorable bunkmate who was an older Japanese woman gave me 2 coupons for free breakfast at Wombar (which doubled as an all you can eat breakfast buffet in the morning). She said she would love to join Hannah and I but she hadn’t slept well and was going to stay in bed. I was up pretty early so I figured I’d go upstairs to the bar and read my book and have some coffee while I waited for everyone to meet me for breakfast. Hannah came up first and a little later the boys came over. The buffet was really good! They had hardboiled eggs, all kinds of bread, fruit, cheese, veggies, cereal, yogurt, juice, and coffee. I made a veggie and cheese panini sandwich with the hot press, then took a piece of fruit for later. Since our flight home wasn’t until the afternoon we had the morning to see a little bit more of the city. Max wanted to take us to see the Parliament building and a picturesque view of the Berlin Cathedral and the Spree River. We took some really great pictures in front of Parliament building which has a clear domed roof. The clear dome meant to symbolize government ‘transparency’ (take notes America). Shortly after that it was time to grab our bags and head to the airport. We hopped on the train for the 30 minute ride to the airport and when we arrived we discovered our flight was delayed by 20 minutes. We figured that was enough time to squeeze in one last beer and Hannah got one last currywurst! The flight home was quick, Max and I somehow got seated next to each other and he slept the whole time and I read my book. I was exhausted when we arrived back to East Midlands and we had a group hug before we parted ways with Hannah and then the boys and I found the bus back to Notts city center. We figured out we had walked 70,000 steps over the previous 3.5 days which equates to just under 30 miles! No wonder our feet were sore.

All in all it was a successful trip, Hannah got to eat currywurst and practice her German, this was Tom’s first hostel experience, and Max enjoyed being back in his home country in one of his favorite German cities. As for me, I can check Germany off my bucket list! I truly enjoyed the weekend and look forward to my next adventure which will be……NYE IN LONDON! I’m going on this adventure solo but my roommate Lauren lives in London so I may see her while I’m there. Stay tuned for photos from Berlin!

P.s. I got the job at Revs de Cuba! I’m excited to start working there as a host! I had orientation, training, and a team meeting turned rager this week! My coworkers and bosses sure can drink! I am just waiting on my application for a National Insurance Number which will enable me to work. Yay!

[saltysodavevo]

sorry

thanks for nothing. i came because you were my friend, not because i wanted to be lied to and hurt.

vent under the cut

I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. You ruined my life. I never want to see you again. It’s your fault. I hate you.

Yet I still choose to remember you.

Your name was Anna. You loved bananas. Rarity was your favorite pony. Neeky was your best friend. And I like to think that, at one point, I was too. You had a sister. Her name was Abby. She loved Disney. She loved Disney movies. Her life revolved around them. She loved to roleplay. She was your best friend, and you were hers.

We were so happy. There wasn’t a single moment when you weren’t happy and excited for something. Except-

When we had a fight. Yes, I remember. Exactly how it went.

I called myself a night owl. You got mad. That was Abby’s spirit animal. You told Abby, she got mad at me too. The rest is fuzzy, but you- You called me a whore. And you hurt me. You made me cry, for the first time. Though it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

We broke apart.

Later, we- we came back. When I told the truth about my name and age. You seemed to take it well. That was good. We were all friends again. We were happy. It was nice.

I was happy.

Until one day, you texted me out of the blue.

You told me that Abby died.

I was heartbroken, at a loss for words. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t find the right words. I didn’t know what to do. I cried, again. I was 9, 10 maybe. Naive. I believed it. You told me her friend would be on her account. I talked to “her friend”. I asked if they would sue.

“No, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, and besides, the camp was fun anyway.”

And I believed you.

I trusted you.

I was naive.

Last year, I reread the story Abby had wrote for you. For your birthday. The last words written were “maybe we should wake up,” spoken by one of two characters laying in bed, contemplating their next actions. I won’t lie. I teared up.

I spoke to you for the first time in years.

“hey

anna

uh

do you know where abby was going in her fanfiction for you?”

“Hm? Oh that! Sorry, I forgot all about it but.. no I.. actually have no idea.. I don't know if she's continuing it :c”

“ak

that sucks

i just finished reading it and

i was actually the one she trusted to proofread it

i feel like i should be the one to continue it

idk but

aaa

i wanna continue it but i don't know where she was going with it”

“She's busy right now, idk if she wants to continue it.. but I can see if she really really wants to, if not she'll probably just give it up to us! :D”

Color me confused.

