#5 more teams tomorrow come on king haha

[pinketine]

scott putting wilbur on the first released team was a mercy kill so we didn’t have to go through 10 teams of agony

but also the last mcc RT was in was in august c'mon please give us the lad-

REAL. Every Pink Parrot Wilbur MCC team was hell because the killing blow would be after 9 teams of hope, but this one was Hell because our hopes were crushed right out the gate. Not even a chance.

RT PLEASE, they brought back Rocket Spleef king they have a new game pspspsp

[chelseachilly]

king of my heart - pt 5

i’ll be there if you’re the toast of the town, babe or if you strike out and you’re crawling home

pairing: reader x ben chilwell summary: now officially dating, you can’t help but miss your boyfriend while he’s away on international duty warnings: none for this chapter :) word count: 3.1k

a/n: thank you all for your lovely responses to this fic! just as a bit of an fyi, i’m not exactly following the game schedule for the euro qualifiers bc i just cba honestly haha <3

see my masterlist for previous chapters

-

yourusername

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yourusername Life lately

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charlottewright I spy a certain someone 😉❄️

yourusername 😏

-

Dating Ben Chilwell turns out to be even better than you imagined.

You’re happier than you’ve ever been when you’re with him, whether it’s a Monday evening cuddling on his sofa watching Succession or a Saturday at Stamford Bridge watching him dominate on the pitch.

The only drawback is that it’s difficult for you to squeeze in this time together between his intense training schedule and you entering a busy time of year at work.

You despise it when he has an away game and you’re forced to spend the night apart, as you’ve grown accustomed to sleeping next to him. Even when he’s exhausted from training or you have to work late, you usually end up making your way to the other’s place and crashing there.

So when the season ends and Ben has to leave for international break, you can’t help but dread the separation.

You’re incredibly happy for him, knowing how much it means to be called up for the national team once again, but you hate the fact that he’s going to be gone for weeks.

“I wish you could come with me,” Ben whines as you lay in bed together.

He has to leave soon to go to the England training camp, where he’ll be for the next week before flying to Italy and then Malta for the qualifiers. In total, it will only be two weeks, but as you’ve hardly gone 24 hours apart since you began officially dating a month ago, it’s going to feel like a century.

“I know, babe,” you murmur into his bare chest, his arms holding you closely. “I’m really sorry I can’t make it to either match. Work has been so crazy and it will be tough to leave mid-week.”

“Don’t apologize, love, your job is just important as mine.”

“I think most of the country would disagree with you there,” you chuckle, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

He smiles, though it seems a bit forced, and you can feel the tension in his body.

“Are you nervous?” you ask gently, resting your chin on his chest to look up at him.

“A bit,” he admits. “I don’t know if I’ll even be starting, but I really want to be at my best for this. The Euros could be my chance to really make an impact for this team, you know?”

He’s confided in you that missing the World Cup last year due to injury took a big toll on his mental health, and that it still stings a bit to this day. Obviously, the Euros are his next big opportunity to show what he’s capable of, and you know he will.

“You’re going to do great, Ben,” you say sincerely. “I can’t wait to watch you play, even if it has to be on TV. And Southgate would be a fool not to start you, by the way.”

Ben smiles and leans in to kiss you softly, his lips lingering on yours.

“Thank you, baby,” he says, pulling you closer and briefly glancing at the watch on his wrist. “Fuck, I have to leave soon.”

“I know, and I have to go to work,” you groan, kissing his collarbone. “Five more minutes?”

Ben nods and kisses your forehead. “Five more minutes.”

-

Ben ❤️ - 11:32 PM I miss you so much 😔

You - 11:33PM I miss you too 🥺 How’s training going?

Ben ❤️ - 11:33PM It’s good to be here but I’m exhausted and the gaffer wants us up at 6 tomorrow 

You - 11:34PM You should get some rest then babe, we can talk tomorrow

Ben ❤️ - 11:34PM Can we facetime for 10 mins and then I’ll sleep?? Promise

You - 11:34PM Ok, calling now ❤️

-

The day of England’s match against Italy rolls around, and you feel a pang in your stomach from the moment you wake up.

You so badly wish you could be there to support your boyfriend, but you have to work tomorrow and you really can’t justify flying to Naples and back for one evening.

You text Ben throughout the morning, sending him words of encouragement.

You - 11:21AM Good luck today babe!! 

Ben ❤️ - 11:24AM Thanks baby ❤️ I’m on the starting lineup!

You - 11:30AM Omg!! Can’t wait to watch 😘

Around lunch time, as you’re sitting at your desk reading emails and feeling just a bit sorry for yourself, you get a call from Charlotte.

“Y/N!” she exclaims. “I just got a call from Declan’s girlfriend Lauren and she said a few of them chartered a jet to fly to Naples to surprise the boys. There’s room for both of us if we want to go. Please tell me you can leave work!”

You’ve met Declan and his girlfriend a few times now, at various gatherings at Mason’s place. She’s a super nice person and it’s incredibly thoughtful that she would invite you and Charlotte, both of you very new to the Premier League WAG crowd.

Charlotte and Mason, while keeping things fairly casual, have pretty much been exclusive for nearly as long as you and Ben, though they see each other much less due to Charlotte being away for work so often.

“I’m not sure,” you sigh. “I would have to ask my boss for the rest of today and tomorrow off, and I don’t want to seem flighty. No pun intended.”

“Babes, you never leave work early,” Charlotte says. “And how often do you get to take a private jet to surprise your boyfriend in Italy?”

She does have a point there. This would be an amazing opportunity, and more importantly, it would allow you to support Ben and see him a week earlier than planned. That’s hard to resist.

“Okay, I’ll ask. When do we have to be at the airport?”

“An hour and a half, but I’m already packing for you!”

You smile and roll your eyes affectionately as you hang up and go to your boss’ office. You’re nervous to ask, but she immediately tells you that you’re one of her best employees and that you’ve been working your ass off since you started, so you deserve this.

You thank her profusely before packing up your stuff and rushing to meet Charlotte at the airport.

“Hey, Charlotte, Y/N!” Lauren says, greeting you both with a smile as you and Charlotte meet up with the others on the tarmac. “I’m so happy you could make it!”

“Thanks so much for inviting us!” you say, fiddling with the strap of your purse.

You suddenly feel a bit nervous - these women, a couple of whom you’ve never met before, are all so beautiful and glamorous. You, however, just came from work and are wearing minimal makeup, your hair in loose waves and a simple light blue dress on.

“It’s great to meet you,” one of the girls says. “I never thought we’d see Ben settle down, but according to Jack he’s totally whipped.”

You can’t help but blush at this comment - and the fact that Ben is so obviously into you that even his friends’ girlfriends know about it.

“You must be Sasha,” you deduce, realizing she’s Jack Grealish’s girlfriend. Jack being one of Ben’s oldest mates, you’ve met him a couple times, and you recall him mentioning her. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Sasha smiles at you before turning to Lauren. “We’d better go if we want to make it for kick-off.”

The flight ends up being a lot of fun. The girls pop a bottle of champagne and you all get to know each other better, Lauren telling you and Charlotte stories about Mason and Declan as kids and you and Charlotte answering questions about your jobs.

“I think Dec mentioned you’ve always been a big Chelsea fan?” Lauren asks after showing you some photos of their adorable baby boy. “It must’ve been a bit surreal when one of the lads started chatting you up.”

You laugh and take a sip of your drink. “Yeah, at first it was definitely a bit mental. But it felt so natural with Ben from the start, honestly. It was like I’d known him forever.”

All the girls erupt in a chorus of “awww”s, except Charlotte, who gives you a knowing smile.

As Lauren, Sasha, and the others discuss how they’re going to surprise the boys after the match, you lean over and whisper to Charlotte.

“You know, I never pictured us as football WAGs, but this is really fun,” you admit.

“Speak for yourself, Victoria Beckham was my role model growing up,” Charlotte jokes. “By the way, everything they’re saying is true. Chilly is obsessed with you.”

“I don’t know,” you blush. “Do you think it’s too much surprising him like this? We’ve only been official for a month.”

“You’re way more committed than me and Mason, and I’m doing it too,” Charlotte shrugs. “Don’t overthink it, Y/N. He’s gonna flip when he sees you, I promise.”

You decide to take her advice and try to relax and enjoy yourself, sipping champagne and continuing to chat with the other girls.

By the time you land, it’s getting close to game time, so you all decide you’ll surprise the guys after the match is over. Lauren leads the way to the box you’re in and you’re all seated with drinks and snacks just in time for the boys to make their way onto the pitch.

Your heart races when you see Ben in person for the first time in a week, albeit from very far away. He looks so good in his England kit, standing among some of the best players in the world and ready to represent his country. You couldn’t be prouder.

While your spirits are high at the beginning of the match, things quickly begin to go downhill as play progresses.

Italy scores twice in the first half, one of which due to what you’ll admit was a poor defense from Ben. At halftime, it’s still 2-0, and you can see the disheartened looks on the team’s faces when they walk out to play the second half.

You wince as Mason gets tackled and falls over in pain, and you squeeze Charlotte’s hand when you see the obvious worry on her face. Thankfully, he’s able to get up and continue playing, but the ref fails to give out a yellow card to the Italian player.

You can see the frustration on Ben’s face at this clear oversight, and the match goes on with England continuing to struggle.

With about twenty minutes to go, both teams decide to make some substitutions, and your heart clenches when you see Ben’s number flash on the screen. He looks completely defeated as he jogs off the pitch.

Harry Kane manages to score a goal with an assist from Declan in the last few minutes, but it’s clear that it won’t be enough as the clock runs out and Italy take the win.

It’s a unanimous decision among the girls to go back to the hotel and wait for the boys there rather than try to find them in the tunnels. You obviously have much less experience with this than they do, but even you know that it’s probably best to give them some time to cool off.

Despite the fact that you know it’s for the best, all you want to do is find Ben and hug him tightly, knowing he’ll be in need of some comfort. You restrain yourself from texting him, not wanting to blow the surprise for everyone else.

You wait outside the hotel for the team bus to pull up, knowing it will take a little bit for them to shower, do any post-match press and drive over.

Eventually, the bus pulls up, and the team begins to exit. Although they’re all obviously upset with the result, you see some of them perk up as they spot their partners there to greet them.

Mason is among the first, and he runs over to kiss Charlotte with a smile on his face.

As the others reunite, you can’t help but feel a little nervous again - you know Ben will be feeling shitty and he may even want to be alone. And here you are in Italy, with no escape until your flight tomorrow.

You don’t have to worry for long, thankfully. As soon as Ben steps off the bus and locks eyes with you, his clenched jaw and furrowed brow disappear and he jogs over to you immediately.

Without a thought, you leap into his arms, and Ben hugs you tighter than he ever has before, burying his face in your shoulder and inhaling your scent.

“What are you doing here?” he mumbles into your shoulder. “I mean, how did you-“

“Lauren decided to charter a plane so we could catch the match, and I guess Char and I are inner circle WAGs now,” you murmur, and it has the desired effect of making him laugh softly. “How are you feeling, babe?”

You pull back to look him in the eyes, cupping his face with both hands. His arms remain coiled around your waist, refusing to let go, and he drops his forehead to yours.

“I played like shit,” he mumbles. “I’m sorry you flew out to see that.”

“You weren’t shit,” you tell him gently. “You had a bad day, and so did the rest of the team. It happens. Nobody is perfect all the time.”

“At this level, I should be perfect,” he says. “I should’ve been better. He subbed me off for a reason.”

You lean in and press a soft kiss to his lips, unable to take the look of complete self-loathing on his face for a moment longer.

“Ben, honey, it’s alright,” you say softly. “You won the last match, you’ll win the next one. You’ll get another chance.”

Ben sighs and pulls you back into his embrace, squeezing you just as tightly as before. You begin to hear the flashing of cameras, and you turn to see that a small crowd of paparazzi have gathered. You can only imagine how much these shots of half the England team snogging their girlfriends would be worth.

Although you and Ben have teased your relationship a bit on social media, and you’ve gone out in public a few times, you have yet to announce anything official.

You know that remaining out here will ensure that your face is in the tabloids tomorrow, but you can’t bring yourself to care right now.

“Sorry, babe, do you wanna go inside?” Ben asks, dropping his hands from your sides reluctantly.

You shake your head and pull him back into your arms, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“No, screw them,” you murmur. “I wanna hug my boyfriend.”

Ben just holds you closer and rocks you back and forth slightly in his arms, and you hear him mumble a quiet “thank you” into your hair.

-

Sure enough, within a few hours the photos are all over Twitter, but by that point you’re naked in the luxurious hotel bed, limbs tangled with Ben’s.

All of the players and their partners retreated to their respective rooms not long after meeting up outside. It was clear that everyone was in need of some rest and recuperation prior to their next match in Malta in a few days.

You and Ben spent a little bit just laying in bed, silently holding each other and exchanging soft kisses. Eventually, he began to speak, and you talked through the loss today and how he felt about being subbed off.

Not for the first time, you consider yourself lucky that of all the footballers you could’ve fallen for, you chose one who regularly goes to therapy and is surprisingly well-adjusted for a male professional athlete in his 20s.

