#I was in that kinda circle like 1.5 times and went 'never again' because it sucked me dry like a vampire just to be there

[ziracona]

Every time I see screenshots from any ‘friend’ or fandom ‘circle’ on discord or twitter, or pop into a discord I’m like in but have not actually checked in a year and never do anything in I am just so glad I’m not...doing that. Like dear god, it’s always drama and it’s always the exact same nasty, intense, vicious kinds of drama. Girl one time on the merry-go-round was enough for me to learn my lesson and stay the fuck out of that kinda environment but I see so many people get knocked down and climb right back on and get flung off and climb right back on and honestly it scares me like--how do any of you have the energy for that. How do you...mentally deal with that in a way that’s not like ‘that was fucked up. don’t want to be tangentially even related to that kind of stuff again.’ Are they okay? What causes this to happen? Is it societal trends in online behavior, user age, the inherent ease of misreading tone in text and misreading written text period? I have no idea but it’s kind of nice--like it shouldn’t be, and I do feel bad for...everyone. But also I’m always like ‘Damn at least I’m out here’ and feel better about myself. It’s like coming home super tired from a day of hard work, but you open the door to your roommate's room and see that it’s on fire and the ceiling fan is falling on their head while they try to doge so you’re like ‘Damn it might be rough but at least that’s not me.’

[gemma-lemma]

Cloudy Days - JJ Maybank x Male OC

1.5 – Stay out of the marsh

 When Parker woke the next morning, it was to a lady walking past the sofa he was crashing on. Once he realised that she didn’t just have awful taste concerning the colour of her clothing, but was actually wearing a cop’s uniform, he was suddenly wide awake and frantically scrambled to the end of the bed within 1.5 seconds, as far away from her as possible. Wide-eyed and heavy breathing he stared at her. Unimpressed she stared back, an eyebrow raised and a hand lazily on her hip.

“Do I have to be concerned about why this is your first reaction to seeing a cop?” She asked finally, voice husky, but pleasant. It reminded Parker of a home he’d never had. He shook his head slowly to get rid of the steadiness her persona seemed to emanate, and remembered that she was still a cop. He had met cops like that before, and they had been just as bad as all the others. Some even worse.

“Do I have to be concerned about you sneaking around my cousin’s house at eight in the morning?” He shot back after a quick glance towards the clock on the wall. She raised the corner of her mouth and formed her eyes into slits, as if she was saying ‘touché’.

“Your cousin’s house? That must mean you’re Big John’s nephew, am I right? Tamara’s boy.” She concluded and he nodded curtly, not really liking the idea of talking to a cop in general. Even less liking the idea of a cop knowing anything about his family. “My name is Sheriff Susan Peterkin. I need to talk to John B. Do you know where he is?”

Weighing how good of an idea it could possibly be telling her lies, Parker decided that she would go check in his room anyways and thus just nodded towards it. “He’s in his room. Fast asleep, I assume.”

She nodded and went on. Parker used the moment to go to the bathroom and get somewhat ready for the day. His shirt was completely sweaty, though, so he just shrugged it off and threw it in some corner. When he came back out, John B was already talking to Sheriff Peterkin.

“…of the things I heard, was that your Uncle Teddy, your guardian, hasn’t been in the state for three months.” Peterkin said, leaning on the wall to get a better look at a picture that hung there. John B quickly tried to clean up a little, and Parker decided to just stand back and watch the situation unfold.

“Yeah, that’s false.” He tried to save his ass, but she just lazily waved a hand at him.

“You don’t have to say anything, I know it’s true. I called the school.” She said without even looking at him. Parker studied her side profile, the way she talked and moved. She seemed jovial, and it unsettled him because it comforted him. The last jovial cop he had met had tried to get into his pants. Not very pleasant memories. He had almost gone to jail for decking him.

“They said you used to be a good student, but now you’re failing all your classes.” She said and walked over to the table, where she picked up the remainders of a joint and sniffed at them with a disgusted expression.

“No, no. It’s only one, and it’s history. The dude’s a dick. He’s out for me-“

“And I heard there was a fight on the beach yesterday.” Peterkin interrupted John B, clearly not caring about his excuses. “And a gun was involved.”

Now she looks like an angry mom, Parker thought, and immediately had to think about his own mom. He quickly pushed the memories down.

“Okay, alright. A gun? No.” John B lied, doing a miserable job at trying to convince her. He patted a hand on her shoulder and Parker had to stop and stare a moment just to admire his horrendous stupidity and balls of steel. Back at home, if you even so much as looked at a cop the wrong way, they would beat you up real good or worse. But Peterkin didn’t seem to mind as much as the cops in Jacksonville. In fact, all he got was a glare.

“Did I get in a dust-up? Yeah, but was there a gun? Pft. No. No way.” John B said.

“That’s okay. I know who it was. I’ll get to him.” Parker didn’t like the sound of that. JJ was a hothead and would most probably do something incredibly stupid. “All I’m worried about right now is making sure you’re in a safe home. And you.” She pointed a finger at Parker, who theatrically laid a hand on his chest and made a questioning expression. “I bet you’re not eighteen either. What can you tell me ‘bout your living situation?”

“Yeah, super safe. Super sound, sturdy, you know me.” John B scoffed, and Parker added: “I’m just on vacation, Lady. I’ll be gone soon one way or another.” He ignored the sting that truth gave him.

“Nah I don’t like the sound of that. I’m gonna keep an eye on you, too.” Peterkin said and eyed him sceptically.

John B quickly added: “And, Uncle T is comin’ back, so…”

“That what he told you? Well, if he’s really coming home, I think you should be allowed to stay.” Peterkin said, obviously not believing the Routledge boy. Parker couldn’t help but wonder why she would do that.

“Thank you.” John B said in a duh-tone.

“But if I stick my neck out for you, you have to help me. Tit for tat.” Peterkin said, and immediately summoned a picture of another Jacksonville PD detective in Parker’s head, who was as corrupt a cop as they could get. Hell, he probably sold and snorted more drugs alone than most of the dealers he busted together.

John B scratched his temple. “What does -what does tat mean?”

“Let me see, how can you help me? Oh, I know. So, a body was found in the marsh yesterday. Were you in the marsh yesterday?”

That piqued Parker’s interest, because it was not what he would have expected.

“Yeah, we were fishin’ for some drum.” John B said and cast a quick glance at Parker, who made a grimace that was supposed to tell his cousin to not spill a thing.

“Did you catch anything?” Peterkin asked.

“Nah, we were skunked.” John B said and quickly turned away before looking at her again. He wasn’t as bad a liar as Parker had feared.

“Strange. Fishing’s usually good after a storm. All sorts of things get stirred up.” Peterkin mumbled in a tone that said ‘You’re a good liar, but I know you’re talking shit, kid’. “You come across a wreck yesterday?”

John B feigned thinking for a second before denying. Peterkin held up a hand to mimic water-level.

“You’re skimming just above the surface, John B.” She sank her hand a little and drew circles with a finger. “Now, down here is foster care, juvie. Pretty big drop for a smart kid like you.” She raised her hand to eye level. “Up here is you and your little friends doing whatever you want. Outer Banks – or foster care on the mainland.”

John B sat down, Parker shifted. Peterkin was different from all the cops he had ever encountered, and he didn’t know what to make of it yet.

“You’re one inch above the surface, boy. If I was you, I’d start flappin’ my wings. Now, you sure, you didn’t come across a wreck yesterday?”

John B shook his head. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure.” Peterkin turned around to face Parker. “How about you? See anything unusual?”

Parker chuckled and shrugged. “I haven’t been here in years, how the hell would I know what’s unusual?” He gave her a look that made it clear she wouldn’t get a single word out of him. She gave him a look that said ‘Just you wait, I’m gonna figure you out soon enough’.

She looked back and forth between the two of them, and Parker imagined seeing a hint of worry in her dark eyes. “It’s better if you didn’t, you understand? I’m going to look the other way, as long as you stay out of the marsh.”

She started out the door, but turned around one last time, disgustedly eyeing the Château. “I got dogs living better than this, John B. You might wanna think about cleaning up. And you.” She pointed two fingers at Parker, mimicking watching him. “Remember, I’m gonna keep an eye on you, Cloud.”

And like that, she was gone. Parker couldn’t help but wonder how she still remembered his name. He definitely didn’t want to meet her again.

John B threw a can against the wall and put his head in his hands.

“She’s unusual.”, said Parker, but his cousin didn’t bother to look up towards him. He decided to walk outside and take a nap in one of the hammocks.

 Parker didn’t know how long he had slept, but the next thing he knew were soft fingers brushing the hair out of his face and a melodic voice telling him to wake up.

“Leave me alone.” He mumbled and tried to turn away, forgetting that he was in a hammock and falling right out of it. Kiara’s laugh rang loud and clear.

“Oh, Parker, I tried to do it softly.” She smiled and crouched down beside him while he groaningly sat back up. He was shirtless, but when he looked up at the darkhaired girl, she did not only hold a hand out towards him, but also a crumpled piece of fabric.

“You brought be a shirt?” He asked confused, but she just laughed.

“It was lying around, and you get burned so easily. You’re lucky the hammock’s in a shadowy spot. Your sunburn’s already kinda nasty.” She gave his red shoulders a quick glance before helping him up. To his surprise, the piece of fabric turned out to be a light blue long sleeved shirt, which he just draped on but left unbuttoned. It even kinda fit his black shorts. Jokingly, he posed and wiggled his eyebrows.

“How do I look?”

“Fantastic.” Kiara giggled, and they walked over to where the others were, sitting down on a small couch. On the small table in front of it was a pair of bongos.

“Do you know how to play the bongos?” Kiara purred, and Parker shook his head.

“I know how to play the guitar, though.”

Her eyes lit up in delight. “You know how to play the guitar? That’s awesome! Listen, you teach me how to play the guitar, and I teach you the bongos. Deal?”

Parker smiled. “Deal.”

Their bongo session didn’t last very long, though, because John B appeared and announced that he was calling it off. “Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she’ll help me with DCS.”

“And you believed her?” JJ asked incredulously from his spot in the sun.

“Yes, JJ, I believed her.”

“An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop.” JJ looked at Parker. “What are you even good for if you just let him believe the cops, man?”

Parker shrugged. “I can’t decide what he believes in or not. You know, I’ve made the experience that people usually only learn from their mistakes once they start turning around and biting them in the ass.”

“Great support, Parker, thanks.” John B said sardonically. Then he turned back to JJ. “All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a few days, and she’ll help me out. It doesn’t help that your ass was the one shooting a gun.”

“You know what I should have done? Just let Topper drown your ass.” JJ retorted and Parker leaned closer to Kiara while the two of them kept bickering.

“Is his name really Topper?” He whispered, waiting for her to tell him it was some kind of stupid nickname.

She nodded her head. “That’s his actual name.”

“God, that guy just keeps getting worse and worse. First, he has frosted tips, then his name is Topper. What’s next? Golf?” Parker shuddered and Kiara and Pope giggled.

“They always, always win.” JJ said desperately and boxed a buoy hanging from the roof.

“Look, it’s okay!” Kiara shouted and he turned around.

“No, it’s not! They don’t want us to go down into the marsh. That means there’s something valuable down there, and you know it.”

“He does kinda have a point.” Parker mumbled and JJ looked at him gratefully.

“See, even Parker agrees, and he’s like – a total chicken.”

“Fuck you too, Maybank.”

“Okay – just listen. I understand why you don’t wanna go.” He pointed at Pope. “You’re the golden boy, you got way too much to risk.” He looked at Kiara. “And you, I mean, you’re already rich as fuck anyway. Why would you bother?”

Parker rolled his eyes at JJ, who now turned back towards John B. “But you and me, man? We got nothing to lose, we really don’t. And from what I can tell, neither does Parker anymore.”

Parker leaned back in the cushions of the couch. “Asshole.”

“But am I wrong? I know it didn’t use to be that way to you.” He said the last part to John B again.

“I don’t want to talk about this. I just don’t wanna talk about it.” John B mumbled and pushed past JJ, away from the group.

“So that’s just it?” JJ called after him. “John B, listen to me, I have a plan.”

He walked after John B and talked to him about scuba gear and rich kids not going to foster care, until John B finally agreed.

Parker rolled his eyes and leaned back, already seeing how this whole thing was going to blow up in their faces.

[reddit-aita]

AITA for telling someone that his art sucks and he won't amount to much in life in front of his friends and family.

I have a small group of close friends (all males around the age of 25) that I hang out with almost every day. We've all known each other almost all our lives and recently (~1.5 years) got a new addition to our group, John.

I never really liked John. He was rude, obnoxious, and would always talk like he knows everything. He was also incredibly pretentious. A friend of mine said "Einstein" once and John interrupted him to say, "I have no idea who you are talking about. Do you mean the reknown scientist Albert EinSHTein?". I once put up a snapchat story saying, "I love college football!", and he replied to my story with "It's called gridiron you moron". I don't understand how but my friends readily accepted him into our friends circle.

On one night about 5-6 months ago, we had a little get-together and were just drinking and having fun. John was kind of tipsy. We had some new girls show up so I was kinda working my charm on them. They asked me what I did and I went "I'm a Biomed Engineer". I don't know why that triggered John so much, but he went on this hour long tirade about how I'm just a drone in a rat race. He kept telling me about how I'm just like every other person and lacked creativity. He later passed out, but his little tirade became a running joke in our group.

