#I climbed rooftop to get this photo lol

[soriplvzu]

Meryl Stryfe — Trigun Stampede [2023]

[chaosintheavenue]

A very common experience when Trinning/Vectoring with Sibling A. Also titled 'How the hell did you get up there?'. A good amount of his own Vector photos are just her perched on rooftops, and he made a prolonged and valiant attempt at climbing Valiant-1 for me in Quantum World once. In fact, that's what Vector was up to when I took my current header photo, so I can't guarantee that she's not visible somewhere in that image lol.

In lore, Trin is comfortable with heights and is usually reeelatively happy to undertake parkour, but I guess Vector has completely taken that comfort to the extreme.

[itsmeevie01]

A Moment in Time-Ch 5

I'm back! lots of things to come, and a slightly longer, Tim centered, chapter! and...the build-up to the Timari subplot! 

Yay!

 I know that is what everyone is actually here for lol.

Tim was tired of looking for Jason.

He wasn’t at any of his normal safe houses, and none of his usual contacts had heard from him in the last few weeks. Three weeks after the ridiculous scandal had broken, the press had all but forgotten Tim for the time being. As he ducked through alleyways, the teen couldn’t help but be thankful as he climbed back on his bike and sped back towards Wayne Manor.

He was done waiting for his brother to show up. There was something sketchy going on in their city, and if Jason wasn’t going to show up, then it was no longer his concern.

When he got home, Tim found Bruce waiting for him in the study looking over the side gardens. The older C.E.O.’s face was grim.

When Tim approached the desk, Bruce handed him a stack of papers. As Tim started to page through them, he had a flashback to when Jared Stone had brought the pile of tabloids.

As he flipped through the new stack, Tim realized that it was Jason’s credit card statement. And-was that…? “did he buy a ticket for Paris? Why didn’t we get notified about his passport passing through customs? Why is Jason in France of all places?” when he looks back at his adoptive father, the man’s face was grim.

“I don’t know, Tim. But we sure as hell are going to find out. Go to his apartment. I know you have a key. We need to see if he left anything out from before he left.” Bruce paused before adding, “he’s been gone for two weeks. There has to be a reason.” Tim nodded as he moved to stride from the room before Alfred spoke, shocking both Bruce and Tim.

“Maser Bruce, did you by chance call Master Jason? Last I remember, his cell phone was still working.” The father and son froze, before turning to the family Butler, slack-jawed.

“We really are stupid.”

 Damian didn’t see anything wrong with Todd being gone. It was quieter around the Manor and it meant that the 13-year-old was allowed to patrol through Crime Alley by himself, something none of his predecessors had been able to do at his age.

As the young teen flew over the city, his mind raced. He found this the most relaxing part of his time with his father.

At the manor, there was always something going on and there was always someone looking over his shoulder. Here, as he went rooftop to rooftop, arching over this city, the boy was able to finally find some peace.

A sound over his earpiece broke Robin from his quiet elation. “Robin, how are you doing? Is everything clear?” oracle’s voice filtered through, bringing him to relax. Oracle he could handle.

“it’s a regular night, Oracle. A few of the regulars. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“perfect. Finish up and head back, B wants you back before 2 because you have school tomorrow.”

The annoyed “Tch” that came down the line made the redhead laugh from where she sat at the computer.

 Tim had texted Jason before he had left for patrol. When he got back, there was a response waiting for him.

Jason: in Paris. I’ll be back soonish

Tim: Jay, what’s soonish?

Tim: there’s a situation we need your help with.

Jason: kid, I'll be back when I can.

Jason: if B cares, tell him Gina kidnapped me. I’m staying with her right now.

Jason: otherwise, just wait. It's personal business.

Tim: Jay, we are your family. Doesn’t that make it our business too?

Jason: in this case, no. fuck off, replacement

Tim: See you when you get back Jay

 The teen sighed. It was just like Jason to try and handle everything himself. This time, Tim couldn’t play interference either, he was stuck across an ocean. He just hoped this Gina person wasn’t as impulsive as his older brother. If she was, they would all be in trouble.

 As he made his way to his room, having showered and gotten himself ready for the next day, Tim paused by his desk.

He had taken the time to compile a file on the girl from a few weeks ago but hadn’t read it yet. He knew that if he was to read it, it would be violating her privacy, but he did that every day, so was this any different? To Tim, the only difference was that this girl wasn’t someone to watch or take in. she was just a normal girl with a normal life, who had run into him for a split second.

It wasn’t like he was going to meet her, right?

The teen shook his head and flopped onto his bed. It wasn’t worth it tonight. He could have the moral debate with himself when he was properly rested.

 Maybe he should have called in sick. Tim was definitely finding a way to leave early, as he looked at the list of meetings that he had been scheduled for.

Why had he agreed to this again? He could have sworn that he had told his assistant that Wednesday was his day to go home and work on his college classes. Instead, Tim had a feeling that he was going to be at the office late.

On his off night too.

 Partway through the day, he noticed an email that he didn’t recognize in his personal inbox. The inbox that he probably shouldn’t have been checking on the company computer but…

After a moment of hesitation, the young C.E.O. had clicked on the new email and blinked at what pulled up.

  From: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

To: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

Mr. Drake,

My name is Marinette Dupain Cheng. I believe that we ran into each other quite literally a month and a half ago, approximately. As I am sure that you have at least seen the fictitious stories floating through the media, I assume that you are aware of the interaction that I am referring to.

Originally, I had no intention of reaching out, but a friend of mine encouraged me to reach out. (had actually was the one to give me your email. Does the name Jason Todd ring a bell?) I do hope that this whole press fiasco hasn’t hindered you too terribly.

Kindest Regards,

Marinette Dupain Cheng

 Tim blinked once before rereading the short email that the girl had sent. No. no way. She knew Jason? And what did she mean, Jason was the one to encourage her to reach out? Opening up a new draft, Tim hesitated before flicking his wrists to rid himself of tension and trying his reply.

 From: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

To: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

Miss Dupain Cheng,

I was surprised to receive your email, but it seems that it came at a fortunate time. Yes, I do know Jason Todd. I know him quite well, actually. He and I were adopted by the same man, Bruce Wayne. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you meet my brother?

I must apologize, for the whole scandal from last month. I know that neither of us were directly responsible, but I do feel bad for any trouble it may have caused you. If it is not too much of an intrusion, I might also ask, how were you able to respond so quickly? The only reason I knew about the incident was Bruce’s old friend Jared. The man came into my office in a fit about the nerve of the photographer.

(if you ever meet the man, you will understand what I mean when I say that he never does things halfway. He had picked up a copy of every magazine or tabloid that ran a story about it. When he came in, he actually brought his crocodile as well. Fang scared the lobby staff more than anything has for the past bit, I believe.)

I hope this finds you well,

Timothy Drake Wayne

 After reading through his email one more time to make sure it sounded professional enough, Tim hit the send button and let out a deep breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that this was the start of something important.

Suddenly, Tim was very glad he hadn’t read the girl’s file.

 As he was preparing to head to yet another meeting later that afternoon, Tim glanced at his personal email again. To his surprise, the teen was met with another email from the French girl.

 From: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

To: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

Mr. Drake (or is it Drake Wayne?)

Jason was sitting next to me when I opened your last email. Imagine my surprise when he panicked. Apparently, he had decided against informing any of his family of his departure. I must say, his reaction was quite entertaining.

Onto your question from your email, Penny Rolling, a good friend of mine, dropped off a box full of the tabloid trash that her husband, Jagged had shipped to her as soon as she got it. After my initial reaction, the two of us got a good laugh out of the whole situation. Especially when we heard that Jagged tried to bring Fang into your office! I guess to you, he would be Jared, but to me, he will always be my Uncle Jagged.

In other news, I thought it would be polite to pass on that Jason will be returning in the next few days. He has been fretting over a family emergency, not that he will tell me what it is but, there is only so much I can do. However, I thought it might be prudent to forewarn you that he will be bringing my grandmother back with him. Nona said it was something to do with one of his ‘side hustles’. Knowing those two, however, makes me think that Jason has gotten himself into something significantly illegal this time.

No need to apologize for something that neither of us could control! You did not ask for the photographer to take that ridiculous photo, nor did you ask for the fiction writers who work for the tabloids to write a piece of the photo. That said, I do feel that it has opened many new avenues. I know that Jason and I reconnected because of the photo, and it has given my lawyers something to focus on while we wait on proceedings for other matters.

Have a good day,

Marinette Dupain Cheng

 Jason was coming home sooner than he planned. It seemed like Tim’s text had actually gotten through to his older brother.

With a sigh, he marked the email as important so that he would remember to respond to it before he started on his homework.

The teen C.E.O. snagged his thermos of coffee on the way out the door, he had a meeting to go to.

And...there it is! this week I'm going to try and work out my posting schedule. what did everyone think of the emails?

  i know that there are a lot more people in the Wayne/bat family, so I'm going to work them in a little bit at a time. as far as Dick Grayson is concerned, btw he knows about the scandal but not about Jason's sister or that he's not in Gotham.

MasterPost

Tag List

@moonlitceleste @redscarlet95 @ultimatetornshipper @mochegato @liquid-luck-00 @maskedpainter 

@trippingovermyfeet @nathleigh @m0chick0furan @susiej1118@t1dwarrior-of-earth

[carpisuns]

What are your favorite marichat headcanons?? I need some marichat positivity today 😔

KDFJSLKFJLFJ THAT’S A MOOD RN FREN 😭

some of these are pretty basic/common but most of these are ones that i either made up just now on the spot or that i have been planning to use in fics that i may or may not ever write so this is your EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW lmao

they use a messaging app that hides their phone numbers to protect chat’s identity. he’s saved her as “princess.” she’s saved him as “kitty.”

he brings her a pink rose every time he visits because he gets them with every meal at nome and he’s like “well it’ll go to waste otherwise and marinette’s favorite color is pink sooooo...” and now she has a whole vase full of them in her room

the first time she invited him into her room he immediately went bright red and was like, “uhhhh i know i may come off as, ah, roguish? but i am REALLY not the climb-in-through-a-girl’s-window-in-the-middle-of-the-night type” and then marinette gets all blushy and awkward too and is waving her hands desperately going, “noooo that’s not what I meant at all!!” and he’s like “i know but it just doesn’t seem,,,,very gentlemanly sakjfalsd” and they’re both just blushing profusely and not making eye contact for like 4 minutes until chat mumbles, “i better go” and vaults away. plagg makes fun of him mercilessly when he gets home.

for a while after that they keep their hangouts strictly to the balcony. marinette put an extra chair out there just for him.