After talking for a while, you had slow, emotional sex, both of you craving each other after your week apart.

Now, you’re just enjoying each other’s company and laughing as you scroll through the headlines on social media.

“This is a good one,” Ben chuckles, the stress on his face from earlier now completely vanishing. “‘Beautiful mystery woman consoles distraught England and Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell after devastating loss to Italy.’”

“God, they’re dramatic,” you roll your eyes.

“Not wrong, though,” Ben smiles, kissing your forehead. “Thank you so much for being here. Losing sucks, but it’s not nearly as bad with you.”

“Of course, I’m glad I came.”

You both set down your phones and lean in for a kiss, Ben pulling all of your body weight on top of him.

“You sure you’re okay with us going public?” he asks, running a hand through your hair as the other one holds your waist. “People can be pricks online.”

Despite you remaining unnamed in the articles, some fans have already figured out your identity. Ben follows you and likes everything you post, so it really wasn’t that hard to determine. Since the photos dropped, you’ve been steadily gaining Instagram followers, and you know things are going to change for you a bit.

“I can handle it,” you tell him, kissing him lightly. “I’m so happy with you, I don’t wanna hide that.”

“Alright, but please tell me if it gets to be too much. I know you can handle it, but I don’t want you to have to. Okay?”

“Okay,” you agree, brushing your nose against his, your eyes fluttering shut. “Now, can we order room service? I’m starving and I don’t wanna leave this bed.”

Ben smiles and nods, reaching over to grab the phone. “Yeah, get whatever you want, love.”

You spend the rest of the night cuddling in bed, you eating copious amounts of pasta while Ben sticks to salad, and fall asleep watching a movie together.

You’re both still disappointed from the match and dreading you having to fly back to London tomorrow, but it’s a perfect night nonetheless.

Really, any night you’re together feels perfect to you, as cheesy as that is, and it’s becoming pretty clear to you why.

You’re in love with him, and it might be too soon to say, but you think he just might be in love with you too.

-

benchilwell

📍Ta Qali National Stadium, Malta

liked by yourusername, masonmount and others benchilwell That’s more like it ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Big win today! @england

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yourusername 🦁❤️

chelsfan21 omg chilly’s gf confirmed???

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next chapter 💙

[hils79]

Hils Watches The King's Avatar - Ep 40

It doesn't feel like 5 minutes ago that I started this drama. It's so very bingeable.

It's been a real journey. None of this has been what I expected beyond the very basic concept of 'it's a drama about esports'. There have been so many wonderful surprises. There are characters that I hated that I now love, characters that I loved that I now love even more, and more ships than I ever expected to ship.

While I'm at it I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has popped up in the replies to my posts or in my asks to either answer my questions or just yell about their favourite characters. I can tell this drama (and the novel and donghua) are so well loved and liveblogging this has really felt like a community experience. Thank you for not laughing at all the stuff I got wrong and for not making fun of me for shipping everyone. It's really been so wonderful and I almost don't want to press play on the final episode because I don't want it to be over.

But I need to see what happens so let's go!

Ah, okay. I misunderstood what happened at the end of the last episode. I thought they'd lost the game but no they could still win they just didn't have enough points to win the championship.

Is there going to be some loophole like the whole 'oh the ref's watch broke so actually you won'

HAHA! I fucking knew it! They got an extra two points for beating a league record. Because apparently that is a rule that has never been mentioned until now.

Eh, whatever. There was a nice moment with the fans before the found out they'd won

Ye Xiu finally gets the hug that he's needed since episode 1

Good lord how is there 30 minutes left? What's going to happen now that they've won?

God I hope Sun Xiang punches him

Except of course he won't because he's all grown up now. Also, typically it's the coaches/managers that get fired when a team does badly. I hope he gets booted

Love Shaotian dragging Wenzhou to his feet so he can cheer

Remember when their entire fanbase was just this guy. I'm definitely not crying at all

Look at that little half smile. He's grown so much considering they only lost on a technicality. I do think he's at least a little bit happy for Ye Xiu as the better player (for now)

GDI I can't believe I'm crying over Sun Xiang AGAIN

LOL remember when I thought he was going to be the antagonist of the drama when I watched the first episode. How wrong I was

Haha yes let's have a little joke about the time when I nearly banned you for life in the middle of an important game and caused your team to lose as a result

I have in no way been thinking about writing some King's Avatar fic with one based on the fact that Ye Xiu passes out after one drink

HAHA! Mo Fan pretended to pass out too so he doesn't have to talk to anyone. He is such a mood

Oh shit! I did not see that coming!

Oh no he looks so sad to see his former team like this, and it's understandable. He built that team from the ground up and put so much time and work into making them the legends they were

Yes, good. Baozi is cuddling one of his boyfriends as he should

Ah, yay, I'd forgotten about the team graphic. Time to add one more person right before the end

And finished! That was wonderful! Definitely in my top 5 dramas that I've watched this year. Might even be the number one, actually. I definitely should have watched that years ago when people first told me to give it a try. But, you know, I firmly believe you find things when you were meant to find them. Now was good.

I'll be starting a new drama tomorrow. If you were just here for my King's Avatar posts it's been lovely to have you. If you're sticking around for other liveblogs I'll see you tomorrow for more yelling :D

[mrsgiovanna]

Buon Compleanno (Don Giorno x Fem! Reader)

It's as the name says... This fic is close to my heart and I really enjoyed writing it for our Golden king's birthday. Mostly fluff, it does contain mentions of alcohol consumption though. I hope you all enjoy. ❤️🎊🎉😘🐞💭

P. S. Let the fluff ensue 💐

Word count: 2.5k

“So Mista... Fugo, are things ready on your end? I’ve got confirmation from North Island that everything is ready for us on their end. We have to stagger our arrivals so that Giorno doesn’t actually see you guys there until the party. All our villas are ready for our arrival and his presents are being safe guarded there until we arrive,” you beamed as you secretly went over the final checklist for Giorno’s birthday get away with the team and Trish.

Your friends had ever so thoughtfully come over to see you and Giorno off… well more so to iron out the last details of your master plan, but your boyfriend didn’t need to know that. Attempting to keep your plans for his birthday hidden from him was a near impossible feat. Trying to get him to take some time off and just live for himself was an even bigger task, but being who you are, you managed to plan everything down to the finest detail.

Trying to get the entire island to yourselves and plan the party of a century for your closest allies was a mammoth task, but it was what you felt Giorno deserved. In the years that he’s spent running Passione, he had always placed his own needs secondary to the needs of the organization, which is why you resolved to give him the best experience imaginable for his 21st birthday.

“Hi Giorno! We were just talking about you,” piped up Trish in a voice loud enough to alert everyone to the young don’s looming presence. Eyes widening for a split second, you manage to compose yourself without him catching on and flashed him a pleasant smile. You were taken aback by how handsome he looked dressed down in an azure linen Armani suit, hair braided loosely and cascading down his shoulder. He took his place at your side, casually circling his arm around your waist and pressing a kiss to your temple.

“Morning everyone, what’s this about me?”

“Oh, we’re just discussing what we’re going to be doing when you’re away… you know, cats and mice and the like,” joked Fugo, earning him a worried look from Giorno.

“Gosh, relax my love… come on, we have to go, it’s a pretty long flight,”

“Alright, alright, let’s go bella. Well, I’ll see you all in a few days’ time,” leaving to the collective goodbye wishes of your friends you set off to catch the private jet which would take you to the little piece of heaven in the Seychelles.

Upon landing at the airport, you were just one short helicopter flight away from your destination. Giorno’s demeanor was akin to that of a child on Christmas eve, taking in his beautiful surroundings on the helicopter. Stepping onto the helipad, you were greeted by the wonderful fresh scents of the salty sea air, clear blue seas and white sandy beaches for as far as the eye could see. After the welcome, you were lead to the main villa, given your golf cart and allowed yourselves to get settled in for the rest of the night, choosing to spend a quiet night lounging on the balcony overlooking the ocean.

Giorno couldn’t help but stare at your beautiful form. The way the moonlight bounced off the ocean behind you and illuminated your skin mesmerized him. He had known you ever since he had taken over Passione. You served as a valuable ally when it came to weeding out the members who were still unwilling to adopt his ideals. As the years marched on, he started seeking out your company more and more, until it became apparent that he was at his happiest when he was around you… and once the realization had dawned on him, he wasted no time in making you his. You fell hard, and fast, and it was so easy fall into step with each other’s lives, as if you had been created just for each other.

“Bella, this is incredible, I know I put up a bit of a fight but I’m so glad you did this…” he uttered with a dreamy look on his face.

“I’m glad you think so my love, you’re going to love the day I have planned for us tomorrow… Ah! Actually, later on today," you say, glancing at your watch, "it’s just past midnight! Happy birthday my love! I hope you know how much I love you, and I’m incredibly proud of you and all you have managed to accomplish at such a young age… you’re… you’re pretty amazing you know,” the emotions swirled around in Giorno’s eyes while listening to your heartfelt speech.

“(y/n) … I… you’re… I just love you so much tesoro, you’re everything I could ever want,”

“I love you too Gio… come on, it’s late, let’s get some rest,” you say while leading him to bed.

You rose early, just as the sun made its glorious appearance over the ocean. As early as you had woken up though, Giorno was already awake, nursing a cup of coffee as he stared pensively at the brilliant blue water.

“Good morning handsome, penny for your thoughts?” you greeted your lover, wrapping your arms lovingly around his shoulders and nuzzling into his soft hair.

“Good morning principessa… I’m just thinking about how much I love you…”

“Oh? Is that so, Mr. Giovanna? Well prepare to love me even more, go get ready, we have lots to do today,” you say, a lovely light, lilt coloring your voice.

“Any hints?”

“Wear something comfortable, something that we can walk around in,”

With that, your day had started with a guided hike through the island. Between Giorno’s life-imbuing ability and your affinity for adventure, you were both mesmerized by the flora and fauna you encountered on the hike. Once that was over you looked forward to coming back to a special couple’s massage which eased your sore muscles and relaxed you both into a dreamlike state. Finally, after your last treatments, you could get ready for your “dinner” at the piazza. Feeling a sense of pride as you put on the last of your accessories, you smiled at your reflection in the mirror while inspecting your stunning outfit, and grew even happier when you saw Giorno walking out in a casual charcoal grey Dior suit which matched your dress, but not his expression unfortunately.

“What’s the matter my love? You look great by the way…”

“Thank you tesoro… you’re quite the vision yourself,” standing behind you, sharing the mirror, he raked his fingers through his uncooperative hair, sighing in annoyance.

“Gio, stop- here, sit down, I’ll help you,” you say as you gently brush out the tangles and scrunch the wave back into his lovely golden hair. You carefully braid the length of his mane but leave his signature triad of ringlets out, admiring how beautifully the shorter sections of his hair framed his face.

“There…” you leaned back to admire your efforts, acknowledging the fact that you had a particularly exquisite model as well.

“Are you sure this is fine my love?” there was a hint of doubt in Giorno’s voice, but you made sure to banish any such thoughts.

“Of course, I love your hair like this,”

“Well, that’s good enough for me. Shall we leave my princess?”

“Yes… but can I drive the golf cart?” you ask, extending your arm to him, gesturing for the keys.

Speeding past the rest of the villas, you just wanted to make sure that everyone was already at the piazza ready to surprise the young don.

“Are you sure we’re at the right place my love? Or should we be at a different entrance, this looks like it’s closed,”

“Yes caro, come on, I’m sure the staff are inside… I’ve picked up on your habit of wanting to dine in solitude,” you explain as you walk towards the entrance hand in hand. Stepping into the restaurant, the lights dipped and instantly got brighter revealing your closest friends jumping out of their hiding spots with a collective, rambunctious yell of “surprise”, startling your unsuspecting boyfriend.

“Happy birthday my love,” you softly say once again, as the lively music started to play in the background.

“You… did all of this? For me?”

“Of course bello mio, well, I did have help though” you gestured behind Giorno, pointing out Mista, Trish and Fugo walking towards you both.

“Oi, happy birthday Giogio, haha, you look like you need a drink, I’ll be right back,” said Fugo as he went to order the first round of drinks for your little group. Between flitting amongst your guests, dancing with your handsome beau, and stealing moments away to be alone him, you almost forgot to give him his gifts, which were safely stored in the wine cellar of the establishment.

“Well, what do you think my love?” Giorno’s eyes widened when he saw the glass-encased, white Fender Stratocaster signed by just about every rock star, most importantly, his favorite guitarist, Jeff Beck.

“I’ve been looking for this for the longest time… how did you find it tesoro?”

“I also know some people… that’s not all, look next to it…” you motioned towards 5 Morocco solander boxes that housed a rare first edition of the complete 10 volumes of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

“I thought that might look quite beautiful in your study… adding something especially meaningful to your collection,”

“I’m speechless (y/n) … you’ve gone to such great lengths…” you hush him with a passionate kiss preventing him from gushing about your efforts as you were determined to make this night about him.

“I’m sure we’ve been gone for too long, lets rejoin our guests my love,” you started to walk towards the staircase exiting the wine cellar, but you were pulled back against Giorno’s broad chest, grasping your face in his hand, he kissed you with so much fervor this time, leaving you flustered and battling to calm your racing heart. Noticing the effect, he managed to have on you, he gently coaxed you back upstairs with a wicked smirk.