Every time I mention work or anything, John would start roasting me. He nicknamed me 'drone' and kept calling me that even though I expressed multiple times that I dont like to be called a drone. He would keep telling me about how easy engineering is (he watched some intro to engineering courses online) and that any monkey with a brain can do what I do. That really pissed me off. Once I told him to shut the fuck up but he was like, "What are you going to do, fight me? I dare you to swing". I didn't want to fight him so now I started getting referred to as a 'pussy'.

Over the last few months or so I kinda went frontpage a couple of times on Reddit and everyone was like, "damn M0shka you famous now" (as a joke). That triggered him even more. He'd say stuff like "His posts suck. They're not even funny. Reddit is now just filled with stupid facebookers who upvote stupid clickbait shit and downvote meaningful talent."

At this point it is relevant to bring up what John does. He's a 'photographer' who works as a barista at Starbucks. How good is he? Honestly, he started off as an annoying kid with a DSLR, no talent, and a facebook page where he uploaded 3/10 pictures. Over the years he got slightly better but it's still terrible. I'd say he's more of a 5/10 now. 2 weeks ago, he got rejected from his dream job and made an Instagram post about how National Georgraphy discriminated him because of his skin color (brown).

Last week, we had a surprise birthday party at his place with his family (he lives with his parents) and friends. At the party, I apologized to him (I hadn't met him since the post) and said, "I'm sorry you didn't get Nat Geo". To which he got angry again and said, "I'd rather eat my own shit than be a drone like you. What I'm doing is making real art and it's something your robot brain won't ever understand now or in the future, so I actually feel sorry for you". He said stuff like this in front of a girl I was with who got so enraged that she left and told me to tell them that shes sick or something.

That's it. I fucking lost it. We were handing out mics to talk about our favorite memory with John and I took that opportunity to say, "Well John, your pictures fucking suck, no wonder Nat Geo rejected you. You're a 27 year old barista with no college degree, mooching off your parents, and taking worse pictures than any jackass with an iPhone camera. You're not going to amount to anything in life so just --- I get cut off here"

His dad grabbed the mic and shoved me. John came charging at me but everyone just held him back. The rest of the guys were like get him out of here, and I got kicked out. No one has talked to me since the incident and John blocked me from all social media. Our group chat has been pretty silent too. John also apparently made a roast post about me. Idk if I should apologize to him or not. Sorry for the long post. I know John is an asshole, but AITA?

[mcustorm]

Thoughts on Jamie Johnson 5x06

SPOILERS

Old habits die hard...forgiveness...cancellation. This episode's main theme is how it can be hard to shake who we’ve been, how we have to reconcile that with who we’re trying to be. Zoe and Liam both are having a mirror thrown up in their face, and they unfortunately act pretty much like how I’d expect.

First things first, the show is called Jamie Johnson! Our title character is entering that Hey Arnold!-esque role where we are now fully aware that so much of the show’s strength is because of the ensemble. Anyways, Jamie’s going through it; he’s delusional and just kinda wants to yeet off his cast with a quickness, kinda like how we here in America basically said “Yea, the virus is over.”  As I fear we may find out soon, these things take time. So Jamie finds solace in video games (Let’s discuss how *terrible* I am at FIFA). Which isn’t too bad...for now.

Let’s talk about how Boggy is such a good friend to these people. Episode 1, Boggy could not care less about football. Episode 50, it is basically his entire identity, and he doesn’t even play! Football had an extensive hand in ruining his relationship, ehh nobody cares. I don’t like how Boggy constantly is the biggest cheerleader for various characters in the show (Jamie, Jack, the whole mascot era, this episode he went out of his way for Zoe), but *whenever* he has something of his own to do (which is rare!), they just pat him on the back, say “Oh you’ll be fine,” and head off to the pitch. Justice for Boggy!

Before we start with Liam, let me preface by saying I like Eric and Freddie. They remind me of younger cousins of mine, warts and all. And the show has really humanized Alba in her episodes. The point is, generally, I like those characters. I do not necessarily like that trio’s dynamic. I said last week I didn’t trust Liam, well I still don’t. One of the scenes that I really liked from seasons prior is after Dillon gets kicked out of Hawkstone Academy, Hansard sits him down and basically tells him, “You lost out big not because they’re jealous, not because of your diabetes, but because you’re a shithead.” Point blank period, “You’re a shithead, Dillon.” Some people just need to be told.

And for me, a large part of what makes Dillon’s character so compelling is because in that moment, he really dashed his chances of becoming as successful as he could be. I mean, it still could happen, but it’ll be a helluva lot harder. Hence why Liam’s “redemption” I’m really cold on. Both Dillon and Liam have to learn the same lesson: How you treat people has substantial impact on how successful you’ll be. But Dillon never had a shot of making it back to the Academy, so he used that lesson to impact his general outlook. That’s why he told Jamie “don’t do it sis” when he started to steal the bikes with Jethro. He was being empathetic.

Liam, on the other hand, is only using that lesson to get back on the pitch. He realized that shit-talking to Alba took him off the field, so he plays nice with Alba to get back on. That easy, right? It’s not genuine. And Alba knows that he’s gonna play nice with her, so she’s fine letting him back on to win. The only people who are as unsympathetic to this character as I am are Eric and Duncan the Snake (Mike keeps shading him about how much of a snake he was, so there ya go). Also, you wanna talk about redemption? Duncan has just about done everything right since the incident.

Is Eric arrogant? Yes! Is he absolutely right to not like Liam and not want him on the team? Yes! Was he wrong in being cold and cautious? Naaaaah. Was he wrong in being openly antagonistic, as well as dumping Liam’s bag when it had certainly already been searched? Okay, fine I’ll give you that. Were Alba and Freddie wrong for saying “Oh Eric, you’re being an angry shithead again. We’re going to hang out with Liam who is totally and completely redeemed because he picked up some trash!” AN EMPHATIC YES! 

Ruby is also here, and this week *she’s* the one to tell Dillon he’s a shithead. The only thing these quick scenes do is 1) tide us over till next week, when this is gonna get gud and 2) inform us that Dillon has already scored a date-but-not-a-date with Elliot?! WHAT? What in the hell is going down in those DM’s?! We DEMAND a Jamie Johnson text app, Andi Mack style.

Finally, Zoe. Oh Zoe. What’s her last name again? Sharapova? I’m gonna be straight up: I am VERY hot and cold on this character. I cannot stand the whole “there can only be one” trope, because it only ever is applied to girls, and of course Zoe is the embodiment of it. Remember when she bent over backwards to avoid having Jack know about the contest, and then got mad when she found out Jack neglected to mention it to her? 

For the record, we don’t know if Jack did this intentionally or not. All we *know* is that Jack told her before the deadline and encouraged her to apply, way more than Zoe ever planned to do for Jack. At worst it was a front-stab, and everybody knows you’d rather be front-stabbed than back-stabbed.

And then of course there was the whole stealing incident that she only did to undermine Jack’s success that day. So yes, Zoe is a hater, and a hypocrite, and a snake. And I forgot all about it after Jack left. I actually was warming up to the character, especially as she pushed to lead the team last season. But then, Jack showed back up and her character reverted back like 1.5 seasons. Haven’t cared for the character since then.

So now, there’s a new girl in town, and Zoe is back on her bullshit. Once again, she is insecure. Once again, she is projecting. Once again, the girl tries to be nice to Zoe and she gives her nothing but grief. Now, in a full circle moment, it’s Dillon’s turn to tell her “Hey, you’re kind of a shithead to these girls.” And just when I’m about to forgive the character and move on, the plot steps in and says “Nah, bruh. We still got like 7 episodes left this season. Maybe later.” The show pulls the ol’ “if she had stayed just 3 seconds longer she would’ve gotten the whole context” trope. So for now, I still can’t stand Zoe and I’m patiently awaiting her redemption. Also, Kat needs to put the damn necklace in a picture frame or a lockbox or sumthin. 

So all in all, a delightfully frustrating episode that does exactly what it’s supposed to do: set us up for some juicier content down the road. The first stop on that road being next week -- *the* episode of the season so far and Love, Victor (early!). Yall already know what time it is.

[purplesurveys]

1032

survey by danceamydance

Have you ever witnessed a birth? Never have. I wasn’t present when my mom gave birth to my younger siblings and other than that there’s been no reason for me to be around for the birth of my other younger relatives.

What pattern does the closest tissue box have? I don’t have one in my room, but the one in our bathroom is brown. I think. I never actually checked even though I use it everyday lol.

Where did you lose your virginity, if you have? I truthfully didn’t really keep note of what counts as the first time because we had already been fooling around quite a bit. I’d guess either a hotel room or my room, or maybe hers. The one thing I can remember was that I was 18, so there’s that.

What color car(s) do your parents drive? We have two white cars and one teal. I still don’t know why my dad got a teal car when none of us in the family are into colored cars, but according to him getting the Vitara in white would’ve looked like an FX (a form of public transport here), so I’ve learned to make my peace with the teal car lol.

What are your views on getting rid of the penny? I can’t relate, because we don’t use pennies.

Which Asian country would you most like to visit? Aside from the ones I’ve already gone to, I’d love to take a trip to Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and India.

Have you ever had a nosebleed? Nope. I fear the day I get one; I’m scared of blood haha.

How far away do you live from your birthplace? Maybe around 30 minutes without any traffic. A realistic drive to Manila would take me anywhere between 1 to 1.5 hours.

Do you have bangs? Yep, and they’re starting to get pretty long as well so thanks for reminding me that I’ll have to trim them soon. I want to get rid of them already as I’ve had my fun with them, but NO ONE HAS SEEN ME WITH BANGS loooool so they are still staying. 

Are you a good driver? I wanna say I’ve been better through the years? Hahaha the consensus is that I drive a little crazy, but my friends still always pick me to drive them whenever we go somewhere because everyone apparently still finds me the safest driver to ride with despite my temper on the road. Having a tiny car, being bullied by bigger pickup trucks and SUV through the years has helped toughen me up.

Have you ever kissed someone underneath the mistletoe? No. My ex and I always celebrated Christmas separately, with our own families, so we never got the chance to do this.

Do you watch the Olympics on the television? No. It’s not really something that interests me.

What was the scariest experience of your life? The time I nearly crashed into a car that I didn’t realize was stopped in the middle of the road while I was going 80 kph, and having like 3 seconds to hit the brakes.

Do you have a Tumblr account? I mean...

Are your nails painted right now? What color? Nope.

Have you ever played truth or dare? Several times, though I always pick truth because I’ve never had a problem saying it. I also hate picking dares because my friends would usually make us do dumb things, like dance, or worse, make out with someone in the circle.

How long is your driveway? Not very.

Are there any tv shows you keep up with religiously? Mmm it used to be The Crown, but I probably won’t be watching it for a while despite the new season because 1) I used to watch it when my past relationship had still been smooth-sailing, so watching it would just remind me of that; and 2) Gabie loves the shit out of Gillian Anderson and she was brought in for season 4 lol. 

Right now my focus is on a new Korean drama called Start-Up, which is currently ongoing and is so fucking good. Nam Joo Hyuk is also there, so it’s a sweet bonus for me <3

What is your favorite iPhone app? I’m using YouTube the most these days, so it may as well be my favorite.

Where is your mother right now? She’s at work.

Do you know anybody named Carl? I don’t think so. The only person that came to mind is an uncle named Carlo who I haven’t seen in more than a decade. My dad’s college group used to be super tight-knit and I used to be friends with his friends’ kids, so it’s sad to see them kinda grow apart and notice the others be more reclusive over the years.

Are you more of a night owl or a morning person? Morning person. Ugh, work is changing me as a person haha.

What is your favorite song at the moment? Saw You In A Dream by The Japanese House has taken the top spot again. It’s just too goddamn good of a song.

Do you have a weak stomach? Very. I’m awful with car rides, bungee jumping, fair rides, you name it.

Have you ever been to a party where people were drinking underage? Hmm, yes. Kaira’s 18th birthday – it was held in May but most of the people at her party weren’t going to turn 18 until the end of the year, so it was a lot of 16 and 17 year olds drinking. I had just turned 18 then, so I allowed myself to take my first sip of a margarita.

How many stores are in the mall closest to you? Malls here are generally packed compared to what people may have in the US or other countries, so even though our local mall isn’t anything notable, it still holds 200+ stores.

Do you know anybody who has been diagnosed with cancer? Yes, but they’re all outside of family. My mom’s side is very weird about cancer and never share information about family members who may have it and only ever refer to it as ‘the c word,’ so I may have more relatives who have cancer than what is made known to us.

How far away is the closest McDonald’s to you? We have one literally right beside the main entrance of our village but because our house is at the very end of the village, what should be just a couple of steps away is instead a 10-minute drive for me.

Would you ever meet someone in person that you met online? Yeah I’ve done that with a few people in the wrestling circle. Jila I met unexpectedly while we were both in line for the WWE house show in Manila in 2016; Javi I met when I lent him my Chris Jericho memoir; and Rafie was the one who gave me a free ticket to said WWE show. Rafie’s a local celebrity now and he has such a huge following, so as weird as it is I’m also glad I have that little memory with him before he blew up.

What was the last film you watched? That Thing Called Tadhana, but I was unable to finish it. I’m into TV shows these days and I’ve been all over Start-Up.

Does it snow where you live? Never has.

Have you ever been to an art gallery? Of course, I’m a sucker for those. I always go to one whenever I can; there are a lot of malls here that’ll randomly have pop-up art exhibits, so art galleries here actually aren’t limited to just museums.

What are your neighbours like? A lot of them have kids, that much I know because a lot of them play outside in the afternoon and make some noise. We all keep to each other, though, so I don’t know any more about them; the only time we get together is when the neighborhood organizes its own Christmas party for the community.