eventually though they move past the awkwardness because they know it’s 1000% Not Like That and they totally trust each other and plus it’s really cold outside and they’re good friends now and it’s fine

marinette sneaks down to the bakery to get treats for them all the time

sometimes they have video game tournaments, which marinette always wins, but chat always brings up the ONE time he beat her (because she fell asleep while they were playing)

they also have movie marathons. sometimes they watch the animated ladybug movie and chat always makes fun of the chat noir voice actor and marinette’s like “stop! adrien did a good job!” and chat’s like “no he didn’t i sound NOTHING like that and honestly im personally offended by this atrocious performance” (because he secretly likes hearing her defend him hehehe)

they have a secret knock for the skylight even though it’s totally unnecessary because it’s not like anyone else is ever at her window lol

sometimes he takes her out onto different rooftops just so they can enjoy the view together and talk with a change of scenery

marinette has a hidden photo album on her phone full of all the dumb selfies they take together

since marinette doesn’t know chat’s birthday, she’ll sometimes randomly given him a present for his “maybe birthday.” always something homemade and thoughtful.

one time she gives him a lucky charm like the one she gave adrien “because ladybug shouldn’t be the only one with a lucky charm! :)” chat is just overwhelmed by how thoughtful it is and he’s thinking “NOW I HAVE TWO 🥺🥺🥺” but this one’s even more special because she designed it specifically for him

she’s embarrassed to show him at first but she made a matching one for herself and that is the story of how marinette and chat noir have matching BFF charm bracelets

chat ADORES his but he can never wear it as adrien because marinette would recognize it and he can’t really wear it as a bracelet when he’s suited up bc of his weird cuff things so he hangs it from his belt instead

maybe, because it’s so important to him, and because we know that the magic of the miraculous creates a costume based on what the wearer subconsciously wants, the lucky charm becomes part of the costume. as in, whenever he’s transformed it’s already there. so that way he always has his adrien lucky charm when he’s adrien and always has his chat lucky charm when he’s chat. purrhaps :3

they get andre’s ice cream and it’s chocolate and strawberry with chocolate ears 🥺 (that’s what we decided right? haha)

the more they get to know each other the more they notice little specific things about each other.

for example, marinette notices how chat’s jokes are so stupid but they always make her smile. How even though his eyes look like a cat’s they’re also so expressive and human. His soft smile. The way his hair bounces when he shakes his head. The way he cocks his head when he’s listening. They way his voice almost sounds like a purr when he’s sleepy. how beneath all the ridiculous bravado he puts on, he’s really sweet and pretty modest. how he’s so energetic and a ton of fun to be around, but deep down he’s lonely and sad and sometimes it leaks through. how he’s the most loyal person she knows and she knows he’d do anything for her—not just as ladybug but as marinette too.

Chat notices how marinette bounces up and down when she’s excited. how she scrunches her nose up when she’s concentrating. how her bangs swoosh whenever she moves. how she’s so expressive with her face and voice and hand movements (and he loves listening to her talk). how she’s actually really cheeky and confident and can effortlessly deflect a joke right back to him. how she can figure out any puzzle she puts her mind to. how she’s even more crazy talented than he realized with designing and drawing. how she’s happy-go-lucky but also stressed and tired and worried, with a weight on her shoulders he can’t quite figure out. how she puts SO much effort into making the people she loves happy, including him—not just as adrien but as chat noir too.

sometimes they both feel a little guilty because they know more about the other person than they should and they have to pretend like they don’t know each other as well in their other personas. marinette knows that chat’s favorite color is orange, but ladybug doesn’t. chat knows that marinette hates tomatoes, but adrien doesn’t. they have to be careful not to let anything slip that they shouldn’t know and sometimes it stresses them out and they wonder if getting this close and blending the two sides of their lives together was a good idea after all. but they always arrive back at the conclusion that their friendship is one of the best things they have and they wouldn’t trade it for anything.

one night they’re on the balcony just sitting in comfortable silence. she’s leaning her head on his shoulder. “marinette,” he whispers, “I think you’re my best friend.” she doesn’t answer for a while. he thinks she’s fallen asleep. but then ... “I think you’re my best friend too.” and then, after a pause, “don’t tell alya.”

ok im out of ideas now but thanks for the ask! (sorry it ended up being so long lskfdjajks) that was fun!! :3 i love this ship sm and i love thinking of these little possibilities and tidbits because we’ll never get to see any of it on the show CRY

[adorethedistance]

Chapter 6: Best Friends’ Rooftop Rendezvous - JJ Maybank x Reader

Photo credits: I made the aesthetic but if any of the images are you content which you do not consent to me reposting like this, message me and I will take it down!

Warnings: swearing, bombs, mentions of anxiety, minor combat.

Words: 1398

Previously in Part 5: Shifting gears to focus on making the documentary about JJ was a smart plan that had unfortunately come to a brief stop seeing as JJ needs your help more than ever right now. He shows up to your window beaten and on the verge of death claiming he has nowhere else to go and expects you to be emotionally okay with that? If only he knew just how fast your heart beats when watching old videos. How fast it beats when you see that he looks at you as if you were the one to hang the stars in the sky.

A/n: it’s 1 AM. If that’s not an improvement, Idk what is lol.

“Hey, Y/n?... Y/n?”

“Hm?” I groan without opening my eyes. I’m exhausted but I’m not sleepy, quite the opposite actually. My mind is constantly moving at 1000 miles per hour, and JJ showing up tonight fueled the restlessness.

“I can’t sleep.”

“Me neither.” JJ and I sigh in unison as the silence of my apartment consumes us once again. Between the two of us, the only sounds to be heard are my erratic breathing and JJ’s rustling of the blankets. Gasping in a huge breath, I exhale on a ‘sigh’ that’s dramatic enough to be used on an Italian soap opera.

“Come on,” I fling the covers off of my legs and walk over to my closet to grab a pair of sneakers that I can slip on quickly.

“Where are we going?”

“Come on!” JJ obliges and grabs a hoodie I stole as well as a pair of black low top Vans. The tips of my fingers are greeted by the crisp evening breeze as they slide under the base of the window. Using all the arm strength I can muster at almost 2 AM, I open the window about half way before slipping between the crack. I look back to make sure JJ is following me onto the fire escape and begin to climb the last few flights of stairs to reach the rooftop.

The cool metal of the railing chills my hands more than the air of Queens; it is the sight of the city lights from the rooftop that chills my entire body. The nerves in my hands and legs seize slightly to warn me against standing near the edge, and I puff out a small breath to soothe them.

“Woah,” I hear JJ whisper. Turning a full 180, JJ’s eyes connect with mine and the unexpected contact makes both of us smile. Our exchange only lasts a brief moment as I break away, awkwardly, unable to withstand another moment of JJ studying me so intently.

“So, uh, what are your plans for formal?”

“Is it winter formal already?”

“Yeah idiot, it’s already November. What are your plans?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I thought we were all just gonna go together as a group. I mean I know things are different now that Sarah and John B are together, but we’re all still one group, right?”

“Right.”

“Were you planning on something different?” I ask JJ sincerely. He’s fidgeting uncomfortably and refusing to meet my eyes. “JJ?” he doesn’t respond. Instead, he spins to face me squarely.

“Do you hope to get out of here one day?”

“What?”

“Do you want to leave New York ever?”

“I don’t know…” It’s my turn to refuse eye contact but JJ isn’t having it; he places his index finger under my chin and tilts my face up to see his. “Of course I want to leave the city at some point but indefinitely? I’m not sure… Why? Do you?”

“I think… I think Spiderman gave me a way to feel like I could get out of here if I wanted to, so I don’t feel the need to leave.”

I don’t give a real response. Just a sort of hum of acknowledgement.

The city is usually pretty polluted, but tonight, JJ and I got lucky. It seems like every star that has ever been documented is out and shining in its full glory tonight. How long has it been since I’ve been stargazing? Who knew it would take JJ showing up on my fire escape to get me outside again? Granted, it’s 2 AM, but still.

“JJ?”

“Yes, love?”

“Love? That’s a new one- hey do you remember the night that we met?”

“Night? It was day.”

“...No it wasn’t...”

“Yes, it was!”

“No it was not! We met at Sarah’s back to school party in 10th grade.”

“No. We met earlier that Friday when Sarah came over to me and John B at lunch so she could invite us to her party and you came over with her.”

I open my mouth to respond, but close it immediately after. JJ continues,

“She introduced us all to each other but you were too busy avoiding eye contact and fiddling with the settings on your camera-”

“I have social anxiety, JJ!”

“Point is, we met at lunch that friday and the party was later that night to ‘celebrate surviving the first week of tenth grade’,” JJ uses air quotes as he recalls Sarah’s words verbatim.

I’m speechless once again. How does JJ remember that better than I do? Before I use my better judgement, my curiosity overtakes my verbal filter.

“Wait, why did you come over to me at the party then if you knew I was so… cringe.”

“You weren’t cringe-”

“I wouldn’t even look at you when you said hi.”

“Well…” JJ’s defensive demeanor has disappeared completely, “...it was cute.” His confession catches me off guard.

“Cute?”

“Yeah, in a ‘my instincts say protect at all costs’ kind of way.”

“Do I really give off that vibe?”

“Not anymore. You were probably just so scarred from Freshman year, you didn’t seem to think Sophomore year would be any better.”

JJ is on a roll tonight with rendering me speechless. I’ve told him about how miserable Freshman year was for me, but I hardly expect anyone to remember my name, let alone a personal fact about me.

But this is JJ.

He’s got me all figured out it seems.

“So?”

“...So?”

“Why did you come up to me at the party?”

“I don’t know, I guess I just figured after not knowing anything but your name at lunch, surely there’s more to you than the fact that you know how to work a camera.”

“So you wanted to know more about me?”

“Sure.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

“Like what?” JJ asks, crossing his arms over his broad, ripped chest. It’s not out of defense or discomfort, it’s the winter air biting at both of our underdressed forms.

“Come on, what’s the real reason, JJ?”

“I already said!”

“No you didn’t!”

“Yeah, I said because you were cute!” His aggressively sweet words force a fond smile onto my face, and I can’t help but admire how he looks. With the moonlight and city lights working in tandem to illuminate his pale, flushed face, I can see just how bright his ocean blue eyes shine in contrast with the blush dusting his cheeks. It’s in this moment, I realize just how close the two of us are standing to one another. So close, I can feel the heat radiating off of his face and onto mine.

How did I get so lucky?

“I mean… just… standing there, looking at you from across the room. I knew I wanted you to be a part of my life.” JJ’s expression mirrors mine, which is one of admiration and adoration.

His contentment is short lived. JJ’s face morphs from a look of gentleness to one of subtle alarm and unease.

“JJ?”

“SHH.”

“Wha-”

“SHH… we’re not alone...” My eyes drift from his worried expression to the hairs standing on end at the base of his neck.

A loud CLANG rattles on the rooftop with us. JJ and I look around to locate the source of the noise that made the two of us jump out of our skin.

Time seems to slow to a fraction of what it once was, as JJ and I lay eyes on the offending object at the same time. It’s a small, metal… pumpkin? The device begins beeping at a high frequency.

Once. Twice. Three times. Four.

“Maybank!”

“GOBLIN!” JJ practically growls. Standing less than 20 feet away from us is a man whose entire body is masked by hoards of green metal. The face is molded in a stagnant snarl, exposing the creature’s ridged teeth. Its ears are pointed and blend into the engorged brain case of the man’s suit.