“Hey, you’re back, we’ve been looking all over for you two. We have one more person who wants to say hello,” with a soft smile, Trish reaches behind her to pull out coco jumbo, which meant only one thing…

“Signore Polnareff! Even you…”

“You know I’ve always had a soft spot for pretty girls Giorno… Joyeux anniversaire! You’re a brave young man with a good head on your shoulders and integrity in your heart, always hold on to that,”

“Thank you signore Polnareff, it means a lot coming from you, considering…” cutting him off before Giorno could complete his sentence, Polnareff attempted to lighten the mood.

“Non non non, no sad thoughts tonight, get this man a drink someone, you’re all slacking here,” he said looking at you as you mouthed a small thank you in his direction.

“(y/n), you’ve really outdone yourself. Giogio, you’re a lucky man,” said Mista as he brought a special bottle of champagne for you all to raise a toast with. “Alright, while we’re all here in the same place, I just want to say that you’re all important to me…”

“Mista’s drunk guys, prepare yourselves,” Trish says with an eye roll resulting in hushed giggles as the gunslinger tried to (unsuccessfully) arrange his sentimental thoughts.

Unable to stand it any longer, Trish takes over and pays homage to Giorno, as well as the special people who had given everything in order for them to live, enabling them to carry on their will.

As the party raged on, you took a small break in a dim corner of the piazza, and took a moment to marvel at the fruits of your labor. Everybody was having the best time, including Giorno. After being called away by one of his associates, it filled your heart with fluttery sensations watching the man you loved finally able to act his age for once.

“May I sit with you, carina?” startled out of your musings, you find an old friend standing over you.

“Lorenzo, of course, please, have a seat,” you offer emphatically.

“So, how is one half of Passione’s power couple doing?” his question earning a loud giggle from you. You continued to make conversation with Lorenzo, until Trish came to inform you that one of the service providers needed to confirm a few details with you, so you politely excused yourself and followed Trish. You were confused as she lead you to a secluded part of the beach, where you find Giorno standing alone, staring broodingly at the ocean for the second time that day. You realized that she just made an excuse draw you away to check on Giorno, being slightly concerned yourself after seeing the expression on his face.

“Gio? My love, what’s the matter? Did you just need some fresh air?” he turned to faced you with the softest smile.

“You know bella, I’ve loved you so deeply for years now… you always know what I need… even before I do. I never really feel complete anymore unless you’re with me… which is strange because I’ve always been content on my own. And then it hit me, you will always hold a part of me, and I’ll always seek you out because of it… You’ve given me probably the best experience of my life tonight, but, there’s just one more thing I would like from you to make the day perfect…” you felt light-headed when you saw Giorno moving to kneel down on one knee, pulling out a little trinket box, opening it to reveal the most beautiful ring.

“(y/n), would you give me the greatest gift and agree to spend the rest of your life with me as my wife?”

Emotions tugged at your pretty features, as you whispered a breathy affirmation, while nodding excitedly. Exhaling sharply with a stunning smile, Giorno got back to his feet and placed the elegant ring on your finger, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss thereafter. You threw your arms around his neck, and held him tightly, before the realization dawned on you.

“Wait! How long have you been planning this, Gio? Your question was met with his soft, exasperated laugh.

“Oh! For the longest time amore, I’ll admit though, your plans had forced me to adapt my own, but I had some help in achieving all of this… Trish is a lifesaver,” explained your new fiancé with a hint of pride in his voice.

“I love you Gio, but you managed to hijack your own celebration… I don’t know what to do with you!” the mock exasperation dripping from your voice drew a small laugh from Giorno.

“That’s your problem now tesoro, you already agreed to marry me, no take backs,” with that, you both decide to return to the festivities. Intertwining your fingers with his as you slowly walked back, you both stole loving glances at each other, communicating your intense affections for each other through your eyes alone… perhaps it was as he said, you mused… that a part of your soul resided with him also, and so you always sought him out to feel complete too, just as he did with you.

[lynnsfics]

The One Where There’s Only One Bed

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Prompt List #12 “You take the bed, you need it more than me.” Gender-neutral reader)

Word Count: Approx. 1600

Warnings: Mild Language

Requests Open! See Prompt List for more details!

~~~

The door slammed behind you, rain dripping from your hair, “Well,” you stated, “that was a disaster.” It was true. The mission had taken a turn for the worse, and you had barely escaped with your lives, but unfortunately not with the intel you needed. To be fair, maybe Fury’s plan of having the literal Winter Soldier infiltrate a HYDRA base wasn’t the best. 

“Hey,” Bucky said, “at least we made it out of there. It could have been worse.” You had to agree with that, HYDRA wasn’t exactly the most hospitable when it came to taking prisoners. 

Only nodding in response, you sat down next to the fireplace. Thanks to Tony Stark, the AVENGERS had secret safe houses all over the place. Unfortunately, this one happened to be one of the less upgraded hideouts. Grabbing the fire stoker, you tried to get the coals to catch flame. Finally a bit of heat and smoke emerged, and you sighed in relief. You wouldn’t be dying of hypothermia tonight. 

“There’s some food in the kitchen,” Bucky called out, “it’s nothing fancy, but it’ll do. Want some tomato soup?” 

Nodding your head ‘yes’, you abandoned your warm spot by the fire to grab a bowl. “How long do you think we’ll have to wait for backup?”

He shrugged as he tied his hair back. “Ideally? They received our message and will be here in a couple hours. But in reality,” he paused to open the soup can, “probably not until the morning.”

You froze at his words, “Not until the morning?” 

“Let’s be honest, it’s close to one in the morning and it’s raining frogs out there.”

“Hold up, raining frogs? That’s not how the saying goes.” “Well that’s how the saying goes in Bucharest,” he said with a slight smile.

You held up your hands in mock surrender, “Alright fine, you win. But if they aren’t here until morning what are we going to do about the, uh,” you felt your face flush a little, “sleeping arrangements.”

“Stark funded this place, I’m sure there’s two beds, it’ll be fine. We can go check it out in a minute, the soup’s almost ready.” 

Thunder boomed overhead and you felt yourself shiver. You weren’t scared of storms, exactly, but you weren’t overly fond of them either. Being stranded in what was essentially a slightly fancy log cabin didn’t improve your current opinion of them, although some may find it cozy. 

Bucky pushed a bowl of hot soup in front of you and you felt better immediately. The familiar taste of tomato filled your senses, and your stress seemed to melt away. 

“Feel better,” Bucky questioned from across the counter.

“I do, but how could you tell I was upset?” “You always twist your hands when something stresses you out.” He smiled, “Don’t look so surprised, I’ve known you for almost three years now, I can tell when you’re stressed out.” 

Looking down, you sighed. Of course he would be able to tell, he was always so good at reading your emotions. Well, most of them, anyway. He still didn’t know you had harbored feelings for him for the past year at least. Or at least you hoped he didn’t. 

As the last of the soup swirled around your dish, you felt your eyes growing heavy. You knew you’d pass out at the counter if you didn’t head to bed soon. Leaning back, you yawned and stretched your arms over your head. 

“Time to get some rest?” Bucky asked, and you nodded. Standing up, you took a look down the darkened hall. A light switch was positioned near you on the wall, and you flipped it on experimentally. 

A warm glow emanated from the hall, shining a light onto a singular door at the end. Nervousness filled you as you gently made your way down the corridor. Your footsteps grew increasingly loud, seeming to reverberate off of the wood floor. Entering the room, your breath hitched. A singular king size bed sat along the middle of the wall. 

Oh God, there was only one bed. 

“So,”  Bucky said, entering the room behind you, “remember what I said earlier? I might have been wrong.”

“Yeah, I think so,” you responded, feeling nervous. “You take the bed, you need it more than me.”

“And where will you sleep?” 

After a moment of thought, you replied, “On the couch in the living room, obviously.”

“That thing is rock hard. There’s no way you’d get a good rest of that thing.” He was right, of course, but you didn’t need him to know that.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, you shouldn’t have to take the couch, you could barely fit.” 

“I’m sure I could,” he answered with a scoff.

“You’re like six feet tall. I’m barely even five foot four. There’s no debate.”

Then, he said the words you’d be dreading, “Why don’t we just share the bed?” You replied quickly, heart racing, “It’d be a bit cramped I’m sure, and I-”

“The bed is king sized, no need to worry about that,” he interjected.

“Well, I,” you didn’t have any other arguments, so instead you resigned, “I guess you’re right.” 

“Of course I am,” he replied with a smirk, “aren’t I always?” 

“Oh haha, very funny, Barnes,” was your sarcastic retort. A second door caught your eye, and you realized there was a nice bathroom connected to the room. After running for your life and getting caught in a rainstorm, a hot shower sounded wonderful. 

As soon as the door was closed behind you, you took a deep breath and sighed, How on Earth would you get through this? It wasn’t as if you hadn’t faced worse, you could name ten things more terrifying off the top of your head. But for some reason, having to spend the night next to Bucky seemed to petrify you. 

“It isn’t as if he can read my thoughts,” you reassured yourself as the hot water poured from the faucet. But that wasn’t the most reassuring, because a million and one things could go wrong, and he could figure out how you felt. Not only would your friendship be ruined, but the whole team’s dynamic would be off. “Shit,” you cussed softly, “let’s hope this ends well.”

Exiting the bathroom, you saw Bucky had already pulled back the deep red quilt that had been covering the bed, and was settled in, reading a book that had been on the bedside table. He looked up, “I can turn off the light if you’re planning to head to sleep.”

“Oh, no it’s fine, I don’t mind the light being on,” you replied before crawling in the bed. Being careful to stay near the edge, your heart was hammering as you lay down. “Alright then, try to get some rest, we’ll be up early tomorrow.” You cleared your throat, hoping your voice wouldn’t sound as shaky as you felt, “Okay, sounds good.” Apparently, your strategy hadn’t worked. “Is everything alright?” “Yeah, I’m just peachy. Just tired is all.” 

“Okay then,” he didn’t sound convinced, but thankfully he let the matter drop.

Closing your eyes, you surprisingly found yourself drift off quickly, and soon you were out like a light. 

The light on the bedside clock shone 5:09 AM when you found yourself suddenly awake. You could have sworn you heard something in the hall, although it may have just been in your dream. But no, there it was again. A subtle scritch-scratch that made you bolt up. A shadow moved and you let out a small shriek. 

Next to you, Bucky sat up quickly, “What is it? What’s wrong?” Taking a deep breath you answered, “A mouse, look.” He chuckled, and you felt yourself blush. “Doll, you work as an assassin, and yet a mouse scares you?” “Mice aren’t as predictable as people, alright?” 

“Do you want me to take it outside?”

You looked over at him, “Could you?” He nodded, “No problem, I’ll be right back.” 

Laying back down, you felt a bit more at ease, but did a quick scan of the room, just to be sure there weren’t any more rodent intruders. Once satisfied that you were safe, you closed your eyes, but didn’t quite drift off. You were still laying like that, eyes closed but still awake, when Bucky re-entered the room. 

“The mouse is back outsi-,” he stopped talking, thinking you were back asleep. He smiled softly as he got back into the bed. “Goodnight doll,” he whispered. “I love you. If only I could find a way to tell you that while you were awake.” 

Your heart felt like it stopped completely. You had to have misheard, right? Or maybe it was all a dream? Nonetheless, you couldn’t stop yourself from whispering back a gentle “I love you too.” 

This time, it was Bucky who bolted up in bed, “Wait, what?”

Shit. Well, you had to face it now. Sitting up in bed, you sighed. “I said, I love you, and I have for a while,” you paused not sure how to continue, “I didn’t know how to tell you, but with all this,” you motioned to the shared bed, “it just, slipped out.”

He glanced down, and then met your eyes, “I’ve felt the same way, and when I thought you were asleep I,” he stopped talking, “Is it alright if I kiss you?” You nodded, closing the distance between you, heart pounding. As your hand found its way into his hair, a knock sounded at the bedroom door. 

“Hey guys,” Sam said, entering the room, “I heard you needed backup,” the last word was barely out of his mouth before he began to back out of the room, “You know what? I’ll just come back later.”