I didn’t understand. I thought she had died.

I asked Neeky if she remembered.

“hey uh

idk if you talk to anna anymore but dont tell her i said this

didn't abby..die ??? i was asking her about the fnaf fanfiction and

hold on ill just send a transcript ig”

“she keeps saying it as if it never happened

and i just

im getting mixed messages

like

was she lying? is she talking about someone else who 'took abby's place'??? im honestly so fuck ing c o nf us ed

and im too much of a fucking wimp to ask her

there was such a huge boom about it when it happened

i remember she messaged me after it, she was upset as fuck and i mean i understood, i still do, her sister died and she got her phone and it was almost her birthday and i just aaa

but i dont

whats going on anymore im fu ckign”

“When did she supposedly die? Like a month or something?”

“wh

i

when we used to be the odd squad?”

“Lmao I worded that weird sorry like was it when school was still going”

“it was

camp

i think

yeah

and there was supposedly a big zipline over a waterfall with sharp rocks and abby wasn't secured properly

thats how i know it

i remember it like yesterday even, anna was so upset but im starting to think it was a lie i dont even fucking know anymore”

“Um,,,,, p sure she's not dead if Anna went to school as her normal self. Knowing anna, she would be so upset that she most likely wouldn't step out of her house?

That's when we still talked so she would've told me if she died and I don't recall she ever did?”

“have you seen abby around though?

she told me, i remember it, goddamn it

i think i still have the screenshot, even

im fucked up dude like what the fuck even

i,

he lp”

“Wait,,, idk if you remember but her dad was the vice principal of our middle school at the time. even he didn't take time off or something to mourn or attend a funeral or something of the sort.

Unless I somehow missed an entire period of my life”

“i have the screenshot but anna's wording it like it never happened and i dont understand i”

“Well I mean my point still stands. She didn't look any different while at school and when she texted me, she sounded as enthusiastic as she was before. Perhaps she lied?

And adding what you've said about how she talks, it doesn't really seem like something this tragic happened.”

So we confronted Anna about it.

“Hey anna”

“Ya?”

“uh

so

about abby”

“Ya..”

“didnt she...die? when i was talking to you about the fanfic you worded it all as if it never happened

‘ Hm? Oh that! Sorry, I forgot all about it but.. no I.. actually have no idea.. I don't know if she's continuing it :c’

‘ She's busy right now, idk if she wants to continue it.. but I can see if she really really wants to, if not she'll probably just give it up to us! :D’ “

“OH YEAAAAAAA

I thought I didn't tell you..

Sorry..

SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS SUCKS”

“but”

“..?

Her friend took over her accounts, yah.”

“but neeky said when you went to school you seemed happy and chipper as usual and- wasnt your dad the vice principal or something

?

neeky said there wasnt any funeral or anything and i do nt

e ve ne

i mf ucke d u p”

“I.. really don't like talking about this”

So then Neeky asked:

“Like I wasn't even told about this until not too long ago,,,,

Um can you at least give me some info if this is real bc I didn't even know,,.,.,..,”

So then you left. And I tried to get in touch with you and ask what happened. Just- for any answer. Any smidge of an answer you had for me.

Nothing.

You were quiet.

Until you finally answered.

And tore my heart in pieces.

“I.. alright, yes, I did lie to you.. anyways.. I.. I'm really sorry but.. no, I'm not sorry.. let's just get this over with.

I can't be your friend.

You've lied to me and told me the truth but..

I really hate that because I gave so much of my friendship to you.

One of my good friends on Kik is going to talk to you, goodbye.”

I got a message.

I talked to your friend.

I was told to kill myself, that I hurt you, you’ll never forgive me, you hate me, you don’t want to be my friend, you don’t want to see me ever again.

I cried.

Again.

And now here we are.

Present day.

And I’m writing about you.

I guess there’s a reason we remember our most traumatizing moments.

I hate you.

[jenguerrero]

Hi everybody! I just spent the last two weeks down at Disney and Universal with my family. It really is a magical place. I think this was our 6th trip there, so we thought we had the drill down, but they’ve changed so much since our last visit, like 6 years ago. If you’ve never gone, you should totally rectify that!