When I turn to look at JJ, I see another one of those pumpkin things hurling towards him, but before it lands, he punts the device in mid-air. I train my eyes on the pumpkin as it goes flying back toward where it came from.

I can’t take the time to be impressed by JJ’s accuracy as he’s ushering me back toward the fire escape.

“Y/N, RUN!”

__________________________

Read the next part here.

A/n: It’s a rollercoaster from here on out y’all. In other news, I’m very excited to announce that I am uploading this fic onto Ao3 as well as on Tumblr, and I’ve made very minor edits so that the pieces are just overall higher quality. If you want to read them on there with the chapter titles and small edits I’d really appreciate the views and the kudos on there. I’ve never used Ao3 before and I’m very excited to be using it. I’m also very excited for what’s to come bc I’m gonna lean in to a bunch of different fic tropes that I love and it’ll be glorious.

Taglist: @jellyfishbeansontoast​ @swervavery​ @wh0reforharry @merismind​ @danicarosaline​ @o-b-x​ @beautyandthebleh​ @harrysbaby​ @sexualparkour​ @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar​ @sovuckie​ @obxmxybxnk​ @lovelymaybankk​ @rockyyc77​ @obxlife​ @cece-lives-here​ @obx-beach​ @ilymarkchan​ @yeehaw87​ @lopineapples​  @sspidermanss​ @poguestyleskye​ @jj-maybank-stan​ @socialwriter​

[greennct]

valentines day | jaehyun

okay i tried something different again!! its in four parts but im quite happy w how it turned out so enjoy i guess! i lov jung jaehyun w all my heart so here u go hee hee 💞💖💘

(3.8k words, big oops, fluff with a tiny big of angst but y’all know it’s basically just fluff lol)

song rec: the luckiest by ben folds / samson by regina spektor (i couldn’t choose)

The first Valentine’s Day you spent with Jaehyun, you had never seen him before. You were depressed, single, and being reluctantly dragged to a party full of other partnerless people desperate to shit on the holiday by your coworker Yuta. Despite your furious protesting-quickly-turned-begging, Yuta was relentlessly adamant in his desire to bring you along to his friend’s flat.

The evening went exactly as you thought it would. The apartment was tiny, and after about an hour, half the people there were either hooking up with whoever they could find, or moping over their singleness with the cheap wine. To his credit, Yuta had stayed by for side for about ten minutes, before promptly abandoning you after catching sight of a young boy he told you was called Sicheng. You hadn’t seen him since.

Sighing, you decided that you had given up on having a remotely nice time, and after swiping a bottle of the red, climbed out of the window onto the fire escape. You settled down, leaning against the brick wall, resigned to waiting out here until Yuta eventually turned up to take you home.

“Care to share?” A voice came out of the darkness.

You jumped out of your skin. Hand on heart in a feeble attempt to slow it’s erratic beating, you turned to discover your rooftop recluse was not as private as you had previously thought. A boy sat opposite you, a little to your right, leaning against the railings preventing drunk partygoers from falling off of the building.

You immediately retracted your thoughts about the evening being a waste of time, because damn, he was gorgeous. Light brown hair spilling onto his forehead, huge, sparkling eyes, ridiculously well-proportioned bone structure, quiet smirk as he looked you up and down the way he knew you were looking at him.

“You scared me half to death!”

He chuckled at your exclamation, and you felt yourself melt a little.

“Not my fault if you don't see what’s right in front of you. I’m Jaehyun.” He outstretched his hand in order to shake yours.

You placed the wine bottle in his empty palm instead of your own hand, and told him your name. "This party sucks.”

He laughed. “Sorry about that.”

“Its your party?” Of course you had managed to completely fuck up any chance with the cute boy practically seconds after meeting him. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Nah, it’s fine.” He brushed off your faux pas with a good-natured grin. “I thought it would be a good idea to invite everyone over on my birthday, but it looks like people are more worried about their love lives to really care about all that.”

“It’s your birthday?!” Shitshitshitshitshit. “Oh God, I’m definitely going to Hell.”

You could see that whilst he was still smiling at your attempt at a joke, there was a trace of hurt behind his eyes. You decided to do something you’d never done before.

“Well, look. We can’t have the birthday boy alone on his special day! You got a car?”

He nodded, confused. “Why would we need my car?”

“Cause we’re gonna ditch this place. C’mon,” you said, standing up and brushing off your jeans. “Any fast food places around here?”

Inviting Jaehyun to go get food at around eleven at night was not one of the most thought-out decisions you had ever made, probably prompted by the half-bottle of wine you had drunk, and your giddiness at his appearance, but it was unequivocally one of the best. The first Valentine’s Day you spent with him consisted of the two of you progressively getting more and more tipsy parked in the McDonald’s driving lot. Sure, you guys didn’t have the most meaningful of conversations, and at times it was practically incoherent, with the two of you yelling over one another, or laughing so hard your stomachs hurt. But looking back, you know your friendship wouldn’t have been the same without that drunken evening of pure mirth and hope.

-

The second Valentine’s Day you spent with Jaehyun, you were substantially more nervous than you had been the previous year. He had invited you over to marathon what he described as “Some of the best worst romance films of all time,” to celebrate both his birthday, and the holiday at the same time.

Usually, you wouldn’t bat an eyelid at Jaehyun inviting you to his place. Over the past year, you two had grown close with each other, easily finding common ground with him, since you shared the same taste in music and sense of humour, and it wasn’t long before he became one of your best friends.

However, there was one tiny problem. The faint fluttering feeling you had felt in your stomach that first Valentine’s Day with Jaehyun, had never really gone away. In fact, with each day you learnt more about the boy, it pretty much doubled in size, until you found yourself unable to look him directly in the eyes when he smiled, scared you would blurt out a messy confession.

Because that was the other thing. The main reason you liked Jaehyun so much, was how well the two of you fit together. He was the person you went to first when anything happened in your life, texted first when you woke up, sent all your best memes to, called up at three in the morning to talk about nothing and everything with. If you told him how you really felt, and instead of pulling you into his arms as you often fantasied, Jaehyun instead turned his back on you, you weren’t sure what you would do. You could barely remember what your life had been like without Jaehyun in it, and you knew you would do anything to avoid the circumstance.

So when Jaehyun asked you to watch romantic movies with him on Valentine’s Day, you were hesitant to agree. You knew he didn’t think anything of the invitation, simply wanting to spend time with his best friend on his birthday. So even though it hurt a little, you agreed to join him, convincing yourself that you just needed to be supportive, since the 14th of February was all about him, and stop focusing so much on your stupid emotions.

So that Valentine’s Day, you turned up at Jaehyun’s door, armed with a crate of beer, a wrapped present, and about a kilo of assorted snacks, absolutely prepared to shove your feelings underneath a truck, and completely focus on making your best friend’s day as special as possible. Unfortunately, Jaehyun had other ideas. For some reason, that evening, he was behaving weirdly.

Firstly, there was his reaction to your present. His entire face lit up when he ripped open the packaging to see what you had given him. In order to keep your gift affectionate but platonic, you had opted for a bright yellow hoodie you knew he had been eyeing for the past few months, and a framed photo of the two of you taken the previous month. He scooped you up in a bone crushing hug, immediately tugging off his jumper to don the hoodie, and placing the frame in the centre of his tiny mantlepiece. You tried not to blush too heavily.

Strangest of all, though, was the way he started inching across the sofa towards you during the first movie. Throughout your entire friendship, the both of you had always kept an awkward, but pointed physical distance between yourselves. Jaehyun never threw his arm around your shoulder, or hugged you when the two of you met, like some of your other guy friends did, instead opting for light shoulder punches and hair ruffles. However, that Valentine’s Day, Jaehyun subtly rested his head on your shoulder. As the evening progressed, he got closer and closer to you. By the time the third film had ended, Jaehyun’s head was in your lap, as you nervously played with his hair, too infatuated to deny him from being close to you. The television screen abandoned, you simply listened to Jaehyun rambling aloud.

“He should have kissed her! I'm telling you, they could’ve had an entire relationship if he’d just taken that chance! Now she’s stuck married to some random old rich guy and he’s mad about it when it’s his own fault!”

You chuckled. “Maybe some things just aren’t meant to be.”

“No!” He was adamant, animating his behaviour in order to make you grin. “Some people are destined for each other! Jack and Rose, Romeo and Juliet-”

“Yeah, and both of those relationships ended really happily didn’t they.” You teased sarcastically.

“I don’t care what you think, I believe in true love.”

“Really?” You were surprised. Jaehyun and you had never really talked about your love lives with each other, so when he suddenly changed the topic, it shocked you slightly. “Like, soulmate shit?”

“One hundred percent.”

“Wait, so you think there’s someone out there perfect for you? Isn't that a little depressing? What if you never find them?”

Jaehyun giggled a little. He sat up on the couch. He took your chin in his hand and pressed his lips to yours, slowly, gently, tentatively.

“I already have.”

The second Valentine’s Day you spent with Jaehyun was an eye-opener to say the least. The evening spilled into morning, you and him sprawled on the couch, gushing out your confessions, laughing at your reluctance to ever say anything to each other about your feelings, and of course, kissing. Lots of kissing. Looking back at the day as the start of your relationship, you always felt you had lucked out with the confession. 

Sure, Jaehyun hadn’t filled your apartment with roses, or serenaded you with his guitar in some public place, however, you always felt that the way he had asked you out, when he knew he was ready, in the most casual, honest and vulnerable way possible, that it was infinitely more perfect than any grand, materialistic gesture he could’ve made. He simply told you he was yours, and everything fell into place.

-

The third Valentine’s Day with Jaehyun, you dreaded like none you had before. Because you knew that this Valentine’s Day, was going to be the last one you ever spent with him.

The past year had been nothing but bliss. Jaehyun was everything you could have asked for in a boyfriend; sweet, selfless, generous. However, there was one thing that you could never let go of. One tiny detail that wormed its way into your mind lying next to him at night, that twisted your stomach slightly every time he kissed you.

Jaehyun had never told you he loved you.

As the first few months of your relationship progressed, you had tried to put the point out of your mind. You reasoned that he was still a such a relaxed person, he had honestly probably forgot all about the milestone. You only really started to worry when the six month mark hit, and as each day passed, your anxiety about the fact grew stronger and stronger. You knew you loved Jaehyun, you had from pretty much day one of your relationship, however, you simply couldn’t bring yourself to tell him, afraid he might rebuff your declaration, claiming the two of you to simply be casual, an impermanent tryst, until he found the someone he actually wanted to get serious with.

So this Valentine’s Day, you had had enough. You invited him to your flat, ordered his favourite comfort food, and steeled yourself for the decision you were about to make. Yes, you knew it was a dick move to break up with Jaehyun on his birthday, especially since it fell on such a significant holiday for couples, however, you were going away for the next month on a trip with your friends, and knew you couldn’t keep him hanging on a string for too long. The sooner you ended the relationship, the sooner he would get over it, the better it would be for the both of you.