~~~

General Taglist:

@sydneyisnotawriter

@dark-night-sky-99

Requested by: @sourpatchspinster

I wrote this instead of sleeping, so I’d like to formally apologize for any grammatical errors.  Also, requests are still open (Details above)! As always, likes and reblogs are appreciated, and let me know if you want to be added to my taglist! Love you all <3

[kebinwooo]

HI !!! kpop asks 5, 8, 19 (mx), 26, 39 (>:D), 43, 53, 57 !! :D

omg hi chelle! so many questions wowow hahah i’m putting them under a read more bc i rambled a lot haha

5. Do you have a bias “type” (ie, most follow a pattern like the main vocal/bad boy/leader)?

BRUH LOL yes i do OOF i had one bias type then it branched off into two when i started stanning changkyun LMAO so sad HAHAHA

bias type a: pretty, angelic church boy (don’t ask... i’m not even religious lmao) vocalists (examples include: ukiss kevin, svt joshua, actor park bogum)

bias type b: deep-voiced, bad boy (?) rappers who KNOW they’re hot (examples include: mx changkyun, oneus leedo) 

i’m pretty sure there are probably more distinctions but those are the basics of my two completely opposite bias types LMAO to this day, i’m not sure how i went from kevin to changkyun LOL

8. Best friendship?

uhhhh idk what this means? LOL from context, i’m gonna guess best friendship among idols? in which case, i think monteen is definitely it LOL but i also adore svt’s and mx’s friendships within their respective groups as well like i believe all of them are soulmates and i just !!!!! love all of their dynamics. i also love love love ukiss’ friendship. those boys hang out with each other so much and so clearly love each other even tho they’re no longer in the same group ;u; basically i love my ults LMAO

19. Which member from Monsta X did you know first?

i think hyungwon?? bc of the memes LMAO or wonho bc of the fighter mv 😳honestly it’s kinda hard to tell bc when i started stanning svt, mx was always hovering in the background so i don’t even remember when i learned all their names? LOL but i would say one of those two 

26. Your opinion on aegyo?

I HATE IT LMAO i’ve always found it cringey and i usually can’t stand it bc usually it’s just secondhand embarrassment express. i think i’ve been desensitized now bc of how goddamn long i’ve been into kpop but i still am not the biggest fan. i think the only aegyo i can stand is jooheon’s (AEGYO KING) and woozi’s oppaya aegyo LOL other than that i’m like ....god why

39. Have you ever met an idol?

AHHHHH LOL yes i have, several times! i met ukiss back in 2014 and got to take a picture with them (which is in my header), and i met kevin again during his concert last year! i got to talk to him and hug him too and it was just AH AMAZING HE’S SO SWEET. i ALSO got to go to a hi-touch with 2AM back during kcon 2013 and i also got to go to a hi-touch with day6 in 2018 (i chickened out of greeting jae even tho i really wanted to go like HEY WE’RE FROM THE SAME HOMETOWN) i ALSO ALSO got to hi-touch with a.c.e last year and HARU JONGIL ALL DAY-ed with chan which was actually so fun! anyways i think that’s about all the times i’ve met an idol? which, now that i look at it, is a lot LOL 

43. How many groups can you name all the members of?

oh man there’s no way i can count the number of groups. basically i can name all 2nd gen kpop groups, a bunch of nugu groups during 2.5 gen/3rd gen, any groups that went on the unit, and a fair amount of groups in 3rd-4th gen. i think around like 2017 ish? i stopped paying as much attention to new groups bc i got busy with college so i’m pretty unfamiliar with people nowadays. but honestly if you’re curious just throw a random group at me and i can try my hand at it LOL (also i know more boy groups than girl groups sorry ;;) 

53. Your favourite lyrics?

OOOOOF THIS IS SO HARD. there’s SO many good lyrics out there! but here’s a few that i particularly love:

You get some right, you get some wrong. Even if it’s hard right now, you’ll be smiling one day - U-Kiss (Someday)

Somebody let me know, tell me which way to go, ‘cause I don’t don’t don’t know - JJ Project (Tomorrow, Today)

Good night baby, I wanna say you’ll be fine. You don’t need to walk alone. Reach your hand out to mine, wanna give you a new light - n1ve (new light)

Even if the world is not on my side, the standard they have for me is so heartless. But we have a dream, don’t ever lose that. Let’s high five and wake up again, let it fly! - The Unit Orange Team (cover of BTS’s Butterfly) (this song always makes me cry. and the fact that jun wrote these lyrics thinking about ukiss..... a sobbing tonight)

Don’t deny our r^2π - U-Kiss (0330) (I’M SO SORRY THIS LYRIC IS SO DUMB BUT I LOVE IT HAHAHAHA) 

57. Favorite 3 iconic moments?

oh god only 3?????? there’s too many omg. well i’ll put some that come immediately to mind (links are included!):

1. in the first official ukiss activity since hoon returned from the army, hoon hugged soohyun and then soohyun tried to kiss him in return on live broadcast, and jun just sat off to the side, covering his face bc he was too goddamn embarrassed LMAO (and then soohyun sulked on twitter later asking if hoon didn’t want to be kissed by him and hoon had to do damage control and say he did, he just got surprised LOL).... honestly ukiss is so wild i expected nothing less from them once they reunited haha (x)

2. seungkwan getting to live out his successful kissme dreams and dance bingeul bingeul (the song he auditioned with) with ukiss themselves. truly one of my favorite fanboy moments (x) (on a related note: i especially love this kissmecarat moment i technically started)

3. monsta x and btob cleopatra game. no words needed LMAO (x)

side note: i wanted to include a monteen moment but couldn’t figure out which i wanted so i went with mxtob instead LOL but a few runner-ups were svt fanboying bc of showho’s backs during the 2017 mama performance, svt dancing to shoot out during their fanmeeting, svt flooding the monteen group chat after mx’s 2018 mama performance, jooheon BAKSU, and mx reacting to svt’s hit LOL

[frederator-studios]

Derek Iversen: The Frederator Interview

Derek Iversen began his unlikely career in animation as a PA on the very first season of Spongebob Squarepants. You might say he was got by The Hook: he spent about a decade with the show, on the production staff before becoming a writer on Seasons 6-9. Since then, he’s written on countless awesome TV shows, become an elected official in the neighborhood of Valley Glen (business card and all!), and created his own Nickelodeon short, “Carrot and Stick” inspired by his dog Rosie, whose image blesses the end of this interview. In honor of his episode of Bravest Warriors premiering tomorrow (5/18), Derek and I sat down to discuss sketch comedy, time travel, and a certain absorbent (and yellow and porous) friend.

Did you always want to be a writer? What’d you want to be growing up?

First I wanted to be a fireman. Then a police officer - huge jump there. Then I wanted to be an astronaut, until I realized I get motion sickness. So I thought I should be an astronomer - a little safer, little less barfing. But in 5th grade, my English teacher Mrs. Carrol gave me high marks on a short story assignment. I got really encouraged by that; I thought, “Hey, maybe I’ve found something I’m good at!” So pretty much from then on, I wanted to be a writer.

Wow, 5th grade? Were you a wunderkind, writing a ton as a kid?

Nah, I wasn’t that ambitious. In high school I took Theater with another great teacher, Mrs. Carrick. She encouraged us to write our own scenes and monologues. So I had the opportunity to try stuff out with my fellow students, and hopefully crack them up with idiocy. Then in college at University of Arizona, I joined a group called Comedy Corner and got really into sketch comedy. I thought if I could make a living doing that, THAT’s what I want to do. There’s nothing like doing live comedy before an audience. It’s thrilling.

Did you stick with comedy after college?

Some friends and I formed our own group! The People Who Do That. We became the kings of Tucson comedy… which, shockingly, didn’t pay the bills. So some of us decided to truck it out to LA to try to make it in the big city.

Did you have a job when you got to LA?

Nope, but I got a really stupid one: phone customer service for a pager company. Let me just say, the introduction of cell phones was NOT the only thing that killed off pagers… but I had a friend working at Nickelodeon, so I managed to get a job as a driver on The Angry Beavers. This was back in the olden days, when if artists needed reference materials, someone had to actually go pick them up from libraries or - RIP - video stores. Soon after, I got a job as a production assistant on a show that Nick had just picked up: Spongebob Squarepants. At the time we all thought, ‘This is a strange little show that hopefully will get a cult following.’ It did a little better than that. So that was kind of my ‘big break’. But it took me 7 years of working on the show to become a writer on it.

How did that path look?

Long and meandering. Because for some time, I thought I wanted to do sketch comedy, and that animation was my day job. I was a PA on seasons 1 to 3 and a coordinator on seasons 4 and 5. In that time I started chipping away at animation writing, because I had to actually learn how to write cartoons. I was used to writing for the stage, and animation is a visual medium. Much more so than even other kinds of TV, let alone theater, so I had to learn to tell stories visually. And stories that kids could relate to—I’d always written for adults, so my stuff went right over kid’s heads. But I wanted to write and kept knocking on the door, and in season 6, became a staff writer. I was one until season 9.

Do you think your background in sketch comedy aided that transition?

Oh yeah, absolutely. When you do a sketch in front of a big throng of crazy college students, it’s clear when it works and when it doesn’t. Sketch taught me not to waste the audience’s time: you get in, do the joke, and get out.

How was working on Spongebob? Any stories, secrets, lore?

It was a wild ride and a lot of fun. I’ve gotta be the only one who remembers this, but I swear it’s true: back in the first season, Steve (Hillenburg, creator) had a sign on his door that read, “Have fun or you’re fired.” It sounds cruel, but it actually set a good tone. We did have a lot of fun! And there wasn't much firing—it’s not like the hatchet fell every time somebody frowned. The crew had awesome camaraderie, and I think that’s reflected in the show. I sincerely believe the environment of a show, how it’s made, affects how it turns out. If a show is made with a tense crew where everyone fears the creator, it shows on-screen. Conversely, if the crew has fun and makes each other laugh, that’s clear on-screen too.

(Season 1 Christmas party: Ennio Torresan, Carly Benner-StClair, Bruce Heller, Mica Nataami, Carl (CH) Greenblatt, and Derek with the devil horns.) 

So despite the sign, no one was afraid of Steve Hillenburg?

No, no, the sign is misleading. He’s a total sweetheart. Success couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy: just a thoughtful, funny, sincere human being.

That’s exactly what you wanna hear about your heroes. What’s your favorite thing about the show?

Well Spongebob is definitely a reflection of Steve! As are the other characters, but mostly Spongebob. And to me, the greatest thing about the show, and the reason I think it’s been such a huge success, is that Spongebob is genuine. He’s without guile. He’s enthusiastic without any reservation. And I think, especially when the show came out, a lot of cartoons in the kid realm starred adults disguised as kids. And Spongebob was never that; he was always for kids, always had a kid’s spirit. That’s part of why we never defined his age: he has kid and adult qualities. He’s just sincere—and sincerity is underrated.

Do you have a favorite Spongebob episode?

Man... that’s like choosing a favorite child. But I’ll go ahead and do it. I have several favorites. One is “SB-129”. I’m a bit of a sucker for time travel - it’s part of why I enjoy Bravest Warriors so much. “The Fun Show” is awesome too, it’s a classic. Of episodes I wrote, “Not Normal” was my first and still a favorite. It’s a bit autobiographical: I was a weird kid and always felt like I needed to conform to some idea of normality. After a while, I decided that didn’t matter and I was going to accept being my weird self. And the same is true of Spongebob.

(Mr. Lawrence (aka Plankton), Vincent Waller, and Derek.)

How did you come to write for Bravest Warriors?

After Spongebob, I was a staff writer on Sanjay and Craig, which Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi executive produced. They’re great guys and a blast to work with. They'd also produced Bravest, so I found out about the show through them. I watched it and just thought it was madness in the best possible way. Last year Will mentioned they were looking for writers, so I gave it a shot. I really wanted to be part of the show and feel lucky that I got to be!

What are your favorite things about Bravest Warriors?

I love time travel and sci-fi, and you get both of those in BW. That’s a treat. But I love that it also goes right to the heart of teen angst. That’s a sandbox I don’t get to play in a lot, as I’m usually writing for kids or preschoolers. It’s a lot of fun to deal with broken hearts, romantic attraction, all that gooey hormonal stuff.

Do you have a favorite character from the show?

I like Danny a lot, because he’s kinda pathetic. I just want to help him out. But I can’t resist Catbug. He’s amazing. And I’m a big fan of Impossibear. Something about his gruffness... he’s selfish in a way that reminds me of Bender from Futurama. If I ever got to do another BW episode, I’d want it to be about Impossibear. Finding the mushy heart he hides inside.

What is your episode, “A Apple, B Banana, C Chili” about?

I did a sort of anti-consumerist screed cleverly disguised as a Bravest Warriors episode. The team succumbs to the power of marketing. They have to escape the clutches of a Costco-like superstore. It seemed like a uniquely weird challenge they hadn’t faced before. I think that’s why it was chosen from the ideas I pitched—when you’re pitching on a show with a lot of episodes, you’ve got to find the part of the floor that hasn’t been painted yet.

Aha - don’t they go in that store to grab Wallow a snack?

Haha yeah. Wallow gets hangry on a mission so they go to buy him some chips or a granola bar or something and it goes terribly wrong. I love episodes like that - we did it on Spongebob too - where it’s the simplest possible objective. The goal of the episode is one tiny thing, and then it balloons out from there and becomes ridiculously huge in a way it never deserved to be.

What would you be if you weren’t a TV writer?

Maybe a lawyer. Or a crazy activist trying to make the world a better place and not getting very far. I’d probably be quitting my job at the EPA right now out of sheer frustration. At least writing cartoons, I can express the absurdity of our world—but hopefully to make people laugh, instead of cry.

What are your favorite cartoons?