*How* magical is it? Here’s a little story from the end of a wonderful and exhausting day at one of the parks…. We were so tired but ran to Downtown Disney for a few last things the kids wanted. I looked down and the pocket I keep my phone in was unzipped and my phone was gone. We tried Find My IPhone but there was no signal. It’s such a crowded tourist area that it has to be popular with thieves because bumping into people and having someone’s hand brush against your handbag is so common that it would dull any red flags. I was so upset thinking all the photos of the kids and my niece were just gone. A security guard on a bike asked if everything was alright. I explained and he asked if I wanted his help. Absolutely sure that there was nothing he could do, I <as politely as I could but skeptical or even cynical is an understatement> asked if that ever works. He took down a report and then walked us across all of Disney Springs, slower than turtles stampeding through peanut butter. About a block from guest services, he told me he was hopeful because there was no signal. Their procedure is to turn them off before turning them in. If there’s a signal on find my IPhone, they know they don’t have it. I thought it could also be explained by my power running out. He walked up to a guest services person and they ducked into a locked room and walked back out with a phone. Yeah, the opening picture is of Alex and Kat ten years ago in front of a Mickey topiary making mouse ears with little closed baby fists. I started crying and tackle hugged the security guard. He was beaming. I actually think fixing our problem made his day, too. Only at Disney, right?!

Off the beaten path stuff that we adore…

We rented a pontoon boat at the Polynesian resort. It’s a fabulous experience. You can turn up the radio and take a super chill ride past the Magic Kingdom monorail area (the castle’s visible!), Discovery Island (Big attraction for the teenagers because there’s all kinds of legends and stories about this abandoned island. No, you’re not allowed to set foot on land there.), the Grand Floridian resort, and the Fort Wilderness resort. There were only 4 of us but I think it can seat 6 (or maybe 8). It’s $45 for 30 minutes, but you don’t have to watch the clock. We were out for 45 minutes and they charged us for that, not an hour. You have to be 18 to drive it. They had little 2 person boats that you only have to be 12 to drive. I think those were $30/half hour. The Polynesian has a great gift shop with high end Hawaiian shirts, and there are speakers playing Hawaiian music everywhere – even the parking lots. There’s a Dole Whip stand there, too. If you don’t know what that is, pineapple soft serve (twisted with vanilla if you like), and you can get it on top of pineapple upside down cake or floating in pineapple juice if you like. There are other locations to rent boats, but this is our favorite so far.

Surrey bikes. What?! Yeah. It’s a 4 person bike vehicle with a roof. There’s a little basket on the front that our youngest used to LOVE riding in when she was tiny with a bell for them to enthusiastically ding. There’s no gears, so you get a mighty fine workout going uphill over two bridges for each lap you do. We rented one down in the boardwalk area. I think it’s like $30/half hour. If you like to get in a vacation-y workout while you’re on holiday, I totally recommend it! The boardwalk also has boat rentals, beach yoga, a running trail, and a bunch of boardwalk restaurants.

New/Modified rides…

The new Avatar flight ride at Animal Kingdom is the best thing at an amusement park ever. Really. I bet you think that’s subjective, but it’s totally factual. And satisfactual. They send you in with a warning page when you enter the line. I’m afraid of heights <not too bad, because there’s nothing I wont ride at a Disney park> so I was concerned. Are they actually ziplining us all? My bet was on no because they couldn’t efficiently get through a line of people like that. Will it be like Soarin’ and just strap us in a big porch swing as images go by? Probably not. I reminded myself that Disney was in the business of delighting people, and I would probably be delighted. I’m so glad I did! I worried for nothing. You climb on what looks like a Star Wars speeder bike. You are secured in place by safety gear wrapped around your abdomen and your lower back like a big hug, and more holding the back of your legs against the bike. Then you put on virtual reality goggles. Images and wonderful smells whiz by as you’re just sort of tilted about. But it all feels so real! I looked sideways at one point and saw that there are so many rows and columns of the bikes, kind of like the wall of doors in Monsters Inc.

The Slinky Dog coaster at Hollywood Studios actually feels like you’re riding a slinky at one point. They speed you up like you’re on a hot wheels track at the middle. It’s too fun! It’s kind of the perfect starter coaster because it decelerates on the droppy parts. Yes, that’s a technical term.

The Seven Dwarves Mine Train at Magic Kingdom is a really fun kiddie coaster. I love the safety bars on it. You know how on some rides, there seem to be predetermined clicks, and you’re trying so hard to get it to click down one more? Not on this. It’s somehow more personalized, so when you pull it down, it exactly fits you. Nice. We waited a torturous three hours to get on (they estimated 1 ½), so if you want to ride it, maybe head straight there from the gate.