A knock on your door. Three raps, then a fourth a half-second later than the rest: Jaehyun’s signature. You took a deep breath, running your hand through your hair, and plastering a smile onto your empty features before opening the door.

“Hi, Jaehyun.”

“Hey, babe! Happy Valentine’s Day!”

“Happy Birthday!” You tried to match his bouncy energy, however the weight pressing down on your shoulders with the knowledge of what you were about to do, put a significant damper on your mood.

The two of you sat down at your kitchen table. You chose to sit opposite Jaehyun, instead of cuddled to the side the way you usually did, shrugging away his confused expression with an awkward smile.

You gave him your present, feeling it would be rude not to at least acknowledge the fact that it was his birthday, after all.

“Socks?! Er... thanks, doll.”

You avoided Jaehyun’s surprised gaze. You had tried to find something as impersonal as possible, figuring it was best to leave him with a parting gift that he wouldn’t need to associate with an ex-lover.

“No problem, Jaehyun.”

The two of you ate your meal with dwindling conversation. Jaehyun had started your conversation animatedly, asking you endless questions about the details of your week. As your answers became more and more monosyllabic, he eventually gave up, leaving the silence to hang over the both of you as you finished your meal. You almost choked on one of your fries. Everything tasted of sandpaper.

It didn’t take long before Jaehyun started to question your new demeanour. “Baby, can I ask...” He paused, frowning slightly. “Is everything okay?”

“Okay?!” You practically squeaked. “Y-yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know, I just...” Another gap. “You seem different.”

You sighed heavily. The jig was up. If you were going to break up with him, you figured now was as good a time as any.

“Jae, we need to talk.”

To your surprise, he immediately agreed with you. “We do. I need to tell you something. I’ve been meaning to for a while.”

“Oh.” You blinked, suddenly unsure of yourself. In all the possible outcomes of the evening you had imagined, Jaehyun turning the tables, and actually breaking up with you himself, was not one you had anticipated. “Well, you first then.”

“No, no, you.” Polite as ever, he looked at you attentively.

“I really don’t mind if you go first, I...” You trailed off. There was a few seconds of silence before both of you blurted out your sentences at the exact same time.

“I think we should break up.”

“I love you.”

Another pause as you two stared each other down in disbelief. Then you both similtaneously shouted; “What?!”

“You’re breaking up with me?” Jaehyun’s voice cracked, forehead furrowed as he searched your face desperately for a sign you weren't serious.

“You love me?” You whispered, almost to yourself. “You love me.” You repeated, finally looking up at him. “You love me!” You practically launched yourself across the table, leaping into his chest.

For the first time in your life, Jaehyun held you at arms length.

“What’s going on? Is this why you’ve been so weird this evening? You’re- You want to-”

“No, no!” You gushed, euphoric over your new discovery. “I thought you didn’t love me, so I knew we had to break up, because I love you so much, but now it turns out you love me too, so now we don’t ever have to be apart!”

Jaehyun scoffed, eyes wide, incredulous expression betraying his disbelief at your irrational logic.

“You were going to break up with me because you thought I didn’t love you! After this whole year of me dropping everything to go see you, bringing you your favourite foods at all hours of the night, literally driving two hours at three in the morning that one time when you lost your keys to go pick you up, and you didn’t think I loved you?”

“Well, you never said it!” You protested. “Most couples would’ve told each other they were in love months ago!”

“Babe, I knew I loved you from pretty much week three! I just wanted to tell you on our anniversary, so that it was special!”

“Why would you wait so long?! You’ve had me so worried for half the damn year!”

“This is the stupidest thing we’ve ever fought about, I think.” Jaehyun chuckled, eyes full of mirth, and you felt your insides unfreeze for the first time in months, realising that all was forgiven as he pulled you into his chest.

The third Valentine’s Day you spent with Jaehyun was on your kitchen floor, waiting for the cookies the two of you had made to celebrate the continuation of your relationship to finish baking in your oven, whilst he wiped the tears of relief off of your cheeks.

“I can’t believe you were going to break up with me on my birthday.” He teased.

“I’m going away tomorrow! I couldn’t’ve had it hanging over me.” You argued.

“And socks? Really? You thought it was a good idea to buy me socks for my present?”

“Shut up!” You retaliated, though you were laughing with him. “I thought it was... impersonal, okay?”

“Impersonal? Impersonal?!” He repeated, swinging you from side to side slightly, wrapped securely into his torso. “Impersonal suggests I actually have a personality, and since you hate me so much, that goes against your argument, does it not?”

“I love you.” You said, leaning your head backwards to place a kiss onto his smirk.

“I love you, too.”

The third Valentine’s Day you spent with Jaehyun was certainly the most dramatic, but most importantly, it wasn't the last, and that meant more to you than any of your other Valentine’s Days combined.

-

The fourth Valentine’s Day you spent with Jaehyun, you almost forgot about how important the day was. Your three-year anniversary, not to mention your boyfriend’s birthday ended up coinciding with the day the two of you moved in together, so most of the time you spent with Jaehyun consisted of the two of you directing movers with your furniture, and feverishly unpacking all your kitchenware, terrified to find a chip on one of the plates.

By the time the two of you could finally take a break, you found it was already evening. You had ordered his favourite takeaway, and shoved a candle into the middle of a cupcake, before carrying it out to your new bedroom, where he lay on your mattress, looking up from his phone when he heard you singing softly.

“Happy birthday to you~”

He smiled brightly, eyes crinkling as he looked up at you in delight.

“Quick, make a wish!” You told him, bending down to hold the cupcake at his lips in order for him to blow the candle out.

He closed his eyes tightly, and complied with your instructions. You brought out the rest of the food, laying it out on the duvet, as you settled down next to him. Your bed-frame hadn’t arrived yet, so the two of you were left sleeping on a mattress on the floor until next week. Leaning against the wall, you looked out of the huge window opposite your bed, admiring the view of the city from up so high.

“You know, I still can’t really believe this.” You remarked softly, once you and Jaehyun were just cuddling, empty takeaway boxes abandoned on your floor.

“Believe what?” He replied.

“I don’t know, everything. I’m yours, and you’re mine. The fact we get to live here. How I managed to find someone as amazing as you.”

You could feel Jaehyun beaming. “God, I love you. You know that, right?”

It was your turn to grin. “I love you, too, dork.”

The two of you were silent for a while, content in listening to the sounds of the nightlife below you and each others breathing.

“Marry me.” Jaehyun said.

“What?” You sat up, turning around sharply, furiously searching for the twinkle in his eye that singled he was playing a joke on you.

He was unnervingly calm, staring at you with a steady gaze.

“I said, marry me.” He repeated.

“This is a joke. You’re trying to get me all excited and then tell me you're kidding.”

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.” You could feel joy bubbling up through your stomach, threatening to spill at any moment.

Jaehyun leaned over the side of the mattress, searching through his coat until he pulled out a small box. Handing it over to you, unceremoniously, he scratched the back of his neck nervously, a small flush beginning to form on his cheeks.

“I’ve been carrying it around for weeks. I was gonna do it next week, when we go out for a proper meal, but I figured it just felt right to do it now.”

Hands shaking slightly, your fingers prised the box open. You inhaled quietly.

“It’s beautiful,” you managed, sliding it onto your left hand.

“So, that’s a yes?” Jaehyun asked.

You looked up at him, eyes shining. “Of course it’s a yes, idiot!"

He grinned back at you, “You’re my whole world. I hope you know that.”

You didn’t say anything back, just leaned in to kiss him again. When you pulled away, you realised that the both of you had tears in your eyes.

The fourth Valentine’s Day you spent with Jaehyun, was undeniably the best one yet. It was the one where you realised that from now on, every Valentine’s Day, for the rest of your life would be spent with him. The mere thought of such a long and illustrious future ahead of you shared with the one person you loved most in the world was euphoric.

Throughout the years, retelling the story of your relationship to friends and family, you’d always remember it through those four Valentine’s Days. Jaehyun and your ups and downs, the good and the bad. You knew he wouldn't trade them for anything, because you wouldn’t either.

[collapseddominos]

Pro hero spotted on rooftop night watch. Sleep soundly without fear! . I love how half the time getting the perfect shot means climbing onto something stupid. This ledge had a pretty steep drop so I felt like a brave hero up there lol. What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve done for a photo op? . 📸: @ Contacts: @uniqso use discount code REMYDOMINO for your own! Wig: @ardawigs Vivian in black . . . #aizawacosplay #bnha #bokunoheroacademia #bnhacosplay #bokunoheroacademiacosplay #mha #myheroacademia #mhacosplay #myheroacademiacosplay #eraserhead #aizawashouta #aizawa #eraserheadcosplay #aizawashoutacosplay #prohero https://www.instagram.com/p/B7oqGE-DGl_/?igshid=8mpqq8bsthx2

[strcwberryfields]

RHIASSANDRA: 😍 | 🥴 | 😟 | [text] You climbed the fence and then started crying because you were scared of hamsters, I really don’t know what you took, but you need a babysitter. | [text] Like alphabetically, I’d say a t?

😍 : a loving text

[rhiannon]: i'm looking at the photos from our little rooftop photoshoot and wowwowowowoww 🤩🤩🤩

[rhiannon]: you're the most beautiful girl in the entire world

[rhiannon]: sometimes i can't believe you're actually mine and i love you so so sooooo much it makes little hearts float all around my head and i'm gonna kiss you all over when you get home later

🥴 : a drunk text

[rhiannon]: i;m in anf uber on thghe wajy home

[rhiannon]: the dtate was so fnd fuckdi fuckign borrrign sod

[rhiannon]: so i edrank ftoo mfuch vdka nad he had to SEnD dmeE ho me LOL

[rhiannon]: iad reather be wioth you anyawy

[rhiannon]: djykou know how muech ithink about yo u.?so mch

😟 : a worried text

[rhiannon]: hi i know today is a really rough day for you with the anniversary

[rhiannon]: and i'm really worried that you haven't gotten out of bed yet so please let me know if there's anything i can do for you

[rhiannon]: anything at all seriously. can i bring you some water and something to eat at least?

[text] You climbed the fence and then started crying because you were scared of hamsters, I really don’t know what you took, but you need a babysitter.

[rhiannon]: i took a pb&j sandwich with shroomies heheh

[rhiannon]: i am scared of hamsters after the hamster i had when i lived with r*se turned into a little demon and bit me every time i picked him up (still convinced she hexed him) so that checks

[rhiannon]: perhaps should have given a warning before you walked in on that 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[text] Like alphabetically, I’d say a t?

[rhiannon]: i would say he was more of a w

[rhiannon]: but hey you're the one that brought him home last night so clearly you saw something good in there no judgement :)

[purplesurveys]

1091

survey by ohsh1t2wksl8

Lasts!

Who

Who was the last person you got into an argument with? What was it about? My mom. We rarely get into arguments anymore so I was surprised when she made a comment the other day that was snippy enough to provoke me. She has a unique ability to make me feel insecure over just about everything, and last Saturday it was about my spelling abilities in the 7th grade.