Well, Spongebob’s pretty darn good. I always loved Ren and Stimpy, the latest news notwithstanding. I’m a simple man: I love Road Runner. I couldn’t resist the simplicity of the gags. You always know what’s going to happen - Road Runner’s gonna get away and Wile E. Coyote is gonna eat it. But you don’t know how he’s gonna eat it. The magic is in the details. I’m a big fan of The Simpsons. And I enjoyed Aqua Teen Hunger Force; Master Shake cracks me up. I love how stupid and petty he is.

After writing for so long, is it ever still challenging?

Absolutely, it’s always a challenge. I think a lot of people struggle with being too precious with their ideas. It’s a collaborative medium: stories change and change and change again. You can accept compromises and look for the good in them, or you can fight against them. My view is, you have to choose your battles. Even the creator doesn’t have complete control. And the best creators and showrunners delegate responsibilities. They trust the people they’ve hired.  

Do you pitch show ideas around?

I haven’t as much lately; I’m busy story editing a preschool show now called Hanni and the Wild Woods. But I made a Nickelodeon short a few years back with my friend Miles Hindman, called “Carrot and Stick,” about a pair of buddies who live in a junkyard. Their nemesis is a dog named Rosie, based on my own dog Rosie. It’s a mixed media show - a combination of puppets, live action and 2D - so we wanted her to play herself. It didn’t work out. She’s cute and all, but cute doesn’t make you a good actor…

(Rosie, sweet and perfect in every conceivable way aside from acting ability.)

What else are you working on?

Well besides Hanni, I just got back from teaching an Animation Writing class in Jamaica for a few weeks - that was amazing. It was through The World Bank; they’re trying to build an animation industry over there. I’m glad they found me, it was a ton of fun and some of the student’s ideas were really cool. I also have a YA sci-fi book I really want to write. The trick is finding the time to do it; it keeps eluding me. Earlier I said animation is very collaborative - not so with this book. I have a very specific vision, and I’m excited to tell exactly the story I want to tell. I also write as Spongebob and Patrick on their Twitter accounts - which is a tougher gig than it sounds! All of the 140 character zingers have to be contained to their universe. But it’s fun and keeps me connected to the characters, and I love that.

Thank you for the interview Derek! So much fun talking with you. Good luck on all your many projects, I’ll be on the lookout!

- Cooper

[linaofthemyscira]

The Quest for the Lost Treasure (Part 7)

Pairing: Adventurer!Jason Todd x Adventurer!Reader

Word Count: 2661

Summary: In university, you discover that an ancient treasure supposed to have been “found” was actually still lost. Determined to be the one to find it, you set off on a journey to find it, and run into Jason Todd and his adventurer posse. With Jason’s expertise of the land, and your natural talent for adventuring, you two are the perfect mix. Will you find the treasure smoothly? Or will you fail and lose a friendship?

Warnings: foul language, mentions of nudity, super cute feels

A/N yo it’s your girl, Lina. I’m sorry I haven’t posted because I have been traveling! And by the time you’ve read this, I will have gotten home and taken a nap. Hope you enjoy!

Parts: 1  |  2  |  3  | 4 | 5 | 6 | 

Jason POV

“Jason? Jason wake up. Jason!” I hear a muffled voice. My eyes shoot open, but suddenly I feel a sting across my cheek. She slapped me. Y/N slapped me.

“Ow!” I say, raising my hand to my cheek.

“You’re awake!” She whispers.

“Yes! I am awake! You didn’t need to slap me! God…” I slowly sit up and remove my hand from my cheek. Suddenly, she slaps me again.

“Alright, what the fuck was that for?!” I growl.

“For being an asshat! I told you not to go the way you did, and you flipped me off and ignored me! Now look where we are.” She hisses. I look around and notice we’re in a cloth tent. It’s big, and there’s a wooden stick in the middle to keep it standing up.

“Uh, where are we? And where are my brothers?” I look around.

“You incompetent buffoon! We were captured by a local tribe! You, being the idiot you are, crossed the border into their village and they shot you with a dart on sight. Then they captured Dick, Tim, Damian and I and dragged us into their home.” She tells me angrily.

“Well it’s not my fault!” I retort.

“How the fuck is it not your fault?” She argues.

“I wouldn’t have been mad if you hadn’t stopped talking to me for no reason!” I yell. Now that I say it out loud, I sound stupid. She widens her eyes and scoffs at me.

“Seriously? It’s my fault that you got butthurt for me not talking to you and you being a complete airhead and doing whatever? I had a good reason not to talk to you, asshole,” she folds her arms over her chest and sits on the ground.

“Yes. It is your fault. And what happens to be the reason, huh?” I ask.

“Look, first of all, just because a girl, like me, doesn’t want to talk to you, doesn’t mean you can just go around being a douchebag and ignore everyone. That’s not how things work, okay? It’s your fault for letting what I do control your actions and emotions. Second of all, I don’t feel like telling you,” she says bitterly. I stare at her for a moment, processing her words.

“Well I deserve to know. We apologized to each other the night before and suddenly the next morning you’re avoiding me. I think I should know why,” I make my point.

“What is it with you and ‘deserving’ shit?! Stop being so self righteous! From the second I met you, you’ve been nothing but a cocky, egotistical jackass to me, and even your brothers! You don’t deserve anything! Not even the crown! And you certainly don’t deserve to know why I avoided you this morning and afternoon,” she rants to me. I sit down next to her in silence, thinking about her words. She has a point. I have been nothing but a cocky, egotistical jackass to her. More so than usual. I don’t even know why. I like Y/N. I do. But why is it that every time I open my mouth to talk to her, something rude comes out?

“Hey guys, um, sorry to interrupt but they’re about to cook Damian,” Tim pops his head in the tent.

“What?!” Y/N says incredulously.

“Finally!” I sigh. Tim and Y/N give me irritated looks and I shake my head. “I mean, oh no! We should go help!”

Y/N gets up and follows Tim out of the tent, me close on her heels.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! THIS IS CANNIBALISM!” I hear Damian shriek.

“Uh, could you just let him go? Please?!” Dick yelps. As I near the fire with Y/N and Tim, I realize that they aren’t planning on cooking Damian. They’re performing a ritual.

“PERDÓN! Disculpe, señores y señoras, ¿Que estas haciendo con el niño?” Y/N speaks up. One of the men responds in Spanish faster than I can hear, but Y/N nods her head.

“Están bien.” Y/N responds and turns to Tim and I. She suddenly slaps his arm.

“You idiot, they weren’t going to cook him! They’re performing a ritual! Apparently Damian looks like the son of the king of the civilization that once lived and thrived here. The people of La Ciudad Perdida.” Y/N explains.

“Ohhhh,” Tim says. Dick suddenly comes running up to us.

“They’re making dinner now. They’re also going to have a celebration in honor of us. I talked to the chief and explained something, possibly a little white lie, just to buy us some time so we can leave tomorrow morning. Right now, we’re two miles away from the city. If we get up early enough, we can leave and get to the city before they find out we’re gone,” Dick says.

“Huh, okay.” Tim says.

“Sounds like a plan,” Y/N gives him a smile.

“Good man,” I pat Dick on the back.

“So…do we just–” Y/N starts, but some women come up to her and start tugging her away from us.

“Um–uh, what are you…qué estás haciendo?” She looks at them. They respond back lowly and continue taking her away.

“I’ll be back!” She yells to us and she disappears into a hut.

“I really hope she’s not going to be dinner,” I say. Dick and Tim give me dirty looks and walk away.

“What? Too soon?”

Reader POV

“Les presento a La Reina de la Tairona!”

I step out of the hut and all eyes are averted to me. I look down at my attire, practically a bandeau and a maxi skirt. They’re both decorated colorfully with beads and dyes, but I hate it. I feel…naked. I look up and straighten my headdress, then look at the people to find the team.

As the women (who took me to get ready) guide me to a certain part of the circle, I spot Jason, Dick, Tim and Damian at the other end. I turn to head over to them, but the ladies firmly grip my arms and continue guiding me to my spot.

“Uh…no. No gracias. Quiero sentar allá,” I tug back.

“Pero–”

“Quiero sentar allá,” i repeat more assertively. The ladies let go of my arms and I walk over to my team. Jason and Dick scoot in opposite directions to make room for me and I sit in between them.

As I take off my headdress, the tribe gasps. I look up at them in confusion.

“No puedo comer con eso en mi cabeza, psh. Necesito espacio,” I explain. The villagers look at each other and shrug.

“Podemos comer ahora?” I ask. The villagers look at me expectantly. “Buen provecho!”

Suddenly everyone digs in to their dinner, my comrades as well. I hesitantly pick up a piece of meat and eat it. Not bad. After 15 minutes I’m full and I can’t eat anymore.

“I’m done,” I sigh and lean over to Dick.

“Are you gonna finish that…?” He points to my plate.

“I just said I’m done,” I give him a look.

“So…no?”

“Just eat it.”

“Yessss,” he says and takes my dish from me. I turn to Jason and see he’s done as well.

“Hey,” I nudge him. He looks up at me with a blank expression.

“Hi,” he responds.

“Are you…okay? You seem quiet…” I comment.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” he snaps. I back off and turn back to Dick just as he finishes off my plate.

“Ahhhh. So you look nice,” he gives me a cheeky smile, nodding to my attire.

“Haha. Yeah thanks. I certainly don’t feel nice,” I roll my eyes.

“Do you know why they dressed you up like that?” He smirks.

“No. Not a clue.”

“Apparently, you’re the spitting image of the Queen of the Tairona. At least that’s what the village chief told me,” Dick crosses his arms.

“Huh? Me? Bullshit,” I shake my head.

“Seriously. It makes no sense to me, but if it’s gonna save our asses, then I say play along for as long as possible, reina,” Dick smiles. I scoff and face forward again to see two women making their way over to us.

“Hola! Como est–” I begin but am cut off when one squeezes in between Jason and I, taking my seat next to him. I scooch closer to Dick to make room and glare at the girls as they throw themselves onto Jason.

“What the actual fuck?” I whisper.

“Tell me about it. That should be me,” Dick whispers back. A smirk plays on Jason’s lips as he makes eye contact with me. I roll my eyes and slowly stand up. I step over the placemats and walk away from the circle in frustration.

I need some fresh air. (Yes I know I’m outside already whatever).

After wandering in the rainforest for a few minutes, I find a tall tree and begin climbing it. Yeah. I climb trees. Is there something wrong with that?

I reach a sturdy branch and sit on it, leaning on the trunk for support.

The full moon illuminates the rainforest beautifully, the light glinting off of the canopies of emerald leaves. I let out a sigh as I continue looking at the jungle peacefully.

“Ahem.” Someone interrupts my bliss. I turn my head to my left a bit to see Jason clinging onto my tree trunk. I furrow my eyebrows irritatedly at him and frown.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“You left the village so abruptly and Dick wanted to make sure you weren’t in danger so he sent me,” Jason says flatly as he makes his way onto the branch beside me. Thank god this branch isn’t flimsy. 

“Of course he sent you,” I roll my eyes and cross my arms.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asks me.

“Nothing. Forget I said anything,” I mutter. I feel Jason giving me a look, but I can’t quite figure out what it means. We sit on our branch quietly before I turn to him.

“I have no idea why I’m still here because you clearly don’t like me. I’m sorry, for ruining your special adventure. I just saw an opportunity and decided to take it. I didn’t plan on landing in Brazil instead, or asking for help from you guys. And I know you didn’t plan on letting me tag along. So if you want me to just leave you alone…then I’ll be on my way,” I blurt out. Jason doesn’t say anything for a few minutes and then sighs.

“Y/N I don’t not like you…” he trails off. I give him a baffled look, waiting for him to continue, but he just sits there with a stupid look on his face. “…and I’m sorry I made you think that with the way I’ve been acting. I just…I guess like I said before, I felt threatened. I’ve never met a girl like you–”

I scoff and roll my eyes. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that.

“–Y/N that’s not what I mean. You’re the first woman to have ever challenged me the way you did. Most girls don’t do that. And I was so caught off guard I reacted negatively. Sorry,” Jason confesses.

“Well Jason, I’m sure you’ve figured this out by now but I’m not like most girls,” I play with a strand of hair.

“Yeah. I see that now,” he mumbles.

“So I fully expect you to stop treating me like most girls. I’m a woman, but I’m a person. And I have feelings. Like you. And I can explore the shit out of the Amazon rainforest and I can read a map and mark up a path and pitch a tent. I’m no different from you. I’m in this game to win. To get the crown. Just like you.” I explain.

“Okay. I respect that,” he responds simply. “But we are sharing the glory of finding the crown. And the crown itself. Deal?”

“Deal.” I give him a small smile. We sit in silence again for a few minutes before I speak up.

“I had a dream.” I mumble.

“Huh?” Jason asks.

“I had a dream,” I speak up a bit louder.

“I’m not following…” Jason scratches his head.

“That’s the reason I was avoiding you. I had a dream.” I say.

“A dream…about me?” I can practically hear Jason smirking.

“Yeah about you, don’t start getting ideas…” I turn away from him and toward the trunk.

“What about me? Was I fully clothed–?” He scoots closer.

“Don’t make me push you off this tree, Todd,” I turn and glare at him.

“Alright alright, fine I’ll back off,” he lets out a hearty laugh. We both turn back to the jungle and sigh.

“Was it a nightmare or…?” He breaks another blanket of silence.