We always loved the Norwegian boat ride at the Norway pavilion at Epcot, so we were a little sad to hear they were giving it a makeover for Frozen. Nah, it’s awesome.

The Kilamajaro Safari ride at Animal Kingdom has been updated to be so much more informative (super yay!), but they killed off the whole “Simba 1! Simba 1! There are poachers in the area!” (Boo!)! Three of us were sad, but my youngest thinks they’ve completely ruined it.

The Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor at Magic Kingdom. Okay, this was only slightly modified, but it’s my personal amusement. They select a bad guy in the audience each time. He used to be called “That guy”, and now he’s called “Sullivan”. My husband gets picked every time. Not even kidding. The last 4 trips. He did this time, too, and my sweet little niece got picked as the monster’s helper! Day made!

Food…

Disney does food so well. On our first night there, we headed to Bongos, Gloria Estefan’s Cuban restaurant at Disney Springs. The bacon wrapped plantains appetizer was amazing. The steak with chimichurri and fufu (mashed green and sweet plantains) was fantastic, and I had a tropical cocktail that was fabulous. They have live music in there, and people dancing, and it’s just buckets of fun. In terms of your pocketbook, it’s in the category “all your money”.

At Epcot, we ate at Le Cellier one day and Coral Reef another. Le Cellier is at the Canada pavilion. The filet mignon over the mushroom risotto is absolute perfection, and my personal fave at Disney. We got reservations this time, but on trips where we couldn’t get the reservation we’ve wanted at Epcot, we’ve had good luck running straight to the restaurant we wanted right when the world showcase opens. It seems to be the best shot of them squeezing you in. At Coral Reef, we had the salmon, and it was to die for. I had the mahi mahi on another trip and that’s glorious if you are in a tropical mood. They’re both in the in the category “all your money” category.

At Magic Kingdom, we always eat at Tony’s because my kids think the doggies sharing the spaghetti plate in Lady and the Tramp is the most romantic scene in movie history. I think it might actually be the almost kiss in It’s a Wonderful Life, but the kids have let me know exactly how wrong I am on that one. By the way, the ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta there is fabulous. Most of your money.

The second day at Magic Kingdom, we found a restaurant we’d never noticed before, Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen. If you can’t get enough of the cheesy jokes on the jungle cruise, this is the place for you! We adored it! It’s as corny as can be and the food was great, too. One kiddo had a pineapple tofu dish, I had A Lot at Steak Salad, my hub had a whole fried hogfish, and our other kiddo had the sustainable fish of the day. All were super yummy. Most of your money. There are two cheap super-popular-for-a-reason treats that you really need to consider there: Dole Whip and Orange Bird. They are both fruity soft serve deals right before you get to the Enchanted Tiki Room or Pirates ride, and will give you delicious distraction while you’re in line.

At Hollywood Studios, we ate a Mama Melrose’s. Nice Italian food. Most of your money.

At Animal Kingdom, we ate at Yak and Yeti’s. Fantastic stuff. I had chicken tikka masala, my hub had Korean fried chicken and waffles, one kiddo had honey chicken, and the other had a shrimp and scallop sriracha mac and cheese. The sushi starter was nice, too. Most of your money.

We headed back home. On the drive, we realized our favorite Po’ Boy in New Orleans would only add 30 minutes to that 19 hour drive. So worth it. I think we’ll stop for beignets on the drive there next time.

Onto a week or two of health food to atone for vacation. We bought a new saki set at Epcot, so I think I’ll get busy making sushi! Happy week, and let me know if you need any Disney recommendations! 😀 ~Jen

Family Vacay at Disney World! Hi everybody! I just spent the last two weeks down at Disney and Universal with my family.

[mskarlam]

HOLY WEEK 2017 @ Orani, Bataan

I was born and raised in Manila and having said that means I have no province. My dad and his siblings, however grew up in Bataan and that’s what we consider our province ever since. (My mother is from Manila too.) Back in the days when we were all still in our elementary years, every summer, all of us would leave for Orani to spend Holy Week. We would normally leave Manila on Maundy Thursday and be back Black Saturday/Easter Sunday depending on my dad’s work schedule. (He works in casino so holidays are not really applicable to them.) Me and my cousin, Jiecel though would sometimes stay a little bit longer with our Lola and spend time with our only cousin living there, Ate Irish.