Who was the last person you spoke on the phone with? What was the call regarding? My last call was with a client who has a tendency to micromanage :/ He called to ask me to accomplish a task, which was a little bothersome because all interactions with our clients ideally should be seen by everyone in my team, i.e. my manager and my director for visibility. Anyway, in the end I just let my bosses know that he called to ask me to do something for him.

Who was the last person that slept in your bed? Are they a lover or a friend? Gabie is the only other person who has slept in my bed, I think. She is neither. 

I still get stunned whenever I type something like that up...thinking about how I practically grew up doing surveys, and how she was in nearly every survey I’ve taken since day one, and now she doesn’t play a single role in my life, it’s just super surreal to take in and I don’t think that feeling will ever go away. 

Who was the last person to give you a hug or a kiss? Did you return the sentiment? My dad gave me a casual hug when it was time for him to go upstairs for bed. He just put his arm around my back while I was sitting on the couch, so I wasn’t in the proper position to return it.

Who was the last person to give you a gift? What was the gift? What holiday was it for, or was it “just because”? Erm, idk if it counts as a gift but Andi lent me their vape pen for the foreseeable future, haha. They know how much I like vaping and how it relaxes me; and since they don’t do it as much as I do (unless they lied for my sake), they lent theirs to me. It was a “just because” gift, which I appreciated.

Who is the person that you last went to for advice? Angelaaaa, earlier today. I’ve been in contact with a potential supplier for work purposes, and I had to do some negotiating in my last email. I have zero knowledge and experience in negotiations, so I didn’t know if I worded my email right, or if I insulted the supplier, etc lol so I immediately went to Anj after to check my email and to let me know if it sounded okay.

Who was the last person to say “I love you” to you? What significance does this person have in your life? My mom. I’m not super close with her and I haven’t replied to her with “I love you too,” since I was like maybe 14 or 15 due to the incredibly strained relationship we’ve had for the majority of my life; but she is my mom so she still holds a level of significance. I’m just not sure how much I’m willing to do or sacrifice for her.

Who was the last person that you spoke with, in person? Also my mom. She was asking where a certain local mountain was located because a friend of hers had recently climbed said mountain.

Who was the last person to request you on a social media network - and did you accept? It’s this middle-aged guy who I share a good number of mutual friends with. I figured he’s probably a professor or someone in media since all our mutual friends are either students and professors in my college, buuut I’ve personally never heard of him before so I ignored the request.

Who was the last person you texted or messaged, and what was it in regards to? Justine, my former co-intern. My company stopped taking in interns at the start of the year, but for some reason there’s this one girl intern that they’ve kept having around so we’re all trying to figure out why they kicked out Justine and the other co-interns but retained this one girl who still logs in her attendance every day, lol.

Who was the last person’s vehicle that you rode in? My dad’s, but I haven’t been on it since Christmas. I’ve been in a car more recently than that but it’s always my car.

Who was the last person to make you laugh or smile, and why? I’ll be breaking the rules quite a bit for this question, because it was Cooper. Earlier he kept barking at some dog he saw outside but whenever Nina asked him to “Shake,” he paused his barking to reach out his paw, without fail, and then proceeded to bark until he was asked to “Shake” again, hahaha.

Who was the last person that you took a photo with? Not sure, I think it was Andi.

Who is the last person that you flirted with? Were you successful? I don’t flirt.

Who was the last person to pay you a compliment, and what did they say? I honestly don’t remember. I’m sure I receive them more often than I think I do; I just do a horrible job keeping track of them. The last one I remember getting was my director saying I did a great job with a press release I had to work on in a rush last Friday, since the client had only placed super minor revisions on the material.

Who’s the last person that you visited in the hospital? I’ve never had to visit anyone in the hospital.

Who is the last person that you lent money to? Not a person but I will sometimes pay for things on my company’s behalf at first - since PR entails a lot of buying a lot of crap - and then ask to have the amount reimbursed right after.

What

What was the last food that you ate? My dad made some kind of Chinese-style, stir-fry thing with loads of chicken and vegetables for dinner earlier. Idk, he likes to combine things in the fridge. As usual, it ended up tasting delightful.

What was the last beverage that you drank? Coffee. As much as possible I hate drinking coffee in the evening since I don’t like being unable to fall asleep; but I had been craving a cup all day. I made one at around 7 PM but made sure I had the whole cup down by 8:30ish, so that the caffeine can subside sooner.

What did the last pair of footwear that you wore look like? They were just boring, blue flip-flops I wore out earlier when I walked Cooper.

What was the last color of pen that you used? I think it was blue.

What was your last thought before falling sleep last night? Nothing, man. I zonked out last night. I closed my eyes at 9 PM in the living room while my family was still around and the next thing I knew it was 12 AM with the whole first floor empty.

What was the last television show you watched? Friends. Been watching a lot of it recently, because I’ve been stressed a lot recently.

What was the last board or card game that you played? Trivial Pursuit or Pictionary; I can’t remember.

What was the last kind of bread that you ate? It was just regular toast. My mom made pasta last Sunday so she toasted up some bread to accompany the dish.

What color is the last shirt you wore? The one I wore before my current top? It was yellow with silver wording.

What was the last electronic that you plugged in to charge? My laptop. Though I really have to plug in my phone since it’s been on 3% for a good while now.

What’s is the last thing that you Googled? Mt. Pulag, since that’s the aforementioned mountain my mom was asking about earlier. I know of the mountain but wasn’t sure where exactly it is, so I had to Google it for her.

What’s the last concert you attended? Paramore.

What’s the last sporting event that you attended/watched? A volleyball game between the UP and Ateneo women’s teams.

What was the last app that you downloaded to your phone? A logo quiz game loooooool, what a throwback. I was looking for phone apps to download last Friday; and apparently logo quizzes still rank pretty high under the Trivia category, so I downloaded one to revisit the fun.

What was the last video game that you played? Mario Kart 8.

What’s the last computer game that you played? Some suuuper fucking old computer game I played as a kid called Magic Ball. During the first few months of the pandemic my memory started to torture me about a ball game I used to play on my dad’s old laptop but whose title I couldn’t remember, so on one day I spent a few hours trying to track it down. When I finally saw the right game, I downloaded a free trial (because you still had to buy the game 15 years later lol) and savored the 30 minutes re-experiencing my childhood.

What’s the last injury you had? The usual scratch from Cooper.

What’s the last holiday or event (baby shower, graduation, etc) that just passed? Christmas. But the next one would be my dad’s 50th birthday which we’ll be celebrating this weekend.

When

When was the last time that you took a painkiller, and what did you take it for? Around a month ago for a headache (which is my only reason for taking painkillers, anyway). I’d keep taking more but we’ve run out and my parents haven’t restocked it yet, partly because I know they know how reliant I get on them to get rid of my headaches.

When was the last time you went to the bathroom? Earlier this evening. My dad tripped while carrying Cooper’s food bowl filled with his dinner meal, so a lot of the rice spilled onto the floor. I helped him out and since the food was a bit sticky and wet, I had to go wash my hands in the bathroom afterwards.

When was the last time that you listened to music? Do you remember what the most recent song was? Also earlier this evening, just before dinner. I was working out on the rooftop and needed music to keep me company; anyway, the last song that played was Beyoncé’s Countdown.

When was your last work shift? Today. I work every weekday from 9 AM to 6 PM.

When is the last time that you had trouble falling asleep? Last Thursday, I think.

When is the last time you saw your parents? 15 minutes ago.

When was the last time you saw a significant other? When they were still my significant other? September. As an ex? Late November.

When was your last year of schooling/education? 2020 so yeah, didn’t get a graduation after four years of busting my ass in college.

When was the last time you took a shower? This morning. I want to take one again tonight, but I’m a little lazyyy.

When was the last time you did anything sexual that went beyond kissing? September.

When was the last time that you did your laundry? I don’t do my own.

When was the last time you had to use public transportation, and what form was it? LOL, like 2017 maybe? Or 2018. Idk, I never use the public transportation in this stinkhole of a country. I used a train to go to Manila, but that was during a dead hour so the train wasn’t crowded and hot like it normally would be.

When’s the last time that you were sick? What was wrong? May. I had a UTI and it disguised itself as a nasty fever that lasted about a week. Didn’t even run into any issues with my urinary tract or anything in that region at all.

When was the last time that you hung out with friends/acquaintances? Virtually, two Saturdays ago. In person, two Fridays ago though that was only with one person.

When was the last funeral you attended? Who passed away? I’ve never attended a funeral, but the last wake I went to was Nacho’s, in September 2019.

When was the last wedding that you attended? Who got married? LMAOOOOOOO. 2007. My mom’s youngest brother and my now-aunt. I’m just waiting for one of my friends to get married now.

When’s the last time that you took a risk? What was the risk? Is stepping away from my ex a risk? I did it over the Christmas season...idk, my mind just had a very sudden shift overnight and I immediately went from seeking to keep in contact with her everyday to not giving even a quarter of a shit and starting to want to live life on my own terms. I certainly think it was pretty bold of me and I’ll always be proud of myself for making such a big step.

When’s the last time you mailed something handwritten? I’ve never mailed anything, period.

When’s the last time you got a haircut? I can’t remember if it was late Feb or early March of last year.

When’s the last time that you went swimming? August 2019.

Where

Where was the last place you drove to, and what did you do there? I went to the new-ish Starbucks at Katip Extension just because I needed new scenery but still be in my comfort zone, which to me will always be Starbucks. I went there supposedly to chill and take a few surveys, but my Viber suddenly got bombarded with work-related messages and for the rest of my time there I was feeling a little stressed and I wasn’t able to finish a single survey.

Where was the last place that you went on vacation to? Tagaytay and Cavite. We’ll be going back to Tagaytay again this weekend, so yay.

Where was the last restaurant you ordered food from? If coffee shops count, Starbucks. If they don’t, I had food from this local Japanese place called Omakase delivered to our house last Saturday.

Where was the last place that you went on a date? Lmfao it was Yabu from like March last year. I won’t be having dates any time soon either, but I’m no longer salty about it.

Where was the last place that you went shopping at? H&M.

Where was the last place you got lost? Somewhere in QC near Tomas Morato, because I had been trying to look for the office of this company who arranged a job interview with me. This isn’t to sound salty because I’m definitely not, but I’m glad I didn’t get a follow-up anything from that company because their office is actually a house (a very nice house, but still a house) and when I was there I failed to get any I’m-finally-a-working-girl-in-a-big-city vibes from it - which to me is important especially at this stage in my life since I’m now finally a full-fledged adult who just gained a deeper level of independence. I aimed to work somewhere that really feels like a legit office/workspace, which my current employer would be able to provide me under normal circumstances.

Where’s the last place that you walked to? My room. I came from the living room a half hour ago.

Where did you last have sex? My bed.

Where was the last place you left your keys? Dining table, as always.

Where’s the last place you got drunk? My room.

Where’s the last place you embarrassed yourself in public? How did you do this? At the parking lot of the aforementioned Starbucks. I was handing my parking ticket to the guard keeping watch of the cars going in and out, and he told me to take care driving, to which I replied, “You too.”