Do you visit your town’s library often? I would if we have one, but public libraries are not a thing here. If you needed to go to a library to find a book, you would have to go to a university.

Have you ever had to take care of an intoxicated person? This just gave me college flashbacks haha. Of course I have, and the most notable people for me are JM, Andrew, and Angela.

What flavor was the last ice cream you ate? It’s a red bean ice cream sandwich that also has a bit of vanilla ice cream in it.

Can you do a cartwheel? No but I definitely tried a thousand times as a kid.

Who is the last person you spoke to on the phone? Can I do video calls instead? I haven’t done phone calls in a while. The last people I was on a call with were Ysa and Bea.

^ What did you talk about? Secret work stuff.

Which website do you spend the most time on? YouTube, Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter.

Have you ever kissed someone of a different race? I haven’t.

What can you smell right now? My coffee chocolate chip cookie.

Do you read fanfiction? If so, what fandoms? I haven’t checked on my favorite authors since college, mostly because they went MIA at some point and moved on to different fandoms as well. But when I did, I mostly read ones for AJ/Punk and HHH/Steph.

What accent is your favorite? Man this question is asked a lot...

How did/will you celebrate your birthday this year? Gab gave me a cute digital present, I think I may have spent the whole day playing the Switch, and Hans and Angela sent over a box of sushi for me.

Are you more introverted or extroverted? I’m both depending on the people I’m with. If I’m with a crowd I don’t know all that much, I turn my volume down.

Do you tend to repeat yourself all the time? Yeah. I got it from my mom, who unconsciously repeats stories all the time.

How was the last chicken you ate cooked? Fried.

Is there anybody you always find yourself thinking about? Yes, but it has gotten easier to manage/ignore altogether these days.

What was your last argument about? Haven’t argued with anyone in a hot minute. It was probably my mom as always, but I no longer remember what it could have been about.

Are/were you part of any extracurricular activities in school? I had clubs in high school since it was mandatory. In college, I was in yearbook and a journalism org.

Do you want to get married someday? I don’t know about that anymore.

What colors are on your country’s national flag? Blue, red, yellow, and white.

Would you go back to your ex if he/she asked you? I’m pretty stupid when it comes to this, so yes.

[bounnostra]

ch. 1 || TRIAL 1.5 || SCOURGE || [ re: IVEY, PIP, OBAMA, others maybe ] [ re/attn: ORWELL ]

SCOURGE falls a little quiet after giving IVEY a piece of their mind. Maybe IVEY’s retaliation hit some kind of chord in them, maybe after PIP’s infinite bullshit spiel of the hour they finally just plain old gave up. 

Really, though. They’ve just decided to stop wasting their own goddamn time. If so many of these folks want to get up in arms about people they’ve, for the most part, only met a relatively short time ago and prove themselves all as weak bleeding hearts: whatever. But, somewhere between taking out a chunk of their building frustration on IVEY -- rightfully so, they think -- and the throbs of their migraine, it sets in: this is just what Gambit wants.

And well. SCOURGE has never fucking wanted to do what Gambit wants.

They bite their tongue and swallow down all the vitriol and poison they want to spit right here and now, instead forcing themself to observe. They’re not really good at this, at reading people, but they can at least notice who casts dark glances at who -- who seems upset about what.

( An X is placed silently next to IVEY and PIP’s names now. )

By the time she addresses them, they’ve moved on entirely from IVEY; they don’t even so much as glance at her. Not only is there a bitter, spiteful part of them that proclaims she’s not worth their undivided attention, but they’ve shifted their focus to their notebook. Scribbling some things, crossing out others.

“Piss off, IVEY.” Their voice is flatter now, distracted. “Pretty sure we all know you’re just fucking with us at this point. We can settle this bullshit later when Gambit isn’t getting a kick outta it.”

And with that, they fall silent again, listening but devising theories. Because CONVOY’s right -- they’re going in fucking circles. Nothing is getting done. Forget about these two assholes being distracting nuisances. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Only the important things.

Like PIP tossing out a bunch of bullshit again for no reason.

“Mmkay. PIP you just said a whole shit ton of misinformation, and I’m gonna ignore most of it ‘cause you’ve already proved all you wanna do is waste our time, but I think what’s most fucking worth noting is that: it would be entirely possible for someone slightly shorter than Runa to get the same result of marks, probably. And your reasons for discarding DUCK and ORWELL specifically are absolute horseshit.”

They huff. Even if they’re definitely making an effort now to keep their head level, it’s obvious that’s not their strong suit. And they’ve had more than enough of PIP’s antics to last a lifetime. At this point, they really just want the guy to keep his damn trap shut and let the adults do the work.

“As for timeline. This is what Prez was referring to in terms of mine. There's a few points of it that might be outta date for what we've come up with now, but it is what it is.”

At that, they pause and flip to a previous page in their notebook and then hold it outwards so the others around the table can see it. I’m not going to rewrite out the entire timeline, so here’s just a screenshot of it. If needed, assume SCOURGE will read it out for those across the table because I don’t know how far the distance is.

“Few things I want us to consider. Firstly. The fire at the shore was still burning weakly when we came ‘round, but whoever built it wasn’t fucking competent at doing it. Secondly, Runa told me that she was going to take ‘nother walk before cleaning up her makeup -- not that she was going to see anyone or anything. Didn’t know her very well, but you’d think if she was planning to meet someone, she’d want to clean herself up first.”

“So. What if the killer had made the bonfire beforehand, for. I dunno. Some goddamn reason. Runa saw the fire and went to go see who was there or whatever. Either way, we’ve been going in circles and we need to start thinking outside of them.” 

SCOURGE pauses. While continuing to talk, they humor the current shoe print shape debacle. They reach down and pull off one of their boots -- showing that the heel of it is a half-circle-oval-type shape (for reference yes these are legit the actual boots they wear) -- and then lean down again to put it back on. 

“We should probably forget ‘bout the sticks while we’re at it. All this obscure supernatural shit -- sometimes the simplest fucking answer is the right one: I think the killer was just trying to burn the damn body. The shitty bonfire’s already established they have no fucking idea what they’re doing.”

“The towel by the way. The blood on it was older -- not recent enough to have happened during Runa’s murder. Tempted to think it belonged to the killer, but I dunno why they’d discard something so long after the fact. Maybe Runa and her killer had a scuffle or disagreement prior to her death at some point.”

For a moment, SCOURGE falls silent. And as he speaks, ORWELL would feel SCOURGE’s eyes on him critically. They grimace briefly, pinching at the skin near their temple with their thumb and index finger. Migraines fucking suck.

“...Hey, ORWELL. Got some things to say to you.”

Oh, do you now?

“IVEY’s been fucking ‘round with us -- I was watching her while we shot down her confession. She seemed pissed off that PINCER had pointed out her injury and shit. Why would she want us to think it was her? Obviously, PIP seems to be innocent. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility of gang collaboration. Or maybe she’s just fucking soft.”

While they don’t give her the benefit of them looking her way, it’s not hard to tell that, despite their determination to not get too wrapped up in her bullshit for the time being, they’re still pretty frustrated when it comes to the bladesmith. There’s a subtle disgust and exasperation to their voice, but still they truck on with whatever they’re going on about without getting too stuck on her again.

“SEATTLE’s just laid down that ORWELL and IVEY were palling ‘round during the investigation. They were alone for some period of time. Unless ROOKIE can for some reason, the only person who can seemingly confirm that you didn’t go to the baths is IVEY -- who we’ve already realized is shady as shit and therefore we can’t trust a word she says even if she did wanna corroborate your claims. The fact that neither of you spoke up 'bout being alone together is also a little shady -- why did neither of you mention this the first five hundred times we brought up the shit in the baths?”

“Everytime we ask you ‘bout the towel, it’s like you short-circuit over there. You’ve been dodgy from the get-go. You’d be plenty big enough to catch Runa’s entire fist like CONVOY described, and if you did have some kinda injury somewhere -- we sure as hell wouldn’t know it ‘cause you’re so covered up. Hell, maybe our killer didn’t even use the gloves -- maybe they were already wearing their own gloves and wanted to throw us off.”

They lean in a bit, pointing their pen at the tall man across the table, and while their tone is surprisingly flat, there’s a sharp, intense determination to it.

“So, ORWELL. Give me a reason to believe you’re telling the truth ‘bout anything.”

Yes I know Gambit just dropped a lot of information, but I am so tired, and this post is long enough I'm not adding to it.

[emeryst]

➰ ( PARK JIMIN, DEMIMALE, HE/THEY ) *✧.:°░｡ —- is that EMERY STEELE?! you know them, right? they are the 227 year old SEELIE !! they’re known for being WHIMSICAL & COMPOSED - but i'd be careful if i were you because they’re also SHREWD & EGOTISTICAL.

*peeks in* hello it is I, ghost of the past here again. asdnf ok for whoever even remembers my very brief venture into this rp with this muse um sorry for disappearing life kicked me in the ass but here’s for round two!! ;; I’m actually superrr excited to get to do stuff with Em and yall pls come plot uwu

I’m gonna keep introductions to minimum-- I go by Fany, 26 years young, she/her most likely playing overwatch if you don’t hear back from me for a while. constantly melting from this damn heat my last 1.5 brain cells are doing their best O K

that’s good right.

.

.

.

yes.

so.

I’ll work on pages as we go don’t @me 

I’ve revamped this muse juuuust a tiny bit. here’s what you should know

looks 22 he’s stubborn and clings to youthfulness. sue him

tbh partially also bc people keep underestimating him and. that works to his advantage oops

goes by ‘em’ sometimes, or if you fancy using that to emery he honestly doesn’t care. some may only know him as ‘gemma’ but more on that later..

most important thing perhaps is to make it clear that emery is by no means his real name ( neither is steele ), nor the only one he has taken to using over the years, simply one he’s settled for currently. for the past, oh, 90 or so years anyway

no one knows his real name beside his mom, and the seelie queen I would assume. unless there’s a seelie ( or even a merperson ) who was around when he was residing in the faerieland

speaking of, he was born in the faerie realm and lived there for the first 20 years of his life with his mom ( 1790-1810+ )

never saw his dad much, for reasons I’m not disclosing here other than the man being an unseelie & involved in some shady dealings >_>

mom wanted to move back to korea where she had lived part of her life, naturally emery followed along mostly just to help her settle down and to see what it was like, ever the curious soul

she got her hands on some land and started a small business making lavish traditional clothes which ended up getting her a hefty sum of money over the years, while he was mostly helping and doing his own things on the side, going cross country for mundane as well as seelie business.

spent some good 30 years there before he decided to start travelling across globe. which is more or less what he been doing since then, not settling down for more than a max 10 years at a time really. now he’s been living in wilshire for a good 2 years

I don’t want to name a specific timeline for where he’s been when cause yo if anyone wants to plot something that happened in the past in whatever country/city, I’m down! mostly boy’s been in europe tho. that said he has been in wilshire before too occasionally so a past plot based around the city could be done ( as long as it’s some 30+ years into past )

oh ye he’s LOADED

how he’s maintained that is another thing. from early age he’s been extremely interested in gemstones and their qualities and all that, how pretty you could polish them & adding his own magic into the mix he begun experimenting with making sort of charms out of them in the form of jewellery and soon found a genuine passion in the craftsmanship ( mean he went to work as a proper apprentice for years and all, under different people too ) and he’s amassed a pretty nice following of people who vouch for his ‘product’ being of highest quality and materials. or at the very least have heard of him by the name ‘gemma’. we’re talking of a sort of legacy garnered along 150 years of him doing this so.

word has gotten around within the downworlders circles as much shadowhunters, everything is custom made so you wont be able to just say oh I want this kind of thing and expect him to have it on the go oh no. it would take minimum 2 weeks. and he’s a strict perfectionist so even if you were fine with him applying some shortcuts while crafting pride alone would have him refuse

first of all you have to get in contact with him, which is harder than it should be these days since he’s not exactly advertising, though has been giving out business cards to select few cause they’re fun. so unless you specifically know him as the jewellery/charm maker ‘gemma’ honestly your best bet is to ask around the shadow market and someone might direct you to him

in addition to all that, he’s made a name for himself in the mundane world too by having lines of jewellery sold in boutiques all over for the last 30+ years. rumour is he’s retired - which is true - but nothing’s confirmed cause he’s an ass

no one knows it’s emery tho now cause with that whole thing he heavily altered his looks as well as what name he slapped on that entire thing when handling business. as far as mundanes know ‘jon kim’ has disappeared off the face of earth and he ain’t doing a thing to prove otherwise

ok so

lives close enough to wilshire in this huge ass 5 bedroom house legit cost him nearly 3 million oops

but listen, he needs the space for work ( has one room just for that ) and other stuff and a decent sized yard for gardening cause he’s growing all kinds of flowers & shit. some illegal but shh

actually no he legit has a whole lot of stuff some warlocks might need so ring him up aye. nothing comes free tho jsyk ;)

also may or may not have subtle glamours and all kinds of wards set around the property but don’t you worry about those

likes his peace and quiet too but is a highly sociable person. lives off gossip no lie. mostly bc he just borED

loves going out and just having fun with people in general, experiencing new things and sights, taking in the nature etc

does still visit the faerieland often enough to know what’s happening over there, though he’s a little removed from the inner circle of the seelies’. beside visits to the queen. he yet remains loyal to her and their people regardless how close or not he is to them now ( no but give him a seelie friendo someone pls ;w; )

he actually has come back to that realm several times over the years and in between travels, usually when there’s a war going on in the mundane world and he’s just. not in the damn mood to deal with that

now he’s also just. kinda unbothered by bloodshed?? doesn’t like participating personally but has witnessed enough in his lifetime it doesn’t really phase him

sometimes to the point of being unnerving like

during these past events/plot drops you bet he’s the one in a corner still sipping a drink and watching it all go down with mild interest, and annoyance bc thanks for ruining the party. again. wont lift a finger to help either. until there’s a weapon pointed at own face. in which case better start praying.