Fast forward to many years later, us, kiddos have grown. Half of us now are already working and the other half are in college. Taking a time off our busy lives in Manila became a problem. The tradition then of coming to Orani became less and less until it wasn’t even a Holy Week “thing” any more. But this year was different. An uncle decided it’s time again for a get-together in our third home, Orani, Bataan!

April 13, 2017, Thursday

We left Manila at exactly 8:05am. As expected, there would already be heavy traffic; the normally 2 hour drive became 5 hours. I didn’t actually felt it though for I was sleeping (and playing Pokemon Go) the first half of our trip. We had a quick stop for bathroom break at Total gas station in San Fernando, Pampanga then off again we go to Peninsula De Bataan where we will be spending the night.

We arrived in the resort at around 12:30pm. To my surprise, the small resort wasn’t as full as I expected it to be. We headed directly to the gazebo where we will have our sumptuous lunch prepared by Tito Arthur and Tita Cel, who lives there. If there’s one thing I can really be proud of with Orani, Bataan, it’s their seafood. They are just really fresh and delicious.

                            I instantly dig in the seafood. #SeafoodQueen

After lunch, we all get settled in our rooms and prepare for the adventure we have planned and up until now, I still can’t believe I agreed. All the kiddos stayed in a dormitory type of room so just imagine how chaotic and fun it was. We rested for a while and geared up to our first outdoor activity: Trekking! – This is my first ever trek so it deserves another blog.

We got back to the resort almost in time for dinner. We were all stinky so all had a shower before we were tasked to set the table for the night’s boodle fight. If I am not mistaken, this is the first boodle fight of our entire family. We had Adobo, Mangga with Bagoong, Grilled Tilapia, Seafood and Meat Balls. Yum! I could still remember how much I ate that night. Sirang sira ang diet!

To say that we were so full that night is an understatement. We were 36 all in all and it was really fun to have dined with all of them at once – definitely the highlight of this outing. It was also Tricia’s birthday on the 15th and since half are coming home the next day, we celebrated it a little early.

                                          “Happy Birthday, Tricia!🎈”

April 14, 2017 – Friday

As expected, no one from the kiddos would be up early – except maybe Ate Irish who got a kid and Kuya Mac who didn’t join us in the trek. I woke up a little around 9am and was not really surprised to find my father and Tito Mon still drinking. It’s obvious that they were both drunk already as they were jumping from one topic to the other along with the sober titos and my lola. We had breakfast and not long after prepared for lunch. It was just a quick but delicious lunch as we need to check out of the resort at noon.

I was supposed to come home as well that day but me and my sister were pulled to stay ’til Sunday. So much drama also happened but we all just kind of shrugged it off and tried to have as much fun as we could. After checking out at Peninsula De Bataan, we went straight to Tito Arthur and Tita Cel’s house where we will spend Friday night before we head to Vista Tala the next day. We rested for a bit and went to Sibol to get charcoals to bring home to Manila. Despite still being dead tired, we all hoped to the van to spend time with each other. Maximizing every opportunity to bond.

When we got back, we were all craving for shake/halo halo to beat the heat. Luckily, a milk tea hub was open that’s almost right next to our home. We all grabbed something refreshing to drink and got back to rest before our much awaited Good Friday Procession. It has been another tradition to watch the procession when we were still little kids. We love seeing the statues of saints decorated beautifully with flowers and lights. Also, the “padugo” and mourning ladies that used to scare us to death. We were lucky that we’re situated near the church so we just have to go out of our gate and we’ll see all this “caros”.

After the procession, we had our dinner and settled ourselves in our respective sleeping beds to cap off the night.

April 15, 2017, Saturday

We all woke up at 5:30am as the kiddos were bound to have a quick beach trip before we head to our next resort, Vista Tala. Since we slept early the night before, we were all up and ready as soon as we got picked up. We had an hour drive before we ended up in the beach were we went years ago. A lot has changed and there were already a lot of people swimming contrary to how I remember it back then. Once we arrived, we instantly sprayed sun block and ran to the beach. We were time constraint so we couldn’t afford to waste time.