Why

Why did you last cry? I hadn’t cried in a good while and needed a release. Also, because I was in Katip. It was a place I shared with Gab for many years and a place where a lot of fond memories - that I am now forced to shelve to the very back of my head - were made. It was surreal to hang out there and drive in the very same roads I used to take with her, now alone, and everything got overwhelming fairly quickly so I allowed myself to pull over at an isolated spot in our village to let myself cry everything out for a few minutes.

Why did your last relationship fail? She feared commitment and the relationship was becoming too much of a burden for her. Also tbh, all the red flags she had been exhibiting finally came to a head and finally reached a point where they were impossible to resolve. For six years I couldn’t directly talk about marriage, kids, and even my own coming out to my family with her and it was like...what are we even doing anymore? Anyway the tl;dr version of it was that I was apparently becoming a lot of weight to her so she bounced.

Why did you leave your last job? I’ve never left a job.

How

How long has it been since you last visited a doctor? How about a dentist? A doctor, 8 months. A dentist, a year and a month.

How long does gum usually last when you chew it? 10 seconds.

How long can you last in bed? Longer than I’d want to. Being ace, for the most part I run into trouble trying to last, so I’ve always felt bad for my partner about it.

How long did your food last get microwaved for? A minute is my default setting.

How many pages was the last book that you read? Around 225 pages.

How big was the last fish you caught? I’ve never gone fishing.

How long was the last movie you watched? I can’t remember and I can’t be bothered to look up that movie at the moment because it continues to make me sad today.

How long was your last relationship? 4 years. Technically 6 since we had that on-off thing in 2015/2016. 

How much did your last grocery bill come to? I don’t do the groceries.

How difficult was your last exam? I remember thinking it was fairly easy but that I definitely would not be getting a 1.00 haha. There was an essay question that I completely failed to review for so I had to bullshit that part. Anyway, the lockdown started like a week later so my final grade never ended up mattering anymore.

Randoms

Did you always get picked last in gym class? We never did picks in PE.

Do you believe that nice guys finish last? Idk.

Can true love really last forever? Sure, but it’s not for everyone.

Give me the first initial of your last name? C.

Something you wait until the last minute to do? Work. I have this certain kind of email that I receive everyday that I immediately have to work on once it’s in my inbox, and I get it at 7:55 AM. I will only get out of bed by 7:54.59.

Have you made your last will and testament? I have one tucked away somewhere in this laptop but I remember making a very conscious effort to hide it in some obscure, hidden folder so that I don’t come back to it often. It seems to have worked because I don’t even remember where it is or what I named it as.

Something in your home that’s on it’s last leg(s)? The electric fan we have in our dining room.

Give us some famous last words! "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!" has always been fascinating to me. Sad, but fascinating.

[ohsh1t2wksl8]

[verbjectives]

microscope, photo album, lightning, parachute, & shooting star for valko!

this is also super long lol

microscope: zoom in – describe the little, insignificant details about an OC.

the bags under his eyes are less noticeable than they were at the beginning of the campaign

his hair is brown, but if you look closely at his temples and beard, you can see some strands of gray growing in there

whenever he gets antsy or impatient, he feels the need to do something with his hands.

photo album: describe one of your OCs’ favorite memories.

i always use olga the cow and his time in the mountains as a kid for these types of answers so let’s switch it up shall we?

he’s 15/16 years old and he and grisha had survived their first full year as official members of the winslow city thieves guild after completing their training. scheduling had just worked out so that he didn’t have a shift anywhere after midnight, so he spent it relaxing and playing cards/dice with other members. it’s maybe 3am when grisha stops by and pulls him away from the game with a crooked smile and a promise of a surprise. valko follows, and he’s led through the winding thieves tunnels until they surface somewhere in the silent wealthy district. the two make their way through the winding streets, sticking to the shadows, before grisha stops at a particularly tall building and begins to climb. valko does the same. he reaches the top to find a sort of rooftop garden that has a view overlooking most of the city. grisha sits down at the eastern ledge of the rooftop. valko moves to sit beside him. grisha digs into his bag, which he had been extra careful not to jostle too much on the climb up, and pulls out a dagger and a bottle of very old, very expensive wine. he shoots a grin and asks if valko wants to do the honors. valko takes the dagger and uncorks the bottle. and they spend the rest of the night there on that rooftop garden.

there were no birthday celebrations in the thieves guild….but sitting outside with his best friend and a bottle of fine wine between them, watching the sun rise…that was the closest thing to it. 

lightning: who’s the most impulsive character? and who is their impulse control?

valko generally veers on the more impulsive side, particularly when engaging verbally with someone/thing that can easily overpower him…..he’s got a mouth on him….as the campaign has gone on i do think he’s gotten better at restraining his actions….particularly after the Incident 2.0™ since he knows that pretty much everything he does is going to be scrutinized. but even then he’s still acted pretty impulsively in certain situations. 

and ovak and eryk are the team’s impulse control

parachute: already answered

shooting star: if your OC(s) could have one wish what would it be?

“may my friends and family live long, happy, financially stable lives, and be free of any burdens i may have brought upon them.”

[realtalk-princeton]

Ideas for stuff to do on/near campus with visiting boyfriend next weekend? Planning on showing him around campus, checking out restaurants on Nassau, maybe going to the football game... Great with just relaxing together too, but could use a couple more ideas. Also thought about taking a Saturday day trip to NYC, worth it/recommendations (neither of us has ever been)?

Response from Princess Mia:

Oh God okay I am the queen of this stuff so brace yourself for this...

Things to do in Princeton: Pinot’s Palette (wine and sip), college night (or not college night lol) at Colonial Bowling, kayaking or canoeing at the place on the towpath, Escape the Room, go out together, make your own Sangria at D’Espana, photo shoot, go for a walk to the grad college and climb the tower, if he’s coming with a car go to the jersey shore because it’s awesome and it’s a pain to get there without a car (on a related note highly recommend Coney Waffle if you happen to go to that area), movie at the Garden Theater, introduce him to your friends 

Things to do in NYC: Whitney, Met, Moma, Guggenheim, Highline, DUMBO, cat cafe, Sugar Factory (Nick and I love this place hehe), rooftop pool, DO, Black Tap, get TKTS or TodayTix tickets for a Broadway show, Smorgasburg, Chelsea Market, Times Square if you want to be a super cliche tourist but like it’s a must for your first time in the city, Top of the Rock for #views, Museum of Sex, NYC Ballet (student tickets), NY Phil (student rush tickets), Met, donut-making class at the Brooklyn Kitchen, Central Park, Smalls Jazz Club, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, take the Staten Island ferry to see the statue of liberty at sunset, also Clinton Hall Beer Garden is fucking awesome and is my favorite restaurant in all of NYC 

[dakotahiggins-blog1]

It’s ALL that and much more. Underground nightlife scenes will blow your mind and ruin your entire next day (lol). Berlin is so many things wrapped up into one city, and the only way I can adequately describe it is this: it’s anything but mainstream. What’s “in” is actually “out” here. The WWII history and rise/fall of the Wall not only materializes museum after museum but complexities and pieces left for Berliners to pick up. Any attempt to put a label on the city becomes futile because it chooses to be defined by its complexities and contradictions – not by beauty, wealth, or industry. And I absolutely love that.

Population of Berlin: 3.5 million

Language: German

Currency: Euro

Climate: Cold winters, hot summers, mild autumn and spring

Getting Around

Jump Bikes – Highly recommend these electric bikes by Uber…even in a dress

U-Bahn – The underground railway in Berlin is fast, cheap and pretty decent as far as pubic transportation systems go

Uber – Available all over Berlin!

Foodies

Silo Coffee – Ethically sourced specialty coffee house in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg with bomb poached eggs and avo toast (above)…however next time I’m ordering the oven baked pancake due to massive food envy from the table next door.

Roamers – Set in the Neukolln neighborhood, this cozy space has a DECADENT chai tea latte and avo toast offering

W-Der Imbiss – In the heavy foot-traffic neighborhood of Mitte lies an Indian food spot that’ll satisfy all of your taste-bud needs. Order the Tasters Menu full of alllll the winners and bask in the naan glory.

POTS – Hands down my favorite dining experience in Berlin because not only was everything in copper pots as seen in the open-concept kitchen but also the food inventions were delicious (think classics with a modern twist) and the staff was crazy memorable. Many thanks to Sommelier and host Mathias Brandweiner for somehow knowing my tastebuds better than, well, me.

Boxhagener Platz Market – On Sundays, go here hungry

Lots of food stalls and clothing stalls to indulge in! I ate my body weight in foreign foods.

Markthalle Neun (Market Hall Nine) – I ADORED this place. What’s not to love about cannoli, ice cream, pizza, empanadas and Trdelník (cinnamon/sugar pastry wrapped around a stick with creme inside) all being served under one roof?! Thursday in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood stuffing your face with street food. BE THERE. More markets throughout the week as well!

.eic-frame-13274 { width: 1497px; height:1497px; background-color: border: 4px solid }.eic-frame-13274 .eic-image { border: 4px solid }

Biergartens

Cassiopeia – Nightclub by evening but an even better biergarten by day! Berlin is FULL of hidden gems around every corner – which is why lots of walking is required to find said gems (or just keep reading this post). With a rock climbing wall, biergarten and food stalls, I could spend many hours at this repurposed rail station.

Holzmarkt – SO nice we went here twice

This eclectic spot by the river is full of yummy coffee, beer (duh), lively crowds and delicious pizza. Learned here that customers pay a deposit, or Pfand surcharge, to the bar/food stall and can get it back when bottles are returned.

FUN FACT: The German Pfand system was brought into force to ensure that there was a responsible policy in place for the recycling of plastic bottles. It encourages drinks companies to supply their product in multi-use, refillable plastic or glass bottles. These can be refilled up to 25 times for the plastic variety and up to 50 times for glass which reduces the average CO2 emissions per bottle in circulation because fewer new bottles have to be manufactured. The process of washing and sterilizing these bottles is loads more environmentally friendly in terms of CO2 output than the production of single-use bottles.

Klunkerkranich – Sprawling open-air bar on top of a shopping mall garage…bringing new life to rooftop bars

Berlin, you’re so damn cool!

Urban Spree – Sometimes all you need in life is live music, German craft beer and some pretty art to enjoy. Love the vibe here in this multi-faceted, multi-leveled space!

Museums & Memorials

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe – Also known as the Holocaust Memorial, this space holds 2,711 concrete slabs of varying heights and wavelike in form. There’s a somber mood over the area with a side of uncertainty as the observer wanders through the tall slabs. Don’t miss the underground Rooms for more information from families and victims.

Topography of Terror – It’s strange that this history museum, the former site of both the Gestapo and SS headquarters, was a highlight of Berlin for me. How something entitled “Topography of Terror” where terror is so tangible could possibly make its way to the top of my list is all a bit morbid, but the amount of history and information pouring out of this place in an organized fashion is truly mind-blowing and educational.