“Jason!” I frown.

“I mean, I’m just curious,” he smiles at me.

“Look, I would consider it a nightmare but, I’m sure by dream standards, it would be considered ‘weird’,” I disclose.

“Uh huh…so was I fully clothed or not?” Jason raises his eyebrow.

“Is this your way of asking me if I had a sex dream about you?” I narrow my eyes at him. Jason slightly widens his eyes and looks away. I can’t fully see his face, but I can tell he’s most likely blushing.

“Kind of,” he responds.

“No. It wasn’t a sex dream. I like you but not that much,” I softly laugh.

“Oh,” he lets out disappointedly. How on earth do I tell him what I saw in my dream without nearly exploding in embarrassment?

“It’s…it’s complicated…” I trail off.

“Was I naked or not? Just tell me,” he says pointedly.

“Yes! Okay? You were. God I hope you’re happy,” I say melodramatically. A shocked expression appears on his face as he tries to connect the dots.

“So I guess naked dream me made you uncomfortable, huh?” He rubs the back of his neck.

“Yes.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault. You don’t have to apologize,” I say calmly. I turn my body to face Jason again but now he’s right next to me. His shoulder brushes mine as he looks down at me.

“You’re awfully close to me.” I state the obvious. Jason’s crystal blue eyes pierce my own as he pulls his lips into a thin line.

“Yeah,” is the only thing he says as he licks his lips.

Suddenly he begins slowly leaning in, but instead of moving away, I lean in too. “Woah what? Brain, what are you doing?”

“Did this happen in your dream?” He murmurs, his breath fanning across my face. I can feel my heart quicken by the second but I try to control it.

“…no,” I whisper back.

“Good.” He replies and leans in closer, his lips ghosting over mine.

“HEY GUYS!” I hear Dick’s voice call out from below. It startles me so badly that I not only jump, but let go of the trunk, lose my balance and fall off of the branch.

“Y/N!” Jason yells.

In a flash, I feel myself land in a pair of arms gracefully. I open my eyes and look up to see Dick raising an eyebrow at me with a playful smile on his lips.

“Gotcha,” he says. I wiggle out of Dick’s arms and land on the ground.

“Thanks,” I say reply inattentively. I brush off my skirt and look back up at the branch to look for Jason but he’s not there. I shake my head and frown.

“I’m gonna go back to the village and go to bed. If you see Jason, tell him I’m looking for him,” I tell Dick. I glance at the branch one last time before walking back to the village.

I guess the moment will have to wait…

Once again sorry for the timing inconvenience! Thanks for being patient :)

TAGGING:

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[seigyokus]

1.2 - New Manager

Idolish Seven - Part 3, Chapter 1.2 For more Part 3 translations, click here!

Translation below the cut!

Takanashi Otoharu: IDOLiSH7! Good job preparing for your first anniversary tour! The tickets have been completely sold out! Nanase Riku: Yay! Thank you very much! Rokuya Nagi: Congratulations! Everybody loves us, as well as Haruki's songs! Izumi Iori: As the center, Nanase-san’s singing has stabilized as well. Ogami Banri: The shows you guys star on also get really great ratings! I do hope that "A Lovely Night with IDOLiSH7!" will surpass the numbers for TRIGGER's show sometime this year. Izumi Mitsuki: At least once would be nice! Nikaidou Yamato: Mitsu's an expert at MC-ing now, so it's definitely possible! Takanashi Tsumugi: There's an important announcement I'd like to make before the first anniversary tour. President, if you will. Izumi Mitsuki: From the President!? It's that important!? Takanashi Otoharu: First, allow me to apologize. I am truly sorry if I have inconvenienced any of you by keeping our agency's numbers so small. Takanashi Otoharu: Many of the boys here have very particular circumstances, so we have carefully screened everyone. We’ve selected those whom we trust to work with. Takanashi Otoharu: They've all finished their training, so nine new staff members will be a part of the company starting tomorrow. Takanashi Otoharu: We will have five people for office work and two people on business and sales. There will also be two more people assisting the manager. Once they're used to the job, we intend on having them accompany you boys on scene as well. Nanase Riku: You mean we're getting a new manager? But what about our current one.... Takanashi Tsumugi: I'll still be everyone's manager! I'll just be getting some support, that's all. Takanashi Tsumugi: However, for the time being I will most likely be in the office more in order to train the new hires. That being said.... Takanashi Tsumugi: I will field IDOLiSH7's work, but there will also be a new manager primarily focused on supporting MEZZO". Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: Huh...? Izumi Mitsuki: Isn't that great! Both of you guys are really busy, and wasn't it rough for Sougo? Osaka Sougo: Indeed....... Izumi Iori: Getting Yotsuba-san from school to other places will also be much easier. That's good. Yotsuba Tamaki: Yeah....... Nikaidou Yamato: What, aren't you two happy? Osaka Sougo: I am happy, but just when I've finally figured out how to maintain an appropriate distance from Tamaki-kun.... (1) Yotsuba Tamaki: ...If it ends up being some weirdo, I feel like everything’s gonna get messed up all over again....... Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: A new manager, huh....... Takanashi Otoharu: Oh? You guys don't want one? Ogami Banri: Ahaha. It'll be hard for the new manager to come out if you guys react like that. Osaka Sougo: Ah-- Are they already here? Yotsuba Tamaki: What are they like? Ogami Banri: It's me. Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: Thank god......! Izumi Mitsuki: It's Banri-san!? Ogami Banri: I will also be following you guys on-scene. Yuki and the others have seen my face now, so there's no reason for me to hide anymore. Rokuya Nagi: OH! I feel very at ease with Banri as our manager. He always plays anime songs in the car for me. Nikaidou Yamato: He's dropped me off and picked me up a couple times before, and Banri-san's a really good driver. He also knows a ton of good places to eat! Takanashi Tsumugi: That's true! I'll go research restaurants so I can recommend good places to everyone as well, just like Banri-san! Yotsuba Tamaki: But you know tons of good cake shops, Manager! I like you more, Manager! Ogami Banri: Is that so.... Even though I put King Pudding plushes in the company car so Tamaki-kun would be happy...? Yotsuba Tamaki: Ah-- No, no! It's not that I don't like Ban-chan! Izumi Iori: What are these factions.... Nanase Riku: Isn't it kinda like that! The thing that what happened back when switched centers! Izumi Iori: That....... Danger has passed, true, but I cannot believe you're talking about it so gleefully. (2) Nanase Riku: It's because we're even better friends than before! There's a lot I gotta thank you for, Iori! Izumi Iori: Tha-- That's....... Well, I guess so....... Izumi Mitsuki: You didn't have to get that flustered. Ogami Banri: We get along too. Right, Tsumugi-san? Takanashi Tsumugi: O-of course! We'll do our best to get along! Takanashi Otoharu: The reason why our agency was able to grow so much is because of you boys. I am truly grateful. Takanashi Otoharu: Black or White is at the end of the year. Last year, you won against TRIGGER. This year, you'll be fighting new challengers as the previous winners. Takanashi Otoharu: Nevertheless, don't push yourselves too hard. Just be your carefree selves and do your best. IDOLiSH7: Yes, sir!

Anesagi Kaoru: What an amazing number of people. I expected nothing less from Akebono TV's 50th anniversary party-- everyone here is famous. (3) Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Man, I get really nervous in places like this....... Kujou Ten: Ryuu, don't drink tonight. Yaotome Gaku: Re:vale and IDOLiSH7 were invited as guests too, right? Just where are they? Anesagi Kaoru: Gaku! A message from the President: Anesagi Kaoru: "Don't be swayed by what the masses are saying. Refrain from being overly friendly with idols from other agencies." Yaotome Gaku: ...What an earful....... Anesagi Kaoru: This year, the goal is for TRIGGER to overwhelmingly surpass IDOLiSH7 and win against Re:vale at Black or White. Anesagi Kaoru: You are the only group who can take them down! Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I see.... We're singing to be Grand Winners this year, huh. Yaotome Gaku: We gotta get nominated into the Grand Winner division first before we can face off against Re:vale, though. Kujou Ten: Other than Re:vale, Hanamaki Sumire will also be a formidable enemy. That hit female singer who guested on our show. Kujou Ten: We'll give it our best shot, no matter who we're up against-- we're going to surpass Re:vale, and stand at the top. Izumi Mitsuki: --I told you, stop flirting already! Rokuya Nagi: No! How cruel, Mitsuki! Yaotome Gaku: It's IDOLiSH7. Ahaha. Noisy as usual, I see. Hey, over here! Anesagi Kaoru: You. Did you even listen to a word I said!? Nanase Riku: Ah! Ten-ni-- Kujou Ten: It's good seeing you again, Nanase-san. Nanase Riku: Ah.... Kujou-san, it's nice to see you again too! Have you tried the cake over there? Te-- Kujou-san, I thought you'd like it so I brought some over! Kujou Ten: Oh? Really? Anesagi Kaoru: Hey! Don't act like you're at home! Osaka Sougo: Everyone look so cool. May I take a picture with you all afterwards? Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: We can take one right now! Three, two, one.... Anesagi Kaoru: Now, now. Stop making peace signs!! [CG] Momo: Kaoru-chan, what's wrong? You're all grumpy even though we're at an anniversary party! Yuki: Rejected by an Akebono TV employee, perhaps? Anesagi Kaoru: ...The most excessively friendly pair are here now....... Momo: Ah! Mitsuki! Ryuunosuke! Yay! Izumi Mitsuki: Yay! Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Yay! Momo・Tsunashi Ryuunosuke・Izumi Mitsuki: Yay! Yay yay! Anesagi Kaoru: Ah, this is no good! No good at all! This is the epitome of being too friendly with each other!! (4) Nanase Riku: Wow, they get along really well! I wonder what happened? Izumi Mitsuki: Momo-san added us to his celebrity sports team, and we made a male idol team from there! We call over our friends and play sports together! Momo: Let's go to Ryuu-chan's place and go kayak fishing! Akajin, akajin! Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Akajin, aka-- ouch! Anesagi Kaoru: You are being way too intimate with them! Just as intimate as my high-class foundation is with my skin! What in the world is an akajin! Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Akajin. It's a fish about this big, and it's really good. It's good simmered with vegetables, but I like it served as sashimi. Anesagi Kaoru: I didn't ask! Yuki: Haha.... Sports club, huh. Momo's always full of energy, from sun up 'til sun down. It must be troublesome. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Not at all! When he's with us, he's really mature, and also cool and collected. If anything, we're the ones who are talkative. Yuki: What...? Izumi Iori: Nii-san's very put together, so I'm sure he's a very dependable person even within the sports club. Correct? Momo: Not quite! He lets other people spoil him, and feels like a really friendly kouhai! Everyone gives him lots of love! Izumi Iori: What...? Yaotome Gaku: Well, Ryuu's a really chill guy. Don't push him too hard, 'kay? Izumi Mitsuki: Not at all! He gets really fired up and greedy when it comes to sports, and he also hates losing a lot! That's the Beast, alright! Yaotome Gaku: What...? Momo・Tsunashi Ryuunosuke・Izumi Mitsuki: Yay! Yay yay! Yaotome Gaku: Why do I feel so isolated....... Izumi Iori: I feel a little lonely....... Yuki: You guys are fine....... I'm the only one left behind, in my case. (5) Anesagi Kaoru: See, look! Getting too friendly is a bad thing! It's like a prelude to disbanding!

Okazaki Rinto: Good evening. Congratulations on tonight. Anesagi Kaoru: Wait a second. You! Where were you! Okazaki Rinto: Takanashi-san and I just watched since we didn't want to interrupt such a smooth conversation. Takanashi Tsumugi: You get along so well with everyone. I'm jealous, Anesagi-san! Okazaki Rinto: I ought to learn from you as well! Anesagi Kaoru: ....... Not at all.... Yaotome Gaku: Huh? Where's Nikaidou? Nanase Riku: Yamato-san? He was just here a second ago.... Izumi Iori: ...It's because we're in a place like this. Remember...? Osaka Sougo: ...Ah, right....... Rokuya Nagi: Hm..... Yamato sure likes to move around in secret. Izumi Mitsuki: Come on, don't say that. He'll come back once he's done with whatever he's doing. Rokuya Nagi: You're a very good, honest, and virtuous person, Mitsuki. Those who carry secrets with them aren't of such noble character. They're the same as the timid and cowardly.... Nikaidou Yamato: Who's a coward? Rokuya Nagi: OH....... Nikaidou Yamato: I'm glad your plane made it on time, Nagi. You just got back from Northmare, right? Nikaidou Yamato: You've been going back to your country quite a lot lately. I wonder what's happening over there.... Is it like a disturbance, or uproar over something? ......Is that the reason why you've been going back? Rokuya Nagi: ......Secrets are but a part of a gentleman's manners. Nikaidou Yamato: OK. Hey, long time no see. What were you guys talking about? Yuki: They were just discussing how excited they are to watch us act together. Yaotome Gaku: ......We were? Kujou Ten: ......Didn't we? Nanase Riku: I love your "Mission" series a lot too, Yuki-san! Nanase Riku: I can't wait to watch the new movie! Yuki: Thank you. Yaotome Gaku: What's your role this time, Nikaidou? Nikaidou Yamato: An elite, corpse-collecting doctor. Yaotome Gaku: Huh. You sure get a lot of villain roles. Maybe it's because you look the part. Nikaidou Yamato: I don't wanna hear that from you. Ah....... Man in a Suit: Wow, everyone is matching. Congratulations on tonight. Well, do you mind chatting with me for a bit, Nikaidou-kun.......