will prob try to stare them down first bc excuse you want me to ruin this outfit you absolute heathen

see he’s been trained to fight too although he’s def not the best among faerie kind but can hold his own. it’s less of fighting more just whole lotta evading and letting his opponent tire themselves out like an idiot. bc that’s more fun

actually has no problem with seeing the clave burn down. might be aiding in that in the shadows ( has some.. questionable connections ) but like. not. directly. not in anyway that could ever be traced to him anyway

doesn’t necessarily want an all out war tho. that’d be just a hassle but he’s tIRED of shadowhunters and their righteous asses and superior attitudes. will still play nice with them ( most of the time.. some of the time. ) cause gotta keep up appearances and hey the more allies he can make the better

doesn’t have much of a problem with other downworlders. might clown them but means no ill I promise. had one nasty run in with a small group of vampires in europe back in the day which at the time left him on the verge of death and kind of shaken over the whole ordeal so. gets stupid tense when there’s more than two vampires in the same room

he’s the kind who acts being ( tentative ) friends with most everyone who he meets but no one really knows him. very guarded about his past & secrets and keeps everyone at an arms length, tho it might not feel like he’s doing that cause. yeah. it’s not out of ill will or anything. well, most of the time. he’s just careful over who to blindly trust– which is no one

likes messing with people but can be kind too. it all depends what mood he in and what energy you giving him

not exactly charitable, with money or anything but if you need help he most likely will agree to lend a hand. tho again, may not be for free

deep deep down wishes he could trust people, even one person enough to just be real with them and open and shit but also is well aware how dangerous that could be so. chooses not to act on those impulses of affection or whatever when they rise. tries not to at least

pansexual as hell. also stupidly picky so good luck with that

doesn’t do relationships anymore *addareyousureaboutthatgifhere* but who knows. prefers to keep it casual if anything does come to fruition either way

probably has a handful of enemies cause uh. kinda may have stabbed some people in the back along the way but in his defence they totally deserved it so. meh.

ANIMAL LOVER. THEY CAN DO NO WRONG.

a hoe for quality fashion don’t even get me started. his style itself is all over he place but if emery is wearing it, safe to assume it cost a fortune

needless to say he wears a ridiculous amount of jewellery too most of the time you can hear him coming a mile away. avid fan of arm bracelets

as most seelies he also has a tattoo on his face. lets just, pretend it looks something akin to the shadow curving down his cheek an trailing along left side of neck and further down collarbones in this pic aight

tho a lot of the times it would be at least partially covered by makeup, which he uses regularly anyway

has a weird obsession with the ocean, and by proxy the merpeople so any of you guys out there hmu

tech-savvy. has all the latest stuff. also plays computer/console games cause why not, mundanes never cease to amaze him with their creations. not that he’s necessarily all that good but it’s for fun who cares

kinda all around restless and needs something going on at all times, even if it’s reading a book, attending to the garden, any small things

for him the whole bond thing seemed intriguing as well as spelled trouble but emery’s all about that also he was deathly bored aight plus may have a personal mission to carry out and any chance to fuck with shadowhunters is tAKEN THANKS

bonded with @urslashdw :  the chaotic gays™

wasn’t too happy to know the bond would last longer than a couple weeks, but has turned that into an asset. well, as much as it can be one. totally using her as an excuse to get to snoop around and may or may not be mildly manipulative towards her and using the connection to own advantage when possible but. ya know. has grown attached as you do so is a little torn over it.

I’m stopping here jesus take the wheel thanks bye!

so ye if any of you wanted to plot come at me~ don’t have any proper pages up yet bc i’m tired and lazy just ask me if you wanna know something. seriously, I love rambling about my muse I promise it’s no problem at all

guess there’s a few roles I wouldn’t mind seeing filled so here’s a bullet point list if anyone gets an idea or wants to brainstorm specifics!

friends ( very broad term )

old friend/acquaintance ( someone he goes waaaay back with )

business acquaintance ( whatever it may be )

old flame ( could have ended on good or bad terms, should have taken place a good while ago. bonus points if they still have a piece of jewellery em made for them )

booty call ( for convenience sake :p )

enemies/frenemies ( i feel this is just him with most shadowhunters?????? maybe he betrayed/tricked you and you’re just endlessly bitter. but look, it’s your fault for trusting him at all. em probably feels bad about it now???? or just classic hating each other’s guts )

literally anything??!

actually gimme someone who was in europe during the whole vampire attack shenanigans and helped him out ( em would feel indebted. )

also someone who may also be okay with bringing down the clave and they lowkey vibing. but in secret.

idk man the messier the plot the louder i get for declaring my love for it so bring it babes~

also omg if I had a plot with you then you’d want to actually.. you know.. put in action now I’d be okay with that lmao

[sightful-tangents]

january 1, 2020

Hi friends. It’s been a while, hasn’t it. I usually try and write something once a month or so but obviously I dropped the ball last year.

Can you believe it’s 2020? I think each year I start taking my resolutions more and more seriously. It’s one of those long-term commitments that I’ve found deeply rewarding just because of the passage of time. Simply with setting goals and the year passing by (for like, 5 years now) makes me excited with each coming year to think about what I want to accomplish, and how I want to shape my life.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. My 2020 themes note has been living in my phone for months now, but we’re here for the 2019 retrospective (original post here). It’s been quite a year. Here we go, on how I did.

THE BIG ONE

1. Put down roots. This resolution was three-pronged: a sturdy mental foundation, a sense of belonging in a place, and a feeling of belonging with people. I think I mostly accomplished that - my mental health (minus a very very stressful 1.5 months at work) has been mostly good, bolstered by well-timed vacations that cleared my head SO well (ugh, I *need* these breaks , that’s what I learned). I’ve been living in my basement for a bit over a year now and my space is coming together. I’m starting to really like being at home and in my space and feeling comfortable and content there. And lastly, a feeling of belonging with people… I do think I depend my relationships this year. I let a few go (or more like, I no longer hold those as dearly) but I formed a few new ones and overall, especially with the holidays being a time when I always reflect and feel extremely grateful, thinking of those that I cared about and wanted to give gifts/cards to… I’m just very grateful for those people around me and how they make me feel. I read a Bill Gates/Warren Buffet interview once, where Warren Buffet said his measure of success was whether the people you care about you love you back. This year, I felt this. So I’m going to count this one as done.

WORK

2. Don’t get fired.

I didn’t!! 

3. No major fuck-ups (that may lead to being fired and/or my supervisor seriously regretting his decision to hire me).

I think I’ve made mistakes but this year, no major fuck-ups I don’t think.

4. Get a professional certification.

I did! I got a professional cert in the field of privacy.

5. Learn to be a better supervisor.

I think I did this. I think I’m better, specifically, I’ve been very intentional with being open with the person I work with/supervise, not micro-managing, and trying to support her to do projects she’s interested in. I’m sure there’s still a ways to go, but I think I improved.

6. Be okay with being uncomfortable at work.

I’m never going to feel completely comfortable, I don’t think. But I’ve been better and taking on projects that I’m not sure how to handle, and trying my best. Also, I’ve never been more fucking uncomfortable organizing a work event in my life (this was the 1.5 months of hell) but it’s done and nobody died. 

TANGIBLE-(ish) 7. Be smart with money.

I did a budget this year, breaking down my categories of spending. Pros: I kept within my vacation budget, kept mostly to my savings goal, didn’t spend too much on groceries, spent a reasonable amount on restaurants/bars and entertainment. Cons: I think I spent a bit too much on clothes. I saved a decent amount as well (an inheritance and a tax refund helped as well, but thankfully I didn’t spend those frivolously). 

8. Read 35 books.

Nope, I only read 14. I’m gonna only aim for 30 next year. Sigh. It makes me sad that I don’t read as much anymore, but I also have a physical bookcase now (YAY!) which gives me more excuses to buy physical books (YAY?) 

9. Cook at least 2 times a week.

By “cook”… what did I mean? I didn’t eat out for dinner often, but often my dinner would be a quickly assembled meal (I eat oatmeal for dinner more often than I would care to admit). I’ll say this is half done. I definitely TRIED to cook more (as in with the pay and all that) but definitely not consistently at twice a week.

10. Get an IUD.

I did this! I don’t know if my body likes it (ugh the side effects are a-nnoying!). But it’s done.

11. Volunteer.

I volunteered for 2 events in 2018, and last year (2019) I did 3. I enjoyed them all a lot!

12. Continue playing piano for fun.  

Again, I’m so glad I bought that piano (keyboard). It’s been truly joyful to re-introduce music into my life.

13. Learn and keep a new hobby.

YES I DID THIS. My friends know that I constantly talk about wanting to pick up a new hobby (I actually also took 8 weeks of pottery classes earlier this year… which was totally not my jam). But I asked for a guitar from my mum for Christmas and she gave it to me early in November and learning to play it has been infinitely rewarding. I suck really bad but I suck a tiny bit less each time.

SPACE

14. Travel.

My travel goals were: Taiwan, the Rockies (Banff and Jasper), and either South America, Turkey, or Eastern Europe. Also, maybe Toronto over the holidays. And I was very very very tentatively thinking about going to New Zealand in 2020, so let’s cross our fingers. 

In reality, I made it to: Taiwan, Rockies, Japan, and Toronto. Japan was a surprise trip of sorts since it wasn’t on my radar, but I went with my Japanese housemate and had an AMAZING time. I felt so so happy and calm there, it was incredible.

15. Settle into my living space.

I’m now stressed out that I own too much shit. I mean, I have two dressers, 2 bedside tables, a kitchen table, 2+ chairs, a couch, a TV, a piano, a guitar, a bookcase + books, a few organization things, and all this kitchen shit. The next move is gonna SUUUUCK. But… my living space feels like mine. I have a second room with my instruments and TV and wall decorations I love and honestly it makes me happy to just chill there around all of “my shit” and think to myself “this is me”. It’s taken like a year to slowly get my stuff (like, I bought a Dyson vacuum on Boxing Day…) but things do feel like they’ve come together in to a safe space. 

16. Settle into my city.

This summer was sooo good, weather wise. I stayed in the city, went on lots of dates, and just hung out in the sunshine. It made me love living where I am, although the rainy months are gross. I’ve also grown to know the restaurants, bars, and grocery stores near me and downtown, all of which make me feel a bit more rooted. Yay for yearly themes, eh.

RELATIONSHIPS

17. Make 2 new friends.

I don’t know if they’re new friends since I met them before 2019, but I have formed stronger friendships with an old coworker, as well as re-building a friendship that I had kinda cut off early in the year. Both I’m going to count.

18. Date people!

I did this! I made a little mental note to myself that I’d accept any date someone asked if in person, in addition to a challenge with my friend to go on 3 online dates (w/ different people). This means I’ve went on “dates” (could be as casual as coffee) with someone who asked me out on the street, on a bus, through Instagram DMs, and through tinder. It’s been mostly good, I think.

19. See my mom at least once or twice a month.

I did this! Having a closer relationship with my mom is another one of those things that have built over the course of years, and that I look back and am thankful that past-me (when I was in Toronto) decided to call her once a week when I was pretty MIA in university. Now we’re a lot closer and she has helped me so much (like, she’s pretty much helped me completely furnish my place).

20. Be a better friend (support & generosity).

I think so. I cut my friend circle a little bit (especially high school friends that I realized I didn’t need to hold so closely. It’s funny because when I went away for university, I loved my HS friends so much and would eagerly see them every time I visited. Now that I’m back, I just feel like my HS friends know the old me, and that the current me has changed so much. Or just to say that I think while I’ll always be friendly and love them, I just don’t feel a pressure to be as active in those friendships as I did before. I dedicate myself to other ties.) I’ve deepened my friendships (that I care about) and I know I’m still learning how to be a better friend (always) but I’ve really put in the effort this year.

SELF

21. INTENTIONALITY.

This is a bit of a hit or miss. I mean, I regularly watch 40 minute Bon Appetit youtube videos (I would die for Claire) and read fewer books than I have in like 8 years. But I think I was kinda intentional with my time (making time to see friends, spending my vacation time traveling). I’ll give myself a half point for this.

22. Keep my mental health in check (and prioritize it).

I had 1.5 months of mental health hell, for real. I felt like I didn’t have any time to live my life, including buying groceries or eating dinner. It probably wasn’t that bad but my brain made it feel that way. However, that means I had 10.5 months of pretty decent mental health. If a work issue was the worst thing that happened to me this year, it must not have been that bad.

23. Figure out my finances.

Not really. I saved well, budgeted, but didn’t to the type of actual learning I was aiming for.

24. Fucking exercise.

No :(

25. Maintain my weight.

Yeah, I think so.

26. Be better than I currently am.

I…think so.

27. Take risks. Of all sorts. Because, why not. I had a really big(ish) decision this year and I was initially going to make a decision out of fear of risks. But part of my final thought process was that I think I’d be disappointed in myself that if when it all came down to the line, I decided not to make a potentially risky decision that was sitting in front of me. So even though the future is murky and unknown, I did take it. I also learned there are A LOT OF REASONS WHY NOT. I don’t like to describe anything I do as brave but a little part of me thought that by not doing the safe thing, I did the brave thing. 