Book Burning Memorial – I’d go ahead and assume that many people pass right by this memorial not having a clue what it all means. That, or you come upon a big crowd standing around a glass plate in the ground. The public square of Bebelplatz holds a sunken library with empty white shelves to signify the 20,000 books that went up in flames here on 10 May, 1933 at the hands of the Nazis.

Museum Island (Museumsinsel)- 1 island, 5 museums. Enough said

To-Do

Brandenburg Gate – 18th century monument in the western part of the city and historically a site for major events

Reichstag – With a war-torn past and many restorations later, this stunning building now serves as the German Parliament building

Checkpoint Charlie – Also known as Checkpoint C, this was the best known Berlin Wall crossing point between east and west Berlin. Lots of people are here taking photos of the checkpoint, but if you don’t know what it is exactly, you’ll likely walk right through!

Berlin Fernsehturm – TV tower in the center of Mitte in Berlin allowing spectators to get a 360-view of the entire city

Gendarmenmarkt – A beautiful square in Berlin with rotating markets and concerts showcasing an architectural ensemble with German and French influences

Eastside Gallery – Serving as a massive piece of history, this 4,318 ft. section of the Berlin Wall painted with murals acts as an open-air art gallery

Potsdamer Platz – Modern-day entertainment, shopping and business district with a loaded past as the Berlin Wall went through this area. Easily reached via U-Bahn.

Berlin Cathedral – A main landmark of Berlin, you can’t mistake this stunning dome for anything else! After the division of Germany, the Cathedral was in East Berlin. After many damages in WWII, the full restoration was only completed in 1993, four years after the Berlin Wall fell.

Tiergarten – Berlin’s most popular park coming in at 520 acres. Great spot for a run, some shade or a little peace and quiet.

Mauerpark – If you like flea markets, karaoke and lounging in the park with your friends – look no further. Sundays here are lots of fun, especially if you’re brave enough to belt it out while singing karaoke in front of a few hundred people

Badeschiff – Floating public swimming pool in the Spree River with a bar and views for days. Be prepared for an entry fee and mediocre service.

.eic-frame-13287 { width: 1497px; height:1497px; background-color: border: 4px solid }.eic-frame-13287 .eic-image { border: 4px solid }

Sleep

Ritz-Carlton Berlin – A grand marble staircase greeted us as we checked into the property. It’s hard to take your eyes off of it and pairs swimmingly with the recent remodel and art deco theme running throughout. Situated in Potsdamer Platz with a backyard of the Tiergarten, I hiiiighly recommend this gem!

The post What to do: The Best of Berlin, Germany appeared first on The Road Les Traveled.

[theolivechickken]

Game of Turons

May or may not be missing Filipino food at this point..

April 1

Quick day-trip to Mostar. It’s so beautiful here! We had a fresh little taste-tour of homemade and local cheeses paired with bread, paprika spread, and salami. We had the chance to try a bitter cherry drink (I thought it was pretty sweet and tasty) and also this syrupy cookie. Basically a lunch. We weren’t entirely hungry afterwards, so we grabbed a cone of gelato and sat out on the ruins of the original bridge (Stari Most) and watched as bridge jumpers collected money from tourists and took the plunge. Sugar mama Craven also needed to spend those marks, so she treated everyone to some fine souvenirs. We all got matching bracelets (yay friendship) and also got some matching copper earrings (sorry pat). I could finally see the appeal of shopping since I just had money to throw around and get rid of.

Holy hell it is hot out. A toasty 80-ish degrees. How am I going to survive when I come back home to So-Cal and Phoenix?? I used to think anything below 90 degrees was cold and now I’m perfectly warm and comfortable in 45-50 degree weather. We had an afternoon tour to learn about the history of Mostar and visit a mosque and Kajtaz house. We were also able to climb the museum tower next to Stari Most and talk to a local who had been living in Mostar at the time of the wars and helped to rebuild the new bridge despite the fact that he was held captive in the war, used as a human shield, and lost some mobility in his left arm. He was very friendly and open about his experiences.

Uno ruins friendships. We played an almost endless 2 hour game on the bus ride to Dubrovnik and the only reason we stopped (besides the fact that we were already over the game) was because the sun was going down and we couldn’t tell yellow from green anymore.

April 2

Game of thrones who?? Yeah so I still have yet to finish the show. Please no spoilers and I’m sorry that I might not be able to fully understand the settings here that were used in the show. BUT I WILL SOMEDAY.

I’m in love with Dubrovnik. I love the ocean and the sea. Basically any body of natural water. I love the fresh air and the warm sun and the salty breeze. I love the orange rooftops and the FREAKING castle in the middle of town. I love the cliffsides that are inviting us to dive into the freezing cold water.

I got wet. We went down to the rocky cliffs and I wanted to get close enough to dip my toes into the water. Welp, I did. But then the waves were excited to see me too and just whipped my legs, soaking my pants from the knees down. No worries though. There’s still enough time in the day to lie out on the rocks and let them air dry. And that’s what I did.

Please sir let me go kayaking. We still had time to kill and figured why not? It was such a challenge to figure out how to get down from the castle and streets level to the pebble beach area. We finally got down and the guy was like please don’t, I’m trying to close up shop for the day. It was 3:30pm. There’s still plenty of “day” but I guess he’s the boss of his own hours. We sat on the little pier overlooking the water and watched as the last few kayakers paddled back to shore and turned in their gear. We also saw Patrick at the top of the tower across the water! He came down to meet us at our spot. We also saw a youngish teenage boy rowing this girl to shore. Hi can I steal your boat? It was super tiny and could barely fit the two of them in it, but I tried imagining how to fit all four of us into it. We observed as he spent the next 10 minutes helping the girl out of the boat and then rowing to his parking spot, securing his boat to the ropes, and then nimbly climbing out to the pier deck. He made everything look so easy and we enjoyed playing with the idea that we’d all fall in the water or get stranded 5 minutes into rowing.

We took the world’s slowest taxi back up to the hotel, but at least he was a safe (unless driving too slow is dangerous?) driver. We changed into our swimsuits, excited to spend time in the pool at the hotel. I think it was old people hour though? I hope we didn’t disturb them too much. Our plan was to hang out in the hot tub but the water was lukewarm?? We sat in somewhat cool water and had jets attacking our limbs from every angle. Not really a grand time but definitely an interesting one. At one point, we gathered hands and prayed to the jacuzzi gods for the 2 seconds of warmth that would happen when the jets would first start up. 100% worth it for those two seconds.

April 3

I like the long bus rides- they are comfortable and prime time for introspection (#feeling inspired). Today’s extended pitstop is in Zadar. Home of the beautiful sunsets, Monument to the Sun, and Sea Organ. In the early afternoon, Patrick, Raine, Aubree, and I walked to the grocery store to pick up supplies for nutella and banana sandwiches (since there was no jelly). We also met up with Kaya and Sara and joined them at McDonald’s for lunch (fun fact: their cola weirdly tasted like bubblegum??)

We had Sara’s sparknotes cool-aunt version of a tour, which ended with us soaking up the sun, watching the rough waves roll and crash, and listening to the wondrous and unique song of the sea organ. We took a snack break to bring back pizza to eat while watching the red-dot sun set behind the voluptuous blue-purple clouds. The sun honestly seemed to slip away so quickly. Live it in the moment, folks. Sometimes it’s not worth it for the instagram. It’s worth it to be present.

We’re addicted to crazy 8 at this point and itching to head back to the hotel to connect to the wifi and destroy friendships. But first, gelato. Since it was late in the evening, our guy piled scoops into our cones.

April 4

Took a lovely nature stroll through Plitvice Lakes National Park! So many waterfalls gracefully cascading down. Such a pretty sight and I could never get tired of it. I just took my time walking through the paths, and at one point Sara encouraged us to spend 10 minutes sitting by ourselves in the sounds of nature. Blissful.

We had lunch outside and tried to not get dust blown into our food or get blown away from the strong winds. We let our food digest as we took a ride on the world’s slowest boat. It didn’t even feel like we were moving- the ride was almost too smooth.

When we arrived at Hotel Park, SaVanna’s mom (and her mom’s best friend) came out and surprised her in the lobby. We all couldn’t help but feel a little butt-hurt because 1. we were all on our periods (maybe Patrick too) and just emotional wrecks in general and 2. we hadn’t seen any of our loved ones for MONTHS and she had received a lot of love via care packages and letters from friends/family, her boyfriend visited her for spring break, and now her mom was here to surprise her for the weekend. Super happy for her but salty that we got slapped in the face with it.

Anyways, hello Ljubljana! Weird full circle. It’s like a combination of everywhere that I’ve visited. It’s got hints of Salzburg/Vienna/Budapest with its architecture, Amsterdam (with its bikes), Berlin (with it’s energy). Feels hip and fun. Had beers, burgers, and bomb conversations for dinner. Such a great time hanging out with the squad along the river and laughing about some of our most embarrassing stories. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and passed ouuuuut (rip crazy 8, maybe we’ll catch ya next time).

April 5

Ljubljana walking tour with another lovely guide! He was such a warm and welcoming soul, and he was very excited to show us around even though it was a wet and stormy day. I had an umbrella, but I still managed to get wet. Nike? More like yikes. Tried to keep my shoes dry but then the puddles continued to rise and my feet were already wet so might as well just go all out and step in the puddles. At the end of the tour, we had a river cruise, which turned into a champagne (booze) cruise courtesy of Katharina showing up to surprise Sara on her birthday :)

Had the most amazing falafel wraps in my life. Went back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Raine took a nap, but I just relaxed in the comfort of my dry, warm bed and watched youtube videos for a few hours.

Later, we ventured back out for dinner (at the same place that we visited the night before) and ended up staying out with the rest of the crew since they were at the same restaurant as us :)

April 6

Goodbye Ljubljana! At least it’s not raining today. One last stop before we return home: Postojna Cave. This cave is HUGE. We had to ride a little tram into the walkable parts of the cave, and I swear it was a 15 minute ride in a little cart on train tracks. It was jerky and weirdly close to the walls and I felt like I was going to hit my head every 10 seconds. Also got carsick on the ride, so it wasn’t the best tour of my life. Still, the caves were pretty impressive. How can rocks look like paper sometimes?? Our tour guide also had fun surprising us and at one point she went to the generator and turned off the lights and it was PITCH black. I’ve been in darkness before, but nothing compares to those few seconds in complete blackness. Everyone was talking and trying to find each other (even as we were standing next to one another to begin with) and I still felt like I was the only one in the area and everyone else was so far away.

At the end of the tour, we walked into a little cave room area where our photographs were up for sale. So that’s what those people were doing when we entered the tram entrance! They were literally all up in our faces with their flash photography and I thought they were trying to capture some famous person behind me or trying to get a picture of my face to document every individual who enters in case there’s a tragic emergency and they need evidence of who went in and didn’t come out, but turns out they were just trying to catch us as off guard as possible for the worst photos in the world lol

Back on the road again = back in my sleepyhead dreamland

We said our final goodbyes to our lovely bus driver Benny (rip cause these goodbyes were so short too). I’m gonna miss that Mr. Bean soul.