To be continued....

TL Notes/comments:

(1) 距離感 is a weirdass phrase, kind of hard to express in english. Went pretty direct here (lit. sense of distance). In this case, remember that MEZZO" had a lot of trouble getting on the same page and got to a good truce only recently. 

(2) Iori says part of an idiom: 喉元過ぎれば熱さを忘れる (Danger past, God forgotten). 

(3) Akebono means dawn/daybreak, and lowkey I feel like this is a TV Asahi spinoff LOL... asahi means morning sun SO.... 

(4) is2g there was an idiom for people being overly friendly with each other in english but it flew outta my head but 

(5) “I'm the (pin) that was left behind.” uH? idk if he means like 'pin' the noun (ex. hairpin) since that was written in katakana....? apparently it can also mean 'one' (as in 'one' on dice, cards. thanks jisho bro :^)) so tl;dr i kind of? ignored it. lmk if there's any alternative meaning to..,.................. pin....... also LMAO the bg chatter is in english 

Thank you as always @kuriiii​ for proofreading and catcHING MY 999 DUMB TYPOS

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

[sc87confessions]

Lookin’ Forward To

You woke up the next day before Sid did, he looked peacefully asleep so you got up and went down to the hotel’s gym. You were in for about an hour when he called you to ask where you were, you told him that you’d be up in a few to go get breakfast with him and then head back home. You and Sid went down the street to a cute little restaurant that served healthy yet delicious breakfast. You guys were enjoyin each other’s company as you ate silently. “What time should I bring everyone?” you asked randomly “As early as you can so you guys can visit us before game time too” “Us or just you?” you teased “OKay mainly me, you’ve never come before anyways except for TYYY” “Sidney, we talked about this” you chuckled “What happened between you guys anyways, you said there was something there before?” “Nothin” “You guys dated?” “Why do you want to know?” “Because I’m curious, I knew there was something there” “Alright, Ty and I dated for about five months” “And?” “And it didn’t work out obviously, it was goin pretty well actually, the guys thought that Ty was finally goin to get hitched and all that” “BUT?” “I caught him kissin his ex after a night out with his “boys”, I ended it right away and this fucker had the nerve to bring her to the New Years Eve party just to rub it in my face” “Are you FUCKIN SERIOUS?! And you still talk to him?!” “Yeah but I went MIA for awhile, I wouldn’t reply to anyone, not even Jamie or Katie, until Jamie showed up with Jordie sayin how Ty knew he messed up and that he was a mess” Sidney looked at you like he couldn’t believe what you were sayin. “I don’t get how you stayed friends with him” “I was alone in Dallas Sidney, it’s sad to say but I knew I couldn’t have him out of my life, him nor the team, which is why I forgave Tyler, but I knew I could never trust him again which is why we never dated after” “So if he would’ve never messed up, you guys would’ve probably been married by now” “Who knows Sidney, somethin else could’ve gotten in the way later on” “Right” he said a little sad “I can’t believe I’m sayin this but everythin happens for a reason Sidney, me becomin a cop, me endin up in Pit, us meetin each other in Dallas right before I moved out there.” You said as you finished eatin your food. Sid sat in silence for a while as if lost in his own thoughts. Once you were both done you ended up leavin back home to change and get ready for the game. ​​​ You looked at yourself in the mirror and couldn’t grasp the fact that you were goin to a Kings game but this time in Pens gear, Sid’s to be exact. You felt like a trader but somehow you felt very proud of wearin Sid’s jersey. For the first time you’ll be wearin Pens gear whether it was away or not, which made you a bit nervous this is what you what you have to sacrifice to be with Sid you thought as you smiled to yourself. Your family however chose for the Kings gear which you were glad about as you wanted someone to cheer for your home team. When you guys arrived at the arena, you went to will call to grab the tickets and saw that Sid again had given you glass seats, this time though, on the visitin side of course. You were excited to be there at the game as it had been years since you’ve stepped foot at Staples Center and even more to see Sid play again. You went downstairs to see Sid, when he saw you his face immediately lit up. “Someone finally made it” he said ecstatic as he made his way to you and gave you a kiss, “thank you for coming down here (Y/N)”. Your sister then took a pic of you guys together. You had to admit you guys actually looked great as a couple. When the guys came out, they looked your way to see what you were wearin, most of them couldn’t believe it. Murray acted like he was cleanin his “glasses” to make sure that he was seein correctly. When Geno came out he immediately nudged Sid when he saw that you were in Pens gear. Sid’s face was more ecstatic than ever him seein you in his jersey. The game was fun and intense as LA was a pretty great team as well, luckily not too many fights broke out. Your family was havin a blast but somehow they then ended up cheerin even more loud when Sid scored a goal. You were yellin your lungs out when Sid scored, you got a few chirps here and there but you couldn’t care less. The Pens ended up takin the W in OT, you knew that Sid was goin to be in a great mood. You met with Sid downstairs, you knew he wanted to go out to celebrate so you guys went to a nice restaurant out in Manhattan Beach. It was nice seein all your family together includin Sid, how they interacted made you happier than ever. Sid would look at you now and then and smile subtly. He looked at you with more attention when you played with your smaller nephews and mostly the baby. In Sid’s mind, he couldn’t wait to have this kind of future with you, sooner than later for him. ​​​ The next day, you guys did the same thing, this time headin out to Anaheim, and this time you had no problem sportin the Pens gear as you had always hated Anaheim. The Pens played even better against the Ducks with a win over them 5-2. You guys headed out to another restaurant out in Newport, it was a nice place with a rooftop section which had the perfect view of the ocean. You really missed bein in California, havin time to be with your family made you realize that as much as you missed it here, you couldn’t move back, Pittsburgh was your new home, for good. You were lookin out towards the ocean when you felt someone hug you by your waist, of course it was Sid. He gave you a kiss on your cheek and then leaned his head on your shoulder. “What are you thinking about?” he asked “Nothin, just enjoyin this view, I missed it” “Mhmm, you’re a better view” “HAAha oh Sidney” you said as you turned around to face him You both stared at each other for a few seconds “I can’t wait for you to meet my parents, just a few days away” he said excitingly “What if your parents don’t like me Sidney?” you said half playful half serious “Are you kiddin me? My mom’s been bugging to meet you and Taylor of course too, my dad’s more quiet about it but I can tell he’s curious to meet you as well” he said as he kissed you lightly on the lips. Dinner was great but you guys were all tired from goin back and forth and of course it bein the holidays. It seemed like every time it was still just as difficult to say goodbye to your loved ones but they understood that you had a great career goin for you and now thankfully another amazin person by your side to support you. ​​​ The plane finally touched down in Pittsburgh as you gathered your things and headed out towards the baggage claim. You were waitin for you luggage when you saw Jake waitin for you with Leila. They looked great and happy together, as much as Jake had gotten mad at you, you knew he was appreciative for makin the first move for him, he’ll never admit it though. You guys headed out to get lunch and then went on back home to relax. It was a few days before NYE but you knew Sid’s family should come into town any minute. You were gettin ready for bedtime as you had work early tomorrow mornin. Just on cue Sid texted you Sid: Hey baby, parents are in town tomorrow morning, how does dinner sound? You: I should be out by 6 if that’s ok? Sid: Perfect, I’ll pick you up around 7 You: Sweet, I’m goin to bed Goodnight Sidney Sid: Goodnight baby sleep well It was around noon when Jake and you were decidin what to have for lunch, you guys went to a small cafe that had great paninis. Jake and you were deep in conversation when you felt your phone buzzin, you let it go to voicemail but 3 more calls followed again, you checked to see that it was Sid. “Hey babe, whats up?” you asked him “Uhmm just getting coffee with my parents, you look nice by the way” “I’m in uniform so I don’t know how ni---wait how do you know?” you said as you looked to your left towards the tables “Your other side baby” Sid said as he chuckled You turned and sure enough there was Sid with his family Oh SHIT this wasn’t how I was supposed to meet them Act cool Sid walked towards you as his parents followed behind “Hi baby, these are my parents” he said ecstatically as he gave you a kiss “Hi! It’s nice to meet you guys!!” you said as you got up to greet Trina, Taylor and Troy. “We’ve been dying to meet you, see who the great woman is” said Trina as she gave you a hug “All he does is talk about you haha” teased his sister as she hugged you too, causin Sid to glare at her a bit. “Hello Mr. Crosby” you said as you extended your hand to Troy. He stared at you for a bit, you almost thought he wasn’t goin to like you, until he brought you in for a hug as well “Well if it isn’t my future daughter-in-law I hope!” he said joyfully “Sid, honey, she’s stunning!” his mom added as Sid blushed “Pleasure to meet you guys, this is my partner Jake” “Hey y’all, it’s nice to meet you!” Jake said as he got up to greet them as well, “y’all are welcome to sit here” You guys sat down on one table and continued to talk “So how’s work going?” Sid asked “Not too bad, few calls but mostly minor events” you said “I can’t believe Sid’s dating a cop” added Taylor, “she can pretty much kick anyone’s ass, including yours Sid haahha” “Oh sure she can” he replied sarcastically “Sure looks like it since you talk to them a lot about me right baby” you said sassily “Whatever” he said givin up You guys enjoyed each other’s company for about 15 more mins since you and Jake had to go back to work You said your goodbyes as you guys got out into the patrol vehicle, Sid givin you a kiss and hug and wishin you to be safe. “Don’t forget about dinner baby” he reminded you “I won’t haha, 7 right?” ​​​ You had to admit, you were pretty exhausted from travelin and goin back to work early, time however was flyin for you. You got into the shower as soon as you got home and got ready for dinner. You wore a red sundress with your cowboy boots, you did your makeup naturally and curled your hair in loose waves. Meetin Sid’s parents earlier helped you calm your nerves a bit but you were a bit nervous of what they would ask you or if they’d change their mind about you. Jake helped you stay calm as he talked to you about the New Year’s day party that you guys were plannin at your home, he shared some pretty big news “So I know it’s soon, but I’m goin to propose to Leila at our party, is that okay?” He had taken you ring shoppin to get some opinions on what Leila would like so you knew he was goin to propose, you just didn’t know when. “Jake I think that’s perfect, we’re goin to decorate the house very well plus all of us are basically goin to be there, includin your family” you said eagerly, “I’m so happy for you Jake, don’t forget about us other people though ahah” you said as you heard the doorbell ring “Well soon enough, I won’t be the only one engaged, that is if Leila says yes” he said nervously “She’d be dumb not to, but Sid and I are not there yet, see you later Jake” you said as you headed towards the door Sid picked you up in his truck as he said that his parents and sister were on there way to the restaurant from shoppin at the mall. “You look beautiful (Y/N)” he said as he put his hand on your knee, rubbin his thumb softly “Thanks babe, so do you, well not beautiful er--- handsome, you know what I mean haha” As you guys arrived you saw that Sid’s family arrived at the same time as well, Taylor complimented you on your outfit and sat next to you and Sid at the table. Troy was excited to talk to you about your job and what kinds of things or people you had encountered so far. He was really interested in what you did as a living, Trina felt the same way but was more concerned than ever too. “Honey, how are you not scared of what you do?” she asked curiously “I am sometimes but I mostly think that I am better than that person who is out to get other people who are innocent, for me it’s not about bein scared, more about doin what’s right to protect others” “My my my, I hope Sid never lets go of you” Trina shared, puttin her hand over yours. You guys enjoyed an amazin dinner, which went way better than you thought it would. You were lookin forward to gettin to know Sid’s family more over the course of the New Year’s party and hopefully for the rest of your life.​​

[whisplion]

All the numbers 😚

Of course you would mada haha

0. 5'21. Yes2. 6 or 61/23. No4. Don’t particularly care for it5. No6. 14, 15, 167. Yes8. I’d like some more9. Ears10. No more11. Not really I have close friends in real life and everyone here I talk to pretty close friends so.12. Single since ever

13. Mm good sense of humor, good cook, likes to have fun and I’m not really the partying type, but i lobe someone to cuddle with.

14. Someone who is full of themselves, someone who isn’t respectful.15. Ahhhh hard to say between Harry Potter and the goblet of fire and the lion king.

16. Come talk to me I don’t bite much ;), enjoy my writing and edits, freak out over how beautiful our children are.

17. I miss my friend she died in a car accident back in 2015. I still miss her :/

18. When i was 7 i fell through a Sheetrock ceiling in my attic i fractured the back of my skull and blow out my right eardrum the doctor said me blowing out my eardrum saved my life.

19. I’m a pretty easy going person but i have a bad temper at times.

20. That I’m not always the most confident person.

21. That i am a kind person and I’m not afraid to be myself anymore.

22. A author of books

23. I have omen brother and our relationship is pretty good we may bicker but he’s there for me and I am for him.

24. I love my parents even if they fight a lot.

25. Just hanging out and doing nothing.

26. Obnoxious people, when I want quite and people are noisy, people flicking me or blowing in my ear.

27. He is a bit taller than, he has short blonde curly hair, blue eyes and he’s on the track and field team. His major is wildlife biology god! I want him.