----

And.. that’s it. Final score (including the half points): 21.5 out of 27… I’m very pleased :) Who knew this year would turn out like this? 

[king-of-truands]

12:20-4:45: Second-to-Last Victor Show!

- Julie and I were joking about doing a run of the show, but with everyone doing it in Quasi-voice - When I tucked my pants into my socks, I realized that I kinda looked like an airbender/medieval noble - Tyler was trying on a soldier helmet near the makeup area, lamenting that Frollo never gets to wear it; David said that it was kind of a dunce cap. I joked that, instead of his majestic hat at the end, he should just wear that. Tyler then started doing the “The prisoner has been found guilty of entering…” monologue with the helmet on; I did it with him in my Frollo-voice. He laughed and said “That’s pretty good, actually!” - Brenna said “We’re showin’ some stone” about the angels’ costumes showing their ankles (in grey tights). - Jon (our ASM) started a chorus of people singing “Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy” from The Wiggles as we were heading out to our pre-show circle…I have no idea why he started this, but it was awesome. Devin, Liam, Steve, Eric, Armand, Brandon, and I were all singing it. - Kelly came to see the show today! It was awesome to see her again. - Because Jon kept making Wiggles references, I brought up the fact that my dad calls people Captain Feathersword on a fairly regular basis; Jon thought that was great. - During Quasi and Frollo’s conversation about Esmeralda between “Top of the World” and “Thai Mol Piyas,” Tyler patted Armand’s hunch quite a few times, which was amusing to me for some reason… - There was a bizarre mini-blackout near the very end of “Esmeralda,” since someone done goofed; the stage went dark for ~1.5 seconds and then the lights came back on. - During the blackout, Tristan opened his eyes in confusion, so Phoebus essentially woke up while unconscious - The plaster wall-thing that everyone can sign is now covered in writing, and some of it’s hilarious nonsense. - Mercedes came to see the show and was running through the downstairs area. Everyone said “Hi” to her, which she returned. - Jon called places at the end of intermission by going “Places, everyone, with a yummy-yummy fruit salad…” - Ashley declared that Julie was a blobfish because of the face she was making while wearing her wig cap. - Valeria was legit screaming when Frollo tried to assault Esmeralda, which then caused Tyler to ramp up his performance even more, so then they were both screaming. It was…kinda scary. - “I could’ve taken another five-minute nap on the floor.” “You’ve done that before?” “Yeah, five minutes ago.” - Kayla and Tori - I barely managed to keep from crying while onstage during “Made of Stone,” especially when Armand was singing “I’ve wasted my faith, believing in saints of plaster” since he’s right next to me and directing his energy straight at me for a second… - When I went onstage during the finale, my costume snagged on the stairs and unsnapped at the top when I got it loose. It was fine, but still weird in the moment. - After I went downstairs following curtain call, I promptly got a Tyler high-five and we both congratulated each other on having an awesome show.

[petitelepus]

A Simple Femme In Beast’s Suit, Part 1

Okay, so this work is on my AO3 user PetiteLepus and this work is inspired by Zekkoss. Check them out, they’re awesome. I’ll tag @rocksinmuffin, my Senpai, and everyday inspiration since I want her to name the Reader! But enjoy the story!

It was a regular day in Lost Light, or at least it would have been if it wasn’t for Swerve. The metallurgist had heard a broadcast sent to the whole ship by Rodimus about how they were passing by an artificial planet called Ovika 1.5 and the minibot couldn’t be in a greater rush. So he abandoned setting up his bar for the night and told Ten to carry him with his bigger legs to the observation deck. They came in, doors busting.

”Captain,” Swerve called, but was silenced by the sight of both Rodimus and Megatron staring out in the space until the smaller mech had burst in. He fixed his mistake quickly, ”I- I meant, captains! W- we must visit that planet, it’s my life long dream, besides managing a bar, please let’s go there, even for an hour or half, I’ll give you both free drinks and energy treats for tonight!”

Rodimus’ optics widened and mouth formed to a smile, but before he could agree Megatron stepped in, ”Swerve, that planet is abandoned. There is nothing there. It’s just dust and dirt covered artificial cyber asteroid floating in space.”

”That’s exactly it!” Swerve smiled broadly and jumped down from his bouncer’s arms and made his way to his two captains.

”I’ve read about Ovika 1.5 when I was back on Cybertron studying and I know it’s an artificial cyber planet that had historic and highly rare and these days NON-EXCITANT energon chips planted on it for harvesting high functioning ancient energon, way more powerful than normal energon!” The white and red mech beamed excitedly.

”Wait, hold on, I don’t get this.” Rodimus interrupted before Swerve could start again and glanced him and Megatron in confusion, ”If this Ovika 1.5 is so great, then why it’s abandoned light-years away from Cybertron?”

Swerve was about to explain, with extra details that weren’t asked, but Megatron folded his arms and shot him a look. The metallurgist shut down immediately, even covering a little. The former warlord huffed and turned his grumpy look to Rodimus, ”The Ovika 1.5 was abandoned because it showed no sign of growing energon. Instead, it started to grow organic life forms. At that time it wasn’t wished result for such an expensive experiment so Council decided to launch it off to space and destroy all the data of it to cover up their mistake.”

”But the legend about the rich energon filled planet never died and mechs all around the Cybertron told stories about it and its location! I always wanted to find it and harvest the rich energon to make amazing new drink combinations that not only bring people happiness but nurse them also! They say that ancient energon can cure weak sparks, fuel mechs for a week with one sip, and even prolong life!” Swerve piped excitedly and clapped his hands, ”It’s also highly valuable! Worth millions!”

Rodimus brightened up like a light bulb and turned to mech in charge of controls. ”Park the ship here, we’re taking Rodpod and go take a look at that little planet!”

”Rodimus!” Megatron snarled and turned to his co-captain, ”This is not a good idea and you haven’t even consulted Ultra Magnus about this!”

”Relax, Magnus is having his armor checked by Brainstorm and Perceptor so he won’t a notice a thing if we disappear for an hour or two! We just get a couple mechs with us, get to the Rodpod and take a quick peek! If there is this ancient energon then we grab some and, well, let’s see what we’re doing then. For now, wham-bam in the van, let’s go! Swerve, you’re coming with us.”

”Yes!”

~~~

”This is remarkable!” Brainstorm shouted from the bottom of his chassis as he threw his arms in the air as if he was expecting the planet to embrace him. Mechs exited the Rodpod one by one, but he had to be the first one on the land. Nautica was close behind him and once she was next to her best friend she copied him perfectly, ”This is amazing!”

The artificial cyber planet had grown into a beautiful organic looking planet. The grass was tall like a meadow’s no matter where it grew, flowers as big as minibot’s head and strangely reminding some of them from tentacles as they hang from a bulb looking like an onion…?

The trees looked like Earth’s palm trees, but they were even taller than normal mechs were and leaves were fuchsia-colored and flowers brown like they were almost dead, but still alive. The sky was bright blue, but that had to be the only normal thing on that planet since even the clouds were light green. Heavier clouds were almost poisonous looking.

”Okay everyone, I’m giving you all a job!” Rodimus shouted, getting everyone’s attention.

”Brainstorm will do his science thingies and Nautica accompanies him.”

The nerd duo high fived.

”Rewind takes records from this place and you watch after him Chromedome. I don’t want to put anyone in danger.”

”I’ll guard him with my life.” Chromedome said as he leaned over his smaller lover's shoulder to nuzzle his facial mask against his Conjunx Endura’s own. Rewind returned the sign of affection with as much love, ”Oh Domey…”

Rodimus cleared his intake, averting his gaze from the lovely dovely couple and fixed his optics on Skids and Swerve, ”You two take a look around and see if you can find anything. Remember to report back to me. And for all of you make sure to scout the area carefully! Don’t leave a stone or a twig turned and report everything to me by our comms if you find anything!” Rodimus shouted and made a pose, ”Until all are one, so go wild!”

”YES!” And just like that everyone except, Rewind, Brainstorm and Nautica, transformed and went on their different ways. Rodimus drove to the South, Skids and Swerve drove to West, Chromedome took Rewind on top of him and they drove to North and Brainstorm and Nautica went on their ways to East, each one on their own mission.

~~~ At East ~~~

”Look at this bug Nautica! It’s amazing! Not the biggest I’ve seen, but it’s still pretty amazing!” Brainstorm squealed excitedly as he used his sample taker to poke the beetle that he had kneeled down to inspect. The femme was right beside him, looking curiously the beetle that reached to their knee joints. It made cricking sounds and shook its shell each time Brainstorm poked it.

”I wonder why it’s shell is bright red… and what are those orange spots on it? Wouldn’t it be better for it to camouflage to its surroundings? There must be a reason for its absurd coloring!” The scientist said as he poked the chubby beetle straight between its antennas and suddenly the beetle hissed and-!

”Watch out!” Nautica screamed and quickly yanked Brainstorm out of the way danger’s way. The beetle spat a spray of bright yellow spit at him, but thanks to the mech’s best friend’s fast reflexes, the spit flew past him and hit the ground, and just like that, the beetle bolted and run away to the lush grass. The duo watched after it, then each other and finally the spit on the ground.

”I think it doesn’t need camouflage to hide.” Nautica noted. The spit hissed as it melted a giant hole on the ground and killed all the plants around it. Brainstorm squealed again and quickly got out his vials and took samples, ”Of course! It’s not trying to hide, but warn the predators that it’s dangerous and someone not to mess with! I must document this and run some tests on this acid to find out its composition to create more of it! Then I can mass produce it for my weapons! Imagine the possibilities!”

Nautica chuckled as she watched her friend blabber over how he needed to analyze the acid’s composition to create more of it and talk about all the great weapons he could create with it. While he took samples, she took a look around. The planet was weird but very pretty on its own way. Nautica couldn’t almost believe that it was accidentally created by Cybertronians, but if the massive animals were any indicator about their roots then it matched.

On the corner of her optic, she noticed a big bush shaking couple steps farther from them. She was curious to see what caused the shaking and since Brainstorm was busy, she decided to investigate. Nautica didn’t expect to find what she did.

”Uh, Brainstorm? You might wanna see this.”

”Oooh, what what, what is it? Another critter?” The scientist giggled and ran to his friend. Nautica shook her helm, not averting her eyes from the show bestowed before her. Two rodents that looked like super hairy fluffy puff rats with longs green lizard’s tails were mating like there was no tomorrow. Interesting, but kinda gross also…

”Yew… Neat, but still, yew.”

”I want to take them back to the ship!”

”No you don’t.” Nautica chuckled and walked off to look for something else magnificent. It wasn’t hard. Actually, wherever she looked they saw the planet’s habitats… Being all over each other. Avians with leathery wings, bugs with bright colors, mammals with their weird six eyes.

Noticing that Brainstorm was still watching critters bang, Nautica went to her friend and pulled if away, ”C’mon you, dork, let’s give those animals some privacy!”

”Noooo! I want to take them with me…!”

”You can take that ancient energon once we find it.”

”Even better! Let’s go, let’s go!” The scientist laughed as he bolted straight into the wilderness, trying to find the ancient energon. Nautica chuckled at her friend when she noticed a flock of avians circling the sky not so far away from where Brainstorm had run off to. She followed her friend to the flock of birds and she almost couldn’t believe her optics.

Bones. Giant bones everywhere. Bigger than her and any basic mech. The avian vultures pecked the squeaky clean bones, trying to find something to eat from them, but they had already been cleaned from meat.

The avians must have been hungry since they would only change a skeleton when Brainstorm went to inspect one of them.

”Nautica! This is amazing, these bones are gorgeous!” He squealed like a sparkling and straight out lifted one from the ground, ”So heavy, but almost hollow! This creature had wings to fly with, but the size of a fighter!”

He threw the bone away and went to inspect the skull with enormous sharp fangs. ”These fangs indicate that this creature was a carnivore because it lacks the blunt molars to grind it’s the food like herbivores do to plants. These fangs were purely for ripping meat apart!”

As Brainstorm rambled on, Nautica started counting bones and how many creatures they had in their pedes. According to skulls at least three giant carnivores. She couldn’t help but wonder why these animals had died.

”Hey Brains, you got any idea why these guys died?”

”I thought you would never ask!” Brainstorm giggled and jumped over the skull he was investigating to take a look at its neck.

”Look look! This one’s neck was crushed with such force that it not only snapped the cervical vertebrae but it CRUSHED IT! It’s in pieces! This monster had no chance against its competitor when it had its neck in enemy’s jaws!”

Nautica nodded as her friend made his way to another skeleton, disturbing vultures as he went to its ribs. ”Suspecting by the crushed sternum, this one received a fatal blow to straight into its heart! A real kill shot, am I right!?”

Brainstorm jumped to the third corpse, rolled over a giant skull that was more damaged than other skulls. Not only was it’s front almost black, but there was a huge hole in the middle of the forehead. He pulled servo through the skull’s black part, only to smudge his servo. ”These burnt marks are so deep, that this one had its whole face burnt before something smashed it’s head inside!”

Nautica nodded, eyeing the corpses. ”That sounds interesting Brains.”

”It is, isn’t it!”

”You do know what this means, don’t you Brainstorm?”

”That there is a giant creature here, vicious enough to crush competitor’s neck, strong enough to pierce a chest and able to breathe fire or strong acid through its mouth!”

A silence fell over them as two of them thought what was just said. And just like that, they both quickly opened comm links.

’This is your Captain? Did you find anything?’ Came Rodimus’ voice through the comm.