We left the beach around 11am and headed to Vista Tala. We stopped first at Nanay Susan’s Lomi house, a famous one in the vicinity to have a quick-lunch. This is where then my stomach ache started. After lomi and gotto, we went now to the resort. I was really feeling my tummy upset and was having cold sweats while waiting for the keys. I went to their in-house resto and there I had my first explosive poop. As expected, it was watery but I was surprised to find it clear and not smelly at all. Hmmm! I was still thankful it all happened there. Imagine if it started while we were still at the beach? Yikes!

I was roomed with my sister and Ate Irish and Baby Raphael who’s 1yr and 7 months old. After getting settled we wore our swimwears and went to explore the resort. It was really cold up there since it’s situated on the top of the mountain. You could see a large horizon of mountains and trees from any angle. There’s also a zipline that I missed to try because of my stomach. We had photo ops and swam on their small but cozy infinity pool before we prepped for dinner.

At exactly 7pm, we all gathered in the private KTV room of their in-house resto. Tita Au ordered nachos, sisig, pancit canton and chicken wings and cucumber lemonades for all of us to enjoy. I was bummed that I only ate a little because I was afraid that my tummy will do somersault. At that point, I think I had 4 episodes already of still watery but not so smelly poops. All 16 of us enjoyed a night of singing and some had few cans of beer too. I ordered one but ended up not drinking it. At 10pm, we all retreated to our respective rooms and agreed to meet at the breakfast buffet the next morning. As soon as we get to our room, I fell straight to bed and was instantly knocked out. I was awaken at 12:30 because I was freezing and I felt a need to poop once again. (Damn! I realized at that rate, I would be needing some LRS when I get back to Manila.) Then instantly fell back to sleep til the morning.

April 16, 2017, Sunday

Our room was the last to get into the restaurant because: one, it was still so early and two, our room was far from theirs and there was no signal in the entire resort. After breakfast, we all agreed that we’ll check out early to avoid heavy traffic back to the Metro. We all get dressed and packed then after 4 of my cousins tried the zipline. I was left with Baby Raphael who just slept the moment we got to the other room. The crying must have worn him out.

We left the place at 11:30am and headed back to Orani to pick up some goodies and had our last lunch there.

Overall it was nice but low-key outing. I enjoyed alot despite my stomach issues and I was grateful that once again we got to experience the tradition we enjoyed when we were still kids. ULTIMATE COUSIN GOALS!

Photo Credits: Tricia, Jiecel, Krystel, Ara and Tita Baby – I was enjoying too much to remember taking shots even if I have planned to blog this trip out. Thanks for these photos.

Peninsula De Bataan, Orani, Bataan Website:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peninsula-de-Bataan-Orani-Bataan/251839694839068

Vista Tala Resort and Recreational Park, Brgy. Tala, Orani Bataan Contact Number: +63917-569-9479; +6399-990-4680 Website: https://www.facebook.com/vistatala/

[theonlydetermined]

Heading into the New Year

So my feelings have definitely been compromised over the last few months.

I can’t help but to write down what I have been feeling, but also what my realistic expectations are going into the new year. Like the movie “21,” always account for variable change. Unfortunately, I did not account for this.

2017 was definitely one to remember. It wasn’t my best year, but I must humbly say that it was nothing short of a learning experience. The pessimistic side would have indicated that it bluntly sucked ass, but a lot of the things that have happened to me this year have been absolutely out of my control.

There are two things this year that I’m heavily reflecting on; first is my health, second was the end of my 7 year relationship.

When I first started the year, my body felt like I was at an all time high, I was slowly losing weight, I thought I was progressing to where I needed to be mentally, emotionally, and physically. In an instant, my doctors told me I was a few stages from kidney failure. From there, I underwent 7 months of chemo and aggressive steroids which fed into my insecurities such as my weight gain and struggling to maintain some balance. I was in excessive pain, experiencing vertigo like none other, and was extremely depressed. I detest the feeling of not being able to perform at the same level I was accustomed to in the past. I’m not even that old in age. However, my body felt  like it is degenerating at faster rate than everyone else. I never found it so hard to maintain focus. I was engulfed so easily from day 1. I have always been mentally tough regarding my disease. Although at times I was very tempted to use it as a crutch, my subconscious did not allow me too. I never gave up running, I never relinquished my love to play tennis, basketball, or to dance. I continued to only want to be better. I have to thank my family and friends; for not only being supportive, but helping me through my recovery both physically and mentally. God has shown me I cannot do this without his help and hopefully in this coming year I can collaborate with him in order to achieve the ultimate recovery; spiritual recovery. Hopefully, everything else will follow suit.