Yay for being home before the sun goes down for once! And hello spring in Salzburg! So excited to be here while the weather gods kindly bless us.

[opepin]

april: week two

10: IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. i got to wear my light jacket and my elephant “harem” style pants vivian got me from cambodia. my morning wasn’t as perfect as i wanted it to be but everything worked out. i woke up 10 minutes later than i was supposed to because i started using the fitbit’s silent alarm. i guess the vibrating doesn’t work well for me. then i found out my bracelet was knotted :( i qq’d and just wore it and actually untangled it on the train. i got to work before 9:30 am though :) i worked on videos in the morning and then charles, me, and cole went to get tenoch! they didn’t have tacos and horchata there T___T so i just got the torta with carnitas and chorizo because cole was pushing it. i didn’t get cheese because my stomach has had enough. lol. it was super salty and didn’t have enough veggies... i rated it a 6/10 and charles rated it a 7/10 LOL. cole was so disappointed in us. i had standup at 12 pm so i went back to the office, chatted for a bit, and then got on.

i got to work on a client map but i only worked on that after i finished editing my videos. these two videos were super long (lots of pauses) so they took longer. x__x; it was such a beautiful dayyyy. cole and i stopped by the cookie monstah ice cream truck and i helped cole pick out an ice cream sandwich. well, i told him to get the cinnabon cookie and reese peanut butter cup ice cream but he got vanilla ice cream. what a basic fool, ahah jk. he offered me a bite but i didn’t want to because i need to get back on my health/fitness grind. the train trolled me because the cart that stopped in front of me was completely empty and the doors were broken but then one came right after :) i snacked a bit when i got back and then did some hip hop cardio and went into the new blogilates ab video and chloe’s new full body/abs workout. i saved both of them to do again :) kevin came back earlier than expected from climbing because he kind of hurt his hand again... tsk tsk.

i showered and then de-boned and cut the fat off the pork. then i tenderized with them with the back of my knife. i watched the latest episode of ‘reign’ while doing this. kevin finished his shower so then i took a break (my neck hurt) while kevin seasoned, breaded, and fried them. then i helped with the noodles and the herbs. we had a real late dinner at like 10 pm and just sat, ate, and talked. i made kevin all of his spring rolls and the rolls we packed for lunch ;D i was like the head chef and giving him da omakase LOL. kevin cleaned as i packed the lunches and then he played soome hollow knight and i tried playing bravely default but i completely ko’d before 12 am. my fitbit says i fell asleep at 11:54 pm...ahah. i got up eventually (kevin left me to play overwatch), brushed my teeth, and then went to sleep right away on the bed. i didn’t even charge my phone. .___. idk why i was so tired...

11: i was still kinda tired when i woke up. i was surprised to wake up though. i don’t remember all of the details before my sleep though? hmm. i wore a dress today and i took my time going to work; i was still one of the first few people in the office! haha. i just worked on the map in the morning. i ate lunch and talked to kal (he came into the office to visit) and then with the 15 minutes i had before stand up, i took a walk and found the one of the few chase atms in boston LOL. it’s surprisingly close to my office! i was a bit late because i didn’t understand the card reader, the atm was small and kind of hard to find, but the walk and getting cash was worth. the rest of the evening was filled with meetings. i was actually the last person out of the office today :OOO everyone went to grab drinks at the rooftop bar at envoy and i just waited for kevin by doing some more work. lol, kevin got to the chase atm before i even left so we met outside of my building.

then we walked to the boston public market and we couldn’t help ourselves and bought some food there. we first delved into a lobster roll -- one of the best i’ve had since coming here. then we walked around and kevin told me that he never had a churro before?! so i bought use two with dipping chocolate from the taza chocolate booth. the chocolate was super bitter at first but paired so well with the churros. kevin really liked it. we walked around some more eyeing the produce, the meats, the eggs, and etc. then we stopped by red fish once more and got their fried fish sandwich because one of the guys working there suggested it, and it was delicious. we were pretty full by then so we took the train home and gamed for a bit before kevin started cooking burgers. we had a super late dinner but it was so yummy! then kevin went to play overwatch and i did my 45 minute “500″ calorie burning exercise video. my fitbit said it only burned about 300 calories and that sent me into a deep dark researching binge on it. some people say yes, it works and some think that it under calculates. meh. then i showered and watched a good amount of youtube videos in bed and slept at like 2:30 am? kevin was still gaming at this point ahah.

12: i still only got 6 hours of sleep or so but i was so awake. i made myself breakfast and went straight to recording. then i got on standup and went into another meeting and after that, ate a hamburger for lunch (still yummy -- kevin made mushrooms with gravy mmm), and then did some video editing. i got to edit a showcase video as well and uploaded that to youtube. it was a pretty quiet and chill day and i got my work done. then i got ready to head out and pick up kevin from work. we walked to a starbucks so i could pee and chilled there while waiting for the children’s museum to open up for the children’s museum grown-up event. it was so much fun! there was a mini climbing wall, we lifted ourselves up on a rope, colored, we played with bubbles, we climbed on one of the play structures, took pictures in a photo booth, and stepped in a real 100 year-old japanese house that was donated by kyoto to boston because we’re sister states?! kevin got a gin and tonic and drank on an empty stomach so i’m pretty sure he was a little tipsy. we got really hungry after the japanese house tour and got a taco for $12...because that’s what they were selling them for...haha. it was a pretty good taco though -- not worth $12.

around 9 pm, we went back home and made spring rolls for a really late dinner. then i did a quick workout before showering and ko’ing in bed. i still slept pretty late and kevin was still up gaming. he’s been binging overwatch because he hasn’t played in a really long time. it was a really tiring yet fun day <333

13: i was so tired in the morning but i got up, changed, ate breakfast, and got to work. phil was off for two days so i thought it was going to be a real chill day but i ended up getting forwarded all of the support emails and etc. i was also super tired so it was not a good combo, but i made it through. i forgot my 3ds at home T_T and cole brought his today so i was like skdfndjkgnfkj.  the rest of the day, i just worked on editing my videos. it was a long and hard process but i managed to get everything uploaded by the end of the day. yeah, i didn’t even take breaks to go bother cole and steve. x_x; however, i did eat a bit of shrimp pizza and will not do it again. i also managed to cut off just the crust of the leftover pizza and eat that as an end of the day snack. i waited for cole to finish up a phone call before heading out. i walked him to the front of south station and then walked halfway to kevin to meet up with him and also to get more steps LOL.

we got home and then kevin played overwatch and i exercised. then i showered and kevin made a ton of stir-fried veggies for dinner. we ate while watching two episodes of black mirror. we watched the white christmas one and the singer one, which is the most popular? then i played bravely default and watched youtube videos while kevin gamed. we both went to sleep before 2 am :) that’s early for us. x__x

14: it was a really productive wfh day! i was also more vocal during standup and checked in on everything. go, me, LOL. anyway, i listened to jazz the entire work day and then made sure i got up and took 250 steps whenever my fitbit reminded me. kevin was surprised at how many steps i took while i was at home. :P when kevin got home he was sooo tired for some reason??? he actually napped on and off for 3 hours. i stayed in bed with him so at some point i fell asleep too and i woke up grumpy because i was hungry haha. kevin was full because he got pizza at his happy hour. then i got mad at fitbit because of how discouraging the UI is, but i totally understand why it says over budget and then the next few hours it could say under budget now. it’s all a matter of how much you’re burning throughout the day rather than the calorie burn overall. anyway, i exercised to get my energy back. it was a bad nap because we both woke up moody ahah. kevin had a skype date with mike and brittany though so he had to wake up.

after his skype session, i apologized to him and then kevin cooked. i was full because i ate cereal before the workout and had some leftovers before i accidentally fell asleep with kevin. i ate a bit of his chives and egg with rice after my shower and then i gamed a bit and looked up stuff online. hmmm what a day. we stayed up of course because the weekend is here!

15: it was another bummy day and we feasted for breakfast. i ate some cereal, chinese broccoli, a couple of dumplings, and a plum. kevin ate dumplings with chinese broccoli and a plum and fermented veggies. x_x; i talked to my mom on the phone for about 30 minutes toooo. :) after eating, we went to the movies to get tickets to watch ‘get out’ at 10:20 pm and then went to target again to check if they have coconut milk. kevin didn’t know that target expanded to a semi-grocery store so his mind was blown when he saw that they had a very large selection of food and milk. i found my unsweetened milk there <333 we also picked up strawberries, some pretzel rolls, and some candy. we got gummy bears and these new trolli branded gummy crushers that aren’t that amazing. kevin dropped me off and he went climbing. then i looked up shoes and inserts from dr. scholls because of my current toe problems haha and then lazed around for a bit. i played some bravely default; i finally got past the beginning of eternia. then i prepped the meat for dinner.

kevin got back and then i did hip hop cardio and arms/back for the day. kevin annoyed me during my work out so we had a mini-argument about explaining things and trying not to make each other seem stupid and it all worked out. then i showered and we ate dinner while watching another episode of ‘black mirror.’ then we ate grapes for dessert and we cuddled for a bit before we headed out for the movies. ‘get out’ was such a great movie. it was the epitome of horror and comedy. kevin got scared a few times and i jumped a bit at the first scene haha. we got back and then gamed a bit more -- kevin got heated while playing hollow knight :P and then we went to sleep at 3 am.

16: it was good morning :) we actually woke up at 10:30 am even though we went to sleep around 3 am? it was a beautiful day outside. i showered in the morning because i wasn’t planning on doing any heavy exercise today and then started doing the laundry after breakfast. kevin played hollow knight while waiting for the rice to cook and then i joined him after doing internet errands and looking at some more shoes and doing some budgeting. we ate lunch and watched the latest ‘worth it’ youtube video and then we planned meals for the week and headed over to kam man. we only spent $17 and $11 of it was spent on swai (fish). we stopped by roche bros only to find out that they were closed for easter. x_x; we forgot it was easter today too, lol -- that’s why the grocery store was so empty! so we just headed to oh my tea and they got new drinks for the summer! my mom told me to stop drinking cold things so i got their latest ginger tea boba <3 it was fate. kevin got their lemon lime tea boba and it was delicious. both were super refreshing.

we headed back to the apartment and took a quick break before starting to deep clean the apartment, especially the kitchen and the living room area. x_x; it was fun cleaning with kevin though :) then we washed up and kevin started cooking the fish and some wood ear mushrooms. i took this time to play bravely default. lol. i’m currently over it because of the rest of the storyline but i must play through T^T then we ate and watched the latest episode of ‘supernatural.’ kevin went to play more overwatch and i just planned out my new workout schedule. i’m planning to split up my workout and do cardio in the morning and then cardio / pilates or whatever else when i get back from work and also try to sneak in a 10-15 minute walk during the day. i’m trying out the whole “being active throughout the day” without tiring myself out completely.  i just hate that i have to sleep earlier and wake up earlier, but i’m testing it out tomorrow to see how that is. i planned on sleeping at 11 pm but then we had to make the bed and everything so i ended up sleeping at 12 am, but nbd. it’s way better than sleeping at 2 am haha.