’Captain, uh, Rodimus? We have a problem!’ Nautica was saying when she was interrupted.

’Yeah, no shit. I found something. Something is seriously-! Hold on, Chromedome is contacting us.’

’This can’t wait-!’

’Rodimus? Is Brainstorm also on this comm?’ Came Chromedome’s voice.

’Nautica is here also!’ Brainstorm cheered.

’Hi Chromedome! We got the news! Bad news!’

’They can’t be as bad as our news!’ Rewind joined the link, ’There are hundreds of capsules here, from Cybertron!’

’Okay, that beats my news.’ Rodimus said, ’Nautica, Brainstorm, Chromedome, and Rewind, let’s all meet back at the Rodpod. I’ll contact Skids and Swerve and tell them to return-! Hold on, they’re just contacting me.’

’We’re in trouble!’ Skids yelled straight into comm link.

~~~ At North, Quarter Earlier ~~~

”Seeing anything Rewind?” Chromedome asked as he kept driving through the tall grass that seemed to go on and on forever. The minibot kept his visor and camera on the horizon, trying to see anything worth filming or noticing. Like a big rock that was coming up.

”Turn left to avoid a rock coming up-! No wait, it’s a sheep. It’s a sheep that looks like a rock. Just drive past it!”

”On it.” Chromedome drove past the sheep, only to hear unholy screeching behind him and Rewind’s hold on his roof tightened. ”Oh frag, it wasn’t a sheep, but a ram and it has big horns and it’s angry!”

The bigger mech laughed, ”How bad can it be, it’s organic. It won’t catch us-!” Chromedome had to swallow his words before they got past his vocalizer as hard and pointy horns rammed against his rear bumper.

”Frag!”

”What did I tell you!” Rewind shouted, but there wasn’t even a hint of malice or sassiness in his voice as it was only laced with laughter, until the ram rammed against his lover again, almost knocking minibot off from him. Without another word, Chromedome sped up until they left the ram eating dust.

”This planet is weird! I love it!” Rewind laughed as he filmed over his shoulder how the ram was left behind. Surely mechs on the ship would love to see them getting chased by a rocky organic.

Chromedome laughed, his engine rumbling with mirth. Then his lover noticed something and patted the vehicle’s hood to get his attention. ”Domey, there is something in the distance.”

”More rams perhaps?”

Rewind focused his optics behind his visor and used his camera to zoom in. He saw many round things in the distance, but he couldn’t tell what they were. ”No, they look like them, but it’s not it. I don’t get any signs of life from there.”

”Should we check it out?”

”It wouldn’t hurt.”

The duo made their way to mysterious objects, only to be shocked out of their minds. Rewind got off from his Conjunx Endura so Chromedome could take his normal mode. The minibot was about to approach the mysterious round objects, when the bigger mech stopped him, pushing him behind himself and approaching objects first.

”What on old Cybertron…?” Chromedome muttered as he touched the weird grass-covered object. When nothing happened, he swiped his servos over the grass, pushing it to the side. He felt his optics widen behind his visor and without his notice Rewind creeping beside him. ”Primus. Domey, do you realize what these are?”

The bigger mech nodded before wiping both his hands over the plants, getting rid of them, and uncovering what they hid there. It was a capsule. Old as time and rusted through every protective layer of metal. Chromedome put some extra pressure on the rusted surface and the rotten metal shattered under his servos like crystal. He couldn’t almost believe what he saw.

A protoform of a cybertronian sparkling, not even fully evolved. It still had its white soft armor, black outlines, and nonexistent head. There were no other details in it that growing sparkling would have. Chromedome extended his hand and carefully felt the protoform. It was stone cold and not emitting any field.

”Rewind… what are these?” The big mech asked without looking away from the cybertronian baby.

”I heard rumors back in old times when the Council decided to get rid of Ovika 1.5 that they used it also as their way of getting rid of failed power spark experiments.” The minibot explained.

”Power spark?”

”They wanted to create an artificial spark that was stronger than normal cybertronian’s spark that could carry much bigger loads than other mechs’ sparks could. Imagine a mech who actually is as big as Ultra Magnus’ armor, but can put on armor much bigger than that.”

”Primus… Those would have changed the whole war.”

”Yeah, but they said that experiments went wrong. Sparklings took deformed forms, grew too small, became predacons, some were weaker than real sparks, and died out before even growing optics. I heard that all the protoforms were destroyed, but I guess that meant that they sent them off into space with Ovika 1.5…”

Chromedome grew silent. He took a look at small protoform, barely grown enough to form a face or alt mode. It had died in a locked capsule with no chances of ever seeing stars or life itself before its life was suffocated. He took a look at hundreds of other capsules and he could already tell that each one had a dead cybertronian sparkling in there.

”That is horrible…”

Rewind nodded, ”I tried to ask about it from Dominus, but he said his lips were shut and denied everything. Of course, I knew he wasn’t able to talk to me about everything but to hold this as a secret…”

The lovers gave a moment of silence to dead cybertronians that didn’t even see light but darkness before they probably starved to death. The moment was finally broken by the big mech. ”We should report to Rodimus and the rest of the crew. They should know about this.”

Rewind nodded and the duo contacted Rodimus through comm link. They connected to comm but were immediately met with Nautica saying something about waiting to the comm link.

’Rodimus? Is Brainstorm also on this comm?’ Chromedome asked about his friend.

’Nautica is here also!’ Brainstorm cheered through comm.

’Hi Chromedome! We got news! Bad news!’ Came Nautica’s voice.

’They can’t be as bad as our news!’ Rewind joined the link, ’There are hundreds of capsules here, full of protoforms from Cybertron!’

’Okay, that beats my news.’ Rodimus said, ’Nautica, Brainstorm, Chromedome, and Rewind, let’s all meet back at the Rodpod. I’ll contact Skids and Swerve and tell them to return-! Hold on, they’re just contacting me.’

’We’re in trouble!’ Skids yelled straight into comm link.

~~~ At South, Ten Minutes Earlier ~~~

Rodimus drove like a madman through the wilderness. For once he was in a planet where there were no speed limits and he wanted to let go a little bit and be wild youngster that he was. There was no Ultra Magnus telling him to slow down or Megatron nagging at him.

The wildlife ran as soon as they heard his motors revving and going off so there wasn’t danger of hitting anyone. He had even left the grassy landscape behind him to avoid rocks or other things that could have been hiding in tall grass.

Rodimus kept driving, occasionally stopping to drift a little and leave his tidemarks on the ground until he saw something rising in the distance. The colorful mech made his way to the object and transformed.

”Wow. Well, you don’t see this every day.” Rodimus whistled. A giant pillar of teal-colored energon grew straight from the ground, growing few heads taller than. It was even so wide that he wouldn’t be able to wrap his arms around it.

”This has to be that ancient energon Swerve was talking about.” The Captain muttered by himself as he eyed the impressive monument. Who would have thought that little chips could grow so tall? Rodimus took a look around the pillar, trying to see if there was a crack or small piece anywhere, and there just happened to be a tiny piece of energon on the ground, just by pillar’s base.

”Hmm, might as well taste this and figure out what so great about this stuff.” Rodimus hummed as he picked up the tiny piece and propped it into his mouth and bit down.

”Ouch! Frag!” The mech cursed and spit the energon out. ”Frag…! That hurt, what I tried to eat? A piece of diamond!?”

Rodimus felt around his mouth, trying to feel if he had cracked a dental plate, but everything seemed to be still intact. He sighed in relief. His perfect smile was still flawless. Then he noticed something. Teal powder at the base of energon pillar.

The Captain wiped his servo over the powder and felt it between his servos. A very fine energon powder. Despite anything he had learned during his life, he licked the powder off from his servo.

Rodimus moaned in delight. That had to be the best energon he had ever tasted in his life! So sweet like energon treat, but not overly sweet and it melted on his glossa like softest oil cake ever. How something that gorgeous tasting could be as hard as a diamond?

The captain looked up, wondering where the powder came from because he wanted to see where the powder came from and he saw four deep grooves just above his head in the pillar. He felt his spark drop. Whatever had left such marks to a energon that hard wasn’t normal.

He had to contact others. Something was seriously wrong on that planet. Rodimus was just about to open his comm link and contact others when he was contacted first. According to incoming information it was from Nautica and Brainstorm.

’This is your Captain? Did you find something?’Rodimus asked.

’Captain, uh, Rodimus? We have a problem!’ Nautica was saying something, but Captain beat her to it.

’Yeah, no shit. I found something. Something is seriously-! Hold on, Chromedome is contacting us.’

’This can’t wait-!’

’Rodimus? Is Brainstorm also on this comm?’Came Chromedome’s voice through comm.

’Nautica is here also!’ Brainstorm cheered.

’Hi Chromedome! We got news! Bad news!’ Nautica said, only to be cut off again.

’They can’t be as bad as our news!’ Rewind joined the link,’There are hundreds of capsules here, from Cybertron!’

’Okay, that beats my news.’Rodimus said,’Nautica, Brainstorm, Chromedome and Rewind, let’s all meet back at the Rodpod. I’ll contact Skids and Swerve and tell them to return-! Hold on, they’re just contacting me.’