Second, was my 7 year relationship (I’m aware that I’m putting this out there). The last few months have questioned my purpose in this life. However, I’m progressively coming a long. I’m still grieving this loss because not only did I lose a relationship that would have transpired into an engagement, I lost someone in the process. It was definitely equivalent to someone dying because I do not know this person anymore. I’m guilty of still being in denial about the whole situation because I still want to believe that the person I once loved is still in there. But clearly, things have definitely changed.

I can’t fathom the fact that I can’t put this into words. The best way I can possibly describe these feelings is that in comparison, my feelings feel like Pandora’s box. One day, I’m really good and I would presume that I am better off with a “fuck you attitude.” Other days, when I think about the little stuff, it feels more significant than what it was. Therefore, I relapse once again.

Your voice is still in my head when I lay down at night and when I wake up in the morning.

For good measure, in a cute voice you always use to tell me;

“Don’t let me go okay?”

“How was your day, biff? Before we cuddle, you would always say “haash”

ETC….they keep going with each tear.

I was upset and depressed because that is all I could think about. 75% percent of my current life is reflective of what we had or what we use to do. All I wanted to do is erase it and not remember who the flying fuck you were. Everything I touched and saw initiated a flashback on what we use to be. I remember when shopping for Nora’s Bday gift at Toys R Us at Great Lakes Crossing, one of the baby brands was called GO-BABY-GO. The minute I saw that brand, I kept thinking about when we ziplined by the caverns in Texas which was one of the best times I had in my life regardless of what happened before the trip started.

Shopping for presents this year for Christmas was one the hardest things I ever had to do. I walk into Gamestop and they are selling this Jigglypuff lamp. I kept thinking that I may have wanted to buy that for you just so I can see the smile on your face. This past Thanksgiving was hard as well not being as busy spending it with both of our families. The things that I am thankful for are my family, the people who got me through this difficult time, and the fact that you did not end up killing me in the end.

When your birthday passed, I couldn’t help but to subliminally tell you happy bday via twitter. As much as I hate you for what you did, I still did not want you to feel alone on your birthday. When your with someone who has become an integral part of your life, they become a part of you. Furthermore, when you share that connection with someone whether it is your significant other, family member, or really close friend; you can always sense that something is wrong.

I told you that I hated because you did not understand the gravity of what your actions have done. For better or for worse, I will never be the same. However, that still does not change that the past 7 years meant everything to me.

All I have to say is good luck. I hope you find the happiness you longed for. I just hope that if there were ever a time you were unhappy that you do not compromise your current relationship because that person does not deserve that in any shape or form whatsoever. I have bared witness and shouldered the burden of your depression. I saw how deep you let your insecurities affect the people around you. I just wish you knew what you were doing and you were not so blind or oblivious to what was right in front of you. When people warn you what your doing, it is not that they were criticizing you or purposely to bring down your mentality. It is so that you are not collateral for yourself and for others. You were just so goddamn selfish that you could not see that.

I do have to thank you though for numerous things: 1. Thank you for relieving me of you because I know I will find someone who will love me for me and not the idea of me. Now that we are apart, I gained back a lot; people who I have not seen or talked to in years. People accepting me back in their lives. Fortunately, now I know what I want with some clarity. I will not let a woman define my happiness.

2. Thank you for introducing me to a second family that I never thought I would ever have. Never thought that I would ever meet a collective group that would change my life forever.

3. Thank you accepting my disease when I needed you most. You were really a trooper. Now you have a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.

4. Thank you for all the memories. It was some of the best times of my life. I am forever grateful for all those times. Jersey, Cali, The Bahamas, Texas, Canada, Florida, D.C, etc. The list goes on and on. I won’t let those memories be tainted.

I wish you the absolute best and nothing less. Hopefully one day we can reconcile when we are both better people.

To the people who are there for me now.

*I cannot thank these people enough for what they have done for me helping me end this year on a better note. Without them, I probably would still feel depressed.

KCGF

NVF

JM

JF

AY

JB

MC

MJ

**VA and JL.

Now I am heading into the new year with a bigger heart and hopefully a better soul. I’m grown up now with still more growing to do. Got some career moves waiting for me and I’m excited. Cheers to a new year and new friendships being made. Hopefully, I’ll find what I’m looking for (Cali is still the goal, if not for better).