28. Blonde hair, brown eyes, perfect and a real class bitch

29. Didn’t want to hurt there feelings

30. My job sucks i love the residents but my manager is a asshat. School i just don’t like my college in general I’m transferring.

31. Sorry i cant I’m busy all week, I’m lucky I can even come to work tomorrow.

32. Being called a bitch or retarded

33. You’re pretty, her hair is beautiful, your smile is beautiful, I’m a kind person., your writing is amazing, you’re killing me (i love torturing people) whyyyyy.

34. Their intelligence, strength, confidence, hair, smile.

35. There good with kids, animals, they are a good person, tattoos piercings, (abs :p) I’m not picking though, a kind person, good sense of humor.

36. California

37. My smile (i had such horrible teeth growing up)

38. Be a vet

39. Chocolate everything

40. I’d want to Harry Styles so I could look at myself naked ;)

41. At home

42. A brownie yum

43. Harry Styles, Natsu Dragneel, Chris Hemsworth

44. They put honey in golf balls

[thrashermaxey]

Weekend power rankings: What we know and what we don’t heading into the season’s final week

One​ week to go,​ and​ the​ picture​ is​ starting​ to come​ into focus.

Let’s start​ with what we​ know.​ Ten teams have​​ already clinched playoff spots and Dallas, Pittsburgh and Toronto are all close enough that it would take an epic collapse for any of them to miss. We also know that the Lightning have won the Presidents’ Trophy and will have home ice throughout the playoffs, that the Flames will be the top seed in the West and that the Sharks will host the Golden Knights in the other Pacific matchup. Toronto and Boston are close enough to a sure thing in the Atlantic, almost certainly with Boston having home ice, that we can go ahead and call it a done deal.

That leaves one wildcard spot in the West and two in the East. That Western slot looks like it will come down to the Coyotes and Avalanche; we can’t quite write off the Wild but after yesterday’s loss it’s getting close and the Blackhawks and Oilers are mathematically alive but would both need a miracle.

Colorado owns a one-point lead on Arizona with the ROW tie-breaker still up for grabs and has a game in hand that they’ll use tonight in a tough one in St. Louis. After that, the two teams have remarkably similar schedules the rest of the way, with both teams hosting Winnipeg and a bad team (Edmonton for the Avs, the Kings for the Coyotes) and also visiting one of the Pacific contenders (San Jose for Colorado and Vegas for Arizona).

In the East, it’s down to Montreal chasing Columbus and Carolina, with all three teams having three games left. The Blue Jackets are in the best shape, holding a one-point lead on the Hurricanes and two on the Canadiens along with the ROW tie-breaker and they’ve heated up at exactly the right time to the tune of five straight wins. Carolina still controls their own destiny and has a workable schedule, facing the struggling Leafs tomorrow and then closing with the Devils and Flyers. Montreal has the toughest hill to climb, facing the Lightning, Capitals and Leafs, although all three of those teams might not have much to play for. Still, Montreal needs some help.

(Hey Montreal fans, would now be a good time to point out that the Habs are on pace for a playoff miss despite being 14th overall, ahead of all the Western wildcard contenders and even the Golden Knights too? No? OK, forget I brought it up.)

We’re also still waiting to see who’ll win the Metro, where the Caps have control, and the Central, where the Jets and Predators have slowed down enough to let the Blues back into the picture. And there’s still the Art Ross and Rocket Richard to figure out, although Nikita Kucherov and Alexander Ovechkin, respectively, are close to locking those up.

While we might be close to having all this sorted out, we are still staring down what could be a dramatic week. With that, let’s move onto the rankings. The top five is pretty straightforward this week and I’m sure you’ll agree with my picks. Haha, April Fools.

Road to the Cup

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards a summer of keg stands and fountain pool parties.

Last week, I made the call to move the Golden Knights into the top five, dropping San Jose out for the first time in ten weeks. My reward was watching the Knights lose four straight this week, including Saturday’s showdown with those same Sharks. Thanks, guys.

The Knights are back out, opening a spot for someone else. But who? Not the Sharks, who haven’t won in regulation is three weeks, got smoked at home by the Flames last night and couldn’t even beat Vegas without also doing stuff like this. It’s certainly not the Predators, who’ve lost more than they’ve won since the first week of February or the Leafs, who lost to the Senators yet again. Maybe it’s the Blues, who continue to roll along and still have a shot at winning the Central. Or maybe it’s the Islanders, who somewhat quietly have more points than anyone else in this paragraph.

But when in doubt, we’ll play it safe by replacing the Knights with a new team that isn’t all that new. You’ll find them down in the four-slot, once we get past yet another struggling contender …

5. Winnipeg Jets (45-29-4, +29 true goals differential*) – Needless to say, I don’t feel great about this pick. The Jets have the edge in the Central race, with a game in hand on the Predators, a two-point lead on the Blues and (probably) control of the tie-breaker. That all puts them in a good position to draw a very winnable matchup with a wildcard team.

But they’ve also looked shaky down the stretch with the Central title there for the taking, including three losses this week. There are all sorts of warning lights blinking on the Jets’ dashboard and I’m not convinced that they’re a better team than the Islanders or even the Blues right now. But they are in position to earn a better playoff path, and when you’re trying to measure Cup odds, that matters a lot.

4. Washington Capitals (47-24-8, +30) – The Capitals move back into the top five, thanks to winning four straight and looking like they’re going to hold off the Islanders for the Metro title. Getting a wildcard opponent in the first round isn’t as much of an advantage as it is out west – they’ll probably get a very good Hurricanes team, or a very hot Blue Jackets one and could even end up with the Penguins. But it helps, and after Saturday’s impressive win over Tampa, we’ll slot the Capitals in even though not everyone is buying what they’re selling.

>> Read the full post at The Athletic

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from All About Sports http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2019/04/weekend-power-rankings-what-we-know-and.html

[manateeinaustralia-blog]

I didn’t die in the Outback!

Lots of surviving to get to the thriving 

Hello! So the day before I left for this trip I had my third field trip and we went to the wildlife sanctuary to do our ropes course. It was really cool because we learned to clip ourselves into each part of the course so we were free to go on without guides and then we were up in the trees doing ziplines and rickety ass swing steps and stuff. The coolest part was a long zipline over the kangaroos and crocodiles in the park. 

Okay so Kelsey and I honestly had no idea what the itinerary for the Outback trip was because #fuckStudentFlights but we had the general info we needed. So Friday morning we were up at 3 am to go to the airport and take a 6 AM flight to Sydney then flew to Ayer’s Rock airport. We got off the plane in Ayer’s Rock and it was Africa hot. We found our tour group and got on the bus and everyone looked like death and I was like okay great start! (Found out later they had been driving for hours and were up at 4:30). We got to the Cultural Center and started to realize they aren’t kidding when they say the outback is the land of 10 billion flies. Back on the bus and we get to know our tour guide, Tahnee. She’s maybe 24 years old and Australian. She is so cool and fun and has been a tour guide for this company for a year and a half but wants to do something new so is just picking up and moving to Cambodia to tour guide. But we were her last tour and so she said “Guys I’m gonna change up the itinerary a little bit to make it as awesome as possible for you and me. Just trust me.” So I’m like okay Tahnee let’s go girl. We had 23 people in our bus and everyone was awesome. Two from Australia (including Tahnee’s best friend Mel who came for her last tour), some Swiss, Italian, German, Danish, British, Chinese, and Kelsey and me from the US. 

So our first hike on Friday was in the middle of the day and it was HOT. Also Kelsey and I had been up for a long time so it was rough. We hiked at Uluru, which is a sacred spot for the Aboriginal people. However, tourists always choose to climb it despite all the signs asking them not to. It is offensive to the Aboriginal people, destroys the rock, and ruins the surrounding ecosystem. It’s very steep and people were dying falling off so part of it has a chain people can hang onto even though they don’t want people climbing. But in an effort to get people to stop, the nearest help that will come get you is several hours away. But good news!! I just found out today that climbing will officially be banned at Uluru in two years! So then on our hike we saw the men’s and women’s caves and heard Aboriginal legends. Then Kelsey and I survived a sandstorm no biggie then this girl Julia just faints. And we were like ah shit here we go dehydration why you do this. She was okay but like honestly I was close to faking fainting so this hike would stop. Thanks for taking one for the team Julia! 

Then we drove to watch the sun set on Uluru from another spot and our tour group had bought booze before they picked us up from the airport so Tati and Flo (the most wonderful German couple ever) gave me some white wine. But since we hadn’t eaten in 7 hours and I was dehydrated I was like woah am I drunk? I kinda was.  

Sunset at Uluru

Then we went to our campsite and everyone ate chicken stirfry like animals cause we were ravenous then we set up our swags. So turns out a swag is not what I posted earlier. It’s basically a boxy sleeping bag with a little pad mattress inside and a sleeping bag goes into it and you zip yourself into it. Your head is exposed and Kelsey and I were like so if something comes out of the grass right there and kills us, we’re already zipped into our body bags so it will be convenient to get us out of here! Also the campsite over was having a rager and as I was trying to fall asleep on the ground, under the beautiful Milky Way galaxy, in the outback, preparing to get eaten by dingos, listening to Nelly’s ‘Hot in Herre’, I was just like “What is my life right now?” 

The next morning we were up at 3:45 AM for the sunrise but it was okay because Tahnee had her speaker on to wake us up and I woke up under the stars to ‘Here comes the sun’. Much better than my iphone alarm. We went to a spot where you can see Uluru and Kata Tjata (pronounced Kat-ah Jar-a) and I got some beautiful photos

Then we went to our hike at Kata Tjata and it was a lot better because we did it in the morning despite it being harder terrain. You had to really watch your footing and at one part it was basically an 80 degree incline wall you had to just run up and we all did it then turned around and saw a 70ish year old women take it like a champ and I was like oh cool same. But again the gain was worth the pain. 

After our hike, we lowkey were stranded on the road for like two hours cause we were waiting on someone to meet up with us and give us more fuel. We got some oranges and I was like SWEET MANNA FROM HEAVEN. 

Then we stopped at a pool and swam and ate lunch then were back on the road to go to our campsite cause it was about a 5 hour drive. On the way, Tahnee pulled over once for us to look at a salt lake: 

And another time to collect firewood. So she pulls over and again we are in bumfuck middle of the desert and she goes “Okay so we’re gonna grab some firewood. Here’s what you do if you see a snake and it looks like it’s gonna attack. (tells us). Okay let’s go.”

Kelsey and I looked at each other and just burst out laughing like okay what. But yeah we did it anyways cause ya know we needed firewood but this was my reaction to the snake warning 

That night we learned to make damper, which is Australian bread with no set recipe, learned a fun Australian song and dance, and then Tahnee told us about the next day’s hike. So she says it’s at King’s Canyon and we’re gonna get to the top of it for sunrise so we’re getting up at 3AM again and I’m like yeah old news. Then she said she can’t let us go if we don’t have at least 3 liters of water because people straight up die of dehydration and she can lose her job if a ranger sees we aren’t drinking enough. It’s about a 3.5 hour hike and the second half has no shade. Then she says we have to stay at least 2 meters from the edge of the canyon at all times because the rock is really weak and people die all the time because they fall into the canyon and help can’t come for like 12 hours. Finally, she says to get to the top of King’s canyon, we have to climb Heart Attack hill...there’s a defibrillator at the top. Wow thanks Tahnee!! So excited for tomorrow!!! But she really has to tell everyone those things because it can be really dangerous and she would feel awful if anything happened to us. That night I fell asleep under the most beautiful sky again, saw 2 shooting stars, and listened to her friend play acoustic guitar. 

The next morning, we climbed Heart Attack hill. In the dark. The rest of the hike seemed like a breeze even though it was rough terrain. But of course Tahnee was right, the view of sunrise at the top of King’s canyon was worth it. 

Gotta risk it to get the biscuit!

Inside the Garden of Eden (bottom of the Canyon)

When we were finished, it was only 8:30 AM and after some more driving, we arrived at our lunch spot where we saw more warning signs about snakes. Everywhere we went were warning signs about dehydration, dingos, snakes, bees coming out of faucets?, and other scary shit. Along the drive I saw some wild horses and then we went to a camel farm!! So the government pays people to kill camels but this guy brings them to his farm and they give people a one minute ride maybe once a week so they’re in a much better space. He also rehabilitates wild kangaroos that have been hit by cars then releases them back into the wild. Weirdly, this place sells camel burgers and I was like ummmmmm...guess I’ll just ignore that?

Camels are really tall!

With hiking and driving, we covered about 932 miles this weekend. That night we went to our hostels in Alice Springs. The tour was technically over, but Tahnee invited us out to dinner to say goodbye. I really liked everyone in my tour group and we all added each other on Facebook so I’m like haha let me stay at your houses when I visit please! Overall, the outback definitely kicked our asses but everything was so worth it. 10/10 would recommend. 

Signing off xoxo