’We’re in trouble!’ Skids yelled straight into comm link.

~~~ At West, Five Minutes Earlier ~~~

”Oh my Primus! Skids, look!” Swerve shouted and pointed to the distance. The blue mech turned his attention from two banging giant crickets to look at what his friend was pointing at and he almost couldn’t believe what he saw.

Energon. Pure, brightly glowing energon crystal pillars that were almost as big as Skids raising from the ground in bundles. They were gorgeous, glowing with soothing strong teal color as no other energon glowed. Skids turned to Swerve whose blue visor practically shined in excitement. ”Skids, we found the ancient energon!”

”We sure did.” Skids chuckled as his friend yanked his hand, trying to get more speed to him so they could inspect the mysterious pillars. After the third tug he walked to energon with his friend. As soon as they were next to pillars Swerve let go of him and touched the energon.

”Primus, it’s smooth! I’ve never seen pure energon this smooth! Usually, they’re like unpolished rocks, diamonds, or gemstones. Ragged and sharp! This is almost like it was made to look this perfect!” Swerve babbled excitedly as he felt around the energon pillar like it was a beautiful mech before him.

The metallurgist actually tried to crack the energon with his fist, only for it to bounce back to him. ”Man, this is hard! I think we might need a laser drill or something to get even a piece of this back to ship with us! C’mon, help me with this, find a rock or something!”

”Whatever you need buddy.” Skids shook his head, but turned and started to look around for a rock. Meanwhile, Swerve kept inspecting the pillars, going multiple times around them, taking in every detail he could get.

”Did you find anything?” The red and white mech asked without looking at his friend.

”No, not yet.”

”Keep looking, there must be something that can crack this beauty up! There are already some marks on it!”

”Marks? What kind?”

”I don’t know, I’m not a wilderness professional, I’m a metallurgist, and I know by this hard energon that there is something even harder than that that left these marks here.” Swerve said excitedly, before he ran to his friend’s side, ”Imagine everything we can make with this much ancient energon! We could maybe even grow it on Lost Light, and imagine all the drinks I can make with it!”

”Okay okay!” Skids laughed and snatched a nice sized rock from the ground and turned to face Swerve. ”I think we should try with this rock…” Skids grew silent in a way of danger. A large shadow rose over two mechs as a monster, bigger than Skids had ever seen climbed on top of energon pillars.

The monster was huge, sharp jagged scales black as endless space adorning its body and long tail whipping behind it, enormous wings folded over it’s back and bright crimson lights glowing from scales’ seams over its chest and legs. Big and sharp horns grew from beast’s head, the couple from jaws and it didn’t even have lips to cover sharp looking fangs. Skids was officially scared.

”What? What is it Skids? You look like you saw a ghost!” Swerve laughed, completely oblivious of what was behind him. Until there was a deep gurgling growl. The minibot froze in his place and glanced over his shoulder and Skids saw his friend’s visor flicker.

Bright crimson eyes glared down at small metallurgist and monster’s claws tightened around the energon and it actually cracked under the sharp claws that sank into it, like it was soft energon gelatine.

”Swerve… Back up slowly towards me and don’t take your optics off from that creature…” Skids instructed his friend quietly, trying to stay calm in a dangerous situation. Swerve slowly did as he was told, backing up away, careful not to take his optics off from the monster before them.

The monster stared at them, but when a twig snapped under Swerve’s pede, it growled again and Skids acted. He threw the rock with all his might at the beast and the stone hit it straight to its shoulder. ”Let’s get out of here!” Skids yelled to Swerve and friends quickly transformed and hit the gas and drove away as fast as their tires could take them.

The monster screeched behind them, but the mechs didn’t stay to listen to it, but kept driving. If they were fast they could lose it.

That hope died when the familiar giant shadow landed on top of them. The monster was flying after them. Skids did the right thing he knew was right and opened comm link to the rest of his friends.

’We’re in trouble!’ Skids yelled straight into comm link as soon as he got the line open. ’There is a giant monster chasing me and Swerve!’

’Monster!?’ Came Rodimus’ voice in the comm.

’That’s what we tried to tell you, that there is something seriously dangerous in this planet!’ Nautica screamed to comm link.

’Okay, everyone, get back to the Rodpod, and let’s get out of here! Skids, can you and Swerve lose the monster after you?’ Rodimus asked.

’I don’t think so! It’s flying after us!’

’It can fly!? Interesting! Can you shoot it?’ Brainstorm asked.

’Okay, new plan, Brainstorm get to Rodpod and send an emergency signal to Lost Light! Skids, lead the monster towards South to me! Everyone else, get to the Rodpod and we buy you time to get there before joining you!’

’Got it!’ Everyone shouted and put the plan in action.

”Swerve, head to the Rodpod! I’ll be a decoy so you can get to safety!” Skids shouted over monster’s roaring and Swerve was quick to do as he said. ”Got it, on my way, be safe!” Skids and Swerve made quick turns, each in a different direction, and Skids even flashed his rear light to get the monster’s attention.

Two of them went to complete different directions and Skids did everything he could to get the monster to follow him… but to his horror, the monster ignored him completely. It went after his bartender friend.

Skids tried to turn on all his audios, trying to get a monster to come to him with noises, but the beast only showed interest towards the speeding minibot.

”Frag!” Skids cursed and made a quick U-turn and drove after his friend. He quickly contacted Rodimus.

’Rodimus, plan failed! The monster is after Swerve and heading towards Rodpod!’

’Pit! Okay, try to get that creature’s attention at any cost! I’ll be there in a second!’

’Roger that!’

Skids tried to catch up with his friend as best as he could, but the distance between them had grown too big. He tried to contact Swerve with comm link, but something was jamming the connection. The blue mech cursed and drove faster than he ever remembered driving, but it was too late.

Rodpod came to view and so did all their friends waiting for them there. Chaos hit them all like a shooting star. Everything happened in such a short time that no one couldn’t almost understand it. There was a roar and all of sudden the monster was just before them and glaring each one of them that it saw as invaders.

When Rodimus made it to the scene the beast roared again and surprised everyone by shooting a long stream of pure bright blue flames towards the sky. The heat was overwhelming, even if it wasn’t directed at any mech on the scene and for bots who didn’t feel heat or cold like organics, it was a great shock.

”Primus, it’s enormous!” Nautica shouted.

”Be careful everyone! Get to the ship when you get the first chance!” Rodimus shouted, getting next to Skids.

The monster whipped its enormous head towards Rewind with a growl and Chromedome was in front of his Conjunx Endura in a second, shielding him with his whole body and being, ready to bounce at the monster with empty hands. There wasn’t even a hint of fear of death in his actions. Not towards his death though. If he was to lose Rewind when he had just gotten him back then he would have truly died.

The monster dug its claws into the ground and focused its optics on Nautica and Brainstorm who were standing side by side. When the crimson eyes made contact with the scientist’s optics, he squealed like a mouse and hid behind Nautica, who stood her ground bravely, ready to protect her friend.

The black beast turned its attention on the rest of the group. Rodimus and Skids were side by side, ready to fight together against the attacker, their fists clenched and arms in the right position to throw punches as powerful as possible. For a second, it appeared that the monster was going to back out. It didn’t stop growling, but it raised it’s head off from threatening snapping position and even took a step back to retreat… until its eyes landed on Swerve.

Small, weak, and vulnerable Swerve was hiding behind a tree. That didn’t seem to launch the upcoming attack, but the fact that Swerve was alone.

The monster roared and in a blink of an eye rotated it’s head in a circle, shooting flames all over itself. Mechs ran away from the danger and the monster used the panic it created for its advantage as it ran straight through the fire towards Swerve.

”Swerve!” Skids shouted and ran towards his friend, but the monster whipped around and hit him with its tail, sending him flying straight into the air. Swerve got down on his knees when the monster got to him, trying to appear as small as possible. The beast swiped its claws through the air and with that move sliced the whole tree in pieces.

”Oh Primus, Skids, Captain, somebody!” Swerve screamed in terror as the monster’s claws wrapped around him.

”Hold on Swerve!” Nautica and Rodimus yelled and ran to save their friend. They had no time to waste. The beast turned towards them, roared and with a flap of its great wings, sent a surge of wind at them, knocking them on their afts.

The beast roared again and took off to the sky, Swerve with him and screaming from the bottom of his chassis. ”HEEEEEEELP!”

”Swerve!” The Autobot’s got together, Skids already in a motion to save his friend.

”Where it’s taking Swerve!?” The blue mech shouted, looking at his friends and then towards the black dot on the sky, ”C’mon, we got to follow it before it hurts him!”

Rodimus, Chromedome, and Nautica nodded in agreement.

”Okay, here’s what we do! Brainstorm, you fly after the beast, me and Skids follow behind you while Nautica takes Rewind and Chromedome back to Lost Light and comes back with Megatron, Ultra Magnus, and Whirl!” The Captain shouted orders, ready to transform to go after the monster, when Brainstorm got in his way, ”Wait wait, hold on!”

”Brainstorm, what the frag!?” Rodimus shouted at the scientist, ”That beast might drop Swerve at any given second or rip him apart! We must hurry, now!”

”I know I know, but listen! Me and Nautica made some important findings when we were exploring the planet! You see, it’s the start of the Spring season on this planet! Notice how flowers are blooming and those ancient energon bundles are glowing?” Brainstorm asked and pointed at each thing in his speech.

”Cut the chase Brainstorm and tell us what it matters!” Chromedome snapped, still holding Rewind tightly against his chassis, not showing any signs of letting his loved one touch the planet’s ground anymore. The scientist cleared his intake as a lousy cover up to his giddiness towards science, ”It’s animals’ breeding season! Me and Nautica took notes on many animals fragging in the safe places!”

Everyone glanced at Nautica and she nodded, ”Brainy tells the truth. We even saw a weird rodent with reptile tails doing it.”

”So what you’re saying is that-!”

”That’s right!” Brainstorm giggled like a madman, ”That monster saw a potential mate in Swerve, snatched him, and took him with him so it could breed with him!”

[h-200-decloth]

This one time i almost got kidnapped. u/ForgottenLiquidSmoke This is long and im sorrybout that. BUT, all of this happened to me and i remember it like vivid as hell. It ends well. And i dont drink in public because of this. Im also not their friend anymore as they judged me, but they are alive to do so and that is good. This happened about 6 or 7 years ago back then I was young, hot and stupid and an un-admitted alchy. But everyone i worked with in travel drank every time they were off work. So i was in california on business and i had gone out with 2 coworkers and we were smashed but coherent enough to check out we left. Though we needed assistance to get a cab. The sushi place ordered us one. Someone tipped them and all three of us sloshed in the taxi. I had drank since was 17 so my tolerance and drunk awareness was honed. My friends nodded off in the taxi. Drunk. Lights out. I was trying to stay awake as the designated directory because this guy “barely knew english” but lil short spoke fluently and gave him address and directions. And said we would tip him well when we got there safe or something like that as she laughed. We were drunk girls staying in le mesa but kinda near tijuana, I guess (important) even though he had gps he was “avoiding” the highway. I also had my gps up, it was a drunk girl safty measure I learned somewhere. I noticed it kept rerouting and searching via my gps. Now I know. Now I know that (he knew where he was intending go was not where we ordered) but back then me listened to him say detour and traffic and short cuts. With a 20 min drive from food to the hotel turned into like a 2 hour drive by 1.5 hours drunk me was having trouble maintaining consciousness, and telling him wrong turn via my maps gps. I had drank so much, he would get us there I prayed. He turned on the heat too. It was warm and id roll asleep but jerk awake. My drunk mind wanted the sleep my friends had lulled into. But my fight or flight said wake up b*tch!! He got a call and I nodded off to the ringer song he had that was trendy back then. It was some American country song I knew too. Though that didn’t clue me in. I awoke to him saying in clear english that like scared me to my bone. Not because he was innocently bilingual. But, because he seemed shy and acted as though he only spoke spanish when we got in his taxi. So him speaking english made me wake up but not cue him in. As fight mode brain needed to clear the drunk fog and make a plan. I observed my surroundings without alerting him. So i became squinty eyed and listened like a hawk!!! He said in english after acting like “no english, piqueno” “”YEAH I KNOW. IT TOOK(looked back) it took a while for the one girl to fall asleep, she had gps talked to bf on phone or faked it, her phone died. all drunk yeah, potato sacks, ones a two manner. The other two are shoulder bitches” Silence (other person talking maybe). Driver again “2 minutes maybe 10 theres a cop and lights and a wreck ahead here. (Quite other person maybe) “NO, NO, NO, IM AT A RED LIGHT! YEAH, YEAH… WELL IM A TAXI. NO, NO THEY ARE DISTRACTED, ACCIDENT okay shit” and some mumbles and a flip phone snap. Well I saw blue lights and then the cop car. It was there like magic. Drunk brain Safety magic. I saw the red street light and drunk brain decided; make scene get cops!!!! SOOO I started gagging like i was gonna throw up. I wanted the driver distracted. And i kind of did a throwup mouthful on the center console and on his baggy shirt. Which was a feat for me, from the right side of the back seat since i had to push my friends off me to do it. But I grabbed the door handle and lock and jiggled and tug but they wouldnt budge and it wouldnt open. I started screaming “ima throw up more, open this” and my friends were awakened and in a drunken stuper like "hold it its a short drive we are almost there” as they were passed out and had no clue of the two hour reroutes even after i woke em up. one brushed my spittle splash of throwup and started throwing up in the same spot and she had eaten and drank alot (the larger girl) now we were all gagging from the smell for real including the driver. The light we had sat at had turned green and we were about to pass the cops and he the taxi driver in english mumbled hed “charge us extra to clean it, an arm and a leg.” And he laughed I started banging on the window cus he wouldnt let me out and a cop was directing traffic around whatever accident. The cop who thankfully saw us beckoned us stop and got other cop attention. There were a few cop cars because whatever accident near the border i guess. It was the tijuana border as i saw an orange diamond sign that said that city name tijuana and border detour. And there was an accident with cops tending it. Under and underpass and driver was mumbling only road or whatever. So a cop stood in front of his car directing traffic where to go but had stopped us and one right next to the passenger side,directing traffic very slow, he was standing in traffic he was almost against my window on the passanger side, a cop showing people how to avoid accident rubble and the cars. I turned into an animal looked straight at the cop banged on the window with my almost dead phone and my hand, pried at the door knob and looked terrified in hopes he would stop this taxi. Luckily the cop in front and the cop on side somehow communicated and i heard tire spins. Not us. A fast acting cop pulled in front of him. They made him pull over into parking lot and I’m screaming get me out and my friends are like calm down we are drunk and police but i wanted out police were safer than whatever his phone conversation was about and an officer was talking to him and he “didnt speak english again and needed a translator” and i only know that cuz the cop said it would take a while to get a translator was he sure and that i needed to settle down. And the guy must have said hed wait but the cops were busy and discussing lettin him take us home… I wanted to get the cop mad so i said NOOOO. So now i started screaming “hes a kidnapper get a promotion get me out of here” and just going bonkers because we were covered in vomit the police had been trying to talk over me for a few minutes with this guy who “ didnt know english” and i said “he fucken knows enlish and speaks it!!!” And they said something like settle down we are busy that they didnt want to book me for being a silly drunk girl. Some pussy card bullshit. So i freaked and said “no no fuck it arrest me.” My friends were now angry and worried but i wanted safety even if my record was shit. I didnt want to be potatoes. So they again tried to calm me and said they were gonna let him go drop us off. So i left the door alone and started hitting him! I was hoping violent smacked would make the cops question our situation we were stuck in. I screamed i was violent and going to off him…drunk and illogical or not who cares. More cops had now circled the taxi to watch and more cop cars kind of circled us. and I started crying and my friends were now fading against the other door and crying too and judging me. and I kept slapping him in the head and he screamed in pure clean english “BITCH!!! YOU’RE DEAD. hit me one more time your dead. your dead.” Then everything went fast cops pulled guns and made him unlock us. I jumped out throwing my heels first. We got out and i hugged the cop that was originally next to my window he seemed scared of me. But i hugged the shit out of him and cried. My friends stood there awkward. He finally hugged me back and petted my hair. The cops decided to take us to the hotel and were gona have me/us file a report the next day but said it might not be needed because so many cops saw. I wasnt asked to write a statement or to show up anywhere. I was just asked to sign a mostly blank paper stating he was a kidnapper and had a long phone call i told them about. Also my friends signed a completely blank statement paper. We never saw tickets or charges on our names and we never even wrote our names aside from cursive sinage. I never heard from the cops but that guy was fighting the cops when we left His taxi. And the cops used a shock gun/tazer thing cuz he pushed someone and tried to run. And he was saying weird shit in english!! Which was funny because he had first made them think he needed a translator because he ‘knew’ no english. BUT we were safe!!!! My former coworkers were safe. To the cali taxi driver and your flip phone friend lets not meet ever ever again. https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsNotMeet/comments/a07n8e/this_one_time_i_almost_got_kidnapped/

[takemetohelena]

022617: Weekend Escapade

We planned our weekend during the weekdays.

Friday : Students Jam at UL 

Saturday : Sunflower Maze, Tayug 

Sunday : "WHO YOU" day 

SATURDAY. 

It was settled. We were going with the plan until... we got into the van heading to Tayug. Charm's sister messaged Ali to tell Charm that the whole fam is going to Baguio that day and they're gonna stay overnight. 

 Naisip namin, sumama nalang kaya kami? Charm asked kung okay lang and they said okay! Okay. Kalma. Excited na meeeeeeeee!!!!! Hahahaha actually, we were a little hesitant because  

Hel: I really want to see the sunflower maze saka I had a deal with Roselyn na kapag sumama ako sa Students Jam, pupunta kami sa sunflower maze sa Saturday +++ i have plates to do!! +++ i have no clothes! And i can't go home because di na ako makakaalis hahaha. 

Ali: she has to review for her unit test on monday daw and her mami doesn't know hahaha.   

Rose: she has a practice tomorrow for choric speech. 

Pine: he has some lappie stuffs to do. 

At the same time, the thought of spending overnight in Baguio thrilled us (YAS OVERNIGHT!) because 

 1. Malamig sa baguio and I'm tortured by the Pang. weather since forever. 

 2. Sleepover in Benguet!! I've never been to benguet even though I lived in baguio for two years and it's a little far from the city meaning: fresher air, few houses and vehicles andd nice and welcoming people. Baryo > City. 

3.CRASH. We're all(almost) off the teenage phase and adulting is eating us kaya we should make the most out of every opportunity to bond and enjoy lifee! +++ we agreed of a motto for that escapade, "ENJOY NOW, CRY LATER" Hahahaha. 

Ayun na nga. Umalis kami sa van going to tayug, the driver was calling us saying, "aalis na to malapit ng mapuno!" "Wag na kayong pabebe" hahaha. No kuya, we are going North hahaha. 

Pine and Charm lend me shirts and jogging pants because I decided not to go home while Alison borrowed clothes from Roselyn. We had lunch at Roselyn's house and waited for Charm there tapos we went to the bus station going to Baguio na. 

When we arrived, Roselyn was making yaya to the skates at Burnham but we were all hungry. I wanted to make them try the sisig at Laxamana (my fave sisig when i was still in slu) so pinilit ko sila. We rode a jeep to the place, medyo kabado pa ako because baka may makita akong kakilala ko hahahaha. Ayun we ate there, Roselyn had 1.5 extra rice tapos sabi nya "hindi naman masarap" hahahaha. 

After Laxamana, niyaya ko sila sa Circle, a cute school supplies store near the the sisig and they were all like: 

 "OOOOOOH" 

"OOOOOOOOOOOH" 

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH"

Hahahahaha, pero pretty talaga yung mga notebooks dun pramis! So hipstery and tumblry. Ang ending, they all chose something, inadvance nilang lahat yung birthday gift nila kay Alison and have the notebook as the gift from her hahaha. RIP Alison's wallet hahahaha. I tried to negotiate with her na iaadvance ko na din yung birthday gift ko sa 2018 pero good for 2017 lang daw yung promo nya. Hahaha. 

After Circle, we went to the grocery store just beside it for a mini grocery twaym. Biglaan kasi ang lahat kaya wala kaming shampoo, girl echos and toothbrush(i lost my toothbrush at roselyn's house kasi huhu). While we were at the baggage counter, may tinuro akong korean kay alison and she said, "OPPA" pacute voice HAHAHA. I dont know if the oppa heard pero natatawa ako hahaha. Grocery grocery, we thought of buying chips and wine but no one wants to do the honor kaya di kami bumili hahaha. Nung nasa counter na kami, I panicked because hindi ko mahanap yung number namin sa baggage counter, nakikipag usap nako dun kay kuya na nawala ko nung nilabas ni Charm (bwisit sya hahaha). 

Nung paakyat na kami, may nadaanan kaming alcohol free taste, mukha syang empirador pero feeling ko wine lang. I was the one who drink last tapos inistraight ko, *insert dirgursting shet!* ang pait! Hahahaha, inopen ko yung gummy gummy ko agad, ang init sa throat huhu. 

Skates, Burnham. 

We payed 50 each for 30minutes of skating and I spent 20 minutes trying to stand! Andun lang ako sa gilid nakakapit sa poste, nakakakapit na nga ako napapasplit pa'ko. I heard them fall and fall and fall pero I was too focused of not getting my head bagok kaya di ko sila matawanan full blast hahahahaha. After awhile, nakakaskates na din si Ali at Charm kahit na nanginginig nginig yung mga paa nila hahahaha they wanted to help me pero ayaw kong bumitaw sa poste kasi pag nadulas ako mahirap tumayo af! Hahahaha. Roselyn was good at it kaya paikot ikot na sya sa area and Pine knows how to skate too. While Roselyn was in the middle with her monopod, a foreigner guy in skates bumped into her pero hindi sila natumba. I dont know what exactly happened, I just heard the sound of her phone flying and falling hahahaha. She went on my side (the poste and me) to check her phone tapos lumapit yung nakabangga sakanya asking if it's okay, Roselyn was inis with him, siguro she wants to ratatat him na pero he's a foreigner and di sya nakapagprepare ng english ratatat, ang nasabi nya lang dun sa foreigner, "You're bad!" HAHAHAHAHA.

After telling myself na hindi ko ikamamatay tong skates, I agreed to let go of my beloved poste and get help from Roselyn, kabado me because I know na pag matutumba ako di naman nya ako massave, mahihila ko pa sya hahahaha. Fortunately nakaabot naman ako sa kabilang side, with the railings as my new 'poste'. While I was skating while nakakapit sa railing, nadulas ako pabaliktad! And di ko binitawan yung railing kasya napwersa yung braso ko huhu until now masakit pa din. I crei. Ayun na. Struggle nanaman tumayo. Jusqlord. Habang nagsstruggle ako tumayo I see them magkakahawak kamay silang apat habang nagsskate hahahaha, I took a vid of them I just dont know if I can post it here hahaha. Inggit af me pero feeling ko pag kasama ako dun matutumba kaming lahat hahahahaha. Just when I was kinda learning how to do it, 4minutes nalang yung time huhu. Nagskate ako back to my poste, yung konting distance nalang makakakapit na'ko dun nadulas nanaman ako ugh hahaha. Sabi ko sa isip ko 'fuck this shit pagod na me' so dun ko na tinanggal yung skating shoes kung saan ako nadulas hahaha. 

All in all, my first skating experience was an epic fail pero it was fun. I want to tell in detailed how they fell and fell pero di ko masyado nakita, basta naririnig ko nalang yung pag "BOG!" ng sahig followed by "animal!" "animal ka!" and laughters hahahaha. 

Ps. Alison fell three times *coughs*. Roselyn fell two times pero both sobrang hurt hurt *coughs coughs* HAHAHA. While Charm, minor falls lang and hindi masakit kasi manhid sya haha. Si Pine, di sya nagsshare kung ilang beses syang nafall! Sa skates. Hahaha  

4:11am, I haven't had any sleep yet and I'm on a phone break from my plates. Where were we? Ayun. We went to SM to meet Charm's pemily, halos gumapang na'ko from Burnham to SM because paakyat and nagmamadali kami kasi kanina pa daw sila naghihintay tapos mag exclamation point na yung messages nila hahahaha. Nung nakita namin sila, they said we're gonna walk back to Burnham and we're looking at each other like 'fail! Hahahaha', the walk back was easier because pababa, we even saw jollibee on the way haha, I had a selfie with it (we looked bagay haha). I lost count kung ilang beses kaming nagkahiwahiwalay hahaha basta nagkakawalaan kami. Meron yung nahiwalay kami nina Pine and Ali ata sakanila because we were distracted dun sa public viewing na nagtotorrid kiss hahaha. 

Around 8pm siguro, We rode a jeep going to La Trinidad then bumababa kami somewhere I dont know to wait for a taxi. Alison and Pine rushed to the nearest tindahan to buy chips tapos we drank buko juice while waiting. Idk it doesn't seem to fit, yung buko juice tapos cold weather hahaha. Aaand may dumating ng taxi, we saw the city lights from there ang ganda! 

Longlong, La Trinidad. We were welcomed by the cold breeze in Longlong. When I say cold, I mean nilalamig ako di ko alam kung nilalamig din sila hahaha. I was wearing denim SHORTS +++ no jacket kaya malamig talaga hahahaha. Kasi naman, biglaan yung Baguio akala ko magpapakasummer feels ako sa Tayug hahaha. 

We gathered in a small cozy living room, kanya kanyang upo na hahaha. Charm's family was catching up with each other tapos nakikinig lang kami. Tapos kumain ako ng baby corn, nakatatlo ata ako! Hahahaha. Suddenly, I missed Quezon, parang ganun yung vibe dun eh huhu. May isa sa amin na nagyaya sa labas so we went. Alison was kind enough to lend me her jacket pangtulog pero masikip! Hahaha. Paglabas namin tumambay kami sa across the street while eating chips. 

And there I thought, 'I like this.' I mean I like us going cafe hops, singing at the top of our lungs in ktvs, watching movies, getting drunk at sleepovers, riding wild rides and taking lot of pictures but I like this better, just sitting outside in the cold watching few cars pass by. Maybe it's because of benguet's temperature hahaha basta something about the mood. It's tumblry hahaha. 

Few minutes later we were called to go back inside for dinner, Charm's ate took a pic of us there but it's malabo pero keri. After eating and a little kwentuhan ulit Charm's tita(ata) told us that we will walk for another one hour para pumunta dun sa tutulugan namin. Honestly, naexcite ako! Hahaha but unfortunately joke lang daw yun haha, naglakad lang kami ng konti tapos we went inside a house tapos nakamazed kami sa malaking tv tapos sa mini bar haha. Inayos namin yung mga sleeping place namin tapos kwentuhan na ulit. We planned to take a bath na that night kasi feeling namin di namin kaya maligo sa umaga because BRR tapos sira daw heater. Peroooo.. di din nami kaya haha. Half bath only, si pine kinaya nya. 

SUNDAY

I woke up around 5am, masakit na masakit yung ulo ko and i feel like throwing up. NagCR ako and naglabas ng hinanakit haha. After that I went back to our higaan and tried to sleep again pero masakit talaga and I wanna puke ulit kaya bumalik ako ng CR then *bwaaak* nireplay ko sa utak ko yung mga ginawa ko that caused this kalbaryo the *TING!* may hangover ako!! Dun sa freetaste na parang emperador! HAHAHAHA fuuu ang lakas naman nun? Hahahaha. Bumalik ako ulit sa higaan then I gently tapik tapik Alison, nung gumalaw sya i whispered "tic tac" yung candy na tic tac! Hahaha, she reached for her bag tapos binigay nya sakin yung tic tac tas tulog sya ulit haha. Ako palang gising that time and my headache is killing me huhu bwisit na hangover di na ako magffree taste (WOW HAHA). When nagising na sila Charm's ate gave me gamot pangsakit ng ulo, ininom ko then few minutes later nasusuka nanaman ako kaya naglabas ako  ng sama ng loob sa cr ulit basta feeling ko mamamatay nako! Hahaha. 

We ate breakfast and went up sa kalsada, tapos sabi ni Charm may small mountain dun na makikita mo yung roads sa baba. We went there, mini hiiike!! Parang less than 10minutes hike lang sya tapos ang ganda dunn and malamig pa, we took lots of pictures and videos. Basta maganda dun, my kind of chill place. We went down na, tapos may pick up dun na red. They wanted us to sit inside pero pinush namin sa labas haha, It’s so fun and malamig. Idk kung san kami pupunta pero dun pala sa bahay ng isang tito ni Charm, we went sa balcony and maganda rin yung view, we took pictuures. After dun, aalis na daw kami. Nung nasa labas na kami, biglang tumakbo si Charm and Ali tapos narealize namin ni Roselyn kung bat sila tumakbo, nakikipag unahan sila sa pick up para sila yung tatayo. Edi sila na nakatayo hahaha. 

Strawberry faaarm. First time ko pumunta dun, pagbaba namin there’s a kuya na nagtitinda ng strawberry icecream sabi nya puuure strawberry daw yun so we tried it masaaraaap. Thanks umma alison hahaha. Ang ganda nung farm. Nahulog si Roselyn sa idk what to call it basta yung putikan haha white pa naman shoes nya. Tapos we went to the small flower farm inside the strawberry farm, we paid 5pesos sa entrance and took pictures, kahit papano nawala yung sunflower thirst ko kasi madami rin sunflower dun hahaha. After Strawberry farm bumalik na kami sa pick up, pupunta na kami sa city yay.

While we were on the road, biglang umambon, lalo malamig wee. Tapos palakas ng palakas basang basa na kamii. Charm’s tito parked the car sa Jollibee, we all went inside and nilibre nila kami yaay hahaha. Nagcharge na din kami ng phone. Nung hindi na umuulan bumalik na kami tapos to city naaa.

They dropped us at Pines Garage because uuwi na kami hahaha. Tapos yun we said goodbye to them, kaming apat nalang magkakasama; me, pine, rose, ali.

Rose and Ali wanted to go to burnham park kasi bibili daw sila ng pasalubong so we went. They bought bracelets ako i bought a strawberry keychain na nilagay ko sa payong ko because wala lang it’s cute. Sabi ko may manghuhula there tapos gusto nilang dalawa magpahula, ako din gusto ko pero ijajudge ko muna kung makatotohanan yung manghuhula hahaha. Hinanap namin yun tapos 50each daw hula. Nauna si Alison, the way I saw it peke yung manghuhula hahaha. Masyadong play safe yung mga sagot nya like.. Alison asked.. “Magkakatuluyan po ba kami” or something like that tapos the manghuhula said, “Kung walang haharang sa inyo at malalagpasan nyo ang mga pagsubok magkakatuluyan kayo” pinipigilan kong tumawa like loool hahahha. Si Roselyn pinush nya pa rin. I forgot the convos na basta face palm hahahaha. 

After manghuhula, we bought footlongs and sweet mais tapos pines garage na then off we uwi.

I should’ve wrote this nung fresh pa ang mga pangyayari, ngayon I can’t recall the feels na, nung feb pa kasi to hahaha. I could’ve narrate the mini hike part better pero nakalimutan ko na huhu that was my fave part pa naman, tapos yung pick up rides. Pero finally nagawa ko din to hahaha. The experience was very nice tapos happy talaga me. The End.